Chapter 2
Kiba Inuzuka was restless in bed, but it was crucial he sleep in this morning. His bedroom was the only hiding place he could think of which came with the benefit of plausible deniability.
Getting out of shit was a skill he'd prided himself on and that's not to mention his killer talent for apologizing. He smiled under the sheets thinking about it; it seemed that nothing could match his arsenal of irresponsibility.
"Hey," Akamaru nuzzled his body. A sheet tightened over Kiba's head anyway; though he'd been wide-awake for who knows how long. Gentle, incessant scratches started barraging his chest but Kiba only thrashed to the side, flopping his weightless buddy off his stomach.
"Lets go already!" he yipped.
A small grumble started deep in Kiba's throat. Akamaru had already forgotten about their deal. Not even a beautiful woman could rouse him from bed today- in fact, that was exactly who he'd been trying to avoid by camping out here. She wouldn't dare come look for him at home, right?
"I told you last night, I was gonna sleep in," he grumbled then ignored the following string of impolite barks.
Kiba really didn't feel like hanging out with Ami today. His not-girlfriend friend had been so bossy lately! There'd definitely been some irritation growing in both of them the past few weeks and he needed a break from the turmoil. It wasn't that he'd hated her or anything; that description would be too harsh. She was an exciting friend to have; especially since she'd graduated a year ahead of his group. The perks of hanging out with the older crowd were great; the problem was their dates and parties were starting to cut into his training time- something he'd probably been slacking on to begin with.
That wasn't really his fault, though. How could he train when the only thing he could think about was how bored he was? What was the point if he'd never get to go on a freaking C-ranked mission like Naruto had? No other rookie team besides his managed to snag themselves one of those things. What kind of injustice was that?
A sniffing nose slid around the sheets next to Kiba's face and managed to break through an opening. His reflexes couldn't save him from Akamaru's cold nose jamming into his ear.
"Ah, yuck! Fine we'll go!" Kiba attempted to nudge Akamaru off the bed but the dog leapt off, bouncing against the wall to the floor. Jeez. He mentally noted he'd ask Hana to bring Akamaru along with her pack the next time he needed a morning off. The two friends growled at each other and Kiba wrestled his sheets back over the dog on the floor.
Tiny limbs were kicking at him while he glanced over at the disabled alarm clock. Nice, he'd already been an hour late for his work-out date. Hooray, he fisted the air ironically. Akamaru broke free and sprinted from the room, barking out nonsense.
Kiba yanked fist-fulls of his matted hair to get some motivation in him. He nearly kicked himself last night for assuming Kurenai-sensei would deny his request to skip out on their own team's morning exercise, in exchange for a run with Ami. But no… As long as you're productive in some other way, I'm okay with it, she'd said.
Sleeping in was not productive, he smirked. If he kept foregoing responsibility, his sensei would scold him and properly dismantle Ami's morning dates. He wouldn't have to be the bad guy then.
He just had to be really convincing; this was all an accident.
Just as he'd stood up from the floor, Kiba heard something unsettling at the front door. The Haimaru brothers seemed to be having a…disgruntled conversation. A complex series of growls and barks indicated they were particularly angry about something. How annoying; he'd already warned Ami they weren't huge fans of unwelcome guests. She was free to leave or free to stick around and get bit. Her call.
"Kiba!" Hana had slammed open the door to yell inside.
God Dammit. He rubbed his face abrasively then ran out the bedroom.
She must've been having a bad morning. Usually the Inuzuka household was a haven for privacy. No one cared what anyone else did around here. It'd been important for them to respect each other that way. Killing each other over the insignificant things was pointless- and probably part of the reason their family had been broken apart long ago in the first place.
Kiba's hair was still sticking up and he squinted out the front door; hoping to give off the illusion of being rudely awakened.
"Get this dog off me! Kiba promised he'd meet with me today!" Ami yelled while walking in backwards circles. Kiba clamped down on his tongue to control an inappropriate laugh aimed at Ami's expense.
