Kiba couldn't help but sigh as he watched the scenes unfolding before him with disinterested eyes.

He was bored.

Naruto and Fū were currently plotting some kind of prank or another while Shino looked incredibly uncomfortable and out of place between the both of them. He didn't know how, but somehow the supposed Fumiko Morino had managed to convince Shino Aburame to join her and Naruto for some fun. It was kind of terrifying, in a way. Shino was known to be aloof and quiet; rumor was that the Aburame knew how to get along with others well enough for work in teams, but he didn't want to have friends... so... if he didn't want any friends, why was he indulging both those idiots?

It was still boggling to the Inuzuka that now Naruto had become a permanent fixture in his pack's classroom life. As soon as they entered class, he and Fū were just about attached at the hip. Whenever they left, it happened more often than not that the blonde would accompany his pack to whatever place they chose to spend time in before they needed to return to their respective homes. If not for Kuzu's promised training, Kiba knew the guy would be invading their weekends too.

It was overwhelming, in a way.

Kiba had spent years taking care of one person and only thinking about himself. Then he had found his pack and he had started to care for the three of them and their strays- then the four of them when Akamaru joined them. But they had only had to think of one another. Shikamaru and Ino were the most they had needed to expand to before, but even then, they had stayed pretty far apart.

Now Kiba knew it was only a matter of time before Shino started joining them on their trips to Ichiraku's and the thought was worrying. For the first time in his life, Kiba had to think about others outside of himself and his pack because, unlike with the Nara and Yamanaka, Fū was deadset on these guys being their friends. Not just her friends. Theirs.

The thought brought a sour taste to Kiba's mouth.

The Inuzuka forced his eyes away from the plotting trio to look at the other members of his pack.

Sakura and Ino had currently become better friends- much to Kiba's surprise- and they were both sat together by the back of the classroom. From the looks of it, they were fawning over the book that was currently sat on the desk in front of them. And from the looks of it, even Akamaru was interested by whatever they were reading- the puppy was sat over Sakura's head with his eyes staring intently downwards.

If not for the fact that this was knowledge the pup would undoubtedly try to lord over him at some point, Kiba would find the sight heartwarming.

Finally, with another sigh, Kiba turned to look at Chouji... and the Akimichi was gladly munching on some chips as he offered the bag to Shikamaru. The Nara mindlessly took from the bag as his pencil ran over a piece of paper in the desk he was sat at.

Kiba closed his eyes, breathed in deeply, and brought his hands up to his chest. After a few heartbeats, he released the breath and shook his head.

His pack was branching out and having fun... maybe he should find something to busy himself with while his pack was... well... not paying attention to him.

Pursing his lips, the Inuzuka began to contemplate what something like that would entail for him.

He knew for a fact that Ino and Sakura were learning about poisons and combat techniques. Fū, Naruto, and Shino, while focused on crafting pranks, were also kind of doing something that would help further their education and ninja craft. And Shikamaru and Chouji... well... whatever the Nara did probably had something to do with intelligence and data work, so that was good too.

His taijutsu was the best in the whole class, so he didn't have to worry about that... but... well... as a ninja, all he could do wouldn't ever just stay at taijutsu. So... maybe now was a good time to start thinking about getting serious with his ninjutsu?

Ah, but ninjutsu meant learning clan techniques... and learning clan techniques meant having to actually talk to members of his clan... and odds were that he'd be stuck having to listen to Hana for education on a lot of the basics, knowing his luck.

Oh, that would just suck actual dog balls.

Just the thought of it made Kiba's mood dampen even further.

Hana was a bad sister. He highly doubted that someone as insensitive and impatient as her would make a worthwhile teacher. And just thinking of the possibility of having to deal with someone like her for something as important as ninjutsu education was just... horrible.

Uncrossing his arms, Kiba looked once again in the direction of Sakura and Ino. The girls were now smiling and Akamaru was splayed out on the book they had been reading from.

He had no idea what had transpired between them, but it seemed like they were having a good time.

Kiba huffed in building frustration.

He wasn't a thinker. He preferred acting and moving- he was an Inuzuka, after all. So spending time alone and contemplating a next move, rather than just doing something... it didn't feel right.

