Wisping around them, the crisp air slowed the breathing of the two shinobi. The rocky outcrops felt rough underfoot as they trekked. The pair couldn't have been more different as one took in the glorious mountainous landscapes that were just begging to be captured forever, and the other ignored the environment, only offering crude remarks about how tedious it was to traverse. His frustrated comments were cut short as he stopped in his tracks, sniffing the air blindly.
"What is it, Kiba?"
He took another whiff. "Seafood" he stated. "We must be getting close"
As they continued, the mountainside soon gave way to a patchwork of canyons and tunnels through the rocks. They followed Kiba's nose through, but every once in a while, he would have to defer to his partner at his heel. Akamaru would sometimes be led astray whenever he saw a flock of birds or a particularly brave hare, but apart from them, their surroundings were devoid of any fauna.
Whilst they walked, Kiba seemed to become more agitated in the eyes of his partner. Anytime he looked towards him, he tried his best for a calming smile.
"Can you stop doing that, Sai? It's kinda weirding me out" he barked.
The artist frowned. "Is something wrong?"
"No… I don't know… maybe?"
Sai placed a hand on his shoulder to which he recoiled slightly. "I have heard it is better to talk about one's feeling's instead of keeping them bottled up"
Taking a deep breath, Kiba huffed. "It's just… I keep picking up traces of this scent" he looked around helplessly. "It's smells a little like the Eight Tails but I know I've smelled it before, I just don't get it. And, what's weirder is that underneath it is this sweeter fragrance, like a perfume I've been around before; it's really putting my nose in a bind" he explained, wiping his brow.
His ninja hound bayed further down the path. "What is it, Akamaru?" Kiba called to his best friend. Akamaru pawed the ground before barking back.
Kiba met Sai's gaze and nodded. They hurried over, trying to discern what Akamaru had found. When they made it to him, he was halfway into the ground and a flurry of dirt and dust spraying from his hind legs. Dirtying his gorgeous coat of silvery fur, Akamaru kept digging until he brought out what he had found for Kiba and Sai. A long piece of cloth flapped helplessly in between his pointed fangs. Snowy strands of fabric begged to escape their canine prison, to join the cloudy wisps that hung low on the hilly terrain.
After a swift word, it was dropped into Kiba's palm in a puddle of slobber. He inspected it thoroughly. "This has to be that weirdo jinchuriki's scarf" he turned to Sai.
He nodded. "But, why is it here of all places?" he scanned the area. Nothing but the barren silence that they had walked through for hours already. "Blood?"
"No, but there is a different scent" he grimaced. Kiba reached behind him to stuff the scarf into one of his pouches. "Fear"
Sharing a glance, they rushed into action. Kiba darted off with Akamaru in tow whilst Sai slung his scroll off his back. As he dropped it, it unravelled to perfectly spread out at his feet. Careful not to spill any drops, he dabbed his brush into the pot of ink. Thankful for his years of constant practice, Sai's brush whirred across the paper with the grace of a swan. In a mere second, a beautiful image of an elegant bird dried onto the page.
Focusing on the artistic pride that swelled in his heart, Sai formed a simple hand sign. As his chakra poured into the paper, Sai watched his masterpiece come to life. Feather after feather peeled off the page. A sharp beak unsheathed itself along with dangerously long talons. His eyes widened to take in the sight before him. The same piece of art that he connected with, now perched above the scroll, completely still. Sai wasted no time rolling his scroll up before climbing aboard his flight. Tugging on its neck, Sai felt himself lifted into the air as giant wings buffeted the winds. Beneath the clouds, Sai watched as Kiba and Akamaru sprinted at their fasted pace. He followed from above, keeping an eye out for anyone else in the vicinity from overhead.
For a while they travelled, but down below, Kiba and his ninja hound never stopped for a break. They even managed to put some distance between Sai.
Eventually they came to a break in the canyon. Sloping down, the path gave way to dunes of pebbles. Watching them closely, Sai saw Kiba slow down as Akamaru almost dove into the clear water of the enormous lake that dominated their surroundings. Silently, Sai's transport landed on a particularly large boulder. As he dropped off its back, Sai studied the honeycomb of cave entrances along the bowl of cliffs. His gaze sifted through the archipelago of stone islands and rock formations.
"What now?" Sai asked as he appeared at Kiba's shoulder.
