Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. So if you recognize anyone or anything from the anime, I'm just borrowing.
Takes place sometime before Shippuuden. Or technically, it takes place in the Naruto world, but without Shippuuden in mind since the Konoha 11 are now 16ish.
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Chapter 11
OOOOO
Shino clamped down on a sigh. The giggling girls had followed them around for two hours, and they didn't seem capable of retaining information. The actual content of what he said didn't seem to matter. He was just about to change his favorite color to purple when several high-pitched squeals heralded the proximity of a jewelry shop. The sea of girls shifted around him, and Shino briefly wondered if this was the real reason Uchiha Sasuke had cracked and left the village.
His harassed gaze scanned the storefronts and stopped at a familiar round object. Hinata would like something like that, he decided.
"I'm going back," Shino announced to his brother and cousin.
"But it's still early!" Shibiki pointed out quickly. He'd hoped Shino might strike up a conversation with a few cute girls, but as the morning had burned off to afternoon, Shino's patience had boiled dry.
Shino shook his head and slipped away to the shop down the street.
OOOOO
Shinomaru sat coloring at a low table in the large family room when Shino walked through the doorway looking for Hinata. He found her curled against the armrest of a couch nearby, a faraway, wistful expression on her face. For a full minute he stood and simply watched her, wondering what was on her mind.
Kinako secretly observed the look of longing that passed over her son's face. The moment of yearning was brief, but it made his mother's heart ache just watching him. It was just such a shame that Hinata already had a boyfriend. She was perfect for her youngest son. She couldn't help the little sigh that escaped.
Shino's face whipped around at the sound of his mother's unhappy sigh. He quickly went to her side and knelt on one knee.
"Mother, what's the matter?"
Once again, Kinako marveled at her boy's ability to notice everything. She smiled and reached out a hand to cup his cheek.
"Nothing, Shino-sweetie. I was just thinking."
"I brought you something."
"Hm? Oh, Shino, you didn't have to!"
"I wanted to," he explained as he presented the large blue box he'd carried inside. "They're for you and the aunts."
"Shino, you really are a very sweet boy," she grinned.
"That's because I have a very sweet mother," he answered with a kiss to her cheek, completing their little ritual.
"Who are the little ones for?" she asked, noticing the two small boxes.
"For Hinata and Shinomaru. If you'll excuse me?"
"Of course," she waved him away, though she kept an eye on the proceedings.
Hinata blinked as Shino's weight shifted the cushions to her right. Had she been so lost in thought she hadn't even realized he'd returned from the village?
Wordlessly, he placed a blue carton on her lap before leaning forward to place one beside Shinomaru.
"For me?" Hinata wondered.
Shino nodded.
Hinata opened the carton and peered inside. The smell of warm, sweet dough and cinnamon rose up to greet her. A sunshine grin rose on her face, and a warm, happy feeling flooded Shino's chest. He loved making her smile.
"You brought me a cinnamon roll! Thank you so much, Shino-kun. They're my favorite!"
"I know," he answered softly. "You're welcome."
"Did you already eat yours in the village?" Hinata asked in a quieter tone, deliberately trying to be casual.
"I didn't get one for myself," Shino shrugged.
"Shino-niisan," Shinomaru managed between large bites, "did you have fun doing your errands in the village?"
"Not really. It was too noisy and crowded."
For some reason, Hinata felt immeasurably cheered by those words. She pulled off a piece of her treat and closed her eyes as the delicate sweetness melted in her mouth.
Shino's breath hitched at the sight of her blissful expression. He watched her small pink tongue tease the cinnamon sauce from her lips and swallowed a particularly large lump in his throat.
"Mmm, it's so good," Hinata practically moaned.
Oh dear god, Shino groaned inwardly. He shifted imperceptibly on the couch. It was a good thing he had a big jacket.
"You have to have some, Shino-kun." She offered him the box.
Shino shook his head. "It's for you."Though, if he had to watch her eat the whole thing in that sensual way, he would probably die.
"Just a bite," Hinata insisted, lifting a piece to his lips.
With her delicate fingers so close to his face, he couldn't resist leaning forward and accepting the small morsel. Hinata's fingertips brushed against his lips. Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she brought her thumb and then her pointer to her mouth to lick the sticky sweetness away with a tiny smile.
