Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. So if you recognize anyone or anything from the anime, I'm just borrowing.

Takes place sometime before Shippuuden

THANK YOU TO ALL OF MY MARVELOUS REVIEWERS!!!

Chapter 4

OOOOO

The Aburame dining room table was enormous because the entire clan ate together as a family. This was probably one of the reasons dinner conversation didn't get too personal, at least for the shyer ones like Shino. But he loved his family and enjoyed being in their presence. Usually. For some reason he felt weary and vaguely uncomfortable today.

Hinata eyed him suspiciously. He seemed particularly…not quiet—Shino was always quiet. Fidgety. That was the word. Shino kept rotating his wrist as if to stretch out his right forearm. Then he pressed his chest as inconspicuously as he could.

Finally, Hinata could take it no longer. She silently activated the Byakugan and peered at his right arm. The chakra in his right arm seemed particularly low, and there seemed to be fewer bugs than normal. Then she saw it. Right in the middle of his forearm was an enormous bug. It looked like a giant beetle, nothing at all like the small kikaichuu. It seemed to be soaking up Shino's chakra. As Hinata watched, several kikaichuu wandered close to it. The big bug suddenly ate them up.

Hinata's eyes widened with shock. Another second and two more bugs were gobbled.

Shino was right in the middle of serving himself another helping of vegetable salad when Hinata suddenly grabbed his arm and struck his forearm hard with a two-fingered Gentle Fist attack.

Blink. Blink. "Ow," he said belatedly.

"If you wanted the last serving, you could have just said so," Shibiki joked.

Hinata looked up, suddenly recalling the presence of dozens of Aburame men and women staring at her. Her cheeks went bright red; she stood quickly, stuttered an apology, bowed, and gripped Shino by the back of his collar.

"Excuse me!"

Shino stumbled after Hinata as she dragged him out the door.

OOOOO

Hinata found an unused room and grabbed a bug collection kit from a shelf along the way.

"Shino-kun, where was your last mission?"

"It was just inside the borders of Cloud Country," Shino answered wearily. He swayed slightly. "Why?"

Hinata studied his other arm carefully, then his legs. They seemed fairly normal. Head seemed okay. Then she scrutinized his torso. Everything looked normal…Oh no! What is that

Near Shino's heart was a bug similar to the one in his arm. It was slightly more bulbous at the end and had a long, narrow tail. It was draining his chakra at an alarming rate.

"Do you remember getting bitten by anything? Where you camping outdoors?"

"No, it was actually in a village," Shino was very curious about Hinata's actions, but he was finding it difficult to work up the energy to question her.

"Shino-kun, take off your clothes," Hinata instructed. She was already removing her own jacket.

"Hmm?" Shino murmured. Was this another of those…strange dreams?

Hinata frowned worriedly at his lethargic expression. Then she nodded decisively and unzipped his jacket for him. She pulled it off and then pushed up his shirt.

"Hinata. What are you doing?" he asked weakly.

"Shino-kun, help me get your shirt off and then lay down."

Shino did as he was told. All the while Hinata kept a close eye on the alien bug.

It looks like it's just eating his chakra because there's a lot near the chakra center and the heart. I hope this works.

Hinata gathered a solid beam of chakra in her palm and positioned it near the bug. For a while it seemed to be ignoring her. Then it turned almost curiously and followed the beam. Yes! Hinata guided it carefully around his heart and over his shoulder. Then she moved it down to his bicep.

"Shino-kun, when I say 'go' I need you to open Tenketsu 23 as wide as you can. Okay?"

"Hinata, what are you doing? It feels strange."

Hinata didn't have time to answer his questions. That thing was downright evil looking.

"Now! Go!"

Nothing happened.

"Shino-kun, quickly!" Hinata focused the beam of chakra on the tenketsu and held her hand still.

A small hole appeared on Shino's arm. Then the antenna of the strange bug poked out to test the chakra Hinata was offering. Slowly the bug pulled itself out of Shino's body to get more of the strong, concentrated chakra.

