After having been blamed for something that wasn't really their fault, all three kids avoided one another.

Kiba didn't like being around them because it reminded them of the beating his parents (mostly his mother) gave him when they found out from Kuromaru in just how much trouble he got into.

Sakura didn't like being around Kiba because she blamed him for having gotten scolded and having been forced to write an essay for lying. And while she didn't mind Chouji, she didn't seek him out. She really liked him. But it hurt to remember how excited she had gotten over having a new friend, only to get in trouble.

And Chouji wished to be friends with both kids. But Kiba actively avoided him now and Sakura didn't seek him out. So he was at a loss for what to do when it came to both kids.

Chouji had thought that he would make new friends from this group project. Sakura had hoped Chouji would be her new friend. And Kiba had just wanted it to be awesome and possibly get some minions out of it. But none of this had happened and everything had returned to normal by the Monday they were to hand in their essays on lying.

There was only one more day left of class before this school term was over. And all three kids were eager to being their winter breaks and leave school for a while. But until this day was done, they were stuck in class, learning with Iruka Sensei to very last minute.

Kiba had not skipped class since they had all gotten in trouble. He had been forced to straighten up by his mother, who warned a much worse beating if he dared cause Iruka Sensei anymore trouble during the rest of the semester. This meant that it was somewhat difficult to avoid Sakura and Chouji, but he managed by plain old ignoring them if they tried to get too close or running off to another side of the room to occupy himself with something else to do.

Iruka had noticed just how little the kids interacted with each other. And he was rather let down that his plan to bring a few kids a bit more happiness through new friends had not worked. He had really hoped it would. But none of them wanted to get close to one another, seemingly terrified of what might happen if they got together once more.

Well... At least Kiba paid attention in class now.


It was lunch time on their last day. Kiba was ansty, just ready to get the hell out of school and go ahead and celebrate his freedom for the few weeks he would have it.

Currently he found himself in the playground during their recess, already done eating his food.

The Inuzuka looked over the grounds of the playground, taking in the brightly colored play places specifically placed for children to use, and the kids that were having fun.

Chouji was with Shikamaru, sitting by the sandbox while Ino tried to tell them something or another that clearly bored them both. Naruto was trying to prank a group of kids with something he had inside of a bucket, but Kiba couldn't be bothered to annoy him by stopping him. And the rest of the kids were doing what they would normally do in this place... And he was bored.

Wait a minute... That was different.

Sitting up from his spot by the farthest fence of the playground, Kiba looked over at Sakura and the group of kids surrounding her. One of them was Ami, the girl's number one enemy, and another was a boy that had pushed Chouji around at least twice.

Focusing his hearing on what was being said, Kiba couldn't help the frown that found its way onto his face.

"Does Billboard Brow Crybaby want to cry?! You can cry, baby! We'd understand!"

Ami was a mean bitch. Kiba had hated her scent from the first day of school because she smelled mean and used too much perfume. And the boy beside her had always smiled whenever he, Chouji, or Shikamaru got in trouble, as if happy to see them getting scolded. Both kids gave off very bad vibes.

"What? Are you so terrified that you don't have your dumb guard dog around you anymore?" Ami continued to taunt Sakura, shoving her by the shoulder.

This caused the pink haired girl to stumble closer to the sand box, catching Chouji's attention.

What had that bitch called him?

With a growl of anger, Kiba stood up and stalked towards the group.

"Hey!" He shouted, moving so he stood a few feet beside Sakura. "What did you call me?!"


Ami was a big jerk. So was Haru. And the rest of the kids glaring at her and making fun of her everything.

But Sakura was proud of herself. She had yet to waver her gaze. She had yet to look away from the mean kids. She just looked at them, although she said nothing in retaliation. Sure, she had tears in her eyes because of the mean words, but they had yet to spill. And that was an accomplishment!

Her mother had begged for her to not get into anymore trouble in the Academy... But the old man's words still rang loudly in her head.

And she wasn't about to let anyone see her cry.

The weeks after getting in trouble with Iruka Sensei had been growing experiences. Ami's insults hadn't hurt as much in the following days after she was forced to write such a long essay to make up for a grade. Neither had Haru's. For some reason, she just didn't feel the need to listen to them.

