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Chapter 9: Spilled Milk
"Oh, Neji-kun, I just knew you'd win!" I declared as I hugged the handsome ninja tightly. It had been a tough battle, but Neji managed to come out on top, just like I thought he would. He held me close to his chest, and I inhaled his scent. "I'm so happy, I could die."
"No, don't say that," Neji said, gently pulling away so that he could stare into my eyes. "If anything ever happened to you, I could never forgive myself. Never, I'll never let you go."
My cheeks flushed. "Oh, Neji-kun ..."
He placed his hand beneath my chin and tilted my head up. "Ikuko, stay by my side."
"I'll never leave your side," I promised as his face came closer. This is it, I realized. I'm finally going to get my first kiss. Somehow, I always knew it would be like this.
Slowly, I let my eyelids fall. My heart was pounding so loud I feared he might hear it, but then everything fell quiet when his lips touched mine in a sweet, gentle kiss. He lips were so soft I could barely feel them, and when he took them away, I was left with an empty feeling in my heart, and all I wanted to do was bring them back.
Smiling, I opened my eyes, hoping to find Neji smiling back at me.
Well, someone was definitely smiling, but it certainly wasn't Neji. For some reason, my warped fantasy had decided to play a cruel trick on me and replace Neji with the smelly fleabag Kiba. The mutt-lover was gazing down at me with a sickening expression that could only be described as love, and worse yet, no matter how much I fought it, I couldn't stop myself from smiling back.
I clutched my head in desperation and cried, "Wake up, wake up. Please, wake up!"
I forced my eyes open and jumped up from Kiba's bed in a fright. That was by far the worst nightmare I'd ever had. I could still smell him and feel his skin and taste his lips. Oh, I would need to soak my tongue in acid to get rid of that awful taste. I'd spent so much time in this horrible house it was starting to ruin my dreams!
My first kiss was with the fleabag? I shuddered and shook my head back and forth to rid myself of the memories, but they wouldn't go away no matter how hard I tried. Quickly, I started to become dizzy and nearly toppled off the bed, but I managed to catch myself at the last minute.
I need to get out of here.
But it didn't seem like I was going to be leaving any time soon. While Father had sent the ANBU to look for me, their efforts had greatly lessened in the passing weeks, and now it seemed like they'd given up entirely. Lee also hadn't organized another search party since his last failed attempted, and even Yuzu had stopped coming around. More depressing still, I hadn't yet figured out how to get my body back. I wasn't even close to solving that riddle.
Stricken with depression, I dropped down from the bed and made my way into the kitchen. The Inuzuka house was eerily silent this morning, so silent that the only thing I could hear was my claws ticking against the wood.
I searched the house for any member of the family, even Kiba despite my anger towards him, but he was gone too. Everybody was gone — and Kiba hadn't even left my breakfast out for me.
I growled and knocked the empty dish around with my nose. If he keeps slacking off on his responsibilities, I'm gonna starve!
But the empty house did have its advantages. Since Kiba's mother was gone, that meant her warm, snuggly bed was vacant, just waiting for me nap on it. Maybe if I slept in a more comfortable bed, I would have better dreams. It was certainly worth a shot.
Abandoning the empty food dish, I made my way toward her bedroom, imagining those soft feather pillows and warm blankets holding me gently in naptime bliss. But when I reached her closed door, that fantasy shattered into a million pieces. Turns out, she'd adopted a closed-door policy after finding one of my copper-red hairs on her pillowcase.
Grunting, I threw my head against the door in defeat. This is the worst day ever!
With nothing left to do, I walked aimlessly around the house, searching for some kind of entertainment. For a moment, I considered tearing up Kiba's bed sheets, but that would have only made my sleeping conditions uncomfortable. Then I contemplated chewing up his shoes, but I didn't want to have the taste of his smelly feet in my mouth all day, so I quickly abandoned that idea as well.
My wandering legs brought me all the way to the back of the house, where I noticed the door was wide open. Kiba had left the back door open again, something he did so frequently his mother was running out of ways to punish him. But at least I was able to go outside.
The morning sun was high in the sky, showering its warmth over the grassy yard. I lay there for a long time, basking in the sunlight, something I would have never done as a human, but as a dog, I found it quite relaxing.
Next to me lay the partially bitten stick that Kiba had once used in an attempt to get me to play with him. For hours, he threw the stick around the yard, saying, "Go get it, Ikuko. Bring back the stick!" But I never got it, not once, and finally Mogu snatched the twig from the ground before Kiba could grab it. Those bite marks were all his, so I didn't want to touch it, not even to move it out of the way.
