A.N.: WARNING: If you are allergic to/hate fluff or need the use of your teeth DON'T read this chapter! Rot-your-teeth-out-fluffy-friendship-stuff! FLUFF AHOY! :D Ya' get it? ;)
'Thoughts'
'Sign language'
Writing
Apart from the World
Four – Protecting Partners
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Naru woke up coughing. She knew instantly that she was sick.
Naru would have slapped her forehead in exasperation, but it was already hurting enough by itself.
Naru hated being sick. The small blonde girl didn't hate a lot of things, but being sick was one of them. She hated how icky it made her feel, she hated he way she couldn't concentrate, and most of all, she hated the way getting sick tended to ruin her plans!
Naru stumbled out of her small bed to the calendar on her wall, having to stop a few times because of the seemingly spinning room. When she reached the hanging ramen-designed calendar she leaned against the wall, checking her plans for the day.
If she could speak, she would have cursed aloud. Cursing just wasn't as effective when you used sign language, at least when no-one was around to see it.
Today, marked in red, she had planned to put a trap –trap, not prank- in the Haruno compound. It was a test she had appointed herself in training towards her ultimate goal- the Hyuuga compound. She was going to work her way up, starting with civilian homes, then to Shinobi, ending with the most protected. She wanted to have at least one successful mission every two months.
If she missed today, which, incidentally, was the second to last day of November; she would not make her goal for this month. She could try tomorrow if she wanted to, but she knew that by the next day she'd be feeling worse.
Naru sighed soundlessly, rubbing her throbbing forehead with a finger. Then, she stood up straight again, going about her morning routine without the usual bounce in her step.
Showered, dressed and fed, the blonde sneezed on her way out the door. She tried to pep herself up and put her usual grin on her face. At this rate Shino was sure to notice something was up. He was way too observant for his own good sometimes. Or maybe it was for Naru's own good…
Minutes later Naru collapsed in her chair at the Academy, the few students that were already there ignoring the sick girl. Shino and Naru, now both nine years old, had move onto their second year at the Academy a month ago, but it seemed as if none of the class had matured over the summer. The majority of them still called Naru the 'creepy girl' and Shino the 'bug guy'. Naru always frowned when they called him that. Calling the fascinating beings his clan controlled and artfully used in battle were more than bugs. Shino, however, had told her many times to ignore the mean names.
Naru dozed, barely noticing the other students coming in the classroom and only sitting up when Shino sat beside her. She saw the half-concerned look he threw her from behind his dark glasses, but she ignored it in favor of setting her head back on her arms.
Shino sighed and let it be for the moment. A few minutes later Iruka came in with a door slam to get the class' attention, but only served to make Naru's head pound worse. She tried not to flinch, but was unsuccessful.
She once again fell into a doze, for once not even trying to pay attention to Iruka's long lecture on the importance of blah, blah, blah…
She drifted in and out of sleep for the morning class, waking up to cough or sneeze. A few times she saw Shino watching her out of the corners of his eyes, and she knew he would not take a simple nod as an answer the next time he was able to question her.
The next time she woke it was to a hand on her forehead. She creaked open her eyelids to see whose hand it was, and wasn't very surprised to see Shino standing in front of her. She was, however, surprised to see the classroom empty besides the two of them and Iruka, who was standing at his desk looking between papers and the two Academy students. When had they been dismissed for lunch?
"You have a high fever," Shino said quietly, almost to himself, "And you're quite sick…"
Naru yawned and sat up, causing Shino take his hand off her burning skin. She wished he would keep it there; his skin was very cool compared to hers.
"You should have stayed home from school, Naru…" the bug-user started hesitantly.
Suddenly more awake, Naru shook her blonde head fervently, but instantly regretted it when it throbbed all the more. She cupped her head in a hand, leaning on the table. Her friend removed her hand and replaced it with his own, knowing by her previous expression that the cool temperature helped.
