Falling For Team 8

By Liayso

Author's Note:

Hello there readers! Sorry for not updating in a LONG time. I actually had this chapter 90% done for a few months now. I just didn't have the heart to finish it because I felt like it kind of sucked. We are our own worst critics and I am especially hard on myself when I write, which is why I need you guys to review and bug me and tell me that I'm doing okay to motivate me to write more. Anyway, onto the story!

Chapter 3: The Mountain Pass

Kiba led the group through the forests and lands outside the village. They were nearing the entrance of the mountain pass, the start of their long journey. He looked back at the twins and asked, "Hey, I've been wondering. Why come all the way to Konoha for help when there are other ninja villages closer to your home?"

Hotaru was the one who answered him. "Our father once met some Leaf ninja on his travels and journeyed with them for awhile. He told us stories about them, saying that they were strong and dependable."

Hiroki chimed in, "And also our cousin told us that she saw some of her abductors wielding ninja weapons. We have no prior experience dealing with ninja warriors and thought it best to seek help from other ninja."

"And the only ninja village we really know of is Konoha," Hotaru finished.

"We're almost at the pass," Shino stated. He slowed to a stop. "We'll rest a moment and discuss our strategy for traveling through the pass before going on."

Everyone nodded and sat down, each pulling out a canteen of water and taking a sip. Hinata reached into her bag and pulled out the rice balls she had brought.

"Um, here are some rice balls for everyone," she said as she presented the food. "Please enjoy them."

"Yes!" Kiba said happily as he grabbed two rice balls, one each for him and Akamaru, who was only too happy to gobble his down.

Naruto accepted his with a wide grin while Shino nodded quietly but still expressed his thanks. Hinata turned to the twins and held out the rest.

"Go on," she told them with a friendly smile.

Hotaru smiled back and accepted hers graciously, saying her thanks, while Hiroki took his with a slight bow of his head.

"Thank you, Lady Hinata. You are most kind," he praised her, making Hinata blush.

They bit into the balls and their faces seemed to light up. Hotaru brought a palm to her reddening cheek as she savored the delicious taste in her mouth.

"These are really good, Hinata!" she exclaimed and turned to her brother. "They're just like how mom used to make them."

Hiroki nodded he turned to Hinata and thanked her again. "You have a talent, Lady Hinata."

"Thank you," Hinata replied, still blushing.

"I've always said that you're going to make some lucky guy a great wife one day, Hinata!" Naruto said with his mouth half full.

"Wives aren't just for cooking food for their husbands, you know that right Naruto?" Hotaru said with good humor.

"I know that," Naruto said with a grin, "but it doesn't hurt, does it?"

A chuckle was shared amongst the group as they finished their snack. However, the mention of wives and marriage reminded Hinata of the discussion with her family and what awaited her after this mission. Her blush and smile began to disappear and she felt herself begin to withdraw into herself. Shino noticed it right away.

"What is wrong, Hinata?" he asked her quietly.

"It's nothing," she said, but Kiba, with his superior hearing, heard their exchange and couldn't keep from asking as well.

"What is it? What's going on, Hinata?" he asked loudly, bringing everyone's attention to her.

With everyone looking at her, Hinata didn't know what to do but tell the truth. She looked down and fidgeted in her seat. "Well, um, I was just thinking that it was kind of funny that Naruto said that, you know, about me making someone a good wife because it appears that I will be marrying soon."

Kiba's jaw dropped and Naruto began choking on the last bite of his rice ball while the twins' eyes widened with surprise. Shino was the only one who did not visibly react to Hinata's news, but Hinata felt that he was just as surprised and shocked as the others.

Naruto gave a good thump to his chest with his fist to make that last bite go down his throat before he turned to his friend. "You're getting married? To who?" he choked out.

"I don't know," she told him.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Kiba demanded.

Hinata explained to everyone how her clan had decided that it was time for her to marry and how they were going to begin searching for eligible suitors soon after this mission was over.

Shino understood right away. "I see. So it will be an arranged marriage."

Hinata nodded. "Yes, exactly."

