Chapter Ten
Shino was resting at home. He was tired, but for the first time since this all started, his head felt clear. After he had moved Hinata out of the smoke, he was surprised to feel it affect him too. He passed out, and when he awoke, he was in a holding cell, restrained. He'd tried to get out, but it was no use. He suspected he was underground; there were no windows, and the air had a damp feel.
The suspense didn't last long. He met Keiko right away. "Hi there! My name is Keiko! Nice to meet you! Let's take good care of each other, all right?
"So you're probably thinking – like - where am I? I can't tell you everything, but this is a science lab, and I know it's a bummer for you but the higher ups totally wanted an insect user to study, and you drew the short straw. You know, metaphorically, because literally you got drugged and taken here. But that doesn't mean we can't make the most of it, right?"
It seemed the researchers had various insects they had bred and wanted to see what they would do to their host and how effective in battle they would be.
Shino supposed it could be worse. He did need to remove his hive, but Keiko let him keep his own insects in a jug similar to the ones his clan used. Apparently the higher ups weren't interested in studying parasitic beetles anymore.
Some of the insects were poisonous – though none matched the lethality of his clan's nano-sized venomous insects. Some were specifically for surveillance. The ones he ultimately had so much trouble with were a poisonous, chakra eating hybrid.
"The higher ups sure are greedy, aren't they?"
This hive seemed to have ideas of its own, did not want to leave, and was remarkably resilient against other poisons.
One night, Keiko tried a new method to remove them, which did weaken them, but weakened him as well, since they were eating his chakra to heal themselves. He had not realized how bad it was, when he closed his eyes to rest, until he woke the next day, with Keiko looking harried and saying "Thank goodness! I thought I'd lost you!"
He thought that strange, that he'd been going about the business of dying whilst having no conscious awareness of it, and it scared him, because that was how his mother died- unexpectedly in her sleep. He always looked for reasons – causes and effects – and never understanding the cause of his mother's death haunted him.
He spent a lot of time by himself in that cell. He meditated often. His father had taught him how, and he felt closer to him when he did so. It helped him as a child, because when he was agitated, his hive became agitated, which agitated him even more, commencing a downward spiral. He had to learn that his internal resources, his moods, his chakra, his body, were not just his own. That was overwhelming to him when he was young, and his father's meditation lessons helped him to calm down, to center himself.
He reminisced about his early school days. They were a diverse group. Each of the Leaf's Four Noble Clans were represented, which was now rare, as Sasuke Uchiha was the only remaining Uchiha within the Village. Many of the smaller clans were also present: Nara, Yamanaka, Inuzuka, Haruno.
Their teacher, Iruka-sensai was often at his wits end with Naruto Uzumaki, but Shino knew that their sensai was fond of him, and that there was something odd about Naruto – why did he seem to hold the ire of so many of the older villagers? Now he understood.
He had often wondered, who here would go on to become genin, chunin, jounin. Who would he be put on a team with. Torune had stressed the importance of friendship, but Shino was still unsure. As an Aburame ninja, he was destined for mainly solo missions or missions with his own family. Many members of his family went into ANBU Black Ops.
From what he had heard and seen with his own family, some genin teams formed lasting friendships, some did not. It wasn't that he didn't think friendship had any value, but making friends had never come easily to him, even within his own clan. And friends or not, all teams needed to complete assignments, so he focused on his studies.
When Iruka sensai announced the members of Team Eight, he was somewhat puzzled. He knew Kiba and Hinata were most skilled in close range combat. Kiba was a brash fighter, too brash at times, at Hinata was cautious, too cautious at times.
He knew Hinata was disappointed to not be on the same team as Naruto. Kiba was friendly with many of their classmates, so it was low odds that he ended up with two teammates who he hadn't spent much time with. Shino knew the teams were assigned based on each student's performance, with the goal of each team being equal based on the average of all three members – hence Naruto, with the lowest performance, and Sasuke with the highest, to balance each other, but his team seemed less extreme. He wasn't privy to his peers exam scores, but he had seen them in class exercises and bouts, and all three of them tended to do well.
When they met Kurenai-sensai, and she told them genjutsu was her specialty, he wondered then, what did those team averages really mean, if you could become a jounin by specializing in one discipline, when their grades were an average of many disciplines? An example of the difference between theoretical and practical applications.
But he was pleased, after they all started training. They worked well together, were able to accomplish the practice missions Kurenai-sensai assigned them, and they did do well at the Chunin Exams, better than anyone expected a rookie team to.
But still, he wondered, what was the difference between teamwork and friendship? He looked after his teammates on missions, and helped them in their training, giving advice and criticism as he saw fit, but wasn't that logical? They had a common goal, and for the sake of that common goal, it made sense to support each other.
He thought maybe he had his answer, or at least part of his answer, when he realized he not only felt safe with his teammates, but calm with them, and at the first sight of them and hearing their voices at the beginning of training, he felt content, similar to how he felt around his father.
Keiko did keep him company – her manner was bizarre to him at first, but he did grow accustomed to her, and he could appreciate, in a detached way, her keen mind. He wondered what had happened in her past – how had she come to be in a place like this – but she rarely mentioned her personal life – and when she did, she didn't sound calm, and he thought it imperative – to have any chance of escaping here – that Keiko remain content.
He did appreciate that Keiko was not at all disturbed by him being host to insects, to his speech, to his dislike of small chat, and though she was cheery, he had the idea she too, did not fit in well, hence her thinking this was the ideal situation and place to be. He tried to treat her as respectfully as he could, though when he was alone, he was furious at his helplessness.
