Warnings: Arranged (hence forced) marriage between a sixteen year old and a thirty six year old. Language. Angst. Feelings of betrayal. Huge rare pairing. Power dynamics. Strong language (because it's one of my stories, come on, I'm like Hidan sometimes). Nosy people. Inescapable Clan duties. Teenage angst. Oblivious friends that make everything a thousand times more difficult. And some more angst. Friends are kind of extreme jerks, really, and they don't even notice it.
~..~..~
Kiba hated everyone and he wanted to see the world burn until it was nothing more than ashes beneath his feet.
There was a mission he had been perfect for. The mission had even specifically asked for Team 8 to go on it- the buyer wanted them.
He wasn't allowed to go.
He hadn't been allowed to go on a mission that had asked for him specifically.
His Elders sucked. He hated them the most. If it wasn't for them, then he wouldn't currently be stuck trying to make the Village slowly begin to think he and Shikaku Nara were dating- which, if the rumors were right, was still not on the minds of people, which proved that shinobi weren't as maliciously minded as he had once thought.
Hinata and Shino were both taken aback to find out that a mission that they'd been asked to complete had been given to another tracking team. They weren't as angered as Kiba, but they had not been the ones stuck in the Village for a whole goddamn month dealing with paperwork and annoying Nara's.
Well… Calling Shikaku annoying was just overkill. He was nice enough, took him out to nice meals- that were planned by the Elders, of course- and treated him like an actual person rather than some item that was to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. But he had the bad luck of having been there for most of the month, so he was also being associated with anger and bad things.
"B-But…" Kiba couldn't believe he was near begging, but he just wanted to be able to leave the Village.
He needed to stretch his legs! He needed to go out and smell more than just the stationary smells of Konoha life! He needed to jump into deep rivers, run over treacherous terrain, and eat mushrooms that may or may not induce hallucinations and/or paralysis!
"I'm sorry, Kiba." Lord Minato shrugged softly as he glanced over the paperwork on his desk- his eyes had not locked onto Kiba's once during their conversation, "The mission's already been handed off. You three can just wait for another one to pop up. But that could take a while…"
"Understood, Lord Hokage." Shino's voice was finite, letting Kiba know that there really was no reason to try and fight.
But he hadn't been stuck in the Village this whole time… Although, there was just a tiny bit of shrewd happiness that came from the fact that they would not be going on another mission just yet.
Suppressing the heavy sigh he really wanted to let go, Kiba and Akamaru followed after his friends. They trudged out of the Hokage Office, Kiba feeling unbelievably disappointed with how his day was going.
First, he'd been subjected to 'the talk' from his mother for some reason he still couldn't understand. There had been something about Elders and safe sex and something... All that mattered was that his mother had completed that mission perfectly; Kiba didn't think he'd even want to look down at himself after the pictures he had seen… He had honestly thought that his mother could not traumatize him anymore than she'd already done the first time around when he'd been a genin… He'd been so wrong it was scary…
After that horrifying experience, he'd wound up having to sit down with some of the Clan's best 'partner groomers', for the Elders wanted to begin to groom him into the perfect husband.
Just the thought of those words together had Kiba disgusted. By having to kneel there and learn all about how to clean a home, cook a delicious meal, proper rituals for tea, and other things he never would have learned if he'd never been forced into this damned marriage, Kiba honestly believed a good choice would be to just become a missing nin rather than go through all of this.
It couldn't be so hard; a life on the run, he meant. Yeah, he'd never be able to see his family or friends ever again because they'd most probably want to bring him in… But a life running away from shinobi from his village sounded a thousand times more stomachable than having to pick out proper outfits for dates and breaking one's mind over trying to decide the best ingredients for the best meals. Both of which were things he still didn't think were worth the effort.
Quite frankly, Kiba could not believe that this was the life some women were prepared to live from their births. And, even more so, he found it hard to believe that his Clan actually perpetuated this sort of life; weren't they supposed to be progressive and equalists?
… Unfortunately, his Clan was promoting equality. After he'd finished his lesson, he could see two other males fidgeting outside the learning hall, three females smiling comfortingly at them. The males and one female had displayed their Inuzuka tattoos proudly, by the other females were from outside of the clan from their clear lack of fangs.
