"I'm sorry about this guys," Sakura apologized to her group of friends for the circumstances that they were currently in. The whole school had found out about her old life because Kiba and his gang had broken into her school and trashed the place. Thus resulting in her whole class hating her and forcing her and her friends to eat lunch alone on the cold hard floor of the roof. "I didn't mean to drag you all in this." She apologized again and for the second time that day she swore the next time she saw Kiba she was going to punch him in the face until he cries.
"Its fine, Sakura." Sasuke waved off her apology. He was sitting against the railing of the school, happy for once that he didn't have to deal with annoying fan girls asking if he wanted to share their lunch.
"We don't mind," Hinata sat next to her in the middle of the school's roof. Sakura was happy that it wasn't raining today, otherwise she would have cut class, gone to her old school, won the game and made her wish that Kiba castrate himself in front of her and his whole family. She could handle anything he throws at her but what she couldn't handle was making her friends suffer because of her. "The weather is nice and it is peaceful up here, besides it is always nice to have a change of scenery."
"Hinata," Sakura put down her lunch and stared at the girl that is usually so shy around other. She smiled gently at the girl before throwing her arms around her small frame. "You're so sweet!" Sakura was so glad she had made friends with Hinata. When she was still in Kiba's gang Hinata would have been a girl she would either avoid or make fun of because her shyness made her weak in their eyes. However she knew that Hinata's family was a very strong martial arts family that was known as the number one police force. Almost everyone in the family became a police worker or somewhere along the lines of working with criminals. Hinata had been trained since birth to fight and while she didn't want to resolve every little problem with violence she could still fight her way out if she needed too.
"Hey Sakura?" Naruto called her attention onto him. He and Chouji were sitting together, eating ramen that they had somehow snuck in but it seemed they finished eating. "Wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?" he asked her and she stiffened.
"That's right. I have to tell them about Kiba's note." While she would prefer keeping her friends out of the problems that were coming back because of her old gang life Sakura knew they had a right to know. They had gone to her old school and faced Kiba and every student at Nin High. They were now public enemy number one around there so despite how she wanted to keep them safe she needed to tell them. "Yesterday he sent his dog Akamaru to give me a little note. He said if I agreed to be his fiancé then he would pretend nothing ever happened and we can all live our lives without any worries."
"And…" Naruto urged her to continue and all her friends did the same. They all looked at her to continue, wanting to know what he reply was. Well Shikamaru was the only one who wasn't paying attention. He had fallen asleep watching the clouds float by, he seemed like the only one who was very happy with their new lunch hang out. "What was your answer?"
They wanted to know what she said and Sakura smiled as she remembered what she wrote down as her reply. "That if he wants me so bad then he should come down here and get down on one knee to ask me," she gave them a cheerful smile and they all returned it with a relieved sigh. "I'm not going to give myself up so easily. If I feel it's the only option left then I will agree to it but before that…" she looked at all her friends, eyes burning bright with the determination of her words. "I want to bring Kiba and everyone else out of the darkness that still haunts them." she would do it. No matter what it took, she would help her old friends find a happy life just like she did.
"Then we have a lot of work to do," they were surprised to hear Shikamaru's voice. They all believed he was sleeping. "First off, mind telling us a little bit about your old friends? Every piece of information can help us." He was lying on his back, arms behind his head for support, and his eyes opened to look at her. Asking for her to give him the information he desired.
Sakura was hesitant about telling them. She still cared for her old friends back at Nin High despite everything they were doing. Her friends now may not understand but Sakura knew, she knew why Kiba, Shino, and Ino believed that fighting was their only options. "I can't," it wouldn't matter who was asking her. There was no way she could ever tell the secrets of the people she had grown up with and considered her family. "I've already done enough to them and I don't want to do anything more that could hurt them." her friends may hate her for this but she wouldn't betray the others anymore then she already has. They were not her secrets to tell so she wouldn't.
