By the Light of the Fireflies

The sun was low in the sky and just beginning to retire. Shino stood several meters away from Hinata, who had once again shed her jacket. Then again, he thought to himself. I took mine off hours before she finally took hers off.

He waited patiently as she caught her breathe before rushing at him again, and again they fought to their limits with all the taijutsu that they knew; they'd both disregarded Ninjutsu after they had stopped for lunch, as it was pointless. She could easily deflect all his mid-ranged attacks, and his Kikaichuu interrupted her chakra flow.

Her aggression surprised him; he had thought that she would be more timid during sparring, like she was the rest of the time. Must be suppressing something.

She extended her arm, palm forwards, to connect with his jaw. Grabbing her wrist, he side stepped out of the way and pinned an arm behind her back. Hinata stood there, tense and panting.

"Shall... shall we go again..?" she asked quietly.

Shino frowned, looking at her tired features. "No. We should both get home and get some rest." Releasing her wrist, he stepped away from her and went to get his jacket... he was anxious to put his glasses back on. He had been lucky that Hinata hadn't gotten a good look at his eyes...

"Oh..." she nodded, and sat down heavily. "Okay... I'm just gonna... stay here..."

His glasses slipped back down his nose almost as soon as he pushed them on. Sweat. Great. "I can carry you home if you're too tired."

"N-no!" he looked at her from the corner of his eye as he put his jacket back on; she was blushing again. She rarely seemed to stop. "I just... I'm not finished..."

"Not finished?" he frowned at her. What was he going on about..? She still wasn't trying to get stronger, was she? "Hinata?"

"Y-yes, Shino-kun?" she asked, looking up at him with her pale, pale eyes; they brought warm memories of earlier that morning.

"You know that you're one of the strongest kunoichi I know, right?" He shouldn't have had to tell her; anyone could see that it was the truth. Not only was she skilled in several taijutsu, but she specialized in Juuken and developed the absolute defense Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho, which doubled as an offence to rival Neji's jutsus. She would never consider herself weak... would she?

Her blush came back, and she looked away from him. "Th-thank you, Shino-kun... but no... Many kunoichi are st-stronger than m-me..."

He frowned at her, but didn't push the subject.

"Would you like some dinner?"

"N-nani?" He almost chuckled at the shock on her face. "Wh-what was that, Sh-Shino-kun..?"

"Dinner," he started to button up his jacket, starting from the top to hide the smile that was twitching at his lips. "Kiba wants me to take care of you, and letting you train all night isn't really doing that."

"Oh..." she looked embarrassed, and he almost felt bad. "W-where..?"

"Wherever you would like," he shrugged, not really caring.

"Oh... okay..." nodding her agreement, she slowly looked back up at him again. "Ichiraku...?"

"Isn't that the restaurant Naruto likes?" She still likes Naruto..?

"Ha... hai..." she nodded, and then did something he rarely saw her do - at least when it concerned him. Her lips were graced with a shy smile.

The kikai bugs stirred inside him, agitated by the sudden tenseness he felt throughout his body. "Alright then," he nodded, trying to calm the destruction bugs while he spoke. "Let's go."

------

Hinata didn't really know what to think. On one hand, she was happy that she was spending time with her mysterious team made. On the other hand, it was depressing that the only reason he wanted to spend time with her was because of Kiba. It's my own fault... I've always gotten along better with Kiba, and never really spent time with Shino...

She sighed, trying to banish her thoughts to the bottom of her bowl of ramen.

"Is something wrong?" She jumped when Shino spoke, but it wasn't as much of a shock as it had been that morning.

"...I'm fine..." she muttered out. Swirling the salty noodles in her bowl, she was reminded of the spirals Naruto seemed to love to wear...

"You're blushing again," she jumped again, and turned to look at the kikaichuu master. "Thinking of someone...?"

"...W-why do you ask..?" Why is he looking at me like that? Am I blushing that much..?

Shino was staring at her strangely, as if she had said something strange or bizarre... "You're different."

"D-different..?" she looked away from again, and pushed her fingers together beneath the counter. "How... how so..?"

His eyebrows tightened together; he was frowning at her. "Well... for awhile there you weren't as shy as you used to be. But you seem to be back to blushing, so maybe I was wrong."

"Oh..." she sighed. ...I'm still just shy Hinata... I'll never change at this rate... She pushed the bowl away, and dug into her pockets to find her wallet.

"Thank you!" She glanced up as the restaurant owner took the money Shino handed him. Shino nodded at him, then looked back at Hinata.

"I'll train with you some more if you like," he offered.

"It... it's late..." she murmured, finding her wallet.

"I've already paid." She blinked. He paid..? "Would you like me to talk you home..?"

Hinata looked up at him in confusion, biting back a pout. "Sh-Shino-kun..?"

"Yes Hinata?" He started to walk away from the restaurant, waiting just long enough for her to fall into step beside him.

She didn't answer him right away, not knowing if she should ask... But if she didn't... well, what if it meant something? What if it was something important? What if- Too many 'what if's... it's silly, I won't ask.

They carried on in silence, and after a few minutes she realized that he was taking her back to the training grounds. It was serene, and it made her realize just how tired she was...

When they arrived, Shino sat down with his back against a tree; she stared at him for awhile, before he gestured for her to sit down as well. "Watch," was all he said as an explanation.

She watched him perform Mushi Kabe no Jutsu under his breathe, then looked in wonder as hundreds fireflies and a few other types of bug came out of hiding and starting lazily drifting around them. Watching them, Hinata felt at peace... a butterfly even landed on her knee.

"What was it you were going to ask?" She looked up at him quickly, her sudden movement scaring the butterfly away. Shino held out his hand and it landed neatly in his palm.

"I just..." she felt flushed again, like she had while she was training; but it wasn't from heat this time. "... I wanted to know... to know why you're being so n-nice to me..."

"..Oh."

She frowned at him. He's one of the smartest people I know, besides from maybe Sakura and Shikamaru... and all he says is 'oh'..?

"Something wrong?" there was humour in his voice, and she pouted cutely.

"Oh isn't really an answer..."

"You're my teammate Hinata," he held his hand out to her, and carefully gave her the butterfly. Its multi-coloured wings looked almost ethereal under the fireflies' lights... "And above that, you're my friend."

"But..." she looked at the butterfly as its wings opened wider, as if for her own eyes only. "You're never nice to me.."

He didn't answer, and she feared the worst. Don't jump to conclusions... just because he's not saying anything doesn't mean he hates you. It's Shino; Shino's quiet... this is normal.

Startlingly warm fingers brushed underneath her chin, bringing her gaze back up to his; he had his glasses off again, but it was too dark to really see them. "Am I ever mean to you, Hinata?"

"N-no..." she shook her head, feeling his fingers still resting against her skin. He's so warm... She was glad that it was dark; her blush was coming back.

He was smiling at her now. His collar was hiding any tell-tale signs that his facial expressions she might have been able to read, but even then she knew he was smiling... something about his eyes. They were warmer. Like his touch.

"You're blushing again," he chuckled, and for a moment she thought she had died. "Would you like me to take you home now?"

"No," she shook her head. "No... I would like to stay out a bit longer."