I was sound asleep when I heard knocking on the door. I go to get up off the couch and I almost fall off. I catch myself just as Kiba was walking down the staircase. I glanced over at him and saw that he was pretty much dressed. As dressed as you can be with pajamas that is.

He had stumbled down the steps in black sweats, a white t-shirt that was almost hanging off his shoulder, and his hair all in a mess. Even though I was the closest, somehow Kiba got to the door first.

On the other side of the door was none other than Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi sensei!? What is he doing here? Wait a minute... Never mind... I forgot that we're suppose to meet our instructor for this crazy project thing this morning. I guess Kakashi sensei is ours. We bid him a groggy, sleepy eyed, good morning.

Kiba and I plop down on the couch and I unconsciously lean against him out of sleepiness. Kakashi sensei smiles at us sweetly. What the hell is he smiling at us like that for? "What?" I ask, annoyed. "Oh nothing. It's just that it looks like you two have gotten along pretty well this first week." He grins some more. What in the world is he talking about? So we've gotten to know one another better, big deal.

I lean away from Kiba to try and wake up some more. "I don't even wanna know. I'm not completely awake to give a decent comment, so there." I fold my arms and glare at him. He snickers slightly. "Anyways, I've come to do a progress report on the two of you." Kakashi says, changing the subject like I hoped he would.

We nod our heads for him to continue. "I'm going to ask you a few questions and write my evaluation down." He starts to explain. "So, how well do you two know one another now since the project began?" Kakashi begins his questionnaire. "Uh, we know each other decently now I suppose." Kiba answers before me. "Alright. What do you two know about one another's current lifestyle?" He asks, peering up at us from the clipboard in his hands. I decide to give an answer first.

I forgot to mention this to Kiba, but I noticed with all the dogs around that his family must be sensory types so I go ahead and add that to my answer as well. "Well I know Kiba lives here with his mom and sister and just by noticing the animals around here, he's a sensory type." I smile and Kiba looks impressed. He clears his throat and goes to give his answer. "Maki lives in a small apartment, but occasionally she'll be seen at the Hyuga residence. She also excels in ninjutsu." Kakashi sensei nods and smiles. "Good. Now, any likes or dislikes?" He gives his next question. Shit. We've only really talked about what we liked. The only thing that really sticks out is that we don't like is for friends to be hurt or upset.

I don't want to lie, so I tell the truth. "To be honest, we haven't really learned any dislikes just yet other than not wanting one another hurt." I answered the best I could. "Comrade protection. Good. Maybe next week you'll have found some. Now for the likes." He comments. I look to Kiba for a moment and then he chooses to go first. "She likes walks, drawing, training, spending time with friends, and eating onigiri." Kakashi sensei scribbles some more on his clipboard before looking to me for my answer.

I gulp out of nervousness. "He likes long walks. Especially with Akamaru. He also enjoys onigiri, training to get stronger, and spending time with friends." I grin, but feel embarrassed at the same time. Kakashi nods his approval and scratches the pencil against the paper some more. "For the last question, any dreams?" Oooh, that's a tough one. Kiba and I never mentioned our dreams. Mine is to be the best kunoichi I can be. Yeah I know. Pretty obvious and too cliché, but it's the truth.

Kiba is the first to speak up again. "We haven't really talked about that sort of thing yet either. But I'm sure Maki's is to be one of the greatest kunoichi of her time." Kiba laughs and pats my shoulder. Kakashi sensei nods and I assume he's grinning under that mask of his. "Well I have to admit that it's only been just the first week, but I do expect you two to know more next time." He says. "But, you two have learned more about one another than I expected. For that I'm proud of you two." We smile, proud of ourselves.

"Well, I should go turn this report in now. What time should we meet again? I'm sorry if I woke the two of you." He asks with a chuckle. "Maybe around eleven." Kiba yawns. "That would probably be best." Kakashi sensei stands up and gives a small wave. "Eleven it is. See you two next week." He then turns around and walks out the door. The door then clicks shut.

When Kakashi sensei is out of sight, Kiba rests his head on his right hand with his elbow propped up on the arm of the couch and turns to me. "Yeah, we won't see him until noon. That's why I said eleven." Kiba snickers and gently rests his free arm across my shoulders. I blush slightly then yawn myself. "You sure? He might surprise us." I ask, leaning into his side.

