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Koiuta	By : dragonslover1 Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1149 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
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- 14
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does. I am not profiting from this fanfiction.

Koiuta, Love Song

Longest Twelve Hours

Two days of forced celibacy later everything was ready. Tasha had never seen a ceremony room like this, though she imagined there were a great many of them -- one for each clan, at the least. The room lacked windows, with just the one door. Candles lined the walls on all sides, adding to the theme. There were also incense sticks around; she couldn�t see them, but she could smell them.

The floor had three circles on it, in three sizes, and each of them were flanked on both sides with symbols she didn�t recognize. She guessed they were written in an alphabet only the clan knew. Four completely hidden members were here already, three of whom were sitting. As she entered the room, Shino and Shibi on opposite sides of her, the three who sat stood.

She had the distinct feeling that none of those four approved of her.

Shibi turned away to speak to one of them. Meanwhile, Shino took off his jacket and tossed it to another, who apparently had a specific place to put it. Before she�d had time to really take a look, Shino took her hand and towed her behind him. He stopped in the center of the circles, pulled her against him.

�No turning back,� he said.

As if he needed to remind her. �My will is strong,� she told him.

�I�m not worried about your will.�

�You shouldn�t worry at all.� She paused, thinking. �Would it be any easier for you if it were someone else --�

He cut her off before she could finish. �No!�

She gave a jerk, startled. On the tip of her tongue was a tease, about restraint and celibacy and how he was taking it so far. It was hard to bite it back, but she did it. This wasn�t the time or place to be teasing him about being hard up.

Besides, she was pretty antsy too. She yearned for him to such an extent that just being like this, in his arms, was an intoxication. Her mind felt muddled.

�Everything�s prepared,� Shibi told them both, breaking her out of her mental hold. �We can begin.�

To Shibi, she said, �To be straight, the five of you are here because. . ?�

�In case Shino loses control or you start to die,� he answered.

She looked up at Shino. �And how would they fix that?�

He didn�t want to answer, she could tell. �Kill my insects.�

Her heart ached at the idea. She knew how he felt about bugs, after all; how he felt for his own bugs. What he just suggested was insect genocide.

�If they all die. . ?� she trailed off.

�There�s always eggs incubating,� he assured her. �It would just take a while.�

To replenish the ranks, her mind finished for him. She pushed the thought away. �So, how are we doing this?�

�We sit,� he answered. He did so, pulling her with, so her back was to him. He was leaning into her, his legs on either side, with both arms tight around her waist. She laid her arms on his automatically. He was silent for a moment, before saying, �Don�t move.�

She was about to agree when she felt several sharp jabs in her stomach. Sort of like needles, only they kept coming back. Now she knew why he took off his jacket and kept his arms around her: the bugs were going from his arms to her stomach this way.

She grimaced as the pain kept increasing, gripping his arms a bit tighter. Then she controlled herself, focused on her chakra. Being tense would get her nowhere.

As she expected, the chakra in her jewel was difficult to use, but more so when she didn�t need it. Focus, focus, focus, she chanted in her mind. The pain subsided. And then she felt. . .nothing. It was as if there was nothing at all to feel. The most she could notice was Shino�s breathing near her ear. After a little while, she could also feel the pull at her chakra, an awareness that told her it was being drained.

In tiny, miniscule amounts. This would take a week, at this rate. She dropped her head back, onto his shoulder, grasping at patience. She knew this would take a long time. And she wasn�t the only one waiting. She needed to be calm, in control, in order for this to work.

Because if it didn�t, she would be dead really fast. Images passed through her mind of how it might happen, the most disturbing of which was what might happen if all the bugs couldn�t fit inside her, if they had to swarm her all over. If they all devoured her to try to get to the chakra. It looked like such a horrible death, in her mind.

And she knew that death would be mild, compared to what Shino would go through -- especially if that particularly brutal death was the one she suffered.

She gave herself a mental shake. These thoughts wouldn�t help anything. Hell, they were distracting her. She was ready to wish to feel the bugs now, if only to remind her to keep focused.

Ask and ye shall receive, she thought. It was ironic, but now she could feel them. A tiny quiver passed through her. She never knew she could feel her organs so well, as the bugs wriggled around them. She felt a trail of them head down one arm. Well, at least she could safely say their numbers were growing. It had just taken a while for their numbers to grow big enough to be noticed.

The pull on her chakra had more than doubled. That knowledge, more than anything else, snapped her mind to the present. She released more of the jewel�s chakra, feeling it spread throughout her -- slightly foreign, but still readily accepted by her body.

