"Don't cry, Sasuke. Your big brother is here to protect you, no matter what happens."
-Itachi Uchiha
"Have you gotten used to academy yet?"
Shino's dark sunglasses turned away from the ladybug he was studying on a nice green Angelica leaf.
But one look at nii-san's hopeful smile, and Shino's eyes darted back to the ladybug for a convincing enough cover from that dreaded question.
"If ladybugs had harder shells," Shino changed the subject. "Do you think they'd be invincible against the formic acid of ants?"
"Why do you ask?" Torune wondered.
Shino's dark brow tensed downward in deep concentration, as he calculated the ratio of weight distribution and balance between the ladybug's armor and her dancing legs.
"It's nothing," Shino answered. "Just an experiment of mine."
"Don't you mean evasion?" Torune pointed out lightheartedly. "Every time I ask you about academy, you ask me about ladybugs."
"Academy is what you'd expect," Shino answered vaguely. "But do you think a ladybug would take a stag beetle as her mate?"
"Come on, Shino. I'm sure you have more to say about it than that," Torune insisted lightly. "Have you made any friends in Academy yet?"
"Not yet. That's because my class is so rowdy," Shino replied, offering his finger to the ladybug so that her tiny black legs could rest against his fingertip. "I prefer playing with insects like this."
"That won't do, Shino," Torune sighed. "In time, you will go on missions. When you do, having friends and not having friends will make a huge difference."
Shino listened attentively to nii-san, but kept his silence.
His eyes focused on his new ladybug playmate, who winked her antennae at him in a friendly hello.
He liked how much he and the ladybug could say to each other without ever using words.
How easily things like trust and friendship grew between them, without Shino ever needing to "get it right" to impress anyone, or be called a "creep" for things he couldn't control.
The silent buzzing connection between he and the ladybug was a deeper, more satisfying bond that his other classmates couldn't begin to understand in Academy.
Because no one understood a bond more intimately than an insect user and his insects.
"It's not that I'm a loner or that I don't understand friendship," Shino told Torune. "Maybe it's just that I understand friendship too deeply. The reason is because once I make a friend, I will honor our bond until my death. It is unlikely that my academy classmates would do the same for me. Therefore, I'm sure a bond is not something I will ever share with anyone. Except my insects."
And then gently gliding his finger against the angelica leaves, Shino let the ladybug return to her home.
"Did you ever go to Academy, Torune?" Shino wondered the same about nii-san.
Because there was no way Torune could understand, if he hadn't.
If his brother knew what Academy was really like, would he insist on these artificial and meaningless attempts at comradeship?
"Well, I...I envy you, Shino."
"Why do you say that?"
"Sometimes, I wonder what being in the village is like," Torune said. "What it might've been like to have a normal life and friends like yours?"
"Overrated," Shino muttered dismissively. "It's you I envy, Torune. You didn't have to go to academy at all...You get to stay in the forest and play with insects all day."
"Heh, I wish," Torune tried to get him to see the buggier grasses. "Dad's as tough a Sensei as any academy teacher. He never lets me get away with anything."
"Then maybe we should switch places. We can trick Iruka Sensei with an Insect Clone jutsu," Shino said hopefully. "Then you can be me and I'll be you, and we'll both be happier. Can you teach me how to make a bug clone, Oniisan?"
"Now you're starting to think like a shinobi," Torune smiled proudly at his little brother and his wild imagination.
Shino was still so little, in so many ways.
Torune wished he could always be there to protect him.
"Sorry, Shino," he said. "I'd save you from anything, if I could."
"Except academy," Shino muttered glumly.
"That's because we're Aburame and we don't back out of our battles," Torune reminded him. "If I can't pass the Academy on my own, then I'm gonna train you hard so you can. This way, we won't need any insect clones to trade places with each other, and I'll still be with you every step of the way."
"But why can't you just go to Academy with me?" Shino asked.