"But Hinata," Kiba began, "you can't seriously be all right with an arranged marriage, are you?"

"Wait, what's an arranged marriage?" Naruto asked.

"It's a marriage where the bride and groom aren't in love but their families force them to marry in order gain stuff like money, land, power or something stupid like that," Kiba said bitterly, clearly expressing his disapproval at Hinata's situation.

"WHAT!" Naruto exclaimed. He swerved his head to Hinata. "You can't have an arranged marriage!"

Hinata grimaced. "I don't have a choice."

"Of course you have a choice!" Naruto yelled. Something about the whole thing outraged Naruto. It just felt wrong that someone as nice as Hinata should have this fate. She deserved better. "When we get back to the village, we're going straight to Grandma Tsunade and demand that she do something about this!"

"It wouldn't do much good," Shino told him. "It's not uncommon for clans like the Hyuga clan to conduct their marriages in such a way. It is how things have been done for generations."

Naruto began to protest, "But—"

"Excuse me," Hotaru interrupted, "but is now really the time to be talking about this?" She turned to Hinata with a sympathetic look. "I don't mean to be insensitive to your situation, I don't believe in arranged marriages myself and I'm sorry that you have to go through with such a thing, but we do have a mission to focus on."

"Hotaru is right," Hinata agreed, grasping at the chance to change the subject. "Let's focus on the mission at hand," she pleaded for everyone to drop the issue of her 'marriage.'

Both Naruto and Kiba huffed and grunted, but they settled into a quiet, albeit defiant, acquiescence. Hinata turned to Hotaru and gave a silent "Thank you," for getting her out of the hot seat. She returned the gesture with a smile and a mute "You're welcome." Hiroki watched Hinata, thoughts forming behind his green eyes.

Shino continued talking. "As we travel through the mountain pass, we will travel in a formation of three pairs spaced apart in a straight line." He motioned to himself, Kiba and Hinata. "Since the three of us specialize in sensory abilities, we each will make half of a pair." Shino turned to the twins. "Which of you is the better fighter?"

"I will freely admit that my brother is the superior swordsman," Hotaru said.

"Thank you," Hiroki said, accepting the compliment.

"But I will also add that I have more tact than he does," she added, which earned her a frown from her brother.

While Naruto and Kiba snickered, Shino continued on. "All right then. Hiroki will travel in the front with Kiba and Akamaru. Their superior sense of smell and hearing will be ideal in detecting any oncoming danger."

Kiba nodded while Akamaru barked. "Right, you can count on us!"

"Hotaru, you will be partnered with me in the center while Naruto and Hinata will bring up the rear," Shino said.

"The rear?" Hiroki said, "But the rear is the mostly likely place where enemies will attack."

"I know that," Shino told him, "and that is precisely why Naruto and Hinata are placed there. Hinata has the ability to see several meters in distance with a near 360 degree field vision. She will be able to see the enemies long before they see her."

"Yes, but that does not guarantee Lady Hinata's safety," Hiroki said, glancing at Naruto, not believing that his strength would be enough. "They could still be ambushed by the bandits."

Shino followed Hiroki's gaze. "Naruto has the ability to multiply himself using shadow clones. He is the perfect person in our group to deal with an ambush. You do not need to worry about them."

"Yeah," Naruto added, "and Hinata's no delicate daisy herself. She can fight too, ya' know."

Hinata smiled in his direction, brightening at the compliment. She turned to Hiroki. "Really, you don't have to worry about me, but I do appreciate it."

Hiroki looked like he was going to protest some more, but his sister nudged him in the side with her elbow.

"They're professionals, remember? They're trained to handle situations like this. It's why we asked for their help," Hotaru told him.

Hiroki gave in. "Very well then."

Everyone got into their designated positions and they began traveling through the pass. Naruto glanced over at Hinata, who was activating her Byakugan every now and then, checking for any enemies.

"You're not really going to go through with an arranged marriage, are you Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata deactivated her Byakugan, her eyes returning to their normal appearance. "I don't know." She sighed and looked down at her hands. "I've asked my father to wait until after I finished this mission, but I don't know what I will do then."

