A/N:Hey everyone!I hope you guys are doing well~ I have come back another chapter - yahoo! *confetti*
This chapter will give a bit more glimpse into the Inuzuka clan and introducing much more OCs- I will be providing a little OC list at the end of the chapter (when I can) with more notable information about them to give more context, but hopefully the chapter provides a good enough context!
And I know, it's been pretty stagnant within certain days, but I hope that after this, the story will move forward and we get to good stuff! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter~
Chapter 6
The moment he entered the street his home laid in, in an area that is considered to be Konoha's "Inuzuka neighbourhood", the smell of spices and fresh meat took over the other scents around him, almost making him salivate slightly as he pulled open the front gate. It was early evening - almost time for dinner, he assumed, and man, was he starving.
Kiba nearly tripped over his own feet as he rushed through the front door and sat on the ledge of the entryway of his home, unzipping the back of his sandals and kicking off his shoes. He was about to leave his sandals in their spot, one having flipped over and laying on its side, however, the memories his mom scolding him harshly from the last time he left his shoes in the entryway, and today was the day he did not want hear any type of scolding from Tsume.
Before Kiba could give a command, Akamaru bounced up from the ledge leading into the house, barking and bouncing through the hallway into the living room.
"Chicken! Chicken!" Akamaru barks echoed through the hallways.
"Hey, Akamaru! Sit! Sit!" A voice came from within, making Kiba jump up from the ledge and briskly walk towards the doorway.
He found Hana standing in the kitchen, near the counter with chicken legs lined up on a glass platter, hands covered in plastic gloves in the air away from her, extending the leg that Akamaru had decided to attach himself onto away from the counter. Akamaru almost immediately backed off of Hana when Kiba stepped into the space, sitting down, but he never left Hana's side.
"I wasn't expecting you guys to be back home this early," Hana commented, looking up to Kiba. She tilted her head to the side, the side of her mouth lifting into a grin, an eyebrow raised. "So? Pass or fail?"
"You knew?" Kiba asked, his eyebrows pulling in automatically at her question, a realization dawning on him. "Why didn't you tell me that I would have to take another test to become a Genin!"
"You sign a NDA along with your contract to ensure that you don't tell Academy students about the test," Hana answered with a slight shrug, taking off the plastic gloves, quickly turning on the sink and running her hands with soap.
Kiba desperately wanted to ask, "What the hell is a NDA?", but Hana chuckled a bit, continuing, "I'm kidding, it's not that serious. But they do tell us not to mention it to upcoming Academy graduates, just in case. Even the ones who failed can't mention it either. So? Did you fail?"
Kiba quickly shoved his hand into his hoodie pocket, pulling out the headband he took off on the way back home, the mixture of sweat and dirt from all those hours running around, fighting Kurenai, and rolling across the ground making the fabric stick to his forehead in a way that even he found to be uncomfortable and mildly gross. The smell of it...well...he didn't want to begin to describe it. He showed her the handband in the palm of his hand, and he could see Hana's face brighten up, a big smile.
"Hey, I knew you could do it!" Hana said, walking up towards him, a hand reaching out to rub his head roughly, the strength of it making Kiba's move around a bit too much, he swore his skull was going to snap off his neck.
"Hey! Ow! Stop it!" Kiba exclaimed, his voice cracking throughout the inflections, and Hana pulled her hand away (but not without giving him a few more ruffles). "You're ruining my hair!"
"It's already ruined," Hana replied, putting a hand on her hip. "Go wash up and come back downstairs. And actually, wash up properly."
"I'm not a kid! I know how to clean myself," Kiba continued as Hana silently ushered him out of the kitchen, out into the hallway to the staircases leading up to the top floor.
"Do you? Do you really?" Hana asked, and Kiba squinted his eyes, throwing her his best annoyed look to get her to stop bugging him. He walked up the stairs with Akamaru a step below him, slower than he would, all the movement he did that day catching up to him and making his legs ache in a way that he never felt from anything he had to endure throughout the years at the Academy. Actual battles are different from those training spars they had to do, for sure. When they emphasized endurance and resistance training, Kiba didn't think much of it- but now, he has to come up with some new regimen to follow.
Suddenly, he heard Hana call out from the bottom of the staircase, "Wear your cleanest clothes! We're going to have guests!"
"What!?" Kiba called back immediately, whipping his head back to look down at her, but all he saw was Hana walking away into the hallways, likely to go back to the kitchen. He yelled, louder now, "Hana! What?! What d'you mean we're having guests?!"
"You heard me!" He heard Hana's voice, muffled through the walls, call back, and he could hear the sound of water running again quickly before he could yell back again. He didn't want to go back downstairs, already at the top of the staircase to begin with, and he knew Hana was going to tell him to leave her alone so she could do what she was doing in peace.
What the hell! Kiba thought as he went through the top drawer that was underneath the bathroom sink, taking out his green visor-like shower cap, after grabbing his towel from his room and throwing all his clothes in the laundry basket in the corner of his room. He nearly stomped into the bathtub, putting the visor around his forehead, around above his ears, before turning the knob maybe a bit too aggressively. He quickly set up the water temperature with the knobs, the cold water from the showerhead turning warm as the water hit his hair, traveling down over his body.
I was going to meet up with Akane after the test! Kiba furiously grabbed the nearest shampoo bottle in the tub - the only one there, a lavender scented one, just lovely, he really needs to buy his own shampoo from now on unless he wanted to smell like a flower shop - and he lathered and massaged it into his brown strands. He was careful not to let the shampoo get anywhere near his ears, he knew that it would annoy him if water got into his ears. I wanted to...oh fuck, my eyes!
He had somehow got soap in his eyes, and Kiba quickly cupped his hands to catch the water and wash his face. After that, he quickly cleaned the rest of his body, not wanting to stand in there longer than he had to.
Kiba had met up with his friends the evening before at the park near the Academy, after he met Kurenai for the first time and he had stayed behind at the tea house with Hinata and Shino. The moment they finished the tea and mochi that Kurenai had (thankfully) paid for, he ran off, not wanting to be held back with them anymore. They were more than excited about their sensei - he was so cool, Akane had swooned, with a bandana and a toothpick in his mouth without a care in the world- and they were definitely much more optimistic about their team than Kiba could have ever dreamed of being.
Hinata and Shino… he won't lie and say that he thought of them differently before this test they had to take together. Other than what he thought of them before - one being shy and passive and the other being cold, rude, and, well, creepy- he also had thought they would be much more...stuck up.
Well, Shino was kind of stuck up, in a way, however...he did recognize Kiba's abilities as a shinobi, entrusting him with a pretty big role in their strategy to get Kurenai's headband. But...the way he speaks to him, with all those big words and explaining every little detail, asking him questions all uppity, like he was looking down on him when he asked a question…
Kiba knew they were from noble clans - the Hyuuga and the Aburame, two of the four other clans to help found the Village, along with the Uchiha and the Akimichi clan. And the only reason Kiba even cared to remember this is because his year had a student from these clans. Sasuke Uchiha and Choji Akimichi, specifically. The latter one, he was acquainted to as well, but he had a hard time believing that Choji came from such an esteemed clan - he always hung out with Shikamaru and asked him for his allowance to buy snacks from the convenient store near the Academy, always snacking during class, and he was not a better student than...any of them, really.
Choji was very different from the other three students. He was definitely friendlier and more outgoing. And he was actually approachable.
Hinata was definitely different from how he thought she would act. Well, yes, she was shy, and was very much a peacekeeper between himself and Shino, and was passive about what to do when they first started the test together. He expected her to be snobbish as well; between all of them, the Hyuuga, from what he remembers from seeing in passing when Hinata was accompanied by a member of the clan to school and on parent-teacher conference night, had a sense of...importance that they carried. They also smelled like, what Kiba would describe as, freaking loaded.
