Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Tenten's past is based on a very good friend of mine's idea.

A/N: Hey guys, I am so sorry this chapter has taken so long to get up. I really thought it wouldn't be that long before I posted the next one and I feel so bad it's been as long as it as. My only excuse would be work, school and slight writers block that kept kicking me in the face and was a very bad combination with the other two issues. But now I'm done with school and I want to thank Rellie for being an awesome beta reader, and her unending patience and encouragement in helping me with this. Thank you so much. And thank you to everyone whose been reading the story, reviewed and waiting for the next chapter. That really means a great deal to me and I hope you enjoy the next chapter for that is why writers write.

X

It had taken a few minutes for what happened to sink in for the teenagers, during which they had both started calling out the principal's name and anyone else's that might have stayed late. Tenten even ran throughout the halls and Shino poked his head in a few classrooms praying that someone would be there. There had been a few sounds when they were split up again that made him hope, but in the end there was nothing. After about five minutes they both found themselves back at exactly where they started, desperate in front of the double doors.

"I can't believe this." Tenten sighed as she slid down the wall. "First we set a fire, then we get stuck with cleaning, then we get locked in a closet and now we're trapped inside the school." she ran a hand through her hair, pushing loose strands from her face.

"There has to be a way out." Shino said, tempted to take a seat next to her, but pulling back at the last second. There was a small hormonal part of him that was grateful for the situation and extra time he now had with her. A part that wanted to play the hero by finding a way out and leading her home with an arm around her shoulders to steady her from the experience. The larger part however was currently trying to smother the idiotic ideas floating in the back of his brain.

"How? We looked to see if there was another door and except for fire exits that are pretty much bolted shut, there was nothing. We couldn't break any of the windows…"

Shino's eyes widened behind dark plastic and he felt his jaw drop a bit.

"You tried to break a window?"

"I'd break ten if that's what it took." Tenten nodded, a look in her eyes just daring him to challenge her before she slumped further back. "But the chair just bounced off like the window was rubber. I guess it makes sense if an explosion couldn't take out one of the windows that a chair wouldn't work, but I was hoping…"

As her voice trailed off, Shino stuck his hands in his pockets, his mind racing as he tried to think of a solution. He wasn't a locksmith by any means, but he did know a thing or two about computers and mechanized locks from his cages at home.

"Maybe there's a way to override the lock." Shino said, taking a step closer to the door and studying the panel.

"You think?" Tenten's head popped up and as she came closer, Shino wished he hadn't said anything.

"Possibly…" he rested his thumbs on the side, searching for a way to pull it apart and reveal wires, despite the fact he wasn't sure about what he was doing.

He was sure Tenten could hear the way his heart had started to pound from being this close to her, and the fact he felt like a useless fool. One close look was all he needed to know that this wasn't something he could break into. The thing seemed completely seamless. Nothing more than a piece of metal that had been created from the inside out and the more he looked…

"OWE!" he jumped back as a shock pulsated through his fingers and Tenten leapt back in response, her fists flying to a defensive position automatically.

"Shino, what…"

"Apparently that machine was made to make sure no one could tamper with it without the proper means." he wished he could have stuck his fingers under water, but instead gave them a light shake to try and lighten the sting.

Tenten shook her head, her fists curling and red touching her cheeks.

"Of all the rotten luck…of all the days this could have happened…" before Shino could say anything she whirled around and kicked her backpack like a soccer ball. The sound echoed throughout the halls along with her beginning rant. Of course Kakashi was first to receive blame, then Chiyo for making the day a nightmare, then her father for not vouching for her and finally Tsunade. "I mean who secures a school like this? What does she think is going to happen anyways? That some psycho is going to break in here over the weekend and wait for us all to come back and then pick us of?"

"Thieves perhaps?" Shino offered before he could stop himself, adding fuel to Tenten's flaring temper.

"What is there to steal? Our donated gym equipment? Our five year old computers that barely run? Our books? Or maybe they're after the desks and chairs! I bet that's it! You know the firewood market is probably in need of supplies so why not just use that?" she threw up her hands in exasperation. "I respect Tsunade-sensei, but sometimes she is so paranoid about this school that…I just…ahhhh!"

Another sharp kick was delivered to her pack sending it up and spinning across the hallway before landing with a thud and contents spilling out as it skidded to a stop. Shino felt as if he were frozen in the wake of her outburst, only glad it wasn't directed at him. Then he saw her shoulder's slump as she stared at the mess she'd made.

Before she could move, Shino felt his limbs moving as if on autopilot and he knelt down, gently picking up the spilled items. There were scattered papers, faded ticket stubs, a few CD lyric booklets from bands he didn't recognize, magazines on Judo, weaponary and other martial arts, note pads, some pencils, pens, schoolbooks and two smaller books with fabric covers on that hid their titles.

