F A M I L I A R

Welcome to Konoha

Stating that the three day long journey to Konoha was long would be an understatement. After stopping in the rain storm when we first set off and being set back slightly, we made a joint decision not to lose anymore time. Since we were stopping only when absolutely necessary to replenish our supplies or sense someone approaching us, we were already well into out third day's trip. I would never admit to it, but I was exhausted. You see, I've never traveled this far out of Iwa for a mission before, and I was kind of having a hard time keeping up. I even had to start talking in nature energy and forcing it to my feet so I could run faster, jump higher. And here Kiba was, not even breaking a sweat. He and Akamaru had been traveling at the same speed for ages, side by side. I sighed to myself as I turned my head slightly to look over at him.

Kiba was focused, determined to make it back to the village. He had his eyebrows furrowed, nibbling on his lower lip slightly as he jumped from tree to tree with ease. I let my gaze shift from his mouth to his cheek, studying his red fang markings. They outlined his face perfectly, really making you aware of his cheek bones. I caught him watching me out of the corner of his eye and my face started turning red.

Fuck. Why does he always catch me staring?

I watched his lips turn up into a smile as he came to a halt on the branch he was on. He raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.

"Are you watching me? I mean, I know I look good but come on." He chuckled, placing a hand on Akamaru's head. "You saw that, right boy?"

I could hear the playfulness in his voice and shook my head, stopping on the same branch he was on.

"Please Kiba, don't get such a big head. I was simply making sure that you weren't going to pass out." I smirked, panting slightly. Now that we had stopped moving I was unable to successfully hide the fact that I was out of breath.

"It seems like you're the one that might pass out," Kiba said, taking in my appearance. "Why don't we take a break? We're only about an hour away from the front gates anyway, and I don't smell anyone near by."

"Good idea," I said, plopping down on the branch where I stood. Akamaru was already sitting in between me and Kiba, so I leaned my head against him. He nuzzled his head against mine and I brought my arms around him in an embrace.

"Ugh, it feels so good to sit." I said, my words slightly muffled by Akamaru's fur.

I heard Kiba groan as he sat as well, swinging his legs over the end. I let go of Akamaru as he stood and jumped down to the ground. I watched him sniff the base of the tree we were in and begin lifting his leg. Kiba chuckled at the scene below us as I rolled my eyes and returned my attention to him.

"So we're an hour away, huh?"

"Yeah, we're ahead of schedule since we didn't sleep that long last night," Kiba answered, shifting his weight and moving closer to where I sat. "We even made up for the time we lost in that rain back there."

His statement made me almost start thinking about Iwa again, but I pushed the thought aside.

"I hope I like Konoha."

I felt him put his arm around my shoulders and squeeze reassuringly. I look up and met his gaze.

"I'm sure you will," he said smiling. "We have to check in with the Hokage when we first get back, but I can't wait to introduce you to everyone."

I returned his smile and let myself lean into him, resting my head on his shoulder. Ever since our stay in my makeshift shelter, I felt closer to Kiba. He was the only one that I had ever told about my past so openly, and didn't immediately judge me for it. Usually, the typical reaction to my story is something along the lines of, "Well, maybe if your clan were stronger ninja, people would respect you." People would always tell me that I should be used to the criticism and that I should be trying to change the reputation of my clan single handedly. But Kiba, he didn't say any of those things. He sympathized with me, and ensured me that Konoha and its villagers were different.