A/N: What's this? It's chapter 7! Thank you to all who reviewed, followed, and favorited!
MyHikari - Right? And yes, it does.
Le Dancing Flamingo - Thank you! I enjoy spreading the KibaIno love!
Quirkista - Thank you so, so much! Oh, and no problem!
Stallion6 of Deviantart - I could see that. Thanks for keeping me updated, too.
kally-kal - Aw, thanks!
koolkid - Thanks! Obviously, I also love them together. No worries, the update is here! I apologize for the wait.
zielavienaz96 - Thanks!
assiar - Thank you!
Ino stared in disbelief as Kiba fed Akamaru a piece of beef from his chopsticks, then continued to eat off of them as if it hadn't just happened.
"What? He wanted some meat, too," he said, noticing the disgusted look on her face.
"Isn't that gross?"
"No. We eat together all the time. Besides, a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's, you know."
"I don't believe that. I don't know where his mouth has been," she said, taking a bite of rice.
"You don't know where my mouth has been, either," he pointed out with a wink.
"I don't even want to think about what you're insinuating," she said, wrinkling her nose.
They finished their meal and small talk before getting back to the task at hand. Ino set their bento boxes and Akamaru's bowl on the coffee table and clapped her hands together.
"Alright! I figured we could start getting into the bigger stuff today."
"Yay..." Kiba said facetiously.
"Oh, come on. I'm doing this for your own good."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just do the thing," he said, holding out his hands.
Ino took hold of Kiba's outstretched hands and focused on entering his psyche. Once she was inside, she searched for a bad memory.
"Are you looking for one in particular?" he asked her.
"No. Do you want me to?"
"Nah. Surprise me."
"Oh..." Ino said to herself after looking for a couple of minutes.
"What?"
"I know this one. But you've repressed it."
"How do you know it? And why did I repress it?"
"You'd know if we watched it. Do you want to?"
"I guess."
"We don't have to, if you're not ready. This is an important memory."
"Ino, just play it. I can't shy away from this stuff forever."
"Alright..."
She concentrated for a second, and the flashback soon began to play out around them. The Sound Four had been reincarnated, so Kiba and Akamaru were fighting Sakon and Ukon, while Neji was fighting Kidomaru nearby. Kiba and Akamaru were able to destroy Sakon and Ukon's Summoning: Triple Rashomon and defeat them.
"Nice," Ino commented.
"Thanks," he replied with pride.
Then, Kiba, Akamaru, and Neji, along with Shikamaru and Choji, who were fighting Tayuya and Jirobo close by, all suddenly fell to the ground. The same happened to the Sound Four. Large seals formed around the bodies of the Sound Four, trapping themselves, the four Konoha ninja, and Akamaru in them. The seals disappeared after a few moments.
"What the...? What just happened?" he asked, pausing the memory.
"The Sound Four trapped your guys' souls and their own in those seals and sent them to a special barrier, separating them from each body. The bodies were left in comatose states."
"I don't see a barrier."
"That's because it's invisible. Sensor ninja can't sense it, and individuals who possess the Byakugan can't see through it."
The memory started to play again. It was darker inside the barrier, but Kiba could still see everyone. He used a simple Shadow Clone Jutsu to see if he could still use his techniques, and two clones appeared next to him, one on each side. Having the answer he needed, he dispelled them.
"What are you doing?" Choji whispered to him.
"I wanted to know if we can still use our jutsu," he whispered back.
"Why? Are you going to attack them?"
"That's plan B. I'm going to see if I can bust us out of here first."
"Hey, leave this to me," Choji said, and before Kiba could respond, the Akimichi launched a Human Boulder attack against the side of the barrier. However, nothing happened, no damage was inflicted.
Jirobo laughed.
"What's so funny?" Choji demanded.
"The barrier can't be destroyed from the inside," Shikamaru said after quietly observing.
"That's right, brainiac," Tayuya said, taking a step toward him. "I remember you. I would've killed you if your little girlfriend hadn't shown up."
Shikamaru's eyebrows furrowed, and the rest of the Sound Four stepped forward.
"Back off!" Kiba yelled, pulling out a kunai and throwing it. It lodged itself into the shoulder of Sakon and Ukon, who simply pulled it out and grinned evilly. The Sound Four took another step forward, and their Curse Marks that had been exponentially heightened by Orochimaru grew stronger as their malicious intentions increased.
"We can't fight them like this," Neji spoke up. "We don't have any outside help, and their enhanced Curse Marks are active, making them stronger."
Kidomaru chuckled. "Right again. Besides, even if you did manage to defeat us, you'd still die."
"What do you mean?" Choji asked.
"Out there, the chakra has stopped flowing through your bodies. If we die, this technique will not be undone, so your souls will still be trapped in here. Unless your souls are somehow released from this barrier and restored to your bodies, you will die," Jirobo informed him.
He paused the memory again. "Wait, are you seriously telling me that I was...dying?"
She didn't say anything.
"Ino, answer me!"
"Yes. Yes, you were dying."
Kiba paled and raked his hands through his hair, breathing out heavily.
"How did we get out of there? How did we live, even though Neji died anyway?"
"Watch and see for yourself."
The memory resumed once again. To the glee of the Sound Four, the Konoha ninja wore shocked looks on their faces after learning of their impending death. Then, Shikamaru remembered something: Naruto gained the ability to sense negative emotions. Maybe if he angered the Sound Four, Naruto would pick up on it and find them.
