Then Kiba smelled a wonderful scent. He turned to see a man who was selling funnel cakes. He broke away from his father’s side to go stare at the delicious cakes. Kiba stared at the cakes for almost five minutes. He turned around to ask his dad for some, but he wasn’t there. Kiba looked all around, but he couldn’t find his father.
“Dad? Daddy!” Kiba began to cry.
Tears poured out from his eyes. People stared down at the young boy, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was his father. He ran through the roads, looking for his father. Then he stopped and collapsed from exhaustion.
“Where were you Kiba? I’ve been looking all over for you,” came a voice. Kiba turned around to see Barbaro’s snout right in front of his face. The young boy tilted his head up to see his father standing above him. He didn’t look angry or upset; he only looked happy to have found his son. “You scared me when you ran off, son.”
“Daddy!” Kiba yelled as he jumped into his father’s arms. His father picked him up and let Kiba sob into his shoulder.
“It’s alright, son. It’s okay to cry. You were upset, that’s understandable. Just remember, son, I’ll always be there for you,” Sinbad said.
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A six-year-old Kiba and his sister, Hana, played around in the backyard. Hana’s dogs frolicked and jumped up on Kiba and Hana. The two siblings laughed all the while. “Ah man, I can’t wait until I get my own dog,” Kiba said.
As if by magic, Tsume and Sinbad walked out into the backyard. Sinbad was holding a cage. “Kiba, we have something for you,” Sinbad said.
“What is it?” Kiba asked happily.
Sinbad set the cage down and opened it. A little white puppy emerged from inside and hopped up to Kiba. “This is Akamaru. He is going to be your new canine partner,” Tsume said sweetly.
Kiba’s face lit up instantly. “Cool!” he exclaimed. He picked up the small puppy and held it out so he could look at him. “Hi Akamaru, I’m Kiba,” he said happily. Then, he felt something weird on his shirt. He looked down to see Akamaru peeing on his shirt. “Oh, gross!” Kiba yelled. Everyone laughed at poor little Kiba’s predicament.
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Sinbad and Kiba walked through the park with Barbaro and Akamaru. The young white puppy was leaping around insanely. Then he ended up bumping into the older black dog. Barbaro looked down at Akamaru, and the pup instantly cringed in fear. Kiba laughed at this. “You’re such a scaredy cat, Akamaru.”
“Ah, now Kiba. You have to be nice to him. He’s only a puppy. And you two need to become great friends in order to work together,” Sinbad told his son.
“How do I do that? And how can I be friends with someone who pees on me?”
Sinbad laughed at this. “You know what, son? Dogs can be annoying sometimes. They pee, they poop, they bark, and they drive you insane. But you love them anyway. You just have to let yourself love them. And you have to do that with Akamaru.”
Kiba looked at his dad. And then he looked at his puppy. “I don’t know how be great friends with Akamaru.”
“Kiba, remember what I’m about to tell you. It doesn’t matter that Akamaru’s a dog. What does matter is that you care about him, and he cares for you. You two need to be willing to do anything for each other. Believe in the strength of love…that’s worth fighting for.”
Kiba looked at Akamaru. He picked him up carefully and put him on top of his head. “Hey, do you like it up there Akamaru?” Kiba asked. The pup barked in response. “Then this’ll be your new spot.” Then he and his father continued to walk along the path.
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Seven-year-old Kiba and Akamaru were playing in the living room when Hana rushed into the house. “Kiba, Kiba, Kiba! C’mon, we’ve got to get to the hospital now. Dad’s hurt!” Hana screamed. Kiba, frightened, immediately stood up and followed his sister out the door, their dogs in hot pursuit.
The siblings and canines ran through the streets, through the crowds of people, up to the hospital. They burst through the doors, where their mother was talking to a doctor. The children ran up to her, looking for any kind of information that could tell them about their father.
