Disclaimer- I do NOT own Naruto.

I can't think of anything snappy to say….

Shino X OC (Mitsuko)

Kiba X OC (Keiko & Midori for Akamaru :D)

Lee X OC (Haruna)

Chouji X OC (Hitomi)

Kankuro X OC (Kimiko)

Gaara X OC (Haruka)

Nope, still nothing… ENJOY!

Questions

Chapter Nine

Mitsuko had to admit, Shino was different from any other men she had ever met. And in her line of work it was hard to find a smart, funny, talented man. Both where heading back towards the hotel when they heard trash cans falling over in the alley. Sure enough, two dark green metal cylinders rolled into the street light. They pivoted and cautiously began down the dark passageway. The small building just ahead of them is where the figure disappeared into. A window was there only entrance without being noticed, but they could have held the door open for the man and he still wouldn't have noticed. The thief emptied the contents of a bad onto a small metal table, complete with rust and pencil scribbles. The idiot was too busy gazing at the collection that the two teens where able to successfully ambush him. Of course, Mitsuko was holding a kunai to his throat. Both shinobi handled things differently so it wasn't a surprise that the woman was more forceful.

"How about this, you return everything here and maybe we won't kill you," the young woman hissed, pressing the metal into his neck for emphasis.

"Mitsuko…" Shino warned, not wanting to begin anything that would be difficult to finish.

"Fine… He won't kill you, but I sure as hell will."

She could practically feel the man tremble. It was all a matter of tone when it came to threats. You can't be too nonchalant or too by the book. That made all the difference in their work. Although she was more than certain that Shino was better at intimidating others than she.

"Alright! I'll show you!"

"That's a good boy," Mitsuko smirked while trapping his wrists in her tiny grasp.

After forcing the man to return everything, the finally handed him over to a chunin making his rounds. Both where tired beyond words therefore relief washed over them when the soft glow of a hotel window greeted them at two in the morning. The young woman didn't even register climbing the stairs with her escort following. But her mind was working on its own, telling her hand to reach for the key attached to the side of her hip.

"Would you like to come in?" she asked, half way wanting him to accept, half way not.

"No. I need to get home and you need your sleep."

"Alright, so I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Shino nodded and turned to head back down to the lobby. She shuffled into her room, automatically falling onto the couch, 'That was amazing.' Mitsuko could hardly wait for the next day, so instead of sleeping on her bed, she stayed put… even if she thought it was uncomfortable. Mitsuko woke at around six thirty, and as soon as she did, the teen bounded toward her window. Part of her was surprised to see Shino walking towards her direction, but a bigger part wasn't. Feet rushed down the staircase and into the lobby, just as the man stepped inside. And he never took another step since she pulled him backwards by the material of his fabric.

"You seem excited," he laughed, for maybe the first time ever.

"Shino, I think that is the first time I have ever heard you laugh."

As they walked by a group of people on the street, they looked at Shino strangely. Of course the man without a face would be targeted by the majority of the village. But that was something Mitsuko didn't know about.

"What was that about?" she asked him while still looking over at the group, sending a glare their way.

"Many people find me… spine-chilling," Shino explained burying his hands deeper into his pockets.

"I don't see why."

Shino changed direction and walked to a small plant. He leaned down ignoring the questioning gaze given by the young woman he was with. A closer looked revealed that he was making eye contact with a praying mantis. The assassin kneeled down and stared at it as well, waiting to see exactly what was so fascinating about this bug. Sure she liked them too, but did he really like to exchange thoughts with it or something?

"Is this what you do all day?" she broke, finally asking a question that could possibly explain everything.

"Yes," was all he replied, never leaving the attention of the green insect.

'Now I know why people think you're spine-chilling…'

"Come on," Mitsuko sighed, taking Shino's hand and running towards Tsunade's office.

"Do you have any D-rank missions?" this was probably a question the Hokage didn't want to hear from her.

The teen probably knew that, all the more reason to pull Shino a little closer to her just incase the hot headed granny blew her top again.

"Mitsuko…" Tsunade snarled.

"It's just to pass time. It's not like I asked for an S-rank mission," Mitsuko grumbled, taking a seat in a chair across from her.

All Shino noticed was a staring contest between the two. Finally Tsunade snapped, angrily shuffling through a stack of papers. A triumphant smirk was placed on the yond woman's lips while she watched steam come out of the elders' ears.

"Can you babysit?" she asked looking at Shino.

"Who are we babysitting?" at the moment she was fearing it would be Konohamaru.

"A five month old girl named Nami she lives one mile outside the village."

'Thank God.'

"Sounds perfect," Mitsuko said, ignoring Shino's sounds of protest as he was pulled out of the office behind her.

He slammed the door, leaving them standing alone in the hallway.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Shino you need to do something besides watching insects. That's why people are afraid of you. And it's just a five month old baby. It's not that hard," the young woman explained, trying to play it off as no big deal, even if she had no freaking idea how to watch a baby.

