Keeping a firm hold to one end, Tenten tossed back the scroll, quickly unraveling it and shooting out a barrage of weapons and traps, essentially leaving a virtual gauntlet for the enemy to deal with. The metal gleamed and flashed in the moonlight, serving as the only signal to their presence before disappearing into the night to lay in wait for the enemy to set them off. Satisfied with her efforts to stall their pursuit, she used her chakra to yo-yo the parchment back into her grasp and turned back to continue her escape, positioned at the rear of the squad to ensure that everyone else was covered from an attack. As a student of Maito Gai and one of the leading specialists in her discipline, she had the necessary speed and the most experience in fieldwork of this caliber.
“Three...two...one,” she counted down to herself.
An explosion was soon heard afterwards, quickly followed by the sound of hard metal hitting against solid wood indicating that the box of explosive tags and chained sickles had been disturbed. It would take out a handful of agents, lessening the advantage they held over the small band of Konoha shinobis. But the release of weapons would also signal to the enemy that there were other traps about and they would be more careful, perhaps even taking to the treetops in hopes of avoiding her traps all together.
“The trees!” the kunoichi realized, much too late, “I knew I forgot something.”
The brunette could only hope that some of her devices had managed to spring upwards towards the higher branches. Suddenly, a kunai caught the kunoichi in the arm, telling her otherwise. The sharp blade slashed at the pink fabric of her sleeve as well as cutting at the skin underneath; the rain-nins were not going to stop their hunt any time soon. A low whizzing sound indicated that they were using the chained sickles she had left behind. Kicking off against a nearby tree trunk, Tenten leapt into the air to avoid getting pinned, landing softly on the ground as three sharp-edged blades embedded themselves deep into the tough bark. The second attack, however, came too quickly to avoid as she only had enough time to bring up her arms to protect any vital organs from major damage. But they never reached their target.
Dust flew up as the barrier of bugs rose up to block the chained sickles from embedding their sharp claws into the flesh of the kunoichi. When she didn’t feel the impact of the weapons, Tenten carefully peeked out from the safety of her arms only to find her commanding officer looming quietly beside her. His hands were casually stuffed in his pockets in the usual calm stance he was prone to take during battle.
“...Captain?” she inquired, wondering why he wasn’t in front leading the squad back to the village.
A shower of senbon needles came rushing down at them, some managing to break through the wall of kakai bugs, cutting her off from any further questioning. Running on instinctual response, Tenten reached back for a scroll to quickly counter the attack, only pausing long enough for the tiny beetles to make an opening for her larger weapons to fly through. The holes in their defenses closed up once again, only allowing her to hear the hard impact and grunts of pain from the rain-nins.
“Go,” came the bug master’s calm reply to her previous query, gesturing with a slight jerk of his head for her to continue back to the Hidden Leaf Village with the others.
The kunoichi knew better than to question Shino’s orders, especially since he out-ranked her in both skill and title. He had been assigned as the captain of the mission by the Hokage herself, after all. So without another word, Tenten headed off to join with the others with the young Aburame following not too far behind, keeping his insect barrier at the ready to keep the squad safe should there be any further attacks. She released a few smoke bombs for good measure to cover up their escape while the agents of Rain worked to gather their wits.
“That should keep them for a while,” the kunoichi commented, mostly to herself but loud enough for her companion to hear.
She ran for what seemed like hours, never ceasing or slowing down until finally Shino called for them to stop for the night. By that time the moon had already made its slow climb into the darkened sky, casting its shadows on a sleeping world. Everyone moved silently to set up camp, going through the usual motions of splitting up the chores of gathering the needed supplies. Shino rubbed tiredly at his aching eyes, working around the rim of his trademark shades.
Maintaining the insect barrier for that long had used up a lot more chakra than he had intended, leaving him utterly tired and in a foul mood. The squad had proved to be a disappointment from the start, teeming with newly appointed and inexperienced Chuunins. The only exception seemed to be Tenten, and that was only because she held seniority over the others and had already done fieldwork past the Genin level. It was for that reason that he made no objections when the Hokage made her his second in command for the mission.
“So this is what Konoha has been reduced to?” the young Aburame scoffed to himself, “Shameful.”
His brows furrowed at the thought, only adding to the intimidating façade that the Chuunins feared, none of the younger agents daring to approach their commanding officer unless absolutely necessary. Shino sat there in front of the campfire in muted silence, seemingly oblivious to all the activity going on about him while he brooded on the matter. The bug manipulator was so preoccupied with his great disappointment and irritation that he barely noticed when Tenten sat down across the fire from him. She let out a quiet sigh to make sure he knew she was there, knowing that even the talented Aburame Shino could be distracted by deep thinking.
