Author's Note: Here is the eighth chapter. I can't believe that I'm at this stage, and I have yet to even have the two of them kiss! Oh well, all good things in time. Please enjoy and let me know what you think as it makes my muse happy.


Chapter 8: Spiraling


Tsume was understandably furious. However, when she tried to forbid Kiba from seeing Naruto, Kiba went off on her.

"Do you have any idea what that would do to him?! He trusts me more than anyone else in the world, and I trust him! I don't care if my life is in danger by being around him! I WON'T betray his trust like that!" Kiba said, and Tsume was taken aback by the force of his words. She tried to talk to him soothingly, trying to calm him down, and it seemed to her like it worked. He grew still and calm. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, Tsume very nearly took a step back at the fire hidden in their depths.

"I will tell you this once, and once only. He is my friend, and I will not abandon him. I am my own person, and you have no right to forbid me from seeing anyone." Kiba said in a soft voice that did absolutely nothing to mask the finality in his tone. It scared her.

"As long as you live under my roof you will do as I say." Tsume said in an equally soft voice. Without missing a beat, her son replied.

"Then as of now, consider me no longer a member of this household." He said, and Tsume knew that he meant it. Alarm rapidly shot through her system.

"I'm your mother. You are a part of the Inuzuka clan, and as leader of the clan, I forbid you from seeing Naruto Uzumaki!" Tsume said, the fear evident in her voice. Kiba's eyes softened in understanding of his mother's position.

"Then I'm no longer part of the Inuzuka clan. I will not be bullied into turning my back on one of the most important people in my life." Kiba said even more softly than before. His mom just stood there in shock and even a little bit of pride.

"You… you can't… What about us? We're your family. Do we really mean so little to you that you would turn your back on us?" She asked him.

"Do I really mean so little to you that you can't see that I want him to be a part of my life no matter the consequences? Do my feelings on the matter mean so little?" Kiba countered and walked away before his composure crumbled.

Tsume didn't even try to stop him. She felt rooted to the floor, and could only think one thing.

'What have I done?'

Kiba made his way to the hospital, desperately needing to see if Naruto was okay. He wanted so badly to go the previous night, but he wasn't able to get in as visitor times had ended. The tattooed male had spent the rest of the night tossing in his bed, constantly being awoken by nightmares of his friend being brutally murdered. And then the whole fiasco with his mom had happened, and he was feeling shaken.

Even with the fight with his mom, he still made it to the hospital too early. The nurse inside saw him and took a bit of pity on him, letting him in early. He thanked her profusely, and asked where Naruto's room was. The nurse wrinkled her nose slightly in what Kiba knew was disgust and the tattooed make had to stamp down his anger at the unfairness of the way that people treated the blond. She told Kiba and then he was off, anxious to see his friend.

When Kiba got to the door, he paused when his hand touched the handle. He realized that he was afraid of what he was going to walk into. He so badly wanted Naruto to be alright, but he knew that reality rarely lived up to wishes. Taking a deep breath, he twisted the handle and walked in. He was greeted by the steady beeping of a heart monitor and, upon closer examination, the cerulean depths of Naruto's eyes.

"Hey Kibbles. How are you doing?" Naruto asked smiling softly. Kiba opened his mouth to respond and all that came out was a strangled sound. He felt wet tracks on his face and choked slightly on a sob threatening to escape his throat. Naruto's face twisted into immediate concern, and the jinchuuriki panicked slightly.

"What's wrong?" He asked, truly not knowing what could have caused such a reaction. Kiba took two hesitant steps towards the blond and when Naruto opened his arms for a hug, Kiba threw himself into the embrace, being mindful enough to not injure the blond further.

No words were needed yet. Naruto was patient and he knew that at that moment, all his friend needed was physical contact. The blond was happy to help him. He felt that it was the least he could do for everything that the Inuzuka had done for him.

As time went on, Kiba's tears lessened. When they stopped completely, he sighed, though neither he nor Naruto lessened their hold on the other.

