A/N: At last! The chapter is finished. I apologize for the lateness- -I got this out as soon as I could. Please, enjoy! =)

Chapter XXV: Finishing the Fight

The cockroaches fell from the sky like snow, plopping on their comrades' backs without moving. None of the insects moved. They had piled up ankle-deep over the entire field. The humming had ceased, and a strange silence coated them after all the noise.

"I think…Ino pulled off the switch," Kiba said to Akamaru. He lifted his foot and experimentally stepped. The cockroach bodies crunched underfoot. "Gross. We'd better check on her'n'Kuromaru."

Roger.

Together they crunched over to the farmhouse. Roach's scent was…different. He was moving. Ino's scent didn't move, but Kuromaru's did. Then both Kuromaru and Roach hopped over the farmhouse wall and landed in front of them. Kiba crouched defensively, prepping an attack. Beside him, Akamaru growled, suspicious.

"Hey, Kibbers," Roach said, oddly cheerful. He held up a syringe filled with violet liquid. "And here's an antidote for your mother!"

Bizarre didn't quite describe what Kiba felt when he recognized Ino in Roach. Not that Roach looked anything like her, but his presence was hers, the way his eyes took Kiba in- -all of it was completely Ino.

Roach/Ino stepped around him and slowly, Kiba followed. "How did you…?"

"I was able to scan his recent memories, and I found what I was looking for," he answered.

"Oh. Cool."

He watched as Roach/Ino crouched in front of Mom, who'd slumped over, and rolled up her sleeve past her elbow. Several seconds spent finding a vein and swabbing the area, then the syringe sunk in the white skin, a purple tinge spreading out as the antidote entered the bloodstream.

"There," Roach said, setting aside the syringe and standing. "She should come around in a few minutes."

Kiba, unsure, rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, what now? Should I just…stab you or something?"

"No, that would kill me," Roach glared over his shoulder and it was like actually seeing Ino, "there's the possibility that when I release the mind jutsu, Roach will evade your attack."

I see, now. Whatever happens to Roach's body as Ino possesses it, will happen to Ino's body. Killing Roach when she's inside him will kill her, Akamaru said. We have to time it so that she's out of his body before we attack him.

"Great." Kiba eyed the thick frosting of cockroaches over the field. "How?"

"We disarm him first," Roach stripped off the flak jacket, thigh holster, and hip-pouch, handing them to Kiba, "and destroy his best means of defense. Use what's in his pouch to replenish your own supplies."

Inside the hip-pouch, he found more exploding tags, smoke bombs and flash-bombs, plus a few poisoned senbons, the whole collection untouched. He put these into his own hip-pouch, dumping the empty one to the side.

"How do you plan on 'disarming' this guy?"

"Watch and learn," Roach answered, fingers flipping into several signs. "I'll bring together all the cockroaches. His jutsu will take time to complete, so collect those exploding tags from inside. We'll use them to destroy the insects."

He could not find fault in her logic. Roach's fingers twisted, forming seal after seal after seal, and the hairs stood on the back of his neck. The chakra felt massive. After this hesitation, Kiba hopped into the farmhouse. He examined the lines of tags, seeing the best angle of approach was from the roof.

The tags were set to go off when even one was activated, so he needed to be vigilant and careful. He plucked one line, wiggling out the kunai that had been used to anchor the twine, and steadily pulled it hand-over-fist. Loops of the tagged line coiled as several minutes passed.

His ears had picked up a hum, and a shadow crossed over the sun. Ino must be using Roach's chakra to pack together the roaches. How much time had passed since the genins had reached Lady Hokage? And how much time until backup arrived? Who would it be?

KIBA! GET YER ASS OUT HERE!

Akamaru's shout jolted him from his anxious thoughts. Sounded…panicked. He left the coil of tags and twine to rush outside.

The swarm of roaches hung in the air, and he noticed that they flew lazily, dropping and swooping like they'd been doped up. A dense, black roach-globe hovered over the ground, big enough to comfortably fit five or six people inside. The humming was a low throb in Kiba's ears.

