When Mercury Mixes With Jade

Sorry it took me so long to write this chapter…there have been so many things going on, you know? I’m pleased to say that I have a couple of one-shots that I’m working on, and Weeble and I are picking through them to make them the best stuff possible. Sure, all of my reviews weren’t good, but I realize that not everyone likes everything. So, I’ll just deal with it. For the record, all of my stories are pretty much not following canon…no one likes to follow the story exactly; it was how fanfiction was created. Maa, I think I’m going to start writing now. It’s like four in the morning, but I can’t get to sleep cause it’s so hot. All of you that have air conditioners or central air, please appreciate that you have it! Our house is too old to get it, so we have to suffer in the 90ish degree weather at NIGHT. But hey, it made me bored enough to at least attempt to write this next chapter. I hope it’s a good one, eh? Enjoy!

Kiyasume

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Shino sat on the front steps of his house, waiting for the sun to rise. This was the time of day that he could relate himself to. Quiet, but everything very much alive and active. Everything was still quiet, save for the few birds that woke early, chirping their morning songs. Everything was still and peaceful, the gurgling of the moat around their house added with the wind through the trees soothing and soft to Shino’s soul. The sounds reminded him of the sea, and when his family took their yearly trip to the sea, he loved falling asleep with the gentle crash of the waves through his ears.

It also was still dark, though the stars were slowly fading to be taken by the light of the day. The crickets, cicadas and the beetles still buzzed their rhythmic songs to whoever might be listening, creating a symphony of relaxation as the wind through the trees and those few birds chimed in.

The early morning was cool, and comfortable, allowing for an easy morning of garden and fruit work. He checked his watch. It was five minutes to six. Shino looked up as the sky began to brighten a bit, the stars hiding themselves one by one. It would be that the moon decided it would not disappear, just fade off to the side to let the sun come up, but not to disappear from the stage called the sky.


The sky turned quickly from blue to pink, to red, to orange. The sun began to peek over the horizon, and since the Aburame main house faced the east, the sun was directly in front of Shino, lined perfectly in the middle of the bridge leading towards the steps. It was a magnificent sight to behold.


Shino heard light footsteps pad softly down the outdoor hall around the house. He did not turn back, wanting to see the sunrise, but he knew it was Sakura. He felt her presence as she sat next to him quietly. She seemed a bit withdrawn, but was clearly trying to keep it to herself. The sun began to rise through the trees, and he watched on. Sakura looked at his back, her expression one of content knowing, and something else unidentifiable. As she sat beside him, she then smiled, looking on as a new day was born.


“Isn’t it truly a wondrous thing that there is something of this kind of beauty here for us to see every day? Something that will never fade, never tarnish in its splendor…” Sakura looked up at the now pale purplish blue sky. After taking a long time to consider his answer, Shino grunted his agreement.


“True beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Sakura-san. Everything has the potential to be a beautiful thing, as everyone has different views of what is exquisite. This is why beauty will never fade.” Shino finally looked at Sakura, and his breath was taken away. She was in a pair of old pants and a t-shirt, and had her hair tied back into a ponytail, but he wasn’t looking at her clothes. Despite being a ninja, Sakura carried an ivory complexion. The way the sun hit her skin made her glow with an unearthly beauty. The sun changed her pink hair to an orange fire atop her head, her eyes reflecting the suns’ rays, making them a green jade fire. She was beautiful. He stood up and offered a hand to her.


“It’s time for us to check the flowers across the grounds, make sure that they are all in superior condition. We won’t have far to check. I only plant flowers from the front gates all the way to the house and our garden in the back. It will go quickly; there isn’t usually interference within my gardens.” Shino began to walk to the front of the compound. Sakura smiled. Shino was very serious about his gardening…she could tell by the way he spoke about ‘his gardens’. They walked leisurely, checking the flowers that grew along the paths. Sakura never noticed it before, but there was a smaller path off to the side in a valley like dip that housed a small neighborhood of about twelve houses, situated in a cul-de-sac. Shino noticed where her gaze rested.


“Those are the houses of all of my relatives that live inside of the compound. We try to give them as much space as possible, so that they live comfortably. I occasionally garden for them, or give them advice.” Sakura nodded in acquiescence. They continued to walk towards the front of the complex. Sakura lifted her head to watch the shadows of the trees and the birds flit through the air.


“It seems like the rest of Konoha is afraid over nothing. Why do they fear, much less respect, the Aburame clan? You are people just like everyone else. I see nothing to be afraid of.” Sakura glimpsed Shino’s face. His features were set in stone, as if he were imitating the very minerals below his feet.


