A/N: I'm sorry I've been gone so long! It's been like . . . a month? Longer? I'm not really sure anymore. I've been working on future challengeshots, as well as a similar series for Bleach, plus school and homework and work and vacation before that . . . ugh. Anyway. I haven't been in touch with my beta-reader, so if this one sucks . . . it's my fault. Just a random little piece for the heck of it. Enjoy!

Twenty-five - Payback - Tsuniba

"He was supposed to leave over an hour ago! Where is he?"

The two of them sat on the rooftop, watching the street below. There had been a somewhat constant stream of people coming in and out of the building all morning, none of them the person they were watching for.

Abruptly, Kiba leaned forward, watching the newest figure to emerge. "About time," he muttered, a grin stealing onto his face. "What do you think? Should we get him?" A quiet yap and a wagging tail were all the agreement he needed. Picking up the thin tube from where it lay beside him, he brought it to his mouth, took aim and fired.

Ffft! Ffft! Ffft!

Splat! Splat! Splat!

"GAH!"

Snickering to himself, Kiba drew back from the roof's edge. Aside from the whisker marks on his face, Naruto now also had three large blotches of ink from the pellets the Dog-User had just fired.

"What are you doing, lurking around up here?" A voice asked from behind him. Kiba turned to find Lady Tsunade standing ten feet away, arms folded in a businesslike manner, eyeing him suspiciously. The thin blowpipe in his hand was evidence that he was up to no good; it was too late to hide it.

"And just what poor, unfortunate soul is your target?" the Hokage asked, raised one blonde eyebrow.

"Naruto," Kiba muttered, looking down at the rooftop.

There was a sigh. "What did he do this time?"

"Tried to copy my answers on the latest Shinobi Aptitude Test. And he also got me with three water balloons last week."

A pause. "Really . . . ." Tsunade said thoughtfully. Curious at her tone, Kiba looked up - she was staring off to one side, seemingly lost in thought. "Isn't that interesting."

". . . . Ma'am?"

"Someone was in my office the day before that test, looking through the documents belonging to the Academy. Sakura came in just as the intruder was leaving through the window, and she swears up and down it was Naruto . . . . Unfortunately, there's no actual proof, so we can't corner him on it."

She returned her gaze to Kiba, smirking slightly. "You were trying to give him a message, weren't you?" Shifting uneasily, not sure if he was in trouble or not, Kiba nodded."Hmm. Well, you had the right idea, but ink pellets are child's play."

The young Inuzuka blinked once in puzzlement. ". . . . What do you mean?"

The Hokage's smirk changed to a full-out grin. "I mean, to teach a lesson like this, you need a much stronger curriculum. Like the one I've already put into play."

Kiba stared. The Hokage, pulling a prank on someone? Granted, this was Tsunade, but he hadn't really thought it possible. "What did you do?"

She smiled proudly. "I asked Sakura to put crushed gravel in his sandals the first chance she got. Nothing horrible, but serious discomfort if he wore them at all. Not to mention the stinging nettles that found their way into a bowl of ramen."

It was more than a surprise - it was a shock that the Hokage would stoop to this. Kiba was finding it hard not to laugh at the sheer gutsiness of it all.

"You're right - ink pellets are kids' stuff," he said, returning her grin. "Have you got anything else in mind?"

"Well, since you asked . . . ."

PS - I'm still accepting character suggestions for future challengeshots! Any two or three chars at all, just no yaoi, yuri, or furry. Okay? All righty. PM me with your request!