DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, spicy ramen, a purple origami butterfly, or...YOUR MOM! ...not that she's mentioned in this fic...Happy Mother's Day, yosh!
"So I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Michiko said.
She and Shino were just in sight of her apartment. They'd talked about a variety of things, like how life was without parents ("My father's always on missions; he's rarely ever home."), their best friends ("Deniizu's great once you get to know her; it's never boring." "Hinata's actually my closest friend, and Kiba and I have this link since we're both animal-users."), and ramen ("It's ok so long as it isn't spicy. But after hearing Naruto go on about it for hours, some of the bloom is rubbed off." "Does he really go on for hours?" "...just don't mention it as a conversation topic around him."). Michiko had tried to wheedle out of him why he wore clothes that covered him so much, but that only made him zip up his collar again and shake his head. They had gotten to know each other better, and Michiko found that Shino really wasn't that unkind; he was just following orders.
He'll be great as a shinobi, 'killing his heart' and all that, she thought wryly, pulling out her housekey from her pocket.
"We're working on ninjutsu tomorrow," Shino said, still holding the bags of groceries.
Just as Michiko was about to put the key into the lock, someone opened the door from within.
"Uh..." Michiko stared at the boy that had opened it in shock.
"Kiba?" Shino asked, also shocked and staring.
"Hi, guys," Kiba grinned, "I thought I heard someone coming. Deniizu invited me for dinner, so here I am."
"Um...hi!" Michiko recovered after a second, and put her key away before grabbing her bags again, "You're staying for plain old vegetable soup and bread?"
"I've had worse," Kiba answered, still grinning, "Sometimes I have to cook for myself."
"Yo, Shino, Michiko," Deniizu greeted, appearing at the doorway with Akamaru at her heels, "I hope you don't mind me inviting Kiba over."
"It's no problem," Michiko shook her head, and knelt to pat Akamaru, adding, "I take it you didn't find a job," while thinking, I've only ever cooked for two. If I double it that means four...
"Hey Shino, you want to stay too?" Deniizu asked, changing the subject and catching both of the bag-carriers thoughts.
Oo, Shino's majorly crushing on Michiko, she thought, silently laughing, He was all but screaming 'invite me so I can stay by her side!'. Not that I'm telling Michiko...yet.
"If that's ok with the cook," Shino said, turning to Michiko.
"Uh...yeah. Sure! No problem!" Michiko immediately rushed to the kitchen and set to work.
Shino followed her slowly as Kiba shut the door behind him, and saw the girl rushing through the only used cupboard for a proper pot. Deliberately, Shino placed the grocery bags on the counter and calmly picked out the vegetables that they had bought, and put the canned/non-perishable things like instant ramen into the cupboards that the girls hadn't been using. Deniizu, Kiba and Akamaru watched from the doorway, snickering softly.
"She looks so tense," Kiba whispered, "It's like the whole 'mom' type of thing with feeding guests."
Akamaru whined and covered his eyes with his paws.
"I know what you mean," Deniizu grinned, "Shino's trying to calm her down by moving slowly, but it's not working."
As Shino opened the small fridge to put away the things that weren't vegetables that needed to be refridgerated, he shook his head.
"Michiko, calm down. It's not like Kiba and I are starving."
"Speak for yourself," Kiba muttered, patting a grumbling stomach, but Shino gave him a look, so he stood quietly.
"I'll help out," Deniizu offered, stepping forward, but Michiko jumped in her way.
"Nonononono," Michiko waved her hands in front of Deniizu's face, "I'm good; I don't need help."
"...I won't mess up soup," Deniizu rolled her eyes, but Michiko was adamant.
"That's what you said about toast," she reminded, and Deniizu went back to leaning on the doorway.
Shino finished putting away all the things Michiko didn't need, and stood with his hands in his pockets as usual.
"Need any help?" he asked.
"No, I'm good," she said again.
She had been watching the pot boil, but then got irritated and made her hands fire, and placed them beside the pot, helping the water's temperature rise faster. Cooking suddenly became a blur of flying chopped vegetables, flashing knives, and Michiko's fire.
"Um...I think we should step outside for a bit," Kiba sweatdropped, and the others followed him onto the balcony.
"She tense much?" Kiba asked Deniizu, leaning on the balcony rail.
"No, she just wants to be a proper hostess," Deniizu shrugged, "Don't worry, she'll calm down; just stay out of her way."
Akamaru sniffed around some pots that the prior owner of the apartment had left behind, and accidentally got trapped under one of them. He whined softly, but no-one on the balcony noticed.
