A/N:

I'm back! And I have a whole new chapter for ya! I'm sorry for taking FOREVER to update, I have just been totally uninspired lately. :P It was the lovely V-quez that kicked my butt into gear (again…) and gave me some ideas, too!

I just wanted to say thank you for the awesome reviews I got for the last chapter (and just for the whole story in general). I feel so happy that people actually like what I wrote! So I will continue writing and doing my best! I enjoy writing this story a lot, and I am glad that people seem to like it.

Oh, and in response to a reviewer, LC: I couldn't reply to you since you weren't logged in! Haha your review made me laugh because I did, in fact, base Jin off of Jin from Samurai Champloo. I did mean to put it into a previous note but I forgot. What happened is I named the character Jin… and then I got lazy haha. I thought that Jin's looks (from SC) would be pretty cool on a bad guy. I'm sorry, I should have given credit where it was due!

Tenten spent a whole hour in the bathhouse taking advantage of the oils and soaps that were available to paying guests. She had to admit, there were perks that sometimes came with going undercover. She kept her eye out for Akane, but she realized that the girl might have had other duties that weren't exclusive to the bathhouse.

She decided to give up once she noticed that her fingers were turning into prunes. At least she'd gotten a bath, if nothing else. She dunked her head in the water; one quick rinse and she was finished. She wrapped a towel around herself and sat in the sauna for a few minutes to let her hair dry.

In the locker room there were a few small dressing rooms with a curtain for privacy. It took her no time at all to slip on a simple yukata. This time she'd come prepared—she wouldn't be caught in the hallway in nothing but a robe this time. She wound her drying hair into a messy bun and she was ready to go.

She kept her wits about her on the walk back to her room. The last time she'd come back from the bathhouse, she'd come across Jin. As it stood now, she didn't want any more run-ins with that man. She wasn't sure if it was just paranoia, foolishness, or an instinctual wariness... but he gave her the creeps. His eyes wandered too much, and when they were still, she didn't like where they settled.

She may not have been the most popular girl back home, but she'd had enough experience with men to tell the difference between innocent staring and creepy leering. But it was different than a typical pervy stare - it felt more… calculating. It was like he was planning something.

She shoved those thoughts aside and hurried back to the room.

Shino was back, already eating some food. He hardly looked up to see who was there, seeming completely focused on his bowl of rice and chicken.

"I'm back," she announced, shutting the door carefully behind her.

"Did you find who you were looking for?"

"Uh… What's for lunch?"

"I take it you did not," he replied evenly, taking a break from his food to hand her bowl. "Mild food—steamed rice with grilled chicken. I suggest you also stay hydrated today. Why? Alcohol has a dehydrating effect on your body. Drinking water will help you avoid headaches."

She accepted her food with a raised eyebrow. "Thanks," she said slowly, taking a pair of disposable chopsticks and snapping them apart to begin eating. She only realized how hungry she had been when she took her first bite.

She couldn't help but gobble down her food, feeling somewhat self-conscious when she considered his reserved, polite way of eating. She looked up for a few moments at Shino—he really was cautious in everything. He took small, prudent bites, chewed slowly, and swallowed carefully.

His long fingers handled his chopsticks gracefully and precisely. If he weren't primarily a bug-user, she was sure that he'd do very well with weapons.

She took a few more bites before finally speaking: "There was a girl who spoke to me the first time I went to the bathhouse. I thought she'd be a good source of information but I couldn't find her today."

"She was not at the bathhouse." It was more of a statement than a question.

"She probably has other duties…" she said, thinking. "I'll need to find her. No one else on the staff would talk to me the other day. People around here are really discreet. Guess it comes with the job."

"I could deploy a kikkai to search for you," Shino suggested. "Perhaps you could find yourself where she is in that moment by coincidence. It won't seem as if you've been seeking her out."

"You could do that?" she asked, imagining a little tiny bug flying around the huge hotel in search of a person it had never seen.

