Welcome to the second installment of what was intended to be a light, plot-free one-shot. Since I've gotten a few reviews (and numerous requests from my friends), I've decided to expand this into a second chapter. If that goes well, who knows? A series may be in order.
Also, S-N-G, institutionalization is the practice of being thrown in a mental institution. Basically, it means Kiba would go insane if he didn't find a way to divert attention from himself.
And once again, if you're some oddball lawyer who is somehow convinced that I think I own Naruto, go injure yourself. I don't care how you do it or whether or not you recover, but the very thought that I own Naruto is ludicrous, and that you believe it means somebody's got to beat the stupid out of you. Save us the trouble and do it yourself.
Chapter Two: Batrachophobia
The sun rose on a new day in the life of Inuzuka Kiba. After exacting his revenge on Uzumaki Naruto and ridding himself of the rabid following that plagued his comrade, Uchiha Sasuke, Kiba was in the mood to train. He had enormous energy buildup from the past two days of doing nothing but avoiding the other genin, so a vigorous day of hard work was exactly what he needed.
Kiba walked with his faithful accomplice, Akamaru, to the recently-erected Konoha Shinobi Training Center. He walked through the doors, proud to be him and glad to be alive, only to be greeted by a dreary sight. Every genin was there ahead of him, spurred by their jounin instructors, but very few were moving. Hinata was rapidly punching a log, Shino standing dutifully beside her. Naruto was off in a back corner, lifting hand weights and trying to avoid eye contact. The others were scattered about in their cliques, whispering quietly and looking both vexed and frustrated. None dared look at Naruto.
Kiba looked out over the scene and smiled. His mission was complete, as far as he was concerned. The mental scarring that he had inflicted upon his comrades had diverted attention from himself and refocused it where it belonged, which was on anybody else. He walked over to where Hinata and Shino were training and grinned stupidly, knowing full well that they were now aware of his actions. Hinata, usually understated and reserved, glared at him as he approached and whispered angrily once he was within earshot.
"You did a bad thing, Kiba."
"Yeah, I know," he said, not bothering to lower his booming voice to her hushed level. The genin looked in his direction for a moment, his acknowledgement being the loudest noise heard that day, then went back about their business. Kiba guessed that Hinata would be mad at him, but he wasn't sure if it was because he stole Naruto's clothes or because he took her out of the building before he did.
"They're angry, Kiba, all of them," Shino offered, trying to get his dense, but earnest, colleague to understand the gravity of his situation.
"Well, do they know I did it?" Kiba asked, now choosing to lower his voice. He looked sidelong at the other genin, hoping they weren't watching him maliciously. After all, Neji was like a nightmare. Kiba always got the feeling that Neji wanted to kill him, but he never understood why.
"No," Shino said bluntly. Kiba sighed, reaffirming his faith in his friends as the smile returned to his face. "If they did, you'd probably be dead by now."
"Don't worry about me, I'll be fi…" Kiba was cut off by the sound of a small but confident voice behind him.
"Ohayo, Kiba-kun."
Kiba turned around, slowly, knowing in his mind that it couldn't possibly be Ino, not after what he had done, that there was no way she and the other girls were still thinking about that day after what they had seen. His heart betrayed him, however. His heart knew no woman, certainly not one as narrow-minded and lust-filled as Ino, was that easily distracted, that no vision of Hell could turn her mind so quickly. He should have given this time, waited a few weeks, but he was careless. Now, the purple-clad genin stood behind him, smiling a sweet, terrifying smile. Kiba knew that, if he simply forced her away, he would only spawn further interest, just as Sasuke had. He forced himself to calm down, and addressed her calmly.
"What can I do for you today, Ino-pig?"
The look of shock and fury on Ino's face was priceless. Kiba withstood the rising tide of laughter within him long enough for Ino to recover from the shock, scoff in anger, and storm back to the area where she, Sakura, and Tenten had been just seconds before.
"You did this, Forehead Girl! First you turn Sasuke-kun against me, and now Kiba-kun calls me "Ino-pig!"
Sakura didn't feel the need for self-restraint like Kiba did and was presently rolling on the floor in a fit of unsuppressed laughter. Tenten, who was sensible and feared Ino's wrath, withheld all but the slightest giggle.
