~Give Me Love~

~Chapter 2~

It was not easy. At all.

This guy was Mr. Antisocial. The only people he ever even looked at were his team mates Kiba and Sai, whom Hinata had already paired off with other shinobi. During an afternoon of stalking him behind corners, she found he was quite possibly the most solitary man in Konoha. He came home to a lonely apartment for one, and spent the rest of his time wandering around in the woods and fiddling with various insects he found along the way. Hinata was getting so frustrated...she just wanted to tag him and go home and lie down. Her wings were positively aching...but she had to do this. She must do it. For her family. For Father. For Neji.

Yet, there she was, stuck on a branch and watching this spooky weirdo pick at a praying mantis. As she stared at him with her face in her cupped hands, she came to an interesting thought. What would happen if she just shot him right now with no one around? It wasn't exactly against the rules, and theoretically speaking, he would just fall in love with the next person he saw. Technically speaking, you were supposed to find pairs to match up, but it didn't matter...as long as he was paired, right?

So Hinata strung her bow, loaded an arrow, and aimed carefully at the man's back. Without hesitating another moment, she released the arrow, then gasped in shock as the arrow was caught in the the man's grip. The second Hinata realized what had happened, the arrow snapped with a loud crack, then vanished into a plume of silky violet dust. Hinata's heart was pounding violently in her chest as the hooded figure turned his gaze towards her. Even behind those terrifying goggles, she could feel his eyes burning holes into her.

What was happening? Humans couldn't see cupids...cupids were invisible to the mortal eye! Wait...yes...that's it...he only saw where the attack was coming from...he couldn't see her...but then, how could he see her arrow?!

"Who are you and what do you want?" the figure asked sternly.

Hinata gulped hard, shaking with fear.

"Y-y-y-you can s-s-s-see m-me?"

"Of course I can. You're wearing that ridiculous outfit and you have a golden bow that reflects light everywhere. I don't know where you're from, but you must be the worst shinobi I've ever seen."

Hinata blinked, and clutched her bow to herself defensively.

"Sh-shinobi? Oh..oh no...you've...you've got it all wrong...I'm..."

She paused. Should she even mention that she was a cupid? The humans knew about them from their stories but, they were always considered to be myth. It might be dangerous to reveal otherwise.

"You're what? A visitor? A festival attendee? Some punk kid who's up to no good? That tends to be a running theme here with shinobi who wear brightly colored outfits..."

"I'm...I'm..."

"Spit it out. If you don't tell me who you are and what your purpose is, I'll subdue you and report you to the Hokage as a trespasser."

Hinata was trembling so much, she lost her balance and began to tumble out of the tree. She managed to catch a nearby branch on the way down, but landed in a rather unflattering position in the dirt below. Now vulnerable, she hurriedly scrambled upright and felt around for her bow, terrified that the hooded man would be eager to attack her at this point. However, when she caught view of what was going on, she noticed that the man was silently walking away from her, hands in pockets.

"H..hey! Where are you going? Don't you want to know what I am?" she asked pitifully, while getting herself to her feet. He continued to walk on, not even turning his head.

"You're not dangerous. That's all I need to know."

She paused, not sure whether to take the statement as an insult or a relief. Yet, she couldn't let him go...he was her final hope, and it was concerning that he of all humans could see her. Picking up her bow, she trotted off after him.

"Wait...wait!" she called as she lightly bounced to his side. He didn't bother giving her a glance.

"You don't understand...this is a very strange circumstance! You see, I'm a Hyuga cupid. I'm..I'm trying to find couples to pair for the festival, and I only need one more...I'm...I've looked everywhere, and you're the only one I could find..."

No attention was given to her.

"...I mean...i-it's strange...because you can see me. You're not supposed to be able to see me..."

Silence. They continued to walk deeper into the woods, and the ground started to become gnarled and tangled with roots. Hinata took this as an opportunity to show off her ability to fly to prove what she was trying to tell him. Her wings lifted her up, and she fluttered in front of him.

"See? My wings even let me fly...I'm a real cupid! Really! So please...isn't...isn't there anyone who is special to you? Aren't you lonely?"

"No." He replied curtly as he dodged her and continued to walk on. Hinata pouted and fluttered beside him.

"Come on, anyone at all? No crushes, even someone you thought was cute?"

"No."

"Well...even so...if you're lonely...I can make it so..."

"Not interested."

Hinata huffed and crossed her arms as the hooded man continued onward without her. What a jerk! He was really starting to get on her nerves...but she couldn't give up now! With a whirl of wind on her wings, she flew in front of him and got right up in his face. His brows scowled onto the tops of his goggles as he attempted to swat her away like an annoying fly.

"Come on, you're my last hope! You have to help me!"

"Get out of my way!" He barked, yet Hinata continued to keep him from going any further.