"How do you know?"

"I don't. I've never watched a baby before," she smiled, walking off to get ready for the mission.

"Then why the hell did you accept the mission!"

"Calm down. It could be fun."

A few hours later…

"Thank you for coming," a woman greeting, opening the small wooden door.

Before they could even look around, she shoved the baby in Mitsuko's hands and fled to the door.

"I'll be back soon," and then she left.

"She was in a hurry," the assassin mused, placing the baby on the floor to play with her toys.

The house they where staying in was small, but at least it was clean.

"This isn't so bad. Is it?" part of her was hoping that Shino wouldn't reply.

The baby crawled over to him and grabbed his leg, smiling the entire time. Mitsuko lifted her into his arms, watching her fall asleep smiling.

"She seems to like you."

Shino kept quiet. She figured he was still upset about her forcing him to do this. The woman moved toward the crib placed in the living room and grabbed a blanket. Once the baby was bundled she returned her to the crib. Once she sat the girl down, she cried, causing Mitsuko to quickly grab her to see what was wrong. Once the assassin cradled her to her chest, Nami ceased her cries.

"Oh… I see," she mumbled, returning to the seat beside of Shino.

She rocked back and forth for about five minutes, until Nami was completely still, and returned her to the crib.

"What the hell was that?" Shino asked.

"She can't go to sleep without someone holding her," she shrugged, going into the next room.

There was a small table with three chairs, a stove, and a refrigerator. The teen took up on of the chairs and gazed out the window. Soon Shino had disappeared, leaving her alone thinking that he simply went to check the house. But when she fell asleep for about an hour and woke to find no one around, Mitsuko went to look for him. The first thing to do was check the baby, only to find that her crib was empty. She searched the entire house before going outside, she wasn't panicking, and she would find her. There was no way a baby had gotten out of the house alone. But she tried desperately to not think the worst. Then she saw both him and the baby in the garden; him leaning back on his hands and Nami resting on his lap. She would bend down, grab a wad of grass and toss it in the air. Her partner looked up and gave a smile behind his jacket. The next thing he knew, there was a fist pounding into the back of his skull.

"Don't ever do that again!"

He rubbed his head, looking back at Mitsuko as Nami let out a yawn. The assassin's face softened while she went to grab the baby.

"Looks like she's sleepy again."

The young woman bounced her up and down, trying to lull her asleep again. Then she felt the piercing eyes of Shino on her figure. Since it was awkward Mitsuko had to question his actions with innocence making him grin even more.

"What?"

"You look so natural. I thought you said that you had never watched a baby before."

"I haven't. It must be an instinct."

When she glanced down at the baby, she was partially asleep. Shino stood and walked back to the house without a word or even a sound. The young woman sighed and whispered to the sleeping baby,

"Men are so difficult. I hope you don't have to go through this."

When she came into the house, she saw Shino at the table. Nami was put in the crib again and Mitsuko took a seat across from him. They stayed that way for an hour before the woman came back from her errands. The walk back to the village was quiet for a long while. She thought that Shino was upset with her again since he hadn't said anything to her for hours.

"What's wrong now Shino?" she sighed, fearing for the worst of whatever was to come.

This was happening too much lately, and now Mitsuko was getting sick of it. Once the rain started a moment later, both ran to the trees so some cover would be granted.

"What happens at the end of spring?" Shino asked noticing that her gaze was attracted to the forest floor.

"I guess we go back to our normal lives."

Everything was calm for a while as the two walked along the tree line. Sure they could have run the few miles home but neither one wanted to make the moment end just yet. They came to a clearing, and they were just at the edge when Shino shoved the young woman against the tree.

"Why?" he asked.

Mitsuko was silent, not wanting to tell him now… or ever.

"Why!" he repeated harshly.

There was a long silence leaving only the sound of the rain to fill the area. With his swift movement, Shino's glasses and jacket had fallen, revealing his face.

"Shino, I'm becoming too attached. And I promised myself that that would never happen to me," Mitsuko tried to explain as she reached for his hand.

"Why can't you?"

"Once you become attached to someone or something you lose it sooner or later. I don't want to lose you, Shino."

"You won't lose me Mitsuko," Shino stated, leaning closer towards her.

As much as she hated it, she turned away. There was always something, and this time that something was causing a tear to form.

"I'm sorry… I can't," the assassin whispered, trying to avoid eye contact.

She chose to walk ahead of Shino until the gate came into view. Mitsuko was almost happy to see Tsunade standing with an umbrella in her hands. All the while, the teen had been crying silent tears. Thankfully she was able to hide them fairly well as she sauntered closer to the Hokage. But that wasn't good enough.

"How did it go?" she asked, taking a spilt second to take in Mitsuko's saddened appearance.

Shino continued on, but the woman stopped to talk, stealing a glance in his direction before he looked over his shoulder. When he saw her snap her head away, he felt upset… angry. He was walking slowly, hoping that something would make her change her mind.

