Chapter 7: welcome home
I felt somebody holding my hand. It was warm and completely covered over mine. "Come on Azusa, please wake up," I heard the person say. Who was it? Sasuke? Why was Sasuke calling out to me? Telling me to wake up? "Azusa, please." He sounded sad. Where was I? my eyes started to open slowly and I saw the sun streaming through a window at my bedside. I still felt the hand over mine, and I squinted to see who it was. "Azusa!" The person said surprised.
My eyes adjusted more to the sunlight and I saw. "Kiba?" I asked.
He laughed sounding completely relieved, "yeah, it's me."
"I'm in the hospital?" I guessed.
"Yeah, team 7 came back just to bring you here, you were in pretty bad shape. They had to leave again." Kiba was still holding my hand tightly.
"How long have I been out?"
"Almost three days now. How do you feel?" He was really worried.
"I feel fine," I smiled at him, and I began to sit up. He rushed to help me. "It's okay Kiba, I feel fine, really." I laughed trying to reassure him. "In fact, I could leave this place right now!"
"I don't think that's a good idea," Kiba sighed with a smile.
"No! really!" I said getting up. "I actually feel great!"
"You were impaled by a sword, even if you feel great I'm not letting you leave this place until the doctors say you can." He scooped me up like a was nothing and put me back on the hospital bed, then he sat back in his chair. "There, that's a lot better."
I stuck my tongue out at him, "I'll get out of here as soon as possible!"
"I bet you will," he smiled. "I'll stay here with you until you get out of here."
"You don't have to," I told him. "I mean it'll be boring as hell!"
"Nah, it's alright. Afterall, you did the same for me didn't you?"
I remembered when he came back from the Sasuke rescue mission almost three years ago. "Yeah, I guess you owe me," I said punching him playfully on the arm.
"Well at least you're well enough to joke," Kiba ran his fingers through my long black hair. I felt my face get hot and I turned away to look at the window.
"Yeah, whatever."
The next day the hospital finally released me. "Told you I'd be out soon," I bragged at Kiba.
"And I never said that he doubted it," he retorted in a playful defensive way.
"What about you saying you'd let me ride on Akamaru?" I asked seriously.
"Sure, we'll go right now," he told me.
"Alone," I pried.
"No way, you are not riding on Akamaru by yourself."
"Please?"
"No," he said in his 'that's final' voice.
I shook his arm. "Kiba!" I begged.
"No Azusa."
I looked at him with sad eyes and I watched him give in.
"Why do you always have to look at me like that!" He cried in an irritated tone, but his face had become completely flustered. "Fine!"
Akamaru was waiting for Kiba at Kiba's house. "Hey boy, sorry I took so long," Kiba smiled at him. "Come on boy."
He took us to a clearing in the forest where it would be easier for me to ride. When we stopped he lifted me up on to Akamaru's back. "You have to hold on to his fur, make sure not to let go." Kiba began. "And tighten your legs so that they won't flail around. If that happens you could fall off."
"It's a lot harder than it looks huh?" I said doing as he told me.
He chuckled. "If you're already thinking like that then maybe you shouldn't do this."
"Absolutely not! I have to at least try!" I said back to him. "Go Akamaru!"
Controlling Akamaru was completely different than riding on Akamaru while Kiba controlled him. You could actually feel all of the wind on your face. Everything seemed to pass by faster, maybe it was. I laughed to myself, this was great. At least it was until I didn't know how to get Akamaru to turn and I lost control. I flew through the air off of Akamaru's back and Kiba caught me just in time, but instead we both ended up on the grass. I laughed, "I want to do that again!" I cried facing Kiba.
"How about not. Take it easy Azusa, you just got out of the hospital."
"Come on Kiba!"
"Azusa." He said calmly.
"What?"
"Please get off of me," he said. That was when I we were laying on the grass with me right on top of him. Hands on his chest and faces close together. Kiba turned away from me and I could see his face getting a little red through the tattoo on his face. I pressed my lips tightly together and quickly moved.
"S-sorry!" I blushed. "I didn't mean to-"
"Nah, it's alright," He laughed getting up to sitting position. "It happens sometimes."
"It usually doesn't," I said back.
"Hey, it's okay," Kiba put his hand on the top of my head. "Don't worry about it."
I raised my head and looked him in the eyes. This seemed to surprise him, then he inched his face closer to mine, and then closer. I felt drawn to this and I did the same. It was okay wasn't it? Afterall, I liked Kiba. All of a sudden we heard a rustling in the trees and he was the one to pull away first before anything happened between us. My chest clenched and I wondered if that meant I was upset. Then a Chunin came out of the forest.
"Ah! Azusa-san there you are. Tsunade-sama has been looking everywhere for you."
"Me?"
"Yes."
"Here, I'll bring you," Kiba said getting to his feet and offering me a hand that I awkwardly took. He helped me on to Akamaru again, then joined me and rode off to Tsunade-sama.
The whole way there he said nothing of what happened. In fact he didn't even try to say anything to me. As I rode on the back of Akamaru with my arms around Kiba to hold on I wondered what he was thinking. Was he going to just act like nothing happened at all? My chest dropped with disappointment when we reached the building and all he said to me was, "see 'ya." Then he rode away.
With a sigh I walked to Tsunade-sama's office and opened the door.
"Azusa-chan, welcome home. I have a really important task for you to attend to starting tomorrow." Tsunade-sama said leaning back in her chair.
"Yes? What is it Tsunade-sama?"
"Tomorrow, you'll be getting your first students. I've decided that the job fits you quite perfectly. You can fight, you can heal, and you fight using taijutsu, fire, and air. You are quite talented and I think you could teach a team of our genin something."
"Aren't I a bit young?" I asked worriedly. "They're only two years younger than me. I don't even know if they'll take me seriously."
"You'll be fine," Tsunade sama smiled.
