Forever Loyal
A/N: This idea follows on from a scene from my previous chapter but is also a shout-out for one of my favourite Naruto characters who can, in my humble opinion, occasionally be misrepresented by fanfiction writers. This is my attempt to balance the scales; as always, if you think I managed it well please let me know.
Roll up, roll up, grab your popcorn and find a seat; the show's about to start!
As the music played on and the wine flowed freely, Hyuuga Haishi allowed himself a small, contented smile at the way things had played out; a daughter married to the future Hokage and possibly grandchildren on the way in the next few years, and all before I turned forty as well. Subtly activating his bloodline limit the clan heads' smile deepened as he saw the expression of delirious joy on the face of his eldest daughter; Hinata looked so much like her mother in that kimono as she danced beautifully in the arms with the man she had just married, for once managing not to faint in close proximity to Uzumaki Naruto, Konoha's latest husband and, at least if Haishi and the other ninja heads of the council had any say in the matter, future Rokudaime Hokage.
It hadn't been an easy marriage to maintain or set up, and of course the elders of the regal Hyuuga clan had been in uproar at the thought of some vulgar orphan claiming the hand of a potential clan head, but Naruto was far shrewder than any of them, and Haishi himself, had given him credit for. He had quite literally won Hinata's hand after a fair duel against her former fiancé and, because of the stipulations put forwards by the arrogant nin he had pummelled into the dirt in short order, the elders had been left tied up in their own rules, leaving Hinata free of their plotting and able (and more than willing) to tie the knot with the boy she had fanned a flame for ever since their Academy days. Deactivating his bloodline limit as even with his level of mastery over the All-Seeing Eye trying to use it in such conditions, with so many people dancing and dining together under the massive marquee that had been set up in the middle of the Hyuuga grounds, placed a strain on his eyes, Haishi stood up with a slight cloud of consternation crossing his face as he noticed the sight of someone he knew very well present on the clan grounds. Thinking quickly, he smoothed out his expression and stood up, determined to resolve this situation himself; this is my daughter's perfect day, I will allow no-one to ruin it. Not even you; despite his pre-occupation he possessed enough self-awareness to bow in thanks to the greetings of the original Ino-Shika-Chou trio, each other them congratulating him on his daughter's wedding and thanking him for the invitations for both themselves and their children to the festivities; you may have been her team mate and even her former fiancée, but you will not ruin this day for her Inuzuka Kiba!
With that thought foremost in his mind the Hyuuga clan head ducked out of the front of the massive tent, dodging a couple of young Akimichi children as they ran about playing a game of tag while Akimichi Chime, matriarch of the clan, watched over them with a benign smile on her face.
"Haishi-kun", the tall but surprisingly small-built (by Akimichi standards – she was one of the few women in the village who could look the Hyuuga clan head in the eye without the aid of high heels) purred as she bowed down both to respect the Hyuuga clan leader and pick up a child that had stumbled and grazed his knee; as she shushed the tears, she looked up with hair as black as Haishi's own framing her round, smiling face, "you've done a wonderful thing here for your daughter; I can imagine you're looking forwards to the orange maelstrom shaking things up in your dusty old mansion". Away from the prying gaze of the elders Haishi allowed his standard mask of indifference to drop slightly, smiling at the woman as he returned her bow and simultaneously offered the girl who was holding Chime's hand one of the treats he'd picked up from one of the buffet table earlier and kept in his pocket to snack on later,
"Hai, that will be a treat to see; with any luck he'll drive a few of them permanently demented, or just bump them off via stress-induced heart attacks. Anyway, my apologies Chime-san, I have a private matter to attend to now".
Despite appearances Akimichi were sharper than most people gave them credit for; understanding what the Hyuuga clan head was driving at Chime nodded and turned to the rest of the running children, gaining their attention with little more than a soft whistle; and some people wonder why she heads the Konoha nursery – had she been around there when my son-in-law was growing up I have an inkling Naruto would have had a far kinder childhood;
"Come on you 'orrible brood, inside", she chided them along gently, holding the tent flap open with one hand and waving the rag-tag bundle of kids inside with the other, "if you're well-behaved I'll see if I can talk Chouji-kun into giving you all piggy-back rides". Squeals of delight met that proclamation and in seconds Haishi was alone once more; he took a second to smile at the antics of the future generation of Konoha before shaking himself down, reaffirming where his quarry was in the grounds and hurrying off to find the Inuzuka before he could cause any potential trouble.
