Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Beetle Juice

Prologue:

The Living Dead Girl

Teresa Richards died at twenty-seven a bitter, cold woman who loathed physical contact and lived in a constant state of paranoia and low-level fear. She had been this way since she was seventeen and her friends had left her drunk and unconscious alone at a college party, where she'd been raped. The boys who had done so were the typical jocks, stars of their teams, and she'd forcefully cut all ties with those “friends” when they'd complained about her 'snitching' and tried to get her to just “drop it already”. Her parents refused to be bought off when the boys parents offered a settlement, and she had sat on the stand and endured the Defence Lawyer's attempts to rattle her with cold, dead eyes. All three boys were sent to jail, as they were all over eighteen.

She'd gotten her justice, not that it made her feel clean ever again, but she took grim satisfaction in the knowledge that she had ruined their lives, and the lives of those that had been willing to look the other way.

But she'd been all but exiled, her entire school furious at her, and all of the local colleges unwilling to risk a “repeat incident”.

She took the tests to graduate early, and took college classes online, earning a degree in Art and Interior Design. She moved out of her parents house as soon as possible and never looked back. They hadn't been able to look her in the eyes for months, anyways.

She moved to L.A.

She worked well with a Real-estate company, decorating for Open Houses and consulting, for a price, for those who could afford it.

It didn't change the way she'd become. In fact, she knew her co-workers called her a Frigid Bitch behind her back and sometimes well within hearing, but she didn't care.

She was safer this way.

But she wasn't safe from the stray bullet that shattered her office window and blew a hole through her right lung.

She died, choking on her own blood and bitterly daring God or whoever to send her to Hell.

...Perhaps she shouldn't have been quite so bold.

She came to awareness in what she later realized was her new mother's womb. But all she felt was an all-encompassing warmth that pressed on her from all sides, and complete darkness. It was suffocation, time utterly lost. She was able to move, barely, like being wrapped in a heavy, wet blanket. It was horrifying, traumatizing, and if she'd been able to breath she would have fallen into the mother of all panic attacks.

But, time did pass, and she was able to adapt, to a small degree.

That was when it all went to Hell.

Later, much later, she would learn of the Aburame Clan's kikaichu and how the Clan became their living hives. That the mother provides a few Queens and the father provides some Drones, or vice-versa, and, at the fourth month of gestation, the parents send their kikaichu into the womb to burrow their way into the fetus. At this point in time, it is assured that the fetus will have no untoward memories or trauma from the Infestation, unlike conscious and aware beings. It is, however, a physically traumatizing act, and many an Aburame babe has miscarried from the shock. It is why their Clan is small in number, and why they tend to have a higher male-to-female ratio. Female babies that survive the Infestation are less sickly, less prone to crying, less needy. But, in the womb, they are far more likely to fade.

Those that survived, boy or girl, bore no memory, no trauma, no nightmares about the Infestation.

But, then again, those babies were unaware and unable to comprehend what was happening.

And Teresa was far from unaware.

It started with a feeling that was almost a sound, a discrepancy in her suffocating cocoon and black heat.

It felt like tiny scratching, the scritch-scritch of a fingernail on a sheet.

It's the first thing she's had happen to distract her from this hellhole, and so, she latches onto the sound, going completely still and focusing on it intently. It wasn't coming from one direction, but from all around her, random points of scratching motions that grew firmer and more clear with every passing moment.

And then there was a change in her surroundings, a strange feeling of dread building as the dark wetness around her seemed to shift, the “blanket” suffocating her growing tense and hard, like a muscle being tightened, braced for something.

Distracted by the change, frightened by the change, Teresa cringed.

And then the attack happened.

It burned, a sharp, agonizing pain in the direction of her left calf, that had her kicking out instinctively. Then it happened again, and again, and again. Her shoulder, her stomach, her thigh, her butt, her neck, it didn't have any rhyme or reason. A fiery, agonizing burning built up in every spot. It hurt worse than a shard of glass being embedded in her skin, worse than an oven burn, worse than a broken bone, and it only grew in intensity and if she could scream she would but she couldn't make a sound and-!

Teresa thrashed violently, fighting against her prison with all her strength, sobbing and desperate and terrified out of her damn MIND but it didn't help, only making her grow exhausted. She slowly fell still, shivering and choking and slipped out of consciousness with the next rise of biting pains.

She had no concept of time, after that, not that she had much of one before. She only came to differing levels of pain, a pain that slowly faded into a numbness that coated her like a slightly chilly blanket, a relief and an assault to the senses after being wrapped in heat for so long.

Time passed, and with it, adaptation. She grew used to the numbness, the chill. She grew used to the occasional feel of something moving inside her, a sharp bite of pain rippling through her once every so often. And, she would become aware of the steadily growing feeling of a consciousness in the back of her head, something alien, something that was so bizarre it took her an unusually long amount of time to figure it out. She would get flashes, images, feelings from it.

Pictures of a tall man with scruffy black hair and sunglasses, a heavy beige coat and a silent, all-consuming adoration for a woman she also saw. A woman with the same hair and glasses, in a pale lavender coat of the same make with a beige rope tied in a massive bow at her lower back. She would carefully make out that these were her new parents, that she was egg, larva, baby.

Reborn.

(She was too exhausted and numb to thrash with renewed horror at the realization that she had insects inside her skin.)

Aburame Semi was her new mother, with a small hive of two-thousand kikaichu. A “Chunin” who worked in something called “T&I”. Aburame Batta was her new Father, a Chunin with a strong hive of ten-thousand kikachu which were all grown to secrete a special enzyme that cauterized wounds and who could spit thin sprays of pepper-spray like liquid. He worked alongside her mother as well as at the hospital. Her bugs, her kikaichu, shared little glimpses of what they could, their memory a bit limited, but, after so long with nothing but blackness and pressure, Teresa welcomed the images, flashes of feelings and sights and even smells they offered.

She learned all she could, memorized all she could.

The next time her surroundings tightened and braced itself, she almost fell into another frenzy of thrashing, her heart in her throat and her chest tight. Only the hum of her Hive calmed her, a chittering whisper of hatch hatch hatch hatch chanting in the back of her mind.

When the pushing started, she didn't resist, and came into her new world screaming from the sudden light and icy cold of the air and the high-pitched buzzing of insects.

Aburame Kuwagata was born two months premature, at two o'clock in the morning. She weighed five pounds, seven ounces, and screamed high-pitched and unending for a full twenty minutes. The Aburame wet-nurse was quick to clean her and swaddle her in the heavy blanket made from the same material of their coats, the only fabric not to irritate their sensitive skin.

Teresa, soon to answer to Kuwagata, would, after those twenty minutes, finally collapse into exhaustion.

She would sleep through the panic of the medics as her mother hemorrhaged. She would sleep through her mothers death. Through her father's grieving fury as his Hive filled the air with distraught buzzing. Through the wet-nurse, his sister, ordering him from the room until he could get himself under control again.

Later, she would find out that the mother Aburame's whose babies survived, were never able to carry another child. Those that survived as well, at least.

She would learn that her thrashing, her fighting against the Infestation, is what ultimately caused her mother to die giving birth to her.

And she would awake the next day, being cared for by her Aunt Hotaru, who would continue to do so for several months, before her Father returned. She would grow accustomed to the cold, brittle, bitter man who only physically matched the memories she'd seen in the womb. And she would adapt.

