Book VIII: Pakkun

Pakkun was never one to mince words. He said what was on his mind when it needed to be said, and if it didn't need to be spoken he simply remained quiet and observed with his unflappable countenance. That's not to say he was devoid of emotions or a sense of humor, he just didn't go around barking it out like a few others in the pack tended to do. It was rare for him to be thrown so completely off guard that his emotions came yipping or howling to the surface. After all, he had long since left his puppy days behind him.

The problem was, Kakashi had gone and adopted a trio of pups several years ago, and one of them in particular had the incorrigible habit of throwing the pug for a loop every now and then. And now was certainly one of those times... Even though the pup had grown into a man, Pakkun nevertheless found himself being scooped up and cuddled like a toy. Much to his overwhelming mortification, he felt a brief flash of warmth run down his spine at the affectionate touch, and had to ferociously quell the unthinkable desire to wag his tail. It was an unquestionably abhorrent idea!

Luckily, Pakkun's pride stepped up to the plate, and he gave Naruto a sharp nip on the nose before planting himself on the soft blonde hair with righteous indignation. Bull weathered his own attack placidly, but Pakkun caught the near imperceptible twitch along the big dog's back as his resolve almost fell at the grinning idiot's embrace, too. What made things more confounding was that Naruto had said something about being happy they were alive. Pakkun shot an astonished look toward Kakashi, not believing the man had actually let slip what had happened to the rest of the pack. As soon as his gaze rested on the Jounin, however, Pakkun started to get worried.

Reading body language wasn't only second nature to a dog, it was more like a first language. It was a complicated and subtle language where a minute tensing of one shoulder could speak volumes more than a five hour monologue. Kakashi hadn't told Naruto anything, because he was surprised as well. Surprised and frightened. Those two things never brought good results when mixed, but instead of the automatic internal withdrawal he was expecting from the Jounin, there was a rigid immobility. Pakkun interpreted it instinctively, but he was too startled to draw conclusions yet.

Naruto's eager request over the health of the rest of the pack was not met with a step back, an exasperated sigh, and a light scolding on underestimating trained ninken or a deft changing of the subject. It was not met with the wall Kakashi normally put around himself. It was met with a tension in his neck that was hesitant and afraid. A minuscule flinch in his shoulders that was skeptical and curious. A shift of weight on his feet that was full of pain and dread because, not only was he not stepping back, he was stepping forward to summon the pack.

A 'pack' was not the same as a 'family' or 'friends', but there were enough similarities to give the words the same weight. Love and friendship were expressed with playfulness, flashing teeth and snarls gained respect, loyalty was carved in blood, and betrayal was howled out in pain with the tearing of a throat. Kakashi had raised them and trained them, he was their Alpha. They were more than just his summons, but they were not his servants or his pets. He never called them without having a specific job in mind.

...until today...

Pakkun was the oldest of the pack, and had seen each introduction of all seven other ninken. It was done the same way; after Kakashi had trained his new pup to a fair standard of basic obedience and trust, he would summon the rest of them so the new pack member could be brought into the fold properly. But as much as it was similar, this wasn't the same. Kakashi's posture was slightly off for what all the signs pointed to this introduction being about. It was like the man didn't even know he was-

Bull grunted quietly behind him in amusement, and Pakkun shot the big dog a withering look as Naruto scrambled delightedly forward into the midst of six highly bewildered ninken. It was no surprise that none of them flat-out rejected his presence - as baffling and surprising as the situation was -, though the blonde's exuberance had a few scooting warily away. They all had a bit of a soft spot for Naruto. Besides the fact that he was a very important person to Kakashi, they'd also seen and been pleased with how Naruto's influence had changed the Jounin over the years.

It had been an unbearable blow when they all failed to track and find the young man on their last assignment. And, yes, they all failed. Six were injured and forced to retreat without sniffing out a scrap of a lead other than they might possibly be in the right vicinity, and two were sent off to deliver messages after finding an empty cave with Naruto's blood smeared across the wall and floor. Prideful and trained as they were, none of them could hide the guilt when Naruto laughed and called himself silly for believing a slightly twisted version of a truth they'd hoped he would never discover.

It hurt beyond imagination that the idiot was worried about them while he was chained to a wall and slowly dying. Thankfully, Kakashi had enough compassion to break the heavy atmosphere, and Pakkun was soon having a great deal of fun playing 'warden' as Naruto picked trash out of the river. The pug tossed a glance over at Kakashi every so often, noting the forced relaxation in his seemingly languid position in the tree, as well as the fact that he was holding his book too close to his face to be able to read it.

The well-hidden tension didn't ease when he dropped out of the tree after the task was done, and, as much as Pakkun could practically smell Bull's desire to stay and see what happened, he gave a nonchalant good-bye before they both released their summons. The instant they re-materialized at home they were pounced by the rest of the pack, demanding answers to questions that were mostly unanswerable.

It wasn't until four days later, when he was summoned to deliver a message to Konoha, that he allowed himself to come to a conclusion that was no longer unexpected. He was running past a field and could hear Naruto talking to another familiar voice; Tenzou, or Yamato as he was called now. He was asking about Kakashi, wanting to know more about the man. Even though the questions were as vague and innocent as Naruto was capable of making them, there was a decidedly eager and stubborn timbre to his voice that simply would not take 'no' for an answer.

Pakkun lifted his eyes to the heavens briefly, wishing he could just reverse his summoning so he could smack Kakashi. The Jounin was acting like he was caught in a trap, and he didn't even realize he'd set it up himself. He didn't even realize getting caught like that was probably the best thing that had ever happened to him. It was going to be hard not having it out with Kakashi, but this was something that none of the pack could interfere with.

"Humans..." Pakkun grumbled, turning away from the field as he made his way to the Hokage tower.