Replies to Reviews:
Sir Greatness; Thanks a lot for your reveiw! I'm glad you think they'd make a good pair, lol ^_^
KibaGirl: Hehe, I don't mean for Kiba to always get stuck with the ramen bill.. but I noticed that, too. Must be absentminded. xD And I must agree, Kiba does have no badside. ;) Thanks for the review!
The next morning Jade made her way over to the Inuzuka compound, knocking on the door and then standing back patiently.
She had been expecting Kiba, but it was Tsume who opened the door to her. (Tsume is Kiba's mum for those who don't know.)
"Oh, morning Tsume," she said, before correcting herself, "Um, Mrs Inuzuka."
"Morning, Jade," she greeted back. "Tsume is fine, thanks. You lookin' for Kiba?"
She just nodded, as Tsume opened the door wider, "Come in."
Just as she stepped in, Hana was passing by before noticing her. "Hey, morning Jade. Looking for Kiba?" she smiled and Jade just nodded again. (And Hana is Kiba's older sister for those who don't know.)
"Call Kiba there, please, Hana," Tsume told her.
"Kiba!" Hana called up the stairs. There was a bark and then Kiba's voice, "Yeah, what is it, sis?" the voice got louder as he came plodding down the stairs, Akamaru following behind him.
"Your girlfriend is here," she replied, a mischevious and knowing smirk on her lips.
Kiba's eyes shifted over to Jade, his cheeks reddening. "She's not my girlfriend," he mumbled sheepishly.
Jade tried to keep her expression firm, but she couldn't stop her cheeks from going a soft pink.
Kiba came over to her, putting a hand on her back and walking her out the door and away from Hana - Akamaru trotting after them. Once outside he closed the door behind them and then looked to her, "What's up?"
"I just wanted to know if you wanted to do something," she replied quietly.
Kiba twisted his lips, "I can't. I have a mission out of the village."
"Oh..."
"I know, I'm sorry... But I'll be back for the sunset. Don't worry," he grinned.
"Alright," she smiled a little.
"You don't have a mission again?" he asked her, twisting his lips again.
Her bottom lip stuck out into a pout, "Kakashi-sensei took Naruto and Sasuke on a small mission. He told me to take it easy on my ankle - but it feels fine." To prove her point she began hopping on one foot - that foot being her injured one. Kiba looked skeptical as she continued to jump around - all until her ankle buckled and she fell into his chest. He caught her under her arms.
"You OK?" there was a quirky grin on his lips as her cheeks heat up again.
"Um, yeah," she answred sheepishly.
"Anyway, I better get going," he told her, standing her straight again.
"Yeah, OK..." there was a half smile on her face as he took a few steps back. "But..."
He paused, Akamaru stopping with him, "What is it?"
She reached a hand to her pouch, but then stopped - her hand wavering by it, "Um..." she paused, Kiba just looking on. "...Be careful," she said quietly, putting on a smile. Kiba just continued to look at her - not exactly believing that that was what she was originally going to say - but then he smiled, too, "Thanks." She only nodded to him, as he began running out of the compound, "See you later!" he called. "Meet you for the sunset."
"Alright. Be careful..." she called back. Akamaru returned a bark, and Kiba grinned again, "Can do!"
Jade watched as he disappeared, her lips curving downwards and eyes shifting down. She reached a hand into her pouch, taking something out and holding it in her fist. She brought it in front of her face, letting the object fall and holding it by the chain it was attatched to. A small, golden heart hung from a gold chain as she let it dangle there. With a frown she brought it back into her palm, closing her hand around it - her and Kiba's pictures inside. She had cut up the one they had taken the other day; the one Akamaru had jumped into.
With a sigh she tucked the locket back into her pouch, leaving the Inuzuka property with a heavy heart.
oOo
"Shikamaru?" Jade's upper body hung over Shikamaru's, who was sprawled out in the grass - his hands tucked behind his head on the hill Jade and Kiba watched their sunsets on.
He slowly cracked an eye open to see who it was, and seeing that it was a girl he groaned - not that he wouldn't anyway upon being waken up from such a nice nap.
