I DO NOT OWN NARUTO
Special Note: Okay, I know that I said on my profile that I was going to focus on 'Exception', but this story just popped in my mind and wouldn't let me go. lol
"No! I won't leave you here to die!" Hinata whispered furiously, as tears poured down her face. She pulled on his coat, trying in vain to pull him to his feet, force him to come with her.
"You have to go now, Hina. Go back and get reinforcements- you are the only one that can now. The rest of us are counting on you." He told her wearily. She smacked his chest and sat back on her legs, her breathing hitching as she tried to hold back her sobs.
"You can't ask me to do this- I can't do this without you!" She burst out hysterically. He looked at her sternly, but with compassion. Maybe the fighting was too much for her too handle. A gentle person like her should never be forced into war. However, she still had a job to do, and she was the only able-bodied Kohona shin obi left to go get help, so whether she was up to it or not, he was going to have to force her too leave.
"You can and will do this without me." He told her coldly. She lowered her head, knowing that he didn't understand what she was talking about. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed one of his hands and pulled it to her body, holding it over her abdomen. Enlightenment entered his eyes, but before he could speak, she put her other hand over his mouth.
"If you get killed while I am off getting help, I won't be able to do this by myself. Do you understand me! Don't you die on me-don't you dare!" She told him in a low growl, before hopping up and darting off in the direction of Kohona.
He allowed himself to slump back against the rock wall of the cave, a smile growing on his face. A baby- their baby! Maybe this was the wrong time to be happy about such news, but he couldn't help it. Their relationship was still new and amazing, and he was barely able to believe that they were finally together. Now a baby! His mind jumped back to the night it must have happened. An ache grew in his heart. Kiba, my friend.
FLASHBACK:
The camp was filled with the sounds of groans of pain, and the sharpening of blades. It was nightfall now, and they had pulled back to regroup after the battle. The day had been grueling, and Kohona had suffered more than their fair share of casualties and death. He walked through the camp heading for the medical tent, intend on checking on the status of his best friend. When he was just a few yards away, Hinata came flying out of the tent, tears running down her face as she leaped into the trees. He knew then, but some last shred of hope made him go into the tent and confirm his suspicions. As he walked past the tent flap door, Sakura walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, and shook her head sadly, as tears shimmered in her eyes. He looked past her to the cot, and what he saw made his heart fall, and tears come to his eyes.
The cot he had placed his friend onto before darting back to the battlefield, was covered with a white sheet outlining the shape of man. Akamaru was laying on the ground beside the cot, nuzzling the hand that had fallen out from underneath the sheet, whimpering softly. Shino knelt next to the large dog and patted his head awkwardly.
"What are we going to do without him boy?" He asked the dog sorrowfully. Akamaru leaned against him briefly before going back to nuzzling Kiba's hand. They sat there for several minutes before Shino remembered the look on Hinata's face as she ran away. I need to find her- she isn't in her right mind at the moment. He whispered a few reassurances to the big white dog and left, letting his bugs guide him to his grieving friend. He always left a few females on each of his teammates so that he could find them easily if they were separated for any reason.
His bugs tracked her into the heart of the forest, and he found her crying beside a small stream. Gently, he pulled her onto his lap, and stroked her hair in an attempt to comfort her. The fact that he was willing to embrace someone in comfort wasn't a fact that many knew about. To everyone outside his clan and team, he was considered a weird, emotionless person. Those that knew him best knew that he was anything but emotionless, in fact, he felt things deeply, and was fiercely protective of the ones he loved. He held her tighter, wishing that there was something that he could say that would help her, but in this instance he felt too broken himself to muster words of comfort. All he could do was hold her and take comfort from the fact that she was alive and in his arms.
Eventually, her sobs lessened and she slept against him. He dipped his head down onto of hers breathing in her special scent. It was one of his favorite things in the world, that scent. Jasmine and lavender mixed with a hint of vanilla. Very calming. Whenever he was in her presence he felt calmer, and even his swarm hummed in contentment. This situation didn't change the effect she had on him despite their grief. He had long ago recognized his feelings towards her, but ignored them as much as he was able to. He wasn't meant to be anything more than her friend, she was always perfectly clear about her feelings for Naruto.
