DOG TAILS | KIBA INUZUKA

2. There's No "I" in "Team"

I waited up all night for Father to come home. For over six hours, I sat on the stairs waiting for him, and no matter how heavy my eyelids grew, I refused to let them fall, not once. It was well after midnight when he finally stumbled through the door, smelling of alcohol and women's perfume, ... and it wasn't Mother's floral scent.

He pushed the door closed with his back and then slumped against it as he pulled off his glasses and cleaned the lenses with his handkerchief. "I don't know," he murmured to himself. "I just don't know ... I don't know." After putting his glasses back on, his tired eyes found me, and he pulled his lips into an awkward smile. "Hello, Ikuko." He lazily waved his index finger at me. "Don't stay up too late now."

He started coming toward the stairs then, and I rose to stop him.

"Father, I need to tell you something," I said, but he walked right by me, gently tousling my hair as he passed. "But I ..." Sighing, I gave up and sat back down on the step. "...I don't wanna be a ninja."

Father was a very busy man, with a very important job, but I wasn't quite sure what that was. I'd asked him about it once before, and he said he was an administrative adviser or something like that. All I knew for sure was that he worked a lot. I probably wouldn't see him again for another week, so it was crucial for me to speak to him about quitting the Academy before he left again. That's why I got up really early the next morning and ran downstairs to catch him while he ate his breakfast.

"Father, I don't wanna be a ninja," I said to him.

He kept his face hidden behind his newspaper. "Yes, you do."

"No, I don't. Really, I hate it. I hate my classes and my classmates. I hate everything about that school!"

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

"No, I won't. Please, just let me quit."

Finally, he lowered his newspaper just far enough to look at me. His brown eyes were hard and unsympathetic. "Do you know how many strings I had to pull just to keep you in that class? They wanted to let you go this year. They said you weren't trying hard enough at your lessons. But you'll try harder from now on, won't you? And you'll graduate and make your parents proud?"

I opened my mouth to protest, but then I realized it was pointless. "Yes, I'll try harder, I promise."

"Good girl." After finishing his coffee, he folded up his newspaper, set it down on the table, and then walked out the door without so much as a goodbye.

So there it was. I had no choice but to stay in the Academy. It wasn't all bad, though, and eventually I came to realize the many rewards of a good, wholesome education.

First, there was Sasuke, who I had the pleasure of seeing almost every day. One time, I tried to eat lunch with him, but he just walked away. I didn't blame him, though; I too would've walked away if I had some weird girl gawking at me. Yuzu just couldn't take a hint.

Then there was Neji, who I sometimes saw on my way to and from class. Like Sasuke, Neji was stoic and mysterious, but with him came the thrill of liking an older, more mature boy. I'd once caught him meditating in the forest, but Yuzu's loud breathing started to annoy him, so he left. He had an amazing walk, though.

Because of my two great motivators, I graduated from the Academy at the age of twelve. Following my graduation, I often heard the younger Academy students whispering behind my back, saying that I didn't deserve to graduate, that my father had arranged it all. But what did they know? They were just bitter and jealous, so I paid them no mind.

Of course I wanted to be placed on a team with Sasuke, as did every other girl in class, but Sakura somehow managed to cheat the system and steal him for herself. Instead, I got placed on a team with Yuzu and Youji, which was alright with me. At least it was better than being stuck on a team with Chōji and Shikamaru, but Ino certainly deserved them.