Fateful Meeting [Tail 3 - Naruto Fan-Fiction]

Chapter 1

An ear-piercing screech woke the man from his slumber, the beads of sweat trickling down the nape of his neck. He could feel the blood pounding in his ears, his heart nearly beating out of his chest. The voice was so similar to a voice he had grown to love, and, recently, forgotten almost completely about...

Gentle snoring sounded from beside him, the moon lighting up the tan pelt of his dog. One eye was cracked open, keeping a narrowed eye on the man sitting upright in bed. Was it a dream..?  It sounded so close, yet... He shook his head. The wedding was fast approaching, and he had too many missions to complete beforehand. Restless nights had haunted him for weeks, leaving his general figure pale and uneasy looking. 

With a sigh, he threw himself back onto the pillows, his arms spread outwards on the bed. He kicked the blankets away from him and rolled to the side with a huff. The moon is almost full, he observed, closing his eyes. There was no way he was going back to sleep, he realized. This needs to stop, he cried silently to himself, she's gone! Eyes opened wide now, he sat up. If he could not sleep, he was going to patrol. 

"Stay," he whispered softly. The dog grunted, giving him another curious look before closing his eye and sighing. The man slipped on his hoodie, the grey leather catching against his still sweat-soaked skin. Another tug and it was on completely.

It was easier to move about now that he lived on his own. No one to inquire about why he was going out in the middle of the night. Though... it did get lonely sometimes. He sighed again, reaching the entrance of his apartment and slipping on his shoes. Leathery fabric rolled up against his ankle, snapping into place almost immediately after with a gentle tug. 

Cool night air caressed him as the door opened, a hushed chirp of grasshoppers reaching his ears. Occasionally the flicker of a firefly would catch his attention, the light disappearing and reappearing further down the path moments later.

After a heartbeat of observing, his feet moved on their own, taking him to a multitude of unlit areas within the village. He only stayed in these spots briefly before resuming his impromptu patrol, rounding the corner to, what could be considered, the center of the village. There were a few people walking about, with the occasional hushed conversation halting as he passed.  

I'm not interested in whatever you're chattering about, the man rolled his eyes. A gentle breeze picked up, rustling the fabric of his unzipped jacket around his body. It felt nice; feeling the sweat dry and his undershirt peel away from his skin. 

"Kiba," his heart pounded. Turning slowly, he discovered no one, but instead that the walkway behind him was illuminated. Already at the mercy of his, currently, ridiculously overactive heart, he fast-walked down the walkway. He looked somewhat frantically at both sides of the path for the voice.

"Kiba?" Kiba whipped around, finding the familiar figure of Naruto standing before him. He was dressed in casual attire as well, his over-sized shirt hanging freely from his body. "Can't sleep either?" Naruto smiled, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. 

"Y-yeah, something like that," Kiba replied. Naruto's hand stopped moving, his eyes snapping to the now sweat-stained shirt attached to Kiba's torso. 

"Want to talk about it?" Naruto inquired, motioning to a nearby bench. "It'd be nice to get my mind off... you know, stuff." Kiba shrugged, making his way towards the bench. Naruto followed closely, searching Kiba's gaze for a clue as to what he was thinking. 

"I," Kiba started, flopping down onto the bench, "I... keep having these dreams." He started, scooting down so Naruto could sit down next to him. "I hear this voice yelling. Sometimes it asks for help... sometimes it just screams."

"Do you recognize the voice?" 

"... Yeah," Kiba sighed, leaning back against the cold stone. Naruto looked down towards the ground, clasping his hands in front of him and leaning his elbows against his knees. Kiba's throat tightened, robbing him momentarily of the ability to speak.

"You look like crap," Naruto looked sideways at him. Kiba let out a dry laugh.

"I know."

-

A few days had gone by since the last dream. There was still a distant voice in his dreams, but it seemed... at peace now. I'm just glad it seems to be over, he sighed, but I do wonder if it was her..? He shook the thought from his head. 

It had been four years since he had seen her last. The Great Ninja War had ravaged the land and devastated the lands, many noble ninjas losing their lives in the fight. Life had gone on, and yet, the memory of her still lingered in the back of his mind.

He had tried to date, to find another woman to make his heart skip the way she did, but to no avail. Focus, he scolded himself, you're supposed to be watching for... His eyes snapped onto a figure moving through the brush in front of him. 

"Target spotted," Kiba whispered, a slight buzz coming from his ear-piece. 

"Roger," a feminine voice responded. He forced himself to tunnel on the target, watching the shadowy figure stop, bend down, and pluck a white flower from the ground. The target's glasses gleamed in the sunlight, momentarily deflecting a ray of light against Kiba's chest armor. 

A gentle smoke rose from where the light had hit, sending a shock down Kiba's spine. The figure looked up at where he sat in the tree, giving a malicious smile. In an instant, the voice from moments ago was on the target, swinging with open palms. The target dodged each swing with ease.

"Hinata, into the shade!" Kiba yowled, jumping down to join his companion in pushing the target back into the forest. Another ray landed onto Kiba's leg, this time the intensity of the burn forcing him to his knees in agony. 

Almost instantly, the ray was gone. A swarm of black bugs surrounded the light, cutting it off from his leg and surging up towards the origin. With a disgusted scowl, the figure slammed a smoke bomb into the ground, disorienting the bugs that had almost enveloped him.

"Damnit!" Kiba cursed, looking to his teammates.

"At least we scared him away," Shino shrugged, "our mission wasn't to capture him. Just to scare him a bit."

Kiba scowled in the direction of their target, watching the greenery finally settle into a resting position. He tuned out his party members, who were exchanging information or theories on the target. Something seemed off about the way the man had so easily discovered where Kiba had been hiding.

Too frustrated to think, he kicked the top of his foot against the grass. He could feel the sympathetic gazes of his team on him, but he did not want to be pitied. In fact, all he wanted to do at this very moment was scream. So he did.

-

Birds chirped around him, the occasional butterfly floating past his face. Orange and black streaked beauty fought against what was a gentle wind for him, but probably the fight of the poor butterfly's life. The smell of freshly cut grass was pleasantly present, but none of this peaceful scenery drew him out of his current predicament. 

His last mission had gone... not quite as planned. As Shino stated, they were not assigned to capture the target, but the whole thing had gotten under Kiba's skin. Hinata had tried to gently explain to him that he had been subconsciously twitching here and there, which had alerted the target of his position.

However... the target was presumed armed and dangerous. Why had he simply grazed Kiba instead of fatally wounding him? Shaking his head, he returned to absentmindedly watching the woodland creatures. Or, more accurately, the park creatures.

The wind shifted slightly, throwing an overgrown piece of hair into his eye. Grunting in discomfort, he shifted the piece away and simply stared straight ahead. There was a woman walking on a trail nearby, her long white hair whipping uncontrollably around her in the breeze. Something about her made Kiba's body go cold.

Brushing the hair behind her ear with one pale hand, she looked around. Her soft blue eyes hesitated as they passed over Kiba, a smile coming over her lips. With a friendly wave, she resumed her walk; the soft clicking of her heels carrying the short distance to where Kiba sat, awestruck.