Chapter 3: Androphobia...

The Triplets all looked at each other hesitantly before nodding in agreement.

"The reason why Tsuchi is so over-protective..." began Hikari bowing her head a little.

"The phobia Hana-Oneesama was talking about..." added Kaori next doing the same.

Cori also for once dropped her smile and copied her sisters. "The truth is...Oneesama is..." she explained before all three sisters took a deep breath.

"Androphobic..." the Triplets said in unison after a long pause making Kakashi widen his eye.

"Uso..Zakuro-chan?" exclaimed Kakashi in shock as now it all made sense to him, Zakuro's odd behavior that morning and back at her house.

Kaori nodded her head. "Hai," she replied.

"It wasn't easy but it took her a while to get used to me when she first moved here, ne Akamaru?" added Kiba looking down at the pup sticking out of his jacket. Akamaru barked in agreement. "Kaa-chan warned me about it before the Nekojiwa family moved in."

Kakashi 's expression became even more serious. "How long has she been suffering from this?"

Kiba shrugged while Kaori shook her head regretfully. "Unfortunately, I don't know the details as I was still training in the Lightning country at the time," explained the girl.

"And I was sent away to the Volcano Country way before it happened," added Hikari stroking Akane who sat on her shoulder.

That left only Cori as all eyes turned on her. Cori looked at her feet as she hugged her kitten, Jubei. "I'm not very sure of the details myself... I was too young to actually understand what happened back then..." said Cori regretfully as her mind flashed back to one day when she was seven.


Cori: I had only just came back from the Academy when I heard that Zakuro-Oneesama had just returned home...

"Onee-sama!" called chibi Cori as she jogged upstairs to her older sister's room. "How was your first mission as chu-!" she was about to say when she cut herself off once she looked inside Zakuro's room.

It was dark but from the light of the hallway Cori could make out 13 year old Zakuro's curled up figure on the bed, rocking back and forth with audible sobs emitting from her.

Even in the dim lighting, Cori could spot dark bruises over her sister's bare arms where her gauntlets didn't cover. Tsuchi as a cub was lying at Zakuro's feet protectively when she raised her head at the presence of the younger sister.

"Onee-sama...what's wrong?" asked Cori in concern. "Why are you crying? What happened?..."

Zakuro didn't appear to be listening as she continued sobbing and hugging herself.

"Cori-sama...please, this is not a good time..." replied Tsuchi instead.

Cori's heart felt torn at seeing her sister in such a state. "But why?"she asked tearing up a little.

"Cori-chan," called an older woman's voice getting the young girl's attention.

"Okaa-sama..."

Tomoyo Nekojiwa smiled gently at her daughter and placed a hand on her head. "Your sister is just shocked..but she'll pull through soon enough," she said reassuringly as she gestured for her lioness, Kushi to come forward from behind her. Kushi crooned a little as she scooped the little girl on her back with her tail.

"Come on Cori-sama, lets go get a snack shall we?" suggested the lioness kindly as she turned to leave.

Cori glanced over her shoulder just in time for a final glimpse at her sister before her mother gently closed the door behind her.


Cori quickly shook her head out of the flash back before looking up at Kakashi. "Gomenasai, Sensei. But I'm afraid we can't tell you more..."

"No, it's ok, thanks for your help..." replied Kakashi.

"But you didn't hear this from us ok?" said Hikari in a warning tone.

"Ninjas Honor," promised the jonin holding up a hand as he turned to leave when a thought struck him as he turned back to face the girls. "Oh Hikari-chan? Do you still sell your 'Null-Sniff' fume bombs?"


Back at the Neko-Inu House, Zakuro was still cooped up in her room lying on the floor staring up at the ceiling. She had already removed all the furniture piled up at her door a few minutes earlier and was slightly exhausted. Zakuro brushed her hand against her forehead, pushing her fringe back as she sighed in frustration.

"God, I am so pathetic...I won't be surprised if Kakashi-senpai doesn't even talk to me again..."

"Do you really think so?" whispered Kakashi's voice all of a sudden.

"Maybe..." replied Zakuro without thinking as she closed her eyes. There was a few seconds that passed until realization Zakuro causing the woman to snap upright and turn to see Kakashi sitting at her bedroom window-sill casually looking at her.

"You really should lock your window more often."

"KAKA-MMPH!" Zakuro was about to scream when Kakashi quickly slapped a hand over her mouth silencing her.

"SHH!" hissed the jonin before lifting his headband revealing a closed eye. "Sorry about this..."he whispered as he opened his eyelid allowing Zakuro to gaze into his Sharingan eye for the first time.


