Okay, so I tried not to do a cliffhanger this time, since I apparently write them all the time :P Hey, if it keeps you coming back......
Also, sorry, I was going to upload a bit earlier today, but I kind of got side tracked........Watching live Jon Bon Jovi concerts on YuoTube xP Sue me, I LOVE Bon Jovi!!.....Anyway.......ENJOY! :D
Pic of Ace <3 --->
Ashley’s POV
I drop my eyes down to my blanket and rub my arm awkwardly, not really sure what to say to Kiba. I mean, I haven’t seen him for over a week now, and the last time I did see him, he was glaring at me like I was the most disgusting thing he’d ever seen……Judging by the look on his face, he’s not too happy about being in the same room as me. I suppose I wouldn’t be too happy about being stuck in the same room as someone I thought was a monster either……
Tenten looks between me and Kiba anxiously, her brown eyes troubled. Sakura remains in the doorway, arms tightly crossed over her chest. The way she’s glaring so intensely at the back of Kiba’s head, I’m just waiting for sparks to begin shooting from her eyes. Ino pulls a face, not liking the sudden tension in the air, before rising from her seat and lifting her hand into the air.
“Oh hey Kiba!” she greets awkwardly, waving her hand and giving him a strained closed eye smile. “How are you today?”
Kiba responds with silence, turning his head slightly and glowering at Ino. He’s clearly not in a friendly mood. Ino pauses, sensing the killing intent being sent her way, as her smile slowly fades and she drops her hand, looking between me and Sakura helplessly.
I glance up at Kiba sadly, as he slowly turns his head back to look at me. As his narrowed eyes land on me, my heart skips a beat and I quickly drop my eyes back down to the blanket. I may not have done anything wrong, but I just can’t meet his gaze for some reason. Maybe it’s because I’ve never seen such an intense look in his eyes….Maybe it’s because I can’t stand to see the look on his face when he looks at the monster he thinks I am….Or maybe it’s because I love him and don’t want to see the disgust reflecting in his eyes…..
“I’m out” Kiba suddenly growls, his voice sounding harsh and rough, something that makes me cringe. I’ve never heard him speak so coldly, especially when I’m around. He really mustn’t have liked what he saw the day I attacked Sora…
I close my eyes, remaining silent as Kiba whirls around on his heels and stalks towards the door, obviously in a hurry to leave. I may love Kiba, but if he hates me so much, I’m not going to stop him from going.
“Now hold it!” Sakura barks, stomping her foot and blocking Kiba’s path with her body, “You’re not going anywhere you idiot! You’re gonna stay right here and talk to her!”
I glance up, only to see Sakura jabbing her hand at me, glaring hard up at Kiba’s face. He glares right back, neither of them blinking for about a minute, before his shoulders slump slightly. He shoves his hands into his pockets and turns away from my pink haired friend, eyes hooded. He angrily blows a few stray strands of hair from his eyes, leaning his back against the wall and glaring at the floor.
I gaze at him wistfully, tilting my head to the side. I’ve really missed him, despite the asshole-ish way he’s acting right now. Is he really this mad because I’m a Jinchuuriki? I just don’t get it…..Everyone else that knows still likes me….So why doesn’t he?
“Right!” Sakura suddenly announces, turning to face Ino and Tenten, who freeze under her gaze. “Everyone that isn’t a complete jerk, get out! Ashley, you’re not a jerk, but you have to stay here anyway………..COME ON GUYS! HURRY UP AND GET OUT!”
Ino and Tenten jump with fright, drops of sweat spouting from their heads as they swiftly gather their things and scramble for the door. They duck past Sakura fearfully, her eyes shining evilly, pausing just long enough to wave goodbye to me, before escaping down the hallway. After they leave, Sakura takes a step backwards into the doorway, narrowing her eyes dangerously at Kiba and slowly raising her hand, pointing at him.
“Don’t even think about leaving once I’m gone” she hisses, almost reminding me of a very angry snake “Because I’m going to be lurking around the hospital all day and I’m going to tell all of the nurses to be on the look out for you.”
Kiba sweat drops, his eyes widening slightly at the poisonous look on Sakura’s face, her warning very real and actually quite frightening.
“One yell from the nurses” she continues, her lips turning up into a nasty smirk, “And I’ll come running. You won’t be able to escape me Kiba, got it?”
Kiba eyes Sakura warily, before abruptly turning his head away and nodding once, messy brown hair falling into his eyes. With that over with, Sakura looks over at me, an adorable closed eye smile on her face.
“See ya later Ashley!” she chirps, waving at me. “I’ll probably drop by again later tonight.”
With one last killer glare at Kiba, Sakura backs out of the room, slowly sliding the door shut and strolling off down the hallway. I can’t help letting out a sigh of relief now that the pinkette is gone. She tends to act different when she’s working in the hospital, but she doesn’t normally act so……mental.
