Zabuza was an odd man. He didn't like a lot of things. Especially if Kiba happened to like them.

"I like this."

"You can't have it."

"... But... Why?"

"Because I don't like it."

"That doesn't stop you from letting me have it."

"Yes it does. When you choose something good to buy, I may think about it. Until then, you won't get shit."

This was the same conversation they always had whenever Kiba found something that caught his eye in any of the markets they happened to visit. No matter what it happened to be, the man never allowed Kiba to buy anything he wanted. Instead, he only bought things he deemed 'essential'. And while Kiba could understand the need to stock up on dried goods and non-perishable foods, he could not wrap his head around the idea of a brand new pair of leg warmers for the man being in the same category.

"Can I get a dog?"

Kiba kind of missed having a canine companion with him at all times. Could you truly blame him? He had grown up around dogs at all time. And now he was thrust into a new world where dogs stole your food rather than shared it. It was really all new. And Zabuza had gotten kind of annoyed with him for giving that one puppy half of his chicken leg... But Kiba had wanted to keep it.

"No. It would only slow us down."

If anyone were to say that he was, Kiba was in fact not pouting. The boy merely jutted out his bottom lip in a sign of pure contempt for the overly strict man he had joined.

Why had he joined the man again? It was a question that popped into his mind a lot. He had lived a pretty good life in Konoha. Sure, he hadn't been part of his clan anymore and lived off the kindness of others, but that hadn't meant that he had lived bad. And he had at least had Kuromaru with him back then. What did he have now? A grumpy Mist Ninja that smelled like fish, death, and blood, who didn't seem to know the meaning of sharing.

"No it wouldn't. I would carry it and I run pretty goodly after you."

"That's a mistake."

"What's a mistake?"

"Just about everything when it has to do with you."

Kiba huffed and crossed his arms over his chest at this point, stomping his foot down to fully stop walking.

"If I'm such a big mistake, then why did you want me to come with you?" The boy glared at the tall man's back, even though Zabuza didn't even glance back as he continued to walk in the direction of their destination.

The man was unlike anyone Kiba had ever met before. He was rude, snarky, mean, and barely ever gave him a straightforward answer unless it was 'No, stop being an idiot.' And even though he was only a kid, he knew that if this man was truly his caretaker now, he should be at least a bit more forthcoming with information. Especially considering how they had not told anybody he was leaving Konoha with Zabuza. His mother had always warned him against speaking to strangers... But she wasn't around anymore...

Tears begun to sting at the boy's eyes at the reminder of his now long gone mother.

She had never been the warmest person. But she had been kind. And she gave him answers when he asked. Even if he didn't like them, she gave them. And he missed his sister too. And his father. And his whole clan. And his whole village. And... What was he doing in this place where the green of the forest never seemed to break and people never seemed to notice anything?

He didn't want to be around Zabuza anymore. He was a meanie. And a jerk.

Why did he have to be such a jerk?

Sniffling, Kiba began to really regret ever having left his home.

"At least I had it good over there. One more year and I would have been able to ask the Hokage to throw me into an orphanage..."

He had been regulated in everything, forced to live like a bum even though he had once been clan related. And that was because once someone was kicked out of a clan, they had a year to persevere or fail completely. If one year had passed and Kiba hadn't been able to truly care for himself, then the Hokage would have been able to help him. But, until then, he would have had to fend for himself.

If only he hadn't allowed his hunger to get the best of him!

As he sniffled once more over his terrible decision making skills, a rather interesting and enticing smell entered his nose. It smelled like the cookies his father and sister used to bake during the winter holidays. And, as he sniffed further, Kiba noted that it also had something like cooked chicken entwined into the scent.

His stomach seemed to overpower his senses most of the time. But could he really be blamed?

The food smelled delicious. And he was starving. And Zabuza was a big jerk.

What else could possibly go wrong?

The boy padded away from where Zabuza had left him with a curious look on his face, wondering just why the food he was smelling so much like Konoha. During the few days he had been travelling with Zabuza, he had noticed that food smelled differently everywhere they went. But this one smelled just like home. And it was really weird.

After a few minutes of sniffing at the air and following his nose (all the while ignoring any random passerby that accidentally shoved into him as they hurried back to their homes or whatever), Kiba came to a small group of rental houses. Zabuza had told them that this was a touristic town that catered to most tourists from out of town. Especially the kind that stayed for long and had to waste a lot of money on their travels.

