Um…I'm still slightly shocked that no one's told me I forgot to change this to mature after a rather raunchy chapter! (And another one!) Do you people really not care if it's Mature or not?? O: I need to be all nice and safe, so I will blanket this fic with a Mature rating from now on. (It's because it's not raunchy ENOUGH. I just KNOW it. Dx)
Alrighty. I struggled with what to call this one. I originally planned on it being in chapter four, but for whatever reason, I decided it needed to be in its own stand-alone chapter.
Which screwed me over. Usually I decided which song I'd use before writing it, that way I could get a clear mood in my head and stuff. But no. I started writing these past few chapters before picking a title, so it was a struggle to find one that fit even remotely. And they all have to be Tea Party songs, because I decided on it in chapter one and I'm too anal to change my mind.
So…I'm thinking Gyroscope. I feel it fits the mood quite well, and the lyrics are vague enough…
One Step Closer Away
Part Five–Gyroscope
"Come on, Shino!" shouted Kiba, leaning backwards far enough so he could look at the man behind him while grinning madly like some weird contortionist at the circus. "There's room for two, if you waaaant!" he sang, practically begging someone to ride Akamaru with him.
Shino looked up at the dog-nin, sweat dripping down his cheek reflexively. "Uh…" He held back a cringe. "I think I'll pass, Kiba."
From the front of the group, they heard a certain lazy shadow-nin speak up eagerly. "If Shino won't, I will." Akamaru let out a bark, shaking his head. Kiba just laughed and patted the dog's head, giving him a firm scratch between his ears.
"Sorry, Shikamaru. Akamaru only lets me, Hinata, or Shino ride him." He leaned down, whispering something into the dog's ear. Akamaru immediately gave a chipper bark, dashing ahead. As he did, Kiba shifted down his back, making room for the newcomer.
The dog slipped his head down, easing between Shikamaru's legs as the shadow-nin balked, spreading his legs wide at the intrusive hound. "WH-Wh– Woah! Kiba, get your crazy dog out of my personal–" The dog lifted him up, sliding him down over his front leg muscles. The muscles shifted as it walked, and Shikamaru turned to look back at Kiba, having to adjust to the movement. It wasn't so bad after he got used to it. It was just a matter of when he'd get used to it…
"Wh-What the–"
Kiba grabbed Shikamaru's shoulder playfully, shoving himself up close to the genius. He was now having the time of his life.
"What's the matter, Chief?? That lazy streak of yours suddenly take a backseat to your pride??" He laughed heartily. "I forgot to mention there's a spot reserved for the captain of any expedition on Akamaru's back!"
Shikamaru turned forward, letting a grin play on his face, cheeks tingeing pink slightly. "Alright, but you better not be a backseat driver, Kiba," he said, his eyes shifting back to the map in his hands. Before Kiba could even question what a backseat driver was, he cleared his throat. "It's a two day trek." He jabbed the map, marking their position with a shadow-forming crease in the paper. "When the sun begins to set, we'll set up camp."
The words were fairly obvious to all of them–after all, that was the only logical time to set up camp unless someone became seriously injured earlier on in the day and they had to break sooner. Neji grunted a little, and Chouji looked up at the man sitting up on the dog, nodding his head. Shino…
Shino just accepted it and kept quiet. He had more important things on his mind–what he was actually going to give TenTen as a present when he got back the least of his worries.
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The sun was beginning to set when they stopped to set up camp. Much to the shadow-nin's chagrin, everyone crowded around the map the second Kiba let out a gasp. The dog-nin noticed the map and shouted, "Wow!!" Chouji turned and looked at the map, used to the sight, but Shino and Neji hadn't ever seen it before and they both let out snorts through their noses and nodded their heads, clearly impressed.
"Neat," Neji said. "The shadow tracked our movement on the map. That's a cool trick, Shikamaru."
"I can't rely on instinct and smell like Kiba. This is just a trick my dad taught me," the genius replied, making a crease for their campsite. The shadow retracted to the recesses of the previous crease, and Shikamaru shrugged. "The only hassle is that it takes a lot of concentration to keep accurate."
"How accurate do you think it is?" asked Neji.
Chouji answered the question for his best friend, knowing his friend hated being the center of attention when it came to his abilities. "He's been using it ever since…er…Asuma's death was avenged…so he's pretty much perfected it. If he'd been walking the whole time, it probably wouldn't have been as accurate as it is now."
Shikamaru gave Kiba a pat on the back as thanks for letting him take the saddle for a while, and turned to the troops. "Right. Let's get onto the business of setting up camp." It was very obvious he preferred not to talk about himself too much. "Chouji, you're on food duty. Neji and Shino, you're on shelter. Kiba, firewood. Though, I need your help to find the nearest stream for some fresh water."
The young men all set out to do their jobs, and, with Chouji acting as mediator between Shino and Neji's death glares and mini-skirmishes, they soon had a campsite up and running, all gathering around a pit fire, cooking rabbit, as the moon was just starting to rise in the night sky.
Chouji, cooking a cut of rabbit meat over the fire, looked over at Shikamaru and smiled softly. "So, who's got first watch?"
As if on cue, all eyes turned to Shikamaru, and the leader cleared his throat, uncomfortable again. "Well, how do we all want the tents arranged? There's only three, after all."
"I'll get a tent with you, Shikamaru," said Chouji a little too quickly.
"Well, I don't mind who I sleep next to," said Kiba. "Except, um…" He glanced over at Neji warily, slightly uncomfortable toward the idea of being anywhere near him while asleep. Shino had told him about his sleep-talking, and the last thing he wanted was to mention Hinata in his sleep and have her cousin assume something dirty.
Neji glared. "I don't mind sharing with any of you either, even if I have to share my tent with the dog."
Man and man's best friend shot the Hyuuga a dirty look, and Shikamaru cleared his throat again to keep things civil. "How about we have Neji with Shino? Kiba can sleep with Akamaru, and I'll sleep…next to Chouji." Neji gave the shadow-nin a strange look, but Shikamaru recovered quickly and looked over at Shino. "You mentioned nothing went on between you and TenTen. There shouldn't be anything wrong with that arrangement, right?"
