In a cold sleepy village within Kiri no Kuni the mist of early morning flowed down the hillside of rice fields, whilst the first rays of sunlight gave pink tendrils that danced amoungst the diaphanous droplets of water. The town was peaceful but poor. Parents; mother and father alike worked the rice fields day in and day out to scrape together what little income they could from the overbearing Lords who owned the land. Their children ran freely in the streets without supervision or education as the townspeople could not afford a school. Fall out from the most recent Shinobi war had created a socioeconomic situation that left the village with little infrastructure and less qualified educators. To say it simply, most of the people here were living in poverty.
This was where his mother had found her. Kira. Just thinking her name brought his yearning to the forefront. He longed to see her again and to hear her voice but he knew this personal mission of his must be completed. If they were ever to have a happy life together he needed to understand just who it was that he would be accepting as his mate.
It had been two months since Kiba's departure from Konoha and after one whole month of searching this village for any solid information about Kira, Kiba still felt that he was no closer to learning the truth about where she had come from. He had however discovered the run down shack that she had used for shelter, and the locals had told him of a tattery young girl and a mangy dog that used to dig through bins and live of scraps.
The more Kiba learnt about the life that Kira had led before coming to Konoha, the more he regretted his behaviour towards her. It must have been so hard for her. Abandoned on the streets, surviving on her own. She must have been so lonely for so long. And now she was in need of, no, she deserved love and acceptance. And he, as her mate, had failed to give her his due to his own fears and shortcomings.
He had been such a jerk, pushing her away when he should have been embracing her, loving her. All because he was afraid that he wasn't ready, that he wasn't mature enough, that he wasn't a strong enough Shinobi. He had only thought of himself. When he should have been thinking of her.
Kiba had finally decided no matter what he discovered about her he would, in the end, return to Konoha and accept her as his mate. That was if she would have him.