Sidefic/Prequel to kizukatana's story 'Deception'

A/N:

I ever since kizukatana first mentioned Sakura in chapter 2 of 'Deception' I was curious about her. I seriously would annoy the hell out of her to find out all these small things about her role in her latest crime story. So far it's her only story where Sakura isn't intended to be a backstabbing bitch so of course I was intruged. However kizu doesn't like to write about Sakura- which I understand. She can be a bitch-Sakura not kizu, kizu is a sweetheart. But still my curiosity wouldn't stop. Finally kizu just up and said, "why don't you write a side fic about her?" Of course I jumped at the chance.

Cudo's to kizu for proofreading this and writing the scene later on featuring Naruto and Sakura!

This was originally published at a Oneshot but after going through it time and time again and while working on Kiba's story I decided to split it into two chapters.

Warning! I just have to warn you but I can't tell you what because then I'll be spoiling a major part of this story. But just be cautious while reading. The beginning is pretty brutal.

Please review!

Originally Published: 6/30/14

Latest Update: 3/31/15

Beta's: WordWriter and Kizukatana

Part 1: Retribution

I sit in the corner of my room, the one closest to the window, waiting for Kiba to arrive. The street lights are lit, illuminating my cramped space in an orange hue. On the walls are posters of my favorite actors and movies. The floor is littered with my clothes and books while my futon lies on the ground below my window. My apartment is on the ground floor making it easy for Kiba to sneak in, or for me to sneak out and escape him. A chattering fills the silence, it takes me a moment to realize it's because I'm shivering despite the humidity of summer making the apartment stuffy.

He can't get you anymore, I hear in my head. He won't hurt you again.

That voice, that damn inner voice, started speaking to me shortly after that it happened the first time. Before, it was comforting, like having a big sister looking after me. But after tonight…no, it was just me.

The voice is my thoughts, fears, and hatred. I simply wasn't able to understand that until an hour ago. By then it was too late though. The deed was done.

A rattling on the window snaps me out of my catatonic state. With tears of relief in my eyes I leap to my feet so I can unlock the window and open it for my best friend to come in.

"Hey Sakura, what's the prob-oof"

As soon as I shut the window behind Kiba I threw myself at him. Tackling him to the ground onto my worn out futon and clenching my arms around his torso. Preventing him from leaving me as my body shakes from sobbing into his grey pull over.

"Whoa, Sakura what's wrong?" He frantically asks while cupping the back of my head and burying his fingers into my pale blond hair. "Who hurt you? Did your father-" He cut off as another sound started to fill the room. One that even took me by surprise.

"Are…you laughing?"

I lift my face so he can see my expression. I don't know what type of face I'm making but it shuts him up.

"He's dead," I whisper and Kiba's eyes widen.

"Oh…sorry to hear that?"

I giggle because I know how much Kiba hates my dad. Sometimes I thought it was more than I do but obviously I was wrong.

"Uh…what's so funny?"

I release him from my death grip, leaning backwards and straddling his legs as I try to rub the tears from my eyes to no avail. They keep falling.

"Hey now I know he was your dad and all but he was a fucking sick-ass bastard. You shouldn't cry for him Sakura. You're better than that."

I laugh, the insanity of the topic nearly bringing me to hysteria. "I'm…not crying…for him."

This obviously confuses him, I can hear it in his voice. "So, why are you crying?"

I look at him, or well in his direction, trying to clear my eyes so I can will him to understand. I feel my lips tug as they form a smile.

"I'm crying because…I killed him…and I've never felt so happy before in my life."

It's been nearly week since I murdered my father.

Because of Kiba I was able to calm down enough to call 911. I had to play the part of the newly orphaned girl, to do that though I needed to stop laughing and smiling. I needed to pretend my father accidentally killed himself. The police wouldn't find anything to refute this because of the way he died.

By an injection of air.