"My kikkai can do almost anything," he said, his voice more cryptic than boastful. "What is the name?"

"Her name is Akane," Tenten replied, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure your bugs can find her? You only have a first name to go on."

"She will be located by the end of the day," Shino replied.

"You don't even know what she looks like," she said in disbelief. He raised an eyebrow, unable to hide the quirk of his lips behind a large collar.

"I don't need to."

"I don't believe that," she with a laugh, wondering if he could really do it. Akane wasn't an uncommon name, and he didn't even know her height or her hair color. "Not that I would complain if you could."

"My kikkai give me an advantage. However, if you do not need my assistance…"

"Give it a shot, by all means," she said quickly, not wanting to discount his help if he could really do it. She picked at her rice thoughtfully. "Your kikkai can do anything, you say?"

"Almost anything that has to do with reconnaissance," he explained.

"Alright," she said dubiously. "By the end of the day, you said?"

He gave a short, business-like nod.

"Let's make this interesting," she said, setting down her bowl and chopsticks. "I'm going to introduce you to a Team Gai tradition. Let's make a wager."

He raised an eyebrow. "A wager?"

"Yes, a wager," she said. "Lee, Neji and I do this all the time. Well, it's mostly just Lee and I," she admitted.

"You bet on your missions," he realized, not impressed. Did her team take their work so lightly? It sounded like something Kiba would do.

"We don't bet on anything major," she defended. "Just small things. For example: If you find Akane by the end of the day, you win the bet. If you don't find her, I win."

"And this makes our mission more 'interesting,'" he said uncertainly. Then he felt slightly offended. "You would wager against my kikkai?"

She gave him a teasing smile. "As a matter of fact, I would. If I win…" she tapped her chin with her finger. "You buy me a souvenir."

He was silent for a moment, considering. The stakes were quite low. A souvenir would hardly cost him anything (not that he was considering participating in this foolishness). And then there was another problem: "And if I win? I can think of nothing I want from you."

"I'll buy you a souvenir," she said.

"I do not want a souvenir."

She rolled her eyes. "It's just a little bit of fun."

A moment passed, and he made his decision. It was a low-risk bet—his kikkai would have absolutely no problem finding Tenten's potential source. He would lose nothing and Tenten would enjoy herself, thus paving the way for a more cohesive team dynamic.

"I agree."

"You agree?"

"Yes," he confirmed.

"Shake on it?" she asked playfully, sticking her hand out. He took it and went along with her firm shake.

"Is it official?" he asked with a hint of humor.

"It's practically a legal contract," she answered with a grin.

"Then you should be sure you have enough money to purchase a souvenir."

"Likewise, Aburame," she replied, gathering left over trash from their meal to throw away. "In the meantime, if we're not doing anything… I'd really like to walk around outside for a few minutes. I could use some fresh air," she confessed.

Shino nodded. He'd noticed that Tenten had a tendency to get restless. She probably spent a good deal of her time outside, judging from her tanned complexion. If they stayed inside for too long, she'd probably become stir-crazy.

"Let's go."

They explored the outdoors for a while, and for all anyone else knew, they were just a young couple enjoying the last days of summer. He discreetly pointed out easy escape routes and hiding places so that they would be on the same page if anything went wrong.

"The only easy way out is by carriage. However, it would not be impossible to escape by foot," he murmured as they wandered past the limits of the Main Inn. She looked thoughtful as she nodded, sharp eyes taking in every detail.

"I have no problem on foot," she replied. He nodded in return. He had no doubt that her experience on Team Gai made her accustomed to running long distances.

"Nor I."

After a quick stroll around the whole perimeter of the hotel, they walked toward the farmer's market. There was a wide variety of items in the town square—produce stalls, fried food vendors. There was even a fireworks stand.

He let Tenten lead the way since she was the one who'd wanted to go in the first place. They didn't seem to have a particular direction—they hopped from store to store, following a trail of shiny and colorful trinkets. He was content to follow her and ruminate in his own thoughts for a while.

