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fan_flashworks2018-12-28 11:08 am
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Entry tags:
Hunt: Naruto: Fanfic: we are shinobi
Title: we are shinobi
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Aburame Shino, Tenten
Challenge: Hunt
Rating: T
Lenght: ca 1600
Content notes: Bugs, mentions of killing, basically child soldiers
Summary: Team 8 supports Team Gai finishing a mission, Shino and Tenten are sent to work together. They discover their teachers have wildly differing creeds.
Team Gai sent word to Konoha explaining their situation, requesting extra hands with finishing their mission. Lady Hokage had sent word to find a skilled tracking team, and someone had remembered Yuuhi Kurenai's genins: Team 8.
Their mission was to assist Team Gai in tracking down and securing bandits in a large area. Kurenai-sensei had promised the Lady Hokage they would finish the mission. Shino felt the weight on his shoulders. Their sensei's honor was on the line now. One look on the determined faces of his teammates told him they felt the same weight.
All five of them had travelled non-stop, only resting the bare minimum and eating rations, except for Akamaru who was still growing. They were getting close now, journeying through the branches of tall woodlands, when Kurenai-sensei raised her arm.
"10 o'clock!" she called out, and Shino darted off to the side, breathing in deep and alerting the kikaichu in his chest to travel to his extremities.
"Hey, Kurenai-sensei!" Tenten jumped out on a large branch in front of them. She waved her arms to get their attention, as if all of them weren't already poised to strike at any moment. Shino and his teammates landed on the large branch behind Kurenai, hands slipping back into his pockets.
"I'm so glad to see you, we could use some back up," Tenten sighed and ran up the final distance. Shino frowned and sent out a few kikaichu to draw some of her chakra. Next to him Kiba sniffed the air, and Hinata activated her Byakugan for a brief moment. His insects returned and told him it wasn't an illusion disguise. It was the real Tenten.
If Tenten just noticed she'd been thrice under scrutiny she didn't say anything. She pulled out a map and laid it out on the bark. The branch was wide enough for all of them to crowd around in a small circle.
"Situation report?" Kurenai-sensei asked firmly in cold mission-mode, as Team 8 were used to seeing her.
"Gai-sensei, Lee and Neji are guarding the majority of the bandit group in this valley down here. It's almost 50 people to control with just the three of them, and my traps," Tenten groaned and indicated on the map. "We believe the bandit leader is over here," she pointed up to the north along the base of a mountain. "She sacrificed some of her band to escape us."
"Kiba, you'll handle the leader," Kurenai ordered.
"Of course! I've taken down waay more dangerous criminals," Kiba grinned. Shino would have frowned at his overconfidence before, but Kiba had proved himself. If Kurenai-sensei wasn't concerned, he shouldn't be.
Shino studied the map. The valley-where Tenten's team was-was in the south-west corner of the map, just a short distance ahead of them. Kiba would be past them to the mountains in the north. The south and east was woodlands.
"Um, the leader has her lieutenants with her," Tenten piped up, looking sceptically at Kiba. "Are you sure--"
"That's only more targets to hit!" Kiba glared at Tenten, baring his fangs in snarl.
"It's too dangerous," Hinata said. She didn't speak often, and Shino hoped she knew they listened whenever she did. Kurenai-sensei touched her chin and nodded at Tenten.
"Finish your report."
"There are lots of cronies hiding out in this large area," she pointed at the east part of the map, in dense forest, "we don't know where they are exactly, and Neji can't find them all in time before they scatter."
Kurenai-sensei looked at him with a smirk.
"That's perfect for Shino."
"Um, Gai-sensei told me to assist where I can, please consider me under your command." Tenten said. Kurenai regarded her, then nodded.
"Go with Shino and watch each other's backs. Hinata, back up Kiba and capture the bandit leader. I'll go support Gai with a mass genjutsu to calm down the captives."
"Hai." He and his teammates said in a chorus and split up. Shino looked behind him. Tenten was hurriedly folding up the map and coming after him. He could slow down a little, he supposed, until she caught up.
"Are you injured, Tenten-kun?"
"Just a few scrapes, don't worry," Tenten said with a thumbs up, mirroring Gai-sensei's mannerisms. "You?"
