Well, that was it.
I got a phone call this morning and it was a very interesting phone call indeed.
It was news to all the Aburames that the most recent leader of the clan tragically died in an accident that none of us wish to speak of.
Because he died without proclaiming the next leader, it was a big dispute over who would be the next leader.
There were many qualified Aburames and all of them saw themselves most fit for the job.
Naturally, I saw myself most fit.
Most other Aburames would probably tell you the same thing. That they were most fit for the job, of course. But I knew that I was the most fit so they could think whatever they liked.
I think that maybe even Tsuma thought that I was most fit for the job.
In fact, it was her that suggested I do it.
"Well, the former Aburame clan leader passed away." I said to her one day when there was nothing else to talk about.
"Oh." Said Tsuma. "How do you guys do it? His son will take over?"
"No." I replied. "Normally, the former leader decides on who will take his place but he didn't designate anyone."
"I see." Said Tsuma. "So what now?"
"We nominate ourselves and then there's a vote." I answered.
She didn't say anything for a long while.
"What?" I said finally.
"You should nominate yourself." She said.
And she left it at that.
We had to nominate ourselves in order to potentially be leader. The Aburames don't believe in forcing someone to do something they truly have no desire to do.
I nominated myself at the last meeting and a group of officials started making their decision.
Just as they were going to announce the winner, the announcer mysteriously died so we had to postpone the announcement.
When I say 'postpone', I really mean cancel it. Rather than making another meeting to announce the leader, the new leader was simply telephoned and informed of the decision.
Then everyone else was sent a letter. It was that simple. I was that Aburame who got the phone call. I hung up the phone and walked over to where Tsuma was setting up for dinner.
"I'm the head of the Aburame Clan now." I told her.
I hate the Aburames.
"I hate the Aburames." She said, following exactly what I predicted.
"You should stop being so predictable." I told her.
Just as she was about the respond, the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it." She said.
As she walked off, I stood in the middle of the room.
Now what?
When I was a child, I didn't even know that there WAS a clan leader.
I suppose I had to tell my father. After all, I never even told him that I was nominating myself. In fact, now that I think about it, I haven't really seen him for a while.
Tsuma's conversation with our visitor distracted me from my current thoughts of my father.
"What are you doing here again?" I heard Tsuma ask as she opened the door.
"Just here to visit my good pal Shino." I heard Kiba's voice.
Why is he here THIS time?
"Shino hates you." Tsuma told Kiba.
I think Kiba is wise to Tsuma too.
After all, he never let Tsuma's unconditional and vocal hatred towards him affect him in any way whatsoever.
"No he doesn't." Kiba said. "Shino's my best buddy!"
Should I show myself or keep Kiba in the dark forever?
I finally gave in and walked around the corner.
"Don't try and hide, Shino!" Kiba yelled just as I walked out.
Thanks for the greeting, Kiba.
"Hide, Kiba?" I asked, as I walked over.
Tsuma leaned over to me.
"Shino, I hate him." She said, pointing discreetly at Kiba. She didn't need to hide the fact that she was pointing at him because it was pretty obvious who she was talking about.
Shino walked into my house uninvited and closed the door.
How long did he plan on staying?
I hoped it wasn't as long as LAST time. Last time he had stayed for… almost twenty minutes. But still, even if Kiba's presence annoyed Tsuma that much, she could at least be a little nicer to him.
"If you hate him so much, why do you hang out with him?" Tsuma asked me suddenly.
"I don't hang out with him." I told her. I didn't add the 'willingly' part.
"You were the best man at his wedding." She told me.
"And I don't really hate him either." I said.
"Are you sure?" she asked me, looking surprised.
"I tolerate him." I told her.
"I wouldn't be able to." She said.
"I guess I've gotten used to him." I told her. "Ten years numbs you to him."
"I hate Kiba." She clarified just in case I didn't know. Which I did.
"Guess what, Shino?" Kiba asked with a big smile on his face.
I waited.
And waited.
But he didn't tell me.
"Guess what, Shino." He said again.
I hope he didn't actually expect me to guess.
"What?" Tsuma said.
"Are you Shino?" Kiba said.
I know Kiba didn't hate Tsuma.
He's just weird that way.
Tsuma crossed her arms and turned toward me. "I hate you guys."
"Third time!" Kiba said, holding three fingers up in my face. "Guess what, Shino?"
Maybe I'll humor him. "What?"
"Aren't you going to guess?"
Now he should know me better than that. "No."
Kiba waited a moment. He was going to make me guess.
Just when I was about to glare at him intensely, he put his hands on his hips.
"I got the job!" he said.
Okay. Since when was Kiba even applying for a job? Did he ever tell me that he was applying for a job? He might have told me when he was just babbling and I accidentally let my mind wander, but if he was this excited about it, I doubt he could have told me and then not elaborated extensively about it to make it memorable.
"What job?"
"I figured you'd ask that!" Kiba said. Then why did you say it? "Remember Iruka?"
I nodded.
I hope he doesn't work for Iruka.
"Well, now I'm him!" he said.
What?
"Not LITERALLY Shino." Kiba said.
I knew he didn't mean it literally. I just didn't know what he meant by he WAS him. "I know that." I said just so he didn't think I was stupid.
Maybe I did remember him saying something about it.
"Well, Shino." Kiba said with a sigh as he sat down. "I've decided to do it!"
"Do what?" I asked.
"I've decided to apply for the teaching job that opened up at the academy."
"Why?" I said, puzzled as to why anyone would ever do that.
"Because I know I could do better than all those other guys." Kiba said, stretching as he leaned back in his chair.
"Don't lean back in that chair." I said. "It's new, and Tsuma will kill me if it breaks."
"I bet you thought it would never happen!" Kiba said as he invaded my personal space, making me jolt back to realty. Perhaps I had missed a bit of what he had said, but maybe I didn't. Either way, I still would have had the same response.
I didn't think it would happen. But it's not like I thought it WOULDN'T happen either. I never thought about it. The idea of Kiba 'being Iruka' just never crossed my mind. Ever.
"That's true." I told him.
"Such little faith!" Kiba laughed. His eyes wandered over to Tsuma who was glaring at him.
She was probably suppressing the urge to inform me of her hatred toward him.
Why she was suppressing the urge, I couldn't tell you. But I guess she figured her point was conveyed well enough after the first four times she told him after he entered.
"Well, time to go!" Kiba said as he opened the door up and left. Then, speaking through the closed door, he said, "Bye Shino!"
I started walking away from the door but then it opened back up.
"Bye Shino!" Kiba said as he closed the door again.
Was he going to keep doing that until he got a response?
Well, I wasn't going to on only the SECOND time. He'd have to do it at LEAST three times before I would stoop down to his little games.
But he didn't. And I was relieved.
Tsuma stared at the door for longer than I did. Finally, she looked at me. "You know what?"
"You hate him?"
"Yeah. I really do hate him."
"Is that supposed to be news to me?"
"No." said Tsuma. "I thought you KNEW I hated him."
"I do." I said.
"You hate him too?" Tsuma said, looking surprised.
"No, I knew you hated him." I said.
Hate Kiba? Dislike him, maybe. But not hate him.
Actually, I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I disliked him. I was just annoyed by him just because we were such different people and for some reason, he felt as though we NEEDED to be best friends.
I didn't really have any other friends except for him, and it was all very strange to me.
For him, on the other hand, it seemed natural.
I guess for some people, friendships come easily.
But not for me.