Perspective is an ongoing fanfiction project that takes place in the Naruto universe.  In it, Ino and Shino are sent on a mission to prevent a coup from taking place in an enemy village.  In a twist of fate, Shino is stricken with a cursed seal that prevents him from using his body as a host; thus, it is up to Ino to take on his insects, and gain his powers.  In this, she gradually learns more about Shino, and begins to fall for the mysterious shinobi.

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In my arms, I held the top half of Shino’s body close to my chest, and I couldn’t shake off the bittersweet memory of Asuma. Sensei’s shoulders were slightly broader than Shino’s, and at the time, he suffered more wounds than Shino. I could feel the rise and fall of Shino’s chest, and the gentleness of it all assured me that at least he would survive.

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“Ino-sama, be on your guard. The enemy is a formidable opponent!”

A trickle of sweat rolled down my bare neck, and evaporated into mist before it reached my purple top. I zoned out the ambience of the surrounding thicket, and all I heard was silence, waiting for the foe to make their move.

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As we crossed the tree line, towards Bikochu Valley, the mood was silent between Shino and I. I distracted myself as I looked around at the dense, almost dead foliage of the trees surrounding the two of us.

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I groaned as I helped myself up from the ground. I looked back down at the helpless corpse close by and shoved the notion of having killed someone to the back of my mind, as I had done my entire life as a shinobi. The faint sounds of the man’s neck cracking under me were drowned out by the incessant buzzing coming from within.

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I unsheathed a kunai and held it tightly in anticipation of a possible attack. The bugs said that there were intruders, so I readied myself into a defensive stance. I scanned the landmarks around me, only to see nothing in sight.

“Where are they?”

The kikai buzzed inside me with excitement. This was their first battle with me as their vessel, and perhaps their first combat experience since the incident with Shino. I surely didn’t want to disappoint them, so I readied my mindset to follow their orders.

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I got home later that night, after a lengthy discussion with Shino over a nice ramen dinner. He was quite forward in his speech, somewhat uncharacteristic of his usual reserved demeanor. Not that I didn’t mind it; I love the challenge of out-flirting a guy who thinks he can simply woo his way into my heart. No way. A real man has to be able to woo a girl with his hands, and not with his mouth. I’ve only been on a few missions with Shino back in the Genin days, but never as a Chunin. I speculated about Shino’s condition for this mission, and wondered how he would fight without his bugs if the situation required it, and more importantly, how I would fight with them.

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The Hokage’s building was in sight once we had reached the main roads of the village. We walked together, Shino keeping a subtle distance behind me. He was only a few inches taller than me, but his stride was noticeably longer. I could see him from the corner of my eye, off of the reflection of the inside part of my glasses. He remained silent for most of the trip, as if he were pondering something, probably related to our situation.

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The next morning, I woke up to loud thuds from a room down the hall. Shouts of anger and frustration were audible, highlighted by the spirited arguing of Rock Lee and an unidentifiable nurse. Having worked early shifts before, I was used to Lee’s morning exercise routines. A thousand pushups on his uninjured hand. A thousand squats on his uninjured leg. A thousand sit-ups if his back wasn’t sore. If he failed any of these, or was stopped by a nurse, he would loudly proclaim to do even more repetitions than before. Difficult as he was, it was a comforting environment, reminding me of better days when life wasn’t so complicated.

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