One thing to note in this chapter is that I have put various statements within () in the text. These indicate additional info into a character which I really couldn't fit into the text properly. Note that it is NOT the authors thoughts BUT the characters thoughts itself. Kind of like J.K. Rowling did in Harry Potter. Anyways, just a warning beforehand, in case some people don't like having author but into the story (I certainly don't, all though I don't mind them much).
This chapter does not have any shounen-ai interaction in it but be patient, we are getting there. This is mostly ShikaIno. Next chapter will be Shino and Kiba interactions with Naruto (maybe). Some may get the wrong idea from how this chapter is written but be aware that it won't be ShinoKiba. I'm sorry if you were expecting that, but I'm not really a good author to write that. Nico-chan would be a good author to go to if you are looking for any KibaShino fics. Also, some reviewers were wondering if this fic would turn out to be SasuNaru. Again I'm very sorry. I like SasuNaru very much too, but I really want there to be at least one epic ShinoNaru or KibaNaru fic out there. I do however have an idea for a SasuNaru fic. Maybe I'll work on it once I get this done? But please read this fic too.
Oh yeah, I fixed some bugs and grammar mistakes in the first chapter, just to let you know.
Fynne - Thank you for pointing out my spelling mistakes in this chapter. I corrected as many as I saw, but not having a beta-reader does not help much in these situations. Thank you for your well wishes. I do hope I will be doing well in my college. This will be a very busy year for me, as it will determine whether I get my bachelor's degree or not. Sigh. School... so troublesome.
I'll stop now, and let you get on with the fic. Please, and I stress, please, Review. I love reading your responses.
Chapter 2: Uncharted Meetings
The wind's picking up. Shino moved his hand, which was shading his eyes from the sun, back down to hold the reigns of his horse in his hand. He turned his head either way to watch his entourage pull up alongside him. After making sure that all five of his companions have caught up, he pushed his horse forward and began to trot north of the Emiline Forest, towards Konoha, towards her.
He sighed. He did not want to marry this princess. He did not care for the most beautiful or the most elegant. He did not care if she was the princess of one of the most influential kingdoms present. He despised things like that. He was sure whoever this princess was, she was very selfish. After all, even he, as anti-social and reclusive as he was, had heard rumors all the way to Entonale, his homeland; about the princess of Konoha and how she always gets what she wants. How can such a princess not be spoiled and selfish? I would rather marry a peasant of the Mellows, than that stuck up princess. He thought, knowing that the Mellows was one of the darkest areas, considered the dumping grounds for the unwanted. Nothing satisfactory ever came out of the Mellows, people said, and comparing a peasant of such a place to the mighty princess would have been a huge blow to her ego, had she somehow heard the thought, that is. One would know from measuring the hearing capabilities of the ones standing next to the princess at the time. The levels would be very low.
Shino scowled at an unassuming bush a little in front of him, effectively scaring his guard captain, riding alongside him, with the intensity of the look, making him inspect the bush for any enemies. Shino kept silent, but inside he was regretting having brought Kanoki as his captain. The man is easily scared of a small insect and those are the symbol of our country. Shino frowned. At least he is quieter than the rest of my father's elite squad. Shino reflected. How the man even made it to the elite, Shino did not know.
His thoughts, however, were broken when he heard his captain give a high-pitched screech. He turned to see Kanoki point his sword shakily at the bush and the rest of his guard gathering round the obviously terrified captain. Shino tensed and made to move forward when a loud yawn coming from the bush stopped him in his trek. He removed his sword from its sheath and leaned forward readying his horse to charge and attack at his command.
When a tan hand rose out of the bush, Shino needed no thought to charge and pushed his horse towards it. The hand caught a branch of the tree beside the bush, to steady the owner, and pulled the rest of the body out.
Shino saw the messy brown hair, the red markings on the cheeks and the slit like eyes of the Prince of Canines a little too late to stop his advance. He did however manage to stop his horse and toppled off his horse...
...right over an un-expecting Kiba.
"ARGH", Kiba was as loud as ever. The shout caused the birds, resting in the surrounding trees, to flee from their hideaways. It was echoed by a loud dog which scared the captain of the Aburame guard further, making him faint, as a giant white dog pounced out of an adjoining bush and laid itself over the pile of the two princes.
