Yay. I had fun with the last chapter, and I hope you all had fun with it, too. O:
About this chapter…
Ukon takes a bit more of a prime role in this one, at least…in regards to Shino. He's a fun character to work with. All nice and happy and buddy-buddy with Kiba… It's kind of surreal, but that's why this is an alternate universe fic, right? Kidoumaru will be taking his place in later chapters. Of course, as a rival. Not as a friendly kind of guy. Um…that's also why I put in that heavy symbolism for Shino when he was looking out the window. I'm sure all of you will understand just by reading it. Also. In the next chapter it gets brought up again, so if any of you forget it will still be there. (Not like any of you will. My readers are all fucking smart.)
Enjoy this chapter's main joke, too. I burst out laughing for a good thirty seconds when I came up with the idea for Shino's way of getting rid of Ukon and Kimimaro. Then I typed it up, stared at the words on my screen, and couldn't believe I'd actually decided on putting it in there and spent another twenty seconds laughing about it.
As for Ukon's roach comment, if you say Shino's full name in the regular Japanese way–Aburame Shino–it's awfully close to the Japanese word for cockroach–aburamushi. Hence, Ukon asks him if he's a cockroach. The only way I could get him to say his first name after his last name was to pull a James Bond move, hence Kimimaro's comment.
(Of course, in my book, Shino might as well be James Bond.)
-sigh- As I write the next few chapters, I can't keep my dislike from spilling over. What the hell am I thinking? It has nothing to do with the plot, of course. It's how I'm writing it. It's looking cramped, and that's started to bug me. What do any of you think? Would it flow better if the sentences were shorter? Since I've always wanted to write books, and part of me thinks it'd be really fun writing books for children, I have this weird obsession with making them flow together. I read them aloud and am appalled by the amount of tongue-twisters I come across. If I were writing a book for children, there'd be no way someone could read it aloud to them! I have a difficult enough time as it is. I'm well aware I'd have to make writing for children much simpler and all, but I can't help but think my chapters in this fic are becoming increasingly more cramped and that they don't flow together well.
Any help on the matter is appreciated.
Must Love Dogs
Scene 21
Shino woke up sometime around noon to find himself on the floor of Kiba's bedroom. He sat up, rubbing his head a little. Oh great. He'd fallen asleep here, hadn't he? He looked over at the bed, surprised to see the bed was a mess but there was no one in it. He stood, mumbling a little and going to the kitchen. Juugo was sitting at the table, calmly eating a turkey sandwich.
Shino walked over, taking the spot across from him, silent. After a while, Juugo looked at him, the food in his mouth rolling to the side of his cheek so he could speak. "They left for the legal consultant's office. Apparently Mom had a video message she wanted to show them after the funeral."
Shino nodded slowly, slightly startled at the much bigger man's sudden use of the word 'Mom'. He'd completely forgotten Juugo and Hana were engaged. Still…mom was a bit much, wasn't it? He hadn't ever spoken to her before… Shino shook his head a little, bringing his mind back to the conversation. Why was Juugo still here?
"Why aren't you with Hana?" He asked.
Juugo shrugged. "Same reason as you. I slept in… Nice bed head, by the way."
Shino reached up and scratched at his hair, surprised to feel it was ten times poofier than usual. What the hell? Did his dad really have to pass on a fro to him? Maybe it was his mother… His dad's hair was a lot less frizzy, after all… Either way, he went red and wondered if he should do something about it.
He swore, standing and going to the bathroom. He was in there for ten minutes getting his hair–how great was it that his hair was extremely manageable today??—to stay down. He stepped back into the kitchen, a bit pleased with his hair for once. It looked nicer than it normally did.
Four dogs came bursting through the back door–Akamaru and three that looked like identical triplets–, barking wildly and jumping all over each other. Shino nearly shouted at the sudden surprise, and Juugo just looked at them a bit agitated. From the living room they heard a disgruntled, "Quiet, neuters!" and a bark. Akamaru whimpered a little, falling short; it was quite humorous to see the dog get so upset over something that probably went for all four. The three identical ones just stopped, stalking into the room and starting to growl at the older dog in front of them. Kuromaru growled right back, as if daring them to do something.
