Shino pokes the edge of the campfire with a stick. Beside him, his foster brother Torune is cheerfully roasting marshmallows. They are on a mission with Chomei's Guards and Fuu to find Isobu's Guards. Torune's friend Fu Yamanaka tagged along. All they know about the Three Tails is that Akatsuki knows where it is. Akatsuki is not going to surrender that information until Isobu's Guards are found.

Shino glances around at the rest of the party. Some of the guards are setting up hammocks while Fu, Fuu and the rest of the guards cook and eat hot potatoes and some kind of stew. Shino realizes this is the best opportunity he will get to ask the question that has been pressing on his mind. The noisy guards are distracted, and he has a few minutes (probably) before someone whisks Torune away for something or other.

"Torune?" says Shino turning to his brother.

"Yes?" says Torune, stuffing a hot marshmallow into his mouth.

"I was wondering, since you-" Shino begins to ask his question, but is interrupted.

"Try the potatoes!" Fuu descends upon them, carrying a bowl of the hot potatoes she cooked in the ashes at the bottom of the firepit.

"Uh..thanks…" Shino accepts the potatoes, and Fuu leaves to tend to the rest of her cooking. Perhaps he should just ask later.

"What were you going to ask me?" says Torune, picking up a potato and tossing it from hand to hand to cool it.

"Well I wondered how-"

"AHHH!" an undignified squeal from one of the guards interrupts. Shino and Torune turn to see one of the guards trapped under a collapsed hammock.

Torune rolls his eyes and turns back to Shino. "Never mind him. Continue."

"It's just that it seems odd to me how-" Shino tries again.

"ANYONE FOR SAKE?!" Yells the self-appointed leader of Chomei's Guards, pulling out a large bottle and waving it in the air.

"There are minors here!" one of the other Guards scolds her. "Put that away!"

Shino sighs. He's not going to be able to ask Torune after all.

Torune stands. Shino looks up at him, surprised to see such an angry expression on his brother's face. "Shut. Up." Torune growls, the insects rising from his body in a swarm.

Everyone turns to look at Torune, taken aback by how scary the mild-mannered young man suddenly became.

"Shut up all of you," says Torune, glaring at the rest of the Guards, Fu and Fuu. "Shino is trying to ask me something important and you buffoons keep interrupting. So all of you can sit down, shut up and LISTEN to what he has to say."

The rest of the party does exactly as they are told. Once they are all seated, Torune calms his insects, sits back down beside Shino, smiles and says, "Now what were you trying to ask me?"

"Ah…" Shino gathers his thoughts and asks, "I was wondering how you ended up with Chomei's Guards. You were in Root, but then Root was disbanded and you came home, but then you went off to find somewhere you would fit in. How did you find the Guards?"

"So that's it, huh?" says Torune. "It happened something like this…"

Several years ago when Torune is seven and Shino is five…

Shino and Torune are searching the forest on their clan's land for interesting bugs when Shino's father, Shibi, approaches with with Danzo Shimura. Torune, who does not know who Danzo is yet but is about to find out, strains to overhear what they are saying.

"...wasn't planning to recruit anyone from your clan yet," Danzo is saying. "But certain events have pushed my plans ahead. I have recruits from most of the other clans already."

"Does the Hokage approve of this?" asks Shibi, sounding like a trapped rat searching for a way out.

"Selecting Root candidates is solely under my jurisdiction," says Danzo. Torune takes that to mean the Hokage doesn't even know. "And I am very interested in your son."

"Shino hasn't even started the Academy," says Shibi nervously. "He's too young…"

"I've taken younger," says Danzo. "In fact, the younger my recruits are the more I can train them. It is better for them to be young."

By this time, Danzo and Shibi are close enough that Shino has noticed them too. "Who is that man with Dad?" Shino asks Torune.

"I don't know," says Torune.

Shibi hears and says, "Ah, boys, this is Lord Danzo. He is here looking for recruits for his Root training program."

Torune, remembering that Danzo is after Shino, says, "I am willing to go."

"Torune..!" Shibi is surprised and taken aback at Torune's willingness to go with Danzo.

"You?" says Danzo sceptically. "Who are you?"

"My name is Torune," Torune replies. "My father is Shikuro Aburame."