"Ow, Akamaru, gerrof, you oaf." Kiba, who was at the bottom of the little dog pile being squished like a squash, yelled at his dog. But the huge canine refused its master and sat happily on Shino's back, its tongue lolling out of its mouth. "Akamaru." Kiba whined. "You and this mute slug are crushing me." He said loudly.
"...I am not mute." Shino grumbled from on top of Kiba, similarly being crushed by Akamaru's weight, and further being soaked in a cascade of dog drool. Ewch.
"But you are a slug, a heavy one at that. Get off." Kiba retorted, trying to push them both, unsuccessfully.
"I can't unless you do something about this big monstrosity using my back as its chair." Shino shot back.
Kiba mumbled something under his breath, so uncharacteristically low that it completely missed Shino's ears. "What?" He grumbled.
"He's not listening to me, alright?" Kiba shouted, now trying to blast Shino's ear drums with his voice. "He's teasing both of us."
"Kiba." Shino explained with as much patience as he could muster in this situation, what with a lion-sized dog sitting on top of him, his captain unconscious, his guard too scared to move let alone help their prince, and a loud mouth idiot right below him shouting in his ear, "He. Is. Your. Dog." Shino enunciated each word slowly, making sure Kiba heard him properly. "You're telling me, you can't even control your beast of a dog? And you call yourself the Prince of Canines?" Shino mocked in a tight voice.
"Well, what about those wimps you call your guard? Why can't they help us?" Kiba retorted, frustrated.
Shino sighed, "I have to agree with you on that assessment of my companions." He admitted grudgingly.
"Akamaru…" Kiba said in a pained voice, trying to get some sympathy from his best-friend. The dog finally relented on the two and got off. Of course, as most people know, lying in the same position for a long time is not a good thing on the muscles.
"…Why are you not getting off, Shino?" Kiba growled. Shino raised his head from Kiba's arm to look at his face and said in a pained, slow voice:
"My back fell asleep."
Whatever avian creatures were left standing after the initial outburst, were instantly driven away as the clearing exploded with the shouts of the Canine Prince for a second time.
"There was nothing regarding this in the job description, you know."
Naruto was not finding his current wardrobe or his current companion very helpful. He was dressed in a tight bodice and a flowing blue summer gown that reached his ankles but left his shoulders open for view. His head was covered by a scarf of the same color as his eyes, with a fringe of his golden hair falling into his eyes. His mouth was painted red (which he was regretting not having put off as it kept getting in his mouth whenever he wet his lips, giving him a very weird taste) and the permanent scars on his cheeks (he had no idea where they came from; they were just always there) were hidden by a coat of some powder that kept making him sneeze. He wanted to get out; the dress, the accessories, the room, and, of course, the company were all getting on his nerves.
"Stop moving around so much, this kohl would be smeared all over your face. And stop complaining too. It is unbecoming of a princess." Chouji stated calmly. Having faced Princess Ino's tantrums for years, he knew how to handle temperamental wards. Even if they were the same age, their mindsets were on a completely different level (as well their maturity level, in his opinion.)
"I am not a princess." Naruto said angrily, backing away from Chouji's hands, and setting his façade in a scowl.
"For the next few weeks you are." Chouji replied sternly. And then, just to mock him, he added, smirking: "Princess Ino."
Naruto bristled. "Cut it, Chouji." He sighed and groaned sorrowfully, "How did I ever get conned into this?" He put his head into his hands in a manner very similar to the princess' days before – as if he was a victim of a disaster of volcanic magnitude.
"You know Ino, Naruto." Chouji said lightly, amused at his friend's state.
"Yeah, yeah. That spoiled brat gets away with all sorts of murder on us innocents in her service." Naruto mumbled, removing his head away from his hands.
Chouji looked intently at the blonde, making Naruto squirm, "Innocent, huh? Who was the one who perfumed the kitchen with cattle dung? Or set the horses in the stable on poor old Inoki?" Chouji said pointedly, "The guy could not even walk properly to save himself due to the fright. If the stable hands were not able to distract those crazed horses, then Inoki's ghost would have been haunting you right now."
