SPOILERS: Naruto chapter 559, beyond the current Naruto Shippūden (episode 239).
NOTES: For my entry into the deviantart ShinoxTentenFC's ShinoTenten 100 Themes contest, I picked the theme "33%." My first ShinoTenten story was from Shino's POV, so I thought I'd try Tenten's for this one. This is set after the war.
DISCLAIMERS: I don't own Naruto.
TAKING CHANCES
"No funny business while I'm gone."
Although no outward sign was visible to Tenten through all the layers of clothing and unflappable Aburame calm, there was a hint of surprise in Shino's voice as he responded to their blonde mission mate. "Excuse me?"
He might have been slightly surprised, but Tenten was incredulous. "What the heck, Ino!" Their assignment was infiltration and information retrieval, and Ino was about to transfer into a target they'd been shadowing. To do that, she would leave her own unconscious body behind. It was not a power Tenten envied, since it left you so vulnerable, but that vulnerability didn't justify Ino's attitude. "Where do you get off acting like Shino's a perv or something? Seriously, when has he ever been anything other than professional?"
Ino scowled. "The last time I ran this kind of mission with someone other than one of my teammates, when I came back, I found myself being groped."
Tenten shuddered at the prospect, but Shino nodded, his tone thoughtful. "That must be why Matsuhashi was demoted."
With a lift of her chin, Ino huffed. "It's also why he needed to go to the hospital for a broken jaw."
"Remind me never to agree to a mission with him." Tenten chuckled grimly. "But it's not right to project some loser's opportunism on-"
Shino cut her off with a raised hand. Was he upset about having someone else defend him? Her clansman teammate, Neji, certainly would be; no one could seethe indignantly quite like Neji. "Ino's trepidation is understandable. Why? Because trust is vital to successful missions, and her last experience broke that trust. Even though we have known each other for years, we have seldom worked together, and such an incident throws the familiar into doubt." He turned his head back to Ino, his dark goggles flashing as their angle shifted. "If you would prefer, Tenten could carry you."
Tenten would never have expected any guy to have been so understanding, let alone willing to alter his plans to accommodate personal squeamishness. Her own teammates would have either tried to enthusiastically persuade Ino or lectured her about enduring the difficulties of a shinobi's life with stoicism.
Ino's scowl softened into skeptical consideration. "Tenten can't fight and carry me at the same time." It was an advantage both of Ino's teammates and Shino shared—not that Tenten thought they'd need to fight, since the local guards seemed pretty standard-issue to her. Besides, the whole point of Yamanaka hidden techniques was that they were almost impossible to detect. While any number of sensor-type abilities might be able to spot a clone or someone transformed into someone else, no one checking for deception could detect the technique Ino was about to use. So there was pretty much zero chance they'd have to fight their way out over this. Then again, it wasn't Tenten who'd be leaving her unconscious body in her mission-mates' care.
"Tenten can transfer you to me if our action becomes necessary." The perfectly practical compromise had been offered without hesitation or condescension, as though Shino did not feel Ino's trepidation called his honor into question.
Tenten found his attitude curious, given how judgmental his teammates had hinted he was over the years. Because one of her teammates and one of his were cousins, she interacted with Shino's team more than others of the same generation. She couldn't help wondering, with Shino being an only child, if his reactions to his teammates were more sibling-like, that he was more critical of them than others. After all, since before the war, he'd expressed a surprising amount of empathy, even if it was partially couched in analysis. More than that, his empathy had revealed not only keen perceptions of others but also concern for them.
To her knowledge, he had rarely worked with Naruto, the hero of their times, but when their age-mates had discussed the issues leading up to the war, Shino had brought up the emotional impacts the trials of the moment would have on Naruto and his teammate. By doing so, he demonstrated his awareness of others was much vaster than those he regularly worked with as well as acknowledging that their feelings mattered.
Shino's prudent, by-the-book nature, which was so like her Hyūga teammate, Neji, combined with his consideration of others that was so like her other teammate, Lee, made for an intriguing dichotomy. She would have thought, as it was with her teammates, that those attributes were diametrically opposed, yet here Shino was, a successful amalgamation of strategic and sensitive. Was Ino so used to having men wrapped around her little finger that she was unaware of how exceptional Shino's offer was?
