Birds of a Feather
Chapter Four: Shadows
Istoria

They weren't like Akamaru.

Hinata repeated this mantra as she drew the remaining dogs away from her two colleagues. It wouldn't have bothered her so much if she hadn't overheard the conversation her family was having last night concerning the Hokage's assassination attempt. A hawk that wasn't like other hawks.

And these most certainly not like other dogs, their chakra was wired wrong. Much like the human system, there were weak points but the most central one appeared to be in the eye. By closing that, she knew she could defeat them.

Maybe half a year ago, she wouldn't have bothered. She would have stood behind Shikamaru and Chouji and let them handle it. But she had promised herself at the chuunin exam that she would try to get stronger. So that meant no more running away right?

Hinata aimed right at the tree, shifting the chakra to her feet and climbing straight up. With her Byakugan, she knew they were following, something else a normal dog should not be able to do.

She lined up with one of them and pushed off the tree, flipping backwards and striking out with her palm. The dog yelped, losing its grip and landing on the floor into a heap. Hinata landed next to it, preparing for the second one's attack. It turned off the tree as soon as she had, attempting to strike at her while she was still unbalanced on the ground. But Hinata had been ready for this and struck again quickly, scoring a direct hit.

With the two dogs down at the base of the tree, Hinata let out the breath she had been holding. She walked cautiously over to the two dogs, searching for any signs of life remaining. They were devoid of life, like dry husks that had never been alive at all.

Hinata took a step backwards just as the squad of Anbu arrived. They swarmed the area securing the bodies while checking Hinata for injury. For the most part she was unharmed.

"You've got a nasty cut on your arm," the Anbu with the wolf mask said.

Hinata looked around, surprised at the thin line of blood there. "I don't remember getting that," she said softly.

Shikamaru and Chouji arrived soon after that, glad to see she was intact. Shikamaru muttered something about getting a momentary reprieve from death but he stopped suddenly as his nose picked up a familiar scent.

"Shikamaru?" Chouji asked.

"Do you smell that?" he asked.

The Anbu quickly began searching the area. "What is that?" one of them asked.

Shikamaru closed his eyes and tried to place it. "I know this odor. I've come in contact with it before."

The Anbu captain's attention shifted to him. "Where?" he demanded.

Shikamaru frowned as his mind was assaulted by a cacophony of colors. "In Konoha," he said simply, radioing instructions to their home.

It was nearly an hour before Sakura moved again. Her legs protested as she straightened them and tried to stand. Her mind hurt just as much as her body but she ignored both. She didn't know the answer to her questions but she doubted she would get them by just sitting here.

"Oi!! Sakura-chan!!"

Sakura blinked and watched as Naruto came running up the hill. She waved to him, letting him know she had heard him. He came to a stop in front of her, taking a moment before catching his breath.

"Ibiki-sensei said you would be here," he smiled. "I guess you didn't get to train today either." Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Neither did Sasuke-bastard so he's not in a good mood."

Sakura nodded absently and Naruto balked. She hadn't hit him when he called Sasuke a bastard.

"Ne, Sakura-chan? What's the matter?" he asked, a frown dotting his normally cheerful face.

Sakura blinked and looked at him. She bit her lip and paused for a moment, wondering if she should even bother. "Naruto... what do you think of Ibiki-sensei?"

Naruto's nose scrunched up a bit. "He's a bit weird. I guess he can be scary at times. Why?"

Sakura's eyes looked back towards Konoha and Naruto's frown increased. He watched her actions and finally broke into a smile.

"But he's Sakura-chan's teacher so he can't be all bad!"

Sakura blinked. "Why do you say that?"

Naruto laced his hands behind his head. "Because Sakura-chan is nice and smart so if she wants to train with Ibiki-sensei, then he must be okay." He paused and scratched his head. "Besides, no matter what, Sakura-chan is Sakura-chan. When I become Hokage, I'll still be Naruto. So whatever we end up doing, we'll still be friends, ne?"

Sakura smiled a bit. It was times like this she really doubted everyone's belief that Naruto was dimwitted. Sometimes, he was smarter then all of them.

"Thanks, Naruto," Sakura said, a small smile on her face. He smiled in return. "So what do you want to see me about anyway?"