Kiba, upon hearing my sigh, glances up at me, that accusing look back in his eyes, causing my head to drop again. I feel him continue to stare at me, as I try my best to hide under my blonde hair, wanting to shield myself from incriminating glare.
I can’t help fidgeting slightly, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Though he may be on the other side of the room, Kiba feels too close to me all of the sudden. There’s nowhere for me to get away from him and his eyes!
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kiba asks sharply, making me freeze. What am I supposed to say to that? Kiba and I are supposed to trust each other, considering we’re in a relationship. How am I supposed to make him understand that I didn’t trust him enough to tell him my biggest secret? Obviously it was a good idea not to tell him, if his reaction to me had been anything to go by…..
“Ashley” Kiba says lowly, sounding frustrated and making me squeeze my eyes closed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Ashley…….He must be mad, because Kiba never uses my actual name. I can’t help smiling wryly to myself. I may have hated it in the beginning, but I’d give almost anything to hear him call me his Angel right now. Although, he’s probably thinking I’m more along the lines of a Demon right now….
“I…..I didn’t know how t-to tell you….” I reply softly, my eyes still closed. “I didn’t want to hurt you…..”
“Didn’t want to hurt me?” Kiba repeats incredulously, eyes widening in disbelief. “And you don’t think that what I saw that day hurt me?”
I open my eyes slowly, dread and anxiety filling my heart. I knew it.
“I-I didn’t mean for that t-to happen” I argue, though my voice comes out so hushed, it’s almost a whisper. “I never intended for y-you to see that…..”
I flinch as Kiba barks out a dry laugh, running a hand through his chocolate hair and shakes his head in disbelief.
“Incredible….” he mutters sarcastically “So you were planning on hiding this from me forever. It doesn’t matter that it wasn’t meant to happen, because it did happen.”
I shake my head slowly, my vision blurring slightly, as my eyes begin swimming with tears. Why is he being so nasty about this? I know I kept Hakuba from him, but still…..Can’t he at least imagine how hard this is for me?
“N-Not forever” I sniff, “I just…..I wasn’t ready t-to tell you yet…And….And I didn’t know how you’d react….”
“I can’t imagine why you’d think I’d ever take it well!” Kiba snaps at me, now scowling. “You know how wrong this is, I mean look at you. You can’t even look me in the eyes! Maybe there’d be more chance of me believing you if you could actually look at me.”
I blink a few times, trying my best to keep the tears in. Swallowing thickly, I slowly raise my head and turn to face Kiba, internally wincing at the look on his face. Anger, frustration and hurt are reflected in his eyes, though he’s glaring at me, arms crossed as he continues leaning against the wall.
“I can’t….” I breathe softly, reclosing my eyes and turning my head away. “I d-don’t want to see you look at me like that….”
Third Person’s POV
Kiba’s eyes soften the tiniest bit when he sees the unshed tears in Ashley’s visible eye. Was she trying not to cry? Why would she be crying? She’s not the one who saw the person she loves acting all lovey dovey with someone else.
“I can’t….” Ashley says quietly, turning her head away and hiding beneath her hair again. “I d-don’t want to see you look at me like that….”
Kiba takes a slow breath, uncrossing his arms and stepping forwards. He didn’t like it, but he still loved the blonde Minami, despite the way she’d hurt him that day. He had to be strong and let Ashley know how hurt and angry he was, but seeing her struggling not to cry……It was really difficult for Kiba to not crumble and hug her tightly. He felt like apologising, even though he’d done nothing wrong, and trying to comfort her.
“Don’t make this about you” Kiba says warningly, staring hard at Ashley’s hunched figure, as she pulls her knees up and hugs them to her chest. “You hurt me, and you know it! I can’t believe you tried to keep this from me…..I didn’t think you were like that Ashley…..”
A tear runs down Ashley’s cheek, as Kiba pauses, his eyes widening slightly. He runs a hand through his hair again, chuckling sadly. Ashley turns her head slightly, reaching up and wiping her silly tear away, seeing that Kiba is now pacing back and forth slowly, looking very troubled.
“I thought we could be honest with each other….” the Inuzuka murmurs to himself, brows furrowing. “I thought what we had……I thought….I thought we loved each other……”
“But I do love y-you Kib-”
“Don’t even!” Kiba barks fiercely, halting his pacing and throwing a hand out to stop Ashley, glaring at her. Ashley’s eyes widen, seeing that the brunette’s eyes have filled with tears as well, though he’s much too stubborn to let them fall.
“Just….don’t…” Kiba sighs, dropping his hand and looking down at the floor, when something suddenly occurs to him. He slowly looks up, animal like eyes narrowing dangerously at Ashley, who seems to shrink back from him. Though usually strong willed and not perturbed by much, Ashley couldn’t seem to keep her emotions in check. She didn’t care though. Kiba meant much more to her than keeping up some emotionless barrier. If there was anything that scared her, it was the thought of Kiba hating her…..And the way he was looking at her now, it seemed her fear was starting to become her reality.
