Authoress: yosh! I'm back with a new chapter of Revealing A Kitsune!! I'm in the mood to write, so I'll keep my rants short...
Disclaimer: no, I don't own Naruto...but could you imagine the possibilities if I did?
Chapter Ten
Kiba stretched lazily as he opened his eyes to look around his sun-lit room. Judging by the brightness of the daylight, it had to be later in the morning than he was used to sleeping to. He had a feeling that his most recent dreams had something to do with his well-rested condition. Kicking his rumpled sheets away from his legs, the teen glanced around for Akamaru. Finally catching a glimpse of the canine sleeping underneath his desk, the brunet chuckled. Slipping out of the bed silently, Kiba snuck over to the puppy and, with a speedy movement even a jounin would be proud of, the teen picked up his dog and, even as Akamaru continued snoring softly, the teen raced towards the bathhouse.
The white dog did not have the chance to wake up and see the large body of water he and his master were quickly approaching. If he had, he might have had been able to save himself from his master's idea of a joke. With only a soft chuckle, Kiba threw the still slumbering dog into the unheated water, who was rudely awakened with a loud yelp. Growling as he quickly paddled for the edge of the bath, Akamaru glared at his master. He had been having a wonderful dream of playing with Kankuro. The young man was always energetic enough to try running away when Akamaru wanted to play fetch.
"Good morning, sleepy-head!" Kiba called as he watched his soaked dog clamber out of the bath. "That's what you get for waking up late." He felt no need to mention how he had overslept as well. He and Akamaru had always had an ongoing challenge of who could wake up first and, thus, have the opportunity to do something horrible to the other. That old game had somehow faded away in recent years, but something about this morning made Kiba feel like a little kid again and he felt the urge to actually play with the dog.
Looking at Akamaru as the dog shook himself off, Kiba let out a huff of air. Even soaking wet and, as thus, smaller-looking than his usual fluffy self, Akamaru was still an impressive size. Looking at the dog as he gave one more violent shake to dry himself off, Kiba had to admit that he would have to stop looking at Akamaru as a puppy soon. The white dog was already the size of his parents, but his immense paws told Kiba that the canine had yet to reach his full size.
Aren't you a little old for these tricks? Akamaru asked begrudgingly as he watched his master look at him with a curious expression. Sitting back on his haunches, Akamaru cocked his head and saw remnants of a glimmer of amusement in his master's eyes. The rest of the boy's expression told another story, however. The nostalgia was obvious in Kiba's inhuman features. The teen looked as though he had finally realized that they really were too old for their childhood pranks.
"Sorry, I just..." Kiba did not know how to explain that moment of childish glee when he saw his dog was still sleeping or the instant need to wake up the canine as rudely as possible. His age was always in the forefront of his thoughts – due to his family's insane plots of arranging his marriage – but he had never really thought of his age from the other end of the spectrum. Though he was sixteen, Kiba could no longer consider himself a child. He was closer to adulthood than anything else. That realization hit quite hard and the teen rocked back on his heels before he fell to his knees. Within the blink of an eye, Akamaru was at his side and Kiba's arms were around the dog's wet neck.
What is wrong? Akamaru knew better than to let his concern show in his soft barks, but as Kiba bowed his head, pressing his face into Akamaru's damp fur, a wave of worry ran through Akamaru. For a moment, the dog could not help but wish he had hands so he could return the embrace. Settling on nuzzling the teen's cheek with his snout, Akamaru waited patiently for his master to respond.
"Do you think my parents are right...that I should get married?" Kiba asked as he finally let go of Akamaru and sat back on his heels. Akamaru took a step back so he could look at his master's face and, for a moment, he caught a glimpse of the child Kiba had once been. Since he had hit puberty, Kiba's childhood fears of being a runt – of not filling all of his clan's expectations for him as, not only an Inuzuka, but as the heir and future leader of the clan – had disappeared. That old fear of not being good enough to be the perfect heir his family wanted was quickly returning to Kiba's dark eyes. The fact that Kiba had already fulfilled almost all of his family's expectations didn't seem to be a factor in Kiba's moment of irrational fear. He was no longer one of the smallest children in his class; he sprouted into one of the tallest and, by far, one of the most physically powerful teens Akamaru had ever seen. His intellect had finally revealed itself, though too late to prove to Iruka that he was the genius his family always though he was. It was a change that had happened almost overnight, much like the forging his and Akamaru's bond.
What brought this on? was the only thing Akamaru could ask as he watched his master glance up from the floor for a moment. Kiba let out a sigh that shook Akamaru to his very core. Whatever the teen had finally realized was more than their youth was flying by.
"I'm almost an adult...and I have a responsibility to the clan," Kiba stated softly as he hesitantly stood back up. Quickly suppressing all of the images of his most recent dreams, all of which included a blonde with eyes a more shocking blue than the sky itself, Kiba bit his lip. His budding plan of somehow finding someone who would be willing to carry an heir for the Inuzuka clan was quickly dismissed as a childish fantasy. There was no other way to keep his clan alive and, with that realization, Kiba could not help but wonder how he could both have what he wanted – be who and what he was – and save his family at the same time. "There's no way I can..." He could not even speak those few words – how could he possibly mention that impossible future with that quiet, broken teen who hid behind a facade of joy and energy when his family's very continuing existence depended solely on him?
Akamaru bit back the instinctive retort of "do what makes you happy" because he understood Kiba's position. From birth, the Inuzuka had been taught that, above all else, his family was the most important aspect in his life. They would be the only ones who could possibly know what it meant to be part of the clan. They would kill for him...and they would, without a single moment of hesitation, die for him. They would protect him from every possible form of harm, but no one in the family could save him from the torment of choosing between them and happiness. Akamaru could not help but recall the brief conversation he had had with that blonde teen some time ago. Naruto certainly would be the only person outside the Inuzuka clan who could understand the canines, but he also had another gift – he might just be the only person who would be able to sympathize with Kiba. He knew what it meant to not be neither fully human or animal. He had felt those same primal urges, those moments of irrational rage or instinctive hesitancy if anything about his surroundings changed. He understood what it was like to involuntarily be on guard at all times. But, above all, Naruto knew what it was like to pretend to be happy for the sake of others.
Kiba slowly stood back up and, with a lingering look into his dog's eyes, the teen let out a soft sigh. "I have to go to the Missions Office...why don't you go back to sleep?" Kiba said quietly as he turned to leave the bathhouse. Akamaru let out an almost inaudible whine as his master's shoulders slumped. Though the teen was quite open with his nin-dog, Kiba was stubborn beyond reason, which seemed to be a family trait. Emotions were one thing Kiba was never able to easily show his dog, much less discuss. If Kiba was conflicted about something, Akamaru knew better than to press his master for an explanation. Kiba would talk to him if he needed to, though that didn't make Akamaru feel any less concerned for the teen.
