[log] Hugs. NOW. [Hoshino, Kiba]
[[ooc: More backdated fluff before the proxy server eats my computer. Hoshino needs to get out more. o.-;]]
The entire household was, as usual, spotless. It was simply the way the Aburame operated. Mother and daughter kept things carefully labeled, bagged and hidden away, stored in the proper place and lined up properly with everything else. They balanced their lives on these things. The teapot was always in the same place every morning. The jars on Hoshibi's botanical shelf were always in the same order and spaced exactly three centimetres apart. One fraction off, and the entire house would come crumbling down around them.
There was no way in hell Hoshino was going to allow her home to be shattered by a cat.
Her mother was behind in the garden. She could vaguely hear the hum of the older woman's kikaichu, lower than her own and with a different accent on the hum. Her own destruction bugs were largely calm, milling around quietly in her limbs. Despite the soothing situation, her shoulders were slightly tense, brow furrowed just a hair as she stared across the futon at the small ball of fluff sitting precariously on the other end. It (she hadn't bothered to remember if Hanabi had said it was male or female; the furball didn't warrent a gender in her mind, much less a name) was staring back at her contemplatively with big, innocent eyes. Deceptive little creature. She'd watched it eat a grasshopper whole not three hours ago, and now it was again all loving and mewing and asking to be petted on the head.
Honestly, Hanabi could have told her it would be like adopting a younger version of Kiba.
Speaking of... For a moment Hoshino let her eyes drift away into thought. Hinaji was with the other girl, but... it didn't sit right. Something that reduced a person like Kiba to a bundle of nerves couldn't be talked out so easily, even with such a sweet boy as their teammate. Not that she herself would be much help, even if Kiba did spell things out for her. The anxiety she felt at not having been there, at once again not being a complete member of the team, made her completely jittery. Without meaning to, Hoshino exhaled slightly more slowly than usual. Her mother would have called it a sigh.
A soft scratching sound caught her attention. Glancing back to the bed, she noted that not only was the kitten a good enough shinobi to have crawled halfway across the bed without her noticing, the thing was also a demon intent on gnawing her poor glasses in half. A quick movement of the Aburame's hand and a surprised mewl later, Hoshino was once again setting the spray bottle on her knee and delicately disentangling her shades from their captor.
"No. Bad kitten."
...exactly like Kiba all over again. Perhaps a little cuter, though.
If Kiba had to explain the Aburame household, it would be deathly quiet. That wasn't entirely accurate though, she knew.
After spending years with Hoshino, she had learned to pick out the underlying hum of the kikaichu that inhabited the compound; she could even tell, as Hoshino's mother approached her silently, that the older woman's kikai sounded differently then Hoshino's kikai. She could also tell that the woman wasn't exactly happy to see her, taking her in silently, but she didn't turn her away which Kiba was terribly grateful for. The Inuzuka knew that she should probably try and present herself quietly, and clean herself up, but she was just too tired and worried about this mess to put the effort into it. Akako followed behind her noiselessly, staying close and stepping carefully- even the ninken knew that bugs in this household were to be revered, not chased or squished, even if it was accidental.
The neatness of the place made Kiba keep her hands close and forced Akako to stay outside. The ninken wasn't happy, but understood that she was too big and that Hoshibi was twitchy. And she really didn't want to make things harder on her human partner, so she waited outside without a fuss, an ear twisted towards where Kiba would be. She could still listen in, after all.
Kiba continued to follow meekly and quietly, most of her good feeling from Hinaji fading in lieu of Hoshibi's frigid silence. There was a huge relief as Hoshino's scent reached her nose and she had to resist the urge to just hurl into the room. With Hoshibi still watching, she quietly knocked on Hoshino's door, fidgeting slightly and willing her teammate to answer quickly.
If she tilted her head back for a second or two, she could identify the pitch of the kikaichu she often insisted her teammates keep on at all times, in case of emergancy. The pitch was undeniably Kiba: on red alert, even. Of course, this could hardly be Hinaji's failing. Perhaps she'd have a word with her mother after about the way she treated the members of Rookie Team 8. Then again, why would she when she could just sit in silence and feel her mother pointedly not commenting on the dog hair which was probably littering the entire walk way from the gate, invisible to the human eye but standing out like traffic signs to certain discerning Aburame?
Still examining her mauled shades, Hoshino rose from the futon just enough to lean over and open the door with her free hand. It was easier that way, after all. Outside her room, the world was far too bright, particularly when one didn't have dark glasses to wear which were free of kitten spit.
In silence, back to the door, the girl gestured her teammate in with a slight flick of her fingers. Her attention was more or less still focused on the task at hand (trying to rub off the scratches from the glass and half-glaring at the offending bit of fluff now curled up in the middle of her bed), but the kikaichu seemed interested. Their hum lifted softly as they fell out of holding patterns, instead swarming briefly to the surface of the girl's skin to better receive the information their brethren were sending them.
Finally, deciding her glasses would simply have to be replaced, Hoshino managed a quiet greeting. "...you look horrible."
Kiba very quickly slipped inside as soon as she could and quickly, but politely, shut the door behind her. Slitted eyes moved to her annoyed looking sunglasses-less teammate and her deadpan greeting. There was a weak snort as she answered, "Thanks for noticing. And Hinaji says good night."
Slinking into the room, and feeling a little but out of place here too, she slunk over to the bed and without much warning scooped up the little fluff ball that was the kitten. There was an awkward hesitation before she sat on the floor instead of the bed, not sure she wanted to screw up Hoshino's neatness. Finger slid over the kittens head, taking some comfort in the familiar feeling of fur under her fingers. A silent apology was sent to Akako outside as she cuddled the kitten close and tried to sooth her frazzled nerves; half of her expected Hoshino's mother to suddenly burst in (neatly) and kick her out. It was a long time before she spoke, and even then she felt kind of guilty for being so.... selfish.
"... I feel kinda horrible," she admitted, sighing out. "... and I really am glad you're back. Missed you Hoshino."
The kitten, being the horrible traitor that it was, began purring almost immediately, happy to finally have someone who knew how to treat a cat in its young life once again. Had the kitten ever snuggled up to its new owner that way? No. Had Hoshino ever afforded opportunity? Of course not. Was Kiba getting something good out of the interaction? Yes.
