Hey guys sorry for the late up date, I'm sick as a dog. I also got my frist acceptance letter from university so I have been very busy etheir sneezing my head off or working my ass off. anyway heres the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Beta'd by Dulemina

Chapter 9: rite of passage

As I expected, mom had no qualms about Ino joining us, other than swearing her into secrecy about what she was about to see since she would be an outsider sitting in on a clan's tradition. So here we are at the gate to the village, all male members of the pack were left back at the compound. We didn't need to worry about Ino's family since we already stopped by the Yamanaka flower shops so that mom could explain to Ino's mother that Ino was coming with us for my rite of passage. She smiled and told Ino that she was lucky to have an Inuzuka friend that felt so close to her.

"So, what exactly is going on Kokoro?" Ino asks a bit daunted and confused as to what exactly she got herself into. She hasn't been told the details of everything yet. But she was told to change into something that she would consider appropriate attire for a mission.

I turn to her and look her in the eyes, "Ino I regard you as my pack sister. Even if we aren't blood related, I see you as a member of my pack, as family. To an Inuzuka that is the closest you can be to any person other than your mate of course."

I mean every word of it. Then I realise just how much weight those words carry. She's not just a fictional character anymore, she is real. All of this is real. This is not a story. This whole time I have been acting like it was, not trying to change things, treating it as if all this were some dream. But it isn't a dream, it isn't a fucking story. Everyone I loved, all that I dreamed of doing is gone. All of it is gone and I will never get that back. Dear gods, what the hell have I been doing, how could I have been treating all this like I am some fan girl, these are real people, my friends, my family, my pack. I have already lost everything once before; I am not going to lose anything else. Not without putting up a fight with whatever it is that wants to take it. Mom, nee-chan, Kiba-nii, Akamaru, Aōko, Shino, Chouji, Shikamaru, Naruto, everyone is real. And all of them are in danger, I have to do what I can to protect them. I will protect them, since I am the only one who knows what will happen in the future and the ripples that it will cause.

"Hey Koko are you okay?" Ino asks, worry dancing heavily in her gem like eyes.

My cheeks burn crimson. "Yeah I'm fine just spacing out again, kinda."

She looks at me more closely, obviously knowing that this wasn't just a normal bout of 'spacyness'.

I push forward in an attempt to redirect her attention from the incident "Any way, the whole rite of passage takes about a day. From the sunset of the girls first day of menstruating to the sunset of the following day. During that time period all female members of the girls pack go hunting together. The first kill is reserved for said girl as a symbol of her being a provider for the pack rather than a dependent pup. No male members of the pack are allowed to be there for the hunt, that's why not even male ninken are present. It's basically the Inuzuka form of your clan's earing tradition."

"Wow I didn't even know that the Inuzuka had a tradition like that, but why do you do it when a girl gets her first period and not when they become a genin." The diversion worked perfectly.

"Well, that's because of quite a few reasons. For one the tradition started long before the village was founded which means that the ranking system didn't exist. I don't know how your earing tradition worked before the village was formed but I can make an educated guess that it was adapted to fit with the workings of the village seeing as the Akimichi clan was one of the first to join the village. The second is that Inuzuka revere the natural milestones of the body. The third is that this is something specific to females only. Males go through their rite of passage when their voice starts cracking. Which is something that males go through specifically. Both are signs that the pack member is reaching sexual and therefore mental and physical maturity." If anything the Inuzuka clan is one of the most open about sex. That's probably because of both our untamed nature and the fact that it is hard to hide the fact that you have been up to those kinds of activities from an Inuzuka due to our highly developed sense of smell. We consider it to be a natural part of human behaviour and don't feel any shame for it.

Ino's eyebrows raise higher than I have ever seen them and her cheeks are dusted with red. "Wow your clan is really open about that kind of stuff."

"That's because Inuzuka, don't have any problem being blunt about our sex lives, mainly because an Inuzuka mates for life. It's also the reason why Inuzuka don't often marry. We are naturally programed to be faithful to our mate for life." Nee-chan says as she walks up to us, giving Ino an open smile.

"Wow I never realised that you mated for life. I mean that's a pretty big commitment. But still it sounds so romantic." Ino says with hearts in her eyes. I roll mine at her girly behaviour, I can already tell that she has a scenario like that with her and Sasuke playing in her head.

Nee-chan give her a sideways look "Okay, anyway are you two ready to head out now." We nod "Okay then let's get going."

