Running towards enlightenment

Thick shrubbery hides coils of green wire, and the towering trees sway with hidden explosion tags. He waits with a kunai poised over a trigger wire, ready to set the whole forest ablaze. The rock outcropping barely hides Akamaru and him, but they've got no choice.

A scent floats on the wind: blood. They fell for it, Akamaru confirms, she's got them.

He drops the kunai into the dirt, letting out a breath. He leans back into the ninken's fur. As fun as plotting out Plan C was, he's rather glad not to be blown up. Akamaru's huge muscles relax beneath him, and he knows the ninken feels the same.

"Let's clean up and see how she's doing," he says with a grimace.

It's going to take forever to dismantle the seals. Still, better to have to do that than rely on his earth-style techniques to survive.

By the time he gets to their current campsite, Sakura is knee deep in blood, hovering over a body. The shine of a scalpel around the body's mouth tells him everything he needs to know.

"I'll just clean up while you, uh," he eyes the equipment beside his teammate, "do your thing."

Sakura's lips quirk into a grotesque version of a smile. At least she waited until the guy was dead to start cutting; he's not sure future opponents will be so lucky.

I'll stay on watch, Akamaru offers from outside the blood-filled clearing.

He looks around and groans. Sakura did not hold back in the least. Chakra is too precious to waste for a transformation at this moment which leaves Akamaru utterly useless when it comes to cleanup, so he's on his own.

He buries what he can and eyes the bodies on the ground with a critical gaze. They need to leave as little of a trace as possible, and the quickest way to dispose of the evidence would be Shino who's currently missing.

"Kiba, so help me," Sakura says pleasantly while wiping down her scalpel, "if you eat that, I will do my best to make you regret it."

It's not worth it, Akamaru barks, being dewormed is not fun.

"I'm not going to eat it," he says, offended. "These guys are hardly worthy of being in my stomach," he continues with a scoff.

He's joking of course. Cannibalism isn't his thing no matter how many body parts keep accidentally landing into his mouth. There's no helping it; his fighting style is efficient but brutal.

"I shall take care of it," Shino speaks up suddenly from behind him. "Focus on tracking."

The sound of Shino's flesh eating bugs zipping past his ears nearly make his toes curl. Shino's new bugs might as well be hundreds of tiny flying piranhas. Sakura pointedly looks away from the sight of the now disappearing bodies, and he focuses on the scents southward to them.

"They figured out their scouts aren't coming back," he says. "They're spreading out and heading this way."

I'd keep an eye on the two lagging behind, Akamaru tells him, they're moving oddly.

The sound of Shino's kikaichu fade away, and Sakura sighs in relief. They'll get used to the new, aggressive bugs eventually; today's just not that day.

With his teammates, he starts clearing away the rest of the campsite, slowly and methodically. The scents aren't heading directly towards them just yet, so there's no need to rush. Sakura helps him brush the dirt into a natural state, and he can't help lamenting the situation.

"Shame it failed," he says not for the first time.

Akamaru makes a small whine, and Sakura's fingers curl into the dirt. Shino's shoulder suddenly presses against his, and he regrets complaining.

"We'll get him next time," he hurries to say.

He can't see her face, but Sakura's fingers begin twitching. He picks up Shino's aggravated buzzing from being so close. Akamaru makes a timely reminder of their enemies' movements.

"Come on, we've got to go before we're forced to make new test subjects for our mad scientist," he gently teases Sakura. "We've got more than enough sliced off tongues."

The mood doesn't lessen, but Shino leans away with grim determination. Sakura holds up a jar of tongues thoughtfully, and he rolls his eyes. It's not like more tongues will change the seal pattern inked on them.

He wonders what the old Sakura would say if she knew her current self was pouting over not taking down Root Anbu.

"Next time," Shino states darkly, "Danzo will die."

It's not quite an accusation, but the feeling of failure hits him all the same. He avoids the others' eyes, and Akamaru knocks against his leg.

"Next time," Sakura says quietly in agreement, "Until then, let's keep moving forward."

Right, there's no time for self-pity. They needed to be in Grass yesterday, not loitering around the border playing hide and seek.

"Let's go," he says, straightening his fur collar. "We've got a job to do."

They play it safe, and Team Fighting Dreamers make it into Grass by nightfall without incident. The Root Anbu continues following them, and they don't bother staying at any town they come across. Thankfully, their pursuers get lost somewhere around the giant mushrooms.

Grass, it turns out, is a weird place. It's very…plantlike. He's never seen so much bizarre flora in his life. Akamaru ends up saving him from a giant Venus flytrap that mistakes him for a snack.

"You are the envoys from the Hokage?" The Kusa gate guard asks. "Fill these out, please. Wait here once you have completed the forms."

Unlike the land around it, Kusa is a village that closely resembles Konoha. The trees and plants are a bit more exotic than what he's used to, but the buildings look nearly the same. He's sure the ninja here are just as capable too.

Hopefully they'll be safe from Danzo for the moment. His team needs the rest desperately.

"Tell me their mattresses aren't made of lumps of cotton or bamboo," he pleads, rubbing his eyes.

"I'll start screaming if they are," Sakura promises darkly.

I demand five pillows and a bowl of pork, Akamaru whines. Shino reaches down to give the ninken a sympathetic pat. Neither of his teammates understands Akamaru's words, but they can both get the gist of what the ninken means anyways.

They aren't left waiting for long. The gate guard returns following a rather plain looking man. The man's long brown hair is swept into a neat bun, and the stoic body language speaks of tightly controlled motions.

"I am Fujino Keizo, leader of Kusagakure. Lord Hokage has informed me of your arrival," the man says. "I am sure your travel was long. If you please, I will show you to your rooms and we can discuss business tomorrow."

"Yes, please," Sakura says.

They're given two luxurious rooms in one of the village's hotels. Sakura ends up using the bath connected to her room, but the three of them find it too uncomfortable to actually sleep separately.

"Someone go get food," he orders, flopping into their giant futon mess on the floor.

Akamaru collapses on top of him, knocking the wind out of him. He throws the ninken off and burrows into the comforter. Sakura sits down on the bed while Shino paces around the room.

No doubt the Aburame is checking for bugs. Heh, he must be truly exhausted to find that as funny as he does.

