"He's unpredictable."

"Did he give you any indication of what he was planning?"

His chest rose as he breathed in deeply- this was the third time this same question had been asked, albeit in different words.

The Hokage was within rights to be worried about any ulterior motives he may have had, sure. Even with how much he had done to play within the rules that they had agreed on, The Hokage had every single reason in the world to mistrust him. He was, at the end of the day, a well known S-Ranked criminal that whose crimes weren't incredibly difficult to find.

Well, the really violent and obvious crimes. There were some he highly doubted many, if any, knew about.

"No." he repeated, just as bluntly as he had said it the past two times.

Tomoe had been called back in because his word couldn't be trusted at face value.

Hidan had just managed to destroy all trust he may have built with the Hokage in one swift impulse.

If he hadn't been just as confused as the Hokage about why Hidan had decided to kill off the two that had attacked Kiba and Fū, Kakuzu would have been a lot more incensed than collected. Hell, his first instinct had been to wish to find a way to wrap his hands around the dumbass's neck to choke him- just to get some kind of violent release from how much the news had angered him.

Hidan's actions against the two shinobi that had attacked those kids were going to be seen as the completion of a plan they had previously agreed to- even if such a thing was far from the truth. Because there was no way that the Hokage and the rest of the shinobi under his rule were connecting those dots.

But those dots didn't connect. At least, not to him.

As far as he knew, Hidan didn't have a reason to kill them. He had no ties to the children, so he didn't have a reason to target them specifically.

"My best guess is that it was an attack of opportunity." he offered after suppressing the long-suffered sigh in his chest. "He probably got desperate to send off some sacrifices to the god he believes in." and that truly was the best he could come up with. Because any other reason that alluded to Hidan having targeted them specifically for what they had attempted to do with the children just didn't make sense.

"He was found yelling about how the two he attacked deserved everything he put them through and more when the guards arrived on the scene. That points to Hidan having more of a reason than just opportunity, Kakuzu."

Kakuzu closed his eyes and made a point of crossing his arms over his chest.

He was saved from having to hear the man that had legally-without-his-permission adopted Fū reframe the question a fourth time by Tomoe Inuzuka clearing her throat.

"You ain't getting anything more true, Lord Third. If this guy really had some ulterior motive, Kakuzu didn't know about it."

"You weren't played." was the most important bit to take from her words.

When he opened his eyes, he found the Hokage and the burly interrogator in the middle of an exchange of deep frowns. The Hokage's aged face was scrunched in clear displeasure while the interrogator seemed irritated.

It was a good thing that he had insisted for Tomoe Inuzuka to be present for this interrogation. It would have been a miracle for him to convince them of his innocence if not for her input.

He pushed his chair away from the table he was sat before, then stood up.

Considering how no one stopped him then, nor even called out for him to come back once he had exited the interrogation room, he knew that there was no more they needed from him.

Well, maybe that wasn't the right word for it. He was sure there was a lot those two needed from him. There were lots of things going wrong in their world and it was clear that they were out of their depth in attempting to keep everything from spiraling out of control. He was even sure there was more he could offer that would even help them.

But there was no doubt about the fact that there was little help he would give them willingly.

His focus was on keeping one thing from becoming an out-of-control mess- and that was the pack. Everything and everyone else that wasn't part of that tight unit was secondary and expendable.


The pack was procrastinating.

Whenever Kiba wasn't particularly passionate of what they wanted to do, Sakura had always been the one to pick up the slack and keep them on track. Chouji was more of a follower than a decider- had always been like that- and Fū was almost never able to sit herself down for long enough to actually focus on anything by herself. They really needed Sakura to reign them in and force them to pay attention on anything that required more than a single glance or thought.

This was the first time that Sakura was the one dragging her feet; instead of getting them on the right track, she was letting them get distracted by any little thing that came up.

That's how they ended up helping Naruto study up for a history test, right before accompanying Ino to her family's garden to learn about makeshift poisons. When those opportunities came up, Fū jumped on without a second's hesitation, and Sakura didn't bother to remind her that they had work they needed to do after school.

On Wednesday, the newest adventure proved to be helping one another try and understand the newest math lesson because it seemed that everyone in class was struggling. And then, for some reason, on Thursday the pack allowed him to distract them by reminding them that it had been forever since they had eaten anything at an Akimichi bakery.

