Chapter 16: Ringing Bells

It was certainly an interesting dinner. Naruto found most of it amusing, but there were other parts he found annoying. Mostly Sai's admiration and Shino's flying hug.

The next morning, Naruto tried to find some of his friends and change their commands. To what, he didn't know yet.

He found Kiba and Shino outside the park. Kiba was screaming and clinging to the stone entrance for dear life. "No! Don't make me go in there!"

Shino was pulling Kiba by his ankles, clearly fed up with his behavior. "I would normally leave you here, but we need you for this. Now get in here."

"I won't!"

Normally Shino wouldn't manhandle one of his teammates. Either Shino was really pissed off or it was a side effect of the hypnosis. Naruto, however, didn't think twice about it, certain that Shino was just pissed off.

Shino gave him another tug. "I will have my bugs infest your clothes, I swear I will."

"Stop it! I don't wanna!"

Naruto saw the flower bushes lining the stone walkway leading into the park and knew exactly why Kiba did not want to go in there. It was time to fix this pathetic phobia of his.

"Shino, I got this. Go ahead in."

Shino released Kiba's ankles and stepped away. "I will be waiting for you in the park with Hinata. Don't keep us waiting. We're already late."

Kiba sniffled and cling to the stone pillar. He would not go in.

Naruto rubbed his back. "It's ok, Kiba. It's ok."

"The park's covered in flowers. I can't go in there."

"It's ok." Naruto snapped his fingers. "Sleep."

Kiba let go of the stone and fell backwards. Naruto supported him with his arm.

"When you wake up, you will no longer be afraid of flowers. When you wake up, you will think you're a dog every time you hear a bell ring." He snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Kiba opened his eyes and stood up. "Shino already went in, didn't he?"

"Yup. He said he's waiting for you."

"Crap. I better get going. We'll talk later, Naruto." Kiba hurried into the park, barely noticing the flowers on his way in.

Naruto smirked and walked away.

After their training and their team meeting, Kiba and the rest of the group were free to do as they wished. Kiba decided to get a snack before anything else.

He spotted a convenience store and went inside for some jerky. The bell above the door rang the second he entered.

Kiba dropped to his hands and knees and started to pant. He trotted over to a rack of cookies and started sniffing them. He found the jerky and started to tear it open with his teeth.

Another customer entered, causing the bell to ring, snapping Kiba out of it. He returned to normal if he heard the bell a second time.

Kiba noticed the jerky in his hands and went to pay for it. After that, he opened the jerky and tossed the wrapper aside. He opened the door and heard the bell ring above it. He dropped to the ground, stuck the jerky in his mouth and ran down the street on all fours.

"Stay away from me!"

Naruto saw Shino chasing someone down the street with his arms outstretched. He was trying to hug them but the person wouldn't stop running.

Maybe he should undo this one, too.

Suddenly, Shino changed directions and tried to hug someone else, hearing another clang. Lee took a flying leap and embraced Shino, returning the hug.

"A passionate embrace to display feelings of friendship! I am honored, Shino!"

Shino cringed, and not just because Lee was hugging him too tight. "I'm not doing this by choice."

The two hugged each other in the middle of the street while people stared.

"I value our friendship, too, Shino!" Lee cried, clearly not hearing him. "I care for you, too! I am so happy that you are opening up to your feelings of love and friendship!"

POOF!

A wooden log took Shino's place and Lee hugged that. Shino was now on the other side of the street with a grimace on his face.

Lee spun around, realizing Shino had used a substitution. "Shino!"

Shino fled the area.

"Do not deny your feelings! I shall help you!" Before running after him, Lee paused, taking notice of Naruto. "Naruto, are you ill? Your face is red."

Naruto had been trying hard not to laugh, resulting in his face changing color. He shook his head, snickering. "No, all good."

"Ok." Lee started to chase after Shino. "Shino, my friend! Come back and let us explore these new feelings you have!"

Naruto held his ribs, laughing hysterically. He knew what Lee really meant, but the way he said it and the looks he was receiving made it hilarious. If only Lee could hear himself. Maybe then he could understand that it came out all wrong.

