Edited 08/08/2020

Third Person's POV

"You guys made it!" Naruto shouts excitedly, slapping his hands down on the table and rising from his seat.

Shikamaru and Choji grin back at the blonde male, with Shino maintaining his stoic expression, though he does raise his hand in a wave. Ino, still riding on Asuma's back, throws her hand in the air and gives Sakura a peace sign.

"Ino, Hinata" Sakura greets, placing a hand over her heart and sighing with relief. "I'm glad you're both alright."

"Thank you Sakura-chan" Hinata says, bowing her head. ".....H-Hello Naruto-kun..."

"Hey Hinata!" the Uzumaki shouts, already back to stuffing his mouth with food. "Come and eat guys, it's good!"

"Once again" Asuma complains, squatting down in front of a chair so Ino can climb into it, "No one cares about us Sensei...."

"We care, we care!" Naruto protests, holding up a chicken leg. "We just knew you guys would be alright!"

"Well, I'm glad to see you guys" Kakashi says teasingly, stepping into the room and placing a hand on Sakura's head.

"Kakashi Sensei" Sakura smiles, tilting her head back to look up at the Jonin. "I'm happy to see you."

"We didn't know you were here too Sensei!" Naruto cries, his eyes sparkling at the sight of Kakashi. "You don't have a scratch on you! You're awesome Sensei!"

"Geez, even after all that" Shikamaru sighs, dumping himself down into the seat beside Naruto, "You're still as loud as ever. Don't you ever get tired?"

"I'm way too hungry to be tired" Naruto chuckles, to which Choji nods appreciatively, seated on the other side of Shikamaru.

"I hear that" he agrees, piling food onto his plate.

"Normally I'd tell you guys off for eating like pigs" Ino announces, pulling out the chair beside her so that Hinata can sit down. "But considering what we've all just been through, I'm gonna allow it just this once."

"That's big of you Ino" Asuma jokes as he too sits down, with Kurenai taking up the seat beside him as well.

"You both did well" Chief Dashi praises, looking over at Kurai and Atsui. "This is nearly all of the Leaf Ninja."

"Tamashi and I just happened to run into a whole bunch of them" Kurai giggles, hugging Shimei's arm. The tall red head had come over to greet her as soon as she had arrived, and Kurai had been quick to smother him in hugs and kisses. "It was really lucky."

"Yeah well, you were all a massive pain to find" Atsui huffs, arms folded over his chest.

"But we only found one Atsui-chan" Tsumetai points out innocently, something that causes the green haired boy to blush.

"So what?" he bites back. "At least we even bothered looking!"

"Just shut up Atsui" Saffire sighs, leaning her back against a wall. "You barely even did anything."

"Seeing as you're the one who caused this whole problem" Atsui growls, mad, "I wouldn't be saying anything if I were you."

Saffire's eyes widen at Atsui's accusation and she turns to frown at the boy, although she knows he is right. She'd been feeling guilty about it this whole time and she didn't need someone like Atsui telling her it was her fault!

"Come on you guys!" Kurai jumps in, not wanting a fight to start. "It doesn't matter whose fault it was. We can try again another time, but for now, the most important thing is to get everyone back together again."

"That's right" Kakashi agrees. "No one is blaming you Saffire. You haven't been trained to kill people, especially dangerous people like Sirius. We shouldn't have put so much pressure on you."

Saffire's eyes fill with tears upon hearing this from the kind Jonin. She quickly swipes them away however, before placing her hands on her knees and bowing her head deeply, grateful for Kakashi's words.

"Hello" Fang greets Ino, trotting over to the wary girl and inspecting her bandaged leg. "Would you like me to heal your leg?"

Ino immediately brightens at this offer, beaming at the Wolf and nodding her head eagerly.

"Yes please!" the blonde agrees. "My name is Ino by the way."

"My name is Fang" the Wolf replies pleasantly, biting at the bandages on one of her forelegs to unwrap them. "Please place your hands on my chakra tattoo."

Fang places her paw on the edge of the seat Ino is sitting in, allowing the girl to reach her leg easier. As Ino places her hands on Fang's tattoo, the Wolf closes her icy eyes and the tattoo begins to glow bright blue.

"Who are we still missing?" Choji suddenly asks, looking around the table.

"Ashley-chan and Sasuke" Naruto responds immediately, pausing in his eating for a moment as he thinks of his two friends.

"Kiba and Akamaru still aren't back either" Shino adds, to which Hinata nods her head sadly, worried for the two of them.

"That's four..." Kurenai murmurs, making a mental note.

"Kiyumi and Keilor aren't here either" Saffire points out. "They're probably still looking for the other Leaf Ninja."

"Please do not worry my dears" Arelle speaks up in her soft voice. "They will all arrive back at the Temple safely soon enough."

The Minami all exchange looks with each other, before Saffire and Kurai sigh with relief. Shimei gives everyone a closed eye smile, as Jet tilts his head in confusion at Arelle and Atsui just shakes his head.

"How do you know that?" Shikamaru wonders.

"As you may or may not be aware by now" Chief Dashi speaks up, "Each Minami Wolf has a different ability or power. Arelle's is that she is able to see short distances into the future."

"What?!" Sakura, Ino, Naruto and Choji all exclaim, their eyes wide as they stare at the pleasantly smiling old Wolf.

"How cool!" Choji adds. "Imagine how useful that would be in a fight!"

"You'd always be able to know what your opponent was going to do" Kakashi agrees, nodding his head slowly.

"You've got a Sharingan Kakashi" Asuma scoffs. "That's basically the same as being able to know what your opponent is going to do."

"Well, it's not like I can tell the future" Kakashi pouts, his behaviour causing Sakura and Naruto to deadpan.

"Pardon me if this sounds disrespectful" Sakura says apologetically, turning away from her Sensei, "But are Arelle's visions always correct?"

"She's never been wrong before" Dashi confirms confidently, smiling with pride at his Guardian.