For the moment, however, she slept on, unaware of the emotional happenings around her, soothed by the chittering whispers of her Hive, wordless but no less comforting.

She would simply sleep.

oOoOoOo

Kuwagata watched silently as Batta slipped out of the house, the gray-tone of the outside world telling the now three-year-old that Dawn had just broken. Frowning slightly, she tilted her head down to hide her face in the tall collar of her coat. These last few years had been a mix of abject disappointment and bemused terror. Her 'father', in the loosest sense of the title, could barely look at her, hardly stand to spend more than the absolute minimum amount of time in her presence. He radiated an aura of such cold detachment, it was almost like he was suffering from postpartum depression.

Aunt Hotaru was her main caregiver, but even she could only spare the time to check in on her and make sure there was food in the fridge.

Aburame were self-sufficient people. Their Hives alerted those they trusted when they required assistance, or when they needed something, as well as let their Clan-members read their emotional and mental states.

Batta's Hive couldn't come near her own without radiating aggressive Pheromones, except to those kikaichu that had belonged to her mother. Which grew fewer every day that passed as they succumbed to various stages of life. She only had fifty of the original three-hundred her mother had given her, and three-hundred of the original five her father had given her. It was... Well.

Her heart hurt.

Shaking her head, Kuwagata turned away from the door to their small home and silently padded towards her room.

Aburame, she'd discovered, were an interesting mix of numb and hyper-sensitive. The holes that littered her body (which were only now becoming something she was growing used to seeing, grotesque dime-sized burrows in her skin-!) had been the original entry-points of her Hive. The kikaichu apparently secreted enzymes that chemically cauterized the wounds that, as she grew, they would nibble at more to keep them from closing over. The result of their pheromones and the enzymes they secreted in order to live in her body, however, made her skin numb to certain stimulants but hypersensitive to others.

The Aburame Coat was made of the only fabric she could wear without feeling like she was wrapped in sandpaper. It was a heavy-looking Chakra-reflective fabric that would act as a mild shield. It protected her from sunlight and wind, two things that caused her nerves to flare with pain, as if she was already badly sunburnt and standing in a hot shower. Her black sunglasses also protected her eyes, because even the dimmest light felt like an ice-pick to the skull at times. When she became older, she would be able to fit thin sheets of metal between the layers to protect herself more.

For now, however, she was physically three years old, and in a world that was a mix between Feudal Japan and the rural town she'd spent the first ten years of her first life in. So, she would do the same thing she did before, when she wanted to forget her worries and leave the bad memories behind.

She pushed the door to her room open, taking in the cherry-wood chest that held her folded futon, the shrine in the corner with her mothers picture on it, and the cherry-wood desk and bookshelf combo taking up what little space remained. Closing the door behind her, Kuwagata climbed up into the chair waiting at the desk, and pulled the book there closer to her, quietly beginning to read.

The History of Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, a ninja village in the Elemental Country Hi no Kuni, the Land of Fire, was interesting enough. She'd read this book already, but, like when re-reading any story, smaller details that escaped the first reading can still be found. It helped distract her, pull her thoughts from darker paths, the vindictive, bitterly biting thoughts of an equally terrified and brittle woman.

Hours passed.

A kikaichu with distinctive, lavender-toned wings landed on her hand, a Queen, who was immediately met by one of her own red-dotted Drones. Watching the immediate courting motions of her kikaichu as he tried to coax her Aunt's young Queen into the Hive, Kuwagata silently closed her book and climbed down from her chair to head towards the kitchen. The lavender-winged Queen was hesitating, as her Drone flared and flicked his own bloody red wings. Kuwagata paused, eyeing them.

They were brighter than the usual Drones...

She'd have to take inventory on her Hive later. The issue with each Clan Member having a personal Hive was that the occasional Drone or Queen was coaxed into your Hive while you were sleeping. Sometimes, this was a good thing. It's how her Father had discovered the correct breeding to get the pepper-spray enzymes to work out. But, sometimes, it could completely devastate a Hive. Some crossbreeds just did not work well together, as she'd found out what a smaller pure black Drone had managed to sneak in and breed with one of her mother's kikaichu, hence the sudden and rapid loss of her donation.

Apparently, it was highly poisonous, and the pheromones it secreted had affected the weaker members, until one of her Pepper Drones had sacrificed himself to kill it. The eggs had yet to hatch, so they would see if they'd have to be culled.

The Lavender-Queen made her decision, and followed the Drone under Kuwagata's sleeve to slip inside.

“You're not getting your Queen back,” she promptly informed her Aunt, who was neatly packing a few containers into the fridge.

“It was the most likely outcome,” Hotaru replied calmly. “Why? Because your Hive has been heavily diminished. Therefore, it was logical that your Drones would seek to strengthen their numbers with fresh blood from a familiar Hive.” She paused, staring at Kuwagata through her black goggles. Hotaru had been partially blinded in her first Chunin Exam when a Kumo Genin used a Lightning Jutsu after her glasses had been knocked off. Now, her lenses were heavily prescribed, and she wore goggles to keep them from being easily knocked off again. Kuwagata eyed the larger than usual amount of containers, frowning.

“You're going on a mission,” she stated; Hotaru nodded as she set a plate of onigiri on the table, gesturing for Kuwagata to sit. The girl did, nodding her thanks as her aunt added a small bowl of steaming miso-soup and a glass of water.

“It is a two week mission,” her aunt told her calmly. “I leave in one hour.” Kuwagata didn't say anything, silently eating her food as her Aunt finished organizing the fridge.

“...Safe travels, Obaa-san,” she said softly as Hotaru moved to leave. Her Aunt paused in the doorway, without looking back.

“...If you run out of food before I return, Shibi-niisama has informed me that you are welcome to join he and his wife for a dinner.” And, with that, she left. Kuwagata's Hive shivered in the back of her mind, acknowledging her anxiety and excited about the Lavender-Queen's compatibility with both the Pepper Drones as well as Semi's Drones.

Finishing her meal, Kuwagata used her step-stool to wash the dishes and returned to her room. She put the History of Konohagakure away, and pulled a book on entomology closer, this one much, much thicker as it was a Clan-Made and Aburame-Only book, classifying the various kikaichu that the Clan had created, crossbred, or were trying to recreate.

,,,The Lavender-Winged Queen was of a sub-type of Intelligence-Gathering kikaichu. Her purpose was to infiltrate other Hives and report back to the main Hive on the well-being of the subject. They were also know as the Mothering Subset.

Kuwagata's fingers trembled against the page only once, before stilling as she went back to reading.

oOoOoOo

The sun wash shining, the sky blue, and Hotaru was dead.

These things... They weren't right.

Kuwagata's glasses hid her red eyes as she watched the Aburame Elders set Hotaru's shrine up in the back of the Clan Grounds. It was a simple, foot-tall column of black stone with her name carved onto it, set in front of a section of wall that bubbled out like a wasps-nest. Inside it was what remained of her Hive. It was something most of the Clan-members had, a Home Hive. Once you successfully made it to Genin, you were required to leave a few Queens and Drones in the Compound. When you crossbred successfully, you were supposed to do it again. This was where you replenished your Hive if you lost them in a battle or accident or illness, that way you had a chance of regaining your original numbers. The kikaichu within the wall instinctively knew they could no longer breed with any others but those in their Hive, unless welcomed into another's Hive, but they were like a living security. The walls all but vibrated at times of high-stress, like a kicked beehive.

