It's Kiba, bitch

This is an interactive role-play blog dedicated to Masashi Kishimoto's character Kiba Inuzuka. The credit of face-claim belongs to Ok Taecyeon

[inuzukaakibaa]

Rouge SSV Normandy

Kiba was honestly surprised with how much he enjoyed spending time with Haru. They weren’t doing anything exciting--ordering food in bulk for her and Garrus and picking up a new scarf for her suit. He was oddly satisfied that it matched his armor. Still, he felt like she had been on his team for years instead of days and she was better company than that idiot Kaidan, who he’d yet to take on a mission after Eden Prime, and Ashley who looked at him with just a touch too-much hero worship. It made his skin crawl. He didn’t like thinking about the mission that made him famous, and she was constantly asking questions. Kiba never figured out why he had gotten a medal for surviving when all of his teammates had died. Living wasn’t a talent.

The entirety of his crew was present at his induction ceremony, however, and though he was completely at attention outwardly his insides were squirming at the media attention.

Kiba liked attention. He liked being the life of the party, he liked admiring looks from women, usually, he added in irritation thinking of Ashley, and he had been known to enjoy a bar brawl or two.

This sort of attention, however, this heavy weight of expectation--it just made him feel inadequate. It reminded him of the failures he kept getting awarded for. Kiba wasn’t required to speak--in fact the Council really would prefer if he didn’t--but he felt the need to publicly thank Garrus, Wrex, and Haru for their help. He avoided giving away the specifics of what they did--considering not all of it was legal, but he said their names and purposely did not name his human crew who had been bitching and not at all helping since they landed on the Citadel.

Udina forced him to stand and pose for pictures and he was unable to look away from the sea of faces that condemned him and praised him and he wasn’t sure that he deserved either.

“I think they’re paying you far too much attention,” Haru teases and Kiba smiles for the first time all day.

“I wholeheartedly agree with you--but think about all the shiny new guns we’re going to get!”

“Commander! You deserve this honor and you, along with your crew, should be taking this seriously. The first human spectre! Do you have any idea what this means for us? For you?”

Kiba shot Haru a long-suffering look. “Yes, Williams, I am fully aware. Are you? For me it means constant scrutiny from every race, including our own. It means my mistakes are amplified and my successes diminished. It means minimal help from the Alliance or the Council. For humanity it means the possibility of war because we’re bullying our way into a community that was around a lot longer than we have been, an increase in alien hostility. So, Williams, are you prepared for that or did you think this would be a glory ride into an easy promotion?”

Ashley seems shocked for a second before she pursed her lips. “Then why did you accept?”

“Because I’m a soldier and I do what I’m told,” Kiba shoots back, giving her a pointed look along with the words. She would learn or she would get off his ship.

----------------

It had been a month since then. All of their missions thus far had been minor--answering distress calls, following leads, collecting materials for the ship. Kiba upgraded everyone’s armor and weapons and made sure everyone saw equal ground time. Even though giving it to Kaidan almost killed him.

There was plenty of shooting and excitement and rewarding outings but Kiba was getting frustrated with the lack of concrete evidence. Until he revisits the information about the scientist. This was big, he could feel it.

He visits Joker to set them on the course and visits Garrus to tell him to be ready for the mission and then strolls into the next room, leaning against the wall next to Haru.

“Hello, princess. You ready to go save a doctor from a rapidly deteriorating planet?”

“Are you serious?”

“Well I don’t actually think the planet is deteriorating but yes. You might want to keep the fact that I asked you on the down low until it’s actually time. Ashley might just try to poke a hole in your suit if she finds out. Her and Kaidan are probably plotting now...”

Kiba grins at her and nudges her gently with his shoulder. “I kinda hope they do...I’d love a reason to throw them out of the airlock.”

[naraharu]

Rogue SSV Normandy

To say that Haru was surprised when Commander Inuzuka demonstrated an unexpected amount of discretion when discussing her debts around the krogan and the turian would have been an understatement. She was almost baffled at the courtesy, and had to work hard to keep her feet moving as they left Chora’s Den. If it weren’t for her strong desire to save face and perpetuate a certain image about herself, she would have been stuck in place due to shock.

Inuzuka must have been really desperate for an answer to his Saren problem. Haru knew her recording was damning, but she never expected that it would be this well-received. She honestly did not have the full context to the situation with Saren (a sociopathic turian), the geth (metal bastards), Eden Prime (sad human colony) and Commander Inuzuka (???), and was unsure exactly what she was getting herself into.

She wasn’t sure if she cared, to be honest. She just wanted a place to sleep and a steady supply of food and antibiotics. If that meant going on some wild goose chase across the galaxy… well. Maybe she’d find something worthwhile to bring back home. To make her dad proud of her.

“Appreciate it, Commander,” she said, nodding at him once before they left for their separate ways. She wandered around the presidium for a while before heading to a turian shelter to get some sleep in peace, setting several alarms on her omni-tool to wake her up early in the morning cycle.

She wanted to be prepared.

A part of Haru thought that this whole thing was possibly too good to be true.

She had gone for so long with so little going right for her that she was beginning to think that her happiness was an unattainable impossibility. An unreality. That her freedom was a myth. That she was doomed to be a perpetuation of unsavory quarian stereotypes.

That said, she was unsure how to feel about Inuzuka.

He seemed okay, thus far, but… she knew from past experiences that just because someone - especially a human - seemed okay didn’t mean that they were.

In fact, she wasn’t confident that he would even pay off her debts. He could be planning to rob her of the Saren recording and discard her privately, where his henchmen couldn’t see. Of course, if he did try to steal the recording, her omni-tool was firewalled and he would have to take it physically, and even then it was designed to respond to her biometric readings, so he wouldn’t be able to crack it.

That knowledge was a relief, at least. Kind of.

But he did it. The Commander fucking did it. He actually paid off her debts. He held the broker accountable. He threatened him. He intimidated him.

For her.

When they left the seedy underbelly of the Citadel’s wards, Haru felt almost dazed. “I don’t have anywhere else to go,” she said. She wasn’t really thinking about it before she opened her mouth - the words just came. She flushed under her visor and resisted the urge she had to smack her forehead - or the mask on top of her forehead, rather.

How pathetic did she sound?