Shino shook his head, secretly wishing he could've convinced Akamaru to sleep outside while he slept with Kiba. He wasn't completely sure he wouldn't have a dream about TenTen…
With that set, Kiba lifted his hand, always eager to be first. "Me and Akamaru call first watch!!"
Shino gave a soft sigh of relief–maybe he could steal Kiba's tent and force a change in sleeping arrangements. As much as he thought it'd be best if Kiba was nowhere near Neji when he spoke in his sleep–and often about Hinata–, he was feeling just slightly selfish. He raised his hand. "If none of you mind, I can take last watch."
Chouji and Shikamaru nodded their heads, but Kiba blinked, ruining his plans. "But you're an insomniac, Shino! You're always awake with me when I do first watch! Why don't you just take the one after mine and make the best of it?" He ripped at the strip of rabbit meat he'd roasted to the point of dried jerky, and Shikamaru nodded in agreement.
"That sounds good. After Shino will be Neji; after Neji, Chouji; and then I can take last watch. The cycle will go in a period of hours, starting after dinner. Kiba, Shino, both of you will get a second watch, so– Wait, I shouldn't have to relay this to you. Both of you have been on missions before."
Kiba laughed. "Shino's been avoiding missions, so he might be a little rusty." He looked over at Shino, laughter bubbling up even harder. "The last mission was a complete failure! I've never seen Shino perform so terribly! It wasn't even a big deal, either! It was a simple delivery mission and he still managed to screw it up! Me and Hinata had so much trouble trying to get his lazy ass up! He wound up sleeping until noon and the package was delivered a day late!"
Shino cursed inwardly, completely ignoring how much the others were starting to laugh as Kiba relayed the entire story of his most recent failure. It was after midnight that his dreams really heated up. Tonight was going to be a long, long night.
–––––––––––––––––
The young men all retreated to their tents, leaving Kiba, Akamaru and Shino huddled by the fire that was starting to die down. Crickets chirped in the background, and the moon shone through the trees. Kiba took another bite of the jerky he'd been saving for an after-dinner snack, and handed a strip off to the dog resting up against his thigh.
He turned to Shino. "So…what? Can you not just fall asleep before ten or something?"
"Yeah, I can't sleep until ten. I'm just not sleepy. Even though the sun sets at least three hours before… My Dad says it's not too big of a problem. It seems to run in the family–he can't sleep until at least one in the morning on missions." He paused, groaning inwardly for instinctively responding to curiosity. "…Haven't I already explained this to you? I hate repeating myself."
Kiba nodded passively, and it was then that Shino noticed he was obsessively patting the spot Hinata had nuzzled against Akamaru just that morning. "I just wanted to make conversation," he admitted. He bent down and nuzzled the spot, inhaling lightly and, so he hoped, subtly.
Shino smiled easily, knowing just how thoughtful Hinata was–a lot like Kiba at his best moments, actually. "Hinata made sure to leave a little bit of her scent behind on Akamaru, didn't she?"
Kiba jolted away from the dog, cheeks flushing red. "S…" He looked down, chuckling. "I can't hide anything from you, can I? Y…Yeah…" He nodded, that smile on his face growing. "…She's so great… I can't tell ya how badly I wanted to rub it in Naruto's face when she finally admitted she liked me last month…" He gave a soft laugh, actually finding a quiet tone and keeping it quiet. He rubbed his hands against each other, leaning toward the fire. "I have to admit, Shino… I…always worried she'd turned to you if she ever stopped liking Naruto… Around you…she always had this weird smell to her. It was completely different than anything I'd ever smelled before…and I thought she liked you for the longest time. Making myself more like Naruto I could do…but…if it was you she wound up falling for, I had absolutely no chance…" He scratched one of the triangles disappearing into the red, red blush on his cheeks.
"I had actually given up hope by the time Hinata told me. I was just fighting to act like I always had around her, trying to lie to myself and tell myself she was only a friend. So…" He chuckled. "…when she suddenly got so forward and asked if I liked her, I forgot to breathe and I passed out… I was just so dizzy with happiness. I almost told her no so I'd protect my heart from what I worried would be rejection, but…" He was practically beaming when he looked over at his friend. "…But when I saw the look in her eyes and smelled the adoration on her, I got so happy I couldn't even say it. And then I fainted on the spot, just like she always used to do!" He rubbed his cheeks as they darkened further. "Man, that was so embarrassing!"
Shino snorted and Kiba looked at him eagerly. "I know! It's hilarious when I look back on it now… She's the only girl who could ever make me weak in the knees, Shino! She might not be a skinny blonde like Ino or an athletic bombshell like Sakura or TenTen…but she's perfect the way she is. I don't know how she can doubt herself when she's so cute and determined and caring!"
His smile practically blinded the bug-nin, now, despite the fact that he was wearing sunglasses. "I want to be the one who shows her just how wonderful she really is."
Shino's interest piqued and he couldn't help but wonder if Kiba ever felt as conflicted as him. Kiba had it easy–his instincts and undying loyalty must've made it so easy to know exactly how he felt. Kiba was probably one of those types that knew exactly what he was feeling at all hours of the day–anger, jealousy, love, possessiveness, sadness.
"Kiba…did you…always know you loved Hinata?"
The answer he got in return caught him by surprise.
