Naruto 1. Eyes

Kana Saito was one of the many orphans left behind. She could have been a great ninja.

Like many others, the nine-tailed beast took her parents away when she had barely opened her eyes. Her parents weren't well known as the fourth hokage or his wife, but they were still decent shinobi. Yet the only recognition they had were their names being engraved into the memorial stone. That was all. Nothing else was left of them for her to remember.

Kana had nobody to take her in and so she was sent to Konoha's orphanage. There, she grew into a fine young woman and was only viewed as another villager. She lived through depression, loneliness and didn't want the future orphans to experience the same. So she chose to be a caretaker instead of the ninja life that states: _kill or be killed_.

* * *

He was always viewed as the boy who kept to himself and his _bugs_. It was only almost three years ago that his weakness in team bonds was diminished. He knew what the meaning of "friends" meant and what it takes to protect them. Still, he was on a different level than they were; the way he calculated things were seen as him being "nitpicky" or just overly concerned. There was a big gap between the ways he viewed things and how people understood him. This was the reason why he would rather spend his time examining a beetle's life cycle than to meddle in any affairs his acquaintances created for themselves.

Shino Aburame received second glances when he walked down Konoha's streets. The Aburame Clan was known to be a mysterious bunch after all. Shino was the only one who dared to walk around while the rest of his family hid themselves from common villager's eyes. At times, some folks even walked up to him and asked why he wore so many layers of clothing and why he concealed his eyes even during the rainiest days.

Of course, his constant slanted eyebrows, which made him seem so angry, would be their only response. The villagers would only silently stare at their own reflection on his dark glasses and leave him be.

As he continued his way down the path to meet up with his team, a ball bounced and rolled in front of him. He stopped and watched a young redheaded girl run up to it. The ball that stood in between the insect user and her waited for her to pick it up but she only stood there. Her face lifted up to stare back at his tall stature. Shino blinked behind his glasses and decided perhaps the girl wanted him to give it to her. He calculated that is was probably the only reason why she didn't pick up the ball and run off already.

He bent down and grabbed the ball, giving it to her. The little girl's blue eyes still stared at him as she slowly took it from him; her eyes remained on his movements when he stood up again. He shoved his hands back into his jacket's pockets, a little nervous under this girl's gaze.

"Why are you all covered up?"

"…"

"Are you ugly? Is that why barely any of your face is showing? You're wearing a hood too, are you bald?"

He proceeded to step to the side and walked pass her. Time was being wasted and it would be troublesome to answer the young child's questions. Normal children that aren't enrolled to the ninja academy would never understand.

* * *

It's quite obvious that Shino was a man that focused on only one task at a time and one thought at a time. When the day ended with him finishing up his training with Hinata and Kiba, he walked back home and resumed to thinking about that little girl early in the day. Most children's eyes fill with fear when they see a person like him but she only looked at him with curiosity. It was rare.

He passed the same location of their encounter and noticed that it was the same area of Konoha's orphanage.

_Was the girl an orphan perhaps?_

He shrugged off the thought, not wanting to think himself as a creep. The insect user stopped walking though when her voice coincidentally broke his thoughts.

"Look! Kana-neechan, that was the boy I met earlier today!"

He turned to see the same girl pointing at him while she held onto someone else's hand. The red haired girl bounced up and down as she excitedly pulled the older girl's hand. From what it seems, this older girl was about his age but she too, had already developed a high level of maturity. She acted like a mother while she attempted to calm the girl down as they both walked up to him.

_Is she her sister? No, because they have no similar features…_

He didn't know why he was still standing there; waiting for them to approach him, but it was too late when the little girl grinned up at him.

"See? I told you! He looks weird huh? I think he's blind too because he's wearing such dark sunglasses!"

The girl named Kana laughed a little and ruffled the little girl's hair, "You shouldn't be insulting strangers like that, Suki. Besides, it's rather normal for him to dress like that as a shinobi from the _Aburame_ Clan."

He couldn't believe his ears. The woman didn't look like she was a ninja. Not that he judged people based on their looks, but he just _knew_. She was just a common villager and it was surprising that she even knew the types of clan. For some reason, he had a strong feeling she knew much more than the average commoner.

The golden eyes that met his confirmed his thoughts.

* * *

**Just a story I wanted to make for our favorite bug lover. He's always viewed as gross, it's sad to hear that when he brings a funny sense of humor. And that face! We only know a glimpse of his eyes but you can tell he's quite handsome.**

**I've only recently found out many people ship Shino and Kiba's sister, Hana, together (I forgot she even existed too). Well, that's unfortunate for Kana since their names are only off by one letter. ._.' I've also made her mother's name Hana too...Ugh! Well hope nobody minds that. So just a heads up about that complication.**


	2. Curiousity

Thank you for choosing this story to read.

And thanks to my first reviewers for the feedback.

* * *

_It's said that eyes are windows to a person's soul._

* * *

It's known that Konoha's orphanage wasn't a place that many people came to visit. Many children who lost their parents were either taken in by their relatives or were old enough to live on their own. The younger ones with nobody were left to keep themselves company. Orphans who wanted to become a ninja had little to no chance as the ninja academy required a legitimate guardian to enroll them.

Kana did her best to help the adults care for these children despite the fact that she was an orphan herself. Nobody would have ever thought she had the most needs as she was going through her adolescent years. She had completely disregarded those needs though when she thought of the children. They needed a big sister or perhaps even a mother to depend on and that was the sole reason why she still stayed at this place.

The orphanage was placed in between the long path to the training areas and the Aburame complex, but Shino couldn't understand why he never noticed this. It was only until he found himself walking home with the teenage caretaker that he realized he needed to pay more attention to his surroundings.

"Thank you." The simple words left her lips to break the silence between them. Kana carried a sleeping child that had exhausted herself asking Shino many questions that weren't returned with answers. The child named Suki had insisted that they should follow after him.

He glanced at her, "For what?"

"You didn't tell her to go away. Suki has a tendency to annoy people with her bombarding questions."

He didn't reply and the shuffling of their sandals once again filled the silence. Shino was sincerely amazed that anybody would hang around him for this long. What made him curious was, what type of person was this girl? She gave off a very alluring vibe.

When he met her eyes, it seemed like she had a story to tell; a story that would reveal all her insecurities. Her golden eyes stared right through at him and made him feel at ease; as if she didn't judge him on the little background she seemed to have knowledge of. She was also waiting for him to unfold what type of person he was even though it was known members of the Aburame clan were very stoic people.

"You work at the orphanage?"

Her eyes glanced at him and a small smile formed her lips, "I wouldn't say I 'work' at the orphanage but rather, I'm part of it."

If anybody knew what Shino's eyes looked like, they would also know he was capable of expression. The eyes behind the dark glasses widened slightly, "That's odd. For a moment I thought you were a shinobi since you seem to know a lot about it considering how you know about my clan."

"Children can choose to read and watch the ninja life rather than join it. Besides, isn't it obvious? We live in a village of ninjas. Some people are bound to learn a thing or two."

"Why would you only learn about it when you have the potential of becoming one?"

He soon regretted his words when the girl stopped walking with him and her eyes seemed to soften with sorrow, "There are reasons to everything, aren't there?"

When he opened his mouth to say something, she cut him off, "I believe we never properly introduced ourselves, haven't we? Suki here didn't give us a chance. I'm Kana Saito."

"Shino Aburame."

"Hmm," she lifted her chin up while she pondered on a thought, "Excuse me for being rude when asking this, but I've always wondered…what's it like to have insects living under your skin?"

Shino would have just stared at her with the intimidating sunglasses; however, he opted to actually answer, "At birth, an Aburame infant is offered to kikaichuu beetles as a nest. At this point, I wonder what it is like to _not_ have insects living under my skin."

Kana laughed and turned away, the sleeping Suki strengthened her hold around the teenager's neck when her body felt like it was slipping down, "Well, we've reached your home already. I think it's time for me to get going back before my arms break off. It was nice meeting you, Shino-kun."

Sure enough, Shino glanced back to see his clan's complex and when he turned back, Kana was already walking towards the horizon.

* * *

Despite the fact that the memorial stone is set in the center of training grounds, not many ninjas (or even normal civilians) paid their visits. The few frequent visitors were the men named Kakashi Hatake and Shikamaru Nara. They sometime bump into each other and have small conversations. At times, a woman that they were well acquainted with also joined in.

"Good morning, Kana. The weather is fine today isn't it?"

"Yes, good enough for a visit."

The Nara boy smirked and looked down at the lighter his deceased sensei left for him. He looked up again and thought about how Kana can remember her parents…when she had no memory of them. He waved her good-bye knowing people liked being alone when they paid their respects.

Shino was one of the few that sometimes liked to train on his own on his day off. Of course, he could also be doing things like research on a new species of beetles but perhaps brushing up on his taijutsu wouldn't be so bad. When he finished, he had to walk pass the entrance to the memorial stone, in which he bumped into Shikamaru Nara.

"Ahh, Shino. It's surprising that you train on a day like this. It's our day off."

"Hm, people should hone their skills at any chance they get. Why? Because slacking off will only be a hindrance in future situations."

"Yeah yeah, it'll be troublesome to try to argue with you. Have a nice day anyway." Shikamaru waved at him while he walked down the stairs. When Shino was about to follow after him, from the corner of his eyes he saw a figure in the distance. The person was within the memorial stone area and he recognized who she was.

Kana placed yellow daises in front of her parent's stone and put her hands together for a bow. It was true that she didn't know who her parents were but there were still papers that existed from her birth. Maybe, just maybe, their ghosts would appear in front of her whenever she paid them her visits. Of course, that would never happen. From the bottom of her heart, she knew they probably would have been great parents.

They died as heroes and that was already proof to her.

As she stood up to wipe her tears away with her yukata's sleeve, she blinked to see a small beetle fly past her and land on one of the daisy's petals. If she was more serious on her self-studies, she could confidently swear that it looked like a kikaichuu beetle. When a shadow approached her from the side, she was then one hundred percent sure it was a kikaichuu beetle.

"Do you have anybody to pay your respects to?"

"I believe I do."

Shino called back the lonesome beetle from the daisy. He didn't understand why this one beetle suddenly strayed from under his sleeves and led him to her but perhaps it was also curious just as he was. Kana turned when the bug flew past her and she frantically wiped her face when her eyes met his. Red-brimmed golden eyes and a flushed face was what he saw.

When she finally collected herself she asked him the next questions, "Well? Where are your offerings? Or do the Aburames not do that?"

