Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and Kurenai sensei were traveling along a dirt road. They were on their way to the next chuunin exam. Everyone was quiet and no one spoke even one word. Akamaru suddenly perked up and growled as his ears stood straight up and he starred at the dirt road in front of them. “What’s wrong?” Kiba asked his faithful companion. Everyone squinted their eyes and tried to see what Akamaru was growling at. Then a small figure appeared. It ran swiftly down the road kicking up the dirt, leaving a big trail of it behind it. “It’s a dog.” Hinata said still squinting her eyes. Akamaru began to wag his tail and he jumped off of Kiba’s shoulder and ran towards the unknown dog. Akamaru tackled the dog and the two of them rolled around on the ground for a while. The group simply walked over to the playful dogs and watched them for a bit. Then the mysterious dog stopped and got up. It stood facing the big cloud of dirt that it had created. Suddenly a girl ran out from behind the cloud of dirt. She had low pigtails with ribbon twirling around them. She wore a tight tank top and a skirt. She had the red triangles on her face like Kiba and had a ‘head protector’ wrapped around her thigh. She bent down on her knees and got face to face with the dog. She coughed trying to get the dirt out of her lungs and picked up the dog. “I’m sorry if my dog has done anything wrong.” The girl said shyly. She looked down and saw Akamaru wagging his tail. She smiled and bent down. She patted him on the head and placed her dog down. “What’s his name?” She asked getting back up. “Akamaru.” Kiba said starring at the girl awkwardly. “What’s your name?” Kurenai asked. “Oh sorry. My name is Inuzuka Keira” The girl said. “And the dog?” Hinata asked happily. “Oh, her name is Shimura.” Keira said. “Have I met you before?” Kiba asked suspiciously. “Is that suppose to be a pick-up line?” Keira asked rhetorically. She giggled hysterically on the inside and a small smile crept across her face. “No! That’s not what I meant!” Kiba shouted trying desperately to defend himself. “Relax, I know that’s not what you meant.” Keira said laughing. The rest of the group joined in and Kiba blushed slightly. Keira stopped laughing and picked up her dog. Shimura whimpered as she looked down at Akamaru. “It’s been nice meeting you guys.” Keira said waving her hand. Without thinking first Hinata suddenly shouted out. “Why don’t you eat dinner with us tonight?” Hinata asked before Keira got the chance to turn around. “I’d love to.” Keira said quietly. “Well let’s hurry up. We don’t want to miss the chuunin exams.” Kurenai said annoyed. The group began to walk and at first Keira hesitated and stood motionless for a moment. “Are you coming?” Kiba asked. Keira snapped back to reality and began to walk with them. She smiled to show everyone that she wasn’t upset or anything but on the inside she was very worried and very afraid.

Everyone walked for a while until a building came into view. “Alright! We’re finally there!” Kiba shouted as he ran towards the building. Everyone else ran behind him and into the building. “Table for five.” Kurenai said to one of the waiters. The waiter led us to a table and we all sat down. The same waiter soon returned with tons of plates. He set a plate in front of me and I hesitated at first. Soon enough I picked up the chop sticks and began to eat the rice. I heard Shimura whine and I looked up at her. She slumped down on my shoulder and kept starring at my plate. I smiled and picked up a noodle. I held it up to her and she quickly slurped it up. I giggled quietly and looked back at everyone. “So what were you doing out there all alone?” Kurenai asked. Everyone stopped eating and turned their attention towards me. “I....I was just wondering around.” I said quietly. “You said you were from the Inuzuka clan but I’ve never seen you before.” Kiba said suspiciously. “Oh, umm....I’m sure I was there you probably just didn’t notice me.” I said shyly. “Anyways, what are these chuunin exams that you were talking about?” I asked. Everyone looked at me awkwardly. “You.....haven’t heard of.....the exams before?” Hinata asked, twiddling her fingers. I shook my head and I got weird looks from everyone one. “Well, they’re tests for the teams to see if they’re ready to move on to the next level. You’re welcome to tag along with us and see for yourself.” Kurenai said kindly. “Thanks, I’d love to.” I smiled. “How do you know we can trust her? After all we don’t know anything about her!” Kiba shouted. “Kiba! How could you say something like that?” Hinata shouted unexpectedly. “No, it’s okay.” I said getting up. “It’s been nice knowing you guys.” I said before I walked out of the building. “Nice one.” Kurenai said. Akamaru whined and slumped down. “Alright, I’ll go apologize.” Kiba said getting up. Everyone else followed but gasped as soon as they got outside. I was surrounded by eight ninjas. By the look on everyone else’s faces I assumed that they didn’t know who they were. But I knew exactly who they were and why they had come. I got lost in thought and failed to notice that they were going towards me. “Keira! Watch out!” Kiba shouted. I snapped back just in time to dodge them.

I saw the team beginning to run towards me. “No! Don’t help, I need to do this myself.” I said getting up. I closed my eyes and began a jutsu. Shimura grew in size and I hopped on her back. I pulled out a kunai and got ready to attack. I was successful at getting seven of the ninjas but there was still one left. And he was the most powerful and threatening one. I took a deep breath and Shimura and I began to run towards him. He new exactly what my weak points were and he wasted no time in attacking them. Within the blink of an eye he stabbed Shimura and she fell to the ground, back to normal size. I stopped dead in my tracks and ran over to her. Tears instantly began to flow down my cheeks. I scooped up my dear friend and hugged her close to me. The team stood there watching in shock. I turned around and stood up. I glared a deathly glare at the remaining ninja and ran at him. I screamed in anger and threw myself at him. He hadn’t expected this and I took him out quickly. When I finished him off I quickly ran back over to Shimura and picked her up. The team ran over to me and Hinata began to rub my back. Tears were still falling from my face and I shook at the thought of losing Shimura. “Let me see her. I have some medicine that might help.” Kiba said. I handed Shimura over to him hesitantly and watched as he tended to her. He applied some meds. and wrapped a bandage around her cut. Shimura opened her eyes and tried her hardest to get up. I quickly grabbed her and engulfed her in another hug. “Thank God. I thought I was going to lose you.” I whispered. “You really love that dog of yours don’t you?” Kiba asked. “More than anything in the world. But let’s stop wasting time, we need to get to the chuunin exams!” I shouted excitedly. We all got up and started off again to the chuunin exams. It took us about another day but we finally got there. “Is this the place?” I asked. Hinata nodded her head and we walked into the big arena. I looked around and saw many other teams. “Who’s that?” Iruka asked startling us. “Oh, we found her along the way here.” Kurenai stopped talking and looked over at us. “I’ll explain to you guys in private. Why don’t you guys go check out your competition.” Kurenai said. She walked off with Iruka to meet up with the other sensei’s and we began to walk around. “Oh great. Now we have another person with fleas.” Smirked a voice. I turned around and saw a girl glaring at me. “What did you just say?” I asked angrily. Kiba, Shino, and Hinata turned around to see who I was talking to. “I said that now we have another stupid dog person with fleas.” The girl said. “Back off Ten-Ten.” Kiba said angrily. “Just keep moving flea bag.” Neji said. “Come on......people like that....aren’t worth it.” Hinata said quietly. I glared at them and continued to walk.


(With all of the sensei’s) “Do you even know who this girl is?” Kakashi asked. “Not really but I saw her fight and she’s pretty good. She is from the Inuzuka clan.” Kurenai said. “Why don’t we just see what she’s got?” Gai said. “Fine, but we need to decide whose team she’ll be on.” Iruka said.