Speaking of that little white hairball, where was he anyway? Where were all the little demon puppies? Normally, they would be crawling all over me and trying to get me to play with them, and Mogu would be trying to nibble on my tail and ride me like a horse. Where were they? Their absence was suspicious, too suspicious.
I rose to my feet and scanned the area with narrow eyes. The air was calm; a light breeze blew across the yard, gently bending the tall blades of grass to its every whim. Behind me, the trees rustled quietly and shed a few of their leaves, letting them float to the ground. One leaf drifted down to a small bush that seemed to quiver from more than the wind.
I smirked. Mogu, that little monster.
I stealthily crept toward the trembling bush. Normally, that little terror was the aggressor, but today the tables were about to turn. Let's see how he likes it, I thought as I closed the distance between us.
Quickly, before he had a chance to run away, I jumped around to the other side of the bush. Aha! Caught you!
But he wasn't there. Nobody was there.
What the ...? My eyes widened as a startling realization hit me. This is a trap!
The white puppy came flying out of nowhere, paws extended, tongue flapping outside of his mouth. At the last second, I managed to duck, and he went right over me, landing on all fours a few feet away. Mogu turned around and barked once, signaling the start of play. Whether I wanted to or not, I had no choice but to play their game, so I took off running across the yard.
Mogu chased at my tail while the other two puppies emerged at both flanks, and they all took turns trying to pounce. Mari tried to take my back but came up short; Maya vaulted clean over me and crashed into her sister; and all the while Mogu never gave up the chase. He was preparing to make his jump when I dove into the house through back door, nails screeching once they hit the wood. Slipping with every step, I bounded down the hall and around the corner, making a run for the kitchen with the trio of puppies close behind.
Kiba's mother was just entering the room with groceries when I came sliding into the kitchen. As soon as she saw me, she made this strange moaning sound in an attempt to get me to stop. Really, I tried to stop, but I was going too fast and the floor was too slick, so there was nothing I could do to stop us from colliding.
I slammed into her, knocking her legs out from under her, and she crashed to the ground. Her bags of groceries were up in the air for a few seconds; then they, along with their contents, also hit the ground. A carton of milk popped open and sprayed all over the floor. Meat and vegetables went flying. She had tried to save the carton of eggs, but when she fell, the carton opened and, well, needless to say, she was out of eggs now.
The puppies came sliding in soon after, Mogu first, followed by his sisters. One by one, they all tried to stop, but they all failed, and soon they were spinning across the floor like little tops. One, two, three! They smacked right into me and started barking excitedly.
Once the chaos was over, I kept my eyes to the ground, too scared to look up at Kiba's mother, but I could hear her huffing and puffing with anger. The puppies took off running right away, but not before licking up some of the spilled milk from the floor. I tried to follow them, but Kiba's mother stopped me with a firm grip.
"Ikuko," she growled, and her face was so red she probably could have cooked the eggs that were dripping down her face.
She might actually kill me this time, I realized.
Thankfully, before she had the chance to tear me apart, Kiba entered the kitchen with Akamaru. At first, he tried to keep a serious face, but little by little, his composure started to crack, and he busted out laughing. His reaction probably saved my life because now his mother was more angry with him than me.
"You think this is funny?" she yelled as she struggled to her feet, and Kiba stopped laughing immediately. "Well, you can clean up after her then — and then you're going to the market for more groceries!" Fuming, she stormed out of the kitchen, leaving a trail of egg yolks and rice behind her. "And stop leaving the back door open!"
Kiba groaned and kicked the kitchen table leg. "Now I have to go shopping? Man!" He kicked the table again.
Kiba spent the rest of the morning cleaning up the kitchen, while I spent the morning picking little grains of rice out of my fur. Once the kitchen had reached his mother's standard of clean, she sent him out for more groceries. I decided to go along with him because, well, I didn't have the strength to face his mother after the mess I'd made.
"This is not how I wanted to spend my day off," he complained as we strolled down the road.
He'd just returned from a week-long mission the night before, and when he came home, he was too tired to even greet me properly. He didn't pet me or anything! He just crashed right to the floor and went to sleep. I understood that he was exhausted and everything, but I had been suffering too. With him gone, I had to spend the whole week with his mother, and her food wasn't nearly as good as his. Just for that, I'd decided to give him the silent treatment today.
"You know, keep this up and she'll never let you stay," Kiba went on with a laugh as he looked down at me, but I just kept my eyes forward. "Huh? What's your problem? I should be the angry one."
I sped up my pace a little and moved in front of him.
"Ikuko? Come on, Ikuko." He sighed. "Oh, I know what this is about ... You're mad because I left you alone all week. You thought I'd abandoned you, didn't you?"
He ran around me and blocked my path, squatting down to my eye level.