Shino could answer with a lie and follow it up with another 'Why-because' explanation, but he couldn't lie, "Actually, I was on my way back from the training grounds and I happened to think about visiting since it's convenient."

"I see…well may I ask whom you are paying respects to?"

"An Aburame relative; he died during a mission of retrieving information from a dangerous rogue ninja."

"Hmm…" She turned to the memorial stone. As if she had read his thoughts, she answered his unspoken question of who _she_ was paying her respects to. It was already quite obvious though. "Kenpachi and Hana Saito. They died the night the kyuubi attacked."

Shino had already calculated Kana's age as the same as his own so it's obvious that most kids their age weren't born or were just infants that night. Shino realized that Kana was a child that lost her parents before she even knew them and lived by herself since then. His mind would have strayed to the similarity she had with Naruto but that was a different story.

"I think you wondered why I didn't become a ninja like my parents were, right?"

"…"

"Well Shino, some children can choose to become stronger after a loved one's death. Others choose to never experience that again. The children at the orphanage have aspirations of becoming shinobi, a common choice, but I chose to be the person they can seek comfort in during their struggles."

"You can't be both?"

By the time their conversation took off, Shino was taking a walk with Kana away from the memorial stone. They didn't realize that they had started a very interesting development. If he wasn't too busy listening to her, he would be thinking about how it was this easy to make friends.

She played with her dark hair as she tried to come up with an answer. By the time she answered, her locks have turned into a messy braid, "I'm just afraid."

Even if most of his face was covered by the high upturned collar of his inner jacket, she could still tell from his glance that he was asking "Why?" again.

"I've lost my parents to the shinobi life. I don't think I can actually become one and face the chance of dying myself."

Silence was very good company between these two as they continued their walk to nowhere. There was a chance that both teenagers were thinking about how they ended up with a complete stranger and were sharing quite personal information.

"Now to change the subject, on Suki's behalf, why do Aburames cover themselves so much?"

Shino cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, the high collar hid any indication that he was about to speak but Kana quickly stood in front of him –stopping him from just walking on without answering her question.

"As I said, our bodies are hosts to kikaichuu beetles. They are insects that must not be exposed to too much sun and long amounts of heat. Our attire help keep our bodies cool enough for them to continue their cycle within us."

Kana leaned up against him and squinted while trying to see through his dark sunglasses, "And the glasses?"

He took a step back before saying, "We are people who have evolved to be accustomed to shade."

"Or to simply put it, a mysterious bunch."

"Have your curiosities been settled?"

"Have yours?"

He could feel the insects skitter uncomfortably under his skin as they felt what he felt. Why was this girl making him feel so nervous now? He had been on many missions that would make even Kiba shake in anxiety but he was always the calm one. Yet here he was, craving to find some unknown answer from this girl.

"Perhaps they are settled." He answered.

"Well mine aren't."

Shino never really let his guard down. Kana wasn't a shinobi but it's probably his mistake to underestimate what she was capable of. She had already made him answer questions that he would usually ignore from overly impertinent people (not that she disrespectful or anything). She was definitely a daughter of a shinobi couple when her hands quickly pulled off his hood, causing him to go into a state of shock and frantically reach back for it. Her hand already caught his raised arm and her other hand pulled down his high collar.

It was just a peek. She smiled when she let go of him and it seemed like he would have glared at her if it wasn't for the dark glasses. He adjusted his hood and made sure the latches that kept his collar together didn't unfasten.

"What was that for?"

"I'm starting to think men from the Aburame clan are actually really handsome."

Her golden eyes told him she was being truthful.


	3. Acceptance

**Thanks for reading!**

**T-Time YOSH: **Thank you! :) I do wish there were more stories for Shino too! And more readers for him. Haha.

* * *

"Ahh, man that was one hell of a mission!" Kiba Inuzaka said as he and his teammates walked through the main gates of Konoha. His partner, Akamaru, barked in agreement and the boy pat the dog with a chuckle.

The mood was all going well until Shino opened his mouth.

"Perhaps we could have finished it much sooner if it wasn't for your lack of following the formation we planned."

Hinata sighed when her two male friends once again stood eye to eye–the air seemingly turned tense as Kiba growled at the insect user.

"What?! You're blaming _me_ for that small problem? It's not my fault that _you_ can't communicate clearly."

"It is rather ironic for you to say that. Why? Because you come from a clan that specializes in ninken, thus your sense of hearing should have been ample enough to be able to hear my communication."

Kiba rolled his eyes and backed up with a harrumph, "Sometimes you're just so impossible."

Shino contemplated on Kiba's words while he watched the canine boy walk away. Hinata glanced back and forth between them and bowed to Shino before apologizing and running off to reason with Kiba. He already knew she found it better to talk to Kiba than with him. He had indeed strengthened his bonds with his team, although he did admit he still lacked the ways of communicating his thoughts efficiently. Was he the wrong one in this argument? He felt a little bit depressed as he let this idea seep into his mind.

As he shifted his direction toward his complex, a thought crossed his mind. If he could cause Kiba to walk away in fume with no effort, then what did Kana feel when he had abruptly decided to jump away from her yesterday?

* * *

_"What was that for?"_

_"I'm starting to think men from the Aburame clan are actually really handsome."_

_Shino uncomfortably took another step back and turned his head away. Kana's smile faltered just a bit as his only reply was, "I should get going now…"_

_There wasn't even a 'thank you' from him. Perhaps it was because he was too flabbergasted that a girl actually complimented him. Him, Shino Aburame, the guy who was deemed creepy with his bugs, was said to be handsome by a girl! She must be playing a joke. That or he was in extreme denial._

_Shino slightly bent his legs down, ready to take off into flight before Kana's voice stopped him, "Umm…well bye. It was nice talking to you again."_

_He uttered a low noise with a nod and jumped away onto a roof. Glancing back, he only saw her smiling a bit solemnly while waving back at him._

_There were no second thoughts when he took off for home._

* * *

It was most likely guilt that led him to the front of Konoha's orphanage. He always thought he was a well-mannered man despite being quiet most of the time. He felt the need to explain to her why he behaved so strangely after her compliment.

It's just that, girls usually scream their heads off when they find out bugs crawl out of his skin.

Shino was sure Kana understood what the Aburame Clan specializes in already, so why wasn't she afraid? Maybe this time, he can finally get an answer.

He curled in his fingers to knock on the door. It opened to a middle aged woman. Surprisingly, there weren't any small children running in and out of the place at this time of the day and he took notice of how the inside seemed much quieter than what an orphanage should be.

The woman smiled, "May I help you with something?"

He could sense she felt a little uncomfortable having met a man that was covered from head to toe. If anything, she probably thought he was out to kill babies or something. People who didn't lead a shinobi life weren't usually well informed of the different types of clans.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but I was looking for Kana Saito."

"Oh, did she get into some trouble or something?" Worry filled her eyes.

"Not really. I am just a…friend of hers."

"Oh," she took a breath and smiled nervously again, "Kana doesn't usually get into any trouble. She's a nice girl you know? She's always the one apologizing to parents who think their children were bullied by our orphans, it's always a lie though. Orphans are always being picked on for having no real home or parents…"

Shino still only stood there patiently. The woman was afraid of him but he could tell she was a person who loved to tell stories. She soon realized that she was keeping him waiting and said, "Oh, sorry. I tend to go off on things. Um, Kana took some of the kids to the river to play. I'm sure you'll find her there."

_If you told me that Kana took the kids to the river, then it is already stated that she is there…so why wouldn't you be sure of that?_

Is what he wanted to ask.

Instead, he nodded and thanked the woman and headed for his next destination. The woman stood idly by her door for a moment and thought to herself how Kana had met such a strange boy.

* * *

"Nee-chan, nee-chan! Look what I caught!" Suki ran up to the motherly teenager who was resting against a tree and opened up her hands, "It's a ladybug!"

Kana watched the red round bug crawl around on Suki's palms and resisted from picking it up herself. She thought ladybugs were cute. When the dotted bug reached the tip of Suki's finger, a small gasp escaped her lips when the bug opened its wings and fluttered off. Her blue eyes followed after the bug and she squealed and pointed to something next to Kana.

Kana gave her a confused look and turned her head. Her eyes met the Aburame boy who would definitely look creepy standing slightly behind the tree to the other kids if they noticed. Suki quickly ran up to him and was once again, inspecting him. She even attempted to lift the outer green jacket he had on to see what was under but Shino gently pulled away.

"Suki? Why don't you go join the other kids again? I see they are having a competition of skipping rocks in the river right now." Kana stood up and gently pulled the girl away from the boy and her hand gave a light push so the little girl would follow her commands. Suki turned her head and rolled her eyes, "I didn't know you liked boys who dressed like the sun was their enemy!"

She ran off before Kana could scold. Kana sighed and turned back to Shino, "Sorry about that…so what brings you here?" The hands that were behind her back nervously fidgeted. She was glancing away from him as she talked.

"About yesterday-"

"Oh, about that! Sorry I invaded your space. I tend to do things without thinking when I get too excited. Anything else?"

She was definitely irritated at him.

"Actually, I wanted to apologize for just leaving like that. It's just what you said…was a bit surprising."

"Why?"

He found her golden eyes staring right at him again. If he wasn't such an awkward guy, he would actually say she was a really pretty girl. Today, her black hair was let loose to flow to her waist. She wore a red casual yukata adorned with white flower patterns. He grabbed the tip of his hood and pulled it down in attempt to hide any revelation of embarrassment as he answered, "It's strange since most people think a person who harbors bugs in their body are _disgusting._" He sounded kind of frustrated with the last word.

Kana smiled warmly and her hands reached up near his face but stopped midway to see if he would permit her to do the next action. His silence allowed her to proceed unhooking the first latch on his high collar to open up enough to reveal his face. He had lived with insects under his skin since birth but the term 'feeling the creepy crawlies' were still applicable when her hands touched his face.

They were soft.

He didn't understand why this was happening at all. They had barely met just a few days ago yet there was something about her that made him feel…_attracted._

"Shino, it's more repulsing when people think they don't have any qualities that are far worse than a person who lives with insects. People are disgusting when they deem somebody else as disgusting without any ounce of comprehension."

There it was. His answer was _acceptance._ She didn't judge or see him as anything but human with unique qualities. She accepted that there are people who lived differently than others.

He still wanted to test it though.

He opened a pore below his ear and let the kikaichuu beetles scatter across his face, making her retract her hand. Her face didn't express repulse, more rather anger.