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Iruka blinked several times in attempts to bring the mission report on his desk back into focus, but failed terribly as he found it impossible to focus on the neatly written pages. All he could get out of the report was that someone had finally gotten it into their thick skull and taken a penmanship class – or at least took the time to write their report properly. Taking a deep breath, the teacher mentally cursed his boyfriend for keeping him up until the crack of dawn. Then again, it really wasn't Kakashi's fault that Iruka had wanted to burn the image and feel of his lover into his mind. That urge came soon after the meeting with Tsunade was concluded, which left the two shinobi hours to rediscover one another as they slowly made love. Sitting back in his seat, Iruka couldn't help but smile as he recalled their night together. Despite his rude, and at times downright mean, personality, Kakashi was astoundingly gentle and sensitive last night. It was in a single word perfect. It was almost as though it was their first time together, Kakashi was so hesitant with his soft caresses, his chaste kisses that trailed down Iruka's body, mapping out the chuunin in an unhurried fashion.
Blushing brightly at the memory of Kakashi torturing him with his sweet touches, Iruka had to quickly think of something else as he felt his body warm in need for the lanky jounin. "Oi, Iruka-sensei?" The chuunin nearly fell out of his chair when he heard someone call his name from mere inches away from him. Blinking several times as he felt his face take on a whole new shade of red, Iruka focused on the face of the handsome teen peering down at him. The young man was so close, his nose nearly brushed against Iruka's and, for a moment, Iruka couldn't help but wonder how the boy had gotten so close without the chuunin noticing him. If nothing else, he should have smelled the distinct aroma of wet dog the second the boy walked into the Missions Office.
"Oh...K-Kiba..." Iruka swallowed as he looked at the teen and, for a moment, swore he saw a glimmer of amusement in the teen's eyes. If it was possible to smell horniness or perverse thoughts coming from someone, Kiba would be the person to master the technique. In the past few years, Kiba had turned into what Iruka had started to fondly call a 'super-pervert.' The only other people who fit into that select category were Kakashi, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. The thought of Kiba knowing exactly what was going through the chuunin's mind caused Iruka to blush a deeper crimson as he coughed in attempts to settle his rattled nerves.
"Kakashi-sensei, eh?" was all that Kiba said as the teen leaned back to the other side of the desk, distancing himself from the teacher. He didn't want to tell Iruka that, to any passerby who knew of the teachers' relationship, the chuunin's line of thought would have been obvious from the color of Iruka's face.
"...um...is there something you needed?" Iruka asked as he warily glanced around the crowded Missions Office to see if anyone else had heard Kiba's comment. From the way everyone refused to meet his gaze, Iruka could assume they either heard Kiba's statement or had seen his flustered state for themselves and made their own conclusion.
"A mission..." Kiba stated the obvious as he leaned back on his heels, anticipating a long wait as Iruka shuffled through the massive pile of scrolls at his side for an appropriate mission. Since returning from his last mission with his old genin team, Kiba had been planning on taking on a solo mission, but had been putting it off simply because he had an urge to stay home. For what reason, Kiba had no idea until he had found out Naruto finally returned. His instincts had somehow known the teen was returning and, for that reason alone, Kiba knew he had to remain idle in the village. Now that he had seen Naruto for himself and, though he was still torn between his conflicting emotions, Kiba knew that a mission, whether it be a simple one within the village or one that took him outside of Konoha for a day or two would help to clear his mind. The added fact that he felt a need to have a mission had caused Kiba to decide that the Missions Office was where he should visit today.
"I have the perfect one" was the only thing Iruka could come up with as he blinked in amazement at Kiba's good timing. He was afraid he would have to run the teen down and somehow convince him that he needed to take a mission after several weeks of sitting around the village with nothing to do. Unlike other shinobi, Kiba was an heir to a wealthy clan, so he had no pressing need to make missions his profession. Much like others in the Inuzuka clan, Kiba had been taught by his family to take missions when his instincts told him to do so, or to stay home when he felt the need. Somehow, the Inuzuka clan had amazingly good luck because of their instincts – they knew which missions to take or which missions to refuse and, more often than not, those that they refused failed in ways no one could possibly have imagined and, if an Inuzuka had been part of the mission, it would have meant certain death for them. Iruka could not help but wonder for a moment how freeing such a situation would be. Iruka couldn't help but envy the teen a little.
Not only did their instincts protect them from fatal missions, but those same instincts resulted in very good business investments. Few people knew the Inuzuka clan was one of the wealthiest shinobi families to exist because the clan saw buying large homes and pieces of art or other shows of money as frivolous. They, instead, put a good amount of their money towards charities, schools, hospitals, and the such. Iruka was one of the few people, however, who knew this because the family had a long-standing tradition of donating money anonymously, not wanting to be famous for their generosity. Iruka only knew this because he had once caught the Inuzuka heir slipping a pouch into the teacher's desk years ago. The chuunin had once mentioned to his students in passing that they had to be careful with their textbooks because the academy did not have the budget to buy new ones that year. The very next day during the children's recess, he secretly watched the little Inuzuka placing that cheerily clinking leather pouch in his desk, oblivious of his teacher watching him with a proud smile on his face.
Iruka had been expecting to find a few coins, paper clips, and maybe an animal or two – the kind of objects that children believed to be worth a great deal at that age. Iruka never confronted Kiba about it because he had temporarily lost the ability to speak or even think when he had finally worked up the nerve to see exactly what that pouch contained. His fingers had gone numb as he poured the coins out on his desk, his eyes staring at a sum he had never seen at one time before in his life. Those few coins – the only time Iruka had ever seen coins of their immense monetary worth – were more than enough to pay for the books, the school, and probably enough would be left over to pay Iruka's salary for an entire year. Thankfully, he had waited until after his students had left for the day before opening the pouch because Iruka was sure he looked something like a fish for several hours after that surprise. When he finally regained his ability to speak, Iruka headed over to the Inuzuka clan's large home. He had been over to the family home a number of times – more often than not to speak to Kiba's parents about his need for discipline or a particularly bad grade – but he had never gotten the feeling that the family was any wealthier than the average family. If anything, he had believed the family might have problems paying for their large family because Kiba always wore ill-fitting clothes that had seen better days. It was not until years later, as he watched the Inuzuka growing up, that he realized that his wardrobe was due to the boy's hours of training every day as well as his astonishing growth. It was almost as though the boy noticeably grew before your very eyes.
When Iruka had finally been able to find Kiba's father in one of the kennels, playing with a pair of pale-coated puppies, the chuunin had handed over the pouch to the wide-eyed jounin. All Kiba's father could do, once he glanced in the pouch, was laugh with obvious pride in his tone. Iruka could clearly recall the man's words as he handed the pouch back over to the teacher.
