So, this turned out a lot longer then I thought it would so it took longer to write. Please Read and Review!

Oh yeah, don't own Naruto.

Also, if you couldn't tell this whole chapter is a flashback

Chapter 3: Flashback

Leaves rustled and branches creaked as two figures bounded through the woods hopping from branch to branch speedily making their way through the forest. A loud joyous bark sounded as a giant white dog picked up its speed hopping three branches at a time.

"Hey, Akamaru wait up!" A 15 year old completely dressed in black with wild brown hair and red triangle tattoos on his face yelled as he picked up his speed as well to catch up with the giant dog. "Akamaru! Let's stop for now, we're ahead of time and I could use some lunch!"

The dog barked his support and the two of them jumped to the ground landing in a small clearing. Kiba reached into his pack and took out some jerky, throwing some to Akamaru before gnawing at some of it himself.

After finishing up his meal Kiba fell back onto the grass taking a deep breath, trying to relax some before they had to continue. Kiba loved times like this. He loved running through the woods with Akamaru enjoying the fresh forest air as they bounded from branch to branch. Yes, they were technically supposed to be on a mission now but that didn't mean Kiba couldn't have some fun.

Right now Kiba and Akamaru were on a simple delivery mission. In the past few months they were made to go on several missions like this and while Kiba didn't quite like going on such simple missions he did like the time he got to spend out in the woods with Akamaru. Normally, Kiba as a Chuunin wouldn't have to go on such simple missions, but recently tension had been rising between Konoha and several bordering nations and because of this it was considered too dangerous to let lesser trained ninja deliver them as many messages being sent nowadays had to do with possible war plans and alliances. If even one of these messages were to be intercepted it could mean the start of an all out war.

Right now Kiba was on his way to Suna to deliver a message scroll to the Sand Shinobi. Kiba didn't really know what the message was about as he wasn't allowed to read it but he was pretty sure it had something to do with a counter attack the two allied nations were planning if the Rock Village were ever to attack.

Suna wasn't exactly one of Kiba's favorite places. The sand always got into his eyes and it made using his sense of smell rather difficult at times. A lot of the people there also made Kiba rather uncomfortable because even if the climate was normally very hot, the people all seemed to have very cold personalities that made it very awkward to deal with them.

After finishing their meal, Kiba re-secured his bag to his back and jumped back up into the trees signaling Akamaru to follow. It took on average three days to reach Suna and the duo had been traveling for about two and a half now although they were making good time and should probably make it to the village within an hour. Kiba was glad that for most of the trip to Suna there were trees to travel in as he hated having to run in the sand.

As predicted, an hour later Suna village was within view. Kiba grumbled as they were now traveling on sand as the village was located in a desert. It wasn't particularly much harder to travel in the sand; Kiba just didn't like it because it always got stuck in his sandals and clothes as well as in Akamaru's fur.

After checking in at the entrance to the village, Kiba and Akamaru headed to the villages main hall. The main building had a very similar look to Konoha's but instead of being mostly made of wood the outside seemed to be made of strange type of and; although the inside was quite nice. Once in the building Kiba quickly made his way to the Kazekages's office and dropped the message off with one of the Kage's assistants. Kiba was glad that he didn't have deal with the Kage, Gaara, himself; as every time Kiba saw him he always remembered what he had seen him do in the Chuunin exams and was still somewhat fearful of him.

The sun was setting by the time Kiba was out of the building so he began to leisurely stroll through the town. A room at one of the hotels had been saved for him to stay in for the night before he had to start his journey back to Konoha the next morning. While Kiba did like sleeping outside in the woods it was always nice to have a good bed to sleep in for a night. Kiba was also looking forward to getting a good meal in him so on his little stroll through the village he kept an eye out for any decent looking restaurant.

Akamaru let out a short whine (well more of a low growl as he had grown so big even his most innocent whines sounded vicious and he would often scare people walking buy who didn't know him at all) indicating that he agreed with Kiba and could use some good food. Over the past 6 years the two had been together pretty much all day every day and because of this they had developed a very special relationship. Akamaru was very good at reading Kiba and could tell what he was thinking even if didn't say anything. Kiba was equally as good at telling what Akamaru wanted, which was a good thing as Akamaru didn't talk. Well, at least not human talk. He had his own little dog language that pretty much only had and Kiba understood.

