#in addition to being wrong and stubborn and also a straight up liar about many things | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

chaoticspacefam · 3 years

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OC Music Meme

I was tagged for this by @actualanxiousswampwitch ! Thank you & sorry it took so long, didn’t have time to write this out before I left for holiday stuff so here we go! I shall tag: @actualanxiousswampwitch (go on give us another one XD), @a-muirehen , @kyber-heart , @thedinalixlegacy (no pressure as always, I know I’m kinda late now sksjkshskhs!) and anyone else who wants to do this, yes, I promise I mean you!

art is by @ ocellifera on deviantART! :D

Let’s do Aria this time, shall we! Since her playlist is the second-longest, and her and Vano’s ship playlist is the longest, we’ll have the most (probable options! Long post so goin’ under a cut. Additional TW’s for: drugs, alcohol, alcoholism, drug addiction and murder, in case I’ve forgotten to add it to the song-specific sections. If you click past this cut, know that this is what you may find there.

reminds you of them most: It was super hard to pick just three for hers, there were so many others I wanted to include here, but couldn’t, as I wanted to make sure I included songs that covered as much of her over-arching characterisation as I could. Honourable mentions to: Miss Jackson - Panic! At The Disco feat. LOLO, Wilson (Expensive Mistakes) - Fall Out Boy, Beekeeper - Keaton Henson, and Bones Of A Rabbit - Young Heretics, which can all be found (and more) on her Spotify Playlist - catch-all warning for: sex, drugs, violence and murdering of parents applies here, be aware her playlist is very dark, just as dark as Rai’s but with differing subject matter, proceed with caution if you find anything like that triggering!)

You’re Going Down - Sick Puppies :: This one is kinda self-explanatory. I heard it on a Spotify or Youtube shuffle at some point a year or so ago and immediately went “Oh, hey Aria!” so onto her playlist it went XD “Because I'm hyped up out of control If it's a fight, I'm ready to go I wouldn't put my money on the other guy If you know what I know that I know.” don’t mess with the Tiny Sith, guys, she will put you in the medbay. She’ll do it, she’s done it before ask Vano what happened to the last guy *nods*

Liar - The Arcadian Wild :: This is a relatively “new” song in comparison, which was sent to me by a good rp/writer friend on Discord (who afaik doesn’t have other socials!) that I often discuss plot points etc. with among other things, saying “hey this reminded me of Aria thought you’d like it!”. I listened to it and yep, sure enough, it’s an Aria song. A big part of Aria’s character is that at the start, she really is quite a bad person. She’s nasty, and cantankerous and she really doesn’t care about anybody except for herself (and maybe her dad. A tiny bit.), as things progress, however, while she is still inherently quite rude and selfish, she DOES learn to value other people...provided they are people she cares about, like Vano, and her friends, and so on, as well as (sometimes, she’s working on it still) taking the blame for her own actions and learning it’s not “weak” or bad to a) admit you care about people, b) make mistakes and c) admit those mistakes and take responsibility for them. "I sense there’s trouble ahead, it’s clear by the signs and warnings. That should tell where all blame is due, So why are they pointing at MY head? [...] I sense deception to come. Honestly, truth and I are never one. 'Cause I am the lying man and I have made you my next victim. I need you to see through my act, to tell me I'm wrong, to take off the mask, or else I'll be left in the lie. And I'll deceive my way straight to demise! Cause I’m not in the right state of mind, I just wish I had strength to admit it. My stubbornness will put up a fight! But I don’t deserve to win it... I’m left in the dark, pondering my mistakes But in the light I swear I will, deny it all...”

I didn’t mean to post like half the song but woops it’s done so have it anyway lmao

Brutus - The Buttress :: TW: intense violent imagery in the lyrics. This one is very relevant but contains spoilers for upcoming and as of yet unposted/incomplete chapters (as in...like 3 ish chapters time at most) of Creeping Shadows, so I’ll post this quote as “explanation” and let you theorize who it’s about

“My name is Brutus and my name means “heavy” So with a heavy heart I'll guide this dagger into the heart of my Enemy! My whole life you were a teacher and friend to me Please know my actions are not motivated only by envy I too have a destiny! This death will be art! The people will speak of this day from near and afar This event will be history, And I'll be great too! I don't want what you have, I wanna be you!!“

reminds another character of them:

Where’s My Love? - SYML :: (Vano) I think the acoustic version is especially emotional : ))) Vano looked for her for years but couldn’t find her and genuinely thought Aria was dead. You can understand why she was so fucking angry when she found out that was a lie...but at the same time, she just wanted her love to come home :( “Did she run away? Did she run away? I don't know If she ran away, If she ran away, Come back home Just come home“

Mothers - Daughter :: (Myla, her mother) “Love all you need to love before it goes... When your face becomes a stranger’s that I don’t know. You will never remember who I was to you [...] I’m called “mother”, but they’re called “home”.”

Myla raised Aria for the first few years of her life, and really wanted to keep her away from both the Jedi and the Sith but as it became more and more clear that Aria’s Force affinity was as strong as her father’s, the situation rapidly spiralled out of Myla’s control. She tried to hide Aria, but in the end her father Noctis did find them and take Aria to train with the Sith. She didn’t see her daughter again until she was a teenager, suddenly turning up with the task to kill her for treason against the Empire (Myla is not the canon Imp Agent, but follows the general trajectory of the LS!Agent storyline i.e. an agent disillusioned with the Empire who eventually defects to the Republic with the help of the SIS.). Though she’s a Senator on Onderon now, Myla carried a blaster for personal protection and ofc knows how to use it, except...she couldn’t shoot her own daughter and that was all she wrote. I imagine her thought process during her final moments went something like in this song, especially the bit that I highlighted up there.

reminds you of a relationship of theirs, doesn’t have to be romantic, can be paternal, friendly, etc:

Tongues & Teeth - The Crane Wives :: Aria & Vano (Romantic). Aria’s relationship with Vano is incredibly messy and complicated. On one hand, she knows Vano deserves better, but at the same time she doesn’t want her to go anywhere else and it seems like no matter what she does to try and “warn her off” about what a “bad person” she is, Vano keeps coming back anyway. Ergo, this song. "Oh, I will ruin you. I will ruin you. It’s a habit...I can’t help it. I know that you mean so well, but I am not a vessel for your good intent. I will only break your pretty things, I will only wring you dry of everything! But if you’re fine with that, if you’re fine with that [...] You can be mine.”

Colours - Halsey :: Aria & Merak & Ziri (Friendship/Platonic Love) “You’re only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope, I hope you make it to the day you’re 28 years old...”

Aria “coped” (i.e. not very well but she did it) with the guilt of killing her mother and the stress brought on by the night terrors by self-medicating with glitterstims (spice) and alcohol, and this is how Merak in particular remembers her. Though she got clean from spice after they picked up Ziri, she still continued to drink (and still does) quite heavily, though at least it’s easier to manage that habit. Both of them supported her through this the best they could and it’s probably a big reason (other than Merak being Vano’s little brother) that they’re still Aria’s friends to this day, even if she doesn’t actively travel with them anymore.