My dad is addicted to heroin. Or well, he was. After meeting my mom when he was 17 he hadn't touched a needle or smoked a thing. He used to say mom is his clarity and that without her he would be lost. That proved to be true because, after mom died last year in a car accident while walking home from work, he relapsed.

At first it wasn't that bad. He would go out while I stayed inside or I would be out while he was inside. I hardly even noticed when he started using again. It wasn't until he started using at home that it started affecting me.

"Mebuki, bring me a beer."

That was when I first started to worry about him. When he started calling me by moms name. For a while he would stop and apologize. Saying it is because I look so much like her, but eventually he stopped apologizing. He wouldn't call me 'Sakura' anymore. Always, 'Mebuki'.

Then he started touching me. It was first innocent stuff, things that could have been accidents really. Those moments I felt his hands touch my ass or when he would rest his arm over my shoulder as we were watching TV and he would graze my barely there breasts.

After that it escalated. He would barge into the bathroom while I was bathing to either ask for something or to use the toilet. Always showing off his thing to me. I shiver, refusing to acknowledge the existence of THAT appendage. appendage existence.

When this started to happened more and more often I would go over to Kiba's. I'd sleepover, stay late for dinner or just to help out around their place. Hoping that the time away would return my dad to his normal happy self. But no, it didn't.

Instead, he would yell at me, still calling me by her name, accusing me of cheating. I tried to explain that I'm SAKURA. He hit me and called me a liar.

When Kiba found the bruises he was so pissed he confronted dad as if he were a rabid dog. It didn't help because after they got into a fight where Kiba was injured. Dad banned him from our place. Later that night I was beaten so badly that when I passed out from the pain I thought he would kill me. The next morning he was crying, apologizing again, worried that his 'Mebuki' was in pain and suffering. If it wasn't the weekend I'm pretty sure the school would have called asking why I didn't attend class. I was dizzy constantly and sunlight hurt my head making me puke constantly. When he went back to the drugs I looked up my symptoms; I had a concussion.

As this became a more and more normal routine I begun looking into first aid and my interest in medicine was quirked. I became able to treat my wounds well enough that nobody besides Kiba knew of them. He tried to convince me to call someone or to tell the school counselor but I couldn't. "He was my dad," I would say. "He's just hurting and not in the right state of mind. As soon as he accepts mom's death he would return to normal and would apologize."

Then a month ago it happened.

I was getting ready for bed when he came in the room. As usual he was calling me 'Mebuki', except this time his voice was different. Deeper, raspier…It scared me. Just as I was about to turn around the lights went out and I felt one hand yank my long hair back while the other covered my mouth and shoved some type of cloth inside.

That night was the first time he raped me. He did it two more times, each time I was face down on the bed, gagged while he took me from behind

After the first time I started to hear the voice telling me to kill him. Eventually…I did.

Kiba and I are walking to get some pizza from our favorite parlor. It's our last day together; tomorrow the social worker comes and takes me to my family upstate.

The Yamanaka's are from my mom's side of the family. They own a successful Flower shop chain that blooms some of the most beautiful flowers in the state. I never knew they existed until they showed up at my mom's funeral. I learned then that the reason I never heard about them is because my mom and dad eloped when they were 18. Word from my second cousin Ino is that my grandparents tried to force my mom to have an abortion when she found out she was pregnant with me.

We pass the playground where we met when we little. A lot of the older kids used to pick on me, they would call me billboard brow or freak. One day, when it got rough Kiba showed up out of nowhere and started beating the hell out of the boys and yelling at the girls. After the bullies left he stood in front of my, one tooth missing, covered in scrapes and bruises while a black eye is forming, he held out his hand and pulled me up. Then grinning like a madman he asks, "Want to be friends? I'm Kiba." Ever since then we've been as close as siblings.

"Sakura…" Kiba mutters. I stop then turn to look at him. All week he had been pestering me on what caused me to murder my father. I didn't say it, but my refusal apparently spelled out what happened. With his eyes facing the ground his unruly brown hair is preventing me from seeing his expression.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"I," He gulps. "I should have told mum or someone. Then he wouldn't have had the chance to do that to you…You wouldn't have had to resort to that to protect yourself."