As expected when the wind was in his favour, Haishi saw the dog-nin scion before Kiba could smell him; at least he stayed away from the main tent, thank Kami for small mercies; Haishi thought quietly to himself as he finally saw his one-time future son-in-law sitting with his back against one of the carefully-sculpted rocks that dotted the immaculate lawn, the surface of the stone worn smooth over the years by the hands, feet and bottoms of countless Hyuuga children and adults using it as an impromptu seat, climbing frame or training post. The light of the half-moon shone down, casting the lawn into shades of pearly opalescence, making the massive canine at the side of the Inuzuka glow an eerie white as his master gently stroked his side. For a moment Haishi faltered, his fatherly rage dimming as he beheld the younger man simply sitting where he was, not causing any trouble or demanding Naruto's head, just lying back against the rock and enjoying the moonlight.
However, the other person who seemed to have had the same idea as Haishi had no such compassion on the matter.
"Well I have to say", she said harshly, a distinct sneer evident in her voice that even Haishi could pick up from where he was stood, "I didn't expect to see you here tonight".
XXX
Not even noticing the Hyuuga clan head standing in the shadows of one of the nearby mansion wings, Ino strode up to the reclining Inuzuka she'd been looking for ever since she'd heard he was attending from his mother, having bumped into Tsume accidentally while she'd been dancing with Chouji. Having finally tracked him down on the lawn and grateful that he hadn't caused any trouble yet, the Yamanaka had no restrictions in stormed up to the dog-nin and slapping on her most disdainful expression, just desserts for what he'd put her friend through in the years before Naruto had finally opened his eyes in time to stop Kiba finally sinking his fangs into her friend too deeply,
"Well I have to say", she snorted, glancing down at the Inuzuka as though he was something she might have found on the sole of her shoe as Kiba looked up at her, "I didn't expect to see you here tonight". For a moment he didn't reply, but where he did it wasn't with the snapping rage she'd come to associate with the youngest Inuzuka; instead of rabid curses and possible physical violence, the dog-nin instead drew his knees up into his chest and gave a world-weary chuckle,
"Well aren't I just full of surprises?" He commented sardonically, ironically winding Ino up much more effectively than if he'd tried to argue and bluster his way out the situation; in the face of such blasé indifference, the Yamanaka had to catch herself from stomping her feet and take a second to compose a suitable reply,
"Why are you even here teme?", that got a reply as Kiba grimaced; there was nothing as abhorrent to the Inuzuka as a traitor so calling him by the title most of the Rookie Eleven still referred to Sasuke, Konoha's most active traitor until Naruto had tracked him down and forcibly returned him to Konoha to honour his ancient promise of a lifetime about half a year previously, was a cheap way of scoring points, "Hinata's gone and you're never getting her back", she couldn't have called herself human if there hadn't been a hint of gloating in her tone but she justified it by remembering how abominably Kiba had treated her friend, "she's Naruto's wife now and he'll never let her go".
"I know"; why is he being so calm about this – he should have flown straight off the handle by now; before Ino could ponder this too much, however, his next words stopped her absolutely cold, "this is what I've been working towards for years", Kiba closed his eyes as the irony of his next words bit into him deeper than any of the dogs of his clan ever could have; it was a testament to his fortitude that his eyes just about remained dry,
"This is the happiest day of my life".
XXX
What?; understandably Ino was utterly shocked by this, only able to stand there and gape as the dog-nin scratched his partner behind the ear, growling softly in the language of the dogs as Akamaru had groaned softly and shuffled up, nudging his master in the shoulder at Kiba's forehead had sunk to his knees.
"B, but", Ino was left completely bereft of ideas, had no clue as to why Kiba would have said that, "how...you were, you were going to marry her, how can this be, your best day?" The Inuzuka rolled his head up to see her with a single eye, the tattooed mark on his cheek looking like a fresh tear in the moonlight as he opened his mouth to answer, but before he could speak another, older voice cut in and both teens looked over to see Hyuuga Haishi striding towards them, the clan heads' face as inscrutable as it was usually was as he looked from Ino's guilty face to Kiba's suddenly-apprehensive one,
"I must say", the Hyuuga lords' voice was soft and even as he came to a halt the other side of the rock from where Kiba was sat, "I came here with the intention to ask the same question Yamanaka-san has, and I am similarly confused as to your answer. I would, appreciate a more thorough explanation". His tone was pleasant, perhaps even fatherly but the hidden message was lost on neither nin; Haishi was a concerned parent who wanted to know Kiba's intentions on his daughter and he was going to find them out, one way or another. Having heard his one-time father in law approach and cursing his bad luck that the wind hadn't let him pick up the older man's' scent, Kiba had scrambled to his feet and was now looking from Haishi to Ino, his gaze flicking between them both as he appeared to be debating something in his head. The silence dragged on to the point where Ino was about to speak up and break it herself but, just as she breathed in to gain the ammunition needed to craft her words, the dog-nin shrugged and gestured to the rock that lay between them both,
"Okay then, I'll clue you in; take a seat", he waited until the audience he'd hoped never to have had made themselves comfortable before carrying on, "right, I won't deny what I've done but I'll ask you this favour – hear me out before you decry how black my sins are, okay?