"Nothing noteworthy."
Tenten took point, leading him the safest, fastest way to the correct area. Stealth was imperative for Shino's surprise attack.
,.,.,
They stood with backs pressed against the same tree trunk, shoulders touching, peering out each side. They had watched in tense silence for movement.
"It's just up ahead, past that brook somewhere," Tenten whispered, "how will you find them all?"
"I'll show you. Follow." Shino climbed the tree, jumping to adjacent trees that were taller until he was close to the top of one of the tallest trees. He balanced on the middle of the branch, Tenten crept close to the trunk. They had a good view of the forest below.
Shino took a deep breath and again made his insects travel into his arms. They nestled under his skin, and broke through around his elbow joint. He spread his arms forward, fingers apart like he'd seen his father and clansmen do. Tenten would surely become disgusted with him in just a moment, he thought, but forced the sinking feeling to the back of his mind. A thick swarm of black, tiny, chackra-stealing kikaichu flew out from his sleeves, dissipating like a cloud and spreading down into the forest.
He was saddened that Tenten might avoid him after having seen his clan technique up close. Back when he just enrolled into the Academy he wasn't concerned. He let insects crawl over himself to creep his classmates out and frustrate Iruka-sensei. It had been fun. Then he was gross, and creepy, and his father had explained how not everyone appreciated insects.
He swallowed, expecting a noise of disgust or even a shriek. There came none. He turned his head, and Tenten tried to hide surprise from showing on her face, but she didn't speak.
"This might take a while," Shino said and lowered his arms. A few stragglers flew out of his sleeve as he settled more comfortably on the branch.
A few moments passed, only disturbed by them shifting position every once in a while. He had expected some reaction. So far, Tenten only discreetly looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"Did... Did you have all those bugs in your body?" she whispered.
"Yes." He still kept some of his hive with him. Without them he was disarmed.
"You didn't have that many during the chuunin exam, right?"
"I only used what was needed back then. Why? It'd be a waste of my chakra to release more," Shino said. That fight hadn't been hard. He knew before it began he'd win.
"Ah, I see," Tenten murmured, then pushed some leaves aside and looked ahead. "What's happening down there now?"
"I instructed them to absorb the chakra of everyone they encountered. They'll come and lead me back to the bodies."
Tenten turned to him with a jerk.
"Bodies? You're killing them?"
Shino regarded her with a deep frown.
"...They're criminals." Why was she objecting? Tenten looked equal parts terrified and sickened.
"We're not judge, jury and executioners!" she hissed, "And how can you tell there aren't civilians down there?"
"I can't. Which is why I instructed them to not kill, but leave them unconscious."
Tenten glared at him for five long breaths, then narrowed her eyes.
"But you /could/ kill them?"
"Yes."
"Have you done it before?" Tenten still watched him intently.
"Yes."
Was that a bad answer? Shino felt his confusion grow as Tenten looked him over, to his sleeves and his face, his weapon pouch. She seemed to think hard about something. In the distance they heard a loud explosion. It came from the mountains. Kiba and Hinata had engaged their foe, then.
"Have you killed before?" Shino asked. Why was she reacting so strongly to the notion of killing?
"I avoid it." Tenten said.
"So do I. But we can't always avoid death. Why? We are shinobi of the Leaf. We have a duty to fulfill our missions no matter what." Shino respected and loved his sensei, and knew she would die defending them. She taught them to be fearless. And by the accident of being born into the Aburame clan, Shino's future was always going to be down this path. Certain insects in his clan had evolved to sustain themselves on not only chakra, but on the iron in blood, due to prolonged and intense exposure.
He was grateful Kurenai-sensei was his teacher.
Tenten said nothing, swallowed hard and looked down. She put a hand on the trunk of the tree and closed it into a fist.
Maybe Tenten would still end up disliking him, although not because of his insects. He breathed deep and reminded himself he was on a mission. Focus.
"Do you have rope to tie them up?" Shino asked.
"Mhm," Tenten said and opened the flap to her scroll pouch. She pulled out a scroll and rolled it open until she found the right technique formulae and placed her palm on it. Thick coils of rope materialized under her hand, thin wisps of smoke trailing up. Tenten took a deep breath, inhaling it.