Laughing nervously, Naruto put a hand behind his head and said, "He is haunting me, even alive. Have you seen his wrinkles? They would even scare the dead. Besides, they deserved it. The kitchen hands refused me my precious ramen and the old fart threw me out of the garden before I even stepped on the grass." Naruto finished with a huff, and turned facing the opposite wall.
Chouji sighed. He had been working with Naruto for a long time now and knew that the reason given was incomplete. He also knew Naruto as being very tight-lipped in these situations. He tried anyway, "Naruto, that's not the real reason, is it?"
"Drop it, Chouji. I heard the lecture a million times. I don't need to add one more to the sum." Naruto said angrily.
"But -", Chouji started, only to be cut off by Naruto standing up from his seat and moving towards the balcony, his every step radiating silent fury.
"Whatever you say won't change me in others' eyes. Nor would it make me accept their treatment towards me. You know that." Naruto said quietly, looking at the serene landscape in the garden outside, painted under the afternoon sun.
"My parents were bandits, Chouji. I can't change that fact. And I can't change what they say about my parents either. Mostly because most of the stuff they say might be true. I don't know. I never knew them." Naruto slowly approached the stone railing of the balcony and leaned against it, looking at the cheerful world with sad cerulean eyes.
"Naruto…" Chouji came up to stand beside Naruto and looked at the blond, whom he had come to consider as a friend. He knew that Naruto had been frequently hurt by those biased people's behavior, but this was the first time he had actually seen an indication of how much damage they did on the blonde's face.
But when Naruto turned, he did not have the face of a person hurt by the world. He did not have the face of someone who has given up on humanity. On the contrary, Naruto's face radiated a determination seen only in heroes out to conquer wars and win glory for their kingdoms. Naruto's face was set, his indescribable blue eyes narrowed and shining, his uncovered golden hair reflecting the sunlight and the shadows created by their fringe, fell in Naruto's eyes, making them fiercer than a lion's whose territory had been invaded.
"I may not be able to change what they think of my parents." Naruto iterated softly, his brows furrowing on his forehead and a smirk growing on his painted lips, giving him a devilish air, "But you mark my words, Chouji, I WILL change what they think of ME. I'll MAKE them acknowledge me."
When Naruto turned back to resume his view of the garden, Chouji felt as if a spell, that had him enthralled into immobility, had been broken. He took a big gulp of air and averted his eyes to watch the birds flying in the wide blue sky.
I know you will, Naruto. I'm sure of it. Chouji thought, his spirits now lifted at hearing the blonde's unyielding determination. He turned back to the blonde and tugged the sleeve of the long gown, motioning the other to come back inside.
"Come on, we need to finish dressing you up. The princes will be arriving in the evening or by tomorrow morning and you need to be ready." Chouji said, now leading Naruto back to his seat in front of the vanity.
"Oh alright! I suppose I can rescue that brat's spoiled behind from this mess. Honestly, making us do her dirty work." Naruto grumbled, resuming his place reluctantly. He looked around as if he had just noticed something missing and asked in a confused voice:
"Hey, where is Ino, anyway?"
"Where am I?"
The Princess of Konoha was finding it very hard to runaway. In fact, she had to scale the palace walls; pass the appointed guards unnoticed; skip through the city streets as a common beggar (someone even put a penny in her cup. The nerve!); enter the northern forest; scout the likely routes to her beloved Sasuke-kun and somehow avoid the hungry animals which Chouji had conveniently left out in his explanations.
She had just had a narrow escape from this huge, ugly boar that had been looking at her with very weird eyes, when she found herself treading unfamiliar paths.
She checked the crudely hand drawn maps again to make sure of her location and came to the conclusion that she was honest to goodness…lost.
"I am so going to kill Chouji, once I get back. What kind of maps are these? And why didn't he warn me about those crazy animals? Was he trying to kill me?" Ino ranted, thrusting aside a long thin branch away from her face. She continued to grumble as she stepped forward and had to duck furiously when the same branch bounced back, narrowly missing her head by a few seconds.
"Argh! Is everything in this damn place, trying to kill me somehow?" Ino yelled, completely ignoring the tiny reasonable voice in her head that said:
'STOP. YOU ARE GIVING OUR LOCATION AWAY TO ALL THOSE WHO WON'T THINK TWICE BEFORE TAKING A BITE OUT OF YOU. LITERALY.'
