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huskymaine · 2 years

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Spoils of War (Naruto Fluff Fic)

Little fic that I had in mind after seeing this scene.

I was like, wondering if Kakashi truly will bring the kids to Ichiraku shop when Teuchi knows his face? The answer is yes, because Sukea is our beloved troll Kakashi-sensei who loves the kids so much.

Categories : Gen, little pairing hints if you squints, overused of words with -ly

Word count : 1,211

Ao3 link

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“Aaahh damnit we failed!”

After the full 5 minutes of Naruto and his classmates staring at the place where Kakashi’s clone dispersed, their heads drop heavily. Those kids’ collective crestfallen faces look so pitiful that even the most cold-blooded person will feel pity for them.

Well, Sukea is certainly not cold-blooded.

“Haah, that was very unfortunate indeed, so how about we lift our spirits in Ichiraku right now?”

Sakura lifts her downcast head, “Eh, do you still wanna treat us? Even though you didn’t get your scoop?”

“He better will still treat us, chasing Kakashi-sensei around makes me so hungry, shannaro!” Inner Sakura secretly hollers.

“Maa, that’s fine. Besides I promise to treat you guys if you help me, don’t I? Failing aside, all of your efforts are very useful for my data gathering.” says the journalist while he tucks his camera back in his bag.

Hearing Sukea’s words, any trance of disappointment vanishes from their faces, and the kids brightly grin at each other. Even Shikamaru and Sasuke let out pleased smiles.

“Yatta!!!”

----

“Teuchi-occan! We came!”

Teuchi turns away toward the familiar cheerful voice. Naruto is a (secretly his favorite) regular customer of his shop, and the boy’s happy face while he devours his ramen is his daily prize as ramen chef. Today, unusually he comes with many kids his age and a quite handsome man.

“Welcome! Ooh you bring many friends now, Naruto!”

Naruto slams the table hard.

“Occan, bring me my usual Tonkotsu Ramen extra pork!”

“Me too, but with beef!”, the boy with Inuzuka crest on his still plump cheeks butts in.

“Woof!”

“I-I’d like the same ramen as Naruto-kun..” a small girl, possibly from Hyuuga clan, appears behind the Inuzuka boy and shyly seats next to Naruto. Seeing the petite girl, Teuchi worries that she can’t finish her food, because Naruto’s ramen portion is quite big and heavy.

(Later, he finds out that his concern is futile).

“I order vegetable ramen with melon as dessert. Because, those are healthy meals, thus also my favorite.” Is that glasses boy from Aburame clan? That’s a surprise, because to Teuchi’s knowledge Aburame people prefer to eat alone.

A laid-back boy that looks like from Nara clan slouches on his seat “Guess I’ll have Shoyu Ramen with extra nori.”

Sasuke, Naruto’s Uchiha teammate takes a seat next to Naruto’s other side and hums, “Tomato Ramen.”

“I also want Tomato Ramen!” the blonde girl says bubbly while she moves to the seat next to Sasuke.

Sakura, Naruto’s other teammate, pushes the girl away, “Don’t copy Sasuke-kun’s order Ino-pig!”

“Tomato Ramen is my favorite too, Forehead!”

“I want 20 portions of gyoza!! Sukea-san will pay for it!” A boy that is clearly from Akimichi clan yells eagerly. Ah, then the blond girl is from Yamanaka. She indeed quite resembles Inoichi-san.

“Ahahaha, goodbye my savings..” The only adult that came with the kids rubs his back dejectedly. Knowing how massive Naruto and his friends’ usual appetite, Teuchi almost feels sorry for the man.

Wait, his face seems familiar...

"Eh, you are...”

The man waves his hand, “Hello! Please to meet you. I am Sukea, a traveling journalist.”

“He wants to write a scoop about Kakashi-sensei’s face, so we help him to unmask Kakashi-sensei in exchange for food.” the pink-haired girl explains.

Oh, so they still try to see Kakashi-san’s constantly masked face. As someone who serves ramen to the Jounin ever since the boy and his former team got dragged to his shop by a jolly red-headed kunoichi, Teuchi can’t relate to their frustration at all.

But-

“But we failed though.” Sasuke grunts. The boy feigns nonchalance, but the old ramen chef can see his frustrated pout.

“Uhh it was so close, so frustrating!” wails the Yamanaka girl.

Even the Akimichi boy who is usually always happy inside any place to eat laments sadly, “Even with Shikamaru’s strategy...”

The Shikamaru boy in question argues “Ugh, can’t help it, our opponent is Konoha’s top jonin. At least my strategy is better than Naruto’s.”

Hearing his peer’s accusation, Naruto fiercely retorts, “Hey, what’s wrong with my ‘Peek on Kakashi-sensei’s face while he kisses me’ plan?!!”

“N-naruto-kun, that’s...” stutters the Hyuuga girl, who blushes harder than usual. Seeing her embarrassed face, Naruto apparently realizes what he just said, and panics.

