Kiba Inuzuka, A name I have not heard in more than a decade. A name that once struck fear into the hearts of my enemies or laughter in my friends. A Name I held pride in, helped build and make whole. I loved my old life. By day I was Kiba, a normal Chunin from a great clan of trackers. My missions were good and my personality boisterous and loud, overlooked. By night I was captain of the ANBU special operations unit. Dealing with all the shadowy little dirty things that could not be brought to the light of day.
Only two people know about that part of my life, Sasuke Uchiha and My wife Tamaki. Both were extremely surprised how good I was at it as well. The first three times that I met Sasuke as my ANBU self (Badger) He never even recognized me. Not even the Hokage ever suspected or knew who I was. Mabey his little fox did but if so he never told anyone. Amazing what a silver scarecrow wig can achieve.
The fox was a nice guy actually. Met him on three occasions when Naruto was unconscious.
I needed Sasuke to know who I was since we were both spymasters and would need to work together closely. At the very least I now know what a surprised Uchiha looks like. We became rather good friends in the field and I made him the godfather of my kids. Poor kids, thinking their father was just an overly loud goof. No one could ever quite figure out why I made him godfather.
I joined the ANBU mostly out of boredom. Akamaru was aging and I wanted him to spend time with his pups. His skills dulled and I could tell he was starting to get weary. I never took up another k-9 after his passing and retirement. But out of boredom I joined the ANBU and realized that once I stopped screeching I was damn good at it. With a quick application of makeup and jutsu, I rose through the ranks as a great spy and excellent warrior.
Not to say it was easy. Hell no. It was hard. Like being in war almost all day for over a decade. Days of constant training, pushing myself past my human limits and achieving new forms of transformation. Scrolls of which I wrote and would confuse my kids for decades when they read them. After all, how could their lame father make such great techniques?
In the end there, I was even able to match Sasuke blow for blow. Naruto and he may be teammates but he was my friend and partner. When we trained we tended to reshape landscapes into dust. So, we fought in his little personnel dimension instead. It was exhilarating and made up for some of the endless stakeout hours.
Now here is a surprising fact. The three most used Jutsu I used as an ANBU, was the academy three. Substitution, transformation, and cloning. To be fair I used shadow clones a lot too but normal clones were also an invaluable tool.
I had to hand it to Naruto, mastering the Transformation Jutsu was not easy.
However, my death was spectacular. I was in my sixties, battling a crazy strong pirate by the name of Black beard when I got a heart attack. I really should have listened to Orochimaru when he/she told me to take it easy on my heart but I never listened.
So now I have a new name. A softer name. Kiba Lark was my name. Brother to Sky Lark. Son to Dawn and Night Lark. A crazy dysfunctional family, so nothing new there. As the oldest son, it was a tradition that I become a Hunter and my brother wanted to try being a hunter anyway if only so he could gain notoriety for his art.
For the first few years, my mind was a jumbled mess. Messing about and just being a kid. My little brother was annoying and I sent up a prayer to my sister more times than I can count for the strength to deal with him.
At first, people thought I was autistic since my skill level in things would vary rather drastically. Then staring off into space and obsession with dogs was also concerning to my parents.
My memories came back slowly, first dreams and then recollections. Till one day they snapped into place during a certain event.
… …. …
Kiba Lark ran down the dirt path back to the family's current home. He wanted to get some training in so he and his family rented a house by the lake at the edge of vail. It was a normally calm and serene place that reminded him of the village he often saw in his dreams. The tall and sturdy trees were a vast improvement over the towering metal of the city. He was not opposed to the city, just bored by it. The sight of so many trees spoke to him, bringing a pleasant nostalgic feeling to his soul. He was sure if he unlocked his semblance now, it would be the same color as those tree leaves.
He was running back after a long and difficult training session in the woods with a smile on his face. He didn't know how he acquired the right training knowledge but it was fun for the ten-year-old and he relished in the challenge and knowledge. He knew the exact exercises he needed, the kata's needed for his muscles to remember their forms and how to throw blades. Even if it was all painful to learn at first.
He remembered that the other guy was rather good at throwing blades and that he was some sort of Faunus. Unlike the rest of his family, he never held any prejudice against the Faunus. His father was adamant against the fang and his mother was just unpleasant in general leading to a tense household. She was hostile and suspicious of everyone she met. His father was little better and constantly pushed him and his brother passed their limits. Kiba took the brunt of it to shield his brother from most of the deadening training.
On his way back to the cottage he perked up his ears. They were always sensitive but in the last year, they had grown so far as to outstrip that of a faunnuses hearing. He heard shifting sand and wood hitting wood over the thrumming of the waves, A quick sniff of his nose brought the smell of fish and charcoal to his nose.
He walked up the top of the steep hill with his short sword at his side. Griping it tight as his instincts told him something was very wrong.
