Tobirama didn't really like the fact that they had been attacked on their mission. But he had them all pushing forward to get to their destination, although Kiba wasn't completely sure why the man seemed so determined to get there.

As they ran through the trees, Kiba felt like he was being watched. And when he looked behind him, he found Shino glaring straight at him.

Why his best friend looked so murderous, Kiba wasn't sure. But he wanted to find out. So the Inuzuka slowed down enough that he and Shino were side by side, then asked, "What's wrong, Shino?"

Even though Shino was quiet and composed, Kiba truly considered him to be his second best friend. Even though he and Kankuro had a pretty good relationship, it didn't compare. Nobody would be able to beat out Sasuke, seeing how they'd grown up together, but Shino was the second person the Inuzuka thought about when it came to best friends.

"We could have helped." The Aburame grunted, which made Kiba cock his head in confusion.

"Help?" He parroted, allowing curiosity to ebb into his voice, "What do you mean, dude?"

Shino's eyebrows drew in and Kiba suspected that the glare behind his glasses darkened. The Aburame remained quiet for a few minutes, which made Kiba truly begin to wonder what he had done wrong, but then spoke up with a tense voice.

"The Second Hokage just had Hinata and I stand behind protection. How are we supposed to be able to improve in our skills if we're not able to test them against enemies?"

From a few feet behind them, Kiba heard Akamaru yip in agreement. Hinata said nothing, but he would not be surprised if she also happened to agree with the other two.

The harsh words made Kiba frown, but he completely understood why they felt like this. The only real reason why he and Tobirama even had joint attacks was because they were soulmates and spent so much time training together. His friends, though, only had the jutsu they had learned from their clans, which they were supposed to excel at.

But how were they supposed to be sure they were doing well if they weren't allowed to test their skills on real enemies?

The adrenaline and excitement that had rushed through him in the middle of the battle had been exhilarating. Kiba had loved the feeling of finally being able to fight without abandon. But he had taken away the chance to feel that from his friends.

Still, it had been Tobirama to bark out the orders... He must have had a reason to have had his teammates defend themselves rather than fight.

"Maybe he was worried about you two getting injured." He ended up murmuring, glancing forward to find that Tobirama was running as swiftly as ever, sure enough that they would follow that he never glanced behind him. "He knows my fighting style much more than yours. And we were surrounded by a lot of baddies. Maybe he was worried that if something were to go wrong with you two unprotected, he would not be able to help out in time."

Shino's eyebrows were still drawn together and Akamaru was frowning at him. But Hinata's face softened just slightly, apparently the only one to have listened and internalized Kiba's words.

"I still wish to have fought."

~/~

Tobirama was more than aware that Shino, Hinata, and Akamaru were displeased with his actions during the ambush. But he did not think twice about it. Even though he was strong and more than capable of taking care of so many enemies, he did not want to run the risk of any of the kids getting injured.

He knew that all of Kiba's teammates were more than capable of taking care of themselves. But he also knew that, when caught in a battle against numerous enemies, there was great risk of injury. He personally knew all of Kiba's limits because of the training he had submitted the boy to. But even though he knew that Hinata and Shino were skillful, he did not know their limits. Nor did he know if they would be perceptive enough to notice when they should fight and when they should move away to not get hit by their own teammates' attacks.

An oversight he would have to fix up in the near future. Both the Aburame and Hyuga were extremely helpful when it came to battle. And it would be stupid of him to not try and help those two unlock their true potential.

But at the moment, he wanted to get to their destination to try and get some answers. The ambush had not been one of desperate missing nin or runaways trying to get supplies. It had been a planned attack with a specific end game in sight.

He never should have allowed this team to accept the mission. He had known from the beginning, but he had been enough of a fool to accept it.

Once they were much closer to the town of their destination, Tobirama decided the genin could stop and rest. They were now only a few hours away and he was much closer to getting answers than he had been before.

"We set up camp here." He barked out, then motioned for Hinata and Shino. "Come here. I wish to speak to you." Then he looked over at Kiba, "Begin a fire."

Both genin looked at each other uncertainly before they walked towards Tobirama, all the while Kiba began to work on the fire.

The man led both genin towards the nearby stream, then began to form a spike of water similar to the ones he had used during battle, but much smaller.

