Wanted Mistranslation?

Dark brown eyes stared calmly into panicked emerald ones before sliding shut in relaxation and letting the warm spring water sooth Kiba's tired muscles. So what if Sakura's anger was palpable and he could swear her glare was rending his flesh from the bone; this felt right. Being near her felt natural and his instincts screamed at him to be close in case something should happen.

Sakura felt her mouth drop open at his indignant behavior. He'd ignored her obvious perturbation as well as her seething glare. Sure, she couldn't deny the fact that he probably also rarely got the chance for a soak in a hot spring, nor could she deny the fact that he was actually being quite polite about her state of undress by keeping his eyes shut or before, when open, on her face. She could deny neither of those things, just like she couldn't deny the fact that his upper body, half drenched from the spring water and half beaded with perspiration from the heat emanating from said water looked really good. His dark hair, slightly longer than when she usually saw him, curled at the nape of his neck, clinging to the damp skin there. Of course none of that could excuse the fact that she was naked, as was he, and yet there he sat, little more than waist deep in only slightly cloudy water.

"What do you think you're doing, Inuzuka," Sakura growled, teeth clenched.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Haruno?" Kiba unwisely taunted the short-tempered kunoichi with words similar to her own all the while keeping his body relaxed and his eyes shut.

"Yes, but… but," Sakura found herself at a loss of words. What excuse could she give that wouldn't make her seem childish? Hadn't she told Kiba earlier to act more mature? She could handle this in an adult manner surely rather than relying on her chakra-laden fists. "Fine then," Sakura said, haughtily, chin stubbornly thrust forward, "if you don't have a problem with it, neither do I. But don't think for a second that you're going to see me climb out of here naked."

Kiba scoffed, although inwardly his mind was reeling with the possibility of seeing such a thing. "As if I'd want to."

"Why you…" Letting the beginning of her rant trail off, Sakura instead focused on ridding herself of the filth her skin and hair had collected during their running that day. Nabbing her travel sized shampoo bottle, she snapped the lid open and poured a generous amount of the scented cleanser into her palm. Keeping her palm cupped, Sakura was, once again, grateful for the spring. It was deep enough that she could slide under the water easily without having to reveal any skin to the dog sitting across from her. Emerging from the water, eyes clenched shut and blowing the warm liquid from her lips, Sakura began to lather her pastel locks into a soapy mess.

Feeling she could safely open her eyes now, without the mineral rich water running into them and burning, Sakura popped them open. Her gaze was immediately drawn to Kiba, still lax and unobserving. That, at least, was a relief. Especially when her gaze couldn't seem to avert itself from the lean muscled man lounging a few feet away. As a medic, her mind was naming off each muscle as it twitched in his upper torso and arms. Biceps, deltoids, lateral triceps, pectoralis major, platysma; even lower the abdominal obliques and lower... Of course, at this point, a part of Sakura was aware that these muscles were not all twitching, in fact only Kiba's left bicep was twitching, but her eyes still maintained their unfaltering stare.

Subconsciously her fingers still deftly scratched at her scalp and, being quite distracted with her eye candy, Sakura missed the downward progressing blob of soap heading for her wide eyes.

"Damnit!" the curse slipped past her lips as she groped behind her for her towel. "Damnit, damnit, damnit!"

"What's your problem?" Kiba barked, eyes finally snapping open. He immediately regretted that action. Sakura still sat in the water, but she was twisted around reaching for something. Her neck was bared as her hair was mussed up into a wet and soapy bun. Her skin was rosy and moist from the warm water and Kiba itched to slide his fingers across that skin, to nuzzle his nose into the crook between her smooth shoulder and tender neck. Now was probably not the time to be thinking such things though, since she seemed to be in a rather annoyed state.

"Where's that damned towel!"

Once again, despite Kiba's best effort to maintain his distance and keep his wits about him, he moved closer to the kunoichi, slipping through the heated water until he was close enough to feel the ripples in the water from her movements.

Far too distressed due to the incessant burning in her eye and her misplaced towel, Sakura didn't even feel Kiba's approach. Of course, that all changed when he leaned in close to her, toned chest pressing against her bare back and hand sliding over her arm. Her entire body stiffened at the touch, something so unwelcome yet so incredibly… delicious. She couldn't be sure, but for the briefest instant, she thought she felt the tip of his nose skim across the tender skin of her throat before soft cotton fabric was pressed to her face and wiping the suds away from her eyes.

