• Summary: While looking for Itachi, Team Hebi comes across a wolf-like creature that can’t tell the difference between friend and foe and would seem to have taken a liking to Sasuke. SasuXSaku, NaruXHina, and slight SuiXKarin.

    I don’t own Naruto.

    Take a look at my other story (soon to be stories,) you may like them. Also, don’t forget to review; I’d like to know how you feel about my story. Lots of criticism and no flames, please. And relax, there’s no Mary Sues’. If you have any questions about this or any of my other stories, please send in a review or e-mail me about it. Thank you and enjoy.

    ‘Thoughts’
    Normal
    “Speaking"
    “Speaking animal(s)”
    “Jugo also speaks animal”
    “Inner-Sakura”
    Flashback/dream/etc.
    ‘Flashback/dream thoughts’
    Wolfish Desires


    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    CH 1 Monster


    It was a warm sunny Monday morning, with large puffy white clouds slowly swimming across the air, high overhead. It would have been a nice day had it not been for the sticky mud from the daily rains, and the unnatural silence of the forest. Not to mention Team Hebi had yet to gather any new information, from the nearby town, linking to Uchiha Itachi or the Akatsuki. Instead they heard stories of monsters that were acclaimed to kill several villagers and farm animals.

    Karin took her eyes off the youngest Uchiha and rested them on her muddy feet that were sinking deeper into the mud. evil She growled and glanced at Suigetsu, who had been smiling ever since they entered Rain country. He couldn’t wait till it rained. She glared at him as he sipped his water.

    “Karin, is Jugo almost here yet?”

    redface Karin blushed; her Sasuke-kun had said something to her. She closed her eyes to sense the gentle giant.

    “Yes, he’s almost here. What the-?” The other two looked at her expectantly. ‘This chakra . . . it’s one of the leaf ninja that were following us. But something’s different . . . Damn it! They better not try to take my Sasuke-kun!’ “Sasuke, one of the leaf ninja is heading strait toward Jugo, and fast.”

    Sasuke closed his eyes, deep in thought. “We’ll meet up with Jugo before the other ninja. I don’t want him to lose control.” They leaped off into the trees.

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    Jugo walked along the large dirt path quietly. He didn’t like this forest. He couldn’t hear or see any animals. A villager said that vicious monsters had killed many of the animals that didn’t flee from the forest, and now the beasts were killing horses, cattle, and even people. When Jugo asked what they looed like the villager replied that no one had seen the monsters and lived; but at night you could hear and feel them watching you through the darkness. He sighed. Sasuke wouldn’t be too thrilled that he couldn’t dig up some information on Itachi.

    Suddenly a dark shadow dashed out from nearby foliage, almost smashing into Jugo.

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    “We’re too late, they’ve crossed paths!” Karin yelled.

    Sasuke inwardly swore. He really didn’t need this to happen when they were so close to Itachi. They recently found out that the Akatsuki base was somewhere in Rain.

    A large explosion made them stop for a second as the earth shook. Suigetsu scowled as they ran faster than before. “Jugo must of lost control already. Heh, I feel sorry for the leaf ninja.”

    They arrived to see someone on a fighting stance and a monster surrounded by smoke and broken rock.

    Sasuke was the firs to speak. “Jugo.”

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    Ch 2 Please Help Me



    The monster charged at Sasuke with the intent to kill, but Suigetsu jumped in front of it swinging his sword low to the ground. The creature was thrown back howling in pain.

    “Wait! She can’t control herself.” The three turned to the man behind them, Jugo. Sasuke eyed the man carefully.

    Jugo quickly told them while the creature tried to get up.

    Flashback:

    “Please help me,” it begged and wined. gonk

    From the sound of its voice, Jugo guessed it was female. He could see how afraid the creature was through its emerald eyes. Feeling that he should calm and comfort the poor wolf-like beast, he spoke in a gentle fatherly tone. “What’s wrong? You can tell me.”

    Her tail wagged a bit but she soon yelped in pain, and collapsed. Her pupils became slits just like a cat’s eyes. “G-get away from me! I-I can’t stop myself!” She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and charged headfirst into a nearby boulder, leaving it in shambles while causing a minor earthquake.

    End flashback.

    “I think she was trying to knock herself out.”

    “Aaah! eek Suigetsu, watch where you get thrown! You almost hit me!” stressed scream Karin yelled as Suigetsu was thrown into a tree with a splash, only to collect together.

    “Shut up, Karin!” scream He picked up his sword ready for another round. However, Sasuke stepped toward the beast.

    “That’s enough, Suigetsu.” Suigetsu gave him an annoyed look but did as was told with minor complaints. The creature turned her attention to the avenger. His eyes captured her, eyes like blood, with spinning commas that stood out perfectly. She couldn’t look away. Her eyelids became heavy, and seconds later she slumped to the ground asleep.

    Karin opened her mouth to complement her crush, when a sick cracking noise could be herd, like bones breaking under constant pressure. The four watched as the beast slowly started to change form. Its snout grew, ears were now less pointy. Its ragged reddish brown fur softened, its tail curled and its toes and nails shrank. After a couple more cracks, the animal now looked like a mix between an Akita.

