DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, any characters affiliated, good brother-sister relations (I only have an 'ok' one), an emo Kiba, a random Korii moment, an ice dome (seriously, coool), stray green-haired people, or a clan of unrelated people.
Itachi: (again, the death glare)
A/N: Seriously, stop that!
Itachi: (focuses glare on Esperwen)
A/N: Um...(scared) I mean...continue glaring! I don't mind!
Kiba and Michiko had the first watch that night. Both of them walked together along the camp's perimeter with the dogs running around them. Michiko looked at her friend concernedly, Kiba once again looked depressed. Michiko linked arms with her friend, knowing that now was not one of those times to try and cheer Kiba up yet.
"Why are you pretending that you hate her?" Michiko asked softly, "You're only hurting yourself."
Kiba gritted his teeth, not in the mood to talk, and threw Michiko off of his arm. Michiko fell to the ground and rolled backwards several feet, before managing to stop herself.
"What do you know?" he asked, raising his voice, "You've never been part of a family feud! You don't know what it's like!"
"Picky, picky," Michiko sniffed, picking herself up off of the ground slowly, only to get knocked down by a quick kick to the side, "Ok, OW! That was uncalled for!" she exclaimed, letting her temper rise. Unfortunately, this time violence was the solution if she wanted to get through to Kiba.
"Neither is you sticking your nose into other people's business," Kiba growled.
"If it were none of my business, you wouldn't react so much," Michiko snapped back, jumping up and getting into a fighter's crouch, standing on all fours in the classic Inuzuka style Hana had taught her, "Now talk to me!" she growled, launching herself at him.
"Fine!" Kiba yelled, quickly making the same crouch and rushing to meet her halfway.
Both were angry with the other; both had had fights like this before. The rules were simple: no clawing or biting, just plain punches and kicks. No ninjutsu, no weapons, no help; just the two people. And of course, no dirty, underhanded tricks or killing. Other than that, it was a free-for-all.
Kiba reached out to slug Michiko right on her jaw, but his movement was obvious, and Michiko twisted out of the way and landed a kick on Kiba's shoulder. Throughout the whole scrap, both were yelling their lungs out at each other. The five dogs, having seen all this before, knew that they couldn't help, and hurried away into the trees, away from the brawl.
"What's it matter to you what happens between me and my girlfriend?"
"What do you think, baka? You're both my friends! You'd try to help me if you were in my place!"
Michiko ducked a punch, then gasped when Kiba kicked her hard in the shin. In retaliation, Michiko landed a punch on Kiba's chest, knocking the wind out of him.
"What makes you so sure, bitch? Maybe I'd be happy if I saw Shino hating you!"
"You jerk!" Michiko slapped him hard across the face, "I know you! You're just being emo again! If I ever-Unh!"
Michiko doubled over when Kiba's fist came directly into her stomach, causing her to land on the ground and tumble backwards several feet.
"I told you not to call me emo!" Kiba roared, rushing over to Michiko and attempting to land another punch in her stomach again.
"You're a guy that acts like he's PMS-ing, and you tell me not to call you 'emo'?" Michiko yelled, ignoring the pain in her stomach and rolling aside, just as Kiba's punch landed, "Fine!" she shrieked, rolling back and landing a kick on Kiba's side, so that he rolled a short distance from the impact, "How about 'coward'?" she asked, jumping up and getting into the fighter's crouch again, waiting for Kiba's next attack.
Kiba picked himself up deliberately, and turned to Michiko, both fists clenched.
"Coward?" he asked in a low voice that did not bode well. The Inuzuka got into a matching fighter's crouch and ran towards Michiko, yelling again, "I'm the coward, when you're the one who freezes during a battle?"
"Yeah! A coward!" Michiko screamed back, making Kiba run faster, "You're afraid of what'll happen now that you know that she's one of your 'enemy'!" she taunted, using chakra to jump up in the air, just high enough to dodge Kiba.
Kiba, however, after fighting with Michiko before, had expected this tactic. Digging his fingers and feet into the dirt so that he could stop, soil flew as he jumped and spun, using chakra, to end up over where Michiko was in the air.
"You don't know anything!" Kiba bellowed, punching at Michiko's face.
Michiko somehow managed to catch his fist in her hands, and both landed on the ground. Michiko was stuck on the bottom, struggling to keep Kiba's fist from hitting her face, and Kiba was kneeling over her, struggling to get the punch to land.