After a moment, Ino nodded. "That should be fine. Thanks." She glanced at Tenten. "You good with it?"
Tenten managed to repress her snort of amusement and merely smiled. How like a prominent clan member to think it was an option. "Sure, no problem." When the leader of the mission told you to do something, you did it whether you liked it or not. Usually playing the part of martial backup, as was the case with this assignment, Tenten was seldom the shinobi in charge. "Piggy-back or bridal style?"
"I have to stand or kneel for stability to properly perform the technique." It was a sign of the blonde's personal growth that she said it in an informative tone, with none of the isn't-it-obvious attitude she'd had as a genin.
Since Tenten had never worked with a Yamanaka while they used that particular technique, there was no reason she'd know. "Got it."
"We need to get into position. Our target is approaching from the south." It was the reason Shino was the mission leader; his ability to monitor vast areas using the insects he shared a symbiotic relationship with made him as effective at long-range spying as a Hyūga, whose special ocular techniques allowed them to see not only great distances but also inside of objects. An advantage of the Aburames in this situation was that they could also collect details about sounds, smells, colors, and textures that the visually oriented Hyūgas couldn't.
The three of them had been monitoring the compound of this particular minor lord on the border of Kawa. Rumors had suggested the peaceful village was smuggling weapons out of Hi in the bags of rice they exported. Shino and Ino had selected a mid-level official for Ino to take over, and they had studied their target's habits for the better part of a week. Every morning, the official had a meeting with his lord, and it was while the man made his way along a particularly deserted part of his walk to the meeting that Ino would make the transfer.
Since Tenten was a weapons specialist on an investigation assignment, she had had little to do, though Shino had allowed her to use a transformation technique to pretend to be a rice merchant from Kawa to gather information from the locals about which official to target. Even so, it had been an exceptionally dull mission for her, with the only bright point being the late-evening and early-morning chats with Ino. Coming from a clan that specialized in intelligence gathering, the Yamanaka was a fountain of social knowledge, and catching up on all the details of their friends had almost made up for the numbing inactivity.
Tenten's genin team had been all about constant movement; endless, endurance-enhancing exercises, and practice, practice, practice. Although she could be still as well as any shinobi, doing it for days on end wore on her. After they'd selected their target, Shino had mercifully scheduled an hour every day—when the official was in his meeting and Tenten could do nothing anyway—for her to slip into the woods that bordered the town and run and exercise to her heart's content. She'd been so happy at Shino's offer she'd wanted to give him a hug, something her team would think nothing of, but she had resisted the urge because, despite having known him since the Academy, he was an Aburame.
All clans had unique abilities and habits and mannerisms, but the Aburames were the most unique clan she knew of. Although Shino was the only one she'd worked with, Tenten had run into a few others in Konoha's administrative buildings and would be able to spot an Aburame from a block away. There were many theories about why they all wore dark glasses or goggles, though she'd been told some wore reflective lenses. There was also a great deal of speculation as to why they tended to wear layers of loose, concealing clothing. While it seemed obvious to her that people who housed insects under their skin might be a little self-conscious about showing it to the world, it was a standard shinobi tactic to hide your abilities from your enemies, so she'd never quite understood why Aburame fashion was worth wondering about.
What made Aburames so different to her wasn't the clothes but the almost palpable sense of personal space you felt when you were near one. Although, like Aburames, she was mainly a ranged-weapon fighter, Tenten had no issues with getting up-close and personal in a fight or anywhere else, but Shino and the other Aburames she'd met all had this sense of distance about them, like no one was allowed to get too close. No doubt their insects were the reason, but she didn't think it was based on martial necessity. She'd seen the little black beetles in action, and they were tough—holding back the debris of a collapsing building, protecting Shino and others from fire and water and earth techniques, forming rope-like chains and nets. So it didn't make sense a casual touch might hurt the insects inside an Aburame. On the other hand, Tenten could just imaging Mrs. Taniuchi, the landlady of her old boarding house, having a fit at the possibility of bugs in her building. Perhaps that was why Aburames seemed so touch-adverse and she'd never run into one in Konoha's market district. Tenten also suspected it might be a reason Shino had suggested she hold their mission-mate's unconscious body.