"Where did you learn to speak like that?" Ino queried after a second of digesting the Inuzuka's latest speech; at that Kiba had the good grace to look embarrassed as he scrutinised the floor, mumbling his answer,
"Read it on a beer mat in Tea country", he admitted before raising his voice slightly, "but, that aside, hear me out".
Settling herself down on the rocks' surface and shifting over as Haishi sat down next to her, Ino smoothed down her kimono and made herself comfortable as Kiba spoke again, Akamaru nudging his hand with his nose in a supporting gesture as the dog-nin began revealing what he had done to lie, steal and cheat his way to Hinata's hand,
"It started just after Naruto left on his long training trip; once he was gone I sat down and figured out what I had to do to get Hinata – first step was becoming clan heir..." He was cut off at this point by Ino's curiosity,
"But I thought you always were the clan heir, you were the oldest boy"; Kiba goggled at her before chuckling,
"You really think we go in for that macho bullshit – have you met my mother? Anyway, that aside", skilfully navigating the diversion, he quickly jumped back on track, "Hana was clan head, so I upped my training and, when I had the upper hand, I challenged her for the position – it came as a shock to her, and mum as well for that matter; they just thought I was happy to be a runt and another ninja, that I wasn't bothered about leading the clan. But still, I threw down the gauntlet and Hana had no choice but to pick it up; by tradition she picked the time and place, I told her the match, so I challenged her to a ninja duel for the position of clan head. I won, though doing that", he shivered as the memory tore at him again; even now, years after the event he knew he was still in disgrace in the eyes of his clan, his sister in particular spitting on his shadow at every opportunity,
"I was very lucky to dodge being exiled, or even killed, by my own clan for winning the way I did".
XXX
The traditional fighting pit of the Inuzuka was thronged by all members of the pack present within Konoha; looking up at her kinsmen Tsume once more looked over to her son and sighed, wondering why he had called his sister out like this,
"Hey pup", once more Kiba blinked that faraway look from his eyes, the expression one Tsume had only just recently noticed her son adopting when he thought he had time to think; he looks more like a Nara when he does that – what has changed so much with you Kiba?; "sure you can do this; Hana won't go easy on you". She was half-hoping her son would respond as he usually did, with a brash gesture and self-aggrandisement; instead he merely nodded, face set in a grim line of determination as both he and his mother picked up the scent of Hana approaching the through the only entrance of the fighting pit. Seeing her daughter approach, Tsume realised it was too late to try and change his mind and resolved herself to patch him back up after her daughters' dogs had stopped using him for a chew-toy,
"Right you pack of flea-bitten brutes", a family they might have been but no-one would ever say gestures of affection between Inuzuka were anything but rough, "you know why we're all he...hey!" A sudden rush of brown hair and killing intent shot past her like an arrow, Hana not even slowing down from her dead sprint as she hurled herself at her brother, "Hana!"
"I'll kill you!" It was a rare day when Kiba didn't hear that threat from his sister but it was an even rarer day when he believed her; though she's closer to the triplets than even I am to Akamaru – no wonder she's upset; the thought ran through the dog-nin's surprisingly calm mind as he and his puppy ricocheted around the walls of the pit, keeping just out of range of Hana's lethal talons as the kunoichi, face white with rage and eyes blotchy from tears, never slowed down in her quest for her brothers' blood. It was only when Tsume, having finally caught up with what was going on, sought to restore order by dint of wrestling her enraged child to the floor that the situation calmed down somewhat, though Hana still strained to break free and fly at her brother again,
"Hana", Tsume shouted again, struggling to hold her daughter's rage-empowered form, "what are you doing, stop this..." Just then the younger woman managed to pull a hand free from the melee and stabbed her finger towards Kiba as though it could pierce straight though his heart, her accusation flying loud enough for the entire clan to hear,
"Him, he's done this", she sagged in her mother's arms, fighting hard to stop herself crying as she remembered the sprawled forms that had greeted her in their kennels not moments ago, Kiba's scent still lingering in the area and confirming his guilt, "he's poisoned my partners!"