“How many times….” Kiba growls softly. “…How many times have you lied to me?”
“Wh-What?” Ashley asks timidly, clutching the blanket covering her knees so tightly, her knuckles begin to turn white. “Lied to y-”
“How many times have you said I love you Kiba” the Inuzuka asks nastily, growing angrier by the second, “And not meant it?!”
Ashley’s brows furrow in confusion, as she tilts her head to the side. What was he talking about?
“I don’t understand what you’re talking ab-”
“Shut up!” Kiba suddenly shouts, causing Ashley to jump, her eyes wide. Kiba glares furiously at Ashley, ignoring the fact that she looks a lot like a frightened Rabbit. He’d never yelled at her before, and the very fact that he had just done so almost has Ashley hyperventilating. She’d never expected Kiba to shout at her like that….
Kiba suddenly grabs at his hair, tugging on it frustratedly as he tilts his head back and glares at the ceiling for a moment. He couldn’t do this right now, or he was going to go completely off his nut.
Ashley’s shoulders slump sorrowfully, as Kiba whirls around, turning his back on her and facing the door.
“I’m leaving” he informs Ashley softly, sounding tired. Ashley hangs her head in defeat, finally allowing her tears to drip down her face, crying silently. This was it. Kiba was leaving, and he was never going to speak to her again. All because she was a Jinchuuriki.
“But before I go….” Kiba trails off, turning and glancing at Ashley from the corner of his eyes. “Do you love him?”
Ashley blinks in surprise. What kind of question was that? Why did he want to know if she loved Hakuba?
“I….I don’t think so” she replies timidly, shrugging her shoulders and hugging herself as if she were cold. “But I guess it could happen in the future……I’d like to learn to love him…”
Kiba snorts, rolling his eyes and walking towards the door.
“Great…” he mutters sarcastically, hand on the door. “You don’t even love Naruto, and you’re choosing him over me. I must have just been a fun toy for the time being huh?”
Ashley’s head suddenly snaps up. What had Kiba just said?
“What?” Ashley asks incredulously, not sure if she’d heard right. “What did you just say?”
Kiba rolls his eyes again and whirls around, glaring at Ashley accusingly.
“Don’t play dumb with me Ashley!” he shouts, frustrated with the blonde. “You know exactly what I said! You’re swapping me for Naruto!”
Ashley’s eyes widen in disbelief.
“What on earth makes you think that?” she inquires apprehensively, brows beginning to furrow. Kiba laughs dryly, shaking his head.
“The way you and Naruto were all over each other makes me think that” he announces with a nasty smirk. “You couldn’t keep your hands off of each other, and I saw the way you were looking at each other too! I’m not stupid!”
Ashley’s brows furrow in thought for a moment, before realisation seems to dawn on her. The blonde’s eyes grow wide. Kiba didn’t hate her because she was a Jinchuuriki! He was angry with her because he thought she loved Naruto! That moron!
“Are you serious?” Ashley asks lowly, hanging her head, hands clenching into fists.
“Of course I’m serious!” Kiba snaps, throwing his hands up in the air. “Why would I joke about you and that idiot loving each other?!”
“You’re the only idiot here!” Ashley suddenly shouts, looking up and glaring at Kiba, visible eye blazing with her Sharingan. “You’re an absolute idiot Kiba!”
“Excuse m-” Kiba cuts himself off, as Ashley leaps to her feet, standing on her bed and glaring down at him so angrily, he can almost see her shaking. The Inuzuka’s eyes widen at the sight of her Sharingan, something he knows that she doesn’t like using. Why was it activated now?
Ashley’s POV
I throw my hospital blanket to the floor viciously, gritting my teeth together so tightly, my jaw begins to hurt. How dare he accuse me of such a thing! Especially since I was feeling miserable because I thought he hated me for being a Jinchuuriki! That jerk!
I don’t recall a time when I was so angry that my Sharingan activated, but judging by the way that I can now see Kiba’s chakra, I’d say it’s activated on its own.
“How dare you accuse me of such a thing….” I growl lowly, narrowing my eyes at Kiba dangerously. If he was anyone else right now, I’d kill him. Literally.
“What’re you so mad about all of the sudden?” Kiba asks, sounding kind of hesitant. He’s no doubt confused by my sudden change in demeanour. I tilt my head to the side, probably looking a bit robotic in my movements.
“I’m not mad Kiba” I say calmly, smirking at him, the sight of my sharp teeth making him wince. “I’m furious. And I’m furious because you just accused me of something that hasn’t even happened!”
I crouch down on my bed, resting on all fours and hooding my eyes, trying to control my temper, as Kiba stares at me, perplexed.
“I don’t love Naruto” I say flatly. “As a friend, yes, I love him just as much as I love Sakura and Saffire and all of my friends. Nothing more.”