"I'll order something," Sakura says. "Shino, tell me when you're done."

He drifts off before the food ever arrives.

"Everyone ready? We've only got one shot at this."

A series of confirmations meet his words. He looks at the solemn faces around him and commits them to memory. Should any of them fall here, it will be on his head.

"Ready. I trust you, Kiba."

He lights the signal, and Tsutsuji drags them through the sand beneath their feet.

"How long do you plan on sleeping?"

His eyes pop open at the strange voice. He struggles to move. It takes him a few seconds to realize that he's simply wrapped up in one of the comforters. Akamaru snickers at his flailing.

He falls back down onto the futon. That voice must have been part of the dream; his nightmares have been getting more hectic lately. Guilt, he supposes.

"Where's the others?" He asks, wiggling out of the blanket cocoon.

They left you to speak to the leader, Akamaru answers while stretching, they told him you needed more rest.

He can smell his teammates in the blankets next to him. Sakura's apron and fingerless gloves are hanging up on the balcony, drying out from a quick cleansing. A paper bag reeking of food sits on the table.

He must have slept for nearly a day. Seems about right considering the soldier pill he ate. Ino's concoction tastes better now, but the Yamanaka hasn't quite figured out a way to prevent the crashing.

"Think we should go meet up with them? Or take a look around?" He asks while breaking open the paper bag.

Bah, it'll be boring if we go, Akamaru grumbles, it's not like they need us there.

He nods at the ninken. His only role in diplomatic meetings is to stand in the background and look menacing. Unless it's the Hokage, then he's usually being yelled at.

"Let's go see what we can see," he says.

Kusa is beautifully neutral. Absolutely nothing offensive to the eye can be seen, no bright colors, and no building stands out above the others. The people behave politely and quietly despite the knives hidden up their sleeves.

He feels increasingly more uncomfortable the more he walks around. He must have been exhausted to compare Kusa to Konoha. This is a true ninja village, he thinks. Everything is hidden out of sight.

In his efforts to explore, he ends up on a stone bridge that overlooks a nearby river. It's peaceful here, and he plans on letting his guard down enough to do some scent memorization.

Akamaru's tail whacks him in the back of the knee. He ends up inhaling more sharply than intended and gets a nose full of foul-smelling perfume. He bends over the bridge, hacking his lungs out.

"Sorry about that," a cheerful voice tells him. "I must have startled your dog."

"No worries," he turns, still coughing, "but maybe you should think about switching perfumes."

The petite girl blinks at him. She wears the standard neutral clothing of Kusa, but the streaks of color staining her clothes are out of place. She holds up a bottle and stares at it mournfully.

"You think so? I was going to try to make a scented painting," the girl says.

"Yeah well, don't," he says clamping a hand over his nose.

The girl considers the perfume before putting it away in a pouch. A glance and an inhale tell him that the pouch-littered belt consists mostly of art supplies. He labels her as dangerous anyway.

He waits for her to do something, and she blinks up at him slowly. They end up staring at each other. He's not sure she's actually seeing him though; her eyes seem distant.

She doesn't smell like a ninja, Akamaru notes, but there is something unsettling about her.

"I was hoping to ask you to move," the girl says eventually. "You're in the way of my painting."

He jumps off the bridge while spewing out an apology. Knowing his luck, this girl's name begins with "Trouble." It usually is for anyone out of place, and he just doesn't have the energy to deal with any conspiracies today.

We should ask about her, Akamaru says to his dismay, best to just get it over with.

Sighing, he heads back to the market area. The ninken's right: better to know now than later. With his luck, she's an assassin Danzo sent.

While the villagers do their absolute best to avoid his questioning, he manages to wrangle out some information. He accomplishes this unintentionally; something about his behavior conveys a crush to a nosy older lady who begins gushing about star-crossed love.

The girl's name is Aneka. She likes to paint. She's always alone. Aneka once got beamed in the head by a book for painting over the cover.

He gives up. Akamaru groans at going back to the hotel but follows him without protest. Whatever her deal is will reveal itself in time. He should go wait for his team.

Sakura and Shino get back before dinner time, and Team Fighting Dreamers holds a meeting surrounded by silencing seals and chakra eating bugs. Shino and he sit on the floor against the couch, and Sakura rests next to Akamaru across from them.

His teammates' grim faces are a stark reminder of why their timetable to get to Kusa was moved up.

"About Danzo—" he starts.

"Hold it. First, we need to talk about why we're really here. Our mission from the Hokage," Sakura interjects.

He's acutely aware of Shino's hand moving closer to his. He thinks the Aburame is attempting to console him, but Sakura makes an impatient noise.

"We'll sneak in tonight and look around," he replies to the silent demand.

Sakura shakes her head at him. He crosses his arms and leans back against the couch cushion. He doesn't have a good feeling about this.

"We need any information Hisato may have had. We need to talk to his father. Your father," Sakura says.

Your father. Those damning words. Sakura knows full well he doesn't have one.

"We already planned this a year ago. You play interrogation while Shino and I search around," he states with narrow eyes.

Sakura's lips thin, and he knows things are about to get messy. Shino sinks backwards into the couch in an attempt to avoid the oncoming storm.

"I only said that to avoid a fight. You need to go talk to him," Sakura says.

Oh boy, Akamaru mutters.

"Why?" He bites out.

Why are you changing the mission details now, he tries to ask. Why are you doing this to me now?

"Because you've never met him! Because you had a brother you never knew about. This is something you need to do yourself," Sakura tells him, "or you'll regret it."

He wonders where Sakura got the idea of his non-existent brother. The only sibling he has is an older sister, and he sure as hell won't regret not meeting the man who left his mother.

"Absolutely not," he says resolutely.

The meeting ends there on a sour note with nothing accomplished. Sakura doesn't quite stomp back to her room, but Shino goes out to buy lemon-flavored sweets to appease her, leaving him alone to stew in his own anger.

Akamaru curls into his side, and he flops on top of the ninken. At least he'll always have his partner by his side. Even when things are at their worst, he'll never truly be alone.

"I'm sorry, buddy," he whispers into the fur.

For what, Akamaru asks in bewilderment.

He isn't quite sure what he's apologizing for, so he remains silent. Akamaru doesn't prod for an answer, and they go to bed before Shino gets back. He doesn't see his teammate in the morning either.