So long as that was settled in everyone's minds.
The glasses were hopeless. She'd need to actually clean them. Shuffling her mental to-do list, the girl finally placed the shades up on the shelf above her bed before seating herself a little more comfortably. The spray bottle still rested against her knee, waiting, just in case of emergency. Like if the kitten started gnawing on Kiba's hair. Or if it came out that Kiba had done something stupid or gotten herself upset over nothing.
Somehow, she didn't have the hope that it was something so trivial. Watching her friend through the long silence, she could feel the tension and exhaustion radiating from the other young woman palpably. True, there seemed to be something less than the edge one might have expected, but... well. There were three people in a team for a reason. In order to good cop/bad cop the teammate in distress. Not that Kiba's soft tired words didn't make Hoshino feel the tiniest bit guilty, somewhere deep down inside. Her voice nevertheless continued its monotone, head tilting slightly to the left as she tried to get a better angle on the Inuzuka's face. "...I'm going to stop going away, if this is how you get while I'm gone."
It was something like the equivalent of 'I'm really worried that you look so down; spill so I can help?' Thankfully, Kiba by this time had to be a master in speaking Aburame.
... it never failed.
A vague smile flickered onto her face at Hoshino's monotone accusation and she continued to slowly stroke the kitten cradled in her hands. "I could settle for you not going away. I'd say it gets too quiet without you here, but I guess it be more appropriate to say it's not quiet enough when you're not here."
Silence fell again and the smile slowly faded from Kiba's face. The look became serious and almost conflicted, her hand stopping on the kittens head. She felt as if she'd been through this so many times and yet couldn't find the right words to say at all. How she poised things with Hoshino and with Hinaji were completely different; Hinaji was... the one who was more ready to give comfort then help her sort through her answers. And that was fine, it was what she had wanted and needed. Hoshino needed things splayed out before her, to pick through the puzzle and find the logical conclusions. And it was what Kiba needed now.
"Do you hate Uchiha Sachiko?"
There was no opening to the words, no introduction; it was like most of their conversations, where they just leaped into the middle and waded through the mess form there. Slitted eyes finally moved up to her friend, glancing at normally covered eyes.
Uchiha Sachiko. Not exactly the topic she'd anticipated, if she'd really had any in mind as Possibly Things Which Might Trouble Kiba At This Moment In Time. That was the bright side of being a good strategist, of course. One was always prepared to shift to backup tactics should the enemy prove unpredictable. Not that there were fifteen thousand backup plans, the way a Nara planned things, but there were enough routes to travel that no topic was completely impossible to manage.
So. On hating Uchiha Sachiko. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that her glasses had been nearly destroyed. The lighting wasn't particularly good, but Hoshino was sure there was enough for whatever information her eyes gave to be read. She'd once read somewhere that eye contact meant something to dogs. Maybe it would help her point here with Kiba.
"...I wouldn't ask her in to tea, no. To say I hate her..." The words trailed off briefly as Hoshino carefully picked her words, trying to read her friend while accurately expressing her point. Given the 'introduction' of the topic, it seemed best to be simple and direct about the answer, leaving it to the other girl to wrestle out the conflict in herself so that they could pick it apart. "...would be inaccurate. It's not worth the emotional energy to hate her," she finally concluded with a shrug.
Kiba could see in Hoshino's eyes, even if briefly, that mentioning Sachiko had been a surprise. She continued to nervously watch her teammate, not sure what she was expecting the other to say. And she couldn't say if she was relieved or not in what the other said. Possibly, it only served to confuse her more, but that was simply Kiba's state at this time. Everything and anything was confusing her because she was confused from other things, which really was a vicious cycle- for her at least, since Kiba was about as straightforward as one could get and often left the subtle things to her teammates.
"...I hated her." Kiba admitted in a low voice, as now and then she fidgeted uneasily. Fingers ran over the kitten who made a serious noise of protest as it was petted the wrong way. Kiba winced and then continued. "I thought I would always hate her. She wasn't sorry for what she did, and we nearly died for her. Akako was seriously hurt because of her, you know?"
Without really waiting for a response she continued, words slightly agitated and vaguely nervous. "But... but it's like I can't hate her any more and I'm not sure if it's right or wrong. Because she did such bad shit, but she's so... "
The Inuzuka trailed off, realizing she couldn't say much without breaking the other's trust and she frustrated her so much that she almost growled a little. "I can see why she did what she did and it's still not right or anything or just.... I don't know. Am I wrong in forgiving her, even if it's not all the way, and I mean, I spoke to Chiriku-san and we kinda went through it but I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with this because I don't know how to fix people or be subtle or nothin'- you and Hinaji are good at that, not me. I stumble through shit and.... and..."
Finally realizing she was babbling, Kiba shut up and looked down, cheeks flushed. It was rare when she actually felt embarrassed in font of her teammates but she was so... well, not herself in a way, whining and angsting which was usually not in her character..
It happened by pure repressed instinct. Quite suddenly, without meaning to, Hoshino's finger twitched on the trigger of the spray bottle. It wasn't the best angle, but years of practice had clearly done her good; in spite of the apparently adverse situation, the short spurt of water shot more or less straight at her teammate's face. (The back of her mind noted that the sound of the bottle made the kitten flinch a little. Good. It was developing a fear of God.)
Then again, it was probably better than the slap she'd also been tempted to give her friend. The world physically hurt when Kiba got this way--which thankfully was very rarely and not without good cause. A variety of ways to pick up her half of the conversation flashed through her mind, but in the end it came down to the distinct need to either harm or hug the girl leaning against her futon.
Perhaps her frustrated "..." would suffice for the moment while she struggled to find the words her friend needed to hear. Not an answer, of course; just important words.
...
There was a very, very long bought of silence as Kiba blinked, a surprised look on her face like she wasn't quite sure what had just happened. There were several more moments of silence before she pressed fingers to her cheek. When her hand pulled back, she did see that it was indeed wet with water. Her teammate had just sprayed her with a water bottle.
...
Her teammate had just sprayed her with a damn water bottle!