Finally, she led them under a tent where a clothing stall sat. She stopped at a display of scarves, gently feeling the fabric and searching for certain colors and fabrics. She hunted for tags and inspected the price.

"What do you think? For Hinata?" she asked, holding up a dark purple scarf. The question surprised him. She was shopping for his teammate?

"You are shopping for souvenirs," he stated, watching one of her slender eyebrows raise.

"Yeah. Why not?"

There wasn't really a reason why she shouldn't buy souvenirs, but the thoughtfulness of the gesture surprised him.

"The color would suit her," he finally replied. When they got home, he would have to ask Hinata how long she had been friends with Tenten. He'd known that they spent time together, but he had never bothered to find out how close they were. He was beginning to find that in regards to Tenten, he had been uncharacteristically unobservant.

The brunette in question took a few more seconds to pick out three more scarves; all of them a rich dark green color. He knew without asking that she was buying them for her teammates. She smiled as she took the them from the rack and headed toward the cashier to pay.

Shino was a quiet one, but it was nice to have some company while she shopped. She usually went out alone—Neji was too impatient and Lee (despite his enthusiasm) always got antsy when she asked him to tag along. She really didn't go out very much with Ino or Sakura, and Hinata preferred to stay in. She found she didn't mind having Shino around to keep her company.

She spent a little more time out in the market, relieved to be out and away from the Main Inn. She'd had a few short moments outside, but all in all she'd felt like she was confined to the hotel all day, worrying about the mission and pouring over the missing team's files. She knew that this was no vacation, but that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the break while it lasted.

"Did you need anything?" she asked Shino, who trailed quietly behind her.

"Not to my knowledge," he replied. To the untrained ear, he sounded fine, but Tenten could tell that he was getting bored. "Perhaps we should return."

"Alright," she sighed, disappointed that they couldn't stay out longer. She had been happy to get out for an hour or two, but she knew from experience that most men didn't take well to being forced to shop for long periods of time. She adjusted the bag of scarves she'd bought to her other arm and turned to follow him back, but he was standing dead still in the middle of the walkway.

"Actually… perhaps there is something I need," he said slowly, turning to face her. "You owe me a souvenir."

It took her a second to understand what he was talking about. "What—oh? Really?" He gave a small nod, a ghost of a smirk on his lips. So, he had found Akane. It was the most self-satisfied she'd ever seen him, and he barely had an expression on his face.

It only took a few minutes to make it back up to the hotel room and drop off her bags.

"Look in the north-east corner of the garden," he instructed her quietly.

"Got it," she said with a nod. He stopped her before she could make it out the door.

"One more thing. I would like to observe your interaction second-hand through the bug. It would be most convenient to hide the kikkai somewhere on your person. Why? So it can, essentially, hitch a ride with you back to me." He adjusted his sunglasses as if uncomfortable. "If you would allow it."

"Sure," she said, giving an affirmative nod. "Wait. Where are you going to hide it?"

"Anywhere it cannot be seen. You will not be able to feel it. Perhaps in your hair or in the folds of your clothes."

Tenten hummed. "And you can see everything the bug sees?" she asked, growing curious. She'd never been very clear on how the Aburame bloodline limit worked.

To her surprise, his face flushed. "I assure you, I would not do anything indecent."

It took her a second to catch his meaning, and she laughed nervously when she finally understood. Had he assumed that she'd thought he'd be ogling her boobs through his bug or something? "Ha, oh, no, I wasn't worried about anything like that," she said. Although to be perfectly honest, she was thinking about it now. If he really wanted to, he could sneak a bug up anyone's skirt and no one would ever know.

She wondered how offended he would be if she brought that up. She decided to keep that thought to herself.

"Good," he said, any trace of embarrassment gone from his face. "I will be watching and listening from here."

"Should I do anything specific?" she asked. "Like, avoid touching it? I don't want to hurt your bug," she said nervously.

