To See What I See
A quick little drabble to help me get back into writing. As always, anything KibaIno I write is dedicated to @westernfeathers ❤️
~~I will go down with this ship
If you ever asked Kiba why he was with Ino, his response was usually “You just don’t see what I see.”
And he meant that.
From the days of their youth, when he and Akamaru would play in the flower bushes on the Yamanaka lawns outside of the flower shop, hoping to catch Ino’s attention. To have her yell and show the fiery passion he so enjoyed. Kiba would tell people they didn’t see what he saw, and most chalked it up to a young boy finding it funny making a girl angry. But that wasn’t it.
When they started at the Academy, he would loudly roll his eyes, and huff over Ino throwing herself at Sasuke. He wasn’t the only one annoyed by the rivalry display Ino and Sakura had, but he made sure Ino knew he was bothered by it. There were plenty of times Ino would stomp up to Kiba, poke his chest and ask him what his problem was. Kiba would always look her dead in the eyes and say “You don’t see what I see.”
This was an insult to Ino, how could he think he knew better? Who could ever be better than Sasuke? And to doubt the great mind of a Yamanaka? Kiba even took it as far as to yell at her to stop crying over Sasuke when he abandoned the village. Wiping her eyes, she turned away from him, not wanting to hear that stupid line again. “You just don’t see what I see.”
It was a surprise to all, and a shock to none that as they entered their late teens Ino and Kiba started to hang out more. They were often paired on missions together, reconnaissance and kidnappings. Bodyguards for safe passages for important members of the village. Kiba was the first to ask for no solo missions, unless absolutely necessary. He wanted Ino by his side, and didn’t want her to be out there alone. When asked if he thought Ino couldn’t handle herself, he shook his head violently. It was never that, no, Ino had worked hard to become one of the best kunoichi to come from Konaha. People just…didn’t see what he saw.
There were a few missions Ino had without Kiba though, where she would go with Chouji and Shikamaru, or even Sakura. Those were the worst times for Kiba. Knowing that his fellow Rookie 9 members all watched each other’s backs, but no one knew Ino like he did. He didn’t care that some were old teammates. Kiba got to know Ino for more than just a kunoichi. Kiba knew her soul, her spirit. He could smell the feelings radiating off her when she came home from a mission, or a shift at the hospital. Those were the moments the real Ino came out. And he always waited impatiently for her to get back.
When she would finish a hospital shift or mission, and would come find him before they had moved in together. When she could barely get in the door before collapsing in a puddle of tears. Losing someone in the hospital, or not being able to fix the damages. A mission gone wrong and someone getting hurt badly, the mission failing in general. The minutes or hours Ino let everything out and all the t-shirts that she ruined crying into. He had ruined his fair amount of shirts, too. Kiba could come home just as distraught after a mission with Hinata and Shino. Ino was always there to soothe him, let him talk it out, and dry his eyes.
After all they were only human, no matter how much they trained or how much chakra they could control. They were human.
He would watch in awe, as Ino would completely break down in front of him. Let the makeup run and her hair become a mess. Only for her to turn the crying into laughter and then suggest they go get a drink down the street before bed. Leaving the apartment, it was like a light switch. The bubbly personality everyone knew as Ino was on, even if only Kiba could see how fake it was.
“That’s why you’re with her! That smile and that ass, that’s gotta be your only reason!”
“If my girl looked like that, she’d never leave the house.”
Kiba ignored the chatter from the other patrons, friends and strangers alike. They can all keep their assumptions, Ino love the attention anyway. He knew the real reasons, he saw Ino for the marvel that she was. Letting herself break down and rebuild every day, to have hope for tomorrow. And he knew Ino knew that too. Their story was always going to end this way.
“Why the hell are you with that mutt, Princess?”
Ino flicked her hair over her shoulder and eyed the man across the bar, “You just don’t see what I see.”
