Sasuke sat in silence, watching a virtual stranger move about his kitchen like he knew it like the back of his hand. How much of does Kiba know about him? How much did he harvest from Sasuke's head while Sasuke was… gone.

Sasuke doesn't know.

Kiba is still a mystery to Sasuke. His mind is a bottomless dark sea, filled with things Sasuke has never seen before. He never spoke in class; he disappeared into the background which is strange for any Inuzuka, let alone the son of a clan head.

Sasuke recalls one fuzzy impression of Iruka-sensei gently correcting Kiba for reading in class. Iruka-sensei never yelled at him, not like he did Shikamaru or Chouji. Sasuke labeled his a teacher's pet in the past and forgot about it.

Sasuke can't forget the choking grief Kiba shoved down his throat. He can still taste it, like sour milk. Like old blood.

Kiba takes cups out of the cupboard, careful to not disturb the chipped white mug with the Uchiha fan emblazoned on it.

Sasuke's father used that cup every morning before he left for work. Mother filled it without question and Father always touched her hand before she pulled away. A small, intimate gesture that spoke more than any word ever would.

Mother always smiled at father like the sun after.

Kiba went to the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk. He filled the cups and went to the microwave next. Sasuke watched the cups spin around blankly. Neither of them spoke. Ding went the bell and Kiba pulled the cups out, holding them with his long sleeves over his hands. He turned around and stopped dead, staring at Sasuke. His eyes were a little wide, the only indication of expression on his masked face.

Something warm dripped down his face and Sasuke reached up. His hand came away clear. It takes a long moment to register. Tears.

How long had Sasuke been crying?

Kiba finally moved. He set a mug in front of Sasuke and sat opposite him at the kitchen table, like he belonged there. Sasuke can't even feel insulted by it. He's pathetically grateful Kiba doesn't ask.

Kiba sits neatly, hands folded, back straight. It can't cover the uneasy set to his shoulders. The mask does nothing to hide the way his eyes dart around.

Sasuke knows the horrors he's seeing.

There's still blood staining the floor.

The anger pushed back the grief. Kiba doesn't know his family. He didn't see them when they were strong, so what right does he have to see them in their weakest moments?

Father would be so ashamed.

"What do you want?" Sasuke bites out.

Kiba sighs, like Sasuke is the one who invaded Kiba's home in the middle of the night. "We need to talk about - this." He touches his wrist.

Sasuke's wrist warms. Answering to Kiba's touch. It feels like sinking into a warm bath after a long day of training. He glowers at this betrayal of his own body. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"The - soul mate thing." Kiba speaks slowly, like he's thinking about his every word before he says it. It hurts to watch him thinking, an echo of That Man.

"There is nothing." Sasuke realizes his hands are wrapped around the mug and pushes it away roughly. "We don't have a thing. We're strangers."

Kiba watches him without commenting. Sasuke can't tell what he's thinking around the mask. "... Well. That's true."

Sasuke folded his arms.

"You never wanted a soul mate." Kiba says.

Sasuke glares at him. Obviously.

Kiba nods a little. "Alright."

That stops Sasuke in his tracks.

Kiba turns the mug in his hand, but doesn't pull down his mask to drink. "I've been studying how soul mates work. The Yamanaka have done a few studies into it, because it seems like it can affect their jutsu." He sighs. "From what I can find, there's nothing that says soul mates have to stay together. It's recommended but not necessary."

Sasuke feels the hairs on the back of his neck raise, even though Kiba is telling him what he wants to hear. The bottom drops out of Sasuke's stomach. It happens so fast he's almost dizzy with nausea. Kiba's agreeing with him, but Sasuke feels like he's been stabbed. There's something small in the back of his head asking "why doesn't he want me".

Kiba's head snapped up, glancing around the room and Sasuke knows that it's him feeling Sasuke's emotions from the other end of the bond. Kiba finds nothing and frowns. "Sasuke? Is something wrong?"

The nausea breaks with the concern in Kiba's tone. Sasuke isn't unwanted.

Sasuke can breathe again, but another, deeper horror settles in his stomach. "N-nothing."

"That was not nothing." Kiba said.

"Shut up! It's none of your business." Sasuke can feel his hands trembling.

So this is the weakness his father spoke about. The mere suggestion that Kiba, that this stranger, might not want him tore something so deep inside Sasuke he barely understood it. It was terrifying.

Or it should've been. Instead, it felt natural. Sasuke only felt sick that he didn't feel sick.

It was like Kiba mattered.

He didn't. He couldn't.