"Leave it to me," he said, feeling somehow pleased that she was showing concern for his kikkai. "Do not do anything different."

She nodded. "Wish me luck," she said quietly, giving him a wave and a wink before she slipped out the door.

Tenten had worried at first that she wouldn't be able to find Akane, but Shino's directions proved to be accurate. She found the young girl in the exact north-east corner of the garden, picking herbs and placing them in a basket.

She could have sworn she felt something tickling her neck. Shino's kikkai, perhaps?

"Oh, Akane-chan, is that you?" Tenten asked, slipping into character. The younger girl looked up from her herb-picking and smiled.

"Nanami-san," Akane said, bowing graciously.

"Am I interrupting?" Tenten asked softly, opening the fan that she had hidden in her clothes to cool herself off.

"No, not at all," Akane said, looking genuinely happy to have run into her.

The kunoichi smiled. Akane was a really nice girl, and she truly wondered how she'd wound up here. "What a happy coincidence that I've run into my friend from the country," she said pleasantly. "What are the herbs for?"

"Oh, these are for lunch and dinner tomorrow," Akane explained, "We pick everything fresh."

"No wonder everything here tastes so good!" Tenten exclaimed. "You must work so hard, Akane-chan. Tell me, do you get to enjoy days off?"

"Oh, just once a week," the girl said shyly. "But the work isn't so hard. I really enjoy it here. It's a lot better than farming," she said with a laugh.

"I can imagine," Tenten laughed. "Would you like to sit with me?" she asked, eyeing a nearby bench.

Akane had the look of someone who had been on their feet all day, but was afraid to get caught resting. "I… I don't know, Nanami-san…"

"Don't worry, Akane-chan, I can tell you've been working all day," Tenten whispered. "And if anyone catches us, I'll tell them I made you do it," she said with a wink. Akane's face broke out into a grateful smile.

"I can sit with you for just a moment," she agreed, following her to the bench and sitting beside her.

Tenten eyed her basket of herbs. "May I?" she asked. Akane nodded and the kunoichi gently lifted a tiny bundle of mint and held it to her nose. "My favorite," she sighed.

"Mine too," Akane said. "The best desserts have mint."

"Mint ice cream," she agreed with a smile.

"That's my favorite, too!" Akane exclaimed, a sweet smile on her youthful face. It was enough to make her feel a little guilty for using her for intel. "They make the best fresh in the kitchen. Sometimes we get to sample it, but only when the chefs are in a good mood."

"Oh, you're so lucky," Tenten sighed, placing the mint leaves delicately back into the basket. "We don't have anything nearly as luxurious in Hiroshi. Our hotel is just a hotel, no kitchens or anything."

"What is it like in Hiroshi?" Akane asked.

"It's a very small village," Tenten explained. "Not nearly as big as Kurohara. I've lived there my whole life."

"Kind of like my old village," Akane said, sounding sad at the thought of it. "Do you ever wish you could leave?"

"I've travelled a little," Tenten said with a careless wave of her hand. "On trips like these, where men like Souza-san whisk you away. But never by myself," she said, managing to sound kind of sad. "But let's not talk about that. Tell me about Kurohara. How do you like being a young woman on your own?"

"It's really nice. I work and make my own money, and I get to spend it as I please. Kano-san says I could make more if I worked as a call girl, but I don't know," she said with a blush.

"Don't listen to Kano-san," Tenten advised. "This kind of work is thankless, and you don't get to spend your money the way you want to."

"Thankless? But… you get to travel all over," Akane said, raising both her eyebrows. "And you get to be so… glamorous."

Tenten shook her head. She wasn't a prostitute in real life, but she'd met enough young women under the thumbs of pimps and brothel owners to know better. "Avoid it if you can," she said. "The money is useless if you aren't free."

"Is that how it is in Hiroshi?" Akane asked with a frown.

