RE: Hokage-sama's Notice




Asuka-sensei, remember I owe you dinner? :DDD

Akako just staggered in.

Dear gods, Kiba, if you're--



Dad'n about half the clan've taken off to get her. I'd be leading 'em, but... Akako's hurt, bad; left hind's hamstrung, and right fore's cut up pretty bad too. And I'm the vet, and Uncle Ago's gone.

Dad can take care of anything, anyway; there's a reason he's clan head. Kiba'll be okay. She'll be okay.


You hear that, Kiba? BE OKAY.

I LIVE!

And so do five whining pups. Poor Youen's nearly mad with them crawling over her; they've just started opening their eyes, but I've never seen 'em this adventurous this young. At the risk of sounding like a girl or a proud father I gotta saw they're awful cute.

We lost two, though. Was as hard as I thought it was gonna be...touch and go there a few times, whether any of 'em was gonna pull through. Or even Youen. The first was stillborn, and another just faded..

But they're doing fine now. Two grey, like their dam; three black, like their sire. Four bitches and a dog. Youen's fit to burst with pride--Haiko and Kemuri too, as if they'd had anything to do with it.

...So, right. I'll shut it with the puppy babble, shall I?


Sachiko, sooner you can come over, the better.

Asuka, you still want to talk? Or just beat up on me?

Youen's not due till next week if I've got my math right--and she and Kemuri both say I'm right--but she's showing signs. Milk's in and her temperature's dropped, which means sometime in the next 24 hours. She's stretching out as much as she can, trying to get the pups into position, but...

Damn.

She's not a good whelper. Her first litter was hell, and the last two haven't been much easier. Best mother in the world, but I can't help--

Somehow I see her like this, and I'm thirteen and scared sick all over again.



Sachiko, I know I said we'd meet tomorrow, but I'm definitely not gonna make it. You can come over if you want, but I'm not leaving Youen for the next few days. Sorry.

Asuka, we're gonna have to postpone that talk, unless you wanna come over too. Hope you're feeling better.

Whatever gods are looking out for ninja-- Thank you.

Took the girls scouting again this morning, like we've been doing every morning for the past week. Kemuri hit the trail halfway through the circuit. Followed it all the way to the hospital--where I was due for work in thirty minutes anyway--and found out they checked in barely two hours before. And checked out again, headed home.

I've got to pull a shift till 4, but should give her time to rest up anyway. Kureno-sensei, you free this afternoon?

Kiba, I could kick you.

Hinaji's got not much of an excuse for not knowing, but you've got none at all. That puppy's been moping all day long, and now she's gone off her feed. She's not old enough to understand, and she hasn't got a ninken's brains anyway; how's she supposed to know he'll ever come back?

Hinaji, you take an Inuzuka dog, you've got her for life. If your family doesn't like the idea of a dog in your bed, then come back here, but if you leave her on her own again, I will tan your hide. Doesn't matter if she's with familiar people and familiar places; you're her person now, and you've left her.




[OOC: Sorry for the misunderstandings. Hanato's frustrated and upset and worried over different matters entirely, and taking out his worries and aggressions where he can (on a mostly innocent target).]

She's late.

She said a week, outside limit. They're two days late, and not even Kemuri can pick up their trail within ten kilometers of Konoha.

Genin come back late from missions all the time. Chuunin, sure. Even jounin, once in a while.

But the elite come back on time, or they send us trackers out, and then only their dogtags do.



If they come asking for a tracking team, I...



I've done corpse tracking six times in my life. I don't want hers to be the seventh.

So, working with the Uchiha kid is going...well, I'm still wondering what on earth she thinks she's getting out of me; no matter how good the Sharingan is, and how good she is, she's never gonna be able to use the Chakra Claws to their fullest extent.

But no matter what it's doing for her, it's helping me. I've already seen, in explaining things, a couple ways I can refine my own use.

And maybe even a way to keep the chakra flowing even if my arm's broken, like before...

Yo, Kiba. Can I try some things on you tonight?



She should be getting back soon. Two days, and her week's up.

So I've been an idiot, but what's new? Least the girls are mostly with me on this.

Got a week. S'a lot you can do in the week...I've got regular hours at the hospital and the clinic but other than that I'll be working all week, whether or not I find someone to work with.

( Private to Kiba )

Kid bringing his cat in for a check-up today asked me how I smell what's wrong. Kind of startled me at first; thought maybe he'd meant tell, but I guess he's just more observant than most.

