"I see now what this has come to."
And emerging out of the fog again, Shino slowly approached the beekeeper.
His bugs grew in numbers around him, buzzing like storm clouds to do his bidding in battle.
"If you're going to make me fight you to get out of this place," Shino said quietly but dangerously. "So be it."
"You're wasting your time," the beekeeper said. "I told you it's hopeless."
"If this really is your jutsu," Shino answered. "Then you are the only one who can break it, right?"
"Fight me if you want to. Nothing will change. I meant it when I said my jutsu can't be broken," the beekeeper replied. "Not even if you kill me."
"Have you lost control of it then?" Shino asked. "Are you saying that not even you can leave this fog?"
"This mist contains a special component that makes people go astray. It feeds on people who are lost," the beekeeper told him. "Like you, I have nothing to go back to. The life of a shinobi is heavy with pain. I wanted nothing to do with the world out there anymore. Originally, I formed this jutsu because I wanted no one to find me. Unless I chose them first."
"Why did you choose to show yourself to me then?" Shino asked.
"It was the girl I wanted to speak to," the beekeeper said. "But I pulled her in at the exact moment you grabbed her hand to stop her kunai. I couldn't stop the jutsu from taking you both then, and you fell into this fog with her."
"If you had the power to pull us in, what's stopping you from letting us out?"
"I'm sorry," the beekeeper answered. "Despite our different clans and views of the world, we are the same now. We've both been lost for a very long time. After all, haven't you wondered why the fog chose you, and not your friend, Kiba?"
Shino contemplated the beekeeper's words, but was still unable to make a connection between himself and this mysterious fog.
"But that can't be the reason why this jutsu can't be broken," Shino persisted.
"It doesn't matter what I tell you. It won't help you. Because ultimately, whatever answer you find to beating this fog, will be the right answer," the beekeeper said, only confusing Shino even more. "Until then, you should be grateful to have a home like this, where you are forever protected from heartbreak, disappointment, and sadness in the outside world. You can finally know true inner peace here, without being enslaved by politics or wars...Or losing the ones you love...Why would you ever want to go back to the outside?"
"An existence without suffering?" Shino pondered. "But can that really be as meaningful as my life out there?"
"You'll forget your old life," the beekeeper assured him. "This is a gift no one can turn down. You should be thanking me."
"I'm not sure I can yet," Shino said. "It may be painful, but does that really mean there's no longer a place for me out there?...I don't have an answer for that yet...But it can't mean just giving up my life...even if my teammates lives are different from mine now."
"But where are your friends? Seems that while you're trapped here alone in this jutsu, your friends have already forgotten about you. What need do you have for teammates like that?" the beekeeper pointed out.
"Still," Shino insisted. "I can not leave them behind."
"Why you would choose your friends over a life without suffering is beyond my understanding?" the beekeeper said. "But still, I never expected an Aburame like you to show me mercy in battle. I still have my gratitude to pay. So, if after spending some time here, you still want to break the jutsu and return to your village, maybe there is a way I can help you. But only on one condition."
"So you do have a price," Shino remarked.
"The girl who attacked you in the forest," the beekeeper said. "I will help you find your answer, if you agree to protect her and never take revenge against her. No matter how much it costs you in the end. She is lost like myself, and her road back home is dangerous, if not impossible. I will help you find a way back to your world, if you help her find a way back to hers."
"But who is she?" Shino asked again. "And how do you know her?"
"Let's just say, I owe an unfulfilled promise to a friend," the beekeeper replied. "And this is how I've decided to repay my debt."
"I take it this is all apart of that story you keep putting off for later," Shino remarked. "The one about how you knew my father."
"You catch on quick."
"I see. But even though I understand your need to keep a promise, I can not help her without knowing the meaning behind her attack," Shino said. "Why should I agree to your terms?"
"Because she will be your only way out of this bamboo grove," the beekeeper said. "Do not take my offer lightly, Shino Aburame. Settling my debt means everything to me. And I will not tolerate you going back on your promise. And as Shibi's son, I have come to respect your clan's power, as well as their word."