"Coward," Michiko spat.
"You don't know anything," Kiba growled into her face.
"I know that you're afraid to talk to her."
"Show's how much you know."
"Admit it! You are afraid to talk to her!"
"A Chatora killed my father!"
"Is Pooriin that Chatora?"
"You don't understand!"
"I would if you'd just tell me, emo nii-chan!"
Kiba put an extra burst of energy into bringing down his arm, and Michiko just barely managed to turn her head to the side, dodging the punch as it connected to the ground.
"You...just...don't...get...it!" Kiba panted, now tired, emphasizing each word with another punch, all of which Michiko somehow managed to twist away from.
"I don't get what?" Michiko snapped, using her final burst of reserve energy to shove Kiba off onto the ground beside.
"Her family hates her enough, dammit!" Kiba wheezed, trying to get up, and realizing that the energy from his anger had worn off, "How're they going to react when they find out she likes an Inuzuka?"
"So you're making it better, how?" Michiko asked, unable to move where she lay, the pain in her stomach too much, "Yes, her family hates her, and that's hard. But imagine how it is if she thinks that her boyfriend hates her, too. I'm not even sure if you two are still dating."
"We are," Kiba said flatly, "And I don't hate her."
"Then tell her that!" Michiko exclaimed, half sitting up, then flopping down again, "...So you'll help Deniizu go scouting tomorrow?"
"...Yeah," Kiba answered tiredly, "Yeah, I'll go."
"Good," Michiko smiled faintly, then turned her head towards her friend and weakly moved her arm and pinched Kiba's cheek, "Aw, you made the right choice! I'm so proud of you!"
"Shut up," Kiba mumbled, wearily knocking her hand away, "You called me 'nii-chan'. I get to hold that over you, now."
"Whatever," Michiko grinned, and both slowly sat up, "Hey, you ok?" Michiko raised an eyebrow, punching Kiba's shoulder feebly.
"Yeah," Kiba winced, "But don't do that again; you hit that shoulder pretty good earlier."
"Then don't punch me in the stomach again," Michiko grimaced, petting Athos, who was slowly sneaking back with his brothers and Akamaru, "Honestly, ow. And make things up to Pooriin."
"I will, I will. Give me a break," Kiba rolled his eyes.
"BUT BIKTO, I NEED YOU!" a boy's voice rang out in the night.
Kiba, Michiko and the dogs all turned to see Bikto running by, and Korii running after him with his arms outstretched.
"COME BACK, BIKTO! COME BACK TO ME!" Korii yelled, still chasing the cat-user.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Bikto yelled, sounding panicky as he ran.
Kiba sweatdropped, Michiko put a hand over her mouth, Akamaru hid in Kiba's coat, and Athos and Aramis hid behind Michiko's legs. D'Artagnan and Porthos whined and covered their eyes with their paws. Kiba stared at the two running boys, slack-jawed, then turned to Michiko with a questioning look, still pointing at the disappearing forms of Korii and Bikto.
"I...uh..." Michiko shuddered and shook her head, "I choose to not ask questions."
"Ok..." Kiba nodded unsurely, "...I guess our shift is over. Um...I think I'll go straight to bed."
"Sure," Michiko grinned, gingerly getting up from the ground, "I'll get our replacements."
Aw...a warm, fuzzy moment. Let's all smile to ourselves.
Deniizu practiced balancing a kunai by its point on the tips of her fingers while she and Goudon walked along the camp's perimeter. Both were silent; Deniizu didn't know Goudon that well, and Goudon was in no mood to be amiable.
Michiko and Korii want me to talk to this guy, Deniizu thought, annoyed, Why me? Michiko and Korii are better at understanding emotions than me. ...Oh yeah, Michiko said I had my bloodline limit. How can I talk to this guy, already knowing what he's going to say next? He's going to think I'm creepy and he'll block his thoughts from me.
Deniizu had recently found yet another secret to her bloodline limit: her mind reading could be blocked, to a certain extent. Korii did it unintentionally, and Michiko was starting to figure out how to keep Deniizu from reading her thoughts; Shino had pushed her out of his mind at one point. Deniizu had noted that it was easier to stay in a person's mind, and was harder to get in once they've blocked you. Not that she had been completely blocked; if Deniizu tried, she could still get into everyone's head. But she had to try; stray thoughts wouldn't come to her anymore. And if she did break into someone's mind, the person often suffered a headache, the severity of which depended on how hard the person was blocking.
