Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Also, the idea of Gai adopting Tenten and Tenten's past in general, is based off of a good friend of mine's idea.

A/N: Hey all! Once again I'm so sorry it's taken so long to get the next chapter up. School's been kicking my butt along with other stuff. But I'm so glad that you're enjoying the story. It really means so much to me and I just want to thank all of you for your support, and kind words. Once again I also want to thank my awesome beta-reader, Rellie who helped a great deal with this chapter and keeping me going! Please let me know what you thought, but most of all, I hope you all enjoy the story, for that is why writers write.

X

"I think we should split the cleaning up." Tenten said as they finished the last line of the lab, and Shino watched as she all but slammed it down on Kakashi's desk. A broad triumphant grin spread across her face. Normally, he would have found the grin infectious, and have to bite his cheek in order to keep from mimicking it and looking like a fool. Now though, he wasn't so sure if the reason for the split was efficiency or if she was tired of him.

It had been a long day for both of them, and being called into the office halfway through their second lab to explain to his father over the phone what happened, hadn't helped. But despite all that he thought things had been going well. They'd managed to smooth out what happened earlier during the fire, taking the blame equally, and even managed to work on this project with relative peace.

Although it had taken them a good five minutes after deciding they would each do one bottle, to decide who went first. In the end he won out only because he was able to remember more of the directions than she was. A brief rematch followed, but the outcome was the same, and the whole project had led to surprisingly interesting conversation. Oddly enough it had centered around science and why he enjoyed it so much and why she detested it like she did.

"I'm not stupid! If it was just memorizing and applying I could do that. But I don't see any point to it. I'm never going to use this stuff past college, and I'd rather spend my time learning about the stuff I will." she said, watching as the red water swirled around as it was mixed.

"Anyone who believes you to be stupid is a fool in their own right." Shino looked up at her through the dark plastic, and wanted to tell her exactly how smart he thought she was. How smart. Beautiful. Wonderful. But he had more common sense than that, even as she smiled. "But do you not also enjoy history?"

"My dad teaches that. I have to. And I like gym more than I like that…but don't tell him alright? He'll try to get his job switched or pick up something else."

He wasn't sure if she was kidding or not, though he truly doubted she was.

"Besides, if you don't know history, you won't have a future. There's a point in learning about that stuff."

"And if you never learn science, it's possible you will have no future as well. Why? Because everything is constructed of chemicals. Each of our cells is more complex than any machine we have ever made and possibly will ever make. But they're delicate as well. That's why my father is so careful with the medicine he allows his company to put out. He understands everything that has to be considered." he had explained before why he loved science. Discovering new things, and connecting dots that no one else had seen, and the ability it would give him to help others. Though he had also mentioned that in the wrong hands, the greatest of science could be used for the greatest of evils and there were some who warped it for their own desires.

"Yes, but you see your dad is actually in the business, so he needs to know, thus proving my point that if I don't need to know, why learn it?"

"Because one day you may need to identify the difference between a chemical that can cause a fire, and one that can put it out." the joke slipped out before he had a chance to stop it and he tensed up only to find her laughing.

"Alright, so there is some use for it! But next time something like this happens, lets aim to at least make sure it gets us out of class."

"What do you mean by next time?" he raised an eyebrow, hoping to hide the pounding of his heart.

Now though, he wondered if it had been more simple pleasantries than anything else, and the thought made his stomach sink.

"We have the bathrooms to clean, our homerooms, and this one. If we split up it'll go faster, and no offense, but I really don't want to see exactly how your bathroom looks." Tenten smirked as she finished zipping up her backpack, and Shino once again made sure his black notebook was pushed to the bottom of his bag. There was no way he was letting himself loose that. If he did, it'd be a disaster.

"No offense taken, but it hardly makes sense to split up just yet then. Why? Because there are only two bathrooms on this floor. It would make more sense to clean together as a team now, and then split up at the end." he set his bag on the floor and a thought hit him before Tenten had a chance to speak. "Or we could split up now, and meet back here in order to cover more ground. It may seem as if we're covering less, but if we're working together, than each room will only take half the time. Speaking of which, that particular element is not on our side."

His eyes settled on the clock overhead as it ticked, then traveled down to Tenten's face. For some reason, Tsunade had decided that she was leaving the school early today and therefore when she left, everyone else had to be out as well. This wasn't a problem for any of the teachers, some of which had fled long ago. But for them, it posed a few particular issues, and at the same time presented him with a wonderful opportunity. Gai had stopped in not that long ago, to ask if Tenten wanted him to wait around till she was done, but she'd said she'd be fine and take her normal route home. Concern had been evident on her father's face, but after some convincing, reminding him she wasn't five, and a back breaking hug that included tears about how old she was getting, he conceded. Of course before he left, he'd thrown Shino a gaze that clearly stated if one thing happened to Tenten, all his bones would be broken.