"GET OFF THE FLOOR AND SAY SOMETHING!" Ino kicked Sakura, who barely noticed with her sides about to split anyhow. A fit of yelling from Ino-pig quickly got Forehead Girl to respond, resulting in an argument which, though completely nonviolent, rivaled Orochimaru's assault on their city in thoughtless hate and ferocity. While most of the others gathered around to watch, Kiba simply strolled over to a drinking fountain and quenched his parched palette.
When he stood again, Sasuke and Neji blocked his passage to the rest of the gymnasium. Sasuke was grinning with contentment, Neji was frowning. In actuality, Sasuke had forced him to go with him to speak with Kiba, which had drawn him from one of his fondest fantasies of Itachi-like clan genocide. Well, maybe not the Branch House…
"Well handled, Kiba. So you're aware, don't think that little…accident yesterday has gained Naruto the same access to the Washroom that you have. Even if he had measured up…"
Neji snickered. Sasuke shot him an angry look.
"Not like that, perv. Even if he had fit our standards for appearance, personality is also a factor. You're still welcome, whenever you want, and you won't have to worry about Naruto being there."
"Thanks, guys, but I really don't think I'll be going back. The bathroom's fine, and I like eating lunch with Shino and Hinata."
"Then invite them," Sasuke offered nonchalantly.
"Wai...what? I thought it was supposed to be exclusive."
"It is. Shino's already a member, and Hinata's the only mentally stable female genin in Konoha," Neji said, realizing a moment later that he had just complimented a member of the Main House. No matter, if Kiba did invite her it would only give him a place to attack when her guard was down.
"Shino's a member? How come he never said anything about it?"
Sasuke and Neji stared blankly at Kiba.
"Oh, right, ugly. Well, fine then, I'll invite Hinata. You sure you're okay with that, Neji?"
"Oh, yes…" Neji said, smiling now and his eyes glinting with malice. Sasuke and Kiba took small steps away from the Hyuuga, fearing one of his fantasies would push his way to the surface.
Sasuke turned back to Kiba and nodded comfortingly. "It's fine, Kiba, but that's all until we decide on the next member."
"Deal," Kiba said, walking sideways behind Sasuke to get to the gym without nearing the brooding Neji. He walked over to Hinata and Shino's spot, to which they had returned following the resolution of the blood feud between Sakura and Ino. He motioned for them to follow him into a nearby hallway, where he spoke to them in a hushed voice.
"Shino, Sasuke tells me you're a member."
"Of…?"
"That you don't use the public restrooms here."
Shino's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Well, the mild interest in the unexpected that was as close as the Aburame Clan ever got to surprise. "So, you know, then?"
"Yeah, and they said Hinata could come, too."
"Come where? I'm confused, what are you guys talking about?" Hinata sulked, thinking something was wrong and sporting a fearful look.
"Don't worry, Hinata. Shino and I have something to show you. C'mon."
"A…wh…what? What is this?" Hinata stammered, not entirely comfortable with the thought of a large, ominous room. It was early yet, and there were few people in the Washroom. Kiba had been introduced during the midday, just before lunch, when the social life was in full swing. Now, only a few bored jounin lazed about the central fountain and the many servants present seemed to be surplus to requirement. Shino instinctively handed his thick overcoat to the nearest butler and took a white cotton robe from the wall. Kiba did the same while Hinata took in the sight.
"This, dear Hinata, is the Washroom of the Beautiful. It's really just a bathroom, but the service is great and the make a mean beef stroganoff."
Hinata noticed that both of her teammates were now wearing comfortable-looking robes and that buters had taken their jackets. She looked a little worried for a moment, knowing full well that she should probably change also but couldn't do it in plain view, until Shino pointed to a room marked "Women's Changing Room" in delicate gold letters. She smiled and went in while Kiba and Shino looked over the Washroom, as if assessing its appropriateness for their precious little Hinata.
"I think she'll fit in fine," Kiba said with a knowing nod. Shino said nothing in reply, but obviously did not disagree.
