Disclaimer: I own none of Naruto, but I love the manga and anime, thus why I am writing this story! So go out and buy the manga and watch the anime. Please note that no profit is being made from this story. It's just a little project for fun and writing critique. Now that we've cleared that up, please enjoy the story, and rate and review if your heart moves you to do so.

WARNING: There is a lot more crude language in this one. Don't get angry with me—it's not usually how I operate in my stories but Kiba cusses a lot. That's one thing I know for sure. So, his POV is going to have a pretty big amount of it (although I couldn't bring myself to type some of the more vulgar words in his vocabulary).

Please read the introduction again. It will give you a little warning about what is to come in this chapter.

INTRODUCTION: I'm already into the fourth chapter of this monstrosity of a project, and let me tell you, it's been one heck of a ride. I've been trying my best to keep roles straight but I have a tendency to throw in bits of myself which to me kind of throws everything way off (I'm O.C.D. about getting those kinds of things exactly right). So as I make my way in the world of fan fiction, I present to you the fourth chapter of "Raiding His Fridge." I will warn you right off the bat that I may completely screw up Kiba and his image in this chapter, so if you see something that could be changed, I don't care how small it is—let me know. Kiba is one of my favorite characters, so I want to make absolutely sure that his personality is right on the mark in this story. I've already had trouble making him arrogant enough in the chapter when he first appeared, so I hope I can accomplish more of that in this one. I know some of you will turn up your noses to the implications of Kiba/Shino in the first bit of this chapter, but bear with me. That's not really the focus of this chapter or Kiba's story. It's more like a jumping-off point. Anyway, enough of my ranting. Please enjoy and keep giving feedback.

(XXX)

Kiba didn't know when he started viewing Shino in that way. For the longest time, ever since they were children and both hung out with the shy Hyuuga girl, Hinata, Shino had never been more than a strong link in their chain of three that couldn't be replaced—a link that really loved examining insects and could charm fleas out of the fur of Kiba's little white dog, Akamaru, like no one else could. Was he Kiba's best friend? Certainly not. He was more like a stranger standing on the corner that you walk by every day on your way to school. You tilt your head to him in greeting, exchange a few words, but other than that he is just another person you pass on the street, shrouded in mystery.

Then did that make what Kiba felt something like "love at first sight?" Did he just see Shino in one moment where he shone like the sun, and decide right then and there that he felt a lot more than what he should have? Even he didn't know. But for some reason he'd become accustomed to feeling that silent presence standing behind them, and although it had once been unnerving, it was slowly changing to something that was comforting—something that let him know that someone was still there. Sometimes he'd be walking along the street and swear that he could feel Shino standing behind him, and even when he turned and found there was no one there, it still oddly felt like the silent boy was somewhere nearby.

What's so great about Shino anyway? Kiba would ask himself this many times and never find a straight answer. It didn't feel like he listened much whenever Hinata and Kiba vented to each other about the problems and tough times they were having. He never really gave any advice or did any of the typical things friends do—if they went to the arcade, he either just watched or sat at the snack bar; if one of them got sick, he never visited or even sent a get-well card, or asked later if they were feeling better; if they went to an amusement park he'd disappear off the radar until it was time to leave; and whenever they were at school, mostly he just had his nose in his books. However, there were also many pleasant things about Shino just in what he didn't do: he didn't try to bum money off of either of them to buy something; he didn't argue with any decisions they made unless he saw an obvious logical flaw; he didn't force his opinion on anyone and didn't even mention it unless asked to; he didn't try to boss anyone around; and he didn't have to explain to anyone why he liked the things he liked or did what he did because he was self-confident in his desires.