“Before the exam starts we need to inform you of something. First, we will only have one exam. Which is the dueling one. Second, we have a new student joining us. Would you care to come up here?” Iruka announced. I hesitated at first but then I walked up to him. “This is Keira she will be assigned to a team. Since whoever’s team she is assigned to will have four members, we are asking that you pick someone to sit out. Finally, the team that Keira will be on is......Kurenai’s team.” Iruka announced. I smiled and ran back over to them. Unexpectedly, I hugged Hinata. She embraced me back and Kiba rubbed my head. I smiled at him and Shino. “Alright, you have a few minutes to strategize so hurry up!” Iruka shouted. Me and my new team began to walk around again. “What’s a gorgeous girl like you doing in a dangerous place like this?” Said a voice. I turned and saw a boy with purple paintings on his face and a hood over his face. “Huh?” I said. “I mean it’s not like a pretty girl like you could actually fight.” He said slyly. “Don’t underestimate me!” I shouted. “Relax, Kankarou isn’t worth it.” Kiba said putting his hand on my shoulder to restrain me. “I don’t care, he just insulted me!” I yelled. “Actually I did call you pretty.” Kankarou smiled. I blushed slightly but quickly stopped it. “Excuse me, Kurenai.” I yelled. “Yes, what is it?” Kurenai asked. “I want to fight him.” I said angrily, pointing at Kankarou. “Ummm...I guess so. Do you want to fight the sand siblings if you beat him?” Kurenai asked. “Why not?” I said walking away. “You shouldn’t do that.” Hinata said quietly. “Oh, and why not?” I asked. “If you do beat him you’ll have to fight Temari, and worst of all Gaara.” Kiba said. “I will fight whoever I want.” I said. “Hey! New Girl!” A boy shouted. I whipped around and saw three kids walking towards me. “The name’s Uzumaki Naruto! And these are my team mates Sakura, and Sasuke!” Naruto shouted. I opened my mouth to say something but Naruto quickly cut me off. “I have one question. What’s your favorite food?” Naruto asked. “Ramen noodles all the way!” I shouted. “Wow, I like you already!” Naruto said patting my shoulder. “Nice to meet you but we should really start to strategize.” I said innocently. “Right!” Naruto shouted as he ran off, dragging Sakura and Sasuke along. “So who’s going to sit out?” I asked turning my attention back to the team. Nobody said anything and there was a silence. Soon, Shino raised his hand signaling that he would be the one to sit out.


“Alright, everyone listen up!” Gai shouted. “The first ones to fight are Ten-Ten and Hinata.” Gai stated. Hinata sighed and began to walk over to the arena. “Wait!” I shouted as I stopped Hinata. “Good luck, show her what this team is really made of!” I shouted as I hugged her. She smiled and rushed of towards the fighting area. (I could explain the battle but as we all know Ten-Ten is really bad and Hinata won.) “Great job!” Kiba congratulated as Hinata made her way back over to us. Hinata smiled and we waited to hear who was next.


“Next up is Naruto and Kiba!” Kakashi shouted. Kiba grinned and quickly made his way down to the arena. Shino, Hinata, and I walked over to the brim of the arena and looked down at the two. The battle began and so far Naruto was winning. “Come on Kiba, you can do it!” I cheered on. That seemed to give Kiba the extra will to go on because he ended up winning. He marched proudly up to us and embraced me in a hug. “Thanks, I needed some encouragement.” Kiba said backing away. “No problem, but now you have to do the same for me.” I grinned and crossed my arms.


“Next up is Keira and Kankarou!” Kurenai shouted. I grinned and ran down to the arena. “Are you ready to get your ass kicked?” I taunted. “Let’s just see if you can back up those threats of yours.” Kankarou smiled. I waited anxiously for him to make the first move, and he eventually did. I had to think quick and hard since I didn’t have Shimura with me. I dodged him and made an attempt to grab his puppet. It all seemed too easy and it was. As soon as my hand touched the puppet it’s hand grabbed mine and threw me against the wall. I got up and lurched towards him. Just as he began to turn around I made a clone of myself and he destroyed it. That small amount of time allowed me to grab his puppet and slam it against the wall. I had actually won. “I guess hot girls can fight.” Kankarou said walking away. “Yeah, that’s what I’m talking about!” Kiba shouted. I smiled and waved to them. “Temari, you’re next!” Iruka shouted. Temari stepped into the arena and the fight began. I ran forward and thrust five kunai at her fan but she blew them all away. I began to grow impatient and I just began to throw my kunais everywhere. I guess a couple of them ripped her fan and Gai announced me the winner. “Now up is Gaara!” Kurenai shouted. Gaara walked into the arena and something about his presence startled me. He gave me a glare that said ‘I’m going to kill you’. I ran towards him but something stopped me when I was a few feet away from him. It was sand. The sand threw me back and I got back up slowly. I threw a few kunais to distract him and I ran towards his gourd. That seemed to be the source of the sand. My trick obviously didn’t work and Gaara lifted me up and slammed me to the ground with all his might. Everyone in the crowd gasped as they saw that I didn’t get up. Gaara began to walk over to me to finish me off. “Don’t you hurt her!” Kiba shouted angrily. Gaara ignored Kiba and picked me up by the collar of my shirt. I dangled freely in the air. Gaara threw me back to the ground and Kakashi jumped into the arena to stop him from doing it again. “That’s enough, you’ve won. Now you may go.” Kakashi said cautiously. Gaara didn’t budge so Kakashi picked me up and brought me out of the arena.

The whole team along with Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the other sensei’s awaited anxiously for me to wake up. I had been unconscious for about six hours and everyone waited in the bland white room. I moaned and began to open my eyes. I looked around and saw that I was in a white room. I began to sit up but suddenly felt a sharp pain shoot up my side. I immediately fell back against the pillow. I groaned louder this time. I turned to the door as I heard someone beginning to open it. Kiba walked in and saw that I was awake. “She’s awake!” He yelled. Everyone rushed in the room and gathered around me. “So how’s my noodle girl feeling?” Naruto asked idiotically. I smiled and tried to get up again. But once again a sharp pain ran up my side and I fell back down to the pillow. I clenched my hand into a fist to try and block out the pain. The pain was too must and I yelped out in pain.

“What’s wrong? She doesn’t look hurt.” Sakura asked. “Gaara slammed her down two times with full force. That’s probably going to hurt for a little while more.” Kurenai said. Rock Lee walked over to me and began to bring me up into a sitting position. I winced in pain and squeezed the bed sheets. “What are you doing? You’re hurting her!” Kiba shouted. “Quiet! I’m messaging her pressure point where Gaara hurt her.” Lee said. He began to message a spot on my shoulder plate and I winced in pain again. But after a while it didn’t hurt anymore and I could almost fall asleep there. Lee stopped and I looked up at him. “Thank you very much.” I said hugging him.

“Where’s Shimura?” I asked. “She’s out playing with Akamaru.” Sakura said. I took the blankets off and began to stand. As I lifted myself off of the bed I realized that it was too early to stand and I fell. Someone caught me and I looked up to see Kiba. I smiled and tried to straighten myself back up. Kiba blushed slightly but tried not to let me see. I placed one hand on Kiba’s shoulder for support and tried again to walk. This time I was successful and I walked down the hall. I let go of Kiba and found my way out of the depressing hospital. Outside I saw Akamaru and Shimura rolling around. Shimura bounced up and jumped up at me. I fell back and giggled hysterically. She licked my face and I petted her back. Akamaru joined her and I patted his head. He licked my hand and I got up. “Akamaru, get off of her!” Kiba shouted. “It’s okay. He was just happy to see that I was okay.” “We all are.” Kiba said while blushing a tad. I saw his pink cheeks and I also started to blush. “Alright! Are we ready to get a move on?” Kurenai asked. We all nodded our heads and Kurenai started to explain our next mission.


“Your next mission is......to deliver these to Lee and Sai.” She said with a smile across her face. “That’s our mission? We have to bring a basket with crap in it to our rivals?” Kiba asked sarcastically. I grabbed a basket and headed off. “Let’s not waste time; it looks like it’s going to rain!” I shouted as I kept running. Hinata, Shino, and Kiba followed after me and we soon arrived at Lee’s house. I knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it. Lee opened the door and he looked shocked. “Delivery!” I handed him the basket and smiled. “Thanks again, my back feels so much better now!” I said hugging him. I backed away only to see him starring at me confused. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “A girl has never hugged me before.” Lee said scratching the back of his head. I smiled, hugged him again, and began to walk to Sai’s house. “Do you....ummm....like Lee?” Hinata asked. “Huh? Oh god no. I just think of him as a friend.” “Oh, well...you probably like....Sasuke right?” Hinata asked trying to get something out of me. “Well he’s really hot but he has no personality. My guy needs to be hot and has to have a personality.” I said reassuringly.

We arrived at Sai’s house and Kiba knocked on the door. Sai opened the door and glared at Kiba. Kiba glared back as Hinata and I giggled behind them. Sai looked behind Kiba and at us. “Well if it isn’t the hottie who kicked some ass.” Sai said with a smirk on his face. I blushed and managed to say a ‘thanks’.

