The Cactus and the Beetle
Disclaimer:
I do not own any Naruto characters, powers, or outfits associated with Naruto. I do however own my own made up characters, setting, original outfits, and my original plot line.
Summary:
AU. Shino Aburame is an entomologist with strange magical powers. He can't get to sleep because his bugs are acting up. This has never happened before. It worries him to death. His days are endless studying, to figure out what's wrong. He meets a botanist and she vows to help him, but he's too proud to let her. One problem. She is just as proud as he is, maybe even more so.
Chapter 1 - Background
...Shino's POV...
Breakfast.
That's my least favourite part of the day. My favourite is at night, when I'm studying and playing with my greenhouse. I have exactly 225 different species of plants on a spot of 10 acres of land, all to study the expanding count of insects and bugs that thrive off the plants. It's the perfect hobby, being an entomologist. Only I don't want it to be a hobby anymore. So last month I started teaching.
At first there were only two students, my younger sister Sarino, who also loves bugs and insects to death, mostly butterflies and moths; and the kid who lived across the street. His name's Kiba and the only reason he decided to be taught by me is because he has a dog, Akamaru. And Akamaru has serious flea problems. Kiba never listens to me when I'm teaching, always running around with Akamaru and flirting with my sister. I finally decided to tell him to get off my property or start taking his learning seriously. He then decided to tell me to lighten up, and loosen up. Whatever that means.
So Kiba got a 'bit' more serious, meaning he finally took my advice and gave Akamaru a bath. But he still flirted with my sister and messed around... until he broke 6 of my plants that were vital to a very important specie of bugs! I fumed and told him to never come over again. His 'apology' was his dog Akamaru pissing on a few dozen of my cactus plants. He didn't know that truly was an apology. Piss helps the plants grow better and is actually an aphrodisiac for certain insects.
Since last month my student count has made very slow progress... what can I say? Almost nobody likes bugs. They hate them. They use sprays, lotions, gas, and chemicals to kill them or to repel them. Me, I don't know what I would do without bugs. I know. I'd probably move to Mars and start my own colony. Maybe.
So I have one student still. That includes my sister. It doesn't mean I don't take my studies seriously. It's the most intense, passionate thing I have going in my life. To see my sister's eyes sparkle when a new specie of butterfly is introduced makes my heart warm. She can't get enough of the little critters, and neither can I. Although I'm more partial to beetles. My current studies are on the Egyptian scarab beetle and the lore behind it. So far all I read is superstition... but there is a true mystery behind the sunrise story of the scarab, how all the colours reflect from its' body like a prism. Makes me want to travel to the East to see if that's true. Of course these stories are over 2000 years old... And the sunrise would be right before breakfast time... which leads to back to my earlier peeve.
I hate breakfast. Why you ask?
Because my bugs are having problems. Why you ask?
I haven't a clue. They started acting up just four days ago and are making me an insomniac.
Oh, what am I going to do? Study, study, and more studying...
