Game of Shadows by Adrian King1

Chapter 60

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Chapter 60

[Kiba Inuzuka]

He was frustrated.

That much was obvious, on his face and on his attitude ever since his team had been taken out. Hell, he had been frustrated for years, really. Now, looking as Eiji Satou left the arena with a victory and what he was sure was the promotion already in the bag, Kiba couldn't help but be reminded why.

For a long time he had been up there at the top of their class. Never quite managing the very top, what with Sasuke Uchiha being part of said class, but still second place most of the time. Even between the clan members of his age, he was always relatively high unless they were a few years older.

All that had changed when Satou had decided to stop being a background character. In days, he had gone from the bottom of the food chain, where all the civilian, unmotivated students always were, to the top. Since then, he had never stopped going up, to the point that he seemed to have left them all in the dust.

Left Kiba in the dust.

It had damaged the young Inuzuka's pride, even if he would never admit that. It had been especially bad when his mother had told him to get used to that. That there was always one or two that distanced themselves from everyone else.

He hadn't quite understood then.

By the time he had, however, he had burnt his bridges. He had tried to put aside his pride and try to join in on the group. A group that was obviously doing wonders for everyone in it. He'd really tried...

However, he wasn't surprised when they rejected him. He was angry and, once again, frustrated, but not surprised. You couldn't expect a dog that you kicked to trust you. No, you had to prove that you deserved that trust back...

That had been a problem for Kiba for a while. There was no way for him to do that. He could go with Eiji's ridiculous idea, but that... No. He couldn't do that. Or wouldn't, more like.

It grated on Kiba that he might need tough. He couldn't, after all, continue as he was. He was being ostracized by everyone in his year, even his own team.

Granted, they worked with him just fine. There were no communication problems. There were no teamwork problems either. Any real problem would have been pointed out by Kurenai-sensei, but there wasn't one.

Not a noticeable one, at least.

Kiba could tell though. From the way Shino and Hinata always consulted things with one another before asking him to the way they ignored him when there wasn't anything team-related to do or talk about. It was his own fault, however, that much he knew. He had opened his mouth one too many times without thinking. He didn't remember, but he was pretty sure that he had said at least one or two mean things about both of them.

How he wished he could smack his past self.

He'd been given a chance though. And by the gods he would hold onto it for dear life. It was taking it or actually kneeling before Naruto begging for forgiveness. Anything to get him out of the dog house, pun not intended.

'From Eiji Satou,' He remembered looking at the bugs that were still on his hand. Shino's way of messaging had been difficult to get used to and even more difficult to learn, but it had been worth it, Kiba knew. Especially now. 'Something is going to happen. This is your one chance, Kiba.'

From there, it was instructions for him and Kiba was more than a little annoyed at being ordered around. He would have to swallow his complaints though. Eiji was the leader of the group, everybody knew that, and as much as he hated it, Kiba could respect that.