Chapter 2 – How could you ever

As for the mission itself…Shino did his best to block it out of his memory. It was a complete and utter failure. Naruto managed to find a Bikōchū bug, much to everyone's amazement, and catch it. However, three members of a rival bug-using clan to the Aburame's got in the way and had the nerve to capture Hinata, using her as ransom to hand over the beetle. In the end, the newly hatched Bikōchū ending up NOT smelling Sasuke's forehead protector, but…well…lets just say Naruto has a little Bikōchū following the seat of his pants around now.

The foursome was making their way home, disappointed at the failure of the mission. They were moving more quickly this time, darting through the trees leisurely like diving dolphins moving through the waves.

All Shino could think about was how the enemy's giant queen bee summon finally went down. Hinata showed her true strength and used her new move, the Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō, that he and Kiba had gruelingly helped her train to achieve these past few months. She molded her chakra around her to create a total defensive shield. Much like Neji's Hakkesho Kaiten total defense, except this one is Hinata's alone and not a move that any other Hyuga can do.

Naruto was going to dive out to help her, but Shino had held him back, "Believe in her" he said. "She did this to prove her strength to herself, to prove it to her father, and," He paused, closing his eyes, "And to prove her strength to you, Naruto."

Naruto was indeed amazed at Hinata's new move. After the enemy was defeated, she collapsed and he went to her, taking her in his arms, saying she was amazing and her new move was fantastic. She blushed and nuzzled his arm. Shino thought to himself, "I am sure he didn't understand how incredibly happy she was at that moment."

As they were darting in and out of the trees Shino saw that Hinata was still blushing, and looking at Naruto who was just ahead of them. He was so busy trying to see her expression that he hadn't noticed then sun had just set. When he finally did, it was only because Kiba alerted him to it. Kiba was very weirded out Shino hadn't called for them to stop when the sun began to set. He voiced for everyone to stop. Naruto complained again, and Shino was NOT in the mood.

"Nar…u…to," He said in a very scary, low tone, turning abruptly to face him, this time only centimeters from his face, so much so that if his glasses had not been pitch black he might have been able to see what was behind them. This alone was enough to shut him up and send him slinking to hide behind Kiba. He didn't even get to finish his "I am the leader of this mission" speech.

They set up a campfire this time, seeing there was no need to get up early to search for anything. Kiba broke out some marshmallows and began roasting them on young green saplings. Hinata tentatively took one and roasted it too. Naruto had about 10 of them on one branch, happily charring them to a crisp before eating them.

"You want to roast a marshmallow Shino?" Kiba grinned, showing off his fangy teeth. He already knew he would say no, but it was always worth a try to get some kind of reaction out of his seemingly emotionless teammate.

"No, I am alright," Shino answered, as expected.

"They're good! You're missing out Shino!" Naruto laughed, eating three at once.

"Really, I'm alright," Shino was actually sulking over the evening's events. He was quite assured that Naruto and Hinata would get together now. After what happened, and what he said to Naruto. Surely he'd put two and two together…

"S-Shino-kun, do you want me to make you one? Then you don't have to do anything…" Hinata said quietly, putting a new marshmallow on her stick.

Shino sat silent for a moment. To Hinata, he could be asleep for all she knew. However, unknown to her, his eyes and lips were contorted into an expression of longing and pain. He contemplated agreeing to her offer…but…what was the point. She saw it as nothing more than friendly gesture. It was not what Shino wanted. He had let it boil in him for far too long to take one more friendly gesture, disillusioning himself to think that maybe, just maybe she was blushing for him.

"She is infatuated with Naruto, Shino. Nothing could ever bring her gaze away from him. He is energetic, strong, and, well, not bad looking," Shino thought sadly to himself. He seriously needed to stop caring about her as more than just a teammate and friend…it was just easier said than done.

And for some reason, that one little marshmallow struck a chord in Shino. Everything from the past few years finally came to a head and crashed down on him like a wall of bricks.

"She will never love you; and never ever would."

He stood up, his head lowered and looking down at the campfire, the light from it flickering off his glasses.

Kiba looked up, "Shino…what is it?" Naruto and Hinata also blinked in surprise.

"Shino-kun?" Hinata said, looking up at him.

