Are these food pills...or poison?

Hotaru narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the 3 round pills lined up on a bamboo leaf just outside her cocoon tent.

Whatever they were, she wasn't taking her chances.

She sighed, her stomach growling like a wild animal as she held her knees to her chest in deep conflicted thought. Tempted by the food pills Shino had left her, but knowing better than to take anything from him.

Better that she starved to death than owe anything to an Aburame.

He never plays by the rules.

Just like all the other infuriating times Shino had done something so unforgivably not like an archnemesis should.

Somehow, he didn't seem to understand what being a reliable "mortal enemy" was, making it impossible for Hotaru to hate him.

And that was really starting to become a problem for her.

She wanted to hate Shino Aburame.

She wanted to hate him so badly she couldn't stand it.

But he wasn't cooperating!

And if he refused to be her enemy, then what exactly was left for her to be?

It wasn't like she could just shrug it off, pack up, and go home.

Shino had to be her enemy, if she ever wanted to be a Kamizuru again.

There was no alternative story for her outside of her village.

Which means he can't keep saving me.

Hotaru decided.

Not from being poisoned. Not from random queen bees...Not even from the rain...

Because what happened the night before couldn't happen again.

He couldn't keep showing up whenever she needed somebody the most.

He couldn't just defy the long history of bad blood between their clans to sit outside her tent in a rainstorm and wait around to make sure she fell asleep ok.

And for bee's sake, he couldn't keep looking at her the way he did! Like she was some bikōchū beetle he'd caught in his bug jar. Like she was some prize to be pampered because she was so damn delicate and helpless.

I guess that means neither of us will be playing by each other's rules. I refuse to be his damsel in distress.

If we're both stuck in this place, then the least I can do is carry my own weight and not be such a burden to him...As much has I hate him, it's clear now that if we're getting out of this place alive, then I have to be as strong as he is...

"So you refuse to eat too," Shino startled her from her deep rumination, soundlessly appearing out of nowhere.

Hotaru cringed.

I hate it when he does that!

"You will eat something," Shino insisted. "I need you alive when I find the beekeeper. The reason is because when he sees you unharmed, he will keep his promise to me."

So that's it, huh? He's only doing this because of some beekeeper?

In that case, I'll pass...Why would he even think I'd eat that stuff when there are so many bees around here to harvest honey from? I can make my own food, thank you very much!...Of course, an Aburame wouldn't know how to use honeycomb like the Kamizuru do...

"Besides," Shino added smugly. "If you plan on fighting me for real someday, you'll need all the help you can get."

Why, you little!-

Hotaru didn't think twice about it.

Because every time she came face-to-face with Shino Aburame, all she could think about was him catching those hands.

If only he wasn't so damn good at never underestimating his opponent and her insatiable need to make him dead!

Because when Hotaru swung at him, Shino caught her wrist, holding her tightened fist captive in midair between them.

"So it's this move again," Shino said. "If you insist on trying to kill me, you could at least keep me interested by trying something different next time."

Hotaru glared back into his sunglasses, her face so close to his now that she could feel his calm, steady breathing against her nose, countering her own resentful panting.

And when I do, just try to keep up with me, bug boy. That's all I ask.

And contrary to what Shino suspected, there wasn't a hidden kunai or bamboo spear in her palm this time.

Instead, Hotaru flattened her palm against Shino's palm, letting the food pills he gave her fall between both their hands.

Her fingers caged between his to keep the tiny pills from slipping out.

The softest movements of her hand catching Shino off guard.

He blushed.

And seeing him blush behind his upturned collar, Hotaru blushed too.

-She's holding my hand...

-I'm holding his hand!

But neither of them looked away.

Was that because they couldn't trust each other long enough to take their eyes off each other?

Or had they both forgotten their manners and failed to drop their gazes politely?

Hotaru didn't know.

And Shino didn't want to know.

He couldn't face what he was feeling as he studied Hotaru's honey moon eyes.

He didn't even name it, because to him, this couldn't happen in an objective, rational world. These feelings weren't rational. And that's what scared him the most. That rationality had never failed him before.

Until now.

Why would his skin burn like Amaterasu fire for a complete stranger?

Was this some hidden jutsu of hers?

Or was being this close to her really making...

His bugs are going out of control!

Hotaru watched wide-eyed as a horde of Shino's insects crawled out across his reddening face, feverish and uncomfortable by how hot Shino's body temperature was rising all of a sudden.

Shino dropped Hotaru's hand, turning away so she wouldn't see just how awkward and embarrassed he looked trying to convince his bugs to get back inside of him, and not cause a dramatic scene in front of her.

And watching him struggle in an internal battle with his fussy bugs, Hotaru's stunned face slowly melted into a knowing smile.

Oh, I think I get it...Maybe I should go then.

Hotaru faced Shino again, taking his hand and closing his fingers around the food pills again.

Silently communicating to him with her eyes, It's ok. You can keep these.

I bet she's just worried I'll starve to death before she has a chance to kill me.

Shino smiled at his private joke.

"I can't offer you anything else right now," he said, passing the food pills back to her instead. "So please take them."

Wait...

Hotaru realized.

Are these food pills really all he has left?

"Whether we like it or not, we need each other to get out of this place," Shino said. "You've been strong on your own so far. You don't always have to be with me around."

Hotaru froze, never expecting his answer to affect her the way it did.

And that's what made it so scary.

These feelings weren't rational. They were a death sentence.

Hotaru dropped her eyes again.

I'm sorry, Shino. I can't take these from you.

Hotaru closed his fist around the pills again and pushed his closed hand against his chest.

I don't have a use for these yet. Just keep them for me, ok?

She nodded at him with a melancholy but reassuring smile.