"Why don't you just let us go? It's not like you would beat us, anyway," he said.
"You brat!" Tayuya screeched. The Sound Four advanced until they were upon the Konoha ninja, and the fighting began. Their improved Curse Marks all grew to the highest possible level due to their desire for revenge, making them nearly impossible to defeat again. The Konoha ninja made a valiant effort, but the Sound Four were too strong.
"Had enough? You're not dead yet because we're going easy on you!" Tayuya teased Shikamaru, who was on the ground by her feet.
"You're nothing more than mere tools of war," he scoffed.
"We are what Orochimaru made us!"
"Shikamaru, what are you doing? Why are you provoking her?" Choji asked.
"Yeah, we're getting our asses handed to us!" Kiba chimed in.
"So you hate us that much? Pathetic," he continued.
"I hate you even more, now!" Tayuya yelled, punching him powerfully. He coughed up some blood, but smiled when something big hit the barrier from the outside, causing it to shake.
"Huh?!" the Sound Four gasped in unison.
It continued to shake, and pieces of the barrier fell away, creating a large hole. Naruto was there, having broken the barrier using his Rasen Shuriken.
"Inoichi! I found them!" Naruto said excitedly.
"I see. You made them angry so Naruto would sense it and find us," Neji said.
Then, Inoichi connected with Shikamaru telepathically.
"Shikamaru, can you hear me?"
"Yes."
"Good." With that, Inoichi released them from the technique. The souls of the Konoha ninja and Akamaru were returned to their bodies, while the souls of the Sound Four disappeared completely, and that was the end of the memory.
"I'm still kind of confused," Kiba said. "Why could Naruto find it when others couldn't? And where did the souls of the Sound Four go?"
"My father said it was called the Space-Time Technique Formula: Underworld Turnover."
"That's a mouthful."
"Yes, but please pay attention. It was created by Orochimaru for the sole purpose of revenge. If and when they were defeated on the battlefield, they were to activate it before they disappeared as a last resort to finally kill those who first killed them, which would be you guys."
"All of that...was just to get back at us? They targeted us?"
"Precisely. As for Naruto, he couldn't sense the barrier itself, just the hatred of the Sound Four because it wasn't blocked by the barrier. When he hit it, the barrier became visible. My father released the technique telepathically once he knew where it was. When your souls were restored, their souls disappeared because they had been defeated on the battlefield, so they died."
"Wait, if we were dying because our chakra stopped flowing, what kept us alive while we were in there?"
"To keep you alive, chakra had to be put back into your bodies. When I found Shikamaru and Choji, I started pouring chakra into them, and Shino did the same for you, Aka, and Neji."
"So that's why you knew this memory. But that's dangerous, you know. Putting chakra into more than one person at the same time," he said.
"I know, but it was better than losing you guys. I'm sure you would've known more about all this and it would've been less confusing if you hadn't repressed this memory."
"Well, of course I did! My comrades and I were dying! I can't even begin to wrap my head around that! That's kind of important, don't you think?"
"I told you it was important, I warned you! But you still wanted to watch it," Ino said, getting frustrated that he was yelling at her.
"I'm not upset about watching it, I'm mad that you didn't tell me about it sooner!"
"If I had told you about it yesterday, your reaction would've been worse! I didn't want to start you off with something so serious. I wanted to ease you in. I'm just trying to help you."
"You know what, I just need to get out of here."
"Wait, calm down!" Ino said, trying to stop him, but by then, he'd disconnected from her. When she opened her eyes, he was already out the door. Ino sighed.
"I can't go after him now. He just needs some time to get used to it. He'll come back," she told herself, trying to relax.
Kiba and Akamaru quickly headed home. Akamaru had to trot to keep up with his fast pace, because Kiba just wanted to get away as soon as possible. He stared at the ground the whole way there, trying not to think about what he had just seen. When they got home, Kiba slammed the door shut behind him and Akamaru.
Hana was reading on the couch and looked up to see them walk in.
"Have a nice time with Ino?"
"Yeah, I'm just not feeling very good right now," he said, going up the stairs to his room. He flopped down on his bed, and Akamaru hopped up next to him.
Dying. Dying. Dying. He kept hearing the word.
"Yes. Yes, you were dying," she had said.
"I can't believe I was dying...and I wasn't the only one! Everyone in that barrier was dying. The Sound Four were willing to kill themselves to take us down with them. My friends and comrades, too. And Akamaru, my best friend!" The dog lifted his head at the mention of his name.
"Yeah. You were in there, too. You were dying, too." Akamaru whined and put his paws over his eyes. With a trembling hand, Kiba patted him on the head and touched their foreheads together.
"I'm sorry, buddy." Akamaru licked his face in response.
"Thanks, buddy," he said weakly with a small smile. Then, his expression became serious. "But you shouldn't have been in there. I keep putting you in dangerous situations. I don't want something to happen to you, because I don't know what I would do without you." He suddenly felt sick and dizzy.
"I...I really need to lie down..." Kiba lay back on the bed and tried to control his breathing, as it was starting to come in short gasps.
"We...were dying..."
A/N: I apologize profusely for another long wait! Life got in the way for a while, but I promise that the next chapter will be posted soon. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought!