Kiba's POV
"Arf!"
"What is it, boy?" I asked, my eyes opening to adjust to the bright sun that shone through the curtains. Akamaru had been barking for at least ten minutes; I guess my brain just now chose to register it. Something was the matter with him; he didn't usually wake me up unless something was the matter. "What time is it?"
"Arf!"
"Noon already?" Damn it, I definitely overslept this morning. I guess it isn't that surprising, considering I stayed up all night pondering how to approach Jonas and Naruto today. Ugh, it's gonna be a long day in Suna. I looked up, the dusty air that came natural to the Village Hidden in Sand making itself ever-present. I threw my blankets off as soon as I could, and rushed around the room, getting things together. I needed the sleep, of course, but I was still pissed that I wasted half of my day sleeping. Had Akamaru not been a good friend and woken me up, I'd have slept to Hokage-only-knows-when.
"Arf!"
"I know, boy, I'll get you some breakfast," I told Akamaru, who seemed to be getting bigger with the days. I had packed some of his favorite chow and emptied it in his bowl. As I sat down in the chair in my room, I began to ponder exactly what conclusion I had arrived at as to how to pursue this whole 'talking' thing. Speaking with Naruto seemed a hell of a lot easier in my head.
I left the hotel room as soon as Akamaru was done with his breakfast and decided to locate Naruto first, get to talk to him better and stuff like that. The hallways in the hotel were emptied, which was no surprise to me. I'd guessed that Hinata and the others were out exploring the village. I didn't like Suna too much, but I guess I owed it to Kankuro to pay him a visit while I was still here.
I had debated where to locate Naruto, but Akamaru quickly reminded me of the fox-ninja's favorite place to go...Ramen. So, without further hesitation, I made out for the town's ramen bar.
XXX
Jonas's POV
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, save for the fact that I feel like shit." I didn't mean to be so rude to her, it's just that Eva has the annoying talent to point out the painfully obvious. And truth be told, whatever the hell Kiba was doing to me, he was doing it good.
"Would it help if I-?"
"No," I cut her off, again being more malevolent than I should have.
"Okay. I'm sorry," she swooned apologetically. She smiled and patted me on the back, as if she thought it would help. We were currently at a small enclosed park towards the residential ends of Suna. I had awoken early this morning to go there, and Eva was still awake because the sun had not risen yet. She thought I might do something crazy, I guess, and followed me to wherever it was I was going. Apparently she didn't grasp the concept of 'alone time'. "You can't be like this Jonas."
"Yeah, Eva, I can. It takes a while to get used to rejection, and that's something I'm gonna have to deal with," I told her rather aggressively. She wanted to tell me something, I felt, but she kept dancing around it. "You have no idea what this feels like."
"I know I don't, but still! You don't have to be such a dick about this! I'm only trying to help you," she bellowed, practically out of breath.
I had no idea she even knew the word 'dick'. "And you said I haven't rubbed off on you," I said, daring a smile. "It must be because we've been teamed for so long."
She smiled back to me, but said nothing more. "Just gather your thoughts, I'm going to go get some shut-eye." She gave me another pat on the back and then went off back to our hotel room.
She's a good friend, probably the best I'll ever have. And as for Kiba...if I can't have a sexual relationship with him, I suppose being good friends will have to do for now. Yeah, I like the sound of that. I laid down on a bench in the park and stared up to the dusty sky. Not a single cloud, as expected in a place like Suna. Looking back, I could see why I turned gay. Eva and sensei must have brainwashed me. Soon, my eyes closed and I found myself sleeping.
XXX
"And, now for Team Twelve! Our first Genin on the team...Jonas Mashimo!"
The young, blonde and mischievous Jonas stepped up to Iruka with his trademark smirk. Cockily strutting to the front of the classroom as a show for his classmates, Jonas triumphantly snatched his leaf Hitai-ate from Iruka's grasp. "Thanks, teach! It's been a blast! Now let's see which lucky two will have the honor of being on my team!" He was blessed with several chuckles from his antsy classmates.
"Ahem, yes," Iruka managed bitterly, "joining Jonas on Team Twelve, we have: Eva Montisumi!"
Jonas's cocky smirk melted into a hateful glare as the timid, platinum-haired Genin-to-be rose out of her seat. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? A GIRL!?"
