(Now it begins. Pay attention to what she says because it should reveal some things and answer some questions.)~Kiba-chan
"speech" 'thought speech''thought' (Author Note)
{Kiba's POV}
I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself, so that I could get a grip before I lost it for real. I felt hands placed on my back and they started to rub circles in my back. I glanced over at the person rubbing my back and saw Naruto and Haku both looking at me with concern. I gave a sad smile and took a shaky breath a few more times before folding my hands under my head, the same way my cousin always did.
"Make sure that you're comfy because this is going to take awhile," I said looking at the others nervously.
"Kiba. Stop stalling and just get it over with," Zabuza stated. I glared at him and he glared back at me.
"Shut up Zabuza. You know how hard this is for me," I snarled without any real emotion. He rolled his eyes and motioned for me to continue as Kakashi and Sakura were in a comfortable position. Kakashi was leaning against a tree and Sakura was sitting closer to Sasuke than anyone else, but was kept at bay by Blackpanther and Bloodeyes.
"Now that you're ready listen and listen well because when I finish I'm not going to go through this again. Got it?" I said giving them a real glare. They both nodded their heads and I lowered my eyes away from their faces. I hid my eyes behind my bangs and started my life story for what I hoped would be the last time.
"I know that you know about the tailed beasts, but there is one that is more powerful than the Kyuubi that attacked your village twelve years ago. Shortly after I was born the guardians of my village chose me to be both of their vessels," I started, but was interrupted by Bloodeyes.
'You forgot to tell them about our village and the two beasts'Bloodeyes reminded me. I gave a small nod and continued my story.
"Before I go into more detail about me there is something that you need to understand about my home village. In Densetsu we live in groups called clans. Normally we remain in the clan we are born in, but there are a few of us that leave our home clan because we don't fit in with our other form. Each clan is full of warriors and we start our training earlier than you do. Most start their training at the age of six years old. Before I was born my village was protected by two beasts. One of them was a tailed beast that everyone outside of my village feared, her name is Difenda and she is a black wolf with red tiger stripes. She is also the thirteen tailed beast and she is a very calm and thoughtful person, but she becomes almost completely impossible to control when my family and friends. Sakura you saw her true form when you caught me practicing and Kakashi you saw part of her form when I came to you that day. The other guardian was a black and red striped dragon who everyone feared because of her temper. Her name is Kira and as her name suggests she is the hot head of the two and would rather kill her enemies than let them live to fight again. You all saw what she looked like when I first released the seals that were put in place to limit their power. It could only be released by someone who had the same power level as the Kage of my village. The Kages of my village change what they are called because each Kage we have ever had has been someone who didn't match with the title of the previous one. The Kage that performed the seal on me was named the Okamikage (wolf shadow) and he gave his life to perform the jutsu and grant the command of our guardians. When he died the second Kage took over again until the one who was decided on the same day of my birth. He was called the Ketsuekikage (Blood shadow) and shortly after I turned one he moved me from my birth clan to Legendclan where I was trained by a man named Jaguarstar, who is one of the leaders there, along with a dragon who taught me how to use my dragon form and h-he was my best friend and m-my first dragon," I chocked as I remembered their faces. I felt something embrace me in a hug and I saw two white scaled arms wrapped around my mid section as Dragonheart silently comforted me. I silently let him comfort me in the only way that he knew how. I gave him a nod and let my sobs subside before returning to my story.
"What do you mean was, isn't he still there?" Sakura asked. I shook my head as the rest of my body stiffened at her assumption.
"No, Sakura I meant wasnot isbecause I know for a fact that he is dead. He was not only my teacher and dragon, but he was also the first dragon who showed himself to anyone. He was the one who created a contract with me that works both ways. Because of his connection with me and the dragons around the world he was one of the first to die because he was so close to me. He had three heads and was named Hydrak, Hydron, and Hydran because each head had a different mind then the others. Hydrak was the oldest of the three, because he was the first to open his eyes, and was very calm and had an older brother attitude. Hydron was the second oldest and he was more arrogant and quick to defend anyone who was insulted. The youngest was Hydran and he taught me to have a thick skin so that when I was teased or picked on I could take it without hurting the innocent, but at the same time he taught me how to bide my time until I could get revenge on the person in a way that was harmless and wouldn't get me in too much trouble. All of them taught me some of my favorite pranks and they were the father of Nightpitch. Jaguarstar was like a second father to me because he was always there when I needed someone to talk to; he was a great leader to my old clan and even now he's trying to get the few who think their life is better without me to realize that they need me in their village to keep the village strong," I explained. She nodded her head in understanding and I returned to my story.
