Shino followed and observed Hinata (fine, stalked), until she was alone. Once he saw a chance, he dived in for the kill.
"Hinata." He said simply. Hinata smiled when she heard his voice, turning around, and stopping short. Her mouth was slightly agape as she took in long change of clothes. When she noticed the gentle smile on his face, her mouth practically dropped and hanged open.
"Sh-Shino?" Hinata called out, still not daring to believe that this... Emotional and handsome guy was the stoic Shino Aburamae. Shino smile as Hinata stuttered. She only stuttered when she was nervous or when she was around Naruto. Good sign.
"Have you had lunch?" Shino was only asking to experiment and to carry on the conversation. He knew that she hadn't had any lunch yet.
"N-not yet, Shino-kun. W-would you like to eat together?" She asked hesitantly. Shino's heart soared. He thought that it would be him asking her out for lunch, not the other way around.
Hinata's heart jumped slightly at the smile that reappeared on Shino's face.
"I'll like that." He stated simply.
"So, Sh-Shino-kun, what inspired the ch-change in you?" Hinata asked, trying to keep the blush off her face.
Shino blushed as well, and Hinata reveled in the fact that she could see it.
"Well... Uhh..." Hinata looked at him wide-eyed, prompting him to go on. It intrigued her that Shino had... emotions.
"Well, there is this girl that I like and I... I'm trying to impress her." Shino said uncertainly, looking away while trying to sneak a glance of her reaction.
Hinata felt her heart drop slightly. Somehow the thought of Shino liking someone else, not liking her, it didn't make her feel good.
"Oh? Who is it?" Hinata asked, her voice slightly harder than before.
Shino smiled to himself at the jealousy that was radiating off Hinata. This was going well!
Hinata looked up to see Shino's flaming red blush, and her heart sped up again. Shino had a sheepish grin on his face, and Hinata's smile returned, along with an awkward blush.
"Sh-Shino? Who is it?" A slight smile appeared on her face, and she had a very good idea of who the girl was.
Shino cleared his throat then mumbled something that Hinata didn't catch. She cocked her head to the side, and Shino finally took a deep breath.
"You."
It was barely audible, but Hinata's heart leaped in joy when he finally admitted it. But she had to bring herself down from cloud nine. She had a boyfriend! And she loved him, that's for sure. So what was Shino to her, exactly?
Shino waited for her response, his head facing the table but his eyes inclined towards Hinata.
"May I take your order?"
Shino felt like standing up and slamming the entire table into the waiter's face. Hinata was just about to respond!
"Two Miso Ramen." He said through his teeth, barely containing his irritation.
Hinata giggled softly, then closed her menu, handing it to the waiter. When the waiter left the table, Shino almost pulled him back, realising the awkwardness between him and Hinata.
Barely making eye contact with her, he racked his brain for any way of making her forget that he just confessed. Just as he was about to open his mouth, Hinata beat him to it.
"I like you too."
Shino's head shot up. No one ever returned his feelings, and he could not hold back the disbelieving grin spreading across his face.
"Wait... What about Naruto?" Shino asked, his smile dropping. Hinata's sighed and shook her head.
"Its... confusing right now. I-I need some time to sort it out."
Shino nodded. He understood being confused, Hinata put him in that situation almost every single day.
"Sure." He smiled again at her. "But this wouldn't be the last time I see you, right?"
Hinata shook her head, smirking slightly. The rest of the meal carried on in a happily awkward situation, consisting of lots of blushing and beaming faces.
Shino wanted to skip over to Temari's house, but he knew that it would probably creep her out, and everyone else out, and that his father would probably kill him. Still, he had to suppress the want to bounce around the whole village with exclamations of joy.
He knocked on Temari's door, and when she came to answer it, he held himself back from throwing his arms around her and laughing.
"Shino!" Temari grinned when she saw his elated face. "So I guess it went well?"
He nodded slowly. It was hard to kick his old habits. If he was still wearing his old gear, Temari would probably have not guessed how the day went. But Shino couldn't care less. Thanks to Temari's makeover, he finally knew that Hinata had feelings for him.
"Thank you for helping me with Hinata. Now I shall help you."
Temari smiled at him. "No problem! But how are you going to help me? Don't tell me you're going to give ME a makeover!"
Shino shook his head. He didn't know the first thing about makeovers.
"Shall I enter before someone overhears us and realises your crush on-"
"Please come in!" Temari hastily cut in, looking wildly from side to side.
Shino smirked, then stepped into Temari's apartment. The Suna ambassador's apartment was fairly small, yet it fulfilled all necessities, containing a kitchen, living room and bedroom(and of course a toilet). Although small, the house was not lacking in character. The walls had a gradient of lilac to violet, starting from the door to the edge of the bed room. There wasn't a sofa in front of the tv, just two bean bags, one purple and one green.
"Hmm... I wonder who this one is for." Shino said teasingly, gesturing to the green bean bag. Temari shoved him playfully then pushed the bean bag out of sight.
A peek in the kitchen revealed a mess, all the equipment were not properly kept and in complete disarray. The only neat part of the kitchen was the display of glass jars on the counter, all containing colourful jellybeans.
"Jellybeans?" Shino raised an eyebrow at Temari.
Temari laughed and opened up one of the jars, popping a jellybean into her mouth and offering the jar to Shino. Shino tentatively put the colourful sweet in his mouth, chewing slowly. The jellybean was delicious, tasting of sour blueberry, however, the taste soon diminished, leaving a semi-solid bland jelly in his mouth. The aftertaste made him want to eat more.
"These are addictive." He said while reaching out for another one. Temari sat down on her purple beanbag, the jar resting on her lap. When she realised that Shino didn't have a seat, she scrambled up to pull the green bean bag for him to sit on. When both Shinobi were comfortably seated, munching on the colourful treats, Temari finally spoke up.
"So, Shino. How are you going to help me?"
Shino held up his hand as he quickly swallowed the jellybeans in his mouth. "I can help you to find out if he returns our feelings."
"You can?" Temari looked both happy and shocked.
"I can read brain patterns, remember?" Shino stated.
Temari started to grin, then it slipped off. "What... what if he doesn't like me back?"
Shino shook his head. "Don't think about that. At least you would know who he likes. Isn't that better?"
Temari smiled grimly then nodded. "Okay, so what's the plan?"
"Find a chance to get Shikamaru by himself. I'll hide away and read his brain patterns. After a while, meet with me back at your place, we'll talk then." Shino spoke as if he was planning out a mission strategy.
Temari smiled, and they spent a little longer just eating jellybeans and teasing each other. Temari realised just how fun Shino was to tease. Soon, Shino had to leave, and Temari gave him a jar of jellybeans to enjoy at home, he seemed to be really fond of the treat.
That night, Shino was happier than he had been in a long time. He finally knew that the girl he liked liked him back, and he now had a tasty treat to enjoy as well.
Life is good. He thought happily as he prepared to turn in for the night.