DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto, Kishi does.

NOTES: Okay, my lungs are dying and I'm tired, so here's the easiest way to lay it out:

1. This was intended for Metamorphoze originally - I haven't updated my other fics in a while, and I apologise. I intend on doing so as soon as uni is calmed down and I can actually breathe without the aid of an inhaler. However, like Plastic Fangs, this story grew and grew until Metamorphoze wouldn't be able to contain it anymore. So here it is.

2. All of the songs in this story, aside from the ones openly stated as being used as covers, are being used as songs Shino's fictional band, The Sacred, wrote and performed. Obviously the songs were written and belong to the bands/ghost writers, not these fictional characters. But you have to be clear on these things, of course. All set lists for concerts are given at the beginning of each chapter, crediting the actual musicians.

3. There is Neji bashing here. I hate Neji on the best of days, I admit - that's just my personal taste. I do it because a) it's funny to me and b) I see it as helping Shino in his goal to getting tail. Go Shino! But in this fic, Neji's being bashed exceptionally hard because fame has gone to his head. He's the frontman of one of the world's biggest bands - it's gonna happen. So please, Neji fans, don't take this personally. It's a fictional and free fun world.

4. I don't know what it's like to be a PA for a rock band, or anything for that matter. I've also never been backstage at any of these venues, nor do I know how many songs are usually on set lists. I've bluffed my way through this and focused on the pure entertainment value.

5. This came from a dream I had, where I saw Shino as a frontman at a concert and he was singing Tenacious D's The Metal. Rel encouraged me to write rockstar!Shino up (she's the driving force behind most of what I do!) and here he is.

Hope I didn't forget anything there. Please read, enjoy and review!

SET LIST FOR THE EARL'S COURT SHOW

DragonForce – Through the Fire and the Flames

Creed – My Sacrifice

Matchbox 20 – Busted

Staind – Epiphany

Velvet Revolver – Slither

Tenten darted through throngs of backstage hands, iced water bottles and cigarette packs in her hands. She jumped over cables and discarded instrument stands, avoiding frantic people and blowing brown strands away from her face.

Summer had set in thickly in England, ruining every single stereotype Tenten had readily believed, and beneath her staff tee and cut-off jean shorts sweat clung to her skin and settled in the small of her back.

She scanned the sea of faces for a familiar person, setting the bottles and cigarettes down on one of the tables. She wiped sweat off of her brow, suddenly feeling the heady thrum of her pulse in her neck. She wasn't sure if her slick skin was because of the heat or her nerves.

Tenten spotted a familiar mop of crimson hair and jogged over, avoiding rushed stagehands. "Gaara!"

The sullen redhead looked up from his slumped position against the wall, a shiny black Stratocastor in his lap. It was amazing how with the tattoo on his forehead, the guitar, the black eyeliner and clothing, and cigarette hanging from his lower lip...well, he looked like a member of a band.

But he was just a young highschool dropout with a hell of a criminal record to his name.

"Have you seen your sister?"

Sabaku Temari was the manager of the headlining band, The Sacred, and Tenten had to report back to her and wait for more orders while the band did their thing. Only problem was, Temari tended to be so busy that she had a habit of disappearing without leaving any breadcrumbs whatsoever.

Gaara frowned slightly. He looked down at his Strat and Tenten briefly had the feeling that he was going to ignore her. He fiddled with a spare cigarette stuck on the excess guitar string that poked up from a tuning knob. "Merch stand," he said finally.

Tenten nodded. He was a strange kid...but not bad. If you were lucky enough to draw conversation out of him, he was pretty interesting if not a bit radical. And he was bizarrely beautiful, in a terrifying kind of way.

She didn't understand why the band had let Gaara tag along, aside from the fact that he was the manager and keyboard player's brother. And the drummer's stoner partner, but still...Gaara was a troubled high school toss-out. Real talented on rhythm, but she felt uncomfortable with him along for the tour. As if letting him join in was like encouraging his bad behaviour.

"Thanks," Tenten said, and tossed a spare pack of cigarettes into his lap. Gaara waved a hand that could have been thanks or dismissal before tucking the packet into the waistband of his jeans.

