It was easy for Shino to say he was going to visit Kiba after work, but to actually go up to the house and knock on the door and talk,was another part he forgot. It was easy to talk to his main two friends, but not when one of those two was locked in his house for a week after suffering the loss of a dear companion. But Shino had promised Hinata, and more himself that he would check on Kiba.

He sat at his desk in the offices for the teacher's and just sat with his eyes fixed on a small photo on his desk. It wasn't like the others here with family or children in pictures, but it was his family. Just a picture from the wedding of the three of them, Hinata in her beautiful white kimono, Kiba in that new blue and white jacket and Shino in a large white coat with a green bandana on. What a crazy family they were, but he didn't mind. He had another picture which could be called humorous one by others. But it was all his Kikai engulfing him, with himself in the middle as they sat for a picture for that day. Something about the flash startled them and they covered Shino to keep him from harm as most guests screamed and ran away. He kept it nevertheless. It was his family. A small smile crept on his lips as he looked at the three of them. But it faded once he remembered that one of those people in the picture were gone.

The top of Akamaru's head poked in at the bottom of the frame, they were all in their 20's in this. He looked at the smile on Kiba's face. Something about it made Shino smile even more inside but on the outside he knew that Kiba probably wasn't smiling anymore.

He placed the picture back and pulled out of his desk to leave for the day. He had to gather together the courage. He had time to think as he walked down the many stairs. He thought as he walked from the school building to the exit of the grounds. The only thing that could be heard was the dirt road crunch under his black sandals as he walked to Kiba's. He kept his covered eyes low to the ground as he tried his best to avoid the little ant hills, he'd come back later to marvel at the handy work the ants had done and take note of them. He gently scratched the back of his head, he didn't want to offset his pulled back hair out of the bun it was in.

Someone help me... He thought as he strode up the dirt path, Kiba's home wasn't that far away from the school. He would in the past come visit, at first he'd be embarrassed to visit after such a long time not visiting but one day he came into the class Shino was teaching and needless to say all the attention went to Kiba and his skills of hand to hand combat, making the occasional attention seeker glow with pride at his abilities.

But now, it was Shino who came to Kiba. It almost felt like it did that week ago , only now he had gone through the worst part. Didn't he?

He raised his hand to knock on the wood door, but he dropped his hand. And bit his lip, this was already hard to get this going. He tried again and gave a small tap. No answer, he tried another tap, this time a but harder.

It was almost scary not hearing the barking and the door being knocked down by the large dog, but no sound came. He knocked again, the door handle jiggled and it opened.

He somewhat expected to see Kiba as this disheveled broken man, but he seemed the same. His long brown hair pushed back, the trademark red marks on his cheeks, and the facial hair he'd been growing since the wedding so long ago. Same black jacket with fur on the arm cuffs and hood. He seemed more surprised that Shino would show up at his house.

"Hey." Kiba said after the seconds of Shino just staring at him. "Are you lost?"

"No..." Shino thought what to say next. "Because-"

"Eh, come in. I don't flies to get in." He placed a clawed hand to push him in. The house was the same, it was somewhat dirty on the floor. Dirt and grass clippings on the floor.

Shino removed his sandals and placed them near the door as he followed behind Kiba. He noted at the dog dishes were still full with clean water and crunch food, it made it seem that Kiba was waiting for Akamaru to come home from being lost.

Kiba signaled his friend to sit down at the table, the kitchen was the most tidy in the home thus far. He didn't see the rest of it yet but it was the cleanest.

It was a quiet house now, the only sounds were the clock and the sink that would drip opposite of the tik of the clock. The chairs creaked at the weight Shino, the shorter man put cups down on the table. There was something inside, and Shino went to drink it but it wasn't tea, it was alcohol. He took a drink but put the cup down. It was an awkward meeting of friends. None of them spoke to the other.

Shino tried to think of what to do. Normally they'd go to the ramen shop and eat it. Kiba always seemed so happy after a nice bowl of hot noodles. He smiled on the inside, he would ask him to eat out with him.

"Kiba," he started making the other man look up from the dog dishes near the wall. "Would you... Like to go eat something?"

All he got back was laughing, his stomach dropped. Maybe he said this wrong.

"Shit man, you make it sound like you're asking me out." Kiba smiled hard since the passing. Shino looked down, he tried hard to keep his blush down. He felt like a fool asking Kiba like that to have supper out.

"Ahhh, but I'm going to have to pass on that one."

Shino's head shot up, he was just told no.

"I'm going to have dinner here tonight."

"Then we can have something here." a smile came back to Shino's lips as he hoped that he wouldn't be pushed away. He was trying to help his friend, even if he was going a bad way to do so. He was so focused on thinking of things to make, the door opened.

"Kiba, I brought some rutabaga today to make a nice side dish..." Kiba's girlfriend, Tamaki had come in. She was confused at the man at the table.

"Kiba, who's this?" She asked and came over to see the man, she placed her hands on Kiba's shoulders.

"Come on, Tamaki, you know him. This is Shino. You two met a long time ago when we got the honeywine." Kiba smiled, something inside of Shino felt on edge. He was feeling something that he couldn't put a name on it. He felt his beetles start to grow into a frenzy inside him. It had been years since he had used his Kikai to drain away someone's chakra but for some reason he felt he wanted to right now.

Why? They did nothing wrong. Kiba was a good man, Tamaki was his girlfriend...that word always stung worse than any bee and bit harder than any wasp. What was the problem with them? None. Shino knew it, there was nothing wrong. He had missed them talking about the time they met, and he pulled his chair away with a loud scratch on the floor. His Kikai told him things, they warned him of things, but not this. This-this feeling. It was like the queen had left his heart and never came back to plug the wound. But there was no wound.

"Shino?" He got his sandals back on and he just kept walking out the door, out to the dirt path that seemed so close to the school. The school that that Kiba used to visit. That is until now.

"Shino!" Kiba called after him after he abruptly ended his chat without even saying a word. The sound of nature fell into his ears but not the words of them. He felt awful for walking out on them, but his Kikai... They said things to him. They wanted to kill his friend and his girl... Friend. Why? But the problem was, Shino felt almost inclined to kill them. He needed to be alone for a good while. Just alone so he doesn't hurt anyone or anything.

That's when he broke through the city clutter to his home, that house into the woods, the house that always seemed so lonely.