"I'm disappointed that you would test my honesty. But fine," she carefully replaced a few fingers on his cheeks and allowed the beetles to trail down her fingers, "if you think I am just saying things out of pity, then you're wrong. If you want me to scream out of horror like normal people to make you feel better then I will. Just remember there will be no authenticity behind it."

The beetles seemed to sense her rising anger and scampered back to Shino's face. He then made them return back beneath his skin. His hands instinctively reached to grab hers when she retracted.

"Kana…I apologize. We've barely met but it's just so rare to find a friend who understands." He struggled to say such a sentence. Relief overwhelmed him as she smiled again, "Then the beginning of this friendship has just started, hm?"

He didn't smile and his eyebrows still remained slanted for that angry look. She knew it would take awhile for such a demeanor to soften but she liked him. He was interesting and his awkward behavior only showed her that he just needed a chance to reveal what he's actually made of. _Not just bugs_.

"Ah! I knew it! Kana-neechan likes the stalker!" Suki had brought along the rest of the children and they were all staring at the two big kids. They were also staring at the hands that held each other. Shino finally realized this and immediately let go to fasten the hook of his collar together while Kana turned to the kids, a light blush tinted her cheeks.

"Suki! How many times have I told you to not be rude?"

The little girl snickered and elbowed the boy next to her, gesturing that there was something going on between these teenagers.

"You know what his face looks like don't you?! Why were you both holding hands? _Do teens hit it off that fast_?"

"Oh good god…Suki, we are friends. His name is Shino and I think it's time I take you all back now."

A loud groan came from the small group and everybody glared at the nervously giggling Suki. She had to ask one more question before Kana led them back home though, "But seriously Kana-neechan, you like Shino don't you?"

Kana's gold eyes glanced back at the mysterious boy in which made him shove his hands into his pockets silently. He never wanted to say anything during these types of situations. He also had no shame of giving her the full responsibility of coming up of an answer. There was a consequence of that though. Her eyes sparked mischief when her hands made him pull an arm away from a pocket and she quickly intertwined her fingers with his.

"I think Shino is a likable guy."

The children's eyes widened as Kana pulled Shino along ahead of them. She turned back to say, "C'mon kids, don't want to get in trouble with Miss Takashi, right?"

The only thing Shino could do was leave his hands with hers.

* * *

I'm not fully happy with this chapter so I'll probably edit it one day...

But then again, I can't think of a better way for the two to become friends.


	4. Camellia

_Thank you for reading on._

* * *

_"I'm sorry, but we wanted a child that could become a ninja."_

_"She shows no interest at all."_

_"She's weak!"_

Kana was always returned to the orphanage when she was just a child. Many unfortunate families wanted to adopt a daughter that could bring honor. They didn't expect a girl that had no intention of doing so when they picked her. Her golden eyes and jet black hair always stood out to them and they would immediately want her. However, when the foster parents set out to have her trained; they only realized she put little to no effort in learning any type of jutsu.

"She seems special." They would say. But she wasn't. She didn't want anything to do with becoming a ninja. She would even stay at the orphanage forever if she had to. The children that she lived with were the only people she felt connected with. She would only leave the place when she truly found a place called _home_.

* * *

Kana and Shino had become well acquainted with each other over the weeks and even occasionally walked to a tea shop as normal friends do. Suki only thought of those as "dates with the creepy guy" though. Kana remembered how Shino spoke about his teammates with high respect yet at times with annoyance for a boy named Kiba. It was easy to tell despite his voice being always monotonous. She shook off the thoughts and only proceeded to walk on in the streets today– not wanting to block anybody else on the road. She stopped by Yamanaka Flower Shop and peered into the window when she spotted the most gorgeous camellias.

It wasn't time to visit the memorial stone yet this week. Perhaps replacing those withering flowers on the many dinner tables back at the orphanage would do some good.

She opened the door and the ringing of the bells alerted the shop keeper, Ino Yamanaka, of her presence. Ino was one of the very first kunoichis Kana had met (when Shikamaru decided to introduce his team to her) and she had always respected her. In a male dominated world of ninjas, she was amazed that even female ninjas were emotionally strong enough to put their life on the lines…since she never would herself.

"Kana! Picking up for another visit?" Ino greeted as if she was accustomed to Kana's routine.

Her raven haired friend shook her head with a smile. The way her aurulent eyes shined while glancing around had always made Ino envious. She knew Kana was a very pretty girl and knows of the many boys –ninjas and civilians alike– that eye her. Except the violet girl already knew Kana was oblivious to such romances. She caught Kana looking at the camellias and smiled, "Decorating the dinner tables hm?"

"You know me too well, Ino."

"I'm just surprised that those kids don't ruin the flowers you bring home from my shop," she picked up the flowers from the vase and carefully wrapped them into a bouquet before handing them to Kana, "My mother and I work hard tending to them you know?"

"And they bloom out beautifully. I wouldn't want my flowers from anywhere else. You know it saddens me whenever you go on a long mission, Ino. I don't get to see you whenever I come by." Kana said while pulling out a coin purse from her dress pocket.

Ino sighed. There was a time where she begged her friend to become a ninja. _It was in her blood_ to become one but she finally dropped the subject the day she found out where Kana were bringing her flowers to. She understood that it was a difficult choice to make. The reasons why she didn't become a ninja are the ultimate causes of worrying whenever Ino had to leave for a mission. Ino put her hand on Kana when she was counting the yen to pay for the bouquet, "It's on me today alright? You always add an extra tip every time you come by!"

Kana giggled and nodded before waving her friend in thanks and leaving. As she walked home, she thought about the few ninja friends she had made. There was always a risk of making friends from that group. They could all end up…like her parents. If a war can occur any moment, there was a chance her life would once again go spiraling into depression if anything happened to them; even worse since she had already established a relationship with them. She sighed and continued to head back to the orphanage. Just when she was about to turn the corner though, she bumped into somebody. She rubbed her nose before glancing over to the person she bumped into. The person was rubbing his back and she could already tell he was agitated.

"Ahh, man watch where you're going-"

"K-Kiba-kun."

"What?"

A timid girl with pale eyes pointed to Kana to direct the spiky haired boy to look at her. He turned to reveal sharp eyes and distinctive red fang markings on his cheeks. Kana could immediately recognize these two as members of the Hyuuga and Inuzaka clan. She bowed slightly before saying, "I'm sorry, I was lost in thought and didn't see you there…"

When she raised her head, Kiba realized that it was just a normal stranger that bumped into him. A girl their age that meant no harm. He kind of felt bad for almost taking his irritation out on her when there was something else getting on his nerves.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Sorry I almost yelled at you. A teammate of ours is late and we need to go see the Hokage." He figured that was a good enough explanation.

Kana glanced between the two ninjas, making the Hyuuga girl a bit nervous under her gaze. She had never seen such a color for eyes before after all. Kana raised an eyebrow when she remembered how the girl called out this boy's name and connected it to the time when Shino told her about his teammates.

"Kiba Inuzaka and Hinata Hyuuga is it?"

"Hm? Yeah that's us. Wow I didn't think our team was that recognizable."

Kana let out a small snicker before replying, "No, I'm friends with Shino. He tells me many things when he decides to hold up a conversation."

She watched the two turn stiff with their eyes widened. Kiba was the first to speak after the awkward pause, "You…you know Shino? _Shino Aburame_? How can a girl like you become friends with him?"

"Hmm, what do you mean?"

When Kiba was about to open his mouth again, out of nowhere, Shino was behind him, "Yes, Kiba, _what do you mean_?" This earned the group a well earned shriek.

"Shino, you never mentioned that your teammate screams like a girl!" Kana held her stomach in laughter while attempting to hold onto the batch of flowers. She wiped a tear away before taking a breath and looking up to see a stressed out Hinata, a growling Kiba, and the usual mysterious Shino ignoring the glares of Kiba.

Shino turned to see Kana cooling down from her laughter and noticed the bouquet of camellias she was holding. Was she visiting her parents again today? He wondered how she was nowadays but couldn't gather the confidence to ask her. Due to the recent load of missions, they haven't seen each other in awhile and seeing her today made him feel refreshed…He walked to her and his dark sunglasses focused on her, causing her to look up in wonder.

"How have you been, Shino?" A light smile played her lips. He felt a bit idiotic for letting her beat him to the question.

"I've been well. Has my teammate bothered you in any way? If he did, I apologize on his behalf for his imprudence."

"Hey, I'm right here you know!"

Shino ignored Kiba and waited for Kana's answer, "Oh no. It was nothing big really. I feel like I'm interrupting something though so I'll head back home."

Before Kana turned, she pulled out a camellia and handed it to Shino. He hesitantly pulled out a hand from his pocket and took it– his fingers barely touching hers as she retracted. She smiled and waved before continuing her way back home.

"Hey Shino! Do you know how late you are? Huh? HUH? You know how Tsunade-sama gets if anybody keeps her waiting! And by the way, who was that? Oy, are you listening?!"

"Kiba-kun…"

Kiba turned to Hinata. She smiled softly before shaking her head and glancing at Shino. Kiba glanced over too then realized that Shino was still watching the girl walk away, with his frozen hand holding the delicate flower. A light bulb went off in his mind when he thought about how Shino could easily interact with a girl like her (compared to his own team at least). After all, Shino wasn't the type of guy to easily make new friends, yet alone a girl.

A smirk formed the canine boy's lips before saying, "Hinata, I think things are finally going to get a bit interesting around here."

* * *

Not the longest chapter but I'm feeling the writer's block now.

How is Kana's character so far? And Shino? I honestly think he's easier to write with compared to characters like Gaara, Itachi, and Sasuke (in which I'm tired of seeing stories of).

Any suggestions, comments, feedback would be appreciated.


	5. Buggy

I'm really happy that readers are liking this so far! :)

I'm sorry this chapter is even shorter than the last. I hope chapter six will be able to compensate for it later.

* * *

No outsider really came near or stepped inside the Aburame compound. It was only those recent three years ago that Kiba and Hinata were able to come by to pick up their friend or just pay casual visits. The clan is considered one of the top clans and even more unknown compared to the Hyuuga clan. They were so quiet about their lifestyle that perhaps it was the reason why members like Shino were always forgotten‒ or to put it, not a big impression on people. Shino honestly wanted to try to be the best companion he could be but it was rather difficult when people don't inform him of big events…and don't even get him started about the time he was left out of the retrieving Sasuke mission. He vowed to do things differently than most of his clan did (thus why he is usually the only one seen walking casually on the streets) and taking the initiative to visit Kana today was one of them.