The Inuzuka gasped softly at his own realization.

Then he smiled to himself, taking a moment to shake his head and scold himself for overthinking, and finally jumped out of his chair to head towards the two girls.

Between the three groups he had contemplated on, he knew that Sakura and Ino were the two kids he would get along with the easiest- mostly because Sakura understood the need for a good fight and Ino tolerated him more than he despised being around Shikamaru, Naruto, or Shino. Akamaru was there, too, and being around his partner was always a good-time.

In the end, this was a no-brainer, really. But getting caught up in overthinking and contemplating about life and all of the things that had been going on with the pack had blinded him to such a fact

Hell, maybe by bothering them they'd give him the good idea he needed for ninjutsu learning that his brain refused to supply.

Interrogating Hidan of Yugakure was a fruitless endeavor.

"Listen up, fuckface, if you don't let me kill the bitch that poisoned me in a total dick move, I'll make sure to make your death slow!"

Ibiki kept his face devoid of any reaction after Hidan had spit this out.

When the religious fanatic spit at the ground, narrowly missing his feet, the interrogator merely crossed his arms over his chest and continued to stare at him. Hidan's glare became that much more heated and his attempts to escape from his shackles became that much more erratic.

Hidan played the part of a lunatic perfectly. Hell, he played it so well Ibiki was beginning to think that maybe this guy was so lost in his own insanity that they would never be able to get any good information out of him.

If Hidan wasn't completely lost to his delusions, he certainly acted well enough to fool anyone around him.

"Who do you work for?" he tried again, only for the Jashinist to spit at his feet once again.

This time, the man hit his mark.

Ibiki allowed his brow to furrow in disdain.

Disgusting.

"Either I get a kill and you get some answers or I don't get a kill and you get nothing." he just about sang, attitude making an abrupt turn; from defiant and enraged to taunting and delighted.

Ibiki sighed and turned around.

A few seconds later, the door into Hidan's cell hissed open and he was able to push it open.

Physical torture would get nothing out of this madman- at least, that's what Kakuzu had told them. He was a sadomasochist that marveled in pain and inflicting it upon others. If they were to try and pry information out of him through sheer brute-force, odds were that the man would end up enjoying it; hell, he may even beg for more.

Hidan of Yugakure was a challenge for any seasoned interrogator.

The first thing he'd need to do was solve the mystery he had been working around since they had captured him: was he truly insane; and therefore anything he said useless and baseless; or just deceptively good at imitating the insanity that would render others incapable of giving them trustworthy information?

After two more weekends spent with Kuzu and Kiba taking on the leadership roles of their 'missions', the Old Man surprised them with an order no one had seen coming.

"Akimichi, you're the leader today. You have thirty minutes to consult with your team about the course to take before the tracking group sets out to capture us."

What truly caught Chouji off-guard hadn't even been the fact that Kuzu had decided that he would be handing the reigns to any of the other members of the pack for these training exercises; no, what had caught the boy off guard had been the fact that he had been chosen.

Blinking in stupefaction, the Akimichi mutely pointed at himself. Kuzu grunted and crossed his arms over his chest, but didn't answer him. It was as if he was silently daring the Akimichi to speak up and fight him on the decision- which they all knew would never happen.

Chouji's hand suddenly began to feel rather cold.

"Well, then..." he heard Kiba mutter softly from his right side. When he turned to look at the person that was supposed to be their leader, Chouji found that Kiba had his nose turned up to the air. Akamaru, perched on Kuzu's shoulder, was doing something very similar. "None of these people are clan members. They've got Wolf tailing them again... just like Tiger. Geeze, when will they learn their scents are a vulnerability we'll exploit?"

Kuzu scoffed but mentioned nothing.

Chouji's hands were beginning to shake minutely.

How was he supposed to lead his team? He wasn't a leader. He was a follower! He did what he was told and he was more than happy to let others do all of the heavy-thinking; he didn't mind physical heavy-lifting, but the mental kind was just... not for him.