"Yes, Mr. Mashimo, and she just so happens to be the smartest girl in the academy right now. Just the thing to balance the team due to your lack-of smarts," Iruka replied, smiling.
Eva walked up a solemnly as she could and shyly accepted her Hitai-ate from Iruka. She walked over to stand next to Jonas. Rather than tying her's around her forehead, she chose to wear it on her waist.
"And rounding out Team Twelve, we have Aven Zemnoi!" Iruka concluded, and the classroom applause commenced.
Jonas bit his lip. "You gotta be FUCKING kidding me! First, I get paired with a girl, and now this zany lunatic! There is no way I'm dealing with this! I demand a recount!" Jonas continued to verbally assault Iruka as Aven silently accepted his Hitai-ate, obviously unmoved by Jonas's protests.
Ignoring Jonas's potty-mouth, Iruka instead smiled. "Jonas I wouldn't be cursing yet until I've told you who your instructor is. And leading Team Twelve, our very own Kari Beneyashi!"
"I've got a FUCKING GIRL INSTRUCTOR!? WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO YOU, IRUKA, TO DESERVE THIS!?" Jonas's protests could be heard from outside the school grounds easily.
At the last shout of profanity, a black blur whizzed past Iruka and Jonas was suddenly pinned up against the wall by a chakram. It was a woman. She had long, wavy locks of fiery crimson hair and was sporting a black-leather jacket that reached her legs. "Listen here, you little shit. While I'm all for arguing with you here all day, there's one thing you need to understand: while under my tutelage saying what's on your mind isn't the wisest decision you could make. Do I make myself clear?" He nodded modestly and she dropped him. "This team is going to be fun to teach, I can already tell."
XXX
Kiba's POV
"Jonas?" I asked. I was headed to the ramen bar to find Naruto when I ran into a drowsy Eva. Seeing her in the daytime was like seeing Shino at a party. Not gonna happen. Anyway, she told me that Jonas was at the park, and wasn't very happy with the way things were going. She suggested in her evil methods that I go talk to him. He was laying down on a bench when I found him, and here we are.
"Wha?" He responded drowsily. I guess he wasn't expecting me, because as soon as he saw me he rephrased it to a blunt. "What?"
"Hey..." was all I could muster. This would be the easier of the two talks I planned on giving today, and yet it was still hard.
"Hey?" Jonas repeated. He could tell I was nervous, I'm guessing, but he himself looked as though he was staring face-to-face with a ghost.
"Did...did you get enough rest last night?" I asked, making things more awkward than they should have been. I really couldn't put together what I wanted to say. All I wanted to do was to be nice to him, and things were working, I suppose.
"Good, I guess," he said in a short tone, "but listen. We both know you're not here to make small talk, so cut the shit and get to it. I ain't got all day."
Damn, he was aggressive. I guess I had no definite purpose to come and talk to him, just to make sure there were no hard feelings. "Okay, you're right. I just wanted to make sure there were no hard feelings between us. I know yesterday we had some problems, and then you disappeared. We were never good friends, but I don't want us to always be bitter rivals either."
Jonas blinked, as if he wasn't expecting to hear what I just said. "Thanks, I guess. You really want to be friends? I'll tell you right now I won't be over you in the blink of an eye."
"I know," I said, a bit of a smile that he wasn't down anymore, "I can deal with that."
"Alright," he said, smiling back. "Thanks Kiba. That-that, uh, it means a lot, okay? But don't go and tell people I'm saying such nice things. A guy could lose his rep."
"I won't, but hey, I gotta run," I said, remembering that Naruto won't be at Ramen all day. "Good talking to ya, buddy," I said, patting him on the back and then running off.
I bet Jonas stood there, amazed. I was gonna have to try not to be too nice, because then he'd get the wrong impression. But he was definitely eating that last remark up.
"It's gonna take a hell-of-a-lot to get me to stop liking you, asshole. And you just made it harder. In more ways than one," Jonas said after me. I pretended not to hear it, only because I had some place to be.
I picked up my run into a sprint, and before I knew it, I was almost to the Ramen bar. Having Shinobi training always came in handy, especially for travel. But, as my luck goes, something was there to stop me.