He growled at the body of water. "He's around here somewhere, but lakes can be a real pain in the ass to track scents through" he whined on explaining in detail why.
Watching Kiba's face, Sai couldn't help but smile as it transformed through a full-scale conflict of fleeting emotions as he ranted. He didn't understand why, but he couldn't stop the corners of his lips from twitching at the sight of pure-hearted emotions. Even Akamaru joined in, sticking his large tongue out as he beamed up at his partner. Before he knew it, Sai let out a hearty chuckle.
He wiped the tears from his eyes, only to see Kiba stare blankly at him.
"I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?" he asked.
Kiba leaned away. "No, it's just…" he shrugged as his posture relaxed. "… I guess I should just be used to how strange you can be by now" he admitted.
Making his way to the edge of the water, he crouched down. He called Akamaru and they conferred about how to proceed with the tracking of the Eight Tails. Seeing them engrossed in an interspecies discussion, Sai took a seat on a knee-high stone and pulled out his notepad and brush. After taking in the landscape, he smoothly glossed over the page with calm manner. With every stroke, he relaxed a little more. It wasn't until Kiba was waving in front on his eyes did Sai break his intense focus.
He went on to explain that Akamaru wished to explore the scent through the cave system in the cliffs, whilst he preferred to search the lake's islands for their objective.
"So, you get the deciding vote" Kiba explained, eyeing him with an expectant look.
Sai switched between them. In his artistic vision, Kiba was a ferocious shinobi. A coat of long and soft caramel hair was threatened to break free from the confines of his forehead protector. His obsidian irises dug into every detail of what they focused on, and his long markings gave a clear and proud of indication of which clan he belonged to. Sharp-angled features gave his face a strong definition as his jaw led to chewed lips marked with indents that revealed the primal length of his canines. Small stubble dotted his chin as it drew attention away from a muscled neck, tense with the burden of showing off his immense pride. A furry jacket hung like curtains over his body armour which only hid his feral body, toned through years of training in the wilderness with only his partner to back him up.
On the other hand, Akamaru was the most famed ninja hound in the Five Great Nations and beyond. A hulking behemoth of a dog, his fangs and mighty clawed paws were feared almost as much as his incredible nose. As he sat there panting, waiting patiently for Sai's answer, the shinobi couldn't help but notice the flash of intelligence behind his bright puppy eyes.
"You want me to pick between the ideas for our next course of action suggested by you and a dog?"
Kiba nodded intently whilst Akamaru barked at Sai's comment.
With a raised eyebrow, Sai presented the duo with a bright smile. "I think we should check out the caves" he giggled at Kiba's confused expression.
The Inuzuka shinobi walked off to throw a small tantrum. Eavesdropping slightly with use of the skills that were drilled into him in the ANBU Black Ops, Sai managed to pick out a choice few words that Kiba used to describe his dissatisfaction with losing out to his own pet. When he finally settled down, he followed grumpily behind Sai as Akamaru led them towards them to the closest cave entrance. As they walked inside, Sai didn't need the sense of smell of Kiba and his clan to detect the staleness of the air compared to the freshness outside.
Damp pebbles lay in the entrance, spilling in from the beach. The further they travelled inside, the more the darkness gave way to twists and turns. A few times they found themselves at the same dead end, an enormous cavern filled to the brim with sharp stalagmites and their looming counterparts.
They searched around for a while, looking for another exit. It wasn't until Akamaru called for his trainer's attention did the shinobi discover that there was a small hole leading out of the cavern on the opposite wall. Slipping through the forest of rock, they squeezed through stalagmites in an effort to reach Akamaru. A rumbling above drew their attention away from their task as Sai was narrowly halfway between two spikes of stone. The cavern shook and the rocks trembled.
Kiba's gaze flicked between the trapped Sai and the crumbling rocks above him on the cavern's ceiling. As a particularly sharp-looking one gave in to the force assaulting the cavern's walls, its descent seemed to slow to a snail's pace in Kiba's vision. Without thinking, his feet braced themselves as he bent his knees. Before the point reached the wide-eyed Sai, Kiba pounced. He flew through the air, tackling his comrade just in time. When they hit the ground, they both turned to stare at the metre-long rocky spear that jutted from the spot that Sai had just been stood. The cave continued to fall apart under each tremor, and with each seismic wave, more stalactites fell from the ceiling.
