They traveled all day, swiftly, but not at a breakneck speed. It would take three days of steady travel to reach the closest affected village; there was not telling exactly where on the road the bandits would be found. It was Kiba’s plan, after discussing it through with Hinata and Shino, to travel to the village and meet with some of the people there to decide their next move. It was unlikely that the bandits would attack three ninja on the road, no matter how young they were.
They found a camp site off the road the first night, right next to a stream. Kiba unrolled the tent and put it up while Hinata started a fire and Shino set out their dinners. They’d done this many times before and had the routine down.
When they’d finished, they munched contentedly on their rations and watched the sun set on the forest. When they were done eating, they banked the fire and set the watch rotation.
Shino was first. He watched Hinata and Kiba crawl into the tent and sighed.
....
Kiba woke slowly, aware of two things right away. The first was that Hinata had, for some reason, wiggled up until she was snuggling with him. And the second was that someone was glaring at him from the doorway.
Blinking uncertainly, he sat up on his elbow and looked towards the door. Shino stood there, arms folded across his chest. The combination of the high collar on his coat and those damn glasses made it really hard to read him, but there was a certain aura around him that made Kiba rather uncomfortable.
“H..hey, Shino.” Kiba licked his lips, trying to dispel the certainty that he was on very dangerous ground. “Is it my turn?”
Shino nodded and Kiba gave him a wobbling smile. “Ok. Let me…” he gently freed himself from Hinata’s arms and crawled towards Shino. Shino stepped outside and let Kiba stand.
“Shino…” he said slowly, staring at his still-glowering friend. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Shino said shortly. “Good night.”
Kiba scratched his hair and stared at the door. Something was definitely up with Shino.
....
Shino slipped into the sleeping bag and tried very hard to put the image of Hinata and Kiba curled together out of his mind. Damn it, he thought angrily. I have to keep my objectivity. There’s nothing between them; Hinata’s feeling fragile, and she curled up to Kiba while they were both asleep. There’s no reason to be pissed at either one of them.
Still.
He sighed and turned on his side, away from Hinata. Staring at the tent wall, he forced himself to calm down. This is stupid, he thought. I can’t let this affect our team.
He closed his eyes and willed himself to fall asleep, but he found himself lying awake, listening to Hinata’s breathing.
....
Hinata woke when Kiba shook her shoulder. Blinking, she sat up and rubbed her eyes.
Shino was asleep, lying stretched out on his back. She stared at him for a moment, remembering the feel of his lips on hers.
Shino…
Kiba was staring at her curiously. Blushing, she shook her head and stood. Pushing out of the tent flaps, she took a deep breath of the chilly night air and then turned to smile at Kiba, who’d followed her out.
“Ok.” Kiba looked at her closely. “What’s going on?”
“W..what do you mean?” she asked slowly.
“Don’t. You’re acting funny, Shino’s acting…really strange. I can put two and two together and get four. So talk to me, Hinata. Tell me what’s going on.”
Hinata hesitated, and then sighed. “He kissed me.” She blurted out.
Kiba looked shocked. “Shino?” he gasped.
Hinata nodded and wrapped her arms around her body. “Y..yes. Yesterday, after..after I s..saw N..Naruto and Sa..Sakura. I was crying…he held m..me. And then..then he kissed me.”
“Hmmm.” Kiba tipped his head back to stare at the sky. “That’s…interesting.”
“W..what do you mean?” Hinata asked quietly.
Kiba gave her an unreadable look. “Nothing. Look…I don’t know what’s going on in his head, but…Shino’s hardly the type of guy to kiss anyone indiscriminately. So maybe…maybe he likes you. You should find out. He’s a great guy, and…and a really good friend of mine. A really good friend. So…if he’s in love with you…well, you’re lucky.”
He realized how bitter his voice was too late. Judging by the look on Hinata’s face, she understood. Flushing, he shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Hinata. I just want…I just want him to be happy, you know? So…if he’s in love with you, then you should decide how you feel about him. Give him a chance.”
“Oh, Kiba…” Hinata whispered. Kiba shook his head again, smiling.
“Don’t. It’s ok. I’ve known for a long time that he…he doesn’t feel that way about me. So I’m fine. Like I said, I just want him to be happy.” He gave her a bright smile. “And you’re a great girl, Hinata. I think you could make him happy.”
She blushed brightly. “Kiba…”
“Think about it, ok?” Kiba reached out and touched her nose. “Just…think about it.”
...
