Beetle In The Shadow (A Shino Aburame love story)

Opening up

Chapter 6

I woke up, not particularly excited to continue the day. Getting dressed quickly and tying my headband on, I went downstairs finding my mother and brother in the kitchen. Shikamaru and I both looked like we were still asleep. I sat next to him, putting my head down, not noticing that he had done the same. Closing my eyes I heard my mother laugh slightly, "Shikai, Shikamaru. Don't fall back asleep!" My hair was sprawled out around me, but my headband kept it from going in my face.

"Such a drag..." Shikamaru and I mumbled simultaneously, though I seemed slightly more awake than him. Sighing, I got up, taking a rice cake and walking out, waving. When I walked out the door, I saw Shino waiting outside, a small bug on his finger. I looked at him curiously, wondering why he was here when I remembered he lived relatively close to me.

"Hey Shino! What're you doing here?" I asked, looking at him curiously. I was more awake, now that I had someone to talk to, though sleeping was still at the back of my mind. Shino turned to me, his hood down as he greeted me.

"Hello Shikai. We're teammates now, so I thought we could walk together on our way to training. Talk about your dad like we had discussed yesterday." As Shino faced me, I wished I could see his eyes so that I could see some emotion, as his voice gave away almost none. With a nod of approval from me we began walking. A silence settled over us, but Shino broke it. I didn't understand why he talked so much around me, but I wasn't about to question it and ruin the beginning of friendship that was developing between us. "Why do you act a different way when someone mentions your father?" I bit my lip, nervous about him thinking that I was weak and overreacting.

"My father... He favors my brother over me. He's the older twin and he's going to be the next head of the clan, but I feel like...like he's always comparing us. He tells me, 'Shikai, why can't you be more like Shikamaru; Shikamaru did all those things right'! I really hate it...but I guess it's my own fault for not being as good as Shikamaru." Shino remained silent as I continued talking, "He always looks at me with those eyes... They always look so disappointed." My voice cracked and I looked away, furiously wiping the tears that were building up.

"I'm sorry." Shino's voice brought me back to reality. I turned my head, looking at him with my eyes wide. I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it, "I suppose I shouldn't have brought up the sub-"

I cut him off, hugging him, "Thanks Shino. For listening." I held on to him for a while before letting go, an embarrassed blush on my face. As we walked to the training grounds, we made small talk, keeping light conversation. By the time we reached the training grounds, only Kurenai-Sensei was there. "Hey Kurenai-Sensei!" I exclaimed enthusiastically, the sleepiness wearing off. She smiled, waving and we waited for Kiba and Hinata to arrive. I laid down, looking at the clouds peacefully. My arms were behind my head as I thought about everything. A small lady bug onto a blade of grass near me, making me smile and put a finger out for it to crawl on.

It began walking on my finger, making me giggle at the sensation. I sat up, examining the bug close to my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shino looking at me. Sighing, I stood up and walked over to him. By now, the lady bug had flown away, making me frown slightly. I sat next to him, the wind calming me. The silence was comfortable, but eventually I got restless, standing back up and wandering off somewhere. Shino and I had arrived early, way too early, so we had to wait for the rest of our team to arrive. I wandered off to a place where flowers grew, the sight breathtaking. I bent down, examining them carefully.  Hearing a slight snapping noise, I whirled around, getting defensive. "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" I shouted, launching my shadow to where I heard the noise. I felt something land on me and felt my chakra decrease slightly. Scratching the back of my neck sheepishly as I realized who it was, I laughed nervously, "Sorry Shino, I thought you were an attacker. Oops?" I heard him chuckle slightly and I knew it was fine. Bending back down, I examined a beautiful white flower, a relaxed smile on my face. "So, what brings you here Shino?" I asked, looking at all the flowers. Turning around to face him, I smiled as I saw him in his own world observing some bugs in the grass.

Sitting in the grass, I felt a sudden pain in my hand, making me yelp as tears involuntarily welled up in my eyes. Examining my hand, I saw a small stinger in it making me wince and try and take it out with my finger nails. It was the first time I had ever been stung, so I was clueless about what to do. Too focused on the pain, I didn't notice when Shino walked up to be, bending down and gently examining my hand. A couple of stray tears left my eyes that I didn't bother wiping away. I felt him remove the stinger, making my yelp again in pain. I saw him throw the stinger somewhere in the grass, "W-what are you doing S-Shino?" My voice was scratchy and I weakly tried wiping away the tears with my good hand. Without making a noise, he gently held my hand, as he led us back to Kurenai-Sensei.