- Nine Shots of Love aland Life -


 Summary: Nine different One Shots, nine different Naruto boys, nine different stories. Filled with Tragedy, Romance, Humor, these tales are sure to pull at your heartstrings! Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Naruto, Sasuke, Shika, Kiba, Gaara, Neji x OC.

Disclaimer: The boys all belong to Kishimoto-Sensei, I just kidnap them and make them do weird things. xD

Setting: NOT set in the Naruto NINJA world. Set in the Naruto COLLEGE world, where all of the guys are in Konoha College. Presumably, Members of Akatsuki or Jounin (With the exception of Neji) are in higher classes(Juniors/Seniors) because of age, while the Chunin/Genin are in lower classes (Freshmen/Sophomores). Girls are namely the same age, a little younger or older, but nothing drastic ( Like pairing a 21yr.old with a 15yr.old.).

Notes: YES. The second of NINE. Of course I'm insane, what did you think? I tend to get distracted from my main stories a lot and when I don't feel like writing them, I tend to write other things, like these one shots. If there is a guy I forgot or just didn't write about, (AKA, Kankuro, Hidan, Kakashi, etc...) Let me know and I'll write one about them. And of course, you are allowed to send ideas along with it. Though, this particular story will take longer amounts of time to be updated because I spend lots of time on it. This one is actually 41 pages long and my god, I'm happy to be done with it. :D

Warning: I felt I should add a warning to this one.

Kiba swears A LOT. If you don't like profanity, don't read it.

There is a murder, insinuation of rape, and more mature themes. Don't like it, don't read it.

And lastly, there is yaoi. Again, if you aren't supportive or don't like it, DON'T READ IT.

Thanks!


- Pageant Troubles -


"Say, Kaori, did you win your pageant?" Kaori's black-haired friend, Kin asked her as they sat at the lunch table.

With her soft honey golden curls bouncing over her shoulder as she turned her head, she answered with a heavy sigh. "Yeah…I won it…again."

Kin shook her head, her eyes closed. "I don't understand why you're so sad, Kaori. I mean, if I won at least a few of the…how many pageants that you win, I'd be ecstatic all the time!" She replied wagging her finger at Kaori.

She sipped on her water and then put her head in her hands. "Yeah, but you don't know what my mom puts me through to get that 1st place, Kin."

"Still." Kin argued. "It would be sooo awesome to win at least one."

Looking out the window, Kaori sighed. 'I wish I could just be free from her…'


As soon as her last class ended, Kaori almost literally ran to her car, juggling the keys in her hands.

She was beaming as she hopped in, starting it up and turning up her radio, putting down the windows. "Finally!" She shouted, tapping her foot to the beat. "I'm out of here!"

She skidded out of the parking lot, taking her favorite route past the baseball fields. "I swear," She said to herself, still tapping to the beat. "I'm gonna hit a ball out of that field someday…"

It, hitting a ball out of the park, was one of the things Kaori used to do with her father – until he died in a car accident. He was teaching her to play and she grew up with sports…that is until he passed away and was shipped off to her mother's, in Konoha. Her mother and father had been divorced since she was very young and she didn't mind. She absolutely loved her father and when she came to her mother's just a few years ago, everything changed.

She was no longer allowed to do her regular sports activities and was made to become a pageant queen – her mother's long lost dream.

Ever since then her mother banned her from ever visiting a sporting event.


Before she knew it, Kaori had arrived at her destination, the Inuzuka's Veterinary Office, run by her favorite and one of her only friends in town, Hana Inuzuka, the main Vet.

She was free for today with no practice scheuled and smiled as she exited her car, locking it and walking up to the back door.

Opening the open door, she yelled, "I'm back from the dead, Hana!!"

"Great!" Came Hana's reply. "Come help me with this puppy!!" She yelled as Kaori heard a puppy yelp.

Kaori set her stuff down on the counter and ran into the check up room. "It's okay, pup." She said sweetly as she walked up to the scared puppy in Hana's arms. She took the puppy, letting it's head sit on her shoulder as she stroked it and Hana administered it's shot.

She sighed. "Great. He's done…and now all we hafta do is walk the dogs and we'll be good."

Kaori smiled and laughed as the puppy nibbled on her ear and licked her face. "I love being here."

Hana gestured her to follow as they walked out of the room and into the back, where Kaori had come in.

"Problems with mom again?" Hana asked, taking the puppy and setting him in one of the kennels lined against the wall. She smiled at him as he cuddled in the blanket and slept.

Hana knew all about Kaori's problems.

"You have no idea, Hana…It gets so heated between us…" Kaori sat up on the table in the middle of the room as Hana sat on the stool, looking up. "I wish I could just live here with you and your family."

Hana laughed, picking up the puppy's file and a pen. "No, you don't, Kaori. You'd get too aggravated with my little brother. I do."

"Oh, you mean Kiba?" Kaori asked, watching her. "He doesn't seem all that bad. I see him once in a while at school."

Hana laughed even more. "Yeah, but you don't know him. He gets annoying with all that sport talk."

Kaori raised her eyebrow. "Sports? You know I lo– "

"Yes, Yes, I know. You love sports. We've been through this a few times too many…" Hana said with a smile. "You know I love you, but you've got to get off of that sport binge."

She took a little defense to this. "Hana," She said sternly. "My sports are all I have left of my dad and I won't give that up for the life of me."

"HANA!!"

"Oh god." Hana said while rolling her eyes. "Guess who's home?" She asked Kaori, who had since hopped off the table.

"Um…the little brother?" She answered, walking over to her book bag, picking it up and setting it back on the table.

Only a minute later, Kiba had walked into the room and stopped dead, seeing Kaori standing there. Lucky thing her back was to him or else she would've seen him stand there, astounded. The Pageant Queen was in his house.

He looked to his sister, who still sat, very calm in her seat. "What's she doing here?" He mouthed to her.

Hana smiled slyly. She knew all about the crush Kiba had on Kaori. It was so obvious; he almost never shut up about her… "Ask her." She mouthed back.

Before he could even glare at Hana or ask Kaori what she was doing there, Akamaru, Kiba's long time companion ran up to her, rubbing his head along her knees, directing attention to him.

"Oh, hi, Akamaru!" She chirped, kneeling down and rubbing his head and behind his ears. "How are you doing, boy?" As she knelt down, she noticed Kiba's feet and turned to see him, giving a pleasant smile. "You must be Kiba?"

Unable to formulate words, he nodded.

"I've heard some things about you." She smiled, looking over at Hana and then back at Akamaru, who begged for her to keep rubbing his ears.

"Fuck, that doesn't sound too good." He said, fidgeting with the books in his hands.

"KIBA!!" Hana yelled, putting down her pen. "We have a guest, you know! You could refrain from using such foul lan – "

"It's okay, Hana." Kaori said, looking up at her from her kneeling position. "I'm used to it. My mom swears like there's no tomorrow."

Kiba grinned as he walked in the room. "Sounds like me."

She laughed, looking at Akamaru. "Oh, trust me, you're nothing like my mom."

As she was turned away from them, Hana gave Kiba a warning glare, telling him not to pursue the subject of her mother further.

'God dammit, does she think I'm stupid?' He thought, rolling his eyes at her.

"Hana, do you mind if I take Taka out for a walk?" Kaori asked, pointing at a rather large Newfoundland, who lay in one of the bigger cages, his big eyes watching Kaori.

Hana smiled. "Of course not." Just as she looked over at Kiba while Kaori got Taka's leash, a plan formulated in her mind.

If Kiba didn't have the guts to ask Kaori out, Hana was going to make him spend more than enough time with her so that she'd realize it and ask him out first.

"Kiba…" His sister called in her slyest voice.

Kiba deadpanned. That voice was never good.

"Why don't you go with Kaori and take Yuki out?"

Kiba gritted his teeth in silence. If there was one thing he hated, it was commanding him indirectly. And Hana just loved to indirectly command her little brother. "Sure." He managed to speak.

Kiba almost mirrored her footsteps, grabbing the German Shepard's leash and went over to him, hooking the leash upon his collar. "Come on, Sarge." He said, rubbing the dog's ears.

"Sarge", the nickname given to him from his owner, responded and stood up on his three paws, tendering his right front foot, hopped out of the cage he was in and limped over to meet up with Taka.

"Ready?" Kaori asked, wrapping the leash around her wrist.

"Yeah. We'll be back in a bit, Hana." Kiba said, his head turned to her, seeing her get up and follow them, holding the door open.

"Have fun, you two." She said slyly, grinning the trademark toothy grin of the Inuzuka's.

Kiba wished he could kill her right there.

"Oh, we will, Hana!" Kaori yelled, bounding out of the office after Taka.

Kiba sighed, trying to keep a blush forced down. "You're so fucking dead when I get back." He gritted.

Hana smiled, forcing him out the door. "I love you too, Kiba." She winked and closed the door.


Kiba couldn't believe his sister; suckering him into walking around with the girl he had a crush on. He could've killed her.

"Kiba, are you okay? You're kinda quiet." Kaori asked, leaning to catch his sight as they walked together in the park that accompanied the Inuzuka Veterinary Office.

"Y-yeah, I'm f-fine." He blurted out, forcing down the blush on his face. Thank god for the bright red tattoos on his cheeks, disguising the blush.

She chuckled, pulling back on Taka's leash as he spotted a squirrel in the distance. "Oh yeah, that's real convincing." She smiled, speaking sarcastically. "Taka, no." She said firmly, still pulling on the leash.

Kiba held back "Sarge" as well, since he had also spotted the squirrel. "Ya know, Kaori," He began, mustering up a lot of courage. "I don't think I've seen you a lot after Asuma's Class; are you always over at Hana's office?" He asked, rousing up a conversation.

She smiled a bit. "Yes and no. Sometimes my mother has me practicing after class, but the other times I'm over at Hana's. It's my sanctuary cause I'm not allowed to go to any football games or anything and I'd rather not spend all my time with my mother."

He looked over at her incredulously.

"What?" She asked, seeing his look.

"None?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Well, shit, I'd die." He said, causing her to laugh. "Sports are – "

"My life." She finished with a smile, starting to pull back Taka again.

Another incredulous look from a very confused Kiba was shot her way.

She smiled at him. "Sports are my life, too. Or at least," She looked away from him, up into the blue sky. "They used to be."

He noticed the change in her voice and hesitantly asked, "Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it." She said quickly and curtly. "Bad memories, sorry."

"It's okay with me; we all have our fucked up lives."

She laughed again. "Yours isn't as bad as mine."

He arched an eyebrow. "Really? Try living with 6 female dogs, an older sister – who decides to torture you in every fucking way possible –, a mother who's going through menopause and the only other male in the house is a dog."

She laughed loudly, pulling Taka back once again. "You win. I can't compete with that."

"Don't even try." He laughed back.

Smiling, she replied, "I won't. But I can't imagine Hana trying to ruin your life; she's so nice."

He looked at her skeptically. "Nice?"

She nodded.

"Shit, did you say nice?" He repeated, getting his point across.

She smiled at him, finding him funny. "Yeah."

He sighed. "She's not exactly nice when you're her brother." He told her.

"Well, she only does it cause she loves you, you know that." She said, watching a bird fly away from a branch above them.

He nodded, also watching the bird. "Yeah, I know. It's fucking annoying, though."

She chuckled sadly. "I wouldn't know."

He looked over at her, the bird gone from sight. "Only child?"

She nodded.

"Damn, that must be boring." He stated as they arrived at the dog section of the park.

The dog section, was a section that was fenced in, allowing the dogs within the Vet's care to run freely without getting hurt further.

Before answering, Kaori shut the gate behind her, seeing as Kiba had entered first and she knelt down, letting Taka go off his leash and run around – mostly after the squirrel he'd been eyeing up.

Sarge joined him.

And while the dogs enjoyed themselves by torturing a squirrel, Kaori and Kiba continued their conversation.

Kaori sat down on the bench first, sitting perfectly, like she had been trained to sit. "Yeah…it really is. That's why I come to the Vet's office all the time."

Kiba sat next to her, lounging out like he always did. Kiba never was one to be anything but relaxed. "You don't have a dorm?" He eyed how she sat, wondering why anyone would want to sit like that.

"Nope. I want get one though. Anything to get away from the hellhole I live in now." She growled. Almost taking a 180, she happily asked the same questioned. "You don't have one either?"

He simply raised and eyebrow at the apparent change, but answered. "Same as you. I need to get away from all those women."

She chuckled a bit, watching the squirrel run up a tree and both dogs whine and bark at it. "Well, trust me, you'll miss them."

He laughed. "Yeah, I'll have no one to do my laundry and I can't do that shit if my life depended on it." It then dawned on him. "And I'll have no food either!! FUCK!!" He screamed.

She laughed and shook her head. "Looks like you'll be living off of instant ramen, then."

He looked over at her, wide eyed. "No fucking way. I already have a friend who eats it constantly and he's weird enough as it is; I don't need to turn into him." He replied, making her laugh.

"Is he the blonde one who always sits with you in Asuma's?" She asked, looking over at him. "Or the black haired one?"

He smiled at the thought of his friends. "The blonde. He's a crazy fuck, but we all love him." He answered. "What about you? You're always sitting up in the back, by yourself."

She looked away. "Oh, well…" She seemed hesitant to answer. "I don't have time for friends."