"It wasn't your fault Kiba," I try to reassure him, my hand touches his shoulder then suddenly he turns on me.

"YES IT WAS!" He yells in my face. Calling attention to us as he hisses his next sentence. "It shouldn't have happened Sakura. What he did to you was sick in the worst way. He hurt you! And I COULDN'T STOP IT!" I try to walk away, insisting it really wasn't that big a deal when he grabs me by the arms then hugs me from behind. "I couldn't save you…" He quietly sobs.

I start to shake.

I know it's Kiba holding me. I know he is dead. But I still remember his hands, the pain, his groans…Suddenly I wasn't on the sidewalk in the middle of the afternoon going out to enjoy one last day with my best friend. I was in my old room, face down on my bed with my arms pinned to my back, choking on his underwear shoved into my mouth while feeling him thrusting into me again and again…

"Sakura!" The sound of my name brings me back to the present. "Oh shit. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

I'm on the ground leaning against warn grey and red brick building. I know I'm shaking but I don't feel cold.

"I'm sorry," whispers Kiba again. Just before I answer we hear a soft whine.

Grateful for the distraction I leap to my feet and race towards the alley just a few feet away with Kiba hot on my trail.

Just a few feet in the ally by the large garbage bin is a box. Another whine comes from inside. Curious, I peek inside and let out a gasp.

"What is it?"

Reaching in frantically I pull out an ant covered newborn white puppy with brown ears, the only surviving one of the litter. Seeing the weak, infested animal in my arms causes Kiba to spring into action. Together we both brush off all the visible insects and inspect the poor thing. He couldn't be more than a few weeks old, and from how thin he appears he is heavily malnourished.

"What kind of dumb ass would abandon newborn puppies in this heat?!" I shriek.

Kiba doesn't answer; he takes the small white pup from my hands and gently cradles it in his arms. For a moment I just look at him, seeing the hopelessness in his eyes once more when I get an idea.

"Take him to your mom! She can save him! She's a vet so she would know what to do."

Startled he jerks his head up at me as I start to pull him out of the ally. "You have to run! He looks like he's in bad shape, so run! I'll meet you back at the house."

With a guilty look my way he nods, then faster than a cheetah he ran to save the pup.

I watch his back as I go feeling relief as tension leaves me.

I don't know when I'll see Kiba again after I leave tomorrow. I want to come back to the city someday but it might be a while. In the meantime I hope that if the puppy lives Kiba gets to keep him. His family adores animals and his mother's dog passed away not too long ago so I think a puppy would be good for them.

What about you, whispers the voice.

What about me? I continue my way towards the pizza parlor, I'll grab a slice for me and one for Kiba to go.

You feel guilty, shameful, and angry. It lists. What can you do to stop these unnecessary feelings? It isn't your fault he did that, just as it isn't Kiba's responsibility to protect you; he taught you all you know about fighting years ago. So how can you stop this?

I don't know, I think as I turn the corner. A bright flare blinds me for a moment causing me to stumble back with a cry of pain. After I rub my eyes I squint up at the familiar shop in front of me. One that I've passed a million times before and suddenly it all clicks. I smile.

I know what to do.

The doorbell of Kiba's apartment rings.

"Who is it?" Demands Hana, Kiba's older sister and I assume she answers it.

"Hello, I'm Tenzo Yamato of Child Services, is there a Sakura Haruno here?" I heard a deep voice call out.

"Just a sec" I call out from the bathroom combing my hair as I try to get used to the new look.

"Sakura!" Kiba yells as he bangs on the door. "You've literally been in there for hours! Akamaru needs to use the puppy box!"

I laugh, truly laugh for the first time in months. Oh why didn't I think of it before! Is it really possible to feel this light? This free? It must be, because right now nothing can bring me down. I shake my head, giggling at the weight change.

