Tears of Crimson


Pairing(s): KibaNaru, SasuNaru
Rating: (PG-15) (eventually NC-17)
Genre: Romance, Tragedy, Angst/Drama, Action, Yaoi, WAFF
Warning: Vulgar Language, Violence, ect.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This contains strong adult material and is not suitable for people under the age of 16.
Description: Kiba tries to help Naruto forget Sasuke and move on with his life, but when Sasuke returns to Konoha, Naruto is faced with several tough decisions.
Beta: abnegation218


Prologue


"Naruto, you just have to accept the fact that Sasuke left of his own free will and isn't coming back!"

"Shut up Kiba! Just shut up! He's coming back, I know he is! He loves me!"

"Stop being so dense! Sasuke has always made it clear that he is an avenger first, and boyfriend second. I'm saying this for your own good Naruto. He's not coming back, and you need to ace-"

Naruto, tears falling down his face, pulled back his fist and punched Kiba in the jaw with all his might. Kiba fell to the floor of Naruto's apartment, clutching his face as blood seeped from his mouth. Naruto looked shocked for a moment by what he had done.

"… Kiba, I'm so sorry." he said, approaching the boy and grabbing hold of his arm to help him up.

Kiba pushed him away and got to his feet. Naruto looked into Kiba's eyes, now flooding with moisture, and found a world of hurt beyond them.

"I should have known you would take it like this … you're so childish …" he said in barely a whisper.

He turned, walked towards the door and opened it. Naruto stared at his back, not knowing what to say.

Kiba spoke softly, his voice was shaky and unchecked, and his back remained to the blond. "Naruto, I just feel … I-I just feel that you should forget about him, and let … someone new into your life. It's like they can't live up to the one who betrayed you."

With that, he stepped out into the hallway and slammed the door behind him.

"Sasuke's going to come back! You'll see! He loves me!" He shouted at the door. "He loves me …"

Naruto backed into the wall and slowly slid to the floor. He buried his face in his knees and silently wept.

He was wrong, he had to be. Once he found Sasuke, it would be easy to convince him to come back, right? Kiba was correct about him making it clear that he was second priority, and that his number one goal was to kill his brother, but he always thought he was putting on a front, not letting Naruto think how much he cared. Was it really true that he was only a stepping stone for Sasuke, all leading to the day when he would get his revenge?

Even if he was wrong, Kiba didn't deserve to be treated like that. He was probably his best friend since Sasuke left and he was only trying to help. Kiba would often do things with Naruto, and even though he didn't say it, he knew it was to help him forget about Sasuke. Most of the time it even worked, the brunet always showed him a good time; training, fishing, swimming, telling jokes, always trying to keep Naruto in the best mood possible. It made Naruto sad to see so much hurt in his eyes.

'I'll make it up to him … I can go to his house after dinner and make amends.' he thought, remembering his old sensei, Iruka, had agreed to buy him some ramen that night.

Cheered up slightly by the prospect of free ramen, Naruto stood up and wiped his face with the back of his hand. He looked in the small circular mirror on the coffee table, and, satisfied that he no longer looked as though he had been crying, walked to the door and exited his apartment.

-

"Naruto, 'bout time you got here. I was getting a little worried; you never pass up free ramen."

"Oh, sorry … I lost track of the time." he replied, taking the seat next to his ex-teacher in the brightly lit Ichiraku Ramen stand.

The scar-faced teacher raised a skeptical brow. "Are you sure there's nothing bothering you?"

Naruto turned away. 'How does he always know something's troubling me? It's like he's got frikin ESP!'

"It's nothing." replied Naruto, blankly looking at the menu, though he knew it by heart.

Iruka simply rolled his eyes and sighed. "Whatever you say, Naruto."

Four bowls of Miso Pork Ramen and much prying later, Naruto finally told Iruka about his confrontation with Kiba.

"- and then he left." finished Naruto, dropping his chopsticks to the bottom of his empty bowl.

"Well, you definitely owe him an apology." said Iruka, looking at the boy with slight disappointment. "He has been so kind to you."

"I know, I know …" said Naruto, rubbing his face jadedly.

Iruka grinned at him slyly. "And it sounds like there's more to what Kiba is saying …"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

The older man gave him a pitying gaze. "You mean you don't know?"

When Naruto continued to look puzzled, Iruka placed a hand on his shoulder. "He obviously has feelings for you."

Naruto's first reaction was shock, which quickly turned to hilarity.

"You think that Kiba likes me that way!?" he laughed, clutching his sides.

"Well, the way you described it made it pretty clear that he wants to be more than friends." he replied, standing and depositing some money on the counter. "If I were you, I'd ask myself if the feeling's mutual …"

With that, he stepped out and headed up the street, leaving Naruto still laughing up a storm.

Once Naruto's laughter had subsided, he dismissed his teacher's views on the matter, left the shop, and headed up the deserted streets of Kohana. The sun hung low over the horizon as he made his way towards the Inuzuka estates to hand deliver his regret. He only hoped that Kiba wasn't too mad at him; he didn't want a repeat of the Chuninn Exams.