    Sasuke turned away from everyone while they gapped at the unconscious dog. “Jugo, she’s your responsibility. Do what you want with her.” stare

    Jugo smiled as Sasuke left for their camp followed by Karin and Suigetsu. Jugo didn’t pity the animal so much as he understood it. Not being able to control yourself; hurting and killing all who are unfortunate enough to be near you at the time...it was something he was all too familiar with. He picked her up and followed his teammates.

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    Somewhere in the brush a beast, more ferocious than the first, turned and left its hiding place.

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    She could hear yelling nearby. Loud annoying screams, then the splash of water. Her ears twitched as she tried to ignore the sound. ‘Where am I? A river?’ Wherever she was it was near a fire because of the warmth it gave and the soft glow behind her eyelids. She felt only bliss right now and wanted to fall asleep again but something was bothering her. It could have been the bickering of two strangers, the strong gentle voice of a peacemaker, and the aggravated commanding words of “shut up stressed ,” maybe it was the familiar sound of the commanding voice, or maybe it was that she was surrounded by strangers, stuck in the body of an animal, and that she could have unconsciously killed someone. Yep, nothing but pure bliss...

    “What the hell!?” She jumped up suddenly, only to have pain coarse through her body. She looked around wildly, there were four ninja, but only three were watching her, startled.

    “It’s alright, you’re safe. You don’t have to worry about hurting anybody.” The man closest to her grunted. It was the one she ran into earlier. The two on her left cautiously observed her. A redheaded woman had a man, who reminded her of Zabuza with that large sword of his, in a headlock. The fourth ninja was sitting in the shadows, back turned toward her, watching the night sky.

    “D-did I hurt anyone?”

    “No.” She wagged her tail a bit.

    “Sasuke made you fall asleep.” She froze.

    eek ‘Sasuke? Here? Now!? This must be the group he’s traveling with.’ She had to tell her teammates, especially Naruto. But for now she needed to stick with the man she loved for a long as possible. After all what else could she do in her current situation? “R-really? Could you thank him for me please?” Jugo nodded.

    “Sasuke, she wants me to thank you for stopping her.”

    “Hn.”

    “Hey, Jugo,” Karin bellowed, pushing Suigetsu away from her. “Ask her where her teammates are.” The canine tensed. The redhead knew. “I know she has something to do with the Konoha ninja.” Karin glared at the dog.

    “What did she say? I don’t understand.” ‘Please Kami-sama, let him buy it.’

    “She wants to know if you were traveling with anyone a while ago? Some ninja maybe?”

    “She was with the other Leaf ninja that followed us when we discovered that the Akatsuki base was in Rain. But she didn’t have the chakra of an animal,” twisted Karin smirked. Sasuke finally turned around to face the dog.

    ‘Crap. What should I say?’ she inwardly panicked. “. . . Yes,” Jugo’s eyes seemed to sadden. “I followed them . . . because one of the kunoichi gave me some food when I was starving,” she quickly added. Jugo smiled and told his teammates. Her heart ached with anticipation and fear of Sasuke’s decision as to place her as an ally or an enemy. Currently he was watching the sparks made from the fire; its light reflecting off his empty eyes. Her longing gaze shifted to Karin, who was trying to scoot closer to Sasuke. stressed A deep growl escaped her throat catching Jugo’s attention.

    “Is something wrong?”

    “No, nothing’s wrong. I have a couple questions though.”

    “Will you answer some of my questions then?”

    “Sure.” For some reason, Jugo always found it easier to talk to animals than people. They don’t judge others the same way as people, and they were usually very honest.

    The two spoke to each other from simple to personal questions until Suigetsu spoke out of the blue. “I used to have a dog once.”

    Karin was almost afraid to ask. “What happened to it?”

    cool “It got in the way of my sword training. Literally.” The woman scowled in disgust. mad

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    Somewhere two and a half miles away.

    A dog wined as it watched his master and best friend scream in pain. Seven others watched anxiously.

    “I-its okay, Akamaru. It’s just a little scratch. I’ll be fine,” the boy patted Akamaru’s head and winced in pain as his bandages were tied tightly.

    “Little!? Your arm looks like it might fall off!” A blond ninja shouted. “We need to get you to a hospital!” scream

    cry “I-I’m really s-sorry. I-it’s m-my fault y-you got hurt,” a timid girl apologized frantically as she continued to bandage, Kiba.

    Flashback:

    “S-Sakura-san,” Hinata yelled to Sakura as she watched the enemy ninja bite the kunoichi.

    The girl screamed in pain and fell to the ground, flailing around. Hinata ran towards her as the man backed vanished. However the Hyuuga came to an abrupt halt when Sakura’s body started to change with a hairy tail sprouting where the tailbone was. The sound of bones breaking and a low growl could be herd. Suddenly Sakura who was a shadow of her former self, charged at Hinata as if to bite her.