Revenge is the only thing Sasuke can care about. Otherwise, he'll slow down. He'll grind to a stop.

Sasuke clenches his shaking hands. "I don't want -"

A soul mate, Sasuke can't quite bring himself to say.

Sasuke only sees Kiba's flinch because he's looking. A fraction of a second and it was gone. It's doesn't seem like he has the same visceral reaction Sasuke did

Kiba looks at him. "Are you sure?"

The wind howled outside. It almost sounded like voices. Sasuke hunched over his milk. "I'm sure."

"Well. That's that, then." Kiba said. He got up and rinsed out the cup he used. "You have nightmares."

Sasuke can't see Kiba's face. "So?"

"It's keeping me awake. Try to get something that will help you sleep. The Yamanaka's sell a tea for that, I think. Look up some mediation. Just do something about it." He put down the mug on the counter. His voice is even. He turns around and looks Sasuke in the eye. "We need to make a deal."

Kiba's not Uchiha. He doesn't know what an insult it is to be looked in the eye; it's like saying 'you're not even powerful enough to worry about your sharingan.

Sasuke takes offense anyway, bristling. "What deal?"

Kiba shows no reaction at his tone. "The soul mate thing isn't going away. Not without a lot of pain. We need to deal with it."

"What the hell do you mean?" Sasuke blurted out, then winced on principle. His mother would've washed his mouth out with soap - but she was dead.

There was nothing she could do now.

Kiba holds out his hand, across the table. "You don't know me and I don't know you. We'll stay away from each other as much as possible and hope it fades naturally. Deal?"

Sasuke sees his name scrawled across Kiba's tanned skin.

"Deal." He says, and takes it.

And that's it.

The years slip quietly past; Kiba lives life at a coast, content to ignore and be ignored by his classmates. Just like they promised, Sasuke and Kiba don't speak, don't even meet each others eyes. They don't acknowledge each other outside of taijutsu matches, in which Sasuke tries to beat Kiba into the ground.

(Kiba always makes the seal of reconciliation.

Sasuke ignores it every single time.

Iruka-sensei gave up on scolding him for it, eventually.)

The last Uchiha threw himself into training like his life depended on it and blew past the class. Kiba is unsurprised.

Sasuke has reason to be motivated, after all.

Graduation day comes.

Sasuke's nightmares never really stopped, but Kiba won't say anything. He's not the martyr type, to throw himself at Sasuke's resentment just because the of the name on his wrist. No matter how much Hokage-sama hinted, when Kiba 'accidentally' ran in to him on early morning walks.

Sasuke was traumatized, yes, but that didn't give him the right to glare at Kiba like he was garbage. You didn't see Kiba treating people like shit because he lost everything -

"Why do you keep looking at Sasuke?" Shikamaru drawled.

Kiba blinked. He wouldn't consider the Nara a friend, but it was impossible to shake him off. Ino's fault. Once Ino decided she wanted to be your friend, there wasn't much anyone could do to stop her.

Kiba was used to them, by now. "I was staring?" Kiba asked.

Shikamaru looked at Kiba with half lidded eyes. "You got a crush?"

Kiba gave him a look. They were twelve. "No."

Being soul mates could be entirely platonic. Love was unnecessary. All that's needed was… well, need. As far as Kiba could tell, Sasuke latched on to stabilize his mind within Itachi's genjutsu.

Shikamaru's eyes closed with a sigh. "That's good. Ino would eat you alive."

Kiba hummed under his breath. Romance wasn't an area he had experience in - nothing romantic about drowning in your own lungs.

"Have you ever had a crush?" Kiba asked.

Shikamaru jerked like Kiba pinched him. He glanced up at Kiba then down, quick as a thought. He groaned and threw an arm over his face. "Don't just ask such troublesome questions." His tone is flat but there's a hit of red creeping up over his cheeks.

That wasn't a no.

Not Kiba's business. He shrugged internally and went back to his book.

Ten minutes later - after Naruto showed up and started up some stupid fight with Sasuke that Kiba ignored - Iruka called the class to heel.

Iruka smiled at the class. "As of today you are genin. Congratulations."

A cheer broke out. Iruka let it go on for a little bit. Even Shikamaru sat up - slightly. Naruto cheered loudly, and a twinge of impatient satisfaction flickers down from Sasuke's end. Kiba sank lower behind his book, until only his eyes could be seen. His stomach twisted in on itself.

Would Hokage-sama put Sasuke on Kiba's team?

Kiba stared at his book without seeing it. Did he want Sasuke on his team?

He'd take Shikamaru, but Ino-Shika-Cho was too valuable to break up. It wasn't a surprise when Iruka called out Ino, Choji and Shikamaru's names.