He leaned forward, concerned. Who knew the Pageant Queen had life troubles? "Why's that?"

"Practice." Was her one word answer.

But he knew. He could hear the cracking in her voice. "Oh." Unfortunately, he didn't know how to help. He wanted to, though.

"That's why I come to the Vet's a lot. Hana's my only true friend." She added.

Looking at her, while she looked away from him, he felt bad. It couldn't be helped. He'd never realized someone who acted happy could be so sad. Then a thought came into his mind. "Well, I'll make a deal with you." He started, making her look over at him.

She waited for his propostion.

He smiled. "Tutor me in Asuma's and I'll take you to football games."

She blinked, a smile growing on her face. "Really?"

A smile grew on his face too. "Yep."

"You're not shitting me?" She asked, very seriously.

"Nope. I'm not shitting you." He answered, feeling that she was much happier. And that made him happier.

She laughed a bit. "How bad do you need tutoring?" She asked.

"I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing." He replied, smiling.

She nodded. "Okay, I can deal with that. And since I don't have practice, what do you say we start when we get back?"

He nodded. "Sounds good to me. But I want to ask, why the hell do you sit like that? It looks so uncomfortable."

She smiled back at him, leaning back. "It's because of the pageants. I must be perfect to win, according to my mother." She sighed. "Plus, it's a hard habit to break when I'm not practicing."

He nodded. "I couldn't really imagine, being that I've never actually been in a pageant."

She laughed. "I'd be kinda scared if you were in one, Kiba."

He looked over at her and laughed as well. "Fuck, me too. Walking in high-heels and dresses? I have no idea how you do that."

She laughed again. "I'm not sure you want to." She paused and thought for a moment. "Can I ask how you're going to get my mother to agree to let me go? She's very…persistent." She said.

He smirked. "That's easy. Tutoring is a good thing, right? It'd be good for those judges of yours to see you do something to help the community, ya know? So, I'll bring my books and stuff and I'll tell her we're tutoring. That's all." He explained.

She sat, thinking about it. It was a good plan and her mother could believe it. "Okay then. We've got a deal."


Two and a half hours had passed since Kiba and Kaori left and Hana sat, filling out reports, smiling. She wondered how well it was going.

"Hey, Hana, we're home!!" Kiba yelled as he opened the door, letting Taka and Kaori walk in first.

She returned Taka to his cage as Kiba did the same with Sarge. She smiled at Hana and then looked over at Kiba. "I'm gonna run and get my stuff, okay?"

He nodded.

She left the room after securing Taka's cage, smiling.

"So," Hana drawled, her head resting upon her hand, looking devilishly at Kiba. "How'd it go?"

He smiled, standing after putting Sarge in his cage. His smile was a very goofy smile and it told Hana all she needed to know.

"You owe me big time, little brother."

He looked back at her. "I don't owe you shit."

"Yeah, I just got the girl you obsess over to talk to you for two hours, and obviously the conversation was good because you can't stop smiling." She had him there. "So, how good was it?"

He smiled even more. "Great. We made a deal. She tutors me in Asuma's class and I take her to football games."

Hana rolled her eyes in a good way. "Oh god, that's why she can't stop smiling."

Kiba arched an eyebrow at her. "What do you mean?"

"Sports are her life, I'm betting she told you that." She stated.

He nodded.

"That's because they remind her of her late father." She explained and was going to continue, but stopped. "I think the rest is for her to tell you, not me."

He oh-ed. 'Late father?'

Before he got a chance to ask, the door opened and a happy Kaori walked inside and up to Kiba with her bag in hand. "Ready? We've got a lot to go over, if you're failing." She smiled.

"Oh yeah, I'm failing." He confirmed, smiling.

"Well, than, let's get started." She walked out of the office and into the house, him following behind her.

Hana smiled. "God, I need to start a dating service…"


Tutoring was going well for the two; Kaori couldn't stop smiling and laughing and Kiba was actually learning a few things.

About math, of course.

He noticed it the whole time, every time he asked about her. She was very tight lipped, always changing the subject back to him.

But he didn't mind. He figured she'd tell him eventually and shrugged it off. Even if about him, it was still conversation.

And Kaori, had much more of a fun time than she had predicted. She hadn't laughed this much since…'Since I was with my dad…' But she liked it. It had been a while since she'd had friends and even forgot what it was like to have friends, to even laugh.

And she soon realized she owed Kiba a lot more than just tutoring.

Have you heard the news that you're dead? No one ever had much nice to say, I think they never liked you anyway, Oh take me from the hospital bed, wouldn't it be grand? It ain't exactly what you planned, and wouldn't it be great if, we were dead –"

Kaori shrieked, her phone going off as loud as it could. "Oh god, oh god, where is it…" She said to herself, searching through her bag to find the sleek black phone. She sighed when she realized who was calling her. "Hello?" She asked, sliding it open to hear her mother's voice on the other side.

"Where are you?"

"The Vet's office, like always, mother." Kaori answered in a very fake, sweet voice.

Kiba watched her. From what he knew, this woman didn't seem like a good woman, let alone a mother.

"Well, get your ass home this instant. I've decided I want you to practice tonight."

"But mom, I'm tutoring a friend of mine!" She yelled in protest.

"Don't make me call him. Get here now."

Kiba saw it. Whatever her mother had said, made Kaori go pale and immediately subdue to her.

"Yes, mother." She slid the phone down, shoving it into her bag and gathering up her books. "I'm really sorry for leaving so suddenly, but I've got to go. We'll finish up later." She refrained from looking at him.

He smiled, even though he was worried. "It's okay, I understand. Need some – "

"No. I'm fine. Tell Hana I said thanks, okay?" She asked, finally looking at him.

He nodded. "Sure." He got up and walked with her to the door, also watching as she quickly jumped in her car and peeled out the driveway.

It made him wonder, seeing how subdued she became in such a short time, what her mother had against her. She was old enough to move out, but why didn't she?

"Hana." He turned around, walking into the office, finding it empty. Thus, he went to her room, where she laid on her bed, playing around on her laptop.

Noticing his entrance, she looked up at him. "Yes?"

"What's the deal? What's Kaori's mother holding over her?" He asked quickly.

Hana raised and eyebrow. "Why? Are you worried?"

"Fuck no." He replied sarcastically. "Of course I'm fucking worried!"

Hana smiled.

This aggravated him.

"It's okay, Kiba." She said, trying to calm him down. "Really, it is."

He shook his head, trying to get rid of his nervousness, or whatever he was feeling – he wasn't quite sure – and sat on the edge of her bed. "It's not, Hana. I can tell. What do you know?"

She realized quickly that her brother wasn't kidding. He really was very worried about her. "Not a lot, unfortunately. I know this much though,"

He looked over at her.

"She was really happy today."

He sighed and got up, shaking his hands, trying to shake away this feeling. He needed to walk, play or do something, anything to get this feeling away.

So he walked out of her room, but not before stopping at her doorway and saying, "So was I."


2 weeks passed, and for the two of them, it was two very good weeks.

Kaori practiced almost every night, but the nights that weren't practicing, were spent with Kiba and Hana at their home.

But this Friday was a little different. This Friday was Game night; the first game of the season for the University's team. And the first game Kaori was going to see since she'd come to the university. The first game she'd also see without her father.

Kiba had offered to pick her up, seeing how his car was more suited for the drive – plus, Kaori couldn't be called back to her mother's – and that he wanted to drive her.

Nearly an hour before game time, Kaori waited in her living room, dolled up and ready to go. She hummed softly to the song playing on her ipod, waiting for the doorbell to ring.

Her mother, also sitting in the living room, eyed her daughter. "Kaori?"

She looked up, "Yes, mother?"

"You're tutoring tonight?" She asked indifferently, watching the tv blankly.

She nodded. "Yes. We have a chapter test on Monday." Her mother still didn't know she was tutoring a guy and if she did…well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty.

"Understood."

Kaori sighed, her heart racing. She had convinced her mother – quite easily – that tutoring was good for her pageants. It looked good and awarded her more points, so her mother was okay with it. 'Thank god…she hasn't even suspected anything…'

Then, suddenly the doorbell rang and Kaori jumped from her seat. "I'll be back around 10, 11 at the latest, mother!" She yelled, running out of the living room and out of the house.

Hearing the door shut, her mother flipped out her phone. She dialed a number and held it up to her face, waiting for him to answer.

"Well, this is quite unexpected." A man's voice answered, girls giggling in the background.

"Where are you?" She snapped.

"Where do you think I am?" He asked back. "What do you need me for? Pageant days aren't for a month, ma'am. Or do you need me earlier?"

"Yes, I need you earlier. The girl seems to be making friends. I need someone to make sure she's not getting away from me. How soon can you be here?"

"Hmmm…I see…I can be there in…3 weeks. Is that alright?"

She huffed, easily annoyed. "Yes, yes, it's fine. What's the payment this time?"

He smiled. "Same as always…but this time, I want no protection."

She seemed amused at his answer. "Fine. Get here soon." She closed the phone and went back to her program, smiling a devil's evil smile.


"Excited?" Kiba asked, as he drove to the University's stadium, located a little way away from the Campus. He could see her leg bouncing in nervousness and a smile plastered on her face.

"Yeah!" She answered, watching the scenery that wisped by. "I haven't watched a football game since I was with my dad!" She said without thinking. It didn't even faze her that she had spoken about her father.

And it made him smile. It was getting easier for her to talk about things she didn't talk about usually, which also meant that she was able to trust him more. "Well, we're allowed to sit anywhere in the stands, so I'll let you pick the seats."

"Sweet!"

He laughed at her enthusiasm. She kind of reminded him of Naruto, only much less energized. "Oh and we're gonna meet up with a few friends of mine; Naruto and Sasuke."

She smiled, recognizing the blonde's name. She'd met him a few times before when she sat with Kiba in Asuma's class. Although, Sasuke was a complete blank to her. "Who's that?"

"Naruto's boyfriend. They've been going out for about a year now." He shot a quick look over to her. "That shit doesn't bother you, does it?"

She smiled. "Nope. Love is love no matter who it is." She answered happily. Though, it had never dawned on her that he was gay, but it made sense when she thought about it.

He nodded, agreeing with her answer. "He's not one for sports, but he's fucking crazy for Naruto; he'll do anything for him."

"And that's how it – " She stopped abruptly, seeing the stadium protruding from a few trees. "Should be!" She said with excitement.

Kiba couldn't believe it. He'd never seen her so excited before. He easily pulled into the parking lot near the stadium, finding a spot only a minute later. Shutting off the car, he looked over and asked, "Rea…"

The passenger side was empty, the door shutting as he spoke.

He laughed, exiting the car as well, the alarm beeping as Kiba locked it. "Wow, you really are excited, Kaori." He stated, seeing her bounce around the front end of the car.

She smiled. "Well, I've never been to a college game before, especially since I moved here. How can I not be?" She asked, walking with him to the front gates.

He shrugged his shoulders, smiling as well. "True."

As they reached the front of the ticket line, Kaori dug her hand into her back pocket, pulling out some money, but she was soon stopped.

"Don't worry about it." Kiba said, setting a bill on the counter, paying for both tickets.

"But – " Kaori watched the woman in the both take the money and hand Kiba two tickets.

He smiled at her, handing her a ticket as they walked out of line and further into the stadium. "No, it's okay. It's your first game; you shouldn't hafta pay for a damn thing."

She frowned. "Fine then," She took the ticket from him. "I get to pay for the food. It's not fair if you pay for everything."

He chuckled, warning her. "Okay, but I eat a lot."

She smiled back. "So do I." She watched intently as they arrived at the ticket booth, another woman taking the tickets from them, ripping them and handing them back.

"First game?" She asked, seeing as how Kiba was very calm and Kaori had already been drawn to the fence that blocked fans from the field. She was watching them practice, eyes wide, smile even wider.

He nodded, smiling. "Something of the sort."

"Well, I hope you have a lot of fun." She replied.
"Thanks." He stepped out of line, turning and looking at Kaori. He couldn't help but smile and laugh. She was just too damn cute.

He walked over, standing next to her. "Ready?"

Still smiling, she nodded. "Mm-hmm." She was too excited to speak.

He laughed again while they walked through the crowd to the stands. It was silent between the two, the noise provided by the walking crowd. At least until his hand was gripped by a rather small, cold hand. He looked down at it and pulled it a bit forward, it's owner coming with it.

"Sorry." Kaori said as she was pulled closer to him by him. "I was starting to loose you in the crowd and I'll be damned if I get lost in here. You'd never find me again."

'Damnit, Kiba,' He told himself when he realized she was voluntarily holding his hand. 'Keep down the blush…don't get nervous…'

"Kiba, are you okay?" Kaori asked as he continued to lead through the crowd. He was strangely quiet.

He shook his head and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just excited."

She grinned back. "Not as much as me!"

"I don't think anyone could be." He stated. "Were you always this excited at games?"

Her smile faded a bit when she thought about it. The last game she did go to was with her father. "Yeah." She confirmed with much less excitement. She gripped his hand a little tighter, trying to tell him that she'd rather not talk about it.

He understood the grip and quickly changed the subject. "Well, now that we're here, why don't you bounce off and find our seats?"

