Title: Crazy in Love
Part of: 'For the Love of an Inuzuka' Collection
Genre: Romance/Humor/Friendship/Hurt/Comfort
Pairings: (Eventual) Genma/Kiba, Gaara/Kiba, Past Kankuro/Kiba, and Rock Lee/Sakura and Naruto/Hinata if you squint your eyes.
Beta'ed by: EmbraceSadness
Crazy in Love belongs to Beyoncé Knowles.
I should not be allowed to listen to music. But... I've been allowed to continue listening to all kinds of songs. And, well... This happened.
Genma Shiranui wasn't the kind to freak out over most things. He didn't care much about anything not because he found things not worthy of his interest, but because he knew that everything would end up fine no matter what anyone tried to do. And rather than try and fix something that wasn't broken, the man chose to just go with the flow and roll with any punches life might throw at him.
But this... He couldn't ignore this.
He had no real problem with the Kazekage or the Sand. They were allies and had helped the Leaf Village in their time of need.
Even with the fact that the ninja from the Sand weren't really a problem, Genma couldn't help but feel his blood boil whenever he happened to see the young red headed Kazekage, Gaara, running around with the Inuzuka heir, Kiba.
Now, normally, he was a man that didn't feel too intensely. He drifted through life with a calm air about him because not much could get to him. And, actually, when he thought about it, nothing in his life had ever gotten to him... Well... Nothing had until he had laid his eyes on Kiba Inuzuka.
The kid wasn't anything out of the ordinary for a clan of dog lovers. All of his features were the same one would find in the other members of his clan. His attitude was a carbon-copy of his mom's, but at least the kid wasn't as terrifying as the woman... Yet. And his fighting style was the standard Inuzuka clan style that utilized canine companions in battle.
So, if the kid was just another Inuzuka, why did Genma feel his heart tug like never before whenever he saw the boy smile?
He was just another bratty chuunin with aspirations of becoming a jonin. One that ran around the village helping whatever villager that might need it without ever accepting anything in return. Just a bratty chuunin that would take time of his life to stop by the hospital and visit some of the injured or sickly patients to entertain them with his dog, Akamaru. He was just another kid that tried to help any and every one he could out of the goodness of his heart.
He had first met Kiba when the kid was barely a genin because he and his team were given the task to bring him a scroll with important but not life threatening information that had gotten mixed up in the Hokage's office. The meeting had taken place a long time before the chunin exams ever took place in Konoha and Genma had not thought too much about the genin team before he met them because they were just another team.
Oh, how wrong he had been to think it was just another genin team. Just like it was foolish to think that Kiba was just another Inuzuka.
The first thing that had happened when Genma entered the arranged meeting place- a simple park where he could see a couple of children running around- was that, instead of sitting down like he would have liked to have done to wait for the kids, he suddenly found himself being plowed into by a fast, kind of heavy, and not too small projectile made out of a kid.
With a groan, the man had tensed up his body and grabbed onto the person, managing to absorb most of the impact force and lessen the hit. His fingers and palms had been burned just slightly because of the friction that came out of trying to stop the spinning projectile, and his stomach was left slightly bruised afterwards. But Genma had managed to stay standing after the hit then look down at just what had hit him.
And he had found a rather dizzy looking Inuzuka brat- they had always been easy to identify because of the red fang marks on their cheeks- standing up just slightly. Actually, if it hadn't been for the tokubetsu jonin's hands on his shoulders giving him stability, the man was sure the kid would have fallen down due to dizziness. He wore the Leaf's headband, meaning he could have been one of the genin he had been sent here to look for.
"Kiba kun!"
Genma had raised an eyebrow at the soft shout (if that could make any sense, he wasn't sure, but he swore that was the only way to describe the sound) that came from his left, then had looked up to see that two more genin had been running up to him. One had undoubtedly been an Aburame and had a scroll in his hands, while the other had been a Hyuga. From his knowledge of those clans back then, Genma had come to the conclusion that it was a team specifically created for hunting and tracking missions.
"Oh... I should not have tried that without Akamaru..." The one called Kiba had groaned as he clutched at his head, apparently not having noticed that Genma had still been there, still holding him up.
A small white dog had then come running up to the boy, yipping and barking wildly, and Genma could tell just from the apparent smile on its face that it must have been making fun of its master. Because, really, it was kind of stupid to not connect the easy dots. This pup must have belonged to the only Inuzuka in the whole park.
"I did tell you it was not a wise idea, Kiba." The Aburame's voice had been condescending, which really hadn't been much of surprise to the man. He had met enough people from that clan to know that stupidity was not tolerated.
"Ah, shut up, Shino!" The kid had groaned, craning his neck so he could bare his teeth at the teen that had still been making his way to Genma and him.
He had seemed to have been completely oblivious as to how he had been able to stand after dizzying himself so horribly.
It had been at that moment of being ignored that Genma had decided that it was about time the kid noticed who he had hit. So he cleared his throat to finally gain the boy's attention. And this had caused the Inuzuka to jump slightly in his arms and turn his head back around, dark eyes widening when they had fallen on Genma.
"Oh..." The boy had mumbled softly in shock, then had blinked, shook his head, and smiled broadly. "Are you the jonin we're supposed to meet?"
