A/N: Another Request by sweetliotjulie, sorry for posting it late. My mind went blank and I couldn’t write for two weeks! Not to mention, school was a killer since it’s a new semester… But I hope you like it!

Note: Kiba uses a new jutsu called Kedamono Henshin/Beast transformation for lack of a better name ; Also, I was too lazy to proofread this one, so… if there are grammatical errors… please don’t mind them…

Genius in Distress
By: ShenLi
For: sweetlitojulie

Inuzuka Kiba wandered around the streets, his hood hanging behind his back and Akamaru in his jacket, sticking his head out on his owner’s chest. Konoha was almost made new, after the Sand and Sound’s invasion, people were now living with ease, not needing to repair their houses anymore, all that was need to fix was the northern side of the village’s boarder.

Watching the other villagers pass by him, he continued to stare at the ground, as if it was the most intriguing thing in the village. He then let his mind wander into his past memories. He stumbled upon a scene of Hinata in the medical room, laying on her bed while he laid on his. He remembered the medical ninjas saying that they were lucky that they brought in time and that she was still alive. During the month off of the exam, he always escorted the Hyuuga heir wherever she went, worried that she might collapse in the middle of the streets. Suddenly, Akamaru barked.

“Huh?” Kiba raised a brow. “What?” Akamaru replied with a few barks, making Kiba snort. “You say I’m still bothered about Neji beating up Hinata?” Akamaru barked once again. “Of course I care about her! She’s my team mate! Who wouldn’t?” After listening to more barks, Kiba grinned. “Of course!” His sudden outburst caused most of the villagers to stop all of a sudden.

“Mum… he’s scary…” said a little girl from a shop near by.

“Don’t make eye contact…” Said her mother. All pedestrians stared at the Inuzuka as he began talking to his dog.

“Yeah, this is perfect!” Kiba yelled, gripping his fists with a large grin on his face. “Taking revenge on Neji with that jutsu is perfect! It’ll even help me master it!” Kiba laughed evilly, which was followed by a puzzled bark. “Why was it made in the first place? How would I know? Who cares?” Kiba leaped in the air with joy and excitement. “Yes! I can finally get my revenge! Oh yeah... this is just too good! Let’s go, Akamaru!” As the canine barked, he ran down the street shouting something at sounded like: YAHOO!

“That’s it for now. Take a break.” Neji said sternly, holding his head high as he watched Tenten pant, swiping away the locks of hair that stuck to her fore head by sweat. She straightened up from her slouched position and walked towards the Byakugan wielder.

“It’s already lunch time and I am seriously hungry.” She said, rubbing her belly.

“We’ve been here for eight hours and you’re already hungry?” Neji arched a brow.

“It’s you own damn fault. You called me over here 2 hours earlier than usual and I didn’t even eat my breakfast yet! It’s already Twelve o’clock, Neji. I bet you’re hungry as well.” She said highly. There was a moment of silence after hearing her stomach growl. After another minute of silence, it was Neji’s turn for his stomach to growl. Tenten laughed.

“I call for Ramen, my treat!”

After debating on which place to eat ramen, Tenten demanded that they would go to the cheapest and Naruto’s personal favorite, Ichiraku. (A/N: Did I get that right?) They weren’t surprised that Naruto wasn’t there. They heard from Gai that he went training with one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya. It felt a little strange without some loud mouth screaming in your ear for a second bowl of pork ramen. After ordering, they began to eat in silence. Of course, Tenten was used to this, but sometimes when the sound of slurping and what not comes to place, it made her feel uncomfortable.

“So…” Tenten thought of breaking the silence. That was usually Lee’s job, but since he won’t be training with them in an hour or so. “Uh… Ramen’s good?” Neji shrugged and slurped up the noodles that hung from his chopsticks. “Um… well…. Great!” She was definitely not good in starting conversations with Hyuuga Neji.

“The Chuunin exams will take place again in a month. Be sure not to fail then.” Neji said, out of the blue. It was a rare moment for Tenten that Neji was starting the conversation, but personally, she wasn’t about to enjoy the subject.

“Don’t forget, I’ve gotten better.” The kunoichi lifted her bowl and brought the soup between her lips.

As the two team mates begin to talk, a certain shinobi was lurking behind the store that was across of the Ichiraku. Kiba was inside a large pot that was, for some reason, empty for his well-being. His dog stuck out his head from his jacket and was wearing a happy grin, while his master was wearing an evil and maniacal grin.