At that moment, Tsuchi was sitting with Hana in the kitchen when she perked her ears up.

"What's wrong Tsuchi?' asked Hana after sipping her cup of tea.

"Zakuro-sama..." was all Tsuchi said as she ran up to her master's room. "Zakuro-sama!" called Tsuchi as she burst through Zakuro's door only to find it empty and the bedroom window open.

"Tsuchi!" called Hana as she appeared and saw the empty room. "Oh no! Zakurin!"

Tsuchi growled menacingly as she sniffed the air.

"Ok, let's not jump to conclusions," reasoned Hana. "We didn't even smell an intruder, how could she be kidnapped?"

"Smell the air," instructed Tsuchi all of a sudden.

A little confused, Hana sniffed the air all the same. "What? I don't smell anything."

"Exactly. This window is wide open but I'm not getting any of the outside smells in this room," explained the cougar.

"So what are you saying? A scent nullifying chemical?"

"A special one, usually normal ones wear off after a minute or two," added Tsuchi as she narrowed her eyes.

"It's already been approximately 2 minutes us being in here and I'm still getting nothing. Only one person can create something that lasts this long..." explained the cougar as she figured it out. "Hikari-sama..."


Somewhere elsewhere, Zakuro's eyes fluttered open as she felt a long wet tongue lick her face.

Her eyes opened fully to see a tan colored dog with a white snout, long ears that have a dark brown color and whisker marks on his cheeks. It was wearing a Konoha headband and wore a blue vest with a scarecrow face on the back. "Rise and shine, toots!" it said cheerfully.

"WAH!" exclaimed Zakuro in shock as she sat up only to find herself wobbling a little giddily.

"Woah-woah! Easy, Missy! Kakashi's hypnotic effects are still just wearing off!" the dog said placing a paw on her leg.

Zakuro looked at the dog's forehead protector. "You, you're a nin-dog aren't you?"

The dog gave her a weird look. "Well duh! You think I wear this headband to look pretty?"

"Come on Guruko, be nice to the young lady!" barked a familiar pug who appeared suddenly.

"Paku-chan!" exclaimed Zakuro in surprise and relief. It was then she realized that she was sitting in a small bed in someone's apartment, in someone's bedroom. After sniffing the air and recalling what happened before she blacked out, Zakuro turned to Pakkun. "Pakkun...please tell me I'm not where I think I am?"

Pakkun and Guruko looked at each other before returning their gaze to Zakuro. "Ok, we won't."

Zakuro's face faulted. Quickly, she got out of the bed and smoothed out her clothes.

"Where're you goin?" asked Pakkun as the girl walked towards the bedroom door.

"Away from here!" said the girl hurriedly as she threw open the door only to walk smack into none other than Kakashi. Almost instantly Zakuro froze up as she stared up petrified at her senior. 'Oh God this can't be happening!'

"Hey Zakuro-chan, good to see you're awake!" said Kakashi cheerfully as he was about to reach out to his junior she suddenly snapped to life and scurried backwards away from him. Unfortunately, it also meant that she scurried back into the very room she tried escaping from.

Guruko and Pakkun looked back and forth between the two before exchanging glances. "Ok...we'll leave the two of you alone then!" said Pakkun.

"Seeya!" said Guruko as both dogs puffed into smoke and vanished.

"AH! NO WAIT!" screamed Zakuro in a panic only seconds too late.

"Oh what's the matter, Zakurin? Nervous?" asked Kakashi, casually sauntering up to Zakuro who was literally clawing her way up the wall. Literally. (Yes, I just used that word twice.)


Back at the Inuzuka house, Hikari and Kiba had gone back to basic taijutsu drills while their animal partners were taking a break in the corner. Kaori and Cori had already entered the house a few minutes before.

"Don't you think it was weird that Kakashi-sensei bought a bottle of your scent erasing formula? Straight after you told him about Zakuro-neesan?" asked Kiba as he practiced his punching and blocking while Hikari practiced kicking.

"Hey, it's business," replied Hikari when a shadow cast over her.

"Oh really?"

Hikari and Kiba looked up to see Tsuchi standing on the wall surrounding the compound looking down on them and boy did she looked pissed.

"Nekojiwa Hikari, we need to talk..." Tsuchi said in an ordering tone. Kiba, Akamaru and Akane immediately sensed something nasty and quickly disappeared into the house leaving Hikari on her own.

The usually bold red head was not feeling so brave when she saw the look in Tsuchi's eyes. Tsuchi had also just addressed her by her full name without any honorifics and when Tsuchi does that, Hikari only knows it meant one thing. She was so screwed.


