Official Theme Song for this chapter: "The Distance" by Cake
At the bottom of each chapter, there are responses to reviews from the previous chapter. After all, this story is written for the fans, it would be negligent of me to not respond!
CHAPTER BEGINS..
The Aburame clan of Konoha Village. The clan whose famous reputation (or not so famous, considering their understated profile) revolved around their symbiotic relationship with Kikai bugs, a species of insect known for its unique ability to suck Chakra from its prey. The Aburame clan is a small one, as far as Konoha clans go. All of its members are nested entirely within one suburban block, this block located near the base of the mountain hosting the four proud faces of the Hokage Memorial. Interestingly enough, the homes seem quite normal, despite the clan's reputation for weirdness and reclusiveness. Simple houses and condominiums, their front yards neat and tidy, adorned with things that you would find in Home & Garden magazines. Empty love swings hanging in the front porch, waiting for a starry eyed couple to come along. Cheerful lawn gnomes with their raised hands frozen in a perpetual welcome. Blooming bushes pruned to the shapes of animals (mostly bug shapes, actually) ...
All of the homes are pretty much the same size and build: small, compact, cozy. But the home that seems to leap to the forefront is a blindingly white one situated in the center of the neighborhood block's southern side. The home which faces most directly in towards the rest of Konoha Village. This happens to be the home of the clan's leader and the clan's heir. It is the home of Saito Aburame and Shino Aburame.
The household of an Aburame family is not an entirely normal one, of course. After all, an Aburame household is the only household where the mother will smile happily if she sees her baby laughing and playing with bugs swarming all over his body. Any other mother, obviously, is guaranteed to do a combination of the following: erupt into paroxysms of hysteria, sweep up her poor little baby inside her arms, and/or immediately place a call to the local pest control experts.
Of course, in Shino's home, such a situation could never possibly occur, mostly because of two reasons. Reason number one. He and his father have no need for exterminators; their bugs sweep through the house nightly, killing and consuming all who have invaded: rats, mice, spiders, centipedes, cockroaches, you name it. And reason number two. Shino and his father, they have no mother or wife who worries over them, or threatens to sweep them into her arms at any moment.
There was once a woman who did those things. But not any more, not for the past seven years, at least. Because she is now dead.
A grunt of displeasure from Shino Aburame: "Hmmph."
He stared at the hopelessly splintered eggshell in his hands, crumbs of hardness speckling his fingers, gooey innards of yolk and egg white dripping all over the place. Well, that didn't turn out so well...
It must have been a fluke, he told himself. It couldn't be this hard to crack open an egg. He wiped his hands clean with the kitchen's resident hand towel, then took out another egg from the two-dozen carton. He had been somewhat careful on the previous attempt, but now, with almost unbearably exquisite care, he gently tapped this new egg against the rim of a ceramic bowl. A neat little fissure formed before his bare eyes (Shino did not wear his sunglasses inside his house), and his thumbs now hooked into the sliver of an opening, thumbnails wedging their way in. Then slowly but surely, he began to pull apart the eggshell. And just like the previous one, this eggshell was stubbornly resisting his efforts -
The eggshell suddenly gave way, imploding inside his hands, the shell disintegrating into another gunky mess. Another grunt from Shino, as he did the best he could to maneuver the whites and yolk into the bowl below...
A deep voice sounded from behind Shino, a voice considerably deeper than even the abnormally low voice of the thirteen year old: "You're up early today."
Shino replied in his usual deadpan, eyes still focused on task at hand: "Hey pops."
His father, Saito Aburame, pulled to a stop by his son. Shino was tall for his age, but his father was considerably taller; thus, it was with ease that Saito looked over the shoulder of his son. And he chuckled, for the composition of the bowl's contents seemed to be two third's egg fluid and one third's eggshell shards. "Looks like you are having some trouble there."
"Mmm." Shino nodded. "It is odd. I did not think it would be this hard to crack open eggs."
"You have never cracked eggs before?" Although an ephemeral hint of surprise was audible in Saito's voice, the adult man's face was deadpan. Basically a leathery and hardened version of Shino's own baby-smooth deadpan. They were also dressed very similar, both wearing towering coats and lengthy shorts (the colors of Saito's clothes were a bit darker than his son's, however). And if at all possible, Saito's hair was even wilder than Shino's unruly mop ... as one could see, in this household, the apples did not fall very far from the tree they grew from.
Shino knew why his father was surprised. Although his father made it a point to cook breakfast for the both of them every morning (the only time of the day when they were guaranteed to be in the house at the same time), Shino was usually fending for himself during lunch and dinner, thanks to their differing schedules. Thus, Shino usually prepared those meals for himself (it was fiscally impractical to constantly eat take-out food from restaurants). And over time, he had become a passable cook of sorts, usually knowing what he was doing around the kitchen ...
"I only eat the eggs you prepare in the morning," Shino said, to explain his inadequacy at the fine art of egg handling. "I never cook them for lunch or dinner."
"Ah." Saito's deadpan seemed to grin at that. "Let me show you how it's done, then."
He retrieved an egg from the open carton on the counter, and he softly whacked it against the bowl's rim. But instead of stopping there, like Shino had done, Saito then rolled the egg over a tad more, and whacked it once again. Saito then held up the egg for Shino's eyes, showing the rather lengthy crack which now circumvented the shell. "You have to make sure the crack is long enough before you break it open."
"Mmm," was Shino's response of comprehension.
Saito then popped open the egg into two neat ivory halves, and the contents smoothly dropped into the awaiting bowl. "And there we go. Not a problem."
"Nice trick."
"It is, isn't it? I can not take credit for it, though. Your mother had to show it to me when I first tried to help her in the kitchen."
"Hmm." Both of the Aburame men faintly grinned at that (yes, Shino DOES grin, apparently), and Saito then shooed away Shino from the kitchen counter. "Go away, it is my job as man of the house to make breakfast around here."
