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Reading Totems	By : GrizzlyTeddyBear Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1242 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Author�s pre-ramble:�
Tah Dah!� The council
meeting!� �Yay!� to all my obsessive
reviewers who have been stalking my story and faithfully giving me
feedback:� HumanInfiltrator, OX King,
Lady Slave, kodama, MsMina, eva24, Alaskantiger, Darksteel1992, Pan12398,
wildkit, Navygirl19999, Paintedbutterfly, Valla, Jess, Kilrath Sluzath, jewel, kimahrigirl,
Incarnadyne Tears, CasaHouseaa.� And if
you are a one-time reviewer�gimme some more lovin�!� Reviews make the authoress� world go �round.�

Title:� Reading Totems
By:� GrizzlyTeddyBear
Disclaimer:� I
don�t own Naruto, and this makes me sad.�
I do own Paige Stone, my OC!�
Main Pairings:�
ShinoxOC, NaruxHina, SasuxSaku
Rating:� M for
mentioned adult themes
Warning:� AU,
Post-series start time.� Rookie 9 is
23-24 years old.� Fic mentions pagan
religions, if you can�t handle it, don�t read! Also is OC-centric.� Hold your pants, all will be revealed as the
story progresses.� I like to take my
time.

Chapter Summary:� Paige
faces the council and gives them a demonstration of her abilities.� However, her new totem of the raven has other
plans.� What is behind the mysterious
emotion she feels from the elders?

***Chapter 13***

Having a meeting in the morning was both a good thing and a
bad thing.� Paige was happy about having
the meeting so early because it would get everything over and done with.� She was unhappy about the meeting being so
early because it meant she would hardly get any sleep because she would be too
nervous.� She tossed and turned and
tossed some more, but decent sleep wouldn�t come.� She eventually gave up at 5:00AM and started
cross-referencing her notebooks again.�
She also started to talk to Scarab, the female kikiachu beetle Shino
left behind to keep an eye on her.� �You�re
not going to tell him everything that goes on, are you Scarab?� Because that might be boring.��

Scarab cleaned her antennae in response.

�And you aren�t coming in the shower with me, are you?� Although it might be fun to give that report
to Shino, I don�t know how much I�d like second hand voyeurism.�

Scarab stopped cleaning at this statement for a moment,
crawled from Paige�s shoulder to her elbow, and then resumed her cleaning.

�I�m going nuts�aren�t I?��
She sighed and watched as Scarab crawled back up to her shoulder.� �I guess I didn�t realize how much him just
being there was such a comfort.�� Leaning
back to stretch she gave another louder sigh.�
�I�m hopeless.� It�s always the
tall, dark and mysterious types that I fall for�not that I�ve ever actually
acted on any of those feelings before now.�
I�m pretty sure he has feelings for me too, but what about everything
else that goes with it�his family�him being a ninja�and my lack of, well,
everything.� You tell him, Scarab, that
we need to spend time together to figure some of this out.� It�s probably going to get complicated.�

Scarab didn�t appear to agree or disagree, but did appear
concerned with the time when she flew over to Paige�s clock and landed on the
glowing numbers which proudly announced it was 7:00AM.

�I guess it�s time to start getting ready.�� She got up and walked to her bathroom.� �Scarab, you are staying on the other side of
the room or something�no peeking and telling Shino that I�m just too cute.�� Laughing at herself for talking to an insect,
she set about showering, eating breakfast, and packing her bag of medicine
wheel objects and notebooks.�

In choosing her outfit for the day, she figured it wouldn�t
hurt to play up looking innocent.� She
was aiming for impressions and sadly clothing made impressions on people.� Paige chose to wear all white to the meeting
with the council and instead of a tank top with her peasant skirt; a plain
white shirt was in order.� She wasn�t
sure how her tattoos would go over, so she decided covering them would
best.� Realizing something rather
important, she decided to have one last conversation with Scarab.� �Ok.�
The object is to make the council think I haven�t been asking for
political favors.� So that means you
can�t be visible, Scarab. �I don�t know
what kind of political weight an Aburame has, but I�d rather play it safe.� You have to be under the clothes somewhere at
all times.�� Surprisingly, Scarab crawled
to the edge of her white shirt, and calmly went under the sleeve.

