The village was starting to feel normal again.
"It's quite sad," Kiba thought solemnly as he limped past the newly erected Ichiraku Ramen stand, firmly using Akamaru as a leaning post. All the stools were taken - though none yet, surprisingly, by Ichiraku's best customer or his shadow - by citizens and shinobi alike, chattering cheerfully with each other as they enthusiastically devoured their meals. The setting sun cast long shadows of the partially cleared destruction on the ground around the pair as they moved slowly through the paths cleared through the rubble, creating an almost beautiful picture of light being consumed by darkness.
"It's like we've become so accustomed to tragedy that it barely fazes us anymore," he continued silently, "the time for grief seems to shorten with every disaster."
He couldn't decide if this was a good or a bad thing. On the one hand, he felt happy that there was some joy to be found in these terrible times. On the other, however, he couldn't help but feel that it was a bit unhealthy for the people to be so unaffected after such a short period of time. Though, saying that, Kiba had been a bit depressing lately, so it could just be him projecting his unhappiness on the situation.
"Maybe I'm the weird one," he thought to himself wryly.
His self-depreciation was brought to a halt with the wails of a certain blond ahead of him. Naruto was being held back casually by his collar by his aforementioned shadow as he 'tried' to drag them over to the ramen stand. If the Jinchuriki really wanted to, he could probably make a bit more headway than he seemed to be, but it just showed that he wasn't particularly trying to fight against his raven-haired counterpart. It was a game, and, judging from his expression, the stoic man knew it.
"But Sasuke-!" the blond whined pathetically, pulling half-heartedly against the grip of the Uchiha.
"Naruto, we already had ramen for lunch," Sasuke said firmly, hints of a battle between irritation and mild amusement colouring his voice, "we're not having it for dinner as well; you need to eat better."
Kiba's mouth twitched with barely contained laughter as he watched the ensuing back and forth. The apathetic man thought he was succeeding at hiding the realities of his relationship with the younger male, but even if he didn't follow his every move with the eyes of a hawk – or the Sharingan of an Uchiha in this case – it would be blatantly apparent to even the most oblivious of people. His thoughts were cut off again.
"Oh! Hey Kiba!" the bouncy Jinchuriki cried out cheerfully, immediately managed to tear out of Sasuke's grip with ease as he bounded over to the dog-nin. Kiba watched as the Uchiha's forehead creased slightly in irritation and smirked triumphantly at the man – getting a withering glance in return when he was noticed.
Having completely forgotten about Naruto's approach, he was immediately pounced on by the hyperactive blond, causing him to hiss in pain as his legs started to give out from underneath him, causing him to collapse to his knees on the dusty ground. The sound wasn't lost on the blond, who immediately jumped back off him, stuttering out apologies a mile a minute while he watched helplessly, moving his hands in a way that said he wanted to help, but he didn't want to hurt him again. The dog-nin breathed heavily through clenched teeth, trying not to give into the temptation of touching his thighs which were burning with the sensation of the stretching and tearing of his skin. Akamaru stood by, whining quietly as he gently nudged his master's hand with his nose as if scared to touch him.
"Oh no, I'm so sorry Kiba," the blond stuttered out feebly, "I completely forgot you were hurt."
Kiba wasn't really listening to the words spilling out of Naruto's mouth through the screaming his mind was doing in his head, but he could hear the tones of sincerity in what he was saying. He was about to wave off the man's never-ending requests for forgiveness when a familiar voice cut through the babbling.
"Hey! What the hell is going on here?"
He heard the light footsteps and smelt the earthy scent before he saw him. Kankuro placed a hand gently on Kiba's shoulder from a kneeling position behind him as he quietly asked if he was okay.
"I'm fine, Kankuro," the dog-nin panted through gasping breaths, faintly noticing how his heart sped up at the mere sound of sand-nin's voice close to his ear, "It was just an accident."
He reached back and gently patted the other man's hand reassuringly, missing the immediate softening of Kankuro's expression. It wasn't missed by the bouncing bundle of energy who chuckled knowingly before toning it down with a quick glare from the sand ninja.
"You need to be more careful, Uzumaki," the older man chided with a withering glance. The jinchuriki's smile faded back to the previous guilt-ridden pout which he aimed at Kiba. The dog-nin's pain had dulled enough for him to stand carefully, followed quietly by Kankuro, who kept his contact with the younger man, moving his hand lightly from his shoulder to the small of his back. Kiba spotted Naruto's look and gave him a small smile to show the blond that he had nothing to apologise for, before turning his head slightly to look at the irritated sand-nin.
"I'm fine, Kankuro," he reiterated in what he hoped was a calming voice. Kankuro's eyes shifted immediately to look at him intensely, before his gaze softened under the dog-nin's reassuring eyes.
"Well," he started slowly, before he continued a bit grudgingly "I guess if you're okay…"
"I am," Kiba laughed gently with a mildly condescending expression, "but thank you for coming to my unneeded rescue, anyway."
The sand-nin grumbled slightly with an almost unnoticeable pout, causing Kiba to laugh louder.