Hana sat by a leashed dog, unamused, as the wolves chased Ami around. They were nearly twice her size and flicked her arms around easily; making sure to drench her in saliva while backing her out of their property. Her disgusted shrieks were piercing.
"Hey. Get off." Kiba waved off the brothers who seemed proud of themselves. He looked over to Hana who'd been frowning with a syringe cap clenched in her teeth.
"I'm very busy right now, if you can't tell." She mumbled around the object.
"Yeah well I am too-" Ami bit back.
Kiba grabbed her wrist and pulled away from the house. The wolves grumbled amongst themselves and chuckled about something he was sure he didn't want to know.
"What the hell is wrong with you animals?" Ami said. Kiba had to hand it to her; she knew, very well, how to push his buttons. It was draining.
"What are you doing here?" he ignored the question meant to insult him.
"We had a date, asshole. You stood me up."
Kiba met her glare directly and noticed a faint ring of swelling around those eyes. Shit, she'd been crying.
He scowled at her and feigned concern. He really hated when she cried; she wasn't as pretty that way. Her near-perfect oval face was framed by some of the softest hair he'd ever ran his fingers through. Her red rimmed eyes were a deep shade of violet like the smooth locks of her hair. Her shining lips pursed for only a moment, then they'd be releasing fury upon him. But, instead, what she said was not something he'd been expecting.
"Everyone hates me." She studied his face, hard.
Shit, sometimes looking into those eyes made him forget why she drove him so mad. Then she opened her mouth again.
"And you don't care," her voice deepened. That's more like it.
"Ami, no one hates you," he sighed, "Hana's just annoyed because you're not entitled entrance to our home-"
"Well, why not!" She interrupted. Kiba took a step back, nearly tripping over his own feet. His eyes narrowed at her in honest confusion, taking in the entirety of this craziness.
"Go away," Akamaru arffed defensively from behind the wolves who'd still been rolling with laughter. The pack earned themselves a warning glance from Kiba.
Ami stepped forward and stopped Kiba's retreat with an embrace. An unsettling attraction rushed in him at the catch of her scent and the conflicting emotions caused him to grimace. She always smelled so good. How could she always smell this good? Why couldn't her attitude be like that? He hugged her back after some apprehension.
"We're together, right?" she asked, cutting through the silence. His eyes rolled to the top of his head.
Kiba wasn't much one for commitments. He'd only just started his career- his whole life! Why did anyone get married anyway? Especially those in the vocations he and Ami were into. It made more sense to keep their options open and have fun. Shinobi weren't well known for their longevity, excluding the safe players or geniuses- neither of which applied to him. He knew already, someday he'd die for an important cause. Starting a family seemed absurd.
Whatever. He didn't care.
He hugged onto her tightly, speaking through silky hair into her ear, "When we started this, I thought we both agreed we wouldn't get attached like that." she jerked her head away from him and pushed back on his chest.
"That was forever ago, Kiba. I'm not doing this if you can't give a little more." Of course, that's what someone with feelings would want. She was talking like a reasonable person; not like a crazy maniac…which...she still was!
"Right now isn't good for me," How cliché. Eh, he'd make it up to her later. Maybe tonight they'd sneak out and go somewhere nice, in public, then maybe she'd be in the mood to party later. After thinking it over for half a second, Kiba decided he'd rather have her than some boring person, or worse- be alone.
"Let's go out tonight, then we'll talk about it more." He reached his hand up to smooth back a piece of her hair, but she smacked him away and stepped back.
She frowned, "So what about now? You'll just let your sister treat me that way? Those monsters attack me then you won't apologize? I don't get it." She turned from him and swayed her hips as she walked away. He growled audibly. This constant back and forth with her feelings was so annoying.
"Okay. I'll talk to them, Ami," he conceded. "Just tell me you can at least understand why it's not right to walk into someone's house without permission. Especially one with guards who don't like you." He'd been surprised they hadn't even bit her a little, yet.
She scoffed. "Fine. Guess I'll see you tonight then."
She twirled to face Kiba with a grin and disappeared in a flash, making him wonder if he'd just been manipulated.
"Now! Let's walk!" Akamaru cheered.
