I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Both belongs to Kishimoto Masashi.

Chapter XIII
– Oats and Confessions –

Stray sun rays slowly sneaked through the slightly parted curtains and effectively roused the sleeping brunet out of his slumber. Dreary eyes inched open, only to be stabbed by the bright rays. A groan came from the teen, a hand lifting to cover abused eyes. Another groan and finally, the brunet opened his eyes properly to face the morning sun. "Akamaru, get off me," Kiba groaned out. "Ya know I get mornin' wood easily." Instead of white fur though, the Inuzuka caught sight of blond hair. "What the hell?" A warm head rested on his chest, appendages lazily wrapped around his waist and legs. Kiba lifted himself up on his elbows and peered down at the head on his chest. Naruto?

The blond shifted a little in his sleep, a frown on his face. One would expect that no matter how angry or emotionless a person was, while sleeping, anyone would look peaceful. But Naruto seemed troubled even in his sleep.

Beginning to panic, Kiba glanced around his semi-dark room until his eyes landed on his clock. It read 06:28, meaning the teens would have to get up soon. The brunet sank back down into his bed again and regretted that action once the blond sleeping on him began to stir.

Cerulean eyes blinked open and seemed confused at first. Naruto slowly woke up, but went rigid as he felt the body beneath him.

Kiba could only watch in confusion as the blond suddenly shot up and tumbled down from the bed, landing on the floor. Naruto scrambled around until his back hit a wall. He wrapped his arms around his legs and pulled them close to his chest, looking like a startled and frightened animal. He warily glanced up to see the person he had been lying on. Just then, light shone through a window and blinded him, making him unable to see the face belonging to the bare-chested person staring down at him. His mind didn't hesitate to conjure up a face on its own. No, please not him.

Carefully, Kiba got up from his bed and approached the other teen. "Naruto?" He cringed as he heard the scared gasp the blond emitted. "Come on, tell me what's up." His mind didn't even register the fact that both of them were in varying states of undress, him in only his boxers and Naruto clad in nothing more than a shirt and boxers. The sound of someone walking down the corridor outside the room suddenly invaded the silence in the room, making Kiba growl. "Naruto," he muttered, kneeling down close to the blond. "I need you to calm down now, okay?" He felt helpless. Nothing he did seemed to help. And the steps kept growing louder. "Naruto…" In a desperate attempt of getting the other to calm down, Kiba grabbed Naruto's shoulder and lightly shook it, trying to remember what Sasuke had done a while earlier.

He couldn't remember.

Knocks on the door.

"Kiba?" a voice from outside echoed. "Is everything all right in there?"

At least he stopped making those scared sounds, the brunet reassured himself. "Yeah", Kiba replied, turning his head to the door. "Nothing's wrong, mom." Worriedly glancing back down at Naruto, the teen found the other moving to look up at him, as the steps outside the room retreated.

Glancing back up after having buried his face in his knees, Naruto finally recognised the other properly. "Inu… K-Kiba?"

"Yup." The brunet reassuringly smiled at the blue-eyed teen. "So… what's up?"

"Sorry, I just… just… overreacted a bit," Naruto replied, staring down at the floor.

Kiba sighed as he gave the blond a once-over. Naruto was still shaking slightly and kept avoiding his eyes, only nurturing Kiba's doubts about everything they had done.

Naruto then quickly wiped over his eyes with the back of his hand. "I'm sorry that I forced myself on you like that," he mumbled, barely loud enough for Kiba to hear.

"Not at all!" the brunet retorted as he waved his hands. "I mean… I uh… don't mind." Again, he sighed. He hadn't been expecting Naruto to start shitting rainbows and throw up candy, but he would have been happy without the morning drama. "Come on, let's take a shower and then go grab something to eat. I think both of us won't get any more sleep now anyway."

Naruto only nodded and let himself be helped up by the brunet.

Is it good or bad that all this happened?

Freshly showered and clad in his own washed clothes from the day earlier, Naruto walked down the stairs to where Kiba was probably already eating in the kitchen. His bare feet against the wooden stairs created a soft smacking noise as he dragged his still tired body downstairs. The ache in his backside was dull, close to nothing compared to what he was used to. Once in the kitchen, the blond noticed a newspaper laying on a counter with the headline "Brutally mutilated corpses found in ponds and lakes! Police suspects the same person to have committed the two murders in the same night!".

"Morning," Naruto mumbled as he rubbed his eyes, even though it wasn't the first time he saw Kiba that day.

