Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any properties in this work that I did not make myself.
Harold of Konoha
Chapter twenty-six: Kiba and Neji's excellent adventure (AKA Fire-Forged Friends are often the ones you can trust the most)
It was and early December morning one day in the village of Konohagakure when Harold Fisher, Inoichi Yamanaka, Tsume Inuzuka and Tsume's talking ninja dog Kuromaru went to the Hokage office building to report to the current Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki. Recently, a scroll belonging to Konoha's Nara clan was stolen by some thieves hoping to extort the Nara clan; this scroll, about the size of those small blank scrolls that children in the Ninja Academy use for practice, (1) is of great importance to the Nara. It is especially needed, what with Christmas approaching.
Harold and his friends had volunteered to get the scroll back, despite some worries others had about their ability to get the job done without making a scene. Surprisingly, Harold and his friends pulled the mission off without a hitch. As the thieves who stole the scroll were arrested and brought in for questioning, Harold and company reported to Naruto, to give him their report on the mission.
"…So the four of you snuck into the thieves' base of operations," Naruto began as he glanced from a paper report he was holding to Harold and company.
"That is correct, Lord Sixth," Harold said with a nod.
"…Disguised as housekeeping?" Naruto read from the report in a questioning tone.
"Hey, if the thieves were dumb enough to think that Harold and Inoichi dressed as Latino maids are actually women, I'm quite frankly surprised that they were actually able to steal the Nara clan scroll in the first place," Kuromaru remarked.
"Fair enough," Naruto replied, "I'm just glad that you all decided to change back into regular outfits before reporting to me." Looking at the report again, Naruto continued, "It says here that you were able to smuggle the Nara clan scroll out of the thieves' base of operations without them being aware you even had it."
"The boys here and I have been pulling off such daring ventures since before you were born, Lord Sixth," Inoichi replied.
"That doesn't surprise me," Naruto said. Holding out a hand, Naruto added, "I'll just need to get the Nara clan scroll from you so I can call Shikamaru to have him come pick it up. Where is it?"
At that moment, one of the three older ninjas let out a loud fart; near instantly after that fart, a full-grown reindeer seeming flew out of Tsume's rear end. The reindeer, crying out in a freaked-out tone, went stampeding out of Naruto's office (the door was wide open), down the stairs, through the first floor lobby, and out the front door of the Hokage office building. Naruto just starred at the three older ninja with a wide-eyed look of disbelief. "…Mrs. Inuzuka, did you just fart a reindeer?" Naruto asked, dumbfounded.
"…Must have been something that I ate," Tsume replied with a sheepish grin.
That evening over at the Inuzuka clan compound, in the house where Kiba and his family live, Kiba was sitting at the kitchen table with his son Bankai. "…And that's how Grandpa Banyo won first place in that funny home video contest on TV last week," Bankai said to his father as he wrapped up a story he was telling. Bankai's ninja dog companion, Rojomaru, was sitting on the floor next to the chair Bankai sat in; when Bankai finished his tale, Rojomaru gave a woof.
"Yeah, your Grandma Tsume said that the only thing cats are good for are being the stars of funny short videos," Kiba remarked. After taking a sip from a can of soda he was drinking, Kiba continued, "Speaking of, what did your mom say about your Grandma Tsume again?"
"Oh, mom told me that she got a call from Konoha General," Bankai explained, "Mom wouldn't tell me what happened, but I did notice the look of disgust on her face. I also heard her muttering about having to apologize to Shikaru's dad."
As he picked up his can of soda again, Kiba said, "I'm probably going to hear about it anyway, but something tells me that I may not want to know." As Kiba took a sip from his soda can, his wife Sakaki, plus Sakaki's ninja cat partner Mayamaru, came running into the kitchen area.
"Kiba! This is bad!" Sakaki exclaimed, the look on her face suggesting that she was about to start crying at any moment.
"What happened?" Kiba asked in an immediately alarmed tone, "Did the hospital call and say that ma died?"