Back outside, in the Gymnasium, Kurenai was becoming concerned. Her entire team had disappeared, and with Kiba in his unstable state that could mean trouble. She began asking around, though all, including Sasuke and Neji, denied knowing anything. It was at this time Kakashi finally showed up for morning practice, walking smoothly through the door reading his book with Jiraiya close behind, writing in what seemed to be an identical book. Kurenai approached the pair reluctantly, preferring to avoid their company whenever they're together, and grabbed Kakashi's book away from him.
"Good morning, Kurenai. Could I have that back?" Kakashi asked innocently.
"My team's gone, and I need you to help me find them."
Kakashi saw Sasuke at the far side of the gym gesturing toward the secret entrance to the Washroom. "Oh, don't worry. They're safe."
"You've seen them?"
"No, but I have a pretty good idea of where they are."
"Where?"
"I can't tell you."
"What? Why not?"
"Because you don't already know."
"But how am I supposed to know if you won't tell me?" Kurenai was letting more and more anger show in her voice, trying to invoke the fear of the woman's wrath that most men were clever enough to try and avoid.
"You're not."
"Why is my team someplace that I'm not supposed to know about?"
"I didn't send them there, how should I know?" Kakashi was enjoying this thoroughly. There wasn't much that he feared in this world, which left a lot of room for fun with the more powerful people in the village.
Kurenai shouted in frustration. She threw Kakashi's book through the still-open doorway and stormed off in search of her team. Kakashi shrugged, pulled out another copy of the same book from the folds of his vest, and went back to reading.
After an hour or so of lounging, Team Eight decided to return to the training area to keep Kurenai from getting upset at their disappearance. Hinata was finding the Washroom delightful and had already had a massage, a steam bath, and twenty minutes of quality "Hinata Time" in the hot tub with an ice-cold smoothie and her favorite teammate, Akamaru. Kiba and Shino, already used to the environment, stayed by the fountain and played a game of cards. Or, rather, they dictated a game of cards, sitting behind the players and telling them what to play.
When they finally returned to the training area, refreshed beyond belief, Kurenai was not there to greet them. She had gone home for the day, deciding that she was going insane to some tangible degree and therefore required a long night of watching her favorite sappy movies and eating obscene amounts of chocolate frosting to calm her nerves. Team Eight shrugged this off and went about their training, while the other genin clung to the excuse of mental scarring to earn a day off. The jounin didn't care all that much, they'd just work them like slaves the next week to teach them a lesson for milking vacation days.
Naruto just sat in his corner, his modesty made vain and his vanity shamed. None could look at him anymore. Anyone who did so saw only through their mind's eye, and Naruto was no longer fully clothed in their mind's eye. He just lifted his weights and grumbled something hateful about Sasuke.
Kiba, at the other end of the spectrum, was on top of the world. His teammates were able to get into the unbelievable Washroom along with him, he had found the ultimate phrase to get rid of Ino (and, therefore, the other two girls who only followed her lead for who-knows-why), and his revenge on Naruto was so exact and perfect that he was still reeling from the aftershocks the next day. Then, as if fate thought that he needed to somehow be happier, his favorite word was shouted from the back of the gym.
"BASKETBALL!"
Gai, the only jounin not 'taking a break' in the jounin lounge, was wearing a sweat suit and had a whistle tied around his neck. Although he looked ridiculous, Kiba was still overjoyed that basketball had been announced. Kiba was the best player in his class and they all knew it. Gai had already chosen Lee and Shikamaru as team captains, and the genin were enthusiastically lining up to be chosen for teams.
"Ah…this is so troublesome…" moaned Shikamaru, who had clearly been chosen for his chuunin status and not for his team spirit. He looked around at the line of genin, his eyes falling on Ino. Her look was not an angry one, but her powers of intimidation and vengeance had taken over to ensure the message was clear. If he didn't pick her first, he would regret it as long as she remembered it. And girls can remember things for a long, long time. "I pick Ino."
Kiba's expression dropped at first, having never been picked anything but first for basketball since their first game after beginning the academy. When he figured out Shikamaru's situation, though, he just laughed, knowing full well that the others were aware of his skill.
