Authors note:

This is a Fanfiction – prologue to my upcoming fiction idea with my favorite "Naruto" slash pairing. Kankuro/Kiba.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

(Time-jump)

I'm always happy to talk with Naruto-fans, don't hesitate to comment.

It all started after the Retrieve-Sasuke Mission really. Two very different Shinobis would be destined to cross path several times. One from Suna, a well- trained Puppet-master who reputation preceded him as one of the coldest people of the Sand village. Brother to the feared Gaara of Desert, one could only imagine what power the big brother had in his core.
The other, not as famous but yet fairly acknowledge among the people in Konoha, hidden leaf village; Inuzuka Kiba. The youngest son of the highest ranked families in the tracking field.
And even if both were to prideful and too cocky to get along at first, it turned out quite unexpected relationship between the two. All it took was a mission in the heat of Suna….

It was a normal spring day, about a year and a half after Naruto had left on his journey with Jiryaia.

"Inuzuka Kiba! I assign you to a mission; to deliver a scroll to the village of Sand, more correctly the new Kazekage; Sabaku no Gaara." Lady Tsunade said to the lonely teen in the office. "Normally I would send at least two men for a task like this, but the village is very busy. And since you have your comrade Kiba, I count that as enough of a tag-team."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama. When do we leave?"

"At sunrise. The journey will take you three days. Gaara has already been Kazekage for a week, and it's important that Konoha acknowledge his new status and quickly send someone over there. It's important to keep the relationship at friendly terms between us." She said firmly and then eyed the brunette in front of her.

Kiba resisted the urge to shudder under that suspicious stare. "Tsunade-sama?"

"Behave yourself over there, Kiba. I know for a fact that your temperament can be as unsteady as a certain loud-mouth blond we both know. I expect your best behavior."

The canine-handler's eye twitched by the mention of Naruto, not wanting to be compared with the idiot's bad traits. "y-yes."

"Good. I have the scroll ready for you at the gate by the time of your leave. Stay safe out there."

(Two and a half day later)

"Alright Akamaru! With this speed we will be arriving at the Hidden Sand village before nightfall. As expected of the Inuzuka clan!"

"Arf!"

Kiba laughed as his partner tunneled under him to have him ride on his back. "Easy boy, don't strain yourself!"

(A half day later, by midnight)

The dynamic duo panted as they finally reached the main Gate of the village. Not much chakra left in his system, Kiba fell to his knees beside his comrade, embarrassed to admit that they had pushed themselves too hard. "Ok…so it was a little longer than it looked. It's all this damn sand." He panted as he picked up a hand full of the sun-powder and threw it away in protest, like it would make a difference.
Then taking out his water bottle, he gave Akamaru the last splash of water. "Be glad you are white. Kuromaru would not be very happy in this heat that will surely come at first light."
The Inuzuka looked up at the big stone wall as his partner drank. The wall was not very different from the one in Konoha. It was their first visit in the sand village, so he was not very sure how to find his way. But that would be a later problem. First a quick well needed breather…

Dark eyes opened and a small groan left Kankuro's lips. This was the third time he woke up in an hour. Tangled in his bedsheets, he somehow managed to turn and look at the time. It showed a little after 1 a clock in the morning. Despite the time, he wouldn't be able to turn back to sleep and he knew why: His training had not gone very well. His new puppet was not acting the way he wanted it too. And that fact stressed him out more than he wanted to admit. Gaara was now Kazekage, and it was Kankuro duty to protect him. He couldn't afford any broken tools.
With a grunt he threw the bedsheet off and started to get dressed. It was no time to rest until his problem was solved.
His apartment roof was a perfect spot to train undisturbed. The cold breeze was a good contribution to a relaxed mind, despite the high voices of the night folks on the streets below.
The roof was wide and open, giving him much room for movement. His puppet Karasu, however, did not want to corroborate with him tonight any more than before. It limbs jammed and the puppet behaved like an old man in general. He knew he had a couple of mechanic hours ahead of him. Blue chakra strings twisted from his fingers as he commanded the puppet to fly another lap. Too focused on his task, the image of white in the corner of his eye took him by complete surprise. With a yell he threw Karasu at the new aura. "What the hell!"

It was a dog. A white dog. It managed to avoid the puppets attack and Kankuro took a big leap backwards to get his act together. The animal was so wrong in this picture. Not many people in Suna had animals except from eagles. "What the hell does a mutt doing here?" he said out loud, causing the dog to bark back at him and move forward.

"Nu-uh, stay right there, dog. Don't want any disease from you! … wait a minute…I know you."

"Arf!" The dog didn't move from his spot, but he was jumping up and down, obviously trying to communicate. He didn't know why it was familiar, but it was. Somewhere on a mission. That barking. Those ears…those eyes…he vision it in a smaller version. Small enough to carry on top of the head. Then it hit him.

"Mutt! It's you! From Konoha." Before he had time to do anything else, Akamaru dashed forward and took a good grip of Kankuro black shirt and started to pull him along. The puppet-master was taken off guard, making his Karasu crash to the floor and remained unmoving as the strings were disconnected. "OI! What are you doing? Let go! Oi!" But the dog was persistent. Even when Kankuro took a hand full of fur in his neck he took advantage and pulled harder so the teen would go with him.

"I said hold him!" A man yelled as his comrade hit the stone wall opposite of them. The ally was small but the force was enough to knock the man out cold. The man who had yelled turned back to the Konoha stranger who was being restrained by two other drunks. "You bastard, you pay for this!"

Kiba struggled but without chakra it was much more difficult to fight these adrenaline junkies. He should have known Suna was not a village where he should walked around alone at night. Especially when he was a stranger from another land. The scent of the street should have been enough proof. As soon as he had left the gate-guards he had picked up the smell of alcohol, vomit and nightlife. At first he had managed to ignore the name calling and whistles from these particular drunks but after a while of walking, they had actually managed to intercept him and pulled him into this ally. All for a fight.
Kiba had quickly evaluated the situation. Normally he wouldn't mind defending himself against assholes like this, but he was here on a personal mission by the Hokage. An incident like this would not look very good, even though these guys didn't seem like Shinobis. He had chosen to send Akamaru ahead to alert someone, so the situation would clear up as peaceful as possible. However, these guys did not waste much time. Probably very familiar in this kind of stunt.

"Whoa, look guys. A Konoha bandana." The man, obviously the leader, smacked Kiba's forehead, making the metal ring. "The brat sure seems full of himself don't he?"

"Look, I don't want any trouble alright; I'm here on a mission from my village. So take the few yen I have and we call it the night ok?" he bit out reluctantly. To act professional surely was a pain sometimes.

"Did you hear that fellas, the ninja don't want any trouble." The man got in close to Kiba's personal space while his comrades laughed at the statement. "You sure picked the wrong career for that. I hate ninjas, especially from Konoha. My sister was killed by you scums in the last war."