"Mama Tsume's going to be fine," Sakaki explained, "She's just getting something removed from some place that I'd rather not talk about in front of our son." (2)
"So if it's not ma in some sort of trouble, then what is it?" Kiba asked.
"I'm afraid it's Akamaru, Kiba," Mayamaru replied with a somber expression, "Sakaki and I found him lying on the floor in the laundry room, not moving or breathing." More alarmed than before, Kiba swore under his breath as he ran to the laundry room with Sakaki as he told Bankai and the ninja pets to wait outside in the living room.
The next morning, a number of folks had gathered at the Inuzuka clan compound. When Harold and his wife Sophia showed up, the Fisher patriarch was saddened to see a large framed photo of Kiba's ninja dog on an easel; the photo was adorned with ribbons. "…So what Tsume told me over the phone as she was recovering in Konoha General is true," Harold remarked in a tone that does not befit a man of his general attitude, "Kiba's ninja dog died."
"It's very sad," Sophia agreed with a nod, "I bet Kiba's taking this really hard."
"If only Akamaru was a talking ninja dog, same as Kuromaru," Harold remarked somberly, "The talking ninja dogs not only live much longer than the non-talking ones, but they also retain their youth much longer as well."
"It's part of why Kiba, when he first got Akamaru, tried to teach him to speak," Kuromaru said as he walked up to the Fishers; Tsume, who was coming up with Kuromaru, seemed like she was feeling somewhat sore in a particular area.
"It sucks that Akamaru's dead," Tsume remarked, "Even more so considering the fact that Akamaru's death is the first thing I hear about after I had spent the previous hour beforehand being yelled at over the phone by Yoshino Nara. I'm sorry Yoshino, but how else were the boys and I going to sneak your clan's scroll out of the thieves' base of operations?!"
As Tsume and Kuromaru were talking to the Fishers, Inoichi came walking up with his wife Michelle. "Hey Tsume," Inoichi said, "I heard about the loss that your clan had just suffered, and I would like to offer my condolences."
"It's a very terrible thing to have happen," Michelle said, "I'm very sorry. A loss in the family is always hard."
Nodding in acknowledgment of the well-wishes, Tsume replied, "I'm glad that you all remember how much us Inuzuka clan ninja value our ninja dog partners. "
"I know very little about how the Inuzuka clan manages the affair of managing the affairs of their dead, so I'm curious," Sophia said, "What do you all plan to do with Akamaru?"
"As per the traditions of the Inuzuka clan, Akamaru will be cremated," Kuromaru began, "His ashes will then be carried to a valley that's sacred to the Inuzuka, called Inuzuka Valley, where they will all be scattered."
"Who will be taking the ashes to the valley?" Michelle asked.
"Inuzuka clan tradition says that it's supposed to be the ninja who was partnered with the deceased ninja dog," Kuromaru explained, "Unless the ninja in question is physically incapable of making the trip on foot, like if they're recovering from a broken leg at the time, or they're bound to a wheelchair, or something else along those lines. In that case, another Inuzuka clan member makes the trip for them."
"Since my son is perfectly able, he'll be carrying the urn that Akamaru's ashes will be stored in to Inuzuka Valley," Tsume said.
"Wow, I wasn't aware that the Inuzuka clan had such intricate traditions in regards to honoring their dead," Michelle said.
"This only applies to dead ninja dogs, though," Kuromaru pointed out, "You don't wanna know how the average Inuzuka clan member deals with dead cats unless someone is there to vouch for the deceased feline." (3)
"Is there anything else in regards to the Inuzuka clan's tradition of honoring their dead ninja dogs?" Sophia asked.
"The ninja who was partnered with the dead ninja dog can choose to have a friend of theirs-and it has to be a friend, no family members- accompany them on the trek to Inuzuka Valley," Tsume explained, "Inuzuka clan tradition specifically states that if the Inuzuka ninja in question elects to bring a friend, the friend they bring has to be human."
