"At last!" Someone shouted as they reached the landing to her apartment. Kiba was being held by the scruff of his collar by Ibiki and was holding a brown cushioned dog bed. Akamaru was sat next to him, carrying a bag in his mouth. "Save me!" Kiba pleaded and Katsumi laughed.
"Ibiki-kun, you can let the poor boy go." She said once she had stopped laughing. Ibiki grumbled and dropped him.
"What was he doing sneaking around here anyway?" Ibiki asked.
"I wasn't sneaking! I just knocked on the door!" Kiba shouted back in defence from his place on the floor. He had landed on his behind, still holding the dog bed close to him.
"He was dropping off the things I needed for Kenzo." She answered and walked up to her door to unlock it.
"Who's Kenzo?" Ibiki asked looking unimpressed. Katsumi held out the puppy and pushed him into Ibiki's hands.
"That's Kenzo." She answered simply as she opened the door. "If you could just pop the stuff down in the kitchen that would be great." She said turning her attention Kiba, who had now got to his feet, while Ibiki was starting the growling dog down.
"Thank you, Kakashi." She said now turning to him. "Would you like to come in or do you have to rush off and do Hokage duties? I'm sure Nar-kun will start raiding the village for you soon." She joked and Kakashi sighed. He had yet to inform her of Naruto's involvement in her kidnapping. He was worried what it would do to her trust in people.
"Naruto will no longer be working for me." Kakashi wanted to break this to her carefully. She frowned confused, but Naruto always wanted to be Hokage, why would he suddenly stop working for Kakashi? "He will no longer be seen around the village, not for a long time at least."
"Oh, has he gone for training again?" She asked slightly confused. "I thought he had done all of that already?" Kakashi shook his head.
Ibiki gave him a sympathetic look, he would hate to be the one to give her the news. Naruto and she were like brother and sister growing up, they seemed to bounce off each other. If Naruto wasn't causing trouble, it was Katsumi. She may have been older than Naruto by a few years but they became fast friends. He always treated her like a little sister who needed protecting. Kakashi knew that Naruto would be gunning for Sasuke, he had heard that Naruto had threatened to kill Sasuke if they didn't execute him. The council would never let them execute Sasuke, not until they had an heir to carry on the Sharingan. It was low to think of ninja as cattle in that way, but the Sharingan was one of Konoha's strengths as well as its weakness.
"No, I had to imprison Naruto." Kakashi admitted and she looked at him in horror.
"What?! Why Kakashi!?" She practically screamed at him. Why would he do such a thing!? Yeah Naruto could cause some trouble from pulling pranks, mainly when he was younger. But he would never break the law now, he wanted to be Hokage, he had to keep himself in check.
"He helped Sasuke kidnap you." He told her, she looked up at him in disbelief. She hugged herself, shaking her head. If Naruto could turn on her, when anyone could.
Both Akamaru and Kenzo whined.
"Come on, Katsumi-chan, let's sit down." Kiba said gently, carefully placing his arm around her. She nodded and let him guide her to the lounge. Ibiki stood in the doorway to talk to Kakashi, still holding the squirming puppy.
"I think he wants to go to her." Kakashi sighed watching the puppy's efforts to free himself from Ibiki's hands. Ibiki nodded, putting Kenzo down, sure enough, he ran straight to Katsumi. "Look after her, Ibiki." Kakashi said as the puppy reached Katsumi. "Keep her safe." Ibiki nodded and placed his hand on Kakashi's shoulder.
"She'll be fine." He reassured him and Kakashi nodded before leaving. He felt like he had let his friend down, he wasn't sure if he would forgive himself for this.
"Kiba, I think it's time you went." Ibiki spoke up as he walked into the lounge.
"Are you emotionally capable of taking care of her?" Kiba fired back as he hugged Katsumi. Kiba wasn't sure how a mean and stoic man could possible look after her. Did he even know how to comfort people?
"Kiba, it's ok, I and Ibiki go back a bit. I'll be fine." Katsumi spoke up, trying hard not to cry. Kenzo was snuggled up in her arms while Akamaru rested his head in her lap.
"If you're sure." Kiba sighed and she nodded. "Ok, I'll be around if you need me." He added. "Come by whenever you want to train Kenzo." He smiled as he patted Kenzo on the head.
"Thank you." Kiba nodded and left with Akamaru.