The change in mood had forced Genma to do a double take. From being shocked at the sight of the older male to being seemingly relaxed and confident. This kid was an Inuzuka. Definitely. Without a doubt.
"Hinata has your scroll." The boy had then proceeded to give him a toothy smile, all the while he motioned for the purple haired girl.
As all of this had happened, the boy had seemed to never truly notice Genma still holding on tightly to both his arms. And when the man had noted the kid's ignorance, he had also noticed that he was still holding on to Kiba's jacket.
He hadn't been completely sure why he had held on like that...
The young Hyuga had then walked up to Kiba with a face so red Genma had actually worried about her getting enough oxygen in her system. But soon she had handed the scroll over to the Inuzuka, who had gripped it with a never wavering smile, then had scurried back to stand beside the Aburame teen. Kiba then, with scroll in hand, had smiled broadly at the tokujo jonin holding him and offered up the scroll.
Genma had quirked an eyebrow down at the kid because he had, honestly, had no idea what else he could have done.
He was accustomed to overly cocky genin and overly shy ones. But he had never come across a situation where his rank had been mentioned and a genin had not flinched away from him. Generally, being told that a jonin (be it tokubetsu or fully fledged) had been the one that a genin had hit would have caused the kid to at least begin to apologize out of respect for their elders.
Maybe that had been where Genma's interest in the kid had started.
After that first meeting, something inside of Genma had changed.
More and more often, on the lazy afternoons that came from hiding away from his fellow interrogators to not have to work on any of the crazy tasks they wanted to give him, Genma found his mind drifting with increasing recurrence. On those nice and calm afternoons, he would think about the cheeky genin with the surprising amount of cockiness that had handed over the scroll without an ounce of fear.
And he would always find himself smirking when he remembered that this had been an Inuzuka. Of course he'd be cocky.
The years after that first encounter went by without Genma ever needing to meet with the boy again, but that didn't mean he didn't ever see him again. Seeing how they worked for the same village, the genin and tokujo jonin would sometimes cross paths, but never really have a reason to talk. Genma even found himself wondering if Kiba even knew who he was. They had met on one occasion, after all. But he hadn't even given the kid his name.
~/~
Yet, even with how odd the situation seemed to be, Genma still remembered very well another fateful meeting with the kid, one that had cemented the Senbon user's odd feelings for the much younger male.
It had been about three years after the first meeting, so Kiba must have been about fifteen years old. He was still a genin, not having been able to pass that year's chunin exams either, and he had been given a C-Ranked Mission he had deemed annoying and stupid enough to grouch about.
How did Genma know all of this? Well, he had overheard all of it as Kiba had stormed his way into the T&I building, grouching about stupid missions that were beneath him.
The teenager and his not-a-pup-anymore dog had entered the building with a scroll in the Inuzuka's hands, an annoyed frown clear on his face and Genma had never seen anything cuter.
He had quickly figured out that the kid was there to hand something in, so he had decided to hurry his way over to the Inuzuka before Anko or another of his coworkers happened to reach the adorable Inuzuka.
"Why the long face?" He had asked with a small smirk playing on his lips, the senbon in his mouth moving from the right to the left when Kiba looked up at him with narrowed eyes.
"Because I'm stuck on messenger duty! Seriously, just because I'm an Inuzuka does not mean that I'm supposed to be fetching stuff!"
The way his face had scrunched up in anger made had made Genma's heart tug slightly, and the man could not help but wonder just what had been wrong with him. This was just some teenager grouching about being stuck on another genin-appropriate mission!
He really should have known by that point that Kiba wasn't just another kid...
"Oh, really?" Genma had asked with slight mirth as he had crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at boy in complete amusement. "If you don't mind, just what are the specifics of your mission, kid?"
"I'm not a kid!" The boy had growled back with anger in his voice, only to then shake his head, pout, and cross his own arms. "I'm supposed to give this scroll to someone in here and then get another scroll back..." Then Genma had heard him mutter, "Just like a good little errand boy..." Under his breath.
Quite frankly, if it had been any other person to mutter that, Genma wouldn't have really cared at all. But, for some reason, this kid uttering that phrase had made Genma actually chuckle. Chuckle. Genma barely ever chuckled if the joke hadn't been mean. He laughed at pranks and some things his more immature friends said, but it wasn't very common. Usually, he just showed his amusement by smiling.
Yet he had chuckled at a genin's simple words.
If any of his friends had seen him then, they would have thought he'd gone insane... Heck, at that moment, he had begun to think he truly was going insane. And all because of a cocky little Inuzuka brat.
"You can hand that scroll over to me, kid." Genma had said with a smile as he had extended his hand to the teen, "I'll find out what scroll to give you, then you can be on your way again."
A few more grumbles had left the boy as he reluctantly raised his hand to hand the scroll over, and Genma had only been able to smirk at him in complete amusement. Once the scroll was in his hand, the man had turned around and began to walk off to fetch the kid's scroll, but stopped as he walked and called out, "Stay. Okay, boy?"
The growl that had then followed him through the hall had been enough to make an amused and almost stupid smile find its way onto his face.
