"She's followed us again."
"Who?"
"Your sister."
"Oh… oh gosh…"
Three ninjas-in-training stood in a clearing. They looked for all the world as if somebody had pressed a 'pause' button on them: each stood frozen. A girl in a sweatshirt with long black hair had her hands up, half extended as if punching. A boy in a hooded jacket, face marked by red symbols, was crouched, petting a dog the size of a small horse, reaching up under his belly. A third wore sunglasses and had his clothes covering almost all of his body, and he sat cross-legged on top of what looked like a giant termite column, high above the others' heads. The elevation afforded him a better view over the thick trees, and thus he spotted the interloper before his companions.
He looked down at the long-haired girl and frowned, small, round sunglasses flashing. "This is the fourth time this month, Hinata," he said. The girl cringed. "I know, I know… I'm not sure why she won't just stay home and train there…"
"So go tell her to buzz off!" huffed the other boy, crossing his arms and leaning against the huge dog.
"Kiba!" Hinata whined, "I can't do that! Sh-she'll just go tell our father and then..." she trailed off and both boys frowned. Their friend had some family issues, and neither wanted to get her into trouble by pressing them. "Why don't you go tell her to go?" the girl suggested, "She likes Akamaru, you could send her to play fetch with him-?"
"Oh Hell no!" Kiba said, hugging the huge dog protectively, "I'm not risking letting my dog play with some little pest!"
"Don't call her that," Hinata mumbled nervously, but her protests were spoken over and went, as usual, unnoticed.
"Send bug-boy," Kiba suggested, "He's the one who spotted her." All eyes turned to the boy on the termite mound.
"…Bug-boy?" he questioned, impassive voice sounding less than pleased with the nickname.
"H-he doesn't mean that," Hinata smoothed the situation quickly, "Please, Shino? Pretty please?" She folded her hands, begging up at him. Shino rolled his eyes behind dark glasses.
"Fine. But don't say I never did anything for you."
Shino leapt off of the termite mound with the grace only a trained ninja can achieve, tumbling head-over-heel once and landing on his feet several yards away. Hinata suppressed the urge to clap, knowing she'd only be teased for it by the boys.
Without even a glance back to his teammates, Shino walked out of the clearing and into the trees beyond.
"…This is so embarrassing," he heard Hinata mutter, holding her face in her palm. Kiba laughed, but the sound faded down to a distant hum as he slowly left earshot.
He followed the path he had picked out from his former vantage point, heading to where he'd seen the little trespasser. But as Shino neared, he saw nothing of Hinata's sister. Had she dashed off?
His sensitive eyes caught a glimpse of dark hair flashing away behind a tree. Ah. So she hadn't left. With a slightly irritated crack of his neck, he set off to follow the hint of the girl. Calm as if he were merely having a stroll, Shino closed in, passing through trees. He didn't even bother to leap with his ninja-trained skills; this was such a minor issue- why bother?
But he rounded an especially large tree to find that this was a mistake. A sudden weight hit him square in the back, dropping form above, forcing him to the dirt. He hit with a soft thud, feeling the air rush from his lungs, ribs pressing into his chest, cheek distorting against the ground. His dry lips parted, and he tasted the clean of soil coating his damp tongue. His glasses pressed painfully into his temple.
The condition only lasted for a few moments, however, before his reflexes kicked into place. He flung the weight off of his back, sending it knocking into the ground itself; it proved to be far slighter than it had originally felt. And more human, and more vocal: it squealed.
Obviously, this struck Shino as odd, and his guard flew up ('guard' and 'flew' being somewhat literal, as a host of beetles launched from his sleeves, buzzing to life in the air around him, ready to block any sudden punches. They served him well, as the small, squealing figure had stopped squealing and was now launching itself at him again. A kick was aimed at the backs of Shino's knees, and only just blocked by the insects. Shino wheeled around just in time to catch sight of another flash of dark hair before a punch was delivered to his face.
