Hey readers! Welcome to chapter two, and thanks for putting up with me for two chapters! Enjoy~

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Kiba

I woke up the next morning to Akamaru yipping in my ear, and a knock on my door. I smoothed my hand across my dog's head and pressed down behind his ear, successfully silencing him. "I'm up, Akamaru, calm down," I grumbled, pulling a shirt from off my floor over my head so I could look at least a tiny bit decent when I went to answer the door.

A glance through the peephole in my door brought on a wave of disdain, and a small groan. Sakura Haruno, Tsuande's long-time assistant stood on the other side of my doorway. I thought back to our break up, and how messily it had ended, and opened the door without thinking of my state of undress.

"Hey, Sakura," I said, running a hand through my hair.

She took one too-long glance at my chosen pajamas – boxers and that shirt I had scuffed off the floor - and looked up at me, seeming to tighten herself up a little more (if possible). "Kiba," she said with a stiff nod. "Tsunade sent a message for you."

I rubbed my eye with my hand, trying to wake up a little more. "Yeah? What is it?"

Sakura handed over a piece of Tsunade's stationary paper folded once. I swiped a tired hand at it. "Thanks, Sakura," I said.

She turned to leave. "Just doing my job," she began to march away with the air of a soldier, before turning back to look at me. "Nice seeing you again."

I threw her one last smile before shutting the door. Akamaru met my eyes and tilted his head to the left. "Well, that was awkward," I said to him, unfolding the letter. He barked in agreement. I knelt down to rub behind his ears and plopped down on the floor, leaning against the wall, unfolding Tsunade's note.

Kiba – Report to the Hokage's tower with Ayano at 11:00 a.m. Get here safetly.

I checked the clock on the wall. 10:26. With a grunt, I peeled myself off the front hallway floor and went to get myself ready for the day. "C'mon Akamaru, we have to go see Ayano again," I said.

Akamaru yipped at me as I turned the corner into my bedroom. "Yeah, I thought she was pretty, too," I mumbled to him.

I barely got ready – I pulled a white shirt that didn't smell too dirty over my head, and hopped quickly into some pants. After I had my shoes on, Akamaru and I headed out, down the road towards the hotel Ayano was staying at.

It was somewhere around 15 minutes later when I arrived at Ayano's hotel. When I knocked on her door, she answered wearing – I'm pretty sure – the same outfit as last night. She perked up a little when she saw me, probably to see a somewhat familiar face besides Tsunade's – she could be a bit.. Intimidating at times. "Hey, Kiba," she said.

"Hey, Ayano. I'm surprised you're up," I said.

She shrugged. "I don't sleep much. Uh, would you like to come in? I'm not sure, but I think there's bottled water or something in the fridge..," she ushered me in, moving towards the kitchen.

"No, it's fine," I said, stepping inside. "I was sent to grab you for a meeting with Tsunade at eleven, actually."

She poked her head out of the fridge. "Oh, let's go then," I almost had to skip to keep up with her.

Anna

I raced up the stairs to Tsunade's office and was knocking on the door before Kiba had even made it to the top step. "What can you do?" I asked once she opened the door.

She held her hand up. "Calm down. Come inside. Where's Kiba?" I looked towards the stairs and saw him leaning against the wall. "Kiba, you too," Tsunade told him. He and I entered the office and found two older men, one with gray hair and a mask covering half his face, the other with dark brown hair pulled into a ponytail and a scar across his nose, and a woman with untamed black hair, and a body wrap that covered her from shoulders to thighs.

Kiba and I stood opposite Tsunade. "Ayano, this is Kakashi, Iruka and Kurenai. They both volunteered their services in what we're planning."

"What exactly are we planning?" Kiba asked. "This is between Ayano and you guys. Should I be here?" His dog whimpered a bit beside him.

"Kiba, we need to create an army," Tsunade answered, straight to the point. "In Chuunin-level and above, I think we have enough to help you out. It's not a traditional army, by any means, but it's what we can do right now."

"Okay, wait, stop," Kiba held his hands up and closed his eyes. "What exactly do we need an army for?"

"I told you last night," I said. "Republic City is under attack. I was sent here to get help from your village."

"I'm really confused. Why is Republic City being attacked?"

"Because the Equalists-" Kurenai started, but I cut her off.

"Kiba, do you know what bending is? Controlling of the elements?"

He nodded. "Yeah, there's water bending, and earth bending, and..," he shook his head, to get to the point. "So?" he asked.

"A long time ago, Republic City was a place where benders from all four nations could live in peace. I don't know when, but some time, years ago, before I was born, a group that call themselves the Equalists rose up. They believe that benders are suppressing non-benders, and they want to strike back, at all costs."

"Why haven't I heard of any of this? Why didn't I learn this in my teachings?" His eyes darted back and forth between Kurenai and Tsunade, the two almost directly responsible for his education. They both looked away.

"Kiba, there's a man that leads the Equalists, named Amon," I interrupted. "He wants to rid benders of their bending – he wants to take their bending away. We don't know how he does it, but we do know that he can. And we know that he needs to be stopped. I was sent to get Konoha's help before my city falls, and he moves on to the rest of the world."

Kiba stared at me and then looked at the floor. "Who's 'we'?" he asked.

"Ayano knows the Avatar," Tsunade answered for me, bringing the meeting back.

He looked at me. "You know the Avatar?"

I shrugged. "I met her when she came to the city to learn airbending."

He shook his head now. "Am I caught up now?"

"Not quite," Tsunade said. "So, you know we need an army.. of sorts. The reason I called both of you here is because Kiba, you are going to be a part of that army. Along with your fellow chunin-level ninjas."

I stopped to gauge Kiba's reaction. He looked.. Almost calm, like nothing had happened. "Alright," he said. "When do we leave?" I almost gaped. He was just.. Okay with going into war. I couldn't fathom it. It breaks my heart when Bolin falls into the water during a Probending match.

"As soon as possible," Kakashi answered, stepping forward. "We just need to gather the fellows."

"Do you need my help for that?" I asked.

"No, but we should travel to Republic City together," Tsunade said. "You'll need to stay until we can put a team together."

I shifted in my shoes, holding back a groan of exasperation. "Alright."

Kiba led me out of the tower, and I expected him to leave once I reunited with Scout outside the tower, but I heard the gentle schff of his shoes on the ground when I knelt down to rub Scout's head. I turned to look at him. "You okay?" I asked.

He shrugged, not looking directly at me. "Do you want to go grab something to drink or something?"

I was about to say no, but then I felt a telltale smile creep across my face. "Somewhere they let dogs in, please."

Kiba

I took Ayano to Naruto's and my favorite ramen place – a small stand that sets up on the outskirts of town, where the noodles are hand-rolled and the broth is brewed all morning, until right before opening – because she seemed nervous and rattled at the meeting with Tsunade. We slid into our seats and she immediately ordered my favorite kind of ramen – beef flavoured.

"Are you not okay with staying here?" I asked her as she stirred her broth absentmindedly.

She shrugged. "I'm worried about what's going on back at the city," she mumbled. "When I left, Tenzin and his entire family were running from the Equalists, and Korra, Mako, Bolin and Asami had gone into hiding." I wondered if she knew that I had no idea who most of those people were. I decided to just let her talk. "They probably think I deserted them," she grumbled, dropping her head into her hands. "The city's probably lost hope in Korra." Her voice was muffled. "The world's probably going to lose hope in Korra."

I blinked, pausing for a second. "Look.. Just because she's in hiding now doesn't mean she's going to give up on anyone. By the time we get to Republic City, she'll probably be up and fighting like you never left."

"I hope she won't be losing," she mumbled under her breath.