Shino accepted an occasional piece of cinnamon roll from Hinata and absentmindedly watched Shinomaru completing his work of art. The older Aburame boy tilted his head and studied the drawing. There were two people in the picture, and one of them had long, flowing dark hair.
"Shinomaru, is that Hinata?" he asked.
Shinomaru nodded. "And this is you, Shino-niisan," he explained, pointing to what was obviously an Aburame. The poses of the figures were slightly strange and twisted together. With a small blush, Shino realized the Shino and Hinata in the drawing were holding hands and facing each other. "This is Shino-niisan and Hinata-neesan dancing."
Hinata blushed through three new shades of red, but a little smile tugged at her lips.
Shino inhaled slightly, unsure of what to say. "Why is the ground blue?" That seemed safe enough.
"It's water. Hinata-neesan was training me today! Hinata-neesan says I'm getting really good! I can form a little chakra in my right foot now!"
Shino listened patiently as Shinomaru explained the lesson Hinata had given him today.
"There's Daddy!" Shinomaru exclaimed. Sure enough, Shiribi had returned from wherever he'd been that morning. Shinomaru ran over to his father, who scooped him up into a hug. The little boy pulled off his sandal and pointed at his right foot as he bubbled over with excitement.
"He's got excellent chakra control for his age. I bet he could be a medical ninja if he wanted to," Hinata commented softly.
Shino nodded. While he was impressed with Shinomaru's chakra skills, his mind could only concentrate on the feeling of Hinata's warmth along his left side, enough to be close but not enough to touch.
"Has anyone seen Shino?" Shibiki called from the hallway.
Shino sighed and went into the hallway.
"It's about time to start working on dinner," Kaoru announced a moment later to the room at large.
Hinata nodded and stood. Even though she wasn't required to help cook, she enjoyed spending time with Shino's family and helping out in whatever ways she could. At the doorway, however, she froze when a distinctly feminine laugh sounded from the other end of the hallway. Shino and his brother stood with two young women draped over them. Hinata felt a clenching pain in her chest that was worse than the one her cousin had inflicted on her during the chunin exams years ago. She ducked out of sight before anyone noticed her.
OOOOO
Shino shuddered, and not in a pleasant way, as the youngest girl seductively caressed his chest. He should've just stayed on the couch with Hinata. Shino stepped back.
"Please don't do that, miss." He glared at his older brother, who shrugged back apologetically.
"Ri-ka-cha-n," she drawled, pausing for effect between each syllable.
Shibiki noted that the younger sister seemed much more forward and aggressive than the older one. Mika was coyly tracing the back of his hand with a manicured fingernail. Now that he thought about, he wasn't really sure how they'd gotten here. He'd made his excuses to the girls at large, unthinkingly stranding Tachoro by himself, and made his way home. These two had walked along with him and started up a conversation. Rika had expressed interest in talking to Shino again, so he'd thought it a good idea at the time to invite the girls inside.
Now he was beginning to regret that decision. Shino looked distinctively uncomfortable, and he was actually sending his older brother annoyed glares.
Shino resisted the urge to growl as Rika tugged his collar down. He settled for side-stepping her once again. If Shibiki thought he was doing him a favor, they really needed to talk. Being with girls like this just emphasized how much of a lady Hinata was and made Shino compare these cheap alternatives to what he didn't have.
From around the corner, Shibi raised an eyebrow. Shino's chakra signature was…disturbed, for lack of a better word. No. That was the perfect word. His normally composed son was unpleasantly agitated. His wife placed a hand on the small of his back and looked at him questioningly. He was in what she lovingly referred to as "stealth mode." He looked back down and motioned around the corner with his head.
A grating, high-pitched giggle interrupted their silent exchange, followed by a few inappropriate suggestions that made Kinako's eyes widen in shock and then narrow in consternation.
Time to rescue his son again, Shibiki decided. He stepped around the corner and walked calmly toward the group of teenagers.
The two simpering girls jumped at his sudden presence and exchanged a brief glance of fear. Shibi noted this and sighed. He wasn't even trying to be scary. How could girls like this ever be a part of the Aburame family?