All sound immediately ceased at this; much as there were few actual laws of conduct in the House of Dogs, interfering with another nins' partner was considered utterly taboo, and it was a law Kiba looked to have broken as he didn't react to his sister's accusations save to fold his arms around Akamaru, shielding him from potential harm as Tsume, having dropped Hana in her shock, stared at her son with a whitened face as the potential ramifications of his actions ran through his head; no, this, this can't be happening – Kiba wouldn't, whatever he's doing he couldn't stoop that low;
"Kiba", torn between her beliefs as a mother and duties as a clan head, Tsume felt the anguish roiling in her stomach as she was forced to ask the fatal question, "is this true?" No; as her son didn't answer at first the Inuzuka head felt her blood turn to ice in her veins and her heart stop beating, a sensation that the sudden yells from the rest of the clan did nothing to thaw,
"They are not poisoned, they're just sedated", Kiba said stoically, ignoring the insults and spittle that rained down on him as he looked at his sister, then to his mother, and Tsume found she could barely recognise her son's expression in those almost dead-looking brown eyes, "I have incapacitated her partners, I have won".
"Won?" Ice was replaced by fire as his words struck home; how dare he treat the lives of the Inuzuka pack so callously? "Kiba, for what you have done I..."
"You will name me clan heir", it was the coldness, not the volume, of the reply that made her stop dead; Kiba's eyes were alive once more, and they bored into her with almost fanatical determination, "this was a ninja duel, agreed to by Hana and by those rules there are no rules! I have won dishonourably, but ninja have no honour".
It was flawless; cold, calculating and utterly undefeatable by the Inuzuka's own clan laws – never, never in her darkest nightmares would Tsume have thought such a devious cunning lurked in the mind of her brash but still beloved son. He said nothing more, still protecting Akamaru from the storm of flying curses with his arms and jacket as he moved towards the exit of the fighting pit, head held high even as the rest of the clan let their fury and disgust at him show. Kiba had cheated his way to being top dog, but even as he had done so there was nothing Tsume could do but nod even as she fisted her hand in Hana's hair, stopping her pouncing at her brother at he walked past and was lost to sight in the shadows, the future of the clan now in his devious hands.
XXX
Haishi felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as he heard Kiba tell how he had become clan heir; he'd suspected that something wrong had happened as the few times he'd cornered Tsume to ask about it, she'd been evasive and told him curtly that he just was now. He also knew she'd been seen in the local shinobi bars more frequently since then and more than once one of the Ino-Shika-Chou trio, usually Chouza as his clan house was closest to the Inuzuka, had been forced to support or carry the drunken clan head home as she sought to drown her worries in sake; and having heard that I can understand why – this was the boy that would have married Hinata? Now I know Naruto was a blessing from Kami, I'll burn an extra stick of incense tonight for avoiding such a fate;
"So, I was the future clan head", Kiba's voice jerked him back to the present and it was all he could do not to strike the arrogant brat before him, the trembling from the slip of a girl at the side of him telling him Ino was a hairs-breadth from doing the same thing, "so it was obvious what my next move was, when I could get away from learning clan duties that was and there were many of them; the rest of the clan might not have been able to stop me becoming the heir, but they could make my life difficult and they did; Hana's barely spoken to me since and I can't blame her", he paused for a minute, regret on his face before, inexplicably, it was swallowed up by determination to continue his story, "but anyway, I was now equal to Hinata in status as the heir of a noble clan of Konoha, so I could court her. I'd been a team mate for many years so it was easy to become a little closer than friends, but I knew she still loved the baka she's just married", once more Haishi bristled at such slander but restrained himself as he began to think that there was something else at work here; all his comments were leading somewhere and Haishi had no idea where, so it was better to listen and get more information before coming to a conclusion,
"Don't insult Naruto-kun like that teme", obviously Ino didn't agree with the wait-and-see approach, "even if he is a baka, that's a hundred times better than a cheat and a poisoning coward".
"I'm a ninja, it's what I do", Kiba said flatly before carrying on his story, "but apart from that, I asked from her hand in marriage some months later; I knew there was nothing the Hyuuga could do legally as we were of equal standing and I was a competent and trustworthy soldier of Konoha", Ino grumbled under her breath at this point but the dog-nin ignored her, "but to make sure I could pull things properly in my favour, I wanted to write the marriage contract. Of course", he inclined his head to Haishi at this point, the older man's pupil less eyes narrowing at the reminder, "you know what happened when this occurred?"
"Yes; trial by combat, at the end of Konoha's last round of hosting the Chunin exams", the Hyuuga glowered, trying to stare a hole through the Inuzuka, "you wagered that if you lost Hinata would not have to marry you, if you won she would and you would draft the marriage contract. Neji called you out and you fought..." He trailed off at that point, hoping Kiba would let it lie at that point but it seemed his hope was dashed as the dog-nin smile, a sad sort of smile true, but a smile nonetheless,
"Yes; that was probably the proudest moment in this mess for me", he reflected softly, the memories of the fight of his life, and not just his life, flashing before his eyes once more.