“You guys wouldn’t let each other go of each other though” Kiba argues stubbornly, crossing his arms once again. “And you pretty much dived into his arms.”
“Because he saved my life” I inform Kiba lowly, Sharingan eyes flashing. “Naruto was hugging me because he discovered that we’re not so different. We’re very similar in fact….”
“Oh yeah?” Kiba scoffs, making me scowl. “How so?”
“We’re both Jinchuuriki” I hiss icily, making Kiba gasp.
“You’re a what?!” he shouts, before I suddenly launch myself forwards. Kiba’s eyes widen, as I collide heavily with him, knocking him down to the ground.
The brunette groans as his head hits the floor, before he opens his eyes, only to see me sitting on top of him, straddling his waist.
“You made me feel so damn bad!” I shout, pulling my fist back, making Kiba’s eyes widen. “I thought you hated me!”
As my fist comes forwards and collides with Kiba’s cheek, it makes a horrible cracking sound, the Inuzuka’s head whipping to the side. As I glare down at Kiba furiously, he slowly turns his head back and looks up at me, a look of pure regret in his eyes.
“I thought you hated me because I was a Jinchuuriki!” I scream, slamming my other fist into Kiba’s face and watching as it wrenches around to the other side, one of Kiba’s eyes scrunching closed in pain.
“Ashley….” he groans painfully, looking back up at me sadly, as my eyes fill with hot tears. I stare at him for a moment, my eyes searching his face, before I clench my fists angrily again.
“You made me think you found me disgusting!” I scream, pounding my fist down into Kiba’s stomach, making him abruptly sit up, eyes squeezed tightly closed.
“I felt so miserable!” I continue, roughly grabbing Kiba by the neck and squeezing it. “And all because your ego was hurt!”
Kiba exhales sharply as I slam his head back down on the floor and crush his neck with both hands, leaning down closer to him.
“A-Ashley….” he chokes out, blood trickling from his mouth.
“All because your jealousy got the better of you….” I growl in his face, tears spilling over and dripping down my cheeks. How could he have done that to me? He made me feel that bad about myself, just because he misinterpreted something? It’s just not fair…..
Kiba suddenly gasps for air, struggling to breathe under my strong hold, yet he doesn’t struggle against me. He closes one eye, his face slowly being drained of its tan colouring, as he gives me a weak, lop sided grin.
“I-I’m sorry….A-Angel” he manages to wheeze. “….I-I’m…..such a-an id-idiot…”
I glare down at Kiba, scowling as he shakily reaches up and places his warm hand on my cheek, using his thumb to wipe away some of my tears.
“You sure are” I snap, reeling back from Kiba and jumping to my feet, crossing my arms and turning my head away. I hear Kiba gasping for breath, having almost been choked to death by me. He’s lucky I didn’t choke him. I’m so mad, I think I almost could.
‘You need to calm down brat’ I hear Hakuba’s faint voice echo through my head. ‘You say you love this…..little boy, yet you very nearly just killed him……’
‘He’d deserve it’ I think stubbornly, looking over at Kiba and seeing him sit up slowly, one hand rubbing his throat. He breathes deeply, before closing his eyes and hanging his head, running a hand through his hair.
‘Hmmm……Show me’ Hakuba says mysteriously, making me sigh internally.
‘Show you what?’ I prompt, to which Hakuba chuckles lowly, red eyes flashing in my mind.
‘You say that you can change my mind about the hatred that runs through the blood of all humans’ Hakuba smirks smartly, tails flickering back and forth. ‘Show me. Show me that you can do it.’
I scowl to myself, before heaving a heavy sigh and uncrossing my arms, making Kiba’s head snap up. I glance down at him sharply, making him flinch. My eyes soften slightly, as I see the dark red marks around Kiba’s throat, and the blood staining his lips. As he breathes, I see Kiba’s face take on a strained look. I must have broken a rip or something…..
Heaving another sigh, I drop to my knees in front of Kiba and perform a hand sign. The brunette freezes, probably expecting me to attack him again. He relaxes somewhat when he sees a soft green aura surround my hands, though he still eyes my face warily.
“Why didn’t you defend yourself?” I ask blandly, as I place my hands on Kiba’s neck, trying to ease the pain his crushed throat must be in. “I was about to kill you.”
Kiba shrugs uncaringly, still staring at my face.
“I would have deserved it” he informs me seriously, looking ashamed. “I’m an idiot….”
“Don’t be stupid” I sigh irritably. “You are an idiot, but that doesn’t mean you should let me kill you……Don’t ever just sit there when someone tries to kill you okay?”
“Okay…” Kiba nods, unzipping his leather jacket when I motion for him to do so. “Ang- I mean…..Ashley?” he ventures carefully, placing the jacket down as I shuffle closer and place my hands on his annoyingly muscled stomach. “Why is your Sharingan activated? And why…..Why didn’t you use it?”
I remain silent for a few moments, focusing on detecting exactly what damage I’d done to Kiba’s ribcage.
