Uh…not sure what to make of this chapter. All it really does is set up for the rest of the fic. Everything, and I do mean everything. Not sure how to continue this… Uh…
What? Ha ha.
The song this time around is Silence. The lyrics are fairly perfect. And when I say Silence, I mean the acoustic version on their album Alhambra. The version on Edges of Twilight just isn't as satisfying, to me. (I strongly recommend listening to both versions, of course.)
Um…the reason why this chapter is long is because it involves a bunch of talk-talk-talking and then finally the beginning of a mission. If you've read ANY of my other fics, you'll realize I have this strange habit–a debilitating rut, if you will–of choosing missions involving young girls. I just…can't think of anything worthwhile. Nothing else.
So, as for the inevitable disclaimer that seems to be SO popular…
Be glad I don't own Naruto. I'd send Kishimoto into convulsions by somehow only putting missions in the entire fucking show involving young girls ages 6 to 14 that have a habit of
a) getting kidnapped by bandits
b) getting lost in the woods or
c) getting kidnapped after getting lost in the woods by either bandits and/or missing-nin in league against Konoha.
That's how everything would go if I owned Naruto. Isn't that sad? I'd be a filler MACHINE!! Me and little girls getting kidnapped. GAWD! (Maybe I should slip in a little boy and change it up a little. Raise some hell, for sure. Don't worry. That will be in the next mission Shino takes in this fic. (He takes two, by the way. This is the first.))
But yeah. I have no idea how these lands of Naruto work. Kill me or shoot me or sue me, one of the three. If it's that bad, tell me and I won't fix it. Because I can't be arsed to fix something right now.
One question, though:
Kikai, Kikkaichuu, Kikkaichu, or Kikaichuu?
For the life of me, I can't tell which way it should be spelled; all I know is that the last way (the one I've been using for the past two chapters) looks wrong for some reason. Anyone care to tell me the CORRECT way of spelling it?
One Step Closer Away
Part Four–Silence
Over the course of four weeks, they had sex six times.
That made seven in total.
It had been four weeks and, ever since their first time, they hadn't spoken a single word to each other. She'd see him by the tree, smile and grab his hand, and soon they'd be off in their private place in the forest floor, rolling around on the grass, battling, having sex, kikaichuu swarming the air as adrenaline pumped through him and the urge to fight became great, kunai slicing every inch of skin he'd exposed. Sex was a battle with her: angry, repressed feelings resulting in angry, rough, venting–almost vengeful–sex.
After the first time, she'd see in him the street and keep walking. After the first time, he had to search her out, and even when he found her, the words didn't come and she wouldn't say a word and they wound up just parting ways. After the first time, it was all just one big blur, like every battle he'd been in over the years. Nothing memorable about it, like it shouldn't have been–just one big fight that happened to have a different ending.
It was the seventh time they had sex that really spooked him.
It wasn't rough, and it wasn't angry. For the first time, it was just…fun. He couldn't remember why or what set it off, but throughout the entire time, every kiss sent her into a fit of giggles, every touch set her off. She smiled, she laughed; he was actually enjoying himself. It wasn't a battle…it was…just…sex…
It scared him and made him feel so confused inside.
When the blur of laughter ended and she finally fell silent, as he pulled out and fell onto his back in the grass, she finally looked over at him. For the first time since, their eyes met and she leaned over, pulled him into a kiss. She leaned over into his ear after and whispered his name softly. Once. Twice. Three times. Fifty. He couldn't remember the number, but it made his chest tighten and his breathing stop.
At first the urge to push her away overshadowed everything else, until her voice softened considerably, and she laughed a little bit as she said his name.
"Shino."
They both stood up, brushed the moment off as best as they could, got dressed and parted ways without another word as they had been doing for weeks. The second she left his sight, it began to eat at him.
"Shino."
Before he went to sleep, that whisper would echo in his ear.
"Shino."
It woke him in the morning and it…
"Shino."
…it calmed him.
