Author: I've finally taken the initiative to write my first FanFic! …Well, not really my first, but the other two "stories" I attempted to write weren't even worth calling FanFictions. **shivers** I happily deleted those from the database. I was a young and inexperienced middle schooler back then, but now I'm almost graduated from high school and I'm much more prepared :) I want to give a BIG shout out and thanks to Allie Ars0n for agreeing to proofread and review my work; she's a good friend of mine in the real world, and I'm ecstatic to have her as my "beta reader." Reviews from readers would be greatly appreciated (and would further motivate me to write more chapters.) Keep an eye out for story notes as you read!

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Naruto or any of its characters; Kishimoto does. If I DID own Naruto, NaruHina would be abundant throughout the plot and Killer Bee wouldn't be the stereotypical black guy he is -_- Seriously though, Japanese people are just trifling when it comes to their portrayals of black people in anime/manga…anyway, the song is "Sing Me to Heaven" by Daniel E. Gawthrop (arr. Paul Carey.) Take the time to look it up on YouTube; it's a beautiful piece.

In my heart's sequestered chambers lie truths stripped of poets' gloss

Words alone are vain and vacant, and my heart is mute

In response to aching silence, memory summons half-heard voices

And my soul finds primal eloquence, and wraps me in song

Chapter 1: Plums and Cherry Blossoms

"Woof!" Akamaru jumped onto the bed, his massive paws bearing all of his weight on the teenage boy beneath him. Kiba woke with a start, gasping for air. Instead, he ended up practically inhaling his dog's tongue as Akamaru took advantage of his master's open mouth. Sputtering, Kiba eventually gained control of the situation and forced Akamaru off of him and onto the floor.

"Shit! Akamaru, I told you not to do that EVER again!" Kiba hated it whenever someone woke him up; Akamaru was no exception.

Akamaru whimpered and rested his head on the edge of the bed. But you told me to wake you up in the morning, Master…

Kiba face palmed, "Ah, yeah…" His almond-shaped eyes softened, and he ruffled his dog's head, "I forgot about that; sorry, Boy." Akamaru licked his hand forgivingly.

Kiba forced himself to crawl out of bed and stand up. Yawning obnoxiously, he stretched and let everything—EVERYTHING—hang out; Kiba usually preferred sleeping in the nude to having his manhood unnaturally confined by underwear all night. In mid-stretch, Kiba's eyes widened as he felt his fingernails scrape against the ceiling. The Inuzuka clan was known for their members to be able to lengthen their fingernails into claws, but Kiba still shouldn't be able to touch the ceiling of his room. "No way…" Kiba ran into his bathroom and stood up against the wall across from his large vanity mirror and sink. He reached above his head and scratched the wall with one of his claws until he was sure that he had left a visible mark. Kiba turned around and gaped disbelievingly at the height difference between the previous mark and the one he just made.

You've had another growth spurt, huh? Akamaru growled softly, placing his rump on the bathroom floor next to where the brunette stood. It isn't exactly easy to carry around a large teenage boy on your back, especially when he keeps growing and growing.

"Yeah…" Kiba muttered pensively, spinning back around so that he could study himself closely in the mirror. Kiba's jaw was angled and his face long, no longer rounded from baby fat. His thick eyebrows shot up as he traced his fingers along the red triangle tattoos on his cheeks, marveling at how clear his skin was. Caught up in the moment, Kiba stood up straight and let his eyes trail over his body. Every muscle was clearly defined; his strong arms and large pecs, combined with his wide shoulders, solidified Kiba's masculine body. His washboard abs were rock-hard, and his legs thick like tree trunks. Kiba shifted to look at his butt—yep, even that was built of hard, trained muscle. Kiba smirked; three years of intense training had really paid off. I've grown into a sexy…beast. Kiba chuckled perversely at that last thought; his bodily hairiness only accentuated his animal-like features.

Akamaru snorted and left the room to give Kiba some privacy. You have ten minutes until you need to meet with Hinata-sama at her house. He smiled inwardly as he heard Kiba curse and fumble to get ready in time.

After Kiba managed to throw on his ninja netting and usual black clothing, he decided to give himself only two minutes to brush his teeth. Kiba was nit-picky only about one thing, and that was his teeth. They needed to be smooth, white, and clean 24/7. He knew that the professional recommendation was to brush for two minutes, but he usually took five minutes at least. Once he was finished with his dental hygiene, Kiba flashed himself a toothy grin in the mirror before running out of his room, down the hallway, and into the kitchen.

