Hello again, my little cats! I'm happy to say that I am officially a fan of The Script and with that comes the compulsion to write stories inspired by their songs. I tried to stay away from their mainstream songs for my first fic and this is what I came up with.

The first chapter is a Kiba/Sakura story. I tried experimenting because they are cute together and by far the most normal (and by normal, I mean most possible) pairing I've shipped so far. The story falls on the Hurt/Comfort/Angst genre. I have to tell you now just in case you get confused with the general genre of this collection which is Romance. There is also no lemon in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its story nor its characters. The same goes for the lyrics and the song. They belong to The Script. I hope you all enjoy it!


Before The Worst
"And the only chance we have of moving on
Is trying to take it back before it all went wrong"

Oh, who would have thought it would end up like this?

She had to thank Tsunade for personally instructing her on how she should handle her liquor because Sakura knew she'd be a blubbering mess after her seventh bottle. But despite her shishou telling her to keep the alcohol in her system, a lot of it had already climbed up into her head.

In fact, there was only one thing in her head and it was swimming in her intoxication.

He already announced their relationship publicly. He openly displayed his affection for her. For a moment, she thought he'd forgotten all that he'd been through. For a moment, she thought she'd finally healed his heart. Everything they had going was great. Was.

The sound of scratching on the front door that was being unlocked brought her senses back to earth but she didn't bother straightening because she knew it was only Kiba. It was his apartment after all.

When the door opened, she didn't look up to greet him or ask how his mission was and remained seated by the dining table with her legs crossed beneath her. It was only a simple mission, after all—he left for a week with his family to scout the border between Wind and Fire. She was left to stay in his apartment in the meantime.

On his first night away, she spent hours finishing his stash of beer in his refrigerator, promising herself to replace his stock the next day. While she managed to buy another case of alcohol in the day, she found herself repeating the process the next night. And the other nights that came after.

Akamaru didn't follow the canine-person into the apartment, sensing something wrong was about to go down and insisted he stay outside until he felt like coming in.

She heard Kiba sigh. He made his way over and tried to pull away the half-empty bottle from her hands but she just wouldn't budge. With a little more force, he tried again and this time succeeded.

"I was drinking that," Sakura said flatly.

His brows furrowed. The slur in her words was not lost on him. "How long have you been at it?" His voice was concerned but the stern overwhelmed his worry.

"A few days," she shrugged with effort. "Probably a week. I try not to keep track. Who's counting, anyway?"

"This has got to stop," he warned her.

She laughed at his words rather ironically. "Oh, you're really going to use the same words I told you the morning after that?"

With the conversation turned around, there was nothing he could say about what happened. He crushed her faith in him and forced her to build up walls higher than that which she'd already built after Sasuke left her for power.

"I'm sorry…" He whispered. An apology was not enough to atone for the way he'd callously broken her heart but he just wanted her to know that he was repentant.

"No," she said, her voice nearly cracking. When her eyes met his, he found turmoil and resentment. It was impossible to see which emotion trumped the other. "I'm sorry. I just thought… I don't know what I was thinking. I don't even know what I'm doing here anymore." Swinging her legs from under her, she rose to her feet and headed to the bedroom, ready to collect her stuff.

Kiba ran after her and pulled her arm but she turned around and violently jerked her arm away from his grasp with a little too much effort. Her tears were already streaming down her face as she glared at him venomously.

"We never should have started this," she said between gritted teeth. "I never should have thought I could be the one to put you back together… I should have known you still loved her."

He tried to approach her but she took a step back and he knew if he stepped any further, her fist would be the one to do the talking for her.

"Sakura, please," he pleaded. "I don't love her any—"

"Fuck you!" she hissed as she rushed to shove him with all the natural strength she could gather in her drunken state. Something inside her had cracked and the tears spilled out uncontrollably. "You fucking screamed Hinata's name when you fucked me, you asshole! Don't tell me you don't fucking love her anymore! I don't wanna hear it!"

Her words finally got through him like an arrow shot through his heart and he began to tear up as well because what she said wasn't entirely wrong. He wasn't even sure he'd gotten over Hinata when he asked Sakura to be his girlfriend but he just hoped that he'd be able to move on somewhere along the way.

