Chapter 11 SL

When I reached the hidden village I went straight for Soyokaze's cottage. He had allowed me to stay in his guest room since I was brought here, so it was like my first real home, or at least it felt more like home to me than the Odoriko mansion. I quickly bunched up a bunch of my clothes and weapons and scrolls and shoved them into a pack as well as some belongings that meant too much to me to be left here. As quickly as I could, knowing I didn't have that much time left before the group got back I went into Soyokaze's room and started filing through his belongings, before pulling out a sweater I remembered him wearing that I loved, I pulled it down quickly, unlodging hidden objects from atop the shelf and having them crash down beside me, causing me to jump a little. I bent down to pick them up and unrolled one a little, seeing that it was the very scroll that was stolen so many years ago

"Why does he have this?" I asked myself quietly before putting both of them in my bag and rummaging throughout his shelves for any other hidden items. I found a small box and inside had my Konoha paperwork, a picture of my family before the accident and another picture of me, much more recent that I hadn't been aware that it was taken. I stared at it for a while

You are wasting too much time

Just take it with you

I nodded and put that to in my bag and went to the bathroom to finish my packing, taking a medicinal cream and slathering it on my wounds to have it heal faster and not get infected before shoving that in the bag as well and doing my signature I created back when I lived in Konoha, I smiled as I finished the seals and said

"Kawari Koromo No Jutsu" (Change clothes technique). With that I jumped out the open window and dashed away, limping slightly, and in pain, to Konoha.

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I slowed to a stop when the forest became too familiar for comfort. I took a deep breath before muttering to myself

"I don't think I can do this"

"I believe you can" Irai buzzed in my ear. "Think about it logically, you have fought against what many people cannot see, and you were in a position where there is a high fatality rate. You have interrogated mass murderers and have survived growing up basically by your own, as well as deal with a sister like Saseko. If you can do all that you can basically do anything. Why is something as small as a little as a false death bothering you?" I smiled, the little critter was right, she always was.

"Thanks" I whispered, limping forward through the forest towards Konoha's main gate, still going much slower than before. "What do you think my team will do?" I asked softly

Bite your head off, that Ibiki fellow would definitely do that

Tsuchi would probably bury you alive

After Kaen burns you to ashes of course

"You never know until it happens, they may very well faint from shock" Irai buzzed, calming the nerves my Supiritto gave me. "If you don't speed up you will have to sleep on the ground which won't help your wounds at all" Irai squeaked authoritatively.

"Yes Irai" I whined, acting like a child, slightly mocking the small bug

"March" the bug giggled at my antics.

"Yes ma'am" I added for good measure before taking to the trees to get to Konoha a bit faster.

I stopped when the tree line faded and looked down at the road that led to the front gate. Taking a deep breath I jumped down and calmly walked to the gate taking out my paperwork in the process from an inside pocket of a weighted trench that Soyokaze forced me to wear to help my training years ago. Walking up to the booth I was surprised to see the one person I didn't want to see… no the second person I didn't want to see. Inuzuka Kiba. I growled at my luck and planning to avoid the annoying ninja I went to the other shinobi

"Paperwork" He said, head resting in his and as he reached out for my paperwork. I handed it to him, noticing as he lazily looked it over.

"HEY" The dog boy yelled, I glanced in his general direction "Do I know you?" At this question the shinobi looking over my paperwork looked up, an almost interested look on his bored face

"No" I said curtly before asking "So am I good?"

"Yeah" the shinobi drawled, handing the paper over lazily "Checking paperwork is so troublesome" I rolled my eyes and headed over to the hotel and checked in before the unthinkable happened….

My hair fell in my eyes. I whipped around to see Irai flying off. In a panic, since she had never done this the whole time I had been able to summon the tiny critter I followed, pushing past people and limping as quickly as possible as I attempted, rather pathetically I might add, to follow the bug.

She led me to a pasture of flowers before I completely lost her. Now in a complete panic I began calling for her, fear and panic laced my voice as I called for her, yelling in every direction. I was startled as a hand rested on my shoulder and I whipped around to see a man, taller than me, and covered in a jacket with a tall collar that covered half of his face, and went down to his knees, he wore sunglasses and his hood was up, making him completely mysterious.

What was stranger was that he looked familiar

Of course he looks familiar, he is dog breath's teammate

My mind clicked and I instantly glared at him

He put up his finger, where Irai was sleeping next to another beetle. I got closer and investigated this strange scene

"She flew up and landed on my head" He said softly I looked up at him, trying to see past his sunglasses.

"She never flies away from me" I said as I gently picked her up off the boy's finger

"I noticed by the way you were yelling for her"

"How did you know she is a girl?"

"My kikaichu reacted the same way they react to other females"

"Kikaichu"

"My beetles" He said unsure, as some flew around

"Oh" I said, lifting a hand to have them land on it. I inspected them; they were mainly black but had a dark blue sheen "They are beautiful" I said in wonder "Do they help you in battle?"

"They eat chakra, in return for their help I allow them to live inside of me" He said a little more confident, probably because I didn't scream when his kikaichu started to fly around.

"They live inside you?" I said in amazement, for I had never heard anything like that.

"What about… Irai was it?"

"She is my summon" I said "She is my second pair of eyes, I can summon more, but Irai is my favorite" I said looking fondly down at the blue-green beetle.

"I am Aburame Shino"

"Haburi Kasalani" I said, switching hands that Irai was in and grasping Shino's hand in a handshake. It was at that moment I realized that I left my bag at the front desk of the hotel "My bag!" I said in distress, slapping my hand that Irai wasn't in, to my head and sighing.