That did it, something in him snapped.

He jumped up suddenly with the speed and lightness of a cat into the tree canopy, darting onto a large tree branch that was above the rest of the foliage.

"What the- SHINO! WHERE ARE YOU GOING!" Kiba stood up and yelled at the darkness of the forest left behind him.

Hinata blinked in disbelief, "W…what…why did he…?"

"Did he see an enemy or something? I don't see Shino as the randomly-running-off type," Naruto said quickly, standing up.

"I have no idea…" Kiba muttered, "I've never seen him do that." Kiba smelled at the cool night air, "There is no one around…so it wasn't that."

"Should we go after him?" Naruto shot back.

"I dunno," Kiba looked down, then back up, sniffing the air once more, "He didn't go very far, I think he's just at the top of that tree there."

Hinata didn't know what to do, she was confused and worried about her teammate's unusual behavior. She looked up into the tree Shino had disappeared into.

Kiba sat back down after a pause, "Let him be for awhile I guess."

Naruto squinted in his usual closed-eye manner, "humm…I really don't get him."

Hinata looked down at the un-roasted marshmallow on her stick. She put it over the fire and slowly began to brown it. Kiba started to do the same with a new pair of marshmallows.

---

Shino breathed heavily, down on his hands and knees on the high branch. Every breath swelled up a tightness in his chest as his kikaichu bugs stirred at his quickly beating heart, overcome with the wash of emotion from what just happened. A few broke out from his neck, crawled up over the edge of his collar and across his face.

"Goddamn it!" He thought to himself, "What is wrong with you! Get a grip!"

He lowered his head and breathed, catching himself. After a few minutes he was calm again, and sat down on the branch's edge, dangling his feet over the side. Some of the escaped Kikaichu explored the tree's large trunk, crawling up it. Shino silently called them back as they began to venture too far. They 'scree'ed' in a dissapointed tone, and flew over. They landed in his hair and slowly made their way back inside his jacket. Shino kept running his internal dialog through his head.

"Why is it so hard to accept…don't you want her to be happy? She could never love you anyhow…because of what you are, what you look like…You probably, in reality, completely disgust her, she just doesn't want to say it. Even to this day you freak her out a littl-"

"Shino-kun?"

Shino looked up, upon hearing a voice behind him. He turned just enough to see it was Hinata sitting on the branch just two feet from him, holding her marshmallow stick with a freshly browned puff at its tip. Any of his bugs that had broken free and not returned yet fluttered their way back under his coat and burrowed back under their master's skin.

There was a pause, as she saw he had some of his bugs out. She waited patiently for them to disappear under his coat before she broke the silence, when she slowly and quietly said, "Are you alright? … You scared everyone running away so suddenly. I…I brought you a marshmallow because you didn't eat anything and you don't want to go to bed hungry…it, well I know it gives me bad dreams." She smiled gently.

After a pause on Shino's behalf, he turned to face her head on. She held out the stick and he carefully reached out and took it.

"Thank you," He said calmly.

"…Your welcome."

"…"

"Y…you going to come back down?"

"…" Shino un-did the top snap of his jacket, so that his face was exposed; his collar splaying open slightly.

"It'll get cold…" Hinata said almost inaudibly.

He delicately took a bite of the marshmallow, and finished it in a few more. He then sat holding the stick in his hands, looking down at it. There was another long silence.

"Is something wrong?" Hinata said suddenly.

Shino did not want to lie, but he also did not want to make her worry.

"You did a good job, taking down that queen bee." he said at last, "You used your new move perfectly, you should be proud."

Hinata blushed, "Thank you, yes, it, it did work. And Naruto saw all of it, I…" She turned red, "I was so happy."

Shino frowned, forgetting his collar was down. Hinata instantly saw his changed expression, "Is something wrong Shino?"

Shino would have jumped in surprise if he were any other man, but being Shino he sat perfectly still, and replied quickly, "Nothing," … "You really love Naruto, don't you?"

Hinata blushed even more, putting her fingers together, "I umm….I…."

"Why shouldn't you, he's strong, good looking, popular, and energetic. I can't compete with that." Shino said lowly, looking at the darkness ahead of him in the forest.

"W…what…?" Hinata blinked.