"KIBA!" It was Eva, and she was approaching me rapidly.
"What?" I asked, my heart sinking. "Not more blackmail, please! I didn't do anything mean, I swear it!"
My exasperation was cut short due to Eva suddenly kissing me on the cheek. "Thanks." She smiled at me.
"You're welcome?" I replied, puzzled, but she had already sped off before she could hear me. I swear that team is so weird. It must be because I was nice to Jonas, but damn word travels fast around here.
"Oi, Kiba!"
I couldn't help but grin at the voice who had just called me. It was unmistakably Naruto's. I didn't want to sound too excited, so I put if off. "Yeah, Naruto?"
Surely enough, the blonde bundle of energy was speeding towards me, that ridiculous grin on his small face, his whiskered cheeks glowing in the arid Suna heat. "Are you ready to get done with this damned mission?" He asked, already building up a sweat. I couldn't say I blamed him; you could sneeze in Suna and break a sweat it was so hot.
"Yeah, I guess. Why?" I replied after a brief hesitation. What an odd greeting question.
"That's cool, and I was just making conversation. Suna is odd and I haven't seen anyone I know yet all day. I slept in, obviously, and now I'm hungry as hell. I'm going to the Ramen bar, and you can come with me if you want. But you have to pay for yourself- I only have enough for four bowls." He followed his comment up with that obnoxious grin of his- the same one that I am finding extremely attractive as of late. What the hell is the matter with me!?
"Sure, I'll guess I can go. I haven't eaten yet either," I replied callously, playing it off as I had nothing better to do. This should be an interesting ordeal, if anything else.
"Cool, then, let's go!" Naruto said astonishingly loud and then sped off.
"Wait up you moron!" I called after, and Akamaru followed him. I was last. Damn that asshole can run fast!
XXX
"Miso, please," Naruto ordered, "actually, make that four."
Damn he could put it away, and you'd never really know due to that small frame of his. "And for you?" the server asked me.
"I'll take Miso too, please," I replied professionally in response to Naruto's lack. Hey, if we're representing Konoha here, we might as well make a good impression.
Our Ramen arrived rather promptly, with no time in between for small talk, which is what I wanted. As soon as Naruto got his bowl, he began scarfing down as if he hadn't been fed in days. A bit embarrassed, I modestly took in some spoonfuls of mine, despite wanting to do the same thing. However, the more my eyes drifted to Naruto, the more visions of that stupid dream I had began popping up in my head. I couldn't help but notice how cute Naruto looked while he was scarfing Ramen. And I want to damn myself for saying the word cute, but I can't help it. It just describes Naruto so well. But I couldn't start staring. My stomach was tying itself into knots and I was getting goosebumps.
The server returned, a dark scowl on his face, to collect the remains and dirty bowls of Naruto's mess. He grunted something inaudible as he carried the mess away. He was quickly replaced, however, by a familiar face.
"I didn't know you guys were in town!" the voice echoed.
"Ai-Aiyoku?" Naruto asked, and I slapped my hand over my head. I looked up to the cheery waitress. She was very busty and had the same figure as she did the last time I saw her. She was actually a member of a three-man cell who was exiled from the Cloud Village and went to Konoha to take part in the Chunnin Exams after our's. Her team lived in Konoha for a short-while after, but after Sasuke left, she and another one of her teammates left Konoha to go to Suna.
"Yeah? Why do you sound so shocked?" Aiyoku replied, her long brown hair up in a bun for her apparent new job.
"A Ramen bar doesn't seem like your ideal job is all," Naruto replied smartly, a smile on his face.
"It's part time," she responded, "I can't exactly do Shinobi work at this point in time, and we still need to put food on the table, so this is where I was led."
"We?" I asked, looking up.
"You mean you haven't heard yet? Kankuro and I are getting married in July," she said it with such a straight face you wouldn't think a wedding was so special.
"What!?" Naruto asked, "I better be invited!"
"You all will," she replied.
"I didn't think you'd ever settle down, Aiyoku. You seem like the type of girl who'd like to live the wild life forever," I interjected, confused about this ordeal myself. "Let's face it; before Kankuro, you were a man-eater."
"I know, that's what everyone's been saying. Especially Temari, she hates it. But that's not important right now," she said as she rubbed her stomach.