“Waah Hinata, I-I don’t mean it like that! It’s not like I wanna kiss a man, a boy, a male, tha- that’s just a strategy in a pinch... Teme Sasuke, what’s with that side eyes, If you want to say something, say it clearly!!”

“Hmph.” the Uchiha boy turned his face away from his loud teammate.

“It’s obvious that plan will not work. Because, Kakashi-sensei is not a sexual harasser.” The Aburame boy interjects calmly. The said Jounin’s kunoichi student grumbles flippantly.

“Says about a man who read adult books in public. But I am confident that my medical manipulation can fool him, though...”

Depressed aura suddenly envelops the kids. Well, luckily they are in the great Ichiraku shop, his delicious ramens will surely fix their moods.

“But with our combined forces, we are so close to dismantling him, so we are quite amazing, don’t you think?!” the boy from Inuzuka interjects excitedly, effectively pulling his friends out of their distressed state.

“Woof!”

Hearing his friend’s confident declaration, Naruto beams.

“Yosha, one day we will surely rip off Kakashi-sensei’s mask and see his baffled face!”

Sukea, who is content to see the kids’ banter ever since they entered his shop, chuckles affectionately, pulls his camera out of his bag.

“That’s the spirit! Someday, I am sure that you guys will become stronger in the future and even surpass that Hatake Kakashi! When that time comes, I’ll happily make praising articles for all of you.”

Thanks to those words, delighted sparks come back in the kids’ eyes.

“Ooohh!”

“My article will be the longest!”

“No, mine is!”

“Then I must diet for my article photo!”

“No amount of diet can magically make you pretty, Forehead.”

“Same as you Ino-pig!!”

“Praising articles exclusive for me! Haha that’s not bad!”

“Article will be nice. Because, it will uplift our clan’s reputation.”

“Clan’s reputation..”

Leaving the kids to bicker with themselves, Sukea takes a few more pictures, then averts his fond eyes to the ramen counter.

“Then I’ll have Miso Ramen please.”

Suddenly, Teuchi knows why the man’s face is familiar to him. Pictures of an arrogant boy flash in his mind, then turns into a gloomy teenager, then again drastically turns into an easygoing young man. People that accompany him to the ramen shop change over time, some disappear for various reasons and others appear for various reasons, but his order is always the same. No matter how he grows up, the silver-haired boy in his memory will always enjoy the taste of Ichiraku original miso diluted in hot soup, with his always hidden little mole bobbing happily.

“He’s...Kakashi-”

As if he hears Teuchi’s inner mind, Sukea stares straight into his eyes, forcefully stopping the ramen chef’s thought process. Away from the kids’ sight, the mysterious journalist brings his finger in front of his mouth, although the said gesture does nothing to cover the beauty mark on the side of his lips.

The mysterious journalist winks mischievously.

“Sshhh..”

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saigethearies · 1 year

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i will never get over how dumb the boruto series seems

you’re telling me kiba, shino, and tenten all don’t get a kid but mr. snakey murderer terrorist man does???

am i seeing this right??

#heavy on kiba because he literally has tamaki #like i get its nice to see in media that not all couples have to have children #but come on an OROCHIMARU kid but no kibatama one?#kishi bye #the way i hope this whole series gets retconned one day #kiba inuzuka #shino aburame #tenten #orochimaru

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sasuke-says-acab · 1 year

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Why don’t we talk about the Aburame Clan having bug hives just implanted in them (presumably) at birth??? can we look into whatever clan methods they’re using??? what is going on over there???

#.txt #naruto #naruto blogging #shino aburame #what is with konoha and sealing weird things into your kids #please stop

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classyhideouthearth · 1 year

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Konoha 11

#Naruto #Naruto Uzumaki (kid)#Sakura Uchiha (kid)#Hinata Uzumaki (kid)#Ino Yamanaka (kid)#Shino Aburame (kid)#Rock Lee (kid)#Tenten(kid)#Neji Hyuga (kid)#Shikamaru Nara (kid)#Choji Akimichi (kid)#Kiba Inuzuka (kid)#Akamaru Inuzuka (puppy)

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lexpressobean · 2 years

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It is what it is. And we know fillers tried to fill in the gaps, somewhat. And this is just speculation on my part too. But it's just a huge waste that Shino's whole "they forgot about me" gag became a thing because he wasn't even forgotten. He was left out of a very important arc of the series, and the writing concerning his characterization decided to reflect that so specifically. Canonly because he was on a joint trip with Shibi. But really it's because Kishimoto had enough of Shino's bugs after his fight with Kankuro it seems. At least that's the info I got secondhand, but it sounds like it could be legit lol. Otherwise I feel like his character could've gone into much more appealing direction instead of simply a gag character a majority of the time.

thoughts rants and takes under the cut lol

So because they had to play up Naruto's idiocy in Shippuden, they made him forget Shino all together. Which caused Shino's character to suffer. That, when in part 1 Naruto simply wrote off Shino as creepy w/o knowing how strong he really was even as a genin. Also, he just wasn't at Shino's level when it came to lot of things, namely stealth!

