Experiment

Kanaye's eyes snapped open , and she instinctively grabbed the kunai on her bed-side table, sat up, and slashed out with it. “HEY!” a familiar voice objected.

Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, she grinned sheepishly at an outraged Kiba. “Sorry, but what the hell are you doing here at, [she checked her clock] four in the morning?” she grumbled.

“Tsunade wants our team at her office as soon as possible.” Kiba said warily “And next time be careful, you almost took my head off!” Climbing through her bedroom window, he shut it behind himself and took off, most likely to wake Hinata and Shino.

Grudgingly she climbed out of bed and took her hair out of it's French braid. Swiftly weaving it into a normal braid, she proceeded to her closet, yanking on her usual outfit.

In the bathroom she splashed cold water on her face, and the icy temperature of it put her senses on high alert. Now fully awake, she snagged a rice ball, munching on it as she grabbed her key and headed out the door. Shuffling into her sandals she walked slowly down the streets towards the Hokage's building. Even after the cold water, her emerald eyes were still filled with exhaustion, and she felt totally grumpy. Not a morning person didn't even begin to cover it.

Grumbling to herself, Kanaye opened the door to Tsunade's office and walked in. Standing next to Hinata, who amazingly looked as awake as if it were already 2 in the afternoon, she yawned. The other two were already there as well, and none of them looked as sleepy as she did.

“Okay.” Tsunade said from her desk, shuffling papers. “We just got a message from water country, apparently they have an important message for us, and don't want it to be intercepted. Your mission is to find that messenger and bring him here safely. It's only C-rank, but it could easily become an A-rank since the Akatsuki have been roaming that territory, so be careful. You must be in Izumi, a small town near the village hidden in the mist, in one week, is that all clear?”

“Hai!” all four said in unison. “Shino, you'll be the group leader, leave as soon as possible.” she finished with a dismissive tone. “Lets meet at the gate in one hour.” Shino said gruffly, and all four dispersed to their individual homes to pack.

~-~

“Come on you guys!” Kiba called from up ahead, in a hurry like always. Sighing, Kanaye gave him her best exasperated look. “Kiba, we don't have to be in water country for another four days, and it's an easy three day walk from here.”

Typical Tsunade, sending her out on a mission her first day as an active Jonin, and only a C-ranked mission at that, even if it could easily become A-ranked with Akatsuki roaming around. They had set out about 3 days ago, and were well out of fire country already, but that didn't stop Kiba from running everywhere.

Ignoring her comment, the boy and dog continued to rush ahead and run back to check on them. The past three days had been totally uneventful, if you didn't count Kanaye almost taking Kiba's head off for making a sexist joke which he had intended for only Shino's ears.

-Flashback-

“WHAT WAS THAT?!” screamed an outraged Kanaye, dropping the firewood to put her hands on her hips.

“Oh, erm....” said Kiba. He had thought both girls were out doing chores to get the campsite ready, because it was their turn, but he had only been half right. “It was nothing...” he mumbled.

“God damn it Kiba, I'm going to KILL you!” she growled through her teeth, launching herself at him.

Like a dog after a squirrel, she chased him all over the campsite and through tree tops, never more than a second behind. Finally as Kiba made a dodge for his tent, Kanaye managed to grab his leg. Hauling him back she sat firmly on top of his stomach and glared at him, green eyes turning red with anger. “Thanks for helping Shino, you're a great pal.” Kiba said sarcastically. All he got in response was a shrug.

Hinata entered the camp holding a bucket filled with stream water containing four fish, one for each of them. She cocked her head when she saw Kanaye perched on Kiba's stomach, but knowing both of them like siblings, she knew he probably did something to deserve it.“I swear Kiba, you're such a fucking pervert!” she heard Kanaye growl, confirming her theory.

-End Flash Back-

Giggling at the memory, Kanaye turned her head skyward, watching the clouds fly above them. She had learned to watch their patterns and appreciate their beauty from Shikamaru, with whom she had spent hours just staring at the sky.

Shino stopped suddenly, watching the sun sink behind the tree tops. “We camp here.” he said simply, dropping his pack. Dropping her pack next to his, Kanaye looked around for Kiba. “I'll go get him, he probably doesn't know we've stopped.” she told the others, and took off running.

She loved to run, to fell as free as the wind that pushed her braided hair back. Dodging in and out of branches, she began to laugh, feeling happy just to be alive. Her foot thumped against a branch, and a hand flew out and caught her arm. Gasping, she turned on her toe to avoid having it dislocated, and found her face a centimeter away from Kiba's.

“Damnit Kiba, you scared me for a second there.” she giggled. “Umm... Kiba?” she asked, smile fading. He had a funny look in his eyes, and it made her feel awkward. She became uncomfortably aware of how close their faces were. “We, ummm, found a place to ca-..” she was cut off by his lips against hers. Her eyes opened wide with shock, and had switched to a light violet color.

