It was all Kimiko-chan's fault that this had happened to him.
If not for her then Yoshio would never have been out in the forest that far, close enough to Konoha to see its walls poking out through the trees. Usually the villagers at Fudai didn't get too close – not outside of travelling the main road in for business anyway. Everyone knew the trees outside the village were used by the shinobi, and it was best to keep out of their way.
Yoshio had never actually been into Konoha himself before. His village was about half a day's walk away, so it tended to be used more as a waystation for visitors to rest at before they made it to Konoha proper. It made the town an odd mix of traveller's rest stop and farming village, with several large inns and coach houses for merchants and the like, surrounded by extensive farmland on two sides and forest on the rest.
Yoshio himself had lived here his whole life, trying odd jobs at first before mostly settling down to work in one of the kitchens. As a child he had entertained the idea of becoming a ninja, of leaving for Konoha and learning to use their strange magic. Ninja passed through often, escorting the merchants usually, or slipping through the trees on patrol, so the villagers were familiar with them but not particularly threatened. It had seemed an amazing thing, but also something as restrictive as it was freeing. The ninja on duty, even the more unruly genin, had strict ideas about obedience.
It wasn't that Yoshio was particularly disobedient, but he'd never taken it well when others tried to force him to accept that they had authority over him. He'd taken many beatings as a child (and still did sometimes) because he stood for his convictions, and that meant not following instructions he didn't agree with blindly. In this town, obedience also meant bowing and scraping whenever some affronted merchant got fussy, and he wasn't good at that either. Yoshio was stubborn, especially when it came to diminishing himself for someone else – apologising to some stuck up noble because they didn't like the sight of him? Yeah right. He refused to accept himself as lesser.
Still, if the beatings in the past hadn't changed his tune, giving him another was just a lesson in futility. That was why he worked the kitchens now, and the farms during the busy seasons. (No one got out of working the farms during planting and harvest, especially a boy like himself.) Keeping him out of the way of the sort of people who wouldn't accept his lack of subservience was just something necessary – he was a good kid, but not willing to put himself down because someone was unreasonable.
Even so Yoshio wasn't unhappy with his life. So he had never gone to Konoha in the end, he'd been happy enough in Fudai working whatever job he could find. He'd found customer service ill suited for him, but there were plenty of other jobs to do. Working the kitchen was just his most recent, now he was old enough to get around without being a nuisance.
Yoshio had always been a bit on the short side so while most kids got to try their hand in the kitchen at around thirteen or fourteen, he'd been forced to wait until he'd gained enough height so he could open the top cupboards and use the work surfaces without an aid.
He didn't mind it though – working as a cook was good enough even if it had taken him longer to get his chance. He liked cooking, even if he wasn't sure he'd settle into it as a career just yet.
It was his work in the kitchen which had ultimately brought him here though. Kimiko was one of the girls who worked at the inn with him, though she worked front of house with several others, had accidentally knocked over several crates of mushrooms. The next delivery wasn't due for weeks so Yoshio had been sent out to find some local mushrooms to use as substitute. They weren't that common around the village, but they weren't rare either so it just meant that he was sent out for a few days to find some.
Finding the mushrooms had been more difficult than he'd hoped which is why he was so close to the Konoha wall, still hunting for enough to fill his pack. It was sunset already so he'd likely be sleeping in a tree tonight, even though there weren't many predators to worry about this close to the ninja village.
Not wanting to try and climb a tree in the dark, Yoshio began settling down for the night, wedging himself into a split between two boughs and roping himself securely.
Night had only just fully fallen when he heard the sound. Like something had fallen nearby, the rustle and whump of weight dropping. It sounded like when he worked the farm and knocked over a batch of tied grain, but softer.
His night vision had always been pretty good but it still took him several minutes of straining his eyes staring into the darkness before he located the source. It looked like a person, someone wearing a torn long coat that blended in pretty well with the tree roots they had fallen on.
The fact that whoever it was hadn't gotten up even after several minutes was worrying.
Untying himself from the tree, Yoshio carefully dropped down. This close he could see that the coat was badly damaged and coated in something shiny and metallic in places.
Whoever this person was, he should leave them to the ninja who patrolled. He couldn't help but inch closer all the same though, close enough to see the glint of a Konoha headband visible.
