The Road Not Taken - part 13
Shibi x female reader with a name - arranged marriage
Summary: Airi Nara seems a hopeless case, until her grandmother sets her up for an arranged marriage. But was marrying Shibi Aburame the right choice after all?
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The track back to your cave isn’t long, but you have to tread carefully. The shadows seem alive around you, the darkness a beast, intent to swallow you whole.
You barely have any Chakra left when you leave some shadow clones scattered around the area, slip into the cave in the hopes of going unnoticed.
Iruka’s welcoming you with wide eyes, voice skittish.Â
“Where were you?” He asks. “Akane’s not doing good.”Â
You lean over her. She’s gotten a fever.
“I found the scroll. It took me some convincing to get it.”
You take one look at him, calculate the chance of someone attacking tonight.
“Get some rest.” You tell him. “I’ll take care of Akane. You’ll have to bear the brunt of any attack if it happens and we need you at your best.”
He doesn’t object, but you doubt he’s resting well, with danger licking at his heels and a dead comrade by his side.
Akane’s fever breaks two hours later and you allow your eyes to close - not to sleep, but to take a breathe and listen, to replenish your Chakra the best you can. It will be a difficult trek home. You’re not safe yet.
-.- Shibi -.-
He’s never been more glad to see the familiar walls of Konohagakure.Â
His gourd is strangely light on his shoulders, his Kikaichu decimated to the point that they all fit inside his body. It’s been a long time since he felt this empty.
“Ah, I’m looking forward to get home.” Kenji mutters, looking as exhausted as Shibi feels. “Toshiko’s not been feeling well lately. The pregnancy is freaking her out a little.”
“Has she talked to Airi?” He asks but is interrupted by his own Kikaichu before he can elaborate. His brows furrows and Kenji watches him with observant eyes.
“Everything good?”
“Hisoka has given birth. They’ve been waiting for our return to start the rituals. It seems to be a healthy girl.”
“Oh, that’s good.” Kenji laughs. “Hisoka was hoping for a girl. But you’re worried. What is it?”
“Airi isn’t home. Let’s check in first.”
“The Hokage-”
“The Hokage can wait.” Shibi orders curtly. Kenji follows him quietly.
-
His mother is working diligently at the kitchen table, teaching Torune how to fill capsules and press dried herbs into little pills.
Shino seems to be working on something similar, still clumsy in the way he handles the tools that are a little too big for him. It has always been his mothers approach to let children get acquainted with work as soon as possible.
Shino looks up, recognizes him and stubbornly lowers his head again.
Ah. It’s like that again.
Torune, however, jumps from his place at the table, draws as close as he dares to.
“Hello, Shibi-san.” The boy greets him calmly. “I’m glad you came home safely.”
“How was the mission?” Chiasa asks, eyeing him carefully. “How long will you have to stay put.”
Her question addresses the obvious lack of Kikaichu and he puts his gourd away, takes the few steps to the table and offers his hand to Shino who considers it for a second, before taking it, pressing his face against his arm for a second.
“Where’s Airi?” Shibi asks, directs the question at his mother.
“Left for a mission two days after you left. She’s supposed to be back today.”
“A mission? Why?”
“There was an aunty.” Torune points out. “From the Nara-Clan. She came in the morning and Mo- Airi had to make tea for her. She gave me breakfast and told me to eat with Shino in the living room and not come into the kitchen while the aunty was there.”
“It was the mean one.” Shino points out. “I tried to defend myself against her once and Mom didn’t like it. She’s very mean.”
“Who is?” Shibi asks. Shino looks up at him, blinks once as he recalls the name. “Yori. Mom called her Yori.”
Ah. He’s going to have to do something about that. Talk it through with you as soon as you’re back.
“I’ll have to meet with the Hokage.” He points out, notices how Shino immediately pulls away, hiding his pout behind his collar. “Is there anything special I should buy for Airi returning home today?”
“Chocolate.” Torune points out quickly. “There’s hardly anything left.”
“Pear Flavored Candy.” Shino comments now too. “But I want to buy them for her. I didn’t say goodbye.”
“That is a good idea. Mother, will you take them to the store after this?”