Shikamaru stared at her with a long and blank expression. His eyes sifted to the clouds for a quick moment, thinking over things in his mind before he sat up and yawned. "Then I guess we just have to be ready for them when they come," Sakura was surprised by his words and the rest of her friends. None of them were angry with her, calling her names, or complaining that she wasn't telling them anything. Instead they all seemed happy. "We know what kind of person you are, Sakura. You care about your friends more than you do your own life and you want to protect them. We respect you for that." They told her and Sakura couldn't stop herself. She cried. The tears fell from her eyes but so did the biggest smile she had ever smiled. She was laughing and crying at the same time, trying to wipe away some tears from her eyes but they continued to fall.
"Thank you." She cried out. She was so grateful to have met these people and vowed that she would do anything to keep them safe. Even if it meant dying she would do anything she could to keep them all smiling and happy for the rest of their lives.
"Don't worry Sakura," Naruto gave her a giant grin that seemed to always be on his face. "We'll help you no matter what dog-boy does!" he cried out and Sakura laughed. She had never heard anyone call Kiba dog-boy before.
Her tears finally seemed to dry and she was still laughing, a few giggles would escape her lips every few seconds. "Thank you everyone, I-!" she gasped once her body tensed up so suddenly and she jumped into action. Her chopsticks spinning in her fingers and she threw them off the roof of the school and aimed them at the direction where she felt the pair of eyes watching them. She jumped from her spot of the roof and looked of the edge; a figure hidden in the shadows had fallen out of the tree on campus and was running towards the exit of the school. "No, you don't!" she jumped over the edge. She was doing a swan dive, making a quick decent towards the ground but she wasn't frightened by the approaching dirt floor. She flipped her body enough that her legs were now in front and she used this to jump on one of a near by tree branch and did a few spins in the air before landing in front of the figure that was spying on the.
She grabbed the spy by the collar of their jacket, bright green eyes glaring deep into the frighten ones that she had caught. She sighed when she got a good look at who she caught and wished it was someone else. "Did they really have to send you?" she let go of their little spy and crossed her arms. She knew they weren't going anywhere.
"Sakura!" she turned her head in the direction that her friends were running. She had forgotten they were on the roof with her when she jumped and felt bad for making them run so much.
"You guys got here fast." She commented, a pleased smile on her face. She was happy they were so worried about her and that they were in such good shape. It meant Kiba couldn't take them down so easily.
"S-Sakura," Hinata breathed out, her big clear eyes looking on in concern as she tried to catch her breath. "W-Why did you j-jump?"
"I had to catch this little spy before she decided to run away like the coward she is," Sakura pointed back to the shaking girl down on the ground. "I'm surprised Kiba sent you, Karin." She said the girl's name with such boredom that it shocked most of her friends.
"You know her?" Shikamaru asked, coming up beside her to examine the captured girl.
Karin was no older than they were but she always tried to act like she was the mature adult of the group that it annoyed the hell out of Sakura. She has red eyes, matching hair color, and an unusual hairstyle: her hair is short, pointy, and unkempt on the right side, while it is long, pin-straight and combed on her left side. She wears brown glasses, a lavender shirt, short black shorts, and long black thigh high stockings with shoes. "She goes to Nin High. She's not much of a fighter but her spying skills are pretty good. She can usually tell when an enemy is coming and how many there are but she's hardly ever on the battlefield," Sakura scoffed when the girl tried kicking her. "I can't believe Kiba actually sent you to spy on me." They had better people at the school who could spy on them better than Karin could ever hope to do. Sure the girl was good but Sakura had much better skills then her and because the girl couldn't fight it meant that she could be captured very easy.
"Don't say our leader's name so easily!" Karin tried once again to kick Sakura but she had been able to block the attack and kick her foot away with ease. "You are nothing more than a traitor and you have no right to speak his name!" she pointed an accusing finger at her and Sakura sighed.
"I forgot you're an obsessed fan girl too." She muttered mostly to herself. If the person had good looks, money, and power than they were Karin's dream man and to her that was what Kiba was. The Inuzuka Clan had money and power and he was blessed with the great looks everyone in his family had so Karin set her sights on him. However her only problem was that he didn't want her but Sakura instead and that caused Karin to see Sakura as her rival and would do anything to get Kiba's attention. None of her attempts worked so it just caused the red head to hate her even more.
