A/N: Hey, I don't own these characters, Kishimoto does, I'd like to believe that the 'Special Winter Training' is my idea, but I doubt it. So just enjoy the story.
NARUTO: SPECIAL WINTER TRAINING
--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
Kurenai, Kiba, Hinata, and Akamaru waited at training ground seventeen. Each one dressed for the weather that had recently come to Konoha, namely, the snow. It came, after everyone was asleep, and covered the ground. Each member of Team 8 was dressed for the weather, Kurenai skipped out on her usual attire, opting for a heavy winter trench coat. Hinata wasn't wearing her light, baggy jacket; instead she was covered by a… heavy, baggy jacket. Kiba pulled up his parka tight, still hiding Akamaru within its toasty depths.
Kiba was getting aggravated. It was too cold to be standing around, at least they should be doing something, but one of Kurenai's rules was that they trained as a team, and if one person was gone, they didn't train until they showed. "Where the heck is Shino!"
Hinata spoke up to defend him, "Kiba-kun, Shino is just running late. You know that the cold slows him down."
"So? Unless I was sick and couldn't move, I'd at least make sure you guys knew I wouldn't be here. So where is he?" argued Kiba. Kurenai thought to herself that maybe Kiba had something there.
"Kiba, you may be right."
"I am?" said Kiba, who couldn't believe his luck.
"Yes, Shino is probably sick," said Kurenai. She turned back in the direction of Konoha and started walking, presumably to check up on her absent charge. Hinata and Kiba both stood there for a few moments, trying to think of any other time when Shino had been sick, neither was able to conjure any memories of the event, so they went along with Kurenai.
--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
The Aburame Clan did not have a large complex of houses, like the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, nor was it a large family mansion like the Inuzuka home. It was a simple and plain house in the shinobi part of Konoha. The house was covered in snow, and unlike the other homes in the area, the walks were not shoveled, nor were the windows wiped down. There weren't even any footprints in the snow. Kurenai, Kiba, and Hinata trudged through the knee-high snow towards the house, and knocked on the door.
There was no answer.
After a few minutes, Hinata spoke up, "Do you think everyone's still asleep, Kurenai-sensei?"
Kurenai didn't think that at all, but if she said that she thought Shino and his family were attacked, then it might upset Hinata. So Kurenai decided not to tell her, instead opting for, "They might be."
"Wait! Wait, wait, wait a second!" Kiba shouted, not caring if Shino was asleep or not, "So you're telling me that he gets to sleep in, and I can't? That's not fair, Kurenai-sensei. I'm going to wake him up!" Kiba paused to draw breath, and before either of his more sensible teammates could stop him, he closed his eyes and yelled straight at the door, "HEY SHINO!! WAKE UP!!"
When Kiba opened his eyes again, he was a little frightened to see Shino's father, Shibi, glaring at him. "Shino is not asleep. He is undergoing winter training with me." Satisfied that that answer was sufficient for Shino's team, he turned around and began to walk back inside.
Hinata had one last question to ask, "Shibi-san?"
Without turning around, he replied, "Yes, Hinata?"
"Why does Shino have to go through special winter training?"
Kurenai said nothing, she also wanted to know herself, and for a wonder, Kiba was also silent.
Shibi said, like it was as plain as day, "It's cold." He did not expect a second interruption, this time from Kurenai.
"It's cold. That's it? It's cold? What does it being cold have anything to do with anything?" demanded Kurenai, with her hands on her hips. Hinata whipped around to have a good look at her teacher, Kurenai didn't have many outbursts, after all. Kiba was also surprised a great deal, but rather than by the fact that she was shouting (he got plenty of that from her on a consistent basis), it was her yelling at a shinobi that was considered her equal.
Shibi, now fully annoyed (but not betraying it), responded, "Cold weather kills bugs. If our bugs are not properly trained, then they, and by extension, we die. I trust that that is all you needed, Kurenai?" This time he stood by the door, waiting for someone to say something, perhaps Kiba, he hadn't said anything yet.
Kurenai, who just noticed that she yelled at her student's parent, replied, "Thank you, we'll be off, then." She put her arms behind Kiba and Hinata and hauled them out of the yard with her.
"Who was that, Dad?" came a voice from inside.
"Just your team, son," replied Shibi.
"Oh, did we have training today?" asked Shino, with his eyes focused on the go board.
"No, they just wanted to know what your 'special winter training' was," replied Shibi, taking his seat across the board from Shino.
"Ah, okay, then. Well, I've made up my mind, A-17." A Kikai bug crawled out of Shino's sleeve and down to the proper intersection of the board, where it then stopped moving. Shino looked up from just after making his move, "You didn't tell them that 'special winter training' was just you and I playing games with our bugs, did you?"
Shibi looked up at him, "No. Somehow I don't think they got that impression."
--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--
A/N: There it is, what Shino does to 'train' his bugs during the winter. This came about when another author and I were discussing why winter was so cool, and the idea that it killed off all the annoying bugs came up, so I wondered, "What does Shino do during the winter when it's too cold outside?" Thus, this ficlet was born. I hope you like it.
Have a good one, until next time.
ZhouMak.