He just couldn't stand it anymore. Normally, Shino was the pinnacle of calm. At least, he was compared to his teammates. In hindsight, it was rather easy to seem calm when you were compared to the over-zealous Kiba or the indecisive Hinata. And yet the two of them seemed to be having a perfectly functioning relationship. It seemed that way whenever Shino saw them at least. He considered the idea that he was becoming a third wheel, and it didn't sit well with him. Two weeks ago he would have considered the thought impossible. Now, it gnawed at him.
He had never really considered how little social interaction he had outside of his squad. With Hinata and Kiba... occupied, that left Kurenai, but she was occupied with her child and the like. When did he become the strange bug guy?
Well, maybe he just needed to do what all normal men his age did. Hang out in public places and act cool. That couldn't be too hard right?
The first place that came to mind were the hot springs, but the idea of getting half naked and sitting in boiling water only conjured up mental images of his bugs screaming in pain. They didn't much like boiling water; he couldn't imagine why.
There was the library, but since it wasn't the place to strike up a conversation, it was out. Eventually, he settled on browsing the various shops in the village. Shopping was always a way to meet new and interesting people if his father was to believed. Of course, his father spent a lot of time talking to his beetles; maybe that wasn't the man he should be taking social advice from.
Unfortunately he didn't have any other options at the moment. He slowly made his way through the village, looking for opportunities to start up conversations while browsing. Granted, this never happened; as it turned out he wasn't really sure what to say to people he didn't know, and he didn't want to come off as creepy by randomly walking up to someone and starting up a conversation. Heaven knew he didn't need help coming off as creepy considering his clan.
After two or three hours Shino found himself standing in the local weapons shop, staring a shelves upon shelves of kunai and shuriken like they somehow held the key to helping him with his problem. This entire experiment had felt like a total failure. Maybe he just needed to take a new approach to this problem. There had to be a logical way for him to proceed...
"I wouldn't buy those kunai I were you. They're terribly unbalanced."
Shino turned to his left to see Tenten leaning towards him and inspecting the kunai he had been looking at. He was glad that his clothing and glasses hid his mildly surprised expression. "How can you tell? They seem to be just like all the others." Smooth Shino. Smooth.
Tenten picked up one of the kunai, and began twirling it around in her hand. "It's like anything else; when you deal with something long enough you begin to see the subtle differences between seemingly identical things." She placed the blade back among the others and turned to him again, a small smile on her face. "So! What brings you here? Looking for anything in particular or just stocking up?"
Shino shrugged, although it was so slight that it was almost impossible to tell. "Just browsing. I was interested in discovering what other kinds of tools were available for use."
"Well if there is anything you need to know, don't hesitate to ask. There isn't a weapon in here I haven't used before."
Suddenly it seemed that things were going his way. Now that he had some kind of direction, he could move forward in a logical manner. "Actually, I was wondering if you could help me find some high quality throwing knives. My clan needs some and would rather not have to go far to acquire them."
Tenten tapped her lips with a finger as she thought for a few moments, then snapped her fingers. Her eyes lit up, like it was Christmas morning or something. "I know just the thing! Come on, I'll show you where they are."
She grabbed Shino's arm, dragging him across the store to one of the far corners. Knives of every shape, size, and variety lay on the shelves and on the walls, but Tenten crouched down and pulled a box out from under the bottom shelf. "The owner doesn't like people coming in and touching all the expensive stuff, so you have to know where to look. I think this will suit your clan's needs." She pulled one of the blades from the box and handed it over, her eyes seemingly scanning him to see what he thought.
The blades were finely crafted and razor sharp, with ornately carved wooden handles. The knife was perfectly balanced for throwing, and Shino almost didn't want to consider doing that with how nice it seemed to be. It truly had to be the work of a master bladesmith, and there was an entire box of them in this shop. What else was in this place that the owner didn't let people see?
"It's alright. I am unsure that my clan requires something so ornate."
Tenten deflated slightly, seemingly disappointed in his response. "Oh. Well, there are lots of other blades that are a bit more economical." She took the blade from Shino and delicately placed it back into the box before hiding it away again. When she stood, she didn't seem to be as enthusiastic as before, although she didn't seem to be angry with him.
Shino felt a pang of guilt as her expression changed; here she was enjoying herself and he had seemingly ruined it. He had to fix it; it wasn't fair for her to be unhappy when she was taking time out of her day to help him out. "I am also looking for fuma shuriken. The ones my clan bought recently were of poor quality and broke upon use."
Again her expression shifted; her hands were clenched into fists and it was clear that something he had said bothered her. "Ugh! I'm sorry to hear that your clan got swindled like that. People keep trying to pass off low quality ninja tools, and it just gives the tools a bad name. You'd think people would have more respect for the craft!"
"One would assume that, yes. But far too often people are willing to put profit ahead of respect."
"I know, right? It's terrible, simply terrible. I don't think I could forgive someone who did something like that."
Shino nodded; he enjoyed conversing with someone who was this passionate about something. It was a good contrast to his own outward demeanor. Admittedly, he tried his best to keep his mind focused on the conversation, but he couldn't help but notice that there was something about Tenten that he found appealing. Maybe it was the way she carried herself, or the way she seemed to be more interested in weapons than with appearances, or perhaps it was just because Shino was desperate to get to know someone knew. Whatever it was, he was having a good time, and he wanted to get to know her better.
"You seem like someone who takes their weapons very seriously. Perhaps you would be willing to give me a demonstration as to how to best utilize these tools?"
"Hmm... I can't do it today. But I am available tomorrow, just after lunch. Want to meet up here, say around one?"
Shino nodded, but again it was barely noticeable with how restrained it was. "One sounds perfect. I will meet you here."
Tenten clasped her hands together. "Great! I can't wait! Make sure to think about anything you'd like to see so that I can help you out with it tomorrow alright?"
"Will do. I guess I should be going now. My clan will be interested to know about what I've learned here."
"Alright, say hi to them for me!"
Shino nodded again, before turning and walking out of the store. As soon as he got outside of earshot of the building, he let out a deep breath that he didn't even realize he was holding it. Not to mention the fact that he had blatantly lied to Tenten about his clan being interested in weapons; the Aburame's were not exactly known for their weapon jutsu.
Still, it had given him a reason to meet up with her again. He felt bad for deceiving her, but it was only a little white lie. It wasn't like it was a big deal... right? No, of course not. Everything would work out just like Shino had planned. He had already worked out all the things that he needed to read up on so that he didn't come off like he didn't know what he was talking about tomorrow. All that was left was to actually sit down and research it. With his purpose finally clearly defined, Shino made his way to the library. He had a date with a book on the theory and use of ninja tools in combat.