(honourable mention to Agnes - Glass Animals which also falls under this “category” but I didn’t want this to get too crowded lmao, it is once again a super long post woops) You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid - The Offspring :: Aria & Roan/Darth Noctis (Familial/Familial Love) Listen, he may have taught her very bad emotional habits and turned her into a tiny attack dog, but her father did love & protect her the best way he possibly could. He was very proud of her and always envisioned her taking his place as a Darth one day (and it takes her a longass while, but eventually she does! Congrats dad!). That’s all I’ve got to say about this one 🤷‍♀️ Monster - Willyecho :: Aria & Satele Shan/The Jedi Order (Enemies to Begrudging Respect (eventually) “I can see the truth. No, you don’t have to lie to me. Don’t fill your head with things and think you’re free~ [...] You don’t believe in monsters, do you~?” ”Of course not!” ”Well, I do...” See me change...into something...darker....” My personal favourite from this “round”. It’s not until Ilum that Satele and the Jedi finally realise they have not “converted” Aria as they thought they did, but rather...they’ve had a Sith hiding under their noses, a Sith related to a Dark Councillor well-known for murdering Jedi no less, and that perhaps...the “deaths” she had convinced them were accidental, were in fact, not an accident at all. 😈 Aria, of course, gets her ass thrown in jail for a few years for this lmao When the schtick with the Revanites happens and Theron needs someone who can “negotiate in a civil manner with Sith”, he and his mother agree Aria is the best bet - if it works, the Sith will respond more positively to her than any other Jedi, if they kill her instead then they’re “rid of” her and don’t lose one of their own - when Lana’s point-of-contact happens to be Vano and the pair reunite after another several years apart, Aria refuses to return to the Republic after Yavin IV. By then, she’s developed enough of a begrudging respect for Satele (and vice versa) that the Grand Master lets her go (not that she was willing to try and fight Vano, Ni’kasi, Marr & Lana to try and take Aria prisoner again anyways). They haven’t seen each other since and though Aria is neutral to the Jedi who have joined the Alliance, she doesn’t care for those who are still loyal to the Republic and would rather have nothing to do with them if she can help it.

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tentendeservedbetter · 5 years

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home is where my team is - Chapter 1

Summary: It wasn’t supposed to be like this; none of them wanted to end up on the same team as one another. They never interacted with each other, having the most classmate relationship out of all the team, and they didn’t know how to after they were assigned. They were too different, from their abilities to their personalities.

One is loud and confident. One is shy and passive. One is stubborn and quiet.

If you were to ask any one of Team 8 back then, they would agree that their team combination was a random gamble made from the head of the village, a simple copy of their parent’s team; but even then, they knew they were a family, a tight-knit family unlike most teams, and they were sure as hell going to stick together through thick or thin.

This story revolves around Team 8 and their journey from 12 year old Genins to one of the heroic Shinobi of the Leaf to fight in the Fourth Great Ninja War. Follow the ups and downs of one of the most renowned tracking teams from Konoha, and how they tackle tough mission, family drama, angsty adolescence, and …one another.

Characters: (Main) Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Kurenai Yuhi,

Pairings (much later on, but will be explored): NaruHina, TamaKiba, background KurenAsuma, ShikaTema, SasuSaku, InoSai, etc.

Read also here: AO3 | FFNET

Next Chapter

A/N: Yeah, so remember that post I made about writing about team 8 growing up with one another rand exploring their dynamics….well here it is! I finally wrote the first chapter woooh! Check out the alternative formats that I provided to read more details about this fic before commencing, because there are some notes I made there; but other than that, here it is! a team 8 fic! I hope you all hop on for this ride!

***

The metallic part of the blue headband sitting on his forehead gleamed brightly under the pale yellow lights of the bathroom as he adjusted it with a hand, staring at the rectangle mirror. It was his first time wearing it- he just had to make sure that it sat perfectly straight, for all to see.

After another few minutes of untying and retying the blue fabric around his head, he was finally satisfied with the tightness of the band as well as how his brown hair, short and spiked, was overtop. He grinned stupidly at his reflection, his red markings lifting with the smile as he zipped up his hoodie, leaving just enough space for his collarbone, protruding with the fine mesh liner on top, out.

He looked good.

Really fucking good.

Watch out Konoha! he thought as he flashed a pose, glancing over her shoulder towards the mirror, his index and thumb over his chin as he tried to look cool. Kiba Inuzuka is here to stay! First Genin, and then-!

"Kiba!" The voice of his elder sister called out from outside the door, interrupting the beginning of his monologue. "Mom said that if you don't get your ass downstairs right now, she's gonna take that headband and break it in half!"

You'd think she'd learn to be nicer after Dad, Kiba thought bitterly as his smile fell, keeping the words to himself, knowing there were prying ears all around him, human and non-human.

There were many skills that the Inuzuka clan specializes in, their mastery of those techniques making them prime trackers in any reconnaissance mission and manhunt; and while animal training and handling is what they are often known for, taming even the most feral beast, there are many personal skills that only the clan members could really hone and specialize in that relates to their animal counterparts instincts. Touch, smell, hearing, you name it; if the dogs can do it, then you can bet your bottom ryo than an Inuzuka can too.

Most only concentrated on honing their smelling skills, scent being one of the easiest ways to identify approaching foes and friends. Everyone and everything has a scent, and it was the most obvious identifier that people tend to overlook. Even water, scientifically known as being an odourless liquid, have distinct smells only if you can tune the chakra in your nose hard enough.

His mother, however, had not only the strongest sense of smell of the clan, an obvious trait for the leader of their clan, but she had the additional skill of having the hypersensitive hearing of a dog, honing her chakra to connect to her eardrums while keeping it up with her nose. The ability to do both at the same time is pretty outstanding, considering the amount of control you need to streamline chakra to different channels, the slightest faltering potentially leading to damage to your senses.

Kiba remembered the nights he would try to escape from home to meet up with a few boys to hang out; he had left his sweaters and shirts with the strongest scents underneath the blanket of his bed, before attempting to slowly, and quietly, cross over the wooden floors of his room towards the window. Every single time, he tweaked his technique, eventually figuring out which boards made the most noise and mapping the perfect route, making sure it was the dead of night when everyone, including his mother, would be in deep sleep. Every single time, he would attempt to reduce the number of steps he took towards the door, making his steps more agile and fast, yet delicate, with each movement, not wasting any time.

And every single time, without fail, his mom would be waiting at the end of the road where the path splits in four. And every single time, without fail, she would kick his ass before dragging him by the ear back down the road to the house.

And every single time Kiba asked how she knew that he had escaped, she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "You're always so loud, stomping all over the floors like that! I can hear your footsteps every single time!"

In hindsight, those escapes trained him to become much more agile and calculative than he ever was before, his mother's reprimands being more of a driving force for him to be a better shinobi than to deter him. When he got his trusty ninken during the last year of the Academy, he trained him to be just as agile and strategic as him, to the point that he had eventually learned to evade his mother with his trusty sidekick.