The fascinating information didn't distract Kuwagata from the fact that her only living Mother Figure was dead.

Her Hive chittered and skittered in her skin, and she knew that the Lavender-Queen and her eggs were being guarded possessively. The Black Poisons eggs were half-way to being ready to hatch, moved to a small, out-of-the-way chamber somewhere near what Kuwagata vaguely knew her appendix was.

A Pepper Drone crawled up her neck to settle on the upper rim of her right lens. The smell of capsaisin made her eyes water, and forced her to finally blink, closing her eyes and looking away from her Aunt's Hive-Shrine for the first time. She'd just felt so numb when Shibi-sama (her third cousin twice removed and head of the Clan) had knocked on her door, her father already gone, and told her the news.

A kikaichu flitted past her left ear, making Kuwagata open her eyes to squint at the dark green-hazel Drone as it hovered patiently in front of her. Silently, she lifted a finger, and it landed there. It's wings flicked twice, then paused, then flicked five times, before it took to the air once more.

Uncle Shibi-sama was calling her back.

Turning away from the Hive-Shrine, Kuwagata silently followed the Drone, her own Pepper Drone leaving her glasses to crawl up into her black, spiky mess of hair. The smell of capsaisin wafted through the air as she walked, the burrows in her skin tingling as her Hive exuded the pheromones letting other Hives know that intruders were unwelcome. As she walked through the compound slowly, a few of her relatives looked over at her, before inclining their heads and carrying on.

Sometimes, being an Aburame was incredibly lonely. They were taciturn and not much for physical comforts. With the way their bodies were, a hand brushing along the wrong nerve can feel like an open-handed slap against raw nerve, after all, or a full-bodied hug could feel like a barely-there touch. Aburame were also not much for emotionally-driven actions, preferring logical and practical discussions and actions to emotional displays. What Kuwagata's father was doing, for example, was found acceptable, even if their Clanmates disapproved, because Batta knew that he was emotionally vulnerable, that he blamed his daughter for his wife's death, that he couldn't trust himself not to act irrationally and so limited his interactions with Kuwagata. This was a logical solution to the illogical situation of emotional instability.

That didn't mean that the Clan approved of leaving a child without supervision, thus the time her Aunt spent-...

Had spent visiting her.

Now that she was gone, however, Kuwagata didn't know who that duty would fall on.

...She would have to see about getting herself some cookbooks and learning. She hadn't been that much of a cook in her First Life, but she was far from the 'college-student' diet plan. She could make herself some small meals, set some things aside for her father. He wouldn't ask. It wasn't like he spoke more to her than he absolutely had to, after all...

A small, bitter smile curled her lips beneath her high collar.

She preferred solitude, for the most part, but, sometimes, she acknowledged that she needed some form of non-aggressive company. Aunt Hotaru had been that. The woman hadn't touched her more than the occasional brush against her hair, or a tug to straighten her clothes, but it was more than her father did, and she was old enough (mentally) to acknowledge that she was touch-starved.

Sighing softly as she climbed the two steps up onto the porch leading to Shibi-sama's home, she paused in the doorway to switch her shoes with the guest slippers waiting, the Drone buzzing patiently, before leading her down the hall and to the dining area. Shibi-sama, and his wife, Kimiko, are waiting there, with tea. Still following the Drone, Kuwagata kneels beside the Clan Head and silently accepts a cup of hibiscus tea.

“I will be coming over to your home three times a week to teach you how to cook,” Kimiko told her calmly as she set her own cup of tea down. “Why? Because your father is being foolish and you will need to learn to be self-sufficient much earlier than preferred.” Kuwagata nodded silently; Shibi-sama spoke up.

“You will also have dinner with us at least twice a week. Why? So that we may observe your growth and emotional, mental, and physical stability and condition for ourselves.”

“You are, of course, welcome to come any other time as well,” Kimiko assured her seriously. “Should you have any questions, or wish for extra training, we will do what we can. We cannot help all the time, however. Why? Because some things one must learn oneself before they can properly pupate into a fully grown adult,” she told Kuwagata calmly. “We are also both Shinobi, and will have missions, and so may not be around.”

“During those times you are welcome to stay within our home,” Shibi-sama told the child calmly. He reached forward, ignoring the buzzing Pepper Drone in her hair, to set his hand on her shoulder.

It felt like a lead-weighted heating pad through her coat and against her skin, making her kikaichu chitter quietly.

“Why?” He continued quietly. His hand squeezed gently. “Because you are family, a member of our Hive, and you will always be welcome home.”

When Kuwagata went home that night, her house was empty, but she didn't feel alone anymore, one of Shibi-sama's Drones taking watch over her from the ceiling over her futon.

She slept peacefully.

Chapter Text

Beatle Juice

ONE

I'm Sorry About Your Parents

The Black Poison eggs had hatched, and Kuwagata was interested to find that, while still poisonous, they no longer sprayed pheromones that would kill her Hive, but instead a sweet-smelling type that called to outside kikaichu... Which they would then either eat or leave to the Pepper Drones and Semi Drones (who were few and far between, but the number was steadily being repaired. Breeding had been very good this week). The new Black Poison were a little larger than their smaller predecessor, and a different coloration and slightly different shape.

The Drones remained pitch-black, and had forcipules—pincer-like appendages that act similar to extra legs, usually only seen on centipede's—that they used to inject a paralytic poison that was painful and lead to lethargy, nausea, fever, and, in high enough doses, death or permanent paralysis. They, physically, looked similar to Blister Beetles, besides the large pincers. Her Pepper Drones looked like inverted Ladybugs only less round and more oblong, while the Queens were completely round but with completely red heads. Her Semi Drones looked like hard-shelled Fireflies, only in dark green and gray, and the Queens looked the same, only pale green with yellow. The Lavender-Queen looked like a Calligrapha Beetle, only dark gray instead of green-yellow, with her lavender wings and antenna... The coloration and body-type differences were very interesting.

The Black Poison Queens were larger, and black with pale pink speckling on their backs. They were the ones that secreted the 'Attraction' Pheromones, and were cannibalistic to those Drones that mated with them, much like Praying Mantis. Kuwagata theorized that it was to keep the Drones from eating the sweet-smelling eggs that had been produced, since only Queens had been allowed around the clutches. Already, she had bred them with her Pepper Drones and a few of her Semi Drones.

She hoped she could breed her Pepper Drones spraying ability with her Black Poisons venomous bites. Or maybe make their bites more painful with the enzymes mixing with the venom? Either one would work, and she would be able to add her personal addition to the Entomology Book.

Humming, pleased with the idea, the almost four-year-old went back to making rice-balls for onigiri.

oOoOoOoOo

Experimenting with her Hive kept Kuwagata distracted for the next year. She had successfully bred her Semi kikaichu back into the hundreds, as well as her Pepper kikaichu, and now, the Black Poisons had begun flourishing, and had been renamed Miasmas, because she had managed to breed her Peppers spraying ability with the Miasmas Pheromones and venom, as well as keeping their bites. The result was that her new crossbreed (Both Drones and Queens were pink-speckled black and nearly half an inch long when fully grown, with dark red wings and white heads) could send out attraction Pheromones that muddled the senses and caused mild paralysis and numbness that gave them time to bite and thus fully paralyze their victims in order for Kuwagata to do what she wanted.