His father had taken to inviting that woman–he later learned her name was just as plain as her body and mind were uniquely invigorating: Keiko–over more often…to do something stupid like get him used to her. Every time he saw those two talking to each other, the urge to go and smack his father for betraying his mother like that would rise in him and a few bugs would skitter across his skin out and back into some pore that opened up.
"Shino."
Before he knew it, that name whispered softly, happily and laughing, into his ear and he would relax.
It was after their seventh time that it started to hurt when she'd pass him on the street and not acknowledge him.
A week after their seventh time, he sat behind that fence and stared at it, mind wandering, thoughts melding together so that the only coherent thought that he could pull from his string of consciousness was the only one that shouted at him loud and clear–
What was this feeling?
It soon was joined by another thought.
What am I to her?
And another.
What is she to me?
And finally a fourth.
Ah shit. Am I…Am I in love with her?
Love was probably the biggest weakness he had ever seen in a ninja. He could see it. His love for his teammates surely did get him into some narrow scrapes in the past, and he'd more than once been severely injured trying to keep Hinata out of danger. But this feeling was twice as intense and extremely different than for Hinata or Kiba. A little diluted from Hinata, but drastically different from Kiba.
Before he knew it, someone had sunk down next to him as he stared off, lost in thought.
"It's strange seeing you wearing all of those layers when I've seen you completely naked."
His face fell, his jaw dropped and eyes widened, and he turned to her face to see her looking slightly amused, lips curling into that same smartass smirk she'd worn before all of these weeks of complete silence.
"T-TenTen," he mumbled, the kikaichuu going crazy inside him as his heart rate increased.
"Shino," she nodded.
His heart beat quickened when she snorted a little as she said that name, and his insides started crawling…literally. She stretched and put her hands behind her head, cracking her neck. She looked back at him, removing her legs from the space beside her chest and dropping them out in front of her boyishly, to match his pose.
"I've been wondering, Shino, about how it must feel with those…um…bugs…crawling around inside of you."
"Wh…" His face paled, and he cursed inwardly, his insides crawling even harder than before. Did…Did she notice how much they'd started moving since she said his name? How the hell had she noticed? That was one of the other reasons why he wore all these layers–so no one could feel the squirming under his skin with all of these layers! "Wh…What??"
She put a finger to her lips and shrugged her shoulders casually. "My leg fell asleep the other day and I suddenly wondered if that was what it must've felt like for you…only all the time. No wonder you're such a stuffy person! It must be so uncomfortable living with those bugs inside of you!"
He narrowed his eyes, the squirming diminishing, his eyebrows furrowing, trying to answer her question as best as he could. He couldn't keep the happiness bubbling up in his chest. She was talking to him again!
"Well…uh…the kikaichuu have been with me since birth…so I don't really know what it's like without them. I usually don't give it much thought. Except when my adrenaline rushes and my heart rate speeds up, and they start to move even quicker, I rarely notice. I've also thought people must feel different than me for having these in me…but I've never given it much thought."
Kiba had asked him the same question before, and he'd given the same answer. By the time he'd explained his reasoning, his teammate had looked as if he were about to nod off to sleep. He looked over, expecting the same thing and getting a pleasant surprise to see that TenTen actually looked interested. He could see her mind working, wrapping around the concept and trying to come up with something to say to make it easier for him to understand.
After much deliberation, she decided to use the "example" approach. "You've had your foot fall asleep before, right?"
"…Yes… My arm if I've been reading in bed too long."
"And, what does it feel like? Like crawling under your skin, right?"
"Well…more intense than that…and a bit more painful in how uncomfortable it is." His eyes widened in realization. "Oh. Then I suppose the sensation of the kikaichuu normally, for you, would feel like that only not as painfully uncomfortable. And yes, all the time. It's probably not as uncomfortable as it would be if you suddenly had them in you, since I'd grown accustomed to it at birth. Aburame babies wind up being louder than most babies because of it. But the intense sensation is usually like that during battle, when they all rush toward my arms for me to wield them easier."
