A/N: This might amuse you.
Yes, that was it! Unwillingly, Hinata accepted the harsh truth. The person who she wanted both to protect and destroy was the young man sleeping peacefully in front of her. She felt upset at herself for even thinking that she must destroy him.
He turned, body drenched in sweat.
Tears pricked at her eyes as she reached out to brush away the tears that had formed in his.
"Neji nii-san…" she whispered, not trusting herself to speak. A lump formed in her throat. No, she couldn't hurt him. She mustn't! He was the only one who could always comfort her no matter what was wrong. He was… he was… He was her protector. In a way, she supposed that she loved him as much as she loved Naruto.
Or perhaps it was more than that.
She couldn't be sure.
She needed him. She needed him as much as she needed her teammates, and in some twisted way, she loved all four of them.
She needed them all. She was dependant on them.
No it wasn't twisted to love Naruto more than her family, she convinced herself. Nor was it wrong to care this deeply for her teammates... even if she cared for Shino just a little bit more than she did Kiba. And it could never be strange of her to like Neji so much, she told herself, desperately wishing that she believed her own lies.
Her world was falling apart, piece by piece, and she was aiding its demise.
She couldn't convince herself, however, that it was normal to love all three of them with the exact same depth of love. No, she should love Naruto first, Neji second and Shino third.
She knew this, but she could not do so.
She would sacrifice her life for any one of them.
A sigh escaped her cousin's lips. Idly, she wondered what he was dreaming about. Or perhaps... perhaps he wasn't.
It was late, she reminded herself. She had to get some sleep or she would never be able to train. She replaced her head onto his bed, not at all surprised when he reached out his hand to take hers after a couple of minutes.
She had already suspected that he wasn't asleep.
Shino wondered what was bothering Hinata. Even a quick chat with Naruto did not reveal anything. What he did know was that Neji, Naruto and himself were all worried about Hinata. Yet, all of them were hiding something from each other.
He supposed that Naruto, like himself, had special, private moments with Hinata which he did not want to share. Still, Neji was so stubborn. He could tell that the Hyuuga genius not only had valuable information to give him but also dangled it in front of him before snatching it away. Yes, he had let Shino know that he knew something more but was reluctant to share it with Shino.
Shino frowned at this thought.
It was true that Hinata and Neji were very close now. She would have told Neji everything. While Shino did know some details about her dreams, Neji knew about it first. Furthermore, Shino had a feeling that he was only getting a summarized version of the story.
Shino sighed. Neji was the very definition of over-protective now.
Shino knew that Neji had felt very guilt about hurting Hinata, so it seemed that he had made it his personal mission in life to make sure no one ever did the same thing to her again.
It was a tad too late, Shino thought, but better late than never.
He was suddenly struck by a thought. Perhaps, just perhaps, he might be in love with Hinata.
Perhaps that was why he was jealous of Neji.
Neji felt himself falling. His heart rate accelerated and adrenaline pumped through his veins. He was afraid.
Was Hinata-sama alright?
After a while, he landed on something soft. He sighed. He could finally see. There was no much light, though. He walked into a dark room. It was marked with the scent of death-the smell of blood, sweat and pain beyond imagination.
The lights automatically turned themselves on.
"No, this cannot be!"
"Why not?" spoke the girl.
"No. You merely look like her."
"Ah, yes, we agree on something," the man beside her said. He was shocked to find that the man was his uncle. "Then again, they are both very beautiful, whether or not their eye and hair colour are the same, do you not agree?"
Calming himself, he nodded.
It could not be Hiashi-sama then. Hiashi-sama would never speak of Hinata-sama in that manner.
"He will die if he hurts her again," the white-haired girl said, a soft smile on her face, "but he has been helping her, so I shall not hurt him," she continued.
"What?"
"She said that if you hurt Hinata again, she would kill you. She is only letting you off because you have been aiding Hinata-chan."
Suddenly, realisation dawned on him. Was this…?
He would not take any chances.
"You were the one who hurt Hinata-sama,"Neji told the man, eyes cast downwards. "You will never do it again!" heb yelled angrily, hands already poised to perform a seal.
"Calm down. He will not. He will obey me. If you want to help her, you will do as I say."
"Why should I?! You hurt her too!"
"That was before I realised Hinata was-"hastily, she continued, as if she had not meant to let him hear that. "In any case, I will not hurt her ever again. Please trust me, Neji."
"No."
"You only have to listen to my plan. Then, you can decide if it helps her."
"Fine."
"And…"
"What is it?" Neji asked impatiently.
"Love her. Love her well. She has never truly been loved by someone who could be there for her."
Neji pondered over those words but did not give a reply.
"Shino-kun."
"Yes?"
"I would like to ask you…" Hinata bit her bottom lip shyly," is it p-possible to love your teammates the same way you do your family and your m-mate?"
Shino choked, his face looking like someone had poured a generous amount of tomato sauce over it. "Seeing that she was serious, he tried to compose a reply. "No, it isn't. You would love all of them differently."
"In the same amounts?" she questioned. Her smile faltered slightly and her legs seemed incapable of holding her up. They were trembling.
"In different amounts, of course Why do you ask?"
Hinata shook her head. "Just curious," she replied, her voice taking on a melancholic quality. Her head was bowed slightly and the sunshine seemed to have flown out of her eyes. She made his heart ache, he realised.
He smiled encouragingly, not willing to push her to tell him more.
"It will be okay, Hinata."
Hinata nodded, but a tear had already slid down her face. He wished he could return the tear back into her eyes and take away her sadness. What could possibly be wrong?
If only he could help her.
A/N: Thanks for reading up to here, it's done now! Ask whatever you wish. I'll reply if it will not affect your enjoyment of the story.