When Kiba got to the top of the hill he looked down at the sight of Grimm. "Ok, that's bad." He said as swarms of frog-like Grimm with massive bodies and sharp teeth came pouring down the beach from the water. They were large black bipedal frogs with razor-sharp teach and webbed hands and feet. The tongs constantly protruding from their moths suggested that it was their main weapon of choice.
Not at all like the Yakuza toads summoning clan.
Kiba ran down the hill, his family was still in the house and unaware of the intrusion. He rushed in breathing heavy and sweat ridden. He was still tired and exhausted from his daily routine. Even the weapon on his side felt heavy. Kiba Reached his house and noticed the front door was broken down. Its splintered remains littered the front porch and Destroyed that Bird Statue he liked.
A dull roar reverberated through the house and Kiba knew he was too late. He rushed down the hall and ran into his living room. He almost gasped from relief when he saw his family was still alive, even if hounded by a Grimm frog. His dad was fending off one of the Frog-like Grimm with a lance and his mother and brother were both quivering behind him. He may not exactly like all of them but they were family, Pack. And no one hurt his pack. Kiba was angry and desperate at that moment he cemented his decision and charged with his blade.
It was like a soft Click happened in his head and suddenly he knew exactly what to do. Kiba launched himself at the Grimm's head, rebounding and slashed she sword first into the back of the Frogs feet and then threw the other leg, giving his father the opportunity to pierce its head.
"Get what you need, theirs a dozen more coming this way." Kiba barked out. His family didn't dawdle but his father did stop for a moment and observe his now glowing black aura. It seemed that in the struggle of fighting the Grimm and unlocking his memories had unlocked it.
"Come son, let us show these Grim just why the Larks are still here after all the other noble houses have fallen." A Feral Grin spread across my father's face just as a surprised one came onto mine. That grin used to concern us, frighten us and in turn depress him. It was odd that he was showing me a consideration at all, but I suppose that display of skill won over some of his respect.
For three hours we fought the Grimm as they tried to rush our home. For three hours Kiba fought with his father to protect his brother and mother. By the end they were bloodied, bruised and happy as clams. "It would see that the Lark blood held true in you Kiba. We're going to have to step up your training." His father said as he wiped down his lance on Mothers towels. She was going to screech at him when she found out.
The Larks have always been a battle-hungry kind of family. They were never as big as the Arks or Nikos Families but the fact that they held just as much influence and power showed you just how good they were.
There used to be 72 noble families in Vlae, Each one churning out hunters and Huntresses like it was going out of style. But after a while some of them died out and now only a scarce dozen remained. And those that remained only got a cursory respect for the title ever since democracy took off. Since then each house dwindled into a handful of members and their wealth vastly diminished, if they survived at all.
The Arcs seemed to be doing well again, the family had a number of daughters that were training to be huntresses and the parents were not slouched either.
However, the Larks were always different from most of the other families. There was a desire in their blood, from a time when their family was still large and intact. A desire for chaos and blood. But also Pack and protection. It was said that when the first kings that discovered and fought against the Grimm it was a lark that Struck the first blow against the creature when armies fought It was a Lark that was front and center of the army. Larks may not always win every fight but you will be damn sure we will be in it.
And now that Kiba was back he was proud to be both a Lark and Inuzuka.
When the day finally ended and escape ships arrived on the island Kiba looked up at his father from the smoking corpse of a Frog Grimm and howled. His father joining him soon after in a howl of victory.
… … ….
Several weeks later.
Kiba did another push up and pushed harder as his arms began to tremble under their load. His brother was sitting on his back and acting as an extra weight. "eighty-five, Come on brother you can do it, just a few more and you can reach a hundred." Kiba smirked at his brothers exited tone. Normally he would train alone but his brother had just annoyed him till he let him come along.
His normal training was too dangerous for Sky but the preamble was safe enough. And if his brother thought his warm-up was all he did then so much the better. "How are you liking Signal Academy Sky?" Asked Kiba as he reached the nineties. Even now he would not suffer silence when he didn't need to. His mind just got bored far too easily and baring a mission he would not stay silent.
"It's amazing, the school is so big and the teachers are all nice, well mostly I think Mr. Brranwen gets drunk before coming to school. But at least everyone else is nice. But Jerry's mean he keeps beating people up during spars and makes fun of us for being week. It made me sad for a while. But I think he moved on to picking on a fauna's kid. But then the teacher said we were going to get our aura unlocked next week!" He said excitedly. It was a big deal and was a stepping stone in any young trainees life.
"One Hundred." Kiba pushed up with all his might on the last one and launched himself and his brother into the air. Kiba flipped up and righted himself before catching his brother in his arms.
