Chapter 3 – Wrong Move
Pissed.
That's what he was right now.
"God! How snobbish and stuck up can one get!" he yelled throwing his hands up in the air and began to mumble things under his breath.
"Kiba, everything alright?" A voice came from down the stairs upon hearing his angry shouts. Apparently, he forgot to close the wooden door. He would never really let anyone see him pissed off. He still has his pride, you know.
"Yeah, sis, I'm fine!" he called out again as he slammed it shut.
Down at the kitchen his sister was not the least bit concerned for her little brother, as she was preparing their dinner since their mom wasn't home and their dad was on a mission, 'If I know that little tyke, which I do, he's in a bad mood, he'd easily burst up at any little thing. That might be so but he easily cools down, too,' she smiled at the thought as she ignored a heard bang from his bedroom.
"And who's idea was it anyway to go up to her and ask her?" Kiba turned to his dog.
Akamaru looked at him and was about to open his mouth to bark as if to say, 'Yours', when Kiba stopped him, aware that it really was his idea,
"Save it, Akamaru. I don't want to hear it," he snapped at the innocent fur ball.
Kiba stomped heavily on his room's floor, though if he were any madder, he would have attempted to use his used his Gatsuuga to destroy his own room.
He banged his fist against the window, hoping it would break to just be satisfied, "I can't stand it. She's just so irritating!"
After a while though, he realized that his complaining, banging and throwing a fit would do nothing to improve neither the situation nor mood he was in. Kiba flopped stomach-down on his soft, brown bed and thought about what had occurred a few hours ago…
Kiba had been walking with Akamaru on the same path for a while now, "Geez, I can't believe I freakin' forgot where the Village Hall was. It's such a big structure…" his thoughts have been interrupted by Akamaru tugging at his dark brown pants and pointing his snout towards a light peach building. In short – Konoha hall.
Suddenly, beside the wooden fence behind him, he spotted the same black-haired girl that he had stumbled upon earlier that day looking forward at nothing. Quickly, his nerves jolted and somehow caused him to and call out to her, "Hey, you!"
He didn't seem to catch her attention, anyhow. She hadn't budged her head to his direction, instead the girl walked behind the fence and disappeared into the alleyway next to it.
'Hmm… where's she going now…?" he thought, following her all the same, Akamaru trailing behind. Upon reaching there, she was at the end now. He noticed she stopped for a bit and then continued going on, guessing she still didn't see him. Kiba ran all the way past the garbage cans and flies, hoping to at least get the chance to talk to her.
Kiba saw her again darting tirelessly through the roads and past the Ichiraku ramen stand. She was as good as gone when he arrived there.
"Hi Kiba! Where are you off to in such a rush?" The female co-ramen house keeper, Ayame, asked him when he passed.
"So sorry, no time to talk, in a big hurry," he said in short breaths trying to keep up with that 'whoever-she-was' girl. She had been running for a while now up the road, going through as many turns as possible.
'Oh for goodness sake… What the hell is she doing?'
Finally, he saw her reach the Hokage's building. He watched with widened eyes as her dainty feet in sandals walked up each granite step of the Konoha hall, "That's where she was going? She could've passed the way earlier instead of going through that ally!" Kiba didn't even bother to think of possibilities on why she hasn't done that.
He still hasn't ceased to follow her and continued up the steps just as he had done.
Surprise, surprise.
A wide, long hall and many doors awaited him upon going inside. Kiba just couldn't think of where she had gone. A thought though had crossed his mind and he slapped his forehead with a hand. If she was going to the Konoha hall, she must be wanting to go to the Hokage because what other reason would she have, doing there, with her being new and all.
Duh.
He raced up the stairs leading to the upper hallway frantically looking for the Hokage's office, and partly wondering why there weren't any jounin on guard.
His question was answered when Hayate, a jounin, and also the sickly-looking 'coughing' instructor for the chuunin exams held every year, came out of the door of what was most likely to be the Hokage's office.
The 24 year old jounin looked at Kiba, questioningly, "What are you doing here?"
He obediently answered him, "I'm just going to see Hokage-sama…"
Hayate shrugged an 'ok' and headed downstairs, still coughing. Apparently, Hayate's chronic sickness worsened ever since the sand ninjas appeared. He was able to escape with minor injuries.
'Hm… I wonder why's he here… Now, I'd better go check on that girl.'
"Hey, you, I just wanted to ask one- …eh?" he blurted out after he burst in the Hokage's office to see 2 faces looking at him in disturbance.
