Finally! I try hard to make it short. Phew.

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto owns the character and Naruto's episode 184 which heavily influence this chapter.


Chapter 7 – Inuzuka Pride: Shocking Revelation

"I will always be with you!"

- Kiba -

The Third Hokage skimmed the mission report scroll seriously. Tension strained his aged features, and Kakashi knew that he was really shocked at the news. After some puff from his pipe, Sandaime confronted Kakashi, "How was the battle with Zabuza?" His face looked calm, but his tone was worried. Kakashi did not put many details in his report, only stating important facts about Zabuza and Gato he collected from the villages.

"It went surprisingly well. Zabuza did not fully use his tailed-beast's power," White Flash replied, "He was rather lenient." Sandaime frowned in disbelief. Kakashi shared the same sentiment too, at first. As a former victim of cruel experiment which forcefully injected bijuu's chakra to one's body, Zabuza grew notorious for his ruthlessness. He slaughtered hundred of the same victims in some kind of duel several years ago, earning him a nickname "Demon of the Hidden Mist". Apparently Zabuza proved him wrong at the bridge that day, and Kakashi explained further, "Hokage-sama, if I may add based on my personal judgment, Zabuza's loyal subordinate, Haku, is the probable cause for his change of behavior. In fact, he only showed his power to protect Haku from my Lightning Blade."

"The one with ice technique kekkei genkai*?" Kakashi nodded and continued to recall everything that happened. Hiruzen showed understanding in his eyes, but the reporting jonin noticed that something still bothered him. The next question simply revealed what it was. "How was Naruto? Did anything strange happen when those two bijuu met?" His solemn eyes and deep voice showed how truly concerned Sandaime was toward Naruto. White Flash answered honestly, "Hmm… As far as I can tell, Zabuza perfectly concealed his bijuu's signature chakra, but Naruto did not. An ominous dark presence can be felt although it was faint. I deduce it was only caused by his wound and not anything else. Is there any reason why Kyuubi's chakra can heal his wounds?" Despite his laid back nature, Kakashi was very observant. He knew something was up when Naruto distanced himself when he was badly injured.

"To be honest, I do not know either. Perhaps it is related to the Uzumaki famous bloodline ability. His regeneration is somehow boosted by Kyuubi's chakra into full recovery. Anything else?" The Third Hokage asked again with his face now showing relief. Kakashi eye-smiled and summarized, "Well, last mission was really unexpected, Hokage-sama. Even to the point how Naruto and Kiba could be in really good term on our last day in the village." It greatly piqued Hokage's interest, and he could not help but demand, "Please enlighten me, Kakashi. This paperwork is really boring, you know." The white-haired jonin chuckled and continued his story, or precisely a story how Naruto and Kiba turned out to be true rivals and comrades, inspiring each other despite their frequent (mostly stupid) conflicts.


Today should be a good day, or how Kiba really hoped it so. Somehow Akamaru suddenly fell sick with a high fever and had to be bedridden for almost a day, and it was a strange case too. The fever could turn Akamaru's fur to red and alter his behavior to be more aggressive. Even Hana, now a medic-nin, was completely clueless. A pacifier and fever drug were the only medical treatment she could think of. Now, Akamaru seemed healthy and normal. Yesterday, he confirmed Kiba that he felt better, so Kiba decided to take Akamaru to meet his team. The brunette opened a very familiar wooden door. He smiled nostalgically. 'Who knows Kakashi-sensei will choose a classroom to…' Thud. A scent of chalk. And Akamaru sneezed on his head. A trail of white powder descended slowly before it joined a blackboard eraser on the floor. It was obviously a prank, of course set up by…

"That's what you get for being late, Ka…Ki-Kiba!?" The shock on Naruto's face did not stay long at the sight of his victim. Triumphant glee quickly took over. Kiba scowled at the grinning culprit, "Tch, cheap trick!"

