The feeling of warmth surrounding her brought Hinata slowly back towards the surface of consciousness.
Not that she was hurrying the process along any. In fact, she was trying to slow it down to a snail's pace. Hoping to fight off the moment when she has to open her eyes and look humiliation in the face.
Not quite ready.
Instead she tried to figure out why she was so warm. She did remember falling off the branch after Aburame Shibi stepped out. But it had been raining heavily with the storm.
It clicked.
Shino must have carried her home, knowing that it sometimes took her awhile to fully wake up after a fainting spell.
She worriedly wondered if he thought she had done all that because she was ashamed or regretted hugging him. He never said anything but Hinata could feel that he was very sensitive when it came to relationships with people.
He always clung to the persona that being teammates meant that they had to share and trust each other. Though he was the most secretive of all three, she knew that he really just wanted to be a part of their lives. Their friend.
Grimacing, she wiggled under the blanket, trying to get rid of an uncomfortable spot.
And froze.
Where were her clothes?!
Controlling the urge to jump up, Hinata slowly cracked open an eye to take in her surroundings.
Shino had been contemplating the small figure in front of him since they had arrived at his house. Ignoring the burning questions that were vibrating from his father, Shino had luckily landed before Hinata did, saving her from the fall off the tree. He had then covered her up in his sweatshirt and turned to meet the overcurious man.
"What should we do?"
He had to stall with something, not wanting to deal with an interrogation about what he was sure the older man witnessed.
"We will take her home, the Aburame house is much closer then the Hyuuga clans."
With that said, Shino quickly led the way.
Usually his father led when they were on missions together, but carrying the girl closely in his arms, Shino knew that a faint blush was making its way towards his face. The last thing he needed was ribbing from his father. Even though he was seen as a...well...badass. Shibi was quite the opposite at home,
though not completely. He was what one would call sternly affectionate towards his family. Shino has only ever seen him completely relaxed with he thought he was alone with his mom.
This brought him back to what happened in the tree. She had been upset for him. This probably shouldn't matter, Hinata was so kind and sweet to everyone, but Shino was positive that it went beyond normal friendship. Maybe more than teammates. Pondering these hopeful thoughts, he absently led the way into the Aburame clan mansion.
The clan itself was isolated from the rest of the village. They were known for their exclusive behavior and although not unwelcomed, were not on the top of the party list.
The Aburame men were scary.
All wearing the traditional coat and sunglasses and the cold demeanor.
Plus the destruction bugs.
Frightening.
"Shino! What happened?"
Bustling towards him was a short petite woman with flyaway curls of dark brown. Looking at him were beautifully expressive eyes the color of midnight blue, so dark that they looked black most of the time. And also very worried.
"Mother, my teammate, Hyuuga Hinata, and I were training when the storm hit. She fainted."
It was a simple statement, and Aburame Misao saw right through it. So this was the 'teammate' that Shino was always with. She also realized that this was only the second person he's brought home.
The first girl.
A bright smile blossomed on her delicate features.
"Oh? Well she's soaking wet! Shibi! Go get your sister and bring her to Shino's room. Shino, take the poor flower to your room! Now!"
Yelling out orders, the matriarch waved Shino towards his room with a shivering Hinata. Suspicions floated in his mind as to the scheming his mother was doing. Why his room and not the guest room,hm?
He didn't get his entire intelligence from his father. Tactical planning came directly from the small woman.
"Sh-sh-sh-shino?"
The soft stutter shook him out of his thoughts. Looking down, he smiled at the furiously blushing girl.
"How do you feel?"
To his surprise, the blush darkened while trailing down her neck like poison. Unbidden, the urge to follow the blush to see how far down it goes came to his mind. His voice stuck in his throat like a rock. Ah! Being around that dog is beginning to rub off on him!
"Wh-wh-where are m-my c-clothes?"
Opening her eyes, Hinata had been watching Shino for the last five minutes. He was so lost in his own thoughts that she remained silent, watching the never before seen expressions on his face. Really, if he didn't wear that coat all the time and if he was a little more open he would probably attract as many girls as Sasuke did.
