As promised, Tsume woke Kiba up nice and early the next morning. Before sunrise. Before the birds. Before I finished my very nice dream about… something I couldn't quite remember. She dragged him out of bed, and fumbled through getting him dressed, fed, and marginally presentable. She gave up when it came to taming his hair. She checked in on the other two occupants of the house and then picked Kiba up, set him on her hip, and began leaping from roof top to roof top, Kuromaru at her side.
I waited.
Then she remembered me. Cursing, she dropped back down and tucked me into her flack jacket. It was hardly the most dignified way to travel, but still puppy sized, I couldn't complain. Then we were off.
I hated it. My stomach would leap up into my throat, then she would land and I would be jolted back, before repeating. I squirmed to try to find a better position but Tsume growled at me, and I stopped immediately. So I sulked. But Kiba didn't seem to mind, eyes wide as he took in the city. I then remembered that Kiba had only been outside the compound for his birth and a few check ups afterwards. He had never seen the world outside the compound.
We finally arrived, right in front of the Hokage tower, a red and orange circular building, nestled in the back of the village. There were Shinobi all around, the few I could see, and the scents of others around me. From the west I could smell antiseptic, the main hospital, and from here I could see the academy as well. This was the backbone of the shinobi village, all within a few blocks. And right at the center, the most powerful shinobi in the Hidden Leaf, and one of the most powerful within the entire world. Daunting, if nothing else. But bundled up in a flack jacket, I didn't have much choice in the matter.
I readied myself to go in. Time to meet the Hokage, the seat of power within the village. Known as the professor. Would he be able to see past me? I imagined him immediately sensing something wasn't right about me, or that I would give myself away, not act like enough of a dog. Could I somehow communicate with him? Warn him of what is happening? Or would Danzo be there the entire time. Would he even believe a tiny dog? Would I be sent to T&I? I swallowed thickly, remembering how Kuromaru decided it was best to keep this a secret, even from Tsume, his partner. Tingles ran up and down my spine in a mix of apprehension and excitement. But Kuromaru remained calm, which was, despite our fight, reassuring.
It wasn't meant to be. Tsume carried us around the Hokage tower, towards another, less ornate and conspicuous building. It was squat and low, painted a dark grey, with clouded windows and surrounded by unassuming shrubs. If I weren't paying attention I would sidestep it entirely. But then I saw how thick the walls were, and the rows of support beams where the paint was slightly smoother. Like a bomb shelter, something from my past supplied.
She leads us inside, where it is immediately cooler, and dimly lit. Also like a bomb shelter. Kuromaru and I walked side by side and the only sound was my nails, clicking on the tiled floors. We follow Tsume diligently down a hall, passing a few offices, full of haggard looking shinobi and overflows of paperwork. Through the maze of corridors we go, down a flight of stairs. It was dark, and it took a minute for my eyes to adjust. Instead of electricity, torches lined the walls, and there is a dark conference table, with chairs in the center. Against each wall are low benches.
And so many people. Heading the table is an immediately recognizable figure. Ibiki Morino. His coat's collar covers most of his face, almost like an Aburame, and his hat covers most of the rest of his face. Unlike an Aburame however, his piercing eyes were uncovered. And suddenly I was very nervous. Sure, I was a dog, but he is head of Torture and Interegation. Perhaps the one person I wanted to face less than the Hokage. And he is staring right at me. Well. Me and Kiba. I gulp.
He raises an eyebrow and Tsume shrugs, before sliding in next to she places Kiba on the floor, and tells him to play quietly. Sleepy as he is, he just curls up to use me as a pillow. I adjust myself to make us both comfortable.
"I'm only here for a few minutes, so let's make this quick. I've got to swing by the Hokage's office in twenty." she grumbles.
Shikaku rolls his eyes, and Inochi clears his throat before continuing. He speaks in a clipped tone, but there's a weariness to his voice as he goes through the names and last known locations of several shinobi. Traitors, I realize. Occasionally, Ibiki or Shikaku comments about their strength, or possible allies. Tsume occasionally growls when she hears about the crimes, or comments about how she's going to need an army of clones if she's going to hunt down all these rogue nin.
Soon, the hum of low voices and the dim lights meant that Kiba was snoring softly into my ribs. Tsume checked back on him every once and a while, but mostly focused on the people at the table. Twice, a desk nin came in, hunched over with paperwork and shuffled over to distribute it to the people sitting around the table. They throw questioning glances towards Kiba and I. Tsume or Ibiki gives them a sharp look and then continue listing shinobi on the kill list.
Why isn't this going through the Missions office I wonder idly. I try listening to the names, but none of them seem familiar, and it is so dim. My eyelids grow heavier and my legs slowly sink into the ground. Then I am asleep.
