A/N: Thank you to the reviewers, your comments made my day and made me smile (:
Disclaimer: Naruto is sadly... NOT mine... If it was, it would most probably be unsuitable for children...
Claimer: Kari and Kita ARE my babies. Mine. MINE. MINE.
Nin-wolf
To serve Konohagakure until the end;
The requirement to bear a Konoha hitai-ate.
"Get up Kari…"
The said girl buried further into her den, curling up in the warmth, eyes shut.
"Kari… now. Your wolf is whining."
"Go away…" Kari complained, pulling the cover over her head. This effort was proved in vain though, when someone dragged the warm cover off her. She groaned, pulling the pillow over her face to block out the light, her tail wrapping around her as she shivered from the sudden lack of warmth. "Tired… Day off… Don't wanna get up…" A sudden yank on her tail jolted her into waking up and meeting the exploding pain of her head crashing on the floor. "Sasukeee!" she whined, half-heartedly smacking his shin.
"You're up aren't you" Sasuke said scowling down at her, arms folded. He'd been in a bad mood since yesterday when she came back from the Hyuuga compound. Kita was asleep and Sasuke was pacing deep in thought. "Now go see what your pet wants."
"Her name is Kita!" Kari snapped, trying and failing to get out of the awkward twisted position she was in. "Can you help me up?"
"No." Honestly! He wakes me up, steals the cover, drops me on the floor and almost cracks my head open and he won't even help me up! She huffed her arms flopping onto the floor as she tried to get herself up. Then she realised the reason for her difficulty. He was still clutching her tail. You see Sasuke had yanked her out of bed by the tail, he thought it wouldn't hurt much. IT DID.
"Let go goddamn it!!" Kari cursed, trying to pry her tail for the Uchiha's grasp. He just watched her, an amused smirk creeping onto his face. Giving up on the retrieval of her tail, Kari lifted her arms up, motioning for him to help her up. Sasuke let go of her, and her rear end crashed to the floor painfully. Then he just left her there, smirking all the way out the room.
Kari cursed, rubbing her aching back. She went to have a soothing shower, planning where she should go today. Naruto was out today doing… whatever he said he was going to do. Hinata has a long training session with her team after her missions, so she's out all day. Neji's sparring with his team until late afternoon and won't want her irritating them. Sakura's out with her mom. Kakashi… Kari shuddered at what he might do in his spare time. Besides he said he had a lot of paperwork to do. Then it hit her.
"I need to go see the Hokage about Kita…" Kari mumbled. She suddenly felt very sick. What if Kita had to be put down? No way. No way in hell…
Kari exited the bathroom after performing her essential hygiene needs and trudged towards the kitchen looking for comfort food. Of course, Sasuke had nothing sweet so in the end she didn't bother. She'd only puke it up when she's this stressed…
"What's the matter with you?" Sasuke said, peering at me out the corner of his eye. He was sure she hadn't been in such a glum mood when he left her. She gave him a depressed look, as though he had just asked if she was ok when she had an incurable illness. Sasuke turned to face her; curious at what was bothering her.
"Going to take Kita to see Hokage…" she muttered weakly. So that's it, she's expecting the worst. Sasuke sighed and the words tumbled out before he could stop himself.
"Do you want me to go with you?"
Her ears perked as she looked at him. She had such a hopeful look in her eyes it was like a child about to get a new puppy. That probably wasn't the best example to use considering circumstances…
"Would you?" she asked. He could see how worried she was and inwardly cursed himself at having his heartstrings pulled. He huffed. It's just payback for her kindness back in the Wave Country, that's it. He nodded grudgingly, flinging his book to the side. He was just reading up on the tree climbing exercise and yes, it was an actual way to improve chakra control.
"Whatever, I'm going training anyway. I'll just take you first or you'll be a nervous wreck" Kari picked up Kita, who had wandered over sleepily having just woken up. She looked at Sasuke lovingly, she could have kissed him she was so grateful, but that would've just been… yucky…
"Are you going in or not?" Sasuke grumbled. She'd just stared at the Hokage's office door for the last ten minutes not moving a muscle. She simply clutched Kita to her, frozen. Sasuke rolled his eyes opened the door and shoved her inside. She made a pitiful 'eep' noise and stared at the bored-looking Hokage as if he was the devil himself.
