A/N: It is very easy to forget about Akamaru. If I don't describe him in a scene, I'll forget he's just as much a character as Kiba. The two are one, and so I think I've come up with the perfect situation for them. Heh, heh!

Chapter 12: The River Flows Free

Kiba gave Tenten a suspicious look. Tenten did her best appear as innocent as possible.

"So… what you're trying to tell me is that you have a way of… connecting Akamaru and me…" Kiba narrowed his eyes, and Tenten laughed nervously. "How exactly are you going to do that?"

"Well, ha, ha… I'm still kind of experimenting with the methods, but…" Tenten held up her forge hammer, making Kiba and Akamaru flinch back. "Basically, I'll need to borrow Akamaru for about a week and something deeply saturated in your chakra. Your jacket should do just fine since you wear it all the time unless in training."

Kiba still wore an expression that said he was skeptical of her skills.

"Unless you want to give me your pants." Tenten smirked as Kiba's face went pink.

"W-Well, if you really need them…"

"Don't take off your pants, idiot! I was just teasing you!" Tenten was now the one red in the face as Kiba sniggered at her. She crossed her arms and turned up her nose at him. "Besides, its not like you have anything of interest…"

"Why you!" Kiba shouted, and Tenten got in his face.

"Oh what!"

"Just because you're finally developing—"

"Oh, you disgusting perv!" Tenten covered her chest, "Don't look at me!"

"Ooohh, but it's so oaky for you to comment on what in my pants, huh?"

"Well… that's because… I'm a girl, I can get away with stuff like that!"

"No, you're a girl, so if you can talk about my privates, I can talk about yours."

"Uhh, fine! Whatever!" Tenten threw him another look of disgust. "Just hand over the jacket before I decide to use my hammer on your face instead of your jacket."

Kiba drop his jokes in favor of looking surprised. "Wait, you're going to forge my jacket?"

Tenten stopped joking around herself as she shook her head. "No, that's not exactly right. This hammer has the special ability to draw out chakra. Instead of taking from myself or a metal, I'll be able to use its effect on your jacket to take the residual chakra from your jacket and examine it. Then I can draw out Akamaru's chakra. Since the two of you train to synchronize your chakra and combine your abilities, it should be much easier to do than when I forge swords for you guys."

Tenten then muttered aside, "And boy do I mean like way easier…"

"Hmm? What'd you say?" Kiba asked as Tenten waved him off with a nervous laugh.

"Nothing, nothing…! Oh, but I'm gonna need back the sword if I'm going to do this right!"

Kiba took his sword, scabbard and all, from where it rested at his side inside his sash. "You better not hurt Akamaru. He's my best friend."

"I'd never dream of hurting this little cutie," Tenten giggled as she threw Kiba's sword to the side while picking up Akamaru from where he normally rested inside Kiba's jacket. Akamaru licked her nose, and Tenten spun around with him as Kiba watched them with apprehension.

"Why do I get the feeling she's only doing this to take my dog…?" Kiba muttered to himself as he watched Tenten play with Akamaru, who seemed all too happy to be with the blacksmith girl. "And why do I think Akamaru was in on this plan…?"

"You just give us a few days. Maybe a week, at best. When I'm done, you'll have a whole new level of power and closeness with this adorable little puppy." Tenten held Akamaru close, stroking his head as she smirked at Kiba. "You just might be the one to achieve that form if you're lucky."

"Whoa! Wait, are you serious?" Kiba asked, but Tenten turned away from him, looking over her shoulder back at the Inuzuka boy.

"Maybe, it all depends on how close you already are with Akamaru." She began walking away, back into the blacksmith side of her dad's weapon shop. "Well, after I get down with him. He might just forget all about you."

"What? Hey, don't steal my dog from me!" Kiba yelled as Tenten laughed at him.

"Come on, cutie, lets get you some treats and a couple of chew toys. I always wanted a dog of my own. You wanna be my friend instead of stinky Kiba?"

Akamaru barked happily at that.

"Hey! Don't betray me, buddy! Haven't I always been good to you?"

Akamaru looked back at Kiba, and seemed to stick his tongue out as Kiba's comically shattered on the spot. Tenten laughed all the more.

