~Give Me Love~

~Chapter 3~

As requested, Hinata remained perfectly silent while Shino carried her throughout the ominous caverns. It was absolute torture not to pester him with questions about who he was, why he was so disinterested in love, why he hated birds so much, what was with the little glowing insects that followed him everywhere and seemed to do whatever he bid them to do, and most importantly, why he could see her.

But, she could barely move, her knee and wing were busted, and he had been kind enough to carry her about as opposed to leaving her on the dusty cavern floor for all eternity. So, she kept her lip zipped, and settled with being the least amount of a nuisance she could be. Occasionally there would be a scutter or a flapping in the darkness that would spook the poor cupid and cause her to bury her face in the folds of Shino's hood. Shino would grunt and hoist her up back onto him every now and then, but otherwise showed no response.

Eventually, they made their way to a particularly spacious cavern. Hinata could feel the temperature drop around them, and the echoes of Shino's footsteps grew louder. She lifted her head from his hood and noticed just how dark everything was. Beyond the glow of Shino's insects, it was like a sheet of infinite, unseeable space. It made Hinata feel very empty and small. Yet, the colder the area around her grew, the more appreciative she was of Shino's warmth. That is, until she felt herself being sat down.

"Wha..." she let escape before covering her mouth.

"I can't hold you while I do this. Be patient."

Hinata felt horribly alone as Shino stepped away from her. She was almost submerged in a complete, freezing darkness, until she saw Shino's faintly illuminated silhouette reach its arms out. Within moments, thousands upon thousands of glowing insects spewed out from Shino's coat in massive clouds. Hinata watched in awe as the clouds brightened up the enormous room before them. What they revealed was astounding.

The cave must have been at least five hundred meters high. Two massive limestone structures towered high above them, like a pair of titans that had been drizzled with icing. Along the ceiling was a beautiful curtain of stalactites that dripped down into ribbons and long, tendril-like sticks. At the very base of the limestone titans was a crystal-clear pool of water, surrounded by a wall composed of a variety of stubby little stalagmites. Hinata's heart ached at the beauty that nature had left for them.

Once Shino had finished releasing the insects, he made his way over to the pool and began to reach towards it. Hinata couldn't hold her tongue.

"Wait! Don't touch that!"

Shino turned to her.

"This place has been here for millions of years! It would be a shame if you touched it..."

Shino quietly pointed to some of the stalagmites nearby the edge of the pool. They looked a lot more worn than the other ones.

"See these? They've been stunted by touch. Someone's been here before, so by no means is this cave pure and untouched. There are even some coins at the bottom of this pool."

Hinata frowned at this, but supposed there wasn't much more to say about it.

"This also means that there's a possibility of a way out of here...assuming we don't come across any remains."

Hinata gulped. "...r-remains?"

Shino knelt down and filled a flask with the cave water. "Yeah. Could be that the people who were here before didn't make it. If we find their bodies, it will make our journey much more difficult."

Heavens help her. A broken wing and a twisted knee, endless dark caves, and now dead bodies? Hinata was just a cupid trying to find love for people! This was no place for her. When would she ever get out of here?! Or for that matter...would she even get out of here at all? Or be stuck in this miserable place with this creep with the bugs? She started to feel her eyes tear up again, and she went back into her defensive bundled position. Again, she felt a tugging at her wings.

Shino was washing her feathers with water from the flask. The bandages had grown red with blood, so he decided it was time to change them. Carefully and diligently, he went through the procedure of sanitizing and binding her wound. Despite the sting of the ointment, he amazingly knew just how to handle her wing so it would cause the minimum amount of pain. Once he was done wrapping her up, he poured some water onto a cloth and moved to her front, then pressed the back of his fingers to her forehead. He grunted, then moistened a spare cloth with the cave water and began wiping away the dust on her face. Hinata stared at him in wonder.

"You're starting to get a little feverish. Here, drink some water."

She clasped the flask with both hands and sipped away at it as commanded. The water was chilly, and had a sort of coppery taste to it. She hadn't noticed before, but now that he mentioned it, she did feel rather hot and weak. Yet, she couldn't stop shivering. Even with the cave somewhat lit, the emptiness of got to her, and seemed to chill her right to her very soul. It was a terrible feeling, being so handicapped and dependant on this stranger, who treated her like a burden, yet felt so compelled to help her out even after she had caused the incident in the first place. It then occurred to her that her barrier of silence had been broken momentarily, and Shino seemed to be taking a moment to rest for himself. Perhaps now would be a good time to learn more about her temporary companion...but what to ask?

