This story is set in a quiet, peaceful time, when Naruto and his class mates are about 18. I haven't decided if it will be because everyone has been defeated or not. We'll see what happens. I'll try to keep them all in character. Please Enjoy.

Standard Disclaimer.


In the outer limits of the forest surrounding Konoha, Kiba Inuzuka and Akamaru were leading a search and rescue exercise with a team of genin. This was the final day of the mission and the sun was making its way towards the dawn.

"Finally, it's almost over. Can't wait to be home, hey boy?" Kiba said as he sat up and stretched. He looked around the clearing while rubbing his face and yawning. He could see in the predawn light that the genin were still sleeping. A sly grin spread across his face and he motioned to Akamaru to quietly leave camp. The large hound bared his teeth in a doggy grin and the mischievous pair ghosted into the trees to prepare their trap.

They liked to call it "training".

When the genin woke up an hour later, the sun had risen and the man-dog duo had all of the traps in place. Unfortunately for one of the genin, he woke up swaying in the breeze, hanging from a tree, and completely surrounded by a series of barely perceptible traps and snares. He could see them because he was behind them. His teammates, however, were not as sharp and would probably walk straight into them. He could already hear them calling.

Kiba watched them stumble through his traps and chuckled.

"Too easy!"


Meanwhile, closer to the gates of Konoha...

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining. There was a nice breeze blowing, birds were singing, the Aburames were humming. Spring was in full bloom. Kaori wandered through the trees and dappled sunlight.

"On a day like this," She said to herself looking around the forest, "nothing bad could happen. Oh look, purple flowers!" She happily skipped over to the flowers, breathing in their scent. Then the red flowers in the next glade caught her attention, then the yellow ones a bit further over.

"They look so pretty and the smell so nice. I'm sure father would like some in his room. It would brighten his day up." With this thought in mind she happily began gathering up the prettiest flowers.

She had become so absorbed in choosing the best flowers for her bouquet she was unaware that she was being watched. In fact, she didn't notice until her observer barked at her. She jolted and turned in surprise to find the most adorable little dog behind her. Well, actually the dog was almost as tall as her hip, and it was all white except for her brown ears and one paw.

"Oh, look at you! Aren't you pretty!"


Also in the woods outside Konoha, a very noisy pursuit was in progress.

"Naruto, I'm going to kill you!" Sakura screamed, chasing the orange clad youth through the forest.

"Honestly Sakura, You're overreacting. It was nothing personal." Naruto grinned over his shoulder, before putting on a burst of speed in an attempt to outrun the irate kunoichi. He dodged to the left as she hurled three kunai at him. They thudded into a tree on his right just as he passed by.

Now if Sakura hadn't thrown the kunai, if Naruto hadn't dodged them, if Sakura could control her temper, and if Naruto hadn't made a joke about pink and Sasuke, then none of the following story would have occurred. But he did, she couldn't, he had and so had she. And luckily the dog was paying attention to her surroundings.

Because there she was, wandering through the forest looking for something, having finally escaped its yard, only to find a young girl about to be crash tackled by a full speed, idiot ninja. The dog quickly jumped up, startling the girl, who fell backwards into the flowers she had just been admiring.

"Naruto, LOOK OUT!" Yelled Sakura as Naruto sped towards the clearing, still grinning over his shoulder at her.

"You can't catch me with that!" He smirked, a split second before he collided with the dog and sent the two tumbling across the glade, ramming into a rather large tree and leaving them in a tangled heap on the ground.

Sakura landed in front of them and looked down at the moaning pair. Kaori picked herself up and ran over, worried about the dog that had just saved her from injury. Sakura leant down to check them, muttering under her breath. But she drew back quickly, when the dog shook her head and then turned and latched onto Naruto's left leg with a growl.

"ARGGH!" Naruto yelped, "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!"

Sakura chuckled as Kaori pushed past her.

"You poor thing, look what happened to you!" The dog and the boy looked up at her, jaws and leg still engaged. Then the dog let go and Kaori reached for her head.

"Uh, thanks!" Naruto said dryly.

"You you you MORON! How could you do that to a poor little dog? What kind of person are you? Going around attacking poor defenseless animals! Look what you've done…" She picked the dog up and she began whimpering, holding one leg at a strange angle. As she struggled to hold the dog, which had turned out to be much bigger and heavier than she had thought, Naruto jumped up.

"That's not a defenseless animal! It's a monster! Look at what it did to my leg!" He pointed at his leg where there was a wet patch and a tiny tear in his pants. The girls looked at him. He pulled his pants up to show them the damage done to his leg, but all there was were a row of red marks; no punctures and no blood. The girls looked at each other, at the dog still squirming in Kaori's arms, then back at Naruto unimpressed.

"Well, it still hurt. And I hit a tree." He mumbled.

The dog whimpered, then yelped as Kaori tried to adjust her hold.

"See, you're hurting it more than I did!" Naruto burst out, pointing an accusatory finger at her.

"You're horrible!" Kaori wailed, as she turned and ran towards the city gates.

"Naruto, you hurt the dog. It was all your fault!" Sakura growled.

"NO! SAKURA! DON'T!"

Naruto's pained screams echoed throughout the forest, causing a few birds to take flight.


Questions or comments are welcome. Kaori is, of course, an OC. You'll learn more about her when she meets Kiba. She isn't based on anyone, not even me.