And more than welcome to the bugs. She could swear they grew more fevered, moving quicker. She shifted, fighting off the urge to wriggle. All at once she understood what Shino had meant, when he told her the constant moving could energize him. Even to someone who was used to them, those insects definitely had the potential to make a grown man writhe.

She realized she was leaning one way, as though it would help her escape the crawling sensation in her other side. She shook her head to dispel the urge, then took a deep breath.

�Are you holding up alright?� Shino asked, voice low. He didn�t sound the least bit happy.

�Yeah,� she answered. �It�s just getting harder to sit still.�

�Stay focused,� Shibi chided them.

They went silent. It was odd, but the compulsion to obey Shibi was just as strong as the compulsion to obey Shino -- the difference is that her love for Shino made it impossible not to agree, while Shibi simply had a tone that demanded obedience. She supposed it was something he gained after close to twenty years of being a father.

A wave of bugs curved around her left side. The feeling nearly made her stomach lurch. As it was, she turned her head the other way, meeting Shino�s collar. She clenched her teeth against the urge to curse or groan. Her shoulders tensed to keep from shuddering.

Good Lord, but she was starting to regret this. How could anyone be alright with the feeling of your organs being moved around inside you? She had to concentrate to make sure her intestines weren�t in her shoulder. She took a deep breath to calm herself --

And immediately started coughing. Tiny insect legs were all over her lungs, giving the very distinct feeling of drowning. She covered her mouth. She hadn�t expected that.

Neither had Shino, she guessed. He didn�t move, but his hands gripped her more tightly. Even now, when she�d succeeded in stopping the coughs, the feeling remained. Her throat felt full, an illusion, yet still giving the impression of choking. Oh yes, she agreed with her earlier thought, she was regretting this idea.

Then again, Shino�s warning that it would be �uncomfortable� was hardly accurate. She�d never felt so miserable in her life -- or not physically, she amended. The way she�d felt while apart from him was a thousand times worse, though it was only an emotional thing.

She used that comparison to help her focus. It was bad, yes, what the bugs kept making her feel. But it still wasn�t the worst she�d ever been.

More and more chakra was released, and more and more bugs began scrambling to get it. Or she assumed they were scrambling; their numbers were unknown to her by this point. Her entire body felt overfull, like it would burst at any second. She had a moment of mental instability, imagining herself splitting like a doll, but with bugs instead of stuffing peeking out between the stitches. Bile rose in her throat.

�God!� she bit out, pitching forward. She pressed her fists to her eyes, gritting her teeth. A moment later and her mouth opened wide, panting.

�Tasha,� Shino said, voice full of worry.

She tried to answer, but only a whimper escaped. She could hear shuffling from all directions, knowing at once that the five watching them were ready to intervene. The situation wasn�t that bad, in her opinion, though she doubted they would agree.

It was hard, but she pushed herself back, regaining control. �I�m alright,� she assured everyone -- except herself.

�It would be better,� Shibi told her, �to stop now rather than later. Are you sure?�

Her response of �kunoichi� was far from coherent. She bit her lip, tried again. �I got this,� she managed. Her tone didn�t have the conviction of her words. Nonetheless, it seemed to do the trick.

Shibi backed off. �If you need to stop. . .�

She looked at him. �I�m sure Shino would notice before you would.�

Shino dropped his chin, pressed his face to her shoulder. His hair started a tickle on her neck and jaw.

That tickle battled against the crawling of the bugs and lost. Big time.

She wasn�t sure where her sudden control came from, but she clung to it regardless. It was as though her body began adapting to the constant movement, allowing her greater focus. Maybe it came from a desperate need. It would explain a lot that way.

Whatever the reason, she could focus again now. She shut her eyes, that focus spreading throughout her. She concentrated the jewel�s chakra on where she knew groups of the bugs were, giving them more, preventing them from devouring any of her body�s chakra. It didn�t take long for those groups to become lost to her, mere parts of a large blanket that encompassed every inner inch of her.

Her stomach rolled unpleasantly, forcing her to swallow every so often to keep her breakfast down. She lost herself to time, working on nothing more than keeping the jewel�s chakra flowing. The pull of it, being eaten away, was just as steady as the release. If anything, she wasn�t feeding the insects fast enough. They were addicted to it, in a way, demanding more. She started wincing unconsciously when they began nipping at her insides in demand of more chakra.