With complete amusement, Genma had gone over to the area of the T&I office that dealt with all kinds of scrolls, where he had gotten an explanation as to why Kiba had come. Apparently yet another mix-up had occurred with important yet not dangerous scrolls, which is why the kid had come to the office to correct the mistakes. It was kind of odd, actually, now that he thought about it. It seemed that only time he'd met formally with the kid was because of some mistakes with the higher-ups and their scrolls.
When he finally had the correct scroll in hand, the man had made his way back to Kiba. And when he had reached the genin, he had found that the boy had sat himself against his dog and pulled his furred hood up to cover most of his face in shadows.
Genma had taken a moment to just look at the kid, enjoying the sight of him just laying back in complete ease.
The kid had looked adorable back then.
And Genma had wanted to kick himself a thousand times over for even allowing himself to think about a kid being cute. He was a grown man! He wasn't supposed to be getting attached to things that were cute! He was supposed to be looking at grown men or women and thinking of ways to create a real relationship with them! He wasn't supposed to be wondering how long he'd have to wait for it to be acceptable for him to put the moves on the Inuzuka.
But the more he had looked at the kid, the more his thoughts had rambled. And he had found himself thinking about how cute the kid would look with a blush on his face, how it'd blend in with those (yup... He was going insane) attractive tattoos on his face. He had found himself wondering if the kid would be ticklish and if he'd be the kind to jump violently whenever someone surprised him with random tickles. He had found himself wondering if the kid would be the kind to cuddle into surprise hugs or if he'd be the kind to instigate said surprise hug.
So many thoughts had through his head at that time. It was then, really, that Genma had figured out that (for a reason he couldn't completely comprehend) he had somehow fallen in love with the completely average Kiba Inuzuka.
A kid. A fifteen year old kid.
He must have been sick. If anybody had found this out, they would have called him a pedophile and immediately ostracized him. And, quite frankly, he would have gone willingly to make sure he could keep himself from hurting the poor kid.
He'd somehow managed to keep his customary cool when Kiba had noticed he'd been standing there with the scroll he'd been sent to retrieve. The boy had stood up, padded over to Genma, and thanked him for the scroll. And Genma had merely smiled in a strained manner, nodded, then walked away.
~/~
That incident had started a period of self-hate for Genma that had left him isolated from most of his tokujo jonin and had worried Raidou and Anko. It wasn't that Genma allowed his internal struggle to interfere with his work in any manner. But he didn't really speak about any of his problems. And because he kept everything bottled up, he didn't always feel like going out for a drink, like he would have done before any of his love-related problems had caught up with him.
Anko and Raidou would always invite him out for a drink after a long day at work. But Genma would reject them, telling them he just wasn't feeling up for it.
The first few times he had done so, they'd left him alone. But after more than twenty rejections and almost killing himself on a simple mission because he had gotten distracted, Raidou had gotten fed up and muscled him out of his apartment.
This was about a year after he'd figured out his complete attraction to the Inuzuka. And during that time, he'd made sure to keep himself from seeing the boy. Whenever he saw any dog that seemed to belong to any Inuzuka, Genma would head in the opposite direction. It was somewhat cowardly of him, but he didn't care. He hadn't liked the idea of being attracted to a teenager. Especially one that hadn't even gotten his feet wet when it came to the shinobi life.
The thought of the kid being more than just a fifteen year old kid hadn't even crossed his mind until Raidou had forced him to go out for drinks.
The night had been filled with alcohol, pounding music, the drunken mistakes of others, and tightly kept lips on Genma's part. Raidou- as his best friend- had only wanted the best for Genma. He had only wanted to help his best friend. And the funk Genma had fallen into for no clear reason was worrying enough to the man that he actually tried to make Genma talk about whatever it was that was bothering him.
They had known each other for years now. Worked together for quite some time. Been friends even longer. They knew how the other worked almost perfectly. So for either of them to try and force the other to talk meant that they were seriously worried.
But Genma, no matter how much Raidou cared, could not tell his best friend about what was truly troubling him.
How was he even supposed to go about it?
'Well, I seem to have fallen in love with Kiba Inuzuka- you know, Tsume's kid? I think he's the bee's knees and want nothing more than to make him mine!'
Sure... That would go awesomely.
Instead of talking about his true problems, Genma had just downed beers with the man and lied about what was troubling him. "I've just hit a slump. Can't seem to get any better... Training ain't doing much for me... I'm tired of going on assassination missions; am I only a murder machine? Can't I do more?" All lies, of course. Genma was rather stable in his shinobi life... But Raidou hadn't known that.
Raidou, on his part, had been understanding and a great friend. Had hugged Genma, even.
As they had left the bar, Genma had been feeling just a tiny bit better. Even though he hadn't really gotten the weight of his chest, he had felt just a tiny bit lighter because he now knew his best friend at least cared.
Then a blur of pink had almost bowled over them. If they hadn't been the properly trained ninja they were, they would have gotten hit by the running girl. But because they were always alert, even as tipsy as they truly were, they had managed to jump out of the way and hadn't gotten hit.
"Hey! Watch it!" Raidou had shouted after the blur they recognized to be Sakura, the Hokage's student.
"Sorry, not sorry!" She had giggled without even turning around, continuing to race without any hesitation.
Genma had found this to be odd because the girl was usually more well-mannered than that. He'd stared after her for a second, then heard another shout coming from the direction the girl had just come from.
"Sakura! Please, slow down! You cannot take Kakashi Sensei's headband!"