“Uh… didn’t really mean to say that. But it’s the truth I guess. Is there gonna be food I can eat aboard your ship? Because I don’t got any,” she said. Might as well be upfront about everything.

“I don’t think so, but we can find a wholesaler and get a shipment in before we leave,” he said. “Anything else?”

“A new scarf would be cool.”

A few hours later, Haru had had lunch with her new Commander. They had browsed some shops in the wards. She had a new red and black scarf that honored his armor.

And then they were standing in front of the Council. Haru found herself fidgeting, adjusting her knew scarf despite knowing it was perfectly held in place by her suit.

She had never felt so… visible.

It was kind of chilling, to see Inuzuka inducted as the first human spectre. She knew this was a big deal for his people. She knew this was a huge responsibility he was taking on. She knew this was going to be a lot of work.

As they left the Presidium, there were a few reporters outside, asking the Commander for comment. Some of them were judgmental, others fawning. Haru supposed the Commander was good looking, for a human.

“I think they’re paying you far too much attention,” she joked as they left, headed for the Normandy. 

[inuzukaakibaa]

Rogue SSV Normandy

It was worth it. The video was worth every single credit he was going to spend to free Haru from her debts. Kiba could absolutely not believe his luck. He could kiss the woman in front of him. Her mask would get in the way and he was certain she would shoot him, at least, but the sentiment was there. 

“You are officially my favorite Quarian--no--my favorite sentient being in the universe. I could kiss you, I could marry--”

“Hate to break up this scandalizing proposal and everything, but we have a job to do, Commander,” Garrus cut in smoothly and Kiba let out a dramatic sigh. 

“I am so grateful I have you on my crew now Haru, do you see how they treat me? They never let me have any fun, they don’t enjoy my entrancing good looks or my hilarious jokes or my charming personality--”

“I’ll shoot you, I swear I will.” 

“Who said I enjoy any of those things?” 

Kiba glared at Wrex  and Haru both but nodded his assent to actually get the mission at hand started. They didn’t get very far. Chora’s Den was utterly crowded, and though Kiba was sure not everyone in here was an upstanding citizens, he wasn’t about to fire off into a crowd of people. 

“We could come back during business hours,” he offers but he is reluctant. This is a prime opportunity to get this nasty business out of the way and move onto more important matters. Like finding Saren. Like figuring out what that thing was on Eden Prime. 

Thankfully, Haru had a perfectly well-executed plan. She had been right in telling him she was valuable. Garrus was good at planning and tactics but he had no sense of spontaneity and Wrex was more of a battering ram than a soldier. Haru though...she was crafty. Intelligent. Downright scrappy. She balanced them out nicely. 

 “Handsome, eh? I knew you appreciated my charms!” 

Kiba immediately dove into action, his team a cohesive unit behind him. He spared no thoughts or bullets for Fist’s henchmen but interrogated Fist fully before pulling the trigger on him as well. As a soldier, he was perfectly used to killing. He wasn’t even a stranger to assassination, but he really didn’t have the stomach for it. 

He would be drinking about this later. 

“One obstacle down, and we got some useful information out of it. Haru, I’ll meet you bright and early tomorrow morning at the docking station and we can,” he paused and glanced to his squad mates. Kiba really didn’t want them knowing that she was essentially a labor slave to debt. He wasn’t sure why but he had a nagging feeling that they would maybe respect her less and he couldn’t have that. Besides, it was her information to tell. He clears his throat, “we can take care of the other thing I owe you.” 

--------------------

True to his word, Kiba was right on time the next morning--alone. “The boys are on standby if we encounter any...trouble, but I don’t think their presence will be necessary.” 

It didn’t go over exactly as he had hoped--the party in question was happy to be paid but Haru was incredibly valuable and they kept trying to wriggle their way out of their contract. Kiba wasn’t having it. 

“If you don’t honor the deal you signed I will have every lawyer at my considerable disposable breathing down your neck within the hour, if I’m feeling generous. If not, I’ll just shoot you and the contract will be void anyway. Or you can just cooperate. Up to you, really.”

It went better after that. 

“You’re a free woman, Haru. How does it feel? The Normandy is your home now, if you still want to join us. I hope you haven’t changed your mind.” 

[naraharu]

Rogue SSV Normandy

Haru’Ka nar Nara wasn’t very good at being at being a quarian - which was a problem, because it was all she was ever going to be.

She became all too aware of this unfortunate fact five, long years ago - shortly after her eighteenth name day. All it took for her to find out that she was a misfit was one day of freedom on Illium after she officially began her pilgrimage.

The aliens, the technology, the differences in culture… it was all overwhelming for Haru. Stimulating in ways the Fleet could never be. Enticing in ways she never imagined. Addicting in ways she never expected.

Illium was alluring to Haru. Everything was shining chrome, sleek design and elegant. Everywhere, the promise of prestige permeated businesses, offices, and freelancers. There was power to be gained in Illium. And Haru wanted some. She wanted to be seen as more than a vagrant, better than a beggar, and far from a thief. She wasn’t just some suit rat without a home.

She was a genius programmer. A wonder with alien tech. A skilled-salvager with sharp eyes. A great shot with her pistol.

But she was also proud. She was unwilling to demean herself while she worked to gain respect. She refused to be called names by those who would employ her. She didn’t want to be kicked down while she tried to climb Illium’s gilded ladders.

Years passed. After digging herself in a hole with her mounting gambling debts, Haru fled Illium for the Citadel. She got in trouble there, and fled for Omega. She got in even deeper trouble there, and returned, reluctantly, months ago, to the Citadel, to face the music, to try to repay her debts, and to accumulate more in the process.

Over the course of the past month, Haru had been hearing some very interesting rumors surrounding a particular human Commander. While her experience with Alliance marines and humans working for C-Sec had left her with less than a positive opinion on the aliens, she knew she had to at least try to swallow her own pride for her own sake. It was getting exhausting, being homeless, penniless and friendless.

So she did some snooping. Some very illegal, very dangerous snooping.

And, boy, did she hit the jackpot big.

It took her almost a week straight of asking around, lurking from bar to bar in the Citadel wards to find the Commander. At long last, on a Saturday, she trailed him to the Dark Star Lounge (which she was grateful for, as approaching him in Chora’s Den would have been more than unwise). He sat at the bar and starting drinking; Haru kept watching.

