Two days after the detention, Iruka-sensei had assigned groups assignments. Being the sharp teacher he was, he also chose the pairs. Perhaps it was what she'd eaten earlier that morning, or the fact that one of the three sister spiders in her hair had girth to spread, and had to be replaced by another sister, but it remained that she'd been paired with Aburame Shino.

He was a withheld wall of stoic, and Madoka decided that perhaps it was the stars to blame for the unlucky pairing.

Apart from shoving their desks together, both hadn't spoken a word to the other. When the girl of the pair saw Iruka-sensei peering silently at them from his desk, she quickly turned to the quiet boy.

"I've got the paper?" She told him, but it came out as a question. A tiny cough later and a piece of paper was placed in between the two desks.

While he wrote his name at the top of it, Madoka wondered why they'd been paired. He was... strange, but sometimes strange was good.

Lazily writing her own name underneath his, she noted how small and organized his writing was. A sign of someone withdrawn or distant, maybe philosophical, if they were lucky.

He stared at her chicken scratch for a moment before turning his head exactly 87 degrees to the right and observed the redhead, who in turn observed him.

Aburame Shino was a riddle, something Madoka wanted to solve. Quiet, calm, withheld, all signs pointed to him being an introvert, but she hadn't yet accounted for the inexplicable, such as family or his own outlook on life. If anything, Madoka thought he was a foreshadowing of her own future persona.

"Why don't you think I'm weird?" He questioned, averting her gaze. The question was sudden, like a punch to the gut, or like finding a Jumping spider in one's porridge, which had happened to her this morning.

"I... what?" Madoka didn't quite understand. All the telltale signs of him not asking her questions had been there, yet he'd broken the expectations of the young Niotomi.

"You don't think I'm weird, right?"

"Well... yeah, but wha-"

"Why?"

A quick re-evaluation was performed and she realized that she'd read him wrong. He was turned to her, a sign of body language awareness, and his circular, dark glasses were trained on her face, as if trying to memorize her features. It took her a second to collect her thoughts and produce a decent response.

"Because... you're not. Does that answer your question?" Forget the assignment, this kid was way more fun to talk to. Leaning back, the Aburame sighed quietly, which didn't escape the young deducer next to him. His sharp gaze, however, didn't leave Madoka, which she understood.

Her father had told her all about body language and how people interpreted things differently. She was something of a prodigy when it came to reading people, like her father.

"Do you... want to start?" She asked hesitantly, nodding towards the blank paper.

Done with speaking, Shino reverted back to silence. He wrote down the first couple of problems from the board at the front of the room, and Madoka wrote down the last half of them. For an introvert and a silent person, they got the paper done rather quickly, considering that the bell had just rang for lunch.

Collecting her book and notes, Madoka started getting up before she actually thought about how alone Shino must feel. She wasn't deaf; she'd heard the things the other kids called him. As someone who wasn't supposed to draw attention, she knew what it felt like to be alone. Her only company was her thoughts and the other Niotomi, though there wasn't really a difference between the two.

"Shino-san," she started shakily. It was frowned upon to make friends with clan kids, but after a quick glance at the Aburame, she started wondering why it was frowned upon. "Do you want to eat lunch with me?"

She'd had to force herself to ask the question before doubt crept up, but she was glad she'd asked, because although she couldn't see it, she felt like he'd smiled a little, and for some reason, that made her feel as if she did the right thing.

Wasn't it the right thing to do?

A nod was what she received, but it was an understatement, she was sure of it.

Outside, the two kids sat under a tree, escaping the sun's bright rays. Both their bentos were open, but neither were eating. It was just them, as Chouji and Shikamaru had left her alone after seeing she was with Shino. Honestly, she didn't understand why they sat with her sometimes, as she hadn't done or said anything to them.

"Why do you have three spiders in your hair?"

Said spiders bristled, unused to being discovered by others. Madoka's hair was very thick and very red, they weren't supposed to be seen.

"How do you know they're there?" She asked back, suspicious. The Niotomi shivered a little as the spiders walked towards her hairline. Their legs felt so weird when they walked. Usually, they fell asleep on her head and opted to stay there until she got to the clan compound, but the replacement widow hadn't slept a wink since Madoka's started talking to the Aburame.

"My clan studies bugs and insects," he explained, opening up to the Niotomi.

"Well, they're there because my dad is overprotective."

"That's dangerous though," he replied, starting on his meal. She followed his example, remembering that they were running today.

"Eh... for some reason, they're antsy around you, like they can smell a fly or bug. You got any bugs on you?" Madoka wasn't sure what she expected, but Shino just said yes and didn't offer any further explanation. How confusing.

"What type of spider?"

"What type of bug?"

Madoka's snorted after a good minute of staring at each other, daring the other to answer the question. Her instincts told her that Shino was laughing too, but she only saw a hint of a smile.

AN: A little something to take the edge off this holiday season. Disclaimers in the first chapter.