Hey all, new chapter. Told you I was updating! Ah-HA!
Anyway, disclaimer and all that.
VERY IMPORTANT! PAY ATTENTION TO THE CAPS! I need a new title, seriously! As of this posting, the title is shit in a bag. A bag made of frozen urine at that! So, suggest a good one and the best one before my next chapter will get a parade!
Moving on, enjoy the longest chapter yet. Hell, half the size of all the combined chapters.
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"Fug ogg!"
Leaning against Kiba's bedroom door Hana Inuzuka sighed at the muffled reply before shouting again. "That better not have been what I thought it was." Getting Kiba up in the morning when he, now she, didn't have a mission had always been difficult.
There was a distinct silence, a notable absence of sound, as the barely conscious Kiba considered her response.
"Fug ogg!" Came Kiba's barely coherent voice. Forehead vein twitching for a moment, Hana just sighed and walked away. First her new little sister came home covered in bruises, clothes scuffed and generally very ragged in appearance, normally not a problem with Inuzuka but seriously, on her first day as a girl, and now she was sleeping in when she had promised to help Hana in the clinic for the morning.
Returning to the kitchen and her breakfast, Hana decided to let Kiba out of it this once. After all, she probably still needed a bit of time to adjust. Tsunade-sama had temporally taken Team 8 off the list for missions beyond the border of the village, deciding that it would be best for them if Kiba had time to get to know her new body better since they didn't know how long she would have it. It might be best to follow the Hokage's example.
Hana was clearing away the remains of her meal when Kiba emerged, eyes lidded and clothes in disarray. The Inuzuka clan was rarely inactive, even when asleep. Hana made a vague disapproving sound in the back of her throat. Had Kiba been more awake she might have noticed. Since she wasn't, she didn't.
"What was the point in you even getting new sleep wear if you're not going to use it?" the older Inuzuka asked, eyeing Kiba's familiar shirt and boxers which were distressingly loose. Honestly, sometimes she got tired of being the only one in her family who cared about appearances. She understood their mother and Kiba's general disregard for such things, but at least Tsume made some effort not to look like she had just rolled out of bed. Although technically Kiba just had, but chances were good things wouldn't get much better as the day wore on.
Kiba just grunted and pulled the fridge door open to stick her head inside in pursuit of food as she did every morning. At the sight of her former-brother's unaltered routine Hana couldn't resist a small laugh at how some things never changed.
Picking up the gear she needed Hana paused at the door. Kiba was by then seated at the table in the centre of the kitchen, mowing her way through a bowl of something sugar-encrusted and Akamaru had entered and began to rip apart a slab of high-quality meat. Most of Kiba's slothfulness seemed to have been shaken off, at least enough to actually pay attention.
"I'm letting you off this once, okay? Today isn't anything special, so you're lucky I hadn't planned on using you for much or I might not be so nice." Hana said. "Have a nice day sis, try not to do anything stupid." Now Hana laughed loudly, joined by her three nin-dogs, the three Haimaru Brothers letting out rather laugh-like panting as Kiba nearly choked on a spoon full of cereal.
Muttering darkly at the largely empty kitchen Kiba finished her food, before heading off to shower, something which promised new experiences for everyone involved. As far as Kiba knew that list included and consisted solely of her. If it didn't she be in for a rather large surprise.
Probably followed by violence.
At some point during the process Kiba vaguely recalled agreeing to meet all the others somewhere in the morning but for the life of her she couldn't remember where or why. At least Hana had let her get out of helping. A towel around her waist and another in hand as she dried her hair, Kiba was pondering this mystery when she walked into the presumably empty kitchen with the intent to ask Akamaru. She froze as approximately twenty four eyes, twelve pairs, focused on her, four on either side of the door. Time seemed to come to halt as all involved took in the exact details of what was happening.