Life sucked.
Then, as if his day hadn't been horrible enough, he'd met up with Shino and Hinata, more than eager to finally get rid of some of his anxieties and worries through violence on the newest mission they were supposed to have been assigned to, only to find out that they would not be going on a mission.
How could Lord Minato be so mean to him? Couldn't he see that he was dying to get out of the Village? Could he not see that his son's old best friend was in desperate need of a taste of violence and shinobi life?
Huffing dramatically, Kiba draped himself over Akamaru's back. The dog snorted at him, telling him he wasn't some horse, but still allowed the Inuzuka to ride on his back.
Akamaru's fur was soft; much softer than usual. But that was because he'd been forced into his fair share of preparations for Kiba's coming marriage, like more than his fair share of shots and horrible, blood curdling baths.
With his hands grasping on tightly to his dog's much too soft fur and his legs draped on either side of his body, Kiba thought about the malevolent evil overlord called Minato Namikaze.
The man had smelled guilty. And, for some reason, Kiba thought that the guilt had been directed at him. Which would only actually make sense if the man was in cahoots with his Elders... But, no. Even then, he wouldn't smell like that. No, Kiba had been out of action for so long that he'd lost sense of his nose. That was the only true answer that made sense. Because, really, there was no way his Elders could demand the Hokage to keep him in the Village. They didn't have that much pull.
"Kiba, please, get off of Akamaru. It's undignified." Shino muttered as they walked on, but Kiba merely dug his face deeper into his dog's back.
"You're undignified."
"Mature, Kiba."
"You're mature."
Shino breathed in then breathed out heavily. "What's wrong with you? You're being more childish than usual."
Their relationship was still rocky, but at least he now felt comfortable enough around them to act like he usually would when something upset him. Besides, it was easier knowing that they were stuck in the village for now just like him. Even though they'd gone on their fair share of missions, they were at least stuck in his misery for once!
He was going insane.
Inuzuka were not supposed to be trapped in the village for this long. He had not understood why his clan had the highest rate of missions accepted than any other before. Now he did, though. If Inuzuka shinobi were kept inside the village gates for too long, they would become literal menaces to society.
Even though he was feeling particularly restless, the Inuzuka only shrugged halfheartedly even though he didn't make sure Shino saw the action. Then he remained quiet, much too bothered with his life to try and strike up a pleasant conversation with people he felt totally alienated to by now.
From the smells that were hitting his nose, Kiba could tell that his friends were walking in the direction of their favorite training grounds. Most probably, they wanted to get some training in before they were given another mission. And Kiba kind of liked that idea, if not for the fact that he seriously thought he would never be able to see the outside of his Village anymore.
When they reached the training grounds, Kiba still refused to use his own legs to walk. Shino had stopped pestering him about it, though, so the Inuzuka had counted that as a victory in itself.
"Hey guys! What're you doing here? Wanting to get some training done too?"
Ino's voice was loud and Kiba hated her and why in the world did the harpy have to be here?!
Huffing at himself, Kiba tried to remember that it was not Ino's fault his life was shit. It was his stupid Clan's fault.
But then he remembered that Inoichi was Ino's dad and he'd played a pretty big part in not letting him become a missing-nin- not really, but who was keeping track, anyway?- so Kiba decided that hating her too wasn't too far of a stretch.
"Y-yes. You too?" Hinata answered shakily, clearly unused to being Team 8's spokesperson.
Kiba felt kind of bad for having Hinata speak for them. Usually he was more than happy to take control of all conversations around him; he enjoyed speaking a lot. But right now, he just wanted to glower and sulk and hate. So that's what he'd do. That's what people did when they were having shit days, right? He deserved this. This day had been particularly shitty.
"Yeah… The woman's been annoying us for-" Kiba heard a rather harsh slap, then a startled hiss, and finally, "Geez, Ino! Why're you so odious?"
"Shut up, Shika! You're too lazy." Ino huffed and Ino could just imagine her crossing her arms and jutting her hip out with that stupid pout on her stupid face… Okay, no, he was going too far. He really couldn't hate on this girl just because his life was crappy. "What's wrong with Dog Boy?"
