Chapter 11

The weather was a bit chilly, the sky still dark but slowly turning into a blue as sunrise neared and there I was already up and running, well more like jogging my way to the place I'm supposed to meet my boyfriend. I looked at my watch, thankful for the glow in the dark hands and saw that it was 5:46, still 14 minutes early from our meeting time and it was only about a 5 minute jog remaining before I reach place. I haven't had breakfast yet, just a piece of energy bar and a glass of milk but that was enough fuel for me. At least I'd have an excuse to ask my boyfriend out for breakfast wouldn't I?

We were going to play basketball today, more like I'm gonna be teaching him and so with me was also a backpack with the basketball inside and a bottle of Gatorade in the net bottle-holder on the side of the bag. I continued at my set pace and finally reached the Konoha Central Park. Pretty original name huh? I'm pretty sure there isn't any famous place with that name already. Anyway, I came to walk as I reached the park, not even feeling any shortness of breath thanks to my conditioned body. I headed for the place where the monument was placed as it was where we met up before. If you asked what monument it was, it was the statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, founders of the city during the old times. Enough about that. So when I reached that place I scanned the area in case he arrived before me and to my surprise I saw that mop of golden hair on the same bench I waited for the last time we were here. I wondered if I'd just call out his name or maybe…

Yeah. That's what I would do.

I slowed my pace down even more and my steps lighter so as not to make sound, kinda like a ninja. I made it behind my boyfriend who was innocently sitting there and maybe watching for the sun to rise because there was a bit of orange already starting to show on the horizon. I raised both arms slowly and then placed my hands to cover his eyes, making him jerk in surprise.

"Hey, what the…"

"Guess who?" I whispered on his ear.

"Kiba, if you scare me like that again I swear." he threatened me. I removed my hands and then made my way in front of him.

"You swear what?" I challenged. I really wondered what he was about to say.

"No- well, nothing. You just really surprised me there, that's all."

"Sorry." I apologized and sat next to him. Pretty close that is because our hips were touching but I felt Naruto slightly shift to the left and away from me. So I guessed he still wasn't comfortable with those stuff especially when other people might pass by and see us.

"You don't know how badly I wanted to see you Kiba. It sucks that we can only do so on my day-offs." he whined to me. Aw, that face he had was so cute. But when he said that I felt my heart pound hearing from Naruto that he did also miss me just as I missed him. That was three days without Naruto.

This day was the mark of the first week since he became my boyfriend, since that wonderful date I took him out on and kissed him under the moonlight and fireworks. Woo, so cheesy right? Hah, you girls probably wished you had the date we had. The last time I met with Naruto was the past Wednesday when we just hanged out on my place watching the show Kuroko no Basket, thus leading to this idea of playing basketball today. I'd really go for seeing Naruto everyday but his schedule at work's not really the best 'cause he gets off at 7 and not to mention the fact that my boyfriend still lives with his ex-girlfriend and I didn't want to be the bad guy who always takes Naruto away from the girl who loves him. Even I feel bad for her and that was why I didn't pick Naruto up at his apartment 'cause I didn't want to show my face to Hinata, after all that has happened. She most likely wouldn't want to see me, knowing that I was now the boyfriend of her ex-boyfriend, whom after only 3 days since Naruto ended things with her, has asked the love of her life to become my boyfriend.

I was the person who stole Naruto away from her. At least that was what I think I am to her.

"At least you've got something to look forward to." I told him.

"I know. But at least maybe we can meet up more often once I move in to a new apartment." he said hopingly. When he told me that Hinata was going back to live with her family and that he had to find another cheaper place to stay, I instantly offered for him to move in with me, so we can both save money but he declined. He said it was too early for him to be moving in on his boyfriend's apartment which is kinda reasonable, I guess.

"Don't wanna live with me?" I asked him, hoping that maybe he had a change of mind within the past few days.