"Ah, that's a relief" Sakura smiles cutely, leaning back in her seat. "So Sasuke-kun and Ashley will really be back soon...."

"Even without those visions" Jet speaks up, unable to help himself, "I know that Mila- uh, that Ashley will make it back. She is the strongest person I know. She would not be defeated and leave her friends behind so easily."

Jet looks on as everyone turns to stare at him, some of the Minami sending him curious expressions. Beginning to feel awkward, the large Wolf merely lays his head back down and closes his eyes, pretending the others aren't there.

Whether they agreed or not, and whether the other Minami liked it or not, Jet knew he had spoken what he believed to be the truth. He didn't need the visions of an old Wolf to tell him that Ashley would be back. She had always pulled through for him and the other pack members in the past, and this situation would be no different.

Ashley's POV

I pause in my running, ducking my head as a fireball shoots over the top of me and collides with a tree. I straighten up and blink a few times, before Kiba runs right past me, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me after him.

"Don't stop!" he shouts, Akamaru running right beside him.

"How did they catch up so fast?" I wonder, sweat dropping at the yelling behind us. "I thought he'd outrun them!"

"Some of these soldiers are quite fast it would seem" Aki laughs sheepishly, turning to glance back at us over his shoulder. "We may need to detour from the Temple so they don't follow us there."

"Can't we just kill them?!" Tiez barks madly, running right beside Aki. "One of them almost hit me before!"

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" a man behind us exclaims, something that really just seems to irritate me for some reason.

I've had it with these soldiers. I really had wanted to avoid killing them if possible, but they're so determined to exterminate us, I'm losing my patience. I had seen one of them throw a kunai at Tiez before, and it had barely missed her. Now they're shooting fireballs at us and no matter where we go, they refuse to stop following us.

I wrench my arm from Kiba's grip and whirl around, skidding to a halt. Kiba also comes to a stop, concerned for me, only to see that I have brought my arms out in front of me.

Glaring at the incoming fireball, I focus my Katsuryoku as much as I can and manage to halt the flames in mid air, causing it to float in front of my hands. Upon catching the fire, I spin around and throw them right back at the soldiers, grunting with the effort.

While fire is definitely more difficult for me to control than other elements, controlling fire that is full of chakra is an immense task for me. I won't be able to do much of that in one fight.

"I thought we were running?" Aki questions, his ears laid back as he slowly walks over to Kiba and I.

We all pause upon hearing a scream of pain, as the fireball collides with one of the soldiers, who had positioned themselves out of view as soon as I had turned around.

"Heh...." I smirk, glancing up into the trees.

"What's so funny?" Tiez asks, looking around uncertainly as she tries to shield herself behind me.

"....We're surrounded" I inform everyone, sweat dropping. "That was fast...."

"Surrounded?!" Tiez squeaks, her violet eyes widening in fear.

"Don't worry Tiez" I assure the small Wolf, narrowing my eyes up at the trees. "I'll protect you."

Tiez stares up at me for a few seconds, before hooding her eyes and averting her gaze.

"...That won't be necessary" she denies my offer stubbornly.

"You Leaf Ninja are dead!" someone bellows, just as two soldiers suddenly leap out of the trees. One flings a handful of shuriken at us, as the other performs a set of hand signs.

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!" I shout, completing a hand sign of my own and placing a hand in front of my mouth.

I exhale a powerful breath of chakra powered wind at the two soldiers, immediately blowing the shuriken away and dispersing them back at the hidden attackers. Aki jumps forwards, inhaling a deep breath.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bomb!" he growls, blowing out a powerful flamethrower that merges into my Jutsu.

Fanned by the winds of my Great Breakthrough, the flames whip up into a huge fire storm. The two attacking soldiers scream as they are engulfed in the flames, the trees around them also becoming incinerated in the blaze.

As Aki and I attack those soldiers, four more dart out from their hiding places to attack, not wanting to give us any time to react.

"You kids ready to die?" one of the men sneers.

"C'mon Akamaru!" Kiba calls out, allowing the Ninken to jump up onto his back. "Man Beast Clone!"

Just as Akamaru transforms into an exact copy of Kiba, the two of them about to attack, Tiez charges forwards.

"Get outta the way!" she barks at them both. "Ninja Art: Frozen Mist!"

That said, Tiez skids to a halt in front of the approaching soldiers and breathes out a dark yellow mist that emits a strong, bitter scent. Letting out a small yelp as the soldiers run straight through the mist and one of them grabs for her, Tiez hurriedly spins around and races back towards us.

"Tiez!" I cry out, my attention back on her as the two soldiers Aki and I had attacked fall to the ground, their dead bodies blackened from the flames.

Suddenly breaking into a smirk, Tiez abruptly turns back around to face the soldiers and sits down. Just as they are about to reach her, all four men fall to the ground, gasping and wheezing, right at Tiez's feet.

"Paralysis Jutsu" the small Wolf explains. "It takes a few seconds to work, but when it does, you won't be moving again any time soon."

"Incredible" I breathe, my eyes widening slightly. "You both have some really interesting powers."

"Thank you darling" Aki smiles prettily. "But perhaps we should finish them off first, and then you can take as much time as you like to tell me how amazing I am."

"Is that all of them?" Kiba wonders, sniffing at the air. "It's hard to say......All I can smell is that poison cloud."

"I can't sense any more movement" I tell the others, watching as Tiez marches over to the paralysed soldiers and stands on a man's back.

"This'll probably use up the rest of my chakra" she sighs, "But I can finish them off real quick if ya want."

"What are you going to do to them?" I ask, curious as to what other abilities the small Wolf has.

"I can make my bite venomous if I wanna" Tiez says casually, shrugging one shoulder. "I have hollow fangs so I can inject poison. It takes a lot of my chakra, but I can kill em all pretty fast this way."

"Hmm...." I trail off, wondering if we should just keep moving. "Maybe save your chakra for n-"

I interrupt myself with a gasp, sensing sudden movement, when a man drops down from the trees and roughly grabs onto the back of Tiez's neck. He hold her up in the air triumphantly as she writhes around, struggling to break free from the man's tight grip.

