Shino's POV.
After I dropped Shikai off at her house, I walked back to mine with my hands shoved in the pockets of jacket. I sighed softly, already missing her company. I was fairly uncertain why I felt like I needed to have to her around all of the time. Maybe I should ask my father when I arrive at home.
I walked inside of my house and was faced by my father, who held the same emotionless expression on his face as I normally did. "Shino, why are you home? It is your day home." He said, and I nodded my head slightly.
"I came home to get ready for the festival later, I am going with Shikai." I said, and my father nodded slightly.
"You have been spending a lot of time with Shikai, have you not?" My father said, and I nodded this time.
"I have."
"Do you care about her?"
"A lot." I said honestly, and my father nodded.
"Does she know that?" He asked.
"I do believe she is aware." I said, and he nodded slightly. "Thought can I ask you something?"
"Of course, Shino."
"Why does my heart hurt when she is not around? And why do I feel like she should be around me all the time?"
"I believe that is love, Shino." My father said, and my eyes widened from behind my sunglasses. Did I love Shikai? I didn't know.
"Thank you, father." I said, and I walked back to my bedroom. I sighed a small sigh when I got in my bedroom, and I took off my glasses. I was thinking about not wearing them, because I knew that Shikai preferred me without my glasses, but I did not want anyone believe her seeing my without them, so I ditched that idea.
After deciding I would wear my normal, casual outfit, I laid down on my bed and waited until it was time for the festival. I started to think back to what my dad had said, that what I was feeling was love. Was it possible for me to love Shikai? She was one of the most gorgeous people I had ever seen, and I knew that my heart did flips when I saw her. I knew that my stomach got a weird feeling in it when she kissed me, and I knew that I wanted her around me all the time.
I knew that I adored the way she smiled, and the way she scrunched up her nose when she didn't like something. I knew I adored the way she pushed herself to be the best she could be. I knew I adored the way she didn't mind my bugs, and she made me feel welcomed around her. I knew that I cared a whole lot about her.
But was it enough to call it love?
//
I laid in my bed for a few hours before I got up and decided that it would be a good time to leave for the festival. Sliding my standard ninja shoes on my feet, I left my house and walked slowly towards downtown Konoha, where the festival was held. Everything was decorated, and people were dressed up in fancy outfits that seemed to shine in the light of the moon and the lights from the streets.
I walked around, looking for the beautiful girl that I would be accompanying tonight, and the further I traveled into the crowd, the more nervous I grew. I let out an inaudible sigh incase someone I knew was around, and I began to glance around more for Shikai.
As I walked through the town, my eyes landed on Shikamaru. Alright, if I found him, maybe I could find Shikai. I began to walk towards him, my hands still shoved in my pockets as I made eye contact with Shikamaru. I gave him a questioning look from behind my glasses, and finally arrived near him.
And that's when I noticed her. Her hair pulled up in a neat bun on top of her head, the kimono that hung perfectly on her frame, slightly too large on her. But the green fabric seemed to grab every curve her body held in the most perfect way. Her skin looked as if it was reflecting in the moon light, not a single imperfection showing over her skin. A simple clip held back her bangs in her hair, matching the flowers on the kimono. Her smile was growing the closer I grew to her, a small smile forming over my own lips. Her eyes had a small twinkle in them, and it made my heart do flips in my chest.
As I arrived in front of her, my breathing caught slightly in my throat. She looked absolutely stunning, and I could not take my eyes off of her.
"Hello Shino!" She said happily, the tone of her voice making me happy.
"Hello Shikai, you look beautiful tonight." I said honestly, and a small blush creeped over her cheeks.
"Thank you." She said as she glanced over at Shikamaru, who gave a small nod as if he was approving her to go with me. He then glanced at me, and met my eyes sternly.
"We will talk about this later." Shikamaru said before he walked away. I nodded after him before I smiled down at Shikai.