Rock Lee then ran past Raidou and Genma without a second glance and after him (oddly enough) went Gaara. Yeah, the Kazekage of Suna was running after Rock Lee and Sakura as if he were just another average teenager himself. It had been quite the sight, if Genma could be honest.
"Sakura! Please!"
Genma had, dumbly, stepped into the middle of the road to look after the three teenagers. And because he hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings anymore, he had found himself being smacked into by someone rather harshly. He had lost his balance and fallen down onto the floor, the body of the person that had run into him landing on him a few seconds later.
"I am so sorry! I didn't mean to! Are you okay?"
He had recognized the voice immediately. It was kind of hard to not remember the voice of the kid that had made you start hating yourself, after all.
Genma's head had swam uncomfortably at that, the drinks in him not taking too well to being pushed into so harshly. And he'd raised his hand to his forehead to try and calm the swirling and had closed his eyes to try and drown out the light that threatened to blind him.
"Yeah, yeah." He had grouched slightly, then cracked one eye open.
He had regretted it immediately. For his eye was met with the deepest and most caring brown he had ever seen in his life.
Kiba was as beautiful as ever, even as flushed and panting as he had been that night.
"I'm real sorry, Genma Sensei. But I have to track down a drunk Sakura before she wakes up Kakashi Sensei!"
The words that had tumbled out of the boy's mouth that day had made no sense to Genma. But he'd merely smiled stupidly as he'd nodded, "Sure, go ahead..."
Kiba had looked at him through squinted and worried eyes for a second longer before Raidou's face appeared in Genma's sight. "He'll be fine. Go."
Raidou had chuckled at the pure absurdity of what he had been hearing. And, later on, Genma would chuckle as well. Because later on he'd figure out that it was drunken teenage antics that had wound up with him flattened on the floor, the love of his life splayed over him. Drunken antics... He'd experienced quite a few of those in his own teenage years. Just... None of those had ever wound up with him on top of another guy.
Kiba had run off after that. And as he'd ran, Genma had been treated with the sight of him sporting a form fitting set of clothes that left almost nothing to the imagination.
The kid had a nice ass.
After that, Genma found himself thinking even more about the Inuzuka.
He was a grown kid. Had been out on a crazy night of drinking. And, in Genma's mind, drinking alcohol was kind of like a right of passage into being an adult.
The kid wasn't much of a kid anymore.
And he just happened to be dating the Kazekage.
This brought Genma to the present time.
He knew it was kind of wrong to be following the two on their date. And he was very much aware that following them whenever they got together could count as stalking and get him in trouble, but... Well, he'd heard from Hana a few days ago about how bad Kankuro breaking up with Kiba had left the Inuzuka. And, in Genma's mind, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. The brothers were related. So, Gaara would undoubtedly break Kiba's heart.
It was just a matter of time before it happened. He was sure of it!
Whenever he followed after Kiba and Gaara, he would have to be the stealthiest shinobi ever. He would have to employ methods of blending in and hiding that he only reserved for the toughest of missions. And this was because Kiba had his amazing Inuzuka sense of smell and Gaara was one of the smartest and most alert kids he had ever met in his life.
Fortunately (and unfortunately) both kids were so focused on one another that Genma didn't have to worry about them always being on high alert and looking out for possible dangers. Because they always stayed to going out in the Hidden Leaf, they had the ease of mind of being in familiar and safe territory to not have to worry about attacks. This made stalk-following them much easier.
But them being so focused on each other meant that there must be some kind of mutual infatuation. And if that was true, then Kiba would undoubtedly get his heart broken in such a manner that Genma doubted he'd be able to bounce back from it. And Genma couldn't just let that happen. Not on his watch.
Right now Genma found himself hiding behind a group of potted plants on a balcony on top of the small restaurant Gaara and Kiba were currently dining in. It was kind of petty that he had resorted to hiding like a child, but, quite frankly, he didn't care. When shit hit the fan, he'd be there to swoop in with a perfectly crafted excuse and take Kiba away from all pain.
He even had the perfect cover story already lined up. Whenever Gaara decided to reveal his true colors, he'd appear in front of the two teenagers with a stern frown and a blank scroll rolled up in his hands. "T&I needs you, Inuzuka." He'd say cryptically, then he'd grab the teen and body flicker with him out of the place and take him to a nice and quiet clearing. There, he'd console the kid his greatest extent and tell him that Gaara was a no good if he broke up with a person as great as Kiba.
After he'd said that, Kiba would undoubtedly ask just why he was being so kind... And that's where that fantasy ended because Genma was never sure how to answer that one hypothetical question. He had hang ups about it. Especially because he wasn't sure of how creepy he'd seem if he told Kiba the whole truth.
With a soft frown, Genma looked down at the date the two were currently in. Rolling a senbon with his tongue for a moment, the man then clinked his teeth against it. From his mental tally, Genma knew this would be their second date this month, the eighth they were on since becoming official.
He... May be just slightly obsessed. But it was only by very little. Really, he was fine. He could stop and move on whenever he wanted to... He just didn't want to yet.
"You know, Gaara... This is nice. How did you ever find out about this little place? It's nice and quiet."
Genma's heart twisted up at Kiba's completely content tone, one that hurt seeing how it came from contentment that wasn't with him. And from what he could see of the red haired teen, Gaara was just as relaxed with Kiba.
