Disclaimer: As unfortunate as it may be, I do not own Naruto.
Author Notes: Alright, I guess there is just no name for Shino's father yet, any suggestions for made-up names? I've gotten through alright so far, but its getting tough to leave him without a name. It seems customary to shout-out and thank people that have commented, and its pretty cool to read your comments and such so I guess I'll do that too.
SprawlingKitsune( Good to be non-irritating, always a plus. I do believe you were the first person to comment, cool, thanks.
MentosMoe( Check it out, two comments from this one. Thanks for the comments, nothing but encouragement, thanks.
Ravens Quill( Yeah, what can I say, I've never been one that liked to write about what everybody else have already done. Not to mention Shino owns.
Kenshinsgirl4life( Thanks, sorry it took so long to put out a new chapter, I've just been really stressed with real stuff to do and didn't have any free time. Thanks for reading, and I kinda liked that fight too. Inspired by a thread from narutoforum I read once where basically everyone was saying that Neji would own Shino...geez these kids...haha.
Terimaru( Oh heck yeah, no doubt. Shino owns everybody! Haha.
CellCloneBot( Ah, actual constructive criticism. Thanks, yeah, I guess I really did make Shino a little too strong with that move, and yes I could have said it was because of the investment of chakra in his bugs (I was thinking about doing this), but in the end, I wanted to give Shino new uses for his bugs and what better technique to imitate than that of Gaara's ultimate defense eh? Thanks all the same, and your team eight: bugs fic is cool. Sorry if I accidentally rip stuff from your story, I read your stuff whenever it comes out and sometimes things you say about him just registers and I assume its from the manga. I don't think I've done it yet, but feel free to call me on it if I ever do. And one last thing, you have a thing for puns huh? Good call on that one tho, didn't think anyone would catch it.
Lacey Parker( Thanks for finally assuring me that his name hasn't been released yet! Geez, I was pretty sure that was the case, but I wanted to be sure.
Nara Shikamaru( Thanks for your input, I actually valued it a lot. You basically already understand why I downsized Neji's powers, I realize his strength, but this is a Shino fic not a Neji one. Further than this...well, I was tired and running out of time so I just finished it up quick. I could have extended the fight and been more accurate, but again, I wanted to stress Shino's power and, I was a little lazy too.
Key: "" is talking '' is thinking
Chapter 3: Within the Aburame Hive
The Aburame clan household was far removed from the actual village, edging just within the village walls. It was cloaked in a seemingly endless fog and buzzed with deafening silence. There was a never-ending feel of discomfort and nearly unnatural quiet to the outside world: a household that was thick with unseen tension and vociferous with silent isolation. Veiled but clear, loud with stillness, this was the paradox of the Aburame Hive.
The Hive was constructed as four connected hills, each capped with a small housing complex, circling a central hill, higher than the others, and mounted with a larger complex: the master hill, the shrine of the patriarchal family. Yet these buildings were not living areas, instead they were points of entrance and exit, the true Hive lay deep below the earth's surface. Deep below the surface, an intricate series of interconnected tunnels linking the five large underground housing areas (each made up of several levels gouging deeper and deeper into the earth) spanned the length of the hills. But the tunnels didn't end here. In truth they spread, like roots from a tree, into every corner of the village with small houses capping their opening for quick access to all areas of the village.
Shino stepped into one of these access houses, moving to the center of the dirt-floored studio house and, without even bothering to remove his hands from the pockets of his heavy gray jacket, began to unleash his bugs. Slowly the cloud of black overflowed out of each pocket, slowly dripping down the sides of his legs and gathering at his feet. Dig. Waves of brown dirt began to spray in all directions, forming a ring of dirt hills around Shino's motionless form. Within seconds his bugs had broken through into the tunnel hidden beneath. Shino landed softly into the tunnel, 20 feet under the earth's surface, and waited for a moment as his bugs finished the job by replacing the dirt and concealing the hole. The light from the outside world lessened into darkness and, after a small avalanche of bugs landed cleanly into the wide neck of his jacket and quickly scrambled back into their human home.
