The morning of the party Hana was mysteriously busy training and left the house before we were even done with breakfast. It was largely Kiba's fault for picking on her about having a crush on Itachi. That same morning, Tsume informed us that we were going to walk to the party on our own. She had plans to go drinking with several of the other mothers while their children were at the same party. Apparently, her offer to help Itachi find more invitees wasn't entirely altruistic.
As for Kiba, he was still angry at me for ditching him at the playground to run off with Shikamaru and Chouji. He had complained bitterly all last night and the whining had continued into this morning, following behind me through breakfast like a particularly incessant little grey raincloud.
However, my biggest problem wasn't dealing with my brother's bad attitude. It was figuring out what one wears to a ninja clan kid's birthday party. A frilly dress seemed way too fussy - plus I didn't own a single dress or even a yukata. The everyday clothes I wore for training seemed too informal, but I had little else. By the end of the morning, my clothing indecision had manifested itself in tops and pants strewn across the room Kiba and I shared.
I frowned and gave a bitter sigh as I held up another generic tan shirt.
"What's taking so long?" Kiba watched me with a scowl as I tossed the shirt over my head into the ever-growing pile, "Just pick something!"
"Argh. You don't understand. See. Look." I pulled out two shirts and held them up, "Is red or purple cuter?"
With a groan, he muttered, "I dunno... Meh. Go with red. Purple will make you look like that blonde girl."
"Ino?"
"Yeah, her. Red is definitely better."
"Okay! See? Red is cuter! You just said it!" Indecision solved, I rooted through clothes and shoes, changing as I went until I had cobbled together an outfit with an oversized red shirt over black shorts and matching ninja sandals for my feet. Then I braided up my hair and tied it back with a bit of red ribbon before peeking into the mirror behind the door. Hmm. It wasn't bad. "Whatcha think?!"
I spun around and grinned at Kiba who shrugged in response, "It's fine."
"Just fine? It's not cute? Should I wear something else?"
"Ugh. No! Stop! You're cute, and if anyone says differently I'll … um… punch them!"
"But mom said you'd get in trouble if you got in another fight…"
"Yeah, whatever." He hopped off the bed with a scowl and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards the front door before I could argue further. "Come on. We're already late."
Finding our way to the party ended up being a team effort. Kiba was in such a bad mood that he insisted on leading the way, but he got lost and had to backtrack to a part of town that we knew better. From there, I was able to find the street that lead towards the Uchiha compound, and once we were far enough away from the overpowering scents emanating from food stalls, we relied on Kiba's nose to guide us the rest of the way by following the siren scent of sugary treats. Even so, we only just barely arrived on time. Tsume had picked out something for us to give to the younger Uchiha heir, and we left the dubiously wrapped, lumpy package (it looked like she'd had the ninken wrap it) on the table just inside the gate of the house.
There were already plenty of children gathered in the Uchiha's courtyard with a loosely organized game of Catch The Missing Nin - which was a like tag, but, in this game, you would chase one person chosen as the Missing-Nin and then whoever tagged the Missing-Nin became the next Missing-Nin. The game generally continued until either everyone was exhausted or someone stormed off in a huff. Basically, it was a game of pure chaos.
Most of the children present I recognized. I had met nearly all the other clan kids around my age due to encounters at the park or play dates set up between the families. Our parents were all around the same age and a good portion of them had attended the academy and fought in at least one of the previous world wars together. They might have been ninja, but they were also completely normal parents who liked to sit around and talk about the past, their child raising problems, and grumble about their mutual boss, the Hokage, while their children occasionally played nicely together. The biggest exceptions to this were the Uchihas and the Hyuugas who, as a whole, were both deeply traditional and extremely insular. So, it went without saying that this was an unusual event.
"Shikamaru! Chouji!" Kiba yelled and stormed off into the courtyard. I stumbled, nearly falling on my face as he dragged me by my hand behind him. Yup. He still hadn't forgiven me. "You guys ditched me!"
"Hey, guys." I used Kiba's arm to steady myself, as I stumbled to a stop behind my brother. If Shikamaru's snicker was any indication, I probably looked a little stunned and flustered.
Shino, who was standing alongside the two other boys, merely offered a silent nod, while Chouji's silent greeting was of a different sort as he grinned, showing off a mouth full of cake.
"Heh. I see you survived your fight yesterday." Shikamaru gave the two of us a crooked grin but then turned his sharp eyes onto my brother.
"No thanks to you." Kiba snarled faintly at the Nara, "Not that I needed a sister stealer like you to beat a wimp like that."
"Exactly. You didn't need us." Shikamaru shrugged as he raised a brow at Kiba, "And we were bored just standing there."
"You should have waited for me!"
"I assumed you would find us afterward. Isn't that what your nose is for?"
"Come on guys, don't fight. Let's talk about the food cause this cake is amazing!" Chouji gushed as he finally swallowed his mouthful. "Like the best cake ever."
"It's an Uchiha cake," Shikamaru replied with a shrug.
"And they would never serve anything less than the best," I added, a quick grin pulling at my lips as I let myself fall into my usual easy banter with Shikamaru. This was probably why he snickered even when I glared. He knew that, unlike my brother, I was never actually angry. "Honestly, Chouji, probably all the food is going to be really damn good."
The chubby boy's eyes widened as he turned to give the food table a hungry, open-mouthed stare.
Kiba's face twisted in a scowl, "You lot left without a word, and I didn't know where Nora was."
"Nora can take care of herself." Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "And what was I going to do, huh? Tap you on the shoulder between punches and be like … we're getting ramen, catch up with us later? That's completely illogical."
"This entire argument seems faintly illogical." Shino calmly commented, which earned him a sigh and a slow nod out of Shikamaru.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the younger of the Uchiha boys sprinted out of the crowd of children with a flustered look on his face. Sasuke gave the four of us a wide, wild-eyed look and then ducked into the middle of what had been quickly turning into a simmering standoff between my brother and Shikamaru as he gasped. "I need to hide. There's this weird girl."
"The hell?" Kiba muttered.
"Eh?" Shikamaru asked, his nose crinkling as he added, "Is this for a game?"
"Oh, thank goodness, another girl." Just then, Ino suddenly appeared behind Kiba and me.
Releasing Kiba's arm, I turned towards her as I heard Sasuke hiss out in a whisper from behind me, "No. That."
With a flick, she sent her long blonde hair back over her shoulder. "There are soooo many boys here, Nora. Why are there so many boys in our age group anyway? Why aren't there more girls? But the birthday boy's kind of cute. Did you happen to see him come by here? And, eww, Chouji, could you like - close your mouth? Half-chewed food is disgusting, and… ugh, Shino, why are there so many bugs here? Let's go someplace nicer, Nora. Without the boys." She pointed an accusatory finger first at Chouji and then reached to grab my hand.
I looked down at my hand and then over my shoulder at Chouji who was starting to tear up. Then I bit back a sigh and pulled back my hand. "No thanks, Ino. I'm good here."
"Wha? Wait," Ino smirked and then snickered, "You like being around Chubby, Stinky, Buggy, and Sleepy here?"
I offered her a shrug as I replied, "Yes. You can refer to me a Bitey."
Shikamaru snickered at my comment, and I swear Shino gave a small snort, ducking his head lower into the raised collar of his jacket. Chouji shivered and added, "She's vicious when she bites, too. I have scars!"
"Yeah! Besides, you can't have her to yourself. Where Nora goes, I go! You got that, guys?" Kiba jumped into the conversation, half stepping in front of me to block the blonde girl coming any closer, but the last part was obviously directed at the other boys. Kiba was sometimes a bit too much like a dog - especially when he decided to let his possessive streak show.
"Ugh! You seriously smell like dog, Kiba. Do you ever bathe?"
"Um, Ino, you really should…" I tried to break into the conversation, but things just began to deteriorate even further as Kiba snarled at the blonde.
"And you smell like a flower barfed on you! Disgusting!"
To be honest, I felt a bit torn. I really didn't enjoy Ino's company. She was often too quick to point out the flaws of others, but I also had a vested interest in kind of keeping things civil. After all, I was going to have to go to school with her - like it or not.
I sighed, and my eyes slid in the direction of the food table as I began to work out an escape route. Sasuke had ended up hidden behind a wall of Chouji, Shikamaru, and Shino. If Ino had been using an ounce of her brain, she could have figured out the Uchiha's hiding place easily because the three boys were pressed together in the most obviously awkward way ever. As long as she stayed distracted, he was safe. In life, just like in shogi, sometimes sacrifices had to be made.
Glancing at Shikamaru, I mouthed the word, 'Go.' Then before he could so much as respond, I turned and butted into the trading of insults between her and Kiba, "Um, Ino, your clothes are nice."
"They are aren't they?" She broke off and giggled as she spun around showing off her little purple-flowered yukata. "But you, Nora. Why'd you wear that? Aren't those normal training clothes? I mean, seriously, Nora, what is Tsume thinking?! What does she do, let the dogs raise you and Kiba for her?"
Ironically, that jab was closer to the truth than I cared to publicly admit. Tsume trusted the ninken to babysit us more than most humans. I pressed my lips together and frowned. Behind me, I could see the trio of boys safely shuffling Sasuke away, so I continued on, "We're Inuzukas, so, yeah. We're pretty much raised by wild dogs."
Suddenly a hand settled on top of my head, and another wrapped around Kiba's mouth, cutting him off as he took a deep breath to launch into a fresh string of insults. My gaze snapped up to meet Itachi's dark eyes. "Raised by dogs? Hmm, perhaps I have underestimated the ability of ninken since it seems they've done an excellent job. I would say, Nora, that you're wearing appropriate attire for a party filled with future ninja, and I can tell you did dress up. This isn't what you normally wear to training. Red suits you. On the other hand, a yukata is… rather a poor choice."
I could feel my ears flushing at his compliment, but I wasn't the only one going red. Kiba's face was turning new shades of angry crimson as he tried to break free of Itachi's grip, and Ino's face was flushing too in what was either frustration or anger. A moment later the blonde began to stutter before finally spitting out, "I-I-I'm going to change clothes!" I watched in stunned silence as she stormed off in the direction of the gate.
"Damn straight, you better change clothes!" Kiba yelled after her as he got his mouth free for a moment before Itachi silenced him again.
"You made her mad on purpose," I commented as I turned to look up at the older boy.
"Yes. I thought that I ought to help you - seeing as you were helping my brother, Nora-san." Itachi smiled, his eyes squinting shut for a moment. Then his smile faded as he added, "Besides, nothing I said was untrue. If she wishes to be a ninja, she must learn to dress like one."
Now that Ino was out of sight, he released Kiba with a snap of his hand, and my brother spun around to face the Uchiha. "I wasn't done arguing with her!"
"So I gathered." Itachi replied cooly, "You seem to be arguing with everyone today. Is there some problem with your friends as well?"
"Yeah! Those guys went off without me yesterday and took Nora. I didn't know where they were. I was worried."
"Do you not trust your friends?" Itachi narrowed his eyes briefly, fixing Kiba with a mirthless stare, "Do you honestly believe that they would not help your sister if she needed them?"
"Well, no, but that's not it! I want to be the one who helps her. Not them." Kiba stomped his foot for emphasis, balling his hands into fists as he glowered up at the older boy.
"So you would rather Nora-san gets hurt than have someone else help her? That's what you have just said, Kiba-kun. If you can't help her, then no one can help her. It would be better if she gets hurt."
"But, that's … that's not what I mean!"
"Yes, I know, but that is what you are saying by arguing about this issue with your friends. Even when you were distracted, they took care of your sister. After all, they could have just left her alone, waiting for you to finish your fight. If Nora-san had needed you then, you wouldn't have noticed. True friends are those who compensate for your weakness. You should be thanking them."
"I guess that kind of makes sense, but I still don't like it, Itachi-san. Hey - wait - where'd the guys go?!" Now that his anger had begun to ease, Kiba was only just realizing that the rest had beat a hasty retreat.
"The food table. They helped Sasuke escape while we kept Ino occupied." I offered as a small smile crept its way across my lips.
"Oh, huh! I hadn't even noticed! Yo, Itachi-san. You going to play ninja with us?" Kiba spun back to beam up at Itachi. It was like someone had flipped a switch in my brother's brain, and the raging anger from a moment prior was simply gone.
"Perhaps, Kiba-kun. We'll start the games shortly. There are a few more guests we are waiting for." Itachi's lips curled faintly at the corners as he used both hands to shoo us over to the food table. "Go ahead with Nora-san and get some food."
Kiba flashed a wide grin and stuck out a thumb, "Okay, Itachi-san!"
With that, Itachi headed towards the gate, and I found myself herding Kiba the rest of the way to the food table.
"Hey, Nora?"
"Yeah, Kiba-tan?"
"Why does Itachi call you san instead of chan?"
"Um." I blinked and stuck out my lower lip at my brother's question. I honestly hadn't even noticed until Kiba pointed it out. Finally, I offered him a shrug as we caught up with the rest of the boys, "I don't know."
"I mean, I'm older than you. So he should use san with my name, too."
As we arrived at the table, Sasuke appeared next to me with a cake filled plate and a very serious expression, "Thank you, Nora-san."
"Argh, no! She's Nora-chan. Chan! Get it right, dobe." Kiba exclaimed in another sudden outburst that had us all staring at him as he picked up a plate and messily slapped a slice of cake on it.