Hey, just because he was aware of what they were all doing didn't mean that he was going to rise above it just yet.

When they weren't occupied with Fū's latest flight of fancy, they were working on homework that they actually needed to finish. And when they weren't doing that, they were either cooking, reading up on jutsu, or actually practicing said jutsu. If it wasn't any of that, it was something new that they deemed important enough.

No one said anything about the chakra beasts, their intention to learn about them, or Shikamaru. They still hung around the guy, of course, because Chouji was very insistent on being his friend. But they just... didn't bring up the fact that they had decided to fabricate a story to tell the Nara some of the biggest secrets they had been keeping for the past few years of their lives.

Weekends were still spent being chased after genin tracking teams and Shiranui had passed by at one point to get some more pointers on how to teach civilian trackers. Kiba was still doubtful of how useful he could be in this sort of thing, but the gushy, soft-hearted simpleton kept saying that the ninja were really learning. And as long as he kept getting routine deer-meat payments every month, he wouldn't really complain.

He allowed the pattern of putting off the doctoring of the tale they were going to tell Shikamaru until the end of the second week. It was at that time that he knew it was about time to step in and actually get them on track because clearly Sakura wasn't going to do it.

If this had happened before... well... before everything, he would have likely allowed them to continue ignoring what they were supposed to pay attention to. Shikamaru wasn't his favorite person in the world, Kuzu being a secret was valuable to him, and there was no real rush to them telling anyone about him. He would not have really bothered because if no one else was trying, then their plan wasn't all that important.

But now he knew that such a way of thinking wasn't right. The pack had decided on something. And how much weight did their decisions really hold if they didn't go through with them?

Besides, it was important for them to learn about what was inside of Fū. If it truly was as powerful as Sakura had told them, then it was really in their best interest to learn- and fast.

Not only was it dangerous to be ignorant about a power you had, it was also a power they'd be able to use if they ever got into a scrape. Fū wasn't comfortable enough with herself to use such an advantage in a fight because she hadn't been allowed to learn about it due to stupid adults. The pack couldn't let her continue on like this. They needed to be better.

Kiba took one final moment to look over the pack that was staring at him with curiosity wafting strongly from each of them.

He stood in the middle of the living room, while Fū was laying on the ground, Sakura seated to her right. Chouji appeared with a tray of snacks he set in front of them both, then quickly sat beside Sakura.

Akamaru jumped out of the Akimichi's pant pocket to lay beside Fū because he knew very well that she wouldn't have any reservations about giving him from the food she would eat.

"Alright, no more stalling." he clapped his hands together and made sure to look at them all for an even amount of time with his eyes narrowed and a frown on his lips. He had to look serious, after all. This would be the first time in a long time that he'd be making them do something they weren't completely eager to do. "We're working on what we'll tell Shikamaru today and we're finishing it. If we don't, we won't tell him anything."


"I'm just not sure I'm totally convinced on saying that we're interested in the chakra beasts because Kuzu told us about them."

Sakura was chewing at the tip of the pencil she had been using for the past few hours to jot down the ideas she was given by the rest.

Chouji couldn't help but sigh softly- he understood why she wanted to make sure that their story was airtight, but was this really the issue that they needed to get stuck on? It was the last thing they really had to discuss before they could read one final time over their story and finally be done with it.

Night had descended around them, and he had glanced out the window at one point to find a full moon high in the sky. Ibiki had not yet appeared, even though the workday had ended quite some time ago, and they really needed to wrap this up before he appeared.

Even though Ibiki Morino was an adult that could be trusted, but he could only be trusted to a degree. He was still an interrogator that worked very closely with the Hokage and the rest of Konoha's governmental structure and, because of that, he was subject to having to follow his orders. They had been told explicitly to not chase information about the chakra monsters; if Ibiki found out what they were doing, he'd, at the very least, be alerted that they were up to something. And the last thing they needed was for adults to get in the way of what they needed to learn.

"Well, it's not like he didn't tell us about them." Kiba's voice was a bit strained, considering how he was seated upside down on the couch with his bare feet suspended in the air. "He's a creative old guy that fed us the stories we presented in class before. I don't think it'd be that hard to believe."