The trek into the underground Aburame compound was a relatively short one and Shino was passing through the complex gates within minutes. The Aburame are a quiet people and his entrance, though noticed, received no particular response until he reached the central home, his home, the residence of his father.
"Your bugs, did you retrieve them all?" His father's voice questioned, dropping lightly down into Shino's level from the one above. Shino nodded. "Good, we have a mission," his father stated plainly, turning to return to his private level above.
"I have a mission with you, father?" Shino asked, the slight deviance in his voice signifying his shock.
"Yes, we leave, the scroll is in your quarters, we leave tomorrow." Without another word the bugs formed around the man feet, lifting him up through the hole in the ceiling into his private abode. Shino moved slowly toward his level of the home, beneath that of his grandsire's and sire's and above those of his younger brothers: the third male in line. His mother and grandmother held residence in the levels of his grandfather and father, but. The naming of their home as the Aburame Hive was more of ancient tradition than truth, for no queen ruled this hive; males held dominance in this clan. And theirs was the most powerful of all, the overlords of the Konoha Aburame shinobi. Shino slipped quietly into the thankful solitudes of his own quarters. The space was large, vastly empty, and the walls were lined with cases for the different tribes of destruction bugs he amassed, not cases of entrapment, but cases of housing. Someday, when with the expanse of his chakra and his control increased, these too would join his legions.
The scroll his father had spoken of lied on the great chest beside his bed. His hand began to remove from his left pocket but, with a wince of pain, replaced itself again, sending bugs to do its work instead. Shino's arm and body ached from Neji's attack, despite its inability to close his tenketsu points, the sheer physical force of Neji's strikes coursed pain through Shino's figure. The Hyuuga were known for their ability to decimate the organs with their Jyuken (gentle hands) taijutsu techniques, but the physical strength of Neji's 64-hit tenketsu combo was shocking. 'Not only does he attack your chakra, but he aims to attack your actual body with that technique as well,' Shino noted, wincing again in pain. He regulated himself, adjusting to the pains and returning his temperament to its normally unruffled appearance. His father had already once witnessed him weakened to such a state as to discharge his bugs and an unveiling of such weakness twice would be highly detrimental. His father cared about him, Shino knew, but the strength of the clan was necessary to maintain and weakness in the Prince of Bugs could not be accepted.
A flurry of bugs, formulated into two extra arms extended from Shino's body, gripping the scroll and unrolling it into clear vision before him. The wording of the official decree was clear, concise, filled with only the necessary statistics and information for the mission.
"There has been a developing unrest in the northwestern corner of our fire country in the small border village of Tetsura. This is an economic focal point in that it lies as the single formal gate between nations. Recently, it has been reported that a faction of shinobi raiders have effectively halted the transport of necessary goods in this sector and their actions need to be terminated for the continued prosperity of the fire country. The speed of their movements require shinobi with strong tracking abilities so we call two from the Aburame clan to uptake this mission. We cannot exceed this limit because of the current strain on manpower. We leave the election of these two up to the master of the Aburame clan. Mission rank: B."
