The Road Not Taken - part 20 (The End)
Shibi x female reader with a name - arranged marriage
Summary: Airi Nara seems a hopeless case, until her grandmother sets her up for an arranged marriage. But was marrying Shibi Aburame the right choice after all?
Masterlist ; Character sheet (now with Hito)
THIS IS THE FINAL CHAPTER! WE MADE IT!
- 5 years after the Uchiha Massacre -
Natsu hasn’t spotted him yet, too distracted by a flock of birds.
“Oi, Shino!” Naruto points out, as usual too loud for the situation he’s in. “Someone’s waiting for you.”
Most of the kids turn to look at Naruto now instead of Shino, who’s slipping out of the crowd almost unnoticed. His shoulders are tense as he walks over, the tension not letting off even as Natsu does her best at climbing up his leg.
“I missed you!” She tells him. “It was boring at home.”
“Did you do your training?” Shino asks and she pouts.
“Course! I’m so strong I can totally kick your butt.”
“Ah,” you drag a hand through her hair which usually makes her let go of whatever she’s clinging to.
“What?” She asks, turning back. “I didn’t say ass.”
Shino grins into his collar, you can tell. You sigh.
“What did you do today?” You ask over Natsu’s chatter as you make your way home.
Shino’s classes run later than Natsu’s and although picking him up is a rather untimely break, you don’t mind doing it once or twice a week. Natsu’s easily distracted as it is, and that little break is often what she needs to focus for two more hours
“They told us what teams we’ll be getting into,” Shino tells you quietly, his hand slipping into yours as you make your way through a quiet alley, a gesture reminding him of how little he used to be.
“Really?” Natsu squeaks to your feet. “Who’s going to be your Sensei?”
“Kurenai.”
You furrow your brows. Kurenai’s known for her use of Genjutsu. Not the first choice for an Aburame.
Shino senses your hesitation. “I’ll talk to Father about it,” he replies.
“Who else is going to be in your team?”
“Kiba Inuzuka.” He pauses. “And Hinata Hyuuga.”
Ah. You can tell by the arch of his shoulders where the problem lies.
Natsu, not the least bit attentive, doesn’t. She rambles on, jealous that he’s going to get to be in a real Genin Team now while she’s just started attending Academy, that he’s going to be spending time with an Inuzuka - they have dogs! - while she trains with Kaede of all people.
But you know your son. Sometimes better than his father, it seems.
-
“What’s the problem with it?” Shibi asks after Dinner in the privacy of his office, the kids doing their homework on the other side - or rather Shino’s helping Natsu do hers.
“It’s Hinata. Hinata Hyuuga. He has a crush on her.”
Shibi drops his pen. “What?”
“Yeah, didn’t you notice?” You lean into him until he moves his legs a little apart, lets you take a seat on his lap. Over six years of marriage have not made you long less for his touch but even you’ve noticed that you’ve been exceptionally cuddly these past weeks.
“No,” he admits, pulling you a little closer. “Did he tell you?”
“Well, yeah.” You close your eyes for a second, reveling in the closeness. “I figured it out and talked to him about it. She’s really sweet, but apparently she’s head over heels for Naruto.”
“Poor Shino,” Shibi sighs. “I know that feeling.”
“Excuse me?” You lean back again to eye him. “When did you experience that kind of thing?”
“Well,” he pulls a face. “I did have a life before Zoka. There was this girl in my class… Looking back I can only be glad she never knew I liked her, but she was really into…” He stops, furrowing his brows. “I forgot his name.”
You laugh. “Well, let’s hope Shino will experience something similar. Do you…” You hesitate. “Do you plan on arranging a marriage for him as well?”
Shibi’s head knocks heavily into yours. “I was thinking about it. Chiasa brought it up. It’s too early for that yet, but I might talk to him about it, just so he knows.”
“He might not take the offer.”
“Yes,” Shibi nods. “He might not. But it’s his decision. Why? I won’t force him into something he has no desire for.”
You sigh. Your eyes wander over his desk, not really looking for anything but a distraction until they catch onto the picture pinned to the wall. Natsu, barely six months old, had wanted out of your hold so bad her arms and legs are blurry from the movement, but it’s not her your eyes latch onto. Behind her, body covered from head to toe, is Torune, smiling at the camera.
