Everyone seemed to underestimate him. His strength. His courage. His personality. Everyone especially Naruto, just thought he was creepy and that was all there was to him. No one REALLY took the time to get to know him and his ways. Except you of course, he was your bestfriend. Even if that meant something different because it was Shino (not as much talking). Ever since you two were in the academy, you played with the bugs with him. You knew a lot of things about him, but never his thoughts or feelings. Those were his secrets. Secrets only he let himself know. But you were always there if he ever needed it.
"Alright guys. Since you all have been working so hard, Lady Tsunade decided to give us 3 days off to a village just south of here." Kakashi announced. You sat with Shino on a rock. Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Naruto, andthe rest of the Konoha 11 along with Kurenai, Kakashi, Asuma, Guy, and Yamato were there. You smiled and stood up.
"When do we leave?" You asked.
"In one hour. Meet us at the gate then. Ok?" Kakashi responded. Everyone nodded and you looked to Shino.
"I need to go pack at my house, wanna come?" You asked. He nodded andyou both started walking to your house in silence. Neither of you really spoke much. You felt calmed by the silence he gave you and Shino... well Shino was just always silent. You reached your tree house like home and climbed the wodden steps. Shino sat on the porch like he usually did. You put some clothes, toiletress, and your fathfull soccor ball.
"Alright ready!" You announced. Shino nodded and you set off to his house.
"I don't need much. I'll be quick." He stated. You nodded and followed him into the Aburabe compound. His house was right at the front, the small one hidden by a large oak tree.
"I'll be in the green." You said, hopping into the tree. The "green" was the leaves of the tree. Since you were little, you loved the tree. The ways the lights reflected through was beautiful. It was how Shino convinced you nature was both beautiful and dirty. It was also how you first realized Shino held something special within. While you zoned out, Shino came out and m=stared at your bright auburn hair.
"Your mate huh?" Shibi (Shino's father) came up behind Shino, causing him to turn.
"No. My friend. She stares at the leaves while in the tree. She has for years. I can't figure out why..." He responded quietly.
"hmm. See you when you get back." Shibi said. Shino walked to the tree and sent a butterfly up. It landed on your shoulder and you looked down to see Shino waiting. You plopped down and started walking. Again, it was silent. But you didn't miss Shino looking to the side while he walked. Which he never usually did. You didn't really want to ask and you reached your destination in no time. You sat on your bag while Shino rested against a tree. Kiba came with Akamaru and you scratched his belly until everyone was there. Kakashi being last... but surprisingly not late.
"Alright let's head out." Asuma announced. You all got up and marched out of the village. The last time you would see the village for 3 days.
The walk wasn't too long, considereing you walked at a slower pace then when you were on missions. Akamaru whined because his belly rubbed more, Naruto shouted, Sakura hit his head, Lee walked on his hands, Kakashi read his "novel". Everything was normal, except Shino, who always walked right next to you, walked on the other side of Kiba. Hinata noticed the unbalance.
"Did you and Shino get in a fight Nicky?" She asked.
"No everything's fine. Why?"
"Well Shino usually walks next to you." She responded. You glanced to Shino and shrugged.
"He didn't seem upset. I'm not worried. He Can walk by Kiba. They are sorta friends after all." You replied. She nodded and you continued walking, you braiding a piece of hair to keep busy.
AT THE INN!
"So this inn is different then most. It has many rooms but features some unique attractions. There's a sports feild, a game room (shogi and what not), a cafe, a bar, not that you kids will be going, and a garden. Tomorow night there is also a nice dance. I suggest you boys rent a tux and ask a girl. There will be free food, pop, and music as well as a light show. But you need a date. It is at 9:00. Here are your rooms." Said a kind inn worker. You roomed with Hinata and Kurenai.
ROOMS ~~~~~~
Kakashi-Guy-Asuma Lee-Neji-Sai Kiba-Shino-Naruto Choji-Shikamaru Tenten-Sakura-Ino You-Hinata-Kurenai
Hinata was your good friend but it would have been better if Tenten could switch Kurenai. She was a good friend of yours. She always added a little spice to life.
"So Hina. You want to do something?" You asked.
"Umm well Kiba said he wanted me to meet with him. I have to go." She said nervously before speedin out. You "hmph'd" and sat down. You played with your soccor ball before you heard someone knock at the the door. You lazily got up and opened the door to see Shino there.