And he expected Hinata to react differently when he teased her - he thought she would have told him off, in a more ladylike way with less cursing obviously (imagine Hinata cursing...that would be funny), like how most of the girls in the class do whenever a guy tries to get on their nerve and make a dumb joke.
Hinata genuinely thought he was serious, and she...just looked very naive. Sheltered, if he had to go there. And she didn't try to demean him in any way. And...she just accepted his apology, because really, he thought she wouldn't react that taken aback, and she was just...generally very easy going.
Not saying that he felt some deep and profound connection with them after this test, no. But maybe having to smell them, getting all in their personal space, might have done something? Kiba felt his face start to heat up as he thought about how close he was to them, close to their clothes, their hair, their skin. He never had to do that before; it was his first time. Usually, he would be adjusted to people's scent through time, and while it did take a very long time that way, it is the least intimate way to get to know someone.
Stop thinking about it, Kiba commanded himself, feeling his heart beating fast, and he turned off the water faucet, taking a deep breath. Now's not the time...we got other shit to deal with.
"Akamaru!" Kiba opened the bathroom curtains slightly open, grabbing the towel he hung nearby and wrapped it around his chest - no, he meant his waist. He found Akamaru laying down on the mat on the floor, eyes closed as the steam from the hot water created a foggy blanket in the room.
Akamaru immediately pulled himself up on his feet to the sound of Kiba's voice, looking straight at him, barking, "Yes Master!"
"Come here," Kiba gestured. Akamaru didn't budge, his tail momentarily stopped moving, and he stared at Kiba, frozen in place. Kiba stared at him for a moment, waiting. But when he noticed Akamaru starting to back away towards the bathroom door, Kiba immediately stepped out of the tub, taking a few steps. Akamaru quickly turned around and started to scrape at the door, whining.
"No! Please don't!" Akamaru whined, and Kiba swiftly picked him up, holding him with both hands.
"Would you rather Hana wash you?" Kiba replied as he quickly plugged the beige bathtub stopper in the drain, turning on the faucet and letting the water run until it was shallow enough for Akamaru to stand, but deep enough to easily throw water on him.
"Yes-!" Akamaru replied, and without any hesitation, Kiba sat on his knees and let go of Akamaru into the bathtub, where the pup let out a yelp as he landed on his feet.
"It'll be fast, I promise!" Kiba grumbled as he held Akamaru with a hand around Akamaru's narrow waist. "And don't bite, or else!"
"Help! Hana, help me!" Akamaru called out.
"Stay still!"
After what felt like too long for a quick bath for a pup that size, Akamaru was sitting on his bed wrapped in a towel, while Kiba put on, as his sister said, his "cleanest clothes". Other than what he would wear for training, he didn't have many options - but a plain black t-shirt and brown cargo pants should be enough to please Hana. The smell of cooked chicken, along with other foods wafted through his slightly opened bedroom door.
What guests are they even going to have?
"You want me to get the hairdryer?" Kiba asked Akamaru while aggressively rubbing a towel in his hair, trying to dry it to the best of his abilities. Akamaru shook his head, and Kiba sat down beside him, patting his fur gently after Akamaru shaked his body quickly.
"Kiba!" He heard Hana's voice call from the first floor through. "Are you done? Come down!"
"Yeah!" Kiba hollered back.
"Huh? I can't hear you!" Hana called back.
"I SAID 'YEAH'!" He got up on his feet, quickly making his way down the stairs, through the hallways, and…
"Well, if isn't the man of the hour! Congrats, Kiba!"
"What the-" Kiba muttered when he saw the living space was filled with...well...members of the Inuzuka clan.
There were members of his clan sitting on the three couches surrounding the coffee table, spaced out between themselves. He saw the space in between occupied with a few dogs, all of varying fur length and colour but they were all larger, older than the other dogs in the clan, laying on their stomachs, taking a nap. The screen door was slightly open, and he could hear even more dogs, playfully barking while the sound of children yelling in glee.
Young and old...Immediate family or extended members that he does not share blood with...it didn't matter how they were all related to each other or whether they were related at all. What mattered was that they carried the Inuzuka name, they were loyal to one another in the clan and...they were here.
To celebrate him becoming a Genin.
It was only a fraction of the clan, though - regardless, Kiba felt warm seeing them there. The one who congratulated him first, before everyone else also started to throw whoops and cheers of congratulations, was a man in the Konoha green flak jacket, around middle aged, slightly sturdier in size sitting on the corner seat of one of the couches, with tan skin and brown hair, paler with a few grey strands from age, that fell just below just above his shoulder. He wasn't one of the most senior members of the clan, but he was getting there, though the man tends to say that he was still agile despite being in his 50s.
"Man of the hour, huh?" Kiba asked, grinning at his words as he approached the couches, and the man stood up, much taller than Kiba and wider than Kiba's small statue. The man reached over to grab his shoulder, nearly toppling Kiba forward from the strength of his affectionate shake. "So, can I call you Gaku instead of old man?"
"Hey, hey, don't get too comfortable," Gaku cautioned, though he laughed while saying it, while the others around him chuckled and laughed at Kiba's cheeky request. "You're still a little brat!"
"He's not so little anymore; you've gotten taller since the last time I saw you," another man chimed in, and Kiba glanced beyond Gaku, where another middle aged man sat at the end of the couch. His hair was much shorter than Gaku's, much more grey and split from the side, but just as choppy, not wearing his flak jacket, rather wearing a casual shirt and pants. He had similar red markings on his cheeks. "At this rate, you'll be taller than Tosa!"
"Well, aren't you a comedian, Isamu," Tosa, sitting on the couch opposite from them, scoffed, his voice deeper and lower than the other two men's. Kiba had to hold back his laugh while the others around them let out laughter at the man's deeping frown, making the lines on his face deepen, his red marks moving down. "You should consider joining a circus."
"I'll do it when I retire," Isamu replied lightheartedly. "Maybe after Hitomi finishes school, I'll run away."
"Please do," a woman, probably about a few years younger than them but still with evident aging on her tan skin, who sat on the opposite end of the couch Tosa sat on, replied. She grinned, her red marks perking upwards, as she spoke, "Then maybe I will know peace, for once."
"Well, I did tell you not to settle with him," He heard another voice from the dining table, and he glanced over at another middle aged woman, her black hair, speckled with grey strands, tied back into a bun, her hands busy skinning an apple. Unlike the others, she didn't have the red fangs on her cheek. A large plate sat in front of her, already with some apple slices and tangerines.
"Well someone has to be with him, Fuuko," the woman beside Tosa replied, gesturing towards him as Isamu smiled along. "Look at him. Nobody else in the Village wanted him."
"Haya, what have I done to deserve this kind of treatment," Isamua pleaded to his wife, who rolled her eyes in response.
"Aunt Fuuko, you can let Kiba handle the rest," they heard Hana calling from the kitchen, and Kiba glanced back towards the entryway, finding her holding a tray with fried rice. The smell immediately filled the air, and from the scent Kiba could tell it was fresh from the pan. Hana looked at Kiba, and held the tray out towards him, not moving to him. "Kiba, put this on the table, please."
"C'mon Hana, it's the boy's special day!" Gaku replied before Kiba could even scowl back at her, his body instinctively ready to walk towards her. "Let him rest for a bit."
"The more hands I have in the kitchen, the faster the food comes out," Hana replied, glancing down at Kiba, looking at him expectedly. He knew supporting Gaku would not deter her - besides, even if Kiba didn't want to do it, it wasn't like he was doing much of the work. Hana must have been preparing all of this food for a while...and Tsume left this morning to go on a mission, and was nowhere in sight, so he could only assume she hadn't come home yet. Besides...If Tsume comes home to find him not caring for their guest... that's another fear he does not need.
