Chapter 4 - Toto, We're Not in Kansas Anymore!

        Kiba sniffed the air. It was moist and damp, yet exotic... His hand twitched as he carressed the moss he laid on. Where was he? Scared to find out, Kiba opened his eyes slowly.

        He was laying on his back staring at the ceiling of his environment. He seemed to be in some kind of cave of sorts... The cave wasn't some dull icky place, this place was just the opposite! It had turquoise coloring with blends of greens and purples. He heard the sound of rushing water and the smell of... Fish!  And at the very top, was a small opening where you could gaze at the clear blue sky as vibrant as water.

        Kiba sat up suddenly to get a better veiw of things. An enormous waterfall crashed down a few yards away from him into a large pool of water.  A few water reeds enveloped the water edges, but not much. And the water was just amazing! It was so clear that you could see the bottom! Kiba looked down and saw that this was not a small lake... This was a BIG lake! the bottom was visable, but it was so far down... Just looking at it made him feel tired.

        Looking around some more, Kiba noticed there was a series of cliffs behind this waterfall. The only way to get there was to swim across to the other side. It wasn't far, the width wasn't that wide. But to leave the little land he was on seemed to frighten him a bit. Looking behind him, he saw that his little penninsula came up to a natural formation of a ramp right into a cliff. Whimpering, Kiba swirled his hand through the cool water. Actually, it wasn't that cold... It was quite warm!

         Kiba's eye's brightened. It wasn't that bad! Kiba dipped his foot in the water until he got to his ankles. Nervous to get his clothes wet, He took it back out. And then he remembered something. Akamaru! Where was his puppy?! Kiba panicked and ran up the natural formation sniffing with his overly sensitive nose. Crouching to to ground, Kiba found a couple of white hair sheddings. Was it Akamaru's?

        A rippling in the water caught his attention. Running back down, he saw a white object approaching him. Water masked the scent, but as it got nearer, Kiba lept for joy, "Akamaru!" He called diving in the water. His dog yipped and swam up to him licking his face. "I'm so glad you're safe, buddy!" Kiba exclaimed treading next to his dog,"Comon, lets get out of this water and try to find the others!" Akamaru barked in agreement and they "doggie paddled" all the way to the other side.

        Dripping from head to toe, Kiba and Akamaru emerged from the water and ran past an entrance to another cave it looked like, the surface frozen over, so that no one could pass.

"I wonder what that leads to..." Kiba asked outloud.

"It used to lead to the mountians." A voice said.

        Kiba spun around. No one was there. Looking from side to side and sniffing the air, Kiba caught nothing. Had he heard things? Suddenly, Akamaru began barking pointing his snout towards the water. Kiba walked to the edge and peer under. "What is it Akamaru?" Kiba asked when he didn't see anything, "Do you see something?" Slowly, Akamaru approached the water's edged and looked down at the surface. He growled and yipped again, this time looking across the water. Kiba followed his gaze and saw some fish like creature. It giggled and leaped back into the water.

"What was that?!" Kiba exclaimed taking a pace back. With his poor eyesight, he didn't catch much features; just blue/green skin and fins protruding from the arms and ankles. There was a splash and the thing was right in front of him with it's head sticking out of the water.

"Hi!" It called. In the highness of it's voice, Kiba guessed it was female. Her eyes were saphire blue and her head was like a wide oval.

"Uh... Hi?" Kiba hesitantly replied. Akamaru hid behind Kiba's legs.

"What's your name? I'm Ruto. Princess Ruto." Said said bashfully, then held her head high.

"I'm Kiba... And this is my cainine partner Akamaru..." Kiba said unsure what to make of this thing. "Hey, could you tell us where we are?" He asked.

"Silly! You don't know where you are! What a joke!" Ruto laughed, "Surely you've heard of Zora's Domain! It's a popular tourist sight in Hyrule!"

"..Hy..Rule?" Kiba asked rubbing his head, "I've never heard of it."

"You're rich!" Ruto laughed flipping through the water, "You're in Hyrule! Every rock, blade of grass, water, ash, sky, it's all part of our country Hyrule! Have you come as a tourist?" Ruto asked stepping out of the water. She was a little shorter than him, 'bout up to his nose. Her scent smelled of fish and herbs.

"Uh, not really. Actually, I don't know how I got here." Kiba said with a shrug.

"Well, I figured that much knowing that you didn't know what Hyrule is."Ruto said playfully, bending down to look at Akamaru, who shied away. "Your dog is cute!" She squealed picking Akamaru up and cuddling him against her scaley chest. Akamaru froze not knowing if this girl was friend or foe.

"... Not to be rude or anything, but.. What are you?" Kiba asked. Ruto set Akamaru down a beamed at him.

"I was just about to ask you the same question! You're not a Goron, and you're not a Hylian 'cause they have pointed ears, and I take it you're not an Ordainian. But to answer you're question, I'm a Zora. The aquatic creatures of Hyrule. We inhabit the waters here." Ruto said rocking on her toes with a grin.

"I don't come from here... I guess I'm a.. Ninja?" Kiba said wondering if that answer would suffice.

"A ninja? Ooh, I've heard of those in stories! Why don't you dress in black then with one of those masks?" Ruto asked.

"... Uhh, not that kind of ninja. We're the one's that use stuff like this: Akamaru! Man Beast Clone!" Akamaru lept on Kiba's back as he bent down. Akamaru turned into a copy of Kiba; while Kiba gained beast atributes. He got his four limbs with his nails growng two inches longer. His teeth had also become sharper.

        Ruto watched with intrest as he attacked nearby rock with his jutsu. When the attack was finished, the rocked at deep gashes in it where Kiba and Akamaru's claws raked. Ruto clapped as Akamaru turned back into himself in a puff of bleach white smoke. "Bravo! I've never heard of this, but that was awesome!" Ruto said hopping up and down, clapping. "You wouldn't happen to know a guy named Chouji, or Shikamaru would you?" Ruto suddnely asked after her applause was done.

Kiba looked up at her, "Yeah! I know Chouji and Shikamaru!"

"That's what I thought. You guys both have the same markings on that headband of yours." Ruto said poking Kiba's forehead where his Konoha headband was. "Chouji's upstairs eating with my family and Shikamaru's with him too. Come, I'll take you to them!" She said running up to a cliff and climbing the ledges like steps. Kiba followed wihtout hesitation with Akamaru on top of his head.

"Akamaru, we're not in Konoha anymore.." Kiba said in refrance of the Wizard of Oz, "We're not in Konoha anymore."

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