His fear that the individual was a foreign insurgent abated and Yoshio carefully moved closer. Whoever the nin was they weren't moving, and while at first he'd thought that they might still be breathing, when he placed his hand over their mouth there was no sensation of air against his fingers.
Yoshio took a deep breath to call for help when the air suddenly filled with buzzing. What he had thought was movement of breath in the shinobi's body turned out to be a small swarm of tiny black insects with iridescent wings which suddenly rose up into the air and swarmed him.
A scream caught in his throat and Yoshio turned his face away but it was already too late. The bugs were upon him, burning and burrowing under his clothes and skin. He fell over, rolling wildly on the ground, shrieks finally leaving his mouth. It wasn't long before he passed out.
Moments later all was quiet, save for a faint hum almost below audible hearing. It only took a few seconds for shinobi from the wall to arrive, rapidly examining the scene and bringing the two inside the walls.
"Report."
Three men and one woman held a meeting later that night. The woman behind the table barked the order and the man in a mask beside her stood to attention and answered.
"At approximately 21:13 the bodies of two males were discovered outside the Southern wall. One was a young male approximately 14 years old unconscious, the other deceased Aburame Izuto, a chuunin sent on a retrieval mission with his team two weeks ago. He carried the hitae-ate of his comrades, so it is likely their mission was a failure. Forensics estimate he died a few minutes before he was discovered. The boy is believed to be Yoshio Kitaze from the nearby way-village, collecting mushrooms after a waitress accidentally destroyed their stock."
The woman turned to the two men who sat in front of her desk.
"Explain the situation to me."
"Autopsy on Izuto came back clean; he died of several stab wounds in the end but had received extensive damage before that. Even had we gotten to him before he died there was very little we could have done for him." Shikaku informed, the hospital file open in his lap. "As for the other, that's a bit more tricky. Looks like he went into shock when the Aburame's hive infested his body. Most recent reports say he's stable for now, but his body is struggling a bit because he's a civilian and doesn't have a developed chakra system to adapt as easily as a born Aburame would."
They'd had to bring in the clan to examine the boy since so little was known about how the infestation worked, this scenario was unheard of. As soon as the Aburame were involved however, they had laid claim to the boy and summoned Shibi himself immediately.
At that, all attention turned to the final member of the room to finish the explanation.
"It is unprecedented for a hive to force themselves on a host in this manner, particularly for a non-Aburame member. The boy is lucky the hive was diminished in whatever fight Izuto came from, otherwise it might have been too much for him."
"That's reassuring I suppose – the idea of a clan hive infesting random strangers raises all kinds of problems, at least it isn't the norm." Tsunade sighed, that was one question answered at least.
Shibi nodded, continuing. "This strain of beetle is extremely rare within our clan. Why? Because very few people have chakra that the Rikaichu can survive in."
"So that's why they infested he boy? And why you're fighting so hard to bring the boy into the clan, even though he's too old to become much of a ninja, if he makes it at all."
"Yes." Shibi answered calmly. "Yoshio will be the only active host of the Rikaichu if he survives. If he does not, the hive will be returned to the nest in the hopes that one day some other suited to them will be discovered."
Shikaku stepped in then, one hand under his chin as he thought over the situation. "What are the chances that someone with the rare chakra compatibility encountered your fallen clan member like that just as they were dying? Sounds pretty coincidental. Do we need to be worried about a spy?"
"No more than for any outsider." Shibi turned to face the jounin commander, giving a faint nod of acknowledgement to the question. "It is possible that the hive led Izuto-kun towards Yoshio-kun having sensed his chakra. My clansman was sent on a mission that should have had him returning through the West gate yet was discovered near the South instead. At worst he should have come further North towards the Aburame clan lands so that the hive might have made the journey to our insect nests if they fled his body. They cannot survive outside a host for long."
"So the fact that he, or the hive, headed South instead of North, they were leading Izuto-kun to a suitable replacement host rather than the safety of their nest."
"Yes. Given the location of Izuto-kun's corpse it is possible he could have made it close enough to the wall for at least some of his hive to survive the journey to the clan nest. That they chose to seek out a chakra source instead is informative."