The brunet sitting at the kitchen table looked up from his bowl of cereal, milk dripping from the corners of his mouth. He hastily gulped down whatever was in his mouth to reply. "G'mornin'!" he barked out around a still half-full mouth of cereal, gulping another time and messily wiping over his mouth with the back of his hand. "Grab yourself some cereal from the shelf over there." Kiba motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. "Milk's in the fridge."

Naruto nodded silently and went over to where Kiba had said the cereal was, then took out the box and a bowl that was already waiting on the counter.

Kiba only heard the blond taking something from the fridge. What it was that Naruto poured into his bowl the brunet only saw as the other sat down in front of him.

"Where's the rest?" Naruto inquired casually, as if Kiba wasn't giving him the most weirded out look ever.

It took the Inuzuka a while until he registered the question. "Uh… My mom's gone off to work and my sis just left for school early."

Silence.

Seeing how the other teen acted as if nothing was wrong, casually eating his cereal, the brunet spoke up again. "Naruto?"

The blond didn't even so much as glance up to meet the Inuzuka's eyes. "Yeah?"

More silence.

Kiba kept weirdly glaring at the bowl the other was eating from. "Why're you eating uncooked oatmeal with coke?"

For a short moment, Naruto peered down at his bowl and tilted his head. His head slowly snapped back up to face Kiba, face still passive. "Dunno. Tastes fine." And another spoon of coke-soaked cereal entered his mouth.

I'm starting to think that he's actually… not as okay as I thought he was, Kiba mused, eating his own cereal and peering down as Akamaru entered the room to munch on his own food.

Suddenly, Naruto's eyes went wide and he flung his spoon into some corner of the room. "Holy hell! I don't have any of my stuff with me! How am I supposed to go to school like this?"

"Don't worry," Kiba cut in as Naruto started to pull at his hair in panic. "I called Sakura when you were showering earlier. She's gonna pick up your stuff and give it to you when we get to school."

A relieved sigh left the now somewhat relaxed teen as he slumped in his seat. "Thanks, man." Thoughts of what-if's concerning his father were thrown out of the window.

Kiba beamed hearing the words of gratitude, even though Naruto couldn't quite see with his head hung over the back of the chair like that. "No problem at all."

The trip to school passed by quickly as well as the encounter with Sakura, in which the girl gave Naruto his things for school. Even though the girl kept trying to ask Kiba about what was going on when Naruto couldn't hear, the brunet kept his mouth shut and told her to wait until later. The first two periods, Kiba noticed how he felt like he had to keep an eye on Naruto, now more than ever. During math, their first period, Kiba sat beside the other, but in second period, philosophy, he was forced to sit in his usual place. The strict Chiriku never faltered to have everyone sit accordingly to the seating arrangements. When the bell chimed and announced the first break, Kiba sighed in relief and hurried to get to Naruto. He knew the confrontation with the others wasn't far away now, seeing how he had merely suspended Sakura earlier and she had probably told a few people already.

"Naruto," Kiba spoke up, turning to the other male beside him. "I'm kinda worried about that injury. We should have Tsunade-sama look at it."

Usually, Naruto would have refused. But for a while now, he had been doing things he usually would never do. "Fine."

Both teens then headed for the nurse's office. When they arrived and slid open the door to the small room, they didn't find a blond head and instead someone else.

"Shizune-san, would you mind looking at Naruto's wound?" Kiba tried his best to seem normal in order to not have Naruto catch on to what he was doing, which was getting rid of the blond for a while so he could talk to the others.

The dark-haired woman nodded with a small smile, beckoning Naruto over. "It won't take long, I promise. Now sit down." Once the teen was seated on the bed, Shizune began to examine him.

"I'm gonna go for a while," Kiba announced. "I'll come get you once I'm done." He only waited until Naruto nodded in acknowledgement, then left and slid the door to the nurse's office shut. He then ran down the corridors and slipped by the many bodies in his way until he reached the outside and the benches where most of his friends were already waiting. He flopped down onto one of the wooden benches as soon as he got there, aware of the curious looks being sent his way.

"Kiba-kun."

"Um… what, Sakura?" Kiba couldn't tell if Sakura's tone was threatening or merely curious.

"Care to tell us why Naruto slept over at your place?"

The Inuzuka finally took some time to see who was there. He could make out the faces of pretty much everyone, including Sasuke, who was right in front of him, and excluding Lee – he was the hall monitor after all – and Tenten. He sighed once he had gotten a peak at the same look of curiosity mixed with worry and anxiety on everyone's features. "It just… kinda happened." The curious faces remained, silent. "I was walking Akamaru yesterday, when Akamaru suddenly led me into this alley where I found Naruto. I guess he was being followed by some thugs. He was pretty shaken up and his injury also opened again. I got him out of there and it was so late that we decided that he'd sleep over at my place. That's it."

