tampered | Log; Ongoing

Log; Ongoing

When; Dec. 4th, about midday
Rating; PG, PG-13 for possible swearing
Characters; Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, TenTen, and any other characters who may pass by
Summary; Kiba heads to Hinata's apartment to find out more about the City
Log; Kiba arrives at the place TenTen told him to go to: Building 6, Apartment 7. He had yet to fully understand why he had come here, or for that matter why so many others from Konoha were here, too. He hoped that, by coming here, he might be able to understand some things. Kiba stands in front of the door for a moment, takes a deep breath, then starts knocking on the door loudly.
"Oi, Hinata-san, TenTen, are either of you here?!"

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From inside his safe and Tayuya-free apartment, Shikamaru glanced up from his charts and rubbed the bridge of his nose. NOW what? As if it wasn't bad enough that Naruto had felt the need to come over and "hang out" with Chouji, now the loudmouth was back. Or, at least Shika assumed it was the blonde Kyuubi. He couldn't think of anyone else in the city who would bang on his neighbors door that loudly. However, Nara Shikamaru knew something that the intruder apparently didn't. And that was that the residents of apartment 7 were currently NOT at home. Heaving a sigh, he pushed himself out of the rather comfortable hole he had burrowed into the blankets and stretched. Not bothering to put on a shirt, the lazy Chuunin pulled open his front door (after undoing all the locks - to keep a certain redheaded Otonin out of his hair), and stuck his pineapple-shaped head out into the hallway.
"Oi Naruto! Quit the yelling and just use the spare key that Tenten-loaned-"
He broke off as he found himself face to face with a rather large Akamaru. And, if that was Akamaru, and not the fever-dream that Shika hoped it was, then that meant that the fuzzy spiky-haired person banging on the door was none other then Inuzuka Kiba. Rubbing his eyes for a moment, he blinked to clear his vision. Yup, definitely Kiba.

Kiba stops banging on the door to look over at the guy who was apparently speaking to him. He recognized that voice. He looked at the familiar pineapple-shaped head in surprise.

"Sh..Shikamaru?! Hinata told me you were here in this city, but what're you doing LIVING next to her, TOO?!"

The black-haired shinobi scowled and stuck two long fingers into his ears.

"God Kiba, do you think you could yell any louder? My eardrums are still functional."

With a sigh, he stepped out of the door, muttering at the cold floor against his bare feet and leaning against the doorframe with one hand.

"What am I doing here? What are YOU doing here?"

Kiba looks at Shikamaru a moment, then rubs his head slightly, uncertainty on his face. Akamaru immediately adopts a look of uncertainty as well.

"I'm not sure. Akamaru and me were training out in the forest around Konoha, then we decided to take a rest before heading back. When we woke up, we were in the forest surrounding this town. I don't really know how we got here or why for that matter."

Shika nodded, yawning.

"Yeah, a lot of people get here that way. At least you didn't end up like Hinata, and wake up drowning in the fountain. Or dead, like some of those Otonin."

"So they are dead. I met up with that Tayuya chick you fought. I thought I was in hell or something when I saw her."

Hearing Hinata's name reminded Kiba of why he came here.

"That's right! Shikamaru, where's Hinata? Tenten told me to come down here and she'd fill me in. Are they here?

"Nah, they left a while ago. Not sure where they went to. Everyone here comes and goes a whole lot."

He sighed. He knew what he'd have to do. Afterall, it was the right thing to do, as Chouji or Ino would likely say. But that didn't keep it from being troublesome. He turned back towards his door, and beckoned.

"Come on in. Lemme finish getting dressed and I'll give you the run-down. But not here. I'm tired of microwavable stuff."

"Huh? Oh, alright."

Kiba walks into Shikamaru's apartment, then sits and waits for him to get dressed. Akamaru sits down on the ground right in front of his master.

"So, how'd you get here? You didn't tell me back there."

Shikamaru rummaged around in the other room, swearing as he stubbed his toe. He finally emerged in a simple black turtleneck sweater and the jeans he was wearing earlier. He plopped down on the couch across from Kiba and ran his long-fingered hands through his unruly black hair, pulling it down out of it's customary ponytail. Combing through the messy strands, he smoothed and retied them before standing up and nodding towards the door.

"Let's go. I want some food, and Juliet's not far. I'll explain things along the way."

Kiba looks at Shikamaru a moment, then stands up from his seat.

"Alright, let's go, Akamaru."

Akamaru stands up, then barks, and Kiba hops onto Akamaru's back, then turns to face Shikamaru.

"Lead the way."

They headed down the street, Shikamaru hardly seeming to notice the chill in the air, dark green scarf wrapped around his neck and shoulders. It looked handmade, and was evidently enough to keep the lanky nin warm even though most of the people they passed by were bundled up to a greater degree.

"So, you just got here, right? How much do you know so far? I don't like repeating things if I can avoid it."

Kiba's basic outfit sufficed for the occasion. He had recently had his old coat altered for his older size, and it was keeping him perfectly warm.

"Huh? Well..I know we can't leave the City; that we're stuck here. Also, I know that you, Hinata-san, Chouji, Naruto, Ino, Tenten, Lee, Shizune-sensei, Anko-san, Gaara, Sasuke, Neji, Orochimaru, Deidara, Itachi, and a few of the Otonin are here, too."

Akamaru barks, as though he is trying to add to the conversation.

"Oh, that's right. Hinata asked me about my age, but I don't quite know what that was about."

Shikamaru nodded, trudging through the small drifts of snow at the edge of the streets.