.
xxx
.
A fiery sunrise glowed through the chalky window. Threads of dancing light seemed to widen the stale room, inhabited by a narrow wooden table with a few occupied chairs. Gray walls and floor were barren of any decorative distractions, save for an irritating set of fluorescent balls on each side of the exit. Nice and boring.
Ibiki Morino slouched in his chair, glaring heinously at the young woman in front of him. Then dragged his gaze down to the files he had on her. Kaiya Yuki. She'd arrived to the Konohagakure last night with the insufferable Kakashi Hatake and team. How she'd managed to evade Kakashi's senses for near the entire trip home made Ibiki suspicious as hell. If it were even true.
The copy-ninja could defend her all he wanted in the report he'd scraped together, but Ibiki wasn't in the mood for compassion.
His transcriber cleared his throat from the corner of the room and Ibiki took a deep calming breath. He pressed his fingers into the pressure building underneath his sinus. Why didn't he think to bring his coffee in with him? Protocol. It needed updating, but that procedure shit had been the cause of his daily migraines, no question about it.
He shouldn't be complaining. The Hokage paid him quite well for his irregular and interminable schedule. All of the mind-numbing paperwork was well worth the wage. He deserved it too; he was damn good at his job. So much so he'd had to learn when to appropriately, ahem, cool it on the mind games. More than a handful occasions he'd gotten innocent- er somewhat innocent, enemies to confess to uncommitted crimes worthy of decapitation.
Now, how to best go about getting information from this one?
Kaiya was sitting board-straight and stared at him in the exact same way her photo was: Scared and tired. Absolute bullshit. He flipped the file closed and leaned his elbows in on the table, continuing to stare at her in silence. He noticed some increasing tautness in her face, the classic suppression of a yawn. Was she actually trying to appear strong?
Ibiki scratched at his chin, snagging his glove every so often on the stiff stubble and rough scarred skin. His fingers stilled on his chin in contemplation and he frowned when searching her wide eyes for something to work with. He was getting too old for this.
No, that'd be inaccurate; age itself wasn't the issue here. If he weren't K.I.A. before, he probably had at least 30 good years left before he'd retire. Instead, it was the long disputed realization as the years passed, Ibiki Morino, called 'sadist' behind his back as long as he could remember, had a growing soft spot for kunoichi.
The man scoffed, tightening his hands into fists. Soft. That word alone could invoke hostility.
Just because they were female didn't mean they were any less dangerous. Even so, statistically speaking, there were obvious hints of leniency in his actions toward women. If he noticed it himself, who knows how many others caught on?
Ibiki efficiently buried the small shred of pity he automatically had for the girl. She'd very likely been trained to appear scared and helpless under these circumstances. It would be foolish not to work those charming features: The constant upturn of her eyebrows, the slight frown tugging at the corners of her mouth, and those expressive bronze eyes… It made him sick.
She'd been stranded in here since her arrival, waiting patiently all night to speak with the Hokage. If she thought she'd get to talk to the sandaime just like that she must have been stupid.
Kaiya's eyes appeared heavier since Ibiki had entered the room half an hour ago- she was fading fast, or was good at faking it.
He continued glaring at her face. Careful to catch any inconsistencies in her disposition, any micro-reactions that could tell him something about her thoughts, but she just froze in his hard gaze. Her breath started quickening and her dry mouth parted open. Something he'd been waiting for. About time.
Ibiki preferred to let the criminals speak first; he was curious to see where their minds went during an uncomfortable silence. He'd expected her to start off from a neutral standpoint. Something lighthearted perhaps? But after half an hour of silence he'd given up on that approach. Her eyelid twitched and she looked like she'd had it. So, she'd take the offensive route then. Not so good.
"Is this how your village treats all of its vulnerable refugees?" She bit back her tongue and covered her mouth at the outburst.
He smiled. Aggressively defensive? Interesting. Kaiya was doing her damned best to stay strong. What bothered Ibiki was the fear in her eyes seemed nothing less than genuine. He opened her file again to read the atrocious actions he'd seen earlier.