    “Hinata, look out!” Kiba, followed by Akamaru, jumped down from one of the trees and took the hit for his teammate. Sakura latched on to his arm with her sharp teeth and shook him like a rag doll making him scream. She threw him towards a tree but Akamaru caught him.

    End flashback.

    “It’s not your fault, Hinata,” he smiled at her. “Anyway, we don’t have time to go to a hospital, Naruto. We now need to find both Sasuke and Sakura.”

    “I know that but-”

    “He’s right, Naruto. Besides, we’ll need his nose to find the two,” Kakashi muttered from the tree he was leaning against. Naruto growled but agreed. He was really worried about his two teammates, especially after what happened to Sakura.

    “I still have my feet don’t I? I can still track them, Mutt-face.” the boy joked. Naruto glared at him.

    “Well it seems Dog Boy is still up for finding Ugly and the Traitor. What about you Bug Man?” Sai teased.

    Shino pushed his sunglasses up, “please don’t call me that. . . . Even if it would help certain people remember who I am after being away for so long,” he mumbled the rest while looking at Naruto. stare

    gonk “Oh, come on! That was almost five months ago! I couldn’t tell it was you because I could barely see you with all those clothes on!”

    “My, my, Dickless. I didn’t know you wanted to see Bug Man that much.” smile

    “W-WHAT?! Ew! No! That’s not what I meant!” gonk Naruto started screaming colorful words at Sai.

    “Idiot.” ‘Only Naruto would set himself up like that.’ Kiba winced as if in pain again.

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    Previously:

    “Oh, come on! That was almost five months ago! I couldn’t tell it was you because I could barely see you with all those clothes on!”

    “My, my, Dickless. I didn’t know you wanted to see Bug Man that much.”

    “W WHAT?! Ew! No! That’s not what I meant!” Naruto started screaming colorful words at Sai.

    “Idiot.” ‘Only Naruto would set himself up like that.’ Kiba winced as if in pain again.

    Wolfish Desires


    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    Ch 3 Pakkun


    “I’m telling you her name should be Kisu (kiss)! Not Jishin (earthquake)!” scream

    “What are you talking about, woman? Remember, she made the ground shake like an earthquake yesterday,” Suigetsu argued mad . He was in a good mood until recently. It had showered early in the morning waking everyone up who didn’t want to get wet. Plus it soaked their map leading to the Akatsuki base. Which meant everyone, aside from Suigetsu, was a little short tempered, even Jugo lost it.

    Flashback: earlier that morning.

    Sakura and Team Hebi were having a relaxing walk to the next village. The four Hebi members had their cloaks on and hoods up to protect them against the light rain. A peaceful quiet filled the air as they walked calmly to the village ahead. Sasuke was leading with Karin following at his heels. Suigetsu followed close behind on the other side of Sasuke while Jugo was behind Karin. Sakura was tagging along behind all of them.

    Suddenly the hairs on the back of Sakura’s neck began to prickle and rise as if someone was brushing a finger against the fur on her back. She subconsciously began to growl. Something was wrong with this feeling, and it was scaring her to the core. The atmosphere felt suffocating and she could hear her heart beating and her blood pulsing through her head.

    Jugo slowly raised his hand toward Karin. Sakura suddenly went ballistic and jumped on Jugo’s back, before he could touch the woman. She pulled at his cloak with her bared fangs and growling like a rabid dog.

    “What the!? Sasuke, the dogs lost it!” Karin shouted jumping back several feet. Sasuke’s sword was already unsheathed and Suigetsu’s hand griped his sword handle ready for attack.

    Sakura was thrown back by the large man with just a flick of his now mutated arm. She managed to gain her balance and slid three feet in the mud before comeing to a halt. She barked wildly at the blond. This was not a friend, but an enemy.

    “BLOOD!” he charged at Karin.

    Sasuke cut him off and looked him in the eye with his spinning Sharingan. He spoke softly, “Jugo, calm down.” stare

    When Sasuke finally stopped Jugo, they tried to coxes Sakura to come near the berserker. After several long minutes of hiding behind legs, deep growls, running several feet away, they succeeded. Jugo explained to her later that he was like her when he lost control. And that led to the realization that he never asked her what her name was.

    End flashback.

    Suigetsu dumped the contents of Karin’s bag on the muddy ground.

    “Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing!? Listen to me when I’m talking to you, you stupid Kappa (a water sprite)!”

    The man ignored her and picked up a piece of paper, tearing it into six strips. Sakura watched in amazement as Karin tried to tackle Suigetsu, only to miraculously be pinned down by his legs, sat on, and have her back used as a writing surface. The man scribbled words on the papers. He then scrunched them into small paper balls and tossed them into the bag, which he handed to Jugo. “Whatever you pull out will be her name.”

    “You probably wrote ‘Jishin’ on all the papers! And GET OFF!” scream she choked out, trying to breathe properly with his weight crushing her.

    “No, I didn’t, you annoying woman!” stressed

    Jugo looked at the name and smiled. “Suzu (round bells).”