“He was completing his mission when the enemy attacked him. It was him and his dog against ten. They fought well, until Barbaro was struck. The dog was a sitting duck, and one of the ninjas was about to attack him. But Sinbad took the blow for him. Reinforcements did come to help Sinbad, and they brought him and Barbaro back to Konoha as fast as they could… but Barbaro could not be saved.”
The family began to tear up. Then Tsume spoke up. “How is Sinbad?”
“He’s in the infirmary. He’s in bad condition, and I’m not sure if he’ll make it.” Tsume gasped at this. “But I’ll let you see him. Come with me,” said the doctor.
He led the family down the hall and into a room. He left the Inuzukas to have their privacy. The family looked across the room to see the man of the family, weak and fragile, lying in a bed. His eyes were closed.
“Daddy!” Hana and Kiba both screamed together as they ran over to their father.
Sinbad woke up then. His breathing was slow, but he still managed to talk. “Hi, kids. How are you?”
“Daddy, are you alright?” Hana sobbed.
“Ah, don’t worry, honey; your old man’s fine,” Sinbad said weakly. “Could you guys let me have a moment with your mother?”
The kids obliged and left the room, leaving Tsume and her husband alone. “Love, I want you to take good care of the kids when I’m gone,” Sinbad whispered.
“Sinbad, don’t talk like that. You’re going to get through this,” Tsume cried. “You have to. You can’t leave me.”
“Don’t worry, love. I’ll always be here,” Sinbad said quietly. Tsume kissed her husband sweetly. “Send in Hana, would you? I’d like to talk to the kids individually.”
Tsume nodded her head and left to go get Hana. The ten-year-old girl entered the room, and her mother and brother stayed out in the hall. “Daddy…”
“Come here, honey,” Sinbad said.
Hana walked slowly over to the bed. “Are you gonna be okay?” she asked.
“Don’t worry about me. But I do want you to know that I love you. And I know you’re going to grow up into a beautiful woman. You’ll be a great veterinarian ninja. I want you to listen to your mother, okay?” Hana nodded at this. “I also want you to watch out for Kiba. Keep him close; I want you two to be friends, alright?”
Hana nodded once again. “I love you daddy,” she said quietly as more tears poured from her eyes.
“I love you too, honey. Now, I want you to tell Kiba to come see me, alright?” Hana nodded again, and then she went to retrieve her little brother.
Kiba entered the hospital room and walked over to his father. “Daddy?”
“It’ll be alright, son,” Sinbad said weakly. “Don’t worry about me, okay?” Sinbad could see that Kiba was holding back his tears. “It’s okay to cry, Kiba.” At first, Kiba stood still. Then, he released his tears and sobbed into his father's bed. Sinbad lifted his hand and patted his son’s head. After a few minutes of crying, Kiba looked at his dad. “Kiba, you’re going to be the new man of the house, okay? That means you have to be strong for your family.”
“Okay,” Kiba said quietly.
“I also want you to remember what I told you about Akamaru. Do you remember?”
“That if he and I care about each other, we’ll be great friends,” Kiba repeated his father's words.
“That’s right. Be close with Akamaru. Now, I’m going to tell you one more thing that I want you to always remember,” Sinbad said.
“Okay,” Kiba said, listening intently.
“I want you to always be yourself. Be true to yourself. Stand up for what you believe is right. Always remember who you are. Do you understand?” Sinbad asked.
“Yes, Daddy,” Kiba said quietly. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Kiba,” Sinbad said. “I’m very proud of you, son.” Then, Sinbad turned his head to the ceiling and closed his eyes. He let out one final breath, and then he stayed still.
“Dad? Daddy!” Kiba screamed. He again began to cry and sob.
Tsume heard from outside the door and burst in, Hana right behind her. “Oh Lord, no!” Tsume ran over to the bed. “Sinbad, honey, are you alright?” No answer. “No, no, no!” Tsume cried. She collapsed to her knees and cried into the mattress where her husband lay dead.
Hana and Kiba stood next to their mother and looked at their father. They then hugged each other for comfort. But no one could truly comfort them. No one could take away the pain of losing their father.