"Keep it down will ya? I'm trying to sleep here." A bored voice interrupted her shouting (quiet justified if you ask Ino). She looked around trying to locate the source but found nothing that could have been connected to the detached, drawling voice.
However Ino was a princess who had been living all her life in a castle that had been rumored for centuries to have been haunted by the ghosts of her ancestors (who only come out at new moon nights, and only if you call their names three times, but that's not the point) and would not be scared so easily. She turned in a full circle, keeping close attention to details and loudly called out: "Who the heck are you?"
A long drawn sigh could be heard coming from, it seems, all directions. Ino tried to pinpoint the location but was failing miserably.
"Above you." The words were drawled out slowly. Ino looked up and found two sharp brown eyes surveying her from the tree that had been trying to decapitate her just minutes ago.
"You!" Ino yelled standing up straight, her hands on her hips, a scowl set firmly on her face. "You come down this instant. What atrocious behavior in the presence of a lady! How unpleasant!" Ino said huffily, habitually using her authority, having forgotten her runaway status.
"Some lady." The guy snorted. He came a little more out the tree's shade and Ino could now see a long boring face (compared to her Sasuke-kun, every guy was boring), dark brown hair pulled up in a high, tight pony tail and a long body covered in peasant's garments. She realized that she was still covered in the tattered beggar robes that Chouji had arranged on her command and quickly pulled them off, revealing a peasant woman's travel gown and a baggage pouch she had hung on her shoulder. She stuffed the robes into her pouch messily and looked up again to see the guy staring at her with one thin eyebrow raised. She flushed and murmured an irritated 'What?'
Before the guy could reply, the ground began to shake slightly and a loud rumble began to reverberate within the (till now) silent forest. The two occupants of the clearing looked back at the opening of trees from whence Ino had stepped into the clearing and saw the cause of the sudden disturbance.
A stampede of ugly, hungry looking boars was headed their way. Each being a hefty size caused minor vibrations within the earth, making the ground shake.
Ino gaped in horror at the arriving animals, certain that her death was signed and the boars were a form of the Grim Reaper when she became aware of a strong arm around her waist and a sudden pull upwards towards the tree where the guy was sitting. She had been pulled up from the ground by the boring guy, and she sat stunned on the branch looking down at the boars passing beneath her, completely ignoring the getaway of their prey in favor of a rabbit that had just passed up ahead.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Shikamaru was now regretting his decision to leave his house. He honestly believed that arguing with his old man might have been better than having to deal with the bossy female he was sitting next to. She reminded him of his mother too much. It was scary.
He had entered the Konoha forest near his village in hopes of hiding there for two whole months and then going back to his father. It had all started out well enough. He slept all day long and then hunted for an hour or so before he found edible berries or meat. He was already enjoying his life in the forest, before she showed up.
The minute his sleep had been interrupted by her loud screeching, he knew that it would have been better staying home. People tend to glance over him, but he had a sharp mind and he knew it.
As the stampede passed the two, sitting in a tree, Shikamaru kept an eye on his companion, observing and analyzing her. From her looks she looked to be from high class. Pale smooth skin was hard to find in the rough streets of the city or village, where the commoners were constant victims of the hard sun and harsh life.
Her long blonde hair was messy and had twigs, leaves and dirt mixed in them, dulling the shine in the strands but still retaining a dignified air. Her speech had been aristocratic and he was sure that it sounded authoritative as well, as if she was used to addressing people that way.
Shikamaru snorted when his mind finally came to a conclusion that the girl sitting next to him was a runaway from the high society. The baggage pouch on her back, the various clothes being used as disguises, unfamiliarity with the roads all pointed to her hiding from detection. She would not be able to survive in this world. Oh well, whatever, not my business anyway.
When the stampede had passed completely through the clearing, and the silence had been restored finally, Shikamaru leaned back in his original position and tried to go back to sleep.
That was before he was interrupted by a shocked voice coming from his right, exclaiming: "You saved me!"
Don't get him wrong, but Shikamaru never wanted to be a hero. He had nothing against heroes. In fact, he was very happy to let someone else get the role. He, on the other hand, had always wanted an average life. He had it all planned. He would get a decent job in the village (or maybe continue being a shepherd), find a nice girl (not too pretty, not too ugly), have two kids with her (first one's a girl, then a boy), retire once they were settled down, relax all day playing chess with the other oldies, and then die of old age before his wife. He wanted his life to be like that. No complications, no journeys and definitely no blonde runaways claiming him to be their hero.
