A/N: Welcome again, dear readers! Thank you to all of you who have shown your support through Favorite Story, Story Alert, and Story Reviews. You deserve a big ole teddy-bear hug. =) I hope that you enjoyed Caught, as it was truly fun to write. I don't have much else to say here, except please have a good read!


XI: Into the Fire


Akamaru and Kiba waited for Ino out of sight from her home. It had been about ten minutes before she showed up, landing in front of them noiselessly.

Ino had changed into the skimpy purple outfit Kiba had trouble believing was acceptable ninja gear. Her hair was up in her traditional ponytail, but the locks were wavy instead of straight from her braid last night.

Her navel drew his eye, bringing erotic memories to the forefront of his brain.

"Hey." Her fingers wiggled at him from her waist. "Don't lose focus."

Kiba blinked and brought his gaze to her face, the long way. "That outfit's different. Where's the one with the zipper?"

Her current top had buttons, and the buttons weren't sexy. Not sexy at all. Ino cocked a hip and rested her hand there. She snorted.

"Yeah. You remember what happened when I wore the one with the zipper."

"Yer no fun," Kiba said, pouting. "I like the zipper one better."

Akamaru huffed. Can you two stop flirting so's we can get this job done?

"What he'd say?" Ino asked before Kiba could reply.

"He's bitchin' about our behavior." Kiba rolled his eyes and addressed Akamaru. "All right, we're going."

For the next half-hour, Kiba focused on getting his team to the address on the letter from Mrs. Nakamura. The place was on the outside of a business district, where trees and hanging flowers lined the sidewalks and paved lanes. Residences were integrated beside the businesses in flawless and tasteful design.

No surprise that on the outside perimeter of the Nakamura property was an iron-wrought gate about seven feet tall, not for ninja, but for common criminals. As Kiba and his team walked the opposite side of the street, carefully blending in so as not to draw attention, he could feel their assessment of the building that sat square in the center of a lawn.

The Nakamura household was more of a manor with a traditional outline and color. Kiba could smell fancy dried herbs and spices, and he knew, from looking at the fussy eaves, window panes, and gardens, that going inside would be like entering a museum.

Movement in the house on several levels indicated that there was a household staff on duty. So much for being discreet. Using concentration and chakra, he could discern Yukari's scent in the household and Mrs. Nakamura's, plus a dozen or so of the staff.

Already his blood rushed through his veins, pulsating more and more with each breath. Excitement- -worry- -adrenaline.

The three of them ducked into a lane between close-together buildings to huddle up and discuss a 'plan of action', as Ino so aptly stated.

"I think Mrs. Nakamura caught herself a shinobi," Ino murmured from beside him. Their shoulders brushed. "This almost seems too convenient."

On his other side, Akamaru bumped into his legs and growled softly at the manor. I don't like the looks of this.

"Yeah, and you two are gonna wait outside." Kiba reached down to rub his companion's head. "This shouldn't take too long."

"That's not fair!" Ino said immediately. "I'm going in with you."

Yeah. What if you need back-up?

Honestly, it was like everyone had forgotten he was shinobi. Kiba suppressed a sigh and shrugged.

"It'll be fine. I'll jump out a window or something. Trust me."

Ino grabbed his wrist, her argumentativeness clear as day on her face. He interrupted her while he pried off her fingers.

"Ino. I need you outside. That's an order."

She grabbed his wrist with her other hand. "But-!"

"Yer stayin' outside." He pried at those fingers, but her grip was vise-like. "And that's final."

"Kiba!"

I still don't like it. Akamaru grunted. There're too many blind spots.

Kiba sighed and surrendered his wrist to Ino's hand. "Yeah, yeah. If you can't deal with it, then I'm callin' the mission. I didn't bring you along to hear yer whining."

"Hey," Ino said, slipping her free hand inside his open jacket. "Wait a second."

