A/N: Okay, so I missed the deadline for "Catching". Here's me making it up to you, but "Catching" 26 is on its way. Sort of. Anyway, please enjoy this offering in the meanwhile. =)


~ The Darker Garden ~

PART TWO

"What's going on?" Taka looked between Akamaru and Kiba with confusion. "Is everything all right?"

Ino was quick to interrupt. "Yes, everything's fine. They're just doing their jobs." She guided Taka by the arm to the backdoor. "Now, please, leave the rest to us. Be with your family. We'll report back to you in the morning or as soon as we find something."

Kiba! Kiba! Akamaru bounded back and forth. It's here! Here it is!

He confirmed the trail of Kaia's scent (still laced with chloroform) and that taint of rancidness. Ino drew up next to him, gazing at Akamaru with amazement.

"You ready for the hunt, blondie?" He tugged her ponytail just because he liked messing with her. "When we go, we go fast."

Ino's scent had changed, powered with determination and the ozone scent of chakra. "Yeah. Let's do this." She didn't slap his hand away or even glare at him for touching her hair. Like she had accepted his gesture.

Then Akamaru shot off into the trees. Kiba amped up the chakra in his feet and charged after him, smelt Ino behind him. The three of them darted over rooftops and through branches, following the trail of scent that stained the ground.

They wound through the neighborhood, and when the scent edged closer to the busy town, Kiba figured there would be a problem with the sheer volume of scents permeating the streets. Apparently, Kaia's kidnapper had not wanted to bother with other people, so had taken several back alleys, which led them to the outer walls of the town and into the surrounding forest.

Their pace was heart-pounding fast, flying though the dark branches with barely a leaf stirring. The moonlight streamed through the canopy, blanketing the forest with gentle, dim light, and after long minutes, they came up short at a little clearing in the trees, lit by a solitary fire in a pit. Kiba's eyes noticed the shitty shack erected with corrugated tin, wood, and cement blocks. He heard weight shifting over warped boards, smelt that disgusting stink saturating the surrounding air, overpowering Kaia's scent leaking from the shack.

Here, Akamaru said. She's in that.

Ino squinted beside him. "Is that…?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "I figure two of us should draw him out and the other goes for the girl."

"You and Akamaru would be the better distraction." Her face, in the dark, was calm. "I'll get Kaia."

"Sounds good," he replied.

"And remember," she continued, "don't-"

"Execute 'im. Got it."

He exchanged a glance with Akamaru and prepped a hop to the forest floor, but Ino grabbed his shoulder. "Watch your feet. I have a bad feeling he might have traps set up."

"Don't worry," he said, clucking her under her chin, "we have this in hand."

Akamaru preceded him to the ground, the chorus and buzz of insects masking their footfalls. Kaia's fear seeped up into his nostrils, but at least she was still alive, and like Ino said, there were spots of pooled scent where traps had obviously been rigged.

Akamaru sniffed around one of them. Set this one off, maybe? I'll be the distraction and you can get him from behind?

He nodded, withdrawing a kunai to take careful aim at the half-covered trap. Flicking the kunai took a sharp snap of his wrist. CLANK! With perfect timing, Akamaru howled in feigned agony, and Kiba used transformation jutsu to make his dog look maimed in the trap.

"YEE-HAW!" A man's voice resounded from the shack. "We gots some dinner!"

Carefully, Kiba shrank back against a tree, blending carefully in the deep shadows. He heard a creak, saw the door to the shack open. A sloppy-looking man bobbled out, a huge potbelly straining against his shirt. Slacks were baggy and half undone, and strange stains decorated the clothes in darkened patterns. Kiba's nose monitored Ino's scent- -she'd taken up position on the other side of the shack, holding still.

Akamaru put up a racket as the kidnapper shuffled closer, using a flashlight to search for the source of the noise. He came to Akamaru. Nerves prickled along Kiba's back when he saw the manic glint in the guy's eyes, his utter glee at finding a living, squirming creature in a trap.

