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Naruto could barely hear himself think over the squabbling going on between Ino and Sakura, the two girls busy bickering behind him. He and Shino exchanged glances of shared irritation as they trudged through the bright mall as a group, the argument of where to eat accompanying the dull buzz of the mall’s speaker system.
“Aren't you going to buy anything?” Sakura nagged, tugging at Naruto's sleeve as he scratched his neck idly. Truly, not a second of peace seemed to exist. A gasp escaped her lips as her eyes caught dark bruises littering his neck, traveling down his shoulder.
“What?” Naruto griped, more than irrationally irritated. Not only is he starving, but apparently he's in for a lecture.
“Is that a hickey? Are those multiple hickies? Naruto, you sly fox—” Sakura exclaimed, slapping him with (too much) excitement, leaving the blonde to dramatically nurse his arm. His eyes glanced over to Shino, silently cursing him for making things this obvious.
“That certainly looks like a hickey,” Ino says with a giggle, nudging Naruto with her elbow. Naruto grunted, the girls' assault on him almost worse than the ever apparent war for food in his stomach.
“I- well- uhm…” Naruto starts, a hand coming up to quickly cover the hickies he definitely couldn't talk himself out of. He shot a look that could kill Shino, which was reciprocated with a slightly upturned smirk from the stoic boy.
“That's a mosquito bite,” Shino finishes, his ever blank expression still holding true. Sakura raised an eyebrow, seriously doubting his assessment.
“Are you sure, Shino?” Ino asks, skeptical as she attempts to get another glance at it.
“One hundred percent. He needs to stop scratching it.” Shino replied, as if it were the most normal thing he'd seen today. A confused Naruto glanced at Shino, grateful for the intervention. Sakura waves a hand, clearly no longer bothered by the whole ordeal as she gets tugged away by Ino. As the girls wandered off, Shino put a gentle hand on Naruto’s shoulder, his voice low as he whispered against Naruto's ear.
“You owe me one, Naruto,” the taller boy whispered, sending a shiver down Naruto's spine. What the fuck does that mean? Naruto flushed at the possibilities, unsure of how to interpret that.
“Right. Thanks,” Naruto said, begrudgingly taking Shino's hand, certain he'll pay him back later.
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