Ino strolled down the street, her hips swaying with each step and her hair trailing behind her like a proud, yellow banner. She had released her mane from the confines of its ponytail and had curled it so that it fell in loose waves around her. As she walked, she heard men calling out to her and whistling at her, but she ignored them. Glancing to her left, she saw the sour look on Kiba's face.

"What's wrong? Your face looks uglier than usual," she teased.

Kiba clenched his jaw. "These guys are pricks. They're acting like you're a piece of meat or something."

Ino raised a perfectly plucked eye brow at him. "I highly doubt you're any different."

He shook his head and continued walking beside her. She felt his body heat radiating against her arm as he drew himself in closer to her. His cologne filled her nostrils and she turned her head slightly, trying to expel the pleasant scent from her nose.

As the two turned a corner, the sound of pulsing music and laughter filled the air and beams of light ripped through the cloak of stars above them. Ino gawked at the building. A line extended from the entrance all the way down the block and seemed to disappear into the horizon.

"Here we are," Kiba seemed pleased with Ino's reaction. "Told you it's a pretty big deal."

Ino felt her heart flutter with anticipation and she held her hands over her chest absentmindedly. She looked down at her dress, a strapless, purple dress that stopped at about mid-thigh. On the right side of her dress rested some ruffled fabric with a burst of jewels arranged in a jaw dropping floral pattern. From these jewels, fell more ruffles that descended into sheer, flowing curtains that fell well passed the skirt. It was a dress made for a goddess, Ino was sure. Still, she didn't know if she was good enough for this attire. Sure, guys had been whistling at her the whole way here, but their opinions didn't matter.

Kiba seemed to sense her hesitating and he looked down at her. "Something wrong, princess?"

Ino was too nervous to even narrow her eyes at him. She didn't want to fight. Right now, she needed support. She needed a true friend who would tell her if she looked good or not, not because it was what she wanted to hear, but because it was true. "I'm just nervous."

He furrowed his eye brows and cocked his head as though he didn't believe that girls like Ino ever felt self-conscious. Ino decided he looked kind of cute like that. Like a little puppy. "What for?"

"Well, Kami, you've been talking this place up since I mentioned it and now I'm nervous. What if I'm not cool enough?" She swallowed and shuffled her high heels, kicking up dirt. "What if I'm not pretty enough?"

There was no response from Kiba. She frowned. He was probably trying to think of some rude come back. She could practically hear the wheels turning in his head, conjuring up some nasty remark.

Suddenly, his hand came into her line of vision and she sucked in a breath as he softly lifted her chin with a finger until she was looking at him. He then used the same finger to brush her bangs from her eye and pull some of her hair over her bare shoulder. She gulped, her eyes widening.

"You're not cool, you're awesome. And you're not pretty, you're gorgeous," his words caught her completely off guard and he gave her his usual cocky smirk. Hearing those words and seeing that grin, she suddenly felt as though his finger had transferred fragments of his own confidence into her. "If Club Hoshi can't see that, then fuck them."

Ino smiled softly. She felt a surge of confidence flowing through her that she hadn't felt in so long. Lately, she'd only seemed to be feeling it around her new friend, Kiba. Maybe that was why she kept hanging out with him; he always seemed to talk her up, while everything about her life seemed to knock her down. Under his watchful eyes, Ino felt sexy and wanted. Her curves seemed to press against the dress, begging to be freed. Her hair seemed to be reaching for Kiba's fingers, crying for attention. She almost wanted to throw him against the wall of the nearest building and kiss him. She told herself it didn't mean anything, it was just her sudden rush of carnal instincts and self-confidence. Instead, she fell forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thanks, mutt," she mumbled into his chest with a grin. She felt his arms curl around her waist and pull her in closer and his breath tickled her scalp as he buried his face in her hair.

"Anytime, blondie," he chuckled. The hug seemed to last a little longer than what would have been appropriate, but for whatever reason, Ino didn't care and didn't make an attempt to pull away. Besides, he was keeping her warm in the cool air of the night. After a few more moments, Kiba pulled her away from him and gave her a stern look. "Now listen, I want you to spend the night at Sakura's tonight. That, or, she goes home with you."

Ino giggled. "What? Why?"

"You see those guys drooling all over you while we were walking here? I don't want you walking home drunk and alone with people like that around."

Ino rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest. "I may not be a kunoichi now but I still know how to defend myself."

"Doesn't matter," Kiba shook his head. "I don't want to risk it."

Ino glared at him. "Seriously, I can take care of myself."

"Seriously, I want you to stay with Sakura."

Ino could tell by the way he clenched his fists that he wasn't kidding around, but neither was she. It was like a slap in the face, the fact that he didn't trust her to be able to fight back against creepy men outside of a club. She had fought much stronger enemies. She was an ex kunoichi, after all.