But today was the day he turns into a man, goddammit! He's officially a Genin, a full-fledged shinobi of the Hidden Leaf! He wasn't some little kid; he was an adult, an agent of his own life, and he can do whatever the hell he wanted to! There's no way he was gonna let his sister, or his mom for that matter, boss him around!

Kiba opened the door much more aggressively than he intended to, but stopped it before the knob could hit the bathroom wall with a loud sound. His eyes narrowed at his sister, who had taken the position of squatting down on one knee, petting his dog, Akamaru, who usually stood valiantly while Kiba was inside the bathroom, ready to attack anyone who dares interrupt him, was wagging his little white tail happily while his tongue stuck out. Only his sister could reduce Akamaru to the cute little puppy that he was.

It annoyed Kiba to no end.

"Stop that!" Kiba said harshly at Hana, wanting to show Akamaru that he was still in command, but his voice cracked at the end, puberty not being so kind to the preteen, while Hana stood up slowly, hovering over Kiba by a good six inches, an amused smirk on her face, making the red markings on her face that were the same as his rise up as well. Akamaru immediately bounded away from Hana go Kiba's side, happily barking at him before sitting and patiently waiting for his next move.

He had assumed that she had already left for work, yet her long brown was left out, unlike in her usual ponytail she would wear, and she had no bag in sight indicating she was ready for work. She immediately plugged her nose with her hand, flinching slightly when Kiba took another step out of the bathroom, yet she maintained her stature.

"God, could you put anymore cologne?" She asked mockingly, as she wafted the air with her free hand, to dissipate the smell.

"What, why?" Kiba quickly replied defensively, while Hana shook her head.

"You smell like you doused yourself with a bottle of eau de garçon," Hana replied.

"Eau de l'homme," he corrected as he crossed his arms over his chest, trying to puff his chest out to make himself look bigger despite his sister still hovering over him. It didn't help that his sister's arms, fully exposed thanks to the white tank top she wore, were essentially the width of Akamaru's body. And his body is pretty big, but it was mostly leaner muscle. Hers, on the other hand, were both big and filled with muscle.

The gods clearly have favourites.

"You're far from a man, kid," she mocked, lightly pinching one of his cheeks, pulling it up and down playfully. "And what you're wearing proves that."

"What's wrong with my cologne?" Kiba nearly cried as he pulled out of her fingers, the pain of her pinch leaving his cheek stinging and red.

"I swear, no matter what generation it is, preteen boys abuse cologne like it's nobody's business," Hana said with a sigh before letting go of her nose and grabbing ahold of the hood of his sweater, pulling him closer. She inhaled sharply, before asking, "When was the last time you've washed this sweater? Actually…" Another quick inhale. "When was the last time you took a bath?"

"I did this morning," Kiba lied, trying to pull away, but to no avail, his sister had unfortunately inherited their mother's iron grip and simply held on tighter without budging.

"Liar," Hana replied without missing a beat, an eyebrow raised as she tried to force her smile into a frown. "You still smell like sweat from your training yesterday. When did you actually take a bath?"

There was a slight silence between them as Kiba tried to stare his sister down, but her piercing eyes broke him and he glanced away, heat rising up his neck.

"Yesterday morning," Kiba mumbled in defeat and Hana immediately let him go, simply waiting for him to continue. His strong facade broke as easily as it came, and he couldn’t help but continue in a whine, "But I jumped into the training ground river afterwards!"

"The river still carries bacteria," Hana groaned, shaking her head. "You have to take proper care of your body."

"Yeah yeah," Kiba waved off her comment as he tried to slip away down the hall so he could go to the main floor, a talk she had had with him before, but she immediately put her foot down to impede him.

"I'm serious, Kiba," Hana continued, a much more serious tone to her voice, one she rarely used unless she absolutely needed to command the room. "And your body is the only vessel you have in this life. Keeping it in tip top shape, whatever that may be, is important not only for your health, but also your line of duty as well."

"Yeah, I know," Kiba nodded along, the intensity of her voice made him uncomfortable as he shifted slightly on his feet. Hana looked at his for a moment, narrow eyes shifting over his headband to his face.

"You're now a Shinobi of the Leaf," Hana replied slowly. "You are no longer a child. And you no longer belong to yourself and to the clan anymore; you belong to the Village as well."

"To protect and serve the Village first," Kiba dully repeated the words he was forced to learn for his theory class, the Shinobi Rules. "A shinobi must set aside his emotions in order to be in shape to serve and protect their village with a sound mind and a doubtless heart."

He expected Hana to be satisfied with his words and let him get on with his day - hell, even he was surprised he still remembered that rule, being one of the longer ones from the book.

Instead, he noticed her eyes falter slightly, her eyebrows twitched inwards, as if more taken aback by his words than happy.

"Yes, exactly," she finally said, her voice sounding somewhat solemn, before her face softened as she reached over his head with a head and started mushing his hair aggressively. "Look at you, actually remembering what you learned at the Academy!"

"Stop, you're gonna mess up my hair!"

"It already looks like a mess," Hana replied before letting go. Kiba immediately ran off down the hallway, Akamaru trailing with as much speed behind him as he bounded down a flight of stairs.

"Have fun," he could hear his sister call from the top floor as he reached the end of the stairs, the bathroom door shutting behind her immediately afterwards as he smiled to himself.

I will, he thought to himself as he ran down the long stretch of hallway towards the dining room, the smell of cooked meat growing stronger with every step, enticing him and making him salivate slightly.

"What's for breakfast?" he asked as he slid the door open quickly, thought he already knew the answer just from the scent - a fresh pot of tea, omelettes with vegetables, rice fresh from the rice cooker, and a whole lot of bacon.

His mother was sitting at the opposite end of the table facing towards the door, a hand on her hip and a half of a chopstick in the other hand as something sharp grazed the side of his ear, a modest thwunk behind him from the wall. The mood of the room shifted immediately, making the hair on his neck stand up while goosebumps ran down is spine, as he froze on sight, taken aback by what had just happened. Even Akamaru started to whine, and he could see him cower his head under his tiny paws, trying to look away.

"You know the rules, Kiba," Tsume said with a growl, her voice authorative and strong. "No breakfast for people who sleep in!"

"B-but Mom-" Kiba started, but she didn't let him finish.

"Rules are rules!" She said, as she took another pair of chopsticks from the table and started to pick out the long strips of meat from the plate, streaked with crisp browned line from the pan, and onto her rice bowl. There were only three strips left on the plate. "If you don't come downstairs by the time Kuromaru is finished eating, you don't get any food!"

He eats before I even wake up! Kiba cried as he gawked at his mother, at a loss of words. He glanced over to Kuromaru, Tsume's companion ninken, who stood straight looking out the sliding door to the backyard nearby, basking in the morning light. He looked over towards Kiba, looking ethereal in his black fur highlighted with yellow streaks of the sun, and moved his head fully to look with his left eye, the only eye that he could use, the other covered with an eyepatch. Kiba could have sworn that the old dog smirked at him, a sparkle of amusement flashing over his yellow pupils.