But they had noticed that their insults weren't as effective. So, little by little they had begun to push her boundaries, trying to see how far they could go before she began to weep once more. Which was why now she found herself surrounded by them. Because it was their last day, they seemed dead set on making her cry at least once more before they went on break.

She had tears in her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

After getting shouted at by their teacher, she had resolved herself to never allow anyone to see her cry. Not for something stupid. The old man may have gotten her in trouble, but she didn't care. His words struck her. And he was a man she could look up to: strong, quiet, sure of himself. She didn't really care about the horrible grade, she had made up for it. But the man had made her aware of a great flaw she held, one she could fix with time.

They were insulting her, her family, Chouji, Kiba, and everything they believed to be dear to her. And while she didn't really care what they said about Kiba, it bothered her that they would call Chouji so many mean names. He was a sweetheart. Why would they be so mean?

But the old man's words echoed in her mind, his deep and gruff voice chilling her heart just like it had the first time.

Sakura wouldn't give these kids the pleasure of seeing her cry.

It was when she thought this that Kiba stomped over to them, hissing and glaring at all of the kids. Ami, though, smiled back at the Inuzuka in that sickly sweet, 'I don't care about you', way.

"And the guard dog has appeared!" Ami smiled broadly, only to have Haru nod in agreement.

"Where you find one mutt, you'll find the rest of the retarded pack." The dark haired boy then smirked at Kiba, shoving at him with his right hand, "So, Inuzuka, happy being a bitch?"

The insult wasn't even that great. Sure, he used a curse word. But it didn't mean that much from a bully like him. Or, at least, that was what Sakura had thought.

Apparently, though, Kiba took great offense.

One second he had been standing beside her, fuming at the insults. The next he was jumping on Haru, trying to punch his face and silence his mouth permanently.

Chaos broke out because of the wild Inuzuka.


Chouji had been content to just cloud watch with Shikamaru on their last day of school. Really, he would have been fine just laying there with a bag of chips by his side, spending a lazy afternoon together with his best friend.

But midway through his watching, he noticed that Sakura was being hounded on by a group of kids, led by Ami. He had worried, knowing just how little love there was between both girls, but Sakura had seemed in control of the situation by barely even reacting to what was being said. So he had done nothing.

He had wanted to form a friendship with the girl when they had first started off on their project. But he didn't know how to approach her anymore, not after the scolding and grounding they had all received from their parents because of the old man's stories. He was worried of getting shrugged off by her or insulted, so he just didn't try anything.

And Kiba still kind of scared him... Especially because all he seemed to do now was glare in class. He barely even smiled anymore.

His plan of inaction and patience, one worthy of a Nara, was thrown out the window when Kiba jumped on Haru. The Inuzuka punched at the boy, but was soon grabbed by the other kids aside from Ami.

They then began to hit him. Four on one. And that wasn't fair at all.

"Don't hurt him!" Sakura shouted, trying to push one girl off of the boy, only to have Ami grab her by the shoulder and shake her head.

"Why are you so worried, Sakura?" The girl then emitted a clearly faked gasp of shock, "Is he your boyfriend?" Then she shook her head, acting sad. "Billboard brow, that dog has to be put down." Then, without any prompting, Ami's hand lashed out, striking her across the face. "You have more important problems."

"Sakura!" Chouji gasped, eyes wide.

But the girl didn't look at him. Instead she turned her head to glare back at the girl. Ami, in turn, began to laugh at Sakura, apparently humored by slapping her.

Just like Kiba, Sakura jumped on Ami out of nowhere. Then began to wail on her as if there as no tomorrow.

"Hey! Stop it! Get off of them!" Chouji yelled in alarm as he stood up from his spot beside Shikamaru.

The Nara's eyes were closed, for he was dozing, but he did jump slightly when he heard Chouji scream out. But the Akimichi didn't stop to explain himself and instead ran to the two fights occurring at the same time.

"You guys aren't being fair!" Chouji ran over to Kiba, trying to pull two kids off of him and help the boy in some manner. "You guys have to be fair!"

