Chương 61: Back to School

"Kiba, time for school! Get up!" Somewhere deep in sleep, Kiba stirred. His brain was still mush.

"You're going to be late!" Hana's voice came again through the bedroom door. School... He groaned, brow furrowing, and yanked the blanket over his head — which left Akamaru completely exposed on the other side of the bed. Akamaru blinked awake, lifted his head, stared at the stolen blanket for a moment, then padded over and burrowed back under it next to Kiba. Ten seconds passed. Kiba shot bolt upright, eyes wide. School?! Akamaru, freshly disturbed again, let out a low whine of protest.

Kiba threw the blanket aside, swung out of bed, jammed his feet into slippers, tore through a change of clothes, and crashed into the bathroom. The racket echoed through the house. He flew back into the bedroom, scooped up the still-sleeping Akamaru — ignoring the pup's squirming — grabbed two bento boxes from the kitchen table, and bolted out the front door.

"I'm leaving!"

"Be careful!" Hana called from the kitchen, poking her head out just in time to catch the slam of the door. …… Kiba walked briskly toward Shin's place, Akamaru dozing on top of his head.

"Come on, Akamaru, wake up. We're picking up Shin for school today." He jostled his head.

"Arf?" Shin had just finished his morning practice and packed everything when the knock came at his door. He was dressed as always — a simple black shirt with a design printed on the front, gray pants, his long black hair pulled back loosely with a red tie, falling down his back. He locked the inner door, slung his bag over one shoulder, and pushed open the old wooden gate to find Kiba grinning at him.

"Shin." Kiba beamed. Shin let out a quiet breath, turned, pulled the gate shut, and started walking toward the Academy without a word. Kiba hurried to fall in step beside him.

"You know, everyone at school's going to lose it when they see you." Kiba launched right in.

"And those girls — they're gonna swarm you again. All that squealing and fussing. So annoying."

"I'm telling you, Shin, you have no idea how boring school's been without you around..." Shin offered half-responses along the way — a nod here, a quiet "mm" there — but his mind was elsewhere. He'd always valued these quiet days at the Academy. But at some point, that peace had been shattered. Lately, trouble seemed to find him no matter what he did. So many things seemed tangled together — threads running beneath the surface, complicated and far-reaching — and no one told him any of it. No one would.

Because he was just a kid. Tsume was good to him. But she kept things from him. A lot of things. Before, that hadn't bothered him. Now it did. Too many things had left him feeling powerless, and he refused to feel that way again. The Academy had already lost its pull. He couldn't shake the sense that there was nothing left for him to learn here — and yet three more years stretched ahead of him. It felt like wasted time. From genin to jonin, how long did that road take?

He knew of Kakashi Hatake, who'd made jonin at twelve. Wartime, sure. But still. He wanted to get stronger. Urgently.

"Shino?!" Kiba's sudden shout snapped Shin out of his thoughts. Kiba was waving wildly at someone up ahead. Shin looked up. At the intersection where Shino always used to wait for them stood a familiar silhouette. He hadn't seen Shino since the day he'd been absent. Kiba took off running. Shin quickened his pace to catch up. Up close, even though it had only been about a week, something about Shino had changed. His presence felt more contained, more muted. Behind his sunglasses, his face was perfectly composed.

The high collar of his coat hid everything below his nose, as though he were trying to disappear inside his own clothes.

"When'd you get back?" Kiba punched Shino lightly on the shoulder, grinning.

"Yesterday." One word. Shino's body shifted slightly.

"Shino, it's been a while." Shin smiled.

"It has. Shin."

"Seriously, where've you been? I asked your mom and she wouldn't say anything." Kiba crossed his arms, frowning.

"... I was..." Shino paused. His words came haltingly.

"... training. A clan technique." Shin caught the hesitation. Something was off.

"A technique? Bugs?" Kiba's eyes went wide, then lit up with excitement. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"... Yes."

