Shino knelt in front of the marker that was the only representative of the bright shining light that had been such an inspiration to him growing up. Not just an inspiration, but a friend and then more. Never had he spoke the words, but somehow he knew that the person whose ashes rested far below knew the truth.
At first it had been a small smouldering ember one day, they had met eyes across the academy room and something sparked between them. He had ignored it then, and gone about his own business. The bug user had always known something was different between them than with any of the other members of the class, but he had never been able to explain what it was. The one time he attempted to get his parents help on the matter, they shared a look before telling him that he would understand in time and that he needed to be patient.
He had been patient, circling the warmth that he had come to feel every time they were together. Eventually the ember grew brighter into a large flame that shined brighter than the sun, a light that drew more and more into its warmth until they were consumed and burnt. Yet still Shino circled, trying to figure out the strange feelings he held.
The light had vanished, stolen away by a thief in the night, bringing about a darkness that threatened to swallow the world whole. Shino knew that it was the departure of the light that caused the darkness to seem so all-consuming, and so he waited for the light's return. His wings rested as the darkness lingered, allowing him to study the situation objectively. The light by another name was something that his clan didn't consider proper, but accepted it as part of their nature. His fluttering about the light was the same as a moth fluttering just outside of a flame in a glass lantern.
The glass separating the moth from the flame was lies whispered to his heart, excuses his mind threw up to prevent him from flying into the flame and being burnt as so many had. The light didn't know just how much it consumed, as it was always seeking a flame of its own.
You see, his flame was Naruto Uzumaki, the moth to Sasuke Uchiha's flame. In the end, it had been Uchiha that consumed Naruto, and now the moth was left fluttering near the smoking remains of his flames. In his mind, there was only one course of action to take.
He would remove the flame which had snuffed his light, even if it should cost him his life. Sasuke Uchiha was a flame that needed to be snuffed out before he stole another's light.