And there were some times when Shino actually would listen and try to be comforting, such as the time when Akamaru was in the hospital after running out ahead of Kiba as they were crossing the street, getting hit by a car. Kiba didn't really say much of anything that Shino could listen to, but the whole time that the little pooch was recovering Shino gave up every waking hour that he could manage to sit by its side and watch over it. He stayed even when Kiba and Hinata left, throwing away the time he usually saved for his bug-observing hobby to stroke Akamaru's ears until he was made to leave. The only way of expressing gratitude that Kiba had was a simple "Thanks, man." But in truth that small thanks was only a fraction of the gratefulness he held in his heart and he was frustrated that he couldn't show it any better. Akamaru couldn't express it any better than his master, but from afar he secretly adored Shino, and every once in a while he'd get his ears scratched or his fleas taken careof. That was enough for him.

It wasn't quite enough for Kiba, however, and he still hadn't been able to find an answer why. Maybe it was the way that Shino silently pointed to the perfect shirt when Hinata took them shopping or the amazing intuition he had that could tell you exactly what seasoning to put on your food. Maybe it was the way that he slipped you extra coins at the arcade so that no one could see when you were broke or the flat way he stated it when you had a cold—as if you didn't know. Maybe Kiba wanted to see the odd ways he would choose to love someone, or maybe he just wanted to love someone like that. Then did that mean he really did "love" Shino? Just what was that feeling?

And so the circles began.

(XXX)

Kiba opened up his locker and pulled some stuff out, preparing for the beginning of another week he'd spend avoiding Shino. He honestly couldn't think straight when the source of his problems was hovering quietly around him. He figured it was probably just a phase—his nervousness and the weird feeling of moths fluttering in his stomach would disappear with the changing seasons. It still hadn't happened yet, but he kept saying to himself 'Tomorrow for sure!' praying that maybe in just one more week he could go back to normal. Well, as normal as he could be, anyway.

He sighed, mumbling to himself as he ran through his schedule. He and Shino had first, third and fourth period together. In the first period he'd get to class early so he didn't have to run into him in the halls, and since his desk was at the back of the room he could easily jump up and get the hell out of there right when class ended. In third period he'd have to get to class early again, but his desk placement wasn't so convenient so he'd have to use the "I have to take a monster dump" excuse if Shino approached him, then spend ten minutes in the bathroom hiding before ducking out and hurrying as fast as he could to class. By fourth period he'd only have the option of dodging and weaving through people and hoping he wouldn't be caught. Most of the time this didn't work—however, Hinata was also in fourth period with them, so during the time they congregated he could focus completely on her until class started and then dash out after it ended, saying he had to get to class or he was going to be late.

Executing all of this daily was getting a little tiring, but it was better than him sitting around Shino and feeling awkward for at least two hours out of the school day, not being able to talk to him because he didn't trust his voice to keep his still very confusing feelings a secret. He wished that it could all go back to the way it used to be when they were small children and all that mattered was beating the last kid's high score in a video game or seeing who could eat the most at a buffet.

He groaned, slamming his locker shut and yelped when he saw dark sunglasses beneath a gray-green hoodie and sharp eyebrows standing right where the door of his locker used to be. He'd snuck up on him.

"What the hell, man? You scared the crap out of me!" Kiba said.

"I could ask you a similar question," Shino replied with his usual indifferent tone.

"Man, whatever, I have to get to class." Kiba hefted his backpack onto his shoulder and was about to leave when he was pulled backwards by the very same backpack and slammed into the lockers. His breath left him as he was suddenly standing face-to-face with the very problem that plagued him, not a few inches away.

"Class doesn't start for ten more minutes, and the first period class is only a few doors down." Shino said with an icy edge to his voice that Kiba hadn't heard once before. It sent a shiver up his spine and a bead of cold sweat rolling off his forehead. "You're avoiding me."

"A-avoiding you?! Why would I be?! That's ridiculous! Stop making crazy assumptions! I can't believe you'd think that—"

"Kiba."

"… What?"

"You're a horrible liar."

"Screw you!"