"It is Kiba's money to give...he is old enough to know what he is doing," the man's booming voice had announced as he smiled at Iruka. Without stating his array of questions, Kiba's father told Iruka that the sum must have come from his son's investments in a little restaurant that he had bought several months earlier. Everyone in the clan thought the six year old was crazy, but they thought it would be better for Kiba to learn first hand that buying a dilapidated ramen stand with plans of somehow breathing new life into it was not a good decision. They were all stunned speechless when they watched the child's tiny shack bloom into one of the most famous eateries in Konoha. And, following with the Inuzuka clan's flippancy towards wealth, Kiba had freely given it over to the family who ran it, telling everyone that he did not need the money – he had already made more than enough of a profit. When those words finally sunk into Iruka's head, his respect for the child had grown to a level he never before knew existed. Kiba could have used that money for anything – a toy, a trip...whatever a six year old could possibly want – but he gave it to Iruka without a second thought or any recognition. After that day, despite all of the boy's failings, tricks, and otherwise bad behavior, Iruka could not see Kiba as a mean-spirited child. He was heaven-sent, though Iruka would never admit it to anyone else or even to the boy himself.
Though Kiba and his family were so flippant about their vast sums of money, they somehow still kept enough for themselves to support all family members who did not work for wages. Some were too old, others injured, so a large number of the Inuzuka clan did not go on missions, but there was still the instincts that all of them followed. More than half of the able-bodied Inuzukas at any one time were at home, sitting idle until they felt the need to go on a mission. That well-known trait of the family had resulted in the wholly incorrect rumor that the Inuzuka clan tended to be lazy. Though he knew better, Iruka at times felt slightly jealous whenever he watched one of the Inuzuka family pass up a well-paying mission in order to sleep in every day and relax for weeks or even months at a time. Ever since he became a chuunin, Iruka had never had a day, outside of holidays, where he had the time to roam around the village because he did not need to go to work.
Kiba raised an eyebrow at Iruka's long silence. When he had spoken, the chuunin almost sounded like he was surprised, but at the same time saddened, to hear that Kiba wanted a mission. Though he could tell Iruka was trying to hide his emotions, what the chuunin and the rest of the shinobi community did not realize was that the Inuzuka clan had such good hearing that even the best attempts of hiding the emotion in their voices failed. The ability was kept a secret because of its usefulness in diplomatic missions. There was only one person Kiba knew of who had been able to fool the Inuzuka senses – Naruto. But, then again, no one had ever heard the true Naruto when they were growing up. Having now seen the person who hid behind that facade, Kiba could clearly hear the conflicting emotions in the teen's voice that not even Naruto realized were there.
Rifling through the scrolls at his side, attempting to make it seem like the mission was of no importance and he had placed it in with the mundane missions mostly given to genin teams, Iruka finally pulled the scroll out of the pile. Unlike the majority of scrolls sitting on his desk, this scroll was wrapped with a deep blue ribbon. Most people did not realize until they reached elite jounin status or worked in the Missions Office themselves that the color of the ribbon denoted what type of mission it was. There were a number of white and red ties scattered across his desk, revealing the genin missions as well as several recovery missions. There were even two black ribbons for the scrolls discussing missions dealing with enemies of Konohagure. Generally, these missions dealt with spying by working one's way up in the ranks of a group that worried the Hokage, but there were several ongoing reconnaissance missions in the Village of Sound. Blue, unlike the rest of the colors surrounding him, revealed a diplomatic mission.
"Here you go," Iruka said softly as he handed the scroll over to Kiba after opening the scroll up and running his gaze over it for show. There was no need, since Iruka knew the characters the mission contained by heart. He should, considering he had a hand in writing it before the secretive meeting with Tsunade was concluded this morning.
Kiba raised an eyebrow at the chuunin's odd tone, but knew better than to make any mention of it. Whatever it was that Iruka was trying to hide obviously had something to do with the scroll that Kiba now held in his hands. Glancing down at the piece of paper, Kiba unrolled it and found his eyes widening as he scanned over the official wording of what his mission entailed. "Suna?" was all he could get out as he sunk into a chair across from the chuunin, which had recently been put there for such reactions. Quickly looking up to Iruka momentarily before his eyes were pulled back to the paper, Kiba's mouth dropped in an open gape.
"Tsunade-sama said that the Sabaku family requested you," Iruka lied and, in his moment of astonishment, Kiba did not hear the untruth in the teacher's words. To be asked to another village as a diplomat was an honor few shinobi ever knew (though his family did have a bit of a record for it because of their unique abilities), but Kiba had never heard of anyone in his family being asked when only sixteen!
"I-I..." Kiba had a feeling that he was starting to look like a fish as his mouth opened and closed, making incomprehensible sounds as he tried to think of a reason Gaara or Kankuro would ask for Kiba to return with them to Suna. He and and the Sabaku brothers got along well enough – more because of the fact the two teens were dating some of Kiba's best friends more than his actual enjoyment of their company – so Kiba could not understand why they would request him. There were surely better shinobi – older or more experienced shinobi – to pick for such an honor! Other than being the mediator in fights between family or friends, Kiba had no diplomatic experience to speak of.
"Tsunade-sama also thought you would be best suited for the problems over in Suna..." Iruka added, which was entirely truthful. Someone who knew Hinata well needed to go with her to the village and help plead her case – her marriage to Kankuro – to Suna's councils. Also, Kiba would be able to keep the Hyuuga heiress company when the realization of her choices finally hit. As far as Iruka had heard this morning, Hiashi was refusing to allow his daughter back into the clan's home, much less meet with her to discuss her new status as wife. From the curious look Kiba was giving him, the teen had yet to hear about the quiet girl's return to the village. "Hinata wanted you to go back to Suna with them..."
Kiba's eyes widened as he heard what Iruka's tone was hinting at. "Hiashi's not taking their elopement well?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. The prick of a man would certainly be fuming and had probably even gone to the point of disowning the teen because, for the first time in her life, Hinata actually did something that went against everything her father had demanded of her. She did not marry the Puppet Master in a traditional wedding that Hiashi would be able to plan every moment of. She had not said her vows in the presence of her entire clan, nor did she even say them in Konoha. She married Kankuro for love, not the political connections Hiashi had always planned and there was no way Hiashi could possibly argue that that was the reason for the teen's relationship. Elopement spoke loud enough for itself.
"I suggest you go see Hinata..." Iruka replied quietly as he looked into Kiba's eyes, wondering if the teen realized how much Hinata had given up to marry Kankuro. From the glimmer of understanding in Kiba's eyes, Iruka knew that the teen was trying to imagine what it would be like to lose all connections with his own clan. Though the Hyuuga clan, at times, seemed quite cold to outsiders, they were a very close family that was very much like the Inuzuka clan in the fierceness they protected each other with. Only an unforgivable act would result in banishment from the family and, to lose that closeness with an entire group that could understand you on a level no one else possibly could, must feel like losing part of yourself.
"Thank you, Iruka-sensei," Kiba whispered as he unconsciously rolled the scroll back up, his fingers, like the rest of his body, numb. In that moment, he wondered how Hinata had been able to work up the courage to leave her family. He could not think of doing a similar act himself – how could he possibly give up his clan, the people who gave him life, raised him, and loved him unconditionally despite all his faults? They meant the world to him and, though they were demanding at times, Kiba knew in that moment that he would never want them to change. The only question Kiba could ask himself was: would she ever regret it? In a few months or years, would Hinata blame Kankuro for taking her away from her family? Though she would know it was her own choice, could she irrationally place the blame on him because it would be easier to deal with?
