Upon reaching the Inuzuka residence Shino debated whether he should adjust his heavy backpack as the weight was beginning to cut into his shoulders or if he should remove it and carry it in his hands. Realizing that having it in his hands would make if harder to knock on the door, Shino moved the straps until it laid comfortably on his back. As he knocked on the door he realized that he could have just as easily rung the doorbell instead.

'Life is all about the little details and decisions' he reflected.

Inside Shino heard the voices of Kiba's older sister and mother yelling at each other. Their voices easily drowned out the sound of Shino's subtle knock. Before he could knock again the garage door opened and a hot rod mini drove away with Kiba's mother Tsume behind the wheel. She revved the engine before driving away in a fury, her hot glare shot in Shino's direction.

As the rich smell of exhaust faded Shino turned to notice Hana standing behind him, still staring in the direction her mother had driven off in. Amidst the noise of the car, he hadn't heard her open the door and come outside.

"Uh, excuse me Hana," Shino began in a dull tone, "is Kiba home?"

After a few seconds Shino realized that Hana had not heard him. Turning towards her, Shino noted a fiercely determined look on her face; she was fighting back tears.

"Hana, are you alright?"

She snapped upright as she faced Shino, as though she received a surprise. Taking a step backwards to the door, Hana adjusted her bangs on either side of her face then said,

"Shino, hello. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, Kiba told me to come over after school to help him study for the exams. Can I come in?"

"Sure, go right on up to his room."

Opening the door wider, she motioned for him to enter and take off his shoes before going upstairs. Shino hung up his coat and started for the stairway. His eyes flashed to the living room, but he avoided lingering his vision on the broken houseplants and new cracks in the walls. He had spent his fair share of time at the Inuzuka's, and property damage was no new thing; but always had each fight ended in raucous laughter, never cold silence.

Passing Hana's bedroom Shino got the impression that the most recent struggle began there. A newly shattered mirror, shredded dresses, and torn paper mingled on the floor.

'This doesn't feel right.' Shino thought to himself as he felt his gall rose.

When he got to Kiba's room he found his friend was not there, nor was the room set up for study. Figuring that Kiba must be somewhere, Shino set up the folding table kept in the closet before laying out the study manuals on top. When he was finished he heard footsteps come up the stairs and stop by the door.

"Sorry Shino, I forgot to tell you. Kiba had to run out to drop something off at practice, he said he'd be back soon." She turned her head when the sound of a crash came from her room, "Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, I need to clean up."

As she ran to her room, Shino paused for a moment. He walked downstairs to grab a few things from the kitchen before walking up to Hana's room. She had divided her clothes into different piles and had a broom in hand ready to sweep up the mirror shards.

"Before you do that," Shino interrupted as he held out a box of baking soda, "spread some of this out on the floor first. It'll keep the glass from sticking to the broom."

She nodded before complying.

"If you don't mind, can I help you clean while I wait for Kiba to come home?"

Again she nodded, a sad smile on her face.

Shino focused on cleaning up the floor as Hana began putting dresses that had mirror shards on them in the trash. Oddly she seemed to become increasingly satisfied with each one she added to the refuse. Shino held in a laugh as he remembered all the times he had been over when Hana was leaving on a date, never once was she pleased with having to wear a dress, and she often took them off at first opportunity when she came home. A couple of those times had been in the living room, Shino suppressed a blush remembering seeing one of those times.

Hana was the nurse at his high school, as far as Shino was concerned she was a marvel. Graduated early from school, got a medical degree in half the time as anyone else, but turned down better offers to work at her High School simply because Principal Tsunade asked her. In all that though, she was still his best friend's older sister. He had spent a lot of time in this house, and she was always just a room or two away.

When they finished in her room they went downstairs, it was five o'clock and Kiba still hadn't come home. When the phone rang Hana answered it,

"What's that? Had to stay? You do remember you asked… Alright, I'll tell him." After hanging up the phone Hana sat down on the couch and looked up at Shino. "That bum says that his coach hooked him into joining the practice for their big game against Kumo this weekend. He won't be home until seven. You can go home now if you want."

"My father told me to never leave a job half done. I'll go when we're done." Shino replied frankly.

"Great, in that case, finish up down here. I need to take a shower."

Shino supposed that was true enough, he realized that nearly half the soil from the potted plant was on her dress. She went upstairs to take a shower as Shino threw out the plant and broken pottery, swept up the dirt, and cleaned the furniture. At the end he looked over this thorough work and felt a small surge of pride. Hana came downstairs when she finished and stood by Shino.

"It's cleaner than it was this morning." Hana said with a honest smile. "Thanks a lot for your help. Can I make you something for dinner? We've got the stuff for a wild grass salad."

Feeling a bit of shock at hearing his favorite food, Shino smiled and said,

"That sounds fine."

When she was finished and finally sat down at the table, Shino found himself unable to divert his eyes from her. Her hair was not entirely dry from her shower, it had wet her shirt and apron, which clung to her chest. He coughed and turned his head downward to the plate to avoid being a lecher.

"You're a cute kid Shino." Hana reached her hand across the table and mussed his hair.

As they ate Hana talked about what had happened that afternoon. Tsume had come home with a booklet she got from a matchmaker. After a series of bad boyfriends, Hana flatly refused to meet with anymore of the flunkies her mother picked out for her. The refusal had turned into an argument about Hana's lack of drive in finding a boyfriend, leading to a fight, which led to Tsume's storming out.

"I think one of the reasons I admire you is because you always followed your own path. You've always lived life at your own pace and by your own rules. If you don't feel right about dating now, then don't." Shino thought it odd he felt so confident as he was talking, usually he felt so awkward when speaking to others.

She got up from her seat as she took the plates from the table. Turning back to Shino she quietly said,

"You're a good kid Shino. Thank you."

"Will I ever be anything more than just that?" Shino felt his throat clamp shut after the words left his lips. Swallowing hard, he wasn't sure where the utterance had come from.

Hana began washing the dishes as Shino went upstairs to gather his books. When he was finished he turned to find Hana standing in the hallway again. As he got up to leave, Hana stopped him before placing a gentle kiss on his forehead

"Maybe in a few years Shino." There was a spring in her step as she went to her room. She turned, winked with a smile and said, "Maybe."