"Look I don't care about being a hero or whatever, just leave me in peace. I want to sleep." Shikamaru told the girl tiredly, and settled back for his snooze.
"What? You idiot. I never said you were my hero. So what if you saved me? Doesn't make you a hero like Sasuke-kun." The girl shot back at him angrily.
Sasuke-kun? Ah…so that's why she ran away. Che. Love. So troublesome. Shikamaru thought.
Without opening his eyes, he said: "Why don't you go to your Sasuke-kun then and leave me alone." He shifted and cracked open one eye to discreetly watch the girl's reaction.
"I would if I knew how to get out of this God-awful maze." The girl sighed remembering why she wound up in the clearing in the first place, and then looked up as if she had a brilliant idea. She turned to stare at Shikamaru. Her blue eyes were so intense in her watchfulness that Shikamaru grew restless and finally burst with a low 'What?'
"You know how to get out of this forest." She stated. It was not a question.
"Yeah and?" Shikamaru didn't see the point in lying.
"Do you know how to get to Regalen?" She asked, still watching him predatorily.
"Um…I reckon so." He said slowly.
"What's your name?" She asked cheerfully.
This threw him off completely, Women are scary. Them and their mood swings. "Shikamaru. I'm Nara Shikamaru." He said after a brief pause to contemplate the sanity, or possible lack, of the blonde in front of him.
"Well, Nara Shikamaru, I'm Yamanaka Ino and it's very nice to meet you, because we will be traveling together until you take me to Regalen safely." She answered happily.
Women are too troublesome to argue with.
The bark could have been heard miles off but that's how Kanaedia canines announce their victory in the hunt.
"…Shut that mutt of yours, will you Kiba? It's going to drive all the forest bandits in Emiline down upon us." Shino mumbled to Kiba, his voice as low as ever.
"Don't call him that, Shino. So what if the bandits come? Are you too chicken to fight them?" Kiba sneered at the other prince riding beside him. He had never understood Shino. They had been rivals since they were very young. They had played together, ate together and hunted together too. But throughout it all they had never got along as best friends do. They constantly argued - Kiba more aggressively than Shino, admittedly – and they always tried to best the other. You couldn't call them true best friends, no matter how close to the definition of it them may come. However, you couldn't call them true rivals as well; they were far from really hating each other. It's just that they never understood each other. Maybe it was their upbringing that made them so different from each other.
Kiba continued to observe the taller man with narrowed eyes. Shino had always been weird. Too quite. Too reclusive. Kiba used to teasingly call him Hermit when they were young. Shino was just too much of an anti-social.
So, he really didn't understand why Shino was making this boring trip all the way north for some princess. If he knew Shino well (and he would definitely claim insanity if that statement ever come true), the guy absolutely detested high-class stuck ups. And a princess would be quite a spoiled one at that. Kiba thought grumpily, now finding the idea of being tied down to a demanding and complaining wife very unappealing.
He looked back at Shino and remembered his brother's words: "he's going with the intent of marrying this princess." She must be very different from normal princesses to have caught Shino's eye. Maybe the princess was not all bad?
Nevertheless, Kiba didn't intend to lose this game they had been playing since they were very young. He was not about to let go of his side of the rope in this Tug-O-War between them so easily. If Shino wanted to woo this princess, Kiba would not make it easy for him. What's the point of life if you don't have some challenges in it, eh?
A horn blowing up ahead of them announced the arrival of the messenger they had sent before them in Konoha. Judging by the time it took the messenger to get there, there was still a good three hour journey ahead of them. Kiba searched the position of the sun and found that they would be in Konoha right before it set.
He held the reigns in his hands tightly and kicked the horse sharply, pushing it forward at a faster trot. Shino followed his example and soon they were racing towards their destination once again involved in their competition of besting the other.
Kiba laughed uproariously and pushed ahead of Shino's palomino. He was sure to win this contest.
And I'll win the other too. Let's go see this princess of Konoha, Princess Ino.
----To be continued----