"Ah Kari-chan, I was going to send for you" the Hokage said smiling. He seemed slightly puzzled by her expression of pure terror. "Are you feeling alright? You're very pale."
"She's fine" Sasuke answered, seeing Kari was clearly not going to speak. "She came to talk about the wolf, err… Kita" Sasuke decided if he was actually going to be nice to her today, he would have to call the wolf by its name, it irked Kari beyond belief when her precious Kita was offended in any way (in her eyes calling Kita 'the wolf' was incredibly rude).
"Ah yes, Kakashi mentioned something about that…" the Hokage said becoming serious. Kari simply held Kita even closer to her; so that Sasuke was beginning to worry the wolf was being suffocated. "Can I have a look?" Kari's eyes bulged as she went rigid. Sasuke resisted the urge to smack her round the back of the head. The Hokage wasn't going to eat the damn thing—Kita. Sasuke inwardly sighed. This would be a long process.
"Kari, you're smothering it… Kita needs to breathe. Now give her to the Hokage before I forcefully take her out your arms." Sasuke said annoyed. Kari turned and gawped at him in horror as though he had proposed he was about to chop off her tail. Kita stirred, waking up from her nap on the way and looked puzzled at the scene in front of her.
"Momma?"
"EEE!" Kari screeched jumping out her skin; surprised at the sudden noise and on edge about the situation. Sasuke seized this opportunity and freed Kita from her mothers grasp and plopped her on the Hokage's desk.
"Well hello there little one" the Hokage said kindly, placing a wrinkled hand on the top of Kita's head. The wolf's ears twitched in a way identical to Kari's when Kakashi placed a hand on the kunoichi's head. "Anata no o namaeha nanidesu ka?"
"Watashino… namaeha… Kita!" Kita cried happily, she looked round at Kari wanting confirmation she had said it right, she had struggled a little with the words but was proud she got them out.
"Kita, ne? That's a nice name, it suits you" the Hokage said smiling. He was treating Kita like a young child, which if you think about it, she was. Well, she had the mind of one.
"Arigatou!" Kita cried in delight. She was a little confused at why she was here and why her Okaa-san looked funny, but she was a good girl and wouldn't disappoint her Momma. Besides, this was good talking practice, she found speaking difficult, especially words that felt funny to say, her muzzle wasn't exactly made for talking.
"I'm the Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure Kita" the Hokage explained.
"Really?!" Kita cried. He must be really important; Naruto said that he wanted to be Hokage because Hokage's were the greatest Shinobi. But… he's an old man? Is he really strong? I bet I could beat him in a race! And I could definitely howl better! "Hajimemashite! Nice to meet you!" Kita didn't know if she needed to say it in both languages but she wanted to anyway. Her Okaa-san found Japanese confusing; she had to keep questioning Sasuke.
"Haha! You certainly are a character aren't you!" the Hokage said happily, giving her a pat. "I need to have a little look at you is that all right?"
"Only if Okaa-san says so, Okaa-san knows best!" At this moment Kari suddenly grabbed Sasuke's arm holding onto it for dear life. Sasuke's patience was really stretching thin at her worrying, but he could see it was only because she cared about Kita so much. He guessed losing Kita would really be like losing a daughter. He had more than his fair share of experience with losing family and knew how painful it could be, but for heavens sake Kita was a freaking animal. With a sudden sympathy Sasuke decided he would allow Kari a slight comfort. So dragging his arm out of her vice-like grip, he took her hand, allowing her something to hold on to. Kari gave him a watery look before nodding meekly.
For the next few minutes, there was a heavy silence, only broken by the Hokage's mutterings and a sneeze from Kita, then the Hokage's questions and Kita's answers.
"How old are you?"
"Umm… two weeks old."
"How long have you been able to speak?"
"For a week I think?"
"Can you use chakra?"
"What's chakra? Is it that ninja-y stuff? If it is I dunno…"
"That's right, how did you come to be?"
"From Okaa-san silly!" Kari inwardly cringed at Kita calling the Hokage silly. Surely she wasn't allowed to do that! "Okaa-san made me!"
