Beetle In The Shadow (A Shino Aburame love story)

An Attempt

Chapter 4

When I woke up, Kiba was still asleep, light snores escaping him occasionally. Akamaru was asleep too, though he was more silent than Kiba. Throughout the night, Kiba and I had shifted into totally different positions. I was sleeping sideways and on my stomach, my feet hanging off the bed, while Kiba was sleeping like a starfish, sprawled out with his head resting on my arm. I smirked mischievously, moving carefully before moving my arm out from under his head abruptly, making Kiba wake up with a yelp.

As I laughed at Kiba's reaction, he snuck up on me, "Shikai!" He yelled in my ear, now waking Akamaru and the rest of his dogs. Barks rang throughout the house, making Kiba freeze as he realized just how much trouble he would be in with his mother.

Kiba's eyes widened as Tsume's voice rang out over the noises of the dogs, "Kiba! Stop yelling!" At this point, even more dogs were barking and Kiba's sister Hana had awoken too. I gave him a sympathetic look before exiting his room, my hair wild and unruly. Seeing as I had left quickly, I had no clothes with me, and I wasn't exactly willing to wear the same clothes I had yesterday.

"Um, Hana? Can I borrow some clothes?" I asked, smiling sheepishly. Hana was like a big sister to me. She would do my hair, get me dressed up, and I think she thought of me as a younger sister the same way I thought of her as my big sister. She smiled at me warmly, her eyes and smile radiating kindness. The clothes she gave me were a bit too big, but not so big that I couldn't wear them. Some fit me just fine, while others looked baggy. She handed me a fishnet shirt with sleeves that went up to my elbow and some fishnet pants that were lined with black and went down to my ankles. She also gave me a loose dark green shirt that was sleeveless and had shining silver buttons and dark green shorts that fit me decently. "Thanks!" I yelled as I walked out of the room, about to put on my shoes and head band. I combed through my hair with my fingers quickly, straightening it out and leaving it loose, too lazy to put it up. "Such a drag..." I said under my breath as I gave up doing my hair and tied my forehead protector around my forehead.

As I ran to Kiba's room to see if he was ready, I found him still in the clothes he slept in, making grow an anime vein as I smacked him upside the head. "Kiba Inuzuka, you lazy bum! I'm not waiting for you, so get ready fast and catch up to me or I'll leave you to walk alone!" I yelled at Kiba, my hands on my hips. While Shikamaru was more like our father, I was more like our mother. As I finished yelling at him, I left, thanking Tsume and Hana on my way out. Running so that Kiba wouldn't catch up as quickly, I glanced behind me quickly, only to run into someone, making me fall on the ground. I yelped and looked up to see Shino's pale hand in front of me. I smiled brightly at him, "Sorry Shino!" I took his hand and he helped me up.

"No, I'm sorry. I should have noticed you running." He said, almost no emotion in his voice. I remembered the pendants I had bought for the team, searching through a pocket for them. I had forgotten to give Kiba his, but I made a mental note to give him his during training. Finding it, I gave Shino his pendant, a wide smile on my face.

"We're teammates now, so I thought I should get you all something." I smiled at him once again, walking at a slower pace as I talked to Shino. "Do you like it? I wasn't really sure what to get you..." I trailed off, blushing in embarrassment as I wished I had gotten to know Shino more. "So, sor-"

"It's fine. I like it." Shino cut me off as he examined the pendant in his hand. I smiled widely, once again, glad I had made my teammate happy. As I opened my mouth to say something, I heard Kiba's voice.

"Shikai! Sorry I wasn't ready in time." Kiba said, Akamaru in his hoodie barking. I smiled at him, silently handing him his pendant as a sign that it wasn't necessary for him to be sorry. The three of us continued walking, meeting up with Hinata somewhere along the way.

By the time we reached the training grounds, I had given all three of my teammates their gifts and now only had Kurenai-Sensei's pendant to give. "Hinata? Can you give Kurenai-Sensei the pendant? You can say it's from all three of us if you like?" The shy Hyuga nodded, taking the beautiful rose pendant and giving it to our sensei.

We were training with long range attacks, since that seemed to be what most of our team had trouble with. Shino and I were sparring, while Kiba and Hinata sparred with Kurenai-Sensei watching over everyone. I made the proper hand signs, using Shadow Possession to try and trap Shino, but he kept avoiding it. I cursed myself for not being an expert in strategies like Shikamaru or my father, but closed my eyes anyways and tried to make a strategy. While Shikamaru would put his hands together in a circle when he thought, I had a habit of putting my fists together, making it seem almost like I was meditating. I put my fists together, my eyes closed and my brow furrowed. As an idea hit me, I smirked, opening my eyes and letting my hands fall back to their relaxed position. I could see Kurenai-Sensei looking at us from the corner of her eye.

"Ready to lose Shino?"

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@gaara-panda