When the tail was finally out, Hinata snatched the bug with the long tweezers and dropped it quickly into the bug case. She slapped the lid on it immediately and exhaled as she finally allowed her body to relax.

"Ano…" Shibiki attempted from the doorway. "We just wanted to make sure everything was okay, but it seems like we've come at a bad time, ne? So we'll just be going."

Hinata turned abruptly to find Shino's mother with wide eyes and a hand clapped over her mouth. Shibiki was attempting to shuffle her along. Shibi stood beside her, one eyebrow raised. Shino had definitely inherited his expressive eyebrows from his father.

Shino's immediate family had thought there had been some sort of emergency. They had never expected to find Shino lying on the ground—most of his clothes off and with a girl straddling him as if it were a perfectly normal activity.

"What is that?" Shino asked as he stared at the bug in the case to the left of his face. He seemed more awake now.

"I don't know," Hinata shrugged helplessly. Her hand rested comfortably on his stomach. "I thought you would, since you're a bug user. But I could tell it was bad."

Shibi strode into the room and picked up the case to study it. He inhaled sharply.

"Kore wa…(This is…)" In a flash he set down the case, pulled out something from within his jacket, and tossed what looked like a pill into the bug case. He executed a number of lightening fast seals and a small controlled explosion took place in the case. When the smoke settled, all that was left were ashes.

"Father…you just destroyed a bug…" Shibiki trailed off in shock.

"I never thought I would have to use that technique," Shibi admitted solemnly.

"What was that?"

"It was a Supaichuu (Spy Bug). It is even rarer than the Bikouchuu and a hundred times trickier to use. Long ago, the Supaichuu were used as assassination bugs. They infiltrate a bug user's body by being able to copy the scent of any healthy bug. For this reason, the other bugs do not recognize it as a threat. It is always found in pairs. They burrow together into their target's body. The male consumes the host's bugs and chakra until it grows to a certain point and is ready to mate with the female. The female feeds purely on chakra. Once the female gives birth, the larvas consume the host from within. The process takes no longer than a week. It is certain death to bug users," Shibi explained solemnly.

"What?" Kinako whispered weakly. "Shino…" She swayed dangerously.

"Mother!" Shibiki wrapped his arm around his mother to support her.

"I never knew such terrible bugs existed," Kinako whispered. "Is there anything that can be done?"

"I did not know of any such method. For the most part, the infected person does not realize anything is wrong until it is too late. We…have been very lucky today. I have never heard of a bug user surviving an infection." Finally, Shibi took in his wife's pale face and trembling hands and went to support her. In a reassuring tone, he continued, "Honey, Shino will be fine. The female was removed before the eggs were fertilized. And judging from Hinata-san's actions at dinner, I presume that the male has also been taken care of?"

Hinata nodded.

"The false scent has worn away and my bugs are disposing of the remains of the intruder," Shino informed them from his prone position.

"Shino will be okay, right?" Shibiki asked again.

Shibi nodded resolutely.

"Anata, could you be infected too?" Kinako gasped.

Hinata moved to Shino's side and put the arm she had injured into her lap. This time the chakra from her fingers was warm and healing.

"I have felt unusually tired today. This was most likely due to the chakra depletion," Shino explained. "It did not occur to me that this might have been a symptom, so I ignored it."

"I am not feeling tired," Shibi assured his wife. "And the Supaichuu are so rare that there is no way we could have both been infected."

"Do you think it was an accident? Or do you think it was planned?" asked Shibiki.

"I cannot say at this time."

"Hinata-san, I would like you to tell me more about what happened," Shibi requested.

Hinata nodded. She was finished healing Shino's arm, but it was still resting on her lap as she began.

