I don't own Naruto, but it means a lot to me.


Shino's checkups are, if anything, a formality.

"So are you..." Sakura trails, flipping through her charts with more uncertainty than usual. She hates it.

"Good? Everything's well?"

Shino hasn't become more talkative as clan head. He is calm, direct, and straight to the point. Under normal circumstances, he'd be an ideal patient. There was just that one little issue with the.

"My colony remains healthy and content."

Ah, yeah. The bugs.

'Normal' didn't really apply.

Calling Abrume physiology human was generous. Millions on millions of beetles crawling up and down internal organs along parasympathetic nerves, custom evolved through years of chakra infusion and genetic cross-breading. She was a physician, not an entomologist. Shino may have all the same parts as a normal, non-beetle filled human being, but the added complexity of having additional 'tenants' in one body was enough to give her a headache.

It definitely wasn't the fact that bugs gave her the shivers. Really. Honest.

"So…" she drawls, looking for a way to segue back to some semblance of professionalism. "The colony is content and not giving you problems?"

"None." He answers. "Our beetles' lives are short, but the hive and queen are content."

Sakura writes the answer down into her chart to make it look official but ends with a question mark because she doesn't have the foggiest idea what to do with this information.

"Well…" she tries, "Is there anything else of concern we should talk about? Anything perhaps not tied to your…colony?"

The question feels so awkward, she's almost grateful for Shino's stoicism.

"Not at this time."

"Well, alright then." The medic nods, checking off her sheet and handing the carbon copy to the bespectacled man. Shino stands, calmly, and takes the paper. With a soft bow, he turns and makes for the exit.

"Until next time, Haruno-san."

Sakura nods, likewise, but sprays her disinfectant for slightly longer than usual as she prepares for her next patient.


...Followed immediately by the shortest, haha. It's only longer from here on out!

- Free Drinks