As Kiba and Akamaru continued through the towns streets they spotted a familiar figure. "Hey, Kankuro!" Kiba yelled to the strange puppet user. Ever since Kankuro had saved Kiba and Akamaru from the sound 5 they had been friends. Well not friends really. Kiba more just bugged Kankuro whenever Kiba was in Suna or Kankuro was in Konoha.

Kankuro let out a groan as he watched Kiba walk up to him. Sometimes he regretted that he had saved the boy's life as Kiba constantly annoyed him whenever he was near him. Kankuro guessed it was just Kiba's way of thanking him but Kiba could get so annoying sometimes that Kankuro almost thought that Kiba had had a death wish and he was trying to punish Kankuro for not letting Kiba just die there in the woods.

"Hey, so I'm town for tonight because of a mission and I've got nothing to do so do you want to hang out or something?" Kiba asked, now in a good mood. He enjoyed hanging out with Kankuro every once in a while. Yes, Kankuro wasn't exactly the nicest person but Kiba thought it was funny how Kankuro took everything way too seriously and got angry and the smallest things sometimes. Kiba knew that Kankuro didn't exactly like the company but being his "friend" was Kiba's way of thanking Kankuro for what he had done for him and Akamaru. Even if Kankuro acted like he didn't like having anyone around Kiba knew that he was grateful he had one inside; well at least that's what Kiba liked to think.

"Yeah, well no matter how much I'd really like hanging out with someone as well kept as you," Kankuro said rather sarcastically. Kiba looked awful and smelled even worse as he still had the same clothes on he had been wearing for the last three days and hadn't had time on the way here to do such unnecessary things like bathing. "I have some business to attend to, so fuck off mutt."

"Mutt?" Kiba responded bitterly. Like Kankuro he also had a somewhat bad temper. "At least I'm not that one going around playing with puppets and wearing makeup."

This is what Kankuro hated, they had only been talking for less then a minute and already they were arguing. "Well, for one thing, this is war paint," Kankuro retorted, pointing to his face, "and don't make fun of my puppets. They could kill you and your dumb mutt before you had a chance to react." And with this Kankuro turned and walked away.

Akamaru growled, not happy with the fact that he had just been called a Mutt; even though that was technically what he was. The mutt comment made Kiba even angrier as well. He didn't mind so much when people made fun of him but if someone said even the slightest negative thing about Akamaru, or even just something in a negative tone like Kankuro just had, he swore he would kick their ass. Although that probably wouldn't happen here as Kiba had seen what those puppets could do and never wanted to be on the receiving end of any of their attacks. Kiba also didn't like when people just walked away when he was talking to them. So he followed Kankuro as he went about his business.

Kiba really did have a lot of time to kill because he had arrived so early so he followed Kankuro around for a while until Kankuro finally got so fed up with Kiba that he went into his house and slammed the door in Kiba's face. Content with the fact that he had just killed a few hours Kiba and Akamaru headed back into town to get something to eat and get a good night sleep at their hotel.

xx

Before the sun had even risen the next day Kiba and Akamaru were up and getting ready for their trip back to Konoha. Kiba took a shower and ate a quick breakfast before heading towards the main gate. Not many people were out in town yet as the sun hadn't even risen but some shop keepers were starting to open up to prepare for the morning rush. Kiba liked Suna and the desert at dusk and in the early morning. The low light from the sun made the sand seem to glow and gave the town a sort of serene feel.

But even if the desert had a somewhat pleasant feel, for Kiba and Akamaru it could never compare to the forest. Within 20 minutes of leaving Konoha they were both glad to be back in the forest's heading back to Konoha. Kiba hoped that when they got back they would be able to get a decent mission this time. While this was admittedly a little enjoyable he would always prefer a more dangerous mission over something a damn bird could do.

Kiba and Akamaru bounded from tree to tree masterfully making their way through the forest. They had taken this path and been in these forests so many times that they could easily make most of the trip blind folded. So, effortlessly, they both jumped from branch to branch trying to make the trip as quick as possible hopefully making the return trip even quicker th-…

Akamaru stopped abruptly on the next branch sniffing the air rapidly. Kiba stopped as well right next to the massive dog sniffing the air as well.