".... you did NOT just do that." Kiba said slowly , looking up at her teammate like she was absolutely insane. She was about to snap about something but the frustrated silence and look on her teammate's face made her shut up. And instantly made her feel like a puppy who had been scolded with water and she glanced down, embarrassed all over again. Now she'd managed to make Hoshino upset with her on top of everything else.
Nice job, idiot.
"You deserved it," Hoshino shot back quickly enough, voice still largely devoid of emotion. Having said that much, other words came more easily, pulling themselves into neat organized packages she was able to deliver in order to her tongue. "...you make everything so complicated, Kiba. This... is a perfectly natural reaction you're having to... a difficult situation. No one expects you to forgive her. No one expects you to hate her forever. And... it's not even something you'll always be able to answer to yourself."
One hand reached up compulsively to fix her glasses. Finding that they weren't there, she instead brushed hair back from her face, collecting her thoughts with that action instead. This would probably make more sense to Kiba than the 'emotions are pointless' angle of the conversation. It was, however, the harder to argue.
"...you're approaching a... question of emotions as if there were some... right answer to find. This sort of thing... the 'right answer' is to work with it, to... speak with people you trust about it. Not let it eat away at you. You..."
The frustration was returning. Another pointless emotion, really. Hoshino dispelled it with a quick shake of the spray bottle, letting the soft sound bring her back to reality.
"...you're not as stupid as you're acting about this."
There was a slight bit of hurt as Hoshino said she deserved to be spritzed; it was very rare when Hoshino really treated her as a 'puppy'. But she could understand that the Aburame's frustration with her, even if it hurt a little bit. Looking at the kitten in her lap, she silently listened and petted the small creature, trying to sort through Hoshino's jumble of words as best she could. This wasn't the right area for her, Kiba knew; it was usually the Inuzuka who talked about emotion and everyone else who talked about....
Oh.
Oh.
Kiba was always telling people emotions had no rhyme or reason and often had no answers and here she was demanding answers for her emotions. The Inuzuka suddenly felt very foolish and embarrassed, though not as she had before. Her cheeks flushed and she looked at the ground for quite some time, trying to figure out what to say next. After a bit she finally had the right words.
Sheepishly looking up to her teammate, she muttered. "Oops."
There. Kiba was looking like a proper moron now... or, at least, like the sort of moron she typically was. Simple, sheepish, and fully understanding what she'd just done wrong. Much better.
Hoshino took the time to arch an eyebrow very delicately at her friend before turning her attention away. She set the spray bottle on her shelf with a definitive 'clunk' before reaching exactly 13 centrimetres to the right and picking up a spare pair of sunglasses. After all, the discussion wasn't over; it had simply reached a better level.
"...what sparked this?" she asked, almost absently, as she wiped a smudge from the shades with one of her overlong sleeves. Not really waiting for an answer, however, she slipped the glasses on and scooted over on the futon. Much as she valued her personal space (and little as she wanted the kitten back in her sleeping area, purring and shedding and eating things), it would be better in the long run to get Kiba where she could tackle her.
Just in case the stupidity returned.
Kiba had to admit, she was very glad when that spray bottle was out of her teammate's hands. The kitten too.
Before answering, Kiba took the unspoken invite and climbed onto the futon next to Hoshino. The kitten was already trying to crawl out of her hands and she let it go, carefully tucking her legs under her and sitting indian style. Just being closer to the other kunoichi was entirely soothing and now that she had things more in perspective, the strange confusion that had been hanging over her had eased. She wasn't entirely better or anything of the sort, but she felt better overall, which was a drastic improvement.
"...I spoke to Sachiko the other day, kinda on accident." She finally answered, playing with the hem of her pants nervously. I can't go into details, I promised, forgive me the words hung unspoken in the air, and she knew Hoshino would understand that much. "It was... long, I guess. Confusing. Turned everything up on it's head. I thought I'd get it after a couple days and I just... didn't."
...the kitten was moving. It was going to come and start gnawing on her sleeve again. Hoshino watch the little beast plod closer and closer on unsteady feet, mouth open to sink its tiny little fangs into her already scarred fingers and suck out all the blood an--
--and the kitten was curling up an inch away from her, settling down in the warm spot where her body has just recently been. Fancy that. Maybe Hanabi was right and the cat was going to drive her insane. Ah well. She'd probably fit in better that way.
"You probably can't expect to," she replied with a faint lift of her right shoulder, enough to serve as a shrug. "It's... not a simple thing." Very briefly Hoshino glanced over the edge of her sunglasses at the Inuzuka, taking a 0.5 second survey of the other girl's face. Not yet 100%, clearly, but improving. The thought occurred that she should probably be curious about this conversation between her friend and the last Uchiha. It was promptly dismissed; more likely than not, she didn't want to know.
And, more importantly than anything, knowing what had been said wouldn't have helped the situation. This wasn't about Kiba's understanding of words which had been exchanged. This was deeper. In the end, the Inuzuka girl would have to wrestle it alone... well, as alone as she could possibly be, with Hinaji and Hoshino constantly hovering in over her shoulders in a compulsively supportive way.
One hand lifted uncertainly, creeping from her knee toward the other girl for an affectionate pat on the arm. Halfway through the action, her hand was obstructed by kitten. The light touch, unfortunately, woke the tiny mewling thing instantly, and gave ample opportunity for the little demon to purr and nuzzle its head against the Aburame's palm.
There was no winning.
"It likes you."
It was quite the deviation from their earlier conversation, the soft utterance, but Kiba felt that it had to be sad. Watching the interaction for a bit, she pulled her knees to her chest and thought about what the Aburame had said earlier. "I know it's not... simple, and I shouldn't have expected it but I did. It was just... I don't know. You know how I can get when I'm dead set on something. I'm too damn stubborn sometimes. Even I know that."
There was a soft, soft snort from her noise and she shifted her head to watch the Kitten nuzzling Hoshino's hand. She wanted her own companion and was a little sulky that she had had to leave her outside.
There was no need to comment on Kiba's first thought. There was only a brief, shaded look, something like a normal person's glare, shot from one girl down the futon to the other. An 'it's a little monster which will probably slay more insects before it dies and if you're at all amused by this you'll probably have to die' sort of look. Kiba would probably understand.