"You...sure know a lot about taking care of people," she muttered.

"Just basic medical training. All shinobi are required to know it for missions."

"Well, you even know how to fix my wing. I don't think normal ninja have those..."

"Mmm. I spend a lot of time in nature...I study animals, mostly insects. You learn a few things."

"But you said you hated birds..."

"I still study them."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Hinata bit her lip. She was glad he was being talkative, but his vague responses irked her. What was with this guy?

"Hmm...well...anyway, I really appreciate all your help."

"It's not a problem."

Hinata tapped her fingers together shyly.

"Um...how much longer do you think til we get out of here?"

"As long as it takes."

Hrmph.

"Anymore annoying questions you want to throw at me?" he said as he cast a glance in her direction.

Hinata had just about had it with his attitude. You know what? She did have questions! And she was gonna ask them!

"Yeah, I do!" she barked as she placed her hands on her hips. "What's with all these weird bugs you carry around? And why didn't you bring them out the whole time if you could make the whole cavern light up like that? And why can you see me? And how were you able to catch my arrow?!"

Wait a minute...

"Oh no..." she held her hands to her cheeks in panic, "My bow! I left it behind!"

Without thinking, she tried to get to her feet, only to fall as she relentlessly had before. Shino held her down by the shoulder. She looked at him with distraught.

"If I lose my bow...I can't become a real cupid..."

Then it all started to come back to her. Her family, her task, the fact that she only had a week before the festival, and why she had ended up in this miserable place in the first place. At this rate, she would never become a true cupid. Her family would be ashamed. She wadded herself up tighter than ever before, and sobbed into her sleeves until she realized that Shino was no longer next to her. In addition, the bugs were starting to fade out.

"Sh...Shino-kun?"

Her voice echoed against the walls, but no response. The bugs became dimmer.

"Shino-kun? Shino-kun! Where are you?! Please don't leave me behind! Please!"

She crawled across the ground, unable to get herself to her feet. Though, it was more of a drag then a crawl, and her dress was snagging on the rough rocks below her. She didn't care, though...she absolutely did not want to be left behind.

Darker and darker the cave grew, as her form fell into a complete bitch-black abyss. She continued to crawl, helplessly, the sharp pain in her wing growing more and more apparent.

"Shino-kun! Shino-kun! I'm sorry for asking you so many questions! I'll be quiet! I promise!"

Fear crawled down into her throat and made her eyes swell. Still she scratched her way through the emptiness. Only the sounds of her breathing and ripping cloth could be heard.

"Shino...kun..."

Then, she was lifted up.

"You're so troublesome...I leave you alone for five seconds and you have a panic attack. Calm down."

She couldn't see him, but she felt his arms around her legs and torso, and she was pressed against his chest. His warmth was never more welcome.

"I only left because my insects found an exit up ahead. It might be a bit of a climb, but we'll get out of here."

Shino was a scary person. He was always under a hood, and his eyes for forever hidden behind black, opaque goggles. He had a scowl permanently tattooed on his brow. He had insects that lived in his sleeves. But even in the darkness, even though he didn't have wings, even though he had treated her with such distaste, he was an angel right then and there. Hinata pressed her face against his chest and closed her eyes. As long as she was next to him, she was safe.

An undetermined amount of time passed. For reasons unknown to Hinata, Shino had continued his journey in complete darkness. It honestly didn't matter to her at that point...as silly as Shino had made it seem, being alone on the cavern floor had utterly traumatized little Hinata, and quite frankly as long as she was in contact with him, it didn't matter where he was taking her. She didn't really have any other options besides that, anyway.

The time did however come when they reached the exit that Shino had mentioned. Though, a "bit of a climb," was kind of an understatement. She might of had an easier time just waiting for her wing to naturally heal and fly out the way she came in. Nevertheless, it did look at least ten feet lower than the entrance did, and there were some roots along the edges that might make climbing fairly easy...that is if you didn't have a twisted knee.

"You expect me to climb up that?" Hinata asked with concern.

"No, I expect you to stay here until your wing heals. Then you can just fly out."

Hinata looked at him with such shock, she could had sworn that the corner of his lips had curled into a smile.

"Of course not. Just hold onto my back like you did before, and we'll be out of here in no time," he replied in the dim light, "Then I can get rid of you."

