Chapter 11
The Kindness of an Enemy
It was the end of the funeral, and as I predicted, I went blind once again. Kiba walked up to me with a kind and sympathetic ora around him.
"It must be hard," Kiba said as he stared at the picture of Kei with me.
"What do you mean Kiba?" I asked, wiping the tears from my eyes.
"I mean, you just lost a good friend. It hurts a lot, right?"
"Yea, it does," I replied with a confused feeling, "Why are you being nice to me?"
"I told my parents about what Shadow told me," Kiba told me, "They wanted to meet you tonight, if that are ok."
"Yea, it'll be ok," I said as Nerugui jumped up onto my shoulder with comforting ora around him, "What time?"
"Is now ok?" Kiba asked in a kind tone.
"Yea, it is," I said in an 'I'm trying to be happy, but it's hard to be' kind of tone.
I followed Kiba to his house. Akamaru was really quiet till Kiba and I walked in. Kiba's mother and father walked into the room to greet us.
"Are you Asami Mai Hisoka of the Uchiha and Inuzuka clans?" Kiba's mother asked me.
"Yes, that's me," I replied to them in a semi-happy tone, "Thank you for inviting me into your home."
"It's all right," Kiba's father replied, "Kiba told us about what happened to your dog, Kei. We're terribly sorry about your loss."
"It's ok, it's not your fault," I assured them.
"We invited you here to ask you if you would like to be a part of our clan, but still also be a part of your's," Kiba's mother asked me in a sincere tone.
"So, you want me to be Uchiha and Inuzuka?" I asked confused and curious.
"Yes, and we understand if you say no," Kiba's father replied.
"Will I get one of the well-known Inuzuka clan familiars?" I asked, perking up a little.
"Yes, you will," Kiba's mother answered, "And you will be transferred into Kiba's group, whether you become a chuunin or not."
Side note: by the way, the preliminaries all ready happened and I made it through.
"Sure, why not?" I decided, "Kiba?"
"Yea, what's up?" he answered.
"Will you help me train my dog?" I asked politely.
"Sure I will," Kiba replied happily, "But you need a dog first."
"Oh, right," I replied giggling and smiling, "Where do I go to get one?"
"Kiba, please show her the way," Kiba's mother ordered.
"Ok," Kiba turned toward the door, "Let's go Asami."
"Right behind you Kiba," I told him as I walked out the door, "Thank you for everything!"
"No problem dear!" Kiba's parents yelled back.
We walked through the woods for about two minutes when I started to get board.
"So, Kiba, are we there yet?" I complained.
"All most, Asami," Kiba said in an annoyed tone.
"Are we there yet now?" I asked again.
"All most," Kiba said even more annoyed, "It should be just up ahead."
"Is the place we're going an old farm house with a barn next to it?" I asked inquisitively.
"Yea, how'd you know?" Kiba asked intrigued.
"Just a lucky guess, I guess," I told him, "Are we there yet now?"
"Yes, we're here," he told me as we skidded to a stop.
"Finally, we're here!" I called out happily.
"We've been out here for five whole minutes," Kiba informed me.
"I know, but still, finally!" I cried out again.
Kiba made vibrations indicated him rolling his eyes in annoyance.
"Welcome to my humble Inuzuka clan dog adoption center," I heard an old man say in a kind and welcoming tone as we walked in.
"Thanks old man Toki," Kiba said to him.
"Who's your friend Kiba?" Toki asked kindly.
"My name is Asami Mai Hisoka of the Uchiha and Inuzuka clans," I replied with a smile.
"How much of your blood is Inuzuka?" Toki asked curiously.
"One-forth sir," I replied politely.
"Ok then, please follow me," Toki told us.
So, we followed him to a musty old barn and I walked around to each puppy pen to let each one that was interested in me to sniff me. I was told that the dog had to pick me, not I pick it. I walked over to the shadow husky puppy pen and stuck out my hand. One female puppy walked over to me, sniffed my hand, and jumped around playfully. I picked her up and held her.
"It look's like we have a match," Toki said happily.
"What are you going to name her?" Kiba asked kindly.
"Her name is," I paused to think, "Sophie."
"Woof!" Sophie barked a cute, high-pitched bark.
I giggled.
"I guess she likes that name," I commented.
"Yea, I guess so to. Well, we better get back to the village so you can train for the final part of the exams," Kiba remarked.
"Oh yea! Let's get going," I said, turning to Toki, "Thank you for everything!"
"No problem," he replied as he waved good-bye to us.
"Kiba," I said in a sincere tone.
"Yea? What's up?" he replied with a content ora around him.
"Will you help me learn how to do the moves you do with Akamaru?" I asked shyly.
"Sure, why not," he replied.
"Thank you Kiba," I said with a smile.
There was a long period of awkward silence.
"Hey, by the way, if my memory serve's me right, weren't we rivals at the academy?" Kiba said, breaking the awkward silence.
"Yea, I guess we were," I replied thoughtfully, "But not anymore, right Kiba?"
"Right Asami," Kiba said with happy ora around him.
"Well," I started as felt the forest fading away, "We're home."
"Finally," Kiba exclaimed, "Now I can eat."
"What is it with boys and food?" I muttered to myself.
"Huh?" Kiba said confused.
"Don't worry about it," I told him, "After you and Akamaru eat, will you help train me?"
"Sure, but let's a cheeseburger or something first, ok?" Kiba commanded.
"Ok, sounds good to us," I replied as Sophie and my stomach growled.
"Let's get going then," Kiba commanded again.
"All right," I said as I followed Kiba to a place with food.
After we ate, we went to a random training ground and Kiba gave me different types of food pills that would increase my strength and my amount of chakra. Also, if I gave some to Sophie, she would get stronger as well. Then Kiba taught me moves like Beast and Human Mimicry and Fang over Fang/Wolf Fang over Fang. As the last part of the exam got closer, I got more and more excited and energized. I already knew who my opponent was. My opponent was Shino and his bug buddies. I shivered at the thought of his creepy crawly bugs.
Soon, the time had come to prove my worth to the Village Hidden in the Leafs. I smiled with joy and pride as Nerugui, Sophie, and I walked out into the warming sunlight with the other ninja who had made it this far too. I glanced over at Shino from the corner of my eye. I could feel him glancing back at me, so I looked forward again.
"All right you guys, you know the rules," the exam prompter said, "Naruto and Neji, you're up first. The rest of you, go up to the waiting area."
I followed everyone else into the waiting area. I cheered Naruto on the whole time. Eventually, Naruto beat Neji. Then, it was Temari verses Shikamaru's turn. Shikamaru eventually just gave up. My match was next.
"Hey Naruto," I called to him.
"Yea?" he replied with excited ora.
"Two things: one is why are you so excited?"
"Because, well, I've never seen you truly fight, so I'm excited to see what you can do."
"Oh, ok. And two, can you knock on wood for me so I can get some luck?"
"Sure," Naruto replied.
That's when I pulled out a piece of wood and chucked it at Naruto's head. I hit him directly on the forehead.
"Ow!" he yelled in pain, "What was that for?"
"You have officially knocked on wood," I told him, "Thank you."
Naruto got an annoyed ora and made vibrations indicating that he folded his arms in anger. I ran down to the entry way to the fighting grounds. Sophie and Nerugui were with me. I inhaled and exhaled deeply.
"Ready Sophie? Nerugui?" I asked confidently.
"Squeak!" Nerugui replied, also very confident.
"Ruff!" Sophie replied with the same feelings.
"Let's do this!" I commanded.
And with that, we walked out together to face Shino and his creepy crawly pals…