Very carefully running her thumb down the back of the kitten's head, listening to the shift in the purring (much like kikai, really; interesting), Hoshino turned her eyes once again to studying her teammate's face.
"...which is a big step, Kiba."
The first step to solving a problem was always admitting that you had one. That Kiba had wrapped her head so quickly around this--from being in despair over the matter to calmly being able to point out the problems inherent in the situation--was... well, impressive. It eased something clenched tight in Hoshino's chest, helping her shoulders relax ever so slightly. Kiba was going to be fine. And, more importantly, Kiba was going to use the Aburame as a sounding board. That in and of itself was a comfort.
Though Kiba noticed the glare being sent her way, she also noticed how Hoshino continued to pet the little ball of fluff and didn't pull away immediately. It only proved Kiba right, if you asked her what she thought, but no one did and she didn't feel like going onto that tangent with her teammate and she stayed quiet. For a while she simply watched Hoshino pet the kitten and mulled over the words said to her, both before and now. She could recognize that it was a very big step indeed that she could recognize her being stubborn, in this scenario, was a hindrance- but it didn't stop her from being stubborn and dead set. It was like a dog who had sunk her teeth into a toy and just didn't want to let go anymore; she had held onto the hate for so long, that she was reluctant to let it go. There were too many unknowns and too many things could go wrong.
Including betrayal.
It was an uneasy thought and she raked a hand back through her hair, glancing at the kitten again and eyeing it, silently willing it to go away. It was her time with Hoshino right now and she wanted pettings (even if she'd never admit it out loud). Eventually she sighed and sort of fell back against the futon, staring up at Hoshino's neat ceiling.
"It was so much easier to just hate her," she murmured tiredly. "It's... kinda like what Chiriku-san said, with fires. They run hot, I run hot, and then suddenly it's half doused and I can't figure out if I'm supposed to rekindle it and keep going or douse it for good and clean up the mess. You'd think something like this would be easy to figure out with how deep everythings run over the years and it's... not."
There was another sigh and she turned her head to view Hoshino. ".... I see now why you want answers sometimes."
There was a moment where Hoshino couldn't help smirking at her dear friend. Well, smirking as an Aburame smirks, at any rate: the left corner of her lips lifted very slightly but very sarcastically, head tilting noticeably to the right as both eyebrows shot up just a fraction of an inch. After all, it felt good hearing Kiba admit she was wrong and her teammate was right, even if it was indirect and more an admission of understanding than anything else.
Then she relaxed completely, getting into her instinctive 'taking care of Kiba' mode. Without noticing herself move, she scooped up the kitten one-handed, depositing the squirming bundle of fur lightly onto her shoulder. It didn't matter that tiny claws dug themselves in rather deeply, clinging for dear life. Her obstacle out of her way, the girl inched forward a little and promptly began fussing.
Her hand went first to Kiba's hair, touch light and delicate as she brushed at stray hairs, pulling them away from the other girl's face and setting them into order. It then dropped to her friend's shoulder, resting hesitantly for a moment before giving an affectionate squeeze. "...if it's any consolation, I see why you get so annoyed when I do."
Briefly, Kiba debated sticking her tongue out at her teammate as she seemed to smirk at her, or smirked as much as she could. But that took far too much effort, and it took admitting that she knew why Hoshino was smirking, so she simply didn't bother. Instead she just lay there, going back to staring at the ceiling until she felt and heard Hoshino move and she turned her head again. There was a brief arching of her eyebrow and her own smirk at seeing the kitten sitting on her shoulder before she was distracted by Hoshino fussing with her hair as she often did.
While to most an annoyance (and when they were younger it drove her mad) it was something very soothing at this point in time. It meant of course that Hoshino was worried and thusly a little more neurotic then normal, which made Kiba feel guilty slightly, but for now she just accepted it as it was. Slitted eyes closed and then opened again at the squeeze to her shoulder, blinking slowly at her teammate beside her.
There was a pause and then a faint grin. "... s'pretty good consolation."
Clearly, Kiba seemed to think that the way the kitten had now settled on her shoulder, purring absently as it took up the apparently accustomed post, was noteworthy. It really wasn't. Hoshino simply found that it was more convenient (despite the initial clawings which always ensued--her scars were fairly thick there anyway, so what did it matter?) to keep the pest there from time to time. It freed up her hands. Certainly it wasn't anything affectionate. Neurotically fixing Kiba's hair? Affectionate. Letting a kitten cuddle up to her neck with a rumbling purr? Utilitarian.
One corner of her lips flicked up slightly in response to the faint grin, hand remaining on the other girl's shoulder for the moment. Kiba looked... better. Not 'better' as in 'feeling well and happy and her usual self,' but certainly at least 'better' as in 'less like shit than when she'd walked through the doors.' That thought clouded Hoshino's brow briefly. Surely Hinaji had done a good job taking care of Kiba. Had her mother...?
The tiniest shake of her head, and she was examining Kiba's face again, the thought dismissed as she continued to look for signs of change.
Hoshino had given her the faintest of smiles back, or what passed for a faint smile from that girl and Kiba relaxed, a little bit. While it was easy for the other to see Kiba was still a bit confused and upset about this whole mess, at least she wasn't a ball of confused nerves. Kicking off her sandals, she pulled her legs onto Hoshino's bed and curled up a bit, twisting to face the other better. It was still amusing to see the kitten perched contently on the Aburame's shoulder, kneading the others shoulder lightly.
After a moment, fingers carefully tangling in her teammates sleeve.
"... I'm glad you're home."
The Aburame's smile brightened briefly before her face fell comfortably into its habitual neutral state. With a faint snort, she replied in her monotone, "...impossible to live without me, nn? I had no idea you felt that way, Kiba. What'll we tell Hinaji?"
Deadpan was, after all, a beautiful thing, but hardly ever appreciated if there wasn't the slightest flair of humour to go with it. Very delicately Hoshino pried the other girl's fingers from her sleeves with an almost amused quirk of an eyebrow. The action was followed, of course, almost instantly by her fingers lacing themselves over her friends. After all, the important things were said without speaking out loud. 'I missed you too' and 'I hate when you're sad' didn't need anything more than this sedated interaction.