"If the Inuzuka ninja whose ninja dog died is physically incapable of making the trek, the Inuzuka ninja who makes the trip for them can choose to bring a friend to accompany them," Kuromaru added, "But they're also restricted to the same choice of having to pick a human companion. As a side note, the Inuzuka clan has a separate method of honoring the regular dogs that they own who died, (4) but the end result is the same as for ninja dogs; the ashes of the deceased are scattered all over Inuzuka Valley."
"…Wow, I think I made something of an understatement when I said that the Inuzuka clan has an intricate tradition for honoring their dead ninja dogs," Michelle said.
"Tsume once made the trek in place of an Inuzuka ninja who busted their knee and as such couldn't walk for a few weeks," Inoichi stated.
"Oh yeah," Tsume remarked, "I remember that. Yeah, as I couldn't bring Kuromaru with me, I was able to bring along both Inoichi and Harold, as it wouldn't feel right unless there was a trio."
As both Harold and Inoichi nodded, Sophia asked, "So Tsume, did Kiba say who he was planning to ask to accompany him to Inuzuka Valley?"
"Ehh, he'll probably ask one of the guys he's friends with," Tsume replied, "Like Shino or Shikamaru or Choji or Sasuke or Lord Sixth." Over a way, the older folks heard some shouting.
"…The hell is that?" Harold asked aloud as he and the others went to investigate.
What they saw got their attention; Kiba and Neji were having an argument for some reason.
"Your wife is fat!" Kiba snapped.
"Your dog is dead!" Neji snapped back.
"Your cousin married an idiot!" Kiba yelled.
"Your mother is an idiot!" Neji shouted.
"Your hair makes you look girly!" Kiba declared.
"Your hair makes you look homeless!" Neji stated loudly.
"Screw you!" Kiba hissed.
"Screw you!" Neji hissed back.
"Just kiss already!" Tenten could be heard shouting from a way over; turning their attention, Kiba and Neji saw Tenten standing with Sakaki and Mayamaru, with the former not being able to help but laugh at what Tenten shouted at the two arguing ninja.
"The hell got up the respective butts of you two?" Tsume asked as she and the others who she was talking with approached Kiba and Neji.
Pointing to the cadet branch Hyuga, Kiba said, "Rapunzel here had the nerve to call into question all of the trouble that us Inuzuka clan ninja go through to honor our ninja dogs who die!"
"I just don't see why anyone would bother going through such pomp and circumstance for a pet," Neji replied, "The Hyuga certainly doesn't go through so much trouble for our dead pets."
"The Hyuga clan barred the ownership of pets up until very recently," Kiba pointed out, "So of course you wouldn't understand."
"Now hold up there, boys," Harold said as he cut in. Getting the attention of both Kiba and Neji, Harold said, "Now look. Neji, Kiba and his clan hold their traditions just as highly as you and the Hyuga hold yours. Questioning the process that Inuzuka ninja go through to honor their dogs who die is kind of a dick move." Turning to face Kiba before the Inuzuka man was able to speak, Harold continued, "And Kiba, I know that it's very irritating for someone to call your clan's customs into question. But that's no reason to make fun of Neji's girly hair."
"What I want to know is how he manages to get so much luster into his hair," Tenten muttered, "It's rather embarrassing when your husband has more beautiful hair than you." As Kiba and Neji looked at each other after having taking in what Harold said, the two of them held out a hand to each other to shake hands.
"We cool?" Neji asked.
"…Frosty," Kiba replied with something of an amused smirk.
"Oh, seeing two people make up after an argument really does prove that friendship is magic!" Inoichi declared.
"Hey, speaking of being friends," Kiba began, "Neji, I don't suppose that you would mind accompanying me to Inuzuka Valley so I can scatter Akamaru's ashes there, would you?"
"I wouldn't mind that at all," Neji replied, "Besides which, I'd like to learn more about your clan's customs. Now that I think about it, the customs and traditions of the Inuzuka are just as complex as those of the Hyuga."
"The way that the Inuzuka clan honors dead cats isn't all that complex," Kuromaru remarked, "Or respectful, for that matter."