"When I was born the two guardians were looking for a suitable vessel to live in and I was presented to them alongside my brothers and many other newborns. Even though we were all very young we could sense their power and many of us shied away when they came near, but I actually reached out towards the two beasts. Everyone there was surprised at my reaction to their presence, but they thought that I would make the perfect vessel for them both because I reacted that way. Shortly after I reached out to them, they were sealed inside of me and their chakras started to mix with my natural chakra and because of that now I can use any chakra type I want and a few special ones that I figured out the two beasts held within them. However, because they both chose me as their vessel many people became jealous of me and, when I was older, beat me for taking away something that their parents told them they should have had or because I had taken the chance away from their sons and daughters. On my first birthday I began my training to become a ninja, five years before most kids began their training. I started early because on my first birthday I was able to change into a human instead of just the normal animals. I started at the academy that very day and excelled very quickly. I thought that maybe now people will stop picking on me, but as I moved up into the higher classes the bullying got much, much worse. I did figure out that if I stayed in my weretiger form people would respect me and leave me alone for fear of the wrath of the other tigers in the village. I was able to make a few loyal friends in that form and even when they found out who I really was they accepted me and stayed my friends. They even tried to protect me from my bullies, but I told them not to interfere since I could heal my wounds before I got to class. Six months after I joined the academy I graduated to the rank of genin alongside my friends. I was placed on a team with two of them and we made a great team. Shortly after we became genin my marks appeared and I was given my warrior name. The marks resembled stripes and at first I only had white ones, but a few hours later an identical set of black marks had appeared opposite my white ones. Both sets resembled stripes so my name included the word stripes in it. They were my light and darkness stripes that told everyone in my village that I was a balanced soul and heart, but because I had more white stripes than black ones I was considered a light. Shortly after I gained my warrior name I met a boy about the same age me and he was being picked on by a bunch of older kids and I stepped up and took the beating for him. When the kids realized who they had attacked they took off running before my brothers showed up. I healed the kid and learned his name was Scourge. We became great friends after that, but I later learned that he was the leader of the gang that had been attacking my village a few months earlier and I talked to him about it and how he wasn't really happy with where he was and how he had never even wanted the position in the first place, but the gang had forced him to be their leader. After talking it out with him we came up with a plan to fake his death and join me in my clan. We brought my team and clan in on it and we set it into action. When my teammate, then known as Fireclaw, 'killed' Scourge during the battle his gang turned tail and fled only to be hunted down and brought in by my village. After the fight I carried Scourge's unconscious body back to my clan's healer, Butterflywing, and she healed him and when he woke up h-he told me h-how much he cared for me and h-he proposed," I choked on the last word as I rested a hand on my collar. I heard a mournful howl and cringed as I recognized the howler.
"You mean you got married when you were just a child?" Kakashi asked. I didn't even bother to look at him as I answered, "Yes." I heard him move from his spot and walk over to me. "Kiba do you know how wrong that is? Did your parents even approve of it?" he asked grabbing me and trying to make me look him in the eyes.
"You know even less about my village then I thought you did. In my village it is not uncommon for people to get married at that age because while we are young as a human as an animal we are already more than old enough to marry and have those kinds of relationships. Especially, the few weredragons that exist. My parents were excited to hear that I had found a mate and one that completed my soul, since he had both marks, but he leaned more towards the dark side. You need to keep in mind that even though I was only two I human years as a cat I was well past the mating age," I snarled, knocking his hands off me. I saw him back off with a startled look on his face and I returned to my seat.
"After he proposed to me he changed his name to Bloodtigerheart and joined my team as the fourth member. At this time I was very close to becoming a leader for my clan and a month after the ceremony I had my first litter and we named them Bloodeyes, Iceeyes, and Bloodtiger because they had inherited our eyes and forms, but with small differences. We were both tigers, but Bloodeyes inherited my wolf form and Bloodtigerheart's colors while Bloodtiger and Iceeyes were both tigers that had our unique coloration, but Bloodtiger had red stripes on a black pelt and Iceeyes had inherited her father's ice blue eyes. We lived happily until the Chuunin exams came up and my team was selected to participate in them. We passed the entire thing without much trouble, since it was only tournaments and stealth tests. When we returned from the exams the Ketsuekikage promote my team to Chuunin level and we began to have private missions that couldn't be given to genin. A few months later and I had had two more litters. The second one had Dragonheart here in it along with his brother Whitekit and his sister Silverpup; both were born very sick and died a few days later. The third had Lionroar and Grayscale in it and both left their birth clan and joined my birth clan, Thunderclan. After their birth I was able to defeat Jaguarstar in battle for the ninth time and my name changed again. I went from being a kit to a paw, then to stripes, and I had finally achieved the rank of leader and star. From that day on I was visited by my animal spirits at night and they would teach me new ways to fight. Once I was blessed to be visited by the first Kage of my village, the Taiyokage (sun shadow). She taught me about my village and shared many secrets of it with me. These were some of the happiest months of my life, but when I had my last two litters topped it all. In the fourth litter my sons Firepitch and Darktalon were born and they are two of my best scouts to this day. In my last litter my son Wolfspirit and my daughter Tigerspirit were born, but they never got to meet their father because shortly before they were born I had my third birthday and was forced to flee my village. On that day I was returning home from a mission and on the way back I came across my dragon's body. He was very weak and looked as if he had been attacked by a pride of large cats because he had more claw marks than bite marks and his wings had been broken, so that ruled out other dragons sine a downed dragon was usually a dead dragon. I didn't even hesitate as I ran to his side and found him still alive enough to pass on a warning that whoever had done this was going after my family. I remember the pain and fear that shot