Shino smiled slightly, not what any normal being would consider a smile, but a smile amongst his people. His father had chosen him, amongst all of the other shinobi of his clan, he was chosen to accompany his father. His abilities were deemed worthy to stand beside his father's. He would, of course, never mention his pleasure in this selection, but it here, in the solitude of his quarters, he reveled in the reception of his father's silent confidence. He straightened slightly, naturally from a sudden burst of pride, but crumpled again at the activation of his continuing sores. Shino rubbed ruefully, considering the healing abilities of his father's bugs. '"Don't move, I'm sending my bugs to draw out the poison..."' What gave his father such powers? The power to draw poison, to heal wounds, the strength of regeneration. Shino held his hand before him, calling a single destruction bug to his palm. Did he use these standard destruction bugs or some kind of mutant destruction bug clan, like his own scout bugs? 'What is your secret father?' His father held his secrets, the Aburame did not share their tactics nor the abilities that they held. Even amongst their own ranks, their own family, abilities were learned, created, earned, never given. Shino settled himself lightly, taking a seat on his bed, his mind tracing into the banks of his memory, behind shades and eyes, his mind searched frantically. He ran the scene with his father over and over, hoping to recall even a glance of the bugs his father had used for his healing. His body had been weakened to a paralytic state and as such his vision of the bug couldn't have possibly been clear, but he only needed a glimpse. He sighed slightly, lying back, there had been no picture. His broken form had been unable to even gather the strength to lift his head to take note of his father's bugs. Even if he had, his vision was blurred and most of his senses dulled by his weakness. All he had been able to feel was the light touch of the line of bugs across his skin. But then, it wasn't a light touch, in fact, it was heavy, unnaturally so.
Shino sat up, reflecting carefully at the touch of these bugs upon his skin, calculating their weight in his mind. They were nearly double the weight of his own bugs, and with each step, there had been a slight twinge, nearly unnoticeable save to his own accentuated senses. Naturally his father's matured bugs would carry heavier weight than his own, but the difference should not exceed even an increase of one fourth. This twinge, whatever it had been, signified the extra weight, and this twinge was something familiar. Another jerk of soreness shot through Neji's 64 points. 'That's it, the touch of chakra.' His father's bugs had been loaded with it, so much that it even emitted slightly through the movement of their feet.
The rest was easy, the weight was clearly within the spectrum of a normal destruction bug, simply one overwhelmingly engulfed in chakra. The interior movements of these bugs were simple to track, the bulk of his own bugs having been drained away. Gathering a small troop of bugs in his right hand, Shino shut his eyes, concentrating intently on directing the little chakra reserves he maintained first to his hand and then into his bugs. He breathed heavily, drained from the removal of the little chakra he had not invested in the feeding of his bugs. But a satisfied smirk graced his features as he looked down at his hand, the bulk of bugs each glowing slightly blue.
'In. To my muscles, concentrate the emission of your chakra onto the 64 tenketsu point areas.' The bugs scurried quickly into Shino's body, speedily unloading their deliveries into each commanded area before scuttling into the internal bug community. Shino stretched, testing his body for the pain he had felt only moments ago. It was gone, cleared of any sores or bruises, as a perfect specimen, untainted by injury of any kind. Satisfied, Shino lifted to his feet, he could feel his strength growing, his power expanding. It glistened and tingled inside of him, this new-found force.
He slowly moved over to the bug housing case closest to his bed, a few steps to the right. Shino glanced through the glass exterior, watching his prized bugs: the Monarch Destruction Bugs. Their size was double that of his standard-sized destruction bugs, are their dominance was clearly evident. Three heavy crown-like horns protruded their hefty armor-like exterior skeleton just above the eyes and their movements were noticeably faster than that of the standard bugs that enveloped his body's interior. Shino looked thoughtfully at these great beasts of battle, even reaching his hand out to try and draw one's attention and submit them under his control, before recoiling his hand back, realizing the great lack of chakra gracing his body. He couldn't support them, strong though they were, without greater tracts of chakra it was best to maintain his current overflow of common destruction bugs. He turned his attention again on the master bugs. The one he had reached his hand toward, a large, steely black behemoth with a great central horn flanked by two moderately sized side horns, charged powerfully toward another, one easily competing with him as superiors in largeness and strength amongst their clan. The stretch of this other bugs horn wasn't nearly as extensive as his attacking adversary, but his size dwarfed his opponent, and a long scar along its armor-plated back signified the experience of battle he had achieved. He brushed aside the long-horned attacker with a quick sweep of his head, tapping the other's long appendages and effectively eliminating all sense of balance in the foolhardy charge. Tumbling for a second, it quickly regained its footing and again charged toward his enemy, blinded by rage. Again his foe slammed his rash enemy aside with a swift sweep, again upending the smaller bug and tossing him lazily aside. Another charge was mounted, another sweep administered, and the long-horned bug again sprawled against the ground.
