This was a terrible idea. No, it was worse than a terrible idea; it was an atrocious idea. One might even call it one of the worst ideas ever conceived by a person anywhere. At least, that's what Kiba thought as he walked back to the apartment that he had visited hours earlier.

Kiba kicked a rock in disgust, grunting as he did so. He would rather done anything else right now. He would have rather gone and pissed off his hot-tempered mother than do what he was doing now. Next to him, Akamaru mimicked his unhappiness by keeping his head close to the ground and dragging his feet.

To be honest, Kiba didn't understand why he was doing what he was doing. He looked over at the box on Akamaru's back, containing who knows what. He had considered opening it up to see what was inside, but Kurenai had given him specific instructions about it. The woman he had met earlier had to receive it, and he had to ensure that she actually opened it. Kiba didn't know why, nor did he know how he would do it. The entire situation stunk, and Kiba felt trapped in the middle. He had asked Kurenai why she couldn't do this herself, but she had only laughed and said that Kiba had the right tools for the job. She probably meant that he was a good stand in for when the woman stabbed him through the eye.

Suddenly Kiba walked right into something, shaking him out of his thoughts. He really needed to stop zoning out like that. He had been so out of it lately come to think of it. Perhaps he just needed a day off or something. Just some time to get back to being the excitable and bombastic Kiba that everyone was used to.

Then he realized that what he had run into was the woman's door. So much for being able to compose himself before she answered. Then again, she had taken upwards of ten minutes last time, so he probably had a bit of leeway with this. Kiba took a deep breath, mustered up his courage, and knocked on the door.

And then nothing happened. Kiba almost took a pratfall from annoyance. Nothing Kurenai could give him was worth this annoyance. And then, just as he was about to turn and leave, the door opened and revealed the woman from before. She even had pants this time, for which Kiba was thankful.

The woman looked Kiba up and down with a sour expression, he eyes scanning him like she was looking for the best place to stab him. Eventually her eyes drifted over to the box sitting on Akamaru and her sour expression became one of suspicion. She turned back to Kiba, looking him dead in the eye like she was sizing him up. It was like when he used to have staring contests with the dogs back at home to determine dominance.

"What are you doing here?" The woman placed a hand on her hip while her other hand remained out of view. For all Kiba knew, she could be grasping a weapon with which she was planning to stab him with.

"Kurenai told me to bring this box to you. Said you had to open it in front of me to insure that you actually did."

Suddenly she seemed to crack a wry smile, showing the faintest hint of amusement. "So she made you her errand boy?"

"Hey! It's not like I wanted to come back and see you." Immediately after the words left his mouth, Kiba regretted them. He was totally going to die. This woman, who already threatened to kill him earlier that day, didn't need to be provoked to carry out that threat.

But strangely enough, the woman only let out a heavy sigh and stepped out of the way of the entrance. "Alright, come on in. Let's get this over with."

Kiba blinked, and exchanged a glance with Akamaru. Was this wise? Probably not, but he didn't feel like trying the woman's patience after his last words. It was like dealing with his mother all over again. Why did he keep running into headstrong and violent women?

The inside of the apartment looked worse than Kiba had imagined. Dishes sat in the sink, completely unwashed but without the scent of food. Mail, seemingly from the past week, lay unopened and scattered on the table in the main room. It wasn't a dump; it seemed more like a place that was well kept in the earliest stages of disrepair. Even the scent confused him; the place didn't stink, it just seemed stale. The kind of scent you get when you enter a room that hasn't had any airflow recently.

"You can quit judging me."

Kiba turned to see the woman leaning against the closed door, looking none too happy. Now, Kiba got a better look at her. A mesh garb covered her from her shoulders to her thighs over a bra and under a pair of shorts. Her hair was messy and unkempt, but not dirty. It seemed more like bed head than anything else. There was the slightest of dark circles under her eyes, like she hadn't slept recently or was simply fatigued. All in all, it was a bizarre sight for someone who was otherwise completely fit.

"I wasn't judging you."

The woman snorted and pushed herself off the door, moving forward to take the package off of Akamaru. "Give it a rest. I know those looks you've been throwing around the room. The only reason you're back here is because Kurenai was probably worried about me. And if I had to guess, you told her about what happened."

Kiba swallowed hard. "It was an accident I swear!"

She gave him an neutral look, like she was hearing what she already knew. "I knew you'd talk. The Inuzuka are passionate and dependable, but they don't keep their mouths shut."

Kiba folded his arms and looked away. Man this woman was a pain. "Well sorry, I wasn't aware I wasn't supposed to let her know about how you seemed when she asked me. Not like I can lie to her."

"I wouldn't expect you to." The woman placed the box on the table before pulling up a chair and sitting down. "I'm Anko by the way. Anko Mitarashi."

"Kiba Inuzuka." Hesitantly, he pulled up a seat across from Anko, while Akamaru laid down next to him. "And this is Akamaru."

Anko nodded before sighing deeply and turning her attention to the box. At first, it appeared she would gingerly open it, but then at the last second she grabbed the lid and threw it over her shoulder. She leaned forward, gazing into the box.

At this point, Kiba got a sight on something he had missed before; some kind of strange mark on the base of her neck. At first he thought it was part of the mesh; now he could see it was part of her. It was definitely not a birthmark, but he wasn't going to bring it up to her right now.

Suddenly Anko roared in anger and frustration, flipping the entire table on top of Kiba before he could even react to it. He had taken worse hits, but it hurt nonetheless.

"Gah! Hey what's the big deal?"

Anko pointed an accusing finger at Kiba, her eyes enflamed with passionate anger. "You! You knew about this didn't you? This was your idea wasn't it?"

"What? What on earth are you talking about? Are you out of your mind?" He didn't really need to ask that last question, he knew the answer already.

The crazed woman quickly reached down and grabbed Kiba's jacket, yanking him out from under the table and into the air. She pulled him closer to her, to the point where their headbands were touching. "Explain. Your. Self." Her words were as harsh as ice, and bore the weight of an impending death threat.

Enough was enough. Kiba refused to back down any more from this clearly insane woman. "I have no idea what you're talking about you crazy hag! Kurenai told me to take the box to you and that I wasn't supposed to open it. Then she said to make sure you did while I was here! That's all!"

For a moment the woman tensed up, and Kiba braced for the impact of the woman's fist. But it never came. Instead, all the passion died out of her eyes, and she dropped Kiba to the floor. Anko visibly slumped, and once again Kiba saw the look of someone who was completely worn out.

Then, she mumbled some words in a tone that took Kiba by surprise. "I'm going back to bed." Slowly, Anko turned and walked back to what Kiba assumed was her room, and slowly shut the door behind her, leaving Kiba alone in the kitchen.

Something about her sudden shift in tone and appearance confused him. She seemed almost sad and world-weary; it was a complete one-eighty from her previously passionate demeanor. Slowly he pulled himself off the ground and made his way over to the upturned box. He cautiously reached inside it, trying to figure out what it was.

The only thing that it contained was a piece of paper in Kurenai's handwriting. After a moment, he dropped the paper to the floor in shock. It read:

"Dear Anko, it seems that you could use some help. But because I'm a bit busy at the moment, I'm going to have Kiba stay with you to keep an eye on you. And before you think about throwing him out, I'll check back up on you in a month or so when I'm back from my mission. Don't even think about getting rid of him; I don't want my frustration with how you treat yourself to turn into anger. Anyway, I'll see you in a month! Don't treat Kiba too bad; he may not be the brightest, but I think he'll be exactly what you need to get you out of this slump. -Kurenai."