I fight to keep my eyes open, but he's just too comfy and warm. He laughs. "I don't know. It is possible though. But most of the time he's an hour late." I mumble my answer. Soon I forget everything around me. All thoughts and feelings forgotten. I snuggle up to Kiba's side quite sleepily. When I get comfortable, nothing else matters.

Kiba's POV

I go to say something but notice that she's dead to the world. I blush at how close she is to me and doesn't care that I have my arm around her. But then again, it could just be the sleepy side of her that's not caring. I hope that that's not the case. I, I like holding her like this. She looks so small, fragile, and innocent. She looks so cute too. My cheeks heat up at this thought instantly. Why can't these thoughts just go away already? I sleepily groan.

In a moment's notice, I feel movement. Huh, did she wake back up or something? I look to her to see her crawling into my lap. What the?! What is she doing now? I watch as she cuddles up to me. Goose bumps appear on her arms when the heat from my body kisses her skin. S-She, she's cold? I wrap my arms around her to help warm her up. I guess the weather's starting to change now.

I know a faster way to warm her up, but I don't think she'd approve waking up to me being shirtless. Besides that, I'm afraid she'll think that I fucked her in her sleep. My cheeks grow really red at this thought. I shake my head a little to clear my thoughts. I sigh as I hold her close. I'm tired. I yawn a moment afterwards. I lean down and rest my cheek on her head and nuzzle her sleepily.

Her hair's so soft and silky. I inhale her sweet and savory scent. She smells so good. Neji, you're the luckiest guy in the village. Take care of her no matter what. I know I would if she were mine. Damn it! I've gotta stop that. I, I don't want to have feelings for someone I can't ever have.

I bite the corner of my lip and then lift my head back up. I wish there was something I could do about these unwanted feelings. I swear they're trying to haunt me now. Now I need to figure out if I'm going to sleep down here or take her upstairs with me. I don't want to upset her, but I also don't want neither of us to be uncomfortable.

I guess to be on the safe side I'll just try to sleep out here. I carefully start laying down with her on my chest and get as comfortable as possible. I cover both of us up with the blanket that had been left on the couch for her to use and start petting her hair. I soon fall asleep cuddled up to her.

I wake up with a jolt and instinctively look at the clock on the wall. It reads 12:05. I go to get up and realize I'm being weighed down. I look down and see her still sound asleep. Oh yeah, Maki.

My shirt feels slightly damp. Wait, is she drooling? I do my best to check. The corners of her mouth seem dry. I must be sweating from all the extra heat from the blanket and her body heat. I tried discreetly kicking off the blanket but I somehow managed to bump her ass with my knee. I bite my lip and try to stay as still as possible.

I watch her stir in her sleep. I worriedly bite my lip. Please don't wake up and cuss me out. It would only be an accident but still. I don't think she would take it that way after being abruptly woken up.

Just when I think she's going to open her eyes, she settles back down and scoots closer to my neck. My cheeks flare up to make my clan markings blend in with my blush. How much closer does she plan on getting to my neck? I can feel her breath graze the skin above my shirt collar.

I take a deep breath and try to distract myself. I close my eyes and then reopen them. I take a closer look at the clock now that I'm more awake. Fuck. I read the time wrong. It's almost 1:30. I tacked on the thought that I might have laid here almost ten minutes.

I look back at Maki. Will she wake up by herself or will I have to wake her? I'm hoping for the latter. Mostly because I don't know how to go about waking her. I cover my face with my hand and softly groan. Hopefully she didn't hear me.

I slowly slide my hand off my face and then lean it against the couch, too afraid to touch her. I worried that I would startle her with too sudden of a touch. I quietly watch her sleep. Is she having trouble going to bed at night or something? I think I might actually have to wake her myself. I lay there and think about the best way to wake her.

My ears soon perked up to the sound of heavy paw prints coming down the stairs. I listened as Akamaru made his way into the living room. I smiled when he carefully sat in front of me. "Hey buddy, whatcha doing?" I whispered as I reached out my hand to pet him. He leaned into my touch and panted softly.

He soon pulls back and looks at Maki's sleeping form. He slightly whimpers at her. "It's okay boy. She's fine." I pat the top of his head. Akamaru shakes his head away from my hand. He leans in and nudges her cheek with his big wet nose. Oh boy, this could end badly.