The other times were just pure coincidences when bumping into her while walking the streets. Which had resulted to her asking him whether he would like to have a cup of tea with her. Today, he wasn't sure why he wanted to do something with her without having it to be a coincidence. Maybe it was because she acknowledged his presence better than anybody else did. He liked the attention he received from her. It wasn't the annoying blabbering type of attention he got from Kiba, but it was the kind that didn't make him try so hard to make his existence known.

Her eyes always lit up with a smile whenever she spotted him after all.

And then there was that little one named Suki. The red hair definitely defined the fiery personality that child had. She was the absolute opposite of the gentle Kana; she was more direct and when she spoke her mind it would also embarrass Kana to an extent.

_"Kana-neechan, if you ever become buggy's girlfriend, it should be now since you seem to like him so much!"_ Shino once heard Suki say when he approached them. The memory of Kana's beet red face and her hands flailing to push Suki inside their home was quite amusing.

He smirked behind his collar when he thought about it. The confidence in his steps grew.

* * *

Her blue eyes were always at the sidelines watching the two teenagers interact. Suki was still young, but she wasn't stupid. Sure she didn't have parents to display what affectionate love was and all Kana could give her was the maternal love, but she's watched many times in disgust at the random young couples passing by. Suki couldn't say the same for Shino and Kana though. Her big sister was too innocent to even realize her attraction to the man that had no expression…other than slanted eyebrows.

Suki was highly curious of Shino. Kana had already explained the small knowledge she had about the Aburame clan so that gave Suki relief about the attire Shino had to wear. She still wasn't sure if he was nice enough though. However, the times that she caught Kana come walking back with him after apparently running errands, she noticed the glint of happiness in her golden eyes. This raised her suspicions on whether if Kana had truly needed to do errands or instead just wanted to have a chance to meet Shino.

Suki had never seen her caretaker's eyes shine with so much confidence like that before. So just what was this Shino guy doing to cause Kana so fond of him?

As Suki was playing kickball with the other children in the front of the orphanage, her eyes caught the approaching Shino. Today was the day she was going to get her answers. She gave the ball to the next kid and ran up to Shino before he could take another step. Shino stood still and glanced down, the blackness of his glasses reflecting her image.

"Here to see Kana-neechan?"

"I suppose I am."

Suki raised an eyebrow and put her fingers to her chin in attempt to think. She smirked when an idea hit her, "Actually she's busy right now so today you will play with me."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because I'm going to test you."

"Test me?"

Before he got his answer, the girl raised her small hand to grip the dark green sleeve of his jacket. She didn't attempt to pull his hand out of his pocket, but she did manage to pull him along with her to wherever she wanted to go.

"Isn't Kana-neechan pretty?"

"…"

"She raised me when I was left at the doorstep you know? One day I want to become a ninja and protect her in return."

Suki had somehow made Shino follow her into Konoha's forest. He was leaning against a tree relaxing and has said nothing since then. An occasional "hmm" would be the only assurance that he was still listening to Suki. She was trying to catch a butterfly with her hands but she watched as it flew towards Shino. The orange insect landed on the tip of his hood and he pulled out a hand to let the butterfly step onto his finger. Suki trotted to him and as she was about to touch it, it fluttered and landed on her nose before taking flight into the sky.

"Would that make Kana happy?" He finally said; his deep voice almost making her jump a little.

"Why wouldn't she? Kana said she would even try to enroll me into the academy next year!"

"Kana comes off as a very supportive human being to me, but I think deep inside she fears the day you will leave off for your first major mission after becoming a shinobi. Why? Because she had already lost her parents to that lifestyle."

Suki contemplated on his words and turned away when she realized he was right. She wasn't Kana though, "Kana-neechan is just afraid of so many things. I know she could've been a great ninja yet she choose to stay at that crowded orphanage. I get that it's like having a family living with all those kids, but she threw away her freedom for us. It's stupid."

"Well, she threw away her freedom so your dreams could come true, didn't she? She may be afraid of a lot of things; however, if she knows you'll be happy becoming a ninja, then she'll support you, no matter how much fear builds up inside of her."

Suki glanced up at the tall Shino and a small smile formed her lips. He spoke the truth. She was starting to understand why Kana liked such a guy. If he was ugly under all those layers, his calm and collected personality sure made up for it. Then again, Kana _had_ seen his appearance before and that made Suki want to see too.

"Hey buggy, can I see your face?"

"…"

"Aw man, back to not talking again are you?"

"If you refrain yourself from calling me that name, perhaps one day I'll show you."

"Feh, I'll grow tall enough to pull down that collar of yours before the day I stop calling you that, buggy."

Shino lifted himself away from the tree and proceeded to walk out the forest now. Suki followed after him with laughter. She was finally going to accept Shino and she was glad Kana could also look past all the creepiness Shino sometimes gave off. Compared to all the guys that attempted to flirt with Kana in the past, Shino was definitely much different. As they walked back towards the orphanage, Suki ran up to him to match his pace and her hand grabbed the edge of his coat. When he didn't pull away she grinned before saying, "Do you like her?"

"Like I said, she may be afraid of a lot of things; however, I'm glad I'm not one of them."

That was probably one of the best ways he could put it.

* * *

Suki is indeed a major supporting character. I just wanted to give her a little bit more identity since she is practically the red string of fate itself. If you know what I mean. :)

And no, it won't be that "mother father and daughter" relationship the three will have in the future. That's just weird. Especially for Shino.


	6. Stalkers

Thanks for reading on!

Here's a longer chapter. The beginning is the start of the main plot.

* * *

_"I beg of you Sandaime, please, you have to help me protect her." An eleven year old Kana said._

_A small child stood next to the older girl. It had been two years since the child was brought to the door step of the orphanage. When the child had recently turned two, Kana, from all her recent training from the many foster parents, could sense the immense chakra from within this child. It was then that her research discovered something extraordinary; however, she wasn't going to let this child be robbed of a childhood before she could even say full sentences._

_Before Kana could finally forget all together the small amount of training she had as a shinobi, she was going to protect this child._

_The Third Hokage glanced at the fiery red haired girl then back at the burning golden eyes. He too, knew that it was better if he granted the request._

_"Alright, I will put the seal on her."_

_A young girl named Suki didn't understand what was going on at that time. It was also a known fact that she wouldn't remember that day at such a young age._

* * *

Kana rushed out of the orphanage home in search for Suki. Miss Takashi told her that she had been missing for about an hour now and this made Kana extremely worried. Konoha was a safe village, everybody knew that, but there were still cases of rogue ninjas infiltrating the village for sick crime purposes. Suki was a rare hidden gem and for Kana to let her wander off like this was unacceptable.

"Suki! Suki!" She called out in hopes of just finding the bright haired girl digging something up in the corner backyard of the home.

Relief overwhelmed her when she heard the child's voice, "Kana-neechan!" She turned to see Suki running up to her. Kana bent down and hugged the small girl then pulled away to say, "Where have you been?! I've been worried sick about you young lady!"

"Sorry, but I have good news! I accept the romance between you and buggy!"

"What?"

Kana glanced up to see Shino calmly approaching them. She dragged a hand down her face and turned back to Suki, "I'm glad that you were having fun with Shino; however, you have to tell me where you are going next time okay?"

"Sheesh, it's not like Shino will kidnap me."

Kana rolled her eyes and ushered the child to go back inside as punishment for running off. She then faced Shino with her hands on her hips with a raised eyebrow and a disappointed frown. Shino stuffed his hands into his pockets and glanced away as if his attire wasn't enough to shield him from her expression. Surprisingly, he was the first to speak, "She dragged me off before I could come in contact with you…"

"I guess I'll forgive you. Suki can be a little pushy at times…and it's not like I can talk to one of your beetles if you sent one, right?" She snickered.

He remained silent but the eyes behind the glasses gazed at her. He watched her as she paused their conversation to pin a small flower in the black bun that sat on top of her head. Suki was telling the truth when she said Kana was busy all day. She looked exhausted from doing chores that children from the inside probably would only mess up. As if she knew he was staring at her through his glasses, she cocked her head to a side as if to ask "what?"

"Are you on a break?"

"Why yes I am. What's it matter to you? Why are you here anyway?" Kana refrained from grinning since she knew the answer already. She was still trying to make Shino come out of his shell (don't mind that pun) and this was just one of the many rare chances she could take.

"Well…"

"Since you don't have an answer, I'll just head back inside now." She turned and was about to go back into the house before he stopped her, "Would you like to just walk around with me?"

Shino could feel his beetles quiver in excitement. They were sensing the strange yet new change in his behavior. Kana grinned and walked up to him to grab his arm, "Alright, I'm glad you asked! Let's go."

The new feeling he was developing was rising from his stomach and for once in his life, he actually felt just as odd as his appearance.

* * *

Kiba Inuzaka could be said to be "as curious as a cat" if he wasn't from a canine specializing clan. At this time of the day he was free enough to drag Hinata around to do some _spying_. His excuse was that he was just worried about the embarrassment his friend could get into. Shino isn't exactly the first guy a girl would run to after all and that stranger was definitely a pretty girl that seemed like she would freak out if Shino did something funny. That was only Kiba's judgment of course and it was unfortunate that Hinata was stuck with him today.

"Kiba-kun, do we have to do this? Shino can probably sense us if we follow him around anyway…"

"That's why I'm telling you to hide your chakra well, Hinata. We have to find out what he's up to with that girl."

Hinata sighed as she walked behind Kiba and Akamaru. Nobody had ever said Kiba was smart. He certainly proved he wasn't when he decided to bring a giant white dog with him for this "investigation." But of course, he can't go anywhere without his partner. As they walked the streets trying to figure out where Shino was, Kiba suddenly pulled Hinata to the side, shushed her, and pointed to something.

Shino and the girl were spotted walking together. Occasionally they would stop so she could examine random trinkets from vendors. Sometimes Shino would shake his head in disagreement when she would show him something she liked.

Hinata fidgeted as Kiba rubbed his chin while watching the two interact, "Are they on a date or something?"

"I-I don't think so, Kiba-kun…they seem to just be casually hanging out."

"Nonsense, do you see the way he looks at her, Hinata? Even without the byakugan you can see that." He joked. Akamaru barked in agreement and Kiba frantically shushed the dog, making the dog whimper. Frankly speaking, Hinata had no idea what Kiba was saying. Shino's sunglasses were practically attached to his face and his high collar covered the rest of it. He just looked the same as usual while being with the girl. So what exactly is Kiba talking about? Maybe she was missing out on something.

