Shino finished retelling everything that had happened to him and his teammates with a large exhale.
He had never spoken so much in his life. But Hinata was in no condition to speak- her nerves barely allowed her to make a competent sentence. Besides, she did know the complete story like Shino did... At least, a good part of what had happened to Kiba.
When Shino had explained the torture the Inuzuka had been put through, Hinata had seemed ready to faint. But, to her credit, the girl had tried to put on a brave face before the Hokage and keep her horrified feelings to herself. Shino had found his pride in the girl swell at how well she hid her feelings, even though he also felt rather bad because of the circumstances they now found themselves under.
"They called themselves Itachi and Kisame..." Shino breathed out by the end, all the while he leaned back in his chair with heavy eyes.
If he had been feeling exhausted before, he was beyond staying awake at this point. After having told the Hokage everything that had happened to them, a dawning had come over the boy. Now that he had said it all out loud, he began to understand the complete severity of the situation and Kiba's choices. And the stern look the woman's face wore made the clenching in Shino's chest become just a bit tighter.
"And you are sure of all of this? Hinata, you are sure you saw nothing?" The Hokage asked as she turned to Hinata, sparing Shino one sympathetic glance before turning her stern gaze on the young girl.
Hinata nodded softly, raising her hands to the front of her mouth.
Shino had never understood why she did this. But it seemed to be a type of comforting mechanism that not even the girl noticed. Like biting nails or tugging on hair.
"Ah... H-Hokage S-Sama, I was k-kept in the s-same c-c-cell the whole time..." She whispered, head lowering slightly while her hands remained in front of her mouth. "I o-only saw Kiba k-kun when they... W-when th-those m-m-me-men..."
She couldn't finish that sentence. The tears she had been fighting the whole time Shino spoke burst from her without control and the girl hid her face in her hands as she began to sob. Shino felt bad for not being able to comfort his teammate, but he could barely deal with the situation himself. Unfortunately, he would not be able to help comfort the distraught Hinata.
He really wished Kiba was here.
The bug nin had never really noticed just how much he and Hinata relied on his teammate to fill the gaps of silence until now. Whenever they were to hand in their mission statements, it was always Kiba to speak loudly and exaggerate what they had done. It had always been the Inuzuka to argue how their missions had been worth more than what they were being paid or annoy the person debriefing them with terrible jokes.
Shino missed the Inuzuka's loud ways. He never thought he'd ever find himself thinking this, but he was sure of it. The silence between he and Hinata was not uncomfortable, but it was missing something... It was missing Kiba's obnoxious voice to shatter it.
He had been the one to insist to leave... Hinata hadn't wanted to leave Kiba. Shino had been the one to listen to Itachi without a second thought rather than argue to stay together.
The bug nin's hands tightened around the material of his pants just above his knees, body tensing as his eyes closed. He couldn't deal with these emotions. He couldn't deal with the guilt or the worry. He had no idea how to. Kiba had always been the one to allow his emotions to run rampant, he had always been the one to help the other two deal with their confusing emotions.
"I understand." The Hokage finally spoke up after a few minutes of tense silence, silence that was only ever broken by Hinata's soft cries and Shino's kikkai buzzing in response to his pain. "Shizune went ahead and looked for your father, Shino, and your cousin, Hinata. They are waiting for you outside."
Both teens looked up at the blonde woman in surprise, but Shino couldn't help but be slightly relieved. Even though his father was distant, he was never cold. And he knew how to deal with his son. And Hinata had Neji to look after her. While Neji was no Kiba, he knew how to deal with his cousin almost as well as Kiba did. Shino took some comfort in knowing they wouldn't be left alone now.
After she had made the announcement, the office's door opened with a calm Shizune followed by two stone faced males. The first had half of his face covered and was much taller than either of his companions and Shino felt himself warm at his sight. His father was here now. Everything would be fine.
The second was much shorter and not more than a chuunin, but he carried himself with an air of self respect and pride that one would be foolish to doubt his skills. Neji Hyuuga had never been on Shino's list of pleasant people to be around, but he could admit the other teen had grown since the chuunin exams and cared for his cousin. Hinata would need the calm comfort her cousin exuded.
