Crimson and Sapphire
Chapter 1
Recovery
Silence had finally overthrown his half-concealed ears. The outstretched woodlands surrounding Konohagakure welcomed his slow-paced footsteps with soft beds of emerald moss and the crunch of aged leaves upon dirt. Ancient trees rose up high around him, shielding the sharp sunlight with half-translucent canopies of tranquil green. Golden ribbons that did find their way through the foliage settled upon his pale complexion or gleamed against the onyx sunglasses on his nose. He enjoyed these moments of seemingly unbound freedom, wherein his mind could wander ahead of today, and his feet could take him every which way. He'd seen far too few of those ever since Orochimaru's bothersome attempt at invasion, the death of the Third Hokage, and the semi-obliteration of the Hidden Leaf Village at the hands of the cooperating Sound and Sand Villages. Now, with relative peace restored, Shino Aburame had taken the first opportunity for respite from the recovery effort to embark on another of his prolonged walks through the forest.
His ponderings were not of the joyful kind. His mouth, which was ever hidden behind the high collar of his white jacket, lay contorted in a display of pent-up guilt, as it had ever since he had returned to his home. Although it was all too clear to him that many of his peers found him unapproachable – creepy, even – and thus would not scrutinize his actions to the point his own self esteem would, the fact that he had failed to assist the Uchiha when he had expressly promised to do so gnawed at his mind. Certainly, he had defeated the Sand Ninja that was supposed to face him during the Chuunin examination, but it had been a prime example of a pyrrhic victory. In fact, had his father not arrived on the scene moments after the puppeteer's poison had paralyzed his body, he might not even be strolling here, today. In his own eyes, he'd been careless.
The annoyance he felt, however, could not persist amidst the marvelous scenes he passed by. Small streams, blooming flowerbeds and the strong smell of fertile soil conjured an image of restfulness that allowed him to put the dark image of shame behind him, and instead, focus on the future. In a moment of silence, where no bird chirped or leaf whistled, the Aburame vowed that he would not disappoint himself again. When he resumed his pace, his tread was lighter, and his mood significantly brighter.
"Aaaaar-!" the shout was harsh and high-pitched, desperate even, until it was cut off by an unseen force, leaving an eerie tinge to the ensuing silence. The sound tore Shino from his cogitations. Immediately, he was alert. As the eyes behind his sunglasses scanned the environment in the direction of the scream, his hand travelled down to a pouch at the side of his shorts, retrieving a mid-sized kunai from its confines. He did not often use such weapons, relying instead on an Aburame's inherent control over the bugs nesting in his body, but against a hidden opponent, his insects might not be able to react in time. When nothing happened, he quietly focused, and moments later, the familiar feeling of chitinous paws crawling down his left leg assured him that his technique had succeeded.
The bugs made their way through the undergrowth with surprising speed, and although they would have gone completely unnoticed by all but the smallest creatures, Shino could easily tell where they were going. Apparently, the scene was quite close by, considering that his insects didn't need to split up to fulfill the little recon mission he had sent them on. He left leaves and dust awhirl as soon as he heard his bugs' admonishing shrieks, leaping up towards a nearby treetop and landing softly on one of the lower branches. He let chakra flow freely through his body as he jumped from tree to tree, his concentration reaching heights which it had not attained since his battle with the puppet master. Although he was by no means obliged to intervene, the silent oath he had only just committed himself to would not allow him to let another chance of proving himself slip by.
The sounds of combat became clearer as the young Genin drew closer to the battleground, echoes of clashing steel riddled with muffled grunts and groans of effort. He halted his movement on a particularly thick bough as soon as he saw the glint of kunai flying around the clearing, and he frowned as he saw the duel unfurl before him. It took him only a heartbeat to realize that he was in way over his head.
His gaze was instantly drawn towards the most weakened of the two. The boy's hair was short and sky blue – apart from the color, it reminded him much of the sand demon, Gaara's hairdo. That was where the similarities with that madman ended, though. This young man was tall and lanky, and maybe one or two years older than he – he couldn't tell from this distance. And where Gaara's eyes had been surrounded with rings of insomnia, this man's eyes glittered with zeal and determination. Shino found that, despite the fact that he had never seen the blue-haired boy before, he could not help but assume the guy an ally at first sight.
The two seemed to have reached a temporary deadlock, with both combatants glaring at the other in an attempt to spot weaknesses in each other's stance. It allowed the Aburame to take a careful look at the zealous boy's opponent, though there was not much to be seen about him; his head was hidden beneath a wide hat of straw, with a piece of slate cloth hanging down in front of his features, concealing all but his dark eyes. His garments reminded Shino of the grey robes that many ninja of the Sound had worn during the invasion of Konohagakure; the musical note carved into the band wrapped around the ninja's right arm affirmed his suspicion that he was dealing with a stray dog of Orochimaru's armed forces here.