When Kiba met up with the others for training, everyone noticed the cloud of gloom hanging over him. They asked about it, but all he kept muttering was about weapon girls and the betrayal of his best friend for boobs. It made no sense to them, so they just ignored it as they tried to cheer him up with the three new moves they would be perfecting in their latest training session. Kiba didn't even seem to notice that the Sai boy was joining them, or how he questioned Kiba's manliness if he was so heartbroken over a dog.

Shino Aburame was out among the rest of society. It was the beginning of the summer months, and so was prime time to acquire new specimens. Whether to add them to his arsenal, his collection or to his research it was uncertain, but Shino could honestly say that was enjoying his stroll through the forests of Konoha. Their village held one of the most diverse ecosystems for exotic bug life, so here he was scouring the trees in pursuit of his favorite pastime.

The young Aburame took let out a deep sigh, completely submerged in the serenity of his environment. Without any need for a log book for documentation, the boy in the high-collar jacket and sunglasses moved from trunk to trunk across the wide expanse of land checking every possible place his insectoid targets could be hiding.

As expected of someone of his discipline and character, he was incredibly thorough.

Brushing past a couple of branches, the young academy student spotted a purple silver-winged cicada perched atop a fallen log resting against a large oak tree. The song of the insect filled the air with the ringing of soft bells, adding to the sounds of the forest and luring Shino to its position. It was often called the Bell-Bug Princess of the insect world, partly due to the sound it emitted and its high ratio of females to males. Glasses flashing, the young teen reached down to pick it up, only for the insect to suddenly fly off when a cluster of twigs and leaves fell from the forest canopy above him.

Blinking, Shino looked up.

"Oi, oi! Konohamaru, calm down! It was only a joke! It was just a joke, dattebayo!"

"I'll murder you, dumbass! I just lost that tooth!"

"It's not my fault it was your front tooth!"

"Grind…!"

"OH SHIT!"

Shino raised an eyebrow at the commotion of the two leaping through the trees overhead, who quickly identified as Naruto Uzumaki and Konohamaru Sarutobi.

They called themselves the Fifth Division, but Shino saw no logic in it. For years now, Shino had been telling Uzumaki's group that Divisions weren't made up of one or two individuals. Their casual retort was for him to mind his own business. That meant he went back to observing them from afar. They didn't seem to mind, especially since the other boy who was watching them was recently accepted as one of their members.

Shino wondered sometimes if he approached them more casually as they liked, if he could also—

Shino recoiled a bit as the sound of a tree snapping in half came from nearby. He saw it fall, and then was greeted with a flare of white and orange swishing into his field of vision. Black robes passing grey jacket as blue eyes met reflective sunglasses. A white smile spread as in the next second blond hair seemed to phase from existence.

More black robes appeared, and Shino was a bit intimidated by the child carrying the terrifyingly huge meat-clever type of sword.

"UZUMAKI! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!" the next moment, Konohamaru was also gone.

Shino blinked.

Perhaps he would just observe their group a little while longer…

The sound of the school bell signaling the end of the day rang throughout the entire building, cutting Iruka's lesson on simple deception methods short. It also broke the class out of their daydream trances of boredom. Before the scuffle for the door could commence however, the young teacher clicked his fingers so that he could get everyone's attention.

"Remember students to study all the material we've been covering these last few weeks. The written portion of your exams will be up first, and I want everyone ready to take it by tomorrow morning. I expect each and every one of you to get a good night's rest and do your best." Iruka stated before dismissing them all with a wave. As kids began filing out one after the other, the man then turned to the window where he could see his most troublesome student still lounging there in the sill as if it were as comfortable as any bed. He had been there since he arrived half an hour late to classes and Iruka had pretty much forgotten about it until Naruto made a yawning sound that caught his attention again. In the young blonde's mouth was what looked like a strain of wheat, but it was still green instead of brown.

"The class is over, Naruto." Iruka said, his tone already reflecting the fact that he knew Naruto would do or say something to make Iruka question why the boy was his favorite student. "You can go now. And I expect you to pass the exams with flying colors. You have been working hard, haven't you?"

