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Chapter 2

Curiosity Killed the Cat...

A week had passed before Shino saw the blind woman again.

He had spent the afternoon perusing the street shops for a suitable gift for Naruto and Hinata's wedding. Though he hardly showed it, he was happy for his friends to have found love in each other. He knew how long Hinata had pined for the blond reject from their academy days. Long years had passed as the girl watched him from a distance and now her love and devotion was finally returned in full. Shino knew they would be very happy together. If any could stand the test of time, it was those two.

He had been checking nearly every store for inspiration or the gift itself if he was lucky. Though he fancied himself a rather intelligent man, he had no idea what sort of gift to give his long time friends to celebrate their union.

Had it been a promotion or other work-related affair, a simple tool or useful item would have worked just fine, but he was more than happy for the challenge if it meant the war was over and people were getting back to their lives.

The next shop on the street was a bookstore. Though he thought his prospects for finding a suitable gift unlikely in this store his options were quickly dwindling.

He proceeded inside where the comforting smell of tangy ink and fresh paper tickled his nose pleasantly. He proceeded down a few rows, perusing the titles and sections when his kikai stirred longingly. It seemed there was something in the area that interested them and it certainly wasn't the books.

He commanded them to calm and remain inside his body before they began escaping of their own free will. Curiously, he searched for what they had been so interested in. Few things excited the beetles, because generally, eating chakra was their only pleasure. From what they were telling him, they could sense a chakra more appealing than his own and they begged their master to feed upon it.

He looked around attempting to pinpoint the origin of their desire.

One employee stood at the counter checking out a customer's order- neither of them. One customer paged through a book in the nonfiction section- they were also a no.

One employee in the corner of the shop stacked books upon the shelves. The kikai stirred hopefully. He released some chakra to feed the insects which they ate mournfully; discontent when there was such a delicious alternative source so close.

He peered at the woman down the aisle, not bothering to dip into his shinobi skills in a civilian shop to observe the woman. Her skin was a healthy tan as if she spent time in the sun last summer and had not lost the color over the winter months. Short, dark red hair laid flat over her head, covering the arms of her sunglasses behind her ears.

Shino wondered at her use of sunglasses indoors. As a shinobi, he was permitted nearly any article of clothing he desired but most civilian occupations did not allow for such unrestricted attire. The rest of her ensemble was a plain uniform of a tan shirt and pants, black shoes as well as a white apron, as seen with most shop employees.

Her behavior was interesting. Rather than look at the books she handled, she ran a finger across the words on the spine and proceeded to trail a hand across the shelf to find the books it matched. When she reached down to the box at her feet he could see the profile of her face, and her dark sunglasses that covered her eyes even from the side. Her facial features were gentle and soft, such as her chin that rounded delicately under pale pink lips. The nose her sunglasses rested upon was straight, neither wide nor narrow in its shape, and not obscenely pointed at the end.

Upon seeing her visage, he recognized her as the blind woman from last week.

She was slight in frame and not overly curvaceous, this being something he had not had the opportunity to notice when she was covered in her winter wear. When she stood she must have been about a head shorter than Shino, making her height rather average compared to his large stature.

The woman paused strangely as she bent over the box, and her hand hovered just above the next row of books. She didn't move a muscle except to turn her head slightly in his direction.

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Sachi had been stacking books like any other day. Many people questioned a blind woman working in a bookstore, but it was impossible to respond to all of their comments. She had long since settled for ignoring them as if she couldn't hear them.

The most common question she was asked by friends and coworkers as she worked in the bookstore was, 'How do you know which book is which if you can't read?' She had gone through at least a dozen explanations about how most paperbacks were usually rough in the background while the letters were smooth and dust covers were usually engraved. She didn't find their questions to be rude. She didn't mind indulging someone's curiosity, but some didn't seem to bother trying to come up with their own answer before they so thoughtlessly questioned her abilities.