It had greatly impressed the Elders, and she'd been allowed to introduce her Miasma's into the Clan Walls. They were in the book now, even! It was her greatest accomplishment to date and, considering she was almost five now, she had a long line of crossbreeding and experimentation to go through.

Perhaps that's why she was nervous when she'd wandered into the kitchen to find Batta sitting at the table with a plate of the mochi she'd made the day before, waiting for her. It was the first time they'd been in the same room for more than a minute, since her birth, and it set Kuwagata on edge.

“Sit down, daughter,” he told her, voice hoarse and blank; cautiously, Kuwagata did, one of her Miasma Drones crawled stealthily up the back of her neck to hide in her hair, another crawling down her leg to skitter across the floor until it settled near her father's feet, wings flicking warily. They remained silent for several minutes, Kuwagata watching him cautiously and Batta chewing on a mochi.

“I have enrolled you in the Academy,” he told her; Kuwagata nodded silently. “Why? Because you have proven intelligent, as well as having a grasp on the intricacies of our kikaichu, enough so that the Elders and Shibi-sama have both seen fit to inform me of your progress and rate of development. This means that you must go to the Academy. Why? Because lack of focus, social construct, and challenges will see you stagnate quickly.” His piece said, Batta picked up another mochi and stood up, turning to walk towards the door. “You start tomorrow. Do not be late.” And, with that, he was gone.

...It was the most he has ever said to her.

Silently, Kuwagata put the mochi away and returned to her room. She needed to make a list of things she would require for the Academy, a list she would take to Kimiko-obasan, who would help her shop... It also gave her an excuse to see her new cousin and Clan Heir, Shino. He was adorable, in her opinion, even if seeing his kikaichu Burrows brought her nightmares and horrifying flashbacks to her own Infestation. Still, he was born in late January and it was only April, so he was only just beginning to figure out how to interact with the world around him. And he looked like a little caterpillar, wrapped in his Aburame Cloth and too-big eye-protectors...

She was distracting herself.

Shaking her head, Kuwagata gathered some paper and a pen, and quickly sketched out a small list, vaguely remembering that the curriculum for beginning Academy Students was mostly the baby-steps of theory, stretching, stamina building, and indoctrination to the Will of Fire, All Praise Konoha! Kuwagata was very cynical towards the whole thing, but, then again, she loathed herd-mentality. Bystander Syndrome was also a large problem she'd discovered in the world. The more people were around when something bad was happening, the less likely they were to interfere. Or, the more people who were around when something upsetting happened, the more likely they were to form a Mob, as their anger and indignation and energy fed off those around them.

Hives were so much better. Even a singular Drone would sacrifice himself for the good of the Hive. Kikaichu understood Sacrifice, Loyalty, and the idea of Whole-Over-Singular. For all that Konoha preached Teamwork and Loyalty to the Village, it wasn't exactly known for sticking to it, as it were. The Three Sannin, for example, were exulted images of power and teamwork and how amazing Konoha was to the other villages. Children boasted about how they were going to be the Next Sannin!

And yet, where were those Sannin now? Orochimaru, the Traitor, had been the only Sannin to stay in Konoha until he was chased away. Tsunade abandoned the Village, and Jiraiya set foot in it only once or twice a year, pending emergencies, and only to visit his student, the Yondaime. Sadly, of the three, Orochimaru was the only one Kuwagata could appreciate. His reasons for his actions were, technically, sound, though the results were, without question, unacceptable. He was only following orders for the betterment of the Village, but, well.

If a Drone starts eating eggs, eggs that have not been checked for their potential by the Queens, then other Drones are duty bound to cull the cannibal, for the protection of the future of the Hive.

Another example, Kuwagata mused as she left the house, was Hatake Sakumo. The White Fang, one of the strongest Shinobi Konoha had produced. A perfect record for missions, a fantastic Team Leader, strong Jounin, the perfect example of the Will of Fire...

And all of it was thrown away. One mission, one single failure of a mission, and he was all but exiled. Yes, it had been a very important mission, but Kuwagata had looked up the facts, studied the patterns, and had noticed the one thing no one else had seemed to pick up. When Sakumo chose his Teammates over completing the mission, it was because the mission had already been compromised. Which meant a Traitor had made that mission fail, but all anyone could see was the White Fang's failure and another World War on the horizon.

This Village had killed him, in the end.

Shaking her head, Kuwagata focused on the here and now. Dead Shinobi and Traitors and Sannin and Stupidity aside, none of it was her issue at the moment. She would keep the lessons they taught in mind, but for now, she put it aside.

Kimiko-obasan was walking towards her, little Shino swathed in a cradle of clothe against her chest like a spider's meal, and, behind her high collar, Kuwagata smiled.

“As you are starting the Academy tomorrow, we shall buy the essentials now,” Kimiko-obasan informed her calmly. “We will not be getting any of the practice kunai or shuriken. Why? Because we have more than enough in storage and it would be pointless to buy more when there is no need.”

“Hai, Kimiko-obasan,” Kuwagata agreed as the older woman gently took her hand, fingertips barely brushing but feeling firm enough to grip.

“We will start with scrolls.” And so they left.

oOoOoOoOo

“Aburame-chan, please take a seat,” Kondo Reo-Sensei told Kuwagata calmly. The Chunin was a very stern, quiet seeming man, with dark brown hair the he had in a severe bun and dark blue eyes. He was also the first teacher she'd met that hadn't seemed uncomfortable by her kikaichu, which were antsy with the new environment and all the uncontrolled Chakra, and so were crawling out of her clothes and along her skin visibly. It made her think better of him already. The Kunoichi-studies Sensei, Maeda Sana, had squealed in horror and cringed away from her. Kuwagata would not be returning.

She could learn from her female relatives how to be a “proper” Kunoichi.

Eyes roving over the class, taking in the subtle and unsubtle shifting so empty seats suddenly seemed taken, Kuwagata fought not to roll her eyes. Children, really. Instead of causing a fuss, she picked a seat near the back, where a boy with messy brown hair and red triangular Clan Markings was dozing with a scrawny black ball of fur that looked vaguely like a puppy. Walking sedately toward her chosen seat, she ignored the way her classmates leaned away from her. A Miasma Drone fluttered into the air from the hole behind her ear, and one of the Civilian girls squealed.

“Ew, ew, ew, ew!” She shrieked, and Kuwagata's eye twitched as her whole Hive scrambled out of her to buzz threateningly at the high-pitched shouts and flailing.

“Ugh, shut yer trap, Akari!” The boy Kuwagata had decided to sit beside snapped, baring abnormally sharp teeth. The scrawny black puppy added their own complaint, a high-pitched growl and milk-teeth bared.

“B-but bugs!” The girl, Akari, squealed in disgust; Kuwagata stared at her.

“You do realize that Shinobi run into worse things than insects, correct?” She asked her blandly, her Hive slowly resettling, crawling through her hair and across her skin and into her clothes, making more than just Akari blanch. “After all, we will have to kill eventually, or see someone killed, or have to torture or be tortured one day,” she pointed out calmly. “And my kikaichu are no threat to you. Why? Because you are a fellow member of Konoha, and so they will not attack you.” Tilting her head in a slight nod, Kuwagata continued up the steps to her chosen seat, inclining her head towards the wild-looking boy.