"He has been feeling rather dramatic recently." Shino answered matter-of-factly, "Allow him to sulk. Eventually he will go back to his normal, boisterous ways."
Kiba wanted to grumble at him that there was now no way he'd go back to being normal after he'd been so rude. But he kept his mouth shut, deciding that he was being a bit more sulky and childish than what was usual for him; a fact that might mean that Shino was closer to snapping on him. And when Shino snapped, nothing fun ever happened. As little as he wanted to be around his friend, he didn't want to push him over that particular edge.
"Ah, then he and Shikamaru can sulk together. Come on, Chouji! Hey, Shino, Hinata, let's fight in teams. Shika and Kiba can treat whoever wins to food."
"That sounds like a good plan, Ino."
Kiba raised his head to try and glare at his friend. But his back was turned on him, so, even if he did muster up the energy to glare, Shino would completely miss it.
"Alright! Let's go!"
Ino and Chouji began to move then, and Shino and Hinata followed them to the center of the vast green space that was Training Ground 12.
Akamaru plodded towards the shade of a large tree, huffed loudly, and dropped Kiba onto his back. Kiba stayed there for a while, glaring up at the much too blue sky and much too beautifully chirping birds, until Shikaku's clone's face popped into his vision.
"What's up with you?"
Kiba frowned at Shikamaru, suddenly thinking about Shikaku.
He would, undoubtedly, be locked up inside of his office right now. He'd be either faking his reading of a document or lazily reading said document. And in a couple of minutes, he would be calling for some unfortunate courier to buy him his lunch so he wouldn't have to leave his office prematurely. Not because he wanted to work more, no. His couch was comfortable and the lazy bastard would undoubtedly be enjoying it as he waited for food. And probably afterwards too.
Was he actually jealous of Shikaku right now?
Well, at least the man had a routine to follow. Kiba's usual routine had been blown to bits. At least there was something there to be jealous of.
"I'm protesting."
Shikamaru's eyes narrowed as he looked him in the eyes, sticking his hands into his pockets as he did so, "What? Did you know Ino would force us to pay for whoever wins before you'd even gotten here?"
Kiba closed his eyes to stop and think about not being a jerk. Shikamaru was Shikaku's son, yes, but he most probably had no idea about the mess his father was currently in. It would be as unfair to hate on him as it would be to hate on Ino… Well, it'd be even more unfair. Because at least Shikamaru wasn't trying to make him pay for anything. He was just asking to see if he was fine. Yes, they'd had an awkward confrontation a couple of days ago when Shikamaru got back from his mission... But Kiba could just chalk that up to post-mission stress or anxiety or something.
"Everything. I'm protesting life."
"Good luck with that. I've been trying for years now."
"Gotten far?"
Shikamaru smirked, lowered himself so he was sitting by Kiba's feet with his back against the tree, and shrugged, "Not at all."
For a couple of seconds, Kiba stared at the Nara.
He looked completely comfortable... Relaxed, even. Which was a very different look from what he'd been sporting the last time they had talked...
"Coming from T&I?"
Just why had Shikamaru wanted to know that? And just why was he acting as if that conversation had never even happened?
"What am I supposed to do? Shikaku, you had to see his face! He looked as if he was near tears!"
With his pen scratching corrections onto the report he was currently reading over, Shikaku did his best to both ignore Lord Minato and concentrate on his work. But it was easier to concentrate on the man's extremely loud words than on the much more subtle written, so his endeavors were more difficult than what he would have liked.
"Ignore his Clan's orders and send him on a mission?" He offered, only to hear Minato whine.
Then there was a harsh thump he couldn't ignore, so Shikaku looked up from his work to find Minato laying on the couch with his face plastered against the cushions.
Normally, Shikaku would not be visited by the Hokage for social calls. One could argue that this wasn't a social call; Minato was in here because of his job and worries for one of the ninja under his care. But Shikaku wasn't really in a particularly good mood, so he wasn't at all prepared to deal with the bubbly and extremely annoying man.
"Do you not have other shinobi to stress over? The Inuzuka is inside of the Village; he's not in any danger."