“Yes...” He said evilly. “I shall use this jutsu on Neji to get my revenge.” His evil laugh echoed in the pot while random passer bys stare at it. “Yes… this jutsu will turn anyone into a dog for a whole day! HA HA HA HA HAA!” Akamaru barked. “Huh?” The canine barked again. “Oh yeah… I was blinded by vengeance that I didn’t even think about his Byakugan?” He slapped his head. “Damn, he probably already knows that I’m here!” Suddenly he heard Tenten scream. She began shouting numerous things at him. Half of them didn’t even make sense! All Kiba could understand was: Damn genius, Temari, Weapons and a sentence that sounded like: You think you’re better than me because you’re a genius freak who goes on about Fate and crap! Of course, that’s what the vengeance-thirsty Kiba heard. What she really said was: I’m ordering seconds, but you’re paying! But all that wasn’t really important. What really mattered was Tenten accidentally stumbling over her ankle when she tried to shout for the cook. Kiba and Akamaru watched as the kunoichi dropped herself on the counter in front of Neji, causing his bowl of hot ramen to spill all over his white shirt. The Hyuuga jolted up began cursing the heat while trying to wipe off all the noodles and meat that was on his clothing. Kiba wanted to laugh.

“Aha! Now that the Hyuuga is distracted, this is my chance to attack!” He laughed evilly and stuck half of his body out of the pot, random people near by scrambled around at Kiba’s sudden appearance. He clasped his hands together performing a hand seal. “Ninpou…” He began. “Kedamono Henshin!” He focused his wolf eyes at Neji. Kiba glowed red. He then growled.

Over to Tenten and Neji

“Geez, I said sorry, okay!” She said grunting. Then something caught her eye. There was a red aura surrounding Neji! “Oi! What’s going on?”

“Huh? What?”

POOF!

A large puff of smoke was completely over Neji, leaving him invisible. Tenten coughed, trying to shake away the smoke while covering her mouth.

“Hey, Neji. Are you oka-?” Tenten blinked. As the cloud of smoke cleared away, Neji wasn’t there. In fact, the only this that stood in his place was a pile of clothes. Lying on the pile was a…

“It’s a…” Tenten gasped.

“It’s a…” Ayame, the shop worker gasped.

“He’s a…” Kiba stared with delight from afar.

“It’s a…?” Neji said, obviously confused.

“A… puppy?” Tenten blinked.

“A… puppy?” Ayame blinked.

“Yahoo!” Kiba screamed

“A… puppy?” Neji stared at her, still confused. “Say, Tenten. Did the ramen do something to you? You look a little… um…” Neji stared up. The only thing he could reach was above her knee. “Um… If it’s possible… I feel… short. No, scratch that, small. Really small…” (A/N: I know… it’s OOC but WHAT THE HEY! IT’S FUN! XD) Tenten reached down and picked up a small dog.

“…………” Tenten blinked again.

“…………” Neji was silent.

“Are you…” Tenten was beginning to freak out. “… Neji…?”

“Am I Neji? What kind of retarded question is that?” The puppy snorted. It swung his head sideways, fur black in color with a pair of pale eyes. Displaying his snobbish nature, he glared at Tenten. “What?”

“…………” Tenten couldn’t say anything. Finally done scanning her brain for words, she spoke: “Um… Neji, do you… feel… uh… weird or different in anyway?”

“As a matter of fact, I am a little uncomfortable you holding on to me like this. Let go, we were supposed to be civilized people!”

“People… yeah, about that,” Tenten was now completely clueless. She wasn’t able to think about what to say. Finally giving in, she decided to stat the obvious. “Neji, if my current knowledge is correct… you’re a dog. No… more like… a puppy.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Neji thought it was a wise decision to check if his team mate was not about to loose her mind. Reaching out, he placed his paw on her- wait… paw?

…..

Neji’s expression was so indescribable… it either looked like this: O.O,like this: or like this: OMFG-i-think-I’m-a-dog-because-according-to-my-genius-ness-I-have-a-paw-and-it’s-something-we-Hyuugas-no-humans-are-not-suppose-to-have O.O

…. Feel free to pick any.

“What the hell-” Before Neji could finish his sane sentence, Tenten panicked.

“Oh my god! Look! He’s a dog!” Tenten screamed in front of a random stranger. His reply was hard to make out but it sounded like something: That’s… great… (Sarcastically of course…) Neji was now talking to himself, no longer sane after Tenten’s late reaction. Normal people wouldn’t even act like this because the suspense was now gone but these shinobis aren’t exactly… normal.