“May I sit here?” She asked him calmly; he grinned at her, fangs bared.

“Sure!” He agreed easily; nodding at him, Kuwagata took her seat. “I'm Inuzuka Kaito, an' this is m'partner, Kyo!” The scrawny pup huffed at her, squinting up at her suspiciously. This close, through her glasses, Kuwagata could just make out the brindle pattern in the puppy's fur, and felt her eyebrows raise faintly.

“Hello, Inuzuka-kun, Kyo-chan,” she told them both politely. “Is Kyo-chan a Kai Ken?” Instantly, Kaito's face lit up with a smugly-pleased expression, and Kyo's gently curled tail wagged faintly.

“Yep!” He declared, preening with another bared-teeth grin. “She's th' last pup of the breedin' pair we've got! I beat my cousin out of getting' her an' ever'thin'!” Tugging on his gray shirt importantly, Kaito grinned at her, and Kuwagata inclined her head.

“Congradulations, Inuzuka-kun,” she told him, before Kondo-Sensei called for the class's attention.

“Today we will be learning about...”

oOoOoOoOo

Kuwagata didn't understand what was happening, at first. She'd been at the market with Kaito and Kyo, having grown to be very good friends in the last few months of working together (Inuzuka didn't shy away from Aburame. Their Heads had been on the same Genin team, after all, and what were kikaichu if not the nin-dogs of the Aburame?). It was chilly, but that was typical in October, even with the likelihood of snow being extremely low considering it was Fire Country. Still, Kaito had been laughing at Kyo because she was chasing one of Kuwagata's Semi Drones in circles, falling over from the dizziness.

It was a nice, average day.

And then it went to hell.

There wasn't any build-up, no slowly growing dread or 'something's not right' feeling. Nothing so obvious or premeditated. There was no warning at all when it happened.

One minute, it was an average day.

The next, the Kyuubi was there.

It was...

The ground shook, and the air itself was suffocatingly thick, the pure malice was a taste. Like blood and vomit and metal. Kyo peed herself, Kaito fell to the ground beside her with a wheeze and Kuwagata... Suddenly, suddenly she was back there back in the womb with the Infestation making her wish she could scream. Why Couldn't She ScrEAM?! Why why whywhYWHYWHYWHY?! HELPME!! NONONONONONO—!

Later, much later, when the walls stopped trembling and the reek of putrid, HATE didn't make every breath feel like she was drowning, Kuwagata would learn that her kikaichu had swarmed the air around her as she collapsed, dozens dying as they devoured the disgusting Chakra, gorging themselves as they tried to protect her. She would learn that it was Kaito and Kyo who got the attention of one of her distant, older cousins. She would learn that she had been carried to one of the shelters, that Kaito and Kyo had cowered next to her protectively behind the shroud of her kikaichu.

And she would learn, in the aftermath, that Batta never once searched for her, not once asked if she had survived, and that he had, indeed, gone straight back to work as if nothing was wrong.

As if she hadn't nearly gone into Chakra Shock from the overwhelming feel of a Biju's Chakra pressing against her. As if the Kyuubi hadn't tried to destroy their Village, that the Yondaime hadn't sacrificed himself and a single newborn to save them all. She would learn that Kimiko-obasan had slapped her father and called him an Infertile Queen and told him that, if she could, she would take Kuwagata from his custody. Why? Because she deserved a Family, not a stranger who came and went and never stayed.

She would learn all of that later.

But all she knew now was darkness and terror, like blood in her mouth and ashes in her throat.

Chapter Text

Beetle Juice

TWO

Drowning Lessons

Kuwagata forced out another slow, steady breath, fingers twitching as her Miasma's chittered and hummed around her. Since the Kyuubi Attack two months previous, she had been struggling to adapt to the mutations caused within her Hive. The three sub-types of kikaichu beneath her skin had all reacted to the influx of Biju Chakra differently, some more so than others, and her own body sometimes rebelled against the changes. Her Peppers had gained an acidic quality that caused severe chemical burns when they sprayed, numbers cut down to a third of what had been before and gaining a sickly orange-red color to their spray. Her Miasma's had grown to a full inch in size, forcing them to chew around the edges of her Burrows and force the passages wider, something that had left her bed-bound and in agony for days, as the equally acidic and poisonous quality of their venom and pheromones had seemed to increase the nerve sensitivity brought on by the Burrowing Enzymes once the numbing faded.

Her Semi's, however...

Where once she had managed to re-breed several hundred of her mothers kikaichu, now less than fifty remained. And of those, only a single, sickly Queen was left.

All the eggs she'd held incubating within her had been culled by the Kyuubi's Chakra and her own body's reaction to it, cramps and seizures causing delicate membranes and sacs to crush the fragile eggs within her intestines and bowels. She'd nearly died from the poison of it, and, had her Miasma's not mutated to such a degree from gorging themselves on corrupted Chakra, she just might have.

Instead, here she was, struggling to adapt to the changed within her Hive, even as it had been so greatly diminished.

Letting out another purposefully slow, steady breath as another Miasma crawled out of a Burrow, Kuwagata closed her eyes behind her glasses, tilting her face back to feel the too-hot-too-cold feel of the sun on her face. She was sitting in a tree near the Naka River, unwilling to do this slow, careful practice of control within the walls of the Compound. Not when Bata was on forced leave for mental evaluation, his refusal to acknowledge his emotions or the emotions of those around him having finally brought the cautious, grim attention of his superiors down on him. Especially now, when any aggression within the Ranks was being sharply assessed.

There had been four executions already, three Civilian and one Chunin, for attempted assassination of the Container, as well as willingly speaking of a S-Class secret within public hearing.

Letting out another low, slow breath, Kuwagata sighed as the last of the Miasma Drones finally crawled from her skin. The Queen had grown too large, nearly three inches of insidiously sweet-scented death hidden in the space between her ovaries, resting upon her womb like some metaphoric child herself. Opening her eyes, Kuwagata stared at the one hundred Drones as the hovered before her, gently bobbing, their dark red wings gleaming like blood in the sunlight as they watched her. They'd grown uncomfortably intelligent with the Kyuubi's influence, she'd also noted, and far, far more resilient than any other kikaichu. Perhaps it was the careful crossbreeding that had brought them into this state, or perhaps it had something to do with her own unnatural intelligence, but they were the only kikaichu in the Clan that had reacted in such a way.

On more reason for her to avoid practicing within the Compound, she supposed, as one of the Drones flew forward and carefully settled onto one of her pale fingers when she offered it. Bringing it up to her eye level, Kuwagata stared at its small, compound eye, and felt it staring back, a low, deep-toned hum in the back of her mind.

“...Again,” she told it after a moment, and the Drone chittered in agreement, wings flicking behind it like the signal flags of a Marine. Immediately, there was a loud, clear thrum of agreement in the back of her head, and Kuwagata returned to her slow, purposeful breathing as the Drones, one by one, returned to their Burrows.

Each time they came of went, the pain became infinitesimally smaller. She would keep practicing until it didn't even register. Until she could bare her skin to the elements and not be crippled by the pain brought on by her circumstances.

She would beat this.