He could've opted for a word that was much worse but since they were in school and the teachers and hall monitors were anal about coarse language he couldn't drop the F-bomb there—at least not at the decibel he wanted to. Therefore he settled for that phrase, which could only be called "sophisticated" in comparison to his normal speech patterns, and shoved Shino away. He resisted the temptation to flip Shino off as he made his way to class. No footsteps followed him. No shadow walked alongside him. It was a little disheartening, but what did he expect?

He knew very well that the mess that had been made was his own damn fault.

(XXX)

Kiba really regretted ever calling out Hinata to talk about his "problem." And the worst part was that he couldn't even tell her just who was giving him issues. He felt so lame trying to explain it all using the words "that person" instead of Shino's name like he was some chick trying to get relationship advice from her best friend whose ex-boyfriend just happened to be the one said chick liked. Needless to say, if he said it hadn't been the most awkward experience he'd ever had, he'd be lying.

He thanked God for Hinata's understanding and patience with him. That was one thing that a lot of people either took for granted or didn't know she had. Besides Kiba and Shino, no one could understand how much it meant for someone to simply pay attention and listen quietly.

"So … okay, well, you see, I have a little problem," Kiba started off, scratching his head. "A really confusing problem and I don't know how to deal with it."

Hinata simply blinked at him with an innocent smile. "I'm listening."

"Well … there's somebody that I … don't know if I like them like that or not. But … it's really weird because … it was just all of a sudden, you know? We were never even really great friends or anything, just hung out sometimes and then it was just boom, one day my stomach blows up and I think 'what the hell?!' And then I remember all those crappy romance novels talking about how liking someone feels like you're gonna be sick and so I start panicking and … and who the hell would like someone like that anyway?! I mean, honestly, it makes no sense, and … and I have to spend all my time trying to avoid them! It's so embarrassing, and it feels like I'm just going to accidentally shout it out and then they'd freak out and … why are you laughing?!"

She had to hold her tiny hand to her mouth to stifle her giggling. "Hehe, sorry, Kiba-kun. But … you really are confused, aren't you?"

"Damn straight!" he growled, crossing his arms. "Who wouldn't be?!"

"Then why don't you talk it out with that person? I mean, it really does seem like you like them a lot, and you said you had to avoid them, right? They'll probably want to know why you have been running away."

"Look, you really don't understand …"

"But talking it out helps. And maybe if you get it all out of your system, you'll find that that was all you needed, and it will go away. Holding it in doesn't help."

He looked imploringly at her. "Hinata … seriously …"

"Kiba-kun, what could possibly be stopping you from doing that?"

"I like a guy, okay?!" He shouted out. Her eyes widened from his tone as his cheeks flared. He was so loud that other people in the hall had heard and turned their eyes towards him. He looked at them and barked, "The hell you lookin' at?!"

Some people yelped as everyone either scurried away or turned back to their lockers like they hadn't heard anything. Kiba growled and turned back to Hinata, his whole face feeling like it was on fire. She blinked once at him before saying with a very innocent expression, "Oh, you're gay?"

"The hell?! No I'm not gay! It's a guy, not guys! It's not the plural, damn it!"

She shielded herself with her hands. "S-sorry! I can see why you're nervous then …"

"Exactly!"

"… But I still think you should talk to him."
"What?! No way! No way, no how, not ever! That's the worst option for me right now!"

"Kiba-kun, if you don't come to terms with your feelings—and more importantly figure out your sexuality—things could get a lot worse. This situation is touchy and isn't going to get better if you just leave it be. You need to face yourself and then face the person you like to resolve your inner conflict."

He huffed, looking away. "… Whatever. I have to get to class."

Kiba abruptly turned and stomped down the hall, ignoring Hinata as she called out to his disappearing figure. For once, she didn't understand. She just didn't understand. And what was that part about "facing yourself" and "figure out your sexuality?" Was she implying that he was in denial about it?