He's not blocking me now, Deniizu thought, balancing the kunai on her pinky, Maybe because he doesn't know about my limit.
How do I get her back? Goudon was thinking, What are they doing to her? Is she safe? ...Of course not! They're bandits! Are they hurting her? Maybe they're torturing her...
Great, Deniizu thought, He's a drama king, and he's overprotective over his sister. ...maybe if I can steer his thoughts in another direction...Well, it's about time I trained my limit, anyway.
If they're hurting her, I'll kill them! But maybe it's ok...maybe Pooriin will get enough courage to fight on her own. What am I thinking? Pooriin, fighting? She needs my help!
No, don't think that way, Deniizu thought, tweaking Goudon's mind again.
But...ever since she met that guy in Konoha, Pooriin's been happier, Goudon thought, Braver, even. Heh. She wouldn't even tell me who it was. But he must still be in Konoha; she's been down ever since we left. I mean, she attacked Bikto with soup; she hasn't been herself lately.
Hehe, I remember that, Deniizu thought to herself, Now, to get Goudon to work with our group. ...huh?
And Pooriin's been looking at Kiba...differently, Goudon thought, without Deniizu's prompting, Not angrily like Bikto, and not in the chummy way that Michiko looks at him. ...it's more. Maybe the guy Pooriin's been talking about isn't in the village, but...Inuzuka Kiba. ...It makes sense; the way Kiba's been ignoring her would definitely make Pooriin sad...But I don't know for sure. ...I guess it's better not to jump to conclusions. ...But I think she does like him. Do I mind? ...Not really; he's a decent guy when Bikto isn't talking, he knows how to fight, he's strong enough to protect Pooriin...And unlike Bikto, I don't care about the stupid feud. And neither do our parents. ...but how will the clan react when they find out that Pooriin likes an Inuzuka boy? ...no. I'm not going to think about it. There's plenty of time for Pooriin to find someone else, or for the feud to end. And at least Pooriin doesn't like an Inuzuka girl. That would be awkward.
Deniizu almost nicked herself when hearing that last thought.
He's an ok guy, Deniizu thought, surprised, Goudon doesn't need me to think for him; he'll cooperate just fine. And I read Bikto's thoughts already; Bikto may not act it, but he really is concerned about his sister. He would've gone to rescue his sister on his own if he had to. ...These Chatora are a strange family.
Aw...even more good brother-sister relations!
When Deniizu and Goudon were finishing their shift at guard duty, Hinata woke up slowly; the first thing she noticed, before her eyes were even focused, was that she had a crick in her neck.
Where am I? Hinata thought, vaguely sensing that she was lying on something cold, What happened? ...Someone grabbed me, and...oh yes. I fainted, again. I wish I could change...
Hinata blinked her eyes into focus and saw that she was facing a bluish-white wall. After squirming backwards a little, she realized that she was looking at the side of a cave made of ice. She was lying on a sheet of ice, and she wasn't alone.
"Ah, so the princess awakens from her beauty sleep," a boy's voice said.
Hinata twisted her head around, and saw a boy in black standing over her.
"Who...who a-are y-you?" Hinata stammered.
"Now, now, there's no need to worry," the boy smiled, waving his hand airily, "My name's Sumoggu, and I'm just a simple ryounin, travelling the country, searching for-"
"Does he have to go on and on like this?" another boy's voice asked, bored.
Hinata tried to turn her head further, but after realizing that she still couldn't see the speaker, she rolled over. The ice cave (or perhaps ice dome? Even the floor was solid ice) didn't have any furniture, but there were growths of ice that served as seats and tables to her captors. Behind Sumoggu were six more people; there were the two brown-haired girls from the days before, a girl in white martial arts clothing, a girl in a green tunic, a boy in a long brown coat, and a boy with a backpack of jars, who was also the one who had just spoken up.
"Hey, I got you into this clan, so be a little grateful," Sumoggu glared.
"Whatever, Sumoggu," the short brown-haired girl yawned.
I'm losing face in front of my clan, Sumoggu thought angrily.
Hinata was still a little confused over what was going on; when Sumoggu turned back to her, she was staring blankly at him.
"What are you looking at?" Sumoggu yelled, his temporary good mood now gone.
The 'clan' had had a good, relax aura around them; now Hinata felt that a storm was going to begin.