"Shino, you don't have to." she started, trudging over and crouching down next to him, trying to grab as much stuff as she could. "This is my mess, don't…"

"I want to help." in his head the words were only a whisper, but when voiced came out surprisingly strong as he pushed in a few books as if solidifying his point. Then he swallowed hard as he met her eyes, waiting for her to push him away or tell him to mind his own business. Instead she simply turned back to the task at hand.

"Fine. I don't need help, but if it makes you feel better…" there was a strange tone in her voice that Shino had never heard before. Even in the closet. He couldn't place it right away, but it didn't fit with what he knew of her. Least of all with the outburst he'd just witnessed.

"I'm sure we'll find a way out. After all our father's are sure to notice our absence soon and there's really no other place we…or…well I would be." Shino said.

Tenten raised an eyebrow, scooping up a handful of papers.

"Weren't you invited to the 'festival' at Ino's?" she asked.

Shino looked up, unable to stop the temporary shock that crossed his face. For all the worrying he'd done over asking her about the event, she hadn't hesitated to bring it up. Nor seem shocked herself at the idea he wouldn't have been welcome.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up…"

"I was invited, yes." he finally managed to get out. "But I don't normally attend those kinds of social events. Why? Because there are other things I have to do and those particular gatherings are…"

"Not your thing?" Tenten laughed. "Mine neither. At least not like that one will probably turn into."

Shino wanted to ask what it was she meant by that, when suddenly they both froze. Their eyes widening as they stared out among the few remaining things on floor, and focused in on a small light blue rectangle the size of Tenten's hand.

"My phone!" her cry cut through the silence like a blade and Shino barely had time to steady himself as her arm lunged forward and she grabbed at it. A large contagious smile on her face as she briefly hugged it and then flipped it open. "I can't believe I didn't remember I had this before! We would have been on our way out of here if I did…yes!" she pumped her fist once in the air, then began hurriedly moving about the area with her arm up.

'Looking for a signal.' Shino nodded to himself, both relieved and stupidly disappointed there was now a way out and grateful he hadn't looked into her bag earlier. Now he not only got to know what was inside, but there was no guilt attached to the knowledge. He tried to remember the name of the bands he'd seen as she searched, hoping maybe he could spark some conversation with that while they waited, while another part planned for Monday. Let Neji beat him out for Tenten's attention with an experience like this…

"No, nonononononono!"

The sound caused Shino to whip around so fast he nearly fell as his thoughts were cut into and he hurriedly got to his feet.

"Can't you get a signal?"

"Just barely, but my batteries almost out." Tenten began punching in the numbers, both her hands in the air to keep reception open. "I haven't charged it since yesterday and since I used it as an alarm clock I didn't turn it off all night and…"

"Forgot to turn it off during the day." Shino finished.

She nodded, chewing on her lip, a desperate look in her eyes as she finished punching in the number. From where he stood, Shino could just make out the waning battery sign before she jerked the phone to her heart.

"C'mon, c'mon! Pick up! Please, please, please pick up!" her entire body seemed to tense with the plea and Shino did his best to ignore the way this added another degree of physical appeal. Did she have any idea how attractive she was? Was she like a butterfly with no knowledge of what other's saw?

Seconds later her body relaxed as the call went through, although even then Shino struggled not to notice how her chest rose and fell in relief, before the tension returned. The words 'answering machine' were growled out through clenched teeth, along with threats concerning the length of her father's voice on the machine. Twenty seconds later, pinching the bridge of her nose, she was finally able to speak.

"Dad? Finally, this is Tenten! Well you probably figured that out, anyways! I really need your help! I'm here with Aburame Shino and we're alone and lo…" her sentence stopped cold and her jaw dropped as she lowered the phone as if in shock.

"What is it?" even before she said a word, Shino knew the answer.

"It went dead."

Another explosion was what he expected, but instead there was only a kick at nothing as Tenten slid the phone into one of her skirt's pockets and rubbed her temples.

"Try calling your dad. Maybe your battery is actually worth something."

Shino felt frozen as she stared at him and found his eyes drifting to his feet as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He could feel the heat creeping up from his stomach to his face and struggled to keep it from showing.

"Shino?"

"I…"

"Please, please, don't tell me you forgot your phone at home." there was genuine desperation in Tenten's voice.

"I wouldn't have been able to forget my phone even if I wanted to. Why? Because in order forget something one must first have it." he said, his voice trailing to little more than a whisper and he wished there was a locker he could crawl into. Out of all the things to admit to in high school in this day, not having a cell phone was perhaps one of the greatest social sins. Now it was one that might prove to be fatal.

"You don't have a phone? How do you not have a phone? Ten year olds have them!"

