Sorry it took so long. I got involved with another fic and forgot about this one, the writing not coming to me easily. And then…after reading tons upon tons of KibaKankurou smut, the urge to write this story suddenly came back. Talk about strange, right? Ha ha. I don't know where the connection came in…but magically it worked and lit some sort of creative spark… ShinoTen from KibaKank. How the hell…?

I am very upset about that last chapter. There was no PASSION. No PIZAZZ. NOTHING!

All of that building up for the big moment and what do you get? TWO SENTENCES. Nice. I should be arrested.

I wanted this fic to be sexy, but now it really only looks like it'll be known for its humor and internal analyzation. Apparently I can do either really clean stuff or really dirty stuff. Nothing in between for me. As ALWAYS. Ugh.

Hope you shits enjoy this chapter. –angry face-

Ah…but this was semi-difficult to add in a completely new pairing into this fic. To be honest…I'm just not that big of a fan of KibaHina… (ShinoHina is my preference when it comes to her paired up with either of the two of them. More-so than even NaruHina, and, yes, even a little more than ChouHina.)

So…be prepared to barely hear about it for the rest of the fic.

This sex scene sucks noodles.

One Step Closer Away
Part Three–Luxuria

He couldn't keep his eyes off her hair splayed out on the pillows beneath him. Her breathing had increased, and her fingers were digging into the back of his neck. With each moan, he felt his self-control slipping away. He bent down, administering kisses, feeling her supple skin beneath his lips with much care and deliberation.

"Shino…"

She moaned his name, and his kisses sped up.

"Shino… …Shino, wake up, damn it!"

He felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and shot up, fisting the sheets in his hands and glaring daggers at the culprit. "D-Dad…"

His father's cheeks were bright red, and he was pointing at him threateningly, his eyes–why the hell wasn't he wearing his sunglasses like normal?–almost desperate. "Shino, you're having another one of those dreams, and I'm having a guest over in ten minutes! I can't even walk through the house without hearing you! Come on, boy, go out and get a girlfriend already! I've had enough of these dreams of yours!"

He glared, rubbing the streak of hair at the top of his head absentmindedly. "Yeah, well it's not as easy as you might think, considering the fact that I've got bugs living inside of me."

His father laughed, crossing his hands over his chest, nodding his head. He looked at him, narrowing his eyes, clearly offended. "And what do you mean by that, Shino? You think your old man didn't have problems, is that it? Well, Shino, if it's so hard for someone with bugs living inside them, how do you explain how you were born, hmmm?"

Shino grumbled, feeling bad now. He rubbed the side of his head, feeling the skin stretch and snap back in place with ease, and looked at the sheets, which were sticky and wet. It never even occurred to him that his father was probably going through the same thing as him, now that he acted like he wanted to go out and scour the market. Maybe his assuming his father was all talk had been wrong? He needed to apologize, if that were the case.

"…Sorry."

"You better be sorry, Shino. I have a guest coming over that is very important, so take a shower and get out of this house. You can take care of your sheets later."

Shino stood, sighing. "Alright…" He went to the door.

"Oh, and Shino?"

Shino turned looking his father square in the eye. "What is it?"

"If you can't get a girlfriend, the least you could do would be to get laid to relieve any tension. Strippers and prostitutes don't have to know about the bugs. There's a brothel on the other side of the village, if you need."

Shino's cheeks flared up and he stormed to the washroom. He couldn't even believe his dad was saying something like that! He hated his father sometimes…he really did! After a nice, cold shower and him trying to come up with something that wouldn't set him off again–he finally settled on picturing Kiba going at it with some random dog and that immediately killed his sex drive–, he finally stepped out.

He went to the kitchen, wearing only the towel he'd wrapped around his waist, and grabbed a carton of milk from the fridge. He took a big swig of it, making sure to backwash. That would teach his dad to say lewd things like that… He turned around, and the carton dropped from his hand.

There was a woman sitting at the table!

