Chapter 46

………

It wasn't everyday, unless you had cable that you were able to witness a non couple break up. For Shino and Kiba this was slightly entertaining. Under the circumstances a little entertainment seemed to place their moods higher and invoked the need for communication.

"They broke up." Kiba summarized.

"Apparently." Shino agreed.

Their conversation was followed by some silence as Tenten stormed off. They looked at the heartbroken Lee, and a new conversation began.

"I hear you're married." Kiba began.

"I am married now." Shino clarified, "To Hinata."

Kiba stared at Shino who was calmly staring at Lee.

"You married Hinata." Kiba repeated with uncertainty.

"Yes, she agreed to marry me and we wed." Shino summarized.

There was a long pause before Kiba spoke in confused tone. "So, Hinata your wife is out there with Sasuke and not with you enjoying her marriage."

Shino frowned from behind his collar that was not something he had wanted to hear.

"Well you must be the worst husband ever, I'd give it two weeks top before she's asking for a divorce." Kiba added to help his teammate feel better.

Both stared at each other with a mix of hatred, animosity and a trace of compassion. A very small trace that was smaller than a grain a sand yet slightly bigger than an atom.

"Even so, I am her husband, in the end I won." Shino answered.

Kiba glared at him, there always was a competition between the two of them. They fought over everything and unfortunately there was only one Hinata. That seemed to be the problem, there was only one Hinata and that Hinata was now somewhere that Lee knew but wasn't going to tell them. That left them with each other, and that was the other problem.

Shino and Kiba stared at each other. Kiba was six and Shino was seven, yet there was something about the other one that caused both to simply dislike each other. Was it his spiky brown hair, Shino's black mass of hair, was it simply that the two were breathing the same air.

"What you looking at?" Kiba asked the glasses wearing bastard.

"Nothing of importance." Shino replied.

The two glared at each other, "What you saying?" Kiba demanded.

"Apparently someone is illiterate." Was the Aburame's answer.

"So with me dead she finally decided you were worth something." Kiba snapped.

"You are mistaken, with you dead she felt no need for sympathy." Shino stated.

"Sympathy?" was the Inuzuka's response.

The Aburame didn't respond, instead he chose to walk towards the heart broken Lee.

"Perhaps you should go after her, and we shall resume our search." Shino offered.

Lee shook his head, the rain causing his eyes to look red and slightly weepy. "I can't, not yet." he answered in monotone.

Shino waited patiently, he had learned from years of experience with Hinata that if you waited it would come.

"Not until Neji is safe." With Lee's confession everything seemed to fall into place.

Kiba and Shino glanced at each other; this was not an expected or pleasant event. Hinata was apparently somewhere beyond their reach.

"Neji is no longer in the leaf." Shino stated.

"Where could he ever be?" Kiba answered with sarcasm.

Lee glanced at them with slight horror, it was as if he knew that the two of them already figured out where Neji was headed.

"I bet that's where their going." The Inuzuka clan member informed the future clan leader of the Aburame clan. "Maybe they want some company, just incase."

The future heir of the Aburame clan smiled. "A splendid idea."

"Wait!!" Lee exclaimed. "You can't!!"

"Yeah we can." Kiba answered.

"No you can't!" Lee answered in a louder and more demanding tone.

"Yeah we can, look we're going." Kiba answered as he walked away.

Lee eyes narrowed, if he attacked one the other would fight too. He could keep them occupied maybe even take open down, but his chance of success was slim. That didn't matter though, even if Tenten hated him, he still needed to protect Neji.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!!" a loud feminine and scary voice screamed. At the sound Shino and Kiba froze, they knew that tone. It was usually the tone she reserved for when one was caught attempting to harm the other. From raid laced tea to exploding tags tied to body parts. With slow disbelieving movements the two turned to face their Kurenai.

"Nothing." Kiba answered to quickly.

"You found us, rather quickly and timely." Shino informed her. Finding her timing to be rather supernatural, she always arrived when something was about to happen.

"LEE!!" Gai screamed as he embraced his student.

"GAI!!" Lee exclaimed as he embraced his teacher.

Everyone stared at them, and then looked at Kakashi who was student less. "Where's Sasuke?"

Kurenai was about to answer when she noticed Hinata was also missing, she looked at Gai who was still tearfully embracing Lee and had not yet realized that Neji was also missing.

"Where are they?" Kurenai demanded of her students.

"Did you know Hinata married Shino and then decided to run away with Sasuke?" Kiba asked.

Kurenai raised her eyebrow at that. "That doesn't answer my question."

"Well maybe you should ask Lee. Cause he was helping Neji." Kiba answered again, being true to his a-hole self. "And that's bad, like attempting to kill me and having no consequences to their actions, or Shino and Hinata marring." Kiba looked at Shino. "Cause the consequence of marring you was the death of her entire clan by her psychotic cousin."

Shino with the self control and patience of a saint simply backhanded Kiba and turned his attention to Kurenai to inform her of his current knowledge. "Lee succeeded in convincing Hinata and Sasuke to bring Neji to the sand."

"What?" Kurenai asked.

"The path of life does take unforeseen turns." Kakashi remarked.

Kiba who was pissed that Shino had struck him glared with intense hatred, till Gai asked a question that stumped them all.

"Where's that large white dog?"

…………

There was a rather large white dog that was secretly following Hinata on her treacherous journey to the sand. Why he was following Hinata and not staying at Kiba's side was a mystery that only Akamaru knew, and sadly no one but Kiba spoke dog.

……..

"Akamaru is following us." Sasuke informed Hinata who was supposed to be ensuring that they were not in fact being followed.

