He couldn't sleep. He felt worn out – exhausted, even – but despite his day of walking around with the Sand-nin, as well as doing his stretches and exercises before going to bed, he couldn't sleep.
Kiba lay back on his bunk in the dark room, listening to the quiet orchestra of breathing and snores coming from his family and their dogs, absentmindedly running the fingers of one hand up and down the uneven scar tissue on his legs. The other arm was tucked comfortably behind his head as he stared at the ceiling in a daze.
Lost in thought, his brow furrowed in concentration as he pulled his hand from his leg and touched it to his chest. He still felt discomfort; There wasn't an injury, but his chest felt bloated with unease. He frowned in frustration at his inability to remember that night clearly. As before, he occasionally remembered small details that came in brief flashes. Deciding to use the time he couldn't sleep, the dog-nin sat up in bed, crossing his legs.
He had never been good at meditation – something Shino swore by, but Kiba figured he had nothing to lose. Closing his eyes, he tried to clear his mind of everything outside of that night. Slowing and regulating his breathing, he tried to thrust his mind into the past, letting the memories take over.
"Mum!" Kiba yelled brashly as he pulled on his socks, getting no response. He rolled his eyes, before almost falling as he tried, and eventually succeeded in, pulling his second sock on, hopping briefly on one foot. As the second foot slammed back to the floor, he toppled backwards slightly, only stopping due to the large fluffy mass standing patiently behind him. The dog-nin turned his head to look at the dog, who gave him the closest look to exasperation a dog was able to give.
"Sorry, Akamaru," Kiba said apologetically as he straightened up, before shouting louder, "Mum!"
His voice echoed through the house, before a response shortly followed, "What?"
'Finally,' Kiba thought, judging his mother's voice to be coming from out back. He made his way through the house, sliding the back door open to reveal his mother training with the dogs.
"Hey," he said, watching Tsume and other dogs in the pack leaping around the garden on synchronicity, complimenting each other perfectly. The clan leader stopped what she was doing and turned to the newly arrived pair.
"What's wrong, Kiba?" she asked, her breathing not affected by the seemingly arduous exercise she had just partaken in.
"Nothing!" Kiba stated defensively, "Why does something have to be wrong?"
His mother looked at him sceptically. He sighed haughtily.
"I just wanted to tell you that Akamaru and I are heading out to meet Shino and Hinata."
"No," Tsume responded bluntly, causing Kiba's face to fall in disbelief.
"What?" he defended loudly, "I'm twenty-one, mum, you can't tell me I can't go out!"
"Oh, you can go," she said dismissively, "but Akamaru stays." She took one look at his befuddled expression before elaborating, "I want him to become more involved in the pack training, rather than only focussing on partnered training with you."
"Oh," the dog-nin replied reluctantly, before thinking about it. Akamaru had always been a bit of an outcast from the pack; This was partially because he was different, but if Kiba was honest with himself, he had maybe kept his partner away from everyone else, usurping all of the dog's time and attention. He turned his head to the side, glancing down at the giant beast. Akamaru looked so excited at the prospect of training with the pack. Feeling even more guilty, Kiba's mind was set.
"Yeah, that's fine," he affirmed more confidently, placing a hand on his companion's head, "I'll come back soon to see how you're doing, buddy."
The giant nin-dog barked in agreement, licking Kiba's face wetly before bounding across the garden to where the other dogs were gathered by the tree line.
"Well, I'll see you later, Mum!" he called, wiping his face on his sleeve as he turned back towards the door, hearing his mum's farewell after he walked back inside. Making his way back to the front door, he slipped his shoes on before opening the door to the humid evening heat.
'Feels like it's going to rain soon,' he thought, as he closed the door behind him, peering up at the overcast sky, 'but maybe not for a few days, yet.'
He still had plenty of time before meeting his former teammates at Ichiraku's, so he meandered slowly through the village, politely greeting those who greeted him, but otherwise with his head in the clouds.
He had been thinking recently about adding a new jutsu to his roster. He wanted to leave a mark, of sorts; a powerful jutsu of his own creation. Maybe something that could be passed down generations – or maybe even something that only he could master. He shook his head lightly at his thought process. Slim chance of that, but he still wanted to try. He'd had a few ideas - most of which were unfeasible - but nothing concrete.