"Hinata recommended it to me. I told her that you were kind of tired of our friends always interrupting in the middle of our dates." Gaara answered, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Oh, this brought a smile to Genma's face. Their friends had proved to be a bit of a stressor in the budding relationship. And he knew this because of all the conversations he had eavesdropped on.
While Gaara didn't mind their friends always appearing to disrupt their dates, Kiba didn't like it. Which was kind of odd because Genma had always thought the Inuzuka would be the kind that would always rejoice in having friends and family around. Apparently, he did like it... Just not while he was out on romantic dates.
Seriously, of the seven times they had gone out officially prior to this, about six times one or more of their friends had appeared out of nowhere to disrupt their date.
Gaara never minded it. If anything, he always enjoyed having Naruto and Hinata around. But Kiba didn't like it and always pouted at Gaara whenever their friends weren't looking.
It was freaking adorable.
"Listen, Gaara." Oh! Kiba's own smile had dropped and he sighed heavily. This wasn't a good sign. And Genma couldn't help but feel slightly giddy. "I understand that you like our friends tagging along, but I don't like it all the time. We only had one date in which they didn't appear out of nowhere and interrupt us. And that was because I forced you to accompany me to the Forest of Death for a picnic."
Kiba's tone was soft and slightly saddened, but it was also filled with understanding. And Genma didn't like the fact that he could understand Gaara because that meant this problem may not fester into the reason for them breaking up.
If only Raidou could see him now... Wishing for teenagers to break up. There was no doubt in Genma's mind of the roundhouse kick he'd receive from his best friend if he ever found him like this.
"I get it, Gaara. I really do. But when I go out on a date with you, I want to be with just you. Not with Hinata and Naruto... Or Lee and Sakura... Or with all of them and the rest of the Rookies." Kiba breathed out, looking at the Kazekage with slightly lidded eyes. "Sometimes I just want to go out with you and spend time with you."
The silence that formed between the teenagers was almost stifling. Even Genma (who took no part in the conversation) felt slightly bad for both kids. They were trying real hard to make this relationship work. He wondered if either of them knew that to make a relationship work they would have to make compromises and always communicate.
"I didn't have many friends growing up."
Kiba's face softened further as Gaara spoke up and he grabbed the pale teen's hand without any hesitation. And this made Genma's heart clench uncomfortably once more.
"Even though I don't speak much, I still enjoy being around people. It makes me feel good."
"And I get that, Gaara. And I love being around our friends too! But when we actually manage to find the time to go out, I would like for it to be just us. Not us, Naruto, Hinata, and half of Konoha." Kiba spoke earnestly and Genma could tell he was becoming slightly frustrated because they were, once more, at a standstill.
This wasn't the first time they had spoken about this issue. And it certainly wouldn't be the last.
"Can't you understand my-"
"Hey! Kiba! Gaara! How are you two?"
Ooh... If looks could kill, Gaara would have been dead twenty times over.
As soon as the kid had heard Naruto shout out, Kiba's body had tensed up and he'd let go of Gaara's hand. And Gaara's eyes had gone from looking directly at Kiba's to searching for the loud blonde that had spoken up.
"It is most great to see you both on such a youthful and beautiful day!"
Lee had tagged along too?
Genma settled himself into a more comfortable laying position as a pleased smirk wiggled its way onto his lips. He knew where this would undoubtedly go. Whenever their friends appeared, Gaara always let them join in out of complete courtesy. Kiba, on the other hand, only wished for them to disappear to go back to his quiet time with the red head that had gotten his attention.
"Naruto kun... Please..." Hinata breathed out so softly that it was a miracle Genma was even able to hear her. Her face was flushed just slightly and her eyes were wide. Genma guessed it was because she was taken aback by speaking to her crush. Although she was doing a good job of it. She had yet to faint.
"Come on you two, Gaara and Kiba are on a date." The pink haired blur now seemed to be back to her normal, somewhat bossy self. "They most probably want to be left alone."
Kiba smiled at Sakura for being such an understanding and caring soul, although Gaara didn't show any emotion on his face.
"What? Oh, come on, Sakura! Gaara loves me! Right, Gaara? And I know you'd much rather have me around than the boring old mutt!"
"Naruto!"
Oh... Kiba's smile had completely dropped. That was never a good sign.
"What the hell, Naruto? What makes you think you can interrupt my date and start insulting me?!" The Inuzuka shot up like a missile, the bright smile he had sent Sakura's way replaced by a heated glare. "He's my boyfriend, Naruto! So step off before I make you regret ever having known me!"
Genma had known the Inuzuka Clan was rather territorial when it came to their significant others. He had almost fallen victim to Hana when she thought he had been hitting on her boyfriend (which he hadn't! He was much too in love with Kiba to do something like that. It was the fucker that had put the moves on him!), but he'd never seen an Inuzuka try to harm such a close friend because of their possessive side.
If he was already so attached to Gaara... Well, that didn't spell anything good out for Genma's aspirations.
"The hell, Kiba!" Naruto shouted right back, his own fists tightening.
Well shit was getting out of hand rather quickly. Maybe this would end up breaking Gaara and Kiba up for good!