Shino's eyes, glued inseparably from the bout, followed the bug as it rose again to its feet. 'He will end the battle now, the smaller warrior.' Yet again the smaller beast mounted his charge, his larger rival again readied himself for the same defensive response. He swept, as he had before, forcefully, so as to upend his enemy, but this time, the air whistled as his horn tore through it, its course unaltered by its desired target. The attacker was inches from the sweep, its horn planted deeply within the dirt below, the full momentum of his body swinging forward. With a shattering thud, his hardened frame crunched onto his unsuspecting opponents back, flattening it with the impact, temporarily paralyzed from the quick expulsion of air. Taking this moment of unavoidable pause, the smaller insect slammed its powerful horn into his adversary, cracking heftily into its armored side and crunching its body against the case wall. The victor sauntered off, his clan surrounding him, obviously the unrequited leader of the tribe. His opponent cringed, his body would recover, but his position was lost as was his pride.
Shino simpered slightly, satisfied, turning from the case and lying again onto his bed. 'The determination of the eyes portrayed his victory before it had even occurred. Drive of that kind cannot be combated, regardless of odds.' He noted, storing the information deep within the seemingly endless filings of his mind. Slowly he eyes darkened behind his dark sunglasses, eliminating the remaining light that his shades did not filter, and slowly fell into sleep. Sleep for the body, rest for strained limbs, but not for the mind. No, the complexities of his mind were infinite, their fabled workings never rested.
Author's Notes Continued: Yeah I realize that this was kinda a slow chapter (kinda sad after all the time between chapters, but I didn't have any time to write this and basically wrote it all in the last...hour or so) and he doesn't fight anyone new, but I thought that it needed an intermediary chapter between his fight with Neji and his beginning of his mission with his father.
Author Notes: Alright, I guess there is just no name for Shino's father yet, any suggestions for made-up names? I've gotten through alright so far, but its getting tough to leave him without a name. It seems customary to shout-out and thank people that have commented, and its pretty cool to read your comments and such so I guess I'll do that too.
SprawlingKitsune( Good to be non-irritating, always a plus. I do believe you were the first person to comment, cool, thanks.
MentosMoe( Check it out, two comments from this one. Thanks for the comments, nothing but encouragement, thanks.
Ravens Quill( Yeah, what can I say, I've never been one that liked to write about what everybody else have already done. Not to mention Shino owns.
Kenshinsgirl4life( Thanks, sorry it took so long to put out a new chapter, I've just been really stressed with real stuff to do and didn't have any free time. Thanks for reading, and I kinda liked that fight too. Inspired by a thread from narutoforum I read once where basically everyone was saying that Neji would own Shino...geez these kids...haha.
Terimaru( Oh heck yeah, no doubt. Shino owns everybody! Haha.
CellCloneBot( Ah, actual constructive criticism. Thanks, yeah, I guess I really did make Shino a little too strong with that move, and yes I could have said it was because of the investment of chakra in his bugs (I was thinking about doing this), but in the end, I wanted to give Shino new uses for his bugs and what better technique to imitate than that of Gaara's ultimate defense eh? Thanks all the same, and your team eight: bugs fic is cool. Sorry if I accidentally rip stuff from your story, I read your stuff whenever it comes out and sometimes things you say about him just registers and I assume its from the manga. I don't think I've done it yet, but feel free to call me on it if I ever do. And one last thing, you have a thing for puns huh? Good call on that one tho, didn't think anyone would catch it.
Lacey Parker( Thanks for finally assuring me that his name hasn't been released yet! Geez, I was pretty sure that was the case, but I wanted to be sure.