At this stage things might have been swiftly but embarrassingly resolved had Kiba taken a step back and slammed the door shut or just used the towel in her hands to cover her chest. That's roughly what you'd expect a woman to do, take action to cover her nude body from prying eyes, however unintentional that prying is. A man would do something similar but usually if his crotch was unclothed. It is important, therefore, to note that Kiba had until the day before been male and as such her sense of modesty was largely focused mostly on that previously mentioned crotch region. A day and a night were really not long enough to develop an entirely new set of automatic reaction and to her established instincts she already was safely covered. All this led to...
"Morning guys."
Kiba only belated realised that the still unfamiliar voice was her own and one of her hands had moved to make a single wave of greeting. The moment of sudden shock had passed her mostly unnoticed, Kiba having been more surprised at neither hearing nor smelling the others. "So...it was here we were gonna met then?" asking the first thing that came to mind.
Everyone, including the two looming on either side of the door, continued to stare with wide eyes, faces reddening as every one of their brains drew a mental blank with one hand and took down a set of notes and a matching picture with the other. Staring at the others, entirely perplexed, Kiba followed their collective gaze and suddenly, her new breasts appeared as though jumping out of a closet in an attempt to frighten someone, which they might as well have done in regards to the effect they had. From Kiba's point of view at least. Such a thought would probably be feather on the camel's back where everyone else was concerned if the trickle of blood from multiple noses was any indication.
Face now matching the rest of the room Kiba yelped and pulled the door closed. Silence reigned while she walked back to her room, pulling on a shirt – over a reluctantly worn sports bra – and getting dressed. The house remained deadly quiet until the kitchen door opened and Kiba re-emerged, now fully clothed. Since every chair and table top had an occupant, she just stood there.
Things were, needless to say, extremely awkward.
At last, after minutes of painful silence, someone spoke. "I kinda... forgot we agreed to met at my place..." Kiba scratched the back of her head nervously.
"No one minds."
The room froze for the second time in half an hour as those three, simple words seemed to grow and fill all the empty space. Figuratively, of course.
Standing at the back, technically only halfway in room, was Kankuro. Leaning against the door frame his mouth was stretched in a grin and his eyes glittered with mischief. Kiba had no idea why the Sand-nin was there, not being privy to the arrangements between the Kazekage and Hokage on the details of messengers trusted enough to carry communication on certain sensitive matters, but at the moment that didn't matter. What did matter was the incredibly annoying look on his face and the fact he seemed to be enjoying the fact everyone was now looking at him.
So Kiba did comes naturally. "First time seeing a pair not on one of your freaky little dolls?" Insult him.
Kankuro, despite an initial twitch, held his ground admirably in the face of the quick drawn verbal attack, returning with a rapid reprisal. "Whereas until this happened you never saw any that didn't come in three-times the number and on something furry?" He smirked when Kiba growled under her breath, using the chance to launch a conversational assault in hopes of gaining a beach head from which to win the batt- err, conversation, early in the struggle. "Besides, there are certain... perks from being the Kazekage's brother and least my puppets don't leave stains on the carpet."
That she would not take lying down. "Oi, don't compare Akamaru and the others to pets!" a weak defence, one Kankuro was quick to melt with the metaphorical acidity of his wit.
The puppeteer's smirk seemed to gain another few inches. It was nearly growing off his face. "Wasn't talkin' about the dogs."
That sealed the deal. With a growl Kiba shot across the room, one foot bouncing her off the table and through the air towards Kankuro. Her fist cannon towards his face, but in her anger she had telegraphed her movements enough that even someone who avoided close combat as much as Kankuro did was able to predict her line of attack and he caught it with one hand. What he didn't catch was her leg coiling and releasing a kick to his side. Unable to spot it he was still able to send a quick jab into her stomach.
With the whoosh of displaced air and a green blur both found their attack halted. Squeezed between them Lee held them back. Kiba landed on her feet and Kankuro took a step back, both now turning to the Taijutsu adept.
His expression was unexpectedly disapproving and oddly serious. "You waste the flame of youth!" his words, however, were no different than usual. "Your fight here is pointless and meaningless!...and we'll be late." He seemed almost embarrassed to add the last part, as though he were betraying some ideal not letting everything that passed his lips be loud declaration about youth and passion.