through me as those words seeped into my mind. I remember spinning on my heel and giving the clan call of danger before racing towards my house. I was fortunate enough to have both my mate and my brothers with me on that particular mission, so I at least had back up in case I got into a fight. We raced to my parent's house and it was already ablaze when we got there, but I still ran in and tried to pull them out. They begged me to leave them and save my family, but I didn't listen until I heard the sound of battle outside the house and Firestar's roar to protect me. Only then did I do as they begged of me and fled for my life. We ran outside and I saw warriors from every clan fighting and some of them were fighting their own clan mates for my sake. I was devastated to hear that the enemy thought I had killed the Ketsuekikage, but I was more focused and getting out of there still alive. As we fled the village a group broke off of the enemies group and tried to stop us from leaving the village. I put them in a genjutsu with my Mangekyou Sharingan. It pained me to do that because two of them were very good friends of mine, but I wasn't going to physically hurt them so I locked them in the jutsu before we ran off. As we neared the gate another boy appeared I front of us and accused me of treason by killing the Okamikage so that I could take his place as the Kage of our village. I denied it and was outraged to see that it was my on deputy that was accusing me of killing the Okamikage when I saw him as my father. The worst part thogh was that he told me was the deputy of the gang that my mate had once lead and that he accused me of betraying him by being with Bloodtigerheart. I couldn't believe that I hadn't realized who he was, I mean for crying out loud I had trained beside the guy in preparation for the battle and I didn't recognize him when I promoted him to my deputy. He tried to attack my mate and was able t get in one punch before I used my speed and punched him in the gut enough times that he coughed up blood and fell to his knees. We thought we had defeated him so we continued on our way, but before we could make it out of the village that baka threw his katana at me and Bloodtigerheart took the sword that was meant for me. The sword went through his lung and cut a major artery and he still insisted on fighting the boy even though he knew that he would die in the battle. I-I lost everything that day: my parents, my best friend, my clan, my mate, and my village. Shortly after I fled I saw a wanted poster that was offering a huge reward for my death. It was sent out by my ex-deputy and when I saw it I made sure to send out my own wanted posters that had a larger reward for that man's death. Shortly after that I was attacked by ninja from the hidden villages every other week sometimes more often than that, but once I learned who the people were that were responsible for my predicament I enacted my own justice on the bastards. I hunted them down when my brothers left me alone and killed them, but unlike them I ever drew their family into the confrontations because even though I had been forced from my village I still had a little of my honor left. Many of them didn't have family because they were so cruel to their mates. I killed them and the ones that did have mates usually abused them in ways similar to Blackpanther's mother. Even though I no longer belonged to Densetsu village I was happy to hear that they had a new Kage. Last I heard he was calling himself the Yami to Hikari no Kage I don't hold anything against the village. If anything I still care for my home village even if there are people there that don't believe my brothers and the few friends that I have there," I said. I looked up at the other two and waited for their reactions to my story.
"Actually that explains almost everything. What did you say you name was?" Kakashi asked me.
"IwascalledWhitetigerstar," I mumbled hoping he wouldn't ask me to repeat it.
"I'm sorry what was that?"
"I said my name was Whitetigerstar," I said a little clearer this time. I looked away not able to stand seeing my mentor and guardian give me the same look that the enemy ninja who tried to kill me had in their eyes. I felt my son's grip tighten around my torso and I reached down and gently removed his arms. I smiled at him and didn't even try to dodge the kunai that came at my left side. A second before it could enter my flesh my son's tail snapped up and grabbed the weapon in mid-air a millimeter before the point could enter my side. I still didn't raise my eyes from my son as I felt someone lift me and pull me away from him.
"You're theWhitetigerstar?! The most wanted person alive!?" Kakashi asked as he lifted my by the front of my shirt.
"Yes," I whispered still not taking my eyes off my son. I heard the punch coming and didn't try to stop it because I didn't think there was a point after all I deserved far worse than this. I felt the punch stop a millimeter from my face and I didn't even flinch seeing the fist so close to my face.
"What is wrong with you? Do you not care about what others think or do think that you deserve to die?" Kakashi asked lowering his fist.
"So what if I do it's not like I deserve to live let alone have a reason to live! Not even knowing that I still have family and a responsibility can make me forget what I've done! You want to know why I was so tough on Sasuke when he mentioned revenge as his life goal? Because I was just like him and now look at me. I'm an outcast and considered a traitor everywhere I go! For crying out loud I'm considered so dangerous that they had to make a new classification just to express how dangerous I am! In the water country I'm considered a triple S-ranked rouge ninja, the wind country considers me a quadruple S-ranked rouge ninja, the fire country considers me a double S-ranked rouge ninja, and that's not even going into what the individual villages think of me! So tell me what's the point of living if you have nothing to live for? Or if you regret your entire Kami cursed life? If there is a reason for me to live then tell me because as far as I'm concerned my village would be a whole lot safer if I died right here in the same place that one of my mates died," I yelled at the white haired ninja letting out all of my frustration and anger.
"Kiba. Do you really think that your cousins would be the same without you in their lives? Or your children's lives? Would they really be better off without you? Would the people standing here right now still be here if you hadn't been at the battle yesterday? Do you really think that we care about the fact that you're a wanted person because if you do then maybe you do deserve to die here," Kakashi said being completely serious. I thought about what he said and decided that he was right about everything, especially the part about my cousins' lives because I knew for a fact that Sasuke would've hid his feelings for Naruto if I hadn't been there for him to talk to.
"You can put her down Kakashi. She's got the point and realized you were right," Zabuza said. I looked at him with gratitude evident in my eyes. I sighed as I was put down and finally looked away from my son and looked at Kakashi and Sakura for the first time since the argument had started. What I saw amazed even the two beasts. Both of them were looking at me the same way that my cousins looked at me whenever I had one of those dreams. I felt tears roll down my cheeks and I smiled at them.
