Kemono no Shi: The Death of a Monster
By: Abhorson
Chapter: #10
Rated: M; for strong language and sexual themes (Some day)
Summary: Kiba and Shino endure the daily tribulations of Konoha Chuunin. Unbeknownst to them, their relationship is slowly, but surely, progressing into something more than friendship. Set in time gap. ShinoKiba; Shounen-Ai; Yaoi; Strong Language.
Nihongo: Dialogue and references in Japanese will hold no meaning relevant to the understanding of the story. Said dialogue with only represent common expressions that aren't entirely vital to comprehension, and will only contribute to Japanese authenticity.
BYBN: I decided to post this chapter today, based on a game of solitaire. I've had a bout of insomnia recently, and have found myself playing the game far more than I would like to admit. If I lost, I wouldn't post, and I would keep on working on the chapter. If I won...well…here we are.
Is it just me, or does it feel like theres something incredibly wrong with this?
Juusatsu: Nadare
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Nothing left to lose?
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Shino ran across water with speed, the Administration's island coming into view as soon as the party of three leaped from Kirigakure's elongated docks.
"If I am to reach Konoha in the shortest time possible, why are we to see the Mizukage first?" Shino asked darkly. He had a distinct feeling that Kiba would be even more cross with him for leaving so abruptly, without even so much as a 'see you later.'
"You will soon learn one of the reasons why Kobayashi-sama became Mizukage." One of the two messengers replied proudly. "Who would have thought, in my own clan."
Shino's doubt did not dissipate in the slightest even after he had asked. He would have to question the Mizukage himself.
The lights within the office were exceptionally dim, the slight radiance issuing into the room with no apparent source. Shino did not move far passed the entrance after stepping inside, as he soon noticed in the meek light, that the thin floorboards of the office where covered in a mass of dark, writhing seals. The Mizukage sat squatting, his back against the far wall as he finished off the last of the complex-looking symbols.
The kage's blood-stained paintbrush disappeared up his sleeve as he stood, the man giving Shino a soft smile despite his blatant weariness.
"Shino, if you would. Stand there." He gestured vaguely to the centre of the room. "One foot on Kusaru, the other on Ugoki." In between two five-foot-wide spirals, the two words 'decomposition' and 'movement' were written in flamboyant characters. Shino was hesitant, as he did not know exactly what he was stepping into. The seal 'kusaru' was not particularly appealing. Though, he could guess what the large amount of blood, ink, and chakura splayed upon the floor was intended to do. He examined the other wording placed across the floorboards, and they only confirmed his ideas.
Shino slowly stepped across the floor, careful not to smudge anything as he did so, (it could be the death of him) and positioned his feet as he had been instructed.
"I have not dropped anything as far as Konoha. I hope that you do not lose anything that you particularly like." Shino supposed that this was the adult's idea of crude humor.
Kobayashi rolled his shoulders, stretching out after a few long hours of crouched painting. Even the Mizukage's clothes somehow seemed worn and threadbare in the flickering light. Perhaps it had been the light all along, that made it seem to Shino that the bags underneath the kage's eyes were even larger than the previous time they had met.
"I recommend that you don't move too much." The older ninja continued. "Besides a slight compression in your stomach, you should be fine. Other than that…Ja mata!"
Before Shino could manage a blink of comprehension, the leader of the Mist began a long chain of hands seals, his fingers glowing with chakura as he did so. The raven-haired male fell to his knees an instant later, thrusting his palms into the seal, the whole mass coming to life with a sinister red glow.
Shino's vision began to slowly dissolve, giving him the overbearing urge to adjust his glasses. However, he quickly reminded himself to stand still; which was his last comprehensive thought before the large room went completely black.
