A/N: Something big happens in this chapter, so I'm hoping people can really get into the story from here, if you haven't already. I also want to thank everyone who's reading, I hope I don't disappoint you!

Also, does anyone even read author's notes anymore? I know I do, but just out of curiosity…

Still a disclaimer, I do not own Naruto or its characters, only my OCs and plot.

The Canine and the Lupine

The next few days were long and drawn-out. Luna spent most of her time in the veterinary clinic with Hana, after she had offered to help out in return for healing her paw. Hana had accepted eagerly, happy to have the extra help and company, but also keen to keep an eye on how the she-wolf's injury was coming along. Luna suspected that the older female was also just a tiny bit curious about her strange chakra system, but was either too polite or too cautious to ask. It really wasn't a big deal, it was actually just a mutation of human and wolf cells that had mingled into one through years of cross genetics. To be honest, her clan's history went back so far that even Luna herself wasn't exactly sure how their hybrid forms came about.

Kiba and Akamaru visited them whenever they could, which was really only when Tsume relented her unyielding routine she had planned out every day for the Inu heir. Kiba matched his mother's persistence in complaining, but when Luna had once joked about his stubbornness to do as asked, he had launched into a louder tirade of moaning. She didn't bother to interrupt after that, figuring it was better for everyone's sake to let him rant it out on his own.

The days weren't the only things that dragged though, for getting into the habit of sleeping at night turned out to be a lot more difficult than she'd originally thought. The first night she'd slept relatively well, but wolves could go for days without sleeping if they needed to, so the full night's rest had only served to regenerate her energy to the maximum. The hybrid girl had merely dozed for a few hours each night since then, and tonight she doubted would be any different.

She hovered in the doorway of the surgery as Hana finished checking on patients and locking the doors to the medical rooms. The Inuzuka woman always tried to usher her home sooner, but Luna didn't mind staying up late, so would simply smile and decline. If anything, working harder for longer hours might start to help her sleep better.

'Well, that's us for the day. I told you though, you really don't have to wait up for me all the time. As much as I appreciate the company, I don't want you losing sleep over repaying a debt. Besides, it's my job, so you don't actually have to pay me back for healing you at all.'

'Well, I'd like to thank you in any way I can. My body's on a different clock to yours anyway, so this is really nothing for me.' She smiled softly, the crescent moon catching her eye as she walked beside Hana towards their house. Its surface seemed to glow against the dark sky, drawing her in like a magnetic pull.

They drew closer to the main building, but the moon was just too powerful tonight for Luna to turn away from. 'Actually Hana, I'm going to stay out for a little longer. It's such a nice night, it'd be a shame to miss it entirely!'

Hana only chuckled. 'If you insist.'

The hybrid girl grinned and threw a small wave over her shoulder as she broke into a jog, heading for the shallow hill she had seen on various walks through the estate. She found it quicker than she expected, and settled down on its peak to gaze over the view of Leaf village beyond it.

Here, sitting on the hilltop overlooking the city below, and basking in the moonlight like this, she'd never felt calmer. She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes and allowing the refreshing cool air to fill her lungs, unaware of the onyx pair of eyes that were now watching her from behind.

Had she been in her wolf form, she'd have heard him approach right away, no problem. But things were different in her hybrid body. Though she still had her furry ears visible, the connection to her inner ear worked differently, bringing her hearing down a few decibels to just above normal human level, unless she really focused on listening.

Kiba's eyes grazed over her relaxed form in the dimly lit night. He'd never seen such a carefree side to her as this, and it was nothing like her usual 'relaxed' state. He was so used to her looking as though she were about to enter fight or flight mode, that he almost didn't believe it was really Luna sat before him. The moonlight playing tricks on him, perhaps?

And yet here she was. It was rare for a ninja to ever really drop their guard entirely, but considering she didn't seem aware of his presence yet, he'd say she actually had. It was a strangely comforting sight.

He debated momentarily on whether to disturb her peaceful solitude and join her, or sneak away silently. The air was cool on his sweat-dried skin after a long training session with his team, and he knew Akamaru would be catching him up any minute now. He finally decided on leaving her be, since this was the first time Kiba could recall seeing her look truly at peace in this village. He didn't want to ruin that. The dog trainer was just about to turn away, when the breeze suddenly picked up. Her silvery hair billowed gently in his direction, but that wasn't the only thing the wind blew his way. Her scent wafted downwind to where he was hovering, halting him mid-step and causing him to gasp lightly. Her ears twitched at his sharp intake of breath, but he barely noticed as the sickly sweet aroma of pine forests and freshly cut grass filled his nostrils and almost made him dizzy. He breathed in deeper, enjoying the strange head rush it was giving him.

'…Did you just smell me, Inuzuka?'

'Wha– N-no! I mean I-I, erm…' His entire face flushed scarlet, matching his clan markings at the realisation that he'd been caught. She smirked as he stumbled over his words in a desperate attempt of denial. Before he could formulate an actual liable sentence, she was in front of him in a flash, surprising him into silence.

Luna leaned in so suddenly that all he could do was freeze, eyes widening dramatically. She pushed her face right into the crook of his neck, nuzzling his hairline ever-s0-slightly as she inhaled through her nose. Then, just as quickly she pulled back, one eye closed as she tilted her head and grinned.

'There. Now we're even!' And with that, off she skipped, the triumphant expression never leaving her face as she left him standing there looking completely stunned.

As she made her exit, it finally hit him that he was never, never going to be able to understand her erratic mood swings. His hand subconsciously moved to touch the side of his neck, until chuckling brought him back down to Earth.

'What're you laughing at?' The Inu nin snapped at his white, furry companion, who was now standing faithfully at his side.

'Oh nothing. Nothing at all.' Akamaru threw him a doggy grin, which only widened at Kiba's red cheeks and angry glare.

'Whatever. Come on, let's get back to the compound.'

Around three hours later, Luna was lying flat on her back on the mattress provided in her room. She was wide awake, bored, and staring at the ceiling. It was a boring ceiling. Maybe if they painted sheep on there or something…?

She huffed and sat up straight, glancing around the room for something to pass the time. There was nothing. Heaving herself up, she padded quietly to the other side of the room, where there was a small, half-filled bookshelf. Her crimson eyes scanned the covers, but they all just seemed to be informative medical texts, so nothing really caught her interest. Luna spent enough time around sick and injured animals in the day, never mind reading about them at night too!

Her eyes found their way to her door. It was almost 4am, which meant it was unlikely anyone would be awake right now, so she supposed it couldn't hurt to explore the house a little.

Decision made, she exited the bedroom swiftly and tiptoed down the hallway towards the kitchen. Maybe a late night snack would help?

Considering the size of the building, the kitchen was quite small and compact, which made her job of finding food much easier. She riffled through one of the higher cupboards, pushing aside tins and jars until the hybrid found what she was looking for. Taking a moment to wonder if the Inuzuka's would mind, Luna pulled the can of tuna from its hiding place and set to work on locating a tin-opener. Several drawers later, she had the contraption in one hand and an open tin of tuna in the other, which didn't stay full for long.

Placing the quickly emptied can on the worktop, she licked her lips hungrily, not having realised how little she'd actually eaten that day. She was about to go in search of something more filling, when footsteps from the hall caught her attention, and her ears flickered nervously.

'I thought I smelled food out here.' The Inuzuka heir grinned, an empty water glass in his hand as he entered the kitchen.

Luna let out a small breath at his presence, and grinned rather sheepishly. 'Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up.'

'You didn't, I'm just particularly dehydrated after training yesterday.' Kiba joked, flipping on the cold tap. 'What are you doing up anyway? Don't you ever sleep?'

'No…' She admitted reluctantly, then added, 'it's hard for me to sleep at night.'

The Inu blinked sleepily, wondering whether or not he'd heard her right, but she continued before he could doubt himself further.

'My clan is nocturnal, and we don't need that much sleep in the first place, so I'm not really tired right now.'

'Oh. You should have mentioned that earlier!'

Luna's eyebrows knitted together. 'Why? It's not like you could have done anything about it…'

She did have a point. 'No, I suppose not.'

They lapsed into an awkward silence as Kiba waited for his glass to fill, the sound of flowing water the only thing breaking the atmosphere.

Thoughts of their earlier encounter slipped through the cracks of her mind and made her fists clench. She hadn't intended to get so close to him but, with the strange effect the moon had on her and the way he'd fumbled so adorably when she'd caught him in the act, Luna didn't know what came over her. She'd only been playing with him of course, but now she wasn't so sure it'd been the best idea.

A quick glance to the dog trainer had her fists tightening further. He had finished filling his glass and was now leaning against the worktop, swilling the liquid aimlessly around the container. She hoped this awkwardness was merely from a lack of conversation.

'Well, g-good night then…' She muttered finally, retreating hurriedly down the hallway and disappearing behind her bedroom door, missing the way his head snapped up and his hand reached out to stop her.

At 6:30am, Luna could no longer stand staring at the same for walls and waiting for the morning sun to make his appearance. She busied herself in the kitchen, throwing together a loosely planned breakfast and pouring herself some coffee. Just because she was part-wolf didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a good morning brew.

The hybrid girl gobbled several scraps of bacon she'd prepared, but decided on leaving enough for the other members of the household, just in case they did miss the tin of tuna she'd taken without permission. Call it her apology.

She stretched out her arms in the courtyard outside the house, wincing slightly when her injured paw protested. Damn this is getting annoying. How much longer till it's healed already?!

The lighting was still low with dawn just around the corner, but with Luna's heightened night vision she had no issues finding her way through the compound to where Kiba had first shown her his training ground.

Something about this morning made her crave movement, or maybe it was just the considerate lack of exercise she'd been doing recently that had her ceasing up.

The she-wolf had just entered the field when a noise in the air made her pause. It was a high-pitched, 'yah' sort of noise, definitely feminine, probably human. She concentrated chakra to her nose and sniffed the air, ears twitching rapidly as she located its source. Just beyond the far line of trees, Luna found a small stream, occupied by a petite, female Leaf ninja, practising some sort of kata on the water's surface.

The hybrid girl watched for a moment, fascinated by her swift and fluid movements that ran almost perfectly in synchronisation with the stream's current.

Red eyes focused more clearly on the stranger's pale features, more specifically, her pale eyes. Light and lilac in colour, they were framed by long, delicate lashes, which themselves were almost completely shadowed by a deep indigo fringe. She was exceptionally beautiful, Luna noted, and upon further inspection realised that this girl absolutely reeked of honesty and innocence. If you could bottle that scent, you'd be a very rich person indeed.

Ears perked forward curiously, Luna left the safety of the foliage and revealed herself to the stranger, who stopped in her tracks.

'O-oh! I'm sorry, I didn't hear you approach.' The girl stuttered, her musical voice chiming in Luna's ears like a reassuring melody. Something about her made Luna automatically feel safe.

'No, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to interrupt your training. I'm Luna.' She allowed herself to smile, surprising herself with how natural it felt.

'It's nice to meet you. My name is Hinata. Are you the person staying with the Inuzukas?' She flipped her long dark hair over her shoulders and met the she-wolf at the water's edge.

'Y-yes… but how did you know about that?'

'I'm Shino and Kiba's teammate, Hinata Hyuga?' She stated, at the same time asking whether they'd mentioned her at all.

'Oh, now that you mention it, Kiba told me about you after I met Shino last week!' How could she have forgotten?!

The pale eyed girl smiled warmly, and Luna felt the familiar bubble of trust building up inside her. It was incredibly rare for a wolf to find someone they wanted to trust instantly, and it made her all the more curious about the Hyuga girl.

'I come out here early in the mornings to train. I find this time of day to be the most peaceful.'

'I suppose you could say I'm an early riser myself.' Luna nodded in agreement, scratching at her bandaged arm subconsciously, which did not go unnoticed by her companion.

'D-does your arm hurt? Please, wait here a second!'

And with that, Hinata disappearing into the trees. Luna blinked as she stared at the space she had vanished from, unsure of how to react other than to do as she'd asked.

No less than a minute passed and the Hyuga girl returned. She now held something small in her hands, which she offered to Luna in her palm a moment later. 'P-please, accept this! I-it's an ointment that will help to soothe your injury while it's healing. I had it in my bag just behind those trees!'

The hybrid stared in undisguised curiosity at the little bottle being held out to her, but nothing about the ointment seemed suspicious, and she'd already deemed Hinata trustworthy. 'But… Why would you do that for me? You don't even know me…'

'Well, you're staying with the Inuzukas, aren't you? I've been on a team with K-Kiba for almost 9 years, and I completely trust his judgement. So please, accept this!' Hinata smiled so genuinely that Luna had no choice but to accept it, returning the smile with one of deep gratitude.

'Thank you,' The she-wolf had previously heard that the Leaf ninja could be soft-hearted and weak, but Luna wouldn't class this as either of those. This was a kindness that she had never experienced before, even from members of her own clan.

'There you are… Oh, hey, Hinata! What're you two doing out here?' Kiba's voice broke the atmosphere as he emerged from the trees, Akamaru bounding past him to rub against the Hyuga.

'Good morning, Kiba,' Hinata gave a small wave in greeting before turning her attention to the large white mutt at her side. 'And Akamaru!'

'Where you looking for me?' Luna asked, the question coming out snappier than she'd intended.

'Yeah I was, you have a real bad habit of disappearing without telling us, you know!' The Inu nin reprimanded, but the grin that followed ruined the effect. 'But I guess I'll let you off this time, since you left us food and all.'

'You're welcome.' Luna chuckled, making a mental note to use that again in the future.

'So, you two have met then?'

'Yes, b-but I should probably be heading home before Father wakes up. He doesn't like me leaving the compound so early without an escort, y-you see.' She turned to Luna and gave her a quick, polite bow. 'It was nice to meet you. See you another time.'

Luna nodded in response, hands still clutching the ointment as Hinata left them alone.

'Her father's a real piece of work. But he means well, I guess.' Kiba muttered, coming to stand beside Luna and flicking one of her ears when she didn't reply.

'Hey!' She started to scold him, but then stopped abruptly, realising something. 'Wait, I didn't use my henge this morning… But–'

'Yeah, Hinata wouldn't judge you by that, I'll bet she barely even glanced at them, right?' He smiled, obviously very fond of his female teammate, and Luna found herself matching his expression as though she'd known the Hyuga nin for years.

'How come you're up so early anyway?' She suddenly wondered out loud.

Kiba scoffed, pretending to be offended. 'I'm always up this early. Although, it may or may not have had something to do with the extra strong smell of bacon wafting through the house this morning…' His features broke into a grin, and Akamaru barked in agreement.

Luna smirked, turning to face him fully and moving so they were almost toe-to-toe. 'That nose of yours is like your own personal alarm clock!'

He laughed, resting one hand on his hip as he stared down at her. Their difference in height becoming blatantly obvious and removing any sort of threat – even teasingly – that she posed him. 'I'm not sure if I should take that a compliment or an insult…'

'Oh, I'd definitely say insult.' She punctuated both syllables of the word 'insult' with a quick poke to his nose, leaning up on her tip-toes as she tried to meet his eye level. Luna snickered when he scrunched up his face several times, as though trying to itch his nose without using his hands.

'Well, you seem in better spirits than when you first got here.' Kiba commented dryly as he swatted her hand away.

She sighed almost longingly and ended her assault with a quick flick to his forehead, as payback for her ear. 'I guess it's not so bad here. But I still don't trust you as far as I could throw you!'

Kiba chuckled, expecting nothing less. 'Yeah, yeah. Just wait, Princess, you'll warm up to me.'

'Keep telling yourself that, mongrel.' Luna shot back, feeling the hair on the back of her neck raise slightly at the nickname. He only laughed at her again as they made their way back towards the Inuzuka compound.

The conversation faded as the pair walked, Luna's mind wandering to her pack. How long would it be till the Leaf received news from the Land of the Moon?

'…Kiba?'

'Yes, Your Highness?'

She rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored the mockery. 'How fast are Konaha's messenger hawks?'

The question was supposed to sound casual, but any fool could guess the reason for her asking. Kiba 'hmm'ed in thought, crossing his arms behind his head as they re-entered his family territory.

'It depends which one they sent I guess. But don't worry, we'll probably hear back within the next few days.' He offered her a reassuring smile, and she nodded.

Actually, Kiba's estimate wasn't far off. Just three days after their conversation, Lady Tsunade sent an Anbu summons for Luna, Kiba and Tsume to report to her immediately.

The Hokage Tower stood out from miles away, looming over the surrounding smaller buildings like a power-hungry ruler. It was an odd looking building, rounded in shape and painted a dusty red. It was kind of dumb, Luna thought, making something so important so obvious that it practically screamed 'ready, aim, fire!'.

However, when they arrived at the obnoxiously large building, all thoughts of the village dissipated in the she-wolfs mind, allowing her to focus on only one thing: Her family.

She was nervous. So nervous in fact, that she'd almost asked Hana that morning what she should wear when greeting the village leader. Luna had thought better of asking though when she realised everyone else was just wearing their casual ninja gear, and plus, the Hokage would know she didn't have many clothes of her own. She settled on a plain black t-shirt that she'd borrowed from Hana, and a pair of black denim shorts. Simple.

They entered the tower and climbed the stairs to the third floor, coming out at a long curved hallway that appeared to wrap around the entire level. Tsume took the lead from there, striding forward with a confidence Luna wished she possessed. They continued around the seemingly endless bend, until finally an Anbu member, who'd been standing guard outside a simple brown door, greeted the trio.

'Ah, Inuzukas. We've been expecting you.'

Luna sniffed at being lumped in with the mongrels, but held her tongue this time, not wanting to offend Tsume after she'd so kindly allowed her to stay with her family.

'Tsume, Lady Tsunade would like to speak with you first.' The masked ninja addressed the older woman, who nodded professionally before following him into the room without even so much as a 'wait here,'.

Unsure of what else to do, the she-wolf paced. She was vaguely aware that Kiba had found a chair to slump into, which she hadn't previously noticed, along one of the walls. He seemed much more relaxed than she felt, and that annoyed her.

'Why are you so calm?' She snapped, her scarlet eyes flashing irritably.

The Inu nin regarded her with an unidentified expression momentarily, before shrugging. 'I'm not, I just hide it better than you.'

A small growl rumbled in her throat, but she chose to turn away and continue her pacing. Five minutes passed. Then ten. It was close to fifteen minutes when Kiba finally spoke again.

'You know, if you keep stalking round like that you're gonna wear a hole in the floor…'

She growled, ignoring him. 'What is taking them so long?'

'Just try and calm down, you're not helping anyone getting wound up like this.'

Her agitation was growing worse every second. Surely this wasn't normal procedure? Something must have happened, or maybe the Leaf had changed their minds about Luna staying here, and now they were just plotting the best way to dispose of her… Her hands clenched subconsciously at the thought, her eyes squeezing shut as she focused chakra to her wolf ears that she had left undisguised atop her head.

Kiba watched her attitude change strangely. One minute, she was pissed off beyond belief and the next, she was oddly composed. Was she taking his advice and actually trying to relax? No, that'd never happen. Not in a million years. So why…? It was then that he felt the faint prickle of chakra forming in a cloud around her head. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at her attempt of eavesdropping – it'd never work. The Hokage walls were soundproofed long ago.

Just when he genuinely believed she was about to self-destruct, the door swung open to reveal his mother, with a grim expression that seemed quite foreign on her face. Tsume may be strict, firm and sometimes scary, but she was never this serious. Kiba swallowed audibly, not liking the atmosphere already.

Luna was apparently far too stressed to pick up on the tension, leaping to attention when the office door was opened and all but throwing herself into the room before Tsume had even finished calling them in.

Kiba stood and began to enter, but his mother paused him in the doorway, murmuring just loud enough for him to hear, 'You might wanna brace yourself for this one, pup.'

Her son gulped again, before moving to stand just off to the side behind Luna.

Tail flickering furiously, her eyes widened with anticipation as she offered the Hokage a half-hearted greeting.

'Luna Hangetsu.' The woman behind the desk laced her fingers together to rest her chin on them. Her honey eyes were truly breath-taking, and Luna would normally have taken longer to appreciate them had she not been so eager for news on her family. Tsunade had soft-looking blonde hair that was pulled into two low ponytails at the back of her head, and the green of her Hokage robe somehow complimented her pale complexion.

'Why don't you take a seat?' Tsunade offered, gesturing to other side of her desk. Luna shifted nervously on the spot.

'A-actually, I'd prefer to stand, if that's alright.' She stuttered, heart thumping furiously in her chest.

'Very well. Well then I won't stall any longer. You've waited long enough.' The blonde leaned back in her chair, pulling out a drawer and retrieving a carrier-hawk-sized scroll. She unravelled the paper, but hesitated before handing it over. An uneasy look crossed the Hokage's face, and Luna instantly knew she was not going to like what she read. 'I just want to say, I'm sorry.'

Biting down hard on her lip, the hybrid girl nodded, meeting the woman's honey irises bravely. She took the scroll from Tsunade tenderly, as though if she didn't treat it delicately enough, it would tear into a thousand shredded pieces.

Taking a deep breath, Luna began to read, vaguely aware of Kiba scanning the words from over her shoulder.

Lady Tsunade,

In response to your recent enquiry, we regret to inform you that the news you desire is not pleasant. Our kingdom has always lived in relative peace with the Hangetsu clan, so it is with deepest sympathies that we report our findings to you.

It would appear that some kind of internal war broke out and, though we found no survivors, the wolves appear to have fought amongst themselves and taken their own lives. There is no trace of forced entry or enemy remnants in their forest, however we did find the attached item beside the gate to their village, which we thought unusual.

With regrets,

Prince Michiru Tsuki.

The office was deathly silent for several minutes. Nobody dared to move, let alone speak as Luna's eyes clouded and the paper quivered as her grasp tightened. Her mind could barely register what she was reading, though a few words and phrases had immediately leapt out at her when she had finished.

No survivors. They were… all dead. All of them. There were no survivors? Not even her father? How was that possible?

Wolves. Not hybrids. They had all died in their wolf forms?

Taken their own lives. A civil war was absolutely unheard of in the hybrid clan, the last known war amongst them had been over 50 years ago, and that had almost wiped the entire clan from the face of the planet. There's no way they would have re-enacted such a fight…

The thoughts whirled in her head too fast for her to process, until finally, she raised her head. 'The… Erm…' Her voice broke suddenly, and she paused to recollect herself. 'The a-attached item?'

Tsunade nodded solemnly, reopening the drawer and rummaging for a moment. She placed it on the desk in front of Luna, gesturing for her to help herself. The she-wolf took a moment to unwrap the cloth folded around it, her eyebrows pulling together upon its reveal.

'You don't recognise it?' Tsunade spoke quietly, not actually expecting her to answer. But the wolves were a proud race, showing such weakness as she was right now would be called a disgrace.

'No, it's not of our clan…' She sniffed, rubbing a hand across her eyes and trying to dry her wet cheeks as she struggled to hold back the tears. 'I think it's broken though.'

She lifted the item in her hand, turning it slightly to show Tsunade. The item was some sort of wooden pipe whistle, but as Luna held it to the light, three deep gashes along the back of the pipes could be seen.

'May I?'

Luna nodded, and Tsunade took the whistle from her and began to examine it. 'I believe you're right. These marks have punctured two of the main pipes, so if it was supposed to make a specific noise, it won't anymore.'

Unsure of how to respond without breaking down, the girl just dipped her head and absently picked at the bandage that still covered her injured paw. Suddenly, a thought hit her. Unable to hide the sharp intake of breath at the idea, the three surrounding ninja's eyes snapped to hers.

'Did you think of something?' Tsume's deep voice rumbled from behind her in a way that was probably supposed to be comforting.

'M-my… My paw…' She whimpered, but she didn't need to continue. They all caught on instantly. Kiba had found her in her wolf form, fur bloodied and scuffed. She had no memory of how she'd gotten separated from her pack, and Hana had said her injured paw was most likely the result of a wolf bite.

Had she been involved? It seemed almost completely likely.

'Try not to dwell on that for the time being. Tsume has offered to extend your time with the Inuzukas, until you figure out your next move.'

'Take as long as you need.' The woman behind Luna placed a hand on the hybrids shoulder momentarily, but removed it just as quickly. The simple gesture was enough.

'C-can I…' Lower lip trembling, her voice threatened to break again, but Luna fought the tears back stubbornly. 'Can I please keep the whistle? Just for a little while?'

Tsunade gave her a small smile. 'Of course. I'd like to speak to Tsume some more, we'll need to discuss your living arrangements. I'm sure Kiba will walk you back.'

'Thank you.' Luna mumbled, taking this as her cue to leave. Kiba, who had been completely silent throughout the whole conversation, held the office door open for her. They trundled out gravely, the Inu nin moving to take the lead.

Eventually, he let out a long, shaky breath and stopped walking, turning to face her.

She met his gaze sadly as he opened his mouth to speak, but the glassy look in her eyes made him pause. A silent exchange passed between the two, and he realised there really was nothing he could say that would make any difference. Her family was dead, and Luna had probably been involved. What does one say to console that?

Her lips curled suddenly into a tiny understanding smile, but it happened so briefly that Kiba wasn't sure if he had imagined it. They moved off again, this time side-by-side, neither feeling the need to break the silence anymore and neither wanting to.

They entered the Inuzuka estate and Luna broke away, heading towards the hill she seemed so fond of. Kiba debated on following her, but inwardly shook his head at the thought. It had occurred to him that she was only holding her pain in for the sake of her clan, and her pride. And he could understand that.

Luna did not come home that night, nor the next. The Inuzukas knew she was still around from the pained howls they would sometimes hear in the dead of night. They understood that she needed time to grieve in her own way, and who were they to interrupt? She would come back when she was ready, or hungry.

It wasn't much in condolences, but their door would stay open for her to return to, in her own time.

A/N: Okay so I have this whole story mapped out, even planned what happens in each chapter, which I'm quite proud of.

Also, if anyone noticed Prince Michiru Tsuki from the Land of the Moon, he is actually from the Land of the Moon in Naruto… He's in one of the earlier pre-shippuden movies! Kudos if you knew!

Anyway I hope you liked it, let me know what you think!