As promised, yet another Tobirama/Kiba story!

Warning(s): So Kiba's sixteen. Tobirama is forty six. It doesn't really take a genius to see that there's something off about that. But this is just the nature of the Tobirama/Kiba relationship. Tobirama's old, Kiba's young, and they happen to be perfect for each other. There's also implied domestic abuse, cheating, and gang affiliations.

When Tobirama first met the teen, he did not think much about him. He was just another teenager that had moved into his neighborhood because of the recent district changes made to the nearby high school. There had been at least five more teenagers that had moved into nearby houses because of it; Kiba was no different.

"'Sup? The name's Inuzuka Kiba and ma forced me to go ahead and warn all the new neighbors about our dogs."

There hadn't been anything particularly eloquent about the teen either. He came from a rough upbringing with a single mother and a sister that had only just managed to straighten herself out. And it wasn't as if he gave a single damn about what others thought seeing how he dressed as if he had stepped out straight from a bad teenage sitcom in which he played the delinquent Juvie rat.

Facial tattoos, nose piercing, ear piercings, a love for black and anything metallic, and hair gelled up so high and spiky that Tobirama had wondered if it might actually hurt to touch.

The only somewhat nicely different thing about the kid happened to be his large, wolf-like dog. It was a wonder how this animal might be considered a dog when everything about him screamed wolf. But he proved to be amicable enough to walk up to Tobirama and lick his hands and then begin to roll around in one of the cutest displays of cute the man had ever seen.

He'd always wanted a dog for himself. But he'd never brought himself to adopt one from nearby shelters or even take a pup when Hashirama's retrievers had given birth to a litter. He just didn't have enough time by himself to properly take care of such wonderful and active animals.

"Huh, he likes you." Kiba seemed completely confused at this as he scratched at the back of his neck with nails that were painted black. "He growled and tried to bite that other neighbor we went to visit."

Tobirama somehow managed to tear his gaze away from the dog still rolling on the floor to quirk a questioning white eyebrow at the teenager. "Do you mean the neighbor to my left? He's not the kindest of people and not many animals actually like him. His cat only tolerates him."

The annoying feline was always over at Tobirama's house, begging for food and attention. It wasn't that Orochimaru was a bad person, he was just somewhat socially stunted and didn't really know how to not seem like a complete asshole.

"Doesn't like dogs either." The teen grunted with a scowl, "He threatened with cops if any our dogs went anywhere near his place. As if Akamaru would ever want his dirty yard! My dog has standards, you know."

No, Tobirama did not know. But Kiba had not seemed to care about that at the moment. (And, in all honesty, he still seemed somewhat unable to understand how little Tobirama sometimes understood him in the future.)

"But, anyway, yeah. We've got ten dogs who are usually pretty well behaved." Kiba continued with a light shrug of his shoulder as he dug his hands into his pockets.

It was at this point that Tobirama noticed how the dog, even with a spiked collar around his thick neck, did not have a leash controlling him.

"Sometimes they'll howl at the stray ambulance or chase after squirrels but are mostly harmless. If you see any large dogs running 'round, please don't get afraid. They're sweethearts, I swear."

From the way the teenager almost pleaded, it was clear to see that he'd experienced something unfortunate in the past with another neighbor. But Tobirama had not really cared at that moment because he could hear his phone beginning to ring from inside his back office.

"I will make sure to find you if ever I see that one of your mutts has escaped." Tobirama had nodded, a jolt of amusement running through him when the teen's face suddenly lit up in anger, then closed the door in front of his face to make sure Kiba was not able to stall him any further.

As he had walked back towards his office, the man heard a long string of curses that would have made a sailor blush coming from his front door. But then he'd gotten to his office, seen that it was Hashirama calling, and he'd forgotten all about the teenager because his brother was calling in a state of panic over not having any control over a rambunctious Tsunade.

~/~

The second time Tobirama had seen the uninteresting Kiba had been a time that had made him begin to see that Kiba was even more of a walking stereotype for hormonal teenagers than before.

It had been four in the morning. Much too early to be awake, much too late to be awake, yet the time that Tobirama had decided to fall asleep after a dozen different business calls that were much too pressing to leave for the next day.