Kiba tried hard not to let Kuromaru get to him, but he knew the dog thought more than he would say- and right now, he was mocking Kiba for being scolded by his mother like a little pup.

"C'mon, I was busy training late last night!" Kiba exclaimed as he took another cautious step forward, ready for his mother's next move. "Today is-"

"Your first day as a Genin," Tsume interjected. "But as a Shinobi, you can't just lounge around and sleep in when you have duties to perform. When I was your age, I had countless missions where I had to wake up at the crack of down with only a few minutes of rest in order to track down enemies and-"

Here she goes again. Kiba tried not to roll his eyes. He felt that his mom always over exaggerated her experiences on the field in order to scare him into obeying, and maybe some of the things did happen? But she didn't have to do this spiel first thing in the morning. He tried to tune her out, but curse his sensitive ears- the words were still processed by his brain.

"- and you can't sleep in for mission deadlines!" Tsume finished, as she took another chopstick full of rice from her bowl, satisfied with her spiel.

Kiba watched her for a moment, glaring at her swallowing the rice, before asking in a dull voice, "...So can I eat?"

"No!" Tsume exclaimed as she slammed her chopsticks clean onto the table, a loud bang resonating from the wood.

"C'mon Mom, I'm a growing boy! I need to eat!"

“No!”

“Please Mom!” Akamaru barked, trying to show his support, and Tsume glared intently at the puppy, making him once again cower and take a step back behind Kiba’s leg.

“Hush now, pup,” Tsume said to Akamaru, putting her finger over her lips.

"Why are we fighting so early in the morning?" Hana called from the end of the hallway, the creaking of the floorboards growing louder as she approached the entrance of the dining room, peering through with a slight curiosity.

She looked fresh and ready for a new day, her hair pulled back with two strands left to shape her face, and opted out the tank top for a long sleeved shirt. She gave Kiba a quick smile of acknowledgment (that Kiba returned with a frown) before brushing past him towards the dinner table, slipping the messenger bag off her shoulder.

"You got a shift at the clinic today?" Tsume asked in a calmer tone as Hana took a seat at the table, nodding to her mother’s question as she set her messenger bag against the leg of her seat. “Shirogane is really making you work.”

"Yeah, but it can’t be helped,” Hana replied as she reached over to the pot of rice from Tsume, using the small white spatula to scrape the fresh rice into the bowl that sat in front of her. Kiba could feel a low growl from his abdomen, and he held onto it, trying to subdue it in front of them. “We’re getting a group of new resident students today, and he wanted me to teach them. I’m going to be there more often now, so I can keep Kiba in check while you're gone on missions.”

"I'm still here, you know!" Kiba exclaimed, annoyed how they both ignored him, but they continued their conversation without so much as a glance.

“Oh right, the new veterinary students you were talking about,” Tsume said as she slid the plate of omelettes towards Hana, who took her chopsticks to pick it up. “Isn’t Isamu’s daughter in school to be a vet too?”

“Yeah, his eldest,” Hana nodded as she started to mix the egg with the rice, steam still floating on top of it, mixing together into a beautiful concoction. “She only started last year, so she has a few years before I could take her under my wing, if she survives.”

Tsume chuckled, as she picked up her cup of tea, saying, "She has a good head on her shoulders. She'll be fine."

"Hey, why does she get to eat!" Kiba finally interrupted their conversation, his annoyance at its peak, gesturing (but not pointing, he still wants to keep his finger) at Hana, who took a satisfying bite of her omelette rice. "She only got ready after I woke up!"

Tsume immediately slammed her cup onto the table when he finished, silence falling immediately over him.

“Hana gets to eat because she actually keeps track of time and never showed up late to a mission or her work for the past six years,” Tsume said with a cautious tone. “You, on the other hand…”

She suddenly raised her hand, the other half of the chopstick she had used earlier already in her hand, steadying her arm to throw it the way she would throw a kunai.

Kiba readied himself to dodge the throw, but the chopstick never came straight his way; it zipped at an angle above him, missing him by the tip of his hair. Kiba followed the trajectory of the throw towards the wall above the doorway, and found the red wood sticking out right beside the clock that hung up there. He shifted his eyes towards the clock, looking at the hands, reading the time.

9:30, he read. 9:30…

“I’m late!” he yelped, and Tsume tutted as she watched her son scramble over towards his bag that sat on the side of the couch.

“It’s your first day and you couldn’t even get ready on time,” Tsume hummed.

Hana in the meantime was eating her meal slowly, savouring the moment as she watched the two bicker. After watching Kiba chaotically try to look through his bag to make sure he had everything, she finally said, “Mom, look at him. Just let him take something for the road.”

“Yeah, for the road!” Kiba agreed, slinging his bag over his shoulder quickly.

Tsume scowled at Hana, before looking at Kiba, observing him with piercing eyes. After a moment, she shook her head lightly.

"Fine. Take it and go," Tsume sighed, running a hand on the side of her brown hair, attempting to tame the spikes only to make it bounce back up. "This is the last time I'll let you eat after sleeping in!"

"Yeah!" He exclaimed as he scooped up the last three strips of bacon from the plate and ran towards the door quickly, Akamaru waiting until he passed through the frame to follow him.

When Tsume was sure he was out of earshot down the hall, she sighed while softening her face, "I don't know what I'm going to do with that boy."

"Are you going to tell him the real time?" Hana asked, and Tsume shrugged.

"Nah, he'll figure it out himself."

There was a slight pause between them as they listened to Kiba scramble about at the front, trying to find his shoes so he could leave.

"You know, looking at him be this young and become a Genin is unsettling," Hana suddenly said after swallowing another bite, pausing in the middle of picking up a piece of egg with her chopsticks as she glanced over to Tsume, who took another long sip of her tea. “It’s hard to believe I looked that small when I became a Genin. I can’t imagine Kiba being responsible for half the things they’ll make him do.”

"That's only if he becomes a Genin," Tsume replied with a slight grimace on his face. “You know who’s going to be his Jonin leader?”

“I heard, but it can’t be too bad for him,” Hana said with a small smile, fondly remembering her first day after graduating from the Academy. “He might be spunky, but Kiba knows how to work well with others. You made sure of it.”

Kiba quickly slipped on his sandals, strapping them on tightly and zipping the backside up, making sure they are securely on before he leaves. He opened the door, letting Akamaru bound out onto the small set of stairs leading down to the path towards the front gates. Once he was sure he had everything he needed, he took one last look at the mirror that hung on the wall above the shoe rack, making sure his headband sat on properly.

"I’m off!" Kiba quickly called out as he shut the door behind him before stuffing the three strips of bacon in his mouth. "Le'z gwo A'amaru!"

"Yes!" Akamaru barked in agreement and they took off side by side, the morning sun shining down on their faces as they run down the road, trying not to trip.

***

"Yo, Kiba! Where’s the fire?"

Kiba stopped in his tracks, the heel of his foot skidding the dirt road, quickly turning over to the source of the voice that was behind him. He followed the familiar scent towards the side of the road, and saw a boy around his age continue to walk at an even pace, an easygoing grin on his face as he approached Kiba.