"Seems your sensory capabilities aren't as adept as the other Minami" the man sneers at me. "I've fought with the other blonde one enough to notice. You don't seem to be able to sense us if we don't move at all. How pathetic."

I glower at the man, my teeth bared in a furious growl. I feel my hands ball into fists down at my sides, my knuckles turning white.

"With all of those distractions" the man continues, a smug look on his face, "You didn't even notice us move into a better position. And this little one really helped us a lot, using her poison to reduce the other's sense of smell."

"You bastard" Aki growls, baring his fangs at the man. "You let my Tiez go or else, I swear I'll-"

"One more step Wolf" the man warns, curling his fingers around Tiez's throat. "And I'll break her tiny neck."

I can hear Akamaru, still a clone of Kiba, growling quietly over to my left, as the real Kiba glances down at me from the corner of his eye. I slowly begin to raise my arms, only for the soldier to jab a finger at me with his free hand.

"You!" he shouts. "Don't even think about moving your arms! I know how your powers work. And you, Leaf Ninja! Same goes for you. Anyone moves, this dog is dead."

I freeze in place, my eyes locked on the panicked face of Tiez. I look up however, at more movement from above, before two more soldiers drop down from the trees behind me. They roughly shove Kiba, Akamaru and I to our hands and knees, scoffing at our incompetence.

I curl my fingers into the grass, raising my head to glare at the man still holding onto Tiez. I feel frustrated and helpless. I could easily attack that man if I wanted to, but I can't do so without moving and I really don't want him to hurt Tiez.

If only I had the ability to focus my Katsuryoku without the need to move my arms or my hands, I'd be able to do something! I'm nowhere even close to a feat like that though, considering I couldn't even sense three men in such close proximity to me. Why is my Katsuryoku so weak?! Why am I so weak?!

I hear a faint rustling sound next to me, only to see that Aki has vanished, leaving nothing but a pile of orange leaves in his place.

"Hey!" one of the soldiers behind me yells. "Where'd the Wolf go?!"

"Heh" the man ahead of us smirks. "Looks like the Wolves aren't as loyal as they pretend to be. He's left you all for dead."

"I would hardly be so heartless" Aki argues, suddenly reappearing right in front of the man, leaves swirling around him.

The soldier, surprised by Aki's presence, looks down at the Wolf and immediately freezes in place. He remains motionless for a few seconds, before abruptly crumpling to the ground, his eyes rolling back into his head. Freed from the man's grip, Tiez tumbles to the ground, gasping for breath.

The two soldiers behind Kiba and I begin to shout at us, when one suddenly grabs my hair and yanks it backwards, pulling me up onto my knees.

"You kids are gonna pay for what you've done" the man promises me, the anger clear in his voice as he presses a kunai against my throat. "We were going to deliver you brats to Lord Sirius, but now we-"

"Fang Over Fang!" Kiba shouts, interrupting the man as he and Akamaru launch themselves up into the air, spinning around each other at such high velocity that they look like a huge drill.

Not allowing the soldiers any time to retaliate, Kiba and Akamaru collide with the two men with force, sending them both rocketing away and slamming into trees. They both groan as they slide to the ground, their eyes crunched closed.

They both look up however as I walk over to them, my eyes hooded and my expression dark.

"We were going to be merciful" I advise the two men in a low voice. "But now, I'm not feeling so generous."

I throw both of my hands up into the air, causing two thin spikes of rock to shoot up out of the earth. Both men gasp as they are stabbed through the chest, the spike spinning each of them to the tree they had collided with.

I turn and look over my shoulder at the paralysed soldiers and the one under Aki's Genjutsu. Gritting my teeth at the sight of them, I raise both arms once again, causing more spikes to protrude up out of the ground and kill those men as well.

I watch as Aki and Tiez glance around at the dead soldiers, before Aki closes his eyes and rubs his head against Tiez's, relieved that she is okay. Kiba walks over to me with Akamaru, who is now back to being a dog.

"....Are you alright Angel?" he asks carefully. "You look really mad."

"I am really mad" I say calmly, though inside, I feel like punching something. "Not only was that man able to get into a position where he could kill Tiez if he wanted to, he also exposed the weaknesses of my Kekkei Genkai. I'm frustrated and I'm angry at myself for being so weak. I should be better than this by now. That was just embarrassing."

"Uh, I think you're bein a bit too harsh on yourself there Angel" Kiba tries to reason with me, "But it's like Kurenai Sensei says to us all the time. If you're frustrated by your weaknesses, you gotta train to overcome them."

".....Looks like I have a lot of training to do then" I say, releasing an irritated sigh, before walking over to Aki and Tiez. "Are you alright Tiez?"

"Yeah I'm fine" the purple Wolf mutters, her ears drooping.

"It's only her pride that is hurt" Aki chuckles, nudging Tiez.

"I'm tougher than that, I swear" Tiez informs me urgently. "He just caught me by surprise is all. I won't let an idiot do that to me again."

I smile with faint amusement at Tiez's attitude. I guess I'm not the only one feeling like they failed here.

"Well, I'm glad you're both alright" I say, genuinely happy that they aren't badly hurt. "I'm sorry I didn't protect you like I said I would."

".....Don't worry about it" Tiez sighs, too embarrassed to meet my eye. "I get myself into trouble like that all the time. I mean, it's usually not that bad, but...."

"She's too headstrong" Aki explains, ignoring the death glare he receives from Tiez. "It's not unusual for me to have to step in and save her for rushing into situations."

"I've had to save you plenty of times" Tiez counters, smirking meanly now. "Like that time you fell in the mud, and any time you step in a puddle, or that time when a bird was flying over and-"

"Alright then" Aki says cheerfully, interrupting Tiez and rising to his feet. "I don't wish to relive that story, so if we're all feeling fine and we're done feeling sorry for ourselves, then let's continue on."