If anything though, that had actually been motivation. Now the plan was that when they were through cleaning, he would casually ask her if she wanted him to walk her home, explaining that Kiba's house wasn't far from hers, and he needed to ask him something. It was hard not to get lost in the daydreaming about what their walk could be like, the points he'd make with her father, and the reality that sucker punched him.

"Yeah…I guess that makes sense…" Tenten conceded. "And if we get kicked out before then, at least we'll have the important rooms done…and hopefully Kakashi-sensei sits on a wad of gum on Monday."

"There are certainly drawbacks in not having a scheduled cleaning crew." Shino said, and Tenten grinned, her eyes narrowed into slits. As devious as she looked, he still felt it hard to keep himself from smiling in response, as a plan was agreed upon, and they parted ways.

About half an hour later, Shino bit back another growl as he finished mopping the floor and nearly slipped backwards once again from the slick surface. It had taken him longer than he thought it would to get the few stalls and urinals cleaned, and more than anything he wanted to apologize to those who did this for a living. He was also more than grateful that Tenten had decided to split up, and not come in to see this.

He shook his head, trying to push away her imagined reaction as he put the cleaning supplies away in the bathroom storage area, closed the door and locked it, pocketing one of the keys Kakashi had left for them. Sometimes he didn't understand at all how this school was constructed. Or at least why. Most schools their size had one general storage area for cleaning supplies, and another for anything else that was needed. Sarutobi High however, seemed as if it wanted to make each room independent of each other.

Shino adjusted his glasses as he made his way out, the smell of bleach followed him as he hurried back towards the chemistry room, his footsteps squeaking on the floors. Halfway there, another set of footsteps joined his, though with more of a clicking, and without thinking he picked up his pace, determined to meet her there. He wasn't sure why the idea was suddenly so important, but he couldn't stop himself from thinking about the extra time that meeting in the hallway would give them, and perhaps if he lightly bumped into her…

Unfortunately as he turned the corner, it was more than just a bump and he slammed hard into something that vaguely registered as soft before he and the other went staggering backwards with half gasped yelps.

"Aburame!" Tsunade snarled as Shino skidded to a backwards halt, his arms shooting out for balance and his face draining of all color save for red. It took all his might to focus on his principal's face.

"I apologize, Tsunade-sensei…I didn't see…"

"That's because you weren't looking!" she snapped and Shino fought the urge to swallow hard. Tsunade's wrath wasn't something he'd wish on anyone. Well, perhaps Neji. "What are you still doing here anyways? I told you to get out!"

Shino blinked and pushed up his glasses as he finally stood straight.

"I was not informed we had to leave immediately, only that we had to leave when you did. Why? Because our punishment is not yet complete."

"We? Oh yes, Tenten's still here too then." she massaged her temples with a sigh. "Look, just clear out in the next ten minutes alright? I'll let Kakashi and your teachers know I had you leave, but I need to lock up as soon as I can!" her expression was hard, but there was something else lingering in her eyes that made the hairs on the back of Shino's neck stand up and every nerve felt on edge.

"Tsunade-sensei, I normally don't pry into personal affairs, but are you…"

"I'm fine!" her tone was like a whip cracking, and he saw her fists curl slightly as if ready for an attack. What concerned him most though was the worry in her eyes. Never had he seen her look anything less than confident. Stressed, enraged, even drained, but nothing ever seemed to break past her wall of strength. This was one of those times he was once again reminded of how old she really was.

He nodded despite himself.

"I apologize again for interfering."

"Just find, Tenten and leave." she brushed past him, her heels clicking on the floor and Shino felt more heat rise to his cheeks. This time for mistaking the sound of her shoes for that of Tenten's. "And no more running in the halls! If you break your leg…"

'The school doesn't have enough for you to sue for.' Shino mentally finished her often yelled comment, and headed back to the classroom at a slightly slower pace. Though he couldn't stop himself from looking back over his shoulder at the principal's absence. He shouldn't be worrying. It was probably nothing. More than likely she'd lost another bet, and either had another blind date, or lost a chunk of her paycheck. Still…something told him there was more to it…

Whatever his thoughts were on the subject, they quickly dissipated as he took a deep breath, and opened the door, fully expecting to see Tenten there. Instead, he was greeted with the days lingering smell of sweat, chemicals, soot, and silence.

"Tenten?" her name came out before he could stop it, and he looked around, carefully surveying the room, and even glancing under desks. As soon as he did so, he wanted to slap his face. She wasn't childish enough to hide underneath something to avoid him. What if she left already though? Maybe Tsunade had found her…but that didn't make any sense.

