Kimiko's P. O. V:
Before Noboru could pierce me with his sword, there's a loud clang and a pained grunt as his sword was blocked by Kakashi, who kicks him away from me.
Noboru eventually comes to a stop and glares daggers at the Hatake.
"Kimiko, you alright?" Kakashi asks, anger lacing his tone.
"Aside from a broken rib?" I respond, wincing. "Just dandy! Thanks for the save, though."
"I'm glad I got here just in time. I'll take care of the rest," Kakashi says, readying his kunai.
"I will have that scroll!" Noboru shouts, readying his broad sword as he runs at the silverette. However, Kakashi was ready to meet him and they exchange several swift blows, their bodies blurs as they move through the clearing.
After exchange blows back and forth, Noboru's sword cleaves Kakashi in half but it turns out to be a Shadow Clone. Noboru didn't have time to block or deflect Kakashi's next attack as he plunges Chidori into Noboru's back, killing him.
Blood sprays as the green haired man hits the ground heavily.
Kakashi straightens up and comes over to me, kneeling beside me. "Can you get up, Kimiko?" He asks.
"I don't think I can with this broken rib," I answer sheepishly.
"You know, we should really work on your close combat," Kakashi sighs, beginning to sheathe my katanas which have regained their visibility again. Kakashi pauses, however, and picks up something off the ground, holding it out to me. It was my blue hair clip.
It must've fallen out when I hit the tree before.
"So does that mean you'll be training me?" I ask as he smoothly slides his hand along my bangs and pins my hair clip back in, my bangs being held back by it.
"If you want me to. But first, you need to focus on healing that rib of yours. Which means you'll be joining me on a trip to the hospital." Kakashi sends me his signature closed eye smile as I let out a dramatic groan of dread.
"Noooo! You're so cruel, Hatake!"
Kakashi chuckles as he picks me up bridal style.
Shin chuckles as he tells me, "It's for your own good, M' Lady."
I frown at him as I say and point to the black and white wolf, "Ok. You, Mister, can go back to Okami Temple for that."
Shin gives a last chuckle before he disappears in a poof of smoke.
"Do you still have the scroll, Kimiko?" The Hatake asks me seriously. I nod my head and give him a peace sign.
"You bet!"
He grins at me.
Kakashi then turns, smiling sheepishly behind his mask, and makes his way back to the village.
🗡🗡🗡
"Well, your wounds aren't that serious, Kimiko, but you still need to recover in the hospital for a few weeks," Tsunade tells me as she, Sakura, Naruto, Shizune and Kakashi gather around my bed, Kiba with Akamaru on his head with them.
The sun is sitting outside my window, painting the sky orange, pink, blue and lilac.
I pour as I cross my arms, mumbling, "No fair. I don't want to be here, Tsunade-sama. I hate hospitals!"
"That's too bad," She says with the back of her hand on her hip. "You need to let your rib heal, or it will take longer. And if you even think about escaping, I'll have one of the nurses come get me and we'll use drastic measures to keep you in here."
My face pales at the thought.
"You're evil," I say dramatically.
"Aside from that, your mission to retrieve the scroll is a success." Tsunade turns to Kakashi. "You can file your report later."
Nodding, the Hatake responds, "Alright."
Tsunade and Shizune then leave but the others stay as my gloomy aura deepens.
"Awe, cheer up, Kimi-chan! The hospital isn't that bad," Kiba tries to assure me as the white puppy jumps on my bed and comes up to me.
"Not that bad?! The food is gross, the room smells, and there's nothing to do here except sleep!" I say indignantly, throwing my arms down for emphasis.
"You're over exaggerating, Kimiko. Besides, I would've thought you'd love the idea of doing nothing but sleep all day?" Sakura says with a cheeky smile towards the end.
I give her a blank look as Naruto adds, grinning, "Yeah! I don't really get why you hate hospitals so much, Kimi-chan."
Sakura elbows him in the ribs as she reminds Naruto, who is oblivious to my darkening face, "Because of Orochimaru, remember, Naruto?"
Understanding dawns on his features as Naruto says, "Ooohh! I get it. Heh." He freezes as he sees the dark look on my face.
"You have three seconds to escape Naruto, before I figure out how to kill you from this bed," I growl, annoyed by what he'd said earlier.
Naruto pales considerable as he starts sweating profusely. "I... uh... ok! I'll see you later, Kimi-chan! Hope you feel better!"
With that, the Uzumaki takes off at a speed I didn't know he was capable of, making Sakura blink her green eyes a few times.
"Was that really necessary, Kimiko?" Asks Kakashi with a raised, silver eyebrow.