"Shibi. Neji." The Hokage greeted with a nod as she rose from her chair, then motioned to both genin seated before her. "You may take these two away."
Both males nodded respectfully at the Hokage, then waited for Shino and Hinata to get up. Shino did so shakily and walked towards his father stiffly, eyes beginning to droop in exhaustion. Hinata managed to get up and take one step forward before her eyes closed and her body gave out on her. Luckily, Neji managed to catch her before she fell.
"What happened?" He asked in alarm, eyes widening minutely as he looked from his cousin's now unconscious body to the Hokage.
Tsunade sighed softly, be it from annoyance or worry, Shino was not sure, then answered, "She has wasted all her chakra. If you wish, you can take her to the hospital. Although I think it would be best for her to rest in her home."
Shibi's large hand fell on Shino's shoulder and the teen looked up at his father. Even though neither spoke a word, both had a silent conversation that spoke volumes. Shibi was worried and wanted to know if Shino could make the walk home. Shino sighed out and shook his head. This made the older Aburame quirk an eyebrow, but he still nodded and patted his shoulder.
The last thing Shino could completely process before he allowed sleep to take him was his father's warm arms wrapping around him in a protective embrace.
~/~
After Neji and Shibi had left with their respective charges, Tsunade allowed a worried frown to take over her features.
"Shizune, get me Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai." The blonde's rough voice broke through the silence that had fallen over them without any complication.
The dark haired woman jumped slightly at the serious tone that had come from the usually calmed woman, "L-Lady Tsunade?"
But Tsunade did not explain herself. "I want those three in this room yesterday, Shizune! Go!"
The anger that came from the woman's body shocked and confused Shizune, but she soon nodded and took off running, in search of three jonin Tsunade had called for.
Kiba's jaw was so tight he could feel his teeth creaking under the pressure. Sweat beaded down his forehead and he tried his best to not shut his eyes tightly to concentrate on what he was doing.
He had been right. If getting dressed proved to be almost impossible, doing anything else would force him to work through so much pain that he literally wanted to just collapse onto the floor and never wake up again.
But Itachi forced him to walk. For some reason, the tall man made Kiba walk through the pain and face the limits Kiba had set on himself.
"You will walk and you will find your dog." Itachi had stated simply, as if what he was asking of the boy was a simple task.
And, under normal circumstances, it would have been a simple task. But with Kiba as wounded and pained as he currently was, walking seemed almost as impossible as him beating any of the Kages. In the back of the dog nin's mind, he was thinking about how unfair Itachi was being and how he wished he was just given one day of rest before he was forced to start working.
But Kiba knew better than to put all of his emotions into those thoughts. He had been raised, after all, by Tsume Inuzuka. And if there was one thing his mother truly was, was merciless. The woman could be a nice and caring mother whenever she wanted to be, but the simplest truth to the leader of the Inuzuka clan was that she was no pushover and she refused to give her children any reason to think they could be.
Kiba had hated training with his mother when he was younger. Heck, he still did. She never held anything back and always made sure to throw insults at Kiba whenever he began to struggle to get up from the floor. Her strong character coupled with adrenaline coursing through her blood stream ensured that she never pulled any of her punches. And she had not helped him dress the wounds he received in any type of training ever since he had grown old enough to do it himself.
The Inuzuka clan wasn't a clan of heartless mongrels, no matter what the gossip around the town was. Most of the villagers saw the rough treatment that Tsume gave her children, along with the same treatment some parents of the clan gave their own kids, and immediately inferred that there was no love in their ranks. Which was a huge misconception. The Inuzukas weren't cruel but they weren't stupid either. So they taught their children to stand firm on their own two feet before they were kicked down by life to enforce the value of being strong when things are well, but be untameable when life tried to beat them down.
After all, this was a clan that trusted their canine instincts and barely paid mind to human ones. Taming an Inuzuka was virtually impossible because of their whole hearted trust in their instincts coupled with their tough upbringing.
"You are falling behind."
Kiba hissed at the cold words directed his way and spared a one-eyed glare at Itachi before he shut his eye once more and tried to contain his pain.