"Like someone thinks they could fool us this easily, eh, Akamaru?" Kiba laughed before jumping to the next branch landing next to a rather conspicuously concealed exploding tag sitting on the trunk of a tree. Akamaru let out an exited bark as Kiba easily deactivated the exploding tag before removing it from the tree.

"Yeah I know Akamaru. Like anyone could catch us with a trap in these woods," Kiba said smugly. Kiba and Akamaru knew the woods so well that not even the smallest change would go unnoticed. They both sniffed the air again trying to sense any other traps that may be around. "Heh, who ever set up these traps must not be very smart." All the traps had been set up in a fairly wide perimeter obviously meant to keep people out of the enclosed area. The only problem with this set up was that there were many gaping holes that people could easily go through and that all the traps that were set up were painfully obvious.

Akamaru whined, signaling to Kiba that he sensed something else. "So there are still two or three people there? Let's go pay them a little visit then Akamaru." Kiba said; glad that maybe they would get some action on this mission, as they both took off towards the smell.

Landing on a branch high in one of the trees inside the perimeter of the traps, Kiba and Akamaru looked down at the origin of the smell. There were 2 sleeping bags and backpacks strewn about next to a tree with 2 forehead protectors lying on them. "Rock Ninja, eh?" Kiba said frowning. If they were rock Nin there wasn't much Kiba could do. The leaf and the rock were on very shaky terms. If Kiba were to attack these people it would just worsen the relationship and push the two nations further towards war. Wait, but where were the people…?

Shit. Kiba quickly turned on his heels dodging the kunai that went flying past his head. So he had fallen into a trap? They must have heard Kiba and Akamaru coming and set up obvious traps to lure them into another trap. Guess they weren't as dumb as Kiba had thought. Kiba jumped to another nearby branch dodging another barrage of weapons in the process. As soon as Kiba's foot had touched that next branch several weapons came slicing through the air from below.

"Akamaru! Go take care of those people below us I'll take care of the one here." Kiba yelled to Akamaru who proceeded to jump down to the ground in search of the other enemies. Kiba reached into his pouch and pulled out a Kunai while sniffing the air trying to get a sense of where the enemy was.

"Found you," Kiba barked as he hurled the Kunai into a bush on a branch hanging from a tree to the right of him, effectively flushing out the enemy who tried to evade and jump to another branch higher up.

"Ha, like I'd let you get away," Kiba said as he went onto all fours before launching himself into the air towards the evading enemy. Kiba's elbow connected with the enemy's stomach sending him flying into a tree before falling down to the ground below.

The enemy groaned, trying to push himself up from his stomach. But he didn't do it quick enough and before he knew what had happened Kiba had his foot jammed into the enemy's spine and a knife at his neck.

Just then a small explosion echoed in the distance.

"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled, unsure what the sound had been caused by. Surely Akamaru hadn't been beaten by the enemy? These guys were too weak for Akamaru to beaten. Kiba was about to head off to the source of the explosion when he realized he just couldn't let the enemy below him leave. Quickly, Kiba removed the knife from the mans throat simultaneously grabbing another one from his pouch before slamming them both down, one through each of the enemies arm into the ground below it. The enemy let out a scream of blood started to pour from the wounds and puddle around his body. "Heh, you're not going anywhere," Kiba said before taking off.

Kiba quickly raced towards where he had heard the sound. It wasn't far as the other enemy had been right below were they had been before. When Kiba arrived at where the explosion was he couldn't see anything; clouds of dust from the explosion still hanging in the air. Kiba cursed, still not being able to see his friend. A strange smell came to Kiba's nose making him cringe. Blood? Akamaru's blood? No, it didn't smell like his, and it didn't smell like the other enemy who he had just stabbed. It had a strange smell though; it didn't exactly smell like normal human blood.

The dust started to clear and Kiba slowly approached the smells. He squinted, trying to see what lay beyond the thick cloud of dust. Kiba could barely make out the shape of his dog, standing, breathing deeply staring at a tree in front of him. The tree looked like it had had some of it blown off and parts of it were on fire. It seemed like one of the traps in the tree had been set off.

As the dust settled even more Kiba started to make out the outline of someone sitting hunched over at the bottom of the tree. Was that one of the other enemies they had sensed before? Then finally as the dust cleared what he saw shocked him.

