I do not own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does. I just enjoy playing in his world.

Reviews appreciated.


DANGER AND DESIRE

It was a nice night. Comfortably warm with a slight breeze. It would be hot tomorrow, Kiba mused as he caught sight of his next prey. He was practicing tracking small animals by himself. Akamaru was off with the other Inuzuka wolves, hunting. Kiba felt lonely without him. When he had captured his third rabbit barehanded, he grew bored and decided to head home. Maybe he'd try and catch an owl on the way back, for fun. They always made such funny sounds when you caught them. He realized that he had wandered near Team Gai's practice grounds. He thought about going over and crashing their practice, but he didn't hear anyone. Since Lee could be quite loud, he figured that meant that they had stopped for the day already. He turned around and headed back home by leaping through the trees along the well-worn dirt path. Up ahead, he saw a barn owl sitting plumply in the top of one of the nearby oaks. He dropped to the ground and began walking over to the oak, so that he could climb the tree and sneak up on the owl. He was almost there, when he spotted Tenten out of the corner of his eye. She was further down the road. It looked like she was walking back to her apartment. He had a mischievous idea.

It was late. She had finally convinced Lee to stop training for the day. She was pissed at Neji, who had somehow slipped out of the practice grounds earlier when she wasn't looking. He was going to get an earful tomorrow for leaving her alone with their overzealous teammate. She was tired and sweaty as she walked back to her apartment. All Tenten wanted was to bathe and fall asleep. Preferably not both at once, since she did that once and had woken up shivering and sneezing. She had caught a nasty cold had hospitalized her for about a week. Not an experience she wanted to repeat. She hoped that they would get assigned a new mission tomorrow, she was bored of endless training. She had always thought a ninja's life would be more exciting. She craved the return of an adrenaline rush.

Something was wrong, she could feel it. The forest had grown quieter. Someone was there. Infiltrators that had gotten past ANBU? That was un-

In front.

Her kunai was out of its holder, in her hand, and thrown at the person before she even really thought about it. The adrenaline was pounding through her veins. She heard the sound of metal on metal, they had deflected her attack.

"Whoa!" The person exclaimed. The voice registered in her mind. Kiba.

She relaxed and let out the breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. The small adrenaline rush began to subside. She was disappointed. Of course it wasn't an enemy in Konoha. She had been foolish to think there could have been. Unfortunately, there was nothing dangerous, besides the inhabitants of Konoha, anywhere nearby.

The adrenaline was gone again. She craved its return.

"Don't sneak up on me!" She said, angrily. Mostly she was angry about the loss of the adrenaline.

"Sorry. I was trying to surprise you." Kiba said, sheepishly.

"Well, I was surprised." She sarcastically responded.

"I know." He smirked and looked pleased with himself. It made her more angry.

"Well? What do you want?" Tenten demanded.

"I was wondering if you wouldn't mind company walking home." He fidgeted and looked away as he asked.

"I don't need an escort." She spat at him, even angrier now.

"I didn't think you did. I just…felt a little lonely without Akamaru." He said, quietly.

She stared at him for a second. She blinked and then looked by his feet. It was true. Akamaru was not there. Her anger at him faded. She sighed. He would be lonely without his best friend.

"That…would be fine." She said. He perked up. She swore sometimes that she could see a set of dog-ears on him. Before it was as if his ears were drooping and now it was like they were fully perked up.

She started walking again and he fell into step next to her. They walked in silence for awhile.

As they walked along, Kiba couldn't help but notice her clothes were still a bit damp with sweat from practice. Then, her smell hit him. The salty tang of her sweat mixed with her earthy and slightly sweet personal scent. It smelled delicious. He took a deep breath so he could really experience the smell again. Delicious. He wanted to lick her skin, so that he could take in even more of the aroma.

"Good practice?" He mumbled.

"Meh. Lee just wouldn't stop." She said. "I'm getting a little bored of simply practicing all the time, to tell you the truth."

Kiba was most definitely not bored in her presence. Her scent was intoxicating. Why had he never noticed before? They were nearing the edge of town. He needed to get her away, alone. What could possibly compel her to remain in his presence?

"Hey. You want to see something amazing?" He asked.

"What is it?" She asked, skeptical. The two of them had never really done anything together. Why was he being so friendly now?