XXX
The roar of the crowd was deafening as the last two fighters took position in the stadium, Haishi looking down from his position and internally crossing his fingers that his nephew would be able to prevail,
"Should be a hell of a match", Akimichi Chouza piped up, looking down as the jounin raised his hand to start the fight, "Inuzuka taijutsu against the Gentle Fist, I wouldn't want to bet on a winner. What do you think Tsume-chan?" The dog mistress was quiet for a moment and, even when she spoke, her voice was noticeably subdued to the ears of the other clan heads,
"Kiba has the speed and aggression but Neji-san the grace, and if he takes only a few strikes it should be enough to end this fight", she considered slowly, some of the others raising eyebrows at each other as they noticed the missing honorific in the case of her son, "apart from that I agree with Chouza-san; too close to call"; unless Kiba did something before the match again – I thought he might have had that thousand-yard look in his eye this morning, and none of the clan tried to trip him up as he prepared.
The match, as it began, was indeed very close; unlike the norm for his clan, the Inuzuka didn't rush straight into combat, instead using his unique henge with his partner to stay away from Neji, avoiding the Hyuuga's attacks and trying to punish him from distance. He'd also been training in his spare time, including in jutsus Tsume wasn't aware he knew as waves of shadow kunai raced from her son's hands. It was a game of cat-and-mouse and appeared to be a case of which combatant would drop from chakra exhaustion first, before suddenly, at least to Haishi's eyes, the unthinkable happened.
Both Kibas had sent out a rain of kunai which forced Neji, who didn't have time to replace with anything, to play his ace; a dome of white and blue surrounded the Hyuuga prodigy as the Heavenly Spin, their ultimate defence, came into play. However, to general shock, this appeared to have been what the dog-nin was waiting for; one of the duo picked up the pace of his throws, forcing Neji to maintain the technique, while the other Kiba ran headlong towards the spinning sphere. Just before impact he channelled chakra to his legs and jumped, high above the rotating dome before roaring out his latest attack,
"Hell's Drill!"
With that the Inuzuka became a tornado that crashed down on the very top of the Heavenly Spin; both techniques ground against each other for long seconds before, suddenly, both stopped dead. Haishi was on his feet in an instant as Kiba, under gravity, fell directly into Neji and, stunned by the sudden failure of his prized ultimate defence, the prodigy was floored. A second later it was all over; Kiba had one clawed hand resting on the flawless skin of Neji's face – one move and the feral nin would be able to rip his face off and eyes out. All was quiet for a minute before the proctor, seeing the position Neji was in and wanting to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, stepped in to call the match,
"Shousha, Inuzuka Kiba!"
At this announcement there was a great cacophony of cheering from the rafters, many of the assembled jounin and clan heads clapping Tsume on the back and congratulating her on her sons' win while at the same time as commiserating with Haishi, though those who had their eyes on the clan heads the instant the match was called were left pondering one question; if Kiba had won the match, why was it that Tsume looked more distraught than Haishi?
XXX
The strange smile she'd seen on his face earlier was back on Kiba's face as he recalled the fight, looking at his audience as he explained the technique he'd used,
"I broke the Heavenly Spin and beat Neji; it was actually quite simple when I thought about it, and I'd been sweating on that match for ages before I figured out the answer. Your ultimate defence works like our offence, by spinning and deflection, so if I was able to hit the top of the dome while spinning the opposite way to Neji, the techniques would cancel each other out and I'd be able to wrestle him down before he could get away; Hell's Drill to break Heaven's Spin. After that, I wrote up the marriage contract between Hinata and myself and she became my fiancée".
"Yeah, but what's that got to do with this whole thing?" Ino still didn't see where Kiba was going with his rambling; he did all that but still, he lost her to Naruto after being a jerk to her – why's he telling us all this?; "You beat Neji but Naruto returned the favour when he got back".
"He did, but how did he do that; Haishi-san", the Hyuuga looked up from his contemplations, still not quite getting the pieces he could see to fit together, "you read the contract I assume; tell me, or tell Ino, I remember it, when would it have been fulfilled, the conditions I said had to be in place before we were married?"
At that Haishi really did have to think; at the time he'd been so cut up about losing his eldest daughter to the Inuzuka and signing the contract in the face of both Neji's regret and little Hanabi's tears, that he'd blocked most of the small print from his mind. However, over time as he thought about it, the words on the parchment he'd reluctantly scrawled his signature over swam up to the forefront of his mind,
"You wrote that, you both had to be over...eighteen?" As Kiba nodded he carried on, "And that you both had to be jounin in rank. Unusual I would agree, I was expecting a large dowry, but I don't see..." A gasp by the side of him made him pause and turn to see Ino as pale as the moonlight, looking as though she were about to faint as a single, trembling hand groped blindly forwards to point out the dog-nin,
"But I do", Ino had heard the conditions and her mind had thought as only a reformed fangirl with a passion for trashy romance novels could think; at blinding speed she realised she might have seen through Kiba's scheme but even so, she couldn't believe it after the years she'd been through seeing Hinata miserable at being trapped in a contract she couldn't break free from, "but Kiba, why? I don't understand – why do all that; why get yourself engaged to Hinata is you never meant to marry her?"