Akamaru barked twice, growled softly, and jumped up to the top of Kuzu's covered head. The man remained stiff, arms crossed over his chest, and somehow... even with a puppy on his head... he looked like the most capable and powerful ninja Chouji had ever seen in his life.

Kiba sighed softly, "Akamaru's right. These guys are younger than the last two teams we've had to evade."

There was a beat of silence between all of them.

Chouji became painfully aware of his own heartbeat.

A warm hand fell over his shoulder and he just about jumped at the sudden contact.

Head swiveling quickly to look at the person that had dared touch him, he found Sakura smiling softly over at him. Her green eyes were twinkling with the same excitement she always demonstrated whenever they were allowed to do actual training, rather than boring old learning. But even with the harsh adrenaline that would undoubtedly be flooding her system, her smile was kind and patient.

"You know the right questions to ask, Chouji. Don't underestimate yourself."

They wanted him to make the plan...

Chouji bit the inside of his bottom lip as he breathed in deeply through his nose.

They had done this at least two other times. Kiba and Kuzu had spent the first few minutes interacting with one another- Kiba explained to Kuzu what kind of team they were up against and then Kuzu would offer a few possible plans of action to embark upon. The first two times, Kuzu had been the one to call the shots. Last time, Kiba had been the one to decide on which path to take- and, like the first time, he had chosen to go through a nest of murder hornets.

Hmm... whenever the ANBU knew as Wolf was on the enemy team, Kiba took them through murder hornet territory... now that he thought about it, this was probably because Wolf was a dangerous enemy that needed to be taken very seriously- even slowed down in their hunting and tracking.

Pursing his lips, Chouji managed to make his voice louder than a whisper, but was barely successful in this endeavor. "Younger means they're probably less experienced than the others we've faced?"

Kiba, Sakura, Akamaru and Fū all nodded. Kuzu said nothing.

The Akimichi closed his eyes, took a few more seconds to think, and continued with, "Can you get a gage for how they'll track us?"

When he opened his eyes, he found both Inuzuka clan members sniffing at the air once again. After around a minute of contemplating, Kiba murmured, "Odds are these'll be the good ol' fashioned civilian hunters. No Hyuuga blood means no cheating eyesight; no other identifiable clan-relation means they ain't got the nose or eyes to find us. But I can't sniff out a sensor."

Chouji nodded at this, and Sakura piped up, "A younger sensor probably would need to get close to us to be able to detect us appropriately."

Fū murmured, "So if we just keep a big distance between them and us, we should be fine... right?"

Kuzu, once again, remained quiet.

He truly was letting them take control of the mission today.

Sakura turned to Kiba now, "Can you smell any traps in front of us? Maybe they've been allowed to set up."

Kiba nodded, turned his nose to the Forest of Death before them, and began to look for any dirty play. Chouji counted himself lucky that Sakura was around to help keep him afloat.

"Nothing too close. If they were the ones to set up what I smelled, they're much less experienced than I thought- too spaced out. They didn't even use poison."

Chouji allowed a small smile to appear on his face at this. "Not everyone has a Yamanaka friend to teach them about poisons, Kiba."

"Twenty minutes." Kuzu piped up, nudging them back to the mission at hand.

Chouji nodded softly at the man and turned back to his friends. "I think we should keep up our long-range strategy. If we stay a good distance away from them, we won't have to worry about being captured." all four of them nodded, seemingly agreeing with him. Chouji was able to breathe a bit easier upon seeing this. "Kiba, you'll take the front- you're going to sniff out any traps and help us pass through them without setting them off. If we get lucky, they'll forget what they placed and spring them themselves."

There was a beat of silence in which his packmates stared at him with wide eyes. Chouji withered under the stares. "What?"

"That's diabolical, Pork Chop." Kiba breathed, allowing a smirk to come over his lips. "I love it."

Chouji smiled softly at this, nodded, and continued, "I'd also like for you to take us through a nest of hornets if it's in the optimal path to reach our destination. And, if possible, a body of water that has leeches in it. We won't swim through it, but we'll leave explosive tags on the branches over it so that if they follow us through, they may fall in."

