Screw maths homework, I'm doing this! XD

I think I'm spoiling you people too much :/

I'll update the next chapter when I get a review, dammit! I really am tired of nagging, and I know you guys must hate it too. Make the world a better place! Review and I'll update the next chapter :3

…..please don't hate me 3

**Chapter nine**

"So…what breed do you think it is?"

Shannon glanced between Hinata and the puppy as it devoured a dead bird it had found. She made no move to stop him. The poor thing needed something to eat.

She frowned, scrutinizing the puppy's mottled black and dark brown coat. It was a short-haired breed, she could tell that much. Other than that obvious fact, she really was clueless. The only thing she had to go by was the shape of his snout and his ears.

Frowning, Shannon finally came to a conclusion. "It sort of looks like a Rottweiler to me," she said, cocking her head to the side as she watched the dog eat.

Soon enough, he had finished eating and sat back, licking his chops contentedly. He looked between Hinata and Shannon with big mud-brown eyes.

"I'd have to agree with you there," the blue-haired kunoichi replied.

Shannon pulled her water bottle out of her pack and knelt down. She unscrewed the top, scrutinizing how much was actually left in the bottle. She sighed when she saw there wasn't much. Shrugging, Shannon poured some water into her cupped hand and held it out to the puppy, which eagerly pounced and started drinking.

"Poor thing looks like it hasn't had a decent drink in days," Hinata shook her head sadly.

Shannon stayed silent for a moment or two, regarding her new companion.

"He needs a name," she said eventually.

"Hmm," was the only reply she received.

"What do you think, Shika?" Shannon looked over her shoulder at Shikamaru, who lay propped up against a battered telephone pole, eyes closed.

"Huh?" he cracked an eye open.

"The dog," she repeated, scratching the puppy affectionately behind the ear. "He needs a name."

Shikamaru waved a hand lazily. "I dunno, I don't like dogs."

"That helps!" Shannon snorted, rolling her eyes.

She sat back on her haunches, stroking the unnamed animal absent-mindedly.

"What about Kiba?" Naruto piped up, chewing on a rock-hard hotdog roll.

Hinata giggled. "Kiba?"

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned, gesturing at the dog. "I think ol' Dog-boy will be honored that we named a mutt after him."

Shannon chuckled and picked the puppy up, cradling it him in her arms. "Kiba it is, then."

…

Despite Shikamaru's so-called 'dislike' of dogs, he and Kiba got on surprisingly well. The puppy followed him and Shannon everywhere, although sometimes it was a tad annoying having to fish him out of ditches and holes every few steps.

Eventually, Shannon had just taken to carrying the hyperactive ball of fur in her pack whenever they were crossing particularly tricky terrain. He didn't seem to mind though – infact, he rather seemed to enjoy the view. Shannon supposed it was a change to being down on the ground all the time.

A couple of days after they had first taken the dog into their little group, the squad reached the outer city limits. Shipping containers from the inland depot lay scattered over the roads like oversized building blocks, some crushed and rusting.

Dilapidated warehouses lined the empty highway the group now traversed. Factories that had once been fully-operational now lay in ruins, smoke-blackened and rotting. Shannon, after being used to the sheer volume of abandoned cars on their travels through the country roads, was a little disturbed by the distinct lack of vehicles in the city. They hadn't seen a single one so far.

She frowned. The abandoned cars had been a vital resource throughout the squad's travels. They always held some items of use, and if they were really lucky, food and water. But here…there was nothing.

As they came to a ridge in the road, Shannon heard voices. She wasn't the only one, though. Sasuke, who had been leading the group through the ruined outskirts of the city, held a hand for them to stop. He cocked his head to the side, listening intently.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, frowning as he too listened for the voices.

"More people, just over that ridge in the road," Sasuke replied, lowering his voice. "I don't know exactly how many, but there are definitely more than three."

"Marauders?" Sai pondered aloud.

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't think so. They're too quiet."

"Hinata? Could you check before we proceed any further?" Sai turned to their blue-haired team mate.