He'd unzipped it when he started sweating from the warm afternoon sun. Why? Why had he done that? Her hand continued traveling up, up, and o-oh, he wanted to shiver, but at this point, Ino stepped closer and lifted to the balls of her feet.

Her eyes were on his mouth. "We're worried. We need a plan. And not some half-assed one like Naruto sometimes comes up with."

With Ino's lips so near, Kiba had floated away; he only half-heard what she'd said. "Hm."

Disgusting. Can't you two get a room?

Akamaru's snarky statement went unnoticed. Kiba wrapped an arm around Ino's thin shoulders, not sure if she would evade the kiss or not. His mouth met hers, so sweet and soft, that Kiba's instinct to gorge himself kicked in. Her taste was so…so…so Ino and the excitement/worry/adrenaline rush swooshed into something that spun him around.

Ino sighed and greeted his questioning tongue with hers. God, her taste…it was like licking rapture. He could feel her taste, right down his chest to his guts, and it gave him a shot of arousal. Her hips bumped into him and she made a noise of surprise when she felt how he'd responded to her.

Would anybody notice if he humped her, there, against the wall? It would be so easy; already his hand touched her thigh, pushing gently under her mini-skirt to touch her underwear. But his hand rounded her hip without finding satin or fabric of any kind.

The conclusion leapt with terrifying quickness: she wasn't wearing underwear.

Before he could test his conclusion further, a furious pain lanced up his arm like a random dozen kunai had sliced into him.

"OUCH-MOTHER-FUCKER!"

Kiba roared the same time he broke apart from Ino, and he snarled at Akamaru, who innocently sat back like he hadn't clamped a muzzle-full of teeth into the soft flesh of his master's arm. Ino stepped away and reached out to the nearest wall. She looked flushed, dizzy.

Kiba's arm throbbed as he cradled it. "Wha…why…you…the hell?"

Keep your focus on the mission, Akamaru stated frankly. Not on what's between Ino's legs.

With regret, Kiba accepted Akamaru's logic. Not fair he had to be right all the time. Massaging his arm, Kiba mastered the pain to lessen it and the chagrin; he felt himself switch to confidence.

Ino spoke over her shoulder. "I think we should keep our hands to ourselves until we finish our mission."

"Good thinkin'," Kiba answered.

"Here, you're bleeding," she indicated his chewed arm. "Let me use medical ninjutsu."

As he waited for Ino to heal him, he looked at the manor, taking a moment to put together a decent plan.

"Okay," he said, "you guys'll have to infiltrate the premises. Since these are civilians, I'm sure you can sneak in easily. Find some cover and prepare to back me up should I need it. One of you should circle around to the back of the place. The other should watch the front."

"What'll be your signal?" Ino glanced down at Akamaru. "That we both can respond to, I mean."

Kiba fished around in his waist pouch and withdrew a flash bomb. He showed it in the palm of his hand.

"This will be signal enough. I sense I need back-up, I'll throw this. You'll be able to see the flash, and if not, you'll hear it go off. Both of you should be able to converge on my location and provide help. Are you guys ready?"

Akamaru nodded, but Ino hesitated. She glanced at the manor, and Kiba saw worry shadow her face. But when she looked back at him, he saw only determination.

"I'm ready. Let's do this."

There was a second of silence, and then Akamaru and Ino hopped off, disappearing into foliage and shadow. He should have kissed her goodbye. Shaking off the regret, Kiba took a steadying breath, and approached the front gate where an intercom had been hooked up to one of two larger pillars flanking the sidewalk to the front door of the manor.

After a menial exchange with a servant, the gate popped open electronically, and Kiba walked to the front door, where he knocked. His knock was immediately answered by the same servant. As they walked through halls and rooms, Kiba saw that his previous assessment of the manor was correct…the place was a museum. Paintings, statues, glass cases with memorabilia were all present in tasteful arrangement.

At last they came to a set of large wooden doors, stained a deep brown and inlaid with intricate designs. The servant knocked, and with great reverence, cracked open the doors.

