Hey, Long time no see! My old computer burned out long ago, which explains my absence. I am now typing from my sisters laptop. I am still committed to this! I will finish all the glorious chapter, there's many more to come! I came back in my surprise to many wonderful comments, and some good question! Here goes! Ox King: Thank you so much! I was hoping something so made up could sound convincing!
Karma Kat 281: Haha Shino is so much fun to make freak out. It's something kinda like that, or is it? Dun dun dun!
josh: It's right here! :D
Liz: Well computers seem to hate me, but my sisters laptop is sturdy! Thanks so much!
DeiDeiArtistic: Of course! I promise!
HyperActivePsycho: YOOUUUGGGOOOTTIITTT! :D
AbsolutelyLover: Why thank you! I plan on it!
Everything but nothing: Hope it meets your expectations! I shall! Please don't die! :,( lol
Turtle the second: Shino is a silly one, that's why he's so fun to write! I certainly would have done that lol. Thank you very much, I like to think Shino is like this deep down! Haha I promise no meteorites hit Konoha, I will finish this! :D
TopazDragon: Hope this chapter clears up why he passed out lol, I read in a Naruto fact book that he hates strong tastes and smells. So I sort of embellished…a lot. haha
Madame Wesker: From one fangirl to another, I thank you for reading and promise to finish!
Shelvesinthecloset: I know, I know. Harsh is my style but there is a reason they're both edgy!
He awoke with a start, the last thing he remembered being the sensation that he couldn't breathe.
He clutched his throat and slowly opened his eyes.
He tried to remember what had taken place, slowly the events played back in his mind.
That poor girl.He thought momentarily, until he moved slightly and felt the sting of the swift kick she left on his side. No, poor girl didn't fit her well at all.
If anything, she was a sad girl.
He remembered the hazy last moments when she had stood over him crying, it was all very confusing.
In his daze he felt like he was only half aware of what he was doing, which was a scary notion to anyone as self-controlled as an Aburame.
He heard the door to his room click open, revealing Shizune whom he presumed was his physician.
"Well hello there, sleepy head!" She chirped.
Shino nodded in her direction, choosing not to dignify her cheerful joking with an answer. She smiled and looked over his chart.
"Well now that you're awake and there appears to be nothing wrong with you, you are free to go! Or stay and rest up for a little while if you want."
Shino looked confused, or at least as confused as a mostly expressionless boy could look. Shizune hadn't noticed and continued to babble on about something. Shino had to interrupt;
"Wait, what happened to me then?"
She looked down at him.
"You came in contact with a poisonous flower, well poisonous to certain kinds of insects anyways. It's no surprise that an Aburame like you would be sensitive to it."
Shino stared at her, still confused as to exactly what had happened.
Shizune noticed this time and smirked.
"But enough from me, you have some visitors that would be more than happy to explain what happened to you."
She walked away laughing. Shino felt his throat tighten, he certainly did not like the sound of that.
-Ino Yamanaka-
She sat in the waiting room with her head in her hands.
It was a familiar position for any shinobi, she'd been in the same spot not too long ago herself when Chouji was wounded.
But this time was much different.
Instead of the usual horrible feeling of fear and worry and helplessness, she was filled with a new horrible feeling of anger.
Anger at Shino for ruining her wedding flower,
anger at the fact that she would surely never get married anyways,
and therefore anger at the fact that she was angry in the first place.
But the angry red cherry on top of the cake was the idiot that was talking her ear off while she was attempting to silently steep.
"Will you shut up already?" She finally piped.
The boy was taken aback for only a slight second before he was back at it.
"Geez Ino, what crawled up your ass?"
Kiba quipped back, snorting in hysterical laughter at his own joke.
"Ugh, gross" she moaned under her breath, snorting? really?
"What?" Kiba yelled, still laughing slightly
"God, what does hinata see in you?" Ino yelled back, hoping to finally shut him up.
It worked. For about three seconds
"You know Ino, I really couldn't tell ya…"
She stared at him, surprised by his genuinely honest answer
"But I sure am glad she sees something." He finished, with a slight smile on his face.
Ino continued to stare and say nothing. What could she say to that? Her face fell back into her hands and she sighed
Is everyone happy but me?"Hey you too!"
