Sorry, the first two chapters were always the only portions of this story intended to be written in first person. While this format serves many purposes in regard to building up a story and the characters within it, I personally do not feel it is the best choice, literarily. While it is quite easy to write first person present tense, it is difficult to do so [i]well[/i] (a distinction unfortunately lost on many). As mentioned in my notes in a prior chapter, first person is far less desirable in battle sequences of almost any sort.
I'm surprised that the Genin continue to draw so much attention... they're really just background in the story. I will resist reiterating their purposes, as I have done so in the past, but let me remind one and all that they only serve a minor literary purpose and do no more (kindly recall or reread my commentary regarding Team Seven). Kayaki has greater depth, but the purpose of this story is not to explore that. The other two have little resemblance to the other Genin team so well known, for simple reasons: Watashi is an idiot, and Ruana honestly has no depth (her fault, not mine). Such things are irrelevant; our focus is and has always been Hinata and Shino, and their battle with the Missing-nin.
Oddly, I do not feel as if this story should be over. It was always intended to be a very short work, covering a quick arc, speaking on a brief topic and then quietly leaving. Still, merely five chapters seems far too short. It is as it is, however, and this is the end. My opinion of sequels is rather low, especially when the original work completes its purpose adequately. This is literature, not Hollywood.
Obviously, I can answer no more questions. I merely hope that you enjoyed reading this simple tale. For those of you wanting action, I hope the final battle sequence will slake such desires. For those of you wanting closure, I hope you will find it satisfactory. Enjoy the final chapter and goodbye.
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Chapter 5: Endings and Beginnings
Neither of them moved for a few moments, remaining across the clearing from each other. The sun was just beginning to come over the horizon, its light still muted by the thick tree line that typified the Fire Country. Water from the battle between Kayaki and Tinoch still remained, making the air around them slightly misty as the liquid slowly evaporated.
Shino's gaze was unwavering, just as his fighting stance did not even quiver. Manatchi's gaze flickered over the campsite that had become a battlefield. It was just the two of them now, the winner deciding the outcome of the entire battle. Watashi and Ruana lay defeated on the edge of the clearing, Kayaki completely spent on the ground. Next to him still stood the frozen Tinoch. Both the summoned insect and the last Missing-nin were nothing more than bloody heaps remaining in the forest.
Yes, it all came down to this...
In a flash Manatchi pulled a kunai from his pocket, hurling it forward toward Shino. Seeing his muscles tense in the action, Shino responded before the kunai had left his hands. He pulled a shuriken with both hands and launched both, one deflecting Manatchi's weapon and the other speeding forward to strike him. Weaving to the side, Manatchi evaded the weapon, then leapt back as several Destruction Bugs bit into the spot he had formerly occupied. This was definitely the one, then...
Landing on his feet and spinning to face Shino, Manatchi was already making several hand seals. He had a book with several pages of information on Aburame Shino. Though he now served as a leader of a Genin team, at one time he had been a very dangerous Anbu. Recalling the information he had read, Manatchi had decided that he needed to pull out all the stops for this battle. Shino needed to be destroyed instantly, before he could use his Destruction Bugs to their full potential.
[i]Blood Kunai![/i] Thrusting his hands forward, Manatchi sent a blast of concentrated chakra from them. It quickly morphed into the shape and form of an extremely large kunai, its color the deepest red. This attack would tear through flesh and bone, and nothing could block it; Manatchi grinned slightly.
Utilizing his full speed, Shino leapt over the chakra weapon. As he landed, he abruptly split into two of himself. Immediately Manatchi's eyes narrowed, as he attempted to discover what exactly was being done. Was one of them a bunshin? Or had he used Kage Bunshin?
One of the Shinos was making several rapid hand seals, and as he moved Manatchi noticed something slightly wrong with the movements. The edges of his body blurred, as if he wasn't quite solid... as if he was made of something smaller... [i]like bugs[/i]! So he had finally decided to play his trump card! Manatchi knew all about the Destruction Bugs that Shino contained within his body. They could be a deadly weapon, and apparently could form their own clones. Not perfect clones, though...
[i]Bug Clone: Chakra Swarm![/i] Abruptly that Shino shattered into all its separate bugs, which spun forward incased in chakra. Manatchi's eyes widened slightly; this jutsu was entirely new to him. Very clever, to teach the bugs themselves a jutsu. However, it still wouldn't matter. Before the bugs got close enough to strike him, Manatchi finished the seals for his own jutsu as well, then took a deep breath.