The son obeyed the father, as his sock-clad feet wandered over the wrinkly white linoleum floor, heading towards a solid oaken chair by the matching oaken kitchen table. As Shino took a seat and Saito cracked eggs, Saito commented: "What is the special occasion?"
"Special occasion?" Shino was rubbing his eyes rather tiredly. "Why do you say that?"
Saito noted that the counter was already cluttered with the necessary ingredients for a killer Southwestern omelet: chopped ham, pepper jack cheese, green onions, cobless corn, green chiles. An oiled pan was also hot and ready on the stovetop ... "You never wake up before I do, but today, here we are. At the crack of dawn, you're cooking breakfast for yourself, and it looks like you've been awake for a while."
"Mmm. I wanted to make sure I caught you before you left for the day."
"Oh really?" Saito was now dumping everything into the pan, kicking up a storm of raucous oily popping and sizzling. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Yes." Shino was yawning now. "I am going to ask out a girl today, but - "
The genin blinked to see that his father was already sitting in the chair next to him, Saito's arms already crossed knowingly. And Saito calmly nodded to himself. "So, my son, you are about to take your first step into the world of romance. Congratulations."
"Mmm, thanks." Shino seemed a bit hesitant now. "Pops, I am going to ask out a girl today, but honestly ... I am not sure if I am doing the right thing - "
"My son, you fear and doubt yourself needlessly."
"Hmm?" Shino did not quite understand his father's words. "What do you mean?"
"Shino, what I am trying to say is this. No woman can resist the magnetic charisma of an Aburame man."
"Hmm?" Although he did not show it, Shino could not have been more stunned if his father had suddenly laid him out with a hickory 2x4 to the forehead. "Why do you say that?"
Saito nodded, as he continued in his deadpan voice: "We Aburame men are everything that a woman would want. Tall, dark, smart, handsome, funny, and adorably charming."
Obviously 'modest' was not a part of the list, Shino thought to himself ... it was interesting to note, however, that his father had not taken the air of someone who was boasting or bragging. His father was simply stating this as if it was obvious fact ... Shino found it quite funny, actually. And he now took the opportunity to express his amusement.
"Ha ha. Ha ha."
Saito interrupted his son's 'laughter', for he was not done yet: "How else do you think I was able to catch such a fine woman like your mother? You should have seen your mother when she was growing up, she was the queen of the village. And so many men chased after her, only to be rebutted time and time again. It didn't matter who the men were, either. Hyuugas, Uchihas, Inuzukas, Naras - "
Saito paused. "Actually, I take that back about the Naras. Shikato was too lazy to chase after women. But anyways, you get the idea. Your mother turned them all back, but once I walked up to her doorstep, she took my hand and never looked back." He nodded self-importantly now. "We Aburame men are the Cupids of Konoha, my son. Never forget that."
Shino, with all honesty: "I had no idea."
"Mmm." Saito now intoned with the gravity of a reverend at a funeral: "Very few people know about the irresistible charisma and magnetism of an Aburame man. Even your mother had no idea what she was getting into when she started dating me."
"I see." Shino had a little notepad out now on the kitchen table, ready to take notes. "Tell me, pops, what technique did you use to ask out mother on your first date together?"
"Ah, a very good question ..."
Saito paused as his son waited. Shino's pen hovering over the notepad, the son was very still now and listening very intently, ready to absorb his father's wisdom ... the kitchen was absolutely silent, save for the angry hisses and pops from the frying pan, and the hollowed ticks and tocks from the ponderous pendulum of the majestic grandfather clock out in the hallway ... then Saito finally said:
"Dancing."
A blink from Shino. "Dancing?"
"We were sixteen years old, and I asked your mother out to a dance."
"Mmm. How did it go?"
"It went very well, of course. Throughout the generations, we Aburame men have always been great dancers."
"So Mother fell in love with you because ... you are a good dancer?" That didn't quite sound right to Shino.
"No, of course not. That is not the reason why she fell in love with me. But my dancing jutsus did help me reel her in, initially."
"Dancing jutsus?" Shino's face and voice finally broke out of the deadpan, projecting to a higher eyebrow and tone of disbelief: "Our clan has dancing jutsus?!"
Saito shook his head. "Of course not, Shino. That was just a joke on my part."
The two stonefaced men looked at each other, then shared another invisible grin of amusement as they actually laughed together.
"Ha ha. Ha ha." That was Shino.
"Ho ho. Ho ho." That was Saito.
Having indulged in their moment of uproarious hilarity, Shino was now back to business, as his brow creased into profound contemplation. "Hmm ... pops, are you sure that we Aburame men are good dancers?"
"Positive. Why do you even ask?"
"Well, because ..." Shino twitched his nose now. "I am not a good dancer."
"Impossible," was Saito's immediate reply. "Why do you say that?"
"Well, because I have tried dancing before. And I looked terrible while doing so."
Saito was clearly skeptical of his son's self-assessment. "Are you sure? When have you ever danced before? Have you gone to a club recently with your teammates?"
Shino was somewhat tight-lipped now. "No, I have not gone to any clubs. I just know that I am not a good dancer."
Saito recognized that tight-lipped expression on his son's face. His son was trying to hide something. And failing miserably, as Saito mused, "I see. You have tried dancing by yourself in your room, I presume?"
Shino's lips became so tight, it was as if his cheeks were struggling in a dead-heat battle of tug-o-war with each other. But he remained silent, not denying anything, all but confirming his father's logical deduction about his son's decidedly embarrassing auditions in front of his bedroom mirror ... it was at times like these when Shino wished that his father was not so perceptive about such things ...
The father mused out loud, "Mmm, I see. An Aburame man who cannot dance ... well, it is not entirely unheard of. If I recall correctly, your great-grandfather was not much of a dancer, either." His tone turned from nostalgic to assertive. "Well then, my son. You are on your own. However, before I go, let me briefly outline for you the Aburame clan's four rules to dating."
