A/N: Hello followers! Just want to say a quick thankyou to anyone who may be reading this story. You're great! And just a reader tip; you may want to have an extra internet tab open when reading this story, just so you can Google the dinosaurs I mention and have a fair idea of what they look like. (In case my descriptions aren't all that good.) And don't forget to leave a review! I'd love to hear what you think. Enjoy!

It wasn't only Kiba's fear that made him want to vomit.

The putrid stench of decaying flesh was contributing to his sickly, turning stomach. God, the smell was awful. He cold have sworn that there was a decomposing body behind the bushes that stood before him, but due to the fact that a low, snarling growl was followed by the deathly odour meant that whatever was behind those bushes, was alive.

He physically could not move his body. His fear had constricted him from any movement, plastering him to the spot as he looked on wide eyed. His brain was telling him to run, telling him to sprint straight back to Konoha and not look back. But his fear was stopping him from doing any of that.

There it was again.

That same sickly snarl. Except this time, it sounded as if it came from the bushes to the right of him. He felt a vibration, a deep resonant thumping carried through to him along the damp forest floor.

Was it another one? Was Kiba being stalked by not only one, but two of these creatures? Every time he heard a breath, the smell got worse. He could only imagine what kinds of dead, shredded skin remained stuck in the jaws of whatever this creature was.

The breaths were low, slow, as if they were coming from a quiet horse. He didn't want to admit it but Kiba was trembling. Thoughts of this moment being the last moment of his life made him quiver with regret. Why? Why couldn't he have just stayed with Sakura back at Konoha? For the last time his anger had gotten the worst of him, and there was nothing he could do about it.

There is was again. Another growl. It sounded as if it was coming from in front of him again, and once more Kiba's vision was intently redirected. This time it sounded closer. Almost as if it was only just behind the bush. Kiba stood still, listening to the soft snorting exhalations. The late afternoon sun was growing darker, almost completely fading away as the clouds danced around it. As they did so the forest darkened, creating a murky shadow over the area which surrounded him, and Kiba went even more Wide eyed at what he saw.

There was nothing behind the bush at all. Whatever was stalking Kiba, was directly in front of it.

As the sun became hidden behind the clouds the creatures camouflage became irritated, causing the creature to briefly turn a chalky white before fading back into the colour of the shadowy bush it stood in front of. The creature, with large jaws and two rather small but clawed arms, stood on two muscular hind legs. It stood around two metres in height and had two horns protruding from above its deep, staring eyes. The dinosaur, weighing what seemed to be around five hundred pounds, had a short distinctive face; almost bulldog like, but not quite. Saliva hung from the animals jaws, something Kiba would not have noticed if he had not seen the demonic looking creature shifting its camouflage as the sun re-arranged it shadow's.

Its camouflage was beyond convincing. Kiba had not picked up on it at all; hell he couldn't even distinguish any shifting ripples within the pattern of the bush. The animal was a master of preying disguise.

It just stood there, watching him, its steady snorting being the only noise that surrounded the area. The dinosaur was terrifying. The fact that it was just watching him, stalking him almost, waiting for him to make the first move made the situation even more frightening. It was taunting him. Waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

It was at that moment he heard the vibration of thudding coming up quickly from behind him. Thump, thump, thump. Although it sounded distant, Kiba new he had to make a move, and fast. Was that the animals plan from the beginning? Distract him from the front, whilst the other makes a sly attack from behind? These creatures were not only terrifying, but cunning. Intelligent.

It didn't take long before Kiba remembered what Temari had given him. The gun! With trembling hands, he fumbled at the waste line of his pants. Thump, thump, thump, thump. The thudding from behind was nearing closer and Kiba couldn't bring himself to look. His hands were shaking so much with nerves that he was struggling to grasp the gun, only increasing his terrified frustration.

Thump, thump, thump. Closer.

At last he managed to grab it, ripped it from his waist and held it firmly within his hands. But it was too late. The thumping was directly behind him and he froze, knowing full well that his time was up.