Tenten hurried round to the side doors. The air was so thick that it was like passing through treacle, and her muscles tensed when she heard the crowd's mantra starting up, chanting names and cheers over and over again until they were all chanting one thing, their voices loud enough to shake the walls.

Even though she wasn't in the band – even though her job was to pamper them and run errands – she still felt a rush of nervous exhilaration that was probably on par with theirs every time a gig approached.

The Sacred...well...they'd fast become one of the world's leading bands. She'd known some of them before that – she'd grown up a few doors down from their vocalist. Maybe that was how she'd lucked out and landed the PA job. Well, that and the fact that their manager had taken a shine to her.

But they were big. VERY big. They'd done soundtracks and cover songs, world tours and special appearances. This world tour was finishing up right here, in the UK, at Earl's Court, Brixton and the O2 stadium.

Tenten came out of the side door, flashing a grin to the bouncer guarding it, and looked around Earl's Court Olympia.

Ho-LY shit.

It was packed. People were shoulder-to-shoulder, practically moshing already even though there was no music. Some had their cell phones lit up and were waving them around in the air. The heat was hellish, sweat plastering their hair to their foreheads.

She glanced towards the stage, which was pitch black – not even a mic stand in sight.

Feeling faint, Tenten walked over to the merch stand – noticing the huge bustling crowd in front of it. She swallowed a wave of nausea, feeling stupid for getting so wrapped up in something that didn't really involve her on a huge scale.

"Hinata!" She waved to the head of the merch stand, noticing that the girl's long dark hair had been twirled up and pinned with a pencil, and the back of her neck was glistening. Hinata smiled, serving what seemed like a million and one people with shaky hands. "This place is nuts!"

"V-very busy," Hinata agreed, swallowing. "The b-band is coming on now?"

"Few minutes," Tenten replied. "Instruments are all set up and ready to rumble."

"Glad to hear it." Temari appeared at Tenten's side, scowl firmly in place. The blond was one hard business nut, managing roguish bands like The Sacred being her specialty. Tenten admired Temari a lot. The woman was strong and coped with so much. "I heard that dumbass Hidan was holding things up."

Tenten and Hinata shared little grins. "He's washed his mud pack off and is ready to get going, I promise."

"Tch." Temari looked away. "So long as they play well. If they bomb in the headlines, I'll flay him."

"He'd probably enjoy that," Tenten replied cheerfully.

The first strong notes of a guitar cut across the stadium – so loud and sudden that everyone seemed to hold their breath at once.

The guitars began to build a fast rhythm, keyboard and drums joining in until the sound was so loud and strong that Tenten was amazed ears weren't bleeding. The pace was infectious – her heart couldn't help but follow it until she was panting where she stood, her eyes wide and sweat slipping over her temples. People started cheering and screaming.

Beside her, Temari and Hinata watched in breathless silence.

A voice came out of the darkness of the stage, joining in with the guitars with perfect timing.

"On a cold winter morning, in the time before the light
In flames of death's eternal reign we ride towards the fight
And the darkness is falling down and the times are tough all right
The sound of evil laughter falls around the world tonight..."

Oh, wow, Tenten thought. She'd heard them sing this one before – one of their heavier numbers. And yet it never ceased to stun her.

"Fighting high, fighting on for the steel
Through the wastelands evermore
The scattered souls will feel the hell bodies wasted on the shores..."

The mosh pit began to heave. Already, people were getting vicious in front of the stage – the band wasn't even visible yet, and someone was escorted out with an injury. Tenten looked at Temari, awed, and saw pride in the manager's smirk.

"On the blackest waves in history
We watch them as they go
Through fire, pain and once again we know..."

Strobe lights suddenly flashed across the stage – reds and greens and purples, highlighting the band on the stage. The crowd screamed, pumping their fists in the air, as the lead singer grabbed the mic and tossed his head back, his long hair spilling over his shoulders.

"So now we fly ever free
We're free before the thunderstorm
On towards the wilderness our quest carries on
Far beyond the sundown, far beyond the moonlight
Deep inside our hearts and all our souls..."

Neji was doing amazing. His voice was so raw – and that white jacket and impossibly tight leather pants were doing wonders for him. Tenten figured he had to use a shoe horn to get into those pants – he'd probably need it to get him out of them too. She covered her grin with her hand.