“People fear things that they do not understand. They are afraid of the things that they cannot make sense of the most, more than a war, more than dying. Those things are certain. It is the things that are uncertain that make one terrified.” Shino looked down at Sakura, a miniscule smile gracing his features. Sakura noticed that the sparse way Shino showed his emotions made him handsome, as if he were a noble of some sort.

“But you understand us, even if only a little, Sakura. This is why you are not terrified. Though I did not have many friends when younger, I had my family by my side, so I never felt lonely. I don’t need the entire world to be friends with me. I am content having my teammates, both Hinata and Kiba as friends, and my family. It is all I need.” Sakura smiled sadly.

“So, Shino-kun, is this how you treat me? Am I not also one of your friends?” Shino elevated a delicately arched eyebrow. He went over his previous words, and stupidly left Sakura out specifically. He inwardly sighed.


“Sakura-san, that isn’t what I meant. Of course you are one of my friends.” He elaborated. ‘More than you know…’ he added in his head. “It’s just that it’s been that way for so long, that was all I had before.” The two made it to the front to inspect the rose bushes that crept along the inside of the compound walls. There were different kinds intertwined together. Sakura’s favorites were the red roses that had petals that were two sided. The outsides were white, and the insides were a blood red. She also liked the roses that had speckled petals that were two different shades of red. She helped prune those, them walking along the wall of the compound. They mostly did walking, for the flowers were in tip top shape. Sakura thought back on his last sentence. She had a chance to start a friendship with Shino…someone she knew needed a shoulder to lean on, so to speak. She frowned. He was by no means weak, but having companionship in most ways made you all the stronger. It gave one a reason to live. Something to fight for. A reason to wake up every morning. Something to look forward to.


They covered the entire grounds in about four hours. They were on their way walking back to the house when Sakura stopped and looked down at the valley neighborhood again. The wind blew lightly, playing with her hair gently. She looked down at that little block fondly. Her green eyes alight with determination, she turned to Shino.


“Shino, I want to prove to others that you are not to be feared inside the village that you protect.” She craned her neck to look up at him, placing a hand on his arm. She could not reach his shoulder quite yet, and she didn’t think she’d ever be able to.


“Enemies, yes, it is to be expected, but to be feared by everyone is…disturbing. You and your family are shinobi of this village, Konohagakure. There is no need for you to hide yourself in this compound and not enjoy life as the rest of us do, without rejection and fear. You are not criminals, or convicts. You should be able to live freely within these high walls without this tenseness I feel around you and the others.” Shino was about to answer when Shikkei flew out of nowhere and clung to Sakura. Sakura, who was standing on the edge of the road where there were steep hills and outgrowing trees dotting the slopes, was caught off guard. She stumbled back a little, but it was enough to lose her footing.


Shino’s eyes widened behind his glasses and he thrust his hand outwards, trying to take hold of Sakura’s arm. Flinging a limb wildly, Sakura was able to grab his shirt by the front and take him tumbling down the hill with her and Shikkei. Shikkei screamed like the little girl he was, and Sakura tried keeping him safe within her grasp until they stopped, Shino holding onto Sakura in the same fashion. Shino wanted to stop their descent down the hill, but he knew there was a large chance that he might lose hold of Sakura and Shikkei, or that a limb might be broken in the process. His glasses fell off, and crunched underneath their combined weight. Their eyes were scrunched closed, and Shikkei would not stop his squealing.

Finally, after a minute or two, Sakura couldn’t tell which, they finally rolled to a stop. Shikkei was breathing as if he just went skydiving without a parachute, and Shino was still. Very still. He’d taken most of the damage by covering Sakura and Shikkei in his arms, Sakura taking some damage, Shikkei totally unharmed by being covered by both of the teens. Dizzily, Sakura sat up, having fallen on top of Shino quite precariously, using him to soften the landing. Using her superhuman strength, she hauled Shino to lie against a nearby scarlet oak. She began to heal his cuts and bruises that she could see. While healing a particularly nasty cut on his arm, Shino came to. Focused on healing his wounds, Sakura did not look at his face. After she healed the one on his arm, he stopped her. She looked into his face, and her eyes widened.


She remembered…..


“Are you alright, Sakura-san?” his voice was clearly in pain, but his face was as serene as ever, though, this time….


...everything…all of it…the hug…the dinner…his eyes…


“Sakura?” Shino blinked. He then remembered that his glasses fell off and broke during the heavy fall a few minutes ago. Sakura’s eyes were still wide. She froze up like a cornered rabbit, and her eyes would never leave his. Sighing, Shino shook the girl out of her shock, only to find her in his arms, crying profusely. Shino tensed up, not used to much of Sakura’s contact. Thank God he had this pain to effectively control his desire for her.