Taking another deep breath, Kuwagata's mouth thinned.

She would endure.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Kondo-Sensei had died in the Kyuubi Attack. A lot of Sensei had died in the Kyuubi Attack. As a result, those Jounin that were too injured to return to the field for a while, or were forced to retire early, took place as temporary Sensei while Chunin had healthy Jounin threw themselves into Missions to prove that Konoha was far from weak despite it's wounds. Many of them, as a result, were bitter or cold, and more than one Civilian Born student left due to the pressure and stress, those that didn't leave because their Families suffered in the Attack and they had to step up to the adult plate.

Standing beside Kaito as they did their Katas, little Kyo doing sets of her own as she worked on strengthening her little body, Kuwagata darkly wondered what sort of Konoha there would be in even a single years time. As it was, they had already been forced to combine her own class with the year ahead of them, forcing her own classmates to throw themselves forward into the higher curriculum of be forced to fall behind. This, too, had lead to some drop outs, pressure, stress, and grief rising too high for some to handle.

Many of her classmates were grieving. Lost parents, siblings, family in general, friends and neighbors. Trying to cope with those losses, while trying to keep their work up to expectation as well as deal with equally stressed and emotional Jounin... It was a recipe for mental breakdowns.

It wouldn't surprise Kuwagata if, by the end of the year, they'd be forced to combine with the third-years class as well.

“Next Stance!” Jun-Sensei barked, dark green eyes grim as he walked along their lines, the stump of his missing arm still bandaged four months after the Attack.

“Hai!” The Class chanted in response, neatly, or not-so-neatly in some cases, transitioning from the Defense Stances of the Academy's Little Tree Taijutsu, into the Attack Stances. Immediately, Sensei was barking corrections, flicking pebbles with force enough to cause blood-blister bruises at those who didn't correct themselves at once. Kuwagata felt a tight frown curl her lips as Kaito yelped beside her, overbalancing just like Jun-Sensei said he would if he didn't straighten his shoulders.

“Bastard,” the Inuzuka growled, Kyo growling with him as the two sent dirty looks at the unaffected man.

“Just because you do not agree with his methods,” Kuwagata informed him as she smoothly continued her Katas, “does not mean you should ignore his words. Why? Because he not only has greater experience than we do, but has also yet to be incorrect about out Taijutsu. You fell over because you were unbalanced. Why? Because you were not keeping your shoulders straight. This is what Jun-Sensei told you to correct.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Kaito grumbled, heaving himself back to his feet and shaking his spiky hair vigorously, something which, funnily enough, Kyo immediately copied. Nearby, Kuwagata heard another girl coo, before yelping as Jun-Sensei hit her in the right arm with a pebble, a move that would have missed had the girl been holding said arm at the proper degree, Kuwagata noted.

“Aburame!” Jun-Sensei barked sharply. “If you have time to talk about training to your friend, you have time to run laps. Fifteen around the yard, go!”

“Hai, Sensei,” Kuwagata agreed simply, dropping from her kick to immediately set off. There was no point in complaining about something so tedious. After all, she had been talking during lesson, it was only logical that she would both be called out on it and punished. And running laps was more difficult for her than the Katas. After all, her kikaichu didn't mind the Katas as the constant shifting loosened muscles that tended to tense during running. Said running, however, tended to produce far more lactic acid as well as tighten muscles, neither of which was conductive to keeping their eggs settled and safe.

They still preferred it to sparring, but, well, they would adapt, or they would die out. Thus was the way of nature.

A sudden, sharp pain on the back of her head made her stumble with a grimace.

“Ten more laps for daydreaming, Aburame!” Jun-Sensei barked; lips thinning, Kuwagata nodded.

“Hai, Sensei,” she called back, and grimly continued onward.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Bata had been cleared for duty, on a probationary sentence, which was a great relief to Kuwagata. Since the Attack, and Kimiko-Obasan's scolding and threats, the man had been even colder, sharper, than before. His Hive radiating aggressive pheromones and coating the house with them, to the point where even stepping through the door had made her own Hive hyper-vigilant and over-stressed. She'd caught several of his Drones trying to lure what few Semi kikaichu she had left away, an act that was as close to being Disowned as one could get without actually Disowning them.

It was why Shibi-Sama and Kimiko-Obasan were unable to adopt her officially. To do so, their own kikaichu would have to force out or kill her Semi and Pepper kikaichu and replace them with their own, something that was emotionally and physically damaging to their Clanmembers that grew even more damaging as they aged. After all, young children were not fully dependent nor able to fully comprehend the Hive or its connection to them, but, as they aged, that changed.

Bata attempting to lure away her mother's kikaichu while leaving his own, however, wasn't him disowning her, leaving her Family-less within the Clan until another adopted her. No, it was him saying that she may be his daughter but she wasn't Semi's daughter. Sometimes, this was the case if one parent turned traitor or betrayed the Clan, but not in this case.

As a result, her Hive had grimly killed any kikaichu that attempted to come near the small number of Semi she had left, their weak, fragile Queen and equally weak Drones tucked away within her skin until natural selection either took them or made them stronger. They'd been delegated to caring for eggs and larvae and pupa, while the Pepper Drones stood guard and the Miasma's took control of attacking and gathering Chakra for food.

Going through the finally empty house and opening all the windows, Kuwagata allowed her Miasma's free reign, grimly satisfied as they pointedly and spitefully sprayed areas that Bata's kikaichu preferred to rest or feed, poisoning those places so that only her own Hive could settle their safely.

Leaving them to their aggressive scent-marking, Kuwagata went to her room and absently cleaned the dust from her desk, setting her school bag against the wall beside her chair. She'd spent a majority of her time since Bata's suspension living at Shibi-Sama's home, mixed with a few days here and there spent at other relatives and, on two memorable occasions, staying at the Inuzuka Compound, where she learned that a few of her Clanmates worked in the Kennels, keeping the nin-dogs parasite free in exchange for free food for their kikaichu. Some kikaichu, after all, had very small mouths and could therefore only eat small prey, like fleas, mites, and gnats. The Black Poison had been that way, after all.

Others worked best on internal parasites, ridding dogs of creatures gained from swamps, flies, and unclean water, not that very many made such mistakes, but pups were still pups and some things just happened.

Anyways, due to her avoiding her own home to keep her Hives stress levels low, and thus her own, she'd been forced to abandon the safe haven of her room and books.

Now she wouldn't have to, as Bata would be in T&I for the next several days, both catching up with work and being evaluated on-sight. So, she was free to once more bury herself within the science and history of her Village and Clan, and do her homework in peace.

Smiling faintly as a particularly aggressive Miasma Drone crawled along the rim of her glasses, flicking his wings eagerly as she opened her new book on the History of Konoha's relations with other Villages, Kuwagata settled into her comfortable chair and, for the first time since the Attack, relaxed.

It was good to be back in her Nest...

oOooOoOoOoOo

Three years had passed since the Kyuubi Attack, and Kuwagata was officially a Genin. The eight-year-old had gained several inches on her Classmates in that time, standing tall over them as her new headband rested around her neck on the outside of her high-collar. She would have to wait until she got back to the Compound until she could exchange the cotton for Aburame Cloth once she returned. Kaito was bouncing beside her, Kyo prancing smugly pleased as they wandered out of the Academy towards the waiting parents. They were some of the youngest to graduate this year, their original Class dropping from thirty to fifteen to just six before being mixed with the two years above them. The Kyuubi Attack had necessitated their sudden raise in status, forcing them to push forward or drop out entirely. Those who couldn't make the cut had been given the option of trying again or joining the Genin Corps. Very few had been allowed to simply discard their training to become Civilians once more, and of those only the Heirs or sudden Heads of Civilian Clans were the ones to get away with it.