"And you fall for it, dattebayo! What makes it of you then for falling into one?" Naruto taunted playfully. Even Sakura did not hide her amusement in her usual indifference. Flustered, the brunette mentioned one unforgettable embarrassing moment when Naruto was outsmarted by their mission target, a cat. How Naruto ended up inside a garbage can with his ass sticking out. Sakura smiled amusedly at her teammates and their usual antics. She rolled her eyes while listening to their silly arguments, how they recalled their childish pranks during Academy years and claimed whose was better. 'Ha- I ended up with idiots. I wonder if Ino feels the same with the other two idiots.' Yep, those four were notoriously called the dead-last in the Academy. They would often get into troubles together: Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Choji. So, it was no surprise to see Naruto and Kiba now working together to set up another prank for Kakashi-sensei after their heated arguments. Sakura had slowly gotten used to them for the past 6 months, yet they always never failed to surprise her. Now, it just happened right before her. As Kakashi made his entrance at the last-minute epic set up, the boys failed to avoid a shower of chalk powder they had gathered painstakingly for half an hour. Both boys and one poor sensei got soaked white on their heads, and Akamaru sneezed again. Their prank was an utter failure. Sakura was the only one laughing hard.

"Finally you have arrived, my eternal rival!" That booming voice came from a bowl-cut guy in a weird green suit. "Ooh, what happens to your youthful face!?" Watching how that man addressed Kakashi-sensei like a good friend, Naruto became more curious. After all Kakashi-sensei said that Team 7 would be learning taijutsu this time and here they were greeted by his enthusiastic friend.

"Neji?" Kiba's eyes lighted up in recognition to one member of the other team. It seemed that Kiba knew the boy with pairs of pupil-less eyes. Naruto found the unusual eyes intriguing because somehow he had seen them before or rather had felt being watched by those eyes before. Neji just responded with a discreet greeting, and Kiba smiled back, happy that Neji had become more light-hearted (Kiba did not realize his white stained head made him look funny). The dog-nin remembered how that pale-eyed boy was consumed with strong grief, anger, and hatred when Kiba first met him.

"Hey, are you an Inuzuka?" Kiba looked over to a slightly taller boy who called him. He wore a traditional, light grayish kimono. His hair was long with color of darker brown, and his eyes were big, pale and sickly white. Young Kiba shivered at the sight because he could see sorrow and rage in those dull eyes. He sensed a deep pain under that emotionless façade. He could smell it. That was why a miniscule angry gesture, how the taller brunette's tight fist almost turned his knuckles white, did not go unnoticed. The shorter brunette nodded in response.

"Please, can you give this to Tsume-sama?" Young Neji handed out a piece of wooden charm which smelled somehow familiar.

"My Mom?" Kiba asked in surprise. Neji also looked a bit surprised before he continued, "Yes, this belongs to your family." Before Kiba had the chance to question him, he quickly dismissed himself, saying he needed to go quickly, joining a group of men wearing a similar kimono. Kiba did not even know the boy's name until… he met him again years later in memoriam of Hizashi Hyuga. It took years for Tsume to finally tell him about the wooden charm, which belonged to his dad, and how his dad was a really good friend of Hizashi Hyuga. They were comrades in one team even, but his father was mostly absent at home since the Great War. Now he never returned home since Hizashi's death.

Feeling depressed, Kiba shooed it out of his mind. He did not understand a thing about his dad. He was really confused because he only had few and little glimpses of his dad. His idiotic father might have died for who knows how long since he left his family. That's what Mom called him when she funnily contradicted herself with "Your father was a loyal man and also a big idiot. Don't ever follow his footstep, Kiba." However, there was no bite in her words, and Kiba knew better. And now there was a brooding Neji Hyuga, and Kiba felt guilty for how he could not be a good friend as his father toward Hizashi, Neji's father. His musing had to stop when a dramatic, loud voice commanded both teams to start running laps.

"Man, your sensei is surely interesting in a weird way" Kiba threw his toothy grin at the running Hyuga beside him. Neji glanced at Kiba and deadpanned, "Just wait till you see his dramatic climax." Kiba howled in laughter, "Hahaha, Kakashi-sensei was no better too. Despite his way too relaxed demeanor, I can tell he is a total pervert. Do you see the book he's always holding in his hand?" Neji perked up in interest.

"I bet that book is a porno because I can smell his arousal when he's reading it." Kiba leaned in and whispered his newfound discovery like sharing a buried treasure map. Only he knew about it. Naruto and Sakura of course did not know about it unless he told them, but telling Neji seemed a good choice to build friendship with the stoic Hyuga. He needed to lighten up! However, he did not expect Neji would just stare emotionlessly at him then abruptly jerked back and ran ahead. Kiba did not miss the growing flush on Neji's face. 'Huh, is he that embarrassed by the news?' Akamaru whimpered inside his jacket, and Kiba was alarmed to see his pup's shivering body.