"As much as that sounds great Kiba, I think it's too early for that. And don't make me say that again." he said with a chuckle. Looks like there really was no way of convincing him.

"You've had anything to eat before you got here?"

"I've had instant ramen on a cup."

"Yeah, uh huh." I really should try to change his diet. But noodles is still carbohydrates and that means it's energy so maybe that's okay for now.

"Then let's go to the court."

"And here I thought we were going to talk here forever."

Two minutes later we found ourselves in one of the half-courts inside the park. There were two full courts and two half-courts the mayor had had built since he believed that if he gave the youth things like basketball to do, it would distract them from doing 'other stuff', if you know what I mean. And what do you know, no one was playing on all of the courts.

I placed my bag on one of the benches, close enough for me to see in case someone would want to steal it. I took the basketball inside and dribbled my way to Naruto who was standing under the net of one of the whole-courts.

"So, what do you know how to do in basketball?" I asked him and threw him the ball, the pass way too fast for the average person but he easily caught it. Good. At least he's good at catching which is one down.

"I know how to dribble, I think." he said, a bit unconfident with his answer.

"You think? Show me then."

He dribbled the ball with his right hand, staying on his ground. I could clearly see that even though it could pass a dribble, his palm was contacting the ball. He doesn't play it like me so I couldn't expect the common form where only the pads of the fingers touch. I asked him to run around the court while dribbling and so he did but then I was able to see that he still needed to keep his eyes on the ball and he was jogging around the court, easy for anyone without a ball to catch up to him. He made it back to me without losing the ball.

"How was that? I told you I suck at this game. I even wonder how I passed gym class in high school."

"Didn't he ever teach you?" I asked, completely forgetting that it was an off topic. I knew that Naruto understood the 'he' part when his expression suddenly changed, his cheek scrunched a bit.

"No." he deadpanned. The way he looked at me was the signal that I shouldn't probe any further. But that really made me wonder about what Naruto's previous relationship with his ex-boyfriend was. He told me his ex was a very good player so why he didn't even teach Naruto his favorite sport was curious. I wanted to know what went wrong, except for the disappearing after the jerk left, so that I wouldn't do the same mistake.

"Well then, that's why we're here. But before we start, do you really wanna learn basketball?"

"Yeah I do. If I learn how to play then, you know…" his face blushed right in front of me and he had to look away. He's so cute I wanna hug him right then.

"Why are you blushing?" I teased him. "Something about what you were about to say?"

"No, it's just… never mind. Let's just do this thing." he cried with enthusiasm, obviously to hide that blush he had.

…

"Come on, just dribble the ball with your right hand, and don't use the left for now. You can still look at it while you run around the court." I shouted at my boyfriend who was now on the other side of the court, dribbling the ball like he was born with a left hand for his right now that he tried to run a little bit faster.

"Ah this is too hard." he whined. "I wanna practice shooting. That's the fun part."

"How are you gonna shoot the ball if you can't even take it near the basket." I said to him. My logic made sense right?

"I'll shoot threes, just like Midorima."

"Che, you can't even make the ball reach the basket. Even I can't throw the ball hard enough for it to cross the whole court if I used the same form as him." I told him. I then saw Naruto try to shoot the ball, he was on the far end of the court, and as expected the ball didn't even make it pass the half-court line.

"Told you."

"Aw man I was positive I could make it reach the other side. Damn this triceps." he cursed, blaming the wrong muscles for it.

"You forgot to jump. Power comes from your legs too, not just your arms." I pointed out to him.

"Oh, so you're also sports science guru now are you?" Naruto asked me as he returned to sit beside me on the bench. I should have brought two balls so I could have been practicing with him but I only have one ball.

"Yeah, I'm your sports scientist." I spoke in a professional sounding accent. "Now listen my student, not only do you need your triceps but also your shoulder flexors, serratus anterior, wrist flexors, gluts, quads, hams and calves for that freakingly impossible shot by Midorima."