Shikamaru groaned under his breath. "Troublesome."

"Why do I have to have such a useless team? Can't I team up with Sasuke-kun?" Ino complained from the front row.

That exhausted the list of children Kiba talked to in class. Kiba sighed. If it came down to it, he could just tap out and go into research and development. He liked learning new things and making stuff. He knew, theoretically how jutsu development worked. It wasn't like he wanted to be a field ninja in the first place.

Inuzuka didn't go into R&D.

He felt his mouth pull down under the mask. He knew that he wasn't the son Tsume wanted, or the little brother that Hana did.

Despite her interest in becoming a vet, Hana was forced to take up the position of clan heir, because no one in the clan would accept Kiba in the role.

Tsume deserved better than a disappointment for a son.

He had to at least try, for their sake.

Hinata fidgeted in her chair. Her heart fluttered like a bird in her chest with wings beating at her rib-cage. Would her team like her? Would her sensei? Would she be failed, like her some of the older Hyuugas whispered about?

She stares at the familiar wood desk under her hands. Ugly anxiety bubbled in her throat all night, stealing sleep, and she still felt nauseous with it.

Hinata wouldn't blame her sensei if they did. She was useless at most things.

Her father might actually kill her though.

"- and Hyuuga Hinata will be team eight." Iruka-sensei's voice broke through her thoughts like a kick to the stomach.

Hinata's head snapped up. She hadn't been listening! She had no idea who her teammates would be! She should raise her hand, but the very thought of admitting her lapse of attention felt like a boulder in her throat. Father would find out, somehow.

He'd be so disappointed.

Hinata's eyes dropped to her shaking hands again.

Why couldn't she do anything right?

"Hyuuga-san?"

Hinata jumped. "Yes?" She squeaked, looking up.

A boy with a cloth face mask. He had a book almost the size of his torso clutched to his chest like a shield.

It took Hinata a moment to place him. They were in the same class, she's sure, but they've never been introduced. The only people Hinata ever saw him talking to were the Ino-Shika-Cho clan kids.

His name is… Ki-something?

The boy blinked at her reaction, and Hinata felt her face flare up with prickly heat.

"U-um. We should find a place to sit?" He said.

Sit? Together? They've never even spoken before, why would they -

Another boy came up behind the first, but this one she knew the name of at least.

Shino-kun." she said, relieved. They couldn't be called friends, but Hinata is more comfortable around him than the other boys. Shino is quiet.

"Hinata. We should sit together. Why? Because we are all on team eight now." Shino said, voice monotone.

Hinata's cheeks grew darker. That was the obvious connection. Why else would the masked boy talk with her?

"R-right!" She stumbled out of her chair and the three of them made their way to the back of the room where there were enough open seats for the three of them. They sat down, and - nothing. Neither of the boys said a word, and every time Hinata opened her mouth, the oppressive silence choked her.

Hinata's eyes stung and she fiddled with her coat sleeves.

This was going to be a disaster.

The door to the academy never seemed so intimidating — not even when Kurenai had been a student there herself. Inside she could hear the chatter of brand new genin. Three of them were going to be her students.

Kurenai had to smooth out her face, lest the proud smile show up again. It was an honor to be chosen for such an important duty. These genin were heirs and second born, the future of Konoha - and Hokage-sama selected her, a new jounin, for the job!

Deep breaths. Calm.

A shinobi was always in control of their emotions. She didn't want to make a bad first impression.

With that in mind, Kurenai slid the door open wide and walked in, head held high and spine straight.

The chunin at the desk looked up and smiled. "Kurenai-san. Right on time." Iruka stood up and leaned on the desk. "Team eight, please come down to the front!"

Kurenai gave him a smile and tried not to look like she was watching her new genin's movements like a hawk. "Thank you, Iruka-san."

"It's no problem. You wouldn't believe how hard it is for jounin to show up anywhere on time."

Ah. Kakashi was supposed to take on another team this year, wasn't he?

Three students in the back stood up, and made their way down to the front of the class. Every jounin sensei was given a profile for their genin, just so they knew what they had to work with and Kurenai already knew Hinata.

Hyūga Hinata looked pale and kept her eyes down on the floor. Her fingers were engaged in a complicated dance of fidgets and she appeared to be muttering to herself. Her chakra was twisting in on itself in a painful feeling spiral.

Aburame Shino was a near clone of his father, and a typical member of his clan. The dark grey coat covered his face and the sunglasses on his eyes concealed still more. He wasn't quite skilled enough to cover up the way his hive was buzzing in agitation though. Something to work on.