That thought brought a surprisingly dark scowl to the sweet young woman's face, followed by surprise. Was she possessive of Shino? Putting Kiba in the same situation didn't have the same effect. She would be ecstatic for him if he had a girlfriend, as long as she treated him well. Besides, she got the feeling that a blonde girl was interested in the dog using ninja.
Shino though...
She shook away those thoughts. Deep down she knew why it would upset her if Shino had admirers, but knew this wasn't the time to digest the information.
She needed her clothes back.
Shino had uncharacteristically bolted from the room as soon as Hinata had finished her sentence. Not only did he not want to act on the numerous fantasies going on inside his head, he wanted to go hunt down a schemer and her faithful sidekick.
He nearly groaned aloud at the images Hinata created, adding wood to the fire when she deeply blushed. It probably did go all the way...
"Mother! Shibrika!"
Hinata's eyes widened when she saw nothing in front of her. Did he just run away? No, Shino probably went to find her clothing. Still, had that been a blush on his normally pale cheeks?
Hearing loud voices, Hinata carefully stood up and securely wrapped the blanket around her toga-style, hoping it would be appropriate enough to allow her to go and find her teammate and more importantly her outfit.
Walking down the hall, she immediately found a pair of women. One was extremely tall, with short white-blonde hair and electric blue eyes that were seen through lightly shaded square glasses. Hinata could see her chakra levels were above normal citizen ones.
The other woman wasn't hard to guess. She was shorter then Hinata, with a large head of flyaway chocolate hair and dark expressive eyes.
She looked almost exactly like Shino.
She was also screaming at her husband and son, who astonishingly stood in front of her like a pair of scolded school boys.
"What were you two thinking? There's a storm out there! Do you not care about my fears or nerves at all! And Shino! How could you practice with that beautiful young woman in weather like this? Did you want her to get sick?"
Though it was hard to tell, it looked like both men were ashamed, but the woman was warming up in her rant.
"All three of you! What did I say about wearing those ridiculous glasses in the house?! OFF!"
Three pairs of hands shakily removed the glasses from their faces. Hinata stifled a giggle at the mirrored expression of fear on all three faces.
Hearing the small laugh, Shino and Shibi simultaneously turned to see the scantily clad Hinata standing a few feet from them. Both had been so focused on the smaller woman in front of them that they hadn't noticed another chakra presence.
Shino flushed lightly at what she was wearing.
Misao smugly smirked before rounding on the new girl.
"Well, well! You must be the infamous teammate I hear so much about but never get to meet! Kiba's been over here before already, but only to deplete my food supply, but you don't look like the kind of person to scarf down a bunch of food!"
Hinata blushed at the attention, sending a frenzied look at Shino for assistance. New people were always bad news for Hinata and she really didn't want to pass out in only a blanket.
Shino smoothly cut in after receiving the frantic look from the girl.
"Mother, this is Hyuuga Hinata, my other teammate. Hinata, this is my mother, Aburame Misao."
He gave me a few seconds of shy greeting before continuing in an uninterested voice.
"Please Mother, can you and Shibrika get her clothes?"
This was mostly for his benefit. He wasn't sure how much longer he'd stand there with her dressed like that before losing all self-control and pouncing on her.
Shibi saw the look in his son's eyes, one he was very familiar with when it came to his own woman. Catching said person eyes, he gave a tiny nod. He honestly didn't think the girl would take anymore before passing out from hyperventilation.
"Of course! We were just drying them, poor thing, you were completely soaked when Shino brought you in, you're probably still cold huh?"
Hinata was barely able to nod before the woman continued. Shino shot her a long-suffering look.
"Of course you are! Shibrika, be so kind and go start a nice hot bath for our sweet guest. Shibi come help me."
Towing the two adults, she threw a smile at the teenagers before exiting the room.
Silence.
Hinata wasn't sure if she should be confused, horrified, or amused. Turning away from where the three adults left, she caught sight of her teammate's face. It was filled with the exact emotions she was feeling, except that horror was gaining. Watching him stare at the empty space his mother just occupied, Hinata felt something bubble up inside her stomach.