Konoha, thy name is Hypocrisy, she mused cynically as she followed her excitable friend and his partner towards the waiting form of his mother, Inuzuka Asuga.

“Congratulations, brats,” the gruff older woman told them, roughly ruffling Kaito's hair even as her own partner—a large white-furred mastiff-hybrid named Hakaku—snuffled and nudged Kyo until the tiny, fierce Kai Ken was forced to roll onto her back, where the larger dog promptly blew a raspberry against her belly before throwing his massive head back with a cackle at her furious squeal. “You comin' over for dinner, buggy?” Asuga asked her as Kuwagata finally made it to them, blinking behind her glasses as Kyo latched onto Hakaku's large, drooping ear, making the older dog cackle some more as a simple shake of his head made the pup flip through the air.

“Not tonight, Asuga-Obasan,” she informed the older woman calmly. “Why? Because I believe Shibi-Sama and Kimiko-Obasan have plans. However, I would not be opposed to training tomorrow as we have three days before Team Assignments are handed out.” Asuga nodded brusquely in agreement, before the Inuzuka's took their leave, Kyo barking loudly and angrily at the large, snicking form of Hakaku as she balanced on his head.

There were no Aburame waiting to take her home, and so Kuwagata felt no need to hurry there. Instead, she headed towards the tree she'd taken to roosting in beside the Naka River. It was a strong Fire Beech Tree, and was often called home by wasps and bees in the early and mid-summer. This year, it was free of their hives and vespiary, and so it was easy for the young Genin to climb up into her tree. Leaning against the strong trunk, she ignored the twinges of pain as a handful of her Miasma climbed from her skin.

The last few years had seen a change in her Hive. Her Peppers had all but become Miasma's themselves, not as potent nor as poisonous, but better able to defend the Hive from internal and surprise attacks. The actual Miasma's had only grown more vicious, gaining vicious mandibles that worked more like spider fangs, able to inject a paralytic poison that could kill a full grown adult within an hour if left unattended. Their pheromone and misting had warped due to their corrupted Chakra, acting almost like a chemical form of a genjutsu, leaving those caught in their waves disoriented and quiet, near sleepy. Their intelligence had also grown, to the point that they better understood her orders than any of her other kikaichu and could, in fact, form rudimentary plans to assist on their own. No smarter than the average, if viciously pragmatic, five-year-old, but she had been surprised more than once in the last few years by their ingenuity.

The Semis... They were almost gone. They were no longer the hardy, simple kikaichu they had once been, the residual Biju Chakra that emanated from her Miasma's and, to a lesser degree, her Peppers, had kept them weak and their numbers few. They laid fewer and fewer eggs and were delegated solely to internal use. Bata no longer attempted to steal them away, no longer even attempted to speak with her, in fact. The day her newer, more vicious Peppers had hatched, they had devoured the entirety of the previous generation, effectively disowning him in a sense. There were still, genetically, related to his Hive, but only in the same way that humans and apes were related.

And, as she held up a hand to watch several of those Pepper Drones skitter out from beneath her clothes, Kuwagata couldn't help but muse that it was better this way.

She still got unbearably lonely at times. Still felt that need for a friendly touch while being equally revolted by the idea. Still wished for someone to greet her when she came home from school with a smile and warmth.

But...

But. She had her Hive. She had Shibi-Sama, Kimiko-Obasan, Shino-chan, and little Torune-chan (Shino's first cousin) to greet her at the Compound, or come looking for her for a friendly chat or gentle brush of over-sensitive fingers. And she had Kaito and Kyo for school, or, well, she had, and the Inuzuka had no qualms with filling her days with chatter and barks. She was coping, to the best of her abilities, and when she couldn't cope, she had books and science and training and her Hive to focus on.

She would survive.

She would adapt.

She would—!

A sudden splash had her head jerking to the side, in time to see a tiny form fall into the river. A good ways away, a bright haired woman was lunging to her feet, looking around frantically, and calling out a name she couldn't quite hear.

In a split second, her mind calculated what had happened and all the choices and decisions that could be made.

In a split second, it landed on the only one that was acceptable.

Flinging off her heavy coat, ignoring the bite of wind and sun on her near bear skin as she exposed the strapless bra-like cloth on her chest and the thick, loose shorts on her legs, Kuwagata didn't hesitate to throw herself into the water, feeling the surge of her Miasma Drones as a cloud of them caught her jacket and the rest began to hover. As the Peppers and those Miasma in her skin scrambled to protect Queens and Eggs alike. As the Semi seemed to quiver as they huddled together helplessly as they, too, sought shelter.

And then, she was in the water, and knew only the biting, bitterly cold agony of overwhelmed senses and screaming nerves.

Her vision grayed out for a moment, a split second where she almost wheezed in shock from the feeling of chilly water abrasively touching her skin, filling her Burrows cruelly, sending her muscles to spasming. But, then, the Hive roared within her, shocked her back to focus, made her move. Move toward the tiny, limp form she could barely make out, her glasses swept away with the tide, leaving her to squint blearily through murky, dark water.

Thankfully, the child, a toddler, was wearing a bright yellow dress and had equally bright pink hair, otherwise she may not have been able to find her. The second her narrow fingers grabbed the little girls dress, Kuwagata was throwing herself towards the surface, struggling against the limp weight of the child and her own clothes, but Academy Training had taught her how to endure and so, she did, until with a harsh gasp her head broke the surface and she managed to stagger up the embankment and onto dry ground, dumping the child onto the grass beside her.

The water that had carved through her body by entering the Burrows began to reluctantly remove itself, several places on her body making mildly disturbing glub-glub noises, as if a water-filled jug had been flipped quickly upside-down to empty. Shuddering at both the feel and the agony coursing through her, Kuwagata forced herself to straighten and reach for the child once more, checking the little girls small form over before flipping her onto her belly over her knee and pressing sharp and hard against her forcefully curved back, a makeshift Heimlich maneuver.

Immediately, the tiny body gagged, and disturbingly hot-feeling water gushed from her tiny nose and mouth. She then vomited onto Kuwagata, more water as well as what looked like half-digested fruit, splattering onto her soaked pants. Grimacing faintly even as she struggled to squint through the glare of the sun, the newly minted Genin glanced up as she felt her Hive approach quickly with another form.

“Sakura!” A woman's voice cried out, before the bright-haired woman she'd noted before slid to her knees at Kuwagata's side, uncaring of the water, mud, and vomit that immediately soaked into her jeans. The little girl was still gagging, now intermixed with heavy sobs and wet coughs, and Kuwagata obligingly handed her over to the woman, forcing herself to her feet in order to accept both her coat and headband from her Swarm of Miasmas as they hovered closer to her in response.