"I'm here for you if you need to talk." Naruto said and Kiba knew that he wasn't needed to say what had gone on. Naruto wouldn't push him. He was thankful for that.

"I was… so scared that you weren't going to be okay. Why Naruto? Why would you jump in front of that kunai?" Kiba asked and his voice sounded lost.

"I did it because you… you're here and people care about you. People other than me. If you were to… not make it, more people would be hurt. If I were to die, no one other than you would really care." Naruto said haltingly, hoping that he hadn't said too much.

"I don't care how many people actually give you the time of day. If you weren't here, then I'd be… lost. I need you Naruto. I don't want you to throw your life away just because you don't think anyone will care." Kiba said, snuggling his head underneath Naruto's chin.

From his new position, Kiba could hear the blond's heartbeat. It relaxed the Inuzuka and made him realize that, even though terrible things had happened, even though he may have renounced his clan, as long as he could keep hearing that heartbeat, things would be okay. Kiba made the decision there to not tell Naruto about the fact that he wasn't part of the Inuzuka clan anymore. He didn't want to give the jinchuuriki further reason to hate himself.

They stayed in their embrace until both of their stomachs rumbled loudly, causing both of them to jerk in surprise. They were quick to laugh about it, thankful to have the ability to actually laugh despite everything that had happened to them.

"I'll go track us down some food. You stay here and rest, okay?" Kiba said and got up. He immediately missed the warmth of being next to Naruto and hearing his heartbeat. He frowned at how cold and alone he suddenly felt, as he had left Akamaru at the Inuzuka Compound. He hated to leave his new buddy there, especially because he was a gift from Naruto, but he knew that he was going to have a hard enough time as it was trying to keep himself going. He didn't want to drag Akamaru down with him.

The brunette went to the cafeteria and grabbed some rice bowls and, because he knew that it was Naruto's favorite, ramen. He paid for the food and realized that he was really going to need to go on some missions ASAP and probably pick up a job in the village to make sure that he had enough to eat. He sighed, knowing life was going to be difficult for a bit.

He got back to Naruto's room and saw the blonds' face light up at the sight and smell of the ramen. They tucked in and consumed the food quickly, their hunger getting the better of them.

"Not as good as Ichiraku ramen, but still. Even when ramen is bad, it's still pretty good!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, some pep entering his body for the first time since Kiba had gotten there. Kiba smiled too, but even Naruto could tell that he was… distracted for lack of a better term.

"Okay, something is still up with you Kiba. I won't force you to say anything, but I will say that it might make you feel better." Naruto said with such concern that it melted Kiba's heart a bit. Kiba climbed into Naruto's arms again, blushing lightly as he did so.

'Make me feel better, maybe, but it would devastate you… I can't do that.' Kiba thought. He was about to tell Naruto that everything was fine, but he never got the chance. As he opened his mouth, the door flew open, banging against the opposite wall with a resounding crack.

"You put my son in danger! I have half a mind to strike you down now. Unhand my son!" Tsume Inuzuka snarled. Kuromaru, who was on her left, barred his teeth in aggression. Naruto was looking at the two in shock and more than a little hurt. He had begun to trust Kiba's family. To treat him with the same kind of hate that everyone else had now hurt more than anyone else calling him that before. Kiba was furious.

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Kiba growled menacingly. Tsume didn't even seem to hear him. Her entire focus was centered on a rapidly paling Naruto.

"You took my son from me! I WON'T say it again. Let him go now!" She said, and Naruto was just frozen, trying to think about what it was that had happened. He looked at Kiba in confusion.

"What is she talking about Kiba? What did I do?" He asked. Kiba looked at him guiltily.

"You didn't do anything. I chose what I wanted. Don't make this about anyone but you and me mother." Kiba said, desperately hoping that she would drop the subject. He wasn't very lucky.

