30 Day Project (Kiba Inuzuka)

Day 4: Whereabouts

Kiba's POV

I woke up still on the couch. Even though the sun was out, I could tell it was still pretty early. I stayed still and stared up at the ceiling for a moment. Even with the reassurance from Hana, I still worried about Maki. I'm sure she's fine wherever she is, but still. I sit up and then force myself off the couch. I head up to my room, Akamaru inches behind me. I couldn't really sleep much. That I'm sure tells you how much I miss her. 

I open my bedroom door, close it, then plop down on my bed. I curl up with my pillow. Akamaru sniffs me then proceeds in licking my face. "Thanks, Akamaru, but cut it out would ya." He slightly whimpers. I know he's just trying to comfort me and be there for me any way he can, but still. I scratch behind his ears, comforting him.

A little while later as I couldn't fall back asleep, I hear the front door creek open. I wave it off as my mom or sister. They're always running in and out of the house around this time. Footsteps come closer and closer near my door. I don't know why I'm acting like this. There's no reason for me to be scared. A knock on my door sounds. I reluctantly slip out of my bed and go to open the door. I twist the knob and slowly pull the door open. 

To my surprise it's.... Maki. Maki? What is she doing getting home at this time? Slight anger and happiness fill my thoughts. I don't want to come off as an asshole when I'm happier and more relieved that she's home than angry. She walks in the room, her smile disappearing when she sees me. "I'm so sorry Kiba." Maki quickly speaks up. I take a quick breath of air. "What happened to you? I thought you were coming back before dark last night."

Maki hangs her head low, fiddling with her hands. "I, I thought so too." She starts. "But something came up. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." Maki walks closer to me and stands there as if afraid to speak her mind. I decide to close the gap and encase her in my arms. 

She breathed in and out, relaxing. She laid her head in the middle of my chest. "So, tell me again where you went?" I asked, knowing she didn't tell me the full story. She stands there, her arms still limp at her sides. She murmurs. "I went to visit Neji. When I told him I couldn't stay long, he asked me to spend the night. So I did and I didn't get to tell you what was going on." My stomach drops a little. I know Neji's her boyfriend and all, but something just feels weird right now. The way she's acting they obviously didn't do anything more than kiss. 

Wait, why am I thinking like that? Why do I feel like this? It's not like I want to be with her or anything. Even still it's not like I can have her even if I do. She seems happy with him, so I won't bother.

I come back out of my thoughts and nod my head. "It's okay. I'm just glad that you're back safe and sound." I smile at her, feeling her love and comfort fill me. I hug her close and tight against my chest. I lie my head on hers and nuzzle against her long soft brown hair.

After letting go of her, we walk downstairs together. I poke around the kitchen for Akamaru's box of treats. As I walk towards the counter, I see a folded piece of paper that wasn't there before. "I wonder what that is." Maki says, pointing to the piece of paper. "I don't know." I say, picking up the note.

I unfold it and start to read what it says. "Good afternoon Kiba and Maki. Your sensei for this project will arrive tomorrow morning to do a progress report to see how things are coming along. Hope all is well. Iruka sensei." I read the note aloud. Well this still doesn't tell us anything about this god damn project.

The way the note talks, we're just supposed to see how well we can get along. Yeah that's it. It has to be. "That was um, helpful." Maki pipes up, sarcasm evident in her voice. "Damn you Iruka sensei. Why are you keeping us in the dark like this?" I mutter under my breath. "I guess if we knew the true objective of this project, people would try to cheat somehow so they didn't have to participate." She has a point.

"True." I agree. "What do you think we'll be tested on?" I ask to no one in particular. "How well do we know each other?" She breathes out. It's true. How well do we know one another? "Well I know you stay at the Hyuga residence from time to time, your parents are no longer here, you like walks, drawing, training, spending time with friends, onigiri, and who knows what else." Maki blushes. Probably surprised that I remembered so much.

I watch as she pads over to the kitchen chair then sits down. I decide to follow suit. She clears her throat. "You have a dog named Akamaru, You have a sister, your mother is in your life and dad is nowhere, You like long walks, onigiri, training, spending time with friends. and so much more." Now it's my turn to blush. She's paid just as much attention as I have. "Yeah, about my dad, I was always told mom was too much for him and she scared him off. So yeah, no horrible backstory filled with death or legends and such." I smile at her, reassuring her that I'm okay without a father figure in my life. 

Yeah it sure would have been nice to have him here, but I'm not going to dwell on it or be upset about it. Ah well, my mother is a huge handful so part of me doesn't blame him for running for the hills. There's probably not many men that could handle her.

Maki nods her head in understanding. "Whoever our sensei is, I hope it's not Kakashi or Gai sensei. Kakashi's always late and Gai is too outgoing and talks about youth way too much." She giggles. I kind of have to laugh along with her on that one. I've been around both of them and she's right. "I hope so too. Guess we'll just have to wait it out till tomorrow to find out." I shrug my shoulders. Maki just sighs.

For the rest of the day, we don't do much of nothing. We decided to train together. It went a lot better than I thought it would. Maki's a lot stronger than she looks. After the same old clinks and tings of kunai striking against one another and yelling and shouting, we stopped by Ichiraku for dinner. We chatted with the cooks then we went back to the house and settled down for the night.