Frozen Past (A Naruto FanFic/Gaara Love Story)

The Damn Inuzuka Clan and the Results

I snap my head around, dumbfounded. How did that happen?

"Uh, what?" I ask, hating at how stupid I sound. Kurenai laughs breezily, hands on her hips. I notice Kiba watching her with interest, and I smirk to myself. Really, Kiba, have you never seem a woman? Ever in your life?

Then again, I've seen his mother. She... scares me.

"Akari," Kurenai says again. "You'll be fighting with Kiba, as Hinata is fighting Shino." Oh. That makes sense. But why do I have to fight the kid with a partner? He's already at an unfair advantage. Then again, I think I'd be able to beat Hinata pretty easily, and I don't want to embarrass her. And Shino sort of freaks me out. So maybe Kiba isn't the worst option...

"What, you scared already?" Kiba scoffs. Akamaru barks, agreeing. Well that's just great. I'm getting dissed by a dog now.

"No, I'm not scared," I tell Kiba, rolling my dark brown eyes. "Well then let's go!" he barks, much like Akamaru, leaping into a fighting stance. I look hopelessly at Kurenai Sensei, who just smiles and gestures for me to follow Kiba's lead. Great.

I barely ready myself for the fight when Kiba calls out, "Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All Fours Jutsu!" Visible streams of chakra sprial around him before dissipating quickly. "Come on, Akamaru," he growls, sounding quite a bit more feral than before. "Let's show her what we've got!" Akamaru barks, leaping onto Kiba's back. Kiba performs a quick handsign before shouting out, "Man Beast Clone!" In a puff of smoke, Akamaru disappears. In his place, sits another Kiba. Just what the world needs.

Er, I probably shouldn't be making fun of him with the two of them growling at me.

Kiba flexes his fingers, claws in place of his nails. He grins wickedly, his already pointy teeth more canine-like.

I've seen him use this jutsu before, but never against myself. We've never fought before. Oh, I'm so going to get my ass handed to me.

Suddenly, Kiba and Akamaru shoot forward and I have just enough time to leap backwards, flipping and landing lightly on the tree branch behind me. I stare at the huge crater in the ground where I was just standing. But wait. Where are--

I jump forward, the claws at my back managing to slash me slightly as I leap away. Damn it, they're fast! I didn't even see them move.

I wince as I hit the ground. Those claws sting! Damn you, Kiba. Or Akamaru. I'm not really sure who's who at the moment.

That's it, before they attack again, I need to come up with a strategy. Well, running seems both a great and a terrible idea. Kiba's nose, not to mention Akamaru's, is not to be messed with. But I wonder if I can fool them...

I jump back into the trees, gliding from branch to branch. I don't hear them behind me, but it doesn't surprise me. A hunter doesn't reveal itself to its prey until the final moment...

Oh I really don't like that metaphor.

After a few more minutes of running, I stop, gripping the branch underneath me. I pull out a kunai from my weapons pouch, swinging it around my finger. If this doesn't work, I'm going to let Kiba kick my ass, I'll have been so stupid. I take a deep breath and slash the kunai across my arm. I hold back a scream as my blood drops down onto the branch. Ignoring the pain as best I can, I roll the kunai in my blood, completely coating it. Then I stick it into the branch and quickly bandage my wound, stopping the flow of blood. For good measure, I pull off one of my fingerless gloves and hang it off the kunai.

Then I dash forward again, praying my poorly-conceived plan actually works, if only for a minute. I need to put some real distance between me and Kiba, if I'm going to stand a chance of winning this fight.