"I see…"
They trailed off into silence, until she looked back again, that wicked smile on her face, like she knew the answer but wanted to tease him again. "You said it feels like that for battle… I'm curious… Does the same apply to sex? 'Cause I've gotta say…" She leaned over, poking him lightly in the chest, and her voice dipped seductively. "…I can definitely feel them crawling under your skin when your body is against mine…"
He went red, a feeling of relief surging through him when he remembered she couldn't see it through his many layers of coats. "Uh…well…my heart rate increases and my adrenaline rushes then, too…so…naturally…uh…y-yes?"
"Neat. How do the kikaichuu work anyway? They sense your reactions to outside stimuli and act accordingly?"
He froze, rolling those words over in his head. Kikaichuu, stimuli. Most people who asked him about it only mentioned the bugs–Kiba often asked how the bugs worked, but he didn't seem to give any indication that he'd given it much thought before. Shikamaru had been the only one who seemed to be genuinely interested and now…now TenTen fell into that category, too.
Someone intelligent enough to keep up with him!
Before he knew it, he'd turned to her–completely excited–so that his entire body faced hers, and he started to speak. Boom, boom, boom. One fact right after the other, in a tirade that would've put Kiba to sleep.
"The second an Aburame child is born, only two kikaichuu are placed in the baby. By the time they reach a week old, there are enough kikaichuu to act as a full defensive shield if the need arises. The number is never set in stone, but there's enough in the baby to make them feel horridly uncomfortable. At that point they cry almost twenty-four seven and have difficulty sleeping. By the time they reach a year old, they grow used to it and become a bit less temperamental. Usually there aren't more than a few thousand in the body at a time, but as soon as adrenaline is secreted into body, the number of them increases tenfold. If needed, hundreds of thousands can be sent out, with plenty enough inside the body to defend the internal organs. They act both as weapons and as shields, you see. When a bone is broken, the kikaichuu will even swarm around the break to set it and protect it and keep it in place, much like how the muscles will inflame…but more helpful. Of course, this is just as much as helpful as it is detrimental. It is the weakness of all those in the Aburame clan. See, what happens is–"
"Wait, wait, wait. Shino."
He stopped, staring at her. "What?"
"…Don't you think it's a little unwise to speak up about your weaknesses…especially if it's a weakness your entire clan shares?"
"Oh. Right…" His cheeks reddened and he mentally kicked himself. The migraine that was starting to form was a sign that the kikaichuu were also less than pleased with his near slip.
Of course…anyone with the comprehension for critical thinking could easily take all of that information and immediately see where the weakness was, how the bugs could be detrimental. He was fairly sure Shikamaru knew his weakness now, after he'd gone and told him the same he'd told TenTen. Like TenTen, the genius had also advised him to shut his mouth before he said something he regretted.
"But, it…it isn't so much a weakness as it is an inconvenience, though…"
The brunette shook her head, determined not to hear one of his clan's secrets. "No. If you insist on telling me, this conversation is over and I'm walking away."
Tension hung in the air as an awkward silence settled between them, until she finally turned and looked at him, curling up and resting her head in her knees, smiling softly. "It's obvious by how you talk about your special clan abilities that you're proud. You love it, don't you? Being a ninja?"
The smile didn't meet her eyes as she turned and looked toward the ground, and Shino snorted.
"If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't have asked my parents to enroll me in the Academy. Of course, I was also obligated as a clan member to join, but I really did enjoy it. And I am proud. Surely you agree with that… Aren't you proud of being a ninja? Don't you enjoy it?"
She looked up at him, her face stiffening. "I…do. Being a ninja has been my dream since I was a little girl. Tsunade-sama has always been my hero. I…I've wanted it for so long."
Shino frowned, noticing the sadness in her eyes. "…You should look happier when you say that, then. If you don't like it, stop taking missions."
