The beginning

He wakes up to a bright, new day, if the sun streaming through the window is any indication. Birds chirp in the distant. His bed is neither too soft nor too hard, and his nails have ripped a hole in the sheets like always.

Something about that isn't quite right.

He muses on it for a moment, enjoying the comfortable atmosphere.

"OI!" The cry of a demon echoes throughout the world, "BOY, YOU HAD BETTER BE UP! DON'T MAKE ME COME GET YOU!"

He rolls out of bed, taking the sheets with him, and smacks into a dresser he most definitely doesn't own.

"Well. Shit."

There are no mirrors in the bedroom that he wakes up in. It has a lovely shade of green for walls, and the furniture is also the most sturdy he has ever seen even with all the scratches.

Nonetheless, he really needs a mirror because he does not recall going to sleep last night with claws.

He wrinkles his nose as a terrible scent wafts in through the open door. The overwhelming scent of urine and other unpleasant smells lead him down the hallway and to a bathroom. It's so gross. Just what kind of unsanitary place has he woken up to this time?

He looks up at the doorknob with despair. Either the doors in this place are huge, or he has shrunk overnight. (And gained claws at that. Can alcohol do that? He's swearing off drinking forever) It takes some stretching but he opens the door to a toilet and sink which, thankfully, has a mirror.

Unfortunately, this mirror happens to be above the sink and far above his head.

Grumbling about giant people, he manages to locate a blue stool under the sink and hops on top of it, only to tumble off after a single glance at his reflection. His other foot catches the underside of the stool, sending it flying behind him.

"STOP PLAYING AROUND UP THERE!" Says the demon voice from earlier.

He frowns up at the ceiling. Things must have gotten quite weird last night.

Unable to stand the stench of urine for much longer, he grabs the stool and decides to get a better look at himself.

It isn't as much a shock the second time to see a tiny Kiba Inuzuka looking back at him. (Or is it Inuzuka Kiba…?)

He stares at his new reflection. It stares back. It feels like the world is unbalanced. He leans a bit to the right and that takes care of that.

Well, whatever happens, happens, he decides. It's time to move on. (He can't stand being in here for much longer anyway)

He goes back to the bedroom to change into a fresh set of clothes. There's a brief moment of panic when his nails catch on a sleeve, but the shirt doesn't tear. Once the crisis is averted, he finds his way downstairs to what is obviously a kitchen. A mouthwatering smell guides him there.

To his misfortune, the demon is also waiting for him there.

"About damn time, brat!"

He flinches at the source of the demon voice looms over him.

"You already missed breakfast, you runt! After what you did last night, don't expect me to feed you until lunch."

So apparently last night has been shitty for everyone. Good to know he was on the same page here.

"You're going to be helping your sister out today to make it up to her, and if you cause her any problems I will beat you until you can't stand back up. Are. We. Clear?" The demon snarls at him.

"Yes, ma'am," he squeaks.

"Ma, not ma'am. I ain't no lady, and mothers are far more frightening than ladies," his demon of a mother grins savagely.

He's forced to wait out on the porch until his sister comes for him. He takes the moment to consider everything. His last memory was bitterly drinking his last few dollars away at a disaster of a party.

He pinches himself on the arm and winces in pain. Not a dream then.

"Little brat," a menacing high-pitched voice all but hisses.

A sliver of fear goes crawling down his back as a young girl stomps towards him, three snarling dogs at her heel.

"Time to work," the girl spits at him with pure venom.

To say he has a bad feeling is an understatement.

...

It is a disaster. There is just so much fur.

"Haimaru Brothers, grab and snatch!" His fierce new sister barks.

Three dogs leap into action immediately, and he feels teeth grab the back of his shirt. Everything blurs as the owner of the teeth all but throw him at his sister's feet. Hana looks down at him, completely unimpressed.

Well, it isn't like he did this on purpose.

"Corral them back into their pens, and if they give you trouble, you know what to do," she growls ominously at her partners before reaching down to grab him by the back of the shirt.

"Do I still have to wash them?" He asks giving her the most teary-eyed look he can muster.

It isn't hard; getting tackled by hungry animals that had sprung a jailbreak is rather trying.

"I," she stresses, "am taking you home where our mother can deal with you."

