Disclaimer: Naruto characters (c) Masashi Kishimoto. This story was inspired by the song "I Don't Care" by Apocalyptica featuring Adam Gontier (from Three Days Grace)
Author's Note: Hurrah, another ShinoHina. I'm not sure if I'm going to write more for this one, so let me know if you think I should. Please review, and let me know what you think. I personally believe that rage and love go hand in hand, although maybe I'm just strange. Does anyone else agree with me?
Fire by Mika Casey
Sweat dripped from Aburame Shino's face as he stopped for a second to catch his breath. He was right in the middle of a hand-to-hand combat with Hinata, while Kiba was barking orders from the sidelines. Shino's hands were shaking and his throat was closing up, and he hadn't so much as touched Hinata even five minutes into the fight.
She's getting better. He thought to himself.
"Hinata! Hit him now, while he's hesitating!" Kiba yowled, and suddenly Hinata flew out of Shino's field of view. In the few moments that Shino registered what Kiba was yapping about, Hinata managed to close several of his chakra points and slam her small right palm right into his ribcage.
The bug-nin flew backwards and landed on his back with a thud. Sharp pain radiated from the place where she had hit him, and he was certain that she had broken a rib. He cursed under his breath, knowing that it had been stupid of him to rest in the middle of a fight.
"Shino!" Hinata cried out and, much to his dismay, ran over to his side. She knelt over him, her long raven-black hair falling over his shoulders and her beautiful lavender eyes wide with suprise. She was wearing dark blue pants and a tight black cotton shirt, and her right shoulder was wrapped tightly with some of Kiba's medical bandages. Her smell wreathed itself around him, making him catch his breath for a second. A feeling that he was unfamiliar with filled something inside of him, and for a second he felt whole.
Frightened by this sudden rush of emotions, Shino acted rashly. "Get away from me!" He didn't yell, but his voice was raised enough to startle his companions. He sat up, shouldering Hinata aside while doing so.
Kiba started talking again. "Shino...that was rude, she was just trying to help out..."
"Shut up, Kiba!" Shino snarled. "You know what? I'm going home." Shino said, voice still raised. Hinata was staring at him with those wide innocent eyes, and it made him feel nauseous. "I feel sick." He lied, clenching his teeth together afterwards.
Kiba nodded, as if that explained everything. Hinata was still speechless, and Shino suddenly felt bad for treating her so horribly. But he feared his emotions more than her fear of him, so he stood and paced quickly away from them.
"Later, Shino!" Kiba called joyously. "Feel better!"
Shino hissed under his breath and ignored the annoying dog-nin as he walked out of the forest, away from the training grounds.
Hinata. Hinata. Shino repeated her name in his head, over and over again, like a mantra. The name filled him with such swelling emotions, he felt like he was going to explode. Shino was trying to figure out why, and he wasn't getting very far with his investigation. What is she to me? He asked himself.
Shino didn't know the answer, causing him to huff in frustration and shove his hands into his jacket pockets.
About an hour later, the tall Aburame boy stared down at the patch of white lillies he was flowering. He was tending to the plants in the garden his parents had planted together. Ever since his mother's death, Shino had been put in charge of caring for the plants. His father couldn't handle the grief the garden caused him. Shino held the gray plastic watering can between his calloused fingers, thinking about how these flowers reminded him of Hinata's eyes.
"Shino-kun?" A voice from beyond the small white picket fence around the garden startled him. Shino looked up to see his shy teammate standing next to the slightly open gate, with medicinal tea leaves in her hands.
Biting his bottom lip, Shino stared at her for a while before he answered. "Yeah?"
He saw her take a deep breath, bracing herself for his reaction to what she was about to say. "Are you angry with me?"
"I don't know." Shino responded truthfully. He tilted the watering can back, causing the flow of the water to stop. He watched her nudge the gate open with her hip and let herself into the garden, floating over to him like some sort of a dream.
"Do you want to t-talk about it?" She asked him, voice a bit shaky.
Shino shrugged. He tried not to let his emotions get in the way of anything, but he hated whatever he was feeling now, standing so close to the small Hyuuga nin.
Hinata reached forward to grasp his hand, tugging him away from a garden and to a elegant white marble bench in the middle of the garden. They both sat, knees tilted towards each other. Shino reached up to fold down the top of his collar so he wouldn't mumble throught the cloth.
"Now, what's the matter?" Hinata asked, looking expectantly into his eyes.
Suddenly, Shino was filled with rage. He stared at her, thousands of questions flying through his head. What did she want from him? Why did she care? Didn't she love Naruto? Why wouldn't she leave him alone? His kikaichuu rustled angrily, causing his pulse to rise, and he saw something change in her expression. A tidal wave of emotion crashed over Shino, and he whimpered and closed his eyes.
He felt the tremors of space as she moved closer to him. Shino recoiled, of course, and his eyes flew open.
"Shino-kun, talk to me." Hinata's voice was desperate, perhaps as confused as he was.
Shino's anger shifted into a different gear, and suddenly his hands flew up to her face and were pulling her close to his mouth. Their lips collided, and he kissed her. His rage heightened, peaking to a point where he felt like he was on fire where his skin met hers, and suddenly dropped to a warm murmer beneath his skin. She had wrapped her arms around his torso, which was slender and fit underneath his bulky jacket, and her hands were running over his hair, his face, and the back of his neck.
After a few moments, he drew away slightly. Not too far, because he suddenly couldn't even think about not being near her, but enough to let her speak. She whispered softly to him, and out-of-breath and relieved tone. "Please, Shino, I don't want you to hate me."
"I don't think I do." He admitted. "Perhaps its something else I'm feeling." He was sure of it, because he felt his kikaichuu buzzing happily. They only did that when he was truly feeling at home.
Hinata was his home.
"Hina-chan?" Shino said, still holding her close to him.
She looked up into his sunglasses, peering through her eyelashes. "Yes?"
Shino's heart skipped a beat. "Would you like some tea? My father will make us some." He smiled down at her with his thin pink lips, and for once he knew that she could see most of his expression.
"I would love that." She answered.
Shino took a deep breath, taking in her scent. "Then come with me, koishii." And he stood, reaching for her hand and leading her up the walkway, to the doorstep, and into the Aburame house.