-
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"Fuck…" Kiba cursed, pacing his small room in growing frustration. Groping for the nearest unsuspecting item that he could reach from his pack, he vaulted it across the room as hard as he dared, the innocent object smashing against plaster with a resounding crash. Kiba slid to the ground with a sigh, lying spread-eagled on hard floorboards. After a moment of staring up at the ceiling in a bored fashion, his slight curiosity overtook him and he craned his neck, looking passed the only piece of furniture in the room to where he supposed the object that he had thrown lay. There, a small pile of what he supposed had been a picture frame sat in fragments. He instantly recognized the picture, but was curious as to how it had found its way inside of his pack.
It was a photo taken of him and Shino bruised and bloodied after finishing the Chuunin Selection Exam. In the square of captured color, Kiba was visibly angry, his back to Shino as the Aburame attempted to keep the boy still for the official picture. (A bystander had taken the picture of just the two, while another photographer had been attempting to take a photo of all seven Konoha-nin who had passed). Kiba remembered distinctly why he had been mad at his friend. He had thought that Shino had left the stadium during his match, while he had watched and cheered diligently during Shino's. He had been mad at the other for the entire day, resulting in the ruination of celebration time for both of the males of Team #8. He had found out later, that Shino had simply moved to the stands in order to rest his injured leg.
Kiba had been surprised when he had learned this from his sensei, and had wondered for a long while why Shino had not conveyed this to him in the first place…
Kiba was out of the dormitory before Akamaru even realized that his master was gone. The Inuzuka used ever bit of his sense of direction in order to recall where the Mizukage's office lie.
"So many fucking islands!" He barked to himself, turning his head frantically. After a few minutes of searching desperately, he found an area that at least looked remotely familiar, following his instinct solely towards a path he vaguely registered.
Kiba vaulted over the docks, exerting chakura, as he expected to come into contact with the relatively calm ocean. However, impact never came.
"That wouldn't be a terribly good idea." A voice came from behind him. The figure, presumably a male, had caught Kiba easily by the scruff of his jacket, holding the surprised Inuzuka a few inches above the water. He stepped back a few feet and dropped Kiba onto the docks. "He's already gone."
Kiba balled his fists suddenly, while the other seemed unfazed.
"The name is Kozuka." He reported, after a moment of watching Kiba irreverently.
"Screw you." Kiba spat darkly, glaring at the light-haired boy as if it were his fault that Shino was no longer in his immediate vicinity. He shoved passed the male from Kagen's cell, hoping to put some distance between himself and the other's pseudo plaintive expression.
"Ouch." The other male stated in a mock-dejected tone, following Kiba as he started back towards the dormitory.
"Kiba, right?" Kozuka continued. "You are terribly unfriendly aren't you? It's no wonder that guy Shino holds you in such high disdain." Kiba's steps faltered, and he stopped.
"Don't pretend like you know him." He attempted to keep his anger in check. The mist-nin held up his hands in defeat.
"I'm not. It's just by the way he looks at you. Terribly wicked."
Kiba continued forward once again, attempting to pay no mind to the teenager plodding nonchalantly behind him. After five minutes or so of walking, he turned around abruptly, his voice rising regrettably.
"Why are you following me!" He pursued angrily.
"We live in the same building. I happen to walk this way from the Mizukage's office. Why change my course for a dumb shit like you? That would be terribly annoying."
Kiba pivoted where he stood, moving toward Kozuka quickly. He raised his arm, pulling his fist back as if he were going to punch. However, just as he moved to throw his arm, a figure suddenly appeared, separating the two ninja.
"That would not be wise, Inuzuka-sama. While his actions are not commendable, Kozuka is my teammate, and I will defend him."
In the moonlight, Kiba could easily make out Kagen's shock of red hair.
"Why would you defend this fag?" Kiba barked over Kagen's shoulder.
"Oh, so I'm the fag now?" Kozuka easily quipped.
Kiba blinked, pausing in motion, his mouth hanging open in a lost retort. The words he had been mentally evading ever since his feelings for his best friend had escalated far past 'friendly.' He dropped his hands to his side, stalking away without a word. Kozuka meanwhile smirked in triumph, laying a hand on Kagen's shoulder as he walked passed, following Kiba into the dormitory.