"Come on Sasuke-kun" Kiyumi encourages softly, holding the door open for him, voices pouring out of the room ahead. "You're just about there...."

Sasuke blinks tiredly as he steps into the brightly lit room, met with the sight of all of the other Leaf Ninja, as well as the Minami survivors and their Wolves.

Sasuke pauses in the doorway, leaning his shoulder against the door frame as he narrows his eyes slightly and searches the room.

Was Ashley back yet? She had some serious explaining to do...

"Sasuke!" a voice suddenly shouts, dragging the ravenette's attention over to Naruto.

Everyone at the table pauses at the sight of Sasuke, except for the excited blonde. Naruto immediately leaps out of his seat and rushes over to his teammate, beaming.

"You made it back!" the blonde laughs. "Took ya long enough! We've all been back for.......Hey, are you alright? You don't look so good."

"Oh Sasuke-kun...." Sakura gasps quietly, running over to have a closer look. "You're injured aren't you?"

Kakashi rises out of his seat, as Kiyumi and Keilor squeeze into the room. The girl runs over to Dashi and grabs onto his arm.

"Sasuke is very hurt Grandfather!" she cries, a pleading look in her eyes. "He needs to be treated immediately."

"Take him to a room with a spare bed" the man immediately orders. "We'll tend to his wounds right away."

"Allow me to assist" Fang offers, jumping down from her spot beside Saffire on a couch and running over. "I will be able to heal his injuries."

Sasuke begrudgingly leans on Naruto, as he and Kakashi follow Chief Dashi into another room.

"I haven't seen you like this before Sasuke" Kakashi comments, eyes narrowing slightly at the deep slash wounds on his student's back. "You must have fought hard."

Sasuke doesn't say anything, feeling too tired to explain anything at the moment. All he wanted to do was sleep, but he knew that wasn't going to be an option until his wounds had been attended to.

"Seems like severe chakra and blood loss" Fang says, also staring at Sasuke, as he is made to sit on the edge of a bed. "I'm afraid that I can't assist with chakra loss, however we do have some plasma pills around here somewhere. Sasuke, please place your hands on my leg. I will begin healing you immediately."

Back in the dining room, Sakura sits back in her chair with a deep sigh. Sasuke had looked awful. What had happened to him while he was out there?

"Poor Sasuke-kun" Ino says sadly, resting her elbows on the table and leaning her chin in her hands. "Looks like he was out there all alone this whole time. Lucky he's so strong. None of you guys would have survived being alone."

Shikamaru deadpans at the accusation, while Choji merely shrugs and Shino stares at Ino. Would she scream if he sent a few bugs over her way?

"If it weren't for me" Shikamaru reminds Ino pointedly, "You wouldn't have survived."

"That's beside the point" Ino huffs, turning her head away. "Point is, you should all try to be more cool like Sasuke-kun."

"Who'd want to do that?" Choji mutters, to which Shikamaru nods his agreement.

"Poor Sasuke-kun has been f-fighting very hard" Kiyumi speaks up timidly, her nerves kicking in as everyone looks to her. "He was fighting s-some Tigers when we found him. Th-That's how he got those huge marks on h-his back..."

Ino and Sakura stare at Kiyumi for a few seconds, when the blonde girl's expression grows suspicious.

"Since when did you start calling him Sasuke-kun?" she demands to know, something that causes Kiyumi to sweat drop.

"O-Oh" she laughs uncomfortably. "Is it strange?"

"Did something happen out in the forest?" Ino wonders, pouting a little. "I wish I'd been the one to run into Sasuke-kun out there."

"Your leg was injured Ino" Sakura states in a sharp tone, annoyed by what the blonde is saying, but also admittedly a little irritated at Kiyumi's assumed closeness with Sasuke. "You wouldn't have been running into anyone out there."

"What'd you say to me Billboard Brow?!" Ino screeches, incredulous.

"You heard me Ino Pig!" Sakura screams right back, flames burning in her eyes.

Everyone at the table sweat drops as the two girls begin to argue over nothing, as they usually did whenever Sasuke was involved. They were all somewhat used to it by now.

"What stupid girls" Atsui mutters, walking over to Kiyumi and lightly touching her elbow. "Hey, are you alright? You didn't get hurt at all did you?"

"Ah Atsui-kun" Kiyumi smiles up at the taller boy, her dark eyes closing. "No, I'm fine. We were able to avoid all of the patrols pretty easily."

"I'm glad to hear it" Atsui says, a kind smile on his face. "I was worried about-"

"Hey Atsui-kun!" Saffire calls out, a teasing smirk on her face. "You haven't checked on me yet. I could have been hurt ya know."

An anime vein pulsing on the side of his head, Atsui whirls around, jabbing a hand in Saffire's direction.

"Why the hell would I check on you?!" he spits back at the girl. "I wish you had gotten-"

"You didn't check on me either Atsui-kun" Kurai giggles, wanting to join in on the teasing. "Or Shimei-kun."

"Minua ei myöskään tarkistettu" Tamashi adds, his sharp teeth bared in a grin.

(I was also not checked on.)

Atsui blinks a few times, unsure of how to respond, as his face slowly turns more and more red.

"That's because Atsui-chan only cares to check on Kiyu-chan" Tsumetai points out brightly, pointing one finger into the air. Atsui's neck wrenches around so he can glare at his Guardian, hoping the pointed look will shut him up.

"As Kiyu's Guardian" Keilor pipes up, lying on his back with his feet in the air, "I'm like totally offended that my wellness wasn't checked on, but I'm also like, uber glad that her wellness was totally considered."

Atsui stares down at the floor with wide eyes, a blush spread across his face. He wanted to turn around and tell Kiyumi that it didn't mean anything that he'd checked on her, but he also wanted to electrocute every single other Minami in the room for opening their big mouths. It was only a miracle that the Leaf Ninja were too preoccupied with their own drama to be paying attention to Atsui's humiliating situation.