"Oh so you didn't tell him, huh? I tried to forbid Kiba from seeing you because you aren't good for him. It was you those two men were after, not him! So what does he do? He renounces all ties to his clan. All because of you!" She said and Naruto, if possible, paled even further.

"You… you didn't." He whispered, finally understanding the gravity of the situation. Kiba was shaking slightly from being too worked up. So much had happened in such a short amount of time that he was having trouble coping with it all.

"I will not let her bully me into never seeing you again." Kiba said adamantly, and Naruto took a shuddering breath.

"But they are your family! Your blood! I'm a nobody!" Naruto said, tears falling slowly down his cheeks. Kiba's blood ran cold at hearing this. Tsume stopped baring her teeth menacingly, a look of confusion on her face.

"You are not a nobody and you deserve better than my so-called family treating you like you are worse than the dirt on the bottom of their shoe." Kiba replied vehemently. Naruto didn't seem to be listening.

In truth, Naruto had retreated deep within himself, finding himself back in the dank and damp corridor that he knew would lead him to the cage that held the Kyuubi.

"What do you want?" The nine tails asked when Naruto approached the cage. Naruto looked up at him and even he was taken aback at the scorching helplessness in Naruto's eyes.

"I… I need help. I don't… know what to do. Please, help me this once…" Naruto said in a broken tone, full of so much pain that the Kyuubi could physically feel it. He had never felt Naruto in this much pain, and he searched through Naruto's memories of the past few moments.

"Ah. I see." Kyuubi said. And he did see. He saw more than Naruto did, but he wouldn't be the one to reveal what Naruto and Kiba were blind to.

"Please. What can I do to make this right? I can't… take him from his family. It would be better for him if he had never met me." Naruto said, and Kyuubi sighed.

"Do you really mean that? That he would be better off without you?" The nine tails asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Yes. I'm not… good for him, just like she said. If he stays near me, he is going to wind up dead, and I can't… handle that." He replied. The Kyuubi extended one claw toward Naruto. The whiskered boy didn't flinch, not even when the claw came into contact with his forehead. There was a flash of orange light and Naruto was assaulted with a host of new information about a new jutsu.

With a shuddering breath, Naruto refocused on the current scene with Tsume and Kiba. He could physically feel the anger rolling off of Tsume, and the pain from his friend. It hurt him beyond words to know that he was the cause of all of that. He knew what he was about to do, and the implications of it sent him spiraling into a black depression, and he started crying profusely.

Tsume, for her part, was confused. Why would this so called monster all of a sudden break down into tears, unless he was trying to mess with her mind? She trusted her nose implicitly, knowing that it had never let her down before, and her nose was telling her that the grief was genuine. She had expected Naruto to be happy that his friend was putting him first, but if she didn't know better, she would think that Naruto was anything but happy about it.

Naruto looked at Kiba, memorizing his face and taking it all in.

"Thank you for being my best friend for so long. You've given me a reason to be alive, and I'm in your debt. I know that I can never repay you for that, but maybe this will help." Naruto said, forming hand signs with blinding speed. The chakra buildup that was coming from Naruto was immense.

Kiba didn't know what was going on, he just knew that it was most likely not going to be something that he was going to like. Tsume was going to attack Naruto, fearing for the safety of her sons' life, but Kuromaru, surprisingly, stopped her. She took a look at him and he just simply shook his head as if telling her not to interfere.

The blond placed his hand on Kiba's forehead, closing his eyes. The whole process took only a couple of seconds, and Naruto slumped back onto the bed fainting. Kiba's eyes rolled back into his head and he would have fallen off of the bed if Tsume hadn't caught him and hauled him away from the blond.

Kiba regained consciousness after a couple of seconds and looked around in confusion. He saw his mom and then he saw Naruto.

"Mom, what are we doing at the hospital? And who is he?"


Author's Note: I know that this is a shorter chapter, but I really want to leave it here for the time being. Next chapter should be a bit longer. Let me know what you think!