"Even though water is a liquid and could be considered harmless, in the hands of a true master, it can be one of the deadliest weapons known to man." He began, turning the small spike around before allowing it to fall back into the water. "I had you remain behind cover during the battle out of worry for your safety." He looked both genin over to make sure they were listening, then pointed over at Kiba.

The boy was currently chasing after Akamaru on all fours, sticks in his mouth, all the while Akamaru threw more in his direction.

"Kiba is still learning water release. He is still learning how to work with partners that aren't canine. And because of this, he is dangerous to be around."

Hinata's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the admittance and the Aburame shifted slightly. Because of this, Tobirama was more than sure that they were paying attention to him.

"Anything could have gone wrong in that ambush. He may have lost control of his jutsu. It could have been sent hurtling towards you. Or, worse yet, you may have gotten in the way and gotten yourselves hurt." His tone was harsh, but they needed to hear this before they continued to sulk. "I will tell Kurenai that you three need to run teamwork drills; more than what you have done. I want to see you three working as a cohesive unit that doesn't need to shout to be able to communicate. You two are more than capable as individuals, but I need you to have that same capability as part of something greater."

Both genin thought over his words for a moment. Then the Aburame asked, straightforward as what Tobirama had expected of his clan, "If Kiba is so dangerous, why would you risk him hurting himself tonight?"

"Do you want the honest answer?" Tobirama asked him, only to receive a nod. "I needed to make sure he was learning something."

~/~

When they got to their destination, they did not find the civilians they were supposed to help. Instead, they found an abandoned farm that seemed to not have been used in quite a long time.

Kiba had not seen Tobirama frowning that heavily in a long time. It bothered him to see his soulmate so worried. But he didn't say anything and instead allowed the man to gather his thoughts, Hinata and Shino standing to either of his side as they too waited.

"It seems we were set up." The man spoke up after a while, which made all of the kids look at one another.

Set up? Why?

"We will return to Konoha immediately. Faster than we were traveling." The man's voice left no room for discussion. And he soon turned to them, glaring at them with worry clear on his face. "We leave now."

Kiba didn't tell him they were too tired to move. He didn't even ask if they could have a water break. Instead he nodded and jumped onto the nearest tree branch, prompting his friends to follow him.

If Tobirama was reacting in this manner, he must have had a reason to worry. And even though Kiba wasn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch, he was more than smart enough to know when to keep his mouth shut and follow orders.

~/~

Hiruzen apologized profusely to all of them once they had returned to Konoha and told him of what had happened.

"I believed this would have been a good village to continue your momentum in successful missions." His old student admitted, then looked at Tobirama. "But you were ambushed?"

Tobirama nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ninja without a village. Mercenaries, most probably." He told him, then admitted, "What I cannot understand is what a group like that could possibly want with a team of genin."

Sarutobi immediately agreed. It was odd that out of all the ninja in Konoha, it had been genin that had been set up. But he soon congratulated them all on following orders and staying alive even against such dangerous adversaries, before sending the kids off.

Tobirama hung around the office as the genin shuffled off, then turned to his old student once the door had shut behind them all.

"Something is more than just odd about that mission, Hiruzen."

"I am aware..." The aged man agreed, taking out his pipe to begin to smoke. "It is odd that they targeted Team 8. Sure, they are all clan heirs, but... Well, the only clan that has a history of always getting targeted are the Hyuga. But not the Inuzuka or Aburame."

"I thought you had said they had specifically asked for Kiba?"

"For an Inuzuka genin that wouldn't cost them too much." Puffs of smoke began to come out of the man's mouth as his eyes narrowed in thought, "Which means they must have wanted something to do with Kiba. There aren't that many Inuzuka genin running around after all."

This whole situation had a foul air around it. And Tobirama did not like that at all.

"I should have noticed the oddity that was..." Hiruzen admitted, eyes closing as he leaned back against his chair. "I must be losing my sharpness in my old age."

The jab at himself at least had Tobirama smirking softly, "Maybe it is time for a successor, my old student."

No further words were exchanged after this. Although Tobirama did note the thoughtful look on his old student before he excused himself.

~/~

"Well? What do you think, Lord Senju?"