Naruto's smile got bigger. "Wanna go get some ramen with me?"

Sakura sighed and shook her head. Of course, what else would he want if they weren't training? She opened up her mouth to agree when a movement across the field caught her eye. Naruto turned to follow her gaze.

The grass on the hill was moving but there was nothing visible moving it. Naruto's hand instinctively went to his kunai pouch and the movement suddenly altered towards them. They still couldn't see anything but something else filled their senses.

"What the hell is that smell?" he asked.

The wind rushed towards them and knocked them to the ground. Naruto scrambled up and tried to prepare for an attack but the thing was gone.

"It's headed towards Konoha," Sakura said, watching as the grass continued to move. Then at the edge of the field it disappeared. "We need to warn people."

Naruto nodded and quickly took off, Sakura following a few steps behind. They cleared the field in record time but in the streets, there was no way to track it. Naruto cursed and tried to find any trace of it.

"We should go tell the Hokage," Sakura said finally. Naruto didn't seem to like the answer but he eventually acknowledged it was the only one they had.
Morino Ibiki sat at his desk, hand folded as he examined the material in front of him. The bird feather from the Tengu clan. The list of families that Sakura had provided him. The reports from the villages outside of Konoha. It was worse then he had imagined. He knew it would have to be brought to the Hokage soon, but he couldn't even begin to guess what her reaction would be.

The radio next to him crackled and Ibiki picked up. "Go ahead," he said holding the microphone.

"The Hokage has issued an arrest warrant for a merchant, a matchmaker specifically, in response to the death of some hunters from a neighboring village," the voice responded. "Konoha's police force is already on its way there but the Hokage is asking you oversee the questioning."

Ibiki frowned. What was this about? But then he could hardly argue with the Hokage. So he listened to the details of where he could find the merchant before responding. "I'm on my way."

He left his desk as it was and moved quickly to the door. He pondered bringing a few people to help him but they had said that the police forces were coming. It was already overkill to take down a single woman.

He moved through the market place, ignoring the looks he got and the way the people moved to the side. At least it provided him a clear path to the vibrant tent in front of him. A few police officers were there, waiting for his arrival. He told them to secure the area while he went to get her, taking a few officers with him.

Ibiki opened the tent flap, instantly being assaulted by the smells from inside. He scanned the area, looking for the woman and finally locked onto the small body seated across the table.

"Mabaroshi-san," he said. The woman's head lifted slightly but her face was still hidden.

"Ibiki-san," she replied, her voice even and cold.

Ibiki eyed her. She knew who he was, apparently. "I'm here to ask you to escort you to the police station. We have some questions concerning a group of hunters that was killed outside of this village."

"And you think I'm responsible?"

"It is our belief that you might have information that would help in the investigation."

The woman didn't move. "I do," she replied. "I killed them."

Ibiki's face never showed the shock. The officers behind him shifted and he knew they sensed the danger as well.

"I killed her too," Mabaroshi replied.

"Her who?" Ibiki asked.

Mabaroshi looked up and Ibiki heard one of the officers behind him move outside to get help. The matchmaker's face looked like it had begun to melt, the skin hung loosely around the cheek bones. She laughed but the voice was deeper then a woman's.

"It was convenient," the thing said. "A perfect ruse to obtain information I needed. But it's hard to keep this form." It laughed. "Animals are easier to maintain. Humans are tricky, too much to remember. But I'll change that soon. I've finally found what I needed."

Ibiki didn't bother to ask what that was. The thing was no longer going to talk. The façade of the matchmaker dissolved and the thing reared towards them, a black misshapen mess that still somehow held the qualities a human.

The speed was inhuman as it attacked, impaling one officer on an invisible weapon. The tent tore in half and the people inside scattered. There was screaming, lots of it, Ibiki realized. And he watched in dismay as the people in the market square began to panic.

"Get them out of here!" he screamed at the nearest officer. He turned back to the beast. "I'll take care of it."
"Shizune!" Sakura cried, getting the woman's attention the moment they cleared the stairs. "We need to talk to the Hokage."

"Hokage is busy," Shizune said. "Tell me... HEY!"