Her face fell and she stood, turning to leave. Before he realized what he was doing, he'd grabbed her arm and pulled her down into his lap. He was still covered so they couldn't do a thing, but he managed to look deeply into her eyes, despite the fact that she couldn't do the same for him. Tears welled up in her eyes and she struck him against the head, managing to knock those sunglasses from his face. As he flinched, she jumped up and dashed off.
"What…" Shino rubbed his head, picking up the sunglasses that were now cracked down one of the lenses. He'd have to go get his father to fix them. "What was that for? I only told her the truth…"
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He was still unsure of what to do about this whole situation and their fight, so he did the only thing he could do–
"…Ugh. Dad?"
His father looked up at him from his writing desk in the room by the front door, smiling lightly. "Oh, Shino! Finally speaking to your old man, are you??" He cleared his throat and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, it's nice to see you still care. If it's advice you want, I'm fresh out. Maybe an apology will refill my advice meter."
Shino sighed, rubbing the stubble on the side of his head–it was starting to grow back and he was happy for that. "…Dad…I'm sorry I've been getting angry at you lately. I still am a bit angry at you, and I still think what you're doing is terrible, but…I…I need advice…"
His father gave him a long look, removing those sunglasses from his eyes and leaning toward his son, staring him down hard. After an excruciatingly uncomfortable amount of time in which he couldn't look away or else his father would take the apology as a lie, his father finally nodded his head and looked up at the ceiling.
"…I forgive you, son. I'm still angry at you, too, and I think what you're doing is terrible, but I can give you some advice if you need it so badly. What's it for? A mission?" He wiggled his brows a little, stroking his facial hair. "A…girl?"
Shino groaned, nodding his head pathetically; his father clapped his hands together, turning to face him fully and bob his head up and down in excitement. Shino groaned even further, knowing exactly what this meant. This was the same thing his dad did when he first explained to him about the birds and the bees. Or as they liked to refer to it in the Aburame household–the bugs and the bees.
"See, Shino, when a man loves a woman–"
"…Dad……"
"–there gets to be this thing between them called tension, and when that finally snaps, he's all over her like a fly to week-old, rotting meat. And, yes, the visual is nothing alike, but–"
"Dad."
"–but I assure you, Shino, it might as well be the same thing, because, just like a maggot burrows into week-old, rotting meat, so does the man burrow into a woman's–"
"DAD!"
His father stopped his tirade, stopped his finger digging into his other hand as he spoke, looking over at the younger Aburame quizzically. "Shino, why are you so upset?"
"I've already had this talk with you before, and I hoped I'd have the pleasure of never hearing it from you again. And please…don't continue using hand motions when you explain a visual like that. Why? It makes it ten times worse than it is already. Week-old, rotting meat? That's disgusting."
"Well, I was helping you understa–"
"I got into a fight with TenTen. I need to know how to make things right again."
"Oh…well…every time your mother and I got into a fight, I would take on a really difficult life-or-death mission and she'd snap back to me so quick, she'd be all over me like a fly on–"
"I really don't want that visual again. Although you could possibly be compared to week-old, rotting meat."
His father winced, visibly. "Shino! Way to be harsh!" He sighed, reaching up and patting his son on the shoulder. "But I would say the same thing to you if you got on my nerves. Especially with that shitty hair cut of yours." It was Shino's turn to wince, and after their exchange of cheap shots, all was right in the Aburame household, and his father continued. "Now, why did she get mad at you, Shino? Trouble…in bed?"
His son's cheeks went red, and Shibi mentally congratulated himself on reading his son perfectly. A moment of silence passed, and Shino finally cleared his throat. "Well…I… See, she was saying how she'd always wanted to be a ninja, but she looked really sad when she said it. All I did was suggest that if she wasn't happy with it, she should quit taking missions. That's all I said, and she got upset and turned to leave. I grabbed her and tried to talk about it, but she smacked me against the head and ran off before I knew what hit me."
"Well, obviously you offended her."
"…Is this the advice you're planning on giving me? Because I figured that much out on my own, Dad."
