Drabble 8: Snowprints
Walking Akamaru isn't Kiba's sole purpose in patrolling Konoha every mission-free morning. Unbeknownst to many, he has quite a penchant for observing things; and couldn't call himself a ninja if he doesn't know the topography of his own village quite well. The son of the Inuzuka's greatly prides in keeping the quirks and eccentricities of his friends safe from the public knowledge.
An example of such - secrets - is the expansive tree twenty seven kilometers west from the old training grounds of team ten. The fauna was - is - so ordinary in its habitat that he used to pass it without a thought, but once he noticed yellow crumbs at its base and decided to take a closer look. A mere sniff told him that the particles smell just like Chouji's favorite brand of chips, and further investigations had him laughing everytime Ino wonders on the sudden disappearances of her teammates whenever she's in a roll.
On the other hand, there are some quirks that Kiba would rather leave alone, such as the sets of footprints which, as seasons come and go, are almost always found together; and incredibly getting closer and closer too. Coincidentally, he has just spotted the same sets as he currently treads a path towards a secluded portion of the forests. The snow looks soft in the area, and he suspects they had just gone by, the crushed ice glistening in the pale morning sunlight. The impressions, he notes, are shallow and will disappear soon as snow continuously falls; but the scent of sweet chestnuts and bitter tea hangs so heavily in the air, that several minutes - or even half an hour - more will pass and they will remain. Kiba follows the marks with his eyes - not daring to walk with them - and chuckles softly. At some point, after a pile of snow in the distance (he infers a scuffle, for there is a kunai mark on a nearby tree and a dent on the ground), the sets of footprints have become one.
A couple of meters away, a shinobi and a kunoichi are blissfully enjoying a mission-free morning together; for once not fighting for their village but savoring priceless, intimate moments they more than deserve.
A/N: I just want you readers to know: Each drabble can stand alone, but they may follow a particular sequence. That is why, if you may take notice, the drabbles are all in the same universe. I will announce the sequence at the tenth chapter, the last of this drabble collection.