Author's note:
Hey, people, What's up? Well, here's a new chapter of "Losing control"-- hope you like it.
Disclaimer: I need a new, fun disclaimer. Anyway… I don't own Naruto, or anything related. I may have a plushy, though.
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Losing control: Chapter 6
By: Maiyuko-chan
Tenten wiped some sweat off her brow.
"Alright, Neji, I need a break!" she said tiredly, taking a drink from her water bottle.
Shiku clapped. "Great job, all of you! That was amazing! Konoha's shinobi are very skilled, indeed!" Lee beamed, and Neji smirked.
"Ah, Shiku-san… Do you suppose it's time to get going, now?" suggested Tenten. She figured that it was time to stop procrastinating. Shiku stood up.
"Of course, Tenten-san!" he said happily. Tenten packed up all of her weapons and summoned them back into the scroll, a skill she had learned over the years. She tucked the scrolls back into her pouch, along with a few spare kunai.
"Alright! Let's go!" said Tenten happily. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad… "Bye, Neji, Lee!" Lee waved enthusiastically, and Neji only acknowledged her with a nod.
As soon as they started going, a jounin walked into the training grounds.
"Team Gai." he stated firmly. Tenten turned around and ran over to her teammates. Shiku followed her.
"Yeah?" asked Lee and Tenten in unison.
"There has been a mission in which things have gone wrong. Tsunade wants every available shinobi out to the forest outside of the village as soon as possible." Tenten nodded and turned to Shiku.
"Shiku-san, I hope you understand. I hope we can post-pone this. I apologize." She bowed slightly. Shiku nodded.
"I understand! Good luck!" he said good-naturedly. Tenten took off with Neji and Lee toward the forest, whispering just loud enough for the two to hear:
"Got outta that one easily." Lee laughed a little and Neji smirked. As soon as the team reached the forest, they saw two out of three teams of the Rookie Nine.
"What happened to Kuranai's team?" asked Tenten. Sakura sighed.
"I guess they were sent out on an assassination mission. Hinata and Akamaru came back injured, and Kiba came for extra help. By the time the ANBU got here, they were too late to catch this guy…" Sakura held up a picture she had gotten of Okita. "I guess he really messed up Shino. Tsunade took him to the hospital. We were sent here to investigate. There isn't really anything. Like, this guy shed no blood or anything. He didn't even leave a hair lying around! And he had a lot of it. The only thing we found was a dead cat…" she said, looking at the picture.
It was true, Tenten thought as she looked at the picture. Okita had long, pulled back black hair and yellow eyes. His face was really pale, and he sort of reminded her of Orochimaru.
"Is he some kind of fan of Orochimaru's? If he summons snakes, I'm going to be freaked out." said Tenten.
"Nope!" Sakura shook her head. Ino came up behind Sakura.
"What kind of manly-man summons cats?" she asked. Tenten giggled.
"That answers my question. So how was Shino-san doing when Tsunade took him?" Ino and Sakura shuddered simultaneously.
"He had bugs crawling all over him, and he seemed really freaked out. He was shaking and trying to move, but I guess he couldn't really do much." said Sakura. "Tsunade-sama took him before we could see him, though. That's just what Naruto said."
"Oh." said Tenten. "So Hinata isn't here?"
"No, she's resting at home." said Ino.
"So what's our job?"
"We have to try to trail him, but we have no way of doing that. Kiba's family is going to let us use some of their nin-dogs to try to sniff him out."
And so the team started.
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Shino was stiff. He could barely move anything but his fingers and toes, and his eyes hurt, because they had taken his sunglasses off in the hospital. The light was almost blinding.
It took most of his concentration to breath. He was slightly pissed, well… very pissed off at the fact that his attack hadn't even begun and Okita had taken him out like that. He didn't have a chance to do anything, or even let the bugs touch the bastard. Damn, what a blow to the ego.
Shino decided that he needed his glasses. He needed to get up, get out of this hospital clothing before someone decided to come and visit him. He struggled for a moment to get up, but it was no use. Damn. He would've cursed if he were able to talk. And that hot-tempered. He was glad, at least, that he could see everything going on through the hall. His bed was slightly inclined, so he could see if someone was coming in.
And it happened. Miura came into the room, her eyes covered with sunglasses and her body covered by a coat. She looked slightly tired.
"Cousin." she said quietly. Shino would've greeted her, but, alas, he didn't have his voice. Miura picked up his sunglasses that lay next to him on the table and put them on him, knowing that he couldn't put them on himself.