The silent Sakura only stared for a while, before she composed herself and straightened up. "And… he just… allowed it like that?" Closely listening people could hear the rising frustration in her voice. The very thing she had been trying to ask of Naruto, having him sleep over at her place, had caused a brawl between her and her best friend.

Kiba nodded, knowing no words he said would comfort the pink-haired girl the way she needed it. "Though I'm not sure if he's gotten any better," he continued. "Sure, he didn't glare at me and told me to fuck off like he usually does and he was actually kinda cool to have around, but he's still far away from being the way he used to be." A bitter smile curled the brunet's lips as he recalled a memory from the night before. "He actually pulled a prank on me. Scared me shitless. He even smiled a few times. But he wasn't… obnoxiously loud like he used to be. He never grinned the way he used to. And he didn't… demand for ramen when we ate breakfast the way he used to. He actually…" At this, a puzzled frown furrowed Kiba's brows. "He actually ate his oatmeal with coke." He attempted a small laugh to ease the tension, but failed miserably.

No one was able to read Shikamaru's expression, since his face was hidden behind his folded hands, arms propped up on the table. "When's his first appointment with Kurenai-sensei?"

"Today," Sakura replied, still looking shaken up and nervously biting around on her lower lip.

"Are you sure he's actually gonna go?" Ino threw in with poorly hidden doubt in her voice.

"I hope so." It was one of the rare times in which the usually ingenious Shikamaru couldn't give a certain answer. Doubt began to slowly cloud even his mind. "If Naruto has made any progress, I can't really tell. Even though he apparently seems more social now, he hasn't shown any signs of remembering anything." Exasperatedly, the brunet rubbed his closed eyes.

All the while, Hinata and Shino both stayed silent, only glancing at whoever was talking at the moment.

Throughout the entire exchange, Neji's eyes were fixed on the brunet on the other side of the bench, Kiba. The other brunet avoided everyone's eyes and kept clenching his jaw, fidgeting around nervously. "Is there something you're not telling us, Inuzuka-kun?"

"What?" Kiba perked up in his seat and let his nervous gaze shift to the grey-eyed teen. He was only met with an indifferent glare, Neji waiting for him to answer properly. Sighing, the Inuzuka held Neji's gaze instead of looking away. "I'm not hiding anything."

Neji didn't miss how the other shrugged one shoulder as he said this, the words seeming spoken too slowly from the usually rapidly talking Kiba. "You're lying. Tell us the truth."

A bright blush bloomed on Kiba's momentarily surprised face as his eyes lowered to stare at the wooden table top. "I… That…"

"Sheesh," Ino cut in, "you're acting like you two fucked last night or something." She laughed for a moment, but went silent as the brunet didn't deny that assumption right away like he was supposed to. "Oh… my…" She paused, unable to find any words to describe her surprise. "You actually slept with Naruto?"

Looks of startled shock and disbelief settled on everyone's faces; some more obvious than others. For the first time that day, Sasuke decided to speak up, glaring bloody murder at Kiba even with that expressionless face of his. "That's not true, is it?"

Unable to decide how to come up with a way to talk his way out, Kiba wanted the ground beneath his feet to just swallow him whole. "Um…"

"Kiba!" a certain pink-haired girl suddenly screeched. "I never knew you… you…"

"Swung that way?" Ino finished.

"I don't swing that way!" Kiba retorted, still blushing madly.

All Shikamaru could do was shake his head, finally lifting his face from his folded hands. "Then why did you do it? I doubt Naruto just up and threw himself at you."

"He did… actually."

Now even Shikamaru couldn't stop his eyes from widening. "What?"

Resigning himself to having to tell the truth, the Inuzuka sighed, slumping together a bit in his seat. "He…" Everyone waited for him to explain himself, but his mouth hung open without any words passing his lips. Gears were turning in his mind, his brain trying to work out what to say, but failing. "I can't tell you," he finally mumbled after a small eternity. "I don't think he'd want me to tell you. If anything, he'd have to tell you himself."

"For how long has this been going on?" Shikamaru inquired, his features set in his usual casual look.

"Huh?"

"You and Naruto."

At this, Kiba turned his head away, growing frustrated with the interrogation. "Nothing has been going on. At all. Yesterday was the first and only time that happened!"