    Suigetsu sneered at Karin, “see! It’s the one Sasuke came up with.” He scrambled off the woman.

    Sakura wagged her fluffy tail in joy. They finally decided on a name for her and Karin was covered in mud. She trotted over to Sasuke, hoping for some affection. She was disappointed when he only looked at her from the corner of his eye. ‘This may take a while.’ sweatdrop

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    Eight shadowy figures leaped from tree branch to tree branch.

    “Okay then, so you’re sure this is the way she went?”

    mad Kiba growled at the blond idiot. “I’ve told you already, Naruto. My nose doesn’t lie!” the boy held on tightly to his canine companion, Akamaru. The large white dog barked in agreement.

    A smaller brown dog spoke up. “Akamaru and I both smell some of Kiba’s blood on her, faint though it is. Most of the sent was washed away by the early rain, but some of it landed on trees and in dry places.” Naruto looked at Pakkun sheepishly and nodded.

    “Hinata-chan, can you see anything up ahead?” the Kyuubi vessel asked the only female still in their group.

    They stopped while she activated her Byakugan. “No. I-I don’t- wait! There’s a lot of s-smashed up rock 20 kilometers a little to the l-left. It doesn’t look natural.”

    The boy’s eyes lit up instantly. “All right! Let’s go!” he ran ahead of his team before anyone could stop him.

    A few minutes later, after confirming that this was indeed Sakura’s work, the two dogs and the ninja surveyed the area for any trace of their missing comrade and friend. Kiba sniffed the air vigorously, abruptly turning his head to a near by tree. He walked over to it, kneeling down with one hand on the tree for balance. His nose was one inch from its bark. He inhaled the foreign sent that was absorbed by the tree. Ocean water, freshly cut grass, and the smell of rain just before it falls (that dusty smell). “Someone else was here.”

    The group rushed over to him. “D-do you think they fought wit Sakura-san?”

    “Maybe,” he continued sniffing, trying to memorize the smell.

    Pakkun zoned out when he caught a whiff of something that smelled familiar. So familiar that . . . his eyes widened. eek “No . . . it couldn’t be . . .” everyone turned toward him.

    Kakashi bent down almost to eye level to talk to the dog. “What is it Pakkun?”

    “I smell . . .,” everyone leaned in.

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO


    Ch 4 Inn


    “I smell my shampoo brand! surprised ” Everyone did a double take.

    “WHAT!?” scream Naruto stepped forward with a fist raised. “What does that have to do with anything!?”

    “If I remember correctly, Sakura also used that shampoo three years ago. But she changed her brand. I don’t know why though. It was a nice smell.”

    “Oh. That’s because she didn’t want to smell like a dog.” stare

    Pakkun looked offended, “anyway, the smell is coming from here.” He pointed with his nose.

    The others watched as Kakashi pick up something from the ground. “Red hair.” ‘It looks like it was cut with something. A kunai, or sword maybe?’

    “But Sakura-chan has pink hair.” confused

    “No duh, Dickless,” Sai gave him a fake smile. smile

    “S-Shut up, Sai-teme! scream No one asked you!” the Naruto shouted. Yamato sighed.

    “Calm down, you two. The smell is leading away from here,” Pakkun’s nose twitched. “Farther into Rain. With any luck it will lead us strait to Sakura”

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    When they arrived at the poor village, they instantly split up after setting up a meeting place at the village inn. Sakura, convinced Jugo to let her go with Sasuke. Now she was happily trotting next to the love of her life. Her tail wouldn’t stop wagging every time she looked up at him. Young village women and housewives gossiped about the handsome stranger, but they were ignored by the man. Several stray mutts walked down the streets, fighting in alleyways, giving her dark looks, and some even tried to hit on her.

    “Hey Baby, you’re the best thing I’ve seen since breakfast (AN: I got this idea from one of the Charley Bone books). Wanna come to my territory?” a long dark grey dog appeared next to her while Sasuke was talking to some shop keepers. If she could, she would have blushed from embracement. “Sorry, but you’re not my type. Literally.”

    “Aw come on, Baby, your telling me I’m not hot enough? Well, you’re so hot you look like you’re in heat.” The kunoichi could tell he felt proud of himself for coming up with such a line. She however, felt repulsed.

    “Go away. I already like someone.”

    “Who! I bet he’s not as big and strong as I am.” Sakura could hear the annoyance in his voice.

    Sasuke left a shop. “Suzu, come.” Sakura’s tail automatically waged a bit.

    “You can’t even compare.” Sakura walked briskly toward her ex-teammate, who had already turned to leave.

    “What’s that supposed to mean, Suzu?” the stray asked while following her.

    “It means I don’t like you! So leave me the hell alone!” Inner-Sakura screamed as Sakura stayed silent.

    “I mean, come on. I’m the top dog in this village. No one can beat me. All others look up to me and respect me. And since he’s not here, he should respect that I’m gonna make you my b***h (he’s calling her his dog girlfriend, not insulting her.)”

