She barked in joy as she sailed onto another rooftop, her father bounding alongside next to her. Tongue lolling out of the corner of her mouth, she enjoyed the feeling of the wind rushing through her golden fur.
It had taken time and gentle care, but her magnificent coat had grown back glossier and better than ever, with the exception of the scar on her snout. But she liked it. It made her look cooler. Her health had to be monitored very closely by Kakashi and the Inuzuka for awhile. She was very malnourished and had infections cropping up on her cuts. But by following a very strict diet and regime she was bigger than her father!
While she trained and did physical therapy, she talked with her father's pack (now her pack) and the Inuzuka dogs. Yuki was particularly helpful when explaining the ins and outs of being a ninken.
"In order to speak to humans," Yuki barked, "You need to channel chakra in a specific way to your vocal cords. Regular dogs can't do this, but ninken and dogs with ninken lineage can be successful or partially successful. You're a bit of a tricky case. Could your mother speak to humans?"
Akemi thought for a second.
"No, she couldn't. But she was smart and able to form thoughts and opinions beyond the basics. She also said she had ninken ancestors."
Yuki's nose twitched.
"Well, with time and effort, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to converse with humans. Your lineage is strong enough to theoretically allow it, but we'll see."
And that was that.
She bounded to a halt in the clearing with her father stopping a bit behind her. Kakashi was perched on a log, book out in front of his face.
"Hello!" She barked, shanking her golden fur.
"Hello Akemi." He hummed back, closing his book and hopping down. She had trained with the pack over the past few months learning tracking from Pakkun, Bull, and Urushi, Fighting formations from Shiba, Bisuke, Guruko, and Ūhei, and she learned to speak from her father and occasionally Pakkun. Bull, with his even more impressive bulk, help her use hers to her advantage. She was the second largest.
But there was a big difference between them. Her pack was all comprised of ninken, who could be summoned and unsommeded at the drop of a hat. She had the blood of regular hounds running through her, and thus was not a summon.
That wasn't a bad thing, Yuki also had normal blood running through her and still made a great ninken, but it meant she wouldn't be able to unsummon when hurt badly.
She ran up to him excitedly and shimmied when he patted her head.
"Are we gonna go on the mission now?" She asked. While she had been on dozens of D ranks and three C ranks, this would be her first B rank mission. Their job was to escort and guard low ranking nobles from Konoha to the capital.
"Yes, we are." He said amused. He shuffled forwards, then stretched, before jumping towards the gates of Konoha, where their clients were waiting. Her father nudged her shoulder.
"Don't worry." Akino said "You'll do fine."
She panted in happiness, proudly glancing at her blue uniform with the Henohenomoheji on the back. She tossed her head in order to feel the headband around her neck.
It still took her aback sometimes. What she had now is something she had desperately wanted not too long ago. Family, to be a ninken…
It felt nice to finally have her dreams realized, after so much travel and trouble. How perfectly everything went after she arrived in Konoha was like a dream come true. Which it was!
She was gonna kick hindquarters and look great while doing it!
The nobles were waiting in their carriage thing. She wasn't sure what is was called, still being unfamiliar with some human terminology. But it was pulled by four horses, with a section that carried expensive items and cargo, and a middle section that housed the nobles.
One of them-a young woman in expensive clothing-stepped down to greet them.
"Hello, I'm Hina. You will be escorting us I presume?"
Kakashi nodded.
"Yes we will!" Akemi barked in excitement. Hina blinked in surprise before smiling. It was clear she didnt understand what Akemi was saying, but amused nontheless.
"Oh, you are one of those ninken. I must say, I've never seen a prettier dog before" She smiled, staring at her thoughtfully.
Akemi nodded.
"We'll get you to the capital safely." Akemi promised. Hina might have not heard, but her father and the others nodded.
And with that, they headed out. Kakashi summoned Bull to place him in front of their entourage as a deterrent, while Pakkun was placed on top, as he had the best nose. Akemi walked next to her father in the back, watching for attacks from the rear. The others were placed on the sides and in the carriage.
It was a week and a half journey there at their current speed and they were halfway there when bandits attacks, after the precious cargo.
Bull crushed one under his huge bulk and Pakku tripped another. Bisuke and Shiba teamed up to take another down.
Akemi charged and bowled over a tall but slim bandit with a sword that Akino took care of by biting his hand. He hit the ground and knocked himself unconscious. Her father stuck close to her before commanding her to follow. She noticed right after him.
That bandits were heading right towards the cargo.
Pumping chakra into her legs she bounded and swept out the hulking mans legs while her father went for the next man's jugular. He dogged just in time, retreating when he spotted Kakashi dashing towards them.
It was over quickly, not the long and drawn out fight that newbies normally expect it to be. Hina and her family had been grateful, but stayed inside as Kakashi and the rest of her pack checked for anymore. Their pace hastened after that.
After making it o the capital, she was struck by how different it was from Konoha. It was a civilian city, with no prominent military force to speak of. It was a lot less militaristic, and more open.
It made her lower her guard.
"You!" An angry voice howled. The human tongue startled her.
Hina stopped in the middle of her thanks, pausing to look at the opened door of the carriage.
Her brother stood in the middle, hate radiating off of him.
Soooo... Its been awhile. I've been meaning to finish this and this probably is the second to last chapter. I'm going to go back sometime in the future and edit out errors but for the meantime enjoy this chapter and my other stories!