Tsunade finally stepped up to make a decision on the matter, figuratively speaking at least as she was still sat at her desk with one hand on a bottle of sake. "Well alright then, if your clan is claiming him for the hive he holds, and that hive chose him over their own nest and village full of alternatives including Aburame clan members, then we shall accept that. The Aburame clan will be responsible for dealing with the village that boy comes from however – smooth it over. We don't want to be known as children-stealers." The words were said with bitterness – everyone in the room knew of Danzo's practices even if they could do little about them, and her connection to Orochimaru who was a known child stealer. Even so her words drew a grimace over the faces of those in the room with her. It really wasn't a legacy that they wanted Konoha to be known for.
"Thank you Hokage-sama." Shibi gave her a bow and turned to leave the room. Before he made it far though, Tsunade spoke again with a more genuine grin on her face.
"Oh and Shibi?" She called, waiting until he stopped and glanced back at her. "Congratulations, it's a boy."
The Aburame head smirked behind the collar of his coat and could hear the sound of the remaining occupants of the room sniggering as he left.
He had just adopted a new member into the clan after all.
When Yoshio awoke he felt numb. As in physically numb. His body felt strange, heavy and unresponsive. While he was awake, he couldn't even open his eyes for some time.
It must have been several hours that he lay there, awake but unable to move. Long enough for the panic to overtake him and then ebb away, unsustainable for so long without anything actually happening to prolong it.
By the time someone entered the room he was starting to get feeling back into his body, something he found himself less happy about than he thought he'd be.
He hurt.
He could feel at least some of the changes his body had undergone. The slight itchy discomfort of tiny feet walking in places that normally lacked sensation. There weren't actually many physical receptors inside the body which was a blessing for him now, but there were still enough to at least feel the pressure of the new tunnels that had been burrowed into him. His body hummed in a way it never had before.
Yoshio had worked the farms, he knew plenty about bugs and how they were useful and not as bad as people seemed to think. That didn't mean he wanted any inside his body – the only times he'd heard of bugs inside someone it was a bad thing, like tapeworms or other parasites.
He could feel bugs inside him though, even if only vaguely. He could certainly feel some crawling over his skin too and that was disconcerting, uncomfortable. Paralysed, he could do nothing but adapt to the sensation whether he wanted to or not.
When the ninja entered the room he was in, Yoshio had gained enough control to move his arms a little but not much more than that. He watched as the man came in and stood across for him, within his limited sight line. Although male, very little else could be identified about the stranger, concealed as he was in the same type of long brown coat and sunglasses as the man he'd found outside the wall.
"My apologies for keeping you waiting." The man said, after a moment had passed. "I'm sure you have questions. Why? Because you have woken in a strange location and are unable to move. Allow me to explain, but first-" the man bowed to him at the waist.
Yoshio's eyes widened, about the only way he could express his shock. Fortunately the ninja straightened after just a moment, but the effect of the action lingered for several long moments in Yoshio's mind.
"You have my thanks for being there for my clansmen and his hive at the time of his passing. It is unfortunate that he could not be saved, but at least he did not die alone." There was a respectful pause before the man continued. "As for your questions: My name is Aburame Shibi, I am the head of the Aburame clan here in Konoha. Do you know of our clan?" He asked, and didn't seem upset when Yoshio shook his head slightly 'no'.
"The Aburame clan are one of the noble clans of Konoha. We are well known for our specialised insects which we host within our bodies. By the widening of your eyes I can see that you understand the significance of this. Yes, you are now hosting the hive of Aburame Izuto, the man you found. This situation, of a hive seeking out a new host in the event of their own dying, is exceptionally rare. However the breed that Izuto carried was similarly rare, and sought to preserve themselves thusly by taking an alternate host rather than risk the loss of the hive."
A small, desperate little noise escaped Yoshio then and Shibi fell silent as he let the young man absorb his words. The information needed to be imparted but it was already obvious that the actions of the other night had far-reaching ramifications, which Yoshio would have to come to terms to.
Once the teen seemed to calm down a bit Shibi continued.