“So what are you doing here?” Sai asked focusing his attention on me. “Well we came to deliver this to you.” I said handing him the basket. “Are you sure that’s it?” He asked slyly. I gave him a confused look and he continued on. “I mean normally when a really cute girl comes to my house it’s because she wants to ask me out.” He said with a grin on his face. “Come on, you can’t seriously be buying this crap can you?” Kiba asked. “Well if it’s a date you want it’s a date you’ll get.” I said seductively. Sai smiled and closed the door. “A date! You’re going on a date with that loser?” Kiba growled. “Yeah, is there something wrong with that? I mean unless you’re jealous?” Kiba’s mouth dropped and he stood there stunned. “Why would I be jealous of you going out on a date? I mean after all you’re just an ugly little slut.” Kiba said. I turned around and smacked him across the cheek. I turned around and stormed off, crying lightly. “That came out wrong, didn’t it?” Kiba said. Hinata shook her head and chased after me.

I sat in my bedroom balling my eyes out. Then I heard a knock on the door. I wiped the tears off of my face and opened the door. Hinata was standing there and I threw myself at her. She rubbed my back and told me to sit on my couch. “I’m sure Kiba didn’t mean it.” She said. She didn’t stutter at all and I was surprised. I stopped crying for a second and looked up at her. “Why do you care what he thinks of you anyways?” She asked. “Because I have a little crush on him.” I said as I began to cry again. “Then why would you go on a date with Sai?” Hinata asked. “So I could get Kiba jealous.” “Well no use crying. Why don’t we get you cleaned up for your date to make him even more jealous.” Hinata said with a smile on her face. I stopped crying and we went to work on making me look the best I possibly could.


When we finally finished I had on a halter top that showed my stomach, a mini skirt, and some make up on. “Kiba will definitely be jealous once he sees you.” Hinata said observing her work. “But how will we make sure he sees me?” “Simple, we walk by his house. He’s always outside training with Akamaru.” Hinata said as we walked out of the house.

We came up to Kiba’s house and sure enough Kiba was outside training with Akamaru. Akamaru saw us and ran over to us. Kiba looked up and saw us walking over to him. “Hey Kiba.” Hinata said quietly. “Hey, I’m sorry for what I said earlier.” Kiba said walking in front of me. I ignored him and walked around him. He walked in front of me again and stopped me. “Don’t be mad at me. I said I was sorry.” Kiba pleaded. I pushed him aside and walked on. Kiba sighed and went into his house. “Don’t you think you were a little too harsh?” Hinata asked. “He got what he deserved.” I simply said. “You have fun and watch yourself. Guys only want one thing from girls.” Hinata said hugging me. I smiled at her and knocked on Sai’s door. He opened the door and smiled at me. “Well, well, well, don’t we look hot tonight?” Sai said looking me up and down. I blushed and grabbed his hand. We walked into his house and we sat down on the couch. He put in a movie and sat down next to me. He soon placed his arm around my shoulder and I blushed. Not long after he began kissing my neck. I pushed him away and continued watching the movie. But once again he kissed my neck. He started to make his way up to my lips but I pushed him away. “What’s your problem?” He asked angrily. “Mine, what’s yours?” I replied jumping up. “Calm down. Why don’t we just skip the movie and move straight to the bed?” Sai said seductively. I was so appalled that I stormed over to the door. “Where do you think you’re going?” Sai said with a smirk on his face.

Kiba sighed as he sat on his couch. He jolted up as he heard someone screaming from outside. He got up and walked out of his house. He turned the corner and looked at Sai’s house. He saw a girl struggling to get out of Sai’s grip and screaming “Help!” Kiba soon realized that it was me and he rushed over to us. Sai let go of me as he saw Kiba running towards him. I fell to my knees and began to sob. I felt someone place their hands around me and I started to kick and scream again. “Relax, it’s just me, Kiba.” He said in a whispered tone. I stopped struggling and sobbed into his chest. “Don’t let him hurt me.” I cried in between sobs. “I won’t let anything bad happen to you.” He replied rubbing my back. He hugged me closer as I kept sobbing into his chest.

I cried myself to sleep and Kiba looked down at me. He picked me up bridal style and began to walk down the street. He stopped at Hinata’s house and knocked on the door. Hinata opened the door and looked at Kiba confused. “I’ll tell you later but can we stay the night?” He asked. Hinata rubbed her eyes and nodded her head. Kiba walked over to the couch and put me down gently. He took off his jacket and put it over me. “So why are you guys here?” Hinata asked sleepily. “I’m not totally sure but I saw her struggling with Sai. She started crying and fell asleep so I carried her here. She said some things but we’ll just have to wait until she wakes up.” Kiba finished. The two of them were both tired so they sat down and drifted off to sleep.


I woke up with a startle. I was breathing heavily and I was sweating. I had a horrible nightmare about what happened earlier and I began to sob quietly. Apparently I awoke the other two because I heard foot steps coming towards me. I looked up and saw Kiba and Hinata looking at me. They both sat down next to me and Kiba placed his hand on my shoulder. “What happened with your date?” Hinata asked. I wiped away the tears from my face and looked up at her. “We were watching a movie and then he....he started kissing me and I got upset and he said we just hit the bed...and then I refused and he got mad. I tried running out of the house but he grabbed me. He tried to rape me.” I said as I began to cry again. “Oh my god.” Hinata managed to say. “But you got there just in time, thank you.” I said hugging Kiba.

“Sai is lucky that we have a mission today, because if we didn’t I’d go and kill him.” Kiba said cracking his knuckles. “It’s okay; it should get my mind off of what happened anyways.” I sighed. We walked up to Kurenai and asked her what our mission was. “Before we start the mission I’d just like to say I’m sorry for what happened last night.” She whispered in my ear. I smiled and nodded my head at her. “Okay our next mission is to escort this man to the Sand Village.” Kurenai said as she showed us our client. We immediately set off to Suna. Lucky for us, we didn’t encounter any enemies along the way. When we finally arrived at Suna trouble waited for us. As we approached the main gate I could see Kankurou, Temari, and Gaara. They were walking away from us but when Kankurou saw me he turned around and headed for us. We quickly dropped the man off and I turned to leave as quickly as I could. But Kankurou stopped me. “What do you want?” I asked coldly. “Ah, what’s wrong? Did someone wake up on the wrong side of the bed?” He asked rhetorically. I shoved him aside and continued on. He showed no signs of giving up so he grabbed my arm and turned me back around. “Look, I’m in no mood to deal with you. Are you still upset that you got beat by a girl?” I asked. He growled and squeezed my arm tighter. I formed a hand sign and shouted “Ribbon no jutsu!” He released his grip in surprise and stared at me. I smiled as the ribbons in my hair stretched out and wrapped around his body. I brought my hands closer together which made the ribbons squeeze him tighter. “I suggest you leave me alone or I won’t hesitate next time.” I said releasing the ribbons. They spun back into my simple hair accessories and I walked off leaving a stunned Kankurou in the dust. “What the hell was that?” Kiba asked startling me. “Oh, you saw that?” I asked. “Yeah, we all did!” He shouted. “It seems you have some tricks up your sleeve.” Kurenai said raising an eyebrow. “Who taught you that jutsu?” She asked. “I made it up. When you’re a little kid with lots of ribbons and tons of time on your hands you get a little carried away.” I said rubbing the back of my head. ‘She made that up, all on her own. She must be stronger than I thought. I’ll have to talk to Lord Hokage.’ Kurenai thought.

