Now we get to see Sachi meeting Kiba and Hinata.

chapter 17

Start from scratch

"I guess that went as well as I could have hoped. I think Kaachan will calm Tousan down a bit and he won't be so against us."

"Your mother is quite strong willed."

"They aren't always like that. They only butt heads when it's something important."

"Now that I have met your first request perhaps I should take you out to lunch. Never bringing you on a date after a week of being together makes me seem rather negligent."

Sachi slipped her arm into his, wrapping both arms around his limb affectionately.

"Well, since you were gone for all but the first day I think I can forgive you for that. No need to go so far as to describe yourself as negligent," she emphasized the last word heavily as if it tasted sour on her tongue.

"I have a very forgiving girlfriend. I will endeavor to show my appreciation as well as correct my grievous mistakes."

She patted his arm, much like her mother had recently done to her father, in comfort.

"Shino-kun, you don't have to be so hard on yourself. Things happen. Some problems came to light but they were all resolved. I know you didn't intend for me to get involved in all that clan business and I'm grateful for that. The fact that you weren't there was just bad timing. Your father helped me out a lot. I think he was the whole reason we won over the council."

"He has taken a liking to you. He thinks you will be good for me."

"Well, he and my mother seem to agree. I have to admit, I'm really surprised she didn't scare you away."

"I have met people more," what exactly was the right word, "flamboyant than your mother."

Sachi laughed. "I find that hard to believe."

If only she had ever met Gai or Lee she would have understood.

"Even if she had frightened me I would have returned. Why?" he asked in his usual manner, looking down at her. "Because you would have been worth it."

Shino saw a gentle blush creep up under her glasses, enhancing the happy smile that played on her lips. He couldn't have stopped his own smile appearing on his face even if he wanted to.

"You're dipping into some pretty cheesy lines," she said through her smile.

"Perhaps you bring out a new side in me. Even so, you enjoy them."

"You're right about that." She leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked, her temple flush with his shoulder. "I can tell you smiled again. I'm getting better at this."

"You have worked hard to get where you are. You should be proud."

"I am. So, anyway," she redirected in her usual way, "where are we going to eat?"

"There is a restaurant around the corner that I am partial to. If you would prefer to go somewhere else-" she interrupted before he could finish that thought.

"I'm sure it will be fine. I'm not very picky. Too much of one food gets boring but I'll eat just about anything. Do you go to this place often?"

"Fairly often, yes. They welcome the presence of Aburame as much as the next customer."

"Wait," she interjected with indignance, "you mean to say some people don't let you into restaurants just because you are an Aburame?"

"No. We are not turned away at the door but owners find it unsavory to host insect users due to the connection we have with pests."

"They don't want to serve you because they think you will bring cockroaches in or something?" she asked disbelievingly. "It's not like you just leave insects where ever you go. Well, not usually," she added thinking back to Kai-san.

"It is not easy to escape their scrutiny. Most merely tolerate our presence. Oftentimes we can be forgotten."

Sachi had a sudden revelation. "Oh, so that's what that was about! I found Shibi-san in a restaurant once. He said he had waited over an hour and they forgot about him." Her tone turned to pity. "That's so sad. It must be so lonely. I could tell you were lonely in the bookstore the first time we met."

An eyebrow raised above his glasses. "How?" He wasn't about to deny the truth. Many of his friends had been pairing off to begin serious relationships and some, such as Naruto and Hinata, had already become engaged. And there he was in the midst of happy couples without any sort of romantic prospects. It was difficult to act as if there wasn't a heavy cloud of misery and loneliness over his head on particularly sorrowful days.

"The way you said you were shopping for a wedding gift. You sounded sad and just a bit bitter. At first, I thought you had feelings for the bride, and that's why you were so sour about the situation."

"Hinata is my team mate and I consider her a dear friend but I have never been romantically interested in her."

"Yeah, I figured I got it wrong when you started to spend so much time with me."

They arrived at the restaurant where a kind-faced middle-aged woman sat them at a front table. Shino helped Sachi to her chair, earning him another happy smile from his favorite redhead.

The waitress beamed at the pair of them, quite taken with their innocent exchange. She placed their menus before them and told them of the specials before leaving them time to decide their order.

Having frequented this particular shop often, he already knew what his order would be. As such, he spent no time perusing the menu in front of him. He instead chose to watch Sachi over the top of his glasses. It hadn't occurred to him that even with her new perceptive abilities she still couldn't read print.

Sachi fingered the menu, quietly picking as the fraying edges of the smooth plastic cover. He thought briefly of how she handled unfamiliar restaurants but in his true fashion, he chose to observe to find the answer himself.

The thought crossed his mind to offer his help with reading the menu but he dismissed the thought quickly. Sachi seemed to have no qualms about asking for help if she truly needed it. He was sure if she wanted his help she would have asked.

When the waitress returned she ordered the special and tea. Shino gave his order and the waitress left them with the assurance that their meal would be out in a timely fashion.

"It's alright if you ask, you know," Sachi stated, once again showing her astute perception. "I don't mind if it's you asking."

