I know Kiba's annoying. But, believe me, there's a reason for all of the characters acting the way they are. And I promise there will be character growth and Kiba will eventually learn to not be so... like him anymore.
But thank you for all of the follows, favorites, and reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter!
"Got any money?"
The man was a weird one. He looked really cool, though. And Kiba'd just managed to snag a few coins from under his father's nose that morning without him noticing, so Kiba didn't feel like he'd be losing anything by giving the man any money. If he got an awesome war story out of it, it'd be worth the pay. And if the man proved to be a hustler that only wanted money, then Kiba would just tell his father that a weird man had tried to touch him earlier that day and he would dish out the deserved punishment.
With a broad smile, the boy stuck his hand into his pants' pockets and fished those coins from inside, then pulled them out and looked down at them. They seemed to be enough to buy a stick of dango. But he was willing to give that up for an awesome story. He was still suspended in the air, but, really, he didn't mind. It was kind of cool. He was just floating. Although the pressure on his throat was becoming somewhat restricting.
Without any hesitation, Kiba jutted out his hand and offered the money to the man. Both of his teammates' jaws dropped, the man merely seemed to quirk an eyebrow from beneath those strands attached to his hat, and the Inuzuka only grinned slyly.
"Now... About those war stories?"
A second passed in which nothing happened. Then the man raised his hand so it was just below Kiba's fist, open so it could catch the coins. Then the boy dropped them into his hand and the male closed his fist around the pieces of currency.
"Get comfortable." The man grunted as he let go of the back of Kiba's shirt, sending him to crash down on the floor below. "You wanted a story, then I'll give you the bloodiest one I can."
The promise of a very bloody story had Kiba immediately picking himself up and dusting himself off, only to sit by the man's feet to stare at him with wide eyes. And when he noticed that neither of the kids he had come with had sat down, the Inuzuka patted at the spot beside him and smiled broadly, "Come on, you idiots! I paid and we're all going to enjoy this!"
Chouji looked from him to the old man with wide eyes, but began to move without needing any more prompting from the Inuzuka. Sakura, on the other hand, was staring at him with her eyes wide and her mouth open, apparently completely surprised with what Kiba was doing. Which didn't make any sense to him. He had wanted a story and found a way to get the old man to tell them what they were looking for. So, why weren't they eager to sit down with him and listen?
The girl was still on the floor from the moment she had fallen. And the boy couldn't help the scoff that escaped him and the rolling of his eyes.
She was such a weak kid. And it wasn't even because she was a girl. She was just weak. It was pitiful.
"Hurry up, Sakura!" He growled, annoyance tinting his words as he glared at the girl.
Kiba was really mean!
And Sakura couldn't understand why.
What had she ever done to the Inuzuka? Nothing! They didn't talk inside the classroom because he was always too busy either arguing with Iruka Sensei or trying to pick fights with Naruto. Aside from that, Kiba was just a rude person. The kind of person that her mother had warned her against because he was poisonous to the environment.
... Quite frankly, her mother was kind of weird. How could one person poison the environment? But Kiba was mean and had yet to be nice and Sakura couldn't understand why!
With her knees and palms stinging at having been chaffed by the fall, Sakura looked down at the floor and sniffled. Her eyes burned and she felt really close to crying. But she knew she couldn't! If she did, Kiba would just start calling her crybaby again. And she really didn't want that to happen!
"Well?" The old man asked as he turned his covered face to the young girl, voice tinted with annoyance. "Hurry up, girl!"
The shout from the man had Sakura scurrying over to Chouji's side, not wanting to be too close to the already annoyed Inuzuka. Then, taking off her backpack, she opened it up and picked out a notebook.
From the way neither boys had their own writing utensils out, she knew that if she didn't take notes, they would not have a perfect retelling of the story the old man was going to tell them now. And her mother had always said that if you wanted something done right, you would have to do it yourself.
So with tears still stinging slightly at her eyes and her palms bothering her a bit, the pink haired girl looked up at the large man as he sat himself on a bucket that happened to be resting by the bar-maybe-tavern. He took a few seconds of silence to grab his hat and pluck it off his head, allowing them to finally see his face... Well, the visible part of his face. It was mostly covered too. If anything, all that Sakura could really call 'visible' were the bright green eyes with (oddly enough) dark red where there was supposed to be white.
He also had a forehead protector. But she couldn't tell from what village it was. She didn't know that much about the rest of the hidden villages outside of the Village Hidden in the Sand and her own home. And that was just because her father loved to head down there because of the amicable trade relations between both villages.
"This happened during the Third Shinobi War..." The man began, eyes narrowing just slightly. "And it is not a story for the faint of heart."
For some reason, Sakura felt that the man was speaking directly to her when it came to the whole 'faint of heart' issue. And this saddened her because she knew that if it really was that scary, she'd most probably end up leaving the story telling.
