Haruno Sakura (goodwithscalpel) wrote in last_stretch,
@ 2009-10-13 21:16:00

Entry tags:

wip log; closed; can I have both?
Who: Sakura, Shino
What: Shino's protip to Conquering the World: Get along well with the women. When scorned, they make awesome weapons. (Translation: tea getting, talk, and gasp could it bonding?)
When: October 13th, afternoon
Where: Milky Dipper café
Warning(s): That café name. 8D Jen might strangle me, or maybe not. :D No warnings.

As far as bad weeks went, this one wasn't that bad. After all, there had been a party on Saturday. Which, granted, hadn't finished well. Maybe it had been the mix of the hangover, the memory of her friends fighting, the picture in her mailbox, the envy she felt towards some of Naruto's friends. The ones that had been there for him when she had bailed. But it hadn't been her fault, damn it. She'd been a kid. She was still barely out of childhood now, so she couldn't be accounted for that.

At least, that's what she kept telling herself. Even though she had still been jealous because the idea of a birthday party hadn't been hers.

Maybe because she wasn't that much of a party animal. Maybe because she prefered hot beverages to alcohol--although she could still drink most sturdy men under the table--and books to the company of a great amount of people. There were a lot of issues, and a lot of factors that influenced her in so many choices in her life. And she knew, deep down, that if she was miserable at all, she was the only one to blame.

Her brow furrowed; Suigetsu had called her a prude, and Ino said she had to take care of her virginity--Hah! What did they know, anyway? It was so easy to judge. Then again, she didn't really open up about these things with many people. Her reaction was different: listen, and then get defensive. Rather than explain, bite back with sarcasm and lame excuses.

'Whatever,' she thought, pouting behind the white scarf around her neck, 'at least I'll have a pleasant afternoon.' As that thought finished, she could already see the spot which she had humourously named The Agelena Place.

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goodwithscalpel
2009-10-13 11:05 pm UTC (link)

"It's okay, I was here early," she brushed his apology off with a calm dissmissive wave of her hand. "I had time to think." Not that he needed an explanation about what she'd been doing. And of course he didn't need to know that she hadn't thought of anything good, per se.

It was a miracle he wasn't seeing it. How very on the edge she was. Being on the edge made Sakura more impulsive than usual, and at most times, more touchy-feely than usual. She was too busy thinking about things that she didn't want to think about, so she never stoppped to think about the things she was doing--things she wouldn't really do with as much ease otherwise. Barging into her friends' houses usually happened when something had put her on the edge (though there were exceptions).

And grabbing hold of Shino's arm was also an example, apparently. Her right hand rose from its comfy warm environment inside her pocket, and she moved it up to wrap it around his arm--not thinking too much on it, to be completely honest.

"Come on, let's get out of the cold," she said, pulling him with her in the direction she knew the café was.

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strongsilentype
2009-10-13 11:23 pm UTC (link)

Whatever observations he might have made about the state of Sakura's inner workings was completely obliterated by the rather sudden, rather friendly contact. It wasn't that Shino never touched people. He was forced to with much more frequency than he cared to think about almost all of the time. Bumping in the hallways, fingers brushing as a book was passed; little things he'd learned to handle without wincing away from every slight jostle.

But this? This was actually touching. She had her hand firmly around his arm, squeezing enough to tug him forward with her. The action wasn't unusual; he'd seen other people make these kind of physical connections almost every day since entering the national school system. It wasn't particularly intimate, from what he could tell, just a friendly way of keeping someone close to you while you moved.

It send Shino's shoulders straight up anyway.

A brief flash of something like an uncomfortable look passed over his face as the movement sunk in properly, his feet almost mis-stepping for a moment as he stumbled to keep up with the situation. Words and thoughts were lost as he carefully loosened his arm, hoping she'd let go before it got too uncomfortable.

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	goodwithscalpel 2009-10-13 11:25 pm UTC (link)
	She looks at him at that, noticing the tension in his shoulders and the look on his face. On instinct, she lets go. Also on instinct, she can't help but ask: "...is something wrong?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

strongsilentype
2009-10-13 11:32 pm UTC (link)

At least explaining that he wasn't good with physical contact wasn't as awkward as explaining the scars on his arms or that yes, he really did intend to spend the rest of his life hiding in a rain forest watching rare insects in their natural habitat. This sort of thing people tended to actually understand.

"...I'm not good with... touching," he explained without much emotion, the sheepishness around the edge of his lips turning briefly apologetic. A little tilt of his head forward was meant to show that he was still following, that his attention was still focused in on her and that he had every intention of being well-behaved enough to follow her without being dragged.

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	goodwithscalpel 2009-10-13 11:35 pm UTC (link)
	She paused at that, before letting her hand drop at her side. "Not good...as in not used to it? Or not good as in phobic?" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

$Aburame Shino: ... 8\$

strongsilentype
2009-10-13 11:41 pm UTC (link)

"Not used to it." After all, that's what sounded like the polite version of 'don't understand it.' Shino could hardly consider himself phobic of any part of social interaction. He wasn't afraid of the things which were strange to him--touching, chatting about the weather, girls in general. He simply didn't understand completely the whole social structure wherein he was meant to be stuck with them.

Not that that had anything to do with anything. They were getting tea because Sakura was unhappy and needed to be reasoned with into a better state of mind. Or whatever it was friends did for their friends who were having a hard day.

