Chapter 11

Kiba cautiously opened the door, not knowing who may be behind it. A tall hooded figure stood before him. "Care to explain what exactly is going on here Kiba?"

Kiba gaped at the figure standing at the door. "Shino! You scared the hell out of me!" Kiba shouted at his teammate.

Shino merely stared blankly at Kiba. "May I come in?" It was more of a command than a question. Kiba reluctantly stepped aside, allowing Shino to walk inside. "I've been hearing rumors." Shino said, turning to face Kiba.

"Yeah, what kind of rumors?" Kiba replied defensively.

"Rumors about Hinata. And you." Shino spoke again is his usual serious tone. He looked curiously at Kiba.

Kiba's eyebrow twitched. "What are you staring at?!" He shouted, irritated. He grunted and crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't know anything about any rumors."

Shino raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" Shino paused before speaking again. "Why is Hinata in your kitchen?"

Kiba looked slightly taken aback. "T-that's…" He stuttered. "She's just visiting!"

"Oh? Did you know that her father is searching all over Konoha for her? Apparently she disappeared last night." Shino said, watching Kiba's face for a reaction.

Kiba said nothing as he glared at his teammate. "Alright fine!" He uncrossed his arms. "I brought Hinata here last night." He admitted.

Shino shook his head. "You're an idiot." He stated simply.

"What'd you say?!" Kiba shouted, his fists ready in the air.

Hinata chose this moment to appear around the corner. "S-shino!" She said, surprised to see her other teammate.

Kiba instantly backed down from Shino and crossed his arms over his chest again. Shino raised an eyebrow at this, although they couldn't see it under his hood. "Hello Hinata." He nodded his head in greeting.

Hinata smiled faintly at him. "What brings you here Shino?" She asked, although she had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"Your father is not pleased that you are missing Hinata. You should explain your situation to him." Shino replied very seriously.

Hinata lowered her head and stared down at her feet. "I know…" She said quietly.

Kiba furrowed his brow in concern as he watched Hinata's face. He moved over closer to her and wrapped a large arm around her delicate shoulders. Hinata looked up at him, startled by the sudden contact.

"Ahem." Shino cleared his throat, drawing both Hinata and Kiba's attention back on him. "It won't be long now before Hiashi Hyuuga comes here." He continued.

Kiba scowled. "Let him come. I'm not scared of him!"

"You should be." Shino said, clearly irritated with Kiba's lack of concern.

"He won't come…" Hinata muttered. Shino and Kiba turned to look at her, eyebrows raised in surprise.

"What?" Kiba asked, a look of surprise mixed with confusion on his face.

"He's not going to come." She repeated, louder this time.

"Are you certain?" Shino asked still slightly surprised by Hinata's words.

"Why should he?" Hinata's gaze returned to her feet. Her eyes were clouded over with sadness. Kiba felt helpless beside her. "Don't say that! Even if I don't like him… he still cares about you Hinata. He just has a weird way of showing it, that's all." Kiba leaned over to look into her eyes.

"I agree." Shino added, "Which brings us back to the problem."

Tsume, who had been silently listening from the other room, stepped out to join the three. "You know what we have to do Kiba." She said solemnly.

Kiba hung his head. For once, he had nothing to say. Hinata looked up at him sadly. He looked almost as pained as she felt.

Tsume spoke up again, "Hinata will stay here until Hyuuga comes and pries her from our very hands."

Kiba's head jerked up with a look of bewilderment plastered on his face. "What?" He couldn't possibly have heard that right… The other two looked just as confused as he did.

"You heard me." Tsume said, a smile playing at her lips.

Kiba's mouth slowly curved into a wide grin. "Alright!" He shouted happily. Kiba whirled around and hugged the first body that his arms came in contact with. Which just so happened to be Shino. "Kiba….Get…Off!" He rasped, out of breath from being squeezed so tight.

Hinata giggled at the two. She was smiling just as wide as Kiba. "Thank you." She turned to thank Tsume.

Tsume smiled in return. "Don't thank me. Thank the moron that changed my mind." She nodded her head towards Kiba, who was still squeezing the life out of poor Shino. Hinata watched the two, a genuine smile on her lips. She owed so much to those two, especially Kiba. She couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from him. In that moment she knew that he would always be by her side. And she knew that she felt something so much more than friendship towards him.

A/N I know! I know! It took me way too long to write this chapter! But I'm happy with how it turned out. Please write a review to tell me what you think. It means so much to me!