"Whatever," she dismissed it with a wave of her hand. Kiba reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her so that they were chest to chest. They locked eyes and glared at one another.

"Promise me you'll be careful, Ino," he ordered. "Shikamaru would kill me if you got hurt under my watch."

So that was it. He didn't even care about her, he only cared about how he would have to deal with the consequences if she got hurt. She almost hoped she'd get raped now. "Fine, whatever. Just let me go, Sakura is probably waiting for me."

Kiba dropped his hand and, with one final nod, disappeared in a puff of smoke. Ino glared at the spot where he had stood before turning on her heel and strutting towards the entrance to Club Hoshi.

Sakura had no problem cutting to the front of the line and getting herself and Ino into the club. At the mere mention of Tsunade, the bouncer seemed more than happy to let them in. He even asked Sakura to let Tsunade know he missed her and that she should stop by his place more often, which sent both girls into a fit of giggles as soon as he was out of ear shot.

As soon as Ino stepped foot into the club, her eyes widened and she had to admit it was quite impressive. The ceiling was decorated completely with dangling diamonds and fluorescent blue lights that lit the room with a pleasant glow. It felt like a mixture of light from a fish bowl and the deepest part of the galaxy. Along the walls, small lights dotted the dark blue paint. The lights and the throbbing music was enough to make one feel as though they were floating through a dream in space. Ino felt a strange tingling in her fingers. She beamed, feeling completely elated.

"This is beautiful, Sakura," she breathed. "Thank you for inviting me."

"No problem," Sakura smiled. "Come on, let's get some drinks."

The young women weaved their way through a crowd of dancing party goers, all of whom seemed to be dressed in the height of fashion. Ino marveled at their elegance and grace, despite their vulgar dancing.

When they reached the bar, Sakura ordered them a couple of cosmos. As soon as they were up, she snagged the drinks and guided Ino towards a table. Ino sat down on the chair and felt herself begin to sink into the cushy seat. It felt like heaven under her tush.

"So, how's life?" Ino asked, reaching for her drink and taking a sip.

"It's alright I guess," Sakura shrugged, downing her drink in one gulp before beckoning a waitress to the table. Ino was shocked at Sakura's ability to down a drink so quickly and stared at the empty glass, slightly horrified.

"Why just 'alright'?" Ino asked, tearing her eyes from the glass and back towards her friend.

Sakura now had three empty glasses in front of her. "Just haven't been feeling too great about myself lately."

"Any particular reason for that?"

Sakura gazed absentmindedly at a couple dancing against each other about ten feet away. She had moved on to drinking scotch now. "Hinata."

Ino furrowed her eye brows. Hinata was a silent sweetheart. Sure, she had bigger boobs than Sakura-basically every other kunoichi had bigger boobs than her-but, other than that, there was no real reason Sakura should be feeling threatened by Hinata. They were both beautiful girls. "What'd she do?"

Sakura gulped down the scotch, wincing at the burning sensation. "Naruto chose her."

Now Ino understood. She remembered back to Choji's party, when Sakura had finally caved and let Naruto take her out on a sort-of date. She hadn't spoken to the rosette since then, so she never got to hear how the date went. She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. Here she was, totally oblivious and horsing around with Kiba when her friend had been hurting. Some best friend she was. But now, she could see that Kiba was right. She needed to make more time for her friends and stop worrying so much over a man who is barely home-even if that man was her husband.

"Now why the hell would he do that?" Ino demanded.

Sakura shrugged, staring into her empty glass, her eye lids drooping. " 'Said he was done waiting around for something that might happen. He said Hinata genuinely cares about him and I'm just looking for something to fill the void Sasuke left."

Ouch. Ino sighed and began toying with her mostly untouched drink. "That's a bit harsh."

Sakura slapped her hand down onto the table and Ino jumped at the sound the collision made. "But that's a lie. I mean, it was true a year ago but...something about Naruto...Ino, I don't understand what he does to me. He pisses me off. He annoys me. I hate him, and still..."

She trailed off and Ino stared intently at her, letting her take the time to collect her thoughts before continuing.

"I couldn't tell him that. I couldn't say it. I couldn't confess, and so, he left."

Ino frowned and stared at her friend as she ordered another round of drinks and drank each one, more slowly this time. Finally, Ino opened her mouth to speak.

"Why can't you say it?"

Sakura sniffed, staring over Ino's shoulder. "I guess, after Sasuke...I'm not ready for that again."

"But Naruto wouldn't hurt you like that. Surely you've known Naruto long enough to realize that."

Sakura shook her head. "If he doesn't go rogue, he'll die in battle or marry me and grow mean and bitter. We already argue enough as it is. I don't want us to resent each other. Love sucks."

