A Bug's Life (A Shino Aburame Love Story and Naruto Shippuden Fanfiction) ON HOLD

Sora's Outburst

    “I slept like Mittens by the warmth of our fireplace!” I burst, stretching and groaning. Sakura gave me a smile, picking up her blanket and supplies.

    “I’m glad to hear you got your rest,” she mused, sitting down on a rock and poking at our small fire, which was fading away as the sun began to beat down on us. We’d made it into the Land of Fire yesterday, and I have to say, I like it here.

    But, you see, Sakura had it all wrong. “No, no, no!” I exclaimed, plopping down next to her. “Mittens doesn’t sleep when she’s near the fire. She tries to burn down the house with it. I was saying I got no sleep.”

    Sakura raised her eyebrows, looking confused. “Oh. I see. Yup…”                                   

    Temari smiled, sitting opposite of us. “Some cat, huh? Sounds like a sweety.” Her tone was sarcastic, and she stabbed at the pulsing embers with a small twig. Something about her seemed deflated in a way, and I leaned forward, blinking in thought.

    “Temari?” I asked, placing my hands on my knees. “What’s got you down?”

    Lord Gaara’s older sister jerked upright, her eyes widening in surprise, not meeting mine. “I don’t know what you mean…” she rambled, her voice loud and rushed. Sakura laughed, joined by Hinata, who was watching from a few feet away.

    Waving our shy friend over, where she joined us shortly, Sakura nudged me with her shoulder. “I bet it’s because a certain smarty from our village didn’t come, hmm, Temari?”

    Hinata stifled a giggle, and Temari flushed. “Of course not! I haven’t even thought about Shikamaru.”

    I leaned back onto the ground, the coldness of fresh dirt tickling the skin along my arms and legs. I blinked, glancing up at my blushing superior. “You know, Temari, Sakura never said anything about a Shikamaru guy. Am I right?”

    Soon the entire squad was there, Leaf and Sand alike, all talking and conversing. Realizing something, I sat up again, poking Kakashi’s knee. He blinked, glancing down at me as I sat on the ground beneath him. “Yes?” he asked, his black eye curious.

     I climbed up, sitting on the log next to him. “Why aren’t we heading out? I mean, shouldn’t we be getting closer to the scroll?” When I spoke, everyone else seemed to cast their attention toward us, listening in.

    Kakashi sighed through his nose, surveying the group of shinobi, settling on Kokoko Sensei, who he must have assumed was the leader of our squad. “We have two more shinobi coming in from the Leaf that have information on our target. We’re currently waiting on him, then we’ll set out our plan. Is this okay with you?”

     Sensei yelped, scooting back, her cheeks stained with pink. Tugging on the atrocious collar of her sweater, she began to stutter wildly. “I-I I’m a…absolutely f-f-f-fine with that, K-Kakashi.”

    The Copy Cat Ninja acknowledged her statement with a nod, rolling his shoulders in a pleasant-looking stretch. I began rummaging around camp to pass time, finding several bugs that I’d scarcely seen before. Beetles and arachnids of new sorts that weren’t keen to the desert climate found their way into the lap of my skirt, scuttling around and picking at each other. I leaned closer, feeling my eyes widen. “Fascinating!”

    “Aren’t they?” burst a random voice from right behind me.