Where there was Hinata, there was bound to be some scene of pandemonium.

And what would you know? There was.

Shrill screams of alarm had him stooping low, one; to avoid being decapitated by the heavy scythe that went whirling over the space where his head had been and two, to plant his feet and jump back and flicker into the air to assess the ambush from high above, scarcely missing the senbon needles that trailed toward him. Smokey clouds of dirt had thrust up into the air with heavy volume, concealing the combatants and making it harder for him to see which one of those blurs under him were friend or foe. They were under attack and his team had scattered across the playing field, split apart like fissures on a cracked glass.

Now, where was Kakashi-sensei, or Kurenai-sensei? And the cargo wasn't visible! Kami knew where their charges were. Sasuke crossed his arms, mid-air, sullen by the poor prospects presented to him.

Inexcusable for him, there was only so much time to waste in the air before he came back down to join the fray.

And when his feet touched the floor, they were waiting for him.

He reached for his Kunai pouch, deflecting the pointed dagger targeted at his eye with the blunt end of his blade and kicked the other that followed to the ground, crouching low and swiping out his feet when the heavy foot of an enemy slashed at him from behind, aiming at his shoulder. The assailant went down grunting, rolling to his feet in an impressive display of acrobatics (Sarcasm!) and driving him backwards with a double edged sword that he swung wildly to his sides like a startled bully.

In other words, he was far too sloppy and Sasuke easily disabled him, shucking his weapon off to the side several yards away and planting his right knee onto his bony chest, using the force of gravity and his own physical weight to knock him down flat on his back. "Too slow. So weedy. Eat some protein and try harder next time."

"Why you!-"

"Listen. I don't have time to waste on a weakling like you, skeletor."

And with a tight fist smashed into his pointy nose, breaking it with a decisive crack! Sasuke knocked his opponent out cold.

Up ahead, within the mist, someone chuckled and clapped at him. The unknown person turned and began walking away from his hazy line of sight. He gritted his teeth at the blatant disrespect.

"Sasuke!" the feminine scream cut off and he scowled with frustration, forgoing to intercept the likely perpetrator and rushing off into the warping smoke towards the voice. Why was she calling out his name at a time like this? This was so unprofessional. Sliding across the floor, scraping his knees and catching the Kunai sailing free-fall from above her, he grabbed her around the waist and threw her up in the air like a cushion so he could clear the area.

"SASUKE!" she screeched again, this time with a rising amount of displeasure that made his ears Zing!

"Tch! You're giving away your position, idiot!" he called up to her, summoning a Katon and setting the place aflame. The answering fire style Jutsu from within the smoke had him flipping immediately to avoid his face getting scorched off. In that moment, Hinata came crashing down, colliding with his airborne body with the force of a small meteor. Her head bashed against his chin and sent his teeth rattling.

"Damn girl," he shoved her to the ground and covered her with his body as a series of weapons set sail to say hi, stifling a grunt as one grazed his ear. Another "Sasuke!" went off muffled into his shirt, tickling his exposed collar and distracting him. He had the impulse to tickle her back and see how she liked it. And before he could carry on doing so, they were rudely interrupted.

A mass of Chakra came hurtling ahead, same as the weapons and he looked up just in time to see Kiba smash into the tree trunk in front of them, creating a hollow impression in the bark. Kiba slouched down, spitting blood on the ground before he noticed both he and Hinata staring at him with frozen wide-eyed expressions. His eyes narrowed on their suspicious positioning, with Sasuke's one hand cushioning Hinata's head, another hand poised above her ribcage, with Sasuke basically squishing her beneath him and her hands splayed on his chest; plus their fiery cheeks.

"Hinata!" he barked, gaze smouldering. "This is not the time to be flirting with your wannabe boyfriend! Get up, get up and protect the two civilians!"

Sasuke's face began to burn hot like the tomatoes he loved so much when Hinata shoved him off, "We weren't doing anything of that sort! And hes not-! Hes not my anything!" she replied defensively, tugging on Sasuke's sleeve to pull him down and save him from the crossfire of Shuriken thrown in their direction. Regrettably, Kiba was unable to hone in on the threat fast enough, the fresh Genin he was, and they nicked him in several spots, tearing open his flesh.

He roared, fangs salivating, "Akamaru!" he called, whistling out a tune. Soon the small dog came bounding through and hopped on his shoulder, unharmed and growling into his ear. Hinata's concerned, "Kiba! Are you okay?" left unanswered.

Kiba regarded her dispassionately, wiping the blood off his cheek as Sasuke and Hinata both stood up. "You let me down, Hinata." His gaze turned on Sasuke hotly, "And you!" he stomped towards the Uchiha, getting up into his face aggressively, "Stay the hell away from her! Why aren't you with your team!?"

