Back to Basics
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, so you can go back to reading.
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The Fourth
Always
Aburame Shino would always remember everything.
He would remember how she always fidgeted, exactly down to a count. She would tap her fingers together twice, the index fingers, no others ever applied. Then she would look shyly up, blushing just the lightest with what hinted between a smile and a sullen face. She would stare up with those eyes, curious and large, for a few more moments, usually just a 5 second gesture, and then she would go back to the finger tapping. The pads of the appendages would silently meet and go back and forth. That was always her trademark gesture. Anyone who observed her for any amount of time would know it. But he knew it perfectly, down to the timing, the counting, because that was his way, to just observe. He would remember Hyuuga Hinata forever.
He would remember how he would always treat his dog, numbering off everything precisely. He would reach into a pocket and reveal two dog treats, both overlapping so the passerby and anyone not truly paying attention would think it were only one, but it was definitely two. He would toss "it" into the air when the dog earned it (usually about a minute later upon the realization of a treat being involved), and, though two were really there, the mutt would only receive one. Knowing that, no one would need to be informed what happened to the other treat. It happened at a very quick speed, nearly unnoticeable, except for the often left crumbs barely spotting his lips. Shino would notice, but never said a thing. That was a secret that he shared with his oblivious teammate. For that and tiny bits more, he would remember Inuzuka Kiba forever.
He would remember how she would stand up taller when around others of her status. It only took a split second, a passing in a street, or even a small call out through a crowd for the woman to stand erect and proud. But he could feel her tense and strained muscles in the way she looked and in the slightest sharpness of her breath, especially around Asuma. Even after she was left from any presence though, she would still hold her position, for one, two, three, four seconds and no more and never, certainly any less. She would sigh and hold a look upon the ground for another five seconds before recovering. With that, he knew that he would remember Yuhi Kurenai forever.
So as they all stood backs to backs, sensei and students and dog, awaiting for the enemy that was certainly going to strike and may take them down, because you never knew with a ninja's life when they would come back or stay away forever, he thought aloud, "Don't forget me in Heaven." They weren't making it out of this one and he wasn't making it into heaven. He'd never done a thing to deserve it.
-End the Fourth-
