Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

'Blah'= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)= Extra

(A/N: Blah)= Me

Blah = Flashbacks

Blah= Change of place, time, and POVs

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Park/After teashop/Normal POV:

Kaori was found sitting on the bench in a nearby park, taking a break from practicing her recently learned techniques (bunshin, henge, kawarimi, the works).

It was sunny, but that fact had gone unnoticed as the girl instead (uncharacteristically) imagined horrible what-if situations. Tomorrow was the day of the final exams. If she passes, she could graduate the academy and become a genin, an official ninja. If she fails, she'd have to retake that year with underclassmen.

But at this point, the last thing she was doing was concentrating.

"Should I keep eating? Or should I save some for later?" Kaori pondered intensely, already bored of the previous activity as she stared at her two remaining skewers of dango in deep thought, forgetting for a moment that she had training to do.

"I want to finish these off so badly, but what if I want to eat them later? But then they'll get all hard and yucky." She considered. But then again, if you have enough stress to fuss about food, how petty could you be... if you're not Chouji?

"Argh! So hard to choose!" She almost wailed, pulling her braids in frustration over this simplistic, and completely meaningless dilemma.

Kaori paused, opening eyes from their clenched state, momentarily distracted. 'You know, I could've sworn I heard something…'

"Arf! Arf!" Kaori jumped. She looked to the left and to her right, as she tried to find the source of the noise. Her gaze lowered to her feet and she saw an innocent looking white puppy gazing up at her, wagging its little tail.

She stared at it for a while, face blank as her mind registered the scene, and then asked in realization. "Mm? You're Inuzuka's dog, aren't you?"

The reason for the pause being how said clan member would always skip class with Naruto and others, keeping her from really giving him much mind.

Tail wags.

She squinted her eyes at its expression. "Ohh, I know your name. Umm, Aotarou...? Kiirosuke? No… it was red something… Aka… Ah, Aka… maru?" She nodded enthusiastically, seeing she was right.

"Akamaru? Are you lost?" She asked, and blinked when she saw it nod and wag its tail in reply. She definitely hadn't been expecting that kind of response-- or any response for that matter. She picked him up, scratching his belly as he wagged his tail in pleasure.

"You're so cute!" She couldn't help but exclaim. "It's almost like you're smiling at me!"

She cocked her head. "But you know, I was kind of expecting a purr though-- or is that a cat thing?" She furrowed her brow, showing her obvious lack of experience with dogs. She gave a squeak when she noticed the bundle of fur reaching for her snacks.

"Wait! Dog!" She struggled to part the two. "No! Akamaru! Stop! Ack! Bad dog!" She paused. 'Can dogs even eat odangos…?"

"Ah! What do you think you're doing, Akamaru?"

Kaori looked up to see the Inuzuka from her class-- Kiba, running up to her in full speed. He stopped in front of her, slightly panting.

"Akamaru! What are you doing here?" He asked, carefully picking the puppy out of Kaori's arms, scolding it fiercely as the dog barked back.

He turned his attention toward the girl, who simply stared at this peculiar scene. 'Are they really having a conversation?' She thought curiously. 'I've always wanted to talk to animals…'

"Ah, Kaori! Thanks for taking care of him! The rascal was trying to run from a bath. I hope he wasn't bothering you too much!" He laughed and gave her a polite, but still rather wolfish grin.

She shrugged, but stared curiously at the boy. 'Eh? I barely even know him and we're already on a first-name basis? … I-I can't tell if he's being friendly or disrespectful.'

There was a twitter of slight annoyance on his face over her still-delayed response. "Hey, are you okay? Hello? Ninja?"

She snapped out of her trance. "Ah, gomen, Inuzuka-san! I-I kind of zoned out for a moment." She looked around and saw the dango skewers in her hand. "You want one?" She offered, holding a stick up in apology.

He shrugged. "Is it still chewy?"

"Eh? Er, yeah."

"Sure."

He sat down next to her on the bench as they ate their sweets in awkward silence. Kaori looked at him and noticed Kiba still sniffing it.

"Honestly, I have nothing against what you're doing, but I still think those were made to be eaten." She started as an icebreaker, hating the empty pause that surrounded them. 'If they're going to sit there, they might as well say something!' She continued. "But I agree they smell nice."

She frowned when he simply nodded. She knew how outgoing the Inuzuka normally was in contrast to the silent persona right now. 'It's not like I asked him to stay anyways! If he's really that bored then leave!'

"Ne, Inuzuka-san? Aren't you supposed to be, err, loud?" 'And cocky.' "And cocky?"

She paused, eyes wide. 'Did I just say that out loud? Shit.'

Instead Kiba smirked. "Smartass." He gave a snort. "And aren't you supposed to be quiet and polite?"

She gave a sorry smile, letting him take that one. Kaori watched as he gave part of his sweets to Akamaru after biting two off the stick at once.

