A/N: Oh my gosh, guys, it's been so long. The absolutely sad thing, is i actually had this last chapter completely finished, but I wanted to update a bunch of things at once so I moved on to another story. Well, I lost everything, and until I got a new tablet I was stuck waiting. I've had to redo this from scratch between work, school and the other things i lost... *sigh* such is life.
Ino sighed, staring at her front door, Kiba at her side. They'd tried to stay out as long as possible, even after Mirai's party, hoping her mother would be in bed or still at the hospital with Junko. Kiba could smell her in the kitchen, however, dashing all those fantasies. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, before he frowned visibly, noticing something else.
"Ino," he began, in an unusually serious tone. "My mother is inside."
"Do you think she's noticed you?" She asked, frowning as well. This was terribly unexpected for her, and her headache began to return.
"I'm almost positive."
"Well," Ino said, steeling herself like the fearless shinobi she was supposed to be. "I guess we gotta go face the fire then, don't you think?"
He smirked in response. "Hell yeah!"
Opening the door, she crossed the threshold with Kiba and Akamaru's, his ever faithful companion, in her heels. A sinking feeling started in her gut, but she charged on across the sitting room towards the kitchen door, swinging it open and immediately seeing the face of Tsume Inuzuka.
She resembled her son greatly, but not Hana quite as much. She appeared to have the same aggressive and caustic attitude in the past, but lo and behold, the Inuzuka matriarch was seated civilly at the kitchen table, drinking tea with Ino's mother.
"What are you doing here, Ma?" Kiba asked from behind Ino, ever-growing her in the doorway to enter the room. Ino's mother said nothing, taking a very slow sip of tea, allowing Tsume to answer.
"I was wondering why I hadn't met your girlfriend yet, Kiba. I kept smelling a very flowery scent on you, and connected the dots once I learned Hana had business with Ino here. Decided to drop in, considering the past," she replied calmly, meeting her son's eyes. Ino frowned with confusion, looking towards her.
"You mean you don't hate the Yamanaka clan?" the girl asked before she could resist. She meant no malice in the question, merely reacting with knee-jerk confusion.
"Actually I don't. I...was just very angry in the wake of my husband's death. I wanted somebody to blame," the older woman said, looking to the one seated next to her. "I sorta wanted to apologize, frankly. Everybody reacts different in grief, I guess us Inuzukas are just prone to anger."
"We've been talking for about an hour now," Ino's mother stated, looking weary. Her daughter could tell that she wasn't entirely pleased, but she was behaving for the sake of burying hatchets.
"Oh," Ino said awkwardly, fiddling with her bangs a bit. "How's Junko?"
"She gave birth to a healthy baby boy," her mother replied, standing to get more tea. Kiba and Ino sat down at the table, where Tsume extended a hand.
"I'm Tsume," Kiba's mother said, shaking the girl's hand. "You're quite pretty, it's no wonder Kiba is so into you." She smirked at her son, who looked almost petulent at her teasing. He stayed quiet, however, not wanting to risk sparking any of the women's ire in some capacity. "You look like your father too, which is good I guess, since I always found him a bit feminine," she added, trying to lighten the mood.
"That's funny," Mrs. Yamanaka said, sitting down again with a teapot. "He always thought you were somewhat masculine."
"You never let that go, do ya, Thornbush?"
Ino's prim and proper mother blushed with embarrassment. Clearly their rivalry pre-dated anybody's death. It was almost childlike in the insults being exchanged.
"Um, Thornbush?"
"I fell into a thornbush in the Academy one time..." her mother explained irritably. Tsume grinned widely.
"She was also as prickly as one, too."
Kiba snorted, but Ino shot him a quick glare. He shrugged back.
"So," the girl began tentatively. "Does that mean we don't have any problems anymore?"
Her mother sighed, as Tsume gave her a pointed look saying that it was her turn to answer. "I guess...in retrospect, my problem wasn't entirely with Kiba, but my past with his mother. If it had been with Kiba, I still would be upset. But Tsume has apologized, and I suppose that I...may have been being angry about your father's passing enough to try to get back at her like she did with us."
"Good enough for me," Kiba stated happily, ready to stand and be on his way. Tsume growled lowly in warning, making him stay planted in his seat.
