Year 1
The second child was unexpected. All preparations were done for an only child, so Hana, her father, numerous clan-members and ninken were rushing around for spare items. A second crib, more blankets, clothes (not pink! Tsume would throw a fit!) and a huge amount of diapers were purchased before noon. This evening Tsume and the twins should come home, just a week after their birth.
Tsume wanted to leave sooner, but the children were to small, being born to early and as twins, so it was necessary to stay a while longer in hospital so the doctors could watch over the two little ones.
Hana, her father Kenshi and Kuromaru, who had to help carry a few heavier items, sat in the kitchen and stared through the open door into the living room, where Tsume placed her two babies on a thick blanket.
The boy, wrapped in a blue and red blanket, started wiggling as soon as Tsume tried to stand up, his little face red and with an angered expression.
His sister, in a green and blue blanket, picked up her brothers discomfort and let out a small whimper, wiggling with her tiny feet.
Tsume huffed, lifted the girl up again and placed her neatly beside her brother. Instantly the whimpers stopped and the boys face lost his red colour, both babies satisfied with each others presence.
"They are very protective about each other and at such a young age." Kuromaru wondered and then showed his pointed canines in a feral grin before he continued. "They are Inuzukas through and through, just from the very start of their lives."
Kenshi sat down on the couch, his eyes fixed on his wife, a knowing smile dancing on his lips. For a few seconds, Tsume was confused, but after a few seconds she scowled and crossed her arms as she let herself falling on the couch, taking a seat to her husbands right.
"No!" she spat out, avoiding Kenshi`s gaze.
Hana, on her kneed cooing at her siblings, lifted her head, staring at her parents. They didn`t talk, not even looking at each other.
"Mommy? Why did you say `no`? Did I do something wrong?" Hana asked, tears forming in her eyes.
Tsume`s eyes widened and she grasped her daughters little hands.
"No, you didn`t, little one! Don`t worry. Your father just reminded me to the fact that I lost a stupid bet." the last part was pressed through clenched teeth.
Before someone could speak another word, Kuromaru outright started laughing, his deep voice startling not only the babies.
"Oh Lady Tsume, woman of honor, I really forgot that you had a bet with Yoshino" he barked. Tsumes scwol deepened and in a small voice she mumbled, that nobody could have guessed that she would give birth to twins.
"What did Yoshino win, Mommy?" Hana asked, tilting her head slightly to one side.
"She... She has the right to name the younger one. She gained the right to name my small girl." she growled.
Tsume sighed. "Better get it over with." she stated, cradled her baby-girl in her arms and, ignoring the tiny snores from the boy, left the house again, soon followed by her canine companion. Kenshi chuckled.
-crawling-
Hana and Kinu, a pure white ninken, were both babysitting the twins. Tsume and Kenshi were away on missions for a few days, but that wasn`t a problem.
After six months Hana knew how to handle the cute little babies and the old, battle experienced ninken was a great help.
At the moment they were on a small, grassy field with flowers and trees. An old and nearly forgotten training ground, not to far away from the clan compound.
The babies were staring with wide eyes, bubbling an gurgling with glee at the new sights. It was their first time out of the clan compound and they hadn`t cried the whole way, just staring and spitting bubbles. Just now, Kiba blew a spit bubble as his eyes followed the light grey clouds in the sky, his little feet stamping on the ground and one of his hands grasping the green grass. His other hand was holding his sisters hand. Makani was still, her dark orbs tracking the whispering leaves above her. From time to time one of them would squeal and tugged at the joined hands.
Hana had brought a small, red ball with her to entertain herself and was playing with it a few feet away from the twins and the old female dog.
Kinu observed the twin-pups and Hana-pup while she listened to the soft wind and smelled the different flowers.
She was startled by a tiny hand, which grasped one of her long, floppy ears. Kinu shifted her gaze to the hand on her ear, followed the small arm to an chubby face with sparkling eyes. Makani, the small girl, stared in awe tugging Kinus long, fluffy appendage. Kiba had turned his head, so he could watch his sister and the large white dog.
Kinu was still wondering how the small girl had reached her, she had been over a metre away, on her back, but now was on her belly and touching her fur. The old dog grinned, nuzzling her muzzle to the girls hand. She slowly got up, the girls grip loosened, and stepped to the small boy, nudging him softly. The boy squealed and tried to grasp her nose but when Kinu took a step away from him, out of his vision, he started thrashing around. After a few moments he rolled on his stomach and laughed loudly, alarming Hana to his progress.
Kinu waited at her spot, staring intently at the babies. Makani was the first to move, slowly crawling through the grass, her brother followed with a few difficulties. Both kids started laughing as they reached Kinu, holding tightly to the fur near her paw, with their little, pudgy hands.