With that we leave the village gates and into the forest beyond Konohas walls. It is the first time I have ever left those tall sheltering walls and I can't help but feel a mix of excitement, uncertainty and apprehension as I pass under the huge gates. It feels as if my own inner walls are being torn down with it. Immediately my thoughts go to my brother. This is the farthest that we have been from each other and it will be the first night that we spend separated from each other. At least I have Aōko with me, but I can't imagine what it would be like to be separate from your ninken like most Inuzuka women have to be when they go through their rite of passage. Being this far away from Kiba is bad enough and by the way Aōko is shaking in my arms I can tell that she feels the same way about being so far away from Akamaru. But it is better that this happens now than on our first mission where the distraction of it could get us killed.

But still being so far away from Kiba, well, it's almost physically painful. The bonds that Inuzuka form are a lot stronger than what people normally have and taking into account that I have achieved soul resonance with both him and Akamaru, I can literarily feel the strain on my yin chakra as the distance between us grows greater. It hurts but in the days to come that pain will be a good thing because as long as I feel it then I will know for certain that my brother and Akamaru are alive. No matter how far apart we are, our souls will always be connected.

~o~

After the sky turns dark we stop to make camp for the night in a clearing. Ino, mom and nee-chan are sitting with me as they paint a smaller black fanged shaped inside each of my clan tattoos to show my intentions to take my first life, even if it is an animals and smeared upside down the triangle shape of mine and Aōkos mixed blood on each of our foreheads signifying our unity. Everyone else is off looking for fire wood, we're going to need a lot of it for the ritual. Then I am asked to change into the traditional clothes, a white leather tunic with a cotton skirt that is slit half way up each thigh. Latter the both articles of clothing will be soaked in the blood of the animals I kill, to dye it red to show the loss of innocence. The Inuzuka have always seen Kimonos as too restricting especially for this kind of ritual. Ino doesn't seem to know what to make of the whole thing. The Inuzuka clan is the last one people would expect to have such a complex ritual. But it has been done for generations. Ino, for the night, has black coloured Inuzuka markings on her cheeks to show that she is a part of the pack, even if not by blood. She was apprehensive about it at first till nee-chan explained to her what they symbolises and made it clear that it would be no betrayal to her clan for her to have them for tonight.

So here I am getting changed out of my normal clothes and into the pure white outfit, it feels weird to have leather bare against my skin and the skirt is so thin that it is swept up by even the gentlest breeze. I walk back out into the clearing where my pack has lit a massive bonfire, the smell of smoke and ash is everywhere and the flickering light is casting unearthly shadows across the clearing and faces of my pack mates. I take a deep breath and make my way to my mother who is standing in front of the bonfire with three weapons laid at her feet. As I walk closer and closer to her the ground begins to feel warmer beneath my feet almost like it is pulsing with the flickering of the flames. As if it were the earths very own pulse. Everything is connected.

"Kokoro daughter of Tsume and Kaito. You have become an adult in the eyes of your pack. The women who stand here with you are all your pack sisters. Do you vow to fight with them, do you vow to hunt with them, do you vow to help rear the pups brought into this pack?" My mother's voice rings clear across the clearing as the fire behind her makes her from seem like nothing more than a shadow.

"I vow to fight alongside the pack, for the pack and our home. I vow to hunt with the pack for the pack so that we may remain strong. I vow to help rear the pups so that they too will be strong for the future of the pack." I say with a voice of steel as Aōko barks with a loud tone of determination. Both our voices seem to echo through the forest around us.

"Kokoro tonight you make your first kill as a member of the pack, you may choose one of the weapons bellow for the hunt or use no weapon at all. Know that there is no shame in choosing a weapon, each of these weapons have been used by your ancestors to hunt all forms of prey and to defend the pack." My mum declares as she gestures to the three weapons at her feet, a bow, a dagger and finally the weapon I have been looking forward to wielding, the spear.

I gently kneel down to pick up the simple yet efficient weapon much to the surprise of my pack mates. It has been seven generations since an Inuzuka actually chose a weapon and I will have to rely on scrolls to learn the Inuzuka fighting style for this weapon. All weapons that Inuzuka use are associated with hunting due to the fact that our clan were originally hunters before my ancestors became shinobi. Most clans started out as farmers or even samurai which makes the Inuzuka even more unique as a shinobi clan.

I twirl my new weapon in arching circles around me testing the weight, range and balance of the weapon. It is made up of a simple, specially grown bamboo shaft that was raised using natural chakra, a secret of one of the leaf village's civilian clans. The spear head however, is the width of a kunai's blade and shaped much the same. Except it is slightly curved on one of the edges that marks it as an Inuzuka style spear. This little curve actually gives the blade a tactical advantage since it allows the spear to be used in a slashing motion more effectively. All in all the spear shaft reaches just a bit above my head and the blade is the length of my forearm.