"So far away we wait for the day
For the lights are so wasted and gone
We feel the pain of a lifetime lost in a thousand days
Through the fire and the flames we carry on!"

As the song boomed on, the bass vibrating through the floors, Tenten watched them. She loved seeing them with their music – it was something of a wonder. When she thought of the effort that went into it – the composition and writing Neji had to do, the vocals, the guitar rhythms that Shino, Kiba and Shikamaru had to run with, Hidan's mad drumming and Kankurou's skilled keyboard playing...well, it was like they were gods making a new world. It was incredible.

Neji was a crisp frontman. As he sang, he made sure that he looked good. In fact, he was probably the most fashionable looking guy of the bunch.

Behind him, the bassist Shikamaru had his usual spiked ponytail and a simple mesh shirt over his three-quarter length cargos. His purple guitar with the small pig graphic on the body just below the harmonics bar was completely at odds with his image, and only those close to him or those die-hard enough to look it up knew that it was because of his wife.

The rhythm and backup vocalist, Kiba, spun around on stage and whipped about like he was on crack. His grin distorted the lines of the fang tattoos on his cheeks, and his brown hair was spiked into a million different directions. He wore a sleeveless hooded shirt with the band logo on it and ripped jeans. His guitar was pure white and he knew how to make it scream.

The drummer, Hidan...well, aside from the tightest jeans in the world he tended not to wear much clothing. He was shirtless, sweat slicking his muscular body as he drummed away and grinned maniacally. His slicked-back silver hair was perfectly in place.

The lead guitarist's hands were moving at insane speeds to keep up with the riffs, his fingers hitting every note expertly on the neck of the custom metal Les Paul. Shino stood perfectly still, his pose determined and aggressive. He wore a long-sleeved dark green hoodie and black jeans. A green and red beanie sat on his head and his eyes were hidden by wraparound shades.

The keyboard player, Kankurou – Temari and Gaara's brother – danced to the beat and occasionally glared at the drummer. He wore a striped shirt and baggy jeans, purple kabuki paint patterns on his face.

They were weird. They were probably the strangest set of people to ever make up a band.

But they fit.

The song was over before she knew it, and Tenten blinked. Neji took a sip from the bottled water a stagehand passed to him, and handed it back before walking up to the mic. "Hello, Earl's Court!" He said in perfectly accented English, to thunderous applause. "It's been a long while since we were here. We've got some old stuff for you, and some new stuff from our new album, Vermillion, out in August. We hope you have a good evening."

Shino opened up the next song with a riff. The whole band came together in one of their new songs, the crowd waving lighters and cell phones around to the rhythm.

"Hello my friend, we meet again
It's been awhile, where should we begin?
Feels like forever
Within my heart a memory
A perfect love that you gave to me
Oh, I remember..."

Tenten had heard this one in rehearsals. It suited Neji's voice to the point that she'd been having vivid fantasies. It really wasn't helping, hearing him amplified in this huge theatre. She cleared her throat, shooting a glance at Temari before looking back to the stage.

"When you are with me I'm free
I'm careless, I believe
Above all the others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes
My Sacrifice..."

Sometimes...sometimes their songs had a romantic edge to them. And not just a run-of-the-mill, 'let's write a ballad to be different' kind of romantic. The romance seemed very specific, very consistent. She hated to be so curious, but she couldn't help but think that those songs meant something. That Neji was writing about someone in particular.

It was stupid, and she knew it. But it raised her hopes.

As the show progressed and Temari darted off to deal with business, Tenten watched the band and hung around, helping Hinata sell t-shirts to overenthusiastic groupies. Time flew by, even though her heart never stopped racing.

By the time the evening drew to a close, she felt like a sweaty, smelly bag of shaking nerves. She dashed away from Hinata, quickly running backstage to get iced beers for the guys so that they could wind down. She knew exactly how they liked it – Neji, Kiba, and Kankurou liked Asahi. Shikamaru drank Stella. Hidan refused to drink any of the 'pussy' beers and insisted on Holsten Pils.