He didn't know if he needed to explain himself about this, but he knew for a fact that Wolf and Tiger had been the ANBU to follow them for at least two of their training missions. That meant that they could, possibly, be giving the group they would be tailing pointers. If such a thing was occurring, then they would need to be smarter to be able to keep up their lead.

Chouji wasn't really a ruthless person, but he knew that Kiba was. And right now, he couldn't be thinking like himself. He needed to be thinking like Kiba. He wasn't ready to be the reason why their winning-streak with these training sessions was cut-short. He couldn't have that on his shoulders.

The next grunt Kuzu uttered sounded different from all the others- it wasn't as harsh or even disinterested. If anything, it sounded more like a huff than a grunt.

Weird.

"Remind me never to piss you off." Fū sounded amazed and Chouji was at a loss as to why- these tactics were some he knew Kiba would utilize if given the opportunity. Heck, last time Wolf had followed them, he had offered the explosive-tag idea, but Kuzu had decided against it because the other team had been fast.

"There's some bear dens we can stir up." Kiba chirped, malice dancing within his eyes and a devilish smirk clear on his face. "Y'know, if we want to be evil."

"That'd be too much." Sakura shook her head, "What Chouji's proposing would only get them if they're careless. Angered bears wouldn't be their fault."

Huh... that was true... Chouji hadn't thought about it, but with the plan he was thinking of, the only way their chasers would be slowed down would be due to their own inability to adapt to the situation.

Even when he tried to emulate ruthlessness... he was still too nice.

"Fifteen minutes."

"Anything else, Captain Pork Chop?" Fū asked, "We need to make sure we've got all the equipment necessary."

Chouji shook his head, "I think this'll be enough if we move fast."

The first time Chouji successfully led a training mission, Kakuzu allowed the boy to decide what type of jutsu they would work on during their time free from Konohagakure rule.

He had been planning to allow the boy to decide who would be the leader during the next training session, but had decided after all of the right decisions the boy had made, he had deserved something more. So with pride clear in the Akimichi's face and the buzz of success invading the bodies of all the other children, Kakuzu had sat them all down and taught them all the basics of medical ninjutsu- the boy's heart was in the right place, if only too soft for the shinobi's liking.

Chouji's understanding of this kind of jutsu was league's beyond that of his grandniece and the Inuzuka. The civilian's ability in the type was much more attuned than those two's, but it wasn't nearly as focused as the Akimichi's.

Akamaru, to his surprise, was able to heal up a small cut on Kiba's calf by spending a great deal of chakra.

Kakuzu questioned the Inuzuka about a nin-dog's ability to heal others. Kiba shrugged- "Don't know."

He had frowned down at the brat because he knew that this non-answer was Kiba's way of letting him know that he didn't know and he didn't want to know. The kid wasn't about to start asking questions around his clan, after all. And while Kakuzu knew there was quite a bit of story behind such petulance, it still annoyed him.

Because medical ninjutsu at the level they had studied on that day hadn't required as much use of chakra, the kids were rather electric by the time they were set to return to Konoha.

Seeing an opportunity to push them further, Kuzu offered them a single challenge: grab hold of the hitai-ite he wrapped around his wrist for at least one second and he would treat them to a meal at his apartment.

The point of it, of course, was to get them to work together and push their teamwork on their return trip. If they proved to be a challenge, he may even allow them to complete the challenge successfully.

Buzzed with energy and overconfident with their prior success, the group had not worked nearly as well together as Kakuzu knew they would have under other circumstances. They ran at him without much prior planning- at one point Kiba had even thrown Akamaru at him as if he were little more than some rock- and Kakuzu had made a point to demonstrate the chasm that separated their abilities from his own.

Admittedly, by driving this point home, he had taken his sweet time to return them to Konoha. If it hadn't been for their overconfidence, he wouldn't have taken so long. But he had needed to make a point of how little of a threat they were to him when thoughtless. But they had been little more than brats and he wasn't about to let them off easily.

By the time they reached the entrance of the Forest of Death, Wolf and Tiger were once again waiting for them. Once more, Wolf sat on a branch high above them and Tiger stood directly between them and the rest of the Village.

"You're late." was Tiger's only comment.