"Made you? Kari is this true?" the Hokage questioned astonished. From the iron grip on his hand and the silence from the wolf girl, Sasuke guessed he would have to yet again answer for her.
"Hai, on the mission to the Land of Waves, during our training, Kari created the wolf—Kita" Sasuke inwardly cursed. He always thought of Kiba's dog as 'Kiba's dog' he didn't bother with pets names.
"Ah yes… Kakashi said. Well Kari, I think you'll have to take her to go see Inuzuka Hana, I don't know if you've met Kiba, she's his sister, as a vet she'll be able to give Kita a better look over" the Hokage said rubbing Kita's ear as Kita's tail swayed left to right in a happy wag. "Her intelligence is incredible, at least of a six year old child."
"You're not going to put her down are you?" Kari asked meekly. Sasuke looked at her surprised, thankful she had finally regained her voice.
"Well, no one knows what the future holds" the Hokage said seriously. Noticing Kari's gaze on the floor, Sasuke gave her hand an awkward squeeze; he really hoped she didn't cry, he was never good with emotional people. "But at the moment I wouldn't dream of it." Kari's face snapped up. The Hokage smiled widely. "She's a wonderful little soul; she doesn't seem to have a bad bone in her body. Of course in the future she may change, but under your care she should flourish." Kari smiled in relief, her shoulders sagging, finally freed from the tension.
"Oh! Oh!" Kita cried suddenly. "Okaa-san! Okaa-san!" She looked hopefully at Kari and to the kunoichi's surprise, Kita's voice spoke inside her head.
'Can I have a headband thingy? I go on missions with you after all! Please Momma?'
"Umm Hokage-sama?" Kari asked shyly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow wondering what on earth she could want. "Kita-ko wants to know if she can have a hitai-ate as she's going to be accompanying Team 7 on missions."
"Well" the Hokage said in surprise looking round at a hopeful looking Kita, puppy-eyes shining. He chuckled appreciatively. "I don't see why not, after all, she's serving Konoha" he then took a hitai-ate out of his draw. Kita's eyes widened.
"Okaa-san! Momma look!" Kita cried overjoyed. The Hokage handed it to Kari.
"Give it to her after her check up; go when you have a spare moment, I'll let Hana know you're coming."
"Arigatou" Kari said smiling.
"I'm going training, are you alright getting to the Inuzuka compound then back to my place?" Sasuke said once they were out of the Hokage building. Kita was chasing a butterfly a few feet away, trying to touch it with her paws.
"Yeah I'll be fine. Look Sasuke, thanks for coming with me, it really helped me out." Kari said smiling at him in gratitude.
"Whatever. You looked out for me on the bridge" Sasuke mumbled. He tensed. "Get off of me woman" she had embraced him out of the blue catching him off guard. He hated it when girls did that, at least she wasn't squeezing him to death though.
"Meh, thanks again misery guts" she said, running off with Kita at her heels. Sasuke shook his head as he watched the two disappear from sight. A light smirk appeared on his face as he trudged towards the training grounds. Doushimate Kari.
"Kita-chan do you know where the Vets is?" Kari whined after two hours of wandering around. Kita had bounded along, pointing out random things that caught her eye and asking what they were.
"What's a vet Okaa-san?" Kita questioned, trotting along at Kari's side.
"A doctor for animals" Kari replied simply, looking around for a sign that would point her in the right direction. Kita huffed.
"I'm not an animal, I'm a Kita!" the wolf cub cried indignantly. Kari giggled at this, deciding not to go into a huge discussion about a wolf being an animal and that a 'Kita' was not an animal. Kita meant 'North'. "Let's go… this way!" Kita cried, bounding off to the right. Deciding that Kita probably had a better sense of direction, Kari followed.
"Ugghh! Shino! Get them off me!" a boy's voice whined from up ahead. Kita bounded into the clearing, Kari followed and observed a boy she met at the ramen stand complain to another guy. Hinata sat beside a woman with long dark hair and piercing red eyes. "Eh? Look a wolf!"
"I'm not a wolf, I'm a Kita!" Kita cried as though stating the obvious. "I'm a Kita! Kita! Kita!"