"Yeah, what is it?" he asked groggily, as she continued to look down at him and blink her chocolate eyes. With a small smile she came around, taking a seat next to him and then laying down beside him. She turned her head his way, and he did the same, "I didn't know you liked to come out here, Shikamaru." she said.
"Go figure. You only come out here for the sunsets," he replied, propping one of his legs up on the other. (I don't know how to explain it... xD But like, his legs are crossed while laying down... if you understand xD)
"Me and Kiba," she told him firmly, a sudden bluntness in her voice. This time it was Shikamaru's turn to blink, something flickering behind his eyes.
"Sorry, I forgot. How troublesome..."
"So where's Ino and Chouji?" she asked, her voice returning to its usual softness and quiet nature.
"Ino's helping out at the shop, and Chouji's training," he answered, laying his head back to look up at the clouds. "I guess Asuma Sensei is out somewhere with Kurenai. I don't know."
"Squad Eight's on a mission out of the village today," she told him nonchalantly, also looking up at the clouds.
"Oh. So that's why you're not with him."
"Un?" she turned her head towards Shikamaru again, flickering eyes.
"Kiba, I mean," he sighed, closing his eyes.
"Oh. Yeah..." she turned back again. "He said he'd be back for the sunset... I really hope he is."
Cracking a single eye open Shikamaru peeked at her from the corner, "I guess it's not really like me to notice or ask, or even get my nose into it... considering it's so troublesome... But, you sound kinda sad, Jade."
"I'm-I'm not," her voice trembled. "I've spent days without Kiba before, and I've been just fine."
Opening both of his eyes Shikamaru cocked an eyebrow, "Who said anything about him?"
"Well... n-no-one I guess," she lowered her eyes. "But you know... I'm sort of by myself today. Kakashi Sensei brought Naruto and Sasuke out on a mission, and left me behind because of my ankle - even though it's really not that bad. And now Kiba's gone, and Akamaru..." She inwardly sighed, "There's no one left."
She heard Shikamaru cough from beside her and then grumble a few slurred words.
She felt her face heat up with embarassment, giggling nervously, "Eh, you don't mind if I cloudwatch with you, do you Shikamaru?"
"I guess not," he mumbled, obviously somewhat offended.
An awkward smile appeared on her lips, "Actually, I think I'll go now." She sat up, looking down at Shikamaru who looked back up at her.
"Hey, you can stick around. I don't mind," his actions spoke differently though, as his eyes flicked back up to the clouds, drowsy and almost closing.
"Nah, I have... have stuff to do," she showed a sincere smile, picking herself up - not realizing that something fell out of her pouch in the process.
Shikamaru's eye cracked open again, spotting the object. He picked it up, sitting up with it - then letting it hang by the chain. He looked over his shoulder at Jade who was walking away, "Hey!" he called, Jade stopping and turning to see the locket glisten in his fingers. "You dropped something."
Her eyes widened as she quickly made her way over, tripping on the way and landing in front of the locket on her hands and knees, "Heh heh..." a nervous laugh escaped her as she took the locket from him. "Yeah, thanks."
"What is it?" he asked lazily, his upper body turning towards her.
"Just... just nothing, um," amidst her fumble the locket dropped from her loose and now sweating hands, hitting the grass and accidentally opening up.
"Ee!" she shrieked, her face turning beet red as Shikamaru picked it up again. He leaned back on one hand, holding the locket with the other and looking down at it - one eyebrow cocked.
"You like Kiba, huh?" he stated nonchalantly.
"N-no. No!" a fat sweatdrop rolled down the back of her head before snatching the locket from his hands and closing it over.
"Were you going to give that to him?" Shikamaru asked, turning again.
"No, I---!" her frantic eyes suddenly turned desperate, as she took him by the shoulders, "Please don't tell anyone! Shikamaru!"
"Why would I tell anyone?" he asked, annoyed as he pushed her off of him. "That'd be troublesome, and it wouldn't benefit me. It'd be pointless."
"Yeah, I guess..." she mumbled, sitting back with slouched shoulders - fingering the locket.
"So, am I the only one?" he asked boredly, laying back again.