The entire household was, as usual, spotless. It was simply the way the Aburame operated. Mother and daughter kept things carefully labeled, bagged and hidden away, stored in the proper place and lined up properly with everything else. They balanced their lives on these things. The teapot was always in the same place every morning. The jars on Hoshibi's botanical shelf were always in the same order and spaced exactly three centimetres apart. One fraction off, and the entire house would come crumbling down around them.
There was no way in hell Hoshino was going to allow her home to be shattered by a cat.
Her mother was behind in the garden. She could vaguely hear the hum of the older woman's kikaichu, lower than her own and with a different accent on the hum. Her own destruction bugs were largely calm, milling around quietly in her limbs. Despite the soothing situation, her shoulders were slightly tense, brow furrowed just a hair as she stared across the futon at the small ball of fluff sitting precariously on the other end. It (she hadn't bothered to remember if Hanabi had said it was male or female; the furball didn't warrent a gender in her mind, much less a name) was staring back at her contemplatively with big, innocent eyes. Deceptive little creature. She'd watched it eat a grasshopper whole not three hours ago, and now it was again all loving and mewing and asking to be petted on the head.
Honestly, Hanabi could have told her it would be like adopting a younger version of Kiba.
Speaking of... For a moment Hoshino let her eyes drift away into thought. Hinaji was with the other girl, but... it didn't sit right. Something that reduced a person like Kiba to a bundle of nerves couldn't be talked out so easily, even with such a sweet boy as their teammate. Not that she herself would be much help, even if Kiba did spell things out for her. The anxiety she felt at not having been there, at once again not being a complete member of the team, made her completely jittery. Without meaning to, Hoshino exhaled slightly more slowly than usual. Her mother would have called it a sigh.
A soft scratching sound caught her attention. Glancing back to the bed, she noted that not only was the kitten a good enough shinobi to have crawled halfway across the bed without her noticing, the thing was also a demon intent on gnawing her poor glasses in half. A quick movement of the Aburame's hand and a surprised mewl later, Hoshino was once again setting the spray bottle on her knee and delicately disentangling her shades from their captor.
"No. Bad kitten."
...exactly like Kiba all over again. Perhaps a little cuter, though.
If Kiba had to explain the Aburame household, it would be deathly quiet. That wasn't entirely accurate though, she knew.
After spending years with Hoshino, she had learned to pick out the underlying hum of the kikaichu that inhabited the compound; she could even tell, as Hoshino's mother approached her silently, that the older woman's kikai sounded differently then Hoshino's kikai. She could also tell that the woman wasn't exactly happy to see her, taking her in silently, but she didn't turn her away which Kiba was terribly grateful for. The Inuzuka knew that she should probably try and present herself quietly, and clean herself up, but she was just too tired and worried about this mess to put the effort into it. Akako followed behind her noiselessly, staying close and stepping carefully- even the ninken knew that bugs in this household were to be revered, not chased or squished, even if it was accidental.
The neatness of the place made Kiba keep her hands close and forced Akako to stay outside. The ninken wasn't happy, but understood that she was too big and that Hoshibi was twitchy. And she really didn't want to make things harder on her human partner, so she waited outside without a fuss, an ear twisted towards where Kiba would be. She could still listen in, after all.
Kiba continued to follow meekly and quietly, most of her good feeling from Hinaji fading in lieu of Hoshibi's frigid silence. There was a huge relief as Hoshino's scent reached her nose and she had to resist the urge to just hurl into the room. With Hoshibi still watching, she quietly knocked on Hoshino's door, fidgeting slightly and willing her teammate to answer quickly.
If she tilted her head back for a second or two, she could identify the pitch of the kikaichu she often insisted her teammates keep on at all times, in case of emergancy. The pitch was undeniably Kiba: on red alert, even. Of course, this could hardly be Hinaji's failing. Perhaps she'd have a word with her mother after about the way she treated the members of Rookie Team 8. Then again, why would she when she could just sit in silence and feel her mother pointedly not commenting on the dog hair which was probably littering the entire walk way from the gate, invisible to the human eye but standing out like traffic signs to certain discerning Aburame?
Still examining her mauled shades, Hoshino rose from the futon just enough to lean over and open the door with her free hand. It was easier that way, after all. Outside her room, the world was far too bright, particularly when one didn't have dark glasses to wear which were free of kitten spit.
In silence, back to the door, the girl gestured her teammate in with a slight flick of her fingers. Her attention was more or less still focused on the task at hand (trying to rub off the scratches from the glass and half-glaring at the offending bit of fluff now curled up in the middle of her bed), but the kikaichu seemed interested. Their hum lifted softly as they fell out of holding patterns, instead swarming briefly to the surface of the girl's skin to better receive the information their brethren were sending them.
Finally, deciding her glasses would simply have to be replaced, Hoshino managed a quiet greeting. "...you look horrible."
Kiba very quickly slipped inside as soon as she could and quickly, but politely, shut the door behind her. Slitted eyes moved to her annoyed looking sunglasses-less teammate and her deadpan greeting. There was a weak snort as she answered, "Thanks for noticing. And Hinaji says good night."
Slinking into the room, and feeling a little but out of place here too, she slunk over to the bed and without much warning scooped up the little fluff ball that was the kitten. There was an awkward hesitation before she sat on the floor instead of the bed, not sure she wanted to screw up Hoshino's neatness. Finger slid over the kittens head, taking some comfort in the familiar feeling of fur under her fingers. A silent apology was sent to Akako outside as she cuddled the kitten close and tried to sooth her frazzled nerves; half of her expected Hoshino's mother to suddenly burst in (neatly) and kick her out. It was a long time before she spoke, and even then she felt kind of guilty for being so.... selfish.
"... I feel kinda horrible," she admitted, sighing out. "... and I really am glad you're back. Missed you Hoshino."
The kitten, being the horrible traitor that it was, began purring almost immediately, happy to finally have someone who knew how to treat a cat in its young life once again. Had the kitten ever snuggled up to its new owner that way? No. Had Hoshino ever afforded opportunity? Of course not. Was Kiba getting something good out of the interaction? Yes.