Zakuro's heart was beating so loudly she could swear that it was in her ears. Her face was super pale with all the blood drained from it. The moment Kakashi made another step towards her, Zakuro quickly swung a leg at Kakashi who took all his strength just to stop it from dealing damage to his head.

"Oi,oi! Careful now!" warned Kakashi unfazed.

Now Zakuro's mind was beginning to shut down as her legs went limp and she sank to the floor.

Kakashi quickly reached out to catch her."Zakuro-chan, are you-?"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" she shrieked lashing out with her fists, both which Kakashi easily caught as Zakuro was not much of a puncher. The young woman began to struggle and thrash about. "NO! LET GO! LET ME GO!"

"ZAKURO, CALM DOWN!" yelled Kakashi as he tried to restrain her. He could feel her fists trembling badly in his hands as he quickly pushed her to the ground and held her.

"NOOOO! LET ME GO! PLEASE! NOOOOO!" cried Zakuro in a younger sounding voice as tears began streaming from her eyes as her whole body trembled violently.

"ZAKURO! SNAP OUT OF IT!" commanded the older jonin tightening his grasps only to have Zakuro struggle more. His yells were drowned out by Zakuro's shrieking. When Kakashi looked into her eyes, they were glazed over with fear and terror. Those were not the eyes of the strong, tough Zakuro he knew at all.

"TSUUUUUCHIIIIIII!" shrieked Zakuro at the top of her lungs.

Suddenly there was a loud fierce snarl, as Kakashi heard a loud smash from his window and was suddenly tackled to the ground with himself staring into a mouthful of snarling pearly white fangs. Tsuchi stood over him snarling fiercely like the predator she was. Behind her was Hana trying to calm a hysterical Zakuro down.

"Heh...Hi Tsuchi?" tried Kakashi a little freaked out.

Tsuchi continued her snarling and glared at him with her paws pressing down on his chest, making it very difficult for Kakashi to breathe.

"Zakuro, calm down please!" yelled Hana desperately still trying to restrain Zakuro who thrashed about wildly on the floor.

"NOOOOOOOO! LET ME GOOOOOO! NOOOOOO! NOOOOOOOO!" shrieked and wailed Zakuro in a pleading voice. "STOP IT PLEASE NOOOOOO!"

"ZAKURO! CALM DOWN, YOU'RE SAFE!" pleaded Hana as well sitting on Zakuro's legs to prevent them from thrashing about.

Unfortunately, Hana's words have fallen on deaf ears. As far as Zakuro was concerned, she was no longer an 18 year old jonin right now, and she was no longer in Konoha.

No, she was a 13 year old girl, terrified, scared, and at the mercy of strange men, close to losing her innocence. All she could see was that she was in a dark place, her hands and feet were restrained while her privates were being fondled and violated by the strange men, laughing, humiliating her.

"Help me! Please! Somebody help meee!"

"Tsuchi!" called Hana quickly as Zakuro's struggles became more violent.

"HAI!" replied the cougar transforming into her human form and quickly pinning down Zakuro's arms. "She's beyond controllable right now! Hana-sama, we have no choice! Use it!"

"But-!"

"JUST DO IT!" roared Tsuchi fiercely as her now humans hands clenched tighter around Zakuro's wrists.

Hana quickly reached into her pocket and whipped out a syringe and immediately jammed it into Zakuro's neck, pushing the fluid slowly. Almost instantly, Zakuro's struggling ceased as the girl finally lost consciousness. Everyone in the room breathed huge sighs of relief.

Tsuchi not wasting any time, scooped the teenager on to her back and made her way to the window with Hana close by.

"Wait! I'll go with you!" yelled Kakashi quickly getting up when Tsuchi whipped around and sent the jonin a death snarl.

"YOU are to stay close by until I can deal with you later. Now, we get Zakuro-sama into the hospital," growled Tsuchi as she jumped out of the window simultaneously transforming into her Winged Beast Form with Hana and Kakashi following close by.


Not long after the group soon reached the hospital where Shizune was thankfully on call as they quickly admitted Zakuro. Shizune reassured them as she took Zakuro off Tsuchi's back and took her away with Hana accompanying her.

Kakashi glanced down at Tsuchi who looked extremely worried as she saw here mistress getting carried away. "Tsuchi, I-"

"Save it. Follow me," commanded the cougar leading the jonin to the hospital roof.

