Cocoon

Chapter 4

~o~

Hinata awoke the next morning with a sense of clarity that she hadn't experienced in quite some time. It wasn't that she finally had and understanding of her situation, but for one reason or another, she felt much better about it. Armed with her sunny mood, she quickly packed her things and prepared for her journey.

When she arrived at the gates a wave of nostalgia washed over her like a warm summer breeze. Maybe it was the actual summer breeze gently tussling her hair about, but something about the way Shino and Kiba were standing there in the dim glow of the early sunrise ready for adventure just filled her heart with excitement.

Then, Akamaru pounced on her again.

"Akamaru! Down, boy! Sheesh, Hinata...ambushed already and you haven't even made it out of the gate yet! Are you sure you're ready for this?" Kiba teased while yanking his beast off of the trampled, dog-slime covered Hinata.

As she rose to her feet once more and wiped the saliva off her cheek, the anxieties of yesterday started to creep back into her consciousness like a trail of ants that just won't leave a kitchen no matter what you do. Was she really prepared to leave home for the first time in months? Would she be a burden to her team mates? Could Kiba's neck beard make him look anymore homeless?

Then she looked at Shino, who was solemnly staring at her from afar. Staring with his only eye, of course. It was then she decided that she couldn't possibly be a burden to her team. She was going to protect them, and ensure that neither of them suffered another permanent injury of that magnitude again.

"I'm ready," she stated firmly, a fierce look in her eyes. The expression made Kiba light up.

"Alright, that's my girl! Let's get a move-on!"

Then the team headed off on their first C rank mission together in years.

~o~

Hinata reveled in it. It was as if nothing had ever changed...the paths were still long and full of sights to see, the branches of the trees still carried a cool breeze as they leaped through the canopies. Even the occasional small-town gyoza cart was still open for business.

Their journey couldn't have been more pleasant if the road was paved in gold. Not a single road-side thief or rogue shinobi came across their path...not even a particularly aggressive wild animal even bothered them. They even managed to catch a ride on the wagon of a tradesman, which cut their mission length by almost a third. Kiba joked that the C rank was just there to scare them, and they might as well have just handed the mission to an ordinary mailman. That was of course, until they reached the mountain range.

It wasn't too terrible in the beginning. A small village near the base had even installed a lift, but that only took them halfway up through the forest that thickened the mountainside with tall, scratchy pines. The temperature dropped almost instantly once they reached the end of the lift, and soon Hinata was regretting not bringing a thicker jacket.

It was also getting late into the evening of the second day, and traveling the woods at night was never a smart idea, even with the amount of fortune that had graced them so far. So, the team quickly got a fire going and laid out their sleeping bags as they had done hundreds of times before. Kiba and Shino fastened some crude tents above their separate stations to keep the pine needles off of them, but Hinata decided she would sleep better under the canopy of the stars.

It had been a while since she'd slept out in the open, and at first the chilly evening didn't bother her. But once the fire began to flicker down to its cinders, and a light snow started fluttering down through the trees, Hinata quickly regretted her decision. She thought about putting up a covering, but the second she slipped from her sleeping bag, the cold was too much for her. She shrunk into her bag and clutched it around her, but it was already starting to get damp from the snowflakes. It wouldn't protect her through the night if the snow kept on as it did.

As she lay there contemplating how to resolve the situation, she felt a tingling sensation on her hand. When she lifted it to her eyes in the dim light, she noticed a little black beetle wandering about in circles on her skin. Upon closer inspection, it was none other than one of Shino's. She looked up through the darkness to Shino's sleeping area, and noticed that he was watching her. Not only that, but his arm was lifting the edge of his bag up to create an opening, as if to welcome her in.

The thought was certainly tempting, but considering the circumstances...and yet, it had always been purely for survival, right?

She looked over to Kiba, who was fast asleep under the warm belly of his dog. He would no doubt reek of the thing in the morning, but he showed no signs of waking anytime soon. With that, Hinata took a breath, leapt from her sleeping bag, then scurried over to Shino's tent as quickly as her feet would allow her, dragging her bag along with her.

"Throw your bag over mine, to seal in the heat," he whispered to her as she approached. She did just that, then squirmed in besides Shino in his over-sized bag. The difference was like night and day. Within moments, her body began to thaw and she regained feeling in her frozen little toes.

"Are your hands cold?" he asked her quietly.

She had been grasping them to her lips and trying to warm them with her breath. Her slender doll-like fingers were red and moist from the cold. Shivering, she nodded to him.