She was stunning, all blonde and curvy. Her eyes were dancing with delight, and she looked at him, pursing her lips. "Sorry, did I surprise you?"

His jaw dropped, and two bugs went scurrying out his nose–one from each nostril–and into his ears. Who the hell was she!? What was she doing in his house!? His head was a buzz of activity, quite literally. He couldn't even hear himself think through the buzzing in his ears. The bugs were going stir crazy in there!

He…He couldn't really blame them. This woman was quite the eye candy. The perfect hourglass shape–36-24-36, easy. Her hair put Ino's to shame, trailing down the side of her hair with the perfect amount of waves caressing her perfect tan.

She giggled. "Oh, I suppose I did… Tell me, Shino…do you like this TenTen girl?"

He took a step back, suddenly wary of this entire situation. "Woooooah. How do you know about all of that? How do you know my name??"

The woman giggled…again. "I'm your conscience… Shino, if you keep having these dreams about her, I strongly suggest you go for them. Who knows? She might be the one…"

He stuttered, and the towel nearly dropped. His hand shot to it, holding it up there, though now his backside was completely exposed. The woman's eyes widened, and her cheeks tinged pink. She put a hand to her mouth, stifling a laugh.

He dashed out of the room, back to his bedroom. He had to get out this house; it was starting to make him delirious! And why the hell was his conscience such a ditz, anyway!? He was smarter than that, damn it!

The woman sighed, pouting a little. "Was that fine?"

His dad came out from behind the door outside. "Yes, that was perfect. I think he'll pursue her now… Anything to get him out of the house… Honestly, he's just like I was when I was his age…although…to be honest…I was actually in my twenties by the time I started dating. Now…let's go take a walk so he doesn't see me talking to you."

"Well, shouldn't he know about me by now?" She asked quizzically, a bit huffy, making sure to splay her fingers out in a little wave toward the man, the ring on her finger glinting under the light, teasingly, reaffirming his determination to get Shino hooked up with someone.

"Not yet. Not until he starts dating. He'd feel terrible otherwise…"

If he could, he'd get his son with TenTen. That girl was perfect for him, despite the fact that he didn't seem to see it at the moment. Shino probably didn't notice it yet, but, being his father and…because Shino was particularly vocal in his sleep, he had learned a few things about his son he was fairly certain Shino hadn't ever considered before–

Shino never fantasized about the same girl twice.

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Shino quickly changed, shuddering all the while. First there was a strange woman in the house, now– He turned. Yes, that was it! His father said he'd be having a guest over! It was just like his dad to pull a stunt like that.

He crept from his bedroom and went to the kitchen. His heart pounded as he stood behind the sliding door, terrified of what he'd find. Swallowing all hesitance, he slid the door open and looked inside.

Empty.

The carton of milk was still on the ground, the fridge was still ajar… He walked in, closing the fridge and cleaning up the milk. There was a quiet murmur from the sitting room, and he went to go check it out. He peeked in, surprised to see his dad there talking to an elderly couple. It was the couple from the restaurant the other day!

He went over, looking at them. "Uh…Dad?"

His father glanced up at him before going back to his conversation. They were talking about the current state of the world or something, so Shino left, politely dismissing himself and apologizing for the interruption.

He went to the front door, listening to the conversation in the living room. They didn't even act as if they'd acknowledged him. He frowned, unsure. He'd thought his dad would do something to get him dating, and that woman… She certainly seemed like someone his father would get to help him… He sighed, straightening his collar and pulling out his sunglasses.

Maybe his father wasn't playing tricks with his head…

He left, shutting the front door behind him, and the three adults in the sitting room collapsed into a swarm of bugs.

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He approached the tree warily, almost afraid to see that brown hair teasing him from around the trunk. What he found instead was the Hyuuga near the tree like she had been the previous day, her eyes looking just as bleary as before. To his slight amusement, he noticed she wasn't leaning against the tree anymore.

