Disclaimer – I don't own the Naruto Franchise, its characters or original plots.
Shino paced furiously back and forth in front of the Yuhi residence. It was New Year's Eve, and Kurenai was unable to attend the annual New Year's Eve festival on because of the flu. Winter was unusually harsh this at time of the year, and Kurenai was one of its unfortunate victims. Determined, Shino stopped and stood by the gates that surrounded the house, and wondered if she was ever going to step out, even for the shortest moment.
It was cold outside, and the midwinter chill crept through Shino's thick hooded top, and proceeded under his skin, causing the normally unflinching Team 8 prodigy to shiver briefly. He had already waited for several hours in anticipation of her arrival. Like the surroundings, Shino was silent, and was intent on meeting her tonight. He would visit her house to keep her company until midnight, just so she wouldn't be alone.
The lights inside the house flickered on, and the unbolting of locks on the front door broke the silence, as well as Shino's moment of self-reflection. A vulnerable, defeated Kurenai appeared through the front door in a purple kimono that had a simple, yet elegant floral pattern above the obi, and snowflakes below it.
"I'm so sorry!" Kurenai shouted, battling a sore throat and sinus, "how long have you been waiting outside? Please, come in."
Shino nodded, and hopped over the outer gate into her front yard. He casually walked towards the door, and paused midway to observe her kimono. This was attire that Shino was not used to seeing, because unlike her Jonin uniform, it revealed the subtlety of his sensei's womanly curves. He continued onwards, towards the interior of the Genjutsu-specialist's home.
Shino had not yet spoken a word, as he first stepped inside, he was inwardly compelled by the simplicity of Kurenai's house. It was a rickety bungalow that stood alone atop a hill by the old training grounds where she used to practice her techniques. It had fallen apart since then, and provided no more than a nostalgic backdrop for the building. The interior was small and homely, and had an above-adequate view of the rest of the village, well suited for a single woman in her early thirties.
Kurenai invited him to sit down on the lone couch that lay by the main wall of the living room. As Shino positioned himself in the middle of the sofa that seated three, his teacher walked barefoot towards the adjacent kitchen.
"I'm sorry, Shino-kun," She said regretfully, "but I don't have any drinks to offer besides shochu. Are you ok with that?"
Shino nodded. He was 17, and from past experiences with his rambunctious father, Shibi, he was familiar with the tastes of hard sake. He couldn't comprehend how people could stand the throaty sting of alcohol, but accepting Kurenai's offer was more out of his sympathy towards her delicate state of illness.
Kurenai conspicuously made her way towards the couch with two glasses and a bottle of Godaime's Choice, a specialty brand of liquor endorsed by Tsunade-sama herself. She settled down beside Shino, and placed the bottle and glasses on the mahogany coffee table in front of them. She proceeded to gently pour the shochu into their respective glasses, and offered one to Shino.
Shino accepted, and took a swig of the spirit. He didn't particularly like the taste, but he silently enjoyed being around Kurenai, and he wasn't going to let a dislike of alcohol get in the way of this rare moment.
"Oh," Shino added, finally breaking his silence, "this is for you."
He placed his free hand into his pocket, and revealed a small canister. He then put it on the coffee table, next to the shochu bottle.
"It's from Hinata," Shino explained, "I told her you were sick, so she made this for you."
"I see," Kurenai observed, "give her my thanks next time you meet her."
"I don't know," Shino sighed remorsefully after taking another sip, "She'll be in Sunagakure by next week."
It was a shocking decree that hauntingly echoed throughout Konoha a month earlier. The Hyuuga clan, in an attempt to solidify its bloodline, arranged a marriage between their heiress and the Kazekage, Sabaku no Gaara. They had succeeded in negotiating a potent union, at the cost of Hinata and Gaara's romantic freedom. She would live in the sand village for the rest of her life, away from her family, friends, and most of all, Team 8.
The two sat in silence, finishing their respective glasses, reminiscing of better days with Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru. After numerous Chunin exam failures, Kiba decided to become a veterinarian. With that, and Hinata's forceful engagement and moving away, all that was left of the quartet was the two sharing a drink with each other, silently waiting for midnight.