Ibiki chuckled quietly.
Kaiya blinked in surprise and his partner shook his head empathetically. He shifted in his seat as he adjusted the clip board in his hands, all while scrawling notes over the page.
"Interesting choice of words," Ibiki brought her attention back to himself, "but we'd hardly consider you a vulnerable refugee." His posture slacked, easing the tension in the room slightly. Chin resting on the back of his curled hand, "I'm going to be honest right now, dear. Based on your previous company, I'm having a difficult time convincing myself to not execute you right here."
Kaiya crossed her arms over her chest and leaned forward; dark hair spilled over the table. She kept her face down but Ibiki could clearly see she was sifting through an avalanche of thoughts. He wasn't going to wait patiently for her responses.
He pushed a little more, "We've got a long way to go before I ever consider granting your absurd request to talk to the Hokage."
She was frowning but her eyes showcased a series of desperate emotions; confused on how to proceed.
"I understand you don't know me, and I can't tell you to trust me based on my word alone," her voice tapered off. She was digging herself into a hole. "But your village owes me." She spoke, breathless. Her anxiety seemed insurmountable.
"Uh huh." He said lightly.
"My grandfather hired your men for a simple escort mission. Then they killed my sensei; my only biological family."
The man held his hand up and bore his eyes into her. "Nah uh, I don't think so."
"I'm n-!"
"Try again, sweetheart." His voice boomed over her accusations. "Your grandfather- lets ignore the fact he lied to us which could have gotten all of you killed. Tazuna needed protection from your sensei."
"It's not so black and white." Kaiya hung her head. What on earth was she thinking right now?
"Go on, then." She'd better explain, fast.
"I hate Zabuza for what he's done. It's so hard-" She gasped. "So hard for me to forgive Haku for defending his cause."
Ibiki watched her, motionless. Her body trembled as her breath became jagged, irregular. He needed to back off. He still had questions but she was about to pass out.
"It was just a job to them." She looked up at him again, more resolve. "Terrible terrible people paid Zabuza to stop Tazuna from building that bridge. I had no idea to what extent. But I had to stay close to them, no matter what. I reject their reasons, but I will do anything to learn about this ability I've spent my whole life hiding. If I had gotten the chance to tell Haku... who Tazuna meant to me? Maybe things would have turned out differently."
Fuck calming her down, this was ludicrous.
"So tell me," He said. "What's going to stop you from assassinating your sensei's killer when you get your hands on him?" Kaiya's eyes closed and, finally, a line of tears fell down her face. She was mortified. Ibiki wished he could say she was faking this, but he hadn't once noticed anger or resentment toward Kakashi. If she were actually going to kill him, why hadn't she attempted so earlier? There was plenty of time before, but now she was in his territory.
"I only killed bad people." Kaiya mumbled and wiped her hands across her sticky face.
"Why do you need to talk to the Hokage?" FUCK. That's not the question he intended to ask, they needed to learn more about Zabuza!
She stuttered. "-I just want some help."
Ibiki stood abruptly and his chair scraped back against the floor. He glanced over her figure once again before signaling to his partner that they were done for now. Once he turned his back, he heard her fighting for some control over her breathing. Just sad.
Ibiki wrapped her file into a tight cylinder and crumpled it when stepping out of the room. He didn't want to believe her. Only a psychopath could handle the company of a defected Kirigakure Swordsman.
The door slammed behind and Ibiki grumbled at the ninja waiting patiently outside the door for them. You're still here?
"Well?" Kakashi grinned.
"Shouldn't you be at home, sleeping? You were up all night." Then woke me up too damn early for your stupid report. Ibiki rubbed between his eyes again.
"The Hokage's already interested in seeing her. Just wanted to let you know. Better tell him your thoughts soon, he's assigned a team to watch over her." Kakashi said.
Seriously? "For god's sake, don't you guys need some time to recover?"
"I'm not suggesting my team. Frankly, I need a couple days off. Oh, and that reminds me; if you could tell her we're even now?" Kakashi shrugged. "She's all yours, see ya."