The second she heard him, her eyes turned upward and her mouth opened. "Ah, Sh-Shino!" She shifted uncomfortably, making her way over toward him and meeting him halfway. "…I…um…you didn't show up yesterday…so…I just…left…"

Shino blinked, though she couldn't see it through his sunglasses, and shoved his hands further into his pockets, tapping the toe of his sandal against the dirt beneath his feet absentmindedly. "…Something wrong?"

She nodded her head, and Shino tilted his head in the direction of the market. "I'll treat you to some breakfast." He turned to leave, but her voice stopped him.

"Ah…um…Sh-Shino…"

"Hm?" He turned and looked back at her, surprised she looked puzzled and slightly sheepish. She smiled a little, scratching at her head nervously, her face going bright red, like she didn't want to be the one to have to tell him what she was about to tell him.

"…It's…It's nearly noon…"

He went slightly pink, desperately wanting to claw at the hair at the top of his head, but that hood wouldn't allow him. Instead, he just clenched his fists in his pockets. "…Oh. I guess I slept in too late again." There was a silence that formed between the two, but Shino didn't mind it at all. It was a lot less awkward than the silences that formed with Kiba. There were a lot of silences between him and Hinata; Kiba, not so much. After a while, he simply nodded his head.

"I'll treat you to some lunch, then."

She nodded her head as he started to walk off, and she followed him, looking behind her at the tree anxiously. She'd known the tree was, reportedly, a great place to make out for being so private…but she hadn't ever come across someone crying behind there before.

She swallowed and jogged a little to keep up with Shino, whose long strides had already taken him quite a few feet in front of her. She hoped TenTen would feel better soon, whatever was bothering her.

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Shino picked at his food. It wasn't that he wasn't hungry… He was actually starving. He just…didn't really feel like eating. He looked over, disappointed to see Hinata was forcing herself to eat the food he'd bought her. She obviously didn't feel like eating much, either. He placed his chopsticks down, not even bothering to force another bite of rice past his lips.

"…You don't have to eat that if you don't want to. I won't mind if you don't eat the rest of it."

Hinata looked up at him, her cheeks darkening. "Uh…well…" She forced herself to swallow a noodle, slurping at the rest at the edge of her bowl, swirled around her chopsticks, with dreary enthusiasm. "…It…It would be rude, Sh-Shino…"

As much as he enjoyed talking with her about nothing at times…he really just wanted to cut to the chase at the moment.

"What's bothering you enough that made you search me out?"

She dropped the chopsticks and they landed in the bowl, but she could care less about her manners at the moment. Her face flushed the brightest crimson he'd ever seen it–hell, even Naruto couldn't get that blush out of her when she'd been crushing on him–and she pointed her index fingers together, her eyes lowering to the table, away from his gaze.

"…O-Oh…w-well…I just…I…don't think I…" Tears pricked at her eyelashes, feeling more flustered than she had in a long time. She'd gotten better at speaking her mind at the years, hadn't she? And now it had to rear its ugly head, in front of Shino…her last chance. "…I…I d-don't think…I…" She drew her hands up to her cheeks, actually trying to hide her face in her embarrassment, and the words came tumbling out.

"I don't think I have a chance with Kiba."

Shino stared at her, his mouth opening to say something before it abruptly closed. Well…she'd really had a major fall, hadn't she? It was obvious she had more of a chance with him than any of the other girls in Konoha. Since he often had a habit of taking his and Kiba's watch whenever they'd gone out on all those missions in the past, he could say, with absolute certainty, that there was no one else on the dog-nin's mind but her. He'd overheard Kiba mutter her name under his breath countless times in his sleep, over the course of at least three years, give or take a few. It was a terrible habit for a ninja to have–talking in one's sleep almost every single night, almost the entire time one was asleep–but Kiba had that habit bad. A fluttering 'I love you' spouted from his lips almost consistently after he'd say her name, and Akamaru had gotten into the habit of sleeping around his partner's face to muffle the man's sleep-talking to avoid detection when the situation was dangerous enough to require absolute silence.

