Kiba Inuzuka is a monster, just like the rest of the Inuzuka clan, banished to a castle in the middle of the woods, far from civilisation. He is also a loudmouth, cocky, blunt, and has a peculiar sense of humour. In the Inuzuka clan, it is found both insulting and amusing that all the neighbouring villages fear them as demons, and do anything to avoid trouble with them. So when an important merchant, trespasses their domain and barely escapes, the whole village fears that they will be slain unless they offer another sacrifice in his place. And who better to pick to sacrifice then Ren Kyra? After all, she is the outcast with no family, no past, and most likely no future. So she is bound, blindfolded, and sent into the woods outside of their castle to be received, and, in the minds of the village, devoured, by the demons. So what will happen?
I got inspired to write this story after reading 'The Dingo Ate my Baby' by Eveilae, so kudos to that.
Note: I do not own Naruto- that belongs to Kishimoto.
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When the door knocks, I wake up with a groan. I must have been up all reading all night again, I think to myself as I pull my head off the table, noting the rays of cloudy light coming from the open window in the attic, well, hayloft converted into attic. I live in what used to be a barn, you see, and when I came to fix up the place, I saw no point in not putting the hayloft to use. So that's where I store my books, and other spare objects. Not like I have a lot of spare objects to store, but it does make a nice view to go sit up there. Only downside for the longest time was the draft that kept coming through it, but after building the hinges and taking some spare wood to fashion a door/ window guard of sorts, the draft was solved.
"I'm coming, I'm a coming…" I call out as the KNOCK KNOOCK KNOCK persists loudly, me throwing a clean shirt and work pants and slipping into my warm deerskin boots. When I finally open the door, I blink in surprise to see not only the mayor, but a few other townsfolk outside my door. To the left of the mayor is Cliff, who I know fairly well since he supplies the wood for the forge I work at. Cliff a rugged man, probably in his forties, with a broad frame, tall figure, and the largest feet I have ever seen. He is strong, and everyone knows it, and can see it, through his heavy coat and pants. The unshaven face suits him along with the rest of his messy dark hair, and the crooked nose somehow fits along with it. If you didn't know him, you might be mildly intimidated by his stern demeanour, his arms crossed over his chest as he gazes with unflinching grey eyes, but a small smirk on his face tells me that he's in an ok mood. To his far right is Jasper, who I absolutely despise beyond belief. He is a pastor and a member of the Town Council, but despite all of his testament of being kind and following the path of God, he is like the funny tree bark tea he always drinks- bitter and often leaving an unpleasant aftertaste every time you see him. He is a tall, gaunt figure, with long frail fingers that continuously try to smooth out his scraggly grey beard. Clouded blue orbs stare back at me through a skeleton's face, the skin seemingly pulled back behind his fancy church hat, and judging by the twitching of his left nostril, he is about as happy to be seeing me as I am. And in the middle of course is the Mayor, whose real name is Aldo, and who I have an interesting relationship with. Despite the fact that I stole his prized partridge when I first came here, we have made up and are generally on good terms now- it probably helped that I gave him a bottle of Myrtle's mulled wine later that year. He is a plump man, which is quite a feat in this village, with pale skin, wispy blonde hair that barely seems to stay on his head, and beady green eyes, that combined with his spectacles, make him vaguely resemble some sort of insect. Although the temperature is far from warm, the mayor is sweating like a pig in his warm, tailored suit and worn out scarf.
Now do not get me wrong; I generally do not mind being treated to guests, considering how rarely I get them. But if seeing the mayor here, who has never visited me except by chance on one of his afternoon strolls, is strange, then adding Jasper, who would rather die than have to be in my prescence, and Cliff, who equally despises Jasper, well, that is screaming suspicion. "Good morning, Mayor, Jasper, Cliff." I greet them non chalently, and at my words, the Mayor seems to get even more anxious than normal. Cliff nods to me, and Jasper sniffs, as if he could detect a whiff of some unpleasant odour in the vicinity. Aldo nods, and gives me a smile. "Good morning, Ren. How are you on this fine day?" he asks, and I shrug my shoulders. "Fine, I suppose- Gustav gave me the day off to get some things in order for the spring." I tell him, my mood slightly dampened at the thought of having to check and see if the grounds too hard to turn over, whether the folks at the market have already started selling seeds, seeing if anything needs to be mended. "And yourselves?" I add as an afterthought. "Fine." Cliff says curtly, and while Jasper is silent, the Mayor easily fills the space with his jovial tone. "Oh, you know how it is, bus as always I suppose. However, I'm afraid I must get to the point- I have a meeting in a half hour." He says, and I nod, waiting for him to continue.
