Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… in real life

"Talking"

"Thinking"

May I Take Your Order?

Chapter One:

Summer's End

The sun was shining through the window and into the room of Kiba Inuzuka. Feeling the warmth of the sun on his face, Kiba debated whether or not to open his eyes. Instinctively, he thought it better to remain ignorant of the rest of the world and stay in the comfort of his bed. But, when reason caught up with him, he decided that he should make the most out of the last day of summer. He pushed the bedspread aside and trudged toward his bathroom grunting something like "I need some damn curtains…"

Turning the knob and pushing the door open, he looked up to see a very tired looking teen staring back at him in the mirror. He turned to the sink and cupped his hands over the now running water and splashed his face. Picking up his toothbrush from its stand by the faucet he looked around for his toothpaste. "I always forget which drawer I put the stupid thing in" he grumbled. After finally finding it, he squeezed the paste onto the brush and started to clean his teeth. Kiba grimaced at the overly-minty brand his sister insisted was good for him; he thought, however, that she did this because it was the only way she could bully him, now that he had grown taller then her and, undoubtedly, stronger. His lips curled for a second in a slight smirk at their sibling rivalry. He spit and rinsed his mouth. "That stuff burns" "Good 'ol cavity- fighting formula", he thought bitterly. Looking back up at the mirror, he examined the bristles on his face. "I doubt I could put off shaving again" He grabbed the can of shaving cream and a razor from his medicine cabinet, applied the cream to both his cheeks, only to remove the foam with a few swipes from his razor. Yawning, he flicked the tool in the sink's direction in a half-hearted attempt to clean the blade. With the idea that a shower might wake him up, Kiba closed the bathroom door, striped himself of his cloths and got into the shower. Drowsily, Kiba turned on the shower, jumping slightly at the unexpected cold spray but then sighing in relief as the water warmed.

The shower door opened and Kiba stepped into the misty room, snatched a towel form its hook on the wall and started to dry off. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he made his way to the door, catching sight of himself in a partially fogged mirror. He was eighteen. He had been for about a month now; tall, with messy brown hair and brown eyes. Kiba paused a moment to admire the effect of his summer tan on his lightly toned muscles. He grinned in spite of himself. He opened his bathroom door and walked into his room jealously glaring at his dog in the corner, who, unlike him, had decided it simply wasn't time to be awake.

Kiba had always had a dog; as far back as he can remember. It was always Kiba and Akamaru. They were always together. Akamaru had sort of been a "first friend" to Kiba, so they were hardly ever apart. As he was getting dressed, Kiba thought of all the nick-names he had for taking his dog nearly everywhere with him. "Dog-boy, Dog-breath, Dog-face…" he thought to himself. Given all he went through for him, Kiba felt no reason that his dog should be able to sleep while he was awake. "Oi, Akamaru, get up.", Kiba said. The dog raised his head and looked around, eventually making eye contact with the teen. Kiba sighed, barely audible. "Breakfast" he said in a slightly bored voice, like this was some sort of morning ritual. Immediately the dog jumped from his bed walking to the door leading into the hallway, pawing the wood and whimpering, somehow knowing this would open the door. As if on queue, Kiba pushed the door open, allowing his dog to race toward the kitchen.

He grabbed tee shirt hanging off the top of his desk chair. After pulling the shirt over his head he stared at cluttered table before him. His desk was messy, like it always was. He sort of wondered if had come that way, he couldn't remember. It didn't bother him all that much, though. It worked for him, so what did it really matter?

Kiba walked down the hall and turned the corner into the kitchen. His sister was leaning against the counter, drinking coffee; occasionally glancing at the stove with mild interest at what she was cooking. "Morning, Hana" said Kiba.

"Morning, Sparky" replied Hana. Kiba gave a low grumble. "Sparky… that's another one" She looked up at him, and then quirked a brow. "Nice shirt" she said, sounding slightly amused. Kiba had chosen to wear the shirt that his friends had got him for his birthday. The shirt was black with white cursive letters that read "Pimp Doggy" with a small red heart that followed the last 'y'.

Kiba grinned. "Well I like it", he stated. "Teenagers", Hana mumbled. "Your plate's on the counter" Hana said as she turned toward the stove. Kiba spun around expecting to find breakfast cooked and waiting for him, but his eyes drooped when he saw an empty plate. "Wait a second…" he thought. "Hana, you're not going to try that again are you?" But he was too late. Hana had already flipped a pancake from the pan and toward Kiba. Luckily, he managed to catch it on the plate.

"Good catch… incoming", she warned. Hana flung two more. Kiba caught one, but as he ran to catch the other he realized too late that his right hand was holding a plate and his left had recently caught a pancake. Unable to protect himself, the last one hit Kiba square in the face. "That's for being late with the car yesterday", Hana said, trying to suppress a grin.

Akamaru barked happily as Kiba bent down to pour food into the dog's dish. Standing up, Kiba put the remainder of the dog food away. He picked up his and his sister's plate and brought them to the table. Hana poured them drinks and headed toward the table as well; the pair of them sat down. Hana poured a light trail of syrup on her pancakes. She handed the jar to Kiba, who unscrewed the top dumped about a quarter of the jar on his. "How do you eat that?" Hana said, sounding disgusted.