We returned to Konoha and Hinata invited me to go to her house. “Alright, just let me go get some things from my house first.” I said as I started running towards my house. I ran into my bedroom and grabbed a pair of pajamas, tooth brush, tooth paste, brush, and another outfit. Just as I was placing them in a bag Shimura began barking at the front door. “What is it?” I asked as I looked up. She barked that someone was here. I shoved the rest of my things and ran over to the door. There in front of my door stood Sai. I gasped. I grabbed Shimura and ran back into my bedroom. I was scared to death. He probably wanted to finish what he had started. He then started banging on the door. “Let me in! I know you’re there!” He yelled. I had to get to Hinata’s house; at least there I would be safe. His banging on the door became more violent and I began to panic. Then an idea hit me. I opened my window as quietly as I could and climbed out. I headed down the street hoping that Sai wouldn’t see me. But with my luck he saw me and began pursuing me. I looked behind me to see how close he was but he wasn’t there anymore. I kept running but I hadn’t turned my head back in front of me so I ran straight into someone. Whoever it was I landed on top of them. I slowly opened my eyes and met Kiba’s gaze. I jumped up and blushed. “What’s the rush?” He asked standing up. “It was Sai. He came to my house.” I said quietly as my blush faded. “Did he hurt you?” He asked angrily. “No, he must’ve seen you and stopped chasing me. What are you doing out here?” I asked. “I’m going to Hinata’s.” Kiba said. “Why are you going to her house?” I asked curiously. “She said that you and her were throwing a party together.” He said. “Then how come I didn’t know that?” I asked. Kiba shrugged his shoulders and we walked to Hinata’s house. I burst threw the door and saw her, Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Lee, Ten-Ten, and Ino there. “What the hell is going on?” I asked. “Well, umm I’m throwing a party.” Hinata said fiddling with her fingers. I rolled my eyes and walked over to her. “You could’ve just said that in the first place so I didn’t have to go home and get my stuff.” I said. “But it’s also a sleep over so...” Hinata said quietly. I nodded my head and set my bag down.


“Let’s play spin the bottle!” Ino yelled. Everyone gathered in a circle and Ino spun the bottle. It landed on Hinata. “Truth or dare?” Ino asked. “T-truth.” Hinata stuttered. “Do you like anyone?” She asked. Hinata blushed and nodded her head yes. “Who is it?” Ino asked. Hinata opened her mouth to say something but I stopped her. “You asked her if she liked someone not who she liked.” I smirked. Ino scoffed and Hinata spun the bottle. Of all people it landed on me. “T-truth or d-dare?” Hinata asked. “Dare.” I simply said. Sakura leaned over and whispered something into her ear. Hinata’s eyes widened but she smiled at me. “Kiss L-Lee.” She said quietly. I nearly choked on the chip I was eating. “Do I have to?” I whined. “You have to do it.” Ino snickered. I sighed and leaned towards Lee. “Pucker up because this is going to be your first kiss.” I said. I sighed once more and gave him a quick kiss. Lee blushed as I moved back to my spot. “Who do I get to take my anger out on next?” I questioned as I spun the bottle. “Naruto, truth or dare?” I asked. “Uh, dare.” Naruto said. “Alright, you have to kiss Hinata for ten seconds.” I said. Hinata’s face turned a deep shade of red. Seeing as Hinata wasn’t going to make a move Naruto leaned in and kissed her for the full ten seconds. She backed away and blushed once more. Even Naruto had a slight tint of pink to his cheeks. “Umm...enough of spin the bottle.” Hinata said. “I got up and grabbed my bag. I took out my pajamas and went into her bathroom. When I finished changing into my tank top and shorts I walked back out to everyone. Some of them were already changed, mainly the guys seeing as they just slept in boxers. I looked over at Kiba and took in his features. I blushed as I realized I was staring. I took a seat next to Hinata and Kiba. She put in a movie and we all sat back and watched it. I had already seen it so I began to drift off. My head fell and landed on Kiba’s shoulder. He looked down at me and smiled as he saw I was asleep. He soon drifted off and his head rested on mine.

I jolted up as I felt cold water on my skin. “Aw, didn’t you two look so cute together.” Ino snickered. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked angrily. “Oh, sorry. Are you angry because I interrupted your lovey dovey moment with Kiba?” Ino asked. “I don’t like Kiba! We’re just friends!” I yelled as I lunged forward at her. But someone stopped me from getting to Ino. “Don’t touch me!” I yelled at Kiba. Everyone stared at me so I got up and grabbed my things. I burst out the door and headed towards my house. I was in no mood to talk to anyone but standing at my door was Kurenai. “Hey, I need to talk to you.” Kurenai said placing her hand on my shoulder. “What is it?” I asked worryingly. “Well I told the Hokage about your jutsu and we all have decided that you should be on Gai’s team.” Kurenai said. “What? Why do I have to be on his team?” I asked angrily. “Because you show great strength and he can train you better. As much as it pains me to say it he’ll help you better than I can.” Kurenai finished. “But that’s not fair! I don’t want to be on his team I want to be on yours!” I yelled. She walked away as she let me soak in the information. Uh, that means I’m going to be on Lee’s team! I sighed and walked into my house. I sighed and fell down on my bed. Shimura barked at me and jumped on my stomach. “Tomorrow we are switching teams! This sucks!” I shouted. Shimura barked along and I laughed.



I slowly walked down to the training ground as I got ready to switch teams. Kurenai must have told my team because they were all standing there. I took in a deep breath as I approached them. I hugged Hinata tightly as I sighed. We backed away and I hugged Kiba. “Shino, you know I’d hug you but I’m afraid of bugs. So I give you an air hug.” I said smiling. Although you couldn’t tell Shino was probably smiling under his coat. On the other side of the field stood my new team mates. I walked over to them trying hard to hold back anger as I remembered the first time I had met Ten-Ten and Neji. I smiled threw gritted teeth at the two. “Hey Keira!” Lee said putting his arm around my shoulder. “Lee that kiss was just a dare. I’m not going out with you.” I said pushing Lee’s arm off my shoulder. “I’m Gai and I’m your new sensei!” Gai shouted. “Yeah, yeah I know who you are.” I sighed. “Hey! You must treat Gai sensei with respect!” Lee shouted. “Oh yeah? Says who?” I questioned angrily. Lee backed off once he saw the rage in my eyes. “Okay, well meet here tomorrow at dawn. I want to see these jutsus of yours.” Gai said. I nodded my head and walked off. I was so mad but I finally got the chance to try out some of my jutsus! I hadn’t tried my last jutsu since......the accident and I couldn’t wait to try it again. I just prayed that nothing would go wrong.

I hadn’t gone to sleep so I was up and ready to go as soon as I saw the sun peek over the horizon. Shimura trailed behind me as we walked down to the training grounds. Sure enough my new team was standing there. “Hey, look who decided to show up.” Neji said. “Ah, now that you’re here show me that technique that Kurenai told me about.” Gai said. I nodded my head and took a deep breath. “Lee, try and attack me.” I said. He ran at me and I whispered ‘ribbon no jutsu.’ In a flash Lee was being held back by my ribbons and I smiled as I made them retreat back to their normal selves. “Nice, do you have any others?” Gai asked. I hesitated for a minute. “Well I have this one but....” “Then show it to us.” Ten-Ten said with her arms folded. I took it as a challenge so I performed the hand seal without thinking. I felt a burning sensation through my body and soon enough I had a tail. I concentrated harder and I now had dog ears too. I focused all of my chakra and soon there was a huge puff of smoke and I was now a huge dog. “I could attack someone like this and stuff but there’s no one to attack.” I growled. “No, try and get me.” Neji said. I smirked on the inside and charged at him. I drew my paw back and just as I was about to strike him I felt a searing pain throughout my whole entire body. Something had gone wrong when I was performing the jutsu, because it was happening again. “Come on. Get me.” Neji teased. “Shut up! I need a doctor now!” I growled viciously. In an instant there was another puff of smoke and I laid on the ground helpless. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, and could barely breathe. The last thing I remember seeing was Lee rushing over to me. Then blackness.