Kakashi couldn't think of anything to say. What he witnessed just now was incredibly disturbing and he could sense the killer intent seeping out from the cougar who sat at the edge looking over Konoha wordlessly.

"Tsu-"

"What were you thinking?" demanded Tsuchi not even turning around. "I told you to leave her alone and yet you just couldn't drop it now could you?"

"But I-"

"Hikari-sama told me how you went to them and heard her story...but no, even despite the fact upon learning she was androphobic you still insist on not leaving her be!" snarled Tsuchi angrily.

Her ears were flat against her forehead while her tail swished about angrily.

"Tsuchi, I swear I didn't mean for this to happen!" exclaimed Kakashi when Tsuchi suddenly snapped and lunged for Kakashi, roaring at the top of her voice.

Kakashi was just barely able to dodge when Tsuchi turned and savagely lunged for him again. He quickly dropped on his back and threw Tsuchi off himself.

"Tsuchi, let me explain!"pleaded Kakashi quickly getting back on his feet while Tsuchi flipped herself and landed on her feet.

"SCREW YOU!"roared the cougar. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shred you to pieces right now?"

"LOOK, all I wanted was to find out what was wrong with Zakuro! It's not like you were going to tell me anyway!"

Tsuchi roared loudly again. "How dare you address my Lady's name in such a familiar tone!" she threatened menacingly as she began to circle around Kakashi. "Just when I think she was back on her feet, you go and do THIS!"

On the last word, Tsuchi began charging at Kakashi. But just before the cougar could land her target, Hana appeared from the side and with all her strength, tackled Tsuchi to the ground. "NOW SHIZUNE!" she called to the medic-nin who was close behind her.

Kakashi looked just in time to see Shizune pull back her sleeve and swiftly fire her tranquilizer needles at the cougar, effectively sedating her.

Hana breathed a sigh of relief when the cougar went limp in her arms. The sedative was just enough to calm Tsuchi, but not enough to knock her out.

Tsuchi growled as she glared groggily at the two women. "Hana-dono...why?..."

"Tsuchi, it's not like I don't understand why you are outraged at what Kakashi-san has done," explained Hana bending down to Tsuchi's level. "But hasn't this gone on long enough? That incident at the restaurant isn't going to be the only time. There's a chance it might repeat itself."

Shizune nodded in agreement. "I agree Tsuchi. You can't always be there to protect Zakurin. She's a grown woman now, she'll never blossom as a kunoichi if she continues living with this fear."

Tsuchi growled stubbornly. "She made it to jonin just fine..."

Hana frowned as she flicked Tsuchi's ear, making the cougar flinch. "Quit being such a cub!" she scolded.

Tsuchi gave an annoyed rumble when at that moment she realized that Kakashi was gone.

"Zakuro-sama!" she suddenly exclaimed struggling to stand up when the cougar fell over again.

Hana sighed as she stood up. "No way you're goin' anywhere. Just sit tight until the sedatives wear off. Me and Shizune will make sure he's up to no funny business."

"Gomene, Tsuchi..." apologized Shizune remorsefully as she and Hana headed straight for the one room they knew Kakashi would be.


They were right. Kakashi stood outside the private hospital room door, looking guiltily through the door glass where he could see Zakuro, still asleep on the bed.

Despite what he told Tsuchi earlier, the jonin himself had no idea what made him think so irrationally. He couldn't pass it off as intense curiosity. Eversince Kakashi heard a bit about Zakuro's past, he was intrigued.

After experiencing Zakuro's mental breakdown, he was unnerved a little. Judging froom the way she normally behaves, Kakashi honestly didn't think that Zakuro's phobia was that bad.

"Kakashi-san?" he heard Hana's voice from behind him, prompting Kakashi to turn to see the woman along with Shizune. Both had grim expressions on her face.

"Kakashi-san, I don't like to say this, but me and Tsuchi...we really... don't want you to come near Zakuro for a while...as least until we managed to clear this incident from her mind..."said Hana regretfully looking down.

Kakashi bit his tongue as he cast a final glance at at Zakuro. "I understand...I'll keep my distance..." he said bowing his head. "Forgive me for all the trouble I caused..." he added as he walked away.


At that moment, unseen by the rest, Zakuro opened her eyes, having heard the whole conversation outside her door. "Gomene...senpai..." she whispered sadly as she stared at the ceiling. She could her own body still trembling slightly.

'Why? Why am I so afraid of men?...' thought Zakuro closing her eyes once more in frustrated confusion when her thoughts suddenly flashed back to her senior. 'Kakashi-senpai...help me...'was the last thing she thought before drifting back to sleep.