She shakes him when he starts to whine.

His new, demonic mother does not kill him like he expects. Instead, he gets a light smack on the back of head before being sent to the porch for a time-out.

His mother throws a book at him and orders him to study it or else. He cracks it open in a hurry; he has no wish to see "what else" looks like.

It turns out to be a picture book. The pages are filled with detailed drawings of dog breeds with the name written underneath. With great strain, he's able to make out the meaning of the symbols.

He's not sure how he understands this bizarre new writing style, but he's not exactly speaking English either. He shelves the thought for later and concentrates on the book. He reads through entire thing again and again until he's called in for lunch.

He looks from his new, intimidating mother to his new, disgruntled sister before staring down at his bowl of…something. He hesitantly grabs the chopsticks, and his fingers automatically adjust to the foreign utensils.

They eat in uncomfortable silence, and he keeps his head down through most of the meal. He's unsure how a tiny Kiba is supposed to act, and he knows he can't keep pretending to be something he's not.

It takes him a minute to figure out what to do.

"I have an announcement to make," he says as gravely as he can.

He sets down his chopsticks in an undoubtedly rude manner. He meets the gaze of his mother before looking at his sister.

"Starting today, I am a new man!" He declares. "I'm going to be completely different."

"Sure, whatever," Ma snorts, "except for the part where you ain't a man."

Hana laughs at him, and the rest of the day goes a bit smoother from there.

...

It's love at first sight.

"Kiba, let go."

This is his partner; his best friend, the other part of his soul.

"You can take Akamaru over my dead body!" He yells shrinking further into the cage.

The little puppy shakes in his hands, and he gently rubs it in apology.

"It's okay; we're going to be awesome," he whispers to the puppy.

"I'm seriously considering it!" Hana barks.

It takes another Inuzuka clan member and their ninken to secure the rest of the puppies and drag him out. He fights the whole way, but eventually Hana manages to take Akamaru from him.

It's only when Akamaru begins crying, and he "accidentally" infuses chakra into his kicks aimed toward his cousin, that they get it.

"Okay, fine! You can have Akamaru. Now sit down and shut up," Hana barks.

He stops trying to claw his cousin's arm off immediately.

"He'll need to be with his mother for a little while, but you can sit here with him every day until you can take him home with you," Hana says rather gently and ruffles his hair.

He beams at her.

"What about me?" Cousin Toshiro demands.

"What about you?" Hana scoffs.

"Do you see my arm? What about what he did to my leg!" His ninken growls threateningly by his side.

Hana isn't having any of that.

"Kiba, hold Akamaru and stand still," she orders handing him his precious new partner.

He holds Akamaru protectively and watches as she cracks her knuckles. The Haimaru Brothers are at her side in an instant, and cousin Toshiro doesn't stand a chance.

Her brutality is both terrifying and beautiful. He can only admire the teamwork between her and her partners. One day he hopes Akamaru and he can achieve the same balance.

Cousin Toshiro flies past him into the wall with a grunt; the ninken follows, and Hana tells the fallen Inuzuka member to get back to work.

He has the greatest sister in the world.

Once Akamaru can see and Sis no longer needs to care for him, Ma takes him out to smell.

It might sound weird for anyone outside the Inuzuka clan, but for him it's a desperately needed training session.

The first few days mostly compose of smelling anything and everything, the next, memorizing. Before he even realizes it, he begins filtering and recognizing.

Ma is a rough but steady guide through it all. She ruffles his hair when he asks about the limits.

"You can amplify and suppress with chakra. You're not ready for that."

Then he feels her nails dig into his scalp and the grin that she wears is alarming.

"Since you're asking that you must be bored. I know just the thing to liven up your day."

His training intensifies after that.

...

Ninken are everything to the Inuzuka. Most partners die together, and should one survive the other, they will never have another partner again.

There are no secrets between them, and the moment Akamaru can completely understand him, he tells him everything.

His past life, waking up in a manga, what his favorite color is, everything.

Akamaru believes him, and that is that.

...

There are exactly five momentous events in a shinobi's life.

Entering the academy is the first one; dying is the last.

Luckily, he is only concerned with the first one at the moment. He squeezes Akamaru slightly in anticipation. An irritated yip has him quickly apologize.

