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Shino was becoming irritated. He was sick of his ward, sick of being treated like a slave, just sick of this mission entirely. Missions in general, in fact. He needed a vacation. Preferably a very long one.
“ABURAME! Where the hell are you?!” the Wantanabe bitch called from the lower story. She had no tolerance for lady-like manners, and did whatever the hell she pleased. Shino privately felt she didn’t need him, that she could scare off any Sound-nin that came her way. But her father insisted upon a bodyguard, therefore, Shino, chuunin-level ninja, was stuck babysitting for a fifteen-year-old brat. NOT his idea of relaxation.
“Coming, Wantanabe-san,” he sighed, weighing the pros and cons of just leaving this job that clearly required more patience that even HE possessed. ((Let’s see..option one: missing-nin that only has to worry about keeping himself alive. Option two: Leaf-nin killed by the stress of caring for the spoiled daughter of a Hidden Smoke patron.))
If he didn’t know the ANBU of the Leaf so well, he might opt for the first choice. But frankly, it would only buy him a few days of life. Well as he knew he didn’t possess the patience for this job, he knew even better that his ninja skills would not hold up against people like Anko.
Better to rough it out a little while longer. Perhaps, if he almost let an assassin by, she might get scared and lay off the drama. Then again, perhaps not.
“Shino-kun?” a quiet, familiar voice called from behind him.
“Ohayo, Hinata-chan. It’s been a while.” Shino replied, relieved to see a friendly face.
“I’ve missed you, Shino-kun.” She smiled shyly. “Tsunade-sama sent me to tell you that we are no longer required to protect Wantanabe. Her father’s been murdered, so there’s no one left to insist upon her protection.” If Shino hadn’t known better, he would have sworn the smile had become a smirk. “Mission completed, Shino-kun.”
“And Kami-sama, am I glad,” the bug boy sighed happily. Beneath the collar of his coat, he actually smiled.
“I heard that she was---difficult.”
“Beyond difficult. Shall we go?” he asked. He didn’t want to spend a moment longer in the general vicinity of the spoiled brat than he had to. “I have just one thing to take care of…”
Shino and Hinata strolled away from the Wantanabe mansion in cheerful companionship. The screams were music to his ears. In a few hours, they arrived back at the Leaf.
In unspoken agreement, the bug boy accompanied Hinata back to her home, which had become the apartment building down the road from his house. “Hinata-chan…” he began, a little tense as he dropped her off.
“Hai, Shino-kun?” she answered bashfully, blushing a little.
Instead of replying in words, he leaned in close and pecked her soft lips.
“Thanks.”
Ayame's Note:Didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped, but oh well. ^^