Without another word, Kiba found himself racing towards the origin of the scent of his best friend, which he seemed to always sniff for with every breath he took. The fact he could smell her, along with the masculine scent of Kankuro, told Kiba that they were somewhere close. Using every trick his family had taught him over the years, Kiba followed the lingering scent, which soon turned into an overpowering aroma as he found himself getting closer to the set of apartments set aside for Gaara whenever the Kazekage visited Konoha.
None of the Suna guards present looked at him twice as Kiba followed his nose, finally finding Hinata sitting on a small windowsill in a bedroom that, by the scent of it, must have been Gaara's until the small girl took it over. The overpowering scent of Neji and the Kazekage was almost enough to send Kiba reeling, but he quickly came to his senses when he saw the look in her eyes. Taking the room in several steps, Kiba pulled the girl into his arms and settled himself onto the windowsill with her in his lap. It only took a quick glance around the room to see Kankuro sitting in a chair, distress clearly showing in the Puppet Master's face. Kankuro mouthed a silent 'thank you' as he stood up and left the room in order to give the two privacy, knowing his wife was safe with the Inuzuka and if there was anyone who could help her out of her depression, it would be Kiba. On their entire journey back from the Hyuuga home, Kankuro had felt helpless, unable to comfort his wife. If anything, she pulled further away from him the more he tried to help her. For a moment, Kankuro felt a quiver of jealousy as he watched Kiba comfort Hinata in a way he never could, but he quickly quashed such a feeling, horrified that he could possibly envy the Inuzuka for being his wife's best friend from childhood. He had not imagined their marriage would be perfect – no one's ever was – but he was not expecting that he would have to let someone else comfort his wife because he had no idea how to. With that thought, Kankuro noiselessly slipped out of the doorway.
As soon as Kankuro was out of the room, Kiba took a deep breath and tightened his embrace around Hinata's still frame. He did not feel the tears soaking through his clothes, but he knew they were there. Hinata had somehow learned how to cry soundlessly and Kiba could smell the distinct tang of saline as he pressed his face into her soft hair.
"That bad, huh?" he asked quietly as he slowly ran his fingers along Hinata's back. To any outsider, it would have had the look of a lover's caress, but Kiba and Hinata had spent enough time together to be so comfortable with one another's presence that these gentle touches spoke far louder than words when one of them was in need of calming.
"H-he won't even look at me..." Hinata hiccuped as she spoke, her voice frail from emotion and tears. Kiba bit his lip, his chest aching as he put himself in the girl's position. If his father, even in jest, said that he did not want to see his son, Kiba would have been destroyed. Those few words would have hurt Kiba far more than any physical wound and the fact that Hinata was not in hysterics like Kiba would have been made the brunet respect her all the more.
"He's just pissed now...he'll get over it," Kiba stated with a certainty he was not entirely sure of, but he pretended for Hinata's sake. Hiashi had always been one of those people to anger quickly, but he would eventually forgive if it was something he could forgive. Considering Hinata and Kankuro's marriage was one that Hiashi had been planning on would definitely help the Hyuuga patriarch forgive his daughter.
"No one in the family would speak to me...it was like I wasn't there," Hinata said as she slowly pulled away from Kiba. She looked up into the brunet's unique eyes, seeing the understanding in Kiba's expression. No matter what Kankuro had said to her earlier, he could not possibly sympathize with her – how could he know what it was like to no longer have her family behind her, protecting her, loving her? There was a hole left in her heart that no amount of Kankuro's gentle caresses and even softer words could heal.
"Do you blame Kankuro?" Kiba hated to ask, but he knew he had to in order to get Hinata to realize how much she was hurting her husband by not talking to him. From the instant anger that entered the small woman's eyes, Kiba flinched, waiting for the painful smack that he was expecting, but it never came. Cracking open an eye, he saw that Hinata's hand was raised, but something in her eyes told him that she had rethought hitting him for asking such a question.
"I love him...I would never blame him..." Hinata replied as her hand lowered back down, sliding it around Kiba's torso and it came to rest on his back as she embraced him, her head resting on his shoulder. Since Kankuro had came into her life, Hinata had not needed to hold Kiba like this, but the old feeling of immediate comfort came to her as though they always were like this. Sighing deeply, Hinata let her fingers trace small circles in Kiba's muscular back. His body and tone did not betray him, but she could sense that something was bothering him as well.
"I am to go back with you to Suna," Kiba finally admitted quietly. Hinata forced herself to keep rubbing his back without faltering. She had not expected Kiba to find out about his mission so soon, but she could not help but be both happy and saddened that he did. Gaara had wanted to leave as soon as Kiba knew about his mission, which meant they a few hours before the Kazekage would storm off to Suna (still slightly pissed that his brother had not allowed him to be the best man at his wedding). Despite his anger directed towards Kankuro, Gaara had agreed to their decision in bringing Kiba with them, though Hinata had a feeling it was because he knew that she would need someone in those first few months in a new, strange home. As soon as he said he would allow Kiba to be a diplomat, Hinata had surprised him with a hug that no one had seen coming. If they had, someone probably would have told her that he really didn't like affectionate embraces unless they came from Neji, but at the moment, Gaara didn't seem to mind as he hesitantly returned the gesture. Hinata had a feeling that that small hug had gotten Gaara to forgive her for eloping considering he gave up his room, the largest and most comfortable one in the apartment, for her to sleep in the past few hours, but his anger against his brother still remained.
"I'm glad..." Hinata whispered as she gently hugged the teen's middle. "Do you think Akamaru will be able to stand the heat?" The fact that her voice held concern for the dog got Kiba to chuckle slightly. Only Hinata could possibly worry about others when her own life was in such shambles. Then again, her and the nin-dog's relationship was almost as close as Akamaru's and Kiba's.
"He'll be fine...my family might be a little mad, though. They were hoping to marry me off...guess they'll have to wait a few months," Kiba replied with a chuckle. A small part of the brunet could not help but feel happy over that fact. A few months would give him more than enough time to sort out his feelings and make a final decision over what he would do concerning his family and Naruto.
"Your father finally found someone?" Hinata asked softly as she raised an eyebrow curiously. If her father was anal, Kiba's father was downright nit-picky. The man had yet to find someone who was worthy of his only son and heir, but, then again, the Inuzuka patriarch was becoming desperate since he had not found anyone who met up to his expectations in the past few years. He had once told Hinata that she would be the only person he would ever think good enough for his son, but they had both laughed such a preposterous idea away immediately. He knew just as well as everyone else that Hinata and Kiba were the closest of friends and there was no way their relationship would ever become something more than that. Kiba was the brother she never had and, to Kiba, Hinata was the younger sister he had always wanted.
