Team Eight is horribly underappreciated, undeveloped, and unloved. I'm doing my own little part to change that.

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

1. Fall Asleep

Rating/Genre: PG13 / Angst

Pairings: HinataxKiba, HinataxNaruto

Summary: She finally said how much she cared. But by the time she spoke, she was the only one awake to listen.

"Do you think it hurts to die?"

You're hurt and you're trembling and you're dripping something from your hair and your chin and it's hitting the floor and you're hitting the floor and you're lying on your back in a pool of it.

And maybe it's water, and maybe it's blood and maybe...

You're crying.

There's a weight on your chest that's making each breath empty of air, and never enough to satisfy your burning lungs. Pain never seems to hurt this much when you look back on it. Or perhaps you're feeling it for the first time.

You're cold and you're shivering and you're scared and weak and tired and-god, you're so scared.

You don't want to talk, you've never liked to, but if no one's saying anything how would you know if there's anything left to say?

How do you know they're not already gone?

How do you know you're not already gone?

Your vision is blurring and your eyes are clouded with pain or drugs or-who cares anymore? It doesn't matter if you can't really see because you never were any good at it.

It doesn't matter because you were never any good at seeing things anyway. Or at least the right things.

You can't see whether they finally sent someone to save you like they promised or at least put you out of your misery. You can't see a way out of this.

But you wish you had something to drive into your eyes.

Because you can see that Akamaru's not just sleeping and Kiba's going to die and in the end, who fucking cares anymore?

Who fucking cares?

Who fucking…

Who?

You do.

You can see that Shino's scared for his life behind the dark shield of his glasses and the Kikai are massing for the feast of their life.

You think the insects on his hand look like flies on a carcass, and then you realize they are and Aburame are never buried because there's nothing ever left.

"We're not going to die."

His voice is so weak you don't recognize it but you know it's Kiba because Shino would never say something so wrong.

They're going to die.

You're going to die.

Who cares?

And then you're laughing, really laughing, not the fake little giggle you do when you know they want you to because it's always been about pleasing them and doing things right.

You're grinning and crying and it's all so funny because it's so like Kiba to say that and it's so like Kiba to pretend Akamaru's sleeping when he's not.

He's dead.

And then you're choking on vomit and spit and blood and fate.

It might be day or night but it all looks the same to you now and your eyes that make it look like a river of red is flowing from Shino's heart. You told him to duck but no one listens to you anyway.

No one ever fucking listens.

No one ever…

And it might be raining outside the cave that's your coffin and you think that's good because someone's almost crying for you. And maybe you should be worried about them; the sneaky ones with their traps and poison but you can't find enough energy to care. It doesn't really matter if they can see you or not when the whole area reeks of blood anyway.

You're cursing at them and their blood and you and your vomit and you're cursing at them because it's not like it matters.

It's not like they care.

It's not like you care.

Kiba starts coughing again, and maybe you see red in the spit that lands on your face or maybe you don't because who knows whether you can see at all anymore.

"Shino's sleeping," you whisper once he's silent again.

Your voice is soft and smooth and more confident then it has ever been or should have been and Kiba is looking away from the muzzle in his lap for the first time in hours.

You see him glance at the seated figure leaning heavily against the rock wall in a slumped position of defeat. He can't see that Shino's heart is no longer beating and his blood is no longer flowing and that bugs are eating away his chakra system.

They're eating him.

And you thought you couldn't see.

Stupid you.

A certain saying comes to mind, shocking you with your hidden cruelty. You guess it's just numbness or denial but you're thankful because it hurts so much less than anything else.

Don't let the bedbugs bite.

"Yeah. They're sleeping."

Kiba might be crying, he should be crying, but all he does is go back to his fallen companion, stroking the soft fur on his nose and ears.

Your neck hurts from watching him on your back and you struggle into a fetal position, vaguely recognizing the pain in your chest.

They're mocking you.

It seems only natural that fate would have you suffer the most now, after being blessed with a chance at everything.

It would have been great if you hadn't been so weak and lost it all.

You remember all the times you'd lie awake all night, wanting to fall asleep but failing like you fail at everything else, and they're mocking you and your weakness and all you want is to die before Kiba does.

No one wants to be the last one to fall asleep.

You always are.

"Kiba-kun. I…I love you."

You don't know if it's true or not and you don't really care because all you want is to feel like you've made him happy before this ends. You don't know why you add the suffix to his name; maybe it reminds you of Naruto and the little things he could do to make you happy.

Kiba doesn't even look at you and you know that he knows you didn't mean it the way he wanted and the way it was supposed to sound and why can't you ever get things right?

You can't even give him a final wish.

You shut your eyes to escape your blurring vision as Kiba threads his fingers through tangled, matted fur.

It's quiet and your body burns with fire as the toxin spreads through way of your blood. It won't be much longer, but you know it will feel like forever before it all finally ends.

"Thanks Hinata."

You don't know if you heard it or if it's a merciful trick of your mind, but when you open your eyes his hand has stopped stroking and you know he's given in to sleep.

You're alone.

You're shaking.

You're crying.

You're the last one to fall asleep.

THE END

A/N: I'm looking for a beta reader for this collection. Any offers? Suggestions? Ideas? Talk to me.

July 18, 2006: Edited for annoying typo's. When I see them, they tend to bug me incessantly until they're fixed.