    Sakura spun around in anger, “shut up! He is here! And I doubt he would give me to you even though he doesn’t return my feelings and he doesn’t recognize me! So stay away from me you . . . you,” she racked her brain for something that would offend a male dog. “You stupid, weak, yapping puppy!” The kunoichi must have hit the sore spot of a sleeping lion. The big dog stood in shock, no one, especially a female, had ever dared to insult him like that. Sakura turned her back on him and slowly walked to her ex-teammate.

    Sasuke had stopped long ago to watch the seen unfold into an eventual fight between the two dogs. He wasn’t happy. This fight would take too much time off of his current mission. If he didn’t intervene now, something bad was bound to happen.

    The stray launched itself at Suzu, tearing at her neck while she made a grab for his. Dark thoughts clouded her judgement and she went all out on the large mut. For some reason she wanted nothing more than to kill the male, too rip it apart, and devour it. The smell of her own blood fueled her hatred, her rage, her bloodlust. She felt immune to the pain around her neck. Before either cone could blink, Sasuke pulled the stray away with the gruff of its neck. Sakura could taste blood . . . lots of blood. She opened her eyes in horror. Her jaw was clamped over Sasuke’s arm. Her teeth tearing into muscle and bone.

    She let go as gently as he could, crying out ‘I’m sorry’ over and over again. The teenager’s face was stone cold. It was as if nothing had happened. Other strays silently watched the fight.

    “So, Suzu, is this your crush? After all he’s the only other one with you.”

    “Yeah . . . he is.”

    “What the hell are you thinking!? He’s human and you’re a dog!”

    “I’m not a dog! I’m human!”

    The dog gasped now trying to get out of the ninja’s vice grip. “You-you’re one of his pets!” he whimpered. “St-stay away from me! And this village!” Sasuke finally let the dog go. It ran away with it’s tail between its legs. Sakura looked around, the other dogs backed up into the shadows behind barrels and crates. Fear in their eyes.

    “Come on.”

    Sakura hung her head in shame. If it was possible for a dog to cry, she’d make a river. She could feel Sasuke’s tension and annoyance as he bandaged his right hand. Blood slowly trickled down his hand from several large puncture marks. He already had bandages on his head from his fight with Deidara. Sasuke gave a small sigh and the two continued to gather information.

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    “Nnnggghh! By the time you find their sent again, I’ll be an old man! Naruto yelled, pulling at his hair.

    Pakkun and Kiba glared at the boy. “Don’t get you hair in a knot, Naruto. It’s not my fault I lost their smell,” Pakkun mumbled looking up at the rain clouds and the darkening sky.

    “Um . . . i-it’s alright Naruto-kun. W-we’ll find them.” Hinata blushed, “h-how about w-we go to Ichiraku’s after this m-mission? I-i-if you w-want th-that is!” Naruto’s eyes widened as did hers.

    “Hinata-chan . . .” he started, his eyes hidden under the shadow of his hair.

    ‘Oh no! He probably hates me for asking him when he’s so worried about his teammates.’

    “I LOVE YOU! You’re such a great friend! Of corse I’ll go to Ichiraku’s with you!” Naruto suddenly glomped Hinata, pulling her into a rib cracking, bear hug. His face rubbed against hers in affection. The poor girl didn’t know what had just happened.

    ‘H-h-h-he l-l-l-loves m-m-me!?’ redface redface redface Her face hit every shade of red, before she fell limp in his arms.

    “Hn? Hinata-chan, are you okay?” he gently shook her. “. . . Hinata-chan? AH! Hinata-chan!”

    “You idiot! Stop making her faint!” Kiba and Shino rushed over to their fallen comrade.

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    The inn they entered had a variety of emotional scents. Happy, sad, hateful, anxious, kind, sensual, and playful. This place intrigued her as she checked out everything in the lobby. She was almost left behind when the others followed the inn keeper. The middle-aged man had an ‘X’ shaped scar on his left eye, it was a foggy white.

    As soon as the man unlocked their room and opened the door, Sakura practically ran him over, eager to check out the new smells and feelings. She never felt like this before. It was like walking outside for the first time in your life.

    The old man flipped the light switch, “my two daughters will be here shortly to bring you supplies and the cook will make you some food.” Sakura ignored him as she continued to check the room out.

    Minutes passed and finally two figures entered the room. Suigetsu raised an eyebrow at the pretty twins, two large baskets, full of essentials, where carried with delicate hands. “Huh. Maybe this town isn’t so bad.” They giggled and winked at him and Sasuke.

    Sakura watched Karin slowly back up against the light switch. When the woman felt it pressing against her shoulder blade she raised her shoulder and pushed the switch down. It was now pitch-black

    The twins squeaked, Suigetsu started cursing and Karin quietly tiptoed near Sasuke. Sakura hastily made her way to the Avenger. Who knows what Karin was planning. Jugo clumsily felt the wall for the switch, falling over bits of furniture.

    This was it! This was her chance! It was now or never. Nobody would know it was her, and Sasuke was so close. Karin moved her hand downward, an action that didn’t go unnoticed by Sakura.