"I appreciate the concern Atsui-kun" Kiyumi says gratefully, gently taking hold of Atsui's sleeve. "And I'm glad to see that you and Tai-chan are fine too."

Atsui looks down at Kiyumi for a few seconds, blinking, before he pulls free of the girl's grasp and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Yeah well" he grumbles, face still red as he turns away. "You're welcome."

Ashley's POV

"So if your Wolf partners all have signed contracts with you" Aki says slowly, trying to understand, "Then where are they when you have not summoned them?"

Aki and Tiez had been asking me all sorts of questions about myself and my pack for the last hour or so. While Tiez had mostly been content to listen in awe for most of it, Aki had been the one firing most of the questions at me. For someone who didn't want to come with me, he sure sounded interested.

"They live on a mountain called Inu Zoku Mountain" I explain, walking next to Kiba and looking out at the river on my right. I remember this river well, as it's lined with Willow trees. This is the only spot on the whole island where these types of trees grow and no one knows why.

"It's really pretty there" I add. "Reminds me a lot of this island actually, now that I think about it. Especially when it snows."

"It snows here?" Kiba asks, to which I nod and begin to smile, unable to stop myself.

"Yeah, it's beautiful here in Winter" I recall, my eyes sparkling at the memory. "It was always my favourite time of the year. I love the snow."

"Do your partners have the freedom to see you whenever they want?" Aki continues his line of questioning.

"It never snows in the Leaf Village" Kiba comments, something that makes me laugh quietly.

"That's because we live in the Land of Fire genius" I tease, bumping the Inuzuka with my elbow. "It doesn't even get cold back at home."

"Yeah yeah, I know" Kiba says, waving one hand dismissively. "I'm just sayin. I don't think I've ever even seen snow before..."

My eyes widen at this declaration and I jump forwards to stand in front of Kiba, surprising him.

"I suppose I'm just wondering if your partners are trapped on that mountain unless you summon them...." Aki asks, his voice getting quieter and quieter. He stops walking, brows furrowed as he looks back to Kiba and I, who have also stopped walking.

"You've never seen snow before?" I repeat, incredulous.

"Well, I've seen pictures and stuff" Kiba defends himself. "But I've never been to the snow or anything."

"Ah! You're missing out!" I exclaim excitedly. "Snow is so fun! It's all soft and powdery, but it's really cold. You can make snow men or snow angels, or you can press them into balls and throw them at each other. That's really fun!"

I suddenly pause, noticing that Kiba is smiling at me, seemingly holding back laughter. Feeling self concious, I lower my gaze and turn my head away.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothin" Kiba says with a shrug. "Just didn't think you'd get so excited over something like snow is all."

"You would too" I say, poking my tongue out, "If you'd ever been in it before."

"Ahem!" Aki clears his throat, causing both Kiba and I to turn and look at him. I see the way he has one eyebrow raised at us, an unimpressed look on his face.

"Yes?" I prompt.

"Are you quite done ignoring me darling?" Aki inquires, sounding somewhat sarcastic. "I understand that you have other priorities, but to ignore me is simply rude."

"Other pri-" I feel my face flush. "I don't have other priorities! I just didn't hear you!"

Aki closes his eyes and heaves a deep sigh at this, as Tiez looks between us all in confusion, a question mark appearing above her head.

"Can we meet your Wolves sometime?" the young Wolf requests, her question immediately making me smile again.

"Of course you can!" I agree eagerly, already reaching for my summoning scroll. "You want to meet them now?"

Tiez jumps to her feet, tail wagging, as Aki sends me a miserable look.

"The sun is setting" he points out. "We should be focusing on finding shelter for the night."

"Aw come on Aki" Tiez pleads. "I wanna meet em! We can take a few minutes, can't we?"

Aki looks down at Tiez through hooded eyes, before sighing once again.

"Fine" he agrees, to which Tiez lets out a whoop of joy and bounds over to me. Though she sits down and looks up at me expectantly, I can see her fidgeting in place.

Smiling to myself, I pull out my summoning scroll and place it on the ground. I then bite down on my thumb hard enough to break the skin, a slight stinging sensation running through my hand, before I reach down and swipe my blood across the parchment.

"Summoning Jutsu!" I call out, abruptly disappearing in a large cloud of smoke.

"Oh boy!" a small voice chirps. "I can't wait to see Lady Ashley-chan! She'll know where Jet-chan is!"

"And then we won't have to hear about it anymore" a rough voice sighs irately.

Upon hearing Chi's voice, I immediately regret my decision to summon him, though I can hardly introduce the pack to Aki and Tiez without him.

"Greetings Milady" Ace says, stepping out of the smoke and walking to my side. "Ah....I see you are with this again."

"This?" Kiba repeats, before pointing to himself, eyebrow twitching. "Do you mean me?!"

"Don't take it too personally dear" Rei advises kindly, strolling over to Ace and snuggling into his side. "You're a lovely boy."

"Lady Ashley-chan!" Chi calls desperately, leaping out of the smoke at me. Before I can move, Chi presses his paws against my shoulders and knocks me flat on my back, the force of hitting the ground causing my eyes to spin.

"H-Hi Chi" I say dizzily, the small Wolf now standing on top of me.

"Where's Jet-chan?" Chi inquires. "I haven't seen him for ages! It's been years since I've seen him, I miss him so much! Can you help me look for him? I bet he flew away, to get back at me for being part Butterfly....."

Shaking my head free of its dizziness, I push Chi off and sit with my hands resting on my knees.

"Chi, Jet is busy at the moment" I inform the pup carefully, thinking that now may not be the right time to tell him. "You can see him later."

"Awww......" Chi whimpers, looking crestfallen as his ears and tail droop.

"Ah, who might these two be?" Rei asks, her ears pricking up at the sight of Aki and Tiez. "They are Minami Wolves by the looks of things."

Kai glares at the two unfamiliar Wolves, both of whom look back at him uncertainly. Kai breaks out into a sinister grin at this, enjoying intimidating others with his size and his aggressive personality.

