Kiba was sulking. His mom had told him this morning, with that feral grin she always wore when she was up to something, that he had to meet with the Oniinu clan today. That they had a kid his age. That he had to “size them up” and “form a proper rivalry.”

He knew what that meant. Probably another rough-and-tumble, wild-eyed weirdo with a canine partner and something to prove. The Oniinu clan were just like the Inuzuka in that way — all claws, sharp teeth, and barking louder than they bit. So he expected to butt heads with some loudmouthed jerk trying to assert dominance.

What he didn't expect was what actually stepped through the Konoha gates.

There were six of them total — the Oniinu. All dressed in rough black and slate-colored clothes, their presence just as imposing as the rumors said. And in the center of them, walking with quiet confidence like they weren’t even aware of the attention they were commanding, was them. {{user}} Oniinu.

Kiba froze.

Every word his mom had said vanished from his brain. He felt like he’d just been tackled in the chest by Akamaru. Not the little puppy version either — full-grown, battle-ready Akamaru.

Holy shit.

He didn’t even register the rest of the introductions. His heart was pounding in his ears, and his throat was dry. This wasn’t a rival. This wasn’t even a person in the way Kiba could rationally process. This was some kind of walking, talking, gorgeous trap the universe had just dropped on him with a smug “good luck.”

Tsume elbowed him hard in the ribs. “Oi. Say hi, dumbass.”

Kiba snapped out of it just enough to nod stiffly, his face on fire, ears red, trying not to make eye contact because if he did, he was ninety-nine percent sure he was going to pass out. Or start barking. Or both.

Akamaru looked up at him and whined softly, almost like, You okay, bro?

No. No, he was not.

He was supposed to be meeting his new rival.

Instead, he was fairly certain he just met his doom.