Akamaru pulls back and nudges my right arm to rest on her back. I start to get really nervous. "Akamaru, what do you think you're doing?" I try to keep my voice down. He ignores me and licks her cheek. I sigh in defeat. I mean she has to wake up at some point today. But did it have to be like this?

Maki groans softly from her nap. Akamaru pulls away and sits back, happily wagging his tail. She lifts her head up and groggily rubs her eyes. Akamaru softly yips, happy that she's waking up.

She opens her eyes and sleepily looks at me. I give her a gentle wolfish grin. She face palms and lets out a soft whine. "Hey there sleepy girl. Have a nice nap?" I tousle her hair with my free hand. "I was until I woke up." She pouts. "You trying to tell me something?" I snicker. "Watch it dog boy." She scolds, trying to mask her blush. "I know, I know. No reminders necessary." I gently start rubbing her back. "You miss him that much don't you?" I ask, softening my voice. She nods her head. "It, it feels weird not seeing him every day." "I get it. You're just doing all this as a coping mechanism." I explain.

"Yeah. I guess that's all it is." She sighs. "Don't worry. Three weeks will go by a lot faster than you think." I try to reassure her. "I hope so..." She mumbles. A few seconds before my thoughts can process, Maki looks away from me, her cheeks flushing pink. "N-No offense to you of course." She stutters. Her body stiffens. Her words and emotions seeming to be all jumbled. "Y-Your mom and sister included." I reach up and pet her hair. "I think I get what you're trying to say." "Y-You do?" I nod. "You okay?" Maki peers up at me with her pretty green eyes.

They glistened, full of emotions. Many of which I can't fathom. "Y-Yes..." She answers, still looking at me. I watch her expression, trying to figure out if she's telling the truth or kidding herself. Maki's logic right now is if she tells herself that she's okay then I'll believe she's okay.

Little does Maki know, it's not working as well as she wants it to. Smell tells all if it's strong enough. I don't know if she senses this herself or if her emotions have over flowed her nervous system, but she immediately starts crying. Her hands ball up my shirt in her fists.

I take my hand off her head and wrap it back around her waist. I hug her tight as I feel her tears fall onto my chest. "Hey, hey.. Calm down Maki." I talk to her in a soft voice. She doesn't respond and keeps crying.

I fully wrap my other arm around her and place my hand on the back of her head. I think the only thing I can do is to let her cry it out for a minute. I know from past experiences that sometimes it's the only thing that'll comfort you when you're upset.

Maki's POV

I sit there and cry into his chest. I feel like a horrible person right now. I just basically told him I don't like being here or around him. I do though. I like being around him and his family. I adore his dog Akamaru. I like the way Kiba treats me. He doesn't look at me weird or belittle me or treat me like an outcast.

When my parents died, a little piece of me died and went with them. Nothing anyone did or said filled the void I had back then. It's still there, but it's slowly healing. I've done my best to fill it with good thoughts and memories.

I hope he doesn't misunderstand me. He's so kind and patient with me. In the wrong or not, he's put up with a lot. I know I can be a handful sometimes. Thinking like this makes me cry harder.

I feel him pull me closer and hug me a little tighter. I subconsciously unball my fists, leaving his shirt in wrinkles. I blindly wrap my arms around his neck. Can't get more on top of him than this.

I lay there as Kiba lets me wet his skin with my tears. I hear him start to whisper comforting words. I could only hear bits and pieces through my cries. I lift my hand slightly and play with the hair my fingers could reach.

I eventually start to calm down. A tickle forms in my throat and I begin to hiccup. My hand drops from his hair as I pull away some. My eyes felt puffy and swollen.

Kiba loosens his grip, giving more freedom to sit up if I choose. I carefully sit up. Kiba takes this chance and pulls himself into a half sitting, half laying down position against my pillow. Still hiccupping, I watch him. He doesn't do or say anything. He kind of just sits there. I guess he's waiting for a response from me.

I feel an urge to curl up to him. I feel safe with him. Which isn't common for me. It's kind of rare actually. I feel a sense of protection and loyalty from him. The friend in me listens to the urge. The already taken girlfriend in me feels like she's cheating in a way. I keep reminding myself we're not doing anything inappropriate. He's just concerned and trying to comfort me. Kiba's my friend, a new and good friend, nothing else.