The children were panting heavily, sweating buckets, and Kakuzu could feel the frustration just rolling off of them. He was happy to see this- these kids may have been better than their peers, but that amounted to little more than nothing in the grand scale of their lives. They needed to get stronger in as little time as possible because another attack would be coming. They couldn't let their guard down just because he was now in the Village with them.

"Extra training." he explained in detached disinterest as he untied the the blue cloth of his hitai-ite from his wrist.

"You just love pushing boundaries, huh?" Wolf called from the trees and, even as out of breath as he was, the Inuzuka growled up at him. It was a quiet sound that barely broke past all of the panting, but Kakuzu was able to hear it. "Cute."

"They're back, safe and sound." he stated plainly as he retied the blue cloth beneath the cloth that covered his head; it was a bit uncomfortable to do it like this, but he would be damned before he showed off any more skin than was strictly necessary around any other human being. "The old man should stop sending you. You're liabilities."

Tiger's shoulders tensed in the manner they always did whenever he became annoyed with anything he said. He wondered if he did that on purpose to let him know how much disdain he felt for him; a proper agent of ANBU wouldn't be so obvious. Or, hell, maybe Konoha really had churned out only mediocre ninja for much too long.

"Were the leeches your idea or Inuzuka's?"

There was a faint twinge of pride in one of his hearts upon hearing this- Chouji had really risen to the challenge today. And no one would ever know to suspect him.

It was always the quiet ones...

"Did anyone fail to see such an obvious trap?"

Wolf was the one to answer this time, "Those kids just graduated this year." interestingly enough, his voice was less annoyed than bored. Maybe he too understood how mediocre these genin were. They weren't posing a challenge to this pack.

Kakuzu shrugged, "Maybe some serious consequences will help them shape up."

With this, he began to walk forward. Tiger stood his ground for the most part, but eventually moved out of the way once he saw Kakuzu wasn't about to stop.

The kids followed him without needing to be told this little meeting was finished.

Sakura frowned as Ino smirked at Kiba. The Inuzuka had his lips pursed, glaring down at his nails in frustration. Akamaru barked to grab their attention, but none of the humans turned to him.

"So... if I promise that my nails won't come into contact with any skin... could we coat them with poison then?"

Kiba had a simple and straightforward way of thinking. If he wanted something done, he would find the most linear way to accomplish it. It was really somewhat amazing to Sakura- she tended to overthink and complicate her life way too much. Seeing someone so different... it was really amazing, honestly.

Ino's smirk melted into a small, pensive frown before she moved her head from left to right. Finally, after some time spent thinking, she shrugged, "I don't see why not. But I'd need to check up Yamanaka books about the time a poison coat lasts... you may just be stuck with poison coating your nails all your life."

Sakura sighed softly before she decided it was about time she interjected with a very real complication that they needed to take into account, "What if the poison affects Kiba's nails? What would be the point of poison-coated nails if they just fall off..." worse yet... Sakura gulped, fearful, "What if the poison enters Kiba's bloodstream?"

It was too risky. Totally not worth it.

Kiba blinked at her. Ino's frown was very sharp. Akamaru growled and tried to get their attention yet again. Then Kiba shrugged softly, "How about something like nail polish to make a coat between my nail and the poison?"

Sakura had to consciously make an effort to not grind her teeth in frustration.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just make a gauntlet with sharp points that would work the same way but not put your life in peril, Kiba?" she huffed in frustration, only for him to roll his eyes at her.

"A gauntlet can be taken off or lost. My nails are a part of me. Duh."

"You're an idiot."

Ino shrugged and Sakura wasn't sure if she was on Kiba's side because she really believed in his idea or because she enjoyed egging on his recklessness. "Inuzuka's got a point."

"You're both idiots."

Akamaru sighed heavily and finally gave up on trying to get their attention. Instead he sat down beside the book of poisons they had been reading from, looking down at the pages to continue reading from it.

"You just worry too much." Kiba finally relented, "But I guess we could research some more before putting any poison on my nails."

Sakura breathed out in relief and smiled, "Thank you."

