Alright! How is everyone? Thank you very much for reading so far. You guys are really wonderful. Chapter four is finally here, and the next chapter will be the finale. I hope that you stick around for sequels I'm planning to keep in this same time period! Once again, I thank each of you for reading this series: Social Disorder, Fanficfanatic940, and Lady Dragon. You all are inspiring and keep me spirited to finish this. Thank you for always being encouraging!
A ruffled mind makes a restless pillow
"SHINO!" A scream pierced the silence from within the ochaya.
His eyes unlocked and blurred instantly from an intense light protruding from the window. The morning sun set his room on fire and Shino was blind. He shuffled around hastily to find his glasses before the stomping, which grew louder with every step reached him.
"Shino, get your butt out of bed. Hurry up!"
His mind was playing tricks on him, there were no stomps. There was no screaming. All of it was coming from his head as he struggled with himself to wake up. It was already past noon, maybe one or two in the afternoon, and he was already late.
After he evaluated his appearance as best as he could, he set off towards the hall; sending the wooden frame of the door slamming into the walls of his room.
There was a stir in the house, giggles as a two young, and stylish to boot, men walked into the ochaya; the first costumers of the day.
"Oh, hello!" A young hostess hesitated as she greeted the handsome men. Her lavender eyes glossed over their fine western suits and foreign hair styles. One had light brown hair and looked unkempt; the other had very neat hair, but it was a color the woman had never seen before beside the red leaves on autumn maple trees. It was clear that these two weren't from around here; and they both looked very important.
"We'd like to speak to Temari-san," the red-haired one wheezed. His voice sounded troubled as if there was some importance to this meeting.
"If that's alright." The other flashed his teeth in a wide grin and spoke in broken Japanese.
The girls scrambled to their feet, one group running towards Temari's door, another team's footsteps were heard scuttling around in the kitchen preparing tea and cake.
"Temari-san!" the eldest girl whispered through the paper wall. Her hair was neatly divided into two buns on either side of her head and she was just about as old as Temari herself. "Please, hurry! There are a couple of businessmen who are here to see you."
"Right. Thank you Ten-san." She whispered back. Temari had been awake for most of the night, only finding a little rest before the noon sun pierced the walls of her room. She hurried herself to clean up, but it took less than a few moments before she was presentable. "Do you know who they are?" Temari chirped as she pulled her obi tighter around her waist.
"I'm not sure. They look like they are gaijin, though."
"Hmm," Temari slid the door open and walked to the hall to greet Tenten. They were right around the same height, but it was clear who the beautiful geisha was, and who was simply an apprentice. "I see, thank you. Run along and see that they get English tea."
Tenten bowed deeply at the nervous geisha when she entered the main hall. Many men had traveled far and wide to see her before, but something in her intuition made her feel uneasy about the situation.
Meanwhile, deep within the Aburame compound, Shino was close to the main house. Although it was only a short 15 minute walk from the tea house, Shino ran the entire way and was now breathing heavily and shaking all over. It wasn't just fatigue from running; he was about to confront his father.
Monday morning always seemed to be the busiest day of all. There were many chores to complete before the guests arrived, and cleaning had to be finished before any cooking could be done. Sleeping in until the late afternoon, especially on this particular Monday, was not something Shino had in the cards. Neither was the unexpected feelings he discovered only twelve hours earlier from the woman he thought he could never have.
He stepped onto the low porch, trading his dusty walking sandals for slippers that were in a cubby next to the door. He set the sandals off the side of the porch, and walked into the big room of the main house. One could mistake this mansion for a temple; there were high ceilings and multiple old relics situated on the floor. In the middle, towards a wall that was painted in green and gold patterns, there were billows of smoke coming from colorful incense which lined an even bigger row of candles. Above the display, there were ancient calligraphy-stained tapestries that that hung on either side of a very large statue of Siddhartha sitting in a tranquil lotus pose. It looked very lavish, but with respect to their beliefs, it was in fact only a tribute to their devotion and loyalty to achieving the highest peace attainable.
Shino crossed his legs on the wooden floor, sitting in front of the enormous statue of the young Buddha. The entire room, although larger than any other room in the Aburame compound, could hold a party of more than one hundred people, was completely empty. Suddenly, that emptiness faded. Padded footsteps became louder, and closer, to Shino. His father's form was light, but easily detected on the bamboo floors.
"You have good news." Shibi beamed; his son was unmistakably glowing with anticipation. "You've met someone?"
"Father!" Shino's voice was uncharacteristically calm and happy. He was shocked at his own intonation, but shrugged it off and continued. "Yes, I have good news." His father always, ALWAYS, knew.
"Young love…" Shibi was lost in thoughts as he glided towards his son, slapping his knee in delight, "this calls for a celebration! Who is she? Tell me everything about her."
"Well, she means a lot to me." Shino was still uneasy about the subject.
"Hmm, yes, of course." Shibi was playfully leaning back on his arms and stretching out his legs. "Someone you care about. Someone you love?"
"Someone I think I always will love." Shino smiled, another unexpected response.
Shibi was overjoyed with his son's new mannerisms. Usually their conversations were very rehearsed and difficult to express a lot of emotion with. But this was something different, for both of them. "What is her name?" His spine shivered in eagerness.
"This is part that is hard to explain,"
"To explain… her name is hard? Is it someone who has a name that's hard to pronounce?" Shibi imagined a beautiful western girl with some incomprehensible European name; his mouth watered.
"No, I mean, it's someone that you might not approve of if I tell you what her name is."
"By all means, you know how I feel about this. I want you to marry for love more than anything. Please just tell me her name!" Shibi was on edge now, very interested.
"She is the only one for me. Her name is Temari; and soon to be Aburame Temari." Shino said confidently.
Shibi's eyes went from being pleasantly eager to wide and confused. "I don't understand; she wants to settle down? Does she realize how much money it takes, and what this will do to all she's worked for?"
"Yes, we already talked about every last detail. She understands every consequence."
"Some consequences are not as important as what you gain in the process, right? Hmm, I think it will be a good match. She is strong in character and beautiful, and suitable to be your wife."
Shino was lost for words. 'Is this really happening?' he couldn't help but think.
"Aburame Shino, my one and only child, the young master of the Aburame Tea House, you have my blessings."
Nothing could come to Shino's mind but an awkward smile as he flung his arms around his father. Shibi returned his hug and patted his son on his back. Inside, he was more than happy about the news. What he had always wanted for his son: happiness and the same joy Shibi felt for his job finally belonged to Shino.
Like the first time a blooming sakura catches the breeze and floats away from the tree which raised it, he saw a glimpse of his son maturing into the young man Shibi once was. A bright future, a happy home, and a family to come home to were all that he needed; and now his son took his first step towards that path.
Shibi smiled as his son helped him to his feet. They stood for a long time, gazing out into the cream-colored sunset, the velvet orange sun setting on the crests of the mountains in the distance. Shino took his father's hand and testified, "She really is the one."
"I felt the same way about your mother. 20 years later, we are still just as happy as you are this day." Shibi sighed deeply, taking in the sight. "She will make you happy, I'm sure."
For a time, they were still and silent. The sun sunk deeper into the horizon and the purple and orange clouds faded into twilight blue.
Thank you for reading.