Soon she could feel her body�s chakra getting low, and it became the jewel�s duty to keep it replenished. It was easier on her part, then, to keep it going. But it worried her about how much of the jewel was gone and how much had left to be eaten -- how much longer this would take.

Her awareness was nearly limited to her chakra and the inside of her body, but she still knew she was twitching. A jerk of her leg here, twitch of a finger there, turn of her head or sharp breath every so often. Her body was uncomfortable from the way she�d been sitting for so long, adding to the miserable situation she was in. Only the fact that Shino still held her kept her still. After all, he was moving even less than she was.

And his weight increased once or twice, as though he were growing steadily more depressed. She wanted to reassure him that everything was fine, but she couldn�t find her voice anymore.

She was tired. Every last bit of her ached. Her head throbbed in time with her heart. Even her eye stung, next to the chakra jewel. At the same time, her amusement grew. When the jewel was created, the intention had been that it would eventually allow for the return of the clan�s kekkei genkai. And now she was ruining two centuries of chakra gathering, just throwing it away.

She came out of a time-irrelevant stupor, opening her eyes. She hadn�t a clue how much time had passed, but now her entire body hurt, worse than before. It felt like dead weight -- or maybe the teeming masses of bugs inside of her were weighing her down. She wouldn�t doubt it. Even her toes felt too heavy.

She had the sudden thought that she�d reached chakra exhaustion. Only, the bugs were still there, and she could feel that they were still eating. Her jewel was lasting much longer than she�d anticipated. How many times had it refilled her body�s chakra? Twice? Three times? She had underestimated it far too much.

She wondered, in the back of her mind, why Shino hadn�t moved an inch. Her skin was slick with sweat from the heat of his arms around her, of her back to his chest. No sooner had the thought surfaced than the answer did, too. The bugs had transferred from his arms to her body, through her skin. He was probably suffering for her by remaining still, just to keep it so the bugs didn�t have to chew new holes in her.

And then a thick wave of bugs all shifted from one side to the other inside her, causing the rest to rotate just to keep from splitting her. She cringed, hard, at the feeling. Her hands fisted, now aware of them on the ground, outside of Shino�s legs. Her jaw clenched. Why did they move like that, all of a sudden?

The movement increased. They�d been calm, before, in comparison to this. She realized they must have drained a portion or more of her chakra completely, and she rushed to try to refill it. Nothing came.

A wild excitement went through her. Had the jewel finally run dry? If it did, then it was a simple waiting game now, for the rest of it to be devoured. And then they�d be out of her.

It was nearly over.

Nearly, but. . .there was chaos inside her. The bugs were growing frantic, judging by the waves of movement. They were nipping her with increased vigor. She convulsed, trying to hold herself, but Shino�s arms were in the way.

�Tasha?� he said, his voice more quiet than usual.

He must be just as drained as she was, she realized. No sooner had the thought come than she had the sense that she must have been still for a very long time, for him to sound surprised that she�d moved.

�They�re biting,� she ground out, surprised at the strangled sound of her own voice. �God, you little. . !� She broke off, biting back swears. She was growing sick of this, of the nips.

She felt Shino lift his head. �Has the jewel gone dry?�

She nodded, having trouble breathing now. �They don�t seem too happy with it, either.�

�Start pulling them back,� Shibi told his son.

�Working on it,� Shino replied. �They�re. . .stubborn.�

She opened her eyes in time to see Shibi glance around the room. All five of them inched closer, watching intently.

The anarchy inside her was still growing. She shuddered. It didn�t feel the least bit as though they were leaving her. If anything, they were fighting to stay.

Though she had very little chakra remaining in her, she tried to use it, to direct them. She had no clue how to control the insects, but she�d be damned if she didn�t try. She tried to order them out of her, to go back to Shino. For a little while, it seemed to work. The waves inside her were heading for her stomach, for the holes that would lead them back to Shino.

And then they came rushing back, and the feeling riled her stomach. Bile rose to the top of her throat. She groaned. Her patience was nearly gone. She had the wild urge to start throwing herself around, on the floor or into walls, and start killing the bastards. Maybe then they�d get the idea.

Sure, doing it might just kill hundreds of them, and sure, Shino wouldn�t be too happy. But she�d be alive and victorious. The temptation to do it was hard to resist.

All at once, they stopped where they were. No more scrambling, no more nipping, no more waves that made her organs feel mixed up.

Shino exhaled slow. �I got them,� he said.

His words were a relief to hear. She relaxed against him, even as the bugs began receding in tiny amounts. They were leaving, she was alive, it had worked. . .

