Shino looked at the scene before him in disbelief. Sometime during the past twelve hours, Tsunade had drugged Jiraiya. Naruto was still recovering from finally learning the proper use of the Rasengan, and he was still suffering from magic overload.

Shino had a solution to his wonky control issue.

The next time he was in a fight, he was going to use up all his magic and then use his chakra to finish the enemy off. Hopefully it would stabilize his energy levels, because they were murdering him.

Orochimaru had drafted Tsunade into healing his right arm, which had barely been rescued by his lackeys. Kabuto could have done it, but he had been captured and later killed by Anko. Which meant Orochimaru was down one medic nin.

Apparently he had back ups, because he had some weird guy who used bones to fight them. It was fairly obvious the man was suffering from some ailment, yet he continued to fight.

A truly noteworthy shinobi indeed.

Shino of course used his bugs to drain whatever toxin Tsunade had used on Jiraiya while Naruto dealt with the bone boy.

(And no, the irony wasn't lost on Shino that he insisted on calling Orochimaru's lackey bone boy. Considering his nickname among the genin was bug boy, he found it somewhat amusing.)

Once Jiraiya was back on his feet (and Shino felt more tired than ever) he turned his attention on the bone user. Now was the best time to attack him.

Shino ignored all of his chakra based attacks and started hitting the man hard with all of the magical ones that Snape had showed him.

Shino, once he learned the proper outlet for his magic, was a natural at hexes, curses and charms. Particularly the wandless variety.

The bone user ducked and dodged the blades of wind, and was caught off guard by the whip that Shino made.

He was rather pleased to note that his headache was finally starting to go away.

Eventually he decided to remake the Uchiha Dragon of Fire trick. This time he was going to make a dragon made entirely of gale force winds.

Naruto distracted the man while Shino concentrated, and as he blew outward, the dragon took form.

The thing was more impressive than his fire dragon technique. Usually Shino could only maintain a dragon the size of a medium sized dog.

This dragon, however, was easily the size of Naruto's apartment building.

Naruto paused long enough to gape at the size of the thing.

"...No wonder I was having migraine problems," said Shino.

Shino held onto his dragon, which was surprisingly easy since he got it out. Apparently the issue was bringing it out, and not control.

With the enemy suitably distracted by the dragon, Naruto used his new Rasengan technique to take out the bone user. He dealt some serious damage to them.

Shino's attention was quickly given to Orochimaru, who seemed much worse for wear since losing his arm.

It was rather hard to summon or use jutsu one handed.

(Not that that ever stopped Haku. She had unsuccessfully tried to teach her boyfriend how to do it. Hinata had picked it up rather quickly, but Shino and Naruto were having no luck with it. It was the opinion of Kurenai that it was a skill that only females could learn with any success.)

Haku had been somewhat surprised to learn that Shino had a peanut allergy. And that he couldn't go deeper than twenty feet under water.

He could water walk like a Mist shinobi, but he couldn't dive worth a damn. Plus there was the new issue of his migraines. His magic and chakra were waging war inside of him, and it was likely to kill him if he didn't learn to control both powers.


Shino looked actually showed his anger when the bone user hit Naruto. He was hurt worse than normal, and on anyone else it would have been fatal.

However, the man had no ability to cut off the chakra flow, which meant the Kyuubi was hard at work healing the damage.

"Hurting my cousin like that...was your last mistake."

Shino's chakra and magic flared wildly, and for once they weren't clashing.

The man looked at Shino with wide eyes, as the intent to kill rivaled most jounin's. And there was no hesitation in his stance.

Swarms of insects came out of Shino, and all of them were deadly to humans.

Naruto stared as he saw the newest addition to Shino's hive, recently imported to the Aburame compound from their contacts in the Outside.

They were called Giant Japanese Wasps, and they were bigger than most of their kin. And they were absolutely deadly when they stung.

Shino had found the way they worked quite fascinating, because their hives simulated the way piranha attacked their prey. A scout attacks the victim, and if killed drew the entire hive to attack. And their venom was lethal in small amounts.

Apparently there were quite a few deaths attributed to these wasps in Asia.*

The bone man was quickly lost under the swarm...and when Shino called them back he was absolutely dead. The bumps all over his skin indicated several stings, all of them fatal. If the venom didn't kill him, then the allergic shock would.

And there wasn't a chance in hell that Tsunade or her apprentice would heal him. Not that Shino had the antidote to the wasps anyway.

Orochimaru, his attention diverted to the death of his accomplice, failed to block a blow from Jiraiya. Tsunade was out for the count because of the blood, and her apprentice was defending her.

Seeing that his loss was evident, Orochimaru did a Reverse Summon to escape. There was no chance of him being able to defeat Jiraiya under the circumstances.


Tsunade took an hour to recover, and by then they had relocated. The last thing they needed was for the Leaf Village to be in trouble because of the fact they destroyed a large castle.