"Many people were killed in the last war. On both sides." Kiba stated and that earned him a well-aimed punch in the gut. If it wasn't for the two men holding him, he would have fallen to the ground.

"Shut up, you insolent filth." The leader growled. "You are going to be sorry you put your foot on Sand village ground."

"How about I keep him? He is a cute thing, isn't he?" The man holding Kiba's right arm said.

"Shut up you fag!" the leader yelled and raised his fist warningly.

"Whatever you want to do, brother, just do it." The man on Kiba's left slurred making the Inuzuka recoil of the strong smell of sake. "My arms are getting tired."

That was just the information Kiba needed. Regaining new strength he used the men's hold of him and kicked up both his legs, sending the leader backwards into the wall like his fallen comrade. The leader recovered quickly though, and launched himself forward with his whole body. Kiba used his last strength and pulled his left arm forward causing the slurred man get into the crossfire of the leaders flying attack. The two brothers collided with a crash, but Kiba victory was short-lived. He had aimed for a quick retreat but his right arm was still stubbornly locked by the third man.

"Give it up already!" Kiba yelled but growled in pain as he was thrown head first into the wall. It was his temple who took the hit and he felt something warm started to drip down his face before he was turned around and pinned against the stone surface. In his dazed state his body slumped against the wall for support, he registered a small snicker, a soft brush of fingertips over his red tattoo triangles smearing out his blood and then crushing lips against his own. The nauseous feeling of the sloppy tongue forced itself into his mouth was replaced in seconds by and intense anger flaming up into his core.

'Well Hokage-sama. I tried'.

Kiba closed his eyes and put both of his hands on the creep's shoulders. 'This will be my last chakra: Gijū Ninpō: Jūjin Bunshin' (Beast Ninja Art: Beast Human Clone)
It was with great satisfaction that he felt how his nails grew a few centimeters as claws and didn't wait to dig them into the man's key bone. With a cry in pain, the man pulled back and backed away with a shocked face. "Y-your hands! Impossible!" Then he was looking at Kiba's sadistic smirk, showing off his sharp fangs. The man cried out in horror, but Kiba was fast and attacked him, this time pinning the man against the opposite wall himself.

"Take this you worthless son of a bitch!" Without hesitation Kiba dug his sharp teeth into the man's jaw, ignoring the streaming blood flow running into his mouth and down his own chin. He felt it continue down his chest and drip on his sandals. The man's scream of bloody murder was a song of justice and karma. He didn't care about the consequences; just to hurt this particular guy as much as possible. And he would probably rip off a bit of the man's face if it wasn't for the leader hitting him on the back of his head with a stone. With a surprised grunt, Kiba fell to his knees and was kicked away from the men. He didn't have any power left and saw the man raising the stone at him once more…

Until the arm was caught by a blue chakra string around the wrist halting its movements. The leader yelled out in surprise as he was thrown backwards.
Kiba saw the leader fall, and then out of nowhere he felt another strong presence right next to him. A firm arm wrapped itself around his waist and pulled him close. Next thing he knew he was flying up on a ladder connected to the one of the houses of the ally. Kiba's first reaction was to fight as they reached the solid step of the ladder, but the arm was strong.

"Are you ok?" was a mere whisper in his ear. Kiba's eyes widened and he stopped fighting the embrace. He knew that voice. He knew that scent. He turned his head and met Kankuro's black eyes shining in the moonlight. "Kankuro?"

"What the hell are you doing in Suna?"

"Oi! You bastard, bring that brat back here!" the leader screamed from below, causing the duo to break eye-contact.

It was too dark for the leader to see who the black-clothe nuisance was, but he was clearly interference in their plans. Before he received an answer a deep growl was heard from the darkness of the ally. A white dog revealed itself from the shadows, barring his fangs against the man. His eyes were glowing with rage and the fur on his neck was standing up along with the thick tail.

"Oh my god." The leader backed away from the beast, crying out when he tripped on his fallen comrades and started to shake. "N-nice doggie…"

Akamaru gave out an intense roar loving the shaking soon-to-be-a-night-snack. His plan however was interrupted by the voice of his master.

"Akamaru, that's enough." The dog looked up at the duo. Kankuro whispered something to his master and then joined Akamaru on the ground.

"Of all incompetent, worthless, drunken, scumbags…you three have attacked an ally shinobi to our village." He stated with authority. First now he was recognized by the group that was slowly waking up on the ground. "S-sabaku no K-k-kankuro-sama!"

"Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once. Consider yourself lucky. I've seen your faces for the last time. Next time the four of you soil my presence you are going to become BBQ on the spear of my puppet Karasu. Stay away from the pubs, stay away from the streets. Stay out of my sight, and be grateful that I'm don't report you and have you banished. "

"Yes Kankuro-sama! Thank you Kankuro-sama!" With that the group was out of the ally with an impressive speed for their drunken state. Kankuro let out a sigh. If only the assholes could put their energy to better use than bar-fights. It could have gone really bad this time…And Gaara does not need international incidents like this. As he turned around he noticed the dog, previously at his side was gone. His eyes looked up at the ladder only to find it empty. Not too concerned he leaped up on the wooden steps and proceeded up to the roof.
As he suspected he found the Konoha teen slowly walking over the roof, slightly leaning on his white comrade for support.

"I asked you some questions." He called out and joined the other who sat down.

"Right. I'm ok. Just out of chakra." Akamaru nuzzled his face, causing Kiba to smile gratefully. "Good boy, Akamaru. Your nose didn't let you down."

"What the hell are you doing here? Coming to Suna at night, causing fight with the villages is considered a crime to the peace-treaty. I should report you sorry ass." He saw how Kiba's eyebrow twitched and the teen bit his lip before answering with fake calm. Obviously wanted to give Kankuro a piece of his mind.

"First of all. I'm cleared and registered at the gate. Second, I was the one being attacked. I send Akamaru for help to avoid a fight. I'm here on a mission to deliver a message to Gaara."

"It's Kazekage Gaara for you. Don't use Uzumaki informal talk." Kankuro snorted. "The guard should have accompanied you."

"He wanted to, but since I have Akamaru I could go on my own to the inn."

"Except the mutt wasn't with you, was he?" Kankuro pointed out.

"He was until I was attacked, I see you let those drunks go, why don't you take some own responsibility for your people!" Kiba said before he could stop himself. The silence between them became heavy and Kankuro expression was cold as ice. Kiba let out a sour "tch" and with much effort got to his feet. He probably wouldn't talk like that. As he looked up again though he noted that Kankuro was actually smirking. Kiba frowned. "What?"

"I barely recognized you without the cocky attitude. But I commend you for trying to be professional. Can't really ask for much from a Konoha brat."

Kiba smirked back and started to halt away from the other. "Ok, I'd have enough of insults for one night. Let's go Akama…oi! What are you doing?" he cried out as Kankuro took his arm around his shoulder for support and started to lead him the opposite direction.