"There, there, pretty doggy," he crooned, causing Kiba's stomach to flip, "you're a big beast, aren't you? Don't you worry, Uncle Lester'll take good care of you. I take…"

Ino had made her move; he saw the flash of white-blonde hair as she entered the shack. Akamaru growled and before Kiba could wave him off, his dog snapped the transformation jutsu, lunging at Lester with fangs and fierce eyes. Lester shrieked, stumbled back. He'd half-raised his arm in defense; Akamaru sank all his teeth into the flesh of the forearm, splattering blood across his muzzle. Lester's other hand swung around.

Oh, hell no, Kiba thought, catching the glint of blade just in time. He dove out of hiding. One hand stopped the descent of a sword, clamping on meaty wrist, and in a smooth movement, he broke the bone. Lester stumbled, encouraged with Kiba's elbow to the back of the head and Akamaru's persistent biting. The guy squirmed, but several efficient blows stilled him. Perverted rat-bastard. After that, Kiba disarmed, bound and gagged Lester with few problems. He felt faintly greasy from handling the sweaty, doughy body.

"Kiba!" Ino's call shattered the triumph. "Kiba, come quick!"

"Guard the prisoner," Kiba told Akamaru, and with a hard glare at Lester, "and if he tries anything, rip out his fucking throat."

Leave it to me, the dog growled after him.

He rushed to the shack, swinging open the door, and caught Ino as she stumbled into his arms, dazed. She bled from her temple.

"Ino! Wha- -?"

"Kaia ran off into the woods! We have to get her before she hurts herself!"

"Let's go," he said, finding Kaia's panicked scent without much trying. Ino, herself, was upset and anxious, the copper of blood tainting the air. "This way."

They moved as one along the ground, and he felt Ino's caution in stepping exactly where he stepped; she shouted for Kaia every now and again, but Kiba had the bad feeling the girl wasn't listening to reason. She'd run the opposite direction from her hometown, deeper into the woods. But as they continued following her trail, Kiba noticed that a path had been worn into the grass and undergrowth through the forest.

"Is it me, or is it getting colder?" Ino whispered. She shivered. "Kaia! Kaia, we're here to help!"

She was right. The air temperature dipped. Less and less of the trees had full leafage overhead, instead adopting a bald, gnarled look. Many of the trees had been struck by lightning or had rotted out. Kaia's scent-trail led him to one of these rotted out tree trunks.

"There," he said, gesturing. "She's hiding from us."

Ino nodded. "The best way to calm her down is to let her feel like she can control the situation." Her hands went to the backpack and dug out the stuffed rabbit. "Let me approach her and stand back."

He watched as Ino edged up to the tree trunk. "Kaia? My name is Yamanaka Ino. I'm from the Hidden Leaf village." She crouched, wiping the blood from her head with the back of her hand. "I've come to take you home, Kaia."

"NO!" Kaia's terror and tears were painful. "GET AWAY!"

"Your parents are worried, Kaia. They asked me and my partner, Inuzuka Kiba, to help find you." Ino held up the bunny in her hands. "See, your mom and dad let us have this in case you were scared. Would you like it?"

A long pause. Then, "Y-yes."

Ino reached down into the hole and withdrew her hand. "Are you cold? We have a blanket out here for you. And something to eat if you're hungry."

"How do I believe you're Leaf ninja?"

Kiba unknotted his hitai-ate and passed it to Ino, her eyes appreciative. "Here," she said, dangling it at the dark opening, "this is a forehead protector only Leaf ninja can obtain."

A small hand snatched the hitai-ate from Ino's loose grip. The wind shifted and Kiba picked up…death. Death had different scents, especially depending on the way a living creature died. This death-scent was…old. Decayed, like molded clothing and hair and dead flesh. Goosebumps crawled over his skin.

"Ino, you stay here with Kaia," he said. "I'm gonna go check something out."