Recently, Kiba had started to hang out more often with her and Ino while they were in the classroom. And Sakura really enjoyed having him around because, unlike before, he didn't really impose conversational topics on them. Instead he listened to what they were talking about and asked questions that dealt with that. He hadn't even tried to steer them away from poisons and towards taijutsu yet.

It was a change that Sakura enjoyed in her pack leader.

It seemed that now he was back to his usual carefree attitude, albeit with a bit more conscience towards others' wants and needs.

"Let's continue with reading up on the process to coat weapons, huh?" she offered her fellow-humans. "I'd like to have start trying that out by the time Saturday rolls around."

She wanted to have poison coated kunai, at the very least, by the time they were set to go on Kuzu's next training mission.

Even though everything they had done up until this point had been avoid and keep a large distance between them and their pursuers, she just knew there would come a day when their speed would not be enough. She wanted to have a paralytic agent prepared when that day came to be able to up their odds of winning.

If Kuzu had taught them one thing, it had been that they never could rest on their skills.

He had more than proved that with the whole 'capture my hitai-ite' test he had given them this weekend... she still felt like a failure for not having been able to even get her hands within millimeters of their objective.

Besides... she was itching for a proper fight to test out the genjutsu abilities she had been exploring.

Hiruzen Sarutobi read over the reports brought back to him by the ANBU that had last been sent to tail Kakuzu and his team with a heavy frown on his lips.

He couldn't believe this... how was a team of ten year olds so adept at avoiding detection and capture?

Dog was honest and blunt in his report: Konoha's regular tracking teams were soft and unprepared for capable enemies and they needed to focus on preparing these kids for the real world. If they weren't able to capture the pack, how would they be capable of catching any other enemy that knew about hunting and tracking?

Yes, there weren't that many shinobi out there that could get near an Inuzuka in hunting and tracking skills... but that only meant that Konoha's teams needed to at least be able to give some kind of challenge to the Inuzuka. If they were trampled on by them- all the while the Inuzuka's skills were no great secret- then how would they be able to face off against other, equally capable, forces?

Tiger's own assessment of the teams was rather similar. The only major difference was that he made a point of condemning Kakuzu's tactics and the training regime he was forcing upon children.

That son of his... he had a real weak spot for kids, didn't he?

Taking a moment to light up his pipe, the Hokage fished out the reports written by other ANBU about the genin teams. Hawk had been amazed by the prowess of Kakuzu's team and underwhelmed by the performance of the team he had observed in action.

Kakuzu's pack was leaps and bounds beyond the genin they were testing. Hawk questioned why these kids hadn't at least been moved up a year in the Academy. Their skills needed to be sharpened quickly and that wouldn't happen under the regular curriculum offered by the Academy.

Crow's own assessment was in line with this.

In his words: While children should be allowed to be children, one should not be blind to the fact that these four have the abilities to become ANBU with the proficiency they have shown at such a young age. Leaving them to the Academy would be only to their detriment.

Hiruzen agreed with each of his operatives. If not the four kids, at least Kiba Inuzuka had more than proven how useful an asset he would be in the field.

The children would not be graduating before they reached their twelfth year. Kakuzu had been more than clear that if Konoha wanted his help, they would not even contemplate such a possibility. To make matters that much more absurd, he had even entered a clause against the mere mention of possibly graduating them early- if Hiruzen were ever to bring up such a topic, their agreement was null and Konoha would be down an important ally.

Shikaku had informed him that Kakuzu was the kind of player that was best to have on their side, if not for the information he brought, then for the raw power he possessed.

Hiruzen puffed at his pipe as he leaned back on his chair after having placed the papers down on his desk.

Well, even though he could not capitalize on these children's talents, he could at least focus on improving the tracking skills of other genin.

The only problem was that all good trackers Konoha had were rather terrible teachers.

~/~

It took a couple of hours and some consultation with Shikaku Nara and his strategic advisors, but, eventually, Hiruzen Sarutobi had come up with a plausible solution to their tracking problem.

Kakuzu had made it very clear that Konoha would not be able to graduate the children before twelve years of age.

But there had been no clause in their agreement that forbid Hiruzen from capitalizing on the knowledge and skills they already had without moving them forward in their career.