“Itsuki... why so ...slow?” Kiba managed asked between pants, trying to control his breathing rate as he stood still as adrenaline caught up to him. Akamaru caught up right beside him, panting with his tongue out, waiting for his next move. “Aren’t we... late?”

“Nah man, we still got another hour until it’s 10,” Itsuki replied, his black eyebrows pulled in, confused at his friend’s words. “Did you run all the way here?”

“Dude...I swear it was 9:30 when I left,” Kiba replied, now his eyebrows contorting in confusion. Itsuki looked over to the watch on his right wrist, reading the hands along the plate.

"Nah, dude," Itsuki said, a grin on his face as he extended his arm, showing the watch face to Kiba, letting him read it. Indeed, the small hand was on the 9, with the smaller hand only halfway through it's round. Kiba couldn't comprehend this conflict of time, when it struck it like a pound of bricks on his head.

She changed the time! Kiba thought, eyes furrowed and gritting his teeth in anger, a little image of his mother mocking him with her laugh popping into his head. It could only make sense...the must have changed the living room clock to throw him off. He knew for a fact that he woke up on time; he gave himself plenty of time to get ready before leaving for his first day as a Genin!

Itsuki laughed at his face, the brown of his pupils twinkling with amusement. "Did your mom move the clock ahead again?"

Akamaru let out whine when he heard his words, and Kiba leaned down to pick the exhausted pup in hands, sticking him on the part where he would zip up his grey sweater, letting his hang his head and paws out. Itsuki took the opportunity to give Akamaru a pat on the head, while Kiba replied through gritted teeth, a bit flustered at having to admit it, "Yeah she did."

"Damn, go Ms. Inuzuka," Itsuki said with a light laugh as he put his hands into the front pocket of his shirt. "I'm glad my mom isn't a drill sergeant!"

"Yeah, yeah," he waved off his comment with a huff, something he hears often from his friends who have known him for so long. Tsume truly was ruthless with her rules; she even went as far as to pull this stunt on him.

Kiba walked alongside his friend, taking in what Itsuki was wearing. Now that they officially graduated from the Academy, it only made sense to wear clothes that would suit their new job. When Kiba had first met Itsuki back when he was in normal school before Shinobi school, he would often be prim and minimal, with a shirt tucked into his pants with a belt, his hair coiffed to the side in a side part as his mother liked it. Kiba’s ferality has worn him down, though; he wore a deep red hoodie that warmed his tan skin with short sleeves, his blue headband fastened on his upper left arm, and black pants that went up to his knees, pockets lined on both the top and the bottom. He was wearing the grey armour mesh tights underneath, up until midway to his calves, and he trades his usual runners for black sandals. His black hair was free of any gel, spiking up in a slight slope upwards, revealing a hoop earring on his helix, a sort of present from himself to celebrate graduating from the Academy, something his mother completely disapproved of but it was too late.

Kiba had considered getting a piercing, the needle they used on Itsuki looking enticing, but he knew that Tsume and Hana would have ripped the earring off as soon as he walked through the door, both doing it for different reasons; for Tsume, it would be without asking permission, and for Hana, it would be for infection control.

“Look who’s up ahead,” Itsuki pointed out, and Kiba immediately looked up, noticing a different scents that was also familiar waft in the air. Kiba grinned, as Itsuki yelled out, “Natsuo! Hold up!”

Another boy around their age with ashy brown hair glanced back at them after hearing his name, his headband proudly gleaming under the sunshine.

“Yo,” the brown haired boy, Natsuo, said with a lopsided grin, pulled up the sleeve of his long blue sleeve underneath his loose tank top and giving Itsuki a props. They had all been friends from before entering the Academy, thought the duo had met Natsuo a year beforehand. Despite this, he was still close to them, making up a three-quarters gang that they usually were in.

“Look at you, showing off your headband,” Kiba teased as he gave a playful punch to his shoulder, before Itsuki put him a light headlock, while Kiba attacked his brown locks by ruffling them. “Save the theatrics for us, Michy!”

“Chill out!” Natsuo exclaimed with a laugh as he slipped out of the headlock, running a hand through his hair. “Oh and what, you're not showing off your headband?”

“I'm allowed to show it off," Kiba chuckled, flicking the plate of Natsuo's headband lightly, square on the Konoha symbol .

A specific scent was suddenly in the air that caught his attention, and he could feel his heart skipped a beat when he recognised it instantly. It was a soft, flowery scent, mixed with the freshness of the Konoha pines found in a certain part of town, and despite it being extremely faint, his nose was able to amplify it a bit more. He tried his best not to look around to follow the scent, instead using his eyes to quickly scanned around them. They were quickly approaching the source of the scent at the opposite side of the road, and Kiba could feel his back straighten a bit more.

“Oh oh! She’s close!” Akamaru barked excitedly from inside his jacket, moving his head around to see if he could catch a glimpse of the person emitting this smell, now already in their immediate area. Kiba glanced ahead to the road, trying not to look as to not draw his friend’s attention, but his eyes betrayed him as it caught sight of long purple hair coming out of a store with a bag in hand.

“Don’t look now Kiba, but I think that’s your future wife,” Natsuo mocking before Kiba elbowed him harshly in the side of his ribs, feeling the tips of his ears burning.

“I’m going to call her over,” Itsuki snickered, and before Kiba could refuse, he yelled out, “Akane! What are you doing loitering around?”

A girl immediately looked towards them as they approached her (well, they were walking towards her, Itsuki had to drag Kiba by the arm), her brown eyes fluttering up towards them as her pink lips broke into a smile.

“I’m getting some dango,” Akane replied, her voice smooth and high, as she lifted the bag up towards the boys, a hand on her hips. “You guys want some?”

“Do I?” Natsuo said as he took the bag from her hand, and perused the contents, taking out a tupperware with the dango inside, still fresh with steam.

“Ah!” Akane exclaimed immediately when she looked over at Kiba, and she took a step closer. Kiba had to stop himself from taking a step back, and refrained from holding his breath. “Akamaru! You cute little thing!”

“Pet me! Pet me!” Akamaru barked happily as Akane started to scratch the back of his ears, cooing at him.

“Stop, you’re spoiling him,” Kiba replied after finding his voice but didn’t make her stop, allowing her to pick Akamaru in her arm as she cradled in one hand.

“But Kiba,” Akane pouted at Kiba, blinking her eyes in a fluttery way. “He’s so cute!”

“I am!” Akamaru barked in agreement, his tail wagging as Akane continued to rub his neck, scratching it just where he likes it.

“What the hell are you wearing, Akane?” Itsuki asked after taking a bite of dango from the tupperware, gesturing mindlessly at her clothing.

Akane’s eyebrows pulled into a frown, and she scowled at the boy. “What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?”

“Nothing,” Itsuki said with a slight shrug. “It’s just weird.”

“I think what Natsuo is wearing is weirder,” Akane replied with an eye roll. “He’s wearing a shirt over a shirt. That’s stupid.”

“I didn’t know you were the fashion police,” Natsuo scowled as Akane swiped back the bag from his hand when he reached his second dango, still balancing Akamaru in one arm.