Before long, Kuromaru is nudging me awake and prodding me to my feet before I am fully aware of my surroundings. Kiba is once again in Tsume's arms, and I drag myself up, sore from sleeping on such a hard surface. But I trot along at Tsume's heels. She leads us up and out, into the light that was most certainly much brighter than it was before and I wince as it hits my eyes. Tsume lets out a snicker. Then she leads us to the Hokage's office. My hackles raise. If she notices, she doesn't say anything. But Kuromaru shoots me a look, and silently curls his lips to bare his fangs.
It's much brighter in this building, but no less hectic. The same beleaguered Shinobi and mountains of paperwork. It was a slightly more open floorplan, fewer walls, and more offices pushed right up against each other. Occasionally a hawk flutters in and squawks to announce it's arrival. But Tsume is walking too fast for me to get more than vague impressions.
She throws open a large set of wooden doors, and walks straight to the startled looking Chunin at the desk. She slams down a scroll.
"Next batch of nukenin, swinging close to the land of tea for this one. I'm thinking three weeks, max." she reports as the Chunin read the scroll. "Going to be requesting my usual squad, nothing special, unless you have a Hyuuga to spare?" she says, in a joking manner, and the Chunin shakes her head.
"I'll be leaving tomorrow at noon then." then she spins around, and nods her head at Kuromaru and me. So we leave.
She spends the morning dragging us around various offices in that one small section of the village. Meetings about reconstruction, and the various trade routes and shortages, and when would this or that be back in stock. Mostly, she stays silent in these meetings, gathering up different forms and petitions, all with a promise to look at it later. But I know that means she will just hand it over to her husband who will read it over and tell her the highlights before she signs. In between these meetings she grumbles about how she has better things to be doing, how she's a Jonin, a trained killer, not some pencil pushing beaurocrat. And it is strange, I think, that she has to actually deal with any of this paperwork. So I steel my nerves.
"Kuromaru?" I ask, tentatively. And he looks at me. It's as neutral as he can get, so I continue.
"Why does Tsume have to be in all these meetings?"
He sighs, less at me, and more at the situation.
"She is the clan head. Opening up new trade routes means fielding Shinobi teams to escort them, and clear out bandits. It also means more travelers moving in and out of the village, more security risks. All of these put a larger and larger strain on our shinobi task forces. The Inuzuka and Hyuuga especially, because of their skills as trackers, and detecting contraband or enemies. Therefore, Tsume, as the head of the clan is supposed to weigh in on the strain any of these projects create for her clan." he lectures. "Unfortunately, it's more for show than anything. With the Hyuuga affair, and concerns along our borders, both clans are stretched too thin. But should the Civilians complain, and it gets back to the Daimyo, there will be hell to pay. God forbid they forgo their fancy jasmine tea for a few weeks while we recover." Bitterness seeps into his voice. "Besides, we want to give the impression that Kohona is strong enough that fielding these teams is nothing. It will bring in more contracts and make any possible enemies wary. So long as the bluff succeeds."
"Oh. thank you." He nods and I mull it over. No wonder Tsume is so busy. Dark circles and bags under her eyes, and wrinkles forming between her furrowed eyebrows. She's exhausted. But so is Kiba. And he is not a trained Ninja, skilled in the art of hiding his emotions. So he fidgets, and whines about how he's bored, or hungry, or the chair is uncomfortable, or how weird that one guy looks. It's not long before Tsume snaps, grabs me and him and jumps away.
When I finally tumble out of her arms I can feel grass and hear children playing. Kuromaru lands gracefully beside us.
"Watch him." she orders, and then disappears.
Kiba pouts for a moment, before running off to climb some sort of wooden tower. A children's park. Kuromaru looks ruefully at me before padding off to sit under a nearby tree. So I take it upon myself to follow Kiba through the playground structures. He's not hard to find. I can hear him declaring himself lord of the castle, and some high pitched yelps of outrage. A group of children, ones I don't recognize, surround him from below, while the little gremlin has climbed on top of the roof of the play tower. I bark a warning at him and he glances at me before crowing once more, and then jumping.
My heart leaps into my throat and I begin to stagger towards him. I won't make it! But then he lands, near perfect form, on all fours, on a platform, halfway down, and then manages to clamber down to the group of children. Exactly how Akira taught me to land, I realize. And while I would certainly be chewing him out, if he could understand me, I feel a sigh of relief that he's been following us around so often.
The children are all awestruck, although some of their parents watch warily. They all crowd around and ask him all kinds of questions about how he could do that. He grins and tells them that his mom and his sister are both Ninja, and how he's going to be a ninja too, and that he and I are partners. Suddenly, a horde of children descend on me, shrieking "puppy."