"Itachi, the brat's legs are barely able to hold him. Thinking we could take him anywhere of his own accord was stupid of you."
Oh, Kiba could just imagine the intense glare that Itachi would undoubtedly give Kisame. And, if he could be honest, he didn't completely mind their companionship. Even though both men usually maintained their silence and Kisame seemed to have a grudge against the Inuzuka, Kiba had come to find out that, of the two, Kisame was the one with a funny bone. A rather sarcastic, rude, and slightly demented funny bone, but a funny bone indeed. And Itachi seemed to always hold himself to respect standards that reminded Kiba a lot of Sasuke's own- back when the boy was still in the village.
On more than one occasion Kiba had been granted a reprieve from the pain in the form of amusement because of the way these two very different attitudes clashed.
"Kisame, I did not ask for your opinion." Itachi's voice held annoyance deep inside of it and Kiba was able to quirk the left edge of his mouth slightly at that.
He could then hear grumbling from Kisame, then, very lowly, heard, "You still got it..."
If he hadn't been in so much pain, Kiba would have burst out laughing. But because, even though the interaction had distracted him a bit, the pain was still at the forefront of his mind, he settled to just be amused and not show it with his face.
A wave of silenced washed over the group of three as Kiba tried to regain his composure, then, once Itachi deemed enough time had passed, moved so he stood behind Kiba and placed a soft hand on his shoulder. "Come on, Inuzuka. You can make the walk." Itachi's voice was, once more, devoid of any emotions, and the man nudged the teen's shoulder to get him to move.
Kiba's teeth ground together once more as his legs were forced to move, fire shooting up through his whole body as his aching body was forced to plow through all the pain.
But he could move. He had to move! He was an Inuzuka! A proud clan that allowed nothing to stop them. If his mother could complete dangerous assassination missions while six months pregnant, then he could move.
With the pride of his clan swelling in his chest and forcing him to prove himself to those around him, Kiba forced his legs to make the necessary steps to continue walking. First his right leg lifted and he was able to plant his foot with a hiss of pain, but managed to keep his footing. Then he was able to do the same with his left leg. Then the process repeated with the right, then left, then right once more.
Itachi's hand on his shoulder was both warm and heavy. It gave the Inuzuka a sense of 'someone's here with you' and gave him slight comfort. But it was also a reminder of how weak he was to not be able to walk without that comfort.
He had been able to take ten slow and unbearable steps before both of his knees buckled and he fell to the floor. His knees hit the ground first, then the boy managed to throw his arms out to not impact the ground completely, and swallowed up a shout of agony when shocks of pure pain jolted up from the palms of his hands and violently made their way up to his shoulders.
Itachi had not grabbed him. This was the first time since they had met that Itachi had not moved to grab Kiba when he fell. And Kiba was grateful for this.
He was an Inuzuka. He was better than this. Stronger than this.
Baring his teeth in frustration, Kiba felt tears prick at his eyes. His long nails dug into the ground below as he curled his hands. And his breathing came out heavy and slow.
He was succumbing to hopelessness again. There was no reason for him to continue trying. He was already a failure as a shinobi and a traitor to his village. Really, he should quit trying to do anything. He did not deserve to be an Inuzuka.
With his eyes still closed, Kiba was able to hear the rustle of a cloak then a soft grunt. Then he was able to feel a hand on either of his shoulders, but instantly knew they weren't Itachi's. These hands were larger, colder. Maybe it was Kisame.
"I told you he couldn't do it, Itachi. Why don't you ever listen to me, you hard headed idiot?" Kisame growled near Kiba and the boy couldn't help but feel a wave of repulsion wash over him.
It wasn't repulsion towards Kisame. He didn't think he would be able to feel anything bad towards the man that, even with a terrible attitude, showed with small words and bad jokes that he cared about Kiba to some degree. No, this wave of negative feelings was directed at none other than himself.
He should be stronger.
But he wasn't.
He had always hated crying. It was a sign of weakness and if any Inuzuka ever saw anyone from their clan crying, they would immediately begin to ridicule and mock the sad member. But he had found himself doing a lot of it in these past few days...