"You are not without control of your future." He assured, still in that strange, near-monotone voice. "In truth the only thing that you can not control is the existence of the tunnels within your body. Should you wish, the Aburame clan could extract the rikaichu from your body and place them in stasis in the hope that one day a suitable host will be born." He gave Yoshio a moment to accept that information, then continued. "This is not ideal for the Aburame clan, as it may never come to pass that a suitable host is born and the hive is a valuable one. It is in our interests for you to continue as the host to the rikaichu and so we would like to adopt you in to the clan, if you are willing."
Yoshio wasn't really sure how to take that. Be adopted by a ninja clan? A noble clan in Konoha? Yoshio was just an unspecialised child, of little value in truth even to his own village, but here was the Aburame clan head telling him that he was valuable to them? It was a bit much, and he was grateful for the time to process what he was being told.
It would be easy to feel threatened into compliance, the scary ninja having abducted him and paralysed him, but he didn't feel threatened at all. He certainly felt at a disadvantage, but Shibi-sama had gone out of his way to ensure that he didn't have to do what they wanted, he had a choice and could make the one they didn't want him to if he couldn't tolerate being a host.
It made sense he supposed – some people probably couldn't handle the idea of hosting insects inside their own body, and forcing them to do so would likely not end well. Offering them incentives to join wouldn't change their discomfort and lack of acceptance, so it was better to allow him to make the choice for himself than to press-gang him into obedience.
All the same, Yoshio appreciated the freedom to choose. Freedom was a rare thing in this life.
"I will explain what the Aburame clan can offer you over dinner, if you are amenable. The paralysis and subsequent numbness should have worn off completely within the hour and you will be hungry. Why? Because becoming a host to our insects is a stressful experience for the body and you have been asleep for two days." The clan head gave a nod of his head and promptly left, aware that Yoshio couldn't bid him to leave one way or another.
It was almost amusing in a way, the social awkwardness of the Aburame. He'd seen it in ninja at the waystation village of course, but never actually had to interact with someone like this. Shibi-sama seemed earnest despite his vocal flatline and to Yoshio that meant a lot.
If nothing else he had an hour to think things through, to see if being a host to rikaichu? Was even a question for him.
Clearly the Aburame were giving him plenty of time to experience what it was like to host them, likely so he'd be able to make an informed decision – so he'd be able to see that it wasn't so bad. Truthfully it wasn't; the body just didn't have enough receptors for him to feel much in detail, just a fair amount of discomfort and some aching. Probably the worst of it was over, now that the tunnels had been dug and he had slept it off.
As he'd been told, nearly an hour later he was able to move around with only a little bit of difficulty. His body hurt a fair bit though, but so long as he kept calm, the bugs in turn didn't bother him too much. When he panicked they seemed to flood out of his body somewhat and expressed the same jitteriness that he did, which wasn't helpful.
Once he had slid out of bed it had become clear that he'd only been wearing some loose shorts, but thankfully there were some clothes laid out for him – a long sleeved shirt and trousers and some sunglasses, like the Aburame clan wore. He wasn't sure if he needed them yet or not but brought them along anyway, stepping gingerly out of 'his' room and out to the rest of the house.
There were quiet sounds coming from one direction so he headed that way, awkwardly aware of how loud his footfalls sounded in the near-silence. Shibi-sama was cooking food in the kitchen while a younger Aburame was setting the table. Neither seemed surprised when he stepped into the kitchen/dining area though, nor was he surprised by that himself. Yoshio stood in the doorway uncertainly for a moment, unsure what to do with himself, until the younger Aburame came towards him with a small teacup which he handed to Yoshio.
"You should drink this. Why? Because it is a mild painkiller and father says the numbness will be fading by now."
Accepting the drink from the similarly strange boy, Yoshio took it and drank a sip, surprised at the thick, honeyed taste. "Thank you." He offered a bit belatedly, as the other boy had already turned away towards the table, where dinner was just being served.
"My son, Shino." Shibi-sama introduced as he carried over the bowls of food. "Shino-chan is aware of your situation and impending decision." Shibi sat, and Yoshio joined them at the table.
"Itadikimasu." Three voices rang out, two flat and one a touch nervous, but clearly trying for neutral.
For a moment there were only the sounds of food being served and eaten, something which Yoshio was doing with gusto once he realised how hungry he truly was. Shibi and Shino ate more sedately but waited until the initial burst of his hunger had waned before starting to speak.