Hana, shocked and rooted to the ground, creid out and ran towards her younger siblings, throwing her arms around the dog and smiled proudly, her eyes shining.
They left soon after, two sleeping and exhausted forms in their carriers, forgetting a small red ball, nearly hidden in the grass.
"Wait till I tell Momma!"
"NO! Don`t!"
Tsume fell to her knees and desperately tried to lay her hands on the small baby-boy, who just crawled into a pile of toilet-paper, broken eggs, smashed vegetables and a huge lake of milk. Both babies had been waiting for their mother, who instantly had fallen over the twins because the shopping bags filled her entire vision on entering her home.
Hana stood in the kitchen, watching the chaos occur, her hand pressed on her mouth to prevent herself from laughing.
Tsume lifted the stinking and smirking boy up, but let her arms outstretched so she wouldn`t become even more dirty.
"Kiba: Check. But where is Makani?" she growled out and turned around.
"Oh fuck.. KUROMARU!" she yelled as she saw the still open door. Thick rain drops were falling heavy on the ground and she could seethe traces of a crawling baby in the mud.
Kuromaru hurried to the entrance, analysing the situation in a few seconds: Tsume in a huge pile of garbage, milk and eggs dripping from her and the baby she hold onto, the front door open and the lingering scent of the missing baby-girl which led outside the door into the rain.
Without a word he jumped outside, turning his head to his left, following the scent and spotting the escaping child, who was sitting in a puddle of mud.
He walked over to her, hesitated for a few moments, but then closed his jaw around her clothes on her back, lifting her up. The girl dangling in his mouth, wiggled violently in his grip, making it hard for him not to drop her.
Kuromaru carefully walked back to the main house and was soon met with an unamused Tsume who was waiting for him in the doorway.
"We should rename them in `Havoc` and `Mayhem`" she spat out, glaring at the two laughing and dripping babies.
Year 2
-food fight-
Normally the kitchen was a peaceful place.
A table with enough place for six chairs, a fridge, an oven and a huge part of the kitchen just to cook and prepare the food.
Fruits on the kitchen table and dishes, which waited to get cleaned in the sink were a everyday occurrence.
Another perfect everyday image were the two twins in their baby chairs on both ends of the table, one green for Makani and the blue one for Kiba.
"Do you really want to feed them... that?" Kenshi asked, eyeing the orange mush with suspicion. It looked like coloured mud to him and it didn`t smell any better. Tsume lifted a spoon filled with the orange mush and let it drip back into the small bowl.
"The baby book says, that we should try and introduce them to other food than milk. And the receipts were to difficult for me to cook, so I bought some in the shop." she explained while shrugging her shoulders.
Her husband sighed, took one of the bowls and went straight to the green chair and his little baby-girl.
Kenshi prepared himself with an apron, which covered his front, sat next to his girl and showed her the spoon full of carrot-and-potato-mash. Makani instantly stopped giggling and laughing about her brothers antics.
She tilted her head in confusion, suspicion (or something akin to that) clouding her dark eyes. Kenshi held the spoon in front of his daughters mouth, but she sniffed and her face took on a red colour.
"Be a good little darling and open your mouth. Come on chibi-chan. Say `Ahhh`... Look here, the rabbit runs from the hunter, if you don`t open your mouth it will be killed, because it can`t hide!" he made hopping motions with the spoon and finally his daughter opened her mouth, entranced by the dancing spoon.
Makani swallowed and started to wiggle violently in her chair, tears forming in her eyes.
"Come on, it can`t be that bad.." he murmured and took another spoon full of food, but instead giving it to her, he stuck it into his own mouth. And instantly wished he hadn`t done that.
It tasted like old socks, worn on extreme training lessons and never washed after that. He forced the food down his throat, faking a smile for his daughter and placed the bowl on the table.
"Makani. You are right. I don`t want to eat that either.." he mumbled as he caressed the girls puffy hair as he tried to calm her down.
A tingling sensation on his neck warned him, but it was to late, a huge splash of carrot-mud landed on his apron. Kenshi looked straight at the laughing boy and his smirking wife, both looking smug. Next to him sounded a shocked gasp, followed by the sight of flying orange. Tsume had the time to close her eyes as the mud hit her on her chin, the awful smell invading her sensible nose. She glowered at her youngest daughter.
"You want to play it like that? Really? You are on!" she screeched the last part, flinging a spoon full of food in her daughters direction and hit her, soft, on her hair.
Kenshi flung a hand full at his son, laughing at the expression change on his face. He didn`t expect his daughter to stuff her hands with the offending food and shoving it onto his face and in his hair.
