I apologize for the slight delay in uploading this chapter. Numerous other comments follow the chapter.

Chapter Ten: Kiba and Tenten

In a few moments Sasuke shifted from running at top speed to a complete halt. The others couldn't begin to react to the stop; Sakura nearly stumbled over herself in the attempt, Ino shot on past and then trotted back, Hinata flipped forward and used one hand to drag herself to a halt.

"Something to the west and east," Sasuke said, voice tense. "Can you sense anything?"

"Yeah, you're right," Ino nodded thoughtfully. "There's a lot of chakra."

"I sensed it," Sakura admitted, "but I thought it was just ordinary happenings in Hidden Leaf. But that's a few more degrees south, isn't it...?"

"T-to the east there are people fighting," Hinata informed them, Byukagen fully evidenced on her face. "I can't tell who they are, but one of them is a Leaf Anbu."

"I recognize the chakra in the west," Sasuke said starkly. "Both of them are under attack. If we want to have any impact, we have to go now. Split up into pairs, finish the battles and meet back here."

He started to move to the east, and Sakura and Ino nearly crashed into each other trying to follow him. Briefly they were locked shoulder to shoulder, growling, but then they noticed him watching them with decided irritation and their expressions changed to pleading.

"Shouldn't we-"

"I was thin-"

"-work together bec-"

"-king we could-"

"No!" Sasuke snapped. "There are more important things on the line here than the two of you! You!" His finger shot out at them almost dangerously; his tone refused to be argued with. "Go wrap things up in the west. Now."

"Right, Sasuke-kun!"

"Sorry, Sasuke-kun!" They were both gone in the twinkling of an eye.

Whirling, robe flying about him, Sasuke blazed into the trees, a dangerous streak of black. Hinata barely managed to move when he did and didn't get too far behind immediately. By the time they were half way there she had caught up to him. Ahead of them, the battle was still going on, two shinobi versus the Anbu.

Nervously Hinata glanced sideways at Sasuke. His eyes were blazing with an expression she could only define as irritation. Very similar to how he had seemed when he had killed the assassin atop the coach. Part of her pitied his opponents.

They exploded onto the battle scene, dust they had just barely been staying ahead of sweeping past them and blasting at all the combatants. The Leaf Anbu braced himself with a hand seal and stood his ground; his two attackers were swept back. Both easily landed in upper branches of nearby trees.

As the dust settled, Hinata abruptly realized there was something familiar about the Anbu they had come to rescue. His long black robe was traditional enough, but the hood was lined with black fur, and his mask was shaped vaguely like a dog. For a moment they just stared at each other, then the Anbu waved cheerily.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!"

"H-hello, Kiba-kun," she answered nervously. His eyes were invisible behind his mask, but he seemed to be looking only at her. Normally he probably would have made some smart remark to Sasuke standing behind her... which meant that Sasuke must not be behind her. Looking back over what had happened, she realized that she had just barely seen a dark flicker in all the dust. So that was what he was doing.

"Long time, no see, eh?" he asked, scratching the back of his head. Hinata found herself shrinking back just slightly. He was as loud as he had always been...

Both shinobi attacked from above, one of them with a kunai in each hand and the other with a massive blade. They had only bridged half the distance when something burst from in between Hinata and Kiba and flashed between the attackers. When it made contact its momentum slowed long enough to be identifiable as Sasuke, both his fists buried in his opponents' stomachs.

They hurtled backward, but both landed on their feet easily. Not very injured, then; they still seemed to have plenty of chakra as well. Sasuke dropped back to the ground and stepped back between his allies, eyes focused completely on the enemy assassins.

"Aw, you don't have to be so nice to me," Kiba laughed raucously, as if shinobi determined to kill him were not standing a short distance away. "That's so sweet of you."

"Shut up, Kiba-san," Sasuke responded levelly. "What do we know about them?"