"I believe...that you have lost yet another bet Tsunade-hime," said Jiraiya finally.

Tsunade chuckled, but admitted that he was right. But for once she didn't care.

"Which means...that you have to recognize Naruto and myself," said Shino.

"Man, those wasps of yours were cool Shino!" said Naruto.

"Father will be pleased to hear how they worked under battlefield conditions. They haven't been cleared by the clan to be used yet."

"I figured you were an Aburame brat... Though you're more vocal than the rest," said Tsunade.

"I was adopted. It only stands to reason," Shino admitted.

Tsunade noted the girl from before waiting in the branches.

"So what's her story then?"

"Civilian raised by Zabusa of the Mist, mostly because I have a Kekkei Genkai. He made sure I was well versed in senbon, but my healing jutsu needs work," said Haku.

Tsunade handed Naruto her necklace, and gave Shino a look.

"I take it you want me to train your girlfriend?"

"Actually, there is one other thing I would want. If Haku wants to train with you, that's her business not mine. I'm not going to dictate what she learns."

"What?"

"My mother. Before I was adopted, she took a hit that made it impossible for her to safely bear children. If it's possible, I would like to have that problem fixed."

Tsunade stared at him.

"Are you serious?"

"He's the heir to the Aburame clan. What do you think?" said Haku grinning.

"Why would an adopted heir want his mother healed? Aren't you worried about losing your status?" she asked bewildered.

"You think I actually care about that? I'm the only fire and lightning user in the clan, I'm the cousin of the village idiot, and my girlfriend is a former Mist nin with a bloodline limit. At which point should I care about public opinion?" Shino countered.

"Plus there's the fact that thanks to you, the Outside has developed an unhealthy interest in the Shinobi nations," Haku reminded him.

"Thanks for reminding me," said Shino dryly.

Tsunade looked at him in question.

"Apparently I happen to be the so called Savior of the Magical Communities Outside, and they've been looking for me for the past three years. Chances are that I'll have to lead a team to the Outside to prevent interference."

"Now that we've got the old lady, do we have to return to the village?" asked Naruto.

"You thinking a short vacation?" asked Shino.

"You think I want to deal with the jerk who sealed that overgrown fuzzball in me?" countered Naruto.

Tsunade blinked.

"Minato survived?"

"He didn't survive. That pedophile who just got his ass kicked brought him back with a foul jutsu, and so far it has yet to wear off. He's restricted to the village in case that freak tries to take control of him," said Shino blandly.

"Yeah, remember the look on his face when he heard you taking to that snake in the Forest? I thought he was going to have a heart attack!" grinned Naruto.

"Yeah...I think we're all overdue for a bit of a vacation, and Sensei never said we had to bring you back immediately," said Jiraiya.

"Plus it will give her time to get used to the village again," said Shino.


Shino was the one who ended up babysitting Tsunade. The last thing Jiraiya wanted was for her to make a break for it, using the same trick Orochimaru used.

There was actually a double purpose for Shino to watch her. His bizarre brand of luck would help pay off the debts Tsunade incurred and keep the Leaf Village out of bankruptcy later. He honestly didn't have a problem, since there was very little for him to use all that cash for.

Tsunade of course was gaping at the fact that a thirteen and a half year old heir to the Aburame clan had the weirdest ability to win at almost every game he played.

He mostly stuck to poker, since he made it very clear he wasn't cheating. He even took off his coat to insure no one could claim he was.

Yet every hand he beat the players. Tsunade was in awe of his poker face.

Naruto ended up babysitting Jiraiya while Haku learned more about healing jutsu from Shizune.

Shino had been surprised to learn that the rabbit Naruto nearly skewered during that disaster mission in Wave was actually Haku's pet.

Probably why Haku hit it off with Shizune. They had unconventional shinobi pets.

When Tsunade heard of the migraines Shino kept getting, she took a look at his chakra pathways.

And found that for some reason, his chakra and magic had become imbalanced to the point where they couldn't coexist peacefully. Something had destabilized the balance.

Shino had a nasty hunch as to why the balance had been shot to hell.

"It has to be that old man. During the Chunin exams I drained almost all of his magic with my hive, and I had the hardest time getting rid of the excess. Healing seemed to have some effect, but it's possible that there's still some lingering magic," said Shino.

"I thought there was something foreign in your pathways...I had assumed it was your magic though."

"Is there any way to get rid of it? I would like to be able to fight without having my head feel like it's exploding."

"From what I can tell, the nature of the foreign magic is earth and fire. That's may be what's causing the problem."

"My magic is wind nature. Earth is the opposite of what I have. But fire is similar enough to my chakra nature..."

"Which is most likely the only reason you're still alive."

"My headache is gone for the moment, but I need to exhaust all the magic inside of me before it kills me," said Shino.

"Well, there is one way to exhaust magic that I know of..." said Tsunade.

"I'm listening," said Shino.