…his eyes…


Sakura remembered the scant days she spent with him so long ago…his glasses falling, her introducing him to her parents, the movie, the dinner at Ichiraku….all of it. She sobbed even harder, the news hitting her like a sharp blow to the gut. Shino shook her out of her tears, only for her fiercely hug him in her arms, as if she would never let go.

“How could I forget? How could I have forgotten the person who took me out of my own personal hell?” she bawled loudly, shaking like a leaf inside Shino’s embrace. Shino was about ready to cry himself. She finally remembered him. Of course she wouldn’t remember him if she didn’t see his face properly…she remembered him for his family’s rather unique colored eyes, his in particular looking rather of the sensuous sort. Sakura hugged him harder, and Shino wheezed as this sucked the air out of him.


“Sakura,” he gasped. “You’re crushing my ribs.”


Sakura immediately let go of Shino, laughing like a crazed woman. Shino’s eyebrow rose again; this time you can see his eyes narrowing slightly. The young woman was alternating between crying and laughing. Shino, used to his mother’s similar mood swings, was not affected at all. He smiled a small smile, though it was bigger than the one he gave her before.


“You finally remember me, Sakura.” Shino tried to stand, and he had difficulty doing so. Shino looked around at the houses, which they were now close to.


“Let’s go see if Aunt Shikuni is home today. If I’m not mistaken, she might be.” Shino limped with Sakura’s shoulder under his arm, Shikkei following like a whipped dog. He knew he did something wrong, so he followed his brother to try and make it right.

They walked to the fourth house in from the left, the biggest house on the cul-de-sac. Walking up the polished wooden steps, they rung the doorbell, hoping they would not have to wait very long. Soon, a woman with two dark brown pigtails and silver eyes bounded up to the door. She smiled at the three.


“Let me guess…you fell down the side of the valley...again. And, from the look on Shikkei’s face, he was the culprit?” Sakura nodded as Shino winced slightly. Shikkei looked even more whipped now. The woman laughed.


“Come on in. You must be Haruno Sakura, am I correct? I’m a fan of yours. I am a medic nin, just like you are. There is only me and my sister, Shikuni who are the medics for the compound, so we try to stay inside of the compound as much as possible.” She turned around to go make a pot of mint tea for Shino’s pain.

“That is Aunt Shikane; she is Aunt Shikuni’s elder twin sister. She is rarely home though, since she works midnight and morning shifts four days a week. It is a surprise to see her here.” Explained Shino. Sakura smiled. She loved twins; she’d always wanted some of her own.


“How are you able to tell them apart?” Sakura was never able to tell twins apart from just looks, she had to know them very well. Shino looked a bit as though he were in thought.


“I suppose you could say that their attitudes are different. Shikuni-san is a bit more like okaasan than Shikane-san is. But when I was younger, and I did not know much about them, it was always the color of their eyes. To an outsider, who knows nothing about my family, it would be extremely difficult to tell, but Shikane-san’s eyes are a bit lighter than Shikuni-san’s.” Shikane walked into the room with a large pot of tea, and four teacups in her hand. She began to pour some tea, when she eyed the bruises that he had all over himself. She clicked her tongue disapprovingly.


“Those look bad. Will you look over them, Sakura-chan? I will get some hot water and bandages. Shikkei-chan, you will go outside and think about the seriousness of the situation you have put these two in, and you will not come back inside until I tell you so!” Shikkei walked dejectedly out of the room and house, Sakura smiling ruefully at his downturned face. She wiped the smile off her face, turning back to Shino.


“Take off your shirt. I won’t go near those injuries while cloth of any kind is around them." Her hands glowing blue, Sakura scanned his entire body from shoulders to abdomen. She sighed as Shikane walked back into the room.


“So, what’s the damage?” she asked nonchalantly, dipping the bandage in a little water and medicated ointment. Sakura bit her bottom lip, assessing the damage in her brain one last time.


“Two of his ribs have a hairline crack that I can heal, but one is fractured and will take me a couple of hours to heal. But I need to speak with Shino for a moment before I start.” Shikane got up and walked into the other room, shutting the door quietly. Sakura turned to Shino, who would not look at her. She seemed a bit frustrated. He knew what she wanted to ask, and for him, there was no simple answer.


“I wanted you to remember on your own. Besides, would you have believed me, given our relationship before you remembered?” Sakura thought about it. It really didn’t make sense to her, if she hadn’t remembered on her own, she would just think that he was crazy and fell on his head one too many times. She begrudgingly agreed that she would not have.