Jade continued to sit on her knees, tucking the locket back into her pouch - tucking it far, far down, "Huh?"
"Who knows," he added.
"Oh, no," she pouted a little. "Kakashi Sensei knows... And Naruto."
"You were scared I would tell?" he said under his breath, mostly to himself. She just touched her fingers together, "Naruto's kind of like a brother to me... I don't know... I thought he should know."
"He didn't tell anyone?" Shikamaru asked skeptically.
"No," she replied defiantly, before shrinking back a little and in a smaller voice, "...Not that I know of."
"Hn."
She groaned, until crossing her arms, "No. No, Naruto wouldn't do that. I know he wouldn't." She looked down at Shikamaru, "You promise you won't?"
He nodded, "Yeah, sure. Promise."
She let a small smile onto her lips - but her stomach was now wrapped in a huge knot.
oOo
"Hey, uh, Kurenai Sensei..." Kiba's eyes shifted from the sky, which was just beginning to light up with an orange hue, to his Sensei, "We'll be home by sunset, right?"
Hinata turned her head to see his face firm, but she noticed his teeth biting down on his bottom lip. She turned her attention to Kurenai when she spoke, though, "We might be a little late for that, Kiba." she paused, stopping in her steps, "Why?"
"Uh, nothing," he replied, beginning to walk and bringing the rest of the group with him. He exhaled a little, "I just...made a promise to someone."
"I see," said Kurenai, "We'll try and make it. I can't guarantee we'll be there right on the dot, though."
"Yeah, OK. That's good enough," he muttered, averting his eyes down towards Akamaru who was walking a little ahead of him. "Hm," his eyes widened with curiosity, raising his head again and looking to Hinata - her eyes planted on him. "What is it, Hinata?"
Angry pink scribbled the Hyuuga girls cheeks, as she waved her hands, "N-nothing, Kiba-kun!"
Cocking an eyebrow he made a sort of 'hmph' sound and looked ahead of him, "Yeah, ok... whatever."
Blowing a cool breath, Hinata turned to Shino, who was walking next to her, "Kiba seems a bit anxious. Don't you think Shino-kun?"
He didn't answer for a minute, before taking a step ahead of her, "It is getting close to sunset."
"Huh?" curious, pale violet eyes widened before softening. "Oh."
Ahead of them Kiba looked off to the side, trees crowding the area. Akamaru paused beside him, sniffing the air.
"You smell that, too, boy?" he asked quietly, Akamaru whimpering softly. His eyes were narrowed as he looked into the trees, before realizing he had been standing there a little too long and Kurenai was looking back at him, "I thought you wanted to get back by sunset?" she inquired.
With one last glance at the trees he began walking again, "Yeah, I do."
"Kiba..." Hinata whispered worriedly, her and Shino's eyes on him from behind.
oOo
"I guess he's not coming," Jade murmured to herself, hugging her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them.
She shouldn't get mad at him, or upset, right? Even if he promised, it was still a mission, who knows how long it could take...
She lifted her head a little, the sky blended with all sorts of warm colors - orange, yellow, pinks. The sun was beginning to disappear beyond the horizon when Jade released a heavy breath, realizing sunsets weren't the same without Kiba. Without Kiba they were just... sunsets. Plain old sunsets - nothing special. With Kiba, though... sunsets were magic.
This sunset was definitely missing its spark. There was just something missing, and Jade couldn't help but feel empty.
"I wish Shikamaru was still here, at least," she mumbled, hugging her knees tighter. Her eyelids lowered; No. That wouldn't be the same. She'd have the company, but it wouldn't fill that special gap that was missing.
First all the crap with Kitai and her stupid wolves. Then Kakashi takes her off missions; for an ankle that's not even bad anymore! Next Shikamaru finds out about Kiba. And now, Kiba wasn't here and she was alone.
"How troublesome," she muttered between gritted teeth.
"Haha, you sound kinda mad. What's the problem?" a familiar, rough and cocky voice asked - Jade lifting her head from her knees to see Kiba sit down next to her, setting his backpack down behind him.
"Kiba!"