I snuggle up to him when I get a cold chill up my spine. "Are you cold?" He asks. I shake my head. I am but I'm not if that makes sense. Kiba chuckles. "Silly girl." He lifts up and pulls the blanket over me. The warmth from him and blanket made me warmer than I could ask for. I liked it. It's comforting.

I grab my lip with my teeth. "Thank you.." I say softly. "Now that's one thing I don't like." Kiba ruffles my hair. "Huh?" I give him a confused look. "Sad friends." Kiba responds, concerned but with a cute smile hiding behind it. I sniff, trying to control my tears. I still had hiccups but they were manageable. "You're really bad at words Maki, but my nose knows remember." Kiba lightly taps on his nose. That's right. I keep forgetting how well trained and sensitive his nose is. Still, doesn't mean I should purposely make him unscramble my being.

I think and search his face. "What else does it know?" "Mainly that you're confused and saying things that don't actually mean what you're attempting to say. Why, trying to tell me something?" He cocks his head to the side, eager for my answer. "Not really. Only curious." I shrug. My nerves start to calm. My hiccups about gone. "Now I wanna see something." Kiba gently grabs my wrists. "Tell me if you get too uncomfortable." He carefully watches me. "Okay?" I question. "If it's too much, say the word and I'll stop." He assures. I nod, scared. But not scared in the sense that he'll hurt me. I'm more afraid of how far I'll allow his little experiment to go. I don't want to give him any wrong ideas.

Kiba very slowly inches me towards him. What is he thinking and how close is he planning to pull me to him? His face draws nearer. It was as if he was planning to kiss me. But that's not what I was feeling. Kiba pauses for a moment to assess me. Wanting to make sure I'm not withholding my cue to make him stop.

After a moment, he seems satisfied with my behavior. "Are you okay? I'm not pushing my boundaries with you too far, am I?" Kiba asked, now seeking verbal approval. "No, I'll tell you when. What, doggy worried I'll bite?" I do my best to keep the mood light. Although that came out more flirty than playful like I had meant. "No. Doggy's afraid of biting too hard." He chuckles. I could swear he winked too. I blushed, only understanding some of what he said. Moments after, Kiba's back to pulling me closer to him.

His hands held firm but still loose enough to be comfortable. We're starting to get really up close and personal. My lips part and my heartbeat quickens. I get really nervous all of a sudden. I watch him watch me with his pretty brown eyes. He grins a little. Probably amazed he got this far. So am I.

We're so close, practically touching foreheads. Kiba stops again and holds me in place. He watches. Waiting for a sign to stop. "Nervous?" He asks, still analyzing me. "About what exactly?" I swallow the excess saliva in my mouth. "How close our faces are. Maybe even how close you let me get to you." I pierce my lips, not changing expressions. Kiba closes the last few centimeters between us.

Our foreheads touch. The tips of our noses only graze. "No... Maybe... Doesn't matter. Nothing's going to happen." I finally answer. "How do you know that for sure? I could take advantage of this moment right now and kiss you. Whatever I wanted really." He gives a gentle squeeze to prove his point. He's right. Stronger than me as well. "But you won't." I search him for reassurance. He doesn't try anything. Just stares at me calmly. "I know. That's all on you. You're the writer and I'm just merely the reader." His words shock and confuse me. "But you know I won't. As you're aware, my heart is with Neji. Is this a confession of some sort?" After the words are out, I feel embarrassed.

He must sense it because he starts lightly rubbing my wrist with thumb. "No, not at all. Far from it actually." Now I'm lost. "Then what is it? You can't expect me to trust you without telling me why." I start getting flustered. It also doesn't help we're right in each other's faces. "It was a trust thing and you trusted me. Totally meant in a platonic and non-romantic way, I promise. Like I said. You write, I read." He explains. My heart is and always has been with Neji, although I'm feeling a spur of the moment urge to be curious.

Just before I get too brave, I manage to manifest enough willpower to give him a stop cue. "Done." "Done?" He asks for clarity. "Yeah. Before I do something, I'll regret. Before I hurt you." I close my eyes. I'm too afraid to see his full reaction. "I know my place." Kiba lets go of my wrists. Even though there's nothing keeping me from pulling away now, I can't seem to make my body move.