Sasuke looked down his nose at him, not intimidated in the least, the sharp shout of Sakura ringing in the distance, followed by the unmistakable bellow of Naruto's "Believe it!" This was getting ridiculous. "You don't have the authority to give me orders. Go play fetch somewhere else, mutt. I'm busy here."

Their foreheads knocked together as Kiba leaned in, snarling in his face with Akamaru giving a curt bark. "You think you can get away with calling me that, runt?"

"I just did."

Hinata bit her lip brutally as her eyes flicked to Kiba, then to Sasuke, then to Akamaru and his wagging tail, then to Kiba again. The fighting was now background noise as their teenage hormones sky-rocketed. "Please, don't get into a scuffle! We can't compromise the mission anymore! Ah-!" Kiba abruptly grabbed hold of her arm and gruffly pulled her to his side, hooking his arm securely around her waist. The blood rushed to Hinata's head, "Ki-Kiba?"

"…Let go of her."

Kiba's brows puckered at the bare possessiveness of those words, "Hah?" He knew a territorial threat display if he'd ever seen one, with Sasuke's curling upper lip, the clenching of his fists and the menacing gleam in his dark, cold eyes. Kiba was beyond disgusted by the arrogant turd.

Hinata blushed beet red as Sasuke, just as suddenly, towed her back and captured her under his arm. "I don't want you touching her," though the grating rumble of his words had her rolling her eyes.

"Please stop being childish!" she chided them both, fidgeting beside him and prying his hand off her hip.

Sasuke glared down at her, "You be quiet."

Nonchalant in his reproach, Kiba pulled her just as quickly back by the elbow. Hinata flushed hotly, "I don't like you touching her, creep. Keep your grubby hands off."

Sasuke's brow rose contemptuously, "What are you going to do to stop me, pee on her and mark your territory to scare me off?"

"Don't talk about her like that!" Kiba paused, adding for the hilarity of it, "And, I just might!" Hinata squeaked out a harried "No!"

Affronted, Sasuke snatched her back. Vexed, Kiba did the same. Thus began the trials of tug-of-war that had Hinata experiencing an onset of dizzy spells, the worst she had ever had in her short life, wandering hands and the increasing urge to puke her guts out onto their shoes. Also, for added aggravation, to stomp on their toes, kick their shins in and make them eat dirt because this was her first serious mission she- and them, collectively- were hired for and she couldn't believe they were messing it up!

And where was everyone else!?

"Stop!" she cried, feinting to the left when Kiba made to grab her again and scurrying away from them both. She panted harshly, "I'm not a doll! Both of you stop man-handling me, right this instant!" she shuddered as a result from their lingering holds. They touched her like she was some toy they didn't want to share! What was with these boys putting their squirmy hands all over her? It was enough to turn her normally pale skin pink all over! Sasuke was bad aplenty, but Kiba too!?

Kiba pointed to Sasuke's face, "Tell him to bugger off! He isn't your teammate, I am!"

Sasuke slapped the offending appendage away, "As I said before, I don't take orders from you and I sure as won't take orders from her. So why don't you go 'bugger off'?"

"You've sure got a pert mouth, how about you 'fuck off'?"

"Go back to your kennel, hound."

Kiba barked a laugh, "Really? Is that the best you can do? Crawl back to your brother, you little shit. You're useless to this mission."

A yelp tore out of the Uchiha's mouth as a stray ability charred his hair before he could give his presumably snarky answer. Kiba let out a delirious "Ha!" and laughed at him. Then kept laughing and laughing and laughing...

It seemed, the damage to the tips of his spiky hair, the mission gone wrong, his thwarting attempts to make something with Hinata, plus all this build-up of animosity that didn't exist before this day between them finally snapped his tight leash of control as Sasuke and lunged at Kiba with a violent growl, proceeding to lose his words (and his cool) by tackling him to the ground where they wrestled, scratched and used their hands to swat at each other like a pair of disgruntled kittens.

Akamaru yipped indignantly beside them (where he had managed to not be squished to a pile of slop) and trotted towards Hinata, sitting on his bottom and watching the show with lazy eyes.

"-OW! You absolute nutcase, why are you-" Kiba spluttered with a groan as Sasuke drove his fingers like spikes right into his abdomen.

"Um-" Hinata tried to cut in.

"-Why would you laugh at my hair? THE HAIR? What's it ever done to you!?"

"-You creepy, vain, stupid Uchiha! Hey, what are you doin- ACK!-" Sasuke began to pummel his fists. Kiba retaliated and clipped the Uchiha's jaw which was guaranteed to bloom with a bruise. Sasuke began pulling on Kiba's hair, Kiba let out a spectacular screech.

"-Don't ever laugh about the hair!-"

"DON'T FUCKING BITE ME YOU PSYCHO!"