"Can I at least eat the little one?" the Wolf asks meanly, to which Tiez's eyes widen.

She quickly begins growling however, marching right up to Kai and sticking her nose in his face.

"I'd like to see you try it!" she barks defiantly, much to Kai's surprise. "Come at me, see what happens!"

All of the Wolves stare at little Tiez in shock, wondering how Kai is going to react to such boldness from such a small pup. Kai however, bursts out laughing and lowers himself to the ground to be more eye level with Tiez.

"I like this one" he chuckles roughly. "She's got guts. What's your name kid?"

"I'm Tiez" she announces proudly, puffing out her chest. "Who are you guys?"

"I'm Kai" the large Wolf bares his teeth in another grin, red eyes hooded. "Stick with me kid, you'll learn from the best."

"I'm Chi...." the caramel Wolf introduces, still looking the picture of misery. "And I'm sad because my best friend in the whole world is missing....His name is Jet-chan, but he passed away many years ago now....."

"He's not dead dear" Rei reprimands gently. "Don't say such things. Oh, my name is Rei dear. Nice to meet you."

".......I am Ace" my Guardian says flatly, presenting himself in an unfriendly manner.

Tiez tilts her head and squints at Ace.

"That's your Guardian?" she questions dubiously, something that causes annoyance to flash across the usually stoic Wolf's face. "He's pretty underwhelming..."

Kai bursts out laughing again, his tail wagging now.

"I really like her" Kai states, sending Ace a taunting look. "Better watch out Ace, this one is smart too."

"Clearly not" is all my Guardian says, closing his eye and turning away. He obviously didn't like Tiez at all, after her little jab at him.

"And who are you dear?" Rei inquires, walking over to Aki and inspecting him. "My, my, you are beautiful. What gorgeous fur. It's enough to make a girl jealous."

Aki's eyes immediately light up at Rei's compliments, before he hoods them and lays back his ears, ruffling up his fur prettily as he does so.

"My name is Aki darling" the black and white Wolf introduces himself with a sweeping bow. "I see that you have a good eye for a fine specimen. A smart lady as beautiful as yourself, we're going to get along just fine."

"Oh my..." Rei murmurs, sweat dropping as she takes a step back from Aki.

Ace glares over at Aki, an anime vein pulsing on the side of his head. I see his nose wrinkle a little, as he tries not to growl at Aki.

"I certainly hope we will not be returning to the Land of Fire with these two cretins" Ace complains to me, loud enough for the others to hear. I shrug.

"I'm hoping we will" I inform everyone, a sly grin on my face. "Play nice okay? I like them and I want them to join the pack."

"Oi kid" Kai immediately demands. "Be my subordinate. I'll teach you everything you need to know about killing things."

"Aye Boss!" Tiez salutes, her tail wagging again.

"Tell me dear" Rei tries again with Aki, making sure to maintain a small distance this time, "How does one get their fur to look as luxurious as yours?"

"Well first of all" Aki smiles charmingly, "Be born of the highest pedigree."

"....Are you sure you want those two to join you?" Kiba asks, as we listen to Aki ramble on about good fur care. "Seems like they're gonna cause a lot of trouble."

"As if my current pack doesn't cause trouble" I laugh shoving Kiba over towards the river to allow all of the Wolves to become acquainted. "I wouldn't mind having a little more trouble. Now come on!"

"Is it alright to leave them here?" Kiba asks, only to look down as Akamaru squirms out of his jacket and runs towards the Wolves, tail wagging furiously. "Hey, Akamaru!"

"It's fine" I laugh quietly, stopping beside a tall Willow tree and looking up at it. "We're not going far away. Here, let's climb this tree!"

Kiba tilts his head to the side, raising one eyebrow at me as I jump up onto a low branch and turn to look at him.

"What?"

"Why are we climbing a tree?" he queries in a dry tone, though I can tell that he is amused.

"Follow me and I'll show you why" I say innocently, only to smirk to myself as I turn back around. This was going to be fun...

Heaving a dramatic sigh, Kiba bounds up the tree after me and follows as I step out onto a strong bough. Curtains of leaves hang down around us, leaving us almost invisible to the small group on the riverbank, though we can certainly still hear them.

"....Hey Kiba?" I address, trying to hold my laughter in already.

"Yeah?"

"Hold your breath" I advise, only to dive at the Inuzuka and shove him off the branch before he can protest.

"Why?!" he shouts as he falls, a clear feeling of betrayal in his voice, only for the boy to disappear under the water with a huge splash.

I double over laughing as his head appears back up out of the water, Kiba trying his best to glare up at me.

"That was unfair!" he calls up to me, only for me to shrug.

"Watch out!" I shout back, leaping from the branch and bending my knees, tucking them into my chest. I hit the water with a satisfactory splash, the coldness of it sending a shock through my body.

I float under water for a few moments, before kicking my legs and popping my head up out of the water. I immediately begin giggling like mad, as Kiba shakes his head and grins at me.

"Nice bomb" he chuckles, giving me two thumbs up. "Mine would have been better if I'd have a little warning."

"Where's the fun in that?" I ask cheekily.

"Are you alright Milady?!" Ace calls from the riverbank, causing me to turn around and wave at him. I see Akamaru and the Wolves all staring at us, concerned.

"We're fine you guys!" I assure them. "Just a bit of fun!"

"I want to play too Aiti!" Chi announces, his ears pricking up as he bounces towards the water. Rei is quick to chase after Chi however, blocking him from entering the river.

"Let's just leave them be dear" she says mysteriously, glancing back at me over her shoulder. My brows furrow as she sends me a tiny, knowing smile. What is that meant to mean?

"Alright, payback time!" Kiba growls from behind me, before he launches himself forwards and pushes my shoulders under the water.

My eyes widen as we both disappear back under the surface, with me quickly turning around to smirk at Kiba. He thinks he can win huh? Well, I'll show him a thing or two.