Minato mumbled something unintelligible from the couch and suddenly Shikaku remembered Kiba in the same situation a couple of days ago when Shikaku asked him to fetch some papers from the closet he despised… Wow. He was surrounded by fools.
The blonde soon jumped when he figured out that his words weren't being heard clearly, making Shikaku's small moment of slight peace cut off abruptly. "I'm worried about him. Maybe he's not in danger outside, but there's something off about him."
Shikaku's halfhearted attempt at writing ceased as soon as he heard this. He kept his head down, hoping that Minato wouldn't notice his sudden freezing, and forced himself to seem relaxed and normal.
Had Kiba truly been acting so off that even the most oblivious man in Konoha had figured it out?
He knew the answer to that question so well that he shouldn't even have bothered making it.
"I can't put my finger on it, Nara… But Kiba's never turned down Kushina's cooking before. Especially on the night's Naruto comes back- that's when she goes all out with the meat." Minato continued talking more to himself than Shikaku, fortunately allowing the Nara enough time to regain his composure and continue working as if nothing had bothered him. "And it's weird, why would his clan have him on that list? Only ninja on probation or maternity or paternity leave are put on that- Oh my God, did Kiba get a girl pregnant?!"
Suddenly Minato was in Shikaku's face, grabbing his collar as if it was his lifeline.
Papers scattered all around him, suddenly sent to scatter every which way from the speed Minato had used.
Forcing himself to take a stabilizing breath, Shikaku closed his eyes and reminded himself that even though Minato was a fool, he was still Konoha's Hokage. No matter how annoyed the Nara became because of him, he could not stab him with a sleeping needle just to get him to shut up.
"Lord Minato, have you heard of Kiba having a girlfriend?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Have you heard any whispers of him even being romantically involved with someone?"
"Well there was that one rumor a couple of months back about him and Shino, but-"
"Have you seen him even looking at a single female that wasn't his friend or family?"
"… No…"
"Then do you truly think it is prudent to assume he's gotten a girl pregnant just because he's been acting strangely?" Shikaku sighed, prying Minato's hands off of his jacket. "He might be sick. There might have been a recent death in his Clan that affected him. He may have recently been told that he's going to be married off to some foreign saleswoman- Minato, it could be anything. Calm down."
That last one struck so close to him that he immediately regretted having said it.
Luckily for him, this was Minato and he didn't think too much on a lot of things.
The blonde's fingers finally released his jacket and returned to their rightful owner. And Minato breathed out, frowning heavily.
"You're right, Shikaku… I'm sorry…I just…" Minato turned around and scratched at the back of his head, one hand on his hip, "I worry about him. He's like a second son to me."
"That's understandable, Lord Minato." Shikaku pushed himself back from his desk to begin to pick up the papers that had been sent flying by the Yellow Flash, shaking his head softly as he did so. "But you shouldn't really stress yourself over this. He is one chunin, you have thousands of others under your care."
"I know, I know!" Minato huffed in frustration, but Shikaku continued on the floor. "You've been hanging out recently with him, right? What can you tell me about what you've done? Has he been normal around you? Or has he been acting weirdly?"
Shikaku was truly caught off guard by the question.
He was grateful to have the desk in front of him covering up his body freezing up on him.
Quickly, he thought about the best, least harmful manner he could answer the questions. And, once he came up with a game plan, he finished grabbing up the papers that had been scattered and sat back down on his chair.
"He's been helping me deal with my paperwork; we've been getting it organized. To me he's seemed like a kid with too much time on his hands that needs to not do anything too stupid... In other words, a normal teenager that's been cooped up for too long. Aside from that, I've only known him for a couple of weeks. I can't compare that to anything."
Minato's eyes were narrowed in thought as he began to nod, "Okay… Well, that seems reasonable. You never really dealt with him before, so you wouldn't know what's normal and what's not…"
Shikaku nodded softly, setting his papers back down on his desk as Minato continued to think.
People were already catching on to him spending a lot of time with Kiba. If even Minato had noticed this, then it was only a matter of time that the rumor mill began to feed itself with the less savory ideas... It was just a matter of time, really.