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A shallow breath escaped Shino's throat as he opened his eyes warily. For a moment, he stared up at a dark ceiling, not knowing where he was, or if he indeed was all there. He organized his disjointed limbs as he finally stood, surveyed the space he currently occupied, and understood where he was.
All light fixtures within the Hokage's office went unused, the room completely vacant except for the stiff Aburame. The only illumination issued through the large windows beyond the Godaime's empty desk. Shino walked towards the open panes, and the immediate onrush of smoke overbore his senses. Clouds of dust, smoke, and debris surrounded the borders of Konoha as far as the forest permitted view. Explosions occurred around the border, the effects of simultaneously used jutsu also visible. Shino's eyes narrowed darkly, and he headed towards the one place he could think to go.
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Entering his new household, Kiba did not bother to lock his door, nor even properly close it for that matter. He did not feel the particular need to replace it after only living in this small apartment for a few good hours. Surely enough, Kozuka entered through the doorway just as Kiba situated himself on his small couch, the mist ninja closing the door behind him.
"What do you want?" Kiba asked wearily, not looking up as the boy stopped a few feet in front of him.
"I think you know…"
"Do I?" Kiba breathed questioningly, his lack of interest apparent.
"You recall your foremost mission here, do you not?" Kozuka sneered, his eyes flickering
"Yeah." Kiba barked in return, finally looking up at the other shinobi. "If it weren't for that mission, I wouldn't be in this hell hole."
"As long as you feel remorse…"
"Huh?"
"I will certainly see you around, Inuzuka-sama." Kozuka continued coolly. He turned on his heel and was out of the door in an instant, leaving a confused and somewhat angered Kiba without further explanation. Kiba stood up, crossed to the bedroom and slammed the door, similar to the fashion in which he had done so earlier that night.
Only as he once again stormed inside, did Kiba notice the most prominent detail of the bedroom. Shino had arranged the blankets of both of their futon so that they covered the bed side-by-side, this simple gesture perhaps making Kiba even guiltier for being so angry with the older Konoha-nin. Kiba understood that Shino was slightly inept when it came to the compassionate department, but still…
Kiba flopped down upon Shino's blankets unceremoniously, kicking off his sandaru as he had so boldly forgotten to do at the door. The scent of his friend instantly pervaded his clairvoyant senses, the corners of his mouth curling despite himself.
He couldn't quite admit this to himself just yet, but he subconsciously wished that it was Shino he currently had his arms wrapped around, instead of the rather lifeless pillow he clutched to solidly.
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Kiba opened a single eye suspiciously, almost expecting to have awoken in some jail cell on a deserted island in the middle of bum-fucked Egypt, the way things had been going recently. Lying still in bed somehow caused the brunette to become slightly retrospective, and he reflected on the events that compiled his latest hours. He deeply resented the foul mood he had been in lately. It had only been a few days, and he already wished that he were back in Konoha, like it had been two weeks ago, the most prominent thought in his mind what restaurant he should stop at for dinner after training. He missed his rambunctious, don't-give-a-fuck mood profoundly.
Kiba sat up in bed quickly, trying on a goofy grin as if it were a new pair of sandaru. He even ventured so far as to laugh experimentally, enjoying the clenching feeling of his abdomen muscles as he slipped from beneath his covers. It had been a whole two days since Shino had left. With a grin, Kiba stretched, recognizing the fact that his friend would be back in a few days, maybe a week at the most. The Mizukage had even been so empathetic as to give Kiba a leave of duties until Shino returned.
He had no worries. His bespectacled friend would be back in no time, they would work in Kirigakure until Tsunade deemed fit, and would be back in Konoha in no time, everything returning to normal in the wake of their return. Definitely.
Kiba rinsed himself quickly in the shower, casting an almost longing look at the large ofuro which lay beside it.