You still wonder about him daily, but the pain has lessened over time.
Shibi, sensing the shift, leans in to kiss your temple.
“How about we take a nice bath after the kids have gone to bed?” He asks. “Celebrate the fact that you put on some weight again.”
You laugh despite yourself. “That’s not usually a thing to celebrate.”
“It is to me.”
And you know what he’s thinking about, the time of your life you barely remember, when all you did was sleep and cry.
You suppose he’s right. Sometimes these things are worth celebrating.
- - -
It’s a rare treat to go shopping on your own and not just for necessities.
Shibi’s on a mission that should only last one day, Natsu’s training with Chiasa right after school and Shino’s training with his new Genin Team, leaving the house quiet except for the purring of Okita
Sure there’s things to do, like there always are. The laundry needs to be folded, the garden needs tending, but nothing is urgent and you’re craving a little window shop.
They say to never go shopping on an hungry stomach, but the same might be true for the opposite.
You find sweets for you and Natsu, a little trinket Toshiko will cherish, and the most practical gift you could possibly get Shibi - a multi pack of new boxer briefs - until you make your way through yet another store, remembering that you’ll need new toothbrushes soon.
You take a turn to the left and stare at a display of pregnancy tests, all but snorting at the price.
With a little bit of Chakra you can do that for free and since the aisle is empty, you do just so, proving to yourself that you might be a little rusty at the edges, but not that much.
The result has you freeze in surprise, hands still splayed out over your abdomen.
You try again. The result doesn’t change.
-
And it’s not like you changed your mind about having more children after Torune was taken away, but it had not been on the forefront of your mind anymore.
Grief had been. And then getting better.
The tea Chiasa had gotten you had moved to the far end of the cupboard, replaced by other, more needed things. A tea to soothe Natsu’s upset stomach or the fever she ran when teething.
To find out you’re pregnant again, at a time like this, in a place like this… You can’t help but laugh.
-
Natsu looks at you weird when she returns from her grandmother.
“Why are you smiling like that?” She asks, stomping adorably through the room to join you in the kitchen.
“I’m happy. Are you not?”
She harrumphs before taking a seat at the table, launching into a detailed explanation of today’s training, the bugs and birds she had seen and all the reasons why she needed to get a puppy.
Shino, much like his sister, halts at the door to eye you.
“You seem very happy,” he points out, sliding out of his shoes.
“I said that too,” Natsu exclaims, eager to show off.
“I am,” you explain simply, inviting him to the table. “Can you help me with the beans?”
“Did you get to pet Akamaru today?” Natsu asks before Shino’s even sat, disappointed when his answer is no.
You eat Dinner without Shibi, sadly a not so rare occurrence.
Natsu settles on the living room floor after Dinner to play with a lazy Okita while Shino curiously sidles closer on the Couch.
“Did something happen?” He whispers, mindful of his sisters nosiness.
“Yes,” you agree. “But I will have to tell your father first.”
Shino watches you for a second, his sunglasses giving nothing away. Then, just barely visible, his mouth quirks upward before he leans in to whisper even quieter into your ear.
“I hope this time I will get a quieter sibling.”
You snort, waving it off as a bad joke when Natsu perks up immediately.
“I know a joke!” She exclaims at that, sitting upright. “Where do the cows go to have fun?”
“Where, Natsu?”
“To the Moovies! Get it? Because they Moo!”
You laugh along with her, praising her for it.
She goes back to Okita after a while but Shino sticks close until he falls asleep with his head on your shoulder.
He’s grown so much, but he’s still your little boy after all.
- - -
Shibi takes one step into your bedroom before he halts.
“What happened?” He asks, his coat half open.
You laugh. “Why does everyone ask me that today? Is it hat obvious?”
“You’re glowing,” he comments before flinching back. “No!” He gasps. “Can it-”
“Yes,” your smile turns shy now, a hand pressed to your belly. “I went to the hospital to triple check. I’m two months along already.”