"Inuzuka Kiba here to see you, ma'am," the servant said.

Kiba heard, "Excellent. Bring him in."

The servant opened the door further and gestured for Kiba to enter. As soon as he did, he started planning. All along the left side of the office sat windows, which were single pane, and nothing a kunai couldn't take care of. The back wall and right side were solid, and there seemed to be a room or two at the back, along with some furniture and files. A desk sat in the very middle with a couple chairs at the front of it. At the desk stood Mrs. Nakamura.

Mrs. Nakamura truly looked like an older version of her daughter. Black hair sat in a neat, sleek twist at the top her head. Classy frameless glasses framed brown eyes that assessed him shrewdly. A tiny beauty mark graced the corner of a small mouth. And although short, the fact that Mrs. Nakamura wore a slate-grey professional suit and pumps gave Kiba the impression she was used to be treated respectfully.

Mrs. Nakamura at last took a seat in a chair that sat at a coffee table near the first two windows on the left. She gestured to the love seat opposite her chair.

"Have a seat, Kiba."

Instantly Kiba's instinct flashed a warning; all his muscles tensed. He'd heard this voice before- -all arrogant and wise at the same time. Nerves sent his stomach tumbling.

"I'll stand."

"Tsk, tsk. Don't make this any more difficult. I said sit."

Her command sounded like a polite request, but Kiba had no doubts this woman was used to being obeyed. Defiantly, Kiba crossed his arms and didn't move.

Mrs. Nakamura smiled and looked as harmless as a starving viper. "You do know why you're here, correct?"

"Just get to the point." His patience with this woman had spread thin. "I ain't got time for yer stupid questions."

Her eyebrows rose over the glasses, and her smile changed to 'If you say so.'

"My daughter Yukari has taken a liking to you," she said. "And she tells me you two had a little…misunderstanding last Saturday."

"Misunderstanding…ain't that the understatement of the fuckin' century! How could I possibly misunderstand her drugging me?"

Mrs. Nakamura chuckled and waved her hand. "That's neither here nor there, Kiba. However, what is important is that she wishes to remain in a relationship with you. Are you willing to look past her mistake."

Her tone and words were strange. She sounded like she was giving him an ultimatum…or a warning before she took his choice away. And besides this, she seemed to be ignoring his protests, which meant she might have something up her sleeve.

Kiba could feel this trap closing around him. He could answer 'yes' to her 'question', but that would leave the trap for later. Cold worms writhed around in his guts; he felt sick to his stomach. Might as well force her hand now.

"No."

"No?" She looked smug. "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"I see"- -Mrs. Nakamura rose from her seat and crossed the room to her desk- -"That's a shame."

She opened the top drawer and took out a manila envelope. And there was the trap.

"You know Yamanaka Ino?" she asked, and Kiba watched her reach into the envelope. "She seems to be a wonderful med-nin with a high rate of mission success. By looking at it, her record is so clean it squeaks."

Dizziness swarmed Kiba's senses as he stepped to the desk. "What does she have to do with this?"

"Oh. She only assaulted my daughter, and left behind some pretty nasty cuts and bruises. Luckily, I was able to get her to her doctor in time. I have a friend in the military police unit, and so my daughter's statement and pictures are all there, I can assure you."

Mrs. Nakamura had withdrawn photographs of Yukari; shots of her back, arms, and chest. Kiba had seen worse, but Yukari definitely looked beat to hell. Roiling purple bruises and angry red marks clouded over the pale skin.

Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. "Ino would never do this. This isn't what happened."

"According to Yukari and these photos, it is what happened. And I wonder what the consequences of this evidence would be, hm?"

Prison. Ino would go to prison. She would never be allowed back on active duty again. Everything she'd worked for would vanish, not to mention the shame her family would endure. Kiba's mind whirled, working under the pressure of rising panic.

"No one will believe Ino is capable of hurtin' a civilian like this. Your evidence is circumstantial at best."