He's bipolar? Hinata thought, looking at a now irate Sumoggu.
Sumoggu stepped over to the side, away from Hinata, and Hinata saw that Pooriin was sitting against the cave wall, bound and gagged. Hinata winced with Pooriin as Sumoggu kicked the Chatora while he passed her by.
Kamisama, Hinata thought, starting to tremble, Who are these people?
...Ok, now there were some bad relations.
Hinata and Pooriin had been left alone after that first incident; once Sumoggu had left the girls, all of the captors had gone straight to their own personal jobs around the ice cave. An hour or so later, the girl in the green tunic had left the shelter, only to come back a few moments later with a peregrine falcon on her arm. After that, the cave had been silent with the group getting ready for bed, and both hostages had been given the chance to rest. However, neither had been able to get any sleep; both were too apprehensive about their situation. Pooriin managed to wriggle so that she was beside Hinata, and somehow they managed to slip Pooriin's gag out of her mouth so that she could speak again.
"Thanks," Pooriin said, working her jaw around when the gag hung loose around her neck, "I'm so glad the cloth for that thing was clean."
Hinata grimaced, then sat against the wall beside Pooriin tiredly.
"Now what?" Hinata whispered, and Pooriin shrugged sadly, "Did you learn anything while I was out?"
"Well..." Pooriin thought for a moment, "The two girls that look alike seem to be cousins; Emi has short hair, and Ezu has long hair. That guy with the brown coat is named Ruko; he and Ezu were the ones that carried us here, and I think they like each other," Pooriin added mischieviously, "I totally understand, though; both of them are actually really nice."
"How do you know?" Hinata asked curiously.
"Because when we got back here, as soon as Ruko put me down, he kept glancing at Ezu, and Ezu kept glancing at him, and it's so cute..." Pooriin's voice faded, and after a moment, she shook her head, "No. They're our kidnappers. I can't think like this."
"Ano, did you notice anything else?" Hinata asked, wishing she were of more help while she continued to try and wriggle out of her bindings.
"Um...Let's see...Sumoggu's definitely the leader. And the name of the guy with the jar backpack is Kishimu," Pooriin added, nodding towards the red-headed boy, "From what I heard, Sumoggu is the only reason Kishimu is in this group. Um...they called it their 'clan', I think."
"By clan, ano, do you mean that they all just banded together to make a group? Not that they're all related?" Hinata asked, and Pooriin nodded.
"I think Emi and Ezu are the only ones in the same family here," Pooriin said, "Monoka, the girl in the white outfit with green hair, was called a 'stray' by Sumoggu and Kishimu a couple times."
"Maybe they found her once and let her join," Hinata suggested.
"Yeah, I was thinking that. Also, the girl with short, dark brown hair in the green tunic is named Tsume; she's the one that trained and uses that falcon."
"'Tsume'?" Hinata frowned slightly, "As in 'claw'? ...That's Kiba's mom's name too."
Pooriin agreed, nodding slowly, then stared into space and lapsed into silence. Hinata looked at her friend sadly, understanding a little of what Pooriin was going through.
"Kiba still likes you," Hinata assured, still working on the ropes at her wrists, "Trust me."
"Would you trust me if I said that Naruto liked you?" Pooriin asked dryly, raising an eyebrow.
Hinata looked down and spots of colour appeared on her cheeks.
But that's different. Kiba really does like you, Hinata thought, silenced.
"Thought so," Pooriin nodded, going back to staring into space.
Hinata winced as she felt her ropes biting into her wrists, and tried to activate her Byakugan without making a handseal. However, she hadn't yet mastered that talent, and her efforts proved fruitless.
If only I could remember all those escape techniques from ropes, Hinata thought, angry with herself, Or if I could see...As soon as I get out of here, I'm reading up on escape techniques. ...If I get out of here.
I wish Michelle were here, Pooriin thought, not even making an effort with her ropes, She's always ready to help me, whether I want her to or not...Denise would probably be talking me through how to escape; she probably would've already have gotten through the ropes somehow. Or aniki! He's insanely strong; he might even have been able to break the ropes! ...But who I really want is Kiba...
Itachi: (still glaring)
A/N: Why didn't I just write him in? Then I wouldn't have to mention him in these notes so often...(sigh) Oh well. ...I need some Pocky. Too bad people don't hand out Pocky on Hallowe'en...Anyway, review, please!