"Taking responsibility. You are not going to the Inn. You are coming with me."

"Says who?"

"Me obviously."

"I don't need to go with you." Kiba started to pull away but Kankuro held on. "Look kid, you can't go to that inn, that neighborhood is a lot more of the people you just crossed path with. And since we are this honest, you look like hell. You can't check in at the inn with this much blood on you without drawing attention to yourself. People will probably think you killed someone." Kankuro's eyes fell on the dog in front of them and who growled threatening at him, probably didn't like how he handled Kiba in a hold. "Stay back mutt, I won't hesitate to defend myself." He said and pointed a kunai at the growling animal.

Kiba quickly gripped hold of the kunai threatening his companion and Kankuro returned his attention back at him, locking Kiba against himself with both arms, ready for any kind of movement from the other. As they stood there, starring at each other again Kiba found himself lost in those dark eyes. Kankuro had surely grown since he last saw him. But the scent of the puppet-master brought back memories from the past.
Kankuro's face-paint was different but that was not the main detail. The puppet-master natural lines in the face were more mature and handsome. Standing this close, Kiba also noticing the Suna Shinobi was quite taller than him. Last but not least, he had really worked out his body, his arms were strong and curvy around his more agile frame. "I'm taking you back to my place."

"What?" Kiba was pulled out from his musing.

"You need to clean yourself up and you can crash there as well. Tomorrow I'll escort you to Gaara."

"You mean Kazekage Gaara?" Kiba couldn't help but tease, but then winced as Kankuro purposely pulled him along rather harshly. "I see there might be hope for you after all."

Kiba soon found himself sitting on a sofa in the middle of the apartment. He didn't know why but he would expect the Kazekage big brother would be living in the main building as well. This was a very simple flat. There was a kitchen corner at his 1 a clock that didn't look like it was used very often; he also guessed the door on his right was the bed room. The front door was at his 11 a clock, and what was left was the room Kankuro came out from with a white bowl in his hands, probably the bathroom.
Kankuro noticed that Kiba still sat where he left him. Not that he showed it, but it made him pleased. He hated noisy people who would look around in every corner and pick up every one of his belongings trying to figure out what kind of person Kankuro was. He had gone through that enough. People were curious about what kind of person the brother to Gaara was.
The white mutt sitting between the brat and the sofa table getting scratched behind the ear. Normally he would insist that the dog would sleep outside, but he knew the brat would probably join him. And if he did that, then Kankuro couldn't keep an eye on him until they meet up with his brother.
Without further fuzz, kankuro took a seat next to Kiba in the sofa, ignoring Akamaru low growl.

"Akamaru, Kankuro is helping us here. Calm yourself down." Kiba said with a slightly tired voice. It made Kankuro wary because it could have something to do with his injuries.

"You have a pretty nasty wound at the back of your head there, kid."

"A stone." Kiba answered and shivered as the other put a wet rag over his right temple. "And that was a wall." He hissed a little as it stung.

"Sounds like you had quite a dance…" Kankuro moved over at the back of Kiba's head washed the wound. His rag was filling up with blood quickly so he had to dip it in the water bowl and continued. "That gash is fairly long. But not too deep, I don't think I need to stitch it up. I'll get some stripes of medic-tape instead, kid."

"It's not kid."

"Huh?" Kankuro said as he turned around to meet Kiba's intense stare. "My name is not kid."

"Uh-hu." Kankuro left with that comment, making Kiba call after him. "You don't even remember my name, do you?" He let out a sigh and let it go. He was too damn exhausted to argue anymore. Kankuro may be difficult to get contact with, but at least he helped them tonight. And he would take up the offer to get some sleep.

Kankuro ignored the comment and started to look for more of his med-kit in the bathroom. After a minute he managed to find a few stripes of medic-tape. It was then he heard Akamaru bark in the living room.

"Quiet with you mutt, people are sleeping. Don't make me throw you outside." He said as he rejoined the duo. Then he realized his mistake. Kiba lay down on his sofa, seemingly unresponsive. "OI! Kid!" Kankuro quickly kneeled at his side trying to wake the other up. Akamaru let out a low whine.

"Oi! You are not allowed to sleep yet, I don't know if you have a concussion. Hey, kid!" With much effort and shaking the Konoha teen started to show sign of consciousness. "Kiba…" he whispered, which took Kankuro by surprise. "What?"

"It's Kiba. Inuzuka Kiba."

Realizing what the teen meant, he let out a light laugh of relief. "Alright…Kiba."

(And hour later)

"You are probably more trouble than you are worth." Kankuro said as he put a cup of tea in Kiba's hands. The Inuzuka had tried to reassure him that he was fine too sleep but the puppet-master was not convinced. So here they were. Just sitting in uncomfortable silence in the middle of the night.

"I didn't ask to be dragged here, you know." Kiba snorted back but sook a zip of the warm drink.

"Well, I have to since you aren't able to take care of your own ass."

"Wow, you still are a self-centered bastard just like before aren't you Kankuro?" A small groan from Akamaru, told Kiba that the dog laying on the floor agreed with him.

"You know it's justified. This is not the first time I save you. Recall the Sound-twins?" Kankuro leaned back in the sofa.

"And do you recall that I returned the favor after that."

Kankuro's eyebrow twitched. He wasn't used to getting such back-talk. It was like the brat didn't try and be political polite anymore. He sent a side-glance at Kiba as the brunette took another zip of his tea. He had to admit, although silently to himself, Kiba had a confidence that wasn't all different from his own. The Konoha kid seemed to have grown up a bit. All that blood on him told Kankuro that he had done some serious damage too.
Without thinking about it he raised the abandoned rag and put it on Kiba's chin causing the brunette to look at him. "What?"

"You look like hell. What caused you to draw so much blood?"

Kiba showed off his sharp canine teeth. "I tried to bite the face off one of those guys."

Kankuro lowered the rag, not able to hide his reaction. "Why would you pull a sadistic stunt like that?" He asked and met Kiba's serious stare. "Because he put it where it didn't belong." The brunette broke the eye contact and got up from the couch, starting to pace around. "Look I… maybe we shouldn't be here. I don't expect you to take my side…"

"If you say he had it coming, then that is enough for me." Kankuro nodded to the bathroom. "You can wash up in there."

Kiba looked at the door but didn't move. "Why are you helping me? You didn't even remember my name."

Too his surprise, Kankuro actually smirked. "That doesn't mean I don't remember you."