"Come on Hinata, they are on the move. Remember to keep yourself hidden as possible or else we'll never see the daylight again from Shino!"

It was only Kiba that should be worried about that.

* * *

"Hmm, this is actually very good." Kana sipped a cup of jasmine tea. They were sitting together on a bench next to a small tea shop. Although she wanted a few dangos, it was better for her health and strength to drink some revitalizing tea then to crash later. She glanced at Shino who seemed to be staring at the liquid inside his cup.

"Go ahead and try it. I know you always get green tea, but jasmine doesn't have a strong odor either. That's what you like, right?"

He gave a low "hmm" and pulled down his collar to take a sip. Despite her love for tea, there was another reason why Kana always wanted to go to the tea shop with him. Secretly, she wanted to see a glimpse of his face more often and drinking a beverage gave a prolonged moment for her to look at him compared to him just putting something in his mouth and chewing. She turned her head away when he let go of his collar and glanced at her.

"It's refreshing."

"I told you." She smirked and her aurulent eyes shifted to him. She wondered if he was even more handsome behind those sunglasses. Not that she was insanely curious enough to yank them off his face or anything. She was fine with the way he was.

"Ah! Shino, I never properly introduced myself to your teammates have I?"

At this statement, Shino remembered something. Earlier when Kana and he were venturing the marketplace, a lonesome beetle was trailing behind and finally caught up to him to tell him that certain people were following him. It seemed as though they forgot that his beetles were his secondary senses. Kiba was dragging Hinata into his own mess; however, Shino decided to ignore them and didn't want to startle Kana into making her think his teammates were stalkers.

"Hinata is a strong willed person; I think you two would make good friends. On the other hand, I can't say the same for Kiba."

"Why not?"

Shino placed his tea cup to the side before saying, "He can be immature at times. I think even Suki could surpass him in etiquette."

"Haha, well he comes from a clan of ninken right? They are known to be a rowdy playful bunch, no?"

"…"

"I wish I could be like that though. Carefree."

"Why couldn't you now?"

"I have devotion to children that aren't even mine, don't I?" She sighed. Shino could see the hint of sadness in her eyes again from the first day he met her, "Maybe one day I can either wander the lands or have a family of my own. I don't know. What about you?"

"Me?"

"Yeah, you're not thinking you'll get a reward for 'most carefree person' are you? You look like you're angry at the world all the time." She giggled.

She gasped when she saw his eyebrows knit together for a worried look, "You can move your eyebrows?!"

"Enough of this nonsense."

She continued to laugh and Shino relaxed. Whether or not it was because she made a comment about his expression, he was neutral. He didn't seem angry or sullen; he just wanted to watch how her eyes squinted as she grinned. How she grabbed her stomach from lack of air and the joyful tears that collected in the corner of her eyes. For her to be laughing at her own joke was quite amusing but nonetheless, he felt a small curve forming his lips. She took a breath and one golden eye opened to take a peek at him.

She was absolutely beautiful.

And that was something he would have never thought of towards a girl.

"Before I can ever become carefree, I want to be more confident in myself."

She took a prolonged sip of her tea as if in contemplation on what he said, "Aren't you already?"

"I-"

Before he could explain himself, there was an incoming shadow in the sky and next thing they knew, they were staring at a boy in an orange and black jumpsuit sprawled across the ground. Shino got up before Kana and took a step forward to examine the body.

"T-t-tch, ow!" The boy said after collecting himself and sitting up. He rubbed the back of his head with a frown. Shino stared down at him, blocking the sun from his eyes so he can stare back with bright blue eyes.

"Ah! Shino!"

"Naruto," The brows of Shino's knitted together as if in confusion, "May I ask why you just fell from the sky?"

"Ah, I guess I made Sakura-chan annoyed again so I got launched into the sky this time, heh heh," Naruto got up, dusted himself off, and looked over Shino's shoulders to notice a raven haired girl staring at him with piercing gold eyes, "Hmm? SHINO! Are you on a date?!"

In the nearby bushes were the detectives Kiba and Hinata. Kiba was proud of himself thinking that Shino did not notice them being so close by; although he cursed Naruto for interrupting his "investigation." Beside him, Hinata fidgeted a bit more when she saw Naruto dropping in and Akamaru whimpered a little, deserving him a low hush from Kiba. He continued to listen on to the conversation that Naruto now started. Perhaps Naruto's confrontation would reveal some answers.

Kana stayed put at the bench and still could not decide to whether or not she should approach Shino's friend. He seemed rather too mischievous to her liking. There was also _something_ about him that gave a feeling of uneasiness. She shook it off and smiled with a wave.

"You shouldn't make such major assumptions. Why? Because it can cause a lot of problems down the road such as misunderstandings and gossip, Naruto."

"Ehh? I have no idea what you are talking about Shino. You're talking in that _weird_ way again. Anyway," Naruto walked up to Kana and stuck out his hand for her to shake, in which she returned, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the next Hokage! Believe it!"

"Oh? Well it's good to know our future is in the hands of a boy who falls from the sky. My name is Kana." She chuckled. In the back of her mind, she now understood why she felt something strange radiating off this boy. She had heard of him in the past. _This was the boy_. The boy who harbored the beast that took her parents away. It was unfortunate to think such a cheery guy could be the host to something evil. She wasn't going to judge him though. She just couldn't. It wasn't his fault.

"So, are you with Shino or something?" Naruto glanced back at Shino who just stood there, his hand stuffed into his pockets. He took a step toward Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder, his face getting close to the blond boy's side to whisper, "I would advise you to stop interrupting us if you truly believe we're together. Isn't that more logical?"

"So you guys are-"

"All of you sure enjoy getting into other people's businesses." Shino stated calmly while pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"_All_?" Both Naruto and Kana asked. Shino proceeded to walk to the nearby bushes making both of them raise eyebrows. He then split the bush apart to reveal Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru crouching behind his owner.

"Shino! How are you doing? We were just uh- um, trying to find Akamaru's lost bone. Yeah!" Kiba nervously said as if feeling Shino was narrowing his eyes behind his glasses in asking for an explanation.

"I doubt that since a beetle told me you've been trailing behind us the whole day. What are you up to?"

At this moment, Kana stood up while placing her cup of tea down on the bench. She smoothed out her yukata and placed her hands on her hips. Is this what noble shinobi do on their free time? Cause problems and bicker?

"Kiba! Hinata!" Naruto chimed in. Hinata's face turned a shade of pink and she stuttered to greet him back. Kana on the other hand, was extremely confused and was wondering why Shino's teammates were following them in the first place. It was rather ridiculous that a peaceful conversation could turn into a full blown party in a matter of seconds. And it also seems everybody was curious about the relationship between Shino and her.

"I ask you again, what are you up to Kiba? And to be dragging Hinata into your schemes…"

"Hey! You're the one keeping secrets from us! Who is that girl over there? What is your relationship with her? That's what we wanted to know."

"Her name is Kana!" Naruto answered for the person the name belonged to. Hinata stayed quiet while Kiba and Naruto exchanged predicaments on what was Shino was doing with Kana. At this point, Kana could feel her blood boiling and she shouted, "Stop! Stop stop stop! Shino and I are friends alright? Is that so hard to believe? You two are so obnoxious. The kids I take care of are better than you two!"

She turned to Shino and it was the first time he had seen such a frown. She shook her head in disappointment before saying, "You should talk to your friends about courtesy, Shino. If they wanted to know, they could have asked rather than resort to stalking."

"But I didn't-"

Kana glared at Naruto and he shut his mouth right away. Such an eye color was truly fierce when she was annoyed. She bowed slightly to them, "I'm sure we can all meet on the right terms again. For now, I would like to head back home." She glanced one more time at Shino who wished she could see his expression right now. He had a look of worry. More rather, worry of whether he could actually apologize for such a thing to happen. He wasn't the type of person to give out apologies after all. But thankfully, it was as if her eyes told him it was okay. She didn't need apologies. Not from him at least.

They all watched her leave the scene. Kiba scratched the back of his head and broke the silence with a "Sooo…"

Shino turned to him, his eyebrows turned down to resume looking angry and this time, his expression actually matched his mood.

"I believe you need an explanation on why it isn't good to stalk people."

A loud groan was heard from the canine boy. When Naruto tried to sneak off, Shino stopped him as well for a lecture about not butting into other people's business. Hinata was to stay put as she was in for her own lesson of not letting herself take part of dumb activities planned by dumb people.

* * *

When she cooled down from her walk to home, she smiled. Sure they were a bit annoying, but she could tell they were good people. Especially the boy named Naruto. He reminded her of somebody.

"Kana-neechan!"

Yes, they resembled a lot like each other. Curious and loud but she was sure Naruto is probably very adored as well. Shino had a good hand full of great people surrounding him. She was a little envious; however, happy that she isn't the only one that can see past his strangeness. Suki looked up at her with wonderment, "Kana-neechan, you're smiling. It's about Shino again, huh?"

How she enjoyed spending time with him was a different story.

* * *

I felt bad when typing out how Kana thinks Kurama, the kyuubi, was evil when we all know he's just misunderstood. Haha. I loved writing this chapter so much since I could imagine Kana peeking over at Shino when he pulls down his collar. Is that weird? Oh well!

I guess I can say a more in-depth history of Kana and Suki will start now due to that little part in the the beginning. All reviews are appreciated as I know not many people read Shino fics! :)


	7. Suki

I thank everybody who is liking this so far again! I didn't think I'd get this far but I'm proud to say I still have many ideas for this story.

And to **Shika0106 & anybody else that wonders**: Yes, I didn't think I'd create a story about "an orphan child" but it just slipped. But I also didn't want to make her too pitiful or else she'd turn into an anti-sue. So far I think she's a balanced character and it's good to know people agree and like her. Shino is indeed a difficult character to keep together as he is the quiet type; however, I do believe he has those "funny strange" moments. Haha.