“Probably not. But now that I remember, we have a lot of catching up to do. It’s been eight years or so since that day, and I distinctly remember you promising me that it would be as if we never parted. It won’t be easy because time has passed, but could we eventually work on rebuilding what we’ve lost? It was only a couple of days, but it was enough to bring my misery to an end. We'll talk about this later. Now, it is time for me to heal those cuts, and those cracks in your ribs.” Her hands began to glow green with her healing chakra, and she took her eyes off of his, and began to touch him on his right side, pushing the bone back together, sealing the crack. Shino’s hands gripped the table, his eyes closed shut. Sakura was confused, was her touch hurting him? She stopped, and Shino panted slightly, sweating profusely.


“What’s wrong, Shino-kun?” Sakura looked a bit worried. He shook his head slightly, getting up suddenly. He was breathless, and his face was a bit flushed.


“Nothing is wrong, I…just need to use the restroom.” He walked off to an adjacent room, just as Shikane walked back in. She looked around for effect.


“Where is Shino?” she asked suddenly, setting down the fresh gauze she’d just brought in. Sakura looked confused.


“He….he looked as if he were in pain while I was healing him, so I stopped and asked him what was the matter. He told me nothing and went to the bathroom, but he looked so flushed and breathless…” Sakura was worried for Shino. She then heard snickering.


Shikane laughed really hard, her shrieking laughter reaching Shino’s ears, who knew what the situation was most likely like out there, and was not happy one bit about it. Shikane was going to tell Sakura his embarrassing secret! Well, it happened to every Aburame member, but he did not like his weaknesses to be exploited.


Sakura was confused to why Shikane was laughing…he could potentially be hurt! She calmed enough to explain her outburst.


“Sakura-chan, you are well aware that when healing an Aburame member, more chakra will be needed, correct?” Sakura nodded, clearly wanting to know what was going on. Shikane smiled even wider, her eyes turning into two upturned moon shapes. Sakura gulped.


“Why is it that you need the extra chakra, Sakura-chan?” Shikane wanted the girl to figure it out on her own. After all, she needed to remember something like this in the future. Sakura bit her bottom lip again, her sign of inner thought, and looked back up at Shikane.


“It is because your kikaichu eat the excess chakra. They become happy from a sudden abundance of chakra and…oh. Ohh……” Sakura finally understood, a beet red blush crossing her features. The flushed face…the breathless voice…why hadn’t she seen it sooner? Sakura’s hand went up to cover her flaming cheeks, and Shikane pat her shoulder understandingly.


“His kikaichu got so excited that it made him aroused. But normally, something like this doesn’t bother Shino-chan this much. I think that maybe he likes you. It is the only thing that sounds about right. You are the only girl other than Hinata-sama that has ever given him the time of day…and you are very pretty. I would not be surprised if my assumption were true. But, hey, I can’t tell what Shino-chan is thinking. But it may not be true; it could just be that you used too much chakra. But you know what?” Shikane leaned in closely, as if there were others in the room with them.


“I wouldn’t mind it at all of he did like you. That blush of yours tells me there is something more going on. I want you to tell me all the gory details.” Shikane sat as Shino came back from the bathroom, less tense, but the flush on his face reinforced. He sat down, letting Sakura heal and dress his wounds. He waited for her to say something, but she was silent for the entire task. As soon as she finished tying the last bandage, she turned to Shikane.


“”May I speak with Shino-kun alone for a little while?” Shikane nodded, her eyes flashing, clearly telling Sakura that she wanted to know what was going on after. She left out of the house to go and have a chat with Shikkei, so the young boy would not barge in on their private conversation. Sakura sighed, running finger through her now shoulder length hair. She looked at Shino, who looked intently back at her.


“Shino, I remember everything. I failed to remember you, to keep my promise to you. You’ve been back for three years from the mission to Grass, and I failed to remember you. All of those missions where you nearly died…all those times when Kiba-kun and Hinata-chan were out on missions, and you were alone. It was not right of me to forget.” She smiled as though she were remembering a memory long past. “I wanted to keep that promise with everything that I was…” Shino’s eyes flashed as he stood slowly, going to look out of the window.


“Sakura, you were not the only one who had forgotten. I, too, had forgotten you. But not completely. I knew there was something I longed for back within these sturdy walls of Konoha, but I couldn’t remember what. I finally had clues, and pieced two and two together. I found out yesterday, but I wanted you to remember on your own for the same reasons that I knew okaa-san and Nana wanted me to. It was too much at first, but I gradually got used to the idea, especially since the memories have resurfaced.” He turned to her, walking a bit closer, speaking more softly than before. “I want to keep the promise that I made to you, Sakura. We both are truly back now, and now is the time for us to reconnect. I am not the same person I was walking out of those gates eight years ago, but all the same, it’s worth a try, at least.” Sakura smiled at him, standing beside him. She gingerly wrapped her arms around the bug nin.