That's due to him being woken up and called in front of Kusa's leader. He's put out over the lack of breakfast, but his team can't afford any diplomatic mistakes. Akamaru bitches enough for the both of them anyway.

"I have heard many things about you," Fujino states, face utterly void of emotion.

He scratches the back of his head while Akamaru snickers. He's pretty sure that's an insult, but he can't say how much of one. He can only wonder at what could have been written in the Hokage's missive.

"I bet," he says. "I've already heard from my teammates. You'll let us continue our investigation in return for collecting some important nectar."

Kusa depends on special nectar from plants outside the village to create unique healing balms. The plants are hard to find and are incredibly poisonous: a perfect mission for Sakura and Shino.

"So why am I here?" He asks.

He's got a hunch, but Fujino doesn't reply, leaning back in the office chair in an illusion of relaxation instead. He clamps down on the urge to fidget. He hates these kinds of people the most.

"I will get to the point," Fujino says as if granting him a curtesy. "Your skills will only bring your team down on such a mission."

He jars Akamaru with his leg to keep the ninken from growling. The man's not wrong no matter how much it stings.

"Which is why I would like to assign a different mission to you," Fujino continues. "There's a missing person that could benefit from your tracking abilities."

"What kind of payment are we looking at here?" He asks.

Search and rescues definitely play to his strengths, but he's not about to work for free. A ninja can't work if he doesn't eat, and a ninja can't eat if he doesn't work.

"Let's negotiate that," Fujino says, eyes gleaming dangerously.

Oh boy, Akamaru mutters, let me do the talking on this one.

It's a good thing he listens to Akamaru; the man is no slouch when it comes to making the other party feel inferior. He parrots the ninken's words and attempts to make himself sound as confident as possible. He comes out with a good hand for it.

Find the missing person alive, get a favor in return. Find them dead, get as much supplies as they need.

There's a reason Akamaru was able to talk them into receiving such a payment; the person missing is Fujino's son. Last seen four days ago, Fujino Keimei vanished while patrolling around outside Kusa. No one's been able to find anything related to the teenager's disappearance.

He hopes he can find Keimei alive; favors are rare and invaluable. Still, breaking the news to his team goes a little bit worse than he was expecting.

"You're going to what?" Sakura asks, accidentally tearing the map she and Shino are glancing over.

Akamaru attempts to hide behind his legs. The ninken's huge frame makes it pointless. Not even Akamaru's silly antics stop his rising desire to lash out.

"Why did you agree to that without us?" Sakura nearly shrieks.

"Because we need all the resources we can get," he says with a scowl. "It's not like either of us will be going far from the village."

"You're so irresponsible!" Sakura gripes. "Don't just decide to leave on your own!"

He waits for Shino to say anything, to side with Sakura or him. He almost hopes the Aburame has a pointed jab at how silly the two of them are being. Shino looks away.

"I'm going to go ask around about this Keimei guy," he says, stomach clenching.

There's no evidence that Fujino's son didn't just run off, but to a village of ninja, that doesn't mean much. He spends most of his time asking for details about Keimei's personal life.

The teenager suffers from being somewhat of a killjoy but is well-liked regardless. Serious and dedicated to duty, Keimei spends most of his time training.

"Any friends? Girlfriends? Boyfriends?" He asks one of Fujino's secretaries.

"Oh no, little Keimei's much too busy for social activities. He wants to be exactly like his father after all," the secretary tells him.

He's starting to get an idea of Keimei's rough profile, and yeah, someone like that wouldn't have abandoned their post. Low chance of jilted lovers out for revenge either.

Akamaru and he memorize Keimei's scent, but the trail goes cold before they even go outside the gates. He moves on to his next course of action: memorizing Keimei's face and sniffing around in case the teenager is being hidden inside the village.

Two days pass by, and he grows increasingly irritated. It's not enough that he can't find a real lead on Keimei, but Sakura keeps making snippy comments before going to bed while Shino remains judgmentally silent. He doesn't bother sleeping in the hotel room anymore.

Soft beds, Akamaru whines.

"Sorry, buddy," he runs a hand over the ninken's fur, "but we're on our own for the moment."

The way things are between his team leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. He feels like he's howling into a void whenever he tries to talk to Sakura, and Shino barely says anything at all. Akamaru is also more reserved these days.

He knows they blame him for the screw up on Danzo's assassination—codename Operation Sunrise—but they can't afford to be divided on their mission. Even with the Hokage still on their side, the three of them have been driven out of their home with no one to turn to; they need each other.

He attempts to hold another meeting to resolve their issues, but—

"I refuse. There's an easier way to do this, oh fearless leader. Just talk to the man," Sakura says.

The silence inside the hotel room seems unbearably loud. Not even Akamaru dares to breathe heavy. He grits his teeth in an effort to stop himself from baring them towards Sakura.

"No," he says lowly.

"He's your father," Sakura nearly screams.

"We are not having this conversation again," he growls. "My answer remains the same."

Sakura puffs up, and he clutches at the sleeves of his jacket. Shino remains a silent spectator, but the calm humming of his teammate keeps him from snapping.

"Just think about it," Sakura scowls. "You need to at least meet him."

He tries to find the right words to describe his utter rage at the idea of pretending to be the long-lost son to a traitor of his clan. To describe an Inuzuka's base instincts concerning clan deserters.

"He is not my father. I don't have one," he says coldly.

"Then think of the team for once," Sakura bites out. "Stop being selfish. Do better than you did for Operation Sunrise."

Her words blindside him; it's much worse than a punch to the gut. The failure of Danzo's assassination hangs in between them, and he's fully aware that he's about to let his team down one more time.

"No," he says firmly. "I'm going out."

To make a point, he stomps on the seal surrounding them; the ink blurs, ruining its chakra connection, and the seal becomes useless. Akamaru drags a paw through the ink to make in solidarity.

"You'll regret it if you don't," Sakura snaps out.

"I'll regret meeting him when we're tried for murder," he growls back as he steps out the door.

A familiar irritation prickles his skin, and he knows he needs to go run. He's too much of an emotional mess to risk being around his teammates. Too bad this isn't Konoha; no one would have bat an eye at him dashing through the trees while howling.

