Chapter nine:
Danger around every corner
Saiyuki rolled her shoulders stiffly as she walked out of the Konoha hospital for the third time that month. She was grateful that this time her injuries were only superficial, a broken wrist was mended without much thought for someone as skilled as Sakura, and a few cuts and bruises would go away on their own. Even Saito's injuries had been little more than dramatic, with only a few deep cuts and a few to the bone markings there was little wrong with him and he was already waiting at the house to be fed. All and all, minus the visit to the damn white box that smelled almost as bad as Kiba, it had been an all right day.
She glanced up and smirked to herself to see Shino leaning against a nearby tree, seeming to be staring down at an ant pile. "Shino-kun," she greeted with humor in her voice. It struck her as odd that the quiet bug ninja had been hanging around her more and more, well… really it was more of whenever she went to the hospital to get stitched up he'd be waiting to make sure she got home safe after what happened last time. Or he was coming to pick Kiba up after practice and haul him off to wherever he was supposed to be. Okay, she really didn't see him often enough to have it classify in other girls dictionaries, but she was used to solitude and isolation. To have someone hang around her was something she was not used to yet.
He shifted his gaze from the fascinating ants and watched as she walked over to him. She had changed in the hospital into more casual black sweat pants and an actual jounin vest, but other than that there was still the violently red turtle neck and the bandages that wound up and down her arms. "You are never uninjured," Shino observed quickly when she was finally by his side.
Saiyuki laughed outright at that and glanced herself over. She shrugged casually then leaned against the side of the tree, next to Shino, and glanced up at the sky with a pursed look. "Being a fighter does that to you. I get injured training," she stated as if it was common knowledge.
Shino had to nod to that. All Taijustu masters constantly had cuts and scrapes upon them; it was natural for them to be in almost constant pain of some kind. He wondered how they could deal with such consistency… then again, to them, it must be normal and the pain must not even register after a while. He slipped into silence as he watched the ants scurry to and fro from their home, his jacket and glasses keeping his blank expression hidden. Ninja were like ants. They were always working, always fighting, struggling, to survive. They followed orders to a T and they never once questioned it unless it involved their survival, and even then, most did it anyway. They were loyal to a fault to their leader, they were strong, and they were individuals while at the same time conforming into one mass of pure prowess that would cow any opponent foolish enough to challenge them. The Taijutsu masters were like the soldier ants, big and strong, intimidating with their massive pincers and brute force. The smaller, more tactically inclined others were the Ninjutsu masters, who used their surroundings to ambush enemies and use the environment to their advantage. Finally there was the Genjutsu masters who used the element of illusion and trickery to win a fight, like bathing in the scent of a falling enemy then invading a nest and killing the queen. It was funny how closely the lives of the shinobi and those of the animal world coincided.
Saiyuki raised her eyebrows at the intensity at which he was staring at the ant hill, her hands coming from her pockets. There he goes again, she thought with a small smirk on her lips, into his own little world that no one else is allowed into. She had not known Shino long, hell, she still didn't 'know' him, but she could tell when he was zoned out or not. He got this… well, it was hard to explain. All of his energy around him seemed to get colder when he zoned out, he seemed more distant and farther away than anyone could reach. She envied that in him.
"How'd it go?" Shino suddenly broke the silence that they had slipped into just as she was staring up at the leaves of the tree in her own thought. She started and glanced over to him as he lifted his stare from the bugs beneath him, having done his fair share of life thought for the day.
"How'd what go?" she asked slowly, not tracking with the sudden conversation.
"The mission," Shino reminded.
Saiyuki scoffed and glanced back at her accursed second home. If she never had to go to the blasted hospital again it would be too soon… When she could feel Shino's eyes on her, telling her silently to tell him what had happened to make her stay at that place, she snorted ungracefully at the thought of having to access one of the highest levels of the taijutsu. "Good enough to put me in there. But the mission was a success," was all she was allowed to say. Missions were to be kept of the utmost secrecy, the only ones to know of an A-rank mission, or really any mission, was the Hokage or assigning officer and the ninja performing the required task. But that didn't mean that people followed that rule… far from it. Most people liked to gossip about their assignment. Luckily, Saiyuki was not one of them.