"Well, you've been here a while now, haven't you? Just under a year, I would say." He starts, probably remembering the first time I came here. "We have come along way from that point, wouldn't you say?" he says, chuckling to himself, and somewhat unsure of how to respond, I nod my head. "And so, I was thinking that since Nina's grandmother passed away…" "Rest in peace." Jasper murmurs darkly, startling the mayor who takes the moment to cough into his shoulder. "Well, the cabin she once lived in is unoccupied, and is closer to town than this rickety barn. So, how about coming to live there?" he asks, finally getting to the point. Hmmm, that is interesting, I think to myself. I knew that the old lady died and that the cabin had been abandoned, but for the mayor to be offering me the space? "Well, I would have to see the cabin, see what work has to be done, and see how comfortable I am sleeping there for the night. If you don't mind, of course; the offer is much appreciated, I just want to make sure that I would be able to take good care of the place." I tell him, and Aldo smiles at my answer. "Of course, Ren, that is completely understandable. How about you meet me at the cabin after supper, hmm, say 6 o'clock, and I'll get you the keys and make sure you're all set up to spend the night there. How does that sound?" Aldo asks me, and I nod in response. He sighs heavily, as though a great burden had been taken off his shoulders. "Splendid! I'll see you then. You do know where the cabin is, hmm?" he says, and I tell him yes. With that, the Mayor and Jasper head out, leaving myself and Cliff looking at each other.
"Want some coffee?" I ask him, opening the door to my barn a bit wider, and he nods. With that I shuffle into my kitchen, which is more like a few tables jammed by the sink and oven. I sit the kettle on the oven and in the meanwhile look around for something edible before coming up with a few biscuits, a bit of butter from the cooler, and an unopened jar of raspberry jam. I slice the biscuits in two, lather on the butter and jam, and put them on a plate, sitting them over on the table where Cliff is sitting. Conversation flows easily between us as I work, talking of the weather and what will need to be done for the spring and how Cliff's planning on buying a new plough for the fields, since the old one is nearly junk at this point. "Could Gustav use the spare metal, you think?" he asks me, and I nod my head absentmindedly as the kettle steams. "Of course. He'd find some use for it; probably melt it down for tool heads and nails, might be even able to make a few pots out of it." I reply as I pour the hot water into the filter, the liquid entering the cup turning a dark brown colour. When the mug is ¾ full, I stop pouring and pull out the sugar bowl before walking over to the table and giving him his drink; Cliff likes his coffee bitter but sweet, no cream or milk. He grunts a thanks before scooping some of the sugar into it as I nibble at one of the biscuit halves.
"So what do you think about this whole thing, me moving into the cabin?" I ask him as I bite into the biscuit, savouring the sweet jam over the hard flavourless dough. There is a pause as Cliff drinks his coffee and thinks, choosing his words carefully. "Well, it's a nice enough place; her grandmother was a tidy lady, Annette was. The building is strong and sturdy, and she never complained about drafts, which is more than I can say for this place." He says, answering the question while completely avoiding it. "Mhmm…" I murmur, taking another bite of the biscuit as he sips his coffee. It's quiet, but neither of us have ever minded being quiet. As much of a chatterbox as I can be, when I'm with Cliff, silence just seems to fit, since there's not much to say. We're pretty good friends, at least I think so, and we know what there is to know. Both of us have no family to speak of, and neither of us are always the most popular people in the village; we just do our work and are left be. The only difference is that Cliff was born here and grew up here, so everyone is used to the way he is- I am an outsider in this village, the wild child who appeared out of the woods barely a year ago with no past life to speak of.
"Then again, you may have other plans, I suppose, depending on whether you still plan on leaving or not." He says quietly, and I turn away from the temptation of taking another biscuit to look him in the eye. "Well, I was thinking on waiting until at least the summer before heading out." I reply slowly, and he nods his head. "Are you now? Would've thought that you would be leaving sooner, since the snow's nearly gone and all." "Well, I kind of like it around here- it is quiet compared to other places I have been." "That is a good point, but don't you ever miss just wandering around, going wherever suits your fancy?" "Well, yes, sometimes. But I also missed being able to stick around somewhere." I tell him insistently, unsure of what point he is trying to make. I can see that there's some conflict in his eyes, something that he isn't telling me, but I can't tell what. He looks away, keeping his eyes away from me, which furthers my annoyance.
"Don't get me wrong, it's nice having you around here. Gustav's been raving about you since he doesn't have to deal with some of the idiot's roaming around here. I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers, was just curious is all." He says, and drinks the last of the now cold coffee with a large swig. He puts down the mug gently, and stands to leave. "I apologize for having to go in such haste, just got some work to do; Desbois wants me to find him some sturdy hemlocks for a commission he got recently, needs it by the end of the week. And you ought to get working as well; you'll be needing to pack some things for your night in the cabin, I imagine. Seeing as most of the possessions will have been already taken by the family, might be wise to bring some warm clothes, bit of food, knife and whatnot. Thank you for the coffee, Ren. It was good to just talk for a while." He says gruffly as we walk towards the door, and just as I open it to let him out, he looks at me, smoky grey eyes clouded with an unknown emotion I try to perceive as gratitude and perhaps, concern? He gives me a small grin, and puts his hand on my shoulder. I automatically tense up, being unused to the physical contact, but I ease up after a moment, noting the warmth emitting from his large weathered hand. I know he means well, that he considers himself at times to be like a father figure to me, and that he is trying to show what his words cannot say. Cliff has never been good with words, another thing we have in common. "Take care, Ren." He says after a few seconds, and with that nods his head, takes his hand off my shoulder, and starts trudging through the light snow and into the thick brush.
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Yes, I know the beginning is kind of slow, and there is no Kiba in this Chapter, but trust me when I say that his time is coming, and soon.
Let me know what you think!
clarinetti