Kiba woke Tessa up before he went to school. He placed a bowl of cereal in front of her and she ate it quickly before going back to sleep. Mother left soon after Kiba and she awoke to a furry creature cuddling at your side. Akamaru licked her nose and she smiled. It wasn't a happy smile but a smile that showed how she wished things could be.


Kiba went to English and sat down behind Naruto. Kiba hoped he wouldn't bring Tess up, but he turned around as he sat in his seat.

"Where's Tess?" He asked.

"She ate some bad fish out of the fridge last night, she's got food poisoning," Kiba lied slyly. He just nodded, but Kiba could see the wheels turning in his head, and he didn't believe him. Hopefully no one else would ask. Kiba sat back in his seat and listened to Kakashi drone on and on about Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman.

In art the only people who noticed she wasn't there were the teachers, anyone else didn't care enough to ask. After that no one would bother him about it. He just really hoped Mom wasn't home to terrorize Tess. He sighed and hoped she would be alright, at least till he got home.


Tessa limped into Kiba's room and turned on the TV, hoping she could find something to make the pain go away, but nothing made it better. She touched her cheek and could feel the stitches there. She turned the TV off and decided to try to get some more sleep, hoping it could be a temporary silence to the pain.

Tessa woke to Mother bursting through Kiba's door. She looked at the girl in disgust.

"Get dressed," She barked the command and Tess scrambled out of the bed and threw on one of Kiba's large T-shirts and pulled on a pair of her sweats that were in his floor. She grabbed her jacket and pulled on her shoes as Mother descended the stairs. Tess followed after her and she led the girl out to the car. Tessa got in the back seat. Her entire body ached in fear as Mother pulled out of the driveway. She didn't say anything the entire time. When she pulled up to a large house in a spectacular neighborhood Tessa became scared. She had brought Tessa to one of her friend's house. Tess swallowed the lump in her throat and got out of the car. The fear of what was going to happen drowned out the pain in her leg. She followed Mother obediently up the steps and waited for someone to answer the door. A man answered the door. He had spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes. He reminded Tess of Kiba's friend Naruto.

"Well, come in, come in," He said as he opened the door with a bright smile.


He sat in his seat wondering where Tess was. He had seen her yesterday. She wasn't in the normal frame of mind. The anti-social behavior and fearful flinching. Something was going on in the Inuzuka house. Gaara knew it.