Juugo put his fingers in his mouth, letting out a loud whistle. The dogs came back into the room, standing at attention, and he shook his head at them irritably. They all dashed out the door to go play in the kennels again, except for Kuromaru, who had gone straight back to the living room. Akamaru glanced toward the living room for a long moment before he tossed his head in Shino's direction, giving him a happy little bark.
Shino just stared at him. "…What?"
Akamaru barked again, wagging his tail a little. Juugo noticed the wag and smiled. "He wants you to go outside and play."
Shino shook his head. "No way. I just woke up. There's going to be four dogs out there, all of them seem like the types that would knock me over." He turned to Akamaru, shaking his head. "No."
Akamaru whined a little before he went darting out the door again.
"Are you sure it would be best to leave the door open like that?" Shino took his spot at the table across from the much taller man again.
Juugo shrugged. "If we don't, Akamaru might wind up breaking it down. It's an old house. Besides, a little bit of bugs never hurt anyone…"
The man across the table from him nodded his head a little, completely agreeing with him. After a while, he glanced out the window, staring at a spider web in the corner outside. The way it rested against the window made it look like there was a big crack running down the length of the window, separating two plates of glass. He knew they were both still one glass, firmly connected to the other half, but it really did look like that spider web was a crack across it, splitting the pieces apart. He stared at it a bit more intensely, spotting his own reflection in one of the halves. Behind his head there was the outline of something rather intriguing behind him. He glanced back behind him at the china cabinet. The glass in one of the sides was missing and there were fragments littering the inside, like they'd been dumped in there for easy clean-up. He'd seen it like that the day before, but he never really cared to know what had happened. Now, he was curious.
"What happened there? Is that why Hana has her hand stitched up?"
Juugo nodded a little, taking a bite from his sandwich. "…Yeah. Also why she's limping, too… Those dishes in there were her favorites. Mom always said she'd give them to her as a wedding present. I guess she was really upset over that and wound up punching the glass in… I caught her holding one of them in her hands and crying shortly after we came back here and got situated after the funeral yesterday. I'm sure it's about me being here and everything."
Huh. He'd never noticed the limp. He supposed it was just because Juugo was more concerned with Hana than anything else. There was a long moment of silence between the two until Shino looked over at him, feeling a tad bit awkward over bringing it up again. "So…about a wedding…"
"She said yes when I asked her. Sorry I forgot to tell you; you seemed busy at the time." Juugo smiled to himself, his cheeks going pink. "But she wants to wait and keep it from Kiba a little bit longer. I think she's going to tell him around the time you start to make him feel better, and then we'll probably all go back to the city and have a wedding there. She says she wants a spring wedding, like her mother had. So, since we don't want Kiba finding out, I'm going to take the couch right now."
"Something tells me Kiba will notice long before she even considers telling him…" Shino sighed, staring at the table for a short while. He looked up and stared at Juugo, sizing him up a little before he cringed visibly as he mentally went over the couch's size in his head. "But that's… You can have the guest room if you want. The bed is large even for me. The couch must be tiny. I could take over it for you if you liked."
"No. The couch is good. Kuromaru sleeps in the living room, and it's calming. Although I wound up with a crick in my neck this morning." He looked at his sandwich for a moment before he looked over at Shino, willing to return the gesture of kindness. "Hungry? I can make you something."
The shorter man shrugged. "If you want. I can wait until you're done eating, though."
Juugo nodded his head and stood, shoving the entire sandwich in his mouth and going to the refrigerator. He got out some deli meats and cheeses, going and grabbing some bread from the bread box. When he'd made a satisfactory sandwich, he handed it off to Shino, swallowing the last of the food he'd crammed into his mouth.
Shino's jaw nearly dropped, but he realized it wasn't so odd, considering how big Juugo was. He took the sandwich, taking a much smaller bite. The second it settled into his stomach, his stomach started acting up. A sharp pain pricked him in the side, and he winced. Juugo stared at him.
"Something wrong?"
"Shit. I think my ulcer may have started coming back…" He grinned and bore it, refusing to leave the sandwich uneaten. It was slightly painful, but not as much as it was when it had been in full swing without the aid of his pills.