“It activated because I was so angry” I eventually reply, leaning back and closing my eyes. “I don’t like using it. You know that…”
Reopening my eyes, I see Kiba’s lips pull up into a tiny smile, my eyes back to their normal fuschia colour.
“I like them better like that” he tells me softly, playing with the ends of my hair as I begin healing his stomach again. “So…..You’re really a Jinchuuriki?”
“No Kiba” I growl sarcastically, rolling my eyes. “I just made that up….Yes, I am a Jinchuuriki. Just like Naruto and Gaara.”
Kiba nods, staring at the blonde hair he’s twirling around his finger.
“So…..What kind of Tailed Beast is it?” he inquires carefully, probably not sure if he’s crossing a line or not.
“His name is Hakuba” I sigh, sick of having to explain this to people. “And he’s the Ten Tails…….Wait a second. Why don’t you know this already?”
Kiba rubs the back of his head awkwardly and gives me an apologetic look.
“I was….uhh….kinda mad at you” he admits, making my gaze harden. “So I walked away when you were talking to Naruto and everyone else. And I’ve pretty much kept my distance from everyone since, so I had no idea……sorry….”
I feel my blood beginning to boil at Kiba’s stupidity again, but suck in a slow breath, before releasing it. No point beating him up again. Besides, I have to prove to Hakuba that I can take the high road and be forgiving. Even though I really don’t want to….
“Just for the record Ang-Ashley” Kiba corrects himself hastily, making me raise an eyebrow, “I’d never hate you because you’re a Jinchuuriki. In fact, it’s kinda cool! You have the most tails, so it means you’re like, super strong right?”
“No” I say, laughing dryly. “Hakuba is super strong. We….We never used to get along, and that’s why I went crazy when he took over last week…..But thanks anyway I guess….”
“Do you get along now?” Kiba asks curiously, brows furrowed as he tries to understand. I lean back from healing Kiba, tilting my head in thought. Do we get along now?
‘Go ahead brat’ Hakuba sneers. ‘I want to hear your answer.’
“Hakuba’s an asshole” I immediately reply, making the Wolf growl. “But, of late we’ve become…..tolerant of each other. I used to think I loved Hakuba as a kid, because I thought he was my friend, but really he was just out to control me……I want that to happen for real in the future though. I’m going to prove that I’m trustworthy and reliable to Hakuba, because I want us to be friends…”
‘…………Interesting……’ is all Hakuba says, as Kiba nods slowly, watching me with intrigue.
“Is he the reason you can never sleep?” he asks seriously, looking like he already knows the answer. I can’t help smirking, leaning forwards to heal the brunette’s face.
“You’re smarter than you let on” I say dryly, to which Kiba smiles lightly, before we lapse into silence.
I place one hand on Kiba’s cheek, looking at his face as I slowly heal and relieve him of the pain I’d caused. I find it hard to concentrate however, seeing that Kiba is just staring intently at my face. I will not blush. No!
After a few silent minutes of Kiba staring at me, and me trying to focus on my Healing Jutsu, Kiba heaves a sighs and reaches up. He places his hand over mine and curls his fingers around it, before placing his other hand on the side of my face, tilting his head to the side.
I blink in surprise, stopping my Jutsu and giving Kiba a suspicious look. What’s he up to now?
“I’m sorry Angel….” Kiba says softly, his eyes shining brightly as he stares at me sadly, looking like he’s trying to keep from crying. I feel my shoulders sag a little, my own hard gaze softening.
“I’m a complete idiot” he continues, still looking at me imploringly, “And I did deserve what you did to me…..But I was just so….well….heart broken I guess, at the thought of you leaving me for someone else. I…I-Ugh, man I’m so bad at talking about my feelings!”
I can’t help smiling wryly at that. I can relate to that problem myself….
“It doesn’t matter anywa-”
“No, it does matter!” Kiba cries, interrupting me, before giving me a serious look. “And I’m going to get this out….No matter how difficult it is….”
Kiba takes a deep breath and releases it slowly, before sitting up straighter and looking right into my eyes, something that makes me nervous for some reason.
“I can’t imagine not being with you Angel” Kiba tells me seriously, all kinds of emotions passing through his eyes. “It was killing me to think that you didn’t want me anymore. I may come off as a complete jackass, but really, I was devastated inside……Now that I know how wrong I was, I feel like an idiot and I wouldn’t be surprised if you really did drop me for someone else….I don’t deserve someone like you Angel, you’re way out of my league and everyone, including me, knows it too…..I don’t really know what else to say but…..I’m really sorry….”
Kiba, who had dropped his eyes, looks back up at me pleadingly.
“I really love you Angel” he says softly, his hand tightening around mine. “Please, please forgive me?”
I stare at Kiba with wide eyes, my brain not exactly processing the words he’d just said properly. Had those incredibly sweet, thoughtful words just come from his mouth? Since when did Kiba ever say things like that?