The sound Shibi makes sounds both like a sob and a sigh and he rushes over to cradle the barely there bump in his hands.
“So that’s the weight you put on,” he points out quietly, hands caressing the skin above the new life growing.
You rake a hand through his hair, overcome with too many emotions to talk.
He understands nonetheless.
“Do you want to call him Torune, if it’s a boy?” His voice is quiet, unobtrusive.
“No,” you shake your head, your voice tight. “No, I don’t… I don’t want to replace him. Torune will always be my son. If it’s a boy, he will be his own little person.”
Shibi nods, pressing a kiss to your stomach.
“Welcome,” he whispers. “We’re very eager to meet you.”
“Shino already knows,” you tell him once he’s settled in behind you, one hand cradling your belly.
Shino huffs out a laugh. “He’s too perceptive.”
“Do you want to tell Natsu?”
He laughs louder. “No, I know my limitations. That’s all yours.”
-.- Shibi -.-
Hito Aburame steps just as quietly into the world as he’d slipped into your life.
One day you’re still pregnant, your belly heavy, the next he’s there with you, watching the little carved antlers move above his bed.
You gave birth at night, a quiet, quick affair, Shibi’s hand tight in yours as Chiasa watched.
Hito has his fathers Kikaichu, your eyes and Shino’s quietness, charming his way into everyone’s heart, even that of stubborn Natsu who had been adamant not to like him.
“He’s very cute,” she admits just two days later, carrying him from one room to the next. Every thought of a puppy is forgotten when he blows bubbles at her, holds onto her pinky with his tiny fists.
-
Hito’s presence is sorely needed.
He’d been worried sick these past months.
The third Hokage has been killed, the attack almost taking Shino as well.
You’d watched him for days until the poison left his system, one hand on his, the other on your growing belly.
It had been a new fear, though not unfounded. He’d almost lost you over Torune, he doesn’t want to think what losing Shino would do to you.
The life of a Shinobi is hard, every mission might be your last.
But Shibi can’t help but think that the life of a parent is harder, knowing that no matter how hard you train your children they might not make it home one day.
And what world, he can’t help but wonder, what village, expects their children to fight the battles of grown ups?
- - -
The years pass.
They celebrate Shino making Chunin by visiting the bath house, a rather ironic celebration giving the fact that both Shino and him have to stay out of the water lest they overheat.
Hito doesn’t seem to mind the heat but you don’t dare risk it at his young age while Natsu dives into the water from every angle possible.
“Torune would be proud of you,” you tell Shino after Dinner, your voice thick with emotion.
Shino’s hand curls around yours and his, joining them together.
His son rarely smiles but tonight, he seems content.
-
Natsu’s Genin team consists of her, a quiet, massive Taijutsu User named Kenta Akimichi and the stubborn Genjutsu prodigy Umeda Daisuke, a clanless boy Natsu never stops complaining about.
“She’s got a crush on him,” you comment one rainy afternoon after Natsu’s stormed out to train, her tirade over Daisuke still ringing in their ears. “She just doesn’t know it yet.”
“Poor Daisuke,” Shino comments from where he’s packing his bag for a mission. “He doesn’t know what’s going to hit him until it’s too late.”
You laugh, both at Shino’s comment and Shibi’s awkwardness, his unwillingness to think about his little girl growing up.
“How about you?” You ask, pinching Shino’s cheek, lifting Hito up so he can do the same, the toddler clinging to you every waking hour. “Any girl worth crushing on?”
Red dusts Shino’s cheeks and Shibi straightens, trying not to pry.
“I’m fine as it is,” Shino points out. “I want to make… I want to make you guys proud.”
“I am proud,” you tell him, conviction heavy in your voice. “So, so proud.”
“Still,” Shino shakes his head. “I’m only eighteen. Who knows what’s going to happen in the next year or so? Naruto just came back and you know how he makes everything…”
“Interesting?” You offer at the same time Shibi mutters a quiet “Complicated?”
Shino shrugs.
“If you want me to look for someone-,” Shibi offers but Shino waves him off. “No, no, I’m fine.”
Shibi catches your eye. He knows that look and sighs. A little looking around won’t hurt.