Tenten shrugged her shoulders and snapped her fan shut. She gave Akane a carefree smile. "Let's not talk about depressing such things," she said cheerfully. She needed to steer this conversation in a different direction. "Tell me about your life in Kurohara. How long have you lived here?"

Akane seemed happy to answer her questions: "I've been here for almost a year now. I've really liked it here." She shifted in her seat, thinking. "Well, mostly."

"Mostly?" Tenten questioned, turning understanding eyes toward Akane. "Why only mostly?"

Akane flushed. "Well, it can get a little stressful, sometimes. The management just changed."

"Oh? Jin-san wasn't always the manager here?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

Akane shrugged. "No, he came here just a few months ago. He replaced the old manager after he died," she replied. She was quick to add, "But Jin-sama is a good boss, too."

Bingo! That was interesting information! "That's so sad," Tenten said, "did the old boss die of old age?"

"Oh, no," Akane said, not seeming to question Tenten's motives for asking one bit. "He was older, but he seemed so healthy and strong. The doctors said that he had a heart problem from birth that wasn't caught until it was too late."

"That's terrible," she said softly. "That's so sad, when a person dies suddenly like that."

"It is," Akane agreed, looking down at the ground. "But Jin-Sama and Suki have been good. I've heard that business has been better than ever since they came. They work us really hard, but it's worth it."

"Oh, Suki is the manager too?" Tenten asked.

"Oh, no, not really. But she's kind of like Jin-sama's right hand."

"Oh, that makes more sense," Tenten said with a laugh. "I've met her a few times. She's an interesting woman."

"She's so glamorous," Akane gushed.

That's one way to describe her, the kunoichi inwardly scoffed. "I agree! She has a really unique sense of style," Tenten said with a smile. "And she's a wonderful entertainer. She must be one of the more popular girls around here."

"She is," Akane nodded, her eyes shining with admiration.

"Oh, the sun is beginning to set," Tenten noticed. "I hope I haven't kept you for too long, Akane-chan."

Akane jumped up and grabbed her basket. "Not at all, Nanami-san," she said, bowing once more. "Thank you for letting me sit with you! It's been a long day. And it's always good to talk to someone from a small town." She grinned. "Mostly everyone here is from a big city."

"You're sweet," Tenten said with a genuine smile. "I hope I see you once again."

"Good night!" Akane chirped, waving her good-bye and running toward the main building.

Tenten sat still for a few minutes, absorbing and interpreting the information she'd just been given. Speaking with Akane was enlightening.

So, Jin and Suki came as a pair, she'd known that from the start. What interested her was the fact that the old manager died right before Jin swooped in to take his place. That was undeniably suspicious.

But the important question was: what did it have anything to do with the missing team? They had come to Kurohara undercover as entertainers around the same time as Jin and Suki came into power. If anything had happened to the team of Sand nin, they had to know something... or have something to do with it. She would have to ask Shino what his opinion was.

"Are you enjoying the garden?" a deep voice came out of nowhere and she jumped.

"Ah!" she exclaimed, turning and looking toward the source of the voice. Speak of the devil! Jin stood beside her. How in the world had he managed to sneak up on her? She hadn't even sensed his chakra as he approached.

"I apologize if I've startled you, Nanami-san," he said smoothly.

"Oh, it wasn't your fault at all, Jin-san," she fluttered, trying to calm her racing heart. "I wasn't paying attention."

"May I have a seat next to you?" he asked, his voice perfectly calm and polite.

"Of course," she said graciously, scooting aside to make room for him. He swept down gracefully to take the place beside her, and she realized that he was sitting slightly closer than he needed to. There was plenty of room on the bench, there was no need to squeeze in.

She wondered if he had heard her asking questions about him to Suki. "Do you come to this garden often, Jin-san?" she asked, taking her fan out of her pockets once again to occupy her hands.

"I do," he said, turning his head to face her. He was very close to her, but he was just far enough to avoid seeming too creepy. "I come here to clear my head after a long day."