Kiba hesitated a moment, wondering if it was safe to mention his strange engagement to the girl's sister. Deciding it was better to tell Hinata later, when she came to grips with being disowned, Kiba forced out a chuckle that, to his sensitive ears, sounded very fake. "Not yet, but I'm getting the feeling the next girl he finds is going to be good enough...if she's still breathing, even better..." That got a soft giggle out of the young woman, despite the wet sheen of tears that still marked her face and that sound made Kiba's heart sink. He rarely lied and, when he did, he felt horrible for it. To lie to his closest friend felt like he was betraying her and himself in the same breath.
"Remember when he considered TenTen and Ino?" she asked, her voice slowly returning to the tone Kiba had become accustomed to over the years. Though he would not call it confident, her voice was stronger, more certain, when around him than anyone else, with the only exception being Kankuro.
Shivering in memory of how both girls had been asked over to the house. Kiba had never thought it possible, but both girls' parents were even scarier than their children. His father had quickly abandoned that idea as soon as the families left and he was free to say 'crazy people', though he still said it under his breath as though he was afraid they would somehow be able to hear him. Those parents were the first people, other than Hiashi, who struck fear into the hearts of even the fiercest of the Inuzuka canines. "That was horrible."
"But not as bad as when your father started asking Kurenai-sensei whether or not she was married," Hinata pointed out. That memory made Kiba's face turn a pale shade of pink as he recalled the mortification he felt when, upon the first meeting between his insane father and his genin teacher, that question was the first thing out of his father's mouth. It was quickly followed by a long list of Kiba's attributes as though he was being sold at an auction.
Letting out a soft chuckle at the image of Kurenai's horrified expression, Kiba nodded his head in agreement. Nothing topped having his sensei, who was older than his sister, being a possible bride. As soon as his father had wormed an answer out of Kurenai concerning her marital status – which happened to be "I'm involved with someone" - the old man had dismissed her, claiming that his son would marry a virgin or no one at all. That requirement had quickly been dropped when his father realized how rare a trait a woman's innocence was. That fact only made his father shake his head and wonder what the world was coming to.
"He should have known better than to ask..." Kiba mumbled, wishing his father had learned some kind of manners in all of his years as a shinobi. Of course, decorum was far from being one of the top requirements in shinobi, much less that Inuzuka clan, who everyone thought to be part animal anyways.
"It still was funny," Hinata commented as she pulled away from the Inuzuka in order to look up into his face. "Thank you, Kiba," she said softly as she smiled at him. No one could make her forget about the things bothering her most like the Inuzuka heir. Even now, thinking about how her family had deserted her, the pain was less than it was earlier. Something about the brunet made her feel like everything would turn out for the best and, given time, her family would forgive her.
"Anytime, Hinata." Kiba gave the teen in his arms a toothy smirk that, if Hinata had to describe it, she would have called it wolfish, though Kiba always got annoyed quickly with the animal-like descriptions in reference to his physical appearance. He had once told her that he was quite aware that he had slitted eyes and sharpened teeth, but that did not make him any less human. As she studied him with hooded eyes, Hinata had to agree with that statement. In the most important ways, he was just as human as she was, but his presence made everyone think otherwise. He could hear, smell, and see things no one else could possibly imagine and at the drop of a pin his attention could shift to something no one else could even perceive, whether or not it was something to worry about.
Even the very feel of his body was not fully human. All it took was one touch to realize he was different than everyone else. His body was always tense, his large and powerful muscles revealing that he was ready to pounce on any threat with or without warning. Since they were young, Hinata had always been fascinated at how Kiba's natural body temperature ran several degrees higher than her own, making it feel like the teen was running a constant fever. His heart, too, revealed his uniqueness; it beat faster than most people's and his blood pressure far too high for a normal human's. If someone had somehow not realized his lineage, they would consider his heart to be racing and might even start worrying over how much longer he had until he had a heart attack. Those reasons had caused the hospital quite enough grief when an Inuzuka was brought in and their name not known. One such instance, a medic-nin gave the shinobi medication in attempts to reduce the 'stress' that was believed to be on their heart and resulted in the Inuzuka bleeding out and dying. If he had not been given medication, he would have been fully healed from his concussion in a matter of days.
Since then, the Inuzuka clan made a point of making sure the medical community was familiar with all their family members and, in the chance someone was not recognized, each family member wore a set of tags around their neck that denoted their lineage. A number of other families wore similar tags, in case they had unique traits that needed special care. Hinata even had a set that she usually had wrapped around her wrist or waist, which proved her status as a Hyuuga and, as such, extreme care had to be taken with any head or eye injury or damage taken to her chakra pathways.
"When are we leaving?" Kiba asked after a few minutes of silence in which he gently rubbed the girl's back. He knew that anyone who did not know them would have been stunned that he could be so gentle, despite his muscular frame. When he had finally started growing into the powerful physique his family was known for, Kiba had been slightly afraid he would not know his own strength and hurt Hinata one day. He was surprised, however, to discover he instinctively knew how to control himself when around her and almost everyone else. The only person he had found he had problems with his self-control was Naruto – though those control issues were of a different nature entirely.
"When can you be packed and ready?" Hinata answered as she pulled back in order to look at the Inuzuka in the eye. Kiba did not need more than a moment to think about her question. He knew that, if he told his family about his mission, he would not be able to leave for several days. The clan would feel the need to have a celebration to mark his first solo mission – not to mention his first diplomatic one! Then there would be all the time it would take to say his farewells to his large family.
"An hour..." Kiba said softly, already deciding that, if he moved quickly, his family might not realize he was no longer in the village until later tonight. At first, they would feel betrayed and angry at him, but it would not take them long to realize why he had left as he did. The clan was very well aware how everything was a long project if it involved them, especially if expediency was a necessity. From his expression, Hinata could guess what he was planning on doing in order to save himself the trouble of saying goodbye to his family. She would have probably felt sorry for his parents, but she had seen first hand what Kiba's family was capable of. She and the rest of their genin team had to wait two days before Kiba's family let him go so they could go on their first mission to the other side of the village to clean out a storeroom. She could only imagine what they would plan on a momentous occasion like this.
"Then you better go pack," Hinata commented as she slid off Kiba's lap, shivering slightly as she lost the almost uncomfortable warmth of his body around hers. It felt almost as though the temperature of the room dropped, but she knew better as she wrapped her arms around herself in hopes of getting some of that heat back.
"Do you want me to get you anything from home?" Kiba asked as he stood up next to Hinata, towering over her small frame. She smiled at his consideration, but shook her head. She could get clothes and other necessities in Suna – not to mention the things she got there would be more practical for the desert heat than anything she had at home. Kiba nodded his head, but ignored the girl's words, already planning on sneaking into the Hyuuga home in order to get some of Hinata's favorite things. He knew her well enough to know she would need some of the pictures that rested on her nightstand, as well as a few books, her favorite teddy bear, and several other items that held great importance for the girl. "I'll be back soon," he promised before quickly squeezing the girl in a quick farewell.
