I had a feeling Aoi would come across in the wrong light with his first appearance. Don't judge him too harshly just yet.

Chapter 12

Water under the bridge

The following morning Sachi couldn't get her brain to shut off. Questions flew through her mind faster than she could even attempt to address them. After several moments bent over her breakfast she settled on the foremost.

"Kaachan, am I pretty?" she asked her mother.

"Well of course, dear! Why do you ask?"

"I was just curious."

"Does this have anything to do with that chakra sense your father told me about?"

"He already told you?"

"Yes, just last night. Your father mentioned this is better than your cane, yes? Is this why you are so concerned with your looks all of a sudden?"

"Yeah. Now that I can sense things I can understand a bit better about how things look."

Noriko hummed her understanding. "You are very pretty, dear. Clear face, beautiful hair just like your father. Your eyes are gorgeous. I don't know why you insist on hiding them."

"People don't like them. I can feel them staring and I hear them talk about me. There is never nice things about my eyes."

"Well, maybe they should get over it. After all, how many Hyuuga go around this village?"

This was a common disagreement between mother and daughter. Though Noriko often complimented Sachi's eyes the girl would never let anyone but her family see them.

Sachi understood that the colors of her eyes and the Hyuuga's Byakugan looked alike when her mother explained long ago that Sachi's pupils were a grayish white and her iris remained a lighter gray than the pupil. She didn't care how much her mother praised them. She knew the sight of her eyes disturbed people. Not wanting to cause any distress, she had taken to hiding them since she was young.

"What else is bothering you?" Noriko asked astutely. Her mother was the one she had inherited her own heightened emotional perception from.

Sachi sighed. "I overheard Tousan talking to Shino-san last night. He said that I was never going to be good enough for anyone from a clan like Shino-san. He said being blind was enough for them to turn me away without a second thought."

Noriko heaved her own deep sigh. When she spoke her voice was calm and reasonable.

"Sachi, I may not have been there for that conversation but your father would never say you were not good enough. He loves you, you know that."

"That's what he said, Kaachan! He said clans only want people that are strong and well-bred and that isn't me." Her tone saddened. "I really like Shino-san. He understands me. I don't want anyone to tell me we can't be together just because I'm blind. That's not fair."

"You're right. It's not. But I don't think Shino-kun is the type to be scared off so easily. If he was bothered by you being blind do you think he would still be coming to see you?"

"Well, no," she admitted.

"Maybe you should talk to Shino-kun next and see what he thinks."

Aoi chose that moment to shuffle sleepily in the kitchen, unlike the rest of his family he was not a morning person. Sachi stood and made her way to the door, not wanting to face her father at the moment she was still so upset with him.

She was sure her mother was right. Her father did love her and he wouldn't say such things about her so easily. Perhaps she had got it wrong but that was a line of questions to come back to when she wasn't so sore about the things she heard.

"I'm going to work," she announced before she shut the door behind her.

"Alright, you!" Noriko hissed to her husband, brandishing a wooden spoon threateningly in his direction. Her hardened gaze woke him up instantly, sending a chill down his spine. "If you want breakfast you had better start explaining what happened last night!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Despite her warring emotions, Sachi couldn't help but be excited and amazed at her new abilities and how much easier her job became. While she still used her hands to read the titles she no longer took so much time to search for the boxes in the store room or empty spaces on the shelves. She could move faster and more surely thanks to her new ability, not to mention a few helpful chirps from Kai-chan.

It seemed Shino had been right about the connection between herself and an offspring of Kai-san. Rather than giving yes and no chirps and general directions as her predecessor, Kai-chan seemed to be able to be more in tune with Sachi and they were learning each other more every day. Her ability to pick up on Sachi's emotions and respond appropriately was greater than Kai-san's. This morning and all of last night Kai-chan had hummed soothingly to Sachi when she was upset and continued to do her job as a seeing eye bug.