The looked at each other a while. Realizing he wasn't going to get a more clear answer, Kiba relented and went to the bathroom. The puppet-master had been right. He looked like hell with all that dried blood on his leather jacket and face. Taking care of that in a few minutes he moved on to the gash on his temple. It seemed to have stopped bleeding. He removed his head-protector so he could remove dried blood from his hair. Last he carefully let his fingers check the taped wound on the back on his head. Kankuro had done a very good job. All in all, he would be able to continue the mission the next day, and if he were lucky, maybe even be able to start his journey home before nightfall. With a sigh he leaned against the sink. He didn't like to admit it but he owed Kankuro for this. Despite the Suna ninja's attitude he had helped him out a lot.

"Are you ok?"

Kiba turned to the doorway; he hadn't even heard the older move. "Yeah. No problem. You're going to bed?"

"Yeah, it's been an hour and you don't seem to feel nauseous or dizzy so I figure your thick skull is fine." It was strange, as soon as the words left Kankuro's lips he seemed to regret them. His eyes fell to the floor awkwardly before he snorted in annoyance." You can take the couch. I'll see you in a few hours. Don't do anything fishy or stupid."

"I'll try not to." Kiba replied sarcastically before he could stop himself. With that he older left him to finish up. After fixing his jacket the best he could, he left the bathroom. Kankuro were nowhere in sight. He moved over to the couch where he noticed a thin blanket waiting for him.

"Akamaru." He called out softly and the said dog came directly jumping up on the soft furniture. After removing his jacket, sandals, and put his forehead-protector on the table, Kiba used his normal routine and used his beloved comrade as a pillow. Akamaru let out a content sigh and his breathing became heavier. "Good boy Akamaru. We will probably return home to Konoha tomorrow." Kiba whispered and gratefully let sleep claim him.

Kankuro woke with a startle. Something was wrong. Something was amiss in his normally day. He then recalled the night before. He was not alone in his flat. The clock showed 8 a clock. An hour later then he normally woke up. Kankuro left the double bed and started to get dressed. After fixing his face paint he moved out into the living room, not sure he would like what he found.
He had nothing to worry about; Kiba was fast asleep, looking rather comfortable with his face buried in the white fur of his dog. Kankuro found himself smile a little before a low growl took his attention. The mutt was looking at him I suspicion.

"Still not trusting me?" he whispered and snorted. "whatever." He left the duo and moved to the kitchen.

Kiba had of course woken up by the vibrations in Akamaru's stomach, caused by the growl. But he didn't show it. He felt Kankuro moved away and couldn't help wondering what the puppet-master had done to cause such reaction from his dog. "Akamaru… what's going on with you?" he whispered, listening to Kankuro's movement in the kitchen area. His white companion whined a little but didn't comment further.
A minute later, Akamaru and Kiba joined Kankuro in the kitchen. "Hope you got at least a little sleep." Kiba commented instead of good morning. After all, he was the reason the older was up so late.

"Hn," was all he got as reply

"We'll be out of your hair in a minute." The canine handler said and was going to go back to his things when Kankuro broke the silence.

"I thought I made myself clear. I'll take you to Gaara. You cannot leave my sight until then." Kankuro turned to him. "However Gaara is probably drowning in paperwork right now so we have an hour to kill. How are you feeling?"

Kiba stretched as if to check. "Fine." It was true. He felt his chakra had been restored during the rest. It felt good to get rid of the tiredness. "So how about we eat out? Let me treat you as a thank you for the hospitality."

The Suna looked at him. He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't have much food in the fridge. "Fine." He said as to copy Kiba's earlier answer.

Soon they were walking the streets of Suna. The village was already alive and quite crowded. Kiba couldn't help but see a slight difference between this village and his own. There was a kind of stress hanging in the air here. Kiba wiped himself under the eye. "Sheesh it's already this hot?"

"This is nothing. Wait until lunch time." Kankuro said nonchalantly.

"No thanks, hopefully we will be on our way until then."

Kankuro didn't answer that. He ignored the unknown feeling in his stomach. He figured it was a surprise that the kid would leave so soon. Luckily he didn't have to linger in the awkward silence long. "This is it, best breakfast place in the village if you ask me."

Kiba grinned, glad to be able to sit down. "Then I'll take your word for it." He turned to his comrade. He doubted that it was other rules here than home. "See you in a bit, boy. I'll bring you something good. Stay close ok."

"Arf!"

Kankuro watched the dog disappear in the crowd. Some people took a little jump to the side by the sight of the animal. "Are you sure you should let him run around on his own?"

"Relax, Akamaru is not a pet. He can take care of himself and behaves very well. He probably just going to look for some shade."

The duo sat down by the counter and ordered some tea and ramen, which Kiba paid for with his last yen.

"So… how is the progress here? Your sister were in Konoha helping with the Chunin exam. I know obviously Gaara made it to Kazekage.' But what about the rest of you who didn't come?" Kiba asked as he split the chop-sticks. "Most of us have advanced to Chunin."

"I'm Jonin now."

The Inuzuka almost choke on his noodles and had to cough to regain some air. "R-really!?"

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"Well…" Kiba let out a laugh. "Didn't think you were so far ahead…"

Kankuro's eyebrow twitched and took hold of his cup to keep calm. "You want me to prove it? I wipe the ground with you Chunin ass any day." That's right, giving a good threat would be enough to shut the other up. It was his daily tactic to get people off his back.

"I'll take you on any time, doll-boy."

It was Kankuro's time to choke on his drink. Even the staff seemed to flinch by the statement. Kiba couldn't help but to wonder why.

"You got some nerve mutt. I'll give you that." Kankuro forced out, hammering his chest with his fist.

"It's not wise to underestimate us Konoha ninjas. Naruto has already left the village to train with one of the legendary Sannin." He didn't know why he used his own rival in an argument of Konoha's strength. But it was probably because Gaara had acknowledged Naruto as a strong force to be reckon with. So as painful as it was to bring up the blond goof, he was a good example.

"Really?"

Kiba held back a "tch." as Kankuro seemed very interested. "Yes. The bastard plan on getting even stronger." Kiba snorted.

"Aren't you friends?"

"He is alright. I admit he has surprised us all. His skills have climbed sky high in a very short amount of time. Not to mention his stubbornness and determination. But the fact remains; he is noisy, stupid, naïve, and so full of himself."

"Not to forget highly annoying."

Kiba looked up at the other surprised and then they both let out a malicious laugh. Kiba noticed again that the staff looked at them oddly. Something made him want to eat up quickly.

"So what about you?"

"What?" The Inuzuka asked, looking up from the bowl.

"What's your story? Why did you become a ninja?"

"…" Before Kiba had any chance to figure out why Kankuro suddenly wanted to actually know anything about him, his comrade's call made his body jump and he was alert and focused in a heartbeat. "Akamaru!"

Kankuro also looked at the door, completely taken off guard. He noticed Kiba left the chair and ran outside, causing him to follow. "Oi! Wait up!"