"Sorry, Akamaru. Just nervous, it's school, you know?"

He thinks about it some more.

"I mean, education? It's just not natural. Right, Akamaru?"

"Why are you talking to your dog?" Asks a high-pitch, irritating voice.

He turns and regards the girl standing behind him. Brown hair, grey eyes, smells mostly of lavender hygiene products, cotton, paper, and arrogance, no muscle definition, average height and skin color, dominating body language.

Civilian-born, annoying, will most likely wash out. Not worth the effort.

"Because I am," he says, already turning his back to her.

"Let's get to class, maybe someone interesting will be there!" Akamaru agrees with a tail wag.

"H-Hey!" She shouts as he leaves her fuming.

...

Even though he has five minutes to spare, class is filled up to the point he has to sit wherever is available.

Luckily there is an open space in the middle. He would have preferred the back, but it'll do just fine.

The girl to his left has pink hair that has been washed in a high quality cherry blossom shampoo and mostly smells of paper and anxiety. The boy to his right has black hair that hasn't been washed in a week, smells of chicken and excitement.

They're both civilian-born, he notes. Nothing about either of them is interesting, but something about the girl is off.

He pokes Akamaru and taps in her direction. Maybe the ninken can pick up something that he can't.

The teacher is not a second late. Kono-sensei, he introduces himself, and begins going over the reason they are there like they don't already know it.

In the middle of his "I am a ninja, the Hokage is a ninja, you will be a ninja, because ninjas are cool" speech, a loud and somewhat orange, blond-haired kid barrels into the room like his clothes are on fire.

To his amusement, the kid begins to rattle off his name, why he was late, "Are you gonna teach us how to be ninja? You don't look like much!" and just won't stop.

Kono-sensei has gone white, and the girl to his left inhales as if she can't get air.

He feels like something is wriggling inside his brain, but he just can't grab it.

Kono-sensei is now turning red, and he leans forward in his seat in anticipation.

School, he relishes, has just gotten more exciting.

...

Unlike the majority of his classmates, there is no one waiting to pick him up. Unlike Naruto, it isn't because he has no one to do so.

It's an Inuzuka rite of passage; you've got to figure out the way home yourself.

The blind-folded piggy-back ride wasn't just for kicks. Memorizing the things smelt, heard, and the movement of wind are very important for an Inuzuka.

The Inuzuka pride themselves on always being able to find home.

"Let's get to it, Akamaru!" He grins a fanged grin as his partner excitedly barks back.

The Inuzuka also prides themselves on never being alone.

He gets home before the sun sets and Ma and Sis are waiting with mocking words and gentle hair ruffles. He recounts everything and then some as dinner is being prepared. Akamaru adds in his own two cents.

He prefers this to being picked up, honestly.

Maybe he'll invite Naruto over some time.

...

It takes months before anything truly exciting happens. Oh, Naruto's a blast, certainly, but it starts to become routine after a while.

He hasn't approached the loud mouth blond, mainly because Naruto doesn't want anyone to talk to him.

To his surprise, a few kids have tried to talk to Naruto, only to stomp off in a huff after having mean words and vague threats thrown at them.

The lonely look that winds up on the kid's face afterword makes him think there are more things going on than an attitude problem.

Nonetheless, it's an issue he isn't prepared to take on. He keeps his interactions to just passing the kid supplies when he needs it. (And if he gives him enough paint for a paint balloon, well)

Baby steps, he thinks.

But that's all part of the boring routine. Class is just not exciting enough. He does other things to occupy his time.

If things were taught in a more interesting manner, maybe he'd be more concerned about learning. As it is, Akamaru pays more attention than him, and all he needs is two nights a week of cramming and canine help to memorize and understand the information.

If he had been paying more attention to learning, he might have missed something far more interesting.

The girl next to him, Haruno Sakura, (Sakura Haruno?) is much more than she smells.

She smells of anxiousness, anger, excitement, and despair, all wrapped up in a pretty civilian image. He didn't think she could be more than that, but…

It happens when they are given their enemy ninja pictures.

For the past few days Kono-sensei has been going over the best spots to hit an enemy with kunai or shuriken.

Not that it's stated in such a blunt and forward way, but that's what it all really means.