All too soon, there was a knock on her front door.� �This must be my escort to the meeting,� she
thought to herself.� Walking over to the
door, she sensed three totems on the other side�dolphin, lizard, and peacock.� The lizard and peacock felt different
though.� Puzzled, she opened the door to
reveal Iruka, what looked like Mini-Gai, and someone with eyes like Hinata.� Remembering what Sakura had told her about
Gai having a student eerily like him, and what Kakashi had said during the
meeting at the bar, she made a few quick educated guesses.� �Hello Iruka, how are you this morning.�

�I�m fine Paige, I don�t believe you�ve met these two, but
I�m here to vouch for them.� They�re
names are��

She interrupted and spoke to Lee, �You must be Gai�s
student, Rock Lee.� Sakura has told me a
little about you.�

Lee struck a pose and proclaimed, �I, Rock Lee, will protect
you, Paige Stone, while en route to your council meeting or I will run 1000
laps around Konoha!�

�Peacock indeed,� Paige thought, �He�s just as bad as Gai was!�� Turning her attention to the other newcomer,
she continued aloud, �I�m going to guess you are Hyuga Neji, but may I ask you a
question?�

Tilting his head to the side, he answered, �Yes.�

�How are you and Hinata related?� I noticed you share the same eyes.�

�Cousins from different branches of the Hyuga clan.� She is of the main family and I am of the
branch family.�

She felt slight tones of resentment behind the words, but
decided not to press it.� Family problems
would have to be worked out another day.�
Instead she said, �Thank you for telling me.�� To both of the newcomers she stated, �Please
call me Paige.�� And looking once again
at Iruka she added, �I�m ready to go.�
Let�s get this over with.�

Iruka gave a chuckle, �Nervous?�

�Like you wouldn�t believe.��
She looked at the ground while playing with the edge of her shirt.

A hand landed on her shoulder and she looked up into Iruka�s
eyes, �You�ll be fine.� We�re all here to
make sure of that.�

She smiled, �I know, but I hate playing politics. �Too many opportunities to say something and
then have your own words used against you.�
It�s a brain-twisting, double-talking endurance trial that I can live
without.�

Neji smirked, �You�ve done this before.�

�Something similar�and I hated every moment of it, but let�s
get going.� The sooner we leave, the
sooner it ends.�� And with that the group
of four made their walk to Hokage
Tower and the council
meeting.� Lee was quiet during the
journey, which took her slightly by surprise, but she vowed to herself to stop
judging Gai and Lee by their wacky poses.�
Paige felt butterflies in her stomach multiply as they walked
closer.� To keep her anxiety down, she
started to think of her meditations over the past week.� This eventually led to thoughts of Shino and how
she wished he was there.� She must have
given a rather loud sigh or some outside sign of her feelings because Neji
spoke up next.

�What is wrong?�� He
turned what she figured were the Hyuga clan�s eyes on her.

�Nothing really.�
Naruto, Kiba, and Shino are on a mission�I just wouldn�t have minded a
few extra friends in the crowd if I could�ve gotten away with it.�

Guessing some of her true feelings, his reply shocked
her.� �They will all return safely.�

She smiled in reply.�
They walked into Hokage
Tower and through its
winding hallways in silence.� Paige began
to mentally prepare herself for the meeting by tapping into her spiritual
connection and calling on her totem of the grizzly bear.� She felt the immediate sensations of safety,
comfort, courage, and protection that came from her connection with her
totem.� It wasn�t an answer from
Mudjekeewis the Spirit Keeper, but that was ok.�
(It was actually shocking the Spirit Keeper had graced her with his
presence as often as he had.)� When they
arrived at the door leading into the meeting room, she was more calm and
relaxed.� Iruka�s voice disrupted the
silence, �This is my stop.� Only jounin
get to go in.� I�ll see you when you
leave the meeting, Paige.�� He smiled and
waved as he walked back from where the group had just come from.�

Paige noted his choice of words�whether or not the meeting
was over, he would see her when she decided to leave the meeting.� It looked like Shikamaru�s plans were in
action.� Turning back to her remaining
escorts, she nodded.� �Alright, I�m
ready.�� Neji and Lee each held one door
open, and Paige walked through with her head held high into a room which held
more ninjas than she ever thought would be in once place, and more ninjas than
she thought would ever be interested in her.�
It was intimidating.� Feeling the
wave of emotions and totems trying to make themselves known, she closed her
connection to the spiritual slightly in order to concentrate more on the
meeting.

She walked to the center of the room, bowed in respect to
the council, and waited for instructions.�
It was a little awkward with her bag of medicine wheel items dangling
while she held the bow.� Directly in
front of her were who she assumed were the three elders due to�well, they
looked old.� Tsunade sat behind and
slightly above them.� Behind Tsunade and
slightly to the left was Jiraiya.� To
Paige�s right and left sides, she was going to assume were the heads of the
clans of Konohagakure, noting Sasuke sat with them.� She recognized some physical similarities the
other clan leaders held with some of her recently made friends, and made mental
notes of this.� Lining the back wall
which held the door she had recently walked through, were the jounin of Konoha.� Tsunade broke the silence which seemed to
have stretched for a long period of time while Paige held her bow.� �Rise.�
Welcome to the Council of Konohagakure.�

She decided formality was definitely called for in this
situation.� �Thank you, Hokage-sama.� It is an honor to stand before the
council.�� After saying this, Paige
finally ended her bow and straightened to look Tsunade in the eye.�

�You, Paige Stone, were brought here, before the council,
because of your unique abilities and your status as a civilian who wishes to
become a resident of Konoha.� You have
already been given medical clearance.� Do
you have any questions before the meeting begins?�� It was one of the elders who said this�one of
the two men.� Paige needed to fix not
knowing the names of people.

�If the council would indulge me in introducing themselves,
I would be most honored.�� Paige sketched
another quick bow of just her head, not knowing if she was being presumptuous
or not.� She also planned on finally
paying attention to the totems and emotions which were coming through as each
council member was introduced�cataloging each of them with the proper face and
name in her mind.� She opened her
connection with the spiritual wider.� Her
totem of ravens immediately tried to make itself known, but she concentrated on
the faces before her.

The woman elder smiled at Paige.� �Of course, dear.�� The introductions began.� �I am Utatane Koharu, elder of the village.� My fellow elders are Mitokado Homura and
Danzo.�� Koharu pointed to the men to her
left and right respectively.� She bowed
again after the introductions were made.�
Paige sensed the golden eagle,
symbol of wisdom and farsightedness, as the collective totem of the elders, but
there was something else at the back of her mind�an unfamiliar emotion that
refused naming for now.�

Tsunade waved for the head of the clans to introduce
themselves next.� Paige did her best to
not let the familiarity of the clan names show on her face.� She really had no idea the friends she kept
making were in line with such political influence.� Slowly, down one side of the room, and then
down the other, the heads of clan�s introduced themselves.� She made mental notes of each of their totems
and any emotions she sensed from them.

�Aburame Shibi.�� Paige struggled to not blink in shock. �Apparently Aburames carried a lot of political
influence.� She did not know exactly how
Shino was related to Shibi, but they carried the same totem of beetle.�
They also shared the same fashion sense with high collared shirts that
obscured the view of the bottom half of his face and dark sun-glasses.� Paige figured it was a family thing.� She was also pretty sure Shibi knew of Scarab
because of the family bond with kikaichu.�
Things would definitely get complicated if that was let out.

�Akimichi Choza.�� Like Choji, Choza held no totem. �However, she sensed generally friendly and
inquisitive emotions from the Akimichi.�
Also like Choji, he was enjoying a snack in the middle of a meeting.

�Hyuga Hiashi.�� Another lizard totem, but this one was by far
the most powerful she had ever sensed.� Once
again her totem of ravens attempted to take her attention away from the faces
in front of her, and she was forced to ask it to wait.