Neither noticed the retreat of the Uchiha, who was slowly pulling his complaining blond down the street away from them.
"So, what are you doing out here alone, anyway?" Kankuro asked absently, subtly giving the dog-nin another quick once over, not quite believing he was okay. Keen eyes caught the glance, however, and Kiba quickly lifted his hand to give the sand-nin a tap on the chin, causing the taller man's gaze to catch his eye once more.
"Well, I was looking for someone to eat dinner with," he stated teasingly, "and now I have!"
Kankuro let a fond smile leak onto his face as the younger grabbed his hand and started pulling him unevenly towards the busy ramen stand, Akamaru trailing behind happily. They walked up to the counter, getting a warm greeting from the owner as they clambered into some recently vacated stools.
"Kiba Inuzuka!" Teuchi called out happily, "how are we feeling today?"
"Still a bit stiff," Kiba replied thankfully, "just looking forward to when I can get back to training!"
"Always on the move, aren't we," the old man said fondly, "what can I get for you and your friend this evening?"
The two young men made their order after some deliberation, and began conversing quietly as they waited for their food, their heads angled closely towards each other. Soft smiles adorned their faces as they chatted, completely unaware of their surroundings until someone cleared their throat loudly, causing them to snap their heads up in surprise.
"Order's up, boys," Teuchi stated kindly as he pushed their bowls towards them. He glanced behind them once they began devouring their dinner, and his smile widened.
"Well, look who it is!" he cried out jovially, "It's wonderful to see you back here! The usual, I presume!"
"It's good to see you up and running, Teuchi," a familiar voice replied, causing Kiba and Kankuro to turn around, "and you know us far too well."
There stood Iruka, a warm smile on his face as he took in the new stand. Just behind him, Kakashi stood awkwardly waving at those present, forever the social pariah. They slid into the seats next to Kiba as the old man went on to cook their meals.
"It's good to see you out and about, Kiba," Iruka smiled quietly as he turned to the young man, "I told you it wouldn't be a problem if you just took your time."
"Yeah, well, it's still a bit too much time for my taste," Kiba replied, grimacing, "but at least I can walk, I guess… sort of."
His downtrodden voice caused Kankuro to grasp the boy's hand again, squeezing it comfortingly. The older pair took notice of this, as well as the tone Kiba had used.
"You're still worried," Iruka stated matter-of-factly, "I'm telling you, you shouldn't be. Look how much progress you've made already. I know it's taking a while, but I have full confidence in your abilities, and your stubbornness; you will bounce back from this."
Kiba glanced down at his half-eaten ramen solemnly, "I'm just not so sure, Iruka," he responded quietly, "It's been weeks since the surgery and I just don't feel like I've made much progress.
"I'm seriously worried that this could be the end of me as a shinobi. What use does Lady Tsunade have for a shinobi that hobbles around at the speed of a snail?"
"Well," the previously silent copy-nin decided to cut in, "Have you talked to Lady Tsunade about your concerns? I'm sure you would feel better if you did."
"She's the Hokage," Kiba stated self-depreciatingly, "I'm sure she's too busy to deal with my problems."
"Have you tried asking her?" Kankuro asked quietly, smiling encouragingly, "She may be busy, but I'm sure she can spare a minute to answer some questions."
The sand-nin gripped his hand tighter, a silent promise to the Inuzuka that he'd be by his side the whole time, if needed.
Tsunade lowered her aching head into her hands, massaging her head lightly with her fingers. Knock after knock, message after message, report after report; so much noise and commotion, yet there was no news. She had barely slept in days, constantly being bombarded with messages reporting absolutely nothing. "
'Whoever came up with "no news is good news" was an idiot,' she thought sourly. Irritated, she went over the information they did have for the hundredth time in: there were a large number of them, they were organised, they were powerful, and they were most likely holed up somewhere between Konoha and Amegakure. Not that that narrowed anything down - useless.
She allowed her consciousness to slip away, taking advantage of the moment of respite she finally had from the never-ending reports.
Until a quiet knock at the door caused her eyes to snap open in irritation.
"What do you want now?!" she called out irately, glaring at the wooden structure. Her anger clearly caused whoever was on the other side to hesitate, which only served to vex her further, "Get in here," she continued firmly.
After hearing a short, hushed exchange of words outside, the door creaked open gently, and a fearful face, blushing red with anxiety, peeked around it. Spotting the prominent red triangles adorning nervous cheeks, Tsunade's features softened, the creases on her forehead disappearing in an instant.
"I'm so sorry for the intrusion, Lady Hokage," Kiba stuttered out rapidly, "I just wanted to ask you something, but you seem busy; I mean, it's nothing, really, I don't even know why I came, but the others were all telling me I should-"
"Kiba," Tsunade said, interrupting his panicked babbling, before continuing with a welcoming gesture of her hand, "come on in; I'm sorry for my tone before, I thought you were someone else."
He hesitated for a couple of seconds before he seemed to be nudged from behind, causing him to stumble into the door slightly. It opened a bit more, revealing his gigantic sidekick lingering by his legs, in addition to his regular puppeteer shadow. She nodded to both of them in greeting, both bowing their heads politely in response.
