It has been five days since Shizuka had been taken away after the incident and wilder and wilder rumors were starting to go around the class.
"I heard she's been thrown in jail for attacking a fellow classmate." A brown haired girl whispered loudly.
"No way, I actually heard she's been banished from the village. Surely they wouldn't just let her stay after what happened." Her friend replied with a conspiratorial smirk on his face. "She's clearly too dangerous to be around us."
For most of the class this was the juiciest piece of gossip since Sasuke had a new haircut a few years ago.
Kiba clenched his jaw angrily, his better than average hearing easily catching the conversation.
"Maybe she was taken out by that ANBU if you know what I mean." The girl moved her thumb sideways over her neck dramatically.
"Would you two shut up already!" Kiba finally exploded, shooting up from his seat and slamming a hand on their table. "Why don't you mind your own business for once."
The pair, feeling adequately chastised, got up and left their spot.
"Just because he's a clan kid he thinks he can yell at us. What an asshole." The boy grumbled nastily, very aware that he was still in hearing range.
Kiba let out a frustrated huff as his hands clenched into fists tightly. He barely suppressed the urge to snarl after the pair. All his more animalistic instincts were telling him to go after them and put them in their place until they submitted.
"Relax man." Chouji put a hand on a fuming Kiba's shoulder. "They don't know what they're talking about."
Begrudgingly, Kiba allowed himself to calm down, slumping back down in his chair.
He let out a ragged sigh as he dragged a hand down his face. Akamaru whined softly from where he was perched on top of his owner's head.
"I know. I'm just worried."
At first he hadn't thought much of Shizuka being taken away. He had figured it was more or less basic protocol due to her using what he supposed was her kekkei genkai on him.
But then she hadn't shown back up in class the next day, nor the days following. Now, five days had passed and a tight pit of worry sat uncomfortably in his stomach.
Why wasn't she back yet?
He tried not to listen to all the rumors floating around but what if they were true? What if she was really kicked out?
Focusing in class was hard when all he could do was stare at the empty space besides him.
"All of us are worried. Let's ask Shikamaru whether he can get some information out of his dad." Chouji responded with fake optimism.
"Again!"
Shizuka panted loudly as she activated her kekkei genkai for the 8th time in a thirty minutes.
She made direct eye contact with Gai-sensei, pumping a bout of chakra into her eyes.
Instantly, the man froze across from her. She suppressed a groan at the developing headache throbbing at her right temple.
The incident at the courtyard had finally shed some light on the workings of her kekkei genkai.
It was genjutsu.
Whenever someone made direct eye contact with her when her eyes were activated, she could trap them in a genjutsu if she so desired. It was...odd to know that she could perform a widely considered difficult art so easily. Gai-sensei had told her that even he struggled with genjutsu, never having learned much more than how to dispel one. A genjutsu specialist was rare in the village nowadays.
Immediately after the incident had occurred, Shizuka had been taken to the Hokage where the ANBU had reported diligently.
Shizuka herself had been little more than a blubbering mess at the time. She hadn't stopped apologizing and asking whether Kiba was alright.
The Hokage had reassured her that her friend was completely fine, albeit a bit shaken up perhaps. He had also mentioned that he could not send her straight back to the academy in good conscience.
So that's why she had now been put into an intense training bootcamp, ensuring that she wouldn't accidentally use her kekkei genkai on anyone again as well as assessing the limits of her capabilities.
As Gai-sensei's team was back on active duty, the man hadn't been there during every session. Instead, various chuunin and the occasional jounin had been working with her in rotating shifts but Shizuka had been pleasantly surprised to see Gai-sensei again for her training session today. All the strangers put her on edge.
Gai broke out of her genjutsu with a jolt.
"Very well, my youthful flower. The horses were a nice touch."
Shizuka glowed under his praise bashfully.
Just now she had made Gai appear in a big wide field, dressed as a carrot and being chased by ponies.
Of course it was rather easy for an experienced jounin to release the genjutsu but this was more a test of her stamina and control than anything else.
So far they had discovered that besides casting genjutsu, she was also able to grasp when she herself was trapped in one. Anything that was not supposed to be there, Shizuka saw with a hazy shadow.
Gai-sensei had also theorized that her kekkei genkai was the cause of her uncanny fine chakra control. Genjutsu casting required extraordinary control of after all.
"Again!"
Shizuka straightened her shoulders determinedly as she sent another jolt of chakra into her eyes, ignoring the sharp sting in her right temple at the action. The harder she worked now, the sooner she could go back to the academy.
Shizuka nervously paced in front of the gate to the Inuzuka clan compound while the two guards were sending her odd looks.
Oh god what if he hated her?
After receiving the all clear from the Hokage, she had immediately set off towards the clan compound, asking several people for directions on the way.
She had been told multiple times that Kiba was fine but she had to see for herself.
Now that she was actually here, though, she had a hard time gathering up the courage to actually go inside and face him.
What if he wouldn't forgive her? What if he despised her for what she had done?
The thought made bile rise up her esophagus, leaving a burning feeling in its wake. She took a second to swallow it down. Breathing in and out several times.
Stop being a coward, Shizuka. Just go in.
She didn't move an inch.
"What are you doing loitering outside of my clan compound?" A gruff female voice spoke.
With a jolt, Shizuka whirled around rapidly.
