~Give me Love~

~Chapter 9~

"HINATA! Hinata, where are you going?!"

Hinata ignored him. She was too busy slipping on her sandals after hurriedly getting dressed. She had just seen Neji...she had seen his face, like a haunting ghost. He was here...and she couldn't let anything get in the way of seeing him. It might be her only chance to return home...

Shino caught Hinata by the shoulder as she pulled the door open.

"Hinata...what happened...you can't go out there by yourself!"

She stared at him with hard eyes. "I saw my cousin."

"What?!" he yelled hoarsely.

"He's here...I have to find him...I have to find out what's going on."

With that, she briskly turned and shut the door behind her. For a moment, she paused...and considered what it meant to close that door. No, no time.

She darted down the stairs and ran into the street.

"Neji!" She called out into the darkness. No reply.

"Neji-nisan!" she screamed, her throat cracking. Something drifted into her sight. She held her palms out to catch it.

A feather...a white feather. But something was odd about it. It was translucent...and ghostly. Hinata looked up into the sky and saw a flash of gray heading towards the outskirts of the city. She broke into a sprint and followed the wisp of light as fast as her legs could carry her.

Nothing around her seemed real. Buildings and people whirred by her in blurs of lights and noises. She didn't think. All she could see was the light, and all her body needed was to follow it. Finally, it stopped.

She found herself in an empty training ground...the same place she first spotted Shino. Underneath the trees, ropes, and obstacles, stood the soft, ethereal silhouette of her cousin. Hinata stopped and bent over to catch her breath.

"Neji..." she whispered.

She looked at him, and he looked back with that same eerie smile on his face.

"Hello, cousin."

His voice was a whispered echo that seemed to speak all around her and yet only to her. Hinata rubbed her eyes to ensure she wasn't hallucinating.

"I suppose you want some answers."

Hinata was panting. How hard it had become to simply be mortal!

"I...I'm sorry...I...lost...my...b-bow."

A boisterous laughter echoed all around her and bounced in her head. She clutched her hands to her scalp tightly, trying to keep her mind in once peice.

"Little Hinata-chan, you think this is your fault? That's adorable!"

Hinata looked at him. This didn't seem like the same kind-hearted Neji. He was haughty and smug, and was eyeing her as if he had beaten her in a game of Go.

"What...what are you talking about...?"

Neji chuckled. "Weak, pathetic little Hinata. How could the Hyugas ever pick someone as useless as you as the royal heir to the Hyuga family?"

Hinata coughed. She still wasn't sure what she was hearing, or if she was dreaming. Neji appeared beside her in an instant.

"Little Hinata...how have you enjoyed the spell of my arrow? Isn't it wonderful, to be in love?"

He vanished, and appeared a meter away in a different direction. Hinata glared at him in confusion. "Your arrow? Neji, what did you do?"

"Oh, I just made sure that the Hyuga clan had a proper heir, is all. It was simple, really. Your parents were so heartbroken when they found out that their precious little princess had fallen in love with a human. You couldn't possibly be a cupid after such a travesty had occurred...so...they decided to pass the title to someone more suitable."

Hinata's eyes widened. She must be having a nightmare...she must have fallen asleep at Shino's...this wasn't real.

Neji clasped his ghostly hand around Hinata's chin and lifted it to his glare. His grip felt real enough...and cold.

"There's an odd number of couples in Konoha...it was inevitable that you would find the last one. When I was certain it was just the two of you, I shot you in the back. You fell for him instantly of course, which allowed him to see every last bit of you in plain sight."

What? She didn't...no, she hated Shino at first...how could she have?

"You couldn't have fallen for anyone more perfect. That guy is an obsessive freak of nature. As soon as he had you in his clutches, he had to study you...take care of you. Own you. His love for you is as false as the spells we put these insidious mortals under. Now that your heart has been opened to him, you're nothing more than a mortal yourself."

She ripped away from him, still panicking with uncertainty.

"How...how can you say that...he..he's taken care of me the whole time...he's been helping me try to find you!"

"Trying to help you? Ha!" He bellowed while crossing his arms. "The creep has had your bow since the beginning. He knows full well that your power would be restored if he gave it back to you, but he had to keep you. He wanted you in one of his little boxes."

No...no...no...that's not true...he loves me...

"Has he ever told you he loved you? Of course not. You're just a species to him. A species that he can fuck, evidently."

Hinata fell to her knees and screamed, clutching her hair. Neji knelt down and placed a hand on her head.

"Enjoy your mortality, little cousin."

With that, he was gone.

~o~

Hinata lay crumpled on the grass of the training grounds, sobbing bitterly for an undetermined amount of time. Part of her recognized that she was cold, but she refused to acknowledge it. Her life was torn beyond repair, so what did it matter?

It was only a matter of time before she heard his voice. He knew he would find her. Part of her wanted him to, but mostly she never wanted to see him again. His hand rested softly on her shoulder, and she feircely shrugged it off.

"Hinata...what happened...?" Shino asked with concern.

"It's gone...it's all gone..."

"What are you talking about?"

She turned and glowered at him. He was in his usual garb, but his goggles rested on his forehead. His eyes seemed hollow.

"Is it true? That you had my bow the whole time?"

Shino paused, then let out a sigh. Hinata got to her feet in a brief instant and whacked her hand sharply across his face.