"I would like to explain what the Aburame clan would be willing to offer you in return for your hosting the rikaichu and adoption into the clan." Shibi started. "But first to ask, would you consider hosting them, should we find an appropriate agreement?" There was no point haggling if there was to be no sale, after all.
"I think so." Yoshio said after a few moments of intense deliberation. "I would like to have a greater understanding of what would be expected of me as a host however, but at this stage... it doesn't seem so bad, to host them. A bit strange, and sore, but not as bad as I guess I would have imagined it?"
Shino and Shibi both nodded at that – most people seemed to have Opinions about hosting insects inside their bodies, but for those who actively did so it wasn't near as bad as he responses of others seemed to imply.
"Very well." Shibi nodded, waving an encouraging hand for Yoshio to eat more, causing Shino to slide more food onto Yoshio's plate. "If you were to be adopted into the clan to host the rikaichu, you would be expected to join the ninja academy or be summarily 'home schooled' within the clan. It would be preferable for you to pass the genin exam, but not a strict requirement – so long as you make an effort to learn within the clan and to grow your chakra network, your efforts will be accepted regardless as to your success." It was a generous offer truly, to not make demands as to achievement. Even Shino seemed a touch surprised, though to be fair Yoshio was rather old to be asked to become a ninja.
He was fifteen years old – too old by most standards to even consider beginning ninja training. His body had almost finished growing so his chakra pathways weren't resilient enough for the kind of stress a shinobi put them through. All the same he would be required to do his best, even if he never became a 'proper' shinobi. If only to defend the hive he now carried he had to become a ninja.
At this stage he'd be lucky to have enough chakra growth to make it to genin, never mind beyond. Hosting the rikaichu required him to have a certain amount of chakra for them to sustain them, and while they could get by with less while he was training, it'd be a careful game of taxing his chakra reserves in order to build them up, but not starve the insects which relied on that chakra to survive. It meant he couldn't just work himself hard to build up his reserves as he otherwise would have, he had to pace himself, which ultimately meant he wouldn't be able to stretch his coils as far before they settled more firmly in adulthood.
"Clan training would involve learning to work with your rikaichu, at the very least to ensure you would not be a risk to others. Our insects become part of us, respond to us, so if you become angry, they will become aggressive also. It is for this reason that training would involve emotional control as well as chakra control lessons, primarily." Shibi explained, finishing his meal now though Yoshio continued eating.
"As a member of the clan you would live within the Aburame compound at least until becoming a genin, or reaching eighteen unless you are considered a danger to others. You would still be welcome to live here, but not required to. Similarly, you are welcome to share this household with my son Shino and myself, or take a smaller residence for yourself, so long as you are able to maintain acceptable standards of living."
Yoshio hadn't even begun to think about the logistics of being an Aburame, only of being a host to their bugs. He'd definitely have to think about what he wanted to do on that front. Seeing his lack of decision, Shibi continued.
"In case you are unfamiliar, genin shinobi are usually assigned tasks that are more in line with menial labor, running errands and the like. At most they are sent on courier runs and escort missions in groups, and may encounter bandits that need dispatched. If this is not permissable to you, you can be assigned in-village only missions which will more often be solo tasks, though more in line with what you would likely be doing within your own village." If Yoshio made genin at all of course, though it was entirely possible that he could so long as he worked hard. It was unlikely he'd make it to chunin, but genin was well within his ability.
"Alternatively you could become a civilian member and find gainful employment in standard professions, though you would still be required to do much of the basic training in order to ensure you are safe to leave the Aburame clan grounds."
"So I'm not safe to leave right now?" Yoshio asked, even though the answer was obvious. He still felt a little uncomfortable at Shibi's nod, even though he could somewhat understand. The hive he hosted were tied to him now, and he could feel them become agitated as he did. He did his best to calm down and neither of the Aburame clan members said anything. If anyone understood he supposed, it would be them. He'd never had to police his own feelings so tightly before, even though he was normally quite laid back and it wasn't an issue he'd always been fairly free with how he felt, though he didn't always express it. Now it wasn't simply that he couldn't show his emotion, but that he had to literally try and limit how much he felt. Not something that was controllable normally, but it could be done, to a degree at least.
