Butterflies or beetles: Chapter 3
Choji knew there was only one place he could bring Hinata.
He took her to get the finest barbecue Konoha had to offer. It was a common place that as a group they'd gathered around many times. The predictability was nice, and so was the setting. Hinata knew several of the waitresses, and the owner was a woman who had married into the Akimichi clan, which made her a distant relative.
It was foolish really, how the context of a dinner made it extremely hard to share words. Hinata had gone out to eat with her friends on several occasions, and it wasn't as if Choji was some stranger. He was equally part of the rookie nine, and she had sparred against him in class, and fought alongside him in battle. He wasn't as charismatic as Kiba, and she couldn't read into him like she could with Shino.
The way he fumbled around with his words, made her realize he was trying to give his best effort.
Unfortunately, that just so happened to include his timid tendencies. He became quiet the moment he thought he might have offended her. His fidgeting wasn't normal for him, not amongst his friends anyway. Hinata was sure that if this had been just another late night out, he'd be ordering twice as much food.
"Choji," Hinata began wearily, "Are you so nervous because this is a date, or because I'm a Hyuga?"
"Both…maybe…" He looked down at the hot grill.
She smiled softly at that. "I can't be that intimidating."
"To me, you are." At least he was being honest. "I keep thinking that it can't be real."
"It's real." Hinata found that her voice lingered on those soft, quiet tones. She wanted to soothe him, but had no idea how. "Even without the Byakugan fully activated, when a person's chakra is as out of balance as yours is, I can see it. The wisps of it drift out from the chakra points on your body. To me, right now, you have a soft glow."
He startled at his. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." Hinata murmured, suddenly feeling guilty. "I was just thinking to myself, maybe that's how things should be."
"What?" Choji cracked a smile, but it wasn't exactly a happy one. "You don't have to try so hard for me."
Hinata could only feel bad that he didn't believe her. "There are no other Hyuga here, so, I'm the only one who can see it. When a person accepts a spouse, they do so knowing that the person will see things no one else can." Hinata was sure of it. She was nervous too, but Choji's worry made her calm her own. It was a strange kind of comfort all if its own. "That's what dates are for. To see what the rest of the world doesn't."
"You're too nice a girl." He knew he'd said that before, but he was so sure of it. "So nice in fact, that it makes it hard for me to know what to do." He lifted his gaze to those eyes of hers. Pupils hidden beneath that white Hyuga membrane. "The thing is, I know my father. He'll force my hand if he has too, and if you get included in that…" That was already false. Hinata was already included. This date was carrying a weight that he didn't want it to carry. "I get the feeling that you would accept me if you were forced to. If it came down to it. That makes me nervous."
Hinata squinted, her lips forming a tight line. "Choji, do you mind if I am completely, brutally honest for a moment?"
He nodded. "I kind of think I would prefer that." At least then he would be let down, and he could go about his life, or so he thought.
"As is every betrothed woman's dream, I would have liked to marry for love." She began simply. "I don't think it's any mystery who my obvious first choice would be, if I was to be given that option." From beneath the table, her fingers had crumpled the napkin in her lap. "There are dreams, and there are realities. Equal to that, there are people who can make their dreams come true."
She paused, thinking about how she could say things properly. "However, I believe you and I were never destined to be that sort of individual. That's reserved for a very small few. People who've never had the same type of gratification that we were born with." Yes, she was sure of that. Though it was hard to sometimes see the truth; that they were among Konohagakure greatness. "Hard choices have to be made, because we were fortunate enough to be born with that gratification."
"You say that as if it's a privilege." Choji wasn't sure how she could think that.
"Isn't it?" Hinata murmured.
"I don't know." He scratched the back of his head. "I mean, my clan is strong, I'm proud about that. I don't think that other people should suffer for it."
"It would become even stronger if your children had the Byakugan." Hinata said then, her words confidant, but lacking the clout known for a Hyuga.
"Hinata..."
"No, I mean, honestly..." Hinata lifted her glass of water to her lips. "Consider the possibilities."
Shyly, Choji looked away. "I don't know enough about your bloodline limit think about things like that."
"Well, perhaps not, but you do know the obvious things." Talking about fighting was comfortable. It kept her personal feelings out of everything. "As it stands, with your fighting style, you still maintain blind spots in your vision. Imagine having a much wider peripheral view. Imagine being able to see and target chakra directly."