It seemed like the Fourth Hokage was prepared to say or ask something more. But the door into Shikaku's office suddenly slammed open and a clearly angered Kushina stomped inside.
Minato squeaked and hid behind Shikaku.
Shikaku merely regretted not having kicked the man out earlier. He always proved to be never worth the trouble required to keep him alive.
"Minato! What are you doing in here? You've got a thousand different things to finish back at your office!"
As she stomped over, the fiery woman prattled off all of the things that Minato needed to complete. And Shikaku quietly stood up, not prepared to give his life for his Hokage- at least, not in this situation. In any other, against any other opponent, the Nara would gladly lay his life down to ensure the safety of his Village's leader. But not against an angered Kushina. Never against an angered Kushina.
"Shikaku! No! Please, Kushina, I'm sorry!"
Minato screamed as he was dragged away from Shikaku's office, sounding more like a man condemned to death than one that needed to return to his desk and responsibilities.
When it came to Kushina, Shikaku did not doubt that returning to work felt an awful lot like being forced to die.
Even though he had been forced to pay for food that would feed people that weren't himself, Kiba didn't feel too bad about shelling out money for Shino and Hinata.
Ino was butt hurt over having lost to his teammates, but Chouji was happy to have been able to give Shino a run for his money before he'd been knocked out by a surprise attack from Hinata.
Shikamaru didn't really care about winners or losers, seeing how he was a complete loser. Ino insisted on going over to his house after they'd bought the food, seeing how it was the closest to the eatery they'd gone to, and she didn't want to sit around with other stinky people if there was a nice and clean home they could escape to for refuge.
It felt all kinds of wrong to be inside of Shikaku's house- where his smell was overwhelming and demanding- without the man himself. Especially considering how he'd never been here because he'd been invited by him. This was the man's home. It wasn't his office... It was much more personal. And Kiba honestly felt like he was overstepping boundaries by even daring to step a foot inside.
But Kiba couldn't really convince his friends to go anywhere else without seeming suspicious. So he'd just sulked the entire time he had been carried to Shikaku's home on Akamaru's back.
Quite frankly, Akamaru deserved the pricey steaks he'd bought him. Kiba had been nothing but a downer the whole day but his dog had put up with him without barely any reluctance. He was a fine trooper and Kiba did not regret losing most of his money feeding him.
"-yeah, Chouji almost died, but Shika and I were able to pull him back from the cliff in time. Then we kicked those jerks asses and completed the mission, so everything was alright." Ino finished with her grandiose retelling of Team 10's most recent mission with a shrug, "We got back on Sunday."
Chouji was too busy munching away at his large amount of food to say anything. But Shikamaru merely sighed, said, "The mission was troublesome," and finally asked them if they had gone on any missions themselves.
"Hinata and I have both been sent out on individual missions after that mission with you, Shikamaru." Shino answered monotonously, "Although I do not think Kiba has gone on any yet."
"T-that may be one of the reasons why h-he's in such a bad mood…" Hinata speculated softly, making Kiba frown.
"I've got tons more reasons to be in a bad mood." He growled over at her, but soon shrugged and lamely offered, "Hasn't been any need for me, apparently."
He knew this wasn't the reason. But it was the best reason he could come up with that would (hopefully) get his friends off his back.
It wasn't enough.
"Are you sure?" Chouji asked when he'd finished slurping down some of his noodles, "I heard that there're less Inuzuka in the Village now because of all the tracking missions that have suddenly entered."
Kiba blinked at this, honestly shocked at how well informed Chouji was, and floundered to reply, "What? S-Seriously?"
"You feeling alright, Kiba?" Ino looked at him with wide worried eyes, suddenly making Kiba feel like she was actually worried about him... Then, "I didn't know we had two Hinata's with us!" She giggled and Hinata's face reddened like a tomato while Chouji chuckled softly.
Shikamaru shook his head but didn't say anything. And Shino just kept quiet.
After that, Ino jumped onto another question and Kiba was left alone to be quiet. And, even though he should have liked not being hounded on, he suddenly felt extremely alone, even though he was in a house he wasn't supposed to be in with five other people and his best friend.