"Can you speak?" she asked. Shino didn't answer or nod. "Ah. I see." she said. "No moving at all?" Shino didn't respond to that. Miura nodded.
"Cousin. The Lady Hokage asked me to tell you that your team is safe. Other teams have been sent out to investigate this. I do not know what happened yet, cousin, but once you can speak, you will be asked questions." Shino understood, and Miura knew.
Shino felt some of the kikai under his skin squirming. Damn this feeling. This sense of… hopelessness. And Shino could remember Okita's words…
"I admire your skill, boy."
"You should come join me."
"My offer still stands."
Miura pulled an item out of her jacket. It was a bar with elaborate drawings and loopy letters, and Shino was unsure of what it was for.
"Cousin, Tenten-san gave me this. It really helps me feel better… I hope it does you, too." Miura left the bar of chocolate on the small table and walked out the door.
The author silently hoped that this scene hadn't looked like a weird incestual romantic part.
Shino relaxed a little bit, knowing his sunglasses were on now. He was still uncomfortable in the hospital uniform, though, and he wondered what had become of his coat and pants.
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Tenten wiped some sweat from her forehead. All she wanted to do right now was curse loudly. She was frustrated beyond reason. It seemed like the other chuunin and jounin were just as flustered. There were only two signs of Okita, one of them being his dead cat. The other was a faint scent that the Inuzuka dogs picked up, and that they were currently following.
It was getting hot out, and the teams were already outside of Konoha completely.
Naruto, the leader of the team, took a greedy drink of water and exhaled.
"Alright, I think we should bring it in!" he yelled. Tenten sighed in relief as Lee protested giving up.
Naruto yawned, seeming to ignore Lee. "We're losing the scent, and the dogs are tired. We can always look tomorrow." Lee sighed in defeat. One of the dogs whined and Kiba picked him up lovingly. Tenten looked at him and figured that Kiba missed having Akamaru around already. The poor nin-dog had gone home to rest.
The team started back home and Sakura and Ino began to walk beside Tenten. Ino sighed.
"I'm all sweaty and dirty…" she whined. "I hate this." Sakura nodded in agreement, and then her facial expression changed into a devious one.
"Ino-pig, you're just mad because you look gross in front of Naruto-kun." she said. Ino looked at her.
"That's stupid forehead-girl! I do not like N--" she stopped short when Naruto came up behind the girls.
"Hey!" he said happily. Ino's face was an unbearable shade of red. Tenten laughed and Sakura smirked.
"Hey, Naruto-kun!" said Tenten and Sakura happily.
"Hey, Naruto." said Ino passively. Naruto looked at her and seemed little hurt, but it didn't take him long to hide it. Naruto continued.
"We're almost in Konoha. Hey! We should all go out for ramen tonight!" he said excitedly. Sakura sighed.
"Sorry, Naruto-kun, I have to work the night shift at the hospital." Tenten sighed as well.
"I'm pretty sure the Aburames want me for dinner, especially with Shino-san down…" Ino was the only one left.
"I… I think I have to run the flower shop…" she stammered. Sakura looked at Ino with overly-sweet innocence.
"But I thought the shop was closed on Saturdays." she said. Tenten giggled. Ino blushed.
"Oh yeah… well…" she straightened up. "Only if you're paying." she said firmly. Naruto grimaced a bit, and then nodded.
The group reached the small town in half an hour, carrying some of the tired Inuzuka dogs. Kiba was sure to give them food and water on breaks.
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Tenten left toward her own house instead of the Aburame's house. She decided she would shower and put on some of the clothes she had left there.
She entered the familiar home and breathed in the comforting scent. She looked at the empty couch and sighed. The coffee table in the room had a small stain on it, and she realized that that had been something she had done when she was a child.
She smiled to herself. Permanent markers were something to never give a child. She went into the bathroom and discarded her dirty clothes to the floor. She knew the Aburame family wouldn't expect her back until dinner, so she took her time. She washed herself under hot water, enjoying the feel of it. She washed her hair with lilac-scented shampoo and conditioner and lilac body wash. She soaked in the water until it turned cold.
She turned the knobs off and took a towel and wrapped it around herself. She stepped out of the curtains, thinking about how clean her bathroom was. She had cleaned her whole house through and through with Sakura, Hinata, and Ino's help, of course, before she had to move in with Shino.