She slurped down three cocktails through a flimsy emergency inductor port before her heartrate was slow enough to allow her to speak calmly. She felt bad for the salarian C-Sec agent she kept trying her bravery on, but knew it was better than approaching the human unrehearsed.

When she finally swaggered up to the Commander, she was surprised at how well it went.

He didn’t scoff at her. He didn’t roll his eyes (which Haru had quickly learned was a sign of disrespect humans were fond of). He didn’t brush her away.

Before she knew it, he was offering to shake her hand (another strange habit humans had that put aliens in tough places). She extended her own, unsure where to put her three fingers and slightly apprehensive of all five of his. It took her all to not narrow her eyes in concentration as she figured it out.

He told her to suit up and Haru couldn’t help but to convey her exasperation with him, blinking exaggeratedly to get her point across. It worked, much to her satisfaction.

A few moments later, he was gone to gather his team. All of Haru’s possessions, she already had on her. There were no loose ends she needed tieing up. The only people she needed to speak to before she left the Citadel she would need the Commander to be with her for. She had time to kill.

Haru took his place at the bar. “Caius,” she said, getting the bartender’s attention as she waved him over. “I’ll have a refill. The good Commander will pay for it.” A little less than an hour later, Haru was happily tipsy. She had downed two more drinks, said a long good-bye to Caius, declaring him a “very good, excellent, yummy-drink-making turian lover”, despite their past experiences being rather limited to the extent of her Nerve Stim Pro, and vowed to never ask the bartender to co-sign on a loan for her again.

Caius looked rather relieved when Commander Inuzuka returned with back up.

“Is anyone in the VIP room?” Haru asked. The bartender almost looked afraid to answer her.

“No…”

“Can we have it for a few minutes?”

“Sure”

“Thanks, Caius,” Haru replied, hopping down from the bar stool she was on, adjusting her silver hood. “Come on, Commander. You’ll want to hear this yourself,” she said, turning to look at the human before leading him to the back room of the bar.

Once settled in, scanning the room for bugs, and overriding the door’s security to keep it locked down, Haru pulled up a decrypted file on her omni-tool. “You can get a copy of this once Fist is out of the picture,” she clarified, looking at the Commander seriously.

Part of her was terrified to be locked in a room with a heavily-armed human, a hulking krogan, and a turian C-Sec officer, but she knew that the press was already up their asses, and a missing quarian wasn’t something they could hide completely - not with Caius as a witness.

“Shoot, Princess.”

Haru took in a deep breath before she pressed ‘play’. She prayed to whoever was or wasn’t listening out there that she was making the right gamble this time. She watched Inuzuka’s face intently while she played the recording of Saren discussing Eden Prime.

“That should convince the Council, Commander,” the C-Sec officer said. Haru was grateful for the second opinion.

“Welcome to the team, Princess. Can I buy you a drink? Celebrate this little victory, maybe?”

“Thanks, Commander, but you’ve already bought me two. We should take care of Fist before he catches on to what I’m up to,” Haru said. “Come on, he’s staked out in Chora’s Den,” she said, gesturing for him to follow as she lifted the lockdown on the door.

She couldn’t wipe the smile off of her face if she wanted to.

She was going to be free. 

Or, so Haru thought, until it turned out that Chora’s Den was packed with patrons. That certainly put a dampen on their plans. “We can come back during non-business hours,” Commander Inuzuka offered.

Haru waved him off, fishing in one of her suit’s storage compartments for a canister. “No need. Besides, there’s always at least a few lowlifes in this dump,” she said. She motioned for the Commander and his team to duck behind cover as she tossed two smoke bombs into the small, dingy bar, and yelled “FIRE!”

Soon enough, the bar was empty, and Fist’s henchmen were out in full force, looking for anyone or anything suspicious. Haru looked at Inuzuka, jerking her head toward the bar. “All yours, handsome.”

[inuzukaakibaa]

Rogue SSV Normandy

This was bullshit. 

Eden prime emptied of life and replaced with fucking robot-zombies. Dumbass Alenko had to go try and caress foreign technology and then it got Kiba instead when he tried to intervene and now he was having hallucinations of mass-murder. Great. Excellent, really. 

Now he was doomed to run around the Citadel, it was going on a month now, until he was able to prove that the Council’s favorite child had snuck out and needed to be grounded. It would probably also help the rapidly spreading rumors that he had lost his mind and needed to be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. And, the cherry on top, he would be instated as the first human spectre.  

Honestly, Kiba didn’t exactly want to be a spectre. The idea of less red-tape certainly appealed to him, as did the shiny new armor and incredibly powerful weapons. They had interesting missions, at least from what he’d heard, and being the first human spectre was an honor. Still, there was no human on the Council and they are who he has to answer to; the thought makes him uncomfortable. 

He is perfectly fine with non-humans but nobody can ever accuse Kiba of being stupid and he knows they are not all okay with him. Frankly, this whole thing seems like a chess game between his superiors in the Alliance and the Council and he was not entirely thrilled at being a pawn. 

Kiba guessed that none of it mattered at the moment--the Council still didn’t believe him about Saren and until he could prove that he was a slimy traitor he wouldn’t be inducted anyway. Kiba was pissed that he had to get in the middle of what he felt were decidedly Turian affairs. He didn’t know why Saren had killed Nihlus in cold blood or what exactly he was up to and because he was technically still Alliance military this was so far out of his jurisdiction this investigation felt almost illegal. 

The Alliance had told him to jump, though, so he had shut his fucking mouth and jumped. 

Now he was being trailed by a Krogan (were they all that big?) and a Turian-gone-rogue from the police department (were they all that stuck-up?) and they were stuck with more leads and more questions and very few answers. That is, until he’s approached in a bar by a young Quarian and really, did they all wear suits like that? 

“Can I help you...?” “Haru. I certainly hope so, I know I can help you.”  Oh great. Did he look desperate enough to be attracting prostitutes now? He was about to turn her down, or maybe ask what she was offering--he never could tell what was going to come out of his mouth after a few drinks--when he noticed the pistol strapped to her hip. This just got a lot more interesting. 

“Alright, Haru, you have my attention. How can you help me?” 