So long as that was settled in everyone's minds.
The glasses were hopeless. She'd need to actually clean them. Shuffling her mental to-do list, the girl finally placed the shades up on the shelf above her bed before seating herself a little more comfortably. The spray bottle still rested against her knee, waiting, just in case of emergency. Like if the kitten started gnawing on Kiba's hair. Or if it came out that Kiba had done something stupid or gotten herself upset over nothing.
Somehow, she didn't have the hope that it was something so trivial. Watching her friend through the long silence, she could feel the tension and exhaustion radiating from the other young woman palpably. True, there seemed to be something less than the edge one might have expected, but... well. There were three people in a team for a reason. In order to good cop/bad cop the teammate in distress. Not that Kiba's soft tired words didn't make Hoshino feel the tiniest bit guilty, somewhere deep down inside. Her voice nevertheless continued its monotone, head tilting slightly to the left as she tried to get a better angle on the Inuzuka's face. "...I'm going to stop going away, if this is how you get while I'm gone."
It was something like the equivalent of 'I'm really worried that you look so down; spill so I can help?' Thankfully, Kiba by this time had to be a master in speaking Aburame.
... it never failed.
A vague smile flickered onto her face at Hoshino's monotone accusation and she continued to slowly stroke the kitten cradled in her hands. "I could settle for you not going away. I'd say it gets too quiet without you here, but I guess it be more appropriate to say it's not quiet enough when you're not here."
Silence fell again and the smile slowly faded from Kiba's face. The look became serious and almost conflicted, her hand stopping on the kittens head. She felt as if she'd been through this so many times and yet couldn't find the right words to say at all. How she poised things with Hoshino and with Hinaji were completely different; Hinaji was... the one who was more ready to give comfort then help her sort through her answers. And that was fine, it was what she had wanted and needed. Hoshino needed things splayed out before her, to pick through the puzzle and find the logical conclusions. And it was what Kiba needed now.
"Do you hate Uchiha Sachiko?"
There was no opening to the words, no introduction; it was like most of their conversations, where they just leaped into the middle and waded through the mess form there. Slitted eyes finally moved up to her friend, glancing at normally covered eyes.
Uchiha Sachiko. Not exactly the topic she'd anticipated, if she'd really had any in mind as Possibly Things Which Might Trouble Kiba At This Moment In Time. That was the bright side of being a good strategist, of course. One was always prepared to shift to backup tactics should the enemy prove unpredictable. Not that there were fifteen thousand backup plans, the way a Nara planned things, but there were enough routes to travel that no topic was completely impossible to manage.
So. On hating Uchiha Sachiko. Perhaps it was a blessing in disguise that her glasses had been nearly destroyed. The lighting wasn't particularly good, but Hoshino was sure there was enough for whatever information her eyes gave to be read. She'd once read somewhere that eye contact meant something to dogs. Maybe it would help her point here with Kiba.
"...I wouldn't ask her in to tea, no. To say I hate her..." The words trailed off briefly as Hoshino carefully picked her words, trying to read her friend while accurately expressing her point. Given the 'introduction' of the topic, it seemed best to be simple and direct about the answer, leaving it to the other girl to wrestle out the conflict in herself so that they could pick it apart. "...would be inaccurate. It's not worth the emotional energy to hate her," she finally concluded with a shrug.
Kiba could see in Hoshino's eyes, even if briefly, that mentioning Sachiko had been a surprise. She continued to nervously watch her teammate, not sure what she was expecting the other to say. And she couldn't say if she was relieved or not in what the other said. Possibly, it only served to confuse her more, but that was simply Kiba's state at this time. Everything and anything was confusing her because she was confused from other things, which really was a vicious cycle- for her at least, since Kiba was about as straightforward as one could get and often left the subtle things to her teammates.
"...I hated her." Kiba admitted in a low voice, as now and then she fidgeted uneasily. Fingers ran over the kitten who made a serious noise of protest as it was petted the wrong way. Kiba winced and then continued. "I thought I would always hate her. She wasn't sorry for what she did, and we nearly died for her. Akako was seriously hurt because of her, you know?"
Without really waiting for a response she continued, words slightly agitated and vaguely nervous. "But... but it's like I can't hate her any more and I'm not sure if it's right or wrong. Because she did such bad shit, but she's so... "
The Inuzuka trailed off, realizing she couldn't say much without breaking the other's trust and she frustrated her so much that she almost growled a little. "I can see why she did what she did and it's still not right or anything or just.... I don't know. Am I wrong in forgiving her, even if it's not all the way, and I mean, I spoke to Chiriku-san and we kinda went through it but I still don't know what I'm supposed to do with this because I don't know how to fix people or be subtle or nothin'- you and Hinaji are good at that, not me. I stumble through shit and.... and..."
Finally realizing she was babbling, Kiba shut up and looked down, cheeks flushed. It was rare when she actually felt embarrassed in font of her teammates but she was so... well, not herself in a way, whining and angsting which was usually not in her character..
It happened by pure repressed instinct. Quite suddenly, without meaning to, Hoshino's finger twitched on the trigger of the spray bottle. It wasn't the best angle, but years of practice had clearly done her good; in spite of the apparently adverse situation, the short spurt of water shot more or less straight at her teammate's face. (The back of her mind noted that the sound of the bottle made the kitten flinch a little. Good. It was developing a fear of God.)
Then again, it was probably better than the slap she'd also been tempted to give her friend. The world physically hurt when Kiba got this way--which thankfully was very rarely and not without good cause. A variety of ways to pick up her half of the conversation flashed through her mind, but in the end it came down to the distinct need to either harm or hug the girl leaning against her futon.
Perhaps her frustrated "..." would suffice for the moment while she struggled to find the words her friend needed to hear. Not an answer, of course; just important words.
...
There was a very, very long bought of silence as Kiba blinked, a surprised look on her face like she wasn't quite sure what had just happened. There were several more moments of silence before she pressed fingers to her cheek. When her hand pulled back, she did see that it was indeed wet with water. Her teammate had just sprayed her with a water bottle.
...
Her teammate had just sprayed her with a damn water bottle!