"Kita's your name honey, you are a wolf" Kari explained. Kita tilted her head to the side.
"Are you a wolf Okaa-san?"
"Ehh sort of" Kari said, reasoning she did have wolf-like ears and a wolf-like tail. "But I'm mostly human."
"Am I human?"
"No Kita-ko you're a wolf" Kari inwardly sighed. This would be a very long process.
"Kari-neechan!" Hinata cried. Kari looked over recognising the voice.
"Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?" Kari cried in surprise.
"We were training, what are you doing here?" Hinata replied. Kari blushed realising she had just walked into a training session. Well… That was embarrassing…
"Heh… Anyone know the way to the vets? I'm meant to go see Inuzuka Hana" Kari said awkwardly, suddenly aware of everyone staring at her.
"I'll take ya, Hana's my Onee-chan and I live at the Inuzuka compound. Inuzuka Kiba at your service!" the boy said grinning. Haven't we met before?
"You've met her before Kiba."
"Shuddup Shino! I know that!" Kiba cried awkwardly.
"So you're the Kari-chan Hinata can't stop going on about" the woman said, rising to her feet and walking up to a confused looking Kari. "I'm Yuuhi Kurenai, Hinata's sensei" she explained.
"Hajimemashite!" Kari and Kita cried in unison. "As you've been told I'm Kari and this little white fluff ball is Kita."
"Ah, you're Kakashi's new genin aren't you" Kurenai said. She knows Kakashi? Is there some love in the air?!
"Yeah, I've been on Squad seven about three weeks now" Kari said. "So… could someone tell me how to get to the vets?" she asked awkwardly.
"I'll take you! I'll catch you later Kurenai-sensei, Hinata-chan, Shino!" Kiba said, taking hold of my wrist and starting to drag me away. "I'll train better tomorrow!" he called back with a devilish grin.
"See ya Hina-imouto! Kurenai-sensei! Shino-kun!" Kari cried, waving with her free hand.
"Hinata…" Shino said. "Why does she have a tail…?"
"So you're that Kari-chan girl then? We didn't really get a chance to talk at the ramen bar." Kiba said grinning. A yip cam from his jacket and a white dog poked its head out. Kari cried out in delight recognising the familiar brown ears. "I see you remember Akamaru eh? Ha! I love a girl who's obsessed with dogs!"
"Who wouldn't love him, Akamaru's adorable!" Kari cooed, rubbing the top of the puppy's head. Feeling left out, Kita jumped on Kari's shoulder, giving her a nudge with her nose. Kari immediately caressed the wolf's ears, causing Kita's tail to swing like a pendulum.
"Glad you think so! You seem like a real dog-lover. Inuzuka's are dog breeders; ever since I was born I was raised beside dogs. My Onee-chan's a vet and my Okaa-chan leads a unit of dog-nin on missions." Kiba explained in pride.
"Same here really, back home I raised dogs from birth. I'm an only child so they felt more like siblings to me" Kari said grinning. She felt really drawn to Kiba as they both had a love for dogs in common. He seemed like a mixture of Sasuke and Naruto in Kari's eyes; loud, humorous and obnoxious with a bit of cockiness and a superiority complex.
"Good to finally meet someone who understands! So how'd you get Kita to learn to talk, she seems very young for that" Kita stuck her tongue out at him as Kari shrugged. "Is that why you're going to see Hana?" Kari nodded.
"You better take good care of Hinata-chan for me kay?" Kari said smirking. "She's like an imouto to me after all."
"Hinata-chan's great, she's really sweet and Akamaru's really taken to her" Kiba said grinning. "So what's it like being on a team with the infamous heart-throb Uchiha Sasuke and his number one fan Haruno Sakura? And what about Naruto-baka?"
"Eh? They're all fine. Naruto-kun is the best! Sasuke… he's kinda quiet and angsty. Sakura's a little obsessive over him… But they're all right. I'm still getting used to them."
"You should've come on my team. You're fun to talk to. We're here, I'll go see Okaa-san then I'll come see you when you're done" Kiba said. Kari nodded, taking Akamaru out of Kiba's jacket and smothering him in hug affection.