I feel like that whole set up, however, was thanks to that scene when Naruto is about to leave with Jiraiya. Shino is not so subtlety demanding Kiba tell him about the Sasuke mission. Kiba picks up on Shino being upset and Shino just keeps quiet because he's actually stubborn as hell and won't admit he's upset.

That scene could've set up Shino to be characterized with so much more personality and less of a gag.

Like, instead of being forever pissed about the Sasuke Mission like he became in Shippuden, Shino could've actually, like... gotten over it, because I would think he'd care more about his former classmates being safe and not dead! Ino, Hinata, Tenten and Sakura weren't part of the Sasuke Mission either, why weren't they as sour about it? Shino being more upset he didn't get to go on a Mission with The Boys is such an annoyingly shallow idea, but that's what it feels like to me. If he was actually upset because he 100% believed he could've helped the mission succeed, that'd be different, but that's not what it feels like to me everytime he brings it up later.

Instead, if Shino had to be upset about not being on the mission, maybe it should've been established to be result of his resentment that is aimed at Shibi.

Yeah, I know the fandom loves to paint Shibi as a good father. The Aburame aren't heavily explored in canon and it's easy to want to make them a friction free family. But I would not be surprised if Shibi turned out to be a helicopter parent. You notice he found Shino fairly quickly after the Konoha Crush. Shino, literally the BEST candidate for the Sasuke Mission, was off with Shibi on a mission. During introductions, Sai mentions right away that Shino is often utilizing his Clans Techniques for Search and Seizure and Bodyguard Missions, seemingly separate from Team 8, though not necessarily. But getting the hang of Kikaichu manipulation for such missions would take practice, and I'm sure Shibi would love to be a part if that as a Father. And then, of course, you have the fact that Shibi and Shino as well as Muta and that other member, confront Konan but Shibi just talks at Shino telling him something he already probably knows???

Dealing with a smothering parent that makes you feel like they don't have full faith in your abilities or trust your judgements is stifling. And if their overprotective/strict behavior started to actively interfere with your team and extracurricular activites, you would hate it, and if it happened often enough, you would start to believe you actually hate them.

What if the reason why he found Shino when he did after fighting Kankuro was because Shibi put a tracking beetle on Shino? How complicated would those feelings be? Like yes, Shino is still alive. Yes, Shibi cares about Shino enough to resort to such things. But also, Shino would've been 13. And 13 is a big deal for growing kid. I'm not saying he's unnecessarily angsty and is the type to casually throw around the phrase "I would rather die"...

But Shibi let Torune get taken by Danzo too. Shibi did nothing but let it happen. And as Shino grows, that specific part of his resentment would slowly become redirected more heavily at Danzo but also Konoha. Which is complicated for such a promising young Shinobi that's supposed to proclaim his love for and loyalty to Konoha. Thus reminiscent if a certain someone who ran off. It'd be easier to hate Shibi simply as a coping mechanism because of all Shibi does after the fact to keep Shino safe.

Plus the guilt on Shibi's end. Shino could see Shibi's extra attention on Shino as a sign of this guilt, and also as a deeply upsetting reminder that Shibi can't truly protect Shino the way he wants to. But he tries to anyway, and Shino hates seeing Shibi struggle with the concept as much as he hates how Shibi's struggling actively interferes with Shino's personal life.

Shino being upset because in Shino's young tween ninja mind, Shibi's overprotectiveness can very well be the reason why Sasuke wasn't seized and why his friends were so brutally hurt. And having it all revealed more earlier and cleaner that Danzo did in fact take Shino's brother, giving him more of a parallel to Sasuke throughout the story and fleshing out these issues that Shino very well made have had with Shibi would have been a much more interesting route for his character to be developed.

Shibi did nothing and Torune was taken. Shibi pulls strings to watch Shino like a hawk as a genin and another one of Shino's friends is suddenly gone. And it's not entirely Shibi's fault, we know that. Shino would grow to understand that. But both as a parallel to Sasuke and Sai, as someone who suffered from Konohas antics at such a young age, lost his brother, and knows what Danzo Shimura could do if he wanted to, that would have been interesting

Instead we have Shino's later fear of kidnapping and abandonment issues coming out as an unknown until basically right at the end and played off until then as taking moody shots at Naruto for the most part and a continuous gag of Shino being left out and forgotten because haha he was the only guy who didn't go on the Sasuke mission. Haha he has a deep seeded fear of no one being able to or caring enough to keep him from or finding him after disapearing in his own village because of his own village. Hell even Gaara and Kankuro were in the fucking mission as well as Temari...!! But not Shino! Lets make it seem like Shino is more worried about socializing than actually being there for his friends and just wanting someone there that he can truly count out because all the adults in his life including his father have failed him!!

...