* * *

_A man stepped over broken pieces of wood from the remains of homes. They had arrived too late to a small village that called for Konoha's help. Rogue ninjas. Bandits. Whatever they were, they were definitely merciless when they slaughtered the small population of peaceful villagers. He pulled his dark hood down while turning away from the horrific scene. Although it was highly common that members of the organization don't show emotion, they were still only human. He was grateful for the black and red mask that covered his face to hide the eyes of despair._

_"It seems like these hunters are having a hard time finding what they seek for." A teammate said._

_"It doesn't matter. Soon their locations will be discovered and will be exterminated. The thing- or more rather, the __**people **__they seek for should be granted the wish of staying hidden. There are only a few of them left after the destruction of Uzushiogakure after all…" The third teammate said._

_ANBU members are known to travel and carry out missions in a squad of three. That was all that was needed after all. Despite it making it easier for a small group to travel, they still didn't make it in time. The squad leader scanned the area one last time before turning away. Even after years of working in this field, he still couldn't face death for such a long time. His teammates nodded to each other but when they were about to bend their legs to take off for home, a loud cry broke the silence._

_He stopped and took a moment, thinking his ears were hearing imaginative things. But when he realized his teammates heard it too and the cry came again louder, he set off to follow the child's cry. _

_They found an infant wrapped within a blanket and was protected by its mother's arms under a house that collapsed. She had protected her child until her last breath to allow the child to be the last survivor. The squad leader carefully pulled the baby away and cradled her. Bright blue eyes opened when she stopped crying and he wiped the tears away from her cheeks._

_The day after they found her, she was left at the doorsteps of Konoha's orphanage with no note or indication of where or who she was. It was left to the owner of the home to pick her out of the basket and bring her back inside._

_"Where did she come from Miss Takashi?"_

_"Is she going to live with us from now on too?"_

_Children gathered around her as she rocked the infant gently. A nine year old girl with burning gold eyes pushed through the crowd to take a look. Right there and then when she approached the small child, the baby reached out and curled her fingers around the finger the girl had offered._

_Miss Takashi smiled warmly before saying, "Let us all welcome Suki to our family."_

* * *

It was a rather sunny day when Miss Takashi and another caretaker decided to take the children out to play at the park. Suki, being one of those children, was upset that Kana couldn't go along with them as she had an excuse of creating lessons for the children to learn ahead before entering either the ninja academy or a normal school. It was _also_ a coincidence that it was on the same day she found out Shino was leaving for a mission. Suki already had a feeling he would come visit her to assure her things would go fine.

_A bunch of lovebirds._

She rolled her eyes at the thought and sighed. She was going to the academy next year so perhaps it was time to gradually let go of Kana's hand and let both of them pursue their ambitions.

As she was getting lost in her thoughts, she stopped and turned when she realized they were passing by the ninja academy itself. Her hands held onto the fence as she watched the students practice throwing shuriken at wooden targets. The more she continued to watch, the more excited she became. Soon, it would be her turn to stand where they are and throw cool weapons. After a few minutes, Suki frowned when the students finished their training and headed back inside the academy. She proceeded to shrug and turn to follow after Miss Takashi but to only realize that they were long gone.

By the time a child turns seven, they should be able to navigate easily around the village. Suki was able to do just as that; however, she forgot which park was mentioned.

"Oh darn…I guess that's what I get for straying from the pack. I'll have to head on home now." She sighed and kicked dirt.

She stuffed her hands into her pockets and turned back to the direction she came from. Something caught her eye though. She stopped after a few steps and bent down to grab the shiny cold object, "This wasn't here when I walked past here…"

A kunai. She was actually holding a real kunai! Kana definitely wouldn't be happy if she brought this back home though. But it was just so cool to actually hold one after dreaming to become a real ninja.

"You can have that as a gift…if you come with me."

Her eyes shot right up and widened when it was met with a figure in a black cloak. A white mask of a bear with a green diamond on the forehead hid his face and tufts of black hair stuck out from the wrapped bandages around his head. Suki was once told about these people. They were special. And what was the one thing that little children strive to be? _Special._

"You're…from ANBU!"

"To be specific, I'm from Root."

"Root?"

"We'll explain more later, kid. But would you come with me if I told you we hold information about your past history?"

* * *

"Did they apologize accordingly?"

Kana let out a small snicker while holding a hand to her mouth when that was the first thing he decided bring up. Shino's teammates had visited her earlier and gave their apologies when she in return gave them a chance to redeem themselves. It was only then that she found out they were going to head out into a mission soon and her hope of Shino stopping by after them for her to state her worries came true.

"Yes, your friends are actually quite charming when they aren't snooping into other people's lives. That Naruto though, his little speech of vowing to never leave bad impressions was something else before jumping away."

"He had to leave you with a good one for now. Why? Because he is leaving for a long mission soon and probably hopes you don't forget him."

Kana attempted to slow their walking pace down as they were approaching the gates of Konoha. Earlier, when Shino arrived to the orphanage to say what he needed to say, she had managed to make him let her walk with him to the gates. She already knew he was going for a mission and it was a little difficult for her to state what she felt at the moment. There was silence between them as she searched for the right words to say next.

"Speaking of missions, so…what will be yours?"

He glanced down at her but to only see her staring directly forward. He could sense the uneasiness coming from her. Whether it was from her worrying as a friend or something else was unknown.

"It's a two day mission of us infiltrating a hideout to a group of rogue ninjas and getting information out of them."

In the distance, they could see Kiba and Hinata waiting at the gates already. Kiba, spotting the two, waved but when was ignored, grumbled to himself. Kana would have usually waved back but had stopped abruptly to turn to Shino when told of what his mission was, "I do hope you and your team will be careful."

"Kana…" He calmly began but was already cut off by her.

"It seems like every time you go on a mission, it gets more dangerous."

"Things are getting stirred up lately around the village. Hokage-sama is trying to figure everything out. There were also recent Akatsuki activities-"

"Stop, I don't want to hear anymore. I only just hope you come back safe."

"Kana," He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, making her look away from his gaze, "We are ninjas. It's what we do. One day even Suki will be in my position. Now don't worry so much, I'm usually the one that knows what I'm doing in our team anyway." He suppressed a chuckle.

"Shino, how can you tell me not to worry when you know I always will? And please don't even remind me about Suki."

"I apologize. There is nothing else I can say."

"Oyy! It's time to go, Shino!" Kiba shouted to them. He was clearly getting agitated on the waiting period. Shino glanced at his team at the gates and back at Kana. The odd feeling returned when he saw the glimpse of her distressed face. She only silently took his hand off her shoulder and turned away before he could fully analyze her feature.

Kana closed her eyes and took a deep breath before saying, "Just come back safe alright? The tea house is brewing with better leaves now."

His dark glasses stared at her back. Without a word, Shino only nodded and proceeded to continue on to the gates without her. There was nothing else he could do for her to ease her anxiety after all. Not only that, he could only wonder why a person like her would even waste energy worrying for a person like him.

As Shino parted from her, Kana took one last glance back to catch his team start their sprint towards the horizon. She sighed and could only hope the best for them. They were her friends now. And the burden of worrying for her ninja friends as a normal civilian was now given to her. There was also the fact that she was now able to find somebody to confine her thoughts to without being judged. Well, he was a silent guy so who knows what he really thinks. If he was judging her for the things she tells him, she was still grateful that he didn't voice his criticisms.

Kana was beginning to admit that she was taking a liking to Shino as more than a friend. But in the end, she would only brush it off as a silly idea. Life doesn't allow such feelings to be acknowledged after all.

When she was nearing the location of her home, she spotted the group of children that Miss Takashi chaperoned. She noticed how her other caretaker friend was attempting to calm the children down as they asked various questions. When Miss Takashi saw Kana approaching, she quickly ran up to her with a look of distraught.

"Kana! Oh Kana! It's Suki. She's gone missing again! And this time, we don't know any of her whereabouts!"

She felt herself become stiff; the blanket of anxiety suddenly becoming thicker on her. She tried to analyze the situation with any ideas that came into mind that could have happened to her little sister.

Perhaps she wandered off and got lost? No, every child knew their way around the village. Also, the gate of Konoha is well protected so if any suspicious person attempted to penetrate the area, the guards would have been alerted. Maybe Suki fell into a ditch somewhere and broke her leg?

The endless possibilities only motivated her to give the command of everybody going out to search for Suki. As Kana picked up her yukata so her legs could run at a faster pace, the overwhelming feeling continued to grow inside her as if something terrible was going to occur soon; something that would change her life once again.

It made her sick.

* * *

Suki wiped her tears away when she exited the underground building. The foundation member followed her out and proceeded to escort her toward the daylight. She immediately stopped sniffing when the black holes of his mask stared down at her.

"Remember kid, you have one day to decide. You know your past and now it's time you determine your future."

* * *

It'd be awesome if you review! :) The more there are people screaming at me (lol), the faster I update...unless school gets in the way.


	8. Secrets

**The longer each chapter is, the more chance of typos/errors. Sorry about that!**

* * *

Suki attempted to glance around the area as she followed the "Root" ANBU member to their designated room. It was dark and cold but that wasn't surprising considering how she had to follow him underground. The member tried explaining to her what this special branch of ANBU does and is only under the command of a man named Danzo. She may be young; however, she wasn't stupid. This raised her suspicions of this organization. Her loyalty belonged to the legendary Tsunade-sama after all; her second idol, after Kana.

When the root member stopped, she nearly bumped into him but luckily she didn't. He seemed very intimidating to her, then again, most adults should be if they hid their face behind a mask their whole life. It was only until he stepped aside to reveal another man standing across the bridge they were standing on that she felt real intimidation.

Half his right face was bandaged with the same amount of tufts of hair sticking out as the root member. His right arm was also hidden behind the dark robe he wore and as he took a few steps closer, the cane that supported him caused echoes off the concrete walls.

"Ah, the little child of the Uzumakis."

"P-pardon me sir?"

"I am Danzo Shimura. Leader of the disbanded faction of ANBU: The Root Foundation. I'm sure Hiroshi here filled you in on some minor details."

"Yes…"

He nodded to the ninja causing him to swiftly leave. Most times, Suki would glorify the concept of a shinobi disappearing within a blink of eye. She wanted to do everything they did. At the moment though, not so much.

"You've come here to know of your past yes?"

She nodded.

"First things first, I would like to clarify to you that…your guardian, Kana Saito is it? She knows of it as well as the deceased Sandaime. I'm sure the Godaime also contains documents of your past if she wanted to pull them out."

Her eyes widened to hear of this. Kana, her beloved sister, knew of her past and was never going to tell her of it? Perhaps she only wanted Suki to become older to confine in her, but it was only best to do so now, right? She was to become a young adult the moment she stepped into that ninja academy. Why would Kana hide this information from her?

"If you feel betrayal rising from deep within your stomach, that is good. Root members first should know of hatred and betrayal before discarding every unnecessary emotion."