"Alright, alright," Kiba replied, walking out of Gaku's grasp towards Hana. "I'm coming."
"Good," Hana said with a wide smile, placing the tray on his arms. "Put this on the table, and then cut the fruits that are there."
"Sure," Kiba drawled. "Would you like me to do anything else, my dear sister?"
"Yes," Hana said brightly, playing along with his tone. "You can make everyone here tea."
"Hey, Hana! Bring out the sake!" Gaku called out from his seat from the couch. "We can't celebrate without alcohol!"
"You guys want to drink now?" Hana replied, raising an eyebrow, looking straight at him above Kiba. "You don't want to wait for everyone else to come?"
"Everyone else?" Kiba repeated, and as if on cue, the ding dong of the doorbell rang through the air. Hana immediately stepped past Kiba, and he quickly went to the dining table, placing the tray in the middle.
"Hey, Aunt Hachi! Thank you for coming! And Mimi, I love your dress, you look so pretty," Hana kindly greeted their clansmen under the sounds of his aunts and uncles talking in the living room as he entered the kitchen. He begrudgingly filled the kettle on the counter with water from the sink, glancing around the kitchen space. He saw the oven was on, a timer ticking away near it, a mixture of cooked meats and spices emitting from it. Kiba inhaled sharply. There was chicken...more chicken...and meatballs, maybe? The more he sniffed, the more he smelled - tones of teriyaki, miso, the lemon and paprika… he could feel his mouth salivating again, his stomach letting out a low rumble.
He needed to distract himself.
"Who wants tea?" Kiba asked, and he heard a few 'yeah', 'sure' and 'here'.
"Let me check if Hige wants one," Haya said from her seat, gesturing to the sliding door leading outside. "He is sitting outside with Ken and Kegawa. Hige!"
She bellowed his name as she stood up, walking to the sliding door, "Oji-san! You want some tea?"
"Depends- who's making it?" He heard a voice distantly speaking from outside, elderly in quality, low and croaky, slow and steady in the tone.
"Kiba."
"He's here?!" The voice perked up, and Kiba could hear it clearer as it approached the sliding door. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
A face peered through the sliding door, aged through years of fighting through many wars before Kiba, or even Tsume, existed on this Earth. What was left of his hair was pure white, his hairline receding to reveal the top of his scalp, shiny under the light. His tan skin was etched with lines - wrinkles and scars, Kiba knew - and his sharp eyes looked around the room, just as they were since he was an active shinobi (or so they say). The Inuzuka genes were strong, even into their old age.
Even the balding.
Kiba considered himself lucky that he probably didn't have that gene.
"Kiba!" Hige spoke in a booming voice, nearly making Akamaru jump beside him at the sound, much louder than Gaku. "You didn't come to say hello?"
"I didn't know you were here, Oji-san," Kiba replied, giving a slight bow of his head. "You know you would have been the first one I said hello to."
To this, Hige let out a loud laugh that Kiba swore made the room rumble a bit, grabbing the attention of even the elderly dogs in the room, as he said just as loudly, "You're just like Tsume!"
"Hey, Oji-san!" Gaku called out. "Quiet down a bit, you're yelling again! And don't laugh so loud, you're gonna raise your blood pressure!"
"What?" Hige replied, glancing around the room for moment. He lifted up a hand behind his ear, and yelled, "Did someone say something?"
"I SAID QUIET DOWN, YOU'RE YELLING AGAIN!" Gaku hollered back, making Isamu cringe beside him, covering his ears with both hands.
"Take your own advice!" Isamu pointed out, before another layer of loud discussion occurred.
"Kiba-niisan's here?!"
A different voice hollered from outside, a lighter voice.
Ken's here?! Kiba thought, nearly straining his neck from whipping his head towards the door. A small head peered behind Hige, short tufts of brown hair poking in every direction, a boy that was a few years younger than Kiba. The moment the boy's piercing brown eyes met Kiba's, his face broke into a big, wide smile, puffing up his markless cheeks and he started to run towards the kitchen, every step light and fast.
"Ken!" Hige exclaimed as the boy ran past him, an order for him to stop running, but he didn't listen to a word the old man said.
"Kiba-niisan! Kiba-niisan!" The boy exclaimed as he ran into the kitchen. "Mom said you're a real ninja now!"
"Yes I am," Kiba replied, keeping his voice as even as he could. He could never try to make his voice all soft towards kids younger than him- his voice did not allow for that.
"Where's your headband? Can I see it?" Ken continued to probe, stepping around to look up at Kiba, hovering.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Kiba said, going into his pocket and fishing out his headband. The light of the kitchen caught the metal, giving it a gleam as Ken got on his tiptoes to peer at it with wide eyes.
"Whoaaaa," Ken gasped as he blinked a few times. "Can I wear it?"
"No, you have to graduate from the Academy before you even think about wearing it," Kiba said, quickly stuffing back in his pocket before Ken's little hands could even go near it.
"Why is it blue?" Ken asked quickly, walking around Kiba to look up to him.
"I don't know. You should ask your old man - he was around when they started making these things," Kiba replied swiftly.
"I've seen headbands that are black, and, and, red, and-" Ken started to rattle off about headbands he's seen, continuing to hover around Kiba. Kiba could feel his tolerance slowly grating away as he reached up to get a bunch of mugs, laying them out as he poured the boiling hot water into a teapot, the tea bag steeping the water a deep amber.
Hana told him that it was out of admiration, that he should be flattered that Ken looked up to Kiba since Kiba was the only male cousin he had, everyone else in the family being around Hana's age and older. Which, when Kiba thinks about it, yeah he did find it flattering, stroking his ego a bit as well. But that didn't stop Ken's constantly following him around like a tail annoying.
He had Akamaru for that.
"Ken!" another child's voice, smaller and quieter than Ken's voice, came from further away. Kiba glanced up to see another child, even younger than Ken, with a similar spiky brown hair that is apparently a common trait amongst the Inuzukas. "Where are you?"
"Kega! I'm in the kitchen," Ken called out to the child, peering around through the open kitchen doorway. "With Kiba-niisan!"
Please, no more, Kiba looked up, the child's feet pit-pat across the floor, the legs of his blue overalls snagging along behind.
"Kiba!" the small child exclaimed with a big smile, and he waddled over to where he stood, besides Ken, a good few inches smaller than the boy.
"Hello, Kegawa," Kiba forced out, making his voice a bit less gruff for the kids, but dammit, his voice wasn't built to be soft! Now, it's not that he hates kids, and between the two brothers, Kiba really liked Kegawa because, well...he doesn't talk as much as Ken, and was much more reserved, a stark contrast.
"Kiba-niisan! Come play with us," Kegawa asked in a soft tone.
"Yeah!" Ken said in a much louder voice, suddenly tugging on Kiba's shirt, pulling him as much as his seven year old strength could muster. "Come play with us! Come! COME!"
"Ken, my shirt!" Kiba protested, bordering on whining. Now his shirt's gonna be stretched out! Kiba let a slight sigh as Ken let go, but the kid did not back off. "I can't, I make food and everything. Don't you want to eat chicken nuggets?"
"CHICKEN NUGGETS?!" Ken exclaimed, now enticed by the thought of food. Kids are so easy to distract...
"Yeah, I have to make it though," Kiba said lightly, bending slightly with his hands on his knees. "I can make it with cheese inside and everything."
"CHEESE?"
"Yeah, so if you and Kega play for a bit, I'll make it and give it to you right away," Kiba continued.
