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shuadotcom · 4 years

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Read Your Mind | KTH (M)

♦ Summary: You just want to find your friends and enjoy the party, but instead you find out that maybe you aren’t where you’re supposed to be.

♦ Pairing: Vampire!Taehyung x Human Female!Reader

♦ Genre: Vampire AU, supernatural AU

♦ Rating: NC17

♦ Warnings: Cursing, teasing, implied sex

♦ Word Count: 2.9k

♦ A/N: For @btsholidaybingo | Bing Square: Vampire | Songspo: Read Your Mind - Avant

This has been 98% done for weeks, but I couldn’t write a proper ending for the life of me. Huge, giant thank you to Mars (@joheun-saram) and Danna (@unoriginal-username15432) for beta reading this and helping me try and scrounge up an ending I didn’t hate! ❤️❤️

You can swear that Mingyu texted you the right address. The house number on your phone clearly reads 1230, which matches the numbers on the beige paneled house in front of you. The street is quite dark for it to be nearly 10:30 pm on Halloween night, but the music is loud enough that you can hear it from the sidewalk.

You glance at your texts once more and make your way up to the porch, music blaring as soon as you open the door. The inside of the house is not as dark as it looked from the outside, but it’s still dim, and there aren’t enough lights. Surprisingly, it doesn't smell like cheap beer and weed, which you’re used to smelling, having been to many house parties. Instead, the air is reminiscent of burning incense and something that you can only describe as a coppery scent.

Squinting, you see if you can recognize any of the nearby faces, but you can’t place a name to anyone around you. You pull your phone out of your clutch and shoot a quick text message to the group chat to see where your friends are.

Y/n: Hellooooooo I just walked in. Where are you losers?

Mingyu: Wow and only an hour and a half late

Wonwoo: We’re in the kitchen

Vernon: I will literally down all of these jell-o shots if you don’t get your ass in here

Y/n: IF THAT INCLUDES THE CHERRY ONES I WILL END YOU CHWE 😡

Vernon: 🍒👅

Y/n: 🔪🔪

With nothing but cherry jell-o and strangling your friend on your mind, you miss the multiple sets of eyes staring at you until you put your phone away. A group of costumed party-goers is watching your every move from where they’re standing near the staircase. At least two of them have glowing red contacts, which doesn’t help your unease. Eager to leave, your eyes scan the room, and you decide to venture to the left of the house, away from most of the crowd.

Upon reaching the kitchen, you don’t see Mingyu, Vernon, or any of your other friends. The kitchen itself is empty altogether. After sending a quick text telling your friends to stop fucking with you, you decide a drink is in order.

A quick survey of the dismal spread tells you your only options are clear bottles of red wine and a punch bowl of what you can only assume is jungle juice or another alcoholic punch concoction.

Deciding on the punch, you ladle yourself a cup. It’s oddly thick when you scoop it, and it drips instead of pours into your plastic cup. Taking a sniff, you notice it’s the same coppery smell that got your attention when you first walked in. Up close, the scent makes you gag, and you recoil. What the fuck is in this drink?

Before you can take a cautionary sip, the sense of a presence has you halting and whipping around, only to knock into the solid body that appeared behind you. Two sturdy arms belonging to the man who caught you wrap around your waist, keeping you from busting your ass completely.

“Shit, I’m so sorry!” You laugh awkwardly and try to remove yourself from his arms, but his grip is much stronger than yours.

“No need to apologize, doll. It’s an honor to be this close to you.” You narrow your eyes at him. Something about his tone is off, and you don’t like it. With a quick survey of him, you see that admittedly, he’s extremely good looking. Between his dark, curly hair, thick thighs, and tattoos peeking through the sheer sleeve of his grey shirt, he’s definitely your type, but again, something is off, and you can’t pinpoint it. Even in a bunny-eared headband and a painted-on pink nose, it doesn’t seem right to be here with him like this.

“Well, uh, thank you,” Again, you attempt to wiggle out of his hold, but instead, he pulls you closer, burying his nose into your neck. “What the f-”

“Do you have any idea how divine you smell?”

“Thank you? Look, just l-let me g-go,” A sudden fuzzy sensation takes over your body, and your ability to form coherent sentences seems harder than earlier. You hadn’t even taken a sip of punch, so you know it can’t be that.

The mystery bunny man uses your lethargy to his advantage and places a few kisses on your neck. His lips are cold and send a chill through your body. You want to shove him away, but your mind is hazy.

“This’ll only hurt a bit, doll, but you’ll like it, I promise,” he murmurs into your skin. Your mouth won’t let you ask what he means, but then you feel the sharpness of his teeth grazing your skin. Your brain is screaming, but no sound leaves your lips. This is wrong. Very, very wrong. Are you seriously about to be bitten by a vampire?

“Jungkook, what do you think you’re doing?” A deep voice ringing out through the kitchen has the man you now know as Jungkook pausing before his teeth pierce your skin.

He lets out a scoff and pulls away from you. “Oh, come on, Hyung, what does it look like?”

The man enters your vision from behind Jungkook, and you make eye contact, doing your best to plead with him without words.

“Let her go and stop using your powers on her. Poor girl’s eyes look as dead as your heart.”

Jungkook mumbles something you can’t hear under his breath and releases the hold he has on you. You slump back, and in an instant, the fog that was swirling around your head lifts. You blink a few times as your senses return.

“You’re no fun.” Jungkook pouts at the other man before stomping out of the kitchen, leaving the two of you alone.

After watching Jungkook go, the man turns back to you, his chocolate eyes scanning you from head to toe. You can’t help but shrink further under his gaze. His vibe is different from Jungkook’s, less menacing, but he is just as attractive, which still makes you nervous. Slicked back black hair showcases intense eyebrows and a chiseled jaw. He’s tall and not as muscular but can still clearly throw you around like a doll if he wanted to. And honestly, you kind of want him to.

“I do apologize on behalf of him. He’s the youngest of my brothers and still behaves recklessly sometimes.” He smiles widely, and you see fangs poking out, even though he is very clearly wearing the signature purple suit of the Joker. “I’m Taehyung, and I like your costume, by the way. Are you a leopard?”

You adjust your leopard print jumpsuit, suddenly very aware of how form-fitting it is. “Y/n. And no, I’m Scary Spice. You know, from the Spice Girls?” This makes him chuckle.

“Of course, my mistake.”

You point towards his outfit. “If you’re the Joker, why isn’t your face done up to match?”

Taehyung shrugs. “It’s an old costume that I threw on last minute. I didn’t have much time for the whole thing.” He’s still smirking at you. “What’s the matter, kitten?” He asks, but his tone suggests that he knows exactly what you’re thinking.

You do your best to ignore the way his use of the pet name affects you. “I just want to find my friends. They should be here waiting for me.”

“Oh? Who are your friends? I know everyone at this party.”

“Uh, do you know Mingyu, Vernon, Wonwoo, or Seungcheol? They’re dressed as the other four Spice Girls, so they’re not hard to miss.”

After a few seconds of thinking, the man shakes his head. “Nope, can’t say anyone by those names are here...but I think you knew that already.” He starts to advance towards you, trapping you in place. “It seems you’ve stumbled into the wrong Halloween party, kitten.”

You dig your phone out of your clutch and double-check the address, showing it to him. He shakes his head. “That’s the next street over.”

Something had told you before even walking into the house that something was wrong, but hearing Taehyung confirm it proved that you weren’t just paranoid. The smell of copper and the red liquid in the kitchen, the alleged glowing contacts of people in the front room, and the fact that Jungkook nearly took a literal bite out of you all pointed to what this was. You believed in the supernatural, sure, but it was never at the forefront of your mind that you would run into a supernatural person. Until tonight.

“How interesting,” Taehyung starts. “The realization that you’ve shown up to a party hosted by a house full of vampires doesn’t seem to stress you out nearly as much as it should. Why is that?”

You’re honestly not sure, and when you tell him that, he laughs. “You know, you humans are always so fascinated with the supernatural, especially with us. We’re truly not that different than you all, you know.” Taehyung has you pressed against the counter, and you know he can hear how fast your heart is beating. You watch as his eyes flicker from brown to a deep red color.

The way he’s looking at you is different from Jungkook’s earlier gaze. The latter made you feel helpless since you had seemingly lost control over yourself. It was scary, and you are more than glad that Taehyung swooped in when he did. With him, though, the way that he’s hovering over you and studying your face is exhilarating.

Maybe you’ve finally lost it. Maybe every failed relationship you’ve had has finally gotten to you. Perhaps you’re that desperate right now. Either way, being in the arms of a vampire is better than any human you’ve been this close to.

“Your heart is racing right now. I already know the answer, but tell me anyway; what are you thinking?” He’s so close to you that his lips graze your earlobe. All of your senses are on high alert in the best way possible.

“About you.”

“And what about me?”

“Kissing you.”

Taehyung chuckles and licks his lips. Slow and deliberate. “Oh my, how forward of you. We’ve only just met, kitten.”

You stutter as a blush creeps up your neck. “I-I’m-”

“I’m only teasing you.” Taehyung’s nimble fingers come up to toy with one of your bra straps peeking out of the neckline of your jumpsuit. “I’ve been thinking about kissing you since you walked through the front door.”

He watched you walk in? How long had he been watching you? Before you can ask him, his lips are pressing into yours with a sense of urgency as he brings his body closer to yours. The marble countertop digging into your back is insignificant compared to the way your body buzzes in response to Taehyung. His mouth tastes sweet, and his lips are so soft, which are both heavy contrasts to the way his broad hands are gripping your hips so tight you’re sure you’re bruising through your outfit.

The way his teeth nip at your bottom lip elicits a soft moan from you. He uses the opportunity to suck your tongue into his mouth, and your quiet sounds grow louder, as does the stickiness in your panties. His sharp canines graze against your tongue, and you’re so close to begging him to take you on the kitchen floor of this strange house. Just as you begin rutting against his muscled thigh between your legs, he pulls away, leaving you panting and whimpering.

“You’ve got to go now, kitten.”

“Wh-What?” Your body is still buzzing while Taehyung looks much more composed.

“Your friends are waiting for you.”

“But I don’t want to.” You whine out, sounding childish, but you don’t care. You can’t believe he’s just going to leave you like this.

“Just close your eyes for me. Can you do that?” He’s whispering in your ear again, and your knees nearly buckle.

“Taehyung, I want you so bad.” Your words echo, and they sound slurred. It’s harder to open your eyes.

“And you’ll have me, kitten. Soon.” He places a kiss on your neck, and the same woozy, disconnected sensation you had felt with Jungkook washes over you. You can’t open your eyes, and you want so badly to say something to Taehyung, but your tongue feels impossibly heavy, and you seemingly have forgotten how to speak. Before you can gather any more thoughts, everything goes quiet and dark.

“Y/n? Wake up.” Hearing your name brings you out of your sleep-like state. As your eyes open and adjust, you anticipate the chiseled face of the vampire you were just kissing, but instead of seeing Taehyung’s piercing red eyes, you’re met with Mingyu’s brown ones.

Sitting up fast, you see your friend kneeling in front of you. Vernon, Wonwoo, and Seungcheol stand behind him with matching looks of concern mixed with annoyance.

“What’s going on?” You ask, thoroughly confused.

“We’ve been looking for you for like an hour! You stopped answering our texts, so we practically turned the house upside down, trying to find you!” Vernon explained.

“Come to find out you’re just here in the living room. Passed out on the couch.” Seungcheol deadpans.

Looking around, you see that you’re lying on a grey cloth couch. Around you is the rest of the party. A few people are glancing your way in concern, but for the most part, the remainder of the partygoers don’t notice you or your friends. The room is well lit and reeks of beer. The complete opposite of the house full of vampires you had just been in.

Or that you thought you had just been in.

“Where’s Taehyung?”

“Who?” Mingyu offers you his hand, which you take.

“Taehyung. Dark hair, dressed as the Joker.”

“The only guy here I’ve seen dressed at the Joker is Minghao.” Wonwoo gestures to another mutual friend across the room whose tongue is currently down a Harley Quinn’s throat.

“Well, now that we know you’re not dead in a ditch somewhere, are you up to actually enjoy the rest of the party?” Vernon asks as he adjusts his Sporty Spice track pants.

You agree and follow your friends over to another group of people you all know. Your head doesn’t hurt, and the fog over your mind is completely clear, but you’re still confused. Recalling the handful of shots you threw back before you left home to pregame, you try to remember if it was enough to cause you to blackout on the couch. Your dream felt so real, from how Jungkook influenced your mind to the pure need that Taehyung filled you with. You can practically still feel his grip on your body and his mouth on yours.

When Vernon offers you a glass of water, you down it in less than a minute to calm your vivid memories of Taehyung and the dull ache between your legs.

Only another hour goes by before you, and your friends say your goodbyes and pile into your respective Ubers. Once you’re home, you get ready for bed with your mind still stuck on your dream and Taehyung. You think of him as you undress and shower, not able to resist touching yourself at the realistic sensation of him.

He’s still on your mind as you settle into bed and attempt to distract yourself by scrolling through Twitter. You’re so caught up in your head that you don’t even notice the figure reclining on your couch across the room until he clears his throat.

Nearly jumping out of your skin, you sit up and whip around, ready to fight your intruder. You abandon this quickly when you see him stand up.