"Shino, Shibiki, I believe you have some chores to finish for your mother," he reminded pointedly.
"Of course, Father," Shino bowed dutifully and gratefully. His retreating steps were brisk and determined.
"Shibiki, you may escort the young ladies home, but I expect you back within fifteen minutes."
"Sure, Father," Shibiki answered uncertainly before ushering the girls out the door. As far as he knew, they didn't have any chores or responsibilities.
Shibi followed his youngest son into the now almost empty family room where Kinako sat in an armchair with a frown on her face.
"Thank you for your help, Father," Shino said sincerely.
Shibi nodded.
"Shino…" Kinako began uncertainly. "Girls like that…"
"I didn't invite them!" Shino explained quickly.
Kinako studied his flustered face and nodded slowly. "Alright, I believe you, of course, but why were they here?"
"I think they just followed Shibiki home," he sighed in exasperation.
"You just left Hinata there, you know," she said quietly.
"Where did she go?"
"Most likely to help prepare the family dinner."
Shino nodded and went off to find his teammate.
Kinako turned to her husband thoughtfully. "Anata…are you sure about Hinata being spoken for? She really doesn't act like a girl with a boyfriend. In fact, if I really thought she had a boyfriend, I'd have to take her aside and have a talk with her about not leading on good boys like Shino."
Shibi raised a playful eyebrow. "Have you lost faith in my information gathering skills?"
"Nonsense," she patted his shoulder gently. "I know you're a master at stealth and lots of other shinobi things. I'm just saying you might not know as much about teenage girls as you think you do."
"I received the information from our son," he pointed out.
"Well, yes, but what do teenage boys know about teenage girls anyway?"
"Little Shino's girlfriend is cheating on him, is that it?" Great Aunt Zuruiko suddenly popped into the conversation and added her two cents. "Not to worry! I'll take care of it."
Shibi groaned and tried to stop her, but the old woman had dashed away. This was not good.
OOOOO
"Rika, I thought you said the clan head had been taken care of?" Mika asked cautiously. She didn't want to appear accusatory, but, well, the plan had somehow fallen apart.
"I did! I mean, he was. I'm sure the Supaichuu were deployed without a problem. I don't understand why he's still alive. Maybe he's just really resilient. Maybe the eggs are taking an abnormally long time to hatch. That's probably it."
"Is it possible another victim got in the way?"
"No. No way."
"Perhaps the Supaichuu moved to a different host for some reason? If so, we need to find the new alpha male soon to put it into containment."
"Father would be so angry if we lost it…. We'll have to get the truth out of that Aburame boy."
"Which one?"
"Does it matter?"
Mika paused to think of a diplomatic way to phrase her next words.
"I don't think Shino-san is falling for it. With a little effort, I think I could lure Shibiki into telling us what we need to know." The girls had allowed Shibiki to walk them down the street, but then they'd insisted he go and help his mother. He's grinned sheepishly and apologized for his father's brusque ways. The older boy seemed nice enough. She could probably take advantage of that somehow.
"What? Are you doubting the powers of my feminine wiles?" Rika smirked. "Jealous?"
"Hardly," Mika sighed. Her younger sister was very difficult to work with sometimes. Rika was about the same age as the younger boy, only a few years younger than Mika, and yet it seemed like a lifetime of maturity separated the sisters. Rika was simply too hot-headed.
The Inago Clan specialized in locusts, and their bug techniques were carefully guarded secrets. They also used Supaichuu, but to prevent accidental infections when handling the bugs, certain shinobi from the family were trained to be the caretakers of the Supaichuu. A Supaichuu caretaker was not allowed to host the locusts. Being bug-free was the safest defense against the Supaichuu, who needed a ready supply of food in order to flourish.
"He likes sweets," Rika stated. "Did you see all of the cinnamon rolls he bought? Those Aburames sure are pigs."
"Rika, I highly doubt he bought them all for himself."
"Shut up. I've got a plan."
Author's Notes:
OO Sorry about ending the chapter on a potentially scary note. It just seemed like a good stopping point.
I think Shinomaru's becoming my little Cupid.
