Chapter Four—Lost in a Dream
Izumo restrained a sigh as he cast a glance over his shoulder at his friend Kotetsu. The other man was snickering at his predicament, obviously unwilling to let the fun end. He turned his head back just in time as Yamanaka Ino looked up from the kunai he was holding. Her big blue eyes would have melted any man's heart, but Izumo was fed up with using his kunai as a mirror so she could primp while she waited for her teammate.
"It's not too…bold?" she asked for what had to be the one-thousandth time.
"No, Ino. It looks perfectly fine," he said.
Kotetsu muffled a laugh, but was unsuccessful as Ino's eyes turned to him. He straightened in his chair, giving his friend a desperate glance. Izumo gave him an evil grin, perfectly willing to allow his fellow ninja to experience the same horrors he had been forced to undergo.
"Was it too tacky to dye it to match my eyes?" she asked.
"Ishiyama likes flamboyant women. Your hair color will certainly catch his eye," a deep voice said from the street behind them.
Kotetsu and Izumo nearly melted in relief as they turned to see who their rescuer was. A man neither of them recognized stood there, hands shoved into his pockets. His dark hair fell into intense brown eyes that stood out in the pale luminescence of his face. Ino frowned slightly as she regarded the man, knowing he looked familiar. Her gaze traced the aristocratic cheekbones and the straight nose, picturing them instead as the only visible features on the man's face.
"Shino?" she asked.
His gaze turned to her and she felt her knees weaken. She rescinded her earlier comment about Sasuke being the most beautiful man in Konoha…no, wait, she took that back. Sasuke had a more ethereal quality to his features, which would definitely classify him as beautiful. Aburame Shino, on the other hand, was without a doubt masculine. There was no trace of feminity in those proud features, none of Sasuke's pretty-boy qualities. Yet the blond found Shino's face to be the far more compelling of two.
'The most handsome man in Konoha then,' she decided.
To think it had been hidden behind that awful jacket for so long, but that just meant that she had first dibs on this man. Shino's gaze shifted from hers and she realized that Kotetsu and Izumo were also gaping at him. In fact, everyone near the gate had stopped and was now staring at Aburame Shino. The only way to attract more attention would be to have Hatake Kakashi there without his mask rather than Shino without his jacket and sunglasses. Ino felt a sudden surge of jealousy and stepped forward, grabbing Shino's hand and pulling him with her as she left Konoha. Even after they entered the forest, she kept hold of his hand until he forcibly pulled it away from her. She glanced over at him to find the barest hint of red spread across his cheekbones and she smiled to herself. It was much easier to read the man without most of his facial features hidden.
"You know, when we were younger, Naruto had a betting pool going about whether or not you actually had eyes under your sunglasses. Getting them off you would win whoever it was almost as much as unmasking Kakashi," she stated suddenly.
Shino was silent. Well, that certainly explained the many attempts Kiba had made to get his sunglasses off of him during their training, even going so far once as to try Dynamic Marking on him. A swarm of bugs had quickly convinced him of the stupidity of that idea. Even shy Hinata had tried once, probably as another failed gambit to get Naruto to notice her. It also explained some of the random attacks he had suffered from other members of the Rookie Nine over the years, each attempt made with varying skill level, though none had actually managed to get his glasses away from him.
"Your eyes are really quite nice. Why do you keep them hidden?" Ino asked.
"These are colored contacts. All Aburame clan members have a very distinctive eye color. Very few people have seen them, but I thought it best not to risk jeopardizing the mission," he stated.
Ino's curiosity was piqued and she wondered what color his eyes really were. After he had caught her fussing over her appearance, however, she felt the need to remind him that she too was an accomplished ninja and not just a beautiful face.
"Speaking of which, I thought we should go over the mission specifics again while we travel," she said.
Shino simply nodded.
"Our target is Ishiyama Tsumetai. He owns a hot spring resort in the Wave Country, which is where we will be staying. He has apparently learned some inside information about Akatsuki, which is where I come in. He has a large appetite for women, but what he especially enjoys is luring a beautiful woman away from the man she is currently attached to. During our stay, I will attract his attention and get him to a private location so I can acquire the information. You and I will be acting like an engaged couple going on a trip to take a break from the stress of planning our wedding," she said.