Roach/Ino stood in the middle of it all, eyes squinted in concentration, sweat rolling down his forehead. Akamaru sat on guard, sniffing, while Kuromaru watched over Mom. She'd not moved.

"What's the problem?" Kiba asked.

Akamaru looked at Kiba. She's…fading. It may be that Ino'll lose control of Roach. Do you have the tags ready yet?

"No, I'll hurry it up."

Do that.

Quickly, he returned to the coil of exploding tags and pulled them free as rapidly as he could without blowing himself up. A few times, a tag stuck to the wall or floor, scaring him, but none went off. The line of explosives in hand, Kiba returned and the ball of roaches had increased to the approximate size of a house.

"Hurry," Roach gasped. Ino's desperation came through, "I can't…hold it…"

"We're almost there," Kiba replied.

Akamaru's ears popped; his head tilted. Use a kunai to weight the ends of the line. It'll make it easier to wrap the roaches.

"Gotcha."

Kiba did as Akamaru suggested, and found it simple to toss the kunai, attached to the line of tags, up and over the roaches. Then it was a matter of looping the line around and securing it. He backed away, Akamaru beside him.

Roach used another few signs, face contorted, and the humming crescendoed as the roach-ball climbed into the sky. It dipped, listing like a gutted ship would, and floated closer to them.

"Shit," he said, realizing that Ino was losing control. He shoved at Akamaru, who had frozen. "Move it!"

Akamaru took off, but Kiba's attention was on Mom. She'd still not revived and the explosion would most certainly envelope her. Immediately, he leapt to her, managed to sling her over his shoulder. Chased Kuromaru's tail through the trees. Away. Fast. They ran.

Didn't get far when a quiet hiss pierced the hum, and then a deafening series of explosions. Hot air pushed him off his feet; the trees shook, and he felt something large flying at him from behind.

Barely, he ducked a shattered tree. He somehow covered Mom's limp body with his own, as debris rained on them. Branches, burnt leaves, baked insect shells. Smoke burned his eyes, clogged his sinuses. Ringing in his ears muffled any sounds.

A howl- -Akamaru's signal for help. Shit. Came from the farmhouse. Kiba sprinted back the way they'd escaped. Closer to the explosion, trunks and branches smoldered and outright burned. Huge holes remained where trees had been torn from the roots. The dry grass acted as tinder, and angry flames licked through the fallow field.

Barking drew his attention. He headed towards it, the smoke swirling around him, and came to the ruined farmhouse. Two figures- -Ino and Roach- -fought, a kunai glinting in Ino's hand, both of them ducking and weaving, arms and legs swinging out for hits. A white blur bounced across the wooden beams. Roach neatly dodged, flipping backwards as Akamaru flew past.

"That wasn't very nice to peek at my private memories," Roach said to Ino. "Now you'll have to die."

Before Kiba could jump into the fray, Roach molded a jutsu. His chest swelled out and clear liquid spewed from his mouth. Whatever the liquid landed on hissed. The stones on the farmhouse dissolved under the splatters. Ino had darted back, using substitution jutsu, and as Roach watched Ino's image melt from the acid, Kiba moved in, hand on a kunai.

He'd taken Roach by surprise, but Roach was quick enough to avoid a fatal slash to his throat. Kiba used the moment to his advantage and transformed Akamaru into a clone of himself.

Roach chuckled. "Same old, same old." When Roach bit his finger and traced a bloody line down his forearm, Kiba's stomach dropped. "We're going to play by different rules."

Roach planted a palm on the wooden beam underneath his feet. Summoning smoke mingled with fire smoke. A breeze lifted the grey/white screen. A dozen shiny black cockroaches surrounded them. The size of them reminded Kiba of Chouji when he puffed up to do his death-roll of doom. Each scuttled back and forth, their chemicals musky and excited. This was all kinds of bad.

Kiba snarled, felt Akamaru tense beside him. They had to let Roach make the first move with those summonings. Ino's scent shifted, threading through the farmhouse where she'd hidden. What did she have planned?

Roach's fingers had not stopped shifting signs. The jutsu activated and a nasty-looking sword sprang from seemingly nothing. Then Roach gestured with his hand, the other locking around the hilt of the sword.