I turned to look at Naruto and I swear his jaw just dropped. Just the reaction I was expecting.

"Huh? Why the heck do you know all that stuff? You're studying to be a vet, not a physical therapist or sports scientist."(1)

"Watched it on Youtube." I replied as if it was typical. Almost anything can be watched on that channel.

"Youtube? Ah, never mind. Can I have a drink of that?" he asked, eyeing the Gatorade on my bag. I retrieved it and gave it to him and he gulped the drink down, and I was thankful he left at least half of it for me.

"Thanks for this. I didn't think a five minute dribbling was gonna tire me out. Oh, and I uh, gotta pee. I'll just go to the comfort room." When he said that, I thought about offering to go with him but I didn't have to go yet and my hands were really getting itchy to hold the ball.

"You know where it is?"

"Yeah. I've been going here since I was a kid you know." he told me as if it was obvious.

"Right. I'll wait for you here then. Gotta warm myself up." I stood up from the bench and Naruto was already jogging towards the CR. It was pretty far from the court, maybe a one minute jog so that leaves me around 4 minutes to warm-up before I show Naruto what I can do it basketball. I wasn't a varsity player back in high school but I was definitely better than average. I can go toe-to-toe even with Lee, the green jumpsuit clad friend I have who's probably the most athletic in all my friends.

So I did some dribbling first and then on to some lay-ups, 5 out of 5. I moved to the free throw line and did some shots, making 4 out of 5 which wasn't bad considering that shooting wasn't my forte. And then when I felt myself already warmed-up, I dribbled to the other side of the court, leaping just in front of the basket and then made a dunk.

Dunking was my favorite move. It feels so refreshing and cool. It's like your king in the air when you dunk. It gives that sense of achievement when you do it which is different from landing a three-point shot, even though a dunk is only worth two points.

It took me a whole year just to be able to make my first dunk. All those crushing 600 lbs squats and leg presses, the more than a thousand jumps where I couldn't touch the rim of the basket but week by week got closer, they were all worth it. I worked hard for the dunk and so it was precious to me.

I released my grip on the basket and let myself fall down to the ground, utilizing my parkour skills in making the perfect landing so as not to injure my legs. I grabbed the ball and turned around so as to make another free dunk but then I saw another person on the far side of the court, holding a basketball and was definitely wearing clothes for basketball. A dark blue tank top, white loose shorts and black basketball shoes.

He walked towards me, just holding the ball in his hands and as he got closer I got to see his face more clearly. He had pale skin and was that a black duck nesting on top of his head? No, I guess that's just how he styles his hair. Talk about emo. But in all honesty, the guy was handsome. I even had to admit it. But of course it's only up to admiration 'cause I already have a boyfriend. And pale was so not my type.

"You seem to be good in basketball. Wanna play one-on-one with me? I rarely get to play with other people this early in the morning." he asked me. Didn't expect the guy to be social considering his emo vibe.

"Yeah, sure." I agreed. It was better than playing by myself anyway. And if he asked me to go one-on-one, he must be at least a decent player. The guy put his own ball on one of the benches and then returned to the court.

"I'm Kiba by the way." I introduced myself, having a bit of decency. "Don't mind telling me your name?"

"No. You may call me Sasuke." Okay, so he's duck-butt Sasuke. I secretly laughed at that nickname I just gave him. "You can have the first ball."

"Okay. Let's start this. 1st one who gets ten points win."

I started dribbling the ball and he immediately took the guarding position. By the look of his stance he must have been point guard. I charged towards his left, utilizing my speed but he managed to cut me so I changed my direction to my left but he was quick enough to react and prevent me from going past him. He didn't make any movements to steal the ball so I backed up a bit. It looked like it would be a little difficult going inside so once I was a bit farther from him, I took my shooting form. He was too far away to stop the shot.