"What makes you think that?"

"…He acts exactly the same around me as he always has…" She replied sadly.

Shino snorted, loud enough for her to look up at him in surprise, and the bug-nin shrugged his shoulders. "Well…did it ever occur to you he's liked since we were kids? Maybe that's why he acts the same around you…"

Her voice shuddered, and she stood abruptly, knocking the chair to the ground, her white eyes widening. He couldn't be sure, but judging by the way her cheeks were puffed out and her eyes were looking at him desperately, she wanted to ask him if that was true but was afraid she'd faint if she did and got an answer she was hoping for.

Shino smiled, though she couldn't see it. "He really likes–" A bug scurried out of his navel and disappeared into a hole that appeared at the base of his spine. The bug-nin twitched visibly, his head immediately swinging to the left as Akamaru came pouncing from seemingly thin-air. He landed, paws slamming into the ground with a crunch, and a thick cloud of dust immediately radiated from the impact sight, blearing Hinata's eyes and causing her to start to cough uncontrollably. Shino did not have that problem, and he had to admit that nasty habit of the dog's was actually the first thing that prompted him to wear this many layers, the facial hair being a close second. And the third…just him wishing he could turn invisible.

Kiba jumped off the dog, thrusting his hands into the air dramatically. "Hey, guys!" He leaned over, patting Hinata's back as she started on another coughing fit, and the dog nuzzled her back at the same time. "I could smell your nervousness a mile away, Hinata! Why so tense??"

"…K…" She coughed, finally getting all of that out of her system. "K…K-Kiba…" She went red, pointing her fingers together. Her eyes averted from his gaze, and the heat rose in her cheeks.

She glanced at Shino, who was just staring at her. She couldn't see his expression at all…but she knew the one he was giving her. She knew. It was the same one he'd given her before her fight with Neji in the chuunin exams. The same one he'd been giving her practically every time she started to feel as if she was helpless. She had to use the Byakugan…just to see exactly what that look was. She peered through the layers, peered through the sunglasses, memorized that look in his eyes, that tiny, ever-so-slight, curve at the corner of his lips. Her eyes softened as she finally, finally witnessed that look–that look that absolutely knew, without a single doubt in his mind, that she could really do anything she put her mind to.

She turned back to Kiba, her voice stronger, more sure of herself. "Kiba." Her eyes locked with his, and that's when she noticed how his cheeks started to flush pink. She stood, biting her lip before she reached out and grabbed his hand, just as bewildered as he was with how forward she was being. "H-How long have you liked me?"

Kiba's eyes widened and the flush in his face reddened further to the point that those markings on his cheeks disappeared as the blush overtook them. It wasn't long before his entire face went red, and he opened his mouth to speak.

He didn't have time to answer her question before he fainted right on the spot.

Shino actually tore the sunglasses off his face, standing sharply and staring at the pair, completely unable to believe what had just happened. Hinata put her hands to her cheeks. "O-Oh no! I broke him!" For the second time ever, Shino slammed his fists down on the table in a fit of uncontrollable laughter that the bugs couldn't even help him fight off.

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He left the two back in the market, instead deciding to take a gander at the new collection of books he'd seen a local bookstore that sold the best anthologies. He'd already collected countless numbers of different anthologies on annelids and arthropods, and, naturally, insects. He was hoping they had some seriously well-ordered encyclopedias that brought up things he hadn't learned from either experience or in the anthologies back home.

It took him a while to get to the bookstore, but by the time he got here, he caught sight of Mrs. 36-24-36 herself, looking through a rather difficult tactical guide for Go–one he'd caught Shikamaru reading on more than one occasion. His jaw just about dropped, and the woman's face brightened, as if she suddenly understood something she'd read. She…She wasn't a ditz at all…

Hell, she wasn't his conscience!