"Bring me the Yamanaka girl. Kill the others."

As the giant cockroaches opened their wings to flap, humming vibrated the air, more powerful than all the regular-sized cockroaches put together. But three paused. Hesitating. Kiba glanced to the top beams of the farmhouse, where Ino's scent had stopped. Saw her, her hands and fingers forming a square sign. The roaches shivered. Roach gasped, almost imperceptible, but Kiba knew he'd go after her.

Chaos ensued.

Three of the roaches turned toward their comrades and spewed that liquid acid Roach'd used before. Horrible, high screeching as the acid splashed on exoskeletons.

There was no time to watch. Roach had Ino in his sights. Just as Kiba leapt into Piercing Fang to distract Roach, thunder rumbled through the ground. His concentration on Roach didn't waver, but he wondered what the hell it was.

Piercing Fang successfully drove Roach away from Ino's vulnerable position. Kiba eased out of the spin, but Roach's sudden proximity forced him to twist. The sword missed him. A glancing blow caught his shoulder and threw him off balance. Hurt, not badly. Kiba landed on his feet, eyes on Roach's retreating figure, and chased after him.

Akamaru cut off Roach's approach to Ino. A quick slash with the sword had Akamaru ducking. It was enough to allow Kiba to catch up and attack. The sword clanged against kunai. Each way Roach moved, Kiba was there, and soon, Akamaru had him flanked. Crashing in the forest behind them indicated a huge fight there, but Kiba kept his eyes on the target.

Roach was a skilled swordsman. Each feint, each lunge, Roach deflected. Aggressively, Kiba pushed forward, but his impatience cost him. A swift kick in the gut knocked him back. Akamaru jumped between them, catching the sword blade with a kunai to give Kiba enough time to gain his feet.

Quick to recover, Kiba bounded up and dove to attack. But something massive blindsided him. The weight crushed his arm into his side, cracking ribs. Pain burst fireworks in his eyes. Dazed, he shook his head, tasted blood on his tongue. A tree trunk had stopped him.

"Hah!" Roach grunted, freeing himself from Akamaru's hold. He sprang up to stand on the back of a second summoned cockroach. "Your pretty lady is a goner!"

The other summoning swooped down, forcing Akamaru to evade into the forest. It skimmed over the ground in pursuit, branches snapping as it barreled through. They disappeared among the trees.

Kiba's brain couldn't process what to do: save Ino or save Akamaru?

Akamaru could move freely, but Ino was in the middle of a jutsu- -she'd have to break her concentration, and that would turn the odds in Roach's favor. Akamaru could take care of himself.

Kiba ignored the throbbing pain, used the tree trunk as support to stand. He dashed after Roach. The summoning flew swiftly, weaving between trees. Kiba kept his eyes up and utilized peripheral vision to watch his feet.

As he ran over tree limbs, he identified Mom's scent moving up ahead. She must've gained consciousness and enough strength to join the fight. Kuromaru's scent was on top of Ino's, so Kiba guessed that the old dog was running interference on any approaching enemies.

At least four of the roaches seemed to have been downed, but it was difficult to tell with all the smoke and acid ruining his nose. His attention should have been on Roach. What saved him was a weakened tree limb.

He just stepped on the branch. It gave with a crack; at the same time he fell, a stream of acid dissolved the wood and leaves where he'd been. Reactively, he lifted his arm to protect his face. Some acid splattered on him, was burning holes through the leather. Shedding his jacket had never taken less time before.

Didn't give it a second thought. Roach and the summoning had disappeared up ahead. Kiba pushed himself faster, feeling the ache of exertion, the sweat cooling in the shadowed reaches of the forest. Heart rapped against his chest. He came to the edge of the burnt, smoldering field. The farmhouse was the center of frantic melee action.

Mom was in Piercing Fang-mode, chasing after a summoning through the air. Kuromaru was teeth-deep in the head of another one. Ino's blonde hair shone like light to him. She'd remained atop the highest beam, hands still molded in a seal, forcing two summonings to fight each other.