He suddenly didn't feel all that hungry.
Lowering the food he hadn't eaten towards the bowl Shikamaru had kindly set out for Akamaru to eat from, the Inuzuka dropped more than half of what he had ordered for himself so his dog could eat it. He knew it wouldn't do him any good to not eat... Again. But he wasn't about to force himself to eat. Not right now. Not around these friends he suddenly saw as complete strangers.
He tried to tune into their conversation at one point, maybe to try and find a semblance of normality. But that proved to be a fruitless endeavor when his ears were filled with teenage stupidity he had never cared for.
"That's right." Ino nodded at Hinata, "I heard that Naruto supposedly has a crush on that certain someone I told you about!"
"W-w-w-what? R-really?!"
Kiba tuned out the subsequent trading of squeals between the kunoichi, opting to just rest his head on the wooden table in front of him.
Shikamaru, Shino, and Chouji traded words over him. He heard his name being mentioned a couple of times, and even felt a poke in his arm, but Kiba just ignored them. He knew he was being a downer… But he couldn't bring himself to being happy for the sake of his friends.
He was in a place he felt like an invader within with people he didn't find particularly pleasant... Why the hell had he thought being around his teammates would be a good idea today?
Right, he thought with chagrin. He'd thought that maybe, with their slowly progressing betterment, he thought he'd actually enjoy being around his more fortunate friends.
Damn had he been wrong.
Once he'd finished eating the food given to him, Akamaru bit at his pant leg, telling him that if he wanted to lay down, he wouldn't stop him from doing just that. Kiba smiled down at his partner, patted his head, then told his friends he was going to sleep and if any of them bothered him, they would wind up with a kunai in an extremely important appendage. Which specific appendage had not been clarified, but mark Kiba's words, it would be an important one!
Shino shook his head softly, Hinata reddened in embarrassment at his actions, while Team 10 just blinked at him.
Shikamaru had seemed to be the only one not truly caught by surprise with his mood. He must have been so chill that he didn't feel the need to react.
Still, Kiba settled himself down below the dining room table where he couldn't be seen, his head nestled into Akamaru's stomach.
It was just when he finally was able to begin to drift off when the front door opened and heavy footsteps forced him away from any sort of sleep.
It wasn't difficult to figure out that the person that had recently entered must have been the only other Nara to now live in the house. But that deduction didn't really help him prepare for the harsh reality he would eventually meet with.
Kiba was supposed to be Shikaku's perfect husband in the near future.
A perfect husband did not enter their promised domain without permission.
Kiba was inside of Shikaku's home without even having asked for permission.
Shit.
What would he say? What would he do? Shit, what would the Elders do?! They didn't give too many craps about propriety, but if there was one thing they had stressed, it had been respect for his new husband! And this certainly wasn't respecting him!
As each footfall became louder, Kiba's breathing became less easier to control.
When Shikaku's scent slammed into him like a hyperactive Akamaru, Kiba knew that there would be no avoiding any sort of confrontation.
Luckily enough for him, he didn't have to worry about his friends noticing his odd shift in emotions and the tension that took over his body as he thought about his plan to facing Shikaku with them around. Because he was under the table, he wasn't seen by anyone at all.
"Hey, dad."
"Shikamaru, Ino, Chouji." Shikaku must have nodded at all of the kids he mentioned, but he paused minutely as he noticed the unusual guests. "And Shino and Hinata… Not to be nosey, but isn't there usually an Inuzuka with you two?"
"Yes, Lord Nara." Shino most probably nodded stiffly, like he always did whenever he said anything.
"He's on the floor." Ino sounded awfully upbeat for having lost to his teammates, the teen noted with chagrin. Why did she even like being around Team 8 if she was such a bitch?! And why did Hinata like her? Women made absolutely no sense.
"What's he doing on the floor?" Shikaku sounded legitimately surprised by this, "Shikamaru, what did you do?"
"Why do you just assume I had something to do with it?" Shikamaru sighed out his exasperation with his father.
For a beat, Kiba wondered if he should say anything.
Then he decided that if he kept quiet, his friends would notice that something was more than just off. And keeping the charade was a bit more important than hoping the ground would swallow him up... Shikaku already knew he was there, anyway. It's not like he could run away and hope the man never found out he had come in without his permission.
