ShinoTen - Snow Beetle

"I am going to kill Lee for answering that ad in the newspaper," Tenten mumbled to herself as she watched the autumn scenery outside.

A chill wind was blowing outside as Tenten stared out the window of a dimly lit restaurant.  She eyed the soft blanket of snow that had fallen the night before, wishing that she could indulge in her child-like urge to go outside and play in it.  But Tenten soon pushed away such thoughts when she was reminded why she was there.

She was carefully nursing a glass of wine, making sure not to overdue the drinking before her date arrived.  A few tables away sat Hinata and Lee, carefully keeping an eye on her to make sure the guy was a perfect gentleman.  With a wave of his hand, Lee made sure his teammate knew that he was still there.  Hinata simply blushed at all the attention the taijutsu master in training was creating for them.

"And nothing he or Hinata says can stop me," she added as she waved back to him, resisting the urge to crack the glass in front of her watchful friends.

I could be training right now, she mused with dismay, Or at least sleeping in my nice warm bed.

Unfortunately, Lee felt that his female teammate wasn't making the most of her youthful adolescence and so took it upon himself to help her in the process of courtship.  Just then, a piece of paper found flew straight into the taijutsu user's face, seemingly to appear suddenly with the aid of the wind.  As it turns out, it was the personal pages of the village newspaper.  

Quickly scanning the potential bachelors, Lee found an ad of who he believed was the perfect guy for his teammate, immediately sending a reply in her name.  Though Tenten was extremely reluctant when the miniature version of her teacher suggested the idea, with a small plea from the shy Hyuuga heir the older kunoichi quickly gave in.  

"How can anyone say 'no' to her?" she mused as she unconsciously fiddled with the white rose pinned in her hair.

The three had spent the majority of the afternoon getting Tenten ready for the dinner date, Lee obsessing over every small detail.  Finally for the sake of Tenten's insanity and the well being of dear Lee, Hinata asked the taijutsu master in training to leave all the preparations to her.  After his departure, all was well with the world once more.

"I don't believe this," a familiar voice said, pulling her from her thoughts.

Lifting her head at the voice, Tenten was greeted with the familiar image of Shino.  Though the details of his attire were lost to her, what got the kunoichi's attention was the rose pin on the collar of his shirt.  That was the symbol her date was supposed to be wearing so that she would be able to recognize him.

"Shino?" the kunoichi called in disbelief, "You're my blind date?"

There was a dull thump in the background of the restaurant as Lee fainted, shocked with the information presented before him.  Glancing out the corner of her eye, Tenten saw for a brief moment Hinata rushing to the aid of her date, sending an apologetic glance towards the older kunoichi before attending to Lee.  Turning her attention back to Shino, Tenten smiled meekly at the bug-loving shinobi.

"Well, this is awkward," Shino commented.

"You're telling me," Tenten agreed with a laugh.  Then with a small gesture, she said, "Well, you're already here so you might as well sit down."

With a polite nod, Shino took her advice and sat down across the table from his kunoichi date.  Silence ensued as a waiter came to take their order.  While they waited for the food to arrive, Tenten glanced cautiously over to the optical-wearing young man only to find him glancing back.  Out of nervous habit, both smiled weakly at each other before turning their attention back to more mundane things.  Finally, the discomfort was interrupted by a soft chuckle, courtesy of Tenten.

"What's so funny?" Shino asked curiously.

"Nothing," Tenten replied with a shake of her head, "I just never thought you would be the type of person to put out a personal ad."

"Well," Shino said in calm retort, "I never thought you would be the type of person to answer a personal ad."

"Actually, Lee was the one who answered it," the older girl corrected, "Something about my youthful flower withering away to nothing."

"Really?" the bug master mused, a hint of amusement in his voice, "How ironic."

"How so?" the kunoichi inquired with interest.

"Kiba was the one who put the ad in the newspaper," the Aburame heir replied matter-of-factly.

Tenten's brows furrowed in confusion before the truth finally dawned on her.  A smile was instantly on her face as she fought back a laugh.  

"Looks like our teammates had the same idea," the kunoichi said, a chuckle managing to slip in, "But at least Kiba didn't follow you on your date."

"Think again," Shino corrected, pointing to something behind her.

