Mother Nature's Flower

Chapter 17

Outside Ichiraku Ramen, Shino was watching Aiko as she tried to calm down. She tried taking deep breaths that help her breathing, but she had broken out in a cold sweat as they made their way through the crowd of people in the shop. Shino sighed and gave her his coat again. She seemed to really like it and cuddled into it. She stared at the ground, snuggled up in Shino's coat, saying nothing.

They stood there for a few minutes, saying nothing. The silence continued until Shino asked a question.

"Are you ready to go back inside?" Aiko looked up, thinking about his question. She felt better now that she had something familiar. Her breathing wasn't as labored and she didn't feel as nauseous.

Aiko nodded, but then had an afterthought, "C-can I ke-keep your-r coat? Please?"

Shino was quiet for a few seconds before nodding. Aiko smiled and thanked him.

After Aiko and Shino left, everyone, well, almost everyone, was thinking what just happened. They weren't sure why she freaked out, or why she allowed Shino to lead her outside. Naruto was the first one to break the silence after his and Sasuke's little spat.

"How come she wasn't afraid of Shino?" He asked while squinting his eyes and scratching his head.

The group of people that had been in the Hokage's office at the time of her arrival looked at each other, the jounins held a conversation with their eyes, deciding what they should and should not tell them. They gave a slight nod of their head when they came to an agreement.

"She's not afraid of Shino because he is familiar to her," Kurenai finally decided to say. "He reminds her of one of her first and only friends. She feels safe with him because of how familiar he feels, even without her knowing him."

"Yes, but how does she know him? She would have had to meet him before to know that he feels familiar," Shikamaru lazily pointed out, his head laying on the counter of the ramen shop.

Kakashi was the one who spoke this time, " She met him while she was in the Hokage's office a few days ago when she first came here. We had just come back from escorting her, and they were done with their mission. They walked in while she was having a panic attack. She was crying. Wanting 'Shiko' and 'Panda' and her brother. They walked in, and she just looked them over. After a few seconds, she started sobbing and ran over to him. She started to sob into his coat, while everyone else was confused."

Naruto started to think. He slightly remembers Aiko mentioning some people. Slightly. Too much anger was going through him at the time to remember. While he was trying to remember, Kakashi continued to talk.

"After a while, she fell asleep. A few minutes later she started to have a 'nightmare', I guess is the only word for it. Sakura then explained that this happened sometimes, and Toshiko gave her one of his shirts so she can smell him. It may seem weird," Kakashi started when he noticed them give him a weird look, "But being able to smell something familiar while they are having a nightmare, helps to calm them down. So, we gave her his coat. She was a lot calmer than before, so we left it there."

After Kakashi's somewhat confusing explanation, Aiko and Shino re-entered the ramen shop. Aiko was now wearing Shino's coat, while Shino himself was wearing a gray tank top and his usual pants. His familiar glasses still on his emotionless face.

"Aiko! Are you okay now? Did Bug Boy do anything to you?! Are you al- BONK! Ouch! Sakura-chan that hurt!"

Sakura dusted her hands off, "It was supposed to! Let her breathe!"

Aiko nodded to Sakura before turning to her cousin, "Yes, I'm fine jūtei. And don't call Shino-kun 'Bug Boy'. It's rude, and bugs are very cool and useful."

Naruto blinked, "But they're just bugs. How can they be useful?"

Aiko looked confused, "How are they not useful? The bug-users use them for tracking others, attacking, or defending. Some can also be very pretty. I used to look at them with my older brother when I was three. I especially loved Kikaichū! They have such pretty eyes! The color of fresh ferns."

Aiko finished her sentence dreamily. Then, seeming to notice that she was spacing out, stood up straight and blushed while looking at the floor.

Sakura stepped forward.

"I didn't know you like bugs so much," she remarked off- handidly.

Aiko looked up at her, cheeks still slightly red, "Not just bugs, Sakura-chan. I love animals and the outdoors in general. They help calm me down, and most seem to like me."

Aiko looked down as she became sad, "Not many people outside my family liked me when I was younger. They didn't like that I was the one people of the village were so worried about. So, when my family was busy, I would go outside and just sit in in the forest near the compound. I would sit there for so long, animals would become used to my presence and just come sit with me.

"I remember one time I was out there, a wolf came up to me. I thought was going to hurt me. However, he just wanted me to pet him. He used to come by a lot until some of the villagers hunted him down and killed him, his wife, and his wolf cubs," Aiko was in tears as she recalled the awful things that the villagers did.

Naruto brought her into a hug. He rubbed her back soothingly, and everyone was surprised at how gentle and quiet he was being. He was not his normal, loud, rough self. It was like he was a different person.

After Aiko was done, everyone sat down to eat, mirth accompanying the group once again through the afternoon. Soon, people began to leave. Some people had their parents come in to get them, others left before it got too dark. Soon, it was only Naruto, Aiko, Sasuke, and Sakura. Aiko kept staring from her ramen bowl to Sasuke. He was wearing an emotionless face on, but his eyes . . .

They were lonely and angry and cold.

I wonder what happened to him, Aiko thought to herself.

Sakura had noticed her staring and, even though she liked Aiko, she didn't want her to like her Sasuke-kun.