Even If by Santeira
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto characters.
Summary: Sometimes, it takes a long time to understand nothing… HinaShino One-shot
Hyuuga Hinata, like any other student in the academy, had always wondered what was hidden behind the sunglasses that shielded the eyes of Aburame Shino.
She first met him in the kindergarten, and noticed how strange it was--for a six-year-old--to wear sunglasses even in the darkest of days. A lad of mystery and impassivity, Hinata had always thought there was something sensational veiled behind his glasses. Like a harmful secret only known to the Aburames, or the mixture of colors that could only be equal to a beautiful painting. But one thing Hinata was certain of was, Aburame Shino was a fierce fighter.
Being on the same team, had taught her much of his habits and quirks. Like how he liked to sit atop tree branches, observing both she and Kiba. And how he liked to summon a gathering of bugs, and talked with them, as he sat by the flowing water of rivers in the wilderness.
Or like how the frown would crease his forehead almost all of the time, or how stiff his body would be when he was sleeping. The only sign that would show he was alive, was the steady movements of his chest, and the silent breathings she had grown used to--because both she and Kiba liked to sleep by his side, because there was a sense of safety and serenity, that lingered in his presence. To this Hyuuga, whom vigor was a harsh demand and training was precedence, or even to the Inuzuka, whom noise and loudness were a virtue, being around the Aburame was a golden diversion.
And they were the trio of might (we were the tempest that billowed the fields of bonfire!).
The chance ultimately came one day, at the gates of Konoha, when Shino was assigned on a mission to assassinate the greatest enemy Konoha had known to existence. The prospect was, should Shino fail—there was a great chance he would not be coming back.
The sadness overwhelmed her being as Shino stood stiff, as though he himself knew, it could be their last time standing against each other. It was as though suddenly realizing how tall he had grown, or how real he had looked in front of her. Hinata raised her fingers, touching the rims of his glasses with the intent on removing them. She realized, this might be her only opportunity to finally witness what he had been obliterating behind his glasses.
There was not a single hesitation on Shino's part, as her fingers delicately touch them, but as she felt the metal rims against the tip of her fingers, she felt the pieces of time and memory were floating between them--the junctures when he had accompanied her to spar into the late nights, or when they had silently watched the campfire burn in the dark woods, as they lied inside their sleeping bags. Hinata remembered the most--the fire--it had danced as though taunting them to sleep with thoughts unknowing, if death and destruction awaited them when they wake up in the morning.
Or the patience he had shown, waiting as she was struggling to rise from a fall, or the understanding he had displayed, as he warily wrapped the bandages around her badly bruised palms.
And even the gazes he had fixed on her, as she hid herself behind trees and streetlamps, stealing glimpses of the blonde ninja of her dreams, as he blustered about beside a certain pink-haired Kunoichi in the streets.
She realized she did not need to see Shino's eyes.
With this thought, she retracted her hands, instead giving Shino a hug. And as the latter returned her embrace, she felt a certainty that was just as strong as her yearning for his safety, and his will to survive.
"Good luck, Shino-kun," she had wished, "Please return when you've finished the mission."
No later words were exchanged; no goodbye kiss to haunt them at time of absence, because she knew, and he knew, of this certainty.
Even if the glasses remained to shield his eyes, Hinata knew the silent oath was written inside them. And though she hardly showed it, she knew not even death could sever the tie between them—and even if she really were the weakest human to ever curse The Hyuuga kinfolks and their beloved Konohagakure, Shino would have loved her still.
It was not so very different.
END