Shino didn't know what she meant by it.

But he loved trying to guess.

He was never good at words anyway, especially with girls.

He liked that Hotaru used just her hands to communicate with him rather than words.

There was something comfortable about the silence between them.

Something meaningful, beyond just words.

Making him forget to let go of her hand when she pulled away.

"I hope I know your name some day," Shino said.

Because even if she never told him her story, hearing her name spoken by her own voice would be enough for him.

"But I understand," he went on. "I don't talk much either. But it's ok if you do sometimes. The reason is because I'll just listen, if that's all you need from me."

Hotaru dropped her eyes, blushing all over again.

And seeing how shy he'd made her, Shino dropped his gaze too.

But he didn't take it all back.

Because she had to know she was safe with him.

That maybe what he felt wasn't so irrational.

Because maybe somehow, they were the same.

"Have you gotten used to academy yet?" Torune asked, drawing Shino's eyes away from the ladybug he was studying on a nice green Angelica leaf.

Shino avoided his brother's hopeful smile, his interest shifting back to the ladybug.

"Not yet. That's because my class is so rowdy," Shino answered, offering his finger to the ladybug so that her tiny black legs could rest against his fingertip. "I prefer playing with insects like this."

"That won't do, Shino," Torune sighed. "In time, you will go on missions. When you do, having friends and not having friends will make a huge difference."

Shino kept his eyes on his new ladybug friend, who arched her antennae at him in a friendly hello.

Shino liked how much they could say to each other without ever saying a word. How easy trust and friendship came between them without having to impress anyone or "get it right".

The deeper meanings his other classmates were missing behind his art of silence.

"It's not that I'm a loner or that I don't understand friendship," Shino thought to himself. "Maybe it's that I understand friendship too deeply. The reason is because once I make a friend, I will honor our bond until my death. It is unlikely that my classmates would do the same for me. Therefore, I'm sure a bond is not something I will ever share with anyone. Except my insects."

And then gently gliding his finger against the angelica leaves, Shino let the ladybug return to her home.

Too ashamed to tell Torune what really happened at academy that day.

"I'm Shino."

He said it so quietly that everybody except Hinata Hyuga missed it.

"My favorite food is Winter Melon. Green is a nice color. And I prefer to spend time with my insects."

"Did he really just say bugs?" a Yamanaka girl cried in disgust.

"My dream is to find a giant-sized species of bugs and tame them as my own," Shino went on, matter-of-factly. "So far, I have discovered 3,010 species in the Hidden Leaf. That's enough to outmatch every student in this room by 150 percent. So I would be careful, if I was you."

The class erupted into laughter.

"Why is that kid so weird?"

"Does he really think anyone's scared of him and a few bugs?"

"What a creep! Bugs are so gross!"

"That's because people misunderstand them," Shino ignored his racing heart, as he bravely went on to defend his 6 legged friends against his classmates. "If it weren't for insects, you wouldn't have silk, wax, or honey to enjoy. You would also starve. That's because insects are important pollinators. They also keep our environment clean. Which means they do more good than some humans I know."

"So what you trying to say about us, huh, Aburame?" a Nara boy spoke up. "You saying the rest of us are worthless compared to a bunch of bugs? That's not how you go making friends."

"Cool it, Shikamaru," the fat-but-don't-say-fat Akimichi boy joined in. "When he says some humans he knows, he means he doesn't actually know any. This guy's a loner. So he can't be talking about us."

Shino stood silently shamed.

The whole class laughed again, except Hinata, who turned red, pushing her fingers together as she frowned at the rest of the class.

"Leave him alone. It's ok if he likes bugs, alright?"

But no one was listening to her.

"Maybe because he eats anyone who gets close to him," a girl from a clan Shino didn't recognize piped in. "I heard Aburame boys bite the heads off their mates, just like praying mantis do."

"What freaks," another boy scowled at Shino. "But I guess it explains why you don't actually have a mother? Did daddy stuff her in a rice omelet or chop her into a bowl of miso soup?"

Shino tightened his fists against the hem of his coat sleeves.

But they kept laughing.

He wanted to disappear, but the laughing wouldn't stop.

"Why can't you all just disappear?" he mumbled.

And sensing his blood rising with his heartbeat, Shino's bugs grew antsy.

The laughing didn't stop.

"Mother eater, mother eater!"

"Just shut up!" Shino snapped.

The anger in his voice ripped through the classroom, silencing the whole room.

But by that time, it was too late.

It happened so fast. And not even Shino could stop it right away.

Swarming to defend their bug master against the pain he felt, Shino's insects tornadoed through the classroom, darkening every corner, every window, every doorway. Until they choked out the sunlight and blue sky like a buggy apocalypse, leaving his entire academy class in a tsunami of darkness they couldn't escape.

And as he stood in front of the class, both fascinated and terrified by what his insects were doing, all Shino heard were his classmates screaming for Iruka Sensei to come back from his bathroom break.

"Iruka Sensei, do something! Shino's trying to kill us!"

"I'm sorry, Torune," Shino broke away from his thoughts, turning away the ladybug as he finally stood to face his brother. "I will never make friends. I will never say a word to anyone in that class again."

And if it hadn't been for Hinata and Kiba, Shino might've lost himself a long time ago to that bet.

"The termite is lonely because it builds its nest in walls instead of bridges," Shino told Hotaru. "If you get lost again out there, you can always come back here."

Hotaru ignored him, breaking off a bamboo stem at an angle to make some kind of spear-like weapon.

If you're just gonna stand there and philosophize, then I'll go find us some real food myself. So much power in your clan, yet it's like being a weapon is all you know how to use your insects for. What a sad waste you Aburame are.