Mrs. Nakamura waggled a finger at him and withdrew a sealed, colored baggie from the envelope. Kiba recognized it as a protective evidence bag for video tape.

"Let's not forget this! Footage of Miss Yamanaka breaking and entering your love-nest. And there's a very clear shot of her striking Yukari."

He realized what Mrs. Nakamura's intentions were. If he behaved like a good boy, Ino would remain untouched by this damning evidence. His mind grasped at something Ino had said yesterday…and today.

All this was to get him to marry Yukari. He'd been caught.

The lump in his throat hurt to speak around. "What makes you think I give a flyin' rat's ass about Ino in the first place?"

At this, Mrs. Nakamura laughed. "You aren't going to let something happen to your precious comrade. It could be any Leaf shinobi, and you would still do all you could to protect them."

He wanted to jump out the window that second, but he remained rooted to the spot. There was no way out of this; running away would make it worse. Mrs. Nakamura had trapped him, caught him because he'd been stupid and blind and arrogant.

Kiba hated her. "Fuck you."

"Tsk, tsk. Such language will not get you a free pass. Here are the terms," she said, sliding the contents back into the envelope. "You are to continue to date Yukari. You will not see any other girl, especially Yamanaka Ino. If I hear you've been near her, I will take steps to get her out of the way. I have eyes and ears all over the village; do not test me.

"I know she spent the night with you last night, and I know that she told you all about what happened on Saturday. But that won't matter. Stay away from her. Understand?"

Kiba stared as she slid the envelope into her desk. "Yeah."

She didn't lock the drawer.

His brain plunged ahead, calculating a mile a minute. An exploding tag on the envelope would destroy it; couldn't use the tag where civilians might get hurt. He'd need a second to get into the desk, another to escape the office.

Mrs. Nakamura moved from the desk to a little side table on the right of the room. On top of the table was a tea service, which she used to pour a steaming cup of tea. Kiba dipped into his waist pouch and palmed a smoke bomb. Adrenaline pulsed through him.

"Just think," she said smugly, "in a few weeks you'll be able to officially marry your first love."

Kiba dove to the desk the same time he tossed aside the smoke bomb. Bam!- -the bomb activated when he ripped open the drawer. Smoke plumed everywhere, but he'd already lifted the envelope. He flung a kunai at the nearest window.

His accurate aim shattered the glass; he dove through, flipped to get the landing right. As soon as he hit the ground, he sprinted to the gate and vaulted over it into the neighboring yard, shoving the envelope under his jacket as he did.

Yells, shouts, and Mrs. Nakamura shrieking at the top her lungs pleased him, and he didn't stop his slow smirk.

He chanced a look over his shoulder- -no one followed him, but to make sure, Kiba dodged to the roofs and used his explosive speed to gain some distance.

Best bet was to head to the Team 8 training ground; using a denotation tag there would not endanger anyone or destroy property. As Kiba ran full-tilt over the rooftops, he couldn't help but think how damn easy stealing the envelope had been.

For someone who'd obviously worked with shinobi, she should have known that Kiba would attempt to eradicate the evidence against his comrade. What kind of moron tried to trap a shinobi without a contingency plan?

Hairs prickled on the back of Kiba's neck. Paranoia focused his thoughts. Someone was after him. Kiba gathered chakra to his nose, but he couldn't smell anyone who would match a pursuer's scent. Glances over his shoulder showed him no one.

And where was Akamaru and Ino? True, Kiba had left them outside of the house, but the commotion would have clued them in to any danger. They should have caught up to him by now, or he should have been able to smell them within his range. Which meant that they'd been delayed, or that something had gotten to them.

Kiba would have to return to the Nakamura manor to investigate.

First, his priority was the envelope's destruction. No doubt that was the reason he was pursued. The training grounds were too far away; he'd have to be careful with the explosion. Without stopping, Kiba fished for an exploding tag, something not too powerful, but with a short fuse.

The edge of paper teased his finger.