"Hey, I'm sorry, okay? I'll try not be gone so long next time. But we can spend the whole day together." He searched my brown eyes for a sign of forgiveness and then sweetened the deal. "And I'll make you a special dinner, with the beef you like so much." He held out his hand, palm up and wide open. "So am I off the hook? Hmm?"
I thought over his proposal and placed my paw on his hand. Fine.
Kiba smiled. "That's my girl."
Your girl? I suddenly thought back to my dream and a sick feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. Gross!
"All right," Kiba went on upon standing, "let's get these groceries out of the way, so we can have some fun."
On our way to the market, Kiba noticed one of his flyers posted on the shop window. Grinning, he made a gesture toward it and then turned and said to me, "It's been two weeks and nobody has claimed you yet. You know what that means? You're one step closer to becoming an official member of the Inuzuka family. Isn't that great?"
A member of the Inuzuka family? Your girl? I don't know if I like this.
We'd just passed the shop when I noticed a girl with long black hair poke her head out from around the corner just ahead of us. She was standing in the alley, the same alley I'd used for the sneak attack on Sasuke that went horribly wrong. Over and over again, she kept peeking out and ducking back in like a gopher. Finally, just as we were about to pass the alley, she came running out and collided gently into Kiba's chest.
Stumbling back a few paces, Kiba caught her and held her steady by the waist. "Whoa! Are you okay, Chiyomi?"
Blushing deeply, the girl looked up at him with her shimmering green eyes. "Yes, I'm all right," she answered in a voice barely above a whisper. "Are you all right?"
"Uhh. Yeah, I'm fine," he replied, finally pulling away from her.
But I certainly wasn't fine. I was incredibly pissed off! Who was she? And what did she think she was doing using my trick? That was my brilliant idea — I'd invented it! And now she had the nerve to use it on Kiba, pulling that sweet and innocent act, but I could see right through it.
Chiyomi, the rotten thief, looked right at me then and squealed with delight. "What an adorable dog!" she said as she bent down to pet me. "What's her name?"
"Ikuko."
"Ikuko?" she repeated, her eyes wide. "As in Ikuko Matsubara?"
He shrugged. "Yeah, she reminds me of her, I guess."
Chiyomi giggled obnoxiously. "Yes, I suppose she does. How clever of you to notice that."
How clever, indeed, I mocked, rolling my eyes. Oh, she's pathetic.
As the stupid girl stepped back, I noticed something oddly familiar about her wardrobe. She was wearing a dark green knee-length dress with white floral print. It was a very expensive looking dress, and a very, very rare dress. In fact, there was only one in existence. How did I know this? Because that dress was custom made for my fifteenth birthday! Chiyomi was nothing more than a petty thief, and the dress didn't even look good on her!
"Well, we need to get going," Kiba said as he took a step forward, but Chiyomi quickly grabbed his arm.
"Please," she said desperately, too desperately, "let me make this up to you."
"Hmm? Make what up to me?"
"Running into you so rudely. Let me make it up to you, okay? I'll treat you to lunch."
Again, my trick! Had this girl been stalking me and taking notes or something? Did she have any ideas of her own? But I knew Kiba wasn't going to accept such a silly invitation. After all, he was supposed to be spending the day with me, so he wasn't about to ditch me for some dress-stealing wannabe. No, I wasn't worried at all.
"Well," he rubbed the back of his neck, "I am kind of hungry."
WHAT? My head started spinning with confusion.
"Great! Let's go eat then." She wrapped her arms around his bicep and held him close as she dragged him along. "We'll go to Oshiro's."
Oshiro's? But that's the place where lovers dine! I could picture the two of them sitting at their own table in the back corner of the restaurant, sharing a delectable dessert. Beside the soft, romantic glow of candlelight, Chiyomi would finally confess her feelings, at least according to my plan for Sasuke, and since she was copying me, I could only assume she was going to do the same with Kiba — and in my dress!
Not if I can help it! I declared as I chased after them, and Akamaru was right behind me.
Oshiro's was a very classy establishment that didn't allow animals, so we set up watch outside one of the windows. To get a better look, I rose onto my hind legs, placed my paws on the glass, and peered through the window into the quiet restaurant. It took me a while, but eventually I found them sitting on the other side of the dining room, engaged in what appeared to be pleasant conversation, but of course I couldn't hear them.
In my dress. She's eating in my dress. She better not stain it!
On the other side of me, I heard a strange scraping noise, like tiny claws scratching against wood. When I looked down, I saw that sneaky little Mogu up on his hind legs, clawing at the siding, desperately trying to reach the window. Eventually, he gave up and, instead, decided to climb on top of me and use my back like a window seat. His claws hurt when they dug into my skin, but I was too focused to care.