"Thank you…" Kiba could hear a tiny voice coming from the doorway into the living room. A little girl with two brown pigtails in a dress - Mimi, another cousin of theirs- came through the door, Hana right behind her.
"See, Mimi's here too," Kiba pointed out, and the brothers whipped their heads around at the same time towards the door. "Why don't you ask her to play too!"
"Hey, Mimi!" Ken hollered immediately, running up towards the young girl, who stood idly as he grabbed her hand, tugging. "Finally! You're here! C'mon, let's go play outside!"
"Oh...okay," Mimi said, following him closely, as Kega tailed behind her.
"Noka!" Ken called, looking at the portion of the living room where a few dogs laid around, and a black dog glanced up, looking at Ken. "Come play with us!"
"I'll come out in a bit," the dog, Noka, barked back lightly, returning to licking the fur on her paw. The dog wasn't Ken's dog, no, she was his mother's ninken; ninkens tend not to leave their master's side, however, when it comes to their master's kids, on their master's orders, they often are found to be a sort of caretaker for their child. Kiba doesn't know how this specific dog can do it though; Noka was much older, equivalent to a human nearing their middle-age. And yet, she still manages to have the energy to keep up with both Ken and Kegawa.
Kiba let out a little sigh of relief as the three children ran across the room, slipping outside of the sliding door, leaving it slightly open as they were laughing in a childish glee. Finally, he can breathe a little more now.
A woman with red markings and a brown bob entered the living room behind Hana, interestingly wearing the flak jacket - she must've come here right after her shift. She immediately noticed Kiba through the open panel of the kitchen, and walked up to him.
Ah shit, here we go, Kiba thought as the woman affectionately pinched his cheek.
"Kiba-chan! Good job on passing!" The woman, Hachi, another aunt that was related to him somehow, or she wasn't actually related to him by blood, he doesn't remember, sang. He knew that she was Mimi's mother, so likely she was blood-related. "I knew you could do it!"
"Thank you," Kiba managed to say, and she let go of him.
"Here's a lil' something something," Hachi continued, and she produced a small envelope from her pocket,
"I can't accept this-" he started, actually wanting the money, but he knew he couldn't readily accept it.
Hachi immediately interrupted, pushing the envelope back to him, tatting, "Nuh uh. Keep it- buy yourself some new clothes for work or whatever you want to get."
Hachi was one of the younger aunts he had in the Inuzuka clan, though he wasn't sure how exactly they were related, she was one of the closer ones to him, he knew. She lived up to the young aunt role to anyone who called her Aunt Hachi - she was much more up to date with what was happening around the village, unlike the other aunts.
And she was the only one who gave out money as a gift when it wasn't New Year. It had helped Kiba out when he wanted to get something, but he didn't have the allowance for it or he knew Tsume would've said no.
"How many people are coming today?" Kiba asked when Hana entered the kitchen after Hachi left, who looked into the oven immediately.
"Everyone who can make it," Hana replied simply, as she took a pair of oven mitts that sat over the oven handle, putting them on as she opened the door. Immediately his senses were taken by the smell of food filling the space. He can't escape it- he could feel his mouth salivating. "That's why...you gotta give me a hand."
"What happened to Ma?" Kiba continued, waiting for the kettle to whistle while he watched Hana carefully place the large trays from within onto laid out towels on the counter.
"She should be here soon," Hana said, without much concern, her focus on the task at hand. "Tosa was out on a mission with her. He said she had to file a report with Uncle Tadao. Those things take a long while sometimes- you're gonna find out soon enough."
The doorbell rang, and Hana took off the oven mitts, heading out once again.
"Put the other trays inside the oven and set the timer to 20!" Hana said as she pointed out trays of meat on a different side of the kitchen counter.
"Please," Kiba emphasized to no one, taking the mitts and putting the trays into the oven.
It continued as such - more clans people entered the house as Hana greeted them, and Kiba was in and out of the kitchen to the dinner table, serving tea as more guests arrived and helping Hana with preparing the food. Eventually, the main courses were finished, and now Kiba simply stood by, waiting for Hana to signal that they could eat.
"Hey Ashi!" He heard his sister's voice grow much chipper. "You decided to come! And who's this little baby?"
"A baby?!" Akamaru barked beside Kiba, and started to bound excitedly away from Kiba towards the front.
"Hey, Akamaru!" Kiba replied, quickly following him, trying to catch him.
"Aw, what a cutie! Is this Kiba's ninken? Sit!" A voice exclaimed delightfully, while Akamaru gave a cute 'arf' in response. Kiba peered around the corner, a young woman kneeling to the ground, as she petted Akamaru's head, who had a tongue sticking out, panting. She continued, "Sorry, Ashimaru wasn't feeling well!"
Kiba saw the young woman with long, dark brown hair and light brown skin, shorter than Hana in height, taking off her shoes. An equally young man stood beside her holding an infant in his arms, a bit paler than she was, and definitely taller than her, with ashy grey hair did the same. The woman had the red Inuzuka marks on her cheeks; the man, on the other hand, did not.
"Kiba!" the young woman exclaimed upon noticing Kiba, looking past Hana at him, and immediately entered the house. "Congratulations on becoming a Genin!"
"Thank you, thank you," Kiba replied with a grin as he approached her, expecting her to give him a pat on the head, but rather, she reached over to pinch his cheek like a child. Because of course she would- every single one of them does this with him. "H-Hey! Ashi, leggo!"
"You might be considered a man now, but you're still my little brother!" Ashi replied happily, letting go. "Aw, Hana, how're they gonna let him go out on the field when he looks like this, huh?"
"Please, I'm not a kid anymore!" Kiba mumbled, rubbing the cheek she pulled, stinging. At this rate, he was getting worried about the state of his cheek at the end of the night.
Ashi was his cousin, not an immediate cousin, but she was one of Tsume's nieces...from the many that she called a niece.
Growing up, Hana and her were close friends, always hanging out together. She treated Kiba nearly identical to how Hana would treat him, teasing him and treating him like an annoying little kid, but was much more obnoxious with it, unlike Hana who Kiba thought was at least, less loud and brash. It wasn't until she started dating her now husband, that he hadn't seen her around the house. They got married two years ago, and immediately had, well...what her husband was holding in arms.
The baby looked blankly at Kiba, big round eyes staring as they watched him carefully, tiny fingers holding on to her father's shirt, tufts of deep brown hair in pigtails with a bow on one side. Most of their limbs and body, rounded and curved, was covered in a long sleeved black dress, and some white bottoms and little socks with cute dog patterns around it. The baby, a girl named Akita, looked very much like an Inuzuka, despite her father having a starkly contrasting look from Ashi.
"You'll always be that little kid," Ashi mused, before turning around and heading back to the entryway. "Oh! And we got you something too!"
She rummaged through the basket that was under the red stroller, pulling out a purple gift bag, and held it up to him. "Here you go!"
"Ashi, you didn't have to get him anything," Hana replied. "He just became a Genin."
"A Genin is still part of the force," Ashi replied. "And Sanae thought you might need these! Your team is going to be a tracking team, right? You might want to start using these from now on."
"How did you know?" Kiba asked as he accepted the gift, carefully peering through. Inside was a bag, sealed, with a few round purple balls inside, the size of a tennis ball. He knew immediately what it was, something that he has seen Hana and his mom packed when they were going to head out to a mission - a special kind of smoke bombs, that contained a bit of pepper inside. He hasn't been able to practice with it, even at the Academy, the budget didn't allow them to use every weapon, rather just look at it so they knew what it was.
"Everyone's heard of the new Genin teams that passed by now," the man, Sanae, behind them spoke up, his voice much softer than Ashi's, and he took a step up the ledge. Everyone, Kiba assumed, was the shinobi forces. "Only three teams passed this year."
