Chapter 68

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Third Person's POV


Kiba stumbles out of the water, gasping for breath and struggling to keep hold of Akamaru, the unconscious pup dangling limply in his arms.

The Inuzuka winces in pain as he manages to right himself, using his one hand to press on the deep stab wounds he had inflicted on himself earlier, in a desperate bid to get Ukon out of his body. Feeling the shooting pains travelling up and down his body, and seeing the blood smeared all over his mesh shirt and vest, Kiba is able to tell that he has done some significant damage to his body.

"I can't keep travelling by water" the brunette mutters hoarsely to himself, staggering away from the river and heading into the forest. "I-I'll bleed out if I do...."

Leaning against trees as he walks, Kiba feels his head spinning and his vision blurring a little, though he pushes on. Akamaru had fought valiantly to protect him, and now Kiba wanted to do the same for his small best friend.

He had left his jacket behind, in the ravine that he had been fighting Sakon and Ukon in, hoping it would buy him some time, as he had slipped into the river to try and travel without leaving a blood trail.

"Ugh...this is my limit" Kiba grunts, his legs finally giving up on him. "I c-can't move anymore...."

Letting out a groan of pain, Kiba collapses to the ground behind a tree, holding Akamaru securely in his lap as he settles down. He hears his heart beating loudly in his hears, the Inuzuka feeling uncharacteristically shaken up.

He'd never fought anyone like Sakon or Ukon before, and they were ridiculously strong. Both he and Akamaru had used basically all of their chakra in a bid to survive, something that had been adding to Kiba's struggle to move.

Kiba knew very well that if the enemy found him again, he was as good as dead. He could barely move and had life threatening injuries, so there would be nothing that he could do to defend himself or Akamaru.

Kiba suddenly freezes, as a familiar scent reaches his nose. The Inuzuka holds his breath, dismayed at the scent of the approaching enemy. He listens closely, able to hear the faint footsteps as the enemy slowly searches through the forest for him.

After a few moments of painstaking waiting, the tension in the air so thick that Kiba struggles not to fidget, the footsteps begin to fade away. Quietly sighing with relief, Kiba closes his eyes and rests the back of his head against the tree.

"......We're safe" he whispers, partially to Akamaru and partially to himself.

"Who's safe?" a voice asks, causing Kiba to sit up as if he had been hit with a bolt of lightning. Wide eyed, he stares into the smirking face of Ukon, the man crouched directly in front of him.

"How?!" Kiba exclaims in disbelief, not having smelled the man approaching him at all. He narrows his eyes however, seeing that Ukon is wearing his discarded jacket.

"I knew it" Ukon mocks the Inuzuka, laughing. "It seems that you're so used to your own smell, you don't even notice it anymore."

"Figures why I didn't notice you then" Kiba smirks, raising one arm to try and to shield Akamaru. "Didn't think you'd be smart enough to pull a stunt like that."

"I'm not sure why you're smiling" Ukon shouts, darting forwards, wielding the kunai that Kiba had stabbed himself with earlier, "When you're about to die!"

Just as the kunai is about to run Kiba through, something crashes heavily to the ground in front of him and slams into Ukon's chest, sending the man rocketing backwards. He cries out as he collides with a tree and slumps to the ground, while Kiba stares up at the back of the person now standing before him with wide eyes.

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