Chiasa eyes him for a second, clearly debating if she should allow him to spoil the kids. But she nods in the end.Â
-
You do not return that day.Â
Shino had been hopeful when he went to bed, Candies set out on the kitchen table as a way of greeting for when you returned..
But you don’t come home that night.
Shibi can’t even blame his son for the mood he’s in the following day, cranky and skittish.
He’s on strict rest to regain his Kikaichu as fast as possible, but he still takes the boys out for a long walk around the compound before dropping in with Hisoka for a visit.Â
She asks after you and he swallows around the lump in his throat as he tries his best at a calm, reassuring voice.
You’re fine. He’s made sure you’re capable of defending yourself.
He still would have liked for you to be present at the ritual. You’re usually so interested in all things Aburame and he would have loved to explain the intricacies of it. How the bond between human and bug starts and how it is maintained.
He supposes that there will be another time for this, especially considering that Toshiko is pregnant as well, but still - he misses you.
The next day, Shino’s foul mood has turned into something even more devastating.Â
He hides for the better part of the morning, does not eat breakfast and only comes out of hiding when Okita needs to be fed, demanding for him to move.
“You are upset.” He points out as Shino hides his face in his father’s coat.
Torune watches him over his cup of tea, face equally torn.
“Shino did not say goodbye.” Shino whimpers at Torune’s words, but allows Shibi to lift him up.
“I said I do not love her. Why? Because I did not want her to leave!”
“I understand.” Shibi holds his son close and opens his arms, a sign for Torune to step closer as well. He does so carefully, leans into the hug as best as he can.Â
“You’re Shinobi. You have to understand that each mission could be your last. We should always consider that our words will be parting words.”
“What did you say when you left?” Shino asks.
“I told you all that I would stay safe.”
“Mother said that as well.” Torune remembers. “She promised she’d come back.”
“She’s not one to break a promise.”
-
Two more awful days pass.Â
There are no news of your mission status, no matter who he asks.Â
He drops in with Shikaku, explains the situation as best as he can.
“I wasn’t aware of that mission.” Shikaku shakes his head. “I thought she would start working at the hospital again. Yori was pestering me about it. She probably could have dropped out if she asked for it, especially since you were away.”
“Not if Yori asked her to do it.”
“Ah.” Shikaku nods slowly. “So you’ve noticed the power Yori holds over her? I mean, you owe that witch your marriage, in a way, but I would advise you to keep out of her way.”
“How are you talking about an elder?!” Yoshino yells from the kitchen.
“I’m just being honest! You don’t even like her yourself!”
A strange feeling takes hold of him as he watches them fight.
It won’t leave him, not when he excuses himself a short while later, nor when he stops in front of the house he knows Yori lives in.
How would he act, if confronted with that woman?Â
For a moment, as quick as a heartbeat, he considers the possibility of your death.
Its implication surges through him like lightning, leaves his hive buzzing in panic.
He forces the thought away immediately, cannot allow himself to pursue it further.
But its impact lingers. Your absence is too obvious.
It’s in the way Tsume’s voice is only half as loud when she talks to him. In Mikio bringing over Sakura to keep Shino occupied. It’s in Naruto’s eyes when he passes him on the street. The boy is searching for someone and he cannot fault him for that one bit. Shibi’s searching himself.
-.- Airi -.-
Your right foot has not stopped hurting for hours.
Your pretty sure your ankle is sprained and it does not help that you’re supporting Iruka’s weight with your right side. He’d taken the brunt of your last fight and it’s a testament to his quick thinking that he not only made it out alive but managed to draw the fight closer and closer to the borders of the Land of Fire.Â
It’s been days since you’ve got the scroll. You’re always on the move, living off whatever you can find. Today it’s been a type of moss you recognized as edible, a very skinny rabbit and as much water as you could possibly drink.Â
“As soon as we cross the border, we can send out a Messenger Hawk.” Akane grinds through her teeth. She’s still awfully pale, tires easily in fights, but she’s doing her best.Â
“Not yet.” You shake your head, the pain in your ankle intensifiying when your foot knocks against a stubborn branch. “We cannot stay put just because we’ve crossed the border. I don’t think the other Shinobi care that much about the border anyway.”