The rest of the group became active at that, standing up and moving for the door blocked by the two feuding ninja and Lee.
"Bushy-brow is right!" Naruto hollered, pushing the three out the door. "Ichiraku's got a special deal on today and I can't till we get this crap done!" Which explained his apparent eagerness to do something he would normally consider a waste of time. Speaking of which...
"Uh, what are we doin' again?" Kiba asked, confused. She had vague recollections of agreeing to met them somewhere for something, but she had no idea what it might have bee. Oddly a memory of something, maybe hair a rich purple hue, flashed into her mind before fading away.
Breaking away halfway through muttering threats about people saying in appropriate things just loud enough for Kankuro to overhear, Sakura answered her. "Tsunade-sama is sending us to clear out some of the older, unused training grounds, remember?"
Kiba rubbed her forehead, thinking back to the night before. After consuming a barbeque meal to celebrate the fact Kiba had not been reduced to a mewling sack of pain filled meat, Shizune had found them and said...something. "Uh, not really. Why is she sending eleven of us to do some damn gardening anyway?"
Sakura gave her a worried look. "Shizune said they're not sure what might in there, considering how close they are to the Forest of Death, we're not gardening." She said. "You asked that exact question last night. Is something wrong?"
They had gotten more interest from the rest of the group were, including Kankuro. Not particularly enjoying the attention, Kiba reassured Sakura that it was probably just fatigue or adjusting to a new body, although Sakura's internal medic still seemed. Hoping to find a distraction Kiba search for something else to turn the conversation to.
And found it in the form of a leering, makeup wearing puppeteer. "What the hell is this tool doing here?" she asked, pointing at him in a markedly aggressive fashion. Since the failed mission to retrieve Sasuke some two and a half years ago and the rescue at the hands of the Sand Siblings the two of them had something of a rivalry. This manifested in arguing and rampant competitiveness.
Kankuro answered that himself. "For your information, mutt, I'm just along for the ride. Gonna be a couple days until I head back to Suna and there's nothing interesting to do so I thought 'Hey, what could be more fun than watching other people work.' So here I am." He smirked at her, clearly pleased with himself.
"Oi, what's up with that!" a certain orange ninja practically shouted, unexpectedly close to Kankuro's ear. He continued, not quite as loudly since Kankuro was bent over with a hand over his ear. "You could help, y'know!" Some of the others voiced similar, albeit somewhat calmer in most cases, opinions.
Recovering, the puppeteer sneered at Naruto. "Like hell I will. I've worked my arse off in Suna and I'm not losing any relaxation time here." His eyes narrowed at their expressions of annoyance. "Why do you think Gaara sent me? My undefinable charm and tact?" he asked sarcastically.
Kiba snorted. "I can define your charm just fine, but it involves setting small animals on fire."
With a sweep of his arms Kankuro indicated the area around them. At some point in the argument they had reached the training ground areas. "You go ahead and find some animals to set on fire, but I doubt any you can find will be small."
Further dissention was forestalled by the announcement "We're here." From Neji at the front of the pack. "here" was a tall fence akin to the one which surrounded the Forest of Death, or the Forty Fourth Training Ground, which was appropriate considering that this was the Forty Seventh Training Ground. It looked just as bad, but according to Shikamaru it was significantly smaller. It was still large enough that it required a number of ninja to clear it out. Dividing them into four groups he placed a member of Team 8 in each, plus Neji, so they could find each other easier. According to the last report some sort of odd fungus blocked the communication between the small ear radios they had all received, so they would mostly have to do without them. Other than that, they were just to clear out as many of the more monstrous creatures that they found so the Training Ground could be reclaimed.
Heading off in one direction Kiba's team consisted of the dog-nin, Akamaru, Tenten and technically Kankuro. The others were Naruto, Hinata and Shikamaru, in group one, Ino, Shino, Lee forming group two with group three consisting of Neji, Choji and Sakura. For whatever reason Sai was not with them but when asked Sakura and Naruto had been as confused as the rest of them as to why he wasn't assigned to this as well.