Kiba came out on the street and looked around for his distressed dog. A commotion was forming down the street, making the best bet. He started to run, but the crowded street was making it difficult to come through. He found a wooden box and used it as a leverage; jumping high into the air, making an air-flip over a group of people before landing on his feet. What he saw was making his blood boil.
Akamaru was in the middle of a ring of Sand Shinobis. His head was stuck in a metal wire-snare that was attached to a wooden staff and two ninjas trying to keep him from running or attack. Akamaru's tail was between the legs and because of his white fur it was easy to see a little blood around his neck where the snare was binding him tight.

Kiba let out a roar and attacked from behind; he jumped up on the back of closest shinobi, flipped over him and rolled on the gravel. As he came back up on his feet, his claws were out already glowing with his chakra. With an attack with glowing hand he broke the wooden staff, causing the two ninjas holding the tool fall on their asses. Kiba and Akamaru regrouped and faced the remaining guards who were approaching them.

"You bastards… you'll pay for that." Kiba growled, his eyes sharp and wild revealing the hate he felt of those who dare hurt his beloved comrade.

"Konoha ninja. You are under arrest. Back down now and we won't get serious and hurt you." One of the men said. He seemed quite familiar but Kiba couldn't place him in his condition. "What the fuck are you talking about!"

"Step down now!"

"What are the charges?"

"Arrest him." The tall man said. Kiba spun around, getting the first ninja with his elbow to the gut. "I said: what are the charges!" Akamaru tackled another ninja from Kiba rear. This was starting to get bad. The men attacked without hesitation. He had only one choice, get more ground. However it didn't go as he planned. An arm found itself around his throat from behind and his source to air was almost completely cut off.

"What the fuck is going on here!" Kankuro seemed to have time to show up, finally.

Kiba managed to pull hard enough on the elbow to get some more air, but he didn't do anything else as the ninja held a kunai next to his head. He decided to trust Kankuro get this situation under control so he gave the growling Akamaru a quick hand-sign to stay put.
The tall man that had given the order of Kiba's arrest turned to Kankuro. "Kankuro-sama. What are your concern?"

"This guy is on a mission from Konoha, Baki. To deliver a message to our Kazekage."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken. This is a suspect spy. He and this creature checked in at the main gate late last night. But never showed up at the inn as he was instructed to. That give us a window of nine hours we don't know what he's been doing here. So we are taking him in for questioning. To make sure he is not here to sabotage the village or gathers other information to Konoha."

"It won't be necessary. He have been with me the whole time. I take it from here and get him to Gaara right away."

"Are you not listening to this?" Kiba whispered to the shinobi holding him." Let me go." Feeling the arm loosen a bit of hesitation he took the chance and pushed himself out of the hold. He didn't do anything more drastic though, the guards around him were still on high alert. He couldn't help feeling a little anxious. Not of these guards, but of the future wrath he was going to get from his own Hokage. The Lady would probably skin him for this. And if there would be anything left of him after, then his mom would gladly take care of that. It made him kind of bitter, cause what he was charge with was not entire his fault.

"I'm afraid that is not possible, Kankuro. You don't have the clearance to take over this. Your Junin status and title as Gaara's right hand is yet to be registered. No, he will be taken to the ANBU office first for questioning."

Kankuro crossed his arms defiantly. "A mere formality. The papers will be signed in no time."

"Even so." Baki smiled almost in sympathy. "Rules are meant to be followed. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah, I sure understand." He said and grabbed hold of Kiba's elbow and started to drag him along. "I understand you need to show your authority among the men Baki, but I promise you. They respect you despite of this."

"Oi! Kankuro! Wait!" Baki called out, but Kankuro ignored him. He even heard the soldiers ask their leader if they should do something. But he knew his former mentor wouldn't allow them to do anything. With steady steps he continued to drag Kiba along with an iron grip, people almost jumped out of their way. Kiba threw a quick glance backwards, making sure Akamaru was following them before turning back at Kankuro. "I thought you would solve this, what are you doing?"

"Cleaning up this mess. Better get you to Gaara before you get yourself into more trouble."

Kiba tried to pull his arm away so he could walk by himself, but Kankuro kept the grip firm. "I'm not the one started this. They attacked Akamaru. Because he and I wasn't found at the Inn. You shouldn't have brought us home with you Kankuro!"

"Oh, that's the gratitude of the year. Maybe you prefer to go with Baki and put in the interrogation chair?"

"You know damn well I'm grateful. But you did not have authority to take us in. And now I'm in trouble with the Kazekage. And probably at home as well." He held back a hiss as the grip on his arm was starting to bruise. "You are starting to make it a habit to push me around."

"I will fix this with Gaara. It's just a misunderstanding. That does not mean I'm letting you out of my sight yet."

They entered the Kazekage building, leaving Akamaru outside, and started to climb the stairs to the office levels. "And you shouldn't have left me at the dinner place either!"

Kiba stopped and tried to twist himself lose. "I had to protect Akamaru. He was distressed as hell. They treated him like a wild animal." When Kankuro couldn't hold the arm with such struggle he changed stance and pushed Kiba up against the wall instead, pinning him there. "But you are wild aren't you? How else are they supposed to treat you? That dog is abnormal in size and has a very unstable temper. And you like to rip people's faces off. How can we not handle you like animals?"

There was something softening in Kiba's eyes as he looked into Kankuro's brown ones. "You said you understood the circumstances around that. And if that is how you really feel about us, then why didn't you hand us over to the guards?"

"…." Kankuro didn't answer. Why did he help the kid? He had specifically told him to stay close and even so Kiba had run off and got himself into trouble. But he knew he too was to blame. He didn't want to drop Kiba off at the inn. He wanted him… close so he could keep a watching eye over him. He wasn't just sure why.
Running steps caught up with them and Baki halted at their side. "Don't ever do a thing like that again!" he growled with authority and glared at the duo. Kiba took a better look at the man. He was very tall. Two face-tattoos not very unfamiliar with his own were shown on his right cheek. The left side of his face was being covered by a sheet hanging from his turban-like head gear. "Seriously Kankuro, you have never defied me like that in front of the men. I know you have been under stress and pressure lately but that kind of behavior is not acceptable." Baki cast a hard glance at Kiba. "Who is this fellow anyway?"

"I met him in Konoha a couple of years ago. We have a history." Kankuro explained simple.

"Oh, you did? That doesn't really matter. He is supposed to follow the rules and not being hidden by you from the authorities. Now, there is that dog outside, unsupervised."

"Akamaru know he is supposed to wait for me." Kiba put in. "He wait outside the Hokage-building all the time."

"I don't recall asking you anything, foreigner."

"Enough of this Baki." Kankuro said quite harshly. "Let's get this over with." Kiba felt himself being pushed ahead by Kankuro arms, almost like he was shielded from Baki.

Kankuro didn't bother to knock, much to Baki's curses. The trio entered the office only to find it already in use.