“Taehyung?”

“Hello, kitten,” his smooth, deep baritone echoes through the quiet room. He is at your bedside in no time, your studio apartment not leaving much space between the two of you, to begin with.

“I-I thought, uh, I thought you were a dream,” you stutter as he crawls onto your bed. You notice he’s no longer in his Joker costume, but a pair of black slacks and loose, white button-down instead. He still looks breathtaking. “I was with you...but then I wasn’t? I was with my friends, and you were gone, and I-”

“Ssh,” he places a finger over your lips. “Don’t worry about that right now, kitten. I’m here now, and we need to finish what we started.” His hand travels up your thigh as he speaks, fingers dangerously close to your core. “I heard you in the shower a little bit ago. I know how much you missed me.”

Did you fall asleep with your phone in your hand? Is this truly happening?

You aren’t entirely sure, but the way Taehyung suddenly tears your shirt open and latches his lips around your nipple feels very real to you. The number of times he has you orgasming into the night is also very real, and the soreness you feel throughout your body stays with you even as you wake the next morning.

It’s obvious Taehyung is determined to make sure you stop doubting his existence and thinking your time together is some sort of dream, even if it takes him the entirety of the day and into the rest of the weekend.

#btsholidaybingo #btsnoonanet #ficswithluv #heartsforbts #btswritingcafe #bangtanarmynet #bangtanhq #thebtswritersclub #bangtanuniversity #btsbookclub #btswriterscollective #magicshopnet #thebtsficarchive #taehyung x reader #kim taehyung x reader #vampire taehyung #taehyung fic

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tentendeservedbetter · 3 years

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home is where my team is - Chapter 6

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The moment he entered the street his home laid in, in an area that is considered to be Konoha’s “Inuzuka neighbourhood”, the smell of spices and fresh meat took over the other scents around him, almost making him salivate slightly as he pulled open the front gate. It was early evening - almost time for dinner, he assumed, and man, was he starving.

Kiba nearly tripped over his own feet as he rushed through the front door and sat on the ledge of the entryway of his home, unzipping the back of his sandals and kicking off his shoes. He was about to leave his sandals in their spot, one having flipped over and laying on its side, however, the memories his mom scolding him harshly from the last time he left his shoes in the entryway, and today was the day he did not want hear any type of scolding from Tsume.

Before Kiba could give a command, Akamaru bounced up from the ledge leading into the house, barking and bouncing through the hallway into the living room.

“Chicken! Chicken!” Akamaru barks echoed through the hallways.

"Hey, Akamaru! Sit! Sit!!" A voice came from within, making Kiba jump up from the ledge and briskly walk towards the doorway.

He found Hana standing in the kitchen, near the counter with chicken legs lined up on a glass platter, hands covered in plastic gloves in the air away from her, extending the leg that Akamaru had decided to attach himself onto away from the counter. Akamaru almost immediately backed off of Hana when Kiba stepped into the space, sitting down, but he never left Hana’s side.

“I wasn’t expecting you guys to be back home this early,” Hana commented, looking up to Kiba. She tilted her head to the side, the side of her mouth lifting into a grin, an eyebrow raised. “So? Pass or fail?”

“You knew?” Kiba asked, his eyebrows pulling in automatically at her question, a realization dawning on him. “Why didn’t you tell me that I would have to take another test to become a Genin!”

“You sign a NDA along with your contract to ensure that you don’t tell Academy students about the test,” Hana answered with a slight shrug, taking off the plastic gloves, quickly turning on the sink and running her hands with soap.

Kiba desperately wanted to ask, “What the hell is a NDA?”, but Hana chuckled a bit, continuing, “I’m kidding, it’s not that serious. But they do tell us not to mention it to upcoming Academy graduates, just in case. Even the ones who failed can’t mention it either. So? Did you fail?”

Kiba quickly shoved his hand into his hoodie pocket, pulling out the headband he took off on the way back home, the mixture of sweat and dirt from all those hours running around, fighting Kurenai, and rolling across the ground making the fabric stick to his forehead in a way that even he found to be uncomfortable and mildly gross. The smell of it...well...he didn’t want to begin to describe it. He showed her the handband in the palm of his hand, and he could see Hana’s face brighten up, a big smile.

“Hey, I knew you could do it!” Hana said, walking up towards him, a hand reaching out to rub his head roughly, the strength of it making Kiba’s move around a bit too much, he swore his skull was going to snap off his neck.

“Hey! Ow! Stop it!” Kiba exclaimed, his voice cracking throughout the inflections, and Hana pulled her hand away (but not without giving him a few more ruffles). “You’re ruining my hair!”

“It’s already ruined,” Hana replied, putting a hand on her hip. “Go wash up and come back downstairs. And actually, wash up properly.”

“I’m not a kid! I know how to clean myself,” Kiba continued as Hana silently ushered him out of the kitchen, out into the hallway to the staircases leading up to the top floor.

“Do you? Do you really?” Hana asked, and Kiba squinted his eyes, throwing her his best annoyed look to get her to stop bugging him. He walked up the stairs with Akamaru a step below him, slower than he would, all the movement he did that day catching up to him and making his legs ache in a way that he never felt from anything he had to endure throughout the years at the Academy. Actual battles are different from those training spars they had to do, for sure. When they emphasized endurance and resistance training, Kiba didn't think much of it- but now, he has to come up with some new regimen to follow.

Suddenly, he heard Hana call out from the bottom of the staircase, “Wear your cleanest clothes! We’re going to have guests!”

“What!?” Kiba called back immediately, whipping his head back to look down at her, but all he saw was Hana walking away into the hallways, likely to go back to the kitchen. He yelled, louder now, “Hana! What?! What d’you mean we’re having guests?!”

“You heard me!” He heard Hana’s voice, muffled through the walls, call back, and he could hear the sound of water running again quickly before he could yell back again. He didn’t want to go back downstairs, already at the top of the staircase to begin with, and he knew Hana was going to tell him to leave her alone so she could do what she was doing in peace.

What the hell! Kiba thought as he went through the top drawer that was underneath the bathroom sink, taking out his green visor-like shower cap, after grabbing his towel from his room and throwing all his clothes in the laundry basket in the corner of his room. He nearly stomped into the bathtub, putting the visor around his forehead, around above his ears, before turning the knob maybe a bit too aggressively. He quickly set up the water temperature with the knobs, the cold water from the showerhead turning warm as the water hit his hair, traveling down over his body.

I was going to meet up with Akane after the test! Kiba furiously grabbed the nearest shampoo bottle in the tub - the only one there, a lavender scented one, just lovely, he really needs to buy his own shampoo from now on unless he wanted to smell like a flower shop - and he lathered and massaged it into his brown strands. He was careful not to let the shampoo get anywhere near his ears, he knew that it would annoy him if water got into his ears. I wanted to...oh fuck, my eyes!

He had somehow got soap in his eyes, and Kiba quickly cupped his hands to catch the water and wash his face. After that, he quickly cleaned the rest of his body, not wanting to stand in there longer than he had to.

Kiba had met up with his friends the evening before at the park near the Academy, after he met Kurenai for the first time and he had stayed behind at the tea house with Hinata and Shino. The moment they finished the tea and mochi that Kurenai had (thankfully) paid for, he ran off, not wanting to be held back with them anymore. They were more than excited about their sensei - he was so cool, Akane had swooned, with a bandana and a toothpick in his mouth without a care in the world- and they were definitely much more optimistic about their team than Kiba could have ever dreamed of being.

Hinata and Shino… he won’t lie and say that he thought of them differently before this test they had to take together. Other than what he thought of them before - one being shy and passive and the other being cold, rude, and, well, creepy- he also had thought they would be much more...stuck up.

Well, Shino was kind of stuck up, in a way, however...he did recognize Kiba’s abilities as a shinobi, entrusting him with a pretty big role in their strategy to get Kurenai’s headband. But...the way he speaks to him, with all those big words and explaining every little detail, asking him questions all uppity, like he was looking down on him when he asked a question…

Kiba knew they were from noble clans - the Hyuuga and the Aburame, two of the four other clans to help found the Village, along with the Uchiha and the Akimichi clan. And the only reason Kiba even cared to remember this is because his year had a student from these clans. Sasuke Uchiha and Choji Akimichi, specifically. The latter one, he was acquainted to as well, but he had a hard time believing that Choji came from such an esteemed clan - he always hung out with Shikamaru and asked him for his allowance to buy snacks from the convenient store near the Academy, always snacking during class, and he was not a better student than...any of them, really.

Choji was very different from the other three students. He was definitely friendlier and more outgoing. And he was actually approachable.

Hinata was definitely different from how he thought she would act. Well, yes, she was shy, and was very much a peacekeeper between himself and Shino, and was passive about what to do when they first started the test together. He expected her to be snobbish as well; between all of them, the Hyuuga, from what he remembers from seeing in passing when Hinata was accompanied by a member of the clan to school and on parent-teacher conference night, had a sense of...importance that they carried. They also smelled like, what Kiba would describe as, freaking loaded.

And he expected Hinata to react differently when he teased her - he thought she would have told him off, in a more ladylike way with less cursing obviously (imagine Hinata cursing...that would be funny), like how most of the girls in the class do whenever a guy tries to get on their nerve and make a dumb joke.

Hinata genuinely thought he was serious, and she...just looked very naive. Sheltered, if he had to go there. And she didn’t try to demean him in any way. And...she just accepted his apology, because really, he thought she wouldn’t react that taken aback, and she was just...generally very easy going.

Not saying that he felt some deep and profound connection with them after this test, no. But maybe having to smell them, getting all in their personal space, might have done something? Kiba felt his face start to heat up as he thought about how close he was to them, close to their clothes, their hair, their skin. He never had to do that before; it was his first time. Usually, he would be adjusted to people’s scent through time, and while it did take a very long time that way, it is the least intimate way to get to know someone.

Stop thinking about it, Kiba commanded himself, feeling his heart beating fast, and he turned off the water faucet, taking a deep breath. Now’s not the time...we got other shit to deal with.

“Akamaru!” Kiba opened the bathroom curtains slightly open, grabbing the towel he hung nearby and wrapped it around his chest - no, he meant his waist. He found Akamaru laying down on the mat on the floor, eyes closed as the steam from the hot water created a foggy blanket in the room.

Akamaru immediately pulled himself up on his feet to the sound of Kiba's voice, looking straight at him, barking, “Yes Master!”

“Come here,” Kiba gestured. Akamaru didn’t budge, his tail momentarily stopped moving, and he stared at Kiba, frozen in place. Kiba stared at him for a moment, waiting. But when he noticed Akamaru starting to back away towards the bathroom door, Kiba immediately stepped out of the tub, taking a few steps. Akamaru quickly turned around and started to scrape at the door, whining.

“No! Please don’t!” Akamaru whined, and Kiba swiftly picked him up, holding him with both hands.

“Would you rather Hana wash you?” Kiba replied as he quickly plugged the beige bathtub stopper in the drain, turning on the faucet and letting the water run until it was shallow enough for Akamaru to stand, but deep enough to easily throw water on him.

“Yes-!” Akamaru replied, and without any hesitation, Kiba sat on his knees and let go of Akamaru into the bathtub, where the pup let out a yelp as he landed on his feet.

“It’ll be fast, I promise!” Kiba grumbled as he held Akamaru with a hand around Akamaru’s narrow waist. “And don’t bite, or else!”

“Help! Hana, help me!” Akamaru called out.

“Stay still!”

After what felt like too long for a quick bath for a pup that size, Akamaru was sitting on his bed wrapped in a towel, while Kiba put on, as his sister said, his “cleanest clothes”. Other than what he would wear for training, he didn’t have many options - but a plain black t-shirt and brown cargo pants should be enough to please Hana. The smell of cooked chicken, along with other foods wafted through his slightly opened bedroom door.

What guests are they even going to have?

“You want me to get the hairdryer?” Kiba asked Akamaru while aggressively rubbing a towel in his hair, trying to dry it to the best of his abilities. Akamaru shook his head, and Kiba sat down beside him, patting his fur gently after Akamaru shaked his body quickly.

“Kiba!” He heard Hana’s voice call from the first floor through. “Are you done? Come down!”

“Yeah!” Kiba hollered back.

“Huh? I can’t hear you!” Hana called back.

“I SAID ‘YEAH’!” He got up on his feet, quickly making his way down the stairs, through the hallways, and…

“Well, if isn’t the man of the hour! Congrats, Kiba!”

“What the-” Kiba muttered when he saw the living space was filled with...well...members of the Inuzuka clan.

There were members of his clan sitting on the three couches surrounding the coffee table, spaced out between themselves. He saw the space in between occupied with a few dogs, all of varying fur length and colour but they were all larger, older than the other dogs in the clan, laying on their stomachs, taking a nap. The screen door was slightly open, and he could hear even more dogs, playfully barking while the sound of children yelling in glee.

Young and old...Immediate family or extended members that he does not share blood with...it didn’t matter how they were all related to each other or whether they were related at all. What mattered was that they carried the Inuzuka name, they were loyal to one another in the clan and...they were here.

To celebrate him becoming a Genin.

