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Chapter 7: Itching for Revenge

It was as if my entire life had been leading up to this one fateful moment. After countless years of tireless work, I'd finally reached his heart, and now here I stood, tightly clutching his letter in my hand. I could smell his scent mixed in with the ink on the paper. It was as if he'd poured his entire heart into it.

"I feared you wouldn't come," Neji said as he emerged from the forest, his pale eyes glowing in the moonlight.

"I almost didn't," I replied, my cheeks burning pink with anticipation. "I thought you hated me."

Neji came to me at once and took my hands in his. "Please, forgive me, Ikuko. I only acted that way to hide my true feelings. You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. From the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one I wanted to be with forever." He was staring into my eyes with such intensity; I thought my heart was going to burst.

"Oh, Neji-kun ..." I murmered, closing my eyes, waiting for his sweet kiss, but it would never come. A second voice emerged from the darkness and interrupted our moment of tenderness. Ripping my eyes away from Neji, I spun around to find Sai standing right beside me, his ink black eyes showing a faint trace of jealousy.

"What are you doing here?" Neji asked, his eyes narrow.

Sai matched his fierce stare. "I too have come to declare my love to Ikuko. I have loved her from the moment I laid eyes on her."

I leapt for joy. "Yay! I'm so lucky!"

"I see," Neji replied coolly. "I guess that makes us rivals then."

"It seems that way."

"So how should we settle this?"

Sai smirked. "I think you already know."

I already knew, too, and I was watching them excitedly, my eyes bouncing back and forth between the two strong, handsome warriors of love who were about to engage in a battle to the death to win my heart. Surely, this moment couldn't have gotten any better, but I was quickly proven wrong when a third voice came from the trees, instantly stealing my attention. The shadows were cloaking his face, but I knew who he was right away. After all, how could I forget my first love?

"Sasuke-kun," I exclaimed, "you've finally returned to me!"

"Yes, I have. The power of your love has brought me back."

My cheeks flushed. "Power of love?"

Swiftly, he jumped down from the tree and landed perfectly on his feet. Oh, Sasuke was so cool!

"This ends now," he declared, immediately settling into his fighting stance.

I squealed eagerly. "This is so cool! I'm the luckiest girl in the world!"

But my luck quickly ran out when I heard yet another voice, followed by a dog's growl. Kiba suddenly appeared with Akamaru at his side, ruining my perfect moment, just like he always did!

"What do you guys want her for?" Kiba asked smugly. "She's not even that pretty."

My jaw dropped. "Shut up, you fleabag!"

He smirked. "Make me, Princess."

My eyes narrowed. There was no way I was going to let him ruin the best moment of my life. I'd been waiting too long for this, and nothing was going to spoil it, especially not Kiba and his mutt. This was my fantasy, so it was going to end the way I wanted it to end!

"I've had enough of you," I said. "For so long I've tried to get rid of you, but you're like a cockroach!" I smirked at my choice of words. Boy, did I like the way that sounded, so I pointed a finger right at him. "So be a cockroach!"

Kiba's eyes widened. "Noooooooooo!"

With a quiet poof, Kiba was reduced to the pesky brown pest that I always knew he was. I should've stomped on him; really, I should've, but instead I just let him crawl around pathetically.

When I was satisfied, I then turned my attention to Akamaru, who met my gaze with fearful eyes. "Your turn," I said as I thrust my powerful finger forward, forcing the mutt to join his owner in endless insect misery. Together, they squirmed around on the ground, and I let out a loud, victorious laugh. "Flee before me! Flee!"

I could still hear my laughter echoing in my ears as I opened my eyes. For a moment, I forgot all about my horrible situation, but when I saw Akamaru sitting right in front of me with that friendly glint in his eyes, I became very depressed, and when he attempted to come closer, I just got annoyed. With my strong paw, I gave him a light smack on the nose, making him stumble back and run out of the room.

Another day in the dog house.

Stepping down from the bed, I proceeded to the kitchen, where the entire Inuzuka family was preparing to eat breakfast. Kiba had just finished setting down Akamaru's food dish when he saw me enter the room. "Good morning, Ikuko," he said with a grin.