Neji’s talking and Tenten’s ramblings became extremely awkward- not that it wasn’t before but now it’s just… pointless because 15 minutes passed and as mentioned before: the suspense was now gone… long gone. Still in panic, Tenten absently grabbed Neji’s clothes and tucked the pup under her arm and ran. Far away and never looked back. While the kunoichi escaped, which was not really necessary, Kiba ran in front of Ichiraku and laughed.

“Damn, Akamaru, that was awesome! We need to do this more often!” Kiba said loudly. His sentence was once again, followed by a bark. “Huh? I didn’t exactly plan that girl to get involved, but it’s all good! Hahaha! Fear me, Neji!”

“Hey.” Ayame suddenly spoke with a grin on her face

“Huh?” Kiba stared at the girl.

“Since they’re your friends, why don’t you pay the bills?” Her grin was now wider than Naruto’s.

“…………”

Tenten kicked the door opened to her apartment, ignored her uncle who called her while she dashed passed the living room and slammed her bedroom door shut. (I’m not sure about her parents but I always thought having no parents and living with her uncle suited her…;p )

“Safe… I’m safe…” She panted

“Safe from what?”

“Hm… not sure…Eh?” She blinked and stared down at her… pet? “Crap.” She brought him home. Just perfect.

“You mindlessly grabbed me into your,” He glanced around. “Room?” Neji pondered for a minute. Tenten’s room. Tenten! Tenten was a girl, right! Girls have mirrors! Tenten has a mirror!

What a not so cool way to think…

Neji leaped out of Tenten’s arm. He tried walking on his hind legs but fell backwards. Being a genius, he figured he should walk on all fours to be able to transport himself to her mirror. It would’ve been such an interesting site if we could see Hyuuga Neji crawl on all fours as a human, but right now he wasn’t so… too bad. Tenten watched him. She looked as if she was mentally gathering herself properly so she won’t go insane. Finally regaining her senses, she spoke.

“Eh.. Neji? Are you okay?” She asked, standing up while massaging her temple to relief herself from a head ache.

“Just peachy…” Pumping chakra into his hind legs, he leaped on something he assumed was Tenten’s dresser. He stared into an oval mirror and saw himself. Dark fur, pale eyes, it seems a little familiar. He sighed. The dresser slowly stirred by the weight of the dog. Neji’s current body appeared to be 7-8 months old, so it was a little big, but Tenten didn’t really care about her dresser, what was on her mind was Neji’s reaction on his findings of his body.

“Well… you don’t seem freaked out about your change.” Tenten said.

“It’s not new.” Realizing what he said, he mentally slapped himself.

“Eh? Not new? What do you mean?”

“Nothing.”

“Hey! Tell me!”

“I said it’s nothing.” She sighed, this kind of conversation wasn’t new either. With time, you’ll get to understand how his life works and how you must make your life work his way when he’s around. Strange, but true Hyuuga Neji Wisdom.

Suddenly, Tenten’s uncle knocked on the door.

“C-Come in!” She called.

“Ten-chan, what’s wrong- eh?” The man spotted Neji and walked towards the dog. “Oh! What a handsome animal!”

“Uh…” She watched her uncle gently pat Neji on he head and neck, then began ruffling his fur.

“And he’s kind too! Ten-chan, did you buy him?”

“…no…” Her uncle blinked. “I um.. Found. Him” She said flatly.

“I See! Well, no wonder you ran to your room!” He laughed. Neji didn’t move, looking a little peeved being stroked by someone. “Well, I allow you to keep him as long as you take responsibility. First, you can start by giving him a walk!”

“A… walk?” Tenten blinked

‘A walk!’ Neji thought

“Yes! Here,” He reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. “Go to the nearest pet store and by him a leash. After that, you can give him a bath!

“A… bath?” Tenten blinked again.

‘A bath!’ Neji wanted to attack her uncle.

“Of course! He may get dirty while walking, so you’ll have to clean him, okay? Well, go on! Be back in an hour!” He said cheerfully, lifting Neji from the dresser and placing him on Tenten’s chest to signal her to hold on to the canine.

“H-hai, Ojisan!” Tenten stirred uncomfortably. She held Neji close and took the money and stepped outside for Neji’s walk.

After a visit to the pet store, Neji bared with the leash as much as he could. He got a little annoyed after hearing several chuckles escape Tenten’s throat. It’s been over an hour now and it was time for them to get on home. Interesting things happened; like kids petting him and stroking him and all that damn stuff. There was one time where a kid and his mother were walking a dog and it starting barking at Neji. This is how the scene went:

The dog barked, pushing itself towards Neji but was held back by its owners. Neji grunted.

