CHAPTER ONE:

"Meii, Sweetie, you with us?"

"Ugh…Yeah,"

"Thanks for helping Kiba. You just may have saved her life."

"Heh, yeah…shut it sensei." Kiba said turning away and pouting only to look back when Meii spoke.

"What happened?" Meii said beginning to stand but finding it to be troublesome.

"Uh, nothing here let me help you up." Kiba said helping Meii to her feet.

"It wasn't nothing Kiba, don't lie to her," Iruka-sensei started to explain, "I pitted you against one another and I accidentally put you with Itachi."

"…You what!?" Meii said looking startled at her idiotic father and standing up to move out of there.

"Sweetheart, Please come on it was an accident!! I'm sorry!!!" Iruka said trying to plead with his daughter.

"He, put me up against Itachi, I could've died! How can he not remember!" a now distraught Meii said wiping away tears while moving as far away as possible from them all.

"Man, what the hell is her problem? I mean, it's not like Itachi tried to kill her or something when they were younger!" Amiu said giving Meii's back the evil eye.

"Oh, you wouldn't know Amiu, want me to fill you in?" Naruto said coming up behind her.

"Sure!" Amiu shouted before being taken by the arm and pulled away from the others.
"Well…" Naruto said, he was trying to be quiet but his mind deceived him.

"Whoa, okay, maybe she wasn't acting so irrationally but come on, it's just Itachi." Amiu said before running over to the ramen store. Naruto followed and they had their daily ramen eating contest. As usual, they had a draw and where there all day.

"Okay guys, how about we just quit here and go home, catch some sleep, class as usual tomorrow at the academy, 'kay?" Iruka said trying to remember which direction his daughter ran off in.

"Ha, I bet you I can find Meii first Iruka-sensei." Kiba said grinning widely.

"Of course you could, your sense of smell is ten times higher than mine, it's an easy bet…you're on Inuzuka!" Iruka said forgetting all rational thinking.

"Ha, come on Akamaru, let's go find her." Kiba said picking Akamaru up and resting him down on the hood of his jacket.

"Arf."

"Hey Sakura," Sasuke said smirking in Sakura's direction.

"Uh, Yes, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said blushing like mad and being a little surprised at the actions of her "one-true-love".

"I bet you $50 I can find Naruto before you and I bet you another $50 that he'll be there for most of today." Sasuke said smirking as high as possible for an Uchiha.

"Uh, sure Sasuke-kun, I'll take that." Sakura said looking rather suspiciously at Sasuke.

"He's at the ramen stall with Amiu." Sasuke said reaching his hand out to Sakura as she rests the amount of $100 in Sasuke's hand.

"God damn, he'll be there all week. Their business must be booming." Sakura said sulking away home.

"Hey, forehead girl, Race you home!" Yamanaka Ino suggested to Haruno Sakura.

"You're on Ino-Pig!" Sakura said starting to run.

"Meii, Meii, where are you sweetheart? Give daddy a sign please!! MEII!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Haha, Iruka-sensei has no clue. You got the scent Akamaru?" Kiba asked sniffing around like mad.

"Arf", Akamaru responded pointing his nose in the direction of the smell.

"Sweet let's go!" Kiba said running off following Akamaru's directions.

"Oh man, Kiba's already found her, I should just follow him." Iruka said sneaking after Kiba.

"I just wish he'd have some common sense for one day!!"

"Me too, who you talking about?" Kiba asked Meii standing right in front of her range of vision on the tree branch opposite.

"Kiba, you almost made me fall back, Baka, ne?" Meii said straightening herself up and jumping further into the forest.

"Ah, Akamaru, the wonders of women, nobody can understand them. Sometimes, not even they can." Kiba said slowly but surely jumping after her.

"Phew, they should be right here…So, why aren't they...Meii, Kiba, You guys here?...Hello?" Iruka said looking strangely perplexed as he backs away to go home, "She has to come home sometime."

"Ugh, why can't they just leave Meii alone…Well, Kiba was only trying to help Meii…I know but Meii doesn't want any help, do you…Well, I dunno, do I…I don't think Meii does…I think Meii does but from someone better than Kiba, maybe, Neji…You must be joking! Kiba is so much better than Neji…fine then Shikamaru! He's nice to us…But Kiba actually cares unlike Shikamaru, he was only a babysitter…Meii's not a baby anymore I don't need him!"

"Meii, uh, are you okay?" Kiba asked crouching down on the tree branch in front of Meii.

"Meii's fine Kiba, Meii's going home now. Please don't worry anymore; Meii's going to be all right. Meii promises Kiba." Meii said standing up.