"Mmm. The four rules." Shino said those words with the reverence of a priest kneeling before the altar. And his pen was up and ready again, hovering over the notepad. "What are they?"
"Rule number one. When you ask her out, always bring flowers. Ideally, you should have at least four or five in your hand. On your first date, never bring just one flower. One flower is appropriate only when you and your girl have reached a certain level of intimacy."
"Four or five flowers ..." Shino nodded his head as he scribbled everything down. "Got it."
"Speaking of intimacy, that brings me to my second rule. When you become intimate with her, always wear protection - "
Shino coughed as he interrupted, "Pops, she is not that type of girl. Besides, we are only thirteen."
"Son, you never know. Like I said, we Aburame men are irresistible."
"I don't think I'm that irresistible, Pops. Trust me. It's not going to happen."
"Very well then. We'll save the rest of the second rule for when you get older. Now, rule number three." And Shino was back to writing in the notepad, as his father dictated: "Thoroughly conceal your Kikai on the first few dates, in order to prevent any unnecessary turn-offs. She should know about them, of course, but it would be better to gradually introduce them to her. Once she gets to know you, it will be easier for her to accept your uniqueness."
"Mmm ... I see ... hide the Kikai ..."
"And now, the last rule. Rule number four ... be assertive and bold, my son. Never forget that it is the man's responsibility to take the initiative. If you like a girl, go after her. If she thinks highly of you, she will welcome virtually any approach from you. In short, do not be afraid."
A hint of a grin underneath Shino's deadpan, as he confidently said, "I am not going to be afraid just because this is the first time I shall ask out a girl."
A hint of a grin underneath Saito's deadpan, as he confidently said, "We will see."
"Hmm hmm hmmmm! Hee hee!"
Ino Yamanaka was humming cheerfully under her breath, busy as a bumblebee as she buzzed around her mother's flower shop, straightening and tidying every loose end in her haphazard path. A potted plant out of position on a shelf over here. A misplaced flower bouquet lying on the floor over there. Ino took care of those two bits of clutter and more, the dutiful worker doing everything which was required of her from her queen (her queen being her mom, in this case). Even Ino's clothing was bee-like, today's color scheme being a bright sunny yellow offset by racy midnight black. Cute little yellow cotton tee-shirt with even cuter yellow sweat socks and wrist bands, while the black consisted of her sneakers, relatively tight knee-length athletic shorts, and a ribbon which held up her hair in a bun.
The cuteness and perkiness emanating from Ino's costume and overall self were quite noticeable, and so far, throughout the day, the majority of the customers had proffered little compliments along the lines of "You look so nice today, Ino-chan!" or "I love what you've done with your hair!" and so on and so forth. Of course, it was only the women customers who said these sort of things. The male customers just went about their business, while their eyes occasionally wandered over to the cute girl at the cash register. The men did not dare to do anything sassy with Ino Yamanaka, however, because half a year ago, she had beaten the crap out of two rude men making passes at her. And for a man, few things were more humiliating than getting thrashed by a thirteen year old girl. Even if she happened to be one of the village's ninja.
But today, Ino was quite certain that she would not mind one bit if a certain boy got a little "sassy" with her. And as she now took her seat behind the cash register, the brass chimes above the entrance rang, the front door swinging in. Ino spun her head about in excitement, her eyes growing large, wondering if this would be the boy -
Nope. Unfortunately, it was not the boy. But it was still a person who made Ino smile, as she waved in delight. "Hi, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura smiled back as she made her way over to the stool by the counter, the place where she customarily sat whenever they chatted, discussed, gossiped, argued, reminisced, etc. "Hi, Ino-chan. How you doing - " She blinked at the overwhelming cuteness of today's sunny yellow version of Ino. "Wow, you look nice today."
"Why thanks!" Ino patted the silk ribbon adorning her head. "I especially love this little thing, my mom bought it for me the other day ... " She faded away as she noticed that something about Sakura seemed a little off today. For some reason, her childhood friend seemed to be a bit on the deadened side. Not quite depressed, but definitely not her usual buoyant self.
Ino asked with more curiosity than concern: "Is something wrong?"
Sakura's eyes had been spacing out towards the analog display of the clock on the wall over Ino's head, but she now snapped out of it. "Huh?" A smile now, as Sakura quickly shook her head. "Oh no, nothing's wrong. I'm just thinking about stuff, that's all."
"Hmm." Ino knew Sakura too well, of course, and she could tell that her friend was considerably bothered at the moment. "Are you sure you're all right?"
Sakura's smile grew even wider in an effort to mollify the equally growing concern of Ino. And she held up a pair of open hands to gesture that, yes, she was just dandy indeed. "I'm fine, Ino, really, I am! I'm ... I'm just a little tired, that's all."
"Mmm. Couldn't sleep well?"
"Yeah, something like that ... say, how did your cousin's prom go last night?"
Ino shrugged. "Oh, it was all right. No big deal. The limo ride was fun, though! I had never been inside a limo before - oh my god, you know what! I can't believe I haven't told you this yet, but on my way to the prom, I ran into that doggy guy Kiba - you know who Kiba is, right? Anyway, I ran into Kiba, who is one of Shino-kun's teammates, and I was asking him all these questions about Shino-kun, and Kiba actually told me that Shino-kun likes me! Omigod, omigod, omigod!"
The blonde kuniochi bowled over the counter top in uncharacteristic red-eared bashfulness, planting her chin onto the cool plywood surface, long angled bangs dangling over her nose. "I wonder if he's gonna ask me out, oooh, I would like that a lot! Oh yes, I would, I would love that so much - omigod, you know what would just be sooo romantic?!"
"What?"
"What if Shino-kun walks into this store right now, picks out a gorgeous arrangements of flowers, walks up to this counter and pays for them, and then ... and then he gives the flowers back to me, saying that they are for me and me only, and he wants to ask me out on a date squeeeeee!"
