Chapter 8 – Closing the Distance

Shibi stood scrutinizing himself in the bathroom mirror.

The unfortunate thing with being a man was the daily ritual of having to shave – (unless the scruffy, 'stranded on an island' look is your thing). That, and Kaho refused to kiss through stubble, as he had been informed. The thin-edged goatee and moustache that he had always had was something she didn't have a problem with. She wouldn't been attracted to him in the first place had she not liked his style.

Even to this day, shaving always bothered his kikaichu. Many Aburames had such issues. But like all things, they got used to it.

He could faintly hear Kaho playing with Shino downstairs. It was a mid-spring day. Shino had turned one the past winter. They both agreed as soon as he learned to walk they would take him for his first trip outside the clan - to Konoha park by the Academy.

"DEAR COME QUICK!" he suddenly heard.

He startled and nicked himself with the razor blade. Ignoring it, he ran downstairs, face still covered half in shaving crème, just in time to see Shino finish walking across the living room and fall into Kaho's outstretched arms.

"Hhehee!" Shino giggled.

"Great job dear!" Kaho beamed at her son.

"Daddy…!" Little Shino turned and looked up, as if saying did you see me?

"You just made it," She said. Shibi smiled, not really knowing what to say.

"Oh my, you're bleeding! I didn't mean to interrupt you…" Kaho smiled nervously.

"It's fine," he shook his head, putting his hand up.

"Go clean yourself up," Kaho sighed, still feeling a bit guilty.

Later, Shino was still practicing with himself falling around the couch as Kaho made some rice for dinner. Shibi came up behind him and picked him up.

"Eeee! Heeheehea!" He squealed.

"Want to go outside?" he asked calmly.

"Owut!" Shino flailed.

…

Shibi put Shino down in the grass. Not too far off Yusuro and Tesuro were training with a senior Aburame, today it was Jima. Shino tried to get up but was still wobbly. He reverted back to crawling and tried to get closer to the training siblings, but his father picked him up and put him back in place, this time in his lap so he could not escape.

"Shino, pay attention,"

"…O'err der…." Shino pouted, which was baby talk for 'I wanna go over there'.

"You can stay here, dinner is soon. You can't go wandering off. Also, Tesuro, Yusuro and Jima would not like you bothering them while they are training."

"Mmmm," Shino looked around, and saw a butterfy on the tree behind them, "Eeetle!"

Shibi reached up and brought it down on his finger, "That's a butterfly Shino, not a beetle." He knew quite well Shino's term for 'beetle'…or as Shino put it 'eee-tle", as it was about the third word he ever started saying after "mama" and "daddy". Another one he learned because of the plushie Yusuro made for him was "Eee-caa-da" (Cicada)…and as things go with children and generalizations, every bug he saw was either an 'ecada' or an 'eetle'.

"Ter-fly?"

"Butterfly."

"Ba-fly," He looked at its big, bright blue wings.

"Butterfly….but I suppose you get the idea." Shibi smiled. He knew Shino could not pronounce complicated words yet, but it was not in his or Kaho's nature to talk baby-talk to him. Everything was always referred to in its proper name. Shino was smart for his age actually. Shibi was rather proud of him. He was not proud of Shino's fidgety actions though, but it should grow out of him…he hoped.

Shino reached for the butterfly.

"Be gentle," He told Shino, "It's okay he's not meaning you any harm," Shibi told the butterfly so it wouldn't fly away.

"Dinner guys, come'on!" Kaho called from the door. Shibi turned to look in her direction.

"Is okay butterfly…"

"Hum?" Shibi turned back around. He thought he heard someone say something.

Shino had the butterfly on his nose. It practically covered his whole face when its wings were outstretched. Shibi smirked lightly and shook his head, "Very good Shino…" He picked him up to go inside and the butterfly flew off.

Jima caught sight of Shibi and his son in the corner of her eye as they were getting up. It made her pause for a moment in thought. Yusuro saw her momentary distraction as an opening to attack and darted in. However, Jima's ears were still focused on her, and she caught Yusuro's fist in her hand without moving her head.

"Dammit," Yusuro groaned.

"You are still being too loud. I could hear you even if I could not see you." Jima informed her.

Tesuro, who was standing across the clearing, cracked a grin.

"Stop smirking!" She snapped at him, "I can see that."

"No you can't."

"Of course I can."

He mumbled something into his collar.

"I HEARD that too."

"Stop it, both of you," Jima sighed, "Yusuro, you were using kikaichu seer no jutsu during our training, correct?"

She nodded.

"Oh, so that's how you saw…" Tesuro said.

"As skilled as you and your family are in it - you should be working on getting used to having scout bugs around the area as you fight, it would alert you to any incoming threats even if they were behind you."

"That's what I was going for," Yusuro said.

"Don't get smart with me." Jima pointed at her.

"I wasn't sensei."

She nodded, "Well, how many do you have out?"

"Six, it's the most I can concentrate on and fight at the same time."

"Not bad, but you can do better." Even I can only do five myself…it's tough to fight and keep concentration on the connected scout bugs…standing still so I can put my full concentration on them I could even only have 20 at the most. However, Kuroji's been known to have over 100. His family line was always skilled at that jutsu.

Yusuro nodded in reply.

"How's the training going?"

"Tao?" Jima startled slightly. Tao had came out of nowhere, he was right up next to her and Yusuro.

"Sorry to startle you,"

"You must be quiet for Jima-sensei to not notice you," Yusuro smiled.

"Am I?" Tao gave a look towards Jima.

"I would say you are average," She turned her head away.

"Average? For you that's high up there."

Jima looked at him again.