"Kiba, part of the problem was that she didn't know you properly. Get to know Thornbush, and maybe you'll get along better," Tsume advised, despite the slight hypocrisy in her words. Nobody called her out on it, though. Better to just move on from this turmoil.
Ino placed her hand on her mother's comfortingly. "I know it took a lot for you to say that, so thanks, Mom. I didnt exactly handle my grief in a healthy way either, and I know better, so I'm sorry. How bout we go shopping and have lunch tomorrow, to get back in the habit of talking to each other?"
"Sure, Ino, that'd be nice," her mother replied, taking her hand as well. Ino knew that they didn't exactly agree on fashion taste, but it was something they loved to do since Ino was little.
"Anyhow, I'm sorry about everything, Thornbush," Tsume said, standing. "I hope in the future we can be more civil for the sake of our pups." She offered her hand to Ino's mother, shaking it and exiting with little fanfare. "It was nice to finally meet you, Ino."
"You as well!" Ino called back, feeling a weight lifting from her chest. She had resolved everything with Shikamaru, Choji, her mother, and had gained Kiba along the way. The only thing left was to visit her father's grave and come to grips with everything.
"So," her mother said, a little awkwardly, and as if it pained her somewhat. "Kiba, would you, well...like to stay for some dinner?"
"And so now Mom and Kiba are ganging up on me, telling me I need to rest all the time and pretty much babying me," Ino said with a sigh, as she sat in front of her father's grave with a handful of appropriate flowers. "Their relationship was always so awkward in the past, and now it's like they're thick as thieves! She's even started calling him 'dear', like she does to Shikamaru and Choji."
"Shikamaru is a dad now, by the way," she said, chuckling to herself. "A little girl. He calls her troublesome and all that, but I can tell he really likes her, and misses her when he leaves too. He still says he hopes the next one is a boy, though. Choji has a girlfriend too, she's...interesting. But they seem to get along well, so honestly I think he's gonna pop the question soon."
Ino smiled sadly at the bittersweet thoughts she was having. "Everyone's lives are so different now, Dad. I hope you can see it, and Uncle Shikaku too. I know you guys would be proud of everyone. We're starting to get more and more authority within Konoha. It's kinda scary actually, because everything is changing so fast. Were you scared too?"
"Scared of what?" Kiba asked from behind her, approaching with Akamaru at his side. "Not commitment, I hope?"
"It's a little late for that," she replied, trying to stand but having a little trouble. He grabbed her hands to help her up, affectionately rubbing her large belly.
"Don't hurt yourself there," he warned with a chuckle. "You're carrying precious cargo, my little girl."
"I still think it's a boy," Ino said, teasing him. She was fully aware that they were having a daughter, but she wanted to see his face when his hopes were correct. "Mother's intuition, ya know. He feels ornery too, I bet he takes after you." She wasn't lying about that one, though. The baby was active, and had quite a kick.
"She seems pretty spunky, like her mother," he retorted with a shrug.
"I don't know why you're hoping for a girl like me, between the two of us we'd bankrupt you with shopping sprees," Ino teased more, truthfully looking forward to going shopping with her daughter, just like she did with her own mother. "Not to mention all the time getting ready in the morning."
"Well, I fell in love with you anyway, so it won't be too hard to let that slide for her too," he said, his voice lighthearted, but tinged with shades of seriousness. It wasn't often he admitted things like that.
"Aww, Kiba, you're making me blush," she replied airily as they began to walk home together. "How was your Dad's plot?"
"It was pretty...grave."
"Kiba, it is too soon for Dad jokes!"
"I know, but your reactions are hilarious."
Ino sighed, shaking her head in exasperation. He made her happy, even if he was a dork, who smelled like dogs and was pretty obnoxious, and well, argumentative. But nobody's perfect.
Except her. She's perfect.
A/N: And there we have it, the end. It feels weird, but relieving because now it's finished. I've completed it! It may not be the best, but I created it in a spur of the moment and I enjoyed the challenges that presented me with.
Thank you to everyone to liked this story! You guys are awesome! Don't hesitate to reach out if you ever want more Kibaino in your life!
Love,
MyHikari