"Oh hell no! Does anybody know, without a doubt, at twelve, that a girl who's infatuated with someone else is the one he wants? That she's the one he loves? Let me tell you, Shino, Naruto's the only punk lucky enough for that. For a time, Hinata was just the cute teammate on my team I wanted to protect. I felt a little more protective of her than I did you, and that was it. I figured the feeling was special, but only as something like I would feel for Hana. It wasn't until that mission to rescue Sasuke that I realized I cared more about her than anyone else. In my last moments of consciousness after Kankurou went and saved me, when I realized I could have died and was in deep shit, before my mom, my sister, or you, or Akamaru, or even the whole reason for that mission, Sasuke, she was the one I thought about. When I woke up in the hospital, she was the first person I wanted to see. I wondered if she'd see Naruto before me, and I got so angry when I realized that I was probably right. And…well…that's…that's when I realized I loved her a lot more than I thought I did…"
The dog-nin leaned toward his friend, smirking. "Don't think I didn't smell TenTen on you when you caught up with us this morning…and about a month ago I caught you two behind the tree… Your clothes smelled like her and everything. Does she just like putting her hands all over you, or is there really something going on between you two? You can tell me, buddy. Neji doesn't have to know a thing!"
"I…don't really know if there is," Shino admitted. "Why? I just…can't explain it… That word has been invading my thoughts for the past month… We…well…we've already slept together…"
"I knew it! You're not the prude I thought you were! You're a playa, Shino!"
Shino groaned audibly. "…Please don't ever use that word again, Kiba… It's just…sex is a battle with her. It's almost like I'm fighting when I sleep with her. So I don't…know…how I feel about it…or her, for that matter…"
"But you hope there's more to it than sex, right? You were really depressed after Hinata said good-bye to me, but when you finally caught up to us with TenTen's scent all over you, you were really, really happy."
"…Was I?" He rubbed his hand over his knee roughly, staring at the dying flame. "…I…gave her some of my kikaichuu. That's probably why I seemed happy…or something…"
Kiba smirked. "Like that weird ritual you have with your Dad?"
"N-No…" His cheeks darkened, though Kiba couldn't see it.
"That weird bug-hug you tried explaining to me? Hell, Shino, I can smell the attraction on you. You really like her, even if you don't realize it."
Shino paused, clenching his hands together, remembering what his father had told him earlier the other day. It was as if his Dad knew more about him than even he did. Than he realized. It was just like Kiba said. He twisted the words around in his head awkwardly, fighting mentally on whether or not it would be wise to tell Kiba something slightly embarrassing…
"…My dad…told me something before I ran into Shikamaru and agreed to go on this mission… He said that…" He sucked in an inaudible breath he couldn't keep Kiba from hearing, and the words came bumbling out of his mouth. "…I've never fantasized about the same girl twice…"
Kiba multiplied two by ten and got twenty. "…That's why you don't want to tent with Neji. You still fantasize about her, don't you??"
"…I do…" He muttered quietly, and Kiba patted the Hinata spot on Akamaru affectionately, knowingly.
The dog-nin cleared his throat and tried to hide the eagerness from his voice. He shook his head, puffing out his chest a little, ready to school Shino for once. "Shino, you are not alone in that. I have fantasized about girls, too. I'll even admit I slept with a few I fantasized about–no one you know, mind you–, but all the same, I slept with them. I didn't give a shit about any of them, and I never fantasized about them after sleeping with them. There's an unspoken guy rule, Shino–if you fantasize about a girl after you sleep with them, there's something special about her that holds your interest. Whether the sex is more satisfying with her than previous flings or she's got a smokin' hot bod or a brain that could put Shikamaru's to shame or the most adorable sex laugh in the world, there is something about her that keeps you drawn to her, like a moth to a flame." He looked at Shino, hoping the bug-nin would understand that imagery. "A moth to a flame."
Shino looked up, staring at the stars peeking through the trees and the quarter moon hanging low in the sky, nearly impossible to see through the treetops. That was the problem–moths died when lured to a flame. It messed with their bitty bug minds, making them think it was the guiding moon they relied on for direction. When they finally discovered it was a fake, it was too late and they got burned.
So what was TenTen? The moon…or a flame?
They were silent for the rest of their watch, and when Neji finally climbed out of his tent and didn't even look the slightest bit tired, they both felt something creep up their spines–akin to the feeling they got before a fight was about to break out. The Hyuuga crawled toward the fire shamelessly, refusing to look at them, and both were surprised by the first words out of his mouth–
"I'm not pleased with you being the one my cousin cares so much about…but I suppose she could do a lot worse."
Before the two could even ask, Neji cleared his throat and leaned closer to the dying flame. "I suppose…if you've loved her as long as you say you have…I can overlook the fact that you've slept with other girls…" He finally gave Kiba a simpering look. "I won't speak a word of it to her, Inuzu–eh, Kiba."
Kiba gave him a wide smile, patting the Hinata spot again before man and man's best friend practically leapt into their tent, giddy with the news. Shino, on the other hand, cursed mentally, feeling horridly uncomfortable and not even sleepy. A shadow played on Neji's face, flickering back and forth across his cheeks, and the Hyuuga's white and–as his father often said–lifeless-looking eyes looked even creepier than they normally did. It was all Shino could to do stifle the shudder threatening to rock him to the core.
The Hyuuga's voice was low, bitter. It didn't hold the same anger one would hold if said as a threat, in bad blood. No, it almost seemed like a warning, almost desperate.
"Watch out, Shino. Do you want to know why you're so attracted to her? It's because she's a praying mantis in female form." He looked over at the other young man, eyes looking beyond the sunglasses, as if looking into his very soul. He shook his head, looking away. "No…that's not the right comparison…"
For a split second, Shino thought Neji would leave it at that, but that was not the case. Those eyes turned back to him, locking with his and holding him petrified to his spot on the rock he'd decided to use as a make-shift chair. He couldn't even bring himself to breathe under that intense gaze.
"She will be your ruin, Shino, just as she's been the ruin to any clan member she's set her sights on. You are not a moth, and she is not a flame. If you want a more accurate comparison…
"You are a fly, and she is a Venus Fly Trap."
When Shino finally managed to slow his mind down to a halt and let sleep take him four hours before sunrise, his sleep was fitful and plagued with dreams.