Shino didn't drink beer – something Tenten still found a little mystifying even now. A rocker without beer sounded to her like a dog without a tail. It wasn't a bad thing, just very unusual. Instead, he liked an ice cold bitter lemon, no added sugar.

She set the drinks out in the VIP lounge and ran back downstairs to tell the caterers to send the food up. She spotted Temari and Gaara heading towards the stairs.

"They up in the rooms?" Temari asked, looking tired.

Tenten nodded. "They've got their drinks and food's on its way." Catering to their every little fussy whim, of course. Kiba liked mixed grill, Hidan liked rare steak, Shino was a vegetarian...

"Great," Temari sighed. "I could sleep for a year, you know that?"

Gaara simply stared and shuffled his feet. Tenten took his passivity to mean that he'd smoked one huge joint. Actually – she sniffed. Yup, now that she was looking for it, she could detect a hint of weed clinging to him. No wonder Temari looked stressed.

Three guesses on where Gaara's weed came from, and the first two were just for comedic effect.

"I'll meet you upstairs," Temari said, dragging Gaara behind her by the elbow. Her brows were drawn down and a vein seemed to be throbbing in her temple. Tenten would really hate to be Hidan when Temari got upstairs. "We've gotta start getting arrangements ready for the tour bus to Brixton."

The reminder that there would be two more stops was completely unwelcome. Tenten groaned inwardly, leaning her hot forehead against the cool wall. Sometimes, she was pretty sure she was underpaid for such a strenuous job.

She growled to herself and pushed away from the wall, turning to go back through the corridor and up the stairs to meet up with everyone.

She froze. Standing by the open fire exit, letting the outside air dry sweat on his naked torso, was Shino. He'd shed his green hoodie, wrapping it around his waist. He had a lean but very compact build, tightly muscled and strong. Around his neck hung his signed plectrum (a gift from Slash, formerly of Guns N' Roses) and his beanie was hanging out of his pocket. His dark brown hair was brushlike and spiky, blowing in the breeze.

As if sensing her scrutiny – and god, it was scrutiny (Shino tended to wear so much clothing that Tenten hadn't even tried to ever imagine what he looked like underneath it all...now that she could see it, it was pretty...whoa) – Shino turned his head towards her. What she could see of his face around the wraparounds was completely neutral, but the way he turned his body towards her seemed intent.

"...Tenten?"

She gulped. The frontal view was a little flustering. She liked Neji, of course – Neji was the main star of her fantasies. But she knew when to appreciate a good body. Unfortunately, she was also very overwhelmed by the fact that Shino was shirtless in front of her – Aburame Shino, of all people. The silent, somewhat unsociable introvert was flashing skin.

And it was nice skin. Very pale and unblemished – all barring a small tattoo of a bug with outstretched wings above his right nipple. She stared at it, transfixed by the black ink that crowned his nipple. "...uh..."

"Are you alright?" He lowered his head in question. His voice had a hint of amusement. He made no move to put his hoodie on.

"...tattoo," she blurted, shaking her head to try and clear it. This was so embarrassing. Her cheeks flushed red. She didn't know what was weirder – talking to Shino, who had always seemed like an immovable and uncommunicative rock to her, or the fact that all it had taken was a glimpse of his body to let her know that Shino wasn't just a rock but a flesh and blood person. "What, uh, what's your tattoo?"

Shino looked down at the tattoo, and raised his head back to her again. "It is a scarab."

"Oh, a dung beetle?" Tenten asked, trying not to raise an eyebrow. Not the most pleasant of insects to have immortalised on your skin. She imagined one rolling it's little ball of crap across the ground.

...not very rockstar.

"Yes," Shino nodded. He unwound his hoodie from his waist. Just as she was feeling relieved, he began using it to wipe up the last of his sweat from his bare skin. "The scarab was a symbol in Ancient Egypt," he told her.

Tenten had always fallen asleep in history class – she didn't really know much about anything historical. It was typical that Shino would. She was intrigued. She looked up at him. "Oh?"

"It represented a transformation, a coming into being," Shino explained. He paused. Tenten liked how he always did that when speaking – she knew that he was considering his words. Someone who paid attention to things like that was refreshing. "It seemed appropriate."

