Shimmering Fireflies

Mysteries

Three hours later, the sun began to hide itself behind the tall trees around them. Before the sky even became dark, thousands of stars were visible. As soon as Mizuiro noticed it, she tilted her head back to enjoy the scenery.

They finally stopped where some trees had grown in a circle. They installed their sleeping bags at the bottom of a trunk and made a fire to stay alert ; it's not like they had to hide themselves for this mission. After eating, they sat on their own sleeping arrangement while admiring the night sky.

"You can sleep if you want," Shino said calmly. "I'm not very tired for now. I'll stay awake."

"Oh, alright... then tell me when you want to switch."

She started to slip into her sleeping bag, then suddenly stopped moving after something got her attention. She looked over the fire, her eyes widening by the second.

"Are you seeing those?" She whispered.

"Yes."

Small lights were hovering above their campfire, shinier than the floating ashes that would normally twirl over the flames. Around a dozen fireflies came closer to the two ninja, radiating their phosphorescence every two seconds or so. Mizuiro delicately lifted her hand so they would be able to rest on it. Even if they were flying close to them, the fireflies didn't seem to budge about their presence. When they started to fly higher, Mizuiro frowned in spite of her, not being able to touch one of them like she wanted.

"Here," Shino calmly said.

He had raised his hand in front of him. Two fireflies were on it, their soft glow reflecting in Mizuiro's eyes. She came even closer to him and observed the bugs in awe.

"I've never seen them so close," she murmured.

"I let them feed on my chakra."

Mizuiro carefully lifted her hand again so she could pet one of them. She was examining the fireflies with a peaceful look, asking herself how such small creatures could be that interesting and full of mysteries. She knew Shino also enjoyed their presence without showing it that much. Even before the newly arrived bugs, he seemed tranquil. He had kept his stiff composure, but Mizuiro had noticed his jaw being less tense than usual. The fact that his shoulders looked slightly more relaxed also made her think he felt at ease right now.

"Can you tell which species it is?" Shino asked.

"No... Can you?"

"Those are luciolinae. Because they do small intermittent flashings rather than a continuous glow. Their glowing is also not synchronized. Peroptyx fireflies for example, will synchronize their lighting frequency so that every one of them flashes at the same time."

Mizuiro was, as always, fascinated by his words. Every time he came up with new information on the matter, it made her extremely happy. Not only this subject was interesting, but she also felt like she could listen to him talking about bugs for hours. His voice was really soothing.

"What are your favorite types of bugs?"

His question brought her out of her thoughts. She was so focused on the sound of his voice.

"Bees and moth butterflies. What about you?"

"Beetles in general."

She smiled, a few words trying to stumble across her mouth.

"I'm glad I can finally talk about entomology with someone." She whispered.

"Me too."

Well rested, the two bugs eventually decided to go join the others in the sky. While Shino placed his head on the tree behind him, the moon reflected on his goggles as well as the faint lights produced by the fireflies. There was something peculiar about seeing him wearing sunglasses at night, but then again, she simply never saw him without them. It didn't make that much of a difference.

She was looking at him since who knows how long, not being able to tell if he noticed. She turned her back on him, caulking herself in her sleeping bag before he could notice her blushing face. Shino was, just like bugs, interesting and mysterious in many ways. Mizuiro wasn't sure how she felt about him being that interesting to her.

"Sleep well," Shino quietly said.

"Thank you."

There was always something peculiar about sleeping during a mission... something about letting her whole being in total confidence of the other; being vulnerable. With him, it was different for some reason. Even if it was their first mission together, it felt good being alone with Shino. She wondered what that meant exactly.

~

Kindly awakened by her friend, Mizuiro stayed besides him while he slept. He had turned his back on her and almost didn't move in his sleep, which didn't surprise her. He even slept with his goggles on, Mizuiro asking herself if they left marks on his face at this point.

Two hours later, she got up to stretch herself and wandered around their now extinguished fire. She eventually caught a glimpse of his face while walking: He seemed serene. There were not many ways to be aware of Shino's feelings in general, other than ask him or observing closely. She was happy to know that he seemed well right now, albeit asking herself why she felt like it was more than that.

Not knowing what to think of her accidental contemplation, she dared to observe that he was, in fact, quite handsome. She rapidly brushed off these thoughts and sat next to him, his back still facing her. She nervously played with a strand of her hair, trying to analyze why her heart was beating faster than usual.

The problem wasn't actually her heartbeat. She knew exactly why it was so vigorous, although she would have preferred not to think about it. She would have preferred not to let herself carried away with those thoughts, preferred not to realize this now more than obvious fact. It wasn't new for her to feel so aflutter and whimsical towards someone else -the first time regarding one of her own teammates- but Mizuiro knew she would have trouble dealing with her more than flourishing daydreaming habit... again.

"Are you ok?" Murmured Shino without moving by an inch.

It made her jump so badly she almost got up.

"You scared me!" She exclaimed in a much higher voice than usual.

She put her hand on her chest to calm herself down.

"Sorry."

"I thought you were sleeping."

"I was. My bugs sensed you were nervous."

"..."

"Is everything ok?" He asked again after a few seconds.

She let out a nervous laugh mixed with a sigh.

"Yes. I was just... overthinking. Sorry I woke you up."

Mizuiro tried to regulate her breath so her friend could continue to rest. Five minutes later, just when she thought he was asleep again, Shino added something else.

"If you want to talk... I'm here."

This time, her breathing stopped immediately. Mizuiro didn't know he considered her that close to him. Maybe that wasn't the case; she was already a victim of her own excessive sentimentality. He probably only said that as a form of politeness. Nonetheless, she was happy he did.

"Thanks..."