Something inside of Kiba had snapped, some instinct in him that he'd been able to pacify throughout the years due to distance from this scent, from her; his control had completely dissipated at this close proximity.

Eyes wide open and free of the stinging invasive liquid, Sakura prepared to give Kiba a piece of her mind, even if her body was telling her to shut it. But instead she half gasped, half shrieked at the sharp incisors that dug into her shoulder blade as Kiba's hands gripped her upper arms holding her in place.

"Ki-Kiba… wha- why? Mmmh," she couldn't even form a coherent sentence, which irked her beyond belief. Why was he doing this? Since when had he any interest in her. Anymore, men in general had no interest in her, and she certainly didn't have an interest in them. Being turned down by Sasuke had hurt badly, but, with a lot of help from Naruto and other friends, she'd rebounded eventually. Of course, developing an attachment for a certain infinitely unattached man wasn't in her best interest, but, about a year ago, she'd done just that.

Flattered, Tenzou had let her down gently; he'd understood what she was going through, having been through that stage of his life already, but he was simply not someone Sakura should involve herself with beyond missions and perhaps friendship. At least that's what he'd told her. Sakura figured it was more likely he thought she was ugly or stupid or some other fault of hers. The worst part about it all had been that Tenzou had still maintained the same attitude towards her as before, which is what had softened her towards him in the first place. So, while she then knew he romantically wanted nothing to do with her, her fantasies still plagued her, much like dreams of Sasuke.

Men, she decided, were simply not worth it. Training, being an amazing kunoichi, those were what she would make matter the most to her. Yet here she found herself hoping for more, something she'd sworn time and time again she didn't want, something that would only hurt in the end.

His nose was definitely pressed against her throat now, and she could hear his deep breathing, knew exactly what he was doing. He wassmelling her. Now, Sakura herself had never been the one with an incredible sense of smell, but Kakashi certainly had it, and she'd been around Kakashi enough to know that with that acute a sense, Kiba wasn't smelling her because she stank. For that, she was glad. But that didn't negate the fact that his bare skin was pressed to hers and that they were both devoid of clothing. And, of course, that it was Kiba that was with her.

She'd looked at Inuzuka Kiba in only two ways from the time she'd met him until a few short days ago in a clearing where he'd unwittingly admitted being partial to whatever smell she seemed to emit. The first view she'd had of him was akin to her view of Naruto in the beginning. Hot-headed, goofy, and obnoxiously boisterous. Of course, he'd only been twelve or so at the time. She'd rarely seen him during her training, and almost never between her chunnin years and becoming a jonin, but afterwards she'd been placed on a number of missions with the boy, although never alone. And during those missions she gained a certain respect for him, much as she had for Naruto.

Really, the situation, for Sakura, was simply awkward, namely because she was still fairly unfamiliar with Kiba. He was somewhat of an enigma to her, what with his canine attributes and all. But she certainly couldn't deny that, however awkward this situation was, it felt good.

Terribly tempted to give in to whatever Kiba wanted, Sakura tried to focus her mind, tried to overrule her body while Kiba's mouth was still latched to her shoulder and his nose was still nuzzled against her damp skin…

And that was how Akamaru found them.

"Oi! Kiba! Since when do you leave me behind on missions?" Akamaru, were he a human, would have been wearing the most shit-eating grin ever as he spoke, seemingly unsurprised at the sight before him.

Kiba issued an incoherent warning in the form of a growl at Akamaru as well as in respect to the pheromones he could smell seeping from Sakura's skin. Not that she knew her scent was driving him mad, but it definitely was having an adverse affect on his demeanor. His head was spinning and his body seemed to thrum with energy; he couldn't even force himself to release his hold on her.

Where Sakura had previously been somewhat intrigued and hesitantly sinking into Kiba's grasp, Akamaru's appearance had her perturbed for more than one reason. Firstly, she considered both herself and Kiba to be fine shinobi, yet neither of them had noticed the approach of Akamaru, and if they hadn't heard him, what else might they have missed? Secondly, she was embarrassed; now not only was she flushed because of Kiba's attentions, but because a certain canine was staring quite intently at the scene presented to him, his head quirked to the side. The growling that issued from Kiba's spot behind her only made matters worse and Sakura deemed it high time she put a stop to her discomfiture.

It was only a small matter of focusing a jolt of chakra to the juncture of her skin and Kiba's teeth, and then releasing that chakra in the form of a minute shock. Not powerful enough to actually hurt him, but enough to remove him from her person.