I blinked. Had I just heard him correctly? Was he using my real name? Did that mean ...?

"Kiba, what did you just call her?" his mother asked.

"I called her Ikuko. It just dawned on me last night — it was the strangest thing — but they look very similar, don't you think?"

After eying me for a few seconds, she answered rather bluntly, "No, not at all."

Kiba shrugged and grabbed another dish of food from the counter. "Well, I think she does." He set down the dish in front of me. "Besides, I can't deny that it gives me a little pleasure." His face broke into a grin.

At this, his mother started to laugh. "Oh, I see what this is about."

Hana sighed. "That's not very nice, Kiba."

"What?" he defended. "I think it's quite fitting. Besides, she doesn't seem to mind. Did you see her ears perk up when I called her name? I think she likes it — more than she liked Princess anyway."

"I just feel bad for the dog," his mother commented, "to be named after such a terrible girl."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was bad enough that I was forced to live as a dog in their wretched house, but now I had to listen to them destroy my character as well? Would this punishment ever end?

When Kiba noticed I wasn't eating, he squatted down next to me and asked, "What's wrong? Don't act like you don't like it. That game's over now, remember?"

How could I be expected to eat in such a poisonous atmosphere? I felt completely insulted!

"Kiba, come eat your breakfast," his mother said impatiently.

He sighed and stood up. "She ate last night. I don't get what her problem is."

"You got her to eat?" Hana asked. "How?"

"Set up a little trap," he answered with a boastful smile. "Clever, huh?"

"A trap that woke me from a peaceful night's sleep," his mother growled. "And then you left her food dish on the floor. I woke up this morning to the smell of spoiled chicken."

"Whoops," he muttered before quickly stuffing his mouth with rice.

"Yeah, whoops."

"Well," he went on with his mouth full, spitting grains of rice onto the table, "at least she's eating now."

"Yes, that's nice. Now, eat more like a human and less like an animal."

Like you can tell the difference, I thought as I nibbled at my food. As angry as I was, my breakfast was too delicious to deny. While I was chewing, though, I felt something brush against the tip of my tail. At first, I thought nothing of it, but then I felt it again and again. It was the strangest thing.

I was just about to look over my shoulder when I felt a familiar pair of canines clamp onto my tail, making me cringe in pain. Finally turning around, I threw the fluffy little biter a menacing glare.

You picked the wrong day to mess with me, you little hairball.

Building my strength, I gave my tail a strong whip to the right, sending the white puppy flying through the air. Unfortunately, he landed perfectly fine and was happily barking like it was the best ride he'd ever been on. Soon, he was running right back to me, but before he could go for round two, I sat down, denying him access to his new favorite game. At this, he gave a sad whimper and just sat down beside me.

Ha! Take that, you little monster!

I turned back to my food only to find it already half gone, and the two culprits were quickly making their getaway. Mari and Maya, those little demons, were scampering away with their little mouths full of my food! Once they passed by Kiba's mother, she did a quick double take and then groaned. "Kiba, did you leave the back door open again?"

His eyes slowly rose from the table. "... No."

"Then why are the puppies running around the kitchen?"

He shrugged. "Maybe Hana did it."

"Nice try," his sister replied with a laugh.

"Make sure they go back outside when you leave today," his mother went on. "I won't have them chewing up all my furniture again."

"Fine, fine."

The rest of my breakfast went smoothly. The puppies abandoned their assault and moved on to Akamaru, who was much more accommodating than I was. He was sharing his food and letting them try to jump on him as much as they wanted. What a stupid dog. Well, I hoped they were having fun now because soon they were all going to be living on the streets. I just had to wait for Father to come for me. I knew it would only be a matter of time before justice was served, and I couldn't wait to get my revenge on the entire Inuzuka family.

As the family was finishing their breakfast, there was a loud knock at the door, prompting Kiba's mother to rise from her chair and start toward the front door, muttering to herself, "Now, who could that be?"