"Nyaaa ai shitteru Aka-kuuun!" she cooed, while Akamaru barked in her ear, wagging his tail, enjoying the attention. She then pulled Kiba into a hug too. "And thanks for showing me the way Kiba-kun!"
"You must be Kari, come on in" a woman who resembled Kiba said, motioning to the examination table in front of her. The kunoichi hesitantly put Kita on the table in front of the vet. Hana immediately set to work, checking Kita's coat, running her hands along her body, taking measurements, checking her ears, nose, mouth, eyes, paws, legs...
"How is she?" Kari asked after an hour of silence.
"She's two weeks old?" Hana asked. Kari nodded. "She's growing at a speedy rate, she could end up huge."
"She was that size when I made her" Kari said quickly.
"I'm aware, that's why she's such a peculiar wolf. She has a chakra system, though it's not very developed yet. Her teeth and claws are sharp and long in comparison with her body. Her muscles are all in extremely good condition, like that of a wolf in its prime, showing she's going to be stronger and faster than any wolf ever recorded. Even the fastest of Inuzuka dogs won't be a match for her when she's older. Her ears and eyes are slightly large, which probably means she'll have very good senses. Her speech is hugely developed; even the most intelligent of dogs wouldn't catch on this fast. Also her coat is white, which it should only be in winter, though it has a slight silver tint. She's very well behaved, she has a lovely temperament" Hana said finishing with a smile.
"And Hokage-sama said I'm intelliligent!"
"Intelligent Kita honey" Kari corrected.
"That's what I said Okaa-san! But it's a long word, long words are confusing" Kita said matter of factly.
"Well you're free to go, bring her in for check-ups now and then so we can see how she develops mentally and physically. Make sure she has a good diet and lots of sleep, she's still a baby after all." Kari nodded, Hana's words imprinting themselves on her brain. She walked out, returning a wave to Kiba on her way then looked around outside.
"Er… Kita-ko? Do you remember the way back by any chance?"
Sasuke sighed running his hand through his raven locks. He ached from hours of training and decided to get back before it got too dark. He wanted to check if Kari was there and if he'd have to go out looking for her again. Baka girl…
He didn't see the point in knocking on his own door so strolled straight in, not expecting anyone there anyway. He kicked off his shoes and stretched. His shower was calling to him, then his fridge, then his bed. The Uchiha boy was more than happy to oblige but inwardly cursed reminding himself he had to go search for a lost little wolf girl and her pet puppy.
With all this cursing, he was surprised to say the least when he found the object of his cursing fast asleep on the couch with Kita curled up on her stomach, also in dreamland. He walked over to them and bent down so his head was level with Kari's face. She was so peaceful, so still, so quiet. Slightly unnerved by her silence and motionlessness he quickly checked for a pulse, to his intense relief a dancing beat tapped against his fingers. Looking closer, he could see Kita gently rise and fall with each of Kari's breaths. Sasuke fell back into a sitting position. Ughh… baka worrisome troublesome girl…
"Hey, when'd you get back?" Kari asked sleepily.
"Gomen, did I wake you?" Sasuke asked. Why am I apologising? It's my apartment.
"Nah… As long as you didn't wake Kita I'm good" she replied, looking down at the sleeping wolf cub nestled against her body. "Good training?"
"Average" Sasuke replied boredly. He rose to his feet and headed in the direction of food. "Do you want anything to eat?"
"No, I ate when I fed Kita, I should probably train tomorrow… It's our last day off" Kari groaned at the thought of her last day of laziness.
She would sorely miss lazing around not doing a hell of a lot. The minute they got back (which was rather late) Naruto dragged Kari to the ramen shop where they were treated by Iruka-sensei. Kari sniggered at the fond memory of Naruto spilling Iruka's ramen down himself and his former sensei. Her fox-brother had kindly walked her back to Sasuke's appointment holding her hand and swinging their arms back and forth as he skipped along (Kari was too full and tired and refused to skip the whole way). Her hand and arms felt like they were about to fall off by the time they reached Sasuke place, she just about mustered the energy to give Naruto a grateful peck on the cheek before she collapsed on the bed in a deep sleep.