Like hell I am! I'm a hundred percent straight! I'm straighter than a pole! If I hadn't just blurted out that I liked a guy then everyone would think the same … wait, if I like a guy … doesn't that kind of mean I'm …? No, damn it! He's just different, is all! Yeah … Shino's just …

He stopped walking. Was Shino really "special?" All of a sudden, out of the blue he just started liking him—yes, liking—so could he really call him "special?" Kiba had never felt much attraction to anyone before, boy or girl. Could it be that he was just the first … and because of that new sensation, it felt like he was special? And if that was the case, did that mean that there were a bunch of other guys—yes, guys!—or maybe girls that just didn't catch his attention because he was too preoccupied with trying to get away from that feeling? He went rigid as the second bead (and counting) of cold sweat rolled down his face. He started walking again, faster this time, shaking his head as he tried to rid himself of the thought.

I've got a test today, I can't be thinking about these kinds of things! And if I don't start paying more attention in class my grades are screwed!

If he could look back at that moment from the view of an out of body experience he probably wouldn't be able to believe that the carefree, school-hating, goof that he was had to resort to thinking about assignments and lessons to save his sanity. He was a pathetic shell of the happy-go-lucky, mouthy smart-ass that everyone laughed at in the cafeteria. Nobody spared him a glance as he walked by—and after all, it was too sad to watch.

Just what am I? No, a better question would be, after this whole outburst, what will everyone think I am? What do they want me to be? Gay. That's what they'll want me to be. They'll try to turn my special person into a typical category of "types Kiba likes" only they'll stick the word "of guys" between the first two words. That means it's only going to get twice as confusing when I start trying to tell the difference between their wants and mine. Hinata was right … if I don't tell Shino … won't I be skipping out on an easy opportunity to confirm for myself whether or not this is just a phase, something unique, or a generality? … My mind … wasn't made to handle this kind of thinking …

He could only pray that it ended soon … and honestly wasn't there only one way to end it? He'd have to tell Shino the whole truth and explain everything then see just what that stoic mask would reply with after he was done.

Well, might as well get this over with, He thought. I'll send him an e-mail tomorrow once I've got my head on straight … then maybe we can meet, talk this over and put this whole ugly mess behind us.

Unless of course it turned out to be something good—maybe then he wouldn't be so willing to try and forget about it all. But he had to take it a step at a time and the first step would be to make it through the rest of the day. The bell rang, indicating that he was late and he cursed at himself, flying down the hallway towards his classroom.

As people giggled at him and hurried off to class, at least one thing was plain to see from the now-bounding mass of energy: Kiba was back.

(XXX)

Kiba couldn't believe he was doing something like this.

He was sitting on a park bench, his backpack on his lap as he tapped his fingers nervously on it, waiting for Shino. Kiba had sent him an e-mail earlier telling him that there was something they needed to discuss, had asked if that park were okay as a place to meet, and got a response giving the thumbs-up. But now he wished like all hell that he could back out of it. He had to be freaking crazy if he was going to admit to Shino feelings that he hadn't even figured out yet if they were real or not.

He sighed and checked his watch, grimacing. Shino was late. He'd warned him in his returned e-mail that he had a troublesome teacher to deal with and that he might not let him leave for a while, so it was to be expected. But Kiba really didn't want the tension to be dragged on much longer. It was giving him a stomach ache. He looked back up and around the park, tapping his foot. There were some kids leaving with their moms and dads, looking very happy with the day and their lives. Kiba chuckled to himself a little and remembered his own mom, thinking it would do her some good to go back to being like those caring parents, just smiling and letting a kid have his fun.

He heard something move and curiously looked over in the direction from which he'd heard it. Three young men, about his age—possibly a year older—looked at him for a moment then turned away, chattering about things he couldn't hear. He narrowed his eyes a bit, gears turning in his head, but they soon gave out and he just leaned against the bench, going back to waiting. He let out a sigh, closing his eyes, letting the breeze tickle his face.

