Were they honey loaf cakes...or poison?
Shino had dodged her kunai so many times, he couldn't take his chances anymore.
Does she really think I'll fall for this again?
With one brow raised suspiciously over his dark shades, Shino studied the honey loaf and Bee's Flower tea left behind for him.
Why couldn't she just make up her mind?
To kill him or not to kill him?
Why were girls always so complicated?
If this was yet another pathetic attempt to poison him to death, she'd never get enough of disappointing herself.
He'd worked up his immunity for poison since the Chunin exams, with a little extra help from breeding Torune's Rinkaichū insects with his.
A little smile played on the corner of Shino's mouth.
Was this hatred she felt for him, or obsession?
He couldn't say anymore.
Whatever it was, hatred never smelt so delicious.
She probably tasted that way too.
"It," he quickly corrected his formidable slip of mind. "It probably tastes like hatre..."
Ah, never mind.
Summoning a handful of Torune's Rinkaichū out of one of his bug jars, Shino offered them a small piece of the honey loaf cake. Knowing that if the honey loaf was really poisoned, Torune's bugs would detect it without suffering any damage, allowing Shino to spare his own kikaichū from any unnecessary harm.
The plan seemed to work.
The venom-resistant insects were unimpressed by the bee user's honey loaf, returning to their jar with nothing to report.
Deeming the meal safe to eat.
Still, as baked to perfection as the cake was, something was missing.
Shino gazed down at the unexpected gift in quiet contemplation.
The sweet, savory meal somehow made sour by a gnawing sense that he was being avoided.
Everyone back at the Leaf village had done it to him too many times because of his bugs.
But not Firefly.
He couldn't allow her to treat him the same way.
But why did she always say nothing to him when he was around?
Was it because she didn't know yet what power her words might have over him?
Was she truly unaware that if she really were Firefly, the impending match between them was already won in her favor?
And the reason for that was because...
'Because if she really wanted to kill me with cake,' Shino thought. 'All she really had to say in the end was 'thank you.'
I'm really starting to hate the dark.
She sighed, lying with her head outside her bamboo hut, as she pretended to count stars in the fog swirling above her, knowing she'd probably never see any real ones again.
Her stomach grumbling with hunger, after harvesting only enough honeycomb for Shino's honey loaf cake. Without any proper beekeeping tools, it had taken hours to even make a small loaf. And she was too tired-frankly, hopeless-to harvest anymore.
A never-ending fog...I wouldn't wish this hell on anyone...Even an Aburame.
Would it always be night in this jutsu?
Did the sunlight she missed so much from the outside world even still exist anymore?
Just me and Aburame...Stuck here forever...
And then she paused, her attention suddenly drawn to the forest around her.
The gentle humming from the beehives in the trees subtly quieting to a whisper, piquing her interest.
She sat up suspiciously, glancing around the forest for the approaching newcomer.
But knowing it was probably just Aburame being a jerk, she rolled her eyes and didn't budge from her spot.
Does he really think I'm gonna fall for this again?
It was always the same tricks, and she was done with them.
If he really thinks I'm dumb enough to let him sneak up on me again-
But no sooner had she started that thought, a hand suddenly caught her chin, turning her into Shino's gaze, until his face was only inches away from hers.
Her body tensed, staggered by how he close the Aburame was to her lips. So close that she could feel every breath of his take away hers.
"Don't fight me," Shino whispered to her. "Just take it and swallow."
What in the jumping spider!
Her face turning pink as a katydid.
Fire-ant hot and steaming.
Like a butterfly caught in an catcher's net.
How dare you talk dirty to me, you little pervert! We barely know each other!
But before she could slam his jaw with her fist, Shino dropped a slice of honey loaf cake into her mouth.
Dumbstruck and cheeks full of cake, the bee mistress didn't know whether to kill him that very instant...or kiss him for being so right.
Her honey loaf was to die for!
Just like it always was when she baked it.
Aphrodisia.
A nirvana of all the sunshine and honeydew-kissed flowers she was mourning for in the outside world.
Chasing away the melancholy and cold of the fog around her.
"I know," Shino said to her, reading the look on her face that melted into a sugar rush. "That's why I saved you half."
Shino offered her more of his honey cake, sliding it between them on a bamboo leaf for two to share.
"Honey loaf is a special treat in my village. The reason is because not many people make it like beekeepers do," Shino said. "So, when we do have it, we always share it with friends."
Friends?
Her mouth was too stuffed to object to that.
Too helplessly entwined in his web to fight back.
All she could do was be still and surrender herself to another mouthful of irresistible sweetness.
"I'm glad you're still awake. I couldn't sleep either," Shino told her. "The reason is because I really wanted to see you."
Gradually, she stopped chewing her honey loaf, gazing at him curiously.
What did he mean by that?
Noting the surprised look on her face, Shino quickly backtracked.
"What I meant was...what I'm trying to say is...can I show you something?" he asked. "If you let me take you there, I would be very grateful for your company."
But the bee user didn't budge to follow him.
Suspicious of Shino and the dark.
What does he want to show me in the bamboo forest this time of night?
The Aburame glanced back at her over his collar, his stoic mouth breaking into a playfully cute grin, leaving her unexpectedly breathless.
"Don't tell me," he teased her. "a great shinobi like you, and you're actually scared of the dark?"
And strolling back to her with his hands in his pockets, Shino offered her his elbow to take.
"If it makes you feel safer, you can hold onto me," he told her. "I know my way around the dark."
She hesitated.
Caught in the drama of conflicted silence.
Knowing she'd never be caught dead on the arm of an Aburame, but at the same time, unable to resist the gentle allure of his kindness.
How was he always this kind to her, after everything she'd tried to do to him?
Shino waited.
And he didn't seem to care how long he had to wait for her.
Until she finally made a decision, gingerly slipping her arm around his elbow. Letting the Aburame guide her away from the firelight into the darkness with him.
And by that point, the bee mistress didn't care where he was taking her.
As long as she always felt this safe when he was around.