Hoshigaki

Motion

Shino sat in his room, his bag still packed and his fingers tapping against the wood of his desk. They just returned from their mission, making it to the gates at eleven in the evening. It was too late to report to the Hokage, so they agreed to meet at his office first thing tomorrow morning.

"And if you could all come over to my place afterwards, I'd like to congratulate you on your first successful mission outside of Fire Country!" Kurenai had said with a kind smile.

And if you could all come over to my place, I'd like to talk about our next steps so you won't be caught again, had been what she meant.

It surprised him that Kurenai trusted them in less than half a year than the village she'd been serving her whole life. It was quite the dedication she had for her students, and the heavy proclamation against the Hokage struck a particularly deep chord in him; he was sure it was like with Sakura, Kiba, and Akamaru as well. Besides Kurenai they had no supporters in their corner, and there really wasn't much they could do to bring others to their side without activating the seal or being accused of treason.

He glanced to the glass enclosure filled with crystal clear butterflies. It sat on his nightstand, tended to by his father when he wasn't home.

Shino's brows furrowed.

Cat had some sort of an acquaintanceship with them, didn't he? He gifted them with things he believed they would enjoy and use to their greatest extent, and clearly they did. Yet he'd never revealed himself to them or stepped up as the one leaving them the gifts even though they were positive it was him.

And now that he thought about it, they'd never even seen Cat since he'd thanked them.

'I wonder if he ever went to the memorial.'

A few insects trickled out of his shirt and crawled onto his desk. His small bursts of chakra had them retrace phrases winding about his mind and it made him think; insects were such versatile beings, especially at the beck and call of a shinobi. Kikaichu like his were born and raised in his body, wore his chakra like a second exoskeleton, were able to transmit chakra over vast distances, and could mimic his natural ebb and flow to distract sensory opponents or to lure them in..

He could pull infinite possibilities with his clan's jutsu—but what else could he add to the team to help bring them up another level? Sakura had taken that sword and would more than likely start training in kenjutsu, Kiba had delved into the arrays and puzzles of fuuinjutsu, and he—

Shino suddenly sat up and peered closer at his insects tapping carelessly along the top of his desk. He pulsed chakra through them and felt as they flared with his signature. When he bent it slightly, he felt theirs mimic his.

Their team was crafted by blades and ink and fangs and illusions.

Perhaps he could add another advantage to the list as well?

As he experimented with his insects and sent differently charged chakra pulses through each of their tiny bodies, he never noticed his father standing worriedly outside his closed door, debating whether or not to walk in.

It's one in the morning when Shino makes a breakthrough and Shibi walks back down the hallway without saying a word.

::

"Team Eight is requesting an audience," Cat—an ANBU who spent nearly a fourth of his time guarding the Hokage's office—informed.

"Ah, send them in, please," Hiruzen smiled as he tipped his head, and as Cat turned around to fulfill his duty, his smile fell a touch as four (five, he supposed) fully-intact bodies entered the room. He carefully noted that Kurenai stood behind her team, not in front, and that there was no accusatory gleam in her eyes that suggested she'd learned something new from her team. That might just be good acting, but a touch of relief settled in his old bones. Team Eight wouldn't—couldn't—have told her anything. Not willingly, at least. "Good morning. Were there any complications with the mission?"