And remove him it did. As soon as Kiba felt the chakra seer his lips, he jerked backwards, pushing against the stones beneath his feet in order to put some distance between himself and Sakura. As Kiba immediately vacated the spring with a murmured "sorry" Sakura took note of the wet towel still secured about his hips slapping wetly against his calves and, embarrassingly enough, a rather prominent erection straining against the heavy cloth.

Still quite flustered she watched Kiba make his hasty retreat, his usual smooth stride broken by a limp. Being a medic, she instantly knew which leg was the problem, though why, she couldn't tell…yet. Why she felt the need to help him, Sakura couldn't fathom, especially after the humiliation he'd just caused her. But, it simply wouldn't do to have an injured teammate; it would slow their travel during the night hours. And, being a medic it simply made sense. It certainly didn't have anything to do withwanting to help Kiba, wanting to take care of him.

For the time being though, Sakura decided she would take advantage of her privacy, which had been so thoroughly violated, to finish her bath. This time without suds in her eyes or a nearly naked man at her back.

Kiba only wished his little hollowed out shelter had some form of a door so that he could hide himself from Sakura for the rest of the mission, as if that was even possible. The jonin contemptuously glared at the rock wall he was facing, his thick sleeping roll beneath his now fully clothed body and back towards the spring and, unfortunately, a still bathing Sakura. He knew she was still in the water, her scent muted but nonetheless sweet. He didn't want to know that, didn't want to think about her bare skin damp and warm against his own just a short while ago.

His skin flushed even thinking of Akamaru staring so calmly at his behavior, as if Kiba himself were a dog thus such was to be expected. It embarrassed him and pissed him off at the same time. How could he help it? Her scent seemed to pull him in, no matter what Sakura was doing. Running, sweating, he loved it. Bathing, sweet, he loved it, wanted it. But he'd be damned before he simply took it. Hewasn't a dog. And he was going to prove it to himself if it killed him.

"Yo." Kiba felt the toe of a shoe wriggling into his lower back and rolled over. Sakura stood straight-backed, hands braced against the overhanging rock. "You want something to eat?" she asked, eyes never leaving his face. "I made some ramen." A bad habit she'd picked up from Naruto often showed itself on missions. Although she wasn't nearly as obsessive when it came to ramen, but she certainly liked it more than ever before.

"Sure," Kiba acquiesced, also keeping his gaze focused on her pleasant face, noting the small curve of her rosy lips upon his reply.

Kiba was surprised to find the sun high in the sky filtering through the trees surrounding them. How long had he been asleep? Kiba hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep, although, now that he thought about it, he hadn't been aware of Sakura's movements before she dug her toe into his back.

He followed her, figuring she'd give him whatever she saw fit, which he figured to be a poisoned cup of cold ramen. Why did it seem her hips only swayed more provocatively when his eyes settled on her rear? And her hair surely wasn't always so soft and shiny as it was with the slivers of filtered sunlight settling between the pastel locks. Kiba's step nearly faltered when those pink locks flipped to the side and Sakura's green gaze landed on him.

"After we eat… you're going to let me take a look at your leg. I'll heal it, and then I won't have to worry about you during the rest of this mission." She commanded in a no-nonsense tone that could have easily surpassed the Godaime's.

"M-my leg?" Kiba uttered, before feigning ignorance. "There's nothing wrong with my leg."

"Liar." Sakura said bluntly, quirking a single pale brow. "Don't try to make of fool of me, Inuzuka Kiba. You will let me heal it… unless you want me to not forget about that little incident earlier."

She'd definitely been around men too long. Far more straightforward than other women and devilishly smart, she knew exactly what to do to gain his compliance. Unfortunately, he minded neither of those aspects in her rather they only amplified his partiality for her.

"Fine." Kiba, once again, found himself simply doing as she said and now noticing where he stood. Right outside of Sakura's own little shell of a rock. Obviously while Kiba had still been asleep, she'd set up her own modest resting spot and even lit a small fire, stocking it with wood that produced little smoke. Impressive, he had to admit, since, on most recon missions, it usually took his nose to find those types of wood. And over the fire was a makeshift platform where a pot of noodles simmered.

"So," Sakura said as she dug through a smaller pack that had apparently been hidden in her larger one throughout the night and their travel. "What kind of ramen do you want? Pork? Miso? Chicken? I bet you're more of a beef kind of guy, right?" she added merely to break the silence, while still shuffling through the different flavor packets in the bottom of her sustenance pack, or so she liked to call it.