Fortunately, his plan did pay off when Keiko snuck into his room early one morning, saying "We need to go now." She took him out through an escape tunnel, as they heard explosions behind them. The facility was being destroyed. Keiko did not explain, and Shino did not ask. "Well, Shino, you're free! I hope you remember me kindly! But I've got other things to do, so see ya!"
He had no idea what those other things would be, but again, he did not ask. He slowly made his way to the Leaf Village, but he felt weaker and weaker as the days went on. Keiko at the lab had given him medicine to counteract the bugs to some degree, but now he was on his own. He rested frequently, as he had been, when Neji found him. But astonishingly, he had made it home.
He'd enjoyed hearing Kurenai-sensai talk of her daughter, saddened by Asuma-sensai's death, happy for Hinata, that her skill and determination were finally recognized, wanting to know more about what had happened in Kiba's life, but this all felt surreal, like a dream.
He spent a lot of time at first resting in bed. Even though it was his own bed, he had spent so many months in a single room that he resisted resting there. To appease him, his father sat with him and told him village and clan news. At night, they sat on the porch together, watching the sunset, then the fireflies come out at night, often joined by other clan members. It was good to be home.
When he felt stronger, Kurenai-sensai asked if he was ready for a team visit, he said he was, and his father now walked in, announcing their arrival.
Shino made his way out front, surprised at his sudden bout of nervousness, but before he could think too much more about it, he heard great paws pads bounding through the hall, then Akamaru appeared before him. Akamaru, while mostly sticking by Kiba – did have his own greetings for him, Hinata, and Kurenai-sensai. The massive canine immediately nudged his hand with his huge head and gave a whine. "I missed you too, Akamaru."
"Akamaru! Get back here! Geez, I can't believe you did this." he heard Kiba's voice before Kiba himself rounded the corner. He and Kiba appraised each other for a moment. Kiba looked different – he was taller, his shoulders wider, his face more mature. Shino chided himself for not considering this, for he too had grown.
"Kiba, Akamaru, where are you?" called Hinata as she rounded the corner as well.
Hinata looked more as he remembered her, though she had her hair pulled back, a style he have never seen on her. He was again keenly aware of the time that had passed, where their lives had continued on without each other.
"Fuck, man, you look awful." said Kiba, shaking his head. His appetite had been low for a long time now, and he was just starting to get it back, and his skin still retained a certain sallowness. That too was improving, though he supposed Kiba's summary was more succinct.
"K-K-Kiba!"
"It's true, but damn it all to hell, I missed you."
"We missed you!" Hinata added.
"I missed you too."
"You want to sit and chat for a bit? Don't worry, sensai's talking with you dad. We've got time." said Kiba.
"I'd like that."
"She is beautiful, Kurenai." said Gen.
"Thank you." Kurenai briefly held Mirai in her arms, but she preferred to be crawling. She laughed remembering Shikamaru's exasperation after he attempted to take Mirai cloud watching with him. "No disrespect to you and Asuma, because I love this kid, but seriously, this is a lot of work!"
But speaking of mothering, there was a question she had wanted to ask Gen. "I know this may seem a strange request, but could I see a photo of Shino's mother?"
Gen looked momentarily surprised, but then his features softened. "Yes, I have one here."
Kurenai inspected the photo, and knew she was the woman in her dream.
"Shino takes after her quite a bit."
"He does. He is named after her as well. Her name is Shiho."
"The reason I ask is… At the hospital, when you told me you were sure Shino had died, I was sure too. I felt that way because of a dream I had. He told me he was going, and Shiho was there. This is the first photo I have seen of her, but I recognize her. I wanted you to know that."
There was a pause, and Kurenai questioned her decision to share this. But, she felt a kinship with Gen, not only because he was Shino's father, but for his kind words at Asuma's funeral – another person who had walked this path, a widower.
"I… feel Asuma around, and I know Shiho was here, watching over too. I'm sorry if I've crossed a line saying this to you."
Gen sighed. "You have not, and I thank you for it. I was remembering Shiho's passing. It was sudden, in her sleep. It was difficult to explain to myself, let alone to my son, who was not even speaking yet.
"My clan... encouraged me to take another wife, have another child, to… let Shino be raised by the elders. I believe they thought that by starting over, I could somehow move past my grief – and I know many marriage vows end with death – but the idea was abhorrent to me. In my own heart, my vows were not over. I needed to raise our child, and I did, against the wishes of the clan leader.
"Later, Danzo came recruiting for ANBU Root. He wanted to take my son. The clan agreed, and I could see no way out. I confess, I considered leaving the village and taking him with me. Before I had decided, another volunteered to take Shino's place, a boy by the name of Torune, whom I fostered after he was orphaned."
"After Shino disappeared, I thought 'I have crossed fate too many times. I can't keep hold of this child.' I was distraught. One evening, I asked Shiho for a sign and I eventually had a dream. She said I had done well, and she would take care of Shino from now on. I assumed he had passed."
"Was the dream on the full moon, by any chance?"
"Yes. Is that when yours was?"
"Yes, and Keiko said…"
"Shino almost died, on a full moon."
"But Keiko intervened."
They sat in silence for moment, processing their thoughts, until she heard Kiba's triumphant voice. "It's official, the team is back together! Come on over, Sensai!" Her heart warmed at the sight of her three students together, despite the odds. It was easier to wrap her arms around them when they were kids, but she managed again. Shino held Mirai for the first time, in the serious manner he approached everything. They did not stay long, Shino tired quickly, but they would meet again the next day. She could see Kiba and Hinata's initial fear – she remembered her own surprise at seeing the normally impregnable Shino weakened, but they had been a team a long time, and they found their rhythm sure enough.
Note: The Shino and Torune events mentioned in this chapter are shown in the Naruto Shippuden filler episode 317, Shino vs. Torune.