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Kiba slipped into his bedroom, letting out a sigh of relief when he finally closed the door behind himself. He had only run into his mother on his way up the stairs, but she had quickly let him go, believing him when he said he was going out with Shino for the afternoon. He hated to lie to his mother (even more than lying to Hinata) and use one of his best friends as a cover in the same breath, but there was no other way he could get past the woman without letting his mission slip out. Sometimes he thought his mother was psychic because of how perceptive she was. In the few seconds she saw him, she could only figure out that he was not going to be home for dinner.
What happened to you? Kiba nearly squeaked, not expecting Akamaru to be in the room, let alone bark loud enough to reveal his position to the rest of his family. Quickly raising a finger to his lips in order to quiet the dog, Kiba raised an eyebrow that told the white canine that they were doing something secretive. For a moment, Akamaru felt a shiver of delicious deviousness run through him – it had been far too long since they played a trick on someone other than each other. But from the frantic way Kiba started racing around his room, throwing clothes and weapons on his bed, Akamaru quickly realized that this was not a normal prank.
Kiba threw the dog the scroll Iruka had given him only a short while ago. Akamaru had taught himself how to read, despite the long-held belief that the Inuzuka canines could never learn such an ability. After the puppy read a short children's story to the entire clan at Kiba's fifth birthday party, everyone was stunned into silence for a moment before all chaos erupted as everyone demanded that the small dog tell them how he was able to accomplish such a feat. They were amazed to no ends to hear that Akamaru had just put his mind to it and, through sheer determination, had been able to learn. Even Kiba had not known Akamaru was using his books to teach himself even as Kiba was learning how to read and write, but he had to admit that it had been the best birthday present. He finally had someone to learn with.
As Akamaru scanned over the scroll's characters, his eyes widened. Glancing up at Kiba, who had pulled a backpack out of his closet and had already started throwing his clothes and such into it, the dog let out a soft whine. The mission did not sound right to Akamaru, but he knew better than to tell Kiba that something smelled fishy. It was an honor for Kiba to be asked and, even if Kiba had the same reservations, he could not possibly refuse such a mission without offending two village leaders as well as his best friend.
The dog quickly bit back his questions as he moved to help Kiba pack before his family realized what was going on. He and his master were so preoccupied with their task that neither realized that someone had entered the room until they heard that someone softly clear her throat. Kiba spun around in the middle of trying to force a pair of sandals into his overstuffed bag and inwardly cursed when he saw his sister glancing over the scroll Akamaru had thrown on the floor before helping Kiba.
"Suna, huh?" she asked as she finally looked up from the mission. Raising an eyebrow at the fear she saw in her little brother's eyes, Hana let out a chuckle that quickly told Kiba that she had no intention of betraying his fleeing to the family before he was safely away from the village. Without saying a word, he thanked her before he went back to trying to zip his backpack shut. "Hinata needs you..." she added, receiving a brief nod from the teen. She knew better than to ask any further questions, in case someone was within hearing distance. Taking several steps, she reached her brother and enveloped him in a hug. Even though he was quite a bit younger than her, he already stood a head taller than her and Hana had to stretch in order to wrap her arms around his muscular torso. Kiba returned the embrace, resting his head on hers, as he tried to recall the last time they had hugged like this. He and Hana had never been particularly close siblings, partially due to the difference in their ages, but she had always comforted him and protected him when he was little. The opportunities to do so had diminished greatly as he grew up, but she had always been there for him when he needed her.
"Thanks, Hana," Kiba whispered into her hair, somewhat glad his sister had found him before he had left. If he would miss any relative while on his mission, it would be his crazy sister. Though they were like oil and water, she was the only person he would consider as a friend as well as family.
"No problem...just know you better bring everyone back souvenirs," she replied with a chuckle as she heard her little brother curse quietly. He knew just as well as she did that her girlfriend had a fascination with all things from Suna – especially their thin, expensive, but beautifully colored robes. If Kiba came back without a present for Mimi, he and Hana both knew that his life would be hell as long until he did get the young woman something. Mimi, once the family finally adopted her as one of their own, had quickly become a favorite and, as the whole family had shown time and again, if one Inuzuka wasn't happy, no Inuzuka was.
"Arf!" We have to go! Akamaru pointed out softly, but with urgency in his tone, as he dragged Kiba's stuffed backpack over to the teen and placed it at his feet. With one look to his sister as he pulled away from her, Kiba nodded in agreement to the dog's observation. He bent down and gave his sister a peck on the cheek before silently slipping out the room, Akamaru following at his heels.
Closing her eyes for a moment, Hana took a deep breath and counted towards ten. Before she even reached seven, she both smelled and heard her father step into the room. She let up a soft prayer of thanks that Akamaru was more perceptive than most Inuzuka canines or else he and Kiba would have been caught in the room. She turned around and gave the older man a smirk that told the patriarch that his son had already left the room.
"Where is he, Hana?" he asked softly as he took a step into the room, glancing around and seeing the open drawers and clothing flung around in haste. He had smelled something strange as soon as he sensed his son return, which had caused him to make the trek across the house to seek out his younger child. What he hadn't expected was to see the boy's rooms in shambles and his sister standing there with a scroll in her hand. With one glance at the sheet of paper, he caught a glimpse of the blue ribbon and felt a surge of pride. "We have to start planning..." he added as he started deciding on which of Kiba's favorite foods should be served at the celebration. He stopped abruptly, however, when he saw his daughter shook her head.
"He's gone already, Papa..." she replied as she handed over the scroll. "He didn't want you and Mother making a big deal out of it, like you usually do." She heard her father suck in a shallow breath as his eyes ran over several characters in particular several times.
"Suna...for four months..." he said quietly his hands tightening into fists, not caring that he was destroying the paper he was still holding. He was not angry at his son for the deception – he would have done the same thing if he had been in his son's position – but he was mad at the Hokage for not asking him if such a mission was appropriate for his sole heir. She should know by now that Kiba was very important to his family and any decision that dealt with him was one the entire clan had to make.
"Papa...Hinata needed him..." Hana pointed out as she took a step forwards and gingerly removed the abused scroll from her father's hands. "You can't blame Tsunade-sama for wanting to help her..."
The mention of the Hyuuga melted his heart immediately. She, much like Mimi, was an adopted daughter to him and, as such, he would protect her from harm in any way possible. He could not imagine what it would feel like being uprooted from her home and being moved to a whole new village. He would certainly do anything to keep Hinata from feeling homesick and if that meant giving up his son for a few months, he could deal with it and not hold it against the Hokage. "What am I going to tell Hiashi?" he asked softly as he looked up at his tall daughter, who gave him a curious glance. "We were starting to plan Kiba and Hanabi's engagement party...we were busy making arrangements at this flower shop all this morning..."
"...Hiashi wasn't home this morning?" Hana had heard the rumors concerning the way Hinata had been treated when she returned home this morning, which made her immediately curious to hear how Hiashi took her visit. She had the sinking feeling, however, that Hiashi did not even know his daughter had returned home.
"No...apparently his wife kicked him out for the day because he had tried to order his family to consider Hinata disowned until he had a chance to speak to her...he was not happy, but he sounded like he was starting to get used to the idea of having a son-in-law..." he replied with a chuckle. A ruffled and slightly embarrassed Hiashi was, by far, one of the best sights he had ever seen. "Why?"