"What about my family? My home? What if I never get good enough to be safe to leave?"
"Your family has been contacted." Shibi assured him. "I spoke to them yesterday to explain the situation. Your parents assured me that they would be joining you here within the next few days to see you, but would ultimately support your decision. Should you choose to become a member of the clan they are free to visit you here, and if you decided to decline our offer, you would return home with them."
The choice really was up to him then.
Kami knew it was an opportunity for him – many people came to Konoha hoping to apply for citizenship. Yoshio didn't have a whole lot tying him to his village – he had family and friends but no profession, no one keeping him there. Heck his parents had been trying to encourage him to find himself for years now, sending him out to talk to travelling merchants in case any of their crafts caught his fancy. He'd always been driven to master whatever he was working on, but had never been driven to work on anything in particular.
Becoming a citizen in Konoha would open up a lot of opportunities for him, and joining a noble clan would give him a large advantage – support behind him, should he need it, until he could support himself at least. More than that, Shibi-sama had offered for Yoshio to join his family personally. Whether that was an offer made because of how valuable the rikaichu were or because he honestly thought Yoshio would be a good addition, he didn't know. Still, the offer was something to think about.
He'd always wanted a bigger family. Yoshio had been born to his father's first wife, who had died during his childbirth. His father had later remarried and had several more children with his wife, but Yoshio hadn't felt all that welcome. He looked too much like his mother, with her black hair and high cheekbones, very unlike his father's second wife who was taller and had light brown hair, as did all of their children.
Those reasons were childish though, and even if he agreed to join Shibi's family there was no guarantee that it would be good for him. He'd seen plenty of families that didn't work out well and didn't want to expect a family where they expected merely an arrangement.
Ultimately that decision could come later though, for now Yoshio was finished eating and instead mulled over his words.
"I would be amenable to joining the Aburame clan." He finally admitted out loud. "On a trial basis at least. I don't foresee any reasons why my decision would change, but there's a lot about ninja and the clans that I don't know, so I don't want to lock myself in and later find out that there's a dealbreaker I didn't know about down the line." Shibi nodded slowly to accept those words. They weren't ideal – a solid contract would be best, but a probation period was probably for the best anyway, just in case. There would already be the clause in place for if Yoshio was unable to make himself safe with his hive – if he couldn't control his emotions sufficiently to be able to leave the compound, leaving him either trapped there, or forced to give up his hive. Ultimately it all came down to clan law anyway, and there wasn't any precedence for this.
Having a colony bond with anyone but an Aburame child was unheard of. The few out-of-clan spouses that were married into the clan were usually unable or unwilling to host a hive of their own. The toll on the body was not insignificant and only ninja or the very young could become hosts, which excluded most. Those few who were ninja already had their own fighting style and skills and weren't willing to undo all of that to take on a hive, which would affect their abilities and require them to adopt new styles.
So Shibi had a fair amount of wiggle room and thus so did Yoshio, because it came down to clan matters with no history to draw from.
"Very well." Shibi offered a small, pleased hum, which Yoshio soon realised came not from the man himself, but from his hive. "We will begin basic training this evening then. The room you woke in is yours for as long as you'd like it. Your family will be bringing clothing for you, though you may prefer to use the clan clothing as your body continues to adapt to hosting your hive. Most find it preferable to conceal the movements of their insects from observers. Most Aburame also had skin and eyes sensitive to light, however as a non-born member of the clan it was uncertain whether Yoshio would also acquire these traits, or whether he'd like to wear their garb in solidarity to the clan, as many Aburame spouses did.
With the same abruptness as earlier, dinner seemed to be over and Shibi and Shino were standing to clear the table. It was a bit off-beat but Yoshio was beginning to see that it was just the way they were.
Yoshio still had a few decisions to make and a whole lot of changes to adapt to, but despite the awfulness of what had happened he found himself almost optimistic about what the future held for him.
Time to get on with the rest of his life, he supposed.
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Notes: Okay so this just happened, I literally woke up and this idea was niggling at me so here it is!
Also though this is laid out like a chaptered fic, I don't currently have plans to build on it. Despite how much I like the premise, I don't actually like what I've /written/ lol, so found it hard to finish, never mind come up with more at present. Sorry all.