Pain. That’s the only thing I could feel. Was I dead? I heard a beeping noise coming from the side of me. Nope, still alive just in a lot of pain. I slowly opened my eyes and what I saw was a blurry white room. I presumed it was the hospital. I closed my eyes again from the pain. I had messed up the jutsu again. How was it that everyone else in my family could master it but I couldn’t? My brother had mastered it when he was only eight. And here I was, fifteen and I still hadn’t mastered it. I was broken away from my thoughts as I heard the door open. The most unexpected person walked in, Neji. He walked over to the side of the bed and stood there. “How are you feeling?” He asked. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. “Why are you here?” I asked quietly. He sighed. “Because I care that you got hurt.” He said looking down. There was a pinkish tint to his cheeks which made me blush a bit. “I’m feeling better but everything still hurts.” I said. Neji looked at me and smiled. I smiled back weakly. “Where’s Shimura?” I asked. “She’s in the waiting room. Do you want me to go get her?” He asked concerned. I nodded my head. Neji left the room and soon enough came back with Shimura. But with him was Lee. Neji placed Shimura at the foot of the bed but she crawled up to my face and licked me. I giggled softly and patted her head. She barked and I smiled. “You know, that was a pretty nice jutsu.” Lee said. “Too bad something went wrong.” I said sadly. “Yeah, but it was still good.” Neji complimented. I smiled and blushed slightly. If Neji had liked me before he had a really bad way of showing it. But now he was acting so obvious. “Did you thank him yet? I know you and Neji don’t get along too great but he was the one that carried you here.” Lee said. I looked up at the two in shock. What happened to the old Neji? I shrugged it off and thanked him. “Excuse me but Miss Keira should get some rest.” The nurse said walking in. “I don’t need rest; I just need to get out of this depressing hospital.” I said. I pulled the blankets off and pulled myself up into a sitting position. I had a sudden pain in my head but I ignored it. “You need to get some rest in order to get better.” The nurse persisted. “I can’t rest if I’m not tired. Now, just let me leave.” I said as I tried to stand up. I put my hand on the wall for support and the other hand on the edge of the bed. Shimura hopped from the bed to my shoulder and barked. “You ninjas are so stubborn.” The nurse mumbled before walking out of the room.


I smirked and took a few steps before feeling lightheaded. I put my hand on my head to steady myself but everything around me started spinning. Neji came up from behind me and held me up so that I wouldn’t fall. “Thanks.” I whispered. “No problem.” He whispered in my ear. He put my arm around his shoulder and helped me walk out of the hospital. “Do you want me to help you get home?” Neji asked. “No, take me to Hinata’s house.” I said. “To my house it is.” Neji smiled. I blushed. I had no idea that the two lived together. Neji walked me to his house and opened the door. “Who’s that?” Said a cold voice. “This is my friend Keira.” Neji replied. “Very well. If she is a friend of yours she is welcome.” Hiashi said. Neji nodded his head and continued on into the house. He brought me into a room and sat me down on a couch. “Let me go get Hinata.” Neji said. Hinata came running into the room and hugged me. “Are you okay?” She asked. “Well I was okay until you squeezed me so tightly.” I said jokingly. Hinata giggled as she backed away. “Oh, I have to go get Kiba and Shino.” Hinata said running back out of the room. I yawned as Neji sat down next to me. “You don’t like being on our team do you?” Neji asked. “Well, it’s just that you and Ten-Ten were jerks the first time I met you and I just became close to Shino, Kiba, and Hinata. Nothing too personal.” I said smiling. “Hey, a bunch of us guys and their girls are going out tomorrow do you want to come with me?” Neji asked. “Well......”


TBC.......Dun, Dun, Dun! Will she say yes or no? Hmmmm.... a toughy!

“Sure I’d love to.” I smiled. Neji smiled back and walked out of the room. Just minutes after Hinata, Kiba, and Shino ran into the room. Kiba ran over to me and hugged me tightly. “Ow! Kiba...too....tight....”I said gasping for air. “Oh sorry.” Kiba blushed as he backed away. Hinata smiled at me and I rolled my eyes which made her smile fade. “So, what happened?” Kiba asked. “Let’s just say I tried a juts and it didn’t come out right.” I said. Shimura barked saying ‘For the second time.’ “Quiet!” I growled back. “This happened before?” Kiba asked. “Yeah.” I sighed. “It happened before I came here. And I suppose now you want to know why I came here?” I said looking up. Hinata nodded her head and sat down next to me.


*Flashback*


It was just another normal day as I got ready for our new mission. I went downstairs and met with my brother and dad. I gave them both smiles before grabbing an apple. I took a bite of it as there was a knock on the door. I walked over to it and opened the door. I smiled as I saw Takeshi, my boyfriend. He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and walked in the house. “Honey, can you go wait outside for a minute? I want to talk to the guys.” My father said. I shrugged my shoulders and went to the door. “Come on Shimura!” I yelled. Shimura licked Takeshi’s dog before running over to me. I smiled and walked outside. About a half an hour passed and I was growing impatient. Suddenly the door opened and my brother walked out. “Hey, what was that about?” I asked. He just ignored me though. “Show me the jutsu.” He stated. I looked at him puzzled for a second but did it anyway. I formed the hand signals and soon enough I was a giant dog. But then Takeshi came running out of the house bleeding. “Takeshi!” I screamed. “You have to stop the jutsu, know!” He yelled. “But why?” I growled. “He’s trying to kill us!” Takeshi yelled. “I would never hurt my sister unless I had too. But you on the other hand, I have nothing stopping me.” My brother said walking over to Takeshi. “What’s going on? Where’s dad?” I asked scared. But once again my brother ignored me and killed Takeshi. “Takeshi!” I screamed as tears came to my eyes. As if on queue my father came running outside. All of this was happening to fast and I was loosing control over the jutsu. A puff of smoke formed around me and I went back to normal lying helplessly on the ground. I bared the pain and turned my head towards my dad. Brother had killed him too. I began crying uncontrollably as my brother made his way over to me. “Why?” I whispered as my strength began to fade away. “I will not tell you just right now but I will give this to you to protect you from danger. Please forgive me, and know that I would never hurt you and I’m sorry I had to kill dad and Takeshi.” He said before I fell unconscious.

*End Flashback*

I finished telling them of that day and looked down as my body shook. “Oh, I’m so sorry.” Hinata said holding me close. I closed my eyes trying desperately to hold back my tears. “They didn’t deserve to die. Especially not Takeshi. He loved me and vowed to protect me and I did too but I couldn’t protect him when he needed me.” I said sadly still trying not to cry. “No, he tried to protect you. There was nothing you could do.” Hinata said quietly. “What exactly did he give you?” Kiba asked. I sighed and pulled my tank top up slightly revealing a black tattoo that meant protect. “It burns whenever somebody dangerous is near.” I said.

I searched through my closet frantically as I tried to find something to wear. I wanted it to be cute but not too fancy. I finally decided on a black tank top and a white skirt that had ruffles on the bottom hem. I wore my black heels and put my hair up into a bun with a few of my bangs framing my face. I have to say, I looked totally different! Then Shimura started barking and there was a knock on the door. I walked as casually as calmly as I could over to the door. I opened it and smiled as my eyes met with Neji’s milky colored eyes. “Hold down the fort while I’m gone.” I said to Shimura. She barked and I managed I giggle. I closed the door and Neji and I began to walk down the street. “You look good.” He said. “Thanks, you don’t look so bad yourself.” I smiled. We soon arrived at the restaurant and Neji led me over to the biggest booth there was in the restaurant. Sakura and Sasuke were sitting together along with Shikamaru and Ino. But also sitting with them was Chouji, Lee, Ten-Ten, and Kiba. I took a seat next to Neji and I smiled at everyone. Kiba gave me a puzzled look but I tried to ignore him. “Hinata and Naruto should be here soon.” Neji whispered in my ear. My eyes widened. I didn’t know how Hinata was going to act once she found out that I was going out with her cousin. “Excuse me.” I said getting up. I walked as I quickly as I could to the door and stepped outside. I breathed a sigh of relief as I was no longer in the restaurant.


“Hey Keira!” I turned my head and saw Naruto and Hinata walking over to me, hand-in-hand. I grinned at the two as Hinata blushed deeply and broke her hand away from Naruto’s. “I see things are going good with you two.” I said slyly. “Hey, who did you come here with?” Naruto asked, completely ignoring my comment. “Oh, I’m here with.....Neji.” I said quietly. Hinata gasped and grabbed my arm. She pulled me back into the restaurant and into their bathroom. “Why are you here with Neji? Are you trying to get Kiba jealous?” Hinata asked. “I’m here with Neji because he asked me to come with him. And I’m not trying to get Kiba jealous. I really did want to come here with Neji. I didn’t even know Kiba was going to be here.” I said. “But I thought you liked Kiba.” Hinata said in surprise. “I did but I’m tired of waiting for him to like me.” I said angrily as I walked out of the restroom. Hinata followed and we sat down at the booth. There was now tons of food on the table and everyone was eating, well Naruto and Chouji were having an eating contest. To my surprise after I sat down Neji wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I blushed slightly but continued eating.