"That's because I'm...special," Torune explained awkwardly. "Even within our clan."
"Special in what way?" Shino asked curiously.
Torune knew he couldn't hide it from Shino forever.
In so many ways, his little brother wasn't so little anymore.
And Torune couldn't always be there to protect him.
One day, Shino would be fighting his own battles, be promoted to genin, and move on to become a powerful and respected shinobi.
And Torune would be left behind in the shadow.
So, it was only a matter of time before Shino found out the real truth of why Torune couldn't come to the village with him.
"I guess it's time I told you," Torune said, toying with a shuriken in his gloved hand.
And then without looking, Torune sent the shuriken spinning upward in the air, perfectly hitting his moving target above.
A Magpie spiraled out of the sky, landing at Torune's feet. Its wing pinned down by his shuriken, preventing it from ever flying again.
Torune had always been so careful about hiding his hands around Shino.
But now, he pulled his black glove off.
His fingers staining dark purple, as they throbbed with lethal, heart-stopping poison.
"My body is host to nano-sized venomous beetles with extremely toxic poison," Torune explained to Shino, as he gently coaxed the trembling Magpie into his hands.
She desperately tried to flap away, her instincts telling her what was coming, but Torune's voice was soft and comforting.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to the frightened bird. "I won't drag it out."
Dying is never gentle, and Torune made it mercifully quick.
The poison embraced her like a warm hug, closing around every cell of her body.
Her fragile life quietly seduced out of her.
Torune opened his hands for Shino to see the magpie resting oddly peaceful now against his palms.
"Is this what you are, brother?" Shino whispered in awe.
"If anyone knows what you feel when they call you a creep, it's me. I know how lonely it feels, Shino," Torune quietly empathized with him "Do you see why I was never allowed at the academy? If any living thing is infected by me, they die."
Shino had never seen anyone in the Aburame clan with this much power.
He understood now why the village was so scared of Torune Aburame.
But Torune was still his brother.
And this was his kekkei genkai, an inheritance he couldn't help or change.
Why would the village punish him with alienation for being who he was?
Shino wanted to believe that he could change it somehow.
That maybe there was a way to make Torune's insects "normal". At least enough to make him less of a "ticking bug bomb" in the village.
Maybe Shino could somehow counteract Torune's poison using his own parasitic insects to neutralize the toxins.
A burning question he was even willing to risk his bugs for.
But it would take time.
Hours of entomological study to come up with the right antidote for the beetle's poison.
By that time, it would be too late for Torune to join him at the Academy.
Waving his hand over the dead bird, Shino released a small handful of his insects to test his hypothesis, trying to absorb the deadly nature of Torune's chakra.
But Shino's own chakra just wasn't strong enough.
He couldn't beat death.
His insects fell lifeless to his feet.
And feeling their connection cutting off from him, Shino instantly regretted using them.
"My insects," He lamented, reaching out to save them. "Please don't kill them too."
"No, Shino, don't touch them," Torune stopped him. "The poison spreads-"
"Just like a virus," Shino whispered, finishing his brother's warning, as he clenched his trembling fists tightly to keep himself from rescuing his insects. Helplessly watching them die and fade out from their connection with his chakra. "Maybe they're right about you then, Torune...Why, you ask?...Because what good is a kekkei genkai to the village...if you can't control who you kill?"
"You're right," Torune answered, slipping his glove back over his damning hand. "I am a virus. That's why I can never touch anyone...I can never let anyone get close to me."
And once his glove had wrapped around his deadly hand again, Torune said, "But you're different than I am, Shino. You have the life I'll never get to have. So, you must get used to the academy and make friends quickly."
But Shino didn't answer, still breathless as he stared down at the lifeless bodies of his precious insects.
But Torune didn't have time to make Shino understand that point, as his attention was curiously drawn to the two men approaching them on the path.