But how wrong I was 'cause the instant my legs bent down for the jump, he was there right in front of me. Since I couldn't move around again since I've already held the ball, I faked a shot and I saw him jumping. Then I did my real jump but to my surprise he wasn't in the air but jumping the same time as me. He faked his jump when I faked my shot and I was the one who fell for his fake. It was gonna be a battle of height then so I jumped my hardest and took the shot. But before I could release the ball, he managed to push it out of my hold with his fingers.

I was shocked at how fast he moved. He was a bit shorter than me, probably same height as Naruto but he managed to reach the ball. But I didn't let the shock take me off my game and I went for the ball yet with my speed I wasn't able to reach it before he did.

He was now dribbling the ball and I was on the defense. The guy was smirking, seeming to laugh at what happened. He was underestimating me. I spread my arms wide and readied myself for his assault. He charged towards me but I was fast so I also managed to block him when he went for my left. I saw his left leg move and I knew he was gonna move towards the other direction and he did. I followed him but as soon as my right foot hit the ground, he changed direction and went for my left again. It was fast and I tried to go to my left but my right foot was unstable and I lost my balance as a tried to catch up with him.

He freaking ankle-broke me.

Not minding that embarrassing fall, I tried to stand up as fast as I could but there he was all calm and took his shot, the form one of the most beautiful I've seen. I looked towards the net and saw the ball going in. That was one point for him.

"You okay?" he asked me, as if he really gave a care. My right ankle ached a bit, probably sprained but not so much that I couldn't play.

"Yeah I'm fi- " I didn't even finish speaking as I turned to look at him. His eyes which I swore were black were now red in color and there were like black commas on them. He was glaring at me but then when I looked past his shoulder I saw Naruto, staring at the two of us with a shocked expression plastered on his face.

The guy in front of me, seeming to notice that I was looking behind him, turned around, noticing Naruto too.

"Naruto, I didn't expect to see you here." he said casually as if he knew Naruto for his whole life. Wait, he knew Naruto? Who was the hell was this guy?

And then flashes suddenly made their way into my mind. Extremely good at basketball, able to see through his opponent's moves, not falling for fakes, the ankle break. And then the eyes. Those crimson eyes. The realization hit me like a bullet train.

He was Naruto's ex-boyfriend.

Why was he here? Did he know that Naruto and I are gonna be playing basketball? Or was it just coincidence? All those questions plagued my mind.

I looked again at Naruto who seemed to be out of his own shock and was walking towards us. His ex was just standing there, smirking. Couldn't he form other movements with those lips other than smirk?

"What are you doing here Sasuke?" Naruto asked him. So the arrogant jerk didn't lie about his name. Somehow I felt like I wasn't there with them as they were clearly focused on each other, though Naruto did glance at me.

"I've been playing basketball here during the weekend mornings since I came back. Though I didn't expect to play with uh, Kiba was it?" Sasuke looked me. This meeting was really unexpected. The last time I met with Naruto he kept on saying that I wouldn't want to meet his ex and see him play. Well I just did and not just saw him. I played one-on-one against him and was completely powerless against those eyes. Even if it was just one round I knew that I wouldn't have a chance against him. Naruto was right. Akashi's abilities weren't as crazy as it looked like.

Putting my thoughts aside, I just narrowed my eyes at him as if caught in between giving him a glare and keeping a friendly composure.

"So, what are you doing here Naruto? I didn't expect to see you this early, especially on a basketball court."

"Hah. And you would think that 'cause you know I hate the court. Anyway, I'm here with Kiba and he was to teach me how to play."

"Teach you how to play?" Sasuke asked as if surprised to hear it. "A guy who falls off balance in the court can't possibly a good player." And then he insulted me. So that compliment earlier when he said that I was a good player was just a ruse. I felt myself boil and I knew right then that I wouldn't be able to control myself. I charged for him and grabbed him by the collar, glaring right into his eyes and with my right arm ready to make a punch into that face of his.