After the ceremony honoring Akamaru, Kiba and Neji walked out of the front entry gate of the village of Konohagakure; Kiba had a tightly sealed metal urn in the backpack that he had slung over his back. After walking about a quarter of a mile straight on the road leading out of the village, Kiba promptly turned right and started walking westward as straight as possible. "This is the quickest, most direct way to get to Inuzuka Valley," Kiba explained.
"I see," Neji replied, "Have you made this trip once before?"
"Twice, actually," Kiba answered, "The first time was when ma brought me along when she accompanied a friend whose ninja dog was killed saving the child of a Konoha citizen family from a burning building. The second time I was asked by an Inuzuka clan member who was bedridden with a very bad case of the flu to scatter their ninja dog's ashes for them. I asked my ma's aforementioned friend to accompany me, partly because I was somewhat unsure of how to get to Inuzuka valley."
"Do you remember how to get to Inuzuka Valley now?" Neji asked, mildly concerned by the last bit that Kiba said. Reaching into his rear right pocket, Kiba pulled out and unfolded a map.
"Hana gave me this map that will show us the way," Kiba replied, "We aren't going to get lost like idiots."
After Kiba folded the map back up and putting it back into his right rear pocket, Neji said, "Well okay, then."
As Kiba and Neji made their way to Inuzuka Valley, Kiba said, "Hey Neji, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"About what, Kiba?" Neji replied.
"Well first you gotta promise that you won't take it the wrong way," Kiba began, "My question concerns your clan."
"Well I'd be the world's biggest hypocrite if I saw no problem with questioning something someone else's clan does while at the same time getting highly offended when something that my clan does is called into question," Neji replied, "Go ahead and ask your question, Kiba."
"Why does one part of your clan celebrate Hanukkah while the other part celebrates Christmas?" Kiba asked, "I mean, the Hyuga clan is the only clan in Konoha that does that."
"Well the Hyuga clan is the only clan in Konoha where all of the members aren't exclusively belonging to one religion," Neji explained, "You know that the main branch is Jewish whereas the cadet branch is Christian, right?" After Kiba nodded, Neji continued, "Well it wasn't always like that."
"What do you mean?" Kiba asked.
"Well sometime before Lord Hiashi and my late father were born, the Hyuga clan was entirely Jewish," Neji explained, "However, dissatisfaction with how the main branch was running the Hyuga, coupled with steadily increasing personal dislike for the main branch, led one cadet branch Hyuga to convert to Christianity. The main branch of the Hyuga clan was prevented from punishing the cadet branch member who converted due to Konoha having religious protection laws. Because of this, every other cadet branch Hyuga saw religious conversion as a form of defying the main branch. More importantly, this defying of the main branch was protected by village law."
"So the cadet branch changed religions because they saw it as a way to give the main branch a big middle finger and totally get away with it?" Kiba asked.
"That's…" Neji replied at length, "…One way to put it, I guess."
"Man, all this talk about religion reminds me of that murderous psychopath who killed Asuma-sensei back when you, me and the rest of our friends were in our mid to late teens," Kiba remarked, "Didn't that bastard belong to some crazy killing cult or some other bullcrap like that?"
"I actually did some research about that supposed religion shortly after Asuma-sensei's funeral," Neji replied, "I believe that it's called Jashinism."
"Yeah, that," Kiba said, "I wonder if they have any holidays."
"Well they celebrate Halloween, same as anyone else," Neji stated, "But the way that they celebrate it is…well…you don't want to know." (5)
"Well I would certainly like to hear the two of you continue," a mysterious voice called out, "The two of you talking to each other gives me time to set up killing you both."
"The hell was that?!" Kiba exclaimed, partly alarmed. Activating his Byakugan, Neji looked around and saw a dozen or so bandits hiding behind the surrounding trees.
"I can see you all," Neji called out, "Come out and face us now."
"Ah hell," said the first bandit who came out of hiding, who just so happened to have been the same one who called out at first. As they were coming out of hiding, the bandits surrounded Kiba and Neji. Seeing that they were surrounded, Kiba and Neji came together, back-to-back and their fists raised, ready to fight.