See, I never really got the hang of the chakra-scan most medics use to find out exactly where the problem is when it's something with internal organs. Never made any sense to me to do it the hard way, when I could figure it out a lot easier with a lot less chakra. (This could be why I never learned some of those basic kata, too, Asuka-sensei...) Things smell one way when they're right and a whole host of other ways when they're wrong, and with enough practice and enough knowledge about how things should be and how they can be, it's...Well, it's not exactly easy to tell. But it's...there.

Wonder sometimes what it's like going through the world, for people who aren't Inuzuka. Guess it's like a seeing man wondering how a blind man goes, except it's even worse. It's like...say an ordinary guy's a blind man, and me without any chakra, I'm a seeing man. But when I add just a touch of chakra, it's like I was a blind man before, and now I'm seeing.

I can tell what's wrong now, almost always.



Just doesn't mean I know how to fix it.

If dogs could do push-ups, maybe mine wouldn't be laughing so hard.

Good thing I haven't got hospital duty tomorrow. Girls'n I are gonna be occupying a training field and defending it against all comers so don't expect to see us around.

In fact, don't expect to see much of us for the next...while.

Life's going pretty damn good. Just about fit to start heavy training, got a deal with Asuka, had a good time out with Izume (and got to laugh at Yuugao). Youen's finally settled down; Aoimaru was the lucky boy, though he didn't seem fit to sniff at when we ran into him this morning. Youen's even stopped giving me reproachful glances when she thinks I'm not looking, and has started plotting with Kemuri over which of this year's crop of kids will be good enough for her pups.

So last night must've just been something I ate. Remind me not to take Izume's recommendations on food again, please.

( Private )

Too hot to sleep well, anyway. Think I'll spend tonight in the woods.

Hey, Izume, Kotsuki.

Sounds like you two're already trying to pull Yuugao out of his shell--willing to try it further with me? Double-date this weekend; you can fight it out between you who gets whom. I'm thinking dinner, stop at the bar, plan from there.

Interested?

Yo, Shizuya. D'you have time today for me to swing by?

Think I need just another couple minutes of bone-growth acceleration, and while Uncle Ago's fine with helping me saw the casts off, his chakra control's kind of slipping and he doesn't want to risk messing with my bones. Yakushi-sensei'd have my hide if I bothered her about it again, but I know I can count on you!

Tonton's next check-up is totally free~

So, uh, sorry to anyone who showed up at the Tanaka-ya last night looking for me. Hope you had a great time and lots of alcohol without me. I would've met you--and on time, too!--except, well.

Remind me again why I have THREE bitches as my nindogs?



At least Kemuri and Haiko just get pissy, not horny. >|



Youen won't be receptive to any of the dogs for another few days, and I really need to get out of the house.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KIBA.

Normally I'd give you the birthday beating and then the birthday breakfast, but seeing as I'm still in double-casts, how 'bout we postpone 'em both for a while? Could take a walk or something, if you've got time.

I am OUT!

Of the hospital, at least. Still stuck in the casts for another week--only so much you can do with accelerating bone fusing before you weaken the bone--but everything else's closed up, and even the bruising's faded.

Still can't roughhouse with the girls for another couple days, but Youen doesn't need any encouragement these next two weeks isn't really in the mood for it, and Uncle Ago says Haiko's still kind of tender. As in, I'm heading into the clinic to check on her first thing. Anybody in the clan wants to see me first, you're gonna have to meet me on the way home.



Anyone wants to celebrate my escape from near-death and disfigurement, tomorrow night at the Tanaka-ya is looking good~

Dammit, dammit, dammit.

Kiba got Youen and Kemuri in again today, and in between jumping all over me and licking every bit of me they could reach, Kemuri informed me that Haiko's healing well (meaning she's desperate to get up and out and is snapping at anything comes near) and Youen told me she wants another litter.

Makes sense, from her point of view. Even after I'm out of the hospital, I'm gonna be off missions for at least another month or two. Her gestation is usually about 65 days, and then there's another six or so weeks before we can leave the pups for the rest of the pack to look after. Looking at it logically, this is really the best time for her to take a few months out. Certainly better than her last litter, two years ago--we were still in the middle of cleanup back then, and running patrol missions every other week.

( Private )

Kiba, I need you to keep a REALLY close eye on Youen. You should recognize the signs and the smell of proestrus by now, or you're no little sister of mine. First signs you get, you lock her up in my room with Kemuri and Haiko, and then come tell me, okay?

Also, I need to talk to you about last year's litters.