"Sakura," Shino reproves.

"Don't start. You're always on his side," Sakura scowls.

"I wasn't aware there were sides," Shino says wryly.

He leaves after that, taking off into a sprint outside the hotel. Akamaru sticks to his side like glue, and no less than six startled ninja reach for weapons. He bares his teeth to each of them as he passes by.

He knows he's be irrational, knows that he should do everything for the sake of the mission, but it's not like they didn't have a plan. Sakura promised him that she'd be the one doing the talking while he snuck around.

He even gave her a picture of his sister to make negotiation easier. He would have never let it go if he'd known Sakura would go back on her word.

Stop thinking, Akamaru barks, you're making it worse.

Akamaru's right of course. He concentrates on the beating of his heart and breathing in the scents around him. His feet take him through the marketplace and down a familiar path. For this one moment, there's absolutely nothing wrong with his life.

The illusion breaks the moment his foot steps on a familiar stone bridge.

"Here?" He tilts his head.

"Hello again!" Aneka greets, nearly hidden behind the spikes of a tree.

Aneka doesn't bother getting up, choosing to stay hunched over a large canvas. A folding table holds her art palette and brushes; he's cautiously optimistic as he doesn't smell anything metallic hidden among the items.

Akamaru makes an inquisitive noise, and he shrugs his shoulders. It's a bad idea to engage with an unknown, but he could really use the distraction.

"Mind if I watch?" He asks.

"Only if you don't mind small talk," Aneka answers.

Despite her words, Aneka remains silent as she goes back to her painting. He watches her slow, even strokes with admiration. He doesn't have the patience to paint, but he can appreciate the hard work that goes into it.

She still has a long way to go though as the painting is missing some of the greenery while a flat colored bridge hovers over a beautifully realistic river.

"Why paint this?" He ends up asking.

"The world is beautiful." Aneka dabs another color of paint onto her brush. "I want to capture what I can and show people how beautiful it can be."

It's an admirable goal. From what he's gathered, Aneka mostly donates her paintings for everyone to enjoy. There's even a painting of the Hokage monument hanging up somewhere in Kusa.

Ask her to paint me, Akamaru says.

He snorts at the demand causing Aneka to send him a questioning look.

"Akamaru wants you to paint him," he says dryly.

"Your dog?" Aneka asks.

Akamaru barks with a tail wag, and Aneka gives the ninken a polite bow, accidentally holding the paintbrush against her dress. The girl then proceeds to stain her cheek while examining the spot on her clothes. Definitely a painter, he thinks.

"Yeah, I'm Kiba by the way," he introduces himself.

"Aneka," she nods her head, "the Airhead some call me."

"Harsh," he comments.

They continue to exchange meaningless chatter while he watches her paint; Aneka's work really is mesmerizing. Akamaru lies down in a sunbeam, and he allows himself to relax a little bit. His pent up fury dissipates somewhat.

"Sometimes art can help if you're stressed or frustrated," Aneka mentions offhand.

"How'd you know?" He asks.

"You seemed troubled, but I wasn't going to ask," Aneka says, still completely engrossed in her painting.

He debates on how to respond to that. On one hand, he'd be a moron to share personal details with a complete stranger, but well, it's not like his woes matter to an assassin trying to target him. If anyone tries to hold his sperm donator hostage, they'll quickly find themselves with a body to get rid of.

"What would you do," he hesitates, "if someone kept insisting that a stranger was your father and wanted you to meet them, but. You don't."

"Then don't," Aneka says simply. "There's no reason to fill a blank spot just because you can."

"Sometimes it's better not to fill the whole canvas," Aneka hums. "Sometimes you need that blank space to emphasize what's truly important."

Wise words but it's not anything he doesn't already know.

"What if you don't want that someone to be upset?" He tries again. "Especially after you've already screwed up?"

Aneka doesn't answer him immediately, choosing to focus on a particularly detailed tree. Akamaru stares at him incredulously.

You're really asking for advice from this total stranger, Akamaru asks.

"I suppose it depends on how strong your feelings are," Aneka eventually says. "Does meeting this so-called 'father' bother you that much compared to how you feel about this 'someone's' feelings? Does rejecting him reject that person?"

He chews over the words carefully.

It comes down to whether he can yield his pride to Sakura's. Appease his friend and be the ninja he should be instead of an Inuzuka with a chip on their shoulder.

He lets out a world-weary sigh, and Aneka shakes her head.

"I don't really know the details, but conflict of opinions will always appear in relationships. It's how you choose to handle your emotions that counts. Do what you won't regret."

He doesn't ask any more hard questions, and Aneka doesn't pry for details. Akamaru grumbles over his idiocy but asks him if he found the answer he was looking for.

"I don't know," he says.

He will soon though; he can feel it.

Another day passes by, and he has the sinking feeling that he'll have to turn in a failed mission. There's no trace of Fujino's missing son, and the possibility of Keimei still alive at this point is next to nothing.

"If you've got any ideas, now's the time to share," he murmurs to Akamaru.

Go into the middle of the forest and start calling for him, the ninken replies dryly.

It's meant as a joke, but he decides to run with it. He has nothing to lose. He heads to the village gate with his hands in his pockets and a squawking ninken trailing after him.

Really, Akamaru barks, you're really going to do this?

"Why not? Might as well cast the net and see what we get," he grins.

There's no guarantee that whatever got Keimei will answer their calls, but a good fight may be exactly what he needs.

He goes further past Keimei's original patrol area, following a path away from the village; it leads into the deepest part of the forest around Kusa where towering mushrooms and bizarre crystal trees block out the sky.

He picks a good spot that has enough wiggle room, and gets ready to shout his lungs out.

"Hello, Kiba."

He coughs down the shout, turning around with a sputter while Akamaru curses beside him. It takes frantic searching, but he finds Aneka hiding among a series of mushrooms, canvas and folding table nearly invisible.

She waves at him, and he waves back dumbly. A deep inhale barely indicates Aneka's presence; somehow her scent is being overridden by the nearby plants well enough to fool both Akamaru and him.

Which means the reason they've lost Keimei's scent could be because of the mushrooms. He didn't notice it earlier, but the unique properties of the plants might be messing up the investigation. Which also means—

Whoever made him disappear could be around us right now, Akamaru says while staring at Aneka.