Fū lay on the ground directly beneath him, her cheeks puffed up with her eyebrows drawn in tight. She was still new to the story creation process, so she hadn't really been able to add too much to the conversation, unfortunately. Chouji wouldn't be surprised if this frustrated her, considering how much she enjoyed being a part of their little family.

When their eyes met, he offered her a small smile in the hopes that it'd help ease her tension, if only a little.

Her eyes hardened and she spoke up for the first time in a good hour.

"But why would we care about them?"

Chouji allowed himself to be just the tiniest bit happy at the idea that he had helped her find the courage to speak out what had been bothering her- which, from the way Sakura nodded emphatically, was the same thing the pink haired girl had been worrying about.

"Why wouldn't we?" Kiba challenged, "Everyone in school knows we hunt down Hashirama Senju's treasure in our spare time- that's about as mythical as you get before you hit chakra beasts and godly beings."

Well, treasure was treasure. At the end of the day, if they found the treasure, they'd acquire riches that they'd then be able to sell off or trade away. There was an economic benefit to chasing that down. And, even if they never found the treasure, it gave them a great excuse to run around the Forest of Death, stay away from their respective families, and stretch their legs. The idea that they were chasing after a famed treasure wasn't that farfetched for them.

But wanting to learn about the chakra beasts… it was a pretty big contrast when compared to that, wasn't it?

"But there's no real reason for us to want to learn more about the beasts!" Sakura finally shouted out in exasperation.

Chouji focused his gaze on the hand that had been gripping the pencil- it was so tightly coiled that it was a surprise they had yet to hear it snap.

"They're big monsters that can kill everything!" Kiba shouted back, throwing his arms up in an equally irritated huff. "Why wouldn't we want to learn more about that!?"

Silence hung suspended over them for a moment.

He glanced from Kiba over to Sakura, blinking. He couldn't get a good look at Kiba's face, but his body looked tightly coiled and his hands were curled into not-quite-fists. Sakura's face was bordering on acquiring an angered shade of pink and her glare would have killed a lesser person.

Considering how the tension was clearly getting to them, he decided to stand up and divert their attention from each other over to him.

"I think that our biggest issue is that we never really do anything if we won't gain something tangible." Sakura's eyes focused on him and her grip on her pencil became just the slightest bit less choking. "When we hit meat sellers, we get meat in return. When we look for Hashirama Senju's treasure, we have fun and stand to gain something. But with learning about the beasts… we'd only really be gaining knowledge."

And that wasn't normal for them. Learning for the sake of learning, if it didn't translate into their skills on the battlefield, wasn't really something they did.

"Oh!" Kiba gasped, suddenly rolling around on the sofa to look over at him with widened eyes. "'Cause that's what nerds do!"

His smile was lopsided because he was happy to see that Kiba had managed a sort of breakthrough, but they had been at this for hours and he was starting to feel incredibly tired.

"Precisely! And we're not nerds!"

Kiba snickered for a moment, but was kind enough to keep any comment about how Sakura was a nerd to himself. Chouji was very happy to see that because the last thing they needed was for an inconsequential argument to break out between the loudest of their pack.

"So, we need to find a reason for why we would be interested in the beasts."

Kiba sat up, yawned, and Akamaru began to bark. The pup had moved to be on the same couch as his Inuzuka partner and had been dozing for a while. But it seemed that Kiba becoming a bit more energetic had caught his attention.

Chouji stood up to stretch, half-heartedly listening to the dog's barks. He was clearly adding something that he considered important to the conversation, but he still wasn't particularly adept at understanding what he meant- specifically when it was all spoken. Understanding Akamaru's physical signs was much easier than his spoken language.

His stomach grumbled and he knew that part of his tiredness was due to the fact that they had eaten dinner quite some time ago and it had been a quick and mundane affair. Maybe he should get something to snack on… yeah, that'd be a good idea.

"Akamaru's saying we're violent little shits. Maybe we'd be interested 'cause we'd be willing to try and find one. Hell, maybe we might try and befriend one."


Any of the remaining irritation and anger that she had kept within her system after Kiba had finally understood the biggest complication with a straightforward approach to their interest in the chakra beasts completely dissipated after he mentioned what Akamaru had wanted to add.