He faked a shocked gasp and cried out "TRAITER!" before all hell went loose.
Soon everybody in the kitchen was covered in orange and green mud. (Tsume had opened another glass of food, something with apples and oats.)
Panting and dirty, Tsume lifted her head from the kitchen table, scanning her surroundings and grimaced. Everywhere were orange and green, even on the roof..
"You can`t be serious!? Kuromaru and I go for just a few minutes and you start to repaint the kitchen with baby-food!" Hana howled as she stepped into the newly claimed warzone, former kitchen, with small shopping bags in her arms.
"You see.. THEY STARTED IT!" Both Kenshi and Tsume dead-panned at the same time, pointing to the dirty twins.
Year 3
-lost-
It was a beautiful day in spring, the flowers blooming and the trees growing. Konoha had started to prepare itself for the annual "Flower-festival", the market was overflowing with different flowers and plants from everywhere in Fire Country. The smell was overwhelming and the people were standing nearly on each others toes.
Everyone was talking about the fireworks that would start at sunset.
Everyone but...
"Mommy?" a small voice whispered, dark eyes skimming over the people on her sides.
Makani was lost. Alone between all those people.
She and her mommy had walked to the market together with the intent to buy medicine for her brother, who was at home with a high fever.
Her mother had warned her not to let go of her hand and Makani had really tried her hardest to do just that.
She failed.
Tsume had dragged her along all those people and Kuromaru had sniffed the air, locating the hidden medicine shop.
Together they pushed through the crowd. Makani had stared at the different shops and was stunned. She had never seen so many humans in one single place!
She had loosened her death grip on her mothers hand, just for a single second, but that was enough to trip over thin air and to loose her mothers hand. Makani got a last look on her mothers blue skirt before she vanished in the crowd. The little girl rushed in the direction, but the people around her just pushed her around, not noticing her.
Makani landed on her rear end, tears springing to her eyes.
"Mommy?" she called out again, whirling around. A few women stopped their shopping and turned upon hearing the small voice, so full of fear. They saw a small girl, sitting on the ground and desperately looking around.
Makani was getting terrified with all the looks she was receiving , so she got to her feet and started running, wanted to just get away. The tears were now cascading down her cheeks, but she kept running around and calling for her mother.
"Mommy will find me. Kuromaru will smell me. Stay calm. THINK!" she talked to herself and closed her eyes, tried to concentrate on her nose. Her mothers and Kuromarus smell were familiar to her, so she would be able to find them.
Flowers, food, dust and earth filled her nose, but there was something else, a smell of dogs and wind, not her mothers but the smell of dogs was calming.
Makani slowly started to follow the scent, stumbling. After a few steps she opened her eyes again and caught sight of a blue skirt, forgetting about the dog-scent.
"MOMMY!" she called and collided with the blue-clothed woman, but instantly the smell of fresh berries and grass hit her.
Anko looked down as something hit her in the back of her legs. She came face to face with a small girl with dark hair and eyes, a familiar tattoo on her cheeks and tears in her eyes. The girl hesitated before she took one step back, bowed and mumbled an apology. But before she could turn away, Anko snatched her at her collar and picked her up.
"Hey there small wolf. What`cha crying over?" Anko asked, still holding the, now struggling, girl up.
"I…I lost my momma.." were the answer.
"Huh. So, little wolf, we just have to find her then. Don`t worry about it. I am the very best at looking for someone, just trust Anko."
She grinned down on the girl making her smile.
"What is your name?"
"I am Makani. And my mother is Tsume."
"Ankos eyebrows shot up into her hairline and her grin widened.
"Ah! An Inuzuka. Brat, hold on tight!" she pressed Makani against her breast and jumped, chakra enhancing her muscles and landing on a lantern.
Makani gasped and her grip tightened around Anko`s neck.
"So, little one, I just call your Mother and you.. you just look adorable and helpless, everything will turn out fine, you will see."
Anko didn`t wait for an answer, she pried off the girls hands. Her arms stretched, so the girl was over her head and slightly in front of her and then she roared with all the air, her lungs were holding.
"TSUME! YOUR CHILD IS MINE NOW!"
The whole market place went quiet, everyone looked up at the young woman, who was holding a small, blushing girl in her grasp. The silence lasted about a few seconds but was soon shattered as a woman and a huge dog jumped upon a near roof, both looking dead serious.
"Anko! If you value your pity life, don`t let go of my daughter!" Tsume yelled, her fists shaking.
Anko just grinned to her and placed the girl on her shoulders.
"You owe me a dango."