"It's incredibly difficult, and there is a question of whether your magic is suited to the task. But the most magically exhausting thing I have every heard of is...animal transformation. And I mean a full on transformation."

"What would it entail?"

"We would need to see what animal you can turn into, and for that we would require a potion. After that it's mostly meditation and direction of the magic into the parts of your body."

"...Where did you learn of this?"

"From someone who had gone through the process. His name was James Potter, if I remember right. Said it was the hardest thing he had ever done."

"Potter?"

Tsunade looked at him in amusement.

"You look almost exactly like him without the sunglasses on. Only his eyes were hazel, not emerald."

"...There is the distinct possibility that my birth name is Harry Potter."

"Either way, you need to get rid of that foreign magic."


Snape was not happy to be back. All the squalling, whining, bitching and generally childishness of the students gave him migraines. He longed for the school year to be over so he could return to Konoha. He had struck up an interesting relationship with Anko.

She loved snakes, poisons, messing with people's heads, and she could relate to having served a pedophile with a snake fetish.

(Snape wasn't that oblivious to Voldemort's tastes. It was surprising that none of the other Death Eater's noticed that all the young boys they came across were usually taken care of by the Dark Lord personally.)

He wasn't the only one eager to leave the school. Lupin didn't have to worry about rumors when he left, since it was common knowledge that the job was curse. But Snape would raise warning flags when he left.

Lupin had already enlisted him in finding Black, if only to send him to Konoha where he would be dealt with appropriately.

Though he did wonder who the hell sent those two shinobi who were hanging around the village. They weren't even from the same Hidden Village, and one of them was from the Leaf!

The two had thankfully kept a low profile, though it was a miracle no one had seen through the genjutsu the Mist nin had used to cover up his...skin.

Though the look the Leaf nin had given him when he noted their presence had been rather worrying. So had the dog when he had noted the unusual magic on the hound.

He really needed an actual vacation. His nerves were completely shot to hell after dealing with children for nearly ten years, and Dumbledore refused to let him leave the country.

Paranoid, conniving old bastard...


Shino sat down in his room, trying to find his magic. Tsunade actually knew Snape from before, and was out getting an owl to contact him for the potion.

Haku had gone with her, mostly to talk about senbon while they were out.

Tsunade found Haku to be a delight to talk to, as she had a knack for the healing arts. Her senbon control was almost prodigy-level. And she had the most interesting ice technique she had seen in a while.

Tsunade was more interested in Haku's ability to flee without enemy shinobi getting to her at the moment than she was taking the girl on as an apprentice.

He took a deep, even breath. This was easier than he would have thought, since Jiraiya had taken Naruto out for more training. Shizune was in the room, reading some scrolls, so he had an early warning system in place.

Slowly, he reached inward. It was easy to see his chakra system...as an Aburame he had to be intimately aware of it when he was awake. It was the only way for their clan to be able to survive with insects devouring their chakra every waking minute. If they weren't, then they wouldn't know when to stop using their chakra and be killed by the very thing that they used to fight.

Their kekkai insects were a double edged sword, but it was one Shino bore with ease. It would only harm him if he allowed it to.

His magic was another story. He had felt it before, but he had never had a chance to explore it properly. So he dove into his magical core, and in seconds found the lingering magic of the old man.

Just as Tsunade had thought, it was that magic that was giving him migraines and screwing up his chakra control. The Earth magic was fighting his Wind, but it appeared his was winning.

That wasn't too surprising, since his Wind was able to replenish itself while the Earth had nowhere to go. Shino wasn't even going to attempt to experiment with Earth jutsu.

He remembered a little too vividly what happened every time he attempted to use Wind chakra. He didn't want it to blow up in his face again.

He felt calmer than he had in weeks, and meditating seemed to be the only solution to separating that Earth magic. The Fire attributes had already been absorbed by his chakra system, so all he needed to do was get rid of the Earth.

He didn't look up from his spot until he felt Naruto returning. He was reluctant to admit, but it had gone easier without his cousin around.

Naruto was a bit loud at times, and Shino was fairly sure he was an ADD poster child of some sort with all that nervous energy.

It made him a great battlefield shinobi, but a crappy intelligence one. He was fairly sure that was why Kuranai had banned Naruto from the explosive tags, despite Anko's rather vocal encouragement for him to experiment with them.

Tsunade returned an hour later.

"How did it go gaki?"

"The Fire magic was absorbed, but the migraines appear to be due to the fact that my Wind is trying to get rid of the Earth."

"I'm surprised you could even access it on the first try. Most genin couldn't pull that off if their life depended on it."

"Chunin actually. I didn't bother to pack the vest."

"Figures," snorted Tsunade.

"And it wasn't that hard. Every Aburame with a decent sized hive has to be able to locate their chakra pool in order to maintain it. And I have the largest hive of the entire clan."


(This is quite true, and the idea came from you, the reviewers. Sorry, but it seems he won't have it as an animagus form. This was the next best thing.)