Her smile came back as quick as ever and she let go of his hand, bouncing in front of him. "Okay!" She began to walk off quickly, but glanced back to make sure he was with her. She didn't want to lose him in a crowd like this.

"Don't worry," He said, seeing her glance back. "I'm here, I won't lose you." He assured her.

"HEY!!"

Both their heads snapped toward the stands, seeing a blonde haired boy in orange, waving at them.

Kaori giggled and ran up the stairs and through the seats to the blonde, who sat in the near dead center of the stands. "Hi, Naruto!" She yelled, giving him a hug.

He hugged back, smiling as well. "I didn't know you were coming!!" He yelled excitedly.

Kiba, who had calmly, yet briskly walked up to meet them, explained. "Yeah, I thought I'd pay her back for raising my grade in Asuma's."

"So that's how you got smart all of a sudden." A black haired raven commented with a smirk.

"Oh, fuck off, Sasuke." Kiba replied playfully.

Sasuke smirked as well. "Been there, done that." Sasuke looked up in thought. "A few times, actually."

Kiba grimaced at the thought. "I didn't need to know that."

Still smiling, Kaori laughed. It seemed to her that she had hit the jackpot with friends.

Naruto gestured to the open seats below them, totally ignoring the spat between Kiba and Sasuke – because they had them constantly – and said, "We saved these for you." He had saved both seats by putting their jackets over them. Thankfully, it had always been that way – saving two seats – one for Kiba and the other for their jackets.

Kaori jumped down first, taking the seat that usually held their jackets. "Aww, that's sweet of you." She smiled, looking up at the blonde who sat behind her.

Kiba sat next to her, in front of Sasuke. "Yeah, you'll find it really sweet when they both get fucking wasted and start making out and groping each other." Kiba laughed, receiving a blow from Sasuke. "Ow!" He cried, holding the back of his head.

"She doesn't need to know that."

Kiba scoffed, still smiling. "She'll find out either way. I thought it'd be nice to warn her, fuck."

Letting Kiba and Sasuke continue their bickering, Kaori looked up to Naruto. "Do they always do this?"

He nodded, smiling. "Yeah, they act more like a married couple than Sasuke and I do!" He was then pummeled by both Kiba and Sasuke. "Ow, ow!! Man, you guys are mean!"

Sasuke smiled. "Don't worry, Naruto," He began, leaning closer to the blonde. "I'll check it out later tonight…"

"Aw, fuck, I don't want to hear that!!" Kiba yelled, whining much like a dog and covering his ears.

Kaori laughed.

Oh yes, she had hit the billon dollar jackpot.


It was impossible for him to not notice it.

Sasuke was sitting behind them the whole time; how could he miss it?

He leaned over to Naruto, whispering in his ear. "It's so obvious."

Naruto nodded, smiling. "I know." He hadn't missed it either.

Kiba was totally in love with the girl next to him.

He smiled at anything she said…well, he just smiled at her in general. He always listened to her when she spoke, even if she was yelling at the ref for an absurd call – which resulted in him yelling at the ref and then talking with her about how absurd the call was.

It was just way too obvious.

And Sasuke and Naruto enjoyed watching it.

For Sasuke, he now had a bigger reason to pick on Kiba, his near favorite pastime – other than molesting Naruto whenever he got the chance. "I can't wait till I get Kiba without her. He'll be soooo sorry." He whispered to Naruto.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Sasuke…"

Sasuke simply kissed his boyfriend. "Well, it's not near as fun as molesting you." Sasuke hand slipped onto Naruto's knee, gripping it forcefully.

"Sasuke!" Naruto turned deep red and with his yell, brought Kiba and Kaori's eyes to him.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "And this is how it starts…" Once again, Kiba became reacquainted with Sasuke's hand. "Bastard!" He hissed, holding the back of his head.

Kaori simply laughed. "You guys are really funny." She complimented.

Kiba, still holding the back of his head, looked at her. "Oh yes, my pain makes everyone laugh." He said with a smile.

"Than let's make us all laugh until we cry!" Naruto said happily, taking his swipe at Kiba.

"OW! Fuckers!" He yelled, now holding his shoulder. "Abuse! You're all trying to abuse me!"

"You love it." Sasuke stated, smirking that the brunette.

Now it was Kaori's turn. Though, she didn't abuse Kiba. She abused the raven and blonde behind her. "Just because abusing Kiba is amusing doesn't mean that abusing you two won't be any less amusing." She laughed.

Kiba cheered. "YES!! Someone who doesn't enjoy abusing the fuck outta me!" He was ever so thankful…until…

Kaori punched him in the arm playfully. "That doesn't mean that I won't abuse you, too!" At this moment, she was happier than she had ever been in her life. Who knew abusing people was so much fun?

Kiba became quiet, looking away from all of them. "I hate you all."

"We love you too, Kiba." The three responded.


Halftime came quicker than Kaori expected, but it came. She was having a great time with her newfound friends, even though, she had expected it to be much different.

She didn't think she'd smile and laugh as much as she did and because of it, her cheeks were beginning to hurt.

But she'd wished that she'd brought a heavier jacket, or at least worn long sleeves. It was much colder than the weather channel told her, and for it she cursed under her breath as she shivered.

Kiba had missed the shiver, too busy getting cotton candy from the cotton candy guy on the stairs.

But Sasuke and Naruto hadn't.

When Kiba came back, Sasuke leaned forward, taking a swipe of the cotton candy and took the opportunity of telling Kiba. "Give her your jacket." He said quickly and quietly, making it look like he hadn't said anything.

Kiba simply arched an eyebrow at the two above him, stuffing some cotton candy in his mouth.

Naruto nodded with a smile on his face.

Sasuke was smirking, his arm placed firmly around his boyfriend's shoulders.

'God Damnit, does everyone know?!' He screamed in his mind.

Naruto and Sasuke's reactions to his strange looked seemed to answer his question with a, "Oh hell yes."

Sighing in defeat, he handed Naruto the cotton candy, afraid Sasuke would eat it all, and slipped his jacket off. Blushing a red as deep as his tattoos, he set his warm jacket on Kaori's shoulders, trying his hardest not to make it obvious that he liked her.

She looked over at him in surprise. "What are you…?"

Facing her, but not looking at her, with the blush starting to show, he said, "You looked cold."

She smiled, ruffling up his hair. "Well, thank you." She grabbed the edges of the jacket, pulling it to fit her more securely. "You're such a sweetheart."

Kiba blushed even more, taking his sight completely away from her.

Naruto wanted to squeal with utmost joy.

Sasuke decided to make Kiba as corrupted as himself, taking the cotton candy and handing it to Kiba. "Now all you have to do is molest her and she's yours."

Kiba yelled, standing up. "Gah! You are one fucked up bastard!"

Sasuke leaned back, smirking. "It's how I won over Naruto." He nuzzled Naruto's neck. "Isn't that right?"

Kiba sighed and looked at the time clock. They had more than enough time. "Kaori," He looked over at her. "Would you like to go for a walk and let these two molest each other while we're not here?"

She really had no idea why he asked, seeing as how neither one were drunk, but agreed anyway. She needed to stretch out her legs. "Sure."

As the two of them left, Naruto looked over at Sasuke. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Sasuke smirked and kissed his boyfriend.

"You are one devious bastard."

He kissed him again.

Naruto sighed.

It was going to be a very long game.


Kiba had quickly led Kaori away from the game, reaching a small park he knew about right outside the stadium. He'd been here times before during halftime, wanting to get away from Sasuke and Naruto.

At least this time he wasn't alone.

Kaori, walking beside him, fingering the jacket that rested on her shoulders, thought it was probably one of the prettiest places she'd ever seen. The temperature, though cold, was perfect for the fireflies that lit up the park. To her, it seemed a lot like what heaven could be like at night.

She sighed heavily. "I'm really glad I met you guys." She started off, breaking the silence. "I haven't ever laughed this much before."

Kiba, still walking beside her, looked over at her. "Never?"

She shook her head. "I think so. I don't ever remember laughing until my sides hurt."

"Wow, you really do have a fucked up life." He smiled, pushing her playfully.

She pushed back, laughing. "Mine doesn't compete with yours, remember?"

He laughed too. "Yeah, yeah, I remember. I mean, how could I forget?" He looked over at her.

"I'm not sure, but you better not. I won't." She wagged her finger at him. "I'll abuse you if you do."

He covered his head with his arms. "No, no more abuse!!" He laughed, putting his arms down. "I'm not sure you're strong enough to abuse me."

She looked over at him playfully, a sly smirk across her face. "Wanna bet?"

Kiba shivered at the sound of her voice. God was it seductive. He gulped. "N-no, I'm good."

She frowned. "Oh, you're no fun. My dad made bets with me all the time!" She thought back for a moment. "Even though, he almost always lost."

He smiled, learning more about her father without having to ask about him. "Well, there's my reason." He paused for a minute and hesitated before asking, "What was he like?"

Crossing her arms from the cold, she looked away, locking onto a firefly. She seemed as if she really didn't want to talk about it.

He smiled just a bit. "You don't hafta tell me, if you don't want. I understand."

His words didn't reach her. "I have no words about my dad. I can't describe him in words; he means much more than words to me."

Kiba listened, watching her.

She sighed. "To understand my father, you'd need to understand how I came to live with him."

He nodded.

She looked over at him, in his eyes, her eyes stern and very serious. "Just don't ever tell anyone what I'm going to tell you."

He shook his head. "Never."

She smiled a small smile, sighed and turned away. She couldn't tell this story with looking at someone. It always made her cry and she hated to cry. "My dad and mom were married, like any other couple, even though they were so different. My dad was a sports guy and my mother was a beauty queen. She almost had Miss Universe, but was runner-up."

'So that's why she makes Kaori win pageants…she's living her dream through her daughter…' He continued to listen.

"After that, to her, it went downhill. She became pregnant and depressed. My father was ecstatic. And when I was born, he was even more ecstatic…and my mom became more depressed. She went on medications and went to therapy, but nothing seemed to help. When I was 4, close to 5, my dad divorced my mom. I don't remember much, being so young, but my dad always told me that mom was a good woman who'd lost her way."

He nodded.

"I don't believe that anymore." She sighed. "She fought tooth and nail when the courts decided that she was an unfit mother and I was put under custody of my father. He raised me by himself, teaching me a lot. His passion became mine and I grew up playing sports. We were working on baseball when it all happened. He was teaching me to hit the ball correctly so it would fly out of any park, when we went home for the night. He said we'd finish tomorrow – but tomorrow with him would not come."

He gulped, not liking where this was going.

"Umm…" She found it hard to speak, a lump in her throat beginning to form. "We, uh, got into a car accident on the way home. He swerved to miss a deer and the car spun out of control…rolling over a few times before coming to stop by wrapping around a pole on his side." She was very close to tears. "…He, uh…died on…im…im – " She was unable to finish her sentence, tears slowly squeezing from her eyes.

Before thinking about it, Kiba set his hands on her shoulder, wheeling her to face him. He hugged her tightly. "I'm so sorry."

She smiled at the gesture, a few tears running down her cheeks. "Thanks." She whispered quietly, letting him go and drying her eyes. She hated when people saw her cry. "But I'm not finished." She sighed shakily. "Um…I was twelve when that happened…and after that…the courts awarded her custody and I went to live with her…life greatly sucked. We argued about everything. I wanted to play sports, she wanted me to be in pageants."

He furrowed his brows at her. "Well, if you wanted to play sports, why didn't you?"

She was silent, looking away from him. "She's a horrible woman. That's all I can say."

"But that's not the answer to my question." He stated.

She sighed and looked over at him, her eyes very sad and still a little teary. "I can't give you an answer." She paused, seeing the look on his face. "Not yet, at least."

He knew he shouldn't, but he asked. "Don't trust me yet?" It turned out meaner than he meant to say it.

She stopped and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "No, Kiba." This was all starting to make her dizzy, so many things running through her mind at once. "I've never told anyone that story, okay? You're the first person I've actually told willingly. I just don't know how you'd react to the answer to that question."

He was quiet, surveying her. "Is it that bad?"

Silence was his answer.

"Okay then. I'll wait for an answer." He smiled, seeing her look up at him. "Let's get back before Sasuke starts thinking bad things."

She laughed, turning and walking with him back toward the stadium. "Doesn't he always think bad things?"

He realized she was right. "Oh, fuck. That means he's gonna be asking a thousand questions."


Unfortunately, Kiba was right.

Within 5 minutes of sitting in their seats, Sasuke had both of them deep red and looking at their feet in embarrassment.

"Sasuke, leave them alone, they just went for a walk." Naruto said, becoming the savoir of Kaori and Kiba.

"And what makes you think you can command me like that?" Sasuke asked back.

Naruto crossed his arms, grinning a very big grin. "No sex tonight."

Sasuke's eyes went wide, along with Kiba's.

Again, Kiba covered his ears. "Didn't need to hear that!" He yelled.

"WHAT?!" Sasuke yelled, staring in disbelief at Naruto.

"A week."

Sasuke freaked. "NO WAY!!"

"Two weeks." Naruto was enjoying this for all it was worth.

Kiba was not.

Sasuke, defeated, leaned back in his seat, fuming. "No fair…" He grumbled.

"What was that?" Naruto asked, looking at him with big blue eyes.