They rushed to join Akamaru, ducking and dodging out of the way of falling spikes. Scrambling through the hole in the wall, they made it out as the cavern collapsed on itself. As they rested and caught their breaths, Akamaru lathered Kiba's dusty face with his drool. His trainer giggled at the contact. Sai scanned the tunnel they had wound up in. Dim light gave him little to work with, but he could just make out the curve of the tunnel as well as the spots of light that peppered the back wall. They trudged towards it, keeping an eye out for any threats of structural weakness in the cave. After a few turns, they found themselves at the source of the small dots of light. Dozens of crystals, ranging from deep crimsons to vibrant indigos, adorned the rocky walls, catching the light to sparkle in the cave's darkness. A wide exit to the cave allowed in the moonlight, drawing Kiba and Akamaru like bees to honey. Sai caught up to them to take in the breath-taking view. At a higher angle than before, a beautiful landscape of the lake presenting a clear image of the full moon in its still reflection. A rare cloud floated in the sky, giving depth to the picturesque art of nature. The sloping of the cliffs on either side gave Sai the impression of a snow globe.
His admiration didn't last long, however, as he noticed the two figures walking along the beach that they had just been prior. One glance at Kiba revealed his unwavering knowledge of their identities. The bodily clues were obvious, even to the anti-social artist. The scrunching of his nose. The intense glare that narrowed his dark pupils. His gritted teeth that failed to restrain the guttural growl in the depth of his quivering throat. At his sides, his chewed nails dug into his clenched fists.
In an attempt to calm him, Akamaru brushed against his leg. He whined when Kiba's demeanour didn't change in the slightest, not even registering the contact of his soft fur.
"What…" he took a deep breath, making the calming action seem menacing. "… are they doing here?" he asked, mostly to himself.
Sai turned back to the beach. He didn't know how he knew for certain, but he felt a burning gaze directed at him. Accompanying it, Sai swore he could see a flash of red in his vision. His ANBU Black Ops instincts took over his body and, as if he knew that Kiba would think like a feral mutt, he shoved him to the ground before backing into the wall, out of view. Akamaru rolled over and hid his snout in his paws. They waited for a few heart-pounding moments. Counting his heartbeats, Sai risked peeking out. Cautiously, he leaned out of the cave entrance to gain a view of the beach. He grimaced at the sight of a, now, empty beach.
"What was that for?" Kiba's barking echoed inside the cave.
"They were about to spot you, especially since you were just standing there staring at them" Sai reasoned. He turned to see Kiba storming towards the entrance, ready to jump out into the lake below. Behind his knee, Akamaru bit into the grey fabric of his pants, tugging him backwards.
"Let go of me, Akamaru!" he snarled at his best friend. The ninja hound let out a whimper, but his will to protect his partner stayed firm. A hand on his opposite shoulder drew his enraged attention away from his dog. "Sai, I swear, I don't let me go right now…" his threatening words died along with his booming voice when he whipped his head around to find a stern, shadowy gaze locking him in place.
"I'd suggest that you listen to your comrades, Kiba" a disappointed tone reached Kiba's shocked ears.
He nodded his head slowly, keeping his head bowed. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei"
"Trust me, Kiba, I understand how you feel" the masked shinobi took notice of his subordinate's balled fists.
With Kakashi stroking the fur behind his ear, Akamaru slowly let go of Kiba's pants, licking the fabric to show his apologies to his trainer.
Still scanning the landscape, Sai asked cautiously. "How did you manage to find us, Kakashi?"
He shrugged. "Pakkun helped me find you"
"Why are you here?" he asked.
Kiba chimed in. "And where's Kurenai-sensei?"
"I left her at the temple, but she said she'll catch up soon and I came here to make sure you two were alright"
"Because Naruto and Sasuke are here?" Kiba suggested.
Meeting his determined look with his own sympathetic expression, Kakashi nodded. He sniffed the air around him. "They're close" Kakashi stated.
He was shocked to see Kiba raise an eyebrow. "What?"
"You can't smell them?"
Kiba shook his head. Confused, Kakashi turned to Akamaru. The ninja hound didn't seem bothered by any hostile scents. That didn't make any sense to Kakashi. They were acting as if they weren't about to be attacked. But, their senses of smell were stronger than his own. Was he losing his mind? No, he had picked up Naruto's scent back at the temple and it had only gotten stronger as he caught up to Kiba and Sai. He turned to the artist to work out his thought process, desperate for an answer.