"It never seemed like a necessity. If I was going to be somewhere where there might be need for one, I'd simply borrow my father's, or just let him know in advance. Neither of us saw the need for something that could easily become a distraction."

Tenten looked seconds away from strangling him and right now he couldn't blame her. Not only must this kick him down a notch on the totem pole, but a phone was the only thing that could have gotten them out of this mess. Now they were trapped…or at least they were till a thought flashed in his mind.

"What about the phone in the office? I know it's locked, but the doors inside are nothing like these. I'm sure we could…" he trailed off again as Tenten stalked past him, grabbing his arm and jerking him along.

"Fine! Then lets hurry and as soon as we're out of this talk to your dad about getting some kind of communication even if it's a walkie talkie. And I want your number or frequency by Monday as proof!"

Jaw dropping against his will, Shino found it hard to breath for a moment let alone speak. Fortunately before she turned to look at him, he regained some composure and managed a nod as he pulled his arm back.

"I'll be sure to do that."

There was nothing but silence between them after that their footsteps squeaking against the floor and the day slowly fading beyond the windows as they made their way towards the office door. Unlike most schools where the office stood at the front of the building only separated from others by a desk, the main office and others behind it, were separated by a wall with window carved into it. Currently a metal shutter was closed over the hole and the physical door leading in was further back. Whether this was another attempt at security or just odd building design, Shino wasn't sure. He only hoped they were able to get in once they arrived otherwise Tenten might really kill him.

Then he'd have to his father to face when they finally made it out. More than likely he was already coming up with various ideas of punishments for Shino's absence and failure to contact him. As more time went on though, the teenager knew the ideas of punishment would soon disperse into theories about everything dangerous that lurked in the shadows.

Hopefully his father wouldn't get the police involved.

Once they found the door it took nearly five minutes in order to break through and both of their shoulders were aching from the pressure put on them.

"Now we just have to hope they didn't decide to lock the phones up in a glass case on us." Tenten muttered, as she rubbed her arm then abruptly dropped her hand like nothing hurt.

Shino opened his mouth, then closed it and shrugged.

"I doubt it. Even Tsunade-sensei wouldn't go to that kind of extreme."

"It'd make it to hard for her huh?" Tenten smirked slightly and Shino felt some tension from earlier melting away. These mood swings of hers from anger and frustration to a sense of humor were a bit more than he'd expected, but at least she wasn't mad at him anymore. Or maybe she never had been and was more angry with the situation. That'd make more sense…or at least he hoped that was the case.

Both pairs of eyes quickly began surveying the room and large desk as they looked for any sign of the black phone that would get them out of here. Eventually Shino found it seconds before Tenten did, almost blending in with one of the black plastic shelves and his hand shot out to grab the receiver as if it had a mind of it's own. He ignored the glare she shot him from behind and the hand she held out clearly telling him to give her the phone. Instead he held the receiver to his ear, his fingers ready to dial when he froze.

Raising an eyebrow Shino quickly hung up the phone and waited several seconds.

"Let me…"

"Wait." he raised a finger, then picked up the receiver again and felt his breath freeze in his lungs. Nothing but deathly silence greeted him on the other end. "There's no dial tone. There's nothing." Despite the almost stoic expression on his face, Shino could feel his heart begin to pound harder and harder and his mouth went dry. Why wasn't the phone working? Was it all of them or just this one? What was going on? Memories of old ghost stories played through his mind before a more logical voice was able to push them down. Whatever else happened he was not going to give into fear about imaginary specters. It was probably a loose wire and nothing more. Still there were other things that lurked around. Things much more real than ghosts with motivations beyond simply scaring someone. His father had told him often about the enemies he made in an attempt to make sure Shino was always aware of those around him.

This couldn't be them though could it? They weren't around anymore or at least they had gone quiet. Then again it was when enemies became quiet and learned to use stealth that they could be most dangerous. What if they had done something to the phones? What if this was a ploy to get him alone to use against his father and now that Tenten was here she'd be pulled in as well…

'Stop it.' he growled at himself, his breath finally evening out. 'You're letting the situation and your father's worries get to you. Something is probably wrong with the connection or Tsunade-sensei didn't pay the phone bill. No one is looking to kill you.'

From the corner of his eye he could see Tenten's had momentarily gone wide before narrowing and her fists clenched automatically as if she were expecting an attack herself. Then they relaxed and she looked away as if her reaction hadn't happened. Even so, Shino found himself trying again and again with the phone only to wind up with the same result each time. There was something said once about this being a kind of insanity. Trying the same thing over and over again only to get the exact same result.

"Maybe it's not plugged in?" Tenten suggested and dropped to her knees in order to crawl under the desk for a better look.