"Thank you, Kakashi. Sakura. What you just said reminded me that even if my life has been hell there is still a chance for me to be happy. And for that I thank you both because you both excepted me for who I am and that is something that very few people that I'm not related to have ever done," I said.
"How many others have you told this to?" Sakura asked.
"I've told this to five other people and only four of them are still alive that know my story of how I became the way I am right now. However, you only know one of them and the others probably hate my guts," I answered. Kakashi nodded his head in understanding and let it go without anymore arguments.
"Well I'm happy for you, old friend. I truly hope that you find a place where you can be accepted and appreciated the way that Zabuza appreciates me," Haku said giving a small smile.
"Hahahaha. Thanks Haku. So what are two going to do now that you don't have to worry about Gato and the other ninjas?," I asked.
"I think we'll stay here and take you up on that offer you made us all those years ago. Besides I'm tired of running away from stuff the way I used to. I think this will be a great place to settle down and live," Zabuza answered.
"Well I wish you both the best of luck, but I think it's time I returned home to my village and to my remaining family," I said. We gave each other a quick hug and wished the other the best of luck before Haku and Zabuza helped us pack everything and saw us off along with the rest of the villagers, who had agreed to let Zabuza and Haku stay with them as a favor to the person who killed their tormentor. We waved good-bye to each other and my team and I crossed what would soon become known as the Great Naruto Uzumaki Bridge.
We traveled for a few days and passed close by the Wind Country and late that night when everyone else was asleep I slipped out with Nightpitch for a midnight flight. We just flew for hours and landed shortly before daybreak. When the others got up I was already packed and ready to leave. Nightpitch decided that I was going to ride with her until we got back to the village and we continued on our journey home. Nothing else of significance happened on the way there, but a few days after we arrived home I found some young ones who were abandoned in the forest. There were three in all a small male green dragon, who varied between shades of green as he moved, a male green wolf pup, he was a darker green than Nachuraru, and a female panther, who was a light shade of gray. I named the hatchling Emeraldwing, the pup Nature, and the cub Silver.
I cared for them for a few weeks after finding them and learned how old they were and when the third week came to a close all three of them were more than ready to be given mentors. I chose Dragonheart for Emeraldwing, Bloodeyes for Nature, and Blackpanther for Silver, and they were all very happy to hear that they had gotten such great mentors. I sent them off and returned back to the village and my team without worrying about the three young ones.
About a month after we returned from the Land of Waves everything was back to normal including the lame missions we were sent on. Once when we were out walking dogs as a mission Naruto's dragged him into a field that happened to be covered in mines. I was a little spaced out because I was thinking about Nachuraru and Bloodtigerheart, so I was very happy when Kakashi said we could go home for the day. I decided to go to the nearby training fields and see what my other cousins had been doing in the weeks that I had been away on the mission to the Land of Waves. Everything was good, but I was still in one of my darker moods that day so when I heard a scream coming from the direction of Naruto and Sakura I was thrown into a small rage.
I ran as fast as I could and when I got there I gave a silent gasp. Standing in the street was Kankuro and he was holding Konohamaru off the ground by the front of his shirt. I saw Temari behind Kankuro, but she looked like she had given up already. I ground my teeth as Naruto yelled at Kankuro.
"You know I really hate little punks like you. You go and shoot your mouth off when you're really just a weakling and do you know what I do with weaklings? I break them in half," Kankuro replied to Naruto. He lifted up his other arm and was going to punch Konohamaru when I decided to show myself. I jumped down from the tree and stood between him and Naruto.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I told the cat eared boy.
"Oh really? You think you can stop me? I'd like to see you try," Kankuro said smirking at me.
"Yeah because I total have time to deal with a weakling like you, Kankuro." I saw him pause when I said his name. 'Good. He's still the dork he was all those years ago' I thought to myself flashing a smirk.
"What are you so smug about?"
"Oh nothing, at least nothing that concerns you." Kankuro glowered at me and made as if to punch the kid again, but this time I moved to stand directly behind him and gave him a hard punch to the gut before activating my Byakugan and hitting the correct muscles to make him release Konohamaru. Before he even blinked it was over and I was back where I was standing seconds earlier with Konohamaru in my arms.
"How did you do that?" Temari asked me, moving forward to catch Kankuro before he could hit the ground. I winced as I saw the damage I had done to him. I gently set Konohamaru down and turned back to face Kankuro and Temari.
"I would expect someone of you caliber and skill to know how I was able to do it. Not that it maters I can still kill you both without trying, so think about your next move," I snarled. 'What the hell am I doing? I can't hurt them even if they hate my guts' I thought a little startled as to why I was acting this way. At that moment I heard the roar of a dragon on the hunt and it was coming right at us.
"Naruto take Sakura and the others and run. If you stay here I can't guarantee that this will work," I shouted over my shoulder as the dragon went into a killing spiral. Right before it hit Temari and Kankuro a wall of sand appeared and the startled dragon pulled out of his dive. 'Kuso' I thought as the dragon aimed for the person above the sand shield. As the dragon gained altitude I saw the boy who had put up the sand wall return the sand to his gourd.
"The both of you are idiots. You should know better than to start a fight when we are here on a mission," the boy growled. 'Kuso. Why the hell did hehave to be here' I thought.
"We're really sorry, Gaara. But they started it when the-," Kankuro started, but stopped when Gaara glared at him.
