A/N: This is just a sub-story to help my current writers block. The pairings are indeed odd, but then, so are most when everyone around them pretty much died. ^_^;; Hope you enjoy this fic.














A Final Hit







Perhaps then, it wasn't really fate. An extremely tricky thing, fate. Yes, you can normally say that a person who had lived a rough, and difficult life to be killed very early in his years, but to actually say whether or not a romance between you and her was fate, is sketchy at best. A romance that she and I are in, could have been someone else quite easily. Which, I do believe, I say that I am indeed extraordinarily lucky to know a girl, no, a young woman who is good at heart and beautiful to boot. Perhaps it was luck, not fate, that brought us together, and that makes it all the more wonderful. For, compared to my life, I could have had nothing. But I have something now, and I will defend her to my dying breath.



-- Aburame Shino
Age 18














It was raining like a waterfall, and Aburame Shino could barely see fifteen feet ahead of him. He gripped the wall, hoping his strength wouldn't leave him just yet. His mask was in shards somewhere in the foggy abyss below him, and he was thankful that was all that fell down there. His target would be leaving any minute, and it would all be over. The massacre of Hidden Leaf Village would have some closure now. The insects inside of him buzzed with anticipation, and his blood pressure was rising. It wasn't often he was emotional, in fact, at times it was borderline never that he did. But this time, this exception, the only time he ever lost his temper, was now.

Instinctively, he swung himself to the side, as the massive gates opened with a clang! and a figure darted out and sped into the rain's onslaught.

Shino was on it in a second, springing off the wall and landing right behind his target, swinging his blade at the neck, and scoring a glancing cut.

His target dropped to the muddy grass below, and made no attempt to get up. Shino grabbed the target by the shoulders and turned it over, a kunai raised above his head for the death strike.

The face stopped him.

Shino-kun... I'm... so.... sorry... I really... am...

.... WHY?! the words exited his mouth before he had time to control the audio output of his voice. He quickly corrected it, and repeated,

If I... didn't do it... they would have... done worse...

Shino demanded. Regardless of who was in the icy, wet grass, he put his work ahead of him.

No point... telling... I'd die... before I can say a word....

The target looked at Shino sadly, the water soaking though the jacket, and soon the target would get hypothermia, if Shino did not terminate it.

Tell... everyone... I'm sorry...

Shino shook his head, and uttered the last words the target would ever hear.

Everyone's dead.

Then he drove the kunai through the forehead, into the brain, ensuring a quick, painless death.

He did not immediately get up. For what seemed like an eternity, he remained in the posture, his head bowed, and his wet hair drooping over his eyes. No one, if there were any there at the time, would have seen him silently crying.








It was quite amazing, how one could change in a matter of years, Shino mused, sitting behind his desk in Iruka-sensei's old classroom. He glanced at the clock, watching the second hand move agonizingly slow towards the twelve. Thankfully, today is the last school day of this week, Shino mused. He had achieved Konoha history in becoming the second person under twenty to become an ANBU squad member, and now he was reduced to a simple teacher a mere three months after. He now knew what a complete pain that was. Iruka, I envy your death, Shino always thought when the class refused to listen to him. Of course, that prompted him to do his special Surprise Mid-term technique on them. He pushed back his glasses. He still had his overcoat, although patched and refitted by a special tailor countless times. His hair was still as big as ever, and the insects inside of him were hibernating, waiting for Shino to summon them again, since, while they were helpful in ANBU missions, they were disruptive and annoying for the job he currently held. A civilians job. He remembered promising, that they would feast on many ninjas, if they were indeed called back into action. His eyes flickered back at the clock.

... Time...

The mere voice of Aburame Shino, though calm and quite collected, cracked like a whip in the silent classroom, and several students jumped in surprise.

Please send your tests to the front of the class. Hidami, please collect them.

There was some chatter as students passed up their tests on the chakra system, some were confident, others were having a fit, worrying about the grade. Shino didn't mind the chatter all that much. If they chose to talk and not pay attention, they would not get very far in the Academy, and Shino would not be to blame, only the students. Not that Leaf needed more bright graduates, seeing as how Leaf Village now was behind Grass Village in terms of strength, and that their new Hokage, was nothing more than a greedy puppet installed by the Fire Country Lord, in exchange for the money Leaf desperately needed to repair itself. The idea, of course, was unwavering, free assistance to the Fire Lords every beck and whim.