But instead of the searing, burning pain of tearing flesh he expected to feel rip in to the back of his neck, Kiba felt a sudden jerk, an almighty pull that hoisted him clean off the ground. For a second everything was blurry before he felt the rocking and jerking from beneath him. The animal in front of them let out a frustrating roar, shifting the colour of its skin as it leapt forward in a last attempt of defeat.

Whatever Kiba was currently hoisted on dodged the clamping of the animals jaws, skidded into a sharp ninety degree turn, before darting back towards the opposite direction. "What the hell do you think you were doing!" a familiar, panicked voice yelled.

As Kiba's shock subsided, he managed to latch on to the waist of the pinkette sitting in front of him. He opened his eyes and tried to steady himself as he watched the earth pass below the dinosaur's feet. It was Sakura, riding on some kind of dinosaur, looking exhausted and very, very angry.

"I can't believe you would actually wonder out past the Jawline! You must be a really special kind of stupid, Kiba Inuzuka!"

The brunette couldn't even muster up the strength to argue. Instead, he let out an exhale of relief, as everything around him slowly faded into black.

"Hey, wake up."

Kiba was awoken by the cold realization of water being squirted upon his face. His eyes shot open as he inhaled sharply.

When his vision cleared he saw Sakura, squatting beside him with a bottle of water in hand. Her faced looked sour as she frowned down on the brunette next to her.

Kiba used his fists to wipe his eyes. "I have to say, I liked the way you treated me when I regained consciousness back in Konoha a lot better than this one."

Sakura scoffed before twisting the lid back on to her water bottle. "Yeah, well I wasn't aware of how much of an idiot you were then." She said as she walked over to her dinosaur, placing the bottle of water back in the saddle-bag.

Kiba glanced around him. He was seated with his back against a tree, surrounded by a field of long, overgrown grass. It was golden in colour, swaying as a cool afternoon breeze swept through the field making it come alive with movement. Every now and then a small dinosaur would pop its head above the grass to look around before going back to eating. Kiba thought they looked kind of cute; their curved plump heads and hooked, beak like mouths chopping away at the sweet roots of the grass. Their small rounded eyes were filled with alert and their tiny heads twitched at any sounds they could pick up in the distance. On the fields outskirts stood the lining of the forest. Somewhere Kiba really, really didn't want to be again.

He ran his hands through his messy brown hair as he exhaled, trying to piece together everything that had just happened earlier. "What... what was that thing?" he asked, looking up at Sakura with exhausted but curious eyes.

"Carnotaurus Sastrei," She replied as she patted Dex on the neck. "Or Carno's for short."

"Meat eaters, right? They're part of the bad guys?"

"Of course they are, that putrid smell obviously doesn't come from eating salads."

Kiba could sense an irritated tone in her voice. She was obviously just as scared as he was to be wondering that far into the forest. He felt guilty, and knew he had to do, or say, something that could make it up to her. "Thanks, Sakura. Y'know, for saving me back there."

"Ugh! I just don't know how someone can be so dumb!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands to grasp her pink hair in frustration. "Do you know the risk I took to come out here and get you! What would have happened if that Carno got to you before I did? You would be dead meat, literally!"

She paced back and forth, her hands on her hips and occasionally looking back towards the forest to make sure there wasn't anything following them. "And Dex!" she started again, pointing towards her Dinosaur. "You think it's fair to put him through this? He has a Jaunt tomorrow! I'm sure the last thing he wants right now is to be running flat out in order to escape a Carnosaur!"

"I said I was sorry, Okay?" Kiba returned, cutting her off. It was obvious she was mad. Really mad. But the more she spoke the more irritated he became, his strong ego realising that he was in the wrong and there wasn't really anything he could say to change it. Neither of them had mentioned the argument that took place between them before Kiba headed for the Jawline, and quite frankly, Kiba didn't want to bring it up. It would just give her another thing to whinge about, and his headache was bad enough already.

Sakura folded her arms and scoffed. "Whatever."

An awkward silence filled the air. Once again Kiba could here the distant groans of dinosaurs. They appeared to be the same ones he had heard calling earlier, the ones when Sakura and Temari were having their argument. He couldn't work out if the sounds were that of pleasure, or suffering.

