It had been about six hours since our departure from the Iwagakure gates. The storm was raging around us, whipping my hair around and spraying us with rain from all sides.
This wind really isn't helping anything. I thought as I pulled my hood closer to my face. Some time had passed since the last time I looked around the hem of my hood at Kiba. I was finding myself slightly interested in him. I wanted to know what his story was and why he felt so familiar to me, but the rain was not exactly the most accommodating when trying to make friendly small talk. At the start of our trek, Kiba tried to engage in some conversation, asking me what my home was like and if I'll miss it at all. He even asked if I had any friends that I might try to keep in contact with. I must admit, I didn't feel that comfortable discussing my past with a stranger. I really wasn't comfortable talking about my past with anyone for that matter. After receiving very short answers to anything he threw at me, he stopped trying to speak over the storm and we had been running through the trees in silence ever since.
After about 5 minutes, I stopped abruptly, spotting a clearing right below us. An ideal spot to set up a shelter. Kiba and Akamaru stopped also and looked over at me. I reluctantly pulled my hood down and pointed to the ground, letting the rain run down my face and hair.
"This is the perfect place to set up camp, don't cha think?" I semi-yelled over the crack of thunder. Kiba anime sweat dropped.
"What? Out in the open like this while a storm is raging?" He scratched the back of his head and I could tell he was doubting the situation and trying to not be rude. "I'm not sure..."
I smirked at him, but let it spread into a smile.
"Don't worry about it. We wont be stuck in the storm for long."
And with that I quickly leapt towards the ground, forming hand signs as I fell. As I landed, I slammed both of my palms on the ground and shouted, "Earth Style: Four Pillar Shelter Jutsu!"
Kiba watched with wide eyes from the tree where I once stood as the ground started the rumble in tune with the thunder above us. All of a sudden, four trees of equal distance from each other began to grow at a rapid pace in the middle of the clearing. The trunks extended up into the air, branches splintered from every side and extended out farther than any Kiba had ever seen before. They began intertwining and combining with the branches of the other trees, solidifying and growing in size. The air was filled with sounds of branches and bark cracking and slamming into each other.
"What the..." Kiba started, in awe of the jutsu he witnessed me perform.
The sounds ceased abruptly and Akamaru jumped down next to me, pushing his head into my hand. Standing in front of me now was a square shelter, resembling that of a log cabin formed out of branches instead of the traditional logs. In each corner of the structure stood the original trees that sprouted out of the ground. I reached forward and swung open the door, allowing Akamaru to bound excitedly inside. As I stepped forward into the doorway I returned my gaze to the tree where Kiba stood.
"Are you coming? Or are you enjoying being soaked to the bone?"
Kiba shook his head fast, snapping himself back to reality and jumped down, quickly taking refuge inside. I smiled triumphantly as I closed the door behind us, blocking out the wails of the storm still raging on.
With the door closed, the square windowless room was too dark to see anything. Having been making these structures for a while, I was prepared. I quickly reached into my pack for my scrolls and summoned my lantern. I lit the wick of the candle inside with a match and closed the glass gently. As I set the lantern down in the middle of the floor, the light started to illuminate the room and my eyes began to adjust.
Akamaru was laying down on the ground next to the furthest wall. Kiba was standing next to him with his back to me, currently in the process of taking his dripping wet jacket off. I watched his back muscles move through his fishnet shirt. I felt my face grow warm as he tossed it in the corner and reached his hands up to untie his leaf headband, shaking his hair out to dry it as best he could. As he turned around in my direction I quickly looked away and took in my own appearance.
Ugh.
I shrugged out of my wet jacket and threw it in the corner with Kiba's things. My shirt was also wet, there was no avoiding that. The blue fabric of the top of my shirt clung to my shoulders, and the netting towards the bottom of my shirt stuck to my stomach, constricting my movements slightly. I sat on the wood floor and began taking my shoes off as I heard a burst of laugher erupt from Kiba. He clutched his sides as he sat across from me, kicking his own shoes off as well.
"What's so funny?" I asked, brushing my wet hair back and out of my face with my hand, eyeing him slightly. From this angle I could just make out the lines of his abs. Heat rose to my face again.
"Hahaha-we just-haha I'm sorry-," Kiba smiled at me awkwardly, "-it's just that you look like a drowned rat right now, so I can only image what I look like." He grinned and rubbed the back of his head. I frowned slightly and furrowed my eyebrows.
"Whatever, better to look like a drowned rat than smell like a wet dog." I stated sarcastically. I quickly grabbed my nose and made a disgusted look for effect.