"Hey, dad's back...But who's that man with him?" Torune asked, watching the strange man at Shibi's side. "I saw him watching you and dad practice your Academy homework. He always seems to show up in the compound when you and dad are out training. Do you know him?"
"No," Shino answered, studying the frail-looking old man who walked to the tempo of his wooden cane. His shaggy black hair falling over a white bandage wrapped around his forehead and right eye. He was easy to spot in the Aburame compound, with his right arm slung in a black robe, and a crossed scar embedded in his chin. "Dad looks very serious when he's around. Why do you think he keeps coming back?"
"I don't know," Torune muttered, his shoulders tense as a growling wolf lying in wait as he observed the outsider suspiciously. "Whatever he's here for, my instincts tell me we should be careful around him. I don't like the way he's been studying you...I think you should go home, Shino."
"But I am home, nii-san."
"That boy standing there," the strange man with the bandaged eye pointed him out to Shibi. "Is that your son?"
"They are both my sons," Shibi informed him.
"I meant the younger boy," the man clarified purposefully. "He bears your resemblance strikingly. He is your only true son?"
"Yes, Shino is mine," Shibi replied with a proud nod. "And Torune is-"
"The boy is a rare breed of shinobi then," the man went on , stopping on the path to lean on his cane and contemplate Shino from afar, as if he were betting on a cow auction. "And his mother? Was she also a shinobi?"
"Why do you ask?" Shibi wondered, wary of the sudden interest Lord Danzō Shimura had taken in his son lately.
"As you know, I have exceedingly high standards for what makes a strong shinobi and he matches my philosophies. I am impressed by the boy's intelligence. He is keenly observant and can analyze an enemy's weakness with pinpoint accuracy. His analytical strategies for executing victory are only matched by members of the Nara Clan. However, unlike the Nara Clan, he is hard-working and quiet...Nearly invisible...Not only that, he seems reluctant to form attachments, and does not reveal to others his thoughts and emotions. The ideal foundational skills for an Anbu carrying out missions in the dark," Lord Danzō shared his thoughts with Shibi. "A pure-blooded Aburame shinobi who is also highly skilled at such an early age will serve the village well. And if his mother is also your match in her abilities, this boy is a true prodigy. Is she also an Aburame?"
"Shino is a good student," Shibi agreed with Lord Danzō's assessment. "But my son still has much to learn."
"I see," Lord Danzō replied, with Shibi's avoidance of his question not going unnoticed. "I suppose it doesn't matter who his mother is, as long as he continues to excel in his skills. He's about the right age to enter The Foundation, isn't he?"
"What?"
Shibi hoped he hadn't heard him right.
Struck so suddenly by the question that he stopped walking, his bronzed complexion appearing paler as he turned to face Danzō directly.
"Is this the reason you wanted to speak to me?" he asked gravely.
"Congratulations, Shibi," Lord Danzō praised the Aburame. "The village thanks you for exceeding in your duty to raise an exceptional son, who has outperformed the sons of other noble clans. It is an honor for any father to be offered the chance to give his son to The Foundation for the good of the village. After all, we are the unseen ones who support the great tree of Konoha from the depths of the earth."
But Shibi knew better than to mistake Lord Danzō's congratulatory offer as an invitation.
And even as he knew that, the father in him spoke faster than the shinobi in him could stop it.
"But Shino isn't even 6 years old yet," Shibi voiced his concerns. "He has just started the Academy. I am surprised The Foundation is not more interested in someone older who has more experience."
"Shino is the perfect age," Danzō nodded affirmatively. "As you know, The Foundation is where Anbu agents are trained, and those who show great promise are selected when they are still very young."
"I'm aware of The Foundation's...methods," Shibi said, choosing his words carefully in front of a high-ranking and powerful ninja like Danzō Shimura. "I was not aware that any vacancies in The Foundation were open."
"The Foundation is being reorganized," Danzō informed him. "I am evaluating all the noble clans to fill its ranks."
