It had been a bizarre few hours for Kiba. Neither the walk home, nor the hot water of a shower managed to shake him out of the stupor he had been in since he had parted ways with Anko. The snake-like woman had been acting quite strange thus far, and he could only imagine that by the end of the night he would see yet another facet of her personality. What had Kurenai been thinking?
Maybe she thought Kiba would be able to keep up with Anko. Thus far he had managed to do so, but he wasn't sure his nerves could take it. He leaned forward and rested his head on the shower wall, just letting the water hit his back. Kiba could take a lot; he prided himself on how tough he was. But the emotional whiplash he had experienced over the past few days was just becoming too much to deal with. It wasn't that he was somehow beaten by this; it was just difficult for him to work up the will to go through with another night with this woman. He didn't think he deserved it.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to abandon Anko after last night. Like it or not, he had put himself out there and been there for her, which meant he was committed. Even though he didn't like it, he wasn't much of a man if he let her down in her time of need. Right now, she seemed like she needed a friend by her. He could suck it up and help her out. It was only right.
Kiba took his time getting dressed, drawing out the extra time like he was back in the academy trying to avoid going to class. He patted Akamaru on the head before heading out; tonight he would be on his own. The trek to Anko's home was all the more lonely because of it. In hindsight he probably should have dressed in something other than what he usually wore. But he wasn't really sure what was going to happen tonight, but he wasn't going to get dressed up for nothing. It just wasn't his style.
Yet as Kiba knocked on the door, he couldn't help but acknowledge that there was a small part of him that liked seeing Anko happy. It was probably for the same reason he liked seeing anyone else happy, but he couldn't rule out that it might be because he was glad to see her being cheerful after her breakdown the day before. He didn't know much about Anko, but he did know that no one should look like she did the day before.
Suddenly the door before him opened, breaking Kiba out of his thoughts. He had to stop getting lost in them before something took him by surprise. Like a stunningly beautiful woman suddenly revealing herself to him.
Stunning was definitely the word that described Anko at the moment. Her body was clad in a crimson red asian-style dress that accentuated her curves perfectly. Kiba was dumbstruck; the tomboy woman who had been flipping tables the day before and kicking the crap out of him hours earlier was now the epitome of sensual and reserved beauty. She was not overly flaunting herself; she looked more like she was a regal dignitary. It was stunning to him; if he was going to expect something from Anko, he would have expected something over the top and revealing.
She leaned forward raising a curious eyebrow. "Whatcha looking at?"
Kiba jumped back a bit. "Gah! Nothing!"
Anko put on a fake pout. "Aw. I thought you'd have something to say about how I looked."
"I do!" How had he suddenly been taking off guard so easily? "You look great!"
She raised an eyebrow and got close to his face, which was turning redder by the moment. "Well what exactly do you like?"
"I... uh... well..." Of all the times for his mind to go blank, it had to be now. But he was out of time! He had to say something! "I really like how it shows off your hips!"
Anko blinked. "Well, at least you're honest!" She leaned back away from his face, a small smile appearing on her face. She suddenly wrapped her arm around Kiba's and began pulling him off towards town. She seemed happy enough, even if Kiba was completely off his game! Where was his killer instinct?
And then Anko pulled Kiba closer and nuzzled him once, putting him even more on edge. He wasn't a stranger to affection, but he barely knew her! She had to be messing with him! She simply had to be. At the very least, he didn't reciprocate it!
"Er... what are you doing?" He even sounded awkward as his mouth tried to find the words to address this situation.
She looked over at him with quizzical eyes, seemingly oblivious to Kiba's discomfort. "What? I thought that's what dogs did to show affection."
"It is, but we're not dogs."
"No, but you're an Inuzuka, which is the next closest thing."
"Look, just because we're close to dogs, doesn't make us like them."
For the next few minutes, the two of them walked in silence, neither one of them seemingly wanting to say anything for fear that it would only compound the awkwardness. At least, that's why Kiba wasn't saying anything. He could only assume that that's why Anko wasn't saying anything either.
Kiba looked around as Anko led him around the arm; he noticed immediately that they were in the night market. The scent of street food filled the air as they moved through the crowds of people in the plaza. He absent-mindedly put a hand to a stomach as he tried to sort through each of the individual scents. There were benefits to having a strong sense of smell after all.
Eventually, he found himself being drawn over to a cart that smelled strongly of dumplings and sugar. He knew Anko had a sweet tooth, but he didn't really think this was exactly good for dinner.
Yet Anko's expression immediately changed as she surveyed the wares. She almost had a collector's eye with how she was viewing the food; did she eat here often?
"Alright!" Her demeanor suddenly returned back to how it had been in the blink of an eye. "One of everything please!"
Kiba's heart sank. How was he going to pay for all that? Now it made sense as to why Anko said that he was buying! He was about to say something about it, but then he looked over at her sparkling eyes. He cursed under his breath; he couldn't say no to that face.
It wasn't long before Kiba found himself at a table, watching Anko put down a truly staggering amount of dango. Not that he didn't put down some himself; but it was small potatoes compared to her. It was almost a blessing that he didn't bring Akamaru along; his wallet was hurting enough as it was. He placed his elbows on the table and his face in his hands. He knew this was a bad idea.
The feeling of an arm around him caused Kiba to look up. Just as he was going to open his mouth to say something, Anko placed some dango in his mouth. Deciding to skip the arguing and just go along with it, he bit it right off the stick and turned back to the table. Why couldn't he just leave? Was he really going to torture himself like this all night.
Anko's hand lightly turned his chin towards her, a small smile on her face. "Ready to go home?"
Kiba repressed a groan. "If you'd like."
"Great!" She pulled him up by his arm and began dragging him back towards her home. Of course she was cheery; he bought her dinner and she was able to drag him around. If he hadn't been trying to make her happy, he probably wouldn't have even been there.
By the time they made it back to Anko's place, the streets were almost deserted. She stopped right in front of her door, and turned around to face him. She draped her arms around him and pulled him close. "Listen... I know you didn't want to spend time with me. I know it probably wasn't easy. But... I really appreciate it."
Kiba felt himself blushing again. He couldn't tell if she was coming onto him or if she was just having fun with him by getting him riled up. Still, some part of it was totally happy this was happening. And something inside him, a little voice, told him it could only get better. He could learn to live with this right? She wasn't too bad when she was happy... even if she was dangerous.
Then his train of thought was completely derailed by her lips suddenly meeting his. For a few moments, the two of them remained locked in the kiss, not wanting to break it off. After what felt like an eternity, they finally broke it off, but never stopped looking into each other's eyes.
"So... can I stay the night?"
Anko didn't even need to answer verbally. She just opened the door to her apartment and pulled him inside.
Maybe, just maybe, Kurenai had made Kiba's better by making him do this.