Naruto had bypassed the normal protocol and decided to just barge in. Tsunade looked up suddenly, watching as Naruto stormed in. She didn't appear that surprised at Naruto's actions.

"Old hag," he said. "We need to talk to you now." Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "There was something in the field beside the mountain."

"What?" Tsunade asked.

Naruto looked at her and smiled sheepishly. "We don't know."

Sakura sighed as she took control of the conversation. "It was fast, we didn't see it. But it was moving straight to Konoha."

"It's in the market," Shizune said suddenly, the radio headset still on her ears. "Police force just called it in."

"Get the civilians to safety," Tsunade said, moving past them and grabbing her jacket at the door. "Tell them to contain it. Send Anbu teams there immediately." The last command was issued to a shadow in her office that promptly disappeared to dispatch it.

"Hokage, you should stay here," Shizune said. "You know that there is still a threat out there against you."

"There are also civilians who are in the middle of it."

"And a jounin who can protect them until help arrives," Shizune said.

Tsunade paused for a moment and looked at her. "Who?"
For an older man, Ibiki moved well. Maybe not as fast as the beast but then his job was not to defeat it, just to contain it until help arrived. Not that he couldn't have handled this by himself, of course.

The pavement next to him exploded, sending shockwaves through the ground and causing him to stumble a bit. Ibiki frowned. Maybe he could use some help after all.

The beast pulled back its arm, blue energy rippling through it. Chakra manipulation, Ibiki realized. It was morphing its physical shell by using chakra. He was so concentrated on that revelation he didn't notice that the beast left a part of it physical body behind.

Ibiki brought up several senbon. The thing was still partly human so if he struck the right pressure points, he could paralyze it momentarily and deliver a full strike. The beast moved again and Ibiki managed to dodge at the last second, his black coat tearing behind him.

He pivoted, hand releasing the needles with perfect aim. They landed in the right spots, the black darkness suddenly very solid as the needles maintained their positions. The beast twitched and howled, unable to move. Ibiki reached in to his pouch and pulled out a kunai, moving quickly towards the immobile enemy.

Behind him, the black pile of organic material the beast had left behind twitched and began to take shape, slowly forming into a dog. Ibiki struck at the monster just as the dog lunged. It bit into his hand, dragging the arm to the ground and disrupting the kunai attack.

Ibiki cursed at it, reaching to get another kunai so he could free himself for the dog's attack. The dog held on, pushing him away the beast. Ibiki plunged the kunai into the dog's back and the animal yelped with pain. It let go and staggered backwards, but there was no blood at the wound. It turned quickly and went to its master grabbing one of the senbon and pulling it free.

Ibiki moved quickly after it, still trying to salvage his attack before the beast was released from its paralysis. He struck, throwing one kunai at it while gripping a second for his main attack. His right thrust forward, the left useless from the dog's attack. The beast's limbs came free just in time and grabbed Ibiki's hand before it land a blow.

"Too slow," it hissed, chakra enveloping his hand. The glove's material crackled and caught fire but Ibiki was not in pain. The beast faltered for a minute and looked down a moment too late.

It was not a hand anymore, merely a mangle of metal, bone and some shreds of skin that were tattooed with kanji. It had no real fingers but it still moved to strike. The beast could only feel cold as Ibiki's bare hand made contact, a jutsu already in effect. Its blackness began to fade, taking on a gray hue as the cells in that part of its body aged rapidly and died.

The beast screamed, the pain of the rapid aging worse then a normal attack. It reacted instinctively, struggling to get free at any cost. The side of the beast tore, the dead part of the body left behind in Ibiki's hand.

The blood on the ground was red, Ibiki noted. It was human at its core and gravely injured by that last attack. But he wasn't doing too well himself. One arm was still bleeding from the dog's attack, the other unable to touch anything without causing it to rot away until the jutsu subsided.

He moved his injured arm, attempting not to grimace as the damaged muscles protested. He stared forward on the monster in front of him, while looking out of the corner of his eyes for its dog. All too late he realized that it could only be one place.

The dog's teeth dug into his left shoulder, paws scratched at his back. It wasn't a fatal blow but he could feel the warm sensation of blood dripping down his shirt. There were yells, coordinated attacks that could only be Anbu. But the wounded beast was too quick for them to corner. Even injured it could move as fast as the wind. And it took only two minutes to lose them after it jumped down into the sewers.