"Kiba told me about it," Shino stated simply.
Saiyuki's eyebrow twitched instantly and she wheeled on the bug nin, her mouth clenching hard. "That irresponsible little prick!! How dare her go about blabbing about an A-rank mission we almost get killed on! How stupid can he possibly be? I take a full blown S-rank attack for him and what does he do?? Goes and tells anyone he can about the mission and how the Sound is getting closer to the borders of the village!!" Before Shino could fully raise his hand to stop her sudden rant, startled by what he was seeing and realizing just how short a fuse that the cat nin had, she had thrown her arms up in the air in frustration. She continued, unaware of the bug shinobi's sudden alarm, "does he not realize that alarm and panic that would send through the ranks, stupid dog!! The shinobi and kunochi already have enough on their plate without informing them the war is coming closer, not to mention the nonin will go berserk with fear! There'll be riots in the street, anarchy; if the Hokage doesn't act soon the entire village will be up in arms and pissing itself! I could kill him!!"
Shino raised his eyebrows at how quickly her mind went from bad to worse to end of days bad. He was starting to wonder just how she had gotten so far up in the rankings with a temper that flared like this, but then passed it off as her being… female… and from just coming out of the hospital. "He only told Hinata and I," he corrected. Saiyuki froze in her storming around the tree, muttering several ways she was going to kill Kiba under her breath. She turned to him with wide amber eyes with the pupils returning to a normal human round and her mouth opening up in shock.
She then laughed nervously and rubbed the back of her head, embarrassed of her actions. What the hell had gotten into her? Somehow, someway, Kiba got under her skin in ways that no one else did. She was calm cool and collected, like the animal of her families crest, but it seemed the more she was around Kiba the more her emotions raged out of control. That had been made painfully clear back during their mission. Seriousness reigned in on her features and Shino immediately noted the change, watching as she shifted and turned her stare out to the streets of the village. "That doesn't change anything though…" she whispered.
Shino said nothing, though gave off the distinct feeling into the air that he was interested in what she had to say. He didn't bother with the gnawing in his chest now, wasn't disturbed by it, though he still did not know what it was he was starting to like it on some level. He'd been isolated from civilization for so long now that he would put up with discomfort on any level to be near someone and to talk with them. It lessened the burden that had been plopped onto his shoulders from a young age and made him feel not so freakish, not so ugly, and made him hope that one day he could be normal with friends and people that didn't care about the bugs under his skin. Saiyuki was the first stranger he had ever met that first thing that had come out of her mouth was that she didn't see the big deal and actually respected the Aubrame's method of jutsu. He was in her debt…
"They're still coming closer. This is the furthest reaching embankment of enemy soldiers ever recorded near Konoha. They're getting smarter, faster, they're plotting out our weak points and readying an attack, I can feel it. And I bet I know who's at the head of this little surge…" she snapped bitterly and crouched down, still staring out at the streets. Right now, with the sun hanging over them, she could picture the buildings burning, the blood running down the streets, and the stench of smoke and death choking those that were still alive. She didn't question that there was a good chance that Konoha could lose should the Sound continue to rally those against the village to attack, the only question now was… how long did the village have before it came true?
She shifted and cast her gaze up at Shino who was staring down at her. That familiar tension rose between them and she found herself for the first time mentally wondering what the hell it was between them that had her stomach twisting like it was. She frowned intently, her mind running over the scene over and over again, picturing now among the dead her only friends, only remaining family, and found herself on the verge of breaking down. "I've lost so much, I cannot lose this too," she whispered with a scowl and was up in a flash, walking down the pathways to her house and to another fitful nights rest.
Shino furrowed his brows at this, his mouth coming into a set line. She did not get to see his first readable look in weeks as she walked off with her back to him, her long hair banded once again and her tanned skin blaring in the bright heavenly orb above. He pondered on this, wondering just what she had lost that would make her say such a thing. Then, all at once, he realized that he truly didn't know anything about the brunette woman that was as hard as a brick wall and apparently just as impenetrable. What it would take for her to open up to someone, he wondered. What could possibly have happened to make her become so intensely solitary?
