Kiba

"Heh." The hint of a fang appeared on the edge of his mouth. "Is this where you've been this whole time?" Leaning on the doorframe, the Inuzuka could only sigh at the head of raven hair that popped up from the pile of nin-kin pups. Her flushed face said it all, though he supposed the embarrassed, awkward laugh that she released would have been just as condemning. "I hope you know you've sent the whole clan into a tizzy trying to locate you for several hours now."

"Oh." Smiling sheepishly, the young woman could only shrug. "Uh… sorry, I guess?"

"You guess?" Kiba's laugh sounded mostly like a growl. Shaking his head, he glanced down at Akamaru when the nin-kin huffed and settled onto the floor to wait for them both. "That's the best you've got, huh?"

"Well, I mean…" leaning back into the puppy pile, she tried to avoid his gaze by staring at the most interesting tile in the ceiling, "...they're just… so cute, Kiba-kun."

"Yeah, they are," he clicked his tongue, "but you're going to spoil them, and then what good will they be as nin-kin?" Pushing away from the door, he stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked close enough to see her face. Ignoring the obvious pout that had settled there, he continued by saying, "And besides, my mom's about ready to tear apart the whole village looking for you."

She bit her lip. The sense of guilt that rose with that statement was enough to make her squirm, though she did not immediately extract herself from the warm mountain of puppies. "I didn't mean to disappear," she admitted softly. "I honestly thought someone would be able to sniff me out even if I was here."

"Nobody's mad at you, Kagome-chan." Kneeling down beside them, Kiba reached out to scratch a pup behind the ear. He grinned as the tiny nin-kin's leg began to twitch with the need to itch the scratch itself. "It's not your fault that your scent blends in with the dogs." He sighed then, adding, "And honestly, I should have thought to check here first, instead of letting my mom send me to the clinic to see if Hana-nee-chan had seen you."

"Tsume-sama's still probably upset, though," Kagome replied. "I know I'm not supposed to leave the main house until… well…" Her face flushed a bit more, as she finally caught his eye and watched him quickly look away from her with a cough. "So, sorry, again."

"It's, uh…" Getting to his feet again, the Inuzuka turned his face away from her entirely to hide the red tint across his nose. "It's not a big deal, like I said. My mom will get over it anyway, so there's no reason to worry about it or anything."

"If you say so." Giggling slightly to herself, Kagome wrinkled her nose. "Tsume-sama is always a lot more… fierce with me, though."

"Yeah, well, be glad you're not Hana-nee-chan."

"Kiba-kun."

His dark eyes slid back in her direction, curiosity getting the best of him at the light tone of her voice.

Kagome's smile turned radiant the moment she had his attention, as she said, "Even if I was the next matriarch, I'd just be happy that I'd have you there with me." Relaxing into the soft, warm puppy pile, she reached out her hand for him and waited until he slowly wrapped two fingers around his own mostly out of habit.

"Yeah," his voice was barely a whisper. "Me, too."

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