The two men exchanged looks, until finally his father rolled his eyes and chose to be a man and ignore that biting remark. His son had every right to be pissed, but he had no right to talk back to his father. But he'd let that slide for the time being.
"…Give her some time."
"Time? That's what I–" His father gave the young man a strained look, and Shino looked away. "Right. I do have plenty of time, but I just… How would you make things right? If I don't soon, she might–"
"So…you've slept with her, right, Shino?"
"W-Well, yeah, but–"
"So you obviously love her."
"Wh-What? No. I don't lo–"
His father's eyes perked. "A friend with benefits, I see…"
"Well, she's not exactly a friend or any–"
"So you do care about–"
"I don't know if I do or not! It's just sex, damn it!!" He tossed his hands in the air in a very un-Shino-like gesture and whirled around on his heels, stomping into his room almost immediately. His father couldn't even say two more words before he heard his son stomping back out toward the door, preparing to leave.
"Sh-Shino…"
He didn't count on the boy looking at him, but, to his surprise, Shino turned and gave him a weary look. "What is it, Dad? I'm sorry I was snippy, but… Just…what is it?"
"You never fantasize about the same girl twice."
"What? Is that…is that an…order?"
"No. It's a statement. I've heard enough of your midnight sex dreams to know you never fantasize about the same girl twice. Go take a mission or something and mull that over a bit. Then, I'm sure you'll see just how to make things right with TenTen."
The two Aburame exchanged a hard look for a brief moment before Shino hurriedly put his coats on and sunglasses on and exited the house. As the door slammed shut behind him, Shibi turned and looked at the table he was sitting at.
"Goodness, it's just like when your mother and I first started dating, Shino."
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On his way to go try and take on a mission, he was caught off guard by Shikamaru.
"Oy, Shino!"
Shino turned in his trek to see Shikamaru walking over toward him, wearing that same look he got every time he was looking for someone to help him on a mission. Sure, the Nara genius helped out with the Chuunin exams, and he'd even taken up the opportunity to become a teacher–his application hadn't come back yet, according to the genius–, but he still took missions on rare occasions. Shino approached the genius as the genius approached him, and the two met half-way.
"I need you."
Shino took a slight step back, lifting his arm ever so slightly. "Um…ex…cuse me?"
"I received a mission that requires locating a secret hideout for mercenaries in Marsh country, and you're perfect for the job."
"Get Kiba."
"Can't. This is Marsh country, Shino. You know how Kiba's nose acts up in countries like that. Too many smells, and it's too difficult for him to lock onto the scent of a small girl."
"Girl?"
Shikamaru nodded, waving a folder toward him. "I'd tell you more, but I need to know that you'll consider it first. Surely you're tired of walking around the village and trying to hook Beauty and the Beast up?"
Shino considered this before he remembered what his father had said and graciously took the genius up on his offer. "Count me in. Now…why do you need me for this mission?"
"Alright. Meet me by the tree."
"Meet you? Why do you–" But before he could even finish asking, Shikamaru had disappeared. He sighed and started on his trek to the tree. "And that is exactly why you don't leave in the middle of a conversation. Why? Because it is incredibly rude and you'll wind up offending everyone you were talking with."
When he reached the tree, he saw Shikamaru standing against it with his trusty sidekick and…and…
And why the hell was Kiba there?
Kiba waved in time with Akamaru's happy bark and tail wag, and he slapped a spot next to him and Akamaru on the tree. "Hell yeah, Shino! I see he needed your expertise, too!"
Shino exchanged a look with Shikamaru that clearly meant he hadn't needed Kiba's expertise for this mission–it was something else. Probably that weird ability he and Akamaru had…or…something. There was a loud crunch from Chouji and Shikamaru cleared his throat.
Shino took his spot on the tree, and Shikamaru made sure no one was around before he, rather stupidly for his normally intelligent actions, opened the folder wide open.