Unfortunately, the dog had a nose.
The threat registered in his mind far too late; the Sound warrior spun around his axis with inhuman speed, and Shino felt as though his legs were glued to the rough bark beneath him. Three sharp-edged shades travelled towards him at a velocity that exceeded anything the Aburame had ever witnessed; his chakra, rushing in an attempt to substitute his exposed body for a mirage of bugs, felt like a mass of molasses in comparison. There was no escape, and he could do naught but shiver.
"Doton, Kikan Ko-to!" the shout was torn apart by adolescence, starting out as a low grumble but shooting up into a high-pitched shriek near the end. Had Shino felt paralyzed before, now it seemed like his body had truly been turned to stone. Even the chakra flows that he had instinctively guided to defend himself stopped dead in their tracks; had the two combatants before him not been moving about, he could have sworn that time itself had stopped. The first of the kunai collided with his skin, and that was when wonder overcame the fear he felt. The projectile collided with his sunglasses with a harsh clunk, but he did not feel the impact, and more miraculously, the weapon itself fell down to the soil, its point crumpled up as though it had been thrown straight into a brick wall. The other two followed suit, crashing dully against his chest before harmlessly dropping to the forest floor.
The statue-like feeling subsided, but the Aburame was still baffled. He had never seen or heard of this technique before. Thereby, the blue-haired boy had protected him, despite not knowing whether he was a friend or a foe. He looked down into the clearing again, and noticed that the boy was now paying the price for his effort to protect the Genin from harm. The Sound ninja had taken advantage of the protective jutsu's tiring effect and was now
subjecting Shino's savior to a veritable barrage of swift punches and kicks. For several moments, the boy seemed nothing but a rag doll, until the grey-clothed ninja finished with a mighty kick that sent the blue-eyed youngster afly over the clearing. He landed harshly, rolling over the mossy ground before coming to a standstill near the edge of the open area. Gloating with satisfaction, the Sound ninja reduced his pace to that of a leisurely stroll, trudging over towards the defeated boy with an air of victory in his walk.
"Too bad, kid," the voice from behind the cloth was croaky, and the confidence behind it made Shino cringe. "I'm afraid that what happened in Otogakure, will stay in Otogakure." While he spoke, he let his shadowed eyes run over the line of trees surrounding them, resting them on Shino longer than necessary, as if to say, you're next. The Aburame was unimpressed; in fact, beneath his collar, he was smiling.
The Sound ninja's face grew wide-eyed as he was stopped dead in his tracks. A chorus of aggressive chirps near his feet drew his gaze downward, and his body paled as he saw thousands upon thousands of black bugs swarming around his feet, keeping him in place several yards away from his fatigued quarry. Disgusted at the manner he was being restrained, the ninja turned his upper body towards where he thought the Aburame to be, but panicked when he could no longer distinguish the sunglasses between the leaves.
"Looking for someone?" Shino's voice was cold, calculating, confident now that he had the upper hand. Desperately, the Sound ninja turned his head around, and his fingers flashed against each other in many different patterns. The Aburame remained still with his hands in his pockets, indifferent, much to his enemy's annoyance. The shinobi's hands moved faster and faster, but it quickly became clear that with zounds of chakra-parasitic insects on one's legs, performing even the most basic of techniques became an impossible feat to accomplish. With no way of venting his anger, the ninja resorted to a roar and one final push to break free from the insects' iron grasp, which only led him to fall down on hands and knees, so that the bugs could reach and clamp down even more of his body parts. Shino snickered, content with his work. He would wait until the man had passed out from his bugs' chakra drain, and then…
"Futon, Renkudan!" Before the Aburame could do anything to stop it, a ripple in the air travelled towards the Sound ninja at terrifying speed. He heard something crack as the bullet of compressed air pressure collided with the base of the Sound ninja's skull. Without so much
as a gasp for air, the man fell down to the soil, undeniably dead. In the background, the blue-haired boy was breathing heavily, his hands still clenched together in the complex seal he had formed to channel his technique. Shino could see that he would not last much longer; the boy was trembling with energy deficiency. His hands still in his pockets, he slowly walked towards the boy that had saved him before, observing him cautiously. After all, for all his protective jutsus, he had just shown himself to be a murderer.
"P-please," the boy's voice was hoarse, and he stretched an hand out towards… him, Shino presumed, though he was off by several inches. His eyes were like dark sapphires, hazy but pleading nonetheless. "I…" he continued, before gasping for air and falling forward, onto his stomach. "I… must… find… Kurenai-sama." Moments after, the boy lost consciousness. Shino looked at the killer emotionlessly, weighing down his options in his mind. His hands rose from his pockets.
"Kurenai-sensei, eh?" he repeated to no one in particular.
So, that's it for the first chapter of my first story on ... ever. I hope you liked it, or it at least enticed you to read any further chapters I might publish.
Remember, reviews are always appreciated. :D