"You're right," he nods, "but I don't think she's responsible."

Aneka blinks at him slowly, a paintbrush tucked behind her ear. No amount of imagining causes him to see a senbon there in its place. She's a civilian; he's sure of it. Still, her presence complicates matters if the attacker is still here.

"You need to leave right now. It's dangerous," he tells her.

"I need to keep working on this while it's still misty." Aneka shakes her head. "There won't be another chance for a week."

A glance at the canvas shows exotic flora peeking through fog while glistening in sunlight beams. It's beautiful but not worth a life. He rubs his face wearily. Why does he always get stuck with the weird ones?

"Listen, you—" He doesn't get a chance to finish.

The sound of metal flying through the air causes him to dash forward on instinct. Aneka lets out a yelp as he throws himself on top of her. The mushroom stalk above their heads is embedded with shuriken.

They've moved behind you, Akamaru calls out.

He grabs Aneka and pushes chakra into his leg to gain distance while more shuriken shower his previous position. The girl in his arms trembles slightly, and he knows he has a live combat situation with a civilian to protect.

"Akamaru lets flush this bastard out," he growls.

With pleasure, Akamaru says.

Akamaru leaps into a Passing Fang, and he follows behind his partner at a sprint. Aneka squeals in his arms from the speed, but there's no safer place than behind the ninken. Case in point, the flora around them is torn apart in seconds as chakra wind bites into his cheek.

Their attacker is forced to save themselves with an evasion technique. He tosses Aneka to Akamaru, who stops the Passing Fang to catch the screaming girl, and leaps after the hooded figure.

"You guys again," he snarls.

He recognizes that hood even if he can't quite catch the scent. The wobbling movements of the figure make him suspicious for special techniques, but he doesn't sense anything being used.

"You're part of that group right? What's your angle?" He asks.

The hooded figure doesn't respond. They continue to move as if they will collapse any second. He fights back the urge to finish this fight with his fist.

"You aimed for her instead of me. Why?" He tries again.

Once more, there's no answer. Before he can try to get some kind of response, Akamaru appears at his side with Aneka clinging to the ninken's back for dear life.

"Why did you bring her with you?" He shouts as the figure immediately dashes forward, pulling out a sword.

She won't let go, Akamaru replies with a miffed tone.

Akamaru jumps out of the way of a sword strike and makes a rough landing. Aneka chooses this as the time to let go and falls directly into the hooded figure's line of sight. He gnashes his teeth, and places himself in between her and the enemy. He deflects another sword strike with the long knife hidden in his jacket.

"Aneka, who is this guy?" He asks, barely able to keep up with the strong sword strikes against his knife.

"I think it's someone sent to kill me?" Aneka phrases it as a question.

The girl's voice trembles, higher pitched and stuttering. No doubt Aneka is scared out of her mind.

"Now, Akamaru!" He cries.

The ninken hurls into the figure mindlessly swinging a sword, and their enemy is sent flying away. A crackle of chakra tells him the stun effect to their new technique landed successfully. He bends over the fallen enemy, ready to move at any moment.

The cloaked figure doesn't stir. He pulls the hood off, and the young face of a teenage boy reveals itself. It's a face he's seen on his mission dossier. He starts cursing immediately.

"What the hell, Keimei?"

He should have known. His luck really is just that terrible. The teenager doesn't look too bad considering how long he's been missing, but how in the world is that organization connected to this brat?

"Keimei? Is that you?" Aneka asks, crawling towards them with a pale face.

Keimei recovers and sets his eyes on Aneka. There's so much hate twisted on that face, that it makes him wonder if Aneka might deserve a sword to the gut.

"Stay back!" He yells a moment too late.

No, there's no way. It goes against Keimei's profile. The dazed teenager seems to be going after Aneka with a single-minded purpose which means there's more going on than he can guess.

It's possible that Keimei is under someone's control, and if so, he's a victim as well. Raising a blade against Keimei could mean killing an innocent.

There's also the fact that he can't get that favor if Keimei dies, but he can't justify sacrificing Aneka for his own personal gain. Nor does he want to give a father his son's dead body either.

He doesn't want people to die needlessly.

"Then save them both."

As if being pushed, his legs move on their own. Akamaru jumps in front of Aneka with a growl while he lunges at Keimei. He grabs the teenager by the back of the cloak and slams a fist into the side of Keimei's head.

He has to dodge a flailing sword. As he thought, it doesn't slow the Keimei one bit. No amount of force will knock the dazed teen out; Keimei might as well be a zombie at this moment.

"Akamaru, we need to kill the puppet master!" He yells.

He struggles to keep Keimei from going after Aneka while Akamaru searches for their real enemy. The blade nearly nicks his ear, and he lets out every curse word he knows. He's going to make Fujino sweat over that favor.

Found them, Akamaru growls, they're hiding their scent behind the tree with the blue crystals.

"We're going to need to bring them to us. Eat a soldier pill and go as destructive as possible. I'll keep zombie-Mei here from killing Aneka," he tells the ninken.

Got it, Akamaru nods.

Akamaru crunches down on a pill hidden in the ninken's tail. Akamaru's fur turns red, and the amount of chakra coursing through the ninken makes an audible crackle. He whistles sharply, and Akamaru moves into the Rotating Fang technique.

"Wow," Aneka whispers at the gigantic chakra buzz-saw.

Akamaru's technique demolishes everything in its path. He keeps Keimei pushed back as Aneka curls behind him, keeping as small as possible. The tree disappears, and he catches sight of his real opponent as Akamaru herds them towards him.

A man with far too many earrings spits out numerous fireballs once in range. He grabs Keimei and dashes forward to meet the guy head on. Akamaru closes in from behind, and he puts as much strength into his kick as possible.

He misses and gets stabbed in the shoulder by Keimei for his trouble. Akamaru chases the earring guy away, and he's given a moment to put Keimei in a better hold.

"This would be so much easier if they were here," he mutters while thinking of his team.

"Kiba!"

"Sakura?" He blinks.

He thinks he's imagined it at first, but pink hair flashes in the corner of his eye. Fierce green eyes soon meet his, and he feels nothing but relief. He looks around for his other teammate and—

"Capture or kill?" Shino asks, strolling out of the darkness with hands in pockets.

