"And that is the situation as it stands now." Shino sighed, this was the last place he wanted to be at the moment. But he was desperate; he needed a solution and he was out of ideas.

Next to him, his shaggy-haired teammate poured himself another glass of sake. He let out a long sigh and looked at Shino. Then, he took a drink and looked away thoughtfully. "Well. That sure is something. Didn't think you'd be one to get yourself into a mess like this."

"I didn't plan for this to happen. Things moved quicker than I expected." There was a bit of distain coming through in Shino's voice, unintentionally showing his annoyance with what was being implied by his dog-like teammate.

"See, that's the problem Shino. This isn't a scenario that you can make plans around. There isn't a timetable or anything. What makes or breaks the whole thing is timing and intent. You kind of failed at both buddy."

"I didn't fail. I miscalculated."

Kiba sighed deeply and shook his head. "No, you failed. You failed to understand that to get anything out of a relationship, you need to put things into it as well. You tried to play it safe and keep yourself all secure in your shell, and only managed to make a mess. In fact, the best thing you've done was coming clean, because at least now you haven't built your friendship with Tenten on a lie."

"The best? Kiba, because I told the truth, she probably hates me."

"Don't jump to conclusions Shino. Tomorrow, you'll know for sure. But before then, we need to figure out a way to get you out of this 'I lied to you so that I could get into your pants' situation you're in."

"I didn't lie to get into her pants!" Shino was almost shocked that he was getting this riled up, but then again this wasn't exactly one of his best moments. Normally he was so calm; perhaps this whole situation was actually bad for him.

"Maybe you didn't, but that's how it looks, and I can't guarantee that she won't think that's what you were doing."

"So what do I do about it?"

Kiba sighed. "I'm not sure."

"What?" How could Kiba not know? "You have a successful relationship going. How could you not know what to do?"

"Like I said, it's not exactly set in stone. Every woman is different. What works for one might not work for another."

"Great. So basically, I'm doomed."

"Now hold on, I didn't say that. This situation isn't unsalvageable. At least, I don't think it is. Here's what you're going to do. Tomorrow, you're going to show up, you're going to apologize like your life depends on it, and you're going to get her something to show you mean it. And I hope you mean it, because if she doesn't think you're serious, then you're pretty much doomed."

Shino sighed again. "Great. What am I supposed to say?"

"Hold on, that's not for me to say. That's all on you."

"Again, what am I supposed to say."

"That's up to you. But honestly, I'd make it heartfelt, and learn how to actually get out of your comfort zone. Oh, and find something she likes. That's really all I can tell you."

Shino stood up. He had less than twenty-four hours to get this done and the clock was ticking. "Alright. Thanks for the help Kiba."

"No worries. Hope it goes well for you."

Then he took off, trying to think back to what Tenten seemed interested in when he had met her at the store. He would worry about figuring out what to say to her once he had the gift. First he went to the weapon shop, then he stood dumbfounded as the sheer enormity of the challenge before him sunk in. What was he going to get her? She probably owned every single weapon in here! What was he going to do? Go for something symbolic? Something expensive?

Shino spent hours in the store, debating on what he could get. This was like life or death for him; he couldn't imagine a tie when he had put more thought into a gift. Then it hit him. He knew exactly what to get. It was so perfect that he couldn't believe that it took so long to think of it. After quickly buying the gift, he fled the store like his hair was on fire so that he could give himself as much time as possible to think about what he was going to say.

But when the time came to go and meet her, Shino didn't feel like he had thought of anything. Nothing he tried to imagine himself saying seeming to be good enough. And as he paced around the area that Tenten had said to be, he kept distracting himself by stopping himself from clutching the gift in his jacket hard enough to cut himself.

A dull thud to his right signaled the arrival of his bun-wearing object of his affection. Shino silently swallowed, happy his glasses kept his eyes from revealing how nervous he was. Of course, they didn't save him from Tenten's hard gaze, silently judging him. She was like a harsh winter mountain peak, glaring down and him and intimidating him with the seemingly indomitable challenge that awaited him.

"Tenten... I have something to say."

"I figured you would. Well, I decided I would at least hear you out, so... go for it." She sighed and leaned back against a tree, waiting.

Shino took a deep breath, his mind racing at a million miles a minute. "Listen... I'm sorry I lied to you. I promise I wasn't trying to make you like me just so I could get into your pants. I was trying to get to know you because you interested me and I wanted to get closer to you..." Oh god did he really say that? He must have. This was a terrible idea.

Before his dumb mouth said anything else, Shino pulled out the gift from his jacket. It was one of the expensive throwing knives that she had shown him days before. "I bought this for you to show that I wasn't just stringing you along. I'm bad at explaining my intentions, but I didn't want any of this to happen. I just needed a reason to get to know you better and be around you. I just thought that if I didn't invent a reason, you wouldn't want to get to know me."

There was a few moments of silence between the two of them before Tenten slowly moved forward and took the knife in her hands. She spun it in her palm a few times before throwing it behind her and hitting a painted target dead center. For the briefest of moments, Shino thought that she had rejected it. But then, she turned back to him and nodded.

"It's perfectly balanced, the mark of high quality." Again silence fell for a few moments. "Shino, I wouldn't have needed a reason to get to know you better if you weren't such a cold person. Part of the reason we never connected was because you never showed who you actually were. When you were honest, it was the first time I thought I was seeing the real you. And now, I feel like I'm seeing the real you again. And I'm willing to try again to get to know you... but only if the you I'm getting to know is the you I'm seeing now."

Shino nodded. "I promise. No more hiding behind in my shell."

Tenten gave the smallest of smiles. "Apology accepted. Now, let's make up for that day wasted and get some training done." She moved over to pull the knife out of the tree, giving Shino a good look at Tenten as she walked. He did want to get to know her better, but it didn't hurt that she was beautiful. And as they trained that day, Shino never stopped reminding himself that for the moment, he was the luckiest man in the world.