Throwing another log into the fire, the kunoichi casually glanced at the silent Aburame for what seemed like the millionth time since they stopped. He had appeared uncharacteristically stressed over the outcome of the mission, which worried her more than the thought of facing an ambush behind enemy lines. A squad was only as strong as their leader, relying on his orders to get them through anything that they faced; and Aburame Shino was one of the strongest shinobis she knew.
“Are you alright, Captain?” Tenten inquired when he made to rub at his tired eyes again.
A nod of reassurance was the only reply she received before the insect master straightened his posture to look up at her through the flames. She smiled back at him in greeting, causing the usually stoic leaf-nin to pause for a moment at the image. Suddenly all the minor problems that had consumed his thoughts before weren’t as important while his heart filled with an all too familiar feeling that had haunted him for years whenever she was around.
There was no question in his mind that he was attracted to the surname-less girl and had been for a long time. But there was the problem of committing his feelings into something that seemed to be as fleeting as the life of a butterfly. Much like love, a butterfly was beautiful and cherished for what it brought to the world. But he had seen love treated as nothing more than just a passing thought as well as an endless source of heartache, if his two teammates were any reference.
For years he watched as Kiba quietly suffered the burns of rejection every time Hinata would leave him for the company of the blonde demon carrier of the Hidden Leaf Village. He was sure that the Hyuuga heiress meant no offense by it and doubted that she even knew what she was doing to the Inuzuka pup. To be cast aside so easily without a second thought; Shino feared such an existence, more so than anything else in the world.
“Good,” the kunoichi said in response to his nod, her small and thoughtful smile still present, “I was starting to get worried.”
Shino discreetly cleared his throat at her quiet declaration, finding it all too uncomfortable to be so close to the kunoichi after hearing her make such a comment. All it did was fuel the rebellious fire within his heart, the one he had fought for years to suppress while it grew and cultivated into something more than it had been in the beginning. His feelings for the weapon mistress had in fact reached far beyond a mere infatuation as they came into contact more often through the years, only serving to add to the growing emotions he felt for her.
“I’ll take first watch,” Tenten volunteered, breaking the silence that had settled between them.
“We’ll put two on each watch,” came his orders, his voice retaining its usual monotone edge.
“But the others are exhausted,” Tenten insisted, knowing perfectly well that this was a first mission for many on the squad.
Shino made to protest the idea, when a familiar tiny tickle on the fold of his knuckle stopped him from uttering another word. Keiko was finally awake, and she was making her opinion known, at least to him. The young Aburame heir loved his small friend with all his heart, but there were times where he wished that she would simply cease in playing his matchmaker. Pushing him towards the older kunoichi had become a hobby of sorts for the black and red insect, gaining an inch of progress every now and then as the years passed.
Fine, he finally agreed, begrudgingly giving in to her demands once again, knowing that he could hardly refuse anything the little lady bug requested.
“I’ll stand watch with you, then,” he announced softly.
“Are you sure you’re up to it?” the leaf-kunoichi questioned with concern, “You used up a lot of chakra before.”
Shino gave a short nod once again in affirmation, reassuring the older kunoichi that he was perfectly capable of aiding in the first watch of the night. He secretly frowned behind the collar of his jacket when Keiko started buzzing with excitement at prospects of her master spending the night with the woman of his dreams, but quickly smoothed out the gesture when he found Tenten watching him carefully from her side of the fire.
“...I guess I’ll go tell the others, then,” she said softly, throwing in another piece of wood before getting up from her seat.
Dusting herself free of dirt, the weapon specialist headed off to assign the shifts and partnering up the rest of the team, only sparing her commanding officer a fleeting glance before going about her business. She trusted that Shino would have no objections to her decisions, especially since he seemed to have no objections against her going. Unbeknownst to Tenten, such a thing would be unnecessary; Shino planned on standing watch the entire night.
“What are you trying to do to me, Keiko?” the young Aburame asked rhetorically to his six-legged friend as she crawled about his hand.
Rather than listen to her reply, Shino turned his attention to Tenten as she walked about the tents informing the others to rest up for their shift. All the while, she kept a careful eye on the bug master, still concerned about his health after expelling such a great amount of chakra that not only sustained him, but his small friends as well. After all, pride was something all the shinobis in Konoha had in common, if her two teammates were any indication.
“Well, that’s done,” the kunoichi stated as she sat back down in front of the fire, “We’ll wake up the next shift in about four hours.”