Sachi had been born blind, so she knew no other way of life. While some people pitied her, they just didn't understand that she didn't find it to be a burden. She simply did things differently than everyone else.

The way she saw it, most people had to learn to live without things that others took for granted. The elderly lost their hearing, vitality, and vision and it was all considered normal. Yet she, who had always considered life without sight as normality, was an oddity.

Her lack of sight was deemed as a handicap, and "normal" people didn't seem to understand that her other senses and skills more than made up for her blindness. Her hearing was what she depended on most. Anything out of the range of her touch was subjected to her impeccable sense of hearing.

She paused in stacking the books, her ears had called attention to an incessant buzzing like bees just down the aisle. The sound came out of nowhere just like a week ago on the street. She stood up, ignoring the box at her feet and listened more intently. She canted her head slightly to receive the sound better. It was odd.

The sound held different tones and intensities just like bees. But a nest couldn't just have plunked down right in the middle of a bookstore.

The sound seemed to vibrate the air around it. If she went closer she might have been able to feel it.

She wasn't sure how she knew, but the sound seemed to take the shape of a human. That was to say it did not encompass the whole room but only a human sized area, as if the buzzing came from inside a person and not around it. It was only obvious to her trained ear and based on the vibrations in the air she could roughly tell where sound and body met air. She could even tell that the person's face seemed to be turned in her direction and they were not looking away.

This was certainly strange.

She could hear the general direction of objects and people from the sounds they generated, but this was a first where her hearing also seemed to appeal to her sense of touch. It was almost like she could feel where this person was. She grew intensely curious at the new sensation, and turned her body to address the person.

"You know, it's rude to stare," she commented.

It seemed Shino was caught. He could only guess she had heard him, but he had no idea how she had known where he was looking.

"Do you need help finding anything?" she asked as he closed the distance between them.

Shino wasn't about to admit his reason for staring was his curiosity. He settled for a half truth.

"I was looking for a wedding present."

"'How to' books are useful as well as cookbooks for that kind of thing. Actually," she pointed to the aisle to his immediate left, "down this aisle is a four volume set of cookbooks by L.T. Hota. They are organized by main ingredient and they are one of our best sellers."

"Thank you."

"Hey," she interjected before he could move a muscle. "You sound familiar. Correct me if I am wrong but aren't you the same man I asked about a bee hive last week?"

"Yes."

"I thought so. Why does it sound like you buzz?" She paused briefly before her words rushed out faster as if she was trying to correct a faux pas. "Uh-I don't mean to be rude. I'm just curious."

"You hear insects," he stated plainly.

"Ah-ha! I knew it was something like that. Bugs huh? That's interesting." She hummed in satisfaction. "Anyway, you should take a look at those cookbooks. They just might be what you are looking for."

Shino left the strange and curious woman to her books. He flipped through the cookbooks she had suggested and he had been satisfied in his inspection, so he purchased the books from a friendly cashier and left. It seemed the woman he spoke with had just finished her shift as she was pulling on a hat and scarf just before walking out the door in front of him. When they both had their feet on the street a child came rushing past knocking into her. The child's mother rushed after her son, panting an apology without looking away from the small figure in the distance.

The blind woman managed to keep her footing but it came at the loss of the cane in her hand. It flew into the air where Shino caught it easily.

"Here," he said, holding out the cane to her.

"So we meet again." She smiled enjoying the sound of his deep voice. He placed the cane in her outstretched hand. "Thank you. Did you end up buying those cookbooks?"

"Yes. They should make an excellent gift. Thank you for your recommendation."

"I'm glad I could help," she said with a polite smile.

"How did you know I was looking at you in the store?" Try as he might, he couldn't fathom the answer to his question.

"It's the buzzing. It makes it more obvious where you are. I'm Sachi Hara, by the way." She held her hand out and he shook it.

