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Chapter 34: Koji’s realization.
🕑 Added 2025-06-09 02:00:06 +0000 UTCKoji chewed slowly, as he tore the still bloody meat apart with his sharp teeth, the familiar, metallic taste of blood and iron settling on his tongue. He let the warmth of the fire wash over him.
The flickering light casting long, jagged shadows against the earthen ground, the crackling flames mingling with the low, steady rumble of distant voices, the ever-present backdrop of a war camp.
He glanced sideways at Yuki, his sharp, predatory eyes catching the flicker of firelight against her pale, damp skin, her still-wet hair clinging to the back of her thin, white yukata.
Kuro’s massive head lay comfortably in her lap, his eyes half-closed.
Koji felt his lips twitch into a faint, almost grudging smile, his sharp, canid teeth glinting in the light. Yuki reached down, absently scratching behind Kuro’s ears, her long, slender fingers disappearing into the thick, bristling fur.
Kuro let out a low, rumbling sigh, his eyes slipping fully closed as he leaned into her touch, the steady, primal thrum of his chakra a comforting, familiar presence at Koji’s side.
It was a strange thing, he thought, the way Kuro had taken to Yuki. Inuzuka ninken were a proud, stubborn breed, fiercely loyal to their partners, wary of strangers, and distrustful of outsiders. It took time, effort, and no small amount of patience to earn their respect, to earn their trust.
But Yuki… Yuki had slipped into their little pack as if she’d always been a part of it, her cool, unblinking eyes and sharp, precise movements somehow calming the massive, muscle-bound beast, her soft, measured voice cutting through the chaotic, blood-soaked madness of the battlefield with the ease of a well-honed blade.
He supposed it shouldn’t have been surprising. Yuki had that effect on people – the quiet, unspoken authority of a born leader, the cold, unflinching resolve of a hardened warrior.
He had grown up hearing about the Hyūga Clan, arrogant, stick up their ass, lots of other bad things. He honestly didn’t care much for them or their long and shared history. He was never a very bookish guy.
He preferred to run around, to play with Kuro, or to train. He liked being active and didn’t mind getting covered in mud. And when he saw members of the Hyūga Clan around the village, they were all totally clean, like they lived in another world from him.
And honestly, he was fine with that. He didn’t need some arrogant bore to tell him what to do. Because that was what they liked to do, bossing around others.
Koji was proud of himself, one of the youngest Chuunin in the clan this generation, and Kuro was also the biggest, strongest, and smartest of his littermates. They were a perfect match.
He had thought himself cursed at first, when right after being given the title of Chuunin, something that took forever. Honestly, by the time the papers pushers got around to acknowledging him, he was already elite Chuunin, close to Tokubetsu Jōnin.
Nonetheless, as soon as he was promoted, he was given a mission, big and important, and he had been excited until he realized who he would be on the mission with.
The Hyūga Clan.
And not just one of them, no, no, a whole team of them, five people from that clan at one time, and the leader was even one as well.
He’d nearly refused the mission on the spot, his pride bristling at the thought of being ordered around by some pale-eyed aristocrat with a stick so far up their ass they probably used it as a spine. But his clan had insisted, his mother giving him that sharp, disappointed look that still made his hackles rise, her thin, sharp voice echoing in his mind like the snap of a whip.
“You will do this, Koji. You will prove that the Inuzuka are more than just muscle and fangs. You will show them our strength, our cunning, our loyalty. You will make them respect you.”
So, he had gone, his teeth bared, his fists clenched, his chakra simmering just beneath his skin, his sharp, predatory gaze narrowed into a permanent glare as he stomped into the mission briefing, Kuro at his side, the massive ninken’s lips curled into a matching snarl, his sharp, white teeth on full display.
And then he met Yuki.
He still remembered that first meeting, the small, slender girl with wide, unblinking eyes and a cool, unflinching gaze, her long snow-white hair falling down her back and reaching her waist. He had never seen a Kunoichi with hair like that.
It seemed dangerous and horribly impractical. He had figured she was one of those spoiled main house Hyūga Clan, he had heard horror stories about.
Yet, no sooner had he thought that, before he spotted the seal on her forehead.
Even among a group of Hyūga, she stood out in so many ways. Everything about her was special.
She was from the branch family, whom he had heard were like slaves, but she was so proud of herself and so confident. And even though someone from the main family was on the team, Yuki was in charge, and she was respected.
She wasn’t any older than he was, and he didn’t really want to acknowledge her as the leader, he had been a real dick, he had. But in his defence, she had come off as cold, as if she didn’t even bother to remember their names, like just passing faces, unworthy to be near her.
Still, the mission had to be done, and he and Kuro had done their part, and over time, he slowly had to admit that she was the leader for a reason.
She was strong.
Very strong.
The first time he saw her fight, her couldn’t look away. He always liked taijutsu, how wild it was, how it got his blood pumping, the actions, the feeling, it was amazing.
