A (long overdue) Rude Awakening
A Naruto fanfiction
by Nelarun
Naruto © Kishimoto Masashi
Inuzuka Kiba smiled as he lounged on the cut wood. He had been busy since before dawn with the rest of the Inuzuka clan to find and bring in game to restock the food supplies or patrolling the borders of the village and was happy to laze around for a short while, eyes closed, basking in the sunlight, listening to the animals returning to the woods and the birds in the trees until his clan needed him once more. He loved this time of day – everything was so peaceful and the sun was just perfect for drowsing in – especially after a hard mornings work. It was perfect. Perfect, that was, until Yamanaka Ino had turned up at his lounge spot, sobbing. He figured that she'd move on soon enough, so was determined to ignore her. Girls were like that after all – they cried for a bit then went happily on their way to do whatever it was they wanted to do.
Then everyone else turned up...
Five minutes. That's how long he had lasted (really his kaa-san would be proud) until he had sat up, glowering at the now keening Ino. "Damn it woman! Why are you making that god awful sound?"
"Kiba," Shikamaru glared up at him at the same time as Ino looked up at him in surprise as though only just realising that he was there. In Kiba's opinion, Shikamaru's glare was worth the sudden stop to the keening.
"She's in pain," Tenten spoke up, trying to play peace maker between the two boys.
"Yeah – I'm getting that. She's making the same sound the Brothers made when Hana broke her arm because they couldn't dodge and barreled into her. So why is she making that infernal racket?"
"Because Sasuke-kun joined Akatsuki!" Ino wailed before she began sobbing again. Kiba blinked before he growled, causing everyone to look up at him in surprise.
"Go somewhere else and have your sobfest. I'm bu-" He cringed suddenly when Shikamaru threw a kunai in the space between his fingers. Kiba wisely lay back down, glaring up at the sky this time, Ino's sobs and sniffles ruining his rare moment of down time.
Five more minutes... that was his limit. He leaped off the wood and stalked over to Ino, grabbed her jacket and hauled her to her feet. "Get over it!" he shouted.
"Kiba!" the others were staring wide eyed, some started to intervene but were held back by others in the group.
"You didn't even know him!"
"I did!" Ino whispered.
"What was his favourite food?"
She blinked slowly. "I...I-"
"You don't know. What was his favourite childhood memory?"
"I..." she shook her head, tears still slipping down her face.
"You. Don't. Know. And you don't know because you never tried to know. You and every other girl in the village crafted your own version of Uchiha Sasuke. You fell in love with a figment of your own imagination! You never fought alongside him, you never tried to get to know him, just foisted your own reality on him. The only people who have a right to be sad by this are Sakura, Naruto and Kakashi-sensei. No one else. Get over it." No one moved, no one spoke. Kiba knew that many had wanted to say it, but no one had wanted to be the one to hurt Ino further. He scowled internally. This should have been Shikamaru's job – Shikamaru was supposed to be the alpha dog among the group and yet he hadn't given Ino the wake up call she needed. "We're Shinobi – we should always be able to tell the difference between reality and an illusion. You've been living in one long enough. Get over him, move on and see the world around you – it's amazing how bright it actually is without Sasuke in it."
"You don't-"
"Oh yes I do." Kiba growled again. "I mean every word. Sasuke didn't care about us. He only cared about revenge. He never would have made a good Shinobi – a good fighter but not a good Shinobi. Did you really think the Elders and the Hokage were simply going to welcome him back after he spent so long with Orochimaru? Of course not! He would have been sent straight to Intelligence, always watched, never trusted."
"I would have trusted him." Ino declared and Kiba released her only to slap her. She fell back against the wood she had been sobbing on and cupped her cheek, staring up at him in shock. Kiba was brash and rude and liked to play rough at time, but he had never hurt a kunoichi on his side outside of training before.
"You're pathetic Ino," he growled, teeth bared but eyes shadowed, looking entirely too calm for Ino's liking. "At least try to remember that we're Shinobi." He looked up and Akamaru stood at the faint sound of howling before they turned around, headed for their pack once more. "Grow up, Ino."
A/N: Oh come on! All of us wanted someone there to slap some sense into Ino during that scene. I just considered my options and decided that Kiba was the one most likely to do so. ^_^. Anyways, I'd love for you to tell me how I went with this - Kiba is an interesting character to write and I'm not sure how I portrayed him. Also this is dedicated to 'For Glory, Honour and Freebies' for reviewing most if not all my works! Thankee!