As he had dried his hair after a quick shower, already dressed in a set of comfy cotton pants he had received the past Christmas, the man had decided to look outside of his window. It was always rather calming to see the empty streets of his home at this hour. In a way, it let Tobirama know that he and his family were safe from the rampant crime and corruption ruling the much too busy city.

Allowing Hashirama to convince him to move here had been one of the best things he had done. Especially after having lost Itama...

As he'd looked outside of his window, Tobirama had noticed an unusual lone figure being thrown outside of a house's door. And he faintly heard screaming, things that were much too muffled to hear but the emotion was clear enough to know that the screaming was heated and pissed.

He'd stopped in his drying when he'd seen the dark clad figure throw a bag at the home's door, white teeth clear in his mouth because of how much he was opening it to scream. In a way, it reminded Tobirama of a dog's sneer when he was about to bite.

Then the figure had turned around, thrown a hoodie over his tattooed face, and stalked away from his home. His knuckles had been bandaged. Tobirama had only seen a flash of blood stained bandages on his hands before he'd dug them into his hoodie's pockets.

It wasn't difficult for Tobirama to analyze what he had just seen. Kiba, much like he'd expected, came from a broken and seemingly violent home.

With a frown, the man promised himself that if he saw more than just bandaged knuckles, he would call child services. Abusing a child was one of the most despicable things in the world anyone could do. But until he had any further proof, he would not act.

~/~

"Hey, you're that albino guy from across the street!"

Tobirama barely reacted to the upbeat and somewhat insulting words. He had gone through all of his life hearing about his odd looks and, quite frankly, he didn't give a damn about them anymore. He wasn't normal, he was aware of that. He couldn't run around in the sun like Hashirama wished he would. But he'd grown to accept this.

"You know Tobirama, Kiba?" Hashirama had asked from somewhere inside of his kitchen, only to have his head pop up from behind the doorframe to give the teenager a questioning look.

"Yeah! He lives in front of me." The teenager answered with a small smile, then looked away from both adults to cautiously slap a remote control from Tsunade's hands. "That does not go into your mouth, young lady."

It was odd to see a teenager as dangerous looking as Kiba dealing with a fussy Tsunade. But instead of screaming out and attacking Kiba as Tobirama had seen the young blonde do to many other caretakers, the girl had huffed and then begun to grope around for one of her own toys.

Seeing how Kiba's attention was totally taken by his grandniece, Tobirama walked over to his brother in the question and leveled him with an unamused glare.

Even at forty eight years of age, even after having raised three children on his own after his wife's unforeseen death because of a crazed drunk driver, even after having laid one of those children down beside his mother's final resting place, Hashirama was still as much as a child at heart as he had been forty years ago. And he was still heavily affected by his younger brother's intense glare.

"I needed a sitter and he happened to be walking by one night. Tsunade took one look at his dog and she's refused to let anyone else take care of her since." Hashirama rushed out quickly, then turned around to finish stirring some rice he had been cooking for dinner. "He's really good with kids, Tobirama."

"I never said he wasn't." Tobirama breathed out with a frown pulling at the corner of his lips, then peeked his head around the corner of the kitchen to look in on the teenager.

He was now laying on his stomach with Tsunade sitting on his back with her chin rested on top of his head. He had the control in his hands, pointed at the TV as he changed from one channel to another.

It was all rather normal and domestic... If not for the fact that Kiba was dressed as if he were about to jump into a mosh pit.

For a moment, Hashirama didn't say a thing. And seeing how Tobirama kept quiet as well, they both knew that this topic of conversation had just about finished up.

"What are you doing here? I thought you would be busy until eight."

With a soft hum that vibrated throughout his throat, Tobirama crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back into the refrigerator that was decorated in a manner so purely Hashirama that he could feel himself gagging at the dramatic displays of love for his granddaughter.

"I thought so too. But the specialist who's assurances Itachi was waiting on never appeared. Because of this the plaintiff has no case. And apparently she doesn't have enough money to continue suing, so the case has been suspended indefinitely for the time being."

"Aw. Poor her. She really seemed like she could win." Hashirama pouted slightly at this, which made Tobirama roll his eyes.

"You are aware that she was faking the injuries?"