Shino couldn't believe that just happened. Sure his mom could be a little, well, overbearing. But for her to be completely relaxed around Hinata was something he wasn't ready for. The image of her talking nonstop was burnt behind his eyes.
The sound of laughter made him blink. Looking over his mouth dropped at the sight.
Hinata was kneeling on the floor, arms crossed over her midsection, shaking with laughter. It was a pleasant sound, and despite the reason behind it, Shino felt himself smiling at her.
"I apologize for all that," he waved at the empty doorway.
She just laughed harder, stammering from the lack of breathe.
"N-n-no Sh-shino, I j-j-just th-thought i-it w-w-would be d-different."
He just tilted his head, calmly waiting for her to explain. After a few more giggling fits, she sat up and wiped her eyes before fixing him with a smile that clenched his heart.
"I just thought that y-your family would be d-different, I-I'm s-s-sorry f-for l-laughing."
Walking towards her, he offered his hand. Blushing lightly, she took it and straightened up. Hoping that he wasn't mad at her rude display.
"You thought we were all cold and heartless?"
Her smile disappeared instantly.
"N-no! I just didn't th-think it'd be like th-that!"
Only when he smiled did Hinata realize that he was teasing her. Giving him a crooked smile, she shrugged.
"I understand, my mother can be…vibrant at times."
Hinata resisted the urge to collapse into another fit. Instead she took the opportunity to look around. The place was very sparse, with barely any decorations. Did they just not like putting things up? Still, it was much more comfortable then her own house.
Shino watched her look around his house. She had such a content look on her face, it made him want to hold her.
"I like it here, it's…welcoming."
Standing to the side, Hinata threw him a look before continuing.
"At first I thought it'd be like what you said: cold, but it's really the opposite isn't it? Why does your clan avoid social gathering?"
She watched as Shino stiffened slightly, his words short and clipped.
"We know how people dislike…bugs… so we don't push ourselves on them."
Frowning Hinata walked over to stand in front of him, forcing him to make eye contact. His eyes really were a lovely midnight blue. For a moment she let her urges take over her reason. Tentatively reaching up, she trailed a soft fingertip down his cheek, fascinated by the light blush that followed.
"Shino, your eyes are so…pretty."
Shino felt his chest constrict when Hinata timidly touched his face. Holding his breath, he listened to her whispered compliment. Not daring to move in case he did something really stupid.
After what seemed forever, Hinata dropped her hand and stepped away. They both were tinted pink and slightly breathless from the tense moment.
"Hinata? Your bath is ready."
Shibi was still amazed that his wife wasn't a ninja, for all that she stealthily snuck around and schemed. She would have made a perfect spy. Thinking this, he fondly looked down at the woman who was currently showing her skills by spying on what was going on in the room before them.
Leaning back, he closed his eyes and sincerely hoped that those two would figure out what they had. It was so hard for an Aburame male who had a hive to find a partner. Women just weren't attracted to bugs that lived in the body.
There were a few though, who could get use to the idea. Or who were at least not disgusted.
Kissing the top of his wife's head, he motioned for them to press on. Grinning at the heavy sigh Misao made, he stepped back as she loudly stepped into the room. Telling the girl that her bath was ready.
As Hinata followed his mother out of the room, she stole a glance back, smiling when she met the unfathomable eyes of her teammate. With a bubble of happiness bouncing around pleasantly in her stomach, she turned to follow the talking woman.
Once he was completely alone, Shino followed the cooling trail of her fingertip with his own. Underneath his skin, the Kikaichu purred.
A/N: So this chapter was definitely shorter, but I mean the first one was pretty long. Lol. Anyway I'm not sure how this turned out. Bringing in Original characters and trying to keep the Real ones in character was hard! So Sorry for any confusion! Don't worry, it's not all fluff and stuff, this is just..idk.. Introduction chapters. Lol
Thanks for the reviews! They brought rare motivation!