With a sigh, Genma shook his head at his own thoughts. When had he become such a love obsessed teenager?
"You heard me, Uzumaki! Now step back unless you want me to give you the beating we all know you fucking deserve!"
Oh... Kiba's face scrunched up adorably when he was pissed. It was so freaking cute, Genma wanted nothing more than to hug the kid. But he wasn't about to fly out of nowhere to do so. Too many questions would be asked and he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from ignoring them to instead fuss over the Inuzuka.
"I deserve!? Shut your mouth, Dog Breath!"
"Make me, runt!"
"Mutt!"
Well, these two had just started an insult spewing contest. Nothing bad would come from this.
"Retard!"
Genma had honestly believed these two would eventually just tire themselves out and sit down with annoyance, but eventually get over it. He'd thought that their friendship would survive.
"Bitch!"
But then Naruto had used that word. You never called an Inuzuka that. Not unless you wanted to demean their authority and question their dominance. The only time it was acceptable to call an Inuzuka that was... Well, never, now that Genma thought about it. Unless you wanted to get your ass handed to you in terrifying and hurtful ways.
The attack from Kiba had been so fast that even Genma had missed it when when the kid had bolted from the table. All the man knew was that, one second, the kid was standing with his fangs bared. Then the next he was on top of Naruto with a Fang over Fang attack that literally shook the small establishment they were in.
Chaos erupted soon after that. Genma began to feel the balcony he was on shake, but he didn't dare move from it. He was too enthralled by the show.
"Kiba!"
Hinata had to jump out of the way from the spinning Inuzuka to make sure she didn't get hurt. And as soon as Naruto had brushed off the attack (which was much too quick for Genma because he really wanted Kiba to win) the dumb blonde was pouncing back into the battle to give as good as he had gotten.
"Naruto deserves it!"
With a soft smirk, Genma couldn't help but agree with the pink haired one. Naruto had started all this by being too loud mouthed. And he really shouldn't have called Kiba that. It was just too rude.
"Sakura, we must stop them from killing each other!"
The stray punches that landed on Rock Lee made even Genma wince. Especially the one that somehow wound up too close to the kid's groin. That one made Genma even groan in understanding pain.
"I do not think getting in the way of- Naruto, if you Rasengan my boyfriend, you will regret it!"
The fighting had dissolved into whose attacks happened to be stronger. And while Kiba panted in his quadruped stance, Naruto had called up a clone to craft the swirling ball of blue his father- one of the greatest men Genma had ever met- had first created.
"Huh?" Naruto was distracted by Gaara's growl enough for Kiba to be able to dodge the attack sent his way... And to send the dumb blonde flying right into the supports that held the balcony up.
Genma was falling before he could even marvel at the Inuzuka's amazingly fast response. With an undignified squawk and arms and legs flailing to try and grab onto anything that would stop his descent, Genma slightly panicked at the thought of being discovered by the very kids he had been stalking for who knows how long. About three months, actually. He'd kept track.
... He really needed to get a life. Preferably one without the Inuzuka in it. And if there was no way to get the kid out of it, then he would be content to have him in arms length and as his own. You know, if he were allowed to choose his new life.
The absurdity of thinking of a new life while falling fully hit Genma when his body impacted against two others. But it didn't fully set in until well after he had stopped falling and just lay on top of the two that had cushioned his fall. He wasn't completely sure, but there was a small chance that his head had smacked against the floor during the fall. There was a throbbing at the back of it, after all. So maybe he had hit it... Why was he seeing blushing, chibi Kibas flying around?
"Holy fuck... Stop being so cute..."
"Genma Shiranui? What are you doing out here?"
He could faintly hear a soft voice of not-Kiba calling for him... But the Kiba chibis were freakin' adorable and he couldn't help but stare at them through the haze that had formed in his brain.
There was some groaning from beneath him... And he was rather sure that one of those groans belonged to Kiba. But his brain was rather caught up with following the little Kiba's flying around and being all cute, so he didn't think too much of it.
"I think he hurt his head... Nice going, Naru-tard! You just gave one of our superiors a concussion!"
Genma winced at the loud shrill that suddenly scared the chibi Kibas away, and he slowly and lazily raised his hand to try and stop them, "No... Come back... The scary harpy won't get you... I won't let her..."
The following sharp slap to his cheek made sure that the cute Kibas ran away, even after he had promised to keep them safe.
"Sakura! What was that for? I thought you were scolding me for having hurt him!"
"Yeah, but he insulted me! He deserved that slap... Besides, he seems to be back in the land of the living again."
Blinking slightly, Genma shook his head to try and dispel the remaining fog that clung to the edges of his mind. And once he had done that, he noticed that he was still on top of the very nice cushions. Then he looked down and had mini-heart attack that prompted him to immediately jump up and away from Kiba and Gaara, who had been unfortunate enough to act as said cushioning to his fall.
"Shit! You two okay?"
Without any hesitation, Genma bent down to offer both teens his hands, then helped raise them both up with guilt beginning to gnaw at him.
He knew he had been caught. It was only a matter of time before they asked him just what the heck he was doing on the balcony. And he knew that, even though he had made all kinds of plans for when Gaara undoubtedly broke Kiba's heart, he had never created any kind of strategy for if he was ever caught by the kids. He had never thought they would, after all. He had always thought himself too good to ever be found out... Curse his pride!