Even though he knew she was happy about recent events, she sounded so broken. Incomplete. The Uchiha bastard broke her heart in to millions of pieces, and then slammed his foot on them and twisted them into a fine dust.


“Shino, my parent’s funeral is today at sundown. I….I want you to-“ Shino wrapped his arms around her just a tad tighter than before. Though her heart was mourning for the loss of her dearest loved ones, and Sasuke broke her heart close to near non repair, he renewed his promise to protect Sakura with his life, vowing to slowly mend her heart anew.


“Sakura, I will be there. If there is one thing that I have learned, that Shinobi Rule number 25 is a load of bullshit. Crying is the medicine for one’s soul in matters such as this. I will think of you as stronger for being able to cry for those you hold close to you.” Sakura sighed, inhaling his unique scent. It calmed her nerves, and it made her wonder, just how he knew what to say to her to make her feel better.


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Though the skies were sunny and blue much earlier, the atmosphere of sundown reflected the dreary affair that was held. Sakura was standing next to Shino and Tsunade as she watched her parents’ names being engraved into the memorial stone. Her face was straight, but tears flowed heavily down her face, never stopping in their descent. She walked up to their graves and threw a flower in for each of them, promising to place fresh flowers on their headstones on the morrow. She closed her eyes, giving thanks to Kami that they were no longer in pain, and that they watch her from above to guide her, and help her through life.


‘Mother, Father, I miss you very, very much. But I have to say goodbye for right now. I pray that Kami watches over you, and ensures you the rest you both so rightly deserve. I haven’t been the best daughter, but I hope that you can forgive me for that. I finally have found peace within myself, but I still have to avenge your deaths, whether my life is taken or not. You both were murdered in cold blood, and you haven’t even lived but half your natural lives. I promise to talk to you often, and I promise to try live up to the expectations I know that you would have wanted me to achieve. I thank you both for being such wonderful parents, and I also thank you for the guidance that you have given, and if Kami willing, that you will continue to give. I love you both. Goodbye.’


Sakura walked away from the graves, other ninja that were close to the Haruno family paying their respects, most of the Aburame family making a startling appearance. Members she hadn’t ever seen before were there, paying their respects. Aibiko was sniffling soundly, and Sakura managed a small smile at Aibiko’s behavior, so unlike an Aburame. Aibiko turned to Sakura, and smiled sadly.


“Not only was Suika my friend, but through your father, I was good friends with Fuuyuko as well. She was a lot like Suika in many ways…she wasn’t as bold, but when the chips were down you could count on her to be there as the never moving rock. Ahh, she was so stubborn!” Aibiko laughed sadly, her laughter turning into tears. Shibi pushed her gently away from Sakura, giving the girl a small smile. Sakura remembered that she was supposed to deliver a message from Suika to Shibi.


“Aburame-sama…” Sakura began. Shibi shook his head placidly.


“We are family now, Sakura-chan. You may call me otou-san, or just Shibi-san.” Sakura nodded before relaying her message.


“Otou-san….Suika-chan wrote me a few letters, and in one of them, she wanted me to tell you that she wasn’t mad at you before the mission began. She also told me to tell you that she wasn’t angry at you for taking another lover, and that she hoped it was her best friend. She also said that she loves you.” Shibi’s expression went blank, as a small blush crossed his cheeks for a few seconds. Shibi placed a hand atop her head. She looked up at him. A small smile curled at the tips of his mouth.


“Thank you for telling me this, Sakura-chan. It means the world to me, and lifts a very great weight off of my shoulders.” Aibiko sobbed louder at what she heard Sakura relay to Shibi, wailing about how good a friend she was. They went to go pay their respects. Shino came from their graves, and watched as his parents, the last to pay their respects, threw their flowers, Aibiko throwing a small silver chain with a leaf into Fuuyuko’s portion of the grave, Shibi throwing a dark stone attached to a leather cord into Kisetsu’s. They began to bury them with the soil they dug up, and Sakura could not bear to watch this. To watch would mean that she totally accepted them as out of her life, and at that moment in time, she could not do that. Shino let her bury herself within his arms as they covered the graves and pat them down tightly. Sakura was shaking in his grasp again, and he slowly rocked her back and forth.

Everything was going to be alright.

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Oh, this took so long! The title fits, because if it werent for this accident, they would not be closer to achieving their friendship again! It's like five in the morning here. Please read, rate the story, and most of all, review!