Nara Shikamaru( Thanks for your input, I actually valued it a lot. You basically already understand why I downsized Neji's powers, I realize his strength, but this is a Shino fic not a Neji one. Further than this...well, I was tired and running out of time so I just finished it up quick. I could have extended the fight and been more accurate, but again, I wanted to stress Shino's power and, I was a little lazy too.
Key: "" is talking '' is thinking
Chapter 3: Within the Aburame Hive
The Aburame clan household was far removed from the actual village, edging just within the village walls. It was cloaked in a seemingly endless fog and buzzed with deafening silence. There was a never-ending feel of discomfort and nearly unnatural quiet to the outside world: a household that was thick with unseen tension and vociferous with silent isolation. Veiled but clear, loud with stillness, this was the paradox of the Aburame Hive.
The Hive was constructed as four connected hills, each capped with a small housing complex, circling a central hill, higher than the others, and mounted with a larger complex: the master hill, the shrine of the patriarchal family. Yet these buildings were not living areas, instead they were points of entrance and exit, the true Hive lay deep below the earth's surface. Deep below the surface, an intricate series of interconnected tunnels linking the five large underground housing areas (each made up of several levels gouging deeper and deeper into the earth) spanned the length of the hills. But the tunnels didn't end here. In truth they spread, like roots from a tree, into every corner of the village with small houses capping their opening for quick access to all areas of the village.
Shino stepped into one of these access houses, moving to the center of the dirt-floored studio house and, without even bothering to remove his hands from the pockets of his heavy gray jacket, began to unleash his bugs. Slowly the cloud of black overflowed out of each pocket, slowly dripping down the sides of his legs and gathering at his feet. Dig. Waves of brown dirt began to spray in all directions, forming a ring of dirt hills around Shino's motionless form. Within seconds his bugs had broken through into the tunnel hidden beneath. Shino landed softly into the tunnel, 20 feet under the earth's surface, and waited for a moment as his bugs finished the job by replacing the dirt and concealing the hole. The light from the outside world lessened into darkness and, after a small avalanche of bugs landed cleanly into the wide neck of his jacket and quickly scrambled back into their human home.
The trek into the underground Aburame compound was a relatively short one and Shino was passing through the complex gates within minutes. The Aburame are a quiet people and his entrance, though noticed, received no particular response until he reached the central home, his home, the residence of his father.
"Your bugs, did you retrieve them all?" His father's voice questioned, dropping lightly down into Shino's level from the one above. Shino nodded. "Good, we have a mission," his father stated plainly, turning to return to his private level above.
"I have a mission with you, father?" Shino asked, the slight deviance in his voice signifying his shock.
"Yes, we leave, the scroll is in your quarters, we leave tomorrow." Without another word the bugs formed around the man feet, lifting him up through the hole in the ceiling into his private abode. Shino moved slowly toward his level of the home, beneath that of his grandsire's and sire's and above those of his younger brothers: the third male in line. His mother and grandmother held residence in the levels of his grandfather and father, but. The naming of their home as the Aburame Hive was more of ancient tradition than truth, for no queen ruled this hive; males held dominance in this clan. And theirs was the most powerful of all, the overlords of the Konoha Aburame shinobi. Shino slipped quietly into the thankful solitudes of his own quarters. The space was large, vastly empty, and the walls were lined with cases for the different tribes of destruction bugs he amassed, not cases of entrapment, but cases of housing. Someday, when with the expanse of his chakra and his control increased, these too would join his legions.
The scroll his father had spoken of lied on the great chest beside his bed. His hand began to remove from his left pocket but, with a wince of pain, replaced itself again, sending bugs to do its work instead. Shino's arm and body ached from Neji's attack, despite its inability to close his tenketsu points, the sheer physical force of Neji's strikes coursed pain through Shino's figure. The Hyuuga were known for their ability to decimate the organs with their Jyuken (gentle hands) taijutsu techniques, but the physical strength of Neji's 64-hit tenketsu combo was shocking. 'Not only does he attack your chakra, but he aims to attack your actual body with that technique as well,' Shino noted, wincing again in pain. He regulated himself, adjusting to the pains and returning his temperament to its normally unruffled appearance. His father had already once witnessed him weakened to such a state as to discharge his bugs and an unveiling of such weakness twice would be highly detrimental. His father cared about him, Shino knew, but the strength of the clan was necessary to maintain and weakness in the Prince of Bugs could not be accepted.