The bandits all rushed the two ninjas, but Kiba and Neji threw a series of punches and kicks, sending every bandit that came at them immediately flying back. As the fighting went on, Neji saw a bandit raise a sword behind Kiba, prepared to strike at Kiba's back. Jumping forward, Neji thrusted the palm of his right hand into the bandit's torso, sending him tumbling back. Turning and seeing what Neji had done, Kiba realized that Neji had not only saved his life, but had also protected Akamaru's urn.
"Thanks for the save, dude," Kiba said to the cadet Hyuga, mildly shocked. As Neji smiled and gave Kiba a thumbs-up, Kiba saw a bandit behind Neji, preparing to stab Neji in his back. Neji, who still had his Byakugan active, saw this as well, but couldn't react quickly enough to protect himself. Luckily for the cadet Hyuga, Kiba leapt forward striking the bandit in the gut with a foot slam. After a minute or so, most of the bandits were defeated, either knocked out or dead. As Kiba and Neji surveyed their handiwork, Kiba caught the sight of one remaining bandit trying to run away.
Reaching for his kunai pouch, Kiba went wide-eyed when he realized that he didn't bring his kunai pouch. "Damn!" Kiba hissed, "Of all the times to not be armed!"
"Here," Neji replied as he handed Kiba a kunai to use. Smiling, Kiba thanked Neji as he took the kunai and threw it, striking the fleeing bandit in the back of the head and killing him. When Neji and Kiba got up to the dead bandit, they looked down at the body. "…Wow, that was incredibly easy," Kiba remarked as he nudged the dead bandit's head with his right foot
"Well then, shall we get going to Inuzuka Valley?" Neji asked.
"…Yeah, these bandits can wait," Kiba said, "But Akamaru's ashes can't."
After half an hour after their tango with the bandits, Kiba and Neji came to a large, somewhat rocky valley; it looked more akin to a canyon than anything else. "Well, here we are," Kiba said as he surveyed the surroundings, "Inuzuka Valley."
"…Wow," Neji said as he was awestruck by the sheer majesty of the view, "THIS is sacred land to the Inuzuka?"
"Hell yeah it is," Kiba replied as he took off his backpack and set it on the ground.
"Your clan sure does have a good sense in picking land to hold as sacred," Neji remarked.
Kneeling on the ground, Kiba said as he opened his backpack, "Back during the early days of the First Hokage's tenure, the head of the Inuzuka clan at the time, a jonin-ranked kunoichi named Pirate Inuzuka, found this valley when she took her ninja dog partner, Bakamaru, out for a walk out here. During the walk, Bakamaru found a crystal in the valley that turned out to be a very large uncut diamond that, when properly cut, brought the Inuzuka clan great wealth. Since only Inuzuka clan dogs were able to locate the diamonds and other gems hidden in this valley, Lord First made a deal with the Inuzuka clan where the Inuzuka would help the rest of Konoha mine the gems in this valley. This is what allowed Konoha's economy in the early days to get such a serious jumpstart."
"Yes," Neji remarked as he stroked his chin in a gesture of deep thought, "I remember hearing about this in a short history lesson back at the Ninja Academy. I believe the Inuzuka ninja dogs that were used to locate the gems in this valley were nicknamed 'Diamond Dogs', or something else along those lines."
"When Bakamaru died, Pirate wished to bury him at the valley, as it was Bakamaru who discovered the first gem here," Kiba went on, "That is what started the Inuzuka clan's tradition of using this valley as a sort of burial site for our dogs. As the valley's gem supply was essentially depleted by the time Bakamaru died, Lord First saw no problem with it. In fact, when the Inuzuka clan petitioned for ownership of the now devoid-of-gems valley to use as a burial site for our clan's dogs, Lord First agreed right on the spot, taking care of all the paperwork to make the move nice and legal. Thus is the tale of how Inuzuka Valley came to be."