"I pick Kiba," Lee announced, not being in his class but not a fool. Well, maybe a fool, but no baka like Naruto. Kiba strutted up beside the upperclassman and smiled out at the other, less worthy genin. Take that.
The teams formed quickly. Shikamaru, recognizing talent, chose Tenten and Shino, thinking their skills at evasion and throwing were likely to be above average. Lee didn't do so bad either, ending up with Neji and Sasuke for sheer athletic talent. Naruto, obviously, sat out, as did Chouji, Sakura and Hinata. Naruto wasn't up for team games and the others simply hated basketball. It is a learned hatred, coming from years of defeat at the hands of the dreaded sport. The others didn't mind, though, since it gave them even teams and kept all the other, athletically challenged genin out of the game. They would know better next time they played, following the mission to rescue Sasuke, but for now they were ignorant as cows and wanted to play basketball.
"Okay!" Gai shouted, standing between the teams and giving both of them the nice-guy pose simultaneously, considered a physical impossibility until that very point in history and still baffling scientists today. "Shikamaru's team is Shirts, Lee's team is Skins."
"Oh, no," Kiba moaned, raising his hand to his forehead. He didn't even have to look, he could just feel the smiles forming on Ino and Tenten's faces.
"What's wrong?" Gai asked, oblivious to everything that had happened over the past few days.
"Can't they be skins?" Kiba asked densely.
"Of course not! They have girls!"
"Is it too late to quit?" Kiba asked, knowing it was but hoping for a miracle.
"Yes," Lee said, already shirtless. "We need even teams, and you're our best player."
"Fine," Kiba sighed, jogging to his starting position and throwing his jacket off to the side of the court.
A moment of silence followed while Ino, Sakura and Tenten regained their composure. Kiba, Sasuke, and Neji, all on the Skins team? Did they win the lottery?
A second later, Gai was standing in the middle of the court, basketball in hand, ready for the tip-off. Kiba watched as Lee approached the center to face off against Ino, but then got and idea. He stood up, as straight and broad as he could be, and approached Lee.
"Why don't you let me handle her?" he asked in the lowest, most sultry voice he could gather. All of the men knew exactly what he was doing, but Ino was frozen. Lee smiled and took back stage as Kiba took his place in the spotlight. He winked at Ino as Gai blew the whistle, then leapt and swatted the ball as hard as he could. Tenten caught it, threw it from three-fourths of the court away, and scored the first two points. Ino never moved in response to the play, she was trapped in her own Ino-world, with just her, a shirtless Kiba, and a basketball.
The game played out much like that, with Ino more or less useless around Sasuke, Kiba and Neji and Tenten only slightly more difficult to distract. With the utter lack of concentration on his team, even Shikamaru's brilliant strategic mind combined with Shino's undeniable genius could not turn the tide against the raw athletic talent of Lee's team.
The moment the game had ended, called short by Gai who decided that Shikamaru's team had gone through enough, Kiba darted over to his jacket and practically dove into it, his head emerging in the lion's-mane hood. He walked calmly back to his team's adopted spot, where Hinata was facing away from the basketball court to keep from blushing again. She didn't have a team to cheer for, anyhow, since each one had a teammate on it. Shino met Kiba there and, in authentic Shino style, said absolutely nothing. Kiba, able to think of a topic, said the first thing that came to his mind.
"Wanna go to the bathroom?"
"Yes!" Hinata chirped merrily, trotting off to the Washroom entrance, followed distantly by Shino.
Ino was strewn out on a bench, catatonic, for several minutes following the game. Sasuke, Neji, Kiba…it had been too much for her. Tenten, though in an unusually good mood, thought Ino foolish and blamed their loss on her. Sakura, who lamented sitting idly by during the game, still mused over her precious Sasuke.
Shikamaru was disgusted. How could they behave like that? He had dozens of perfectly acceptable strategies to counter the speed and strength of the opposing team, to rise above the failing odds, to truly show his worth without lifting a finger! Ino had stolen that from him, even after he had given her ego a shot of Botox. He sat back beside Chouji, listening to him munch happily away at a bag of barbecue chips. Chouji was equally disgusted, as was the undesired Lee and the sulking Naruto, but none said anything. This was truly Shikamaru's misfortune, and they didn't want to sound unsympathetic.
