I don't own Naruto, but it means a lot to me.
It's nearly three in the morning. She's banging on the door with enough strength to rattle the foundation.
"Shino!" She yells into the night. "Shino, open up!"
There's a silence in the night as her last knock reverberates across the oak door. Sakura can hear her own breathing, haggard against the silence of the night. And then there's a buzzing sound.
Low and distant, it swells and grows until it surrounds the medic. Millions and millions of wings, swarming in the night like the roar of a beacon flame. Sakura digs her heels in, her vocal cords straining as she yells over the flood.
"One of you!" She yells into the countless swarm. "Get Shino here, now!"
The deafening roar continues to frenzy, the insects so thick they appear as a physical barrier that blocks out the night sky above her.
"Sakura-san."
The voice is quiet, the swarm silencing as it speaks. Sakura whirls, finding the Abrume patriarch standing silent beyond his steps.
"It is not wise to rouse my beetles when I am not awake." He says. Sakura lets outs a breath she didn't realize she had been holding.
"I know. I know." She answers. "I'm sorry, I wouldn't have come unless it was urgent."
Shino seems to consider this for a moment, before nodding.
"Indeed." He answered, stepping past the pinkette and laying his hand against the enormous oak doors. A flood of beetles emerges from the Abrume's pajama sleeves, burying themselves in the surface of the wood. The door creaks and slides open. With a low bow, Shino ushers Sakura inside.
Sakura had never been inside the Abrume family estate — very few had. For one, the social stigma of being the clan of "creepy crawlies" was not the most welcoming to visitors. She knew that Team 8 had come a time or two in the past. Naruto had tried, but the hive's reaction to his general tsunami of chakra had led to his early departure.
As she sits in a side dining hall awaiting Shino to finish the tea, she is by how…modern, the building was. Where the Nara Clans and Uchiha clans hailed to an architectural style from before the shinobi nations, the Abrume clan's compound was historic in exterior only. Sleek corners, marble counters and dark wood framed the inner walls in a way that reminds Sakura of architecture magazines they kept in their patient waiting rooms.
"Shino." She says, bowing in appreciation as he hands her her tea. "You have a beautiful home."
"Thank you." He replies. "We are fond of it."
Shino sips his own tea, his eyes peering over his glasses to his guest.
"But you did not come in the dead of night to speak kindly to our home."
Sakura gives a weak laugh — she's so tired — but nods.
"No, you're right." She answers. "But thank you for answering."
"Two days ago, Kiba mentioned to me that you had been handling a particular colony of beetles." She explains, taking a deep breath before finishing.
"A colony of beetles that fed on human genetic material."
Shino says nothing, but Sakura watches his hands clench around his cup.
"Kiba-san should not be sharing such concerns to the public." He answers. "I assure you, medic-san, that this colony is contained and is not a risk to the people of Konoha."
"No, Shino." Sakura interrupts, shaking her head. "No, I'm not here out of concern. I'm hear to ask if it's true."
"If it's…true?" Shino repeats, his voice lost. "If what is true?"
"Do you have a colony of beetle that can feed of human genetic material?" She asks. For a moment, her answer is silence. The steam wafting above their cups looks pale in the moonlight. With a quiet sigh, Shino Abrume removes his glasses and meets Sakura's gaze. Sakura realizes this is the first time she's ever seen the hazy dark eyes of the Abrume patriarch.
"Sakura." He answers. "What you are asking about is an Abrume family secret. A family curse."
Brown eyes meet green. The years weigh heavy on both.
"Why are you asking me this?"
"I need to know if it's true."
"And I need to know why." Shino counters, his voice heavy. "Our hives are neither you nor Konoha's business. These are living creatures, and dangerous, at that. I will not answer your question without knowing your motives."
Sakura nods. Her throat is so dry. She takes another sip of tea before responding.
"If it's true." She says, "If it's true that you have a swarm that can feed on genetic material, I'm going to ask you to use them."
Sakura watches as Shino's posture stiffens, his voice hardening to a knife.
"Use…them?" He repeats. "Medic-san, the last person to walk into this home and request to 'use' one of our colonies was Danzo Shimura."
Shino's eyes bore into Sakura's, and the medic sees a pain and anger that looks like the fury of the swarm.
"I will not allow our hives to be weaponized, again."
Sakura's eyes widen, her mind suddenly grasping the optics of her desperate pleas.
"No, no, no, Shino." She says, her hand reaching to grasp the man's own. "Not a weapon. I would never be here to weaponize anything."
Shino's confusion is palpable, both from her words and the desperation in her touch.
"Not?" He whispers. "Sakura, these creatures could end the life of even the healthiest shinobi. They eat and degrade at the cellular level. It's not just feeding — it's preventing the possibility of continued meiosis. Permanently."
Shino's shock and confusion only compounds when Sakura's desperation gives way to tears. She laughs, rough and ragged, and tears well in her eyes.
"They're real." She whispers. "They're actually real…"
"Sakura!" Shino almost shouts, using her first name for the first time. "Why are you asking these things? What are you looking for in this colony?"
Sakura is laughing and crying, unable to hold the avalanche of hope pouring out of her. She lunges across the table, wrapping the Abrume into a deep, wracking embrace.
"A cure." She whispers. "I think they're going to be a cure."
This story actually originally didn't have this ending. But after 2.5 years of depression and just heavy energy in the world, I just decided to have fun.
- Free Drinks
