Disclaimer I do not own Naruto or the song The Legend Of Wooley Swamp which I listened to before writing this.

Swamp legend

"There is a unique smell," Kiba muttered as the wind shifted and carried the smell of decay from a particularly ripe swamp.

Akamaru offered a little growl that basically translated to it's not that bad.

"To you maybe. It reminds me of three day old roadkill under a hot sun." As good as his nose was, one thing he had learned early on was that dogs really didn't find any smells unpleasant.

Akamaru barked several times saying newly promoted Chuunin shouldn't complain so much. Kiba was tempted to make a comment about him not being cute anymore now that he wasn't a puppy. However, his partner was right. He had been complaining a lot.

This was his first solo mission since his promotion and it had gone terribly wrong even before it began. First it had rained the entire way to his destination. Then when he arrived, Kiba had found the object he was to protect had already been stolen. Now why anyone would want to steal the ashes of some 300-year-old dead guy was beyond Kiba. Still, it had happened and he has been tracking the thief ever since. At least he knew he was closing in. The smell was getting stronger.

As he rounded a corner a small village came into view. At first glance there was nothing that distinguished it from anywhere else, but as Kiba walked closer to the town he could see it was adjacent to a swamp. There were several docks with small boats tied up. Alligator seem to be a large part of the loads as he saw several being unloaded. Kiba sniffed the air and although there were many unpleasant odors he could still smell his target. The men had been here only a few hours at most.

"He's close," Kiba said and Akamaru agreed.

Not for the first time Kiba tried to figure out whether the person he pursued had any training at all or not. The actual theft had been done by a professional. No one had seen the thief. He had broken into the museum by a skylight and left no ropes or anything behind. Maybe it was chakra or maybe he had used a rope, it was impossible to tell. He could've just been careful and cleaned up after himself. The one thing he was sure about though was it was a man. The fact that he'd gone through the woods to avoid checkpoints on the road just meant he had been prepared. He was either a talented thief or a trained ninja. After sneaking through the woods the man had chosen to stick to the roads, which suggested a civilian because only a ninja could make good time traveling off-road. There again being on a road made tracking more difficult especially if you didn't have a description of the person. If it wasn't for his nose Kiba he would've lost the man long ago.

It was one of those situations where you could pick any conclusion and find enough supporting evidence. He could also turn down any conclusion he reached. It was enough to make his head hurt so he tried not to think about it. Shino had always been the brains of the team.

Kiba walked around the village sniffing the air and trying to figure out what the man had done. He had lingered here. Why? It was a terrible place to meet up with someone. Maybe he wanted to go through the swamp? That might even throw his nose off.

The boats that were tied up to the docks were unattended at the moment so asking someone directly was out of the question. He saw a little restaurant at the far side of the dock. Kiba thought that would be as good as any place to start asking. Akamaru followed at his side, his nails scraping against the wooden dock.

A bell rang as he pushed open the door. The restaurant was small and enclosed. The man's smell was everywhere, but the room was empty. He had to have been here no more than an hour ago. Kiba felt a thrill surge through him knowing he was getting close to his target.

An old man stepped out from the doorway summoned by the bell. His hair was gray, his shoulders were slumped and when he smiled he showed a missing front tooth. "Now, two strangers in a day, that's unusual. Can I get you something?"

Kiba felt himself grinning. Finally something was going his way. "This other guy, is he still around?"

The man shook his head. "No, at least I don't think so. Can I get you anything to eat? Your friend looks pretty thirsty. Maybe he could use some water. The water is free."

Both Kiba and Akamaru were surprised. Outside of his village usually when he brought a dog into a restaurant the owner's reaction was to throw them out not offer Akamaru water. His friend's whimper sealed the deal for Kiba. "That would be great. Can you bring me something too? Preferably cheap, I'm a bit low on funds right now." His room and board were supposed to be taken care of by the client so he hadn't thought to bring much with them. Being on his own there was no one he could sponge off of either.

"I've got some stew boiling. Just give me a minute."

Kiba took a seat and justified his actions by saying he needed to pump this old man for information. At least he could get a description of the man if nothing else. The fact that he had both skipped dinner last night and breakfast this morning also factored.

The man came back with a dog bowl under his arm, a jug of water under his arm and a steaming bowl of something. It didn't smell bad and was a rich color but the pieces of meat floating in it seemed a bit big and knowing what the village hunted he was pretty sure he could identify it. Experimentally he tried a piece and it wasn't bad.

"So this other guy, what did you look like?" Kiba asked.

The old man finished pouring water for Akamaru before straightening. "He was nothing special. The young guy maybe in his 30s. He was kind of short, but stocky. The man had one of those too." The man raised a hand to his forehand. Then he let out a sigh. "I guess you're after him."