"Akamaru, what's wrong?" the dog-nin asked. Hearing a vague reply from his pup doubled his concern. He decided to bring him home, and Neji agreed to tell others about the situation.


"The blood test result shows no signs of infection," Hana explained after she arrived home. "And a simple fever should not increase one's aggression tendency. This is totally absurd." Kiba disliked the unhelpful news. "We may need to quarantine Akamaru in case the worst scenario happens."

"I won't let that to happen!" anger flashed in his eyes. His sister sighed and argued, "There's no other option. I don't want any bloody dog fights in this compound. When Mom's back from her mission, she…" Akamaru's growls interrupted them, and they immediately went outside to check. They found Naruto sprawling on the ground with his butt sticking out, and Akamaru was biting his poor ass. 'Huh, what is Naruto doing here?' Kiba amusedly remembered how Naruto also ended up inside a garbage can with his ass sticking out because of a cat. To witness it again and now it was caused by Akamaru, it was a really priceless sight, but Kiba decided to end the poor blond's embarrassing situation and called Akamaru to stop. Akamaru, however, did not even listen, surprising Kiba when he peered at his pup's feral eyes. The brunette called his pup loudly with more authority, and finally Akamaru came back to his senses, whimpering a weak "Sorry". Worry and confusion stirred in his heart. It was the first time Akamaru ignored Kiba defiantly, and the pup seemed to be possessed… by what? He really had no idea. To compensate Naruto's torn trouser, he invited the blond inside so that Hana could fix it. Kiba just stared into space, deeply lost in his troubled mind. He did not catch Naruto's teasing words spoken to him.

Looking at the unusually passive brunette worried Naruto. 'Is Akamaru's condition that bad?' He really hoped that everything would be alright and hoped that it had nothing to do with a bad nightmare he had couple days ago. When Neji informed earlier that Kiba had to tend his sick puppy, Naruto had a sudden urge that he must check on Akamaru just to make sure. Remnants of his nightmare still haunted his mind, and Naruto was very agitated inside. He tried hard to hide his fear and anxiety by wearing a cheerful façade before the Inuzuka sibling, but the solemn atmosphere did not help either. It somehow confirmed that something was seriously wrong with Akamaru, and Naruto's red chakra had something to do with it. His nightmare was the one who connected the dots. Flash of red and huge prison and menacing voice came back, and Naruto steeled himself and quickly dispelled those memories before they broke his well-displayed mask.

"Naruto?" Naruto gasped and whipped his head at Hana. "Y-Yeah?" He groaned inwardly at how he just stuttered.

"Are you fine? You just look… scared?" Hana voiced her concern. The blond quickly replied, "Yes, I'm fine. Haha. I'm just worried…" He peered at the brunette boy from a corner of his eye. Kiba stared at a window, definitely thinking about his dog. Hana looked between the two boys in understanding and called them to show her best stitching fix on Naruto's orange trouser. Both boys stared in shock how it was patched up just neatly but not correctly. The funny sight lightened everyone's mood, and Naruto bid his farewell afterwards. Still, Kiba could not forget of what had just happened and worriedly looked at his sleeping pup. He muttered a soft, "Akamaru", hoping that everything would turn much better and alright. Except that it did not. It turned worse instead.

The sky was getting darker, and Kiba ran to the woods. He cradled Akamaru in his arm, running away from all people who tried to take his pup away and might even kill him. He could not believe Akamaru was the culprit that injured multiple jonins who were training at night. He could not believe Hana stopped him and let Akamaru be taken by the Anbu shinobi. She told him quarantine was the best course of action, but Kiba knew better. That quarantine was a torturous way to find out what was wrong. It would not heal Akamaru. It would destroy him instead, and when nothing else could be done… Kiba put his precious, now red, pup inside his jacket and did his best to cover his tracks and hide his scent from the pursuers. He promised to protect Akamaru at all costs.

Naruto frantically searched for Kiba in the woods. He knew the place was Kiba's favorite and perfect hideout. The dog-nin usually ditched his Academy classes so he could have fun here. The terrain also did not look foreign to Naruto because he had spent days running to the hill just to be able to beat Kiba in his stupid race. Hearing a distant howl, the blond knew Akamaru was nearby. Worry and fear crawled on his skin, and Naruto felt in his gut something was terribly wrong. The full moon illuminated a clearing, showing him clear vision of a boy figure. He called Kiba loudly but received no response from the brunette who stood transfixed, staring at something. When Naruto looked at what captivated the brunette's attention, his nightmare returned in full force. Fear immediately seized him at the sight of a large canine body.