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The sky rained down on Konoha. People dressed in black watched as the coffin was lowered into the ground. Relatives, comrades, friends; everyone who knew Sinbad Inuzuka had come to his funeral.
Tsume and her children stood by the grave. All three placed a flower on the mound of dirt that covered the husband and father. The viewers followed their lead and placed flowers on the grave. One by one, people paid their respects and then left the cemetery. Before leaving, Tsume and her children looked at the tombstone once more. Then, Tsume brought the kids back to their home. Kiba turned to look one last time at his father. Then he followed his mother and sister and left.
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Tsume kicked Kiba to the ground. “Why can’t you get it right?” she screamed.
“I can’t do it,” Kiba sobbed. A few months had passed since Sinbad’s death, and Tsume had been trying to teach Kiba how to train with Akamaru.
“Don’t you say that! You will become a ninja with Akamaru. You just need to focus,” Tsume said angrily.
“But I’m not supposed to train until I’ve at least gone to the Ninja Academy. That’s what Dad-,”
“Don’t you dare speak of your father! He’s not here anymore. You will do as I say. What would he say if he knew you weren’t obeying me?”
Kiba didn’t speak. He only stood up and continued working with Akamaru. He attempted the technique again, but he could barely summon any chakra.
Tsume beat Kiba to the ground again, which caused him to shed even more tears. “Stop crying! You are to be a man of the Inuzuka clan. You are not to ever cry!” Kiba tried to wipe his tears away, but only more replaced them. “Oh, that is it!” Tsume yelled. She began to kick and hit the seven-year-old.
Kiba began to cry even more at the pain. The abuse was causing him to bleed and bruise up. Where are you, Hana? he thought. His sister was always there to help him. He moved his eyes to look, and there she was. She stood off to the side. Her face was hard; she did not even seem to care that Kiba was being beaten. If anything, her expression seemed to say that he deserved it.
Kiba went into shock. His mother was beating him, and his sister did not protect him. Neither one of them cared.
Tsume finished beating Kiba. “Pathetic rat. You’re a disgrace.” She then turned to go back inside the house. Hana immediately followed; she didn’t even spare one look at her brother.
The only one who was there was Akamaru. The white puppy walked over to Kiba. The boy took his puppy and hugged him tightly to his chest. They stayed like that for the whole night.
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Kiba never cried after that day. He made sure of it. He tried to live the way his mother told him; to be tough and aggressive. He was to be strong and not allow himself to show weakness.
One thing he didn’t understand was why he had to be mean to the Leolas. His mother said how the girl had a demon inside her; that made her disgusting and a threat to everyone. Because of this, he was supposed to treat her like dirt. So he did.
Then, when his mother found out that the Leolas began using ninja hounds as well, she became infuriated. She said they had stolen the abilities of the Inuzuka clan. It was more of a reason to tell Kiba that he was to never associate with filth like the Leolas. They were orphans and thieves, and she was a demon.
Tsume had lost the loving and caring woman she once was. She no longer had a kind demeanor. She saw faults in everything, especially her own son. She frequently beat him, telling him that he was not worthy enough to be an Inuzuka. He had to be everything she told him.
Hana and Kiba were no longer friends. Hana had grown up to live in her mother’s shadow. She didn’t care that her brother was frequently beaten. She had become a firm young woman who showed no sensitivity.
Kiba began to follow the pattern of his ‘family’. He didn’t expect Hana to care for him. He listened to what his mother said and made sure that he didn’t do anything wrong. He followed all of her expectations to the best of his ability.
But Kiba was unaware of one thing. He was losing himself. Little by little, he became a stranger to himself. The young boy he used to be was lost. Kiba had grown into a shell of aggression.
But he did heed one of his father’s wishes. He and Akamaru had become great companions. They did everything together. They’re friendship had grown into something unbreakable. Kiba’s friendship with Akamaru was the only thing that remained of the young little boy.
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