"So... what you're telling me, Shino, is that you were the cutest kid when you were just starting out at the Academy?"

Shino's frown was covered up his large collar, but there was no doubt in the girl's mind that he was not very happy with what she had said. Naruto, who stood beside her, was snickering softly at the picture placed in the front of the foyer they were currently standing on.

She was able to hear the insects within Shino's father buzz somewhat and the tune sounded rather upbeat, happy, even. The thought made her smile. She liked Shino. And if she was getting the hang of hearing his buzzes, then maybe his father's own were pretty similar. And if she was able to make his father like her, then she would have cemented herself in his life.

Phase 2 was about to be accomplished and she was elated by this.

"Would any of you like some tea?" Shibi Aburame asked politely, directing them deeper into the Aburame household and farther away from the collection of adorable pictures at the very front of the house. "Possibly some snacks?"

Fū took the first steps and entered deeper into the beautiful home, feeling amazement at how clean and crisp the dark, wooden walls looked. Contrary to Ibiki's apartment, the whole of the Aburame clan compound was made up of natural materials. And unlike the small hut that had belonged to her, there was clear refinement to these materials. it was like entering a museum, in a way.

But, at the same time, it was like entering a home. While the whole of Shino's house was beautiful, it felt cozy. There wasn't that kind of detached cleanliness she had experienced in Shibuki's own home.

It was at this point in time that Fū decided she really liked Shino's house.

"I'd like some of those honey cookies Shino said you cooked... sir."

Ibiki had made her promise to treat Shibi Aburame with the respect and dignity a man of his status deserved before allowing her to visit Shino's home. Granduncle had only made her promise to try harder in her spars against her classmates unless she wanted an actual punishment for not taking her training seriously... which was kind of harsh, but she was missing out on evading practice for this visit to Shino's house, so she couldn't really blame Kakuzu.

While Shibi made no noise, she swore she heard a pleased hum vibrate throughout his whole body- his colony, no doubt. And Shino's own buzzed in a similar manner.

Naruto asked for some of those cookies too because he had an unrepentant sweet tooth.

Shino led them into a large family room that housed three different tatami mats, set up in a loose semi-circle, a stack of papers and a box. He quietly directed them to sit on the tatami and once they were set up, Shibi left to go into the kitchen.

"I think we should paint on the Kage faces."

Of course that was the first thing to come out of Naruto's mouth.

With a sigh, Fū pawed at some of the loose strands of the wig to get them out of her face. Then she reiterated, "Baby steps, Naruto. Shino's never pulled off a prank before."

The only reason Kakuzu had let her come today had been because he had believed they had homework they needed to catch up on. And while her pack could help her out easy, Fū was focused on making friends with her classmates. So he had thought that she would be spending time with Naruto and Shino to work on school stuff.

Her pack really was pretty awesome. They had lied to both Ibiki and Kakuzu about homework they didn't have to convince them both to let her have this.

She had the best of friends, really.

After today, Phase 2 would have been a roaring success.

And that meant that she could move on to Phase 3 within a week or so.

When Shikaku visited the pack, he brought a bribe he knew they wouldn't be able to resist.

Specifically, it was a bribe their Inuzuka leader wouldn't be able to resist.

"What're you up to, Nara?" the boy growled softly as he hugged the packaged deer meat to his chest as if it was an invaluable treasure.

To an Inuzuka like him, it probably was.

"Can't an old man like me visit your little clubhouse with no ulterior motive?" he joked softly, taking note of the extra children within Morino's home.

While he heard from rumors around the Village that Naruto had been seen hanging around with the pack, it still surprised Shikaku to see the kid hanging out in such an intimate area. It was no big secret that Kiba just about hated Naruto; so it was an absolute shock. But even more shocking than that was seeing Shino Aburame, the quiet and reserved boy, sitting beside Ino.

It was less shocking to see the Yamanaka, admittedly. He had heard from Shikamaru that Ino had managed to become better friends with Sakura and, by extension, the rest of the pack.

These kids... what were they up to?

"Not at all. Adults like you always have some ulterior motive." Kiba was apprehensive and distrusting and, honestly, that was no surprise either.

