Sakura hadn't exactly rejoiced when she had learned who was to escort her.
She understood that Shino's skills complimented hers nicely, and it wasn't that she had anything against him; when she and Kiba still had been an item Kiba would sometimes drag him along when they went out for drinks, and to Sakura's surprise these evenings never turned out as boring or weird as she had expected. But that was just it. She had never really noticed Shino until she had become Kiba's girlfriend. He had been a fellow shinobi before, but then turned into a sort of friend by relation. She had no idea how to confront him now.
She had been relieved when he didn't ask what had kept her so long as she arrived – way behind time – at their meeting point, and was more than grateful for his silence, as they started their journey towards the Country of Lightning, but the longer they kept rushing through the trees, he always a few paces ahead, the more it grew on her. Or maybe it was just her exhaustion that made her feel edgy, for Sakura soon had to admit that she wasn't as fully recovered as she had claimed to be.
Late that evening they stopped to rest. Shino checked out their surroundings – not that there was any immanent threat, but on couldn't be too careful – while Sakura set up their camp.
They ate part of their provision, still in silence and – as far as Sakura could tell through the shades he was wearing – avoiding any possible (or as it was, impossible) eye contact.
"Listen", she said when she had finished eating and was fed up enough by the consistency with which he blanked her to give voice to her annoyance.
"It's not my fault that your boyfriend broke up with me", she said.
Shino rose his brows high enough for them to become visible over the rim of his glasses.
"Is that so?", he replied "Because he seemed to have very legitimate reason to do so."
"No, he didn't", Sakura snapped back. She cursed herself for bringing up the subject. Of all the people she knew, Shino definitely was not the one she had planned to discuss her messed up relationship with.
"You mean to say, that you do not maintain an affair with Kakashi-sama?"
The question's bluntness took Sakura by surprise – as did the memories of her reason for being late this morning, that suddenly washed over her and coloured her cheeks a pink bright enough to rival with her hair.
"N-no", she stammered but realised that she couldn't – couldn't bring herself to lie.
"Not while I was with Kiba", she mumbled, hoping against hope that Shino might miss it.

"But even then you felt attracted to him."
The way Shino said it it was more of an observation than a question.
Sakura narrowed her eyes.
"And how would you know that?", she spat.
How could he dare to act as if he knew her at all?
"It's obvious. You feel intrigued by him – why? Because you want to know what lies behind his enigmatic facade. You adore him, because he is presumably the most powerful shinobi in our village, you pine for his attention, because he doesn't give it away easily. It's the same reasons why every girl in our class – especially you – was smitten by Sasuke."
Sakura opened her mouth to say something in reply – she couldn't think of anything.
"Then why", she eventually managed, "Why would I fall in love with Kiba?"
"You didn't", Shino stated dryly.
"You never loved him. You enjoyed his affection and you felt sorry for him."
Their conversation came to an abrupt end here, when Sakura finally lost her temper and resolved to something that she hadn't done in a very long while in order to make her point.
With a thud her fist connected with Shino's chin and sent him flying a few meters before he crashed into the next tree.

Reluctantly Sakura rose to her feet and walked over to where he had hit the ground. She picked up his shades on her way, then cowered down before him.
"You okay?", she asked, masking her anger with professional concern. True, she would have loved to continue her journey on her own – but there was no way she could deny that without Shino she lacked both, sensory skills and long distance attacks; And while in the Country of Fire and the allied Country of Lightning there was close to no risk of being attacked, passing through the smaller countries between the two great nations wouldn't be that easy.
Those who had suffered the most damage during the war waged by the Allied Shinobi Forces were those who were no part of the alliance. And even though the Alliance would try to help rebuilding the smaller countries, there just wasn't enough they could do. The feelings towards the five great nations varied from cold resentment to sheer hate.
"Yes, I'm fine."
Shino snatched his glasses from Sakura's fingers and put them back on, before she could get the tiniest glimpse of his eyes.
"Good", Sakura did her best to sound genuine. "I'm going to sleep now."
And with that she strode back to their camp, crawled into her sleeping bag and curled up into a ball.

"Don't cry!", she told herself, but her eyes were already filling with tears.
There was no truth in what Shino had said, Sakura assured herself. And even if some of his assumptions were right – which they weren't! – you couldn't explain something like love away with reason. You couldn't.
She wondered how much of what Shino had said to her that evening he had also told Kiba, wondered how Kiba could anything but hate her after hearing his best friend's words.
Maybe he was right to. Maybe she shouldn't care about it at all.
Because she was with Kakashi now, wasn't she? They hadn't really clarified the nature of their relationship before she had had to leave, but there wasn't much left to clarify, was there?
Sakura shook her head, tried to shake away the sinking feeling of uncertainty that suddenly took hold of her. She reminded herself of the way Kakashi's lips had felt against hers, of the look in his eye that had said so much more than his verbal confession.
It helped a little, and didn't help at all – for it brought back the image of Kiba's eyes, which had borne the same look of true and deep and unconditional love and devotion.