He glanced up at the sky. The setting sun, barely visible through the thickening clouds, was casting a fiery glow, accented by creeping black shadows, across the village.
'We said sunset,' Kiba pondered to himself, 'I still have time; the library's just around the corner, and I won't be there long.'
His mind made up, he made his way down the block to the corner, rounding it swiftly, oblivious, when all hell broke loose.
An explosion rocked the building next to Kiba, blast wave sending him reeling to the other side of the street with the debris.
He lay face down in the dirty of the street, groaning. His head felt almost full – the sounds around him were dampened. He heard the sound of the explosion echoing through the buildings into the distance. When he lifted his head, however, he realised there was no echo. Blasts were toppling buildings as far as he could see, and plumes of smoke and debris were billowing skywards from all corners of the village.
As his head began to clear, the distinct sounds of screams reverberated from every direction. He glanced around the area where the closest voices originated, spying civilians and Leaf ninja alike battling for their lives and falling to black-clad assailants. His dazed brain finally caught up with the situation, and Kiba leapt up, frantically rushing forward on unsteady feet and wiping a bit of blood from his eye.
A young Genin was stood stock still, being approached menacingly by a robed figure, a hand reaching for the frozen kid. Just before fingers could grasp the boy's shirt, Kiba slammed his hand down on the man's arm, using the moment of confusion to thrust a tagged kunai into the stranger's chest. He crashed a powerful kick into the man's torso, sending him flying across the street, releasing the tag to explode powerfully. The dog-nin shielded the boy from both the blast and the view, preferring to keep the newly graduated Genin from witnessing the carnage. Unbeknownst to the young Inuzuka, as he was focussed on the trembling boy, he had caught someone's attention.
Grabbing the Genin's shoulders, Kiba forced him to look at him with a shake, rather than allowing the boy's eyes to wonder to the mess behind him. The boy's eyes jerked over frantically to the dog-nin, eyes wide in horror. The Jounin shook the Genin's shoulders again, trying to regain some semblance of focus from the kid.
"You need to get out of here," he yelled over the surrounding din of explosions, clashing metal, and screams. Simultaneously, he was trying to keep his senses partially focussed on his surroundings, prepared for attack, his body geared for war, "I need you to make your way to the shelters on Hokage mountain!"
That caught the boy's attention, "But… I'm a ninja," he finally stuttered, "M-my job is to defend the Hidden Leaf!"
"You can protect the civilians and students heading to the shelter – no one expects a new graduate - a kid - to die for the village, okay?" Kiba responded reasonably, if a bit harshly.
The boy's face fell at the prospect of death, unused to the ravages of war. He would have been a small child during the Fourth Great Ninja War. He'd probably only have vague memories of Pein's attack. Kiba sighed briefly, before he focussed on the kid again.
"Listen, kid," he said clearly, yet urgently, fully aware of the chaos continuing around them during the brief exchange, "I need you to head towards the shelters; I can almost guarantee your friends and teammates are heading that way too, if they're not there already."
The mention of the other Genin seemed to calm the boy's panic, somewhat, and he nodded firmly, determination gleaming in his watery eyes. Glad to see his persuasion working on the kid's shock, he continued, switching to a tone matching orders, rather than comfort.
"Keep to the alleys, and keep your eye out for falling debris and buildings, okay?" The boy was nodding his head in understanding, but his face fell in uncertainty when Kiba next spoke, "I know things are bad, but even if you see someone in trouble, I need you to keep going."
The boy's mouth opened to interrupt, but Kiba stopped him abruptly, "You can tell the next Chuunin or Jounin you see about it, but no one wants kids to die here tonight, or any night," he stated calmly and seriously, "You've only just graduated from the Academy and joined a Genin team; you're not ready for this. Please, trust us to fight for you – the civilians and children heading for the shelters need your protection as soon as possible."
He made his voice more authoritative, requests blending with orders. The Genin responded in kind, straightening up.
"Yes, sir!" he barked, before darting into the nearest alley, heading in the direction of the mountain. Kiba smiled softly, preparing to turn back to the fighting, before clapping stopped him in his tracks.