Kiba grimaced. So the man was a ninja. However, there was something in the man's tone that sounded like he disapproved. He felt compelled to defend himself to this stranger. "He stole something from a museum. I want to return it."

The old man's expression changed. "He is a thief then?"

Kiba nodded. "Yeah, it was even donated to the museum by the family. It'll probably go to some rich collector if I don't catch up to him."

"The man you seek is dead."

The old man spoke quietly, but firmly. It was simply a statement of fact.

"And how do you know that?" Kiba questioned.

A long shuddering sigh preceded the man's words. "The man was attempting to hire a boat. You can get lost in the swamp pretty easily without a guide. This time of year, though, nobody's giving up hunting time for what he was offering."

"Yeah, but how do you know he's dead."

"Because even without a guide he went into the swamp. Walked right on the water. Most amazing thing I've ever seen. If he's a thief, he's goanna die in there. No ifs, ands or buts."

"Sorry to disagree, but as dangerous as your swamp is, I'm sure he's been through worse." He reflected on his own time in the Forest of Death. He still had nightmares about centipedes bigger than a house.

The old man pulled out the chair opposite Kiba and seated himself with a sigh. "Oh the alligators and snakes and spiders, they can get the unwary. That's not what'll kill him. Okinawa Higa's ghost will."

"Okinawa Higa's ghost?" Kiba said. "Well I can't exactly go back and say a local legend killed the man so I guess I should start after him." He had never shared his teammates' interest in local legends. Hinata had always liked hearing a story and Shino thought they provided valuable insights into local conditions. He just always found them boring.

"It's no legend boy. It only goes back about 50 years and if you have half the brain of your dog there you'll listen to what I have to say or it might get you too."

Kiba was about to stand, but being called boy irritated him. He was about to snap something about ignorant backwoods people, but Akamaru whimpered. The man had been kind to Akamaru and he had finished his meal. Sitting back he picked up a spoon. "All right. Tell me the story but I really should go after I finish this."

The man nodded and leaned forward. "Well, like I said the story goes back 50 years. There were three brothers who didn't live far from here just out of town. The mother used to beat them to make them suffer and by the time the youngest was 19 they were the meanest men you'd ever want to meet. They never worked but they were never short on Ryo. Everyone around here knew they were thugs, but they never messed their own nest."

"Now this was a poor town even back then and the way they threw Ryo around, well a lot of kids looked up to them. They took special interest in this one for some reason. They treated him a bit like a dog always having him run and fetch things for them. He idolized them. Now one day the oldest brother told everyone to meet him by the docks later that night."

"So, when night fell all four were at the docks. The oldest brother who was the leader said that they were going to rob Okinawa. Okinawa was an old man who lived out in the swamp. He kept to himself, but never harmed anyone. He was a very rich man although no one ever knew how he made it all. My favorite story had him being a high-priced mercenary, but by then he was a frail old man. He was also a miser. Some hunters came back late at night said they had seen him pouring his gold down onto the ground and just looking at it in the light of a full moon. At least, that's what they said."

"Now, the boy was excited when he heard all this. This was the first time they were letting him be involved in one of their crimes. He fancied he would be a man before the night was through. Anyhow, the four of them piled into this little boat and went out to the island where the man lived. They were all quite sneaky like."

"Now it was a full moon night so you could see pretty well. Sure enough the old man was out back surrounded by gold. You've never seen so much wealth in your life. Some of the Ryo was stacked two or three high. It was all over the place."

"Now, the brothers had probably never seen so much wealth in their lives either maybe they went a little crazy or maybe it was always their plan. They knocked the old man down and beat him before picking him up and tossing him in water. They laughed as he sunk into the muddy water. The boy they brought with them just watched stunned."

"The three of them started towards the Ryo, but before they could reach it there was a crack like thunder and it was a cloudless night. Then the three brothers started to sink into the ground. They struggled and they screamed for help, but the boy just stood there and watched too stunned to really think much of anything. Now just before they went under, they could hear the old man laughing."

"Now, the boy snapped out of it after the ground had swallowed up the last bit of the oldest brother. He took the boat back to town and never went out there again. Now, the story doesn't end there. Now boats drift in from time to time with all their gear and everything intact, but no hunter. People say they must have tried to steal an alligator off another man's line and the ghost of Okinawa Higa must've got them. Whatever he was in life, in death he doesn't like a thief."

At some point during the story Kiba had stopped eating when he looked down and saw his bowl was still half full. He emptied it and wiped his mouth. "Well, ghost or no ghost, I still have a mission. What do I owe you for the meal?"

The old man waved his hand in a cutting motion. "It's on the house. Just, if you insist on going after that guy make sure Okinawa Higa knows you're not a thief. He seemed like a good kid. A little rough around the edges, but so was I."

Kiba wasn't going to argue about a free meal. He got up and was at the door when a question occurred to him. "Hey, that story you told me. If Okinawa Higa was vengeful, why did he spare the boy?"

