DISCLAIMER:
I do not own any characters in the following story.

Kiba walked along the river near his camp, eyes trained on the ground, mind spinning. There was no way that his team could be falling apart. He could not allow it. And yet...

He whirled around, kicking at a rock before dashing into the forest, beginning to take out his frustrations as he ran. Hinata was hurting, and whatever made her hurt, made her fear him and Shino. And Shino... Shino's chakra was dying. And it was his family's technique that was killing him.

Kiba hated feeling helpless. He hated it so much that it had been his driving force since he had been a child. He had sworn to himself that he would never be so weak as to need someone else to help him make any decisions, and yet... He wished he could talk to Hinata, see if she had any insight to share about Shino's situation. Surely, with all three of them working together, they could find a way to save Shino..?

And yet, he didnt want Hinata to see Shino and have to acknowledge that he was dying. She was strong, yes, but she was als fragile. He stopped pacing and looked at the slowly darkening sun, watching the light on the horizon turn a light peach, and thought about the oxymoron that was his teammate, his friend.

Hinata was strong. Strong enough to take on the burden of the Hyuuga household, he was sure. And she had been secretly protecting Hanabi for years now. Not to mention the fights with Neji that had the consequence of him acknowledging that she was strong enough to bear the Hyuuga name. And she had learned how to make a shield with her chakra, which Kiba still could not remember the name of... And he was sure she had picked up some healing jutsus from the recently developed friendship with Sakura... But, really, Hinata was a strong woman.

Kiba's smile disappeared as he realized that, for all her strengths, Hinata was also weak. She depended wholly on Shino and himself for support, and, without them, she was very likely to cave to anyones wishes. Hinata also didn't believe she could do anything of worth. She had been brainwashed by her family for so long that she had begun to believe it...

He looked away from the sky and to the flowing river before him. The fact that both of his teammates were not completely well was not to be borne. He glared at the water and began to plan.


Author's Note:
I am so sorry this chapter took so long to be posted. (And sorry for how short it is.)
I actually had to re-write this chapter about five times before I gave up and stuck with this bit. I swear the next chapter will be posted faster.
Special thanks go to Fishy and Heiress of Nature, and anyone else who reviewed and I accidentally missed.
Many thanks for reading, and until next time
-NAD