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He could feel it. He was sure it was driving Kiba crazy, since even he could hear the increase in insect life the farther into Marsh Country they traveled. The kikaichuu in him were going absolutely crazy, and he was having a hard time concentrating on just walking. So many bugs; he wanted to collect them so badly… It seemed that, with every step, insects would fly into his face–everyone was having that problem. Neji was having the worst luck of them all, slapping at his arms almost constantly at the amount of mosquitoes biting into him. He was alike a PMSing girl traveling through a swamp–they were attracted to him like his blood was pure sugar. He'd always thought fondly of mosquitoes being the only openly-lesbian insects, but it seemed Neji was proving his joke-theory wrong.
"You can do something about this, can't you?" The Hyuuga finally managed to grit through clenched teeth, voicing the same question on everyone's mind. "The second we get to that merchant's place, I'm bathing in so much milk!!"
Shino rolled his eyes. "Bathing in milk will only make the other insects like you more, Neji. You should invest in ointment your next trip out here." Neji gave him a look that clearly shouted he was never coming back here even if he were driven out of Konoha and every other country in the world, but Shino ignored the look and continued with a sigh. "But yes, I can do something about all of the bug life. Just a moment."
The young men all stopped and crowded around the bug-nin as he cleared his throat, hands out, palms facing toward the ground. He murmured under his breath and two swarms of kikaichuu left his hands, dispersing and flying out into the forest.
"There," he finally said. "There shouldn't be any insects bothering us anymore."
They trekked onward, each pleasantly surprised by the severe decrease in number of bugs crossing their paths. Shino glared, but continued without another comment.
They all could've rolled in Kiba's piss and gotten the same effect. Actually, the mosquitoes were still biting, just a bit less. If Neji had rolled around in Akamaru's piss, they would've left him alone entirely. Maybe he should've told them all that… It'd be quite humorous if they actually decided to try it…
Why was he so pissy? He actually liked stumbling across new species of insects, damn it. …That probably wasn't the only reason, but he refused to think about her.
–––––––––––––––––
They finally arrived to their destination, and the guards at the gate were more numerous than the number at the daimyou's fortress. The young men all exchanged looks, all sharing the same thought–
Whoever this girl was, she was spoiled.
The two guards at the gate eyed Akamaru warily, and one of the guards shoved Shikamaru back a few steps when he approached.
"State your business," he said, clearly cautious. He eyed them all suspiciously, and the young men all exchanged wary looks again. Usually when they were called out to places like this, in situations like this, they were welcomed with eager arms. Why were they being suspected of anything?
Shikamaru frowned, trying not to show any doubt in his mind, trying to look the man in the eye–if he got it wrong, they'd assume he was lying. "We are ninja from Konoha. We're here on orders from the head of the family, in regards to his daughter…"
Both guards exchanged looks for a change, and one of the men pointed to the headbands they were all wearing. "True enough. Konoha headbands."
Both guards stepped away from the gate, bowing their heads. A guide grabbed Shikamaru as they walked in, ready to lead them to the main building, where the head of the house was located.
The compound was big and would put the Hyuuga compound to shame. Neji was staring at the place, secretly plotting to try moving here. He'd be treated like a king, he would. They reached the main building, and something snapped in the dog-nin. He grabbed Shino's sleeves, eyes widening.
"I can smell an Inuzuka here."
Shino rolled his eyes. "You have been smelling pretty rank lately, Kiba. Are you sure you aren't smelling yourself?"
"No," he hissed desperately. "You know I'm used to my own smell. This one is definitely older than me. I can't put my finger on it. Why would an Inuzuka be all the way out here? This has missing-nin written all over it, Shino."
Shikamaru looked back at them, pausing for a brief moment and going immediately toward Kiba. He'd heard, and he was on a need-to-know basis. "Kiba, are you absolutely sure about this? Your nose is going to be a bit muted because this entire region has smells that are abnormally strong…"
Kiba was slightly offended at being under-estimated, and wound up growling the words out. "I'm absolutely sure of this. Everything else is a big blur to me, but that much I know. There is an Inuzuka here and it's not me, and it's not just something I'm smelling on Akamaru, damn it."
"Where?"
"Throughout these halls. Everywhere! It's strongest down that hallway," he exclaimed, pointing to a hallway toward their right. Shikamaru looked down it, vaguely making out the shape of a girl around their age, but he shook his head.
"We'll have to investigate later, Kiba. We need to get going." He looked toward Shino, nodding his head in his direction. "Shino, come on." As he passed the other two members stopped before them, he told them to get their asses moving as well. Their guide was waiting at the end of the hall, something in his eyes clearly stating that they'd have to do some investigating to get some answers. Whoever was the head of the house would not be cooperative with them.
The thought sent their nerves on edge, and they all briefly wondered if they were even safe here.
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The head of the house was old and warty, and it was difficult to comprehend that he was the father of the girl they'd be using as bait in their attempt to find the mercenaries' hide-out. As they all approached and went to their knees, bowing their heads to the floor, the man coughed lightly.
"Ah, so you are the Konoha ninja the Hokage sent me… Well, you've had some slight briefing over your mission here, but allow me to fill you in to the details. The reason why we have changed strategies is that her father has been severely injured. I am her grandfather, and have been put in charge while my son is resting. She is roughly your age, and you'll have to forgive her if she seems unwilling to do anything. She has…been spoiled due to the money my son had grown into with his extensive trading…"
The young men all groaned audibly, not wanting to deal with some spoiled bitch who would most likely treat them like common filth. He was far more willing to disclose information than they thought previously, so at least they had some help there.
"I'm sure the guards gave you a rough time at the gate. You'll have to forgive them. One of the mercenaries had a dog with them, and now they've become a little less trusting of the animals."
Kiba squeezed his knees, feeling something like dread and victory all at once. One of the Inuzuka clan was there, and it seemed like when all of this was over, they will have gotten rid of yet another missing-nin from Konoha. He was just upset over what that would mean–killing the dog-nin meant the nin-dog would have to be killed, too, killing someone from his own clan. Even if the bastard was a missing-nin, it was slightly upsetting to know another clan-member had fallen–evil or not.