"I don't are Kankuro. You were in the wrong when you decided to attack them," Gaara said in a monotone voice. I was a little startled to hear the change in his voice. He used to have such a bright and happy voice, but now it held no emotion and stayed the same no matter what he talked about it sounded the same. I stiffened when I heard the distant sound of dragon wings beating the air. I started moving before anyone could do anything to stop me. A second later the dragon dove out of the sky and aimed for the Sand Siblings. Two seconds till impact and I was standing in front of them and the dragon was almost on them. One second to impact and I pulled out a necklace that I had once given to Gaara just as the dragon started to build up a flame. Once the dragon saw the necklace he changed direction and flew over us.
"What the hell is wrong with my air support today," I yelled at the trees. I heard a roar in reply and started to walk away from the other team. I was a few feet away and noticed that Sasuke had jumped in front of Naruto and Sakura when the dragon had appeared. I was a few feet away when I heard something flying through the air. I spun around and threw my arm up and deflected the sand to move around my body and fall harmlessly to the ground. I snorted at the weak attempt and continued to walk back to my team.
"How did you do that and who are you," Gaara called after me.
"Who I am and how I did that is none of your concern, Gaara. And if I was you I would head back to the Sunagakure Village before you make my life even more difficult," I said glaring at Gaara. Gaara didn't really seem surprised to hear me say his name, but he turned his attention to Sasuke and the others who were trying to sneak away.
"HEY! Leave them be. If you want to be mad at someone be mad at me because maybe then I can find some peace if you can kill me." My last sentence got his attention focused on my again.
"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer," Gaara yelled as he struck out at me. I easily avoided his sand again and kept dodging while I slowly got loser to him. When I was a few inches from him I grabbed my white sword and swung it stopping an inch before it would have entered his skin. 'Why am I attacking him? I have no reason to; I mean he didn't even hurt my friends or anything so why am I attacking him? And both beasts are as surprised as I am about this reaction, so what the hell is going on?' I thought. I stood with my sword very close to his throat and saw a shadow hiding behind Gaara.
'No wonder you're so mad his killing intent is clashing with your own want to kill, but while yours has a purpose his is just a need to kill an innocent person'Difenda told me.
'Great then I guess I get to knock him out,'I answered her. I quickly brought the hilt of my sword around and hit the Shukaku over the head. I saw surprise register on his face before he fell unconscious from the blow. I sheathed my sword and jumped away at the moment he passed out. I heaved a sigh as I felt the need to kill Gaara and his team fade away. I shook myself as the feeling passed.
"Why didn't my sand stop your sword?" Gaara asked.
"Because the sand knew that my blade would have gone right through it and cut you before you could move. Also my blade has a special ability that allows it to cut through anything," I said. Gaara appeared to accept this and I glanced over at Kankuro who was still doubled over clutching his stomach. I started to make my way over to him, but Temari moved between us.
"You're not going to get anywhere near my brother," Temari said putting a hand on her fan.
"Look I'm sorry I attacked you and I just want to heal his abdomen before it gets much worse. Besides what can you do against me that Gaara couldn't do against me? And if you want I can prove that I'm just going to heal him," I said to her. She looked a little uncertain, but moved aside nonetheless and I quickly made my way over to her brother. I performed the hand signs and a green colored chakra covered my hands as I healed his wounds.
"There he should be able to move without any pain by the time the exams start," I said walking back to my team.
"Thank you for healing him," Temari said.
"I might have been angry, but that doesn't mean that I can't fix my mistake. Besides I'm still human even if I'm a ninja," I called back to her. She nodded her head and helped Kankuro stand up and then they turned to leave. I stuck my hands in my pocket and came across the necklace I had used to send the dragon away.
"Hey, Gaara," I yelled getting his attention I threw him the necklace, which he caught. He looked confused as to why I had thrown him the necklace. "An old friend of you guys asked me to make sure you got that back, Gaara," I explained as he looked at the necklace. His face twisted in anger and he threw the necklace back at me. I caught it and sighed as I put it back in my pocket not really surprised at his reaction. "Well she can't say I didn't try to give t back." I watched them continue on their way knowing that soon they would hate me even more than they did at that moment.
I turned to return to my team, but ended up being tackled to the ground by two little kids. I sat up and pulled them both into a loving hug as two boys and a girl walked over to us. I laughed at the little ones as the girl pulled me to my feet.
"I've missed you Tawny and you Bramble. I missed my brothers as well," I said giving them each a hug. We all smiled at each other and started to walk back to my house with Sasuke and the rest of the team following us. We arrived and started chatting about why they were in the village. It turned out that my niece and nephew were there to take the exam to become Chuunin.
"Well if you guys are going to take the test who's your third teammate?" I asked.
"Oh, their third teammate is coming with her father and mother and I'm sure that they are both looking forward to seeing you again after so many years. In fact they should be here later this afternoon," Tigerstar answered.
"Well I can't wait to meet your other friends, Kiba," Naruto said.
"Heh. Yeah. I can't wait to see my friends again either and I'm sure they'll be happy to meet you to. Now if you will please excuse me I'm going to the arena to get in some more training before tomorrow," I said standing and heading towards the door.
"Do you mind if I come with cousin," Sasuke asked.
"Sure if you guys want to come and watch or train with me I don't mind," I answered him. Naruto got up and followed us out the door as well. "Before I forget do you guys have a place to stay tonight?" I called back to my brothers and their family.