Shikamaru's tone quickly grew accusing. "Then why did you–"

Suddenly, the Inuzuka sat up from the bench and slammed his hands onto the table, scowling at Shikamaru. "I don't have to justify myself! What happened happened! I can't change it now! And you know what? I don't regret any of it!" Kiba didn't look back as he stormed away, never seeing the looks on his friends' faces. He headed towards the nurse's office where Naruto was probably waiting or still being examined by Shizune. The corridor inside the school Kiba was walking along was bustling with students pushing past each other. When peering into classrooms, one could see more people eating lunch or having light-hearted conversations.

Kiba didn't even get close to the nurse's office before a hand suddenly wrapped around his arm in a painful hold and dragged him into a vacant room. Once he was inside, a door shut closed behind him and Sasuke suddenly stood before of him. "What's your problem?" On the outside, Kiba seemed calm and collected, but his slightly wavering voice was a dead-giveaway for his fear and nervousness.

"What is up with you and Naruto?" Sasuke snarled at the other.

Shrugging, Kiba tried to keep his voice from sounding scared as he replied. "What's it to you?"

"None of your business, so answer," the Uchiha bit out.

"Then what's up with me and Naruto is none of your business either."

The scowl on the brunet's face deepened, growing more malicious. "Just answer the damn question or I swear I'll–"

"Listen, I think I know what you're trying to do," Kiba barked, feeling his earlier fear of the other going down the damn drain. "I'll just let you know that it won't work. Don't act like you know Naruto and have any right to be angry at me, cause you don't! You weren't there when he started to change! You weren't there when all of us tried to get him back! You weren't there when Naruto fucking needed you! So don't come back thinking you have any right of claiming Naruto or something! If you keep acting like a bastard, I won't hesitate to be the one Naruto needs! I don't care what kind of fucking special bond you two have! I've been there this entire time and I'll stay until the end, wether you like it or not." Pausing, the brunet waited for any kind of response. He didn't get any. "Got that?"

Sasuke's nose scrunched up indiscernibly, though his face remained unchanging otherwise. "Hn." With that, he stalked off, leaving behind a still fuming Kiba.

A sigh of relief tore from Kiba's mouth and he let his head fall back against a wall. "That just now came out totally wrong. Damn, what the hell did I get myself into?"

The rest of the day went by without any exciting events. Teachers drawled on about their oh-so-important subjects and students endured the drawling until the last bell of the day chimed.

Knowing Naruto would be gone if Kiba didn't hurry, the Inuzuka rushed out of the classroom before the blond would leave, Naruto often being one of the first to go. They still needed to talk. Kiba had to make sure the younger male would actually go to his therapy session anyway. He ran downstairs in a hurry, his teacher having held him back for a moment to remind him of some homework he needed to hand in. He burst through the front doors and could faintly make out a shock of bright blond hair in the distance. He dashed towards that very head, only to stop as he spotted another head on the sidewalk outside school. A pink one.

Sakura was talking to Naruto, arms crossed and unable to keep her eyes on the blond, always letting it slide to the side or the ground. As Kiba approached them, she lifted her head, both her and Naruto just having shared an awkward silence.

"Hey, um… Naruto" Kiba started, scratching the back of his head. "I just wanted to ask when exactly your appointment with Kurenai-sensei is."

The blond peered up to the school's large clock placed on the front's top centre. "In about an hour."

Kiba opened his mouth to ask something else, but was interrupted as a sleek black car with tinted windows suddenly pulled up right beside the small group of teens.

They curiously stared at the car that now stood only a mere two metres away from them, wondering if the person inside was waiting for a student to arrive. Then one of the windows slid open, revealing a young, brown-haired man wearing sunglasses inside.

"Why hello there, Sexy," he purred, his eyes, though hidden behind dark sunglasses, definitely fixed on Naruto. "Need a ride?"

Arms crossed over his chest, the blond at first awkwardly glared at the man in the car, before his face became unreadable. "Dunno. Do I?" He stepped closer to the car until he was only a mere arms-length away.

"You sure do."

All of a sudden, hands shot out of the car and grabbed Naruto around the waist. They pulled the teen into the car with ease, head-first with his legs dangling out of the window and then instantly being dragged in as well, letting the blond disappear.

Tires screeched as the man drove off, a cloud of dust ascending from the road as the car raced away and around a corner, out of sight.

Kiba and Sakura both had stepped forward to help, but were too late, so now they were just standing there, staring into the direction the car had just driven off to.

Pondering wether or not to call the police, Kiba began to panic. "W-Was Naruto just kidnapped?"

Hint: The person in the car is not an OC. I love being evil.

I just remembered how I used to pour juice into my oatmeal when I was younger. I wanted to cool it down? It tasted kinda funky and I have no idea why I even started doing it.