"What?!" she asked in surprise and embarrassment.

Akamaru knew that he had been spotted, not by Hinata but by Sasuke. He walked up to them and barked his greeting, letting Hinata know that he was here to protect her.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, he was positive that the white dog was attempting to tell them something. Hinata was staring at Akamaru with wide eyes, no doubt wondering if her teammates were here too.

……….

Tenten sat silently underneath a tree, she knew where Neji would be headed. To the sand, Gaara was Lee's and Neji's friend, which meant he was the one that Lee was sending letters to. If Lee was buying them time that meant Neji hadn't been taken out of the leaf yet. With a glare she stood, there was only one unprotected way out of the leaf, Gai had pointed it out to them on a training mission.

That was the path they would take, while security had been beefed up everywhere, one spot was left unprotected. That was the spot she would head to.

…..

This was becoming more of an annoyance, than he had originally intended it to be. Neji was now being carried on the back of Akamaru who was not looking too pleased to be a cargo holder. Hinata was apparently paying more attention to the area, her Byakugan was not as trained as he had believed. What was especially making him uncomfortable was the nins from the sand they were to meet up with.

He was amazed that once more no one had been here to stop them from fleeing.

"No one has come after us." Sasuke stated.

Hinata looked at him curiously. "They don't know where to look." She answered.

He glanced at her, they were ninjas in the leaf, Anbu too and no one was able to track them. Something was either wrong, or there was something they didn't know about.

………..

The search for the three missing nins had been called off. She no longer had the jurisdiction over two of the nins. Gaara had claimed Neji as a member of the sand, and had come with a messenger from the sound who was claiming Sasuke as theirs. That left only Hinata as a member of the leaf, and it was uncertain if she was even going to be returned.

"Neji killed one of the most powerful clans in the leaf." The Hokage informed them.

"The leaf is becoming weaker and weaker." The messenger from the sound answered as she adjusted her glasses. "I don't think it would stand any chance if the sound and sand joined forces and attacked."

The Hokage narrowed her eyes, she understood a threat when she heard one.

"Neji is no longer a member of the leaf, he is a ninja of the sand." Gaara chose to say as he waited, soon he would leave, and his Anbu were waiting for Neji and his escorts.

…………

Lee was silent; Gai had asked him about the whereabouts of Neji.

Shino and Kiba were standing on either side of Kurenai looking like bored and annoyed children. Now he could tell them, it wouldn't affect anything anymore, it was over. Neji was safe, he knew now because no one was accompanying them but the teachers.

Lee didn't understand the complexity of clan protocols' or dealings of underhanded natures. His fellow companions did, Hinata had personally written and finalized the deal with Gaara for her cousin safety, though neither had believed Neji would do what he had done. Sasuke hadn't been aware of her other deal, with the sound. Sasuke would be handed over to them; he didn't know the conditions to that one.

"This is wrong." Lee informed Hinata. She was silent, before she glanced in a direction, someone was nearby.

"Lee-san, do you care about your teammates?" she asked him.

He nodded in response wondering what it was she was getting to.

"Neji can not remain in the leaf, neither can Sasuke." Her eyes glanced towards him. "Their a threat to my teammate, you told me yourself, it was Neji who plotted against Kiba. It's Sasuke that threatens Shino." she grew silent, he was tempted to ask her for an explanation but someone else had arrived. Sasuke, jumped down from a branch of the tree.

"Shino's looking for you Hinata." Sasuke informed her.

"I need your help Sasuke-kun." She told him suddenly, his eyes widen at her outburst. Lee looked at her with slightly wider eyes, as she carefully pulled Sasuke into her plan.

"Hinata came up with the plan, right now she's about to turn over Neji and Sasuke to the sand and sound. Then she'll face Neji's punishment as her own." Lee answered.

Kurenai's eyes widened.

Kakashi closed his book.

Gai patted his student on the shoulder.

Kiba and Shino stared then expressed their disbelief.

"You're lying!" Kiba yelled.

"That is not possible." Shino exclaimed.

Lee looked them in the eye. "We didn't think this was going to happen, if Neji hadn't...then Hinata and I could simply pretend that Neji ran away. I offered to face his punishment in her place, she refused. She was heir to her clan, she has to pay for her clans sins."

Kurenai shook her head. "Hinata was disowned; she's not a Hyuuga anymore."

"She would rather die than live another day as Shino's wife." Kiba stated.

Shino's eyebrows twitched at that statement. "Kurenai is correct. Hinata is no longer a Hyuuga."

Lee smiled sadly. "Before Neji killed her clan, she and her father spoke, he reinstated her as his daughter and heir."

…………

"When we get to the sand, we will rest and restock." Sasuke informed her.

Hinata glanced at her cousin slightly struggled breathing, she needed to heal him soon. "I need to heal Neji." She answered as she motioned for Akamaru to stop.

"He killed your clan." Sasuke repeated.

"He is still my cousin." She reminded him. Her hands glowed a blue green as she healed her cousin, as she had been his responsibility, he was now hers. "You're going to train aren't you before you go after Itachi?"

He nodded slowly, he had believed he was able to place that behind him. "I am."

She smiled at him. "I hope you don't make the wrong decision."

He frowned at her, she was getting on her moral high ground again. "Like you are?" he questioned.

She winced under that implication, before she recovered. "Sasuke." She whispered.

He sighed before placing his hand on her shoulder and smiling. "Che. We're close to the meeting spot, after that we can move on." She nodded placing her hand a top of his. Once they reached the spot, everything would be different.

………………….