A/N: Yay, I updated on time. Heh, anyway, on to chapter four. . . woohoo! Also, I'm going to pimp out my deviantart account simply 'cause I can. ^_^ It's .com/ If anyone wants to, hit me up on DA. That's my real digital home. XD
Warnings: These suckers have been posted in the last three chapters, it's not very necessary to include them from this point on. So I will not.
Disclaimer: Don't own the Naruverse guys. I know, you all thought I was Masashi Kishimoto on a primarily English speaking site using the username queen-of-rainbows. Sorry to disappoint.
The morning brought with it the promise of a new and glorious discovery for Shino Aburame. He was awakened by a loud knock on the door, much like at his home in New York. Only this knock wasn't accompanied by his own mother's voice, instead it was the obnoxious voice of Tsume Inuzuka.
Shino opened his eyes slowly, to allow some time to adjust to the intruding light. However, there was no intrusion of blinding light, rather just a hint of dark indigo in the sky outside Kiba's window.
"Kiba! Get up an' get some breakfast! You gotta get ta work!" Shino heard Tsume scream from the other side of Kiba's door. Kiba didn't so much as stir. Shino thought for a moment that he should wake him up so his mom would quiet down and let the bug lover sleep.
Usually, when Shino thought of touching someone, regardless of the context, he would disregard the thought completely. Today was different though, Shino could sense that right off the bat. The stoic boy stood up from the heavenly comfort of Kiba's bed and quietly walked over to the sleeping teen. Shino gently shook him; apparently everyone in the Inuzuka family were heavy sleepers.
"mgh . . . mbahguh. . .," was all Shino heard escape his smaller counterpart. He had to step it up a notch; the only problem was that he got a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach when he so much as looked at Kiba. Touching him was far worse on his system.
He made an attempt to avoid touching any bare skin, even though he would've liked to feel the warmth that radiated off of its sun kissed surface. Ignorantly, he opted for poking him in the ribs.
"Kiba . . . your mother wants you . . . to get some breakfast," Shino said softly. He mentally gave himself a pat on the back for the smoothness of that sentence. It was the first full sentence that he was able to spit out in front of Kiba.
The farm boy's eyes darted open as his body shot out of the cot. Shino jumped back, making a mental note that southerners wake up strangely. Kiba ran over to Akamaru and patted him on the head really quickly before making a break for the door. He stopped just outside of it and peeked back in his room to see Shino standing there awkwardly.
"Ya comin' city boy?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow. Shino stared blankly. He could really go for some food right now. To avoid embarrassment, he nodded his head and followed Kiba down the hall. He was a bit nervous about eating southern food. Judging by the smell of the roast and hash Kiba made last night, maybe the food here wasn't that bad.
Shino pulled down his collar as they approached the breakfast table. Tsume looked up from the smoking pan on the stove and perked at the sight of the two boys.
"Ahh, there ya boys are! Here's some eggs fer ya," She screeched as she dumped said eggs onto two plates and walked them over to them, "Fresh from the chicken coop." This seemed to make Kiba happy. He dug into them eagerly. Shino bowed his head in Tsume's direction and muttered a quiet "Thank you."
"Yer welcome Shino. You enjoyin' yer stay here so far?" Tsume asked the boy in hopes that she would get him to say something else.
"Yes, very much," he said, sounding emotionless, as always. Tsume accepted this, remembering what Mrs. Aburame told her over the phone about Shino's issue with people. Kiba stopped chewing his food and stared at Shino with one eyebrow raised.
"Dun sound ta me like ya like it 'ere" Kiba said, food flying out of his mouth as he did so. Shino grimaced at the food and then stared at Kiba from behind his sunglasses. The last thing he wanted was to make Kiba think he didn't like his home.
"Oh, Kiba, stop. I'm sure Shino likes it here just fine, he's prolly just adjustin' to the new environment," Tsume said in a desperate attempt to ensure Shino's comfort. Kiba shrugged his shoulders and continued to shovel eggs into his mouth.
Breakfast ended without another word spoken. Afterwards, Kiba bounced up out of his chair and darted off in the direction of his bedroom. Tsume looked over at Shino, who was sitting perfectly still in his seat. It kind of creeped her out how motionless he was.
"Shino, you better go git ready, Kiba's perty quick, so it shouldn't take 'im that long," Tsume informed her guest.