It was only a fraction of the clan, though - regardless, Kiba felt warm seeing them there. The one who congratulated him first, before everyone else also started to throw whoops and cheers of congratulations, was a man in the Konoha green flak jacket, around middle aged, slightly sturdier in size sitting on the corner seat of one of the couches, with tan skin and brown hair, paler with a few grey strands from age, that fell just below just above his shoulder. He wasn’t one of the most senior members of the clan, but he was getting there, though the man tends to say that he was still agile despite being in his 50s.

“Man of the hour, huh?” Kiba asked, grinning at his words as he approached the couches, and the man stood up, much taller than Kiba and wider than Kiba’s small statue. The man reached over to grab his shoulder, nearly toppling Kiba forward from the strength of his affectionate shake. “So, can I call you Gaku instead of old man?”

“Hey, hey, don’t get too comfortable,” Gaku cautioned, though he laughed while saying it, while the others around him chuckled and laughed at Kiba’s cheeky request. “You’re still a little brat!”

“He’s not so little anymore; you've gotten taller since the last time I saw you,” another man chimed in, and Kiba glanced beyond Gaku, where another middle aged man sat at the end of the couch. His hair was much shorter than Gaku’s, much more grey and split from the side, but just as choppy, not wearing his flak jacket, rather wearing a casual shirt and pants. He had similar red markings on his cheeks. “At this rate, you’ll be taller than Tosa!”

“Well, aren’t you a comedian, Isamu,” Tosa, sitting on the couch opposite from them, scoffed, his voice deeper and lower than the other two men’s. Kiba had to hold back his laugh while the others around them let out laughter at the man’s deeping frown, making the lines on his face deepen, his red marks moving down. “You should consider joining a circus.”

“I’ll do it when I retire,” Isamu replied lightheartedly. “Maybe after Hitomi finishes school, I’ll run away.”

“Please do,” a woman, probably about a few years younger than them but still with evident aging on her tan skin, who sat on the opposite end of the couch Tosa sat on, replied. She grinned, her red marks perking upwards, as she spoke, “Then maybe I will know peace, for once.”

“Well, I did tell you not to settle with him,” He heard another voice from the dining table, and he glanced over at another middle aged woman, her black hair, speckled with grey strands, tied back into a bun, her hands busy skinning an apple. Unlike the others, she didn’t have the red fangs on her cheek. A large plate sat in front of her, already with some apple slices and tangerines.

“Well someone has to be with him, Fuuko,” the woman beside Tosa replied, gesturing towards him as Isamu smiled along. “Look at him. Nobody else in the Village wanted him.”

“Haya, what have I done to deserve this kind of treatment,” Isamua pleaded to his wife, who rolled her eyes in response.

“Aunt Fuuko, you can let Kiba handle the rest,” they heard Hana calling from the kitchen, and Kiba glanced back towards the entryway, finding her holding a tray with fried rice. The smell immediately filled the air, and from the scent Kiba could tell it was fresh from the pan. Hana looked at Kiba, and held the tray out towards him, not moving to him. “Kiba, put this on the table, please.”

“C’mon Hana, it’s the boy’s special day!” Gaku replied before Kiba could even scowl back at her, his body instinctively ready to walk towards her. “Let him rest for a bit.”

“The more hands I have in the kitchen, the faster the food comes out,” Hana replied, glancing down at Kiba, looking at him expectedly. He knew supporting Gaku would not deter her - besides, even if Kiba didn’t want to do it, it wasn’t like he was doing much of the work. Hana must have been preparing all of this food for a while...and Tsume left this morning to go on a mission, and was nowhere in sight, so he could only assume she hadn’t come home yet. Besides...If Tsume comes home to find him not caring for their guest... that’s another fear he does not need.

“Alright, alright,” Kiba replied, walking out of Gaku’s grasp towards Hana. “I’m coming.”

“Good,” Hana said with a wide smile, placing the tray on his arms. “Put this on the table, and then cut the fruits that are there.”

“Sure,” Kiba drawled. “Would you like me to do anything else, my dear sister?”

“Yes,” Hana said brightly, playing along with his tone. “You can make everyone here tea.”

“Hey, Hana! Bring out the sake!” Gaku called out from his seat from the couch. “We can’t celebrate without alcohol!”

“You guys want to drink now?” Hana replied, raising an eyebrow, looking straight at him above Kiba. “You don’t want to wait for everyone else to come?”

“Everyone else?” Kiba repeated, and as if on cue, the ding dong of the doorbell rang through the air. Hana immediately stepped past Kiba, and he quickly went to the dining table, placing the tray in the middle.

“Hey, Aunt Hachi! Thank you for coming! And Mimi, I love your dress, you look so pretty,” Hana kindly greeted their clansmen under the sounds of his aunts and uncles talking in the living room as he entered the kitchen. He begrudgingly filled the kettle on the counter with water from the sink, glancing around the kitchen space. He saw the oven was on, a timer ticking away near it, a mixture of cooked meats and spices emitting from it. Kiba inhaled sharply. There was chicken...more chicken...and meatballs, maybe? The more he sniffed, the more he smelled - tones of teriyaki, miso, the lemon and paprika… he could feel his mouth salivating again, his stomach letting out a low rumble.

He needed to distract himself.

“Who wants tea?” Kiba asked, and he heard a few ‘yeah’, ‘sure’ and ‘here’.

“Let me check if Hige wants one,” Haya said from her seat, gesturing to the sliding door leading outside. “He is sitting outside with Ken and Kegawa. Hige!”

She bellowed his name as she stood up, walking to the sliding door, "Oji-san! You want some tea?”

"Depends- who's making it?" He heard a voice distantly speaking from outside, elderly in quality, low and croaky, slow and steady in the tone.

"Kiba."

"He's here?!” The voice perked up, and Kiba could hear it clearer as it approached the sliding door. “Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

A face peered through the sliding door, aged through years of fighting through many wars before Kiba, or even Tsume, existed on this Earth. What was left of his hair was pure white, his hairline receding to reveal the top of his scalp, shiny under the light. His tan skin was etched with lines - wrinkles and scars, Kiba knew - and his sharp eyes looked around the room, just as they were since he was an active shinobi (or so they say). The Inuzuka genes were strong, even into their old age.

Even the balding.

Kiba considered himself lucky that he probably didn’t have that gene.

“Kiba!” Hige spoke in a booming voice, nearly making Akamaru jump beside him at the sound, much louder than Gaku. “You didn’t come to say hello?”

“I didn’t know you were here, Oji-san,” Kiba replied, giving a slight bow of his head. “You know you would have been the first one I said hello to.”

To this, Hige let out a loud laugh that Kiba swore made the room rumble a bit, grabbing the attention of even the elderly dogs in the room, as he said just as loudly, “You’re just like Tsume!”

“Hey, Oji-san!” Gaku called out. “Quiet down a bit, you’re yelling again! And don’t laugh so loud, you’re gonna raise your blood pressure!”

“What?” Hige replied, glancing around the room for moment. He lifted up a hand behind his ear, and yelled, “Did someone say something?”

“I SAID QUIET DOWN, YOU’RE YELLING AGAIN!” Gaku hollered back, making Isamu cringe beside him, covering his ears with both hands.

“Take your own advice!” Isamu pointed out, before another layer of loud discussion occurred.

"Kiba-niisan's here?!"

A different voice hollered from outside, a lighter voice.

Ken’s here?! Kiba thought, nearly straining his neck from whipping his head towards the door. A small head peered behind Hige, short tufts of brown hair poking in every direction, a boy that was a few years younger than Kiba. The moment the boy’s piercing brown eyes met Kiba’s, his face broke into a big, wide smile, puffing up his markless cheeks and he started to run towards the kitchen, every step light and fast.

“Ken!” Hige exclaimed as the boy ran past him, an order for him to stop running, but he didn’t listen to a word the old man said.

“Kiba-niisan! Kiba-niisan!!” The boy exclaimed as he ran into the kitchen. “Mom said you’re a real ninja now!”

“Yes I am,” Kiba replied, keeping his voice as even as he could. He could never try to make his voice all soft towards kids younger than him- his voice did not allow for that.

“Where’s your headband? Can I see it?” Ken continued to probe, stepping around to look up at Kiba, hovering.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Kiba said, going into his pocket and fishing out his headband. The light of the kitchen caught the metal, giving it a gleam as Ken got on his tiptoes to peer at it with wide eyes.

“Whoaaaa,” Ken gasped as he blinked a few times. “Can I wear it?”

“No, you have to graduate from the Academy before you even think about wearing it,” Kiba said, quickly stuffing back in his pocket before Ken’s little hands could even go near it.

“Why is it blue?” Ken asked quickly, walking around Kiba to look up to him.

“I don’t know. You should ask your old man - he was around when they started making these things,” Kiba replied swiftly.

“I’ve seen headbands that are black, and, and, red, and-” Ken started to rattle off about headbands he’s seen, continuing to hover around Kiba. Kiba could feel his tolerance slowly grating away as he reached up to get a bunch of mugs, laying them out as he poured the boiling hot water into a teapot, the tea bag steeping the water a deep amber.

Hana told him that it was out of admiration, that he should be flattered that Ken looked up to Kiba since Kiba was the only male cousin he had, everyone else in the family being around Hana's age and older. Which, when Kiba thinks about it, yeah he did find it flattering, stroking his ego a bit as well. But that didn't stop Ken's constantly following him around like a tail annoying.

He had Akamaru for that.

“Ken!” another child’s voice, smaller and quieter than Ken’s voice, came from further away. Kiba glanced up to see another child, even younger than Ken, with a similar spiky brown hair that is apparently a common trait amongst the Inuzukas. “Where are you?”

“Kega! I’m in the kitchen,” Ken called out to the child, peering around through the open kitchen doorway. “With Kiba-niisan!”

Please, no more, Kiba looked up, the child’s feet pit-pat across the floor, the legs of his blue overalls snagging along behind.

“Kiba!” the small child exclaimed with a big smile, and he waddled over to where he stood, besides Ken, a good few inches smaller than the boy.

“Hello, Kegawa,” Kiba forced out, making his voice a bit less gruff for the kids, but dammit, his voice wasn’t built to be soft! Now, it’s not that he hates kids, and between the two brothers, Kiba really liked Kegawa because, well...he doesn’t talk as much as Ken, and was much more reserved, a stark contrast.

“Kiba-niisan! Come play with us,” Kegawa asked in a soft tone.

“Yeah!” Ken said in a much louder voice, suddenly tugging on Kiba’s shirt, pulling him as much as his seven year old strength could muster. “Come play with us! Come! COME!”

“Ken, my shirt!” Kiba protested, bordering on whining. Now his shirt’s gonna be stretched out! Kiba let a slight sigh as Ken let go, but the kid did not back off. “I can’t, I make food and everything. Don’t you want to eat chicken nuggets?”

“CHICKEN NUGGETS?!” Ken exclaimed, now enticed by the thought of food. Kids are so easy to distract...

“Yeah, I have to make it though,” Kiba said lightly, bending slightly with his hands on his knees. “I can make it with cheese inside and everything.”

“CHEESE?”

“Yeah, so if you and Kega play for a bit, I’ll make it and give it to you right away,” Kiba continued.

“Thank you…” Kiba could hear a tiny voice coming from the doorway into the living room. A little girl with two brown pigtails in a dress - Mimi, another cousin of theirs- came through the door, Hana right behind her.

“See, Mimi’s here too,” Kiba pointed out, and the brothers whipped their heads around at the same time towards the door. “Why don’t you ask her to play too!”

"Hey, Mimi!” Ken hollered immediately, running up towards the young girl, who stood idly as he grabbed her hand, tugging. “Finally! You’re here! C’mon, let’s go play outside!”

“Oh...okay,” Mimi said, following him closely, as Kega tailed behind her.

“Noka!” Ken called, looking at the portion of the living room where a few dogs laid around, and a black dog glanced up, looking at Ken. “Come play with us!”

“I’ll come out in a bit,” the dog, Noka, barked back lightly, returning to licking the fur on her paw. The dog wasn’t Ken’s dog, no, she was his mother’s ninken; ninkens tend not to leave their master’s side, however, when it comes to their master’s kids, on their master’s orders, they often are found to be a sort of caretaker for their child. Kiba doesn’t know how this specific dog can do it though; Noka was much older, equivalent to a human nearing their middle-age. And yet, she still manages to have the energy to keep up with both Ken and Kegawa.

Kiba let out a little sigh of relief as the three children ran across the room, slipping outside of the sliding door, leaving it slightly open as they were laughing in a childish glee. Finally, he can breathe a little more now.

A woman with red markings and a brown bob entered the living room behind Hana, interestingly wearing the flak jacket - she must've come here right after her shift. She immediately noticed Kiba through the open panel of the kitchen, and walked up to him.

Ah shit, here we go, Kiba thought as the woman affectionately pinched his cheek.

"Kiba-chan! Good job on passing!" The woman, Hachi, another aunt that was related to him somehow, or she wasn't actually related to him by blood, he doesn't remember, sang. He knew that she was Mimi’s mother, so likely she was blood-related. "I knew you could do it!"

"Thank you," Kiba managed to say, and she let go of him.

"Here's a lil’ something something," Hachi continued, and she produced a small envelope from her pocket,

"I can't accept this-" he started, actually wanting the money, but he knew he couldn't readily accept it.

Hachi immediately interrupted, pushing the envelope back to him, tatting, "Nuh uh. Keep it- buy yourself some new clothes for work or whatever you want to get."