The way Sakura gets more miserable as days go by is both confusing and intriguing; he watches her now, just like he watches Naruto. (He doesn't watch anyone else, they don't stand out yet)

When they are giving a cartoonish drawing of an over-the-top evil ninja, they have to mark all the spots needed to "stop" that ninja.

What they don't say is that these spots will either instantly kill the ninja, or disable them until they bleed to death.

He knows he's the only one that can understand this. Everyone else is far too young to know any better.

Or well, he thought he knew.

He's just placing down the second mark, when he hears Sakura inhale and turns to see her glaring down at her paper.

He flicks a glance at the front of the classroom, only to see Kono-sensei red-faced and looming over one Uzumaki Naruto who is mushing his face together and mocking the man. It takes talent, he thinks, to have a yelling match in silence.

He flicks his gaze back to Sakura who has started to mumble something, hands balling into fists.

"Oi," he whispers, "it's only a piece of paper. Don't get so mad."

He says it without thinking, but he now has green eyes boring into his with such an intensity, it unsettles him.

"Yes, for now. What about when we graduate? What about when it's real?" She hisses.

"Then you do what you gotta do," he says. "Ninja's kill, if you don't want to be a ninja, don't be a ninja."

She flinches, and goes back to staring at her paper in misery, like she has for the past few days.

"It's not that simple."

He doesn't understand, at first.

"Why not?"

"Because it isn't!" She snarls as quietly as she can.

"Then tell me why," he's interested now, he's not letting it go that easily.

"No."

"Yes."

"You wouldn't understand."

"I would. Probably."

"No you-I'm not having this conversation with a kid. Leave me alone," she tries to turn her back to him, but school seats don't work well for that.

His eyes sharpen as he examines her. He should be the one that thinks he's surrounded by children. Even Akamaru has picked up something and is staring at Sakura in curiosity.

"It's not like you have to be a ninja because a manga told you to."

It's said carelessly, but it's had more thought poured into it than anything else he has done so far.

It's when her head whips around, she stares at him with wide eyes, and begins smelling of shock, fear, and hope, that everything falls together.

"It's not like Kishimoto's words are absolute."

He adds when she doesn't say anything. This time it's a lot less vague, and it can't be simply brushed off. This, too, is done on purpose.

Her breath hitches, and she stutters.

"Y-you-"

"Time's up! Leave your papers there and get out. Not you, Uzumaki! Stay behind!" Kono-sensei barks from the front of the classroom.

"We'll talk more tomorrow," he tells her and gathers Akamaru in his arms.

He leaves her sitting there and practically bounces home.

...

Green eyes watch him warily.

"So," he says prodding.

It's lunch and they're sitting outside. The girl has been throwing him looks all morning. It'd be suspicious if the other girls weren't already doing the same to their crushes. It's somewhat unsettling to see girls so young acting in such a way, but different culture.

"You just wake up one morning as the new you?" He asks when she stays silent.

She blinks and shakily nods. She still doesn't say anything, but her scent of sorrow changes into something else he can't quite catch.

Akamaru barks at him to keep the chatter up, so he does. He tells her about his past life, and how he woke up one day when he was three.

He doesn't tell her everything he told Akamaru, of course. He's trying to establish a connection, but that doesn't mean he trusts her.

...

It takes two days of hounding her before she talks. The moment she opens her mouth it just spews.

"I had a fight with my mom, so I went and spent the night at my boyfriend's house. I woke up and everything was pink, and I was tiny. A woman I didn't know started yelling at me for being out of bed, and I just cried. I cried for weeks and my parents took me to the hospital, and they thought I was crazy, and it's all just wrong. And why me and why here of all places," she says in a rush, gasping for breath.

He stares at her. She looks like she's about to break down crying, and the last thing he wants is Kono-sensei blaming him for it.

So he hands Akamaru over for her to hold and gives her a hug. She looks so bewildered, that it takes everything he has to not laugh.

"Everything'll be fine," he tells her.

She takes a shuddering breath and hugs Akamaru tight. It's the first time anyone's told her that.

...

They don't become friends overnight, but Sakura's frame is less tense beside him during class.

She berates him for not paying attention, and he calms her down when she's about to explode from stress. Akamaru keeps them both in line.