"Whatever is fine with me, Sakura." Kiba quietly interjected, watching her brow wrinkle in consternation.

"You know, I had a mission with Naruto a week or so ago. He always eats the beef ramen I have. He knows I'm not big on it, but I like buying the variety pack." Laughing all the while, Sakura grabbed a couple of chicken flavored packets from her bag and moved closer to the fire. "You don't mind chicken?"

Kiba shook his head, taking care not to stare too intensely at her cutely quirked head and questioning gaze. Sakura tore the packets open and deposited their contents directly into the steaming noodles and water.

"Now, since Naruto always insists the ramen tastes better if you let the flavors soak into the noodles, let me have a look at that leg."

Kiba audibly groaned and started, "Really, it's nothing. It's really-"

"Just let me see it!" Sakura groused, as she strode towards him.

"I'm trying to tell you, you don't need to bother." Kiba insisted, prodding at his sore thigh. "See? It's fine."

Sakura sighed, "Please. It's not a bother and I'd feel a lot better if you'd just let me take care of it."

Damnit all, Kiba inwardly whined. She looked sad. Did she have to look so downhearted because he didn't want her close? Didn't want to have her hair right under his nose, demanding he smother himself in it?

Kiba's own sigh rent the air between them. "Fine."

She really should have thought this through more. Somehow, she was going to have to touch it. Going through his clothing would only waste chakra as it always took more. And she couldn't just tell him to take his pants off like she did to patients at the hospital. He'd probably skulk back to his bedroll if she did that.

Why couldn't it be easy? With Naruto, she merely had to imply she wanted him to do something and he would. Kakashi always knew what she needed before she herself did. Tenzou, well, Tenzou would usually just coerce it out of her. And Sai just liked to make things purposely awkward, which, in the end, made things rather comfortable despite his goal. But what could she do with Kiba?

Sakura was still unsure as to what had even happened in the spring. It wasn't something she could simply dig through scrolls to figure out; hell, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to figure it out.

He was still standing; that certainly wouldn't do. It flexed the leg muscles too much for her to be able to feel what was damaged. Although from the way he walked, she could already tell it was his thigh causing the problem, which could also be blamed for herimmediate problem; how to get to his thigh.

Trying to think of how Tsunade would handle the situation, Sakura was unaware of how intently Kiba was watching her.

Her pheromones were going crazy, she was upset about something and it was bugging him. Of course, it was difficult to remedy a situation when he didn't even know what that situation was. It obviously had something to do with healing him. Was she afraid to even touch him after his display earlier?

Display? Kiba scoffed. More like attack.

That wasn't right either, though. He didn't smell fear, just… anxiety.

He figured now was as good a time as any to show her he wasn't a primal animal that went crazy any random moment.

"What do I need to do to you?" The words slipped from his lips before he could thoroughly think them through.

Fuck! Kiba's only hope was that she'd suddenly gone deaf.

"What?" Sakura asked, startled. "What did you say?"

"Uh, I-I meant that, uh-"

"Sorry, I should have been paying better attention. But, I was just thinking, er, well..." Sakura apologetically glanced at her dark-haired teammate.

Thank Kami! Somehow, she really hadn't noticed his blunder.

"I just thought you looked… like you were waiting, so I asked what you needed me to do." Kiba said, shrugging.

"Well, that's the thing. I don't know how I'm going to look at your leg, with, well, with pants covering it." Her cheeks grew flush and for some odd reason, thoughts of Kiba's bare chest against her back filtered into the forefront of her mind. Forcing herself to keep eye contact with Kiba's unfaltering stare was difficult, but she was a medic and in all honestly, the thought of Kiba less than half naked shouldn't even have fazed her. But, as always, things were easier said, or not said in this case, than done.

"Just tell me what you need me to do, Sakura."

Sakura's green eyes widened at Kiba's implications. The innuendo behind his words was definitely not lost on her. Becoming a woman and being around Kakashi and his kind, namely one Shiranui Genma, wouldn't allow it. The question was… did she need anything from Kiba? Did she want anything from him?

I'm totally awful, I know... this. chapter. took. FOREVER. And, I have no comments on it, really... but, out of curiosity... do any of you guys read fanfic author main pages? Cause, I keep fairly updated tabs of what I'm doing on a story and how far along a chapter is... and if no one even reads it... what the heck am I doing it for? haha... anyway... as always, Enjoy!