A rough looking woman stood behind her, flanked by a huge dog with an eyepatch. The dog stood in front of the woman protectively, hackles raised.
As Shizuka scanned over her facial features, lingering on the red triangular markings, a vague sense of recognition overcame her.
"Are you Kiba's mom?" She blurted out.
The woman immediately motioned for the dog to stand down to which he obeyed instantly. The animal sat down quietly, eye still hyperfocused on Shizuka in vigilance. Not for the first time, she admired the loyalty of Inuzuka dogs.
"Yeah" Kiba's mom confirmed. "What has the brat done now?"
Shizuka flinched.
"No no, he hasn't done anything. H-how is he after uhm" She paused, fidgeting with her skirt in discomfort. "After the genjutsu thing."
Now that seemed to capture the woman's attention. She appraised the young girl's figure critically. Shizuka felt suddenly self conscious. She hadn't given much thought to her appearance but judging from the non-stop training and sleepless nights, she probably looked like a homeless person now.
"That was you?" Her tone was neutral, not giving any indication about whether she was angry with Shizuka or not.
She nodded shyly, not daring to make eye contact with the potentially angry lady.
Kiba's mom let out an amused huff of air.
"Why don't you go see for yourself? Come."
Hesitantly, Shizuka followed the intimidating woman and her dog through the gates and into the compound.
Despite her longstanding friendship with Kiba, she hadn't ever been in the Inuzuka compound and she was looking around curiously. Unsurprisingly, there were dogs everywhere. She saw some pups playing around with a length of a rope. Another dog was helping a woman hang up the laundry, handing her the pins so she could secure the garments on the line.
It was clear that it wasn't often that non-clan people entered the compound. Dogs and humans alike were looking at her from the corner of their eyes. Several Inuzuka's stepped closer to the playing pups, ready to interfere should anything threaten them.
They soon came to a halt in front of one of the bigger buildings she had seen so far. It towered over the buildings nearby imposingly. This was clearly the residence of the clan head.
"He's probably sulking around in the backyard." Kiba's mother said indifferently before opening the traditional sliding doors and heading inside, leaving Shizuka standing outside by herself.
Right. Backyard.
Hesitantly, she walked around the house. Shizuka paused as she spotted Kiba sitting perched on a tree branch, staring at nothing in particular as he absentmindedly pet Akamaru's fur.
The sight made a lump appear in her throat. That blank stare in his eyes, had she done that? Had she somehow mentally damaged him with her unintentional genjutsu attack?
A breeze swept her hair, loose for once, up in the air. Kiba's nose twitched visibly as he took in a gulp of air, before his gaze rapidly snapped on hers.
Shizuka gulped nervously, forcing herself to step closer to the boy as he dropped down from the tree branch and gently set Akamaru on the ground before slowly walking towards her.
"Shizuka?" He said with an uncharacteristic softness, almost as if he were afraid she'd break like an expensive china doll.
And maybe he was right about that because then the last shreds of her self control snapped and all the built up guilt and exhaustion toppled out.
A strangled sob escaped her throat as wet hot tears cascaded down her face. She dropped down to the grass.
"I'm so sorry." She wailed. "I-I swear it was an a-accident and I didn't mean to hurt you and I understand if you're angry at me but pl-."
"Hey, whoa." Kiba floundered helplessly. "I'm okay."
"Please forgive me, you were my first friend here in the village and I don't want to lose you because of a stupid mistake and-"
"Shizuka." He said sternly, placing a warm hand on her shoulder.
Shizuka finally dared to lift her gaze up at her friend, critically scanning his eyes for any sign of hurt as he held her gaze but all she found was concern in his dark eyes.
"Are you sure?" She sniffed.
"Yeah, I'm totally fine."
Akamaru barked loudly for good measure as he put his front paws on her chest, licking her tear streaked cheeks. The feeling of his rough tongue made her let out a watery giggle.
"A-and you're not mad at me?" Shizuka's voice came out wobbly, still thick with emotions as her sobs calmed down.
"I could never be mad at you." Kiba grinned widely, holding a hand out towards her. "Now get up from the ground."
Hesitantly, she placed her palm in his slightly bigger one and allowed him to pull her up.
"Kiba." She spoke seriously.
"What?"
"I'm going to hug you now."
Shizuka threw her arms around the taken aback boy, nestling her face in the crook of his neck against the soft fabric of his thick vest. Slowly, she felt Kiba relax into the embrace, his own arms coming up behind her back as she took a deep inhale. The scent of sandalwood, freshly cut grass and something she couldn't quite put her finger on filled her nose.
Sometimes she wondered what she had done to deserve a friend like Kiba. Something warm replaced the pit of worry she had been holding onto over the past few days.
Slowly, after several minutes, when her tears had dried up, she released him. Suddenly embarrassed at the show of emotion, she quickly rubbed her puffy eyes.
"If you tell anyone about this, I'm going to kill you." Shizuka said with full intention on following through with that threat.
"What? You're afraid everyone's going to find out you're an emotional sap?" Kiba playfully jeered.
"I'm afraid people will think I caught rabies from you." She replied in a deadpan.
Kiba let out a laugh as he started walking in the direction of his house.
"Come on, you're staying for dinner."
A smile pulled at the corners of her mouth as she hurriedly raced after him. A homecooked meal was exactly what she needed right now.