"How could you do this to me?! You knew it would fix everything! How?! Why?!"

Shino held his hand to his face. "I took the bow while you were unconcious. At first, I just didn't want you using it on me...then, after you left with Sakura and Ino, I went to the library without you."

Hinata narrowed her eyes. "Just like a bug...you were researching me..."

"There were many myths. One said that if you looked upon a cupid they would vanish forever, or turn to stone. Seeing as how we're both still here, by logic that was not true. I then came across an article that stated that if a cupid falls in love with a human, they will lose their powers and become mortal. However...the most interesting fact is that cupids are incapable of falling in love, except under the spell of another cupid with malicious intent."

He reached out toward her, but she backed away.

"Please understand, Hinata...when I read that, I knew that there was someone on your end who was out to get you. I knew about the bow, but I hid it from you...I thought you would be safer..."

"That wasn't up to you! You took me away from my family! You took my wings away! You knew all this, and you didn't tell me! You just wanted me for yourself, you just wanted to study me like an insect! That's all I've ever been, just a wounded animal for you to take care of!"

"Hinata...that's not true...I care about you so much...I...I lo-"

"JUST GET AWAY FROM ME!"

Hinata shoved him away with both hands and sprinted passed him toward the city. She was blinded by the salt-laden tears in her eyes, but she had to keep running. There was only one place that she knew she would be safe, and she had to get there, as fast as she could.

~o~

"Oh my goodness, what happened, Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked as she opened her door to the winded, dishelved, mortal girl.

"Can...I just...rest...please?" She whimpered, her voice hoarse from screaming.

"Sure, sure, of course... come on in. Do you want some tea? I just made a pot. Here, why don't you have a seat on the couch."

Sakura held an arm around Hinata's shoulders as she walked Hinata to her pink, squishy couch. After sitting her down, she grabbed a throw-blanket with a cutesy poodle-pattern on it and tossed it over Hinata.

"I'm sorry for bothering you so late at night.." Hinata timidly muttered.

"That's alright, I'm a night owl anyway. I'll get you some tea," Sakura chirped before vanishing into another room.

Hinata wrapped the blanket close and tried not to think. She really didn't want to spill her guts out to Sakura about her being a cupid...she wasn't even sure if she would believe her. It would be better if she could just go to bed and sleep...and never wake up.

Sakura returned and placed a steaming cup of tea on the coffee table, then took a seat beside Hinata.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" she asked softly.

"Not...really..." Hinata replied meekly.

"Do you want to vaguely explain the situation so I won't worry about you all night? Did something happen between you and Shino?"

A glass shard struck at Hinata at the mention of his name.

"He...betrayed me."

"How? That's not very like him at all..."

"He...I don't know...I really don't want to talk about it."

Sakura took Hinata's chin and lifted her face towards her own. Her bright green eyes stared soulfully into Hinata's, and she gave her a very subtle smile.

"Now you listen to me. I haven't had much interaction with Shino, but I've known him a lot longer than you have, and I know his teammates as well. He's a kind, intellegent person, and he's extremely loyal. He would never do anything to put you in danger or hurt you. So whatever he did, I'm sure he's sorry for it."

Hinata looked away, and stared at her cup of tea.

"I...I really..."

"You really don't want to talk about it. I get it, I get it. Just promise me you're alright, okay? You're not gonna do anything crazy on me, are you?"

"No, I promise. I mean, I..I'm not alright, but...I...I j-just want to go to sleep."

Sakura gave her a half-smile. "Alright, well finish your tea and head to bed, then. The sheets are freshly washed, so it's all made up and nice. If you need anything, feel free to let me know. I'm a nurse, you know. So taking care of people is what I'm here for."

Sakura gave Hinata a reassuring pat on the arm before leaving her to her business. Hinata gave the cup of tea one last consideration, and decided she simply didn't have the stomach for it.

Later, Hinata found herself tossing and turning, despite the comfort of Sakura's guest bed. Losing her status as a cupid was exhausting, especially after racing through Konoha. Yet, her brain was as active as a troupe of army ants. She buried her face under the mounds of pillows and blankets, and tried to muffle the sounds in her head.

"Go to sleep...go to sleep...go to sleep...don't think about him..."

She still stank of him, from head to toe. Her mouth tasted like him, and her body was still red from his bites. His face was everywhere in her thoughts.

"Don't think of him...don't say his name..."

Shino...

"Sshhh...no, run away...go to sleep..."

Shino...Shino...Shino...

"He's a lier, he's cruel, he hates you..."

I love you, Hinata...

She screamed bloody murder into her pillow before siting up and throwing her fists into it one punch after another.

"YOU STUPID! YOU STUPID, STUPID, HORRIBLE JERK!"

Into the pillows she dove once again, soaking the fabric with mucus and tears. What a disgusting thing she had become. How did she become so emotional? Why did her heart ache so badly?

"How could you do this to me..." she whimpered to herself.

She clenched her eyes shut, and tensed her whole body into the bed. Then she pulled the blankets around her and wrapped herself up like a sushi roll, tight and snug. She thought of him...holding her. Kissing her neck. Telling her how much he loved her and how much she meant to him. She thought of sunny days on strolls with him, and cool nights among the fireflies. She let him soak into her, deep and fully.

Then, and only then, could she finally go to sleep.

~End of Chapter 9~