"Of course, Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, still chewing his strange wheat. Iruka noticed that Naruto was wearing a straw hat around his neck tied there by a loose bit of rope. "I've trained myself well in all the arts of the Divisions. I had to, you see, I'm its founder."

Iruka narrowed his eyes. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. Your shinobi skills shouldn't suffer in place of your four Divisions disciplines. In fact, you should be using your ninja arts to better improve the Divisions' Zankensoki. Just look at Sasuke. He seems to be a genius of both."

Naruto hummed in thought, but Iruka was glad that Naruto didn't look upset. He often used Sasuke to light a fire under Naruto, but they both knew that Naruto was more than a fair match for the last of the Uchiha clan. But Sasuke was more respected because he took himself seriously, while Naruto encouraged an image of tomfoolery and silliness.

"I've said it before, Iruka-sensei. If one takes life too seriously, they become a Kuchiki. However… should one also take life too nonchalantly, then they are doomed to live as a Kyoraku."

"So, I should be calling you Captain Kyoraku, then? Neh?" Iruka asked in a deadpan, but that seemed to be where Naruto wanted to conversation to go as he pulled up his straw hat and tipped it to Iruka.

"Well, being labelled such has its advantages as well. I never said I gave up perception and intellect just because I lack seriousness. The same as how Sasuke doesn't give up one martial art for another." Naruto smiled, his smile and whisker marks being the only things Iruka could see beyond the hat tilt.

"But have you studied the chakra exercises any better? Learned to use them to effectively limit your jutsu?" Iruka asked, a bit of his true feelings of panic seeping into the conversation. He was worried about Naruto.

Naruto waved him off, however, though his tone was morose. "There is only so much an exercise can do for you. It is difficult for you to ask me to pour a raging river into a tea cup… no matter how many dams and streams we build to offset the flow of water. That tea cup can only hold so much at once. It cannot change itself to suit the whims of the mortals who created it."

Iruka's eyes widened. "Are you saying—?"

Naruto tilted his straw hat even further, so all but his chin was hidden away. "The exercises helped greatly, Iruka-sensei. They made me aware of the river. The practice helped me create a dam. They showed me how to make streams to offset the water's flow. They even made me aware of the tea cup at the end of the river. But a river is just that. And a tea cup will never hold the waters of a river… not even a thousand of them can do such an impossible task…"

"Naruto, there are other jutsu that can—!" Iruka started, going back over to his desk for a few scrolls he knew he had laying around. But Naruto was already in front of him, holding up a hand to impede his progress. His hat was still obscuring his face. Iruka saw a single drip of water hit the floor.

"It would not matter, Iruka-sensei. If I cannot fill the tea cup, then I should not be given bigger mug while all those around me depend upon the river to flow steady. I see it for its power and majesty, but I cannot cheat in this impossible task handed down to all of us together in this Academy. There is still my honor and pride in the Divisions to uphold. If this were three or four years ago, then I would have taken your hasty offer without a second thought. But I am not that boy seeking attention anymore. I have my pride. I have my honor. I have the Divisions. And if I should fail to fill the teacup with the waters of the river… then all of that shall stand firm as the waters flood all else."

"Naruto…" Iruka didn't know if he was proud or frustrated with Naruto's stubbornness at this juncture. On the one hand, Naruto was becoming a great man that should be followed for his integrity and honesty. On the other hand, Naruto was risking his entire future on a hedged bet.

But at the moment Iruka was thinking just how much he wished he could help Naruto with even more that life would soon throw at him. The blond tilted his straw hat up high enough for Iruka to see a foxy grin.

"Besides, Iruka-sensei," Naruto began mischievously, "I never said I won't use our methods to complete that impossible task. After all, this exam is a judge of our skill as shinobi. Though I hardly consider myself a ninja after all I've done to promote the Divisions, I have been meaning to show you my cunning as co-creator of the Stealth Force."

Iruka couldn't help it. He smiled. Naruto was always so strange and yet so endearing. "Fine, fine. You do what you must. But come prepared, Naruto. If even one trick catches my eye…"

"Then I'll give Ino the full title of Commander of the Stealth Force. Especially if I can't get pass your eye…"

Iruka was quickly filled with annoyance and rage at the insult.