"Cool bastard," he snorts. "I've got a lot of questions for him, but something tells me he needs to die for zombie-Mei to snap out of it."

He shakes the rabid teenage in his hold which jostles the shoulder with the stab wound. He lets out a small hiss as Keimei's renewed struggles stretch the injury.

"Akamaru's doing fine by himself, but think you can," he trails off at Sakura and Shino's murderous looks.

"Sorry Shino, but this one's mine," Sakura growls.

He has no idea what makes his teammates so angry, but he knows better than to ask. Shino nods stiffly, and Sakura bites her thumb to slam a palm down. An enormous white dog with pointed ears appears in a puff of smoke.

"Tear his fucking throat out, Shiroku!" Sakura screams.

"Yes, ma'am!" Shiroku salutes before speeding off.

"I'm going to let loose. Notify me if this moron loses too much blood," Sakura says darkly, pulling at her gloves.

Purple chakra nails ignite, and Sakura follows after her summon. He almost feels sorry for their opponent; there's no way the man is coming out in one piece.

"So how'd you know to find me this time?" He asks casually.

"My kikaichu in your clothing sent out a pulse of chakra," Shino says flatly, "and I believe the destruction of Kusa's precious forest could be heard from anywhere in a forty-eight kilometer radius."

"Ah."

He attempts to get a better grip on Keimei as Akamaru's exasperated yells about greenhorns echo around the forest. Shiroku took Sakura's words as an absolute order: the summon is unsuccessfully trying to rip out the man's throat.

Not that Sakura would tell the summon to stop trying. His teammate is too busy focusing on ripping the enemy limb from limb. A brutal stab through the eye coincides with Keimei going slack in his hold. He nearly falls over from the sudden dead weight.

"Now let me see that shoulder," Sakura demands, hurrying over with hands glowing ominously.

He drops Keimei without a word. He knows better than to let anything get in the way of their medic. Sakura's purple chakra knits both flesh and clothes back together, and the pain fades away into nothing.

Shino's back presses into his, and he knows the Aburame is searching the forest with kikaichu for any other threats. He keeps an eye over Sakura's shoulder, and it's as if Team Fighting Dreamers never had a falling out.

"Mentor, did you see me? How did I do? Please tell me!" Shiroku begs with a tail wag.

Ah, shut it pup, Akamaru grumbles.

The ninken huffs but places a paw on the summon's head. Shiroku's tail begins wagging uncontrollably. He smirks knowingly at Akamaru.

"So is it over?"

Sakura doesn't jump, but her eyes widen. He feels Shino's flinch against his back, and he mentally slaps himself for forgetting about Aneka. To be fair, he had more on his mind than a girl hiding among scent-destroying plant debris.

"Yeah, it is," he says.

Aneka gives him a considering look before falling to her knees and heaving out her guts. Akamaru makes a snide comment, but he's relieved she managed to hold it in this long.

"Kiba, who's this?" Sakura asks pleasantly.

"This is Aneka. She's a," he hesitates, "friend?"

Sakura and Shino reach for their weapons simultaneously. Shiroku's ears go straight up as if locking onto a target.

"Hold on a minute!" He waves his arms. "I'm pretty sure she's not a ninja."

"I flunked out," Aneka admits, rubbing at her mouth. "I couldn't pass the physical requirements."

"So you know how to stab someone in the back," Sakura states with certainty.

"Maybe if I set up an elaborate trap beforehand? I've got no muscles to pull it off," Aneka says mournfully, showing off her flabby upper arms.

He knows Sakura is examining Aneka's body closely for any signs of muscle or training. The miniscule relaxation around her eyes shows that Sakura finds nothing.

"Sakura, mind looking over this guy?" He points to Keimei. "Shino, could you do something about that body? Fujino will probably want it as proof."

He kneels down beside Aneka to deal with any signs of shock. If he lets the girl hold onto his jacket sleeve until they're back in Kusa, well, he's always had a soft spot for his friends.

Sakura's the closest thing in this world to a miracle worker. Not only is Keimei brought back to the village alive, but most of the injuries completely disappear, leaving the teenager awake and fully coherent by the end of the day.

Fujino, against expectations, allows them to immediately question Keimei who doesn't remember much. What the teen does recall is essential to their ongoing assignment.

"Someone's just giving away black cloaks?" He blurts out.

"Yes, it was part of some kind of ruse?" Keimei says, straining to remember. "I believe the man simply traded for the clothing. Something about fear mongering?" Keimei ends uncertainly.

"They're getting smarter," Sakura says glumly.

"Indeed," Shino agrees.

Keimei sags against the hospital bed, face a sickly color. He feels for the guy; one doesn't attain those kinds of eye bags from poor sleep alone.

"May I ask how you knew I was under a special technique that required the controller to be stopped?" Keimei asks once they've stopped their torrent of questions.

He scratches the back of his head. To be honest, it was more of a gut feeling than anything else. Still, he's seen enough similar techniques to guess. He says as much.

"Plus, you're not the kind of guy who'd take their revenge like that. You'd be shouting about dishonor from the rooftops," he grins.

Keimei goes bright red and stutters out a denial. They leave the teen alone to rest after that. Their information is incomplete regarding the hows and whys, but he was only tasked with bringing Keimei back to Kusa.

Mission accomplished.

He brings takeout back to the hotel room to celebrate. Akamaru lights up at actually having something other than canned meat, and he indulges the ninken with dessert. Akamaru did most of the work today after all.

Maybe it's because they've been given a harsh reminder that they can't let down their guards long enough for petty feelings, but the frustrated atmosphere surrounding them vanishes. Shino actually cracks a joke that makes Sakura laugh.

He hopes what he has to say doesn't ruin the good mood.

With Sakura and Shino having finished their mission for Fujino as well, he needs to hold one last team meeting before their real task begins. He has Sakura set the seals up.

"Sakura, Shino," he stops to place a hand on Akamaru's head, "I'm sorry. I've been pretty stupid lately. I'll never accept that man as my father, but the mission comes before personal feelings. And you're right. We'll have an easier time if I do the talking. Let's do this."

It's not like he doesn't have infiltration training. He's not the world's greatest actor, but he should be able to do well enough for a short amount of time. He's caught off-guard by Sakura's arms wrapping around him.