She didn't know specifically what transformation he could mean. She could only guess it had something to do with The Sacred. But the idea was a good one – a beautiful one, actually – and she looked at Shino. Yes. Without the guitar, the music, the people around him, the shirt...he was a person. She felt a pang of shame that she was only just seeing that.

She realised that she was staring and quickly smiled. "It's great that you have a tattoo that means something. Most people just...point at a random design in a folder and have that for the rest of their lives." She chuckled awkwardly, thinking of the random pinup tattoos on Hidan's skin that never seemed to exist for any reason other than to prove his addiction to pain.

Except for the beautiful tattoo of the fan on his right arm. Tenten was pretty sure that meant something.

Shino slung his hoodie over his shoulder and cocked his head. "It's foolish...to choose things with no basis, and live with them for the rest of your life because you feel you need to keep up the false solidarity."

She felt sure he was staring at her behind those glasses – possibly without blinking. It was beginning to make the hairs on her arms stand on end. His words had felt like a glancing blow, even though she didn't understand why, and Tenten frowned. She wasn't sure she could ever understand him, but it probably didn't matter anyway. He was just Shino after all.

"I'm gonna...go see Temari," Tenten said, backing up. "I have to join in the meeting."

"Me too," Shino agreed, and his voice sounded tight – regretful. Maybe Tenten was imagining that last bit. She didn't know – she was too busy heading for the stairs.

"Okay guys – you did great! Anything you need?" Tenten breathed in deeply, feeling guilty that she sincerely wished the answer was a resounding no. She was exhausted, emotionally wrecked from the gig and the running around she'd been doing.

As if there really was a god, five sets of eyes looked up at her and a chorus of voices and gestures reassured her that everything was okay.

She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at them.

"Oi, oi," Kiba snickered. "Aren't you meant to at least act like you enjoy running around after us?" He finished messing his hair up – only to yell when Kankurou flattened some of it down with a large hand. "Get the hell off!"

"Shut up." Gaara was sitting in the chair in the corner of their VIP room, his Fender perched in his lap. His teal eyes narrowed. "I'm trying to play."

"Chill, Gaara," Kankurou grinned. He was fiddling with his purple paints. For some reason, his definition of 'rock star' was drawing things in purple on his face. Kabuki-like patterns. The fangirls went nuts for it – they really did. But sometimes Tenten wondered how in the hell Kankurou came up with it. Did he just look in the mirror one day and think, 'I know! FACEPAINT! That's what I've been missing.'

Tenten shook her head. "You guys sure you don't need anything?" Please dismiss me so I can go collapse in my bed on the freaking tour bus.

"How about some air con?" Shikamaru was sitting on the couch. He looked grumpy and still had kohl smears around his eyes.

Of course, Shikamaru always tended to look grumpy often. But Tenten figured it had a lot to do with the ring on his finger this time around.

"This heat is so troublesome," he muttered.

"The heat, or the fucking thumb you're jammed under?" Hidan, was reclining at the other end of the couch with a mud face pack on his face and cucumbers over his eyes. Tenten bit back a snicker. Oh, Hidan was pure man and muscle – but he took his hygiene so seriously that he didn't mind dipping into 'feminine' beauty therapy to keep his godly good looks at their best. He was smirking – outright laughing when Shikamaru punched him the shoulder.

"Get lost," the bassist grumbled, but the way his cheeks coloured told everyone what they needed to know.

Kiba snickered. His arm was flung over Hinata's shoulder – the sweet merch girl a bright shade of red that looked hazardous. At some point between the Germany tour and the England one, Kiba had finally worked up the balls to ask her out. "Ino giving you blue balls already, bitch?"

"Fuck you, dog breath," Shikamaru growled.

"That's enough." Shino was sitting in an armchair, holding his bitter lemon in one hand, and the neck of his favourite guitar in the other. The Gibson J-185 EC acoustic was custom designed, with a vermilion-coloured body and gold piping. The main circular Guns N' Roses logo was stuck to the lower body.

"Shino! Did you see the crowd today?" Kiba grinned, and gyrated his hips in a way that Tenten was sure had to be illegal in some countries. It made Hinata turn an even darker red. "We totally made the ladies scream, eh?"