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The rain was cold and icy as it fell in sheets from the inky black sky over head. Gloom and doom filled the day, shifting into the once green grass with a haze that was almost suffocating. The trees, heavy with rain and this damnable atmosphere, sagged under the pressure, creaking in the small clearing just outside of the village. Atop of a large hill with stretching sides that sloped down to the streets and entry way to the proud Village Hidden in the Leaves, stood the sculpted, shinning, ebony stone that everyone in the entire city at one point came to see. And so it was that a lone jounin stood before the stone with hands shoved into pockets and unheeding to the cold down pour surrounding.
Saiyuki's golden eyes were harsh and unrelenting as she raked her gaze over and over the stone. There were two particular names that she had come to honor, only… now that she was here staring at their engravings she only felt resentment and sorrow, not pride and patriotic honor that came with having ones relatives name carved upon the impressive slab. There was little this rock could offer. The warmth of a mother and a father were gone and all that remained were their names within this fucking black void that seemed to suck up all of her emotions every time she was here.
It made her feel less than. It made her feel horrible. It made her feel weak. And her latest mission where she had to access the forbidden upper level of the Haraku style only proved that fact. She was the weakling of the clan, she had no one to teach her any more and now she was stationary, she was sedentary, she was treading water. She may put up a front, a powerful one at that, that showed she could and would take on anything and anyone, and she supposed for the most part that worked. But she was nothing compared to the likes of others on her squad, others that were by far more powerful than she, and that alone was enough to wrench her heart. If they were still alive she wouldn't be in this mess. She would be getting stronger, she would be getting faster, her families secret jutsu's would be passed down to her and then she would be worthy of the rank of jounin.
But they had left and with them the knowledge that she needed. The warmth the kindness and love that she craved were gone and now she was alone in the rain, merely staring at their names and not their smiling and comforting faces. It was only when Saiyuki came here that she felt so alone… so very alone. The darkness of the gloom around her seemed to seep into her core and make her shiver from the oppression, her mind screaming out in violation. Water dripped off of her bangs that were now almost plastered to her face, and her clothing was heavy and dark. Her entire body felt like it weighed four times its normal weight and refused to move. She had had enough of coming here, of mourning their passing, but every time she swore she would never come here again, that she wouldn't cry for them, she found her feet running as fast as they could against grass and pavement to get here and make sure they were gone.
Haraku Masamaru and Haraku Itsunu… two decorated heroes of the village. When in reality she'd been there at their death and they were far from hero's. They were nothing more than victims of an ambush at their house, they had little time to fight off the enemy and even less to shield her within a genjutsu under the table so that they would not find her as well. She did not know to this day who it was that had come and why he had sought to kill her parents, but… "I will kill him one day," she whispered hoarsely and slowly kneeled down.
Running a calloused thumb over her parent's names she shuddered and hung her head. Her heart was seeped in sorrow and despair; there didn't seem a way out of this horrible existence. Why had Kami cursed her so? Her entire existence now was for revenge, and as much as she hated it she couldn't help but to draw that conclusion.
"If you're gonna kill someone you shouldn't be out here in the rain, Saiyuki-chan," Saiyuki tensed at the familiar voice. She turned her head wearily, her eyes having black bags under them from days without sleep. She smirked lightly at the approaching form of Genma, one hand holding an umbrella above his head and the other holding a grocery bag. "You'll be too ill to kill him if you stay out here all day, again," he chided when he was at her side.
"There's nothing for me at home," she stated with no small snap in her voice. She turned back to the grave site of the thousands that had died for their village and thought it an injustice her parents names were on this memorial. "They don't deserve it…"
"They died for the village, they deserve it as much as any other ninja on there," he added sternly. He did not like it when she started to talk this depressingly. Not only did it bring him down but he knew the more she thought on this the more she was dredged deeper into the darkness of her own mind and heart. He was concerned that at the rate she was going, no matter how intensely loyal she was to the village, she would leave and seek out her own way of getting stronger. And then, revenge. There were eerie similarities between her and a certain missing teenager.