"Hold on. What are you implying by even now?" Ibiki deadpanned, it seemed that his suspicions were warranted after all, "You let her follow you here, didn't you." The statement was not a question. Risky move, Kakashi.
"Come on, Ibiki, I put a lot of effort into that report. Did you even read it?"
"I'm not ready to clear her yet. There's something wrong about this. Do you really know how loyal she is to that criminal?"
Kakashi sighed. "You can't tell? I'm sure she had some fondness for the guy. He did kill Gato. Though that was something she'd been pretty intent on doing herself. Either way, they're all gone and now she's aimless."
Ibiki had too many questions. The answers he'd prefer to hear from Kaiya herself, but damn it. He didn't want to traumatize her anymore. He contemplated getting Inoichi involved, but assumed the Hokage was already making those arrangements. Just one more question for her hero, then.
"Where'd they meet each other?" Ibiki's tone was borderline fed-up. Where was his fucking coffee?
"Well, like I said before... and wrote in the report, she said she was trying to kill off the drug lord who overran their town. Haku stopped her."
"What a coincidence." Ibiki said.
"Life is fun like that, isn't it? Fate intertwined...yada yada." Kakashi yawned.
"She's telling the truth?" Ibiki droned.
"Yup."
Ibiki sighed. "So jail is out of the question then?"
"That's up to you," Ibiki could have sworn Kakashi winked at him.
He tossed the disheveled papers at Kakashi. "I don't care anymore. Just get her to bed, then you can enjoy a vacation. I'm getting some damn coffee."
"Softie." Kakashi teased.
Ibiki pretended he couldn't hear that.
.
xxx
.
Kiba arrived somewhat late at the team's designated tree and pushed the thought of Ami out of his mind.
They'd been waiting for Kurenai-sensei there, but she sure was taking her sweet time. Akamaru and Kiba grumbled back and forth impatiently; if there were any dumb missions to do he'd wanted to finish as soon as possible and get out of there. He needed something exciting to happen soon.
Right as he decided to lean back and take a nap on the tree, something disturbing caught his ear. Something...obnoxious. He didn't need acute hearing to know that Naruto was back. That wasn't the kind of excitement he was hoping for.
Kiba had a perpetual scowl set on his face. His eyes slit into terrifying thin lines and his nostrils flared uncontrollably. Ever so slowly, he reached upward, hands clamped tightly onto his fuzzy hood.
"Naruto." He growled deeply as he pulled the hood over his eyes. He crossed his arms in a resentful huff, throwing his head back against the tree behind him. Just speaking the guy's name aloud left a bitter after-taste.
Kiba's ears twitched at the sound of his laughter. It was a grand story Naruto had to share. Kiba felt like murdering Uzumaki - or at least hurting him. Really bad. Just to get that idiot to shut the hell up.
Apparently, Team 7 had just returned from their mission. The C-rank had turned more dangerous than they'd been expecting. Kiba's teeth ground as his jaw tightened, lips pulling back into an ugly snarl. Team 8's plentiful low-level chores were not cutting it anymore for the impatient young man. He never cared much for the other team before, but now he loathed them.
Normally he wasn't in such a piss mood. Naruto had just been the final straw to top off the already shit-day.
Hinata had been hurt this morning. Thankfully not his fault since he wasn't even there, but he still felt guilty about it. No matter how many pep-talks and support he'd given- how many times he'd pushed her? How much more pushing did he need to give? Maybe he just needed to work on his patience like Kurenai said...but whatever. The girl needed help, and he was getting sick of it. He couldn't bare to see sadness in her face.
Oh, of course, he couldn't forget the cherry on top- Ami, was being a royal bitch this morning. But he couldn't help looking forward to tonight. For some reason, like she was his guilty pleasure or something, Kiba couldn't really figure out. Which was upsetting.
"Um…Kiba?"
His angry eyes jerked up toward his questioning teammate, who's tightly bandaged arms hugged around her legs.
"Shouldn't we be, I- I don't know, congratulating Naruto?" Of course. Hinata to the rescue for her precious Naruto.