"What?" Ino finally muttered, returning to her senses and looking around as though lost. The last thing she could remember was being very happy to have a basketball, but now that she looked around she realized that she was no longer happy and no longer had a basketball. In a flash, the memory of a basketball game in the gym came back to her, with the vision of a face, a boy's face, smiling, winking…
"Kiba!"
"Yes, Kiba, we know." Tenten sighed, pretending to be annoyed at her friend's habits but unable to stop smiling and look the part. "You cost us the game, you lemming. You're fickle, you know that?"
"Where'd he go? And Sasuke?"
"I dunno. Boys disappear all the time, who knows where they go? Hey, wait a second, where's Neji?"
"Probably the same place as the other two."
"Well we have to find them, then! C'mon, there have to be clues around here somewhere…"
Tenten's sudden zeal for locating her teammate was futile. Neji, along with Sasuke and all of Team Eight, were safely tucked away in their Washroom.
Kiba was growing restless. He had lounged around for quite a while that day, and he was entering a lazy stupor that contradicted his typical nature. He felt the need to walk around, and didn't like the Treadmills that kept making such horrible swooshing sounds whenever he dropped his foot. He waved to the others inside the Washroom and stepped out, proceeding into the gymnasium. Maybe he'd run a few laps…
"KIBA!" Tenten grabbed Kiba by the collar and threw him against the wall before he could react. She held a kunai in her hand and pressed it against his throat. "Where have you been?! Where's Neji?!"
"B-b-bathroom," Kiba stuttered out, not at all lying. Tenten dropped him and started running off to the bathroom. She quickly realized what she did, ran back, and fixed Kiba's jacket for him and smiled sweetly.
"Sorry about that, Kiba-kun." She ran off after that, certain that somebody would be there to make Kiba feel better. Indeed, as soon as she left, Ino was there, smiling warmly and shifting her weight between her feet. Kiba sighed.
"What?" Kiba ran his hand through the hair on the back of hair. It was only then that he noticed that he had left his hood down. 'Damn,' he thought, 'I look meaner with my hood up.'
"You were really good during the game, Kiba-kun." Ino knew how corny this sounded, but she was convinced that these sort of empty compliments were what boys liked to hear. Kiba only felt as though she were wasting his time. Nonetheless, he wasn't in the mood to disagree with Ino. He was beginning to understand how Shikamaru and Chouji felt. Again.
"Thanks, Ino-chan." Kiba's eyes widened in a knowing fear that clutched at his heart, the fear of a coming doom somehow invoked, but he couldn't place the source of it. What did he just say? His hands flew over his mouth as he realized, and he turned to face Ino to see if she had heard him say "-chan".
She had. Damn it all…
Ino's eyes grew large as saucers in delight, her hands clutching one another and shooting beside her jaw, which had dropped open. She looked as though her favorite teddy bear had sprung to life and asked for a hug, which, in one sense or another, it had.
"INO! INO-SAN! INO-KUN! INO-PIG!!" It was to no avail. Ino was already in love with the sound of that name, "Ino-chan", and refused to let it leave her ears.
Kiba wasted no time, knowing that each passing second he spent in Ino's presence was only going to tighten his involuntary hold on her unstable emotions. He needed to go somewhere where he couldn't be reached, and he knew exactly where to go.
Ino had closed her eyes following her initial moment of adoration at hearing her name so spoken. She didn't want to look at Kiba just yet, there was something she had to say first.
"Kiba-kun, I'm flattered really, and you've been kinder to me than Sasuke-kun ever has. I want to tell you that, before we move any further, my heart is fragile, and harsh words or empty promises could easily be the downfall of me. Please, Kiba-kun, promise to treat me gently?" She opened her eyes to hear what this wonderful, adorable, muscle-bound boy had to say in response.
Kiba was long gone. As soon as Ino had closed her eyes, Kiba ran as though he had seen Death itself. He was no longer within sight, but had evacuated the gym and hidden himself in the Washroom of the Beautiful. He leaned against the door, panting and holding his chest. Gasping for air, Kiba looked around, and the sight that met his eyes was not a pleasant one.