She scoffed and hung her head again to stare down at the water laden grass. The only sound in the small clearing for a long time was the thrumming of the rain upon the soaked ground and the groaning of the uncomfortable trees. This down pour seemed a prefect setting for such mourning, she concluded with a bitter grin to herself. "They died in a moment of weakness. A shinobi needs to always be alert to their surroundings; they were reckless. They were home and thought that they were safe, when he had really just been waiting for them to get home. I will never make that mistake… to say that they died for the village is a gross overestimate of their loyalty," she whispered. She didn't want to see the disappointed look on Genma's face when she said that. But she could feel it rippling off of his form and could hear it in the way that the was now shifting from one foot to the other.
"Sai, that's not right," he admonished. "Even ninja make mistakes, we're all human after all. They gave their lives to protect you, they used up precious chakra they could have used against him to shield you… why do you hate them this much?" he asked softly, his senbon miraculously missing from his teeth. There were only a few moments where he didn't' have it there, and this was one of those. A moment where pure seriousness was needed in order to help out a friend, or in this case, a little sister figure he'd been taking care of since the day he had pulled her from under that table and taken her home to his place to battle the ones that had killed her parents. She was teetering again, like she did every year, and it was once again up to him to bring her back. But age was making it harder every time, the older she got the more independent, and the more she strayed from the shield of the leaves.
Saiyuki bit her lower lip hard to where her fangs drew blood from the soft flesh. She cast her gaze back at Genma and he noted the intensity of her stare. She didn't know what to think of her parents, and it was never as clear as when she was before the memorial, bearing her heart and soul to a cold rock that only had her parents name, not their love, and not their caring. "They left me alone…"
"You're not alone, Sai, and the sooner you realize that the better it will be for you. Hell, I've always been here," he said with a wide grin at her. Saiyuki smiled at that, her heart lightening considerably as she slowly brought herself up to standing. Though she appreciated his help… Genma didn't understand.
She turned to him with her arms behind her head, her usual cocky smirk on her face and her amber eyes set with that same glow that came whenever she was set on something. "You're a good guy, Genma," she stated and flashed a fanged grin at him before walking down the hill away from him. He scowled and watched her, with her sodden hair and clothing hanging off of her form carelessly and her chakra rolling about her body in dangerous red waves.
"Damn it, Sai," he breathed while rolling his eyes. She never was a good listener, she was like Naruto. She charged head on into something without thinking about it properly, like standing in the rain to look at a stone when she should be in one of the inside training grounds getting stronger. She refused his help whenever he offered it, and refused anyone else's as well. It would only be a matter of time before she blew up or fizzled out. Either way he didn't look forwards to the conclusion.
Saiyuki kept walking down the muddied path, downwards to the gates of the village with her head held low. There was much to think on now. There always was after visiting that damn stone. She stopped right before the large, massive gates, her eyes now staring straight up into the coming rain. The guards stared at her strangely, shifting and waiting for her confirmation that it was indeed someone of Konoha birth and rank, and when they didn't get it and all she did was stand there, they grew anxious. Then again… taijutsu masters weren't known for acting normal. Maito Gai was just an example of that.
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Kiba sat with his arms across his knees on the stiff softness of his bed. The dogs were tearing around the house and he was alone for the first time in what seemed like weeks. He gnawed on his lower lip hard to the point where a metallic twinge came to his taste buds and even still he nibbled and chewed. Tonight had not gone as planned.
He had wanted to go see Hinata straight away after his mission, like he always did when he had just completed something and wanted to brag about it. So he had left Saiyuki limping at the gates much to her swearing and fuming at him, to run across town towards the Hyuuga complex. Arriving there was always a fun experience, as even the head of the clan stared at him with suspicion if he asked for the one and only heir to his family legacy, only this time the dog with rebutted with a sound 'Hinata's not here' and an explanation that she was on a top secret mission to the Snow Country. Now to top it off he was feeling slightly bad about leaving the limping Saiyuki at the gate just to go say hi to Hinata, who was in perfect health. So he had left in a sour mood, not having gotten his daily dose of the Hyuuga heir and had made his way back to the gate to see if his partner had waited for him at all, just in case. All that had been left though were small droplets of blood leading towards the hospital and the big, muddy paw prints of her panther.
