And...there was Shino. Oh my goodness, was he actually trying to rush after her immediately? Aww, she'd have to remind him to be more discreet in the future. Though she was already a third of the way down Sarutobi's face, any decent sensor would have noticed him.
Hmm. Ok. Kurenai stopped using shunshin once she reached ground level, and settled into a brisk walk--fast enough such that Shino would be kept at a frantic rush, slow enough such that he would keep up instead of taking a break and considering other options first.
She plotted a route such that Shino would be forced to take shortcuts that would make him rush by right when certain people walked into the area. He'd be just close enough for them to identify Shino and pique their curiosity. Through the market, in front of the academy, over several fences. She kept her chakra sensing up--while it was usually only useful for short to medium ranges, the one lump of chakra rushing after her was pretty easy to identify. Yup, he was still following. And he didn't seem to be slowing down or noticing the attention he was getting as he rushed down the streets.
Finally, as she reached the western part of town, she jumped one last fence to enter a non-descript establishment. She was greeted warmly by the people already there.
Kurenai Yūhi
Konohagakure Streets
Early Evening, Friday October 14th, 109 HVE*
Greet several kunoichi she recognized, wash shoes, henge, shunshin away. Time to spend the rest of the evening decompressing with friends!
Shino Aburame
Konohagakure Streets
Early Evening, Friday October 14th, 109 HVE*
Shino halts when he arrives at the latest fence his sensei has hopped over. This one is different. Over twice his height, solid wood. The previous ones were simply low fences between streets and parks, not fences for an actual property. The surroundings are fairly quiet, only street sounds as people bustle by. The fence seems to go around the whole block from what Shino could see. Maybe there is an entrance on the other side? The scent from the female bug lingers and continues to waft through the air, indicating that it's still on the property, unlike the much fainter scent during his chase. Good. As long as his sensei didn't wash the scent off her shoe, he could easily keep tracking her.
He sighs, the sudden stop might mean he's caught, which is a failure on his end. He sends a series of bugs to fly out to the roofs barely visible inside the fence, along with bugs around the fence to monitor the block. They'd take turns coming back to report.
Momentarily, Shino debates making a bug clone and henging it, a human-ish scout, immune to genjutsu, but he reconsiders in order to save chakra for tomorrow. Instead, he enters an izakaya across the street, mostly empty of patrons at this hour. He orders some tea, and sends out a series of bugs to circle the area and set up a relay line for the information. He decides that he doesn't know whether he is caught yet, though it may be so. He orders his bugs to move slowly, taking to high ground to see down from over any fence or obstruction.
Muta Aburame
Konohagakure Streets
Early Evening, Friday October 14th, 109 HVE*
Muta and several of his special jounin friends saw his cousin, the clan heir, blaze past. Didn't he just graduate today?
Curious, they decided to investigate. They catch up as Shino enters an izakaya, sending waves of bugs over and into an establishment across the street.
"..."
"..."
"...huh."
"Muta, why is your clan heir surveying the Hot-Hot Lady's Hot Springs Club?!"
Shino Aburame
Konohagakure Streets
Evening, Friday October 14th, 109 HVE*
It...had taken some time to extract himself from the izakaya. More and more people had streamed in after work, and Muta's friends kept telling the story to
every new customer. He almost groaned when he realized that this wasn't going to end any time soon. It was a Friday evening. Maybe he should assert clan heir privileges and try to flee? His only consolation was that they did give him a fair amount of information regarding what regular Konohagakure ninja knew about his sensei, in between waxing poetic about her beauty. And her kindness. And her vivacity. And her...
When he finally extricated himself, he rushed home to ask his father for more info instead. Shibi Aburame, his father, had been waiting in his office. His father simply nodded and immediately gave a prepared presentation. Kurenai's history, her known skills, her most familiar friends, why he believes that she would be a good sensei for his son. Shino took notes.
In particular, his father pointed out that:
1) She is an experienced tutor well known among the clans, often hired to work with their heirs. As confirmed by former Aburame who had went on missions with her, she would be very respectful of Aburame techniques. She'd likely allot a lot of time for Shino to work with his clan, and would find ways to combine Aburame techniques with other disciplines.
2) While she is known for being a top genjutsu expert in Konoha, she has a diversity of skills that's usually only seen among Uchiha and ANBU. Her knowledge of taijutsu, speed techniques, stealth, genjutsu, and the human psyche would do much to mitigate Aburame weaknesses.
3) She is a rising star. Genin at 9, chunin at 13, then stayed chunin for years...but must have eventually had some breakthroughs. Breakthroughs that not only helped her jump to jounin four years ago, but also now make her considered to among the elite of the Konohagakure jounin. Over the years, she has completed approximately 150 C-Rank, 220 B-Rank, 130 A-Rank, and an unknown number of S-Rank missions.
Shibi did look at Shino a bit oddly, though, when Shino asked about what local restaurants she frequents. Shino explains that it's to find out her normal orders. Shibi shakes his head. Sure, that might be useful info in some contexts, but Shino had to prioritize.
At the end of Shibi's presentation, he handed his son a small folder about Kurenai. Nothing confidential, but it would still be dangerous in enemy hands.
He says, "One last thing, my son. When you have the chance, do talk with Torune. We have been...
concerned about him. None of the other clan members have been able to connect with him."
He turns to his son and gives him a firm hug, before he heads out to do other tasks.