Chapter 18 – Passing the Torch
"This child is now your host and master, and a nest in which to raise your children. You will depend on them to survive. In exchange for their chakra and body, you must respect and follow their orders, grow with them, and protect them at all costs."
Shibi recited, he and Kaho kneeled over Shino, the last of the 12 kikaichu beetles disappearing beneath his skin.
He didn't squirm or complain. It was only a tight sensation, a tingling of the skin as if brushed with a rough feather. He looked up at his mother and father. They stood up, so he did too. He looked down and ran his hand on his chest as they walked back inside the house. He was trying to feel where the kikai bugs were, but he couldn't. He could feel the small divots in his skin where they had burrowed in, but they had sealed up the wounds using chakra weaves so there was no blood or hole left to see.
"All done?" He questioned.
"Yes." Kaho replied.
"Early to bed, you'll need rest." Shibi said.
"Humm….I'is all right."
"No complaining, off to bed."
He nodded. When mother and father got that tone he knew not to mess with them.
After being tucked in, Shibi sat lingering on the edge of Shino's bed. Shino just stared; he figured his father was thinking of something to say, as he always fell silent and still when thinking deeply.
"Shino," Shibi finally started, speaking to him as only a clan leader can,
"You are from Konoha's Aburame Ichizoku, a noble clan that has been before Konoha was Konoha the same as the other noble clans who began this village. The kikaichu insects you received today have been passed down for generations; they are the descendants of the first group of insects who began a relationship with the Aburame family many years ago.
"We have a very special bond with the kikaichu insects, one that outsiders don't understand and are often scared by. You mustn't ever allow them to deter you. They don't know you, and most likely won't want to know you. Our respect for insects is a love that they can never really comprehend.
"Your kikaichu will be with you from now until the day you die. They will become a part of you; an extension of you. You will use them in battle and life as your eyes, ears, hands, anything you need them to be. It is their duty to protect you and do as you command in exchange for your body and chakra. Even if your teammates die or are lost, they will be there; the kikaichu will protect you. They will be with you. You will never be alone."
Shino nodded, and pulled up his blanket closer to his face.
"Do you understand, Shino?"
"Yes father,"
Shibi smiled gently, "Rest. Oyasumi."
"Oyasumi."
…
The next day Shino tried all morning to feel where the insects were. He tried talking to them, but they did not respond. Shino figured maybe they didn't like him; or that something was wrong. He grew worried, and impatient as a four year old can tend to do. He pouted and came teary eyed to his dad. Shibi kneeled down to look him in the face.
"Getting used to your new chakra, and having a new host is trying on the insects," Shibi told him when he expressed his concern to him, "It is both stressful and scary to them as it is to you. They may not speak to you for some time."
Shino nodded, and perked up.
"You will soon notice the feel of them when their first brood of eggs hatch. The little larvae make a distinct wriggling, and they will stay in your torso. They will pupate into baby kikaichu within only a few days. They are the opposite of most insects, where they absorb and grow more in their final stage of life than in their larval stage. When they pupate into baby kikaichu they will be at less than half their adult size, and will take time to mature, learn and grow."
Shino had learned about kikaichu before as he was growing up, all Aburame children learned in depth about insects. However, hearing it from his father again reassured him. He liked to make sure he knew everything perfectly. He loved the kikaichu and now that he was going to hatch some of his own he was excited (and of course a little apprehensive). It would be just like his mother and father and everyone else in the clan, but kikaichu of his very own, that he could talk and be partners with. Train together and learn things alongside.
He couldn't wait to start training with mother and father, all that he needed to be was patient. Things like this could not be rushed.
He wanted to make his mother and father proud.
This he was sure of.