"Should we be worried about her being in our school?" Chouji asked, he was standing next to Shikamaru. Even while eating a giant bag of chips he was looking serious as he and his best friend looked over their captive. "What if this is some plan of Kiba's to get us to lower our guard while he does something?" he had a good point. If Karin was a distraction then Kiba could be doing something to their school or homes at that very moment and they were just standing there doing nothing.
"We need to act fast," Sasuke stepped in, pushing Sakura aside and crouching down to Karin's eye level. "I want you to tell us what your boss is planning." He glared at the girl, trying to scare her enough into talking. It had worked many times on in other fights he'd been in but this girl was acting different. She was sitting there, staring at him with a blank expression on her face.
"You…" she finally started speaking, her lips parted slightly as she stared up at Sasuke. "You're so cool!" she jumped up and hugged him. She wrapped herself around his left arm, rubbing her body up against his and snuggling closer. "You know, I'm a very good with gathering information, I can get you any type of data you want. So what do you say? How about just the two of us run away together and have our own little mission together?" she had removed her glasses, winking at him, and her voice went lower as she purred.
Sakura, Naruto, Hinata, Chouji, and Shikamaru watched all this happened with different expressions on their faces.
"Is she trying to seduce him?" Chouji asked confusion on his face.
"I-I'm n-not sure." Hinata's face held embarrassment. She wasn't used to watching this stuff.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered. His face just held boredom on it. He wanted to get information out of the girl, not watch her flirt with Sasuke.
"This is just wrong." Naruto's face was a cross between confusion and disgust. Karin's attempts at flirting had scared him.
"It's more annoying then wrong," Sakura sighed; she was just annoyed with the stupid girl. "I'm going on ahead. Tell the principle I went home sick." She waved to her friends and headed towards the gate of the school. She wanted to check out a few things and now was the perfect time to do it.
"Where are you going?" Naruto asked, he was already running behind her and Hinata was running behind him. 'Don't tell me you're going back to your old town?" he was worried she was going to go back to Kiba and try to fix things herself.
"I'm not. I learned my lesson," she smiled at her two friends. She really was lucky to have them and she wanted Kiba and the others to be as lucky as her. "I want to check out a few things. With Karin here means what Chouji said is probably true, Kiba's probably lurking around here somewhere and if I can catch him then it would be proof he broke our wish and it can work in our favor if that does happen." If that did happen then Kiba would be forced to give up his title as the school's leader. It was important to him but being there wasn't good for him and Sakura knew if she was going to help her old friends then she would have to get them out of Nin High.
"Um…?" Hinata spoke up or at least tried too. Her eyes would dart up to Sakura and then to the ground and over her shoulder. "W-What about K-Karin?" that was right. They still had the red headed spy to deal with and it could cause a lot of trouble, but at the moment it seemed like Sasuke was in more trouble then they were.
"As long as she's got her eyes on Sasuke then we don't have to worry about her. Just keep her with him and she won't even think of reporting in to Kiba," she gave them their orders. It was time to take some action and she was getting into it. "I want you two to keep an eye out for any others that could be here spying on us. We don't need them learning anything more about us then they already do. Also have Shikamaru and Chouji look up at events or schedules for the Inuzuka, Yamanaka, and Aburame clans. It doesn't matter what it is but I want to know everything that's happening in their clans. If we try then maybe we could use some of those events to our advantages." She left them after that. When she was still with the others it would be her and Shino that gather information on others while Ino decided what was true and what was fake. Kiba had been the one who went out in the field and tracked people, something he was good at since he had Akamaru but now it was her turn to do the tracking. She didn't have a super sensitive nose, or a giant tracking dog, but she knew her old friends and what they liked to do when messing in another person's town.