The smell was wafting from the house on the outer left corner of the neighborhood made up of rental homes. And when Kiba hauled himself up by the windowsill to look inside, he found two women inside. One with black hair was busy cooking while another with blonde hair was grouching about something or another.

He quickly ducked his head back under the window when the black haired one look up at the window, not wanting to get caught.

"Come on, Lady Tsunade, you can't possibly want to go out to gamble right after I've made dinner!" The black haired woman sounded kind of like his mom used to back when he and Hana argued too much.

"It's just one more game, Shizune! I have to make those bastards eat their words!" The blonde growled back, and Kiba couldn't help but mouth the odd new word. 'Bastard'. What did that mean?

"You've already wasted more than half of our money!"

"It's just a small game! Now, hurry up and finish with your food. You're my good luck charm."

A few minutes passed in which the women moved around and didn't speak again. But, after waiting patiently by the window, Kiba found that they left the home with the windows left open and the food hot and ready to be eaten.

The young boy allowed the women to be completely out of his sight before he made any moves. Then he climbed in through the window he had spied through, jumped over the sink it was placed over, and smiled broadly over at the pot of rice and wok filled with all kinds of beautiful foods, all ready to be plated and eaten.

Unfortunately, because he had no idea where the plates in this place were left, Kiba wasn't able to serve himself in a plate. But he wasn't the kind to give up, especially when hungry, and so grabbed the large spoon that had been used to stir the rice and began to eat from there. Seated on the wooden counter beside the stove, the young boy ate the first hot meal he had come across in a very long time.

He was so hungry that he barely even felt the heat burn his tongue. And when he took off the lid that covered the wok and reached in for a piece of meat, he didn't even notice how hot it truly was as he grabbed it.

He ate quickly and savagely. He had no idea when those women would come back and he wanted to eat as much as he could before they did.

Still, about midway through his meal, a familiar scent overpowered that of the food. And a few seconds after it appeared, Zabuza clambered in through the very window Kiba had used, a dark glare on his face.

"What do you think you're doing, kid?" The man growled, stomping over to the boy with glare poised on him.

But Kiba merely glared back, "I'm eating."

A few seconds passed in which nothing happened. Kiba chewed and glared while Zabuza only glared. But, soon enough, the man shook his head, moved over to one of the cabinets that Kiba would never be able to reach even if he stood on his tippytoes on the counter he sat on, then grabbed two large plates from inside.

"Give me that thing."

Kiba was reluctant to part with his food. But seeing how Zabuza had brought out two plates, the boy quickly deducted that he would not be cheated from a meal and so handed the large spoon over.

Zabuza served two rather large helpings of rice before moving over to the wok, and then pulled out a few drawers rather briskly before finding the utensils he had been looking for. While this happened, Kiba merely sat at the counter, watching the man work. Then, the man handed over a pair of chopsticks before using his own to grab the food from the wok and placing another large helping on the plates.

Once both plates were finished, Zabuza handed one over to Kiba. "Eat fast." He hissed, then turned around, pulled down his mask, and began to eat.

Kiba had never seen him without the mask on. But, right now, hunger still beat out anything else. So the young boy ate quickly and with much appreciation for the cooking skills of the black haired woman.

Once they were both done eating, Zabuza moved his mask back in place, opened the refrigerator by the stove, took out a bottle of something, smirked, and pocketed it. Then he grabbed a jug of what looked like orange juice and handed it over to Kiba. The young boy struggled to grab the big object with his hands, but managed to drink from it before handing it back to the man, who returned it to the fridge.

"Let's go."

For a second, Kiba hesitated.

Was he really going to continue on Zabuza's wild adventures? Where would they take him? Would it be worth it in the end?

But his opportunity of choosing whether he should go with Zabuza or not was taken away from him by the man grabbing him by the scruff of his neck, throwing him over his large shoulder, and jumping out of the window they had come in through.

Vaguely, the boy noted hearing shouts of surprise when the women came back to find that their delicious food had mysteriously disappeared.

But all he could think about as Zabuza ran with him on his shoulder was that he should learn how to cook.

Zabuza would never properly cook for him. But... If he were to learn, then he'd always have a hot meal to eat.

So I have decided that I shall continue in a mix of both ideas! Kiba's interactions with new people as Zabuza's apprentice. What do y'all think? Worth it?

Please review and tell me what y'all think.