But she didn't want people to keep thinking she was weak... Even though she knew she was...
The fact that Kiba had given the old man money really had surprised Chouji. But the boy was even more surprised when Sakura actually sat down beside him and pulled out her notebook, apparently set on sitting through the violent tale the old man had promised on delivering.
Quite frankly, Chouji had no idea what to think of the man. The village symbol on his head had a gash across it, but he was much too young to understand what that could mean. He was only six! Most information about the hidden villages wasn't told to even the clan heirs until they were at least a year from graduating... Or, that's what his parents had told him when he'd asked when he'd finally be taught how to be a proper clan head.
Sakura pulled out her notebook with a sniffle and the Akimichi felt somewhat bad for not having spoken up for her. He knew how bad it was to be insulted for feeling too easily. It happened to him a lot too. Just not with the frequency that it happened to the pink haired girl.
But the man began to speak before Chouji could garner the confidence to try and comfort the girl and soon enough he found himself enraptured in the amazing the tale the man was spinning.
It began like those fairy tales his mother loved to tell him and Shikamaru on the nights he stayed over at the Akimichi home. There was a black warrior with a dark heart that wished for nothing more than to save the love of his life, a woman dressed in green with the power to buy anything she wanted. Or, at least, that's what popped up in Chouji's mind as soon as the man had began the story.
Even though he had seemed like a grumpy old man that didn't like to do anything, the man that Kiba had payed to tell them a story about the Third Great Shinobi War sure could weave story!
Vivid images of crossing through all kinds of arduous terrains, only to meet with an impossible challenge when everything seemed darker than ever before, filled Chouji's mind. The young boy was so taken aback by the man's spectacular way of weaving words together that he didn't even try to take out his notebook to take any notes. He was much too focused on the story being told to ever stop to think that they might need notes about it later on.
His mother should take lessons from the old man about how to tell stories... Chouji thought this as the old man's voice changed into something akin to that of a monster's, deep and guttural. For even though his mother told excellent stories... This really took the whole cake!
"And then came the worst challenge I had to face during the war." The man's voice lowered into almost a whisper, eyes flickering to each child before he closed them, took in a big, dramatic breath, and said, "Then I was forced to face ten squadrons of enemy shinobi. With that traitor by my side."
"Whoa!"
Chouji couldn't help the gasp of admiration that left him after the man had continued. This whole story was just amazing! He knew that Iruka Sensei would really appreciate it once they presented it in front of the whole classroom!
Taking a break to chuckle at the awed faces of the three kids, the man nodded. "Yeah, pork chop. 'Whoa'."
The Akimichi had been so enraptured by the amazing story that he hadn't even noticed the insult.
But then the man had continued talking. And soon the amazing storytelling he had been using, with the same vivid images and precise language, turned against the children. The man's eyes narrowed dangerously and his voice darkened considerably, his words becoming chilling and striking Chouji right in the heart.
With each sentence that left the man's lips, the more Chouji's amazement became horror. And by the middle of the explanation of just what he had done when he was surrounded by those oh so foolish enemy ninja, Chouji couldn't help himself any more. He hugged Sakura close to him, causing her to drop her notebook. But she didn't mind and instead hugged him back tightly, looking much too green to be fine.
"And there I held his still beating heart, blood oozing from the severed arteries and veins," The old man whispered chillingly, "And BAM!"
"Aah!" Chouji and Sakura both let out bloodcurdling screams as they tightened their grips against each other, eyes closing in pure fear.
Then the plump boy dug his face into Sakura's shoulder, feeling her do the same with his own shoulder. He could feel her shaking softly and a wetness appearing on his shoulder, but he only held onto her tighter.
"The traitor came out of nowhere."
Faintly, Chouji noted that Kiba grabbed the notebook from the floor. But he didn't know why, nor did he care. He was much too busy trying to keep himself from crying. How could anyone betray such a good friend? How could anyone forsake their brother?
"I almost died. It was a miracle I lived through that onslaught..." The man stopped then, but Chouji still didn't look up. "It's getting late. Aren't brats like you supposed to have a curfew?"
It took a few seconds to figure out that the vivid story had been cut off abruptly. But when the man's last words registered in his mind, the Akimichi looked up at the sky and noticed that it was already night.
"Oh no!" He shouted, momentarily forgetting the fear that had seeped into his bones. "My mom's gonna tan me for having missed dinner!"
"Your mom?" Sakura whimpered, wiping at the tears in her eyes. "My mom's gonna murder me and hide the body!"
They both began to get up hurriedly, terrified of the consequence of getting home so late. But as they did so, Chouji noted that Kiba seemed almost reluctant to have to get up.
"Kiba, don't you have to get home?" He asked curiously, causing Sakura to halt in her picking up of her supplies for a second.
The Inuzuka sighed and handed Sakura's notebook over to her, then stretched lazily and shook his head.