We were all laughing and having a great time when I realized how late it was. “Oh, I have to get going. I have to go home and feed Shimura.” I said getting up. “I’ll walk you home.” Neji said. “I think she knows how to walk herself home.” Kiba mumbled. “I’d love for you to walk me home.” I said. I grabbed Neji’s hand and we walked out of the restaurant together. “Are we jealous Kiba?” Shikamaru teased. “No! Why would I be jealous of those two?” Kiba said angrily. Shikamaru shrugged his shoulders and left with Ino. Soon Sakura and Sasuke left with each other. “Naruto, I’ll meet you outside, I want to talk to Kiba for a second.” Hinata said. Naruto kissed Hinata’s forehead and walked outside with Chouji and Shino. “What is it?” Kiba asked. “Why were you so upset before?” Hinata asked. “I wasn’t upset I just don’t think she should be going out with Neji, no offense.” Kiba said. “Well she could’ve been going out with you.” Hinata whispered. “What?” The Inuzuka asked. Hinata just smiled and walked outside of the restaurant.


“Well, thanks for the good time tonight.” I said as we approached my doorstep. “No problem.” Neji said. “Do you want to-” Neji began to say but he was cut short by our lips meeting. I smiled as I broke apart from the kiss. “I’d love to.” I said before walking in my house and leaving Neji stunned. I smiled as I fell down on my couch. I may not have Kiba but Neji was just fine.

Make your own awesome doll at dollwizard.com! I kicked the blankets off of me as I woke up. Shimura stood on my stomach and barked. She was basically my alarm clock. Except today she was waking me up earlier than usual. She was saying that someone was walking around my house. I quickly jumped up and changed into my regular clothes. I walked over to the window and sniffed the air. There was no doubt about it: it was Sai. “Getting a little obsessive now aren’t we?” I shouted out the window. “Only because you’ve ruined my reputation and no one will go near me.” Sai said angrily. “Well it’s your own fault! If you want people to talk to you, you should seriously stop coming by my house.” I said slamming the window shut. I sighed and sat back down on my bed. Sai didn’t scare me anymore. If he kept bothering me then I was going to just kill him. I sighed again as I heard a knock on the door. I got up and went over to the door. I threw it opened and yelled. “Would you just leave me alone?! If you don’t I’m going to kill you!” I blushed and stepped back as I realized that I just yelled at Neji. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea it was you.” I apologized. “Somebody must have gotten you mad. Do you mind me asking who it is?” He asked. “It’s just Sai. But enough about that, what are you doing here?” I asked. “Well last night you said you’d love to so I assumed you knew we were going out today.” Neji said leaning up against the door frame. I smiled and blushed slightly. Neji grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. I closed the door behind me and let him lead me away. “Where are we going?” I asked confusingly. “Well I wouldn’t necessarily call this a date but after this we can go on a real one. We have to go meet up with Gai sensei.” He said. He pulled me closer and put his hand around my waist. I smiled and nuzzled my face against his chest. As we approached the training grounds I lifted my head from his chest and saw not only our team there but my old team too. “Ah, you two finally showed up.” Gai said smiling at us. I blushed and broke away from Neji. “Okay, now that everyone is here we can explain your next test. All the teams are taking this test to brush up on your survival skills. Starting tomorrow at dawn you’ll have five days to survive in the forest of death. Your objection isn’t just to stay alive you also have to capture one person from the opposite team. You have to hold that person captive throughout the whole five days. By the end whoever has their whole team and a captured person wins and will get something special. If there is a tie we will decide on that by your health conditions. Be ready at the crack of dawn tomorrow.” Kurenai said. My eyes widened. How did they expect me to do this? That was my old team; I can’t just fight them never mind capture one of them. This was going to be difficult, that was a definite. “I refuse to do it!” I yelled. Everyone turned and looked at me. “I can not do this!” “I understand where you are coming from but to back out of it is just stupid.” Kurenai said. “Just think of it as a mission. Don’t think of them as your friends.” Gai said. “I can’t do it!” I yelled. “Why? Are you afraid of us?” Kiba said coldly. That was not the Kiba I knew. The Kiba I knew would’ve told me to go for it and not take it personal. This Kiba was different. “Afraid that you’ll lose to us? Well you should be.” He said walking off. There was a pause and everyone was quiet for a moment. “Okay, everyone just be here by dawn tomorrow.” Gai said dismissing us. I turned around and headed back to my house as quickly as I could.

I sighed as I got ready for the test. It was way too early and I just wanted to go back to sleep. But Shimura kept barking at me and occasionally nipped my hand if I started to fall asleep. I walked outside and locked the door. I took in a deep breath and smelt the crisp morning air. I sighed again and headed down the road towards the forest of death. I had never been in there before but from rumors I’ve heard it was no picnic going in there.

Sure enough as I arrived Neji, Tenten, and Lee were standing there. I smiled and ran over to them. “Are you sure you’re going to be able to do this?” Neji whispered in my ear. “I should be alright.” I whispered back. Shimura barked reassuringly and I giggled. “Alright listen up!” Gai shouted, suddenly appearing beside us. “You will be going in there in about ten minutes so get ready. We need to show Kurenai’s team how good we are. Now, it’ll be okay if you lose...” Gai started to say. “We will not fail Gai-sensei. We will succeed and prove our skills to you.” Lee stated saluting him. “Ah, youth. It’s beautiful thing.” Gai said quietly. I sighed. “Okay everyone, do your best and try not to get hurt.” He said. He smiled and gave us a thumbs up before letting us inside the forest. The sun began to rise and we took off.

We had gotten past the first night in the forest with no signs of the other team. “Do you see them?” I asked Neji. He had activated his Byakuugan and he was scanning the area. “I see them. They’re about three hundred feet ahead of us. They probably already know we’re here since they have Kiba.” Neji said. We continued jumping from tree branch to tree branch until we reached them. We stayed hidden up in the trees but I could already tell that they knew we were here. Shimura jumped down from the branch and ran over to Akamaru. She had completely given away our position. “Okay, before they attack us. Who do you think they’ll go after?” I asked, slightly worried what the answer might be. Neji looked at me. “They’re probably going to go after you.” He said quietly. I sighed. I was afraid of that. Suddenly a kunai whizzed past my face. The fight had begun.

I jumped down from the tree to face them. “Looks like you found us.” I said slowly walking over to Shimura. “I’m sorry.” Hinata whispered. She charged at me and threw her hand out to strike but I dodged with ease. I picked up Shimura and turned to face Hinata. Neji, Tenten, and Lee had already jumped down from the tree and were fighting also. Neji was fighting against Kiba and Lee and Tenten were up against Shino. As Hinata charged at me again I flipped backwards and up into a tree. “I can’t fight you!” I shouted. “What are you doing? Hurry up and grab Hinata!” Neji shouted. I was in complete shock. I just couldn’t do it. Hinata had been my best friend since I had arrived here. I couldn’t just turn against her. But then again she had been charging at me this whole time. I was broken away from my thoughts by a familiar voice coming from behind me. “Too afraid to fight us, huh?” It was Kiba. But his voice sounded colder and....sad. I whipped around stared into his eyes. They weren’t soft like they used to be. “Keira, snap out of it!” Neji shouted. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak, I could just barely breathe. I was being overcome with emotions. I yelped out in pain and clutched my stomach. My tattoo was burning. I yelped again and fell to my knees. “That won’t work on me. You can’t fake being hurt.” Kiba said. “I’m...not faking. My tattoo....is burning.” I said. I squeezed my eyes shut as the tattoo burned even more. Somebody very powerful was near. It was burning before but it only felt like someone was pinching me. But now it felt as if someone was pouring boiling water on my stomach. “We need...to get out....of here.” I said. “Come on Keira. You have to get up.” Lee shouted from below me. I screamed out in pain as the burning got worse. I was hit on the head then everything went black.