"Mom, I'm going over to Hinata's place," Slipping into his black ninja sandals, Kiba stole an egg sandwich right out of his mother's hands, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "See ya!" He shouted over his shoulder, already halfway out the door of the Inuzuka household. His older sister, Hana, would have to deal with his mother's crazy-lady screaming and ranting that would inevitably result from his antics this morning. Kiba, with a burst of chakra, shot forward into a fast ninja run. He smiled fondly as his mother's screaming faded into the distance. Akamaru, following faithfully from behind, easily caught up to Kiba and kept pace. "No wonder Dad left her,"Kiba joked, earning an appreciative grunt from the white nin-dog.

Judging by the amount of time he just spent at home, Kiba guessed that he had about five more minutes to get to the Hyuga Clan's main house. That was its official name, but it barely resembled a house; mansion would be a much better fitting term. Kiba snorted, rolling his eyes. Rich people and their big-ass wallets. Hell, even the Hyuga branch house was practically filled to the roof with wealth and riches.

Unfortunately, the Inuzuka den was on the complete opposite side of Konoha than the two Hyuga houses. Without a second thought, Kiba rushed across the street and swiftly scaled a tall newly-built building. Akamaru pursued his master, easily climbing the building wall by concentrating chakra into his paws. Kiba and Akamaru, as a result of their partner training over the past three years, were able to perfect their teamwork and further develop each other's chakra control. It wasn't necessary anymore for Akamaru to rely on Kiba to supply him chakra; the adult Great Pyrenees now had a good handle on his own chakra flow.

Upon reaching the roof, Kiba barely had time to regain his balance before Akamaru had scooped him up and onto his furry back. "Gah, Akamaru! What the—" Kiba's complaint was cut off mid-sentence as his neck snapped back from the sudden acceleration of his dog. Anticipating the jump, Kiba clung to the nin-dog's hide with tight fists as Akamaru leapt across a large gap between two buildings and onto the rooftop of the second. Slowing down to a stop, Akamaru looked over his shoulder with what Kiba knew to be a mocking smirk. "Asshole…" Kiba responded, slapping the nin-dog roughly in the side. To Akamaru, however, this only felt like a light tap.

I couldn't help myself, Akamaru grunted good-humoredly, crouching into a preparatory stance. Kiba had all but memorized the motions of his partner, and as the hound's strong muscles shifted beneath him, Kiba instinctively leaned forward and tightened his leg muscles around the dog. Akamaru, sensing that his master was ready, shot forward and across a second gap with ease. Momentum building, the pair continued on from rooftop to rooftop towards the Hyuga's main house.

Kiba's mind started to wander as the two progressed uneventfully through the village. He remembered complaining to Hinata the day before about wanting to hone his battle skills some more. Lately, everyone had been making preparations for the Fourth Shinobi World War and only a few of them have had time to train during the day. Hinata, being the sweet and resourceful girl she was, arranged for Kiba to have a couple of hours off in the morning to train with her. Kiba outwardly grinned; he loved Hinata so much. He didn't have any romantic feelings for her, though; she was more like the little sister he always wanted. Not saying that she wasn't a catch, because any guy would be extremely lucky to have the beautiful girl as their lover. Kiba simply wasn't attracted to her in that way.

The surprised shriek of a Hyuga woman from the branch family snapped Kiba back to reality. Apparently, he and his ninja hound partner had jumped down from the last building rooftop and landed on the street directly in front of her. She had dropped her groceries onto the stone pavement, and was looking pretty pissed. Kiba smiled nervously and dropped off of Akamaru's back. "Sorry for startling you, Miss. Hehe…" Embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. The woman rolled her white eyes and bent down to pick up her groceries. Examining the bag's contents, she sighed, for nothing seemed to be damaged. Flashing Kiba a final annoyed look, she spun on her heels and strode off towards the Hyuga's branch house.

Kiba exhaled, realizing that he had been holding his breath the entire time. "Well that was awkward." Akamaru whimpered in agreement, pawing at his face with embarrassment. Shaking his head to rid himself of the uncomfortable memory, Kiba turned on the street and headed towards the main house.

Upon entering the courtyard of the enormous mansion, Kiba was greeted occasionally by passing Hyuga members of the main family.

"Hello, Kiba-kun."

"Got plans with Hinata-sama, eh?"

Kiba nodded his head politely in response to each greeting, but he didn't have time to stop and chat. Kiba was a common sight around here anyway, so the Hyuga family never paid him much mind. Except for Hiashi, of course, who had convinced himself that Kiba's sole purpose for visiting so often was to seduce his innocent daughter and clan heiress. Kiba's eye twitched at the thought of Hinata's father; that man was the only person in the world who could rival his mother in bitchiness.