- - - After the Shinobi war - - -
Shibi finds you at the hospital, not surprised to see you up and working even at midnight, a sleeping Hito tied to your back. He’s too old to be carried around like that, but the times are rough and he knows you wouldn’t leave him to sleep in some room when there might be a new attack any minute.
You pull him in for a hug the second you see him, your clothes just as drenched in blood and dirt as his.
“You’re alive,” you cry into his chest and he nods, eyes closed, relieved to be just for one second.
“Who did we lose?” You ask moments later, voice shaky as you brace yourself.
“Muta,” he watches you crumble at the name, holds you tight as you cry into his chest. All the other names will follow, but this one hurts the most. Toshiko’s your closest friend and Muta nothing less than your nephew, just another big brother of Natsu.
Shibi hasn’t heard of Shino yet, just knows that he’s alive.
-
Konoha does what it does best.
They rebuild itself from the dirt and the ashes, from the tears and the blood.
Natsu is quieter now, a constant companion to a grieving Kaede, sitting hours on end with him and little Hito as she ponders the injustice of the world.
Muta had been a person she knew, one she loved dearly. It’s the first death, the first loss she can really grasp.
Torune’s death hits you much harder, though not as hard as him saying goodbye all those years ago.
So much has happened in so little time that it seems almost comical that their house is still standing, their garden’s almost untouched from all those fights.
-
“Let’s come together,” you ask one Sunday morning, the first you get to spend at home after doing double shifts at the hospital all week. “Under the pear tree.”
The Blanket you spread out on the ground is one he knows well, the one you gifted Torune all those years ago, the one your parents made for you.
Hito settles quietly in your lap, the others following shortly.
Chiasa, Toshiko, Kenji and Kaede arrive as if pulled in by your shadows, settling in the soft shade.
It’s quiet outside, just the rustling of the wind in the leaves, not even Natsu utters a word as she lets Kaede sit close, shoulders brushing.
A shadow brushes past the edge of the house, blindingly blond hair reflecting the sun.
“Hi,” Naruto stands there awkwardly. “I wanted to- Is it okay if I-”
“Sit,” Shino motions toward a free corner to his right and Naruto waves at someone behind him who turns out to be Iruka.
The blanket is pretty much full now but you look around as if waiting for someone. Maybe you are.
“When I was dreaming in the Infinite Tsukuyomi,” you say into the quiet of the morning. “When I was dreaming, I saw us like this. Sitting together under this pear tree. My parents were there as well. Jurou and Zoka, Torune and Muta.” Toshiko sniffles loudly and you smile at her, taking her hand to squeeze it.
“And we didn’t have to do much. We just were and we were happy like this. And I think we can be like that, still.” Your eyes find Shibi’s and you smile, sad and happy at the same time.
“After all, no one’s truly dead unless they are forgotten.”
- - -
It’s only hours later, in the quiet of the night, that you shuffle close, your head coming to rest on his chest.
“What are you thinking about?” You ask.
“Everything and nothing,” he admits. “Torune, Muta, Shiruko. Zoka, too. The girl… The girl I found for Shino, if he wants it. Who’s going to be Hito’s Sensei when it’s time. Should he even become a Shinobi?”
“I thought you didn’t like thinking about the road not taken?”
“I don’t,” he sighs. “But my mind won’t let it rest.”
“Would it help you,” you ask then, “If we went down it together?”
He considers it for a second, your hand in his, his hand in yours.
“Always.”
THE END!
I am so proud of this story. This took some twists and turns and I'm sure it did not answer every question, not that it needs to. You won't get answers to every question in your own life either, sadly.
I modeled the events of the Shinobi War to what I know from the Naruto Wiki - so I didn't spend as much time on Torune's and Muta's death as I could have.
What do you think, though?
Will Shino accept an arranged marriage like his father?
What side character deserves a long story like this (and why should it be Nagato? 😉)
Or do you have any other thoughts you want to share? I'd love to hear it.
Thank you for all the support you've shown this fic. Shibi, Shino and the whole Aburame Clan are, after all, side characters. Often forgotten. But our love for them unites us in this corner of the interweb.
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