He scowled and linked his arms around his knees, glaring at the bed under him. If someone had told him that him and that cat girl were going to become somewhat friends a few months ago he would have attacked them and ripped their throats out for daring to imply that he would allow that to happen. But their friendship wasn't really anything like normal. It was tense, constantly testing, it was something that was always waiting for something to happen, for someone to screw up. They were constantly fighting, bickering, and were always saying things that if it was coming from anyone else they would probably kill the other person. They weren't nice to each other in the least, so it made him wonder how on earth they had gotten to this point to begin with.
The fight from the mission flashed into his brain and he winced. He had seen how she'd been fighting, how her body moved fluidly in a way that his had yet to learn. It was from years of being trained in a specific way of fighting, from probably birth she'd been learning the art of taijutsu, and he had waited until he was in the academy. To top it off he had seen her families style in the final throws, where she had taken on her cats traits and had ripped the remaining ninja apart.
Kiba winced. "Idiot, if I hate you would I have done that? We're… friends." The way that her amber eyes had softened considerably at that point told him that it was the truth. She had taken a hard core energy blast just for him and would be paying for it for several days, probably having to have a chakra infused graft put onto the skin and leaving more than one scars. She had taken it like it was nothing, like defending his life was second nature and it wasn't even something to think about. He suddenly felt weak in comparison. He wasn't… he wasn't sure he would have done the same thing for her. And, he hadn't even sensed the enemy! He had just stood there, jabbering, while she yelled at him to get down. He felt inadequate in a way he had never thought he could.
So that was the difference between a jounin and a chuunin. One was more alert, one made less mistakes, they took on more responsibilities, they were the leaders in every sense of the word. No wonder he hadn't been promoted last evaluation.
Kiba growled loudly and threw his pillow against a wall, wanting it to be a shuriken and the face of one of those damn ANBU. He didn't like failure. He hated it and the fact that he had made such an amateurish mistake, one that a shinobi usually made in their genin days, only made it worse! Undoubtedly Sai now thought he was some kind of idiot and that she would stop his training, finding it useless to waste her skills in teaching someone who couldn't even see the damn enemy when they were right in front of him! This was just shit on top of shit.
"Damn, damn, damn!" he snarled and punched his fist down into his mattress before getting up, his anger at himself boiling dangerously close to the edges. He needed to get out there, to do something, he didn't care if it was raining or the fact that it was the middle of the night, he had to vent or he would explode. And so the dog nin was out of his room with little more than the snap of his window and a flurry of movement, disappearing into the waiting down pour and chilled night.
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Kiba had been hoping to train at the number four training grounds outside. It was the one he was the most familiar with and knew like the back of his hand, meaning that in this inky blackness around him that he wouldn't stumble into anything as often. He had hoped that he could let off some steam at his failed performance on his first real A-rank mission with a jounin partner. But his hopes were dashed when he spotted someone already there and pounding the shit out of one of the practice dummies.
He watched as they span through the air like they weighed nothing and then slammed down their foot into the ground at full force, causing the crust to splinter and to surge up in massive stony chunks into the air. They then back flipped and charged the practice dummies close to the ground at an astonishing speed before pulling back a chakra filled hand and slamming it into the poor creatures head. With a loud rip and the smell of burning cloth the head of the dummy was obliterated and sand flew all over the practice field, showering the figure of the angered clearly jounin as they stood with their fists pummeling into the ruminants of the doll. With a snarl the person turned and kicked it hard in the center, right in the middle of the large target, and sent it, founding rock and all, careening backwards through the forest and breaking several trees in its pathway.
It was then that the rain ceased and the moon was revealed from behind the clouds, showing just who was pissed off and taking their frustrations out on the grounds. Saiyuki stood there with her head hung low and her entire body caked in mud and sand and wet grass blades. Her shoulders were heaving with uneven and tired breath though her body still stood as firm as stone in the spot, her amber eyes listlessly staring down at the crater she had made. Kiba watched as she sank down to sit on the ground, her knees by her shoulders and her claws digging into the sodden earth with bruised digits. He could tell just by looking at the damage she had done she was not happy, well that and he had made it his business to be able to tell when she was angry or not because when they trained together and she was pissed her tended to come home with something somewhere broken.
So, with hesitance he took another step forwards and cleared his throat. She glanced over to him with a slow motion, her eyes narrowed and her mouth pulling back into a small snarl at his presence. "What do you want dog?" she grumbled before turning back to stare at the hole of the forest she had managed to create.
