got a request to add a Shino's POV and team 8 dynamics, so here is a bit more normally written chapter, about what happened when Sakura, Lee, Sai, Kakashi, Naruto and Karin came back to the village and some flashbacks. Again, let me know if you want sth else or which writing style you prefer. I am still experimenting.


Shino has never been good at making friends. As a child, he had always felt awkward around other people. He could not properly understand them, read them, interpret their emotions or figure out what they wanted to hear or do. Insects, in this regard, were much easier to work with. So the idea of being put in a genin team had originally completely terrified him.

In the end, however, it was the best thing that has ever happened to him, even though he would not admit it aloud.

Hinata has always been introverted, quiet and calm, very similar to Shino in multiple aspects of her personality. With her, he has always felt understood and he could feel her silent support whenever he needed it. She was an easy person to befriend for someone like Shino; even simple silence between the two felt bonding. Whenever Kiba ran off to play with Akamaru or simply stormed away because he could not remain sitting in one place for any longer, Hinata stayed there, next to him, never making Shino feel alone.

Kiba, on the other hand, was the complete opposite, and Shino had not initially looked forward to having to work with the man. However, after a few months, he learnt that it was actually very easy for him to befriend Kiba - though for completely different reasons compared to Hinata.

Kiba didn't need any complex reading unlike most other people. He wore his emotions on his face, he always said how he felt and what he thought, and he would never lie unless he had a very good reason for it. That made it very easy for Shino to interact with him; their communication, though heated at times due to Kiba's nature and hot-headedness, was very direct, straight-forward and honest. Shino has never been good at making friends, but Hinata and Kiba made it easier for him than anyone else he has ever met. The same, of course, held for Akamaru.

A few years of working together, a few times of each of them saving each other's backs and helping through tough times; and he knew he would be willing to kill for Kiba, Akamaru and Hinata just as well as he would be willing to be killed for either of them. He had never thought he would be someone with good friends outside of his clan, and now that he had two such good friends, he was not sure what he would do were he to lose either of them.

So when the Konoha 11 (well, this time 8) gathered again, this time to discuss the consequences of the utterly failed mission to kill Sasuke after the team had returned, he felt more nervous than he had in months. He knew Kiba had not made it back from the mission, that much Lee had told him, along with the fact that the mission was a failure. But he also assumed that Kiba was not dead, because Lee was not cold-hearted enough to not warn him about something like this before bringing him out to discuss the matter publicly with the rest of their peers. So Shino simply tried to remain calm.

At the same time, it was so wrong to see Akamaru sit there alone and silently whine. Hinata was petting him and scratching him behind his ears, though this time it looked like she did it rather from nervousness than from her enjoying the dog's presence. He quickly spotted that Sakura was not there either and wondered whether she was injured or perhaps missing along with Kiba.

After the initial awkward silence, Lee could tell that all eyes were on him, so he started speaking.

"The mission was a failure." Lee started.

"After failing to make Naruto stop wanting to chase Sasuke through a rather... interesting method, Sakura told us that she decided to go kill Sasuke without him. After a few hours, Kiba got his scent and was able to track him down."

"It was then when it turned out that Sakura wanted to go after Sasuke alone. Once she knew where he was from Kiba, she used bombs with sleeping gas and knocked us all out."

The group was stunned into silence. Shino noted that even the usually indifferent Shikamaru looked taken aback; he certainly did not expect this coming. Well, to be fair, nor did Shino.

"Obviously, I do not know what really happened afterwards, I was asleep. Kakashi-sensei mentioned that when he found us, he was able to wake Kiba up for a moment to ask him for directions. Then, apparently there was a fight between Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke, which ended up in Sasuke teleporting away with some other man. Naruto got poisoned, but otherwise they left uninjured. When they returned for us however, Kiba was, well, not there."

Shino closed his eyes and breathed in and out. So this explained it - and it also explained why Sakura was not there, perhaps worried about facing the consequences. And he was grateful for it, because he would have much harder time constraining himself otherwise.

"From the scents found, Kakashi-sensei speculated that at some point during the period that we were asleep, there were also other ninjas present, and well, yeah… " Lee let the implications hang in the air.

