A/N: Hello, again, dear readers. We are at our third chapter of "Catching a Shinobi". Please remember, our dear Inuzuka Kiba is a fifteen year-old male. And while he may be smart, he's not brilliantly smart. Having said that, enjoy!


Chapter 3: Second Date


Scrub, scrub, scrub- -he still couldn't believe it- -scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub, SPLOOSH!

Kiba sent suds spilling out of the bucket onto the grass. A line of dirty kennels waited like soldiers, some sixteen to the last one, off to the side. On his other side, the fourteen he'd managed to scrub sparkled in the mid-morning sun.

Not only was he basically Hana's slave, but he was also grounded for the next week for nailing his sister with a dog bowl for comments on his love life. Grounded, as in if he wasn't helping out at the clinic, then he was restricted to home, where his mother gleefully enslaved him as well.

Yep. He would definitely miss his second date with Yukari.

Wiping his forehead, he sighed and glanced at the sun. He'd been tumbled out of bed at the ass-crack of dawn, something like six or six-thirty in the morning, and had been on his hands and knees, half-in and half-out of kennels since then.

Wrinkly fingers, hurting knees, cramping arm and shoulder muscles all added to the inhumanity of the punishment, and now his back ached.

He fished for the scrub brush in the soapy water, and went back to scrubbing with a vengeance, as though the harder he scrubbed, the faster the end of his punishment would come.

One hope swirled in his mind like the white suds in the bucket: maybe if he did a good job and behaved, he could have Saturday off.

Yeah, right. His cynical side snorted at the very idea. Like his mother would ever let him off punishment so he could go out on a date.

He let his mind wander as he vaguely watched his arm go back-forth-back-forth-back-forth, the harsh bristles scraping the metal. He wanted to touch Yukari's dark hair, trace her jaw with his finger, find the hidden dips and curves of her body under the nice dress she was sure to wear.

And what her neck maybe tasted like…

His wheezed and felt sweat run down his face and back. The thought of what she looked like bare came coupled with a swift hit in the stomach, but the image faltered when he thought he whiffed someone familiar.

His mind had a spasm, and he reverted to thinking of Ino. Ino and her thick spill of gold hair, her sky-like eyes, her hungry mouth as she-

"Wow, you really are on punishment."

Ino's lilting voice broke Kiba from his daydream. He panicked a second, thinking he'd dreamed her, but the presence at his back confirmed her existence. Just like Mom or Hana to send her back here when he was up to his elbows in grey soap and filth. Kiba backed out of his current kennel and sat back on his heels to look up at Ino.

Eyes traveled over a length of sculpted legs, her net, short skirt, her toned stomach, her well-formed breasts, and finally to her pretty face.

He tried convincing himself he panted from the hot weather. "Yeah."

'Oh, so articulate,' cried the part that wanted to tumble her into the grass, get his hands under-

Her brows knitted. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah."

A slight smile crept across her face as she leaned over. It looked like she was- -was she…?

Ino landed a kiss on him; his already hot blood spiked in temperature. When she dipped her tongue to his, a charge of electricity zapped through him, hitting his balls. And he didn't even think about it as his hands snapped out to her legs, to the most convenient joints, and he buckled her knees so that she lost her balance and crashed on him.

Kiba fell backwards, and soon after found his arms pinned. Ino's weight pressed suggestively on his hips, and her eyes sparkled with mischief. His heart thudded against his chest; he couldn't breathe properly. How could she be so fucking beautiful?

She giggled. "If you want to spar, you'll have to ask nicely."

"It's not sparring that I have in mind," he growled without thought.

Some satisfaction was had when her look registered surprise at his words and a bright flush spread across her cheeks and nose. The grip on his arms loosened, and intuitively he reached up to caress her face.

The skin at her neck and cheek was so soft- -ultra-fine peach fuzz under his finger tips, like the warm, plump bodies of newly born pups.

Ino readily bent when he gently tugged her and surrendered a very deep kiss to him. Chemistry sparked between them. A thrum started in his heart, connected to all parts of him, vibrated outwards. Natural inclination had him tussling her off him to the grass, where he used his weight to keep her underneath him.