Shino… she sighed. She would visit him after this to see how he was doing. She figured that they needed to talk about this situation they were in. Although there was a strong probability that she would be married to him, there were other suitors and Tsunade couldn't make biased decisions. She laughed then, thinking about the suggestion about the suitors battling in Rock, Paper, Scissors.
She went into her old room and looked into her nearly-empty dresser. There was a very long white shirt in there that could probably be used as a dress of some sort, and some black capris. She put them on and tied her long hair up in the normal buns. She slipped on some socks along with flat sandals that weren't meant for ninja to wear.
Tenten decided to leave her clothes here and get them later. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her house and walking out the door. She looked around the neighborhood that she sort of missed… she thought of her mother for a moment, and then pushed those thoughts away. She had a bug-boy to visit.
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Tenten stepped into the hospital, looking for the main desk, and seeing a young woman with pink hair sitting there eating some egg rolls. Sakura looked up and saw her.
"Tenten-chan! Hey, what's up?" Tenten smiled widely.
"Well, I figured I'd better visit Shino-san. What room is he in?" Sakura stood up out of the desk and hid her egg rolls really quick before going.
"He's in B-65. I think he's asleep right now. I guess he can't move or talk or anything, but it won't last for long. I healed him myself." she said proudly. Tenten laughed.
"'Kay. I'll see you later, Sakura-chan! Thanks. Enjoy your egg rolls." Sakura nodded and waved, obviously happy that she didn't have to leave her food to show Tenten around.
Tenten walked through the halls and finally found room B-65. She opened the door gingerly and saw him asleep. She looked around the room and saw that no one was around but herself. She did notice a chocolate bar on the small table next to Shino, and figured that Miura must have been there already.
She sat down on the chair next to Shino's bed. She shook her head. The boy slept with his sunglasses! Then, a mischievous thought crossed her mind. If Shino was asleep… and she had never seen him with those sunglasses off…
His jacket was already off, so she could get a full view of his face!
She carefully reached her hand out to his face. She even stood up to have a better angle. A smirk crossed her face. She touched his sunglasses and…
"Please do not remove my sunglasses." Tenten shrieked and fell back.
"You-you… Sumimasen, Shino-san! I…I…" Shino sighed.
"It's fine." he said flatly. To be honest, he was used to it, now. Sakura and a few other nurses had tried to do the same thing. It had been a few hours since he had gained his voice back, but he could barely move.
"… So… how are you feeling, Shino-san?" asked Tenten. She was very disappointed. So close!
"I am fine." he said simply.
"Oh…" Tenten sighed. This was awkward… She was hoping they could talk about something… "So… I guess… I'd better go. I think it's almost time for dinner at your house. Would you… would you like me to get you something?" she asked, noticing how much younger he looked without his face being hidden by a high collar.
"I am all right, thank you." he said. He sighed quietly. He was so… so bored.
Tenten nodded and bowed. "I'll see you later, Shino-san. I hope you feel much better."
"Hn."
Tenten walked out the door and sighed.
Well, damn it. She had been so close to seeing his face! She walked to his house for dinner, sighing in disappointment.
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Tenten woke up the next morning with the feeling that something was out of place-- not something major, but something.
She got out of the bed and dressed in black pants and a white shirt. She wrapped bindings around her left arm and put on a navy blue jacket on. She put on her kunai pouch and such.
She quickly went out into the living room where a few of Shino's family, mostly children, were standing at the door and looking at someone. The Nakashima heir. Tenten sighed and listened to what the kids were saying to Shiku.
"What are you doing here, you happy freak?" asked one little boy. Shiku sweat dropped and smiled.
"Uhm… I'm, here to pick up Tenten-dono…"
"We don't know anyone named Tenten, loser!" yelled one of the normally quiet girls.
"I love you." stated another. Shiku opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again. Tenten suppressed her giggles.
"Listen, Nakashima-san." said one of the smallest boys coolly. "If you don't leave, I will be forced to attack you with Kikai."
Tenten figured that it was time to intervene, but too late.
"Eek!"
"Prissy boy!" It seemed that the Aburame children liked to mess with people when no grown-ups were around.
Tenten walked up behind the children and they instantly stopped.
"Hi, guys, what's going on?" asked Tenten cheerfully.
"We were just telling Nakashima-san that you were still asleep, but it seems you have awakened, Tenten-san." said the stoic little five-year old.
"Thank you!" said Tenten. "I'll be going, so I'll see all of you at dinner." Tenten winked at them as she shut the door.
"So. Shiku-san, how are you? I have no training today, so we can get on with our date." Shiku smiled.