Then, without warning, the hooded man tripped on a knotted root, and tumbled into a gaping hole in the ground. Hinata gasped and grabbed him by the back of his coat in a hurry, but her wings did not have enough power to keep the two afloat. As a result, she was sucked into the hole with him, and down into an endless darkness.

She awoke moments later beneath a dim beam of light from the opening above her, with lungs full of dust. After a fit of coughs, she groaned and attempted to lift herself off the ground, but her whole body ached with scratches and bruises. She squinted into the light above her and noticed the remains of broken roots and knots. The hole must have been at least twenty feet above her, so she had taken quite a fall. Still, no issue for a cupid, right? She could just fly right on out of there and be on her way. She tried to move her wing, but a piercing bolt of pain shot through her back. She shrieked into the darkness around her, and clutched feebly at her wing. Her feathers were hot and sticky, and matted with blood and dust.

Her eyes widened as she began to understand her situation. She was stuck! And greatly injured! And in this horrible hole in the middle of nowhere! All thanks to a stupid, good for nothing, stubborn...wait. Where was the hooded man?

It was then she noticed a dim glow a few feet away from her, and it was coming towards her. Hinata shielded herself with an arm, but as the glow came into the light, she recognized him as the man she'd been so adamant to disturb, surrounded by hundreds of little black insects. Hinata wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole picture, but she knew that she had made a terrible mistake. This man wasn't about to let her be after she had caused him to fall in this hole. With this realization, hot, dusty tears began to form at the corners of Hinata's hazy white eyes.

Much to her surprise, the figure drew back his hood to reveal a mess of swept back, spiky brown hair. He still had his goggles on, but he appeared...much more human. He then got down on a knee and offered a hand to Hinata. She looked into his goggles with confusion.

"You're injured," he said quietly. "Let me help you up."

A moment of hesitation went by, but she decided to take his offer. His gloved hand wrapped around her delicate little fingers, and felt strangely warm. She wobbled as he lifted her up, then he caught her around the waist as she began to fall back down. It seems her knee had taken some damage as well. She clutched onto him to hold herself up.

"I'm...I'm..so...so sorry..." she whimpered, tears now making filthy trails down her cheeks.

The man grunted, then eased her down onto the ground again. He leaned down on his knee and gave her a hard stare.

"You're nothing but trouble."

Hinata blushed and looked away from him, clenching her eyes shut. She bunched herself up to the best of her abilities while avoiding her injuries, and hoped she would just disappear and wake up in her fluffy bed in Sky Castle. A few minutes went by, then she started to feel a firm, yet gentle tug at her wings. She looked up and behind her, and found the man to be wiping the filth away from her feathers with a medical cloth. His work was illuminated by the soft yellow glow of the insects about him.

"Wh...what are you doing?" she asked meekly.

"Fixing up your injuries. You won't be able to get very far with a broken wing."

"But...I...I thought...why are you h-helping me?"

The man sighed and continued to stare at his work.

"You know, I really hate birds. They're nothing but nuisances...they're loud, they're ugly...they leave feathers everywhere..."

Hinata just stared at him, afraid to do anything further. He paused and looked up at her.

"But, I can't leave a helpless creature alone in the dark. It's against my morals, even if you are part good-for-nothing bird."

"I'm...I'm a cupid, not a bird..." she said quietly.

"Whatever. The anatomy's not much different," he grumbled as he pulled out some ointment from his backpack. "Hold still, this will probably sting."

Hinata clenched her fists and squeaked as the stinging antiseptic made its way into her wounds. More tugging followed as he began to wrap her wing in gauze.

"I really don't care what you are, to be honest. All I care about is getting out of this cave. I wouldn't say you're welcome to come with me, but I'm probably your only chance of getting out of here alive. Just...be quiet, and follow my lead. Is that understood?"

Hinata stared at him as he began to pack up his things. "But, I..."

"I said to be quiet. Do you want out of here or not?"

"Y...yes."

"Then shut it."

"But..."

"If you say one more thing..."

"I just..."

"That does it, I'm leaving you behind..."

He promptly got up and began to walk off, but Hinata reached out and grabbed him by his coat.

"I just want to know your name!" she yelped.

The man sighed, then turned to her.

"It's Shino."

"Shino..." she repeated to herself.

"Yes?" he replied curtly.

"Thank you...for...for helping me."

"Sure." He began to turn away again.

"Wait...don't you want to know my name?"

"Not really," he replied as he started walking off into the darkness. Hinata struggled to lift herself to her feet.

"Well, it's Hinata. My name is HinaTAH!" She yelped as she fell back down, clutching her knee. Shino let out another sigh, then knelt down to her.

"Here, get on my back. I'll carry you...but only if you promise to stay quiet for the rest of the way."

She nodded in defeat, then shuffled her way onto his back. His arms wrapped around her thighs a bit too tightly for comfort, but she weaved her arms around his shoulders all the same. She felt herself clutching onto him as if doing so would save her life.

Then again...it probably would.

~End of Chapter 2~