Summoning another swarm of his insects, Shino gave them the order to attack, "We need to get these bees under control."

The Kikaichū charged at their opponents, but what they lacked in size, his insects made up for in speed and an insatiable hunger for chakra.

But the second his bugs clashed antennae to antennae with their yellow jacket contenders,they were swallowed whole by the bees at a rate Shino couldn't counter fast enough.

And every time a Kikaichū died in battle, Shino felt their life force disappear through his chakra.

Tiny but meaningful holes punctured into his own psyche, leaving him cold and empty with loss, where a Kikaichū had once existed and now could never return to him.

Tiny parasitic holes of grief tearing a piece of his soul, gone before he was ready to let go.

Shino pulled back.

He would not risk losing anymore of his precious bugs.

They had done enough to protect him in this fight, and now he would protect them, taking every aggressive bite and sting against his own body while the rest of his Kikaichū colony remained shielded inside of him.

"What is this jutsu?" Shino wondered, using Taijutsu this time to play defense as he tried to shake the yellow jackets off.

"You," the beekeeper finally showed himself, stepping out from the fog into the battle with Shino. "You're from the Aburame Clan of the Hidden Leaf."

"That's right," Shino answered.

"Even after all this time, I could never forget your face, Shibi Aburame," the beekeeper's words darkened. "We settled our feud years ago. But I warned you that showing your face to me again would mean only one of us walks away this time. Are you no longer satisfied with our truce? Why did you come here to fight me, Shibi?"

"Wait. I'm not-" Shino tried to stop him, but the beekeeper wasn't listening as he summoned another swarm of yellow jackets.

Within seconds, Shino's body was attacked by twice the swarm he'd fought before.

The beekeeper was sure he had him this time.

Until-

"I don't want to hurt you," Shino's composed voice came suddenly from behind the beekeeper. "I just want to talk."

"A substitution jutsu?" the beekeeper declared. "Why do you disgrace yourself by running from me? I know you have more power than this! Are you mocking me now, Shibi? You came here to finish me off. Let me prove myself to you!"

And in his blind fury, the beekeeper advanced on Shino again.

But his opponent was too slow to keep up, and Shino quickly dodged every blow that came his way.

"I said it before. I'm not here to fight you."

"Not here to pick a fight, huh?" the beekeeper answered, suspiciously glancing at Hotaru, who was still restrained by Shino's bugs. "Is this what you call peacekeeping? You should've stayed out of it, Shibi. I won't let you kill her. You Aburame ninja are all the same. Merciless, spineless, heartless killers! And all for what? More power?"

"Wait. You think I was sent to kill her?" Shino asked, puzzled. "You've mistaken me for someone else. I am Shino Aburame. Shibi is my father-"

But Shino was forced to save his words so he could focus on dodging the next desperate attacks the beekeeper threw at him.

"You're quick on your feet," the beekeeper gave him that. "I'd expect nothing less out of Shibi's son."

"You know my father?"

"Seeing you now is exactly how I remember him, 20 years ago. I never thought I'd see the day we crossed paths again," the beekeeper said. "Even so, the poison from my bees should have killed you by now."

"The poison did get me," Shino answered him. "But the poison isn't a problem for me. The reason is because your power is weak, and this small amount of poison isn't enough to kill me."

Stunned, the beekeeper stopped his next attack, knowing that it was hopeless, and that even if he had the power to do so, Shino could not be beat.

Like his father, the Aburame kid was too strong for a lost, purposeless ninja like himself.

There was no point prolonging the inevitable.

"Is this your father's vengeance then? Good. Then make it quick. I've been haunted by the past long enough. My only regret is that I ran out of time to save my clan, when there were so few of us left," the beekeeper said, dropping to the ground and bowing to Shino. "Nonetheless, I'm honored to die by an insect user of your caliber."

"That's not what I came here for," Shino said. "I didn't come all the way in here to kill you. I just want your honey wine."

"My honey wine?" the Beekeeper looked up at him again, surprised. "You're only here...for honey wine?"

"That's right," Shino answered. "I promised to find it for a friend."

"But she..."

The beekeeper glanced back at Hotaru, still unconscious and imprisoned by Shino's bugs.

"You know her?" Shino asked him.

The beekeeper silently studied Hotaru, before finally answering Shino, "No...It was hard to be sure in the fog, but I see now that I have mistaken her for someone else...In that case, I hope you will forgive me for attacking you like this. This was all a misunderstanding."

Shino's brows were pensive as he considered his captive again.

None of it was adding up.

"You're not the only one confused here," he said. "Before all this fog, this girl attacked me. I stopped her kunai before she could kill me. I guess when I did that, she got dragged into this fog with me."

"Well then, if you have no idea who she is, there's no need to trouble yourself with her any longer," the beekeeper suggested. "Allow me to take care of the girl for you. Then you can have my honey wine and be on your way."

"I'm not going to underestimate her. I need to know for sure who she is and why she attacked me in the forest. Until then, she stays with me," Shino replied, dismissing the bugs guarding Hotaru and gently lifting her into his arms again. "I really should be getting back to my team. By now, Kiba is probably wondering where I am...Or not."

"I see," the beekeeper said, his attention still locked on the girl in Shino's arms. "Even so, it's dangerous in this fog after dark. I'll take you back to my honey farm where you can rest and find your friend in the morning."

"Thanks, but I really can't stay," Shino persisted.

But the beekeeper walked ahead of him, giving Shino no choice but to follow, or risk getting lost again.

"You better keep up. I meant what I said about the dark."

It wasn't the dark that scared Shino.

His eyes saw the world through kikaichū eyes. He could see better in darkness than in the blinding, headache-inducing light, which is why Aburame like him shielded their eyes with dark shades. It was the tradeoff to spending so many years in darkness as an infant, while the kikaichū were infused with his body.

For that reason, Shino preferred the dark.

But it wasn't just him walking in the dark tonight.

If he wanted answers, he had to keep his attacker warm and sheltered until morning.

As he trailed the beekeeper, Shino's eyes were curiously drawn back to his sleeping captive.

"Whoever she is, Kiba was right...she really does smell like honey."