[i]Blaze of Glory![/i] When Manatchi expelled his breath, it was a solid wall of flame that encompassing the bugs nearing him entirely, burning them to no more than a crisp. When the blast of flame faded, the real Shino had evaded the attack, but nothing whatsoever remained of the Destruction Bugs.
"What now?" Manatchi laughed. "Your secret weapon has been destroyed! Without your bugs you're crippled!"
"I would be," Shino acknowledged calmly. "...which is why I used an illusion."
"What?" Manatachi gasped, slipping into a defensive stance by instinct. He had to be lying...
"My bug clone jutsu is too slow to be used against a shinobi of your caliber, and I fully expected you to stop it. Nothing was lost. But it cost me only the chakra for an elementary jutsu, whereas you performed a much higher level technique."
"You lie!" Manatchi roared, rushing forward. As he moved, chakra collected along his arm, forming a line that was actually visible. The line widened and thickened, becoming a sickle-like blade formed purely of chakra. A slight grin on his face, Manatchi leapt into the air, pulling the weapon over his head. He brought it down with as much force as he could toward Shino, who glanced up at him calmly.
Dropping to the ground, Shino buried a fist in it then ripped out a massive chunk of rock. It exploded into the air, colliding directly with Manatchi. The surprise damage made Manatchi disperse his chakra blade. He managed to knock the boulder away and landed on his feet, in time to deflect a kunai hurled by Shino.
"I am a Jounin of the Hidden Village of Fallen Leaves," Shino stated calmly. "If you think I could reach this rank with only one weapon, you are sadly mistaken."
"Bah!" Manatchi hissed. "I've seen your records in the book. They say you're an average Jounin, nothing more. We eliminated the biggest threat when we took out that girl. Everyone who has returned from fighting you says you are only proficient, not a master."
"They are entitled to their opinion," Shino answered, voice completely modulated. It was really getting under Manatchi's skin, and he darted forward with a fist flying toward Shino's face. To his surprise, the shinobi merely raised an arm, deflecting the strike away from his head. Immediately Manatchi struck again, smashing a blow into Shino's face. His eyes widened in surprise as the Jounin dispersed into a cloud of smoke.
Shino struck from behind, his kunai barely being turned aside from plunging itself into Manatchi's back. It still traced a thin line of blood along his arm. Roaring in pain and anger, Manatchi struck down toward Shino's head. The force of the attack took him all the way to the ground as Shino backstepped it, and the Missing-nin's arm plunged into the ground.
Immediately Shino struck, kicking forward with full force. Flipping to his back, Manatchi used his forearm not embedded in the earth to block the attack. Using the embedded arm as leverage, he pushed himself into the air, kicking twice at Shino's face. Turning the strikes aside, Shino swept a side kick at his upraised opponent.
Pulling his legs down, Manatchi barely evaded the attack, then flipped himself from the ground. As he landed on his feet, he deflected a strike by Shino. Surprisingly, his opponent's hand passed directly through his own, the clone dissipating. Shino slammed a shoulder into him from behind, sending him tumbling part way across the clearing.
Turning and getting to his feet, Manatachi stopped his skid and glanced back at Shino. His eyes blazed darkly, sending murderous looks at the shinobi who stood silently on the opposite side of the clearing. As Manatchi got to his feet, Shino finally spoke.
"Those who have returned from fighting me were allowed to do so," Shino explained. "Most of them did not return."
"You're better than I thought," Manatchi admitted. "But you're still nothing but a law enforcing servant of order. You cannot deal with chaos!" As he spoke Manatchi moved through multiple hand seals, fully prepared to leap away if Shino attempted to attack. He did not, which was fine with Manatchi; he finally had time to perform this attack. "This is a forbidden jutsu... something a stupid two shoes like you could never understand!"
[i]Partial Resurrection Storm![/i] Slamming his palms together, Manatchi completed the jutsu. He'd nearly died while stealing this jutsu, but it had been more than worth it. Until today, he'd never had a cause to use it. It consumed a lot of chakra, but was almost impossible to dodge and devastating when it struck.
The chakra from the attack spread out through the clearing, and then suddenly dozens of objects burst from the ground. Body parts, most long dead but a few decaying, burst into the air, rotating for a second, showers of earth falling around them. Shino's eyes widened slightly, but he did not move. The next instant all of the body parts flooded through the air toward him.