"Of course, we still don't know who is trying to kidnap my daughter, and we'll be hoping to get rid of the mercenaries to move on to finding out just who is behind the kidnapping." The old man finally turned to Shikamaru. "You will be staying in our guest rooms, along with your teammates. If you need any help with anything, feel free to ask me. You'll have to forgive the staff here: they've all become quite irritable after my granddaughter started expecting too much from them…"
They were all silent for a moment, and Shikamaru finally said the words they'd been hoping to save for last. As he spoke, he couldn't keep the twitch out of his eye and the shudder down his spine.
"If you don't mind me asking, sir, we would like to…meet your granddaughter…"
They expected her to be sort of like Ino and just as bad when the head of the house sent for her, but they never expected her to look like Ino and be a thousand times worse. Her long gown trailed behind her, and Kiba immediately stiffened as she walked angrily past to the front. She stomped her foot on the ground and glared at all of them. Her hair was long and blonde and far more well-kept than Ino's. Shikamaru and Chouji stiffened immediately, knowing they'd be haunted still.
"I told you, old man, I don't need protection! Sensei's been teaching me enough combat to protect myself, alright!?" She sized them up, her eyes lingering on Kiba and Akamaru longer than she would have liked. "…Konoha nin again… They're all useless, old man. They failed us the last two times, so why send for more!?" She barely had time to complain about the sorry state they looked before Kiba shot to his feet.
"Listen, girly, we're here to kill all of the mercenaries hired to kidnap you, not protect a spoiled little bitch like you! God damn it, and you're wanted for ransom!? Who the fuck could stand being around you longer than–"
"How dare you talk to me like that, you dog!!"
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?"
Shino immediately stood, grabbing both Kiba and Akamaru. The other men soon joined in as she burst out laughing, and Kiba growled back at them. "Let me at her! I'm going to kill her! I'm seriously going to kill her!!! You all can't deny you want to do it, too!! I say we just skip the mercenaries and go straight to the damn problem!!! She has Inuzuka all over her!!"
The entire room went silent, and she pursed her lips together, looking at him condescendingly. "Inuzuka? What on earth are you talking about?"
He struggled free and pointed, holding firm. Akamaru's hair bristled and the nin-dog immediately started to growl. Kiba glared daggers at her, sniffing the air again. "You heard me. There's an Inuzuka with the mercenaries, and you reek of Inuzuka! I'll bet you're the one behind this! You're probably wanting more money so you can run off with some boyfriend or something equally bitchy!! You're the problem!!"
She looked horribly offended, and she walked over, slapping him across the face. "Don't you dare speak to me like that, you commoner!"
Kiba grabbed her wrist, twisting it around her back before his teammates could stop him.
"And don't you dare speak to me like you're a fucking princess, you spoiled little bitch."
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Shikamaru fell back onto his futon, staring up at the ceiling in slight aggravation. That did not go well at all. The guards all leapt to help her, and in the end they wound up tackling Kiba to the ground. The only upside about the situation was the fact that the head of the house didn't take as kindly to her attitude as her father did, and he quickly remedied the situation and put both squabblers in their places. Chouji stepped into the room and sat down beside him, munching on chips thoughtfully. Shikamaru groaned.
"This is horrendous. She's not going to like the idea of Shino's bugs all over her…and with Kiba arguing with her, our trump card has become useless."
"…Yes, but it's not a complete loss. You'd considered not even taking Kiba on this mission, but now that you have, his nose has come in handy. He even smells an Inuzuka here and that the smell is all over the daughter, too. This is more help than anything. So what if we can't get Kiba convince her to go along with it? At least we now know–"
"Do you see the severity of what Kiba told us, Chouji? It doesn't matter if we get someone else to convince her. If she really is in league with the mercenaries, she won't agree to our plan even if we got someone to sleep with her for it."
Chouji frowned, dread settling in the pit of his stomach. This had failed mission written all over it. He hated failed missions–someone always died or came insanely close to it on them, at least in the ones he'd ever been a part of. He sighed, scratching at his face and reaching into his bag, grabbing a handful of chips to munch on.
"…But," he said between bites, "there's one thing I don't get…"
Shikamaru looked up at Chouji, staring at him, voicing a sound that resembled a question. "Mnh?" What came out of Chouji's mouth next caused the shadow-nin to sit up straight.
"She said…she was learning combat."
The genius's breathing hitched, and he couldn't believe he hadn't caught that as strange earlier. Chouji continued to speak everything that came to mind and rubbed his hands together.
"I know I'm not that bright when it comes to other places…but Marsh Country doesn't have any shinobi villages, right? I mean…that's why we come down here so often on missions… Since that's the case…who is teaching her combat?"
It wasn't a sound theory–after all, people moved around to different countries all the time–, but with Kiba's nose pointing toward an Inuzuka missing-nin and her having that suspicious scent all over her, it was definitely something looking into. Shikamaru seized Chouji and gave him a big kiss on the cheek, shooting upward and flying from the room.
"You're a genius, Chouji!!"
As the shadow-nin darted out of the room, Chouji grumbled, shoving his hand into his bag and finding nothing but crumbs at the bottom. His cheeks went slightly pink and he shuddered. He frowned, lifting the bag up and pouring the crumbs into his mouth. He looked back up at the door and swallowed, finally speaking.
"Sometimes I wonder who it is you really like, Shikamaru," he said to no one in particular. "Sheesh. You better have been telling the truth when you said you weren't attracted to me, damn it."
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In the dense underbrush of the forest surrounding the massive compound, nestled into the foliage and staying patiently, there sat a jet black dog with greying fur, looking somewhat blue with the blend of contrasting shades. A scar ran in line with its side, as if someone had tried to cut it open at one point during a battle.