"On, this and that," Kiba answered lightly. Only because of her panoramic vision did Hinata catch a swift sign he made with one hand. She didn't recognize it, but Sasuke's gaze briefly flickered when it appeared, so he must have understood. "I do appreciate you coming here, though: these bastards have a lot of chakra. Can't afford to squander my own on such a time sensitive mission."

Briefly Sasuke glanced over Kiba's head at Hinata. She nodded just slightly to indicate that she knew their opponents had been replaced by illusions. The instant she did so, Sasuke shot from his position, kunai swinging through both illusions. They dissolved before him, and a massive blade was swinging for the back of his head the next instant.

Hinata imposed herself between Sasuke and the massive body of the enemy shinobi. Her one hand raised in defense seemed pitifully inadequate... but the next instant the assassin was collapsing backward, a shower of blood exploding from his mouth. Even as he crashed to the ground, barely landing on his feet, Kiba was swinging through the air, aiming to kick him away.

The other assassin appeared in the way, deflecting the blow. Kiba evaded his counterstrike in midair, just barely landing on his feet in time to duck away from a slashing kunai. Meanwhile, the larger assassin focused chakra in his hand, then pushed it into his chest. Watching him with her Byukagen, Hinata saw the tissue around his heart repair itself.

Shuriken from Sasuke flew at them the next instant, and they vanished before the weapons. One of the shinobi appeared directly behind Kiba, his kunai held at the Anbu's throat. The other moved somewhat slower, aiming to bash the back of Sasuke's head. His blow was caught and returned by an elbow to his stomach.

Just before Hinata could make herself move to finish him off, the other shinobi glared at her, waving his kunai at Kiba's throat dangerously. She froze in place, eyes wide. Sasuke was likewise motionless, watching carefully. Grinning, the larger assassin got up and escaped to a higher tree branch. The tension in the situation continued to rise.

Abruptly Kiba laughed. "I think I remember you," he said softly over his shoulder. "You're that Missing-nin from a few years back." His opponent's eyes narrowed angrily. "Oh, you might have dyed your hair and done something to your face, but you can't change your scent."

"It doesn't matter," the Missing-nin hissed. "I'm still going to slit your throat! What does it matter if you can smell me?"

"Well, I'm not the only one," Kiba said casually. At that moment several dogs shot from the nearby trees. Most of them plowed into the Missing-nin, knocking him backward. One dog's teeth bit into the man's wrist sharply, making him drop his kunai. Hinata found herself smiling slightly, realizing that Kiba was going to be alright- but Sasuke was already acting, and he would want her to do something as well.

The last Uchiha shifted from the shadows behind his opponent, still watching from a higher tree branch. He slid like water, sweeping the legs out from beneath his opponent easily. Hinata was up in the tree the next instant as well, her hand moving to touch her opponent's forehead.

He jerked back at the last second, avoiding what would have been a fatal blow to his brain. His body still stiffened, but even his rigid movements were enough to grab Hinata's wrist and hurl her over his head, off the tree. They both plummeted toward the forest floor...

Appearing between them on the side of the tree, Sasuke caught Hinata's wrist before she could fall and planted a kick into his opponent's back, knocking him up once more. Hinata used his hand to pull herself back to the tree, where she easily regulated her chakra to stand on the side. Sasuke was already in a fighting position.

Whirling in a violent set of slashes, the Missing-nin slashed through the underside of the dog attacking him, aiming to slice it apart. To his surprise, the large dog exploded into a rain of leaves, vanishing entirely. Getting a better grip on his weapons, the warrior tried to figure out what had happened.

"You didn't really expect Akamaru-kun to get hit by something that obvious, did you?" Kiba asked from the opposite side of the clearing. From the trees the dog emerged to stand beside him. Absent-mindedly Kiba put a hand on the dog's head. Other dogs collected around him, prowling restlessly.

Shouldn't have given me a chance to do this, the Missing-nin laughed mentally. Let's see how your dogs like the taste of raw chakra. Dropping his kunai, he pulled his arms together into a hand seal, which he thrust in Kiba's direction the next instant. That should do the job.