"Let's get this done," she said.
Fandom: Naruto
Characters: Aburame Shino, Tenten
Challenge: Hunt
Rating: T
Lenght: ca 1600
Content notes: Bugs, mentions of killing, basically child soldiers
Summary: Team 8 supports Team Gai finishing a mission, Shino and Tenten are sent to work together. They discover their teachers have wildly differing creeds.
Team Gai sent word to Konoha explaining their situation, requesting extra hands with finishing their mission. Lady Hokage had sent word to find a skilled tracking team, and someone had remembered Yuuhi Kurenai's genins: Team 8.
Their mission was to assist Team Gai in tracking down and securing bandits in a large area. Kurenai-sensei had promised the Lady Hokage they would finish the mission. Shino felt the weight on his shoulders. Their sensei's honor was on the line now. One look on the determined faces of his teammates told him they felt the same weight.
All five of them had travelled non-stop, only resting the bare minimum and eating rations, except for Akamaru who was still growing. They were getting close now, journeying through the branches of tall woodlands, when Kurenai-sensei raised her arm.
"10 o'clock!" she called out, and Shino darted off to the side, breathing in deep and alerting the kikaichu in his chest to travel to his extremities.
"Hey, Kurenai-sensei!" Tenten jumped out on a large branch in front of them. She waved her arms to get their attention, as if all of them weren't already poised to strike at any moment. Shino and his teammates landed on the large branch behind Kurenai, hands slipping back into his pockets.
"I'm so glad to see you, we could use some back up," Tenten sighed and ran up the final distance. Shino frowned and sent out a few kikaichu to draw some of her chakra. Next to him Kiba sniffed the air, and Hinata activated her Byakugan for a brief moment. His insects returned and told him it wasn't an illusion disguise. It was the real Tenten.
If Tenten just noticed she'd been thrice under scrutiny she didn't say anything. She pulled out a map and laid it out on the bark. The branch was wide enough for all of them to crowd around in a small circle.
"Situation report?" Kurenai-sensei asked firmly in cold mission-mode, as Team 8 were used to seeing her.
"Gai-sensei, Lee and Neji are guarding the majority of the bandit group in this valley down here. It's almost 50 people to control with just the three of them, and my traps," Tenten groaned and indicated on the map. "We believe the bandit leader is over here," she pointed up to the north along the base of a mountain. "She sacrificed some of her band to escape us."
"Kiba, you'll handle the leader," Kurenai ordered.
"Of course! I've taken down waay more dangerous criminals," Kiba grinned. Shino would have frowned at his overconfidence before, but Kiba had proved himself. If Kurenai-sensei wasn't concerned, he shouldn't be.
Shino studied the map. The valley-where Tenten's team was-was in the south-west corner of the map, just a short distance ahead of them. Kiba would be past them to the mountains in the north. The south and east was woodlands.
"Um, the leader has her lieutenants with her," Tenten piped up, looking sceptically at Kiba. "Are you sure--"
"That's only more targets to hit!" Kiba glared at Tenten, baring his fangs in snarl.
"It's too dangerous," Hinata said. She didn't speak often, and Shino hoped she knew they listened whenever she did. Kurenai-sensei touched her chin and nodded at Tenten.
"Finish your report."
"There are lots of cronies hiding out in this large area," she pointed at the east part of the map, in dense forest, "we don't know where they are exactly, and Neji can't find them all in time before they scatter."
Kurenai-sensei looked at him with a smirk.
"That's perfect for Shino."
"Um, Gai-sensei told me to assist where I can, please consider me under your command." Tenten said. Kurenai regarded her, then nodded.
"Go with Shino and watch each other's backs. Hinata, back up Kiba and capture the bandit leader. I'll go support Gai with a mass genjutsu to calm down the captives."
"Hai." He and his teammates said in a chorus and split up. Shino looked behind him. Tenten was hurriedly folding up the map and coming after him. He could slow down a little, he supposed, until she caught up.
"Are you injured, Tenten-kun?"
"Just a few scrapes, don't worry," Tenten said with a thumbs up, mirroring Gai-sensei's mannerisms. "You?"
"Nothing noteworthy."