"Yeah we have hotel room ready for us and will probably leave after the rest of our team gets back," Faolan answered. I nodded my head and headed out the door to the arena. When we arrived at the arena I decided to train with one of the dragons and he was released from his pen. It was one of the rouge dragons that was still mad about his leader killed. This one just happened to be the three headed leader's grandson who also had three heads and hated me for not being able to save his grandfather that day, but not as much as I blamed myself.
"All right remove the chains from his collar," I called out.
"Kiba are you sure about this?" Sasuke asked.
"I'm positive about this Sasuke, so don't worry about it. All right?" I answered.
"Fine, but I'm not happy about this," Sasuke replied. I sigh grateful that he let me do this again. The chains are removed from the collar and the dragon rushes forward and tries to bite me. I dodged to the left and moved away from the others while getting ready for his next attack. This time one head went one way and the others tried to box me in, but I slipped onto his back and moved to a spot where none of the heads could reach me. At this point he took to the air and tried to spin me off his back before giving up and returning to the ground where he tried to set me on fire. I jumped off him at the last second and waited for his next move. 'This is getting troublesome an I need to get him to believe me or I'll end up with one of his offspring as an enemy for the rest of my life' I thought deciding to end the mini-war then and there.
The next time he attacked me I grabbed the middle head and started to pout my chakra into it before switching to one of the other heads and doing the same thing. By the time I got to the last head I was low on my normal chakra, but I was still able to get the head to understand what had happened and how I felt about it. When I finished the Chakra and memory transfer I lost my grip on the head and fell towards the ground only for the middle head to catch me before I hit the ground.
'Kiba-chan I'm sorry for not believing you when you first told us what had happened and how you felt,' he said guilt the one of the stronger emotions.
"It's fine Darken. It's not like I gave you a reason to trust me. I mean I was a leader and I still couldn't protect those closest to me that day, so I don't really blame you for hating me. Any of you," I stated happy to sense concern for me radiating off them all. He smiled one of those dragon smiles and gently lifted me to sit on his back. "Thanks," I said giving a weak smile.
'No thank you Kiba,'Draco said.
'You have shown us we were wrong to hate you,' Dragon said.
'And you have formed a bond like the one granddad used to tell us about'they all said in unison. I smiled at them and allowed them to take off in flight for a few seconds.
"Do you guys want to stay here or go back to the mansion?" I asked after I had regained some strength.
'We'll be fine here. Thanks for the offer though'Drakon replied as they headed back to their pen. I nodded my head and told the others to leave that gate unlocked from now on and as we left arena I noticed that I had three more watchers than when I started.
'Bloodeyes get my brothers and their team out of here and tell them to tell my old friend to meet me at the training grounds tomorrow'I said a little startled that those three had shown up here.
'Hey sis, why is your eldest son telling us to leave your house as fast as possible and without going by the normal routes?' Tigerstar asked.
'Do you remember the time we spent in Suna?'
'Of course I do why? Are those friends of yours here?'I was silent and he answered his own question. 'Never mind I can smell them and we'll do as you ask. See you tomorrow sis.'
'Yeah, see you later.'I blocked off my other connections and made my way out of the arena on foot instead of by changing form or having Nightpitch lift me out. I walked out of the arena and Sasuke and Naruto joined me at the front gate before Gaara and his siblings stood in front of us.
"Why are you three here?" I asked. Temari shot Kankuro a look and Gaara remained impassive when it came to facial expression, but his eyes said something else, but I couldn't put my finger on the emotion.
"We're here because we got kicked out of our hotel and the Hokage and Kazekage told us we should come here since you have so many open houses," Temari answered.
"What happened did Kankuro flirt with every girl at the hotel?" I asked. I saw Kankuro look surprised and I burst out laughing. "Oh my God! You actually did that?! No wonder you got kicked out." I was holding my sides from how hard I had been laughing. I eventually calmed down enough to speak without giggling after every word. "Yeah you guys can stay here, but you'll have to stay at my place since most of the houses are occupied at this time of the year."
"How can that be I heard this whole clan had been wiped out a few years ago, so how can the houses be full?" Kankuro asked. I felt Sasuke stiffen at his tone of voice and the way he just casually talked about the destruction of his clan.
"Cousin calm down they aren't from our village and don't know what really happened that night and it's going to stay that way," I whispered placing a calming hand on his shoulder. I saw the rage calm to nothing more than a boil and spoke to the others. "Just because we said that the clan was mostly destroyed doesn't mean that this was the only place where an Uchiha clan lived. And the houses are filled because my family doesn't like to leave my side anymore than I like to leave their sides. And unlike you two I didn't leave my cousin to suffer by himself and stayed by his side even when he tried to push me away. I never let him go down the path I saw my friend go down, the path that destroyed her life and took everything from her and if you thee don't care to remember what she sacrificed for you, her family, and her village then I suggest you go to the Hokage and ask him if you can stay at one of his safe houses or something and then the next time you see the Kazekage tell him to get his damn facts straight cuss I'm tired of cleaning up his messes and to keep a watch on Densetsu cause last I checked we don't like to have our friends and leaders insulted by genin," I snarled. Gaara's eyes showed shock at the hint I had left about how his brother and sister had left him to suffer alone. Temari and Kankuro both looked startled at the fact that I knew Gaara had suffered and they had left him to fight on his own.