And something about the word reorganized chilled Shibi's blood, as there could only be one reason for those vacancies now. He had heard enough about Root to know that it was a death trap for young ninja. A remorseless draconian world in which these "promising" students were brainwashed into absolute loyalty through Blood-Mist-esque techniques, and turned into expendable pawns for the sake of Lord Danzō's extremist pursuit of peace through an "ends justifies the means" philosophy.
Danzō's sudden appearance at Shibi's door could only mean that those who served Danzō in those vacancies before were now erased forever from the memory of the village they died for.
"I would like the Aburame Clan to send us someone," Lord Danzō went on. "And what better selection than from the Aburame Head family. How convenient that you have a son at just the right age at exactly the right time I need one. Your family has always come highly recommended. In fact, I had my eye on you as well for some time at this same age. I ultimately selected Shikuro Aburame and his poisonous Rinkaichu insects. However, Rinkaichu users like Shikuro are a rare mutation in the Aburame Clan. Shikuro didn't leave behind a son to take his place in Root, but Shino proves to me that your lineage is still very powerful. I would like to take him back with me to The Foundation."
Shibi's stomach sank, as if he'd taken a Rasengan punch straight into his core.
His son, his only child and the heart of his very world, taken away from him to join Root?
He couldn't allow it.
Even if it meant going against the "good of the village" and doing something rash by Aburame standards, like marching down to the Hokage's office and letting his feelings be heard loud and clear in an appeal to the Hokage himself, Shibi would do it to protect his son.
"Has Lord Third approved of this?" Shibi questioned Danzō calmly, though the challenge hinted in the Aburame's voice was not unnoted by Danzō.
And after mentioning his longstanding rival, Hiruzen, in front of Danzō, the Anbu leader finally shifted his cold gaze into Shibi's.
"Do you think I need Hiruzen's approval for this?" the warning in Danzō's voice dared Shibi to tell him that he did.
"If Lord Third felt that Shino would better serve him in the Anbu, he would have informed-"
"Selecting recruits for the Foundation is solely under my jurisdiction," Danzō cut him off curtly. "Every clan that possesses a Hidden Jutsu, including the Yamanaka and Uchiha clans, have sent someone to me. Do you really expect not to do the same because he is your son?"
"But Shino is-"
"Exceptional," Danzō choked out any further argument from the father's desperate defensiveness. "He is yours, after all. I expect nothing less from him. And he is the only selection I will accept from the Aburame Clan. I will take him with me, and you will quietly accept the honor without interfering."
Torune instinctively stepped in front of Shino, shielding his little brother from the calculating gaze of the predatory ninja.
A faint purplish discolor darkening subtly at Torune's fingertips.
If Danzō took one step toward Shino, Torune was ready to give him hell for it.
"What does he mean, dad?" Torune asked Shibi, a cool smile playing on his lips as he kept Danzō locked in his sight. A closed-lip smile, unlike the friendly warmth of the sunflower, but beautifully lethal as the oleander flower and its still hunt. "Why is he taking Shino away?"
"Taking me where?" Shino's little sunglasses innocently darted back and forth between Shibi and Torune. "Have I done something wrong?"
Noting his sons' restlessness, and how he never intended for this discussion to happen in front of them, Shibi tried to deescalate the situation by sending Danzō away.
"Lord Danzō, please give me time to think about your offer," he said. "I was not aware that Shino was being considered. I would like to discuss this with you and the Hokage at a later time."
"If I gave you the impression that I needed your permission to take your son from you, I will correct that misunderstanding now," Danzō declared to Shibi. "This is not a request. You are being given an order to hand the boy over to me immediately. And my word is above the Hokage's in everything that is Root. So, is an appeal to his office really what you want to do? How disappointing it would be, to wonder after all these years of loyalty, if the Aburame Clan has now become...problematic for the village?"
"Is that a threat?" Shibi questioned him. "Punish the Aburame Clan over an appeal? You would really take it that far?"