Inuzuka Kiba was dressed in a blue kimono top with wide sleeves over some type of mesh that went to his wrist. He had a white fur ruff around his neck and dark pants, with black bracers around his wrists. If Kurenai didn't have his file, she would have pegged him for civilian born. The mask was strange for an Inuzuka.

The three of them stood in front of her unease in every line in their bodies.

Kurenai glanced over the room. "Are we waiting for your partner, Kiba-kun?" She asked.

The Inuzuka flinched; his right hand circled around his left wrist. "I don't have one." His voice was soft and so quiet that she almost didn't catch it.

It takes a second for the words to register. Kurenai realized, a moment to late, that there was no mention of a partner in Kiba's file. She just assumed...Kurenai glanced at Iruka who grimaced.

Kurenai couldn't' stop the small frown that crossed her face. Would Kiba really be useful in a tracking team like her own? Perhaps Hokage-sama figured that having the byakugan, kikaichu and a ninken on one team would be overkill.

The boy looked miserable. Kurenai cleared her throat. "I see. In that case, let's get going.

The three of them follow her out like baby ducklings in a row.

Genin were so cute.

Ten minutes at the training ground and Kurenai was having second thoughts. She could count the number of words her students had spoken on one hand. Hinata was too shy, Shino too taciturn, and Kiba disappeared into the background when Kurenai wasn't paying attention. None of them were the type to start a conversation.

Kurenai smiled. "Why don't we introduce ourselves? My name is Yuuhi Kurenai and my favorite color is red. Obviously, I'm a jounin. I like genjutsu, sweet foods and teaching. I dislike people who slack off, yellow as a concept, and perverts. My dream is to teach at least three jounin, and that means you three better get used to working hard." She pointed to Hinata. "You next."

The three of them stared at her like she'd suggested killing the Hokage. She stared back, still smiling. She would make them more sociable if it killed them. Kurenai would not fail in teaching her first genin team.

Hinata swallowed. "My - my name is H-hinata. I-I like..." She flushed. "The color o-orange, and p-pressing flowers. I d-dislike m-mean people. M-my dream is t-to become s-stronger."

"Excellent job, Hinata." Kurenai nodded to Shino next.

The Aburame adjusted his sunglasses. "Aburame Shino. I like studying rare Kikaichu. Why? Because they are useful to my clan. I dislike people who are illogical, or do not like bugs. Why? Because they often react poorly to my clan. My dream is to become a jounin."

Kurenai looked at her last student. It was hard to tell what he was thinking under his mask - and the way his chakra was so masked. Kurenai stopped. How did a genin have that much control over his chakra?

"Inuzuka Kiba." The boy said quietly. He was sitting neatly, a large book on his lap. "My favorite color is dark blue. I like reading, taijutsu, and learning new things. I dislike strong smells, loud noises, and people who expect me to conform to clan stereotypes. My dream is..." Kiba paused. "To learn more about sealing, or work Research and Development in the future.

Just like that, the conversation was over. Kurenai waited for a moment, but none of the genin had anything to add. She clapped her hands together. The genin looked up, startled.

"There's no time like the present. Let's start with a spar, so I can get an idea of your levels."

She'd have to beat socializing into them later. How hard could it be?

Three weeks later, Kurenai was bitterly regretting her thoughts.

Individually, team eight was composed of model genin. Hinata was punctual, always considerate, and a monster at taijutsu when she forgot to be shy. Shino was efficient, focused, and talented at his clan jutsus. Kiba seemed to know a little bit about everything, his manners were impeccable, and his stealth was chunin level.

It wasn't that her genin were unwilling to work. In contrast, they worked very hard, and breezed through d-ranks. They swept yards and caught cats and babysat children without a word of complaint.

That was, of course, the problem.

She could on one hand the number of times her three genin had a conversation that lasted more than three lines - without Kurenai's influence - and all of those times were related to a mission. Asuma was always complaining about the way his genin never shut up, how he had to break up fights between the Yamanaka and the Nara, how he had to bribe the Akimichi to do anything remotely like work and Kurenai was jealous.

Kurenai's genin were well behaved, but they didn't feel like a team.

Hinata was a mess of nerves, and flinched whenever the boys talked to her. Shino was a tiny vicious ball of passive aggressiveness. Kiba acted like stiffer and more formal version of Kurenai's grandmother. Taking tea with him was like being twelve and gangly again. Plus, he was always reading.

It was exhausting.

(At least she didn't get team seven. The thought of Kakashi's long suffering face hidden behind his book still cheered her up. His little band of hellions didn't fight. They waged war.