His blood froze. How could he hear it? He could clearly hear it over the cacophony of the battles and explosions raging around him; but how? Everything else seemed to drown out of existence in the presence of the slow, even sound.
As he started to turn, the clapping stopped, being replaced by a quiet voice. It wasn't too deep, but it was serene; calm. An oddity, in and of itself, in the surrounding chaos.
"What a touching display," the voice trailed from behind his still-frozen body. He kept wondering if it was a jutsu keeping him still, but that was far from the truth. This voice unnerved him so much that he had frozen out of pure, unearthly fear.
The tone of the voice sounded honest and serious, but Kiba's instincts were screaming at him; screaming that he was being mocked.
With gritted teeth, Kiba turned to fully face the source of the voice, being greeted by another hooded, robed stranger, his face shrouded almost completely in darkness despite the fires raging around them. The man wasn't much taller than Kiba, nor much broader, but his presence was inexplicably overwhelming. The dog-nin could somehow feel the power radiating from this seemingly average man. A shiver raced down his spine as the one visible part of the man's face stretched slightly into a small, eerie grin. It looked out of place on the man's face, as if the skin on his face was unused to the act, causing it to pull almost painfully across his jaw.
"I saw what you did to my companion over there," he stated calmly, gesturing casually to the smouldering remains that lay only metres away, before he continued, "and while the attack itself was nothing special, something about you is different."
The main trailed off, taking some steps closer to the unnerved dog-nin, peering at him with interest. His eyes were only barely visible, now, due to the blaze reflecting off their surfaces, creating an even more terrifying image as the man moved ever closer.
"I can't quite put my finger on it," the stranger murmured, as if to himself, as his eyes swept up and down the young Jounin's frame. Kiba leaned back marginally, despite the slight distance still between them. His animal instincts were screaming – hammering – at his subconscious, shrieking at him to get as far away as he possibly could from this man. However, his duty as a ninja of the Hidden Leaf village told him to face his enemy head on, lest he do harm to others in his stead.
He had been told from childhood about the Will of Fire, and while he knew he had it contained within him, he had never felt it so potently as he did in that moment.
He quickly weighed his options, making his choice nearly instantaneously, slipping his hand into one of his trouser pockets, and throwing the contents as hard as he could at the ground.
Light enveloped the area, temporarily blinding anyone in the immediate vicinity, as well as anyone else unlucky enough to be looking in that direction. Using the flash-bombs as a distraction, Kiba took his chance.
He struck the man with a powerful kick, sending him skidding backwards across the street, though he didn't lose his footing. Without missing a beat, the dog-nin dug his back foot into the ground, crouching slightly before pushing harshly off the dirt, springing rapidly in a spinning motion in the direction of the man, performing what could only be described as a 'solo Fang Over Fang'. It wasn't as effective as the complete jutsu with Akamaru, but it worked in a pinch.
He flew at his opponent and, in less than a second, struck the unprepared man solidly in the chest, sending the robed man crashing into the ground with a sickening thud. Kiba stood straight from his position, glaring at the still man, panting harshly, and trying to catch his breath.
The man wasn't moving, but Kiba didn't trust him to stay down, the uncomfortable feeling still wreaking havoc through his body.
"Hey, Inuzuka!" a panicked voice called from his left. Surprised, Kiba turned his head, catching sight of an older Jounin struggling with two enemy ninja. The man was clearly being overwhelmed by the double team, and in that instant a sword was plunged through his left shoulder with an audibly wet sound. Without thinking, Kiba moved to intercept the second ninja, who was swinging his sword at the disabled Jounin's neck.
He didn't make it, though. Unexpectedly, he was snagged from behind, yanked backwards by his neck and pulled into an uncomfortably tight embrace. Choking for breath, Kiba struggled against the hold, watching wide-eyed as the Jounin's head toppled from his shoulders in a shower of red, landing on the floor with a wet thump. The man's body followed quickly, collapsing to the floor with blood pouring out of the stump of the neck, seemingly never-ending.