At the same time he performed this attack, however, all the dogs but the one beside Kiba dissolved into ghostly forms of pure chakra. They charged at the same instant, the chakra wolves forming a v shape around Kiba and Akamaru. As they ran directly into the Missing-nin's greatest attack, they seemed to dissolve, forming a single cohesive lance that almost seemed to howl...

It struck him dead on, launching him backward and through a tree. When he fell he did not rise. Letting the chakra dogs dissipate, Kiba patted Akamaru on the head without thinking about it and removed his mask. With a grin, he set out into the forest to find the others.

Again the shinobi lashed out, narrowly missing Hinata and Sasuke, who sidestepped about the edges of the tree. He chased Hinata, flicking a kunai to his hand and trying to throw it at her. "Trying" primarily because Sasuke caught his wrist before he could fully hurl the weapon.

Immediately his opponent dropped back to touch the tree with one hand, using it to hold him in place while he kicked toward Sasuke. The Uchiha shifted back but was still hit and fell below, nearly hitting Hinata. Why had he done that? She was sure he could have dodged the blow... but she received her answer when she saw her opponent's feet flying toward her face. It seemed he intended to land back on his feet, but in the process his attack was weak, giving her a chance to help set up Sasuke's trap.

Spreading her fingers, Hinata jabbed them into the soles of her opponent's feet. Pain shot up her fingers and she worried they might break, but her hands stopped his attack. When he flipped back and his feet touched the side of the tree, no chakra bound him to the bark and he plummeted below.

Before he could fall far, Sasuke struck in the opposite direction, kicking directly up. When the shinobi's jaw met Sasuke's boot, the assassin was flung nearly back up to Hinata's level. He landed with a strange sounding snap and lay still. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hinata walked down the side of the tree to the forest floor again.

Moments later Kiba appeared from the forest, hands behind his head holding his mask, grinning broadly.

"Thanks for wrapping that up for me. I probably could have handled it," he coughed, "not like I couldn't have, but it would have been a real waste of chakra."

"What do you need it for?" Sasuke asked immediately.

"Oh... nothing important. Naruto-san's mission to a certain country I won't name at the moment."

"Then he's already sending other people?"

"Basically." Kiba's eyes narrowed, and briefly his energy and enthusiasm seemed to dissipate. "We don't know enough to strike at the core of the problem. All we can do is handle the side branches, try to topple the entire tree from the top down. What are you doing around here, anyway?"

"Naruto created an impromptu team due to unusual circumstances," Sasuke told him. Hinata continued to glance between them, glad she was being left out but still feeling severely behind the conversation. "It consists of myself, Hinata-san, Ino-san and Sakura-san. Right now, we're trying to zero in on the problem, but I shouldn't tell you any more."

"That's just as well, I don't really want to know any more. Makes my head spin as it already is." His gaze flickered to Hinata. "Hey now, you aren't getting soft, are you? I don't think I've ever seen you in Konoha for the Jounin Trials."

"I ju-just don't think I'm ready," Hinata managed to make herself say. At least she could talk around Kiba, even if he made her nervous. Years of working together had accomplished at least that much. "They sound so difficult..."

"Well, I'm not going to lie to you, they were a real bitch." Kiba smirked. "But I know what you have what it takes: you were able to keep up with me, weren't you? At least almost. Try not to be so timid and let down your hair for-"

"You aren't going to help her that way," Sasuke interrupted darkly. Hinata glanced at him, somewhat surprised; he was certainly right. Kiba's speeches had always just made her fold inward on herself. For a moment Kiba glared, but then his expression became confused, then vanished entirely. He paused for a very long time.

"You're right, I guess. Sorry. I suppose the two of you need to meet up with Sakura-san and Ino-san now, eh?"

"Sort of," Hinata said, pushing her fingers against each other. As much as she was glad to see Kiba again, she wanted just as badly to get away from him. He always made her so terribly nervous, the way he was so loud and overbearing, even more than Naruto.