"Do I really smell that bad?" Kiba asked wide eyed, raising his arms and sniffing his pits frantically. Now it was my turn to laugh.
"No, no I was just kidding," I smiled shaking my head slightly. He stopped sniffing himself and looked back at me again with an embarrassed expression.
"Oh, good." He replied, grinning at me again. The lantern's light reflected off of his canine teeth this time, giving me a good view of his smile. Some of his hair was in his face, sending droplets of still remaining rain water down his cheeks and neck. I couldn't help but take in his appearance at this moment. His animalistic qualities seemed to make him more attractive for some reason.
Wait. What? Asuna you don't even know this guy...
He noticed the blush creeping across my cheeks and realized I was staring at him. He met my gaze and I looked down at the lantern. He scooted closer to me so that he was next to me on my right.
~~~~~
Kiba's POV
I'm fucking soaked. God this jacket is so heavy.
While I had my back turned I could hear Asuna rummaging around in the dark behind me. When she managed to get some light in the small space, I began shedding my jacket. The soaked leather felt like it weighed a ton as I threw it in the corner. I took my headband off and shook my head, trying and failing to get the water out of my hair.
As I turned around I caught Asuna watching me. I smirked slightly as she quickly looked away, trying to avoid eye contact. She unzipped her jacket and threw it in the corner with mine. Her clothes were clinging to her body and, to my amusement, accentuating her curves. I smirked, taking in her appearance. A puddle started to form under her as she sat down and started pulling her shoes off. Her long hair was pressed tightly to her body, completely drenched from the rain. From this angle she looked pretty skinny and weak. It was complete irony because after that jutsu she just preformed I knew very well that she was anything but that. I couldn't hold back my laughter as I pictured her as a little mouse emerging out of a rain gutter.
"What's so funny?" she asked me. I continued to hold my sides as I laughed and sat down with her on the floor.
"Hahaha-we just-haha I'm sorry-," I gave her a nervous smile, "-it's just that you look like a drowned rat right now, so I can only image what I look like." I stated. I saw her roll her eyes and frown.
"Whatever, better to look like a drowned rat than smell like a wet dog." She said grabbing her nose. My eyes widened.
"Do I really smell that bad?" I definitely didn't think I smelled bad, but I started sniffing myself for good measure.
"No, no I was just kidding." She laughed. It was easily becoming my favorite sound. I looked up at her and she was smiling, holding her hand over her mouth slightly.
So she has a sense of humor. Good to know...
"Oh, good." I replied, slightly embarrassed. In the dim light her blue eyes seemed to glow and become electric. I had to look away for a moment before I got lost in them. I've always been a sucker for blue eyes... I glanced at Akamaru out of the corner of my eye. He seemed fast asleep.
Good. I thought. He needs some rest.
Akamaru had been pushing himself pretty hard during this whole trip. I felt a pang of guilt as I recalled riding on his back for the first half of our travels. I looked back at Asuna and saw that her gaze had lingered on me. I raised an eyebrow at her and she looked down abruptly.
So she's checking me out, huh? She's a little shy isn't she. I guess I'm going to have to get her to open up a bit.
I scooted closer, wanting to be next to her.
"So, Asuna." She turned her head to look at me, seemly startled that I addressed her by her name. "You gotta tell me how in the world you made this shelter thing. I really thought that I was going crazy when I saw the trees shoot up from the ground." I laughed and rubbed the back of my head again, trying to keep the conversation light. I didn't know why I was acting nervous.
It's not like talking to girls is new to me or anything, and I'm sure the female population of the leaf would back me up on that. Sure, she's cute, but so were a lot of girls and I never had any problem before. Maybe it was because she was so quiet. I don't really know what to make of her. I also kind of fear giving the wrong first impression of a village she'd never been to before...
I mentally shook myself, what was I even thinking? Before I could answer that, Asuna brought me out of my thoughts.
~~~~~
Asuna's POV
I couldn't help but smile at his statement.
"Was my jutsu really that impressive?" I asked. "No one back at home seems to think so, not anymore anyway."
"What do you mean? I don't know a single shinobi in Konoha who wouldn't think that was impressive." Kiba had his eyebrows raised as he talked. He was so animated when he was excited and it made me smile more. He continued, "I mean, you made trees grow in less than 30 seconds!"
He threw his arm around my shoulders as if to punctuate his statement. I didn't even realize how cold I was from the rain until he touched me. His skin was so warm, I could help but relax slightly into him.