�Just a little longer,� he promised her.

She shut her eyes and, with the grace of a butterfly landing, she was asleep.

- - -

Shino called her twice before he realized she had fallen asleep. He couldn�t blame her; this entire ordeal had taken a huge amount of time, and she�d had the worst of it. Not to mention the lack of the jewel would tire her anyway. She�d told him before that it had kept her supercharged for her entire life. It was only right that without it, she would tire easily.

His eyes traced her face as the bugs came back to him, noting how exhausted she looked. He knew the chakra in the jewel was gone, but now he wondered if the jewel itself was gone. He lifted a shoulder so her head would turn towards him.

He couldn�t decide if he was surprised or not to see it remained, though he noticed the color was duller, not as brilliant.

�Shino,� Shibi called him.

He glanced up. A moment of silent communication went between them.

And then Shibi gave a nod. �Now we just wait,� he told the other four. �It looks like it worked without a hitch.�

As though she didn�t appreciate his calm outlook, Tasha gave a small, sleep-induced moan. Inwardly, Shino smirked.

The amusement didn�t last long. He felt horrible, making her go through this. The way she�d writhed, uncomfortable, was enough to make him regret agreeing to this. But then she�d started with shudders and convulsions. Knowing his bugs were the cause of it cut him, deep. She even told him they were biting her.

He tightened his hold marginally -- as if it could do anything for the pain in his heart. Now she was unconscious (an inward flinch at that phrasing), after what must be the most trying ordeal of her life. It was all his fault, and he could shave it off not in the least. Sure, the chakra jewel had been at the heart of the problem, the bait, but it was his own lack of control that endangered her life.

To the point where she had to sit through half a day of slow torture, with complete exhaustion at the end.

Before now, he�d had only slight ideas as to what it might feel like for an outsider to have so many bugs inside them. Tasha�s discomfort more than eclipsed what he�d thought. She�d been in pain. Which only made sense to him -- nobody in the clan would ever pack themselves with so many bugs if they had a choice. And all but a small number of his bugs had gone to her.

He didn�t know how that felt. It was too bad for him that she�d made it obvious. At the first grimace she�d given, he�d wished he weren�t so good at reading people, least of all her. Every second she spent in pain was another weight on him, increasing with each second he couldn�t do anything about it. He loved her so much, and damn it, he couldn�t protect her from his own bugs!

Well -- perhaps he could, now.

Once the last of the bugs had returned, he looked up at his father, who nodded. That was all he needed. He lifted her with him as he stood, intent on putting her in bed, letting her recover. Shibi followed with his jacket, but only so far as to his own room. He was taking Tasha to hers.

When he had her laid out, he paused with the blanket in his hands. His eyes were glued to her stomach, at the dozen tiny scabs lining it. There was a smear of blood across them, with trails leading to her waistline. He looked at his own forearms, as though needing the confirmation. Blood there, too.

It wasn�t his, he knew. After so many years, the wounds the bugs inflicted never bled. At the start of the day, he hadn�t thought for a second that she would bleed. The prospect never would have occurred to him, had this ordeal not happened.

He shook his head, covered her. He wanted to kiss her before he left, but something told him it would be inappropriate. Which was ridiculous; they loved each other. Kissing her in her sleep wouldn�t break any rules of etiquette.

If she still loved him, after this.

The pain that assaulted him at that thought left him surprised that his heart didn�t stop. He escaped the room quickly, shutting the door silently behind him. He headed back to his room, needing to be solitary for a while. His father was waiting for him, jacket still in his hands.

Shino took it while saying, �Not now.� He entered his room, not the least surprised when Shibi left him be. He tossed the jacket away from him, sat on the bed, dropped his head to rest in his hands.

A glance at his clock told him that more than twelve hours had passed since he�d left his room this morning. All but perhaps thirty minutes had been spent in that ceremonial room, with Tasha in his arms -- in pain.

He groaned aloud, his muscles making an answering cry of their own. At no point had he expected it to take so long. Tasha�s assumption of her jewel�s chakra had been far off, far too low. It made him think that she�d never truly had to use it before.

It had also extended what was supposed to be a few-hour task to a half-a-day one. It had extended the time she spent in agony, and in so doing, extended his, too.

He hoped she would forgive him, but he doubted it. His mind gave him a vision of a bleak future where she left again, though this time he wouldn�t follow her. Where she left forever, just to save herself from the possibility of this happening all over again.

And his heart screamed.
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Koiuta