Ugh. The Data Books want us to believe that brother thing about Torune and Shino so bad but when it all comes down to it... don't get me wrong, I like it, give us more of a Family!! but it wasn't even a twist, it was just thrown in for filler and confirmed by a non manga source :(

#shino aburame #aburame shino #shibi aburame #aburame shibi #i've always thought of shibi as an anxious person deep down #the virgo vibe for lack of better characterization #but i would have loved to see a kid struggle with the realities in plain sight but still unknown #how fucked up is that?#seeing a kid and a parent mend their relationship woukd have been nice too #instead they all fucking die or just don't...

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shinoposting · 1 year

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A comprehensive guide as to why Aburame Shino is peak Autistic Representation

Very long post under the cut!

( This is poorly organized and doesn't actually include everything, but you know :] )

It starts with the flashback to when Torune was taken and flashbacks to early academy days, during which Shino is about 7.

He showed no interest in playing with other children, or in making friends. He didn't see a point in talking to people who didn't want to discuss his special interest, which he dedicated all his free time to, and he didn't emote when Torune was taken away, even though it impacted him very deeply. Even as a small child he talked "like an adult", monotonous, strange phrasing, over-explaining, and too quietly. When he wasn't being ignored by his classmates, they were trying to use him.

Later on when you see him socialize more, in Pre-Teen and Teenage years, more things become apparent.

In general he seems semi-verbal, most of the time silent, and becomes agitated when forced to repeat himself. Konoha Hiden expands on this, saying that he wishes people just knew what he meant and felt without him having to talk, and that he is bonded to Akamaru because he feels that Akamaru is the only one who he can communicate with in that way. When he's upset he isolates and at one point is even seen hitting his head when he was trying to cool down and was interrupted by unwanted social interaction.

He doesn't understand why people need to see his face, and usually doesn't look in the direction of the person he is addressing. He also doesn't understand jokes, rarely laughs, and angrily dissects puns…but then later puns become his entire sense of humor. He's never dressed for the season, either. Aburames tend to be very covered up by default but besides his Part 1 outfit he is always in multiple layers regardless of the season. (Year round trench coats are a huge autistic stereotype.) He gets along better with people outside of his age group, respected by adults and looked up to by younger kids who think he is cool and knowledgeable. Konoha Hiden also states that during this period he was suffering with comorbid Anxiety and Depression.

There's a lot of black and white thinking on display, for example he is anti-alcohol-- obviously he would have been taught not to drink as an Aburame, but he also doesn't like when others drink. He sees it as universally bad. He's a stickler for the rules and often scolds his peers for not following rules and guidelines. He also seems like a bit of a prude even though it is suggested that he himself has a dirty mind (noticing girls' cup sizes and the implications of Road to Ninja treating his Personal Business as a personality trait) which is a funny hypocrisy I have noticed in a lot of autistic people. He holds a hell of a grudge and ruminates endlessly, which is documented at higher rates in autistic people due to rigid thinking.

He is trying to make friends like Torune wanted, and is now aware that not having friends is a bad thing. He starts feeling the pain of being ostracized not only in general but also by his friend group and isn't even sure if he has friends. He is 17 years old before he understands what allistics consider friend status.

We start to see some of his sensory issues pop up too. He is seen wearing sunglasses even at night and while sleeping. He hates any food that smells strongly and his favorites are pretty bland. He pulls a piece of meat out of his mouth, in public, uncharacteristically violating taboo. He was able to identify the number of people in a distant group only by sound at a time when this would have been above his skill level. (Which makes sense. Team 8 is thus Eyes, Ears, Nose. More on this later.) By Boruto, he has added ear protection and stronger eye protection that he wears when he is expecting to be near fluorescent lights or crowds. Suddenly his overall mood is greatly improved and he can smile openly.

He shows signs of hyperempathy in being overly distressed when losing insects, as he has many millions of them, and having an exaggerated physical response to anticipating Sakura and Naruto's despair.

He has chronic bitchy resting face and is extremely blunt to a a degree of being insulting, which makes people assume he is a mean person. He also comes across as pedantic to his peers, when from his perspective he's just didactic, and even though he over-explains everything his peers still have difficulty understanding what he's saying.

He will also randomly connect the topic of discussion to his special interest and begin infodumping about bugs, and isn't aware that people around him are not interested or worse, repulsed by his special interest until told, at which point he feels personally hurt. Generally his interests are very stereotypical of an autistic person: bugs, comics, ecology, strategy, etc.

He seems level-headed and robotically analytical until he reaches a certain threshold when he suddenly over-emotes in dramatic and awkward ways.

You might notice that when his hands aren't in his pockets, he doesn't seem to know what to do with them; they're always balled into fists, which smells of someone who was taught not to stim. Even so, when he gets really excited in Konoha Hiden and is being himself, he starts spinning around. His speech quirk preceding frequent over-explanations (Why? Because... / The reason is because...) is also considered a type of echolalia.

Mentioning Hiden, in the Blank Period we start to see changes associated with the autistic experience of starting to understand that you are awkward, not knowing how to fix it, and all the anxiety that comes with that. He is stuck riding the lag train and is fully ready to become a hermit in the woods.