At Sakura's words, Ino tensed up. Friendship wilting into resentment? That was something she was far too familiar with. She kind of agreed with Sakura. She had known Shikamaru practically since birth, and yet, here they were, avoiding each other like one of them had the plague. Ino gulped down her cosmo and snagged one of Sakura's vodka cups. She chugged the drink and grabbed another.

Sakura gave her a suspicious look. "What's up with you?"

Ino shook her head and smiled, trying to deceive the green eyes that were now narrowed at her. "Nothing at all. I just figured I shouldn't let my best friend drink alone. Drinking alone is never fun."

Sakura beamed. "Thanks, Ino. Let's party."

Ino and Sakura hit their glasses together, making a clinking sound and rattling the ice in their drinks.

"Cheers!"

Kiba

Kiba's eyes tore open at the sound of the raucous laughter below him. He blinked, trying to pull himself from his daze before growling and sitting up. He peered over the edge of the roof where he had fallen asleep. It was directly across the street from Club Hoshi and Kiba could perfectly see all who came and went from the entrance.

Below him was a group of about four drunken shinobi, all were older than he was by about ten years and they stumbled around like idiots, roaring with laughter.

"Morons," Kiba muttered. He checked the entrance to the club once more to see if Ino was walking out. He sniffed the air, smelling nothing but alcohol and testosterone. He'd know Ino's scent anywhere, so he knew she had not left. He sighed and lay back down.

He drifted somewhere between sleep and consciousness. Every time he'd start to drift deeper into sleep, something would come over him that would make his eyes flutter open.

Why are you still here Kiba? He asked himself, clenching his hands into fists. Ino was a kunoichi. She can take care of herself. Don't you trust her? She did make a promise to you.

But he had to be sure. It wasn't just that Shikamaru would be upset if anything happened to Ino, Kiba would be upset too. When he thought about it, he knew deep in his heart of hearts that if anything were to happen to the blond beauty, he'd have no way of forgiving himself. And, seeing her in that dress that showed off every inch of her body, he knew that the chances of bad things happening to her tonight had increased tenfold.

A sudden breeze blew over his resting body, the Invisible fingers teasing his hair. The sensations sent chills down his spine. Something was wrong.

He leapt to his feet and instantly went into beast mode. His ears perked, taking in sounds from two blocks away. Chakra flowed straight to his nose and the smell of vodka singed his nostrils. Somewhere below, he could hear whimpering.

Kiba rushed back to the edge of the roof and leapt off, landing on the ground below with a soft thud. He crouched on all fours and narrowed his eyes at the scene before him. A rush of fury swept through his body.

There were the four shinobi from earlier, one was crouching on the ground in front of a woman. The woman's long blond hair was covering her face, but Kiba could have spotted this woman in a crowd. It was Ino. She was obviously completely wasted, as she made no attempt to stop the man as he pulled her lacy underwear down to her ankles. Two other men held her arms firmly against the wall behind her, and the fourth man had a kunai clenched in his hand, and he was looking directly at Kiba.

"Look, buddy, if you want a turn, you're gonna' have to take a number and get in line," the man cackled.

Kiba snarled at him, his sharp canines gleaming in the blue, pulsing lights that managed to trickle into the alleyway from Club Hoshi. "Let her go. This is your only and final warning."

The guy chuckled and gave him a curious look. "What? This your girlfriend or something?"

"Quit fucking around, Arashi. My boner isn't gonna' wait forever while you toy with this guy," the shinobi that had tugged off Ino's thong yelled at the man with the kunai.

Arashi smirked. "Fine, fine."

Kiba glared at them. He knew that he couldn't do much against four older ninja, and he knew it'd be even harder to destroy them without Akamaru there to help him. Still, he hoped that his anger would be enough to give him the strength to fight back. Even if he couldn't stop them from raping Ino, he knew he'd go down swinging.

With a guttural roar, Kiba tensed his muscles and leapt at the man.

The fight was mostly a blur. Kiba was seeing in tunnel vision and could hear his pulse pounding in his ears. Every punch they threw seemed to do nothing to him. He had gone completely feral. Within moments he had two down for the count and two more to go. Ino was finally freed, and she had sunken to the ground muttering to herself, her eyes closed.

Kiba knew he was fucked, so as soon as he saw an opening, he took it. Kiba grabbed Ino, tossing her onto his back and began charging down the street. He heard the men calling after them and sprinted faster until not even the wind was carrying their voices to him.

A/N: thank you guys for your patience :) love the reviews. Love you guys. Love everything :) I hope you guys like the description of Ino's dress. If you can view my profile picture, I guess you can look at the dress it's based off of in there. Speaking of dresses, I found my prom dress. It's a blue mermaid style gown :) totally beautiful. R&R. Please enjoy :) Love you guys and thanks for all the reading :)