"Oh, I see," she replied, giving him a polite smile. "Well, I must be getting back to Souza-san…" she stopped in the middle of her sentence. Actually, this was the perfect opportunity to question this person of interest. She couldn't leave now. She gave him a pretty smile, "Unless you'd like some company," she finished, fanning herself and fluttering her eyes.

"If you're sure you won't be missed too badly," he said with an amused smile, leaning back on the bench and relaxing. "I rarely see you about without Nakamura-san."

"He's the only one I know in this town," she explained, "and I have no reason to go wandering off without him."

"And yet here you are, all alone."

"Nakamura-san is resting, so I thought I'd take a look around on my own. I was feeling a little restless," she confessed, covering her mouth with her fan, the perfect image of a demure lady.

"I didn't take you for the restless type," he said, his black eyes sliding to look from her fan to her face.

She gave a soft laugh, inwardly wondering what he really did think of her. "What did you take me for, Jin-san?"

He gave her a charismatic smile. "I'm not sure—perhaps a charming country girl… with a hint of mystery," he said, teasing her as if he'd known her for a long time.

She laughed outright then and covered a blush with her fan. "If only," she said, her voice light and lilting. "There's nothing mysterious about me."

"On the contrary," he replied, "often the most ordinary people are mysterious."

"Maybe that's true for some," she said flirtatiously. "I'm afraid I'm very average. How about you, Jin-san?"

"I'm dreadfully boring," he said, drawing an arm back to rest on the bench behind her. She ignored her own inner misgivings and acted like she hadn't noticed. This guy thinks he's a smooth operator or something, she thought with a mental sneer.

"I doubt that… it's so very exciting here in Kurohara. You must be busy all the time, managing a big hotel like this."

"Yes, unfortunately," he said with a soft sigh. "Sometimes it's difficult to get away."

"At least you a have a lovely garden to escape to," she said.

"True," he agreed, his black eyes staring at her as if he were trying to figure out a puzzle. It made her uncomfortable, but she didn't show it. "Tell me, Nanami-san, about your home. Rumor has it that you work in a brothel in the Hiroshi Swamps."

Her eyes widened a fraction and she continued to fidget with her fan. Well, that was forthright. "The rumors are true," she replied, not allowing herself to feel surprised at his boldness.

"Typically, men come to the Main Inn with the intention of finding a companion. They don't usually bring their escorts along." His voice was low and smooth, and somehow he had inched a little closer to her. "You must be something special."

Tenten blushed deeply despite herself. "Nakamura-san is fond of me," she replied, her heart beginning to race. She thought about the little bug that was hidden somewhere in her clothes and wondered what Shino was thinking about this conversation.

"I can see that," Jin said his voice light and teasing once again. "I must admit that I find myself curious about you as well, Nanami-san."

She wasn't sure what to say to that. "Oh," she murmured. He leaned in closer, until his nose was just inches away from hers. She felt his fingers slide gently around her wrist, stopping her from moving the fan that she hadn't been aware she'd been playing with. "Ah, Jin-san," she nearly squeaked, caught between righteous fury and fear. A part of her wanted to slap Jin into the next week, but the rational part of her was urging her not to. She couldn't risk blowing her cover now, even in a situation like this.

But even as he leaned in to kiss her, she found herself instinctively pushing him away. It was a gentle push, but he backed away all the same. "I'm afraid that Souza-san has paid for my time. And you haven't," she said, her voice patient and firm, as if she had to deal with this kind of thing all the time.

Thankfully, he backed away, but not as much as she would have liked. "I see," he murmured, his cold hand still gripping her wrist. "You're in love with him."

She very nearly sputtered in shock. Her? In love with Shino? Er, Souza, that is? "With Souza-san?" she asked, not completely sure if he was being serious. She wondered vaguely if she gave off that vibe around Shino.

"Yes, with your Souza-san," he confirmed, releasing her wrist from his gentle grasp. She rubbed it with her other hand out of instinct.

