Dog Breath

Chapter Two: 'How to Become a Team' an account written by Chouza Akimichi

Team Chouza was a bit of a mystery to most people. Sure an Inuzuka, Aburame and Hyuuga would be a great sensor and scout team, however being taught by a third of the ino-shika-cho and the heavy hitter part of that team seemed to be a bit of a hit and miss where most were concerned.

Chouza was excited to see what he could teach his kids, and who said any part of ino-shika-cho did anything by themselves?

Day 1 – Team Building - getting to know you

"I'll kill you!"

"Ah, so I didn't cut your vocal cords…I will bite harder next time."

"There won't be a next time!"

"What does that mean?" Muta asked quietly and he stepped in front of his sleepy puppy who was either unconcerned about the aggressive Hyuuga or wasn't taking the boys anger seriously.

"It means that I will stop her heart and she will die bef…" the Hyuuga toppled over face first unconscious and Muta walked calmly over to the boy to pick up his Kikkai.

"Well that's one way to finish an argument." Chouza observed as he checked over the Hyuuga boy to make sure he was still breathing.

"Why were you not surprised?" Muta asked his friend who was yawning, her sharp canine teeth glinting in the sunlight.

"Smelt you Bug. You moved when he spoke and we are friends. I have seen you practice with your family." Eri turned to their teacher expectantly. "We'll see you tomorrow then? I'm going off to sleep. Let's go Bug, Green said he was off today as well."

Chouza sighed as two of his gennins walked away and left him with their unconscious team mate. Maybe tomorrow would go better.

Day 2 - Team Building - getting to know you (take 2)

It was a bad day for Shirodan and so he was sitting next to Eri, leaning the bulk of his weight on her by siting on her feet. She had almost fallen once and only Muta's hand on her shoulder had prevented that. The two of them were waiting for their jonin sensei and their third team mate.

"What name have you come up with for our Hyuuga team mate?"

"Do you know his name?"

"I do, but it's not like you will remember it." Muta laughed softly.

"I remember names." Eri protested, she patted Shirodan's head affectionately. "There's Sen, Kaja, Osokure, Shirodan, Hana-chan and Tsume-sama and their ninken k-"

"-yes, but what about people other than your clan and the ninken? Do you remember my name?"

"Muta." Eri said with a grin at her bug, she just thought her name for her friends were better.

"Green? White Dog? Sunshine Man?"

"Gai, Kakashi and Namikaze-san."

"So what name have you thought of for our teammate?"

"What is his real name?"

"Hyuuga Nagari."

"Milk."

Chouza and the third gennin of their team came across a hysterically laughing Aburame, a blank faced Inuzuka and a very big, scarred Ninken.

Their introductions went better this time. Nagari's goal was to kill Eri, Muta's goal was to prevent that from happening and Eri's goal was to help ninken. A very nice team if Chouza did say so himself.

Day 5 – A team that fights together stays together

Chouza wasn't sure how to balance out his team. Muta and Eri fought well together and their friendship was solid and strong. It was unfortunate that they had a bad experience as Academy students with their third member. Team sparing sessions started out as a free for all and ended up with the Hyuuga face down and unconscious curtesy of a kikkai bug if the boy hit Eri with his gentle fist anywhere important. Or the Hyuuga would end up on the ground and stuck under the weight of a ninken if it was the other way around.

"What do you think Shika?"

The shadow user was watching Eri latch her teeth onto the Hyuuga's arm and Muta punch the boy in his face. The Hyuuga howled as he fell down, the Inuzuka still biting his arm.

"They need a mutual enemy to fight, something that will bring them all together. They may need a high stress situation to get past this."

"That's what I was afraid of."

"I'll work something out for you Chouza."

"Thanks Shika."

"Don't thank me yet, you might want to stop that before the Hyuuga loses an arm."

Chouza cursed as he spun around to find Muta watching silently as Eri shook her head side to side with Nagari's arm still in her mouth.

"Eri, stop!"

Day 10 – D mission 'it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help'

Walking the ninken dogs was easy for Eri, however her two teammates struggled with the strength of the war dogs. Muta was only walking one as he had given his second lead to Eri once he realised he would need two hands to keep the war dogs on the path and not sniffing along the walls and homes they passed.

Nagari however was cursing, his hair was messy and he had already tripped more times than Chouza could count.

"Why don't you ask for help?" Chouza suggested.

"Never."