Finally reaching the front door to the mansion—damn, this place was huge—Kiba reached forward and rang the bell on the wall.

Silence. Kiba rang it again.

Still no response. Kiba, growing impatient, grasped the door's handle and slid the door open with a thud. A small gust of wind hit him as the air pressure between the inside of the house and the outside air stabilized. With the gust came a multitude of various scents that only an Inuzuka's sensitive nose could detect. Kiba inhaled deeply, his senses reeling as he sorted out the various scents. There were familiar smells, such as the creamy vanilla fragrance associated with Hinata, the spicy horrid odor of Hiashi's infamous curry, and the ever present sting of cleaning product. But there was a particular scent that Kiba just couldn't identify. Perplexed, Kiba entered the mansion and sniffed the air. The scent was primarily sweet. Candy…? Kiba wondered, venturing deeper into the house. He found that the scent grew stronger the closer he came to Hinata's bedroom, so he quickened his pace. The smell began to develop, and now Kiba could more easily identify it. Fruity…with an earthy undertone. However, he was far from satisfied and thus barged boldly into Hinata's room.

"K-Kiba-kun!" Hinata stuttered, standing up quickly from the edge of her bed. Her eyes were wide and surprised, but Kiba was determined to find the source of this unusual scent and temporarily ignored her as well as everything else in the room. Eyes closed, he slowly inhaled. Kiba smiled lightly. It was a very nice smell; sort of a combination of plums and cherry blossoms…

Kiba's body stiffened, his joints locking and his sinewy muscles hardening. The peculiar scent of plums and sakura instantly changed from being delicate and lovely to repulsive and disgusting as his brain made the connection between the smell and its source. His reaction was near phobic. Kiba's eyes snapped open, meeting the fearful gaze of Hinata, who he just noticed was standing only a few feet in front of him, obstructing his view of anything behind her. "Hinata, move out of the way," Kiba growled, his voice quavering but still menacing.

Hinata submissively looked away from his piercing eyes, taking a reluctant step to the side. She stared at the ground, defeated. "I'm s-sorry, Kiba…"

Sitting on the edge of her bed, was a teenage boy. He had dark indigo hair, which was in a single long braid that trailed down his back and was tied at the end with a sky blue hair tie. Like Hinata's hairstyle, he had two long strands of hair that hung down in front of his ears. However, the ends of the boy's hair strands were were tied behind his ears to form two hoops. Along with his leveled hime cut bangs, these hoops cutely framed his face. His telltale white Hyuga eyes were as round and big as saucers, and his skin was ever so slightly tinted pink. What set him apart from nearly everyone else was that unlike Hinata's elegant nose, or Kiba's small button one, this boy's nose was fleshy. That, combined with his remarkably full lips, gave him an exotic appearance. The boy stood up slowly, revealing his height to be only a few inches shorter than Kiba. He was wearing dark ninja sweatpants and blue ninja sandals; adding to his uniqueness, he sported an unusual purple poncho with a white embroidered sun design over his ninja netting. Seeing as the poncho barely substituted for a shirt, Kiba could easily see the boy's surprisingly feminine curves. If it weren't for his strong jaw, and the boy's leanly muscled and flat chest, anyone could easily mistake him for a very pretty girl.

The boy hesitantly opened his arms, offering an embrace to Kiba. "I'm home, Kiba-kun." His voice was a smooth tenor, but it possessed a certain quality that made it sound more like a really low alto. Although his voice made him appear unfazed, his pleading eyes said otherwise.

"Isan…-kun…" Kiba whispered, his words barely audible. All of the walls Kiba had put up around his heart came crumbing down at that very moment. He was completely exposed and vulnerable, not to mention terrified. Kiba began to back away one step at a time. No…

Upon seeing Kiba's reaction, Isan sucked in a sharp breath of air. He took an instinctive step towards Kiba, raising his arm so that it was halfway between reaching out to him and hanging by his side. "Kiba, please…" His voice faltered, and Isan's eyes began to well up with tears.

Kiba's face scrunched into a painful grimace; he felt as if Isan was twisting and wrenching his heart out of his chest. Suddenly, as if he was possessed by a demon, Kiba reversed his direction on the spot and charged out of Hinata's bedroom. Akamaru barked for him to come back, but instead Kiba squeezed his eyes shut tightly, barreling through the Hyuga's main house and leaving many a vase broken and smashed on the floor. Bursting through the doorway, Kiba stumbled out of the courtyard and back onto the street, knocking pedestrians right and left as he blindly fled from the overpowering sense of repulsion and disgust he had experienced. He tried to deny the Hyuga boy's return to Konoha. He tried to erase from his mind the heart-rending sound of the stifled sob Isan had uttered when Kiba had ran away. But above all, Kiba tried desperately—albeit unsuccessfully—to clear his head of that forbidden scent of plums and cherry blossoms.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~12 years ago~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Good morning, Class!"