Shizune strolled cheerfully out into the lobby, breaking Ino's silence much to her delight.
"He woke up, you two can say hi if you want."
"Bout time!" Kiba yelled
Ino shot up without a word and marched towards his room.
She would have preferred Kiba stay here first while she had a word with him, but of course she expected him to bounce along behind her. It didn't matter anyways, it's not like she knew Shino on a personal level. The two of them had never even really talked.
Maybe having his teammate there would be helpful after all.
…when I rip his face off!
She thought to herself_Shino Aburame_
He only had to wait for a minute or two before his guests arrived.
But he couldn't help wondering who it was.
She'd said guests, as in plural.
From experience he knew one of them would be Kiba.
He was already expecting him to get Hinata's flowers and when he didn't show up he'd be looking for him. As Shino well knew, if Kiba wanted to find someone, they got found.
As for the other one..
Hinata..
He certainly didn't want to see her.
Well, that was a lie and he knew it.
He sighed, not knowing if he could handle the happy couple right now.
But as he heard the door click once again, he knew there was nothing he could do about it.
He braced himself, but for entirely the wrong thing.
As blonde hair bobbed through the door, underneath it lied a scowling face.
Followed by half of his guess, the ever rambunctious Kiba who was smirking from ear to ear.
This pair nearly confused his senses .
"Hey Shino, are you okay after that vicious flower attack? Haha"
Kiba laughed, Shino's brows furrowed.
"Man, after all the attacks we've been under by enemy ninja it's a freakin' flower that lands you in the hospital!"
Shino's head began to hurt, which could have been a side effect of the poison, but more likely it was Kiba. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted.
"Shut up Kiba! Shino and I have a score to settle." I
no shouted, forcefully enough to actually shut him up.
She strode to stand over Shino, her arms crossed, her overall appearance menacing.
Shino couldn't help but feel the slight bit threatened.
"YOU!" She began,
Kiba left standing near the door, looked surprised and eager to find out what Shino could have ever done to anger Ino, of all people.
"YOU!" she screamed again, "You bastard! Do you know what you fucking did?"
Shino stared up at her flabbergasted
"Not entirely.." He replied honestly.
"Really? Why am I not surprised? Your DRUNK ASS crashed into my cabinet and crushed something very precious to me!"
Shino could feel himself turning slightly red, he certainly didn't remember that, he certainly wasn't drunk, and he certainly didn't like being yelled at.
"Woah, Shino! HAHA no freakin way, drinkin in the afternoon?" Kiba supplied, as the peanut gallery.
"NO! I was not drunk, Kiba you know I do not drink."
Ino leaned slightly towards him, snapping near his face to get his attention
"No! Ignore Kiba right now! I'M TALKING!" She screeched.
"Sounds more like yelling to me…" Kiba pouted.
Ino groaned "You ruined my flower! You took it from me you asshole!"
Kiba once again interjected himself "Woah, woah, woah! DUDE! You BANGED HER?" He screamed in disbelief, only to be greeted by two steely, horrifying glares.
"NOOO!"
She screamed and lifted her fist at Kiba, who stepped back out of the doorway.
Far enough away to not get hit but close enough to listen to what the hell was going on.
Ino and Shino recomposed themselves after that very uncomfortable accusation.
"No, that flower was my Yamanaka family wedding flower, they're found in the mountains where my clan is originally from! Every Yamanaka woman gets one, they're very rare and very VALUABLE!"
she accentuated the word valuable by pointing in his face, which Shino did not appreciate.
"I apologize, Ino. The overwhelming scent in your store made me light headed, I'm very sensitive to strong, sweet scents. It makes the kikaichu over stimulated, flowers in particular."
Ino looked down in angry disgust
"So, I apologize. I will pay whatever the cost of the damage I caused was."
He stated finally, assuming he'd given her what she wanted.
"Oh no, no, no. When I said this flower was valuable, I meant PRICELESS. You owe me more than just a paycheck."
The bug ninja felt slightly indignant
"Well what do you expect me to do, be your slave or something humiliating?"