"That bad?"

"No. It went fine. He's just a little upset," the young woman said, choking back tears in the most reserved way possible.

"What happened?"

"Can we talk about this later? I'm not in the mood," Mitsuko sighed, trying to leave quickly.

Shino was still in ear shot, listening to as much of the conversation as possible. When Tsunade turned to him, the next words startled the young woman so much she thought she would scream.

"Shino! I have another mission for you!"

The man turned and walked closer, but much to the woman's surprise, he didn't seem very interested.

"It's A-rank. You leave tomorrow," Tsunade grinned, almost diabolically.

'What!'

Shino simply nodded, and turned so that he could continue on his way.

"A-rank! What the hell are you thinking!" the young assassin screamed, not caring if Shino could still hear or not.

"Why are you so upset?"

"People get killed on A-rank missions, Tsunade."

The Hokage smiled and walked by her, leaving her stunned for a second. As soon as she collected her thoughts, Mitsuko rushed in front of her wanting nothing more than to kick her ass. The only thing stopping her was her kind of wanting to see tomorrow.

"What is the mission?" she hissed between clenched teeth.

"Shino will be escorting the Tsuchikage to Kusagakure."

"Shino is a Chuunin not a Jonin," Mitsuko hissed, looking at Shino as he strolled down an alley way.

"He is one of our most experienced Chuunin I doubt he'll be in any real danger."

"He is escorting the Tsuchikage, I don't know if you know this but some people don't really like him. Shino will be in real danger!"

That's when she stormed off, thinking that Shino could very well be murdered. Anything can happen on a-rank missions and Tsunade is sending him when she could assign someone else. Mitsuko wasn't a registered ninja, but she had been on plenty of a-rank missions while she knew that Shino had been on only one. The teen sprinted in the direction of Shino's home, not bothering to knock. By the time she arrived, the man was already setting his bag down and walking into the next room. He had noticed her come in-not that he couldn't since she slammed the door open-but continued on his way.

"Are you going?" the woman asked sternly.

"What are you talking about?"

"The mission…"

"Yes," he answered softly, trying his hardest not to growl.

"I don't think you should," she was trying to make her opinion known, hoping that he would listen.

"Why do you care?"

"People die on those missions, Shino."

"If I die you should be fine. You're not that attached to me yet, are you?" he asked, quirking a brow and glad to see that his answers irked her.

She sighed asking herself if she was. And one word was ringing through her conscience 'Yes.' When she finally got a look at his face, Shino's jacket was fully zipped again, hood up.

"While you think about that I'll be getting ready for tomorrow," Shino said walking out of the room.

She was alone now, almost weeping in the living room of a guy she had met not long ago by force. Everything was falling apart again, leaving her with only one option-to run. And run she did, all the way back to the hotel.

******Shino******

The young man sighed as he sat at the kitchen table.

"Damn it…" he mumbled, trying to sort everything that just happened in his head.

His father entered the room, sitting across from him. Even though neither spoke, he knew that something was wrong. The teen actually didn't want to speak about anything dealing with Mitsuko until he had at least apologized to her. But apparently that wasn't going to happen.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

"Do what?" Shino asked, gazing out the window.

"Make her cry?"

He glanced back down at the wooden surface, feeling a pang of hurt again.

"I didn't mean to. She needs to figure out some things."

"So do you," he said, standing to leave.

The confused look on his face was enough, but he still asked all the same.

"What?"

"That's something you have to figure out by yourself," Shino's father said, leaving to room to leave the teen to his thoughts.

All Shino could do was lean back in the uncomfortable chair. 'What the hell?'

******Mitsuko******

The door slammed, and Mitsuko fell to her knees. 'How do I feel about him?' Moments later she stood back up, making her way towards her room. She only stopped to glance out the window and ask herself another question,

"Why does he care so much?"

"He loves you…" a strange voice said.

Not a second passed until a kunai was pulled and she finished her way to her room. Giving the room a quick look, she relaxed slightly to realize that no one was there.

"Who are you?" the teen asked glaring at nothing in particular.

"My, my… You ask a lot of questions."

There was a small giggle that emanated from the closet, which was where the kunai sounded with a thud. It made no contact with skin or hair or bone, just tacky blue and green wallpaper.

"You keep asking yourself the wrong questions."

"Where are you damn it!"

"Do you love him?" the strange voice asked, enjoying the fact that Mitsuko was starting to become more than a little annoyed.

The question caused her to pause in mid turn. There where so many questions that she needed to answer, but she knew that this was the most important one.

"Well?" the voice asked, becoming impatient with Mitsuko's silence.

"Yes," she finally answered, peering into the night through her balcony window.

"Then you know what to do," the voice said.

And then the voice disappeared. Yeah she knew what to do but it was already dark out. Shino was probably asleep by now. So there was nothing to do until morning…