"Which isn't what we're here to talk about."

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goodwithscalpel
2009-10-13 11:45 pm UTC (link)

She blinked, a bit taken aback at that. Right, her problems. She let out a small sigh.

Shino was unaware of this trait of hers yet, but the truth was that other people's problems always overshadowed hers, because she let them. Maybe it was a subtle form of escapism for her, or maybe it was easier to take care of the others than be taken care of. "Can I hold onto your arm, Shino?" she asked. "The ground's slippery from the rain, and these boots tend to slip a lot."

True. And also, a means to an end. "If you won't mind, that is."

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strongsilentype
2009-10-13 11:52 pm UTC (link)

Whether or not Shino knew about the particular twists and turns of Sakura's pysche, he tended to know an avoider when he saw one. It made him hesitate for a moment, head tilted to one side as he studied her face for signs of innocence. After all, she hadn't dropped the touching issue.

With a very slight noise of resignation, the young Aburame took a slightly wider stance, properly shoved both hands into his pockets and very carefully extended his elbow toward Sakura for her to hold. "Only if you tell me what's wrong."

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goodwithscalpel
2009-10-13 11:55 pm UTC (link)

She blushed slightly; dammit, he was onto her already? Oh well. "Alright," she said, not promising anything. Her hand held onto his shoulder again, not pulling anywhere this time, she holding. It was oddly nice--like she'd achieved something. Perhaps she was just deluding herself.

"Well...I suppose I could say this hasn't been a good week, even if there was a party on Sunday."

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strongsilentype
2009-10-14 05:12 am UTC (link)

It was a little disconcerting, the feeling of another human being in constant contact with him arm, particularly knowing that it was his own fault and that it wasn't going to end any time soon. If he thought of it like the weight of a bag on his arm, it wasn't really so bad.

Taking calm confident steps, still vaguely led by the girl, Shino picked his way quietly along the street. There was really no reason to keep talking. From what he could tell about this girl, she'd understand the tilt of his head at least enough to keep talking without interruption.

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goodwithscalpel
2009-10-14 12:46 pm UTC (link)

"Have you ever been in a situation when two of your best friends are fighting each other, and you feel like you should take a part, but you don't want to, and even though you want to punch them both for being morons and starting the fight at the birthday party itself, you can't stay mad at them, because one's the guy you were forced to leave behind as kids, and the other pretty much keeps you sane when everyone else fails...Does that make sense?"

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strongsilentype
2009-10-14 02:58 pm UTC (link)

Had he ever been in that situation? No. Would he likely ever have enough friends at one time to have such a situation? Maybe. It was a crap-shoot, really, although looking more and more likely every day that he continued not to alienate Sakura or Tenten. Had anything she just said made deep resonate sense to him? Eh.

With his usual impassive face, Shino gave her a little nod of encouragement.

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goodwithscalpel
2009-10-14 03:02 pm UTC (link)

She saw the look on his face--she'd have to play poker with this man, nothing slipped!--but still guessed that she hadn't made any sense. She was giving herself a headache. Sighing, she raised her free hand and rubbed her temples before pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I...I'm not a simple person. I don't have a simple life, or a simple past, and the only reason I'm so complicated and why I seem to enjoy allowing myself to be so miserable half the time is my own fault. I'm a bit of a coward, so...I tend to run from my own problems and hide behind fixing the problems of others."

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strongsilentype
2009-10-14 03:16 pm UTC (link)

It was the sort of moment when another person might have smiled and tsked, reached over and squeezed her shoulder, pulled her into a one-armed hug and reassured her that she would come out of this just fine.

Shino sort of got the smile for her.

Using yet another little nod and the slightest twitch of his lips in something like a sympathetic smile, he glanced briefly at the sky before refocusing. "It's a common problem."

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goodwithscalpel
2009-10-14 03:20 pm UTC (link)

"And...the really bad part is that I'm not the type to yap about my problems to just about anyone. In fact, when I'm upset at anything involving Naruto, I go to Neji, and when I'm bothered by Neji, I go to Naruto, and...most of the times I go to both. Or Ino, except Ino's just...way too focused on getting me hooked up with someone right now and..."

She sighed, again. Really, could they get to the café already? She needed tea. And a really hard drink to go with it. All the stress piled up, together with the anonymous gift in her mailbox, and the present Naruto had received too. One mystery to solve, one middle-ground to stand on, and she really, really needed a hug.

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strongsilentype
2009-10-14 03:35 pm UTC (link)

This was hard for her. It was etched everywhere on her face. Little lines, slight creases, downward attention; all the tiny pieces that created a very tired, very worried, very scared young woman who clearly needed someone to take care of her. It would have been easier if Shino had been a little less interested in analyzing her face and a little more up on how hugs were necessary to make people feel better when they were down.

He did give his arm a little squeeze against his side, pressing her hand in what was meant to be a comforting gesture. They needed to get her sitting down with a warm pot of tea stat; if this place she'd found wasn't just around the corner, he'd drag her down another block to Tenten's place.

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	goodwithscalpel 2009-10-14 03:39 pm UTC (link)
	She blinked at that, noting it--and it really did make all the difference. That if he , who wasn't used to touch, was making baby steps with these small gestures, then either her story was really pitiful, or he understood. Either way, she appreciated it. "We're here," she mumbled, looking accross the street to where the café was. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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