Ugh, I can't hear anything!
While Kiba slurped from his soup bowl, Chiyomi just kept smiling, talking, laughing, and playing with her hair. Occasionally, she would reach across the table and lightly touch his arm, but he never responded the way she wanted him to. In fact, the last time she did it, he just pulled his arm away. When a bit of soup had dripped down his chin, though, she rather boldly wiped his chin with her fingers, and Kiba's face turned bright red.
My eyes bulged. What are you doing? Don't let her touch you!
I couldn't stand watching them any longer. That wretched girl was sitting in my restaurant, wearing my dress, and flirting with ... well Kiba, but that wasn't really bothering me, even though this was supposed to be my day with him.
Suddenly, just when I thought I would explode from anger, Mogu jumped off my back and took off running. He barked at me only once, but somehow I knew it meant he wanted me to follow him, so I did. He brought me around to the back of the restaurant. The door was wide open, allowing the wonderful aroma of beef, pork, and chicken to fill the air. Better still, I would finally be able to hear what Kiba and Chiyomi were talking about.
Like the faithful dog he was, Akamaru stayed by the window while Mogu and I snuck into the restaurant. Keeping close to the ground, crawling on all fours, we slowly crept through the kitchen, careful not to be seen, and slipped into the dining room. From there, we quietly made our way toward their table. Lucky for us, we were able to find a fairly secluded table that gave us a clear view of Kiba and Chiyomi. Mogu and I huddled close together and anxiously watched them from beneath the table.
"Would you like to get dessert?" Chiyomi asked, curling her hair around her finger. "The cake here is delicious, I've heard. We can share."
Cake? To share?
"Umm. Sure, I guess." He shifted a little in his chair. "If you want some."
She smiled. "I love cake."
Yeah, keep eating that cake, you cow!
For just a moment, I glanced to my left, expecting to see Mogu next to me, but the little demon had vanished. Just when I was about to panic, I caught sight of his little white paws climbing up onto the table, using the back of the chair like a ladder. Backing up, I peeked above the tabletop and saw Mogu munching on a piece of leftover chicken teriyaki. Once finished, he moved on to a bowl of soup.
Quickly, just before a server came by, I jumped up, grabbed Mogu by the scruff off his neck, and pulled him back under the table with me; and in case he tried to do it again, I held his tail down with my paw. Then I returned my attention to the dining couple, wondering what I'd missed.
"Kiba-kun," Chiyomi said, looking away to hide her blushing face, "there's something I need to tell you."
Oh, no! She's going to confess!
As her lips quivered, trying to say those life-changing words that I didn't want to hear, I felt Mogu struggling against my grasp, and my hold was quickly slipping.
"Kiba-kun ... I ... I ..."
Mogu suddenly broke free and shot off like a rocket, leaping onto their table and crashing into their dishes. Chiyomi let out a shriek that brought everyone's attention to her, and Kiba just started laughing. I came out from the table then, and Kiba noticed me right away.
"Why am I not surprised?" he said, shaking his head.
"What is going on here?" the manager yelled as he came towards us, red-faced with anger. "No dogs in the dining hall!" When he saw Mogu on the table, he tried to snatch him up right away, but Kiba quickly grabbed him.
"He's my dog," Kiba said. "I'll take care of him."
Then the manager looked down at me. "And what about this one?"
Kiba sighed. "She's mine, too."
Yeah, I'm his. I blinked. Wait, what?
Because of Mogu's insatiable appetite, I was officially banned from Oshiro's along with Kiba and Chiyomi. As we walked out of the restaurant (Mogu still licking his sticky lips), Chiyomi was right behind us. That girl was like some pesky fly that wouldn't stop buzzing around, and all I wanted to do was squash her.
"You never got your dessert," she said to Kiba as she chased after him.
"Yeah, but I have to go," he replied, keeping a steady stride. "I have errands to run for my mother."
"Oh." Her pace slowed a little but then quickly sped up again. "Then how about tonight? We can have a picnic in the park, and I'll bring the dessert."
"I dunno ..."
"Please!" She grabbed his arm to stop him. "I won't ask for anything else, I swear."
Girl, can't you take a hint? I thought as I glared at her fingers, which were inching dangerously close to his hand. He's not interested!
Kiba pulled his arm away from her, but instead of telling her to take a hike, like he should have, he said, "Okay, fine."
"Really?" Chiyomi beamed.
Really? I thought, but with much less enthusiasm than Chiyomi. Confused, I stared up at Kiba, wondering what he was doing saying yes to something like that. He didn't seem interested in her at all, so why would he agree to go on a date with her? Especially her, of all people!
Kiba, why?