“What do you think, Kiba?”Akane asked in a lighter voice, smiling at him as she swayed slightly. “How do I look?”

She was wearing a sleeveless faded green shirt that went up to her waist, her blue pants sitting on her hips, the mesh armour shirt covering her abdomen. So far, it was normal, though she had wrapped her hand with white bandages up until her past her wrists, despite never wearing them before and not being that keen of taijutsu, and the sleeves of her mesh armour shirt went up to her elbows. Her headplate had been taken off of the usual blue fabric and was stitched onto a black one, and hung around her neck loosely. Her sandals were a black like her headband, but there was an extra layer underneath to make her taller, though Kiba wasn’t sure if it would help her with her abilities or were for show. Probably like Itsuki's earring, it was for show.

But despite this, he immediately thought that she looked, to put it frankly, Cute as hell.

Out of the group, Akane was the last one to join, completing the quartet when they entered the Academy. She was an outgoing girl, with a sharp mouth and equally sharp eyes, having a particular sense of humour that suited them very well. Not only that, but she was one of the cutest girls in the class, akin to the likes of two other girls in their class, a Sakura Haruno and an Ino Yamanaka. But where they were failed to be cute naturally, she excelled at it incredibly - to people who didn’t know her. She was hot-tempered with Kiba, persistent with her way, and while Kiba would normally not be complacent, his crush on her let her get some leeway with certain situations (plus, he was kind of into it).

They weren’t dating, actually, far from it, and he wasn’t even sure if it was a mutual feeling to begin with. He wouldn’t mind dating her, though, and he was planning to ask her out after they got used to being a Genin. He didn’t want to rush anything, knowing they had time. Right now, he was focused on being a great ninja, the likes of what his mother is, and his foremothers as well.

Kiba went with a neutral route, grinning and shrugged, “It’s okay. Not as good as what I’m wearing.”

Akane tried to hide her smile at his joke, giving him a slight nudge with her elbow, both hands being full, saying in a light, sugary tone, “Shut up!”

"We'll see how long you'll last in it," Itsuki said with a grin, as they continued to walk down the road, still trying to make it on time to the Academy. Akane handed back Akamaru to Kiba, who immediately placed him back in his sweater, not wanting to tire the puppy out so soon in the day. He could see Akane walk beside him, a step closer into him, but it was probably so she could see the others properly while talking.

“This is it, huh,” Itsuki mumbled mindlessly, and they all looked at him curiously to continue. “We’re officially Shinobi from this day on.”

“Damn right, we are,” Kiba said cockily, a grin on his face. “Can’t wait to finally go on missions and get out of Konoha for once! Maybe even leave the Land of Fire!"

"You might not get out all that much to begin with," Akane hummed beside him, trying to keep up with their longer strides. "We'll probably get simple D rank missions around the Village or in the farmlands."

"Aw, that’s right- so we won’t even be fighting then!” Natsuo groaned with a frown. “What’s the point of learning all this ninjutsu if we won’t be using it on anyone!”

“Let’s wait and see what we get,” Kiba replied. “But there’s no way I’m not going to be stuck with some lame missions. Isn’t that right, Akamaru?”

Akamaru barked in agreement, and Akane laughed, "Hopefully we can work together!"

"Yeah, but usually D-rank missions only need three-man squads, right?" Itsuko replied lightly. "Three out of four of us might end up on one team, and the last one left is gonna end up with randos."

"It alternates a lot, it's not permanent," Kiba said, mindlessly patting Akamaru's head gently, an unconscious habit when he was was hanging off the neckline of his sweater or hoodie.

It made Kiba slightly antsy at the thought of separating from his friends since he found out this information; they have been through so much together, through the ups and downs of their Academy years, through every endurance testing to written exams. And now to potentially be separated from one another despite not needing to be made him anxious.

Kiba was an easy going guy, he knew how to make friends easily, but it was always with like minded people. What if he had to work with someone stubborn and gets in his way? Or someone passive and won't take initiative? He worked so long with his friends that it's hard for him to imagine them separating and not working together as often.

"The least they could do is split the group in half," Kiba continued lightheartedly, with his usual grin. "Don't worry about it."

***

They made their way up the staircase to the third floor where there now old classroom was, the sound of students chattering and laughing could be heard through the closed sliding door leading into their classroom. When they walked in, the class was nearly filled with students, the right bench in the second row to the lower floor being empty.

Kiba scanned the rows of the students as they walked down the steps to the empty seats, plenty of familiar faces crowding around benches to talk to their friends. He noticed, however, the slight buzz in the air, bitter and confused glances over towards the direction of the wide windows against the other side of the room, some people whispering amongst themselves.

"Sup," Kiba greeted a group of boys nearby the entrance they walked through, at the top row of the classroom, who were also gawking towards that direction. "What's going? Why's everyone looking paranoid."

"Dudes," one of the boys said, ushering Kiba and his friends closer. "You're not going to believe this! Guess who passed the Academy exams?"

Before Kiba could ask who, he heard a familiar voice drawl out from the other side of the classroom, "Naruto, what are you doing here?"

Kiba leaned over to look at the window side of the classroom, and he saw the familiar spiky ponytail of his classmate, Shikamaru Nara, slouching over the second bench from the top of the room. He could only see another one of his classmates, the prodigious genius of his year, Sasuke Uchiha, sitting further along the bench closer to the window, but that was not who Shikamaru was talking about, no. He leaned even forward to see past Shikamaru, narrowing his eyes.

Lo and behold, in his obnoxiously orange tracksuit and spiky blond hair to match, there sat Naruto Uzumaki, class clown and world class idiot, with the biggest grin in the world as he held his headband plate with one hand, showing it off.

"This isn't a class for drop-outs, you know," Shikamaru continued, shoving his hands in pockets.

"Do ya see this Shikamaru?" Naruto said loudly and confidently, flashing the headband up and down. "See, it? It's a Konoha headband, which means I passed! From now one I'm going to be a shinobi training alongside you! Believe it!"

"I don't believe it," Itsuko said in a hushed voice, watching the spectacle before them. "I could have sworn Naruto failed."

Kiba tutted slightly, annoyed at what he was seeing. Naruto was the last person he expected to see. They were all there for the same final exam; he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn't conjure up a Clone, and when he did, it was a blanched body with no energy or Chakra whatsoever. How did he end up passing, out of the blue?

“Hey, Kiba” Akane asked, in a hushed tone, a slight grin on her face. “What if you end up working with your friend over there?”

Kiba grimaced at her words. He only hung out with Naruto for a bit, whenever they wanted to skip out of class to go to the training hall, Naruto and Shikamaru being the only ones who would be willing to do so with another one of their classmates, Choji Akimichi. Naruto and Kiba weren’t friends, no, far from it; they were just acquaintances, at most, and even then it was limited to being his classmate, and those few times they skipped together. Naruto was a fun guy, he won’t lie, and he knew how to goof around and have a good time; but that’s all he knows what to do. At some point, his slack in ninjutsu and fooling around got old real quick- Kiba had to detach himself from being associated with him, not wanting to be pulled down with him. It didn’t help that he was an easy target for many to make jokes about; Kiba didn’t want to put in the spotlight with him, he still had pride.