Torune can almost see the gears turning in Danzo's mind. "I did not know Shikuro had a child," Danzo says. "Do you have the same ability as he did?"

"Yes," says Torune. The way Danzo's eye lights up is a little scary. Torune knows his father is still well respected, even after his death, but he is surprised by Danzo's enthusiastic reaction. Shino is completely forgotten. Torune expected to fight in order to go with Danzo in Shino's place.

"Very well," says Danzo. He turns to Shibi. "I will be taking Torune under my wing now."

Danzo takes Torune to Root headquarters and begins his training right away. His first task is to fight a boy named Fu Yamanaka. Torune tries to explain that he might kill Fu, but Fu shrugs the danger off.

"I just have to avoid touching your skin, right?" Fu says. "I'll be fine."

And he is.

Torune loses, and Fu wins without touching Torune's skin.

And from that day forward, Torune and Fu are best friends. They live and train together in Root for all of two months before Danzo is executed as a traitor and Root is disbanded.

Shino is overjoyed when Torune comes back home. Torune is a little stronger and has a friend now. They continue to train together and, now that they are out of Root, they play together as well. On rainy days, Torune and Fu go to the Aburame library and read. They have a lot of fun and Torune especially enjoys himself because he has never had a real friend before. Sometimes they include Shino, but both Fu and Torune agree that Shino needs to find a friend of his own.

"Do you like the Achendemy, Shino?" asks Torune one Saturday. Shino had started the Academy that week.

"Not really," says Shino solemnly. "That is because my class is too noisy."

"Did you make a friend yet?" asks Fu, who came over to train. Unfortunately, it started raining about half an hour before, so the three children are in the Aburame library.

"Yes," says Shino.

"That's awesome!" says Shino. "What's his name?"

"Sasuke," says Shino. "Sasuke is…"

"Shino!" calls Shibi, from the direction of the front door. "Your friend has come over to play."

A few seconds later, Shibi entres the library. Behind him is a woman Torune recognizes as Mikoto, the police Chief's wife. A little girl is hiding behind Mikoto's legs.

"Hello Mikoto-san," says Shino, very politely. "Hi Sasuke."

The little girl peeks around Mikoto's legs. "Hi," she whispers.

Mikoto reaches around and pushes the little girl towards Shino. "Have fun, Sasuke," Mikoto says. "I'll be back for you at four o'clock."

Sasuke gives an adorable little wave as the adults leave. Torune can't help staring. The kid, an Uchiha (a freaking UCHIHA), is wearing a giant blue bow in her ponytail, a sparkly-sequined blue tu-tu, a headband sporting a tiara between two cat ears, plastic princess shoes and has not one, but TWO, clip-on cat tails attached to the back of her tu-tu.

"Sasuke, this is my big brother, Torune, and his friend, Fu," says Shino, by way of introduction.

"Hello Sasuke," says Fu. "What are you all dressed up as?"

"Matatabi, The Queen of Cats," says Sasuke, fiddling with her tu-tu shyly.

"Nice," says Fu, then whispers to Shino, "Is that a cartoon character?"

"No," says Shino.

"She's dressed as the Two Tailed Bijuu," clarifies Torune. Then he remembers something. "Come to think of it, the Aburame Clan is descended from a group who served the Seven Tails, who is a giant leaf insect. There's a book about that in here somewhere. I wonder if we can find it?"

Sasuke pulls a face. "Shino, I want to play!" she says annoyed. "Not read books." She grabs Shino's hand and drags him out of the library.

"Shino's got a girlfriend!" giggles Fu.

Torune grins and turns his attention to looking for the dusty old book about the Aburame Clan's ancestors. "Here it is," he says as he finds the book and pulls it off the shelf. It is a book, rather than a scroll, which made it very easy to find. Together, Torune and Fu read the heavy book. The book outlines how The Seven Tails was given ten guards, and how those guards had children, who also had children, and so on for many years. Some of their descendants left to form a clan of their own. They called themselves the Aburame clan, and became experts in insects, even going so far as to turn themselves into living hives. Finally, they read that the Aburame clan used to send talented children to train with Chomei's Guards, and many of those children joined the guards.

Torune and Fu look up at each other in astonishment. "That's some pretty hardcore history," says Fu.

"I wonder if I could go and train with Chomei's Guards?" says Torune.