"I'm just grabbing my stuff and I'm good to go!" I shout as I throw everything into my backpack. Toothbrush, hair comb, the specific conditioner and shampoo I just bought…

"Hurry up!" He screams.

"Alright!" With my bag on my shoulder I take a deep breath then open the door.

Kiba stops mid-pound, staring at me open mouthed.

"Well, what do you think?" I ask with a smirk while inclining my head to the side.

"Y-your hair…"

"Uh-huh." I goad, my smirk turning into a full out grin.

"It's…"

"Pink," I finish for him.

"And…short."

As I suspected my hair did cause quite a bit of drama in my Ino's house.

It's been over a month since I've moved in and Ino just won't leave me alone about it. She thinks it was a terrible choice. I mean Cotton Candy Pink? That just screams crazy.

Which is exactly why I choose it.

I take after my mom in looks; I have her basic coloring-though it's obvious my hair comes from my extended family, her eyes, her build. But I that day when me and Kiba found Akamaru I had an epiphany.

I also have his anger.

My dad was a monster when he was on the drugs. When I'm angry I just tend to break things, especially after Kiba taught me some moves when we were kids. They weren't coordinated, or even official other than the proper way to throw a punch. But after that I started getting more confident, no longer would I be the one pushed around anymore.

Until my dad started using again.

After that...I guess I just kind of regressed. Back to how I used to be as a kid. I would cower, mumble and obediently do whatever he said. Even when Kiba tried to fight my dad I couldn't do anything to stop him. I only tried to take the blunt force of his fists later in hopes that he won't go out and hurt Kiba again. But after that happened...I snapped.

I had nothing to break after my rape except my sanity. And because of that I killed him. I killed that monster that pranced around in my dad's body. The demon known as heroin that possessed him and caused him to rape me. But in order to do that I had to become a monster too. One that felt relief in his death and didn't mourn. One that sadistically laughs as he struggled to get to the phone that dangled in my hands in front of his face as I gleefully watched him have a heart attack.

However, nobody else saw this new monster in me. But I have to show them. So long as they can see it the voice is gone. Those fears won't touch me, I no longer feel guilt. So I chose to cut and color my hair.

I cut it to just above my shoulders because he liked it long. Every day that passes and my hair stays short is a big F-YOU to him. The color? I chose it because of my dad's coloring. His hair was a dark violet shade of auburn while mine was a white blond that comes from my mom's side. I could have gone just as dark as him but I learned years ago on Halloween when I wore a black haired wig that dark just doesn't work for me. When I thought of my name I chose pink.

Now every time someone sees my hair they are seeing the monster I became, but they don't know it. Just the knowledge that I'm literally getting away with murder; that only a tube of pink dye is preventing others from knowing it, makes me smile. I look so innocent with the pink bob but that's the point. Looks can be deceiving.

The years pass by in the blink of an eye. School was so easy I graduated a full two years early. It was simple really, because all that time away from my best friend meant I needed something to do and studying was the most productive option.

Speaking of Kiba…it seems that after I left he started to take a turn for the worst. Now he's in juvenile detention because last year…he swears it wasn't him, that he was framed, but according to the police records he was arrested for killing a cop in a hit and run.

"…Mebuki…"

Slow thrust in, tears form from my eyes. Why? I cry in my head. Why won't he stop!? It hurts!

"Mebuki…" Again he forces his way into me, this time though, he rams instead of thrusts before he finally pulls out. Exhausted and weak I let my head fall onto my bed.

Finally, I mentally sigh, he's done.

Then I feel him, hard and stiff push against another part of me. A little higher hole that he has never invaded before. My eyes nearly pop out of their sockets. No! Not that!

"Been awhile since we did this huh Mebuki? Don't worry honey I know how you like it."

Then, without warning, he thrust. Hard.

I scream into the filthy material that's gagging me, wishing for this to end. To never happen again.

"Mebuki," he groans.

Kill him, whispers the voice. Make him stop.

