The Game *Kiba x OC* (COMPLETE)

The Truth

Kitara Takeda

I wake up with a pounding headache, a rolling stomach, a pain in my hand, and reality slamming into my face. Everything hurts, physical, mental, or otherwise. I feel tears spring to my eyes and I quickly cover my mouth to stifle the sob threatening to escape. I know that I'm alone and it wouldn't matter since no one would hear me cry, but I'm tired of hearing me cry. It's been a week now and I can't seem to stop... As I sniffle, I feel movement behind me and tense, my hand darting out to my side table for the kunai I'd stashed inside.

"Are you okay?" A voice asks and I pause, my fingers brushing the cool metal.

"I-Inuzuka?" What is he doing here?

"I'm sorry, Takeda. I didn't mean to fall asleep here. I'll leave, but please let me explain first."

I nod slowly and shut the drawer before slowly sitting up. The movement sends everything into a rolling motion and my eyes widen as I dart out of bed and into the bathroom. A moment later, my hair is being held back as I continue to dry heave. Great, I'm hungover and miserable and Kiba is here to witness this. How did he get here? Why is he here? What happened last night? My stomach seems to settle after a few minutes and I sit up and rest my back against the wall nearby, just in case. Kiba releases my hair and tells me he will return in a moment. He does as he said and hands me a water bottle and a package of crackers. I gratefully take them as he leans against the wall.

"So, why are you in my apartment?" I ask as I nibble on a cracker.

"I was walking around the village and ended up nearby. Akamaru started freaking out at your door and when I went to pull him away I could smell blood. You didn't answer when I knocked and I got worried, so I picked the lock. You were curled up in the floor of the main room bleeding, so I took you in here to clean you up. You were holding a broken bottle and rambling nonsense so I figured out you were drunk. I put you to bed shortly after and was going to clean everything up and check on you throughout the night and leave before you woke up, but you asked me to stay with you and I guess I fell asleep."

I nod slowly, not finding any of that to truly be out of the realm of possibility.

"I guess I will leave you alone now. Please be careful, Takeda."

I frown at the sad look on his face and sigh. "Stay. Please? I feel like I owe you an explanation at the least."

Kiba sits down a few feet away from me as Akamaru comes in and plops down on my lap. I absently scratch his head as I eat another cracker. I offered to explain but now that the time has come, I can't find words. I bite my lip and feel tears spring to my eyes so I look up and try to blink them away, muttering an apology. I don't want him to see me cry, as if watching me dry heave and seeing me a drunken mess wasn't enough.

"It's okay." He tells me with a soft smile. "Take your time."

"I-I'm sorry for yelling at you and kicking you out that night." I finally say.

"Will you tell me why?"

"I got upset because I realized that... please don't make fun of me for this since I know you probably will... I had given my first kiss and a few other first experiences to someone who didn't care about me. I freaked out and couldn't think about anything but that and how so many other things could've gotten taken if we kept it up. I just needed to breathe." I mumble as I pick at the label on the bottle.

"You hadn't kissed anyone before that?" I shake my head.

"Remember? No one would ever want me. No one has."

"Oh God, I'm sorry. I didn't know or I wouldn't have done it. So why haven't you come back to training and why did I find you drunk on the floor?"

Tears well up in my eyes again and I absently wipe them away before shaking my head.

"Is it alright if I take a shower before I explain further? I feel like I might feel less dead afterward."

He nods and helps me to my feet before leaving the room. I catch my reflection in the mirror as I strip and my eyes widen. I have smears of dried blood running from my cheek up into my hair, my right arm is covered in dry blood except for my hand, and my entire body has ink and paint stains, though that part is not too unusual. After my shower, I pull on a dark blue tank top and a pair of black shorts, then find a grey long sleeved open sweater. It's not my preferred outfit, but it was the first three things I found. I rake my brush through my hair and grab a tie for it before leaving my room to track down Kiba. I'm not any more confident about anything than I was before, but I feel a little less dead. I'm greeted by the scent of coffee and quickly fill the largest cup I own with the delicious dark liquid. Kiba is leaning against the counter arguing with Akamaru about not bothering me, having not noticed me come in.

"I think it's a bit late to worry about that when I wake up with you in my bed." I comment as I braid my hair out of my face.

He jumps slightly and looks toward me, asking if I feel any better. I shrug in response. Once my braid is done, I walk over and hug him tightly. He tenses in my grip but slowly hugs me back.

"Thank you for worrying over me. I'm sorry that you had to." I mumble.

"I-It's okay." He stutters out. "So do I get the rest of your explanation?"

I pull away and nod before folding myself into a kitchen chair. I quickly sigh as I realize that I don't even know where to begin.

"If I explain it, I will have to go back further and share a bit about my family."

He nods, telling me to only tell him what I feel comfortable with.

"Remember that scar on my side? That was from four years ago, when I had a kidney removed and given to my sister to keep her alive. She had been sick since shortly after birth and we had hoped that my kidney would take and it would help her, but it failed. After that, my parents traveled back and forth from here and a distant village where they'd taken Aya for treatments. It became too much strain on her, so they moved out there for the time being for them to be comfortable. They wanted me to stay so I could stay on track with becoming a ninja. I haven't seen them in three years. The Hokage summoned me the day after our last training together with a message saying that my sister was getting worse and they weren't sure what to do. I stayed home the rest of the week to recover so I could throw myself into training afterward to forget my worry. I got the second message a week ago, they'd sent it three days after the first. My sister died, age seven. My parents said that they will be back at some point, but they have business to attend to first and they want to decide whether or not to sell their home up there. I know what that means... They're not coming back..." I take a deep, shuddering breath before continuing on. "I'd tried to block it out, distract myself, anything but nothing worked so I finally dug out the bottle of alcohol my parents had kept stashed in the closet. I've been alone for so long and now I'm truly alone... My sister died and I wasn't there for her, I didn't even do anything for her except give her a stupid kidney that didn't work for her! I lost my whole family in one day."

I angrily wipe at the tears blurring my vision and bite my lip to stop from completely breaking down. My face is suddenly pressed against fabric as two strong arms wrap around me. I find myself holding onto his jacket as my resolve breaks and the sobs wrack my body. Through the sound of my breakdown, I can hear Kiba whispering soothing things as one hand lightly rubs my back.