This gave Naruto a new target. He didn't want to use hypnosis on Lee because he was funny enough as he was, but now he was getting some fun ideas. He wouldn't change him too much, but he would make sure he got more laughs out of him.

Naruto raced to catch up with him. The only thing he was concerned about was the fact that Lee had a habit of fighting in his sleep. He was a violent sleepwalker. If he put Lee into a trace, would he end up fighting him without knowing? Naruto knew he was taking a chance, but the laughs were worth the risk.

"Hey, Lee! Wait up!"

Lee stopped in the middle of his search. "Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto looked around to make sure they were alone. "Take a look at something real quick for me."

"Sure."

He didn't have to disguise what he was doing since Lee was already kind of dense. Even if Naruto told him flat out what he was doing, Lee would probably be ok with it. If anything, he might consider it a new kind of training.

Naruto pulled out the necklace. "Look at this."

Lee looked at the jewel as Naruto swung it back and forth. Within a matter of seconds, Lee's eyes started to get cloudy. He was really easy to put under.

"You're getting sleepy…" Naruto told him. "Sleepy…"

Lee's eyes started to droop.

"Getting sleepy… Getting sleepy…"

Lee closed his eyes and his head dipped forward. He remained on his feet, which was good for Naruto. He was worried Lee would attack him if he got any closer than this.

"When I snap my fingers and say the word 'sleep', you will go back into a trace and do anything I say. When I snap my fingers and say 'awake', you will wake up from your trance."

Lee drooled.

Naruto put the necklace away and snapped his fingers. "Awake."

Lee opened his eyes. "What did you want to show me?"

"Oh, never mind. I thought I saw Shino head that way." He pointed in a random direction.

"Shino! It is alright to express your feelings among friends!" Lee ran off.

Naruto would give him a command later.

"Shino! Do not be afraid! I only wish to help you!"

"Bark! Bark!"

Lee stopped and looked down. Kiba was barking at him like a dog.

"Kiba?"

"Bark!"

"What are you doing?"

Kiba just barked and panted.

"Perhaps this is Akamaru in Kiba's form?"

Kiba barked again and ran off on all fours.

"Where are you going?" Lee chased after him.

Kiba led Lee out of the trees and back into the shopping area of the village. People walking by gave Kiba strange looks. Lee chased after him, calling his name. Kiba didn't stop. He kept running, wanting Lee to chase him. It was a game to him. He wanted to be chased.

He didn't stop until someone at the front desk of a store rang the bell on the counter for service. Kiba got to his feet and started walking.

"Kiba!"

He turned around. "Oh, hey, Lee. What's up?"

Lee looked around. "Was that you or Akamaru I had been chasing?"

"Chasing?"

"Yeah. From there over to here. Running."

"It couldn't have been me. I wasn't running." Kiba had no idea what had happened. He had no memory of the event while he thought he was a dog.

"Oh." Lee shrugged. "It must have been Akamaru, then."

Kiba raised his brow. "You can't tell the difference between me and Akamaru? One of us has fur and runs on four legs."

"I know," said Lee. "The person I was chasing after was on four legs."

"Person?" Kiba was very confused.

"It must have been Akamaru transformed into you."

"Why would he be..?"

"Oh, yes!" Lee suddenly remembered. "I must find Shino. Farewell, Kiba!"

Kiba was confused, but he chalked it up to Lee being Lee and carried on as usual.

When Kiba arrived home, he found Akamaru waiting for him on the porch. He gave the dog a good scratch behind the ear and went to get him something to eat. His mother was working on something in the kitchen so there wasn't much of a conversation.

He placed a bowl of food in front of Akamaru and sat beside him as he ate. He basked in the sun, listening to his dog chew his food.

Then a timer went off inside the house.

Hearing the bell ding, Kiba crouched beside Akamaru and nudged him aside. Akamaru backed up and watched, confused, as Kiba began eating from his bowl. He gave a questioning whine as Kiba ate the dog food without so much as a word.

Something was wrong with his human friend.

The wait for Gaara is almost over.

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