�Inuzuka Tsume.�� Another dog totem like Kiba.� Paige noted the red facial markings also
seemed to be a family affair.� A large
dog missing one ear and wearing an eye patch sat at her feet.

�Nara Shikaku.�� Another deer totem like Shikamaru.

�Uchiha Sasuke.�� He gave a slight smile to her as he
introduced himself.� Paige returned the
slight smile with a nod of her head.

�Yamanaka Inoichi.�� Like Ino, Inoichi held the totem of
bees.� Paige sensed that he was less
influenced by the fertility and more influenced by the �honey of life�
philosophy of the bee totem.

Tsunade then motioned for the jounin to introduce themselves.� Paige turned around in order to be able to
place names with faces.� She was slightly
surprised to see that she recognized many of them, but that made it easier to
know their totems.� She also noticed
Sakura wasn�t among them.�

�Hatake Kakashi.�� Like
Sasuke, he gave Paige a smile as he introduced himself, and she smiled back
with a nod of her head.

�Maito Gai.�

�Morino
Ibiki.�� She found him
intimidating.� His gaze was piercing and
Paige fought the urge to shiver under the weight of it.� Ibiki�s totem was one of the owl, seeker of
the truth and wisdom, but sometimes the owl brought the darker side of the
truth also, that people do not wish to see.�
Paige sensed that Ibiki knew and understood the darker side truth could
have.

�Hyuga Neji.�

��Rock Lee.�

�Shiranui
Genma.�

�Shizune.�� Waboose
also walked with this one. �Paige
wondered if Shizune was another student of Tsunade.

�Yuhi Kurenai.��
Ravens followed her.� Paige fought
the urge to immediately ask the ravens for their messages from the dead, but
decided to approach Kurenai privately later.

�Mitarashi Anko.�� She felt her eyes widen slightly.� She couldn�t help it.� Snakes.�
Anko had the totem of snakes.�
Paige felt there was a connection with Orochimaru, but was unsure of
what it was.� Anko�s snakes were
different.� As a symbol of resurrection
and rebirth, the snake is a two sided totem.�
Orochimaru�s snakes held the destruction portion of rebirth, while
Anko�s snakes held those of healing and change.�
She felt other knowledge come to her from the snake totem.� Sasuke had been influenced by the snake in
his past.� It felt of Orochimaru�s
snakes�ones of destruction.� She was glad
that he was no longer under such influence.�
Paige now understood more of his reactions to her reading of his thunderbird
totem.� Paige turned to face the elders
and Tsunade once more.

�Thank you.�� Paige was now sensing totems from areas of
the room which she could see no one standing it.� She recognized the totems.� They were beetle,
fox with frog, and dog.�
Unthinking, she smiled.� She knew
the mission Shino, Naruto, and Kiba had been sent on.� Tsunade probably made them start a day early
to confuse Paige.� They were the ANBU
assigned to the council meeting. �She
also understood how Shino would be there for her if she needed him.� She was sensing his totem directly above
her!� Naruto and Kiba stood in opposite
corners of the room�Naruto by the Hokage and Kiba by the jounin.

The council did not appear to know
the reason why she smiled though, because Tsunade took control of the meeting
once more.� �The council wishes a
demonstration of your abilities.�

�Do you wish readings?� she asked.

Tsunade nodded.

�There are some whom I have already
given readings.� I offer the choice they
tell their own stories if they so wish it.�

In response to this Sasuke and
Kakashi stepped forward to tell their story of how they met Paige and the totem
readings she gave them.� They included
her knowledge and reading of Naruto�s fox spirit.� Paige felt the butterflies try to return to
her stomach with the emotions of the council turned from curiosity to shock and
alarm.� She called on her totem of the
grizzly bear and the calming effect it had on her.� Sasuke also included his report of his
observations with his Sharingan.� Paige
thought quickly about the Hyuga clan and got Sasuke�s attention that she wished
to interrupt him.� Once she gained
Sasuke�s attention, she looked toward Hiashi and said, �Hyuga-sama, I
understand your clan has the Byakugan.�
You may also look with your other eyes during the demonstration if you
so wish it.� I�m sure the council would
be interested in your observations as well.��

Hiashi nodded in reply.� His face did not betray anything, but she was
sensing curiosity from him.