Not only from what Tsunade said, but her things were still here as well. His eyes shot up to the clock again, then to the window in the door, watching for any movement. There was nothing as far as he could tell, meaning Tenten was taking longer…and since he didn't have to leave for another several minutes…

His eyes moved to her backpack and he felt his stomach flip. Would it really be so wrong if he looked inside? It wasn't as if there would be anything that personal in there and what there was might give him more of a clue of what to say to her. But things were going just fine as they were right now. Not that they were where he wanted them, but they were covering ground, and he was learning through talking to her.

How much longer would he have to do that though? After this, they probably wouldn't talk again, except for casual pleasantries, and then it would be summer. And there went any excuse to talk to her again. He couldn't rely on random chance to run into her either, though her house was on his way to Kiba's.

The memory surfaced of what he had once seen there and he felt heat touch his cheeks. It had been an accident. He hadn't meant to see what he had, but her window was open when he was walking by and once he had seen her undressing. Fortunately, her undergarments were still on, and she didn't see him, but the guilt of what he saw and not looking away at once, stayed with him. Part of him knew the reason he hadn't looked away was because he hadn't wanted to, and it turned his stomach that he had invaded her privacy like that. Even if it was an accident, he still felt horrible about it. Suddenly the idea of walking her back home made another knot settle in his insides, and he was only so thankful there was no way either her or her father would ever find out about that.

The memory also kept his hands from touching her backpack, but he couldn't move his eyes away either, and he found himself tilting his head as if to get a guilt free look at the contents.

As the clock ticked though, he became increasingly aware of her absence and that for whatever reason they were no longer welcome here. He needed to go find her.

What if the reason she was so late though was because she was changing? It was possible she brought her home clothes to school. What if he walked in on her and saw more than what he did last time? Or…

His face heated up as he moved through the hallways and he bit his cheek hard enough to draw blood in order to push the images away. He wasn't going to let his mind go there. It was hard, but he wasn't going to allow it. Besides, if that did happen, he was sure they'd find his body on Monday, and it wasn't as if he was just going to burst in.

Still, when he arrived at the entrance, he found himself hesitating outside the door, and without thinking knocked as hard as he could.

"Tenten? Are you in there?"

There was no answer.

"Tenten?"

He waited another thirty seconds, before easing the door open with a soft creak. His eyes slammed shut as soon as he peered inside the room, and he forced them open. He wasn't doing anything wrong. It wasn't like this was during school hours and he was being a pervert. Though Kiba would have loved this any time of day. Once again he found himself surveying the room, trying to find any sign of her as he stepped in.

The girl's bathroom was much like the boy's, in terms of size, design, and the wear age brought to any room. But at the same time, it was far cleaner than even the way Shino had managed to get his, and it looked like there was some kind of flower arrangement near the sinks.

There was also a particular dispenser on the wall that made him nearly choke, as he began searching the stalls, lightly knocking on each as he called out. Again, no answer, though this time he heard a muffling from behind him. He whirled around, but no one was there. Just the closed door to the storage unit. The key was still in the lock.

She wouldn't have…

Taking a step forward, Shino knocked on the thick wooden door.

"Tenten, are you there?" he pressed his ear to the door.

"Shino?" her voice came through and his eyes widened. "Thank God! I thought I was going to be stuck in here till Monday! Get me out!"

"How did you get locked in?" he twisted the key.

"That's not important!" the embarrassment was evident in her voice. "Just don't laugh when you open the door!"

"Why would I laugh?"

"Just get me out!"

"I'm…trying!" he grit his teeth as he twisted the key, desperately searching for the click that signified the door would open as he pulled hard on the knob and twisted for all he was worth. Nothing. The key was jammed and it seemed like the harder he tried, the more entrenched it became. He had to get her out of there though. Somehow, he had to get through, and there was no way he was looking for Tsunade to help him.

Pulling back, Shino took in a deep breath and quickly released it as he brought his leg up and slammed the side of his foot against the doorknob in an attempt to break it off. His kick was powerful, but unfortunately all it managed to do was bend the key.

"Shino, what are you doing?"

"Trying something." he grit his teeth, as he grabbed hold of the key and knob again, and twisted as hard as he could, throwing his entire body into it. He felt the bent key start to turn. "Almost have it!"

"Hurry up!" she snapped.

He fought the urge to roll his eyes. There was no amount of comfort from being trapped, but it wasn't as if she was alone anymore. Maybe she was claustrophobic? The idea had never occurred to him and the fact that she could be masking fear and panic with anger made his grip tighten and his strength seemed to double as he finally wrenched the key all the way down, twisted the knob and flung the door open...

His eyes nearly popped out his skull as Tenten's backside greeted him and he saw she was suspended up in the closet, with her legs dangling, and her upper body more or less hanging on the overhead shelf.