'Damn him.' Sasuke thought, hating that look. Naruto's look that made Sasuke go crazy. He gritted his teeth. "Nothing."

Naruto smiled and patted him on the head. "Good boy."

"…Now watch," Kaori said, leaning next to Kiba, pointing to the running back. "He's gonna go right, get the ball and get tackled at the 35 yd. line."

Suddenly intrigued, the three boys watched as the play was set in motion. And just like she said, the running back she had pointed out when right side, caught the ball in a jump and was tackled at the 35 yd. line.

She smiled. "See? What'd I tell you?"

Kiba stared at her. "Do it again."

"Yeah, do it again." Naruto said, leaning forward.

All of them wanted to know how she did it.

She giggled, agreeing. "Okay." She waited for the play to get set up. "Okay, this time…" Her eyes scanned the field. "Interception, but it's gonna be fumbled by a hit from the offensive lineman, and picked up by the cornerback."

Again, the play raveled out to be exactly what she said.

Kiba stared at the play. "Ho-ly fuck…" He turned to her and pulled out his wallet. "I bet you 20 that you can't do that again."

She smiled, taking the 20 from his hand. "Deal." She realized as soon as she took the money from him, that it was just like before. Her father had always made bets with her…and now Kiba was too! She shook her head, realizing the play was being set up. "Hm…okay…This time…Oh, this is gonna rock. Quarterback's gonna throw to the receiver, and he's gonna pass to the safety, who takes it for a touchdown."

The lady infront of Kaori turned around. "If you get that right, I'll give you 50."

Kaori smiled, blushing a bit. "No, that's okay! It's just a bet between me and my friend, here." She patted Kiba's shoulder.

"Yes, I know that, but I still want to do it." She replied.

Sighing, Kaori agreed. "Okay…"

The play clock winded down and the play unraveled. For the third time that night, she had perfectly predicted the play and cheered when they scored.

Standing with her, Kiba wrapped his arm around her neck, shaking her back and forth. "You are absolutely amazing." He stated, letting her go even though he really didn't want to. "You've got to teach me how to do that."

"I can teach you a lot too, Kiba." Sasuke said as they all sat back down and the woman from before handed Kaori her money.

Kiba eyed him. "I'm not learning a thing from a perverted fuck like yourself."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, smirk growing. "You'll come to me soon enough."

Kiba looked back to the field. "Yeah, in your dreams, maybe."

"Oh god." Naruto smacked his forehead. Kiba had not just said that. He was going to regret saying that.

With Naruto's "Oh god", Kiba quickly covered his ears. Whatever it was, it was not a good sign.

Thankfully for the three of them, an interception was made and the crowd around them cheered very loudly, covering anything Sasuke said.

Kiba thanked God.


It was 10:30 before any of them got out of the stadium. The home team had one, they had rejoiced and now it was time to go home and sleep. At least, for Kaori it was.

They four split up at the parking lot, Kiba and Kaori heading one way, Naruto and Sasuke the other way.

"I'm never going to hear the end of it." Kiba sighed, running a hand down his face. Sasuke was going to torture him for the rest of his life.

Kaori laughed at her friends' misfortune. She couldn't help it; she found Kiba hilarious. "You will eventually."

He looked over at her, shaking his head. "You don't know Sasuke. He's just like Hana. Finding any way to royally fuck up my life."

She smiled. "Well, you have me and Naruto to unscrew up your life, okay?" She patted his shoulder in reassurance.

"Thanks." He smiled as they reached his car and he unlocked it after pulling out his keys. He took the opportunity of opening the passenger side door before she could.

She smiled at the gesture. "Awww thanks." She said, sliding into the seat. "You're so sweet." Snuggling into the jacket that still rested on her shoulders, she smiled and pulled the seatbelt on as he shut the door.

He was beaming as he walked over to his side, got in the car, latched the seatbelt and started the car.

"Oh yeah, do you want this back?" Kaori asked, holding on to the edges. She hoped he would say no, wanting to keep it for herself. He didn't know it, but she loved how it smelled and how soft it was.

"Nah, I got like 6 more at home." He answered, keeping his eyes on the road, but stealing a glance or two at her.

She was absolutely happy, smiling and snuggling with her now favorite coat. "Okay, thanks!"

He nodded, "No problem." He was smiling as well.

As she smelled her new jacket, a thought crossed her mind. "Do you give these out to everyone?" She wondered, since Kiba was a nice guy, it wouldn't surprise her if he did.

He shook his head. "No, not really. They're all special jackets because the inside is made from the fur the dogs shed at home." He turned the wheel, the car following smoothly. "That one is made from Akamaru's and a few other's fur." He explained.

She frowned. "Aw, Kiba, I can't take this. It's got to mean a lot to you." She replied, starting to take it off.

"No, no, seriously." He refused. "Like I said, I've got more at home. We've got dog hair everywhere, so we've got to find someplace to put it." Smiling, he glanced over at her and found that she was slipping it back on.

"Well, if you insist." She smiled. Did she thank god that she got to keep his jacket.

It reminded her of him.

And she really liked him.


3 weeks later, Kaori found herself upstairs, locked in her room, almost in tears. Her mother had called him; weeks before the next pageant. Even worse, he was supposed to be with her all the time, "baby-sitting" her, by rule of her mother.

Her mother's rule was always absolute. There was no challenging her mother – bad things would come of it.

And so, she sat, almost in tears, waiting for Kiba to pick her up.

Just like before, Kiba was on his way to pick her up for the football game and god was she thankful. Though they couldn't go to the actual football game and had to "tutor", she was glad that he'd at least be with her while she had him with her.

'Maybe I can ask Kiba…No, I can't do that…I can't ask him to do that…' She thought, sniffling and rubbing her nose.

Suddenly, her door burst opened and he stood there, a tall, redheaded man about the age of 26. "Hey, babe, you're friend's here." He said, eyeing her as he leaned against the doorframe.

She was silent, getting up and grabbing her bag, walking past him and down to the door. She smiled and, for a moment, forgot he was coming with them.

Kiba, seeing him behind her, ruffled his brow. "Who's that?" He asked quietly.

"Change of plans, we've gotta tutor tonight." She mouthed, her back facing the man behind her.

"Oh." He said quietly.

"Is that okay?" She asked, trying her hardest not to cry.

He saw the glossiness of her eyes and set his hand on her head, messing up her hair. "Of course it is."

"Ahem." The redheaded man cleared his throat as he stood next to Kaori. "Damian, pleasure to meet you." He said quickly, like he didn't even mean it.

Kiba already didn't like this guy.

"Same here. Let's get going." He smiled at Kaori, who threw her bag over her shoulder and smiled back.

"Yeah, let's get this over with, shall we, babe?" Damian asked, pulling out a pack of cigarettes in one hand, his other hand slapping Kaori on the butt, making her jump and shriek.

Oh yeah, Kiba did not like this guy.

Not at all.


Kiba's dislike for him grew by the minute.

In the car ride over in Kiba's car, he made Kaori sit in the back with him, his arm wrapped around her shoulders, the other sitting on her knees. Kiba saw from the review mirror and it made his blood boil.

Not just that he was jealous, but that she obviously didn't like it and did nothing about it. It just aggravated him, making him grip the steering wheel until his knuckles were white.

It didn't get better when they arrived at his house, either.

Damian quickly rushed inside, surveying the place for some reason unknown to Kiba. Nor did he want to find out. The guy was hated enough as it is.

"You okay?" He asked, helping Kaori out of the backseat.

Shaky and very silent, she nodded. "Yeah."

"Wh – "

"Please." She begged, walking a few steps ahead of him, keeping her eyes shielded. "No questions." She turned to him, looking at him with pleading turquoise eyes. "Please."

He sighed, walking to her. "Okay. But just remember, I'm here for you. If he does shit to yo – "

"Nice place." Damian said, breaking their conversation, walking out of the house.

Kiba growled lowly. "Thanks."

Damian walked up to Kaori, sliding his hand down her back and leading her into the house.

Kiba growled even louder, following them.


Flipping out his lighter, Damian was about to light up the cigarette hanging from his lips, but was soon stopped.

"If you're gonna smoke, do it outside. We have animals and my sister is allergic to smoke." Kiba said as he leaned over his notebook, Kaori and Damian across from him.

And of course, Damian had his hands on some part of her.

"Well, fine." He said, getting up, his hands lingering on her shoulders. "I'll be back." He let her go, walking outside the house.

'Good. I'll have at least a few minutes to talk to her…'

"Don't, Kiba." Kaori stated quite softly. She was looking down at her notebook, one hand on her book, the other writing in said notebook.

He set his hand on hers, making her look up. He was pained to see the look of dread in her eyes. "Kaori," He started just as soft. "I don't like it. Tell him off."

She looked back down. "I can't." She said hopelessly.

"Than I will." He sighed. "Fuck, you're my friend, Kaori. Friends protect each other and I already told you. I'm not going to lose you to some shithead like him. You're way to important to me." He smiled. "And Sasuke and Naruto would have my neck if something happened to you."

She chuckled for the first time that night. "I guess they would." But just as she chuckled, her voice turned sour. "But seriously, the more you try to protect me, the more it's going to hurt me. And it might hurt you, so please, I'm begging you," She looked up at him right in the eyes, her eyes focused, teary and unimaginably sad. "Please, don't."

He couldn't help but agree. "Okay." He still had hold of her hand and gripped it. "But I'm always here for you. Remember that."

She looked up, gripping back. "Thank you, Kiba."

Their moment was interrupted as Damian walked back inside, his cigarette gone. He didn't notice the two's hands, since just as he had entered, they removed them. "Have fun without me, darling?" He asked Kaori, taking his previous seat beside her.

But before he could get his greedy hands on Kaori, Kiba clicked lowly, bringing his rather big dog, Akamaru into the room. He smiled.

Akamaru, seeing his best friend Kaori, immediately bounded over to her, licking her face, his bushy tail whacking Damian in the face.

"Oh, hi, Akamaru!" She said, letting him lick her face.

He proceeded to crawl over her books and Damian, taking his place on her lap.

Kiba smirked. 'So far, so good…' He smirked further when Damian tried to set his hands on Kaori.

Being Kaori's friend and a trained guard dog, Akamaru growled whenever Damian's hands got close. He snapped when he also felt that he was sitting too close to her.

That was when Kaori tapped him on the nose. "Akamaru. Be nice." She said quietly, shooting a smile to Kiba. 'Little devil…he did it on purpose She sighed. 'Maybe he can help…'

Kiba smiled and looked over at Damian. "Don't you just love dogs?"


A few days later, the situation was not any better.

Kiba sat in his seat, second row in Asuma's class, Naruto and Sasuke sitting in the row above him.

"So, I'm here, what's going on?" Sasuke said, planting his stuff beside him. Sasuke didn't have this class, a year ahead of them, he didn't need it.

It was a plus that Naruto was in it too.

"You'll see." Kiba replied angrily, leaning back in his chair. "You won't like it. Trust me."

Naruto shot a look at Sasuke, surprised at Kiba's answer. "Is this why you called him here?" Naruto asked, confused at why Kiba had called Sasuke, of all people, to sit in with them.

"Yeah."

Only a minute later, a very different Kaori walked into the room, Damian following her.

At least, to Sasuke and Naruto, she was different.

She kept her eyes shielded from them, holding her book in her hands, close to her chest. Very strangely silent, she took her seat next to Kiba, not bothering to look at any of them.

"Oh, it's you again." Damian said, flicking the cigarette in his hand, pulling his chair close to Kaori.

Kiba growled. "Yeah, it's me."

Naruto and Sasuke shared the same concerned look and Naruto leaned forward, over the desk wall and put his hand on Kaori's shoulder. "You okay, Kaori?" He asked, trying to get her to look up at him.

She nodded, not speaking at all.

"Are you – "

She moved her shoulder, pushing his hand away.

Naruto blinked and slowly leaned back into his chair. Confused, he just stared at her back, wondering why she was acting like this – something he'd never seen before.

Even Sasuke was a little confused.

But they both knew something was wrong.


 It was apparent halfway through class that something was horribly wrong.

Naruto and Sasuke watched in shock as Damian sat, particularly close to Kaori, his one hand around her waist, the other upon her knees.

Now, even Sasuke was perverted as such, but he'd never do something Naruto didn't want him too.

And it was obvious that Kaori didn't want this. She jerked every time he moved, every time he breathed on her. She shook every time he looked at her – which was almost constantly – afraid of what could, and eventually…what would happen. How she wished she hadn't told Kiba not to protect her.

Beside her, a brooding Kiba sat, fuming. He couldn't understand why she hadn't brushed him away or told him off. He sighed inwardly, scribbling in his notebook, taking a side-glance toward her like he had done the whole time.

Even if she hadn't allowed him to interfere, he could still make sure she was okay. But this time, he didn't like what he saw.

Kaori had not moved from her seat the whole time, but she was still shaking.

Damian, on the other hand, had since moved, nearly sitting ontop of her. His face was buried in her neck and hair, smelling her slightly curly locks. The hand that was upon her shoulder had since fallen to her back, rubbing the side closest to Kiba, keeping her closer to him than to Kiba. And lastly, his other hand had also moved further up her thigh and when she crossed her legs, he uncrossed them.

For once, Kaori took a deep breath and moved his hand from her legs, still shaking.

