The Right Choice

This story is completely finished. I am just going through and doing some final proofreading, but I will be uploading at least once daily. There are over ten chapters and the story is a little over 45,000 words. I've never actually posted a story of mine before, and I'm a little nervous so be kind. If there's a lot of bad feedback from this one I probably won't post any more of my stories in the future, but no matter what I will have this one posted in completion hopefully by the end of next week. I hope you enjoy it, I usually write for my own pleasure, but this one I enjoyed so much I thought it might be nice to share. Please let me know if you like it, I am hoping for at least ten good reviews once I finish. I know it's a high goal considering most people are lurkers (me included), but I would appreciate knowing that at least a few people enjoyed it. Thanks, and enjoy!

WARNING: Naruto is in several other pairings before he gets to Shino. The story works through a failed relationship and a comfort relationship before we get there so don't freak out when Naruto doesn't jump straight into Shino's arms. It will happen, but like the description said this is the story of their struggle to come together so just wait for it.

Chapter 5

As it turned out the Hokage was busy so his meeting ended shortly after it had begun. He walked as slowly as he could back home, but it did no good. His parents were sitting at the kitchen table, and it was obvious they had been waiting for him.

“Shino, please have a seat.” Shibi said in a no nonsense tone that offered no room for argument. Shino sat at the table making sure to school his face so as not to give any of his nervousness at the coming discussion.

“Your mother has brought it to my attention that your kakebuton has a unique symbol on it that she hadn’t remembered seeing before. She told me you drew it for her and asked specifically for it to be central in the design. She realized tonight where the symbol came from. We just wanted this chance to speak to you about it. Is there anything that you wanted to tell us?”

Shino sat looking at his parents for a long time. He didn’t want to lie, but he didn’t think it was any of their business either. It would be very disrespectful of him to refuse, and he would never think of acting so shamefully. They wouldn’t allow him to evade, but if he kept what he said to a minimum they might be satisfied.

“It’s Naruto’s symbol. I’ve never seen it anywhere else. I liked it the best of all the symbols so I requested it be the centerpiece.” Not a lie at all. He loved Naruto’s symbol. He hoped to wear it someday along with his own.

“You’ve shown an excessive interest in this boy since he got back from Suna. You spend nearly every day with him, but we both assumed it was just friendship. Finding that you’ve had his symbol woven into a place of honor on such a beautiful example of your mother’s work without her knowledge over three years ago makes us wonder what exactly you want from this boy, and how long you’ve been wanting it.”

Shino knew his parents would figure it out, but he never imagined they would actually want to know. He’d assumed they would just ignore it and hope it would pass. No such luck.

“Are you in love with him?” His mother asked. She seemed to really want to know, but was treading carefully. Shino realized that his parents didn’t want to ostracize him if their suspicions were confirmed. Ne nodded once, but dropped his eyes to the table and left them there. He couldn’t bear to see disgust in their eyes. Naruto was so important to him, and the possibility that his parents would object hurt him more than he’d expected it would.

“How long Shino. I started designing the kakebuton when you were fifteen. Tell me everything else. Why did you choose those colors?”

His mother was pleading with him, but he couldn’t tell if she wanted him to take it back or just explain. He settled for answering her questions, but brief answers just wouldn’t suffice at this point. He needed them to understand. It was the only way to convince them to accept this.

“He’s always been special. Could you feel it when he was here?” He looked up for an answer. His father nodded right away, but his mother’s was less enthusiastic but she did agree. She didn’t want to seem like she was happy about this. Shino tried to understand what this was like for them, but he couldn’t.

“I’ve wanted him one way or another since we were in school. It started out innocent. I just wanted his friendship, but because I was afraid he’d reject me I stayed away. I’ve always kept my distance for one reason or another, but there’s nothing keeping me from him now accept Naruto’s need for time. He’s recovering from a failed relationship and I want him to have the chance to heal before I tell him. When the time is right, though, I will pursue him. The only thing that could make me stop would be for him to tell me that he doesn’t want me. It’s his decision, and if that’s what he wants then I will marry any girl you choose, but if I have the chance to be happy then I’m going to try.”

Shibi was holding Shai’s hand, trying to comfort her as best he could. She held back the tears so that she could talk. “I’m so sorry that you felt you needed to hide this from us. I was just hurt that you had obviously felt something for him for so long and never told me. And the kakebuton… you never told me. We both want you to be happy Shino. I never want you to think that what we want is more important than what you want. If you love him then I will love him too.”

She reached across the table and offered Shino her hand. He took it of course. He loved his mother very much. “You also wanted to know about the kakebuton?” His mother nodded and gave his hand a light squeeze. “The blue is the color of his eyes. The red is the exact shade of his sage robes, and he’s always worn the swirl. I don’t know where it came from, but it’s his, and I wanted to have it close to me. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but I didn’t think you’d understand.”