It was the closest Haishi had ever come to smacking himself hard in the forehead; eighteen for marriage, for ninja – when I was that age I had Hinata on the way and Hanabi was a twinkle in my eye. And jounin rank for both of them; now all the holes in the dog-nins' plot were exposed he couldn't believe he hadn't seen them; that's so easy to avoid, not even an amateur would make such a crass mistake. If Hinata had simply stayed at chunin-level she'd have been a spinster for life – Kiba may have been her fiancée but he can't force her to rise in rank;
"I did it", Kiba spoke again, his voice with more life and acute pain in it this time as he continued, "to make sure the woman I love had a chance to make it this far and marry the man she loves; you know how kind and caring Hinata is Ino", at the blonde girls' dumb nod, he spoke again, "well when we were younger to the Hyuuga that made her weak, useless and not fit to be clan head. The Hyuuga elders", he sneered the title as though it were a curse, "knew that Haishi had two daughters and were pushing Haishi-san to make Hanabi his heir; if he had done that, Hinata would have been branded with the Caged Bird seal and relegated to the Branch house; they would have made her a glorified slave! But I saw a way around it", this time there were tears in Kiba's eyes as finally he could rest from his years of labours and scheming behind the scenes, speaking to Haishi as the elder Hyuuga reeled at how well the youngster had manipulated everyone, including himself and the elders of his clan, "if she was engaged to me, she couldn't be branded even if you decided to make Hanabi your heir as on the wedding day she'd become an Inuzuka, so she was safe as long as that contract endured. I made it so hard to fulfil because I knew Hinata would never want to marry me and Naruto was gone for three years; I needed time to get that blonde bakas eyes open to the fact that she'd been crushing on him since Kami-knows-when and..." he paused, heaving down a breath as he did so, "...and you know Pain let me do just that".
There was silence at this, enough to allow Kiba to dry his tears before Ino spoke, her tone this time one of solemn awe as the realised the magnitude of what Kiba had sacrificed for the sake of two of his friends; and he did it; she swallowed a sudden lump in her throat, ashamed of herself as she realised she'd come out here with the intent of chewing him out for showing his face here; without any of us knowing – Kami we all nearly hated him, and all the time he was doing it to protect Hinata and make sure she had a chance with Naruto – Neji told us that the Branch family never marry outside the clan, so she'd have lost him forever if Kiba hadn't been there;
"You really loved my daughter, didn't you Kiba-san?"
"Not loved, love", the Inuzuka croaked out in a dry rasp, trying hard to stop himself crying at his revelations, fist clenched in Akamaru's fur as the nin-ken recognised his partners' distress and sought to comfort him as best he could, "I know she's got Naruto now, but I will always be there for her if she needs me. If Kami-sama had appeared before me in the Academy and said he would make it so Hinata-chan would love me and only me if I cut my hands off Iruka-sensei would have had to teach me to throw kunai with my teeth! The second-hardest thing I've ever done in my life was trying to act hard when Hinata was found after Pain's attack; I was so overjoyed I wanted to hold the ceremony then and there but I couldn't, knew I couldn't", even Kiba couldn't stand upright for that long with that much emotion pouring through him, falling to one knee and burying his face in Akamaru's fur as Ino wept openly, cursing herself as being the worst kind of bitch as she watched her friend destroying himself, "she was lying in that bed with Naruto and everyone there and I, I told her she should have been with me! That she shouldn't have tried to save Naruto, her place was by my side – you don't know how close I came to bottling it then, I nearly ruined everything by not ripping up our marriage contract in front of you all, but I did", he knelt and wept, feeling nothing any more as he heard Akamaru's keening in his ears and the reality hit him yet again; Hinata was married to Naruto and his duty was done, now all that was left was a big, empty ache where his heart had been, "I did, because I knew it would hurt her and if Naruto is anything he's not able to let one of his precious people be hurt while he's around. He beat me to a pulp because of that for the right to marry her in the eyes of your bloody elders; I didn't throw the match but I knew I never stood a chance against the man who crushed all six of Pains' bodies, that was why I never had Akamaru fight with me, I didn't want him to get hurt; but more than that because of our match he finally, finally, saw Hinata was the one for him; because of that, here we all are, and this is the best and worst day of my life".