Kono-sensei pretends not to hear their whispering when he figures out that both of their work is improving in leaps and bounds. It helps that Naruto is pretty much getting all of Kono-sensei's attention at the moment.

Sakura still doesn't like the fact that they are becoming killers and child soldiers for a society she still doesn't understand. He helps push her past these uncertainties when it comes to their schoolwork.

She's a long way from understanding the Will of Fire, but maybe he can help her understand in a different way.

"Oi, you're coming over for dinner tomorrow," he tells her.

"What?" She asks startled.

Then Naruto's fart bomb goes off.

...

The clan teases him about bringing a girl over, until she actually gets there. She's practically shaking with nervousness, a basket of fruit clutched in sweaty hands. The Inuzuka welcome her in with a polite civility they are not known for.

He knows better than to tease her at the moment but is confused why the clan is acting so well-behaved. It's incredibly unnerving.

It's when Sis is leading Sakura into the kitchen that Ma pulls him aside, and Kuromaru keeps an eye on the door.

"Hope you know what you're getting into, brat," she looks down at him gravely.

"Huh?" He squints up at her.

"The pink brat," she motions toward the kitchen with her head, "will either bring disaster or glory. I smell it."

He nods his understanding.

Sakura smells off, and he isn't surprised the other Inuzuka are having a hard time placing it. It took him a while to figure it out.

She smells like a spirit trapped in flesh.

It's a credit to his mother that she can somehow smell more than that, but he's not backing down from this.

Ma smirks and ruffles his hair. He wonders if she can read minds.

...

It all eventually comes to a head.

Uncle Taro, Aunt Shina, cousin Toshiro, Sis, Ma, and their ninken are quietly chewing through their dinner. Sakura is slowly relaxing beside him, and Akamaru is wiggling uncomfortably next to him.

Inuzuka dinners are not this quiet.

He, too, isn't saying anything because he doesn't want Sakura to realize how much his family doesn't want her here.

He's honestly a little bit angry at how rude they're being. Maybe Sakura is the next Orochimaru, maybe she's the next Tsunade. Despite everything, they can't see the future.

Sakura is his friend, so that doesn't matter.

All it takes is a rude gesture from cousin Toshiro.

When Sakura offers a small smile that Toshiro returns with bared teeth and narrow eyes, he flips.

His toenails are digging into the table before he's even aware he's moving, he rears back a fist and barely misses Toshiro.

"Kiba!" Sakura screams.

He's a bit too busy and pissed off to answer, as Toshiro has knocked the wind out of him with a kick. He digs his nails into his cousin's leg and tries to breathe.

Toshiro's ninken says something derogatory and Akamaru joins the fray with a growl.

They are too small and too weak to do anything more than scratches, but they are not about to take the insult lying down.

Ma and Kuromaru howl in sync and it takes the fight out of all of them.

He returns to his seat head bowed, but it is a pleasure to see Toshiro's head bowed too.

"Alright, maggots," Ma snarls, "eat your damn dinner and act like proper Inuzuka."

It is silent for a moment, and then-

"Should we take lessons from you, then? We might all end up like bitches," Aunt Shina says haughtily, but there is a teasing glint in her eye and her shoulders are down.

"Ha! If that's the case, prepare for heartache. You're all going to fall in love with me, because bitches are crazy for the Wild Taro," boasts Uncle Taro.

"Wild Taro," Sis says mockingly, "isn't that what your mom called you?"

"What the hell did you do?" Sakura hisses as she shakes him like a rag doll.

"Moral obligation," he says as Uncle Taro bellows in the background.

The table shakes and a plate goes flying.

...

Dinner ends on a high note, but it takes many more before Sakura realizes that.

Silence and stillness for the Inuzuka means death.

Life is vibrant, violent, and movement. There is nothing more alive than a gathering of Inuzuka.

It takes nearly a year before Sakura is completely comfortable sitting at their table, and various clan members drift in and out. The only constants around the dinner table are Ma, Sis, and him.

...

Time moves forward, and Kono-sensei does not turn up one day.

When they are introduced to their new teachers Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei, Sakura and he share a look.

A glance around the classroom shows that not all their previous classmates have kept up.

They will be working with practice weapons and doing more than just exercises.

Time is moving forward, and Sakura smells like fear.

...

"We could stop it."