They set out the next morning. All of them were silent, thinking deeply. Kiba regretted letting Hinata see how he felt for his friend, but he knew it was too late to take it back. And Shino…Shino kept shooting him odd glances all morning. Hinata blushed anytime either of them looked at her, which wasn’t helping.
Finally, around noon, Kiba couldn’t take it anymore. He stopped them in a clearing off the road and crisply ordered Hinata to use her byakugan to see if there was anyone around.
She complied, and shook her head. “It’s clear.”
“Good. Cause we need to talk.” He gestured for them to sit down. “We’re all acting stupid, and it’s going to affect our teamwork. And we can’t let it. So we need to get it off our chests. I’ll start.”
He pointed at Shino. “You’ve been acting funny and giving me looks all morning ‘cause me and Hinata were cuddly last night. I’m telling you right now that that was just…I don’t know exactly what it was.” Hinata had turned a deep shade of scarlet. “She and I were both asleep. So nothing happened, nothing’s going on between us, and you can stop thinking those thoughts.”
Shino hesitated, and then sighed. “Yes, I know. I’m sorry. I…”
“And furthermore…” he shook his head. “You two need to iron the next part out yourselves. I’m going over there…” he pointed to the far side of the clearing… “To take a nap. You’d better talk about what’s bothering you, or I swear I’ll sick every puppy we currently have at home on you in the middle of the night!”
Shino shuddered. “Anything but that.” He said dryly.
“Good.” Kiba grinned. “So have at it.”
He stalked to the place he’d indicated, drew his hood up around his face, and settled onto the ground.
...
Hinata stared at the ground, her head reeling. This was…embarrassing! To say the least. Shino seemed to feel the same way, judging from the silence rising from him.
Finally he sighed. “Kiba’s right.” He said quietly.
Hinata looked up at him and blushed deeply.
“Hinata…”
He reached up and, to her shock, removed his sunglasses and pushed his collar down. He had the strangest eyes…they were like insects, multi-faceted and shining. Not ugly, just…unusual. And there were strange marks on his skin, like…bites?
“Hinata, I…care about you. Deeply. I have for a long time now. But I’ve always known you loved Naruto. It was sort of obvious. I never wanted…I never meant to…tell you.”
Hinata found herself holding her breath.
“But I guess it’s too late to hold back now.” He took a deep breath and then held her eyes. “I love you, Hyuuga Hinata. With all my heart.”
Hinata let out her breath in a sob. “Why?” she whispered.
He looked pained. “Because…hell, I don’t know. Because you’re so beautiful, inside and out. Because you try so damn hard, all the time. Because you won’t give up, no matter what. Because you fight.” He stopped, shaking his head. “Because of everything that you are.”
Hinata felt tears welling in her eyes. “Shino…” she whispered.
He stood and walked over to her. Kneeling, he took her hand in his and looked deeply into her eyes. “I suck at words.” He said softly. “I’m not good with telling people…shit, I’ve never even told Kiba what he means to me, and he’s my best friend. But…Hinata…I can’t…I can’t stand by and watch you hurt anymore, not without showing you how much I love you. I just…can’t.”
Hinata trembled. “Shino, I…”
“I know. This is moving too fast. But now…now you know.” Shino gave her a sad smile. “And if you can’t feel that way about me, it’s ok. I understand. I’m not trying to…force you to…”
Hinata sighed. “I know. It’s just…there’s s..so much…” she glanced over at Kiba. “Do…do you know…h..how he feels for you?”
“Kiba?” Shino sighed. “Yes. I’ve…always known. I just…”
Hinata squeezed his hand. “I..understand.”
He smiled at her. “You do, don’t you?”
She returned his smile and he leaned forward, kissing her gently. She didn’t freeze this time. Instead, she brought her hand to his face and stroked his chin lightly. She felt an odd motion under her fingers and gasped.
“It’s ok.” Shino whispered against her lips. “It’s the Kikaichu. Does it…bother you?”
“N..no.” whispered Hinata. It did, a little, but she was determined not to let it continue to. She kissed him again, longer this time.
When they broke apart, both of them breathing a little heavily, she sighed. “Shino…I…I don’t….”
“I know.” Shino touched her lips with his finger and smiled at her. “Take your time. I’ll let you.”
They smiled at each other and then Shino rose. Slipping his glasses back on, he flipped his collar up and raised his voice. “Kiba! Let’s go!”
Kiba rolled over and gave them a happy smile. “All worked out?”
Hinata blushed and accepted Shino’s hand to stand. “Y..yes.”
“Good. Let’s go kick some bandit ass.”
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Chapter notes: Don't own Naruto. Sigh.