"Well, then I won't keep the two of you. I've got stuff to do as well. See ya, Sasuke-kun, Hinata-chan!" With a mighty bound Kiba leapt away, Akamaru happily barking after him.

In an instant it seemed Sasuke dismissed the entire scenario and turned away, leaping to the nearest tree branch. This time Hinata was more prepared for his abrupt movement and was only a bit behind. They began flying over the forest branches swiftly, green practically flying about them.

Reflecting over what had happened, Hinata realized that she subconsciously classified people into different categories like Sasuke did. Certain people made her feel terribly uncomfortable, and made her revert to her old self more than ever before. Kiba... Sakura... Ino... even Naruto, though she knew that he really meant well. There weren't many people that didn't bother her: Neji, Shino… and Gaara, strangely enough.

Yet she couldn't get away from them, even if she had wanted to try. Very much like Sasuke, constantly pursued and never allowed the slightest bit of peace. But where she was always very obvious about how uncomfortable she was, Sasuke didn't reveal anything. For all she knew, she annoyed him just as much as Sakura and Ino. The thought put a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Picking up speed just slightly, she glanced over at Sasuke. As always, he was moving swiftly and efficiently, not swerving from his path. Just above his collar, his eyes were completely focused on the path before him, nearly obscured by dark locks of hair. She couldn't tell the first thing about what he felt, if he felt anything at all.

Sighing, Hinata increased her speed and lost herself in the biting winds.

Like lightening Sakura and Ino flashed through the trees. Their movements were nearly identical, pace matched for pace, jump for jump. It was a race without being a race; they were neck in neck but neither trying to outrun the other. A slight smile appeared on Sakura's face. It's just like old times, eh? Her expression was slightly mirrored by Ino's.

A corpse flew between them quite abruptly, shattering Sakura's reminiscing. Only quick footwork on their part prevented both of them from hitting the dirt. They stopped themselves and were focused upon the flying body, but they weren't nearly as fast as the shuriken that flitted between them into the body, which was knocked even further, now obviously dead.

As one they turned toward the direction the body had been flung from, and discovered that a battle was going on not far from their location. Neither had really noticed it while moving, and both berated themselves for it. Most of the warriors involved seemed to be wielding blades, which they were using in vicious slashes against an opponent wheeling amid them gracefully. One by one the warriors were dropping.

"Is it just me," Sakura asked, "or are those more samurai like the ones we killed before?"

"It isn't just you," Ino muttered. "I hate these guys."

"Um, aren't we going to help whoever is being attacked?"

"Right." Both burst from the ground, flying into the action.

Bending over backward to evade a horizontal slash, Tenten easily slid another kunai into her hand. Flipping over a blade and kicking another of the samurai away, she hurled the kunai, even as her other hand was again armed. By the time she landed, three more kunai had found their mark in her opponent's.

Once she touched the ground she swept low, and she managed to knock another opponent off his feet. Deciding she had remained in her position too long, she leapt away from it entirely, landing on the opposite side of the group. These samurai were fairly annoying... they didn't give up, and they attacked with startling speed. Worst of all, there were a few shinobi thrown into the group, but they didn't appear any different.

While tossing another kunai, Tenten noticed two figures approaching from the side. Interesting; Sakura and Ino. Their attack managed to surprise the samurai completely, and they were able to take out a few of them almost immediately. Unfortunately, they were somewhat in the way of her jutsu. Annoying, yes, but she really didn't mind the extra help.

She sensed the blade sweeping from behind her almost too late. Abruptly she hopped into the air, the blade whistling across the back of her leg. Ignoring the pain, she jumped off her opponent's face and above the group. For just a moment she was suspended over them and had a good vantage point.

One of the shinobi was raising a hand, chakra building dangerously about him; he was targeting Ino and Sakura. Before Tenten could think to call out a warning, a slashing wind burst forth. All the samurai were forced to defend against it to avoid losing their ground, but the dangerous part of the wind was solely attacking Ino and Sakura, who didn't seem aware of it.