"That would make them more powerful." Choji agreed.
"There are downsides, too. For example, any Akimichi child to carry the Byakugan wouldn't maintain the same flexibility that a Hyuga does." She saw Choji flinch under her gaze, but she didn't let her mind linger on it. "That's a natural shortcoming, and one you'd come to expect, given your clan's own fighting style."
"It sounds like you've given this quite a bit of thought." He wished he had done the same. It never occurred to him to even think about the abilities that his progeny might inherit.
"If I cannot marry for love, then I would like to have a happy marriage." Hinata told him honestly, taking his large hand in hers. She needed him to understand her position, to know that she had considered him. He had many good qualities. He didn't see them in himself. Maybe it was just that no one had shown him before.
She would have to show him. "Ideally, I'd like my husband to be capable, but also kind. I'd also like my children to be strong. I may not agree much with vanity, but I certainly demand highly of my future husband's genetics. I want the Byakugan to travel into a clan that has a use for it. I don't think that's unfair to ask for."
When she stripped her needs down to the basic requirements that she could not avoid, Choji had in many ways trumped her other suitors as the masculine ideal. His genetics were unquestionably the strong, he was of age to have children, and his personality fit her description. His clan would benefit the most from passing the Byakugan down. They were such firm allies with the Nara and Yamanaka clans that it would benefit all three.
"May I…sit closer to you?" He asked, already dreading that she might decline.
Hinata scooted around the booth since it was easier for her to maneuver, coming to sit as Choji's side, arms touching. She smiled a bit, remembering what Ino had said earlier that day. Hinata would need to be easy on him, but at least she knew that he had only the best of intentions.
She could only be brought to wonder if Shino was having the same kind of good fortune with Sakura.
Shino liked to consider himself a simple man, one that didn't need much to be happy. He hoped Sakura thought similarly. Many women had expensive tastes, and his clan was not among the extravagantly wealthy. He safely assumed he would never be able to afford the newest advancements in technology. He wouldn't be able to buy the largest diamonds or the finest silks.
For all of the luxuries his family couldn't buy, there were endless comforts that only his clan would ever enjoy.
He didn't know what she would think of his gift of honey, procured carefully from some wild bees. He had gone to great pains to get it, as honey wasn't exactly something that his buzzing brethren parted with easily. He let a soft sigh of relief ease him when she immediately decided a snack was in order.
They'd eaten in relative silence, commenting on the beautiful evening, and other odds and ends. It was only after a lull in the conversation that Sakura scooted closer. He watched in stunned silence when he saw Sakura's green chakra forming at the tip of her finger. "Don't." He said, taking her hand in his own. "You probably won't like what'll happen if you do."
Sakura frowned as she turned away. A blush of shame tinged her cheeks. "Hinata says you name them, that each one has a distinctive personality."
"You want to meet them that badly?" Shino still wasn't sure he was ready for that. "They're wild, not like a dog or cat."
"They listen to you, don't they?" Sakura asked.
"I'm the way they get their food." Shino explained, feeling the little bugs frantically running around. They'd sensed chakra that was new and different. They wanted to taste it all the more. "I'm their host, their home. It's a mutual respect. I don't own them, or anything like that."
"I'm not afraid of a few little bugs." Sakura said, though she realized they weren't exactly harmless.
"Before I let you, there's some things you need to know." Shino was still unsure if he liked the idea. Honestly, he didn't want Sakura coming into contact with his little friends so soon. "They're basically like any other parasite. If you give them any of your chakra, they're going to nip at it. They're flesh burrowers, and if you prove to be a suitable host, they will try to burrow into you." He pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "It doesn't hurt, their saliva has a numbing property. Still, it is unnerving to most people."
"Hinata never said anything like that." Sakura said, now started to get just a little worried. "About them wanting to burrow into me…"
"Hinata also doesn't mind when they crawl all over her. She's grown up around my hive. That does tend to make a difference." Shino's left hand withdrew into his coat sleeve, and when it emerged, there was a tiny female Kikaichu perched on the tip of his pointer finger. "This is Anita, a three week old, fully grown female from the hive. She's a worker Kikaichu. I'll let you hold her, if you want, but just know that if you feed her any chakra she's going to start thinking of you as a surrogate hive."
Sakura hesitated, her thumb running over her fingertips as she slowly reached out her hand.