At Shino's signal, they leaped from behind a small stand of bamboo into a tree that was tall enough to offer a view into the lord's compound and lush enough to hide their presence if no one looked too hard. One branch that was thick enough for two, and Tenten took up a spot behind Ino as the blonde settled into position.
"I see him." There was a quiet, focused quality to Ino's voice. "Preparing for transfer."
Over Ino's shoulder, Tenten could make out the approaching figure of their target. Just as the pudgy little man started walking past a hedge that concealed him briefly from the rest of the compound, he seemed to stumble as Ino's body went limp. It was more difficult than Tenten had imagined, catching the unconscious Ino and lifting the kunoichi into her lap while maintaining her balance on the branch.
The official continued on as though nothing had happened, and Tenten found a moderately comfortable spot with her back against the trunk of the tree as the official disappeared into the administrative wing of the lord's sprawling mansion.
After a moment, she caught Shino nod out of the corner of her eye. "Ino's in?" She had gotten used to having to ask Neji for information when they were in situations like this, where her sensor teammate was the only source of knowledge about what was going on.
Shino's goggled gaze turned to her, and he nodded again. He had been standing on a branch across from hers since they'd entered the tree, his olive-drab overcoat causing him to blend in easily between the leaves and the trunk. It seemed to be his habit to stand, since she'd never seen him sit, kneel, or lay down unless he was eating or sleeping. So she found it curious when he settled onto his branch, allowing his long legs to dangle in space as he faced her, which she also found a bit odd. Perhaps he didn't need to be looking in the direction of the compound to monitor Ino's progress?
"Thank you."
"Huh?" It wasn't like Tenten knew the guy all that well, but even though he could be a chatty-Kasumi if you asked him questions he felt like answering, of all the words she'd heard from him, those weren't two of them. Clansmen had a tendency not to express gratitude.
"I appreciate your taking responsibility for caring for Ino during this critical point of the mission." He clarified. "Why? Because I would have been as uncomfortable about it as she seemed to be."
Pretty much every straight guy was at least somewhat into Ino. Between the combination of exotic, long, blond hair and pale blue eyes with her sexy, revealing clothes and confident attitude, Ino drew the attention of men like moths to flame. Compared to her, Tenten felt like a plain Jun, with her brown hair and brown eyes and skin that was on the cusp of being too tan to be feminine by Konoha standards. So she could only think of three reasons Shino would have been uncomfortable holding their beautiful, blonde mission-mate—he was so into Ino that she would be aware of his interest if she woke up in his lap, he wasn't into girls, or it was an Aburame thing.
She gave him a teasing wink. "Saying a thing like that, you'll make a person wonder."
"Why I would be uncomfortable?" If he was bothered by her teasing, she couldn't tell by his voice. "Although she hides it well, Ino has always been...disturbed by my clan's abilities. I would prefer to not exacerbate the situation by forcing her into close proximity." He spoke without hurt or resignation, just bland honesty, and she marveled that he didn't seem to take such a response personally, like it was no more remarkable than the sun rising in the morning.
Unable to help herself, Tenten gave him a skeptical gaze. "Even if she finds your beetles creepy, most guys would jump at the chance to get to play protector of the pretty, helpless kunoichi."
His response was a quirked eyebrow.
Tenten snorted in disbelief. "Ino's every guy's wet dream. You can't tell me you don't think she's gorgeous."
He gave a small nod within the hood of his overcoat, a gesture that would have been difficult to catch had he not been facing her. "While I acknowledge her allure, it does not affect me personally. Why? Because the attributes that make her attractive do not entice me."