Curiously, the weapons goddess turned around to where the calm shinobi was pointing to and immediately saw Kiba peeking at them from a nearby table.  Seeing that the kunoichi had spotted him, the dog-lover quickly tried to hid behind the menu that he was holding up as a not too reliable cover.

"Oh," Tenten said as she turned back to face her date.

The two sat in silence once again as neither could figure out what else to say or where to go from there.  Then Tenten opened her mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by a woman's scream coming from the other side of the room.  Like the trained shinobis they were, both Shino and Tenten snapped their heads towards the sound only to be greeted with the sight of a lady falling backwards in her chair as she frantically backed away from her meal.  

"What in the world is that monstrosity?" she screamed.

Squinting, Tenten strained to see why the woman was so hysterical about her food.  She tried to hide a chuckle when she spotted a small centipede crawl out of the woman's salad onto the table.  Turning back to the calm Shino, there was an amusingly suspicious glint in her eyes.  

"Maybe I should've left him at home," the bug-loving shinobi said casually.

"Maybe we should just leave," the kunoichi suggested, "A restaurant isn't the best place for your...friends."

Shino nodded in agreement and quickly got up from his seat just as the waiter came by with their food.  He watched them despairingly as Shino politely pulled out Tenten's chair for her.  Without hesitation, the shades-wearing shinobi whispered something in the waiter's ear, instantly lifting the server's spirits as he dashed off towards a new destination.

"What did you tell him?" Tenten asked curiously as the bug master helped her put on her coat.

"I just sent everything over to Kiba," he replied, hiding his shock as the kunoichi picked up the centipede when she walked by the woman's table, "He'll enjoy it more than us."

"But the food here is a little too expensive for Kiba," Tenten pointed out as they walked out the front doors.

"I know," Shino replied casually, "Call it payback for setting me up against my will."

Shaking her head at the thought, Tenten handed the centipede over to Shino and followed close behind as he stepped out into the cool autumn air.  She smiled at the crisp weather, looking forward to the holiday season that was just around the corner.  But the smile soon disappeared when she looked over and saw the solemn expression in the insect-lover's face [she learned how to read hidden emotions from being around Neji].

"What's wrong?" she asked curiously.

"I don't like this weather," the shinobi replied, gently stroking the centipede, "It upsets my friends."

"Well," she said cheerfully, an idea suddenly popping into her head, "Follow me!"

Before Shino could ask any questions, the older girl was rushing down the street, stopping only to look back and motion for him to follow her.  With a nonchalant shrug, the bug-loving shinobi started walking after the excited kunoichi to whatever destination she had in mind.  

"You know, this has to be the most you've said to me since...well, ever," Tenten mused as they continued to walk through the snow.

"Well, it wouldn't be very polite of me to not talk to my date, now would it?" the younger boy pointed out.

"How did Kiba get to you agree to go on this, any ways?" the kunoichi inquired curiously, "I have a hard time believing that you would agree willingly."

"He threatened to start bring pesticide to practice," was his slightly saddened reply.

"I see," she commented with a nod.

"What about you?" he asked in return, "I didn't think Lee could be so persuasive to get you to agree to this."

"He isn't," she replied with a laugh, "Luckily for him, he had Hinata's help."

"I see," Shino commented, unintentionally repeating her reaction.

"Well," the older kunoichi announced, "We're here!"

Curiosity, Shino looked up from staring at the snow-covered ground to find himself standing at the old Konoha bridge.  Surprisingly, it looked almost brand new and completely in tact for being the first and only overpass in Konoha, built when the village was first founded.  In true Shino fashion, the insect master raised a brow skeptically and turned to his companion.

"What are we doing here?" he asked curiously.

"You'll see," the kunoichi replied suspiciously just before she grabbed his hand and dragged him across the historical bridge.

A little taken aback at the intimate contact, Shino suddenly felt warm.  Thinking that it was because of her hand holding his, the bug master quickly yanked his hand away only to find that he was still warm.  Looking around the bridge, he noticed clouds of heated smoke rising up from the water below.  

"Why is it so warm here?" he inquired curiously.

"Because there's a small heated geyser under the water," Tenten explained as she leaned over the edge of the bridge to look into the not so frozen river below, "We found it a few years ago when Gai had us rebuild the bridge."

"Really?" he questioned with interest.

"It's not all that warm, but it keeps the water and the bridge at a reasonable temperature throughout the year," the high ranking kunoichi continued on, "I just figured your bugs would enjoy the warmth more than us."