"Hinata went home this morning...apparently no one in the family would speak to her, so she left with the Kazekage..." Hana replied, lying to her father only in verb tense. If her father believed the Kazekage, and along with him Kiba, was already gone, he would not go off in search of them. Whatever time Hana could buy her brother would put distance between him and their crazy family.
"WHAA?!" The surprise, combined with a painful understanding, Hana heard in her father's loud voice made her ears ring. "Hinata could not possibly think the Hyuuga family would stay angry at her...most of the family was out getting wedding presents today, despite Hiashi's order. The only people that were still home were..." As realization dawned on him, he winced and let out a curse that made his daughter blush. "...those old pricks that have the same stick up their asses as Hiashi..."
For a moment, Hana wondered if she should tell her father that there might be a good chance Kiba and the others were still in the village, but quickly dismissed such a thought. It would be better to give Hiashi a few months to cool off and be chastised by everyone for his actions before giving him a chance to talk to his daughter. Perhaps in four months, Hiashi would beg for his daughter's forgiveness like he should. Having met Hiashi's small, yet amazingly influential, wife once, she could only wince for the man as she imagined what the next few months would be like for him. If anything, Hiashi might even make the trip to Suna in order to speak to his daughter.
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Neji raised an eyebrow as his Byakugan caught a glimpse of a certain Inuzuka sneaking through the courtyard, somehow unaware that he just raced by the Branch Family member. Whatever was on the teen's mind must have been important if he didn't realize Neji was sitting right there, training with his Byakugan.
Following the younger teen, Neji slipped into Hinata's room only a few steps behind Kiba and, as soon as he saw the teen was headed towards Hinata's closet, he let out an audible sigh. "I hope you have a good reason for not using the front door," Neji commented as he leaned against the door frame, his eyes on Kiba's tensing shoulders. The teen, turning to look at him, raised an eyebrow before quickly going back to digging through Hinata's closet for something.
"I sent Akamaru ahead of me to tell everyone to leave...I'll be able to meet up with them before the Suna border," Kiba replied so quietly his voice was more of a release of air than sound. Neji raised an eyebrow at the confusing statement, wondering what the hell Kiba was talking about. When he saw the Inuzuka pull one of Hinata's only tank tops out of her closet, he started understanding what Kiba was going on about.
"She's leaving?" Neji asked as he pushed off the door frame and took several steps into the room. "Why?" Instead of answering immediately, Kiba started rifling through Hinata's closet, finally coming away victorious with the girl's favorite kimono, a birthday present from Kankuro two years ago. Though everyone raised an eyebrow at the thin, flimsy materials that could never be worn in Konoha without several thick layers beneath it, Kankuro had quietly explained that it was made for Suna's weather and Hinata would be anything but cold in it while in the desert. When Hinata had opened the brightly wrapped box, Neji had been able to recognize the pattern as the Sabaku family crest, having seen Kankuro wear similar colors when in diplomatic meetings with Tsunade. No one else in the family had any idea, except for perhaps Hinata herself, so when Kankuro went down on bent knee in front of the entire village a week later, it came as a surprise to the whole Hyuuga clan except for the two teens. Since then, Neji had found himself in possession with a similarly patterned kimono, though its material fit for wear in Konoha. He was not sure if Gaara knew he was well aware of what the design signified, but if not, he was not ready to tell the Kazekage, curious to see how Gaara defined their relationship. The young redhead never once said anything about love or a future together, but the way he looked at Neji sometimes told another story entirely.
"Your family is a bunch of idiots, that's why," Kiba replied, pulling Neji out of his reverie. The older teen raised an eyebrow at Kiba's comment. "She came home this morning and apparently your uncle was his usual dick self and refused to even see her..."
"Shimatta..." Neji let out several curses that Kiba had never known Neji was aware of. He had a feeling, however, that Gaara must have been the one to teach them to Neji, considering their sexual nature. "Only the family members who agree with Hiashi were home today...my uncle was not even home – he was out with your father all day...the rest of us were out shopping...." In order to prove his point, Neji slipped a hand into the pouch at his side and pulled out a small, neatly wrapped box. He had refused to leave the box in his room, unsure when he would see Hinata and Kankuro. "My aunt apparently was the only person who had thought ahead and got wedding presents..."
"What is it?" Kiba asked, unable to comment on how badly timed Hinata's visit home had been, though it was through no fault of the girl or her husband. He stepped forwards and watched as Neji placed the small box into the pack he had been trying to neatly place Hinata's kimono in.
"Our family has a tradition of making matching wedding rings that have both bride and groom's crests worked into them," Neji replied softly. "Hinata and Kankuro had gone to the jewelers' only last week to start ordering their rings...I had to guess a bit on their sizes and the jeweler only had a vague idea of what they wanted their rings to look like, so they might not be perfect, but..." Neji trailed off, wondering if Kankuro would like the gift – he was quite sure Hinata would find them perfect, no matter how many threats of torture and almost certain death Neji had to use to get the rings completed in several hours when they should have taken weeks. He would never tell his cousin how much the present had cost him or hold it against her, but his now empty bank account and one very content jeweler would be long lasting results of his romantic sentiments.
"Shit...I didn't get them a present..." Kiba mumbled as he knelt down in order to pack clothes around the small box so that it wouldn't be jostled by the running he would be doing in a few minutes. He let out a deep sigh as he hoped his line of credit would stretch to Suna. Quickly digging a piece of paper out of his pocket and writing a hurried note on it, he handed it over to Neji before standing back up and going to wrap up Hinata's picture frames and placing them in the pack.
"What is this for?" Neji asked as his eyes ran over the piece of paper which, in Kiba's distinct chicken scratch, said Neji was able to touch his savings account. He could not help but inwardly chuckle, wondering if Kiba thought he could possibly repay Neji for the rings or, at the very least, pay for a part of them.
"If I need money in Suna, could you have them send it to me?" Kiba asked as he glanced up from wrapping a picture of his genin team. "And if you need anything in the next few months while you're trying to salvage your savings, you're more than welcome to take out as much as you want," Kiba added, his tone not holding the joking tone Neji would have expected. He had recognized the paper on the box, knowing immediately that the rings had come from the most exclusive (and expensive) jeweler in Konohagure. He could only begin to imagine how much it had cost Neji to get custom-made rings in such a short period of time.
Neji glanced over the paper again, his eyes noticing a large number written along the side of the note. For a moment, he wondered what the staggering number could signify – Kiba's account number, perhaps? He lost all coherent thought when Kiba mumbled something as he closed the pack and swung it over his back. "That should be a good estimate of how much is in my account...could you send about half of it to Suna if I need it?"