"To hell with what Shino said! When we get back to the village, I'm gonna talk to Grandma Tsunade!"

Hinata looked up. Naruto was looking at her with such a serious face that she began to blush. "You don't have to, Naruto, but thank you." She was touched that he would do that for her. "This is my problem and I am the one that will handle it."

Naruto looked at her for a moment but then offered a friendly smile. "But if you need any help, you just let me know, okay?"

Hinata smiled at him and nodded. Sensing that someone was watching her, she looked ahead and saw Hiroki looking at her over his shoulder. She blushed and bashfully looked away. Hiroki turned his head back to the front. Kiba casted him a sideways glance.

"Can you be any more obvious?" he asked.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm talking about your developing crush on Hinata," Kiba told him.

Hiroki's face began to turn red. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kiba snorted. "I don't blame you for liking her, but let me tell you, there's no hope for you there."

"Why? Because she is to be married?"

Kiba made a face at the mention of Hinata's upcoming arranged marriage. "There's that, but there's also the fact that she has her eyes on someone else. It's probably best if you look elsewhere."

Hiroki looked back again and saw Hinata talking to Naruto. The two of them were chatting amiably and every now and then Naruto made Hinata laugh and smile. Then it hit him. That "someone else" was Naruto. Hiroki couldn't believe it. He shook his head. It was impossible. Someone like Lady Hinata couldn't possibly entertain any sort of romantic feelings for someone like Naruto. It just couldn't be.

In the center of it all, Shino and Hotaru were both well aware of what was going on, with all the looks being casted back and forth. Hotaru shook her head, amused by it all. She looked over at Shino.

"It appears my brother is falling for Hinata," she said. She then looked over at Naruto and Hinata behind her. "But it seems that Hinata likes Naruto."

"You noticed," Shino stated.

"Of course," she replied. "Just look at them. It's quite obvious."

"Obvious to everyone but Naruto."

That surprised Hotaru. "You mean he doesn't know?" When Shino shook his head, Hotaru was even more surprised. "Naruto does seem to be the oblivious type, but surely he can't be that dense."

Shino said nothing and they continued their trek through the pass. They came up to a narrow path between two cliffs. Kiba and Akamaru immediately picked up the scent of enemies. Hinata activated her Byakugan and saw about fifteen men hidden behind the rocks and boulders, ready to ambush them. Both she and Kiba looked to warn their team captain.

"Shino…"

"I know," he quietly said. "Everyone, leave this to me, but be ready for an attack." Shino began to send out his bugs in order to assess the strength of their enemies and, if possible, incapacitate them without the need of a big fight, but then Naruto opened his mouth.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled, creating five clones.

This alerted the bandits. With a warlike cry, they came out from behind the rocks and jumped down below. A few remained up in the cliff and tossed down a large net to trap them. Hiroki and Hotaru drew their swords, slicing the rope web to pieces.

"Idiot!" Kiba yelled at Naruto. "Why the hell did you do that? Shino was going to take care of it!" He looked at his loyal dog, who was ready to fight, growling and baring his teeth. "Akamaru, let's go!" The white dog transformed into a second Kiba and the two of them began to take down some of the bandits.

Naruto kicked at a charging bandit. He pulled out a kunai to defend against another attacker. Steel and metal clashed as the fight ensued. One of his clones snuck up behind the bandit and took him down. "Why let Shino have all the fun? We can take them on!"

"Gentle Fist!" Hinata yelled, as she blew one bandit back away from her with the palm of her hand. Using her Byakugan, she scanned the whole area. "Hiroki! Behind you!"

The young samurai quickly spun around and parried the attack, cutting down his assailant. "Thank you, Lady Hinata," Hiroki said to her.

She nodded and struck out again at another oncoming attacker. Hinata saw Shino send his bugs up to the cliffs to take care of the bandits that had remained up in the rocks while Hotaru fended off two bandits at once. They came at her from both sides. Hotaru kicked at the one wielding a knife in front of her with her foot, knocking him off his feet, while the other one came up from behind her. She swung her sword, forcing him to back off, and pursued him head on. One of Naruto's clones came up to assist but the bandit landed a strong blow with his club, causing the clone to disappear. But it still gave Hotaru enough time to take the club-wielding bandit down.