Kiba smelled the poison as soon as the needles were flicked at his blind side. Instinct forced him to strafe to his left. The senbons nicked past and embedded in stone. Continuing along the rooftops would leave him open. He dropped to the street and ducked around a corner to assess.

His pursuer still did not register a scent for Kiba's nose. How was that possible? It must be a specialty jutsu…Kiba had heard his mother speak of jutsu that could suppress scent, even erase it. That would explain his team's absence: if he couldn't smell this guy, Akamaru couldn't have, either.

But he had no idea if a jutsu was the case. And he couldn't stand around and fight for very long; that left too much time for whoever-it-was to grab back the envelope and left Akamaru and Ino in whatever trouble they'd stumbled into.

An idea hit him- -a risky, stupid, foolish idea, but one that would solve his problems in one fell swoop.

For his plan to work, he would have to lure the pursuing ninja out for melee combat. They both couldn't use 'big' jutsu since they were in town, and they'd have police and on-duty shinobi all over them in seconds. Hence the reason his enemy had used needles first.

Kiba felt confident he could dodge or out-run any long range attacks thrown at him, but mid-range to short-range attacks…he'd have to be careful to avoid any killing blows. All he needed was the nin to grab him without looking like that's what he wanted.

What word did Master Kurenai use? Finesse. He had to have finesse.

The scent of poison brought around his attention. Kiba ducked from his hidey-hole. Several more needles missed him by millimeters.

Instead of falling back, Kiba charged, following the scent-path of the poisonous needles. He knew he'd startled the enemy when wave after wave of needles shot toward him. His nose was good enough, and he was fast enough, to use a kunai to deflect the weapons.

The enemy nin had been attacking from a darkened alley way opposite where Kiba had found cover. And as Kiba dashed forward, he saw a black blur shoot from the mouth of the alley to meet him.

He and his pursuer clashed on the street, kunai against short blade. They both jumped back; Kiba released a slew of shiruken, and according to his master plan, were deflected. Perfect. The few-second interval allowed him to stick an exploding tag on the envelope under his jacket.

He glanced up, growling when he felt his enemy close in. The nin wore unremarkable gear- -a flak jacket, mask, and hitai-ate covering his hair and pulled low over his eyes. No distinguishing features or weapons showed except for the short blade. He looked like a regular ole shinobi and that scratched at Kiba's worry.

Fitting in was another disguise.

Again they clashed together, and a flurry of fist- and foot-blows ensued. Kiba ducked and blocked, biding his time carefully, and with furious slash of his kunai, he managed to cut the blade out of the other's hand.

Kiba could not afford to give the guy breathing room, so he doubled his efforts. He could feel the time coming. Reward came when the enemy feinted back, and Kiba dodged forward to follow-through with his kunai. His fingers already molded the signs for a substitution jutsu.

The nin grabbed Kiba's weapon arm. Too late. Kiba had slipped away and blended into cast shadows nearby. He watched, smirking, as his own likeness poofed to reveal the tagged envelope. His enemy realized the trap, but not quickly enough. The tag detonated, flinging the shinobi into the wall of a building with a blaze of violent fire.

But Kiba had hopped to the roofs and was rapidly closing in on the Nakamura manor. Even before he saw the eaves of the homestead over the rooftops, he smelled the drifting smoke and heard the people shouting. The household staff was scattered around; confusion and chaos ruling supreme. Kiba skirted the property, keeping in cover.

"Akamaru?" he called softly. "Ino?"

He scented his companions…and his heart seized when he whiffed a trace of poison. The same poison he'd avoided minutes ago.

Their scents had separated- -Kiba could tell- -but near a copse of trees, they converged. Their scents would mingle only if one had come to aid the other. Kiba stepped closer, seeing dark liquid near the base of the tree.

"No. No!"

Ino's blood…mixed together with the poison…had splattered on the ground.


A/N: Coming up: Easy Come, Easy Go. See you then!

06/15/18: Light edits & revisions.