She nodded and he dumped the backpack to free up his shoulders. The smell, now that he'd detected it, came from ahead, straight to where the worn path led. Ino's soothing voice followed him and he made sure he stayed on alert. The forest had started to wear on his nerves, but he moved forward, feet leading him along the narrow path. After several minutes, he came to a small, open field. The moonlight hit a line of white stones.

He passed by the stones, the death-scent strongest here, counting to sixteen. Soil had been obviously disturbed in front of the sixteenth stone, like a hole had been dug. Right beside the mound, was a trench. Kiba's heart plunged to his stomach when his mind leapt to the terrifying conclusion.

Dropping to his knees, he used claws and fervor to dig the mound. Let him be wrong, please, let him be wrong. Five minutes or ten minutes or an hour passed, he didn't know, he only knew the digging, the shredding through the moist soil and flinging it away. When his nails scraped against something…slimy, gelatinous, he felt with his fingers, clearing away excess soil until the decayed skin shone in the moonlight. His discovery put chills down his back.

Oh, God. He'd been right.

Graves. Each of these stones was a marker for a grave. Seventeen victims of that…monster's sickness. Little Kaia had her grave already dug for her. He hadn't seen Kaia's terror-stricken face, but he'd scented her, had viewed the photograph that perfectly captured her youth and sweetness, gone forever because of some…unspeakable evil.

Everything in him raged for justice, to murder in cold-blood.

"Kiba?" Ino was near and she had Kaia. "Kiba, we have to go!"

But he couldn't tear his eyes from the half-uncovered body at his feet. The small arm-bones and delicate shoulders, the long dark hair that spilled under her skull. He heard Ino's approach, heard her murmur something, but he didn't care. His brain played through dozens of interesting and violent scenarios to extract retribution from these girls' murderer.

"That…that monster," Ino gasped from his side. So she saw. "This is…so…" She trailed off.

I will kill him. The thought came to Kiba in a clear, calm tone. I will kill him and I'll do it myself with my hands. It would be easy. He'd set 'Lester' free 'by accident' and chase him and then get fingers around that turkey-neck and squeeze

Ino's hand on his shoulder startled him. "We need to get Kaia to the hospital."

"You go ahead," he told her, clenching and unclenching his hands, "I'll stay here."

She hesitated. "No. That's not a good idea. We'll leave Akamaru here to guard…him and we'll go together to town."

"So yer sayin'," Kiba stood and faced her, her pale skin and hair vivid, "you can't trust me?"

"I'm the least of your worries," she replied, and she gestured to Kaia, a small figure huddled in a blanket at the edge of the field, "Kaia doesn't trust you. I couldn't get her to come any closer."

"So what? All the more reason for you to take care of her and for me to take care of…him."

Ino stepped inside his personal space and tilted her head so that her mouth was next to his ear. He could hear her breathing and smell her and the anger became something different, but still violent as all hell.

"It's more than that," she whispered, running her hands up his sides and around to knead his shoulder blades. Her breath tickled his ear. "Her fear is of men. She can't live her life being afraid of all men."

He had nothing more to say, since Ino's lips mashed against his and her arms wrapped tight around him, spreading her warmth to his chest. Her mouth was warm, soft, and hungry. Some stiffness he hadn't noticed in his back eased, and before he could think too much about the kiss, she backed away, leaving him breathless and reeling. Then he watched, dumbstruck, as she gave a thumbs-up to Kaia, who waved back and returned the thumbs-up.

"Okay, Kiba," she said, "she trusts you now!"

"Wha- -?"

Brain didn't wanna work too well. So when Ino grabbed his arm and tugged him, he thoughtlessly followed. "She was afraid of you, so I made a deal with her that if I could prove that you were harmless, that she'd try to trust you."

"But…kissing me?" Not that he could complain

She giggled. "Kaia's idea, not mine. OH," she said, cutting his thoughts off, "when you meet her, make sure you kneel so that you're at her level. You'll be even less intimidating."

"Ah, okay."