"No, Kiba, I'm sorry," Sakura says, burying her face into his jacket. "I've been so concerned about whether you'd miss a chance of a lifetime that I stopped being concerned about you. I shouldn't have tried to make you do things my way."

He wants to tell her, no, she's wrong. Even now, Sakura's always wanted the best for him. Shino's tug on his fur collar stops him.

"It was not my place to interfere," Shino tells him quietly, "but I should not have remained silent on the matter. Forgive me."

He wants to argue, wants to tell them both there's no need to apologize. Akamaru bumps against his side with a huff.

Just take it, Akamaru advises, or you'll make them feel worse.

"And," Sakura whispers, "If you want to off this guy, just say the word. I can do accident or messy."

She releases him with a small sniffle, and he stutters Sakura's name in shock. He's unable to come up with an appropriate response before Shino begins buzzing threateningly.

"I, too, wish to offer my services if the demise of your life contributor is what you desire," Shino says.

Murder is best enjoyed among friends, Akamaru notes.

He rubs his face with a laugh. How did he ever end up with these ridiculous teammates? He's pretty sure he doesn't deserve them.

Especially since he's the reason they're on the run to begin with.

"I've got another thing to apologize for," he says resolutely.

He straightens up his back and takes a deep breath. He can do this. If he can be honest with himself, he can be honest with the people he loves most.

"I'm sorry for Danzo. For failing. For getting hit with that genjutsu and being unable to break it. For getting in the way and messing up."

It feels like ripping tape off an open wound, but the sheer relief in owing up to his mistakes makes him wonder why he never said it before.

Partner, we both fell for it, Akamaru points out, I couldn't do a damn thing either.

He kneels to give the ninken a hug. He could never shift the blame to Akamaru, but he's touched at the ninken's solidarity regardless.

"But Kiba," Sakura makes a surprised noise, face twisting, "that would have never happened if I hadn't messed up knocking that one guy out! I'm the one who cause us to fail. I'm the reason we had to leave our families behind."

Sakura bites her lip, fists curling. He shares a look with Akamaru; he had no idea she felt that way. Sakura's eyes become suspiciously shiny, and he's once more thankful that her parents have accepted his family's protection.

"Sakura," He says, standing up to reach out to her.

"I fear that both of you are mistaken," Shino says lowly, "Why? Clearly I am the one to blame for being unable to attack my brainwashed kin thus forcing Sakura to step in on my behalf. It is my failure."

He can't see much of Shino's face behind the hood and sunglasses, but he's never had a problem seeing Shino's expression. Right now, the Aburame looks heart crushingly downcast.

"Shino, it's not your fault. Anyone would have hesitated attacking someone they knew and loved. And Sakura couldn't have known her restraining seals would fail, but I had Danzo in my sights," he says fiercely.

"Kiba, it's not your fault, nor Shino's. With how everything happened, it wasn't a battle we could win. Operation Sunrise was ruined from the beginning. Things just," Sakura finishes with a whisper, "went wrong."

Sakura's words are a catalyst. They look at each other with dumbfounded expressions as if struck with thunder. Oh, he thinks. Oh.

"Guess we've all been feeling kind of lousy," he finally says.

No kidding, Akamaru grouches, I haven't been able to enjoy sleeping since we got here.

He lets out a gusty sigh. Of course they've all been blaming themselves over the failed operation. He's just been too self-centered to see anyone's misery but his own.

"Well, that's that. Let's put that behind us and focus on what we need to do," he says.

They've got a future war to win, and it's not like Danzo's going anywhere anytime soon. Naruto's still off with Jiraiya, and Hinata can politic with the best of them. Konoha's fine for now.

"You," Sakura stares at him incomprehensibly.

"It would be prudent to move on and begin planning a counterattack," Shino nods. "Let us not waste any more time on completing our current objective."

"So, Sakura, what's the plan?" He asks.

Sakura's gaping expression is hilarious. She glances between Shino and him before throwing her hands up in defeat.

"We can already get Fujino's permission to search the property, but we should try to get any information out of your 'life contributor,' " Sakura says. "And I'll do the talking. We don't need any kind of breakdowns getting in our way from either you or him."

He shrugs a shoulder. He'll be on his best behavior no matter what, but he's not about to argue with her.

"Let's go tomorrow," he suggests with a yawn.

Endless thoughts roll through his head, but it's the best damn sleep he's gotten in over a month. Sakura and Shino's warm bodies beside him probably help with that. Now if only he could convince Akamaru that the ninken was too big to lie on top of him.

They gain an audience with Fujino in the morning. Kusa's leader remains as stoic as ever, but Fujino's eyes dart to the door every so often. They leave quickly after obtaining a warrant, and make their way to a small, worn down house in the middle of the village.

The house only stands out from the two next to it by virtue of being filthy. Dirty windows and vines creeping through cracks is not exactly what he had in mind when thinking of Hisato's home. He rolls a small, wooden bead in his pocket uneasily.

"I'll knock on the door. You two head around back," Sakura says, waving a folder containing Fujino's signature as well as a picture of Sis.

We got this, Akamaru tells him.

The ninken stays beside Sakura, leaving Shino and him to slip behind the house. The small backyard surprises him; it's not as overgrown as he thought it would be. Weathered training dummies give him the impression that the inhabitants probably spent a good amount of time out here.

He leans on Shino's shoulder while they wait. The Aburame doesn't shrug him off, and he focuses on breathing lightly. The odors here are making him uncomfortable. The two of them wait for Akamaru's barking signal, but it never comes.

"Hey, guys?" Sakura calls out. "We've got a slight problem."

He shares a look with Shino. Of course they do.

"What is it?" He asks upon regrouping with Sakura who stares at the front door with a frown.

"No one's home," Sakura says.

"You're kidding." He rubs a hand over his face. "All that drama and the guy's not even home? Forget it, let's just bust down the door."

Shino pulls out two small lock picks while Sakura pokes around for any traps. Personally, he'd rather just kick the door down, but he supposes that'd be too attention grabbing. The door opens with a creak, and he takes point, watching closely for any inside traps.

No fresh scents, Akamaru notes from outside the door, no one's been here for at least three days.