Shino reached for the shochu bottle, and poured another round for Kurenai and himself. The texture of the glass-stained bottle was rough, save for a smooth section where the brand name label was applied. As he filled a glass, a sharp sneezing noise rang his ear. He turned around and noticed a helpless Kurenai wiping her nose in an attempt to clear away her unyielding sinuses.
"It's winter," Kurenai admitted weakly, "and kimonos like these don't do a good job of insulating, despite their comfort."
Shino concurred. "Yes. Maybe you'd prefer your liquor oyu-wari to keep your body warm. I'll go get some hot water."
Kurenai nodded in agreement. She waited patiently, as Shino took his time filling a small pitcher with water from a teakettle that she used earlier for cold medicine. She was impressed with his outward appearance. Shino was always stoic around his friends, probably more than even Sasuke or Neji. She held such great pride that her most talented student grew to be a fearsome warrior, with his ability matched only by his youthful looks.
Shino returned to the couch with hot water in a plastic pitcher. He poured the contents of the pitcher and shochu bottle into a glass, carefully monitoring the relative proportions of each.
Kurenai observed as he poured, and couldn't resist noticing the intensity behind his darkened specs.
"You're so intense," She eagerly admitted, "you're even stoic when pouring a drink."
Shino took this as a compliment, and responded with a grin that uncharacteristically revealed a small part of his bleached-white teeth. He finished the first glass, and served it to Kurenai. While he was pouring the same for himself, he noticed a mid-sized picture frame on a nearby lamp table. It was a picture of Kurenai from her earlier years, probably the same age as himself. He couldn't identify the boy standing next to her, but he could only assume that it was Asuma.
"Is that Asuma in that picture?" Shino asked, as he finished pouring his own glass. He took a sip awaiting a response.
Kurenai hesitated for a moment. She reached for the framed portrait and stared contently.
"Yes. We went to the same Jonin-preparation school when we were teenagers. This picture was taken in the summer, when we…"
Tears began to well up in her eyes. Shino immediately regretted asking a sensitive question like that. It had been several years since the Akatsuki killed Asuma in combat.
"Were you two ever romantically involved?" he asked her.
Kurenai took a sip of her shochu. The smoothness of her drink spread through her mouth and down her throat. Despite holding back her tears, the taste stung sharply as she began to cry. Trying to save face in front of Shino, she took a deep breath and responded.
"We were." She explained. "We dated for a long time, when we were in the academy. But when we were promoted to Jonin, we decided to just become friends, because of the associated risks of having a relationship at that level."
It all started to make sense for Shino. Many years worth of speculation suddenly vanished, and he felt like the mysterious aura surrounding her just dissipated. He could even relate with her history, having previously been romantically involved, only to stop after being a Jonin himself.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Shino replied, finished his second drink. He preferred the warm style of serving shochu, since it helped him forget about the bitter cold of winter's night. It hardly snowed in Konoha, but the starkly low temperatures reminded its inhabitants that seasons were always changing, and the way things were one day would never be the same the next.
"It's okay," Kurenai weakly acknowledged, "it's all in the past now, and I've come to terms with myself and his passing on."
Silence hung sharply in the air, only to be broken by the eerie chime of eleven o'clock. As this would be the last moment together this year, they would later intend on making it count.
"Now's not the time to dwell on the past," Shino sagely remarked, "but rather celebrate it."
Kurenai, inspired by his words, perked up without hesitation. She took her glass, half-filled, and raised it in the air towards Shino. The kikaichu-user responded in kind, lifting his drink towards hers.
"Kanpai."The clang of colliding glasses emitted a soothing tone to the shinobis' ears. They brought their glasses to their mouths and finished the remains of their spirits. They did the same for another round of shochu, and then another.
Shino was the first of the two to reach his limits of tolerance. He tried not to embarrass himself in front of his sensei, but failed to see the figure next to him sharply. He adjusted his shades, and by failing to improve his visual focus, he gave up, and removed his glasses, placing them gingerly on the coffee table.