"…stop?" Hinata finished lamely.

Amidst their bickering, vulgar language and snack worthy theatrics, Hinata became aware of a forbidding purple mist heading straight for them. The dusty fog dissipating beneath and the shouts of conflict sounding too far away to be normal.

Hinata tried to warn them about the oncoming mist, but bizarrely, once the wisps of florid fumes began slinking up and surrounding them; she felt elatedly scrummy and lost her voice. A high like any other. Was it some sort of poison gas? A psychedelic? She didn't give a whiff whatever it was. It was great! The scent of sweet buns and plum blossoms invaded her nose and clogged her ears with cotton, and the black pulling at the corners of her vision hardly distressing as she got drunk off the strange, tingling sensations. Hinata swayed on her feet, adoring the strange, stimulating imagery assaulting her eyes.

Rapidly, the sight of Sasuke and Kiba brawling and rolling blurred and they transformed into cute little kitties having a bout and being all fluffy about it. She giggled.

So warm and colourful, so vaguely pleasurably, she wanted to go and lie down and let her responsibilities drift off into flight and stuff her face in with sweets that she began to crave with such fervour it was bordering on uneasy. She felt astoundingly apathetic to anything else. They were on a mission? Who cared about that anymore! There was dangerous weapons flying about? It's good to exercise your skills! And sweets! Sweets! Where were the sweets!? She wanted to close her eyes and embrace this feeling with all her heart, exposure to potential life-threatening injury be damned.

Sasuke's distressed call was the last thing she heard before she blacked out, not knowing if any arms reached to catch her.

Not that she would have cared if they had.

Meanwhile elsewhere, the eldest son of Fugaku Uchiha was laying low due to his mishandling of what was now being dubbed as one of the worst 'affronts to a Hyuuga head in generations'. His mother was beyond miffed with what she called, 'an attempt to tarnish my sweet boy's reputation!' and Shisui was distrustfully concerned about 'his safety and integrity', cooing like a stray cat into his ear about how 'he should thank him' for being such a thoughtful cousin by fending off the hounds snapping at his feet.

Itachi avoided his father and mother. Fugaku was a man easily tempered and his wrath knew no bounds. He'd tie him into a steel chair, fortify seals into the binds and chuck him into a room with his mother if he got a hold of him. And his mother was a hazard.

Alas, this was child's play. He was leagues beyond his father's reach and his mother didn't know where to look for him since she lacked the imagination.

He was in the best place to go into hiding. Right under their nose. And he would stay there, just until he was given a mission.

And as a precautionary measure, he kept well away from his no good, hippity hoppity, defect cousin. Itachi knew better than to allow Shisui to get close enough to sink his claws into him and promote the gossip that was sure to spread over the country before the week was over.

Now everybody liked to think he was some expressionless hard ass, which brought an innumerable amount of distaste to his mouth, but they were dead wrong, because he had a jar of feelings. First, it wasn't his fault that he was ordained the apathetic expression to his face shortly after exiting his mother's womb, that was her and his father's fault for their messed up genetics. He was not a sociopath and he wasn't the bogey man parents told stories about to their kids, he just didn't like kids all that much. Secondly, Hyuuga Hiashi had lied and that didn't sit well at the bottom of his stomach.

And what did one do when dealing with a upset stomach? They used whatever measures to soothe it.

….The point was he had emotions. He was just really bad at expressing them. And his particular indiscretions towards the Hyuuga head were... regrettable. But his parents wouldn't see light for such a reason and so, he stayed away from them.

Thus, he was now lying down in the company of several of his grandmothers enjoying their customary tea time (he wondered if they laced the tea with alcohol, with their tittering and chuckling filling up the room like hens cawing and cackling). They usually congregated across multiple households and they paid no mind to him butting in, in fact, they more or less invited him in to join them. At first, he was suspicious and thought they would rat him out- fortunately it seemed they had some sort of grudge or the other against his father and dobbing on him would go against their vindictive streaks.

Itachi sighed as the women around him chuckled amongst themselves. There was a cat on his belly, an ugly beast with a sharp scar across its eye and an ear missing, which he was idly scratching behind the remaining ear, the loud purrs lulling him into a comforting doze.

He could only wonder what his little brother was up to at this time, if his mission had gone disastrously wrong or miraculously right. Ever since that Hyuuga girl came into the picture, peculiar things had been happening with his brother, and not notably good ones. She was like a bad luck charm. A cute little bad luck charm with moons for eyes.

As the last vestiges of consciousness flickered out, Itachi groaned softly, not for the first time, regretting his interference with the situation and provoking the wrath of both clans.

Daaaawwwww, you guys with your endearing responses. Daaaaawwwwww. Give me more. Mwa.