Unusual Training

Mornings were quiet in the Inuzuka compound. While the rest of the village was up and bustling just outside the walls, within them the only noises to be heard were snoring and the occasional soft growls and whimpers as the beasts within dreamed.

In one room, messy in the way only a teenager's can be, especially one with a pet, the noises were louder than most. At the foot of the bed a ninja dog still little more than a puppy lay sprawled on his back, all four paws in the air, occasionally twitching and kicking. Higher up on the bed, atop a tangle of sheets and blankets but sprawled in nearly the same position as his companion, his master also slept.

A ray of late morning sunlight was shining through a gap in the window's shutter, spilling across the bed only a foot or so from the sleeping youth, and as the morning grew later it was gradually sliding across the covers. By the time ten minutes had passed it was only inches from his face, and he was already starting to scrunch his eyes tighter. On the foot of the bed the puppy's legs were kicking frantically as he dreamed of chasing something, and the jerking motions were sliding him ever closer towards the edge of the bed.

At about the same time as the ray of sunshine hit the youth's eyes, the puppy fell off the bed onto the floor below, and both came awake simultaneously with yelps of distress.

Not long after that Kiba stumbled out the front door of the compound, rubbing at his eyes with one hand while with the other he awkwardly tugged on the oversized fur coat that was a major part of the Inuzuka clan uniform. Atop his head Akamaru sprawled sleepily, mouth open in a wide yawn to reveal his tiny but sharp teeth.

"What do you think, Akamaru?" Kiba asked, looking up at his companion. "Steak for breakfast?"

"Arrk!" Akamaru replied, thumping his tale on the back of Kiba's head.

Kiba laughed easily and reached up to ruffle the puppy's ears. "I can always count on a yes from you when it comes to steak, can't I?"

Leaving the sleeping compound behind, the two friends headed to the butcher's shop. It was going to be an unusual day of training, since instead of his usual team exercises he'd agreed to spar with Uzumaki Naruto today.

. . . . .

They'd barely come in sight of the butcher's shop when Akamaru jumped of his head and made a beeline for its front door, barking madly. Just before he arrived two girls, relatives of the butcher, left the shop. Kiba recognized the older girl as Riena, a kunoichi a few years older than him, and the younger as her sister Sera, still at the Ninja Academy.

The girls were carrying baskets and wearing hats, looking as if they were about to go out shopping, but as soon as they saw Akamaru they dropped their baskets and began clapping and slapping their thighs to get his attention. Akamaru, already headed in that direction, trotted up to the two girls and rolled over onto his back, cocking his head to one side and barking a friendly greeting.

"Is this Akamaru?" Riena gushed, going to her knees and stroking Akamaru's belly. "His fur is so red!" Akamaru gave a happy arrk and wiggled his legs, tongue lolling out. Sera went down to her knees too and scooped up the little puppy into a hug, tumbling him around.

"Oh he's so adorable and soft," Sera squealed. "Riena, daddy will let us give him some of the trash cuttings won't he?" Akamaru began wiggling even more frantically, yipping with excitement at the prospect.

"Of course he will," Riena cooed, ruffling the puppy's ears. "Here, you stay outside and play with him, and I'll go see what I can find."

Five minutes later Akamaru was happily devouring gristles and fat from a bowl, while Kiba ate the steak he'd purchased raw. The girls giggled at that, feigning disgust, but they were too intent on Akamaru to really care.

"Oi, Kiba!"

Shoving the last of his breakfast into his mouth, Kiba turned to see Naruto running towards him waving. "What's up, Naruto?" he called with his mouth full, waving back once.

The sisters got to their feet, glaring at Naruto in disapproval. "Oh, you're that Naruto," Riena said coolly.

Naruto glanced at her, his shoulders hunching in his natural defensive posture. "I know, I know. Carrier of the Demon Fox, the epitome of evil walking on two legs."

Sera sniffed. "It's not even about that, Naruto," she said.

Naruto blinked and straightened slowly. "It isn't?"

"No, it isn't," Riena said. "You tricked Kiba into punching poor little Akamaru!" Akamaru, sensing a chance for some quality attention, abandoned his meal and came over to the girl's feet, whining pitiably and hunching lower in the dirt, tail drooping. Immediately the two girls were gushing over him again, making a disapproving wall to keep Naruto out.

"Um, all right," Naruto said, staring at the two in confusion. He turned to Kiba. "You ready to go train?"

"Yeah, I'm done. Just need to wait for Akamaru to finish and we can go."

Naruto looked into the bowl and gulped, looking a bit green. "Gross. He actually likes that stuff?"

"Arrk!"

. . . . .

Akamaru gave the girls' hands one last friendly lick, then went gallumphing through the crowd after Kiba and Naruto, running so fast he was nearly going sideways and almost tripping a few times. When he caught up he butted his head against Naruto's leg a few times, and when Naruto stopped to scratch under his chin he wiggled his tail happily.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked with a glance back at the butcher's shop.

"What was what about?"

"Those girls. They were all over you and Akamaru."

Kiba smiled. "Ninja puppies are like catnip for kunoichi. Every time I leave my house I get swarmed by girls who just can't get enough of Akamaru."

Naruto scowled and kicked at a stone. "I don't need a puppy to get girls."

"Oh?" Kiba asked with a smirk. "What do you need, then?"

"Shut up."

"Arrk!" Akamaru said, giving Naruto's shoe a consoling lick. Then he ran up Kiba's side and took his customary place on top of his master's head.