Sakura blinked as Ino fairly went into seizures of excitement from the mere thought of the fairy tale scenario. Well, it wasn't entirely a fairy tale scenario, actually, since it was now 12:45 PM, fifteen minutes before Shino would arrive at his planned time to ask out Ino-chan ...
Sakura then said rather morosely, "Yes, that would be sweet of him, wouldn't it?" A pause. "And you would say yes?"
Ino promptly sat up, proudly flipping up her bangs over her head, as she proclaimed like a campaigning politician on a podium: "Of course I would say yes! What kind of question is that?!"
A murmur from Sakura: "But what about Sasuke-kun?"
A blink from Ino. "What about Sasuke-kun?"
"I mean, um ... don't you like Sasuke-kun?"
"Oh, of course I like Sasuke-kun! But I'm not going to wait around my entire life for HIM to come around. If I ever find another boy who's just as handsome, attractive, desirable, dependable, you know, all that good stuff? I'm grabbing onto him and never letting go!"
"And you think Shino-san is that boy?"
"Oh, he might be. Then again, he might not. Either way, it couldn't hurt to find out, could it?"
"I see. But ..."
Ino could see what was going on inside her friend's mind, and she grinned as her hands fastened themselves to her hips. "What, you think I'm not being faithful to Sasuke-kun or something?"
"Well, no, I don't think that ... but ..." A sheepish smile from Sakura, as she realized that there was no use in trying to hide from her longest-time friend. "Well, okay, I think that a little."
An exasperated clicking of the tongue from Ino. "Sakura, Sakura, Sakura ... don't tell me you believe in that 'one-true-love-of-my-whole-life' crap! That kind of stuff is for lovesick poets and little children!"
The pink-haired one was too embarrassed to say anything in response, so the blond-haired one continued with a stern waggle of the finger. "Sakura, now, I know what you're thinking. You think I'm playing games here, right? You think I'm jumping around from boy to boy and testing the waters with my tippy toe, right?"
"Well, yeah, I guess ..." Sakura then had to ask: "But you ... you are playing games, right?"
Ino announced with a grandiose voice and widespread arms: "Of course I am! Duh!" She then plopped her elbows back onto the counter. "Listen Sakura, we women may play our own little games, but believe me, those men play their own games, too. The two sides are always locked in a constantly never-ending struggle, fighting on a harrowing battlefield filled with trials and obstacles as people try to find a perfect match ... you do know that, right?"
The empty expression on Sakura's face told Ino everything. And Ino sighed. "You didn't know that, did you?"
Sakura then hastily stammered, trying to escape from the umbrella of ignorance that had spread over her: "Well, I didn't think about it exactly that way, but I've been kinda realizing it lately. Really, I have, really!"
Ino's laughter tinkled at her friend's insistence. "Don't worry, Sakura, I believe you, you're way too smart of a girl to not realize that sooner or later." Ino then assumed the role of lecturer once again. "But of course, Sakura, once you DO find that guy, once you find that guy who you truly think is good for you, you sink your teeth into him and don't let anyone else get near him!" Another tinkling chuckle from Ino now. "But then again, you already know that bit, of course."
Sakura blinked. "I do?"
"Of course! Why else have we been clashing over Sasuke-kun for all these years?! Say, you know what, let's make a deal!" Ino was now wearing a conspiratorial smile, as if the two were about to agree upon a top-secret pact of sorts. "If things work out between me and Shino-kun, you can have Sasuke-kun, okay? I promise I won't bother you about him ever again. Cross my heart and hope to die!"
Sakura was not exactly impressed by her friend's show of "charitable generosity", of course. But she could not help but smile. "Ok, it's a deal, I guess ... but do you really like Shino-san that much? I mean, um, you don't even know him yet."
"Of course I don't know him yet! But that's what dating is for, isn't it?" Ino then squirmed happily in her seat as she recollected yesterday's events. "Oh wow, but I didn't know Shino-kun was that good-looking! Well, but then again, I never got a good look at his face before ... and he was always so quiet, too, I never really noticed him ... " The excitement started to spill over now. "And he was funny yesterday, too! Kinda in a dorky retarded way, of course, but that's just makes it cuter ... ohhh, and he's really strong, too! Remember when he beat the daylights out of that noisy Sound guy in the chuunin exam?! And I heard that, during the Great War, he even defeated one of the guys from that scary Sand team! That's incredible - "
A brief moment of consternation then passed over her pretty face, dampening her enthusiasm. "But if we are going to get together, we are going to have do something about those icky bugs of his. Those bugs probably keep themselves clean, right? Maybe Shino-kun has a tiny bathtub at home for his bugs to use? Hmm, I wonder ... "
Sakura was still silent, and Ino was still rambling: "Maybe Shino-kun will be wearing those super-sharp clothes today? Oooh, that would be nice, don't you think?! But really, it doesn't matter if he's wearing those clothes or not, I already know that he is a total absolute hunk underneath whatever the heck he's wearing! Clothes are just trinkets and stuff, they are not that important ..."
Ino then thought better of what she just said. "Well, hmm, besides, it doesn't matter what he wears right now. After all, if we do start going out, I can just make him wear better clothes! Yes, hee hee, he won't have a choice, he will have to do what I say! Yah ha ha ha!"
The blond had been staring dreamily at the ceiling, thinking about how much fun it would be to dress up Shino-kun ... and now she giggled with a playfully sinister air as she looked to Sakura. "So, what do you think?! Do you think Shino-kun will let me dress him? Maybe I could do something about his hair, too! His hair looks kinda okay in that wild and untamed way, but really, he could do so much more with it - "
Sakura abruptly stood up from her stool, and she almost stammered, "Ino-chan, I, um, I have to go now."
A blink from the blonde. "You do? Where to?"
"I, um, I have to go meet someone ..." A wan smile. "Good luck with Shino-san."
"Oh ... well, okay!" Ino smiled brilliantly and waved goodbye. "See you later, Sakura-chan! And thanks, I really hope Shino-kun shows up today!"