He could remember the first time he met Shino. In about the fourth grade his best friend Hinata walked up to him, pulling along a kind of creepy-looking boy the same age as them by the sleeve, giving him an exuberant smile.

"Kiba-kun, this is my new friend, Shino-kun!" She said sweetly.

The young Kiba eyed him skeptically. "This weird-looking kid is your friend? What, you like serial-killers now?"

Shino raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing. Hinata stammered, trying to explain. "N-no, Kiba-kun, it's not like that! He m-might look a little scary at first, but he's really nice! He's n-not like a serial-killer at all! P-please believe me!"

Kiba curled his lip at that. "Isn't he that kid with the weird bug-collecting hobby? Whaddya do, talk to them all day?"

"… No," Shino said, saying his first word since he'd walked up with Hinata. "But most likely it would be more intellectually stimulating than having a conversation with a conformist idiot like yourself."

"W-what'd you say to me, you jerk?! Why I ought to rearrange your face—!"

"N-no, Kiba-kun, don't do that!" Hinata squealed.

… The almost-grown up Kiba looked back on that memory with a happiness that had been missing during the time of the actual event. Who would've thought that Hinata would be right about him? All in all, Kiba had to admit that Shino was a pretty cool guy. And now … he was cool enough that Kiba had dug himself a hole deep enough to bury both him and his dogs by setting things up for a confession. The happiness went away and he sighed again, scratching his head.

"Well, I got myself into it …" He muttered. "I might as well get it over with."

"Hey, buddy, you look kinda down," a voice said. Kiba looked up to see that the three boys had approached the bench. He kind of recognized them now—he'd seen them at school before. "What're you doing, waiting for someone?"

Kiba eyed them somewhat suspiciously. "Yeah, I'm waiting for a friend."

"He seems a bit late, doesn't he?"

"What's it to you?"

The boy speaking sat down next to him on the bench, shrugging. "Nothing, really. Don't look at me like that—we're not here to mess with you. We just thought we'd help you pass the time a little faster."

One of the other boys snickered and grabbed Kiba's backpack from him, running off behind a cluster of trees.

"Hey! You jerk, get back here!" Kiba growled, jumping up and chasing after him.

The first boy looked up with a rather bored expression, cupping his hands around his mouth as he yelled. "Hey, come on, that's not what I meant! Give the kid his backpack back!" Even though he said this he didn't seem to take much interest in doing something about it.

Kiba chased the backpack thief into the trees, gaining very quickly on him as he was adept in sports—specifically track—and well-fit physically. He hunted him down like nobody's business, tackling him to the ground in a little less than twenty seconds of running. He struggled with the thief until he slowly wrestled the backpack from his clutches. Then Kiba gave him a punch to the jaw for good measure.

"Remember this next time you try to mess with me, jackass!" He snarled.

The boy looked up at him, a smirk growing slowly on his face. Even as he rubbed his aching jaw, the smirk just got wider. He snickered at the angry, wolfish boy on top of him. "Let me guess, this kind of thing turns you on, huh? You did always strike me as the dominating type."

"What did you say to me?!" Kiba hissed dangerously. "You really want to lose your head that badly?!"

He lunged for the boy but his body suddenly jerked to a halt and was roughly pulled off of the other by claw-like hands. He struggled, trying to look back at what had taken hold of him, but couldn't see clearly. He writhed violently, putting up a fair fight, but there were two pairs of hands opposing him and only one for him to defend with. He watched through red-tinted vision as the boy he'd overtaken before stood up and reached for something out of Kiba's line of sight. The hand pulled back something thin and made of metal, and in his rage it was only until the end of it swung right at Kiba's face that he recognized it.

It was a metal baseball bat.

He heard it crack against the side of his skull, head lolling to the side. His ears rang, his vision swam and he could've sworn he glimpsed the pitch-black of night. The pain was like nothing he'd ever felt before. He could hear laughter and voices and tried to focus on them to keep his consciousness from drifting away.