Nobody offered a quick answer.

She was much too preoccupied wondering if they really were violent little shits to think up of an answer.

Kuzu had told her that she had a fighting spirit; that she was thrilled by a good fight and she knew he had been right. A good challenge was something that definitely did bring her a large amount of joy. She couldn't run away from that fact anymore- not after she had been so happy to totally decimate Hana Inuzuka and her teammates.

But did people really think so ill of them that they would find it easier to believe that they were interested in mythical creatures because they could be used as weapons rather than that they were curious just because they were curious?

She had been the one to know that something so simple wouldn't be enough for Shikamaru- or for anyone in Konoha that had heard about their exploits. After years of running amok while dancing to the beat of their own drum, it wasn't a surprise that people didn't really consider them in the kindest light.

But was what Akamaru said indicative of what others thought?

Were they seen as so ruthless?

Against her consent, the image of two kunoichi, passed out and wounded, forced its way into the forefront of her mind. Hana Inuzuka had asked for their worst by hurting one of their own- she had risen up to the challenge because she had known that such an insult could not stand and she didn't want to be the one to disappoint Kuzu.

But that had been one example- and one where their methods had been justified.

What about all the other times they had led tracking teams on wild goose chases that had taken them through dangerous territory?

She had never even bothered to wonder if any of those teams had gotten out alright.

"Would we?"

In her ears, Fū's voice sounded like a hoarse croak. It sounded distant. It sounded... not okay.

Kiba shrugged, seemingly unaffected by the waters they were now treading. "They're pretty cool. Seeing one in real life might be awesome too." then he scratched at his cheek, sniffing at the air. "Kuzu's dangerous, too."

Akamaru was, in essence, offering them a pretty straightforward reasoning for why they want to learn about the beasts that Shikamaru could believe: They'd be willing to find one and try and befriend it.

They had befriended Kuzu and it had all worked out for the best, after all. Just like they had struck up a deal with Alpha and the rest of the strays.

But there was something far reaching about Akamaru's offer that scared Sakura.

"Kuzu's not a beast made of pure chakra." Chouji offered lightheartedly, making his way into the kitchen. "But it does seem like something we'd try and do."

And it was then that Sakura noticed that none of the boys understood.

But Fū did.

Sakura did.

When put in the way that Akamaru had, it seemed like the only reason they'd be interested in the beasts would be to acquire power- and violent power, at that.

They hadn't befriended Kuzu for his power. They had, in essence, forced him to allow them into his life because they really liked his stories. Everything they had learned from him had been secondary.

"Yeah, we're that kind of crazy." Kiba nodded, "Sakura, write that down!"

For a moment, she hesitated.

For one single moment, she wondered if she should offer some other reason. Because something about what had been decided just sat wrong in her gut.

But then she moved the pencil back onto the page and began to write down the note.

The fact of the matter was that, unless Shikamaru told anyone about this, their reasoning for wanting to learn about the beasts wouldn't reach anyone else. They didn't have to worry about what anyone would think because, if everything worked out well, no one would even have to know about this.

But this was something that everyone would find easy to believe: that they were a wild crowd that would want to learn about something dangerous to possibly seek it out. It wouldn't be a stretch for anyone to assume that they might even be thinking that there might be a way to use the power of the beasts.

With a frown, Sakura shook her head and forced herself to focus on what she was writing.

Well, if people thought that they were this kind of crazy, then so be it. She would rather be seen as ruthless and hardhearted than weak any day.


She knew that her friends wouldn't use her.

Kiba, Sakura, Chouji, and Akamaru all cared for her. Even though their introductions hadn't been all smooth-sailing, she had fallen in with them with only a few hiccups. She cared about them and she knew that they cared about her just as much! Kiba had gotten injured protecting her and the rest had come to save them both. To this day, they indulged her and were patient whenever it took her a while to understand something that came easily to them.

She knew that her friends weren't the kind of people that would abuse of the creature trapped within her.

But when she had heard what Akamaru had said... that's what she thought he had been hinting at.

