Shimmering Fireflies

Beetle

The past three days have been strange and... boring. Since this night out with her friends, it seemed they were all too busy for their own sake. Emi and Kyousuke forgot to mention they both had missions during the week, even after saying they would wait for her to go on another adventure. Kiba was sick and Hinata was also on a mission. Shino wasn't of any exception. Mizuiro did not know what to do, for she didn't book anything with the hopes of her team reuniting for a mission together. Apparently, she would have to wait a bit more than expected for this to happen. She was definitely sad about not being able to see Shino before he left. She thought he would've been the kind of boyfriend to tell her, at least, when he was leaving the village. Thinking about the latter term, -boyfriend- it made her feel weird. They still had to put words on their relationship, although it was somehow a subject she wanted to avoid. Just going with the flow of things was...nice. They had kissed only once after all.

The sun made its appearance through the pale blue curtains of Mizuiro's room. This sudden change of light made her glancing across her room, only to close her eyes again soon. She took a deep breath, which was eventually followed by a soft yawn. Her bed being right next to her window, she put her hand on the edge of it, feeling the sun rays on her skin. Half awake, Mizuiro breathed out as she appreciated the comfort of her bed.

Abruptly, she was forced out of this peace of mind by hearing her mother scream. The ninja woke up instantly, running outside of her room. She saw her mom standing on top of a chair, a petrified look on her face.

"There's this...huge... thing on the floor!" She kept screaming, pointing out a beetle moving next to her.

Mizuiro exhaled as she approached her. The beetle wasn't even as big as her palm. She slowly bent her knees and let the bug crawl in her hand, then walked in direction of the nearest window. Since it was open, she thought the beetle would be eager to leave, although it just stayed immobile on her hand.

"Is it outside now?", inquired her mom, still showing worry in her voice.

"Almost..."

Mizuiro reached for a tree right next to their apartment and put the creature on a leaf. After closing the window, a very subtle complaining noise left her mouth. Her mom thanked her, and as Mizuiro stepped back into her room, she heard her mention that she had to watch over the shop in an hour.

~

Another day has passed, and Shino was still nowhere to be found. It's not like Mizuiro didn't like to be alone, but she felt somewhat forgotten. She still had a hard time believing he didn't mention his departure. He had left the day after their meeting at the restaurant. If he knew he was going on a mission, he had many occasions to tell her. Maybe that's how he was; secretive to the point she would not know his whereabouts. She thought he would share things with her, but maybe he didn't want to? Perhaps, during their drinking game, he somehow understood that she had kissed Kyousuke and was jealous? He didn't seem to be the type, but then again, their relationship was only at an early stage. Mizuiro was clearly overthinking this, but it's not like she had many other things on her mind. She felt like she was just waiting for her teammates (or him) to get back to the village.

Staying true to her melancholic self, she decided to go to sleep early tonight. Thinking about their kiss and how he had gently put his forehead against hers sent a shiver down her neck. She remembered his dark, beautiful eyes and felt her face burning. She hugged one of her pillow while contracting her muscles, trying to contain her feelings. She then turned towards the other side of her bed, releasing the tension in her body. Mizuiro opened her window to let a breeze inside her room, the moonlight reflecting on the roof next to their place. Like she usually did, she put her hand to the edge of the window to feel the wind on her skin. As she closed her eyes, she tried to regulate her breath to a lower pace. She heard a cricket sing, and many others decided to join. It reminded her of the amazing evening she had at the festival. Her eyelids were getting heavy... Tomorrow was another day.