Shibi smiled a wide smile then. He was actually very hopeful that this worked out for Shino, not only because his sons happiness was so important to him, but because Naruto was powerful, and a perfect ally for the future. “I’m glad that you’ve told us now Shino. That’s all that matters at this point. Naruto will be a very powerful man one day, and there are rumors that the Hokage herself is grooming him as her replacement. As a father I couldn’t imagine a better match. I would be proud to welcome Naruto into our family.”

Shai looked at her husband disparagingly. “Don’t patronize your son Shibi. Naruto is a nice enough boy, but the elders would never allow him to be Hokage.”

“He will be Hokage someday Shai. I’m sure of it. He was a Sage at fifteen. He defeated enemies that no one else could and though the village was destroyed, he made sure, by defeating all those that threatened Konoha that rebuilding was possible as well as successful. The rebuilding took no time at all, and if rumors are to be believed, the bulk of the structures were rebuilt in mere moments. I heard he pushed his chakra into Yamato Sama and all the structures were instantly reformed.

“He was even Ambassador for a year in Suna. Tsunade Sama must have given him the job as training for what is to come. It all makes sense if you think about it. Shino could very well be living in the Hokage mansion in the next few years.” Shibi nodded his head confidently when he was through.

Shai was still skeptical though. “The people of Konoha still think so harshly of him though. How could he lead us when he faces so much opposition?”

Shino knew the answer to this. “The only people that still hate Naruto are people that don’t know him. He has a way of getting into your head, and the next thing you know you’re paying for lunch at Ichiraku and are happy to do it. To be honest I don’t think that there really are that many left in the village that truly dislikes him. He is well respected, if not liked by all of the shinobi in the village and many in other villages. All the younger generations especially like him. He is a true genius and the son of the Yondaime. Leadership is in his blood. I don’t think there is any one that could do better as Hokage than Naruto.”

Shai felt her heart warm. Shino spoke with such conviction and caring. She didn’t really care about Naruto’s ambitions or Shibi’s either, though his parentage was a bit of a surprise. To see her son this happy was what she had always dreamed of, and no matter what Naruto turned out to be, if he was what her son wanted then she wouldn’t stand in the way. “I would like to spend more time with Naruto…”

Shino interrupted before this could get worse. “I am only friends with him right now. He has no idea that I care for him beyond that, and I plan to keep it that way until I think he’s ready for more. I don’t want anyone trying to push him. It’s bad enough that the Hokage tried to make it my mission to seduce him. I will do this in my own time, and if he doesn’t want me then I will respect his decision.”

The discussion went on for a while longer. Shibi and Shai wanted to know more about the time that Shino spent with Naruto and especially about the Hokage’s mission. They were both relieved when Shino explained things further, and by the time they were through they were all emotionally exhausted, but happy with how much they’d learned about each other that night. Shibi and Shai were both delighted to have learned so much about their son, and Shino was relieved that he didn’t have to hide his feelings any more around them.

ooOOoo

Naruto waited expectantly outside Ichiraku’s for Shino to show up. It had been three days, and that was usually the longest interval that he’d maintained over the last four months in his pseudo tracking of Naruto. Naruto had known the moment his first kikaichu crawled up onto him that Tsunade baa chan must have assigned Shino to watch him, and the continued switching of new kikaichu and regular ‘coincidental’ meetings for ramen only confirmed it.

He hadn’t been angry with Shino though. He knew better by now to be angry with the person that ordered the mission and not the one on it. It was nearly impossible to be angry with Shino anyway. They had become very close in the last few months, and Naruto was starting to think of Shino as his best friend. With Hinata and Kiba finally getting together it left Shino as the odd man out, and Naruto was truly grateful. Well grateful until he had to sit and listen to Kiba moon over Hinata when she wasn’t around, but Naruto had just started to run when he saw Kiba coming, and that had solved that.

The only problem with Shino being around all the time was that Naruto was becoming more and more attracted to him as time went on, and with his guilt over Gaara waning since Ikaru had written to him several times about the progression of their relationship he was finding it harder to resist the temptation. Naruto still loved Gaara, but his decision had been for the best, and he was glad that Gaara was moving on. He hoped that soon they could see each other as friends without creating more problems, but for now separation was better. It was difficult though, Naruto was after all only nineteen years old, and he hadn’t had sex in ages. It was a crude thought and Naruto cringed at how shallow he felt, but there it was.

Shino didn’t help things either. Naruto could feel those brilliant eyes on him all the time. Even when they weren’t together Naruto would suddenly feel them on him. He’d be in the market, or training, it didn’t seem to matter. Shino was always around, and it had Naruto’s imagination on sexual overdrive. He wasn’t usually this hormonal, but he’d become accustomed to a regular sex life only to quit cold turkey, and it was making him crazy. He was even dreaming of Shino. The dreams consisted mostly of sky blue beds and dark amber eyes.