Hachi was one of the younger aunts he had in the Inuzuka clan, though he wasn't sure how exactly they were related, she was one of the closer ones to him, he knew. She lived up to the young aunt role to anyone who called her Aunt Hachi - she was much more up to date with what was happening around the village, unlike the other aunts.

And she was the only one who gave out money as a gift when it wasn't New Year. It had helped Kiba out when he wanted to get something, but he didn't have the allowance for it or he knew Tsume would've said no.

“How many people are coming today?” Kiba asked when Hana entered the kitchen after Hachi left, who looked into the oven immediately.

"Everyone who can make it," Hana replied simply, as she took a pair of oven mitts that sat over the oven handle, putting them on as she opened the door. Immediately his senses were taken by the smell of food filling the space. He can't escape it- he could feel his mouth salivating. "That's why...you gotta give me a hand."

"What happened to Ma?" Kiba continued, waiting for the kettle to whistle while he watched Hana carefully place the large trays from within onto laid out towels on the counter.

"She should be here soon," Hana said, without much concern, her focus on the task at hand. "Tosa was out on a mission with her. He said she had to file a report with Uncle Tadao. Those things take a long while sometimes- you're gonna find out soon enough."

The doorbell rang, and Hana took off the oven mitts, heading out once again.

"Put the other trays inside the oven and set the timer to 20!" Hana said as she pointed out trays of meat on a different side of the kitchen counter.

"Please," Kiba emphasized to no one, taking the mitts and putting the trays into the oven.

It continued as such - more clans people entered the house as Hana greeted them, and Kiba was in and out of the kitchen to the dinner table, serving tea as more guests arrived and helping Hana with preparing the food. Eventually, the main courses were finished, and now Kiba simply stood by, waiting for Hana to signal that they could eat.

“Hey Ashi!” He heard his sister’s voice grow much chipper. “You decided to come! And who’s this little baby?”

"A baby?!" Akamaru barked beside Kiba, and started to bound excitedly away from Kiba towards the front.

“Hey, Akamaru!” Kiba replied, quickly following him, trying to catch him.

“Aw, what a cutie! Is this Kiba’s ninken? Sit!” A voice exclaimed delightfully, while Akamaru gave a cute ‘arf’ in response. Kiba peered around the corner, a young woman kneeling to the ground, as she petted Akamaru’s head, who had a tongue sticking out, panting. She continued, "Sorry, Ashimaru wasn’t feeling well!"

Kiba saw the young woman with long, dark brown hair and light brown skin, shorter than Hana in height, taking off her shoes. An equally young man stood beside her holding an infant in his arms, a bit paler than she was, and definitely taller than her, with ashy grey hair did the same. The woman had the red Inuzuka marks on her cheeks; the man, on the other hand, did not.

“Kiba!” the young woman exclaimed upon noticing Kiba, looking past Hana at him, and immediately entered the house. “Congratulations on becoming a Genin!”

“Thank you, thank you,” Kiba replied with a grin as he approached her, expecting her to give him a pat on the head, but rather, she reached over to pinch his cheek like a child. Because of course she would- every single one of them does this with him. “H-Hey! Ashi, leggo!”

“You might be considered a man now, but you’re still my little brother!” Ashi replied happily, letting go. “Aw, Hana, how’re they gonna let him go out on the field when he looks like this, huh?”

“Please, I’m not a kid anymore!” Kiba mumbled, rubbing the cheek she pulled, stinging. At this rate, he was getting worried about the state of his cheek at the end of the night.

Ashi was his cousin, not an immediate cousin, but she was one of Tsume’s nieces...from the many that she called a niece.

Growing up, Hana and her were close friends, always hanging out together. She treated Kiba nearly identical to how Hana would treat him, teasing him and treating him like an annoying little kid, but was much more obnoxious with it, unlike Hana who Kiba thought was at least, less loud and brash. It wasn’t until she started dating her now husband, that he hadn't seen her around the house. They got married two years ago, and immediately had, well...what her husband was holding in arms.

The baby looked blankly at Kiba, big round eyes staring as they watched him carefully, tiny fingers holding on to her father’s shirt, tufts of deep brown hair in pigtails with a bow on one side. Most of their limbs and body, rounded and curved, was covered in a long sleeved black dress, and some white bottoms and little socks with cute dog patterns around it. The baby, a girl named Akita, looked very much like an Inuzuka, despite her father having a starkly contrasting look from Ashi.

“You’ll always be that little kid,” Ashi mused, before turning around and heading back to the entryway. “Oh! And we got you something too!”

She rummaged through the basket that was under the red stroller, pulling out a purple gift bag, and held it up to him. “Here you go!”

“Ashi, you didn’t have to get him anything,” Hana replied. “He just became a Genin.”

“A Genin is still part of the force,” Ashi replied. “And Sanae thought you might need these! Your team is going to be a tracking team, right? You might want to start using these from now on.”

“How did you know?” Kiba asked as he accepted the gift, carefully peering through. Inside was a bag, sealed, with a few round purple balls inside, the size of a tennis ball. He knew immediately what it was, something that he has seen Hana and his mom packed when they were going to head out to a mission - smoke bombs. He hasn’t been able to practice with it, even at the Academy, the budget didn’t allow them to use every weapon, rather just look at it so they knew what it was.

“Everyone’s heard of the new Genin teams that passed by now,” the man, Sanae, behind them spoke up, his voice much softer than Ashi’s, and he took a step up the ledge. Everyone, Kiba assumed, was the shinobi forces. "Only three teams passed this year."

"Really?" Hana asked. "Last year, they only passed one."

“That one was an anomaly,” Ashi said. “Depending on how many teams they make, they put a limit; it’s always been typically 2-4 teams for about 8 years now? But, we are having a shortage of students becoming shinobis too, so that might be affecting our numbers.”

“They’re just not pumping out shinobis like they used to,” Hana replied with a shrug. “There were, like what, 60 students in my year? And we had about 6 teams that made it.”

“Yeah, it was something along those lines for me,” Ashi nodded, before glancing over to her husband. “What about your class?”

“Around that number as well,” Sanae agreed. “It was after the war, after all, so they really needed new shinobi. We had a lot more groups actually...about 10 teams?"

“Ah, that’s right,” Ashi sighed. “I forgot that you’re really old.”

Ashi quickly followed it with a loud laugh, while Sanae just smiled, not saying anything at Ashi’s joke at his expense.

Ashi continued, as they stepped inside, “I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that they have a limit with the number of students though. They should be lenient with it.”

“Nah, they’re like that so they can weed out the students that aren’t taking it seriously,” Hana added with a shrug. “Anyways, come inside, please. Kiba, please go make tea for both of them.”

“Alright,” Kiba said, refraining from groaning because, well, at least Hana said please this time. He was about to turn around, but not without bowing his head slightly. “I appreciate the gift. I’ll do my best.”

“Of course you will,” Ashi said, following behind Hana as they led them back down the hall, towards the living room. “You are Tsume’s kid after all.”

Right. He has and will always be known as Tsume’s kid...Hana’s brother… Kiba knew he had a lot more to live up to than most of his classmates had. He’s just going to have to work really hard to prove himself useful for his village.

They walked through the hallway, into the living room. The moment Sanae walked through with their child in hand, however, was when all attention from the rest of the clansmen turned towards them.

“Ashi brought the baby?” Isamu said, sitting up immediately to look over at Akita in Sanae’s arms.

“Hey, hey, where’s my hi, Uncle Isamu?” Ashi asked as she went around to the couches, leaning to give a side hug, to the people on the couches, receiving a nose kiss here and there, an unusual practice for those outside of the Inuzuka clan, but the constant norm they grew up with in the families.

“Yeah, hi,” Isamu said, distracted as Sanae brought the baby towards the center of the couches as he greeted his in-laws, letting Akita look around a bit, now looking a bit more happier at the multiple faces before her. “Sit here, Sanae.”

A demand, not a request, and Sanae looked at Isamu’s gesture towards the empty seat between himself and Gaku. Kiba could tell Sanae was thinking of something as he stared at the seat, and it took him a moment to finally respond with a hesitant smile, “A-ah, alright.”

Kiba watched from the kitchen as Sanae shuffled between the coffee table and the couch, his lean figure wedging itself between the two older men, their wide and muscular bodies taking up most of the space. He gave Akita to Isamu, who immediately swept the baby from his arms, lifting her up in the air before Sanae could protest. Akita, on the other hand, was making some happy sounds, and Isamu continued to gently lift her up and down, while cooing at her. Once Kiba finished making their tea, he placed it on the coffee table.

“Where’s your old man?” Haya asked as Ashi finally set herself down beside her after her greetings.

“He's still on a mission - he won’t be back until tomorrow,” Ashi said with a sigh.

“Already?” Haya asked, a quirk of an eyebrow. “I thought the doctor told him to take it easy with his injury.”

“Yeah, well, what can you do,” Ashi shrugged. “He sees it as a pride thing.”

“Nothing prideful about working with a busted kneecap,” Haya shook her head. Meanwhile, on the other couch, Isamu continued to play with Akita, now playing peek-a-boo while balancing her on his legs.

"Akita,” Gaku cooed from beside Sanae, quietly drinking his tea. “Come to Uncle Gaku."

"Uncle? You could be her grandpa," Tosa commented. Gaku immediately threw him a scowl.

"Don't mess it up for me- Tsume already made these kids call me old man, even when I told her not to," Gaku said while Isamu gently gave him the baby, holding the infant up in the air, before bringing her down to his face. “Who’s a cute little baby? Who’s a cute little baby? You are! You are!”

"Should've had your own, then," Haya commented, to which Isamu laughed.

"Gaku swore to never settle down," Isamu added as he leaned over towards the table, picking up the coffee mug that sat there.

"He made the right choice, then," Hachi replied from one part of the room, with a slight chuckle. "I can't imagine whoever he finds would stay for long."

"What is this slander?" Gaku scolded as he smiled towards Akita, who touched his beard curiously. Akita then reached out and tugged quickly on the tips of his beard and Gaku yelped. “OUCH!”

“H-hey, old man, you scared her!” Hana said when she saw Akita hesitate at Gaku’s yell, her face pausing momentarily as she began to frown. She quickly swooped Akita out of his hands when she let out a little cry. “Okay, okay, sh, sh, okay…”

“M-my bad,” Gaku hesitated, patting Akita on her back while she cried into Hana’s shoulder for a moment. Ashi simply let out a sigh.

“See, that's why Uncle Gaku can’t have his own, he doesn’t know how to reel in his own voice,” Ashi said, while she watched as Hana managed to calm her daughter down, taking a sip from her own tea. “He’ll just scare his own kid.”

“Sheesh…” Gaku mumbled as he took another sip from his cup, disappointed at Akita being quickly taken away from him. “I’m not even that loud- she’s just not used to loud noises, what, with Sanae-boy over here. And you managed to dial it back too, runt.”

“What’s that supposed to mean!" Ashi said deadpanned, but Gaku ignored her to reach a hand on Sanae’s shoulder.

Sanae nearly flinched at the sudden touch, his back much straighter now, and Kiba could tell that there was a rigidity to his form. Gaku then said, a bit of a smirk on his face, “How many more are you planning on having?”

“Oh we-!” Ashi started, but Gaku quickly interjected.

“Hold up, I’m asking Sanae over here,” Gaku said. “I haven’t heard the man talk in ages!”

Isamu decided to join in on badgering the young man, “That’s right! You’re not getting any younger you know! So how many are you two trying for?”

“Hm…” Sanae said, glancing over to Ashi, who watched him carefully. He then glanced around to the two men that surrounded him, expectantly waiting for him to respond. Kiba watched to see what he would say, knowing that this was their way of teasing Sanae, exclusively, and he could see his Adam's apple on his throat rise and fall as he swallowed.

It's not because he wasn't born into the Inuzuka clan, no, not at all. His Aunt Fuuko married into the clan.

It’s just because Sanae was an easier target than the other’s, with his quiet nature and his tendency to get nervous easily. Like he was at that moment.

“Maybe 3 more?” Sanae replied softly, earning a loud laugh from Gaku and Isamu. Ashi’s eyes opened slightly at his response.

“Atta boy,” Gaku laughed, smacking his back affectionately, and Kiba could see the embarrassment on Sanae’s face, the nature of the Inuzuka still making him flush, something that he was likely not comfortable with, only having married into the family 2 years ago.

“Get to it, then,” Isamu added, and they both let out a howl of laughter, while Sanae just stared into his cup, a sheepish smile on his face.

“Who the fuck-Oh shit, my bad,” Ashi started in a louder voice, before catching herself, glancing over at Kiba, alarmed.

"I already know those words," Kiba chimed in. "I'm not a kid anymore, please."

"Your mom better not catch you swearing," Ashi said quickly. She cleared her throat, continued evenly. “And besides, who's going to have more kids? Not me.”

“It’s not worth it, trust me. " Another voice, rougher and higher spoke from the entrance, drawing Kiba's attention. There stood his mother, with her green chunin vest open revealing the black shirt she wore underneath, the red swirl patch on the side. She had a square, white gauze along the side of her jaw, the lipstick she left with this morning wiped off and leaving a wine coloured stain on her lips. “Stick to a max of two kids, if you can.”