I slowly opened my eyes and held my head up. My vision was blurred but I could make out three figures sitting in front of me. As my vision cleared I saw that it was Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. As I went to move I felt a zap and saw that my hands and feet were bound. I went to move again but this time the zap was more powerful. “It’s no use. That rope has electricity made from chakra flowing through it.” Kiba said. “Where’s Shimura?” I asked worryingly. I heard a bark and turned to see Shimura huddled up with Akamaru. I smiled and tried to move again. The zap was more powerful and stung this time. “You can untie me. I won’t try to escape.” I said. Hinata looked over at me and bowed her head down. “We can’t do that.” She said. “I promise. I can’t fight you guys anyways. You know that.” I said sadly. “Trust me.” I whispered. Nobody moved, they just sat there. I tried to get free once more but got zapped once again. I cried out in pain and lowered my head. “Please don’t try to move. I don’t like seeing my friends in pain.” Hinata said. I smiled weakly and looked away. But then the burning came back. It wasn’t as bad as before but it burned! I winced in pain and my body began to shake. Shimura barked and ran over to me. She began licking my face and I told her that my tattoo was burning. She immediately understood and started gnawing on the ropes. But they shocked both her and I. She whimpered and Akamaru came marching to her side. The two barked at each other for a few seconds and soon Akamaru started gnawing on the ropes too.


“Akamaru, what the hell are you doing?!” Kiba yelled. “You’re not supposed to be helping the enemy!” He got up and marched over to us. He picked up Akamaru but Akamaru began barking and struggling to get out of Kiba’s arms. Being shocked, Kiba let Akamaru go and he continued gnawing on the ropes. He continued to get shocked but kept trying to untie me anyways. “See, Akamaru sees that I’m not going to try anything.” I said. I looked up at Kiba and he sighed. He bent down and untied me. “Thank you.” I said happily. He simply turned around and walked back to where he was sitting before. I clutched my stomach as the burning grew more intense. “What’s wrong?” Hinata asked rushing to my side. “Somebody powerful......is nearby.” I said. Hinata stood upright and scanned the area using her Byakuugan. “I see them. There are three of them coming this way.” Hinata said. Kiba and Shino jumped to their feet ready to defend us. Three ninja jumped out from the trees and grinned at us. “There’s no reason to fight. We just want the girl.” The middle ninja said stepping forward. The female ninja peered behind the boys and smiled as she caught sight of me. “Ah, he told me that you would probably be in pain when we got here.” She said. My eyes widened and I looked up. How did she know? “Your tattoo, how badly does it burn?” She asked. “How the hell did you know I had a tattoo?” I asked. “He told me all about it.” She grinned. I stood up and walked towards her. “Who is he?” I asked. The female ninja went to speak but the middle ninja stopped her. “We can’t tell you right now. At least not with them around.” He said eyeing Kiba and Shino. “If you come with us we can tell you all about what we know and much more I know you’d love.” He said. My tattoo began burning even more. Someone else was coming.

“Who sent you?” I asked. None of them spoke. Instead they just exchanged glances and ran towards us. Kiba and Shino were ready to defend at any moment but the three ninja completely ignored them and ran straight towards me and Hinata. We both jumped out of the way, just barely dodging them. They turned and ran at me. I took out a kunai and got ready for anything. Suddenly they just stopped and smirked at me. I spun around to see if this was a trick. But it wasn’t. I had completely fallen into their trap. The three of them had surrounded me. The female ninja smirked and pulled out some rope. You could see the chakra flowing around it. I had no idea what to do. I jumped up in the air and tried to go into the cover of the trees but she caught me with the rope. And it was just like Kiba’s except it shocked me a lot more than Kiba’s did. I yelped out in pain as I fell through the air and slammed into the ground. “What the hell do you want?!” I asked angrily. “We want you.” One of them said. “What do you want with me?” I asked.


“We really don’t want anything to do with you.” The female replied. I scowled and stood up. “You guys stay out of this! I don’t want you getting hurt!” I shouted to Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. I leapt into the air once more to try and form a jutsu but the ninja predicted this and threw the ropes at me again. I screamed out in pain as the shock was filled with more electricity this time. I screamed once more as I hit the ground. Shimura barked at them but they just kicked her aside. “Don’t touch her!” I yelled standing up. I wobbled a bit but tried to form the hand seals again. Someone grabbed me from behind and brought me up to a tree branch. I struggled to get free but the person was too strong. They finally released me and I whipped around to see a guy grinning at me. “Who are you?” I asked. “I am Orochimaru. And I have a proposition for you.” He smirked. “And what is it?” I asked. “I want your body.” He replied. “Why the hell would I give you my body? And what do you want with me anyways?” I asked. “Well, I have spoken to your brother and he tells me that you are more powerful than you know.” He said. I froze. How did he know my brother?


He took a step forward and I winced from the burning from the tattoo. This guy was very powerful. “Now, my proposition is, if you let me have your body I will revive Takeshi and your beloved father.” My body began to shake. “How can you bring them back?” I asked. “I have a jutsu that will bring them back. But I will only do so if you come with me. I see that your tattoo is burning so I will leave. Make your decision by tomorrow. If you agree then meet me back here tomorrow at night.” He smirked and simply left. I fell to my knees and clutched my stomach as tears came to my eyes. “Get back down here and finish the fight!” The female ninja shouted. “I have your dog.” She said. My eyes widened and I jumped down from the tree.


Kiba, Shino, and Hinata waited anxiously to see what was happening to Keira. She had been taken up into a tree and they couldn’t see her anymore. Then, the female ninja walked over to Shimura and picked her up. Shimura growled but since they had kicked her hard she was still weak. Akamaru began barking and Kiba struggled to hold him back. “Get back down here and finish the fight!” “I have your dog.” The ninja said. Almost immediately Keira jumped down from the tree.


“Put her down!” I yelled. “Okay.” The girl simply said. She walked over to the cliff and held Shimura over it. She smirked and let go of her. Shimura yelped as she began falling through the air. I quickly raced over to the side, and without thinking, jumped over the side to grab Shimura. I grabbed her and held her close to me as we continued to fall. “Keira!” Hinata shrieked. Kiba ran over to the edge and jumped over. He grabbed me and grabbed the side of the cliff and dug his hands into it to try and stop us from falling. He focused his chakra to his feet and climbed up the side of the wall. Hinata and Shino rushed over to us as he knelt down. “Thank you, Kiba.” I whispered. “Hey, I’ll save you anytime.” He replied. There was the Kiba I knew. I smiled weakly and closed my eyes. “Let’s get out of here.” Kiba said standing up.

The team continued jumping from tree branch to tree branch as they tried to get out of the forest as quickly as they could. I was awake but I didn’t think they knew that, seeing as my eyes were still closed. I couldn’t stop thinking about what that man Orochimaru had said. I wanted so badly to bring my father and Takeshi back. But he wanted my body and I had no idea what exactly he wanted my body for. And he said that he had talked to my brother. All of this was way to confusing so I pushed those thoughts away and decided to let them know I was awake.

“Kiba, you can put me down now.” I said. Kiba stopped and blushed. “Oh right.” He said putting me down. They continued on ahead but I stayed there. I looked backwards, I wanted so badly to go back there and talk to Orochimaru. “Hey, aren’t you coming?!” Kiba shouted. I turned back to them and hopped down from the tree. Without answering Kiba I turned around and began walking away from them. “Hey! We untied you and saved you and now you’re expecting us to just let you go?” Kiba shouted. He ran over to me and grabbed my arm. “I’m not going back to my team, I’m going to talk to him.” I said pulling my arm out of Kiba’s grip. “Who’s him?” Hinata asked. “Orochimaru.” I said walking away. “What?! You can’t go to see him! He’s a horrible person!” Kiba yelled angrily. “I have to. He said he would revive Takeshi and my father. He even said he talked to my brother.” I said continuing to walk away. “He wouldn’t do that for just nothing. What does he want from you?” Kiba asked. “He wants my body.”
Kiba grabbed my arm again and looked me in the eye. “I won’t let you go to him.” He said sternly. He sniffed the air and sighed. “We have company.” He sighed. “That’s right dog breath. Now let go of my girlfriend.” Neji said jumping down from the tree. “No.” Kiba growled. “What did you say flea bag?” Neji scowled. “Neji! Don’t say that! Have you forgotten that I’m just like Kiba!” I shouted angrily. “But you’re not as disgusting as Kiba is.” Neji smirked. “That’s enough!” Kiba looked at me shocked and let go of my arm. “If it weren’t for Kiba I would probably be dead right now! And I don’t need you making this situation any worse than it is!” I yelled. I walked over to him and formed my hand into a fist. I focused my chakra to my hand and punched him in the face. He stumbled back a bit and looked at me shocked. “What the hell was that for?” He asked stunned. “Don’t you ever talk about my friends like that again. And you can forget about going on that date.” I said through gritted teeth.

