Ink's Notes:

Maybe I should stop saying I'll try and get out the chapter soon, because I seem to take longer when I do that... oh well, new chapter time! Sorry for the delay - a lot of things happened, and there was sickness and such, but I'm on Spring Break right now so I'll probably have time to work on this a bit more - and thank you for all the kind reviews!

Chapter Nine

When Kiba, Hinata, Shino and Akamaru arrived outside of Tsunade's office, Shizune was quick about escorting them inside. They were greeted by the sight of Tsunade behind a somewhat large pile of paperwork, muttering under her breath as she filled out several forms. This unfortunately meant that the shinobi (and one shinobi dog) were stuck standing there for a full ten minutes before Shizune clearing her throat caught Tsunade's attention and alerted her to their presence in her office. Tsunade quickly set aside the paperwork she had been working on and rested her arms on her desk, looking them over.

"Kiba, Hinata, Shino." A quick bark caught her attention. "And Akamaru." The dog wagged his tail at the acknowledgement. "I have an important mission for you," Tsunade explained. "It shouldn't be too hard, given your respective talents, though."

"You need us to track something, then?" Kiba asked as he began stretching his arms in anticipation. He hadn't gone on a mission in a while, and he was itching for some action.

"Sort of," Tsunade frowned, looking to her assistant. "Shizune?"

Shizune cleared her throat before speaking. "I was visiting the library to check the specifics on a certain jutsu when the librarian approached me," she began. "She said that she thinks she's been hearing someone or something in the library late at night for the past week or so. She decided to make sure nothing had been stolen, and while nothing was missing, when she checked the shelves, a few of the scrolls were in different places than she'd put them. The scrolls in question," Shizune took a moment to compose herself, "Were on Space-Time Ninjutsu."

Kiba recoiled, Hinata flinched and tensed up, and Akamaru whined. "So you think someone's sneaking into the library to research Space-Time Ninjutsu," Shino determined, eyes narrowing behind his glasses.

Tsunade nodded. "I want the three of you to figure out who they are and, if possible, detain them, especially if they're an unknown."

The three shinobi nodded. "Understood," they chimed, before leaving to prepare for their mission.

"Anything yet?" Kiba sounded impatient as his voice came through Hinata's radio, and for once, she could understand why he sounded so annoyed. The group had arrived outside of the library three hours ago, and they had split up so each of them could find a good hiding spot where they could properly scout for their mysterious intruder. So far, they hadn't seen head or tail of him or her, despite the fact that it was approaching one in the morning.

"My bugs have been checking the surrounding area," Shino's voice responded after about a minute of silence. "They haven't found anyone heading inside. Perhaps he or she went inside before we arrived."

Hinata frowned, closing her eyes and channeling her chakra. When she opened them again, she activated her Byakugan, and looked inside of the library, scanning for any sign of anyone. She noted Shino, Kiba and Akamaru in their hiding spots in her near 360º field of vision, but her immediate focus was drawn to the library when she saw a figure seated at one of the tables.

"…There's someone there," she slowly spoke into the radio, and in her field of vision, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru all tensed up. "A man, sitting at a table, reading. But…" She swallowed nervously.

"But what?" Kiba urged her to finish her thought.

"His chakra seems… strange somehow," Hinata explained. "It's… like blue fire flows through his body instead of chakra?" She wasn't sure how else to describe it.

"So it's likely that he's dangerous," Shino concluded. "We'd best bring him in. He could be a threat to the village's safety."

His teammates agreed, and before long, the four had gathered in front of the library. Kiba opened the door, and he and Akamaru charged in, followed by Shino and Hinata. Each slid into a battle stance as they stood a few feet away from the table where the man sat. The lighting was low, but they could still get a good idea of what he looked like, and each one scanned his appearance to try and figure out if he was any sort of missing-nin or other outlaw.

He had tan skin, and was wearing a purple long sleeved collared shirt that was unbuttoned, revealing a rather well toned chest and a blue tattoo that seemed to be a combination of a cross and a crescent moon turned on its side. He wore a light blue sash around his waist, with a belt looped through part of it, and blue jeans rolled up to the knees. He wore sandals that wrapped around his ankles and lower legs, and around his left leg there was a white, feathered band. The thing that stood out the most to the group, though, was his blond hair that vaguely reminded them of a pineapple. Kiba silently wondered if he was a distant relative to the Nara clan.

The man was the epitome of calm as he closed the scroll he was reading, gently pushing it off to the side. He stood up, scratching behind his head as he looked over the three shinobi plus one dog. "Hey, hey, no need for that," he gently smiled. "This is a library, yeah? Fighting here would be a bad idea. We could damage something."

Kiba stared at the man like he was crazy, while Hinata loosened her stance. Shino didn't visibly react, but Hinata noticed his bugs preparing themselves in his sleeves. "Why… are you worried about damaging something?" Hinata cautiously asked, doing her best to remain on guard, her Byakugan still active.

"Wouldn't do me much good to damage something. I just wanna gather what information I can and leave," the man explained, yawning as he did so. Hinata noticed that he looked a bit tired, as if he hadn't slept for some time. "But I guess you guys won't let me just keep doing my research, huh?"

"Your research could very well put our village at risk," Shino calmly pointed out. "We have been tasked to bring you in, as you are an unknown factor and therefore a threat."

Hinata observed the man's strange chakra flare, as if he were preparing to fight, and Akamaru tensed up slightly, but the flare was gone as quickly as it had come.

"All right, fair enough… I was hoping to avoid this, but I guess I have no choice." Kiba heard him mutter something about 'marines' before he lifted his hands. All three shinobi tensed up and got ready to fight, before they realized he was extending his arms towards them, hands in fists. "You'll want me cuffed, right?"

Hinata looked at Kiba, then at Shino, before speaking up. "If… as long as you come peacefully, we… we won't have to do that. But… if you try and resist we will have… to detain you," she explained.

The man lowered his arms. "All right, that's fair. Let me just put this back where I found it." He picked up the scroll, and Shino stepped forward.

"You won't mind if I watch you so you don't try to run away, correct?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question.

The man muttered something which Kiba could faintly make out as 'There goes that idea' before nodding and motioning for Shino to follow him. After a few minutes, the two returned, the man resting his hands behind his head.

"Well, let's get going," he smirked, before covering his mouth as he yawned again. Kiba and Hinata exchanged glances.

"Hinata, can you go ahead and tell the Hokage we're bringing our stranger in?" Kiba asked. Hinata nodded and dashed ahead towards her office. "All right, come on. We'll walk there to give the Hokage some time to prepare," he sighed, cleaning out one of his ears with his finger. "Let's go."

The man smiled. "Lead the way."

And that brings this chapter to a close. I think everyone should know who our friend is, but of course the shinobi have no idea just yet. I wonder how this'll play out, hmm~?

See you next time!

-Ink