"Hi Shino. You want to hang out?" You asked.
"No. I must talk to Kurenai sensei. Alone."
"Alright. I guess I'll be out on the sports feild." You replied, taking your soccor ball and leaving. You walked outside, passing a few people, who were talking and hanging out. The sports feild was pretty good, it had a basketball court, a tennis court, and 2 feilds. You went to the feild farthest away from the inn and started kicking the ball around. You weren't big into sports, not even soccor, but you enjoyed messing around with the ball.
You though about Shino as you kicked. You didnt have a fight did you? Was he really mad with you? You couldn't think of a reason why he would be mad. But Shino was a hard person to read
"Nicky?" You heard Shino call. You turned and smiled.
"Hey." You replied, sitting on a rock. He took the signal and sat next to you in silence.
" I might ask a girl to the dance." He muttered after a minute. You blinked in surprise. The stoic yet totally hot boy never seemed too interested in girls. But he was a boy, so it wasn't too strange.
"Good, you should." You said blushing. You were the only girl besides Hinata to be close to him. You thought you had a pretty good chance of being the girl, being his best friend.
"Ok. Talk to you later." He said, leaving. Your heart sank a little.
"Maybe he'll ask later." You thought. You lost hope when Shino went up to Hinata. You couldn't hear what they were talking about but you were sure he asked her. You grabbed your soccor ball and walked back. You were by game room when Shikamaru stopped you.
"Hey I need a favor. It's troublesome but Ino is forcing me to go to the dance. Ino and Sakura are troublesome and Tenten and Hinata have dates. Will you go with me?" He asked. Hinata had a date? So Shino really had asked her.
"Sure, but wear something nice. I know Tenten will make me get a dress and I don't want to stand out." You replied.
"Fien troublesome woman." He muttered before walking off. You couldn't see it but Shino was behind you, eyebrows furrowed in frustration. He walked away from the girl he thought would be his dancer partner.
You took along bath once you got back and opened your bag. You heated up some ramen and sat on your bed, eating. Tenten came running in.
"Yeah I knoe Tenten. We will go dress shopping. 10 am sound good?" You asked. She laughed and nodded.
"Shikamaru though. Neer would have expected him to ask."
"Well he did, I said yes. Now I get to sit there in a dress while he sleeps" You replied. Tenten laughed and left. You finished eating and took the rare chance to go to sleep early. Only waking up when Kurenai and Hinata got back. Hinata seemed to avoid your gaze.
"Oh yeah. Be nervous, Mrs. Aburame!" You teased in your mind. You all went to sleep. You dreamed of Shino in a feild of flowers with a unicorn XD.
NEXT MORNING!
You woke up before everyone else did and sat bored for a few minutes before getting up and getting dressed. You were incredibly hungry for some breakfast and you grabbed your wallet. The morning was quiet and peacefull, small animals emerging from a cold night of sleep. Nature showed her soft side, the side when she was just waking for most creatures on earth. The sun shined bright on the land, signifying the new day and the new changes that would follow. You made a mental note to go outside and breath the fresh, crisp air and just relax. The peacefullness of the inn was a deep breath of relief for you.
You walked to where the cafe was supposed to be and saw a room with a counter and a bored looking waitress. The place was empty. You walked to the display case and saw what they served. You thought about your roomate's and saw a big batch of cinnimon rolls. You knew Hinata loved them and despite being Shino's date, you couldn't really stay mad at her.
"Could I have 8 cinnimon rolls?" You asked the cashier. She nodded and put your rolls in a box.
"2000 ryo please." She said. You handed her the cash and took back to your room. You walked slowly, savory the peace you seldom got unless you were with Shino. That peace, was your vice, your secret pleasure. It's why you first started loving Shino. While he gave you the beautiful peacefull silence, he wasn't oblivious to his surroundings. He was observent and never left anything he noticed to deal with themself if he could help it. People assumed he was emotionless but it was the opposite. He felt everything a normal teenage boy would, but he was just quiet about it. His silence was his peace too. Again you failed to notice a boy looking at the way the sun made your skin glow.
You walked into your room to see Kurenai doing her hair at the mirror, already dressed. Hinata was zipping up her jacket.