“Well, woof woof to you too!” Neji snapped. Tenten blinked.

“Mum! I think that dog just spoke!” The kid yelled.

“Don’t be silly.”

“Neji!” Tenten whispered. She wanted to get out of there but part of her wanted to see what’ll happen next!

“Woof Woof…” Neji spoke/barked bluntly. The woof sounded very… strange-but sophisticated! Now Neji’s expression was like: TT

“Mum! That dog has a weird bark!”

Anyway, back to the now, they were walking next to a park, trying to be as normal as possible. After a few minutes of Neji cursing the woman and her kid, along with her dog, he finally sighed and said something reasonable.

“Hopefully, this figure will pass by the end of the day… or right now.” Neji spoke, still irritated.

“Right now? Three things. One: Too many people, not that it would be weird but number two is related to number one.” Tenten chuckled while Neji didn’t seem so amused with her humor.

“Right…”

“Two: When you transformed, your clothes were still there, meaning if you turned back right now, then you would be… how do I say this…? Naked.” Neji froze and twitched.

“And… what would number three be?” He was afraid to ask.

“I may have freaked out before, but I’m actually having fun!” Neji’s head fell lower.

“Great…” Just when Neji thought today couldn’t get any worse, he saw…

“Hinata-san?” Tenten called out, spotting Hinata and Kiba walking towards them. The pair froze. Hinata smiled while Kiba was still in the process of freezing. Neji was a dog. Tenten was there, with a leash…

‘Oh my god, that chick’s walking NEJI!’ Kiba’s mind started working properly and bit his lip, trying to prevent himself from laughing out loud like the psycho he is.

“Hi, Hinata-chan!” Tenten said cheerfully.

“H-Hello, Tenten-san.” Hinata whispered. (A/N: Tenten and Neji have been team mates for a long time. I’d suppose that they met Hinata before so they can be pretty close right? If not, sorry, it’s too early in the morning for me to do more research like I usually do…) She walked over to her fellow ninja to greet her properly when she spotted a rather cute looking dog. “Oh? I didn’t know Tenten-san had a dog!”

“Huh? OH!” Crap. Not again. “Um… I just… got him a few days earlier! Yeah… that’s it! A few days earlier!” Tenten was giving it away. But Hinata didn’t seem to notice! She bent down to pet the dog. Neji refused to be petted by a member of the main house and therefore snorted. Revealing his snobbish nature (again) and looked away.

“Oh… it doesn’t seem to like me very much.” Hinata said sadly, smiling at Tenten.

“Nonsense! Come on.” She lifted Neji like the dog he is and held him in front of Hinata’s arms. “Come on… be a good boy!” Kiba was at the edge of his rope. It was too much!

‘Tenten, you’ll pay dearly for this…’ As Hinata petted Neji she smiled.

“His fur is so soft! Reminds me of Neji’s hair.” Hinata said happily. “SO, what’s his name?”

“Neji of course!” Tenten said directly, that was until she remembered that Neji was a dog.

“Neji?”

“Uh… well, it looks like Neji, right?” Tenten panicked. “Look at his black fur and… and the eyes, man the eyes are so much like the Byakugan!” Hinata laughed. Tenten laughed. Kiba was cracking up inside. He had to turn away and hug himself!

“Kiba-kun! Why not play with Neji! Akamaru, you too!” Hinata seemed very fond of Neji.

“Um… no thanks…I’m… good…” Kiba managed to speak between laughs.

Tenten opened the door of her apartment and placed her keys on the counter.

“Ojisan! I’m home!” She called.

“Oh, Ten-chan! You’re back!” Her uncle said from the kitchen, the smell of curry was spreading through the house and it smelt delicious

“Sorry for being late, we ran into some friends and they played him the dog!”

“That’s okay! But make sure you give him a bath now! Okay?”

“Um… okay…”

“After that, you can have dinner!”

Tenten carried Neji all the way to the bathroom. She locked the door and placed Neji on the bath tub. They both stared at each other. Silence filled the room for 10 minutes. It was awkward. Tenten walked to the sink and stared at the mirror. Sighing she went back to focusing on how she would clean Neji. Clean Neji.

Suddenly, a knock on the door came.

“Ten-chan! I’m going out to buy more potatoes! I’ll be back in fifteen minutes okay?”

“Okay!” She replied and the sound of a door being shut echoed in the bathroom.