"..." Shino drummed his fingertips lightly against the fret bar of his acoustic. He'd barely said two words since following Tenten up to the VIP room. She wished she could tell what he was looking at from behind his glasses.

"Hey, you ignoring me?!" Kiba glared.

"Don't bother, man," Hidan snorted, peeling the cucumber off of his eyes to squint at their lead. "It's like arguing with a fucking plank of wood, seriously."

"Funny," Kankurou sneered. "I feel the same way about talking to you."

"Oh bring it," Hidan glared. His muscles bunched.

"Guys," Tenten sighed.

Temari huffed. She, too, looked exhausted. But it probably had a lot to do with the fact that she'd ranted at Hidan about supplying Gaara with weed – something the drummer was completely unashamed about.

Hidan glanced at her, and looked away obstinately. They were like cat and dog – Tenten knew that a large part of it was probably serious sexual tension. Only problem was, they were both stubborn mules and mouthy people who rubbed each other the wrong way. It was a bad combination, especially when the two people involved were manager and client.

Neji was lolling back in a recliner, looking at sheets of music with an air of detachment. He took a sip of his Asahi and winced. "This beer's warm," he frowned.

Tenten tensed, a feeling of horror growing in the pit of her stomach. She'd been sure the beers were properly iced! She gulped, catching Neji's disappointed look as he glanced her way and put the beer bottle down on the table as far away from him as possible.

Kiba cracked his knuckles. Tenten bit down a sigh. She knew the rhythm guitarist had always wanted Neji's role. He was good, too – but Kiba had joined as rhythm and hadn't shown his musical talents until way after Neji was hired to join the original Shino-Kiba-Shikamaru trio and the fans were already stuck on the vocalist.

If Tenten was feeling honest and unbiased, she'd admit that Kiba had a thousand times the charisma Neji had. He would be an awesome frontman in every sense of the word.

Kiba's beef with Neji was a bit awkward, especially if Neji gave Kiba a hard time when he was doing backing vocals. Luckily, Shikamaru and Shino were pretty good at mediating.

"K-Kiba-kun..." Hinata rubbed Kiba's back, a little panicked.

"So...gig went good," Kankurou drawled, looking between Kiba and Neji with a raised brow.

"Like a fucking glove," Hidan snickered – then remembered that he was meant to be sulking, and looked down at the floor with an exaggerated glare-pout. Temari rolled her eyes and folded her arms. She crossed her long legs at the ankles, immediately drawing violet eyes her way.

"Not quite," a smooth voice interjected.

"Not by a long shot," Gaara muttered from his position on the floor, his guitar cradled against him like a beloved teddy bear.

"You missed the beat on the third song," Shino informed Neji coolly. Tenten felt a chill – how Shino could put down someone like Neji without even twitching a muscle seemed alien. Inbelievable. "And you were too early on the fourth."

Gaara muttered something under his breath that Tenten missed, but Hidan smirked and gave the redhead a high five.

Neji's eyes narrowed.

"I suppose," Shino said in a thoughtful tone, "that even you are not perfect."

Kiba snorted and slapped a hand over his mouth. Shikamaru groaned and dropped his head against the back of the couch.

Neji's face reddened. "You think you can talk? Did you hear the guitar work during Through the Fire and the Flames? I had to rescue that song from the wreckage that – "

"Hey, fuck you," Kiba snarled – leaping in to Shino's defence. The lead guitarist had yet to even show a sign of breathing in response to Neji's words.

Tenten blinked. She'd heard the guitar work and it had been perfect. Had she missed something? She was sure she hadn't. She was no musician but she had a good ear and...frankly, she had no idea what the hell was going on.

"Calm down, Kiba," Shikamaru sighed, as Neji jumped up to size up to Kiba. Immediately, Kankurou stepped in, his broad frame eclipsing the vocalist.

"ENOUGH!" Temari shouted. She slammed a fist down on her knee, making everyone jump. "Pull it together, assholes! We've been through this before – mistakes happen in live shows, it's no one's fault. The fans went away happy, we made a lot of money, we're gonna sell a lot of albums – be happy and shut the hell up!"

She was red in the face by the time her shouting had stopped and Tenten could see the torn humour and arousal on Hidan's face as he stared at her.