"I got cinnimon rolls if you want any." You said, setting the box on a table. You took one out and went into the mini fridge to grab some fruit juice. You sat munching on the food while Kurenai and Hinata took their share.
"Why did you get so many Nicky?" Kurenai asked. You smiled.
"It won't be long till Tenten and probably Ino, and Sakura come to go dress shopping. I baught enough for whoever came in and wanted one." You replied. As if on que, Tenten came walking on in, Ino and Sakura behind her. "I got cinnimon rolls for breakfast. Have some." You offered. Tenten and Sakura took one, but Ino, on another diet settled with some juice.
"So we all heading out for dress shopping now?" Sakura asked. You all nodded and grabbed your wallets. Kurenai went with you out of bordem. You walked into the small and cute village to look around. There were many artisan and food shops as well as a few business' on main street. You stepped into a cute dress shop a few blocks from the inn. There were racks upon racks of dresses and a few dressing areas.
"Hello. Can I help you?" A young worker asked.
"Yes. Is there anywhere all 5 of these girls can change right next to each other?" Kurenai asked. The worker showed us to a dressing stage in the back corner. You all set off to find the perfect dress. You scowered the racks while Tenten pulled out dresses for you and her.
"Tenten, I can pick my own dress." You retorted. She grumbled, but put the dresses for you back. You picked a few ok dresses but nothing looked great to you. You wanted something simple, beautiful, and unique. Hinata, who had already picked out a mid calf length powder blue satin dress pointed to a rack of grenn dresses. Right in front was a gorgious green halter top with a gold band and pleats. imgres?q=olive+green+dress+short&num=10&hl=en&biw=1680&bih=903&tbm=isch&tbnid=Mip_PapQoBBGVM:&imgrefurl= . &docid=hnC-T-gNDL3djM&imgurl= . /-xTRX3hsNW9I/T9Lk8BBks5I/AAAAAAAAAF4/nIpRRS_JaRg/s1600/short%252Bolive%252Bgreen%252Bhalter%252Btop%252Bdress% &w=300&h=428&ei=12EhUL7-F8m3rQH324DAAw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=175&vpy=219&dur=49&hovh=268&hovw=188&tx=86&ty=151&sig=107917323133810176197&page=1&tbnh=144&tbnw=101&start=0&ndsp=46&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:81
"Thank you Hina. It's gorgious." You said, grabbing the dress. You waited for Ino to pick her purple dress, Sakura to pick her rose dust colored dress, and Tenten to pick a white and brown dress. You all went into your dressing stalls to get changed. The dress fit like a glove and you felt beautiful. When you all walked out wearing your favorite dresses, Kurenai smiled.
"You all look beautiful. It only took 45 minutes to gind the dresses too." She joked. You changed back and payed for the dresses one person at a time. Ino then dragged you all to a shoe store. Shoes were not one of your favorite things, especially heels, so you picked up some flats.
"No flats Nicky! You're doing heels." Ino argued, taking the flats and giving you heels. At least the heels were low and they were on clearence. imgres?q=prom+shoes&num=10&hl=en&biw=1680&bih=903&tbm=isch&tbnid=ysmwoSN24Vy5QM:&imgrefurl= . &docid=FqDQdMzqD5MErM&imgurl= . &w=350&h=350&ei=NmMhUNT8DMTDrQGb6oDICA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=998&vpy=293&dur=565&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=132&ty=147&sig=107917323133810176197&page=2&tbnh=162&tbnw=168&start=32&ndsp=40&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:32,i:255 Surprisingly, Hinata took the longest with the shoes, having troubles with the heel as well. It was about 12:45 when you finished shoe shopping and you decided to get something to eat before checking out the village. You stopped at a dango place. You got everyone's order and went to the counter.
"3 sweet dango orders, 2 regular dango orders, and 1 spicy please." You requested. You payed the ryo and grabbed the dango. You sat on some benches while nomming on the food. The village was alive with movement. Kids ran around, playing and enjoying the innocent time of their lives. After eating, you wandered around, stopping at a few stores. You started singing to yourself, dancing when no one was looking.
"Bored much?" Tenten asked. You stuck your tongue out and at about 3:15 you went back to the inn. The boys were sitting around lazily.
"Where were you guys?" Naruto asked.