It doesn't matter, Kiba thought. I'll be fine as long as I don't have missions with him!

Before he could reply, the door they had entered suddenly slid open with a loud bang, and the sound of angry struggle was heard.

"Move Billboard Brow!"

"Shut up Ino-pig!"

Kiba looked over at the door, and could feel his temples stinging immediately. Great, more annoying people…

Two girls, one with long pink hair flowing and one with long blonde hair in a ponytail, tumbled through the door frame in unison, luckily landing on their feet. Two girls, stood in place for a moment, sweat dripping down their flushed faces, panting hard as they leaned on their knees.

“Not bad, Sakura,” the blonde girl managed to say between pants, not bothering to look at her companion.

The pink haired girl managed to smirk crookedly, but was panting equally as hard, and she said, “I told you Ino...I’d beat you.”

He heard Natsuo let out a low whistle, and Kiba could see Natsuo staring at the two girls, eyes ogling at the blonde girl, Ino Yamanaka. He elbowed him to draw his attention away, and said in an annoyed tone, “What are you, a pervy old man?”

“Can’t I check them out, dude?” Natsuo mumbled back to for only his ears, annoyed at Kiba policing him, and Kiba rolled his eyes.

The pink haired girl, Sakura Haruno, ran across the top floor towards the stairs that led in between the benches along the window wall and the centre benches. Ino followed right behind her, stopping at a step above her, pushing Shikamaru back away from the second row bench near the window. Kiba could feel a grin on his face, and he settled a bit on his spot, waiting.

“This ought to be good,” Itsuki said, knowing full well what was going to happen, and they all watched with anticipation.

Naruto attempted to get up from his seat to greet them, but before he could a ‘hey’ out of his mouth, Sakura pushed him aside, saying as she pointed at the empty space between Sasuke and Naruto, “Hey Sasuke, is anyone sitting there?”

From the distance, Kiba couldn’t see Sasuke reaction, but he knew the name was like opening a floodgate; the moment the Uchiha prodigy was mentioned in any vicinity, you could be sure there would be a group of girls that would gather around him, vying for his attention. Kiba could admit it himself, Sasuke was a pretty boy, with jet black hair and side bangs shaping his face, and onyx eyes that gave him an air of mystery, his face more chiselled and refined than the average boy their age. That’s not to say Kiba was jealous of the attention Sasuke receives, no, far from it; he doesn’t know how Sasuke goes about his life and training without a flock chasing after him, and he knew he wouldn’t survive if he were Sasuke.

Speaking of a flock, there was one forming around Sakura right now, her question triggering other girls from their class to gather near the bench, forming a chain to keep one another out.

“Listen up, forehead!” Ino said, with a clenched fist, being one of said girls who like Sasuke. “I walked into the classroom before you, so I get to sit next to Sasuke first!”

“Actually, I was here before either of you,” another girl said, crossing her arms over her chest. “So I get to sit next to Sasuke!”

“No way, I was here before all of you!” Another girl piped in. “If anything, I should sit next to Sasuke.”

“Don’t you want to fight for a spot next to Uchiha?” Kiba whispered to Akane, who let out a small chuckle.

“Maybe you should try,” she replied with a small wink, making his heart skip a beat, as the group of girls started to argue loudly with one another. Suddenly, there was a silence over the group of girls as they turned their attention from one another back to the bench.

Kiba could see what they were staring at, and he was surprised to see it as well; directly in front of Sasuke, on top of the table, was the spunky blond squatting down to be face-to-face with the raven-haired boy. Tension filled that area immediately as Naruto glared at Sasuke, and Kiba could only assume that Sasuke was returning the look with as much intensity.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed angrily, fists clenched up in front of his chest. "What are you doing to Sasuke!"

"That idiot," Kiba said, eyes never leaving the scene. "Is he trying to pick a fight right now?"

Before the girls could start yelling at Naruto, there was another hush that fell over them a few gasps amongst the crowd. Even the kids who weren’t paying attention to them looked with wide eyes, mouth agape at what they saw.

Kiba was taken aback too, but his grin widened even more at the spectacle, trying to suppress the mocking laugh that swelled up in his stomach. A boy in the row in front of Sasuke was moving his arms around, and his elbow landed square onto Naruto’s back, pushing the blond forward unwilling and…

Made his lips lock with Sasuke’s.

Tension in the room flared, and the rest was expected; the flock of girls, with their menacing glares and cracking their knuckles, ganged up on Naruto and well...let’s just say the poor guy got a few bruises here and there.

“What a dumbass,” Akane said mockingly. “He got it coming to him.”

As if the gods were just waiting for this to happen, the door at the front of the classroom slid open, and entered their now ex-homeroom teacher, Iruka Umino, with a folder under his arm, wearing his usual attire of the long blue sleeved shirt underneath his faded green Chunin vest. He looked at the students with a confused look, the group of girls still flocking around Sasuke and Naruto now lying along the stairs, the light scar across the bridge of his lifting with his scrunched up nose.

“What happened here?” Iruka asked, and the group immediately replied with a quick ‘nothing!’ before dissipating. Sakura had managed to shimmy her way next to Sasuke during the disorder, while Naruto got up quickly at Iruka’s voice, clamouring up into the seat.

Iruka didn’t buy their word, but he didn’t press on, and he looked towards the rest of the classroom, with a slight smile growing on his face. He continued, “It looks like everyone is here! Can you all please take your seats!”

The students did not hesitate to take their places along the benches immediately, the previous tension that was in the room now replaced with excitement. Kiba slipped into one of the benches, and Akane sat beside him, with Natsuo and Itsuki following suite. He picked Akamaru out of his jacket and placed him on top of his head, as to not squeeze him against the table.

Iruka walked up to the desk in front of the chalkboard, setting down his folder, and waited for the classroom to settle into silence for him to begin.

“From this day forward, you are no longer Academy student, but shinobi of the Leaf,” Iruka said with a light voice, shifting his gaze between the students. “However, you are only at the level of Genin, a junior ninja, and there your journey of being excellent ninja is still ahead of you. Soon you will all be able to take missions for the Village. But due to you being brand new shinobi, we will be putting you in 3-man squads, with each team having a Jonin sensei to guide you!"

What?! Kiba thought, his eyebrows drawing in closer as he slightly shook one of his legs up and down impatiently, leaning onto the table. They're assigning us to teams?!

"You will have to follow your sensei's orders in order to complete your missions," Iruka continued with the same smooth rhythm. He picked up the folder and opened it, holding it in one hand. "We tried to balance each team's strength and weaknesses to form an equal squad with various members."

"What!" A few kids shouted at the same time, Natsuo joining as well, and the class went into a slight frenzy.

"Aw man, we're being assigned into teams?" Itsuko said with a slight huff. "What if Iruka-sensei splits the group? What if he only puts three of us in a team and leaves one in a group of randos?"