"What would you like to do, Shikai?" I asked, and she shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't mind, Shino! It's about you tonight, since you're the one going on!" She said happily as she grabbed my hand, lacing her fingers through mind carefully. Her fingers perfectly filled the wholes that my fingers left, my thumb resting gently on the knuckle of her thumb.
"I want to do what would make you happy. Why? Because I love seeing that smile on your face." I said, and a larger blush formed over her cheeks as we walked through the crowd of people, a few people glancing down at our intertwined hands, but I shrugged it off. I cared about nothing but Shikai tonight.
We arrived at a game where you had to throw a Shuriken at a dummy and knock it down. A lot of little kids were playing the game, and we took a spot in line behind them. My eyes wondered over the prizes from this game from behind my dark sunglasses, until they landed on a stuffed animal that was shaped like a dog. I smiled from behind my large jacket as I removed my hands from Shikai's, a coldness hitting my palm from where her hand had been. I stepped up to the front of the booth, and the man smiled at me.
"Are you here to win something for your little lady friend?" He said with a wink, and I nodded my head, no real emotion to my body.
"I am." I said, and he nodded slightly as he handed me three Shuriken.
"If you hit one and knock it over, you get a small prize. If you hit two, you get a medium. If you knock over all three, you get a large! Are you ready?" He asked, and I nodded slightly as I put one of the Shuriken in my throwing hand, flicked my wrist and let it go. It landed in the dummy and knocked it over. I did the same thing for the next two, and I couldn't help the small smile on my lips as I heard Shikai cheering me on in the back ground.
"Yeah, Shino!" She called out, and I could just imagine her throwing her arm up in the air, fist bumping the air. I gave a small laugh as I pointed to the dog plushy I had seen earlier. The guy smiled, grabbing it down and handing to me.
"Congratulations!" He said, I simply nodded and turned to Shikai, handing her the large plushy dog that was almost the size of her. I heard her giggle slightly as she took the dog and held it close to her, nuzzling her face against the soft material it was made of. I laughed softly and walked beside of her, not holding her hand because she was holding the dog from around its waist with both of her arms.
We played a few more games, Shikai winning me a smaller stuffed animal because in her words 'I needed something to hold at night when she wasn't there, and it was more my size.' so I held the small stuffed dog she had won me close, tucking it under my arm. We had stopped be her house and allowed her to drop off of the large dog I had won her in her room so she wouldn't have to lung it around everywhere.
Currently she was sitting across from me at a small restaurant just outside where the festival was being thrown. This restaurant was fairly small, and not a lot of people knew about it, so it was great for the two of us to get a small bit of alone time.
"I had a lot of fun today." Shikai said with a small smile, and I couldn't help but smile as well.
"I did too, Shikai. Thank you."
"Thank you for what?"
"For being such a wonderful person to me." I said honestly, reaching across the table and placing my hand on hers. A small blush formed over her cheeks as she smiled at me.
"I only do it because you means a lot to me Shino." She said, glancing away for a moment, before looking back at me slightly. "Shino, can I tell you something, and you not get mad at me?" She said softly, and I tilted my head to the side slightly.
"What do you mean, Shikai?" I said softly, and she looked over at me and gave a small sigh, staring into my eyes through my sunglasses.
"I think I love you." She said, the nervousness in her voice obvious. "I just... When I'm around you, I feel so happy, but I feel like my heart is going to beat out of my chest every time I'm around you, and you just make me so nervous, but so happy? I can't imagine not being around you, and not being happy, you know? I'm sorry if it's weird, and really sudden, but I just felt like I had to tell you." She said, worry over taken her beautiful features.
I stared at her for a moment, so many thought rushing through my head. Did I feel that deeply for Shikai? The same things I thought of earlier ran through my head, and I smiled behind my hood, before I moved my hand up to the material and pulled it down slightly, enough to expose my lips as I leaned over the table, and kissed her lips gently.
She kissed me back softly, her lips molding into mine perfectly before I pulled back, my hood cover my mouth once again as I rubbed her hand gently with my free hand. I smiled from behind my hood and spoke confidently.
"I think I love you too, Shikai."
//