Downfall (A Rock Lee fanfic)

They Came from the Shadows

Chapter 13: They Came from the Shadows

(S/O to CarbonRosePetals for helping out with this chapters fight!! Thanks doll, couldn't have done it without ya!)

The sun was to appear soon, lighting the very horizon dimly with a soft pink/purple hue. Deep in the woods the Uchiha lay, sleeping soundly.

But there lurked an enemy in the darkness, eyes trained diligently on it's prey.

A silent, writhing mass slipped from the shadows, collasping and reforming on itself. It glided towards the sleeping avenger. The creature stepped out of it's cover.

Shaded goggles flashed in the moonlight. Shino never dropped his somber look, even if no one could see his face, standing tall as his beetles moved closer to the Uchiha. The kikaichu were poised to strike.

Shino's hands blurred through hand signs as he whispered his attacking words. "Secret Tehnique: Insect Sphere."

The silhouette of the wanted man hadn't even stirred on the earth's floor, not even was his breath heard as the bugs made their way closer.

The swarm suddenly dispered around the body for only a second before engulfing Sasuke into the writhing mass of kikaichu.

Shino remained unfazed.

Suddenly, flying embers disbursed from various directions; engulfing everything in a 1/4 of a mile radius, including The bug master. The attacker's location couldn't be pinpointed by shooting range-- but the sky lit up like a concert, an intense heat that had been skin splitting. If anyone wanted to catch Sasuke by surprise, it hadn't worked.

"Hn." Let out the avenger, clearing unamused. Could it really have been THAT easy on either's behalf?

The flames roared and burned violently, the crackle being the only sound in the area.

Nothing stirred.

"Predictable." Came the monotone voice behind Sasuke. "I sent out a bug clone, and all the beetles you just killed were already sick and dying. You simply took them out of their misery. Why did I send them out? Because I know, Sasuke, how you always use a fire style jutsu in the beginning of a fight."

The sound of the Aburame's voice was enough to make any man's skin crawl, but Sasuke raised an eyebrow; withdrew his blade and thrusted it back at the speed of light. The pulsing electric current made contact with his opponent, and the raven smirked because what happened next expressed that this wasn't going to be a quick win.

A hand smacked against Sasuke's back before the second clone dispersed, jutsu disrupted by the electicity.

Shino didn't reappear, watching simply from somewhere.

With Sasuke's focus behind him, a large wave of new kikaichu rose up in front of the avenger, moving to pull him into the swarm.

Sasuke hadn't as much as blinked at the immense magnitude of bugs, despite how intimating their eerie rapid speed was. No, the avenger was focusing in on the location of their master.

Though maybe he spent too much time visually searching, because taking a step back the raven had realized something. "I've been surrounded.." So calm, so cool, so.. Detached. Then it was like a dance.

Smooth, cunning, articulate swift cuts were made with every turn and move. So fast you'd might have mistaken him for a tornado, his radiant blade sparking with lightning.

Shino subconciously gritted his teeth, watching his precious beetles be slaughtered, being the only one to hear and feel their pain. He had always hated fighting. It killed too many of his beetles. He raised them all himself. They were like children to him.