The scene remained where it was for a moment, all the shinobi present unable to do anything but weep in the cases of Kiba and Ino, and think and considered the situation and try to hide their emotions as Haishi was. Eventually however, all settled down once more, the silence broken only by the occasional sniffle until Haishi slid from his seat to his knees, and then lowered his forehead to the ground in deference to the man who had saved his daughter from the Hyuuga's seal,
"I owe you a great debt Inuzuka Kiba", the clan heads' voice was muffled by the floor but Kiba still heard it as he reeled; as far as he knew Hyuuga Haishi bowed to no-one except maybe the Hokage, "I know your House of Dogs prides itself on loyalty to the pack, you have shown far beyond loyalty in the years you were by my daughter's side". Kiba could do nothing but nod at this, gesturing for the man to stand up as he wiped his eyes,
"I've done what I needed to do", he said glumly, "Hinata needed Naruto to be her strength; when he's Hokage he'll need her to be his sense and to make sure the villages don't try to use his furry problem against him – you know how popular she is at the hospital"; that much was certainly true; though the public mood towards the jinchuuriki was much improved there was still an old guard of civilians who would never forgive the container for the sins of Kyuubi, "so that's all there is to it now; nothing else really matters".
"Of...of course it matters", Ino almost shouted but the looks both men gave her forced her to quieten down, "what about you?"
"What about me – this is what I had to do", he shrugged, standing upright at last and rubbing Akamaru behind the ears, "what, you think I should have trapped Hinata in a loveless marriage?"
"No, of course not but..." Ino blinked, having never thought the day would come where she would be getting lessons in love, or at least the sacrifices made in the name of love, from Kiba of all people, "...it's just not fair on you; I'm so sorry Kiba". He shook his head and rubbed the tears off his cheek tattoos, smiling wanly once again as he shrugged,
"Save it", he said without venom; he did appreciate her concern but knew, had always known, that it was going to boil down to this in the end, "just go back and enjoy the party, and don't tell anyone about this, only the four of us now know about it, apart from Akamaru you're the only two I've ever told but this is their night tonight".
"But when this gets out I can guarantee it will be your night soon", Haishi told him as he smoothed out his robes again, looking down at the younger man as he inclined his head, "if there is anything within my power I could do..." He stopped as Kiba held up a hand,
"Well there was one thing I was thinking of but I think Hanabi's got that in hand already"; Hanabi? But what could she do that I can't?; before Haishi could puzzle it out Kiba had grinned and enlightened him, "she seems to have her All-Seeing Eyes fixed firmly upon one Sarutobi Konohamaru; if she ends up married as well you'll have to make Neji the clan heir and I know for a fact what his first order will be". Ino gasped, both hands flying to her mouth as she remembered Tenten being forced to tell her and the other kunoichi her boyfriends' most secret dream in a game of truth or dare,
"The Caged Bird seal, he'll ban it or destroy it", she exclaimed, feeling her smile spread under her hand, "Kiba that's brilliant".
"Maybe, but I have to say it's a shame little Hanabi's not a few years older", he scratched the back of his head before grinning sheepishly at where Haishi was folding his arms – great debt or not, he was still a father first, "mum might not have mentioned it, but she was curious to see what would happen if you mixed your bloodline with our heightened senses – Hinata and I's kids could have been the ultimate tracker-nins".
That thought, and the mental image of a black-haired Inuzuka with pearly white eyes, made Ino laugh out loud and even brought a snicker from Haishi, the raven-haired man raising an eyebrow as he contemplated the idea,
"Well if that had been on her mind I she should have talked to me; we might not have really gotten on as team mates but I've always found Tsume, if not drop-dead attractive, then at least extremely cute"; that comment made Kiba bring a hand to his forehead, at least after he'd stopped sniggering at the novelty of hearing the words 'cute' and 'Tsume' in the same sentence,
"Ah, mum, knew I forgot something; she knows about this whole thing as well, you can talk to her about it".
"Of course", Ino smirked, though inwardly she was still in awe of Kiba's actions, "no boy can keep a secret from his mother". To her consternation however, Kiba merely smirked,
"Oh no, nothing like that; it's just that she's been stood behind you for the past five minutes".
Oh dear; he didn't even need to use his bloodline to recognised the feeling of oppressive doom that had settled over him and only increased as a pair of arms snaked around his torso, a soft, warm weight pressing into his back; this just got a lot more complicated, and embarrassing;
"Haishi-kun", Tsume purred into his ear as she rubbed her tattooed cheek against his own, though she had to stand on tip-toe to do it, "I knew there was a heart in there somewhere under all that Hyuuga superiority crap. Anyway", she looked over his shoulder at her son, eyes narrowed but still slightly puffed from the tears she'd shed as she'd arrived in time to hear Kiba's explanations of his actions, "I never thought I'd say these words again pup, but I'm proud of you Kiba; Hana and the clan will be too when they hear of what you've done, and why. But why didn't...?"
