Team 8 OneWord
20Prompts
1. "Sanctuary"
Before they became a team, the members of Team 8 had very different ideas of a sanctuary. Sanctuary for Hinata, was when she could go for more than three hours without seeing her father, so school was her sanctuary. She could get away from the ever-present disapproval of her family. Kiba had a different idea of sanctuary. His was to spend as much time as possible playing with his nin-ken, Akamaru, as far away from school as possible. Again, Shino had a different idea to his future team mates. He preferred to spend his time leaning against the walls that housed the main Kikaichu colony, so he could feel their vibrations through the thick drywall.
And Kurenai... Well, she preferred to spend time with Asuma. Having been her team mate when she was younger, he knew stuff about her that no one, except maybe Anko, knew. Kurenai also spent time at an old abandoned house on the outskirts of Konoha. It had been heavily damaged during the Kyuubi attack, but it held special memories. Kurenai came once a month, when the full moon rose, and the protective seals glowed silver, allowing her in to take care of the extensive gardens on the surprisingly small grounds.
After they became a team, however, the three genin changed their ideas of sanctuary. One afternoon a month, when the full moon rose just as the sun was setting, they made the trek to the abandoned house and watched the seals glow silver, before allowing them in to take care of the dilapidated building.
The first time that Kurenai had brought them here, Kiba had asked, "There's a strong smell of wolf... Who lived here?" Hinata had gazed up at the sign and had gasped, drawing the attention of her team.
"Ano... It says .... Namikaze, Nameshaste, and Narutohki residence..."
"No way..." Kiba breathed. "THIS is the house of the Yondaime?" Kurenai nodded.
"Not only that, but it was the residence of his teammates, as well. All in all, there was always at least four people here. And the scent of wolf that you detect, Kiba, would be from Nameshaste Mikuuni, the only living holder of the Wolf contract. She is also the jinchuuriki no Juubi no Tsuki. And she was one of my friends..." Shino could tell that Kurenai was still deeply saddened by Nameshaste – san's leaving. Kurenai blinked a few times before ushering her young team inside.
They hadn't taken more than ten steps inside the threshold of the gate, before a large seal array lit up directly in front of them, and a large wolf stepped towards them. It sniffed suspiciously at the three genin, especially at Kiba, before turning to Kurenai, and gruffly vocalising,
"I suppose that these three cubs are your pack, now?" That was too much for Hinata, and she fainted dead away, leaving her two teammates to scramble to catch her. The wolf snorted, no mean feat when it's head was level with Kurenai's.
"Sensei... That is the BIGGEST damn wolf I've ever seen!" Exclaimed Kiba from where he was cradling Hinata on the ground.
After the Hyuuga heiress had woken up, and introductions had been made, the genin's concept of sanctuary had been irreversibly shattered, and remade. From then on, whenever one of Team 8 went missing, the others knew that they could be found in the secluded forest clearing, gazing at the walls surrounding the house, gazing at their sanctuary.
AN: Well... It works, kinda. This takes place in my Naruto AU, and so will differ quite substantially. And, yeah. DON'T SHOOT! I'm quite aware it's quite bad, but it has literally been about four months since I've sat down and written something like this, so please have a little patience as I get my Naruto muse back.