Sakura kicked at the dirt, her arms still folded against her chest. "Sooo," Kiba started, breaking the silence which was driving him crazy. "This 'Dex' thing, he's your Kyoryu I'm guessing?"

"He's not a thing, he's a Pachycephalosaurus." She said, sounding jokingly offended. She reached up to pat his snout. Dex stood a little taller than a large man. He had two muscular legs, obviously built for running, and medium length arms that he carried off of the ground. It was obvious he ran mostly on his two legs, but its arms were long enough to use all four. A thick, nine inch dome covered the top of its skull, surrounded with very small, blunt spikes. Its tail was reasonably long, and Kiba decided it would help it assist with its balance. Dark grey in colour, Kiba thought it was a reasonably cool dinosaur. And that takes a lot to admit after he was just almost mauled to death.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin when pronouncing that." Kiba said. Sakura let out a soft giggle and Kiba felt a wave of relief as she began to loosen up a bit.

"Trust me, pronouncing the name of these things is probably the most difficult thing about them. I found this guy when he was just a baby. The fact that I got to hand raise him is what makes him such a good Jaunter."

Kiba smiled warmly. He knew this girl would be full of stories. Ones that he couldn't wait to hear, much to his surprise. "Hey, one more question. How did you know that I was in trouble? I couldn't even see that thing before. I could here it, but it wasn't until the clouds covered the sun that it shifted colour, then I saw it."

"It's pretty simple, actually." Sakura pointed towards her feet. "Besides their obvious stench, Carno's have a hard time camouflaging their feet. Of course, the ground is the last thing you look at when you come face to face with one. That's why they get away with it. But for next time, whenever you can definitely smell and hear one, scan the ground for a pair of burgundy coloured feet."

"Burgundy?"

"Yep, Burgundy." Sakura answered. "When not camouflaged, Carno's are a deep red. Pretty freaky to look at, actually. Not a fun time."

"You don't say…" he retorted, narrowing his eyes.

Sakura knew it was time to stop with the small talk. "And I have one more question for you," she said as she wandered over to the saddle-bag.

"Go for it," he replied, sensing the sudden change of severity in her tone.

She pulled a gun from the saddle bag, and held it upright. He recognised it straight away; it was the one Temari had given him before she disappeared. His stomach dropped underneath her questioning glare. "Who the hell gave you this?"

"Temari did." He said honestly. "But trust me, I was just as confused as you are."

"Hmph." She scoffed, placing it back in the saddle-bag. She knew this boy was unpredictable, short tempered and stubborn. There was no way she was going to let him wonder around her village with a shot gun.

"Why do I get the feeling you think I'm the bad guy?"

"I don't," she answered, tightening Dex's girth as she prepared to get a move on. "I just know you're impulsive and erratic. And until this town and I really get to know you, I don't think you should be carrying around a weapon."

Kiba nodded, unwillingly agreeing to what she had said. Fair enough that she didn't really know him all that well, but he thought that calling him erratic was a little harsh. He was terrified of this island, and having a gun would make him feel a little at ease, at least. I mean, he was just almost killed by a dinosaur, for Christ's sake.

"Well, come on then," she ordered as she climbed up the saddle ladder. She hoisted her leg over Dex and grabbed a hold of the reigns. He jerked his head a little at the tension before quietening down.

Kiba got up and walked towards them. He held the end of the ladder in his hands. "So, I just uh, climb up it?"

"No Einstein, you magically float upright and hover the rest of the way home. Of course you climb up it, it's a saddle ladder."

"You're such a fucking smart arse," he mumbled quietly, but loud enough to hear. She tried to stop the smirk which caught her lips.

"You've heard nothing yet, Kiba." She laughed. "Now you're going to have to hold onto my waist, because this isn't going to be a slow trip home. We'll have to travel quickly if we want to make it home before sunset."

Kiba smiled at her instructions. "If that's an order, I don't want to be disobeying it then, do I?" He smirked mischievously. No way was he going to turn down cradling her waist. She was rather attractive, after all.

She went to give Dex a hard kick in the flanks before she paused once more. "One more thing," she started, turning around to look at him. "Temari didn't mention anything else to you, did she?"