"Wait," I said suddenly, feeling like everything was falling into place in my head, "you're not...pregnant, are you?"
Her cheeks turned into a rosy shade as she quickly held up the bill. "That's not important, but right now I do need your money, so if you please."
I paid up front and didn't say anything further. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable with the topic, so I left well-enough alone. I just never expected Kankuro to be a dad so fast. It's weird...really.
I was distracted by Naruto, who had cleaned himself over for the fifth time. "Damn it! Uh, sorry Aiyoku, but I left my frog wallet back in the hotel. Do you mind if I go get it?"
"Go ahead, but be back here quickly. I don't want my supervisor getting pissy again," she answered politely, and then he was gone in a blur. I smiled; I missed him already.
"So that's why you're getting hitched, huh?" I asked her, hopefully she would be more open without Naruto around. We never talked when she was in the village that much, but we did go on a few missions together. I liked the oldest on her team; Rowen. He was always a funny guy to be around.
"Yeah, the baby's due shortly after the wedding. I didn't want to be immoral about it. You know, I really hate settling down, but Kankuro's worth it. You and I both know that I've been with a lot of guys in my history, but he's really there for me," she said, smiling. "I swear, if we ever break up, I'm moving back to Konoha though. I hate it here so much. Anyways, enough about me. You guys on a mission here?"
"Yeah, my cell, Jonas's cell, and Naruto. We're escorting a ship from the Sea Country, and we'll be gone by sunrise tomorrow. So today's just for visiting, mostly," I replied. She seemed much nicer in person than every one always made her out to be.
"That's fun. I won't be on missions for a while, but it's all good. I needed a break anyway. You guys need to visit Rowen and Kieren before you leave, though. And you better say hi to Kankuro," she told me, almost threateningly.
"I will," I replied subtly, glancing over to the empty seat that Naruto occupied.
"So, does Naruto know?" she asked, out of the blue, and when I looked up to her she wore a mischievous grin.
"Know what?" I asked, trying to dodge anything avoidable. What the hell was she getting at?
"Come on, Kiba, do you think I'm that oblivious? I'm like the guru of dating and flirting," she pushed on, her face totally taunting right now. This was true; I was talking to the girl who used lust as a means to pass the written portion of the Chunnin Exams.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, Aiyoku, honestly," I defended. I hoped to the Kazekage that she wasn't getting at what I thought she was getting at.
"Okay, so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say Naruto has no idea that you're crushing on him now," she said bluntly, apparently bored with the guessing game.
"Wha!?" was all I could muster.
"Please, I was teamed with a gay guy for years. I know one when I see one. And when I noticed the way you looked at Naruto while he was eating, and the way you're glancing at his empty chair now, I can definitely tell," she persisted, her smile never leaving, "that's the only reason you came here, Kiba."
I hate females. They need to be destroyed. They have gay-dars like no one's business. "Okay, okay. I give. You're right," was all I could say.
"Well, I'd stop your blushing, because your knight in shining armor is on his way back now," Aiyoku informed me, and surely enough, the orange bundle of energy was sprinting his way back up to the bar.
I didn't want to deal with this now, so I stood up. "Hey, Ai, tell Naruto that something suddenly came up, okay? I've got to go. Please don't tell him what we discussed," I begged her.
Aiyoku winked at me. "I was just messing with you. I've had my fun, so now it's up to you. You're secret's safe with me."
I nodded at her gratefully and then I sped off. Like I said, I hate females. They're all fucking psychic or something. But Aiyoku seems slightly more tolerable now that she knows I'm gay...wait, no! I'M NOT GAY, DAMN IT! But I did leave my family ring at the bar, damn it. I took it off so it wouldn't get food on it, and I forgot it there. It's gonna be awkward as hell getting that back now.
I tiptoed back to the bar, hearing Naruto and Aiyoku converse.
"Where did Kiba go?" I heard Naruto ask.
"He said he'd just remembered something and he had to leave," she responded.
"Aw, man, that sucks! I really wanted to tell him something, but I guess it can wait," he responded.
What? I hid myself behind a Suna pillar so they couldn't hear me. But what? What the hell did he want to tell me? Damn it, everything has to be done the hard way!