"Shino Aburame." At this close proximity to her, he noticed she smelled pleasantly of vanilla and fresh paper. His kikai stirred excitedly as their hands met and he let go quickly.

"It's nice to properly meet you. You know, if you like to watch me so much, you could just walk me home instead." The small smirk her face held increased the teasing tone of her voice.

"I didn't mean to stare," he apologized.

"It's alright. I do need to get home. You are welcome to walk with me, or we could say goodbye."

She seemed very forward to Shino and his curiosity could only increase. He nodded and quickly realized she needed a verbal answer.

"I'll walk with you." They fell into step next to each other, he with one hand in his pocket and the other carrying his new purchase and her with her cane in her right hand, swishing it along the ground. Only a few seconds of silence passed before she spoke again.

"Thanks for walking with me. Sometimes the walk home gets a bit boring. You must be a shinobi," she stated with confidence.

"What gave it away?"

"Well there is the insects you must use, but it was mainly your hands and feet."

"What about them?" he asked curiously, interested to hear how perceptive she was.

"Your hands have calluses so you must work with them a lot, and you are very quiet when you walk."

"That is very observant."

"Well, I have to be. Hearing and touching are the main ways I take in information. Everyone seems surprised when they find out how much I see without seeing." Her tone became somewhat regretful and apologetic. "I know it bothers people when I point out things about them, sorry."

"It's not a problem. Why? I don't find it bothersome."

"So, how old are you, Shino-san?"

"18."

"Me too," she replied in a cheery tone. "I was born blind if you were wondering. Most people are curious, but they make it seem like taboo when they never ask. I know it's a bit rude for me to be doing all the talking but you are so quiet I thought you were hung up on the question."

"I have no problems listening or talking when the need arises. I was not silent to simply avoid a question."

"I guess you are just one of those quiet guys, huh?" Her cane tapped twice on the front steps to a house and she stopped. "Well, this is me. Thanks for walking with me," she finished brightly.

"Thank you again for recommending a gift."

"It-" She stopped speaking as her head tilted slightly towards the house. She sighed tiredly, her shoulders drooping slightly. "Sorry for what's about to happen."

Shino barely had a moment to question her statement before the door to her home was thrown open, revealing a short older woman with brown hair in a bun.

"Sachi-chan, have you brought home a man?" her excited voice rang loudly through the street. Sachi winced.

"No, Kaachan, just a customer thanking me for a recommendation."

It seemed Sachi's mother wouldn't be dissuaded so easily by her daughter's insistent tone.

"Such a kind and handsome young man for walking my little Sachi-chan home," she beamed. "Would you like to come in for tea?"

Shino's eyebrow quirked slightly. He didn't see how his looks had anything to do with how he conducted himself.

"Shino-san has to get home to wrap a gift. Isn't that right?" She stressed her last sentence and he got the feeling this was more for his benefit than her own.

"Yes," he replied plainly. Sachi's mother seemed very put out by his answer. She looked away wistfully with a forlorn hand on her cheek.

"Oh, what a shame." In an instant, her wistfulness disappeared to be replaced with a cheerful manner. "I'll leave you two alone to say goodbye then."

The front door closed and Sachi sighed.

"Sorry. Kaachan's favorite pass time is to embarrass her children."

"That seems the case with many parents."

"She takes it to extremes. Anyway, I hope to see you around. Maybe I'll see you in the bookstore again someday." Her voice was hopeful and he didn't miss her hint.

"Maybe," he said, noncommittally as they parted.

Sachi was a curious character to Shino. Her pleasing scent, as well as his kikai's interest in her chakra, made him desire to flock to her like a moth to a flame. He had never encountered anyone his kikai desired so much, that they would be willing to disobey their master just to taste another's chakra.

She had quite a curious personality as well. Her way of assuming what others may be thinking was different and while she apologized for the rudeness of it, she obviously couldn't break the habit. She was definitely interesting and both his kikai, and his curiosity urged him to seek her out.

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