She bit her cheek. "I thought dogs weren't supposed to eat those." She started, knowing that if she talked about dogs he wouldn't seem so uninterested. "He doesn't seem to enjoy them." She added, when she saw the dog sneeze, chewing awkwardly on the strange 'treat'.

He looked up at the sudden reappearance of a discussion, and said with his mouth full. "Oh, he's fine. He needed to pay for running away in the first place, dirty thing. But as long as he doesn't eat too much he'll be fine. He's an Inuzuka dog after all."

"Ah, I see. So… is it difficult to have a nin-ken?" The girl asked, surprised that she was showing genuine interest.

"Inuzuka dogs."

"Excuse me?"

"They are not summons and have been purely bred to be an Inuzuka. Therefore, they are Inuzukadogs."

"Oh sorry. I mean, your Inuzuka dog."

"Damn yes you do."

She sighed. Wanting to stop this. "So is it difficult to have an Inuzuka dog, Inuzuka Kiba-san?"

"Nah, not really." Kiba said proudly, glad to have an audience. "For us, it's actually easier. We're always training together so we know everything there is about each other. We're both really strong… Or it might be that we're just talented."

"Heh… That must be nice… You guys are probably never lonely." Kaori said wistfully, purposely ignoring his last sentence in fear she might accidentally slip in another half-assed remark. She stared up at the reddish sky. "I'm jealous…"

Kiba glanced at her from the corner of his eye and sucked in his pride reluctantly. "So what do you do? I mean, you should have to have your own personal fighting style as a ninja, right?"

She closed her eyes. "Not yet. My mom tries to train me as a medical ninja, cause you know our clan kind of specializes in healing-- Or you didn't know… Whatever, it's really boring so you're lucky. Anyways, I have to suck it up. I mean, I've got to be able to do something, right?" She frowned. "And considering the fact that we're already born with enhanced healing, how's that going to help me?"

Kiba considered this, pondering curiously. "Wait, but can't the Amakusu clan give and take peoples' chakra or something like that?"

Kaori nodded begrudgingly. "You mean chakra irrigation and replenishment? Well yeah, I guess that's cool. But I'm still a beginner so I can only release chakra. Besides that's not exactly within the clan and I've heard other people can do it too, so I can't call it my own. My mom tries to teach me all she knows, which isn't much since she hasn't been to the compound in years." Kaori smiled grimly. "I've never been to the compound myself; they probably don't even know I exist. Pathetic, right?"

The Inuzuka frowned, not used to seeing such low self-esteem compared to his own rather high amount of confidence. "Nah, it's not pathetic, really. It's still a good start… Akamaru agrees too." Kiba smiled awkwardly, Akamaru barked in response. "See, it's not bad at all, Kaori!"

She stared, feeling a smile creep up. The last statement was meant to be rhetorical, but she felt her heart flutter, making her feel both shocked and touched despite knowing it was all pity. She blushed. "A-Arigatou, Inuzuka-kun. Akamaru-kun. You guys are pretty nice after all." She giggled and took a huge bite from her snack, chewing it thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah, and Kaori? Since we're pretty much friends now, you can stop calling me by my surname." Kiba said harmlessly, still gazing up at the sky. He paused when he heard coughing and choking. He looked down to see new friend suffocating. "What the hell! Are you okay! Oi! What's wrong with you? Breathe!"

She let out a strangled wheeze and gasped. "I'm fine! I'm fine!"

Kiba felt a sweat drop glistening on his head as he pondered, 'How many accidents can she cause in one day?' He scoffed. 'Ninja, my ass.'

"Thanks though. I really appreciate it, Kiba-san." She smiled shyly, playing with her stray hair abashedly.

He grinned. "No problem! Um, you know. You can train with us sometimes. I could show you my kick-ass sweet moves! As repayment, cause you caught Akamaru and gave us food. After all, anyone would feel thankful to even be asked to train with the awesome Inuzuka Kiba-sama! We don't mind!" Kiba offered, excited to show off, he paused. "That is, if you want to, I mean."

She considered this. "Sure, why not? Ah, but not today. I have to report some info to my mom. And… Ack! We have to prepare for the final exams tomorrow!" She realized, noticing how the sky had darkened considerably.

"Aw shit! We forgot about that too." Kiba cried, standing up. "We've gotta train!" He crinkled his nose and sneezed at his white bundle of fur. "And you're bath! Ugh!"

Kaori giggled and stood up. "I guess I'll go now. It was nice knowing you, Kiba-san." She grinned.

She took a step to the right, but failed to notice a small rock that stood in her path. When she tripped over it, she crossed her other leg over that foot in an attempt to keep her steady, but ended up twirling a 360 before falling with a thud, sitting criss-crossed on the ground with her rump also landing painfully on the stone itself. "Oh, ow! OW!"