For a moment it felt as if all the air rushed from his lungs, and every blood cell he had shot to his face as he stared and he bit his lip to keep his jaw from dropping. It wasn't that he had never looked at this particular feature of hers before. Whatever he felt, he tried to be a gentleman, but there were times it was hard. And never had he expected it to be so displayed, or her skirt to accentuate it as it did.

"Shino? If you're staring at my butt, I swear I'm going to…"

"How did you get up there?" he changed the subject as fast as he could.

"There's a long story, but I'll give you the short answer." she growled, but there was also something pained in her voice. "I was trying to reach the paper towels up here, and couldn't, so…I used the mop bucket to balance. Unfortunately…"

"That didn't help."

"No…" she sighed. "And when I started to fall, I just grabbed on and held on and…" her voice trailed off, and Shino fought to keep his eyes focused anywhere but where they wanted to go.

"What?"

"I…"

"Did you hurt yourself?" was that why she hadn't dropped already?

"No! I'm…promise you won't laugh!"

Laughter was the farthest thing from his mind.

"I promise."

There was a moment of silence, and Shino shifted his weight from one foot to the other, unable to keep his eyes from her figure.

"I'm stuck."

As soon as the words left her mouth, laughter suddenly wanted very much to be at the forefront of his mind and he covered his mouth as if hiding the grin would hide the chuckles.

"You're…"

"I can hear you laughing, Shino!" she snarled and cursed.

"Well…it's not everyday…"

"Just shut up and help me down! And if you even think of looking at my butt, I swear I'll kick you so hard you won't be able to see anything for a week!"

"I am not in the habit of doing such, and your threats really have no impact. Why? Because currently, there is no way you could carry them out." he was trying to keep the humor out of his voice, though her threats mixed with her current position made it nearly impossible. The more he tried to keep it from coming, the more he felt it building inside his chest and he had to cough to disguise the louder chuckles.

"You just come a little closer and say that when my foot hits you in the face, smart boy!"

"At least you admit I'm intelligent."

"Just help me get down, and we can yell at each other later!"

He nodded as he came forward, unsure of how to go about getting her down and his hands reached up towards her waist, then stopped and he pulled back.

"What is it that you want me to do?" he wasn't sure where to touch her. He wanted to, but at the same time, he wanted control of where his mind went and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"I need your shoulders."

"…What?"

"Look, I know this is…well…it's not exactly comfortable for either of us, but I need to borrow your shoulders. If I sit on something, I think I can wriggle free."

If it was possible for his heart to stop and speed up at the same time, Shino was sure that's what was happening now, and he wondered if this was some kind of dream or a twisted nightmare. She wasn't serious though. There was no way she would want him to do that. To touch her like that. Though in her eyes, it really wasn't anything, and she admitted it was uncomfortable. Before he could stop himself he was moving forward and carefully easing himself up under her legs as they draped over his shoulders. He felt his hands ache to touch her legs, but kept them at his side.

"Are you alright?"

"Define alright." Tenten groaned. "This is so embarrassing…you're not…going to tell anyone about this?"

Of course not. This wasn't something he was going to tell anyone. Besides, he doubted he could bring it up without incriminating himself in that he wasn't exactly eager for it to end.

"No. There's nothing to tell, and who would believe me even if I did?"

He saw a small movement that indicated she was nodding.

"Thanks…I'm gonna pull now okay? So hold on."

His hands grabbed onto her legs as if they had a mind of their own.

He wanted to say something along the lines of not letting her fall, but instead he only signaled he was ready. After what seemed like eternity, he suddenly felt her jerk backwards and was instantly grateful he made no promises of letting her fall as he staggered back. She yelped, and told him to hold on tighter. He did as he was told, trying to keep his balance as she jerked back and forth, her stomach ramming into his head as a little progress was made. He flicked his head back to keep his glasses on, and she snarled at the impact. There wasn't time to apologize though before she tried again, and this time with a loud rip of fabric, shot backwards.

Unfortunately, Shino went with her, their weight throwing them back with a cry, as Shino tried desperately to get a foothold. With the floor as wet from mopping as it was though, that was proving to be difficult, and Tenten's arms were flailing as they went back and she grabbed the sides of the doorframe. Her head cracked against the top though, jerking them another way and her legs tightened into almost a chokehold around Shino's neck.

"Shino!"

"Tenten…"

Both yelped as gravity won the fight and both of them pitched forward. Again, Tenten smacked her head on the shelf, but Shino was no better as he toppled into the brooms and spare mops and containers with a loud crash. Tenten's legs lost all their grip and she fell backwards off his shoulders, plummeting down and landing smack on top of him as he tried to turn over and slamming hard onto his lap. Shino bit back a gasp of pain as she nearly hit something very important. What was worse was that through all the chaos they'd created caused the door to begin closing and before either of them could move, it shut with a final click.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Hope you guys liked it, please let me know what you thought.

Have a great day

Be blessed

your friend

innocent-rebel