"Come on guys let's go," Sasuke called over his shoulder. I was the last one to leave and shot them one more glare before dropping to all fours and taking off after them. As I ran I heard wing beats coming from over head and I glanced up and saw Bloodwings coming in low. He looked curious as to why I was in a bad mood and instead of answering him I jumped onto his back and we took off towards my house. We flew slow enough for Sasuke and Naruto to stay ahead of us. We arrived a few seconds before my teammates and I headed to my usual spot on the roof after making sure that my cousin and friend were both safe and in the house, the sun was just beginning to set and I could see the half moon in the sky by the time everyone else was settled and I had explained everything to the clan.
I sat and started up at the half moon and thought about what I was happening in my old village when I heard three sets of footsteps land on my roof. I didn't even turn and to face the ninja, I just stayed there and ignored their presence staring at the night sky. The ninja didn't move from where they were, but I could smell the fear that radiated off one of them and felt the curious eyes of another on me. I curled my lip in disgust as I realized that two of them truly feared my power when they once loved the power I held within me. We stayed like this for a few minutes before one of them got up the courage to walk over and sit down next to me. I knew it was Temari because she was the only one who really didn't dislike the aura that surrounded me. I didn't mind her being so close and actually felt a little more relaxed when I realized who it was. I was relaxed enough to lean back and pull my leg up into a more comfortable position.
We stayed like this and watched as the sun finished its journey on our side of the world. I felt the tension rise from Temari and Kankuro just as the sun winked out of the sky. I didn't need to look at them to know that they were scared and nervous to be there, so I decided to end their suffering. I motioned for them to follow me and led them to the second floor that had the spare bedrooms on it making sure to put them as far from the others as possible.
"Here one of you can stay here if you want and the two rooms on either side of this one are both empty as well, but make sure not to get to startled if the door or window opens in the middle of the night. Most of the others that live here are nocturnal and like to explore the house, so some of the younger ones might come in here, but I seriously doubt you'll have to worry about it. They all got worked pretty hard today," I said turning to return to the roof.
"Aren't you worried that we might do something to hurt you or your friends?" Gaara asked as I turned away.
"If I was worried about you hurting anyone none of you would've been able to get passed the gate whether you had a pass or not. But I'm not worried because I know that I can take you all on and still not use my most powerful skills. Besides not even you would be stupid enough to attack a group that has more than three dragons living with them," I called back. I climbed up the side of the house and returned to my spot on top of the roof where I could see the village. It brought back memories of when I would do this with Gaara or when I would was worked up and just needed to get away for awhile. I didn't even get up when I heard Gaara join me on the roof. I could feel him scrutinizing me and chose to ignore it instead of making him aware of the fact that I could feel his eyes on me. He stayed a few feet away from me and I decided that it wasn't really worth trying to get him to move closer to me or even talk to me, so I ignored the pain and stayed quiet and stared at nothing. Eventually I heard him shuffle farther away from me and I scooted a little closer to him.
He seemed a little unsure of why I was moving closer whenever he tried to get farther away. We eventually came to the edge of the roof and I stopped advancing towards him. He seemed to relax at that and I still couldn't understand why he tried to move away and then I felt something brush against my leg. I glanced down and saw Nightpitch's youngest hatchling rubbing his head against me and I smiled as I picked him up and let him crawl over to my shoulder. He rubbed his head against my cheek affectionately and gave a purr of contentment.
"Doesn't it hurt when he does that?" Gaara asked. I looked over at him and saw he had raised his eyes to my face curiosity clear in his eyes.
"Not really, but I guess I might have gotten used to it by now since I've been around dragons all my life," I replied, rubbing the little dragons head affectionately. He purred and let out a small squeak when I turned to face Gaara. He chattered at me irritably when I stopped. "Shut up. It's not my fault you can't fly yet," I answered the little guy. Gaara seemed a little surprised to see that I could understand him.
"How can you understand him?"
"You won't like the answer." He looked at me in a way that said "I don't care, so tell me." I shrugged my shoulders and said," All right I'll tell you. That friend of ours that wanted you to have the necklace taught me how to speak dragon before the incident with my cousin's family happened."
"That makes sense," he said looking hurt. His head shifted away from me and stared off into the distance.
"You know she never meant to hurt you," I blurted out before I could stop myself. His head snapped around to glare at me.
"What do you know about me?" he snarled making as if to walk off.
"I know more about you then you think Gaara and you know very little about me," I replied. He stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at me. I still hadn't moved from my seat on the ground and appeared uninterested in the conversation because I was rubbing the little dragon's head.
"Like what?" he growled.
"Like the fact that your father hates you and has tried to kill you multiple times since you were six and you hold the one tails within you," I said looking him in the eye. It went completely quiet and a soft breeze blew through the village. I never broke eye contact with him even when he tried to make me look away by glaring at me. The midnight blue dragon chirred softly in my ear and rubbed his head against my hand sensing my distress over the conversation. I soothed him and never took my eyes off Gaara. 'Whether he knows it or not he's in danger because he knows about me. He doesn't even realize that a lot of those ninja's were sent after him because he knows me and that is something that I regret more than the loss of my mates. I added to the pain he has felt and the power that Shukaku has over him.' I thought as sadness entered my eyes. Gaara eventually broke eye contact with me and I stood up and left the little dragon to walk to the edge of the roof.