He isn't understood in the way that he wants to be understood. He can't let himself get comfortable in other people's homes. He uses his trench coat as a barrier between himself and other people, treating it like a security blanket. He still doesn't understand how his choice of attire affects people's perception of him and becomes agitated when he's told it makes him look suspicious. He doesn't appear to be pursuing any intimate relationships, and displays a lack of boundaries when picking Choji up with his insects when he gets excited.

The lag train becomes even more apparent in Boruto. He hasn't found a partner, his friends are growing even further away from him, and possibly worst of all he's seen as more childish-- too grown-up as a kid, too immature as an adult.

He is masking extremely heavily for the sake of his career, mirroring Iruka, removing almost all of his personal identity from his appearance including the parts that made him feel safe-- everything has to be professional. This actually hurts his ability to work with kids because he already knew how to talk to them, but he is now trying to emulate the image of a teacher for the sake of professionalism.

In the classroom he struggles with things I have seen real-life autistic teachers talk about: He works well with the younger kids, they love him and his fun facts, but the older ones can tell that there is something different about him and they will ignore or outright bully him. It's very difficult to control them or hold their interest. (He later develops stomach problems due to stress from working with said older kids)

The big problem is that he is not good at masking. In traditional settings with very clearly defined roles and rules of how to act and what to say he gets by just fine, but in organic interactions it's nothing but spaghetti and this causes him severe stress. He is proud of himself for being able to speak to many people in a day now but at what cost? Pattern recognition and rigid thinking of course leads to rumination spirals, and under extreme pressure he starts reverting to childish things. He has only had Kura-maa a short time before he becomes attached and starts personifying it. This may seem childish, but autistic people are more likely to do this and will continue to do so later into life than their allistic peers. (See Object Personification in Autism: This paper will be very sad if you don’t read it)

He has become a real people-pleaser, allowing himself to be imposed upon constantly, and apologizes excessively even for situations that were not his fault, which are both behaviors many autistic people pick up. And, for all his masking, he can't hide that he is still terrible at understanding and constructing metaphors, ie "bad insects" and the yakisoba bun analogy.

He is trying his damnedest to adapt and accommodate himself in a rapidly changing world that wasn't very friendly to him to begin with. He was able to slide under the radar as respectable and somewhat normal when the world was as rigid as he is. Now every day he's facing new challenges that he isn't used to and he's acting a little fucked up and neurotic, overcompensating and making it worse.

So yeah, maybe he's not 'cool' by most standards. Not everyone gets a happy ending where they become the most ideal version of themselves. Not in real life, and not in animes that have hundreds of characters. What's important is that he is exactly on the trajectory set by previous installments to the series and very accurately and thoroughly depicting autistic struggles in every aspect of life. And that's pretty cool to me. :)

#i might be tagging this as a #naruto headcanon #but when a character is going above and beyond meeting DSM-5 criteria onscreen it's not really a 'headcanon' anymore is it?#shinoposting #shino #aburame shino #shino aburame #naruto #autism #autistic #autistic representation #character analysis #neurodivergent #nart #headcanon zone

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kawaiistarfishbeliever · 4 months

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Parent-teacher meeting.

#Ino Yamanaka #Yamanaka clan head #Yamanaka clan members #Shino Aburame #Aburame clan member #Shino-sensei #head of the konoha sensory division #Sensory type #Medic-nin #Medical-ninjas #Inojin Yamanaka (kid)#Boruto

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13as07 · 8 days

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Bruised

(Shino Aburame)

[Artwork is not mine! Credit to Pixiv Id]

Requested by: Anonymous

Word Count: 3,530

Warnings and/or Pre-Notes:

Attempted Stabbing

PTSD Attack

Bruises

I fully believe Shino's hair type falls somewhere on the high 3 to low 4 ranking and you can't convince me otherwise

———————————————————————

"Akimichi-San," I try to coo, my hands up as I slowly approach the elderly man. The elderly man is still built like the brick he was during his Shinobi days. "It's alright, do you know where you are? You're at the Konoha Veterans' Retirement Center," I carefully explain, my eyes flickering from the active PTSD episode patient and my fellow nurses waiting on standby to interfere.

"Stay back!" The man yells, waving around the butter knife he's clinging to. The butter knife he was just using to split the biscuit he was going to have with his supper. Why doesn't anyone listen to me when I tell them not to give Akimichi-San any sharp object? 'He hasn't had an attack in four months it's fine so we're sure he's fine'. Obviously not.

"Alright, I can do that," I say calmly, stopping in my tracks. "Everything is alright, Akimichi-San. At the moment you're having a flashback episode. I assure you that you are safe, that your wife is safe, your kids and your grandkids. You're all safe."

"Stay back you trader! How could you betray your village?!" The man barks at me, eyes locked on me as he continues swishing the knife around. "You... you mind technique Shinobis always try to get in our heads. I don't have a wife! Let alone kids! Your, your, your little mind tricks won't work on me, trader."

"Akimichi-San - "

"Stop calling me that! It's Captain Akimichi. I worked hard for my title, respect it!"

"Of course. My apologies Captain," I mutter, slowly bowing my head in apology. "I assure you I am unwaveringly loyal to both our village and our squad, my Captain."