"That's my sister," Kankurou said. "Stop staring or I'll kill you."

"Oh chill the fuck out," Hidan grumbled. "Maybe you should borrow some of your brother's weed, seriously."

"Weed?" Kankurou gritted his teeth. "You've been dealing to my brother again? Listen up fucker – "

"Everyone, stop it." Shino said. Then, "Now."

Even though he was a quiet guy, his voice cut across the squallor. Tenten noticed this time that his fingers were gripping the bottle of lemon tightly enough to indent the bottle.

"Temari is right," he continued, his voice smooth. It had the quality a good teacher might have – the ability to calm tempers and lay down firm laws at the same time. "Tonight was a success. We must make sure that Brixton Academy will be the same."

Neji glowered, clearly not yet willing to let go of the subject. However, with Kankurou and Kiba still glaring him down, he eased himself back into his seat and snatched up his warm beer.

Tension still crackled in the room as everyone fought to know what to say. All except for Shino, Gaara and Hidan, who seemed perfectly content to let everyone else stew. Tenten and Hinata looked at each other bemusedly across the room.

"I want pizza," Neji said suddenly, and looked at Tenten with his pearlescent eyes. "You can go and get pizza, yes?"

"Can't you just eat what's been prepared?" Temari asked, sounding at her wits' end.

"No," Neji snorted. "How difficult is it to get a pizza?"

"No places around here deliver, moron," Kankurou sneered. "We already tried calling for one earlier."

"She can go on foot," Neji shrugged. "That is her job."

Tenten agreed – that was her job. But she really didn't want to travel around London in the middle of the night carrying heavy bags of greasy fast food. She gulped, sensing impending doom.

"No," Shino said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Neji snarled.

"Pizza does sound fucking good," Hidan murmured distantly, having lost attention after pizza was first mentioned. "I've got the munchies like you wouldn't believe."

"And barbeque wings," Gaara said. "Maybe garlic bread too."

"You'll stink," Temari warned.

"Who cares?"

"No chicks will wanna kiss you," Kankurou said, sounding aghast at the thought. Thunderclouds passed over Gaara's face, and Tenten thought she saw something more than just anger there.

"Fuck you," Gaara spat, and put his earphones in his ears.

Kiba covered Hinata's ears. "Go get it yourself, Neji."

"I've been working all night and I'm tired," Neji huffed. "Plus, it's not my job – and you want to, yes?" He looked at Tenten with a small smile. "You don't mind."

Tenten parted her lips to reply.

"No," Shino repeated.

"No what?" Shikamaru asked, exasperated.

"No, Tenten will not go on foot," Shino said, his voice rising. He stood up.

"It's her job to get the food," Neji pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"It is," Tenten agreed, sensing tension rising again. God, how bad would it be if an argument happened over something like this? Over her? Why Shino was even stepping in was beyond her, but she felt the need to stop this right away. "I'm going now, okay? I'll be back as soon as – "

"I will take you," Shino said. He was looking in Neji's direction, the muscles in his jaw clenched and defined. His shoulders were squared as he pulled a black zip-up jacket on over his Iron Maiden shirt.

"No, no – it's okay, you don't have – " She felt mortified.

"I insist," Shino said, his voice softer. He held the door open for her and beckoned.

Feeling all eyes on her, Tenten burned in her blush and darted out of the open door. The walk down and out of the building felt like a death row march with a prison guard. She was more aware of Shino's presence than ever before, and that awareness was filled with anticipation and uncomfortable suspicion over his actions.

Not that Shino had ever been anything less than courteous. He helped out where he could and always tried to alleviate the burdens put upon her when they got unmanageable. He was a godsend, in many respects – a little weird, because he didn't seem to realise that there was a big white line between their jobs – the rockstar and the dogsbody.

But for him to give her a lift somewhere? It made her feel like she was taking the piss. "It's okay," Tenten said. "I don't know what happened up there but...I can go get the pizza."

"Yes," Shino agreed. "And I will go with you."

She groaned.

"Humour me," Shino said, adjusting his shades on his face. "In the car, it will not take long."

"...car?"