His father strode over toward her, pointing at the book and looking at her. She looked back up at him with a grin on her face, and she reached up and stroked the side of his cheek exposed from the collar of his coat.

Shino went stiff, staring at the pair, before spotting the glint of gold–the ring on her finger. There was a flurry inside him, all of the kikaichuu buzzing around wildly, sensing his anger and horror and acting on it immediately.

"WHAT?"

The pair turned and looked, and he could swear he heard that same rumble he heard in his head erupt from his father. He stormed over, staring at the woman, staring her right in the eye though she couldn't see his eyes through those sunglasses.

"Who are you? Why are you talking with my father??"

She looked at his father, her face lowering, unsure how to respond. Shino's father grabbed his arm, forcing him to look at him. "Sh-Shino. There's no need to get upset, now."

"She has a ring on her finger, Dad." His voice lowered, though that didn't stop the kikaichuu inside him from quickening as his heartbeat did.

His father fell silent, unable to say anything to that, and bugs went flying out of pores popping up in Shino's skin, swarming over his body as he fought to keep himself under control. Forget anger; forget horror. This was outright betrayal. Betrayal against him, betrayal against his mother. A swift smack to the head put Shino back in his place and the bugs immediately withdrew, back inside.

It wasn't his father who'd hit him. It was the woman standing in front of him.

Her eyes hardened. "Your father's been through a lot. You're old enough to live on your own. What do you have to get upset about? Your mother's dead. Your father moved on…why can't you?"

A lump caught in his throat as he stared at the woman, a barren emptiness suddenly taking root somewhere in the pit of his stomach, spreading to his chest. He immediately turned and left, despite the protests from his father to stay and talk about it. His father wouldn't go after him–he knew he'd need his space.

And that…is how he found himself sitting behind the tree reserved for 'privacy', staring at the fence behind it, feeling absolutely numb. Sure, if Kiba had come across him, he'd just say he was sulking…but this was beyond sulking, right? He felt completely empty; he felt betrayed. By his own father, too!

And if he was sulking…didn't he have the right to do that in this situation without people looking at him funny?

He sighed, running a hand through the hair at the top of his head, closing his eyes bitterly. There was no reason for any of this, right?

"Same time, same place, eh?"

His opened his eyes to see TenTen standing there, her face vacant, eyes red and puffy. He tilted his head a little, knitting his eyebrows together. …Why…did she look just as miserable as him? She shuffled from foot to foot, actually looking somewhat anxious, before she finally sat down beside him, staring straight in front of her toward the fence.

"Shino."

His mouth opened, and the words came easily. "TenTen."

They sat there in silence, and he realized it was ten times as awkward as his awkward silences with Kiba. He stared at the fence for the longest time before he finally looked over at her. He couldn't see her body per-se under the clothes she'd switched to when she got older–but it was still there, visible. He looked away, tongue grazing over his lower lip, clenching his hands again.

What did he want?

At the moment…all he wanted was release. To vent every aching frustration that had ever built up in him over the years. To let every suppressed urge and want and need to come spilling out into the open, fist hair and bruise bones, bite and scratch and let every angry urge to be released. He was never like Kiba; he pent anger and betrayal and feelings like that up inside instead of releasing it boisterously. Anger had welled up in him over time, so much anger he couldn't stand it, so much anger he couldn't even release it in battle anymore.

He glanced over at her for a brief moment. The second his eyes met hers, she pounced. Before he knew it she was in his lap, hands raking up his head and neck, lips pressing against his, so much desperation into the kiss that their teeth clacked against each other's. Before he knew it, he'd clawed at her hair, raking his fingers through it and tearing those buns out of her hair. One hand lowered, hand raking against the cloth of her shirt, fisting into the middle of her back.

She put her weight fully into him, and he found himself having difficulty breathing. He could feel her breasts pressed against the thin shirt he'd put on under his coats, the only thing separating them being her clothes. He felt his pants tighten, and after much wrestling and probing into their mouths with tongues, she finally pulled away from air, panting heavily against his cheek. He imagined she was feeling the same thing he was, since he too found himself panting for breath.