"You dumbass faggot," one of them laughed. He didn't know which one. "Why don't you beg for forgiveness?"

"… For … what …?" Kiba managed to choke out, frightened by how small and far away his voice sounded. Was that blood he tasted in his mouth?

"For being born," the voice said, and then someone was kneeling in front of him. "You were always holding everyone back. In every class the overall average for every student dropped because you couldn't stop getting F's. And now you can't even be natural enough to like girls? You're already an idiot, and now you've decided to come out of the closet. You're nothing but a pain."

A hand tipped Kiba's chin up, but the world was spinning too much for him to see who was talking to him. Which of his classmates was this? Which person hated him so much that they would do this?

"Why don't you just beg for forgiveness? Or better yet, why don't you just die?"

Kiba's vision cleared just long enough for him to see the bat swinging towards him again. He commented to himself on how suddenly everything was going in slow motion. He thought about that English movie called "The Matrix" and remembered that he and a friend were going to watch it on the weekend. He wondered if his life would end like this. He wondered if anyone would make a movie about him, or remember his face, or if anyone would even care.

He didn't feel it hit him again. He merely let everything fade to black, and he floated off into a world where he could convince himself that he was asleep. He figured that when he woke up—if he woke up—he was going to be in a world of hurt. But that was okay. In that black space, at least for the moment, everything was fine. There was nobody but himself and a nice warm emptiness to rest in. His only wish was that it would stay that way …

(XXX)

Kiba's wish was not granted. When he awoke to bright lights and the cold feeling of a hospital bed, he also felt the worst, burning soreness that he'd ever felt and his head throbbed with no signs of stopping. He looked around, his surroundings slowly materializing as his eyes got used to the light. He heard voices again and immediately panicked, thinking he was still being attacked, so when a hand reached out to grab his he scratched it harshly with his long fingernails.

The fear went away as he realized whose hand it had been—Hinata's. She looked at him in shock, trembling, holding her now-bleeding hand. Kiba couldn't find the words to explain it to her—he could only count the red blotches he saw wherever his eyes turned to look.

A man in a long white doctor's coat put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Miss Hyuuga. He didn't mean it. He probably thought he was still in danger since he was unconscious until now."

She covered the wound and nodded nervously, looking down at the floor before looking back up at Kiba. "K-Kiba-kun … do you feel okay …?"

"… No. It hurts like bloody hell." Kiba was really starting to get frightened now. It sounded like his voice was barely there. "What happened to me? What the hell happened to me?"

The doctor began to explain. "If my examination yielded correct results … you were assaulted. You were struck four times in the head with a blunt object, presumably a baseball bat. You were also struck in the ribs, arms, and legs with the same object. Four of your ribs were broken although luckily you suffered nothing else but terrible bruises."

"… Where is my backpack? Those bastards …! They took my backpack…! I'm gonna kill them!" Kiba said weakly, moving to get up.

"Kiba-kun … that won't be possible now," Hinata told him.

"Why the hell not?!"

"You've been unconscious for three days," Shino said. Kiba jumped when he heard him—he hadn't noticed the dark boy standing silently behind Hinata until he started talking.

"… Three days …? Three days?! Oh, God … how … how …?" Kiba clutched his head, moaning. Bits and pieces of the assault were starting to come back to him. Oh yeah, they had assaulted him, hadn't they?

"You're lucky to be alive," Hinata said. "You were lucky anyone even found you."

"… Who found me …?"

There was a pause before he heard Shino's voice again. "… I went to go meet you at the park and stood around waiting for a while. You didn't show up and I thought you'd ditched me, so I headed off to leave. Before I was gone I heard you calling for help and saw you dragging yourself from the woods. You were bleeding all over so I called an ambulance."

"… Shino-kun saved your life," Hinata said quietly and the deep impact of those words and Shino's deed sunk into Kiba's confused brain like the Titanic into the cold, dark sea. He lapsed into silence, thinking about how Shino had partially gotten him into this whole mess in the first place.