Shino felt his blood boiling. Even his insects have started reacting to the change of his mood, as if preparing for a fight. Yes, they were ninjas, they all knew their job was dangerous and that they could get killed or captured anytime. But it was always somehow implied that this would happen because of an enemy. Having your own teammate drug you and knock you out in an enemy territory for you to be captured? That was a new level of 'disturbing' entirely.

Granted, even angry, Shino could tell that Sakura would never intentionally put her own teammates into such danger like that. But Sakura was intelligent and how much of not thinking does it take to do something so irresponsible and stupid? Kiba has never been half as smart as Sakura, but Shino knew for a fact that this is something he would have never done in his lifetime despite that, no matter the circumstances.

He was happy that Ino interrupted his thoughts before they made his anger spiral out of control and show on his face. Though from the tone and shaking of her voice, he could tell she was also struggling to remain calm. Ino has known Sakura since they were little children, Shino reflected, so perhaps it made sense if she was the one who would be the most shocked about her actions.

"Sakura really did that?" she first asked in disbelief.

Lee nodded. Ino absorbed it and after a few moments, continued, apparently still trying to make sense of the situation.

"But, why would they only capture Kiba? And why … sorry to say it like that, Lee, but why would they let the rest of you live?"

Lee's eyes opened wider, perhaps only now realizing what all else could have happened, Shino guessed. And it was true. They were apparently found by enemy ninja while completely defenceless, far from Konoha - they should be grateful to still be alive.

"It sorta makes sense…" Shikamaru spoke up, looking more thoughtful than normal.

"Like this, with just one ninja gone, Konoha has no proof that he was captured. You can in theory say that maybe, as an effect of that gas, he simply wandered off and got himself killed or got lost in the process-"

"-he would never wander off anywhere without Akamaru! Drugged or not-"

"-I know, I know Ino, we all know that, but that is not enough proof for anyone up there. They made it troublesome for Konoha to claim anything. You cannot confront the leaders of the other villages and accuse them of capturing your ninja based on simply 'knowing him well'. Even if they knew exactly what happened and were the ones holding the poor guy, this is now the card they can use - if you confront them that one of your ninjas went missing like this, they can simply deflect by saying that since nothing has happened to the other ninjas, it was obviously not an attack, just an incident for which Konoha alone is responsible, which is partly true anyway. Troublesome, as I said."

Trouble is an underestimate.

After a few seconds of silence, Choji was the next one to speak up. "But… what would they do with Kiba anyway?"

Shino composed himself, wanting to clarify, hoping that his state of mind would not show.

"That is something I could answer. Why? Because I know about the type of missions we are usually assigned to. Especially since the foreign relations have been under heavy strain the past few weeks, I am fairly certain about my reasoning."

Shino felt the eight pairs of eyes piercing through him. Was he just being paranoid or were they all waiting for him to lose it? Well, he sure was waiting for himself to lose it.

"Just like myself, Kiba is predominantly a tracking ninja, sent on missions to perform surveillance and gather information. Trackers are the ninjas having the most information about the village's intelligence even when they are still in the lower ranks. Why? We know mostly all of what Konoha knows about the other villages, simply because we are the ones sent to collect that information in the first place. Even if they had not known Kiba personally, his looks alone make it obvious what his role in the village is."

Shikamaru sighted and nodded. "That indeed makes sense."

Makes sense, sure. Nothing about this made sense to Shino.

"And that makes it even more troublesome and risky for Konoha. I know Kiba would not willingly disclose anything, but sometimes, villages and organizations have interrogation techniques that you simply cannot escape." Shikamaru added, this time eyeing Ino, who, based on her facial expression, he made apparently very uncomfortable with the implied reference.

"I cannot imagine Kakashi-sensei and others just walking away from that situation though. Surely they tried to find them?" Ino asked in turn.

Lee went on to clarify. "They did. Obviously Akamaru was the first one to search for Kiba when he woke up, but when he failed, Kakashi-sensei also summoned his dogs and tried to get help from the sensory red-haired ninja they brought along with them from the fight. They found out there were two other foreign scents mixed with that of Kiba, but after a few meters, apparently, they all disappeared. Kakashi-sensei concluded that they must have teleported, making further tracking impossible."