A young man walked into the gardens closest to the walls surrounding the compound, looking up at the sky and the birds flying overhead. He let the breeze blow through his long hair and gave a rather bitter sigh. "I wonder how TenTen is doing," the young man said with concern. "She's been acting so terrible the last few weeks, more vulnerable than I've ever seen her…"
After a brief moment, he turned his eyes to the forest for a brief moment, watching a bird land at the tip of a tree. Almost immediately afterward, he turned around and began walking away from the wall, back toward the koi pond lined with rocks–but not before the man in the tree caught a flash of white, blind-looking, all-seeing eyes.
His lips curled into a toothy smirk, his voice low and rippling with satisfaction.
"A Hyuuga, is it? I'll have to be sure to keep him from seeing me before I take them out."
He leapt down out of the trees and let out a cry that mimicked a hawk's screech. The dog did as it was told and jumped to its feet, dashing deeper into the forest. As the man made his way back toward the compound, he counted them down on his fingers, mentally taking them out in his head.
"The Inuzuka will be easy and that dog of his even more so, but I'm surprised they sent someone like him on a mission like this. He seems good with that nose of his… If I'd known they'd send an Inuzuka, I would've kept my hands to myself…"
He cracked his knuckles, grinning ear-to-ear. "An Akimichi and a Nara. Those should be a bit easier to fool for the time being. They both don't seem very bright…but damn. That other one must be an Aburame. He looks so much like Shibi-san only all covered up. It's been a while since I went with that lucky bastard on a mission. Luckily he let me take a gander at those secret little weaknesses of his during the fight we got into. I can easily take this punk out of the picture before dealing with the ones less vulnerable. I wonder how I'll keep myself hidden around him in the mean-time…"
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Shikamaru stormed into the room across the hall, where Akamaru would be rooming with Kiba and Shino, only to find the very same shinobi sitting on the floor, playing what appeared to be a game of slaps. Shino was losing, horribly, judging by how red his hands were and how unscathed Kiba's were. Kiba snickered.
"Shino, why do you insist on playing this? Just give up. Some things you just can't win!"
Shino flipped his hands around, and Kiba swept them out almost an entire second before it happened, as if he knew ahead of time. It was the kikaichuu inside, swarming faster with the rush of adrenaline, of the young man's hands that made it so easy to tell when he was about to make his move, Shikamaru figured. Kiba lowered his hands and Shino grumbled, trying for another round.
"Who is training Suzume-san?"
The young men both turned to stare at Shikamaru, puzzled expressions on their faces. The genius's jaw was clenched, face near-white, eyes alarmingly awake for his normal lack-lackluster demeanor. Kiba actually looked as if the genius had just struck him hard in the jaw, and he stiffened.
"What did you say, Chief?"
Shikamaru bent over, hands going to his knees, before sliding down next to them, leaning toward Shino. "Suzume-san, the girl we're here for. This isn't a shinobi village and the nearest is days away. She said she was learning combat from someone. That only leaves us to figure out whom."
Kiba swore, jumping to conclusions yet again. "She's in league with them! I'll bet it's the Inuzuka I keep smelling around here! She's the one that hired the mercenaries to–"
"Kiba, we have no proof of that," Kiba stated. "What if her father hired a ninja who knew hand-to-hand combat to help her out? That certainly seems like the case with her. After all, she brought it up around her grandfather, so it's certainly not something happening in secret. What would a missing-nin have to gain by putting themselves out in the open like this in a village Konoha-nin go to for missions often?"
"Yes, but–"
"Shino's right, Kiba. That's why he's going to investigate her teacher, and you're going to investigate the hallway you smelled your clansman in the strongest, alright? You can check it out with Neji."
"Why do I have to investigate with Neji?"
"Because both of your senses are so acute. I know you two don't get along, but really try. Make sure you don't rely too much on your nose when you investigate that hallway, though. Let Neji give the hallway as many once-overs he needs, got it? Also, it's because we promised to make sure Neji sealed your chakra any time you came across Suzume-san."
"That's what you get for lashing out at her," Kiba smirked. "You get placed on a leash."
"GofuckyourselfShino."
Shikamaru sighed, watching them, going by how he felt at the moment. He was already drained, and all because Suzume was even worse than Ino and Temari combined–all spoiled and demanding and stuck-up and frightening at once. He rubbed the back of his head, bobbing up and down in his squat a little. "It's been a long day, so we can start our investigation in the morning if you'd prefer…"
Kiba stared at the leader of their group before looking back to his and Kiba's hands, still engaged in a battle of slaps–Kiba only ever brought up that infernal game unless he had so much on his mind he thought he'd explode and he only ever agreed to it when he was tired and bored. And so, the dog-nin sighed, smiling sheepishly. "Yeah…we kind of would like to relax first…"
"Alright. I'll leave you both to your game, then. I'm off to find a shogi-player around here." Shikamaru nodded, glancing at Kiba out of the corner of his eye and giving Kiba a hearty pat on the back. That cue did not go unnoticed, and while Kiba was distracted by the pat, Kiba flipped his hands over, smacking his palms into the backs of Kiba's hands. Kiba yelped as Shikamaru walked off with a grin on his face and shot up.
"Hey! That's playing dirty!"
"One must be prepared with an ace in the hole no matter what the situation, pupsy-wupsy," Kiba said with a smirk.
"You and your stupid…stupid aces and…and…and your holes!! GofuckyourselfShino!!!" And then, as an afterthought, he added, "And stop calling me pupsy-wupsy! That's a total breach of your character, you freak!!"
With that the dog-nin stormed out of the room, finding Chouji in the kitchen. The bigger ninja was chatting with the servants as they prepared the meal for dinner that day, and when Kiba arrived, the two decided to do some…investigating…of the fridge.
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Morning came quicker than any of them thought possible. Shino woke up and rubbed the hood covering his head. A quick glance around the room told him everyone else had woken up a bit earlier, and it seemed as if Kiba had already gone on his mission of investigating the hallway with Neji.
