Ok. Points to clear up. This story is not purely for romance. There is an ideal in Naruto that centers around comradeship, and as such I hope to convey that above all else. As such, the story will focus on several characters interactions and self-evaluations, not just Sai, Sakura, and Kiba. There will be a bit of introspection into Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, and other members of Team 7. It will not only be a test of mental ability, but of morals and justification. It'll be great.

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies. I own nothing but plot.

Prologue: Of Threads of Fate

He had never paid that much attention to the girl named Sakura Haruno. After all, what reason did he have to? Besides the casual meeting when those of his class came together or the coincidental pass by upon the streets; there was little to any relationship or connection between her and him. They were hardly paired in missions, she avoided his compound, and he avoided her hospital. They had an easy and relaxed companionship, nothing as formal to be called a friendship, but nothing so distant to be defined as strangers. Comrades, shinobi bound together with the sole purpose to protect their nation; that was their thinly spun link. But even the smallest thread of fate had the oddest ability to alter and change a person's life, which was what he found out when he came home from his month long mission, dirty and tired, to find the Fifth Hokage herself sitting on his living room couch. Needless to say, that was not something Kiba Inuzuka neither expected nor appreciated seeing on his first night in his own home, but out of respect and tradition, he swallowed any foul mouthed remark that temptingly danced at the end of his tongue, pushed off his fatigue, and approached the woman. At the very least she had a rack that could very well bring most of the Ninja Nation to their knees. Every hot blooded male appreciated a good rack.

Upon closer inspection he noticed several things he hadn't when he first walked in. There were fine lines of worry around the woman's mouth, dark and poorly concealed bags under her eyes, and the scent of human flesh, free from the mask of shampoos or other hygienic potions, abundant in the air. It took most of his willpower to not pull face at the bland disregard to basic hygiene; his acute sense of smell assaulted by the woman's overpowering natural scent, and he probably would have made some sort of comment about her looking like hell if he hadn't seen her eyes. The honey brown orbs, usually filled with confidence and the underlying strength she was famous for, were grayed over with worry and an almost broken appeal. That alone kept the usually brash and abrasive man silent. She took a deep breath, her slightly slouched form seeming to shake with the effort, as she pinned him down with her lack luster eyes. "I have a mission for you, Inuzuka." There was no reprimand in her voice, not even a concern for a report from his return. In its place just a voice flat and even with spent emotion remained. The woman shifted, bringing something from her lap up for the young man's viewing. It was a scrap of cloth, red in color, stained with the copper scent of blood. She didn't need to tell him who the torn piece of fabric belonged to, his acute sense of smell already pulled out the scents from the cloth, identifying the person as well as revealing to him the reason the Hokage seemed to be in such a mess. She grimly offered him the cloth, which he took into his gloved hand. With that, she said only one other thing before she departed. "Rock was where she last checked in. Bring her home."

The sky had just started to gray in announcement of the oncoming morning when Kiba had finished restocking and packing up for his newly appointed mission. It was surprisingly difficult to find a weapons vendor willing to drag themselves out of bed in the middle of night. Thankfully, his face (shadowed with irritation) was persuasive enough to get him what he needed. He headed once more towards the gate he had entered through only mere hours before. Since Tsunade had given him no other details or leads besides the scrap of red fabric and a location, he assumed that he would be going this mission without any other teammates. No official scroll also meant that this particular mission was on the hush hush. He wasn't even concerned when the Hokage didn't mention any of the woman's past teammates; after all it had been years since he could remember Team Kakashi being complete. After Sasuke's betrayal and the introduction of the ink user as the filler, Naruto, Kakashi, Sai, as well as Yamato had constantly been away on various missions, usually lasting one to two months at a time. On occasion he would see one or two of them having lunch with Sakura at the infamous ramen stand; but he was sure that just as the work in other countries kept the boys busy, healing up the bloodied and the bruised kept Sakura's patient list well filled and stocked. She was in high demand for her skills in numerous situations. Her braininess from their childhood came in handy with the paperwork and methodology of her practice; and as such there were constant requests of having her travel to educate friendly villages on her methods. Most she declined if her constant vigilance at their home hospital spoke of anything. Sometimes, he wondered if she really believed work would fill the spaces people once did.

When someone has the daily trials of work seeping out through their pores, it's hard to miss the companionship you had when you were children. It was the life they fell into as shinobi. His own teammates went through the same experience. All three of them were children of Clans, they had duties and expectations of them. Hinata was being groomed for her own purpose to her family while Shino was off doing whatever the hell it was he often did. Coupled with Akamaru going through his first litter as a father; Kiba was well accustomed to being self-reliant and doing solo missions. The idea of being dependent solely upon oneself was befitting of his morning trek towards the gates of Konoha. With the mist still filtering through the near empty pathways and the first birds of the morning just starting to wake; it was a silent and peaceful; the very symbol of the quiet before the storm. In the past few hours as he had prepared to leave he tried his very best not to let questions cloud his mind.

Why had Tsunade asked him personally at his home instead of officially handing him a mission?

Why was he doing this mission on his own, without any other teammates?

What kind of mission did Tsunade give Sakura; that made the Hokage such a wreck?

Why didn't she tell anyone else of Sakura's absence?

Too many questions without answers, too many thoughts to haze over his judgment and dull the tracking abilities he and his clan were so well appreciated for. All Kiba was certain of was that he had a mission, and as a Shinobi, it was his duty to carry it out. So, determined eyes set towards the horizon he departed the village he had just come home to and headed towards Rock, unaware of the fate that had befallen the female medic and how it would forever change his life.

- End Prologue -

A.N.

WOO!

This time I actually added stuff D

-Limey