And just as suddenly as she tried to protect herself, she was jerked closer to him and his hand found it's way back to her thigh, this time, further up.

This was the last and final straw for Kiba.

He reached over, taking both of Damian's hands away from her and pushing him back a little. "Knock the shit off, we're in class." He growled quietly, looking absolutely murderous toward Damian.

Damian gave the same look back. "And what makes you think you can tell me what to do? You certainly are not the boss of me."

"Because, she doesn't like it." Kiba shot back.

Damian smirked an evil smirk. "She doesn't hafta like it." He reached over, hands wrapping around her waist, one still holding her waist and the other moving to her hip and holding onto it tightly. Setting his head on her shoulder, almost kissing her neck, he gave that same smirk to Kiba. "I get to do whatever Iwant to her."

Kaori shrieked quietly.

Before Kiba could make a scene – because everyone knew he would – Asuma, who had been watching the entire time, interjected. "If I can disrupt the class, who are you?" Standing near them, he directed his attention toward Damian.

Still keeping his hands on her, he replied, "A friend."

Asuma shot a look to Kiba, Naruto and Sasuke, who all motioned in their own way that he was not a friend. "Are you a student here?" He continued, seemingly unfazed by the pose infront of him.

"No, I'm not."

Asuma smiled a bit. "Well, than, I'm sorry, you're going to hafta leave." He paused, heading back to his desk and rummaging through the drawers. "You see, only students enrolled to the campus can sit in on classes. You'll hafta wait outside for your…friend." He explained with a smile.

Naruto smiled.

Sasuke smirked.

Kiba almost jumped out of his seat.

Upset and murderous, Damian released his grip on Kaori and stood up. "Fine." Before he walked away, he put his finger under her chin, forcing her to look at him. "I'll be waiting." And slowly, his finger slipped away as he walked down the steps and out the door.

She watched him leave, teary eyes intent on making sure he actually left. She still couldn't stop shaking. When the door shut behind him, she returned to looking at the ground, tears starting to fall.

Smiling, Kiba set his hand on her shoulder, receiving a jerk from her. "It's okay, Kaori. It's oka – " His voice disappeared as he saw tears running down her cheeks, plopping down onto her lap.

"Here."

His hand still on her shoulder, he turned to see a set of keys on his desk and Asuma standing next to him.

"My office. It's soundproof so whatever happens, no one hears it." He smiled.

Kiba, along with everyone else in the room, raised an eyebrow. "Sound…proof?"

Everyone knew that Asuma had an ongoing relationship with an English professor by the name of Kurenai, and with this…soundproof room, people began to wonder just what exactly went on between the two of them in that room.

Asuma rolled his eyes. "For the music I play. No one likes it, so they soundproofed it." He explained.

Unfortunately, no one believed him.

Nevertheless, it was a good chance for Kiba to finally find out what was going on. "Thanks, Asuma." Kiba said, taking the keys on his desk and turning back toward Kaori. "Come on," He said softly, helping her up. "Let's have a talk, okay?"

She sobbed softly, holding onto Kiba for support as he led her down the steps and into Asuma's office.

Sasuke and Naruto, both confused and angered at the situation, watched her leave.

Naruto leaned toward Sasuke, picking up his pencil to continue writing notes. "Sasuke…"

Glaring, Sasuke tried not to pound his fists on the table as he looked at the door. "Already on it." He got up, walking down the steps and to the door, walking outside.

Naruto, the only one left, sighed. He only hoped that things could go back to normal. And that Sasuke wouldn't kill this guy.


 Shutting the door behind him, Kiba turned to Kaori, who sat in Asuma's chair, still shaking and crying, looking at the floor. She just couldn't stop even though she wanted to.

Setting the keys on the desk in the small room, he looked at her before walking over. How was he going to calm her down? He sighed and knelt down in front of her, trying to catch her eyesight. "Kaori, you've got to tell us what's going on. We're worried sick about you." He said softly as she still avoided his sight.

"I," She choked out, eyes closed. "I can't."

He smiled in the least bit, figuring it was good that he'd got something out of her. "You can. No one can hear us in here and it's just me." He told her, still speaking softly.

She shook her head. "Kiba…" She tried drying her eyes and looked up at him. "I can't."

He couldn't look away from her. Her eyes, red and teary, were just mesmerizing him, holding him right in front of her. "But you've got to." He sighed. "If there's one thing I hate in this world, it's seeing you like this." He tried his absolute hardest not to hint at him liking her in the way he did without it sounding like he didn't care.

She smiled slightly, but again, shook her head. "No." She said in her smallest voice.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" He stood up, his anger and frustration starting to get the better of him. Why couldn't she trust him yet?! After all this time, how much he knew, she still didn't trust him.

"No, it's not that, Kiba." She answered, tears still rolling down her cheeks, standing up as well.

"Fuck, if it isn't that, what is it?!" He yelled, making her cringe. "You can't expect us to be able to help you if you can't tell us what the fuck's going on!! That guy is sitting there, kissing you, touching you and you aren't doing a damn thing about it!!" His eyes had closed with rage, but when he opened them, he regretted the whole thing.

Kaori had since fallen to her knees, crying even harder. "It's not…not my fault…" She sobbed heavily.

Wide-eyed, Kiba knelt to meet her. "Oh, fuck, I'm such an idiot! I'm so sorry, I'm so fu –" He stopped mid-sentence.

She had wrapped her arms around him, crying into his shoulder. Through heavy sobs, she tried to explain. "It's not…it's not my fault Kiba! I just…I just can't say it!"

After the initial shock, Kiba patted her back, trying to calm her down.

"Not that I don't trust you or anything…I can't say it!!" She gripped the back of his jacket. "Damn it!"

'Wait. If she can't say it…maybe she can…' He pulled her away from him, looking her dead in the eyes. "Lemme get this straight for a second." He smiled, trying to cheer her up a bit.

She chuckled at his smile.

"You can't say it…but could I guess and you give some hint or something? Anything, seriously." He asked, quite serious, but still had a bit of playfulness in his voice.

Sighing, she nodded her head, drying her eyes.

"Great!!" He exclaimed, standing up, pulling her up with him.

She smiled and shakily sat back in Asuma's chair.

"Okay, okay, where to start…" He mumbled, walking back and forth, until he looked over at her. "Sitting again?"

She smiled weakly. "I haven't eaten in while." She answered simply.

He didn't like that answer. "Why's that?"

She broke eye contact, sighing. "…"

"If this is gonna work, I need answers." He tried to say without sounding mean. He was still looking at her as if she didn't look away.

"My mom thinks I'm not skinny enough."

He stared at her for a second.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's ridiculous, but I can't do anything about it." She finished. "But don't worry, I snack here and there, so I'm okay." She assured him, looking back at him.

He nodded. "Why can't you do anything about it?"

With his question, it seemed as if her whole demeanor changed. "Damian." She hissed.

"Damian? He's the one…controlling you?" He asked, moving closer to her.

She shook her head.

"Your mom is?"

She nodded.

"And he's tied in with your mother?"

Again, she nodded. "He's one of the judges in the pageant. He…teaches me for free…for certain things…" She whispered, looking down.

Kiba took a few more steps forward and again kneeled infront of her, catching her sight. "Certain things?" He arched an eyebrow.

Feeling tears well up in her eyes again, she closed them tightly, nodding her head slightly, her hands clenching her jeans.

Kiba did not like this at all. If it was bad enough to make her tear up at the mere mention, it had to be really bad. "Is that why…" He reached up and grabbed her hands before asking, feeling her gripping them back. "he's allowed to…do things like earlier?"

She nodded, letting out a sob.

Kiba didn't know which he felt more – anger or pity. Anger, for letting this go on and not being able to do anything about it or pity for what was going on with the family. Could he even call it a family?

Still sobbing, she really gripped his hands and forced herself to say it. "That and a lot more."

His eyes went wide as he looked at her. He let go of her hands.

She looked up, confused at why he let her go. "Ki – "

She got her answer when Kiba pulled her into his arms. "I'll never let that fucker put his hands on you again. Never again."


Damian looked up, hearing the door to the class open.

He was disappointed to find a black haired guy walking out. He sighed, surprised when the raven sat next to him. "Hey."

"Sup?" Damian responded, pulling out his pack of cigarettes. "Want one?"

The raven shook his head. "Don't smoke."

Damian frowned, taking back his cigarettes. "Pity." He took one out, lighting it and taking a drag. "Damian."

"Sasuke." The raven, Sasuke, answered. "Are you Kaori's boyfriend?" He asked.

He smirked, taking another long drag. "Nope. I just…own her, that's all."

Sasuke arched an eyebrow. "Own her?"

"Well," Damian looked over at him. "I don't "own" her…but her mother doesn't give a rats ass what I do to her. So, I've got free reign over her." He explained. "That one guy, the brunette, sitting with her,"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, pretending not to know Kiba. He had to in order to get information from this guy.

"He's taught her some bad shit and I'm going to teach her a lesson tonight." He answered, grinning a very evil grin.

"I see." Sasuke said, nodding. "Lesson, as in?" He led on.

Damian scoffed. "You're what? 19, 20? You know what I'm talking about."

Sasuke was a little shocked, but managed to hide it. "Oh, fuck." He pulled his phone out from his pocket, pretending it had vibrated in his pocket. "Nice talking to you." He said as he put it back in his pocket and walked back into the classroom.

"Same here."

Sasuke couldn't believe it, though it took a minute to set in as he walked back up to his seat beside his boyfriend.

Naruto watched him sit beside him and leaned over, whispering, "What did you find out?"

Sasuke grimaced, looking at Asuma's office door. "Nothing good."


Only minutes later the same office door opened and a much calmer Kaori walked out with a very pissed off Kiba.

Sasuke and Naruto could tell just by the glare and murderous aura he gave off that he wasn't exactly happy.

They watched the two of them return to their seats silently, trying not to disrupt the class. Kaori pulled her chair away from Damian's empty seat, setting it close to Kiba. She seemed much calmer, her eyes still red, but so much calmer. The only thing that really hinted to any nervousness she had was that with both hands, she held Kiba's left hand tightly. She hadn't let it go since she walked out of the office.

Not that he minded, of course. He simply gripped her hand back, almost telling her that he wouldn't let her go – which he really wouldn't.

Naruto, again, wanted to squeal. 'They're so cute together!' He thought, watching them. Smiling, he leaned forward, poking Kaori in the back.

She turned, sniffling, but smiling a small smile.

"You okay, sweets?" He asked, knowing he'd bribe Kiba for the notes he'd missed.

She nodded, her smiling growing. "Yeah, I'm okay now."

He smiled back. "Good. I was afraid Kiba was gonna say something stupid."

This time, Sasuke leaned in. He was always in on Kiba-bashing. "For Kiba, saying something stupid is normal."

"Hey," Kiba turned around, glaring at the both of them. "I'm – "

"My bitch." Sasuke interjected, smirking.

Giggling, Kaori jerked Kiba toward her. "If anything, he's my bitch." She whispered.

Kiba went along with it, smiling as well. "Yeah, she's my owner, so you better back off before I go rabid on both your asses."

"Oh, no!" Naruto faked, falling back in his seat. "I better just stay out of this before I get hurt! Sasuke, save me!!"

He chuckled, leaning over to his boyfriend, looking him dead in the eyes, a mischievous grin on his face. "I'll save you tonight…" He smirked.

Kiba grimaced and turned back around, starting to take notes again. "Didn't need to hear that." He thought that focusing on his notes would tune out any part of that conversation.

"Well, if you're her dog, where's your collar?" Sasuke asked, leaning back in his seat and putting his arm around Naruto's shoulders.

Kiba blinked and looked over at Kaori.

She shrugged her shoulders. "He's got a point."

"Yeah," Kiba mock whined. "I don't want to get lost on my way home."

She giggled, patting his head. "Don't worry, I'll get you a pretty pink collar."

He whined again. "Please, anything but…pink." He said with disgust.

She sighed; a little tired with everything that had gone on and maneuvered her hands. She kept her left hand with his, but pulled her right hand away, slipping her arm under his and then grasping his hand again. This made it much easier to set her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Okay, anything but pink."

He glanced over at her and smiled, happy for her – and trying not to smile so much. His cheeks were starting to hurt.

Seeing her sleeping on Kiba's shoulder, Naruto almost jumped out of his seat. He wished he had a camera with him, but sighed as he soon realized he didn't.

"Kiba?"

He glimpsed back at her, seeing her eyes still closed. "Hm?"

"I don't know what I'd do without you." She was smiling.


"Hey, Kaori," Kiba whispered, gently shaking her. "Time to wake up."

Slowly, her eyes fluttered open. "Wha?" She asked, sitting up, but still not letting go of his hand. When she saw the students around them leaving, she gripped his hand.

He chuckled, knowing why she had gripped his hand. "It's okay. Asuma's having us go out the other doors." He smiled at her, putting his stuff back into this bag.

She in turn, started putting her stuff away too. "Other doors?"

"Yeah," Sasuke cut in. "There's another set of doors that leads to another parking lot. They're auxiliary doors." He explained.

"But – "

Naruto smiled, answering her next question. "Asuma's doing it for you. He doesn't really like guys who take advantage of girls, so he wants to make sure you're okay."

She just stared at all of them.