I tilt my head, giving Kiba a troubled look. He returns my look with a worried one, not sure what I’m thinking.
“Angel?” he questions uncertainly, biting his lip.
“I love you too” I eventually say, making Kiba smile with relief. “And thank you…..for all those things you sa- Oof!”
I am cut off, as Kiba suddenly tugs me forwards and wraps me up in a tight hug, burying his face in my hair. I feel my cheeks warming at the sudden contact, not having been around Kiba for awhile now.
“Thank you Angel” he whispers, before leaning back and smiling at me, gently brushing my fringe back from my face. As he slowly leans forwards, I raise my hand and place a finger to his lips, making him pause and raise an eyebrow.
“I love you and I forgive you” I say seriously, “But I haven’t forgotten yet.”
Kiba sighs, before nodding and reaching up to grab my hand from his mouth, holding it in his lap.
“Understood” he replies while smiling at me lovingly, making me feel nervous all over again. He can be such a dork sometimes.
As Kiba opens his mouth to speak, a large cloud of smoke suddenly appears between us, before I am abruptly knocked over. I hear Kiba coughing, as he waves his hands back and forth, trying to see through the thick, white smoke.
“Angel?” he coughs, rising to his feet as I release a long sigh. “Are you okay?!”
“Yes” I say dryly, looking up and seeing an aqua eye flashing in the smoke cloud.
“Milady?” a low voice asks, making Kiba pause.
“Yes, hello Ace” I say with smile, lying on the floor and gazing up at my Guardian, who is currently towering over me. He blinks, before looking down, head tilted to the side.
“What are you doing down there Milady?” the navy Wolf questions, to which I roll my eyes.
“You know me Ace” I chuckle. “I enjoy spending my days sprawled across the floor…..You knocked me over genius.”
“Apologies” Ace says insincerely, stepping away from me and allowing Kiba to pull me to my feet, before I dust myself off. “How are you feeling Milady?”
“As I’ve been telling the hospital staff ever since I woke up” I say with a sigh, deadpanning, “I’m feeling perfectly fine.”
“Then why are you still here?” Ace questions, sitting in front of me and looking down. I shrug.
“Good question” I say smartly. “Many reasons. No reason. Who knows? Lady Tsunade’s keeping me prisoner in here.”
“Ah, the angry woman that always seems to be drunk” Ace mutters wryly, rolling his eye. “Why was she seen as fit to become the Leader of this Village again?”
Kiba and I both laugh, before I throw my arms around Ace’s neck, gently rolling my knuckles across his chin.
“That’s my boy” I tease. “Always showing the utmost respect!”
“I did learn from the best” is Ace’s bland reply, the Wolf looking unimpressed. I grin at Ace, causing his bored look to falter slightly.
“I’ve missed you Ace” I murmur, before hugging my very best friend tightly, curling my fingers into his soft fur and closing my eyes. Ace pauses for a moment, before raising one large paw and placing it on my back, patting me awkwardly.
“And I you Milady” he says softly, before I step back. Though we love each other, Ace isn’t very good when it comes to ‘feelings’ and ‘contact with others’. Which is a pity for him, considering Rei is so damn cuddly.
“The rest of the pack has missed you as well” Ace informs me. “…..Why have you not summoned us to see you? I came to see if you had awoken yet, seeing as the others cannot summon themselves to your side.”
“The hospital doesn’t allow animals” I say simply, to which Kiba and Ace deadpan.
“Since when do you follow rules?” the Inuzuka asks dryly, making Ace nod in agreement.
“Though you are an honourable Ninja…..usually” Ace mutters, making me deadpan, “You really are not very good at complying with rules.”
“I figured that if I was good, Lady Tsunade might be more inclined to let me go” I chuckle, sweat dropping.
Ace and Kiba both give me dry looks, before Ace rolls his eyes.
“You should just summon the Pack Milady” Ace suggest in his blunt way. “I do not believe the nurses will have much to say when confronted by a whole pack of Wolves.”
“Ninja Wolves at that” Kiba adds, winking at me cheekily.
“I don’t think I should summon them” I say with a sigh. “Knowing them, they’ll break something or kill someone or start a fight or something will explode-”
“They will behave Milady” Ace interrupts, walking over to me, furry tail swishing lazily behind him. “They are merely concerned for your health.”
“I know, I know” I say, roughing up the fur on Ace’s head, much to his annoyance, “But I can see them when I am finally let out of the hospital, you know, in six years time or so.”
“Do you not love the others anymore Milady?” Ace suddenly asks, making my eyes widen.
“Excuse me?” I question, giving Ace an are you serious look. The Wolf shrugs, closing his eye.