With the sexual tension came a short temper as well. He’d started to take his frustrations out during training and slowly but surely none of his friends would spar with him. He was going to have to do something soon or he was going to alienate himself from everyone. He was most afraid of saying something embarrassing to Shino and revealing himself. It would ruin everything he was coming to rely on with Shino so he’d just have to figure something out.

Shino finally made his appearance. He strolled casually down the street toward Naruto as if he hadn’t planned to come on Naruto’s next visit. Naruto smiled and waved, and Shino paused in his steps a moment but continued forward waving back as he progressed. Soon they were sitting next to each other eating steaming bowls of Miso when Naruto decided it was time to talk about Shino’s mission. “So Shino what took you so long today? I must have stood out front for ten minutes before you decided to show up. I was about to give up and eat without you.”

Naruto was impressed. Shino didn’t even pause while eating his ramen. He just finished the bite and then put his chopsticks down and turned slightly to Naruto. “What do you mean?”

But he was playing it too cool, and Naruto could see straight through the façade. “I mean, you haven’t had ramen with me in three days and I was starting to worry that baa chan had reassigned you, but my little buddy is still with me so I figured you were just busy.”

Naruto went back to eating, and tried not to laugh as the expression on Shino’s face morphed into several different stages of shock and embarrassment, before settling on resigned. “She should have known it wouldn’t work, but I went along with it. It gave me an excuse to stay in the village and hang out with you more.”

Naruto’s grin could have lit the night sky it was so bright. “So you like hanging out with me huh?”

Shino smiled back, though it was hidden behind his coat. “Of course I do. If I didn’t then I would have just checked in on you from a distance.” With that he went back to his meal, and Naruto felt the beginnings of a hard nervous lump in his stomach. Shino was hard to figure out. The statement had been so sincere and yet there had been nothing in it that could tell him if Shino was feeling more than just friendship. Naruto was so accustomed to recognizing how someone felt about him from their eyes that he was at a loss. Shino’s concealment of those beautiful eyes, though completely necessary, was seeming more often then not another way for him to hide.

There wasn’t anything he could do about it right now though. If he pushed too hard for a more obvious reaction he might not get the one he was looking for, and it might send Shino running. That was the last thing he wanted to happen so he settled for eating his lunch and enjoying their time together.

When they were through eating lunch Naruto decided that he didn’t want things to go back to the way they were. Their conversation was still going strong. Naruto was holding most of it, but it didn’t matter to him. Just being with Shino was enough. Most people thought he talked too much, but Shino never seemed to mind. It was a nice change, and a complete novelty to be able to relax with someone. He felt free with Shino in a way that he hadn’t even felt with Gaara. There had always been so many constraints on their relationship because they were from different villages. They had to be cautious with the information that they shared but Naruto could say anything to Shino and not have to worry about anything.

“I was going to catch a movie this evening, would you like to come?” Naruto asked. He pulled off casual well, but he was nervous. So nervous in fact that he nearly puked up all the ramen he’d just eaten before Shino answered. “Sure, but I have to check in with the Hokage first. Would you like to come with me?”

Naruto laughed. It would be funny, but he needed the leverage for later. “Not today. I’ll confront her about it on my own so I can blackmail her when there’s a need. She’s not as easy to deal with when there’s an audience. I’ll meet you at the theater in half an hour.”

Shino nodded. “That should be plenty of time to report and meet back up.”

He waved as he took to the rooftops heading for Hokage tower, and Naruto watched him go. Naruto was going to have to find a way to spend more time at the Aburame complex. Shino looked too good to spend all his time wrapped up in that horrid coat.

They met back up just in time to see the next show. The movie was pretty good. There had been action, suspense and the lead had been gorgeous. Shino had watched with a bored look on his face, and at times Naruto could have sworn that he was sleeping, but it was nice having the company. They walked around for a while just talking afterward and enjoying the cool night air. Naruto was a bit distracted at times, but the mini fantasies running through his head wouldn’t leave him alone, so when it came time to part ways this time Naruto didn’t have any objections. He needed to deal with his slightly uncomfortable state, and quick or he’d be limping tomorrow.

The onsen sounded great at this point, and at this hour there would be someone there that could lend a hand. Or two if he was lucky.


Chapter 6 should be up pretty quick, I've already gone through it and it's ready. Also, if anyone thinks that I need a beta I'll look into it, but if it looks good then I won't bother. Thanks for the great reviews they are very encouraging.

All the information for this fiction was either taken from actual episodes, manga, or one of several Naruto information sites. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on any of the info I use, I'm trying to stay in line with the actual story as I can. Thanks.