“Took you long enough, Tsume!” Gaku exclaimed as Tsume approached him, gripping her arm affectionately. “We can finally crack open the sake!”

“What, you guys didn’t give it to them, yet?” Tsume glanced over to Hana, noticing Akita in her arms and giving her a quick pat on the head. “What, do we not have any?”

“It’s not even that, we were waiting for more people to arrive,” Hana said, glancing over to Kiba. “Kiba! Can you go to the basement and pull out the cases?”

“Hana, let the boy rest, he’s been running around, serving everyone tea,” Fuuko said.

“Is that right,” Tsume said curiously, glancing over at Kiba, seeming a bit proud. “Well, you can do this last thing, and then you’re off the hook.”

“Seriously?” Kiba asked, and Tsume nodded, crossing her arms.

“Well, yeah, maybe this once,” Tsume said with a smirk. “You passed your test, and you helped Hana out. It’s fine- I’ll go get the alcohol. What do you all want?”

Tsume’s voice yelled into the room, and the clansmen yelled out their requests; sake, beers, umeshu, you name it. They likely had it in their basement, tucked away behind a closet, waiting to be opened whenever they had family over or whenever Tsume was in a good mood. The door was always locked, the key always staying in a specific place in the cupboard, and while the key was accessible, Kiba never dared to touch it.

Kiba had tried to sneak into this closet once, when Tsume was sleeping on the couch, drunk and sound asleep from what Kiba could see, and Hana was nowhere to be seen in the house. He saw the key, gleaming on the coffee table, beckoning to come and pick it up, and he put his skills to the test - he was able to get the key soundlessly, and made his way down the stairs, the closet glowing at the end of the basement. He was so close, so close to opening the door, but the click from the lock unlocking made him hear footsteps on the floor above, and in a panic, Kiba escaped through the basement window, making his way back into the living room through the backyard. He quickly put the key back in place, Tsume disappearing from the couch and, he assumed, making her way to the basement, sniffing him out, and left it back where she had left it.

Finally! Kiba held back his sigh of relief as he went towards the table. I can eat!!!

“By the way, look what I brought with me,” Tsume pointed a thumb back behind her, and there was a man, younger than Tsume with less white hair running through his black hair, the red Inuzuka marks on his cheeks, and visible eyebags on his tanned face, leaning against the door frame. “Where’s Ken and Kega? Tell ‘em daddy’s home.”

“Please, wherever they are, leave them alone,” the man sighed, his voice low and tired, as he stood back up, walking towards an empty chair that sat nearby the couches, having been moved from the dining table. Tsume laughed as she made her way to the basement to retrieve the alcohol, Kuromaru following her quickly behind. The man groaned as he took a seat, leaning back into the cushion.

“Tadao, here,” Tosa said, gesturing towards himself as he stood up from his seat beside Ashi. “Sit here.”

“Nah, I’m good, thanks,” Tadao said, but even Kiba could tell from the way he shuffled side to side, he was trying to get comfortable on the chair.

“Now,” Tosa pressed, his voice, always grave, more demanding. “After all you did to track the payload, you need more support than me.”

After a moment, Tadao used an arm - his left arm - to push off the chair, the sleeve from his other arm swinging and swaying with each step, empty. Tosa took himself towards the side where Haya sat, leaning on the arm rest.

“Where’s the wife?” Hachi asked Tadao as he sat down, and he shook his head.

“Ah, you know. The Third is always working the Intelligence Unit to the ground nowadays,” Tadao said, flicking his left hand slightly, as he stretched his neck side to side, grunting slightly. “Kimi said she’ll come by as soon as she can, don’t you worry.”

“You should really see a massage therapist,” Ashi said, shuffling to give him more room. “You know it’s covered, right?”

“I don’t need that,” Tadao said. “Just get one of my kids to stand on my back for a bit and I’ll be fine.”

“Nice exploitation of their tiny feet,” Ashi said, shaking her head.

Tsume returned with a few long, white bottles in her hand, Kuromaru carrying a case of beers by it’s handle with his mouth. “Kiba, one more thing you gotta do- fetch the cups.”

“No problem,” Kiba replied, quickly going into the kitchen, getting all the sake cups, small white cups the size of a palm, and the longer beer glasses he could carry in his hands.

This was it. As always, when it comes to drinking Tsume is the first one to start the drinks and the last one finishing all of them. With his luck, since this was a bigger than usual celebration for their clan, hopefully his mom will get piss drunk within the next hour.

Kiba caught a glimpse of the sky through the sliding door, the blue of the daylight swapped with a deep pink and purple blend. The moon and stars should start showing any moment now- and he wanted to do what he wanted to do before it got too deep into the night.

That’d be more romantic, maybe, Kiba thought mindlessly as he placed the cups on the coffee table, the Inuzukas who wanted to drink - most of them, except for Tadao - gathered around, as Tsume poured the first bottle of sake, the clear liquid filling up the cup cleanly.

“Hey, Kiba!” Gaku said, gesturing for him to come closer. Kiba obeyed, and Gaku raised his cup towards him. “Here! Drink!”

“Uh-” Kiba hesitated immediately, and from the corner of his eyes, he watched closely as Tsume and Hana turned their attention to him.

“Uncle Gaku!” Hana exclaimed. “He’s underage!”

“Ah, c’mon Hana! I’m not offering him the whole drink,” Gaku said. “The boy’s a man now! A full fledged ninja, serving the good ol’ Leaf! You had a bit too, when you graduated!”

“Yeah, champagne, not sake!” Hana replied, and Gaku glanced over to Tsume.

“Well, Tsume? You gonna stop the boy?” Tsume looked at Kiba, who quickly glanced away, not wanting to move unless he got his mother’s okay. Gods knows what her mood was like today, but Kiba wanted to play it safe without getting an earful.

“Let the pup try,” Tsume said, curiously. “He’s not gonna take more than a sip anyways.”

“Alright!” Gaku put the cup in Kiba’s hands, Kiba stumbling to keep the cup steady in his hand, the liquid sloshing out slightly. “A toast to Kiba - the newest Inuzuka to join the Leaf forces and serve the Village! From here on out, you’re no longer a boy, but a full-fledged man! Kanpai!”

“Kanpai!”

“Kanpai,” Kiba mumbled, lifting his cup up towards them as they cheered and whooped, watching as Kiba put the cup to his lip. He hesitated slightly, the smell much stronger in his nostrils, and he could make out every element in this liquid, every fermented grain of rice that went into it. He quickly pursed his lips and sipped… before quickly coughing, the liquid burning as it went down his throat into his stomach. His chest immediately felt warm, a weird warmth he hasn’t felt before, but the taste was both sweet and bitter, if that was even possible.

“Well, now we know he hasn’t been drinking,” Tsume laughed as Kiba quickly gave the drink back to Gaku, who gave his back some hard taps.

“Of course, he knows you’ll give him a run for his life,” Haya cackled after downing her drink.

“You bet I would,” Tsume stated proudly, as she picked up the same bottle again. “C’mon, c’mon, let’s drink some more!”

“Uh, Mom, you should slow down,” Hana said cautiously, and Tsume gave a wave of her hand.

“It’s time to celebrate, Hana! Come here, grab something to drink,” Tsume said, as she filled up the cups once again, while chatter took over, as it always does in an Inuzuka household.

Hana just sighed in response, and came towards the side of the living room, where at this point, Kuromaru had brought more drinks by himself. She squatted down beside him, and asked, “You got anything light?”

“No ma’am, you would have to go out and buy it yourself,” Kuromaru spoke, his lips forming the words in their human language.

“Figures,” Hana said, as she stood up. “And we don’t have any chasers...Kiba. You want to go to get me some soda.”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Kiba said as he watched Hana go to the front, pulling open the closet and rummaging through the coats that hung.

“Both,” Hana said plainly. “Just get me one of those 1 litre sodas. Here.”

Hana lifted her hand, producing a paper rectangle, a 500 ryo. Kiba grimaced.

“Don’t you have a 200? It doesn’t cost that much for sodas,” Kiba replied, and Hana just smiled.

“Use the rest of the money for whatever you want,” Hana replied. She then placed both hands on her hips, giving a quirk of her eyebrow. “Don’t stay out too late, alright? And no funny business either.”

“Wha- What’s that supposed to mean?!” Kiba exclaimed, feeling sweat starting to form on the nape of his neck, the tips of his ears heating up, watching carefully as Hana passed him.

“I said what I said,” Hana said with a shrug, and gave him a slight wave of a ‘see ya’, before returning back to the living room, the noise from the chattering and yelling never diminishing despite the wall that separated the room and the hallway.

“Alright, Akamaru,” Kiba whispered, despite knowing that there was no way his mother or anyone could even hear him from the amount of noise they were making. “Let’s hurry up.”

“Master! Where are we going?” Akamaru barked as Kiba slipped into his sandals, zipping up and strapping them in. Kiba didn’t reply, grabbing a beige hoodie from inside the closet, instead opening the door, running outside, Akamaru hot on his heels.

---------------

Kiba walked briskly through the main streets of Konoha, the winter night darkening the sky immediately, the streetlights along the sides illuminating the roads in a yellow hue. The streets were still bustling with folks making their way home from a long day’s work, shinobi and civilians alike on walking along the path with coworkers, friends, and families, some on their way home from work, other on their way to work, some on their way to their shifts,

The night was cool. Or, as cool as it could be for a January in Konoha. The wind provided most of the chills, and Kiba was happy he had the forethought to grab a hoodie on the way on. There was the scent of warm foods, mostly soup based items, he noted; ramen, oden, sukiyaki, nabe… All foods that you would enjoy on a cold winter night such as this. He inhaled sharply, the coolness of the air, filling his lungs, cooling his warm body, easing his heart that was beating loudly.

He glanced down to Akamaru, trotting alongside him, admiring the stores that lined up along the street. The lights from the stores casted shadows on the road, shaped in the window panel that were there.

The stores didn’t close for a few more hours, he knew, and this gave him the opportunity to take a quick trip towards the northern part of the village, tucked away near the land where the forestry laid outside of the training ground boundaries.

His hands were stuffed into the pocket in the front of his hoodie, fiddling with the headband and wallet inside.

Should he wear the headband? Well, there were no regulations about wearing it off-duty, clearly, since his mother would come home in the middle of the night still wearing it around her arm while drunk with her colleagues. But would he seem like a douche if he did? But he worked hard to pass that test, so maybe he does deserve to wear it...but no, he didn’t want to seem like a show-off just yet.

Hmm...Should he buy something before seeing her?

Nah, that'd be too much. But, then again, if he was going to tell her...how he felt...wouldn't it be better to woo her beforehand?

Should he buy a flower or something? Chocolates? Girls like that type of stuff, right? Akane might try to say she’s different from the other girls in their class, but Kiba knew that she enjoyed those types of things. What do guys his age typically do when they confess to a girl?

Maybe he should’ve asked Hana about this? He didn’t tell anyone about him meeting up with Akane to confess...he didn’t tell Itsuki, nor Natsuo...he didn’t even tell Akamaru, and right now the pup probably thought they were just going on a little stroll around town. Hana might have provided some information about what girls like and whatever...but no, he can’t tell Hana, because he knew for a fact that when it came to matters like this, Hana would tell Tsume.

And Tsume was adamant about Kiba staying focused on being a shinobi, telling him not to waste time on stupid things that would just waste his time in the long run.

But what does Tsume know about love anyways?

He’s not the one who chased his dad away.

Nah, I don’t think she cares that much, Kiba thought as he continued to make his way up the street, the road now sloping upwards in a hill. Konoha was unique in its layout- built near a tall mount, the streets are sloped and slanted in different ways, leftovers of the land before the Village had even installed the roads and buildings they had today. It made for one hell of a trip, though, and oftentimes the villagers would have to determine a route around the village that would enable more flat roads, especially for merchants that travel into the village on a delivery.

There were no shortcuts where Kiba was heading, though. He headed to the forest that was not used for training, a forest reserved for those who work in woodwork, to the Moritaka residence, a civilian family that had a history of producing the top master carpenters for the village.

The Moritaka handled a portion of wood production for Konoha to use and export, chopping down wood, processing them into lumber, and creating structures with it. The Konoha cemetery recently had to rebuild the torii of the entrance, rainfall from previous years having rotted through into the wood, and the Moritaka were responsible, from what Akane had told him with pride.

Akane kind of had her future already made for her, kind of like how Kiba already had one as a shinobi. She didn’t have to become a shinobi, and it’s not like being a shinobi was any less hard, especially physically. At least, as a carpenter, you don’t need to use chakra either, something else that made being a shinobi incredibly exhausting. And it wasn’t like Akane would have to pick up carpentry herself- she could just handle the business aspect of their company, and Kiba knew that she preferred sitting at a desk working on numbers more than using her hands.

Doesn’t matter, though, Kiba thought as he ventured deeper down a street, away from the main streets and into a path, the streetlights much further apart from one another, leaving spots that were darker. The path started to merge into a heavily forested area, lines of trees on both sides, segmented from the path with stone. The night sky could be seen better without the yellow of the lights, and he can see the moon starting to rise, a crescent. I’m a Genin and she’s…

Kiba hoped that Akane’s team passed for more reasons than just seeing Akane at work. Itsuki, Natsuo...they were his friends too, and while he was closer to the first than the latter, he had to have something familiar around him, people that he actually liked and grew up with in the same field, to keep him grounded and...well…

Comfortable.