"I took the liberty of hiring a rental car," Shino shrugged, opening the door to the back lot of the building for her. "I wanted to do some sightseeing earlier. This was the perfect opportunity."

Tenten looked to where he was gesturing and almost purred in pleasure. It wasn't a Ferrari or anything else most rockstars would probably orgasm over. No, it was a gorgeous dark green Audi A4 Saloon with blacked out windows.

As he unlocked the doors with the key remote, Tenten stared from the car to Shino and back again.

It suited him. An understated work of genius.

She slipped into the passenger seat, biting her lip at the feel of the leather against her thighs. Shino was already fiddling with the stereo as he started the car, and when he leant towards her to twiddle the volume knob, she caught the scent of bitter lemon and something like cinnamon.

"Thanks," she said, not really knowing what else to say.

Shino looked towards her, putting the car into gear. "Of course." He pulled out of the parking lot, his driving as smooth as his guitar playing, and headed down the road.

The sound of The Kaiser Chiefs on the stereo did nothing to alleviate her tension. Tenten was very aware of the brush of his arm against hers whenever he changed gears, and the way his slightly open window blew his hair.

Every time she looked at him, she realised that she didn't know Aburame Shino at all.

And it was sad, because she knew that she should know him.

Exhaustion set in and she slumped back against the seat.

"It has been a long day," Shino said quietly.

Tenten nodded, glancing at him. If he was exhausted and aching, he didn't show it. But he never did. "I feel sorry for Temari. She does a thousand times what I do, without a break."

Shino grunted.

"And she has to put up with Hidan." Tenten shook her head. She was beginning to ramble – Shino's silence normally didn't affect her, but after today...the shirtlessness, the arguing...well, she wasn't all that comfortable. "Now that sucks. That guy flirts with everything with long hair and a pulse."

"Oh?"

"Yeah...he played for Hinata, before Kiba tried to knock him flat." She snorted. Kiba hadn't really achieved much, of course, because Hidan was 'built like a brick shithouse', to use Kankurou's terms. "He grabbed my butt once – I think he was drunk."

Shino rammed the car into fourth gear. "I see."

"It's to make Temari jealous, probably," Tenten yawned. "Hey, do you even know where the pizza place is?"

"I believe the nearest row of restaurants is this way."

"Oh, okay." She rubbed her eyes. "Anyway, Hidan and Temari. They're like a deranged rock song, you know? About how love is poison and blah blah."

Shino raised an eyebrow above his glasses. His expression was neutral, but Tenten knew somehow that he was amused. "Nothing The Sacred has ever played, of course."

"Oh, of course not," Tenten chuckled. If her tiredness hadn't been setting in pretty quick, she might have marvelled at how easily conversation was flowing with this quiet man. "And Hinata..."

"Hinata is a ballad," Shino said. "Kiba played Sweet Child O' Mine for her once."

"Very fitting," Tenten nodded, smiling. "Hinata is a rock ballad, then." Hinata seemed soft but she was tough when the situation called for it – Kiba had her number called perfectly.

Shino turned down into a high street lined with stores. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Tenten blinked out of her thoughts as Shino pulled up outside a 24 hour pizza and kebab joint.

"What type of song are you?" Shino asked.

Tenten paused.

It was an awkward question. Awkward because answers could mean too much or too little, and she wasn't sure what she wanted to give away or what she didn't. She decided to try for self-deprecating – that always threw people off.

"I'm the song that no one sings," she laughed.

Ouch. She felt the stab low in her stomach that told her she'd just revealed a bit of her flesh to the world. She kept her amused face on, unclipping her seatbelt.

Shino turned to look at her.

Even through his sunglasses, she could feel his stare.

"Um...let's go," she said. "They're probably hungry."

Standing in the joint, waiting for the food, Tenten felt like all of the eyes of the world were on her. Maybe it was because Shino was an observant guy. He hadn't given any indication of looking at her again, but she had the feeling that he was doing it anyway. It was strange to think that he could keep her in his peripherals so discreetly.

With bags of food in hand, they returned to the car. Tenten had half expected some sort of questioning, but Shino was silent on the way back. The thrum of the car's engine lulled Tenten's tired mind. In the leather cradle of the seat, Tenten listened to Shino's soft humming as she drifted off to sleep.