Hinata's eyes widened and she cried out, "Hotaru! Look out!"

But it was too late. The bandit from before came up behind her and slashed at her back with his long knife. Hotaru cried out as blood spilled from the gash in her back. Cringing with pain, she turned around and used her sword to block the bandit's killing blow. He bore down on her with all his strength, bringing her to her knees.

"Hotaru!" Hiroki yelled, fighting to reach his twin sister as he took down any bandit that stood in his way.

A huge swarm of black bugs came out of nowhere, engulfing the bandit attacking Hotaru. They slammed him into the jagged stone wall of the mountain. Shino appeared at her side, ready to defend her against any bandit that thought to finish her off.

"Hotaru needs help!" Hinata cried out. "Naruto, please cover me!"

Naruto nodded and he created more Shadow Clones to preoccupy the bandits while she headed over there. Hinata reached Shino and Hotaru at the same time Hiroki did.

"Hotaru, talk to me," Hiroki pleaded. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she said, but she trembled as she did. She used her sword to hold herself up and keep from falling.

Kiba, Akamaru, Naruto and his clones fought fiercely against the remaining bandits, driving them farther away from where Shino, Hiroki and Hinata stood guarding the wounded Hotaru. Realizing that this group could not be easily defeated, the bandits that were still alive and conscious began to retreat. With her Byakugan, Hinata saw them disappear. They were safe for now.

"Is she okay?" Naruto asked as he and Kiba came up to them.

"The cut doesn't appear to be deep," Shino stated as he looked at her wound.

Hotaru's face was very pale. "I'm starting to lose feeling…" she said weakly.

Kiba picked up the knife that the bandit had dropped. He sniffed it. "This thing's coated with poison." He tossed the blade to Shino to have a look at it.

He used a few of his insects to test the poison. It was a common poison, one that he and his bugs had an antidote to. "Leave it to me, I can cure the poison," Shino said as he knelt behind Hotaru. "I'm going to have to cut your shirt. You might want to put your hands over your chest," he said to her. When she pressed her arms to her breasts, Shino pulled out a kunai knife and began to cut Hotaru's shirt up, baring her back to his eyes.

"What are you doing to my sister?" Hiroki cried out in protest of the undressing of his sister.

"Relax man," Kiba said, grabbing his shoulder.

"Shino and his bugs can administer the antidote. He's trying to help her, Hiroki," Hinata explained. She reached into her pack and began pulling out basic medical supplies. "Perhaps maybe you three should go wait over there," Hinata said, pointing a few meters away towards some rocks. "Shino and I can handle this."

Hiroki looked down at his injured sister. "Hotaru, will you be okay?"

Hotaru managed to look back up at him. "I appreciate the concern brother, but the last thing I want is for you to watch over me when I'm half naked."

Kiba placed a hand on Hiroki's shoulder. "C'mon, let's give them some space." And they, along with Naruto and Akamaru, left Shino and Hinata to their work.

"I'm going to administer the antidote using my insects now. This might be uncomfortable," Shino told Hotaru.

"More uncomfortable than getting slashed in the back and poisoned?" Hotaru tried to joke, but she had to bite back the twinge of pain that came over her. "Just do what you need to do," she groaned out.

Shino pressed his palms to her back and released his bugs, covering the entire length of the knife wound. He felt Hotaru tense up at the touch of his hands at first, but then she began to relax, the tension easing out of her shoulders. This surprised Shino. If he was doing this to any other female, he imagined that she would shudder in revulsion at the idea of hundreds of bugs making any kind of skin contact, but Hotaru did not seem to mind. She trusted him enough to save her life, and for some unknown reason, Shino was very pleased by that fact.

Compelled to say something, Shino said, "I'm sorry."

Hotaru tried to look over her shoulder at him. "What for?"