Kiba soon noticed the path diverging, and he took the path that led deeper, where most of the trees stood haphazardly, thicker and taller in size compared to the trees he had just passed by. The scent differed as well - there were more evergreens here, a new variety of forestry that was always further away from the village. Further down, he could see a wooden house that stood, wide and tall, a singular floor, classical and traditional in nature, minka-esque but modern. The roof, rather than being tiled, was thatched. The lights were on, lighting up the surrounding area, and the front light was on as well, the front door opened wide. As he got closer, he saw a figure coming out, their long hair swaying as they held a tiny brush with an inkpot cradled in their palm, and a scroll on the other hand along with a lantern.

Kiba stopped in his tracks, and his once steady heart started to beat frantically. He was further away from any light source, enveloped in the darkness in between, and he knew that the person couldn’t see him from where he stood. The person started to make their way to the side of the house, towards the back, deeper into the forest.

Maybe he should wait before confessing. No! He told himself that when he graduated from the Academy, he would ask her out! He can’t be a wuss and back off right now! What kind of man does that?

“Akane!”

He called out to her without putting much thought, his voice cracking in between, and now he could feel a wave of embarrassment wash over him. Gods, when will his voice stop cracking?!

Akane stopped in her tracks, turning around to look directly at Kiba. Kiba gulped, clenching his hands into fists, taking a sharp breath to calm his nerves. He walked up to Akane, and Kiba was taken aback by what he saw - Akane had square gauze taped on the side of her cheek, scratches and redness evidence along her nose and her jaws. She still wore the outfit that she had worn the other day, but Kiba could see how the edges frayed, and she was no longer wearing her sandals with the heels, but her home loafers. She didn’t look bad, but she definitely looked like she'd been in a fight; clearly, from the test they had to take in order to become Genins.

“Kiba,” Akane said, her voice a bit lower than normal, a bit more isolated and distant. She must have noticed how Kiba was staring at the gauze on her cheek, and she quickly raised a hand towards it, attempting to cover it with her hand. Akamaru gave a light bark in greeting, drawing her attention towards the small dog. “And Akamaru...What...are you guys doing here?”

“Uh,” Kiba started, returning his glance back at her eyes, clearing his throat. “Uh, well..you said you wanted to meet up, remember? After our first day…”

“Oh,” Akane said slowly, hesitantly, twirling a strand of her purple hair, before she nodded. “Yeah, I forgot about that. My bad. I got home a few hours ago and...My mom wanted me to check the warehouse for a last inventory check.”

“It’s okay,” Kiba said evenly. “You weren’t expecting it either, right? You know...the test.”

He could see Akane’s eyebrows twitching inwards when he said ‘test’, the edge of her lips pulling downwards, into a slight grimace. She stopped herself before she could frown further, instead shaking her head. “Yeah. Took us all by surprise. Did you...see the guys before coming here?”

“Nah, I couldn’t, I was stuck at home with my family,” Kiba sighed. “I wanted to come see you as soon as I can.”

To this, Akane glanced away, but her grimace never left her face. “I see…”

“Do you want me to walk you to the warehouse,” Kiba suddenly said, gesturing towards the lantern in her hand. “I can take that. You’re carrying a lot already.”

Akane stared at him for a moment, looking like she was thinking. She then let out a slight breath, and held up the lantern towards him, before continuing in a much softer tone, “Sure. Don’t hog it. I know how scared you are of the dark.”

“Pft, me? Scared? I ain’t scared of anything,” Kiba chuckled as he took the lantern. Their hands brushed against each other. “Akamaru can protect us, isn’t that right, boy?”

“Yessir! Just leave it to me,” Akamaru barked, as he bounced his way in front of them, ready to walk once they started. Kiba glanced over at Akane, who now had a small smile on her face as she watched Akamaru.

They walked the rest of the way to the warehouse in silence, neither of them starting the conversation. Kiba was too preoccupied about what to say next...when should he confess? Now or later? Should he ask her about her day? Or maybe he should ask about the test...no, no, that’d be too straightforward. But he had another concern too that threw a wrench in what he thought was supposed to be happening...Akane was being unusually quiet and low, and very distant. He didn’t even need to hear her say it - she had an atmosphere around her that was unwelcoming, almost shut off. What should he say? What can he say-

“Let’s sit for a bit,” Akane suddenly spoke, gesturing towards the log that laid in front of the warehouse entrance, the top part cut through to create a flat surface. Kiba immediately sat down, thankful she said something first. Akane sat beside him, a little distance between them. Akamaru hopped on the bench, beside Akane, and Akane picked him up, putting him on her lap, as she patted his soft fur gently.

“How was the test for your team?” Akane asked, never looking at Kiba, keeping her eyes on Akamaru, who now laid on her lap, his eyes closed as her fingers ran through his fur.

“Terrible,” Kiba groaned, using his hands to lean back a bit on the surface. “Our sensei had the brilliant idea of capturing the flag thing with her headband, but the only thing is, she knows how to use genjutsu!”

“Yeah…”

“And we spent hours and hours just trying to find her by ourselves! She put me in a genjutsu and everything, it was so bad,” Kiba laughed. “The Academy didn’t teach us shit, but luckily I remembered what Iruka-sensei taught us with Kai, and I was able to get out...but we ended up with an hour left! So we had to team up and we managed together.”

To this, Akane looked up towards Kiba.

“We?”

“Well, yeah...Hinata and Shino,” Kiba continued, his voice a bit lower, reflecting on what had happened. “Shino made this whole plan for all of us to get the headband and we all had to...basically work together to get it.”

“For real?” Akane asked, quirking her head to the side, her bangs falling to frame her face. The moonlight looked nice against her face. She continued with a bit of a laugh, “Even with that creepy bug fanatic?”

“You know, I didn’t think I would ever get along with them,” Kiba shook his head. “But we did and...well...we got the headband in the end…”

Without each other, I don’t think we would have got it.

“So that means…” Akane mumbled, and Kiba knew this was the perfect time to tell her. He brought out his headband from his hoodie pocket, the Konoha leaf gleaming underneath the white moonlight, and he held it between them.

“Yeah,” Kiba said. “I’m officially a shinobi now.”

Kiba expected Akane to smile. He expected her to be her cheerful self immediately, grabbing him by the arm like she usually did, and congratulate him on becoming a shinobi. But instead, between the whiteness of the moon and orange of the lantern, he could see Akane’s eyes widening, her smirk dropping quickly as she stared at the headband. Her hand froze on Akamaru, no longer moving.

There was a silence that fell between them. Kiba didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what else to say. He was expecting her to have a better reaction- he did just pass a very gruelling test, the hardest one they ever had to take in their many years of training.

And yet...there wasn’t a sign of anything from Akane.

“So what about you,” Kiba broke the silence, his voice slightly hoarse.

“...” Akane looked away, staring straight at the ground, not saying anything.

“...Akane?”

“...We…” She paused quickly, hesitantly, her voice cracking. She gave Kiba a side glance, not being able to face him. “We...we failed…”

The air froze around them, the silence filled with the wind whipping past them, howling. Kiba stared at her, waiting for her to say “joking!” or “sike!”, but Akane just went back to staring at the ground, saying nothing more.

“Wha-” Kiba started, processing what he just heard. They...failed? How was that possible?

“Our sensei thought that...since we didn’t work together during our test...he failed all of us…” Akane explained. “He said that if we wanted to even think about becoming shinobi that we should...take it more seriously and go back to the Academy or just quit while we’re at it. Can you believe it?”

Harsh, Kiba thought, not knowing what to say. Console her? Say everything is going to be alright? She might get mad at him for saying that, she doesn’t like it whenever he is like that with her...

"Well...I guess there's always next year," Kiba replied, though he wasn’t even sure. Akane didn't look his way. "Right? You're gonna take the test again next year?"

Another uncomfortable silence fell between them, and Kiba could feel his throat running dry. The blood in his veins had been pumping non-stop, and it was making his heart beat louder, audible to his own ears, and the silence did not help the situation at all.

“Seriously? That’s all you have to say?” Akane asked, her voice sharper than before.

“W-what?” Kiba asked, and Akane scoffed.

"Forget about it. I'm gonna take the year off," Akane finally said. "Just gonna work for the family business as I figure some stuff out."

Kiba couldn’t stop himself from frowning.

"What? You can't give up now,” Kiba said, his voice a bit steadier, a bit more passionate in his tone. “We studied and trained super hard all these years just to get here! If you miss out on a year, you’ll have to catch up for another year! And you guys know better now...you can retake the test and pass-"

"Yeah, well, easy for you to say all that," Akane scoffed. "You're the one with the headband."

He was immediately taken aback. What was her problem? He was only trying to help; she was the one who wanted to be a ninja too...right?

And what’s going to happen to them if Kiba and Akane’s paths diverge here? Kiba would be a shinobi, while Akane stayed behind...what would happen between them...

"Well-"

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?" Akane asked suddenly as she got up. Akamaru quickly hopped off her lap, onto the ground, looking at her confused. "I have to finish logging in the inventory."

"Oh," Kiba said slowly, standing up immediately. "Uh...yeah… I guess I'll see you later, Akane?"

"Yeah...see you around."

Akane walked into the warehouse without another word, lantern in hand, never looking back as she closed the door behind her, leaving it slightly open. Kiba stood there, staring at the door, not knowing what to do, a vortex of emotions swirling deep in his chest. He was finding it hard to breathe.

He never got to confess but...he felt like he was basically being rejected, but not romantically.

He was now a shinobi. And she is, well... a civilian. And would likely continue to be so.

He was now shut out from her life.

And he felt his chest squeeze slightly, his breath increasing as he slowly walked away from the door Akane had closed. Is this what rejection feels like? Or is this what it feels like when a bond you held dear to you is severed…

I guess… I’ll never know, Kiba thought, continuing down the path he had walked on, without a second glance back.

#kiba inuzuka #shino aburame #hinata hyuuga #hinata #kiba #shino #naruhina #homeiswheremyteamis

9 notes · View notes

knock-me-out · 6 years

Text

k.o. at fansigns pt. 1

under the cut because it’s long as hell, sorry

hyunseok

if he’s not holding your hands while talking, there’s an issue. will run his thumbs over the back of your hands without fail.

he’s usually first, especially because some fans might be nervous meeting them for the first time and his entire aura is just...calming.

always asks if fans have eaten, if they haven’t, he’ll share his snacks.

acts embarrassed when he gets anime-related gifts, but you can tell those are the ones he cherishes most, especially plushies.

thanks people profusely, literally they could say anything and his first reply is going to be “ahh, thank you~” before he’s even registered what they said to him.

always doodles a lil’ bee on everything and signs it with “honey,” which is the most popular fan nickname for him.

if a fan is from a foreign country, he asks them to teach him a word in their language -- tends to impress people by remembering the word if he recognizes them the next time around.

if he’s not speaking with victory, he’s on his feet trying to pry ki away from jui’s seat before he gets smacked.

seungjae

fansign boyfriend extraordinaire, tends to come outta nowhere with lines that should be cheesy as hell but end up super sincere.

he gets kind of tired of only talking about dramas when people have questions, but he won't let it show.

isn’t super big on a lot of prolonged physical contact, is more of a high-five kinda guy and he might hold your hand for a few seconds after.

always writes a very personalized note when signing things, tends to be something incredibly sincere expressing gratitude.

tends to fidget more than people expect, will click his pen really obnoxiously under the table while victory talk; tends to prefer listening more than talking much, himself.

hates wearing headbands and things like that, but he’ll do it if doesn’t have a choice. if a fan has a gift for him, he’ll ask them to put it on him.

gets very excited when he gets to speak with someone in japanese, his entire demeanor just changes entirely, he sits up straighter.

doesn’t usually remember people but he’ll pretend like he does.

gem

he’s usually placed somewhere in the middle, which is both a blessing and a curse. when victories get to him, he’ll always start with some obnoxious line like “about time, right? I’m so sorry you had to talk to all of them before me...” and will try to get someone’s attention again even after they’ve moved on.

always acts super offended if someone admits he isn’t their bias, cue the dramatic hand to the chest and wide eyes. will lean across the table to put his hand on the fan’s forehead like are you okay? is something wrong with you???

usually ends up with a ton of gifts, all of which he’ll try to wear at once. catch him with three headbands and a feather boa on at any given point.