"But her daughter's injuries were real." Hashirama shook his head, then turned to look at his brother. "She should have gotten something to help care for her."

Tobirama did not disagree. This Kurenai character deserved some kind of payment after Tobirama's clients had been negligent enough to allow her daughter to get injured while in their facilities. And her case would have been open and shut, with his clients giving more than enough to the single mother, if not for the fact that she had tried to squeeze even more money out of them by faking injuries of her own. Now she had wasted more money than she had on lawyers and had nothing but debt to show for it.

"And she would have."

Hashirama had never enjoyed hearing about Tobirama's cases. In most, he was the 'bad guy'. He worked for corporations and businesses, giving them elite and airtight protection against disgruntled and greedy people that tried to sue. His portfolio was chock-full of victories and more than fair settlements. Sure, he wasn't unbeaten, he'd sometimes lost cases because of overwhelming evidence against his clients. But those were few and far between.

"If not for her greed." The older male breathed out with a soft sigh before shaking his head, "You're too much of a lawyer, little brother."

"And you're too much of a Humanities professor, brother." Tobirama sighed back with a shake of his head, "Not all of us can be bleeding hearts."

Hashirama frowned softly at his words and seemed about ready to answer him back. But then there was a sudden shout from the living room, which had then been followed by the shattering of glass and a delighted squeal. The odd noises had both men immediately running into the room, both worried out of their mind for the young blonde held within.

When they reached the living room and were able to look over the light gray couch that faced the mounted television, both men found Kiba glaring down at a smiling Tsunade, all the while the girl looked up at him even as she hung suspended over the air by the back of her dress. Kiba's left hand held her there, even as his right one was bleeding profusely, crimson liquid dripping onto the carpet below.

Below him there was broken glass strewn all over the warm, brown carpet that covered the living room floor. There was blood staining the glass as well.

"What happened?" Hashirama rushed towards the teen to take Tsunade's weight off of him, all the while the tattooed teen hissed out his pain.

The kid's face was twisted up in pain and Tobirama knew he was more than able to swear out some of it. He'd heard the long string of curses the teen could let out in one single breath. And Tobirama was able to see that if he could, Kiba would currently be screaming out every single cuss he knew. But he held it all in. And all because Tsunade was inside of the room still.

"Little mongrel refused to listen to me when I told her she couldn't drink from the cup by herself. She insisted on grabbing the damn thing and got it before I could stop her. It fell, I went to grab it, but it cut my hand." The teen's words were strained and he was breathing harshly through his nose.

Hashirama began to immediately freak out when Kiba motioned to him with his hand, something that Tobirama had expected to happen sooner. Hashirama had never been good with blood or injuries.

Luckily, though, Tobirama had been there to grab the first aid kit hidden beneath the living room's coffee table- a safety measure he'd insisted on his brother having after years of having seen more than quite a few Senju induced disasters throughout his years of life- and rushed over to the teenager to grab his hand and drag him over to the kitchen.

He turned on the faucet's water and dunked the kid's hand under the stream. Then, once the water was running over his- oh, that was big- wound, the white haired man called out, "Hashirama, take Tsunade to her room. She needs some kind of discipline after this."

There was no argument on Hashirama's part. Then, as the water ran over the kid's wound, Tobirama heard the heavy footfalls of his brother jogging up to Tsunade's room to do as told. Even though he was not the kind of man to scold his granddaughter, Hashirama was more than capable of seeing that the blonde had gone too far this time around. And luckily for her, it wasn't Tobirama dealing with the disciplining.

A door above them slammed shut, signaling that Hashirama had entered Tsunade's room.

"Fuck!"

Tobirama was caught off guard by the teenager's sudden shout, but he wasn't surprised. Especially when a long string of curses flew out of his unrepentant mouth as he tried to keep his hand steady under the water.

But he had not been able to blame the teen for using such words. The gap in his hand was big enough that it would need medical attention.

~/~

Tobirama had wound up driving Kiba to the hospital and staying with him until his family arrived. Which they never had, leaving Tobirama to stay with him the whole night. As they had waited, Tobirama had ended up learning a lot as to why neither of his family members were around.