The day progressed without much trouble beyond occasionally running into creatures extremely adept at ambushing. The forest's inhabitants were very similar to residents of the Forest of Death though relatively easy for chuunin but enough of a challenge that it had been decided not to leave it Genin.
Sniffing the air after slaying a massive gray serpent, Kiba and Akamaru searched for any scents similar to what they had found in the Forest of Death. It might have been over two years but there were some things you didn't forget about that place. Picking the trail of something reminded her of the huge snakes, a sudden thought struck her. She turned to the others and asked.
"Hey, why were Naruto and Choji outside the kitchen door?"
Kankuro, in an burst of originality, smirked at the memory but it was Tenten who answered. Kiba hadn't really had much to do with her, but she was always affectionate to Akamaru when he was looking for attention. "They were, uh, going to scare you. That's why they put a seal over the door. So you wouldn't know they were there..." she looked nervous and apologetic, like it was her fault for not stopping them.
The idea made perfect sense to Kiba, save for one thing. "Choji? And who can do seals like that?"
Tenten nodded. "Yeah, Naruto was determined that someone else had to join in but...well, he couldn't convince anyone else to help. He had to bribe Choji. As for the seal, it was apparently something Naruto learned from Jiriya. He said something about using it for something good for once." Here her tone was disapproving, no doubt well aware of what the perverted toad-sage would use a seal that blocked smell and sound for.
Thinking it over, Kiba laughed and said "Heh, that would have been good. Wish it had been someone else so I could have joined. Guess Naruto wasted a bribe."
The puppeteer spoke up at last. "Not sure I would say he 'wasted' it. I know I enjoyed the result." He had apparently decided not to simply pretend to forget it had ever happened like everyone else. No, he was going to keep it in a gold encrusted frame in his hall of memories to be brought out whenever he needed to annoy Kiba.
Unfortunately for him, Tenten heard. There were few things that got her riled up like hearing this sort of thing. Kiba might have only been a female, and thus a kunoichi, for a day and night but dammit, that didn't change the fact! The fact Kankuro was being a pervert! She altered her pace until she was moving at level with the Sand-nin as they leapt from tree to tree.
As she berated Kankuro for taking like that, the puppeteer mused that a particularly paranoid person might speculate that the genius had known this would happen and assign them accordingly, confident that Kankuro would tag along with Kiba's group. 'Tch, not my fault Gaara walked in on them. I mean, how was I to know that offering to finish his paperwork would let him get back home that early.'
Suddenly he noticed something. Interrupting Tenten he said "You see where the mutt went?"
Breaking off, Tenten realised he was right. The two went on guard immediately, landing and holding position back to back. She drew a kunai and reached back to grip her scroll, Kankuro mirroring her actions. Kiba shouldn't have been able to sneak off on her own without them noticing as she did so, and neither should Akamaru.
A flicker of movement at the edge of Kankuro's vision was all the warning he had. Pushing Tenten as he dived away the spinning whirlwind narrowly brushed by them. The familiar spinning shape hit a higher branch and came to a stop, momentarily hidden by a cloud of wood shaving and shrapnel.
Halfway through pulling his puppet storing scrolls out, Kankuro froze. It didn't take long for Tenten to see why as more of their attacker was revealed.
Crouched atop the branch, drooling like a madden beast, Kiba glared down at them. Or at least, what appeared to be Kiba. From her forehead a network of purple markings emanated from a single purple diamond across her body. Her eyes glowed with a faint sinister light.
"What the hell mutt? Something wrong with you?" Kankuro yelled at her.
She answered him with a feral growl, legs coiling for a second before she launched at them a second time.
"I'll take that as a 'yes'." Muttered Kankuro, rolling open the scrolls as a drooling, crazed Inuzuka bore down on him.
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Well, that's it for this chapter. Things are actually getting serious! How unexpected. For you that is. I knew. Of course I knew. I have a plan.
...honest!
Anyway, once again please review and even more please, someone suggest a good title, I've got nothing! Whoever suggests the best title will get a parade in their honour, I promise!
Would I lie to you?