"Wait, so if your clan was responsible for bringing so much wealth to Konoha in its early days, then how come your clan is currently the poorest ninja clan in the Land of Fire?" Neji asked.
"My late great-grandma, may she rest in peace, was more addicted to gambling than Lady Tsunade," Kiba replied. (6)
"Ah," Neji replied, "That makes sense." Walking forward, Neji took in the sights. "Still, this place really is a sight to be-WOAH!" Neji called out as he slipped and fell into the valley, luckily catching a hold of the edge of the ground.
"Neji! Dude!" Kiba exclaimed as he ran up; kneeling down, Kiba reached down towards Neji and grabbed his arm that he was using to hold on. As he began to pull the cadet Hyuga up, Kiba said, "I got you, man! Hold on!"
"Kiba, take care of Akamaru first," Neji replied, "That's more important."
"More important than saving your life?! No way!" Kiba insisted, "I don't wanna have to see off TWO friends in the same week! I ain't gonna leave you like this!"
"No, seriously," Neji replied calmly, "I can very easily get myself out of this." To demonstrate, Neji reached up with his other hand to grab the edge of the valley and hoisted himself up back onto the ground.
"…Oh," Kiba replied as Neji dusted himself off.
"Besides which, the valley's only ten feet deep," Neji pointed out, "Even if I did fall into it, I highly doubt that I would be severely injured."
"…Well then, we got a dog's ashes to scatter all over the valley," Kiba said as he got up and walked over to where he sat his backpack down. Opening the backpack, Kiba removed a gold-colored, metal urn that was approximately the size and shape of a shoebox big enough to hold a pair of shoes for a kid Inohime's age. Kiba walked close to the edge of the valley, but not as close as Neji, and then opened the urn. "Well then, Akamaru…" Kiba said softly as he gave a small but sad smile, "…Looks like this was our last walk, huh? …Catch you later, dude." With that, Kiba began casting Akamaru's ashes over Inuzuka Valley as Neji watched. Nodding, Neji said not a single word, as he didn't want to be disrespectful. But he did smile. Neji smiled as he watched his friend send of his ninja dog partner, a lone tear rolling down the left side of his face.
Back in Konoha, Naruto was using the exercise machine he had in his office as he talked to Shikaku Nara, who stood on Naruto's left; on Naruto's right stood Inoichi Yamanaka. "Inoichi, how can you defend what Tsume did with my clan's reindeer summoning scroll?" the older Nara patriarch snapped.
"Hey, we couldn't bring in any bags to carry the scroll in, and it would stick out like a sore thumb if one of us put it in a pants pocket," Inoichi pointed out.
"Well I'm not going to be the one to tell Shikamaru where the reindeer summoning scroll has been," Shikaku declared with his arms crossed.
"Yeah, I already did that," Naruto interjected, getting the attention of the two older ninjas. When Inoichi and Shikaku both gave Naruto questioning looks, Naruto replied, "Hey, I was the one who returned the scroll to Shikamaru. He deserved an explanation."
"Now that I think about it, the look my son had on his face earlier makes a lot more sense, with what Lord Sixth just told us," Shikaku said to Inoichi. As the three ninjas continued their conversation, Neji walked into the office.
"…Oh," Neji said when he saw that Naruto was already talking to visitors, "Am I interrupting?"
"No, it's nothing to worry about," Naruto replied as he gestured for Neji to come into the office. "So how was the trip to Inuzuka Valley?" Naruto asked.
"I have a much greater appreciation for Kiba than I did before," Neji replied.
Chuckling, Naruto said, "Well I'm glad to see that the two of you are getting along better now."
"I still think Tsume should apologize to Yoshino," Shikaku said to Inoichi, the two of them completely ignoring Naruto's and Neji's conversation.
"What does Tsume have to apologize for?" Inoichi asked.
"Nothing, technically," Shikaku replied, "But Yoshino, after hearing how Tsume got the reindeer summoning scroll out of the thieves' base of operations, feels as if Tsume owes her an apology."