"A-Are they o-okay?"
"Please, this is Gaara we're talking about! Maybe Kiba's a bit hurt, but Gaara's too good to have gotten hurt! The sand most probably cushioned his fall!"
"Naruto... There is no sand around Gaara."
"Shut up, Bushy Brows! Gaara is too good!"
"N-Naruto kun..."
Quite frankly, Kiba had the oddest, most colorful group of friends Genma had ever encountered. And that was sure saying something because he had Izumo, Kotetsu, and Iruka as his little guppies (their own term, Genma preferred to call them his little parasites) and Anko and Raidou as his self-appointed 'Awesomest Friends Ever'.
But he didn't think about those odd friends and everything they were arguing about this time around. He was much too busy internally freaking out over accidentally having killed the love of his life because he couldn't stop himself from stalking him.
Both Gaara and Kiba were somewhat disoriented after Genma had helped them sit up, and the man noted that both had bruises and dirt scuffed onto their bodies and clothes, but there were no cuts. Which was a miracle because there were so many splinters sticking out from that balcony that he was surprised that they had all come out marginally unscathed.
"Ow!" Kiba breathed out sharply as he brought his hand up to his head, "I feel like I've been run over by a bumbling idiot. Naruto, what did you do?"
"Hey!"
Genma ignored the shout to instead snap his fingers in front of the Inuzuka's eyes, trying to see if the kid could focus on them. "Ignore the idiot for now, kid. Can you see me snapping my fingers?"
"Yeah..." The boy groaned, closing his eyes tightly. "And I can hear you too."
The answer made a smile come to Genma's lips. "Good to know you're as sassy as ever." Then he repeated the process with Gaara, who merely nodded at the repeated question.
"Well then, you two don't look as if you ended up with concussions." The man breathed out softly (kind of relieved that he hadn't accidentally hurt the man he loved too much), then forced a relaxed smirk onto his lips. "You'll both be fine."
As he finished his assessment, the man straightened up and turned around to look at the rest of the teenagers. They were standing behind him in a loose semi-circle, eyes wide and searching as they looked back at him.
It was just a matter of time before they asked him just what the hell he had been doing hiding in that balcony. And the idea of running away pushed its way into the front of his mind, telling him that his only chance of keeping any kind of self-respect would be if he up and left without ever looking back.
"Hey, Kiba... Your head's okay, right?"
The fact that Naruto had directed all of his attention to Kiba both relieved and worried Genma. But the man wasn't able to say anything before Kiba was growling back an answer at the blonde.
"Yeah. I'm good, Naruto. Thanks for-"
"I mean, it should be! It's so thick!"
If Kiba had been left reeling from having cushioned Genma's fault, it sure wasn't for long. Because as soon as Naruto had used that insult, the boy was jumping up and running at the blonde as if he had not been crushed beneath a tokubetsu jonin and a few feet of wood a few minutes ago.
"Why I oughta-!"
When Kiba got close enough, Genma took the chance to wrap his arms around the young male's chest, effectively stopping him from running full steam ahead at Naruto.
"Whoa there, kid. You're just getting up right now. You shouldn't be trying crush any skulls just yet." The man spoke smoothly, although in the back of his mind he was rejoicing being able to feel Kiba in a more intimate manner than just get knocked over by him, "You might make yourself dizzy."
Faintly he registered a soft growl coming from Kiba. But the boy didn't resist too much to having Genma's arms wrapped around him, so the man didn't let go of him when he turned to the blonde that had instigated the whole fight.
"Now, Naruto. You should apologize to Kiba. You were being an insufferable buffoon again and he couldn't stand your shit anymore." Genma told the blonde jinchuuriki, a soft smirk finding its way onto his face as the boy shouted out in disdain.
"What? But Gen-"
"Shut up, Naru-tard!" Sakura interrupted with a punch to the teen's arm, causing him to fly back slightly. "We're sorry, Shiranui San. We didn't mean to cause any disturbances." She apologized, followed by Rock Lee. "I do hope we did not cause too much trouble in your mission!"
The shout from Guy's clone had Genma blinking in slight confusion. Then his brain caught up with what the kid wasn't saying and he almost broke out in a happy dance at the perfect excuse for having been found out by them in such a violent and humiliating manner.
"Nah, don't worry about it. It was just a small surveillance task... Nothing big..." The man waved his hand offhandedly, then frowned when Kiba finally began to extract himself from his grip.
The boy seemed slightly dizzy, but that was most probably because he had stood up and went to run much too soon after having unwillingly been the cushion to Genma's fall. But he didn't seem as pissed off as he had before, so Genma chalked it up as a small victory. At least he wouldn't be witnessing any murders today.
... Not like he'd ever help put Kiba in jail if he did somehow manage to murder Naruto. If anything, he'd help hide the body.
"You kids can go back to whatever it was that you were doing..." The man mumbled just slightly, "But remember that you can't be using your skills in the middle of the village. You're just asking to be stripped of your rank if you do that." He scolded slightly, clicking his tongue uncomfortably. His senbon had gotten lost during the fall. "You may just end up hurting a civilian."
From the way all teenagers looked at each other with almost remorse filled eyes, Genma knew they believed his story of being on a mission and not just stalk-following Kiba and Gaara around on their date.