"Pardon ma'am, but what is it I need to get ready for?" Shino inquired.
"Work. You an' Kiba got lots a work to do today. It's gonna be a scorcher too!" She hooted before grabbing the dirty dishes and carting them off to the sink, where she proceeded to wash them while humming a tune Shino wasn't familiar with.
Shino sighed. Figuring that it would be in his best interest to change into something a little less warm, he stood, hardly making a sound as he did so, and sauntered off towards Kiba's room. Once there, he discovered it to be quite empty, which he was slightly grateful for, he didn't want to walk in on Kiba while he was changing or something. Well, maybe he did but he'd rather save himself the embarrassment that came with it.
He grabbed a change of clothes and stepped into Kiba's closet, assuming the bathroom was occupied. He managed to change fairly quickly before heading downstairs to wait for Kiba, who, to Shino's pleasant surprise, was already down there playing fetch with Akamaru. The enormous dog wasted no time in attacking Shino with love, jumping up on the unwilling teen and licking his face gleefully.
"Akamaru, git off a him!" Kiba demanded. The beast obeyed. "Sorry 'bout that. So. . . ya ready ta go?" There it was again, the dizziness that Shino couldn't quite clench when his eyes met Kiba's. Shino took the safe route and just nodded. He hated the fact that he had to wear something that showed so much skin. It was incredibly uncomfortable. It also made his sensitive skin more susceptible to UV rays, which was a source of concern for Shino, who was, on more than one occasion, referred to as a hypochondriac.
The boys set off in the direction of the stables out behind the Inuzuka house. Akamaru followed giddily behind the boys as Kiba pried open the double doors. Shino could already feel the air starting to get warmer despite the early hour.
"Kay, these 'r our stables. Ma insist on havin' horses but she ain't ever 'round to take care of 'em. So I hafta clean out the stables everyday. It ain't perty neither. This 'ere is yer first lesson in farm life, city boy," Kiba explained while approaching one of the stallions. He opened up the door separating himself from the hefty brown horse and placed some sort of harness over the brute's mouth. Then, with a huge smile sprawled across his face, Kiba led the horse out of the stables. He came back a moment later and grimaced at the now empty stable.
"Whooee, well, Bucky sure left a mess fer us today. Here, take this," Kiba said, handing Shino a shovel. He took it, trying to keep his face from contorting in disgust at the horrid smell. Kiba left the stables yet again, returning a few moments later with a wheelbarrow.
"Kay, ya gotta git in there and shovel all that ol' beddin' into the wheelbarrow. Go on now," Kiba grinned. It was quite obvious that Kiba was getting a kick out of Shino's discomfort with the situation. Shino took a small step into the stable before the smell hit him and he gagged. Kiba broke out into a fit of cackling laughter.
"Alright, alright. I'll give ya a break fer a second, here I'll take care of this one," Kiba declared once his laughing fit was over, taking the shovel from Shino and urging him back a bit with his hand. Shino watched in awe as Kiba shoveled the matted bedding and manure into the wheelbarrow, completely unphased by the smell.
Three mucky stables later, the horses were back home and Shino figured they were done there. Kiba chuckled a bit at Shino's accomplished expression.
"We ain't done yet, don't get too excited!" Kiba screamed happily. Shino wondered how someone who does this kind of stuff every day could be so animated about it. He figured it was just Kiba's amusement at his expense.
"We'll start with Bucky 'ere. He's prolly the easiest to control so I'll do one hoof and you can do the rest of 'em." Shino nodded in acknowledgment. He hadn't the slightest idea what they were doing to the hooves, cleaning them maybe.
"Alright, here's what ya gotta do. Make sure yer facing the tail, so ya don't get kicked, an' then take hold of this 'er tuft a hair on the ankle. He'll lift up his foot, just like this," Kiba explained, demonstrating. The horse obeyed, lifting it's foot to display it's disgusting hoof, caked with dirt and other crud that Shino couldn't quite identify.
"This 's a hoof nipper, once ya cut these nail tips off ya gotta yank off the shoe with a shoe puller." Kiba then pulled out the necessary tools and set to work. Once the shoe was off, he stared triumphantly at the grimy hoof.