".... you did NOT just do that." Kiba said slowly , looking up at her teammate like she was absolutely insane. She was about to snap about something but the frustrated silence and look on her teammate's face made her shut up. And instantly made her feel like a puppy who had been scolded with water and she glanced down, embarrassed all over again. Now she'd managed to make Hoshino upset with her on top of everything else.
Nice job, idiot.
"You deserved it," Hoshino shot back quickly enough, voice still largely devoid of emotion. Having said that much, other words came more easily, pulling themselves into neat organized packages she was able to deliver in order to her tongue. "...you make everything so complicated, Kiba. This... is a perfectly natural reaction you're having to... a difficult situation. No one expects you to forgive her. No one expects you to hate her forever. And... it's not even something you'll always be able to answer to yourself."
One hand reached up compulsively to fix her glasses. Finding that they weren't there, she instead brushed hair back from her face, collecting her thoughts with that action instead. This would probably make more sense to Kiba than the 'emotions are pointless' angle of the conversation. It was, however, the harder to argue.
"...you're approaching a... question of emotions as if there were some... right answer to find. This sort of thing... the 'right answer' is to work with it, to... speak with people you trust about it. Not let it eat away at you. You..."
The frustration was returning. Another pointless emotion, really. Hoshino dispelled it with a quick shake of the spray bottle, letting the soft sound bring her back to reality.
"...you're not as stupid as you're acting about this."
There was a slight bit of hurt as Hoshino said she deserved to be spritzed; it was very rare when Hoshino really treated her as a 'puppy'. But she could understand that the Aburame's frustration with her, even if it hurt a little bit. Looking at the kitten in her lap, she silently listened and petted the small creature, trying to sort through Hoshino's jumble of words as best she could. This wasn't the right area for her, Kiba knew; it was usually the Inuzuka who talked about emotion and everyone else who talked about....
Oh.
Oh.
Kiba was always telling people emotions had no rhyme or reason and often had no answers and here she was demanding answers for her emotions. The Inuzuka suddenly felt very foolish and embarrassed, though not as she had before. Her cheeks flushed and she looked at the ground for quite some time, trying to figure out what to say next. After a bit she finally had the right words.
Sheepishly looking up to her teammate, she muttered. "Oops."
There. Kiba was looking like a proper moron now... or, at least, like the sort of moron she typically was. Simple, sheepish, and fully understanding what she'd just done wrong. Much better.
Hoshino took the time to arch an eyebrow very delicately at her friend before turning her attention away. She set the spray bottle on her shelf with a definitive 'clunk' before reaching exactly 13 centrimetres to the right and picking up a spare pair of sunglasses. After all, the discussion wasn't over; it had simply reached a better level.
"...what sparked this?" she asked, almost absently, as she wiped a smudge from the shades with one of her overlong sleeves. Not really waiting for an answer, however, she slipped the glasses on and scooted over on the futon. Much as she valued her personal space (and little as she wanted the kitten back in her sleeping area, purring and shedding and eating things), it would be better in the long run to get Kiba where she could tackle her.
Just in case the stupidity returned.
Kiba had to admit, she was very glad when that spray bottle was out of her teammate's hands. The kitten too.
Before answering, Kiba took the unspoken invite and climbed onto the futon next to Hoshino. The kitten was already trying to crawl out of her hands and she let it go, carefully tucking her legs under her and sitting indian style. Just being closer to the other kunoichi was entirely soothing and now that she had things more in perspective, the strange confusion that had been hanging over her had eased. She wasn't entirely better or anything of the sort, but she felt better overall, which was a drastic improvement.
"...I spoke to Sachiko the other day, kinda on accident." She finally answered, playing with the hem of her pants nervously. I can't go into details, I promised, forgive me the words hung unspoken in the air, and she knew Hoshino would understand that much. "It was... long, I guess. Confusing. Turned everything up on it's head. I thought I'd get it after a couple days and I just... didn't."
...the kitten was moving. It was going to come and start gnawing on her sleeve again. Hoshino watch the little beast plod closer and closer on unsteady feet, mouth open to sink its tiny little fangs into her already scarred fingers and suck out all the blood an--
--and the kitten was curling up an inch away from her, settling down in the warm spot where her body has just recently been. Fancy that. Maybe Hanabi was right and the cat was going to drive her insane. Ah well. She'd probably fit in better that way.
"You probably can't expect to," she replied with a faint lift of her right shoulder, enough to serve as a shrug. "It's... not a simple thing." Very briefly Hoshino glanced over the edge of her sunglasses at the Inuzuka, taking a 0.5 second survey of the other girl's face. Not yet 100%, clearly, but improving. The thought occurred that she should probably be curious about this conversation between her friend and the last Uchiha. It was promptly dismissed; more likely than not, she didn't want to know.
And, more importantly than anything, knowing what had been said wouldn't have helped the situation. This wasn't about Kiba's understanding of words which had been exchanged. This was deeper. In the end, the Inuzuka girl would have to wrestle it alone... well, as alone as she could possibly be, with Hinaji and Hoshino constantly hovering in over her shoulders in a compulsively supportive way.
One hand lifted uncertainly, creeping from her knee toward the other girl for an affectionate pat on the arm. Halfway through the action, her hand was obstructed by kitten. The light touch, unfortunately, woke the tiny mewling thing instantly, and gave ample opportunity for the little demon to purr and nuzzle its head against the Aburame's palm.
There was no winning.
"It likes you."
It was quite the deviation from their earlier conversation, the soft utterance, but Kiba felt that it had to be sad. Watching the interaction for a bit, she pulled her knees to her chest and thought about what the Aburame had said earlier. "I know it's not... simple, and I shouldn't have expected it but I did. It was just... I don't know. You know how I can get when I'm dead set on something. I'm too damn stubborn sometimes. Even I know that."
There was a soft, soft snort from her noise and she shifted her head to watch the Kitten nuzzling Hoshino's hand. She wanted her own companion and was a little sulky that she had had to leave her outside.
There was no need to comment on Kiba's first thought. There was only a brief, shaded look, something like a normal person's glare, shot from one girl down the futon to the other. An 'it's a little monster which will probably slay more insects before it dies and if you're at all amused by this you'll probably have to die' sort of look. Kiba would probably understand.