And he did. For a while.

"You fucking looked me in the eye and told me you loved me, you liar!" She buried her face in the palm of her hands to muffle the sobs she couldn't hold back anymore. "I just wish I could go back and tell myself it isn't worth it. I just wish I never found you that night. I wish this never happened!"

He took a step forward cautiously to see if she was going to react but she had already blocked out the world and right now, all that she could hear was the tintinnabulation of the ringing pain she'd drowned out with alcohol. When he was sure she wasn't going to lash out anymore, he enveloped her petite physique in his arms. His hand went into her hair and placed his nose in her hair, holding her as tight as he dared as he his tears began to fall.

"Sakura, I'm sorry, okay?" cried Kiba. "I wasn't lying when I told you I loved you, babe. Please just stop crying. You know I hate seeing you like this…"

She began to squirm and thrash in his embrace, demanding to be released. "What the hell am I supposed to feel then?!" Screamed the kunoichi. "You tell me you love me, say someone else's name when we had sex, and now you're telling me to believe you actually love me?!" She shoved him away again, and this time, used her chakra since he was naturally stronger than her. "You know what? I didn't wanna say this to you but this is fucking worse than hitting me in the gut and leaving me on a park bench!"

With that, she stormed into the bedroom and began to collect her stuff and throw them all in her pack. Kiba stepped back until his back reached the wall and he sunk to the floor, running his hands in his hair furiously at what she'd just spat at him.

He was worse than Sasuke.

Even after all that they have been through to help each other forget… That was how it all started, anyway.

When Sakura got back from her mission with Team Seven when they finally found their vengeance-driven teammate, Sakura was a mess, withdrawing herself from the world, only locking herself up at home or in a pub.

They found each other in the bar one night and shared a drink together as they poured their hearts out. Sakura talked about Sasuke with her voice cracking somewhere along the lines. Kiba talked about his one-sided infatuation with Hinata in a disheartened voice throughout the night.

Sakura knew what had gotten him so broken. Ino told her earlier that night about Naruto finally asking Hinata out and the Hyuuga was more than happy to leave her sparring session with her teammates to get herself ready—physically and emotionally.

That night, Kiba offered to walk her home, letting her mount on Akamaru's back. When they'd finally reached her apartment, Akamaru was told to go home first when Sakura asked him if he wanted to stay a little longer. The minute Akamaru was out of sight, they were on each other in a heartbeat.

Because it was Sakura's first time, she allowed Kiba to kiss her senseless, only responding when he growled demandingly. Their hands roamed all over each other, clinging to what they could in desperation for something certain to hold on to.

He was there for her. She was there for him. That was all they needed in the meantime.

Nothing more happened that night but it was the start of their playful relationship. At first, they kept to themselves, testing the relationship to see if it could pass the perimeters of desperate release in the bedroom and develop into something more real. Eventually, when they felt there was hope for it to grow into something more than a hookup, they began going on dates.

They agreed to not make it official until the both of them had moved on completely—until their hearts told them it was time to love again. A month later, Sakura told him that she was ready and not long after, he pressured himself into asking her to be his girlfriend. It wasn't that he didn't want to but he felt guilty that she was able to forget when he wasn't and hoped he would let Hinata go in the process.

Everything they had going was great. People even told them that despite Naruto and Hinata being the sweetest couple around, Kiba and Sakura had it better because they acted like best friends and lovers at the same time. It wasn't far from the truth.

There were nights when the two of them would stay up at night, just talking about the stupidest things they could while cuddled up on his couch with a bottle of beer in their hands. They teased each other constantly in public. They pushed each other too far but were far too protective with each other to let anyone else do it. They talked about the future and their humble dreams of getting an apartment together just to enjoy each other's company even more.

It was all perfect until Kiba heard about Naruto and Hinata's engagement.

Kiba slowly distanced himself from her. He began zoning out whenever anyone struck a conversation about the preparation for the wedding. He began drinking more and talking less during their casual nights together. Sakura wanted to tell herself that it was all in her head.

The day of the wedding, however, proved all that she wanted to deny to be true.