I cross my arms as I say, "I was mad by what he'd said earlier, so I scared him off." Kakashi and the others sweat drop at that.
"Well, why don't you read while you're in here to pass the time?" Asks Sakura.
I send her a deadpan expression as I say bluntly, "I hate reading."
"Oh, right. I forgot."
"Well, I have to go file this report," Kakashi speaks up. He sends me a closed eye smile. "I'll come by and visit you tomorrow, Kimiko. Try not to escape and give the nurses a hard time, okay?"
"No promises," I grind out through my teeth as he exits the room.
"I'll see you later as well, Kimiko," Sakura says with a smile as she too takes her leave.
I sigh as I lean back in bed and stroke Akamaru's fur.
"Great. Stuck in the hospital. How fun," I mumble glumly.
Kiba offers, "I'll stay with you for awhile longer, Kimi-chan, but then I'd better get home. You know how my mum is."
Kiba leans forward and kisses the top of my head. I sigh as he pulls away, "Yeah. I get it."
"So, tell me about this Noboru guy," Says Kiba as he sits in the chair beside me.
I smile and begin to tell him about my mission with Kakashi.
🗡🗡🗡
A few weeks later, I was wandering down a street while dressed in my purple short sleeved shirt with a red jumper over it and green skirt with my strappy black sandals I sometimes wear casually, and the wolf pendant that Sakura had gotten me for my birthday, when I suddenly see a commotion up ahead, causing me to pause.
It's been a few weeks since I fully recovered, and I did try to escape several times which seem to dive the nurses mad. But I eventually healed and was released from the hospital.
Naruto is upside down against a wall as a second Naruto stands protectively in front of Hinata, holding his arm out to shield her, the other Uzumaki's eyes spinning dizzily.
"Eh? What's going on you... three...?" I trail off, gaining all their attention as I try to process what I'm seeing. Naruto is attacking... Naruto? What's going on?
"Hey, baby! It's great to see ya!" I tense out of surprise as Kiba suddenly appears beside me and throws an arm around my shoulders.
"K-Kiba-kun!" I gasp as jerk my head to him and Naruto slowly sits up on his knees. He smirks down at me. "What's going on? Why is Naruto-kun attacking Naruto-kun?"
Naruto from the wall utters as he turns to me, "Kimi-chan, that isn't..."
The Naruto standing in front of Hinata exclaims as he jabs a finger at the other Naruto, "Don't listen to him!! He's an imposter!"
"EEEEHHHH???!!!" Naruto screams in shock as he jumps to his feet and presses his back against the wall. "I'm...a... what...?!" He splutters.
I glance between the two, confused as heck. "I dunno who to believe to be honest..."
"Well, forget about that loser. Why don't you and I go on a date, baby?" Kiba suggests as he spins me around and dips me with his arms wrapped around my waist, my long blonde hair dangling towards the ground.
I blush at the action and say, "Uh... sure..."
Kiba goes to lean in to kiss me and I close my eyes in response...
"GET AWAY FROM MY GIRL, YOU FAKER!!" I snap my eyes open at the sound of Kiba yelling angrily just in time to see the Kiba holding me go flying from a punch from another Kiba. I gasp and flail my arms to try to stop myself but I end up collapsing on my back with a grunt, the first Kiba falling unconscious on the ground away from me. Kiba stands protectively in front of me as he continues to shout at his double. "FIRST, YOU TRY TO ATTACK THE VILLAGE, THEN YOU THINK YOU CAN STEAL MY GIRLFRIEND?!! WELL, THINK AGAIN!!"
"Now I just saw two Kibas! What the heck's going on...?!" I moan as I feel dizzy from all this confusion.
Kiba continues, "Maybe you can copy how we look and sound and smell, but you can't fake our ninjutsu, can ya?!" Kiba claps his hands together in a hand sign as I pull myself to my feet. "Let's go, Akamaru!"
"Arf!" The Ninken chimes, jumping up beside his friend.
"FANG OVER...." Kiba trails off as I stand on his other side and peer at his double, unconscious on the ground. "Huh?!"
I say while cocking my head, "He's out cold...?"
Kiba straightens as he clenches a fist and grumbles in disappointment, "Awe, that sucks! I didn't punch hard, or use Jutsu or anything...!"
Naruto muses, "Hey, you know what? I slugged me pretty good and hard that now. But I don't feel like I took one to the face..." He feels his cheek for any sort of pain.
I demand angrily, "Somebody better tell me what the bloody hell is going on around here!"