"What did you say?!" I growled at him. The guy didn't even seemed fazed and has managed to do that smirk of his again as if saying, 'Come on. Do it.' I was really getting fed up and I pulled my right arm back to give a punch but then Naruto stood in between us.

"Kiba stop it." Naruto pushed the both of us apart and I let go of the bastard. "Don't mind his ego Kiba. He's really good in basketball but it doesn't mean you're not just because he's better than you."

Naruto had a point. Sasuke was just saying that to tick me off, maybe to have me out of control and then make a bad show in front of Naruto. Naruto already told me that Sasuke wanted to get back with him and this was probably one of his ploy.

"I'll stop but I swear if he insults me one more time I'm gonna have my fist acquainted with his face." I said in a low, growling voice for only Naruto to hear.

"Don't. He's also a third-degree black-belt in Karate and with his eyes, you'll probably end up hitting yourself. And I'm not joking Kiba. Don't get into a fight with him. I'll deal with him myself." he whispered to me. He then turned around to look at Sasuke who seemed to be amused by what was happening.

"What are you doing Sasuke?"

"I'm not doing anything. He's the one who grabbed me by the collar." Playing innocent huh?

"I don't know why you're here, whether it's coincidence or not but let me tell you this. I'm not coming back to you. We're long over. If you have any business other than that, tell me and we can talk about it." Naruto told him calmly.

"Hn. So this must be your new boyfriend. After replacing me with Hinata you turned to this guy." Sasuke turned towards me and gave me a death-glare. The intensity of his stare was almost palpable but I wasn't gonna lose to him so I glared back at him, not showing any weakness.

"I did not replace you with Hinata. I told you, we've been over since you broke up with me."

"Say what you want. You could have come back to me after breaking up with her but instead you hooked up with this cheater." And that last word surprised me.

Cheater? He couldn't have known about what I did.

"At least I didn't cheat on you Naruto. And I wouldn't. At least I broke up with you. But this guy has been caught by his ex-girlfriend doing 'it' with another guy inside their own apartment."

"Shut up!" I lunged towards him. I didn't fucking care how the hell he learned about that. All I knew was that I needed to shut that loud mouth of his and place my foot down his fucking throat. But Naruto grabbed me and prevented me from doing so.

"Naruto, let go of me." I ordered him. I struggle to break free but he only held me tighter. Damn it that he also works out in the gym.

"Kiba don't mind what he said. I know what you did and trust me, I don't see you as that Kiba. I know why you made those mistakes so whatever Sasuke's saying won't make me think any less of you." he said to assure me.

"So you knew about it yet still you hooked up with him. You are being unfair Naruto. Why are you giving him a chance and not me? Why choose someone you barely know instead of me? We've been with each other for more than 10 years!" I could feel the anger in his voice as he shouted. The jealousy. This guy must have been really in love with Naruto. Yet still he left him.

"I don't know Sasuke. But the fact is, I chose to be with him. I'm happy to be with Kiba. I know I'll be happy as well if I came back to you. But I'm sorry Sasuke. I'm already with Kiba. The two of us Sasuke, we can still be friends."

"I don't want us to friends. I just… want it to be just like before." he said, his voice which was raised just a few seconds ago turning into almost a whisper.

"I'm afraid it can't." Naruto replied sadly. I watched Sasuke and right in front of me the crimson color on his eyes turned back to black. He seemed to have calmed down with a defeated look on his face. He turned back and walked away. Naruto and I just watched him silently as he disappeared out of sight.

"I don't think I'm up for playing basketball anymore." Naruto said.

"Me neither." I felt the same. The exchanges with Sasuke killed the mood and maybe it was best if the two of just went for breakfast. Maybe after that the mood would return, but if not then maybe we could just go back to my place and hang out again.

"How's ramen sound?" I proposed knowing full well Naruto was not one to back down from ramen, his favorite food in the world. His face instantly lit up.

"I already had instant earlier but hey, nothing beats the real thing from Ichiraku. Let's go."