"Tesuro and I are going to stop for today and go rest, thank you Jima for your help," They bowed and quickly darted off.

"I'm not tired," Tesuro said.

"Those two could use some time alone," his sister replied.

"Time alone?"

"A kid like you wouldn't understand."

"Kid?" He quietly pouted with a scrunched brow. I'm graduating from the academy this year, I'm not a kid…

"I'm your big sister, you will always be a kid to me."

"…" He grumbled and followed her inside their house.

"That was nice of you to help Kuroji's kids train."

"Kaho-sama was with her family for dinner and Kuroji is off on a mission, it's the least I could do."

"I thought you didn't like kids."

She froze, then startled to slowly walk, "That's not true. I don't dislike children."

"Just the impression I got, I'm sorry," He followed her.

"No, it's alright…" She sighed.

"…" He tried to think of some way to lighten the conversation, "It's been a gentle spring this year hasn't it? Just the right amount of butterflies. Not too many cicadas."

"It has. I miss the crickets though, I hope they come back soon."

"You like crickets, if I'm not remembering incorrectly?"

"I do."

"They're considered lucky by lots of people."

"Just a superstition."

"Perhaps."

"…" She stopped.

He came up along side her, "Jima…I've been meaning to tell you…thank you for letting me get…well, closer to you this past year. I was beginning to think I bothered you." He tilted his head down and almost laughed lightly.

"No! It's not that…you don't bother me."

"…" Tao wanted to be forthright, but it really wasn't in his nature to be. It was difficult for him to be doing what he was right at that moment.

"You've been courting me now for almost two years you know." Jima said suddenly.

Tao struck a gesture / posture that affirmed her statement.

"Most men would have given up by now, on a stubborn woman like me."

"Stubborn?"

"Or you could say difficult."

Tao swallowed, and mustered up every bit of calm inside him, yet his kikaichu still lowly buzzed in a state of excitement like an idling car motor, "There is no point in my giving up because there is no one else for me to bother. I...I love you and I'm not going to leave you alone until I get a straight yes or no answer from you."

She tilted her head up at him, those violet-tinted oval glasses that suited her so well peeking out from under the draped front of her jacket's hood. After a long pause, long enough for a beetle on a nearby tree to crawl from it's base all the way to it's arching top branches, Jima spoke up, "I love you too Tao."

His face lit up abut as much as you could imagine a well-dressed, calm Aburame like himself to do so. He took her hand in his and drew a little closer only for her to pull away.

"What's the matter?" He asked softly.

"There's something you should know…it's," The words seemed very hard for her to say, "…it's important you hear it," She looked down," I was avoiding telling you I think, because I was so afraid….afraid you wouldn't want to chase after me anymore….and….I really enjoy you vying for my affections…" she smiled.

He smiled too.

"Stop smiling."

He complied to her request.

"I can't have children." She adjusted her gourd's strap, and paused for emphasis before continuing, "I was in a bad mission accident. I was injured in ways that could not be repaired, as a result, I had to have my uterus removed," She paused again, "After that, I pushed myself away from kids, anything to do with kids. I had always kind of wanted a child, and after that….it was like, something being torn away from me." She furrowed her brow, "And then when you started courting me, I knew how much you liked children, that you would want to have a family." Her voice chocked up slightly, "And…it was something I couldn't give you."

He blinked and stepped closer to her, please don't cry, that's definitely something I can't see you doing…he thought.

"…"

"…"

"Well?" She asked.

"Well what?"

"Don't you have anything to say about that?" She seemed a little angry.

"I'm sorry about your accident…. I wish…I had known about it sooner."

"So does this mean, you don't want to…that you don't…"

He shook his head, "I love you."

She looked at him, "…but…"

"I do want a family. It's terrible you can't have kids, but that wasn't the reason I went after you." He tilted his head, "What I really want is you. Besides, we could always …adopt or something."

"Adopt?" she scoffed, "You know how iffy this village is about adopting kids into this clan."

"We could try."

"…" she smiled, "silly optimistic fool."

"…hum."

"Well then, if you're…willing to. I am."

He gingerly leaned forward and she helped the rest of the way, nuzzling into his chest. He felt his kikaichu buzz with interest, and he carefully put out his arms and draped them around her waist.

Kaho peered out the kitchen window.

"…Shibi…come here!" She said in a loud whisper and gestured.

"What is it?"

"Come ON,"

"…" He grumbled and got up, leaving Shino in his baby high chair. Shino looked longingly at the steamed carrots sitting on Shibi's plate that he had been feeding him moments before.

Kaho pointed out the window.

"Tao and Jima…?" Shibi whispered. Even though no one else could hear them, it seemed like the kind of thing to do when spying on someone.

"You think they may have…?"

"Looks like it."

"Ohh…I'm so happy for them!" Kaho smiled.

Shino threw the sippy cup next to him at the table.

Kaho and Shibi paid no attention, even though they heard it go rolling across and fall on the floor. They were used to such things by now.

"It's nice to see a match-up between clan members like that." Shibi said. They both were still peering out the window.

"Oh, as opposed to silly outsiders like me?" She put a hand on her hip.

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, "I think I'll stick with my sexy outsiders."

"Ahhh….gaaa wa…!" Shino complained.

"Oh poor thing, you want the rest of your dinner don't you?" Kaho walked over and sat in Shibi's chair so she could attend to the demanding youth. Shibi stared at her for a moment as if saying 'That was my chair…', then took a seat one over.

…

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Oooo, a little Tao and Jima action… X33 I'm glad to see those two finally get together! O..O ! Next chapter something is up with Sakuya and Ussa…we shall see…and also Shino's first trip outside the clan, lets hope it's a good experience. :O