My expression causes everyone to flinch but only the two Narutos and fake Hinata tremble violently with fear, their eyes incredibly wide.
Kiba questions as he turns to the fake Naruto and Hinata, "Hey, you! Attacking the village was your big plan, wasn't it?!" I gasp before glaring at the fakes. "Fat chance! You guys are total weaklings!"
The two fakes gasp as they jerk their heads to one another. Naruto gasps, "See ya!" He and Hinata then split in two different directions, along with an old man with a moustache and his hair in a ponytail.
Kiba tells Naruto, "Kimiko and I can handle the fake Hinata. You just get yourself under control!"
"Right! Just leave me to me!"
Kiba grabs my arm and pulls me after him with a barking Akamaru, calling, "Come back here!"
I glare deathly at Kiba as I demand, "Kiba!! You'd better start explaining to me what the bloody hell is going on! Who are these guys and why are they trying to destroy the Leaf Village?!"
Kiba forms a large sweat drop at my expression but tells me everything about his latest mission with Naruto and Hinata.
Apparently, they had to find a treasure and bring it back, but if they'd failed the mission, Kiba, Hinata and Naruto would've been sent back to the Leaf Village. On the way, they were trapped in a cave by the old man, Agari Kaisen, and the other three were fakes, having been able to copy everything about them except their Jutsu.
They plan to destroy the Leaf, and the fake Kiba had told the real one he'd "Take real good care of me when he got back to the Village," which had pissed Kiba off a lot. Kiba and the others believe they're Orochimaru's henchmen, because how else did they know how to attack the Leaf Village?
My face burns with guilt as we pursue our targets. I say shamefully, "I'm so sorry, Kiba-kun! I had no idea he was a fake! And I almost kissed him, too!"
I pout miserably as Kiba waves his hands about and says hurriedly, "It's okay!! I'm just glad I stopped that jerk in time from actually kissing you." He drops his hands as Kiba's animal like eyes turn soft.
"Yeah. Thanks for that, Kiba-kun," I say with a grateful smile towards him before it comforts into a death glare, causing Kiba to sweat drop again, largely this time. "But when I get my hands on those fakes, there'll be hell to pay!!"
🗡🗡🗡
Kiba and I finally corner Agari and I unsheathe my right fan as soon as they come into sight.
The old man begs me to stop but I swing my fan open and a blast of chakra infused air slams against him, knocking Agari flat on the ground. I turn my dark glare on to a trembling fake Hinata, an angry aura swirling around me.
Kiba mocks, "Another weakling. That's two out of two."
Hinata flinches as we turn to her. She begs, "Don't hurt me, Kiba, Kimiko! I'm sorry."
Kiba scoffs, "Do us all a favour and can the puppy dog eyes. That might work in a pushover like Naruto... BUT I HATE THAT STUFF!!"
When Kiba shoots a glare at the fake Hinata, along with my dark glare and angry aura swirling around me, she just faints with a gasp.
Kiba utters with a deadpan expression, "And these whimps really thought they were gonna take out the Leaf?!"
"I know, right? Just who are they, anyway?" I say as I dispel my Jutsu.
Kiba gives a shrug as he mutters, "Dunno, but this guy is a friend of Tsunade-sama. Tch. Traitor."
"Anyway, let's round 'em up," I say.
Kiba nods and grabs Agari while I get Hinata and take them to a less crowded street. There, I create a set of Crystal shackles on them and trap Agari and Hinata, along with Kiba, in a Crimson Fruit.
Kiba and I wait for Naruto to return with his fake self.
When Naruto does return with his fake self, I put him in the dome and we peer inside.
Kiba says, "When it was all said and done, these four were nothing to break a sweat over."
Naruto asks, "Hey, do you think these chuckle heads really are Orochimaru's henchmen?"
I respond with the backs of my hands on m hips, "No. Orochimaru's henchmen are way stronger than them. I doubt he'd have anyone as weak as they are. But I suppose the Hokage will be able to tell us if they are, though."
Naruto says in relief, "Man, I'm beat! Carting this chest around all day was tough on my shoulders." He proceeds to set the treasure chest on the ground at his feet.
"Arf!" Akamaru suddenly barks, causing Kiba, Naruto and I to turn our heads. The real Hinata limps towards us.
"Naruto, Kiba! Kimiko! Is that you?"
Kiba says, "Cool. It looks like Hinata finally made it home."
Naruto calls as he takes a couple of steps forwards and waves, "Hey, Hinata! We caught all the fakers!"
"Good. So it is them..." The Hyuga murmurs. Worry enters her eyes as she takes in the sight of Naruto without the chest.