He frowned heavily down at her, "Why not stay at your apartment? What's today?"
'I have to do the Haruno compound today…' she signed, flopping her hands back on the desk immediately after she finished. She sighed; glad she didn't have to expand on her answer. He'd understand what she was getting at.
He frowned for a few moments longer before replying, seeming to be analyzing her health.
"I see. Why not do it tomorrow then?"
Naru, learning from her past mistake, shook her head only slightly. 'I'll be worse tomorrow.'
"Not if you rest and take medicine for the rest of today."
Naru looked up at him, a bit puzzled. Her colds have never gone away as fast as that before. Was medicine really that good?
She hesitantly asked him her question. What she could see of his expression when from puzzled to apologetic.
"I'm sorry. Have you ever had medicine before?"
Again, she shook her head. Shino sighed, looking a bit… was that sad?
"I… see. Have you always… roughed it out, so to speak?"
Naru nodded, watching him curiously. Shino turned his head away for a moment, adjusting his glasses, face stony. Then, he was back to normal and looking at her again.
"Well, I can assure you, with the aide of medicine you should be fit by tomorrow. That is, if we get you home now."
Naru was inclined to just go home and stop arguing. Her head hurt like heck and her throat was terribly scratchy. But, her sensei standing in the background at his desk caught her eye. Would he let the two of them leave?
Shino followed her gaze. He sighed, then nodded at her. "I'll go ask," he said, practically reading her mind. She nodded and resumed resting her head on her crossed arms.
Iruka looked up as soon as Shino started approaching, having been glancing at the two concernedly every few seconds. Shino talked to the kind teacher for a few moments, getting a small smile from the man and several worried looks thrown in Naru's direction. Shino then nodded and made his way back to where Naru sat, looking satisfied.
"We are both free to go," he said simply to Naru, who had almost fallen asleep again.
Naru nodded, yawning. She sighed and stood up, but wobbled on her feet. Shino reached out a hand to steady her as she coughed; causing Naru to give him a thankful -and tired- look.
Naru took a few shaky steps to the classroom's center isle but couldn't quite manage it without leaning on her friend. She hated having to, but her head hurt so much, and everything was hot, and her limbs were so achy, and, and…
"This isn't going to work…" Shino mumbled, Naru barely able to catch it between chest wracking coughs. They had only made it to the line of desks below theirs.
The bug user thought for a moment with the smaller blonde leaning on his shoulder, trying to keep her eyes open. She knew that usually Shino wouldn't be so comfortable with such long-term close contact, but over the summer he had become more and more used to getting hugs and other such contact Naru was prone to giving.
Naru jerked when he shook her shoulder a moment later. "Stay awake for a bit more…" he mumbled, now standing in front of her. He turned his back to her and awkwardly wrapped her feverish arms around his shoulders. Naru wondered what he was doing…
Surprisingly, what he did next was, in one graceful motion, sweep his arms to hook under her knees, making Naru fall against his back, piggy-back style. Naru choked in surprise, triggering a more violent cough attack. He looked back at her somewhat worriedly.
"Alright?" he asked after her coughs subsided. Naru nodded, over her shock and now feeling warm and fuzzy at his affection. Or maybe just fuzzy, she was already too warm.
Shino took a few steps to test her weight -he wasn't quite sure he could carry her- but she was even lighter than he figured. Shino frowned at that. He'd have to try to get her to eat better than ramen all the time.
Naru leaned her head against the back of his neck, sighing in relief at the cool temperature of his collar. Shino shifted her, but his steady breathing calmed hers and she fell into a comforting half-sleep.
"S-Shin-no-s-san…" a hesitant voice broke through Naru's haze. Shino stopped walking and Naru could tell by his posture that he was a bit surprised.
He turned to the left, trying not to jostle the blonde on his back too much. Naru kept her eyes closed, not caring too much to see who was talking.
"U-um…" the small voice continued, sounding very shy. It sounded like…. That shy Hyuuga from their class? What was her name?