All he got was a soft smile. Thankfully, he managed to restrain his groan to his thoughts, but he was annoyed at himself mostly. He knew better than to try and read Sai's emotions. It was only very rarely that the ex-ANBU Black Ops genuinely let down his guard from the gruelling training that every shinobi went through, especially in Danzo's Root.
He rubbed his eyes, confused by the situation. He needed more information, but he didn't have that luxury. "Did you manage to find Killer Bee?"
Rubbing the back of his head, Kiba answered, "Uhh… kind of; we managed to track him here and it doesn't seem like he's gone too far from here"
"Then we should hurry and find him" he gestured to the exit.
A shadowy blur brushed his shoulder with enough force to almost knock him off his feet as it rushed past him.
"Hey! Hey, what's with all the rush, Kakashi-sensei?"
With an arm slung over Kiba's shoulder, a golden-headed figure grinned devilishly at Kakashi. Eyes, fractured between the dazzling cobalt and the warring scarlet, flashed with a glint of feral insanity as they watched him for any signs of resistance. Fiery shades clashed against the onyx tones that painted his claws as they raked against Kiba's throat, threatening to pierce the skin. A metallic glint caught the moonlight as it sparked off a forehead protector, highlighting the gash across the centre.
Sai drew his tanto from his back. Brandishing it, he pointed the blade at the threat.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" a chilling voice spoke from right next him.
When it reached his ears, Sai saw another burst of scarlet. His weapon clattered to the floor. Kakashi watched on as Sai brought his fingers to his temples. Groaning, his knees began to knock together, and his already pale face began to shiver. His cheeks took on a bluish shade and his pupils dilated. Breathing choppily, he spun towards the beams of moonlight that beached the entrance of the cave. Taking a few steps towards Kakashi, the Copy Ninja witnessed the look of uncertainty in his confused eyes before Sai collapsed at his feet.
"Sai!" Kakashi crouched down, pressing on his shoulder. The only response he was given was a nauseous grunt.
An audible smirk drew his attention away from his comrade. Looming above him, another figure looked down on Kakashi.
"I thought that my replacement would have been stronger, Kakashi" a condescending tone filled the cave.
Regaining his composure, Kakashi slipped his finger into his leg pouch, withdrawing a kunai as he stood up. "Naruto and Sasuke" he said their names with a hiss. "What are you two doing here?"
With a hand resting on the handle of his blade, Sasuke took notice of the crystals that dotted along the walls. The glow they let off seemed to clash against the dark flashes of his dojutsu. "We're here for the Eight Tails" he admitted. "But, the real question is why are you doing the Hidden Cloud's work for them? They can't even find that jinchuriki of theirs by themselves"
"Because we're allied with the Cloud, Sasuke"
He gave Kakashi a side-eyed glance. "Why? They're so weak, even you must realise how much stronger you are; the Raikage only has one arm"
"Thanks to you" Kakashi retorted.
Smugly, Sasuke stared down Akamaru, who was growling at Naruto as he trapped Kiba in his casual yet tough grasp.
"And speaking of weak allies, I didn't think you were able to respect the power of someone like Shikamaru. I would've assumed that you'd look down on working with him and Temari" Kakashi decided to strike a conversation to stall for time in the hopes that Sai recovers as well as hoping to learn more about the enemy of the Five Great Nations.
Unfortunately, it seemed that he had chosen the wrong topic, as Sasuke's smug expression turned sour. The grip on his sheathed weapon tightened to match the clenching of his sharp jaw. "For someone so weak, I will admit that he does have some interesting ideas" he rolled his eyes. "But that bitch that he keeps around, she acts quite strong for being so weak"
Hidden by his mask, Kakashi grit his teeth. If Sasuke thought that his own comrades were weak, what did he think of his enemies? Kakashi didn't take any comfort in already knowing the answer to his query. Deep down, Kakashi remembered that he had once thought similar to his former student and it had only cost him his happiness. But one look at Sasuke steely gaze revealed his resolve.
"Let go of me!" a vicious growl drew Kakashi's attention away from Sasuke.
Naruto grinned as he held him even tighter. "Come on, Kiba! We're friends, aren't we?"
"Fuck you! I'll kill you for taking Hinata!"