She wasn't very well-versed in a lot of common facets of life that she had missed out on because of the way she had grown up. Because of this, she didn't really understand why their reputation all around the Village was so strong and why they paid so much attention to it. But she knew one simple thing to be true: her friends weren't violent.

And she couldn't believe that others would believe such a thing.

It was disgusting how little people thought of her friends...

By the time Ibiki returned to the apartment, Chouji and Sakura had filed out. They had finished putting all the details together and come up with an incredibly convincing backstory to how they had met Kakuzu, how they had gotten to know him, and why they were now interested in learning about the beasts. Chouji believed that this should be enough to convinced Shikamaru to let them into the Nara Library while also quenching a good chunk of his curiosity about the secrets they had been keeping from him.

Kiba and Akamaru were sleeping on the couch.

Ibiki didn't bother with scolding her for letting him stay over. She immediately knew that the day had been long and hard one in a streak of long and hard days- on a good day, he would have told her something about how it was inappropriate for Kiba to not return to his home.

Instead of really telling her anything, the interrogator just disappeared into the living areas, leaving her seated alone in the darkness.

She had been staring at nothing for much too long, she knew. But she was too angry to go to sleep.

Her pack was amazing. How could anyone not like them?!

Soft footsteps padded towards her and in a few seconds, she found a thick blanket falling over her shoulders.

"Would you like to hear about the latest stunt Anko Mitarashi pulled?" Ibiki's voice was strained, but low. She looked over at him just in time to see him draping a thick black blanket over both Inuzuka clan members.

She blinked.

But eventually muttered out a soft "Yeah".

He could have sat on the couch- it was more than big enough to fit Kiba laying down if he sat on the edge.

Instead, the large adult opted to sit down beside her, groaning softly when his joints creaked and popped.

He didn't push her away when she scooted close to his side, reclining ever so slightly into him. Instead, he just pat her right shoulder with a hand that was bigger than her whole head before he began to tell her about Anko Mitarashi, the firecracker kunoichi that was the cause of most of his headaches.


If there was one thing he had learned in his many years of life, it was that there was one phrase he could happily live by: When one door closes, find a way to open it.

His mother had once raised him with a similar, albeit inherently weak belief; the kind that believed that a new door opened up if one closed. But he had never been a big fan of such a way of thinking. It was too permissive and passive. In a way, it even took away one's agency to truly impact their own life. And if there was one thing Danzou Shimura refused to ever allow happen, it was to lose his own agency.

He much preferred his personal interpretation, of course, because he had never been the kind to allow any setback to truly be a setback. Life was unpredictable and there were things he would never be able to truly control. But that didn't mean that had to just sit back and allow life to happen.

No, he made life happen on most days.

It had been some time since he had last thought of this phrase.

Of course it was Hiruzen Sarutobi's soft heart that had made him think of it once again.

"This is quite the mess you have gotten yourself into, old man."

Hiruzen had no right to offer him a tired, pained smile. He had given him a perfectly decent way out of the Hokage's chair that he had refused to accept.

Assassinations were a messy business, especially when the target knew of their status in such schemes. A smarter man would have made him pay for his actions.

Luckily for him, Hiruzen Sarutobi was emotionally stupid.

"I do not remember having invited you in for an advisory session, Danzou." Hiruzen puffed at his pipe, shuffling papers around his desk. "You asked, I already explained why what you want cannot happen. You may leave now."

Inwardly, Danzou allowed himself a moment to rejoice in absolute amusement. Hiruzen actually believed he was in control... such a silly, senile old man.

"Before I leave, I just wish to know if you have thought about the ramifications of having an outsider take on the role of jounin instructor for one of the most promising genin teams to ever come from the Academy. Have you thought about how you will bring this up to Lord Akimichi? I am sure he will not be happy to break traditions."

Hiruzen's lips tightened around the pipe and his eyes hardened.

"Only you could walk yourself willingly into such a minefield." with a dramatic heave, he got up from the chair he had commandeered. "Do not worry, Sarutobi. I will clean up this mess- maybe I should begin to charge you for my services."

"Do not toy with me, Shimura." he kept his face devoid of any reaction as Hiruzen's eyes became inflamed. "I have not forgotten about your past actions."