Even from this distance, layered over with smoke and blood and acid, he could scent her exhaustion. She wasn't gonna be able to fight much longer.

Ignoring the danger of crossing open field, Kiba charged ahead. Roach had made a beeline to the farmhouse, but the huge summoning circled around overhead. Why was he waiting?

And then Kiba remembered the second room filled to the brim with exploding tags. Fuckfuckfuckfuck. Anything would set those off!

"INO, GET AWAY!" he bellowed, but there was too much noise.

Fear sliced coldly through him. Faster. Run faster. He wouldn't make it in time. Mom and Kuromaru had their hands full, no one could intervene. Goddammit, goddammit!

Roach had sheathed the sword and had something in his hand- -couldn't see what it was- -he tossed it. The object slowly arched toward Ino; her concentration was absolute.

Oh, God, no, she didn't see it. "INOOOOO! INO!"

A silver blur…Akamaru?

An explosion rocked the field. The orange-yellow heat blinded him, and he vaguely heard successive booms on the heels of the first. Heat rolled over him. All he could smell was the smoke, the ash, the taste of it sticking in his throat. A pile of rubble was all that remained of the farmhouse.

It had been Akamaru, Kiba's brain told him. He'd been closest and he'd taken the hit to protect Ino. But the explosion…had been too huge. Surviving it would be slim, at best. He'd kissed Ino for the last time minutes ago. Heard her voice, touched her. Now she and his best friend were gone forever. His love screamed, writhed in agony inside him, thrashed at the confines of his heart.

And something…collapsed inside. Detached, he watched his fingers and claws stretch and sharpen, felt his teeth elongate. A chill crept through his bones, put out the fires of pain and absolute fury. With the chill, Kiba felt the buzz of chakra, an amount he'd never felt before, and some…type of knowing, like how he knew which way was up, what time it was, and when there was danger.

This knowing was ancient. Deep. Almost primitive. Like if he went looking for it he'd never find it; he had to stumble on it first. Kiba allowed the knowing to take over because the knowing had no emotion. It didn't feel, and not feeling was exactly what Kiba needed.

But it wanted. Oh, but it wanted. It wanted the blood of his mate's murderer. It wanted to toy with the mate's murderer.

The prey circled overhead riding his insect like a king. All the information Kiba had of the prey gathered together. His mate had been right- -strip the prey of all defenses and he will be left with nothing. Then when the prey had nothing, exact revenge.

Below on the field, the mother and her companion had killed two more of the summoned cockroaches. One cockroach lay twitching and debilitated, the other was scattered in the field in pieces. A third cockroach had been cannibalized; it, too, was dead.

Four summonings remained. One on which the prey rode, one near the farmhouse, and two that had burrowed underground to hide and wait. Attacking the prey outright would only result in him flying higher, out of reach. Three options were available. One, keep all the summonings grounded. Two, force all summonings to the air. Three, force the prey into exhaustion and thus dispel the summonings.

The mother and her companion approached him. Heads down, eyes on the ground, showing submission. To look him in the eye would provoke punishment. He was stronger than them both.

"What do you want us to do?" she asked.

The information so far led him to believe that the prey would use his summonings defensively and offensively. By forcing the prey to command all the summonings to the air left him open to attack.

"We lure all summonings into the forest. Then we'll transform you into me," he said to the mother, "and you into one of the summonings," he said to the mother's companion. "The both of you will attack…Roach…head on. I'll ride one of the other summonings up."

The mother and her companion nodded. "Understood."

"You both drive the two roaches from underground and into the forest. I'll take care of the other. I'll meet you and we'll go from there."

The summoning near the farmhouse thundered toward them. His pack separated, his mother and her companion turning into dual cyclones to burrow underground. He dashed back into the treeline, easily keeping ahead of the frustrated giant cockroach.

It attacked him with acid, but he dodged. The other two cockroaches had been forced from the ground. Good. He leapt straight up, too fast for the summoning to follow, and flipped into Piercing Fang. The jutsu cracked the exoskeleton, but he didn't stop until he smelt earth. He broke from Piercing Fang, found himself in a hole. When he crested the lip, he discovered cockroach pieces flung all around. The liquid innards coated Kiba.