For a split second Shino felt his eyes dart away from the numbers, and his mind from worries and towards Tenten's bent figure. The fact that the long skirt covered her did nothing to hide her shape as the folds fell in line with her body and he felt heat start to rise to his face. He had to get a hold of himself and his hormones. This wasn't the time for that, but he couldn't get the image of what happened in the closet out of his head and the fact that she'd sat on his shoulders and…

He bit his cheek so hard it bled in order to turn the thoughts around and his vision elsewhere.

"See anything?"

"Nothing. It all looks good here. Must be some kind of problem with the outside wires or phone lines." she cursed and slapped the ground hard. "With our luck some idiot dug up a cable and it won't work again for hours!"

"Lets see if we can find another one, or a key to get into Tsunade-sensei's office. She has her own line, maybe…"

CRAAAAAAACKSSS!

A sudden noise from up above sent them both jumping and the sound of Tenten cracking her head underneath the desk echoed throughout the room before she pulled herself out. Shino offered her a hand up, but she ignored it and stumbled to her feet rubbing the back of her head. Both of their eyes were focused on the ceiling.

"What do you think that was?" Tenten growled.

"I don't know. It sounded like wood breaking or something large falling." his eyes narrowed as he spoke and he found himself taking a subconscious half step in front of Tenten. Whether she noticed or not he couldn't say, but she made no move to push him away.

"Hmmm…well we won't know by just standing here. Lets go see what happened!"

Before Shino could turn to face her, Tenten had already bolted ahead and grabbed his arm again to give him a pull in the direction she wanted him to go before releasing her grip.

"Tenten." Shino hissed after her, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get her to stop or even slow down. Taking a deep breath Shino picked up his speed till he was several feet in front of her as they headed towards the stairs. He didn't need to turn to know she was glaring at him or that she was picking up speed herself, but he knew no matter what he had to stay in front of her. Everything inside told him there was nothing to be worried about, but on the off chance there was, he didn't want her to be the first one to run into it.

X

It was almost seven o'clock and Shino still hadn't contacted him.

Shibi ran a hand through his hair, trying to focus on his experiment and not keep glancing at the phone every few seconds. It wasn't as if the sun had even gone down yet or Shino had nowhere else to be. He was probably at Kiba's and was trying to talk his friend out of some insane plan or was in the process of being a witness so Tsume couldn't kill him. At least that was what Kiba often claimed his mother would do if Shino wasn't there.

There were times Shibi had to wonder just how much he was exaggerating.

Even if that was the case that was still no reason not to check in. He liked to think of himself as someone who had a fairly easy time trusting others, especially those that had earned it, but his son was still a teenager.

Pushing up his glasses, he pinched the bridge of his nose and slowly counted backwards from ten. Yes. Shino was still a teenager and all teenagers, no matter how smart or responsible, usually wound up doing one stupid thing in their lives. However this was far from being that simple of a matter. There were reasons Shino had to check in like he did if he was going to be late, and so far he had only forgotten to do so once.

"He's alright. Nothing's happened to him, he's alright." Shibi muttered almost to himself, watching the liquids he was working with slowly turn colors as he mixed them in a beaker. His voice echoed softly from the walls of his home laboratory and part of him realized just how big a house could feel when the only thing to fill it with was questions.

His dark eyes darted to the phone again, then to his cell phone on the stand next to him. Maybe he should have gotten Shino his own phone by now. After all, there was only so long that using other's and calling from payphones, landlines and borrowing his could work. Especially if something…

It took everything he had not to grab the phone and call the police to make sure those who had tried to harm him and his son were still in custody. For someone whose entire life's goal had been to help people and make sure medicine was exactly what it was supposed to be, he had made a lot of enemies. Then again, hardly anyone would thank someone for exposing an expensive problem to them and the government.

His hands started to shake as more thoughts entered his mind of what could be happening to his son and where he could be before he put the tools away and got up from his desk. He couldn't focus right now. Until Shino called he didn't think he'd be able to breath properly.

'Pull yourself together.' he hissed at himself. 'He's not five anymore, he's sixteen. He probably just went to the library and lost track of time talking to a girl.'

There was one girl in particular he had found out his son had feelings for after her father and one of his teachers had come for a home visit. Not that Shino would ever admit to it that is.

Even if it was that girl though, Shibi hoped his son was prepared to spend the first month of his summer vacation grounded for this near heart attack. At the same time though as he left the lab, he felt his eyes drifting to the shrine for his deceased wife and something twisted inside of him.

One more half hour. That was all he'd give his son before he began calling around and if he had to, involve the police.

'Please be with that girl, Shino. Please…just be alright.'

To Be Continued…

A/N: Alright people we're getting started to the real grit of everything and I hope you enjoy it and that you liked the chapter as well. Thank you so much for reading and please let me know what you thought.

Have a great day

Be Blessed

Your friend

innocent-rebel