Hi guys!! It feels so long since I last updated. I was fighting with myself either to write or continue reading HP7, but in the end Kiba wins over Harry (obviously.) but I'll continue reading it once I'm done with this. Do you guys like Harry Potter? I haven't watch the fifth movie though..but the last book is pretty interesting!

Anyway...here i want to thank Liz from Element Girls for what she had done. She drew me an adorable fanart of Kiba and Tsubasa that lifted my mood and inspired me to continue writing (and leaving Harry and his missions aside). I want to share the drawing with all of you. But right now, I have no idea why i can't put a link in here. Maybe you guys can show me how? I really want to show her drawing to you guys! (Hope that's okay with you Liz!)

Okay..enough with my ramblings...here we go..

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Cat and Dog

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Chapter 10

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"Are you really sure you're okay?" Tsubasa asked, looking at her teacher who was lying in the hospital bed, face sunken and pale.

"Yes, I'm fine," Fumie nodded her head. "Just tired, that's all."

"How long are they keeping you here?" Kenji asked. Fumie shrugged, "A week or so," she answered, frowning. Obviously, she does not like it to be stuck in the hospital for so long.

Sho smiled, "Saa…then we'll be back in our team again,"

Tsubasa's eyes widened when she heard. That's true…No more team Kurenai…

Xxx

Tsubasa stared at the people in front of her. She blinked in surprise. She had never seen so many people eating at Ichiraku Ramen.

There were around 14 people there, including her.

"So this is the Tsubasa all of you were talking about," Sakura, the pink haired kunoichi spoke.

Tsubasa looked up, surprised to know that the there were people talking about her. She nodded her head and smiled politely. "Hi,"

Then she turned to face Kenji and shot him a dirty look. "What the hell is this?" she asked in a whispered voice.

Kenji smiled. "Lunch, of course. Like I told you."

"You failed to mention, this amount of people would be having lunch too!" Tsubasa hissed.

It was earlier that day, after their visit to their teacher, Kenji had invited her for lunch.

"Tsubasa-chan!" he called out, when Tsubasa was about to head towards her home after bidding the two boys farewell.

Tsubasa turned around and saw Kenji jogged up towards her.

"Hold up," Kenji said, looking at her. Sho walked towards them hurriedly, not wanting to miss the team's discussion.

Tsubasa narrowed her eyes, suspiciously. "What is it this time?" Every time Kenji called her 'Tsubasa-chan', it means he wants her to do something he knows she normally won't do.

Kenji sensed this and blinked his eyes. "It's nothing dangerous, I swear!"

"The last time you said that, I had to babysit your date's siblings." Tsubasa frowned.

Sho nodded his head. "And she had to chase the kids around town and saved them from climbing the Hokage's office, after you sneakily gave them chocolates,"

Kenji glared at Sho, "I didn't know they get sugar-high easily." He hissed. "Whose side are you on anyway?"

Sho nodded his head, "Ah…yours of course," he said. Tsubasa raised an eyebrow but the red-headed smiled innocently in return.

"It's just a lunch," Kenji said. "No harm, I swear,"

Sho nodded his head. "He swears." Kenji glared at him, but Sho ignored it.

Tsubasa didn't fully believe them. She saw Kenji elbowed Sho to get the latter to speak.

"Well, it's been long since we all have lunch together right? There's no training too…" Sho said, smiling. "So please?"

Tsubasa had to give in. Sho would not do something selfishly and get her in trouble. (And the fact that his smiles somehow always managed to soften her was another reason too.)

"…Fine.."

"I hate you Sho," Tsubasa hissed to the red-headed on her left. "You and your smiles,"

Sho chuckled in return. "I hope you won't take that hatred for long, or you won't be able to get to know these new people," he smiled.

Tsubasa frowned, watching his smile took part of her anger away already. But she was still upset. She was conservative, it takes her time to get to know people, and meeting a whole bunch of them at the same time didn't really help.

And the fact that he was there too, five seats away, sitting next to the blonde and famous Naruto, didn't help much either.