While they all fussed over who their morning visitor was, I was on my way back to Kiba's bedroom for a little nap. I'd had my breakfast, and now it was time to return to dreamland to see which handsome ninja was going to win my heart. Deep down, I hoped it would be Neji, but they were all exceptional in my eyes. The only real loser was Kiba, who'd probably gotten stepped on or eaten by now. I could picture it clearly: Kiba's blood and guts on the bottom of someone's shoe. What a wonderful thought.

I'd just settled into bed when I heard two distinct voices, deep and authoritative, and once my name was mentioned, I stumbled off the bed and sped out of the room as fast as I could. My claws, unfortunately, hadn't quite figured out how to handle wood floors yet, so I started skidding across that floor like it was made out of ice. All the noise I was making quickly caught Kiba's attention, and he came to me right away. He probably thought he was helping, but he was really a hindrance. My saviors were right there, right in front of me, but I couldn't get to them.

"Easy, girl," he said as he gently stroked the top of my head. I tried several times to move forward, but his arms had created a barrier that I just couldn't break through. Eventually, I gave up my attempts to escape and just tried to listen to the conversation going on outside.

"Why would she be here?" Kiba's mother asked, the agitation radiating through her voice.

"According to our sources, this was one of the last places she visited prior to her disappearance. We're just trying to fully grasp the nature of the situation. We can't rule out any possibilities at this point. I'm sure you understand, Inuzuka-san."

"Of course. But she's not here. You can search the house if you want."

"That won't be necessary. If you hear anything, anything at all, please report it to us immediately. Thank you for your time."

"I hope you find her," she replied politely before shutting the door, and then her true, beastly nature came out. Slamming her fist against the wall, she growled, "This is ridiculous!" before returning to the kitchen and throwing herself into her chair. "That little brat is gone for a day, and her father sends the ANBU?"

Finally, Kiba released me. "Ikuko's missing?"

"That's what they're saying. Personally, I think she's just trying to get attention. I mean, this is probably just some scheme her mother concocted. The girl will show up in a few days, perfectly fine, but her mother will insist she was kidnapped by some neighboring village. We'll never hear the end of it."

"But Ikuko's missing?" Kiba pressed.

"Yes, since yesterday."

Hana sank into her seat. "That's terrible. I hope she's all right."

"Well, if she has really disappeared, then good," Kiba's mother went on. "That girl needs to be taught a lesson. She's a spoiled, selfish girl, just like her mother."

I could've cracked the floor with the amount of pressure I was exerting. If she thought I was going to just sit there and let her speak with such disrespect, then she had another thing coming! So she thought I needed to be taught a lesson, huh? Well, I was about to teach her a little lesson of my own:

Never cross Ikuko Matsubara.

Kiba's mother kept a surprisingly tidy room, not a thing out of place. Well, all that was about to change. She'd mentioned something about not liking her furniture getting chewed up. Well, she should've thought of that before she decided to insult me. Now, it was time to pay. Besides, it was about time I embraced my animalistic nature.

While everyone was busy bashing me in the kitchen, I crept into her bedroom and enacted my revenge. First, I pulled her blanket off the bed and then started tearing through it with my back claws. It was much easier than I thought it'd be; in fact, it didn't take much effort at all for me to rip through it. When I added my teeth to the mix, the destruction reached its peak, and soon the entire blanket was a shredded mess of fabric. I was about to move on to the bed sheet when I saw the three little demons enter the room, their black eyes alive with curiosity, and once they saw the mangled blanket, they quickly caught on. Together, all three puppies hopped onto the bed and started ripping apart her sheets with their teeth and claws. It was a glorious and thrilling sight.

Well, looks like they're useful after all.

Suddenly, something strange came over me, and I was really starting to enjoy myself. When I started ravaging her pillow with my teeth, shaking it violently back and forth, I couldn't help but pretend it was her arm or something; and what would've been her blood came out as little white feathers that showered over the room like snow. It was like Christmas, and the puppies were having the time of their lives. When the feathers started to fall, Mogu and his sisters kept trying to catch them before they hit the ground, failing nearly every time. When we were finally done, we were all covered with feathers but very satisfied.