"As your client and partner, I was supposed to be watching your back. You should have never been injured."

"It's okay," Hotaru told him. "I wasn't careful, so it's my fault."

"Still," Shino said, "I won't let something like this happen again."

A smile appeared on Hotaru's face despite the pain she felt. "Thanks Shino."

Hinata watched as Shino continued to administer the antidote. The color was coming back to Hotaru's face and her cheeks began to turn pink. Hinata looked to Shino. As usual, she couldn't see the expression on his covered face, but Hinata sensed that something new and different was happening to her friend. Something good. Hinata smiled and wished him the best.

"The poison is now gone," Shino finally said. He removed his hands from Hotaru's back and called back his insects. The wound was no longer bleeding.

"How do you feel?" Hinata asked Hotaru.

"Okay, I think," she said.

Shino stood and turned his face tactfully away from Hotaru's bare back, sparing her modesty. He looked to his teammate. "I leave the rest to you, Hinata."

"Right," Hinata said, taking his spot behind Hotaru. "You can count on me."

As Shino began walking towards where the others were waiting, Hotaru called out to him. He turned slightly back to face her.

"Shino, thank you."

He nodded and continued towards the others. Using water from her canteen, Hinata wet a piece of cloth and began cleaning the drying blood around Hotaru's cut. After she was done, she then opened a jar of her homemade ointment, scooped some out, and began applying it to Hotaru's back, massaging it over the wound with her hands.

"This ointment will help your injury heal faster," Hinata told her. "I'm sorry if it's a little cold at first."

"It's all right," Hotaru said. "Thanks Hinata."

When Hinata was done, she looked up and made sure the guys weren't looking in their direction. They weren't, so she got a roll of bandages ready. "We need to bandage it up now," she said.

Hotaru nodded and removed what was left of her shirt from the front of her chest. She helped Hinata wrap the bandage around her body.

"Is it too tight?" Hinata asked once they were done.

Hotaru shook her head. "No it's fine." She then looked at her tattered shirt. "I don't suppose you have an extra shirt or something handy? I don't exactly want to be walking around with just bandages for coverings."

"I'm sorry, I don't." Hinata looked down at her clothes. "But, um, you can wear my jacket."

Hotaru smiled at her. "That will do just fine. Thank you."

Hinata unzipped her jacket and shrugged it off her shoulders. When she handed it off to Hotaru, she noticed that she was staring. Hinata began to flush in embarrassment and began to tug at the hemline of the black shirt she was wearing beneath the jacket.

"W-what is it?" Hinata asked.

Hotaru shook her head. "I'm sorry, I just didn't realize that you were so…" she trailed off trying to find an appropriate word. "It's just that you're such a tiny girl to have such…" She settled for an obvious rounded gesture with her hands.

Hinata fidgeted uncomfortably. She knew that her breasts were large and she had always been horribly embarrassed over them. They brought her nothing but unwanted attention. It was why she always wore her jacket when she went out.

A teasing smile appeared on Hotaru's face, like that of an older sister whose younger sibling had just reached puberty. "I bet you're quite popular with the boys, aren't you Hinata?"

She just blushed more furiously. "N-no! It's not like that!"

Hotaru chuckled. "I'm just teasing you. Come on, I want to see the look on my brother's face when he sees you."

As they walked to where the boys were waiting for them, Hinata bowed her head down, too bashful to look any of the guys in the face. Kiba immediately saw that Hinata wasn't wearing her jacket and so, knowing how she felt about the whole thing, he quickly averted his eyes to spare her the embarrassment. As usual, Shino's face was unreadable, but he too looked away. A pink blush appeared on Hiroki's face as his widening eyes caught sight of Hinata. It was only Naruto who opened his big mouth.

"Wow Hinata! I didn't realize that you had such a hot bod!" he said with a wide grin.

Both Hotaru and Kiba tried to stifle the giggles that came up as Hinata's face turned as red as a tomato. However, the blush on Hiroki's face turned into fury.

"How dare you say such inappropriate comments about Lady Hinata!" he yelled.