"Stay out of this, fatty!" One of the boys shouted, turning to him to shove him backwards.

The Akimichi faltered back at the insult... Why did people keep pointing out his weight!? He was tired of it!

He wasn't used to being angry. But he had listened to too many comments about his weight as if it were a bad thing. And these two were being huge jerks! So, for the first time in his life, Chouji grew angry and decided to actually do something about it.

"I'm not fat!" He shouted, grabbing the boy again, "I'm husky!"


"You're the bitch, Haru! You need an entourage to hold me back! Why don't you be a man and fight me on your own?!" Kiba spit at Haru's face as two of his minions held his arms back, enraged at the cowardice the boy was showing.

The Inuzuka Clan was a proud one filled with loyal and honorable shinobi. He had been raised around them. And that meant that he had been taught that when the battle called for it, he was to be as honorable and fair as possible. It was only when the enemy started playing dirty that he could.

It was a good thing Haru had started playing dirty, though. Now he wouldn't have to hold back.

"So?" Haru questioned with a smirk, "You have your own friends. Don't you see?"

The boy motioned behind him, stepping aside just slightly to allow Kiba to see. And what he saw... Made no sense.

Sakura and Ami were exchanging blows, screaming and screeching like only girls could. It was quite the sight. Sakura's clothes were getting torn, her hair was being pulled, and her face was getting scratched. yet he saw not one tear on her face. And Chouji (When had he gotten involved in this mess?) was fighting off two different kids, trying his best to not get hurt and not hurt in return. But that didn't mean he didn't look like a badass with that glare on his face.

Both crybabies were... He couldn't believe it... Both of them were fighting! And they weren't crying!

"Yeah." The Inuzuka smirked cockily, proud of what he had seen. "And my friends are kicking your minions' asses."

"You bitch." Haru sneered, aiming a punch at Kiba's head.

But the Inuzuka dodged at the last second, making him punch his friend. The kid shouted in pain and let go of Kiba, which gave him enough space to drop down, scoop up some dirt from the floor, and throw it in the face of the other kid that was holding him. And once those two kids were screaming out in pain and taken out of the fight, he jumped on Haru once more, knowing he didn't have to hold back with the bastard.

Haru belonged to a minor clan that was known for their taijutsu. Which meant he was the only kid that could possibly give Kiba any difficulty. They traded blows and insults. But the more the boy insulted his family, the more Kiba's anger grew. But when he dared insult his sister... That was when he snapped.

His sister may not be at their house much. She had learned from their parents, so Kiba couldn't blame her. But she sometimes brought him treats and trinkets from her small travels. And she tried to be a big sister for him when she was around.

No one could insult her.

"And your sister is as much a slut as- AAAHHHH!"

Haru's insult was interrupted by a sickening snap and a blood curdling scream. Kiba had managed to overpower him and get him into a submission move, applying pressure to his arm. But the boy had continued running his mouth. And he'd remembered that all of this began when Haru had decided to insult him and place his hand on him.

What had the old man said?

When someone did something he didn't like, he should make sure that they weren't able to do it ever again.

Haru had shoved him and insulted him. And while he couldn't really rip the bastard's tongue out, he could stop him from touching him ever again.

The smile that made its way onto his face as Haru screamed and cried was an honest, victorious one.


"What is the meaning of this!? Kiba, get off of Haru! Haru, why are you- Kiba, did you break his arm?!"

Sakura had been scratching, punching, kicking, and clawing as if her life depended on it. She had heard more than seen Iruka Sensei when he'd come out to the playground to fetch his group. But she hadn't been able to stop fighting. She was too angry and needed to punch Ami harder. And the other girl was punching and pulling at her just as well.

"Hey! Break this up! Break it up now! Dammit! Mizuki! Get out here!"

Ami managed to roll them over and slam Sakura's head against the ground, but the pink haired girl wasn't about to give up. She reached up, grabbed one of Ami's hands, forced it close to her mouth, and bit it as hard as she could.

Ami screamed at this and Sakura took her moment of distraction to flip them around and continue punching at her. She raised her fist to continue fighting, but found that it was suddenly stopped by a large hand wrapping around her wrist.