Turning back to Sasuke, she motioned
she was done.� Sasuke nodded, but he did
not continue.� Instead he turned back to
Tsunade who said, �You may conduct your readings as you see fit.�

Paige nodded and finally removed her
bag of medicine items.� However, she
paused.� Deciding to take a gamble and
show the council some of her stubborn side, she spoke, �There are three which I
refuse to read.�� She was hit with a wave
of emotions ranging from outrage to amusement.� She knew the amusement was from Shino.� He alone probably knew the most of what the
council was in for.

�Name them.�� It was the first time Danzo had spoke, and
she again sensed an emotion from the elders�from him that was reluctant to be
named.� More ravens also followed this
emotion.� Once more they vied for her
attention and she asked them to wait.

�I cannot,� was her simple reply.

�You would refuse the council?� was
Danzo indignant response.� He thought she
was simply being insubordinate.

�It is not a question of
insubordination.� Am I correct in my
knowledge that revealing the identity of ANBU is strictly forbidden?�� Paige tried to fight the smirk on her
face�.she really did, but she failed miserably when the look of shock plastered
itself on nearly every face in the meeting room.� Two emotions besides the shock made it
through to her.� Amusement from Shino.� And
the now named and unbridled RAGE from
Danzo.� It was staggering�no wonder
ravens followed him.� He had probably
killed many in his rage.

It was the other elder who seemed to
regain composure first, Mitokado.� �You
see through genjutsu?�

She shook her head, �No.� I can sense their totems, and those are known
to me.�

�What are their totems?� inquired
one of the heads of the clans.� Paige was
reluctant to turn to face them to discover which clan head it was.� She was keeping an eye on Danzo.�

�To reveal their totems might also
reveal their identities.�� Pausing for a
moment, she offered, �I can tell you their locations in the room, but nothing
more.�� There was a murmur throughout the
room.� It was the sense of anticipation
which gave her some hope that things may go well for this part of the meeting
at least.

�You may proceed,� replied
Danzo.� However, he said this as though
it left a sour taste in his mouth.

Paige decided against just announcing the locations.� She had a habit of liking to be
dramatic.� She first pointed straight
above her.� Looking up, she could now see
Shino in his ANBU uniform�and wishing she could see under the uniform.� A somehow gravity defying black hooded cloak.� Mask covering his face.� Sword strapped to his back.� Reigning in her thoughts she then pointed to
the corner behind the Hokage opposite of the one Jiraiya occupied.� Naruto in his ANBU uniform appeared.� Lastly, she pointed to Kiba�s position
without turning her body, and by the murmurs which followed, she guessed he
revealed himself also.� Deciding to
sketch a small bow of respect Paige decided to continue with being a little
forceful with the council.� �I can begin
by explaining my medicine wheel now, if the council desires.�

Tsunade smirked and motioned with her hand.�

Paige took it as a sign to continue and proceeded to set up
her medicine wheel.� She then gave the
council a brief explanation of the wheel, much like she had with Shino before
his reading.� Again, she paused and
looked to the council for permission.� �I
would like to record these readings with the council�s approval.� Sometimes messages are revealed over the
course of several days and they are unclear unless records are kept.� I will hand them over at the conclusion of
the meeting if you wish to look them over.��
She got out a fresh notebook as she was saying this.� Paige wasn�t about to hand them over all of her notes!� She waited while the elders talked this
over.� Eventually they nodded making sure
she understood she was handing them over.�
She sunk into her ritual with the medicine wheel.� Paige then turned to the elders, intending to
give them, the clan heads, and jounin readings, one by one.� When she came to Sasuke, she hesitated
slightly and bowed once more.� �I
apologize, Uchiha-sama,� Sasuke�s eyes widened at the formality she used, �I
feel it is necessary to tell of my deeper understanding of your thunderbird
through the influence snakes had over you in the past.�

Sasuke nodded with understanding in his eyes.� Paige was grateful for his
understanding.� She was worried about
bringing up old wounds.� The rest of the
council had not been so calm.� There was
an eruption of murmurs and whispers.� She
could make out a few statements of �cursed-seal� and �Orochimaru� and �She�s a
liability.�

Paige winced at that last statement, but she couldn�t help
some people�s opinions.� Instead she
proceeded to tell the council of the snakes which had influence on Sasuke.� Deciding on breaking her previous plan she
continued with the theme of snakes.�
�Uchiha-sama is not the only one in this room influenced by snakes.�� She turned towards the back of the room.� �Anko-san, you have also had snakes in your
life, although you now use their ability of rebirth to bring healing to the
previous destructive forces they held over your life.��

The jounin she was reading just looked back at Paige with
wide eyes and clenched fists.

Paige played a hunch of something she thought the medicine
wheel was attempting to tell her about Anko.�
She softened her stance and eyes, took a small steps forward with her
hands out to her sides in a calming gesture.�
�Orochimaru can only hurt you in your dreams if you give him that
power.� The snakes you carry are your own
now.� Do not think of him when you use
them.� Think of those you wish to
protect.�

Anko and the rest of the jounin looked dumb-founded�including
Kakashi and Ibiki.�

Paige slowly turned around when she noticed the utter
silence of the rest of the room.� She
addressed the silent room.� �My gift is
that of knowledge, but also a gift of healing of the spirit.� It is the path Wakan Tanka has set me
upon.� It is the path that has lead me to
Konoha.�� Paige relaxed further into her
connection with the spiritual�her connection with her totems�the grizzly bear�her
new connection with ravens�

Indulging in the connection with the ravens was a
mistake.� Suddenly the room swayed
beneath her.� Falling to one knee, she
felt a flash of Concern before
noticing the presence beside her.�
Turning her head to her right, she recognized the beetle totem of Shino.� He
was crouched next to her.� �Too many
ravens�too many deaths�so many messages ungiven,� was all she could say hoarsely
with gasping breathe and unfocused eyes.�
She was losing control.� Mudjekeewis
told her to use caution, and she should have heeded his warning better.�

Shino nodded and helped Paige into a sitting position.� He appeared to hesitate as to what to do
next.�

Paige was also torn.�
She wanted comfort, but she couldn�t ask for it now.� It was dangerous that Shino was showing her
this much favor over his orders to protect the council.� �Notebook,� she managed to get out while
trying not to be overwhelmed by the ravens.�
She was holding her head in her hands now, as if that would keep the
ravens out.

He nodded and retrieved her notebook and a pen for her.� Shino was a tense coil of worry.�
Paige understood his worry.

She hadn�t had a chance to write in the notebook yet, but
that was ok.� She needed a way to tell
Tsunade about Danzo�s rage and his ravens�she had a sense there was something
deeper there.� Such a strong emotion was
definitely dangerous in someone of such power.�
After writing the message down, ripping out the page, and folding it over,
she again managed to speak, �Medical�Tsunade.��

Another pair of feet appeared next to Paige.� Looking up she recognized Jiraiya.� He remembered from yesterday.� �You should have asked her medical questions
first.�� He turned to the jounin in the back
of the room.� �Take her home�I�ll send
for Haruno at the hospital.� The council
has seen enough.� They will decide now.��

Shino looked at her from behind his mask, and she felt what
she could only describe as a question of permission from him.

�Grounding first, home later.�

He nodded, and carefully made to pick up her up in his
arms.� Supporting her by placing one arm
underneath her legs and the other around her back under her arms, he walked
over to Gai, and handed her off.� Patience�permission?

Paige understood.� She
turned to Gai, who was ready to leave and walking towards the door, �Wait�He
wants us to wait.�� She looked back at
Shino and nodded, giving him permission to pack her medicine bag items.� As Shino was packing Paige began to lose her
battle of fighting the overwhelming messages of the ravens.� �Kurenai��

The red eyed jounin appeared next to her.� �You�ve done enough, Paige.�� She started to walk back to her original
position.