"Wouldn't cooking food with her fire like that damage the pot?" Shino asked, glancing back at the kitchen.
"Oh, our village had a good blacksmith. He made sure the pot would survive it," Deniizu nodded.
There was a crash from the kitchen, and both the boys flinched while the dog yelped, still under his pot. Deniizu, however, was still serene.
"Don't worry. Give it half an hour until we eat, and it'll all be over. Do either of you have jobs?"
Half an hour later...(note: no people or dishes were harmed in the making of this dinner)
Dinner was a humble but comfortable affair; Deniizu set the table with the things she had newly bought, after speaking with the boys for a little while, and once Kiba freed Akamaru from under the flowerpot, Michiko came and called them in to eat. 'Plain, old vegetable soup' actually held some secret ingredients that Michiko wouldn't reveal, making it not-so-plain and rather new. Bread had butter or jam, so that wasn't too bad either, along with fruit juice that Michiko had bought. Michiko also set out a bit of bacon for Akamaru. Everyone sat on the floor in a square, since the girls didn't have any furniture, but that was all right.
"That was pretty good, Michiko," Kiba complimented, leaning back against the wall behind him.
"Thanks," the cook smiled appreciatively, sitting to Kiba's right and leaning on the wall behind her.
Shino nodded, after drinking his juice and Deniizu, who sat across from Kiba, grinned.
"Maybe it was better that I didn't help," she nodded, "So what do we do now?"
Akamaru wriggled around on his back, between Michiko and Kiba, and the dark-eyed girl rubbed the dog's stomach fondly.
"I don't know," Kiba thought, rubbing his chin, "The sun's gone down already."
"I think it's safe to call it a day," Michiko said, gathering the bowls and utensils and getting up.
Shino grabbed the cups before Deniizu could get to them, and followed Michiko into the kitchen with Akamaru. Deniizu and Kiba shared a look, then shrugged, both smiling, and got up as well. Deniizu showed Kiba to the door, and stopped there to wait for the dog.
"Thanks for inviting me over," Kiba said.
"No problem, come over any time," Deniizu said airily, "Unless of course I'm cooking. Then you shouldn't."
"I'll remember that," Kiba laughed, then called Akamaru, yelled a "Goodbye, Michiko!" towards the kitchen as the dog approached, and they were gone.
Deniizu glanced through the kitchen door, and decided that it would be best to wait a little before saying goodbye to Shino.
"Thanks for having me," Shino said in a low voice, facing Michiko as she leaned against the counter.
"Thanks for staying," Michiko smiled, looking up at him.
He'd unzipped his collar again during dinner, so she could see his smile. Just for her.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Michiko said, straightening and motioning towards the door.
Shino followed her out of the kitchen, to the still open doorway. Michiko stood where Deniizu had just been, moving aside to let Shino pass. He slipped something into her hand before zipping up his collar and putting his hands in his pockets.
"Good night," Shino whispered, and slipped off into the evening.
Michiko realized she was holding her breath, and forced herself to breathe normally again. Looking at the object he had passed her, she saw a tiny origami butterfly, in purple paper. Suddenly feeling giddy, she shut the door and twirled as she entered the main room. Denise was there, already unrolling the sleeping mats, and watched her dark friend as she carefully placed the origami butterfly on an empty shelf on the wall.
"Have a good day?" Michelle asked, grinning broadly at her friend as she grabbed her pyjamas.
"Pretty much," Denise answered, nodding thoughtfully, "You?"
"Whoo!" Michelle cheered in reply, twirling into the bathroom where she would get changed.
"Are you really that love-happy?" Denise yelled through the door, speedchanging in the main room.
"Hey, you're into Kiba and Itachi, don't forget," Michelle called back, also speedchanging.
"...I hate to admit it, but there's no contest," Denise said after a moment, throwing her used clothes into a corner.
"...The Uchiha?"
"The Uchiha," Denise nodded.
"What'll you do if Kiba gets serious and actually asks you out, though?" Michelle asked, coming out of the washroom.
"Oh, he already has. He knows it's a casual relationship," Denise answered, giving her friend a thumbs-up. Michelle only rolled her eyes.
"Well, so long as he knows..." Michelle let her voice trail off, adding her used clothes to Denise's pile, "Hey, you want to do laundry tomorrow while I'm job-hunting?"
"Yeah, sure," Denise answered, lying down on her mat.
"Ok. Good night, Denise," Michelle yawned, crawling onto her own mat.
"Good night, Michelle."
A/N: ...I'm totally prepared for Mother's Day today. Completely. Most definitely...(shifty eyes)...So anyway, go review!