"I couldn't", he answered before she'd even finished asking, "had to keep this a secret because if the Hyuuga elders caught wind of it it'd have been my testicles on a skewer and Hinata would have been branded just out of spite. Besides, I'm a ninja and I keep secrets, it's my job – you're losing your edge if you can't remember that much grey-back", Tsume snarled playfully at the gentle insult, the word used to describe an old wolf past their prime, "you'd better pass the clan onto Hana so you can start taking tea with the other old fossils in our clan". Unusually for Tsume, she didn't let rip with some ribald comments of her own in the face of such provocation, instead she let slip a dark chuckle that sent shudders right through Haishi; if she's this bad with her son, what the hell is she going to do with me – Kami-sama, I might not have been the best of men in my lifetime but right now I really need a favour;
"Oh no you don't pup; I'm a firm believer that no good deed ever goes unpunished and that means you're the clan heir until I pop my clogs or pass it on; you've certainly got a handle on this politics malarkey, I could never get my head around it – not a word you", she demanded of Haishi, knowing the Hyuuga clan head could argue rings around her in council meetings; when she was sure he was going to keep quiet due to her charismatic request (though she conceded the fact she had her fearsome fangs very near his neck at that point might have had something to do with his silence), she smirked at the sudden expression of horror on her son's face before turning back to her recent partner, "still, we'd better get back or we'll be missed; come on Haishi-kun", she stepped back pulling on Haishi's arm, ignoring the Hyuuga's sudden look of horror, "I want a dance and you're going to give it to me".
"Just as long as that's all he gives you", Kiba chuckled, revelling in Ino's sudden blush and Haishi's dumbstruck expression; ah yeah, forgot they're not used to Inuzuka sarcasm – oh well, too late now; "I don't want to have to write up another marriage contract in the morning just because you two got a little carried away". He shook his head at his mothers' answering rude gesture, watching on in amusement as she dragged the Hyuuga lord away to the festivities before turning to Ino, still blushing from his earlier insinuation,
"You better get going too Ino; Shika and Chouji'll miss you if you're gone too long and no, before you ask", he forestalled her question with a shake of his head, "I'm not showing up; this is their night and me just being there will spoil it for them".
"At one time I thought you were too cruel Kiba", Ino confessed, shaking her head as she reappraised the young man in front of her, "now I'm just worried you might be too kind instead. Either way though", she gave an impish grin as she stuck her tongue out, feeling less tension in the air and happy because of it, "you're still a baka".
"Oi", caught off-guard by the accusation he dropped into a battle stance, guard up and eyes challenging, "watch it Ino; you wouldn't want me to..."
"To what, get Akamaru to slobber on me?" Oh is she ever asking for it; luckily, he knew just this thing to put the upstart Yamanaka in her place as she finished her taunt, "It's the best attack you've got at the minute". The dog-nin chuckled as he curled his hands into fists before extending a single finger from each one, immediately filling Ino with trepidation at the sight,
"Oh is that right; get real Ino, I can put you down with two fingers".
"You wouldn't – ah, okay, I give I give", she darted away from his sudden rush, knowing that if he got close enough to deploy those fingers it was curtains as far as she was concerned – not for the first time she cursed her father for forcing her to inherit his ticklish genes, "you win Kiba, this time at least". Blowing on the tips of his fingers, the Inuzuka smirked,
"Was there any doubt? Anyway", at that point his voice softened and he gestured towards the main reception marquee with his head, "you really better go, they'll be missing you soon and I don't want you to get caught with me here, it'll look bad for both of us".
At this Ino nodded; thinking of someone else again – he's more like Naruto than anyone realised; not quite trusting her voice at the minute as she stepped forwards; before Kiba was acutely aware of it she'd wrapped her arms around him softly and pecked him on the cheek; as he rubbed the spot she'd kissed she made her own promise,
"The other will know in time Kiba, I'll make sure of that", with those words, a respectful bow and a last wave, she traced the footsteps of the older two nins and was gone into the night.
That was sure...different; as we watched her lithe form vanish into the night Kiba found himself still rubbing his tattoo subconsciously – only a warning nudge in the side from Akamaru reminded him of the need to get going. Patting his dog on the head, the future clan head turn on his heel after giving one last look towards where his life-long love was finally happy and content with the man of her dreams, before letting out a last regretful sigh, turning away from the still-blazing party and disappearing back towards his clan home.
A/N: A bit of a more melancholy story this one, but in a lot of the stories I read Kiba tends to be either written as a bit stupid or a complete pervert; coming from a family of dog-owners, I thought he needed someone to redress the balance. I hope this did the job for everyone and you all enjoyed it.