"Really?" Hana asked. "Last year, they only passed one."
"That one was an anomaly," Ashi said. "Depending on how many teams they make, they put a limit; it's always been typically 2-4 teams for about 8 years now? But, we are having a shortage of students becoming shinobis too, so that might be affecting our numbers."
"They're just not pumping out shinobis like they used to," Hana replied with a shrug. "There were, like what, 60 students in my year? And we had about 6 teams that made it."
"Yeah, it was something along those lines for me," Ashi nodded, before glancing over to her husband. "What about your class?"
"Around that number as well," Sanae agreed. "It was after the war, after all, so they really needed new shinobi. We had a lot more groups actually...about 10 teams?"
"Ah, that's right," Ashi sighed. "I forgot that you're really old."
Ashi quickly followed it with a loud laugh, while Sanae just smiled, not saying anything at Ashi's joke at his expense.
Ashi continued, as they stepped inside, "I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that they have a limit with the number of students though. They should be lenient with it."
"Nah, they're like that so they can weed out the students that aren't taking it seriously," Hana added with a shrug. "Anyways, come inside, please. Kiba, please go make tea for both of them."
"Alright," Kiba said, refraining from groaning because, well, at least Hana said please this time. He was about to turn around, but not without bowing his head slightly. "I appreciate the gift. I'll do my best."
"Of course you will," Ashi said, following behind Hana as they led them back down the hall, towards the living room. "You are Tsume's kid after all."
Right. He has and will always be known as Tsume's kid...Hana's brother… Kiba knew he had a lot more to live up to than most of his classmates had. He's just going to have to work really hard to prove himself useful for his village.
They walked through the hallway, into the living room. The moment Sanae walked through with their child in hand, however, was when all attention from the rest of the clansmen turned towards them.
"Ashi brought the baby?" Isamu said, sitting up immediately to look over at Akita in Sanae's arms.
"Hey, hey, where's my hi, Uncle Isamu?" Ashi asked as she went around to the couches, leaning to give a side hug, to the people on the couches, receiving a nose kiss here and there, an unusual practice for those outside of the Inuzuka clan, but the constant norm they grew up with in the families.
"Yeah, hi," Isamu said, distracted as Sanae brought the baby towards the center of the couches as he greeted his in-laws, letting Akita look around a bit, now looking a bit more happier at the multiple faces before her. "Sit here, Sanae."
A demand, not a request, and Sanae looked at Isamu's gesture towards the empty seat between himself and Gaku. Kiba could tell Sanae was thinking of something as he stared at the seat, and it took him a moment to finally respond with a hesitant smile, "A-ah, alright."
Kiba watched from the kitchen as Sanae shuffled between the coffee table and the couch, his lean figure wedging itself between the two older men, their wide and muscular bodies taking up most of the space. He gave Akita to Isamu, who immediately swept the baby from his arms, lifting her up in the air before Sanae could protest. Akita, on the other hand, was making some happy sounds, and Isamu continued to gently lift her up and down, while cooing at her. Once Kiba finished making their tea, he placed it on the coffee table.
"Where's your old man?" Haya asked as Ashi finally set herself down beside her after her greetings.
"He's still on a mission - he won't be back until tomorrow," Ashi said with a sigh.
"Already?" Haya asked, a quirk of an eyebrow. "I thought the doctor told him to take it easy with his injury."
"Yeah, well, what can you do," Ashi shrugged. "He sees it as a pride thing."
"Nothing prideful about working with a busted kneecap," Haya shook her head. Meanwhile, on the other couch, Isamu continued to play with Akita, now playing peek-a-boo while balancing her on his legs.
"Akita," Gaku cooed from beside Sanae, quietly drinking his tea. "Come to Uncle Gaku."
"Uncle? You could be her grandpa," Tosa commented. Gaku immediately threw him a scowl.
"Don't mess it up for me- Tsume already made these kids call me old man, even when I told her not to," Gaku said while Isamu gently gave him the baby, holding the infant up in the air, before bringing her down to his face. "Who's a cute little baby? Who's a cute little baby? You are! You are!"
"Should've had your own, then," Haya commented, to which Isamu laughed.
"Gaku swore to never settle down," Isamu added as he leaned over towards the table, picking up the coffee mug that sat there.
"He made the right choice, then," Hachi replied from one part of the room, with a slight chuckle. "I can't imagine whoever he finds would stay for long."
"What is this slander?" Gaku scolded as he smiled towards Akita, who touched his beard curiously. Akita then reached out and tugged quickly on the tips of his beard and Gaku yelped. "OUCH!"
"H-hey, old man, you scared her!" Hana said when she saw Akita hesitate at Gaku's yell, her face pausing momentarily as she began to frown. She quickly swooped Akita out of his hands when she let out a little cry. "Okay, okay, sh, sh, okay…"
"M-my bad," Gaku hesitated, patting Akita on her back while she cried into Hana's shoulder for a moment. Ashi simply let out a sigh.
"See, that's why Uncle Gaku can't have his own, he doesn't know how to reel in his own voice," Ashi said, while she watched as Hana managed to calm her daughter down, taking a sip from her own tea. "He'll just scare his own kid."
"Sheesh…" Gaku mumbled as he took another sip from his cup, disappointed at Akita being quickly taken away from him. "I'm not even that loud- she's just not used to loud noises, what, with Sanae-boy over here. And you managed to dial it back too, runt."
"What's that supposed to mean!" Ashi said deadpanned, but Gaku ignored her to reach a hand on Sanae's shoulder.
Sanae nearly flinched at the sudden touch, his back much straighter now, and Kiba could tell that there was a rigidity to his form. Gaku then said, a bit of a smirk on his face, "How many more are you planning on having?"
"Oh we-!" Ashi started, but Gaku quickly interjected.
"Hold up, I'm asking Sanae over here," Gaku said. "I haven't heard the man talk in ages!"
Isamu decided to join in on badgering the young man, "That's right! You're not getting any younger you know! So how many are you two trying for?"
"Hm…" Sanae said, glancing over to Ashi, who watched him carefully. He then glanced around to the two men that surrounded him, expectantly waiting for him to respond. Kiba watched to see what he would say, knowing that this was their way of teasing Sanae, exclusively, and he could see his Adam's apple on his throat rise and fall as he swallowed.
It's not because he wasn't born into the Inuzuka clan, no, not at all. His Aunt Fuuko married into the clan.
It's just because Sanae was an easier target than the other's, with his quiet nature and his tendency to get nervous easily. Like he was at that moment.
"Maybe 3 more?" Sanae replied softly, earning a loud laugh from Gaku and Isamu. Ashi's eyes opened slightly at his response.
"Atta boy," Gaku laughed, smacking his back affectionately, and Kiba could see the embarrassment on Sanae's face, the nature of the Inuzuka still making him flush, something that he was likely not comfortable with, only having married into the family 2 years ago.
"Get to it, then," Isamu added, and they both let out a howl of laughter, while Sanae just stared into his cup, a sheepish smile on his face.
"Who the fuck-Oh shit, my bad," Ashi started in a louder voice, before catching herself, glancing over at Kiba, alarmed.
"I already know those words," Kiba chimed in. "I'm not a kid anymore, please."
"Your mom better not catch you swearing," Ashi said quickly. She cleared her throat, continued evenly. "And besides, who's going to have more kids? Not me."
"It's not worth it, trust me. " Another voice, rougher and higher spoke from the entrance, drawing Kiba's attention. There stood his mother, with her green chunin vest open revealing the black shirt she wore underneath, the red swirl patch on the side. She had a square, white gauze along the side of her jaw, the lipstick she left with this morning wiped off and leaving a wine coloured stain on her lips. "Stick to a max of two kids, if you can."