Shikaku was a good enough guy... He wouldn't do anything too extreme... Right?
"Shika may be borin', but he didn't kill me with it!" He clambered his way out from underneath the table and risked meeting Shikaku's dark eyes for a second before looking down at the floor.
Showing he wasn't defiant or looking for dominance would lessen the inevitable blow, hopefully. If he showed he understood his place, then Shikaku wouldn't be too pissed with him. At least, that's how things usually worked with his Clan. It wouldn't translate directly to Shikaku… But maybe he would get that this was a show of submission. He was smart enough to get that, Kiba was sure.
It was honestly weird to see the man and smell him all around. Even in his office, his scent wasn't so overbearing. But Kiba guessed that this was due to the fact that there was a constant rotation of people within the office- people were always running in, bothering him, and leaving, after all. In here, though, it was just him and Shikamaru. So it was only normal for the place to be flooded with their scents.
He wasn't supposed to be in here and he regretted everything.
An already bad day just somehow managed to get worse... Maybe life totally despised him and wanted to make him suffer as much as possible before his inevitable end.
From the brief look he had managed to get of Shikaku's face, Kiba thought that it had looked thoughtfully soft. He could have sword there was also a slight flicker of amusement in his eyes, but he couldn't presume too much. he was in hot water and he needed to show he was sorry without flat out saying it so his friends wouldn't catch on to anything.
"I would hope." Shikaku's words were relaxed and his scent didn't take on an angered tone... Beside himself, Kiba relaxed. "A bored Inuzuka is a dangerous Inuzuka, son." The man turned his words onto his son, who rolled his eyes and waved him off, and then spoke up to all of the teenagers. "I'm not much of a host, but if you need anything, don't hesitate to tell Shikamaru."
"Funny, dad." Shikamaru remarked sarcastically, "Just go to sleep or something."
With a silent wave at them all, Shikaku made his way away from the dining room and Kiba's heart was allowed to stop racing.
Fuck.
Kiba released a tense breath and allowed himself to relax even further.
Alright... For now, he was safe. Shikaku had seemed totally fine... But that may have just been because his friends were around and he couldn't flat out single him out in this environment.
Sometimes, Kiba wondered if there was a way to shut his thoughts up. Because, often times, they didn't help him. Like, at all.
"Geez, Shikamaru, your dad's so chill. My dad would have started talking about cooking up dinner for Team 8." Chouji remarked softly, which made Shikamaru shrug.
"He's a Nara."
He's a Nara,Kiba agreed. Maybe he was so chill that he didn't mind Kiba invading his home without his permission... He couldn't leave it unspoken, though. Eventually, he'd need to talk to Shikaku. Not knowing if he was okay with this or not may just be the death of him.
Shikaku had not expected to find so many teenagers within his home. But he didn't mind it too much; it meant that Shikamaru was getting back into the swing of life after his mother's death.
Finding Kiba resting on the floor beneath his dining room table had been both amusing and unsurprising. All Inuzuka were prone to doing things that weren't considered too normal. So, knowing how Kiba was as much an Inuzuka as all others he had ever met, it was not shocking to see him doing such an odd thing. The only thing that had actually bothered him had been Kiba's reaction after he'd gotten up from the floor... So long together, and he still averted his eyes like a scared child.
He'd have to talk to Kiba about that eventually, he knew. He just had no idea how he was supposed to start a conversation like that.
Shikamaru and his friends stayed in the house for a while. As they hung out and talked, Shikaku had entertained himself by catching up on much needed sleep. But when he'd woken up, it was to find that, even though both Chouji and Ino had left to return home, Team 8 was still talking with Shikamaru.
The four teenagers and dog were within his spacious family room, three of them taking up the whole space of Yoshino's favorite couch, while one had deemed a corner of the room the perfect place to loiter.
To say Shikamaru was talking to Team 8 was a stretch, though. Shino and Hinata were talking to his son. Kiba was the figure that hung back in the corner.
Immediately, Shikaku knew that something was wrong with the teenager. But he couldn't really speak to Kiba without calling attention to himself. So he couldn't walk up to him to ask what was wrong this time.
