When they arrived at the Hyuuga compound, they found Hinata waiting by the gates talking with the guardsman named Ko. She was chatting away with him lightly, and she would occasionally laugh at something he said or blush and tuck her hair behind her ear bashfully. Ko beamed happily, obviously enjoying their conversation. He would occasionally touch her shoulder affectionately or smile at her warmly — all things he rarely did before the war.

Kiba glanced at Shino with narrowed eyes, whose mouth formed a tight line. Boy, Neji's not in the ground for more than a year and some people really get fearless, thought Kiba, as he turned back to the pair, eyes narrowing at the sight.

"Hello, Hinata," he said louder than necessary, though they were still a good bit away from her. He glanced between the two of them, eyes stopping briefly on Ko before he fell to Hinata and smiled warmly.

"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, I was just talking about you two," she said, smiling warmly.

"Were you, now," said Kiba, smirking slightly as he glanced at Ko. "What about?"

"A recent mission. Remember when you and I had to play a married couple, Kiba-kun," she said, beginning to giggle.

"Ah, yes. I played an excellent husband," said Kiba, smiling proudly.

Shino snorted but bit his bottom lip to stop himself from laughing and Hinata covered her mouth to try to hide her new fits of giggles.

"Hey, what….you guys don't think I did a good job," said Kiba, scowling at them defensively.

"Y-You did fine, Kiba-kun," said Hinata, looking away from him.

"Kiba, Hinata is too nice to say it, but you were a terrible husband," said Shino, smirking at him.

"What the hell, you guys," said Kiba, looking back and forth between his friends with a scowl. "I was a good husband." He closed his eyes and crossed his arms, sticking his nose up defiantly. "Matter of fact, I'd say that any woman would be lucky to have a husband like me."

Hinata glanced at Shino, biting her bottom lip. She willed him not to say anything, but he couldn't resist. She could see the retort working in his mind and he scowled at Kiba irritably.

"It's really not that important, you guys," said said, trying to ease the tension. "Um, aren't we running late? Shouldn't we go?"

Kiba rolled his eyes irritably but turned to half-smile at Hinata. Shino still scowled slightly at Kiba, but sighed loudly in agreement.

"Thank you for waiting with me, Ko," she said, turning toward him and smiling at him warmly.

"It was my duty and my pleasure, Lady Hinata," said Ko, bowing and glancing up at her, flashing a warm smile back.

"Yeah, yeah, that'll be all, Ko," said Kiba, pulling Hinata by the arm away from the gates. She started to protest and looked back at Ko, who looked at Kiba in outrage, but Shino blocked her view as he began to walk behind them.

Shino did spare a glare at Ko just before leaving, but it was so fast, he was sure Ko didn't notice.

"What was that for, Kiba-kun," said Hinata, glaring at Kiba when she was finally let go.

"Just doing Neji a favor," said Kiba as he grinned. Shino glanced at him and the corners of his mouth rose briefly, but fell back to their normal position. He was still irritated.

"Well, that was uncalled for," said Hinata with a huff, crossing her arms.

—-

They walked in silence for a few moments, chatting about this and that.

Kiba glanced at Shino, who was looking at the ground with his brow furrowed.

Hinata followed his eye line and noticed his expression as well. "What's wrong, Shino-kun?"

"You're not still thinking about earlier? Look, we've dropped it. Just let it go," said Kiba, rolling his eyes.

Shino scowled a little at Kiba and said, "No, I'm not thinking about that."

"Then, what's on your mind, Shino-kun," asked Hinata, looking at him with concern.

Shino stared ahead for a moment, unsure about how to share what he was thinking. But, Kiba could tell by his facial expression what he was likely thinking about.

"Shino here is getting married," said Kiba, point at him with his thumb, traces of doubt laid heavily in his voice.

Hinata raised an eyebrow at him, and turned to look at Shino. "Oh, I see. Has the time come, then?"

Shino pursed his lips and looked down at her. He nodded at her stiffly.

"I see," she said quietly, looking off to the side. She glanced at Kiba, who was looking between the two of them with his brows furrowed in anger.

"Wait a minute. Hinata. You knew about this," he said, voice hiding nothing of his anger.

"W-well…yes," she said, looking at him a little surprised but also timidly.

Kiba turned to Shino and said, "How is it that Hinata knew about this but I didn't?"

"The topic was easier to discuss with her, and was prompted during prior conversations," said Shino, looking pointedly away from Kiba.

"Who else knows about this besides me," asked Kiba, voice starting to rise.

"Kiba-kun, calm down. Is that really what's most important right now? Shino-kun is getting married, and he needs our support," scolded Hinata, frowning at Kiba. She turned to look at Shino and said, "when will we meet her?"

"Kiba has already met her, and—" started Shino, but he was interrupted by Kiba.

"Hinata, he doesn't even like her."

There was a moment of silence that passed between the three. Shino stared at Kiba hard, unmoving. Hinata looked between the two, settling on Shino and frowning with concern. "Oh, Shino-kun…"

"It's unimportant," said Shino dismissively and firmly.