"Which past actions may you be speaking of, dearest friend?" he moved away from the chair, then took one step back. "It's a matter of public record that my reputation as a shinobi is unblemished. And as a public servant, while I may have stumbled in some cases, I have only ever done what I have believed was in the best interest of my home."

His only great mistake had been not getting Orochimaru appointed as Hokage instead of Minato Namikaze. At least he would have survived the Nine Tails' attack. And then so many of the issues that had begun to assault Konoha would never have been able to bloom.

The shuffling of papers ceased at the same time Hiruzen's glare became murderous.

"Do not worry, Lord Third," he turned around to begin to make his exit. "I will accomplish what others have failed to do- I will take this team under my wing and actually educate them."

If Hiruzen had some sort of witty reply or angered shout thought up, it mattered little to Danzou. He exited the office and ignored any noise that came from the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been a fool in promising Kakuzu that the so-called Pack would not graduate until they were all twelve years of age; he just proved that he wasn't sharp enough to be in the chair when he agreed that Kakuzu would become their jounin instructor. The children of two Clan Heads and a promising civilian were not the kind of stock that could just be toyed around with.

He had considered these three expendable previously. In a way, he still did. If they proved to be more trouble than they truly were worth, then measures would have to be taken to dispose of them. But their value had skyrocketed in the past few months- all due to the information his organization was accurately acquiring now.

Yōji was doing a fine job of following them and acquiring all the kind of intel they needed to make these kinds of calls. He wasn't the kind to disappoint, that boy.

Some changes would have to be made, but Danzou knew that there were still things he could do to gain access to the children and, most importantly, to Kakuzu himself.

The door to getting these children to become genin, instructed by him, within the month had been slammed in his face due to Hiruzen's objective stupidity. But that did not mean he would quite on this venture.

At this crossroads, these children were either going to be under his power to some capacity, even if only on a superficial way that would make Kakuzu happy, or they were going to have to begin thinking of drastic measures.

He would hate to have to take such measures on perfectly viable soldier-stock.


Shikamaru hadn't said a word in the last twenty minutes.

That's how long it had taken them to recount the story they had agreed upon.

During those twenty short minutes, Shikamaru's face hadn't changed in any capacity. His whole posture had remained relaxed and only mildly curious- the guy had a perfect calm façade when he really put himself up to it that would have bothered anyone that didn't have a nose like him.

With his nose, though, he was able to smell how uncomfortable Shikamaru had been for a great chunk of their retelling.

They had let Chouji take proper control of the whole story, because it had only felt right for the guy's best friend to be the one to let him in on their greatest secret. Sakura and he had stood on either side of their Akimichi best friend, quiet but there. Akamaru had added a few barks every now and again, which Kiba had needed to translate.

Akamaru had been doing it because it wasn't a big secret that he liked to form part of conversations between non-Inuzuka's. And he liked adding his input. What he had 'added' had only been specific details Chouji had missed- so nothing damning or worrying. But it had definitely aided in convincing Shikamaru that this was something normal for them.

Fū was off with Naruto, Shino, and Ino, presumably giving those three something to get distracted by so that they wouldn't learn what Shikamaru was learning.

By the end, Kiba couldn't smell distrust coming from the Nara. He couldn't small paranoia or worry. There wasn't even the slightest hint of doubt.

There was only sadness.

Shikamaru's face was cold as he nodded, dark eyes focused on a spot on the ground below them.

The safer edges of the Forest of Death was where they had asked him to accompany them. It was familiar enough territory for Shikamaru to not feel on edge, but was also foreign enough for it to feel like they were serious about letting him know more about their lives.

"So..." he cleared his throat, then his voice took on a harsh edge. "You're only telling me this because your back's against the wall."

It wasn't a question.

Kiba immediately felt the need to bite back a snappy retort. But he forced himself to instead shift from one foot to the other, then back, and pay more attention to Chouji and Sakura than Shikamaru himself.

"And because you're our friend, Shika, and we don't want to deceive you anymore. We all wanted to tell you this- I've thought about it for a while! But... we just didn't know how." Chouji wasn't happy- he was stunned, even.

For a moment, Kiba wondered if Chouji had thought that Shikamaru would receive this news with his arms wide open. But then he sighed to himself- of course that's what the guy would have thought.