"Show me! Come on, let me see!" Kiba tugged at Shino's sleeve, practically bouncing. Shino considered for a moment. He glanced at Shin, who stood quietly beside them. Then, without moving a muscle, tiny black insects began crawling out from beneath his collar, hundreds of them, pouring over the fabric in a dark, rippling wave. They crawled across his neck in every direction, a living carpet of chitinous bodies. Kiba stared. He shuddered. Hard.

"That's disgusting!" He rubbed his arms furiously, skin prickling with goosebumps. Shino lowered his head slightly. Between the sunglasses and the collar, it was impossible to read his expression. The swarm retreated, a dark tide flowing back beneath the fabric, vanishing as though they'd never been there.

"It's a powerful technique," Shin said.

"Those insects must be something special."

"They're called kikaichū." Shino turned to Shin.

"They feed on chakra. Once they latch on, they devour the target's chakra reserves until nothing remains."

"I see." Shin nodded. Powerful didn't begin to cover it. It wasn't just the chakra-draining ability — it was the sheer numbers. Imagining a battlefield where those things came from every direction, a black tide with no end, wave after relentless wave... anyone facing that would be in serious trouble. His blade would struggle against something like that. Fire Release might be effective as a counter, but without knowing the full extent of the swarm, even fire jutsu might not be enough.

The three of them walked to the Academy together. The moment they stepped into the classroom, the noise hit like a wall. Shin barely made it through the doorway before a crowd closed around him.

"Shin!"

"Shin's back?!"

"It's been so long!"

"I missed you so much!" He fielded greetings one by one, inching forward through the press of bodies until he finally reached his seat. Even then, people refused to scatter. The cluster around his desk buzzed and chattered without pause. Through the wall of girls, a flash of blond hair shoved its way in.

"Hey, Shin! Long time no see!" Naruto had barely opened his mouth before the crowd squeezed him back out.

"Shin! Shin!" He bounced on his toes behind the wall of bodies, waving both arms overhead.

"Everyone, I appreciate it, really. But could you maybe not crowd around like this?" It took some coaxing. The girls dispersed with visible reluctance, a few lingering to squeeze in one last word before drifting away. Naruto darted in the moment the path cleared.

"What's the rush, Naruto?" Shin couldn't help a small smile.

"Heh... heheh..." Naruto scratched the back of his head, grinning sheepishly, as if a thousand things he wanted to say had all jammed together at the exit. Shin shook his head, still smiling.

"So what was it like? Being outside the village — what's it like out there?" Naruto leaned in, eyes bright.

"It was fine. Once you graduate, you'll have chances to go out too."

"What's the big deal about leaving the village?" Kiba scoffed from his seat.

"Not like it's anything special." Naruto tilted his head, confused.

"How would you even get to leave?"

"After you become a genin, there are missions outside the village," Shino said.

"C-rank and above." Naruto blinked. He turned to stare at Shino, looking him up and down.

"Shino, weren't you out on leave? When'd you get back?" Shino: "..." Shin: "..." Kiba: "..." Shino tugged at his collar and slowly turned away. He was done talking to Naruto. …… The commotion settled down as class time approached and everyone drifted back to their seats. Iruka walked in, noticed Shin, and smiled warmly, asking a few questions with genuine concern. As for Shino, he went unnoticed. Again. At lunch, the four of them ate together as usual.

What surprised Shin was Shikamaru and Choji wandering over to join them. They'd never shared a meal before. Fortunately, Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji got along well enough, and Shin's temperament smoothed over whatever awkwardness there might have been. Only Shino and Choji barely spoke, though Choji's lunch spread was lavish enough to draw envious looks from everyone. Choji shared generously, dividing portions among the group. He gave Shin noticeably more than the others.

"How come he gets more than me?" Kiba eyed Shin's box, chopsticks already reaching across. Choji hurriedly gave Kiba an extra portion too.

"It's for the grilled fish from before." Choji scratched his head and smiled shyly at Shin.