Very carefully running her thumb down the back of the kitten's head, listening to the shift in the purring (much like kikai, really; interesting), Hoshino turned her eyes once again to studying her teammate's face.
"...which is a big step, Kiba."
The first step to solving a problem was always admitting that you had one. That Kiba had wrapped her head so quickly around this--from being in despair over the matter to calmly being able to point out the problems inherent in the situation--was... well, impressive. It eased something clenched tight in Hoshino's chest, helping her shoulders relax ever so slightly. Kiba was going to be fine. And, more importantly, Kiba was going to use the Aburame as a sounding board. That in and of itself was a comfort.
Though Kiba noticed the glare being sent her way, she also noticed how Hoshino continued to pet the little ball of fluff and didn't pull away immediately. It only proved Kiba right, if you asked her what she thought, but no one did and she didn't feel like going onto that tangent with her teammate and she stayed quiet. For a while she simply watched Hoshino pet the kitten and mulled over the words said to her, both before and now. She could recognize that it was a very big step indeed that she could recognize her being stubborn, in this scenario, was a hindrance- but it didn't stop her from being stubborn and dead set. It was like a dog who had sunk her teeth into a toy and just didn't want to let go anymore; she had held onto the hate for so long, that she was reluctant to let it go. There were too many unknowns and too many things could go wrong.
Including betrayal.
It was an uneasy thought and she raked a hand back through her hair, glancing at the kitten again and eyeing it, silently willing it to go away. It was her time with Hoshino right now and she wanted pettings (even if she'd never admit it out loud). Eventually she sighed and sort of fell back against the futon, staring up at Hoshino's neat ceiling.
"It was so much easier to just hate her," she murmured tiredly. "It's... kinda like what Chiriku-san said, with fires. They run hot, I run hot, and then suddenly it's half doused and I can't figure out if I'm supposed to rekindle it and keep going or douse it for good and clean up the mess. You'd think something like this would be easy to figure out with how deep everythings run over the years and it's... not."
There was another sigh and she turned her head to view Hoshino. ".... I see now why you want answers sometimes."
There was a moment where Hoshino couldn't help smirking at her dear friend. Well, smirking as an Aburame smirks, at any rate: the left corner of her lips lifted very slightly but very sarcastically, head tilting noticeably to the right as both eyebrows shot up just a fraction of an inch. After all, it felt good hearing Kiba admit she was wrong and her teammate was right, even if it was indirect and more an admission of understanding than anything else.
Then she relaxed completely, getting into her instinctive 'taking care of Kiba' mode. Without noticing herself move, she scooped up the kitten one-handed, depositing the squirming bundle of fur lightly onto her shoulder. It didn't matter that tiny claws dug themselves in rather deeply, clinging for dear life. Her obstacle out of her way, the girl inched forward a little and promptly began fussing.
Her hand went first to Kiba's hair, touch light and delicate as she brushed at stray hairs, pulling them away from the other girl's face and setting them into order. It then dropped to her friend's shoulder, resting hesitantly for a moment before giving an affectionate squeeze. "...if it's any consolation, I see why you get so annoyed when I do."
Briefly, Kiba debated sticking her tongue out at her teammate as she seemed to smirk at her, or smirked as much as she could. But that took far too much effort, and it took admitting that she knew why Hoshino was smirking, so she simply didn't bother. Instead she just lay there, going back to staring at the ceiling until she felt and heard Hoshino move and she turned her head again. There was a brief arching of her eyebrow and her own smirk at seeing the kitten sitting on her shoulder before she was distracted by Hoshino fussing with her hair as she often did.
While to most an annoyance (and when they were younger it drove her mad) it was something very soothing at this point in time. It meant of course that Hoshino was worried and thusly a little more neurotic then normal, which made Kiba feel guilty slightly, but for now she just accepted it as it was. Slitted eyes closed and then opened again at the squeeze to her shoulder, blinking slowly at her teammate beside her.
There was a pause and then a faint grin. "... s'pretty good consolation."
Clearly, Kiba seemed to think that the way the kitten had now settled on her shoulder, purring absently as it took up the apparently accustomed post, was noteworthy. It really wasn't. Hoshino simply found that it was more convenient (despite the initial clawings which always ensued--her scars were fairly thick there anyway, so what did it matter?) to keep the pest there from time to time. It freed up her hands. Certainly it wasn't anything affectionate. Neurotically fixing Kiba's hair? Affectionate. Letting a kitten cuddle up to her neck with a rumbling purr? Utilitarian.
One corner of her lips flicked up slightly in response to the faint grin, hand remaining on the other girl's shoulder for the moment. Kiba looked... better. Not 'better' as in 'feeling well and happy and her usual self,' but certainly at least 'better' as in 'less like shit than when she'd walked through the doors.' That thought clouded Hoshino's brow briefly. Surely Hinaji had done a good job taking care of Kiba. Had her mother...?
The tiniest shake of her head, and she was examining Kiba's face again, the thought dismissed as she continued to look for signs of change.
Hoshino had given her the faintest of smiles back, or what passed for a faint smile from that girl and Kiba relaxed, a little bit. While it was easy for the other to see Kiba was still a bit confused and upset about this whole mess, at least she wasn't a ball of confused nerves. Kicking off her sandals, she pulled her legs onto Hoshino's bed and curled up a bit, twisting to face the other better. It was still amusing to see the kitten perched contently on the Aburame's shoulder, kneading the others shoulder lightly.
After a moment, fingers carefully tangling in her teammates sleeve.
"... I'm glad you're home."
The Aburame's smile brightened briefly before her face fell comfortably into its habitual neutral state. With a faint snort, she replied in her monotone, "...impossible to live without me, nn? I had no idea you felt that way, Kiba. What'll we tell Hinaji?"
Deadpan was, after all, a beautiful thing, but hardly ever appreciated if there wasn't the slightest flair of humour to go with it. Very delicately Hoshino pried the other girl's fingers from her sleeves with an almost amused quirk of an eyebrow. The action was followed, of course, almost instantly by her fingers lacing themselves over her friends. After all, the important things were said without speaking out loud. 'I missed you too' and 'I hate when you're sad' didn't need anything more than this sedated interaction.