So she left her friends and her school just as the lunch bell rang, hoping over the fence and ditching school was nothing new to her and she did it all with such ease she felt like laughing in the end. "So it seems I still have some bad girl in me." It looked like her dark side wasn't going to go down without a fight. It the past she would have just gone and fought those who were challenging her but now she was used her brain more than her muscles and her mind told her to take things slow. However even with her mind in control she still had a few old tricks come out and show some of her old talents, and she had to admit that they came in handy. "I'd better hurry." She told herself, running as fast as she could so she could check out everyone's houses. If Karin was a distraction then mostly likely Kiba, Shino, and Ino were at their houses, destroying their stuff and trying to scare them. It was like in the old mob movies where the bad guys go into the good guys houses, messing everything up, writes a message on the wall, and the good guys are left with fear and disappointment. However that part of the movie is real, it works well in real life and a lot of people usually back out after they see it. Something about seeing their home destroyed makes them feel vulnerable, because their house that is they're safety zone is destroyed then it means they can be hurt and that scares a lot of people.
Sakura shook her head away from those thoughts. She has seen first hand the first people have when their house is destroyed and she felt guilty when their faces popped up in her mind. Even after quitting the gang and starting over her life she still had a lot to make up for. She had done a lot of ad things in her past but she would fix them all. "First things first," she had arrived at Sasuke's place first. His apartment was closer to the school then the others so she would go here and then to the rest of her friend's houses.
With the stealth and speed that she worked so hard to get, Sakura walked slowly around the building, making sure no one was around. She needed to make sure that Kiba wasn't waiting for her and that there were no adults around. She was still in her uniform so if someone saw her cutting class then she knew they would take her back to school and wait for her to get in trouble. "As if I need anymore problems on my plate," she muttered, climbing the stairs as quick as she could without being heard or seen. Sasuke's apartment was on the third floor so she didn't have to go that far up. She went to the door and twisted the handle three times before it opened and Sakura let herself in. Another old trick came out and helped her do her mission.
Shutting the door behind her, Sakura searched for the light switch that was on the wall near the kitchen. She had only been in Sasuke's apartment a few times and they were short visits, the guy wasn't really a social person so he rarely invited people over to his home. However with those few and quick visits she was able to remember ever part of his apartment to her memory. Once again another old trick coming out. "Where is it?" she cursed when she couldn't find it right away. She needed to see what damage had been done to the apartment and how badly she had to kick Kiba's butt. Finally she found the switch and the whole place was brightened up with light and Sakura gasped. "No way…" her eyes traveled over every piece of furniture and every room that she could see and even looking everything over twice she couldn't believe her eyes.
There was no damage at all.
That shouldn't be. She was sure that Kiba would go to their houses and break everything in sight. He had done it before when she was still there and even if she wasn't that shouldn't stop him. "Something's not right." She could feel it in the pit of her stomach. Nothing was broken or destroyed or anything that showed any signs that anyone other then she had entered the apartment. Something weird was going on and she didn't like it. Running out of the apartment and down the streets she ran to her other friend's houses, maybe Kiba hadn't hit Sasuke's house yet, but she traveled to the other four houses and saw the same thing over and over again. Every house was exactly as her friends had left it when they went to school. No damage, no signs of false entry, no anything.
Sakura went to her house next and saw that it was like how she had left it that morning, clean and unharmed. "Just what is going on?" she ran to her room, changing out of her uniform and put on a red t-shirt with a white skirt and black tights. She had to look around her town more, there had to be something that she missed. No way Kiba would just send Karin to spy on them, he knew she get captured easily so he to be planning more. "He just has too," she whispered out, grabbing her black boots and a small white backpack and left her home. "He just has to be planning more." She looked around her building, looking for any signs of people watching her or that cameras were set up but she saw nothing.
This was driving her insane. She ran along the streets of her town, looking for the three people that swore to make her life miserable when she left them. They had vowed to make her regret leaving them and now that her and her friends had beaten them at their game Sakura had been so sure they would get back at them. The attack on her classroom had shown her she's been right but she was also expecting to see more but she didn't. They weren't doing anything and that was driving her insane! "Wait…" she stopped running, her mind was beginning to work now. "That's what they want," She understood now. "They want me to go insane. They want me to not be able to think and make it easier on them to get me," It finally made sense to her. They attacked her classroom to lure her into a false sense of safety that she still knew how they acted. They wanted her to believe that she still understood them and when she saw that they weren't doing anything hoped it would make her unable to think or fight back when they came for her. This was their plan all along and she almost fell for it. Almost.