…

"Ahh. Another bowl please Teuchi-san." Naruto ordered, just after finishing his 2nd bowl. Man he sure can eat. I wondered how he wasn't getting fat with all those noodles.

It was becoming a hobby of mine to watch my boyfriend as he ate. It just manages to give me a smile seeing him happy eating his food. I was barely half-way eating my own bowl of Beef Miso Ramen with extra beef and with chili oil. I liked beef so much and the chili was the perfect spice for me.

As I ate my mind came to muse about earlier. During the walk to the ramen stand, I found myself thinking about what Sasuke said.

…instead you hooked up with this cheater

It kept echoing inside my head. Why? Because it was true. I cheated on my ex-girlfriend. I've hurt her so much and she was in love with me. I shouldn't have done that to her. I knew I couldn't feel the same way for her as she did for me but what I did was like a knife to the heart, stabbed from the back. I should have told her what I was feeling but I was a coward.

And still even after learning about that Naruto still chose me over Sasuke. Weighing things down, I knew that what I did was worse than what Sasuke did. I've been unfaithful to my ex, but Sasuke, he broke up with Naruto. Even if he didn't tell him why and disappeared, at least there wasn't any betrayal.

I was beginning to doubt myself if I was the one suited for Naruto. He already told me that he understood why I made that mistake and yet I felt undeserving.

I want to be with Naruto more than anything else. Those mistakes are from the past. I shouldn't let them haunt me. I should move on, learn from them and never repeat them. Yes, that was what I have to do. I should be thankful that Naruto gave me the chance and do whatever it takes not to disappoint him.

"Hey, what's wrong Kiba?" Naruto's voice startled me a bit and shook me out of my musing. "You seem like you're in deep thought. You've been nursing your ramen for almost a minute."

"Oh, was I?" I really hadn't notice that I was unconsciously moving my fork 'round the bowl.

"Is it about earlier?" he asked in a worried tone.

"Yes. But it's okay now. And Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Uh, for what?"

"For giving me a chance to be with you. I promise you I'll never take it for granted." I held both of his hands between mine as I told him sincerely.

"What's up with this all of a sudden?" he asked embarrassed, a blush already crept up on his cheeks.

"Let's just say I had an epiphany." I said, raising one eyebrow and giving a smirk.

"What's an epiphany?" And then he didn't even know what the word meant. I chuckled a bit at that. Well, it wasn't as if epiphany was a household word. I couldn't expect him to know it.

"I'll tell you later."

"Aw, tell me now." he insisted. I was about to tell him by then just because he looked so cute when he asked but then the ramen maker placed Naruto's ramen in front of him.

"Order up."

"Ooh, here's my Pork Miso Ramen." Naruto once again placed his hands in a prayer position and uttered an 'Itadakimasu'. "But you're still telling me later about this Kiba." he said as he pointed a chopstick towards me.

"Okay, I'll tell you later."

Naruto continued to chow down on his third bowl and I did the same on mine, all feelings of doubt now gone as I continued to watch my boyfriend, replaced with a feeling of happiness.

A/N: Come on guys, tell me what you think about shifting the Point of View to Kiba's. I really wanted to show his side on things and I think this chapter couldn't be told better by anyone than by Kiba. And of course, how would a Naruto POV show the one-on-one of Kiba and Sasuke without Naruto being there?

And it looks like I can actually write a chapter in less than 24 hours if I know the plot and is interesting. Hope this makes up for the long delay of Chapter 10.

I like to play basketball but I'm not good at it so if somehow my description of their movements are off, that's to be expected.

(1) So I'm already training to be a physical therapist, just 6 months more and I'm gonna graduate. And after that I want to be a sports PT and be a trainer.

And thanks for those who fav, follow and review GOWM and my other stories. You guys give me the boost I need to write.

Reviews are highly welcomed, more like, needed. Uh, I'm desperate.