Kiba saw all this, of course, and immediately bent over. "KRMMFF! Cough cough! Dude, are you- bwa ha ha ha ha- ahem! Cough cough!"

She still sat there, stunned, her mind was still processing over what just happened.

"Sorry! -hehe! Are you okay?" Kiba stammered, as he offered her a hand while covering his mouth with the back of the other one, making an effort not to laugh openly as he turned to hide his traitorous grin.

Kaori sat there with her legs still criss-crossed, well aware of his take on all this. She folded her arms and bit her lip in self-annoyance, but in the end, accepted his offer. She pulled herself up, and mumbled thanks.

"Hehe, this time I'm really going to go now." Kaori coughed, covering up her embarrassment with an exit.

"Okay, watch where you're going this time, ninja." Kiba warned, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"I'm not even going to respond."

Kiba snickered.

She glared and pursed her lip, flushing back at him indignantly, unaware of the fact that she was truly pouting. Kiba took this all in before holding up his hands in defense, finding himself smiling fondly at the girl in front of him. 'She's too cute to be a ninja. She'd have a better career as a child-impersonator.' Again, he laughed.

"Okay, okay. We're done now." He assured. "Sorry about that, I couldn't help myself… Enough with that face!"

She gave him one last look before calming down.

Kaori smiled brightly. "Alright, then I'm going now." She said, getting ready to sprint. "It was nice knowing you, Kiba-san-- and you too, Akamaru-kun! You guys better pass if you want to be genin!"

"Don't need you to tell us that! You follow your own advice too!"

"Of course!" She began her leave. "Ja mata ne." And jogged out of sight.

"Looks like we made a new friend, ne Akamaru? Heh, she was hilarious!" Kiba frowned and he sniffed again, wrinkling his nose. "Well, c'mon! We've got training to do and a washing on your part! Don't you even think about running away this time!"

The dog gave a whimper when he got picked up. Knowing that there was no escape from his fate this time.

(A/N: Baum, baum, BAUM)

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Afterwards/Kaori's POV:

Once Kiba was out of sight, I ran, ran all the way home and made a dash for the trees in our yard. I stood in front of a great thick oak and started bashing my head over and over against its trunk.

'That was so embarrassing! I can't believe I fell like that! How am I supposed to look at him? He's probably going to tell everyone! Why am I such a klutz? I'm an idiot! That's what I am! A total IDIOT.' I wailed, mourned, grieved, etc, as I replayed the events in my head.

I calmed down (after a few more seconds of head beatings) and finally walked inside the door. "Tadaimasu!" I announced, slipping off my sandals before walking down the halls.

My mother came from the kitchen to the front door, where I was taking my shoes off. "Okaeri! Eh? Kaori? Is everything all right?" She asked, concerned. Studying the cuts that were already healing. "Are you being bullied?" She was almost done checking me and by then I was all healed.

Enhanced healing, see.

"No, I just came back from training!" I gave a sheepish grin; the last person who I'd want to have found out is probably my mother. Whether it's laughing or scolding, I didn't need either.

"Yeah, I just felt like working extra hard because of the exams." I chirped.

My mother sighed in relief. "Then do you want eat? Just for the fun of it?" I shook my head.

Because our body naturally heals and supplies itself, we don't really have the need to eat as the average human would need to. We eventually do at some point, but the need is very small. The only time I'm ever eating these days is when I'm bored, or just because I love tasting things. Yum.

After reassuring her that things were great, she accepted that everything was fine. "Clean up then, but don't take too long. I want to teach you something." My mother smiled and walked back to the kitchen. Medical stuff. Just endure, Kaori!

'I'm gonna have to take a really long shower tonight.' I sighed inwardly, but forced another grin and nodded obediently. "Yes, Kaa-san." And thumped toward the bathroom, I heard my mom sigh. "I can't believe she's graduating tomorrow."

---Afterwards---

After my shower I walked into my room, shutting the door behind me as I looked around.

My room was pretty basic and it had a simple bed pushed to a corner, plain sheets, a desk with a tiny lamp, a nightstand that had a huge first aid kit to practice with (you call that a birthday present, mother?), my closet full of clothes, and bookcases (which had several scrolls and information that I hadn't bothered to look through). I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Nothing seemed to have changed, but I felt… different.

"Tomorrow," I thought out loud, still studying my reflection. "I will graduate. Everyone's going to be a genin. Kiba, Hinata, Sasuke, everyone, maybe even Naruto! I can't believe it." I smiled.

Since I'm growing up, I guess I should try a bit harder from now on. I have to do whatever it takes to improve.

"Okaa-san! What were you going to teach me?"

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YAY!!! Second chapter and we're already getting somewhere!! I hope that chapter cleared out some questions from the last author's note.

Gomen means sorry

Hai means yes

Ja mata ne = See you! (Girls version)

Tadaimasu means I'm back

Okaeri means you're here

Anyways, how about a review? Please? It would be most appreciated!