"I only hope my praise of your little family hasn't inflated your ego enough to think you are above the interests of the Leaf," Danzō replied cooly. "You are nothing but an insect in the grand scheme of things. Should you continue to buzz around my ear, you and your entire clan will be squashed. After all, exterminating yet another defiant clan is as easy as dropping flies."
"What do you mean by that?" Shibi's brow furrowed questionably at that last bit.
"If you refuse to give me your son, I will take him and everything else from you by force," Danzō warned the Aburame father. "You do not have the power to stop me. Nor will you have the power to protect yourself after I've taken him with me. A shinobi confused about his loyalties and personal attachments is surely a threat to the good of the village."
But before Shibi could answer to Danzō's threat, Torune stepped forward, placing himself between Danzō and his family.
Determined to protect his little brother from whatever fate Danzō Shimura had decided for him, no matter how tragically Torune's next words would seal his own fate.
"I'll do it."
"Torune," Shibi tried to stop him. "Stay out of this."
But he was too late to make his son take back those damning words, as Danzō's brow peaked at the masked Aburame boy.
"If you want someone exceptional," Torune told the formidable Lord Danzō. "Won't I do?"
"Torune, take Shino home," Shibi ordered his son firmly. "Lord Danzō and I will continue discussing this alone."
"That won't be necessary," Danzō informed him. "I will not leave without my selection."
"But why not me?" Torune bargained with Danzō. "I may not be his real brother, but Shibi has raised me like a son, and has trained me as well as my brother. Which means I too am exceptional like Shino. I am what The Foundation is looking for."
"You?" Danzō appeared vexed by Torune's interruptions, but was unable to resist the boy's unexpected charisma for an Aburame. "And who are you?"
"Torune Aburame," he answered proudly. "My father is dead now, which means I have no attachments to any family in the village. I am a blank slate, and the perfect recruit as yours alone to serve, if you can accept me in Shino's place."
"You're far too old," Danzō dismissed him. "I have no interest in someone like you for The Foundation."
"I'm not that old at all. Only 4 years older than my brother," Torune persisted. "And my loyalty to you will be unmatched. I will surpass my comrades in my training and complete whatever missions you ask, no matter what it is, as long as you take me instead of my brother."
"What a surprise...Who might've guessed the Aburame Clan was so sentimental? You would be willing to take his place, purely out of your love for him? The love you have for this boy who isn't really your blood brother is truly commendable. Such a strong display of loyalty is the very foundation of Root. It has made you brave enough to face me in the end. Though it is a double edged sword. How will you convince me that your determination to join The Foundation will always take precedence over loyalty to your family? Love is a weakness, and a risk I am not willing to take. Therefore, I am only interested in potential, which Shino has greatly demonstrated to me. Why would I bargain then with a weakling like you?" Danzō dismissed Torune again. "I have made my final selection."
"If it's power you want, then you should know that Shikuro Aburame was my real father," Torune blurted out, playing his last trump card in one last desperate attempt to change Danzō's mind about Shino. "I use poisonous Rinkaichu insects, as my father did."
And once Torune had revealed his kekkei genkai to the Anbu leader, Shibi could no longer save his son from Danzō's darker path.
He knew Torune only meant to save Shino in the end, but Shibi was breathless with regret, burdened with the guilt of having not seen this coming sooner. For allowing Danzō to come near his boys and bluntly announce this unexpected order, leading Torune to act rashly to save the brother he loved so dearly.
Because to Shibi, there would be no greater regret over Torune than to feel so powerless in this moment to protect his sons. And how that powerlessness forced Torune to give himself up and protect their family instead.
But would it be enough?
Shibi wouldn't underestimate Danzō's ambition.
As his brow sweated over the tension in his face, Shibi feared that now that Torune had revealed himself, Danzō would decide to take both his sons from him in the name of Root.