"…Mebuki…"

Please, I shout in my head, please stop doing this to me!

I'm sobbing now, struggling to free my hands from behind my back. He tightens his grip, preventing me from escaping.

Kill him, it insists. He won't hurt you anymore if he's dead.

Another thrust, more screams, all the while the voice continues its soothing suggestion of murder.

Kill him…

"Mebuki!"

I awake covered in sweat, the rolling in my stomach is the only warning I have before I lurch from my bed and race towards the bathroom to puke out my dinner.

After I finish washing out my mouth I glance up and catch my reflection in the mirror. Mentally taking a note that the color in my hair is fading again, it needs to be redone tomorrow before I head to the dorms and start my early life as a college student.

Exhausted, both physically and mentally, I stumble towards my room. Making sure to keep quiet so I don't wake anyone at three in the morning.

As I curl up under my covers I repeat one sentence, both out loud and in my mind until I fall into a dreamless sleep.

"My name is Sakura, not Mebuki."

That's the night the nightmares began. Nearly four years after his death.

I don't know what triggered the nightmares-those painful memories- to occur. Maybe my mind was trying to help me deal with my past. Maybe I heard something on TV or from Ino that caused it. Whatever the reason those nightmares continue to haunt me.

College life is pretty easy though I'm going to be here awhile. It seems like all those times he beat me had a bright side after all. I found my calling in medicine and healing others. My goal is to be a surgeon.

Ino says she's going to be my nurse, but from the way she's been her time with her boyfriend, Said, I would be surprised if she finishes her first year of college without a pregnancy scare.

The dreams still came, much too often in fact. It took a while, two years in fact, but I final finally found a way to keep them from happening.

On my 18th birthday Ino and I went to a fraternity party on the other side of town. She decided she wanted to do a night of debauchery to celebrate my birthday. Though this could have been because of the fight she had with her tormented artist earlier that day. We dressed up in our skimpiest clothing, much to my dismay as Ino wouldn't let me leave in anything else. Then, later that night, I had sex.

That time when Kiba embraced me without warning so many years ago was the only time I had ever revealed how upset it made me to be so close to a guy. Given how I felt after I found myself huddled on the floor, I probably wouldn't have been able to stand being near men for the rest of my life. But then, I decided not to be upset anymore the instant I first dyed my hair. I won't cripple myself because of what might happen.

So it wasn't as if I was looking for Mr. Right. All throughout high school I would either keep to myself or stick to Ino and her group. Guys had asked me out but by the then I was already well on my way to graduating early. So I turned them down. But now I'm already well on my way of achieving my goal so when the opportunity came to finally put my sanity to the test I picked up my sexy big girl panties and went for it.

The guy's name was Lee something or other. He's a real gentleman, he didn't force me and I wasn't drunk for fear of saying something stupid while intoxicated. Blurting out I'm a killer could really bring the party down. He isn't the best looking guy, with his bowl haircut and large expressive eyes but he was the only guy who wasn't a jerk in the whole place. He didn't last very long, and I didn't get off but for the first time in a long while I had peace of mind. While he rode me into the bed Lee did the one thing I didn't expect.

He called my name when he came.

It isn't until a month into my junior year of college when I'm 19 that I see Kiba again.

I'm walking with Hinata, my roommate, to her car so we can go meet up with her cousin Neji when suddenly a hand blocks my vision.

"Guess who…" it takes me a moment to recognize the voice, it had been so long I was sure my mind was playing tricks on me. But after a familiar growl of annoyance I grin. Jumping around I scream, embracing my childhood friend for the first time in years. He's taller than me now; defiantly more built and now is sporting two red fang tattoo's, one on each cheek. Later that evening I learn it's the symbol of this small gang he started shortly after he left juvie a little over a year ago .

"Oh my god! Kiba! What the hell are you doing here?!" I laugh into his chest. I feel him chuckle.

"What the hell is up with you Sakura? Your hair's still pink!"