Really there is no other spear head quite like it, not even in ancient Japan. If I did have to compare it to any form of spear head in ancient Japan it would be the sasaho yari only with a more curved blade. I was thrilled to learn that the spear was one of the traditional weapons of the Inuzuka clan. In truth the Inuzuka clans utilise two types of spear heads, The Tsuki nari yari and the one I have here, the Inu yari. Though the Inu yari is the more commonly used of the two since it is easier to use and it is a clan secret how we fashion the blade. The blade is made of very special materials, well not made but cooled in them. We use blood and special herbs, seals and minerals in the process. The outcome of this special process allows for the blade to be infused with both the wielder and their partners' chakra at once. It also is designed to store natural chakra as energy with in it meaning that it can charge for special energy based attacks. Most people would wonder why the Inuzuka clan doesn't utilise this weapon more often if it is so powerful. Well it is extremely difficult to master, only a few have ever been able to actually utilise the spears ability to collect natural charka. Also the spear kept on falling into the hands of enemy clans who attempted to replicate it. No one else ever got the same results we did but the spear and other Hunters Blade weapons still fell out of use.

It is said that our clan was taught how to make Hunting Blades by our ninken's ancestors. You see our ninken were once summons that eventually bonded with us leaving their permanent home to become nomads like my ancestors. Their home was known as the Hill of dogs, hence the name Inuzuka since we became their new home. In other words the true mastery of the Hunting blades is to be able to use the Inuzukas own form of sage mode.

"All right, then let the hunt begin." Mom declares as my pack sisters howl, even Ino joins in.

~o~

Having been taught by uncle Ago how to tree walk a week ago me and Aōko easily make it into the tree tops. Hiding high above our prey, we analyse our victim's movements and attributes carefully. Male boar about five maybe six years of age and much larger than a boar usually would be due to the unique nature of the forests that surrounds the village. It's yellowish brown in colour and has a huge set of tusks the size of my arm. The boar is almost the same size as me in general and probably weighs twice as much. This is going to be a tricky kill to make without getting hit by those tusks. I am glad I chose the spear as my hunting weapon. If I had to fight that thing bare handed I would definitely come out with some nasty injuries.

Grasping my spear between my teeth I creep along the tree branch on all fours till I am above my target. How odd it is that my first kill is to be a boar when I brought Ino along with me. Finally above the swine, I take my spear from my mouth and pounce on my prey. Driving the tip of my spear between the wild beast's eyes. A kill shot. Bucking and charging aimlessly in an attempt to shake me off in its final moments. Then it stills and collapses as I jump of grace full from its back, landing on all fours.

Mom jumps down beaming with pride "Well done, it's been a while since I have seen such a clean kill, even from some of the more skilled members of the pack."

"Yeah and without a scratch on her, you're going to be a force to be reckoned with Koko." Aunt Nodo chimes in.

I wipe some of the blood splatter from the edge of my mouth no doubt smearing it up my cheek in the process. "It was nothing really."

"No they're right Kokoro, that was quite the kill especially for your first." Nee-chan says knowing that I am stubborn about accepting praise.

I wave it off still. "So what do I get to kill next?"

The words slip out of my mouth before I realise the full implications. I actually enjoyed that. I enjoyed taking another beings life. The feeling of the warm blood on my skin, the thrill of the danger, the sense of superiority that came when my victim went down. Dear Kami-sama, I enjoyed being a killer. I know that this world has changed me but I didn't think that it had changed me that much. At this rate I will end up being a sociopath like Gaara during the Chunin exams arc. No just calm down Koko. I tell myself as I look over at the corpse behind me. Death is a major aspect of this world. You are training to be a killer aren't you? There is nothing wrong with liking your job and besides you took this animal's life for a reason. To provide for your pack and later on you will kill to defend your pack. Remember it is all for the sake of the pack.

"I want to bring some food back for the boys and between Kiba and Chouji, well we're going to need a lot of food. Shino is also a pretty big eater. Oh and I want to bring some to Naruto too, that boy can't just survive off of ramen alone, kinda."

Anut Nodo smiles at my zeal. "Well that's a pretty big order you've got to fill there Koko. You, Aōko, Ino, Hana and Tsume continue on, the rest of us will lug this big carcase back to camp and start cooking and skinning it."