It was extremely hard to read Quarian emotions because of their masks but he was fairly talented at reading body language, and he was sure that she seemed surprised. He knew Quarians weren’t exactly taken seriously, they didn’t have a council seat either. 

“I’ve been watching you, Commander Inuzuka, I know you’re after Saren and I know someone who’s trying to get in your way. He is, coincidentally, also trying to get in my way. I was going to trade the information you want to the Shadow Broker in exchange for safety but if you can offer me the same deal or something better, I see no reason why I can’t give it to you instead.”

It took everything Kiba had not to let his excitement show. If he acted desperate for the information she will be able to get a lot more out of this deal than him. Especially considering he didn’t know what the information was. 

“How good is this information?” “You want to be a spectre? You want to convince the Council that Saren has gone rouge? This will do it.” 

“Are you sure you’re not the Shadow Broker?” She certainly knew an awful lot, but he was just teasing. He was honestly rather impressed with her, she was nothing like the few other Quarians he had met. 

“Not yet, maybe someday,” she teased back and Kiba shot her a grin. 

“Alright, let’s play. What are your demands?”

“You’ll pay off my remaining gambling debts, leaving me free to leave this hell hole, and you kill Fist--this is honestly just doing yourself a favor, giving that he works for Saren. Then, when the Council orders you to go after Saren I want to join you. You clearly aren’t averse to working with non-humans, and I’m valuable.”

Kiba sized her up for a minute before nodding and thrusting out his hand to her. “You’ve got a deal, princess. Suit up, we have a job to do.”

At her slow blink, that he swore she managed to make sarcastic he sighed, “It’s a--figure of speech, I’m aware you’re already in a suit. Just be prepared. I’ll go get the others and meet you back here in an hour.” 

Thank God for women, they always show up at just the right time. 

[naraharu]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

An entire day cycle and night cycle pass before Haru gets to see him.

She’s been up for who-knows-how-long. Her mind feels fatigued and foggy, but her body still feels like it could keep going ad infinitum. The perks of a month-old body, she supposes.

She’s sitting down against a wall in the armory, arms around her legs and her head down when she hears a familiar blip coming from her omni-tool. She unfolds herself enough to answer the comm.

“Commander, Kiba’s beginning to wake up, if you wanted to come–” Sakura begins, but Haru cuts her off.

“I’m already on my way,” she says, standing and walking swiftly to the elevator. She’s sweaty and dirty and hungry and thirsty but still makes a bee-line for the medbay–she can eat and bathe and rest later. She doesn’t know how long Kiba will be conscious, and doesn’t want to miss out on a chance to see how he’s doing.

It takes maybe two minutes for Haru to arrive at the medbay. Sakura looks caught-off guard, but adjusts rather quickly. Next to Kiba and Joker, she’s the only other crew member from the SR-1 that Haru has a steady, good-natured rapport with. Sure, she spent time with Kaida and Mamoru and Hinata and several others, but Sakura had had plenty of chances to get to really know her Commander–Haru was prone to injury, after all.

Laying on one of the recovery beds in the bay is Kiba, who looks worse for wear. Haru sees that he’s lucid, and is relieved. She sees that he’s clearly in pain, and she feels guilty for wanting him to stay awake long enough to speak with her for a while.

He makes a stupid, dumb joke about stress-testing her new heart and she rolls her eyes, but is unable to help the grin that tugs at her lips.  

Even when she is worried to death about him, Kiba can make dark moments seem brighter.

“You’ll have to do more than this if you want to kill me,” she jokes in response, pulling up a chair to his bedside and grabbing onto the hand he offers.

“I’m not sure about the asari… but I’m sure you’ll get in good with female krogan. I bet you’ll be irresistible to them,” she jokes.

“Speaking of your scars, Kiba…” begins Sakura. Haru listens to the doctor describe the intended recovery plan she has in mind for his wounds and wonders how long he’ll be down and out for.

Haru would never bring him out onto the field if he wasn’t one-hundred percent, but she finds herself wondering how long she can postpone her retrieval mission of the salarian.

She wants him out on the field with her. No one else. She can trust Kiba with her life, with the mission, with the lives of other crew members. Should she die again, she knows that Kiba would step up to the plate and continue on with the battle against the Collectors.

But, she doesn’t plan on dying anytime soon.

She can’t imagine putting that kind of pressure on Kiba without being there to support him and back him up.

Sakura finishes her lecture and begins to redress his wounds. Haru does her best not to wince and instead gives a low whistle.

“Looks like we’ll match,” she jokes, grinning, gesturing to her own face with her free hand. She finds herself very reluctant to let him go. She knows her cybernetics must be glowing more than normal; she’s been angsting for a long time without break, after all.

“I’ll still look better, though,” she adds, tossing her damp ponytail over her shoulder cockily.

[inuzukaakibaa]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

In Kiba’s head it was if the last two years were all a fever dream. He had replayed all of the events of the last 24 months while drifting just above consciousness and concluded he must still be on the SR1 having a crazy nightmare because his commander decided to dive head first over a cliff in a Mako and his terror was manifesting in his sleep. 

It was laughable really. Archangel. 

Commander Nara dying and magically coming back just in the nick of time to save his ass. Did he drink before bed? 

As the pain in his face became stronger he became more aware. He had just woken up, and judging by the smell of antiseptic, he was in a hospital or medbay. However, he hadn’t been dreaming about Omega or his timely rescue. 

Haru. 

He tried to speak, to sit up, and all he managed to do was jostle his wounds and groan weakly. 

“Kiba! Kiba don’t move, please. You’re in the medbay on the Normandy. It’s Sakura.

“Sakura? But...”

“You are not the only one who will follow the Commander no matter the circumstances. I have already paged her to let her know you are awake, I suspect she is very eager to see you if her relentless pacing around the ship is any indication.” 

“Still...hurts....to talk....” 

“Yes, I imagine. I’ll give you something to go back to sleep as soon as I finish checking you over.” 

Haru arrived a breath after Sakura finished talking and Kiba winced when he heard the door swish open. He didn’t want her to see him like this but he wanted to see her. To make sure she was actually real and actually here. 

“Commander. No worries I was just testing out your new heart, you know...making...sure that it keeps beating under extreme duress.”