"Is there any problem Kiba?" Tsunade-sama asked him, impatiently tapping her fingers on the desk.
"Uh… n-no ma'am. I'm sorry. I'll wait outside…" that made him completely flustered and ashamed. He closed the door and sat on the maroon, velvet seats right outside beside the decorative plants.
He heaved a deep sigh and a yawn as his hands ran over the soft couch covers stroking the sleepy Akamaru. He wondered on how long he'd have to wait and what they were talking about.
A creak of the door brought Kiba back alert after what seemed like ages he spent waiting.
"Thank you, Mitsuki."
Click.
The door closed shut, following up the Hokage's dismissing of the girl.
"Mitsuki, huh? Nice name, I'm Kiba," he said, grinning at the girl who stood expressionless beside the door.
She, now known as Ehime Mitsuki, walked on along the hall pretending not to hear anything.
"Hey, wait up," Kiba too, got up out of his seat, carrying Akamaru as he persisted to ask, "Where are you off to?"
Again, she did not bother answering him. Kiba continued following her and eventually reached out for her shoulder.
"What is it that you want?" she finally voiced out with a slight irritation.
Kiba made an imaginary 'victory' sign in his mind, "So I actually got out a word from you, after all," he gave a satisfied smile.
She muttered a 'whatever' at him complete with a roll of eyes to add to the obnoxiousness.
"I wanna ask you something."
"So go ask," she said, predicting an obvious, expected question. Surely, he would ask stuff like where she came from, where the rest of her clan was, what she was going to do here and all the usual bullshit she was sick of hearing.
But he didn't,
"Mind if I hang out with you for a while?"
She was a bit taken aback at the request she rarely heard, but nodded anyway after a few seconds of silence.
"So," he started on as they began walking, "Where's your other clan members?"
She cringed and twitched her eye at the dreaded question she 'thought' he wouldn't mention.
Not exactly Mr. Smooth, if you ask me.
"That's none of your business," Mitsuki snapped at him.
"Fine, fine. If you want it that way, I'll lay off… I thought I could ask you a question."
"You just did when you wanted to hang with me…"
"Oh right," he chuckled, "Can I ask another one?"
"No."
He ignored her negative response and attempted to do so anyway. "Where did-"
Mitsuki then interrupted him, avoiding another question, "I said you can't ask me anything more," she firmly retorted.
"Oh, come on. It's a harmless thing to ask. What's your problem, anyway?"
She now, was really ticked off at him, "What's MY problem? You ask me what my problem is? You're the one with a problem here!"
"I-"
"No, I'll let you in on my problem. It's YOU! I could tolerate you following and stalking me like you did a while ago. Isimply took the alleyway just to shake you off! And now you're interrogating me like a cop or something and you barely even know me!"
"It's not that, I just-"
Slap.
She glared at his slight red face in spite of the red marks that also covered it, "I don't want to hear any word coming from thatpie-hole you calla mouth. Just leave me alone."
The present Kiba felt the spot on his still slap-red cheek where her hand connected. He bit his lip as he thought of the memory causing a few drops of blood totrickle down his lower lip.
"Life gives us weird things, eh Akamaru?" he stood up searched for the medicine ointment for cuts in which he found on top of a drawer in his very messy room.
Kiba sat back down on the soft bouncy bed, noticing it was too quiet. Something was missing, "Akamaru? Where are you, boy?" he then frantically searched the room for his once again missing dog.
"Sis, did you see Akamaru go down?" he hollered down the stairs for his sister.
Then came her reply, "No, why? Did you lose him, again?"
He scowled and ignored her comment, thinking, 'He was maybe offended by the shouting I did, earlier. He thinks he's at fault…" as he went down looking worried.
"Good morning. Why the happy sunshine face?" his sister remarked, sarcastically as she prepared some sandwiches from leftovers.
"Not funny," he frowned, "I can't find Akamaru. I've searched everywhere upstairs. Under the bed, behind the closet, near the tables, inside the toilet…"
"Inside the toilet?" she raised an eyebrow, skeptically.
"Yeah yeah… wait. Did you say good morning?"
"Yes. You slept through the whole afternoon yesterday. You were snoring, too," she added.
"Oh… well I'm going out to find Akamaru now, see ya," he grabbed one of the sandwiches out of her hands and opened the door. "Hey wait! Don't shut the--"
Slam.
"door..." sheshook her head in dismay. Pretty much, she knew her brother was a hopeless case.
"Always the runner, never the thinker," she sighed and shook her head, continuing with her work.