DollFace

Chapter Seventeen

Distant Memories

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"I'm sorry for your loss."

It was the only words that echoed throughout the room. The air became heavy, his breaths became uneven as he gasped for air, "What?" His fellow teammate stood still, all sign of emotion shielded by his clothing. The other shinobi gulped, feeling the cold gaze shifted in his direction. He stuttered and fumbled with the documents in his hands, "We got a report from some civilians who seemed to have found a corpse near their home.

One of men went to check and once we confirmed, it was the heir. Hyuga Hinata. We immediately reported it to the Hokage and the clan head." The man shuffled his feet and stared at the ground. Kiba's eyes glistened; his body shook with rage. A nasty growl rumbled from his throat, "Who?" He whispered. The man raised his head in confusion.

"Wha-'

"WHO WAS IT?!" The Inuzuka screamed grabbing the shinobi's collar, claws piercing the flesh of his victim. Shino silently watched on, not even bothering to stop him. He needed answers and this was a way to get them. The other shinobi whimpered, "W-We don't know.." he choked out. Kiba snarled and dug his claws in further. This time Shino stepped forward.

An arm rested on his shoulders, "Calm down." His tone was laced with comfort. Kiba grunted and dropped the man. He landed with a loud thud on the ground. And before anything else was said, Kiba stomped away with tears threatening to fall.

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Kiba waltzed in the room without a care in the world.

"Boy what did I...." She dropped her spoon. He looked different. His hair was all messy, the confident and challenging smirk was held in a thin line. His nose was red but what scared her was his eyes. The once bright orbs that shone with passion and had a spark was replaced with emptiness. He looked dead. He didn't acknowledge her whiles walking straight towards his room.

The house was unusually quiet. The deafening silence that almost seemed suffocating as thoughts plagued the elder's head. What happened to him? He's acting weird...

The tranquil aura was blown away in the wind when a loud voice boomed through the halls.

"KIBA GET YOUR ASS HERE!"

"This isn't going to end well.." Hana muttered. Said boy strolled in to meet the gaze of a very serious Tsumi. "What." he sent her a bored look.

"We need to chat." Her tone left no room for complaints.

The stern expression never left her face, "Come with me," she pointed to the balcony, "now." He sighed, she was just the same but he could tell there was something up. Reluctantly, he trudged towards the door, hands in his pockets; a poker face that never left. Tsumi sighed.

She shut the door quietly behind them and sat on the steps, staring at the now wilted garden. The ground became dusty and cracked, the once vibrant flowers blanched into greys. Tsumi stared somberly into the distance. Kiba stood next to her, his back braced on the old wooden beam that supported the roof, his eyes closed in contemplation.

"I heard what happened to your teammate," Tsumi never looked at him, just breaking the silence that seemed to engulf them both, "I'm sorry." He scoffed, "Don't be. You never liked her anyway." She breathed deeply,

"You know, your father loved this garden very much.." her voice was soft. Kiba's ears perked up. Tsumi may be a brash, foulmouthed woman but she would always crack at the mention of her husband. Kiba himself never met his father, and she seldom spoke of him.

He cast a sideway glance at his mother seeing her deep in thought. "I remembered how he would wake up so early in the mornings just to take care of them. He would even drag your sister out to help sometimes. And she loved it." She chuckled, but he could tell it was forced. "He was just a calm, sweet, innocent civilian," her expression became grim, "but because i was a shinobi, he had to leave this world for the next." The other stood still, not uttering a single word. Tsumi sighed again, "Look, Kiba," she stood up and rest her hands on his shoulders,"what i'm trying to say is that this is the price you pay in this line of work. It's horrible, I know to see your loved ones die infront of you but in the end,

we can't do anything but move on."

Kiba laughed dryly at his mother. Bullshit. He thought. Her solemn look was replaced with a cold glare as she eyed him from head to toe.

"There is one more thing, the council and I have been discussing.." she trailed off. " I have decided to resign my position as clan head." His eyes widened at his mom. She took this as the chance to continue," My successor has already been chosen."

"It's you."

His mouth hung agape, "What?! I can't do that! What about Hana?!" He was getting angrier by the minute. He didn't want to give up his freedom, he was a horrible leader. How was he supposed to lead a clan if he couldn't even save his friend?

His expression darkened at the thought of her. "No." He whispered, his mother looked at him with confusion. "I said NO!" He growled out. Tsumi backed away in fear, his chakra was spiking rather high and his fangs sharpened and his eyes turned into slits. "I can't! USE SOMEONE ELSE!" He screamed at her face. "I'M TIRED KIBA!" She howled. He fell silent but glared at her with daggers. She fell to the ground and stared at the wilting flowers with a hollow look in her eyes.

"I'm sick of being alone Kiba. I..."she trailed off but willed herself to continue, "I miss your father. I miss his smile, his laugh, everything. And I can't anymore. The clan, shinobi....I...I just want to end it all and be with him." She whispered the last part but he heard her quite clearly.

And without another word the young Inuzuka walked back into the house leaving a broken widow on the floor, weeping.

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Pit. Pat.

The soft rain padded on the muddy streets of Konoha. The air was cold and crisped and the mist was everywhere.

He chugged down another bottle. His large, calloused hands caressing the thin bracelet gently.

"Promise you won't take it off!"

"Uh...yeah, okay!"

He laughed bitterly.

She stared off into the distance, dried tears stained her cheeks. She turned to face him. "I don't wanna be clan head."

He was there for her from the start. He supported her, treasured her. He was her shoulder to cry on. But when he needed her the most, she wasn't here anymore.

"For five fucking years I've waited." His grip on the bottle tightened, "and yet you still chose that fucking idiot."

Without another word, he got up and disappeared into the mist. Leaving like a silent whisper.

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"Sometimes it's just hard to face reality."

~Penguin

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to be continued~