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka smiled warmly as he walked into the classroom and took a seat behind his desk. The tanned brunette examined the various gifts his new students had left him; a ruby red apple from Hinata, a dead toad from Naruto, a flower from Ino, and various other knickknacks. He couldn't help but openly grin; he loved kids. "Thank you all so much for these wonderful presents!" He took the apple in his right hand, examined it, rubbed it against his green flak jacket for good measure, and then took a large bite. After chewing and swallowing the chunk of apple, Iruka spoke, "Now, who's ready for their second day of school?" The class cheered enthusiastically in response.

Chubby little Kiba raised his hand high in the air, a look of determination on his face. "Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka chuckled. "Yes, Kiba-chan, what is it?"

"Do you like…um, doggies?" Kiba played with his t-shirt with the shyness and innocence of the 5-year-old he was.

Iruka chuckled. "Why yes, Kiba, I like dogs very much."

"Oh. Me too." Kiba sat back in his chair, looking very proud of his question. Kiba was completely oblivious to the fact that Iruka was covering his mouth to hide his resulting smile.

Iruka, fighting back a giggle, cleared his throat and addressed the class again. "Who remembered to do their homework and prepare for today's show-and-tell?" Everyone in the room raised their hand, accompanied by various "Ooh!"s and "Me!"s. "Good! Kiba, how about you go first?" Iruka said, beckoning the 5-year-old to come stand in front of everyone. Kiba, who wasn't about to look like a scaredy-cat, climbed out of his chair and walked down to the chunin teacher with his chest puffed out. Tripping on the bottom step, Kiba stumbled forward into his sensei. Iruka's brow furrowed playfully. "Now Kiba, you need to be more careful, okay?"

Kiba nodded silently, then turned to face the class. He took a deep breath, and then let everything he had prepared fly out of his mouth. "I'm Inuzuka Kiba. I'm five years old, and I like doggies." Kiba grinned wolfishly, then pulled a picture out of his right shorts pocket. "This is my puppy, Akamaru. He's my bestest friend in…in the whoooooole world!" Kiba spread his arms out wide to emphasize his point. The other kids started to leave their chairs and crowd around him to look at his picture.

"Aww, he's so cute!" Squealed tiny Sakura, her large hair ribbon bouncing excitedly.

"What does he eat?" Asked the young and very rotund Choji.

"I want a puppy too!"

"Does he poop?" The entire class started giggling at that last question; how naughty they were.

Iruka shook his head, chuckling. "Haha, okay everyone, back to your seats. Thank you, Kiba; that was a great show-and-tell." The class clapped, rather spastically, as they all began to return to their assigned seats. However, as they retreated, Iruka gently placed his hand on the head of the little indigo-haired boy before he could walk away. The little boy giggled, his laughter twinkling merrily like wind chimes.

"Isan-chan, it's your turn now."

Isan looked up at Iruka with those large white saucers and smiled meekly. "Okay…" He replied softly. Isan walked to where Kiba had previously stood, and faced the other students. He swallowed hard, and then began his show-and-tell. "Hello, I'm Doreiku Isan." Isan held up his arm and pointed at the pinkish skin. "My daddy has brown skin, and my mommy has white skin. But I have pink skin; pink's my favorite color!" Isan explained his bi-racialism as well as a five-year-old could; his eyes were amiably turned upward the entire time.

One of the other boys happened to notice that Isan's hair was nearly identical to his female cousin Hinata's. It was in a short, leveled hime-cut style just above his forehead, with chin-length strands framing his face. "Hey, you look like a girl!" Shouted the boy, who was sitting in his seat. The class immediately broke out into mocking laughter as the students, besides a few, jaunted and jeered at their classmate's androgynous qualities.

"Girly boy! Girly boy!"

Isan's eyes got misty, and he stomped his foot down angrily. "I am not a girly boy!" He retorted, shouting over the top of his classmates' brouhaha. Realizing that he was powerless in this situation, Isan screeched with frustration and buried his face in his hands. Iruka was the only one to notice the few tears that fell from between Isan's fingers.