"W-What's that?" Naruto shakily asked. It reminded him – of the same gigantic figure behind iron bars, shrouded by red chakra mist.

"That's Akamaru," Kiba replied solemnly. Naruto's blue eyes widened in terror. 'N-No, it can't be.' He gaped in disbelief mixed with fear at the huge figure before him. It has a big, defined snout and jaw, revealing its sharp fangs that gleamed by the moon light – Naruto trembled at the sight of salivated big fangs arrayed perfectly inside its jaw.

And its eyes… those black feral eyes... – Those large red slits glowed viciously and intimidated anyone with unimaginable terror behind the large bars. And when the large, white dog growled fiercely – Naruto shuddered in fright at the scary sound and shielded himself from a strong gust of breath, causing the sea of dancing red chakra to be split sideways.

"Ki-Kiba, I-I think we should let the pursuit unit handle this." Naruto could feel his hand was slightly shaking. His dread was confirmed, but he did not expect to Kiba to yell and attack him, "What!? Are you going to help the pursuit unit? I'll never hand Akamaru over to anyone!"

"Ki-Kiba!" Naruto barely dodged the kunai strike at him. He felt his feet still weak to respond. "What are you saying? He was not even Akamaru! He was…" Naruto could not say it. He was really struggling to whether tell Kiba about his nightmare or not. Obviously it was the monster in his nightmare that turned Akamaru into one. Naruto discovered that he was despised because most Konoha residents saw that monster in him, although he had no idea how that monster had connection with him in the first place. If Naruto revealed everything to the dog-nin – how his red chakra somehow seeped into Akamaru and healed him but then turned him into a monster like now – Kiba would…

His train of thought had to stop when Kiba charged again and howled, "Was WHAT? What are you going to say!?" Naruto managed to take out his kunai in time to block the attack. Kiba's question pressured him, breaking poor Naruto further in his own turmoil. After all it was the monster's damn fault, but they would also put the blame on him. It was inevitable. Should he tell him everything then he would not be acknowledged as a normal person, like what Haku told him at the bridge about his tragic fate. Kiba's challenging eyes demanded answers, and Naruto was on verge of tears.

"Akamaru was a monster…" His voice cracked. A tear slipped through, but his tongue somehow stopped – 'like me! He's like this because of some red chakra! It turns him into a monster! I turn him into a monster!' – He still could not say it. Snapshots of painful memories flooded his mind, showing his horrible childhood and retelling Haku's tragic story. People wanted Haku dead. They wanted him dead. His death would be remembered as a freak, a curse, a monster. No. He did not want that. But what could he do? More tears slipped. Would becoming stronger prove him his worth? Would becoming Hokage change his fate? He really didn't know. His red chakra could turn things into monster. He doubted anyone would want a person like that to be their Hokage. He felt helpless; he could not do anything. "… He needs help." Naruto weakly finished, saying it more to himself.

Kiba grew more furious when Naruto dared to call his pup a monster. If Naruto was going to kill Akamaru like everyone else, Kiba would stop him, no matter what. Even if Akamaru turned a monster. Even if his pup harmed his comrades and family. Tears pooled in his eyes. Even if Akamaru turned against him. He might change, but he was still Akamaru, his best buddy and loyal friend!

"I won't give Akamaru to anyone!" Kiba yelled and pinned a distracted Naruto to a nearby tree. Hesitance stopped him when he noticed tears running from the blond's dull blue eyes. It was the first time he saw Naruto cry. That bottomless blue vividly reflected his emotions, similar to what Kiba was feeling right now. Helplessness. And when he heard that last statement, he cried in outburst, "Help!? What help?" Referring to his pursuers, Kiba skeptically added, "Are you sure they're going to help Akamaru? They're going to finish him off!" Naruto flinched at the last sentence. It stabbed directly into his heart, right on its most vulnerable spot. That's right. No one's going to help a monster. They would just want it dead and disappear forever.

"That's why I'm going to protect Akamaru no matter what!" Naruto blatantly looked surprised at Kiba's exclamation. 'Is he serious!?' Kiba's grim eyes showed how serious he was. They glistened with unshed tears but with firm determination.