With a slight grin Manatachi waited for them to strike Shino, wracking his body with unearthly pain and finishing him off. Even if he dodged, all of them would just continue to home in on his body. It was a wonderful jutsu indeed.
Suddenly Manatchi's eyes narrowed as he saw the body parts change direction, sweeping low to the ground. Again they circled, but they appeared to be following absolutely nothing. Between the bits of flesh and dust that were falling through the air, Manatchi couldn't tell what had happened to Shino, or where he was. If he was still dodging, he couldn't do it forever.
Abruptly the storm of body parts changed direction again, this time flooding directly toward Manatchi. Taken off guard, he had time only to cancel the jutsu. Instantly the body parts shattered to dust, raining down all over the battlefield. Why had they been coming in this direction? Unless Shino had managed to reverse the attack, that could only mean...
Turning as quickly as possible, Manatchi had only an instant before he had to react. A puddle of water suddenly floated into the air, twisting about itself and forming the shape of Shino, which was already moving toward him at close range. This instant was not enough, and Shino's fist collided with Manatchi's face.
Crashing to the ground some distance away, Manatchi painfully got to his feet and wiped blood away from his face. That had hurt... this guy could definitely hit. There was so much chakra behind the blows... four or five more and he was finished. In that case, he just had to ensure that he wasn't ever hit.
Time for another jutsu, a more subtle one this time. Rushing forward toward Shino, Manatchi quickly activated his sealless jutsu, blue flames lighting up on one hand. Shino easily blocked Manatchi's first strike with a forearm, but then the Missing-nin clamped his other hand on the skin of his wrist.
Chakra... flowing, living chakra... he could feel it. Immediately Manatchi began sapping away with all his might, draining as much chakra as he could from his opponent. Soon he would probably be thrown off or forced back, and he needed to get as much of an advantage as possible...
But Shino didn't move, just watching Manatchi as he continued to drain. Nervous, Manatchi quickly considered everything. Why was he so confident? It wasn't a clone... Manatchi knew that he was actually draining chakra... could he really be so foolish that he did not understand what was happening to him? In any case it was unnerving him.
"What are you, a fool?" Manatchi demanded. "Why aren't you worried that I'm stealing your chakra?"
"The Destruction bugs eating chakra from your neck and returning it to me may have something to do with it," Shino said softly, quietly enough that Manatachi almost missed his words. In shock, he glanced down at his neck and realized that the tiny bugs were slowly but surely taking away his energy; with his own draining going on, he hadn't noticed. The exchange was equal... neither of them accomplished anything.
Shino smashed a fist into his opponent's chest. Manatchi had been a bit more prepared for this attack, though he couldn't dodge or block it, so he moved with the momentum and allowed himself to fly across the clearing. Flipping in the air, Manatchi landed on his feet and glanced back at Shino.
He was still calmly standing some distance away, ready to fight but completely calm. The arrogant b******! Manatchi grimly realized that he was outmatched; this Jounin was superior to him in basically every way. Unless he was hiding weakness or exhaustion, he had taken basically no damage in the entire battle.
Attacking Shino again wasn't an option... in fact, it was probably the worst possible option. He could run, but that would only make his position worse: Hinata would heal and the Genin would awake, whereas his partners were dead and could only remain that way. Now was his strongest position... but he couldn't attack Shino. Then again, he really didn't have to.
Hiding an evil smirk, Manatchi realized what he should do. Shino was unbeatable, but he did not have to be defeated for this mission to successful. Sometimes the wisest course of action was actually to flee. In this case, all he had to do was kill Hinata... and she was lying nearly comatose on the ground, unable to defend herself.
Charging forward, Manatchi abruptly changed the course of his strike midway across the clearing. Instead of attacking Shino, who had pulled a kunai to defend himself, he turned and flew down upon Hinata, who was still laying on the ground. It was time to finish this...
Keeping her eyes nearly closed, Hinata continued to use her Hyuga vision to watch the battle. Shino was being extremely cautious, and it was negating his opponent's reckless attacks perfectly. The leader of the Missing-nin was drained of much of his chakra, and had several wounds. Slowly and surely the fight was ending.
Apparently he determined this for himself, as he faked a strike at Shino and then moved toward her. Hinata pulled her eyes fully open to watch him as he bore down upon her. Behind him, Shino merely watched, folding his arms and not making any movement to stop him. Just as Manatchi neared her, Hinata smiled at him kindly, the expression bizarre amidst the combat.