I love children. My past life I wanted to dedicate myself to them. But that's when I am not being pulled and prodded and tugged seven ways to sunday. I let out a whine, and Kiba starts swatting hands away. With the attention turned to him, questions resume. Can he throw a Kunai? A Ninja star? Shuriken, he corrects. Can he do any jutsus? How does he train? They all come in too fast, and I can see his embarrassment at how many of the answers are no. So instead, a look flashes across his eyes and he declares he's going to teach them to play Ninja!
It's pretty similar to tag I realize, and it's not long before he seems to have assimilated into this group of civilians. But then again, what "three-and-nine-month-year-old!" (as he so proudly proclaimed when one child asked) doesn't like all that attention? I'm glad. So far, his only real interactions with children his age has been fighting with other clan members, and getting his butt handed to him. So I watch from the sidelines, occasionally zipping through the children and listening to them shriek as I cut off one kid's escape, or save another. Then I see a flash of orange.
Naruto.
My mouth goes dry, seeing him watching from the sidelines. Then he tries to run in, and get the attention of the Ninja's eye, before everyone stops, and looks at him. Kiba doesn't know what's going on, and he does not like this. I can see his eyebrows furrow, and the gears turning in his head.
"What's wrong?" he asks.
"Well, Mom says I shouldn't play with him…" one boy with scraped up knees says. Naruto flinches and looks downward. Kiba looks between Naruto and the boy, and then to me. He's not sure what to do with this information, but doesn't want his playtime to end, or his entourage to leave. I move to sit behind Naruto. He nods.
"Well, I'm a ninja, and I say we can play with him!" Kiba declares.
"But my mo-"
"She's not a ninja, I am. Someday I'm going to be the Hokage, and everyone will have to listen to me. That means I make the rules, and I say he can play! Now let's go!" Kiba grouses, and the children hesitantly return to playing. It's not quite as carefree, and Kiba is the only one who ever gives more than a half hearted attempt to chase Naruto. Not that it would help. Naruto is nothing if not fast. And I can see that it's frustrating Kiba. So, I do what any good ninken would do, and jump in front of Naruto. Naruto and Kiba go tumbling together in a tangle of limbs, But Kiba jumps up first.
"You're it now!" he shouts, pointing at Naruto.
Naruto pouts and opens his mouth to say something before closing it, narrowing his eyes, and lunging at Kiba. Kiba takes off shrieking joyfully, and I chase the two around, making sure Naruto doesn't quite get too close, so their game can continue.
They're in their own little world, and don't realize it, but slowly parents are coming and whisking away their children one by one, whispering harshly to them, and shooting us dirty looks. There's an apprehension building in my stomach, and I start looking for Kuromaru. We make eye contact, but I can't tell what he's thinking.
Then Kiba is jerked out of my field of view and I growl. some adult I don't recognize has picked him up by the collar of the neck and is now carrying him away over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He is lecturing Kiba about how he shouldn't be playing with that brat, and where is his mother anyways, didn't she teach him anyways. Naruto slows to a standstill and looks down at the ground. I don't need to see his face to know tears are forming. The shaking of his shoulders in enough.
I let out a warning growl, and lunge forward at the same time Kiba kicks the man in the stomach and he stumbled. Kiba takes this chance to wriggle out of his arms and start yelling about a strange man. The man startles, as people begin to look at him. I run forward and put myself in front of Kiba, puffing up and trying to look as menacing as I can, at all of 2kg. The man blanches and hurries off without saying anything further.
Kuromaru is behind me. Figures that's what scared him off. Kiba returns to Naruto, who is crying, and awkwardly kicks a dirt clump at him.
"What a dumb old man. Right?" he says, before flopping in the dirt.
Naruto hunches down into a tight ball, still crying. That seems to be about all Kiba has to offer, and he turns to Kuromaru and me. But Kuromaru just gives me that same unreadable expression and then ambles off towards the shade. So I take a deep breath and then try to worm my way under Naruto's folded arms. What do I do? What do dogs do when you're sad?
I tentatively try giving him a lick, and he shudders. Well. Um. that did something? I try again, and now it's more distinct giggle. Soon he is having a full blown giggle fit, sprawled out next to Kiba.
But the good times don't last long. The man is back, and he has several angry looking civilians and a confused shinobi in tow. He points an accusing finger at Naruto and Kiba, but I can't here what he's saying exactly. The Shinobi doesn't seem happy but with a horde of angry civilians, he seems to have no choice. So he cautiously begins walking towards us. I pick myself up, and try grab Kuromaru's attention. Again with that look. But he's at my side. And soon, there is a shadow on my other side as well. Tsume.