He tried not to show how much pain he was in but he reached out and offered his hand, and he knew he must have looked weary. 

“Sorry for the scare. Doc here says I’m doing just fine, just going to have a hell of a scar. What do you think, Nara? Could I still attract every asari in Afterlife?”

[naraharu]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

They take down Garm with relative ease.

Although Kiba is obviously fatigued, he holds his own while he and Haru tagteam the large krogan as he takes his turns charging at them. It doesn’t take long for them to whittle him down to low health. Haru allows Kiba to take the final shot.

The adrenaline of reuniting with one of the closest friends she’s ever had and the adrenaline of battle rush through her and Haru finds herself whooping triumphantly when Garm falls to the floor, dead weight.

Quickly, she gathers Kiba and the rest of their team and they start to regroup, to plan, to prepare. They’ve barely discussed the best method of getting out of the base safely before trouble shows up in the form of more enemies–and Jaroth’s fucking gunship.

When she sees it, Haru swears. She had hoped that by killing the repairman that the gunship would have proved to be inoperable. “Fuck, what is that thing doing here?” she asks.

At the same time, Kiba turns toward her to crack wise.

Before he can even finish his thought, and just after Haru takes in the arrival of a powerful enemy, Jaroth fires off a rocket. Instinctively, she rolls to the side and behind cover, knowing her team is quick enough to follow suit. But when she looks over to see if Kiba made it to safety–and, of course, she’s sure he has–she gasps and leaves cover immediately, regardless of the rounds chinking away at her armor. 

“KIBA, NO!” she yells out in vain, hardly discernible over the sounds of gunfire and of the hovering gunship. She kneels beside him, frantically telling him he’ll be alright. She knows she’s trying to convince herself as much as she’s trying to convince him.

Her eyes sting. There’s blood all over her gloves, the front of her armor.

“Commander, we’ve got trouble!”

Haru raises a finger to her squadmate and quickly applies medigel where she can, on Kiba’s face, his neck, his carapace. She knows he’ll need a hell of a lot more than that, but she hopes she’s given him enough to sustain him while she tears a hole in the hull of that fucking gunship.

“You. Will. Be. Fine,” she says to Kiba, holding on tightly to the hand he weakly raises. His eyes roll back and she repeats herself, even though he’s past the point of consciousness. She makes it her internal mantra as casts a stasis field over him to keep him protected and as she demolishes Blue Sun after Blue Sun. 

She rips them apart. She reaves the life out of them. She overloads their weapons, shields and drones. She warps their armors and their barriers.

It takes entirely too long to get Kiba to safety.

After the assault from the Suns, she returns to his side, dissipating the stasis field in favor of holding his face together with her own hands. 

“He’s not gonna make it.”

“Shut the fuck up and get Joker here as fast as fucking possible.”

Sakura refuses to allow her into the medbay while Kiba is in surgery. “It’s dangerous. He could get an infection.” Sakura refuses to allow her into the medbay while Kiba sleeps and recovers. “He doesn’t need to be disturbed.” Haru fights her on it, but the pinkette keeps her cool.

“Go get some rest, Commander. You will be the first to know when he’s awake again.”

Haru goes to the armory.

After her mission to save the Citadel was over, Haru’s body had been exhausted. It felt heavy every waking moment. Getting out of bed was a terrible torture. All she had wanted was sleep. Rest.

After two years of it, and after being grown a whole new body, she found it hard to sit down and relax. Perhaps it was a coping mechanism. Perhaps it was that control chip she was sure she had. Perhaps it was years of built-up energy.

She dresses down to athletic civvies and gets to work. She shoots test dummies, she throws boxes around with her biotics, she beats the tar out of a punching bag. Hours pass and she expects almost every other minute to be interrupted by EDI, announcing Kiba’s awakening.

When it doesn’t happen, she just goes harder. There comes a point where tears mix with the sweat rolling down her face and she decides to take a break. She is Commander Fucking Nara and refuses to weep like a child.

[inuzukaakibaa]

DOSSIER:ARCHANGEL

Kiba felt Haru relax against him and he worries about the amount of stress she’s been under. He didn’t miss the anxious look she was giving him as he strode towards her, and all of a sudden he’s wondering where the rest of their crew is--surely if they knew she was alive they would have come running back to her ship, right? It might be a shock to find out she’s not dead but this is their commander--the same person who led them through hell and kept them alive.

He wants to hold her against him and never let go, which, was certainly unexpected but not unwelcome. Kiba had flirted with Nara plenty of times under her command; she was an attractive human, but he hadn’t seriously pursued her. A fact that both haunted him and gave him relief over the last two years.

How much worse would her death been if they had been involved instead of best friends?

Yet, with her back in the flesh and in front of him he felt...home. He belonged with her and he was sure she belonged with him. Something to ponder later.

Nara leaves one of her crewman behind to assist him while he keeps the invading mercs at bay and he’s incredibly thankful. His body aches and his vision is starting to blur. Cockily he thinks that it’s still not affecting his aim.

He keeps up with Nara’s movements through their intercom and his stomach jolts unpleasantly when he hears them take heavy fire or avoid a close call. He would never forgive himself if she got killed (again) trying to save his ass.

As soon as the last shutter is closed they have a whole new wave of targets and Kiba has to take a deep breath. He’s exhausted. They’ll have to make a break for it soon or else he’s not entirely sure he won’t fuck up and get himself killed.

Nara bursts through the door declaring that he looks like he could use some help and that smile. He feels his mandibles flare out in a smile of his own.

“From the one and only Commander Nara? Always.”

Their glee was short-lived. They only had a minute to recuperate and discuss trying to fight their way out before it was chaos all over again, except this time there was a fucking gunship firing at them.

“I really know how to piss people off, huh comm--”

The pain was indescribable and then he didn’t feel much of anything. So this is how he dies. After all of this. At least it was a cool death. He could hear and feel Haru hovering over him and he tried to reach out for her before he could only see blackness.

[naraharu]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

Haru is terrified that Kiba won’t trust her.

She projects all of her insecurities, her self-doubt, her distrust for herself onto Kiba as he takes his time looking her over. He must find this incredibly suspicious. He must find it absolutely unbelievable.

She wracks her brain for some kind of script she can recite to regain his trust in her, but comes up empty.