"Isn't that an over-used ruse?" her companion interrupted.
She smiled sweetly at him, saying, "We could pretend to be already married."
Ino watched with delight as that blush colored his pale face for the second time since they started out. This was far too much fun.
"You will have to act the part of a loving fiancé. It shouldn't be too difficult for you to pretend to be in love with a beautiful woman like me. Though, if you are uncomfortable with the idea, I would have no problem with practicing a little before we reach the Wave Country," she said flirtatiously.
Her companion quickly regained his composure, unwilling to show how much her flirting was affecting him. Even Ino's curious study of his eyes did not give away his inner emotions.
"That would be unnecessary. We will have plenty of time to 'practice' after we reach the Wave Country. The Hokage expects us to be in Nimamura by noon tomorrow so we do not have time to waste," he stated.
The blonde woman scowled at him, unable to stop herself from saying petulantly, "I know that. I'm the mission leader, in case you've forgotten."
Those intense brown eyes left the trees in front of them to study her expression, the barest hint of a smile touching Shino's lips. To her dismay, Ino felt her own face heating beneath his perusal, but her embarrassment quickly vanished at his words.
"I will treat you like the leader when you begin acting like one, Yamanaka-san," he said.
Her blue eyes narrowed dangerously at him as she raised a fist, but apparently thought better of the idea. Instead, she lifted her chin arrogantly and increased her pace.
"Keep up, Aburame," she called over her shoulder.
Shino fell into step behind her, glad that she could not see his relieved expression. If they traveled at this pace all day, he would not need to worry about having another conversation with her. Despite his promise to his father, the woman had a way of slipping through his personal barriers and tugging at his heart. He had no intention of breaking his promise or failing his clan…though he had a disturbing tendency to forget about everything else when she looked at him with those blue eyes. He shook his head, the buzzing of the kikai telling him that he was becoming too worked up over this. Besides, a mission was no place to attempt to sort out one's love life, or lack thereof.
.oOo.oOo.
The two stopped to set up camp long after the sun had set. Shino busied himself setting up the one small tent they had packed, leaving Ino with nothing to do. She glanced around the small clearing, light blue hair gleaming in the moonlight.
"I guess I'll go set up some traps in case anyone tries to sneak up on us while we're sleeping," she said.
"That will not be necessary," Shino responded, stepping back to survey his work.
It was a little lopsided, but it would do. He turned his head to meet Ino's confused eyes.
"My kikai bugs will alert me if anyone nears our camp. Besides, I will be keeping watch," he said.
Ino felt the urge to again remind him that she was the leader of this mission, but decided that it would sound too childish. It would be best if one of them stayed awake, though it did somewhat ruin her plans. Still, she tried a feeble protest.
"But we both need to be well-rested tomorrow," she said.
He shook his head, glancing at the tent as he said quietly, "It is too small for both of us."
'Score!' Ino thought, hiding a smile as she stepped closer to the bug-user and ran a hand down his arm. She purred, "I wouldn't mind snuggling, Shino-kun."
He was grateful that the darkness hid his deep blush as he stepped away from her, stepping back into the darkness under the trees.
"I will be fine, Yamanaka-san," he said over his shoulder.
He found himself a somewhat comfortable perch on a tree branch where he had a clear view of both the tent and the forest around it. Sending out his kikai to monitor their surroundings, he found his eyes lingering on the tent as his mind mulled over the puzzle of the woman sleeping within it.
'It shouldn't be difficult for you to pretend to be in love with a beautiful woman like me,' she had said.
How little she knew, not that Shino would ever care to enlighten her. He was far more like his shy teammate than he would admit, for he had had a crush on Yamanaka Ino since the academy. Unlike Hinata, however, he would never have the courage to admit to his feelings, which only made things more difficult when she was flirting with him like this. As much as he liked Ino, he was well aware of her fickle personality and he was not about to become another poor victim ground up in Konoha's rumor mill. It would be best if she never discovered the truth, though at the rate things were going it wasn't very likely.