Sachi wasn't sure at this point but to her, it sounded like Kai-chan's chirps were different that just a simple yes or no. It was almost as if a slightly different pitch could indicate a different answer. Different tones of 'no' could almost sound like 'not at all' or 'almost'. It sounded like Kai-chan was attempting to establish more communication based on varying pitches. She would have to ask Shino if he didn't heed her father's advice and exited her life just as quickly as he entered.

She was unhappy that she was back to that train of thought. Kai-chan resumed her soothing hum as Sachi's mood soured. She didn't want to think about that but hearing the familiar buzzing approaching the store, she knew she could no longer avoid it. Shino was outside, waiting to walk her home like any other day. She resigned herself to dealing with her problems and boldly walked out the door, not without her sour mood still firmly in place.

He knew instantly something was wrong. Her lack of a friendly greeting was more than enough evidence. That as well as the fact that she had begun walking home as if he wasn't even there. Given what had transpired yesterday it wasn't hard to piece together the reason for her cold demeanor. He fell into step beside her.

"You heard our conversation yesterday." It was not a question.

"Yes," she answered curtly, entirely unlike herself. Normally she would have said what she heard and most likely brushed it off the instant it was spoken but it was clear that what she heard had seriously bothered her. But if she had heard his response to her father she shouldn't be this upset, should she?

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know that we can only be friends because apparently, a little blind girl is a lost cause and not suitable to be a wife to anyone, let alone a clan heir." Her temper seethed out. She was undoubtedly hurt and rightly so.

"What was the last thing you heard?" His tone remained calm in the face of her ire. He never liked to respond without gathering all the information first.

"Something about how no clan wants the possibility of blindness in their gene pool."

"I don't believe I have strung you along with false hope as your father assumes."

"I don't know what you have been doing." Her words were bitter and self-depreciating. "Apparently us being friends is too close to dating and that's bad because I'm not good enough for you!"

She obviously did not think that way. If she had thought herself inferior anger would not be her response. Rather than outright stating that she was indeed worthy, the injustice of the situation sparked a self-disparaging streak, as if to give into what she believed others thought about her.

Her anger was truly palpable in the chakra she released around her. She wasn't controlling it properly as he had taught her and instead expended large amounts, causing his kikai to shift hungrily, wanting to consume her delicious chakra. He breathed deeply and forced the kikai to remain where they belonged. It was only thanks to his continual proximity to her that he and his kikai seemed to be getting used to her chakra.

Her chakra thickened and pulsed, no doubt like her blood as it pumped furiously through her veins. Kai-chan would not be silenced in her irritated buzzing. Echoing her mistress's emotions and seething at anyone that came too close to Sachi, including Shino.

"That is not the case. Your father is right in his view of the clans as they wish to bring strong blood into them. This isn't entirely what we do though. My clan rarely objects when an outsider willingly enters the clan through marriage. You and your father are incorrect in your assumption that you would not be suitable for the Aburame clan. Why? The way you attract all types of parasitic insects to you is a trait my clan would prize highly. You draw insects to you without training and the insects themselves take to you without hesitation." He glanced down to Kai-chan; a perfect example of his point. "The fact that the kikai you have possessed have considered you a home rather than just a meal is more than enough evidence to this. You would be more than just accepted into my clan. You would be highly coveted if they knew all these things about you."

"And me being blind?"

"You have told me it was developmental rather than genetic. It would be no obstacle."

"You say I am so desirable to your clan but why haven't you asked me to date you? Am I repulsive to you in my other qualities?"

"No," he stated steely.

"You make it seem like there is hardly a reason to say no to me being a part of your clan. Yet you make no steps in doing it." Her face turned to him in surprise at a sudden revelation. She suddenly felt embarrassingly full of herself for asking such an immodest and egotistical question. She let her chakra pass over him to gauge his reaction. "Do you just not think of me like that?"