"U-um, Danzo-san…"

"Ah yes, your past. Did you know all Uzumakis have bright red hair?"

"…"

"They lived in Uzushiogakure, the Land of Whirlpools. The clan was known for members having an ample amount of chakra and their skills of sealing jutsus. Unfortunately, for them, this caused their demise and that village is no more. Few survivors are now scattered across the globe to seek refuge. Your mother wasn't a smart woman though and had settled close by here in the Land of Fire seven years ago."

"My…mother?"

"Yes, where do you think you came from? A peapod? Anyway, your mother lived peacefully in a hidden village but rogues, bandits, those that were envious and wanted to exterminate the last of the Uzumakis found the village and destroyed it. She protected you until her very last breath, so I've heard. Luckily it ended there after the Hokage's ANBU team sought every one of those villains out and executed them."

"Excuse me, Danzo-san…how do you know all of this if it was the Hokage's ANBU members that…"

"I have my ways. Documents and information isn't hard to get for a man like me."

There was silence in the air as Suki shuffled her feet around. She was getting nervous.

"An ANBU member brought you back here and left you at the orphanage, likewise. Those fools still hang onto some emotion and it'll be the end of them…" He trailed off but cleared his throat to get back on topic, "Your guardian, Kana, was it? She was going through different foster homes and thus, those parents gave her ninja training. The reports said she refused to learn anymore though, am I right?"

Suki nodded again.

"The moment you were brought into this village, I sensed something about you so I had one of my members keep a close eye on you. After you were left at that orphanage, the Hokage completely forgot about you, but I didn't. That Kana girl saw it in you too before she completely discarded her ninja ways. A foolish act I believe."

Suki narrowed her eyes at him when he stated the last sentence. Yet she didn't even know Kana had once had the opportunity to train as a shinobi. It was then that she was starting to realize that there was so little about Kana she knew. She had always thought it was because of Kana's parent's deaths that completely stopped her. But she did have some minor training before that…

"She sensed that you had immense chakra and knew people would come to this village after you so she asked the Hokage to put a seal on you to suppress it. You were only two years of age when it happened. I doubt you remember that moment and if even if you did, they probably would have erased your memories."

"A seal…on me?"

"Yes, Suki. You have potential to become a great ninja; one with an excellent amount of chakra. Your guardian obviously didn't see that potential in you and hid all the secrets away from you, didn't she? She even requested to put a block on your path to becoming a shinobi long before you were able to speak a sentence. Cruel isn't it?"

Suki felt the pools of tears collect in the corner of her eyes. Her vision going blurry as she frantically tried to wipe it away. Danzo was a man that emitted authority and somehow, she felt like she shouldn't be crying in front of him. It was nerve-wracking.

"Child, join us. You are of the right age to begin learning the ways of the ninja. You will receive _special_ training with me and be far ahead of students who go to the ninja academy. That sounds nice, doesn't it? I will be able to lift that seal off of you and I can teach you to control that chakra you harbor."

"B-but, I will have to leave my family…"

"You _had _no family from the start. Your beloved guardian wouldn't have kept secrets if she cared so much, would she?" Danzo stared at the small girl who now had streams of tears down her face. The way she wiped at them gave him the indication that she didn't want to look weak to him.

He suppressed a smirk. He was already influencing her. He was going to teach her his ideology. What real shinobi are made of.

He walked toward her until he was right in front of her, towering over the small child. Personally, he wanted to recruit her when she turned five but that would have been too early for her to understand anything. Not only that, the blow of revelation of secrets would be much stronger when she is able to understand at the age of seven. With his first and last attempt of comforting, he placed a hand on her head, making her look up with dull blue eyes.

"I'm giving you an opportunity, Suki. You can be part of something great. An ANBU member-"

"You mean Root." She sniffed.

"Yes, Root, at such a young age. And the chance of lifting that seal off of you. The chance of eradicating all unwanted feelings such as what you're feeling right now. Suki, my little one, I will give you one day to decide. After that, I will personally pay you a visit…"

When she left the building with the foundation member, the only thing she could do was dry up her tears. She did hate what she was feeling; betrayal by her only family. It was saddening when the image of her sister's golden eyes came into her mind.

Soon, she will probably never see them again.

* * *

The sky was an orange and red hue when Kana stopped to catch her breath. The rest of the children were tired and they were allowed to go back home first. Even Miss Takashi told Kana to file a missing child report to the authorities but Kana knew it would take a long time for it to reach the Hokage. Shino, before leaving for his mission, already told her how Tsunade-sama was busy dealing with disturbing activities so Kana figured the last thing the Hokage needed on her plate was a child missing within the village.

When Kana stood straight after bending to her knees to take a breather, her eyes widened to see that she had reach the playground. What was surprising and relieving to see was that Suki was on the swings alone. She watched as the red haired girl silently kicked the dirt below her as the swing barely swayed. Tears were blurring Kana's eyes but at the same time, she felt the anger boiling within her chest.

"Suki!" She shouted as she ran to the child.

Suki glanced up to see the expression of an angry girl but with a hint of tears and relief. She looked back down at her feet when the thought of how Kana held secrets from her reminded of the betrayal.

"Where have you been?! You made everybody worried sick, Suki!"

"…"

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you!"

Suki scowled and proceeded to look the other direction. This caused the worry to build up in Kana again. Something was off about this child. She would usually try to come up with excuses by now.

Her eyes softened as she kneeled down to face Suki. The child still refused to look at her in the eye, "Suki, dear, what is wrong? Please tell me."

"Why should I when you haven't even told me everything either." Suki whispered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it. I want to go home."

Kana noticed the dullness in the child's usual bright blue eyes before she hoped off the swing seat and walked ahead of her. She made her feel like as if something was her fault. But what exactly did she do? When they reached home all the children were already seated at their dinner tables and they all turned to her when Suki made her entrance. Miss Takashi was the first to speak her outrage.

"Children! Eat your meal together; today Miss Suki will not be joining you. Instead she will be seated by herself."

Nobody said a word as the only response was clanking of spoons against soup bowls. Miss Takashi towered over the unbothered Suki, "Young lady, where have you been? You almost gave Kana and I a heart attack!"

There was no response as the red haired girl just turned her head away. This caused the owner of the orphanage face turn bright red as Suki's hair, "You are only seven yet you are acting like a rebellious teenager! Eat and go to your room for today. No other children will be playing with you."

Kana stood at the doorframe and watched the scene. Her heart ached but she wanted to know what was wrong with her dear Suki. She had barely said a word since she was found. There was definitely something off when Suki said nothing back to Miss Takashi and silently sat at the corner to eat her dinner.

There was a glare of disdain towards Kana when she attempted to take a step toward Suki.

* * *

Suki shared a room with another girl named Kaguya; however, tonight was a night where Miss Takashi gave her the pleasure of isolation. Her roommate was to sleep in a different room today so Suki could think about her actions to herself.

"It would be best this way," She said to herself, "If I go, then they would still be angry enough to forget me."

Her door creaked open and closed gently. She turned around in her bed to see piercing gold eyes in the darkness. Kana crouched down beside Suki's bed with a small smile. The only things the little girl could notice about the older was how the once roundness of her face was gone. The maturity settled in and she looked tired. Kana spent most of her years raising her yet she was only almost seventeen.

The future for Kana would probably be best once Suki leaves perhaps. She would be able to live the last of her teenager years as a real teenager. Falling in love, socializing with friends rather than making sure Suki gets fed, and everything else. Sure, there will be heart break when she disappears but it was the same she felt at the moment of the secrets hidden from her.

"Suki, dear, would you please tell me what is going on?" Kana whispered.

Suki sighed, "Can you lay with me tonight?"

"Of course," The raven haired girl climbed into the bed and smiled before pinching Suki's nose, earning her a giggle, "That's the laugh I've been waiting for all day."

Suki's eyes lowered and a frown settled in again, "Kana-neechan, if…if I somehow left the orphanage one day, what would you do?"

"Hm? I'd search for you high and low. In fact, I did that today didn't I? You haven't told me where you were, young lady."

"Kana-neechan, do you know of my past? Did you have anything to do with the seal that was placed on me?" She held her breath. Hoping the things Danzo said were lies. When she watched how Kana's eyes widened with her lips slightly parted though, she knew her answer already.

"Suki…how…"

"A man named Danzo told me. He told me to join him. He told me the truth but why didn't you Kana-neechan?"

"Suki, I-…you were so young back then…I was too but I grew up so fast. My parent's death caused me to lose a childhood and I didn't want you to go through what I did. We both lost our parents through terrible ways," Kana placed a hand over her eyes as if to think on carefully choosing her words, "Danzo…I've heard of him. Suki! You must not go with that man. He will turn you into only a tool; a killing machine."

"Isn't that what ninjas are? At least he told me the truth!"

"Ninjas are meant to be heroes! And I protected you **from** the truth!"

"Heroes still kill people don't they? That's why we have an organization such as ANBU. Kana-neechan you are preventing me from pursuing my dreams. Just because you refused your ninja training at my age doesn't mean I have to follow in your footsteps. We may have lost our parents from the ninja life, but I was to avenge mine by becoming strong."

Kana threw the covers off her and got off the bed. She crossed her arms and somehow, the two people that were once so loving towards each other, were now glaring daggers to one another.

"You haven't lived long enough to see the things I've learned and seen, Suki. If you go with that man, you won't even make it past twelve years of age! I swear, I will stop you from going with him, whether you like it or not."

"You aren't even my real sister. You have no right."

"I practically am since the day I spoon fed you!"

"You _choose_ to raise me."

"I only wanted to be the guardian for you that you lost and one that I never had…" There was a strained silence in the air as Kana only dropped her arms to her sides. Her eyes filled with sorrow as she shook her head at Suki who now sat up from her bed, "I will give you the choice of going with that man. But I have my right of trying to stop you from doing so. Good night, Miss Suki."

"Miss Suki" was what Suki was called when people within the orphanage wanted to distant themselves from her. It was the first time she heard Kana use it towards her though. She wanted to cry. She wanted to take everything she said back, but it was too late. Maybe Kana had good reasons to keep things from her. She even remembered the time when Shino told her about Kana's fear.

_"Kana comes off as a very supportive human being to me, but I think deep inside she fears the day you will leave off for your first major mission after becoming a shinobi. Why? Because she had already lost her parents to that lifestyle."_

Perhaps Kana did go through a lot in her life. The lost of her parents, giving up her pride when abandoning the idea of becoming a ninja, and now, she was going to lose the only family left.

