In Their Shadow

Fragmented Memory 4

The boy stared.

He stared like the other boy with pale skin, with envy in his eyes, at the sight before him.

"Wow, you two already know the tree climbing exercise? Should've known." Iruka exclaimed with pride as he smiled at the villages prodigies.

Kiba looked over, and saw the boy that the rest of the class ignored.

Yuma Ito.

He didn't like Yuma, but didn't hate him either. He didn't stand out much. Which was just fine with Kiba. What caught Kiba's attention however, was the look of envy Yuma seemed to direct at the village prodigies.

An envy Kiba knew all too well.

Kiba however, unlike Yuma, did not stare at the two with hate or jealousy in his eyes. His envy took on a different shade of green.

He stared in pure unadulterated awe.

"They're so cool" One student proclaimed, as Naruko and Sasuke proceeded to walk down the tree, being swamped with fellow students begging for the stars to teach them.

Kiba followed.

From a very young age, Kiba's mother had instilled within him two very important lessons.

The first lesson was this.

That you have to be an alpha. A team leader, a captain of the pack.

You had to be the greatest.

Being anything less than amazing...

Only means you were a failure.

"Oh come on, its not that big of a deal. Its just walking up a tree. Anyone with a proper grasp of chakra manipulation can do it." Sasuke bragged, basking in the attention and adoration.

Kiba frowned, he didn't like Sasuke all that much.

But everyone else did.

So he did too.

"Sasuke's right, with enough practice anyone can do it! I can teach you guys if ya want!" Naruko said in an energetic and happy-go-lucky manner.

Kiba didn't like Naruko that much either, she was too loud and she hurt his ears sometimes.

But she was the village hero, so he had to like her too.

"Hey, where do you think you're going!? Hey! Hey! Get back here!" Iruka called out to the boy, as he ran away.

He saw the other boy run away, their teacher calling after him as the boy fled to the trees. Kiba paid it no mind, laughing with the other kids.

The second lesson was as follows.

If you can't be a pack leader, then be a faithful member of the pack.

don't be a stray or lone wolf.

Strays and lone wolfs are less than dirt.

These lessons were the creed of the Inuzuka Clan.

And so he followed.

He followed the other children who laughed at the boy, and made fun of him. He praised Naruko and Sasuke just as the others did, and ate what everyone else ate, played what everyone else played, did...

What everyone else did.

He knew he could never be the pack leader.

Not here.

And not at home.

And so...

He spent the rest of the day sucking up to the village prodigies, just as everyone else did.