A deep woof startles me. Turning to my side I see a large white dog, seriously he reaches my chin in height, with brown ears. My mouth pops open as he gives me a wolfish grin with his tongue lolling out of his mouth. It can't be…

"Akamaru?" I gasp in shock.

At the sound of his name Akamaru leaps on me, pushing me back into both Kiba and Hinata while attacking me with sloppy doggy kisses. I let out a playful shriek as I attempt to avoid his tongue.

"Down boy!" Exclaims Kiba as he tries to calm the overly excited horse sized hound. I laugh when I'm finally free of the licking as I use the sleeve of my sweater to dry my face and neck.

"Sorry about that," apologizes my tattoo faced friend. "As you can see he's still grateful for you saving him."

"I can tell," I chuckle while scratching Akamaru behind the ears. He falls down and lies on his back, demanding a belly rub. I comply without complaint as Kiba and Hinata introduce themselves.

"So what brings you up state?" I ask.

"Well…" I look up to see him shuffle awkwardly. "I missed you." He starts. I wait for him to continue only for him to look pointedly at my busty black haired companion. I understand that he wants to talk to me alone.

"Hinata I'm really sorry but why don't you go meet up with Neji without me? I haven't seen Kiba in so long…" I smile apologetically to her. Stuttering her goodbye she leaves, much faster than normal.

"What's it it Kiba?" I turn my attention back on him as he too kneels in the grass to pet his dog, who by the way is thumping his leg as fast as a jack rabbit.

"I need your help…" he whispers.

Kiba's right hand woman, TenTen, has been seriously hurt in a small turf war they had with a nearby gang. Nothing big like the criminal empire of Nagato, thank god. Kiba has more sense than to go against anyone as infamous as them. The Fangs are in a sense more like mercenaries. They do work for hire like being body guards, messengers or thieves. This is why nobody has really heard of them, their very hush, hush. The only thing they claim that makes them gang-like is the block where they have their headquarters. If someone tries to take their place they fight them off, like guard dogs.

Apparently someone tried to take their territory last night resulting in a fight that killed two of Kiba's men, wounding TenTen while also causing the slaughter the rival gang. Kiba can't take TenTen to the hospital otherwise the police would be notified of the gunshot wound she's sporting in her shoulder. Knowing I'm well on my way to becoming a doctor he decided to try and see if I can help her.

I haven't treated anyone before, well besides myself, everything I knew came from books at this point. But I don't tell him this, if Kiba is caught being involved in a gunfight so soon after he left juvie he would go to prison. I won't let that happen so I leave with him to return to the city and attempt to save his friend.

"AHHHH!"

"HOLD HER STILL!" I shout.

"Come on Ten, hang in there she almost has it!"

"FUCKING PINK-HAIRED BITCH!" Shrieks my patient.

I locate the bullet lodged in her scapula, than with the new pair of pliers Kiba hands me I carefully work it out of the screaming bun-haired woman's shoulder. Once it's removed I douse the open wound with hydrogen peroxide.

TenTen screams of agony are so loud I'm surprised my ears haven't begun to bleed.

When I'm sure that the wound is clean I begin to cover it with gauze and bandages. By now TenTen is a weeping mess but all I care about is stopping her from going into shock.

The drugstore Kiba and I stopped at didn't sell any sedatives, or a needle and thread. Since TenTen was already taking a large amount of pain meds I couldn't numb the pain even if I wanted to. We were able to get her some antibiotics though, so there shouldn't be worry about an infection so long as she takes her medicine.

It took me sometime to remove the bullet, she had it inside her for nearly a day. Luckily enough Kiba was able to slow the bleeding but she still needs a transfusion. One of Kiba's men, some guy named Sora, is in the process of stealing a few pouches from the nearest Blood Source. I told him to make sure the blood stays at the designated temperature so by the time he returns it won't be spoiled.

I wish I could say that is the only time I had been called in to save someone of a questionable background…but it isn't.