"Right. In Marsh Country there is family that has increasingly become more wealthy from trading with Swamp Country. Their daughter has unwittingly been targeted by a group of mercenaries hired to kidnap her for ransom. We don't know the details, but there has already been three attempts of kidnapping. Our best ninja have been dispatched before, but now it's become rather bothersome. They want us to lead a group to find where the mercenaries are hiding and wipe them out. After the mercenaries are wiped out, the family can concentrate on finding who hired them and cut them off."
Kiba thrust his fist into the air. "Yeah! My nose is going to–"
"Not work this time."
Kiba turned and stared slack-jawed at the Nara genius, looking utterly offended. "Wh-WHAT!?"
"We're using her as bait. When they've kidnapped her, we'll discover where they're all located."
"So…we can use my nose to follow her to their hideout!"
"Shino's kikaichuu would work much better for this mission. See, we don't want to follow them too closely. With your nose, we'd have to at least stay a certain amount of steps behind them, and even then, her scent would be very faint. Your nose won't work. Assuming the mercenaries are from more obscure beginnings, they'll never suspect a few bugs crawling around on them to be anything more than just that–bugs crawling on them. This is Marsh Country. There are enough bugs in that environment to take down an army. Shino will work best in those conditions."
"So…why am I even here?"
Shikamaru turned to the dog-nin and gave him a wry grin. "Because their daughter is a dog-lover, of course. With your natural doggishness and Akamaru with you, the both of you can calm her down enough to go along with this plan."
"Wh-What!? So we've been reduced to…to…PETS!?"
Shino couldn't keep the smile from his lips. "It would appear so, pupsy-wupsy…"
"GofuckyourselfShino," muttered Kiba in a speed that only Shino and Hinata–and maybe Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Jiraiya–could ever understand after years of listening to his mouth go a mile a minute. Akamaru barked in agreement, in that doggy way that only Shino and Hinata and any member of the Inuzuka clan could understand after years of learning to speak dog.
Chouji turned and gave Shino a strange look, almost unable to believe he'd said something so…so cute. Shino cleared his throat upon realizing Shikamaru was giving him the same look. He muttered a quiet, "It's what I do when he annoys me," before he went slightly red and looked off to the side.
"Riiight. Well. Kiba is going to be our dog-whisperer, Chouji is going to be our back-up, and Shino is going to be our tracker. There we go. Ah! Wait." The genius looked around for a short moment. "Where's Neji?"
Shino paled, and a sound behind the tree ruffled behind them.
"I've been here. You said behind the tree and I didn't feel like moving."
"Oh, right. Well. Get out from behind the tree, Neji."
Neji turned and walked over toward the four–five, sorry Akamaru–and cleared his throat. "This feels strange with Naruto gone." He gave Shino a sour look. "Why did it have to be Shino with us this time around, Nara?"
"…Did I not just explain this?" asked Shikamaru.
"I'm pretty sure you explained it already," answered Chouji thoughtfully.
"Yeah, he already explained it, Neji. Too bad your ears aren't as good as your eyes," chuckled Kiba. Akamaru barked, and Kiba laughed, translating dog for the rest of the guys. "Yeah, that's what you get for staying behind the tree."
"Reliving memories, I assume?" whispered Shino so quietly he hoped no one would hear him.
Neji shot him a glare, having heard it, and proceeded to give each member of the troupe, in turn, the finger. "All of you better die on this mission or I'll have hoped for nothing."
This biting remark was met with, rather than offended looks and a few biting comments in return, laughter on Chouji and Kiba's part. Shikamaru snickered and Shino simply smiled. Akamaru, on the other hand, was howling with the kind of laughter dogs weren't supposed to make because they weren't supposed to understand human speech like nin-dogs could.
Neji went red and crossed his hands over his chest, sticking his nose in the air. "I really mean it now. You guys are a bunch of douche bags." He turned to Shino, not even hiding his dislike for the bug-nin. "Especially you, bugfuck. I'll kick your ass one of these days. You're lucky we're going to be on this mission together and I have to tolerate your shit."