They had crossed the field quickly and were approaching Kaia, who had the blanket draped over her like a hooded cape. She smiled shyly, and when Ino knelt down with open arms, she rushed to hug her. Awkwardly, Kiba crouched, keeping beside Ino, but not too near so as not to overwhelm the girl. Kaia hid her face in Ino's neck.

"Kaia…this is Kiba," Ino said. "Aren't you going to say hello?"

Kaia whispered in Ino's ear. "Kiss him again!" She was adorable, not knowing he could hear her, and he felt a blush rise in his cheeks. He didn't feel embarrassed…instead, he felt…hopeful. Excited for kissing Ino.

Ino laughed. "If you say so," and then turned and leaned toward him.

She couldn't lean too far, so Kiba naturally put a hand flat on the ground and stretched his body out to meet her. This kiss was gentle, lasted for about three heartbeats, before Ino broke it off. Her eyes met his, heavy, and her smile was softly amused. Was Yamanaka Ino interested in him?

He watched as Kaia climbed on Ino's back, mashing the blanket around to accommodate the new position. Ino stood, twitching her head to flick the bangs out of her eyes, and began to walk down the path. Kiba knew Kaia probably weighed less than that bitch of a backpack, but still…he wanted to lift the burden from Ino's frail-looking shoulders. They walked past the place where Kaia had hidden, and he hoisted the backpack to his shoulders- -yep, weighed a shit-ton.

"Kiba," Ino said, interrupting the quiet air, "we're gonna avoid…that place and go straight to town. You'll lead the authorities here and bring Akamaru back with you when you're finished."

He knew what 'that place' referred to- -Lester's shack and his…graveyard- -and he leveled a gaze at her. She didn't trust him around Lester, probably. Logically, it was the right thing to do. Kiba would kill Lester if left alone with that scum, but missing out on the opportunity to exact justice galled him.

"Who's…Akamaru?" Kaia asked quietly.

Ino answered. "That's Kiba's dog. They worked together to find you."

"Will I…be able to meet Akamaru? I love dogs!"

"Probably," Kiba said. "We'll be visiting your parents' house to finalize the investigation."

The wind shifted through the barren trees and with it, the stink of murderer pervaded Kiba's sensitive nose. And at that disgusting scent, his hands felt…suddenly…itchy, like fleas crawled all over his skin. Scratching at them didn't work. Neither did ignoring the itchiness, and in fact, his hands burned worse when he attempted to suppress the urge. The itching reminded him of the dead girl's bluish skin, her clouded eyes. Couldn't shake the horror of what happened to her.

Ino caught him frantically scratching, a question in her gaze.

"Can we…go faster?" he asked, thinking that maybe if he got away from that monster's rankness, the itching would fade. "You know…up in the trees?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Ino snapped. "Hang on tight, Kaia."

"Okay…" Kaia said.

Up they leapt as a single unit into the dark canopy. He pushed their pace, but he continued to pick up the stench, felt the itch under his skin, saw the row of white stones and the nameless girl's face. He wondered if her parents were anything like Kaia's parents, or if she'd been raised by her mother. Did she have a sister or brothers? What kind of school did she go to and did she have a lot of friends? What was her favorite color?

Each successive question sparked more anger, dredged up more grief, and he just couldn't stand the thought of a human being taking that life from another human. He'd been trained to take life, but his actions had justice in them. They were to protect the goodness and purity found in Kaia. In children.

"Kiba! Slow down!" Ino's distant shout brought him up short.

His breathing came in short, harsh gasps, and sweat drenched his clothes, poured down his face. He'd forgotten he'd given Kaia his hitai-ate. Ino and Kaia were quite a distance from him, and he waited about a minute on his current tree branch for Ino to catch him. She was panting and shot him a cross look as she set a hand on the tree trunk so she could rest. He waited, attempting to steady his erratic respiration but failing. Hands itched so bad he wanted to chop them off.

"I know you're not okay," she said, after she controlled her panting, "but we need to stay together with this."