"Now, if you'll excuse me." He told them, giving them a mocking salute before he turned around and began to walk away, shoving his hands into his pockets.
He had gotten lucky. He knew that. Those kids had believed the lie he had given them without too many doubts simply because of rank. But he couldn't get caught doing something like this ever again. They weren't complete idiots, after all. And they'd only believe the whole 'mission' story once. He shouldn't try his luck and get caught again.
He walked for a few steps before he heard the steps chasing after him. When he noticed this, he was far enough from the spot he had left Kiba and his friends, and he began to wonder if they were running up to him to argue with him about the destruction of property he'd left behind. So, with a soft sigh, he'd turned to face the kid that would dare to try and fight with him.
But, the kid that ran up to him caught Genma off guard.
It was Kiba.
The boy ran right up to Genma, eyes wide as he looked at the man. Then, without saying anything, the teenager stepped right into Genma's personal space, grabbed him by the collar of his vest, and pulled him in. Then, with Genma looking at him with complete shock and awe, took in a big sniff of his neck.
"Uh... Inuzuka?" Genma struggled to voice out his confusion, the proximity of the boy he was infatuated with really affecting him. "Wh-"
"It's you." Kiba gasped, grip still tight on the man's jacket as he looked up at the man's eyes. "It's your scent. It's you."
"Yeah, it's Genma Shiranui..." Genma answered, at a loss for just what he was supposed to do with the boy holding on so tightly to him.
"Just what do you think you're doing stalking me?!"
The shout was loud enough to get everyone in the street around him to look at both shinobi and Genma felt his face immediately begin to redden.
"Not here, kid!" He hissed, only for Kiba's face to twist into a sneer.
"Not here? Not here?! How dare you, you fucking-"
The boy would have continued shouting if Genma had not slapped his hand over the kid's mouth, then performed hurried hand signs to shunshin the hell away from the crowded streets. Because he had not thought much about what he was about to do, Genma ended up taking the Inuzuka to his apartment, where the boy promptly bit his hand to get him to let go.
"You've been following Gaara and I all over town! Why have you been doing that?!"
Okay, so, apparently the kid knew his scent enough to know that Genma had been following him around.
It was a rather simple situation to solve, really. Genma would just need to keep a level head and speak to the kid like the rational adult he- Who the fuck was he kidding? He was about ready to freak out as much as the kid was doing right then and there!
"I can explain!" He blurted out suddenly, causing the enraged Inuzuka to look at him but stop his shouts. "Uh..." He stalled for a moment, then looked away with his cheeks reddening even more. "I love you?"
He didn't dare look at the kid. He was much too embarrassed to do so.
Not only had he just gotten caught stalking the kid, he'd admitted to loving him. It wasn't even liking. No, he'd been an idiot and used the word love. Now Kiba knew how truly fucked up he was.
"I have a boyfriend."
The boy's answer... Was totally not what Genma had been expecting.
Shouts of anger and maybe some punches had been expected. But not the calm tone and the crossing of the teen's arms. Not at all.
"Uh... I know?" Genma murmured, looking down at the boy with complete confusion. "You're... You're not going to try and kill me?"
"Not really." Kiba shrugged, looking up at him. He didn't wear his customary his smile... But he wasn't frowning either. "Love can make people do some crazy things. Although I had yet to be stalked."
"In my defense-" The man began, prepared to explain himself and his actions completely. But Kiba merely raised his hand and covered Genma's own mouth.
"You don't need to defend yourself." Kiba smiled softly, a hint of sadness in his eyes. "You can't stop from loving someone. But I'm in a committed relationship right now."
The words had Genma quirking an eyebrow. The boy wasn't angry... He wasn't about to kill Genma. So, the man deciding that, for once, he had to fight for what he wanted, softly took the hand covering his mouth in his own. Then he slowly lowered it and pulled the teen closer.
"Committed? Just who is committed, Kiba?" He questioned, but didn't allow the boy to answer. "You know I've followed you both around. So I know what's been going on. And while you're all in, that little prick's got all kinds of issues that stop him from giving you what you want." Then, in a moment of complete courage, the man raised his other hand to cup at the boy's jaw and nuzzled it. "But... I can give you that..."
Then he brought his lips to the boy's own in a passionate yet chaste kiss. He poured all of his love into that one kiss to prove his one point. But he also kept it short, giving himself enough time to jump back if the boy decided to clock him for the rather huge violation.
The kid's eyes had closed during the kiss. And his face was flushed in a way that had Genma wanting to give more.
"I... I'm with Gaara..." The kid gasped, eyes fluttering open as he tried to get out of Genma's hold.
"I know... But you don't have to be with him." Genma breathed out, keeping the boy close to him, even with the soft struggling.
His heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. His lips tingled in the best way. And his whole body was so warm he felt like he was about to melt.
"You could be with me, Kiba. And I could love you like you deserve to be loved. Better than Kankuro. More openly than Gaara. The way I know you would love to be loved."
Kiba's dark eyes swam with confusion and indecision. Then, much to Genma's pain, he extracted himself from the man's grip and shook his head.
"I have to go now."
And then, the boy was gone. Had gone and slipped through his fingers like sand...
Hope you all enjoy this! Please review and tell me what y'all think!