"Stop this right now, Haruno." She heard Iruka's friend, Mizuki Sensei, growl at her, pulling her off of Ami.

"She started it!" Sakura bit out, knowing full well that this would somehow be pegged on her. "She and Haru were bullying me and they threw the first punch! They started it all!" She made sure that the truth was heard before Ami gave her own version of this story.

She had been burned by Ami's theatrics before. And she refused to go down without a fight. The burst of fire in her veins made her brave and didn't allow her to worry about what might happen for speaking out. But she would be damned before she didn't get to say what she needed to say!

"They attacked me! Kiba only jumped in to help me!"


Chouji was getting rushed by a boy and a girl that didn't know how to fight at all. They were throwing punches and kicks at random, as if they didn't know what to hit exactly.

Instead of trying to counter the easily countered attacks, Chouji took them, thinking on what he could do.

He didn't want to get in trouble... But Sakura and Kiba were both fighting so much! And they would undoubtedly get in trouble... He didn't want to just be a victim... Even Sakura was fighting back, and she never fought.

With these thoughts, the old man's words made their way back into the Akimichi's mind.

He hadn't thought about him since their presentation. He had decided to just forget about him and that horrible day. But now he remembered his strong words, the ones that had been directed only at him.

When someone hits you, hit back harder.

Chouji had been bullied by these kids a lot from the beginning of the school year. They called him fat, lazy, and stupid. And they never got in trouble for it because they acted like little angels in front of their teachers.

It hadn't bothered him before because everyone else that had gotten bullied by them had just accepted it.

But now Sakura and Kiba were both fighting. He was the only one that wasn't. And that didn't feel right.

So he hit back. And he did so harder.

Both kids fell to floor, crying out and clutching at their arms after the powerful punches Chouji delivered. And even though it didn't feel good to see them crying, it did feel good to stand up for himself.

When he looked up, he found three teachers rushing out of the school after Iruka, one heading straight towards him. And like the respectful little boy he was, he bowed softly and apologized.

"I didn't want to fight. But they hurt my friends."

Kiba had stood up for Sakura. Sakura had tried to help Kiba. Maybe they didn't want to be his friends... But Chouji knew that he would not mind if they actually ended up being friends.


"What were you all thinking?!" Iruka slammed his hands against his desk at the three kids sitting before him.

He could not believe what he had found when he had gone out to fetch his group from the playground. After their disastrous group project, Kiba, Sakura, and Chouji had all tried their best to stay away from one another. And while it disappointed Iruka that he hadn't been able to make much of a change in the lives of his students as he had wished, he had taken it in stride. He couldn't force kids to become friends. That was just how the world worked.

After the mockery that had been their presentation, all kids had straightened up. Sakura continued being a good student and managed to stay away from the girls that always got her in trouble. Chouji actually completed his school work and tried his best to keep Shikamaru from snoring too loudly. And Kiba even sat still and actually paid some attention in class.

Even though they had not made friends, Iruka believed that they had straightened themselves up.

Then he had walked out to find a warzone in the playground.

Two boys were sobbing loudly, one clutching at his cheek, the other at his eyes. They were writhing around on the floor in pain a few feet away from where Kiba had Haru held as a hostage underneath. And the dark haired boy was screaming bloody murder, trying to grab at his arm. It had taken Iruka no time to figure out the Inuzuka had broken it.

Then he had found Sakura rolling around with Ami, both girls seemingly prepared to kill one another.

And as if that hadn't been enough, Chouji managed to incapacitate two kids in front of him before he had managed to make complete sense of what was happening.

With shouts of dismay and worry, Iruka called upon a few more teachers to help him deal with the damage, stop the kids that clearly had the upper hand, and take the ones that were injured to the school infirmary. And all of them had wound up injured enough to end up there. All but three.

And those three sat in front of him once more, unfortunately reminding him about their presentation and fabricated old man character.

They all looked rather worse for wear. Sakura and Kiba more than Chouji. All three looked like they had just been in a schoolyard brawl. But the way they looked was nothing compared to the state they had left the other kids in.

Sakura sniffled softly at the man's shout. Kiba crossed his arms and glared up at him in a blatant show of defiance. And Chouji looked down bashfully, before looking up with slightly wide eyes.