A flurry of bugs, formulated into two extra arms extended from Shino's body, gripping the scroll and unrolling it into clear vision before him. The wording of the official decree was clear, concise, filled with only the necessary statistics and information for the mission.
"There has been a developing unrest in the northwestern corner of our fire country in the small border village of Tetsura. This is an economic focal point in that it lies as the single formal gate between nations. Recently, it has been reported that a faction of shinobi raiders have effectively halted the transport of necessary goods in this sector and their actions need to be terminated for the continued prosperity of the fire country. The speed of their movements require shinobi with strong tracking abilities so we call two from the Aburame clan to uptake this mission. We cannot exceed this limit because of the current strain on manpower. We leave the election of these two up to the master of the Aburame clan. Mission rank: B."
Shino smiled slightly, not what any normal being would consider a smile, but a smile amongst his people. His father had chosen him, amongst all of the other shinobi of his clan, he was chosen to accompany his father. His abilities were deemed worthy to stand beside his father's. He would, of course, never mention his pleasure in this selection, but it here, in the solitude of his quarters, he reveled in the reception of his father's silent confidence. He straightened slightly, naturally from a sudden burst of pride, but crumpled again at the activation of his continuing sores. Shino rubbed ruefully, considering the healing abilities of his father's bugs. '"Don't move, I'm sending my bugs to draw out the poison..."' What gave his father such powers? The power to draw poison, to heal wounds, the strength of regeneration. Shino held his hand before him, calling a single destruction bug to his palm. Did he use these standard destruction bugs or some kind of mutant destruction bug clan, like his own scout bugs? 'What is your secret father?' His father held his secrets, the Aburame did not share their tactics nor the abilities that they held. Even amongst their own ranks, their own family, abilities were learned, created, earned, never given. Shino settled himself lightly, taking a seat on his bed, his mind tracing into the banks of his memory, behind shades and eyes, his mind searched frantically. He ran the scene with his father over and over, hoping to recall even a glance of the bugs his father had used for his healing. His body had been weakened to a paralytic state and as such his vision of the bug couldn't have possibly been clear, but he only needed a glimpse. He sighed slightly, lying back, there had been no picture. His broken form had been unable to even gather the strength to lift his head to take note of his father's bugs. Even if he had, his vision was blurred and most of his senses dulled by his weakness. All he had been able to feel was the light touch of the line of bugs across his skin. But then, it wasn't a light touch, in fact, it was heavy, unnaturally so.
Shino sat up, reflecting carefully at the touch of these bugs upon his skin, calculating their weight in his mind. They were nearly double the weight of his own bugs, and with each step, there had been a slight twinge, nearly unnoticeable save to his own accentuated senses. Naturally his father's matured bugs would carry heavier weight than his own, but the difference should not exceed even an increase of one fourth. This twinge, whatever it had been, signified the extra weight, and this twinge was something familiar. Another jerk of soreness shot through Neji's 64 points. 'That's it, the touch of chakra.' His father's bugs had been loaded with it, so much that it even emitted slightly through the movement of their feet.
The rest was easy, the weight was clearly within the spectrum of a normal destruction bug, simply one overwhelmingly engulfed in chakra. The interior movements of these bugs were simple to track, the bulk of his own bugs having been drained away. Gathering a small troop of bugs in his right hand, Shino shut his eyes, concentrating intently on directing the little chakra reserves he maintained first to his hand and then into his bugs. He breathed heavily, drained from the removal of the little chakra he had not invested in the feeding of his bugs. But a satisfied smirk graced his features as he looked down at his hand, the bulk of bugs each glowing slightly blue.