He approaches her quickly, his stride long, and she prepares herself to be punched, or picked up, or assaulted somehow. For him to grab her pistol and hold it to her head while he gives her the inquisition. For him to shove right past her, knocking her shoulder, ignoring her for the rest of their lives.

But he does none of those things.

And she should have known.

He grabs her hand and Haru marvels at how much bigger he is than her. Of course, he’s always been this way, but there’s something about being surrounded by humans for so long that fogs her memories of standing with aliens.

Kiba leans down, pressing his forehead to hers, and Haru thinks she could cry.

She presses back, closing her eyes briefly, relaxing her body ever so slightly as some of her tension is eased. She had spent months with Kiba and had plenty of time to learn about turian customs, body language, rituals. She knows this is significant, and silently thanks him and whatever deities that might exist for this break.

When he steps away, she can see her Cerberus teammates exchange confused glances. One looks shocked; the other slightly disgusted.

Boy, did they have some adjustments to make.

Before he can really explain himself, Kiba’s interrupted by an alarm. Haru swears, worried about the base being overtaken. She sees the fire in his eyes, but knows his body must be growing very weak, very fast. “I’m leaving one of them with you. Keep us updated,” she says, gesturing for the one that only looked shocked to stay with Kiba. The disgusted one, she would put under fire.

It feels like it takes hours to clear out all of the invading mercs. The Suns, the Blood Pack and Eclipse all deliver on their promise to flood Archangel’s base with distractions. Haru checks in with Kiba after she seals off each shutter, slowly stopping the inflow of enemies.

When she’s done with the last one, Kiba tells her to come back up. Almost immediately following, he tells her to hurry. Garm has entered the base, he says.

Haru restores her tech armor and prepares a warp in one hand as she runs up the stairs and bursts into the bottom floor of the base. Garm is surrounded by allies, all krogan and vorcha. Haru swears more. These aliens are possibly the toughest of all the mercs, all because of sheer endurance and regeneration.

She warps the armors of what enemies she can get to easily. She succeeds in distracting Garm for a short while, dancing around him as much as she safely can and then some. The Cerberus dogs chip away at several of Garm’s lackeys from the upper floor and Haru finishes them off before following the leader of the Blood Pack up to where Kiba’s holed out.

She prepares herself to defend her best friend until the bitter end.

“Looks like you could use some help!” she shouts over the sounds of gunfire and biotics, looking over at Kiba with a wink and a smile.

They were back.

[inuzukaakibaa]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

Surprise, she says. It’s her alright. It smells like her, looks like her, and there are just things you can’t fake about a person. The look of recognition in her eyes. The stress in the lines of her body hidden by her rigid soldier’s posture. He would know if she was fake, if this isn’t real. He has a lot of questions about how that’s possible but he knows it’s her. 

Or maybe he would follow this human into hell even if he was sure she was a hallucination.

He pulls himself up and walks confidently up to her, grabbing her hand in his much larger one and briefly pressing his forehead to hers in a display of affection rare for him, but he can’t help himself. 

“Surprise, indeed. And, uh, yeah. Archangel. The residents of Omega’s doing. It’s--a long story. One I promise to tell you when we’re not being shot at by every pissed off merc on the planet. I’m sure you have a story or two for me too. I--”

Kiba’s visor started beeping and he swore, cocking his gun. “They’re breaching from the lower level. Commander I need you and...your team...to go shut and lock the doors back. Maybe kill a couple hundred people while you’re at it. You are so talented, after all.” 

Maybe he would survive this...him and Nara had gotten out of worse together. He had a renewed sense of energy after talking to her and he was determined to live through this encounter to hear how she had survived being spaced. His best friend here to save his ass once again. Unbelievable. Remarkable. A miracle. 

He’s starting to think maybe she was the angel. 

[naraharu]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

“Archangel?”

Haru addresses the tall turian standing before her as she looks around his quarters. It is obviously well-lived in. Wrappers of dextro ration bars and empty stim containers litter the floor of what she supposes could be called the den. There are couches, a table, even some plants. There are footlockers and a row of bunkbeds. They all appear untouched, immaculate, sterile.

She takes off her helmet as a show of compliance. She isn’t sure if she wants him to recognize her or not. She isn’t sure what is easiest.

How do you explain away your two-year long KIA status without arousing suspicion? How do you explain your resurrection without attracting skepticism, distrust, fear? How do you convince someone that you’re still you–when you can’t even convince yourself of that?

The time it takes for Archangel to reply to her feels like eons. The air is tense. She considers telling him he’s welcome, growing impatient with him. They didn’t have all day.

But before she can decide on whether or not she wants to provoke him, he takes off his helmet. Tawny eyes meet her gaze immediately.

Her mouth falls open and she fails to find words for several long moments.

Could it… be? Of all the hotheaded turians to take up arms against merc bands, what are the chances that her old turian squadmate, her former confidant and best friend would be the one she recruits?

His voice is the same. His deep, red facial markings are the same. His armor even looks familiar. He’s upgraded it, naturally, but it’s the same deep, blood red she remembers him wearing around the first Normandy.

“I… you…” she begins, struggling to find the right words to say. She can see it in his eyes that he almost doesn’t believe it’s her standing before him. A wave of guilt washes over her as she regrets not sending him a message. After her disappointing and tense encounter with Hinata on Freedom’s Progress, she had decided it best to leave her old team alone. She loathes the thought of stringing them along for another suicidal mission.

“You? Archangel?” she manages to ask. The numbing sensation that had washed over her when he first removed his helmet begins to fade away. Her thought process speeds up.

“Surprise!” she says lamely, before he can reply to her. She wishes desperately to recreate the fun banter that defined their relationship on their quest to defeat Saren. She isn’t sure how to treat this situation.

Does he even believe she’s herself?

[inuzukaakibaa]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

Every nerve in his body was screaming for rest. Kiba sank down against the wall for a three count of deep breaths before popping back up and firing off several shots into the mercs rushing in, determined to end his life. The situation was looking bleak; he had been living off stims and ration bars for days and he had managed to piss off every angry sonofabitch on Omega. 