Gaara office was not like Tsunade's, Kiba noted. The room was much bigger and it was empty except of an oval table big enough for ten people. The redhead was dressed quite informal for a Kazekage title. But the paper-job on the table surface was very recognizable. Standing in front of the table, was a tall blond woman. Her hair was tied up in four pig-tails. And on her back was a huge metal fan attached. Kiba recognized the kunoichi as Kankuro and Gaara's sister. The blonde turned with her green harsh eyes at them. "Kankuro, what is the deal?"

"Gaara, give me the authority already. I can hardly do anything out there. It only cause trouble."

Kiba held back a snort. In his opinion, kankuro had contributed to the mess as well.

Gaara calmly held up a piece of paper with his sigil on it. "Already done, Kankuro. What is this about?"

Baki took the chance to approach them. "We have a guest from Konoha, Kazekage-sama. A guest who disappeared on us right after his arrival last night. Turns out he had been spending the night at you brother's place without authorization."

Kiba stayed in the background. But he could feel Temari eyes on him from the side-line. He decided not to meet her eye.

"He wouldn't have stayed at my place if the guard had escorted him right from the start." Kankuro argued.

"So you are saying he was lost?" Gaara asked.

"Attacked more correctly. By one of the drunken gangs in town. I brought him home and patched him up. We have a peace-treaty with Konoha after all."

"We do, yes. But why would you personally care about that? He could have reported it himself at the inn. Don't tell me you suddenly gotten yourself a friend?" Temari said carelessly.

"Temari. Don't speak like that. Kankuro did the right thing helping out. We do have peace with Konoha." Gaara said making his sister go quiet.

Gaara looked at Kiba for the first time. Kiba felt how those eyes were looking into his soul. He recalled the time at the Chunin exam years back. How he had hurt Lee. How he had attacked the village. That aura of hate… it seemed gone now. He seemed stable. And pure. Almost looked his age actually. "What is your purpose here, Konoha ninja?" the Kazekage asked.

Kiba found his voice for the first time and bowed once and deep. "I'm here with a message for you from our Hokage, Lady Tsunade. We all in Konoha congratulation you with your new title as Suna's leader and I also brought a message for you."

Gaara nodded. "Gratitude. You may step forward."

Kiba pulled out a little scroll from his leg holster and pulled it out between his hands. It was filled with Jutsu-markings for summoning. Baki put out an arm in front of him, wanting to take a look at the scroll first.

"It's fine Baki. I trust him. Approach the table, please." Gaara said.

Kiba did as told; put the scroll on the surface, bit the edge of his thumb to mark the symbol, made a few hand-signs and then summoned another larger scroll with Lady Tsunadés sigil on it." There you go, Kazekage-sama. May I send one of your eagles to my Hokage, telling her that my mission is complete and that I will return as soon as possible?

Kankuro couldn't help but to glare at Baki and Temari, silently blaming them for Kiba's discomfort.

"You may send an eagle. But I would like to have you stay here until afternoon. If there is something in here that I need to answer Lady Tsunade, then I can send it back with you."

Kiba hesitated. But who was he to deny Gaara's wishes." I can stay, Kazekage-sama. I need to attend to my dog injuries anyway."

"His dog might have been mistreated when we were going to arrest them, Kazekage-sama." Baki actually admitted, much to Kiba's surprise.

This made Gaara recall the incidents. "I'm sorry for what happened to you when you arrived. Is there anything we can help you with?"

"No, it's fine. It's not that bad. Just shallow wounds on Akamaru. I can fix that in no time."

"And your own injuries? From the gang?" Gaara pressed.

Kiba smiled. "Your brother took care of them just fine. I thank him for his fine hospitality." Again he saw how Temari looked between him and her brother. It was not a different glance than from the staff at the diner. Curious and a little baffled.

Gaara started to look through his papers and chose one to read. "The night report says it was much disturbance but not anything about fights." He turned to his former mentor. "Baki, I want extra patrols on the street during the nights. Keep those gangs in check so no more people get hurt." Gaara ordered.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama." Baki bowed respectfully.

"So then. I know my sister here always has an escort when she is in Konoha. Nara Shikamaru something? Temari turned her head away as he asked her. He relented and turned back at Kiba. "Anyway, I would have you have the same hospitality. We are appointing you a guide."

"Well, I'm very busy. I'm going to train the girls." Temari said and shrugged before turning to Kankuro. "How about it brother? You already seem to have taken a liking to him."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kankuro growled at his sister who was taking her leave. "Nothing, just thought it would be practical. He already had seen more sides of you than the rest of anyone here." Kankuro glared at the door as it closed shut after her. And he turned to Gaara only to be met with a strict eye. "well?"

"Well what?"

"You will take the job as his guide?" Gaara looked at the brunette. "What was your name again?"

"Inuzuka Kiba, Kazekage-sama." Kiba said politely but twitched an eyebrow. Someone as strong as Gaara didn't know his name. But Naruto was easy to remember….that bastard was such a star. Made him want to scream.

"Right." Gaara looked at Kankuro a third time. "Well Kankuro?"

Kankuro didn't say anything and the silence fell over the office. As Kiba noticed that Kankuro's closed fist was shaking, he decided to do something. "I'm grateful for the offer, but I'm fine on my own."

Gaara looked intensively at Kankuro. "Inuzuka Kiba. Please leave us. The eagles are one level above us. The staff will assist you. Then wait outside to your appointed guide. I will summon you later when given time."

Kiba bowed and started to leave, not sure Kankuro even noticed. He had an uneasy feeling in his stomach as he climbed the stairs to the eagle area. Was kankuro that mad of being stuck with him? Sure, the Inuzuka knew it wasn't always quiet around him. Hell, he almost always found trouble. But other than that, he wasn't so bad company. Akamaru never complained. He let out a little sigh. He didn't come here to cause any trouble. He had actually hoped he would be able to see Kankuro. They had saved each other during important adventures. Kankuro was the only Shinobi from Suna he had any kind of contact with. Too see Kankuro react like this, was very disappointing.

"What do you want to send?" A staff-member at the Eagle tower asked. He sat with the smallest pencil and a piece of parchment.

"Mission complete. Waiting for instructions from Kazekage." Kiba said trying to keep it formal and short. They guy laughed. "Thank you. Other guests that come here always want to send a longer letter. Like what they had for breakfast and however. It too much paper to carry for the eagles!"

Kiba joined him. "Glad to be able to help you a bit. Well it's short enough to describe the weather. HOT!"

"I can fit that into the message if you like?" The guy laughed.

"No, it's fine, thank you. So this note will reach Konoha in three days?"

The man shook his head. "One day. You're thinking about the route that you are using. To fly saves a lot of time and Suna's eagles are the fastest there is."
Another man joined them with a big, brown eagle. It stretched its long wings once and then shook his head, obviously just awaken. Kiba noticed the lack of letter bag on its back. The pigeons in Konoha always carried bags. The man noticed his searching. "I know what you are thinking. But we don't use bags anymore. It's too easy for the enemies to see the bird is carrying a message and it makes itself a target. Also, we noticed that a bag works on smaller birds, but on these eagles, the bag turned out be both uncomfortable and a hindrance of movement. Therefore we put the note inside the metal ring on its leg."