Year 5 –Makani POV-
"You are both now old enough to meet your partner. This will be a bond for a lifetime, so try to be yourself, the ninken will smell if you lie to them. Our oldest and wisest companions will ask you questions, they know the pups and will decide which one, or maybe more, will fit to you. I is okay to be nervous, hell, even I was shaking when my father send me into that room." My mothers eyes dimmed as she sunk into her memories.
I exchanged a nervous look with my brother. His hands were tugging at his clothes, the only sign to others that he was afraid, but I could feel more than that. Yes, he was nervous and afraid, but also longing to meet his partner.
Ever since Hana met the three grey husky-siblings, the Haimaru brothers, Kiba and I were anxious. The bond they shared was still developing but it was already deep. My gaze shifted back to Mother as she cleared her throat.
"Kuromaru and I decided to send you separated into the room. The older sibling first and after that, of course, the younger one. It can take a while for Kiba to be finished, so in the meantime, Makani and I will select her new room and try to look through the furniture catalogue." She looked at us and Kiba and I nodded, we had known that we would get separated now. We lived in the same room since our birth and we loved it, though, sometimes his snoring nearly drove me crazy..
Kiba grinned as he got to his feet and followed Mother to the opposite door, which lead to the room were all the pregnant dogs gave birth to their babies and where a group of old dogs would be judging us.
My brother gave me a last, encouraging, smirk, masking his other emotions with amusement, and left my line of sight.
A nearly inaudible sigh left my lips and I waited for my Mother to return, playing with my hair.
5 minutes later, the door opened again and she same back to me, smiling proudly, and offered me her hand. It was warm and a little sweaty.
She dragged me to my feet, her warm hand never leaving mine.
"So, small one, did you think about a room? Kiba said that he wanted to stay at your shared old one, so we just have to look for yours." She smiled down on me, her teeth showing, and we went to the first available table to sit down and talk.
We had looked over the rooms I could choose a few days ago. There were regulations for my new room, though.
It has to be in the main house.
Not a big problem, we are just 4 people, after father left us and the main house was huge, many rooms were empty.
I am not allowed to live in the storage and work wing of the main house.
I have to admit, I was a little disappointed about that fact, it was very funny and exciting there!
It was not allowed to get a room near the female and pregnant dogs.
I could do that. I have never smelled so much blood and emotions in my life. Not funny..
So there were 3 rooms left to think about.
it was big, but with small windows and just at the edge of the training ground. That would be great, if it wasn`t for all the shuriken and kunai training. The outer walls were coated in weapons. I dismissed the thought immediately.
Was on the second floor, a bit smaller than the room Kiba and I had shared. It had two huge windows, one facing the compound and the other one facing the city. There was a joined bathroom, too!
Was L-shaped, on the second floor and bigger than my previous room. But it was a long way to my brother or my mother and the kitchen. But there I would get my silence at night. The windows were huge and there were two on each outer wall, facing the forest and the city.
"I think I will take the last one. It is a little out of the daily ruckus. Although it is a long way to you and Kiba, it is a better choice than the other available rooms." My Mothers eyes dimmed for a second, but soon lit up again as she nodded.
"So, what about the furniture?" she asked and I tilted my head. I had a few images of fitting furniture, but what if my new partner would not like them?
"Mum, I want to wait, till I met my partner. I want to go shopping with him or her, if that is ok?"
My Mother was stunned for a few seconds, then she nodded again, opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of a opening door and a voice talking to somebody else.
"It seems that it`s your turn now. Good luck, my small one" Mother trotted alongside me to the thin wooden door, opened it for me. My breathing quickened and my hands were shaking. I was nervous, hell, I was afraid! What if, the elders would not choose a partner for me? What if, my designed partner would not want to meet me? What if,….
With a last deep breath, I entered the room.
The room was huge. Small and cosy looking boxes were scattered all along the walls. Windows were installed in the roof to allow sunlight to light up the room. It smelled of dogs and blood, but in a comforting way. I was standing on a wooden floor, facing three old dogs, which were sitting on the comfiest looking pillows I had ever seen!
Two females, one grey, one red, were flanking a brown and golden male, all of them looking like wolves, like Kuromaru.
Right in front of them, not a metre away, was another pillow, the form of my brothers legs still imprinted into it.
"Sit down, small one. We are old, our noses aren`t so sharp as in earlier days."
I hesitantly took the few steps and let myself down on the soft pillow. (SO COMFY! I added it to my mental furniture list.)
"Small one, you are the younger twin, but not less significant as your brother, so don`t you worry. We will find your perfect bond-mate. Your brother bonded with a young male, just for you to know." The male ninken stated, his stern eyes staring right into my soul. I shivered slightly but couldn`t look away. He had instantly known everything I worried about!