"I'm afraid you're wrong about that," she said, using the last of her nerves to muster up a polite smile. "He's just a customer."

"So why not have some fun?" he asked, his voice charming and attractive. The way he could go from cool and calm to boyish and charming was alarming.

She had to put her foot down before this went any further. "Because, Jin-san," she said, not trying so hard to contain her irritation, "Nakamura-san has paid me. And you have not." She snapped her fan shut as if to signal the end of the conversation and stood up to leave. "I'm afraid I have to get back. It's growing dark out."

To her surprise, he smiled. "I like you, Nanami-san," he said. "I'll let you get back to your companion. I'll be seeing you."

"Good night," she said, before walking as quickly as she could back to the room without looking rushed.

Shino had seen and heard the entire exchange though his kikkai.

He waited in the room for her as she walked back, monitoring her with his bug to ensure that she didn't run into any more trouble. He had initially been pleased when she'd been able to interview Akane, but when Jin had showed up he'd silently urged her to retreat.

She hadn't, of course.

The door opened and he looked up to see his teammate. She looked shaken, and he could feel her increased heart rate though the bug that was safely hiding under her clothes next to her heart.

"Did you see that?" she asked breathlessly.

"Unfortunately," he replied, his voice devoid of emotion. He had to admit that he could see exactly why Jin creeped her out. It seemed that he himself had developed a strong dislike for the man the second he'd sat too close to her.

Tenten sighed and slumped onto the bad, burying her face in her hands and taking a deep breath. "That was… weird," she said, her voice muffled through her hands. He wasn't sure 'weird' was a strong enough word to describe what had just happened.

"Agreed," he said simply, silently recalling the kikkai that he had planted on her in the garden. He couldn't help but feel some sort of misplaced irritation. It bothered him, not knowing why he felt so annoyed about Jin cornering her in the garden. Of course, he didn't like when men came on to unwilling women in general, but his feelings went a little beyond that. The feeling wasn't entirely unfamiliar—Hinata was no stranger to these types of things and he felt protective of her; she was like the sister he'd never had. But Tenten wasn't his sister.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, growing a little concerned for the way she was slouched on the bed.

She looked up at him and gave him her trademark smile. "I'm just fine," she assured him. He was glad to note that there were no tears in her eyes like he had feared. "I'm just confused and creeped out, I guess."

It was then that he realized exactly how much pressure she was under as the more sociable member of their team. While he was chosen to go undercover for his kikkai, she was often chosen for her ability to blend in to any social situation. That meant more pressure to be flirtatious and fun… and more risk on her part.

She stood up and heaved a great sigh. "What do you make of it all?" she asked, her eyes looking tired as she made her way to the bathroom, presumably to change.

"I do not know," he answered honestly. He would have to think about the information that they'd gained tonight, especially the parts about the former manager of the hotel dying before Jin came into power. But at the moment, he could only feel concerned for the woman who was currently changing in the bathroom.

She came out after a moment, her face washed clean of make-up and her hair tumbling around her shoulders.

"I might be too tired to think about it," she admitted with a tired laugh, practically falling onto the bed face-first. With a sigh, she rolled over and covered herself with some blankets.

He hummed, planning to think further on the matter. He sat down on his mat beside the bed.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to get some rest," he suggested.

"You don't have to tell me twice," she agreed. "Good night, Shino."

"… Good night," he said after a moment, surprised to hear his name fall so easily from her lips. For him, it was difficult to get used to the lack of honorifics.

It was only a few moments before he could hear soft breaths coming from the bed, and before he closed his eyes to fall asleep, he let himself feel relief for the fact that she had returned from the garden without coming to any harm. Tenten was a good teammate and an exceptional kunoichi. And really, she was a friend.

He had been worried for her safety when she was in the garden, and he'd felt sick when Jin had tried to kiss her. The relief he'd felt when she'd pushed him away in the nick of time was almost unprofessional.

After that thought, he cleared his mind, determined not to think anymore.