"Kiba! Naruto! Please stay back!" Both boys did not expect Hana to pursue them. Kiba warily asked about the huge syringe her sister took out, "What are you going to do with that?"

"I'm going to sedate him and bring him to headquarter." Kiba protested, but Hana ignored him and immediately charged at her target with her dogs. Akamaru's strength was able to send his attackers flying into the air, but Hana and her dogs started to use their Inuzuka technique. When Kiba saw four tornadoes ready to strike, he dashed near Akamaru and distracted him. He ignored two voices screaming his name. Akamaru took the bait and pounced to strike him. Hana instantly maneuvered her technique at the charging dog. Akamaru yelped in pain but quickly stood his ground. He howled angrily, ready to strike again. Hana took out her kunai to anticipate. Naruto watched everything like a statue, his heart pounding hard because of fear. Every feature about Akamaru was similar to the monster in his dream, but a loud, fierce cry captured his attention.

"STOP IT!" Kiba screamed fiercely. He knew this battle would turn worse. "I said to stop it, Akamaru!" Akamaru turned his attention to Kiba and growled. "Akamaru. My scent…Have you forgotten about it already?" Memories he shared with his pup surfaced. "We've been together ever since we were small, haven't we? Akamaru… Why!? Why did you become like this!?" Kiba clenched his shaking fist. "Please remember! AKAMARU!" The large dog leapt up from the ground to attack. Hana and Naruto watched in shock and horror when Kiba did not budge.

"I'm sorry, Akamaru. I'm always putting you in terrible situations…" – Kiba remembered how the first time his little pup was in pain because he was reckless to feed him sweets – "… I'm sorry Akamaru. I couldn't protect you…" – He remembered how his pup had been close to death after protecting him from ice barrage because he was distracted at the bridge – "…I'm sorry Akamaru. I'm such a bad owner…" – Tears started to fall and wet his red markings as he recounted all his pleasant and unpleasant memories – "I will always be with you!" – He yelled and spread his arm. No matter what.


Omake:

"I hope this report will do to help. The Hidden Mist seems to…" Someone suddenly barged in and interrupted the Third Hokage.

"Hokage-sama! What is this all about!?" Tsume angrily announced her presence. When she found the Third was busy discussing with an onmyouji*, she briskly apologized and directly cut to the point, "I'm sorry for my intrusion, but this matter is urgent. My son is hospitalized because Akamaru lost control. I can smell that damn fox was behind all this!" Hiruzen puffed his pipe and thought of ways to deal with stubborn, angry Inuzuka, but a certain onmyouji had other ideas. Sigh. This would not turn good.

"Tch, have you no manner?" the man in sea blue cloak grunted. He examined the red marking and snickered, "Heh, as expected from an Inuzuka. Brash as ever." Tsume glared daggers at the man, but she ignored him to continue her demanding plea, "Please. Hokage-sama. It's best for the jinchuuriki and my son to be not in the same team. We do not know what terror that demon is capable of."

"Really? Are you not happy that your clan can borrow another bijuu's power?" the man's crystal blue eyes challenged. "Tsume Inuzuka. Granddaughter of Ginshiro Inuzuka. Renowned for his attempt to pact alliance with Houkou for his alpha-induced ambitions." Tsume growled and narrowed her vicious eyes, "What are you getting at!? It was all in the past! Have you forgotten my husband, Nobuo, play a huge part in preventing the Kumo-nin to retrieve Byakugan so they can awaken the fived-tailed? And whose fault was it for the whole respectable Tanukitsu clan to be wiped out? The Ichibi and Kyuubi must be enraged because their favorite clan was massacred. Along with the potential sealers from Uzumaki clan!"

"Don't blame us for your stupid shinobi war. Who plays with the fire first!? You shinobi could not tame the demon beast even if you used Uzumaki famous seal. We Katsuragi had the hard time to subdue all the yokai* in this damn world!"

"Please ENOUGH!" The floor quaked as Hiruzen tried to compose himself. "Please… Let us not talk what could not be changed in the past." As the room finally quieted, Sandaime dismissed Tsume with a promise he would talk about it later.


Things get really interesting now. Hope you enjoy the story! Please review. I'll appreciate any criticism, but not random and unreasonable ones. Thanks!

kekkei genkai: clan bloodline ability

onmyouji: a high-ranking priest or official that practice Chinese style divination. The name means yin-yang master.

yokai: a kind of spirit or demon. (The demon beast definitely rank in the top of all demons)