"Took you long enough, Tsume!" Gaku exclaimed as Tsume approached him, gripping her arm affectionately. "We can finally crack open the sake!"
"What, you guys didn't give it to them, yet?" Tsume glanced over to Hana, noticing Akita in her arms and giving her a quick pat on the head. "What, do we not have any?"
"It's not even that, we were waiting for more people to arrive," Hana said, glancing over to Kiba. "Kiba! Can you go to the basement and pull out the cases?"
"Hana, let the boy rest, he's been running around, serving everyone tea," Fuuko said.
"Is that right," Tsume said curiously, glancing over at Kiba, seeming a bit proud. "Well, you can do this last thing, and then you're off the hook."
"Seriously?" Kiba asked, and Tsume nodded, crossing her arms.
"Well, yeah, maybe this once," Tsume said with a smirk. "You passed your test, and you helped Hana out. It's fine- I'll go get the alcohol. What do you all want?"
Tsume's voice yelled into the room, and the clansmen yelled out their requests; sake, beers, umeshu, you name it. They likely had it in their basement, tucked away behind a closet, waiting to be opened whenever they had family over or whenever Tsume was in a good mood. The door was always locked, the key always staying in a specific place in the cupboard, and while the key was accessible, Kiba never dared to touch it.
Kiba had tried to sneak into this closet once, when Tsume was sleeping on the couch, drunk and sound asleep from what Kiba could see, and Hana was nowhere to be seen in the house. He saw the key, gleaming on the coffee table, beckoning to come and pick it up, and he put his skills to the test - he was able to get the key soundlessly, and made his way down the stairs, the closet glowing at the end of the basement. He was so close, so close to opening the door, but the click from the lock unlocking made him hear footsteps on the floor above, and in a panic, Kiba escaped through the basement window, making his way back into the living room through the backyard. He quickly put the key back in place, Tsume disappearing from the couch and, he assumed, making her way to the basement, sniffing him out, and left it back where she had left it.
Finally! Kiba held back his sigh of relief as he went towards the table. I can eat!
"By the way, look what I brought with me," Tsume pointed a thumb back behind her, and there was a man, younger than Tsume with less white hair running through his black hair, the red Inuzuka marks on his cheeks, and visible eyebags on his tanned face, leaning against the door frame. "Where's Ken and Kega? Tell 'em daddy's home."
"Please, wherever they are, leave them alone," the man sighed, his voice low and tired, as he stood back up, walking towards an empty chair that sat nearby the couches, having been moved from the dining table. Tsume laughed as she made her way to the basement to retrieve the alcohol, Kuromaru following her quickly behind. The man groaned as he took a seat, leaning back into the cushion.
"Tadao, here," Tosa said, gesturing towards himself as he stood up from his seat beside Ashi. "Sit here."
"Nah, I'm good, thanks," Tadao said, but even Kiba could tell from the way he shuffled side to side, he was trying to get comfortable on the chair.
"Now," Tosa pressed, his voice, always grave, more demanding. "After all you did to track the payload, you need more support than me."
After a moment, Tadao used an arm - his left arm - to push off the chair, the sleeve from his other arm swinging and swaying with each step, empty. Tosa took himself towards the side where Haya sat, leaning on the arm rest.
"Where's the wife?" Hachi asked Tadao as he sat down, and he shook his head.
"Ah, you know. The Third is always working the Intelligence Unit to the ground nowadays," Tadao said, flicking his left hand slightly, as he stretched his neck side to side, grunting slightly. "Kimi said she'll come by as soon as she can, don't you worry."
"You should really see a massage therapist," Ashi said, shuffling to give him more room. "You know it's covered, right?"
"I don't need that," Tadao said. "Just get one of my kids to stand on my back for a bit and I'll be fine."
"Nice exploitation of their tiny feet," Ashi said, shaking her head.
Tsume returned with a few long, white bottles in her hand, Kuromaru carrying a case of beers by it's handle with his mouth. "Kiba, one more thing you gotta do- fetch the cups."
"No problem," Kiba replied, quickly going into the kitchen, getting all the sake cups, small white cups the size of a palm, and the longer beer glasses he could carry in his hands.
This was it. As always, when it comes to drinking Tsume is the first one to start the drinks and the last one finishing all of them. With his luck, since this was a bigger than usual celebration for their clan, hopefully his mom will get piss drunk within the next hour.
Kiba caught a glimpse of the sky through the sliding door, the blue of the daylight swapped with a deep pink and purple blend. The moon and stars should start showing any moment now- and he wanted to do what he wanted to do before it got too deep into the night.
That'd be more romantic, maybe, Kiba thought mindlessly as he placed the cups on the coffee table, the Inuzukas who wanted to drink - most of them, except for Tadao - gathered around, as Tsume poured the first bottle of sake, the clear liquid filling up the cup cleanly.
"Hey, Kiba!" Gaku said, gesturing for him to come closer. Kiba obeyed, and Gaku raised his cup towards him. "Here! Drink!"
"Uh-" Kiba hesitated immediately, and from the corner of his eyes, he watched closely as Tsume and Hana turned their attention to him.
"Uncle Gaku!" Hana exclaimed. "He's underage!"
"Ah, c'mon Hana! I'm not offering him the whole drink," Gaku said. "The boy's a man now! A full fledged ninja, serving the good ol' Leaf! You had a bit too, when you graduated!"
"Yeah, champagne, not sake!" Hana replied, and Gaku glanced over to Tsume.
"Well, Tsume? You gonna stop the boy?" Tsume looked at Kiba, who quickly glanced away, not wanting to move unless he got his mother's okay. Gods knows what her mood was like today, but Kiba wanted to play it safe without getting an earful.
"Let the pup try," Tsume said, curiously. "He's not gonna take more than a sip anyways."
"Alright!" Gaku put the cup in Kiba's hands, Kiba stumbling to keep the cup steady in his hand, the liquid sloshing out slightly. "A toast to Kiba - the newest Inuzuka to join the Leaf forces and serve the Village! From here on out, you're no longer a boy, but a full-fledged man! Kanpai!"
"Kanpai!"
"Kanpai," Kiba mumbled, lifting his cup up towards them as they cheered and whooped, watching as Kiba put the cup to his lip. He hesitated slightly, the smell much stronger in his nostrils, and he could make out every element in this liquid, every fermented grain of rice that went into it. He quickly pursed his lips and sipped… before quickly coughing, the liquid burning as it went down his throat into his stomach. His chest immediately felt warm, a weird warmth he hasn't felt before, but the taste was both sweet and bitter, if that was even possible.
"Well, now we know he hasn't been drinking," Tsume laughed as Kiba quickly gave the drink back to Gaku, who gave his back some hard taps.
"Of course, he knows you'll give him a run for his life," Haya cackled after downing her drink.
"You bet I would," Tsume stated proudly, as she picked up the same bottle again. "C'mon, c'mon, let's drink some more!"
"Uh, Mom, you should slow down," Hana said cautiously, and Tsume gave a wave of her hand.
"It's time to celebrate, Hana! Come here, grab something to drink," Tsume said, as she filled up the cups once again, while chatter took over, as it always does in an Inuzuka household.
Hana just sighed in response, and came towards the side of the living room, where at this point, Kuromaru had brought more drinks by himself. She squatted down beside him, and asked, "You got anything light?"
"No ma'am, you would have to go out and buy it yourself," Kuromaru spoke, his lips forming the words in their human language.
"Figures," Hana said, as she stood up. "And we don't have any chasers...Kiba. You want to go to get me some soda."
"Are you asking me or telling me?" Kiba said as he watched Hana go to the front, pulling open the closet and rummaging through the coats that hung.
"Both," Hana said plainly. "Just get me one of those 1 litre sodas. Here."