Sakura was upset at the way he stared at Hinata the whole ceremony. She was angry with the way he seemed to block her out during the reception. She grew furious on the way home as she guided him on the way to his apartment with his arm slumped around her shoulders as he was too drunk to walk by himself. She almost killed him when he screamed the raven's name in bed and she pushed him instantly to the floor.

He gathered his pack and his clothes and kicked himself out of his apartment and slept at his family's place. That was the night before he left for his one-week mission.

When he returned to his own place that night to see her before he left, he found her still in the bedroom, sitting on the edge of his bed, facing the door as if she'd been expecting him. Akamaru was hesitant to step into the apartment but he knew Kiba would need him.

"Sakura, about last night—"

She tore her eyes away from him. "This has got to stop," she cut him. "We have to stop kidding ourselves, Kiba. You've got to stop lying to yourself. You lied so well about moving on, you even convinced yourself…"

Smart enough to know that if he defended himself, she'd find ways to turn it all around, he stood silent before turning away. Akamaru walked past Kiba and sat before her.

"Don't you have a mission this morning?"

"Just please stay here until I return, Sakura," he whispered. "Please don't leave. I swear I'll make it right when I get back."

With all the boldness she was able to muster in her hangover and despite the apartment being his place, she spat. "Just get the hell out of my face."

It had been a week since he'd broken her heart and the rest of the days she spent alone was spent stepping on the pieces of her own heart, reminding herself that she was too naïve to expect him to fall in love with her so easy.

Kiba was a charming person. He was handsome, funny and a very skilled shinobi. He wasn't the smartest kid in their team but he was more than eager to listen to her when she had something to teach him. Not to mention he was also good in bed despite them being each other's first. There were a lot of reasons to fall for him.

What about her? How could she expect Kiba to find anything to love about her? As much as she wanted to stop comparing herself to Hinata, the fact that this was all about the heiress tested her determination to turn the other cheek on the issue. She was bossy, emotional, whiny and a pain in the ass. How the hell would anyone fall in love with her?

She wanted to believe him when he said that he wasn't lying when he said he loved her but there was still too much pain.

Gathering her clothes from his cabinet, she stuffed them all forcefully in one of her traveling bags she'd left here. She left everything Kiba had given her scattered on the floor, thrown to side while she was selecting all the stuff she would be bringing with her.

With one last look at the place, her heart swelled and she was filled with so much emotions, she didn't know which one to let herself get overwhelmed with.

She looked away and slung her bags on her shoulders and returned to the living room where she found Kiba on the floor, clutching his head in his hands. His fingers were tugging at the roots of his hair. Slowly, she walked to him but did not drop to the floor to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kiba," she said coldly. "Maybe you'll see me again when you finally get things straight with yourself but for now, I don't think I can stand to see your face…"

He lifted his head and she wasn't shocked to see his eyes were puffy and his face was wet with tears and sweat at the same time. He was hurting. But then again, she was too.

He reached out and grabbed the hem of her shorts. "Sakura, please," his voice was raspy from all the sobs he'd stifled. "If I could go back and make it all right again… Before everything… I love you, Sakura…"

It took everything in her to not drop her bags and not drop to her knees and embrace his head against her chest. She loved him as well. A little too much, in fact. Her staying in his apartment in his absence was proof of that. She was hoping that the next time she saw his face, she would feel a little more apologetic. All their plans had dissipated into nothing now as her rage only intensified. There was no other option but to allow themselves time to blow off steam. She knew Kiba was sincere but she needed a little more than an apology.

And so, with one last glance at him, she turned away and sped away on the rooftops into the night, leaving the door open behind her, missing the way Kiba grabbed hold of one of the edges of the table beside him and hurled it to the floor.

After a few miles, she heard a dog howl desperately at the moon and she strained herself from running back to answer his call.


It was just a spur of the moment idea (this story, I mean). It was originally going to be a Kakashi/Sakura story but I saved Kakashi for some other song. I've given up my idea for the smut "Animals" thing.

So expect the next Under The Heir chapter to be delayed for probably another day or two since I had to finish this one today. I'm more than halfway through the fifth chapter, anyway. Leave a review! Favorite! Follow! Thanks again for all you love and all your support! You couldn't have made my Christmas and New Year better! See you all when I upload again!