"Give them to me," he asked, while grasping them in his own before she even had time to object. The warmth of his hands was already enough to make them feel better, but then he started pulling them toward his waist.

"W-what are you doing?" she whispered in a panic, shocked that he would be so bold as to do what she suspected of him do. But then, he slid her hands under his coats and onto his bare stomach, where her hands were encased in an oven of heat. The feeling was so splendid, all the stiffness in her body simply melted away. She then felt his arms wrapping around her and pulling her closer, and she was enticed to return the embrace. Her cheek pressed against his chest, and her eyelids became heavy.

"Shino..." she whispered into his coat.

"Mmm."

"Is this okay?"

She wasn't entirely sure it was a clear enough question, but she wasn't sure how else to phrase it. Something felt wrong about it, but at the same time she couldn't have been happier to be there.

"Are you warm now?" he asked her.

"Mmmhmm..." her voice became softer as she began to fade.

"Can you sleep?"

"Mmm...hmm..." she moaned quietly, dozing off.

"Then it's okay."

"Okay," she muttered, before falling into deep, wonderful dreams.

~o~

She awoke at a time when the light of the sunrise was just barely peeking over the horizon. The fingers of cold from outside her cocoon were creeping in and tickling her nose, so she buried it further into the cloth in front of her. Underneath that cloth was the movement of steady breathing, and it was then she realized that she was not in her cozy bed in Konoha sleeping next to her significant other.

It was even more strange that she had somehow woken up before her temporary sleeping partner. She had always remembered him to be the one nudging her awake, so she could get up before Kiba discovered their habits. Now, he was perfectly asleep.

Hinata took a moment to peek out of the bag and look for Kiba. The morning light was delicately painted over a decent layer of snow, and it was difficult to tell what was going out outside of their tent. But, with enough squinting she was able to make out the shape of two identical furballs wadded up under a crude canopy. It wasn't unusual for Kiba to twin fang during cold nights. The extra fur helped with sustaining the warmth. Either way, neither animal looked like they were planning on waking up anytime soon.

With that, Hinata withdrew back into her cocoon. Her nose was frosty from exposure, so she nuzzled her way back into Shino's clothing. It was amazing how much of a toaster oven this guy was. Why would an insect user have such immense body heat? Speaking of things Shino's body did, what was that she was feeling pressed up against her thigh?

She didn't have to guess, honestly. She knew very well what it was, and she knew that she had made its acquaintance just a couple of days ago. Of course, Naruto had the same reaction when sleeping next to her, but this was the first time she had experienced it with Shino. Why? What could have caused this reaction, even in the depths of sleep?

That's right...he was asleep. Hinata had Shino this close to her. She had remembered rumors of sightings in the bath house of an enormous beast hidden beneath Shino's towel, and it was more than a little tempting to see for herself. Carefully, she slid her hand in between her thigh and the pressure against it, and extended her fingertips to trace the size. In truth, she didn't know where it started and where it began, but she knew it was hungry. Knowing that... made her own beast start salivating as well.

She shouldn't go any further than this. She knew she shouldn't...especially because the man wasn't even awake. Besides, she had Naruto! What on earth was she trying to do, anyway? She asked herself this, while at the same time her hands were fondling the ties on his pants. Stop it, Hinata. It's not worth going any further than this. Even though you can see his bare skin...even if you can feel it...it's not worth it...

"What are you doing?"

She froze, then slowly made eye contact with a now very conscious Shino. Her face turned a shade of red that was unknown to nature. She wanted to say something, but no words could form in her throat. All she could do was stare.

His expression was oddly neutral. He didn't look particularly upset, he just had the same ol' scowl that his face normally rested in. But that one eye of his was looking deep into hers with an intense curiosity. An uncomfortable silence passed between them.

"You know...Hinata..." he suddenly whispered with a softness she had not heard before.

"...if you want to make love, all you have to do is ask."

She blinked. "Wha...w-w-what did you s-say?"

He frowned a bit. "I don't like repeating myself."

"I...I mean..."

What did she mean? It's not that she didn't hear it, it's that she couldn't believe those words would have the audacity to come from Shino's lips. How do you even respond to that?

"I...I have Naruto! I belong to Naruto!"

Shino sighed quietly. "You don't belong to anyone but yourself."

"But..." Hinata felt very tense. She didn't like where this was going, but she felt that she had seldom control over the outcome.

"But..." Shino continued, "If your wish to to remain loyal to him, I understand. I won't speak of it again."