"I hope not," Akane mumbled. "You think he'd do that?"

"Nah, he would only split it half and half," Kiba said with a slight wave of his hand. "Iruka-sensei wouldn't do us like that."

Would he? Maybe he would split their group up, considering that they were being split to make the powers equal. Maybe it's to combine their different skills to have an optimal team situation.

"Settle down, everyone," Iruka said in a louder voice to overpower the chatter and everyone stopped talking, though the glaring faces still remained. "This is so that team would be well balanced and have optimal chance of completing missions! They were already premade, so there is no way to change your assigned teams."

The classroom was filled with groans, but nobody objected. When Iruka was satisfied with their silence, he looked down to his folder, and said, "Now, I'll call out each team number and the members of that squad. First up...Team 1!"

"God, I sure hope I don't end up with Naruto," Kiba heard Itsuko said in a hushed voice as Iruka continued down the list, and Kiba nodded along. Anyone but Naruto.

"Next up is Team 6," Iruka said, and Kiba could see Iruka's eyes flicker up towards their group before returning to the paper. "Akane Moritaka...Itsuko Akabane…"

C'mon, Iruka-sensei, split us in half, Kiba prayed in his mind, keeping his eyes planted on Iruka as he started to call out the last name.

"And Natsuo Hirota."

Kiba could feel a weight over his shoulders when he heard the last name called. He gritted his teeth slightly, feeling overwhelmed and underwhelmed at the same time.

Great...he's the one who's going to end up with randos.

"Kiba..." Akane started, leaning over to him, but Kiba just smiled at her, not wanting any sympathy.

"It's cool," he said courtly, leaning into his arms as he did before, maintaining his voice level. "There has to be a reason they made that team."

"Let's hope you got a good team," Natsuo said in a hushed voice.

"Team 7," Iruka continued, paying no heed to any whispered words. "Sakura Haruno...Naruto Uzumaki."

Kiba could see Naruto clenched in fist in a happy motion, a stupid grin on his face while Sakura banged her head on top of the table, misery surrounding her like a cloud. He crossed his fingers.

Please don't put me on their team...please don't put me on their team...

"And...Sasuke Uchiha." Now it was Sakura's turn to smile brightly, Naruto banging his head on top of the table. Kiba grinned, happy he dodged a bullet.

Before Iruka could continue, Naruto got up from his seat, and proclaimed in his whiny, loud voice, "Sensei! Why does an outstanding shinobi like me have to end up with that guy!?"

Iruka stared at Naruto for a second, before his eyebrows pulled into a frown, and he placed his hands on his hips, leaning forward as if talking to a child.

"Because Sasuke's grades were the best of all 27 graduates," Iruka started with a cool voice. "And yours was dead last. We have to balance out the teams, remember? You do understand, right?"

Snickers ran through the classroom, and before Naruto could sit down, Sasuke said in the lowest of voices, "Just don't get in my way...dead last."

Kiba had to stifle his laugh as Naruto readied himself to fight Sasuke with a yell, Sakura having to stand up to push him down into his seat.

This team is a mess, Kiba thought to himself as Iruka-sensei told them to settle down, taking a few more minutes for Naruto to actually sit down and instead glare at Sasuke. How are they going to go on missions if all they do is argue?

"Okay, moving on," Iruka said with a slight sigh, looking at his clipboard. "For Team 8… Kiba Inuzuka."

Please let me have someone good on my team.

"Hinata Hyuuga. And Shino Aburame."

Kiba could really feel the weight increasing over him as his jaw opened slightly gaped at the names Iruka called out. He could hear all his friends giggle and chuckle, and he turned to glare at them.

"You got the two weirdos," Natsuo whispered to Kiba. "Nice one, Kiba!"

"Shut up," Kiba hissed, as he started to scour the classroom, looking for the faces to the names Iruka called out.

He spotted Hinata Hyuuga almost immediately, her sitting in the back row as she often did, alone with no one near her, with her short deep blue bangs covering her forehead, her forehead protector around her neck, almost covering her chin. The oversized wooly jacket she wore hung over her, and she didn't look up, staring at a spot on her desk with her big, white eyes, and fidgeting her index fingers together.

Harmless and shy, she wouldn't willingly hurt a fly, and everyone in the class knew it; they didn't understand why she was in the Academy to begin with, her benign ways counteracting the shinobi lifestyle. It was her revered Hyuuga name, the ones with the fame Kekkei Genkai, the Byakugan, that forced her to be a shinobi. But even then, as the so-called 'princess' of the clan, Kiba would have assumed that the clan wouldn't let her out of her sight and wouldn't enroll her as a field shinobi- either she had no fear of being hurt or her clan didn't care whether she died. He wouldn't bet on the first option.

He continued to look, and near the front, on the bench on their aisle, was the boy they called Shino Aburame, all alone with no one around, the rest of the classmates sitting there keeping a good amount of space between them and the boy. Kiba couldn't see his face, only his coiled, tall brown hair being seen poking out of a light grey trench coat that covered half his face and nearly went passed his wrists loosely.

Hinata, he's fine with, her silence and fidgeting being weird, though not being a big deal for him, but Shino was a different issue. He was a weirdo and everyone knows it; he wasn't loud or outgoing, he didn't talk for the most part, and he always wore those black sunglasses indoors and outdoors, never revealing his eyes.

The only time Kiba ever interacted with Shino was when he was playing football with his classmates, and he was ready to kick the winning goal, when Shino told him to stop. He did stop, mostly by surprise because it was the first time he heard Shino speak, and he wasn't expecting his voice to be as loud as it was, and Shino walked up towards the ball, leaning down to pick up…

A ladybug. A tiny, red ladybug, that had flown on top of the ball and would have literally been apart of the winning goal if Kiba kicked the ball. Shino picked the bug up, and said in a low voice to Kiba, without ever looking at him, "Watch what you do next time. You almost hurt an insect because of your lack of perception."

And with those words, Shino walked off the field towards a tree, never turning back, and leaving Kiba frozen in confusion, before it was replaced with anger. Confusion over the entire interaction, and anger because of how Shino called him a dumbass for not using his eyes. Kiba wanted to argue with him, but he didn't know what to say- and Itsuko had told him to let Shino be Shino, and to just ignore him, he does these types of things often.

Out of all the people in the world, why these two though?! Kiba buried his head into his folded arms, careful not to tip too far and make Akamaru fly off his head. Bug boy and the quiet girl- do the gods hate me or something?!

"Team 10," Iruka's voice broke his thoughts, and he glanced back up to the.

"Ino Yamanaka. Shikamaru Nara. Choji Akimichi."

Kiba could hear the blonde girl's cry of pain at her name being read along with the two other boys from across the room. At least he was not the only one who had a problem with his squad assignment.

After Iruka went through the rest of the list, he finally finished by saying, "The Jonins should be arriving this afternoon. In the meantime, we'll have a break. Make sure to be back by 1 o'clock sharp!"

"Yes sensei," Kiba mumbled with the rest of the students as they got up from their seats, trying his best not to break face as he stood up and bowed with the rest of the class.

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