"Hey," Sakura called a little loudly, catching up to Shino as he was opening one of the front doors. "Good morning."
Shino turned his whole body to her as best as he could while he held open the door with one arm. He bowed his head and said softly in a deep monotone, "Good morning."
Sakura, bemused by Shino's overly formal greeting, stepped inside of the building as he politely continued holding open the door for her.
"Thank you," she said to him as he came inside as well, allowing the doors to close on their own.
His voice held a faint note of confusion when he replied, "For what purpose do I receive your gratitude?"
Sakura just stared at him. She'd never realized that Shino spoke so properly. Whenever she was hanging out with others from her year in a restaurant or shopping centre, she'd almost never heard him speak. She recalled that he always seemed to put a little distance between himself and the group, only talking to the members of his team. He rarely joined in group conversations, and seemed to always leave early, even if Kiba and Hinata stayed on. Sakura wondered if he even knew her name.
"It was nice of you to hold open the door for me," Sakura finally answered, putting her hands behind her back and smiling.
"Ah." She heard Shino say. It was difficult to gauge his reaction to her reply, because even in the warm corridor of the hospital he had on his blue-blocker glasses and heavy grey coat that covered most of his head and hid his face up to his nose. She decided he was satisfied with her explanation.
"Do you mind if I walk with you?" It was a split-second decision. After all, he didn't seem to be in any hurry and she now had a chance to talk to him about his kikaichu. And it was a somewhat long trek up to the fifth floor from here. Sometimes, when she arrived here in the mornings on training days, she would half-wish she had a partner with whom she could talk to. But then she would remember what that would mean for her, having to share the title of the Godaime's prodigy, and she would shake her head to rid herself of the lonely thoughts. It did paint a pretty sad picture, she could imagine. A small, pink-haired girl walking alone down an industrial hallway, looking back over one shoulder. A real snapshot for the depressed kunoichi calendar. She'd be the month of March.
"You desire to accompany me to the fifth floor?" Shino asked. He sounded a bit surprised. Sakura couldn't really blame him though. She didn't think they'd ever spoken one-on-one. But this was perfect, as he had revealed that they were going to the same floor.
"Sure. Actually, I want to talk to you about something." Sakura began walking down the hallway and Shino followed her, matching her stride even though he had longer legs. He was, Sakura thought, about five inches or so taller than her.
"I was reading a medical journal last night and I came across a section about your clan." Sakura turned her face to him as they walked, but he was staring straight ahead. Someone apparently didn't know about social courtesies. Or maybe his grey hood was muffling his hearing. Either way, Sakura frowned. She continued. "It was very interesting, from a medic's point of view, anyway," she allowed herself a small chuckle. "It would've gone straight over my head if I wasn't a medic."
She was about to say what the text had primarily discussed and ask one or two of her more pressing questions when he spoke.
"You are in training to become a medic ninja?" And now he finally turned towards her. Though she couldn't see three-quarters of his face, she could imagine his expression to be a mix of respect and surprise. Not that many nin qualified to become medics in the regular facilities and in the field. But Sakura was more preoccupied with the fact that Shino hadn'tknown she was a trainee medic. She'd been training with her mentor for almost five months regarding medical skills. Was Shino really this far out of the loop?
"Yeah, and I have been for some time," she said hesitantly. She wondered if he would think she was rude if she asked him when the last time he'd gotten out of the house was. She decided against it, not wanting to offend him.
Shino bowed his head for a moment, then faced forwards again, not bothering to look at her while she tried to make conversation with him. Maybe he was uncomfortable with doing such a thing? Sakura knew Hinata almost never looked directly at people she was talking to because of her extreme shyness. And though Ino and Sakura had tried one night to help the girl become more outgoing, they'd only made her condition worsen, completely by accident, of course. That party was a night to forget…
She decided she could always ask a more open Aburame for a thorough explanation of the clan's practices with their kikaichu. Surely there must be one around Konoha willing to divulge. She could wait.
Sakura and Shino reached the open-air stairwell and, after polite insistence from Shino, Sakura started to climb it, Shino coming after her.
When they reached the top floor Sakura expected they would part ways, but as Sakura turned right, Shino mimicked her, and together they walked down the hallway.
Sakura had given up hope trying to make small talk with the silent boy, but now she had an idea. His purpose here should get him talking. Obviously, he had been summoned by the Hokage, as nothing existed down this hallway except Tsunade's hospital office. Apart from being the Godaime, she was also the Chief of Medicine and Surgery, ambitious jobs both of them. Though she spent less time at the hospital and more time boozing or snoring at her desk in Konoha's tallest government building, Tsunade knew how to get down to business when she needed to. The second-in-command at the hospital, Dr. Fujioka Soma, stood in for Tsunade whenever she was absent. Which Sakura hoped wasn't the case today.
"So…" Sakura started, somehow causing Shino to edge a little farther away from her. She ignored this. "What are you here for, anyway? Mission?"
Shino remained silent for quite a few minutes as the two continued down the corridor. Sakura gave up talking to him all over again. Then he did speak.
"My purpose here interests you? The Aburame clan received a call of distress at approximately 5 o'clock this morning from Doctor Fujioka Soma. He reported an extensive growth of honey-bees and their hives had taken up residence in the revered Hokage's office. He asked for an agent to come dispel the hives and transport the honey-bees to a safe habitat."
Sakura was sure Shino would never speak so much in the future to her again. Also, the thought of Dr. Fujioka, a strong, very intelligent man being frightened by bees made her giggle. Shino, because of the way he spoke, made the matter seem a lot less urgent than it probably was.
"What a fun way to start the day," Sakura said, grinning. "Getting rid of a bunch of bee hives."
"You find such a mission amusing? It may not seem like enjoyable work to others, but the Aburame clan is glad to be of assistance to Doctor Fujioka and can provide comfortable housing for the honey-bees so that such a circumstance will not occur a second time."
He was starting to sound like Neji. So stiff and proper. "You guys breed bees too? What do you use them for?"
"The Aburame clan supplies Konohagakure's honey products and the stingers of deceased honey-bees." Sakura was surprised when he visibly shuddered, as if the thought of dead bees bothered him deeply. "The stingers are studded in gloves and are exceptional weapons, so I'm told."
"I've never heard of such things," Sakura told him. "Are they still being developed for arms use?"
Shino responded immediately. "No, the weapons are out on the general market. However, they are not sold in Konohagakure."
"Not sold here? But…where, then? Our allies' towns'?"
Shino never answered her, or maybe he was about to but decided against it, because the two had arrived at the Chief of Medicine and Surgery's door. Of course, just Sakura's luck, Dr. Fujioka was the one behind it today.
The door flew open, and a rather tall man with shoulder-length blond hair ushered them both in.