His lips were soft against hers, with barely any pressure, and as his arms came up around her hugging her close, she relaxed and let her eyes shut. She inhaled his familiar, comforting scent, like after a spring rain mixed with dog's fur, and let her arms swing up to his shoulders. She let herself remain there for almost 20 seconds before she came to herself. Moving her hands down and placing them on his chest, she gently pushed him away. Looking into his eyes, she could tell he saw her confusion just as she saw his questioning.

“Umm... campsite.” she muttered. “Shino found a campsite.” Turning away, she looked down to see Akamaru on the branch below them. Hopping down onto his back, she looked up at Kiba, and smiled. “You coming?” she asked in a normal voice.

Kiba wasn't fooled. Her eyes hadn't returned to their usual shade of green, nor could she keep a slight quiver out of her voice. All the same, he jumped down in front of her onto Akamaru, and smiled back. “Yeah, let's go.”

Akamaru took off, weaving easily through the branches. Both ninja were silent on the way back, but neither could deny that there was an awkward air around them. Upon arriving at camp, they noticed Shino and Hinata had already set up. Kiba leaped off Akamaru to look up into Kanaye's eyes, and found that they had returned to their original jade color.

She hopped down next to him and took a look around. Two tents were pitched up next to a fire pit, one for the girls and one for the boys. As far as she could tell the other two must have been out getting firewood and water, because neither was anywhere in sight.

Kanaye ducked into the girls tent, and sat down, meditation style. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she worked on calming herself down. //What the hell was that?// she thought //It just came out of nowhere, and Kiba's my best friend! Now it's going to be all awkward around him! Why do boys always have to complicate things? And why the hell did I respond like that?//

Taking another deep breath she tried to empty her mind, but too many emotions and thoughts swirled inside of her. Switching to lying on her back, she slowly began to meditate, managing to cast aside all thoughts and focus just on breathing.

Kiba sat on a tall rock, only yards away from where Kanaye lay. “Why the hell did I do that?” he asked Akamaru in a whisper “Now things will never be the same between us!”

“You did it because you love her.” Akamaru said, or rather, communicated. Dogs have a complicated system of body language and vocal noises that transfer their thoughts, and Kiba was one of the few that could translate. “You couldn't help it, it was just instinct, so stop beating yourself up over it.”

“I know, but I should have know better. I've never seen her eyes go that purple before! I've seen them a purple-ish blue, and that was only when she was really shocked, but never violet.” he sighed, putting his chin on his hand.

Akamaru gave up, knowing that Kiba would not leave his gloomy mood for a while. Yawning, the giant dog laid his head down on his front paws and relaxed, ready to nap until it was chow time. //Humans are silly// he thought //Didn't Kiba noticed how she reacted? Her first instinct wasn't to push him away. She loves him just as much as he loves her, but they'll avoid it at all costs. Silly.//

Hinata and Shino came back to find both their friends sulking, but both were too reserved to make a comment. Dinner was fish, courtesy of Hinata, and was cooked over the open fire to perfection. Akamaru ate 5 trout by himself, and Kiba scarfed 3, but the others were used to their friends eating habits. All went to bed full and reasonably happy, even if it had been abnormally quiet all night, with the two most talkative people trapped in their own thoughts.

~-~

By the time the sun had risen above the tree tops the squad was packed up and on the trail, Kanaye still rubbing sleep from her eyes and the rest keeping quiet as not to tick her off. They all new she was a beast in the morning and had accepted it long ago.

After about an hour, Akamaru stopped to sniff the air. “Arf arf!” he barked, wagging his tail. “What did he smell?” Hinata asked curiously, looking to Kiba for the answer. “Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi is my bet.” Kanaye answered before Kiba could open his mouth. “H-how? You can understand him?” Kiba asked dumfounded.

“I sort-of got the just of it, and besides, Sasuke is right there.” she said, indicating to their friend, to use the term loosely, who was just within sight. “Oh.” Kiba said simply.

Within no time they arrived at the team Kakashi camp, who were just about to set out themselves. “Yo.” Kakashi said upon seeing them. “Hinata! Kiba! Shino! Kanaye!” Naruto shouted excitedly, his volume alone making Kanaye flinch. “H-hi N-Naruto-kun!” Hinata said, blushing. The rest just nodded.

“Hate to cut this meeting short, but shouldn't we be getting back Kakashi-sensei?” Sasuke said, obviously bored. “Of coarse Sasuke-kun!” Sakura squeaked. “I suppose so,” Kakashi added, rubbing the back of his head. “We'll see you guys when you get back to the village.”

Kakashi and his group were just about to take off when an all too familiar voice shouted out behind them. “Ssassuke-kun! What a coincidence!” the voice hissed. Kanaye's eyes instantly turned royal purple.