Hana lifted her hand, producing a paper rectangle, a 500 ryo. Kiba grimaced.
"Don't you have a 200? It doesn't cost that much for sodas," Kiba replied, and Hana just smiled.
"Use the rest of the money for whatever you want," Hana replied. She then placed both hands on her hips, giving a quirk of her eyebrow. "Don't stay out too late, alright? And no funny business either."
"Wha- What's that supposed to mean?!" Kiba exclaimed, feeling sweat starting to form on the nape of his neck, the tips of his ears heating up, watching carefully as Hana passed him.
"I said what I said," Hana said with a shrug, and gave him a slight wave of a 'see ya', before returning back to the living room, the noise from the chattering and yelling never diminishing despite the wall that separated the room and the hallway.
"Alright, Akamaru," Kiba whispered, despite knowing that there was no way his mother or anyone could even hear him from the amount of noise they were making. "Let's hurry up."
"Master! Where are we going?" Akamaru barked as Kiba slipped into his sandals, zipping up and strapping them in. Kiba didn't reply, grabbing a beige hoodie from inside the closet, instead opening the door, running outside, Akamaru hot on his heels.
Kiba walked briskly through the main streets of Konoha, the winter night darkening the sky immediately, the streetlights along the sides illuminating the roads in a yellow hue. The streets were still bustling with folks making their way home from a long day's work, shinobi and civilians alike on walking along the path with coworkers, friends, and families, some on their way home from work, other on their way to work, some on their way to their shifts,
The night was cool. Or, as cool as it could be for a January in Konoha. The wind provided most of the chills, and Kiba was happy he had the forethought to grab a hoodie on the way on. There was the scent of warm foods, mostly soup based items, he noted; ramen, oden, sukiyaki, nabe… All foods that you would enjoy on a cold winter night such as this. He inhaled sharply, the coolness of the air, filling his lungs, cooling his warm body, easing his heart that was beating loudly.
He glanced down to Akamaru, trotting alongside him, admiring the stores that lined up along the street. The lights from the stores casted shadows on the road, shaped in the window panel that were there.
The stores didn't close for a few more hours, he knew, and this gave him the opportunity to take a quick trip towards the northern part of the village, tucked away near the land where the forestry laid outside of the training ground boundaries.
His hands were stuffed into the pocket in the front of his hoodie, fiddling with the headband and wallet inside.
Should he wear the headband? Well, there were no regulations about wearing it off-duty, clearly, since his mother would come home in the middle of the night still wearing it around her arm while drunk with her colleagues. But would he seem like a douche if he did? But he worked hard to pass that test, so maybe he does deserve to wear it...but no, he didn't want to seem like a show-off just yet.
Hmm...Should he buy something before seeing her?
Nah, that'd be too much. But, then again, if he was going to tell her...how he felt...wouldn't it be better to woo her beforehand?
Should he buy a flower or something? Chocolates? Girls like that type of stuff, right? Akane might try to say she's different from the other girls in their class, but Kiba knew that she enjoyed those types of things. What do guys his age typically do when they confess to a girl?
Maybe he should've asked Hana about this? He didn't tell anyone about him meeting up with Akane to confess...he didn't tell Itsuki, nor Natsuo...he didn't even tell Akamaru, and right now the pup probably thought they were just going on a little stroll around town. Hana might have provided some information about what girls like and whatever...but no, he can't tell Hana, because he knew for a fact that when it came to matters like this, Hana would tell Tsume.
And Tsume was adamant about Kiba staying focused on being a shinobi, telling him not to waste time on stupid things that would just waste his time in the long run.
But what does Tsume know about love anyways?
He's not the one who chased his dad away.
Nah, I don't think she cares that much, Kiba thought as he continued to make his way up the street, the road now sloping upwards in a hill. Konoha was unique in its layout- built near a tall mount, the streets are sloped and slanted in different ways, leftovers of the land before the Village had even installed the roads and buildings they had today. It made for one hell of a trip, though, and oftentimes the villagers would have to determine a route around the village that would enable more flat roads, especially for merchants that travel into the village on a delivery.
There were no shortcuts where Kiba was heading, though. He headed to the forest that was not used for training, a forest reserved for those who work in woodwork, to the Moritaka residence, a civilian family that had a history of producing the top master carpenters for the village.
The Moritaka handled a portion of wood production for Konoha to use and export, chopping down wood, processing them into lumber, and creating structures with it. The Konoha cemetery recently had to rebuild the torii of the entrance, rainfall from previous years having rotted through into the wood, and the Moritaka were responsible, from what Akane had told him with pride.
Akane kind of had her future already made for her, kind of like how Kiba already had one as a shinobi. She didn't have to become a shinobi, and it's not like being a shinobi was any less hard, especially physically. At least, as a carpenter, you don't need to use chakra either, something else that made being a shinobi incredibly exhausting. And it wasn't like Akane would have to pick up carpentry herself- she could just handle the business aspect of their company, and Kiba knew that she preferred sitting at a desk working on numbers more than using her hands.
Doesn't matter, though, Kiba thought as he ventured deeper down a street, away from the main streets and into a path, the streetlights much further apart from one another, leaving spots that were darker. The path started to merge into a heavily forested area, lines of trees on both sides, segmented from the path with stone. The night sky could be seen better without the yellow of the lights, and he can see the moon starting to rise, a crescent. I'm a Genin and she's…
Kiba hoped that Akane's team passed for more reasons than just seeing Akane at work. Itsuki, Natsuo...they were his friends too, and while he was closer to the first than the latter, he had to have something familiar around him, people that he actually liked and grew up with in the same field, to keep him grounded and...well…
Comfortable.
Kiba soon noticed the path diverging, and he took the path that led deeper, where most of the trees stood haphazardly, thicker and taller in size compared to the trees he had just passed by. The scent differed as well - there were more evergreens here, a new variety of forestry that was always further away from the village. Further down, he could see a wooden house that stood, wide and tall, a singular floor, classical and traditional in nature, minka-esque but modern. The roof, rather than being tiled, was thatched. The lights were on, lighting up the surrounding area, and the front light was on as well, the front door opened wide. As he got closer, he saw a figure coming out, their long hair swaying as they held a tiny brush with an inkpot cradled in their palm, and a scroll on the other hand along with a lantern.
Kiba stopped in his tracks, and his once steady heart started to beat frantically. He was further away from any light source, enveloped in the darkness in between, and he knew that the person couldn't see him from where he stood. The person started to make their way to the side of the house, towards the back, deeper into the forest.
Maybe he should wait before confessing. No! He told himself that when he graduated from the Academy, he would ask her out! He can't be a wuss and back off right now! What kind of man does that?
"Akane!"
He called out to her without putting much thought, his voice cracking in between, and now he could feel a wave of embarrassment wash over him. Gods, when will his voice stop cracking?!
Akane stopped in her tracks, turning around to look directly at Kiba. Kiba gulped, clenching his hands into fists, taking a sharp breath to calm his nerves. He walked up to Akane, and Kiba was taken aback by what he saw - Akane had square gauze taped on the side of her cheek, scratches and redness evidence along her nose and her jaws. She still wore the outfit that she had worn the other day, but Kiba could see how the edges frayed, and she was no longer wearing her sandals with the heels, but her home loafers. She didn't look bad, but she definitely looked like she'd been in a fight; clearly, from the test they had to take in order to become Genins.
"Kiba," Akane said, her voice a bit lower than normal, a bit more isolated and distant. She must have noticed how Kiba was staring at the gauze on her cheek, and she quickly raised a hand towards it, attempting to cover it with her hand. Akamaru gave a light bark in greeting, drawing her attention towards the small dog. "And Akamaru...What...are you guys doing here?"
