Naruto: Eye of the Panther
Chapter 1: The Panther Approaches
It was a bright, sunny day in Konoha. There were very few clouds, and the heat of the sunlight was not overpowering, but instead just the right amount. It was hard to hear anyone talk over the din of the villagers conducting their morning business. Naruto sat in the Ichiraki ramen house, eating his breakfast of, what else, ramen. Sakura sat quietly beside him. Her usually twinkling green eyes were moodily clouded over today, and she seemed to be sulking. They were both Chuunin, but they had no third member to comprise a full team for any missions, and Tsunade had forbid them to go after Sasuke until more intel about his whereabouts and activities were discovered. This was about to change, however, as Kakashi entered and sat down next to them.
"Master Kakashi! What are you doing here?" Sakura cried in amazement. "I thought you were out on a mission!"
"I was," he replied. "But I finished it, and came to introduce your new team member to you two." He turned to the entrance, calling "Kyota!"
He was darkly tanned, and had long shaggy brown hair. Icy-blue eyes gave him an air of coldness to go with his boyish handsomeness. As he strode into the bar, and sat next to Kakashi, he glance at Sakura and Naruto sheepishly. "Heya," he offered as an introduction.
"This is Dogen Kyota. Kyota, these two are Uzumaki Naruto," at this point Naruto gave him a thumbs-up while slurping some noodles. "And this lovely young lady is Haruno Sakura." Sakura grinned at Kyota shyly, taken aback by his good looks. "He and his partner will be joining your team."
"Uh...partner?" Sakura asked, confused. "He has a partner?"
"Please control yourselves. She is...she won't hurt anyone but the ones Kyota directs her to, but she can still be intimidating. Do you remember how Kiba has Akamaru?"
"So...he has a dog?" Naruto asked dumbly.
"Quite the opposite," Kyota said in his smooth, deep, oddly lilting voice. "Tia!"
Moments later, quiet padding footsteps preceded the arrival of Tia, Kyota's black panther. As she loped in, Sakura jumped and landed sitting on her seat, eyes wide with her jaw hanging open. Naruto just gawked at the newcomer.
Tia spoke, her voice deep and husky, yet still feminine. "I guess I scared them, Kyota. Oops."
"She-she talked!" Sakura gasped. "What in the---! Akamaru never spoke!"
Kyota replied, trying not to break out laughing, "She talks alright. She's smarter than you'd think."
Tia snorted. "I'm smarter than you, wiseass."
Naruto laughed. "And apparently she also has a sense of humor." He reached down and scratched her black glossy fur, hitting that perfect sport right behind her ear. Tia quickly began purring appreciatively.
Hesitantly, Sakura reached down and started rubbing Tia's back. "Wow! Her fur is so soft! And she seems so gentle."
"You should see her when she doesn't like someone." Kyota chuckled.
The ice having been broken between all of them, Sakura asked Kyota "So I have healing talents, and Naruto is just an overall clown. What are your special skills?"
Kyota looked hard into Sakura's eyes. "My chakra will regenerate about three times as fast as yours. Which is good, because I'm a chakra alchemist."
Sakura blinked. "Huh? Chakra Alchemist?"
Kyota nodded solemnly. "I can make weapons, tools, just about anything out of my chakra by molding into the shape of whatever I need, like a sword, or a hammer." To demonstrate, he focused for a minute, then held out his hand to Sakura. Green chakra began to collect on his palm, and formed into a green bouquet of flowers. Focusing again, the chakra was sucked back into his palm. "So, Kakashi tells me we already have a mission."