    ‘Oh no you don’t,’ the canine grabbed the piece of clothes next to her and pulled.

    “Sasuke-kun is mine, not yours!”

    Karin reached down quickly and steadily, and squeezed. She was now on cloud nine, ‘damn, he has a tight a**. But then again, that’s to be expected.’ She let go and quietly darted to the other side of the room to help Jugo look for the light switch.

    The lights finally came back on and everyone was bathed in light. Only . . . one of them seemed to be twice as pale as he usually was. Karin gapped as his hands went strait to his butt. She marched towards the door, leaving Jugo to ask Suigetsu if he felt sick.

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    Last time:

    The lights finally came back on and everyone was bathed in light. Only . . . one of them seemed to be twice as pale as he usually was. Karin gapped as his hands went strait to his butt. She marched towards the door, leaving Jugo to ask Suigetsu if he felt sick.

    Wolfish Desires

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    Ch 5 Friends


    Sakura felt it would be best to follow Karin, to make sure she didn’t try anything else. So before the redhead could close the door, the medic slipped through on a steady pace at least three feet behind the kunoichi. Karin lead them outside to the inn’s public garden where Karin sat down on the edge of the veranda. The freshly cut grass brushed against her bare feet. Sighing the redhead pulled off her glasses staring at them, then at a firefly that landed silently on the frame. cicadas were singing every now and then. Cool summer breezes barely moved the wind bell above them. For some reason Sakura felt sad and guilty.

    “I don’t . . .I don’t actually hate him,” she finally whispered.

    Even though she was still looking at the warm light of the bug, Sakura could sense that she was close to tears. ‘Is she talking about Suigetsu?’ Sakura finally sat down next to Karin, who placed her glasses next to her and brought her feet up on the edge of the veranda.

    “We fight all the time . . . and he probably hates me and thinks that I’m a really annoying b***h. I don’t blame him though. Heck, I thought he was an annoying b*****d who purposely got in the way when I wanted to be alone with Sasuke, but . . .” Karin hugged her legs while her gaze moved to the fireflies hovering above a larger koi pond. Their reflection along with bits of moonlight multiplied their beautiful glow. The moving, blinking lights gave the impression that they were dancing. “I . . . I might actually like him more than Sasuke. I feel different when I’m near him than Sasuke. However I’m also 100 positive that he’d kill me if he could get away with it. He’s a lot cruller than he lets on. He doesn’t really care for human life.”

    Sakura was surprised by this news. She thought Suigetsu was pretty nice despite his rude and violent words.

    “When we went to get Jugo. I felt two chakra’s at one point. One was Suigetsu, the other was one of the many prisoners who had the curse mark like Sasuke. After a while, the prisoner’s chakra vanished. Later I lied about dropping something in the base. I said, ‘I’ll only be a minute.’ when I found the prisoner . . . I almost threw up at what I saw. What was left. So . . . I’m afraid. The guy I like might actually kill me.”

    Sakura’s attention fell to the tiny drops that darkened the wood floor. ‘She’s crying,’ Sakura lowered her head in shame. ‘I made matters worse. . . . Now that I think about it, I realize she’s a lot like me. I was afraid of Sasuke-kun when the curse mark first took over, and at Orochimaru’s base. I didn’t know what he would do . . . and I was so scared.’

    Karin was now shaking. “I don’t know what I should do,” her voice cracked as she buried her face in her arms, sniffling. The dog next to her made a low whining noise and rested her muzzle on the girls arm in comfort and understanding. Karin made several sniffling sounds and whipped her eyes. After a couple minutes of this she finally looked at Sakura. Instead of her usual glare, scowl, or frown, she smiled warmly and hugged the dog. “Thanks for listening. Oh, and don’t tell any of this to Jugo, ‘kay?”

    Sakura inwardly smiled. ‘She’s not so bad. Heh, maybe we could even be friends.’

    Suddenly Karin jerked back as if she had been shocked. Her eyes were wide, her face flushed, and her body tense. Sakura turned around startled, afraid that an enemy was nearby. Suigetsu was leaning on the corner of the wall that lead to where their room was located at. His eyes were void of emotions like Sasuke. The corners of his mouth were slanted down in a unique frown. Sakura had to admit that he did look kinda cool like that.

    “S-Suigetsu!” Karin stuttered. ‘Crap! I dropped my guard. I should have made sure no one else was around, especially him!’ “H-how long have you been there!?”

    “Just now. Anyway, the foods ready to eat, so hurry up, Four Eyes,” he snapped.

    Karin relaxed a bit, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there in a second.” She moved to get up but slipped, lost her balance, and fell.

    CRACK

    She paled and jumped up immediately. The three looked at the small shards and broken frames of her once whole glasses. “Damn it.”

    Suigetsu scoffed, “nice.” He turned and left.

    Karin glared at him and scooped the broken glass into her hand. She meant to follow the male but instead walked strait into a wall. Sakura sighed and looked back at the glowing bugs one more time before finally pulling her companion to the room by the end of her shirt.

