Neji focused his chakra, searching for his opponent. He was well-concealed, but no match for Neji's special sight – there! He aimed a kick for the enemy's head, and felt it connect, saw the opponent fly through the air, and then took the opportunity to cut off the other's chakra flow and hit a few regular pressure points for good measure. That was too easy, he thought, looking warily around. It was only then that he noticed his opponent was younger then he was. "These are the best a wealthy family can hire?" he scoffed. "Just leave. I have no quarrel with you now that your mission has failed." Neji was uncomfortably aware of a cold stare from behind him.

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"They don't need my help," Shino muttered. His bugs reported nothing Hinata and Kiba couldn't handle, let alone this so-called genius. "Not yet, at least," he corrected himself. A three-man team was on its way. But it was almost time for his sleep shift, so there would be four to deal with them. The best thing he could do right now was rest to restore his chakra. In any case, he would sent for if he were needed. Mainly it was nerves and an unfamiliar feeling. Waiting for others to fight while he did nothing did not sit well with him. He almost hoped they would run into difficulty. Almost.

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"You have to apologize to Tenten. Without teamwork, this mission will fail, and we all will face grave consequences," Lee warned. Neji sighed. Lee might be his best friend, but he would sooner take Jiraiya-sama's advice on women. At least that would get him somewhere, though not necessarily anywhere he wanted to be.

"Lee, keep both eyes open. I will return shortly." With that, he was off. Lee seemed entirely too enthusiastic for someone who had been unconscious less than fifteen minutes ago. He landed instead next to Hinata-sama, working up the nerve to ask her about Tenten. He dispatched another assassin while he waited, a task that took him not more than two minutes. They were no more than hired killers, lacking finesse as well as skill. Finally, he asked, softly, "Hinata-sama?"

"Yes?" she asked in return.

"What the hell is wrong with Tenten?" he asked. There was no point in niceties, and he was fairly blunt by nature.

"Tenten?" she asked, and Neji thought she sounded surprised, "Um, she seemed angry at you. I wouldn't know why." She barely blushed at all these days when they spoke. Good. It pleased him to know that fairly soon she would not need his protection.

Neji thought back. "We were training, and by the end, she just stormed off. I can't imagine why. I tried not to hurt her." Hinata-sama blushed and giggled. She seemed to have found something more than Neji did, but when she spoke, it was only to repeat what Lee had said.

"You need to go talk to her," she said, with a hint of laughter still in her voice. Neji nodded glumly, embarrassed. Hinata-sama was laughing at him. Of all people, she thought the situation amusing. Well, there was little to be done, for a while at least. He retreated to a position away from either both his cousin and his friend, and began scanning for enemies. No one showed up for at least fifteen minutes, then suddenly, the Hidden Mist ninja returned, accompanied by what could only be his team. Am adult this time, a full-fledged ninja, as well as two other Genin – a boy and a girl. Hinata-sama and Lee moved forward to challenge the three younger ones, leaving him to charge the team leader.

He decided not to play around. The 64 strikes technique, half to Neji's surprise, worked the first time he tried it, leaving him time to check on the others. Hinata-sama was doing surprisingly well, having already defeated her opponent, and Lee seemed to be having no trouble with the others. He turned to his own opponent. "You've failed. If you want to beat us, you'll need to train a lot harder." He smirked.

"You little brat!" snarled his opponent, lunging forward with knife in hand. Neji brushed him aside easily and allowed himself a haughty expression.

"You'll have to try much harder if you want to defeat me. Just go back." He punched the other ninja hard, to demonstrate the futility of continuing. He checked once again on the others, and saw the two of them had defeated all three other Genin. "Your team has already been dealt with. You have lost, and it is time for you to leave." He was just taunting him now, but he was frustrated. "Go!" He supposed he ought to take pride in the fact that he had beaten a team leader, but he had heard Hidden Mist was having staffing difficulties. In all likelihood, that was some Chuunin on their first mission.

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"She laughed at me. It just doesn't make sense." They had regrouped after beating the ninja from Hidden Mist, and Neji was now unloading his problems on Lee. Not that he expected much help. But while Hinata-sama seemed to be warming up to him, or at least putting herself more at ease, he still felt uncomfortable around her. Not to mention that there were advantages in talking to Lee. He made you forget your little problems with his motivational speeches. He also made Neji want to punch him, but they were working on that.

"It's great that you've made up with your cousin, Neji, but you need to talk to Tenten. We need teamwork if the mission is to succeed." Sometimes, Lee's straightforward baseness scared him.

"Lee, you aren't going to spend your time off training, are you?"

"Of course not! I'll devote an hour or so to just enjoying my springtime of life. It's important to relax sometimes, after training hard."

"You can say that again." Lee really was a simple kid, but he was a good one. "Enjoy yourself."

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Neji's active shift was finally over, and he was still confused. None of this had been difficult enough to need all of them. No point in dwelling on it, though. The reason would become clear, or it would not. There was little enough he could do about that. However, as much as he hated to admit it, he could do something about Tenten. He knocked softly on the door to the chamber she had been assigned, and waited for a response.

