Name: Anaka

Status:Genin

Picture on my profile, but purple hair and rather animalistic golden eyes.

I raced wildly through the forest of Konoha, desperately following the blood trail in front of me. Blood. There were traces of it everywhere on the path I followed, drops on the ground, a streak now and again on plant leaves. It seemed like so much. I could smell it around me. There was no real way to tell whose it was, but somehow I knew anyway. It belonged to him, one of my best friends since I was little. Tears rose to my eyes as I clutched tightly to the small bag of medicine strapped to my side. I had to find him before it was too late! What if he didn't come back from this mission, what would I do? I couldn't imagine. He was such a part of my life now, I couldn't bear to lose him after all this time!

I stumbled down the street, nearly tripping over my own feet several times as I sprinted for class at the Academy. To wake up late now, of all days! There was no way I could get there on time!

I felt something tangle under my feet as I stumbled again and fell forward onto the street. I managed to get an arm under me to stop my face from landing in the dirt, and took a moment to make sure I wasn't hurt before looking back to see what had tripped me.

A small white puppy lay on his back, twitching and dazed from being caught in the flurry of running feet. I squealed and jumped over to him, gingerly gathering him up in my arms.

"Oh, I'm sorry puppy! I didn't see you! I'm sorry!"

The little dog showed no signs of reviving himself, so I dug around in my backpack for some kind of snack I could give him. I produced a fruit bonbon I had packed as part of my lunch. Not exactly dog food, but it was the best thing I had. I held the bonbon in front of the puppy's nose, giggling as he sniffed the treat and snapped back into awareness, tail wagging against my leg as he licked up the dainty snack. To cement the peace offering, I scratched behind his ears, glad that he was okay.

"There now, feel better puppy?" I crooned softly, still holding him in my lap and scratching the soft fur atop his head.

"He usually doesn't take to strangers that well."

I started and looked for the source of the unfamiliar voice. A boy a little older than me, with a baggy gray coat and scraggly brown hair stood leaning against a wall, looking down at the puppy in my arms, who immediately jumped up with a small yip and bounded over to the newcomer. I scrambled to my feet, anxious that I hadn't offended this boy by essentially running over his dog.

"Oh, so, is he yours?" I asked hesitantly.

He sniffed and turned his head to the side. "Yea, Akamaru and me are best friends. I'm amazed he likes you at all after you took him down like that."

"Oh, I'm really sorry about that! I didn't see him run out, I didn't mean to trip over him!" I explained anxiously.

He looked down at the puppy wagging his tail and shrugged. "I guess if he don't mind, I'm okay."

I sighed in relief, then looked at the boy a bit more closely. "Hey, I've seen you at the Academmy before, haven't I? Why aren't you in class?"

"Hn. I don't need to listen to that instructor yap all day to be a great ninja. Akamaru and me can learn by ourselves!" He said confidently, head still turned nonchalantly to the side, eyes closed. Stealthily he peeked out at me to see if his act of bravado was working.

It was.

"Wow, really? You must be really strong!" I said, gazing at him admiringly. He really didn't need to go to class to improve his skills? He must be so far ahead of me.

He grinned briefly at his success, than quickly maintained his care-free expression as he strutted off down the street, whistling to Akamaru, who ran after him and effortlessly jumped on his shoulder.

I stood in the middle of the street, staring dreamily after him for the longest time, until I remembered that I was still late and scurried off to class.

I paused and looked around, lungs burning as I gulped in air. My eyes darted around, trying to find another trail, a sign, anything that would help me find him. I had traveled out of the forest into a canyon, a wide river running through it. I shuddered to think what would happen to Kiba if he fell into such deep water with an injury like he had. If he was bleeding that much, he couldn't go much farther, could he?

At this thought my eyes fell on the edge of some dark gray fur sticking out from a boulder ahead. The fur from his jacket! That must be it! But then…why was it so still? I advanced slowly, hoping the sight of my friend resting, safe and out of danger, would meet my eyes. He would probably laugh at me for being so worried about him, and greet me as usual, as though I hadn't just spent hours searching for him.

"You're late again." He scoffed, glancing side-ways up at me from his position on the forest floor, crouched on all fours with his nose to the ground.