Fifteen feet away, Neji was standing menacingly close to Hinata, who was flanked by Sasuke on her other side. He looked angry, ready to kill, even more so than usual.
"Stop it, Neji, she won't do it, I promise," Shino said dryly, apparently doing nothing at all.
"She already said she would, didn't you, Hinata-sama? You're just begging for trouble aren't you?!"
"I…I…I just…I just s-said, maybe…maybe we could…let N-N-Naruto-kun…just see? It wouldn't…hurt anybody…" Hinata was cowering in the overbearing presence of Neji's swelled medulla oblongata, fearing that his rage would manifest itself at any time and rip all who stood before him to shreds.
"YES! YES, IT WOULD, HINATA-SAMA!" Neji cried, losing whatever pretense of causality he might have clung to.
"Neji," Kiba said, ready to explode. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Be quiet, Kiba, this isn't of your concern."
"Get away from Hinata."
Neji turned to look at him. Just two days ago, Kiba was shrinking in his shadow. Now, he dared give orders? To Neji, of all people? To the genin that could completely and utterly site all those who dared to oppose him, that could tear the very fabric of space-time itself with the speed of his hand? "What did you just say, trash?"
Kiba stood tall and walked smoothly over to Neji. Neji was taller than he was, but Kiba showed no sign of fear. "I said, GET AWAY FROM HINATA!" Kiba shouted into the Hyuuga's face, grabbing him and throwing him onto one of the fountain benches.
Neji stood up immediately. This was unbelievable. This was unthinkable. This was unacceptable. He assumed battle stance and twitched his fingers, beckoning Kiba.
"Neji, don't," Sasuke said, as though he could care less.
"Oh? And why not, Sasuke? I can handle Kiba."
"Because," Shino interjected, "you have about two hundred of my destruction bugs on your legs and thighs, and if you try to use chakra they're gonna suck you drier than the Country of Wind."
Neji jumped out of battle stance immediately. He leapt about, to and fro, shaking his hands furiously, occasionally rubbing one of them against his legs. A surprisingly feminine voice saying desperately, "GET 'EM OFF! GET 'EM OFF!"
Only Shino kept his composure. After a second or two of Neji's flailing, everybody else broke out into hysterical laughter. Once they had all had a nice laugh, and Neji had sat down and was frantically trying to find the two hundred destruction bugs invading his "space bubble", Kiba grabbed Hinata by the wrist and dragged her out of the Washroom. Shino followed quickly, turning to speak to Sasuke and Neji.
"You'll both regret this." He turned back to the door and, before departing, he called back, "…and there weren't any bugs, Neji."
Neji calmed himself, and breathed deep, finding his happy place and killing everybody else trying to take refuge there. Especially Shino. And Hinata. And Kiba.
"Those damn elitists," Kiba muttered to himself, storming back into the gym with his teammates just as angry and right on his heels. "We gotta find a way to get back at them."
"Don't worry," Shino said, his eyebrows still conveying his anger to all who cared to look. "They gave us the perfect plan themselves." He turned his gaze to the back corner where Naruto sat, still sulking. Both of Shino's teammates, though shocked at his diabolically genius plan, smiled, but not just any kind of smile. These were smiles of secret knowledge, used by those knowing of the coming doom of their enemies. Evil, once again, had taken root in this simple twelve-year-old team.
"WOW! THIS IS GREAT!"
The dreaded sound echoed throughout the Washroom of the Beautiful, its harsh tones a sonic bombardment on the pampered inhabitants. Sasuke and Neji looked up from their massages in horror, seeing a blonde genin in an orange jumpsuit looking stupidly around the facility and grinning like a Cheshire cat. Sasuke let his head drop back onto the table, certain that his life was over. Again. Neji almost cried, but his thoughts were kind and showed him images of slaughtered Main House members to cheer him up. When he found out who had shown that baka the door, they would wish they were in the Main House of Neji's fondest nightmare visions. They would pay…
Back in the gym, it was almost time to call it quits, and Kiba had gone back to the Washroom to call Akamaru to go home. On his way to the exit, his faithful dog behind him, he was intercepted by Ino, whose eyes were red with the memory of tears.
