DOG TAILS | KIBA INUZUKA

11. String of Fate

I received my fair share of attention as well. One young man was most interested in taking me home with him. He was a handsome jōnin, at least halfway through his twenties, with deep red hair that fell gently into a pair of shimmering gold eyes. His touch was so soft, and when he smiled at me, I thought I was going to melt into a puddle at his feet. He was perfect, the kind of man I could spend the rest of my life with, even if it meant living as a dog. But I couldn't have him.

"I'm afraid my little brother would be angry if I let her go," Hana told him. "He's grown quite attached to her, you see."

"Well, I can't blame him. She's a lovely dog." After petting me once more, he jokingly said, "I might have to fight him for her."

Please, do! I thought. I bet you could take him!

Kiba lazily crossed the yard while tying his forehead protector across his forehead. "Fight who for what?"

The red-haired jōnin stood. "I was just telling your sister that I might have to fight you for this beautiful dog, and, honestly, I think I would win that fight." He shot Kiba a provocative smirk, like he wanted to get him all riled up.

And he succeeded.

"What the hell are you talking about, Hikaru?" Kiba shouted, clutching his clawed fingers into a fist. "You think I'm gonna just let you take my dog? Come on, let's fight then! I'll kick your ass!"

Hikaru turned away. "Please, I have no interest in fighting a child, especially such a short-tempered one as you. It would hardly be a challenge."

"Not a challenge, huh? Well, prove it then! Come on, I doubt you'll land a single punch!"

As Kiba boasted on and on, getting angrier by the second, Hikaru knelt in front of me and smiled. "He's rather loud, isn't he? All bark and no bite, one could say."

"All bark, huh? I'll show you!" Fuming, the fleabag prepared to charge his handsome opponent, but Hana stepped in to block his path. "What the hell, Hana? Let me go!" Kiba growled as he tried to move past her. "If this guy wants a fight, I'll give him one!"

Hana sighed. "You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

"Shut up! I can take this guy!"

"Relax, kid," Hikaru said upon standing. "I didn't come here for a fight. Just make sure you take care of that sweet dog, or I might have to steal her from you." With a wave of his hand, he was gone, but his presence, while short, left a lasting impression on both me and Kiba.

"Why didn't you let me fight him?" Kiba yelled at his older sister.

"Did you really think I was going to stand there and watch you get laid out?" Hana chuckled and tousled his hair, which only made him angrier. "Really, you're too hot-headed."

"I am not!" he shouted as he broke away from her. "I could've taken him easily."

"Foresight isn't exactly a talent of yours, you know."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're too impulsive to realize a bad idea even when it punches you in the face." To illustrate her point, she lightly pressed her fist against his cheek, and then she pulled away and smiled. "But you really should look after Ikuko. It seems Hikaru's charms have had quite an effect on her."

Boy, was she right. I'd just met the handsome jōnin, and I already couldn't stop thinking about him. How I wished he would swoop in and take me away from the fleabag and his crazy house of hounds.

Kiba squatted down and stared at me with narrow eyes. "What would she want with him?" he wondered aloud.

I had been working hard to avoid Kiba all morning, and now that he was right in front of me, looking at me so intently; I couldn't stand it. My heart started racing again; it was pounding so fast that I thought it would explode, and I just wanted it to stop. Whatever feeling this was, I wanted it to go away!