Nodding, Hinata activated her Byakugan, veins bulging and straining around her pupil-less purple eyes. A few moments of tense silence passed before she finally deactivated her kekkei genkai and answered.

"They don't look like Marauders, more like civilians making their way to the city centre," she replied. "There are four of them, two girls and two boys, not much older than ourselves. They appear unarmed."

"Civilians?" Shannon asked, hope flaring for a brief moment in her chest. If they weren't much older than her and the squad, there was a high chance it could be…

Hinata nodded her head. Before anyone could stop her, Shannon was clambering over the ruptured highway and sliding down the other side.

"Shannon! Come back here!" she heard Sasuke, Shikamaru and Naruto call out to her simultaneously, but she ignored them and kept going.

The concrete expressway flatted and broadened out into a large intersection, covered in rubble and other debris from the fallen, mutilated buildings around it. Shannon spotted four figures some distance away, too far away to make out any details. She heard scuffing behind her and broke into a run. She wasn't going to let any of them tow her back to the group. She had to find out who those people were.

"Shannon!" Sasuke barked as she bolted from them. "This is no time for games! You don't even know who those people are!"

Ignoring the outraged Uchiha, Shannon kept running. The closer she got, the more details she could make out of the group of people. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes when she noticed familiar flame-red hair.

"Ashley!" she called out, choking back a sob.

Shannon saw the group of people stop walking and turn towards her. One of them started running towards her. Shannon's heart leapt when she came to the conclusion that is was, indeed, Ashley she was sprinting towards.

"Shannon!" the voice that reached back to her was cracked with emotion.

Shannon doubled her speed, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. She didn't care how close behind her Sasuke and the others were. She had to get to Ashley. In moments, the two girls collided with one another, sobbing uncontrollably.

They clung to each other like they were the last stable things in the entire world.

"I thought you were dead!" Ashley choked out, her arms wrapped around Shannon's shoulders so tightly it was painful.

"I told you I'd find you, didn't I?" Shannon replied, grinning through her tears as she held her best friend just as tightly.

The other members of Ashley's small group came running up to the two. Looking over the red-head's shoulder, Shannon recognised another one of her best friends, Carli. Shannon, Ashley and Carli had been inseparable in school, and Shannon had worried just as much about her as the others.

Behind Carli were two other boys Shannon had been good friends with, Luke and Justin. Carli literally bodyslammed into the other two girls as she enveloped them in a crushing bear hug. The three of them just stood there, relieved to finally be together again.

Shannon eventually broke away, wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. She sniffed and smiled at her friends, looking them over. They seemed to be okay, just a little bruised and dusty and frayed, not unlike Shannon and the ninja squad. Suddenly remembering her travelling companions, Shannon looked sheepishly over her shoulder as the three nin who were watching her with varying degrees of annoyance.

"That was stupid, even if you do know these people," Sasuke scolded, eyes narrowed and arms crossed.

Shannon rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly, grimacing as she took a step back from her old classmates. "Yeah…sorry about that Sasuke…"

The black-haired Uchiha just snorted and rolled his eyes at her. He knew no matter what he said, she still wouldn't take any of it to heart. She was just too stubborn.

"Aw, stop being such a sourpuss Sasuke!" Naruto laughed, slapping him team-mate heartily on the back.

Sasuke stumbled a little from the force of the blow and turned to glare at the loud-mouthed blonde, who just laughed.

Shannon caught Shikamaru's eye and he smirked, nodding his head at Sasuke and Naruto before rolling his eyes. She chuckled, turning back to her confused friends.

Shannon smiled apologetically at them, shrugging. "You'll have to excuse them. They can be a little…odd."

Nothing happened in here…I know…I blame writer's block -_-'

Things pick up nicely in the next chapter :D but you'll only see it if you review :)

Seriously, it doesn't even have to be a long review - just tell me what you enjoy about the story, what I can do to improve it, or even what your favourite part is so far! This story is literally nothing without feedback.

Please don't hate me and stop reading :s keep reading! One or two more reviews and I'll have the next chapter up before you can even blink!