"Shopping." Sakura replied.
"How can you shop for hours?" He asked.
"Naruto, its the mystery of being a woman." Kurenai said chuckling. You all went into your room, dropped your bags off and split up. You went into the game room. Shikamaru was playing shogi.
"You get your suit?" You asked. He nodded. You huffed and went to the cafe. You sat sipping some hot chocolate when Shino passed. You avoided eye contact and he rushed in and out. Hinata found you 1/2 an hour later wanting you to go get ready with all of the girls. You took showers in your separate rooms and sat in robes, doing each others hair. Ino curled yours and put it in a up do with a butterfly pin. You watched movies and did make up, you going for a natural look. You took a stop for dinner, some rice balls and beef. After eating, you got dresses and situated everything perfectly. It was 8:30 when you finished. You all went to where you were supposed to meet your dates. You walked out to the feild. Shino stood waiting, but wasn't dressed. You guessed he didn't do tuxes. Shikamaru came a minute later. He kept glancing at Shino.
"You look nice." He greeted lazily. You smiled and took his arms.
"You look pretty good dressed up too." You talked while you walked and by the time you got to the venue, it was open. Lights were strewn around the surrounding buildings and lanterns hung from wires. You and Shikamaru sat by the punch bowl, him refusing to dance.
"So Shino asked Hinata?" You asked nervously after a minute. He looked at you funny.
"Kiba asked Hinata. Shino doesn't have a date." He replied. You went wide eyed. If he didn't ask her, then who was he going to ask.
"Oh..." You said. He smiled.
"This is all troublesome. Go find him. You don't want to be here with me and I don't like you that way. I only did this so Ino would calm herself." He said, glancing to Ino, who was dancing with a overwhelmed Sai. You nodded and took off back to the feild. Shino sat on a rock, staring at the moon. You breathed heavy and sat next to him. He didn't react to your presence.
"You weren't going to ask Hinata were you?" You asked. He shook his head and handed you a corsage. You paled.
"You wanted to ask me?" He nodded. You put the corsage on and smiled.
"I said yes to Shikamaru because I thought you asked Hinata. In all reality, I wanted you to ask me." You stated. He grabbed your hand.
"I have felt strog feelings for you since the chunin exams. I wanted to ask no one else but you." He stated simply. You leaned your head on his shoulder. He flinched a little at the sudden contact.
watch?v=13GD78Bmo8s&feature=related
"Am I too late for 1 dance?" You asked. Shino grabbed your hand a pulled you up. With one hand on your waist and the other on your free hand, he spun you in the moonlight, your shoes shining with the reflection from the moon. He spinned you round, letting you lose yourself in the silence of his embrace. You enjoyed your peace while you hummed lightly.
"Thank you Shino. You've given me everything. Since we were little kids, you've made me see things in a different light." You complemented. He held you closer. Despite your blush, you felt absolutly content and comfortable. He was your protector and you felt safe in his arms.
"No. Nicky. You've made me see things different. You are my own mini ball of sunshine." He bellowed. You beamed and kissed his cheek. He moved over and gave you a quick kiss on the lips. You snuggled yourself into his chest and smiled. Your best friend was finally something just a little bit more. He gave you the ultimate peace by holding you close and lovingly.
"It's just too bad we're missing that light show. I bet it would be cool." You noted. He pulled away. "What?" You questioned.
"Wait one minute." He replied. He rushed in and came back wearing a tux. You blushed because you thought a tux looked absolutly perfect on him. He did something and tons of fireflies filled the sky. You smiled and thought of a poem your mom told you before she passed. Shino started dancing with you.
"My love for you, so bright and true, will light up the sky. Like fireflies, dancing in the night, my light of love will surround you. Just look up, to the dark night sky, and see the fireflies. My love for you, so bright and true, will light up your sky. Just look up, to see my love. My little firefly." You said. Shino looked confused. "Its a poem my mom used to tell me. I was her little firefly."
"My love for you, so bright and true, will light up the sky." He said before giving you a passionate kiss. It lasted about a minute and made you feel like you were on cloud nine. You held each other close. After you pulled away, you just looked into each others eyes. You danced until a few sensei's came and told you to go to your rooms and sleep. He hadn't asked you to be his girlfriend yet, but his love for you, truly did light up the sky.