I OWN NOTHING!!!!

Cease of the Storm

Hinata went into a small coughing fit as a stream of blood started to drip from the corner of her mouth. Without thought, she wiped it away and forced herself to stand.

The rain was coming down so hard, it felt like thousands of sharpened needles piercing her face and her neck and her arms. The lightning flashed above with cracks of thunder that shook the entire area. The storm raged on with no signs of retreating. As though symbolizing the group's will as well. Showing up with no fear, no regrets, with no intentions of backing down. They were not going to give up. In truth, they were the storm.

Hinata regained her footing and searched around her for any sign of her teammates. Naruto had been pushed to the ground, Kiba was engaging in combat with one of the four men, and Shino was nowhere to be seen.

She tried to move but her knees suddenly gave way and she was once again on the cold, wet ground. She dropped her head in pain, but regained her composure in a strong sense of determination. She wasn't going to let herself give up that easily. Her eyes traveled around her until they landed upon a still form on the ground about six meters away from her. Her eyes widened in fear as she slowly pulled herself, almost crawling, across the distance to the limp body.

Her breath was just stolen from her when she saw the struggling Shino. He was gasping for breath. She looked into his eyes and saw just as much fear as she was feeling. With one last deep breath, he exhaled slowly, and that was it. There was no rise and fall in his chest. There was no more breathing. There were no more words. He was gone. Shino was gone.

Hinata's eyes swelled in tears as she let herself fall on top of his chest. Her never-ending sobs were muffled by the slicing rain and the loudening thunder as she cried uncontrollably on top of her former teammate. She shot her head up as she heard the loud cry from an all too familiar boy.

She searched frantically for Kiba, for her one true friend that she knew so well. The one boy that dare she say, she'd truly loved all those years. She froze when her eyes caught sight of her close friend being pinned against the ground by the much larger man. Suddenly, a shriek of pain escaped the boy's mouth as the man stabbed an extended shiruken in each of his arms. He yelped out in pain and Hinata wondered where Akamaru was until a long, piercing cry was heard from the young canine.

She watched helplessly as the small dog was thrown against a nearby tree, and all her ears could focus on was the cracking and snapping of his brittle and vulnerable bones.

Hinata's voice and ability to scream just dissipated. It was as if her vocal cords had just broken. Sounds were unable to escape her mouth as the two remaining men looked at each other readying to retreat from the intense battle.

Just as the man who was with Kiba stood, he took another blade, and threw it strongly down into Kiba's stomach. All Hinata saw from where she was located was his upper body shooting a few inches off the ground with a spray of crimson coming form his mouth, then him collapsing back to the ground.

That was it. She was going to lose it. She was going to lose all composure. She'd lost Shino. He'd died right in front of her. Akamaru was gone. His juvenile body couldn't take the pain, couldn't take the hits. Naruto was being swept away by the accomplished men and Kiba, her friend, her teammate, her love, was taking his last breaths.

She forced herself up after the men had gone and despite the pain, and ran over to the young, hurting boy. She kneeled beside him as his shaking, shivering body jerked uncontrollably.

He held his hand at his stomach where the fatal wound was, the blood seeped rapidly from the deep injury. Hinata knew that, this was the last time she would be able to see him, to speak with him. Anything that she needed to say…needed to be said then. She leaned down closer and he grabbed her hand in his wet, red palm. She whispered to him, just over the rain that seemed to be letting up.

"Kiba. Come on. You can get through this." She knew every word she said was a lie but all she could do for him and herself was force the best thoughts possible.

He continued to shake with uncontrollable rhythm.

He let a small smile seemed to creep upon his face as he looked at her then lied his head down on the hard ground.

"Looks like the rain is slowing. The weather sure, picks the right mood, doesn't it?" He spoke softly, and speaking the littlest amount of time just stole his wind and his voice. He took in a couple deep, agonizing, painful, and wavering breaths.

"Yes. It does." Tears started to fall from her eyes, running down her cheeks and off the tip of her chin, but it could not be seen. The rain hid many things from the naked eye, and watering eyes was one of them.

"I'm sorry it has to end like this. I wish I could, stay here with you, and protect you." He looked back up to her and wiped his thumb under her eye, pushing away the tears that he somehow knew were there. She raised her hand to rest on top of his by her cheek and she stared down at him. "Don't let it, stop you. It's just, the cease of the storm."

"Please, don't go. Kiba, don't go. I-I, l-lo-," she stuttered in fear as his eyes started to fall closed and his hand started to loosen from her face. Time slowed to a pace of eternity as his hand fell to the ground, allowing Hinata to see every motion, hear every last heart beat, feel every last breath. She stared, motionless, speechless, thoughtless, as Kiba's eyes closed completely and his chest dived down with no future of rising once more. He was gone. He was dead, the one who meant the most to her in her life, was no more. Her eyes were drowning in tears as she whispered the last words she could muster. "I loved you. At the cease of the storm…I loved you."

The End