"Yeah, there's a decent number of us here. And you're right about the 'stuck' part. As for your age.."

He scratched the back of his head as he walked.

"That's one of the weird things about this place. It can bring people from the same world, but from different times. For instance, the majority of us come from the same 2-year timeframe. Hinata and I are 17, as are Chouji and Ino. Neji is from the same time, as he's 18. Tenten and Naruto, on the other hand, are from the time right when Akatsuki started to attack, so they're 16 and 15 respectively. Shizune's from our time, but Anko's from the time when we were taking the Chuunin exam that first time. Gaara comes from the time right after Sakura and her team rescued him from Akatsuki, and Sasuke...well, Sasuke is still 12 or so. As for the Akatsuki and the Otonin, I'm not sure. The flute-bitch and the twins are dead, so they're the same age they were when we fought them. As for the others...not sure. Yondaime Hokage's here too, you know."

"Wow, I had no idea there was an age...Y-Yondaime Hokage is here?!"

In the back of his mind, Kiba knew the surprises were not going to end there.

He nodded as they rounded the corner and the small cafe came into view.

"Yeah. He's pretty much in charge, if anyone really is right now. Well, at least in regards to those of us from Konoha."

Pushing open the door, he nodded slightly as the waitress beamed at him and batted her eyelashes. With a sigh and a mutter of "troublesome", he made his way to a corner booth in the back. Sitting down, he snagged a menu from the neighboring table and started thumbing through it.

"Get whatever you want. They take any kind of currency here. Even things like hair or fur. Hell, with Akamaru, you could buy anything you wanted if you shaved him bald."

Akamaru growled at the idea of being shaved bald, but Kiba laughed and started petting Akamaru's head.

"Don't worry, I have no plans of shaving you down."

After ordering a couple steaks, one for him and one for Akamaru, Kiba looks around, not sure what to ask now.

"So, what has everyone been up to since coming here?"

Shika ordered a simple soda and sandwich, then leaned back in the booth and ignored the blatent stares the waitress kept giving him.

"Gah, I wish she'd just give it up already.."

Sitting up straight, he massaged his temples for a moment before he began artfully arranging sugar packets on the table into complex patterns.

"Well, things are a lot different here then they are in Konoha. You already saw how many different people there are, and I told you about the age/time thing. But that's not the half of it. There's 4 deities here, and they tend to get a kick out of cursing us randomly. Sometimes they're pretty harmless, like making everyone think they're friends, but they can be pretty malicious too. There was even one that randomly switched your gender."

He glanced away, trying to hide the flash of red across his cheeks at thought of that particular curse day.

Both Kiba and Akamaru stopped eating completely as they tried to think of a female Shikamaru.

"..."

Kiba's mouth dropped, and Akamaru started to whimper. After a moment, Kiba started thinking of what Hinata would look like as a guy. That thought alone caused Kiba's brain to snap, forcing his semi-unconscious body to fall face-first into his steak.

The shadow-user glared slightly. He knew perfectly well where their thoughts were going. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes and let his forehead contact the cool metal of the table.

"Yeah....you get the idea. And you have no idea how hard it is to keep a jacket covering...things...when all you've got under it is a mesh shirt and your Chuunin vest is at the cleaners..."

He shuddered slightly, smiling a bit at the thoughts of what ELSE that curse day had led to. But then, he wasn't about to share that bit of intel with Kiba. He snickered as the fanged boy fell into his steak.

"Thinking about Hinata as a boy?"

Kiba's face turned red, and his head immediately rose up, covered in steak sauce.

"Sh-sh-shut up!!"

Akamaru laughs a bit before returning to his meal, and all Kiba can do is scowl and look at his plate, idly poking at it with a fork.

"So how often are these curses? And are they all like that?"

"They're random when they happen, and they're not all like that. And not everyone gets hit with every one. I've had some of them skip over me while everyone else gets hit."

He nodded as the waitress brought his food, picking up his sandwich and biting into it.

"But some of them aren't that bad. Well, depending on what it does to you. I mean, Hinata was practically walking on air that one day when her wish came true."

"So they're not all bad, then?"

Kiba takes a few bites, then continues to poke at his steak. After a moment, Akamaru looks up at him, his plate licked completely clean, and Kiba simply grabs the empty plate and replaces it with his half-eaten one.

"Where is everyone? I had hoped to meet up with Hinata-san at her apartment."

"Nah, they're not all bad. Besides, she deserved a nice day, after the last few before that. She's a nice girl, but too shy for her own good sometimes. Though, she's changed a lot. 'Cause of Neji, of course."

He finished the sandwich and sipped his soda thoughtfully.

"Hinata? She's probably out. Shopping for dinner or something. Neji's been gone for awhile, he vanished once she was out of danger. Probably a good thing, since we had to practically peel him away from her bedside. As for everyone else, not a clue. I'll show you around, we might run into a few of them."

"Alright!"

Akamaru finished his steak, wagging his tail in appreciation.

"Heh, y'know, the way you spoke of Neji, you made it sound like he and Hinata are an item or something."

The lazy shinobi glanced up at Kiba from over the rim of his glass for a moment.

Alright, I know he's not the sharpest kunai in the pouch at times, but did he really not see that coming?

Granted, Shikamaru had to admit that Hinata had done such a good job of hiding her affections for Neji for the last few years that even he had missed it. But once that resolve of hers had begun to crumble, it hadn't taken an IQ of 200+ to put the pieces together.

"They're not."

".....yet."

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Log; Ongoing

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