I extend turn my hand so that my palm is facing upwards and flick my wrist towards the sky, the movement sending Kiba flying straight up up out of the water. I swim to the surface and watch as he tumbles back towards the water, only to flip around and land on all fours.

"Again with the cheating" he complains, laughter in his voice. I rest my arms on top of the water's surface and use my chakra to pull myself up into a sitting position. Grinning meanly at Kiba, I watch his eyes widen as I lift one hand. Before he can protest, I flick my wrist down and watch with morbid amusement as he is sucked back under the water.

I of course release him immediately, jumping to my feet as he pops up out of the water, sputtering. As soon as he catches his breath, Kiba stares at me, deadpan.

"You're dead" he informs me, to which I immediately take off running across the water, giggling to myself again.

I don't know why I'm feeling in such a good mood at the moment, especially considering the situation we're in. I know that what we're doing is stupid right now, but seeing as how tense everything has been for the last twenty four hours, I can't help wanting to have a little bit of fun. Besides, there are six Wolves and a Ninken with incredibly sensitive noses on the riverbank. No one will be sneaking up on us.

Just as Kiba is about to grab me, I bend my knees and leap up into one of the Willow trees, the Inuzuka hot on my heels. I manage to almost reach the top of the tree, when I feel Kiba's hand grip onto my wrist.

"Oh no!" I cry, still laughing, as I am pulled back towards him.

Kiba stops me just as I am about to hit his chest, one hand on my shoulder to steady me and the other still holding my wrist. I glance up at him through my eyelashes, to see a triumphant look on his face.

"I win" he announces.

Third Person's POV

"Okay, okay" Ashley sighs playfully, pulling herself free and dropping into a sitting position, her legs dangling over the side of the branch, "You caught me fair and square."

The girl starts to wring out her long hair, as Kiba lowers himself down next to her. He shakes his head vigorously, making sure to spray Ashley with as much water as possible.

"Hey!" the Minami cries out, throwing her hands up to shield herself. "Keep your water to yourself!"

Kiba closes his eyes and grins at Ashley, leaning back on his hands.

"Did you used to do stuff like this back when you lived here?" the Inuzuka asks.

"Yeah" Ashley nods, smiling to herself as she continues to wring water from her hair. "My friends and I always played in this river in Summer. Jumping off the trees was our favourite thing to do. Although......Back then, I definitely couldn't climb this high."

"Did you push people off back then too" Kiba asks Ashley dryly, to which she sweat drops.

"Yep" the girl confirms. "Me and Saffire always used to push the others off. And then we'd get into trouble with our Mothers."

Ashley bends her knees and loosely wraps her arms around them, looking up at the orange sky between the leaves of the tree the two are in. Those days had been so fun. So innocent and carefree. Ashley had really enjoyed her childhood here, even if it didn't really feel like home anymore.

Kiba watches Ashley through hooded eyes, noting the content look on her face. If she was bothered by the memories of her old friends and her Mother, she wasn't showing it.

"....You know" Kiba says in a low voice, looking down as Ashley turns to face him, "I get that we're not exactly in an ideal situation but.......I'm really glad that we got to come to your homeland."

"I'm glad you've been able to see it" Ashley replies honestly, a closed eye smile on her face. "It's not that same as it used to be, but I'm happy to have shared at least a little bit of it with you."

Kiba feels his heart flutter a little at Ashley's words and the cute way she is smiling at him. She'd been doing that more often lately.

"Well yeah" Kiba agrees, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "It's been great seeing it all but I uh....I'm really happy that I've had the chance to get to know you better. I think I've learned more about you since we've been here than when we were in the Leaf Village."

Ashley blinks in surprise, suddenly feeling a little nervous. Kiba was happy to get to know her? It didn't really make sense, considering how negative most of Ashley's past was.

"Well..." Ashley says slowly, hooding her eyes and looking away, "There's a lot to know I guess. Most of it is pretty sucky though. I have no idea why you'd want to know all that stuff about me."

"I want to know everything about you" Kiba states simply, watching Ashley from the corner of his eye as his cheeks redden slightly.

Kiba didn't like being so open about things like this, but with Ashley, he wanted to be honest. Even if it was embarrassing.

Ashley ducks her head, burying it in her arms, as her cheeks also burn red with bashfulness.

Everything? That certainly entailed a lot. And a lot of things that Ashley didn't want him to know. At the same time however, a part of Ashley felt like she wanted to confide in Kiba. That part scared her a lot.

"You barely ever tell me anything about you though" Ashley protests, lifting her head slightly, though she avoids any eye contact.

"I'm an open book" Kiba dismisses the blonde. "I tell you stuff about me all the time, I'm just not that interesting."

Ashley chuckles at this, resting the side of her head on her arms as she looks at Kiba.

"I think you're interesting" she says shyly. "You should tell me more about yourself, instead of always trying to make it about me."

"But it's fun seeing all these other sides of you" Kiba teases gently, before he looks away, his face growing serious. He is silent for a few moments. "......I can tell you one thing about myself if you want?"

Kiba gives a faint smile as Ashley nods eagerly, her head still resting on her arms. He watches the blonde girl for a few seconds, that pang in his heart happening again. It was happening more and more now, every time he was with Ashley.

Kiba had always been interested in Ashley, right from the beginning, however it hadn't been a meaningful interest at all. He'd seen a pretty girl and she was tough. That was it.

But over time, Kiba had come to realise that she was so much more than that. She'd proven what a loyal friend she was and how strong she could really be, to protect those important to her. She could be mean, but she was funny too, and Kiba always enjoyed being around her. Ashley had come to the Leaf Village with such a hard exterior, that Kiba had come to see was her way of trying to protect herself from being hurt. She was so gentle with Akamaru and could be soft when she wanted to be.

After learning of her past, Kiba had really seen what a strong person Ashley was. To go through such trauma and come out of it the person that she was today....Kiba admired her. He liked being there for her when she needed it and he liked when she was tough and prideful of herself.

He liked.....everything about her.