Shino watched the students go slowly on the line between unruly to disruptive, and Hidami timidly put the papers on Shino's desk, and moved quickly back to her front row desk.

Wahji, Inori, Kizune, you three cheated on the test, correct?

Shino found it especially pleasing to see how fast the class went silent.

a thin, ratty, weedy looking boy looked like the wind was knocked out of him. How-?

Simply put, Inori, I am not quite stupid. I could hear the three of you from here. I have a feeling the job application for spy' is not for you three. You flunked the test, and you cannot make it up.


But Shino-sensei, there were lots of people cheating! a small boy raised his hand.

That may be true... Shino scanned the room, eyes resting on a small girl with white eyes.

But... if they did, I did not catch them. He looked back at Inori. If you feel like you can cheat without my knowing, go right ahead, but don't get caught. That's an insult to me.

He looked at the clock behind.

It's five till. You may go out early. Dismissed.

Some students cheered, others groaned, and some were silent, and all, in a listless, chaotic pattern, filed out and into the hall, leaving Shino alone. He watched the clock, ticking at an annoying interval, until it struck three.

A small, trapezoid shaped whole opened up in his desk, and a scroll containing his weekly salaries popped up. It was incredibly meager, more than likely only allowing him to eat for at least a few days. He grabbed it in a quick motion, then swept out of the classroom, and into the hallway, going past the students piling out of the classrooms like cattle from a ranch. He felt them brushing past him, talking excitedly, and of course, there were pockets of solemn, saddened children.

They're the smart ones, Shino realized. They realized they have nothing to be happy about.

The door at the other end was opened, and like floodgates opening, children poured at and ran into the streets, and disappeared into the hazy smoke.

Shino didn't know how this haze came to be, but ever since the incident, the whole village was blanketed in smoke. It would rendered ones eyes to the point of tears, but two years of this constant torture and you would get used to it. It's been awhile since Shino saw his own eyes, and he was frankly a tad concerned about their condition.

But... whenever he tried, he felt so ashamed he would stand on end for hours, staring at the mirror.

He turned and walked down an alley, passing by stands, shops and merchants alike. The sounds of a bustling, haggling Leaf village were over; in it's place was a murmured silence, people not bothering to barter on a lower price, thanks to the new merchants the Fire Lord placed along with fixed prices.

He made a left, when someone screamed. He paid no attention to it, people rarely did these days, especially in Leaf Village, and entered a shop with a fading flower on a billboard overhead.

Welcome to Yamanaka's... Hello, Shino-kun.

A girl, in her late teens greeted him, and Shino gave a similar show of respect. Greetings, Sakura-chan. he said softly, bowing to her.

Sakura had seen better days. Her hair was long again, and was wearing tattered clothes, and she had a scar on both cheeks, from a shuriken going through the fleshy parts on both sides. Her eyes, though, lost none of the shine back at the Academy, Shino noticed. She still has her spirit, even when no one did.

The usual? Sakura asked him, with a sad smile. Shino nodded, and went into his pockets, and produced two scrolls on the counter, which Sakura collected, and handed them over to Ino, who was already packaging the floral arrangements.

Thank you, Shino-kun, Ino said hoarsely. She had a similar experience as Sakura, only her face wasn't marred, it was her throat. Her wind pipe was partially crushed, and her vocal cords were damaged, giving her a husky, masculine voice. That crushed her self-confidence, and was rarely seen outside her shop.

The scrolls Shino handed to them were highly expensive Academy techniques Shino had stolen, copied and returned. Sakura would then send them out to Choji, who was now the new owner of the Ichariku, who in turn would ship them out to an unnamed buyer for a hefty sum of money. That was the only reason the Ichariku and Yamanaka's Flower Shop stayed in business. That and, Shino said, and put his paycheck on the counter.

Sakura asked, looking surprised. That's your salary.

Don't worry... Kiba taught me how to hunt. Shino replied. I'm taking Akamaru with me to the memorial, and then I'll spend the weekend in Kinome forest. He paused. The pay is so meager I might as well done this for free, any ways...

Are you sure? Sakura asked. Her eyes fixated on him, and he had a sudden urge to rip them out from their sockets. They peered into his own eyes, and into his soul. Her battle-worn face was creased into a frown. Her pale, emerald green eyes shone brightly.

Shino chose not to reply, and received the floral arrangement from Ino.

Good day. he said, and walked out the door. Luckily, the memorial wasn't that far from the Flower shop, and in the field in front of the shop, Shino met Akamaru, who was sitting down, waiting. He had grown immensely, and was around the same height as Hinata when she graduated.