"Who's there?" she called back irritably after a few minutes.

"I am," he said softly. He heard the click of a lock and retreating footsteps. So much for that idea. But no, he had to try harder. He couldn't just accept things anymore. "Tenten, you're upset. Why?" So he had to work on finesse. It was a start. He allowed himself a small surge of pride.

"Nothing's wrong. We just need to keep our distance for a few days, that's all."

"We're on a mission. We cannot allow our own disputes to interfere with the completion of the mission and the continued welfare of our village."

In spite of herself, Tenten laughed. "Where did you pick that up? I know Hyuuga Neji and he does not come up with things like that on his own."

"Lee." He said no more, and knew he did not need to. They both knew Lee well enough.

"I'll see you later," she told him firmly, but with a hint of amusement still in her voice. Well, at least she seemed considerably more cheerful than last time.

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"This is ridiculous. Why do they need six of us for this mission? We're short-handed already. Why not just send one person?"
"Because, Kiba-kun, they would get tired too fast," Hinata told him softly. "And I'm sure Tsunade-sama had her reasons for doing this."

"Well, why don't we just go get them before they get here?" Kiba asked, sniffing the air impatiently. "Guard duty gets boring fast."

"Alright! Let's go!" shouted Lee, running off into the distance.

"Does he have any idea where he's going?" Kiba asked Hinata, shaking his head.

"Probably not." Hinata giggled. You had to, with Lee. If you didn't laugh, you'd go insane. "But, if we go, who will guard this place in case more sneak up?"

"Good point." Hinata was always thinking more than Kiba, but she managed to be less annoying about it than Shino. "You and Lee stay here, and Akamaru and I will go find them."

That was easier said than done – first she would have to catch up to Lee."How are you going to find them?"

"Our noses are up to the job, easily. They all had one smell in common. We just need to follow that." Kiba and Akamaru bounded ahead, and as they passed over Lee, Kiba yelled down, "Head on back! We'll handle this!"

They followed the trail for a few miles, then came to the source of the smell, what appeared to be a simple bush. "A bush?" Kiba sniffed the air, "but not just a bush, huh, Akamaru?" Akamaru barked agreement. They searched for several minutes, then a strange sensation overcame them both. "It's a trap, Akamaru," Kiba warned, holding his nose, "Don't breathe deeply and let's get out of here!"
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"Where is Kiba?" Shino asked, more annoyed than concerned. Undoubtedly, his teammate was doing something useless.

"He was tracking down the enemies' base, but he hasn't come back yet," Hinata answered him. Shino said nothing, but nodded silent approval. Being this productive was unlike Kiba, but it was pleasing to hear he had improved. "Your shift is over," he told Hinata. "Wake your cousin and his friend if that one runs into trouble. You," here he addressed Lee, "Guard this place until Kiba and I return."

"Understood!" Lee shouted, assuming his trademark pose.

Shino refrained from commenting on Lee's actions, knowing it would be worthless. Instead, he set to following Kiba's trail.

He had gotten only a short way when Kiba crashed into him. "Watch where you're going" he muttered, irritated. "What did you learn?"
"Wherever they passed through has no respect for the environment," Kiba said, rubbing his nose. "They dumped all sorts of trash in bushes and trees. I couldn't track them any further."

"Deliberate?"
"I don't think so. It seemed more like apathy – they threw stuff wherever. But it really stank."

"Disgusting. We are to take care of our surroundings, not defile them. We must stay in touch with our environment."

"Tell me about it. But for now, we have a mission. Let's go!" Kiba bounded ahead, Akamaru following close behind. Shino sighed and hurried after him.

Lee was waiting for them. "Hello! Nothing's happened so far, but I'm surprised you got back so fast. What information have you found?"

"None, other than that people around here destroy the environment."

"That's terrible! It's our responsibility to take of the plants and animals we live with!"

"That's what we said," Kiba told him.

"This moment will surely do wonders for our teamwork!" Lee beamed, and Shino found himself wondering how many times the other brushed his teeth in a single day. At least five or six, to get that kind of shine. He found himself wondering if Lee could blind an opponent just by smiling. But that really was neither here or there, so he brought his mind back to the problem at hand. His bugs returned with reports from the other directions – a few attackers, nothing overly difficult.

He surveyed his allies – Kiba would be on shift for a while, and they worked well enough. Lee would be gone soon enough, which suited him fine. But only Hinata's cousin and the other one would be on shift after that. He wanted some time to talk to Hinata, which it didn't look like he would get for a while. Inconvenient, but not a true problem. He would work something out.

Kiba approached Shino. "You bored yet?" he asked.

"Keeping alert is one of the most important skills a ninja can learn," he responded shortly.

"Which means yes, but you don't want to admit it. Come on, I know you," Kiba smirked.

Shino kept silent for a few minutes, then said, "Yes, you do. And we will do well in fighting the approaching enemy." The two of them turned to dispatch the oncoming assassins, then returned to standing side by side. "Easy enough."
"That's the power of teamwork." Kiba smiled., and to his own surprise, so did Shino.