"Sky, would you prefer someone else unlock your aura or would you rather do it yourself?" Kiba asked. "Keep in mind there is nothing wrong with having someone else do it. It's easy and poses few risks. However, unlocking your aura yourself like I did can give you a boost in how effective it is and how well you can control it. It's a lot harder and there are some risks of only half opening it and killing yourself so I won't blame you if you don't want to." Kiba said as he walked over to his pack for some throwing knives.
"In that case, ill take the quick and easy route. No offense brother but you and dad are a little to woopy for me." Sky's eyes brightened as he spotted his brother handling his knives, those always came before an awesome trick his brother new.
Kiba tied his kunai pouch to his leg and walked up to a tree. Breathing in deep he put one foot in front of the tree and used his aura to stick to it. Aura seemed a lot more sluggish then chakra and it took a lot more patience, practice and understanding of one's aura then Chakra. He could easily see how and why most people on remnant just used it as a shield.
He put his other leg on the trunk and began to tree walk. Moving carefully up the tree he walked under a branch and began to throw his Kunai upside down. He grimaced as he felt his Aura depleting faster than his chakra would have.
He also needed to be far more careful since aura Pathways were not as developed in this stage of life as opposed to chakra pathways. So anything more complicated than basic Jutsu and Aura control exerciser was out for at least another year and maybe more.
He groaned as he realized this meant another year without the Fang over fang technique.
Kiba's concentration slipped for a second and he fell off the tree and landed on his hands and feet. It was going to take a lot of work to get himself up to his own standards. Let alone the heavens shattering power he and the rest of the rookie twelve achieved. Dame it, He had earned that power with blood, sweat and more reading then he ever wanted to do again. The feeling of being helpless and weak after so long of being strong was a humbling and depressing experience. Since he now had all his memories back he was even harder on himself. But he would still do it. He would struggle and fight till he could once again feel the wind in his hair as he bounced from tree to tree. Feel the crash of the earth as he crushed boulders into rubble and tore apart enemies with a look.
But for now, he just had to pick himself back up and climb that tree again. Over and over, every day till it became as easy as breathing.
Sky watched as his brother got back up and started to climb the tree again, despite how painful it looked when he fell. He may not have the determination or drive his brother had but he could admire that in his brother.
… …. ….
Traning yard
Kiba blanched as he steadied his feet on the water. Running continually so that he could grasp more surface tension. Unlike with chakra, that acted more like a net that pulled you up, Aura had to be spread out more and he could not quite stand on the water, he needed to constantly be moving to use his aura to run on it. A fact he found out when he stepped into the river to train and got washed away by the strong current. He traveled for what felt like miles, trying to outmaneuver all the rocks and boulders in his way. The rapids were tossing him about and slamming him into rock after rock. It was humiliating to the man that once controlled a whole hidden village from the shadows.
He was never so thankful that aura also acted as a simple shield as well. Every time he hit a bolder his aura would spark black and he would be pushed off the bolder. Eventfully he grabbed a strong grip on a passing branch and haul himself out of the river. He gulped in fresh air and tried to clear the water from his lungs while hacking them out. His eyes still bleary from the grimy water. He laid down at the river's edge for a second and just stared up at the sky. Glad he was still alive and not still careening towards a waterfall.
He felt sore and tired but also exhilarated. He hadn't felt such a rush in years. And a new discovery about his aura was always welcome. Kiba got up, feeling much better, if wet. Wondering about aura for a second he began to channel and swirl it as fast as he could in his own bodies. Minutes later Kiba stood bone dry as his clothes lightly smoked. It was good to know that he still had a fire affinity.
He shook his head and was glad he had the control not to burn his clothes off. He would have to get some flameproof clothing if he was going to make that into an awesome technique.
While he was circling the chakra in his body Kiba's nose turned up and he sniffed the air. "Is that?" Following his nose, Kiba rushed through the woods. His feet picking up the pace with a quick application of aura. He grabbed a tree branch out of habit and almost unconsciously started to run through the tree branches.
He landed in a crouch just beside one of the mountains that his family owned. They were not that rich, the family just never sold their land from when they were that rich. His light footfalls could only be heard by the occasional woodland creature and insect as he sniffed around the rocks. Kiba punched a rock and had it shatter, only to discover a glowing red gem inside. "Dust, the mountain is made of dust." He exclaimed to himself.
He just stayed there for a time. Continually rubbing his nose to make sure what he was smelling was right. The mountain was filled to bursting with dust and gems, more then he thought a mountain could possibly carry.
Kiba stiffened as an idea popped into his head. He ran with it and began to speculate, theories, Plan. He chuckled to himself as an evil smirk came to his face. Shadows covered his eyes and the wind picked up as Kiba said, "Well, I did dream of becoming Hokage someday." Kiba pocketed the stone and started to walk back to his home, it was time to plan.