By this point, her teammate Lee would be rambling on about his ideal woman while her other teammate would never have revealed so much in the first place. Unsure which conversational direction to take, her inquisitiveness got the better of her. "So you're more into classic beauty, like Hinata?" She said it jokingly and fully expected to be shot down. They were supposed to be focusing on keeping Ino safe, not talking about love interests. Besides, Hinata was Shino's teammate, and even if it happened as often as not, teammates weren't supposed to be romantically involved with each other.
Shrugging his broad shoulders, he shook his head. "Although Hinata's position as a Main family Hyūga is enough to deter anyone with the intellect to perceive the difficulties an amorous relationship with her would entail, I find it both surprising and irritating that she had no one show an interest in her before the war."
It was a different topic tract than she'd expected, but she wasn't about to discourage it. He had proven surprisingly insightful when she'd asked the right questions in the past. "How can you be so sure she didn't?"
"Kiba would have smelled it on her," he explained offhandedly. Shino's other teammate not only worked with dogs but had a sense of smell as keen as one. It hadn't occurred to her anything might compare in obtrusive awareness to the all-seeing eyes of a Hyūga.
Shino gave a dark chuckle. "I confess, I had always looked forward to tracking down a potential beau and deciding with Kiba if he was worthy of her affections. Of course, given how focused she was on Naruto, it is possible there was someone who tried but she was oblivious of it." He shrugged again. "Either way, even if I find Hinata more attractive than Ino, our positions as teammates and heirs make the prospect of a relationship unwise and its chances of success astronomically slim. Besides all of that, the differences in our heights is unappealing, and while I find Ino's...liveliness too much for my tastes, Hinata's demur nature is equally extreme."
So he liked taller girls with moderate spunk and was only interested in a relationship with potential permanence... "Then someone like Temari of Suna would be an option?" The Kazekage's sister was tall, powerful, and as serious as Shino, if with more attitude. Temari was also older than him, which some guys would have problems with.
He looked away, though his tone didn't change. "While such an arrangement has been suggested, as a means of solidifying the connections between Konoha and Suna, I have discouraged it. Why? Because I am confident her interests lie elsewhere, and I am young enough to still hope for a relationship based on choice rather than obligation."
How was it he thought he knew who Temari liked? Had he ever even spoken to the woman?
"You want to be wanted for you," Tenten concluded. It was an almost naive notion for the heir of a clan to hold onto, especially at his age.
"Doesn't everyone?"
There was an unexpected warmth to his voice that gave his words a wistful quality and struck a chord within her heart. He turned his head in her direction, and she got the impression his whole being was focused on her. She tried to pass off the notion as silly, since he could be looking anywhere behind his goggles, but she couldn't overcome the feeling that he was expecting a response to his rhetorical question. If he knew so much about everyone else, what did he know about her? And if he somehow knew how she longed to be wanted for herself, as a whole person and not just a weapons expert, what had motivated him to ask?
"Yes." It came out as a breathless whisper that made her want to brain herself with her favorite nunchaku. As she cleared her throat to try again in a normal voice, Ino stirred in her arms. Had he turned to her because he'd known Ino was done?
"How did it go?" His voice was back to normal, as though they hadn't just experienced one of the most revealing conversations she'd ever had with another shinobi outside of her team.
Ino blinked and sat up while Tenten helped the blonde keep her balance. "It was a waste of time."
"The target was not high enough to have access to the information?" There was no disappointment in Shino's tone, merely a calculating interest. Doubtless he was already planning their next move, in case Ino had to choose a different person to possess.
"No, he was high enough. These people aren't the ones we're looking for." She rolled her eyes. "Their dirty secret is reporting less sake production than they actually made to get out of giving so much to the daimyo in taxes."
"Well, at least we know." Tenten's master had always taught his pupils to look on the bright side of things.
"Yeah, at least we know." Turning to Tenten, Ino's reluctant grin transformed into a puzzled frown. "Tenten, why are you blushing?"
Being tall and tomboyish, Tenten had more than once had her romantic preferences questioned, but as vexing as those occasions might be, it outright hurt to have someone she'd known and worked with since childhood lean away from her for something that shouldn't matter, whether it was untrue or not. As Tenten reminded herself of Ino's most recent incident with wandering hands, she couldn't help wondering what it must have been like—what it must be like—for Shino to have people pull away all the time.