Naruto runs forwards to meet Hinata but was so busy smiling with his eyes closed and waving, that Naruto fails to notice when Hinata thrusts her right palm forward, into his chest.
"Gentle Fist!"
The force behind Hinata's attack causes Naruto to grunt with pain as he's knocked on his back.
Kiba says, "I'd hate to be the real Naruto right about now."
I can't help chuckling a little in amusement.
"Arf!" Akamaru barks in agreement to the Inuzuka.
"Oh, boy," Kiba and I utter as we deadpan.
I help Kiba, Hinata and Naruto take the fakes and their master to Tsunade, but she explains that it had all been a test and her friend, Agari Kaisen, had been involved in all of it, shocking the four of us greatly. Agari and the three fakes stand off to the side of the room.
"WHAAATTT?!!" Hinata, Kiba, Naruto and I exclaim in unison. Shizune stands next to the Hokage.
Naruto groans, "It was a test?!!"
Shizune affirms, "That's right. The real objection of this mission was to see whether you three could work effectively together as a team."
Tsunade adds on, "Depending on the task, a shinobi will often be teamed up with a variety of people. Sometimes they may be your friends, and sometimes not. But once you're out on assignment, there isn't time for inviting. Grudges become a luxury you can no longer afford. I gave you a mission that seemed easy enough in the beginning, but got harder. And I tossed in a threat to the village along the way to up the anti. When the chips were down, I wanted to see if you could pull together for a common goal."
Hinata asks, "So it wasn't real?"
"Harsh, Grandma!" Scolds Naruto.
I say with a shake of my head, "Tsunade-sama, you sly fox."
Kiba utters, "Sone lesson! We could've been killed out there! What's that about?"
Here, Agari bursts into laughter. He explains, "No, you were safe! Tsunade-sama was very specific about the amount of risk to which I could subject you. At worst, you'd have gone home with some cuts and bruises."
Tsunade says, "Since I knew Kiba would have Akamaru, I enlisted the help of the Kedowing Clan." We look to the copies. "With their Hiden Jutsu, their transformations are dead-on, down to the slightest detail." Tsunade gives a nod. "Well? How'd they do? Back to the academy?"
"Hm, let me see..." Agari muses as he studies my friends. "They got off to a very shaky start. The mission was practically over before it began." Naruto gulps audibly in fear. "But! They managed to capture us in the end." Agari gives a closed eye smile. "So I'm pleased to say I've decided to give them all a passing grade."
The three of them breathe a sigh of relief.
I say as I hug Kiba's arm, "Congratulations, Kiba-kun!"
He grins down at me as he says, "Thanks, Kimi-chan!"
Naruto says as he remembers something, bending down to pick up the treasure chest, "Oh, yeah! Ta da!"
Agari mutters, "That's the...!"
"Yup!" Naruto chimes while setting the chest on Tsunade's desk. "One buried treasure chest—just like you ordered. Check it out! Mission accomplished, Grandma!"
Tsunade tells him, "Honestly! You shouldn't have bothered!"
Agari says, glancing at the blonde, "On the contrary, I'm glad he brought it here. There's something in there for you, Tsunade-sama!" He gives another closed eye smile. "A document of the greatest significance!"
After that, I go with Kiba, Naruto and Hinata to see their doubles and Agari off at the main gate.
Fake Naruto shakes the real Naruto's hand as he says, "See you around, Naruto! It was nice merging you."
"Yeah! You too!"
Fake Kiba says while bumping my Kiba's fist and elbow, "Take it easy. And take good care of the Princess! You've got yourself a great girl there."
"Right! And you bet I will! I know my girlfriend's amazing!" Kiba replies, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I give the fake Kiba a flat, unimpressed look,
He sweat drops slightly. "Err, sorry about before, Kimiko. You do know it was all just an act, right? I wasn't really gonna kiss you."
I smile a little at that and say, "You may play my Kiba-kun really well so even I'm fooled, but nothing's better than the real deal!!"
I exclaim with pink hearts in my eyes as I hug Kiba side-on. He and his doppelgänger chuckle as Kiba hugs me back.
"I'm happy to hear that, Princess," He murmurs.
The two Hinatas just smile at each other as the double waves goodbye.
Naruto asks as they leave, Kiba's arm still around my shoulders, "What do you think? Are they gonna look like us forever?"
Kiba says, "Nah. Fake me was saying his face will switch back to normal in a couple of days."
Naruto says as we watch our new friends leave, "That's cool."
I muse aloud, "Hey, what do you think is in that chest for Tsunade-sama?"
Naruto says, shrugging, "Who knows..."