When Kiba looked through his scope he almost laughed out loud. When had he been shot? Was he having a fever dream? Because there’s no way he’s seeing what he thinks he’s seeing. Shiny N7 armor on the familiar form of his old commander taking down his enemies left and right. Oh he was most certainly hallucinating. 

Kiba takes a deep breath and clips the armor of his imaginary commander but, to his surprise, the figure remained and was heading steadily towards him. 

This couldn’t be fucking real. 

He went to her funeral, mourned with the rest of her crew, and drank himself into a stupor damn near every night for a month over her loss. He had fought in honor of her and as he accepted his fate, had dedicated his death to her. 

And yet there she (seemingly) was outside his door just now. 

“Archangel?”

The coast was clear for now so he turned to look at the woman removing her helmet. He thought he was going to kill himself with as long as he held his breath before shakily replying. 

“Yeah,” Kiba pulled his own helmet off and stared his dead commander in the face, “but it’s still Kiba to you, Nara.”

[naraharu]

DOSSIER: ARCHANGEL

I’m not quite sure how I feel about my life right now.

It’s unnatural that I’m even alive at all.

How does one react when they get spaced? When they remember the feeling of suffocation, of running out of oxygen, of plummeting into the atmosphere of a planet? When they know they’re dying, that they are dead? And how does one react when they wake up on an operating table, body intact, full of cybernetics and newly grown tissue? How is one supposed to believe that this new, sore, foreign body is their own?

Ever since I woke up on that Cerberus station, I’ve been at a loss as to how to answer those questions.

This all feels unreal. Hanging out with Joker in the helm helps to ground me. Reading messages from Hackett and Anderson helps, too. But only to a certain extent.

What grounds me the most is my mission.

After defeating Saren and his Reaper dreadnought, Sovereign; after rescuing the Council at the expense of thousands of human Alliance marines; after saving the goddamn galaxy, I thought I would be able to quietly continue a few tours before settling down somewhere. I thought I had paid my dues. I though I’d had enough.

Apparently not.

With a new, mysterious, alien enemy to keep my sights on, I’ve been busy with nonstop research, planning and debriefs with my Ceberus crew. At the behest of The Illusive Man, who is possibly the most insufferable human being I have ever met, I’ve decided to make my way to Omega, the galaxy’s biggest cesspool. There’s work to do there. People to recruit.

Distractions.

When we arrive on the station, EDI, the Normandy’s new AI (I honestly still can’t believe this is all real) informs me that there’s a salarian doctor to recruit as well as a trouble-making vigilante who goes by the name of Archangel.

“Which situation is more dire?” I ask. There is a pause wherein I assume EDI grapples with a subjective question.

“The doctor is safe for now. He has the cure to the plague and strong security, so his life is not actively in danger. Archangel, however, faces a small army of mercs. There are recruiters in the nightclub, Afterlife, who can take you to his location. It would appear that the chances of him surviving the time it would take to recruit Doctor Lee are lower than Lee’s chances of surviving the time it would take to recruit Archangel. However, it is up to your discretion, Commander.”

I nod at my squadmates. It seems our decision has been made.

Afterlife is just about how I would expect it to be. The floors are sticky with all sorts of drinks, the air heavy, the music too loud to my newly-sensitive ears. Ino, Queen Pirate of Omega, is a bitch, but has useful intel. The merc recruiter is a sexist piece of shit.

But we get to where we need to be with relative ease. It appears my facial scars and reputation for being dead are helping me blend in with the crowd, despite my N7 armor. I’m grateful that, for once, I’m not being recognized with every turn I take.

After some recon, some sabotage and some snooping, I’m ready to destroy the bands of mercs from the inside out. I debrief my squad briefly on the plan: advance about halfway to the bridge before opening fire on the mercs. Don’t target Archangel. With a bit of luck, he’ll see what we’re doing and get the hint.

“Let’s go save this guy’s ass,” I say. The Cerberus dogs salute. We arm ourselves. I activate my tech armor and charge up by biotics. Quickly, we join a wave of fodder headed out to distract Archangel. I duck and dodge behind what cover I can, first facing Archangel, and then with my back to him as I start to take out the mercs around me.

It feels good to kill again.

Now, there’s something I never thought I would think. Although I’ve killed without hesitating for years now, it’s never something I’ve taken active pleasure in. But I suppose it makes sense; ever since waking up, I’ve felt a little off kilter. I’m not sure if it’s PTSD after several traumatizing missions and, you know, dying, or because I’m not really me, or because there’s a control chip in my brain, or because once you die you are never whole again.

I have less patience now. I handle civilians more roughly than necessary. If I had to sacrifice a large number of innocents to successfully recruit Archangel, I’d do it without batting an eye. I think constantly about the bigger picture.

I hope Archangel is actually useful to the mission.

His dossier is promising. He’s clearly got the balls to take on the impossible. He’s got skill and endurance. But if he turns out to be some holier-than-thou asshole, I might just let these mercs get him after all.

I decide to reserve judgement until we clear out the bridge. While the mercs scramble to regroup, I make my way through his base. He’s clearly been here a while.

It’s kind of gross. 

[inuzukaakibaa]

It stroked Kiba's ego to hear that Haru had missed him as well. He had doubted that Haru would come along based on some twisted since of guilt or duty but it was nice to know it had more to do with the mission and with him. 

It stroked Kiba's ego more to hear her say that it felt like part of herself was missing. Of course she could be talking about being a part of the Normandy or being part of a crazy suicide mission, but Kiba likes to just assume she meant his being alive and important to her. 

After Ino he wasn't so certain how many people even cared about his death. He wasn't so certain he could even blame them, either. 

Yet Kiba had no desire to change his ways; to become softer or more understanding. Kiba got the job done. Period. It's what he most prized about himself and losing it then after everything would be a waste. '

If anything Kiba felt pressed to be more cutthroat. There was so much more on the line this go around. He wasn't taking any chances or playing any games, not this time. He didn't trust the Cerberus crew and he didn't trust himself anymore, not after being brought back from the dead, so he needed to stay sharp. No more alcohol. 

Kiba resolved to have at least the one drink with Harou; she had earned it and she had a point about them never having had that shore leave. He shoots her another grin and gets up to grab wine and a couple of glasses. 

"You're on, princess.