“Just turn the water on, I can wash myself.” Neji finally said, not looking comfortable with the idea of someone washing a 13 year old boy! And it wasn’t just someone, it was Tenten! His teammate! And he wasn’t just a 13 year old boy. He was Neji. The Hyuuga Neji.

“Great!” Tenten turned on the water and placed a sponge, a bar of soap and her uncle’s shampoo bottle in from of him. Both of them didn’t move. He tried using the bar of soap first but ended up jabbing his claws into it. He tried the sponge but she couldn’t lift it without using his mouth! As for the shampoo bottle? He couldn’t squeeze out the shampoo out without squirting it all over the tub.

“…………” Neji just stared. Water still running down the shower.

“I guess this is where I come in.” Tenten rolled her pants up to her thighs and knelt down in the tub. She picked up the shower and started cleaning Neji’s face first, then the back, then his belly, and now for the feet! After soaking him, she reached for the bar of soap and grabbed a towel. Scraping some of the soap onto the towel, she began cleaning his fur.

“Can you be a little gentle? You’re going to give me bruises.” Neji said, slightly blushing since Tenten was now a little over him and, to add a little drama, her shirt was getting wet.

Done with the soaping, now for the washing again! The moment was growing more awkward and Tenten was growing wet.

“So… before we went out, what do you mean that the look wasn’t new?” She asked. The Hyuuga refused to talk but was only repaid with really cold water. “Well?” He still refused. Then Tenten threatened him with hot water.

“When I was younger, my dad used to play with me, a lot.” Neji sighed.

“And…?”

“He used to do Henge with me and… we…. would turn into dogs.” Neji said slowly. Tenten’s scrubbing froze. After a few second, she continued to clean Neji’s fur and chuckled.

“Typical for a kid ne?” Tenten smiled. Neji blushed and lowered his head while she washed him.

Kiba was sitting in his room with Akamaru on his head. They sat on the ground watching TV until Akamaru barked.

“Huh? Why would I want Neji to change right now? It’ll be a few hours till the jutsu’s limit.” Akamaru barked again. “I now it’s getting pretty boring. I guess you’re right, and besides! As a dog, he’s pretty much naked right? And that Tenten chick is always around, hell this too much!” He laughed and formed a seal. “Kai!”

Now let’s picture Tenten’s apartment’s surroundings. It was late noon and now, couples were walking hand in hand with smiles on their faces. It was peaceful. Well, it was until they heard an ear-shattering, earth-shaking, teeth-gritting, air-polluting, mind-breaking (A/N: I’ll stop now.) shriek.

“AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!111oneoneone111!oneone!”

“What the hell!” Neji scrambled out the bathtub and grabbed three dark green towels, covering his exposed body. As for Tenten, after screaming, and thanking god that she was looking outside the window, ran out of the bathroom and into the living room and made herself look as if she was glued to the wall. Slowly, she allowed herself to slide down the white painted wall to the cold floor, body and clothes wet with a crimson face.

“I-I’m going to your room to get my c-clothes!” Neji said, blushing madly while holding towels around his body and ran straight for her room; slamming the door and making sure it was locked and locked good!

25 awkward and embarrassingly cold minutes later

Neji was sitting in front of Tenten in her room with the sounds of the hairdryer echoing in apartment. After washing Neji’s raven hair thoroughly, Tenten was using her hair dryer to dry his hair. It was smooth and silky, but that didn’t matter, because they were dead silent after what happened.

“…uh…” As usual, Tenten was the one who would break the silence. “So, um, what are we going to tell Lee and Gai sensei?”

“Hm?”

“Our excuse for skipping training.” She added. Neji thought for a moment.

“Well, there’s no use lying, might as well tell them everything, well, not exactly everything.” Neji said, both still blushing furiously.

“In-in case you’re wondering…” Tenten said, switching off the hairdryer and standing up. “I… I didn’t see anything irrelevant.” (A/N: o.O) Neji silently thanked god.

After that was said, Tenten’s uncle slowly swung opened the entrance door and called out;

“Ten-chan! I’m home! Sorry for being late!” He sheepishly. Tenten replied with an: It’s okay. She looked at him, still blushing and said;

“What don’t you stay for dinner?” Neji was silent for a moment.

“Then I’m afraid you’ll have some explaining to do, having a shinobi in a kunoichi’s room isn’t exactly the best first impression.” Neji said, looking out the window to hide his nervous face.

“Don’t worry I’ll deal with it.” After hearing that, he was afraid of what she would say. She gave a lot of examples on how her alibis work, and he had to say; they weren’t the best.