Title: Mood Killer
Author: Love Notes x87
Rating: PG-13 ( T )
Challenge: June Bugs
Pairing: ShinoHina
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Hyuuga Hinata, 7 years old, walked along the meadow; bare feet on cool grass.
She was walking as fast as her little feet would carry her, toward the heart of the village.
It was hot and humid, as it always is in the summer, and the beautiful kimono she wore was stuck to her like a second skin.
Her father would probably be angry she was late for the annual Hanabi festival but the bundle of yellow flowers she had cut was worth his scolding.
A faint smile curled her lips and she began humming a silly little tune.
Everything Hinata did was strictly determined by her father, no questions asked.
But today, today was a special day.
'Festival spirit' had filled Hyuuga Hiashi's soul, she believed.
What else would explain her father giving her the day to do what she wanted to do?
Taking advantage of the rare opportunity, Hinata spend the day lying on the grass, watching the fluffy clouds drift by, enjoying the warm sunshine, and collecting flowers.
But it was time to go home.
The shades of evening had already fallen and the moon was shinning on her face.
As Hinata got closer to the village, the shrill voices of small children playing could be heard and the delicious smell of food lingered in the air.
Almost there, she thought.
At the edge of the meadow flowed the river and Hinata took a moment to savor her last minutes alone.
Sometimes, it was good to be alone; to have time to think and dream away.
Hinata sat down, dangling her feet above the water, and held the flowers near her face to smell them.
I should give these to Otousan...
Across the river, a glowing speck of light caught her attention.
She blinked when the light moved.
She blinked again when the light came slowly toward her.
"A firefly..."
Hinata became enchanted with it.
It was, by far, the most beautiful firefly she had ever seen; the light it bore was as palpitating as an evening star.
Hinata placed her flowers on the grass and rose to her feet.
The firefly fluttered above her head, then fled.
She followed the small insect around.
Being too distracted to notice anything, she bumped into something - a rather soft something.
And involuntary 'eep' sound escaped her lips and she fell with a thud to the ground.
Ouch.
Embarrassed, Hinata stood up quickly.
She bowed her head. "I - I'm s - sorry, I didn't s - see you, I - "
"Are you okay?"
"Er..."
She hastily glanced around.
...it didn't look like she was injured.
No wound, no blood, no visible bruise.
"Y - yes, I - I'm okay."
Slowly, Hinata raised her head.
Pale eyes blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
"Shi - Shino...kun?"
The 'kun' was added almost as an afterthought.
"Hinata."
A brief, somewhat awkward, silence ensued.
They weren't exactly friends.
Hinata...didn't really know him, she just knew about him.
He was from the Aburame clan whose members always wore sunglasses; inside and out, day or night.
...and most kids in the village seemed to find him 'scary.'
It's probably the bug-thing, she thought.
Not knowing what to do next, Hinata began apologizing again.
The boy only shrugged his shoulders and carried on walking ahead.
He stopped a few feet away and sat down on the grass.
Hinata was about to run into the village when she noticed the small glowing jar in his hands.
Curiosity got the better of her and she kneeled down next to the boy, plenty of distance between them.
He gave her a curious once-over then glanced away.
"...what's that?" Hinata asked in a tiny voice.
"Fireflies," he replied simply.
She admired the glowing ball of captives.
"W- why are t - they in a jar?"
It could not be fun for fireflies or anybody else, for that matter, to be caught in a jar.
"Fireflies emit a brighter light when they are in distress."
She frowned a little.
"And t - that's why - that's why you caught them?"
Shino pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "I study them for a little while and then I set them free."
"Oh."
She felt relieved.
"Wanna see?" he asked.
Hinata nodded and crept closer to him.
As soon as the boy unscrew the lid from the jar, there was a silent explosion of fireflies all around them.
Hinata watched the scene in absolute awe.
And then...
"Did you know?" Shino suddenly said, "sometimes frogs eat so many fireflies that you can see light glowing through the frog's skin. It's like they themselves glow."
"O - oh, re - really?" Hinata glanced around.
So all these will eventually end up in a frog's stomach?
That was sad.
...and gross.
Talk about a mood killer.
The End.
Thanks for reading.