Hinata had almost returned the subtle smile, but that last bit put things back into perspective. As Shino set her down and positioned himself so that she could climb on his back, she understood that she hadn't become any closer to him than when she first saw him. He thought of her as a wounded animal, that he just happened to come across. When he was free, he'd leave her to her business, and would probably never see her again.

She hoisted herself up on his back, and thought to herself how unfair the whole ordeal was. She didn't think that such an experience would be so emotional for her...she had really felt as if Shino had become this sort of shell of safety for her, like something she could trust and rely on. As they slowly made their ascent up the roots and rocks, she clung to him tightly, afraid to let go. Not just because of another possible fall, but the fear of losing this person all together. She pressed her face against his hood once again, and held her eyes shut.

"Almost...there..." he grunted.

Just a few more minutes...and he would be gone.

"Don't...let...go..."

"I won't," she whimpered.

Then it was done. They were out. The air was clean and full of life, and the clean, gleaming light of the moon brightened the forest they emerged in. Shino collapsed onto his stomach the moment the ground became horizontal, and he lay panting heavily. Hinata still clung to his back for a little while, but ultimately decided it was best to let him have his space.

"What now?" she asked him meekly, now sitting up. Shino turned his head towards her, still lying on the ground, then an expression struck his face that Hinata hadn't previously witnessed. It looked like...embarrassment? But...why...

She looked down at herself, and her cheeks lit up like a nightclub.

After all that scratching around on the ground, she had managed to tear an enormous hole right in the middle of her kimono, which inconveniently revealed the area just where she hid a delicate pair of lavender undergarments. To make matters worse, now the light of the full moon shown on her like a spotlight. In a panic, she bundled the torn fabric around herself and clenched her eyes shut, and preyed to whatever diety she could think of to smite her right then and there.

"Well..." she heard Shino say, while listening to the sounds of him get on his feet, "First we need to cover you up."

Hinata felt something warm drape around her shoulders. It smelt earthy and worn, and when she opened her eyes, she found herself wrapped in Shino's forest-green coat. She was immediately thankful for the covering, but it made her realize that Shino was wearing one less layer. When she looked up at him, well...she had to admit it was an improvement to say the least.

In fact, improvement was quite the understatement. There he stood, clad in a solid black sleeveless garment which clung to the curve of his muscles in all the absolute right ways. In combination with his swept back hair and those striking goggles, he was the perfect mixture of intimidating and...irresistible.

Hinata had to give her bottom lip a good bite to yank herself back to normal. What was she thinking? She was a cupid, he was just a human. An annoying, stubborn, mean, rude...hot...

"So, do you want to get out of this forest, or are you gonna sit there forever?" Shino said with his usual straight-forward manner, arms folded.

"...unh?" was all that managed to tumble out of Hinata's mouth.

Shino sighed. "Is there anywhere I can take you where someone of your kind can come get you?"

Hinata blinked. It was a good question...she wondered why she hadn't thought of it before. Plus it gave her brain an excuse to chew on something else besides what Shino looked like under all his layers.

"Um...well...I...I don't know. My...my family knows that I'm supposed to be in Konoha, but...I don't know...I should have been able to just fly back by myself. I never expected my wing to get broken."

"You didn't plan on an emergency situation like that? Hasn't your kind ever been wounded before?"

She didn't really like how he kept referring to her family as her kind.

"N-no...well, not that I've heard of. We're supposed to be...kind of...immortal, I guess?"

Shino pinched the bridge of his nose and scowled. "Nine beasts, you're such a troublesome thing."

"I'm not a thing!" she shouted, beginning to lift onto her good knee, "I'm a cupid! My name is Hinata of the Hyugas! Someday I'm going to be a true cupid, and I'm going to find love and happiness for everyone, even stupid grumpy people like you!"

Shino lifted a brow at her. Hinata had managed to wobble onto both of her legs, her hands still bundled in the torn ruffles around her. A bead of sweat appeared on her forehead as the pain became more and more apparent on her face.

"So don't call me a thing! My name is...my name is...Hinata..."

Her knee gave out, and again she fell. Again, Shino was there to catch her.

"Troublesome and loud," he said sternly, but softer this time. He scooped her up into his arms and proceeded to start his trek out of the woods.

"Where are you taking me?" Hinata asked with a pout.

"Back to Konoha. That's my good coat, and I want it back. You can stay at my apartment until I figure out what to do with you. Maybe if I'm lucky one of your feathered friends will whisk you away as soon as we get back."

Hinata folded her arms over herself.

There really was no end to what a jackass this guy could be.

~End of Chapter 3~