Sasuke had not been impressed with an object smacking him in the gut. You see, Sasuke had been lying on the bed at that moment and Kari was too tired to notice or care. Thus, she had collapsed on Sasuke. The poor boy had to throw her legs onto her side of the bed and in the end gave up trying to get most of the rest of her off them. He was just thankful Kita had claimed the couch as her bed and wouldn't be laying all over him like her mother.
"Sasuke do you feel like carrying me?" Kari asked lazily as he ate his food gracefully. Kari inwardly sighed. He just had to be perfect at everything. He ate his food with good posture and the best manners. Kari usually slumped and got paranoid she had stuff around her mouth. But in her defence she couldn't be as bad as Naruto, he tended to have a food moustache and beard when he finished his ramen. The thought of Naruto's despicable manners cracked a smile across her face. Stuff Sasuke, Naruto was much more amusing when he ate, even though watching him left Kari feeling rather queasy.
"No. I do enough of that. I'm beginning to wonder if you can even walk you get carried so much" Sasuke said.
"Kakashi-roba loves it" Kari said simply. She got up and laid Kita comfortably on the couch before wrapping her arms round Sasuke's shoulders. "Thanks again for helping me today; I don't know what I would've done without you."
Usually, this would put Sasuke in a bad mood and he would rudely tell the girl hugging him to get off and go away. But she was different. She said it out of gratitude, not as a way of sucking up to him and winning his love. She was thankful for his presence when she needed someone. She would act the same around anyone else that had been there. But Sasuke felt sort of good in her arms at that moment. She held him loosely and he was leaning back comfortably into her chest. It was nice to be held like that, it brought back echoes of his mother. But with those echo's, came the reminder he had revenge to carry out. Friendship and love only get in the way. But he didn't want Kari to let go, he just wanted her to hold him a little longer so he could savour the feeling of being cared about, being wanted. Those fan girls only desired him; they were infatuated they didn't care about him as a person.
Sadly, Kari pulled away, leaving Sasuke with a rather hollow feeling in his gut. He looked round at her, already missing the security and warmth, the gentle affection. He missed the feeling of her heart beating against the back of his head. He inwardly slapped himself. It must be hormones. They touched upon the subject of sex in the academy once or twice, about puberty and so on. Sasuke supposed he was going through it; after all he was nearly thirteen.
"Sorry about that Sas, just the way I am. Once I've got enough money for my own place you won't have to worry too much" Kari said grinning sheepishly at him. She seemed slightly embarrassed, her cheeks taking on a rosy glow.
"Why move if you can stay here for free?" Sasuke asked grumpily. The thought of living alone again was awful. That echoing silence and the intoxicating cold would be suffocating. He couldn't endure that again. "Besides… It's good to have some company."
"You want me to stay?" Kari said surprised. For the few weeks spent living in his presence (she included the mission as living with him as they were in the same room), he had only made out she was a nuisance, but hear he was, admitting he appreciated her company. What was the world coming to?
"I don't like always being alone" Sasuke muttered to himself. His eyes were shadowed by his dark bangs and had Kari not had her accursed, freakish canine-ears, she would've missed it. Deciding to push it, she pulled him into yet another embrace. "Kari what're you…"
"Baka, I'd always come to bother you. Besides, without my irritating existence in your presence you'd be lonely. Well…" she sighed. "I'd be lonely. You can really grow on people, I'd miss you too much and come back" she smirked as she paused "regardless of whether I was wanted back or not." An almost invisible smile graced Sasuke's lips and he was grateful she couldn't see him. He was glad she cared about him enough to say that, cold as he appeared he really did miss company and friendship. Just this one wouldn't hurt. She pulled away and Sasuke looked back to see her heading towards their room.
"Kari" he said, at once she stopped and turned back to him. "Arigatou" he said with a soft smirk. She smiled and flashed a peace sign.
"Any time Sas-kun, but put up with me, you put up with my hugs, you've been warned" she said and without further ado, walked into the room and from the creak of bedsprings, Sasuke supposed she flopped on the bed. His smirk widened as he got up and headed towards his bathroom.
"Hn… I guess I'll survive…"
Sorry for the Sasuke OOCness, he was tired bless him. Finally some SasuKari lovey-doveyness! (:
Review!