It is an odd sensation when your every muscle burns with strain and anabolic fatigue while the body's nerves throb from the cold. Staggering onto the shore Kiba laid Karui's unconscious form onto the smooth stones that lined this side of the river. Exhausted he wanted nothing more than to fall asleep himself but his Anbu training took over at this point. The extensive survival program was designed to teach shinobi to do what was necessary to survive before ensuring any comfort. Kiba thought that odd, especially when the most comfortable thing he could think to do at the moment was take off his freezing wet clothes. After removing his clothes to prevent himself from getting any colder he began to assess the situation.

'First I need to elevate her legs and support her head. Second I need to get a fire going before hypothermia sets in; that water was much colder than I thought. Then I need to check her for any wounds other than her head injury, after that I need to get her warm as well.' Kiba thought finishing his mental checklist.

Kiba's bedroll served as a good prop for her feet, and his flak vest went to support her head. A quick scan of the small riverbank proved a lucky catch as a small pile of driftwood had washed up and dried over time. Swatting away the small swarm of flies Kiba picked the pieces that would burn the hottest. He used a Kunai to cut one of the smaller pieces into tinder, and after a few matches Kiba had the fire he needed.

Basic first aid was essential for Anbu squads even before the days of Tsunade, and even if this were not so Kiba learned more about medicine than he wanted to know from his sister Hana. He checked Karui's pulse and breathing, both were weak but stable. Moving his hands to either side of her neck he checked for any neck injury. She was fine despite a slight muscle stiffness. Methodically he went though the important body areas and determined that she had no threatening wounds. But hypothermia would set in if he didn't get her out of her wet clothes. Thankfully her dress was easy to undo, and Kiba was far from shy about naked women having had the unfortunate experience of being the only male in his house growing up.

He picked her up and moved her over by the fire before going back to lay out her clothes and armor to dry as well. After warming himself up Kiba opened his pack to see the conditions of his other supplies. He still had his rations, three kunai, the grappling hook which had gotten caught on his pants in the currents, soldier pills, blood pills, his first aid kit, and one smoke bomb. The trap wire and all the explosive tags were lost to the river.

With time alone to think Kiba realized that he had not seen Akamaru yet. The ninken was a strong swimmer, but it should not have taken this long to catch up. First he was separated from his team, now from his companion dog. More troubling thoughts filled Kiba's mind though. Twice now, it seemed, as though a strange mist arose that suppressed his senses and ninjutsu. His gut told him that something was seriously wrong.

A bit of color caught his eye turning around the river bend. When it washed onto shore Kiba realized that it was his Anbu mask, picking it up proved to be a disappointment as about a third of the mask had been broken off. Placing the mask next to his clothes, he checked to see if they were dry yet. From behind him he heard Karui groan as she moved. Turning his head he found she was still unconscious but she had changed position without any further audible complaint, he took that as a good sign she did not have any internal injuries.

"Stupid clouds, how is anyone supposed to tell time in this stupid country?" Kiba asked aloud, annoyed more at the situation than the clouds. From the air temperature and the slight decrease in ambient light Kiba got the impression that it was past midday anyways.

Recalling the events of the morning left his mind racing, but his body was unable to do anything more. Laying out his mostly dry jacket under him, and being unable to think of anything else to do, Kiba fell asleep.

Karui awoke but her body refused to open its eyes. She heard the cracking embers of a low fire and the smells of smoke and fresh water filled her nostrils. Her head ached and her body was cold. She felt a light breeze flow across her naked…

"Naked?" she weakly said to herself.

Willing her eyes open and turning her head she saw the nearby river and the riverbank she was on. Turning her head the other direction, towards the fire, she saw the Konoha nin whose name she didn't recall laid out on his jacket. Her head ached, bringing her hand to her head she felt a sizeable welt and realized that she must have gotten a concussion. From what she couldn't recall exactly, and she refused to wildly speculate like her team mate Omoi undoubtedly would in this situation.

She slowly sat up, the pain in her temple increasing sharply the more she rose. With a better view of her surroundings the first thing she noticed was the first aid kit and a canteen next to where he head was. She looked through it and found the pain killers and took them as advised swallowing the nasty tasting medication with water from the canteen.

Finding her clothes laid out and dried she went to go dress herself. Her muscles were stiff which made certain actions bothersome but a quick glance at the sleeping ninja across the fire from her gave her motivation to do this on her own. She had her pride to maintain, and he had already gotten to see more than she cared for. Upon finishing she rolled out the bedroll that had been under her feet and placed it out next to the fire so it would get dry as well.

Sitting back down she mentally recounted what had happened that morning. Her short term memory loss confirmed to her that she had suffered a concussion. She remembered the bridge, the earthquakes, and hanging from the side of the rock. Why did the attempt to mold chakra to run up the side of the cliff fail? That inability to move had caused her to be struck by a rock on her head.

"I must have fallen in the river, but if I was knocked out by that and didn't drown that means."

She looked at her still sleeping companion again. Those red fangs on his cheeks really accented his fierce looking but strong face. She steeled herself so as not to spend too much time looking at his well muscled frame.

"Kiba," she suddenly remembered his name, "don't tell me you jumped in after me."

Stirring in his sleep Kiba's face turned in her direction. A slight chill in the early evening air nearly put out the now low embers of the fire. Karui's eyes quickly found the source of the wood as she built the fire back up again. Soon the bedroll dried and Karui placed a blanket over Kiba.

In the growing darkness she heard wet footsteps come out of the river followed by the recognizable sound of a dog shaking itself dry. Akamaru walked over and sat down next to the fire. Karui used the bedroll's mat and sat down next to the dog who seemed in no mood to complain. She thought it funny that she remembered the dog's name faster than Kiba's. Despite being very hungry the need to sleep was foremost on her mind. She leaned against Akamaru, who didn't even stir at the motion, and began to fall asleep. The days events would most definitely need to be discussed; but such a conference was better done with a clear head at the start of a day rather than at its end. The strong, rhythmic breathing of the Ninken caused a deep sleep to set on in moments.