I stay glued in place. It takes Kiba pulling away first to get me to move out of his face. "Everything okay Maki?" He asked. "Yeah, just a lot of stuff going through my head." I sigh. "You can talk to me anytime." He reassures. "I know." I find the strength to look at him. We stay silent for a minute or so. "Um... Anything else we should talk about for the project?" I start. "Let's take a break from that for the rest of the day. We'll let it come naturally for the moment." Kiba tucks a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. I nod.

A bit after just sitting there, I reach over and hug Kiba tight. His body twitches in surprise but doesn't let it affect him. He hugs back just as tight. "It's okay. I'll hold you as long as you need me to." He gently rubs my back. This just makes me hug him all that much tighter. I'm so confused.

Our hug goes on for a good five minutes. I decide to pull away first. It wouldn't have felt right. I already hate it enough that I didn't want to let go. I hope it doesn't mean anything.

I nervously chew on my lip trying to think of something to talk about. I want to make this situation a little less awkward. I still have a few weeks left here after all. All of a sudden, random things I don't like pop into my head. "I um, I don't like bugs. Shino's an exception though. I don't really care for the color yellow and spicy food isn't my kind of thing either." "I see. Nothing's really coming to mind right now, but I do know that I don't like really stinky smells." He chuckles. "Right, cause if I remember correctly, Naruto farted in your face during the Chunin exams." I giggle. Kiba's face gets all red. "Yeah let's not talk about that. I'm not exactly trying to remember the smell." "It's okay. I wouldn't want to remember something like that either." I give a little smile.

Kiba places his hands on my shoulders. He rubs them gently and soothingly. "Hey Maki, why don't you go take some time for yourself. You seem like you really need it. I don't want you to feel like you have to stay glued to me." "Okay and I know that. I appreciate the reminder though. At times it feels like that's what they want us to do though." I placed a hand on one of his. "Need help up?" He asks. "Just a little." Kiba nods and helps me off the couch.

I smile. "Thanks." "You're welcome." He sits up normally on the couch. I turn my attention to Akamaru. "Hey buddy, want to come with me?" He barks and wags his tail. I laugh. "I'll take that as a yes." "You can take Akamaru out back to play with the other dogs. He'll show you the way." Kiba beams. "Alright, see you later then." I give a little wave. I turned on my heel and head for the back door. Akamaru trotted behind me.

I get to the back door and walk out. "Okay buddy, lead the way." He happily barks and gets in front of me. I follow him all the way out to the other dogs.

Akamaru and I spent the day playing with all the other ninja hounds. We had a blast. I feel so much better now. I still got a lot to think through, but this is a start for now.

When we come back inside, I catch Tsume out of the corner of my eye beginning to prepare dinner. I walk over to her and offered to help out. At first, she declined my offer, but reconsidered when I wouldn't take no for an answer.

After helping Tsume with dinner preparations, I sat on the couch. I lean my head back and close my eyes. I hum a song Naruto told me about from one of his missions.

I feel the seat cushion next to me dip. "Hey." Kiba's deep voice filled my ears. I stop humming. "Hey." I reply, keeping my eyes closed. "How are you feeling?" He asks. I can feel his eyes on me. "Better." I partially smile. "So that song you were humming. What was it?" "Just some song Naruto came across on a mission one day." I sigh in contentment. "I see." He responds. "Yeah, he reassured me it was harmless and wasn't related to any jutsu or techniques." I recount the memory. "Oh yeah, I think I know what song you're talking about. Natsuhiboshi right? Naruto told anyone that would listen about it." He recounted a memory of his own. "That's the one. I just think it's really pretty and soothing." I shrug, my eyes still closed. "I'm glad it's helping you. You definitely seem more relaxed now." "Thanks." We sit in silence enjoying each other's company.

Not long after our conversation we're called for dinner. We go eat and everyone has a good time. Although Tsume and Hana still made small remarks to embarrass Kiba. I found it cute while Kiba on the other hand did not.

After dinner had been cleaned up and put away, we went our separate ways for the night. As I got ready for bed, I noticed the drop in temperature for tonight. It's nothing too drastic, it's just slightly cooler than it was last night.

I can handle it for tonight, but hopefully it won't get too much cooler than this. If it does, then I'm not too sure what I'm going to do. I may have to ask Kiba for an extra blanket. Fingers crossed.