Three and a half men–Akamaru counted as half a person–looked over at the Hyuuga, jaws nearly dropping at his direct hate. Shino just looked at Neji, sighing lightly. "It's pathetic to get so upset over a girl, Neji. For your information, TenTen and I aren't in a relationship."
"What?"
"Why aren't we? Because we've got nothing in common. The only girl I'd willingly put myself into a relationship with would be Hinata, and she's with my other teammate, so that's never going to happen."
Neji stiffened, and Kiba slapped his forehead. "Ahhhh damn, major cockblock, Shino. With Neji in the know, Hinata won't go. That's the same as her father knowing who she's with."
The most miraculous thing happened–
Shino no longer had to worry about Neji kicking his ass, for the Hyuuga had turned his hatred on Kiba.
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They were going to leave in the morning.
Before the sun set, Shino had his things packed and fixed his sunglasses, his name written on paper for his involvement in the mission. Before the sun rose, after a rather vivid fantasy about TenTen–again–, he discovered his father up and cooking what smelled like spoiled milk and charred pork dumplings.
He crept into the kitchen, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and walked toward the table. His father turned to him, smiling widely. "Good luck on your mission, Shino! Your old man is making you the most delicious pre-mission breakfast! I can assure you, it tastes a lot better than it smells, and with this breakfast, you won't even have to eat until dinner!"
Shino sniffed the air, highly doubting that. "…You mean I won't want to eat until dinner, right? I was going to meet up with Chouji for Korean barbeque, actually. His mother always makes him some before a mission, and he invited all of us over. His mother's cooking is able to keep him full longer than anyone else's cooking, apparently…"
"An Akimichi secret recipe, no doubt," his father grumbled. He stopped the food and tossed it into the trash, not even caring about wasting it. "Damn those fatasses and their ability to cook so damn well… That's fine, though. You run along to your mission. And remember, Shino–protect your ribcage as if your heart were totally exposed."
Shino nodded his head tiredly, clearing his throat. "I'll make sure to do that, Dad." He yawned and walked off to go get ready.
By the time he reached the front door, he saw his father sitting in the room across from the writing room–where all of their bugs were kept. Countless of species, all lined up in a row in plastic cases, each taken care of as if they were children. He peeked in as his father was feeding the colony of the grasshoppers they'd both collected over the years.
"…Dad?"
His father turned and looked at him, waving. "Good luck, Shino."
The younger Aburame nodded his head, going in and leaning over toward his dad. A few of the kikaichuu climbed out of a pore and onto his father's shoulder, and he turned around and left. His father let out a sigh and took the kikaichuu into his own body in what could only be described as a rather intimate father-son hug that most of the other clans would deem creepy, but, for the Aburame clan, was commonplace.
It was just one of the many quirks the two shared.
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After a rather appetizing breakfast–that really felt more like dinner–the troupe set out for the gate. The gates opened just as the sun rose, and Kiba, Neji, and Shino all paused for a quick moment. Before they knew it, Hinata was running up to the gate, waving at them.
"K-K-Kiba! Sh-Shino! N-Neji! I…I wanted to…" She took a deep breath and hurried over, giving them all a quick, yet endearing, hug. "I wanted to see you off…" She looked up at her teammates, smiling warmly. "You two take care of each other…"
Kiba gave Shino a look that clearly showed he'd prefer the bug-nin to do what he did best and take care of his own damn self, but nodded his head either way. She reached down and gave a hug to Akamaru, smiling warmly and nuzzling his fur.
"M-Make sure you pass that on to K-K-Kiba-kun…wh-when night falls and he gets cold…"
The dog barked back in response, and Hinata moved toward her cousin, nodding her head in his direction.
"T-Take care of them, Neji…"
Neji gave them both the same look Kiba had given Shino earlier, but he managed to suck it up and nod his head anyway. Before Hinata could turn and leave, Kiba had snatched her by the wrist and pulled her into a quick kiss, causing her to turn bright red.
"I'd rather keep this when night falls and I get cold," he grinned into her hair.