"What's all this meeting about?" Kiba asked, frowning. He, just like Tsubasa, didn't like to be there too.

He messed up his hair, still frowning. "The one day I have a break from training," he complained to himself.

Tsubasa watched him quietly from the corner of her eyes and saw the dog's master sleepy face.

"I had to drag him out of his bed," Chouji said proudly, sitting between Naruto and Shikamaru—the Nara boy watching half interestedly as Naruto ordered every kind of ramen listed on the menu.

Kiba scowled.

"How can you seep when the sun is so high above?" Lee asked.

Kiba glared. "I swear if you say something with 'youth spirit,' I will hit you."

Tenten laughed, "Well, aren't you grumpy."

"Ano," Hinata said, looking at Kiba. "We're here because Tsubasa-chan is going back to her team."

Kiba kept quiet, letting the information run through him. Tsubasa looked at him, wondering of his response.

Her heart was beating faster, for a cause she could not explain. She tried to imagine how he would react.

But before she could dream on it, Kiba had already reacted.

Lips pursed and frowning, Kiba looked up, one eyebrow raised, in annoyance. "So?"

Tsubasa felt her eye twitch. Her heart beat normally again but she couldn't help feeling that disappointment feeling in her.

She opened her mouth to retort something back when Kenji spoke.

"Hey, we're leaving your team too!" he looked at Lee, Neji and Tenten. Neji smirked. "Good riddance."

Kenji looked shocked and Sho smiled. "Well, at least I already know I'm not wanted in your team," he looked at Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino.

Shikamaru shook his head—looking half bored and sleepy after a certain blonde girl had pulled him to this lunch gathering—and Chouji smiled. "That's not true," he said.

"You're okay," Ino grinned and looked at Sho. "As long as you don't get in my way, you're okay with me."

Sho looked at her suspiciously. "R-right…"

"Anyway," Tenten said, standing up. "To our new friends!" she said, raising her chopsticks.

Naruto, who had waiting for his bowls of ramen all these time, looked up excitedly when the chef handed him a steaming bowl of miso ramen. He grinned. "Let's eat!"

Xxx

"Did you have to be that stupid?" Kenji asked.

"Shut up," Tsubasa said annoyed.

"I mean, come on!" Kenji continued, ignoring Tsubasa. "IT was obvious! Everyone knows what was going to happen when you and Inuzuka started arguing."

"Shut up"

"I think that was the plan," Sho interrupted. "To make them stuck to each other."

"Shut up."

Kenji nodded his head. "Obviously. But it didn't sound obvious to them." He looked at Tsubasa. "Couldn't you have guessed that what Naruto was aiming for?"

"Shut up,"

"Come on!" Kenji continued. "You were fighting about what was better, dumplings or spring rolls! We were eating ramen! How stupid can you and Inuzuka be??!!"

Tsubasa felt like a vein had popped. She glared at Kenji, restraining her temptation to punch him. "It wouldn't have happened if you didn't invite me in the first place! You bloody perfectly knows what would happen in he was somewhere nearby!"

"You know, I'm right here," Kiba said, clenching his fist in annoyance.

Kenji turned from Tsubasa and looked at the other boy who was glued to his teammate's shoulder. "Oh I didn't notice," he said sarcastically.

He looked at Tsubasa and Kiba and raised an eyebrow.

"It's almost like you guys do want to be stuck."

There was a dramatic silence for a few seconds before "WHAT?" was heard.

"Why the hell would I want this for?" Kiba said angrily.

Sho interrupted again. "Ah, but it was surprising to see the two of them flew towards each other."

Kenji nodded and laughed. "Like magnets!"

Tsubasa clenched her fists and took a deep breath. "I am going to pummel you into pulps when I'm free…"

Kenji laughed again. "Can't wait." He looked at Sho and nodded his head.

"That is, if you can find us," Kenji said and both him and Sho jumped onto a nearby tree's branch and disappeared.

Tsubasa gritted her teeth at first, and then sighed, relieved that they were gone.

She rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry my teammates are assholes," she said.

Kiba kept quiet for a second. "You're sorry? That's a first," he said, nodding his head. "Are you saying this now because we're not a team anymore?" he wondered.

Tsubasa looked at him strangely. "Isn't this what you've been waiting for?"

Kiba shrugged. "At first. But I got used to it," he looked at her, "Used to seeing you around, fight, and getting stuck and all. It was like a daily routine, or something."

Tsubasa kept quiet and felt her heart racing. Her face reddened to her own surprise.

"Surprised it's over now," Kiba continued, unaware of the changes on Tsubasa's face.

Tsubasa took a deep breath and looked away. "Well, the 'curse' isn't going to wear off, so we better just stay far away as possible after this," she told him but deep down she knew she didn't really mean it.

"Hmm, yeah…that's true," Kiba said.

In a second, they felt the familiar bind between them loosened and they were unstuck once more. Kiba's words came like an agreement that had freed them.

Tsubasa looked a little relief that they were free. She took a deep breath. "Besides, we probably won't see each other anymore.

Kiba nodded his head and then realized what she had said. Even though they're not in the same team anymore, there will be times when they have to see each other.

It's a small village after all, and they are ninjas.

But why is she saying otherwise?

"Once I'm of age," Tsubasa said, looking at the ground, her feet scuffing the earth. "I'm gonna leave the village."

Kiba's eyes widened. That was a surprising answer that he didn't expect.

"Why?"

Tsubasa blinked her eyes. Here she was, telling the one person she despise about herself.

And she can't help but to do it.

"Why? Because I don't want to be a ninja," Tsubasa said quietly.

Kiba's eyes widened. He didn't expect that.

"I want to be normal,"

He looked at Tsubasa, watching her scuffing the ground with her boots, wondering what was he supposed to reply to that.

Tsubasa looked up and saw him looking. His eyes caught hers and she grinned.

"I'm glad that was the last time we got stuck together," she said. She didn't know why she had said it. A part of her was happy, but a small part wasn't.

"Aaah," was Kiba's answer. He really had no idea what he should say at that time.

"Tsubasa," another voice spoke and the two of them turned to see an older man with graying hair, in black kimono and hakama, the Maneki's clan traditional outfit, standing in front of them.

"Arai-sama," Tsubasa bowed her head slowly.

"It is time to go home," Arai spoked. He looked at Kiba, their eyes meeting for a second and then he shifted his eyes to their shoulders, where they had been connected minutes ago.

Kiba watched the older Maneki looked at him and noticed the glance to his shoulder. Did he saw it? There were no emotions played on his face.

No hatred or disgust towards him, the Inuzuka heir. It was just blank.

It was something he knew as a ninja what older Maneki members were good at, concealing their emotions.

Something he thought, comically, what Tsubasa should learn to do.

"You didn't have to escort me home," Tsubasa said, smiling softly.

"It is your brother's order,"

Tsubasa rolled her eyes. "Just because he went out for a meeting, now I'm suddenly well protected," she said to herself. But Kiba heard her.

She turned to face him and saw her smiled. "Let's hope that was the last time we got stuck,"

"It is," Kiba said, watching her walk forward towards her guardian. He stood there, watching the two Manekis walked away, watching them until they were gone from his vision.

He thought deep and hard about the conversation between him and Tsubasa. Might be our last one…

Then he shook his head and started walking towards his own home.

Xxx

And as Tsubasa walked with Arai, back to the Maneki mansion, a part of her felt like slapping herself.

That was probably the last time you talk to him, and you didn't even took the chance…What's wrong with you? A small part of her spoke.

Take what chance? What was I supposed to do? She asked back. Isn't it good that now I don't have to see him anymore? She said to herself, to convince herself.

But she knew it didn't work. That little part of her was too strong to be convinced.

That's what you think…

Reviews are so much loved! Hehe. Okay, I'm going to continue reading the book, I'm three quarters finished anyway. For those who like Harry Potter too, enjoy reading the last book.

And again, thank you Liz!