Throughout the rest of my undergraduate schooling and med school Kiba would constantly bring me back down to the city in order to treat his friends who were hurt or injured. Due to the outrageous amount of gunshot wounds, I sort of became an expert on how to treat them. And an intense hatred for the weapon, even after TenTen taught me how to use a Glock.

At first Kiba tried not to rely on me to help him, though most of the time he had no choice. Every time after I saved another of his friends he would tell me, "This is the last time Sakura. I promise. I don't want you caught up in this. It's my choice, but I won't bring you down." This started after I saved TenTen that first time. While he was driving me back to my dorm I confronted him about why he started the gang in the first place. His answer floored me.

"Because I was framed!" He shouts as we wait in the car for the traffic to finally let up. "One night when I was driving home someone attacked me from the back seat. The put this cloth over my nose and mouth then the next thing I know I'm waking up to the sounds of sirens. They had me surrounded and wouldn't listen to a damn thing I said. Nobody else saw anyone running away so they assumed I was lying. I'm lucky I was a minor otherwise they would have sent me straight to prison." He pants as his grip on the steering wheel flexes. "I'm going to find the bastard who did that to me."

"But…why a gang Kiba?"

Taking a deep breath Kiba visibly relaxes before he continues explaining. "Juvie was…it was bad Sakura. None of the other guys were rapists or murderers, we were kids you know? But most loved to prove how tough they were. Fights broke out at the drop of a hat, and if word got out that you were weak or a push over, you ended up getting jumped in the shower." At my horrified expression he quickly clears up my misunderstanding. "It wasn't always like that and I was never the guy who was attacked, but a few others were. I helped them out, rescued some, and the next thing I know…" He shrugs. "It's like we bonded, and that bond is something that doesn't feel like it can be broken. We all know that with our records we aren't going to be able to get great jobs, minimum wages is probably the best we'll ever get. But…"he turns to me with the fiercest expression I haven't seen since he fought my dad. "You call this a gang…I call them family. After I got sent to juvie mum disowned me Sakura." I feel the disbelief etch on my face. "Remember my dad was a criminal? She didn't want to deal with that again. For years she tried to keep me on the right side of the law but," he chuckles then smiles a sad crooked smirk. "I just kept leaning to the bad."

Serious again he continues, "But my crew…they don't judge me. They accept me and believe me when I tell them I was set up. Most of them were wronged by someone in their past, and that led to their imprisonment. While all have issues trusting others but trusting each other is all we have Sakura. And to me that is extremely important."

Kiba's dedication to proving his innocence and his love for his extended family gave me a new perspective on the rowdy bunch. So much so that whenever I came to treat them I would spend a little time getting to know them. For instance TenTen was a runaway whose adoptive parents kicked her out after learning she was bi. She met Kiba while in the middle of hotwiring a car so she could find a new place to live.

As time moved on it became obvious to everyone that I was basically a part of the gang as well. Kiba kept denying it though. He doesn't want me to have any ties to them in the eyes of the law in case it goes south. I wouldn't get the tattoo, didn't want one. But I got my cartilage pierced with a custom made earring of a small silver wolf's head with tiny ruby eyes, declaring myself an honorary member much to Kiba's dismay.

As much as it pains me, when it comes to my new friends/patients I did lose a few while operating, including Sora. None of the others blamed me though, at first a few did but after seeing how torn up I became after every death they knew it wasn't my fault. To me it was like each death happened because I didn't try hard enough, like when I stood by while my dad threw Kiba out. If I didn't save them it felt like I would revert back into that empty shell I once was.

However, I know that those few deaths were mainly because of how far away my school was so I couldn't make it in time. It was also mainly because of the fact that it was before I started med school. So as soon as I graduated I took an internship in the city, where I would be closer for when Kiba and his crew needs me.

What I didn't count on is the first day interning in the Emergency Room when I was 23 for my patient who was suffering from a couple of broken ribs and a stab wound to just walk out right after I closed his wounds.

...to be continued