He walked down the familiar pathway to the main house of the Inuzuka compound. The Inuzuka's where an undersized family compared to most of the powerful households in Kohana, and their district was proportionally smaller, but they still owned a large amount of land. As one of the foremost families in Kohana, they were also quite wealthy, but their quaint homes hardly reflected as much.

Naruto strode up the small flight of stairs before Kiba's front door and paused, hovering his finger above the doorbell. He inhaled and exhaled deeply before pushing the button, receiving a ringing in the distance and the frantic, muffled barking of dogs in reply.

A shadow played across the frosted glass on the door before it opened, revealing Kiba's older sister, Hana.

"Oh, hello Naruto!" said Hana with a bright smile.

Naruto returned her smile half-heartedly. "Hi Hana, is Kiba home?"

"No. I thought he was with you. He hasn't been back home since this morning." she replied, looking slightly worried.

"Oh, we uhm … we had a fight and he took off …"

"You guys had a fight? What about?" she asked, her concern growing.

Naruto shook his head. "Oh, it was nothing, really."

Her face was slightly unbelieving. "It doesn't sound like nothing to me. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Really, it was nothing." he said, waving his hands for emphasis. "Well, I'm going to go look for Kiba. If he comes back, tell him I'm looking for him."

He had just turned and strode down the steps when Hana spoke again.

"Naruto …" she said, looking slightly reluctant to talk. "… You know that Kiba … likes you, right?"

Naruto spun around. "Yeah, we're pretty good pals now …"

Hana rolled her eyes. "No, I mean … LIKE, like."

Naruto blanched; this was the second person today that had suggested that Kiba had more than platonic feelings for him. But that couldn't be, Kiba was straight, and they were just friends. On the other hand, Kiba seemed more emotionally hurt than physically when they fought … Maybe … No way! It's Kiba!

"Go find him. I'll stay here and tell him if he comes back." she said, closing the door.

The blond stared at the door for a few minutes before trudging back down the path out of the Inuzuka district, he knew where Kiba would probably be, then he could apologize.

-

There he was, lying on the grassy hill in the shade of a tree lining the shores of a large river. This was where they always went; located deep inside one of the vast forested training grounds of Konoha, it was a perfect place to swim, fish, play games, and generally pass the time.

It was dark out now, and Naruto could only make out the shadow of the Inuzuka through the branches of the tree in which he was hiding. He hadn't yet brought himself to approach Kiba; what if he was still angry, he really wanted to avoid injury.

Naruto sighed and leaped out of the tree, landing noiselessly on the ground; time to get it over with. He quietly walked up behind the brunet and paused.

"Hello Naruto." said Kiba, his voice morose.

"How'd you know I was here?" he asked indignantly, now confident that Kiba wasn't in the mood to attack him.

Kiba sat up, gazing at the calm stream. "I could smell you. You've been here a while."

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Yeah well …"

"Come sit." said Kiba, patting the ground next to him.

He walked over and sat tentatively next to the dog-nin. "I came to apologies; I shouldn't have done that to you."

"It's ok … I understand …"

"No, you're my friend. I shouldn't have treated you like that."

A small silence fell between them as Kiba continued looked over the river and Naruto tried desperately to read his expression. The brunet watched a small group of fireflies that flew slowly over the lily pads in the shallows, seemingly entranced by their sluggish movements.

Naruto grinned slightly.

"Iruka seems to think that you want to be more than friends. Can you believe it?" he said, laughing.

The blond stopped immediately when he noticed Kiba wasn't joining him, and remained silent.

"… Is it so hard to believe?" he asked, finally turning to face the blond.

"… What?" asked Naruto, confusedly.

Kiba was looking at him straight in the face. Naruto stared back into his auburn gaze; the moonlight reflecting off the water and the glow of the precession of fireflies danced in his eyes as Kiba gradually leaned in.

Naruto stiffened in shock as their lips met and Kiba moved his hands to cup the boy's face, closing his eyes. Naruto didn't know what to do and only sat, frozen. After what seemed like an eternity, their kiss ended as Kiba pulled back, opening his eyes again to stare deep into the wide, azure orbs before him.

Naruto was completely stunned and could only gape back at him.

"Naruto …" he whispered, their faces still an inch apart. "I want you to know that I like you …"

Kiba shuffled his body closer so that he was leaning over the fox boy. "… really like you."

Naruto snapped out of his shock as his fight or flight response kicked in and quickly rose to his feet. Kiba caught his hand and pulled him back down, pinning him with his arms above his head, blushing slightly as he noticed he was straddling the blond.

"Let me go Kiba!" yelled Naruto, struggling under the older boy.

"Not until you hear what I have to say." he replied calmly.

Once Naruto found he couldn't escape, he glared defiantly up at his captor. "You've already made it clear!"

"Apparently not clear enough!" he said, glaring back at him. "You must know that this isn't healthy. To hold onto the thought that the one who stabbed you, and everyone you care about in the back, will one day come again and claim you."

"Stop it Kiba!" cried Naruto, tears streaming down his face.

"No! You need to sterilize a wound before it can heal properly and that's what I'm trying to do. You need to forget about him, it's only making you miserable! You deserve to be happy, and I want to be the one who makes you happy. Please Naruto, you know I only want what's best for you, and I hate to see you like this."

