Chapter 24: Meaning Of Fate
"Man, that was some craziness back there," Aurion said as he panted.
"You're tellin' me!" Kiba agreed.
Kakashi sighed heavily. "We'll set up camp here for tonight."
"Hey, isn't one of Shinji's envoys supposed to come get us?" Sakura asked. Kitari glanced at her quickly.
"Hey, that's right," Naruto said.
"We'll worry about that later, let's just set up camp."
"Yes sensei."
XXXX
Shino sighed as he stared off at the sky mindlessly. "…What is…fate? What…is the meaning of…fate?"
"Ha ha, you're welcome!" She held out her hand. "I'm Nozomi Airi."
Shino looked at her hand. "Hi."
"…Were we supposed to meet? But…why like that?"
"Wh-What are you doing here Shino?" He tried to suppress his anger.
"Nothing, I was just passing by and I happened to see you here," was Shino's response.
"Wanna sit with us Shino?" Airi asked.
"Did she always have to be so nice to me?"
"Okay, I understand. You have every right to stay quiet…especially after what I did…" She sighed. "Shino, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to do that, I was just caught up in the moment. Kiba and I were having such fun and I wanted you to join in too. I kinda lost my mind back there and acted childishly. For that, I apologize. That was rude of me. In all honesty, I'm sorry. If you don't forgive me, that's reasonable." She rubbed her upper arms.
"She was honestly sorry that time. She's so…sincere…"
She winced. "Shino you…" she started to cry, "…you have to promise me that you'll never do that again!"
"Airi?"
She wrapped her arms around him. "Oh Shino, I was so afraid that you were going to die! Do you know how guilty I felt! Do you? It was all my fault! Shino, you're such a jerk! Why did you hurt yourself just to save me! Why?" She pushed herself off and looked at him. "Tell me!"
Airi? He grabbed her and hugged her. "It's because we're friends Airi. You even said so yourself."
"I guess we were very close…"
"Airi, why are you getting so upset!" He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Who gives a fuck whether I like you or not! You're dating Kiba for God's sake! Whether I like you or not shouldn't matter to you!"
"Shino, it's because I like you that I want to know the truth!" She gasped and covered her mouth.
"If we hadn't acted like that, then maybe we could have…"
Airi looked away. "…Shino…You said that you wanted to continue to fight to bring peace between our clans…" He looked at her curiously. "…You're trying to be a hero, Shino. That's not a bad thing but…sometimes heroes have to walk away."
"What?"
"Shino…we can't be together." She got up and walked away.
He sighed. "What am I saying? It would have never been possible. She knew before me that our clans hated each other. We…We can't…be together…"
"What're you doing out here by yourself?"
Shino looked back. "…Aurion…"
"Hey-yas bug boy!" Aurion said with a smile as he sat next to the bug ninja.
"It's Shino."
"I know, I was just messin' with you…" He cleared his throat. "So, are you excited that you'll see my sister soon?"
"…She doesn't like me…"
"Hmm? Of course she does!"
"…You don't understand…"
"Oh…you mean that." He sighed. "You're right, she doesn't like you…" Shino looked at him. "She loves you."
"What? That's a lie."
"No, it's not. My sister cares so much about you."
"…My memories of her show that she did care about me, but she doesn't love me."
"Stop it Shino. Don't you have any memories where you two were always smiling? Just you two alone? I bet you do. You probably don't think about those often…"
He paused. When we were smiling?
"Sh-Shino!"
"Just relax, it won't hurt you!"
Airi looked at the bug on her arm. "…AHH!" She held out her arm to Shino. "Take it off! Please!"
"Okay, okay." He reached for it, but it jumped on her head.
"AHHH! Shino!" She leaped into his arms.
"I got it, don't worry!" He took it off her head and sent it on its way. "It's gone, you can relax!" They looked at each other. "…Airi?"
She blinked. "…Thanks." She smiled up at him. "That was scary! I thought I was gonna die!"
He started laughing. "You dork, it wasn't gonna kill you!" They both started laughing.
"…Hm…" Shino smiled. "Yeah, I have memories like that."
"See? I bet it was warm and fuzzy too! C'mon, she likes ya!" Aurion said.
"Don't say that anymore."
"No, you stop saying that! It was fate that you met her Shino!"
It's that word again…Fate… He looked away. "Aurion…what is…the meaning of 'fate'?"
"Huh? You're asking me?' He nodded. "Well to me…Fate is something that everyone has. In this world, we live to die. But we live and die for a reason. Fate gave us that reason, whether it's good or bad. Fate can bring two people together, or drive them apart. Fate keeps our life in balance. Fate is destiny. Destiny is life. Life is death. No one dies without a cause, despite what that person might think. We were all put on this earth to do something. It might be good or it might be bad. The point is that we all affect the world in a significant way! We're linked by fate, it keeps order. There's no such thing as coincidence, only fate. There's no 'accidents' or 'luck' or 'chance', only fate. Fate is…a normal part of everyday life. Everything happens for a reason." He smiled. "Well, that's what I think. That's just my opinion."
"I see…"
"I know my sister's really glad to have met you, and you feel the same about her."
"…Yes."
Aurion looked at him. I've never seen Shino so open about his feelings. Maybe my sister has something to do with this. "Shino…I need you to be with my sister."
"Huh? What? But I thought you-"
"You two desperately need each other! You two are destined to stop the war between our clans. Your love for each other can save everyone and the lives of those caught in between this stupid battle. You two were…fated from the beginning to be together. It's your destiny to make everything better again."
"…Aurion…?"
"When we see my sister again, tell her you love her." They both looked up at the moon. "I bet she's thinking about you right now…just like you're thinking about her…"
-/-/-/-
"…Shino, please be alright…You have to live for me…You can't die…I have to tell you that…I love you…"