He sighed, putting his hands over his face, rubbing the layers of cloth into his face. His dreams had been plagued by nightmares again, nightmares of a different nature. He was bleeding all over the ground, panting for breath in a forest somewhere. The others were looking for him and a man stood over him, his facial features eluding him now that he'd woken, and laughed to himself. His blood covered the man's hands, and he couldn't shake the feeling that the man was familiar.
"Shino, you're awake, pal!"
His eyes turned to see Kiba sliding the door open, a few fish rolls in his hands. "I brought you breakfast. No way I'd eat this nasty crap," the dog-nin chuckles as he deposited the fish into Shino's lap. Shino took the food and ate it eagerly, and Kiba took his spot next to him.
"Listen, Shino."
"Mhn?"
"…About that dream…"
"Wha–" His face paled and he realized he'd probably been talking in his sleep again. He bowed his head, rubbing the cloth covering his hair. "Yes…the dream… I'm…I'm sorry if I worried you. It's really nothing."
"…Oh…y-yeah…" Kiba looked away quickly, his face flushing bright red. "Th-That dream… D-D-Don't worry, pal. It didn't sound so terrible, so I'm not worried."
Shino groaned. "We're on two different pages, Kiba. Let's not even bring up what we really mean, since it's obvious neither of us is bothered by any dreams we had last night."
"No, it is important, Shino." He gave Shino a stern look, his lips going into a tight line. "Hinata is your teammate and all, and I don't want you to feel left out now that we've got this relationship going. I know how jealous and moody and sulky you get…"
"I'm not…" Shino glared and looked away indignantly. "I'm not moody or jealous."
"…Riiight. But, Shino, Shikamaru's been wanting to talk to you since you woke up. It'd be best not to keep him waiting."
With that, Shino took his leave groggily. Shikamaru wasn't really telling him anything important–just little details he'd gathered playing shogi with one of the groundskeepers. There were a few things of interest–meat had gone missing over the course of a few months since Suzume started getting the threats on her life. It was stolen, without fail, almost every day and the day the Konoha-nin showed up was the first exception. Everything else was useless information, as far as Shino was concerned. The only other piece of information that was remotely important was one they'd already figured out–a big black dog had been sighted in the forest on occasion.
He sighed and took his leave from Shikamaru, walking back to his room to mentally prepare himself. He had to be quick on his feet and sharp with his eyes. If this man was really teaching her how to feet, he'd probably have to pull out some moves of his own, being a ninja.
The walk around the compound was a long and scenic one, but he was far too stressed to enjoy it. Every once in a while, a bug would flit by and he'd turn his head to look at it, but he couldn't inspect it. He had more important things to do. Finally, when he heard a loud scream from around a corner, he knew he'd reached the right place.
At an alcove near the northwest corner of the compound, he found the two training–Suzume-san and her sensei. Her sensei was tall and dark, very handsome, and had a calm smile. Upon hearing him approach, the teacher blocked one of her punches and halted her. He approached Shino, smiling all the while.
"May I help you?"
Shino cleared his throat and shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm Shino Aburame. I'm one of the ninja sent here to protect your student and discover who's behind all of these kidnappings."
The man's eyes flickered–there was something so much like Kiba's to them–, but he didn't return the handshake. From what Shino could see, the man couldn't have been of the Inuzuka clan because the markings on his cheeks weren't there, so why had he gotten a distinct sense of familiarity from them?
"I am Kuro. I'm not graced enough to have a surname." He crossed his hands over his chest and glanced back at Suzume, telling her to leave. When she did, he looked back at Shino. "So, what brings you here? You can't possibly be wanting any training. By the looks of you, you're absolutely perfect and without fault." His voice was snippy, and Shino couldn't figure out why he suddenly became angry.
With another dark look, Kuro continued to speak. "You're of the Aburame clan, right? I passed through Konoha once and I saw a few members of the Aburame clan fight in an exam there. You fight with bugs, correct?"
"…Kikaichuu, actually."
"Yes, so…what brings you here, Bug-boy?"
Shino's eye twitched though the other man couldn't see it, and he cleared his throat. "We-Well, I'm here because we suspect there might be a missing-nin involved. You see, one of our teammates is from a clan that specializes in dogs, and he happens to smell another clan member here, particularly from Suzume-san. A dog was reported seen over the duration of the attacks on her, and we suspect the two might be linked…"
"And…why are you asking me?" The man's eyes were wide, as if he couldn't believe they'd gotten so many theories moving in such a short amount of time.
Shino shoved his hands in his pockets. "We thought it was strange for someone who knows the ninja arts to be teaching her when there isn't a shinobi village around for miles."
"I moved here from the Mist village. And you still haven't explained how a missing-nin connects with her teacher."
"…We smelled a missing-nin on her, and it's only natural for you to have touched her during sparring. We're just trying to take as many leads as we can at the moment. It's not that we directly suspect you."
"That's how it sounds…" Kuro quirked a brow and glanced back at Suzume, the blood draining from his face. "And…how many leads are you taking, exactly?"
"One of the hallways smelled strongest like Kiba's clan, so Kiba and one of our other teammates are going to go check it out… It's nothing big. If there's nothing there, there's nothing to worry about."
Suzume, on the other hand, thought otherwise. "Wh-Wh-What? A hallway? What are they investigating!?"
Shino's face fell. "Just a hallway. Nothing more."
"Where!?"
"Toward the entrance of the compound. One of the first hallways in the first building that we passed toward the meeting room."
"That's where my room is! Don't tell me that filthy mutt is going to be going through my room and smelling my things!! Shishou, do something about this! That is a direct violation of my personal space!! What if the mutt discovers that we've–" He slammed a hand over her mouth, cutting her off immediately.
"Suzume, I pray you hold your tongue before you say more than you'd like to have heard."
Shino looked between the two, putting two and two together to get four, and leaned over toward them. "We're only going off of smell for his clan. Neither of you are in his clan, so he's not going to smell any of that. If you two are involved…your secret is safe with me, but trust me–Kiba's not going to smell anything like that."