They didn't say too much more on their way to the training fields, Naruto sulking and Kiba and Akamaru full from breakfast and still a bit sleepy. When they arrived Naruto warmed up by punching the stump while Kiba worked with Akamaru on coordinated attacks, using branches and rocks as targets.

It wasn't too long before Naruto got bored with his exercise, though. "Oy, Kiba!" he called. "Why don't Akamaru and I do some one-on-one sparring! I want to learn how to fight ninja companions better."

"All right," Kiba replied, dropping the stick he'd been about to throw. "Akamaru, here!" he called. The little puppy gave a confirmation arrk and ran over. Kiba went to one knee and caught hold of his companion's head, looking commandingly into his eyes. "Go easy on him, okay Akamaru?"

"Arrk!"

. . . . .

Kiba had to give Naruto credit for one thing. The blond genin played the underdog pretty well, never giving up when outmatched (which he usually was), but always managing to win by an infuriating refusal to ever go down. It made him a terrible foe, because he was impossible to beat. During the Chuunin exams he and Akamaru had lost by exhausting themselves beating the crap out of him, and then when they were too tired to do any more he'd pulled his little stolen barrage move, as fresh and tireless as he'd been at the beginning of the fight.

That kind of stamina, on the other hand, made him a terrific training partner. Akamaru was getting the workout of his life trying to wear the stubborn idiot out.

Finally Kiba decided enough was enough. It was time to use some of the new jutsu they'd been working on. "Go, Akamaru!" he shouted, "Dynamic Marking!"

"Arrk!" The ninja puppy shifted directions and ran up a tree, then leapt off in a way that launched him spinning through the air. Naruto went into a defensive posture as Akamaru flew over his head, squinting into the bright sunlight. Something splashed into his eye, over his face, and across his chest. "What the-" Naruto said, rubbing at his eyes with his sleeve. There was a pungent smell in his nostrils, almost like...

He froze.

Wait a second here. Naruto looked down at the wet line across his chest. Then he looked over at Akamaru, who was sprawled at the bottom of a tree licking between his back legs.

He lifted his gaze up to where Kiba crouched in the tree above him. "Did you just tell your dog to pee on me?" he shouted.

Kiba turned red. "He didn't pee on you he marked you! It's a common Inuzuka jutsu!"

"You train your dogs to pee on people?" Naruto demanded incredulously. "What possible benefit could that have in battle?"

"Arrk!" Akamaru barked, sounding insulted. Naruto looked over to see the little puppy glaring at him, fur stiff in indignation.

"You want to see what possible benefit it could have?" Kiba demanded. He reached up and untied his forehead protector, putting it around his eyes and retying it. Then, nostrils flaring, he leapt off the tree. "You'd better run away, baka, because if I catch you I'm going to beat you to a pulp for making fun of my family's techniques."

"With a blindfold on?" Naruto swiped at the urine on his face, glaring. He sure wasn't going to attack a blindfolded enemy. "Fine, you want to play tag? I'll laugh at you and your stupid dog-pee jutsu when you run face-first into a tree." He turned and took off into the thickest part of the forest, listening to Kiba crashing along behind him. As he ran he formed the proper seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he hissed, a shadow clone springing up beside him. He ducked into some bushes and hid while his shadow clone kept on running.

Kiba, nostrils still flared, tore into the clearing behind him, ignoring the crashing sounds the shadow clone made as it ran. After a slight pause he ran straight for where Naruto hid, at the last second leaping into a forward dive, spinning. "Fang over fang!" he yelled. As he flew through the air he spun faster and faster until he was a blur.

With a yelp Naruto dived out of the way, the tree behind his hiding place taking the full brunt of Kiba's attack. Even though it was as wide around as he was the Inuzuka's jutsu tore through half its bark, leaving a corkscrew-shaped hole.

"Oi," Naruto shouted from where he was sprawled on the ground. "Are you peaking around your hitai-ate?"

Kiba, picking himself up from his attack, smirked and tapped at his forehead protector. "I don't need to peek. This is the famous Inuzuka clan Dynamic Marking Jutsu. The ninja dog marks the enemy with especially acidic urine, allowing us to smell his location even if he's miles away or goes through water. No enemy escapes our noses."

Naruto whistled. "That's pretty amazing." He stopped suddenly, a look of suspicion crossing his face. "Wait a second. Did you just say this stuff can't be washed off? Gaah!" He began leaping around, tearing at his urine-stained jacket. "Gross, I can still smell it! What kind of stupid technique is this?"

Smiling, Kiba reached up to remove his forehead protector so he could see his blond friend's antics. But as soon as his eyes were clear Naruto, no longer bound by honor to not strike a blind enemy, lunged forward and caught the Inuzuka with a solid uppercut that sent him flying back into the tree he'd just smashed with his jutsu. Akamaru gave a yelp of distress and ran over to where Kiba sat, dazed.

"That was for telling your dog to pee on me!" Naruto shouted. Kiba scowled, rubbing his chin, as Akamaru licked at his face.

Well, at least it wasn't as bad as the time he'd used Dynamic Marking on Hinata-chan. His sweet-tempered teammate hadn't gone so far as to actually hit him, but not even Akamaru at his friendliest had been able to get the purple-haired kunoichi to talk to either of them for a week. She'd also sent him the cleaning bill.

"Playing tag is stupid," Naruto said, his anger apparently gone now that he'd taken his swing. "Let's get back to training, and this time no gross jutsus!"