This was the first time he had taken off his darkened specs in front of anyone. Kurenai stared intently into Shino's orbits, and was amazed at what she saw.
"Shino-kun," She said, with a tinge of inebriation, "I've never seen your eyes before. They're quite remarkable."
Shino, slightly shaken by her comments, felt a slight flush in his cheeks; however, the combination of Kurenai's slightly intoxicated vision and his hood casting a shadow over his face hid his atypical blush.
A "thanks" was all that Shino could muster as a response. His eyes were definitely unique. They were a hue of darkened navy blue, highlighted by slight whisper of sapphire around his pupils. As Kurenai stared, she was entranced in its deepness.
Shino inwardly sighed as he thought about numerous instances where he would be lost in her eyes, but would get caught. As Kurenai leaned towards him in awe, Shino didn't seem to mind as she was having her sweet, sweet revenge.
After a long, deliberated look, Kurenai chuckled internally while the vessels in her cheeks began to swell, forming a slightly cherry colour. Unlike Shino, she had no hood to hide her blush. In his mind, however, he concluded that her now-rouged cheeks were a perfect shade of red to complement the lavender of her kimono.
It was 11:20. The simple pleasures of keeping company was intensely felt between the two as they downed further rounds, eventually emptying the remains of the shared bottle. Shino, well known for his quiet demeanour, was a more social individual when he drank. He wasn't fully consumed by intoxication, yet was willing to vocally share with his drinking partner thoughts normally kept to himself while sober.
"Hey, Kurenai-sensei," Shino slurred, "do you, um, remember the time when Naruto farted in Kiba's face at the first Chunin exam?"
The thought quickly came to Kurenai's mind. She was unable to respond, as she broke out into hysterical laughter as she reminisced.
"HA! Yes! I do!" Kurenai replied, eyes teary from amusement.
Shino was beaming. He realized he enjoyed recalling the "good old days" of his former team, and continued to bombard his teacher with recollections of better times. As the clock ticked towards its final minutes of the year, the two shared their fondest moments.
At 11:58, their sobriety returned. They only had a few moments to reflect on the days to come, and by returning to reality, they began to realize the difficult obstacles that they were to overcome, as they would say goodbye to the year, now behind them.
Not a sound was made between them, as they both inwardly sighed.
"Shino," Kurenai spoke first, "when did you become so strong?"
"I don't know." Shino said calmly, and succinctly. "It's probably the way you trained us."
"That's not what I meant," Kurenai replied, disappointingly. "The world around you is changing so drastically, and yet you are able to mature at your own pace. That's what I love the most about you."
"Oh."
Shino was allowed a few moments to absorb Kurenai's remarks. He was at first confused about the intentions behind her words, but began to carefully and deliberately plan out the words with which he would eventually respond.
Shino stood up. Kurenai attentively watched him pace back and forth throughout the room with the same intensity earlier that night when she first saw him outside the house. Their moment of mutual tension was conveniently interrupted by loud bangs coming from outside. Shino curiously crept towards the door, and stepped outside onto the porch overlooking the festivities. Kurenai hastily followed suit.
Fireworks were flaring into the empty night sky from the festival below. Shino lazily leaned on the porch railing, as he stared intently into the scene before him. Kurenai stood in a spot right next to him, allowing the smallest possible distance between them. She remembered her flu, and felt defeated and vulnerable once again as she harshly sneezed.
Shino was quick to notice. He removed his hooded top, and gently laid it over his sensei's delicate shoulders. Kurenai gripped his offering close, accidentally touching his hand with hers. They paused. Without any thought, Shino kept his hand over her shoulder as he held her tight. It was midnight, and Shino could not think of himself being any happier than he was at that moment. No memory of Team 8 could ever compare to the sensation he suddenly felt as he turned towards his special person. Despite being a warrior renowned for his thought and cunning, he found the words in his heart instead.
"Kurenai," he said softly, "No matter what happens, we'll always be a team."
She blushed, and responded by pressing her lips against his warm cheek.
"Happy New Year, Shino-kun."