"Well, I wanted to be the one to tear this place apart, but you kinda beat me to it," Kiba stated with a cocky smirk at her. A smirk that did not go over well because she sent a kunai whizzing his way. Luckily all the months of training with the cat nin had taught him to catch a flying weapon much faster than before and just as it would have made contact he was twirling it around one index finger, cocking an eyebrow at her. "What's got your panties in a twist?" he asked sharply. She hadn't tried to actually hurt him like that in a good three weeks.
Saiyuki couldn't help the snort of laughter that came from her chest before she tilted her head to where she could actually see him, her smirk evident. "Why do you care?" she asked curtly back.
Kiba bristled, in a way that only she could make him do. "That's a stupid fuckin' question!" he snapped at her. She raised her eyebrows at him and he knew that he had her undivided attention, that whatever was going on in her head was semi pushed down so that his words would actually sink in. It was a pressure that he found he didn't really like. He shifted from one foot to the other on the wet grass and squishy mud, running a hand on his neck while fumbling through his thoughts. Crap, he should really think things through before he acts or speaks. Now she was actually expecting him to clarify what he had said.
When he raised his eyes to hers she was holding him in place with a stare that spoke volumes. It was pinning him there, making him feel like he was the only person within miles that she was actually interested in, and it screamed of many things, but mostly it was whispering 'you' to him in his ear quietly. He shivered unknowingly before crossing his arms over his chest and grunting out, "'cause we're friends, baka-neko, that's why."
Sai took a few blinks to respond. That's when she snorted again and smiled at the dog nin, her eyebrows coming to knit together in slight skepticism. The fact that Kiba, the Kiba, the one that she had been training for so long now and vaguely understood on some level was saying something like this was enough to make her think that it was someone in disguise and to attack them. Kiba didn't say things like this. It wasn't his way. Sure it was with his team, but not with her, no way in hell was it his way with her. Finally she just scoffed and tossed her bounded hair over her shoulder, regarding him inquisitively.
Kiba shifted again, growing uncomfortable with the continual quietude that was within the ravage clearing. He had one time done the very same thing, or close to it at least, to the training ground, but had found out that there are certain chuunin that come by and clean it up and have it up and working within the day. "Don't take it the wrong way or nothing," he rumbled quietly, rubbing his neck and trying to think of a way out of what he had just said. When her amber eyes narrowed marginally and there was a small twitch in her eyebrow he winced inwardly. Fuck, it was hard to be nice sometimes!
"Digging your own grave…" she hissed lowly. She had been having a horrible week, topped off with that damn mission, and the last thing she wanted was for someone like him to come around and confuse the hell out of her. She didn't know what he was trying to say but so far she had worked out that he was admitting that they were friends and then trying to take it back. She had said she didn't like weakness, and he was almost seeping it right now. Why was he still here anyway? Hadn't she given him the message in her body language and scathing tones that she wanted him gone? What did he have to offer?
"I just meant that…" he noted how her muscles were super relaxed and how each and every single limb looked like it was going to start to disappear from the bone. She had been training for a long time, he could tell just from the way that her body was coated in mud and she was sopping wet from all of the pounding rain. He took a deep breath before stating firmly, "We're friends now, but that doesn't mean I still don't wanna beat you. One day I'm gonna get stronger than you, don't forget that. But…" Sai's body tensed slightly, "since we're friends you don't have to do everything by yourself. You saved my life after all, cat stink."
Saiyuki once again was stunned into silence. She pursed her lips before turning away from him and staring at the battered landscape before her. Kiba could feel the confusion and yet the somewhat relief flooding off of her body at that moment, and the dog nin was proud of himself on some level. He had always assumed that she hated him simply because it was in their nature too. They would always quarrel and they would never, ever get along no matter what. But the fact that she had taken that hit for him had proven that there might be some room for a powerful alliance of shinobi strength and the start of a great relationship. They had made a good team, there was no denying that… and if he was to ever work with anyone other than his current squad it would have to be her that he would want to be paired with. However grudgingly he had come to that conclusion.