“It is fine” he sighs drearily. “I will go back and tell the others that you no longer care for them. I am sure they will understand. Poor young Chi will be heart broken. He will cry all over Jet, and Jet will mope in a corner somewhere. Little Tiez may just go down the path of self destruction, as Kai destroys a nearby Village. Aki will never leave Inu Zoku Mountain again, and my darling Rei…..She will be so sorrowful by your rejection…I hope you do not mind watching tears spill from her beautiful, kind lavender eyes Milady, because there will be a lot of them-”
“Alright!” I cry, throwing my hands over my ears. “Please, just shut up already! I’ll summon them, geez!” Ace shrugs again, adjusting one of the straps of his eye patch.
“Well, if you really feel the need to” he says coolly. “I am sure they would appreciate it.”
Kiba laughs loudly, before not so subtly trying to cover it up by coughing, as my eyebrow twitches with annoyance. Did I say I’d missed Ace? I meant I’d enjoyed the peace and quiet. I hate when he does that…
Scurrying around the room for a few minutes, I eventually locate my weapons pouch and pull out my Summoning Scroll. I quickly unroll it and bite into my thumb, drawing blood. I swipe my blood across the scroll and swiftly roll it back up, placing my hands together in a hand sign.
“Brace yourself” I warn Kiba dryly, “Summoning Jutsu!”
The room is suddenly engulfed by a large, white cloud, making Kiba cough again. He’s obviously not used to the cloud of smoke that seems to come free with every Summoning animal….
“I’m just saying Kai-chan!” Chi’s young voice chimes, “You said that Aki-chan was too pretty for his own good……You called him pretty!”
“I didn’t mean it as a compliment kid!” Kai snaps, leaping out of the smoke cloud and glaring in Chi’s direction, red eyes blazing frustratedly. Chi trots into view, head jiggling from side to side with each step and his tongue flopping cutely from his mouth.
“Pretty is a compliment Kai-chan” Chi giggles, tail wagging furiously, blowing away some of the smoke.
Suddenly, Aki bursts out of the smoke with a flourish, fur ruffled prettily and sapphire eyes glittering. He smiles broadly at Kai, teeth sparkling white.
“Don’t worry” the silky furred Wolf coos, rubbing Kai’s shoulder and gliding past him. “Kai isn’t able to admit his obvious attraction to me out loud yet.”
Kai bares his teeth furiously at Aki, as the black and white Wolf smiles charmingly, giving Kai a wink.
“Everybody likes a bad boy” he teases, which makes Kai’s eyes widen.
“You better not cheat on my sister with Aki Kai!” another voice warns, as Rei bounces out from the smoke, lavender eyes narrowed at the huge, brown Wolf.
“You couldn’t blame him if he did though” Aki chuckles silkily, tossing his head proudly. “I’m beautiful.”
I cross my arms and shake my head, grinning wryly. My Wolves really are something else. I see Kiba sweat dropping, looking somewhat afraid of the current conversation going on before him. Ace merely shakes his head, watching his fellow Wolves with a bland expression. Although, that bland look on his face is also what he looks like when he’s ecstatically happy. And sad. And angry…..So who knows how he’s feeling really!
“Aki, I’d kill myself before- Ugh, I can’t even finish that sentence” Kai growls, wrinkling his nose at Aki and shaking his head, before turning to Rei. “Relax Princess, there’s no way I’m cheating on her. Especially with a mental case like that.”
Kai jerks his head towards Aki, who is sitting down happily, fur sparkling and a beam of light shining on him. Chi pulls a face, before glancing over his shoulder.
“I still think Aki-chan is a girl Jet-chan” the young Wolf whispers loudly. “And I don’t think Aki-chan knows whether he’s a boy or a girl either. He keeps trying to get really close to Kai-chan, Ace-chan and Keilor-chan. I hope he stays away from me Jet-chan…..And you too! Aki-chan is weird….”
Jet looms through the fading smoke, his golden eyes hooded and his ears drooping. He looks like he’s been listening to this conversation for too long, poor guy.
“Tapaa minut….” he drawls, making me giggle. (Kill me….)
“Huh?” Chi asks innocently, turning around and gazing up at Jet, blinking his large aqua eyes in confusion. “You know I can’t speak much Susikiel Jet-chan!”
“Oh…” Jet says, clearing his throat and blinking a few times, seeming to wake up a little. “I said uh…..Yeah….I agree with…..Whatever it is you were saying kid.”
“Don’t worry Chi” Aki laughs merrily. “I’m not into children. Tall, dark and handsome however….”
Jet’s eyes narrow as Aki tilts his head and looks up at the large Wolf pointedly.
“Never” Jet growls seriously, to which Aki shrugs and turns away.
“Where has Tiez gone?” the black and white Wolf asks, glancing around, only just seeming to realise that he’s in a hospital room. “And why are we here?”
“Uhhhh…..Angel?” a hesitant voice asks, making everyone turn around. My shoulders droop and I let out a mushroom sigh, seeing Kiba backed into a corner of the room, with Tiez standing before him, baring her teeth.
“Where’s Akamaru?!” she demands to know, flicking her purple fringe from her eyes.
