Chapter 5 - Friends

Ayane was lying on her hospital bed with her eyes fixed on the ceiling. She had been told that she still had to rest. So she was lying there most of the day except for a walk with the nurse's help in the hospital corridor. It was still difficult for her to move about. How can I get better if they don't let me walk more often, she thought.

Sakura and Tsunade often came to see her and, between their visits, Ayane was either living in her memories or trying hard to remember what had happened that day... to no avail. She just knew they were coming back from a mission in the Fire Country and then all became blank. Tsunade didn't tell her anything about how her sister and her team mates had been killed, probably to spare her and to avoid influencing her memories of the event if they were ever going to come back to her. She had seen her sister one last time at the burial in her ninja outfit. She looked so peaceful and beautiful though. She had no chance to say goodbye to Zenji and Fujio since their bodies had been brought back to the Rain village before she woke up... If only she could remember! Ayane deeply believed her team mates and her sister's souls wouldn't be at peace until justice was made.

A knock at the door got her out of her thoughts.

"How do you feel?" her aunt asked her.

"Not very different from this morning" she replied sarcastically. "I wish I could go out more often. The only amount of fresh air I have in the day is the one coming from the window..."

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that. The examination you had this morning showed that your chakra vessels are damaged which means you'll have to have special re-education. But first you'll have to get better physically. Kakashi agreed to help you in that matter making you go through physical as well as chakra exercises. Your first session will be tomorrow morning" Tsunade informed her niece.

"I'm not really fond of gymnastics" Ayane muttered. "And why Kakashi-san? Maybe he has other things to do than make me do some damn aerobics..."

"First, it's not aerobics but re-education and he's okay with it. Don't worry! Kakashi is a good teacher and he's used to having students. By the way, Sakura is one of them."

Ayane had first seen the ninja the day before, at the funerals. She had absolutely no memory of having seen him in Konoha when she was younger. She was grateful for what he had done for her and she was also intrigued. He seemed to be a mysterious man. That's probably because of his strange mask, she thought.

"As long as it enables me to get out of this room, I'm okay" she finally conceded when someone knocked at the door.

"Come in!" the aunt and the niece said together.

"Hi Ayane!" Kiba said with a big smile. "Tsunade-sama" he added looking with embarrassment at the flowers and the present he had in his hands. His face was slowly turning as red as the tattoos on his cheeks.

"Hi Kiba!" Ayane answered trying to avoid looking at her aunt who was smiling like mad.

"It's time for me to go back to work" Tsunade declared. "See you later!" Before leaving the room, she made a big wink and a thumb up to her niece without Kiba seeing her. Ayane glared at her but she could feel her cheeks getting pink.

"The flowers are from my sister and my mum made some cookies for you" Kiba said, thus breaking the awkward silence which had followed Tsunade's departure.

"That's very nice from them" Ayane replied focusing on the flowers and the box rather than on Kiba's face. "What about getting some fresh air and have a stroll in the hospital garden if you don't mind helping me getting there?"

"Let's go then!" Kiba answered.

Ayane and Kiba were now sitting on a bench in the hospital garden. She still had butterflies in her stomach but her body heat and her pulse were slowly coming back to normal. She would never have suspected that Kiba being close to her and touching her while helping her to get to the garden would create such reactions within her...

"Well, I'm ready to listen to your story of why you left Konoha so suddenly if you're still willing to tell me" Kiba said with a seriousness which wasn't really like him. He was looking right in front of him but suddenly and without any warning he turned to face Ayane locking his eyes to hers. Why do you do that to me, Kiba? I nearly had a cardiac there, she thought. Once again she felt her cheeks getting hot and pink. What's wrong with me? Why am I acting so girly? She just couldn't turn away from these deep brown eyes of his. His face was getting closer to hers, his lips moving slowly. Wait! Is he talking to me? Who turned off the sound? Am I going crazy? All she could hear was her heart beats growing faster every second. His face was now a few inches away from hers.

"AYANE!" he shouted in her ears as tactfully as a bull in a china shop. That was more like Kiba...

"Sorry! Seems like I spaced out a few seconds... By the way, I think I lost one of my ears there!" Ayane remarked.

"Sorry about that... I just couldn't get you back here with me. I even considered starting a Macarena dance to get your attention!" Kiba said with a sly smile. "Are you sure you 're okay? We can talk later if you want."

"No, I'm all right! So, on with the story! Do you remember when we last saw each other?" she asked.

"Of course, I do: that was just before I was attacked by a damn wolf! I really thought I was going to die that day..."

"Well, that was... me" Ayane slowly confessed.

"What do you mean? Can you summon wolves? Were you so mad at me that you wanted to kill me?" Kiba asked obviously confused and angry.

"I had reasons to be mad at you! You told me you didn't want to hang out with me any more, that I was just an annoying girl and a nuisance to you..." Ayane exclaimed, resentment plain in her voice.

"The other boys were taking the mickey out of me because we were always together. I just wanted to make you understand we had to do things separately from time to time" Kiba replied.

"Don't you think you were a bit extreme? I didn't understand that at all!" she retorted.

"I was the one who was extreme?! You nearly killed me with that wolf! Where did it came from anyway?"

"I told you: it was me! You see that blue point on my forehead? It means I have the ability to turn into an animal linked with my element. Since I am a water-type shinobi specialized in ice, I can transform into a polar wolf. This ability comes from the Usuzumi clan and there is only one person in each generation who possesses it. I was born with that mark on my forehead meaning I had the ability but I didn't know when it was going to manifest itself. It appeared that my first transformation was when I attacked you. At first, it happened when I was angry and I just couldn't control it. So I left Konoha with Aneko to go to the Rain village so that my uncle, who's got the ability as well, could help me get a hold on it. I didn't mean to hurt you..." she trailed off.

"Wow... I don't know what to say. I always thought you left because you were angry against me" he said scratching the back of his head. "I didn't mean what I told you back then: I was just being silly and a 12 year-old boy!" he admitted, laughing faintly. "That's quite cool to be able to turn into a wolf as long as you don't kill people each time you get mad at someone. I'd better be nice with you then, just in case!"

"I can control it now so don't worry! Don't bug me and everything will be fine" she added, laughing at Kiba who was faking an horrified look. She felt so much better now that they got to the bottom of things.

"Friends?" Kiba asked extending his hand to her.

"Friends!" Ayane answered accepting it. At the contact of his hand, butterflies started dancing again in her stomach.

That's all for this chapter! Tell me if you think things are going too quick. I'd also like to know which couple you'd prefer: KibaXAyane or KakashiXAyane (even though we haven't seen these two together a lot: that's for the next chapter ;) ) A poll is available on my profile page. Comments welcome!