“You should get her to the hospital quickly,” she informed the woman hoarsely. “Why? Because she was not breathing for a minimum of two minutes. Also, the Naka River is filled with parasites and bacteria which could cause pneumonia or some other equally dangerous disease or illness.” The woman nodded hurriedly, scooping the child, Sakura, up into her arms and disappearing from her blurry view with at least Chunin-level speeds. Not bothering to close her coat, unwilling to get the already heavy fabric more than just damp, Kuwagata accepted her headband and carefully tied it around her aching eyes, breathing out as at least one pain was, temporarily, ceased.

“We shall also go to the hospital,” she informed her hovering Swarm firmly. “Why? Because the Naka is filled with bacteria, and it has infiltrated the Hive to an unacceptable degree.” Nodding, she began to make her cautious way towards said destination, allowing the Swarm to both guide her and deter any curious or wary gawkers.

“Yo there, little Aburame,” a male voice called cheerfully as she walked, making her come to a stop as her Swarm buzzed warily. “Where are you off to with such an angry-sounding Hive, hmm?”

“The hospital,” she informed the unknown man calmly, but only after her Hive sent her feelings if Ally, Not-Hive But Strong, Jounin.

“That so?” The male, the Jounin, asked; Kuwagata nodded, head turned towards the direction of his voice.

“Yes,” she told him calmly. “I was required to jump into the Naka River to stop a small child from drowning. I must now go to the hospital. Why? Because the unclean water has flooded my body and the risk of gaining a septic infection or some other malady is too great.” the Jounin hummed.

“And you're wearing your forehead protector like that because...?” Kuwagata tilted her head.

“I lost my glasses,” she told him, simply, easily, as if it was nothing more than simple fact. The sky is blue, the grass is green, I lost my glasses.

“I see...” the Jounin said slowly; Kuwagata waited for him to say something more, but, when he didn't, she nodded cordially towards him and started forward once more. After a few moments of walking, her kikaichu informed her that the Jounin was following her, completely silent and Chakra hidden from her still overwhelmed senses.

“You do not need to escort me to the hospital, Jounin-San,” she stated clearly, calmly, as she walked onward, absently following the buzz of a Miasma Drone in front of her face. “Why? Because I not only am capable of reaching it myself, but my kikaichu are able to guide me there safely.”

“Eh, it's no problem, little Aburame,” he informed her easily, and she blinked behind her headband as she heard the sound of metal clicking against enamel. “I was on my way there myself, so it's no hassle at all. And call me Genma.”

“As you like, Genma-San,” she replied agreeably, shrugging a little and grimacing as more water immediately sputtered out of the holes on her upper arms. The two walked in silence for a while longer, until, finally, they reached the hospital.

Informing the nurse exactly why she was there, Kuwagata was quickly escorted to a room to wait for an Aburame-familiar nurse to be called.

Perched upon the bed with her jack folded neatly to the side, Kuwagata struggled not to shudder too hard, closing her eyes beneath the dark, itchy band of her forehead protector.

As she did so, breathing slowly and carefully as her Miasma Drones and a few Pepper Drones settled on and around her, she cautiously reached for the mental connection she had with her Hive.

Immediately, she found the strong, spitefully pleased presence of the Miasma Queen, who hoarded the majority of her pelvic cavity for herself and her eggs. Many of the Burrows leading to that area had been closed off long before the threat of drowning, so she and her clutch were safe as could be and smug as can be about it. The Pepper Drones had not faired so well in their home beneath her lungs and around her liver. Many Drones had perished trying to move the eggs, larvae, and pupa to safer locations, but at least the Queen and a good amount of those eggs had also survived...

It was then she noted the distinct absence of her Semi kikaichu. The connection she had to them had been weakening since the Attack, of course, but she usually felt a faint murmur from the Queen, at least, but now... Now there was nothing but a cold, wet silence in her chest.

Her mother's kikaichu were gone...

The examination and removal of what water remained slipped past her in a haze of numbness. Her mother's kikaichu were gone. There would be no bringing them back. No asking Bata for permission to get a new Queen from her mother's Hive-Shrine so that she may try again. No do over's, no take-backs.

In saving the life of a small child, she had effectively murdered whatever remained of her mother's Will inside her Hive.

...Bata would not stand for her to remain in his house now. Not when the only reason he could even tolerate being around her was the constant, buzzing reminder of Semi in her skin.

Blankly, dazedly, as she got redressed and silently accepted a new pair of Aburame-special glasses from the nurse, Kuwagata wondered if Shibi-Sama and Kimiko-Obasan would mind her sleeping on their extra futon until she could afford her own apartment or house within the Compound...

Stepping out of the examination room, Kuwagata barely had time to recognize (thanks to her still faithfully hovering Miasma) the Shinobi leaning against the wall outside as Genma, before a small, coughing, pink-haired missile rammed into her side, giving her the unpleasant sensation of blunt force trauma mixed with heavy cushioning affect of her Aburame jacket.

“Nii-saaaaaaan,” the small child wailed, hacking and coughing as she clung. The woman from before, her mother, smiled weakly as she padded over. “Arigato, Nii-san! Arigato!” Kuwagata stared down at the pink-haired girl, who looked up at her with large, watery green eyes that were currently bloodshot and painful-looking thanks to her coughing and temporary drowning.

“...Nee-san,” she corrected calmly, tiredly, hesitantly patting the little girl on the head. “And you're welcome, Sakura-chan,” she added as well, nodding. “Just be careful about going near rivers for now. Why? Because until you are strong enough to swim on your own, it is too dangerous to do so by yourself.” The girl blinked slowly, pausing to cough, before meekly nodding.

“Strong like you, Nee-san,” she coughed, snuffling loudly as she rubbed her cheek against Kuwagata's jacket. “Be a ninja too!” Kuwagata shifted her weight slightly, uncomfortable with the continued physical contact and the amused smiles of Genma and the woman.

“If that is what you would like to do, I see no reason for you not to do so,” she told the child carefully. “Why? Because Konoha need strong Shinobi to keep it safe.” With that, she firmly, but oh-so-carefully, extracted herself form the child's grip, something, thankfully, made easier due to a sudden coughing fit. Before the girl could latch onto her again, those green eyes already filling with tears, Genma stepped forward, tucked two of his fingers beneath the edge of her jacket collar and, with a cheerful salute and a quick word, all but dragged her, stumbling slightly, away.

“Thank you,” she told him as he stopped by the front desk so she could sign out. “Why? Because I am currently not suited to deal with small children.”

“I could tell,” he told her agreeably, and then he waved her off as he walked back into the hospital and, as Kuwagata watched, signaled at the nurse with a charming grin, the senbon he was chewing clicking against his teeth as he winked. Risisting the urge to roll her eyes, Kuwagata began the long, slow walk to the Aburame Compound, the heaviness in her chest not eased by the lack of river water filling said cavity.

Her mother's kikaichu were gone.

The sky was blue, the grass was green, her mother's kikaichu were dead.

Slowly, carefully, she took a deep breath and, just as slowly, as carefully, let it back out. The borrowed glasses were too big on her head, so, when a Miasma Drone settled on it, flicking his wings comfortingly at her, they tilted humorously, almost lifting off her eyes completely, only to instead rest as an almost diagonal angle. Kuwagata felt her lips twitch, before she took another controlled breath.

Her Semi kikaichu were gone, dead, drowned and lost.

But the sky was still blue.

The grass was still green,

And Kuwagata was still a Genin of Konoha. And she was not Alone.