Finding his back under his loose shirt, her hands dove below the waistband of his pants, dragging, clawing up seductively to his shoulders, and left wakes of sensitive heat and nerves.

His mouth found that favored spot on her neck, teeth tested her skin, tongue tasted something like vanilla and lemon. She smelled divine and all her curves seemed to beg for his hands and there was this buzz in his head and he felt his hips nestle with hers.

Her quiet moan when he rubbed against her stole his breath, made him dizzier. Raw need emanated from her, he could smell it…hell, he could feel it, just as his own mind registered the desire he had for her.

Release. He needed release. Any kind would do, just something to take care of this tautness that strained his muscles.

Fingers discovered a piece of cold plastic, vaguely the word 'zipper' filtered to his occupied mind, and he'd worked it down before he could stop himself.

She gasped when his one hand palmed her breast, and he discovered the little hardened nub and the weight like holding an orange.

He burned, wanted, and he heard himself murmuring, but he wasn't paying attention to his words. Her voice touched his mind, small, too quiet, but he couldn't hear over the thud of his heart in his ears. The taste of her locked him in, and he wanted a new favorite spot to kiss on her, so he dropped a line of kisses on her collarbone, trailing down to her cleavage…

But she squirmed under him, hands and arms getting in his way, her voice grew urgent. Without warning, pain exploded across his face when she slapped him. Hard.

He tumbled some feet in the grass, so dizzy that the sky spun above him. Shame and confusion tangled in him when he realized he'd lost control again.

Terrified, Kiba struggled to his feet, held out his hands to her. He had just enough time to watch her zip up her top and stomp over to him, her face contorted. Words to explain caught in his throat.

Her eyes had crystallized in fury. "I'm not that easy, you pig!" And she slapped him a second time.

Stars exploded in his head.

He came to a second later, sprawled on the ground. Dumbfounded, reeling, he watched her stalk out of view.

In her wake, a haze of jumbled emotion followed.

He didn't remember going back to the kennels, and he didn't remember scrubbing the rest of them. He sort of…zoned out and did. Ino's slaps seemed to have knocked out his sense.

The haze continued until Kiba had sat back from the last one, when his mother yanked him to his feet.

There was gentleness in her voice. "C'mon, kiddo. Dinner time."

He nodded, faded out again as he took care of the dirty water, bucket, and scrub brush. Then without being told, he fed the dogs and set the table. His mother and sister exchanged looks.

Before he knew it, Hana had cornered him against the counter and pressed a hand to his forehead.

"You look a little feverish."

Kiba didn't feel like dealing with her, so he shrugged and didn't argue. Mom looked over Hana's shoulder at him. Her gaze seemed shrewd somehow, and Kiba shifted nervously under her scrutiny.

"He didn't come in for lunch, maybe it's that?"

Hana grunted noncommittally, checked the pulse at his neck.

Mom's eyebrows crunched together as she addressed him. "Has this punishment gotten you down?"

He felt closed in. "It's fine"- -pushed by his sister to get some space.

She had his arm in a heartbeat, jerking him around to face her. "Yer one cheek looks swollen."

He answered her with another shrug.

"What did that Yamanaka girl want?" Her eyes had narrowed into angry slits.

But Kiba's whole mind pictured and sensed Ino, the fire her slaps left on his cheek. The memory of them clenched his heart. He didn't want to think about her.

"Something about…the flower shop…I dunno," Kiba muttered, eyeing the hallway on the other side of the kitchen that led to the bedrooms. His room would be cool, dark, and a cave where he could hibernate. "Wanted me to swing by."

"What for?"

Kiba felt like bacon- -dead, crisping in his own juices, and soon to be devoured- -and he couldn't help but glance over Mom's shoulder to Hana. He didn't know why he did that, it just…happened. Something in his face must have pleaded for her help.

Hana took pity on him. "Mom, why don't you wait until after supper to do this?"

Mom glared at him a final time. "Very well. Get the food on. I'll get drinks around." She released his arm, the impression of her fingers remained.

At first, Kiba couldn't believe Mom had left him alone. Then he couldn't believe Hana had come to his rescue.

Usually she was the one leading the execution.

"Thanks," he mumbled to her when he took the laden dishes from her. She favored him with a sidelong glance.