There was always something wrong with the boy now... It really wasn't fair.
Most probably, Kiba didn't want his friends to see him talking to him. The teenager would undoubtedly feel humiliated over having to marry someone twice his age and had no idea how he was even supposed to bring the topic up to his team.
None of this was easy... Not when put into a personal perspective outside of Clan relations.
With a sigh, Shikaku made sure to make his presence in the kitchen known. If not to let Kiba know that he was awake and available, then to let Shikamaru and the rest know that he was up.
As he served himself a glass of water, Kiba walked into his kitchen with his head facing the floor.
Silence reigned over them for a couple of seconds. Then Kiba breathed out heavily and spoke up.
"They're talking about me as if I weren't in the room."
Quirking a questioning eyebrow up, he patiently waited for Kiba to explain himself.
Crossing his arms over his chest, Kiba walked over to Shikaku, leaned up against the wall nearest to him, and looked him in the eyes, "They're comparing notes over what's up with me to try and figure out what could be wrong… I think they're tryinna get a reaction from me or somethin'."
Hearing this stunned Shikaku- he'd never thought Shikamaru would be the kind to use such a devious method to get a friend to open up.
Still, he couldn't blame the teenagers.
"Minato asked me if I know what's going on with you, Kiba."
"What?" Kiba's eyes widened as soon as he heard this, "Seriously?"
"Mm-hmm." Shikaku nodded as he hummed softly, then scratched at the back of his neck, "Kid, I think you're worrying more than a couple of people with how you've been acting."
Snorting, Kiba looked down at the floor, "Well, how am I supposed to act? As if everything's fine? You know it isn't."
"I'm more than aware." The man sighed, feeling extremely bad over what the kid was going through.
He'd been forced to marry when he was a teenager as well. He knew how hard it could be to go through with an arranged marriage. But he didn't have to marry into another clan, nor was he forced to lose any standing within his own clan.
Kiba's situation sounded much more oppressing than the one Shikaku had been in.
"Uh... Hey, listen-"
"Kid, you-"
Both males blinked at each other after they'd began to speak at the same time, then Shikaku motioned to Kiba with his and a small smile barely on his lips. "Why don't you go first?"
Kiba blinked uncomfortably for a second longer, then averted his gaze once again and murmured out, "I... Uh... I wanted to apologize..." Kiba lowered his voice enough to make sure he wasn't overheard by those outside and Shikaku was left confused. "For being here, I mean. I know this is your home and I shouldn't be in here without your permission and shit, but they came here... And... Yeah... Sorry."
Shikaku was at a complete loss for words as Kiba continued to look down at his feet rather than at him.
Averted gaze, tensed shoulders, and looking extremely apologetic. Shikaku had seen this look before and he still couldn't wrap his head around it.
"You don't have to apologize for that. You are my son's guest."
Kiba's head remained turned down after Shikaku had spoken up, as if he didn't believe him.
With a sigh, Shikaku walked towards the kid and put his hands on his shoulders. Kiba looked up at him quickly, surprised by the soft touch, and Shikaku smiled down at him. "I'm not lying, kid. You don't have to apologize when you haven't done anything wrong."
For a couple of seconds, he allowed his thumbs to rub soothing circles on Kiba's shoulder as the kid continued to look up at him with disbelieving eyes.
"A-Alright..." He eventually let out and Shikaku patted his shoulders before stepping away.
He went to drink from his glass of water. And once he set it down, he heard Kiba speak up. "Hey... What were you going to say? Before I interrupted you?"
Shikaku thought on this for a moment, then remembered. "I know things aren't easy. And I don't want to be another person that tells you that you need to suck it up; you've got enough of those. Remember, I'm on your side."
Kiba blinked at him in flat out confusion.
And Shikaku felt the need to understand why this kid acted to strangely around him increase.
..~..~..
I know it's been a while, but I finally managed to update! Well, what did y'all think? Leave a review and tell me so.
(Also, I know the friends are kind of jerks. But have you ever been around teenagers when you're having some serious internal struggles that you keep to yourself? They can be dicks!)