Not many people knew Shino very well.
He figured that that was for the better. They couldn't find out about you, after all.
You were a chūnin from Kirigakure, just shy of nineteen. You were no stranger to Shino, in fact, far from it.
In fact, you had first encountered him when he was on a mission.
⠀
You were with your friend, Chika. You had been friends since you were young, having befriended each other in the Academy.
"Don't look now, but there's a Leaf nin staring right at you," she had whispered into your ear, just after you had stopped at the display window of a shop. She had been acting paranoid for a few minutes, which meant that the Leaf nin she was speaking of had been staring for quite some time.
You had managed to not look, but now you felt his eyes on you, and the temptation kept getting stronger the longer you felt it.
⠀
Eventually, you didn't feel the gaze of the Leaf nin on you anymore. You simply assumed that another Leaf nin had dragged him away, or perhaps someone from your village had noticed and berated him for it. Either way, you were grateful.
However, when you returned to your home, you felt it again. Technically, you didn't know if it was the Leaf nin from earlier, but when you turned around and saw the headband that all Leaf nin wore, you knew it was the same person.
The same man.
"Excuse me, did you need something?" You asked quietly, due to the fact that it was somewhat late and you didn't want to wake any neighbours that could potentially be sleeping.
He didn't say anything. He only shook his head at you before turning around and leaving.
You shrugged it off and entered your apartment. So he knew where you lived. Big deal, right?
⠀
Well, apparently, it was.
The next day, you felt the same gaze on you. And if you squinted just enough, you could see him, lurking away in an alley. Creepy, you thought, shaking slightly out of fear.
You knew he was following you, and it didn't matter who you were with. He was always in the shadows, watching you, seemingly waiting for something.
You had no idea what you had done, and that was one of the worst feelings you could think of. Had you even done anything?
⠀
Fortunately, the stalking ended after a few days. Your stalker had seemingly just left you alone. What drove him to do so, you had no idea. But you were definitely grateful for what it was.
You spent that day strolling around your village and laughing, Chika by your side. She was just as grateful that the stalker was gone as you were, and in fact, you didn't see any Leaf nin in town, so you simply assumed that they had gone back to their village and that their mission here, whatever it was, was complete.
⠀
This time, Chika walked home with you, wrapping you in a tight embrace and resting her head on your shoulder.
"I'm so happy that Leaf nin is gone," she whispered before pulling away. "He was creepy, don't you think?"
"Definitely," you laughed, turning around to open your door. "I had fun," you smiled, adjusting your arm so you could carry the bags you currently possessed without either hurting your arm or breaking said bags. "Same time tomorrow? But please, no more shopping, I don't think my savings can handle this much spending."