"Nice try," she looked up at the sky, one hand coming up to cover her eyes from the blinding sun. "But I won't be beaten that easily!" she raised a fist to the sky, showing that she was strong and they couldn't take her down easy as they hoped.
"Who are you talking too?" Sakura gasped, cheeks burning pink that someone had seen her and quickly turned around to face the person and apologize that they had seen her acting so stupid.
"I'm sorry, I didn't meant to act so strange in front of you. I was just-" she gasped in shock when she saw who was talking to her. "Hana!"
Hana Inuzuka, the first born of the Inuzuka clan and Kiba's older sister. Although she was the first born and was supposed to be the rightful heir Hana had chosen to work as a Veterinarian inside of a gang leader. She liked helping animals more than hurting people so when she resigned as clan leader she let her brother take over. Sakura had always liked the girl, whenever she went over to the Inuzuka household Hana had always been very nice to her and Sakura respected her that she had enough strength to follow her dreams despite people looking down on her.
"It's been a while, Sakura." Hana had smiled at her. The usually three dogs were by her side but inside of growling at Sakura they were wagging their tails at her. As if they were hoping she would pet them.
"Yeah, it has been." Sakura didn't know what she was supposed to say. She was the sister of the guy who now out to get her and she didn't know if she was just being nice because it was trap.
Hana must have noticed her hesitance and worried behavior. "Why don't we get something to eat? There's this nice café that we can sit at and eat some sweets, they even allow animals." She didn't give her a chance to respond and was already guiding Sakura in the direction of the café. Although she was still hesitant about going with her, she still did and hoped she wouldn't regret it.
They had arrived at the café sooner then Sakura would have liked, she still wasn't fully sure that she wasn't walking straight into a trap. Although if she was then a café was a strange place to set it up. It was small place and looked like it had only just been opened but it looked like a really nice place to be. Hana had been right with the animals, they let them come in but they had to sit at the tables outside where their fur couldn't get in the other people's food. So here they were, Sakura and Hana, sitting outside, drinking tea and eating sweets. Not the day she was expecting to have.
"So tell me, Sakura," Hana spoke up first, taking a small sip of her tea and smiling. "How have you been? It's been so long since I last saw you and I've missed seeing you around the house." She questioned her and for a moment she wondered if the Inuzuka didn't know about her leaving the gang?
"I've been good," she would just give a vague answer. Nothing that could give anything away about her family or friends. "I've just been busy with school and some stuff."
"I see," All she got in return was a knowing smile but it didn't scare her like it should have. "You know, you broke my brother's heart when you left."
Well now she knew that Hana knew she left the gang. "I'm sorry. I didn't meant to hurt him," it was true. Her intentions were to never hurt Kiba but she couldn't stand living that life anymore. "I just had to leave. The life I was living wasn't something I wanted to live so I left." Strange she had told that story many times to herself and to her friends but for some reason now she thought that she sounded like a coward.
"I am," she was right. She was a coward for leaving the way she did. There had to be other ways, better ways for her to have left the gang without her being such a coward and a traitor. "Kiba, you're right to hate me." She cried silently in her seat. The tears spilling out as she clenched her skirt in her hands. She understood why he so upset with her, not only because she was leaving but the way she left. She hadn't told them what she was doing for fear that they would stop her and when they had found out she said horrible things. She should have done thins better. If she did care for her old friends like she said she did then she should have had faith in them that they wouldn't stop her from living a different life. She could have explained things better to them instead of just screaming how she hated her old life. She could have done so many things better than she had and she only realized now what a coward and fool she was.
"Relax," A gentle hand was on her head, rubbing it to clam her down. "I understand." Hana's eyes were not like Kiba's. Instead of slit-like eyes that most Inuzukas had she had rounder and softer eyes. Her hair wasn't wild or crazy but calmer and always in a ponytail, she had a softer touch then Kiba's and although Sakura liked how he looked she needed someone like Hana right now.
"Y-You do?" she sniffed, wiping away the tears that continued to fall from her green eyes.