"Hana's probably still sucking face with that no good girlfriend of hers." The teenager had huffed as he'd kept a tight grip over his hastily yet efficiently wrapped hand, "And ma's supposed to be working graveyard over at the penitentiary. She works two jobs, you know? Says it's to give us everything we want in life, but I think she's just trying to spend as little time with us as possible."

Tobirama knew defense mechanisms when he saw them. Kiba, to try and ignore the pain, wound up droning on and on about his life as if he needed to explain himself to the man. Which, really, he didn't. Although it was interesting to hear about such a disfunctionally functional family. And rather sad, too. Weren't family members always supposed to be there for one another? Tobirama and Hashirama had always supported each other through thick and thin, even once they'd grown up and moved out of their childhood home.

"Wouldn't be surprised if ma doesn't hear 'bout this 'til tomorrow afternoon or somethin'. When she gets home, she goes straight to sleep. An' Hana's so busy with that girlfriend o' hers an' 'college' that she ain't 'bout to answer her phone unless it's the police o-or s-s-somethin'." Kiba's teeth had begun to chatter from the cold in the hospital at this point and it had been at this point that Tobirama had taken note of his clothes.

Even with his dark jacket, the boy was freezing. And now that the man took a good look at the garment, he could see it wasn't really made to retain heat. Just look good.

He'd grabbed one of Hashirama's heaviest coats before he'd driven the teenager to the hospital. But beneath he already had a pretty warm jacket, and, beneath that, a long sleeved shirt... Losing one layer would not hurt.

So with just a small bit of reluctance, the man shrugged off Hashirama's coat and offered it to the teen. Kiba stared up at him with the widest eyes, apparently much too stunned by the show of kindness to truly react.

"You're freezing." Tobirama grunted as he rolled his eyes and threw the coat over the teen's shoulders. Then, to avoid the awkward silence that had fallen over them, the man asked, "What's your sister studying?"

After that, Kiba had begun to tell him the rest of his life story: His father had been a no good cheat that had enjoyed controlling all of his past girlfriends. But when he'd met Kiba's mother, he'd fallen in love with her dominant and violent disposition. But after a few months of dating, the woman had wound up pregnant with Hana, Kiba's sister. They'd gotten married on the man's mother's wishes and had spent the next twelve years together. Kiba had popped up at some time around then.

But eventually, the marriage had crumbled and decayed into constant shouting matches and displays of dominance. They'd had a fairly simple divorce in which the woman had gotten full custody and he wound up having to pay a rather small amount of alimony. At this point in time, Hana had been running off with the gangs around the neighborhood, a bright eyed Kiba following behind her because of no knowledge as to how dangerous this had all been.

Some shit had happened, the kid had wound up with quite a few broken bones, had broken his fair share of bones, and Hana had decided to straighten herself out after an unwanted pregnancy. At twenty four years old, she was the mother to Kiba's bubbly six year old niece that lived with her father. Currently, she was trying to get visiting rights.

A tragic back story to a tragic looking teenager.

Shame.

"But I guess there's some hope. Hana's getting her degree, ma's barely ever in my hair, an' for the first time in forever, I managed to get an A on an essay."

At this point, the kid had been called in to get stitched up. And an hour later, once he had been professionally treated, Tobirama found himself having to take the kid back to his house.

Only to find that he'd left his keys inside his home thinking that his sister would be around when he returned from his babysitting gig and the sister was nowhere to be found. At this point, Tobirama began to think that, maybe, there was no hope for this Hana character.

"Shit..." Kiba had scratched at his head with his good hand, then shrugged, "Guess I'll find a motel or something."

Half of Tobirama wanted to let the kid go on his way. This was his tired half. The half that told him he'd been awake four more than twenty four hours straight already, was more tired than he'd felt in a while, and needed some sleep if he wanted to deal with all of his clients tomorrow.

But the other half, the much smarter and more work remembering half, told him that if Kiba wished to, he could sue. Hashirama, the damned fool, still did not have insurance covering his home even after Tobirama's insistence to get some. But if he were treated nice, then the kid would have no reason to even want to sue.

"I'm not letting you sleep in a motel." Tobirama grunted as he softly nudged the teenager back towards his car. "Get in while I park. I'll set up the guest bedroom for you."

This was the beginning of a relationship Tobirama could never have foreseen.

..~..~..

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