Beneath her clothing, the Destruction Bugs hidden within suddenly swarmed out, flying into the air in front of her. It briefly formed Shino, in the position of kicking at his opponent's head. Manatchi ducked the strike, and then realized that the clone of bugs was already making hand seals...
[i]Bug Clone: Chakra Swarm![/i] At nearly point blank range the clone dispersed, dozens of the tiny bugs slicing through Manatchi's extremities and robbing him of another portion of his chakra. The force of the attack drove him across the clearing, knocking him into a tree on the opposite side of the clearing.
Sitting against her tree, Hinata allowed herself to smile slightly and allowed her eyes to fall nearly closed once again. It would not be long, now.
Shino watched his opponent get to his feet as he allowed the bugs to return to him. They swarmed into his sleeves and collar, then merged into his skin. All of them at once was slightly uncomfortable, but worth having his hive within him again. Manatchi got to his feet, now bleeding from many wounds. Merely watching him, Shino fueled his opponent's rage even more.
Roaring in anger, Manatchi charged at full speed toward the Jounin. He smashed a palm into his opponent's forehead, and Shino fell back. Before he could hit the ground, Manatchi pivoted, smashing a leg into his back. Staggering across the ground, Shino could not defend himself as Manatchi plunged a fist into his face.
The impact of the blow sent Shino sailing across the battlefield, where he crashed to the ground heavily. His explosion of power fueled by his rage vanishing, Manatchi slowed, then turned to his opponent.
Coughing up blood, Shino struggled to get to his feet. Grinning, Manatchi leapt into the air, sailing toward the fallen Jounin. Both of his legs moved down, aiming to strike Shino's neck hard enough to break it. Manatchi felt a thrill of joy run through his body... he was going to win, he was actually going to win!
As he began to bring his legs around, Manatchi saw Shino glance up at him. For the first time since the fight began, the silent warrior had a slight smirk on his face. That look completely quenched the thrill Manatchi had felt, replacing it with a deathly chill like ice water trickling down his back.
[i]Leaf Aegis![/i] Spinning his arms, Shino activated his own jutsu. Slicing gusts of wind circled around him in a deadly and expanding pattern. In the air and unable to alter the path of his flight, Manatchi ran directly into them. Instantly his body was lacerated by several long and devastating wounds. The attack reversed his momentum, sending him falling back to the ground in a bloody heap.
Readjusting his glasses, which were unbroken, as he rose to his feet, Shino calmly wiped blood from his face. There were no wounds beneath it, not from those pathetic attacks from a desperate warrior. By this point his chakra was far too drained to deal much damage: this battle was over.
"You're finished," Shino stated. Not battle talk, or argument, simply stating an obvious fact. "Fighting any further would be futile."
"No!" Manatchi roared. "We cannot be defeated like this! We will succeed! [i]I[/i] will not be defeated!" His vision turned red, and he rushed forward. There was power, immense power, flooding through his veins. He was going to die, and he didn't care in the slightest. No matter what, he was going to take his opponent with him. It was releasing, now that he didn't really care. Now he was free to go all out, to expend all that remained of this body for the purpose of destroying his opponent utterly. Raising a bloody fist, Manatchi flung it at Shino's face, intending to strike it completely off. Nothing could stop him now...
Ducking below and to the left of the attack, Shino moved his left hand into a seal, and sent the other moving toward his opponent's chest. His palm struck his opponent, knocking the wind out of him. For a split second Manatchi was swept off his feet, and then Shino's true attack struck.
[i]Inferno Palm![/i] Manatchi exploded in flame, his entire body afire. The burning heat rent him apart before he could even scream in pain. Moving back, Shino remained near the flame, letting the invisible waves of heat beat against his face before they faded away. Only a small pile of ash remained.
Shino did not move for some time, standing motionless as a cold wind blew the ashes away, circling over the torn and destroyed battlefield immersed in the morning darkness...
Watashi's gaze flickered open, and he found he was resting on one of the bedrolls. It was so soft, so comfortable. All of his body ached, remembering the chakra-filled blows that had crashed into it earlier. But he was still alive, so apparently things had turned out alright. Maybe his final attack had taken out one of the villains as well. Yeah, that was it. The real heros sacrificed themselves to protect all the others. As he sat up, he realized that the sun was just coming up as well.
Ruana was sitting on a log beside him, brushing her hair. Her torso was wrapped in bandages, but she had made absolutely certain to get her hair looking just absolutely perfect. If not for the bandages, she would have seemed completely untouched.
