The group returned to Kiba's home. The Ninja wolf cubs were instantly tense and growling out a warning. Kagome and Kiba figured it was probably due to Kirara inside the dwelling, an animal they had never encountered before. Kagome put little Yuki on the ground and let her sniff around. Mamoru was sitting patiently by the door, waiting to be let inside the house to explore the unknown animal. Kiba chuckled to himself and let both of the pups in as well as his buddy and his new female roommate.

"is that what we are? Are we just roommates? Or are we friends? I'd rather be friends than roommates…then again I'd rather be more than friends…" Kiba thought.

"then stop being such a whimp and fucking ask her to. Talk to her, get to know her. That's how she'll accept you. At the rate you're going she'll date Gaara or Naruto before you!" his beast yelled.

Kiba growled to himself, he knew his beast was right.

"Kagome! Are these your pups? They're so adorable!" Sango squealed.

Kiba closed the front door behind him and walked into the main room where he found Sango holding Yuki arms length away, studying her closely.

Kagome giggled as she petted Mamoru who was surprisingly cuddling in her lap. "Yeah Sango, they're my new ninja pups."

Sango pulled Yuki closer to her and stared at her for a long time before speaking. "Kagome…if I didn't know any better…id say these were full blooded wolves…"

"You're right Sango-chan. Yuki and Mamoru are full blooded wolves." Kagome stated.

"Aren't you worried they're a little too wild to be good for ninja purposes?" sango asked.

"Well, Sango, look at Akamaru and tell me what kind of dog he is." Kiba ordered.

"Well. He is a mutt no doubt. But the floppy ears make him a dog, but no dog I know has ever grownthat big without being a demon. He's not a demon though…" Sango trailed off, trying to answer kibas order.

"Akamaru is a Ninja Hound. He is half dog, half wolf. His mother was Moriko, which means forest child. Akai found her in the woods, a full blooded wolf. She was injured, but she let him take her in and heal her. She knew he meant her no harm. She was white as white could be, just like most of Akamaru's fur. His father, however, was a huge brown dog; half the size of Akamaru, but fierce nonetheless. His name was Aki, autumn, and his name is also where Akamaru's is derived. As autumn colors are usually reds and yellows and browns, Aki seemed fitting. Akamaru's did too, his fur turns red with military food pills." Kiba explained.

Sango's eyes were wide with awe at the large half-breed before her. She never would have guessed that such a loving and gentle looking dog would have such a large amount of wolf blood coursing through him. She looked at the small wolf pup in her hands and pulled it to her chest. Yuki curled up in her arms and immediately fell asleep with Sango holding her close. Mamoru sensed that his Yuki had fallen asleep, he heard her even breathing and the way her heart slowed. He arose from his new masters lap and trotted to the strangely dressed lady sitting across from her who held his girl from him. He knew his new master was watching him, to see how he would react to not being able to get to his girl. Mamoru sat down and looked up at the brown-eyed female. The female just stared at him until his master spoke.

"Sango-chan, perhaps you should put Yuki down. Mamoru doesn't like to have her out of his sight for any length of time. I'm surprised he isn't snarling at you now because of it." She said.

Mamoru kept watching the strange female, she nodded and then gently laid his Yuki on the floor. Mamoru snuggled up to her, resting his head over hers as she snuggled into his belly. He kept watch over her as the humans talked.

As the sun began to set Mamoru had learned a lot about his new master called "Kagome", the strange female called "Sango", and the other human called "kiba". He learned his Kagome and Kiba were both wolf demons who were able to transform into wolves. The Sango lady was a Demon Slayer, but only slayed evil demons. He also learned about Sango's strange fire cat thing. It was her comrade for many years and could also transform. He now knew that Kagome had an adoptive Fix demon child sleeping in the back bedroom. His name was Shippo. For now, though, the slayer was going to sleep on the couch in Kiba's house until a half demon named "InuYasha" showed up to see that Kagome was alright and what not.

Kagome walked over to Mamoru's watchful form and knelt down to pet him.

"You're such a good boy Mamoru, watching over Yuki while she sleeps. I know you'll make an excellent Ninja wolf with me in battles and on missions." She praised.

Mamoru wagged his tail some and smiled up at her.

"Why don't we get you into bed? You can sleep in bed with me." She smiled.

Mamoru rose as Kagome picked up his sleeping Yuki and followed her back into a bedroom. She placed the sleeping girl at the foot of the bed and looked back down at him.

"Can you make it up here Mamoru? Do I need to pick you up?" she asked.

Mamoru jumped and effortlessly landed next to Yuki without shaking her at all. He was stealthy and had light footing, making him an excellent candidate for a Ninja hound. Kagome smiled as he snuggled protectively around Yuki and watched Kagome as she climbed into the bed. A few minutes later, though, Mamoru heard footsteps coming down the hall, he began snarling to warn the oncoming intruder to stay away. The door opened, Mamoru jumped up. Kagome immediately flipped on the light to reveal Kiba standing in the doorway.

"Mamoru, that's enough. It's only Kiba, it's okay." Kagome explained.

Mamoru sat on his haunches and silenced, but his hackles were still bristling. Yuki looked up at him and walked over to sleepily nuzzle him in an attempt to ease his protective mood.

"Kiba, what's wrong?" Kagome asked.