'In. To my muscles, concentrate the emission of your chakra onto the 64 tenketsu point areas.' The bugs scurried quickly into Shino's body, speedily unloading their deliveries into each commanded area before scuttling into the internal bug community. Shino stretched, testing his body for the pain he had felt only moments ago. It was gone, cleared of any sores or bruises, as a perfect specimen, untainted by injury of any kind. Satisfied, Shino lifted to his feet, he could feel his strength growing, his power expanding. It glistened and tingled inside of him, this new-found force.
He slowly moved over to the bug housing case closest to his bed, a few steps to the right. Shino glanced through the glass exterior, watching his prized bugs: the Monarch Destruction Bugs. Their size was double that of his standard-sized destruction bugs, are their dominance was clearly evident. Three heavy crown-like horns protruded their hefty armor-like exterior skeleton just above the eyes and their movements were noticeably faster than that of the standard bugs that enveloped his body's interior. Shino looked thoughtfully at these great beasts of battle, even reaching his hand out to try and draw one's attention and submit them under his control, before recoiling his hand back, realizing the great lack of chakra gracing his body. He couldn't support them, strong though they were, without greater tracts of chakra it was best to maintain his current overflow of common destruction bugs. He turned his attention again on the master bugs. The one he had reached his hand toward, a large, steely black behemoth with a great central horn flanked by two moderately sized side horns, charged powerfully toward another, one easily competing with him as superiors in largeness and strength amongst their clan. The stretch of this other bugs horn wasn't nearly as extensive as his attacking adversary, but his size dwarfed his opponent, and a long scar along its armor-plated back signified the experience of battle he had achieved. He brushed aside the long-horned attacker with a quick sweep of his head, tapping the other's long appendages and effectively eliminating all sense of balance in the foolhardy charge. Tumbling for a second, it quickly regained its footing and again charged toward his enemy, blinded by rage. Again his foe slammed his rash enemy aside with a swift sweep, again upending the smaller bug and tossing him lazily aside. Another charge was mounted, another sweep administered, and the long-horned bug again sprawled against the ground.
Shino's eyes, glued inseparably from the bout, followed the bug as it rose again to its feet. 'He will end the battle now, the smaller warrior.' Yet again the smaller beast mounted his charge, his larger rival again readied himself for the same defensive response. He swept, as he had before, forcefully, so as to upend his enemy, but this time, the air whistled as his horn tore through it, its course unaltered by its desired target. The attacker was inches from the sweep, its horn planted deeply within the dirt below, the full momentum of his body swinging forward. With a shattering thud, his hardened frame crunched onto his unsuspecting opponents back, flattening it with the impact, temporarily paralyzed from the quick expulsion of air. Taking this moment of unavoidable pause, the smaller insect slammed its powerful horn into his adversary, cracking heftily into its armored side and crunching its body against the case wall. The victor sauntered off, his clan surrounding him, obviously the unrequited leader of the tribe. His opponent cringed, his body would recover, but his position was lost as was his pride.
Shino simpered slightly, satisfied, turning from the case and lying again onto his bed. 'The determination of the eyes portrayed his victory before it had even occurred. Drive of that kind cannot be combated, regardless of odds.' He noted, storing the information deep within the seemingly endless filings of his mind. Slowly he eyes darkened behind his dark sunglasses, eliminating the remaining light that his shades did not filter, and slowly fell into sleep. Sleep for the body, rest for strained limbs, but not for the mind. No, the complexities of his mind were infinite, their fabled workings never rested.
Author's Notes Continued: Yeah I realize that this was kinda a slow chapter (kinda sad after all the time between chapters, but I didn't have any time to write this and basically wrote it all in the last...hour or so) and he doesn't fight anyone new, but I thought that it needed an intermediary chapter between his fight with Neji and his beginning of his mission with his father.