"Sex slave, wooo!" Kiba crudely commented from the hallway
"Shut up!"Ino and Shino said nearly in unison
I
no turned back towards Shino and spoke.
"My parents are out of Konoha on their second honeymoon, and I'm the only employee at the flower shop. Since they're tightwads, they won't hire anyone outside of the family. So you will be working for me for free until they return!"
Silence filled the room after that statement; all that could be heard were several "OOOOOHS!" coming from the hallway, courtesy of Kiba of course.
Shino struggled to say something
"I don't know if that sounds like a fair trade." He stated
"Really? Cause it sure felt fair when I was CARRYING you to the hospital!" she retorted hotly and shino felt the sting. A shade of red crept across his face at the prospect of himself being carried through town by a blonde bubbly kuniochi.
"Oh. My. God. Hahaha no way!"
They both heard Kiba crack up in the hallway. But this time neither bothered with any kind of response.
"You start tomorrow 9:00 am" she stated.
She then turned sharply and headed out the door before he could protest. Not that he would. She had bested him, and he knew it.
She pushed past Kiba, muttered something along the lines of "You are an idiot" at him and left.
Shino sat there bewildered for awhile, until he thought of something he had meant to ask her before she jumped down his throat. What was that gas that the flower emitted when he crushed it? It looked like a lotus, but like none he'd ever seen before. Shizune had said it was poisonous to some insects, but if it was some special girly wedding flower what if it had some adverse effects? He worried to himself as Kiba strolled in.
"Man, that is one crazy chick huh?" He puffed as he took a seat.
In classic Kiba fashion, he didn't expect Shino to answer anyways so he continued to speak.
"So you think you're gonna work for her?" he asked, genuinely intrigued at the state his old friend was currently in.
"I think I have to." He said plainly, knowing it was the only way she'd tell him about the flowers effects.
Kiba glanced up in surprise, a playful smile on his face as per usual.
"Woah man, you'd better be careful with that one. A day together and you're already whipped!"
He laughed to himself, while Shino threw him a sideways glare.
"Oh by the way Shino, you owe me some flowers man!" He added, with a huge smile creeping across his face.
"That's absurd.." Shino started
"Yeah you didn't come through buddy, so I had to take Hinata out to that pretty pond and pick her some flowers."
His face was positively lit up, Shino began to realize either he had missed something or Kiba was going insane.
"What's with you today?" Shino asked
Kiba paused for a moment
"She said yes!"
Shino stared silently
"She said yes man!"
Kiba started tearing up
"We're, we're gettin' married!"
He grinned hugely
Shino continued to stare unbelievingly, how had he been so blind?
The ring looked like an engagement ring because it was an engagement ring.
Kiba's strange behavior all made sense now.
"Congratulations."He said stoically
Kiba slapped him on the back
"I expect a little more enthusiasm from my best man!"
He announced warmly, Shino was still in shock.
"Will I have to give a speech?" Was all he could come up with.
"Of course! Don't worry, you'll be great!" He chirped cheerfully.
Shino stared at a space on the wall. Not knowing what else to do now.
"Well, I gotta head home and sex up my fiancée!" He cheered.
Shino grimaced as Kiba headed out the door laughing.
"I'm kidding, she's an honest woman! You gonna head home too Shino?"
Shino didn't move an inch.
"No, I think I'll stay."
Kiba eyed his companion, "Okay then, see ya around buddy!"
Shino waited until Kiba left, and then rolled over.
He was poisoned by a mysterious girly flower.
He was now an indentured servant to a woman he despised.
and he was going to be best man at the wedding of his "best friend" to Hinata Hyuuga.
He heard a light tapping on the door, and Shizune's soft voice
"Shino, are you staying or leaving?"
Shino just barely mustered the strength to answer.
"Staying.."
She knew by the tone of his voice to let him be, and he heard her shoes click down the hallway.
He sighed deeply and came closer to crying than he had in a very, very long time. He would never admit it, but a tear might have fallen as he thought back to that day.
The day Hinata's heart had been broken, and she didn't show up to train. The day Kiba sniffed her out before Shino could find her. He saw them through the trees as he held her tight and felt a pain in his chest.
He couldn't help but think to himself
I should have been the one who found you first, Hinata -