The two ninja responsible glanced in his direction briefly, before disappearing into smoke and shadow to find their next victims, undoubtedly. Growling audibly in anger, Kiba struggled against the hold that had him trapped, but froze again when he was spoken to.
"Didn't someone ever teach you not to turn your back on your enemy, Inuzuka," the voice drawled, whispering damply into his ear causing a shudder of disgust and anger to sweep through the young Jounin. The man from before was holding him from behind, one arm across his chest, while the other was still wrapped tight around his neck. One of the man's legs was wrapped around one of his own at the knee joint, preventing him from struggling too much; not that that stopped him.
"So, Inuzuka, is it," the stranger muttered, his lips so close they brushed against the dog-nin's ear as he spoke, causing the wriggling Jounin to shudder, "That's a very old clan, you know; it pre-dates this village by generations -"
"If I wanted a history lesson, I would have asked for one!" Kiba interjected, struggling harder against the man's hold. The grip tightened, causing the young Jounin to gasp for air that was no longer incoming. The man continued as if he hadn't been interrupted.
"This could explain why I took such an interest in some average Jounin."
The man was muttering to himself again. He paused as if waiting for a response from the breathless Inuzuka, before continuing without him.
"Though, you haven't exactly displayed any of the talents that you should with that kind of power; though, saying that, you are quite young. Maybe you haven't been in the right situation - the right amount of danger - for it to awaken."
Suddenly, the man spun Kiba around in his arms, releasing his neck, his face suddenly unnervingly close to his own as the dog-nin gasped for air. The man's grip tightened on his arms, definitely causing some bruising.
"Let's see if we can fix that," the man spoke flatly, though his eyes held a dark excitement. He dropped the Inuzuka's arms, and before Kiba had a chance to catch himself, he was backhanded severely, sending him reeling head first into the closest wall. He didn't even have time to get to his feet before the real beating started.
Holding up his arms in a desperate attempt to protect his eyes, Kiba was pounded upon. Punches and kicks pulverized his ribs and head, while the occasional sharp weapon was drawn quickly across his skin in scores. A particularly powerful kick slammed him into the wall of the building behind him, causing some of the burning roof to slide off into a burning pile in the middle of the street behind his assailant. The shadows caused by the burning debris shrouded the man's face in total darkness, with the exception of his eyes, which gleamed with anticipation.
'Anticipation for what, though?' Kiba could barely think through the pain and the blood drenching his body, but he forced out an unidentifiable sound, which was enough to stop the attack briefly enough for him to get a word in.
"I have no idea what 'power' you're talking about, man," Kiba spluttered out, bloody dripping from the corners of his mouth, "but if it's danger I needed to be in, I'm pretty sure it would have presented itself in the war; you know, that giant ninja war where loads of people died?!"
He knew it was probably risky to be snarky to the guy, but he was beyond caring by that point. Surprisingly, though, the man simply chuckled.
"That was six years ago, my young friend," he murmured, stroking the Inuzuka's bruised face with the back of his fingers, as his face inched closer, "maybe you were still a bit too young; still growing. Or maybe you weren't in enough danger of dying. Maybe, you weren't desperate enough."
Taking his chance, Kiba lifted his hands and slammed both of them over the man's ears. It probably wouldn't cause the eardrums to rupture, but it was enough pain that the man stumbled back, his hands clasped over his ears as he clenched his eyes shut, groaning in agony.
Kiba took the chance to clamber to his feet, staggering forward past the man. He turned to look back at him, clenching his hand over aching ribs, but the pain was dissipating, strangely, and was being replaced by an odd tingling sensation. Assuming adrenalin, the dog-nin watched, growling, with hazy vision as the man caught himself against the wall with one hand, turning with a glare at the young Jounin.
He seemed to stop short, however, eyes widening in awe, and a small, crazed smile spreading across his now fire-lit face.
"What the hell are you grinning about, freak?" Kiba growled, unaware of his deepening voice.
"Pot, kettle," the man replied, frustratingly, with a smirk. He opened his mouth to continue, but was interrupted by the sound of a large horn. The man looked past the young Inuzuka, spying the flares that followed the signal. Swearing under his breath, he turned his head back to the Jounin before him, smiling apologetically.