"I said I can't compete with him," Shino could not believe what he was saying out loud, but it was just coming out, and he couldn't stop it, "You love him, you've always been infatuated with him for as long as I can remember...all the way back to when we first met as kids in the academy. There is no way you could notice anyone else who might like you. Even if they were right next you…all along." He lowered his head.

"Shino-kun…?" She looked confused, "What are you…saying?"

"I'm saying….that I like you…and I have liked you for a long time. But," He paused, "You could never like someone like me. Kiba is right when he calls me "Bug Freak", because that's what I am, and that's all I'll ever be to anyone when it comes down to it. And, I have to accept that."

Hinata could not believe what Shino was saying. It also had to be the most she had EVER heard him say at once. She tried to find words to say, but her shyness caught her and she could only mouth words, no sound escaping her lips. Shino went on, still looking away, his tone of voice slowly building from sorrow to anger. The flood gates had opened, and there as no stopping him now. Not his common sense, his calm nature, nor the rising pain of thousands of kikai bugs writhing under his skin.

"Because how could you ever," Hinata watched Shino's back, and could see his hands reach up and take off his glasses, "…like someone who looked like THIS." He turned around abruptly. Hinata gasped, and her eyes widened at what she saw.

Where Shino's eyes should have been was nothing more than dark, empty sockets. Behind them she could just barely make out in the moonlight dozens of kikai bugs teeming at the back of his eye sockets.

Fumbling backwards from the surprise of what he had done and what she saw...she forgot she was on a tree branch, and slipped off the edge.

Shino gasped, "Hinata!"

Hinata screamed, falling through the darkness, trying to grab a hold of ANYTHING to break her fall. But there was not a single branch within her reach.

From the forest floor hundreds of feet below Kiba and Naruto looked up; having heard the scream.

Shino reacted instantly; thrusting out his right arm over the edge of the branch, sending out thousands of kikaichu from the main openings on his arms. The long strand of massed kiaki bugs zoomed to their target and wrapped around Hinata's waist, catching her with a jerk. Shino nearly fell off the branch himself and braced his body with his other hand. He swung her up using the momentum from her fall; she grasped onto the edge of the branch, using her chakra to latch onto it. As Shino's bugs dispersed he quickly ran to her and helped her up. Both sat panting for a moment in shock and exhaustion. Hinata was so in shock that she forgot all about the hundreds of Kikai bugs crawling on her, most quickly making their way back to their host.

After a dead minute of silence, it was broken by Naruto and Kiba's screams from below,

"HOoooyY! HINATA! You okay!"

"HI-NA-TA! What's going on up there?"

"Arff arf!"

Hinata and Shino both looked up and met eyes, or at least Hinata's eyes met Shino's face where his eyes used to be. He looked both terrified and sorry at the same time. Hinata slowly reached out, shaking, and picked up his glasses.

"S…Shino-kun…you…"

"My god, I'm a monster, what have I done….I nearly killed her..." Shino thought, stammering to himself in his head.

"S…Shino-kun…" Her milky eyes were welling up in tears for a whole range of emotions she could barely comprehend.

Shino stumbled backwards away from her.

He ran.

He didn't care where.

Just AWAY.

Hinata watched as Shino disappeared into the darkness. Just as he vanished from sight Naruto and Kiba landed on the branch next to her.

"Hinata, what happened?" Kiba shook her shoulder.

"Hinata…?" Naruto looked into her face, which was still staring blankly ahead in the direction which Shino ran.

"Errr….Rrrro-ow…" Akamaru half-purred / growled in worry.

"Hinata answer me, what happened? Where is Shino?" Kiba pushed Naruto aside and held both her shoulders, looking into her face.

She finally snapped out of it, and looked into Kiba's eyes, "H…he…" She looked down and unclasped her hands, revealing his glasses.

"Wha…are those Shino's sunglasses?!" Kiba yelped.

"No way! He took them OFF! Are you serious?" Naruto gasped.

Hinata nodded, and fell into Kiba's arms, limp. The overload of adrenaline finally washed out of her.

"Hinata," Kiba softly whispered, "geeze, what happened…" He shook his head.

"Must have been something intense, she's out of it," Naruto stood up.

Akamaru nuzzled and licked Hinata's face.