One Year Earlier...

Hidden Village of Cherry Blossoms

Land of Flowers

"Akirabachi, what is the meaning of summoning me like this?" Haru Kamizuru protested. "I'm in the middle of a highly classified debriefing."

"Whatever it is, it can wait, Haru," Akirabachi said urgently. " I called you here because of Hotaru."

"Hotaru is behind this?" Haru demanded. "She'd better have a good reason for it."

"You asked me to find Hotaru a match. I have your answer," Akirabachi said. "That's why I needed to speak to you privately. Out of mercy."

"You did not need to be so cautious. I will publicly announced his name anyway," Haru said. "The whole village has waited three weeks for this."

"The name of the man Lady Hotaru will marry is-" Akirabachi decreed.

"But with all due respect, matchmaker," Haru interrupted her again, excusing himself with a bow. "I don't have time to discuss this now. Like I told you before, I am in the middle of a meeting with the neighboring villages. There are rumors that the First Tsuchikage's scroll is in the Hidden Leaf village, which as you know, lies the secrets of forbidden techniques for bug user ninja. Our predecessors failed repeatedly to retrieve the scroll and restore our clan to power. But at last, I will take our revenge against the Aburame clan for their war crimes."

Akirabachi sighed deeply, burdened by the weight of her misfortunate news.

"Then you will have to kill Hotaru," she admitted. "Or you will never see your revenge."

"Hotaru would never betray me," Haru declared. "What proof do you have to make such a heinous accusation against her?"

"Hotaru's dreams mean death to the Kamizuru clan," Akirabachi said. "It seems she is being haunted by the Kikaichū. It can only mean one thing."

"You slander my daughter's loyalty to her village based on a silly dream?" Haru questioned her.

"You dare challenge my judgement to save your family's reputation?" Akirabachi countered. "You fool. She will destroy this village!"

"The Kikaichū is native to the Hidden Leaf. Our clan is forbidden from setting foot anywhere near the Leaf," Haru said. "How could she possibly know a Kikaichū if she's never encountered an Aburame in battle?"

"Because of him."

"Him? Are you telling me-"

"As you know, I specialize in soul pairings," Akirabachi told him. "When two names are recorded in my Scroll of Fated Souls, they share a bond superior to anything in this physical realm. A pairing chosen by fate. With a bond that powerful, it is no wonder then that two soulmates can share ideas, images, and feelings with each other, even if they've never met before."

"I understand how the Scroll of Fated Souls works, Akirabachi. That's why your work is so renowned," Haru said impatiently. "What does all this have to do with Hotaru?"

"As fate has advised me," Akirabachi began. "The name of your daughter's husband is Shino, of the Aburame Clan from the Hidden Leaf."

"...What...did you say?"

"That is why she can no longer stay in this village. If this marriage is sealed by fate, you will lose everything you have trying to stop her," Akirabachi said. "I have made my match."

"Are you mad?" Haru finally breathed, as if Akirabachi had spoken a death sentence over his daughter. "You condemned her to our enemy?"

"I'm sorry, Haru," she said. "It is the will of fate."

"I won't let you do this!" Haru confronted her. "There must be a mistake! Matched with the Aburame clan? How can this be?"

But Akirabachi was no longer listening as she did what she must, using the Queen Bee's Soul Paring sign to summon her Scroll of Fated Souls.

"Wait!' Haru cried desperately, thinking in vain that he could stop her from writing Hotaru's name next to a son of his enemy clan. "If you seal her name with an Aburame, she can never come home again!"

"Then you should have listened to me when you had the chance," Akirabachi told him. "You were too ambitious, Lord Haru. When you asked me to match Hotaru with an ally clan, you failed to see that fate does not care about your vengeance. Its only concern is balance. Since the day they were born, Shino and Hotaru were destined for each other. My match is made."

"Then unmake the match!" Haru ordered. "There must be a way to undo it! I know you have the power, Akirabachi."