Hana gave her a small nod. "I do," she moved her hand off Sakura's head and returned it back to her lap. "The day you left Kiba had come home in a fit. He was angry and not even mother was willing to go and talk to him. We all just let him vent his rage until he was done before talking to him but he had locked himself in his room, he stayed in there for three days before coming out."
"Three days!" Sakura gasped, she knew Kiba had been upset with her but to lock himself in his room for three days…she hadn't known that.
"Yes," Hana gave a soft sigh. "He locked himself up so we learned from Shino about your departure of the group," Hana studied Sakura for a moment, trained eyes looking over the once crying girl. "Many of our family members hated you for what you did to our future leader but mother and I couldn't bring ourselves to hate you," she leaned forward, elbows on the table and chin in her folded hands. "We watched you grow up with Kiba, we knew you cared for him the same he did for you and knew that you wouldn't leave without a reason too."
"I don't understand." She didn't. Sakura thought for sure that everyone in the Inuzuka clan would be out for her blood for betraying Kiba. She especially thought his mother, Tsume Inuzuka, someone who had a fierce temper and was loyal to her family. If you hurt one of her children she wouldn't forgive you until you're buried six feet in the ground. So for Hana to say that Tsume Inuzuka not to hate her was something that had confused and shocked her.
Hana gave a quick laugh. "I know. You thought mother would hate you for breaking her son's heart but I said before, we watched you grow up with Kiba. We knew you Sakura as well as we know him so when Kiba had locked himself up we called your mother."
"My mom!" No that was shocking. Her mom and Kiba's mom had never gotten along once and she hadn't seen them say more than two words to each other. Usually it was "goodbye" that was when her mother would pick her up from Kiba's house. "Really? They talked to each other?" What was more surprising was that her mom didn't tell her about the phone call.
"They did," Hana moved one bang out of her eyes before continuing. "They talked for a while and your mother explained to us why you were leaving. How you had changed the night you saw that boy looking at you," With another sigh, Hana leaned back in her chair and began petting one of her three dogs. "She told us that you didn't want to hurt people just because you could and left so you could start your life over. Mother and I respected you for that."
"Really?" It seemed like she was saying on one word answers but she couldn't help it. This whole conversation was shocking.
"We did," One of Hana's dog finally came over to Sakura, laying its head in her lap and wanted to be pet by her. She smiled at the dog and ran her fingers through its soft fur. "It's hard to change a life you had been so used to living and its even harder to leave people that you had been so close with. We had explained it to our family what had happened and they aren't out for your blood…" Sakura swore she heard the word "anymore" come at the end of that sentence. "We tried talking to Kiba but he wouldn't hear any of it and kept on saying you left him and he would make you regret leaving."
She watched Hana's eyes darken and Sakura understood. Kiba had told her at the school when he caught her that he would lock her away and get her pregnant with his kids, making her unable to ever leave him again. "I'm sorry." She hadn't meant to cause him to act in such a way but he was and it was all her fault.
"You can stop saying sorry and instead get my brother back," Hana stood up, putting money on the table and stretching. "I want that stupid and annoying little brother of mine back and you're the one who can do that." She flicked Sakura's forehead as she stood up.
"I'm not even sure where to begin," she followed the girl out of the café and followed her until they reached the park. "I want Kiba and the others to stop fighting and come be with me here but I don't even know how too. They're so different from what they used to be." Sakura sat down on a park bench, chin her hands as she sighed and stared at her feet.
"They're only different because you make them look different," Those words had confused Sakura. How did she make them look different?" "You're only seeing them different because you yourself are a different person. It's the same with animals, when a wolf leaves the pack then returns it is like returning to a new group but all that is different is how that certain wolf looks at the world," Sakura watched Hana, the three dogs were surrounding their mistress and she was petting each one of them. "They're still the same people you used to know you just need to be able to see it."