"Don't worry." Kiba started, chuckling at her expression. "We're gonna leave that bastard here and I'm gonna take you somewhere special, you deserve it."

They started walking down the steps, following the crowd.

"Special?" She asked, excitement growing. She was rather fond of surprises.

He smirked. "You'll see."

"Oh, trust me, you'll be excited." Naruto said, smiling.

Walking out of the building, leaving Damian, Asuma caught up with his students who were walking together.

"Yo." He started, catching up to them, looking at Kaori. "You okay now?"

She nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I'm fine now." She gripped the hand that still held hers. "I had a really good friend who helped me out."

Ever-so-slightly, yet visible, Kiba blushed.

Sasuke saw it and whispered to Naruto, "He's never gonna live this down."

"Sasuke, leave him alone."

Kiba shot a look at them. "I heard that."

"Alright then," Asuma said, his attention focused on Kaori. "I gotta get going, got someone I gotta see, ya know?"

"Yeah, yeah," Kiba started, rolling his eyes.

"Go molest her already, would ya?" Sasuke finished, un-amused.

Asuma quickly departed, smiling.

Naruto and Kaori looked at the raven and brunette.

"That was really freaky." They said at the same time.


"…So…" Kaori drawled, sitting in the front seat of Kiba's car, smiling. She had let go of his hand, making it possible for him to drive, since he would be the one driving. "Where're we going?" She asked with excitement.

He smiled, happy with the change in her personality – and the fact that Mr. Jackass wasn't there. "You'll see. It's a surprise. Oh yeah," He started as they stopped at a red light. He motioned to the glove box above Kaori's knees. "there's a blindfold in there, or at least, a bandana. Put it on, okay?"

She eyed him with a grin, raising an eyebrow. "A blindfold?"

He grinned as well, keeping his eyes on the road. "Just put it on. I can't let you see it, or else you'll kill me in the car and then we'll both crash and die." He explained, laughing.

Still grinning, she listened to him, opening the glove box and pulling out a black bandana. Setting it on her lap, she folded it and set it upon her eyes, tying a knot behind her head. "Okay, it's on." She said with a smile.

He looked over, slipping a hand off the wheel and waving it in front of her face.

She gave no reaction.

'Good.' He thought, putting his hand back on the wheel and continuing to drive.

"Question."

"Shoot." He replied.

She sighed before asking in a very meek voice. "What happens if Damian finds out?"

His smile frowned a bit at the mention of Damian, never wanting to hear that name ever again. But with the thought of where he was taking her, he confidently said, "He won't. Only I know where we're going, so even if that bastard finds out, he can't find us."

"Why's that?"

"Because where we're going is a place that only Naruto, Sasuke and a couple more friends of ours know. We made it when we were kids, so only we know where it is." He explained further.

She smiled, seeing how he'd thought it out. "Sounds like you thought this all out."

He laughed. "I did. Like I said, I'll never let that fucker put his hands on you." He reminded her, also reminding him of what he was going to do when they got there.

She sighed, leaning her body on the doorframe, her head leaning on the window. If she wasn't blindfolded, she'd be looking outside, rather sadly. Quietly, she said, "Thank you, Kiba."

He smiled, glancing back at her. "No problem."


 Kaori squealed quietly, feeling the car come to a halt.

In return, Kiba chuckled. "Yeah, we're here." He looked over at her, seeing her still blindfolded. "Oh, yeah, you can…"

She turned toward him. "What?"

"Well," He smiled. "Let's wait until we get out of the car, huh?"

The passenger side door slammed in his face.

Kiba could do nothing but laugh and exit the car.

Kaori remained next to the car, unable to see if something was in her way or not. Soon after, she heard Kiba exit the car and felt a presence right infront of her.

"Ready?" Kiba asked, standing in front of her.

For some odd reason, she didn't feel uncomfortable being this close to Kiba. She definitely knew the difference between Kiba and Damian, but still, she was always uncomfortable around Damian, so why was it that being close to Kiba was different? "Yeah!" She said, hoping to see what she wanted to see: him.

Fortunately for her, he was the first thing she saw as he took the blindfold off her eyes, smiling at her. He knew she was going to love this.

But when he moved from her line of sight, she wasn't exactly in love with the view. She cocked her head at it. "…Your secret "spot" is a wooden fence?" She asked.

He laughed, looking at her then the fence. "I can see how you got that, but fuck no. It's what's on the other side of the fence."

She stared at it, wondering what could be on the other side as Kiba stood next to her. "Oh."

"Yeah, only part is," He said, walking up to the fence, eyeing it, Kaori following. "There's no door, so we need to hop the fence."

She looked at the fence as she stood next to it. It looked rather tall from where she was standing. "Uhh…"

"What?"

She snapped out of her trance, looking over at him. "Nothing." She said with a fake smile. "How're we gonna scale this thing?"

He grinned at her. "Well, first, I'm gonna boost you up, then you help me up, I'll get down and then help you down. Work for you?"

She gulped. If there was one of those natural fears, it was heights for Kaori. Even though the fence wasn't that high, it still unnerved her. But, curiosity killed the cat. "Yeah." She said with utter confidence. "Let's go."

"Fuck yeah!" Kiba yelled, beaming. He knelt down, putting one hand on the other and then looked up at her.

She smiled back at him. 'At least I didn't wear a skirt today…' She thought, setting her hands firmly on Kiba's equally firm shoulders, setting her foot on his hands. She looked back down at him, serious as could be. "Don't drop me."

He frowned playfully. "You'd really think I'd do that?"

She laughed, thinking about how cute his frown was, but came back to reality. "Just don't, okay? I've got enough bruises, I don't need more."

He didn't like that statement, but shrugged it off. He'd ask later. "Okay, on three." With every number said, he "bounced", letting her get used to it before he lifted her. "One…two…three!" Effortlessly, he lifted her up, her whole weight balanced solely in the foot that Kiba held.

She hesitantly let her hands leave his shoulders and grabbed onto the top of the fence wall. She pulled herself up as if she were getting out of a pool and sat as if she was on a horse. She hadn't bothered to look what was on the other side of fence. "Okay, now for you." She smiled down at Kiba, but ended up confused.

He was ready to jump and he did jump, barely reaching the top of the wall, his hands grasping the top of the wall.

"Kiba!" She yelled in alarm, grabbing his arm and helping him up as his feet slid against the smooth wood. "You're – "

"I know, I know," He cut her off, grinning a huge grin. "I'm a crazy fuck, but you love it."

She huffed as he sat across from her, swinging both legs to the other side of the fence. "Kiba, you could've gotten hurt."

He smiled at her concern, but pointed to the field that she could've easily looked at. But she chose to look at him. "I thought you would've noticed by now, shit."

She closed her eyes. "I figured that it's gotta be something awesome, so I'd rather see it when I'm on the ground, when I can't freak out, fall off and get hurt." She said, smiling.

She most definitely had a point. "Makes sense." He put his hands down; holding the wood firmly, ready to jump off.

She watched as he jumped off, landing on his feet, his knees taking the shock of the jump. Her eyes watched and then trailed to the ground after he landed. From her view, it was a long way down.

Dusting off his pants, Kiba moved out of the way, letting her jump down too. At least, until he saw her staring at the ground, her face a little paler than normal.

"Uummm…" She started off, holding onto the edge tightly. "I probably should've mentioned – "

He chuckled, seeing her fidget. It was nice to see the girl scared, but not where it could harm her emotionally. "Scared of heights?"

"Oh yeah."

He laughed this time. "Fuck, you must be scared." He moved directly in front of her, smiling up at her, holding his arms out for her.

She stared at him.

"Don't worry. If you won't jump, I'll just catch you."

"Kiba, I don't thin – "

"You'll be fine." He assured her.

She bit her lip, unsure. But when she looked back at him, her fear seemed to dissipate and she reached out for him.

He smiled, his voice soft and sure. "There you go." He placed his hands on her waist first, then letting her place her hands on his shoulders before she slid off the wall.

For the second time that afternoon, her weight was literally in his hands.

He lowered her down, faces coming dangerously close. His eyes focused on hers, she looked down until her feet planted firmly on the ground.

She looked up at him, hands still on his shoulders, his hands still on her waist. "Thank you." She could feel herself blush, being so close to him made the butterflies in her stomach fly up.

Blushing as well, he stepped back, letting her go, even though he really didn't want to. "No problem."

"So, uh, what's out here?" She asked, bringing blushes down and reminding him of why they were there. "Better not be another fence."

He laughed, moving out of her way. "Oh, just a baseball field."

Seeing it, and hearing his answer, Kaori almost fainted. She gasped, her lips growing into a smile. "You didn't!!" She screamed in excitement.

He couldn't help but smile. "Fuck yes, I did." Before he knew it, the female's arms were wrapped around his neck and she was shaking him.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, I don't know what to say!!" She almost hollered in his ear.

He laughed again, hugging her back. "How about…" He pulled away from her, smiling. "Play ball?"

"Yeah! Play ball!!"


 "Okay, I'm ready!!" Kaori said, holding an aluminum bat in her hands, standing at home plate.

Kiba, across from her at the pitcher's mound, smiled. "No you're not, silly! Get in your stance!!"

"Oh yeah, sorry!!" She replied, gripping the bat and standing on the right side of the plate, assuming the batter's stance.

Kiba looked at her, a little bit confused. "I thought…Kaori, I thought you were right handed…" He said loud enough for her to hear. Only a left-handed batter stood on the right side of the plate.

She smiled, putting down her bat. "It was the last thing my dad taught me." She looked up, noticing the fading sunlight on the sky. "He showed me how to bat on both sides, so that I could be a star batter, if I ever got on the team." She explained, picking up the bat.

From the pitcher's mound, Kiba smiled. "Nice trick."

She smirked back. "I know." She assumed the stance her father taught her, remembering it as if he taught it to her yesterday. "Bet you I get it on the first shot!"

He smirked as well, holding a ball behind his back. "3rd shot!" He yelled back, winding up and pitching.

"Ha, yeah…right!!" She yelled, swinging through and hitting the ball with all her might.

The ball flew right over Kiba's head, landing between center and left field.

Kiba watched it fly and then looked back toward her. "Nice shot, but no home run!"

"Hush up and pitch!!" She yelled back playfully, assuming her stance again.

He smiled and followed orders, pitching once again. "Yes, owner!!"

She laughed and smacked at the ball again. "Good boy!"

This time the ball whizzed past Kiba, heading right for left field and landed father than the previous shot.

"Ah, damn it." Kaori grumbled, setting her bat over her shoulders.

"Don't worry, you'll get it. It's not some easy shit, ya know?" He yelled over, seeing her sigh.

She had sighed and rotated her arm, switching sides. "I know I will…It's just getting there."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know. It's a bitch, trust me."

"Oh, I do." She gripped the handle of the bat, smirking. "Let's try this again."

For the third time in the growing darkness, he pitched and she hit.

She watched it fly, seeing it go right past the fence. Her jaw dropped and the bat fell right out of her hands. "…" She tried speaking, but nothing came out.

Kiba laughed when he looked at her as he walked up. "I won the bet, fork it over!" He yelled, holding out his hand.

"U-uhhh…" She started, still unable to speak.

He smiled. "Oh, come on," He pushed her gently, trying to snap her back in reality. "it's not that hard to speak. Even Akamaru can."

She looked at him, finally coming back to reality. "Bark. Bark."

"Very funny." He chuckled, taking the bat and throwing it near the fence. "Now, let's go get that ball so you can autograph it and have it forever." He grabbed her arm, yanking her with him out to the fields.

She followed, letting him drag her. "Autograph it?"

He shrugged his shoulders, looking back at her. "It's what the pros do, so why can't you?"

"Okay then." She replied, smiling.


 Unfortunately for them, the approaching darkness had set in and with the overgrown grass it was very hard to spot the baseballs.

They had at least attempted to find them, just walking together to center and left field, but very soon, Kiba looked over at Kaori, his hands in his pockets.

He was just glancing over, trying not to make to super obvious that he kept looking at her. He sighed, looking down at the ground, an aimless effort to make it appear as if he were searching. But he wasn't. He was too busy thinking about her and how much he really liked her. No, how much he loved her.

He realized it during their class, when she was asleep on his shoulder, holding his hand. It also helped that Naruto and Sasuke were in love and were acting strangely close to how he and Kaori were – minus Sasuke's pervertedness.

The thought that then crossed his mind was did Kaori love him?

It seemed apparent, the way she acted with him, always close to him, smiling and laughing with him, holding his hand and so many other things, but how could he really be sure if she didn't say it?

He sighed again.

Kaori, on the other hand, looked over at him with his sigh. She'd never heard Kiba sigh so much before and wondered what could be wrong. But while he looked away, she took the chance to look at him. She felt childish doing it, but she couldn't help herself; Kiba was just too cute and way too hot.

His overprotective, doglike, rash, wild nature just made her smile. She knew she'd felt this feeling before, but where, she didn't know.

"Hey, do you think we should call it quits and find them tomorrow?" Kiba asked, bringing her out of her thoughts, realizing she was already looking at him when he looked up.

She quickly looked away. "Yeah, sure. They'll be here, right?" She asked, meeting up with him before they walked back to the dugout.

"Well, they can't grow feet and walk away." He pointed out, laughing.

She laughed back. "I had to ask."