"Yeah." Sakura tried to brighten her own wan smile to match Ino's, but her heavy lips and face refused to put up such a facade. "Well, see you later, Ino-chan ..."
With a worried face and pursed lips, Ino watched her friend wearily plod out the door. "Geez, I wonder what's wrong with Sakura-chan ... is she still worried about Sasuke-kun?"
As Sakura stepped out onto the street outside the flower shop, the warm overhead afternoon sun did its best to lift Sakura's spirits. And it was not entirely unsuccessful, as she closed her eyes and opened her face up to the sky, soaking in the sympathetic and nurturing rays of the heavenly body ...
It was almost one o'clock. And sure enough, there he was, walking down the street with his punctual self. Shino Aburame, dressed in his usual garb of excessively long shorts, huge coat, dark sunglasses, and probably a corduroy shirt underneath all that. Walking with his hands in his pockets and his face behind the upturned collar, as usual ...
Sakura blinked. Strangely enough, if her eyes were not deceiving her ... if she didn't know any better ... Shino's face was a ghastly pallid pale. His feeble step was unsteady and uneven. Beads of cold perspiration were forming on his forehead ...
If she didn't know any better, Shino seemed to be the spitting image of a nervous wreck.
Then she mutedly laughed to herself for her foolishness. Shino-san? Nervous? Yeah right, who was she kidding?
Shino was nervous.
No, not just nervous. He was beyond nervous. He was sick in the stomach. Maybe it was the omelet? Yeah, it had to be the omeletl. It had been somewhat burned, charred. He and his father had been so engrossed in their conversation that they had forgotten all about the omelet, until the scent of smoke had alerted them to the fact that their breakfast was burning at the stove ...
He knew that it was not the omelet, however. He was genuinely anxious. Afraid. Quaking inside his open-toed shinobi shoes. Deathly terrified -
The rules! Don't forget the rules! Still walking, Shino yanked out the precious piece of yellow notepad paper from his pocket, and he started to review the rules again for the umpteenth time. Murmuring to himself: "Must buy flowers ... must use protection - wait! Forget that one ... must hide the Kikai bugs ... must be assertive ..."
All of Sakura's concerns, distress, confusion, everything. They were now melting away as she couldn't help but giggle, amused by the sight of the oblivious Shino trudging down the street, his nose buried inside a badly-crinkled piece of yellow paper, his sunglasses deliberately scanning back and forth over the paper's written contents. Geez, he was so serious about it, too ... what in the world could be so important on that paper, she thought to herself ...
Determined not to appear down and depressed in front of him, Sakura summoned forth her brightest smile of the day so far, as she cheerfully waved. "Hi, Shino-san!"
From the distance, Shino's low grunt was surprisingly loud: "Hmm?" He jerked his head up at Sakura's cheerful voice. "Ah, hello, Sakura-san. I am glad to see that you made it - "
He noticed that her eyes were flickering over to the paper in his hands, and he immediately stuffed it back into his bottomless coat pockets. But the tip still protruded from the lapel, and Sakura could not help but ask, of course: "What's that?"
"Ahhh ..."
Shino paused, his lapse tripping an alarm within Sakura's head. Subject change alert! Subject change alert! And sure enough, he then said, "So, have you talked to Ino-san yet?"
Still staring at Shino's pocket, Sakura replied, "Yes, I have."
"And?"
"Well..."
Sakura now took a long moment to gaze up into Shino's eyes, er, sunglasses. Hoping to see a sign. Any sign. Any hint or inkling of something, anything that might reveal more than simply casual friendship, platonic relationship, close acquaintances ... but goddamit, Shino's deadpan was not showing a damned thing. As usual.
No, no, Sakura immediately told herself. Maybe he was too shy. Maybe he was too - gaaah, what was she thinking, what was she DOING?! Grasping at straws for silly phantom romances?! Geez ... that annoying defeatist attitude was starting to kick in now. It was just one date, she was now telling herself. Nothing more. It's not like Shino was guaranteed to fall in love with Ino anyway. Heck, Ino might not even like Shino once she got to know him - well, okay, that was about as unlikely to happen as Kiba adopting a stray cat for a pet -
In an attempt to filter away all of the nonsense running amuck inside her head, Sakura closed her eyes. But hopeless confusion still reigned supreme. Just what did she want - actually, she knew what she wanted. She wanted ... she wanted ... but could Shino be that one? She didn't really believe - no, she didn't want to believe what Ino had just said earlier about playing games and all that stuff. Maybe Sakura was being childish, maybe she still believed in fairy tales. But she still wanted to believe that there was only one boy. She wanted to believe that love was not just some interchangeable cog or gear which one could pick out from a hardware store and then fit into her life -
Damn it, Shino-san was still not doing anything, the dolt! He was just standing there like an autistic retard, even though she was here, in plain view for him and everyone else to see, obviously distressed out of her mind! Well, okay, maybe it was not so obvious, but still, that was besides the point, he was just looking down at her, not even smiling or saying anything to alleviate her torn self, god, what was she doing out here anyways -
She abruptly turned away her eyes, feeling somewhat stung, somewhat rejected by Shino's utter lack of emotion. Oh god, not again, that mask. The total lack of empathy, understanding, support. Please, not again ... this feeling was so painfully familiar to her, of course ... just like Sasuke-kun ... why oh why, why was she always attracted to these incredibly emotionally dysfunctional boys? Boys colder than those glaciers floating in the arctic seas. Boys more withdrawn than a thorny hermit crab hiding deep inside its sturdy snail shell ...
She was back to staring at the paper in his pocket. Hiding a sad little smile which belied the epic cacophony of discord within: "Ino is expecting you to ask her out."
Shino's sunglasses were fixated on Sakura, but now he looked up to the sign above the flower shop, which read: Yamanaka Flowers ... he took a rather windy deep breath. "I see. I suppose it would be all right for me to ask her out then."
Still staring at paper in pocket. "Yes, it would be all right."