Then he suddenly remembered something—his mom. What would she say? Would she be ticked off and tell him all the ways he should've been more careful? Or would she hug him and tell him she was glad he was alive? It would probably be the former.

"… Where's Ma?"

"Miss Inuzuka was here a lot earlier," Hinata said. "But she had to go to work so she couldn't stay long."

"… What about you guys? Don't you have school?"

"We … we took the day off today. The principal was understanding about the situation and told us we could have all the time we needed to watch over you. We've been coming here every day."

"… Idiots. You know just how much work you're going to have piled up now. Doing something so stupid because I got into a little scrape … this happens to me all the time, so why are you so worried now?"

"But it's not like all the other times, Kiba-kun! Don't you realize you could've gone into a coma, or worse, died right on the spot? Stop pretending like it's nothing! This is very serious! If your previous fights are scrapes, this is a gash!"

Kiba lapsed into silence again. There was no use in him continuing to argue. Hinata always won arguments that involved logic. It made him mad, but he wasn't going to waste his breath for fear that he might only have a few more left.

The doctor noticed the sudden tension in the room and bowed his head to them. "It seems I am in the way. Inuzuka-kun, please feel better and if you need something don't hesitate to call a nurse. I hope you all have a lovely visit."

He turned and left the room, leaving them all alone in the thick atmosphere. Kiba wouldn't look up from his hands, wondering just how it all happened. He felt like the whole situation was almost unreal. Hinata stared at him with pitying eyes, looking back and locking eyes with Shino. Even through the lenses of the sunglasses, she could see that the sight of their friend this way made his heart hurt too.

She turned back to the bedridden boy. "Kiba … there is something else we needed to tell you, too. This may be the wrong time to say it, but …"

"Oh …? What's that?" Kiba asked, finally looking up again.

"Shino-kun and I … we're dating."

Kiba's mind went blank. Shino and Hinata? When? How? Why? "For how long?"

"About two months." She sat down in the chair by his bedside and took his hand. "I know this is the wrong time to do it, but …" Tears started trickling down her face. She wiped at them with her palm and began sniffling. "We were planning on telling you together after you finished with Shino. You're our best friend—you're my best friend. And we were so afraid we would never get a chance to tell you."

She held his hand up to her face, sobbing. Her pretty little fingers wrapped around his calloused knuckles, somehow holding him closer than he'd ever been held before.

"You didn't wake up for three days! How could we not be afraid you were going to die?"

He stared at her in shock, eyes flicking from her weeping face to Shino's. Not only was he shocked at Hinata's great outpouring of emotion, but … such an unlikely couple they were. And yet didn't they seem to fit together very well? He watched Hinata cry over his hand even more, sobbing out apologies, and the whole time Shino stood there as quietly as ever. His brain suddenly flew far away and something in his head snapped, dropping the emotional load from his shoulders. He threw his head back and started laughing like he'd never laughed before.

"K-Kiba-kun…?" she whispered, confused.

"Ha-ha-ha! This is perfect, just perfect! You two look so great standing by each other's side! In fact, Shino, when I e-mailed you and asked you to come meet me at the park, I was going to tell you that you needed to get with Hinata! This is great! This is fantastic! I feel better already!"

Kiba was lying like the hound he was, but he didn't care. He now knew he never even had a chance with Shino. But strangely enough, he wasn't heartbroken. As long as there wasn't a chance, he could let go of all the feelings, and Shino would never have to know. And now his friends were by his side, caring about him to the point of watching over him and crying for his sake.

He reached up and with his thumb gently wiped a tear away from Hinata's eye. She looked up at him with bright eyes holding hints of a hopeful smile.

"Y-you really think so?" she asked, and he nodded. She lunged forward and pulled him into a hug, weeping again, but this time with more happiness than sadness.