We paraded back into the kitchen then. I was leading the procession of feather-covered puppies myself, and I had a little bounce in my step, too. I wasn't at all ashamed of what I'd done, and I couldn't wait for her to discover it. Maybe that was why I walked right up to her.

"What's that you've got all over you?" she asked with a laugh as she leaned over and plucked one of the feathers out of my fur. "A feather? A feather from where ...?" Slowly, her voice began to taper off until she exploded from her chair and barreled out of the kitchen. "Oh, no ... NO, NO, NO, NO!"

With my front claws, I drew circles across the floor while I awaited the much-anticipated eruption. She was probably standing outside her room now, too scared to peek inside, one finger on the door — two now, then a third. Finally, a loud roar came from her bedroom. Mother had always said the Inuzuka clan were the descendents of dogs, which explained their feral appearance and behavior, but I never expected to hear what I heard. A sound like that couldn't come from a human mouth, not even a monster like Kiba's mother. It was so loud and terrifying that the all the puppies scampered off, leaving me to take the fall alone, but I stood my ground; even as my paws shook, I refused to move even an inch.

Now, I half expected some wild beast to enter the kitchen, but, really, I probably stood a better chance against the beast than her. She came in with her fists clenched, shoulders hunched forward, and her face contorted with fury. I thought she was going to take her clawed hands and tear me to pieces just like I'd done to her sheets, but instead she just knelt down in front of me and looked me square in the eye.

"Are we gonna have a problem?" she asked, and even if I could've answered, I wouldn't have. Then she held up a single finger. "That's strike one."

To her left, Kiba was leaning against the counter with his hand over his mouth, a futile attempt to mask his smirk. His quiet snickering gave him away instantly.

"What are you laughing at?" his mother growled once she got back to her feet. "Hmm? You think this is funny? You're paying for all the damages, you know."

His eyes bulged as his hand flopped to his side. "Eh? Why do I have to pay for it? She's the one who did it!"

"She's your responsibility."

"But—"

"But nothing. Now, go clean up her mess."

By this point, Kiba's argument had been reduced to a few incoherent syllables that occasionally spewed from his flapping lips. After listening to him for a few seconds, his mother eventually got fed up and physically forced him out of the room. Only when they were both out of sight could I finally relax.

"Well, aren't you a little troublemaker?" Hana said with a gentle laugh as she came over to me. "I think she's finally met her match." Then she loudly announced to the rest of her family, "Well, I'm off to the clinic!" and gave me a pat on the head before departing.

After a few minutes, Kiba reentered the kitchen with his mother's tattered sheets. Muttering angrily under his breath, he tossed the sheets to the floor and then turned to me with a stern look. "See what you did? Look at all the trouble you're causing me."

Oh, this is just the beginning.

With a sigh, he lazily kicked the pile of fabric across the floor a few times. He probably would've kept kicking it, but a knock on the door prompted him to stop.

"What is it now?" he grumbled as he stomped toward the door, and because I didn't want to be left alone with his scary mother, I followed closely behind. When he noticed me walking behind him, he gave a small chuckle. "You expect me to protect you after all you've done?"

Like I need you to protect me.

I was just about to turn back when Kiba opened the door, and I heard Yuzu's voice on the other side. It was as if all my prayers had finally been answered. My best friend had come for me at last! I was so excited that I shoved my way through the gap between Kiba's legs, making him lose his balance and stumble backwards.

"Gosh, take it easy!" he yelled, settling back into his stance. Then he addressed the visitors. "What's going on?"

"Ikuko's gone," Yuzu said, her lip quivering. "She never showed up for training yesterday, and this morning we went to her house, but she wasn't there. I think something's happened to her."

Over and over again, I barked and barked, trying to get her attention, but she refused me even the briefest glance. Even Youji, whose attention span was normally limited to a few seconds, was completely focused. I was right in front of them, but they didn't even care. It was like I was completely invisible.