"Mmm." Shino now wiped his hands on his shorts. "It is just one date, after all. I am just getting to know her, that's all. Nothing more ..."
His odd word selection made Sakura look up now. "What was that?"
She trailed off when she realized that he was not even talking to her now. His hands still windshield-wiping back and forth on his shorts, he was almost rambling to himself in that deadpan now: "First ... rule number one ... buy flowers ... buy flowers ... lots of flowers ... but what kind of flowers ..."
Despite it all, Sakura could not help but smile in disbelief. "Shino-san, are you ... are you nervous?!"
"Strangely enough, Sakura-san, yes, I am." Shino forced his hands to stay still by shoving them back into their pockets. "My father warned me about this, but I had no idea it would be this bad." A lick of the dry lips. "Rule number two. Always use - wait, wait, skip that one. Rule number three - "
"Shino-san, what's all this rule stuff?"
Too addled to think of a response for the situation, he fell back onto that nebulous platitude of his: "A ninja never reveals his secrets, Sakura-san."
She had to openly laugh at that one. Geez, this was the first time she had ever seen Shino-san like this; maybe there was something more to him than meets the eye - no, no, the realist in her was saying, sufficiently squashing her random contemplations. Stop trying to convince yourself that he might like you, he's just being a weirdo as usual ...
Either way, Sakura's overwhelming nature to help out a friend in obvious need was now taking over: "Look, Shino-san, there's nothing to be afraid of. Ino really does think highly of you - "
"Hey guys, what's up."
Shino and Sakura turned to see the dour-faced Shikamaru Nara walking up to them, his hands also in his pockets. Shino simply nodded in return, while Sakura said, "Hey Shikamaru, how are you?"
"Doing all right. Just dropping by to let Ino know about something ..."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, his senses picking up something intangible in the air. Did he interrupt anything just now? Hmm. Weird ... maybe it was his imagination. He shrugged it off, too lazy to carry on any sort of real conversation with these two. "Anyways, catch you guys later."
Without further ado, Shikamaru then walked into the flower shop. And Sakura turned back to the bug boy. "Shino-san, see how easy it is? Just go in there! Just go in there, and buy some flowers. Then give them to her and ask her out to ... I dunno, ask her out to a movie. Yeah, that would be nice, just ask her if she wants to go see a movie with you - "
"Movies." Shino nodded to himself as he tried to wipe his hands on his shorts, even though they were lodged deep inside his pockets. "Very well. Movies." Then he announced with the fatalistic resolve of a soldier about to jump into the middle of a chaotic firefight on a corpse-laden battlefield: "Okay, I'm going in."
And without further ado, he reached for the door to Yamanaka Flowers, his sudden action catching Outer Sakura by surprise ...
Meanwhile, Inner Sakura had been going apoplectic for five minutes strong now, popping veins from the forehead like nobody's business and tearing out hair by the handful: "What are you doing, you dumb broad?! Don't let him go just like that, you gotta at least give him a HINT! Just a little hint, nothing more, there's nothing wrong or scandalous about that! If he doesn't like you, he won't even notice the hint! But if he does like you, then he will notice, and he will think twice about - omigod, HE'S AT THE ENTRANCE! Quick, say something, do something! Stop him! Trip him! Do anything, arrrrgh, he's about to fly right into Ino-chan's web! Don't let him get away - "
She finally squeaked with the vociferousness of a field mouse plagued by strep throat: "Shino-san!"
Shino had just grasped the knob of the door leading into the flower shop, but his hand held fast as he turned back his head to glance at her from over his shoulder and out of the corner of his eye. "Yes, Sakura-san?"
Her face was a blotchy and utterly mortified red. Her ears were ablaze in searing painful pink, far more pink than her hair could ever be. Her wrung hands, meanwhile, were chilled to the bone, clammy, sweaty, fingers clumsy and nonresponsive ... she was standing huddled with such a miserable and tortured face, like an unfortunate elderly man standing out in the middle of a freezing rain, with nary a hat nor umbrella over his head. Her shoulders and arms drawn in, seemingly shrinking away into nothingness inside her clothes. Her throat working double time as it clutched and double clutched, swallowing and choking as she tried in vain to think of a way to express a hint, no, not just a hint, a word, any word, omigod, should she even be doing this, she felt so dirty and sleazy, she felt like she was betraying herself, poor Sasuke-kun, oh god, what was she doing -
And Shino-san? Shino-san! He was still standing there with that damned deadpan! Doesn't his face ever freaking move or twitch or show anything, god, he was like a robot, no, not even a robot, a robot showed more emotion than him -
With an utterly fake and cheery voice that seemed so far removed from her actual self, like that distant haunting echo which one could hear only in their dreams and nowhere else ... Sakura's mouth said entirely on its own independent impulse: "Good luck."
Aaaaagh! Noooo! That's not what she wanted to say! Before the words had even left her lips, Sakura was already fighting back the urge to wallop herself in the face for her stupidity, her cowardice, her goddamned shyness, stupid stupid stupid, she so stupid, she so stupid, oh god, why couldn't she just say it -
"Thank you, Saku - " Shino paused to raise an eyebrow at the dangerously bloody-red and madly twitching face of the anguished kuniochi. "Is there anything else you wanted to say, Sakura-san?"
Her damned mouth started flapping before she even registered what Shino had asked her: "Oh no, nothing else to say, Shino-san, ha ha, ha ha!"
The bug boy paused a moment longer at her eccentric antics. And then, without further ado, he had disappeared into the flower shop ...
Finally able to move on her own accord. Finally able to force out her own true squeak as she raised a desperate hand: "Wait! Wait, I - "
She stopped when she realized that she was alone now. Her belated plea rebounding harmlessly off the closed door of the flower shop. Hand stupidly outstretched towards emptiness for absolutely no reason at all.
She was too late.