"Yes?" Shino asked, trying to prompt the girl. He really had to get Naru to sleep somewhere beside her desk or his back.
The girl jumped at his voice, turning a bashful red. "U-uh, um… I-is N-N-Naru-s-san al-alright?"
There was silence for a while as Hinata tried to control her rapid breathing. There! She had asked. Hinata smiled at her small success.
"She will be fine later," Shino replied. He would have been adjusting his glasses if he had a free hand, "She has a bit of a cold."
"O-oh…" Hinata replied, frowning concernedly at the girl her age.
Naru interrupted with a little snore. Shino snorted, shaking his head slightly as not to disturb her. Hinata smiled slightly, loosing some of her blush.
Shino cleared his throat, quite a bit quieter now that he knew Naru had fallen asleep. "I will take my leave. She needs medicine and some sleep."
"O-oh! Y-yes, I'm s-sorry for h-holding you u-up…" Hinata replied, once again blushing a cherry red.
Shino inclined his head in acknowledgement, "It is no problem. We shall, hopefully, see you in class tomorrow."
Hinata nodded slightly back, "C-Can you t-tell her I h-hope she gets w-well s-s-soon, p-please?"
Shino stopped again from where he had started walking and nodded at the girl silently. "I am sure she will appreciate it."
Without any other words exchanged Shino walked away, briefly pondering on the girl from his class that never spoke out. He brushed it off, leaving to analyze later, concentrating now on navigating the streets to Naru's apartment.
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Naru woke as she was set down on something soft. She cracked open an eyelid, wondering 'where the heck am I?' but also recognizing the familiar surroundings immediately.
"I'm sorry, I tried not to wake you…" her best friend said quietly from where he was standing by her bed, where she had been set down.
'It's okay.' She signed, burrowing under her bed covers and feeling immensely glad that she had left the blinds closed this morning. Or maybe Shino had closed them? It seemed like something he would do.
It was quiet for a while. Then, Naru felt his hand back on her forehead, testing the general temperature. The small girl thought she heard him sigh before the hand retreated.
"I don't suppose you have a thermometer?"
Naru shook her head, opening her eyes to give him an apologetic look. He shook his head in response to the look, waving it off.
"It is alright. I'll have to pick one up when I get some cold medicine," He frowned down at her, "What hurts the worst?"
Naru frowned, thinking. 'My head.'
Shino nodded as if he expected that. But, Naru pondered, he probably did.
Shino checked his watch while Naru closed her eyes again. "I will be back in about… forty five minutes," He looked up at her, "Will you be alright until I get back?"
Naru nodded, creaking open her eyes to sign something to him.
'There is money in the fridge for you to use…'
Shino opened his mouth to say something, but closed it when he fully registered what she said/signed.
"What…" he started, bewildered, "Why do you keep your money in the fridge?"
Despite how horrible she felt, Naru couldn't help but grin at him. 'You wouldn't think to look there, would you?'
"I suppose not…" He replied, hiding an amused smile, "I am just going to pick up a thermometer and medicine from my house. We have plenty."
Naru nodded, no longer able to keep her eyes open. She yawned widely, rubbing the side of her aching head. The blonde heard him stepping away distantly, but she was already fast asleep.
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The next time Naru came to, it was to being given some kind of liquid. She almost spat it out once she had a chance to taste it. The Uzumaki made a face and opened her eyes, but swallowed anyway, since she knew it was the medicine Shino had talked about helping her get better.
Naru coughed, sitting up to drink the glass of water Shino promptly handed her. Said boy smiled quietly at her grimace.
"You get used to the flavor," He said. Then, after she finished practically inhaling the glass of water, he raised a thermometer, "Put this under your tongue."
Naru did as he said, shivering at the cold metal. The whatever it was (Naru didn't really care too much at the moment) started beeping a few seconds later and Naru took it from under her tongue and handed it to Shino.