She left her after that, a small wave goodbye and was heading back home with her three dogs following her. Sakura watched her go and was thinking over everything Hana had told her. "They're the same, I just need to see that," she muttered to herself, eyes moving towards the ground once again. She thought over the last trip she took to Nin High and how her old friends had acted. Shino was quiet, Ino was angry, and Kiba was burning with rage and possessiveness. "They are the same." She smiled and wanted to smack herself for being so stupid. Shino was always the quiet type, always silent but always kept himself calm. Ino was usually mad about something and showed her real self through the anger or whatever emotion she was venting. Kiba was someone who lived on instincts, he was angry that someone was coming to take her away after she had just come back to him. "I think I understand a bit more now." she remembered that he wanted to get her pregnant and she thought he meant to keep her trapped but that wasn't it. He didn't want her to leave anymore because he didn't want to be so alone anymore. "It all makes so much sense now." His reasons for wanting her to have his child, why he always kept her so close to him, and why he wanted her all to himself. He didn't want to be alone anymore. He wanted someone to be at his side and after what he went through she understood his reasons.
/Flashback/
Sakura had scoffed when yet another leaf had gotten stuck in her pink hair. She had been climbing the tree all day and no matter how much she moved around, more leafs kept getting in her pink hair. "Kiba better appreciate this." She muttered out loud, climbing up another branch until she was right outside a window.
Shino had told them that Kiba's father ran away and that he wanted to be alone. Ino had listened and so did Sakura, for about ten minutes before she snuck out and made her way to his house. That's how and why she as climbing a tree. She understood what it was like to lose a father and she wanted to help Kiba. He was her friend and no one should have to suffer through something like this alone. So with a deep breath she climbed until the very end of the branch, opened his window with a small shove and jumped in before she fell to the ground.
"Go away," Kiba was on his side, lying on his side with his back to her. "Didn't Shino tell you I didn't want to see you guys?" he growled out, body was tense and for half a second she was scared.
"He did," she walked away from the window and moved over to the bed. "I just didn't listen." She leaned against the desk that was by his bed. Akamaru was by his legs, the small puppy whined when he saw her and she gave him a small rub under his chin.
"Get out." he growled at her again and Sakura heard something rough in his voice.
"No," she crossed her arms, not that he could see, and gave a low sigh. "Come on Kiba, you're not doing yourself any good just lying there."
Perhaps she should have chosen her words better because he was up now but he had his hands on her wrists, fingers digging into her skin and making her wince at the sudden pain. "What would you know? My father just ran out of her, he left me, my sister, and my mother because he was a coward. He said he hated being a prisoner! Hated that he was forced into this! He hated us!" he let go of her with a shove and Sakura had to grab the edge of the desk to keep herself from falling. "Just what the hell do you know anyways? You're father didn't run away just because he was scared of you!"
Sakura looked down at her feet, hands clenched into fists at her sides. "My father didn't run away…" she didn't want to have to talk about him but she needed to if she was going to get through to Kiba. "But he did leave us," she brought her eyes up to his, showing him that they held no signs of fear. "He was a fighter, he believed he could do whatever he wanted, even kill people. He was a monster that's now rotting away in a jail cell. He may not have run away but it would have been better if he had. At least then I could say my father is a coward rather then a monster that would even attack his own daughter to show how strong he was." She used to think her father was training her but really he was making her a little punching bag. He wanted her to get stronger so he could fight her and so he was the one with power and she and her mother should fear him.
"Sakura…" It seemed her story had shocked Kiba and she gave a bitter smile.
"I understand more than you know," she gave him a small sad smile. "I know what it's like to lose a father and feel so helpless inside. I understand it all and that's why I came over here to tell you that even with him gone you're not alone," she grabbed one of his hands and gave it a small squeeze, letting him know that she was there for him. "I should probably leave now." she walked away and back to the open window, ready to jump out and run home but she was stopped by two arms wrapping around her waist.
"Stay," Kiba buried his face in her hair, arms holding her tight, and she felt his trying to stop shaking. "Stay here with me." It came out as a low whisper but she still heard him.
"Alright." She closed the window and stayed with Kiba that night. The whole time he held her, even in his sleep, and never let go even when morning came.