Shikamaru was now sitting on the stool which Sakura had recently vacated, lazily propping elbows on the counter top as, with that total air of indifference which only the Naras possessed, he watched Ino fix her hair. "Geez, Ino, you're paying even more attention to your hair than usual. Going out on a date or something?"
Ino chimed, "Maybe! Hee hee! Hmm hmmm hmmmmm!" She was humming to herself again ...
"So who's the unlucky guy?"
"Haha, very funny, Shikamaru." Ino rolled blue eyes at her teammate's desert-dry sarcasm. "Why are you here anyway?"
"Asuma-sensei's leaving for a mission tomorrow, and Choji wants to treat him to dinner tonight. And I think it would be a nice gesture if all of us showed up to see him off."
Exasperated smile from Ino. "Let me guess. Choji wants to go to the all-you-can-eat barbecue place."
Knowing grin from Shikamaru. "Heh, where else?"
"Choji, Choji ..." Ino now nodded in agreement. "Well, it would be a nice gesture, but ... but it depends."
"Huh? Depends on what?"
"Well, SHIKAMARU - " Ino's voice and eyes emphatically bulged in annoyance at Shikamaru's leisurely nosiness, before returning to their usual blueness. "It depends on whether - " Her voice suddenly escalated an octave at the clang of a bell as the flower shop's front door opened, and she thrust a zealously waving hand into the air. "Hiiii, Shino-kun, hiiiiiiiii! How you doing?!"
A quiet voice from behind Shikamaru: "Hello, Ino-san. I am doing fine, how are you?"
Ino was shining so brightly, it was as if a celestial body, and not a teenage girl, was tending to the cashier duties behind the counter. "I am just doing great, thanks for asking!"
"Huh?" Shikamaru yawned as he turned his head just enough so that he could catch a glimpse of whoever was making Ino act so perky - oi? That Shino Aburame guy? Gee, he didn't know that Shino was a floral enthusiast - Shikamaru blinked when he realized that Ino had placed herself as far as possible from him, the kuniochi now standing all the way at the other end of the counter. "Hey Ino, whatcha doing - "
Ino whispered with the hiss of cobra venom: "Ssssshhhhhh! Don't talk to me right now! He might get the wrong idea!"
"Huh?"
"I said, don't talk to me!" The blue eyes flashed malevolently with killer intent. "I'll explain later!"
"Okay, whatever." Shikamaru distractedly scratched his shoulder as he sprawled out onto the counter to take a nap ...
Meanwhile, Shino had taken refuge in a corner of the flower shop, his back facing everyone as he gathered together all his courage. Deadpan on the outside. Stomach roiling on the inside. Heart pounding between the ears and jostling for position with his brain as he furiously debated with himself: "What kind of flowers would she like?"
Roses? Too obvious and hackneyed. Tulips? Those would be better, but still ... maybe daisies? Not quite, but close. Yes, she did seem like the type of girl who had more of an affinity for the sunny, fresh, and cheerful, as opposed to the blatantly sexy and romantic ...
As Shino's sunglasses panned over the rather dizzying display of the hundredfold flowers before him, he pondered over what he could say. Ask her to train? Ask her to lunch? Ask her to dinner? Hmm, Sakura-san had recommended that he use the movies line, but ... that seemed so forward and brazen of a request, he wasn't really sure if he should -
Rule number four! When in doubt, be assertive!
Shino's jaw steeled in resolve, as he nodded to himself. That's right. No more stalling. Movies it was. And as for the flowers ... he realized that he had subconsciously drifted over to a bunch of sunny yellow blossoms. And now that he thought about it, these flowers did seem more appealing than the rest. He didn't know much about flowers (he liked to read more about wildlife, not plant life), but these yellow blossoms seemed to be the type which would resonate with her personality ...
He had no idea what type of flowers these were. But being the stickler for details that he was, he had to know exactly what the heck he was buying. So he bent over to read the label. "Daffodils. Hmm." He had heard of these flowers before ...
Daffodils it was. He picked out the ones which seemed to be the brightest and healthiest, ending up with a total of five in his hand (as prescribed by Rule number one). And he turned to the cash register, where Ino was glowing in exuberance and Shikamaru was dozing in boredom ...
No more dilly dallying. It was time for the moment of truth. It was time for Rule number four.
Meanwhile, out on the street, Sakura was rallying herself around her own version of Rule number four. She had been pumping her morale up with clenched fists and inspirational cliches, to the point where she had mustered almost enough courage to go back into the shop and drop that all-important hint onto Shino-san. The kuniochi was now gnashing her teeth and raving to herself with such wild-eyed fervor, people passing by Sakura on the street were giving her strange looks and a wide berth, afraid that they were witnessing the mental breakdown of a poor girl right before their very eyes.
"Carpe diem! Carpe diem, Sakura! Seize the day! Who cares if Ino-chan makes fun of you afterwards?! You can just say that you're playing your games, too, just like Ino is! She can't make fun of you for that! The pot calling the kettle black, and all that! Yeah yeah yeah!"
Then dread gripped her heart hostage, as she wailed to herself, "Oh, but oh god, what if Shino figures out that I'm dropping a hint, but he doesn't like me, he will think I am such a sleazy two-timing tramp, and he will always look at me funny from now on, oh god oh god, that would be so embarrassing - "
No! Sakura abruptly halted her transformation into a pink-haired version of the Cowardly Lion. Who cared what Shino-san thought of her?! She should just - no, wait. Actually, she did care what Shino-san thought of her. But that wasn't the point. The point was that she had to prove to herself she could do this. No more fear. No more hesitation. She could do this!
With the recklessness of a daredevil about to jump a motorcycle over an endless row of cars ... with the recklessness of a high roller about to bet all his chips on lucky number seven ... Bold Brash Sakura was here now. She had arrived. To the fanfare of trumpets, no less. Tossing aside everything from her mind with an emphatic sweep of the arm. Puffing out her chest with the pride of a handsome rooster. Having absolutely no idea what she was going to say to Shino-san once she walked into the flower shop. But that didn't really matter, because she was sure that he would get the hint somehow, someway, hopefully.