"What happened?" he asked eagerly. "Huh? Huh?"
"Oh, Watashi! You're awake!" Ruana beamed. "Everything's alright!"
"But what happened? Did we beat 'em?"
"We managed to defeat the Missing-nin that fought us. Shino-sensei beat up the other two and rescued Hinata-sama. You've been unconscious for a while, and we've all just been recovering. I thought some of my hair was going to have to be cut for a while, but it turns out that it's alright. Isn't that great?"
"Alright! I beat that guy!" Watashi laughed victoriously. "Step one to becoming the next Hokage... complete! I'll bet I'm almost as strong as Shino! I am so awesome! "
Sitting with his back to a large tree trunk, Kayaki flexed one hand, looking at it carefully. One of his feet was bandaged; he had nearly broken it striking Tinoch's head. The attack that Tinoch had landed before the genjutsu began had left deep bruises all across his chest, but Shino had bandaged them effectively. Most of his problem was his nearly complete loss of chakra.
One thing was certain: he needed to train more. His body itself wasn't tough enough... his own blows shouldn't have hurt, and Tinoch's attack shouldn't have nearly taken him out. More importantly, he needed to train his chakra; the amount he had would hardly be enough. His control needed work too; there had been several times he'd wasted some of his chakra... those times would have to be eliminated. Once they returned to Konoha, he'd have to ask Shino to train him specifically to properly control his chakra.
"Hey Kayaki, did you see me beat that guy?" Watashi asked. Kayaki didn't bother to look up at his partner. So quickly.... Grinning, Watashi tried to leap to his feet and then sat back down, wincing in pain.
"You aren't healed yet," Ruana chided him disapprovingly. "You shouldn't be doing anything strenuous soon."
"Strenuous? Heck, I'm gonna be relaxing for a few days! We absolutely rocked on a really tough mission! That had to be an A-Ranked mission!" Getting to his feet, more carefully this time, he turned back to Ruana. "Where's the sensei?"
"He and Hinata left right beside that tree that Kayaki is sitting by. I don't think he went far, though, he said they had a few loose ends to tie up before we could go home."
"Alright! I'm gonna have to ask him if we can do high level missions more often. This was a lot of fun!" Indomitably he moved forward in the same direction. Just as he moved parallel to Kayaki, the boy rose to his feet, moving an arm into his teammate's path and nearly clotheslining him.
"What's this?" Watashi asked indignantly. Kayaki glanced at him emotionlessly.
"Don't follow them," Kayaki responded darkly.
"And why not?" Watashi demanded. The scarcest of smiles crossed Kayaki's face.
"Watashi... sit down and shut up."
Enveloped entirely by shadows in a small clearing, Shino and Hinata were nearly invisible. The dappled sunlight of the rising sun made a small amount of light... and that was all that was really necessary.
Hinata continued to embrace him, resting her head against his chest. She felt so safe here, so peaceful and protected. His arms were gently around her, holding her closely to him. The realization that Shino loved her had been accompanied by the realization that she felt the same. Her vision allowed her to see up as well, to see him looking down at her. He actually saw her, as a person, as a friend. So many times in life she had been passed over as no one...
Closing her eyes, Hinata smiled peacefully and snuggled closer to him. She felt no overwhelming emotion, nothing to make her flushed or uncomfortable. Was this love? It certainly felt nothing like what she had felt for Naruto. But looking back, if this wasn't love, she didn't want to find it.
Keeping his arms wrapped around her, Shino just held her closely to him, as he hadn't realized he wanted to do until now. This wasn't the first time... circumstances of war had forced him to hold her in the past. Somehow this was completely different. Perhaps now she could move on, truly find resolution in her life. No longer would she be straining toward an impossible goal; and perhaps she could gain a bit of confidence in herself. If there was anything that he could do to help, he would certainly do so.
Very few words were necessary. Never did either of them say the oft spoke-of three words. It didn't matter: both of them knew. Eventually Shino released her briefly; he took off his glasses, then folded them and placed them into a pocket of his shirt. Feeling his movement, Hinata glanced up at him. She smiled slightly... a timid smile, but one that wasn't afraid of rejection or anger.
Enfolding her in his embrace once more, Shino kissed her. It was entirely new for Hinata, yet somehow none of that mattered. To finally be at this point, to be willing to let this happen... to [i]want[/i] to have this happen.
Behind them, the sun finally moved over the trees, its rays shining down on the land brightly. It was a glorious morning.