In the name of spite in execution of his power, teaching Shibi a lesson for ever daring to speak up to Danzō and challenge the shinobi hierarchy.
But Danzō's face softened in renewed interest as he contemplated the masked Aburame boy in front of him.
"Shikuro Aburame, you say?" he mused. "Shikuro also had a son? Why wasn't I made aware of this before at the Ninja Academy?"
"Because of my abilities, my father wanted to keep me hidden and protected," Torune explained. "He never wanted me to join-"
"As fate would have it," Shibi interrupted Torune quickly, saving the boy from burying himself even deeper. "I became his guardian, and agreed to take him in after Shikuro's death. Torune has not enrolled at the Academy, for obvious reasons."
"Well, that is a twist of fate," Danzō said thoughtfully. "Interesting. Who knew you were keeping such hidden gems from me, Shibi? Both boys would serve as prized weapons in the Anbu."
And then Lord Danzō walked toward Torune to get a better look at his new prize.
"However, since I only have a place for one Aburame at this time, I am forced to make a decision between the two of them...This one is much older than I'd like in a new recruit," he studied Torune. "But there is nothing like Shikuro's abilities and the Poisonous Insect Jutsu is not easily replaced. Therefore, the Foundation will take this boy in. That is my final decision."
"But you should know," Torune warned him. "My kekkei genkai makes it impossible for me to be teamed with anyone."
"You Aburame should get off your high horses," Danzō snapped at him. "You aren't the only one who knows a special jutsu. Remember that there are no exceptions in The Foundation. We are one who serve under one purpose. You will never stand out in the darkness in the roots of the tree...I will expect you to report to me by morning."
"Understood," Torune bowed a parting to him, his cool smile unwavering.
And at long last, Danzō turned with his walking stick and made his way up the path toward the village.
"Torune, are you sure about this?" Shibi asked his adoptive son worriedly. "I can talk to the Lord Hokage. Maybe there's something we can do to change Lord Danzō's mind."
"It's not like joining The Foundation will kill me, right? And whatever danger I meet, I will always be happy to come between it and my brother, if it means he has a chance to live a normal life, full of many friendships," he said lightheartedly, glancing over at Shino. "Besides, it's just like he said, dad. It will be an honor to serve and represent my father's great teachings in the Anbu."
Because to Torune, being killed in the Foundation didn't matter so much.
His poisonous insects would make it impossible for him to live a normal life in the village anyway.
As long as Shino had the chance to live that kind of life for both their sakes, Torune didn't care what The Foundation did to him.
Saying goodbye would be the only thing he'd have to come to terms with now.
"In the Foundation...we won't be able to see each other again after this, right?" Torune realized quietly, as he looked up at Shibi. "Which means...this is probably goodbye for us."
Shibi nodded slowly, he and his son coming to a mutual understanding about the full gravity of this arrangement.
But Shino wasn't ready to understand it.
It was only an hour ago that he was catching insects with Torune, and now, his brother was leaving him forever?
"But why, Torune?" Shino's brow scrunched in ineffable grief over his sunglasses. "Why can't we see you anymore?"
"Entering the Foundation means leaving behind everything from your life before," Shibi explained to his younger son. "As well as abandoning any future you might've had...Which is why I can't let you do this, Torune-"
"Thank you," Torune cut Shibi off before his father could make more grief over him.
Because watching Shibi risk everything to fight Danzō's decision was the one thing Torune didn't want.
And Shino needed their father's attention more right now, if he was to become a great insect shinobi.
Torune, on the other hand, would always find his own way, even if that meant continuing that path alone now.
"Thank you for all you've done," Torune said in deep gratitude, bowing respectfully to Shibi. "No matter where I am, I won't forget your training, father. But I cannot stay here. It was never my place to stay long. Instead, it's time I repaid everything to you by going in Shino's place."
And standing up straight again from his bow, he smiled reassuringly at his father.
"Please know that wherever I am, I will always make you proud."