"We were discussing social issues, and I spoke too honestly." How Shino managed to stretch the truth so far without lying, she didn't know.
That piqued the blonde's interest, though she tried not to show it as she too casually asked, "Oh really? Any particular topic...or person?"
Despite her halfhearted efforts not to, Tenten giggled. "Yeah—why he's not into you."
That brought the fire back to Ino's demeanor as she hopped to her feet and put a fist on a defiantly out-thrust hip. "Maybe you need the prescription of those goggles checked, Shino."
He nodded. "Perhaps I do."
The fire turned into an inferno, and Tenten could practically see smoke coming out of Ino's ears as her blazing eyes narrowed and she hissed, "Don't you patronize me, Shino Aburame. I have guys lining up down the block to go out with me."
Standing with sinewy casualness, Shino shrugged. "Then it shouldn't matter that there is one fewer in that line than you think."
"Damn straight."
"Um..." They both turned to Tenten as she stood. "If we don't have another group to investigate, maybe we should head back and report to the Hokage this was a dead end?"
Flicking her long ponytail behind her shoulder, Ino huffed. "I'll be more than happy to ditch this boring little burg."
The blonde did a remarkable job of repressing a shudder as a swarm of Shino's beetles surrounded him and found their way into the folds of his clothes, but since Tenten knew to look for it, she had been able to notice her mission-mate's negative reaction to the source of the Aburames' hidden techniques.
Once he'd apparently recalled a sufficient number of his insects, Shino nodded. "Then let us return."
They followed him into the lush forest surrounding the village, collected their gear, and headed home.
The Hokage had seemed both disappointed that their weapon-smuggling lead had not panned out and intrigued by what they had discovered. After Shino assured the head of Konoha he would submit a full report on the mission, she had dismissed them with a "well done" and returned her focus to the piles of paperwork that littered her massive desk.
"Well, that was a week in the sticks for nothing," muttered Ino while they made their way down the stairs that led to the foot of the Hokage's tower.
"All knowledge has merit." Shino spoke in that lecturing tone Tenten associated with him finding fault in another shinobi's assessment.
"Yeah, finding out that they're not smugglers is as important as knowing who is," agreed Tenten.
Ino gave them a mollifying wave of her hand as they stepped out of the tower. "Sure, sure. Whatever."
They were just about to go their separate ways when Shino stopped. "Tenten, if I may speak with you for a moment?"
Ino gave him a speculative look then shrugged. "See you later."
"Bye, Ino." Tenten waved farewell to their mission-mate then turned to Shino. "What's up?"
He waited to speak until Ino was out of hearing range. "Would you like to have tea with me sometime?"
Perhaps gals like Ino were used to such invitations, but Tenten could count the ones she'd received on one hand. After going momentarily blank with surprise, her brain added all the details that had come up concerning what interested him—tall, perky, brunette, older, and not overly afraid of bugs. "Me?" She heard the incredulity in her voice and saw how he misinterpreted it, turning his face away from her and subtly hunching his shoulders.
"Why did I ask? Because our earlier conversation had lead me to believe you would not be adverse to my request. I apologize for misconstruing your interest." There was a definite trace of pout in his defensively resigned tone.
After offering her a slight bow, he turned to go, and she instinctively grasped his sleeve while fleetingly wondering what the gesture, which would have been casual for any member of her team, might mean to the Aburame.
"Shino, you didn't..." The heir of one of the founding clans of Konoha had just asked her out, and she could hardly wrap her head around it, let alone find her tongue. The few boys who'd shown interest in her over the years had been easily chased away by her protective, powerful teammates, but she couldn't imagine that happening with Shino, even with Neji being a jōnin, the top level of shinobi. Of all the guys of their generation in Konoha, there were few who could stand up to both of her teammates. Why hadn't she considered that quality of Shino before? A part of her was warmed by the idea. "I mean I just..." While her head was busy with that, her heart was trying to decide if this was something she might want. Based on all she'd learned about him on the mission, she couldn't picture him toying with her feelings then tossing her aside like some shallow playboy would—heck, she'd never even heard he'd dated anyone before! And even if his personality was completely different from those closest to her, he was a part of the tall, dark, studly, and serious set she was so familiar with and fond of. "But I'm a clanless orphan."