I wish Kiba and Hinata could see you now, Shino thought, as he bent down in greetings to the large dog, reaching in his pocket for a dog biscuit he had pilfered the night before.

Akamaru welcomed him, and accepted Shino's present. Shino petted him on the head softly, then turned to the memorial, and looked at all the names on them.

Kurenai-sensei... Kakashi-sensei... Asuma-sensei... Iruka-sensei...

He fell silent, and Akamaru whined.

A breeze picked up, and tugged at Shino's overcoat. He looked up, for a brief moment, then set the bouquet of flowers on the base of the memorial, and turned and walked off. Akamaru, in an almost human gesture, pawed at the stone slab, woofed quietly, turned and loped towards the rival and friend of his former master.

Perhaps... Shino thought, as he looked at Akamaru's attentive and loyal face, perhaps Kiba would rest peacefully, knowing his dog was being taken care of.

He cringed, remembering Kiba's last words, and quickly shut them out of his memory.

C'mon, Akamaru, Shino said. We're gonna get supper.

Akamaru agreed enthusiastically, and trotted after Shino.



-----


... What's wrong, Sakura? Ino asked finally, tending her punctured fingers from handling so many roses.

Shino's acting strange. Sakura sighed wearily. It worries me.

Shino's always acting strange. He has bugs living in him, for crying out loud. Besides... Ino looked up at Sakura, who was leaning against the counter. He's been through hell, it's not like anyone could revert to normal after what happened.

We all went through hell, Sakura pointed out.

Yeah, but he went down a little deeper than us. You know when he came back after his mission to hunt the bastard who let all this happen? He was a bloody wreck, his insects were crawling all over him, and no one could touch him, Ino sighed. He was like an animal awaiting death. It's a miracle he actually survived... unlike some.

Ino broke off into silence. I wonder... Ino mused finally. I wonder why he refused to reveal who it was that betrayed us. They were all set to torture him, then Ibiki died, and they decided to just demote him to Iruka-sensei's job... Any ways, your're right, Shino wasn't the same silent, emotionally stunted kid back at the Academy.

How's Choji? Sakura changed tack, and Ino blinked. He's doing alright. He says if the scrolls Shino gave us were any indication, then we'll be rich before the years out.

I meant, how is he doing?

Ino shrugged. Fat as always. Though he does cook extremely well, I have to admit-

Ino, did you give Shino the cut? Sakura asked suddenly, and Ino turned around to look under the cabinet.

Oh, damn. Ino shook her head. No, my mistake. We'll give it to him next week.

I don't know... Sakura looked out the sliding glass front door.

I don't like it when people go out into that forest these days... especially with the Grass-nins are about... Sakura said. I would much rather he stay at his own place and not have to deal with them.

Ino eyed her sometime rival and friend with suspicion. What do you care for his safety? she asked.

Sakura said softly, not turning back to face Ino. Me, you, Shino and Choji are the only ones left of the graduates. The younger and the older generations view us as weak, and as failures. Choji, though not publicly, was blacklisted by his own clan, as was Shino's. My parents are... and yours too. We have to stick together if we want to live.

Ino snorted. That's impossible if we stay here, sooner or later, Hokage is going to find some way to publicly execute us.

Then why don't we leave? Sakura asked impatiently. I don't know about you, but I don't want to die in this hellhole. It is my home and all, but now... she gestured angrily around her. The new Hokage ruined it. It is no longer my home. I want to leave here.

And I keep telling you, Ino said, They will send ANBU's after us. We'd die before we hit the border.

Shino was an ANBU, he would take care of us, besides, most of the new ANBU are just sell-blades, they aren't worth a damn.

Ino sighed. There was no arguing with Sakura at this point, and she hated to admit it, but she was right. There was nothing for either of them here, not even Choji's ramen. She reached down, and pulled out a pouch.

Think you can track Shino down? I'll take his scrolls to Choji and see what price I can get them for.

Sakura bristled. I was the smartest one in my class, Ino-pig-chan, she said in mock anger.

Yeah, was, Forehead Sakura, Ino charged back. She pocketed the scrolls. Go on ahead, Sakura, I'll close up here.

Sakura nodded and headed out the front door.

Stupid. Big headed harlot, Ino muttered. What is with her and emotionally challenged boys?

She caught herself looking in the mirror.

.. The hell your looking at?


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