Day 14 – D Mission 'Laughing with others can improve the feelings of friendship'

Nagari Hyuuga was having the time of his life as he watched the Inuzuka of their team sit quietly in the large tea house. Their mission had been to assist with the tea ceremonies. The tea houses usual hostesses were all sick. The Aburame and Hyuuga clans taught all their clan members the tea ceremony and so the two teammates sat on opposite sides of the room with different patrons and performed artfully. Inuzuka Eri was wearing a cloth kimono and sitting in seiza next to Muta with a frown on her face as she watched the elegant movements of her teammate. Finishing with his patrons Nagari stood and made his way over to Muta and Eri with a smirk on his face.

He waited until they were finished with their own patrons before he said anything.

"Will you be doing anything today dog?"

Shifting on her knees she ignored the Hyuuga and collected the tea bowls and utensils.

"Shall I clean your tea area as well Milk?"

She stood gracefully in her kimono with the tray held in her hands and then made her way calmly over to Nagari's tea serving area and cleaned up after him. The two male teammates watched this silently.

"Don't push her today Nagari, she had patrol last night and they caught someone trying to steal the new ninken pups." Muta said with a frown. Eri had been more of a sleepy puppy today than usual and she was a little sad and subdued which Muta did not like.

Nagari glared at the Aburame for ruining his fun and he ignored his teammates for the rest of their mission. As they were leaving a pretty blue butterfly flew down and landed in Muta's hair. Nagari was startled to hear a happy laugh escape Eri and the girl gently offered her finger to the butterfly. He was even more startled when she turned to him with bright golden eyes.

"Isn't it pretty? It's been following Muta for days, I think it has a crush on him."

Nagari laughed at the huff from Muta and then he scowled at the both of them before storming off.

"I think he is jealous that the butterfly likes you more than him." Eri explained to Muta seriously, she was a little concerned when he fell over laughing. Aburame were quiet people, she was starting to suspect that Muta might not be a real Aburame.

Day 30 – White Dog and Sunshine Man

White Dog had teammates with him and Sunshine Man. One was loud and wore strange goggles and the other was quiet and had purple markings on her cheeks.

"When did you get a team?" she asked a little confused as to why White Dogs team were on her own team's training grounds.

"Why do you have two ninken with you today?" he asked back.

Beside Eri sat two pups, they had both been injured in the attempt to steal them and they were also wary of humans. Eri was slowly rehabilitating them to be of use to the Clan, Tsume-sama was not sure if they would be able to bond with their intended ninja counterpart.

She had them with her as she was hoping Muta's forest smell would help calm them as it had her on her first day at the Academy. The two pups had been sniffing tentatively at Muta's hands when they had been interrupted, the two pups had left Muta to lean back against her.

"I asked you first," She said.

"Recently, now my question?"

"Because I do."

Muta huffed a laugh and hid his smile in the high collar of his coat.

"Ah Akimichi-san, we are here for the briefing of our joint mission," Minato said.

Muta and Nagari turned to face their teacher in surprise.

"Yes, we are to accompany the trading caravan from Konoha to Midorishi. There have been bandit attacks along this road that have been increasing in numbers. They suspect that there is a large bandit encampment hidden along this trail. My team will try to find them and Minato's team will provide the protection. The mission will take eight days, five days to travel there and three to get back. This is a C grade mission. Go and pack your bags and we will see you at the gate tomorrow morning just as the sun comes up. Eri, no ninken."

Eri stared at her jounin sensei for a moment before bowing, picking up the two ninken pups with her and leaving the training ground. She ignored her team mates and Kakashi's team. It would be the first time she would be leaving Konoha after arriving to live with Tsume-sama and this time there would be no Sen and Kaja with her.

Day 32 – Dog talk

The first day of their mission with White Dogs team went smoothly. The caravan of merchants were loud but interesting and they were well used to ninja guards. Muta, Eri and Nagari patrolled the edges of the caravan, trying to get a feel for where the bandit encampment could be and also trying to keep away from White Dog, his loud Orange teammate and the healer.

Eri sniffed at White Dog and grinned. "Your team is strange, the girl smells of like towards you and the boy smells of jealousy. You smell like boredom."

Kakashi rolled his eyes at the Inuzuka girl and shrugged.

"Is that why you wear your muzzle? To keep the scents away? Do you not like the girl back? You should tell her then, she is distracted by you."

"Shut up mutt." He turned away from her and glared at Rin who had been staring at them. He then grinned slyly at Eri, "you should tell your Aburame to mask his scent."

"Why? I like his scent….he smells like home." Eri turned away from Kakashi and pointed off to her left. "I have located the bandits, Bug can you confirm?"

Kakashi scowled as he was ignored by the gennin team as they pulled away from the caravan to converse with their team leader. Obito nudged his arm obnoxiously and Kakashi pulled his body away from his team mate.