This surprised Iruka slightly. He had expected that Kiba would be the one to answer him. But he allowed Chouji to say what he wanted to without interrupting. He would need to understand just what had gone on, after all.

This would be so much paper work...

"Ami was bullying Sakura. And when Kiba went to help her, they ganged up on him." The Akimichi answered honestly, then moved his gaze away from Iruka over at the kids he spoke of, a soft yet honest smile winding up on his face. "So I went to help them. It wasn't fair how they all jumped on Kiba."

Both Sakura and Kiba looked at the plump boy with surprise clearly written on their face. But that seemed to just make his smile grow wider. "I didn't want my friends to fight alone."

"Chouji..." Sakura breathed out, a soft smile finding its way onto her own face.

"Hm." Kiba nodded over at the boy, then up at Iruka. "They had what they got coming to them."

Iruka couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing. Where these kids really having a friendship moment after having started a brawl that had wound up with at least six kids in the nurse's office? And he couldn't forget about the fact that one of them had a broken arm!

"You broke Haru's arm!" The chunin growled, glaring down at the three kids.

But instead of making them jump or cower as the teacher had hoped, his growl merely made the Inuzuka smirk dangerously, "He pushed me, Iruka Sensei. I was just making sure he never did it again."

Then he looked over at Chouji, smirk still in place. "You hit back harder, Chouji." And then he looked at Sakura, "You notice something odd, Sakura?"

"Wait a minute, you can't ignore me..." Iruka muttered softly, but shut himself up. Even though he was supposed to be scolding them all for having caused so much trouble, he was intrigued as to what the boy would tell the pink haired girl.

Sakura blinked dumbly at Kiba, seemingly surprised by him addressing her, then slowly shook her head. "No... What, Kiba?"

The broad smile he gave her now was so big he closed her eyes, emanating happiness from his every pore. "No tears! We all listened to the old man! We were awesome and we kicked ass!"

Once more this old man story.

Iruka was getting awfully tired of hearing about a figment of their imagination.

The girl was stunned by the shout for a second, but soon her surprise melted into happiness as well. "You're right! I didn't cry! Iruka Sensei, I didn't cry!"

Much to Iruka's surprise, she cheered and jumped out of her chair, completely forgetting about the scolding she was supposed to be receiving. Then she pulled Chouji up along with her, causing him to begin to jump with her as well. "I didn't cry! Chouji, I didn't cry!"

"You didn't cry!" The Akimichi agreed, jumping up and down with her.

"The old man was right! This feels awesome!" Kiba jumped up on his chair, planting his hands on his hips. "Ain't no one ever bringing me down ever again!"

"Kiba..." Iruka growled softly, but was ignored by all three kids.

"I didn't cry! Kiba, Chouji, I didn't cry!" Sakura continued to jump around, eyes alight with pure happiness. "And Chouji, you were strong! You took two kids down!"

"Sakura, Chouji..." He tried once more, only for Kiba to stomp his foot softly and shake his head at the two kids.

"Hey, so did I." Kiba whined, looking down at both kids. "But, still, the old man was-"

"Sit down right this second!"

Iruka finally lost his cool. Were these kids really celebrating over having gotten involved in a fight? They had the audacity to celebrate right in front of him!?

The bubble all kids had been floating on was burst by him slamming his hands against his desk once more to shout at them "I don't want to hear any more about an imagined old man!" He hissed, glaring at all three kids. "What you kids did was extremely wrong! Kiba, you broke a boy's arm!"

But the boy's smile never faltered. And Iruka didn't know how to react to that. He was at a loss. These three kids had just committed a horrible infraction that could hold them back in the Academy. Yet they were dancing and cheering as if they had just passed their final exam and were fully fledged genin.

"I'm going to fetch your parents."

The man stiffly stood up from his desk and began to walk out of the room, feeling odd and lost. But before he had closed the door behind him, he heard Kiba call for Sakura.

"Hey, pinky... No tears!" He sang, sending the girl into another round of whoops.

"The old man was right! The old man was right! The old man was right!"

He just... He didn't know what to do with these kids...

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