"Sorry, I still have my stuff. I came straight here," he told her, stretching and leaning back on his elbows. "Sorry I'm late."
"I didn't think you were coming," she said, stretching her legs out in front of her.
"Hey, I made a promise!" he exclaimed with a cheeky grin. "You really think I'd break it?"
A warm smile, "No. I don't think you would."
He closed his eyes with pleasure for a second, before opening them and looking to the sky, "It's really nice tonight." She only nodded, pulling her legs up to her chest again.
Akamaru settled himself down at their feet as usual, resting his head in the grass and closing his eyes.
"So, what'd you do all day?" Kiba inquired.
"Nothing really," she shrugged. "I talked to Shikamaru for a while, I guess."
One eyebrow raised, "Shikamaru?"
"Yeah," she just nodded again before her eyes went wide, "Oh yeah!" Kiba watched her curiously as she picked herself up, digging around in her pouch for something.
Kiba stood up, too - his body dangerously close to Jade's which made her stop digging around and pause for a moment, her cheeks heating.
"Oh yeah, what?" Kiba asked.
Blinking, she continued to dig around, "Oh, right. Sorry." When she finally found what she was looking for she took it out, "Here it is." She closed her hand around it, reaching her arms out and around Kiba's neck.
Tense, Kiba's leaned back a little, his cheeks red, "What're you doing?" He felt something cool slip around his neck, and then Jade stood back with one of her innocent smiles.
Kiba looked down to see a golden locket around his neck, his eyebrows raising curiously as he took it between his fingers, "What's this for?"
"It's a locket. Look inside."
Carefully he pulled the two heart shaped sides apart to see their faces each in one half, "Hey, this is..."
"From that picture the other night. I told you I could do something with it." She watched him close it back over before quietly saying, "Promise me you'll never take it off.."
"Yeah, how come?" he asked, letting it hang by his neck again.
"Oh, well," she mumbled sheepishly, an amused grin creeping onto his lips. "For one thing..." she made a face, "I guess... as long as you wear it we'll be friends."
"OK, sounds good."
"Sounds stupid," she muttered under her breath, his amused grin growing. She looked back up at him, "Promise?"
"Yeah, I promise." She watched him take it between his fingers again, running his thumb across the rim, "Thanks."
"Yeah. Yeah, no problem," she replied with an awkward smile.
"I don't have anything for you, though."
"No, I don't need anything."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure," she sat down again, patting the grass beside her. "Let's just watch the sunset, OK?"
"OK," he said, taking a seat beside her again. "I have something to tell you, though."
She perked up, lips parted as if to say something but she remained silent, "...What is it?"
He didn't take his eyes off the sunset, but she could see that they were hard and slightly narrowed. "I... don't want you coming out here alone, too much," he said bluntly, his voice serious.
"Why not?" she asked, a slight tremble in her quiet voice.
"I just don't, alright?" he repeated,
"A-Alright..."
He released a tense breath, his eyes shifting to the side; they narrowed slightly, "Promise me that."
"I promise," she whispered.
A/N; PHEW. So I'm aware this took me practically forever to update - but I didn't want it to seem rushed like I found the last chapter to be. Plus I've been going insane trying to update my L story and Hitachiin Twins story. All that and a bag of doritos. I mean... all that and a bag of potato chips. OK, I mean all that and I've been working on a Light Yagami (No, the world hasn't ended. Don't worry. Though, I'm not sure what's wrong with me, either xD) story - which I may or may not be posting here. Anyway, I just recently wrapped this chapter up and I'm pretty happy with it...with the exception of the part where you get to see things from Kiba's point of view. o3o" Well I guess it wasn't exactly from his P.O.V, but... usually you only get to see what's going on with Jade. Also... EEEEE o3o Shikamaru~. I'm pretty sure he's my second favorite Naruto boy. xD
K, also, for those who might of found it familiar - The part where Jade gives Kiba the locket was inspired by the Second InuYasha Movie. The last time I watched it was a few years ago, but still... that's what inspired it.
So anyway, quick question... Why do you think Kiba made Jade promise that she wouldn't come out there alone? And why do you think he was so serious about it?