"What was that, you brat?"

Naruto gulped. He tried to flash-step past Iruka, but he was plucked out of the air as Iruka turned to where he was racing for the window.

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH CHEAP HIT-N-RUN TACTICS LIKE THAT IN MY CLASS, BRAT! PREPARE TO ANSWER FOR YOUR CRIMES!"

"Iruka-sensei, please have mercy!"

"MERCY IS FOR THE WEAK!"

"You know… if you swallowed your pride a little, then Iruka-sensei could help you." Ino said as she leaned against a tree.

Naruto chewed his straw of wheat in thought while laying sprawled out in the grass. "Hmm…"

"Ino is right, Naruto. Iruka-sensei has to know more exercises or techniques that can help you make a clone effectively." Hinata spoke up from where she sat next to Naruto, her knees drawn up to her chest.

"Hmm…"

"The shinobi library was useless since everything they had was already given to us by Iruka, but maybe something in his personal experience could be of more help." Ino put forth while Naruto continued to chew.

"Hmm…"

"Or perhaps we could… potentially approach another shinobi outside our families for information. I mean… yes, it didn't work so well the last time, but its been months now. I'm sure whatever their problem with you must be forgotten. The way they all glared… maybe you shouldn't have pulled those pranks when you were younger. Though… their glares were very harsh for some mild crudeness in childish humor…"

"Hmm…"

Okay, now the blonde young lady was getting annoyed. Ino stomped over to where Naruto was laying. "What the hell is wrong with you? We're trying to help you, and all you can do his hem and hum! We can't save you, but at least pitch some ideas of your own! We're trying here, and you can't even say something!"

Interrupted from his chewing, the blond boy looked up and quickly processed the anger on Ino's face. "Oh, hmm… How to put this… I seem to be having an altogether different problem at the moment."

Ino leaned down, giving him a confused pout. "Huh? What is it?"

"Well, you see, I put this piece of wheat in my mouth earlier because I thought it might relax me."

"Yeah, okay…" Hinata crawled over to be a bit closer while Ino squatted down next to her fellow blond.

"Except now… I think it might not be wheat at all… I think it must be toxic, or something because the more I chew it, the more I can feel it burning the inside of my mouth!"

"What the hell? Spit it out, you moron!" Ino swiped the unknown plant stem from his mouth and tossed it aside. Hinata was left looking wide-eyed and speechless, though Ino was hopping mad. "Why would you go chewing on stuff?"

"Especially if you don't know for sure what it is, Captain! Don't put strange substances in your mouth!" Hinata chided.

Naruto's voice became serious, "My little prank there aside... Let me ask you… Am I to forsake everything we've created together for something we all know is beyond me?"

Ino and Hinata looked away from him. Ino clenched her fists at her side as she stood up straight.

"Does it even matter what we think? Or what the others think, for that matter?" Ino snarled in her caged rage.

Hinata shook her head. "It doesn't matter, and we all know that. No sense in asking pointless questions. We all love you, Naruto. Besides, regardless of any advice we might give you… you'll just go ahead and do what you were going to do anyway. That's the way we like you, and that is when you're at your best."

Naruto looked over to her, his eyes wide and almost child-like the way they sparkled with surprise. He watched as Hinata got up to her feet and dusted the grass off her black robes.

Gently ensuring her hair was still okay, Hinata smiled sweetly down at him. "But don't worry about it. Ino and I will be sure to walk several steps behind you at the exams tomorrow… that way, we won't get dragged into whatever trouble you cause."

Naruto smirked a little before his face became morose. "Ugh, that's too bad… That means I'll be on my own…"

Naruto clamored to his feet with a groan as Hinata and Ino watched from the corner of their eyes.

His cerulean blue eyes were not shining any longer. The wind gently billowed his haori at his ankles. "And that means that… Iruka-sensei and Old Man Sarutobi… will blame it all on me…"

Hinata and Ino had no easy words for that. They could only hope that all went well.

Unfortunately for them, things rarely ever did for the Divisions…

And there you have it! A new chapter from Yours Truly!