Shino finally laid on his bed, his arms and legs spread out. When he came home, the hectic tick-tock of the family clock began as he, his father, and his aunt and uncle went about with the preparations for the spring. It was clan tradition to welcome Nature's many blessings throughout the year. This year was extremely special. It was the first time in many years that the Hanabira Festival took place before the gardens throughout the compound bloomed.

Most of the arrangements were close to finished, which was perfect timing for Shino to head to his room and be alone with his thoughts. He almost felt bad. His aunt and uncle could barely find time to come and visit because of their Jounin positions with his father and the endless wave of missions that had them gone for days, even weeks, so it was great seeing them together at home. But he had not been in the mood for warm, family time.

He looked up at the skylight. Heavy rain clouds were smothering the sun's rays. Perfect. He always loved rainy days. It was as if Nature held you in her arms and washed all your worries away. And he needed that more than anything right now. He always felt down in the slumps whenever he saw Hinata upset. The moments, which were growing more and more frequent, made him feel like all the happiness in the world had vanished. But he couldn't blame her. She was dealing with a lot. She always was.

As the moments passed, his eyelids grew heavy, until he was dragged in a deep slumber.

Shino stared with awe at the beautiful figure in front of him. Clad in a beige tank top, her mesh under armor, and her knee length shorts, she was truly stunning. Oh, how he loved rainy days. The way the droplets of water made her clothes stick to her figure, further outlining every curve, was enough to leave him completely mesmerized.

He continued to watch from afar as Hinata trained under the rain. It almost looked like she was dancing. Her body moved to an unknown rhythm as she dodged and maneuvered around her imaginary opponent. She proceeded to land her blows, yet the action resembled an intimate caress. Oh, but he knew better than that. He knew those soft, delicate hands were capable of much, much more. In an instant, she turned, as if aware of his presence.

He tensed at her sudden realization, and tensed even more when he looked at her eyes. They were still maintaining the warmth and kindness she gave everyone else. He loved staring into those huge, pupiless orbs. In her eyes, he truly felt like he wasn't a complete freak. He felt... Normal. His breath hitched in his throat as it tightened when he saw her smile. It was sensual but with a hint of innocence. Walking towards him, she grabbed the hem of her top and pulled it over her head.

Shino felt his jaw slack open, his saliva turning into ash in his mouth. Every single one of his senses jumped on overdrive, and the heat that traveled to other places of his body was not helping. My, she was beautiful. Her black bra and her mesh top just barely contained her supple breasts, which in turn left much for the eye and the mind to desire. What would she really look like if he decided to tear the mesh top and the bra, with his teeth?

He violently shook his head. Control yourself Shino! But before he could even grasp the already slipping strings of self-control, she was inches away from his face, taking off his glasses. Hyperventilating did not even begin to describe his reactions as he froze, his face redder than an apple, and the excited hum of his kikaichu was only making things worse for him.

"What's the matter, Shino-kun?" she asked, playfully as she gently nipped at his lower lip. "Isn't this what you wanted…?"

Control. What I need right now is control. Any more of this and I'll-

"Oh, Shino." Hinata sighed. He was panicking so much that she had already pounced on him. Shino looked up at her. Her hands trailed down her body to his own, running through every muscle. His heart was literally running a marathon at top speed.

"H-Hinata, please." Shino murmured, grabbing her hands and attempting to pull her away.

"Please what, Shino-kun?" Hinata asked, huskily. Her hands had slipped from his grasp and unbuttoned his coat.

Before he ever could realize it, she had finished unbuttoning his coat and proceeded to run her hands up and down his hard, toned chest. He needed to control himself, but he wanted her so badly. Desperately, even.

Damn it all to Hell...

He gave up on his self-controlled and closed his eyes, groaning as her soft hands trailed down from his chest to his stomach and ruffled with the buttons of his pants.

"Shino?" Hinata whimpered as she slowly licked his lips.

"Y-yes?" Shino breathed.

"I…I need you, Shino."

With that, she reached down his pants and-

Shino's eyes snapped open. His breath was deep and ragged, the beads of sweat covering his forehead and the back of his neck. Gulping, he propped himself up by his arms and looked around. It was early evening, but the rain clouds were so heavy that it looked like nightfall.

"Just a dream…" he murmured. Shino listened to the rain as his breathing eased down. After a moment, he laid back down and looked at the rain pelt against the skylight.

The way this looks, it'll go on all night.

His muscles quickly tensed as he heard various footsteps approach his door. It swung open to reveal Kiba and Akamaru, fatigued and drenched from head to toe.

"Shino." Kiba gasped, "Come quick…to Kurenai-sensei's home."

He got up. "What happened?" he asked, sternly.

Kiba managed to catch his breath before he blurted out, "Hinata's father disowned her. They kicked her out of the Hyuuga clan."

"What!?"

Shino, Kiba, and Akamaru's feet splashed loudly on the growing puddles on the roads as they ran as fast as they could to Kurenai's family home.

"How do you know?" Shino asked.

"Kurenai-sensei called my mom." Kiba replied, "She said she got a call from Hinata's little sister, saying that after an argument with her dad, Hinata was kicked out."

"Did she say where she headed off to after that?"

"No. Kurenai-sensei said that she had snuck out after her dad left to attend some errands and asked everyone in town, but nobody had seen her, but she couldn't keep looking for her in the rain. If Hiashi found out she had been out when he forbade her not to, she'd probably get the same treatment."

Shino could feel his blood boiling. How could anyone treat their child in such a manner? Had Hiashi no sense of dignity left? Lightning flashed across the sky the moment they reached Kurenai's home. Kurenai answered the door.

"Thank goodness." She breathed, "Come in."

They entered. The apartment was decent-sized for two, especially how that second person was still a child.

"Any word from Hinata?" Kiba asked.

"No." Kurenai answered, worry seeping through her words, "Hanabi does not want to endanger her life."

"Her life?" Shino asked.

Kurenai looked at him. Her eyes were full of rage and panic. "She got off easy. They could have done much worse to her."

Shino and Kiba stiffened. Kiba snarled.

"The hell they will. Nobody messes with our girl."

Our girl. Shino couldn't had agreed more in that moment. When it came down to Hinata's well being, both shinobi were equally as concerned and were willing to do anything for her.

"We'll find her, Kurenai-sensei." Shino assured her, "Even if we have to turn the village upside down to find her."

Kurenai nodded. "The best thing to do now is to split up." she said as she pulled out a map of the village. "Shino, search through the east and west edges of the village. Kiba, search through the north and south. Akamaru, search throughout the center of the village. I don't mean to separate you two, Kiba, but we have no choice. We have to double check every area."

"No sweat, Kurenai-sensei" Kiba smiled and patted Akamaru's head, "We can deal with it."

"We need to quicken our pace." Shino said, looking out at the black, ominous clouds as lightning struck again. "A storm's brewing. We definitely don't want to get caught in it."

Kiba nodded. "We'll bring her straight here when we find her."

With that, they left and split up. Kurenai looked on as the rain poured in thick sheets.

"Please, guys.. find her." she pleaded.