"You're coddling him."
"No, I'm just trying to keep the kid from dying."
"You didn't even want him around."
Kisame's sigh was harsh and annoyed, and his voice hid none of these emotions, "Well you decided you wanted to have a puppy and now we have one. I'm just trying to make sure you don't end up killing him."
Kiba opened his eyes with some effort then and found Kisame glaring up at Itachi, the blue man's body in front of Kiba's own. His hands were still on his shoulders, but they weren't applying any pressure. It was odd, Kiba thought. That even after everything he had gone through, he did not flinch away from these two whenever they moved to touch him.
But he didn't think anything of it at the time. It would be later on that he would understand what him allowing Kisame and Itachi to touch him implied.
At that moment, though, he glanced up at Itachi to see the long haired male glaring down at Kisame. The anger in his eyes was almost palpable and Kiba couldn't help but flinch slightly and look away.
Kisame looked at him when he felt the flinch, then snarled up at Itachi.
Whatever words the blue man said, though, were lost to Kiba. Because it was just at that moment that his nose caught the faint smell of a very familiar scent.
His eyes widened at what he thought was Akamaru's scent, then he called out, "Akamaru!" without caring about the two men with him.
"Akamaru, I'm here! Come here, boy!" He called out almost wildly, then closed his eyes and began to sniff at the air, moving his head from side to side to try and see just where the scent was coming from.
Faintly, he heard Kisame mutter, "What's an Akamaru?", but he didn't pay any mind to him or Itachi.
He could smell Akamaru! And if he had been able to move, the boy would have sprinted off after the scent without a second thought.
But his body was heavy. He could barely move his arms, much less his legs. He was stuck in the same place even as his chest began to swell with the hope of seeing his best friend again.
"Akamaru! Come on, bud! If you can hear me, bark!" He shouted out, a sense of despair beginning to make his throat close up when he though he lost the scent. "Please don't leave me, boy!"
His heart was beating so loud that he could barely hear anything else. The boy tensed up as he strained his hearing to try and hear his best friend's barking, and he closed his eyes as tears reappeared.
Please. He wanted Akamaru to come to him. He needed his buddy.
As the seconds passed and no bark came, Kiba could feel what small bit of happiness he may have tried to grasp at with his best friend slowly drift away. He had felt hopeless, but he had always maintained the hope of having Akamaru by his side once more. But now... If he didn't regain his best friend... It would kill him.
He could hear Kisame shift before him, and snapped his eyes open to see the blue man's open, most probably to tell the kid to compose himself, but Kiba's ears twitched at what he thought was the yip of his best friend. Without much thought, Kiba turned his head in the direction he had heard the noise from and called, "Come on, Akamaru! Come to me!"
His heart was beating so fast he swore it would burst out of his chest. But the more he waited, the more sure he became of himself. There it was! Akamaru's barking! He could hear it now!
"Akamaru!" He yelled once more, then smiled broadly when he heard what was undeniably Akamaru's response.
A few more seconds of silence passed, then suddenly Akamaru burst through some the foliage of the forest, barking in pure happiness as he made his way towards his master.
"Oh, Akamaru!" Kiba's relief shown on his face and he surprised both Kisame and Itachi by managing to push himself up from the floor and rest on his haunches.
He was in pain as he moved. That much was clear from his face. But no amount of pain could cut through the amount of sheer ecstasy the kid was feeling now that Akamaru was in his sight.
The dog ran at Kiba in full speed, not slowing even at the sight of the bandages around him. And when he was close enough, the animal jumped onto Kiba, yipping and barking and yapping as he felt Kiba's arms wrap around him.
"Akamaru! I've missed you, boy!" Kiba sobbed, allowing his tears to fall now that he had his best friend with him.
His arms clutched onto Akamaru tightly, terrified that if he were to slacken the grip even marginally, the dog would be taken away. But even with his body screaming at him to not overdo it, Kiba exerted himself in holding on to his dog.
"I've missed you... So much..."
And Kiba didn't care at that moment if Itachi and Kisame saw him cry. Because now he had his best friend with him.
Hope you all enjoyed!