Kiba had expected Shikamaru to react negatively. He didn't have a logical reason for it other than this was Shikamaru and he didn't trust the guy. But Chouji loved this kid.

"All these years... your big secret's been just..." Shikamaru breathed in and the sound was just barely shaky. "Just some guy?"

Sakura surged forward, taking one step forward, "He's not just some guy, Shikamaru! He's amazing!"

"He's some old man whose full name you don't even know. You met him at a bar, paid him for a story, and then he just- what?" he scoffed, eyes wide and mouth barely stopping itself from turning into a sneer, "Kept coming back to visit? That was the big secret you guys were keeping this whole time? Some creep?"

Kiba bit his cheek forcefully.

Chouji could handle this. Sakura could handle being his backup. There was no need for him to intervene and correct Shikamaru's horrible assumption that Kuzu was someone that they should have worried about.

Because if he opened his mouth, he knew he was just going to make a bigger mess of this. And that's the last thing Chouji deserved.

"Shika, he's anything but a creep." Chouji fidgeted with his fingers, then sighed heavily. "I know this is a lot. And I know that you're going to be hurt because I kept something like this from you, but believe me when I say that we didn't keep this secret from you because you're you. It was a secret because we all agreed to never tell anyone about him."

"So how does Fumiko know about him?"

They had planned for this possibility. They had hoped it wouldn't have to come, but Kuzu hadn't taught them to run around like idiots.

"She caught us when we were meeting up with him once- before she had even entered the Academy. She swore to stay quiet about him as long as we promised to be her friends."


Shikamaru didn't say a word for a long stretch of time.

When he finally spoke up, it was with red cheeks and eyes.

"You know, all this time, I thought that your secret was something important."

And that... stabbed Chouji, right through his heart.

"What do you m- Shika, this is important!" he took a step forward, moving to get closer to his friend. But the Nara stepped back and shook his head.

"An important secret to keep from your best friend, Chouji, is something horrible. It's something that could hurt everyone in your life. Or it's so stupid you're scared it'll make me see you in a different light." Shikamaru's glare was ice cold. "But finding some old guy to teach you jutsu every now and again isn't important. It's a story."

Shikamaru sniffled.

Chouji felt tears fill his eyes.

And then Shikamaru closed his eyes.

"I... I need some time to process this." when he opened them once more, Shikamaru didn't look him in the eyes. "You're my best friend, Chouji. I still want to be your friend. But..." he sighed heavily and turned around. "I just need some time."

He walked away.

Neither Sakura nor Kiba moved to stop him.

Chouji was rooted to the spot- he couldn't move... he couldn't have... even if he had wanted to.

But the truth was that he hadn't wanted to move.

Because in that moment, he only wanted to be with Sakura and Kiba. He knew that he should try to comfort Shikamaru in some capacity or another... but he hadn't wanted to.

And that made him feel bad.

It was as if time hung suspended as Shikamaru disappeared. Even after he was gone from sight, it was as if nothing and no one moved. Everything remained frozen.

And then Kiba growled, body suddenly jumping away from Chouji so the boy could shake his head violently.

"What's that guy's problem?! Who does he think he is- accusing the Old Man of being a creep? And then saying that he's not important; just some story! The never one that guy! We finally let him in on the secret he's been wanting to know about for years and this is how he reacts!?" Kiba threw his arms forward and backwards a couple of times, only then scoff and shout, "Talk about a jerk!"

Chouji felt hollow.

He knew Kiba was being over the top. But there was a twitch within his heart that told him that he knew Kiba wasn't completely exaggerating.

"C'mon, Kiba. You're being-"

"No I'm not!" now the Inuzuka whirled to look at them, thrusting one accusatory finger in Sakura's direction. "Pack doesn't let Pack get insulted like that! I just let it slide 'cause I knew I'd start a fight with that Nara bastard if I said anything!"

And that was true. Kiba had done his best to keep from insulting Shikamaru in any way.

Even though it had probably hurt, Kiba had tried his best to keep the situation from blowing up any worse than it had.

A small smile found its way onto his lips- cold and empty as he may have felt. "Thanks, Kiba."

"Yeah, whatever, Pork Chop."


Sakura breathed out heavily- she knew Shikamaru couldn't really have been trusted with this kind of information.