Naruto stared up at him, into the face that always brought him joy and laughter. "Kiba …"

Kiba let go of his arms and pulled him up into a tight embrace.

Naruto returned the gesture, wrapping his now free arms around the brunet, crying softly onto his shoulder. "Kiba I-I just … I just don't know …"

Kiba ran his hand soothingly over the blonds back.

"I'm here for you Naruto, no matter what."

-

Several hours later Naruto thrashed around once again under the sheets of his bed, sighing explosively; he couldn't stop thinking.

"Shut up Brain!" he yelled, hammering his fists into the mattress.

After a few more failed attempts to get some sleep, Naruto leapt out of bed and walked outside onto the veranda of his apartment, overlooking Kohana. He groaned heavily as he leaned on the railing, gazing up into the sky.

His usually simple brain was overrun with thought and emotion. Naruto thought he loved Sasuke, but Sasuke had betrayed them all. Was it true that if it meant that he could avenge his family, that Sasuke would kill him, that he was expendable for the fulfillment of his cause?

Now he found out that Kiba had feelings for him, that he wanted to make him happy. He didn't know if he felt anything for the Inuzuka, in a romantic sense, but he had formed a deep friendship with him. Kiba always provided him with joy and entertainment, and wanted to make him happy, but Naruto hadn't until now even considered perusing anything more than friendship because of Sasuke.

Naruto rubbed his temples; it was all so confusing.

"Well here's a sight; you, thinking …"

Naruto turned around in time to see Jiraya jump from the rooftop to the terrace where he stood.

"Oh, it's just you, Pervy-Sage …" said Naruto, turning back to his previous position.

"Hey kid, when are you gonna stop calling me that?" he asked, walking over and sitting on the railing beside him.

"Probably when you stop calling me, 'hey kid'…"

Jiraya grunted indignantly. "The mighty Toad Sage deserves more respect from one of his underlings."

"I'm guessing that's why you're here?"

"Yes. Have you given any more thought to my proposal of you coming with me to train for the next couple of years?"

There was a pause while Naruto considered. On one hand, he would miss Kohana and its inhabitants, on the other, there was one inhabitant he didn't think he could handle seeing at the moment. If he stayed, he would have to deal with everything that had just happened with Kiba. If he left, he would have two and a half years to think about it, and get his feelings in order.

"I have." he replied, looking down. "And I've decided to go train with you."

"Good." said Jiraya, preparing to leave. "I'll go inform Tsunade and we'll go at noon tomorrow. You'd better get ready"

Jiraya bounded into an adjacent tree and disappeared from sight.

Naruto sighed again and entered his apartment. He began to sluggishly gather those worldly belongings that he would bring with him; spare clothing, ninja equipment, instant ramen, among other things. After he was finished packing, he looked around the room; it looked even emptier than usual without the backpack full of items missing.

He wondered vaguely whether it would be Sasuke's or Kiba's absence that would bring him more loneliness over the next couple years when a knocking at the door cut short his musings. 'Who would be here at this hour?'

He walked to the entrance and opened it.

"Kiba? What are you doing here so late?"

The chocolate-haired teen shuffled his feet nervously. "Well, I was walking Akamaru when I noticed you were on your balcony looking pretty upset. I just wanted to come see if you're ok."

Naruto noted the absence of the said canine before letting him in.

"I'm fine." he said, closing the door behind the boy. "I was just thinking."

"About what?" asked Kiba, sitting on the bed.

"Training." he lied, sitting next to him.

"… Oh." said Kiba, who had been previously informed about Jiraya's offer.

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

Kiba looked alarmed. "Tomorrow! Why so soon!?"

"Since the Akatsuki Organization is after me, Jiraya thinks it's best if I start as soon as possible, it'll give me a better chance."

There was a long pause as Kiba looked at Naruto, hating the people that hunted him for the power of the Kyuubi, hating the people that hated him for being the vessel, hating them all for treating him like a monster. Naruto was a person, more than that, he was a great person. Why couldn't anybody see that?

"Well, I can't let you get stronger than me." said Kiba, rising to his feet and grinning at the boy.

Naruto laughed and also stood. "That happened a long time ago."

Kiba chuckled. "We'll see. I know I'll be way stronger when we meet again."

"And so will I, that's a promise."

"Let's shake on it."

Kiba extended a hand and Naruto grasped it, nodding and smiling widely. "It's a deal."

Naruto didn't know what it was that fluttered in his stomach at that moment, or how he would wake up from now on, dreaming of the day he would one day return to Kohana, and once again see the warm smile of the one before him, but he did know one thing, no matter how hard Kiba trained, he would make sure he trained harder, to keep his promise and make him proud.


A/N: Ok, that was the prologue for my new story, Tears of Crimson. All you tragedy haters out there better stop reading right now because I don't want complaints, some of the best works of all time (Romeo and Juliet) were tragedies, and if you can't appreciate one, then don't read one. The next chapter will take place after a 2 1/2 year time skip.

To be added to the subscription list, please send a PM saying so.

Reviews are greatly appreciated.