“Milady!” Chi exclaims, bounding towards me with his tail wagging so fast, it’s just a blur. I bend over a little, holding out my arms for the caramel Canine.
“Hiya Chi!” I giggle, as he jumps up onto his hind legs and places his front paws on my shoulders, trying to give me a hug. When he stands on his hind legs, he’s actually taller than me now. My little boy is growing up so quickly…..
“I’ve missed you Milady” Chi informs me, rubbing his cheek against my head, before dropping down and running circles around me excitedly. “We’ve all missed you! I wanted to come and see you, but we couldn’t coz we need you to summon us. I was going to fly all the way here, because I used to be part butterfly and Uncle Cousin Keiji-chan has wings, so I must have wings too, but Jet-chan wouldn’t let me…..How unfair is that Milady?! I bet Jet-chan was just jealous because I can fly and he can’t, so I stayed behind…..I didn’t want to make him jealous as I flew through the sky….”
“Oh really?” I ask, keeping a straight face, before looking up and raising an eyebrow at Jet. “Is that true? Were you jealous of Chi’s wings Jet?”
Chi looks up at Jet expectantly, as the huge Wolf stares down at me through hooded, golden eyes, his face as straight and blank as I’ve ever seen it.
“Yes” he tells me in his deep voice, his words absolutely soaked in sarcasm, “I was incredibly jealous because I cannot fly with butterfly wings…..Vihaan perhosia….” (…..I hate butterflies….)
“It’s okay Jet-chan” Chi assures his best friend. “I don’t think I’m better than you just because I can actually fly.”
“Oh goody….” Jet mutters sarcastically, something that Chi is oblivious to.
“Darling!” Aki sings, stepping over to me gracefully and rubbing his head against my shoulder affectionately, as stroke his cheek softly. “You’re looking as ravishing and picturesque as ever!”
“Always the charmer I see” I giggle, tapping Aki on the nose. “Thank you, so are you.”
“Yes, yes, I know” Aki winks at me, before sighing and sending Tiez an exasperated look as she continues growling at Kiba, demanding to see Akamaru. “Tiez darling, leave the boy alone! That mutt you like clearly isn’t here!”
“Shut up Aki” Tiez barks, turning to glare at him, as does Kiba. “You have no taste in men!”
“Akamaru isn’t a mutt!” he snaps, shaking his fist at an uncaring Aki, who merely shrugs.
“Boy, next to a gorgeous specimen like me” he smirks, “Your puppy is a mutt.”
“I’m gonna kill you Aki!” Tiez explodes, leaping into the air and streaking towards the now panicked Aki. “Leave Akamaru alone dammit!”
“Tiez, no!” he pleads, running circles around the hospital room in a desperate bid to escape Tiez’s wrath. “You’ll mess up my fur!”
“I think we should shave him while he sleeps one night” Kai says dryly, sitting beside me and sighing as I give him a pat hello. “I wonder if he’d be so annoying if he was bald.”
“I like that idea” I chuckle, exchanging an evil grin with Kai. “I like it a lot. Nice to see you’re as kind hearted as ever Kai.”
Kai growls playfully as I grab him in a head lock, wrapping his front legs around my torso and toppling to the floor. Being careful not to crush me under his massive body weight, Kai rolls over so I’m sitting on his stomach.
“I could totally beat you” I boast, crossing my arms and glaring down at Kai challengingly. “Even if you didn’t take it easy on me!”
Kai smirks darkly at me, baring his teeth as his red eyes glitter deviously.
“You know I’m not one to turn down a challenge” he growls, tipping me off of him and laughing as I fall to the floor in a heap. “You’re so graceful Milady.”
“Oh, leave her alone Kai” Rei scolds, scooping my arm up so it’s over neck and helping me to my feet. “Hello Milady, it’s so good to see you again! Are you feeling well?”
I shake my head a few times, before smiling down at the pretty white Wolf, her head tilted to the side as she looks up at me questioningly.
“Hi Rei” I coo, hugging her tightly and holding her head in my hands, the attention making her eyes sparkle. “You look so pretty, and yes, I’m feeling just fine thanks-”
I am interrupted by a loud crashing sound, as a light drops down from the roof, hitting the floor and smashing into thousands of tiny pieces.
“That’s what you get Aki!” Tiez barks triumphantly, hanging from the ceiling, smirking. Kiba seems bewildered at the sight of Tiez walking across the roof, but hey, my Wolves use chakra as well. I bet he could teach Akamaru to do it too if he wanted.
Looking to the other side of the room, I sweat drop, seeing that Aki is now fully wrapped, from head to toe, in white bandages. Small tufts of fur protrude through gaps in the bandages, but that’s not the part that has the other Wolves laughing.
They’re laughing because Tiez has attached some of the bandages to the ceiling fan…….which is currently on.
Please don't forget to vote and comment! :D I almost have 1000 fans! :O