Ino would have been the safest bet. But Ino didn't have access to the library to the vast library that housed the information they needed.

Kiba busied himself by throwing a few punches into thin air. She just watched him tire himself out; but she moved so she could comfortably place her hand on Chouji's shoulder.

He looked... lost.

But he was at least able to muster up a small, tentative smile when he glanced back at her. She smiled back and hoped that it was a bright thing rather than a pale imitation of a proper smile.

They spent a few minutes in silence, just letting Kiba tire himself out.

Then Sakura breathed in and asked the question that she knew they were all thinking.

"What now?"

"Now," Kiba panted, chest rising and falling, before he turned to point towards the northeast with the same finger that had been pointed at her only a few minutes before. "Now we're going to meet up with Fū and her band of misfits. We're going to hang out with them like we always do. And then, when we're all alone again, we're going to think up of how we're going to get our grubby little paws on the information we need to help Fū learn about her sealed-in partner."

Kiba could be overbearing, callous, impulsive, and had a bad habit of steamrolling others when he was passionate about a subject. But he was also changing right before their eyes, and becoming so much more than just that.

Right now, though, what she most admired about their leader was that he never stopped. He pushed forward and didn't allow others to get in his way. When an obstacle appeared, he beat it. And when something flat out stopped his advance, he found some new way to keep moving forward, despite the setback.

It was a good thing they had him around. Because right now, all that Sakura really felt like doing was just cocooning Chouji up in Ibiki's kitchen and never letting anyone ever get to him ever again. There was no doubt that he was hurting and her immediate instinct was to save him from any pain or strife. But there was nothing about Kiba's plan that impeded her from protecting him.

Shikamaru was a jerk- but they didn't need him. They'd find another way to get what they needed.


"Today, you'll be taking a sort of vacation. Instead of testing genin trackers, you'll be showing Shiranui how you'd track a target like Dog." her granduncle walked from one side of the line that she and her friends made up to the other, smoothly moving from looking into one of their eyes into another's, never missing a beat as he spoke. "This is your time to shine and prove to Dog that you're not just good at avoiding- you're good at tracking too."

The mentioned member of ANBU was sitting on a tree trunk, a crudely drawn map hanging haphazardly from his hands. If he was trying to make it seem like he wasn't taking his preparations seriously, he wasn't succeeding. He was ANBU- they weren't about to underestimate him.

"The point of the exercise is two-fold. First, you'll be able to train in the tracking arts- I don't want to see any rust. And, secondly, you'll be teaching Shiranui how you follow others. This'll help him continue to draw up plans for teaching others." with this said, he looked directly at her. "Fū, you will not be taking part on this mission."

Her breath caught in her throat. "Why?" she questioned immediately, stopping herself just short of stepping out of line.

His eyes didn't bore into her at the questioning. "I've finally been cleared to teach you about your heritage. We'll be under strict surveillance from Inoichi Yamanaka, the past leader of Torture and Interrogation, but you'll finally be able to ask me those questions you've been looking forward to getting answers to."

She wasn't able to properly stop herself from exclaiming her excitement at the prospect as soon as she had understood all the words the old man had used. She jumped up and let out a single whoop, only to immediately apologize as she felt heat rising up her body.

Kakuzu didn't scold her. He just moved his gaze over to her friends, "Don't fail and make me proud. I expect to read your report on your efforts before the day ends."

Kiba scoffed, rolling his eyes as his voice dripped with bravado, "As if this guy'll be hard to track."

Her granduncle's eyes hardened, "The tracking won't be what's hard, Inuzuka. I'm sure that keeping up with him will be the actual issue. I expect you to land at least one blow on him before the exercise is over."

And that certainly seemed to sober Kiba's mood right up.

Fū felt bad that she wouldn't be able to help out with something that seemed like it would be fun- because running after Dog seemed like it would be! But she was too excited at the idea of finally getting to know more about her family to feel too guilty.

"Your exercise begins when Shiranui calls it." with one simple flick of his fingers, he motioned for her to follow after him. "Don't let me down and I'll pay for a round of steaks."

Akamaru let out an incredibly loud and long howl at the same time she began to skip after her granduncle.

~..~..~

Hope y'all enjoyed this!