Once again, blah, blah, usual stuff…. Here's Tsuka. Hope you like her. Oh, and Kiba's a little mood-swingy here. Must be hormones.
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When Kiba opened the door to the Hokage's office, another figure was already inside, speaking with the head ninja. The person stood in the shadow behind the door, abnormally tall and oddly shaped.
"Ah Kiba, come on in here and meet Tsuka." Tsunade smiled as the shadowy ninja turned around, and Kiba stood face to face with the girl in the picture – her features hidden under the body of an enormous bird, dusty black and brown, blindfolded and talons clamped to the girl's forehead protector on her shoulder, preening like it belonged there, astride the slender teen.
Tsuka was exactly as Kiba had imagined from her picture, once he got over the shock of her huge avian companion. She was about four inches shorter than him (not counting the eagle, obviously), with straw-blond hair, the top half of her hair was pulled back messily and accented with a few feathers, and the rest fell down to her armpits. Tsuka was slim, yet muscular, with loose fitting clothes that still accented her trim figure. But what entranced Kiba most were her eyes. Green and blazing, her eyes displayed her fierce pride and energy, but also her intelligence. Her pupils were slit, and suddenly Kiba grasped where her wild air came from; just like his own eyes.
"Tsuka," the blond Hokage motioned to the dog-nin, "This is Kiba Inuzuka. Kiba, say hello to Tsuka Toriikata." Tsunade grinned, obviously noting the blush the normally extroverted Kiba wore. "Tsuka is a nin-bird user, and this is her partner… What was it again?"
"Daisuke," The girl smiled at Kiba, her voice calm, almost windy sounding. The bird screeched happily at the sound of his name, arching his wings defiantly.
"And I…I use dogs… Um… This is A-a-akamaru." Kiba stuttered, and the blond girl responded with a giggle – it was reminiscent of bird song in some ways – to his blunder.
Kiba stretched his hand forward, and offered one of his fanged smiles, still shy around this new kunoichi.
"P-pleased to be working with ya." He croaked out, voice breaking mid-sentence.
"You too. This seems like an excellent arrangement." She grinned, eyes closing and her crooked smile beaming.
Tsunade coughed – she was still there, after all. Bending back down to her paperwork, she gave them the details on the mission. Kiba caught himself daydreaming, but snapped back near the end of her lecture.
"Tsuka will be leading – I hope you don't mind Kiba…" Tsunade look at him from under her shaggy blond bangs, fully expecting the sudden distaste infecting his eyes. Kiba snarled a little; irritated at the idea of being at the whim of some girl his own age that he had never worked with. Kurenai he could deal with, but Kiba worked his tracking missions independently, and having orders from someone else who didn't know his working style seemed like a quick way to make the mission fail.
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Kiba's sour mood seeped through him quickly and entirely. Shoving his hands deep in his pockets as they left the building, he grumbled and started walking ahead of his new "partner". He moved off towards the village entrance, eager to get this over with, a confused Akamaru in his angry wake.
Tsuka didn't quite understand her new partner – he was smart, talented as a ninja (at least according to records) – and a perfect match to her own and Daisuke's abilities. So why was he so offended by being teamed up with her? Nothing could be more productive towards the mission… Tsuka brushed it off her mind, instead focusing on the task in front of her. If Kiba co-operated with her tactics, she would be able to have Daisuke scout while they kept track from the ground. Tsuka had been following Kiba's file for a while, and she had come up with all sorts of scenarios, options and patterns that would triple their individual efficiency if Kiba just stuck to the plan.
Kiba reached the wide gate that marked Konoha before his avian teammate, already fed up with her and her stupid turkey. He had been dwelling on it all the way through town, and he still didn't like this Bird-brain up and closing in on his mission market. Kiba got to work though, and Akamaru with him, studying the sea of scents for something unfamiliar. He knew the scents of all Konoha ninja by heart, even if he didn't know their faces. Naruto had been by recently – and Lee and Gai, their sweat stank like nothing else. The air was muddy with the odor – too many people. Sighing, Kiba opened his eyes again. With no sample scent and no leads – he was basically blind.