He dressed silently, pulling his black jacket over a mesh shirt. He quickly tied on his hitai-ate as he slipped on his sandaru, bending over to zip them up as he exited the apartment. Akamaru followed behind him, eager to get out of the small room and into open air.
Kiba had spent the last two days wandering the main island, hoping to memorize the large area as much as possible. He had hated the lost, almost hopeless feeling that he had encountered the night that Shino had left, searching for the Kage's tower.
Kiba had picked out the restaurant in which he would eat breakfast the night before, so he let his feet guide him as he strolled leisurely. He continued to look around silently, watching as the mass of shops and restaurants on Kirigakure's coast slowly come to life. Being so close to the sea, the markets had a particularly salty, fish orientated smell to them. This was the main difference from Konoha, not that Kiba minded. Fish bones weren't particularly strong, but they were crunchy nonetheless.
Kiba found the restaurant with only slight mishap, and quickly sat in an available seat near the counter. He was not particularly fond of sitting at his knees before a large table. It made his legs fall asleep. Besides that, he didn't enjoy sitting alone.
Over the raucous talking and laughter of the restaurant's other patrons, he could make out the conversations of the people around him. Just as he sat down, the person perched next to him ordered.
"Motto miso suupu o kusadai!" The male beside Kiba ordered another bowl of Miso soup.
"Maa…You have enough money for this right?" The man behind the large counter replied. "This will be your seventh bowl!"
"Hai, hai, hurry up, I'm still starving!"
The barman eyed the customer warily, but hurried off nonetheless. Kiba's eyebrow twitched suddenly, and he sniffed discreetly. The over-pitched, squeal of a voice, the…
"Aaah, Naruto!" Kiba nearly fell of the back of his stool in surprise, but managed to land a grip on the front of the seat, sparing himself a humiliating fall.
"K-Kiba ka?" Uzumaki Naruto's head whipped around suddenly, the hashi sticking out from his mouth in haphazard angles nearly swiping Kiba in the face. Kiba jerked back just in time, scratching the back of his head in order to disguise his movement.
"Whadd'ya doing here, Kiba?" Naruto continued, setting the hashi which had been previously sticking from his mouth neatly on the empty bowl in front of him.
"I-I'm on a mission here, with Shino."
"Shino?" Naruto's head whipped around once again, as if expecting the tall Aburame to appear suddenly from the shadows.
"He's not here right now." Kiba supplied, laughing nervously. Naruto shrugged, picking up a deep bowl of miso soup just as it was placed before him. He brought the rim to his mouth, and began to slurp down the broth.
"So, uh, how is that thing with the Uchiha going?" Kiba pursued without thinking, ordering his own breakfast as soon as he had posed the question. Naruto paused briefly in his slurping, but Kiba did not notice.
"I'm just training right now. Nothing has happened yet, s'far as I know." Naruto shrugged, finishing off the remains of his soup.
Kiba nodded, staring at his reflection as his own bowl of soup was set before him, a bowl of rice and fish set promptly next to it.
"We have odd friends, eh?" Kiba wandered. 'Though, Shino is not nearly as screwed up as Sasuke is.' He wasn't willing to venture this aloud.
"Yeah. Sasuke had a really messed up childhood though." Naruto was perhaps trying to rationalize one of the reasons why he was so dedicated to the Uchiha. However, Kiba nearly choked as he took a small gulp of water.
"Yeah, no shit man. We're shinobi. We know 20 ways to kill a man in his sleep by age 10. If that's not messed up, I don't know what is."
Naruto side glanced at Kiba, his almost constant grin fading slightly. Naruto didn't speak for a few moments, but Kiba was too preoccupied with his meal to attempt to decipher the thought's clouding Naruto's mind.
"You know when I fought him the last time, before he left Konoha?"
"Yeah." Kiba scratched his head. "Why?"