"Nope." He answered with a pop of the 'p'. "Mom's off on a mission. Hana's staying with a friend. And pop's working. He doesn't get off 'til very late at night."
Even though he seemed completely okay with what he was saying, Chouji couldn't help but feeling like Kiba wasn't as relaxed as he made out to be. For some reason, he thought he saw sadness tinting the other's eyes.
"Oh. Okay." Both Chouji and Sakura blinked at the admission, then looked at one another. "Well... We have to get going."
"Yeah, yeah." The boy waved his hand as he stood up, then turned to the old man. "You'll finish the story tomorrow, right?"
A low growl left the man, but he soon tsk'ed and nodded stiffly. "Bring me some more money and I will finish telling you about how the battle ended."
He didn't want to go back home. There was no one there. But Chouji and Sakura both 'needed' to go back (Please, they were just too afraid to face their parents wrath) and he couldn't stay in this part of Konoha by himself. Even though he was brave and courageous, he wasn't completely stupid. And being a little kid in an area like this at night was just about a level of stupidity worthy of Naruto himself.
"Alright. See you tomorrow, Old man!" Kiba waved in goodbye as he began to walk back in the direction they had come from, shoving his hands into his pockets as he heard both weak kids follow after him.
Mom was off on another mission. Like always. And sis was staying over at the Uchiha compound to finish up with some project or another with that one kid... What was his name again? It was Sasuke's brother, if he was correct. Kiba just couldn't remember the dude's name. And, finally, his father was most probably still at the hospital working his ass off... So when he got home, it'd be completely empty. Like always...
Fighting back the loud sigh that wanted to escape him, the Inuzuka trudged alongside a rather fast Sakura, not having any trouble keeping up with her.
Just what was her problem, anyway? Couldn't she take one night of punishment?
... So weak.
And then there was Chouji, who was keeping pace with them both but seemed to have a thoughtful look on his face.
... Just two more days. Then he'd never have to speak to these two again... Just two more days.
Her mom was going to kill her! It was one thing to not come back home straight after school without giving any warning. But it was something even worse to not come back home straight after school and not return before night!
She could already see what her grave would say: 'Here lies Sakura Haruno. She was a good girl, but didn't follow her mother's rules. Now she's dead.'
With hurried breaths, Sakura walked as fast as her legs could take her. For some reason, the boys weren't running like they had earlier. And, really, she was too tired to break out in a run again. But she had enough energy left to walk really fast, so she was just going to do that until she was a few blocks from her home. Then she would break off into a sprint and hope her mother wouldn't be too angry.
The images of the bloody story the old man by that one bar had told them flashed across her eyes every now and then, a vivid crimson red overshadowing everything else. And with a squeak of fear, the girl hid her face in her hands, although she didn't stop walking.
Great! Not only was she late, but now she was going to have nightmares she would have to explain!
Damn that Inuzuka!
Well, at least Chouji was there. And he had hugged her when the story had gotten really scary.
... Did that mean he wanted to be her friend?
The thought made Sakura's chest warm and her cheeks redden.
She'd never had a friend before.
For some reason, both of the other kids he was with were really quiet as they walked back in the direction of their homes. Chouji could understand why Sakura was so quiet. She was most probably too afraid of getting punished to think about striking up any kind of conversation. But even Kiba was quiet, and that boy usually seemed as if he were ignorant to the definition of silence.
It was really weird.
When they reached the busiest part of Konoha, he looked from Kiba over to Sakura. The boy had his hands in his pockets and seemed totally relaxed. But Chouji couldn't shake the thought of there being something hidden behind that demeanor. And Sakura's eyes were wide and fear filled, although her cheeks seemed slightly flushed.
"Hey..." He began, swallowing down a lump in his throat when both kids looked at him. "Sakura, do you want us to take you home? I know the dark can be scary."
Kiba quirked a curious eyebrow at his words. The Akimichi had said 'us' rather than 'me', after all, but kept his mouth shut. And Chouji was both glad and slightly confused by this. Wouldn't he proclaim he was too awesome to walk anyone home?
"Y-You would do that?"
The soft squeak had Chouji smiling as warmly as he could, "Of course we would. Right, Kiba?"
There was a beat of silence in which nothing happened, then the boy nodded slightly. "Yeah... Sure... Whatever."
"Thank you!" Sakura gasped out, then pointed in the direction of her home. "Let's go!"
And so the group of three continued walking. Even though Chouji knew he'd get in trouble for getting home so late, he just didn't feel right leaving Sakura to walk home alone. So, when the time came, he'd gladly take the punishment his father would give him. But now he was just glad to see a soft smile on the pink haired girl's face.
Other small promise: There will eventually be even more Kakuzu! And more Kakuzu, Sakura, Chouji, and Kiba fluff! Promise!
Please review.