Fumiko Morino appeared at some point and made her way towards the children that were congregated in the family area. Even as Shikaku thought up of a response to the boy's words, he swore he heard the young girl mutter the name of another classmate of hers.

"Well then, no point in beating around the bush." he eventually sighed and stepped into Ibiki's home without being invited in. Kiba frowned at him but stepped back and closed the door behind him. "I've got a business proposition for you, kid."

Kiba's frown deepened tenfold upon hearing this.

"Not interested." his words were cold and signaled his lack of interest in keeping up any conversation with him.

Shikaku sighed softly and asked for him to be just a little bit patient with him- this would be worth his time.

Kiba opened his mouth to kick him out, probably, but Chouji calling out his name stopped the Inuzuka in his tracks. The Inuzuka closed his mouth and pursed his lips, eyebrows furrowing, before he sighed softly.

"We're very busy, as I'm sure you can see. Be quick."

Shikaku silently promised Chouji he'd take him out for some ice cream next time he had an afternoon free before he explained his reason for being here to the Inuzuka.

"We need someone to help teach classes on tracking, hunting, and evading such things. Most, if not all, of our experts are... not the friendliest shinobi."

Kiba scoffed in a sarcastic manner, then motioned with his head for Shikaku to follow after him. The Nara did so and began to walk after the child, eventually finding himself in the kitchen.

"Chouji. Sakura." he greeted.

"Hi Lord Nara!" Sakura chirped,

"Hi, Shikaku." Chouji murmured without paying much attention to him. He was currently cooking, though, with Sakura's aid, so Shikaku wasn't too bothered.

Kiba opened up Ibiki's refrigerator and pushed the parcel filled with deer meat into the shelves that were already much too full... was Morino even managing his kitchen or had the pack completely taken over?

"With the likes of Hatake and my clan being the real experts, you're kind of screwed, Nara." Kiba finally turned to him after he had closed the refrigerator's door, crossing his arms over his chest. "Konoha's screwed without the clans."

Shikaku agreed. While they had clans that were great at what they did, they couldn't just continue to rely on clan-born shinobi. They had a large amount of ninja that weren't affiliated to any clan- and some of them had the makings of sensors and, at the very least, hunters. While they would not be able to hone their skills to such a level to beat out the likes of the Aburame, Hyuuga, or Inuzuka, they were still capable.

And, quite frankly, having all of their shinobi learn to avoid detection like Kiba would be a leg-up against their enemies.

"You understand the precarity of our situation, then."

Life, Shikaku took a moment to note, had become rather uncanny recently.

If anyone had told him a month ago that he would be asking children- not even genin- for aid, he would have asked them if they had drank too much saké.

"No idea why you're telling me, though." Kiba frowned, lifting himself up to sit at the edge of the counter opposite the stove Chouji was working on.

Shikaku offered a small smile, "Well, I would think it's rather obvious. Your pack was taught by someone."

Kiba's eyes narrowed, looking away from him and towards the ground.

After a few seconds, he frowned, eyebrows furrowing much more clearly.

After a few more seconds, Shikaku heard Sakura sigh, "You're a great teacher, Kiba. It was about time someone took note."

And it was after this that Kiba seemed to understand what Shikaku was here for.

The boy's face... become painfully confused.

"What're you talking about? I ain't no good."

That sentence... it encompassed so much more than the boy's ability to convey a lesson like a proper teacher would. And, unfortunately, Shikaku believed that even Kiba himself didn't understand how much he had said with that one sentence.

His friends didn't see the distraught look that came over the boy's eyes, though... and Shikaku couldn't help but wonder if the boy himself was aware of the incredibly negative feeling housed within him.

Sighing softly, Shikaku shook his head.

The Inuzuka were fine warriors... but they were so focused on their animalistic instincts that they sometimes forgot about human sensibilities.

~..~..~

Hope y'all liked this chapter! I'm thinking that next chapter will be the last one that'll fully cover the pack's training sessions- and then we'll be able to continue with the rest of the plot points that haven't been elaborated upon in a while. Please review and let me know what you thought.