Lately, she and Kiba had drawn especially close, and he had been wondering if her affections had turned towards the dog-nin. He was open about his admiration for his petite teammate, and often asked her on dates, though she turned him down softly every time. Maybe she had finally given up on Naruto and turned to someone that had obvious feelings for her? If so, then his death would be especially hard on her…
Hinata stirred awake against him, and raised her beautiful red-rimmed eyes up to him. He gazed back down at her, unable to pull his eyes from hers. The dark glasses he wore hide the adoration in his gaze as he devoured her features with his eyes. So fragile and beautiful…from their first meeting, he had likened her to a rare butterfly. Pretty, fragile, unsure, and yet graceful. He was pulled from his thoughts by her soft voice.
"He told me before he died that you loved me, and that I should stop being a coward and confront you. Is it true?" She inquired intently. He stiffened against her, and looked away from her. Slowly, she reached up and turned his face back towards her. Hesitantly, she unfastened the top few buttons to the collar of his coat, and pushed it open. Then she gently removed his sunglasses. His eyes were closed, but they flew open when he felt soft lips against his. She pulled back as she searched his eyes, and her breath hitched in her throat at the swirl of emotions she found there. Love, lust, tenderness, grief, shyness, and need.
"Hinata.." He said her name softly, unsure about how to approach her now that she knew the truth of his feelings. He was unprepared when she turned to straddle him and kiss passionately. He hesitated briefly before doing what came naturally and kissing her back. Shino reached out and pulled her tightly to him, deepening the kiss with a groan. She let an answering moan and trailed her hands up into his hair pulling on it desperately. Hinata let out a gasping sob when he slide his hands down to her hips and simultaneously rolled his up, pressing his arousal against her. That sound seemed to snap him back to his senses, and Shino pulled away from her to stare into her eyes in confusion. "I thought that you and Kiba.." He asked her. She shook her head at him as she tried to regain her breath.
"No- he just figured out that I had fallen in love with you, and spent a lot of time trying to get me to admit it. I finally did, and then he was pushing me to confront you, insisting that you felt the same way. I guess he was right." She said, though her tone was one of inquiry.
"Yes, I love you, and I have from the moment I first saw you. But you only had eyes for Naruto, so I settled for being just your friend. I was happy to be by your side, on your team, and one of your precious people." He told her quietly. They spent long minutes looking into each other's eyes, soaking up the emotions there that for once neither of them bothered to hide.
Slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away, Shino leaned in and took her lips again, this time with a sweet soft touch that had her melting against him. He pulled back and examined the dazed look in her eyes with a masculine satisfaction he had never experienced before. His chuckle made her frown before she got a mischievous smile on her face, right before she ground her hips down over his hardened arousal, dragging a groan out him.
"You shouldn't have done that." He informed her huskily, as he gently pushed her off his lap. He reached up and slowly, deliberately unfastened the remaining buttons on his coat before removing it and spreading it carefully on the ground behind him. He turned back to her and held his arms open, and she quickly went into them, gasping as he turned to place her on his coat and straddled her.
"S-shino?" She stuttered nervously. Her hands flew to cover his as they started to pull up her mesh top. He stopped and looked down at her steadily.
"Do you love me?" He asked her intently.
"Yes." She told him without hesitation, gazing up at him with the love shining in her eyes.
"Then trust me." Shino commanded softly. She let go of his hands and allowed him to strip her down to her breast wrappings. When he reached for the end to unwrap her, she almost protested, but one look from him calmed her. He wanted her to trust him, so she would. It was that simple. Shino had never hurt her and he never would.
When she was completely nude on top, he leaned down and put his lips to her ear.
"When an Aburame claims his mate, he must ejaculate into her, leaving behind a special marking scent that saturates his female, much as a kikichu male marks his female. I intend to claim you Hinata Hyuuga, do you accept?" He asked her, his breath caressing the delicate shell of her ears, sending pleasurable chills running down her body.
"I do accept, it's just that is now the right time and plac-" she was cut off by his lips claiming hers in a passionate kiss. He continued kissing her until she was returning it with enthusiasm and arching up under him, before pulling back.
"This isn't the most romantic place, and the timing could be much better, but there are no guarantees that we will live through tomorrow, and I don't want to wait. I want to spend what time I have left loving you and being loved by you. We would also be honoring Kiba's last wish by coming together." He told her as he bent to place a tender kiss on her lips.
Hinata reached up and pulled him down on top of her, tentatively stroking her tongue against his lips, letting him know silently that she consented. He groaned and pulled away long enough to reassure her.
"You will not regret this, I promise."