The nurse in the door throws his hands up, a nonverbal 'what the hell?' shooting from him. I shrug my shoulders and use my eyes to send back a 'I don't know, I'm just going with the flow I guess?'

"No. No, no, no. You are not one of mine. You're a trader. I trader I say!" I'm yelled at again, this time paired with the man charging at me. Before I have time to react I'm slammed to the floor, Akimichi-San on top of me trying to stab me with the butter knife. Thank the Lord my coworkers react unlike me, hands flying around his wrist to keep the knife away from me as they attempt to pull him off.

The pain rippling through my body is so overwhelming that it's almost numb like I'm stuck underwater as my patient tries to stab me to death. The noise of my coworkers yelling, of me being yelled at and called a trader is muffled like I can't exactly make the sound out unless I actively try to.

At least it's all numb until an elbow is stabbed into my rib cage, Akimichi-San trying to stay on top of me, threats of my bone snapping hovering just as much as he is. I swear, at the very least I better be sent home early because of this.

————————————

The more stairs I climb, the harder I breathe. The harder I breathe, the more my side hurts. They said my ribs weren't broken, but I don't exactly believe them at the moment. The pain rippling across my body, aimed at my chest sure makes it feel like something is broken.

When I get to the top of the stairs - hunched over, panting for breath, and trying to will my body to stop hurting - the smell of cooking filters into the hallway. The single mother two doors down must be making her spicy curry again. It always makes the whole floor smell good.

I sigh as I dig through my pocket looking for my keys. The smell of cooking makes me dread the quick "just add heat" meal waiting for me. Shino has been busy prepping his students for graduation and I've been tied up at the Retirement Center pulling doubles and constant overtime. Our jobs haven't left us much time for each other recently, let alone the energy to cook or clean.

The thought of our recked apartment only fills me with more dread. Our home most definitely has not been attended to in way too long. Though, since I'm on medical leave for the next week I suppose I'll have time to cook and clean for us. The thought makes the doctor's note ordering me to rest and take my pain meds burn in my pocket. I'll have plenty of time to rest. Spending the day tomorrow cleaning won't do too much harm.

...Or not.

When the door to the apartment swings open, I'm not greeted with the recent commonly placed piles of Shino's grading sheets, the occasional disregarded clothing, the layer of dust that's been building, and the small piles of nick-nacks dumped from my scrub pockets. The yummy scent coating the apartments' hallway seems to be wafting out from our home as well.

"Welcome home, Cricket," Shino mutters, tugging my attention toward the kitchen.

"You're home early," I call back, setting my bags down before my focus shifts to changing into my house shoes.

"I could say the same to you," he counters, walking out of the kitchen, and quickly beating me to the floor. Shino sinks to a knee, propping my foot on his bent leg so he can undo my laces for me. "I did not expect you for another hour or two. It's quite the damper on my day."

"How's it a damper on your day?" I ask, my eyes trailing after his movements. Foot propped, work shoe off, house shoe on, kiss, foot down, repeat. My lover has a bad habit of saying things that come off as mean without explanation; this is one of those times. It's taken some time but I've figured out he rarely if ever means it in a mean way.

"The reason being that I wanted to clean the bathtub before you got home. Everywhere has been cleaned but I've been putting off the shower. I also wanted dinner to be finished before you returned home," he answers, leaning forward to press a string of kisses to my knee before he sets my foot down. "However it is not the end of the world, I can still clean the tub," he adds, climbing to his feet before dusting off his pants.

"You cleaned the whole house, Shi, I can clean the tub," I counter, already heading towards the kitchen to grab the cleaning supplies.

He softly hums, a hand lounging forward to grab my waist. "No, I will clean the tub," Shino mumbles, pulling on me so my back collides with his chest. His head dips down, his nose sliding up and down my neck slowly.

My breath comes out rough, threatening to be a hiss because of his fingers digging into my side. "Okay," I mutter, my focus on not having a pain-filled break-down instead of fighting with him or the soft loving touch he's littering my skin with.

Shino glances at me, a hint of curiosity in his eyes before he releases me, off to go clean the tub. He has the habit of feeling like he needs to do everything to show that he cares and I have the habit of fighting him on it, insisting that I'm capable of doing things for myself, the house, and us. After having him cling to my bruises, I hurt, and being hunched over the tub doesn't seem like the best idea to help with that pain.

After a moment - and a pile of calming breaths - I make my way into the kitchen, nosing around to see what he's cooking for dinner. Karaage. I swear if I didn't know any better I'd think Shino is trying to make me plumper.

"Cricket?" He calls the sound of his voice echoing through the house. "You should come sit with me."

"Coming," I call back, turning on my heels to head toward the bathroom.

————————————

"Alright," Shino whispers into my ear, stopping my led steps. "Open," he adds, dropping his hands from their wrapped position around my eyes.