The ninken stays behind with the folder containing the search warrant, and his team begins combing over the house carefully. Shino and he take the living room while Sakura searches the adjoined kitchen.

What catch his attention first are the photos of a young Ma and Sis placed around the room. He doesn't find any of himself. More importantly he doesn't find any of Hisato—the man's adopted son.

"That bastard doesn't deserve these," he says, hands hovering over a picture of his sister holding three small puppies.

"Do you wish to take them?" Shino asks him quietly.

He has to think about it. There's certainly enough room in a storage scroll for a few picture frames, and he can always find a spot in his room for photos of his loved ones. Still, the lingering scent of tears on the frames gives him pause.

"No, let him keep regretting," he says spitefully.

He wants the traitor to stare at these pictures for the rest of his life, wants the man to wallow in grief for turning away from the clan. It's not like anyone can stop him from coming back to make copies of the photos.

The only information they obtain from the front of the house is the profile of a very sad, lonely man. The storage closet contains spare weapons and tools, and his teammates don't say anything when he stuffs a familiar looking blade into his hidden knife pocket. They move on to the bedrooms next.

"Which room do you want?" Sakura asks him tentatively.

"Let's hit them up together," he says. "Most people hide their secrets in their bedroom."

There's not much to say about the master bedroom. It's bare and there aren't any compartments hidden anywhere. The only thing of note is a locket and an old letter from his mother. The terrible handwriting and cursing make him smile.

Hisato's room ends up being the goldmine. Bottles of poison-filled nail polish bring a gleam to Sakura's eyes, and Shino manages to find a loose floorboard under the bed. There's a familiar looking note with a drawing of a cat and a book.

"It's a diary." Sakura flips through it, eyebrows furrowing. "A very narcissistic diary."

He glances around the dusty room as Sakura skims through the sizable book. He tries to tune out her surprised murmuring until she has something concrete to tell him. Shino digs through the dresser while they wait.

"Oh, that's messed up," Sakura mutters. "Was this all in his head or did that actually happen?"

"Sakura," he sighs in exasperation.

His teammate continues flipping pages, and he stares at a terrible painting hanging on the wall. If he squints, he might be able to make out a familiar-looking statue.

"Seems like his obsession with you started early. Lots of what ifs," Sakura says, finally slowing down. "Like me, he remembered the story when he woke up but then started to forget the older he got."

"Anything on his group?" He asks.

Sakura shakes her head. He sighs, shoulders slumping. Of course it couldn't be that easy.

"He mentions meeting people, but it's all vague," Sakura tells him. "Most of the diary is about himself, you, or Orochimaru."

"Orochimaru?" Shino asks sharply.

"He remembered the Sannin was in hiding out around Grass and was so afraid of him. He even made himself stand out as much as possible so Orochimaru wouldn't choose him to infiltrate Konoha," Sakura says.

While it explains the deceased ninja's gaudy outfit, it doesn't seem important in the grand scheme of things.

"But there is one thing," Sakura says before he can complain, "a name. Kaori."

Shino makes an inquiring buzz, and he holds his breath. Please be the breakthrough they need.

"He mentions that he met someone 'just like him' who travels near Cloud." Sakura shows him the passage. "I think we've got a lead."

Shino and he poke around for anything they could have missed while Sakura rereads the diary. It's not the greatest clue, but they've got a name and a destination. They have less than seven months before the Akatsuki shitshow begins, so they'll need to double-time it.

They spend the rest of the day asking around about Hisato and Kaori. There's no new information, but Fujino allows them access to Hisato's recorded movements in the Land of Lightning. Surprisingly, it doesn't count as a favor.

"I have not forgotten, Inuzuka Kiba. Call for your reward, and I will answer," Fujino tells him. "Records of a dead ninja with questionable loyalty are simply my cooperation with your Hokage."

They decide to purchase supplies and leave the next day. A break sounds nice, but there's not enough time. Though it's not like they can relax when they've been given a shiny, new puzzle piece.

Goodbye warm, soft beds, Akamaru pouts.

Sakura reaches down to pat the ninken. He snorts; she's far too soft on Akamaru. They wait by the gate as Shino finishes checking them out with the guards.

"Hello, Kiba."

Sakura jumps, but he throws up a hand in a lazy wave. He smelled her coming this time. A familiar girl ambles up to them, straining under a huge backpack. The bag smells mostly of paint, and he hopes she at least packed a change of clothes.

"Hey, Aneka," he greets.

"It's time for me to move on. I'm not safe here," Aneka says without being asked.

He assumed as much. Part of him wants to offer one of their sealing scrolls to her, but that's a dead giveaway of being a ninja. He figures she needs to be as low profile as possible.

"Any idea who wants you dead?" He asks as Shino joins them.

"Hm, yeah, I do," Aneka hums. "This was probably just a message. Something along the lines of 'You're not safe no matter where you go. I can make it so anyone around you is a threat.' "

He doesn't know what to say to that. That kind of messed-up thinking is rather normal for ninja. Shino nods as if there's nothing out of the ordinary with it.

"Stay safe for Kiba's sake," Shino says as a way of parting.

"Yes, please, I don't want to deal with the crying," Sakura agrees while ignoring his protest.

There'll be patches of wet fur, Akamaru shudders.

He doesn't know the girl long enough to cry, he grouses mentally. He gives up trying to deny it, choosing to send Aneka off with his own farewell.

"Stay alive long enough to get a bite to eat with us," he grins.

"No worries," Aneka nods, hefting up the backpack into a better position, "I am really good at hiding. It's the only thing I continued from my ninja training. May we see each other again, my friend."

His team leaves, heading in one direction while Aneka walks away in another. He hopes his journey will continue like this: making more friends than enemies.

It doesn't matter if the world turns on them though, so long as he has his team by his side.

First off, a big thank you to everyone who's ever left a review! You're the main reason this fic got this far. You guys rock.

I'll update and announce the pairings as they happen, and they WILL happen. Romance will not be the focus of this fic, but I completely understand if you have to stop reading due to them. I hope you enjoy reading regardless!

Lastly, someone left a comment on A03 in the Outtakes about turning the Gaining Knighthood miniseries into its own story, and I agree! I'll be extending it slightly so it can stand as its own story.

I hope you guys have a wonderful New Year!