"Good night Shino, happy birthday." Hinata said in her usual quiet manner before leaving Shino's apartment.
"Thanks again for all the help Hinata." Shino replied in his usual flat manner as she left. Her escort was already waiting outside and Shino hated drawn out departures anyway.

That left Shino with only one remaining guest, Kiba. His second teammate was passed out on the floor. Despite still only being 17 Kiba had thought to bring some sake to Shino's 18th birthday party. How Kiba got his hands on the stuff was one matter of concern, what confused Shino was why bring sake with the intention of giving it as a present only to wind up drinking all of it yourself.

Shino went to work finishing cleaning up after his guests. Thankfully Hinata and his teacher Kurenai had offered to help with the dishes, but there was glitter everywhere and Shino was not about to let that linger until morning.

It was a nice apartment. Everything he needed for starting himself out as a young man. Turning 18 and getting away from your parent's house is what every young man is supposed to do. Though this sentiment was more often repeated by Shino's father than by Shino himself. His flat occupied one of the corners of the Aburame compound but it had direct access to the streets allowing Shino some degree of freedom from his parents.

Kiba became slightly roused by the sound of the vacuum that Shino had brought out to clean up the floor. His attempts to rise to his feet slightly amused Shino, his teammate always seemed clumsy to him.

"Well thish haash been a really niche party Shino," Kiba said slurring his word and walking imbalanced, "I think I'll go home now *hiccup*"

Shino finished vacuuming and put the machine back in his cloak closet when he heard a thump on the other side of the room followed by an audible "ow" coming from Kiba. Closing the door Shino found that Kiba had fallen and put a sizeable gash in his head by hitting the table by the front door.

"It'sh okay, thish doesn't hurt sho bad." Kiba said as his eyes rolled back into his head.

Shino rolled his eyes himself, but for an entirely different reason. He took off his overcoat, knowing he would get blood on it, picked up Kiba and proceeded to go off to the nearest hospital. Thankfully the Inuzuka compound was only a couple of blocks away, it's hospital was usually open at night. Adding to Kiba's usual bad scent was the smell of alcohol on his breath, Shino quickened his pace through the quiet evening streets of Konoha. Luckily the veterinary hospital was open despite the fact that it was well after midnight.

As Shino entered he saw that the resident doctor was Kiba's sister Hana. She was wearing the white overcoat that most doctor's wear and doing paperwork at her desk. Her hair was not tied back in her usual ponytail, she probably lets it down late at night only tying it back when she has to work on a patient Shino figured. When she looked up to notice Shino carrying Kiba she pulled her hair back behind her ear, for some reason this action caused all of Shino's Kikaichu to flutter in their hives deep in Shino's body.

"Good evening Shino," Hana began in her gentle tone of voice which hardened up when she noticed the person Shino was carrying, "Oh dear, what did he do to himself this time?"
"Your brother needs some treatment to his head," Shino said bluntly, "After all he fell and hit my front table."
"Put him in this chair over here then." Hana said while tying her hair back in her usual ponytail.

Shino tried his best to get Kiba to sit upright but by this point the body had gone limp from sleep.

Hana pulled out a flashlight to get a better look at Kiba's scalp she sniffed sharply twice before saying, "Oh dear, mother is going to be angry at you little Kiba. This is the second time this year you've stolen from her sake cabinet, and it's still just January."

Pulling out a pair of scissors from her pocket she slipped the hair away from where the gash was. Her lips pursed as it seemed she was appraising the damage.

Shino was waiting on the other side of the room when Hana called to him, "Would you mind grabbing that white bucket up there is labeled staples?"

Turning around Shino saw the bucket she had pointed to and brought it over to her. She opened the lid and inside were all manner of medical staples of varying sizes. Without even looking in the box she reached in and grabbed the size she needed. She then got up from the chair she was sitting on and motioned for Shino to sit in it.

"I need you to hold his head still while I do this," she said, "thankfully he's asleep so I don't have to waste anesthesia on him."

Taking his teammate's head in his hands Shino did as he was told as Hana applied an antibiotic disinfectant to the area right before she began stapling her little brother's head shut. The tool she used looked more like a drill than anything else, but in just a few quick motions she had put eight staples in her brother's head closing his wound.

"Now lay him on the bed and let him sleep it off," Hana said as she took off her gloves and once again undid her hair. "Thanks for brining this lug here. He's always been a bit of a burden, but he's a good kid."
"Do you need me for anything else?" Shino asked hesitantly.
"Not really."

For some reason Hana seemed a little sad. Shino had always felt a connection to this woman who was the sister of his squad member, but was always unsure of himself when around her. But for some reason it was Hana who seemed to be uncomfortable with herself this evening.

Before turning to leave Shino heard her say, "I know it's a day late but I want to wish you a happy birthday." She was still wearing her white coat, which in the soft light gave the impression that she was glowing faintly; Shino's bugs fluttered again.

Clearing his throat, Shino responded, "Uh, thank you." He then waved her a goodbye before leaving.

That night Shino didn't sleep at all. His Kikaichu were going crazy, he had to release them periodically to ease the vibrations they were causing. In the morning he went to see his father about it, telling him everything about how the bugs were acting.

"Hmm, yes they do that sometimes;" Shino's father Shibi said, "but they usually do that only as a reaction to some stimulus."
"Stimulus, like what?" Shino asked confusedly.
"Well the Kikaichu feed off of our chakra network, which is made up of our body and spiritual energies. Anything that disrupts either of those two can cause your chakra to be slightly different which will make the Kikaichu react like that."
"So what caused them to react?"
"I have my own theory about that son. Now you say they didn't start going crazy until you got to the hospital right?"
"Yeah."
"If I recall correctly you mentioned that the young Inuzuka Hana was on duty correct."
Shino felt his face start to get warmer, "Yes she was."
"And the Kikaichu started reacting when you saw her?"
Shino started feeling faint vibrations even as his father was talking. His arm was twitching noticeably, even from behind that cloak of his Shino saw his father smiling.

"Just as I thought son. Your bugs are reacting due to two things: the first is your increased heart rate that occurs when you're around the young Inuzuka girl, the second is…" Shibi let out an audible 'ahem', "a rise in your body's hormones."
"Are you saying that my insects are trying to tell me that I'm in love?"
"The technical term is twitterpated son, but yes you are. Even if you don't necessarily recognize it yourself yet. Eventually your bugs will get accustomed to you being like that and they will settle down. Until then, maybe you should avoid thinking about the Inuzuka girl."

Shino thought for a moment about what his father said, but realized the impossibility of the suggestion. Even though the vibrations were worsening, he couldn't seem to get Hana off of his mind.