He tears his eyes away from his manga and sees Sakura biting her lip. He lifts an eyebrow and watches her gaze land on one Uchiha Sasuke.

"We could," he agrees.

"But that might not be the right thing to do," she says miserably.

"Might not," he agrees again.

"But could we really just stand back and watch?" She asks, green eyes swirling with conflict.

"Could you?" He asks, because he already knows his own answer.

"I…" She trails off.

He knows what she wants to be the truth and what the truth actually is are two different things.

"Yes, I could," she bows her head, hair covering her eyes.

He passes her his manga so she can pretend she's reading and not hiding her tears.

...

They look away when the day comes. The Inuzuka are one of Konoha's most valuable trackers, almost half the clan are sent out that night.

He holds Sakura's hand as she keeps a guilty gaze glued onto Sasuke's empty seat.

Akamaru is curled up in her lap, doing what he can.

He feels bad for not being able to do anything, but Sakura is…

He doesn't invite her over until the smell of grief goes away.

...

It happens when he's walking her home. She stops in the middle of the street and stares up at the sky, searching for something.

She does it often enough that he knows to just wait for her. He's in the middle of practicing enhancing his senses when she finally snaps out of it.

"I have to get stronger," she tells him, back straight and eyes hard.

The air is shifting, and he stops his chakra exercises to watch her with sharp eyes. The importance of this moment is not lost on Akamaru, who stays silent and alert.

"Why?" He asks.

"I can't fail," she says grimly.

"Why?" He asks again.

"Then I would die," her hands shake until she clenches them into fists.

"Why?" He asks a third time.

She cannot hide from him, and he won't let her hide from herself.

He will keep asking until she answers.

She takes a breath.

"I can't let what happened to the Uchiha, happen to your family or mine. I can't keep standing back and letting innocent people get hurt. I have to get stronger and protect them. I can't do that if I die," she says determination filling her voice.

He stares at her and wonders when she grew taller than him.

"Alright," he says finally, "let's head to my house then."

She follows as he turns around. Her parents are civilians, if she wants to grow stronger, she will have to go where the ninja are.

Akamaru is right by his side and lets him know they will grow stronger than any Inuzuka before him. Together they howl their resolve.

He is both surprised and not when Sakura joins in.

She finally gets it, and he is both proud and in awe of her.

...

Ma gives them her blessing, and various clan members swing by to teach them everything they wish to know.

Inuzuka work on a different learning system than other clans. The Inuzuka do not have the patience to teach a brat things they do not want to learn. Normally, a child trains enough to make them prideful and arrogant until a good ass-kicking sends them back begging.

He's learned more than the average clan child, but hasn't put in enough effort to be exceptional. Sakura is about to change all that.

He's not sure what it's about to do to his standing in the clan, but all eyes are on him, Akamaru, and Sakura.

...

They do chakra control exercises, slowly working their way up to tree climbing (not yet, but soon). They learn standard jutsu, then they are pushed to use them creatively. (They will never have to light a fire the normal way)

Sis teaches Sakura the basics to medical jutsu, while he and Akamaru work on their clan techniques.

The Four Legs technique is frightening in how completely exhilarating it is, and Ma has to knock him out many times.

Sakura gets in good practice now that Ma is training him more intensely.

Akamaru is able to use the Beast Human Clone in a relatively short amount of time, and they begin work on Fang Passing Fang. (Ma smacks him before telling him to first work on Passing Fang; he whines)

They are making good progress, and Sakura looks happier and more stable than before. She smells of pride and resolve.

All eyes are on them, but that is because the clan is behind them every step of the way.

...

There is a tapping on his window. He rolls over and pretends he can't hear it. Akamaru's nose is cold as it nudges him.

"Kiba," a fierce wind whispers.

Tap. Tap.

"Kiba," says the wind, louder and angrier.

Akamaru gives him a sympathetic nibble and tells him to get up. He groans as he leaves his warm bed. He stumbles over the window, opens it, and squints at the face looking back at him.

"Finally!" Sakura huffs.

He stares at her for a moment before he turns around and grabs his coat off the dresser. Ignoring her squawk of "Don't ignore me!" he picks up a whining Akamaru and gently places the ninken on top of his head, hood pulled up and over like a blanket.

"Come on," he says to his visitor.