"But it's true! Not even any of my Sexy Jutsus look that great!" Naruto once again turned to admire Hinata, who couldn't possibly turn any redder at the moment.

Hiroki looked about ready to do some violence, but Shino stepped forward and held out an arm to halt him. He looked to Hotaru, completely ignoring the situation that was threatening to explode between the samurai and the blond ninja.

"Are you all right traveling in your condition?"

Hotaru gave him a reassuring smile. "Yes, I'm fine."

"Good." Shino turned to everyone else. "We should continue moving."

"Shino's right," Hotaru agreed. "Eyes forward, boys. We still have a long way to go."

Everyone got back into position and their trek through the mountains continued. Hinata kept tugging at her shirt. She felt vulnerable without her jacket. From the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto looking at her. Once again Hinata blushed.

"Naruto," she said, "please don't look at me like that."

"Sorry," Naruto answered with a cheeky grin. "I can't help it."

Hinata blushed even more.

"Why are you so embarrassed, Hinata?" Naruto asked. "You look great!"

"I just feel so exposed," Hinata said. "As if I were naked." She crossed her arms protectively over her chest.

Naruto frowned. If he was a girl and he had breasts like Hinata, he wouldn't mind it at all, but that was him and this was Hinata, the shyest person he knew. Naruto liked having everyone's attention and got into trouble just to get it whereas Hinata was the type of person who went out of the way to avoid it. Not wanting her to feel uncomfortable, Naruto unzipped his jacket and shrugged it off his shoulders.

"Here!" Naruto said with a smile as he handed his jacket to her. "You can wear my jacket while you loan yours to Hotaru."

Hinata held up her hands and shook her head. "I couldn't…"

"It's all right. I washed it before we left the village, so it's clean."

"It's not that. I just can't take your jacket," Hinata said with a blush.

"But you said you feel uncomfortable. Me, I don't mind going without my jacket for awhile. Go on, take it," Naruto insisted.

"I…" Hinata gave in and accepted. "Thank you, Naruto."

"No problem! But you know, you really should try not to be so shy about the way you look because you really do look great," Naruto said, smiling.

Hinata smiled back and zipped up his jacket. It was still warm from his body.

They kept moving until they reached a wide canyon. Below was a raging river and the only way across was a rope bridged raised precariously above.

"We'll have to cross," Shino said.

Kiba looked wary. "Are you sure? That bridge looks ancient. Who knows if it will hold our weight."

"Then we'll cross a few at a time."

Kiba and Akamaru crossed first, and Hiroki followed after. Next up was Shino and Hotaru. As they reached the center of the bridge, they heard a whoosh. A flaming arrow sailed over their heads and hit the wooden plank just before them. It lit the bridge on fire.

"Go back!" Shino yelled at Hotaru as more flaming arrows descended upon them.

Hinata activated her Byakugan and found the archers in the trees. The bandits had come back with a vengeance. "Naruto, behind you at your five o'clock!"

"I'm on it! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto yelled as he and his clones ran into the trees. They easily took down the shooters.

Kiba and Hiroki were yelling and Akamaru was barking. Hotaru ran as fast as she could with Shino behind her. The fire ate at the ropes of the bridge. As Shino ran, his foot crashed through one of the planks of the bridge. He fell down but caught the plank in front of him with his fingertips. Hotaru heard him grunt and turned around to help him up, but the fire was already upon them. The flames severed the ropes holding up the bridge, and it split in half. Shino found himself falling to the river below him. He looked up and saw that Hotaru had grabbed onto the planks and was falling with one half of the bridge as it slammed into the side of the canyon.

"Shino!" Hotaru cried out.

Hinata ran to the start of the bridge and peered down at Hotaru. She reached down a hand. "Hotaru, hurry! Climb up!"

But the fire had already reached the ropes above her head. She couldn't climb up even if she wanted to. Shino had already fallen. Hotaru saw his green cloaked body hit the surface of the water. She didn't think.

She jumped in after him.

Please leave a review! I'll try to write up the next chapter soon so you don't have to wait so long again.