Paige couldn�t stop it though.� She grabbed Kurenai�s arm and started
talking.� �Ravens listen when you visit
the dead and talk to stones to tell the smoking man you still love him�� Kurenai�s attention snapped back to her at that.� �He still loves you too�and your son.��

Her red eyes softened and she squeezed Paige�s arm.� �Thank you.�

Paige smiled.� More
messages passed her lips.� Her knowledge
of Orochimaru once more came through, the Yondaime�s love of Konoha, the
sadness of the Uchiha massacre, the pain of the division of the Hyuga clan, the
greed of Akatsuki�� Another hand squeezed
her arm and she looked back at Shino who was now wearing her bag.� She felt him silently ask for permission
again, and she nodded.�

He motioned to Gai to hand her back to him.

Gai hesitated�he must have wanted to follow Shikamaru�s
plan.� He also must have been a little unnerved
at Paige�s ramblings.

She looked up at Gai, and struggled to speak past the
ravens. �He understands best.� Trust
him.�

Gai hesitated a second longer, but gently handed Paige back
over to Shino while the council was watching the whole exchange.

Paige sighed and relaxed into Shino, still whispering
messages from ravens, but not knowing what she said any longer.

He gave her a light squeeze, before taking a window out of
the meeting room.�

Paige had a vague sense of wind in her face and jumping, but
only knew she somehow ended up in their clearing.� Being out of the meeting room helped a little
and stopped the uncontrolled messages, but she still needed to recenter
herself.� �Sit in a tree?� she
asked.�

Shino nodded and leapt up into one of the trees, carefully
sitting on a branch large enough for the two of them.� He moved his sword to lean his back against
the truck of the tree, but didn�t let go of Paige.�

That was fine with her.�
She adjusted herself a little in his embrace and tried to bury her head
in his chest.� She felt the hard armor
underneath his black cloak.� She wished
she could use his ANBU armor or his beetle totem�s armor to protect her.� �I�m sorry.��
Her feet were now dangling off the tree branch on one side while Shino
held onto her by her waist.

His response was to run his fingers through her hair in a
comforting gesture.� �Grounding.�

She nodded.� Paige
began to concentrate on her connection with the tree.� Feeling how it was connected with both the
earth through its roots and Wakan Tanka by its leaves reaching high into the
sky.� She felt warmth and comfort
through her connection with the spiritual and relaxed more into Shino�s
embrace.�

After several moments of grounding with the tree she felt
her own emotions catch up to her. �She
had been experiencing the emotions of the dead through her messages from the
ravens; her own emotions now wanted the attention they deserved.� She began to let them out, the only way she
knew how.� Paige started shaking in
Shino�s arms.� She tried to burrow
further into his armor in a vain attempt to not have him see her like this.� His arms tightened further around her waist
and he tucked her head underneath his masked chin.� As sobs racked Paige�s body, Shino attempted
to calm her by talking in soft, soothing tones.�
She didn�t understand the words, but listened to the muffled rumbling of
his voice through his chest.� Paige
concentrated on the low rumblings of his voice and her shuddering slowly began
to subside.� Shino continued to talk in
soothing tones to her.� And soon�emotionally
drained�she fell asleep in his arms in the tree.

***

Author�s post-ramble:�
So�what do ya think?� And if
you�re wondering why Danzo�is �why not?� a viable answer?� Very little is known about him besides his
unapologetic previous selling of secrets to Orochimaru in the past.� Oh yeah, anyone who honestly saw where I was
going with Shino leaving mysterious and then reappearing, raise your hand�cause
I wanna know how well I�m keeping my readers on their toes!� I�m trying hard to not be a cookie-cutter fic
that is made up of over-used Naruto plot devises although I know I have some of
them mixed in here.� I�m hoping next
chapter succeeds in surprising you guys too�whee!� *authoress jumps up and down clapping hands*� This is too much fun for me!
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