More silence ensured. But unlike most times, this time Shino did not find it pleasant or calming. It was obvious that everyone had very strong opinions about what happened, but there was no reason to bring even more emotion into the discussion.

"So? What now?" Choji asked.

Shino looked at Hinata, who was yet to say a single word. She was staring at the ground, still petting Akamaru. But she was no longer looking nervous; this look was something Shino for the first time saw during the Chunin exams, something Shino has learnt to recognise as determination. They both knew what they would do next. They were trackers after all; searching for lost people was their specialty.

"I am going there, and I presume Hinata will join?" Hinata simply nodded, as he expected. "Akamaru can lead us."

"Do you assume you can find him, even though Kakashi's dogs and Akamaru failed?" Shikamaru asked, looking curious but also skeptical.

"I do not assume anything. I simply have a responsibility towards my teammate- and my friend. I can release my insects on the site and they can travel vast distances and keep searching around the villages nearby. After all the years, they know Kiba almost as well as they know me, which will make the search efficient."

"And I can find out if maybe Kakashi-sensei has overlooked something at the spot. Maybe blood or anything these ninjas might have left behind. Anything that could give us any clue about where to search." Kiba once pointed out that when Hinata got determined, she did not stutter anymore. Now, Shino too noticed.

"Do you think they will allow you to go, now that the war seems to be approaching? That is, whoever it is who becomes the next Hokage?" Shikamaru further inquired.

"I do not care if they do." Shino responded coldly.

"-and I do not care either, really." Hinata added swiftly.

It was perhaps indeed unusual for both of them to so-openly disregard authority like this, Shino reflected, based on the looks they received from the rest of the group in return. Shino saw Neji throwing a glance at Hinata - and was that pride showing?

At the same time, Shino's team rarely worked with the other teams as it was so specialized, so it did make sense that perhaps their peers did not really know them that well.

"We can help out if you need." Neji offered. Hinata smiled and Shino understood that Neji said this as a sign of his growing respect towards Hinata, something they had been trying to achieve with Kiba for many years.

"Yes, you can count on all of us!" Ino added.

"Thank you, but there is no need. Why? Because we do not want to risk more people getting in trouble for this. In addition, I do not see how any of you, apart from you Neji, could be useful."

After some contemplation, he added. "We would like to, however, ask you to keep this plan between us so that no one attempts to prevent us from leaving the village."

Shino saw seven heads nod and thanked them. He knew they cared about Kiba, at least those who knew him well. While Kiba was loud and sometimes insensitive, he was easily the most loyal person Shino has ever met and would jump in to save any of his peers without giving it a second thought or without even thinking about his own safety. And over time, such a positive and protective personality grew on most, even on people like Shino.

As they were leaving, he felt a hand land on his shoulder; which instantly made him twitch, since there was only one person who would always be so openly physical with him. This time, however, the hand belonged to Shikamaru.

"If you need anything, let me know. I think I speak for everyone when I say that we would want to help you if possible."

Shikamaru actually looked concerned, which was not a look Shino was used to. Given that Shikamaru himself lost his sensei - and someone very close to him - recently, Shino figured that he could perhaps sympathize.

Shino was still having a hard time keeping his emotions under his control. Normally, if something happened that made Shino upset, especially with relation to those close to him, it would usually upset Kiba too. As a result, Kiba would become much angrier and vocal about it and that way, it would release Shino's emotions as well. This was now however not an option and Shino had a hard time coping with it.

"Thank you, Shikamaru." he managed.

And screw it, maybe he does not need to keep it all in completely.

"Perhaps then I would ask you to tell Sakura to stay away from me and Hinata until we find Kiba. It is enough that one of us is missing and possibly injured already." he added.

He saw Shikamaru shiver and he figured that he probably said it with a darker tone than he should have. He knew that he has always looked mysterious and scary to his peers (and he had Kiba to thank for that information), but well, if it could keep them from harming his teammates in the future, maybe it was something he could embrace further.