"Gotta get used to the fact you're not a baby anymore." Hana smiled at him, and he managed one back, as she contritely rubbed her forehead. "And you've got one hell of an arm."

After that, dinner was a quiet affair, and he expected Mom to pin him to the wall with her questions as they washed the dishes together. She did not, only let him wander to his room where he sank into bed and oblivion.

The next two days blurred together. The amount of work piled on him increased, and he accepted it without complaint. He just didn't have the energy, which, in a way, was what he wanted, since working kept his mind off Ino and Yukari.

Kiba knew his sister and his mother thought he was behaving oddly. They said nothing, as he remained pliable to their demands and questions; his anger and big mouth had gotten him into enough trouble.

Akamaru left him alone, and for that small favor, he was grateful, because he couldn't deal with what Ino had done to him, and he knew Akamaru would ask questions he didn't have any answers to.

The whole thing confused Kiba. He'd never felt such a violent response to a female before. Twice, now, he and Ino had easily gone too far.

Unwillingly, he replayed making out in Ino's kitchen and in his backyard. They had flirted, or what he thought was flirting, and then she said or did something that elicited a reaction out of him.

She teased him, let him push the envelope, responded when he touched and kissed her. Ino was the one who messed him up, and then left him spinning when she pulled back.

What did that all mean?

His instinct had him thinking that it was her fault he was feeling mixed like some Kiba-shake from the blender.

And she had said that she'd always been mean to him because she'd liked him. And didn't Ino say that was the wrong way to go about things?

'CONTRADICTION!' his logic screamed at him. Allowing him access to her wonderful body and then slapping him, not once, but twice, definitely constituted as meanness. But did that meanness equate to affection or anger?

Ino had definitely been angry, but she'd started it by kissing him like…like that.

And how did she expect him to respond? He wasn't a saint! She should have known what his reaction would have been based on what had happened in her kitchen!

Suspicion touched the back of his mind. Maybe…maybe she did know. Maybe she had counted on him getting to second base. Maybe she was messing with him.

His mind stood on that thought for a moment. Ino could have the capacity to yank him up and down like a yo-yo, he surmised. But then why would she help him, feed him, and come and visit him on her own time, and seem truly genuine about it all?

Maybe, he thought, she's trying to ruin my chances with Yukari. Hot anger clawed through him- -he gritted his teeth.

That bitch! That's exactly what he expected out of a Yamanaka princess like her.

She had as good as admitted she was jealous of his relationship with Yukari. All that nice stuff she did might be a game she was playing. Making out with him had probably been a way for her to get her hooks into him.

Well, he had a date on Saturday, never mind he was still grounded. He was a ninja, wasn't he?

A plan came together at the back of his mind, and he grinned through the rest of his daily chores. He'd show that Yamanaka princess who was boss.

Friday night had barely faded to Saturday morning when he rolled out of bed. Kiba would need Akamaru's assistance in this, and since his mother had loosened her watch over him, he was able to discuss the plan with him on their morning walk.

Later, under the blazing sun, Kiba eagerly looked forward to escape, but in the early afternoon, his mother did something surprising.

He'd been in the middle of squeegee-ing the outside windows of the clinic- -shoulder-aching, sweaty work- -when his mother called to him from a side door. Kiba came willingly, seeing spots as his eyes adjusted to the dark indoors, and accepted the glass Mom handed him.

"I've been thinking," she started as he chugged the ice water, "that I've been a little harsh on you. I'm decreasing yer punishment to four days."

Water went up his nose when he choked in surprise. He recovered enough to stammer, "W-why?"

"Well," she hesitated, running her hand along the edge of a supply shelf, "yer sister was wrong to jab at you like that. And we both should respect yer privacy."

She smiled and clucked him under his chin. Kiba continued to stare at her, even as she turned to leave. A thought crossed his mind…he almost didn't give it voice, but then why the hell not?

"Hey! Since yer in such a forgiving mood, can I have this evening off?"

Mom's cackle answered him.

Damn, that was a 'No'.

He still had to sneak out, but now he could NOT get caught or else there would be hell to pay.

Kiba continued washing and wiping down the windows, did some other random stuff for Hana, and then went in for lunch. He and Akamaru had to play it right, otherwise, Mom or Hana would check up on them and discover everything.