"Uh, okay, why are you referring to yourself in third-person?" Kiba asked resting a hand on Meii's shoulder.

"Meii's not. Meii's going home to acquire some rest; she'll need it for tomorrow, Goodnight Kiba-kun! Yeah, see you Kiba." Meii said jumping back toward the village.

"Yeah, right, Kiba's worried. Oh, crap, it's contagious!" Kiba said following Meii making sure she goes home.

"You two better get going sometime soon, it's getting real dark and we have to close up."

"Yeah, yeah, just a few more bowls, I have to beat him!" Amiu said through a ramen-stuffed mouth.

"Ha, yeah, she has to beat me! Like that's going to happen." Naruto said also through a ramen-stuffed mouth.

"No, you two, get out, now!"

"Aww man, continue tomorrow?" Naruto said slurping up the remnants of his once filled bowl.

"For sure, but don't we have school?" Amiu asked standing up and letting all the food sink right down.

"Damn we do, ruins your life I swear." Naruto said walking away towards home.

"Ha, I'm so going to beat him tomorrow…Is that Meii? Hey, Meii wait up!" Amiu said running over to her.

"Oh god no, not Amiu, she'll find out and tease Meii about the insanity." Kiba said still following Meii on the rooftops.

"Meii, what's your problem? Why didn't you stop, dad angry at you for running away or something?...You know it's not always about you, you, you! It doesn't always have to be about Meii you know!" Amiu said turning away and pouting, "Hey, why didn't you stop to apologize?! That's what normal, nice people do! Meii answer me you little—" Amiu gets cut off when Meii swiftly turns around and begins strangling Amiu.

"What were you going to call Meii? You were going to call Meii a little, what Amiu? Go on, say it, I dare you!" Meii said tightening her grip around Amiu's neck.

"Meii, stop!" Kiba said jumping down trying to stop the madness.

"Oh, great, now we have Inuzuka here to help us, why don't we just ask Sakura or Ino to save Amiu? Why are you trying to help her Kiba, don't you like us anymore? Shut up you fool, even if he did who would want him to like us?" Meii said still having a firm grip on Amiu.

"Meii, I don't know what's wrong with you but you have to stop this!" Kiba said trying to grab Meii around the waist to pull her back.

"It's not going to work baka, face it, you're useless. You couldn't stop us, we're too strong." Meii said beginning to twitch.

"I don't care how long it takes, I have to stop this." Kiba said beginning to pull Meii away from Amiu.

"I told you it won't work Inuzuka! We will stop you, we promise." Meii said reaching around and grabbing Kiba's neck strangling him as much as Amiu.

"Arf, arf arf!!!" Akamaru shouted at Meii before she pushes him against a wall with her foot.

"Useless mutt."

"Come on, please stop this." Kiba spat out, clawing at Meii's hand trying to loosen her grip, "Look, now Amiu's fainted let her go!"

"Fine, she was useless just like you, now we shall put all power into your demise." Meii said gripping Kiba's neck now with both hands and squeezing as tight as possible.

"Meii, you don't…you can't…no…don't…just…hear me out….please!!" Kiba manages to get out, still clawing at Meii's hands.

"Fine, I guess I should show some mercy. What is it; tell me teme before you go." Meii said reluctantly loosening her grip.

"Meii, I know the real you is in there somewhere! Wherever it is, I need to tell it something I've been holding back since, well, since forever", Kiba began, "I, I don't know if you realised or noticed or anything like that but, Meii, well, oh god I hope this gets through…I love you."

"Uh, Kiba...No, We must kill him, he means nothing to us, we can proceed without him...Kiba no, I can't…you must…I won't….you WILL….NO! Get, outta my head!!" Meii said standing back just to fall on her knees while gripping her skull pulling on her hair.

"Meii, come on fight it, I love you and I'm pretty sure you love me too!" Kiba said dropping down on his knees to embrace Meii.

"Man, where is that girl?" Iruka said standing by the window looking out and wondering, "Did I really forget my little girl almost died?"

knockknock

"Meii?" Iruka said running over to the door hoping she would be safe and sound, "Kiba, Meii! What the hell?"

"I found her in the forest like this, she was muttering to herself in the third-person, I got worried and, thought I should take her home." Kiba said trying to hold back the truth, not wanting anyone to know what he spoke that night.

"Oh, thanks for that Kiba, I'll put her to bed then. You okay you look a bit…over-whelmed." Iruka said turning back.

"Oh, no, I'm fine, trust me, uh…cya!" Kiba said running to his own home, "Man, I just hope Meii doesn't remember."

"Strange people those Inuzuka." Iruka said putting his daughter down for some well-deserved rest.