"Ha...ha..." Neji couldn't get 'half' out of his mouth as his eyes shifted from the teen to the number, then back again as he tried to come to grips with the shabbily dressed teen's funds. With such an amount, Kiba should have been dressing himself in gold and diamonds, not his current outfit, which revealed his passable sewing abilities. The knees of his baggy pants looked like they had to have been replaced several times and were due for another breath of life if Kiba wanted to save them from a rag pile. Then again, Kiba was so careless with his wardrobe and grew so quickly, it was no wonder his clothes took such a beating. A part of Neji, however, could not help but point out that, with that kind of money, Kiba could wear brand new clothes every day and dispose of them afterwards and still have enough left over to afford Hinata and Kankuro's wedding rings and then some. "Where did you get all of this?" Neji was finally able to mouth, his voice still refusing to work, as he studied Kiba.
"Some businesses I own...publishing companies...things like that," Kiba replied as though it was nothing and Neji saw the teen in a new light. At Kiba's uncaring behavior towards such an amount money, Neji tried recalling where Kiba could spend such sums and could only think of several anonymous donations of ridiculous sums over the years that had saved a number of businesses. Those miraculous gifts had come at the perfect time – when a family was planning on redoing their small store or if a fire destroyed part of another shop. There always seemed to be a someone or some business claiming that they had found money on their doorstep, in their shops, or – on a few occasions – placed right into their accounts. Everyone who had discovered such sums claimed that these gifts had been what saved them and that whoever was responsible had to be a saint. Looking at Kiba, in his shabby jacket that had seen far better days, Neji knew that he would never have thought to describe the teen as a saint. Kiba was rude, mocking, and otherwise annoying, but he was never purposely mean to anyone other than Neji. Having gotten to know the Inuzuka in the past few years, Neji knew that Kiba's attentions towards him only revealed that the teen saw him as a good friend. Thinking back on the last several years, Neji could not think of a time Kiba ever did something spiteful or hurtful unless it was in making fun of the Hyuuga Branch Family member and, even then, it wasn't particularly painful tricks he played. Having seen how Kiba acted around Hinata, Neji knew that the teen was more than capable of being kind and sensitive when he wanted or needed to be. Looking at the teen again, Neji could now see definitely Kiba as some sort of charity junkie, but perhaps 'saint' was still taking it too far.
Closing his eyes, Neji took a deep breath as he tried to fit this new knowledge about Kiba into his image of the Inuzuka teen. By the time he opened his eyes again, focusing his gaze at the empty space where Kiba had stood only a moment ago, Neji smirked. Even when in a rush, Kiba would try to show off his 'superior' shinobi abilities by sneaking out without the Hyuuga noticing. What Kiba did not realize – and Neji had no urge to reveal it to the teen – was that Neji could effortlessly sense his chakra, much like he could for Hinata. Years ago, when he had started realizing that ability, Neji had passed it up to the fact that the two were attached at the hip, so he became accustomed to Kiba's chakra signature, but as Kiba grew up, Neji became more in tune with that unique power. It was almost as though something in Kiba was always calling out to the young jounin. Having heard about the Inuzuka clan's famous instincts, Neji could not help but wonder if Kiba's body – or, to be more specific, his instincts – were doing this on their own for some reason. If so, Neji hoped that there would never be an occasion to use this connection, since the only reason he could think of it being necessary would to find Kiba in such a hurry would be an injury that needed immediate medical attention. He did not even toy with the other idea that was also a possibility, not wanting to think that such an event could occur – the only other reason such speed would be needed would be if Kiba or someone he was with was dying.
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"There is something catching up to us," Gaara commented quietly to himself as he effortlessly picked up his already fast pace. He had sensed someone following them a few miles back, but he had thought it would be impossible for anyone to keep up with their ground-eating speed for a long distance. His siblings had grown used to this type of running, but Hinata had already proved to need more time to become accustomed with his speed. She was currently riding on Kankuro's back, her small frame almost weightless in comparison to the large packs Kankuro was used to wearing. As soon as Hinata had first faltered, Gaara and his brother had wordlessly decided on what to do. Taking his brother's pack, Gaara had pushed ahead, though slowing down slightly, while Kankuro swept his new wife up into his arms, laughing as she squealed to be put down.
That had been a while ago, however. Whatever was following them had started doing so soon after Kankuro started carrying Hinata, but instead of falling behind, it was somehow catching up at an alarming pace. Gaara was unsure what to call this approaching figure, though he thought 'it' to be quite befitting, since there was no way it could be an ordinary human. Weighing his choices, the Kazekage skidded to a stop on the forest floor, watching as the rest of his party flew by overhead, not yet registering that he was no longer leading them. He had a feeling that it would be some time before they did anyhow, since everyone knew the way well enough that they paid very little attention on the entire trip to or from Konoha.
Narrowing his eyes, Gaara watched as a blur of color darted through several trees around him before landing heavily on the ground mere feet in front of the redhead. Frowning at the dark figure as it stood up straight with its back to him, towering over him by quite a bit, the teen wondered why he had to be so short in comparison to everyone else. As soon as the person – which Gaara could now see it actually was, though from its primal aura, he knew it to be far from average – started to turn around, the redhead found himself lost for words.
"Kazekage-sama..." Kiba stated with a chuckle, his voice indicating that he had not even started to get out of breath from his attempts to run down the Sand shinobi before they reached the Konoha border. He had been quite surprised at how quickly the group was able to move, but he had trained with Akamaru in games of catch long enough to discover he could move with an enviable speed. That speed, however, only seemed to present itself when he was tracking or otherwise following something. Without another thought, he passed it up to another one of his family's numerous abilities.
"You are very fast..." Gaara commented softly, a tone of awe and even respect in his voice as he eyed the older teen, but saw no indication of fatigue in the Inuzuka. The demon within him growled with jealousy, but Gaara ignored that side of himself as he watched Kiba shift the pack on his back. "You have been given your mission, I take it?" The questioned seemed silly as soon as Gaara asked it – he had been traveling with the boy's massive dog for the past hour; he had known that Kiba would be catching up with them at some point. Gaara had actually forgotten about the teen entirely and therefore never thought to consider the idea that Kiba could have been the person following them because he did not expect the teen to be able to catch up with them at all. He thought that he would not see Kiba for at least several days, in which time he would have a chance to make up rooms for his new diplomat.
"I have..." Kiba replied as he nodded his head. Gesturing that he was willing to continue moving, the two teens picked up Gaara's fast pace and quickly covered the ground they had lost in their few moments of discussion. In a matter of minutes, they were able to catch up with the rest of Gaara's party, who stared at the new addition in amazement. The only ones who did not look dumbstruck were the large canine and the small woman in her new husband's arms. Akamaru gave his master a flash of his pointed teeth, clearly an expression akin to a human's chuckle. Hinata smiled at her best friend, seeing how comfortable Kiba looked in the company of the Suna teens. She could only hope that, in Suna, Kiba would find whatever those animal-like eyes of his were obviously searching for.
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Authoress: I am so sorry for not updating earlier...with college and everything, I've been insanely busy, but now that I am home for the summer, I'll be updating as often as possible! I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and how the story is progressing!! And don't forget to review so I know what to focus on next time!!!