"Boys and girls, that is ENOUGH!" Yelled Iruka, slamming his fist on his desk. The classroom instantly became hushed as all students studied their sensei with wide eyes. Iruka exhaled, exasperated, and make his way over to the sniffling Hyuga boy. Iruka took Isan's little hands in his own, and looked him in the eyes. The chunin smiled friendly. "I think you're a very handsome boy, Isan." The teary eyed child grinned, then instantly threw his arms around Iruka's neck in a tight embrace. Iruka, completely taken by surprise, returned the loving gesture with awe.

After their brief sentimental moment was over, Iruka walked Isan back to his seat and then returned to his own desk. "I'm very disappointed in all of you. You should be nice to your friends, not hurt their feelings!" He said sternly, rubbing the long scar across his nose and cheekbones. Children may be adorable, but they have the capability of being even more evil than any adult. Still massaging his now growing sinus headache, Iruka called for Shikamaru to come down and give his presentation to the class. Shikamaru groaned lazily in protest, but he eventually complied.

**7 hours later**

The school bell chimed throughout the building, and soon a flood of children was pouring out of the ninja academy's exit and into the bright sunshine. Isan sighed sadly as he waited outside with his fellow Kindergarteners for their parents to come pick them up from school; he hadn't made a single new friend all day, seeing as he refused to socialize with the other students after they had mocked him so. His cousin and friend Hinata had played with him at recess, but she didn't say a single word the whole time. Weirdo… Isan thought insensitively, deciding to occupy himself with the patch of clover leaves beneath him in the grass.

"Hey, Kid!" Isan looked up from his crouching position with scrutinizing eyes at the boy standing above him.

"Hi." He replied bluntly, looking back down at the clovers.

"You're Isan, right? I'm Kiba." Kiba grinned fully, his mouth already filled with a full set of teeth. Not receiving a response, he decided to keep talking. "I know a secret spot with lotsa four-leaf clovers; wanna see?" He offered a tanned and olive-toned hand to Isan, who eyed it with suspicion. Finally, Isan nodded and placed his hand gently on top of Kiba's open palm.

"Let's go!" Kiba enthused, but kept his voice down as to avoid eavesdroppers. His energy was contagious, and Isan giggled bashfully. Kiba closed his hand around Isan's and then pulled him up into a full out dash as the two small boys ran away from the group of Kindergarteners. Isan stumbled behind the canine-boy, stunned from the sudden change of events. Eventually, the two boys made it beneath a group of relatively small trees a ways to the left of the ninja academy. The two of them were breathing heavily, for their little bodies were weak and untrained.

Kiba, at last catching his breath, collapsed contentedly onto the cushiony mattress of clovers that covered the miniature forest's floor. Isan followed suit without a second thought, huffing when his body hit the ground. As they lay under the shade of the trees, Kiba's chubby body and Isan's skinny frame rose and fell together with each breath they took. The two of them stared straight up at the golden light that filtered through the canopy with the kind of awe and inquisitiveness that only small children possessed.

"Pretty…" Isan muttered, Kiba nodding in agreement.

After a brief moment of silence had passed, Isan's brow furrowed and he sat up suddenly. Eyeing Kiba, he squinted suspiciously. "Why are you being so nice to me?" Isan challenged the other boy, his tone filled with uncertainty and caution.

Kiba flashed a toothy grin at Isan from his laying position. "'Cause we're gonna be best friends!" Isan, quite taken aback from the canine-like boy's matter-of-fact response, couldn't think up a good response or reason to argue with him. He decided to shrug it off, and he fell back onto the bedding of clovers beside Kiba while maintaining eye contact. The two boys stayed in that position, staring into each other's eyes as the quiet intensified. A bird chirped gaily above them somewhere in the trees' branches.

After an indefinite amount of time had passed, Kiba sniffed the air twice and broke the hypnotic silence between them rather abruptly.

"You smell nice."

Author: Welp, there it is! Chapter 1 in all of its glory. I'm quite proud of it, seeing as it took me just under a week to complete. But then again, I stayed up at night typing away obsessively; when I wasn't at home typing more of the story, I was brainstorming all of the possibilities in my head and writing my ideas down in a spiral notebook. I chose this over my AP Calculus homework, too, so you better leave me a review (and yes, I mean you!) Haha, until next chapter! x3

Allie Ars0n: Okay, so luckily I only had a few more paragraphs to read through. It's really good! One thing you might want to look out for is your use of Japanese in your story. It's okay to use a few words, but remember. You're writing in English, so naturally your story will flow better if you use more English (I didn't see too much JP, so it's fine as is). But this is really good! Can't wait for the next chapter!

P.S. (I will edit my chapters based on the reviews of my editor, so if you don't see what she's criticizing that's because I've fixed the problem.)