"Well, alright, here goes....." Kiba sighs heavily, running a hand through his hair. "I've been feeling weird recently. Actually, it's been happening for awhile, but definitely a lot more recently."

"Feeling weird?" Ashley repeats, confused. "What do you mean?"

Kiba sits up straight and looks at Ashley through hooded eyes, something that makes her heart start to beat a little faster. She didn't know what Kiba was going to say, but that look on his face was making her nervous.

"It's....hard to explain" Kiba admits, brows furrowing slightly. "But I'm gonna try and tell you anyway."

Ashley lifts her head and looks up at Kiba through round eyes as he leans a little closer. She felt like she wanted to run away, but at the same time, couldn't bring herself to move.

"I uh....I really...." Kiba struggles to get the words out, feeling both nervous and incredibly frustrated as he looks into Ashley's face. "Look Ashley, I lo- I uh........I........ughh....."

Kiba hangs his head, running a hand up through his hair to push it back from his face. The Inuzuka scowls to himself, feeling annoyed that he can't seem to get the words out. They were so clear in his head, so why was saying them so difficult?

"Uh.....Um, Kiba?" Ashley questions, unsure of what to do. "Are you alright?"

The blonde girl jumps as Kiba suddenly leaps to his feet, his head facing away from Ashley to hide his expression from her.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter" Kiba mutters. "Let's just keep going to the Temple, okay?"

Ashley blinks in confusion, watching as Kiba descends down the tree, jumping from branch to branch, until he lands back down on the ground. The blonde frowns to herself, wondering what on earth had just happened.

One second Kiba was being so sweet to her and then the next, he's running off like that. What was wrong with him? Was it something to do with the weird feeling he'd mentioned?

Ashley places a hand to her heart as she stands up. Why was it beating so fast? And why did she feel strangely disappointed?

Sasuke sits boltright up in bed, breathing heavily, his eyes wide. His shoulders rise up and down, hands gripping at the blanket tightly.

That dark figure....And those red eyes.....

Sasuke closes his eyes and lets out a low breath, trying to calm himself down. It had only been a dream....Or perhaps not a dream, but a memory. A living nightmare.

Sasuke allows his shoulders to droop, one hand running down his face as he reopens his eyes.

No, it couldn't have been a memory. There had been two shadowy figures....Two sets of those blood red eyes. Mocking him, torturing him....

Sasuke sighs, uncertain as to why he has suddenly had a nightmare about the slaughter of his Clan. He hadn't had one of those in quite awhile....

"Ashley-chan!" a voice calls from another room. "You're back!"

"Ashley, Ashley!" a female voice cries with relief. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

"Ash, Dog Boy!" a less familiar voice exclaims. "You guys made it."

"Alright, alright" another voice chuckles, something that causes Sasuke's eyes to narrow. "Calm down, I'm fine!"

"She's back...." Sasuke mutters to himself angrily, flinging back the blanket and turning to place his feet on the floor.

The Uchiha slowly rises to his feet, tentative of his injuries. He rolls his shoulders a few times, momentarily relieved to find that the searing pain that had been tearing through his back before he'd fallen asleep, has dulled to a minor ache.

That Wolf's chakra had really done a good job in speeding up the healing process of his wounds. The Uchiha felt a bit groggy, but even his chakra had been somewhat replenished during his rest.

Now able to move properly, Sasuke marches to the door and flings it open, not even bothering to put his shoes on. Hands clenching into fists down at his sides, Sasuke stalks through the hallway and enters the main room, only to see everyone smiling and laughing. Sakura clings to one of Ashley's arms, as Naruto pats the blonde on the shoulder. Sasuke grits his teeth and sets his jaw at the sight of them, annoyed at the grin on Ashley's face.

Spotting Sasuke as he enters the room, Kiyumi hurriedly jumps to her feet to see if he is alright, only for the girl to pause. Her brows furrow in concern as she takes in Sasuke's cold glare, only to follow his line of sight and realise that he is staring at Ashley.

The blonde swallows thickly. This wasn't going to be good.

"Hey Sasuke!" Naruto suddenly shouts, spotting the Uchiha. "Good timing! Ashley-chan just got back!"

Ashley turns around, her grin fading when she notices the dishevelled appearance of Sasuke's clothes. Clearly something bad had happened to him.

"Sasuke" the blonde asks, running up to him, worried. "What happened to y- ack!"

Sakura gasps as Sasuke lashes out at Ashley with one hand and grabs her by the front of her shirt, before roughly tugging the girl towards him. He narrows his dark eyes dangerously at the surprised Ashley, as Jet immediately jumps up and begins to growl threateningly at Sasuke. While he was wise enough to remain at Shimei's feet, the Wolf still didn't like the way that little brat was handling Ashley.

 "I'm gonna bite his hands off!" Tiez declares viciously, small teeth bared at Sasuke. She hadn't known Ashley long, but secretly Tiez already liked her and felt protective of her. She wasn't gonna let some stupid looking punk grab Ashley like that!

Aki narrows his sapphire eyes at Sasuke, ears laid back. He glares at the dark haired boy, though managed to keep himself composed through willpower. If this boy really tried to hurt Ashley however, Aki wasn't sure what he was going to do....

"Hey!" Kiba barks, stepping forwards. "What're you doing Uchiha?!"

"Let her go Sasuke-kun" Sakura begs, her eyes wavering. "Ashley-chan is tired from-"

"Shut up" Sasuke orders everyone, not breaking eye contact with Ashley.

Still uncertain as to why Sasuke is so mad at her, Ashley holds his gaze, though one hand is now gripping his wrist.

"What's your deal Sasuke?" the blonde asks.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demands to know, confusing Ashley even further.

"Tell you what?" Ashley huffs, now growing irritated herself. What was his problem all of the sudden?

Sasuke now reaches up with his other hand, pulling Ashley even closer, rage burning in his dark eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me that we were related?" he asks in a low, voice, cold as ice.

Sue me, I like fluff and I shall have all the fluff.