"Unfortunately, I have neither the time, nor the necessary preparations, to bring you with me at the present time," he spoke as if Kiba had asked him to take him with him, "so, alas, we'll have to wait until next time, okami."
Confused at the term, Kiba shook off his curiosity, and gave into his instincts, sprinting with an inhuman snarl at the man, his foggy-yet-focussed vision zeroed in on the stranger's black-clad throat.
The man calmly raised his hand and touched it to the jounin's chest. A shockwave went straight through him, rattling his bones as it travelled rapidly, shooting down his legs and into the ground itself. The floor beneath him rumbled and split, breaking apart under his feet. The shockwave still keeping him rooted where he was, and Kiba was unable to catch himself as the floor disappeared from beneath him. He fell with one last growl into the space below, burning debris following him down and lighting his way.
Expecting to hit the floor in a second or two, he was caught completely off guard when his body hit something too early, sending him, and the object, toppling off course. An aching pain radiated down his side, as the object he'd hit collapsed underneath the weight of both him, and the debris that followed him. He finally hit the ground with a groan, which instantly became a whining cry of pain as a large section of a building that had followed him down landed directly on his outstretched arm. Burning bits of rafters followed quickly, landing squarely on his thighs, causing a silent scream to burst out, the sound of explosions quieting slightly as the hole he'd fallen through was filled from floor to ceiling with fallen debris, shrouding Kiba's surroundings in pitch darkness, as another explosion rocked the library above. He tried to reach for the burning embers with his free hand, but the movement pulled at his side, which no longer ached, but burned sharply with a stabbing pain whenever he moved. Something else was keeping him pinned down, but he couldn't see what in the darkness, the fiery embers not giving enough light as they melted his trousers, causing his skin to agonisingly blister and sizzle. A broken whine escaped his mouth before, steeped in agony, the dog-nin finally gave in to unconsciousness, the dampened sounds destruction being the last thing he heard.
Agony. That's all he felt. His couldn't even lift his eyelids.
Much like the rest of his body, his mind refused to cooperate. The only sound that came to his sensitive ears was a light dripping from nearby.
'Where am I? What happened?'
Suddenly, elusive visions – or maybe memories – came to the forefront of his mind. A booming roar of sound; bright light; screams cut short.
Interrupting his thoughts, a tremor sounded through the earth, causing white burning pain to travel through his torso, and a few small flecks of dust and debris to fall to the ground nearby. Though emotions travelled through his mind a mile a minute, there was one that stood out from the rest that was vaguely familiar.
'What is this feeling?' he asked to himself, sure he'd felt it before on at least a few occasions. Despite feeling like his thoughts were swimming in water, the answer came to him.
'This is fear', he concluded, as his mind faded swiftly into unconsciousness once more.
Kiba gasped as he emerged from his meditation, before remembering where he was. He glanced around the room, ensuring that no one woke up from the noise. Luckily, the snoring from a few was loud enough that it hadn't broken through their sleep.
The dog-nin uncrossed his sleeping legs, stretching them out a bit before standing, staggering a bit as blood rushed back to his limbs after sitting still for so long. He slowly and quietly crept out of the hut, careful not to wake his sleeping family. Once outside, he took a deep breath in.
'That was a lot to process,' he thought to himself, letting the breath out slowly, and repeating the process in an attempt to calm his racing heart. He leaned against the side of the building, staring absentmindedly as he placed his hand over his chest again. He couldn't stop thinking about the gibberish the guy had been speaking about.
'Power? Talents? Okami? The guy was fucking nuts.' Kiba concluded, with a light shake of his head, as if that would get rid of the memories he'd returned to himself. While he thought the man was a total nutcase, the young Inuzuka couldn't help the sense of unease he felt when he thought about the man. The guy had heard his family name and recognised it. While Kiba had no idea what he was talking about, the guy was clearly convinced he knew something about the Inuzuka clan.
'Questions for another day,' Kiba thought tiredly, exhaustion finally catching up to him. Maybe he'd actually be able to sleep this time. Deciding to ask his mum about what the man had said, at some point, the dog-nin made his way back inside, picking his way through the sleeping dogs, and collapsing quietly onto his bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.