Her hands grabbed at his face, and she dipped down, her swollen lips grazing over his as she spoke in hurried in whispers.

"I know a better place than this. It's completely secluded."

Before he could even snatch those lips away in another kiss, she'd already removed herself from him, trying her best to put her hands up in those damn buns again. His entire body went cold, feeling empty now that her warmth wasn't against him. He stared at up at her, knuckles scraping uselessly at the soil beneath them.

She was still breathing heavily, he could see, and her eyes were lidded. She looked down at him, whispering again though he could hear it just fine.

"Are you coming or not?" She brushed her tongue over her teeth, teasingly. "I'll continue whether you're there or not. I need to vent."

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He collapsed on top of her in the soft grass of the forest, kissing and sucking at her neck, fists clenched. She'd gotten those coats off again before they even got there, and now she was busy ripping the shirt over his arms and head, giving her access to his lean muscles.

For a moment he fought with her, his fist hitting her right in the ribcage, her nails digging deep into his back, setting the kikaichuu inside him on edge. The emotions reaching them were mixed–friend or foe? He finally tore the buns from her hair. As he pushed his fist against her shoulder as he pulled away from her, staring at the hair pooling around her face and watching her chest rise and fall, the brunette grunted and twisted out of his grip, turning the tables on him.

The reaction was instant–the cuts down his back started to sting and he winced. She fumbled with her clothes, finally managing to expose her breasts. He sucked in a breath, and she dipped down, her hands scrawling over his six pack, up to his chest and past his pecks, up to his collar bone. He didn't know where she got it, but somehow she managed to swipe at him with a kunai, drawing blood from the base of his neck to the end of the collarbone, nearly nicking the tender nipple. He grunted, reaching up and grabbing her hips, tossing her over so he'd be on top.

In his haste, he somehow grabbed her hips too hard, did something wrong along the line, and pressed her closer to his erection. He groaned, and she bit her lip, kneading into his chest deliberately, as if trying to keep herself from making a sound just yet. Her breasts bounced, and he finally found his momentum, tossing her over so he could get better access to those without her struggling as hard.

He bent down to take one of her nipples in his mouth, but she fought, striking him in the wound, trying to assert her dominance. They rolled around on the grass a few times, each trying to be on top, until finally all of their intense anger had been exhausted and they just lay there, panting against each other and trying to catch their breath.

Her head was resting against his chest, and he had a hand cupping the back of her head, his fists clenching and unclenching, his frustration still there, the tension not leaving. Her anger was spent, as were most of the negative emotions she'd been feeling all day. He slowly turned, straddling her again, his erection pressing right against her hips again. She grabbed him by the face, too tired to struggle for the top anymore. She pulled his face down, bringing his mouth over her own, that same, desperate movement in everything she did.

As he pulled away, she made sure to whisper in his ear, finally moaning as he stroked his thumb over her nipple.

"M-Make it hurt."

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TenTen walked into the cramped little apartment she'd lived in since she was a kid. She always imagined she'd be an ANBU captain by now, able to live on her own in one of those amazing apartments with plenty of room, enough to even have a private training ground. She sighed, taking the buns out of her hair and running her hand through the brown locks, taking a deep breath.

Leaves.

She went red, brushing those out of her hair and did a quick rundown to make sure she didn't miss anything. She was sore all over, aching up a storm, but it was great. Like after a really tough mission.

Her chest rose and fell in another deep breath, and she heard coughing from the bedroom. Her face fell and she walked in there to see her mother on the futon, hacking up a storm. She sighed, going to her side and patting her on the back. Her mother turned, brown eyes shining.

"Oh, TenTen. Welcome back home… I…well…you ran out so…so fast…I…" She looked down, coughing into her hand.