It fell comfortably silent between the two, until they reached the dugout, which was really just a bench with a wood board behind it and a locked safety box underneath the bench. The box was for the sports equipment they left at the field.

She sat down first, sitting near the middle of the bench, stretching her feet out. She sighed as she sat, leaning back on the board behind her.

He sat beside her, almost in the same pose as her, only he was much more relaxed.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" She asked, looking up at the growing night sky.

He looked at her first, then looked up as well. "Never really noticed."

"I used to do this all the time with my dad." She said, still looking up at the appearing stars. "Looking at the stars, I mean."

"Yeah," He said, watching her. "I know what you mean."

She sighed, her neck starting to hurt form the angle it was resting at, but ignored the pain. "It's amazing how something that seems so small, yet so large can make a person feel like the tiniest thing." She said, giving her neck a rest and bringing it back to normal, but looking at Kiba. She noticed, just as he did before, that he was already looking at her. "What?" She asked, blushing a bit, but unable to look away.

He smiled, looking up, also blushing. "Nothing. Just the fact that it's nice to hear you talk, that's all."

She chuckled, looking up as well. "Sure it is."

"Hey, I mean it. You're smarter than what people give you credit for." He replied.

She smiled and looked at him, elbowing him lightly. "So are you, but I can say for sure that your smarts aren't why people love you, Kiba."

He looked over at her, arching an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"Oh yeah," She laughed. "I thought you would've known." She brought her eyes to his, smiling. "You're the best friend I could ever ask for."

He just stared at her.

Her sight lingered with his for a moment more, before reaching up again. "I've been thinking for a while about what's been going on. And I came to a conclusion, but I need to make sure I'm thinking that it's the right thing to do." She said softly.

"Sure." He said, after wondering what her conclusion was.

She sighed heavily. "I've been thinking about running away."

At her words, his heart sank and heartbeat quickened. Never seeing her again? He wouldn't stand for it.

"But, I realized there's too much here for me to leave behind, mainly you. And thinking that, I'm not sure what to do anymore." She said with a shrug. "I don't really have any place to go, anyways."

He sat up a little bit, bringing her attention to him at the sudden movement. "You always have a place to go to. What d'ya think I'm for?" He asked with a smile.

"Yeah, but I can't live with you, Kiba."

"Of course you can." He replied hastily. "Yeah, we don't really have extra rooms, but you can always stay with me and Akamaru."

She giggled, thinking about how that would work. She and Akamaru would get the bed – a good smelling, warm bed – and poor Kiba would get the floor. At least, when he didn't feel like sharing.

"See?" He said, grinning. "You're thinking about it already."

She put her hands up, smiling. "Guilty as charged. But," She looked up again. "What's the point? My mom and Damian will try to find me, which they always do and she'll just drag me out, blaming me for my dad dying."

"Is that what she does?"

She glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"I've been wondering for a while why you followed your mother's orders and I knew Damian was part of it, but there had to be a bigger reason." He explained. "So, she blames you for him dying and makes you feel like you owe her or something, right?" He asked, looking straight at her. He had to ask her, but he knew he was right.

Kaori looked away from him, her stars her escape. She could feel tears brimming on her eyes and swore in her mind. Why was it that anytime she was with him and they brought this up, she cried? "She always tells me that it's my fault. My fault that the only person who actually cared enough to love something like me died." She let a few tears slip from her eyes and in her best mocking voice said, ""It's a shame you didn't die in his place…he at least had something to offer this world.""

He gaped at her. How could any mother say that to her daughter, let alone let someone do that to her daughter? It just astounded him, but he knew he couldn't stay silent. He turned, sitting so he was facing her and made her do the same, drying her eyes. "She's fucking wrong about everything."
She sniffled, her eyes drying a little. "Wha – "

He put his finger on her lips. "No, just listen." He said, his heartbeat quickening. "It's not your fault at all. Shit, we both know things happen for a reason…like us meeting. It all happened for a reason." He couldn't help it anymore. He had to tell her. "Do you know what that reason is?"

She shook her head. "…Not really."

He smiled, shaking on the inside, but calm and collected on the outside, looking into her turquoise eyes. "So that I could love you in his place."

She just stared, not knowing how to react. She had drawn up a total blank…at least until her brain jumpstarted again. Strange enough, she felt happy. "Say it again." She said, sounding if she was pleading, and in fact, she was.

He could hear the happiness in her voice, but was confused at what she said. "What?"

She smiled, giggling at his cute, but confused look. "Say it again."

"Ohh," He said with a smile, feeling very embarrassed that he didn't get it the first time. But what made him happier was that it was like she was saying it back to him. "Come here, you." He said playfully, pulling her into his arms. "I love you."

She laughed as his hands tickled her sides, burrowing her face in his neck, just loving the way he smelt. "You don't know how long it's been since I've heard someone say that to me." She said softly.

"I think it's been a little too long." He whispered back, planting a kiss on her soft curls.

She let him pull her closer to him, happy like never before. "I love you, Kiba."


 Unfortunately for them, their happiness did not last long as they both heard a car drive up and two doors open and close.

"I know you're here, you bitch! You won't get off easy for pulling something like this!" Damian shouted from the other side of the fence, contemplating how they were going to get through.

Kaori's mother watched him.

Still holding Kaori in his arms though she had turned around, her back against Kiba's chest, Kiba looked to the sound of Damian's voice and growled. "Fuck!" He swore. "How'd they find us?!" He asked to no one in particular.

Kaori gripped the hands that held her. How could she have been so stupid? Her mother was here for her and only her, but now that Kiba was involved – and he wouldn't let her go with them – there was no escaping her and Damian.

She sighed and made her descision, starting to pull away from him.

He pulled back, growling lowly. "No." He said firmly. "I'm not letting you go."

"Kiba…" She started. "They're here for me and only me. If you get involved, Damian'll murder you and you can't win against him! They won't let me go either…so, please, just let – "

"Don't you dare ask me to do that." He growled loudly, setting his chin on her head. "You said it yourself, earlier, Kaori. I am yours and you are mine. No one else's. I'm not letting you go with him." He said confidently.

They both jerked when the fence near home plate shattered and cracked in half, two blinding lights flooding the dark field.

Damian had rammed his car through the fence to get through it quickly. As he stepped out of the car, he lit the cigarette hanging from his lips, walking toward the two after seeing them – together – at the dugout. He calmly walked toward them, pulling out a pair of brass knuckles from his pocket.

Kaori's mother, who had not been in the car during the ramming, followed the path of the car into the field, following Damian's footsteps. A malicious smirk crossed her lips when she saw the two of them together and Damian pulling out his brass knuckles.

As Damian and Kaori's mother neared them, Kiba stood up and walked out to meet him, Kaori following. "Why don't you just leave her alone?" He asked, stopping and putting a good few feet in-between them, making sure Kaori was safely behind him.

"Because, my dear," Kaori's mother started, looking at her daughter. "She's not yours to deal with. She's my problem."

Kiba growled. "She's not a problem, she's your daughter." He could feel Kaori holding his shirt, as if she was begging him to stop.

"I don't have a daughter." She answered; smiling and snapping her fingers, averting her sight back to Kaori. "Let's go. You've got work to do."

Kaori didn't move.

Her mother tilted her head, smirk growing larger. "Oh? You don't want to obey me? I guess you need to learn a lesson then…Damian…"

Damian nodded. "Already done, and this is for free. I've wanted to beat the fuck outa this guy since the day I met him." Damian said, cracking his knuckles, walking toward Kiba.

Kiba pushed Kaori further behind him, growling and cracking his knuckles as well.

"Don't Kiba." Kaori pleaded.

"Yeah, listen to your little whore." Damian said with a smile.

His words sent Kiba over the edge and right into an attack. He charged Damian, his hands balling into fists, teeth grinding.

Damian was ready for his attack, moving aside, kneeling and punching Kiba hard into the stomach.

Kiba hacked, falling on his knees, holding his stomach. He wasn't on his knees for long, trying to stand. "Fuck!" He yelled in pain.

And as Kaori tried to help him, her mother held her back, whispering into her daughter's ear. "It's all your fault, you know. None of this would be happening if you just listened to me…"

"No!" Kaori screamed, shaking her head, trying to get free of her mother, yet watching Damian wail on Kiba. "It's not true!"

"Oh, but it is!" She answered. "It's always been your fault. Your father dying and now look, it's your fault he's going to die."

Pushing Kiba to the ground, Damian sat on Kiba's chest, completely and totally wailing on him. "You should've stayed out of it." Damian said through punches. "You wouldn't be in so much pain and suffering if you had."

Kiba, bruised and bloodied, smirked. "Pain and suffering?" He spit on Damian, laughing the best he could with a bloody nose and a deficiency of air. "You obviously don't know what it's like not being able to help the person you love."

Damian growled and punched again.

Crying and breathing hard, Kaori screamed. "Stop it!! Just STOP!!" Her knees almost buckled.

Her mother smiled. "Alright Damian, enough. Let's get home."

Damian held back a poised fist, smiled and stood up, walking away from Kiba, leaving him lying on the ground. He realized soon after, that he was bleeding from his jaw. "Fucking bastard made me bleed!" He snarled.

Kaori's mother, knowing she'd broken her daughter easily, tried to move her to the car, but found her daughter planted in that spot. "Damian, get your ass over here and move her." She commanded.

Spitting, Damian nodded, walking over to Kaori and her mother. "You've caused me a lot of troub – "

And just as he was about to set his hands upon her, he was mauled over, falling onto the ground with Kiba sitting on him, holding him down with one hand and the other hand pounding on Damian's face. "Don't even think about touching her!" He snapped, hitting him hard across the face.

Kaori, who still hadn't moved, stared into space. Did what she thought happen, happen?

Her mother snarled, cursing the brunette. He had more fight in him than she thought. "Alright, you," She said, grabbing her daughter's arm and pulling her away. "Time to go." She forcefully pushed her daughter to the car, shoving her into the backseat, shutting and locking all the doors. She turned, leaning on the car, ignoring her daughter's cries, watching the fight continue between Kiba and Damian.

Kiba was still sitting on Damian, getting a few goods shots in before Damian was able to shove him off. He rolled along the ground until catching himself and dragging a few inches back while kneeling. "Son of a bitch…" Kiba mumbled, rubbing his jaw gingerly, spitting the blood out of his mouth.

Damian stood up as well, at least, hunched over. His face was as beaten as Kiba's, if not more. Why didn't he trust his instincts? He knew from the beginning that Kiba was going to be trouble – and boy was he right. "You know," He started, trying to catch his breath. "This wouldn't be happening if you hadn't taught her such bad manners."

"Bad manners?" Kiba asked back, equally breathless. "Fuck that, fuck you. I'm not leaving here without her."

"Over my dead body. I've got to get my payment somehow and I'll be damned if a bitch like you stops me." Damian replied, a smirk on his face.

"Well, then," Kiba said, also smirking. "I guess you're just damned." He charged Damian, royally pissed off, but also somewhat enjoying himself. Kiba had always liked to fight, going way back to when he was a child. He'd even gotten detentions because of it. Plus, he had something to fight for now.

But no matter how much will Kiba had, Damian was stronger. Within minutes, he had Kiba doubled over on the ground, softly whimpering in pain.

"That's right." Damian said, breathless, pulling off his brass knuckles. "Whine like the dog you are."

"Damian! Let's go, I'm getting impatient!" Kaori's mother yelled, still resting on the car, her arms crossed.

Silent, Damian walked off, leaving Kiba on the ground.

When he reached her mother, she huffed. "Did you finally get rid of him?"

"Yeah," Damian nodded. "I don't think he'll be getting up for a while."

Little did they know, Kiba could hear their hushed conversation, resting his beaten body before trying to get up.

"Good." She said, opening her car door as Damian when to the driver's side, opening his door.

"Don't forget my payment."

"I know." She said, seeming quite happy. "No protection, but I swear, if you get her pregnant, she's yours to deal with, not mine."

Kiba's heart almost stopped, hearing her words, staring at her the best he could. How could anyone be so cruel? Kiba knew now more then ever that Kaori needed him.

He watched as the car pulled out of the field and drove off, wondering how the car could even work after ramming the fence. With some of his strength back, he pushed himself off the ground, getting up slowly, his body sore and in pain.

He reached his car minutes later, cursing at his sore body. Every minute past was a minute lost.

He pulled his phone out, breathing hard and held down the 3 key, holding it close to his ear.

"Kiba?" Hana, his older sister answered, confused. "What are – "

"Listen to me, Hana." He spoke, anger and tiredness expressed in his voice. "I don't have a lot of time to explain, but call the police and send them to Kaori's house. I'm already on my way." He tried to say quickly, tiring himself even more.

She was silent on the other side. "Are you hurt?"

"Just get them there. Please." He started the car, swearing as he pulled on his seatbelt.

Never before hearing her brother plead with her, she smiled. "Okay, Kiba. I'll see you in a bit."

"Hopefully." He said as he closed the phone, throwing it on the ground. He needed to concentrate on driving, if he wanted to get there soon, he had to drive fast.


When he arrived about 10 minutes later, it looked as if nothing was wrong, like a daughter and mother came home after a night of shopping.

But as he stepped out of his car, his mind knew that anything but the right thing was happening inside the house. He felt the hood of the car next to his; it was quite warm, which meant it hadn't been sitting out for long.