Hinata began to open her mouth, but Kiba started to speak before her. "'Unimportant? UNIMPORTANT?! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?! THIS IS YOUR FUTURE WIFE! THE PERSON YOU WILL BE SPENDING THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH!" roared Kiba.

"Kiba-kun, calm down, he's—"

"I've already talked to you about this, Kiba. It doesn't matter how I feel about her. Drop it," said Shino, voice starting to rise.

"No, I will not drop it! You are my friend and I care about you! I want to see you happy and with someone who you love and care about, and who does the same to you! And I don't understand why you can't have that — why that is so much to want for yourself!"

Hinata looked at Kiba stunned. She knew her friend cared about Shino, but didn't know the depths of those feelings. She was surprised to see him get so angry and passionate about this.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. We are nearly at the house. I said DROP IT, Kiba," said Shino, glaring at Kiba, who glared back at him.

Shino began to walk ahead of them as Kiba and Hinata slowed down behind him. Hinata looked at Kiba, who was glaring at Shino's back as he continued to walk ahead of them. But after a while, his expression lightened to pain, then he squeezed his eyes shut and bowed his head, shaking it in frustration.

She placed a hand on his arm and said, "Kiba-kun, why do you care so much? It is his life and his choice. And he does have certain obligations to fulfill with his clan."

"I can't let this go, Hinata," said Kiba under his breath. "He's…my best friend. I don't want to see him throw his life away. It would be painful to watch him be unhappy for the rest of his life."

"Why are you so convinced that he would be so unhappy? What if he grew to love her? What if he—"

"You didn't see the way the two of them interacted today like I did," he said, looking over at her. She noticed that pain in his eyes again, but she couldn't quite identify it's source. "They had no chemistry. He was working so hard to get away from her as quickly as possible. She…" Kiba winced slightly, "touched him, and he flinched under her touch. I'm barely scratching the surface of the whole thing — it was devastating to watch."

She furrowed her brow at him and starting thinking to herself. Just how much did Kiba witness of their interaction? Does he honestly have a solid read on the situation…or is he building a case to suit his own opinion because he's angry about not knowing it would happen in the first place? And…why did he wince when he talked about her touching Shino?

"Kiba-kun," she said lowly, looking him in the eye. "Why did you wince when you said that she touched Shino? Did she hurt him? What did she do?"

Kiba's eyes widened in surprise at her question, then he looked away, scratching under his chin in contemplation. "Shiori is just…" he crinkled his nose, as if he smelled something foul. "She was all over him and was touchy-feely in a way that would make most people uncomfortable. I just didn't like…the way Shino seemed to react to it all, I guess." Kiba looked forward toward Shino, who was still walking ahead.

"What was your first impression of this Shiori, then," said Hinata, smiling slightly.

"She rubs me the wrong way. She seems opportunistic. She seems to make everyone uncomfortable, including Shino's dad. She seems to be trying too hard — pumping up the sexuality and wearing clothes that will get a man's attention," said Kiba, frowning.

"I see," said Hinata, looking ahead toward Shino. She was beginning to figure somethings out, but still had more questions. Now probably wasn't the time since they were being watched.

"Shino-kun is getting impatient. Our conversation is no longer private," she said, smirking at Kiba and pointing toward the wall next to them. Kiba narrowed his eyes and saw a small beetle crawling on the wall.

"Why, that—" he started, but Hinata placed a hand on his mouth to silence him.

"Not now. Let's just go," she said, motioning toward the direction of Shino, who had already turned around to look at them. He was standing and looking at them with his arms crossed, frowning deeply. His team mates ran to catch up with him, and when they reached him Kiba asked, "just how much did you hear?"

Shino's mouth twitched. "Enough," he said, scowling at Kiba. "Please refrain from sharing things like that about me with others without me knowledge."

Kiba rolled his eyes, "Yeah, alright. I was just venting. I'm sure you would've and have done the same to Hinata before. Don't get mad at me.."

Shino didn't respond to that.

To be honest, he wasn't sure how he was feeling after hearing what Kiba said.

When he heard Kiba talk about how he felt about Shiori touching him, he felt a strange twinge of guilt — especially after he saw the pained look on Kiba's face.

But he also felt a strange warmness in the pit of his stomach when Kiba so accurately accessed his feelings and the situation with Shiori. It made him uncomfortable.

He had felt this warm feeling before, and had very rarely relished in it. It felt dangerous, yet very right. It filled him with dread, but he found himself having to fight a smile and tried to form on his lips when he experience it. It was so complicated and so foreign that he never spent any time thinking about what it meant.

And he wasn't going to do it now, as per usual.

Instead, he turned and continued to walk ahead of them, shoving his hands into his pockets, continuing to look ahead with a deep frown planted on his face. They soon caught up to him and walked on either side of him.

Hinata glanced at him and couldn't help but notice the way that he kept looking at Kiba occasionally, but would look away before Kiba would notice. She frowned slightly at this, but before she could give it much thought, they had arrived at Shikamaru's.

When they reached the door, she reached toward the doorbell and rang it. Shikamaru answered it, greeted them warmly, and invited them in.