"You order based on what is recommended." It was not a question.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Like I said, I'm not picky when it comes to food. I'm just lucky like that. I like variety and ordering the special when I'm unfamiliar with the menu hasn't failed me yet, unless there is something pickled. I just can't stand that smell."

Shino didn't have time to respond when his name was called from a familiar voice.

"Oi! Shino!"

He didn't have to look to know that voice belonged to Kiba. He turned to see the rest of his team approaching their table at the front of the restaurant.

"Hey," Kiba began just as they arrived in front of the seated couple, "we were thinking of grabbing some food after the mission, too." Kiba turned his gaze to Sachi, sitting patiently in her chair. "Who's this?" Kiba inquired with a teasing air. "Is this who you've been skipping out of practice early to see? The one you won't tell us about?"

"It is. That's because-"

Kiba ignored him and turned to Sachi. "Hey, I'm Kiba Inuzuka. This is Akamaru and Hinata Hyuuga. We're Shino's teammates."

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm Sachi Hara."

Kiba's eyebrow quirked as he leaned his head to the side in confusion. "You're not another Aburame?" He turned back to Shino. "Do you have to find the only girl in the village that wears sunglasses when it's not sunny to take on a date? What? Is that some weird fetish?"

"Kiba, shut up," Shino growled menacingly. He didn't want his rambunctious teammate to alienate his girlfriend.

On the contrary, Sachi giggled at Kiba's remark.

"It's okay, Shino-kun. It's kind of funny when they don't notice. I must be getting good at blending in." She addressed Kiba again. "I don't know about Shino-kun's preferences with women and eyewear but mine aren't just a fashion statement. I'm blind."

Kiba's mouth opened as he let out a dull processing noise. He didn't seem to know how to respond.

"Hinata Hyuuga? Isn't that the same Hinata that Shino-kun said was getting married?"

"Yes. Naruto-kun and I are getting married soon."

"You're marrying THE Naruto Uzumaki?" she nearly shouted in surprise. "The village hero? Wow! Congratulations to you both. I've heard great things about him."

"Thank you."

With Sachi's surprise waning she could reflect on their voices more. Kiba's voice was slightly louder than normal and held an almost constant teasing air in his deep tones.

Hinata's, on the other hand, was one of the sweetest and softest voices she had ever heard. When Hinata spoke, Sachi had the strangest sensation of burying her face in a thick goose down comforter just as it came out of a warm dryer. She could tell the woman was just as warm and inviting as a nice bath in the cold winter.

She immediately counted it as one of her most favorite voices. Not that she had made a list before now. But now that she thought about it Hinata's would have to be second best, the soft lilt of her voice only beaten by Shino's rich baritone.

The waitress arrived with their food making it clear that the other two and the dog were not part of their outing.

"We should be going,"Hinata suggested.

"Yeah. Hey, wait. "He looked down to Sachi again, a mischievous smile decorating his face, bleeding such intent into his tone. "So, if your blind does that mean you hear things really well?"

"My hearing is above average, yeah. Why?"

Kiba sent a scandalous glance at Shino who frowned and glared at the Inuzuka from behind his sunglasses.

"Well, hear this." He cupped a hand to his mouth so Shino couldn't see his lips move and whispered something to her. Shino only caught his name in the exchange and could make nothing out among the other mutterings.

Sachi's face told more than the Inuzuka did. Her eyebrows shot up and into her hair, ruffling her bangs slightly and her face tinged a heavy red that seemed to emanate enough heat to fry an egg.

"Well, you two have fun," Kiba clapped Shino on the shoulder with a giddy smirk in place. He winked down at Shino. "See you guys around."

He waited until his teammates were out of earshot until he addressed Sachi who's face remained as red as her hair.

"What did Kiba say about me?"

Sachi coughed into her hand to bide her time and disguise her discomfort. "Nothing," she said unconvincingly in a higher pitch than normal.

"You shouldn't trust anything bad Kiba says. He enjoys joking with people too much to always remain truthful."

"Well, it wasn't actually bad. So..."

Shino raised an eyebrow in question as she trailed off. Though she usually paid special attention to his facial expressions and the general air around them she didn't seem to be focusing at the moment.

"So?" he inquired, hoping to lead her back to her train of thought.

"So, if it's not a bad thing should I believe it?"

"You could just allow me to confirm or deny the detail."

"No," she laughed nervously. He sighed. He had no idea what sort of game Kiba was playing by telling Sachi something obviously embarrassing about himself. But what could Kiba have said that Sachi considered good but still caused her to be embarrassed by hearing it?

"Oh, don't be so down," Sachi intoned, sensing his distress. "I'll make you a deal. Take me back to that pond tonight and I'll tell you just after our third date."

"Just after the second date and I'll take you to the festival next week."

"Alright," she readily agreed. "Just after the second date then."

Next chapter we get to see why Sachi wears her sunglasses. How are you guys enjoying things so far?

Do you want to make things a little interesting? Try to guess who will be the antagonist of the story and what they will be doing in this story (this person is an OC, but they are from a clan from the Naruto universe). The person that guesses the closest will win a free question about me or this story. We have several chapters to go before the introduction of this character, so take your time.