I know what it's going to be before I open my eyes. Shino's insistence that I stay out of the kitchen and almost locking me in our room were dead giveaways that he wanted to set something special up for our dinner tonight. Still, I can't help but feel giddy when I open my eyes.

Our table is covered in a spotless white cloth, a thin red cloth lining the middle of it. Perfectly plucked and sorted flowers fill a vase in the middle of the table, my favorite flowers on display with almost sparkly fresh water. The vase is caged in by lit candles on either side of it, the soft flames being the only light in the room, eliminating the perfectly set up platings. Our main course and its sides litter the table, Shino's hard work ready to be enjoyed.

"You're a doofus," I giggle, leaning back so I can be pressed up against him once again today. "A romantic doofus but still a doofus."

"I will be more of a doofus later on," he mutters, arms snaking around my waist to pull me closer.

My teeth clench, a softly hissed breath sliding out of my nose from Shino's usually comforting touch. "You're starting to make me believe I forgot our anniversary," I tease, shifting in his hold to hopefully get him to loosen it or at the very least take some pressure off my bruises.

"It's not our anniversary," he mutters, eyebrows forwarded a bit as his arms relax, sliding down to my hips. "I have been busy with preparations and you have been busy filling in for the nurses on maternity leave. I enjoy waking up next to you, I do not enjoy it being most of the time I get to spend with you."

"Careful Shino, your emotions are starting to show," I continue to mock, getting a disapproving sigh in response, and his nose buried in my neck again. "How are you going to be more of a doofus later?" I ask, pulling myself out of his grasp and heading toward my chair.

He moves forward, taking wide strides to beat me to the chair. Shino pulls my chair out, a hand propped out for me to take. I take his hand, letting him help me into my chair before I'm pushed in. "I have prepared us a nice bath to take after we have eaten."

The thought of my bruised side flickers through my mind. The last thing Shino needs at the moment is to worry about my health. He's already stressed enough about work and when I'm hurt, his stress is at an all-time high. "I appreciate the thought but I think I'm going to bathe alone tonight," I mutter, keeping my focus on filling my plate.

"What?" He asks, his tone soaked in surprise. "My little singing Cricket, I have not bathed alone for the majority of our relationship. How often do you randomly appear in the shower with me? Every time. Every day. Not today? Why not?" By the end of his ramble, Shino looks concerned, like he might burst into tears. The shadows of the room and the soft light of the candles don't help the upsetness coating his face.

I reach across the table, wrapping my fingers around his as I rub my thumb over his knuckles. "It's nothing you did, Shi. I just... want to bathe alone. That's all."

"But that is our time together. It is something we do together. Cricket?" He races out, his kikaichus starting to spill out and buzz around the more upset he gets. "I want to take a bath with you. Why don't you want to take a bath with me?"

"I want to, I do. I just... Shino it's not - "

He stands up, the noise of his kikaichus getting louder. "It is a big deal. That is our 'us' time. We shower together every day. Every day. I do not understand why we would not today. What do I need to do to fix it?"

I slowly blink, watching Shino hurry around the table. His hands land on me, starting to paw at me and toy with my clothes as he kneels on the ground. His eyes are swimming with concern, eyebrows forward still, and his chest pumping with quicker breaths. I didn't realize he was so attached to our daily shower. Though, he is a man of routine so I guess it's not that surprising.

"Shino," I try cooing, my side getting irritated from the constant pressure being added and taken away from it. "I think you need to calm down a bit."

"How am I supposed to calm down when you won't tell me what I need to fix?"

"Shi," I try again, cupping his cheeks, softly stroking him as I lean closer to his face. "Calm down. I'm not leaving you, I'm not angry with you, you didn't do anything wrong," I mutter, brushing a butterfly kiss against his nose, hoping it'll help him calm down. It doesn't.

"Alright, so I need to fix an outside source. I still can't fix it if you don't tell me what's wrong," he mutters, nuzzling his nose against mine back. Shino has closed his eyes, his face has gone soft from my gentle redirection that I wasn't convinced would work.

Looking at the outside layer of my boyfriend, you'd never guess how clingy and insecure the poor man is. I guess that comes with feeling and being treated like an outsider from your generation of Shinobis. I don't understand how my soft Shino could be so over-looked by his coworkers.

"I'm fine. There's nothing to worry about." Maybe it would be less stress on him if I just told him I was hurt... but then he'd stress about me getting hurt again and about my healing process. Why does Shino have to be such a worry-wart? "I'm just a little achy is all."

"From work?" He asks, clinging to my waist again, causing new sparks of pain to bloom.

"Yes," I mutter, tugging his hand down.

His eyes snap open, curiosity and worry flickering through them again. "Was there another incident?" Shino pushes, starting to slide the edge of my shirt up. I'm sure the anxious little cicada has his mind running in a million different directions.

"It's not a big deal," I try to downplay, tugging my shirt back into place. "Would you stop worrying so much? The more you worry the more I stress out about how stressed you are."

"I don't mean to make you stressed," Shino mumbles, eyes locked on me as his hand fights with mine, continuing to try and peel my shirt up. "I just want to fix what is wrong in any way I can. Let me fix it. Please?"