Kiba grabs a straw and hands it to her after he's poured their glasses. "So...fill me in. Life after Commander Inuzuka's death. Where did everyone go?Cerberus is being tight-lipped and I honestly don't know if it's because they genuinely don't know or if it's because the old crew has refused to rejoin. I don't blame them--well hell, maybe a little, but mostly I get it. I just wish I could hear it for myself."

Kiba pauses then and shakes his head. "On second thought? I don't wanna know. Just tell me about how you've been. Are you sure Yasuhiro isn't your boyfriend? He seemed pretty in love with you to me. I mean--I know, I know--how could anybody stand up to the amazing Inuzuka but I guess he's good enough rebound material."

The banter felt nice. Refreshing to Kiba. It'd been so long since he'd had a fun conversation. Any conversation really that wasn't with TIM. 

It was hard when you didn't trust anybody on your ship. 

Kiba, in turn, told her about his first couple of missions with the Cerberus clones. "So I turned and shot the guy in the foot and told him to fall in line before my aim started getting worse. He doesn't like me now. I think he cried to daddy a little. Exaggerated his limp. So sad."

[naraharu]

but you're with /cerberus/

Commander Inuzuka gestures for her to sit on his couch, his smile as handsome as ever, his petname for her—princess—rolling off his tongue as casual as ever. Haru fights the mutant butterflies that flare up in her stomach as she takes her seat, taking note of her Commander’s new bedroom.

It’s much larger than on the SR-1, and oddly more personal. There’s a large fish tank (empty) and a mass effect field where models of other ships are suspended (Haru notes there’s a model of the SR-1 and of Sovereign, Saren’s Reaper-disguised-as-a-dreadnought. The Sovereign model looks conspicuously beaten up, as if Inuzuka has been playing with the models instead of admiring them from his desk). On his desk, there’s a stand for his medals.

A Cerberus medal remains in its case, the spot next to a N7 medal staying empty.

Haru’s glad.

Inuzuka sits beside her on the couch and mentions the human Cerberus operatives aboard the Normandy, how nice they’ve been and how he clearly doesn’t trust them. Haru fights off a small smile as he speaks, relief flooding through her.

She had suspected that Inuzuka was wiser than to blindly trust the people that put billions of credits into his resurrection, especially given their suspicious past, but to hear him say it out loud gave her a kind of peace of mind she had not anticipated.

She cannot fight off her smile when he threatens to harm anyone that seems to even think about having an inclination to hurt her. “I appreciate your protective spirit, Commander. It’s reassuring.”

It’s more than reassuring, she thinks, resisting the urge she has to shift in her seat. That Commander Inuzuka was so adamant about her safety and strongly inclined to physically injure anyone that made a move to make her even the slightest bit uncomfortable… well. It made Haru strongly inclined to go to her quarters and make use of her Nerve Stim Pro.

And then he gives her a look that is positively smoldering and Haru is suddenly very glad he can see little more than her eyes behind her visor.

Keelah, she thinks, moving slightly to face him better. He’s going to be the death of me, one way or another.

”I missed you, too, Commander. Two years doesn’t seem very long but… when you feel like a part of you is missing, it feels like a… very long time.” Her voice is breathy, like a school girl’s. She cannot believe the effect one look from him has on her.

She cannot quite bring herself to feel embarrassed.

And then Commander Inuzuka is shifting in his seat again and looks at her seriously.

Take care of it. Please.

Haru lets out a breath at her Commander’s request. Of course, she knows she will agree. What kind of a person would she be if she did not?

If their roles were reversed, she knows she would want him to do the same.

"Of course, Commander. I think it will assure you to know, however, that I wouldn’t have agreed to go on this crazy ride with you if I suspected there was something off about you. Everything seems to be normal, aside from the swanky new ship. I will keep an eye on you, though, as well as the Cerberus crew. The two kids in engineering gossip a lot. If they say something suspicious, I’ll report to you," she promises.

She pauses, and then smiles again. “Now, Commander, would you fancy having a drink with me? I’ve waited for two years to buy you a round after Sovereign. We never did get that shore leave.” She noted some dextro-friendly wine in the bar and thinks now is as good a time as ever to get into it.

[inuzukaakibaa]

"If I’m going to risk death, I’d rather it be with you, than anyone else." 

Kiba replays the words over and over in his head. It weighed on him, what he was dragging Haru into. What he was dragging them all into. Kiba has to consistently remind himself that Haru, along with all of his crew, are fully grown adults. Usually. Mostly. 

Not that he needed any reminding that Haru was a grown woman he thought about her enough in that way to need to forget about that aspect of her more than he needs reminding but regardless--he has to re-convince himself that he is not making these decisions for her. 

Kiba feels most responsible for Haru out of all of his crew members, past or present. Maybe it's because when she first came to him she was fresh out of the flotilla, eager to prove herself. 

He feels like he's watched her grow into her own and he couldn't stomach sending her home in a body bag. Or not sending her home at all. Then again, there might not be anything to come home to if they don't do their job. 

This was all a product of his feelings for her growing from mild amused affection to hard core...something. Kiba wasn't sure how to label his feelings for Haru. He has decided that it's not lust. Well, it's definitely lust, but not just. Otherwise he isn't comfortable thinking past. 

Besides, of course, that he wants the abandoned marine as far from Haru's mind as possible. 

Kiba lets her in immediately when she heads up to his room, and shoots her a big grin. 

"Come on in, princess."

Kiba gestures for her to sit down on the couch and he follows her. "I know you're dying to dig into the new Normandy but I wanted to talk to you before you ran into too many of the new crew members. These humans...they've all been uh, nice? So obviously, I don't trust it. If any one of them even looks at you the wrong way--thinks at you the wrong way--I will toss them out of the airlock. I will shoot them in the kneecaps. I will force-feed them bugs." 

Kiba leans back and gazes at her for a minute before smiling at her in a way that had gotten more than a few women in his bed. 

"Plus...maybe I just missed you."

Maybe my ass. I missed her like crazy. I feel like a fuckin' zombie, I guess I am one. Nothing has been the same since I woke up. Sometimes I just wish they had left me dead. 

"And, uh, I need you to keep an eye on me, alright? Don't tell anybody about it but there's no telling what Cerberus has done to me or put in me. If you see me doing things out of character...note them. If I start to act really out of it...take care of it. Please."