"Come on, trust me." He knew this would work, it always did.

He dragged her off to his favorite meadow. He lay flat down on his stomach and patted the ground next to him.

She arched her eyebrow at him and stared at him for a minute. Well, now that she was here, she might as well see what it was. She lay down beside him. She looked out into the dark expanse. It was a meadow. It seemed empty. They lay there waiting for a long time. Nothing was happening. She turned and looked at him. Kiba still looked intent. She had always thought of him as flippant, she had never seen him look so focused before. She looked back at the meadow.

Time seemed to stretch on forever, but nothing was happening. She was getting frustrated. She turned and looked at him again. She opened her mouth to say something, when he lifted his finger to his lips. He wanted silence, I'll give him-

He pointed. She saw something move in the darkness. It was huge. She started to make out about a handful of the large shapes. Then, a smaller, perfectly white thing appeared. There was about a handful of them and them moved together. It was organized. But, there was no obvious communication between them. They all stopped together. The forest was perfectly quiet. Tenten began to wonder if this was a bad idea.

The moon peeked over the tops of the trees on the other side of the meadow. She could see better now. There were a handful of wolves and Akamaru. She was about to turn to Kiba, when the biggest wolf leaned back its head and howled. The others began to take up the chorus. It sent chills down her spine. An old instinct in her surfaced and she felt the desire to run. She felt the metallic taste of adrenaline in her mouth.

Kiba placed his right hand on her left hand. She managed to turn and look at him with wide eyes. He was still intently watching. He was calm. The howling continued. She forced herself to look back at the wolves. The sounds still seemed to reverberate in her body. Her breathing was still quick and shallow. As she watched and listened, her eye was drawn to the smaller white wolf. She recognized him. Akamaru. She relaxed a little.

As suddenly as it began, the howling stopped. The wolves began disappearing back into the forest. Akamaru followed, he was the last one left. At the edge of the clearing, he stopped and looked straight at them. Kiba was sitting up and he waved. She swore she saw Akamaru smirk before he turned around and disappeared back into the forest with the rest of the wolves.

After a moment of silence, normal sounds began to start up again. Crickets began to chirp again and she could hear some kind of large, slow animal rustling around in one of the corners. She exhaled and sat up.

"Amazing." She breathed.

"Every time." Kiba said, nodding. He wished that he could have joined in, but thought that might have scared her. He had enjoyed breathing her scent for so long as well. Unfortunately, out here in the open, her scent was no longer reaching his nose. He should let her get some rest. It was getting late for a normal human. Not everyone was used to a nocturnal lifestyle. He was about to suggest they get going, when the wind shifted and her scent enveloped him again.

She saw him staring at her with his nostrils flared. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness and the moon gave off enough light to see that his eyes were filled with intense desire. He wanted her. She felt the adrenaline slipping away and did the only thing she could think of to keep that feeling going. She kissed him. She had never been so bold with another ninja. It was exciting.

Her movement barely registered in his mind until he felt her lips press onto his own. Her scent surrounded him. He lost himself to the moment and kissed her back.

The kiss became stronger, more needy. She placed her left hand on the side of his face. His hands found the back of her neck and her butt as he pulled her closer. She paused in her kiss. He panicked a moment, had he gone too far? He opened his eyes and saw her start to unbuckle her pack and scrolls with her right hand. Oh. He moved his kisses down her neck. When he reached her collarbone, he combined the kiss with his tongue and finally tasted her salty sweet scent. It was addicting. He needed more. He gently, but quickly took off her slightly dirty white top. He stopped short when he saw her chest bindings. He growled a little.

A chill went down her spine when he growled, remembering the wolves. The potential danger thrilled her. He ripped off the bandages in one motion with his teeth. Unlike most men, he didn't move straight to her breasts. He was kissing, tasting every inch of her exposed skin. Oh. She was naked. Someone could see them. Someone could see her. The adrenaline rush at the thought of being caught only fueled her desire. She wanted more.

He could smell her arousal, which added musky undertones to her scent that was driving him crazy. He was determined to taste every part of her body, to drink up all of her scent. When she let out her first soft moan and gripped his hair, he knew it was going to be a gloriously long night.

The two of them lost themselves to their desire in the darkness, wrapped in a blanket of stars.