At the last second Sakura turned. Her eyes briefly widened, but then she brought up both hands quickly in a traditional seal. Though the wind passed over Ino and Sakura, it dealt no damage to them. The shinobi glared at the suspiciously.

"How... how can-"

"I can negate jutsus," Sakura smirked. "Never seen Kage Cancel before?"

Before anyone else could answer, Tenten struck. She had used her time in the air while they were distracted to fully arm herself. Eight kunai flashed out from her; eight warriors collapsed to the ground. Just as she landed, a massive samurai rushed at her from behind, a blade swinging violently. Ino started to call out-

Tenten whirled, one hand flying so quickly it was almost invisible. A kunai exploded from her hand, going entirely through the samurai and overcoming his momentum. He collapsed backward on the ground, and the nearby samurai paused, watching her carefully.

Unfortunately for them, Tenten didn't pause. Hopefully Sakura and Ino would figure it out at this point, or at least survive. She clapped her hands together with a surge of chakra, which snaked out over the battlefield. Both of her allies noticed and leapt far away.

The next moment all the kunai and shuriken that Tenten had thrown burst into the air, spinning violently. All of them began to move at the same instant, flashing about her in a shifting shape that cut through all that it touched. Amid the storm of razor sharp weapons Tenten remained motionless, eyes closed, hands in her seal.

When the jutsu faded, the blades and the enemies dropped to the ground. Letting out her breath, Tenten let herself smile just slightly. It was over, then. Ino and Sakura both dropped to the ground again. They were trying not to look terribly impressed, she could tell. Flipping through a set of hand seals, Tenten recalled her kunai. Each was tugged toward her, dragging along the ground until she could pick them up and replace them within her pouches.

"Not bad at all," Ino finally said. Tenten just nodded to her.

"It looks like you really didn't need our help," Sakura commented, glancing around the devastated field. "Sort of wasted our time then, I guess."

"Oh, it made things go a bit quicker," Tenten told her, straightening. "What are you guys doing around here, anyway?"

"Special mission," Ino told her smugly. "Sasuke-kun is leading a team of four to a city. It has to do with the big problem... do you know about that?"

"I think the question is how much you know," Tenten answered. "What information do you have?"

"You know about this?" Sakura asked.

"Lee-kun told me everything. But no one really knows what's going on for certain, unless Sasuke-san's mission panned out."

"I think it did," Sakura told her. "He isn't talking very much."

"Well, that's like him."

"This is probably going to be a long mission," Ino mused. "It's nice to be able to be with Sasuke-kun for so long... except that Sakura-chan is here."

"I was thinking similar thoughts," Sakura glowered. "Just add your name..."

"Wow," Tenten commented, scratching the back of her head with a kunai casually. "Just... wow."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ino and Sakura demanded.

"I'm just… surprised. But never mind. You probably have to get back to your mission soon, right?" Her eyes flickered closed as she sensed two energies approaching. "Sasuke-san and someone else are coming this way."

"Ah, so they finished." Ino and Sakura waved goodbye to Tenten hastily and darted into the trees, matching pace with each other. Behind them, Tenten gazed after the two for some time. Finally she laughed softly, shouldered her pack and vanished into the prairie, shaking her head.

I am glad that Chouji was appreciated; I enjoyed writing that portion of the chapter.Yes, all of the other former Genin will make an appearance at one point or another.

The Gandhara: Hm, miscommunication. What you described as the "problem with Sakura and Ino" is what I termed as them being annoyed. Same problem, different names. Personally, I don't feel that if they haven't grown up in respect to Sasuke they should have grown up at all (it doesn't make logical sense to me, anyway), but I realized in hindsight that this was a mistake. Also: yes, I'll agree that fighting outweighs direct plot, but if at this point you feel there haven't been any hints into the plot, you actually have missed things.

keebler-elmo: I believe a quick reread should answer most of your questions.