Back ramrod straight, she now marched towards the entrance with head held high, chest full of hot air, stiff iron arms alternating with each decisive step. Still having absolutely no idea what she was going to say. But that did not matter, she would figure it out on the fly! And now, with an animal growl, she lashed out with a paw at the brass doorknob, ready to wrest it open.
The door was already opening. And before she knew it, the imposing sight of Shino-san, turquoise towering coat and all, loomed before her.
She was too late. And Bold Brash Sakura was no more, chest deflating, all air escaping with a noisy blurb. The cowardly lion was back, cringing and shying away with genuine illness bottoming out in the pits of her stomach. Unable to meet eyes with the monstrous Colossus of Rhodes before her. The quivering sea-green eyes, already beginning to overflow with the moistness of humiliation and anger at her utterly pathetic weakness ... through the wavering film of embarrassment that had washed over them, her eyes could now see a beaming Ino at Shino's side, her arms locked tightly with his -
Sakura blinked.
Ino was not holding arms with Shino. Ino was not at Shino's side. She was not even anywhere near Shino. As a matter of fact, from the periphery of Sakura's watery vision, Ino was still behind the counter and gaping with a stunned open jaw, as the door, on its well-oiled hinges, silently swung shut behind Shino - click. The door sealed away the gaping Ino, the dozing Shikamaru, and the entire flower shop. Leaving only the standing Shino, the stupefied Sakura, and a fistful of daffodils.
And for the first time ever in Shino's life. Even though he had entered puberty quite a long while ago. His voice now lilted into an embarrassing crack: "Sakura-saHAaan?"
Awkwardly out came the daffodils, almost hitting the wholly numb kuniochi flush across the face. "Do you want to go see a movie with me?"
CHAPTER ENDS
Theme song for upcoming chapter: "Island in the Sun" by Weezer
Notes: Okay, I will be the first to admit, this chapter is so ridiculously sappy and honeyed, argh! I felt super silly and ridiculous after writing this! But then I thought to myself, oh what the hell, what's wrong with a totally contrived fairy tale situation, lol ... anyways. As if you guys didn't see this coming, hehe. Poor Ino never had a chance, gee, she's always playing second fiddle to Sakura .... but a warning to the SakuShino fans. SakuShino ain't gonna be so simple, as the upcoming chapters will reveal ... btw, I have no idea what Shino's father's name is. So I just stole a name from Rurouni Kenshin, hehe ... also, some of you might wonder why I put this theme song stuff at the top of each chapter. Well, when I'm writing, certain songs help me get into the proper mood/mindset. And for this chapter, that Cake song just seemed fitting. Shino is kinda an oddball, and this song is kinda odd (yet catchy), so there we go ... and yes, this chapter took a long time to write. I am suffering from HUGE writer's block Again. Damn it.
RESPONSES TO CHAPTER 9 REVIEWS:
Tasha3: It "seems" like Sakura is getting hints of jealousy? Damn, I was trying to make it OBVIOUS that she was jealous. Without her blatantly coming out and saying, "I'M JEALOUS!", of course. Oh well ... and you're wondering when Kakashi and Sasuke will return? Well, I'll bet you a zillion dollars that they make their debut within the next two chapters ...
Xoni Newcomer: Thanks a bunch for the props, and yeah, I tried real hard to get Sakura's feelings across to the reader. Although, it actually took me relatively little time to write the second half of that chapter, I got on a huge roll and finished it in under two hours... and Shino mooning someone? It could happen!
Dark Raxiel: My Spanish is lousy, yet I actually understood most of your review (I think I did, at least). I had to look up the last sentence, though. And yeah, I focused a lot on Sakura's thoughts in the last chapter. Glad you liked it!
Shino Bee: Yeah, I liked writing the thoughts about Shino! Man, Sakura's character is fun to write ... and writing Kiba/Shino interaction is lots of fun too, I just go crazy, hehe.
Netescaper: Hehe, you were right on target when you prophecied that this would not be a ShinoIno fic. I never did intend for this fic to be ShinoIno. But I didn't want to come out and say it, because a romance story is boring if it doesn't have complications ... however, SakuShino is not going to be simple ...
ccslover: Yeah, it was lots of fun writing Ino, hehe ... gee, I have fun writing all my chars. Which is good, it helps me stay enthusiastic for this fic... you're pro-SakuShino, eh? Well, it's likely to happen!
Kerrie-Chan: You think Shino is better for her than Sasuke, huh? Well, we'll just have to see what Sakura decides in this fic! I don't want to make it too obvious yet!
Peter Kim: Patience. The stage for the fight of this story is still being set ... the fight will be a long one, at least two or three chapters. I've even already picked the songs to inpsire me for those chapters. And I'm sure action fans will like the fight ...
Istoria: Yeah, I tried to make this story somewhat believable even though I stray into total silliness sometimes. I can't help it .... and yeah, Shino is an underused char, so I tried to flesh him out in this fic ... thanx for reading!
Xelrina: LOL, ok, I guess I will continue.
Kunai: Personally, I think Ino is a fun char. But I guess you're glad that things don't work out for her in this fic, hehe... as for SakuShino, we'll see how it goes ... thanks for reading!
Milk: Can't wait for Sasuke to make his debut, eh? Well, you'll like the next chapter then!
Shiru-Chan, : Glad you like the fic! And yeah, Evil TenTen rules, I need to figure out a way to get her back into the story, lol.
YoukaiGriffndor: I don't know if I spelled your penname right, but I do know that I'm glad you like this fic!
RikuNghts: Another Shino fan! Good god, he has a ton of them! Who knew?!
uselessprincess: Lol, yeah, I think Shino could very much be like this. Bug power!
icetenshi, Calophi: Well, I updated just now! Hope you like!
Dark Nemesis 7, Dan: Thanks for reading, this fic must go on!