"How...considerate of you," the younger boy said hesitantly, unsure how to react to her polite gesture towards his multi-legged friends.

No one's ever show this much patience with my bugs , Shino mused, Except Lee, but he loves all nature.

"No problem," the girl said.  Then lightly stroking the centipede in Shino's hand, she asked, "So, aside from this handsome fellow, who else did you bring with you?"

Rather than replying to her, Shino put away the centipede and wordlessly pulled out the white rose in Tenten's hair to hold it between them.  A small red and black lady bug slowly crawled out from the sleeve of Shino's jacket and contently started munching on the flower petals.  

"This is Keiko," Shino said in reply to Tenten's unasked question.

"You name your insects?" the kunoichi inquired curiously.

"Just her," the bug master replied with a nod.

"Why just her and none of the others?" she asked inquisitively.

"Because she's my favorite," Shino replied.  Then to elaborate, he added, "She goes everywhere with me."

"Well, she‘s adorable," Tenten stated softly.  Then as an afterthought, she said, "And she can have the rose."

"...She said thank you," the insect-lover said after a pause, obviously taking the time to listen to what the little bug was saying.

"Well, she's very welcome," the kunoichi said happily in response.

"What?" Shino exclaimed in slight alarm, bending down to the rose to hear better, "...I can't tell her that."

"Tell me what?" the weapon wielding girl asked curiously.

The leaf shinobi paused at her question, unwilling to answer her.  But the lady bug on the rose in his hand was persistent and strongly insisted that he reply to Tenten's question.  

I could never say no to Keiko , the shinobi mentally admitted.  

"Shino?" Tenten called suspiciously.  

"She says...that she thinks you're cute as well," the shinobi finally replied hesitantly, pushing down a blush that was forming.

"Oh," was her response.  Then as an afterthought, Tenten said, "...Thank you."

Shino seemed like he was about to say something else, but was interrupted when a single flake of snow fell on the white petals of the rose in his hand.  As the kunoichi looked to the sky at the falling snow, the younger shinobi couldn't help but admire the way the white flakes decorated her dark hair.  Unexpectedly, Tenten childishly attempted to catch a falling snowflake, smiling with content when her goal was achieved.  

"Amazing," Shino mumbled softly to himself, frozen in place by the site.

Oblivious to the shinobi's compliment to her, Tenten turned to her companion only to be greeted by his blank gaze.  Realizing that he was staring, Shino carefully tucked the rose inside his jacket as he tried to suppress a slight blush.  Seeing the odd expression on the shinobis face and seeing how uncomfortable he seemed, Tenten attempted to ease the moment but was interrupted before she even uttered a word.

"Dynamic entry!" came the all too familiar voice of her teacher.

Knowing the chaos that was coming, Tenten quickly pulled Shino out of the way.  Loosing sight of his appointed target, Gai missed the bridge completely and landed into frozen river below.  In her mad rush to save her companion from the attack, both had slipped on the ice that had formed on the wooden planks and fell to the ground, the kunoichi landing on top of the unsuspecting bug master.  In true Tenten fashion, the kunoichi got up without a flinch and was yelling over the side of the bridge before Shino could even register the slight intimate contact that they had shared.

"Gai, what are you doing here?" Tenten asked in annoyance.

"Tenten, my youthful flower!" her teacher cried cheerfully despite the fact that he was completely soaked in twenty degree weather, "Lee told me of your social engagement so I came to ensure that your delicate bud was not dishonored."

"Oh Kami," Tenten sighed in an exasperated manner, rubbing her forehead in frustration, "I'm going to kill Lee the next time we practice together."

"Not before I do," Shino said flatly.

"Well, I think we better end this before we get any more surprises," Tenten suggested, turning to face her date.  

"Ok," the leaf shinobi agreed plainly.

"I actually had a nice time," the kunoichi admitted, "See you around, Shino."

Before the shinobi could say a word in response, Tenten leaned in and gave Shino a light kiss on the cheek.  With a wave, she left towards her home, leaving the bug master standing on the bridge in shock.  Unconsciously, the shinobi's hand had reached up to touch his still warm cheek, the only sign of the contact

Maybe girls aren't as troublesome as Shikamaru says , Shino mused as he started his trek home as well, heading in the opposite direction as the kunoichi.