She was probably aiming for his teeth, but thanks to his choices in coats and high-collars, she caught on his jaw. Painful, but not devastating by any means. He ignored the jab through his nerves and the bone-jarring scraping of his teeth and caught her by the forearm as she withdrew. She gasped- a high, soft note- and he yanked. Hard.
The girl came tumbling forward, loosing balance and tripping over his extended foot. Shino felt her toes catch under his ankle, and felt the transference of momentum as she went flying- or started to, at least. He caught her, whipping her around by the arm, catching her other arm, and bringing her to a stop in his front. He held her by the elbows now, her arms bent up so that her hands hovered in front of his chest, her waist almost pressed to his leg, her face not an inch away from his. Only the fabric of his coat separated their breath. And they were breathing hard- her small breasts grazed his front when they heaved in unison.
Shino didn't seem to take much care of the erotic positioning. He was greatly more interested in the explanation he was about to extract form her. He stared her down behind dark lenses.
"Well are you going to explain yourself, Hanabi?" he asked, tone low in his throat, almost rumbling, "You were watching Hinata, Kiba, and myself practicing. This is the fourth time you have done this in three weeks. You must have a reason, so tell me." His voice took on a very fearsome tone. "Or I shall have to get my insects to extract a confession."
Hanabi's breath caught. She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that, and her confliction read like a novel in the expression she wore. Shino could have been smirking under that coat.
"My reason…?" she repeated at length, breath still heaving, even in the absence of physical action. "What if I said spying on my sister?"
Shino's eyebrow quirked. Was the girl smirking?
"You were watching your sister?" he rephrased, "To what end? You cannot possibly intend to replicate her moves when you are considered the greater in your family-?"
Hanabi laughed, grinning with all of her teeth. For such a slight thing, she was oddly devious looking when she smiled so.
"Let's say I was watching Kiba, then," she suggested anew.
"Then why would you scout Kiba?" Shino asked, tilting his head. She had his interest piqued, for whatever reason. He actually tilted his head ever-so-slightly to a side, his insects halted in neat army rows by his feet, silent. "His style is completely different."
The girl took on the strangest expression. "What would you say if I told you I had a crush on him?" she asked. Her breath was hot on his face, and smelled vaguely of soda pop.
Now THIS was a fascinating turn. Shino blinked, thrown, but only momentarily. His grip slackened slightly. "I would say that he is much too old for you, and that the odds of his interest in you being anything more than observance as the younger sister of his teammate are very slim."
Hanabi nodded, feeling his grip lessen. "Then how about I tell you that it was you I was watching?" It barely sounded like a question. More like a confession- and far less of a bashful thing than it ought to have been.
Hanabi took advantage of his hesitation and leaned in, pressing a chaste, pre-teen's kiss to the fabric over Shino's mouth. Their lips connected through the canvass, and Shino's eyes went wide.
The advantage was pressed, and after a moment's kiss, the Hyuga girl ripped out of the Aburame boy's grip. She delivered a swift kick to his gut, knocking him flat onto his ass. The bugs only just scurried away in time.
"Then maybe I won't tell you," she almost sounded like she was laughing in her words. "Have fun playing with your pests."
She wiggled her fingers at him in a teasing wave as a playful smile played on her lips. Hanabi winked once and was gone before Shino was on his feet.
The only sign that she left were the trembling of the nearby branches and Shino's burning lips. His face felt oddly heated. Not knowing what to do about it, he cut his losses and returned to the others.
"Did you get rid of her?" Kiba asked the moment he stepped back into the clearing.
"Do you see her here?" Shino questioned rhetorically, "She's gone."
Hinata sighed apologetically, wringing her hands, "I'm sorry about my little sister… I really don't know why she keeps bothering us. Maybe Kiba is right. She is sort of a pest."
"…No," Shino said at length, "I don't think she's a pest at all."