He didn't pause. A few seconds later, the mother and her companion met him, having escaped the sight of the other two summonings. Quickly, he used transformation jutsu on the companion and when the mother didn't have enough chakra, he transformed her as well. He could hold both the jutsus.

"Draw the other two to this position. I'll get on one when it passes over. Be sure to leave an exploding note on the last summoning."

They nodded and the mother hopped on the companion's back.

The transformed mother and companion took flight, wove between the trees. Disappeared. He waited patiently, listening to the quiet forest. Aching for the murderer's blood. Low vibrating warned him. The other two summonings approached. He readied, muscles tensing. Just before one passed over his location, he leapt. Chakra fastened him to the filthy underbelly of the cockroach.

If it noticed his presence, it didn't care. Treetops whipped by, and gradually the ground grew more distant. The prey's scent neared. The mother and her companion swung back and forth, evading the prey's puny attempts to destroy them. They closed in. He bided his time, fixing a long-fuse exploding tag under the cockroach's head.

Like he'd thought, the summoning swooped in close to the prey's fixed position. Kiba sprang. Landed softly behind the target. No noise. Used chakra to back up to the soft underside of the summoning. Stuck an exploding tag there. Crept, stalking, forward. The prey's attention was fixated on the image of Kiba on a cockroach.

His claws itched to slash. Closer. Closer. But a sudden swarm of movement under the prey's clothes stopped him. The prey spun, lashing out with the sword. Kiba strafed. Cockroaches had covered the prey's skin like a shield. The prey missed.

Using the mistake to his advantage, Kiba caught the wrist of the sword-arm in his teeth. Clamped down. Crunched through the hard shells of the insects. Torn cloth, skin, blood filled his mouth. Bone reached his teeth, was crushed. Happened so fast the prey didn't react right away. Kiba released the mangled wrist, retreated out of reach. The prey had lost his precious sword.

Relished the pain pouring through the scent of the prey. The blood flowing from the arm. Kiba felt something crawl on him. He snatched it between two fingers. A roach. It was easily crushed. A few others attempted to sneak on his body, but they were dispatched as well.

An explosion showered black gore over them. The mother and her companion had already destroyed the second to last cockroach and now they flew near. Kiba jumped to the fake summoning's back. As he suspected, the prey fled. Unsuspecting of the denotation note beneath his feet.

Another explosion a minute later. The back-end of the summoning burst, leaving the first half intact. It careened, surprisingly resilient with its guts hanging out. He watched the prey fall into the trees, stunned but largely unharmed. The chase was on.

He dove into the trees, landed on a branch, all fours to the wood. Chakra charged every limb, and he tore through the foliage to the hunt. The prey's blood called to him. He closed the distance in seconds. Found the prey limping. He reeked of fear, cowardice.

"I know you're out there!" the prey called. Kiba crouched, letting the tall grass cover him. "That bitch of yours wasn't any better."

The prey hobbled. Kiba stalked closer. Blood dribbled from the wounded arm. Saliva formed in Kiba's mouth.

"You know what she did?" The prey swiveled his head. "That night you and Yukari went for your first date? Hunh?" A few more pathetic steps. "She was so jealous, she possessed some random guy's body and beat herself up!" He twisted frantically. "What kinda nutjob does that? It wasn't Yukari catching you," he continued, Kiba so close he saw the spittle fly from the prey's mouth, "it was that Yamanaka who caught you!"

The prey's fatal last words. Kiba sprang into Piercing Fang so fast his heart stopped. He heard, rather than felt, the prey's body when he hit. He turned out of Piercing Fang a second later. Smoothly, he glided across the ground.

He knew he'd hit his mark. But to make sure, he stepped toward the dark blood pooled and splattered along the grass and trees. The scent was the prey's. A couple of empty boots, plus some gore at the point of impact was all that was left.

Kiba stared at the grisly scene, mildly displeased at the anticlimactic demise of the prey.

A/N: (July 7th) Corrected some continuity issues and am working on chapter 27.