END FLASHBACK
I need to make sure that I keep my promise. He slowly pushed his battered body up the side of the cave wall, using it for support. Once he was back on his feet, he stood there panting for a few minutes, his eyes closed as he worked to shut off his reaction to the pain he was feeling. His hive buzzed in agitation, telling him that he was being an idiot, and that he should be resting. He communicated with them, calming them as he explained the necessity of guarding the entrance of the cave. He also informed them of Hinata's condition, and they hummed inside of him with shared pleasure at the thought of the baby. A new determination entered the hive, and they stopped fighting him over what needed to be done.
Not many people outside the clan understood the symbiotic relationship that existed between him and his hive. That was one of the reasons that he and Kiba had grown to be friends despite their opposing personalities. Since Kiba was in a symbiotic relationship with Akamaru, he was both understanding and accepting of Shino's hive. Gradually, the two came to be close friends, and dropped the shields they usually kept up around others. Shino let his emotions show, and Kiba dropped his tough guy act.
At the thought of his best friend, Shino felt tears come to his eyes, but he blinked them away. He couldn't afford to be distracted, the enemy could return at any time, and he needed to be ready. He had no intention of dying in the first place, but his determination to live had grown a thousand-fold when his impending fatherhood was revealed to him. The bushes rustled to the right of the cave opening, and he and the hive went on alert. They backed down as the sentry beetle revealed that it was Akamaru.
The white dog bounded into view and rushed to Shino's side. Careful of his broken ribs, the bug-nin reached down and patted his furry friend.
"Hinata sent you didn't she?" He asked the dog, and received an affirmative bark. Akamaru let out a series of short barks, which Kiba had taught his best friend to interpret.
"Yes, she is my mate, and she is expecting our first child. Also, there is another wave of enemies approaching, and I am not really fit for combat." Shino told the dog. Akamaru let out a little whimper, and then stood to his full height, taking a defensive position in front of Shino. A sinister chuckle rang out, and the white dog growled fiercely.
"Your growls don't scare me puppy. They didn't do much to protect your master did they?" The voice asked cruelly as the enemy nin came into view. He was a large man, heavily muscled and had a sadistic look in his eyes. He swung a large sword with deceptive simplicity and it easily sliced down the small tree beside him.
"The commander said to locate Kohona survivors and send up a flare, but I think that I will just finish you and your friends off. Put you out of your misery, what do you say?" He asked Shino in a mocking voice. He approached the cave entrance causally as Akamaru bared his teeth, getting ready to attack, and a swarm kikachu hummed menacingly around Shino. Just as the big man was darting forward, sword raised over his head, a look of shock and pain passed over his face. He dropped to his knees and then fell flat on his face.
Standing behind him, with the look of an avenging angel on her face, stood Hinata. Her chakra blades slowly retreated as she rushed to Shino.
"I thought I told you to go get help." He said wearily, as the last of his energy left him, and he allowed her to help him into a sitting position.
"I did, they are fighting the rest of his comrades a few hundred meters from here, but I came ahead after sending Akamaru to you. It's a good thing I did too, so stop trying to make me feel guilty." She told him in exasperation. He looked up at her, and slowly reached out to caress her still-flat abdomen. She smiled down at him, and placed her hand over his. There was a loud hrmph, breaking into the tender moment between the two lovers.
"Why are your hands all over my cousin, Aburame?" Asked Neji aggressively. Hinata stiffened briefly, and then closed her eyes. They had been attempting to hide their relationship until they could meet secretly with a priest to make it official before their clans could stop them. Shino turned his hand up to curl around hers reassuringly. She opened her eyes and met his calm ones, giving him a little helpless shrug.
"Well, considering that I mated with her, and she is pregnant with my firstborn, I was assuring myself that both she and the baby are fine." He replied in a nonchalant voice.
"WHAT?" Neji yelled out, taking angry steps forward only to be stopped by rest of the team coming up behind him. He shot an angry look at the bug-nin before turning a disappointed look to his cousin. To his surprise, she didn't cringe or blush, just met his eyes unflinchingly. Well, well looks like she finally found something she is willing to stand up for. They battled with their eyes for a few more seconds, before he smiled at her. Hinata's fierce look turned to one of bewilderment.
"I can see that your mind is made up, but we WILL be finding a priest as soon as possible. I think that it would be wise to return to the village with a marriage license in hand, don't you?" He said somewhat sternly.