The following day, Kiba was having his morning coffee; Neji was over, at Kiba's invitation, to have coffee as well. "Surprisingly, your mother, Mr. Fisher and Mr. Yamanaka are making a lot of progress in helping Tenten lose weight," Neji remarked as he sat down the mug that he was drinking from.
"Aren't they helping your wife slim down by using the power of dance?" Kiba asked as he picked up his coffee mug.
"Something like that, yeah," Neji replied with a nod. After Kiba took a sip of coffee and sat his mug back down, Neji said, "Hey Kiba…thanks."
"…For inviting you over for coffee?" Kiba replied in a slightly confused tone.
"Well that," Neji replied, "But mainly for taking me along on the trip to honor Akamaru at Inuzuka Valley." Looking more directly at Kiba, Neji added, "It was quite the honor."
Smiling, Kiba raised his mug of coffee to Neji and said, "Same here, dude. Same here." As Kiba and Neji continued to enjoy their coffee, Tsume and Kuromaru came walking in, accompanied by an Inuzuka clan ninja dog; this dog was smaller than Akamaru in adulthood, but notably larger than Akamaru back when he was small enough to ride on Kiba's head.
When Tsume and the dogs walked in, Tsume was talking on a cell phone. "…Well you can tell your wife to kiss my ass!" Tsume snapped into the phone, "She ain't getting no apology from me, just because she doesn't like how the boys and I got your clan's scroll back! Good day to you, sir!" And with that, Tsume ended the call and slipped her cell phone back into her pocket. Looking to the table, Tsume saw Kiba and Neji. "Oh, hey Neji," Tsume greeted, "What brings you by?"
"Kiba invited me for coffee," Neji replied.
"Ah yes, you were Kiba's friend that accompanied him to Inuzuka Valley," Tsume said as she walked over to the counter in the kitchen where Kiba put the coffee pot. Getting her own mug of coffee, Tsume joined the two younger adult ninja. Gesturing to the dogs to come over, Tsume said, "Hey Kiba, the dog that came with me and Kuromaru is your new ninja dog partner."
"Huh, already?" Kiba replied with a slight laugh.
"As an Inuzuka, you need a ninja dog partner," Tsume pointed out, "But I'll leave the business of naming up to you." Kiba gestured to his new ninja dog partner to come over.
Taking a look at the new ninja dog, Kiba said, "Huh, the eyes are blue."
"So Aomaru, then?" Neji asked. (7)
"Actually, I was thinking of doing what Bankai did when he named Rojomaru," Kiba replied. To his new ninja dog, Kiba said, "I'll name you Azulmaru." (8)
"That ninja dog is a bitch," Kuromaru pointed out. With that bit of knowledge, Kiba and Neji both exchanged looks of embarrassment.
Looking back down to his new ninja dog, Kiba said, "Azulhime it is!"
END, CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Author's Notes:
(1) Remember that one scene from the anime where, in the academy, Udon was doing math problems on a scroll? The Nara clan's reindeer summoning scroll is about that big.
(2) For very understandable reasons.
(3) They just toss the dead cats into dumpsters.
(4) In the case of a regular dog's ashes, the person who owned the dog can choose to have someone else scatter the dog's ashes in their place, but the person they choose has to be an Inuzuka. Also, the person that's scattering the ashes can bring a friend to accompany them, but in the case of a regular dog's ashes being scattered, the friend that's brought along does not necessarily have to be human (the friend that's brought along in this case can be either human or canine).
(5) It IS in the Halloween spirit by virtue of the fact that it's creepy as all get out.
(6) She also had worse luck than Tsunade.
(7) 'Ao' is blue in Japanese.
(8) 'Azul' is blue in Spanish.
For reasons that escape me, the Inuzuka clan has always been one of my favorite, if not my MOST favorite, clans from the world of Naruto. And yet there's very little history/lore on them in the manga/anime. I've been wanting to flesh out the Inuzuka clan a bit for quite some time, and with this chapter, I hope that my goal has been accomplished.