The air around them turned from being filled with despair to elation, an emotion shared by everyone—even the stony-faced Shino, whose face was the only thing that remained stony.

Everything was right in Kiba's world. But somewhere else in his mind, all was not right. The aggression against him had messed up something in his brain and had convinced him of an answer to his argument with himself beforehand, the one that made his feelings for his friend extremely confusing. It had made him take up an answer that was not his own and made him believe that it was so.

He still smiled all the while, content with the thought that his dilemma had finally been solved. "Well then, while we're revealing things, there's probably something I should tell you guys too."

"Oh? What's that, Kiba-kun?" Hinata's mood had lightened considerably and she stared at him in anticipation of a revelation that could make the day even better.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Kiba realized that it might not have been his own voice speaking. And later on, his friends and family realized it too. By that time he would be unable to help himself. This was his first leap into something like insanity.

"I'm gay."

(XXX)

After Kiba told several investigators that he believed his attackers were from his school, it was suggested that he transfer into another school to avoid further exposure to danger. That hospital visit would be the last time he saw his best friends for nearly half a year. Before he transferred he stood on a table in the lunchroom and shouted to everyone victoriously that he was a homosexual as his revenge against those who harmed him and those who disagreed with him. He was still alive and he rubbed it in their faces with great relish.

His mother began to notice strange behavior early on after he was released from the hospital, the first of which being the event in the lunchroom. She had remarked to herself about how strange it was for Kiba to do something like that but figured it was just a side of him she hadn't seen yet because she was always working and never around. However she started noticing that if a man approached Kiba or if someone asked him about his sexuality he would immediately bark at them that he was not gay. When this started happening she began to get concerned. Then when she broached the topic with him and he told her that he never denied being a homosexual and obviously didn't remember those previous encounters, she took him to the doctor.

After explaining all that had happened and going to several hospitals to have him examined it was determined that most likely he'd either had suffered some slight brain damage or mental trauma and therefore his memories and emotions were getting mixed up—it was explained to her in a simpler form as "it is as if he has another person inside of him, telling him what to think and feel in certain situations and letting him be in others." She was livid and about ready to murder every student at his previous school just to make sure she wiped out whoever did this to her son. The doctor suggested the more nonviolent approach of getting some kind of counselor or therapist.

The Inuzukas were on a very tight budget so there were a lot of therapists who wouldn't work for their financial situation. But after lamenting to her coworker, Asuma, he told her that he was advertising for a therapist new to the business who was a trusted associate of his. He promised a fair price and a good environment, as well as other kids Kiba could interact with. She literally hugged his feet and cried tears of joy, earning a few weird looks from their other coworkers. After prying her off of his legs he gave her contact information and advised for her to arrange a meeting with the therapist before the sessions started.

All of this is what really happened but Kiba told it a bit differently, as if he had always been gay, and as if he'd never gone to the hospital a second time and heard the diagnosis. In his mind his mother had just put him in therapy because of his sexuality and classified her as being the same as those who'd assaulted him. So, all the while as he talked to Naruto who sat listening intently, Kakashi watched him with the eyes of someone who knows better. He didn't interject and try to correct him—that would be silly. Kiba had to figure it out on his own. Kakashi's only job was to point him in the right direction.

He had a feeling that he was in for one hell of a ride.

(XXX)

Note: Okay, so this was one of the hardest chapters I've ever had to write. A confused, mentally incapacitated Kiba is harder to portray than you think, especially a confused, mentally incapacitated, possibly gay but not girly Kiba. In this situation, keeping him masculine and his thoughts not-cheesy is just … it's awful how much I ACTUALLY had to pay attention to it. Anyway, sometime soon I'm going to throw the Akatsuki in here, and I want everyone's opinion on something—should I include their histories and how they came to be a group (from my perspective of course *sweat drop*) in this series, or create a separate sequel that will document it separately? Let me know what you think, please, because I really love the Akatsuki and want to do justice to them!