"That is very helpful. Where do you suppose we shall go?" he asked politely.
"How about some ramen?" asked Tenten, who was hungry anyway. Shiku nodded.
"So, Shiku-san, tell me about yourself." said Tenten, munching on noodles.
"I'm from the Falls, of course." he started. "I'm a jounin. That's about all I can think of right now." he said. He spilled some ramen on the counter they were eating at. "Oh, no…" he sighed. He took a napkin out of the dispenser and the napkins all fell out. Tenten raised an eyebrow. This guy was very nice but naturally clumsy.
"I'm chuunin." said Tenten. "I guess this is a weird arrangement, I mean with all the suitors and stuff… Does this happen a lot?" she asked. Shiku nodded.
"Often people with no surnames are married off very quickly." Tenten sighed. "The custom is that there be a competition. Usually a fight of some sort. But that's only if it's that big a deal that someone get a wife." Tenten laid her head down on the counter.
"Dammit." she murmured. Shiku pat her on the back.
"If it makes you feel any better, Tenten-dono, I'm not very interested in having a wife. I mean…" he sighed. "I'm not into having a married life. My mom said I had to do this." Tenten looked up, eyebrows raised.
"Umm…"
"Yeah, she's really scary. I'm glad I don't get my looks from her." he shuddered.
"Oh." Tenten said simply. "Well… then, if that Kougu heir wants to marry me… Oh god…" Her head hit the counter again.
"I've heard bad things about him." said Shiku. "I guess he's trained at home, and his skills as a ninja are not used. He has a blood line limit that is very advanced and hard to control."
"So what is it?"
"I haven't heard. It's all hear-say, you know." he smiled. "Tenten-san, are you interested in marriage?"
"No!" said Tenten. "This whole thing was one big surprise!" she sighed. "I wonder if there's any way to get out of it."
Shiku shrugged. "Would you like to show me around Konoha?" he asked happily. "Maybe it will help you feel better to walk around. And I'd like to see Konoha." Tenten nodded.
"You got it!"
The two walked started and as soon as they left the ramen stand, Shiku tripped on a rock and fell flat on his face. Tenten sighed. This would be a long walk. She helped him up.
As soon as he got up, they started to walk into the main market area of Konoha, which was currently very busy.
"Oh my…" said Shiku. "There are a lot of people here." Tenten nodded.
"I bet we'll see people I know. Oh, hey! There's Hinata-chan already!" Tenten ran over to Hinata and hugged her.
"Hey, Hinata-chan!"
"Tenten-chan! How… how are you doing?" asked Hinata. She looked at Shiku who was waving at Hinata lightly.
"Hello!" said Hinata happily. "Tenten-chan, Neji-nii-san and Sakura-chan are on a date." Tenten smiled.
"Really? That's cool! I can tease him about it later!" Tenten looked around. "Hey, why's everyone so busy, now?"
"It's the Summer Festival!" said Hinata excitedly. Tenten suddenly remembered. So that's why Hinata seemed so exited and happy! Neji had found a girlfriend, and the Summer Festival was coming up.
"Well, Hinata-chan, I suppose I have to go back to my date. But before I leave, are you going to be working at one of the stands?" Hinata nodded.
"Yes…" she blushed. "I-Ino-chan hasn't told you yet?" Tenten shook her head. Hinata blushed even more deeply.
"She wants to… she wants to opened a kissing booth… she kind of… bl-blackmailed me into it… I'll tell you later…" Tenten laughed. So Ino-like, to open up a booth like that!
"C'mon, Shiku-san, let's go look at all of the other booths!" Shiku nodded and the two set off to look at each booth that was being built.
Shiku looked around. Konoha was certainly big! There were people all around that were working diligently on booths as they got deeper into the market. The two bought some water bottles to tide them over until they went to get lunch.
"Tenten-dono, this is amazing!" said Shiku with big anime stars in his eyes.
"Please, don't call me with the 'dono'!" said Tenten, "Makes me feel all old." she teased. She looked around and spotted none other that Miura. Except that she was dressed in a big coat and sunglasses, Tenten could recognize her because no one else she knew had that long of black hair.
"Miura-san!" Tenten pushed through the crowd. Miura looked at her.
"Tenten-san?" Tenten smiled and Shiku studied her.
"Hey, Miura-san, why are you wearing that? Your eyes are beautiful." Miura blushed lightly.
"I… uh… It's what I normally wear outside… wh-who is that?" she asked, referring to Shiku. Shiku smiled.