"Yea, I know, I'm…what are you doing down there?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"I'm practicing a training exercise with Akamaru! Now get down!" he hissed, grabbing your wrist and pulling you down to the ground beside him. I folded my arms under me and shifted to a more comfortable position, knowing that it was easier than trying to argue with him.

"…But can't he smell you?" I whispered.

"He's going to hear me if you don't shut up!" He growled, sniffing at the ground with a few delicate twitches of his nose. I stifled a giggle and received another side-ways glare. "Why'd you even say you wanted to train with us if you can't even show up on time?"

"I know, I'm sorry, alright? I was at Shikamaru's earlier and I got held up!"

He huffed and looked away. "You probably should've just stayed with him, then. Since you two are such good friends, anyway."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked, confused by his sudden bad attitude. Was I not supposed to be friends with Shikamaru? Had they gotten into a fight or something?

"Come on, I know you hang out with him at least a couple days a week. He sleeps all the time and you're late everywhere you go. You fit each other's schedules of never getting anything done. It's a perfect match." He said sullenly.

"Well, yea, but…I don't want to hang out with him all the time. I mean, he's nice and really smart and all-"

"Of course he is."

"-but that doesn't mean that he's my best friend or anything. I mean, there are other people that are more fun to be around than Shikamaru."

"Really. And just who are all these other people?" he sputtered.

"…well..you, for instance."

He blinked, perking his head up. "…me?"

"Yeah," you mumbled, looking down at the ground. "I mean, we go places together and it's kinda fun." I glanced over and saw him grinning uncontrollably, suddenly looking very pleased with himself. "What are you so happy about?"

He shook his head, still smirking. "Nah, it's nothin'."

I snorted slightly and settled my head on my arms. "Some training exercise this is turning out to be. You know you're not exactly being stealthy, don't you?"

"I was being perfectly stealthy before you showed up!"

In a sudden burst of leaves and yipping, Akamaru leapt out from the bushes and landed on Kiba's head. With a surly glance upward, he reached up and removed the puppy.

"Yea, I know, you win this time."

I stepped up so that I was only a foot away from the rock, close enough to reach out and touch the visible edge of the jacket.

"Kiba?" I called, quietly, my voice wavering slightly.

At the silence, I quickly stepped around the boulder, clutching the jacket in my hand.

The empty jacket.

It was Kiba's coat, propped up against the boulder, but there was no sign of its usual occupant or his canine companion. I stared numbly at the limp cloth in my hands, feeling a sudden emptiness in my chest. I still hadn't found him. I had been so sure he would be here, and everything would be alright, and now…my eyes traveled down to the dark blood staining the article, around where his ribs would be.

"Kiba…"

I felt my throat get unbearably tight and sank down to my knees, cradling the jacket in my arms. I fiercely blinked back the tears beginning to spill from my eyes and forced myself to slow the stuttering breaths catching in my throat. This didn't mean anything. He was still alive. Until I found his body, he was still alive.

I hugged the coat to me, hoping to draw some kind of strength from it as I looked around from any sign of where he could have gone. My eyes fell on the wide river flowing nearby. That would probably be the best place to start. He must have gone into the water to keep from leaving a blood trail the Sound Ninja could follow. I nodded to myself and started down the narrow bank of the river. He couldn't have gone too far bleeding like that. He was probably past his limit already.

I grit my teeth, eyes flashing dangerously. This was all that Sasuke's fault! If he hadn't abandoned the village, Kiba would never have gotten hurt!

I had stayed for some extra practice after the training session, to make up for missing the first portion that morning, and it was already dark by the time I started home. I was approaching the main road to the village when I heard voices up ahead of me. I paused. Who would be up at this time of night? It might be a good idea to check it out.

I made my way cautiously to the edge of the wood line and peered through the branches to the street in front of me. Sasuke and Sakura stood on the moonlit path. How romantic, I thought scornfully.

Wait. Something wasn't right. Sakura looked too upset just to be talking to her long-time crush.

At that moment she cried out desperately, "Sasuke, if you leave, I'll scream and-"

In an instant he was behind her, and struck her on the back of the neck. She slumped down, unconscious from the blow.