"He told me, that I didn't understand the way he felt. Y'know, how he grew up with a family, and they were 'suddenly taken away from him'? He said I didn't understand the way he felt, because I never head a family in the first place-"
Kiba cut him off. "You mean that bastard actually told that to you?" He almost silently reprimanded himself for calling the Uchiha a bastard (not that he didn't deserve it); however, Naruto didn't seem to mind. "Man, he's more deluded that I thought."
Kiba shook his head incredulously. "He couldn't have been more wrong. Sure, losing your parents at a young age is horrible, even though I wouldn't know how it felt; but it's not something that doesn't happen often, especially when your parents are shinobi. But to not know your parents at ALL?"
Kiba raised his arms into the air, in order to generate emphasis. "Not to make you feel worse but- To never have even known your parents, to never have known what it feels like to have a real family, to never know what its like to have your mom kiss you goodnight…" Kiba trailed off. He knew he wasn't helping the situation much, and he was sure that Naruto had gotten his point. "Man, that's so much worse, I can't even begin to explain."
Naruto eyed him, his grin slowly returning. He slid from his stool suddenly, his fist in the air, displaying his unequalled fervor.
"I'm gonna make a new family before Sasuke does. Then I can rub it in the jerk's face the next time I decide to kick his ass. I'll show him, I know what it feels like to have a family, while all he has is Orochimaru and Kabuto ass-raping him when they feel real horny."
All air which had formerly been coursing through Kiba's esophagus stopped suddenly as his throat constricted, his body twitching spasmodically as he struggled to regain breath. Naruto just continued to grin, as if he hadn't realized what he had said.
"I gotta go Kiba; I'll see you back in Konoha in a little while." Naruto waved briefly, before sprinting out of the restaurant quickly. Kiba managed to turn himself around in his stool, facing the bar once again, his head leaving a slight indent in the immaculate counter as his muscles unwound themselves suddenly.
"Hey! That punk left without paying!" The man behind the counter accused suddenly, apparently not concerned enough to actually pursue the fleeting blonde. Kiba suddenly felt a strong gaze burning into the back of his neck.
"Don't look at me, I don't know the moron." He managed to grumble, almost incoherently.
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Chakura: Chakura is often spelled 'chakra' by English adapters in hopes that the readers that are unfamiliar with Japanese may properly pronounce it. I prefer spelling it in the way it is foremost written.
Ja Mata: 'See you later,' or 'see you again.' The ever popular 'ja ne' happens to mean goodbye.
"Motto miso suupu o kusadai!": 'More Miso Soup Please!'
I hate this chapter. I must have hit my head against my monitor at least 10 times while proofreading. By the way…don't, uh, mind the last part. It's just for filling purposes…waiting for Shino to come back, ya'know. Crap I say, Crap!
Noteworthy: Aargh, I miss yet another birthday! (Sasuke's was on the 23rd of July). Ah well. At least he was slightly mentioned…the bastard. Oh, and I decided on a deadline. Look for a new chapter around Thursday, Friday at the latest.
Abhorson: I went on a ShinoKiba reading spree this past Wednesday, looking for ideas as to how I should fix my Kiba characterization, and I can say, I have never cried so much in one sitting, the loser that I am. (Except, of course when my mummy died, but that's a different story). I've found some extremely excellent writers, I have. The other ShinoKiba authors are so much better than I. If only I didn't have an imagination of crap. If someone perchance wanted to do a collab? wink wink I'd be more than willing. I'm better with the whole writing schematic, versus coming up with ideas.
I can't believe I (and readers) stayed dedicated enough to reach Chapter #10. Thanks so much to reviewers! You guys are too nice to me. I'm really not all that great! Yay to the faithful patrons: Your Mom's Face, MKNK, Blackrosethorn, taste of fire, HeavenlySaint, Heosic-chan , WolfWarrior, lo, EscaChick, fightingcomet, Trekiael, Prosopopeia, and The Naruto Whore, not to mention the newer readers! You guy's rock so hard!
Wish we had rubber sidewalks in California…