F A M I L I A R : B O O K T W O

Hot Spring

The sound of bark splitting surrounded the air as I slammed my hands on the ground once more, calling forth all of the nature energy I could muster. In front of my palms, a row of ten thick trees sprouted from the soil. Sand and dust rained down over me again, and I pulled the hair back from my face, wiping my brow. I let out an audible sigh and sat backwards in the dirt, taking a moment to catch my breath. I watched as Tazuna's helpers began cutting the farthest tree down in the dim orange light of dusk.

"Alright Miss Asuna, I think you've helped enough for one day," Tazuna chuckled to my left. "My men are going to cut this last row and then be done for the night."

He extended his hand to me and I smiled in relief as he helped me up out of the dirt. Working with Tazuna today was actually better than I anticipated. The praise that my help received from his men really boosted my spirits, especially after my emotional encounter with Kiba earlier. I was getting really tired of crying all the time, so feeling myself smile freely with others was like a breath of fresh air.

"Alright, but you won't be able to get rid of me that easily. I'll be back here tomorrow," I grinned, watching him nod in response to my words. I looked around at all the progress that was made in only the course of a few hours. "I mean, with my help this whole half of the village will be rebuilt by the end of the week."

"Right you are," he gave me a kind smile and looked over my shoulder. I turned to follow his gaze and saw Kiba walking in our direction, with his leather jacket thrown over his shoulder and Akamaru in his wake. A giant smile crept up onto my face as I stared, and Tazuna's eyes twinkled as he placed a hand on my shoulder, watching my reaction to the boy approaching us.

"Have a good night, Miss Asuna," he chuckled as he turned to walk in the other direction. He lifted his hand and waved a goodbye. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"You too," I said only half listening with my full attention on Kiba. That boy really was something else. He was the only person in the world who could stir something within me. He awoke my spirit in ways I never knew were possible, and he made me feel completely accepted for who I was. Earlier, when he held me in his arms and allowed me to cry, I finally felt that unconditional acceptance that I'd been searching for my whole life. It almost hurt to think about telling him what I'd been through for the past seven months.

When Kiba finally looked up and returned my gaze, he smiled and scratched the back of his head as he closed the space between us. Akamaru ran up from behind him to greet me, tongue lolling out to one side in an excited smile. 

"Hey Akamaru," I said, kneeling down and giving the fluffy, white mutt a giant hug. I buried my head in his fur and couldn't stop smiling. He barked and I pulled away to look at him.

"I missed you too, boy," I said, patting him behind the ears as I stood. I returned my attention back to Kiba and noticed that he was watching me. He took in my appearance and laughed lightly, taking another step closer to me.

"What's so funny?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Kiba. His eyes softened as he brought his hand up and cupped my cheek.

"You, you're covered in dirt and you still manage to cute," he said. "I don't know how you do that."

I shook my head and turned my face away from his hand, trying to hide the heat creeping up on my cheeks.

"Oh, stop," I almost whisper, peeking at him from the corner of my eye. He just laughed again and shook his head. Akamaru sat next to me and leaned his head against my legs. I looked down at him, smiled, and realized that Kiba was right. I was covered in dirt, and I hadn't even noticed.

"I didn't even realize that I got so filthy," I confessed, looking back up. "But you're not exactly the epitome of clean either." I joked, raising an eyebrow and crossing my arms.

"Ha, yeah I know," he agreed, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. "I just wish there was some running water around here, I know they're working on it, but still," Kiba raised his arm and sniffed his arm pit. He grimaced and widened his eyes for effect. "I'm sorry you had to come back on a day where I smell like death."

His actions caused me to laugh this time, and I brought a hand up to cover my mouth.

"I mean, if you care that much,  I know where we can get cleaned up. Ino showed me a hot spring not far from the border of the village. She actually took me there this morning." 

All of the color seemed to drop from Kiba's face at my words.

"What?!" he exclaimed suddenly. "Ugh, that bitch has been holding out on me this entire time! We were just talking yesterday about how shitty it is to not have water!"

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at his outburst as his eyebrows knitted together and he grit his teeth. I couldn't help but find his sudden change of demeanor a bit endearing. Sure, Kiba was a little rough around the edges, and could change from being calm to excited at the drop of a hat, but that was kind of what I liked about him. He never tried to be anything other than honest about his feelings, and that included every situation that required a sudden outburst. 

Just then, he noticed me staring and I could have sworn I saw a blush emerge on his cheeks for a second before he composed himself again.

"So, uh," he started, scratching the back of his head awkwardly once more. "Do you want to take me there? I could use a good soak in a hot spring right about now."

I smiled and nodded, "Of course."

~~~~~

Thank you to all of my patient readers. These next few months are going to get pretty hectic for me with work and whatnot, but I am still going to update this story as often as possible, I promise! Don't give up just yet, there are some juicy chapters planned that you aren't going to want to miss.

Thanks again, and don't forget to rate your favorite chapters. xx