My eyes widened as I stifled a gasp, shocked by what he had just done to his own team member. Either he didn't' hear me, or he didn't care, but he started walking down the abandoned street again, towards the village exit. I stepped out from the woodline, my first instinct to go after him. I looked down at Sakura's still form and stayed where I was, staring out after his shrinking figure.

Fine. If he wants to leave so badly, why should I care? Good riddance.

The next morning I heard that kiba had been sent out on a mission to retrieve Sasuke. Not one person from the team came back all day. Or the day after.

Now I cared.

I stopped suddenly on the riverbank, looking out into the trees of the forest. I couldn't see any other breaks in the canyon downstream, and there was nowhere else he could have gone. I crept forward, cautiously examining the bushes and trees for any break that could lead you to a trail to follow. When I couldn't find one I plunged blindly into the woods, weaving between tree trunks and looking about desperately for my friend. I was so anxious at this point that I disregarded the possible danger of enemy ninja remaining in the area.

"Kiba?!" I called frantically, straining my ears for any answer, any sound from the thick forest. "KIBA!"

"Ana?"

I froze, trying to figure out the direction of the weak call.

"K-Kiba? Where are you?"

"Over here, Ana." He answered wearily. I turned and ran a short distance to the left, looking about anxiously until I finally saw him.

"Kiba!" I flung myself around the tree and skidded to a halt in front of him. I wanted to badly to hug him and smack him across the face at the same time, but I had to tend to his wound first. I took Akamaru in my hands and gave him a once-over; from what I could tell, he was pretty beat up, but not in any serious danger. I reached for the pouch at my hip and started sorting through my supplies.

"Lie down." I instructed, as calmly as I could, as I wrapped a few bandages around Akamaru to keep his ribs stable. I was by no means a medical ninja, and he could have internal injuries that I couldn't see. I bundled him up in Kiba's jacked and placed him on the ground beside me. I looked up to see Kiba still sitting up against the tree staring stubbornly at me.

"I don't need to-"

I closed my eyes and clenched my fists in my lap. "Kiba, you stupid mutt, I told you to lie down!"

His eyes widened and he quickly complied with my order.

I exhaled slowly. "Thank you."

"S-sure, no problem." He lay still as I crawled over to him and slid his shirt back to uncover the source of all the blood. I surveyed the deep knife wound in his stomach and noted that he had already made some kind of salve to put on it. With somewhat shaky hands, I pulled a bottle of clear liquid ointment from my pack and rinsed the blood and salve from the wound, sterilizing it and applying fresh medicine at the same time. For some mildly unnerving reason, he kept his eyes on me the whole time. I glanced up into his face and nodded.

"Okay, you can sit up now. But go slow."

He pushed himself up with one hand, using the other to keep his shirt out of the way. Why did he keep looking at me like that? I tried to ignore him and focused on wrapping the bandages around his side. Once I was done, though, I had nothing else to look at, and my eyes drifted up to his face.

"What?" I asked, not able to take his silence any longer.

"It's just…" he cocked his head to the side in a gesture strongly reminiscent of Akamaru, and studied my face for another moment. "You were crying."

My eyes widened as I automatically touched a hand to my slightly swollen lids. Could he tell how close I had been to breaking down earlier?

At this silent confirmation he reached out to caress my cheek with his thumb, still looking softly into my face. I had never seen him look so gentle before.

"You were crying for me?" He murmured.

"You were gone a long time. And I couldn't find you. I thought maybe that, um..you know." I concluded lamely, looking down self-consciously at my hands.

"I kinda almost did."

"Yeah."

"But, you know…it really made me think that…I mean, if things had gone another way, then I…well, I'd want you to know that…"

I looked up, confused by his lack of words. His eyes met mine and hardened with a sudden resolve as he slid his hand back to grip my hair, drawing me forward to meet him in an uncertain kiss. Uncertain, and so simple, but so perfect. Despite all that I had endured that day, I still felt my heart flutter as he wound his fingers more deeply into my hair, seizing my bottom lip for a moment before slowly pulling away a few inches from my face.

I smiled at the slight worry on his face, the fear that he had done something wrong.

"What took you so long?"

This was something requested from me a long time ago, so it might not sound like some of my other stuff. And I can't really classify it as romance, but really it's a one-shot and they're like 14? So what do you expect?

Review if you desire.