"That's impressive." Kiba watched how the first guy finished his note and attached it on the Eagles leg as the other guy held the bird steady. After that the Eagle was carried to the window. "Konoha." The guy said simple and with that the Eagle threw itself out letting the air fill its wings and the bird was turning into a black dot in seconds.

About 45 minutes later, Kiba was sitting with Akamaru on the stairs to the Main building. He had removed what was left of the snare and was now cleaning the small wound. The bleeding seemed to have stopped some time ago, and was going to heal up nicely. "Good boy. This is not our favorite mission is it? The Suna people sure are strange ones…" he murmured so only his comrade heard. As Akamaru seemed to agree with him, something hit him:

"That's right, what do you have against Kankuro? You act so defensive towards him."

"arrr, Arf!"

"Yes, he has an attitude, but I'm sure he can be trusted. He helped us didn't he?"

"Arf arf!"

"Something fishy going on? What is?"

"arrrr arf."

"You just moody in this climate." Kiba stated snickering at his comrade following growl. They sat there a few minutes more wrestling a little before they got company.

"Are you ready to go?" a sudden voice behind them said, causing Kiba to look up at Kankuro. "I'm waiting for that guide, remember?" he replied dryly.

"You are looking at him."

Kiba held a hand over Akamaru's nose to keep the growl from coming out. "Really?" He followed Kankuro with his eyes as the other walked around him and stood in front of the duo instead.

"Look um…what happened up there. It wasn't you…" He started but then looked away for a moment.

Kiba tilted his head to the side. "What do you mean?"

"It was my sister who got me worked up ok? she…"He tried to find the right words." We…don't get along much…right now. She…she tend to put her nose into my business."

The Inuzuka smiled a little. He often saw Kankuro angry, but this was more 'harmless annoyed.' "Isn't that what she is supposed to do?"

"What makes you think that?" Kankuro glared, not liking the thought of Kiba making fun of him.

"I have my own experience of it." Kiba said and scratched Akamaru under the chin. "I also have a big Sister."

Kankuro lost what to say as he didn't expect that. Then he remembered; he hardly knew anything about Kiba. That was what he had tried to find out before all this mess. At the restaurant; it all had gone so great. He had started to think he could actually have…his own friend.
He watched Kiba intensively. The guy may be a trouble-magnet but he was also interesting. Not as weak as he first had thought. It was easy to put all Konoha ninjas in the loser-file, but Kiba had changed his mind. And now… he really wanted to know more. He just needed to figure out how to do this.
His eyes fell on the dog, who still watched him in the corner of the eye. He decided to try something he never would otherwise.
Kankuro got down on one knee. "You know what Akamaru? After your morning, how about let me find you a good steak?"

Akamaru eyes got huge and before Kiba knew it, the dog left his master's arms and ran a lap around Kankuro, barking loudly and then started to run down the street towards the market. Kankuro watched that waiving tail in the distance. "I'll take that as a yes?"

Kiba laughed at his comrade cheap soul. "That was absolutely a yes."

Kankuro stayed true to his word. Akamaru was happily chugging down a huge piece of meat in the shade of an ally. Kankuro and Kiba joined him with a cold drink each. Kiba's eyebrow twitched at Akamaru's claws holding the meat, while his teeth were aggressively pulling at it. "Seriously Akamaru, how about a little manners?"

"it's fine, let the beast eat. The people are already scared of him so it's not like it make any difference." Kankuro said as he leaned against the wall watching the dog in amusement. "How could he get so big by the way?"

"What do you mean?" Kiba asked distantly.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow. "You are kidding, right? He is at least three times bigger than before."

Kiba just shrugged and drank more of his can. Then he noticed three guards walking pass them, giving him a hateful stare. "It doesn't seem we are very popular after our stunt."

Kankuro snorted. "Just ignore them. It will pass."

Kiba looked over at Kankuro who seemed to be in deep thought. "So what happened at the office? Gaara gave you a hard time?"

"Nah, he just threatened to crush me in his sand if I didn't pull my shit together."

Kiba just looked at him with wide eyes, causing the puppet-master to roll his eyes. "He was kidding! Actually no, he said he really would, because that would be the first fun thing he gets to do since becoming Kazekage. But he didn't mean it. Believe it or not we are also family."

"Damn, that is some scary humor." Kiba yelled out and jumped to the side as Akamaru went for the bowl with water and almost tipped it over his sandals. "For the love of…! Akamaru!" The dog simply barked at him in delight.

"Don't say you are the boring-fun type." Kankuro smirked. "Always living safe, never be a little bold."

Kiba grinned at the topic, his eyes glimmering in interest. "You know full well I'm not. What do you have in mind?"

The puppet-master grinned and tipped his head as if to ask them to follow. Kiba and Akamaru only look at each other once before following.

Kankuro knew he shouldn't do this. But it was too damn fun not too. And the bitch deserved it. He looked over to Kiba who also crawled over until he was able to watch down on the training yard from their current roof-top. "Where is the mutt?"

"Swelling up at the bottom of this house. Why are we here?" Kiba asked back, then froze. "No. no, I'm not picking a fight with your sister. I'm in deep trouble as it is."

"This is nothing. Just for fun. Won't be any consequences." Kankuro reassured him. The puppet master turned his excited gaze to his sister. The Kunoichi was playing slave driver with her two students, Matsuri and Yukata.

"I recall Shikamaru said you sister is very troublesome."

"You mean that lazy guy who thinks all things are troublesome?"

"… Point taken." Kiba admitted. He checked the open terrain. It was a simple court yard. A few shuriken and kunai was spread out on the ground. And a few wooden poles were for target practice. "So what are you thinking?"

"Just watch and learn."

Temari was standing on the training field, looking like she had eaten barbed wire. Her green eyes were not amused as she studied her two pupils.
The two girls were standing by the wooden poles with a kunai each. But the girls seemed to giggle and whispering more than actually concentrating.
"Enough! How about throwing today while the sun is still up or do I need to motivate you?!"

The girls made a small jump in fright, obviously hit with a less enjoyable flashback of Temari's kind of 'motivation'. "N-no need Temari-san! It's just…there is a new guy that have moved in the house next to Yukata and he is so cute!" Matsuri said with a blushing and dreamy face. The black haired friend nodded excitedly in agreement. "Yes! I saw him move in with his family two days ago. My mom welcomed his mom and I'm sure he saw me in the window!"
Temari rolled her eyes as the two girls gave out a high pitch scream of excitement. The blonde Jonin took her fan and stomped it to the ground causing the girls to shut up and stood up straight. "Boys and boys and boys! That's all I hear from the two of you. If you really want to impress a man, then focus on becoming the strongest you can be!