Akane glares at you. There’s something like respect in her eyes, but she’s not giving it to you lightly. It had been hard for her to accept that not only did you, a Chunin, procure the scroll she failed to get, but that you also called the shots since Daisuke died.Â
Jonin pride is something you’ll never fully get.
“When we get back.” She points out, taking her time to talk just like you, preserving her energy as much as she can. “You will get promoted to Jonin.”
“I’d rather not.”
Her head snaps around.
“Why not?”
“Why would I take a slightly higher pay just to have a higher chance at getting killed every day?”
“You are obviously skilled enough to be a Jonin. We need more Jonin. Would you really be this selfish? What about serving your country?”
“What is it with you people that you think serving your people means to offer yourself up to get killed?” Your voice has turned sharp. “I understand that the life of a Shinobi is a short and dangerous one. I understand that we serve to keep those alife who cannot fight. But I shouldn’t have to fear for my loved ones every single day because the teams are small to save money and they send Chunin’s out on missions that require Jonin.”
Akane’s mouth has turned into a thin line. She is not a friend of you, no matter how many times you’ve saved her life on this mission and your words are dangerous if taken out of context. But there is something that the two of you have in common.
“I am a mother.” You say with conviction. For a moment you see Yori’s face in front of you and you repeat it with vigor. “I am a mother. It is no longer my sole duty to serve my country and die a honorable death. It is now my duty to keep these boys safe and to make sure that when the time comes and they’ll have to go out, they know how to stay alife. I serve the following generations and not those who came before me.”
“I agree.” Iruka coughs and blinks. You check his vitals quickly but he’s doing good. Well, as good as he can with two broken ribs and a lot of internal bruising.
“Every time I go out on missions I don’t know if I’ll come back. And I want to do my best, but I will probably never make Jonin. I just don’t have my parents skill. But I… I think I am… good with kids. Naruto-”
“You should be a teacher.” Akane speaks like it hurts her to pull the words from her mouth. “Both of you. If you cannot see yourself out in the field for much longer, you should teach the following generation. Because you have skill, obviously. Otherwise you would no longer be alive. I’ve seen you fight.”
Iruka laughs and you wonder if he’s got a fever as well.
“I’m a poor Orphan who failed his first Chunin exam. They will never let me become a teacher.”
“They will. I have an idea.” A shiver runs down your back. “But we need to find cover now. There’s someone following us again.”
-.- Shibi -.-
Four days after you should have returned a search party leaves Konoha.Â
Tsume is on it, as well as Kenji. They have nothing to go off but the original mission instruction and their Kekkai Genkai.
Shibi longs to be part of that search party, but even without the fact that he’s missing half of his Kikaichu he cannot bring himself to leave his boys behind.
Only half an hour after the search party has left the village there’s a sharp knock on his door.
He opens, surprised to find Kakashi, no Anbu mask in sight.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes. I’d like you to appoint me as a secondary Search Party.”
There’s a moment of silence. None of them speak.Â
Somewhere behind Kakasi another figure appears.
“Me as well.” Might Guy declares with too much enthusiasm for a topic like this. “Asuma and Kurenai want to come as well, they are currently packing their things.”
“This is a nice offer.” Shibi steps outside and closes the door behind him. “But the first Search Party is very well suited for this mission. Enthusiasm alone will not make your talents match those of an Inuzuka or an Aburame.”
“We have information-” Kakashi starts but is interrupted by Might Guy who grabs his friends shoulder like his life depends on it. “My friend here-” “Rival.” “My Rival here has vested interest in the return of Iruka Umino. I myself have gotten pestered by the young Rock Lee about the whereabouts of his mother. We want to help and we might just have gotten information that the original Search Party lacks.”
Shibi turns to look at Kakashi who’s doing his best at looking as bored as possible.”
“Explain yourself.”
“It is about the child.” Kakashi presses out. “I have promised my Sensei that I will look after the Child. You have probably noticed that Naruto has been looking for Iruka.”
Shibi fights back a sigh. “Very well. Let’s take a short walk and discuss the matter.”
-
It’s not a small sum that he has to pay to employ four high-class Jonin - one of them still mostly part of the Anbu - on a second Search Mission. He doubts they will have more success than the team made up of Shinobi who are trained for Search and Rescue. But if there is something he can do, no matter how small, he has to do it.
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