"Uh," Kiba started, returning his glance back at her eyes, clearing his throat. "Uh, well..you said you wanted to meet up, remember? After our first day…"
"Oh," Akane said slowly, hesitantly, twirling a strand of her purple hair, before she nodded. "Yeah, I forgot about that. My bad. I got home a few hours ago and...My mom wanted me to check the warehouse for a last inventory check."
"It's okay," Kiba said evenly. "You weren't expecting it either, right? You know...the test."
He could see Akane's eyebrows twitching inwards when he said 'test', the edge of her lips pulling downwards, into a slight grimace. She stopped herself before she could frown further, instead shaking her head. "Yeah. Took us all by surprise. Did you...see the guys before coming here?"
"Nah, I couldn't, I was stuck at home with my family," Kiba sighed. "I wanted to come see you as soon as I can."
To this, Akane glanced away, but her grimace never left her face. "I see…"
"Do you want me to walk you to the warehouse," Kiba suddenly said, gesturing towards the lantern in her hand. "I can take that. You're carrying a lot already."
Akane stared at him for a moment, looking like she was thinking. She then let out a slight breath, and held up the lantern towards him, before continuing in a much softer tone, "Sure. Don't hog it. I know how scared you are of the dark."
"Pft, me? Scared? I ain't scared of anything," Kiba chuckled as he took the lantern. Their hands brushed against each other. "Akamaru can protect us, isn't that right, boy?"
"Yessir! Just leave it to me," Akamaru barked, as he bounced his way in front of them, ready to walk once they started. Kiba glanced over at Akane, who now had a small smile on her face as she watched Akamaru.
They walked the rest of the way to the warehouse in silence, neither of them starting the conversation. Kiba was too preoccupied about what to say next...when should he confess? Now or later? Should he ask her about her day? Or maybe he should ask about the test...no, no, that'd be too straightforward. But he had another concern too that threw a wrench in what he thought was supposed to be happening...Akane was being unusually quiet and low, and very distant. He didn't even need to hear her say it - she had an atmosphere around her that was unwelcoming, almost shut off. What should he say? What can he say-
"Let's sit for a bit," Akane suddenly spoke, gesturing towards the log that laid in front of the warehouse entrance, the top part cut through to create a flat surface. Kiba immediately sat down, thankful she said something first. Akane sat beside him, a little distance between them. Akamaru hopped on the bench, beside Akane, and Akane picked him up, putting him on her lap, as she patted his soft fur gently.
"How was the test for your team?" Akane asked, never looking at Kiba, keeping her eyes on Akamaru, who now laid on her lap, his eyes closed as her fingers ran through his fur.
"Terrible," Kiba groaned, using his hands to lean back a bit on the surface. "Our sensei had the brilliant idea of capturing the flag thing with her headband, but the only thing is, she knows how to use genjutsu!"
"Yeah…"
"And we spent hours and hours just trying to find her by ourselves! She put me in a genjutsu and everything, it was so bad," Kiba laughed. "The Academy didn't teach us shit, but luckily I remembered what Iruka-sensei taught us with Kai, and I was able to get out...but we ended up with an hour left! So we had to team up and we managed together."
To this, Akane looked up towards Kiba.
"We?"
"Well, yeah...Hinata and Shino," Kiba continued, his voice a bit lower, reflecting on what had happened. "Shino made this whole plan for all of us to get the headband and we all had to...basically work together to get it."
"For real?" Akane asked, quirking her head to the side, her bangs falling to frame her face. The moonlight looked nice against her face. She continued with a bit of a laugh, "Even with that creepy bug fanatic?"
"You know, I didn't think I would ever get along with them," Kiba shook his head. "But we did and...well...we got the headband in the end…"
Without each other, I don't think we would have got it.
"So that means…" Akane mumbled, and Kiba knew this was the perfect time to tell her. He brought out his headband from his hoodie pocket, the Konoha leaf gleaming underneath the white moonlight, and he held it between them.
"Yeah," Kiba said. "I'm officially a shinobi now."
Kiba expected Akane to smile. He expected her to be her cheerful self immediately, grabbing him by the arm like she usually did, and congratulate him on becoming a shinobi. But instead, between the whiteness of the moon and orange of the lantern, he could see Akane's eyes widening, her smirk dropping quickly as she stared at the headband. Her hand froze on Akamaru, no longer moving.
There was a silence that fell between them. Kiba didn't know what to say. He didn't know what else to say. He was expecting her to have a better reaction- he did just pass a very gruelling test, the hardest one they ever had to take in their many years of training.
And yet...there wasn't a sign of anything from Akane.
"So what about you," Kiba broke the silence, his voice slightly hoarse.
"..." Akane looked away, staring straight at the ground, not saying anything.
"...Akane?"
"...We…" She paused quickly, hesitantly, her voice cracking. She gave Kiba a side glance, not being able to face him. "We...we failed…"
The air froze around them, the silence filled with the wind whipping past them, howling. Kiba stared at her, waiting for her to say "joking!" or "sike!", but Akane just went back to staring at the ground, saying nothing more.
"Wha-" Kiba started, processing what he just heard. They...failed? How was that possible?
"Our sensei thought that...since we didn't work together during our test...he failed all of us…" Akane explained. "He said that if we wanted to even think about becoming shinobi that we should...take it more seriously and go back to the Academy or just quit while we're at it. Can you believe it?"
Harsh, Kiba thought, not knowing what to say. Console her? Say everything is going to be alright? She might get mad at him for saying that, she doesn't like it whenever he is like that with her...
"Well...I guess there's always next year," Kiba replied, though he wasn't even sure. Akane didn't look his way. "Right? You're gonna take the test again next year?"
Another uncomfortable silence fell between them, and Kiba could feel his throat running dry. The blood in his veins had been pumping non-stop, and it was making his heart beat louder, audible to his own ears, and the silence did not help the situation at all.
"Seriously? That's all you have to say?" Akane asked, her voice sharper than before.
"W-what?" Kiba asked, and Akane scoffed.
"Forget about it. I'm gonna take the year off," Akane finally said. "Just gonna work for the family business as I figure some stuff out."
Kiba couldn't stop himself from frowning.
"What? You can't give up now," Kiba said, his voice a bit steadier, a bit more passionate in his tone. "We studied and trained super hard all these years just to get here! If you miss out on a year, you'll have to catch up for another year! And you guys know better now...you can retake the test and pass-"
"Yeah, well, easy for you to say all that," Akane scoffed. "You're the one with the headband."
He was immediately taken aback. What was her problem? He was only trying to help; she was the one who wanted to be a ninja too...right?
And what's going to happen to them if Kiba and Akane's paths diverge here? Kiba would be a shinobi, while Akane stayed behind...what would happen between them...
"Well-"
"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" Akane asked suddenly as she got up. Akamaru quickly hopped off her lap, onto the ground, looking at her confused. "I have to finish logging in the inventory."
"Oh," Kiba said slowly, standing up immediately. "Uh...yeah… I guess I'll see you later, Akane?"
"Yeah...see you around."
Akane walked into the warehouse without another word, lantern in hand, never looking back as she closed the door behind her, leaving it slightly open. Kiba stood there, staring at the door, not knowing what to do, a vortex of emotions swirling deep in his chest. He was finding it hard to breathe.
He never got to confess but...he felt like he was basically being rejected, but not romantically.
He was now a shinobi. And she is, well... a civilian. And would likely continue to be so.
He was now shut out from her life.
And he felt his chest squeeze slightly, his breath increasing as he slowly walked away from the door Akane had closed. Is this what rejection feels like? Or is this what it feels like when a bond you held dear to you is severed…
I guess… I'll never know, Kiba thought, continuing down the path he had walked on, without a second glance back.