"You and I both know that I am not the true maker," she answered. "I warned you that tempting fate was a dangerous game, that once I've made a match, you may not like my answer. It can never be undone. That is the nature of the Scroll of Fated Souls. It's final."

"Then I'll hunt him down and kill him myself!" Haru roared, enraged. "Do you really think I'll just stand back and let her marry an Aburame maggot worm?"

"As we speak," Akira said. "destiny brings them together. Hotaru will find Shino Aburame one day, binding the Kamizuru clan's fate to the Aburame clan once again."

"I'll kill any Aburame who comes near this village! Every last one, until I've found that cockroach and crushed him. Those Aburame termites! I'd rather die the death of 1000 bee stings than wait for the day she becomes an Aburame!"

"That is the least of your problems," Akirabachi reminded him. "We can't do anything about Hotaru now. But we must act quickly against the omen in her dreams."

"How could this happen?" Haru lamented. "Better that she were dead."

"The match is no longer in your control, Lord Haru. Your next move as leader of this clan is to decide which gamble you are more willing to take," Akirabachi replied. "It may be that this disturbing twist of fate is a blessing in disguise, as Hotaru's marriage into the Aburame clan will give you a rare infiltration advantage into the inner circle of their clan and the Hidden Leaf. An opportunity that may be worth keeping her alive for, especially if the rumors are true that the Aburame are hiding the First Tsuchikage's secret scroll. Or perhaps Hotaru's marriage means peace and the end of this ongoing feud."

"I can not forgive them for what they did in the Great Ninja Wars. Never," Haru growled. "They're wasps! Greedy for sole power of all insect jutsu. They won't risk allowing our clan to exist peacefully alongside them, if it means another breed of insect users competing with their power. There will never be peace between me and the Aburame!"

"If that is the path you choose, then only one of you will be left in the end" Akirabachi proclaimed. "The only question now is, which side will remain after Hotaru's marriage to this Aburame ninja? Will she remember who she is in the Hidden Leaf, or will her love for this shinobi lead to the final downfall of the Kamizuru?"

"Has it really come to this? That to make sure Hotaru isn't a future threat to this village, I must kill her?" Haru's words were heavy. "No...I have done enough for the good of the clan. There has to be another way to ensure she never meets this Aburame of the Leaf."

"Meeting him is inevitable," the Queen Bee responded. "But the matter in which they meet may still be in our control."

"You're saying there's a way to change the outcome?"

"If we can somehow prolong them seeing each other as enemies, it may buy you some time. After all, a tragic love between them is much more desirable than a tragic loss to the village."

"Then what must I do?"

"Hotaru is too passive to fight a shinobi and win. She must be pushed to kill him," Akirabachi stated. "Exile her. Disown her as a member of the leading family. Revoke her status in the village, and outlaw her from ever returning."

"You want me to disgrace her?" Haru asked, horrified. "In front of the whole village?"

"For the very sake of the village," she said. "Until Hotaru defeats Shino Aburame in battle and brings back proof that she's killed him, she can never return home."

"Hotaru is no shinobi. She was trained in the samurai fighting style," Haru objected. "Sending her after Shino Aburame is suicide! He will slaughter her if he discovers her identity. She won't stand a chance against him. And even if she marries him, once the Aburame clan uncovers her link to us..."

"She will die under both circumstances, but at least, not by your hand."

"She's still my daughter!" Haru defended. "At least give her a fair chance. She must be trained to fight a shinobi if she has any hope of dying with honor against this Aburame thug."

"It will be a challenge, but I have a teacher who might be able to make something of her. Hachimitsu, my subordinate. He will teach her everything she needs to know about the Aburame clan. Or at least enough to face Shino Aburame without shaming the Kamizuru name," the Queen Bee said. "In the meantime, the identity of Hotaru's match should never be revealed. Not even to her. She must never know why she is being assigned this mission, or the full truth behind her exile. It will only complicate things for her when she faces Shino in battle."

"I understand," Haru resigned reluctantly. "To protect the village, from this moment on, Hotaru is exiled from the Kamizuru clan."