    The two entered the room in time to hear Sasuke interrogate Suigetsu about his apparent lateness. The mist ninja mumbled something about the bathroom. Sasuke’s eyebrow made a perfect arc. “The bathroom is connected to this room. I didn’t see you enter or exit.”

    “There was one out in the hallway,” Suigetsu scooped something from inside the shopping bag, placed it in one of the bowls, and set it next to Sakura.

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
    Ch 6 Play Ball!


    Sakura watched grumpily as three members of Team Hebi ate their tender, succulent, and juicy, pork ribs. Ribs that Sasuke cooked. The smell was overwhelming as it wafted throughout the room. Sakura’s mouth watered until she looked down at her food. Her . . . puppy chow. She glared at the stuff before she looked back up again. Where the hell did Suigetsu get this stuff anyway?

    After they received their food and convinced the very persistent identical waitresses to stop flirting with Sasuke, Team Hebi started to lazily eat their food. (They’re still in the room)

    Sasuke looked up to see a rather large pair of eye. Suzu gave him the best puppy-dog-eyes she could muster. “No.” It was as simple as that. He didn’t even let her whine or nothing. She slinked over to Jugo and repeated the process. “Sorry, Suzu. I don’t eat meat.” Her prayers were answered when the other two each gave her a long juicy rib.

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    After their dinner, Team Hebi started lazing about. Karin, much to Sakura’s annoyance, and despite really liking Suigetsu, was sitting far too close to Sasuke. He seemed quite agitated by her close proximity. Whether he was trying to nap or just thinking, Sakura couldn’t tell, because he had his eyes closed, but was continuously telling Karin to stay away. She herself was laying on her side next to Jugo who was asleep on one of the futons. And Suigetsu left on a personal erran that he refused to tell anyone about.

    “I’m back!” the mist ninja burst through the door, grinning, and showing everyone his shark-like teeth. Jugo woke up with a jolt and groggily looked up at the man. Suigetsu held something behind his back. Everyone’s attention rested on him as he placed a heavy shopping bag on the table and took something out. As he walked past Sakura, he purposely hid the object from her. Her head went up in curiosity. Suigetsu opened the sliding doors leading to a small veranda and a small pretty garden. “Come here, girl,” he said encouragingly, as he held up a red ball, tossing it from hand to hand.

    Sakura gave the ball a weary look, keeping her eyes glued to the mesmerizing thing. “I don’t play fetch you stupid, Fishfre-,” he tossed the ball outside, “BALL, BALL, BALL!” Suzu thundered out of the room and into the muddy garden, looking for any sines of red. Her tail flapping about aimlessly a million miles per hour as she pranced back to the man with the ball in her mouth. She stopped in front of him for a second, when an idea suddenly hit her. Before he could take the ball from her, she sidestepped him and sprinted wildly inside. She roughly skidded to a halt in front of Karin and Sasuke, dropping the ball in Karin’s lap. Karin let out a skreak, trying to knock whatever it was on her lap, off. “This is your chance to catch his attention.”

    The woman succeeded in flicking the ball off. The small red ball rolled away until it was picked up by Suigetsu. “You wuss. It’s just slobber. A dog’s mouth is cleaner than a humans.”

    Karin stood up, “Whatever. Sasuke, I need to go buy another set of glasses. Do you wanna come with me?” She gave him a dazzling smile.

    “No.”

    The redhead frowned. “Fine then. I’ll be back whenever.”

    oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

    A man raised his lantern higher to see through the darkness. He could have sworn he heard some sort of animal out in the rice fields earlier, but there was neither hied nor hair of the beast. He scratched his short, shabby beard and decided to head back into the village.

    “Excuse me!” The man turned around to see a tall stranger come out of the woods to his far right. The stranger waved to him in a friendly manner.

    “Yes?”

    The stranger stopped in front of the man and gave him a crooked smile. “Have you by any chance seen four travelers in black cloaks with a dog?” The stranger had dark brown hair and he wore an even darker cloak.

    The man gave the stranger a weary look. “Yes. . . . They’re at our village’s ryokan (Japanese inn).”

    The news seemed to brighten up the brunet’s mood even more. “Oh good, good. I have an errand for you, than.” The outsider move forward still smiling.

    “ . . .!?”

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
    Ch 7 Nightmare


    Beautiful fluffy clouds floated across a vast blue sky. Two young women walked through the muddy forest in silence. The pink haired woman finally broke the silence, “so . . . when are you going to tell Naruto how you feel?”

    The other woman choked on her own spit and turned three shades of red. “W-wha!? H-h-how-how do you know I like N -N-Naruto-kun!?” She was stuttering worse than ever.

    “I’m pretty sure the whole village knows aside from the idiot himself,” she gave the shy girl a grin. “Hinata, if you don’t tell him, he may never know.”

    Hinata nodded, yet her eyes saddened, “b-but I’m afraid he won’t like me.”