He released her and she nodded her head, leaving promptly to get breakfast started for her family, and Kiba looked over at Shino. "She's a babe, Shino. I can totally see how you'd want her, too. But back off. She's mine."
Neji cleared his throat. "She's still my cousin, and I'm still here." With another patented Hyuuga death glare, Mr. Fate himself turned and followed after Shikamaru and Chouji, both of whom were leaning in close together and speaking about absolutely nothing; Kiba patted Shino on the back, turning to go follow him. Akamaru followed after his partner, making sure to lower his head and push Kiba onto his back as he dashed off.
"Yeehaw!! Let's go, Akamaru! We'll kick all that mercenary ass ourselves! Let's show these chumps how we do things in Kiba-town!"
As Shino stared at the empty streets feeling a strange sort of emptiness, he could still hear Kiba going on like a cowboy behind him. That same voice echoed in his ear bitterly.
"Shino."
He looked down at the ground, muttering a quick curse. He approached the gate, sighing in aggravation. What the hell was this feeling? He couldn't possibly be in love with her. That was just ridiculous. And all it would do would be his downfall. She was just… She was only in it for the foreplay, obviously.
"So the Mohawked ninja is going off on a dangerous mission in Marsh Country? He better take care of himself." There was a laugh as the voice mocked his own strange way of speaking. "Why? Because I still need someone to play with."
Shino paled and looked up the gate. There, walking along the wall, was TenTen holding her arms out for balance, smirking like the smartass that she was. Before he could even say her name, she'd jumped down and grabbed him by the arm, spinning him around in a dizzying circle.
"Better be quicker on your feet than you are now if you want to survive, bug-boy! Wipe the sleep outta your eyes and get your ass in gear!"
Ah. His other weakness… All of those kikaichuu in his head made it much harder for him to maintain equilibrium than most other ninja. Swirling around and getting him all dizzy. What the hell was she doing? Did she even realize she'd just gotten him with one of his own clan weaknesses?
He stumbled out of her grip, nearly tripping over his own feet as he went staggered right into the gate. She laughed, helping him stand. "I suppose there are no ballet dancers in your clan, Shino?" She patted him on the rump teasingly. "But, either way, I expect to see this ass back in Konoha, uncovered and unscathed. Get out there and kick some mercenary ass for me. I expect to hear all about it when you get back."
Before he could get his bearings straight and say something to her, Kiba yelled out behind him. "Shino!? Are you still back at the gate!? We've got no time for dawdling, buddy!! Get your ass in gear!"
He turned to her, stuttering. "Y-Y-You're not angry?"
She laughed, her hand over her mouth. "Of course not! You're going out on a mission! By the time you get back I'll be so pissed you'll taste blood for weeks, but until then you might as well enjoy the distance from me!" She leaned up, yanking his collar down and crashing her lips into his. As she drew back, she nipped his bottom lip and licked the blood off, a laugh building in her throat.
"Good luck, Shino." There was a rather pained laughter in her voice, from what he could hear. "Better come back here in one piece."
His breathing escalated and he lifted his sleeve, releasing a few kikaichuu from his pores. They crawled onto her shoulder, and she smirked at him. "What's the occasion? Today's not my birthday…"
"If they're still alive by the time I get back, I'll give you an even better present."
She snorted, waving at him. "Sure thing. Now get moving, Shino."
He turned and started off after his troupe, and she smirked, staring at the kikaichuu on her shoulder. After a short moment, she looked over toward him dwindling off into the distance and nodded her head.
"Keep an eye on that heart, Shino," she said, biting back the urge to laugh. "I look forward to seeing it in my hands when I get back." One of the kikaichuu gave her a strange look, and she put a finger to her lips. "Shhh. Don't tell him I said that when he comes back."
Another quick look, and she sighed as she turned around and started back to what she'd been doing before she took time out of her busy schedule to go see that bug-bastard off.
"He better come back in one piece or I'm going to kick all of their doughy asses."