Tenten took point, leading him the safest, fastest way to the correct area. Stealth was imperative for Shino's surprise attack.
,.,.,
They stood with backs pressed against the same tree trunk, shoulders touching, peering out each side. They had watched in tense silence for movement.
"It's just up ahead, past that brook somewhere," Tenten whispered, "how will you find them all?"
"I'll show you. Follow." Shino climbed the tree, jumping to adjacent trees that were taller until he was close to the top of one of the tallest trees. He balanced on the middle of the branch, Tenten crept close to the trunk. They had a good view of the forest below.
Shino took a deep breath and again made his insects travel into his arms. They nestled under his skin, and broke through around his elbow joint. He spread his arms forward, fingers apart like he'd seen his father and clansmen do. Tenten would surely become disgusted with him in just a moment, he thought, but forced the sinking feeling to the back of his mind. A thick swarm of black, tiny, chackra-stealing kikaichu flew out from his sleeves, dissipating like a cloud and spreading down into the forest.
He was saddened that Tenten might avoid him after having seen his clan technique up close. Back when he just enrolled into the Academy he wasn't concerned. He let insects crawl over himself to creep his classmates out and frustrate Iruka-sensei. It had been fun. Then he was gross, and creepy, and his father had explained how not everyone appreciated insects.
He swallowed, expecting a noise of disgust or even a shriek. There came none. He turned his head, and Tenten tried to hide surprise from showing on her face, but she didn't speak.
"This might take a while," Shino said and lowered his arms. A few stragglers flew out of his sleeve as he settled more comfortably on the branch.
A few moments passed, only disturbed by them shifting position every once in a while. He had expected some reaction. So far, Tenten only discreetly looked at him from the corner of her eye.
"Did... Did you have all those bugs in your body?" she whispered.
"Yes." He still kept some of his hive with him. Without them he was disarmed.
"You didn't have that many during the chuunin exam, right?"
"I only used what was needed back then. Why? It'd be a waste of my chakra to release more," Shino said. That fight hadn't been hard. He knew before it began he'd win.
"Ah, I see," Tenten murmured, then pushed some leaves aside and looked ahead. "What's happening down there now?"
"I instructed them to absorb the chakra of everyone they encountered. They'll come and lead me back to the bodies."
Tenten turned to him with a jerk.
"Bodies? You're killing them?"
Shino regarded her with a deep frown.
"...They're criminals." Why was she objecting? Tenten looked equal parts terrified and sickened.
"We're not judge, jury and executioners!" she hissed, "And how can you tell there aren't civilians down there?"
"I can't. Which is why I instructed them to not kill, but leave them unconscious."
Tenten glared at him for five long breaths, then narrowed her eyes.
"But you /could/ kill them?"
"Yes."
"Have you done it before?" Tenten still watched him intently.
"Yes."
Was that a bad answer? Shino felt his confusion grow as Tenten looked him over, to his sleeves and his face, his weapon pouch. She seemed to think hard about something. In the distance they heard a loud explosion. It came from the mountains. Kiba and Hinata had engaged their foe, then.
"Have you killed before?" Shino asked. Why was she reacting so strongly to the notion of killing?
"I avoid it." Tenten said.
"So do I. But we can't always avoid death. Why? We are shinobi of the Leaf. We have a duty to fulfill our missions no matter what." Shino respected and loved his sensei, and knew she would die defending them. She taught them to be fearless. And by the accident of being born into the Aburame clan, Shino's future was always going to be down this path. Certain insects in his clan had evolved to sustain themselves on not only chakra, but on the iron in blood, due to prolonged and intense exposure.
He was grateful Kurenai-sensei was his teacher.
Tenten said nothing, swallowed hard and looked down. She put a hand on the trunk of the tree and closed it into a fist.
Maybe Tenten would still end up disliking him, although not because of his insects. He breathed deep and reminded himself he was on a mission. Focus.
"Do you have rope to tie them up?" Shino asked.
"Mhm," Tenten said and opened the flap to her scroll pouch. She pulled out a scroll and rolled it open until she found the right technique formulae and placed her palm on it. Thick coils of rope materialized under her hand, thin wisps of smoke trailing up. Tenten took a deep breath, inhaling it.
"Let's get this done," she said.