It couldn't have happened to a nicer person.)

The worst part of it was that her genin were doing their best. They ate together, if silently. They worked as a team, if coldly. They trained and sparred, if only out of the desire to improve.

There was just… something missing.

Kurenai can't help but wish Kiba was a bit more like the rest of his clan. If he had a brash personality, it'd give Shino someone to play off and Hinata would be drawn in by default. It'd give the team a place to spark from. Then Kurenai remember Kiba's dislikes, and shook the thought away. She was a genjutsu mistress, and she knew the dangers of 'what if'.

She'd make due with what she had.

Dinner time at the Inuzuka compound was always loud. Even when the head family at alone, Kiba heard laughter from the other houses, and children fighting, people sparing. Tsume sat at the head of the table, with Kuromaru at her side. All the tables in the compound were the traditional low kind, to accommodate Ninken. Hana sat to Tsume's right.

Kiba steeled his nerves. Courage.

"I'm moving out of the compound." He said.

The peaceful atmosphere shattered.

"Say that again, brat? I think I'm going deaf in my old age." Tsume barked.

Kiba met his mother's eyes. Looking away would mean surrender. "I have a place picked out already," Kiba said. "It's an apartment by the Akimichi food stalls in the market. They rent at a discount for shinobi so it should be easy to keep up without clan help —"

"Kiba, what are you talking about?" Hana demanded, setting her chopsticks down with a click. "You're barely a genin. Why would you need to move out? The clan -"

"The clan treats me like I'm dying" Kiba snapped, losing control of his temper for the first time in his life. "I'm not made of glass! I'm a shinobi but even the civilians are treated less delicately. Just because I don't have a ninken, the clan thinks I'm - I'm broken."

Maybe he was. His chest was hollow, grief an old friend. Some nights he couldn't breath for the breath and scope of loss he carried.

But.

He wasn't dead yet. His heart still beat, steady. He was stronger, faster, than his last life, and the clan treated him like porcelain. Kiba already had the few elders of the clan looking to make a marriage for him, some strong young woman to 'take care of him', like a child.

He was sick to death of pity.

Kiba'd endured enough for two lifetimes.

Hana reared back, eyes wide.

Fast as it came, the anger drained. Kiba rubbed his face. It wasn't Hana's fault. "Sorry."

Tsume was still watching him. Her hand was buried in Kuromaru's ruff, and her scent was tightly controlled. "Will it make you happy?"

Kiba blinked. "I don't know." He said, surprised enough to tell the truth. "It might."

Tsume's mouth pulled down, but she sighed. "Alright, pup. Send the paperwork my way after dinner, and I'll take a look at it myself. Make sure it's all in order."

She said… yes?

"Mom?" Hana asked, tone incredulous. "He's twelve! He can't live by himself, that's —"

"He's a genin now, Hana. That makes him an adult in the eyes of the village. If he wants to live on his own, he can."

"But—"

"Pipe down, brat. He was going to do it anyway. This was just politeness." Tsume flashed him a fanged smile, expression knowing. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission."

She said yes.

Kiba felt like a balloon with it's string cut; a current of bubbling relief pushed him upwards. He smiled back at Tsume. She was right. Kiba already contacted the Akimichi yesterday. He was only informing Tsume out of respect. "Right."

Tsume laughed. "You're too much like me, pup."

The dinner got back on track, even if Hana kept giving Tsume incredulous looks. say anything else. Kiba ignored the confused, hurt looks Hana sent his way.

After dinner, Tsume looked over the paperwork the Akimichi landlord gave him with approving eyes. "Looks solid enough. I think it'll do."

Kiba accepted back the papers. All of his belongings were packed up into storage scrolls already, including the things that he knew a new apartment needed. He smiled at Tsume. "Thank you."

Before he could make his escape, Tsume caught him by the shoulder. "Dinner once a week." She said.

It wasn't a request.

"Okay." It was a small price to pay for his freedom. He hugged Tsume in a rare show of affection. She smelled like the spices used in dinner and Kuromaru. Like home.

"Love you, mom." He murmured. It was the truth. She never doubted his ability, the same way Hana did. They were family and it was never about them.

It was everyone else that got on his nerves.

Tsume sighed and ruffled his hair, but the look on her face is fond. "Love you too, pup. Even if you're a walking headache."

hey it's been a while! if you only read this story, it's because i got into a bit of a accident irl, and I've been out of commission for a bit, and pretty busy besides.

also, because this was a nano project, i did no planning at all for it. it needs much, much more editing than my other stories lol