"You're a horrible person, Inuzuka Kiba! Toying with my emotions like that isn't fair, you have to honest with me! LOOK AT ME, KIBA!" Kiba's eyes, which had wandered for a moment, shot back into Ino's. She started talking again, much to Kiba's dismay. "You have to let me know, right now, how you feel, or I swear…"
Ino was cut off. Kiba raised his hand gingerly to her face, cradling her jaw. Ino closed her eyes and smiled. This was the answer she had been waiting for. Kiba spoke to her in the kindest, most nurturing voice he had, barely able to hold back hysterics long enough to say what he had wanted to say for days.
"Ino…"
"Kiba-kun…"
" I was the one who took Naruto's clothes yesterday. I got my team out first, but I didn't warn you because I don't give a damn what happens to you. Go away and leave me alone."
Kiba had thought the shock and rage on Ino's face was priceless when he had called her Ino-pig. The look she had then, as he told her how he felt about her, was worth more than anything he could've named. Her jaw didn't drop, it more or less was forced open by the collecting hatred Ino was trying to funnel into actual words, though none could possibly convey how she felt enough to even be uttered. Her hands, trembling, rose to her temples, then lowered uselessly back to her sides. Finally, hyperventilating and red in the face, Ino turned back to the rest of the gym, where most of the genin were still waiting to be dismissed. Kiba knew what would come next so, still holding back his laughter, he activated Quadruped Form and flew like a bullet to the exit.
"KIBA DID IT! KIBA TOOK NARUTO'S CLOTHES!" Ino shrieked, pointing accusingly at the rapidly-fading dogboy barreling for the doors. Only by inches had Kiba escaped the building before a cloud of kunai and shuriken lodged themselves in the thick wooden doors. A herd of human feet chasing after him, Kiba laughed and ran into the night. Telling the truth had never felt that good.
---End Chapter Two---
In Japanese, the suffix one gives to another person's name is an indicator of one's relationship with that person. "San" is usually a safe suffix, and is given to men and women alike. "Kun" is usually used to refer to males, especially younger ones. "Sama" is used when addressing a person of much, much higher status than yours, a status that you will likely never reach.
The suffix used here, "chan", is generally reserved for those of very close relation or friendship, especially among young ladies. Because of its implied closeness, it is easy to offend a girl by adding this suffix to her name when one is not either a close friend or romantically involved (trust me on this). Boys that hope to associate themselves with a girl, such as Naruto when calls his love "Sakura-chan", often use this suffix. The reaction that Kiba receives is a result of this common usage, implying that he is much fonder of Ino that was originally believed.
Also, "-pig" is not a legitimate suffix, but a derogatory nickname for Ino. It is meant to be ironic, as "inosisi" means "boar".
Note: The title of this chapter, "batrachophobia", means "fear of frogs".
Hello again. In all fairness, I have to give credit to my twin sister, The Beloved Laura, for helping with this, doing even more in this chapter than she did in the last. She's an Ino fan, as you can probably tell, whereas I am not, thus leading to the both prolific and unflattering portrayal of Ino in this chapter. I would appreciate reviews, and likely will not continue this series without them, so if you enjoyed this let me know so I can supply some more for you to read. Thank you for your time.
- Jack
HI GUYS! It's a lot of fun writing fanfics with Jack, he's so much better with words than I am but I'm a better artist so it's okay. He says I help him get insite into the feminin characters (INO WOOT!XD) but he really does most of the work(so he gets to put in a lot of Kiba, but that's okay cuz Kiba's sexxy). I love writing these, I love getting reviews, so if you review it Jack and I will write some more and you can get more stories and we can all be HAPPY! BYE!;-)
- Laura
Whether there's another chapter or not depends on you. Review, and you'll see:
Who let Naruto into the Washroom of the Beautiful?
What revenge do the genin plot for Kiba?
What is this new "other hideout" that the beautiful genin retreat to?
How will Ino deal with rejection from, not one, but two of her classmates?
All this, and much more, all in exchange for a review! STAY TUNED!