Sister Winter

[2/?]

 He hadn’t stayed long after his mysterious encounter with the woman of winter, finding that his mind continued to stray back to the white haired female rather than focusing on his search. Instead, the bug prince had given up his hunt—which seemed to have swayed betwixt hunting for new beetle specimens and the single specimen which had caught his eyes in the early light—and had made his way back towards the awakening village; more shops having opened and more people bustling about as he passed the main gate. The business of the village allowed the shinobi to gather his thoughts, allowed for his to reflect on the events which unfurled while he had been out.

The idea that the young woman had been his mother’s fantastical sister of winter was the last on his list of explanations; not only was it horribly fictional, it was simply ridiculous to think about. Based on the way she had been dressed, in furs and dyed material, didn’t resonate the feeling of being a wandering civilian and with no bags or items accompanying her, she wasn’t a wayward traveler. Having never set eyes on a woman near his age, which would speculate she would have graduated the academy around the same time as he, with hair as white as snow, he banished the idea of her being a kunoichi of Konoha; perhaps being a resident of one of the neighboring, smaller villages which housed more water element users, which the Fire Country lacked. The latter idea, the most plausible of all the ideas coming to his mind, only brought up more questions surrounding her arrival; why she was there, if she was alone, and more importantly, for how long?

He sighed away such thoughts, ideas of possibly consuming some of the time she would be spending in Konoha, perhaps even asking to be assigned to whatever her mission was; all of them presumptuous on the idea that after having scared her away, she would want to spend her time with the bug user, something which was not common. Shino, instead of dwindling on the chances the snowy-haired kunoichi would have given-up her time to spend with him, he allowed his feet to carry him home where he easy tossed a greeting towards his father before disposing of his few new specimens among the many other species which decorated his room. Normally, the chuunin would have gone about the day he had mentally prepared, having started with examining all the beetles and the insects which he had, followed by returning to some of his more pressing studies—most of which were based around crossing traits of other beetles with his own and creating antidotes for ones he couldn’t. Later in the day, he’d probably wander out of the compound and towards the training field, to work on a few maneuvers and jutsus which he had been brainstorming; after, he might once more find himself out in the woods.

For some strange, fleeting reason, the shinobi couldn’t find the attention or focus for such a scheduled plan; his mind straying every moment it could. He tried multiple times over to refocus his attention, to pray on the innate fear of poisoning or harm to gather some attention, but it seemed nothing worked; his mind swaying and getting caught within the blizzard hidden under long, white lace. It was frustrating, only being able to grab the reins on his thoughts for mere seconds before they slipped through his hands once more, and with a stoic sigh, the bug prince slung his jacket over his arms and once again departed the compound; no predetermined plan in mind on where or what he was going to do. He doubted there was much that could change his minds point of interest and yet, he still pursued an answer while out back into the busy streets of his home village.

He meandered through side streets and past shops and familiar faces, all not noticing him, as always, with his hands stuffed into his pockets and his eyes not focusing on much of anything as he walked. The day was turning more clear and bright over head, foreshadowing a calm, brisk autumn day where winter was not welcome; a season he was starting to question his alliance for. Some of his beetles hummed gently under his skin, others humming softly around him as he walked, like tiny beacons which would relay information from all around back to their master; the ones which had frozen limbs had been left behind, the ice coating their legs or wings showing no signs of thawing. Others, which had seen the girl of pure winter, seemed to buzz with a sort of energy, a drive to find the single female which had been taken captive by the girl; Shino had continued thinking about whether or not to send a handful of males to find her, to find the female beetle along with the mysterious girl.