I ran as fast as I could towards the part where we came in. I knew Kiba, Hinata, and Shino were chasing after me but I didn’t stop. I was tired but I didn’t care. I just had to get away from everything. Night had already fallen so I tried as hard as I could to forget about Orochimaru’s deal but I just wanted so badly to have them back. I couldn’t take this pressure anymore. I finally reached the gates and hopped over them. We weren’t supposed to but at this point I didn’t really care. I ran down the streets of Kohona as fast as I could. People stopped and starred at me. Tears fell down my cheeks as I continued running. Kurenai spotted me and went to chase after me but by the time she started chasing me I had already gotten inside of my house.

“What the hell is she doing outside of the forest?” Kurenai said to herself. She turned around and saw Kiba, Hinata, and Shino running towards her. “What is going on?” She asked sternly. “We don’t completely know.” Hinata said quietly. “Well go talk to her and tell me what’s going on.” Kurenai sighed. They nodded their heads and headed off to my house.

I locked all the doors and windows and then put explosive tags on them. I hugged my knees to my chest as I sat there in complete silence. But that didn’t last long as I heard an explosion from downstairs. Someone was trying to get in the house. It was probably just one of my friends but I didn’t want to risk it so I opened my window, the only one without an explosive tag, and jumped outside. I ran as quickly as I could to the Hokage. If there was anyone who could help me in this situation it would be her. I quickly ran up the stairs and burst into her office. “What is it?” She asked. “I need to talk to you.” I said. “About what?” She questioned. “Well, while I was in the forest of death Orochimaru came and talked to me. He wants my body in return for my father and Takeshi to be revived.” I said. Her eyes widened. “So he’s back.” She whispered.

“Damn it. She set up explosive tags.” Kiba said angrily. “She doesn’t even want us too talk to her.” Hinata said. Akamaru barked at Kiba and started running down to the back of the house. “What did he say?” Shino asked. “He said that there’s no explosive tag on one window and he can smell her near it.” Kiba said turning to go after Akamaru. They reached Keira’s bedroom window and Kiba sighed. “She’s not in there anymore.” He sniffed the air and started to run down the street, following her sent. Hinata and Shino followed after him.


“I was thinking that maybe I could move out for a while until things calm down.” I said. “Are you sure that’s what you want?” Tsunade asked. “Yes, but I don’t want my friends to come and follow me. I don’t want them to get caught up in this.” I said quietly. “I understand. I’ll tell them that you have decided to go to Orochimaru but we will not pursue you. Does that story satisfy you?” She asked. “Yes, Hokage-sama.” I replied. “Okay, go gather your things and meet me at the gates in an hour.” She said. I bowed and turned to go back to my house. I walked out of her office and started walking slowly back to my house. As I continued down the road it hit me. How was I just going to get up and leave without telling anyone? I’m sure Neji could probably care less after what I did to him, but Hinata would be very upset and I’m sure Kiba and Shino wouldn’t be too happy either. The last thing I wanted is for one of my friends to get caught up in this and get hurt. I wouldn’t tolerate it but oh, how badly I wanted to tell someone. Maybe I could tell someone but just one person and they couldn’t tell anyone else. Who could I trust to let me go and keep my secret at the same time?


I was broken away from my thoughts as I heard a familiar bark saying ‘there she is!’ I looked up to see Akamaru and Kiba running towards me. I couldn’t run away from them but I did not want to talk to anyone right now. Kiba finally reached me and stood there panting. He regained his composure and looked me straight in the eyes. I averted his gaze and looked at my feet. I gasped as Kiba pulled me into a hug. “I don’t know all the details but do know that you can talk to me about anything.” He whispered in my ear. “I know.” I said. Kiba pulled away just as Shino and Hinata came running around the corner.

As Hinata and Shino reached us it hit me. “Hinata, can I talk to you?” I asked quietly. She looked up at me with a confused face. “Of course.” I walked over to her and held her arm. I performed a jutsu and we were no longer standing with Kiba and Shino. Instead we were standing on the Third Hokage’s head. I sat down and sighed. “What is it?” Hinata asked, sitting down next to me. I looked up into those pale eyes. I had been friends with Hinata the whole time I had been here, but could I trust her with something this big. Of course I could what was I thinking! But what if she told the others, especially Kiba. I know he would want to come after me but what if he got hurt? I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. But as I looked into those familiar pale eyes I knew I could trust her. After all I had trusted her with so many other things. “Hinata, I have decided to leave Kohona.”


“What? B-but why?” She stuttered, with sadness in every word. “That man, Orochimaru, he’s really powerful and he has talked with my brother. I feel like something bad is going to happen so I talked to Tsunade. We agreed that I would leave Kohona and if people asked where I was we would tell them that I went with Orochimaru but no one would come after me.” I finished. “I can’t believe you’re going to leave. Are you ever going to come back?” She asked. “Once things calm down I probably will.” I replied. “What do you mean probably? You have to come back! You’re the only close friend I have!” She shouted. Tears started welling in my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut to prevent the tears that so badly threatened to leak out. “I’m sorry Hinata. I promise that I will come back.” I cried hugging her. I couldn’t hold it in anymore so I let the tears fall from my eyes and down my cheeks. And as I got ready to leave I could’ve sworn I saw tears running down Hinata’s face. “Hinata, please don’t tell anyone. I don’t want any of you to get caught up in this and get hurt.” I said sadly. Hinata simply nodded her head and left to go back to her house.


I stayed on the Hokage’s head as the sun began to set. The few white, puffy clouds scattered the sky. The beautiful colors of orange, yellow, and pink blended together in such a way that the sky looked like a painting out of a famous art gallery. I smiled as I watched the sun continue to set. My smile soon faded as I realize that I probably wouldn’t be able to watch the sunset anymore. “Hey.” I practically jumped as I heard someone speak. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Kiba said sitting down next to me. “It’s okay.” I replied, hugging my knees to my chest. “Are you okay? I saw Hinata crying and then I saw you crying.” Kiba spoke softly. “You saw that?! Did you hear what I told her?” I asked frantically. “No, I was just watching, why?” Kiba asked raising an eyebrow. “Oh, it’s nothing.” I said laying my head down on the top of my knees. Kiba wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled my close to his chest and I broke down again. Tears flowed freely down my cheeks as the realization of what I was doing finally kicked in. I was leaving these people and I had no idea when I was going to be back. Hinata, who had been there for me since the start. I could always trust her with my secrets and she was always so kind to me. But then again she was kind to everyone. Shino, even though we had never really talked that much he was still a valuable friend. Kiba, I had had a crush on him since the beginning. He had always cared about me. How he would make sure Sai wouldn’t come near me and even when I was going out with Neji he was still there for me. And even Naruto, Neji, Tenten, Lee, and all the others, with the exception of Sai, had been there for me in some way or another. But now I was leaving them all behind. “What’s wrong?” Kiba asked worryingly. “I can’t tell you.” I cried. “I’m sorry.” He closed his eyes and held me close letting me cry into his shirt.


I stayed in Kiba’s lap for probably another two hours. Without him knowing I was awake, he picked me up bridal style and carried me home. He laid me on my bed and left. As soon as he closed the door I jumped out of bed and started packing my things. I grabbed all of my clothes, hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, shoes, and lastly my picture with Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. I remember the day we took that picture. It was a little while after our trip to Suna. Kurenai took a picture of us while we were returning home. Shimura barked, reminding me that we had to leave soon. I shoved all of my items into a bag and hopped out the window with Shimura following. I ran as quickly as I could to the gates where I saw Tsunade waiting for me. “Are you absolutely sure about this?” She asked. I nodded my head and she stepped aside to let me go off on my own. I looked back at the town that I had become so used to. Oh, how much I wanted to stay and live my life here with my friends. Only hours ago I was sitting with Kiba but now I was getting ready to leave for who knows how long. I heard Shimura whimper. I knew she was going to miss Akamaru a lot since for the past few months she had been growing very fond of him. I turned to leave and slowly walked past the gates and Tsunade. She whispered a quiet “Good luck” before returning to her town......my town........my old town. As I continued to get farther away from Kohona I took one last glance back at it. As tears threatened to come again I took off. I vowed to keep my promise to Hinata. I was going to come back no matter what.