"Fine," I sigh, giving in and letting him raise my shirt. "No freaking out."

"I won't freak out." Shino's face fills with contentment, contentment that quickly washes away once he gets a look over my rib cage. His eyes flicker from my dark bruises to my face, his expression a mix of concern and anger. Well, as close to anger as he can muster. "You are... you are bruised."

"I am bruised," I echo, trying not to jerk away when he runs his fingertips over the marked-up skin. His eyes dance over my skin as well, getting more upset the longer he looks at the bruises.

His mouth snaps open and closed a few times as he repeatedly blinks, struggling to form a sentence. "Cricket," Shino starts, his voice slowly rising with the nickname.

"You said you wouldn't freak out."

"I'm not freaking out," he mutters, letting my shirt fall back into place. "We will have a nice supper and a relaxing bath," he continues, muttering more to himself than me as he walks back to settle into his chair. Maybe I shouldn't have given in and told him.

I carefully watch Shino's body language, waiting for his calm composure to break as he fills his plate. "My students would like to know if you'll be attending their graduation." Maybe it will be okay. Maybe Shino won't have a meltdown over this, maybe he won't stress about it.

"Of course, I will. I've already been approved for the time off."

He falls silent, slowly blinking as he stares at me, our food forgotten. "I can't let it go."

"I figured."

————————————

Shino's hands move slowly, using a towel to gently pat my bruises to dry them off with minimal pain being caused. His panic has gone down a bit since dinner, but he's still as attentive as the dotting boyfriend he is. "Does it hurt? Am I hurting you?" He asks, his touches stalling for a moment.

"You're not hurting me," I hum, sliding my hand through his hair, being careful not to pull on any of the knots. Unlike the rest of him, Shino's hair is dry since it wasn't his hair-wash day. Despite not washing it, his hair is still knotted and needs to be picked through, though I doubt he'll let me do it for him at the moment. I don't he'll let me do anything for the next week.

"Alright," he mutters, dabbing at me a few more times before he tosses the towel into the hamper. "Let's go lay you down now."

"I'm not dying, Shi."

"I know," he snips at me, ushering me into our bedroom. "You need to rest and your bruises need to be taken care of."

I let out a sigh, taking slow footsteps so I don't get 'yelled' at again for 'over-exerting' myself. Shino's hands wander over me, being careful to avoid my wounds. "Alright, lay down on your side. You're not hurt side, the reason being it is good to elevate bruises above heart level."

"I know, Shi," I giggle, rolling my eyes at him as I crawl into the bed, lying how I was told to. I swear, sometimes he forgets I'm a nurse.

"I will be right back," he tells me, peppering my cheek with kisses before vanishing. It's not long until Shino is back, smothering my face in small kisses again as he sets his supplies down. "Alright, I am going to coat you in some peppermint oiled lotion the reason being that it'll help you heal faster and help with the color. Then we'll start your cold compress," he mumbles, once again talking more to himself than me. "The reason - "

"- being that it'll help the swelling?" I cut him off, chuckling at him again. "I know, Shino."

He falls quiet, blinking at me a few times before he shifts into motion. "I know," he finally whispers, squirting some lotion on my side. Shivers spill down my back from the cold liquid. The soft clinking of glass follows, Shino adding a few drops of peppermint oil before his hands connect with me. His kikaichus start spilling out too, pitter-pattering between the two of us and crawling over the bed sheets.

"You are beautiful. You are outstanding. You are inspiring. You are brilliant." Compliments spill from Shino as easily as his breaths. His hands are nimble and warm as he carefully rubs the lotion into my skin, being sure not to press too hard as he soothes my bruises. The feeling is lulling and comforting, the same as his smooth voice. "You are my everything," he adds, his lips falling down my side, careful to avoid the tinted lotion being massaged with his hands.

"You're amazing too, Shi," I murmur, starting to fall asleep from his pampering. "Thank you. For everything."

"Of course, Cricket," he answers, a hand falling away as the other one crawls down my back, massaging a different area. His lips trail over my arm, twirling up it before connecting with my neck. More kikaichus spill out, tumbling over their master's fingers to explore. They quickly spread their wings, the smell of the oil scaring them off, pushing them to go adventure somewhere else in the room.

Soon, a cloth-wrapped ice pack is laid on my side, just a hint of pressure added to it. "I will be calling out of work tomorrow," he mutters, softly sucking on my skin. Shino is a health nut, obviously, so he doesn't suck longer than a few seconds before finding a different patch of my neck to focus on.

"I don't need you to call out of work. I'll be fine on my own."

"I will not be going to work tomorrow. I will be here with you all day," he grumbles, his nose bumping against my jawline. My throat quickly abounded for my jaw, kisses and soft suctions continuing.

"Why is that?"

"The reason being that I miss you," he whispers, slowly making his way up to my lips. "And I wish to continue pampering you. My pretty, uninformative, stubborn, bruised Cricket." A rare chuckle comes from Shino, soft and almost silent, but still there.

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