"Marriage license? Neji what are you talking about?" Tenten asked behind him. The cousins' turned to face the rest of the rookie squad and the blush that she didn't give till Neji started to burn in her cheeks. She poked her pointer fingers together and looked away, something she had done in a very long time. Shino grabbed her fingers and peered intently into her eyes.
"Are you ashamed of our relationship?" He asked whispered haltingly. She gasped and was quick to reassure him.
"It's not that-its just that this was supposed to be private until we decided to tell everyone. Plus, I never expected to be pregnant out of wedlock. Maybe I am a little ashamed, but never of you or my feelings for you." She whispered back firmly as she placed a loving hand on his cheek.
They noticed the silence around them and looked up to see the rest of the rookies starring at them. Sakura gave a little start and then remembered her position as medic. She bustled forward and motioned Hinata out of the way, as she examined Shino's injuries. Green healing chakra surrounded her hands and she quickly set his broken ribs, sealing the breaks and mending the skin over top the injury site. After attending to a few deeper cuts, she stood up and walked towards the back of the cave to go take care of the rest of the scouting party that was still alive. As she went, she called out to Hinata.
"Hey Hina, come help me."
"No." Said Shino calmly. Sakura halted in the doorway, and then turned to glare at the bug-nin.
"What do you mean 'no'?" She growled at him.
"In her current condition, it would be unwise for her to expend any more chakra, and healing required a great deal." He stated quietly. Sakura looked at Hinata questioningly, and her eyes grew large and round when Hinata touched her abdomen. She walked back over to her shy friend and pulled her into the cave out of sight of the rest of the rescue squad. Without a word, she placed her hand over Hinata's abdomen and sent out diagnostic chakra.
"About three months along, I would say. Why didn't you say something before Hinata? You shouldn't be on the front lines when you are this far along." She reprimanded her.
"I didn't know at first, I was still really upset over Kiba's death, and then with all the fighting, I thought that my exhaustion was normal. I didn't suspect until a few days ago when I finally realized how long it had been since I had my period." Hinata told the pinkette shyly.
"Why did you return immediately once you knew?" Sakura asked in puzzlement.
"I didn't want to leave Shino. You know that as the heirs to our clans, we would never be allowed to marry with their permission. We were planning to slip away to a priest and make our mating official before we returned to the village." Hinata said as she blushed.
"Ah, now I know what Neji meant. I agree with him. First, we need to take care of the wounded and then I say we plan the most romantic elopement we can on such short notice." Sakura smiled at her, a twinkle in her eye, that Hinata knew from past experience meant she would be dragged into shop after shop looking for just the 'right' outfit. She sighed in resignation, and Sakura chuckled at her.
"Now, go back to that overprotective male of yours. He is correct in saying that you don't need to waste any chakra, especially since you are carrying twins." She patted her on the shoulder and then turned her in the direction of Shino.
"Twins? Wait- did you say twins?" Hinata asked in a panicky voice.
"Why are you acting all shocked? Twins run in your family and frequently skip a generation." Sakura informed her as she walked towards the wounded her mind already focused on treating their injuries. Hinata stumbled towards Shino and sat down beside him, a dazed expression on her face.
"What is it Hina?" Shino asked worriedly. She turned to him, and her hand fell down to stroke her abdomen absentmindedly.
"Sakura said that it is twins!" She told him in a shocked voice. Shino pulled away in astonishment, but then he relaxed and started to chuckle. He gathered her into his arms, and hugged her reassuringly.
"Regardless of the number, these will be the best loved children in the whole of Kohona. My mother especially will be thrilled. She has been bugging me for grandchildren for the last five years now." He told her confidently.
"What about our fathers?" She asked in a worried voice.
"What about them? By the time we return, our marriage will be official, and they can't change that. If they want to try and force us apart, we will just apply to Lady Tsunade for emancipation." Shino said harshly, the thought of being separated from Hinata making his swarm hum angrily inside him. Hinata snuggled up against him, and let out a little sigh of contentment, her fears appeased.
"Oh, I should warn you that Sakura is planning to 'help' us with our elopement." She told him with a tiny grin that grew into a full-blown smile when she saw the apprehension on his face. Oh how she loved this man! Facing certain death on the battlefield, he was cold as a cucumber, father to twins not a problem, but confronted with shopping spree with Sakura and his bravado failed him! She laughed at him, holding her stomach as tears of mirth rolled down her face.
"I say we leave now while she is occupied- I am sure that Neji will cover for us." He told her with just a hint of desperation in his voice, frowning down on her as she howled with laughter.