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"I smelled passion and sweat and shame. In her room. She's sexually active, that girl. The Inuzuka stench is everywhere and we even followed it out the window into the forest! She's obviously involved with an Inuzuka!!" Kiba tugged on his hair and looked at Neji, hoping the Hyuuga would back him up. His eyes must've seen something in that room, after all!
Neji just held up a hair brush, covered with not only long blonde hair but short black hair as well. He cleared his throat. "This black hair is too short to belong to anyone at the compound. Not only that, but it has the same feel to it as dog hair. It's safe to say she's involved in some way."
All six of them were sitting in Shikamaru and Chouji's room, all in a circle and discussing the situation. Chouji seemed uninterested, already having helped out his investigation with the missing meat the previous day. Shikamaru seemed out of it, but they all knew he was picking up all the clues and organizing them mentally. Kiba had taken to standing beside Neji, and Shino sat there silently.
It was Shino that refused to believe Kiba and Neji's conclusions. "Wait, that's impossible. We already know she's a dog-lover, so how can you already assume that hair belongs to the missing-nin's dog? And it can't be that she's involved with a missing-nin, because she is involved with her instructor, and her instructor isn't in the Inuzuka clan."
Kiba gave him a long, long look before he leaned toward him and took a sniff. "You don't smell like another human, Shino."
"And?"
He glared. "You introduced yourself to the instructor, right? Surely you shook his hand!"
"I offered, but he refused."
Kiba pointed at him, accusing. "See! He refused! He didn't want his scent on you because he knew I'd recognize it immediately! It's obvious! That girl is the one behind all of this! She's the one who wants all of this money! She wouldn't sleep with a missing-nin unless she wanted him to cooperate with her! He's probably more than willing because he wants her money, too! I'll bet that's it! He really just wants her money so he's lying to her!"
Without meaning to, Shino found himself shouting. "You don't sleep with someone for fun, Kiba! That's barbaric of you to think that! She's involved with her instructor! That's it!!"
A silence settled between them and he sunk down lower into himself, fuming. Kiba's eyebrows knitted together, and he started twisting his fingers together anxiously. "…Sh-Shino…there's really no call to get upset. I'm just running my mouth like always…"
Shino groaned, wiping at his face. "Look…I just don't want to think that it's possible for someone to be that cruel, alright… Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. All I know is that her instructor couldn't have been an Inuzuka. He didn't have the markings you have, Kiba."
Kiba swallowed as his eyes widened. "…That's not true, Shino…" He fisted for his hair, breaking out into a sweat. "…I…I only have these markings on my face because I'm from the main family. Members of the central branch of the clan get tattooed at a young age with these markings, as do women who marry into the family. That's why my mother and sister have these markings." He stared at the floor, sweating profusely.
"Shino, don't give me this bullshit on him being in love with her. It's only going to make it that much harder for me to kill him."
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Amid the make-shift dojo that had been made for the heiress's new shishou, they stood there in an awkward embrace, staring at the wall and everywhere else but at each other. The grain of the wood felt smooth beneath his hands, and he rubbed them against the wood, taking a deep breath of her hair. It seemed to calm him, just as it seemed to calm her.
She started to tremble, bringing her eyes to look into his, searching desperately for any sort of fear in them. As much as she wanted him to take care of it, she wanted to see it bothering him, too. For him to feel anxious over their relationship being discovered.
"Shishou…ah, Kuro…wh-what do we do? They have to know by now, right? I mean, is it true? Are you what that one dog kept calling–"
He growled at her, looking away darkly. "I am, and don't speak about him so disrespectfully. He's still the heir to my clan, even if I was expelled. Don't call him a dog or a mutt or anything you wouldn't call me, got it? Just give me some time to think."
"You're still loyal, aren't you?" Her face fell, and her jaw dropped. "He's not in your clan and yet you're still loyal!! What are we going to do!? If my grandfather finds out I'm trying to run away with his money after these false ransoms, I'll be kicked out of the family!! I'll be just like you!! Don't tell me you're still loyal to your family after we've come this far!!"
"It's in my nature! I can't do anything about that! Do you know how rare it is for one of my clan members to actually become thrown out of the family!? They have to fuck up real bad!! Their blood doesn't run through my veins purely, I'm the most watered down out of all of them, that's why! The branch I'm in is weak! That's why my loyalty to them is easily swayed!"
"Weak!? What are you going to do!? That mutt is going to–"
He slammed his hand into her cheek, sending her falling out of his arms. He glared at her, standing up. "I told you not to call him that. You, a clanless brat, could never understand. It's not that simple. I can't just…I can, but I can't. He's the alpha male, see. Just looking at the intensity in his eyes is enough to make me go weak in the knees and cripple me into submission. But it's okay because I'm actually stronger than most of the members in my family. As weak as my blood is, I'm still extremely strong, and I have more experience than that mere pup back there. I'll win for sure."
She whimpered as she rubbed her cheek, the tears forming in her eyes. He was just scared over this whole ordeal. That was why he was getting mad at her, surely.
"You hear that, Su-chan? I'm going to kill him in the end. I'll kill all of them. If you want any of this to work, I'm going to need your help. You need to cripple your grandfather like you did your father. I don't care how, just make sure no one knows it is you. Hire those thugs to do it if you have to. After that, I want to get one of them alone."
"H-How are we going to get one of them alone?"
"You're going to offer yourself as bait."
"But…but where will I go? It's not like there are any missing-nin here with a hide-out or anything…"
"You leave that to me. I'll take care of it."
"And…the do–the one you want to get alone…? Y…You'll be able to kill him even though he's in the main branch, right?"
"I'm not going after him. I'm going after the one we met today. Shino Aburame, the son of my former mentor." He looked back at her before kissing the bruise on her cheek and helping her up. "When all of this is done, we'll have the money, won't we?"
She nodded, embracing him in a tight hug. "We'll have all of it and you won't have to travel any more and we can be together."
"Good. I'm tired of being alone."