"100.4," Shino stated with a frown, then looked back up at her, "The best we can do for now is keep you hydrated and rested."
Naru started to nod, but stopped and gave him a confused look. Shino caught it and sighed "Hydrated means you need to drink a lot of water."
The blonde got an "oh!" look on her face and nodded, settling back into the pillows. Shino shook his head, but Naru could just barely see a smile under his collar. Naru smiled too.
Shino placed a wet rag on her forehead, causing Naru to sigh in relief. Then she wondered how he had found the rag…
"Any reason why you keep washcloths in the oven?"
Naru grinned, 'It doesn't work anyway. How long did it take you to find them?'
He shook his head, "Not long. I looked there first."
Naru gave him a curious look, wondering why the heck he had thought to look there for washcloths.
"You hide your money in the refrigerator; I figured everything else would be in odd places as well."
Naru smiled, but ended up yawning again. Shino nodded as if he was waiting for her to do so. "Back to sleep."
Naru didn't even attempt to argue. She was still really tired, even with taking a forty five minute nap.
Her eyes slid closed and before she fell back into slumber land, she heard the soft screech of a chair being moved closer to her bed.
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For the rest of the day, every time she woke Shino was there with some medicine for her to take or water to drink. One time she woke up Lee was there as well, straining to keep his voice down, as she heard Shino constantly reminding him. Later Shino explained that the older boy had noticed them both leave early and had stopped by to see what was going on. The energetic boy hoped she got better soon.
Shino also told her about Hinata's well wishes, and expressed his confusion at her approach. Naru, too, was a bit confused, but was warmed by her concern. It was just too bad Naru couldn't approach Hinata without revealing her secret. Really, Naru had only decided to tell Lee about it because he looked so sad, and Shino had figured it out by himself. Naru knew how cruel some people could be because of her small disability, and she didn't know how Hinata would react.
Naru slept most of the day and all through the night. She woke up once when it was dark and noticed someone that was not Shino sitting in the chair by her bed. The blonde panicked for a moment as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, but calmed when she realized that it was Shino's mother, Minami. Minami must have told her son to go home for the night, and the kind woman must have offered to stay with her son's friend.
Naru woke up when it was finally morning again feeling completely well again. Her head no longer was pounding, and her throat was no longer scratchy. She had her energy back! Naru grinned as she sat up.
"Are you feeling better, then?"
She turned to see Shino back in his spot by her bed, this time with a book open in his hand. Obviously he had been reading quietly until she woke up.
Naru nodded fervently to his question, glad she could do so without more throbbing in her cranium. Shino nodded back, standing up.
"I was hoping so," He snapped closed his book, and Naru saw that it was a book on his clan techniques, "I have to go get my school bag, I left it at home."
The girl nodded in understanding, crawling out of her bed. Shino stood there semi-awkwardly for a moment before adjusting his glasses and turning abruptly towards the door.
"I will see you at school then."
He took a step to the door, but Naru grabbed his sleeve before he could get far. As he turned, the shorter-than-him blonde girl quickly wrapped her arms around him in a hug. As usual, Shino stiffened in surprise before relaxing and hugging her back briefly. When she let go, he gave her a puzzled look. He opened his mouth to say something, but she beat him to it.
'Thank you,' she signed, grinning.
He was quiet for a moment. A year ago he would have asked what she was thanking him for. Now, he knew her well enough to know what she meant.
Shino looked away for a second before looking back. "You're welcome," he paused, "But I suppose it is safe to use the expression 'You would do the same for me'."
Naru beamed at him with a dazzling smile and hurried to sign back.
'Of course!'
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A.N.: Well! Didn't I say there was fluffy-fluff-fluff? :D I liked it, personally. A little short, but… *shrugs* Meh. Better than nothing, I say! I hope you take the time to review! I read them all, and love your input! (P.S. new poll on my profile! Go vote, Plz!) Until next time: STAY YOUTHFUL!
