37: White Reflections – 1
by inkadmin“I’m done eating.”
Shino set his chopsticks down quietly and rose from the table, heading toward his room without another word.
“You’re not going out, Shino?” His mother looked up, genuinely surprised. “It’s Saturday.”
“You should spend more time with your friends,” Shibi added.
“I’m staying in. The kikaichū I’ve been raising are entering their breeding cycle.” Shino didn’t turn around. He walked into his room and shut the door behind him.
“…”
“…”
“That boy’s getting more withdrawn by the day.” His mother sighed. “He only ever sees Shin and Kiba anymore.”
Shibi set his own chopsticks down slowly, his gaze lingering on Shino’s closed door.
……
Inside Shino’s room, a wire-mesh cage sat on the desk beside his bed. He settled into the chair in front of it and stared.
The cage was alive with kikaichū—hundreds of tiny black insects crawling over one another in an endless, restless tide.
He’d been spending most of his weekends like this lately. Studying them.
Shin trained every day off. Kiba had brought other friends around a few times, but Shino had no interest in going out, and even less in joining any circle beyond Shin and Kiba.
His eyes didn’t move from the swarm. Then, slowly, he reached for the hatch on top of the cage and slid it open.
He raised one hand. Hesitated.
Finally, as if forcing himself past some invisible threshold, he extended his right hand toward the opening and began lowering it inside—
“You’ll die.”
The voice came from nowhere. Shino flinched and jerked his hand back, spinning around to find his father standing directly behind him. He glanced at the door. Still shut.
“Father.” His voice was barely audible.
“I’ve taught you this.” Shibi’s tone was flat, unhurried. “Kikaichū that aren’t bonded to you will drain every drop of your chakra and kill you. They aren’t your symbiotic insects. You don’t touch them.”
Shino pressed his lips together and reached over to slide the cage hatch shut.
“You didn’t consider the consequences?”
Shino was quiet for a long moment. Then, still not looking up: “Father.”
“What.”
“When can I have my own symbiotic insects?”
Behind his dark glasses, Shibi’s eyes shifted. The question caught him off guard.
“It’s too early for you.”
Shino raised his head. He wasn’t wearing his glasses today, and the incomprehension in his gaze was plain—raw, undisguised.
“Don’t let your emotions show so easily,” Shibi said. “I’ve taught you that as well.”
“Torune started learning the clan’s secret techniques a year ago.” The words came out with a stubborn edge.
Silence.
“Is that what this is about?” Shibi asked after a pause.
Shino lowered his head and shook it.
“Do you like insects?”
Another shake.
“It’s not that I like them. But we’re Aburame.” He tilted his head, thinking it through. “We’re meant to live alongside insects. That’s just what our clan does.” He looked up. “Do you like them, Father?”
“…No.”
“Oh.”
“If it’s not because you like them, and it’s not because of Torune—then why are you in such a rush?” Shibi studied the small, serious face in front of him. “Do you understand what it means? What it costs?”
I was hoping you could live as a normal child a little while longer, Shino…
Shino sat with his head bowed, turning something over in his mind.
The room was very still. Neither of them spoke.
A long time passed before Shino’s voice broke the silence.
“Father…”
“There’s someone… I’m falling further and further behind.”
“He moves too fast. I—”
“I don’t want to be left behind.”
“…”
Konoha’s market district buzzed with its usual weekend energy. Kiba was wandering aimlessly through the streets with a group of classmates when he heard someone calling his name.
He looked around and spotted Naruto waving at him from down the road, arms swinging wide.
“Him again?” Kiba muttered under his breath. The kids around him noticed Naruto too—pointing, whispering. None of them were exactly friendly with the boy.
Naruto jogged up, slightly out of breath, and stopped in front of Kiba. His eyes swept over the group behind him.
“Where’s Shin?” Naruto grinned.
“What do you want with him?” Kiba didn’t answer the question.
“Just… stuff. Heh.” Naruto scratched the back of his head, all smiles.
“Yeah, right. What could you possibly have going on.”
Naruto kept grinning, unbothered.
“He’s training. He won’t have time for you.” Kiba’s voice was flat.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“Training?” Naruto blinked, then remembered—he’d heard that Shin spent his days off training.
“Where?”
“I’m not telling you. You’ll just bother him.”
“Aw, come on, Kiba! Just tell me!” Naruto’s expression crumpled. He grabbed Kiba’s arm with both hands, his voice turning wheedling.
“No!”
“Kiba, pleeeease—”
“You’re so annoying! I said no!” Kiba shook him off, scowling. “You think Shin’s got nothing better to do like you?”
“Hey, Kiba—you coming or what?”
One of his friends called out. They’d clustered together, keeping a conspicuous distance from Naruto.
“Yeah, yeah.” Kiba waved at them, then turned back to Naruto. “I’m leaving. Don’t follow us.”
“Ah… okay.”
Naruto stood rooted to the spot, watching Kiba’s group turn and walk away. He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Nothing to say.
“Kiba, why do you even hang out with that kid?”
“Yeah, you should really stay away from him.”
“God, you guys are annoying. Why are you telling me this?”
“…”
They hadn’t gone far. The voices carried clearly, every word reaching Naruto’s ears.
His fist tightened. Then loosened, limp.
He’d long since gotten used to it.
Naruto turned slowly, head down, and started to walk away.
“Hey!”
Kiba’s voice rang out behind him. Naruto stopped.
“Dead last!”
He spun around. Kiba had stopped a short distance away, visibly irritated, glaring at him.
“The western forest. Go find him yourself.”
Kiba turned on his heel and rejoined his friends without another word.
“Oh… oh.”
Naruto stared at Kiba’s retreating back for a long moment before the words registered. Two small sounds of acknowledgment tumbled out, delayed and dazed.
Uchiha compound.
Itachi arrived home to find the house quiet. Mikoto told him Sasuke was at the training grounds out back.
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