LOUD. is the most likely to yell if one of the other members bothers him or a staff member tries to take away a gift of his. will cling to his presents and pout until they let him keep it.

really prefers to be called gem-oppa. has been known to stand on his chair and yell to literally everyone like “when I say gem, you say..?” and do a lil dance when everyone just oppa back at him, usually gets yanked off his chair by either jui or remi.

very touchy feely. holds hands, fixes hair, trusts fans enough to let them touch his face and all but will always “don’t mess up my hair, okay, it takes a lot of effort to look this flawless.” practically purrs like a kitten.

draws a diamond when he signs and makes an effort to make his signature huge as hell. likes to write personalized messages with a “keep shining” in english -- his handwriting is really loopy and pretty.

shameless with aegyo and blows lots of kisses, has no filter.

jungsoo

laughs at pretty much everything victories say, slaps the table dramatically if it’s funny enough. tends to get a lot of irritated looks from ki because of it, but soo never minds.

ends up in sol’s lap without fail nearly every single time by the end of it, they’re usually next to each other and he has a habit of just sprawling out and getting really touchy feely.

the eye smile !! is powerful !! he looks like an excited puppy whenever fans talk to him, he’s always got this super sweet smile and has the most genuine aura of happiness about him.

when he’s surprised/shocked, he always jolts really aggressively in his chair and lets out a shocked lil oh! and then apologizes a lot. he gets scared so damn easily, by something as simple as a fan’s hands being colder than expected or a staff member reaching over his shoulder to clear the space in front of him.

swings your hands while he talks, has accidentally smacked people before, but doesn’t stop. he’s clumsy and 10/10 likely to break something fragile if given to him, I’m so sorry.

will squeeze hands with the most sincere lil “thank you for supporting us, I’ll see you again soon, right?” and then bam there’s the angelic smile

wiggles in his seat when he’s told good news, doesn't know how to sit still for the life of him, but it’s okay.

“oh, already..? make sure to eat and get plenty of sleep for me, okay?” always pouts when fans have to move on, but it’s okay, that smile is back and ready to dazzle the next person in line without fail.

kiyong

if you speak to him in english, be prepared for him to get annoying and loud and a lot more flirty. even if it isn’t a fan’s first language, he’ll get really excited and ask them how they learned it. if there’s another new yorker there, he’s at his worst. will screech across the venue YERRR until he gets a reply (it’s a ny thing, guys), asks what part of the state they’re from. will go off for hours if given the chance about Brooklyn, and then gets really embarrassed because he’s been talking about a ramen place for too long and not giving the fan a chance to talk much.

if he’s not bothering jui, he’s not being himself. constantly leans over his hyung’s shoulder and makes jokes about how old he is and how creepy it is for a grandpa to be talking to young, pretty girls. will pull gem’s seat out from under him if he’s walking past. usually ends up bruised after fansigns because of how obnoxious he is, but it’s fine, he always has a great time.

loves loves loves fanboys, always acts a lot more mature than usual but still compliments the same amount. god ki is Big Gay

will find opportunities to be a hoe even during the most wholesome of times. has had fans ask jokingly to touch his abs and he’ll be damned if he doesn’t let them -- usually ends up lifting his shirt at some point during the day to reveal oh look he’s drawn a heart on his chest.

will glare at fans if they call him kasey or...god forbid...kaseycakes. refuses to do aegyo beyond a finger heart or something like that, might relent if begged enough, but always looks like he wants to die right after. “kasey? sorry, who is that??” and also looks kinda confused for a minute when someone uses his stage name because he kinda forgets he has one, sometimes.won’t mind being called kiki, at least.

“I still look cool though, right?” asking a fan while wearing a neon pink headband, you’d better tell him he looks badass, or he might whine.

is probably one of the most chaotic members during any event where they’re out in public, let’s be real. the staff members usually need to tell him to calm down at least four times every hour, he always seems to forget what he’s been told not to do.

remembers people, especially english speaking fans, usually asks how much they missed him.

daesung

he’s usually very nervous at fansigns, bounces his knee a lot and can end up shaking the whole table, oopsies.

gets really stressed because he sometimes can’t hear over the others, so catch him leaning really far over the table like “eh? sorry? what?”

will 100% leave the aegyo to owen and mess around with him a lot to keep his nerves down, sometimes will just grab his arm and give it a lil squeeze to reassure himself. he always worries about saying the wrong thing or making someone uncomfortable, never knows how to handle himself when someone says he’s their favorite.

panics when fans cry but hyun always a box of tissues under the table for himself, dae will grab it and hand them copious handfuls like “ahh! please don't cry, oh no--”

will relax after talking to someone for a bit, ask them questions, but he prefers to listen than to talk too much.

his hands sometime shake when he signs things, please help him, and he’s just nervously laughing the whole time and apologizing.

has been known to leave his seat to go lean over remi’s shoulder for attention if the line is moving kind of slowly, sometimes goes around to the other side of the table and acts like a fan and sits down in front of remi like “oh my god I'm your biggest fan--”, but not until his nerves have died down a bit, dumb big baby.

“promise me you’ll continue to support us, okay?” and makes you pinky swear, always smiles like the softest fool afterwards.

#oc kpop group #kocnet #kpop oc #fansigns #member_reacts #🦋#no one asked but I'm sick and had inspiration #it's just so easy to see ki being obnoxious I swear to god #for those of you who don't get the yerr thing: it's like New Yorker code to shout YERR back at someone if they shout it in a crowded place #I dont understand it but as a New Yorker myself it's my duty to pass that along

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tobiasjace19 · 7 years

Text

True Colors

A/N: Yo! This is my entry to IzuOcha week 2017! I was supposed to write 1 story per day but acads got in the way. This came out longer than intended. I’m sorry this is mostly trash??? Because I have abysmal writing skills at this point in my life??? /cries

Tagging @izuochaweek because why not

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Izuku was never a crowd person. He always felt uncomfortable being surrounded by throngs of people, especially because it was easy for something to go wrong in the midst of those sea of people. Also, the stress that can be induced by the noise of dozens, or even hundreds, of persons talking all at once can be detrimental to his mental faculties.

That’s why he felt like fainting upon hearing the loud cheers of the whole student body to the previous performer.

Static noise then pierced the air as the UA resident instructor and pro hero Present Mic grabbed the microphone from Tetsutetsu of Class 1-B, who just finished rocking the whole campus with a Panic! At the Disco song.

“Wwwwooooooooow!” Present Mic exclaimed. “That was a bombastic performance! Really got our blood pumping, eh,” he added while clapping the lead vocalist on the back.

Despite his fidgety state, Izuku still noted some of the happenings on the stage. Tetsutetsu’s legs were shaking so much that Izuku thought he could feel the tremors until his position in the backstage. Meanwhile, the guitarists Monoma and Kendo, and the keyboard player Shiozaki were all hugging and high-fiving each other, leaving Tetsutetsu to deal with the spotlight.

“Looking for someone in the crowd?”

Izuku swore he could have fainted from shock at the sudden voice behind his back. He turned so quickly All Might would have been proud at his reflexes.

Shouto was staring at him questioningly, waiting for him to answer. He was wearing a red coat, white undershirt, and black bowtie that suited his hair quite well.

“Um, not… really,” he said weakly.

Izuku then heard a loud snort from behind Shouto.

“Huh… Ain’t buying that shit,” Kacchan remarked. He slung the red electric guitar that he’s going to use later on his shoulder.

Just like Shouto, he was clad in a red coat with a crème-colored shirt underneath. However, unlike Izuku’s fire-and-ice friend, Kacchan ditched the bowtie. “I don’t like some fucking thing choking me all throughout the performance!” Kacchan growled at them when his bandmates insisted he wear the bowtie.

“You’re just looking for your crush.”

“N-no, I’m not! I’m just nervous, being the front man and everything, and I’m afraid I hit the wrong notes and ruin the image of the whole class and—”

“Whatever, nerd. Just don’t mess up later,” the blond boy interjected before Izuku could proceed to another mumble storm.

Izuku sighed. Don’t mess up, huh…

The presenters from 1-B then entered the backstage, pulling Izuku out from his reverie. Shiozaki looked as serene as always, wearing a white flowing dress, a brown-and-black wedge shoes, and a silver headband that accentuated the green of her hair. Trailing behind her, laughing vivaciously was Kendo, with a get-up quite similar to Shiozaki’s, save for the brown boots.

However, it didn’t help Izuku’s nerves to see 1-B’s front man look so rattled and disheveled after that performance. He was trembling so much that Monoma had to support him.

When the sandy-haired boy saw 1-A’s performers, he flashed his trademark smirk.

“Well, well, if it isn’t class 1-A,” Monoma started.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite douchebag,” Bakugou flatly replied.

Monoma laughed. He was about to retort back when a big hand slapped his face, knocking him unconscious, and his trembling classmate unsupported. As a result, both fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Izuku found the scene quite comical and would have laughed his ass out if only his whole body was not on overdrive.

“Sorry about that guys,” Kendo apologized profusely to the three boys of 1-A. “I wish I could find a perfect gag for him so he could just stop pestering you guys.”

Bakugou looked unimpressed. “A little bit kinky, aren’t you?”

Before Izuku could call out the latter’s off-hand remark, Present Mic’s voice boomed on the speakers.

“All riiiiiiiiiight!”

At that the audience went wild again.

“We’re down to the last performance of the night for this year’s festival! Whoooooo’s excited?!”

Izuku thought the cheering couldn’t get any louder but apparently, it could. Present Mic seemed to be enjoying the attention he’s getting, Izuku noted.

“Our last, but definitely not the least, performers will prove tonight that they’re not only good at fighting villains, but they also excel in other… non-school stuff!”

At that, the audience laughed. Todoroki looked unfazed by the comment while Bakugou was ready to smash the electric guitar on Mic’s head. Izuku, on the other hand, felt like his undershirt was choking him.

Present Mic then gesticulated wildly, pointing his fingers on so many directions while speaking. “Without further ado, here is… CLASS 1-A!!!”

That was the trio’s cue to enter the stage. People went wild with their cheers that Izuku feared some of them might get their vocal chords torn.

Todoroki and Bakugou seemed to be unaffected by the immense attention they’re getting and immediately proceeded to their spots. Meanwhile, Izuku felt like the distance between the stage entrance to the microphone stand increased tenfold.

C’mon Izuku, you can do it. I can do this. Think of it as like controlling One for All. Yes, just keep calm and—

Things happened too quickly for him to process. Izuku was just walking then the next moment, his face hit the stage floor.

The audience went silent. The only audible sounds then were the gentle blow of the chilly November air, the soft sound of static from the sound system, and the blood boiling in Izuku’s ears.

Embarrassing. Truly embarrassing. Way to impress someone.

He moved to get up when one familiar voice sliced through the air. “You can do it, Deku!”

Izuku went stock still for a moment. His mind flashed back many months before, just when before everything started.

It would have been bad luck if you fell.

Brown hair. Red, plump, round cheeks. And that smile. Yes, that smile that lit up a fire inside him since that day.

It took him so long to notice and acknowledge those budding feelings inside him. Seeing her smile, through thick and thin, failures and victories, and everything in between—this urged him to stand up and walk towards the center of the stage, where he must face one of his greatest challenges yet.

Of course, part of that challenge was Bakugou embarrassing him more.

“My damn God, Deku. That was spectacular,” Katsuki commented.

The audience then burst in laughter. He was busy tuning his guitar, but he really made time to make Izuku feel like he was a failure.

“I think Midoriya’s way of clearing his head was to bang his head on the floor,” Todoroki joked on the microphone.

Well, to Izuku, it seemed like Todoroki joked. But the audience once again fell silent, as they didn’t know how to handle a flatly-delivered joke by the overpowered son of Endeavour.

Just then a heartful laugh echoed throughout the grounds. Both Izuku and Shouto snapped their heads in the direction of the person of interest. Much to their surprise, it was Momo who was laughing. She was followed by Ochako, who was standing beside her, then the rest of the 1-A girls followed suit. Some of the 1-A boys (who were probably afraid of being turned into a human icicle) started to giggle as well.

But what surprised Izuku was the little smile and the very faint blush on Shouto’s face when he saw it was Momo who expressed joy first.

Bakugou then tapped his mic twice to get the attention of the audience.

“So much for awkward moments.” Ever the practical man, Izuku thought.

“All right, let’s begin then!” Izuku cheerfully said. This seemed to rile up the audience a bit, giving him the much needed confidence boost.

“Are you fuckin’ ready?!” Katsuki’s voice boomed all over the place. While most of the people cheered, most of 1-A looked at him in horror.

“Kacchan! This is not the right place for cursing!” The green-haired boy admonished.

“So what? It’s a festival, nerd. Hey damn half ‘n’ half, tell this nerd to have some fun a bit.”

The fire-and-ice user looked at both of them in his usual poker-face. “He’s actually right, Bakugou. You should not be cursing in front of this many people.”

Not satisfied with the answer, Katsuki groaned in irritation. “Oh for fuck’s sake let’s begin.”

He strummed his electric guitar, throwing the audience into a frenzy.

Amidst the loud cheering of the people, Izuku noted how near his classmates were to the stage. They were standing four or five rows behind the barricade set up approximately four meters from the stage.

From where he was standing, Izuku could clearly see her—her brunette hair bouncing to the pace of her intense jumping and cheering. He sincerely hoped that from where she stood, she could clearly see him.

Izuku cleared his throat to placate his growing nervousness. “Okay, what we’ll be performing today is dedicated to all those who are facing tremendous challenges right now and—"

“For crying out loud. This song is actually dedicated to his crushey crushey Round Face there.” Bakugou pointed to where Ochako was standing.

Of course. Of fucking course, Izuku thought, he would say that, dammit.

Poor Izuku was mustering everything he can to prevent himself from being a blushing mess. So far he was failing.

“I-it’s not like that! Kacchan why do you—"

“Let’s get this shit done already, nerd,” Katsuki interrupted, preparing to hit the first notes. “Are you fuckin’ ready!?” He roared. This made the audience cheer so loudly again.

Izuku sighed in defeat, preparing himself instead for the performance of his life.