Sitting hunched over under the tree bleeding badly from several deep wounds was a little kid. Kiba gasped as he saw it. The kid couldn't have been older then 8 or 9 years old and yet he was out here on a mission? He had never seen any one this young before on a mission. In fact almost everyone he had ever fought had been at least as old as he was. Why was this little kid here? He didn't even look like he was old enough to go to the academy.

As Kiba looked even closer he saw something else that shocked him. The boy was holding something in his arms; defensively trying to keep it away from Akamaru, who hadn't moved from the position he had been in when Kiba had first arrived. Whatever it was that the boy had in his arms was bleeding badly; its blood all over the boys arm. It appeared to be a little lump of bleeding fur. Kiba couldn't tell what exactly it was but that didn't stop him from feeling a slight tinge of terror.

What scared Kiba is that this reminded him of a situation he had been in before. When he and Akamaru had been cornered and helpless on the rescue Sasuke mission and were about to be murdered by the two of Orcochimaru's minions. Just this time he was on the opposite side he had been on before. Would he really have to kill this helpless kid? Kiba bit his lip, not knowing what to do now. He could just leave now and continue back to the village, but he had to find out what these two were doing so close to the fire country border. Kiba bit his hand, trying to think of what to do next. Why the hell did these people have to be here? It was already bad enough that he had severely injured two rock Shinobi but the fact that one of them was practically a baby made it even worse.

Akamaru moved for the first time since Kiba arrived, taking a few steps towards the little kid. "Akamaru stop," Kiba yelled, not wanting Akamaru to do anything before Kiba had time to think. But Kiba couldn't think, he had no idea what to do. He didn't want to have to do anything to this little kid, he didn't even know if he could bring himself to do it. He had killed before, just it had always been in battle and it had always been someone at least as old as him. "A-Akamaru, leave him a lone, we're leaving." Kiba muttered. He didn't care what they were here for anymore, he just wanted to get out of here now. This little kid didn't even look like a Shinobi; he was probably just some random civilian walking his pet or something.

Shit! Kiba sidestepped, just barely avoiding the kunai that went flying past his head. "D-don't touch him!" The enemy Kiba though he had pinned before yelled before charging straight towards where Kiba and Akamaru stood; a kunai gripped loosely in his hand. Kiba was surprised the man could even use his arms after he had had the two knife shoved straight through them. Kiba took a defensive position preparing for the attack but was distracted by a noise behind him. Kiba turned to see the little boy weakly trying to stand up, pulling a kunai from his pouch. Akamaru noticed this as well and jumped in front of the boy preventing him from getting to Kiba.

"Leave him alone!" The man who had been charging at him yelled. Kiba cursed at himself for getting distracted and turned back around to face the charging man. The man weakly jabbed at Kiba with the kunai and Kiba easily dodged to the side and without thinking grabbed the blade from the weak grip and shoved it into the mans stomach.

"P-please leave him alone…" the man said weakly, coughing up blood before falling to the ground, dead. Kiba looked down at the body slumped on the ground in front of him. He was shocked, he had killed many people before, but for some reason this time felt different. Kiba's hand started to shake and he dropped the Kunai to the ground before turning back to Akamaru and the young boy behind him.

"D-dad," the boy said weakly, shocked by what he had just seen. "I'll kill you!" He then screamed, standing up with his pet still in his arms before he too charged at Kiba. Kiba just looked at the small boy charging at him now, dazed, unable to move.

Blood. There was blood on him now. Whose blood is this? There was blood on Akamaru too. What happened? Kiba looked forward to where Akamaru and the boy stood. Just the boy didn't look the same anymore. In an effort to prevent the little child from getting to Kiba, Akamaru had jumped in front and slashed at the boy. He was now missing a chunk of his arms and his stomach and neck had been torn apart. The animal that he had been carrying had been severely mangled as well. They both stood dazed for a second, blood freely spurting from the wounds, then fell to the ground in a bloody heap.

"A-Akamaru. W-why did you have to do that…"

So, hoped you liked it. Please review! I have midterms coming up so if I wanted to I could probably write a couple chapters then (I don't study, so midterms just means more free time), altough I'd be more motivated to do that if I got some reviews :).