/End Flashback/
"After that Kiba made me his girlfriend," she had woken up in his bed, his arms still wrapped around her but he was awake. He had been waiting for her to wake up and that's when he asked her to be his. She had a crush on him even then and agreed to his request to be his girlfriend, happy that she had helped him and that he liked her in return. They had just started middle school and Kiba had made sure to let everyone know that she was his and he wasn't about to give her up. "I helped him then and I'll the same now." she stood up from the bench and walked back to her school. By the time she arrived it should have ended and she wanted to know what he friends have found out. The whole way she thought of that night she stayed with Kiba, he seemed to accept her more after she showed him he wasn't alone and she wondered if she could do that same now.
"Sakura!" she was taken out of her thoughts when Naruto and everyone else came running up to her.
She hadn't realized that she was at the school. "What's wrong?" They all looked nervous and out of breath.
"We found out a lot from Karin and from the research Shikamaru and Chouji did," Naruto huffed out. He looked like he had been searching for her for a while. "You gotta see it!"
She nodded, saying she would look at all of it. "Where's Karin?" she didn't see any signs of the red head clinging to Sasuke.
"She left," Shikamaru said, hands behind his head as he smirked. "She promised to tell us everything and keep shut about this to Kiba if Sasuke gave her his number."
Sakura looked at the frowning Uchiha and gave him a sheepish smile. "I'm so sorry, Sasuke." She apologized but he just gave a low "Hmm." He was upset with this and she knew she owed him, big time.
"Anyways, let get moving," Shikamaru told them to move and they did. "Sakura, you need to hear everything we found out." he led them to the library, saying it was the safest place no one from Nin High would ever come in here.
"So what did you find?" Sakura asked once they were all seated at the table. Shikamaru was sitting at the head, on his right was her, Sasuke, and Naruto and on his left was Hinata and Chouji.
Shikamaru took a moment to pull out a big stack of papers from his bag. "A lot," he handed them all out to everyone at the table. "Turns out Kiba's family is tying to push for an engagement between him and Ino Yamanaka."
"Ino?" Sakura gasped when she heard that. She could never imagine the two of them getting married; it would be a war zone by the time the reception started.
Shikamaru nodded his head, telling her that she heard him right. "Of course he's against it and is doing a lot to stop it. That explains why he told you to come to that party," Now it made sense why he had chosen that time instead of just telling her to show up at any random time. If Sakura was to go there and let Kiba say they were getting married then he could stop the marriage between him and Ino. "The two families aren't happy with his behavior and turns out the Yamanaka Clan is thinking about starting a war."
"A war?" This time everyone gasped.
"Yeah, it'll cause a lot of trouble if a war does break out between the two clans, and not just for us," he leaned back in his chair with an exhausted sigh. He wasn't used to doing so much work in one day. "Ino is trying to stop it herself but her father said he only would if someone else was chosen to be Kiba's bride."
"Once again, we go back to the note," Sakura pulled out the paper from her pocket. "Seems like both of them want me to show up at this party."
"Right, which is why I think it would be good for you to not be alone anymore," Shikamaru suggested and Sakura was ready to scream. What did he mean he didn't want her alone anymore? Was he calling her weak? "They may try something to get you to show up, and we need you with us right now," Shikamaru took out another sheet of paper and passed it around. "It took me some time but I was able to hack into Kiba's account at the Inuzuka compound and I got a list of everyone that works for him and his family.
Sakura finally got the paper and was surprised by all the names. "There's over fifteen pages which means he has over thousands of people working for him, not to mention everyone at Nin High, and who knows if he has any other gangs working for him in secret. We're outnumbered here and we need you to be with us. You know these guys better than any of us ever could know with just this data and you know the rules and how things work in their world. Without you on our side we're pretty much screwed." Shikamaru finished and he didn't leave anything out.
"You really don't beat around the bush, do you?" she gave a small chuckle and handed him back the list of people. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere but I think it would be better for me to be alone," she told them and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, silently telling her to continue. "With me alone means it'll give them the confidences to go after me. Which means that Ino herself will come for me." She gave a bright smile.
"How do you know it'll be Ino and not Kiba?" Naruto asked her.
Sakura just grinned. "Simple," she looked up at the sky through the windows; it was starting to turn a light orange signaling sunset. "Because I know them." This was it. Everything was starting and Sakura couldn't be second guessing herself. She had to make sure that she and her friends were ready if they were going to win this battle and she would make sure that they would win.