Yet Yuki didn’t fight like that at all; she wasn’t wild, she wasn’t fire, she was like snow, gently falling, like a flower floating in the wind.
She moved with such grace, each step a carefully measured whisper against the blood-soaked ground, her slender frame cutting through the chaos of the battlefield like a blade of pure, unyielding ice.
Her hands, so small and delicate, struck out with the sharp, precise movements of a predator. Her chakra flared with each blow, and her every motion was a perfectly calculated act of destruction.
He had watched her tear through an enemy formation without a single wasted movement, enemies falling at the slightest touch; it was as beautiful as it was terrifying.
He had thought he was talented, but compared to her, he was far behind. She might act distant, but she had the right to. Because she stood far above them, yet still managed to be kind.
He respected that, he really did.
But that was all; it wasn’t until that time, the last fight they had on their mission, that his feelings started to change.
That fight had been horrible; it was over fast, but he knew that any mistakes and he would have died. If not for Yuki, he would be dead, he and Kuro both.
They had the numbers and strength; the Iwa team had every advantage they could have.
With three Jōnin facing off against Yuki and the rest of the Hyūga team, it should have been the end. It should have been a fight they couldn’t win. Yet Yuki had remained calm; she had taking control, she had given orders, she had done everything she could to protect them.
He didn’t blame her; he was fully prepared to die, yet when the main family guy got hurt, Yuki had risked her life to protect him, she had been hurt, badly for him.
She then used some secret move and finished the fight in an instant.
And what a sight it had been.
He could still see it, clear as day, that moment burned into his memory with the sharp, searing clarity of a lightning strike.
One moment, she was standing in front of that guy, blood running down her sides, her clothes darkening from it. The Iwa Jōnin was clearly intent on either capturing, killing, or stealing the guy’s Byakugan.
Then, Yuki moved, she multiplied into four, and then in a display of taijutsu that looked more like a fancy ninjutsu, she struck, countless fits thrown all at once, giving the three enemies no chance to defend themselves, before they were struck.
And like that, the fight was pretty much over. They cleared up the Genin and then went back home.
The way Yuki stepped in and risked herself to protect her pack was what really drew him in. Her risking punishment to call the mission then and there just to protect them was… special. It was everything the Inuzuka clan valued.
Loyalty to the pack above all.
Sacrifice for the pack.
She was strong, beautiful, and loyal, and from that moment on, he really started to admire her.
However, their mission was over, and she never really left her clan compound, so he figured he wouldn’t have many chances to meet her again. He was sad, but he knew that it was just the way it was.
Then, he was given his next mission. He knew it was coming; he was already happy that he had gotten that vacation. It was an opportunity to train, and he felt he had gained a lot from those fights while out on that mission.
And he was eager to go out and test himself again.
Then the unexpected happened, he was sent on a mission with Yuki again. This time, a smaller team, but also a much stronger one, though in return, the mission was far more dangerous.
Going behind enemy lines, or close enough, and killing them.
Good old hunting and assassination.
He had been excited to see her again, and she was indeed just as beautiful as he remembered. And far more friendly this time, he had noticed that she seemed to open up on the way back home last time, but now he could really see and feel the difference.
She had even been willing to go along with his stupid ambush against the others. He really did enjoy that little fight.
Then, they set out on a mission, months out there, just the five of them. he knew it would suck, so far from home, in constant danger, but he couldn’t help but look forward to it.
Yet he hadn’t expected how difficult it would be.
It wasn’t the traveling itself that was hard; it was… well, Yuki.
Something he hadn’t thought about, Yuki was the only woman on their team, so when nature called, well, he and the other guys could easily deal with it, but Yuki? She didn’t have it as easy.
In the end, Yuki asked Kuro to guard her when she went, and well, much to his shame, he couldn’t help but almost feel jealous of him.
Yet, it did mean that she trusted Kuro, trusted him. And that… felt nice.
And then, there was tonight.
They entered the war camp and separated to take care of things before setting back out tomorrow. He went to get some food, and after a while, he picked up some and went to find Yuki.
He had found her near the largest bonfire in the camp, sitting on a rough, makeshift log bench. Her long, snow-white hair was still damp from the bath, clinging to the back of her yukata.
Whoever gave her that… he would only give them a thumbs-up. It was thin, so very thin, and his eyes, they couldn’t help but spot one all-important fact. He could clearly tell she wasn’t wearing anything under it.
As he sat there beside her, watching as Kuro laid his face in her lap, knowing that just that thin wet piece of cloth separated him from her naked thighs… he realized something he had tried to deny.
He kept telling himself that he just admired her, that he respected her. But the sudden tightness he felt in his pants… he couldn’t deny what his body told him.
(End of chapter)
Koji, yeah, he is going to be a love interest, I love Kiba, he is such a cocky little brat, absolutely insufferable, and I just love him, and Koji, he will take on some of those traits, as we continue down this route.