"My name is Nakashima Yasashiku, but you can call me Shiku…" Shiku made to shake her hand, but when she put his hand in his he raised it up and kissed it. Tenten watched wide-eyed and waited for Miura's reaction.
Miura blushed a deep tomato red.
"I-I am Abu-Aburame M-Miura…" she stammered horribly.
"Oh, so you're apart of the Aburame family that Tenten lives with?"
Miura nodded, feeling slightly dizzy under his gaze.
"That's so cool!" Tenten watched the interaction with interest. Was it just her, or did it look like Miura was about to swoon? Shiku continued.
"So what do your eyes look like?" he asked. "I bet they're really pretty, like those kids at that house." Miura blushed even more, if possible.
"They... They aren't--"
"Oh, I'm sure they are! Hey, which booth are you working at?" Shiku had a light blush on his face as well. Tenten smiled.
"I'm n-not working at a booth… I was c-coming back from the h-hospital…"
"Oh, do you work there?"
"N-no, my cousin is there…" Miura said. "I-I have to go…"
"Bye, Miura-chan!" said Shiku.
"Bye, Miura-san!" said Tenten. Miura nodded at them both and hurried off.
"She seems quite nice…" said Shiku with a smile. Tenten chuckled and nodded.
They continued on their walk. Unbeknownst to them, there was a bird flying around. It was quite hideous, actually. It had patches of fur, not feathers-- yet it miraculously flew. With absolutely no coordination… It's 'fur' was an off-white color and it was just way too skinny.
It flew around aimlessly for now, it's owner had no messages to give to anyone. It was having a bit of trouble flying, as usual, and he fluttered right into Shiku's face and went back up, steady again.
Unfortunately, our klutzy guy trip and landed on a board, which was attached to a spring that broke off and hit one of the unfinished booths, which fell down and landed on the booth next to it, and since some of the booths were either attached or right next to one another, they all fell down like dominoes.
Many of the villagers came out, very angry.
"Hey!"
"What the hell? We worked hard on these!"
"Who do you think you are!" Tenten grabbed the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Everything had been going so well…
"Let's go, Shiku…" Shiku nodded and the two ran away from the damage.
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Shino sat up laboriously. He got up with some trouble, and Sakura helped him stand.
"We washed your clothes, Shino-san." said Sakura, handing him his clothes in a folded bundle. Shino took the bundle and went into the washroom and changed.
As soon as he stepped out, Sakura ran up to him, handing him a chocolate bar.
"Hey, did you leave this? I didn't know you ate chocolate." she said, remembering the conversation about the Aburames and their square meals.
"I don't."
"…" Sakura stared at him. "Okay…" Shino turned away from her.
"I'm leaving." he said, and started off. Sakura sweat dropped.
"Uhm… Shino-san, you're going the wrong way."
Shino, if he weren't as graceful, would've had a vein on his forehead, but instead he turned around and started heading out. Sakura started walking with him through the hall.
"So, Shino-san, have you heard about Tenten's fan boys?"
Shino merely shook his head. Sakura tried again.
"Yeah, I've heard that they're really obsessive over her. Like… sneaking into your house and taking pictures of her."
"I know that you're lying."
Sakura opened her mouth in protest, but then shut it again, knowing it was pointless.
Shino walked out the door and into the street. He finally felt a little better now that he could actually move, but he was still angry. How, how could he do that to him? What justu was it? He couldn't wrap his mind around it. It could have been some kind of trick-- it had to be.
He decided to take his mind off of it for a while. He took out the candy bar that had been resting in his pocket. He studied it for a moment, and out of curiosity opened it. He took off a small chunk of the candy and remembered his cousin's words.
He stuck the chunk into his mouth experimentally. It wouldn't hurt anything, right?
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Shino felt… much, much worse. He sat on the couch and his father sat next to him.
"Shino." Shibi said.
"Hn?" said Shino, barely managing to keep the pain out of his voice.
"What did you eat?" Shino looked up in slight surprise.
"It was chocolate…" he said. He felt so nauseated…
Shibi stood up and sighed.
"Shino, son, most Aburame have allergic reactions to chocolate."
Author's note:
Heh, I had to end it like that. I know this fic is humourous, but it needs to be a bit serious, too. This'll be hard (but fun!) to pull off.
Heya! Well, it's another chapter, ended with a bit of humor. I hope you guys enjoyed it! By the way, your reviews are so awesome! They've been so encouraging! I do hope for some more… (hint, hint, lol) I hope that you liked it, and I'll update ASAP!