"Um, can I talk to you?" he asked cautiously.

"Sure." Kagome said brightly.

"I was wondering," he started, "about….well…I was wondering what we are? I mean, are we roommates or friends or strangers or more than friends or what?" he asked biting his lip nervously.

"Well…" Kagome said nervously, "We don't really know each other all that well, Kiba. I don't really know about you or your childhood or this village or being a ninja. Just like you don't know about me or my childhood or being a demon or the western feudal lands. I can't deny that I like you, because I like you a lot. My beast likes you a lot too." She said.

"So…youre saying yes? We can be more than friends?" Kiba asked hopefully.

"I'm saying we need to get to know each other better. We need to learn about each other before we go jumping into some full-fledged relationship." Kagome clarified.

"Oh…" he said kind of downcast.

"Hey, hey, I'm not saying no Kiba-kun. I'm only saying not in this circumstance. Let's learn about each other first." Kagome smiled and hugged him.

Kiba nodded and stood up to leave. "Goodnight Kagome, sweet dreams."

"You too, Kiba-kun. Talk tomorrow."

The next morning Kagome woke at the crack of dawn. She rubbed her eyes and stretched then slid out of bed and walked to the kitchen. Her young pups followed in suit close behind her as she began to make a breakfast of bacon eggs and toast for the household. When she had finished making everything, Sango had already woken and set the table. Kagome tossed some bacon to her two pups and walked back to wake Kiba and Shippo for breakfast.

"Come on Shippo, breakfast is ready." She said from the doorway. "I have something to show you too, soon as you dress and come out here."

"Kay momma. Ill be out in a second." Shippo responded sleepily.

Kagome walked past her room and opened the door to Kiba's room. She saw him sitting in a chair with his back to her playing his acoustic guitar softly. She listened closely and recognized the song he was playing.

"Highway run
Into the midnight sun
Wheels go round and round
You're on my mind
Restless hearts
Sleep alone tonight
Sending all my love
Along the wire
They say that the road
Ain't no place to start a family
Right down the line
It's been you and me
And lovin' a music man
Ain't always what it's supposed to be
Oh, girl, you stand by me
I'm forever yours
Faithfully
Circus life
Under the big top world
We all need the clowns
To make us smile
Through space and time
Always another show
Wondering where I am
Lost without you
And being apart
Ain't easy on this love affair
Two strangers learn to fall in love again
I get the joy of rediscovering you
Oh, girl, you stand by me
I'm forever yours
Faithfully
Whooa, oh-oh-ooh
Whooa, oh-oh-ooh, oh
Whooa, oh-oh-oh, oh-whoooooa-oh
Faithfully
I'm still yours
I'm forever yours
Ever yours
Faithfully"

He sat still for a moment, seeming to be thinking quietly on the song he had just played. Kagome knocked quietly on the door.

"I made breakfast Kiba, everyone's out waiting on you." She said quietly.

"Hm? Oh. I'll be out in a second…" he said quietly.

Kagome knew something was wrong, he was hurt. She didn't press the issue, she closed the door behind her quietly and walked back to the kitchen.

"Kaa-san! Are these ours?" Shippo called brightly when she appeared in the kitchen. She saw him petting the two pups on the floor by the table and smiled.

"yeah Shippo. These are my two ninja hounds. Ill be training with them to work with them as a ninja. I see ou put on your new clothes, how do you like them?" Kagome said.

"I like them a lot! Thank you kaa-san!" he smiled brightly and hopped back to the table to eat his breakfast.

Akamaru trotted to the kitchen and huffed to ask for his breakfast too.

"Oh! How could I forget you boy?" Kagome asked laughing. She grabbed the large bag of food and poured it into his bowl. Akamaru promptly devoured all of it.

Kagome turned to examine Shippo in his new outfit. He had on a pair of black pants that went to halfway down his shin and black ninja sandals to match. He wore a jacket much like Kiba's in the pictures from his childhood. It was a black zip-up hoodie that was a few sizes too big. His usually green bow was now a black one, though it was much smaller. Shippo seemed excited to go to the Academy.

Kiba walked in and sat down at the table. "wow, this looks really good Kagome." He said before scooping up spoonfuls of eggs and a handful of bacon and devouring it in seconds.

Kagome turned back to Shippo "Alright Shippo, go wash your face and brush your teeth so we wont be late for your first day at the Academy." Kagome said brightly.

"Kay!" was her only reply before Shippo darted off to the bathroom to brush and wash.

"Kiba, will you please take Shippo and I to the Academy when you're done?" Kagome asked.

"Sure, no problem." He answered. Kiba cleaned off his plate and dumped it in the dishwasher with the rest of the dirty dishes and walked back to go pull on his familiar black hoodless jacket.

Sango stared after him and looked up at Kagome. "Is something bothering him?" she asked.

"I think so…but im not sure what. I'll talk to him on the way back from the Academy though." Kagome said.

Shippo trotted down the hallway and stopped at Kagome's side. "Okay I'm ready kaa-san!" he said. Kiba appeared in the kitchen shortly after.

"Everyone ready?" She asked. "Good. Let's go!"

So the group set out to the Academy with Kiba in front, Akamaru by his side, Kagome holding Mamoru and Yuki, and Shippo by her side.