Everything would be fine, if Kiba was born a girl, but as the only male child he was the clan heir. It was just normal for everyone else to worry and fuss over him. Normally it was okay for me, to be the younger twin. To be ignored. Not acknowledged.
But sometimes…
Sometimes I just want somebody that would worry or fuss over me, so I wouldn`t stand in the shadows any longer.
One of the females cleared her throat, ripping me out of my deepest thoughts.
"Girl, we will ask you a few questions, when we got all your answers we will decide about your partner. Just remember to be honest."
I swallowed hard, tried to dry my sweating hands on my trousers and nodded, my face hot and most likely flushed red. An air of authority surrounded the three dog-elders as their gaze scrutinized me, judging me. I felt my muscles tense slightly. Suddenly the pillow was no longer comfy.
"Makani, second daughter and youngest child of Tsume, partner to Kuromaru. What do you love?"
To say I was stunned was an understatement! I had waited for a questioning about fate and my attitude, but it started like one of the tests in my mother's hidden magazines! It took me a few seconds to react.
"I… I love my brother and my mother and my sister. I love running, the forest and the silence. I love to observe, to read and look at the stars. I love animals, especially dogs." My voice cracked and my face flushed a deeper red about my answers. They sounded so insignificant.
"What would you like to be? Do you want to become strong?"
"I want to become strong enough to be a help, but I know that Kiba and others will be stronger than me. So I would like to become the fastest! I want to care about someone, to protect. And I don`t want to be a burden!" The last part was whispered, but I was sure that the elders picked up easily on what I just said.
The female on the right growled while nodding to herself.
"What are your bad sides?"
I had to gulp and my thoughts were whirling in my head, images of scenes where I showed my dark sides floated up. I tried two times before my throat finally gave way to the words, I wanted to speak.
"It is easy to distract me, if I am not interested in my task. I don`t like loud places or places full of people. Sometimes I wished that my senses weren`t so sharp, so that I could enjoy the presence of more than 4 people at one time. I really dislike my mother`s cooking. I hate to be alone. I am jealous about all the affection my brother is receiving. I stay up late and sleep in if I can. I try to hide if I am uncomfortable."
I was embarrassed about my little speech. There were so many bad habits, it easily outnumbered my good ones.
The male chuckled, his tong lolling out of his mouth, his eyes were closed. The tense air floated away, leaving me sitting there, my thoughts tumbling and tripping through my head. I was such a bad human.
"That wasn`t so bad, heh? You are very honest. I like that! Akira, would you please end this procedure?" he addressed the female on his left, which stoop up slowly, trotting to me and she pressed her muzzle to my chest. Her warm breath streamed through my clothes. Her pointed ears started to twitch in time with my heart beat, her tail straight up in the air. She took a few deep breaths and I was really more than lucky that I had bathed his morning.
Akira was warm and soft, her presence lulling me, o couldn`t concentrate anymore. It was like something prodded at my inner core, my soul, but it wasn`t uncomfortable. Just… strange, somehow.
This lasted a while (I seriously can`t tell you how long, you see I was very distracted, a dog was scanning my whole being, my emotions and stuff I didn`t even knew I was thinking and feeling!) before Akira turned away again, her eyes twinkling like the stars in a cloudless night sky.
I felt cold again.
As she went back to the other two, I was fighting the loss of her warmth, fighting to not run after her. A few minutes passed before I could manage to calm down, slowing my erratic heartbeat.
"We have come to a decision. Stay here, we will be back in a few moments." The three dogs left me on my pillow, waiting, nearly choking on thin air.
The elders went to one of the boxes at the wall, the still unknown female barked and a red snout showed itself for a second before a howl answered and a little ball of fur tumbled out of the box. It`s fur was a dark red and fluffy, front legs and paws black like the right hind leg. The left one was grey. The ears were pointed, the muzzle was a darker red, nearly black and a black stripe ran from head to bushy tail over the spine. Golden eyes zeroed on me and the pup, just old enough to leave it`s mother, raced towards me, stumbling on his too long legs.
I catched the pup before it could trip again and plant it`s face in my lap. The pup`s tong licked all over my face, tickling me. The red female came over to us, smiling all the way.
"This is one of my descendants. His name is Shinra."
Shinra yipped happily between his licks, pressing himself against my body. His fur was soft and warm.
"Shinra."
His gold eyes were staring into mine and, somehow, I felt whole, like a puzzle piece just fell into it`s place.
"Do you have any questions left, young one?"
"Yes, there is one." I pressed a soft kiss on my partners head, his tail whipped around furiously.
"Where can I get two of this pillows?"