A deep silence filtered between the two of them and the dog nin was content to just lean against a beaten doll, staring up at the sky and watching the darkened clouds roll by on the winds of time. They swirled threateningly but did not drop another rain and merely once again separated their way for the moon, who cast a brilliant half light upon everything. He had almost not quite caught what his companion was saying until she had shifted.
"I've never really had any friends," Saiyuki whispered with a small smirk on her face. She stared down at a clawed hand with a disappointed look. "Kids can be cruel to people that are different than them. And back then I was as different as they came, minus Naruto of course. I can't do genjutsu and I can only do enough ninjutsu to get by on my evaluations, so I would always be teased. And then, when I found out that I excelled in Taijutsu, that I was a genius in it, that was when it all really started. I was called a boy, ugly, my skin was too dark and my hair to light and my eyes weren't a normal color. It… it hurt," she growled and gritted her fangs, her amber eyes glowing eerily in the dark.
Kiba watched her out of the corner of his eye, his chin still turned upwards but his attention wholly focused. He had had no idea that her life would have been so hard. From what he had seen she was pretty damn strong, and that alone was enough to garnish respect in the ninja world. But she was right. Kids were cruel… He grimaced when he remembered how he as well used to treat the blond haired fox boy in their younger days, before he realized just how strong Naruto could be. He supposed it was somewhat the same with the girl before him, only… in a different way.
Saiyuki scoffed a second before stretching her back and wrinkling her nose in distaste. "I graduated early because of my taijutsu, and became a jounin at a young age because of it as well. I was only fourteen when I received elite status… But I'm just as much to blame for my lack of any friends as anyone else. My…" she stopped and looked almost hesitant to continue, her fangs falling over her lower lip and her fingers gripping into her tattered pants. Kiba was about to prod her to continue when she sighed and stated firmly, "my parents were murdered when I was six years old. I was caught in the house when it happened, they put me under a table and my mother, who was a genjutsu specialist, put an illusion about me to keep me hidden. Unfortunately it didn't stop me from seeing what happened, hearing what happened. Of course Saito was there with me, I wasn't completely alone, but… after that night I pushed harder and harder. Weakness was no longer an option.
"I'd find that bastard that killed my parents and I would rip him to shreds like he did to them. I trained everyday for hours on end, until I was bloodied and bruised, hardening up my skin and mind to take any kind of pain or wound. I receded from the others, kept to myself, studied, it was a nonstop world. I wouldn't change it for the world, but… I see now that doing what I did only ensured my casting out. It was stupid," she grumbled before thumping the ground with her injured knuckles.
Kiba stared at her a long moment before nodding cautiously, his mind working in overtime to say something, anything. But he realized that there was nothing to say that would make her believe that he understood when he really did. His mother and father were dead as well, he was being raised by his sisters, all three of them, and a dog pack. He had heard what had happened to them, that they had got caught up in the fight between the nine tailed fox and that the hospital had been spared because of them. But that didn't change the fact that his mother and father were gone. So instead of trying to convince her that he did, indeed, know what she was going through on more levels than she could ever know, her lifted himself from the dummy and put his hands on his hips in a way that was familiar to hers.
"Well moping about it isn't gonna make it any different!" he barked and before she could react, stunned as she was that he was indeed doing it, his fist hit with the top of her head hard enough to leave a knot. She stared at him in shock, wincing and running a thumb over the wound while the dog ninja shifted back a step, a semi cocky smirk on his face. "Past's the past, you gotta live with that. We can't change anything about it, so stop dwelling on it or you're gonna make yourself sick. Besides, you sound like a complete and total wuss anyway!"
And with that Saiyuki's vision went red and she was charging him, her fist pulled back though a small smile pulling at her snarling lips. She gave chase to the laughing Kiba, yelling out how she was going to pound him into the ground, while mulling around something in her head. Something had just changed with the two of them, but… she couldn't figure out what. What had made her tell him all those things, things she hadn't even told Genma in full confidence? What was it about Kiba that was making her quickly think of him more and more as a friend, maybe even a close one, when only three weeks ago they were at each others throats? It didn't' make sense, then again, all that really needed to was the fact that she was now chasing him through the trees at one in the morning with the intent of bodily harm. And that's all that really ever needed to matter in her opinion.