"I'm sorry." TenTen smiled, finally able to say it, though in truth, she was bitter. "I shouldn't have yelled. I…" She fell silent, a lump twisting in her throat, before she looked back at her. "I just…wanted some time to myself today… It won't happen again."

"TenTen…you shouldn't have to worry so much about me. You haven't taken a mission out of the village since your father left." Her mother watched her as she stood and asked if she wanted some water before narrowing her eyes. "Did…you get into a fight while you were out?"

TenTen froze, turning around to look at her mother. "No…why?"

"…You have grass stains all over your clothes…and your clothes are ripped and you're bruised all over… Training again?"

"Well…I…I…er… No." She went beet red and started to walk out, and then her mother cleared her throat again, speaking a bit more firmly.

"What's his name?"

"…N-No one. Just one of the guys from the Aburame clan. It's no big deal."

Her mother started to cough. "An Aburame this time? You really do get around. Hopefully he'll be the last. I'm tired of you sleeping around. You're worse than I was at your age. At least I had the common sense to not go anywhere near the clan members."

"I…uh…yeah. I'll go make you some dinner." She gave her mother a soft smile and left the room, flushing scarlet. As she entered the kitchen, she muttered under her breath as the pots and pans clattered onto the counter.

"Maybe you should have gone near clan members, Mom. They are far more interesting."

Sex–it was like battling all over again. She couldn't get enough of it. Each clan member had their own unique quirk, it was all so great.

Shino, however, was by far the most intriguing.

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Shino stepped in the door, past the kitchen, and, hopefully, to his room before his father noticed he was back.

He wasn't nearly as lucky as he'd hoped he'd be.

His father grabbed him by the arm, pulling him around to face him. "Shino, boy, we need to talk. It's about what Keiko said earlier. She shouldn't have said it like that, and I know you were upset, so–"

Shino recoiled at the touch, heart rate increasing tenfold, face flushing scarlet. "It's fine, Dad. I'm fine. Now. It's not a big deal." He spun on his heels and made a last-ditch effort to just dash to his room and hope his father didn't follow. The second he lifted his foot, his father grabbed him, fingers digging into the joint of his shoulder. He winced, turning and staring at him, bewildered.

"D-Dad? What the–"

"They're squirming more than usual."

"What are you–"

"You aren't angry, but they're this active. I know why, Shino. I know. Father knows. Those bugs stay this active for an hour after sex, boy. Who was it? A random quickie in a back alley? One of the girls at that brothel I pointed you towards? Who is it?"

"…Dad, I'm not–"

"Then why haven't you taken your coat off yet? You take all of those layers off and hang them up by the front door without fail. What made you stop today?"

"I just…I just didn't feel like it, alright?"

"Off."

"What?"

"You heard me, boy." He grabbed at the buttons, unbuttoning them like a seasoned professional, kikaichuu immediately swarming around his son to keep him still. The second the coats were off, he tossed them to the ground and surveyed the damage. His mouth opened in a toothy grin, and he clamped a hand onto Shino's shoulder.

"A feisty one, eh?? I really gotta know the maker of these bruises, boy! And cuts?? Didn't think you'd like the kinky stuff!" He laughed out loud, and Shino turned bright red, trying his hardest to turn invisible under his father's scrutinizing gaze. As long as his old man didn't go through a list of the girls in the village, girls he'd kno–

"Who was that one girl who was good with weapons? Not a clan girl, but…hummm… What was her name again?"

"Dad!" He shoved his father away, bugs swarming over his skin defensively. "It's no one, alright?? Just a nobody off the street. I had some steam to burn off, some frustrations to vent, okay?" He rubbed at the hair at the top of his head and spun around, retreating to his room. "I swear, she meant nothing, she is nothing…" He was hurting like a bitch; all he wanted to do was sleep. Sex with her wasn't sex or a release–it was a battle. Just one long battle that wound up making him feel drained in so many ways.

His father hit his hand in his fist, eyes widening. "Finally he took a step forward. And with TenTen, no less…" His smile widened. "That's my boy."