𝑆𝑇𝑈𝑃𝐼𝐷 𝑀𝑈𝑇𝑇|𝙺𝙰𝙽𝙺𝚄𝙺𝙸𝙱𝙰

𝐻𝐸𝑅𝑂

It was a breezy evening in Konoha, quite normal for the small village, a peaceful home for wonderful shinobi and villagers alike. Everyone in Konoha had fun and thought of eachother as one big family of the sort, a family that the ninja of the Hidden Leaves vowed to protect with their life. Kiba being a fine example of this, you see, the chunin exams had recently come up and he had been suggested to volunteer, which he gladly accepted. After the first 2 rounds had ceased he had been defeated, he was no longer allowed to participate due to a certain blonde needless to say, Kiba wasn't too happy.

The chunin exams had of course taken a turn for the worst and guess who missed all of the exciting bits, all of the details, Kiba. Kiba had been knocked out and it had stayed that way until he awoke, the village seemed on edge after this but no one bothered to explain, sure he heard people talking but it wasn't the same. With a long sigh he walked with Akamaru to the Hokage's office since he had been summoned. It had been a few weeks since the attack and the village hidden in the sand had soon apologized for the misunderstanding, turns out their Kazekage was actually an imposter in disguise. The person disguised as the Kazekage had not only done that but also killed their old leader, to be honest it kind of made Kiba nervous, questions running through his head like a marathon, questions like 'what if when we get a new Hokage, they'll be an imposter too?' And many more. Of course he felt sad about their leaders death but he honestly was glad he didn't witness any of this.

After a while news broke out that a certain emo duckbutt had left the village without permission, kiba didn't bother asking why, all he knew was that he was assigned to a team and they were to bring Sasuke home, he expected this to be a breeze but oh boy he was wrong. The mission led to him falling from a cliff with his now opponent, and him stabbing himself before running off with an injured Akamaru in arms. He felt fear, he hated that he couldn't do anything for his companion and he hated that he felt so powerless against the sound nin who followed him everywhere he went. Kiba lay against a rock, tears resting on the edges of his eyes, begging to come out, he couldn't cry, not now, he had to stay strong for Akamaru. After a minute of resting he heard footsteps, he couldn't completely tell if it was the sound nin or the unkown follower but he honestly didn't want to find out. He wanted to run and get his pup to safety but he could barely stand, he wouldn't even try to run. Just as he suspected it was the sound nin, after the sound nin stopped talking he raised his weapon to stab Kiba, Kiba prepared for the impact but after a minute, he realized it never came. Opening his eyes he looked up to see a wooden puppet, and a tall figure in all black.

(Ill skip this because we all know what happens,)

Kiba had grown to admire the young sand nin, he felt as though he had to repay him but no deed he could do was big enough, he acted as though it was nothing and he could've handled it on his own but he knew that was all a facade to hide the fact he felt completely and utterly useless. He was a shinobi and he had nearly let both him and his companion die because he was just too weak, Kiba was thankful to Kankuro but he also felt guilt, he felt guilt because another person had to step into his business and save him, he felt humiliated. Even Naruto was stronger than him, and all of this unnerved him, all of his teammates had grown stronger and more reliable but him, he was still him, same old Kiba Inuzuka. Same old mutt, same old over confident brunette everyone knew, it made him mad that he couldn't do better, he just wanted to protect those close to him and he couldn't even protect one animal. Kiba continued to fall into a spiraling pit of self doubt and low confidence, no matter how good he got he could never compare to the others.

Soon the time came and he had to repay Konkuro for what he did, and he did, he helped save him and Kiba felt proud, once the celestial nins had all been defeated he smiled, a bright and genuine smile. He looked over at Konkuro and noticed the sand nin looking back with a look of awe, Kiba walked over and held his hand out "thank you, again for helping me, im glad I got the chance to pay you back." He said in an upbeat tone.

Konkuro(POV)

I watched as the mutt smiled, it looked so genuine and I had never really paid attention to it before, the smile just looked sweet, nice, and calm, and as far as I know, Kiba was far from calm and nice, he was just as energetic as Naruto and Lee were if not more. I watched as he made his way over to me, thanking me yet again for the deed I had done a while back. I smiled and nodded before shaking his hand "I guess I should thank you too, I mean you did save my ass after all, is there any way I can thank you properly? Maybe a tour around my village or hey even a tour around yours, I know you leaf nin like showing off." I said in a teasing tone before grinning. I noticed his smile only got wider and he nodded "sure why not, I wouldn't mind showing off our humble home to my hero!" I felt my face start to heat up at the nickname, I don't know why but it made me feel all warm inside and rather happy, maybe it was because someone considered me their hero, and I know that for a leaf ninja to say that, it meant a lot. I nervously scratched at the back of my head and grinned "well then I'll see you next time I visit, don't forget, got it?" My grin turned into more of a smirk as I poked the younger's forehead "I mean it."

It had been a total of three full years before the two saw eachother after that, and it was all because Konkuro's younger brother Gaara had been kidnapped. Konkuro felt lost, and for months after this he would either wallow in self pity or guard his brothers every movement, he never wanted a scare like that to happen ever again, his brother and sister were precious to him. Gaara and Temari were his only family, he vowed to himself that he would do anything in his path to make them happy and make sure they had wonderful lives. Little did he know that his two siblings had been planning something for him, they knew that Konkuro hadn't stopped mentioning the dog boy he had grown quite attached to without even realizing it, so they decided that they would send a letter to Konoha, requesting to stay there for a little while. Of course Gaara would stay behind with Temari and watch over the village, they just wanted their brother back to himself, his loving and bubbly self. They missed that Konkuro, it hurt seeing him so lost and miserable all the time, always on edge or upset at someone. Temari sighed and sat down next the her younger brother as he fidgeted with his fingers "Konkuro..It's been months since the attack..you need to get out of the house, and no I don't meam go to Gaara's office." She said in a motherly tone, she was the oldest of the three and she felt terrible for not being there when it all went down, but that doesn't mean she would hide away and mope twenty-four-seven "we're tired of seeing you like this..so we have been granted permission to let you stay in Konoha for a couple months." With that, Konkuro froze 'they're sending me away?' His eyebrows creased and his expression looked as though he had been insulted, he looked hurt and his fingers started fidgeting more. He didn't want to leave his siblings, at all, he was far too attached to them to leave without them "but..what about you two..?" The tall brunette asked hesitantly. Temari just crossed her arms and frowned "I'm sorry bubs but this is for your own safety, me and Gaara have to stay here to watch over the village, you have been cooped up too long whereas we haven't, please understand that we're doing this because we love you. Now stop sulking and get packed up, that's an order from not only me but Gaara aswell." She started to pull him up and shove him to his room, Konkuro put up a fight but eventually gave in, knowing that if he upset Temari more than he already has, he'd be in t r o u b l e.