Ruby eyes scanned the area with precision, never leaving an area left unlooked for long as she stood on the roof. It had been a while since she was on a protect mission, having a team made with tracking skills usually mean hunting people done, not waiting with the hunted. It was an alien feeling she had and not a nice one.

Did Hinata ever get a break?

The woman tried not to pucker her brow as an image of the young woman popped up in her mind. After being practically disowned by her own father and labeled as a failure, Kurenai had been the one to pick up the pieces that Hiashi had made of his eldest daughter.

It did not raise her opinion of him in anyway, in fact Kurenai tended to have to hold back the vicious urge to genjutsu the old man whenever she as around him. A well controlled trait that Asuma always admired in her.

Having a temper did have its upside she supposed.

Catching a glimpse of something on a nearby roof, she slid farther back in the shadows, hands tense and ready to fly hand signals.

Kiba could not fall asleep for the life of him. For the last hour he had been tossing and turning on the stuffy couch. He didn't even know couches could be this itchy. A comfortable Akamaru was snoring lightly on the ground next to him and he couldn't help but feel that the dog had gotten the better sleeping arrangement.

Though Shino definitely topped them both.

Thinking that caused a large grin to erupt on his face. Man he still could not believe it had taken those two this long to realize that they liked each other. Kiba couldn't tell if it had been from a bone deep fear of confessing or the bottomless pit of Shino's patience that had been the cause but he was sure as hell that he could have never been able to withstand that many years, let alone months.

His grin became wolfish as he slipped off the couch to stretch out by his dog, his thoughts turned to recent events with a certain brash blonde.

Hell, not even days.

His grin faded as he started to compare the two relationships. A gut feeling told him that what was going on between Shino and Hinata wasn't a passing fling, but something darker and deeper. Something that was going to slowly melt the two until they were one.



The real deal.

His frown twisted at the thought. He wasn't honestly sure of his and Ino's course but that's probably why he loved it so much. She was loud, vain, and completely unpredictable.

It got him going so fast.

Civil conversation between them was few and far, always escalating to a either a shouting or making out match. He couldn't resist, that girl knew exactly how to get him going.

She, he thought drowsily, was as wild as he was.

Sleep was out of the question as Hinata once again tried to focus her mind on the black ceiling above her and not on the sleeping form that was invisible on the floor. When did he and Kiba switched positions? Probably cause Kiba was next on night watched and they didn't want to wake her.

It irked her how fast they were treating her like a complete civilian when it came to this. She could darn well take care of herself and they knew it.

Frowning at her toes her thoughts returned back to him.

Shino.

It shook her, how easy it was for him to invade all her senses, leaving her slightly dizzy with excitement and apprehension. She wasn't new to feelings like this, but to the intensity of them. She had never wanted to daringly push Naruto into a wall and kiss him like she did when Shino had quietly walked into the bedroom. Even then she barely resisted.

Just merely his eyes made her want to break the protective shell she had created around herself.

Luckily she had never seen his eyes before now, or else she would have been doomed.

Ignoring the heat that was spreading over her face, she closed her eyes and replayed the bathroom scene in her head. She had really surprised herself, stepping up to him like that. She had watched the flicker of emotions flash in his eyes, frowning in bed as she recalled the fear and uncertainty as he had slowly leaned down to kiss her.

She did not like an uncertain Shino.

Or was it the fact that she had secretly wanted him to kiss her like she was his.



The thought sent a burning flush over her body, part in embarrassment and part in desire? She wasn't sure.

She tried to focus on the new feeling but sleep was finally catching up with her, slowly letting the grasp on her consciousness disappearing.

Shino was torn.

All the new emotions that Hinata was creating was becoming almost too much for the normally detached teen. And to make it worse, he had kissed her while they were on a mission!

Still, if he could do it now he knew he wouldn't hesitate to claim those lips.

So where did that leave them? Were they official?

An ache behind his eyes was starting to throb as he thought of all the relationship technicalities that he didn't know.

Though he did know he wanted her, and badly.

Groaning in frustration, he quickly rolled from the floor and headed towards the bathroom, pausing only to grab his bag and take a quick reassuring but agonized glance at Hinata. Maybe a hot shower would help relieve this?

He shut the door and turned to face the shower stall, images flitting up in his eyes as he set the bag down.

Nope, cold shower.

Kurenai tried to keep her breathing to a minimum, taking deep breathes that would last longer. The shadow was definitely not a friendly and she had been shadowing it for the last half hour. The ninja would flicker back and forth on the rooftops surrounding the building complex, and she could only guess that they were trying to look for all the possibilities of entering without being detected.

Her eyes narrowed as a second shadow appeared, still unlike the other one, and the twist in her gut told her it was looking right at her.

Biting back a feral grin, she straightened up and stepped two feet to her left.

And stomped her foot down hard.

Vacationing was over.

Shino was just wrapping a towel around his waist loosely when Kiba burst through the door. Not flinching, Shino slipped on his glasses and turned to face his teammate, a single eyebrow raised in question.

"Kurenai sent out the signal!"

Ice rushed through his veins at the excited look on the dog using shinobi's face. In the room next to them, he could hear faint rustling, Hinata must have heard him.

"Go to her, I'll stay with Hinata. Now!"

The two had been bouncing on their feet, barely keeping themselves from leaping through the roof. At Shino's word, they vanished from the spot.

"Kiba? Shino?"

Before he could reach out and shut the door, Hinata's face appeared from around the corner.

Time stopped.

Her mind went blissfully blank as she took in the tone contours of his chest and stomach, barely registering the water droplets that still clung to him. Sure she knew he was built like any other shinobi, but she was dead surprised at how she reacted to the sight. Flames curled somewhere below her stomach as she took in the light complexion that covered his entire body, absently thinking that she was glad his body didn't see much sunlight. Shino in short, was a beautifully made male.

Then time caught up with her.

Shino watched nervously as her eyes glazed over as they roamed over his nakedness, and he held back the urge to reach up and scratch his head.

Then he blink as a horrified expression took over her face, eye wide with fear as she stumbled back. Hitting the wall with her arms, he watched her push herself away and race to the bedroom.

The sound of a slamming door didn't reach his numb ears.

A/N: I'm on a roll, three chapters in a week.