Tenten reached over for another piece of wood she had gathered earlier to feed to the fire, poking at the remains to keep the cinders burning. It was only then that he noticed the blood on the torn sleeve of her shirt, frowning a little at what he saw. The stain looked larger than it did when they had first stopped. As if she were reading his thoughts the kunoichi pulled out a small first-aid kit from one of her many scrolls and proceeded to unhook the top clasps of her shirt, exposing the injured area in order to properly clean the wound. The alcohol that needed to be applied to sterilize the cut stung a bit more than Tenten remembered, but was of little concern to her as the kunoichi moved to attempt the actual wrapping of the bandages. Personal experiences told her that such a task would be harder with only one arm available, as the other one needed to remain still for the gauze to be secured correctly.
Shino watched Tenten carefully as she struggled with the task, finally deciding to help her in the end when the kunoichi resorted to holding one end of the gauze with her teeth (and after some coaxing from Keiko). Wordlessly, the insect manipulator moved to sit down beside her and took the roll of bandages from her hand. He proceeded to wrap the wound before she could say a word in protest against it, ignoring the mass amount of contact he was having with her heated skin. The young Aburame was only glad that Tenten did not possess an enhanced sense of hearing; otherwise she would take notice of the quickening beat of his heart. He was especially thankful for the cover of night as it did well to hide the light hue of pink that was slowly burning up the edges of his ears.
“...Thanks,” Tenten said appreciatively when he had finished, nervously flashing her usual smile.
“It could be poisoned,” was all that he said in reply, turning to the fire burning before them, “Have it checked when we get back.”
“...Right,” the kunoichi stated in response, doing well to ignore the awkward feeling she felt at being brushed aside so easily, “Of course, captain.”
Cautiously, Shino slid his gaze to the agitated lady bug crawling about his hand, softly reprimanding him for the missed opportunities that were presenting themselves to the young insect master. Sighing at the matter, he decided to let Keiko continue her small rant for now. Any conversation between the two of them would have to wait until Tenten was well out of earshot. He knew the little bug meant well and only wanted the best for her master; for such devotion to his happiness, Shino would always cherish his longtime friend above all others. But her persistence was beginning to wear even on his seemingly endless patience.
“...Thank you for saving me before, too,” Tenten stated, breaking him out of his mental dealings.
“Hn,” was the bug master’s only response, keeping his eyes locked on the scene before him in hopes of forgetting exactly how close they were sitting beside each other.
“We...work well together,” the kunoichi continued on, her arm casually brushing against his, “Your insect wall and my flying projectiles were the perfect mixture of offense and defense.”
“...Indeed,” the young Aburame agreed, realizing the truth of that statement for the first time.
He had been too wrapped up in the squad’s overall performance and the disappointment that had followed to notice it before, such was the level of focus he had to maintain during an assignment as the commanding officer. But now that his thoughts were free to roam on the idea, Shino recalled how her weapons sliced soundlessly through the air alongside his multi-legged minions. It was like an artful dance that their two skills had created together; the embodiment of everything that she represented in his mind.
A perfect union, both deadly and beautiful, Shino mused to himself as he stole a glance at the kunoichi out the corner of his eye, Just like us.
It was then that he finally realized what Keiko had known all along, why the little lady bug had been working so hard to help her young master, even at the risk of annoying him. He was in love, madly and deeply in love with Tenten. And much like everything else he did, Shino knew that he would always feel this way about her, such was the way of his heart. It was only a question of whether she felt the same, something he was not yet ready to do for fear of her answer.
“...We should...team up more often,” the kunoichi commented, methodically tossing in another piece of wood into the fire.
“...Indeed,” Shino agreed, finally taking notice of the light shade of pink dusted in her cheeks as she avoided his gaze.
But...maybe love is worth the risk, he mused, allowing a genuine smile to briefly form on his lips.
Finally finding the courage to meet his eyes, Tenten looked away from the flames for a moment to gaze up at her commanding officer and simply smiled as she had always done. I was a gesture Shino was not unfamiliar with and had always stood as a silent comfort for him when things weren’t going as planned. There were times when he found himself missing it during missions, his mind constantly bringing up the image when he was subjected to the silence of the night during his watch.
Yeah, it’s definitely worth the risk, the insect master thought, firmly set in that belief.
“Tenten?” he called out softly to her, straightening his back into a proper posture.
“...Yes Shino?” the kunoichi questioned curiously, shocked that he had been the one to break the silence this time.
“I have...a question,” came his response, still rather hesitant as his nerves worked against him.