He scoffed, turning his head back down hatefully at his fellow graduates.
Through the mass of leaves he could see Naruto stick his tongue out at Shikamaru and Choji. Sasuke kept his eyes closed, donning a subtle smirk on his face with Ino clinging to his side. Sakura beamed proudly, looking as if she were standing 10 feet taller than the rest.
Jealously scorched his insides. What the hell made them so special?
He wouldn't have cared so much if it were any other team, hell, Sasuke and Sakura weren't even that bad. Just entitled and annoying…but at least he had some respect for them. It was Naruto. That incompetent brat had no right to brag so much about 'kicking ass' during his first real fight.
Kiba groaned loudly, ignoring the fact that his teammates could observe all of his tactless behavior.
How did that idiot manage to survive a deadly fight anyway? Against a rogue ninja? Must have been Kakashi's fight. His mouth twitched into a near smirk at the thought. Kiba wouldn't have bothered listening to the whole story anyway. Naruto was notorious for embellishment, chances were they didn't even have a fight the whole trip. It should have just been a standard escort mission, right? He held in the urge to spit in their direction as the voices began to fade.
Kiba felt a tickle underneath his chin as Akamaru peeked out of his coat. The puppy growled quietly with each quick breath, mirroring Kiba's jealously.
He pat the little dog's head, "That should have been our mission." His harsh words cut through the tense air.
Hinata winced, annoying Kiba further.
"That's not entirely true." his even more, if that were possible, quiet teammate Shino spoke up.
Kiba rolled his eyes. "What?"
Shino remained unmoved, he was like a slightly-more-vocal statue… which was stupidly accurate since Kiba rarely saw his mouth move as he spoke. "We wouldn't have received that mission. Even if we beat Team 7 to the administrators."
"Oh. really." Kiba annunciated each dry word.
Hinata glanced back and forth between her teammates. Her lip quivered and mouth parted slightly, as if to add something to the argument.
"What do you think, Hinata?" Kiba bantered; then her mouth snapped shut. "Shino's got it wrong, doesn't he?"
Hinata looked down, digging her chin into her chest.
"I don't know."
A small pang of guilt wormed its way into Kiba's gut. That girl could be so ridiculous. Someday he'd get her to fight for herself- maybe. Until then…Fine. He'd just keep his opinions to himself. Not like anyone bothered to agree with them anyway. Why was everyone in the leaf village such an ass?
Kiba slid off the large branch, not bothering to say goodbye to his team. He landed softly on the ground, and hustled far away. Opposite from the group of friends reminiscing about their time in the land of water.
He was so engrossed in his own hatred and annoyance he hardly noticed the woman leaning backward against the trunk of another tall tree. Akamaru whimpered, confusing the angry young man and he ceased his irate marching.
"Kiba." A smooth voice grabbed his attention, making him jump in surprise. Shit, why didn't he notice her smell there a minute ago? His shoulders drooped down. So, she's probably heard everything then. He scowled at his sensei quietly.
"You are letting him win." Kurenai stated flatly. He resisted the urge to give her the finger, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Naruto. He seethed. Was beating him?! Never. Absolutely never. Not in this lifetime.
"I am a thousand times stronger than that clown." He snapped. "I just- It's" His words failed at that point.
Kiba shook his head. He just wanted to go for a walk…or anything, really, that could help calm him down after the long, lousy morning.
She sighed and uncrossed her arms.
"Come with me."
"It's not fair."
"Kiba." Her voice hardened. Kiba tensed, bracing himself for another lecture, but when none came he looked towards Kurenai.
"We have a mission." She started toward the rest of his team, "I think you might like it."
AN - Yuup thats Ami. Hope she's not super overused in OC fics.
Thanks for reading. The reviews so far were so nice to see :)
FYI, expect small changes in the world. If you haven't noticed, they'll be several years older here. I'd almost dare to call this AU in that way but it's really not too crazy. Call me out if things get stupid, please!
I am in no way a Naruto expert. If I mess up any details so terribly that it ruins suspension of disbelief? Oops.
Thanks for following!