We stayed away from the other for the rest of the night and as the sun started to rise I gave a long whistle and headed towards a ledge like structure on the roof and limbed to the top. I heard the little dragon shuffle his wings and start to follow me when I heard a set of footsteps follow me as well. I ignored the footsteps and continued up to the top of the ledge where the baby dragon climbed up to my shoulder and coiled his tail around my neck. I soothed him and walked to the edge. As I reached it I heard the familiar sound of dragons shuffling their wings and getting ready for takeoff. The little one heard it as well because he left my shoulder and walked over to the person who had followed me to the ledge. I heard him coo at the person before climbing up to the person's shoulder. As he climbed up the person I reached out a hand and grabbed onto a neck spike as Nightpitch flew by, followed by Dragonheart and Bloodwings.
I laughed as we rose above the clouds and prepared to dive back down towards the house. We formed up into a "V" formation and dived back through the clouds and towards the house. As we dove we took in a large breath of air and roared as we fell. Just before we would've hit the house the dragons pulled up and flew around the house on all sides roaring our heads off and waking up the whole house. When we started to run out of air I jumped off Nightpitch's back and landed on the roof next to Gaara. The dragons hovered for a while before setting down in the yard and waited for their riders to come and get them. I heard a few groans and growls as everyone started to get ready for the day and the dawn replacements went out to relieve the night guards from duty.
"What was that for?" Gaara asked as he walked over to watch the clan start their day.
"That's just how we wake up the clan and tell them that dawn is here and they need to get moving before the traffic gets to bad outside of the clan walls. It's also a way to keep the dragons from waking us up in the middle of the night because they seem to think it's funny to watch us stumble about in the dark and half asleep," I replied.
"Hey sis, we need to get going before sensei can get there and so we can beat her there," Sasuke called sticking his head out his window.
"I'm already ready. Now get dressed and let's go. The dragons are as impatient as we are to get moving," I called back walking away from Gaara and the dark blue dragon. The little one squeaked as I walked away and tried to get his wings to lift him off of Gaara's shoulder.
"Oh no you don't," Gaara said placing a hand on the little guy. He settled down and I looked back to see him torn between following me and staying with his new friend.
"It's okay. You can stay with him today if you want to," I said smiling at the little dragon. He cooed at me and settled onto Gaara's gourd making sure he was balanced enough to not fall off.
"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked as he climbed up the side of the house dragging a half asleep Naruto behind him. I rolled my eyes and helped pull him up.
"Don't worry about it bro. Besides the little guy can take care of himself even if he can't fly yet," I said. He still looked uncertain, but didn't argue anymore and we headed out to meet our sensei. We climbed onto the ledge and Nightpitch and Bloodwings picked us up and took us to the training grounds. When Kakashi arrived he told us he had signed us up for the Chuunin exams and said we were going to train with some of the other genin that had been chosen for the exam. We met up with Kurenai and Asuma's teams at the training grounds and I paired up with Hinata and we went a little ways away and we started to spare with our Byakugan. I let her hit me and kept my hits away from any vital organs and chakra points while I had her focus on my chakra points and vital organs. As we trained I felt like I was being watched by someone other than the senseis and other students. While I was distracted Hinata hit the area very close to my heart and I doubled over in pain surprised by the strike.
"Are you all right?" Hinata asked as I doubled over and spit up blood. I didn't answer her and performed the correct hand signs before placing the black chakra covered hands over the area that I had been struck. A few seconds later and the pain had all, but faded into nothingness.
"Yeah. I'm fine now. That was a great hit Hinata, you really have improved since the last time I sparred with you," I said after I had caught my breath. I saw her blush and winced at the pain in my chest when she looked away. "I'm going to call it a day," I called out to the senseis. Hinata looked up at me with worry and sadness in her eyes. "Don't worry about me Hinata. I'll be just fine I'm only calling it a day because I was up late last night sparring with them," I whispered pulling her into a happy embrace. Her eyes cleared and showed understanding with that one sentence. I smiled and went to walk away, but found my body lifted off the ground.
'Don't be stupid. Until this afternoon or until Tigerspirit has said so you're not going to be walking anywhere,'Nightpitch said swinging me up onto her back. I sighed and tenderly lay down. 'And don't fall asleep either because if you do you risk slipping into the void,'she snarled at me. I winced and sat back up and clung to her neck spike as we flew back towards the house. When we landed Blackpanther was there waiting for me along with my brother Faolan. They helped me down and carried me into the healing room where Tigerspirit started to heal my muscles and made sure that my heart was undamaged. Once it was determined that it would be healed in time for the exams the next day I was allowed to retire to my room where I fell asleep.
When I next awoke the moon had risen and was already high in the night sky. I climbed out of the bed and onto the roof where I saw Gaara looking over the village and the blue dragon hatchling was sitting on his shoulder with his tail wrapped securely around his neck. I slipped off without them noticing me and met Nightpitch at the flight ledge. We took off very silently and she flew around the village for hours and I lied down on her back and thought about what tomorrow would mean for me and my team. When the sun started to rise we returned to the house and I was confronted by Gaara.
"Where were you?" he asked as I jumped off Nightpitch.
"I was just going for my last night flight with my dragon before the exams start after all this will be the last time we get to see each other where she won't have to act like a summoned beast," I replied petting Nightpitch on the nose. Gaara accepted this and we returned to the house where we parted ways again, I went downstairs and started to cook breakfast and he returned to his temporary room with the hatchling. 'Today the exams begin and my new team will participate in the exam. Great this should be fun, especially if any of my old friends are here.' I thought. I shook away the thought and concentrated on cooking. This was going to be a hard and long exam.
(And there it is her story. If there are any questions you still have ask them in the comments or on my comments page. Thanks.) ~Kiba-chan