He snorted, glanced out to the inky forest. "I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me," Ino snarled, clenching his jacket in her fist, "because I don't have time for it." She jerked him around, and he saw Kaia's eyes go wide when his back slammed against the tree trunk. "Get your shit together and do this!"

The wood was definitely not pleasant to his spine, and Kiba bared his teeth at Ino for causing him unnecessary pain. She didn't back down. They squared off in this manner until she dropped her hands from his jacket.

"Let's go," she said, weariness fraying her voice.

Had it not been for that tiredness, that unsaid plea for his cooperation, he would've gone rogue and killed the 'prisoner', to hell with the mission. But he didn't because he had others relying on him. One that trusted him with her life.

Ino took the lead and Kiba kept his eyes on Kaia's back, the blanket fluttering where it wasn't bunched up. Ino's blonde hair trailed behind her. Did he blow it with her? He had never been very good at controlling impulses; his murderous intent toward him lingered, and his skin crawled and burned, repulsed by the dead flesh it had touched. Would he ever shake the feeling? The…dead eyes?

At long last, he and Ino breached the town walls. The time was nearing midnight and yet the town's celebratory spirit had not waned. Kiba conceded that these folks were quite the partying types. Maybe he'd join them to dull the past hours' horror. Some sake to ease his itchy hands…make that a lot of sake.

Ino slowed to a halt and waited for him to draw up beside her. "Can you take Kaia for a minute?" she whispered.

"Yeah, sure."

He stood at Ino's back and let Kaia slide into his arms. His heart stuttered some when her slack arm flopped out of the blanket. Was she…? After a second, he saw why. The girl curled up against his chest and, sighing softly, tucked her head under his chin. Her eyes were shut- -she was deep asleep.

Just that nearly set off some tears, but he gritted his teeth and ignored the stinging. Ino had taken out her little booklet and was shining a penlight at it. After a second, she nodded and stowed away both items.

"Okay, the hospital's this way." Ino gestured off to the right. "We should make it there in ten or fifteen minutes."

"Sounds good."

She paused, a soft smile curving her lips. "Do you want me to take Kaia?"

"No," he said, too quickly, too loudly, and Kaia stirred in her slumber. He repeated himself, softer, "No. I have her."

Ino's smile had morphed into a smirk at that point, but really, Kiba didn't mind as he leapt over the roofs behind his partner. There wasn't any rule saying that Inuzukas were absolutely forbidden to get gooey over a young girl. And his badass reputation had held solid now for more years than he could count, so he thought he could get away with it. Somehow, he knew Ino would tease him in that clever way of hers down the line after this nightmare assignment ended.

Just as she predicted, they arrived at the hospital within ten minutes of entering the town. The hospital was older, a bit shabby, but when they entered the lobby, they were attended immediately and led to a room when Ino handed the secretary the documents officiating her position. He settled Kaia on the sterile white of sheets and stepped outside the door feeling edgy and cooped-up.

The fluorescent lights shone on Ino's face harshly. He noted the dribbles of dried blood from her head wound, streaking back from her hairline where she'd wiped it away.

"I'm going to examine Kaia. It'll take some time," she said, fishing out the booklet and handing it to him with the compass, "so you need to contact the police. Lead them to the prisoner and show them his," her mouth tightened, "field. Answer any questions they have, then come immediately here. We'll notify Mr. and Mrs. Takahashi together."

He nodded, silently playing through his fantasy of executing their 'prisoner', clean and easy with a kunai to the spinal cord. Ino's hand on his shoulder brought his gaze to her. She looked at him, her brows furrowed.

"Don't do anything stupid." The sharp bite of her nails through his jacket. "We have our orders, and I will not respect you if kill him."

Those were words he understood; she'd cut off their relationship completely- -partnership, rivalry, whatever it was, it didn't matter- -Ino would not even acknowledge his existence. But when he brushed by her to stalk down the hallway, he still hadn't made up his mind what he was gonna do.


A/N: I'm not sure how many more parts there will be, but a Part Three definitely, and maybe, maybe a Part Four. We'll see. Leave me some love, y'all. =)