The dog shuddered as the Anbu tried to detach it from him but it wouldn't die. It wasn't until they heard something over the radio that they knew to strike it in the eye. By then, the wound had grown. The lack of blood was making his vision blurry. And despite his best effort, Ibiki passed out half way to the medical center.
Sakura was beginning to hate hospitals. She could remember as a child entertaining the idea of entering the medical field but the past few years, her experiences with doctors was slowly wearing that childhood dream away. For example, the doctor now was explaining about how they were going to have to put Ibiki in surgery for close to four hours to save his arm. Even as a sannin, the best Tsunade could do with her chakra techniques was stop the bleeding.

"We'll need to augment the metal in there," the doctor was saying before continuing in a language that Sakura had no hope of understanding. She could only translate two facts and that was that Ibiki had been hurt before and it would take work to fix him this time around.

There was a calloused hand on her shoulder suddenly and Sakura jumped a bit with surprise. She looked up and found herself under the gaze of a familiar white haired shinobi.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she asked.

"Naruto came and told me," he said.

"Any news from the Anbu squads?" Tsunade asked, her attention away from the doctor for a moment.

Kakashi shook his head. "The beast is gone. They'll start searching the sewers soon, they have no exit out of Konoha."

"Then we'll lock the gates and make sure nothing leaves this village," Tsunade said firmly. It was extreme, she knew that. A few days and they'd be forced to open the gates again regardless of whether they had captured whatever it was that was running beneath them.

"And the jounin?" the doctor was asking.

Tsunade paused and looked at him. Sakura's brow furrowed at the long pause. "Fix his arm," Sakura said, filling the void.

Tsunade didn't respond to her but instead turned her attention to the doctor. "How long will it take for him to wake up?"

The doctor paused. "After the operation... probably half a day."

Tsunade paused. "And without it?"

"WHAT?" Sakura screeched. "What do you mean without it?" Kakashi's hand tightened on her shoulder.

"Six hours tops," the doctor replied.

"Hokage-sama!" Sakura cried in outrage as the woman appeared to be considering it.

Tsunade looked at the younger girl. "You have to understand... Ibiki is the only one who can tell us what happened."

"There were police officers there," Sakura yelled.

"None of whom actually fought with the beast," Tsunade replied.

"You can't be serious! You can't just let him lose his arm after he got hurt defending the village!"

"I have to take into consideration that there is a monster running around here that none of us know anything about except Ibiki!"

Sakura was about to continue her argument but Kakashi grip increased on her shoulder, making her falter for a moment. Kakashi quickly took that chance to get into the conversation.

"That might not be true," he said. "From the sounds of it, the beast is able to spawn off animals, like dogs and possibly hawks." He paused letting the statement sit with Tsunade for a second. "It means, then, that this event is related to the initial attempt against you Hokage-sama. Ibiki was already investigating this, with Sakura's help." He looked at her. "You've been working with Ibiki the past few days. Maybe you can help shed light on this creature."

Sakura looked up at Kakashi. "I can try."

Kakashi looked at the doctor. "If Hokage-sama stops the bleeding, how long before you won't be able to fix his arm?"

The doctor looked at Tsunade and continued when she nodded. "Four hours. We'll be able to use some jutsu to keep the arm alive but much longer then that and..."

"Four hours, then," Kakashi said. "Team 7 will take this mission," he said to Tsunade.

"I need you to work with the Anbu," she said.

"I understand," he said, small smile under his mask. "But I have confidence in my team's abilities without me. And I think I can get them some help."

Tsunade looked at him for a moment before nodding. "All right then."

Kakashi nodded and quickly steered Sakura out of the waiting room. "You'll have as much time as you need," he said, "but there are only four hours for Ibiki. You go get Sasuke and Naruto and I'll meet you in Ibiki's office."

Sakura nodded. "Kakashi-sensei?" she said softly. He looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Before he could react, she lunged forward and hugged him tightly. "Thank you."

He smiled a bit and ruffled her hair. "Go on, then. You're on a clock." She nodded and quickly disappeared, running through the streets of Konoha to get her teammates.


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