Although she hadn't yet formulated a plan, if she had, she doubted it would have started with blurting out something so revealing, but once she thought about it, the issue needed to be addressed. Perhaps it would buy her time to finish processing the possibility.
Facing her fully, the almost perpetual crease between his eyebrows became outright furrowed. "You are a powerful kunoichi of Konoha and a decorated war veteran."
How could he be so smart and not see how her lack of lineage would pose a problem? "I'm thinking your clan would focus on the orphan part." From the many tales she'd heard of how the Hyūgas worked, imagining it not being a problem was beyond her.
His voice was somehow emphatic despite its calmness and low volume. "My mother was clanless."
And just like that, he made it all about them, what they wanted, not anyone else.
He evidently wanted a date with her. What did she want?
They had been in different divisions during the war, when he'd apparently worn a standard-issue Konoha vest instead of his usual, high-collared under jacket. So she had missed her chance to see the lower half of his face for the first time since they were genin. Even when they'd been kids, she had thought he was sort of handsome despite his remarkably stiff hair and personality, and she couldn't help wondering about what was under the collar as much as she did about what was under the overcoat and jacket. As enticing as the prospect might be, hopefully revealing what was beneath Shino's layers to satisfy her curiosity was an incredibly superficial reason to go on a date.
The Team-Gai-resistance quotient was definitely appealing, and there was something about being with a guy who was quiet but open, someone who listened and responded in a way that took what she'd said into consideration, that was intensely satisfying. Then there was the empathy and humanity she had seen from him in recent years, glimpses of the thoughtful, sensitive soul beneath the solemn shinobi exterior.
She realized she would like to find out if she was compatible with him, but she had heard from both of his teammates that he had a tendency to sulk when he felt slighted. She didn't want him upset with her, so she had to ask. "Will you promise not to hold it against me if our date's a dud?"
"I promise." He spoke with a warm conviction that reminded her of how much she enjoyed the smooth, rich timber of his voice.
"Shake on it," she insisted, releasing his sleeve and offering her hand.
For a moment, he hesitated, though whether out of trepidation or surprise or something else entirely, she couldn't tell. Did Aburames not usually shake hands? Did others usually avoid shaking hands with Aburames? His fingers were noticeably cold, which made her wonder if that was why he tended to keep his hands in the pockets of his coat. Awkwardly he returned her shake, as though he hadn't had much experience with the gesture.
"I promise not to hold it against you if our date is a dud." He seemed reluctant to let go, his fingers trailing slowly across her palm at the end of their handshake and sending tantalizing little shivers up her arm.
"When were you thinking?" It amazed her that she could sound so breezy when she felt completely overwhelmed and her head seemed stuffed with fluff.
"I was hoping tomorrow would be acceptable." Since the war, life had become peaceful enough that it was common to have a few days between missions. The Hokage would have told them if they had been assigned another mission so soon. "Would ten in the morning be agreeable?"
She was going on a date with Shino Aburame! "Sure."
"Shall I pick you up at your apartment?"
An honest-to-goodness date with a guy who was viable boyfriend material and maybe, just possibly, might actually be into her! "Sure." Was she grinning like an idiot? Did she care?
"Until tomorrow." He gave her a bow. "Have a nice evening." Then he turned and headed south, toward the Aburame compound.
"You, too!" She called after him. Was it her, or did he seem to have an extra spring in his step?
DETAILS
The reference to Shino empathizing with Naruto and Sakura is based on his line from Naruto chapter 459 and Naruto Shippūden episode 201. He also expressed worry about Hinata overexerting herself in chapter 540, a far cry from his almost complete lack of response to Neji nearly killing her during the first chūnin semi-finals.