It’s now or never.

Katsuki started to strum his guitar and the audience fell silent.

A month ago…

Fall just started, and the students of Class 1-A in UA High School began to garb themselves in autumn clothes in preparation for the relentless cold in the coming months.

As the cold began to percolate in their lives, the students’ weekends were now spent just inside the dormitories, rather than going out to leisurely expeditions. Who could blame them? It was such a perfect weather for just laying at bed in home or just watching TV.

Come Saturday nighttime, the girls of 1-A decided to watch some movies on the television. While this bummed out many of the boys because they couldn’t play their video games, they just let the girls be to avoid unnecessary arguments.

As for Izuku Midoriya, the successor of All Might, he couldn’t waste no time in training. He often went outside an hour or two after dinner, not going too far from the dorms, to practice his signature One for All Full Cowl kick.

It was a little past 10 o’clock in the evening when Izuku finished his routine workout. After entering the dorms, he heard some voices coming from the common room. Still drying the sweat in his hair, he walked to the door, trying to see the persons in there.

Standing in the doorstep, he saw the squad of 1-A girls all huddled in the sofa in their pajamas and bed clothes. Mina was holding a bowl the contained what looked like popcorn. Momo, on the other hand, was wrapped with a blanket around her person. Tsuyu and Ochako were lying their heads on both shoulders of Jirou, who was quietly sipping something from the glass she was holding. Izuku took a while to notice Hagakure, who, with her invisibility quirk, was really a struggle to find.

All of them were watching intently on the movie playing in the television. From his vantage point, he could recognize the show. He saw it in the internet several times over the past months. He had little interest in movies but he read that prominent singers were cast to the main roles.

Izuku went to get a bottle of water in the kitchen refrigerator to the adjacent room from the common area when Ochako spoke.

“Oh my god here it is!”

“Ssssh!” Mina immediately interjected.

“No spoilers! No spoilers!” Hagakure hurriedly said, in a hushed tone.

“Oh god I love this part, makes me tear up again,” Ochako commented, her voice shaking quite a bit.

Izuki paused to see what’s the fuss about in the movie.

It seemed that the main characters were trapped in a cauldron to be served as food for evil guys. The main female character, who, from the start, was the cheerful one, finally lost her resolve and got drained of color, of life. She stood in the middle of her people, looking dejected at putting everyone dear to her in danger.

The colorless dude, who Izuku thought was the main male character, watched in horror as the liveliest person he knew lose hope.

At that point, Izuku heard some sniffling from the girls, presumably from Ochako. He had to stifle a laugh so as not to compromise his position.

The characters in the movie were all silent and colorless, as they all lost hope. Then, when the main male character started singing, the girls almost sobbed. Apparently, the one who sang didn’t sing much in his life, but his voice was angelic.

By the time the singing was all done, the girls were all crying, wiping tears from their faces. Izuku found it quite amusing, to say the least. It’s not all the time he could witness the girls of 1-A in a vulnerable state. He felt like he was violating their personal space but he can’t help but watch as the scene unfolded before him.

When the characters were making their escape, Mina spoke up.

“That was…,” a sniff, “…so heartwarming,” she said in between sniffs.

“I know! I’ve been listening to the rendition of that song for two weeks already and it really makes me feel so… blessed,” Ochako replied.

“I’m so going to play this on my guitar later,” Jirou commented.

“Both of their voices were so sweet, I can’t even!” Hagakure excitedly said.

“Indeed, their moment was one of a kind,” Momo supplied.

Tsuyu looked at them though with her usual expression. “You wished something like that happens to you and Todoroki-kun?”

Momo’s eyes widened and immediately buried her face in her blanket. The other girls picked up on this and teased her immediately.

Izuku watched their silly banter and walked away from the doorframe as silent as a cat. As he dragged himself to his room, he mentally took note of everything he saw earlier, thinking it could be of some use later.

Katsuki sang first, just as practiced.

“You with the sad eyes…”

Loud cheers erupted from the audience. Even though he heard it many times before for the past two weeks, it still amazed Izuku that Katsuki had a nice voice. He hit the correct notes as he sang the first lines.

“Don’t be discouraged, though I realize… It’s hard to take courage…”

“In this world full of people, you can lose sight of it all,” Shouto, while playing his keyboard, continued singing.

“The darkness inside you, can make you feel so small…”

Izuku swore he saw girls faint when they heard Shouto’s voice. Well, he can’t blame them. It was the first time the whole school population heard of them singing.

Katsuki and Shouto continued in playing the instrumental part of the song. Izuku was surprised that they aren’t missing a single note. He had to keep up.

It was Izuku Midoriya’s time to shine.

“Show me a smile then…,” Izuku began.

Suddenly the whole audience began to go wild again. He was surprised at the reaction, but he kept on going, searching the crowd for one familiar face.

“…don’t be unhappy, can’t remember when… I last saw you laughing…”

At that last line, the three of them sang in unison.

“This world makes you crazy…,” Katasuki sang.

“And you’ve taken all you can bear…,” Shouto continued.

“Just call me up—” Izuku mimicked the phone call hand signal and winked at the general direction of Ochako, hoping he looked as half as cool as his two bandmates.

“And I will always be there,” they sang in unison again.

After the long sustain, the trio cut the sound and silence engulfed the venue.

In four beats, the performers of 1-A continued the song to its chorus.

“And I see your true colors, shining through…”

As Izuku sang the first line, he thought he locked eyes with Ochako for a moment. In that instant, he felt he can do anything.

He reached out his hand, as if to take her hand, hoping she would take his hand.

“I see your true colors,”

Izuku closed his eyes, internalizing the emotions of the song, making his voice blend with the Shouto and Katsuki.

“And that’s why I love you.”

Surprisingly, Izuku hit the high notes perfectly. But what surprised him more was that he was the only who sang that last line in the chorus when in fact it was supposed to be the three of them.

The audience looked as surprised as he thought he did, Izuku noticed. Also, most of his classmates in 1-A were looking at Ochako, as he seemed to be pointing to her when he sang that line. Of course, Katsuki had to fan the fire up.

“There you have it folks, the confession of the year,” Katsuki smiled at Izuku.

The audience, for the nth time during their performance, went wild. And most of them were clapping at Izuku. His brain almost stopped working. Never did he get this much attention in his whole life, and to think they were all praising him.

But what almost made Izuku curl up in a ball and never come out was the look on Ochako’s face.

The brunette’s face was as red as a tomato, and tears were brimming in her eyes. He hoped to whichever deity that those tears in her eyes were tears of joy, and not sorrow or whatever negative emotion.

At that he decided he won’t half-ass this performance. If this is indeed the confession of the year, then I’ll make it one, he thought.

Izuku tapped the microphone twice and continued on with the song.

“So don’t be afraid, to let them show…,” he locked eyes with Ochako again.

“Your true colors, true colors are beautiful.” At that Shouto and Bakugou joined Izuku.

“Like a rainbow…,” Izuku finished, as Bakugou provided the secondary vocals.

It was Shouto who played the ending instrumental sounds. After removing his fingers from the keyboard, hwnce cutting the sound, the crowd burst in cheers. They were all clapping at them, shouting heart-warming words.

Izuku can’t help but tear up. He did it. He finally did it. The performance was done and the people liked it.

He felt Bakugou give him a hard pat in the back, enough to gouge his lungs out.

“Nice one, nerd. You’ll finally have a girlfriend.”

Izuku’s eyes widened at the comment.

“It’s not like that Kacchan! I—”

“Good job, Midoriya. The crowd approves of your technique,” Shouto added while gently patting the freckle-faced boy.

“Not you too, Todoroki-kun!”

As he was about to defend himself, Present Mic entered the stage.

For the most part of the post-performance banter with Present Mic, Izuku didn’t register anything. Only the fact that Ochako disappeared from the crowd was what he was able to process.

Oh no, was she mad at me? Did she disapprove of my “confession”? Am I going to be rejected? Does she only see me as a friend? All those thoughts flitted on his mind, making him think of negative thoughts on the most inopportune moments.

As the trio made their way towards the backstage, Izuku thought of an apology to Ochako. He shouldn’t have made such a thing so public. It might have caused her undue embarrassment and attention.

He immediately went to their dressing room, only to find out Mina standing in front of their door.

He was shocked when Mina suddenly hugged him and whispered something in his ear.

“The dorms. Rooftop. Hurry. She’s waiting.”

After that she went on to hug Todoroki and give Katsuki an acknowledging nod.

Without even bothering to change into more comfortable clothes, he picked up his bag, and dashed towards the dorms.

Upon getting out of the venue, he saw throngs of people waiting outside for him. Since he was in a hurry, he just used One for All to propel himself upwards and towards the dorms.

He got good at estimating the trajectory of his landing that he landed just in the front lawn of the 1-A dorms.

Izuku dashed inside thw building and climbed the flight of stairs towards the rooftop. When he saw the door, he breathed in a lungful of air before turning the knob and opening the door of the unknown.

The cool, chilly air greeted Izuku when he opened the door. He need not scan the surroundings to search for who he was looking for.

Directly in his path stood the woman that left him awestruck every time he sees her. For the past few months, he lied in his bed late at night, thinking about her ecstatic energy and smiling face. When he closed his eyes, he could hear her voice, encouraging him to do his best, and this lulled him to sleep. And when he slept, he looked forward to waking up to a new day in which he could see her again.

He walked slowly, steeling himself to face her and apologize properly for what he did. She did not turn around when he walked in, so he had to walk his way to her side.

Once he was within arm’s length from her, he cleared his throat, and started talking.

“Umm… Uraraka-san… I sincerely apologize for what happened earlier, if it caused you embarrassment. Honestly, we just—”

Izuku was interrupted when Ochako reached her index finger out to touch his lips and to make him stop talking.

“Come here, Deku,” she said, not looking at him.

Entranced, Izuku walked towards Ochako’s side, standing on her left. He leaned forward towards the railings and just stayed quiet for some time.

“So much has happened in the past few weeks,” she began.

“Remember when we rescued Eri? Felt like a long time ago.”

“Yes, it felt so long ago,” he replied. It was two months before that the rescue mission was carried out. Both of them, together with Kirishima and Tsuyi, and the Big Three of UA, helped recapture Eri back from the abusive clutch of Chiisaki, who used her as a weapon.

“Way back before that rescue mission. I had an epiphany, you see,” Ochako continued.

“What was it?”

“That whenever I was with a certain person, my heart started beating quickly, as if I was chasing a villain along a long road. Whenever I walk beside thst person, I can’t help but feel pure joy just by being at his side.

“Whenever I talk to him, I can’t help but admire how he handles himself, how he works hard to achieve his goals, how he purely, genuinely wants to help the people and make the world a tad bit better place to live in.

“Whenever I’m with that person, I think of how aimless I’ve been before I entered UA, and how meeting this person helped me concretize the path I wanted in my life.”

When Ochako stopped talking, tears were streaking her face. Izuku too worked hard on not sobbing.

“I thought that I was idolizing this person so much. But Mina pointed out that it was something else entirely. Instead, it was—”

“Love, of course?” Izuku said while smiling.

“I swear, Deku, if you sing Let It Go right now, I’ll hurl you off this building.”

At that, both of them laughed.

When the laughter subsided, it was Ochako who spoke first.

“Honestly, though, I didn’t know you three could sing so well! You harmonized perfectly, to be quite honest. It felt like rewatching Trolls.”

“Glad you love it,” he replied.

“But I love you more,” Ochako replied in a hush tone.

Izuku’s head snapped towards her. “What did you say?”

The flustered girl couldn’t help but stammer. “N…nothing! I said I loved you voice, yeah that was it”

Izuku couldn’t believe his ears. He must have heard wrong, yeah that must be it. But he had to confirm it once and for all.

“Might I ask… who was the person you were pertaining to earlier?”

Ochako looked at him in the eyes and he could see his soul reflected back to him.

“Deku, I—”

And she couldn’t helpnit anymore. Ochako let the tears spill off from her eyes, her sobs coming ragged heaps. Izuku immediately reached out for her and wrapped his arms around her heaving body.

He thought she was going to shove him away, but much to his surprise, she wrapped her arms around him.

He could hear her uttering something. Izuku slightly pushed her to hear what she’s saying.

“What is it, Uraraka-san?”

She inhaled deeply and said the words Izuku thought he would hear only in his dreams.

“It’s you, Deku. I think I’m in love with you.”

Izuku couldn’t keep it in anymore. He cried as well and hugged the woman tighter and stroke her hair.

They stood there for quite a while, holding each other tightly.

“I think… I’m in love with you too,” Izuku said.

Ochako unburied her face from Izuku’s clothes and smiled her brightest smile at him.

“Well, after what you did earlier in the concert, there’s no reason for me to not know.”

Izuku smiled back at her.

“Touché.”

They both laughed again at the hilarity of all that’s been happening.

Ochako slid her hands to Izuku’s face, to which the latter responded by letting his face rest in her hand.

“Which reminds me, I think I told you on the first time we met that it’s bad luck to fall.”

Izuku giggled.

“Well, I’m not having the worst of luck right now, am I?”

Ochako just hummed in response and the two continued to hold themselves in each other’s arms, making the cold, chilly November air feel a bit warmer.

#izuocha #izuocha week 2017 #day 7: confessions #i am so sorry this is trash

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