"Y-es Temari-san!" both girls answered in union.

"Listen carefully. I don't know what cause you to think about love and romance 24 hours a day. But a real woman learns to rely on her own ability and not on a man! You two have shown me potential to become really good ninjas, and I be damned if any of my students settle to become nothing better than a damsel in distress! Am I making myself clear?!"

"YES TEMARI-SAN!"

"GET TO WORK!"

"My mom would love her." Kiba whispered causing Kankuro to elbow him in the side. Then with a twist of his hand, Kiba would be able to see small chakra strings from two of Kankuro's fingers. He aimed at the girls and his fingers were moving like he was trying to hypnotize them from afar.
Matsuri was just going to throw one of her kunai's at the wooden target when Kankuro yanked his hand backwards. The girl gasped as her weapon left her hand in the opposite direction and she turned to her master. "Temari-san!"

The blond Jonin stood still, the only thing moving was her twitching eyebrow as she was trying to control her temper. The kunai was stuck in the stonewall behind her but before getting stuck there, it had graced one of Temari's pig-tails, causing a few of her strands to fall on the ground. "what…was…that…?"
she asked with dangerously low tone.

"I-I'm s-sorry! F-orgive me, I don't k-know what h-appened!"

Temari turned to the other girl. "Yukata! What are you waiting for! Throw!"

"Y-yes!" Yukata aimed carefully determined to hit the small marking on the wooden surface. But Kankuro was quicker. With a yelp, the girl's foot went out the side and she fell over letting the kunai flip in the air before landing in the sand next to her. Matsuri was quickly by her friend's side. "Yukata-chan! Are you ok?"
she bent down to help the girl up, but was taken by surprise when her friend threw out her arm at Matsuri's legs, tripped her over instead. "What are you doing!"

"I don't know!"

"What the hell are you doing!" Temari was seriously losing her patience.

Both girls shared a determined look before getting to their feet. With a cry both girls threw two kunai each, all hitting their targets. "We did it!" Matsuri cheered.
But the celebrations was short. The kunai's left the pole and started to float towards them. "Impossible!" the girls yelled.

Kiba was covering his mouth not to laugh out loud. He was having the time of his life here. Kankuro seemed to enjoy himself too, working his hands around to scare the girls. Not to make it too obvious to his sister, he let the weapons drop to the ground, snickering with Kiba as Temari's voice echoed through the entire part of the village. "YOU DIDN'T THROW HARD ENOUGH!"

"B-but…!"

"Do it again!"

Kankuro dug into his pocket and took out a small mirror shard and handed it to Kiba. "is that for your make-up?" Kiba snickered but shut up as Kankuro pressed his head down on the roof surface. If it wasn't for his forehead-protector, it would have hurt. "Very funny, every guard use it to talk to each other with code on the great wall. Now are you going to help or not?"

"Touchy subject I see." Kiba murmured but did as told. He crawled a bit forward and used the sun to have some more fun.

"Taijutsu! Go!" Temari yelled.

The girls threw themselves at each other ducking from every punch the other delivered. Matsuri tried a sweep with her leg but Yukata jumped over and threw out her own leg. Matsuri caught the leg and was going throw her opponent away when a sudden reflection from the sun got in her eyes. She gasped and put her hand up to protect her sight. Then without any reason at all, her feet was yanked off the ground, causing both girls fall on their backs.

Kiba felt how tears were forming in the corner of his eyes by laughter. The sight of these clueless girls was hilarious. He heard Kankuro murmurs: "Oh no you don't." and right after Yukata fell over once more after trying to get up. A new fit of quiet laughter overcame them on the roof. Kiba didn't even realize he rested his head on Kankuro's shoulder as he almost tipped over.
Kankuro felt something by the touch, taking his focus from what he was doing. This felt nice. Still grinning like a madman, he received the mirror back from Kiba's shaking hand who were still snickering by the girls panic.
As he was going to put the mirror away he failed to notice that he sent down another reflection.

"What the hell is wrong with you two." Temari halted her yelling as she picked up a very unnatural gleam of light. Her green eyes rose up at the roof and she 'saw red' as she put two and two together. "That bastard…!"

"You want to leave?" Kankuro whispered but before Kiba could answer a huge force of wind surprised them both.

"Seem like a good idea, yeah." Kiba admitted and looked up over the edge, only to be pulled down by Kankuro as another wind hit the edge. "stay down." The puppet-master advised and they waited: both flat on the roof to avoid the attacks.

"Damn you, kankuro! How dare you sabotage my lessons!?" Temari screamed and a third wind whoop past them. "Just stay down. She won't risk damage to this building." Kankuro said confidently. Kiba nodded but made a grimace as the stone next to his head was cut into two pieces by the fourth wind attack. "On the other hand…" Kankuro corrected himself and together they started to retreat. When they were far enough away from the edge, both got to their feet and started to run.
Kankuro picked up the sound of the girls calling out their teacher's name which told him that Temari was in pursuit. "Holy shit!"

"What?" Kiba asked, but he got his answer from the females scent behind them. "oh c'mon!" he looked at his partner in crime as they jumped over to another rooftop. "What should we do? Going from building to building until we reach Gaara's office?"

"No, she expects that. And to be honest, he would not take my side in this." Kankuro saw another gap in front of them. "We need to change strategy, let's go."
Without waiting for a replay, his arm wrapped around Kiba and pulled the surprised ninja close before diving into the ally. Then in midair, he let his strings of chakra grab hold of the roof-edge, causing them both to swing down on the ground soundlessly. Kankuro was impressed, Kiba may have been surprised by the stunt but not a sound came from the Inuzuka otherwise.
A wind through the streets revealed Temari was close, obviously taking a short cut to the Main building. It was Kankuro's turn to be surprised as Kiba suddenly got hold of him and pressed the puppet-master against the wall in the darkest corner so they wouldn't be seen from the entrance. The Jonin knew it was because they both needed to be covered by the darkness and even so he felt stunned with Kiba pressed against him. Kankuro accidently took in the brunette's scent. Kiba smelled like a mix between forest and meat. A very nice combination he realized. He barely even notice his sister running passed the ally in a hurry, only that he felt a bit colder when Kiba backed away from his body, giving him more room to move.

"I think it's clear." Kiba whispered before looking at Kankuro with a mischievous grin. "to think a guy like you know to have fun after all…"

Kankuro smiled back, finding Kiba's amusement contagious. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Arrrr arf arf!" Both ninja's turned at Akamaru who was making himself known from the entrance. The dog seemed to watch them skeptically.

Kiba looked at his comrade in confusion "What?"

The dog simply turned away with a small sound, causing Kiba to call out after him. "Oi! What do you mean?"

"What did he say?"

"He said; something fishy"

TBC.