Stage One of his plan began during the post-lunch clean-up. Kiba dried the dishes as Hana washed them.

He fumbled a glass, but recovered before he dropped it. Hana gave him a side-long glance. Kiba rubbed his forehead, grimaced, and then leaned against the counter.

She wiped off her hands, obviously concerned. "What's wrong?"

Perfect, he thought, and continued with his act.

"I'm not feeling good. Where's the aspirin?" He started opening and closing drawers, like he couldn't remember where the aspirin was. "Thirsty, too."

A cabinet door squeaked. Hana said, "Here."

Kiba turned, wobbling, while catching another worried glance from Mom, and held out his hand for the aspirin. He glugged down two glasses of water before Hana told him that was enough, he'd make himself sick.

"But I'm thirsty," he replied, drawing another glass. His nerves had his heart pounding…he couldn't mess this up- -he hoped that his nervousness would be construed as illness since Hana and Mom could detect fluctuations in scent that indicated lies.

"Are you dizzy?"

He nodded, feeling shy under Hana's observant gaze. "A little."

"Muscle cramps?"

That sounded too serious, so he opted to keep to being dizzy. "No. Just achy."

"Maybe you should lie down…I think you have some mild sunstroke."

Kiba frowned. "But…I still have some chores…"

Mom intervened. "No. Hana's right. You've been in the hot sun all day. You go to yer room and rest."

He slumped his shoulders and padded through the kitchen to his bedroom- -closed the door as nerves pricked along his spine and tightened in his stomach.

Keep calm, he told himself. You can pull this off.

Akamaru waited outside his window and spoke to him with soft growls and the occasional quiet bark. What took you so long?

"I had to sell it," Kiba answered. "You know how suspicious my mom is."

Hm. Just don't be too long. We can't hold up the jutsu.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "I know."

He helped his nin-dog scrabble through the window, and then they performed a specialty version of Human Mimicry. It had taken weeks of training to perfect this technique, but it'd been worth it. Now, during training, his mother and sister could not tell the difference between him and Akamaru when they performed this jutsu.

He hoped they hadn't figured a way around it since then.

A knock at the door had Kiba breaking out in a cold sweat. His heart stuttered some.

"Kiba?"

Holy crap, Mom! He vaulted through the window, performed transformation jutsu to become Akamaru. The doorknob rattled; the door swung open.

"Kiba? You forgot yer water," she said.

A breeze carried away the smoke just as Mom entered. When she glanced over, Kiba knew she saw him as Akamaru through the window. She handed Akamaru-as-Kiba the glass of water, and smiling, Mom turned.

It looked like she was leaving, but then she turned again. Did she suspect something?

Barely suppressed panic ensued when she kissed Akamaru-as-Kiba's forehead. "Get yer rest."

Then she left.

Both dog and master heaved a sigh. Akamaru leaned out of the window.

Be careful.

Kiba nodded, and proceeded with Stage Two of his escape plan. The hardest part over, it was ridiculously easy to leave the compound as a nin-dog. When he was a safe distance away, he released the transformation jutsu and became Kiba-as-Kiba.

The sky was clear, but his shadow edged toward the long and disproportionate side. He hoped Yukari was good on her word.

Her image seemed faded in his mind, like a photograph out in the sun too long, and their last moments together felt distant, almost washed out. Kiba didn't like that feeling, so he felt strangely justified in lying and evading his punishment.

Hmph. What would Ino think if she saw him with Yukari?

Oh, IDEA! He still had credit at the Yamanaka Flower Shoppe. Ino was probably working…Kiba would take Yukari there to pick out something she liked. It would serve Ino right for smacking him around! Haha, yes!

As Kiba shot to the rooftops to cut across town to Southgate Park, he thought everything had come together way too easy. One thought stood in the back of his mind, waving. 'Don't mess with Ino! Don't mess with-' He ignored it.

Later, after the evening had ended in disaster, he thought he should have listened to the stupid voice in his head.


A/N: I hope that you forgive my heavy usage of artistic license. The exchange between Kiba and his dog has always mystified me; that, and what shinobi kid wouldn't use jutsu to escape from Mom and Dad for a while? Also, please stay tuned for the fourth installment, Reckless and leave some love in the reviews!