Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to twiggy-shino, for being my first (and currently only) reviewer. It meant so much...and here's the fourth chapter (like I promised). The next one will be the last and longest, and should be up very soon as well!

"Thank you so much for dinner, Mr. Aburame. It was wonderful."

The meal was over now, and the three of them were currently in the kitchen. Nirika had volunteered to help clean the dishes since they had been so kind to invite her over. Shibi said he would have none of it, but Nirika had wormed her way past him, and was now leaning against a marbled green counter, a stack of plates at her side. The kitchen was just as eclectic as the rest of the house, with more assorted potted plants hanging from the ceiling and herbs bursting out of flowerbins lining the countertops. Nirika liked watching the bugs fly from hanging plant to hanging plant, examining the contents, then moving on. When she was finished wiping her stack of dishes, she turned towards the other two.

"As wonderful as dinner was, though, I would like to know the real reason why you've invited me over. It's been bugging me all night."

Shino and Shibi looked at each other and chuckled a little.

"What's so fu- oh. Right. The pun."

As soon as she started laughing, their laughter grew more intense. Weird, she thought. These two are so stoic and serious when they're around other people, but when they're together, they sure joke around a lot. She couldn't help but watch as Shino's mouth curved into a happy grin, covering much of his pale face. It suits him. It really does.

"Well, Nirika," Shibi chimed in, after catching his breath. "There's really no 'problem', as I believe Shino mentioned to you before. The truth is, he heard that you were studying medicine with Hokage-sama, if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes, I am." Nirika answered. In her head, she was thinking, How the hell does Shino know that?

"According to him, you've taken quite an interest in botany, and he thought that because we have such a diverse plant life here, you might be interested in learning the medicinal properties some of them have."

He then turned to Shino. "Listen, I have a meeting with Kurenai-sensei tonight. She said she wanted to inform myself and your other teammates' parents about the progress you've made on some of your more recent missions. Will you please show Nirika around?"

"Sure," Shino muttered. Nirika noticed he wasn't looking at his father.

"Oh! Thank you again for dinner, Mr. Aburame," Nirika said, bowing.

"You're very welcome, Nirika. Goodnight."

Nirika waited until she heard the front door close before whirling around to face Shino. She noticed that his usually white face was now a light pink; from blush or embarrassment, she couldn't tell.

"How did you know I was studying with Tsunade?" she shouted, spitting the words in his face. "There's no way you could've known that, unless you were spying on me or something! And inviting me over tonight by tricking me was bad enough to begin with!"

Shino was silent for a moment before murmuring, "I'm sorry, Nirika-san. The truth is, I have been spying on you."

"Wh-what?" Nirika stammered.

"Check your weapons pouch," Shino sighed.

Nirika took the strap off her shoulder and began poking at the contents inside. Suddenly, a tiny ladybug flew out of the bag and landed on Shino's outstretched index finger.

"She was only with you for about a week. That's all."

What he did next shocked her. He kneeled before her, his head bowed so low that it was touching the floor.

"Nirika-san, please forgive me. I had no intention of troubling you so."

Nirika could only gaze down at the thick mound of brown hair. Okay, so the whole ladybug thing had been a little creepy, and from what he was telling her, he had been spying on her for a while. But the fact that he had gone this far, just to ask for forgiveness…it was enough to make her forget everything.

He winced, waiting for his punishment.

She grinned.

"Don't worry about it, Shino-kun."

He looked up in disbelief. Had she just said…

"Now, are you going to do what your father told you to, and show me around? Or are you going to spend the rest of the night on the kitchen floor?"

He noticed she was blushing profusely.

His face felt like it was on fire.

"S...Sure. I'll give you the grand tour of the house."

He got up slowly, and told her to follow him, all the while thinking. Shino-kun. So…they really were friends, after all.