There was something about her that made his barriers crumble no matter how hard he tried to keep them in place. It was one of the things that had drawn him to her in the first place, some kind of morbid fascination in the way she could destroy him with a single word or glance or, most often, by simply ignoring him. However, there were also those times, though they were few and far between, when she would smile at him and every hurt would be instantly forgotten. Had his pride allowed him, he would have become her slave.
As it was, the only person who had recognized his vulnerability to the Yamanaka was his father. Shino believed that that was the reason he had been assigned so many solo missions as a genin and chuunin, so that he would stay away from the blond and the affect she had on him. He thought his father's plan had worked too, right up to the day she kissed him. His eyes closed as he indulged in reliving that moment, then his eyes snapped open and he pushed the memory away.
Now was definitely not the time to be thinking about how amazing it had been to kiss Ino, not when she was sleeping in a tent such a short distance away. He could do something stupid, like go over there and kiss her again…or, even worse, confess that he was in love with her. The Aburame blanched at the thought. She would probably laugh at him, or maybe string him along until they returned to Konoha and she could make a laughingstock of him before the whole village. He could imagine it now…
'Look at the idiot bug-user who actually thought he could satisfy the most beautiful woman in Konoha. Can you believe he actually thought that someone like him could be with someone like her?'
He shook his head. No, it would be utterly foolish to show even a hint of returning her affections. She would move on as soon as she found another dark-haired, dark-eyed man to be her replacement for Sasuke. Maybe that artist…Sai. He certainly matched the list of traits Ino would want in a man: pale-skinned, dark hair and eyes, quiet, and somewhat brooding. Plus, he was handsome and certainly did not have any bugs living beneath his skin. Shino frowned as he recalled the way she had pulled away from his arm after feeling the vibrations his bugs caused. Yes, someone like Sai would fit Ino perfectly, he decided, ignoring the pain that thought caused his heart. He was dreaming if he really thought that Ino would ever love him in return.
Besides, in addition to all his personal reasons, there was that promise he had made to his father. His clan needed him to marry one of their own members to keep the bloodline strong. So there was no way he could even consider developing a relationship with a beautiful, talented, kind (when she wanted to be), intelligent—Shino cut the mental list off right there. It was not helping him anyway and his kikai were growing restless. Leaving a few of the bugs scattered around the campsite, Shino moved deeper into the forest to train. He hoped the physical exertion would keep his mind occupied until dawn.
So I'm going to try to restrict myself to only one author note, rather than one at the beginning and end of each chapter. I am hoping to post another chapter this Friday, but we'll have to see if I can get it done in addition to all my wonderful college work. The good news is that I only have one month left before summer break! n.n And I have to get a job...anyway, onto review responses.
Zetnik: Well, I was thinking Hanabi...but she's actually five years younger. That would make her fifteen, which would make Naruto a bit of a cradle-robber. I may choose to leave him happily wed to his ramen, but we'll see.
SasukeUchiha911: I pronounce it Shi-ino, with two distinctive i's to make it different from Shino's name.
Akai-sora: I am becoming convinced that you are my long-lost twin or something. Our thought patterns and senses of humor seem eerily similar. n.n Anyway...I am a sucker for happily-ever-afters, so no, you won't get your tragic ending. And yes, I'm totally making up the clan rules for the joy of stringing my readers along. Can't make it too easy for them, right?
Bored2death: I apologize. I posted the ages of everyone in Miru Hoshi, but didn't think to also put it in When You Say You Love Me. The Rookie Nine are all twenty at this time. And (even though they won't be in this story), Team Gai is twenty-one, Team Konohamaru is sixteen, and Hanabi is fifteen.
Also, thanks to Ryan-sensei, SmallButPowerful, and Salote for reviewing last chapter!
Please take a minute or two to leave me a review! Just a quick note will put a smile on my face and inspire me to write. Think of it as your good deed for the day. n.n