"Your little girlfriend leave you? Make you sad? Do you want to cry about it? Do you oof." Kakashi grinned as he stepped over his downed team mate and made a bee line to the front of the caravan.

Day 33 – In which near death experience builds character

It took them another day to reach the bandit camp and when they did Chouza thought maybe he shouldn't do this with a fresh gennin team. There were thirty bandits laughing, drinking and eating around camp fires. He looked down at his teams serious faces and wondered what they would do.

Muta leaned against the tree and let some kikachu play on his hands as he watched them. Eri crouched down by her teammates feet and leant her head against her arm to wait. Nagari had his byakugan activated and was looking over the scene.

"Thirty bandits, three captives in the tent and no ninja present." Nagari reported back to his sensei.

"One ninja, low level and in the trees on the south side." Eri put in. Naragi snarled and turned to her with an angry frown.

"There is no ninja there."

"Yes, there is. That is your Byakugan blind spot. Look again."

"I have no blind spot."

"Yes you-"

"-no, I don't!"

Eri frowned at her team mate. She might not like him, but if they were to be fighting together they needed to be honest about weaknesses so that others would be able to cover those in a fight. When she went on patrols with the Ninken at the compound they knew what she could and couldn't do. She always had either Sen or Kaja with her to be her paws or teeth or muscle since she was still small and not as strong or quick as they were.

"What strategy will you use?" Chouza asked the team, watching carefully for any reason he should pull them away.

"Will you be with us?" Muta asked.

"Yes."

"Then I will engage the bandits with my Kikachu for distraction, Sensei if you take out the ninja. Eri to retrieve the captured civilians and Nagari to back Eri up."

"Agreed." Nagari said.

"Mm." Eri patted Muta's leg in agreement and stood up, ready to go.

They moved as one rushing the enemy and engaging quickly. Eri slipped between bandits teeth gnashing and kunai slashing, blood arching.

She made it to the tent where the civilians were being held, two young girls and a young boy. She ignored their tears and shuffles to get away from her. She needed to get them to safety and then back into the fight to protect her bugs back.

She ignored Nagari's snarl to hurry up and slashed through the ropes binding the children and grabbed them roughly.

"Follow me and we will get you home, do you understand?" she used the gravel growl of command that Sen and Kaja had taught her to use on unruly pups to get them to focus and listen. She waited until she had all three children nod and then they were off, back into the maelstrom of the fight, she twisted and turned around the children with Nagari to move the children beyond the fighting. She caught a glimpse of Bug, his kakkai a swirl of black death and his kunai raining blood around him.

She pulled to children after her and into the hollow of a tree and began to trap the area around them with strict instructions of the children to stay hidden and silent.

"stay." She commanded fiercely and the little pups nodded their heads and hunkered down.

She turned to look at Milk and he glared at her.

"let's go." He said and then he shushined down to the fight, Eri on his heels. Eri spun high kicked a bandit in the neck before following up with a kunai into the heart when she caught the scent of another ninja. She shifted and looked around to assess the group. Muta continued to fight the larger portion of bandits, bodies on the group around him. Chouza sensei was still fighting the ninja, they were using chakra strings and traps to slow down their sensei.

Eri knew that if it hadn't been for her team, their sensei would not have to be so careful of the surrounding fighters. She noticed the flicker and scent of the ninja and turned in the direction it was coming for. It was heading for Nagari and Nagari was turned away from the incoming ninja, it was in his blind spot. They had miscalculated the numbers and she twisted, ducked and lunged to push an unaware Nagari out of the path of the ninja's kodachi she was unprepared for the sword to push through her shoulder, the burn and shock of pain and her blood flooded her senses. She staggered as the sword was pulled from her body and she dropped her kunai from numb fingers. She lifted her unarmed other hand to block the kodachi cutting her face and grabbed onto the blade as it sliced her palm. Snarling Eri kicked the kunoichi in the knee with chakra infused strength trying to get the ninja away from her so she could re-group. Fighting on her own without a nin-ken was disorientating and as the kunoichi came at her again she realised that fighting by yourself was a bad idea. She ducked, but too slow and a glancing punch to her temple had the genning Inuzuka falling before she knew what was happening.

Nagari turned with a snarl at his teammate ready to start screaming at the stupid dog for pushing him into an incoming bandit. He paused as he watched her fall, for a moment uncomprehending of the ninja standing over her and the blood spilling from his teammate. He cried out and stepped over her, kunai raised to block the descending kodachi and his Byakugan eyes staring into the eyes of the female enemy ninja in anger. He pushed up with incredible strength and snapped out a hand towards the enemy's heart to stop it with gentle fist but the kunoichi leapt backwards with a grin and hard eyes. Nagari shifted his feet and planted himself over his downed team mate. He would protect her, he would kill this ninja.