He was even more surprised, finding the front door unlocked – as if they had known he wasn't go to show up – but boy, were they wrong.

He walked in silently, closing the door just as silent, seeing a light on just down the hall from him. Intrigued, he walked toward it, finding the living room placed in front of him and…Kaori's mother pleasantly sitting in a chair, rocking and smiling as she watched tv.

"I know you're there." She said, her eyes not leaving the tv.

He stood stiff, surprised that she knew he was there. Even though, he stayed silent.

"I didn't think you would come after such a sound beating." She sounded almost happy, thinking about how Damian had beaten him.

"Why wouldn't I?" He asked back, completely angered with the woman sitting a few feet from him.

"Well, the girl's tainted, first off." She started. "And after that display, she means nothing to me. She was only good for looking pretty."

"No, she's not." Kiba growled. "Your daughter is an amazing girl. She's smart, she's pretty, she's everything you're not." He said, still standing there.

She stopped rocking. "The only thing she is, is the reason I lost Miss Universe, that's what she is. I have no use of her anymore."

Just as she finished, he heard a scream from upstairs.

"I won't stop you."

Kiba was already gone, down the hall, trying to find the stairs.

"Let m – mrrff!!" Kaori's voice was muffled, forced down by a kiss she didn't want.

On her own bed, she was pinned down, Damian sitting on top of her, holding her arms down. Her legs, free of his grasp, were flying back and forth, trying to kick him off of her.

But, Kaori wasn't stupid. If she didn't want to be kissed, she knew how to stop it. His lips still on hers, she opened her mouth and bit the lip that Kiba had split open.

He reared back in pain, still holding her down. "You bitch!" He yelled, taking his hand away from her arm and punching her right across the face.

"I told you before," She said, ignoring the pain, her feet still kicking. "I won't sit back and take it like I did before! Get off of me!!" With her free hand, she tried to push him off but found herself forced back down.

He put his hand back down on her arm, brining his face so close to hers, she could feel him breathing against her. "And I'll tell you this, love," He said, not moving away, but lips trailing down her neck and her collar bone, near her chest. "I don't really give a fuck about you." He set his lips upon her, nipping and biting at the soft skin exposed.

"Yeah, but I do."

Kaori didn't need to see who it was; she knew by voice. "Kiba!!" She cried, trying to break free.

Damian stopped, picking up his head, his eyes not leaving Kaori's. "Surprise, surprise, you're back from the dead."

"To kick your ass." Kiba growled, strangely calm, yet angered. Every other time he had been angered, he was rash and unable to control himself, but now he found his head clear and controlled himself well, standing at the doorway.

But Damian didn't care, disreguarding everything Kiba had said – that he was even there – and continued to kiss his "prize."

"Get – " Once again, Kaori found her voice muffled by a much more rough and forceful kiss. Closing her eyes she found it hard to breathe.

Within seconds, it was easy to breathe and the weight that sat upon her was gone. She opened her eyes, finding Damian on the floor on the other side of the bed and Kiba right beside her.

He sighed, shaking his hand out, while pulling her off of the bed and wrapping his arm around her waist. He took a minute to nuzzle her neck and smell her hair before whispering, "I'm sorry."

Before she got a chance to ask why, Damian had stood up, whipping the other side of his jaw with his sleeve. "You are so fucking dead." He muttered.

Kiba smirked. "You and what army?" His other hand found it's way to the hand on her waist, making sure she was with him and couldn't be taken away easily. "Give it up."

Damian growled, but slyly smirked. He knew how to separate the two. "I'm not giving up until I'm dead."

Felt as a challenge, Kiba let her go, rolling up his sleeves, also smirking. "That can be arranged."

Before Kaori could stop him, Kiba let his rash nature take control and went right after Damian.

Damian did the same, knowing exactly what to do and when to do it.

Standing by her bed, Kaori didn't know what to do. She wouldn't dare go near them, knowing she could be hurt, or used against Kiba in the worst possible way. But she couldn't just stand aside and let them fight; she wouldn't, because in that lied the risk of Kiba getting seriously injured. And she couldn't live without him.

She jumped in on the fighting, trying to pull Damian off of Kiba in some attempt to stop the fight on her bed. "Stop it!!"

Her cries were useless as Damian, acting according to the plan he devised, took the arm she held and threw her across the room, her back hitting the wall as she cried out in pain.

Damian smirked at Kiba, still holding him down.

Kiba saw this smirk, wondering why. 'What's he got up his sleeve?'

"Stop right there!" A call went out near the doorway, a policeman stood, watching the situation, gun drawn. He had been the closest to the scene when the call went out, so he was the first to arrive and was granted permission to use his gun if needed. The caller had said the red-headed man was insane.

But Damian paid no attention to the words of the policeman. "If I can't have her, no one can." Damian whispered as he got up off of Kiba, pulling a pocketknife out of his pocket and charging toward Kaori, who had nowhere to go, backed up against the wall he had thrown her into.

Both Kiba and Kaori stared in horror.

Kiba frantically tried to scramble off the bed in some effort to stop him, but found caught in the sheets. Just as he did get free, he was too late.

A gunshot already rang out.


Shocked and scared, Kaori sat, backed up against the wall as Damian fell in front of her. She pulled her legs close as his blood pooled from the wound in his chest.

Kiba was just as shocked as she was, seeing the body lying limply on the floor, his blood staining her carpet.

The officer was the first one to move, holstering his gun at his waist and walking forward to check the body. He pulled the radio on his shoulder close to his mouth. "We need an ambulance here," His eyes flickered to Kiba, who looked beaten to hell. "And the Coroner." His eyes went back to the body, seeing that he was no longer breathing and his eyes were wide open.

Kaori still made no movement, her eyes fixed completely on Damian's body.

Kiba was the second one to move, slowly getting up from his seat on Kaori's bed, making his way around the body and over to her. He regretted getting into the second fight with Damian, his body screaming at him in pain. But he didn't care. He had to see her, hold her, make sure she was okay.

When he reached her, her eyes moved up to meet his. She dried her eyes – realizing that she didn't know when she started crying for the 4th time that day – and stood up slowly. "Are yo – "

Kiba suddenly buckled under his own weight, almost falling to his knees. He didn't, thanks to Kaori, who had rushed over to him, holding him up by his chest. Not wanting to hurt him further, she pulled his arm over her shoulders, the other resting gently on his waist. "Yeah," He spoke softly, letting his weight rest on her, closing his eyes. "I'm okay now."

She sighed in relief.

"Let's get you two out of here." The police officer said, helping Kaori carry Kiba out of the house that was never a home.


A few hours later, Kiba and Kaori were allowed to go home, their reports given and the crimes sustained written down. They would be called for any other information, but it wouldn't be soon. They at least wanted to give the two a rest from the events, even though it was against policy.

And go home they did, completely avoiding the rest of the family – minus Akamaru – who followed them into the room before Kaori could shut the door.

Kiba smiled at him, rubbing his ears when he jumped up onto the bed to see his "brother". He could only rub his ears with one hand though.

In total, Kiba sustained 3 broken ribs, a broken hand, a fractured clavicle, a broken cheekbone and orbital bone and a few stitches for the cuts on his hands and face.

When Kaori came back to him, she sat beside him on the small bed.

Despite the total injuries, he was the first one to speak. "Don't you ever do that again." He said, using his free arm to pull her toward him, wanting to hold her as he laid on the bed.

She pulled away from him before he could pull her far, afraid to hurt him further.

With her reaction, he looked away, out the window. "I was really scared back there, you know." He spoke with such softness, it had to be silent for her to hear it. "I really thought I was going to lose you."

"But you didn't." She spoke, her voice a little louder than his. "And, don't you ever do that again, either." Her voice commanding, but had so much worry in it, it was hard to not hear it. "I thought he was going to kill you and he probably was until he came after me!" She exclaimed softly, as she felt tears coming into her eyes again.

Lying there, Akamaru at his feet, Kaori sitting next to him, he realized that at that moment, she was just as scared and upset as him. "Come here." He said with a smile, trying to pull her into his arms again.

She tried to pull back again. "Stop it!" She hissed. "I don't want to hurt you!"

He smiled even more. "You won't."

With his smile, she relented, letting him pull her into his arms, setting her head gently on his chest, trying not to hurt him. Her eyes slowly closed, his heartbeat and breathing lulling her to sleep, along with the fact that she had lost a lot of energy from the day's events. "Kiba?" She managed to ask.

"Yeah?" He asked back, eyes closed, just as tired as her.

"What did you apologize to me for? Earlier, I mean." Her eyes were closed as well.

Playing with a few strands of her hair, he chuckled. "I broke my promise to you."

"And what promise was that?"

"I said he'd never put his hands on you again…but he did and my promise broke." He answered.

"I don't think it broke." She answered, sighing and snuggling closer to Kiba.

Neither one spoke again, comfortable with the silence and too exhausted to speak. Both knew what the other was going to say anyway, if words were spoken.

"I love you."


- Epilogue -  


"I wonder who our Suitemates are." Kaori said, sitting on the couch with Kiba.

He shrugged his shoulders, arm around her shoulders. "Fuck if I know."

It had been a few months since the incidents that took place in Kaori's house and now, Kiba and Kaori had just finished moving into a pet-friendly Suite on campus. It wouldn't be just the two of them, though. They had at least two more Suitemates, since each Suite could accommodate 4 people; with 4 rooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room. Of course, Akamaru was moving in with them - the reason for a pet-friendly dorm - and because he and Kiba were inseparable.

But Kaori didn't mind; she absolutely loved Akamaru. He slept with her all the time, ever since Kaori came to live with the Inuzuka's after the incident.

Kiba did too.

"Let's just hope it's someone we know." She said, leaning closer to him.

He scoffed. "Let's hope it's not Sasuke and Naruto." He looked over at her, seeing her strange look. "If we get them, we'll never be able to sleep."

She oh-ed, finally understanding what he meant. "They can't be that bad."

"They are." He said firmly. "But, while we're waiting..." With the hand on her shoulder he gently rubbed it as he smiled, hinting at what he wanted to do.

She smiled, knowing what he wanted to and figured they had at least enough time for a make-out session. "Yes, while we're waiting..." She shared a look with him as his hand moved from her shoulder to her waist, pulling her onto his lap.

He set his other hand on her waist, as her hands found their way to his neck, one holding the nape of his neck, the other finding its way to his soft brown locks.

She was the one to kiss him, first planting a coy kiss on his lips and continuing to coyly kiss him until he got fed up and kissed her so forcefully, yet gently, she almost forgot they were on the couch.

When they broke apart for air, Kiba held her tighter as he turned, falling back on the couch, pulling her with him.

She laughed, her hair curtaining around them, smiling at him. "Excited, are we?"

"Only with you." He replied, smiling back at her.

"I'd hope so." She said quietly before continuing to kiss him.

With their make-out session getting heated by the minute, they didn't realize their suitemates had entered and found the situation to be at the most perfect moment.

Standing behind the couch, unnoticed, the blonde smiled. "Well, look what's going on here."

Kaori and Kiba immediately broke apart, hearing the very familiar voice.

"It seems to be a make-out session. I wonder if it'll go all the way..." Another familiar voice added.

Kaori was deep red as she pulled herself off of Kiba, at least, as far as he'd let her go.

Kiba didn't even need to see who it was to know, and god, did he not want to know. "No, please, god! Don't tell me you two fucker's are our Suitemates!!" He yelled, sitting up to see Naruto and Sasuke standing behind the couch, eyes on him and Kaori.

Kaori sat up as well, embarrassed as hell.

Sasuke smirked. "If anyone's the fucker's here, it's you two."

Naruto simply smiled. He totally agreed with Sasuke.

"Well, at least we don't scream or moan, right, Kaori?" Kiba asked, still holding her and kissing her neck.

She giggled, her neck her weak point. "S-sure." She said, unable to look at Sasuke or Naruto.

"Well, I guess we'll get settled in, won't we?" Naruto asked, turning around, but not getting far.

Sasuke stood in his way, smirking at his boyfriend, setting his hands on his waist. "We can always move in later..." He stepped forward, tightening his hold on Naruto.

"But - "

"If they're making out, we' re making out."

Naruto smiled, taking a glance at Kaori and Kiba, seeing them kissing and decided, "Oh, what the hell..."

Sasuke smirked, kissing Naruto with so much passion, they literally fell over the back of the couch, Naruto on bottom, Sasuke on top.

And with this scene laid before him, Kaori lying on Kiba, kissing him, and Sasuke and Naruto upside down on the couch, kissing as well, Akamaru felt strangely and sadly

alone.


Hahaha, yes, I'm alive. Sort of. My hands are killing me after all this. But, this has got to be one of my favorite stories ever. At least, idea wise. I actually got the idea from an episode of CSI: Miami, where (if I remember right) a mother murdered her daughter because her daughter ran away, not wanting to do pageants anymore. Her mother also made her have sex. BUT there's a major difference. That girl didn't have Kiba to keep her safe. xD. I really hope you liked this one, since the last one shot made a lot of people sad. I'm not sure if some of the words for the baseball stuff is right, being that I'm a Major Hockey fan, not a baseball fan. As always, thanks for reading!!

Any requests for who's next?