The question pulled the old man out of his thoughts. "Well, like I said. That was the first time they ever involved me in one of their crimes. I was going to become one that night, but I didn't. Never did."

Kiba nodded and headed out the door. During his meal some clouds had rolled in and they were threatening rain. That wasn't good. Akamaru whimpered a warning and Kiba gave him a look. "It was a story. Nothing more."

Walking onto the water he sniffed a little trying to pick up the scent. Akamaru stayed on the dock. He was good at tree jumping, but water walking still eluded him. Despite what most people thought water didn't really hold scent too well. It tended to linger on the surface and there were fewer smells coming up from below. Finding the trail, he called to Akamaru before jumping into the trees.

In the distance thunder rumbled and Kiba hoped the man had chosen to find shelter instead of pushing on. Kiba had spent little time in swamps and in his mind they were just lakes with trees in them but it seemed to be more complicated than that. There were times he was over dry land and other times he was over water. As the smell became stronger he started to move slower and be more cautious of the noise he made.

Eventually an island came into view. There were remnants of what must've been a dock at one point and a little out of the way there was a partially collapsed building. The smell was very strong now and he quietly dropped to the water level as Akamaru waited behind in the trees.

Rain started to fall as he approached the building. It must've been a house at one point, but it was a small one-story one. He selected the broken window through which he could smell food. Drawing a kunai he lifted his head peered through the window and prepared for a fight. Luckily the man's back was turned towards the window. He was as the old man described and there was a bag at his feet a few feet away from where he sat in a chair.

The rest of the room was wrecked with a few pieces of furniture that had seen better days. There was a window in the opposite wall that the man was staring out of. There was no glass in it. Lowering his head, Kiba looked at the rest of the length of the building. Part of the roof had collapsed on the other side and the front door looked like it was just barely hanging on. Kiba knew there was going to be a fight. However, he didn't want to put the urn in any danger.

Gesturing for Akamaru to join him he whispered the plan to him. Akamaru went around back as he headed towards the door. Counting to 20 he slowly started to push the door open and heard a familiar hiss.

Jumping to the side there was an explosion. The door exploded outwards with splinters as large as his forearm. His opinion on the man went up several notches. Either he had known he was being followed or just had a healthy dose of paranoia. A second later Akamaru exploded out the window with the bag in his mouth. The man followed after him.

Kiba threw his kunai and almost caught the man but he twisted and blocked it with his own. Rolling to his feet Kiba, charged the man. Kiba caught the man's downwards thrust and tried a simple hip toss. The man flipped with it and with a twist freed his arm. He tried to sweep Kiba's legs out from under him, but Kiba jumped back.

"I thought I had a dog on my trail." The man shouted over the rain taking a few steps back.

Kiba didn't even consider that an insult. He would play along though. "Yeah, you're not bad for a ninja who's just a thief."

The man was looking at him again, but this time they both had a kunai ready. They slashed and dodged with Akamaru watching; the bag still in his mouth. Kiba didn't think he was giving ground, just relocating. Then his foot landed in a soft spot and the ground gave out from beneath him. At that moment he knew he hadn't been in control at all. The man darted forward stabbing at his arm with the kunai.

Kiba had the brief realization that he had lost. Just as the man's kunai was about to plunge downwards, a huge black shape appeared behind the man. It had the vague shape of a man, but it was all wrong. It was too tall and seemed to be made up of writhing snakes and flames. Tentacles of black shot out and wrapped around the man's arm stopping him in mid thrust. Before the man could react it seemed to pull the man into it. Both arms and his chest were wrapped in thin tentacles. The man's eyes widened with terror as he was lifted into the air. He let out a scream that was abruptly cut off as he was pulled into the muddy water.

For a minute Kiba laid there on the ground stunned. He was still alive and trying to comprehend what he had seen. Slowly he sat up and Akamaru padded to his side. Slowly he stood and looked around half expecting a trap of some sort. Slowly it sunk in that something strange had happened. When Akamaru nudged his hand with his nose, Kiba looked down and saw that he still had the bag in his mouth.

He was about to take it from his friend when he saw something out the corner of his eye. Turning his head to see more clearly he recognized something in the tall grass. It was a single Ryo. Now that he was looking in that direction he could see several more just lying there out in the open. His mouth went dry.

He looked down at his friend before looking towards where the man had disappeared.

"Okinawa Higa. I am not a thief. This item was stolen and I intend to return it to its rightful owner."

Under different circumstances Kiba would've felt foolish talking to no one, but that black thing had been something. There was no reply and hesitantly he took the bag from his friend and opened it to confirm the urn was inside. Without a word he swung the bag over his shoulder and with Akamaru padding at his side he left the island without looking back. This was going to make an interesting mission report he thought.

Authors note: so I'm still around. Working on a young adult novel.