Hinata felt a bit of relief a that point. When Shino said he wouldn't bring something up, he meant it. However, Hinata couldn't help herself from stepping her foot in the door before it closed completely.

"Well...I mean...it's...it's n-not that I don't..w-want to..."

Shino looked at her with an intense curiosity that sent a chill up her spine.

"I-I-I mean...I have...f-f-felt..."

"Hinata."

She clammed up immediately. She then felt the back of Shino's fingertips graze against her cheek, which then dragged a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"Calm down. I won't do anything you don't want to do, I was simply making an offer. You shouldn't have to feel so nervous around me."

Hinata closed her eyes and let out a deep, shaky exhale. "You're right...Shino...you just...caught me off-guard."

She felt his lips on her forehead as she did the other night...gentle, delicate, and deliberate, like an artist laying down a careful brush stroke. She took a second to savor the touch, but he pulled away as quickly as he had come. Her eyes remained closed.

"Do that again..." she whispered inaudibly, as if her mouth was speaking her thoughts without permission. But despite the subtlety of the request, the kiss came a second time.

"One more time," she asked, and the kiss remained for just a moment longer than before, but that made all the difference.

She waited a moment after the third kiss, wondering if she should continue. Who would care if she did? This was their cocoon. A place of warmth and safety. No one could find out her secrets in here. So she spoke up once again.

"On the nose." That one was especially pleasant, as the tip of her nose had become frosty from the cold.

"On the cheek." Her right cheek lit up from the contact.

"On the other cheek." The left was evened out.

"On the..." she paused. No...she shouldn't. But he was already there...his breath on hers..prepared. But he would not make a move without her permission. She knew that now. She could wish a blade at his throat and if she commanded another inch, it would draw blood without question. Her heart was audibly pounding in her chest. This was the icebreaker...everything else could be counted as friendship, as platonic brotherly love, but not this. These lips were reserved for the Ichihokage. It would be sin to allow someone else to take them...

"On the lips..." she whispered with a voice more silent than hers.

Oh, how heavenly a sin could be. It was as if angels had carved him out of a divine stone just to fit her lips with an absolute perfection. He body lit up like a wildfire, and she knew right then and there that she had been swept into a vortex that was far more violent and dangerous than the average itch. His form moved against her like an undercurrent, pulling her in faster than she could prepare for. She could feel his hand slide along her thigh to hoist her leg around him, and all at once her garden was face to face with the pressure of his hunger for her. It drove her mad. It was happening so quickly...and when his tongue pressed against her lips to enter her own she felt the tingling of a dozen terrible things enter along with it.

She yanked away as fast as she could, tears leaping from the corners of her eyes.

"This was a mistake..." she squealed, scurrying out of the sleeping bag like an ant escaping a cave-in.

"Hinata..." Shino called out in a hushed voice.

"This was a mistake...this was a mistake...I shouldn't have done this...this was a mistake.." Hinata gasped repeatedly through hot tears, finally worming herself free of the cloth prison.

"Hinata wait...I'm sorry...come back, it's so cold out...you're barely dressed..."

The ankle-deep snow didn't seem to bother her at all, even with bare feet. But after scampering away into the woods with nothing but her typical kuonichi garb, it quickly became apparent that she wasn't suited for this weather at all. Regardless, the sting of the cold forced her to calm down an attempted to recollect herself. She shrunk down into a ball on the root of a tree that was emerging just enough to be free of the snow, and she proceeded to sink her face in her arms and weep.

~o~

Shino found her around the time her feet became completely numb. While she really had no desire to speak to him, she knew that the alternative would result in dangerous secrets getting out. Without saying a word, he draped her in a big, thick forest-green coat and knelt down beside her.

"You're going to get frost bite on your feet, Hinata. I know you're upset, but you know better then that."

She refused to lift her head up from her arms. Yet, she felt him yank her feet out from under her and shove them into a pair of woolly boots that were two sizes too big. The force made her realize just how cold she actually was, and she immediately wrapped the coat around her while trying to control the chattering of her teeth.

Shino sighed and wrapped the coat around her tighter, then rubbed her shoulders briskly to warm her. She was much too cold to deny him.

"I won't speak of anything. It never happened and it will never happen again."

She finally made eye contact with him, but they were hidden behind his goggles. His lips were still slightly reddened, the only physical proof of what had just occurred.

"Let's go wake up Kiba, and focus on the mission. Then it will be over with, and you'll be back in Konoha with the man you love."

The statement gave her mixed feelings, but she was too frozen to analyze them. All she did in response was nod.

~o~

End of Chapter 4