"Hey, settle down," Kiba said as he gently guided me back into the house and stepped in front of me. "Well, what am I supposed to do? I don't know where she is — and no, I didn't feed her to Akamaru."

"We know you had nothing to do with it," Yuzu replied. "We just want your help. You're a great tracker. If anyone can find her, it's you."

Like he's gonna help me, I thought bitterly. The guy's a selfish jerk. He's glad I'm gone!

Biting down on his lip, Kiba reached back and rubbed the back of his neck. Now, I expected him to slam the door in their faces and just walk away. Heck, I probably would've done the same thing if the roles had been reversed. But, much to my surprise, Kiba didn't shut the door or even tell them to leave; instead, he bent down to grab his shoes. "We'll go to her house first," he said, pulling on his shoes. "Maybe her mother knows something."

"And if she doesn't?" Yuzu asked.

He shrugged. "Then at least we'll be able to get her scent. Come on, Akamaru!"

That gigantic mutt almost knocked me over when he came tearing down the hallway. Luckily, I managed to step out of the way just moments before he passed me and ran out the door with Kiba and everyone else. But there was no way I was going to let them leave without me!

"Wait, wait for me!" I begged as I tried my best to keep up with them, but they were so fast, and I could barely run with my injured leg. Still, I fought through the pain. I was going to keep going even if it meant biting off my leg and toughing it out on the three good legs I still had.

Unfortunately, even with all that determination fueling me, I wasn't strong enough to fight the strength of Kiba's mother. She grabbed me so fast that I didn't even realize what was going on until I was brought face to face with the crazy woman.

"Nice try, but you're not strong enough yet," she said as she released me and started to walk away. "Kuromaru, keep an eye on her while I'm gone. I give you permission to use whatever methods you deem necessary."

I sat down, wondering who she was even talking to. Who was Kuromaru? Was there another Inuzuka I hadn't met yet? A creepy uncle or something? While I pondered the structure of the Inuzuka family tree, I heard a deep, low growl behind me, one that could've shaken the ground with the very magnitude of its force.

Slowly, I turned around to see the freaky wolf-dog behind me, its eyes — well, eye — glaring down at me.

Kuromaru's a dog, I realized. Of course.

"Don't even think about running," a voice said, and I must've been going crazy because I could've sworn it was Kuromaru talking, but that wasn't possible because he was just a dog, and dogs couldn't talk.

"Yes, I'm talking to you, Ikuko."

My eyes about popped out of their sockets. The dog was talking! The dog was actually talking! Oh, I was going to need years of therapy to recover from all this trauma.

"If you keep this up, you'll never get your body back," Kuromaru said as he turned to walk away.

My eyes widened. "Hey, wait!"

He stopped. "What?"

"You know what Biyoku did to me? — And you haven't said anything?"

"It's not my place to tell them. After all, I'm just a dog."

"Oh, don't pull that crap! You can get me out of this, and you will. Now, I demand you — you take me to Biyoku's hut at once!" As Kuromaru walked away, I chased after him. "Listen, you stupid mutt! I order you to take me there or else—"

Kuromaru whipped around and growled, "Or else what? What are you gonna do?"

"I'm ... I'm ..." Man, it was really hard come up with threats when there was a huge wolf of a dog standing in front of me. "Look, I need to figure out how to get out of this mess, so just take me Biyoku, okay?"

His expression was impossible to read. I couldn't tell if he was considering my offer or contemplating the many ways he could kill me.

"Fine," he said, "I'll take you there."

And so Kuromaru led me through the forest, moving at a pace just slow enough for me to keep up. It was probably a ten minute walk, though it felt much longer than that, and when we finally reached her hut, I ran past Kuromaru and rushed inside. Like always, the old woman was sitting on the floor in silence.

"I've been waiting for you, Ikuko Matsubara." Her black eyes slowly drifted over to me. "Ah, this form suits you quite nicely, I think."

"Just shut up and change me back! I've learned my lesson, okay? I'll never be mean to Kiba again, so just change me back already!"