When Kiba mentioned the name of his former teammate, Naruto's mischievous expression transformed into a sinister façade. "You'll kill me? The last time you saw her, you almost killed my Hinata" his body was still as his eyebrows raised to reveal his narrowed pupils that bore into Kiba.
They flicked down to his neck, catching the bobbing in his throat as his ears picked up the shallow hitch in his breathing. His head dropped for a moment. "She's not yours!" he shot up; his face contorted into a snarl.
Even Kiba wasn't oblivious enough to believe that his defiant act would last much longer. Being thrown against the rocky wall didn't help much and neither did Naruto's forearm jammed into his jugular.
"Don't tell me… does the poor, little puppy still think he can save his little girlfriend?" Naruto's lips stretched into his signature grin. His eyes, however, didn't care to reflect his mischievous nature as they watched the spectacle of the stuttering mess that was Kiba Inuzuka. With every detail, Naruto seemed to take a little more pleasure in teasing the ninja hound user about his crush. The averting of his eyes as old wet dreams, of being left alone together after training hard, resurfaced from the depths of his mind. The scratching of his nails against his palm in response to the memory of their last meeting, when Sakura had been taken. Even the chewing of his lip, that coincided with the nightmares that plagued him at night with perverted scenes of what Naruto and Hinata were doing whilst he slept alone, was candy to the Uzumaki.
Watching this torture, Kakashi felt the urge to intervene. He was stopped by the sudden stirring at his feet. Sai let out a small groan, his eyes fluttering open. Kakashi leaned down to help him. As he lifted him to his feet, he whispered into his ear. "You need to get out of here; go back to the Hidden Cloud for help"
Thankfully, despite his grogginess, Sai understood his orders. Kakashi held his composure against the urge to let out a sigh of relief. It would have only been natural considering his gratefulness at being assigned a subordinate that could competently follow orders. He glanced back at the prime example of Sai's opposite, who was still struggling against Naruto's onslaught.
"I know you can smell it, Kiba"
Kiba choked, trying to vocalise his protest against Naruto's asphyxiating hold. "What?"
For a moment, he was given a brief reprieve which he took full advantage of, gasping in as much air as he could before he was yanked towards Naruto. Stuffed into his collar, Kiba found himself unable to resist against Naruto's giant paw restraining him by the back of his head. Kiba squirmed as the scents he had tried so hard to ignore flooded into his nostrils. A potent musk emanated from Naruto's cloak, a smell that seemed to only be multiplied from barely a single bead of his sweat. Yet what disturbed Kiba the most was the underlying fragrances that permeated throughout the musk. Familiar smells that reminded him of happier times. Floral scents that brought back images of bright smiles and stunning eyes that never failed to rosy Kiba's cheeks. Even the smell of a luxurious spice almost made him tear up after memories of training hard with a determined kunoichi who always smiled whenever she worked hard. But, the fragrance that hung over all of those. Only this scent was familiar enough to recognise in his fantastical dreams. A perfect smell that cloyed his mind, sweet and innocent as it shyly covered its true power, made Kiba twitch and squirm in Naruto's grip.
Akamaru growled, stalking towards Naruto.
"Now, tell me, Kiba, whose scent is that?" Naruto asked, staring down at Kiba.
The Inuzuka shook his head with a desperate vigour. His eyes took on a glossy sheen.
"Say it" he hissed into his ear. "Now"
Kiba's fang sunk into his quivering lip, trying to stifle the tears welling in the corners of his eyes. He mumbled an answer through his bleeding lip.
Recoiling after Naruto yanked him by his hair, Kiba glared at Naruto's smirk. "What was that? You've got to be louder"
Meeting Naruto's sadistic gaze with a pained expression of frustrated seething, Kiba finally caved. "It's…" his shoulders dropped as he looked up at Naruto with the soreness of defeat evident behind his sharp pupils, now dull in his helplessness. "… Hinata's"
Cackling, Naruto released his grip, dropping the ninja hound user to the floor.
Watching the cruelty with wide eyes, Kakashi gripped his kunai. But, before he could act, a moonlit howl filled the cave, shaking the crystals along the walls. Recovering from the deafening sound, Kakashi looked up to see Akamaru pouncing at his trainer's enemy.
A/N- Hey! Again, I don't have much to say except that I hope you've enjoyed this part and let me know how I could improve it. As always, I'll see you next time
Yours truly,
Signing off