Kiba swallowed. He remembered Temari mentioning Sakura, and how he tried to convince her that the pinkette had committed something awful. At the time he didn't want to hear anything, but know he had calmed down it itched at him to know what it was that Sakura had done which had Temari so furious. If he admitted that to Sakura, though, he knew he wouldn't get anything out of her. Not yet, anyway.

"Nope, not that I can recall." He replied.

"Good." With that, she gave Dex a kick before it sprinted across the golden grassed field, and back into the forest that lead to Konoha.

The night was dark, and the temperature was cooler now, thankfully.

Sakura and Kiba had arrived back at the Haruno compound at four thirty that afternoon. She needed to make sure Dex moved quickly; for when the sun sank behind the mountains of Konoha, the biggest and deadly Carnivores rose from their slumbers to hunt.

Sakura knew that Kiba's day had been beyond huge. She had intentions of introducing him to all her friends, to the rest of her family, to some of the popular town folk. She could see by looking at his deep brown eyes that he was tired though, and really, she couldn't blame him. She had however showed him to the small apartment in which he was to live in for however long he wished. He followed her down the path that led from the back of her house to the family stables situated at the bottom of the hill. The stables were huge; inside the large barn door was a wide corridor lined with spacious stalls on either side. The stalls held all kinds of dinosaurs of different sizes, colours, and species.

He didn't bother asking her questions about them. He was tired, sore and not only physically but emotionally exhausted. He knew he had plenty of time to ask about them tomorrow, hopefully when he was feeling better. He stood back and watched patiently as she unsaddled Dex and hung the riding gear in the tack room. She briefly emptied a wheelbarrow of food into his stall before showing Kiba to his apartment, which was situated outside and to the right of the barn.

It was small, but it wasn't too bad. As soon as he walked through the door he noticed a musky smell. It smelt as if there had previously been a leak somewhere but Sakura assured him it was fixed; the place was just old and hadn't been used for accommodation since their strapper left. The walls were a dark cream, and hand-painted paintings of the surrounding bushland hung from the walls. A TV sat in the corner of the small living area accompanied by an old, two-seater lounge. The kitchen looked relatively new. The tiles weren't stained and the appliances seemed up to date. She directed him down the small stuffy hallway where there was a door at the end and to his left. The door at the end was a small white tiled bathroom, occupied by a shower, toilet, and bathroom vanity. There was a small dark spot in the roof corner; Kiba figured that was where the leek used to be. Closing the bathroom door behind him, he opened the other to reveal his bedroom. A fairly large double bed rested against the wall opposite the walk in wardrobe. It had white linen with blue accessory pillows, and looked perfect for Kiba to crash in after the day he had just experienced. A full length mirror sat in the corner of the room next to a cardboard box of old stuff. It looked as if it had been there for a while, as the top had gathered a thick layer or dust. He couldn't be bothered rummaging through the box to discover whatever was in there; it would have to wait to another day.

All in all, it was nothing fancy. But it sure as hell beat that room full of creepy machinery he woke up in this morning.

"I'm sorry that I can't give you any nice clothes to change into," the pinkette said tiredly as she walked towards the door. "I have a friend that works at one of the best clothes shops in Konoha. I promise I'll take you there tomorrow morning, she should be okay to hook you up with some decent stuff."

"It's fine, seriously. Right now, clothes are the last thing on my mind."

Sakura nodded sympathetically before stepping out onto the footpath. "I'm just a stroll up the path. If you need anything, don't be afraid to ask, okay?"

Kiba nodded and gave her a soft smile. She looked just as tired as he did, and he couldn't help but wonder if he was to blame for the stress he could see in her drowsy eyes. "Goodnight, Sakura." They both smiled warmly before he closed the door gently behind him. He locked it before heading straight to the shower.

After he was finished and ridden free of the dirty sweat the muggy forest had cast upon him, he collapsed on his bed. His eyes closed instantly, darkness surrounding him as one last picture sat firmly in his mind.

The image of his father and sister, smiling and laughing happily on the deck of his father's boat.