"What can I do for you, boys?" she asked softly, still feeling guilty for snapping at them. Kiba shuffled awkwardly on the spot for a second, before Kankuro put a hand gently on his shoulder, giving him a meaningful nod when the younger man glanced back at him.
"Uh, I was just wondering about-," he trailed off uncertainly, until the older shinobi behind him gave a light nudge, "I was just wondering about my injuries; they seem to be taking a long time to heal. They still hurt enough that I can't walk right, and I'm starting to get worried…"
"Worried about your position as a shinobi," Tsunade finished for him, realising the reason for his visit.
Kiba blushed lightly, a small frown marring his face, and nodded quickly, "I mean, it's been weeks now, and I just feel like it's not getting any better."
The Hokage smiled lightly before she spoke, "I'm sure you'll be fine, Kiba, it will just take a bit of time," she noted the young man's frown deepening at the clearly overused phrase, so she stood from her chair, gesturing towards the side room in her office before continuing, "however, if it will give you some peace of mind, I'll have another look at them."
Kiba startled slightly, "Right now?" he asked, nervously glancing behind him at the taller man. Ever observant, Kankuro clocked the dog-nin's uncertainty, and began backing away towards the door.
"I'll just go get something to drink; I'll be back in a little while," he stated, making meaningful eye contact with the younger. The tension marginally left Kiba's shoulders as he shot a grateful smile at the sand-nin. The taller man smiled back, calling out lightly to Akamaru, who followed after a moment's hesitation and a small lick to his owner's hand.
Tsunade watched the exchange between the two ninja with a small smile as the taller of the ninja slipped out of the room with the gigantic dog.
"Well," she said lightly, nodding towards the room again, "shall we?"
Kiba shifted on his feet a bit, before giving a small nod and moving carefully in the direction of the examination room. The Hokage closed the door behind them quietly, requesting he remove his trousers and sit up on the table, while she moved casually around the room gathering what she needed. The attempt to ease his discomfort was not lost on Kiba, as he quickly wriggled out of his trousers, gripping them in his lap after he awkwardly and painfully hopped up onto the examination table, unable to stop fidgeting.
Tsunade pulled on her gloves before moving quietly over to the table herself, plopping herself down on a small stool.
"You're going to have to move those," she said kindly, motioning towards the crumpled up trousers held tightly over his thighs. With a shaky breath, the dog-nin complied, looking out of the small window quickly. He felt her poke and prod at the flesh on his thighs, trying his best not to squirm as she did so, but unable to stop a few winces as the skin pulled uncomfortably. At least it wasn't as bad as when he was walking.
Lady Tsunade hummed thoughtfully, causing him to unwillingly drag his eyes to the mess that was his legs.
"They seem to have healed up fine," she said thoughtfully, lifting one of his legs up at the knee, silently ordering him to crook it up so she could look at the back of his thigh, "there's still a couple of places that need some more healing, which I can do right now, but the rest seems to be fine."
"So," Kiba started uncertainly, as the Hokage held glowing green hands over his thighs, "why is it still hurting? Will this affect my walking forever?"
"No need to worry, Kiba," Tsunade answered calmly, sitting up straight and pulling her hands away after a few minutes, "the pain is coming from the newly healed tissue pulling at the old. Your legs just need to get used to it; you need to stretch it out a bit. Think of it like wearing in new shoes, only it's new skin."
She stood up, chuckling at Kiba's slightly disgusted face, moving over to the counter to get her notepad and pen, and started writing, "I'm going to write you a list of light exercises I want you to try every day. Do not, and I mean do not, try anything more strenuous, or you could tear the newly formed skin, and that won't help you at all."
She finished writing, and tore the paper from the pad, handing it to Kiba. He quickly glanced over the list, spotting quite a few familiar exercises that were mainly just stretches. He nodded slightly, jumping down carefully and slowly pulling his trousers on, before shoving the paper in his pocket.
"Thanks, Lady Hokage."
"Now, when you feel the pain has gone, come back to me and we'll have another examination to see if you can move back onto more strenuous exercises, or even get you back to work," she said, smiling as she saw the ninja get excited at the prospect, "however, if the pain gets any worse, or has not gotten any better after a week, come back and we'll look down other avenues."
While his face fell a bit at the possibility, the fact that there were 'other avenues' at all kept Kiba in relatively high spirits.
A knock on the door startled them both a bit. On opening, Kankuro stood on the other side with a small smile, holding out a bottle of juice to the dog-nin.
"All done?"
Kiba smiled fondly at the sand-nin, grabbing the bottle as he brushed lightly past him, the close proximity not lost on him.
"All done," he replied with a smile, placing his hand on Akamaru's head as he began limping out, followed closely by the puppet master. With another warm thanks, and a short wave, they left the smiling Hokage shaking her head warmly after them.
I am so sorry. I know it's been like, 2 years or something since my last update, and I feel awful about it.
Combination: writer's block, work, procrastination, and generally life.
I promise I will not leave it this long again! Story is not dead in the slightest. Can't promise an update very soon, but definitely not too long!