    Her companion let out an annoyed sigh, “Hinata, if you don’t tell him, you’ll never know. Even if he doesn’t share your feelings, he’ll understand them and in time may love you back the same way. But be careful, because he’s way too much like that old pervert, Jeraiya.” She placed her hand on her heart, “despite that, I promise to help you get the courage to confess to that idiot. Besides, I remember him telling me how cool you were when you guys went to get that rare bug that would lead us to Sasuke-kun.”

    Hinata turned two more shades of red, “He did? I guess you’re right.” The Hyuuga smiled at the medic. “I- look out!” she tackled her companion to the ground just as a large weapon whizzed past them, slicing everything in its path. When the sound stopped abruptly, dozens of trees fell to the ground. “Th-that was close,” the two got up and were immediately in a defensive stance.

    “Yeah. Who’s out there!? Show yourself!” Sakura yelled.

    “Oops, I’m sorry,” a young man stumbled out from behind some trees. He gave then an apologetic smile. He wore a black cloak which hid his clothes from view. His short hair was a total mess, but seemed to fit his facial features. “I was practicing with my new weapon, and well . . . I kinda’ lost control of it. I didn’t mean to startle you two lovely young ladies, nor put you in such danger. Please forgive me.”

    “How do we know you’re not an enemy ninja? Especially when that weapon looked like it was aimed at us.” the medic called out.

    “Ah, I see your point. But I give you my word, weather you believe me or not, that I don’t wish to kill you.” The stranger dislodged his weapon from a large rock only two or three yards away, “um, you wouldn’t know how to wield this, would you?” The shape of the weapon reminded them of a large Hula-Hoop, only it was made of metal and was very, very sharp. Its thick blade was on the outside and the shape reminded the two of the furious waves of the ocean.

    Both women shook their head. “Um, ex-excuse me, but who are you?”

    “Oh, sorry, I should have introduced myself sooner. My name is Renji” he lightened the mood with a warm grin.

    “M-my name’s Hinata.”

    “And my name-.”

    “I already know your name, my dear,” Renji’s smile widened into a sick grin. “After all, you are my prey.” He suddenly appeared behind them. “And you know...for someone who didn’t die from Sasori-senpai’s onslaught of attacks, you sure do have a slow reaction time.” BAM! His leg slammed into both their backs before they could move, sending them flying.

    The medic regained her composure in mid air, sliding to a stop in the rough mud, while her companion rolled to a stop. The pink haired ninja slammed her fist into the ground causing a minor earthquake.

    Renji jumped up into the air, throwing his weapon towards Sakura. She tumbled to the side to avoid the attack. However, before she could get up, Renji was next to her. He twisted her arm around, forcing her to her knees. He kicked her in the stomach, and before she knew it, he bit her neck.


    The wounded kunoichi could hear her friend scream her name, but everything seemed to stop. She could only feel warm liquid run down her right shoulder and chest. His lips brushed against her ears. “See you later, Sakura-chan,” he whispered. She screamed in pain and fell to the ground, when he let her go. Sakura flailed around wildly. Hinata ran towards her as the man vanished. However the Hyuuga came to an abrupt halt when Sakura’s body started to change. A hairy tail sprouted where the tail bone was. The sound of bones breaking and a low growl could be herd coming from deep within her chest. She opened her eyes. It was so foreign to her. All the colors seemed to have changed dramatically. Plus everything was so slow . . . and loud. Hungry . . . she was so hungry. There was prey nearby, tasty, tasty prey. She must kill it. Rip it to shreds and make it scream from pain and fear. She flexed her clawed hands into the dirt, drool dripped down her fangs. She fixed her eyes on Hinata.

    Suddenly, Sakura, who wasn’t even a shadow of her former self, charged at Hinata as if to bite her.

    “Hinata, look out!” Kiba, followed by Akamaru, jumped down from one of the trees and took the hit for his teammate. Sakura latched on to his arm with her sharp teeth and shook him like a rag doll. Kiba opened his mouth and-

    Sakura woke up abruptly, ‘I swear I just heard a scream. Maybe it was just the nightmare. Yeah that’s it.’ Her heart ached; she almost killed her teammates. Her friends. . . . That strong feeling of hunger . . . it frightened her. But what about Sasuke? Would she betray him too? . . . Would he kill her?

    OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

    When I originally wrote this chapter I had a name for my bad guy…I forgot it.

    Preview: Ch 8 The Big Bad Boar

    “I miss you Sasuke-kun,” she whined. She was both happy and sad. Sad that he left the village, left Naruto . . . left her. He even tried to kill her and Naruto. But right now, like this, she was happy to be so close to him. Even if she couldn’t actually tell him. She remembered being this close to him on several occasions. Mostly on missions when they slept at inns. Kakashi wouldn’t pay for their own beds so the three genin had to share. Sakura was always placed in the center so that she ‘wont fall or get pushed off the bed,’ as Kakashi had put it. Sasuke even seemed to enjoy it when she’d kick Naruto in the ribs for hogging the blankets, when he unconsciously moved himself on top of both of them, or when his loud snoring woke them up.