Muta saw it too late. His sleepy puppy fell almost in slow motion. His heart thudded and his kikkai buzzed in anger. He ignored everything else around him, all of his focus on his hopefully unconscious teammate. He moved through the remaining bandits, ignoring the screaming terror as his kikkai formed a cloud of death to clear a path to his downed teammate. He acknowledge Nagari standing over Eri, his Kikkai skirting around the Hyuuga and the two of them stood side to side and faced the ninja.

"You will die, why? Because you have hurt our teammate." Muta said, his voice monotone and so very serious that Nagari suppressed a shiver of fear. In all of their training together the Aburame had never sounded as angry as he did now.

The ninja laughed and stood smiling brightly at the two gennin.

"Little babies, don't cry when you die." The female ninja said and then lunged towards them. They didn't even have to move. Nagari went low and Muta went high. Their attacks connecting at the same time and killing the enemy ninja so fast that the women didn't even have a chance to look surprised. Nagari pulled his hand away from the woman's stomach where his kunai was lodged, he had struck sideways and gutted the ninja. Muta had stabbed with a kikkai blade to the throat. The rest of Muta's kikkai pushed the enemy ninjas body away and the Aburame crouched down to check over their teammate. Nagari stood standing, eyes watching for anyone stupid enough to attack the three of them. The bandits who were still alive wouldn't be for long, Muta's Kikkai were having the meal of their lifetime.

Muta found he didn't know what to do, his hands were moving from her pulse to her wounds to her face, unsure if moving her would hurt her more. His kikkai not killing the remaining bandits were crawling all over his hands and clothes and over Eri as well in agitation. They needed to get her to a healer and soon.

"The girl on Hatake's team is a healer. We need to move as soon as possible."

"Where is Sensei?"

"He has just finished with his opponent." Nagari said.

"Collect the civilians."

Nagari left Muta to do as he said. He was worried, and he wasn't sure if he liked the feeling. His team were weird and they fought terribly, but the Inuzuka had saved him and he knew that he would need to work better as a team if she survived this. He wasn't sure if the Aburame would be able to forgive him if the Inuzuka died….and he wasn't sure if he could forgive himself for it either.

When Nagari arrived back with the civilian children Muta had Eri in his arms, kikkai swarming around him and buzzing angrily and Chouza stood impatiently. When he arrived with the children Chouza grabbed them up in his arms and took off, Muta right behind him. Nagari sighed and followed his team.

Day 38: Don't push the maybe….

Eri work up slowly, she was aware of the scent of home and she sighed happily. The warmth of Muta next to her was comforting. She was surprised to smell Milk next to her as well and wondered if something was wrong. She felt something tickling the skin at her neck and went to scratch it, her hand coming away with a kikkai bug attached. Eri smiled sleepily, and then frowned at the heavily bandaged hand. She shifted and held back a growl of pain when she tried to move her left shoulder. It came back to her, the fight and being hit.

"You awake?"

Eri turned her head to Milk and blinked at him.

"Thanks for saving me."

Eri yawned and sighed, moving closer to Muta's warmth and scent.

"You are my teammate, my pack. I will watch you back." She said slowly, she had known once they were named gennin teammates that she would protect them with her life. It had been unfortunate that it was the Hyuuga but they were Konnoha ninja and she would work well with him.

"Huh, I…right."

"Are we on our way home?" she asked tiredly, unsure of where they were and what was happening.

"Yeah, you've been out for four days. The girl Nohara healed you as much as she could, but she said it would be better for you to sleep and heal."

"And Bug?"

"He used a lot of chakra in the fight, he's been asleep off and on the entire time."

"Hmm."

"…Inuzuka?"

"Yes?" Eri blinked her eyes opened, surprised she had almost fallen back asleep.

"I have a blind spot."

"Mm, I know. It's ok, we won't tell anyone." She said and then sighed and fell back asleep.

Nagari watched her snuggle into the Aburame and sat back with a sigh.

"We are a team." Muta said and Nagari started, he'd been sure the other boy had been asleep and he turned towards him.

"I know." Hyuuga said with a frown.

"Just so you know." Muta shifted and wrapped an arm around Eri and settled back to sleep.

Conclusion: Making a team takes a near death situation before they will work together.

"I think you lost your girlfriend to the bug boy." Obito ducked Kakashi's swing and laughed while he ran away.

TBC