"But you haven't learned anything, young Ikuko. If you had, you would already have your body back."

"What? — Look, I don't care about your dumb lesson. My father has already sent the ANBU to look for me, and they will find me. So unless you want to spend the rest of your days rotting in some prison cell, you'll change me back right now!"

"I couldn't help you even if I wanted to. Once the spell has been cast, it cannot be undone. You alone have the power to free yourself."

"Well, how do I do that?"

"That's something you need to figure out for yourself. If I gave you all the answers, then what will you have learned?"

"That's it?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. How was I supposed to free myself without knowing what to do? What exactly was this lesson, and how was I supposed to learn it? Nothing made sense; everything was so cryptic, like some puzzle that I could never solve.

I'll find my own way, you old hag, I mentally declared as I returned to the Inuzuka house with Kuromaru. And you better pray that I never get my body back. Because when I do, you're gonna pay. You're all gonna pay!

It was sometime during the walk back that I felt a strange sensation behind my ear, something in between a tickle and a pinch. I tried to ignore it, but it seemed to be spreading throughout my body, moving as far as my tail. By the time we reached the house, I was wriggling about with discomfort. The feeling was completely unbearable! I soon found myself rolling around on the grass just to try to alleviate the irritation, but that only seemed to make it worse. Behind my neck was the worse spot. If only I could've reached back and—

Suddenly, my back foot came up and began scratching the area behind my neck, demonstrating a flexibility that I didn't know I was capable of.

Oh, that feels great. Yeah, right there ...

I was still itching myself when Kiba returned. Normally, he would come right over and suffocate me with attention, but this time he didn't even notice me. He literally walked right past me and entered the house. I was able to ignore my discomfort for a few minutes in order to follow him inside.

He walked slowly, dragging his feet across the wood floor, and when he entered the kitchen he just slumped against the counter. "She really is gone," he muttered under his breath.

I dropped to the floor and started itching myself again. Could he not see the pain I was in? Couldn't he tell I was suffering? Did he even care? He was supposed to be taking care of me!

"Where could she be?" He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't get it."

Who cares? I'm dying over here!

Just when I was about to tear through my skin, Kiba's mother entered the kitchen, rambling on and on about something unimportant. When she saw Kiba, she asked, "What's wrong with you? You can pout all you want, but you're still paying for my new bedding." And then she saw me and cocked an eyebrow. "And what's your problem? Why are you scratching?"

The hell if I know!

"Don't tell me you ..." She was frowning so deeply that it looked like her lips were melting off her face. "Kiba, she's got fleas!"

Finally, Kiba snapped back to reality. "Huh? What?"

"She's got fleas!" his mother repeated. "Why did you let her inside?"

Fleas? Are you kidding me?

"I didn't know she had fleas!" he argued. "It's not my fault!"

"She's your responsibility!"

"But ... but ... but ..." Kiba was back to babbling again, which marked the end of the argument.

"You take care of it," his mother said as she walked out of the kitchen. "And you're gonna clean the house, too."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me," Kiba grumbled before squatting down in front of me. "You're a real pain, you know that?"

So instead of sitting down to a nice, warm meal, Kiba and I spent the evening on the porch with a bucket of soapy water and a fine-toothed comb. Carefully, he worked the comb through my fur, catching all the little critters that had invaded my fur, and then I got to watch them all drown when he dunked the comb into the water. Well, at least I got a little satisfaction out of it.

"Leave it to you to get fleas," he muttered. "What's next? Worms?"

Worms? I pictured little worms crawling all over me and immediately shuddered. And then that terrible itch returned to my neck, so I quickly scratched it with my back foot, an action that brought relief to me but seemed to make Kiba squirm.

"Stop, you're making me wanna scratch!"

In response, I scratched myself again.

"Stop it!" he growled, rubbing his right ear against his shoulder. "Keep this up, and I'll just let the fleas have at you."

Again, I scratched at my neck, but this time it didn't even itch; I just craved some entertainment.

His eyes narrowed as he dunked the flea-infested comb into the bucket. "You're lucky you're injured."