Kiba huffed heavily as sweat poured down his face, doing his best to stay standing straight after running through the final repetition of the team attack Tobirama had created for them. Hinata and Shino were standing to either of his sides, a bit more composed in their panting, but still showing clear signs of exhaustion. Akamaru was thrown on the floor, tongue rolled out of his mouth as he breathed in and out heavily and speedily.

Kurenai and Tobirama stood by the edge of the training grounds, eyeing the teens critically. The woman was holding in a smile, for she was proud of how well her team had taken the team training Tobirama had instilled. The man, though, was hard to read, like always.

After a few moments of looking the genin over, Tobirama nodded his approval, "This attack is ready. They have mastered it well in practice."

"Whoo-hoo!" Kiba jumped up into the air with that shout, "Finally! After half a year of this shit!"

"Kiba!" Kurenai made to scold, but Tobirama merely raised his hand to stop her. "It is alright, Kurenai. Let Kiba celebrate... Let those three celebrate. They deserve it."

The Inuzuka smiled broadly at his words, then jumped onto Shino, pulling Hinata in for a hug. "We just got approved by the Second Hokage. Guys, we are awesome!"

Both of his more reserved teammates tensed up at the sudden contact, but soon melted into the hug and just accepted it. Then, once Akamaru had regained his breath, the dog jumped into the fray, licking at all of them with happy barks.

They had just gotten approved by Tobirama. Finally the man would trust them with more than just in or near village C-Ranks.

~/~

He had to admit that it felt good to finally have Team 8 working cohesively. In this final repetition of the attack he had created, they had not needed to shout at each other to alert one another to their position. They had known were one another was. And that was exactly what Tobirama wanted for them to do all of the time while on missions.

Team 8 was a team formed to stay together once they reached chunin rank. Their unique abilities worked so well together that it would be stupid to separate them for good once they'd said goodbye to their genin rank. And Tobirama was proud to say that they were one step closer to being a completely successful and flawless as a cohesive unit.

Once they were finished celebrating in the training grounds, Kiba asked if they would be able to go out for some food. And when he looked at those hopeful and bright brown eyes that begged him to take them out, Tobirama couldn't help himself. He agreed to treating the genin after a hard day's work.

They didn't go to Kiba's favorite steak place. Instead the Inuzuka led them to Tobirama's favorite fish stand, something the man really appreciated.

When they had finished eating, the team disbanded and went their own ways. Kurenai went back to her apartment and Shino accompanied Hinata back to her clan's compound to make sure she wouldn't get in trouble for coming back too late in the night. Tobirama and Kiba walked quietly over to Tobirama's apartment, Akamaru following contentedly behind them.

After spending some time living in the Hokage compound, Tobirama had decided to move out. He did not enjoy all of the memories living there brought back and had more than enough money to keep himself afloat. So he'd moved out and gotten a place of his own, a place Kiba had made his own in no time. Seriously... It was more Kiba's apartment than Tobirama's at this point.

"Hey, Tobirama..."

The man mentioned quirked an eyebrow as they stepped through the door, wondering why Kiba's mood had changed so suddenly. He had been happy while they were still out eating. But now he sounded somewhat somber, thoughtful.

He'd come to know that whenever Kiba got to thinking, it was usually about things he didn't want others to know. Things that would make him sound smart rather than dumb. And for some odd reason, the boy preferred his friends thinking him stupid rather than intelligent.

"Yes, Inuzuka?"

The boy shuffled into his home, but didn't throw himself onto his couch like he would normally do. Instead he turned to look at Tobirama, waiting for him to shut the door behind them before speaking.

"Would you mind if I told my friends that you're my soulmate?"

The question stunned Tobirama... Then the man blinked over at Kiba and asked, "Why would you think I mind?"

"B-because you're... I mean..." Kiba's lips pursed as his face scrunched up in thought, then he shook his head with a sigh. "Just forget it... I think I'm going home tonight rather than spending the night."

The whole situation felt weird. There was something off about Kiba. But Tobirama decided to just let the boy walk away rather than stop him. It looked as if he needed some time to himself.

"Good night, Inuzuka." He muttered as he opened the door, then narrowed his eyes just slightly. "Are you alright?"

The boy avoided eye contact completely as he answered, "Yeah... I'll, uh... See you later, Tobirama."

..~..~..

And that's the new chapter! Somehow, there's more plot to this than just Kiba silliness and Tobirama reluctance, which was not something I was planning. But it works! Please review!