"I manage, somehow" Kiba said, with a mouthful of pancakes. Hana still looked disgusted. Kiba looked guilty "…It hasn't been that bad since I moved in with you, has it?" Kiba said, feeling horrible at the idea of being a burden to his older sister. Hana mirrored his guilty look.

"Of course you haven't been any trouble; it's great for me, actually. I can take a bad day of work out on you. I'm much less tense now that you're here for me to bully." Kiba smiled; he wasn't a burden.

Kiba had moved in with his sister a little before his birthday. His father had been offered a job in a different state but Kiba couldn't part with his friends during their last year together. The teen had pleaded that he would be eighteen soon and would be perfectly able to live by himself in an apartment; his parents however, didn't agree. That's where Hana came in. She had always liked Kiba the most out of her family, he was different. He'd always voice his opinion; he was always wilder and more free-spirited then the rest of her mild-mannered family. And, in all honesty, her heart sank a little bit when she thought of Kiba being unable to party through senior year with his friends. It was her responsibility as his sibling. Their parents, having more faith in their twenty-five year old daughter then their almost eighteen year old son, considered this a reasonable proposition. So, his sister, with some financial help from her parents, was able to get a one-year lease on a house in the same district as Kiba's school. While it was much more of a commute for Hana, considering that she worked in the city, but she decided that it was worth the effort if her little brother could stay with his friends. She always had a soft spot for him, anyway.

The two continued to eat, Kiba finishing another round about the time Hana finished her first. "So, any plans for the last day of the summer?" Hana asked, trying to start a conversation.

"I don't know", Kiba started. "I'll probably just head downtown and see if I run into anyone from school". Kiba poked at the last bit of food he still had on his plate with his fork. A second later, he looked back up at his sister, as if he remembered something. "Can I take your car?" he asked, hopefully

Hana looked at him with the expression that one had when trying to explain something simple to a very young child. "Kiba, A, you were late with it last time, and B, I have to go to work."

Kiba gave her an agitated look. "Since when do you work on Saturdays?" he said.

"Since the rest of the lazy-ass staff writers decided that they didn't feel like pulling their weight."

Hana had a job as a head staff writer for a new, but growing sitcom called Just Friends. Kiba could vaguely remember some of his female friends talking about it, even though he had paid little attention to it himself. "I swear, if I didn't go to work we'd get thrown off the air", she testily. Kiba was slightly taken aback by this small outburst. "That means I can't take the car, right?", he asked rather stupidly. Hana threw her napkin at him. "I'm going to start making you pay for gas. You won't be so eager to run around with my car then." she said. "How am I supposed to-" he was cut off mid-sentence. "Get a job" she replied. "Where am I supposed to find-" "The newspaper" she said simply. Hana tossed today's paper to him. Kiba unfolded the roll and started shifting through papers. "Erm… I mean, yeah, I knew you could look in here. Its just I'm, well, not totally sure 'where' in here."

Hana sighed as she walked over to where Kiba was sitting. She scanned the mess of papers before her brother and, almost immediately, found what she was looking for. She pulled up the job listings and handed it to her brother. "Life's just around the corner, little bro. Get ready." Kiba scoffed, but began to look over his career choices all the same. Hana was clearing the dishes when she spotted an ad over Kiba's shoulder. "That one looks pretty good" Hana said, pointing to a smaller advertisement toward the bottom of the page." "Its for a restaurant downtown", she said "Looking for additional waitering staff for the weekend rush… no specific skill required, $7.50 and hour plus tips; Eighteen or older." Kiba became slightly uncomfortable as Hana gave him an 'I dare you to find a more perfect job' stare. "Yeah, well, its Saturday and Sunday. I'm starting school you know; don't you think I need time to study?" Kiba said defensively. "Oh please, you wouldn't study on the weekends anyway."

Actually, that was less then true. Hana knew that Kiba was a smart kid. He had always worked hard to maintain good grades; particularly last year. But most people wouldn't guess that about Kiba. His sister had a pretty good idea of who he really was, though. "Despite his cover as 'typical-guy slacker'" she thought with a chuckle. "You we're saying you we're going to go downtown, weren't you? Well you can check it out while your there." She said. "Yeah, alright. I guess it wouldn't be bad to have some pocket money." He thought aloud. "Your not doing for pocket money, remember? You're doing it to pay for gas; though I suppose that would leave you with some left." She added as an afterthought.

"I better get to work", Hana said with a touch of disappointment in her voice.

"Alright. I'll go check out this job, I guess" He turned to the door when he was stopped by his sister.

"Take that dog with you, I'm not letting you leave that mutt alone in my apartment" Hana warned him before she left.

Kiba laughed. "Sure thing, sis. Come on, Akamaru" Kiba said, walking out the door. Akamaru caught up with him, contently wagging his tail, and Kiba closed the door; leaving the house empty.