"Shino-kun seemed like his arm was bothering him at dinner. He has a high pain threshold, so I took a look. There was a large bug. I can draw you a picture if you'd like. It was absorbing the chakra in his arm. Then I saw it eat some of Shino-kun's bug. I'm sorry for interrupting the dinner so rudely," she apologized sheepishly. "I panicked a little. It was eating them so quickly."

Shibi shook his head. "Your actions were the wisest course. Please do not apologize for saving our son's life. So that is when you struck the bug in his arm?"

Hinata nodded.

"Please tell me about the female Supaichuu."

Hinata hesitated and glanced at Kinako. She didn't want to upset Shino's mother.

"It's alright," Kinako nodded resolutely. "The danger is over, so you can tell me."

"I searched and found it next to his heart. I wouldn't have thought something so small could drain so much chakra so quickly."

"How did you remove the creature?"

"I lured it away from his heart with concentrated chakra. Then I removed it by drawing it out from one of the tenketsu in his arm. Oh, I knew I shouldn't have said that!" Hinata frowned worriedly up at Shino's mother.

Kinako suddenly looked a bit green, but she shook her head and spoke in a firm voice. "I'm fine. A mother needs to know these things."

Shibi nodded at her proudly before turning back to his son. "How do you feel, Shino?"

"Fine. Just tired." Shino was still lying on the ground with his arm on Hinata's lap.

"You were very lucky today."

"Yes, I know." As Shino spoke, his hand on Hinata's thigh squeezed imperceptibly.

Hinata patted his hand affectionately. "We should get you some water and then you should sleep to recover your chakra."

Shino nodded again and moved to sit up. It was hard, not only because he was very tired, but because he'd been very comfortable. Hinata slipped an arm around his waist and helped him to his room.

"Shino-kun, would you like anything before I leave?" Hinata inquired solicitously.

Shino seemed to hesitate, but he shook his head.

"I'll stop by tomorrow. Sleep well, Shino-kun."

"Thank you, Hinata."

"Hinata, you are very late," her father commented as she slipped through the front door. He and Neji had waited up for her. They sat side by side in the front room, a tea tray between them.

"I was helping a friend all day, and then there was a medical emergency."

"I see," Hiashi nodded. "Were you able to be helpful?"

Hinata nodded quietly.

"That is good. You should go to bed now. It is getting late."

OOOOO

"What is it?" Shino stared at the beverage in Hinata's hands.

"It's a little chakra replenishing drink I've been working on. At worst it will have no effect. It won't hurt you."

Shino raised an amused eyebrow. "With praise like that, how could I refuse?"

Hinata giggled. "Just be good and drink it."

Shino took the cup and swallowed a hesitant mouthful. It tasted much better than it looked. Of course, it was a rather ghastly green…and bubbling.

"It's rather refreshing," he noted.

"Hee, hee. That is the point." Hinata watched him with her Byakugan.

Shino downed the rest in one go. Slowly, but surely, his chakra brightened until it was almost at his normal level.

"Hinata, this is a wonderful medicine."(A/N: It basically looks like the health drink, Green Machine. I'm thinking of calling it "Chakra-Up." Hee hee.)

"Thank you, Shino-kun. I've been working on it for a long time, and Tsunade-sama has been encouraging me to study pharmaceutical medicine as well as surgery."

Shino nodded. "How has the training been going?"

"Well. It's hard work, but it's also very rewarding. And Tsunade-sama has been very patient and encouraging with me."

"Have you told your father yet about the training?"

"Not yet. I…I want to have something to show for my training before I tell him. I want to have accomplished something he can be proud of."

"Hinata…"

"Mm, mm," Hinata shook her head. "This is the way I want it to be. When I am strong enough, then I'll be able to show my father that I'm not a complete failure. I've got to get going, Shino-kun. I'll come by with another batch tomorrow, okay?" The Hyuuga heiress waved and hurried to her weekly training meeting with the Hokage.

"Hinata…you have been strong enough for a long time now, much stronger than you give yourself credit for," he whispered softly.