She moves out of his way and he takes a running leap.

...

He has no doubt every single one his relatives know that Sakura is in the compound, just as he knows they are watching from the shadows to see what happens. Nosy, he thinks irritably.

It is for that reason he leads Sakura out of clan grounds and into a nearby park. He has no doubt he's still being watched, Akamaru's soft bark confirms it, but they won't listen in.

Sakura has always smelt like she desperately needs to confide in someone, and she has chosen him like always even if it is at an inconvenient time.

Inuzuka know how valuable trust and loyalty are.

They settle on a bench and he places Akamaru on his lap so he can lean back and see the stars.

Minutes go by and no one says anything. The silence is comfortable on his end, and he feels himself drifting off.

"How do you do it?" Sakura blurts out all of sudden.

"Do what?" He asks, jerking from his almost nap.

"How do you go on about just living, knowing what you do?" She asks in a soft voice, head bowed.

He thinks about it for a moment.

"I go on living," he finally says.

"That's not an answer!" She nearly yells, and he wonders why he got stuck with the crazy one.

"It is too," he looks at her, "but somehow I don't think that's what's bugging you."

"O-Of course it is! What else would be bothering me?" Her gaze is averted and she's playing with the ends of her dress.

He lets out a sigh and spells it out for her.

"You're scared. You don't want to be on Team 7. You don't want to get hurt. You don't want to be responsible if things do or don't go according to the manga. You feel pulled in many directions and feel uncomfortable in your own skin. Am I on base?"

She looks like her world has been turned upside, but he has news for her. It's already been that way since the day she woke up.

"Right, so here's the thing. You are Sakura, but you are not Sakura. You can't do what she did, you don't even know what all she did. Maybe you didn't do something as simple as purchase something at a certain time and got someone killed. Maybe you did, you'll never know."

He takes a breath and keeps going.

"There's nothing you can do but be yourself and do your best going forward. Maybe you'll change everything for the better, for the worse, or not at all. Whatever happens, happens. Just live your life with no regrets."

It feels awkward to say so much at a time, but she needs to hear it. He doesn't know if she understands what he is trying to say, but she's gone silent and has her thinking face on.

So he waits.

The night is beautiful, and stargazing is not something he does often. He likes his sleep and the only time he's outside at night is for training.

He feels his eyes closing when Sakura begins to stir.

"Is that what you do? Live with no regrets?" She asks quietly, still thinking.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I regret accidentally stabbing cousin Toshiro with chopsticks at dinner, I'm not perfect, but it's working well so far," he tells her.

"There's…nothing I can do but go forward, living the life I want to live, right?" She looks at him now, eyes boring into his with a fragile intensity. She smells faintly of hope.

"Yep, but we're here too. We'll go forward together," he promises. Akamaru barks his agreement, and he knows in that moment Sakura will never need to feel alone again.

He doesn't think she realizes just what he and Akamaru have done, but she drapes herself over his arm and gently pets the top of Akamaru's head.

"Stay with me for a little while longer?" She asks, no longer smelling of a violent wind of emotions.

He offers her a tired grin, "Yeah."

She smiles and they watch the stars for an hour before parting ways.

He goes back to sleep dreaming of a future that doesn't have Sakura alone and crying.

...

The second momentous event in a shinobi's life comes to pass.

It's graduation. They wear the headbands with pride and run home to their families. Naruto has disappeared, but he knows he'll see the blond kid tomorrow.

He's walking beside Sakura on the way to her house; Akamaru is in her arms today. She smells of exhilaration, excitement, fear, and anxiety.

"Do you think we did okay?" She asks, biting her lip.

He knows she's not asking about the exam. He thinks of everything they've learned in and out of the classroom. He thinks of the missed opportunities they've had to forge connections. He remembers all that they've managed to accomplish so far.

"Yeah," he says, "we did good."

Akamaru barks his agreement.

Sakura smiles wide and looks to the sky, but unlike usual, doesn't seem to be searching for something.

She hums a tune that sounds vaguely familiar, and he brushes her shoulder with his.

Green eyes meet his and she says,

"Together?"

He grins.

"Together."

Edit as of 04/26/18. I'm slowly going back and editing the first chapter to bring it up to par, in case it seems different to any re-readers.