CHAPTER RATING: T
…
Episode 18: Siren of the Sand, Part III: Weathering the Storm
"Alright! We're ready to go, right?!" Kiba shouted as he watched Naruto and Hinata walking towards them. Shino stood by Kiba and Akamaru, waiting for the rest of the team.
"We can't go yet." Shino interjected when Naruto and Hinata entered ear-shot. "I still need to make a stop at the conservatory." He motioned for them to follow as he lead the way.
Konoha's conservatory was run by the Nara Family and the Aburame Family. It was situated on the outskirts of the village, in the shape of a giant done, consisting of panes of glass that had been fitted together. The entire structure looked like a spherical greenhouse, the kind of greenhouse that the Yamanaka family kept their flowers in.
"Shino, the conservatory is run by your family and Shikamaru's family?" Kiba asked aloud.
"Correct. My clan has specialized breeding methods for our bugs. The Nara clan have a special place in the forests of Konoha, a place where only members of their clan can enter. They have an important understanding and deep respect for nature due to that connection." Shino answered.
They walked into the structure, Shino lead the way into an area that was mostly covered by sand, something that was almost unseen in Konoha. Shino raised a finger. "It won't be long now, I'll just need to collect a few of these."
Several jet black beetles emerged from the sand, and took flight onto Shino's finger and crawled into his jacket.
"So, Shino…Why do you need those new bugs?" Naruto brought up somewhat clueless.
"The change in environment that we will face will become a hardship for my regular bugs. So I need to breed the qualities of these new bugs into my own." Shino explained.
"Okay…" Naruto replied, still a little lost. "In understand a bit of that, but won't it take a long time for them to do that?"
"The bugs live shorter lives than what we feel as 'long.' By the time we reach the desert, they'll be ready, and I can put them to use."
"What kind of use?" Naruto asked.
"I'll show you when we get there."
Shino nodded, signaling that his business was done, and began to walk towards the exit.
"Oh! I almost forgot!" Hinata chimed in. "We still need to collect supplies for our journey!" she finished.
"R-Right. We'll meet you guys again in an hour…" Naruto added. He looked over at Hinata and they both smiled.
…
They reached the desert within a few weeks. They walked through the snad dunes and waded through the heat of the desert when the wind began to pick up, grains of sand began to lift and with the power of the wind, began to scratch the faces and blurr the eyes of the new Team.
"Now, I can show you how useful the bugs are." Shino raised his hand; his newly bred bugs formed a dome around the team. From the inside, they could hear the sand colliding and cutting away at the exoskeletons of the beetles. Not a single grain of sand entered the protective shelter.
After a time of walking in a shaded, cool dome of insects, the sandstorm subsided, Shino moved his hand and a small opening appeared in the dome.
"We're here." He stated flatly. The dome broke apart, and the beetles flooded his jacket once again. They were met by two shinobi bearing headbands with the symbol of the sand, an hourglass.
"Halt!" one of them shouted. "Identify yourselves!" he commanded. Shino stepped forward and replied in his calm tone.
"We're shinobi from Konoha," he pointed to his headband. "We've been called to complete a mission, as requested by the Kazekage."
The Sand shinobi eased his stance. "We've been expecting you." He bowed. "Please, follow me. I will personally escort you to see the Kazekage."
The followed the guard into a building that seemed very familiar, almost built in the same style that the Hokage's office was built. They came before a door. "Please, remember to show proper respect as you meet the Kazekage." He clarified.
The door slid open, and in the center of the room, stood the three Sand Siblings, Temari, Gaara and Kankurō.
"The shinobi of Konoha…Welcome." Gaara calmly greeted them.
"It's an honor to be personally summoned here, Kazekage-sama." Hinata bowed.
"How are you doing, Gaara?" Naruto asked casually. The rest of his team shot each other nervous looks; both Temari and Kankurō looked at Naruto with condemnation.
"I've been doing well, Naruto." Gaara replied with a smile, he waved off the judgmental looks that Temari and Kankurō gave to Naruto. "But my people are in need of your help." He motioned for the team to step forth. Pointingin down at a map, he began to explain.
"This small village to the north has been experiencing things that have only been told in our oldest myths and legends. We call the story 'The Siren of the Sand.'…And we're in need of your help."
"If you don't mind me asking, how does the story go?" Naruto asked with interest. Temari stepped forth.
"Legends tell of a Sand Goddess that would emerge from her slumber when she felt the world was no longer in peace. What she would do is use the desert heat to project visions into people's minds…She'd use this power to send people into a trance, letting them see whatever she wanted them to see…For some reason, it's said that she usually tricks men."
"This small village has been suffering from people just disappearing in the night, when their family members saw them in the night and called out to them, they gave no response." Kankurō continued.
"So, what makes us so special, won't the same thing happen to us?" Kiba asked.
"That's it, we're not sure. It's unlikely that travelers could succumb to the problems, but there's a reason why Gaara personally chose Uzumaki Naruto."
"…I know that if anyone could fight off the effects of this mythological figure, it'd be Naruto." Gaara added.
"Is there anything else we should know before we set off?" Hinata asked.
"Just be careful out there." Gaara added again. The team left the building and began to head north.
Halfway to their destination, another wind began to pick up. Shino shielded his team from the cutting sands again, just as he had before. But something was different this time.
This was no natural sandstorm.
The dome of beetles began to break; the wind began to push the team apart, and seemed to force them into a giant cyclone of rotating air.
"Hold on, everyone!" Naruto shouted as the team began to break apart.
"Kiba, do it now!" Shino commanded. Kiba nodded and looked over to Akamaru.
"Akamaru! Now! Dynamic Marking!" Akamaru followed loyally, and a liquid struck all four of the team members.
The cyclone broke with a shockwave, Naruto's hand was slipping from Hinata's as the air pushed them further apart, he tried his best to keep his grip on her hand.
…
Thanks for reading!