"You have to ask? Visiting you, getting to know you, spending time with you, are not acceptable precursors to dating?"

"I thought," she paused as she considered. "I thought you did that mostly to train me so I wouldn't accidentally steal more insects."

"And all the times I walked you home before count for nothing?"

"Well, I suppose when you put it that way, of course, it matters." She hummed thoughtfully. "Either way, if you asked I would say yes."

"I'm glad the matter is settled."

She frowned in confusion. "Are we dating then?"

"I would say so."

"Well, I'm glad for that, too, but now we have to explain this to my father."

It was at that very moment they reached the steps to her home and they both walked in. Sachi was worried how her father would react. They hadn't settled yesterday's events yet and now she was clearly going against what he thought was best for her. Shino, on the other hand, walked in with a calm and resolute air; confident that he could handle this situation well.

"I'm home," she announced.

When they walked in a wave of heat hit them, unlike the warm summer air they just came from. A mixed scent of sweets permeated the air so thick that would curb even the most demanding sweet tooth. Noriko was first to greet them, covered in flour and standing before a modicum of mixing bowls and varieties of bakeware.

"Sachi-chan, Shino-kun, would you like some cookies?" She gestured to a counter full of a variety of cookies over the top of her current project.

"Your still baking, Kaachan? It's like an oven in here. How long have you been baking?"

Noriko quickly waved off her concerns. "Oh, not long. I just made a few cookies." The many containers filled with cookies made it clear it was more than just a few.

Sachi sniffed the air. "And a few pies," she trailed off expectantly.

"And just one cake," Noriko finished, waving a hand in the air as if it was nothing. "Care for a piece?"

Sachi turned her head to address Shino. "Kaachan gets into a baking frenzy every few months."

"Nothing is better than homemade sweets. But anyway," she redirected much like her daughter. "Sachi-chan, your father has a few things he wanted to say to you."

"Come and sit, both of you," Aoi requested.

They sat at the table with both men at either end while Sachi sat across from Kaito as he dug into a plate of sweets.

"Sachi-chan, I'm not sure what you heard last night but I never meant to upset you. I would never consider you not good enough for anything and I'm sorry you thought that I did. As your father, I have to make sure you get what is best for you, but you have to realize that I will never consider anyone good enough for you. You could marry a saint and I would still be there to breathe down his neck." Sachi let out a small huff of laughter. "I only did what I thought was best for you and to protect you before you get hurt."

"I know, Tousan."

"It's not easy for me to realize you aren't a little girl anymore. I may not like your decisions but I can't tell you what you can and can't do anymore." Though the words were sincere they were spoken with an obvious strain on Aoi.

"I'm really glad you feel that way, Tousan." Sachi didn't think there was any better time to break the news, though it felt more like testing the waters at this point. "Because Shino-kun and I are dating now."

Shino was the only one that had the benefit of observing the collective reaction to the news. Sachi herself had an expression halfway caught between a grimace at her worry and her joy at the announcement. Kaito blinked a few times but said nothing through his mouthful of cookies. Aoi stared at his daughter, aghast at the sudden turnaround. He had only just accepted that his daughter could make her own decisions. Now that he had to come face to face with her decision his brain needed processing time.

Noriko's reaction was expected. She shouted her happiness and enveloped her daughter in a floury hug, even as Sachi remained seated at the table.

Aoi recovered and let out a choked, "what?"

"That's so wonderful! You two make such a lovely couple. And you," Noriko turned to point at her husband, "not a word. You had your chance yesterday. You have to accept their decision."

He grumbled. "I said enough yesterday." He glared pointedly at Shino.

"Does this mean Shino-san will be coming over a lot more?" Kaito asked his mother.

Noriko smiled at Shino. "You are welcome here anytime."

"Thank you," he returned politely.

Please let me know what you think. I'm sorry to say that most of this story not checked by a beta. I had one for the first few chapters but then they stopped responding to me and I was forced to continue alone.