"What's wrong with the people of your village anyway? Are they blind or something?"
I knew he was trying to be kind, so I took a deep breath and turned my head to look at him. I gazed into his eyes for a second and watched him take in my now serious expression. He gave me a confused look that convinced me to let him in on the secret. I tried to bite back my worries as I spoke.
"Well, you see. My clan is not, um... how should I put it," I fumbled for my words as I went. Kiba shifted his gaze to his arm on my shoulder, probably surprised that I hadn't brushed him off yet, and then returned his attention to me.
"My clan isn't exactly respected back in Iwa." My eyes shifted and focused on Akamaru's sleeping form in the flickering shadows of the candlelight. My mind was elsewhere. Kiba opened his mouth to respond but I continued, unknowingly cutting him off.
"The entire village relied on the Yuna Clan for protection in the last Shinobi War. We might be good at building shelters, but Iwa held us in high regards for our tracking skills. You see, we have a kekkei genkai that enables us to access nature energy and use it with or in place of our own chakra. During the war, the Yuna would track approaching enemy ninja by sensing nature energy waves given off in proximity with their chakra. This kekkei genkai is referred to as Nature Absorption."
My voice caught in my throat. Kiba could tell that I was struggling to get the words out. He probably assumed this was a tough subject for me to be open about. I felt him shift his weight and squeeze my shoulders reassuringly. I leaned into him a bit more and continued.
"There's a catch though, only some of us are born with the kekkei genkai. Who ends up with it is seemingly random. It doesn't just simply skip a generation or anything. Some branches of our clan never even showed signs of it at all. My mother was one of the few survivors the Yuna had left after the war. Neither she or anyone else who survived carried the trait."
I looked up at Kiba as he spoke, "But you have the kekkei genkai, right? I just watched you use it. How did that happen?"
I paused. "No one is really sure. My mom had me towards the end of the war and she claims my dad wasn't even part of our clan, so that's a dead end too. Regardless, I am the only one in the village who can use the Yuna's kekkei genkai. That makes me Iwa's sole reminder of my clan's failure to protect the village. That's also why I got assigned this mission. Its a win-win situation. They get rid of me, and I get to help them uphold their treaty with the leaf."
A few seconds went by as Kiba let my words sink in.
"What?! Are you kidding me?!" Kiba bursted. "You shouldn't have to carry the weight of what the rest of your clan did or didn't do! That's ridiculous." Kiba lifted his arm from my shoulder and raised his fist in the air.
I couldn't help but look at him with surprise. Why was he so worked up over it anyway? Its not like he had to live with it or anything...
He grinned at me again, allowing the light to reflect off of his canines once more.
"Well you don't have to worry about being treated like that back home now! The Leaf knows how to treat its shinobi!" He continued to shake his fist.
I laughed at his outburst. Even though I just got done talking about my past, with that one gesture he made me in a better mood. I couldn't help but smile. He chuckled to himself and made eye contact with me.
"You know, all joking aside, you have a beautiful smile."
I raised an eyebrow at him and dropped my jaw.
What?!
I quickly regained my composure, but I couldn't stop the warmth creeping up on my face as I changed the subject.
"So, I told you all about my clan and its demons. What about you? What's your clan like?" I asked as I scooted back a little and leaned against the wood wall, starting to feel the tiredness settle in.
"Well, the Inuzuka Clan is only the best clan in all of Konoha!" I could help but giggle at his confidence. "We're known mostly for our tracking abilities in the village, but we specialize in using Cooperative Jutsu with our ninken." He quickly glanced at Akamaru and then back at me. "Me and Akamaru here have been together since as far back as I can remember. He's my best pal and my most reliable team mate."
"You guys seem pretty inseparable." I stated, stifling a yawn. Kiba saw this and leaned back against the wall with me. "How long have we been talking?"
"I'm not sure," Kiba said. "Maybe an hour or two?"
"Hmm," I yawned again. "Think we should get some rest for tomorrow." I said more than asked as I reached forward for my pack.
"Yeah, good idea."
Both Kiba and I summoned our sleeping matts and blankets, preparing for the night ahead. Since the shelter wasn't exactly the biggest room, our matts were right next to each other. I moved the lantern from the middle of the floor as I laid down.
Perfect timing, the candle is almost out.
I turned on my side to face Kiba, my eyes threatening to close. He was already facing me with his head on his pillow. He yawned widely and I caught another glimpse of his animalistic canines. I smiled at him before shutting my eyes.
"Goodnight Kiba."
"Goodnight Asuna."