"This 'er 's called a hoof pick, don't think I need to explain this one," Kiba said, pulling out a little metal hook. He began chiseling away at the horse's hoof. "Ya gotta really git in there an' dig out all the nasty shit. Make sure ya don't miss nothin'. Once ya git all the grime out, ya gotta clip away all the extra growth." Shino watched intently, knowing he was next in line for this lovely chore. Kiba clipped away at the hoof, a determined line across his brow and his tongue sticking slightly out of the side of his mouth. After he finished he began filing the edges.
"There! Now that that's done, we can put the new shoe on. Poor Bucky, he's always got tons a dirt in 'is hooves. Hand me a shoe from that first pile o'er there," He asked, pointing to a pile of shoes in the corner. Shino did as he was told, grabbing one and wiping the dirt off of it.
"These were specially made for Bucky. Ya gotta git yer horse's shoes fitted for 'em, else they'll be lame," Kiba said, pausing to size up the shoe. "Now, we gotta nail these puppies in!"
"That doesn't hurt the horse?" Shino asked, hoping Kiba didn't laugh at his ignorance regarding horses. To his surprise, he didn't.
"Nah, it can if ya ain't careful. Ya just gotta put 'em in the holes and ya won't hit nothin' important. They can get startled though, so ya gotta make sure ya don't put yer face too close ta their legs," the tanned boy explained with a huge smile.
With that, Kiba took a nail from a box beside him and drove it into the unsuspecting horse's hoof. It stirred a little but settled once Kiba ran a skilled hand along it's mane.
"shhh, 's alright Bucky. You've done this a million time before, calm down boy," Kiba whispered, standing to get close to the horse's ear. Shino was taken slightly aback by the calm tone. He hadn't heard Kiba be so quiet, and frankly wasn't even aware he was capable of that level of tranquility. The horse seemed to be just as hypnotized by it as Shino was. It had stilled completely. Kiba then set back to work on driving the nails into the poor horse. It went over much more smoothly this time. The horse was expecting the intrusion and so it didn't stir.
Before he knew it, Kiba had finished and it was Shino's turn. He tried his best to replicate Kiba's actions but found himself failing quite miserably. Kiba would occasionally laugh at Shino's attempts and step in to help but for the most part, he let the city dweller learn by trial and error.
The day pressed on, the sun beaming on them overhead, making the work even more grueling. They took care of the rest of the animals on the farm then they moved on to the crops. The botanist in Shino kept his interest peaked as Kiba explained what they were to do. After tending to the growing rows of corn and sorghum, they moved on to picking and cleaning the fully grown ears.
When finally the sun was beginning to set in the orange Alabama sky, the work was finished and the boys lay, spent, on a couple barrels of hay. Shino didn't know how he was going to survive a whole summer of this back-breaking work.
He watched in fascination as a beetle crawled along the dirt. He really missed his bugs. More so, he missed his room, the sanctuary where he could thrive and exist without having to worry about the rest of the world. Out here he felt exactly how real his humanity was. The things that he and Kiba were doing were contributing to society. Other human beings were going to consume these crops. In a sense, Shino knew he was providing for his fellow humans. In a somewhat insignificant way but he still was. It made him feel like everything he had ever done in his life before was completely useless.
All the knowledge of bugs he had gained meant nothing. He wasn't breaking any new ground. Besides, society didn't need to know about bugs in order to flourish. Society needs sustenance, something to keep it alive. It should make Shino proud that he was supplying that, but it didn't. It just made him feel worse. Kiba was the unspoken hero, he provided for his fellow man. Shino didn't, and he had no desire to. As terrible as it was, he just wasn't cut out for it. He had only worked for one day but he could already feel his body protesting to his overexertion.
"Huh, well, the farm work's all done. Perty early too. Good job city boy!" Kiba praised, smacking Shino hard on the thigh. "So, what's say we celebrate?" Shino raised a fine eyebrow in confusion.
"Celebrate what exactly?" He ventured. Kiba cackled breathlessly.
"A job well done a' course!" Shino wasn't sure how southerners celebrate so he had his qualms about accepting Kiba's offer. "C'mon, it'll be a blast. Ya need to get a feel for what real southern fun is all about!"
"Aright. What are we going to do?" Shino asked skeptically.
"We're goin' to the honky tonk!"
A/N: I changed the location from Thomasville, AL to Oak Hill, AL because Thomasville isn't quite rural enough. From what I understand, Oak Hill is much more pastoral. That's what I intended for this story.