When Kana left the room without another word, Suki gripped onto her bed sheets.

_It's for my own good._

She can't think about her sister now. She was at the age of making her own decisions. She wiped the last of her tears and laid back down to curl up into a ball.

"I hope Kana-neechan…._Kana_ will see the adult I've become tomorrow."

* * *

The next day passed by rather slowly as Suki was shunned by the whole orphanage. Miss Takashi had refused to talk to her unless the child came to her and apologized. It was strange though because the red haired girl would have done so much sooner. It was only assumed that the child was going through some behavior problems and Kana was pulled to the side to have a discussion about it.

"What is wrong with that child, Kana? She is acting so strange!"

"Well, Miss Takashi…the thing is…"

It was only then that after the whole revelation there was a loud gasp from the corner of the house. Kana had to inform what was happening to Suki to the first maternal figure of the orphanage after all. Miss Takashi then vowed to not let Suki out of sight. Kana only wondered if what they were doing was right. Suki did indeed have a choice and they were trying with all their might to stop her. What wasn't right was the fact that the man _Danzo _was involved. He was a sneaky bastard if he somehow found out about the history of Suki and how Kana tried so hard to keep it a secret.

Somehow, Suki noticed the gain of attention Miss Takashi was giving her from a far. She noticed how the caretaker would be in the corner watching her or occasionally opening the door to her room, but spoke not a word and left. What was even odder to her was that Kana was rarely seen around the home.

When night time finally came upon them, Suki finally got out of her bed after hours of just laying still. She had contemplated on many things. She came to the conclusion that it wasn't giving up this life, but rather a new chapter of it.

She opened her window to gaze at the full moon. Her bright hair could probably illuminate a glow across the village if the moon's light was reflecting off of it. She turned to grab the backpack she prepared earlier in the day from under her bed. Suki then went to her closet and grabbed the last item she couldn't leave behind.

A red scarf given to her by Kana.

As she stared at it, she felt her vision go blurry as the thought of leaving behind her sister crept its way back into her mind, "No no _no_, I should've already compromised my feelings about this already."

When she was in the process of wiping her eyes, her ears heard something soaring in the air and a loud thunk hit the wood of her wall. She turned to see a kunai stuck to the door frame. Her blue eyes scanned outside the window to see nobody on the other side of buildings. She slowly made her way to the door and pried the kunai off and read the attached note:

_It's time._

* * *

Hopefully Shino will return from his mission in the next chapter! We will need to say a farewell though.

I noticed some new followers of this story. It would be nice if you all review too!

Thank you Cecilia Glass for your dedicated reviews. I hope there won't be (too many) tears to be shed in the future. x)

And thank you DreamxEscape! I'm starting to love this story more than writing my Death Note series...shhh.


	9. Farewell

As he stared at the flickering orange flames, he couldn't help but to wonder how she was doing. It was finally the end of their first night and they had been successful at carrying out their mission. He and his teammates were tired and battered but nonetheless, they were going home in one piece.

"I just wish that hideout wasn't so far. It takes a whole day just to get back to Konoha…" Kiba complained as he leaned back against Akamaru. Hinata's eyes shifted between her two male teammates and remained quiet, hoping the night would end with no arguments.

Fortunately for all of them, Shino did remain quiet with no further comments to Kiba. He was busy leaning against a tree with an arm propped on a leg. His fingers slightly danced on the cold ground beneath him as his thoughts wandered off.

_Is she worrying too much?_

He imagined her walking pass the gates every so often despite him being only gone for a day, hoping he'd come back early.

When he felt his beetles flutter beneath his skin as if knowing his thoughts, he barely lifted his head from his collar as if finally realizing he had been thinking about her. He shook it off and gave a low sigh. The strange feeling was definitely not going to go away and he had better get used to it. That or _maybe_ find a way to get rid of it…

It was a maybe though; not a definite decision yet.

He couldn't help it though–-thinking about her that is. A slight smirk made its way to his lips; one that his teammates would never catch him doing so.

_She's probably doing fine._

He closed his eyes when he felt his composure return once again.

* * *

Suki cringed whenever she took a step and the floorboards would creak under her weight. At this late hour, everybody should be asleep, making it the perfect moment for her to take her leave. She had already figured her future leader was outside waiting for her, possibly getting impatient as well; however, she didn't want to risk causing a scene and making him wait even longer.

As she finally reached the door and her hands were in the process of turning the knob, a voice interrupted her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Her shoulders slumped and she let out a big sigh. Without even turning, she knew her guardian was sitting in the corner shadows watching her, "I already told you Kana. I'm going to leave this place."

From the corner of her eye, she saw Kana step out from the darkness. It seemed like she was awake all night just for this moment. The tired eyes and the way she gripped onto her robe for protection from the cold night only made Suki want to depart from her even more. She was going to end the burden on her sister tonight.

Suki didn't say a word as she quickly pulled open the door and ran out. She could hear Kana's shouts as she ran away from the orphanage. She scanned her surroundings to spot any Root members nearby.

_Where are they?_

"Suki! You can't just leave all of us like this! Please…don't go!"

The red haired child turned her head back to see Kana still attempting to chase after her. But compared to a child who looked like she was ready for combat to a person in a nightgown, she wasn't going to get to her fast enough. Suki turned her head back in time to bump into a figure.

"I see you couldn't escape that wretched place without anybody noticing."

She winced at the sound of his tone but remained on the ground. She looked up to see that it was Hiroshi, the first Root member she encountered.

"Lord Danzo cannot come get you personally as he is a busy man. However, he's waiting for you back at the base. He'll be pleased to know that you've made a wise decision, kid."

"I-I see…"

"Get up kid. We need to go. By the way, what do we do about…her?" He nodded towards Kana who finally caught up to them. She was panting heavily but her bright eyes were contemptuously glaring at him.

"You…you won't take her away from me."

"That's not your decision to make, woman."

Suki got up from the ground and turned to face Kana one last time. Her eyebrows knitting together as she noticed how distressed Kana looked. She could tell that the older girl was on the brink of tears as she clung so desperately on not letting her go. Suki felt the ninja place a hand on her shoulder and she glanced up to see him nod, indicating that he'll take her where she needed to be.

"I'm sorry Kana…Kana-neechan. I love you."

It was probably a mistake for her to say those last three words. It was the last thing that made Kana burst into tears and run after them before they disappeared after all…

* * *

She pushed apart bushes and tree branches in hopes of finding the clearing to the Foundation base. Although if not many even knew the whereabouts of the original ANBU headquarters, then her chances of finding the Root hideout was close to none.

She only went with her instincts and deducted that their headquarters must be hidden within Konoha's forest. _It had to be._

The tears that ran down her cheeks and her blurred eyes weren't going to stop her. She had to find her. She had to. She was going to bring her back no matter what.

It was only until she felt her foot give away and she found herself rolling down a hill that she felt as though she failed. She had failed to protect her beloved sister.

And most of all, she had failed to be strong.

* * *

When they approached the gates of Konoha, Shino half expected piercing gold eyes to be waiting for him. When the guards were the only ones to nod at them and give a smile for a job well done, he suppressed himself from knitting his brows together.

Perhaps she had forgotten that today was the day he came back. Or maybe she was just too busy tending to the children at the orphanage. He shoved his hands into his pockets and continued to walk silently next to his two joyful teammates.

When Kiba noticed his bug using friend being more glum than usual, he came around to put an arm on him with a grin, "Shall we visit a certain raven haired beauty right this moment?"

Shino glanced at his dog loving friend while carefully making sure not to brush his arm off his shoulders harshly. However, his silence was already an obvious answer.

"Do you think Kana-san will be happy to see us?" Hinata asked as she put her arms behind her back.

"Of course she will be! But she'll be especially happy to see Shino, 'cause you know, she's his girlfriend and all."

"She's not my girlfriend." He immediately replied.

"Sure, for now. Shino, how long are you going to deny it?"

"I do not understand your implications, Kiba. You are being absurd."

"Is love absurd, Shino? Oh how I wonder!"

Hinata raised her arms in attempt to stop the two boy's small bickering, but Shino only continued to glare at Kiba from behind his glasses as the canine boy only chuckled to himself.

Kiba and Hinata never actually questioned Shino of who Kana was. Although their curiosity strengthened the day they came to visit her to give their apologies. They wondered if she only helped around Konoha's orphanage or was she actually an orphan herself. They already knew Shino wouldn't answer as he was the type of man to protect personal information and asking Kana herself would seem unpleasantly awkward.

As the orphanage came into view, they noticed the owner, Miss Takashi, had her face in her hands while she tried to explain to two officials something. When she raised her head to show them her tear streaked face, she gasped and pushed an officer out of her way to run up to Team 8. The officer only shrugged at the other but followed her.

"Shino-kun! Thank goodness you are back. It's horrible…oh my…" She began to burst into sobs again and a hand grabbed onto Shino's sleeve. His tall stature stared down at the old woman in confusion as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "What has happened Miss Takashi? Please calm down, I do not understand you."

"Oy, Team 8! Shouldn't you guys be reporting to Hokage-sama at this moment? This isn't an issue you all should be concerned of." One of the officers spread his arms in attempt to separate the team away from the woman. She only glared at them while she tried wiping her tears away.

Kiba and Hinata were torn between staying back and leaving but they knew they couldn't go against the officials. Shino, however, hesitated to take another step away as he searched for an answer from Miss Takashi. Before she was led away and back to the orphanage, she glanced back to finally say, "Kana is missing."

That was all it took for him to jump away from his team. Explanations will come later, finding her was suddenly his top priority. He couldn't feel the tiredness from just coming back from his mission yet as he flicked his wrist to send out a group of beetles from under his sleeves.

Kana always came off as a responsible and rational woman to him; so for her to go missing was obviously a big sign that she was in big trouble.

He had to find her. This was definitely something he should be concerned of.

* * *

Hello everybody! It's been awhile since the last update hasn't it? This chapter has been short as well. I am getting a bit busy with life.

I would like to thank the new followers!

But I really hope you all review. :( It's discouraging when I come back to only two reviews despite gaining 10 followers. Fanfic authors do enjoy doing this for fun, but that doesn't mean we don't want feedback! I thank my dedicated reviewers for this story though, I appreciate it a lot! If you want a personal message, just tell me! :)

Now with that being said, I won't be updating for awhile since I have to focus in school and work. You're stuck with this cliffhanger!


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