"Thanks guys, I'll be sure to catch a few rabbits each for all of you. Oh and I'll be sure to bring back as much of a variety of meat as possible.

"No need to thank us, besides Ino here still needs to make her first kill also." Anut Nodo grins as do the rest of my pack sisters. Ino however looks a bit shocked that she is also going to have to take her first life, even if it is an animal's.

~o~

It's nearing midnight so we decide to take a break from our hunting to drink some water from a nearby stream. Usually you shouldn't drink water straight from a stream but nee-chan teaches us a neat little medical ninjutsu that allows use to purify the water without hand signs. It's actually a pretty neat and simple one that nee-chan invented herself, though it still has a few bugs, like the large amount of chakra that it requires. Aōko quickly darts into the undergrowth. The ferns and other plants surge and bulge as the growling sounds emanate from it, showing there is definitely a conflict going on beneath all that green. Then a high pitched screech pierces the night and Aōko comes padding out of the forest with a large male rabbit grasped firmly between her jaws. Her usually white fur is splattered with red, as is the animal's fur.

"Caught something to share with Akamaru when we get back." I tease, she just wags her tail in agreement since her mouth is currently preoccupied.

"That makes twelve rabbits, ten foxes and a boar. Not a bad haul actually I think this has been one of the most successful hunts I have been on. You're turning out to be one hell of a huntress Koko. I can't wait to see if your bother will be able to one up this." Mom chuckles.

"Usually we just catch a couple of rabbits, but you certainly are setting a record." Nee-chan picks up on the chance to praise me.

I just try to divert their attention. "Hey mom do you still have the bow sealed away. I was thinking that Ino could use it to make her first kill."

Mom gives a feral over the top smirk. "I do and that sounds like a great idea. Ino what do you think, you want to give hunting a go?"

Ino is obviously a bit unnerved by the prospect of being covered in blood. "Uhhh, yeah, um, sure I don't know how to use a bow though."

"Don't worry I'll show you how. Who knows, you might have a knack for it, it's never a bad idea to have a broad skillset you know." Nee-chan states. I didn't know that she knew how to use a bow. Then again, it would make sense that she would use a long ranged weapon since she's a medic.

"Really it isn't a problem." Ino is obviously trying to avoid having to kill.

"Ino, we're training to become kunoichi. We're going to have to take lives at some point, either while hunting for food on a mission or in combat defending ourselves and our team mates. If you were to hesitate on the battle field, like you are now. It could cost Chouji or Shikamaru their lives or your own. It's better to get some blood on your hands in a semi controlled environment rather than on a battle field. Besides we are going to have to hunt and kill animals at some point during our survival training." I state in a matter of fact way that she is used to.

"You're right there's no point in getting all worked up about it, I mean it's just a little blood." She says in an attempt to calm herself, but her wording just causes us both to bust a gut laughing. Nee-chan and mom just don't know what to think of our outburst.

~o~

Ino sits poised on the branch to my left, bow in hand and brows furrowed in concentration. She draw back the arrow, keeping her breaths steady and deep. I can hear the pounding of her heart and smell the sweat on her skin. Slowly she exhales and lets loose the arrow. Then it hits. Piercing into the neck of her prey, a doe that we have been tracking for almost an hour.

Blood pours from the fatal wound as Ino jumps down and approaches the dear with a shaky hand. Without flinching away from the approaching blonde, the dear closes its eyes and accepts its fate. It doesn't fight it like my boar did, yet in the end both scenarios are the same. You can fight it or accept it, death comes for us all the same. Flowers wither and die. A blade plunges into the deer's neck. An old mother takes her last breath passing away in her sleep. Purple coloured cloth is stained scarlet along with the earth. A shinobi passes out from charka exhaustion in a desperate attempt to save her comrade's life. Tears fall from green eyes, as a young girl mutters a mantra of apologies to the dead one's soul.

Killing is a part of life, for life cannot exist without death.

~o~

Alright thanks for all the reviews. I promise that team placements will be happening soon and Naruto will be making a few appearances in the next chapters. I have decided to answer back to any reviews in paragraph format since I just find it easier. Kokoro is going to be a jack of all trades with a few special surprises up her sleeves. Quite literally. But yeah I really wanted to add in a bit about the feminine needs of kunoichi hence for the last chapter and as You can see above I also thought that physical milestones like that would be important to the Inuzuka clan since they seem to be much more in tune with nature rather than society.

Next time on Kokoro no Mori: Nightmares, Action and a certain blonde with whisker markings makes an appearance.