"Thanks." Grilled fish? Shin had to think for a moment. Then it came back — that day he'd run into Choji and Shikamaru on the street. He'd bumped into Yugao and her group first, and Yugao had given him a grilled fish. He hadn't been hungry at all and had handed it off to Choji without a second thought. They'd been in the same class long enough that Shin had a decent read on Choji's character — quiet, gentle, good to his friends. He just didn't have many of them.

Shikamaru, meanwhile, sat nearby shooting Shin a look of pure resentment, which only baffled Shin further. This kid completely forgot about ditching me that day, Shikamaru thought, watching Shin's oblivious expression. The rest of the day was all theory — lectures and a few in-class jutsu demonstrations. Life slipped back into its old rhythm, as if nothing had changed. If only it could stay this way... Shin glanced at Sasuke's seat. Still empty. He let out a quiet sigh.

But trouble had a way of finding him whether he looked for it or not. After school, Shin didn't walk home with Kiba and Shino. He went alone to the Uchiha compound, wanting to check on Sasuke. He worried about why he still hadn't come back to school. His injuries had healed. So why? When he reached the entrance, the compound was sealed off. Two shinobi in green flak jackets stood guard at the gate. Shin tried to go in. They stopped him. He turned and left without argument.

He'd only gone a short distance, a familiar figure came walking toward him. Someone he'd seen around the village a few times but never spoken to. White hair. A black mask and a slanted forehead protector covering most of his face. Kakashi Hatake, walking with his nose buried in a palm-sized book. Probably some kind of jutsu manual, Shin figured. Kakashi's reputation in the village was something everyone knew.

Shin had lived here long enough to recognize the famous faces, and he'd heard enough descriptions to know exactly who the man he'd crossed paths with before actually was. Running into Kakashi hadn't been planned. But seeing him sparked something. Shin stopped walking and stepped aside to let Kakashi pass. The road was wide enough that he didn't need to — but the gesture was deliberate. Respectful. Kakashi glanced at him, mildly surprised. He knew who the boy was.

"Kakashi-sama." Kakashi had just passed Shin's position when the boy spoke. He stopped. Turned.

"Kakashi-sama, I'm—""Shin Takami. I know." Kakashi cut him off before he could finish introducing himself. His visible right eye regarded Shin with a flat, half-lidded look.

"What is it?" His posture was loose, almost lazy. Whether that was boredom or impatience was hard to tell. Shin hesitated.

"I've heard about what you've accomplished — making jonin at twelve. I've always admired—""Kids shouldn't say things like that." Kakashi's one visible eye looked down at him from above. Things like that...

"I was wondering," Shin said carefully, weighing each word.

"Is there any way to graduate early?" Kakashi's eyebrow twitched — a flicker of surprise. Shin kept his head slightly bowed, respectful, waiting.

"No." Flat. Final. Kakashi opened his book again, eyes dropping back to the page, and walked on without another glance. No. Shin frowned, watching him go. He'd asked on impulse — partly because the thought of early graduation had been growing in his mind, and partly because he knew that if he brought it up with Tsume, she'd almost certainly shut it down. Seeing Kakashi had just been an opportunity. Nothing more. When he got home, Tsume was already there, waiting.

"Where were you?" she asked.

"I wanted to check on Sasuke. I went to the Uchiha compound." Shin considered it for a moment, then told the truth.

"They wouldn't let me in." Tsume's eyes changed, locked onto him. Shin braced himself for the lecture. But instead, she let out a long breath.

"Have I been keeping too tight a leash on you lately?" she murmured, almost to herself, not really addressing him. She sat on the sofa, one hand pressed against her forehead.

"Don't go there again." That part was for him.

"Sasuke's fine. Don't worry about it."

"Understood." Shin nodded. If Tsume said so, then Sasuke was probably all right. Some of the weight in his chest eased.

"One more thing." Tsume looked at him.

"If a stranger approaches you — anyone you don't know — you tell me immediately." Shin went still. The old man from yesterday flashed through his mind — the one who'd come to his house, calling himself his grand-master. Tsume stood and walked toward the door without waiting for a response. Shin watched her leave in silence. Could that "grand-master" help me...?