"Ulcer? I developed one of those while I was going through psychotherapy. It went away, but my doctor says I have to stay away from stress to keep it from coming back…"
"That's what mine said, too. I suppose I'm stressed about all of this… Do they have any pain killers around here?"
"According to Hana, their mother refused to buy them, even the softer kind for head-aches and regular joint pains. Kuromaru's the only one she ever bought anything like that for. You might have to swing by the pharmacy…"
"Where would that be?"
"Somewhere along Main Street. I think at an intersection or something… Need me to come with you?"
Shino shook his head, going over toward the back door. "That's alright. I'll wing it. Besides, Akamaru might enjoy the outing."
Juugo nodded. "If you take Akamaru with you, you might not even have to worry about getting lost. I'm sure he knows this town well."
Shino stuck his head out, staring all the way over at the end of the acre, where Akamaru was showing off by leaping over the fence to the kennel with much more ease than the triplets. How the hell was he going to get the dog…over here?
"Whistle."
He looked back at Juugo pitifully. "Wh– How?"
"You know how to whistle, don't you? You just put your lips together and blow. Imitate a bird. Do something. The one they respond more to, though, is when you put your fingers in your mouth and do it. It took me a lot of practice. If you don't want to whistle, you can just shout his name across the field."
"Yeah…that's all I've ever seen Kiba do… He barely ever whistles…" He mumbled.
Shino stared at the dog for the longest time, until finally Juugo went to the doorway and let out that whistle Hana had taught him. He patted Shino on the shoulder as the dogs in the field started running back to the back door. "If you plan on getting Kiba to go back to the city, you're going to have to learn how to get Akamaru's attention better."
Shino looked back at him, giving him a weird look. "…What…do you mean by that?" What the hell? Was Juugo implying something?
Juugo shrugged. "I'm just saying, if you want Kiba to go back to the city with you, Akamaru goes with him."
Shino nodded a little, ignoring the three dogs that were standing at attention and instead grabbing a leash by the door and attaching it to Akamaru's collar. He was glad there was at least some distance within the house and Main Street. That would give him some time to gather his thoughts.
––––––––––––––––––
He didn't expect so many people to be giving him looks, though. He stared right back at a woman who was glaring at him and finally he stopped, letting Akamaru settle down a little bit. He stared at her a bit longer, and she started to pass him.
"Is there something on my face?"
She turned and stared at him, her eyes wide, as if she couldn't believe he'd seen her staring at him point blank for a good four seconds. "Why…n-no."
"So why are you glaring at me?"
She stared at him hard before, finally, she cleared her throat. "Because you're with him."
Shino looked down at the dog. "That's not very nice. Akamaru can't go for walks on his own… He might find a smaller dog and jump on it…"
"You're with the Inuzuka boy. That's why you were with him in the church."
He stared at her, his face slowly starting to fall. What…? What the hell was that all about? Him and Kiba were friends. Why was she staring at him disdainfully like that? "Er…I'm not with him…if that's what you think… I just happen to be his friend."
The woman's mood lightened considerably. "Oh! Well…forget I said anything!" She dashed off in a hurry, face red with embarrassment. He watched her go before he looked down at Akamaru. Akamaru growled after her, finally turning and looking up at Shino, barking a little.
Shino nodded, actually able to understand him for once. "Yeah, well I'm not used to that. Come on, Akamaru. Let's continue to the pharmacy."
Akamaru took the lead again, going down the roads he knew inside and out, front and backwards, in snow and rain, darkness and fog. They finally reached the pharmacy and he faced a predicament. He stared at the sign, clearly stating, "No Dogs Allowed". He looked down at Akamaru, but Akamaru had already taken a spot by the door, next to a little fire hydrant. He twisted the leash around that and walked in. Kiba had trained Akamaru well.
There was a girl at the counter, and she barely looked out of high school. Her cheeks went pink at the sight of him, and she put her hand over her mouth, hiding a giggle. He stared at her for a long time before she went an even darker shade of red.
"M-May I help you, sex–I mean sir!" She stared at him, her face slowly growing more and more red, even to the point that the part in her hair was turning purple.
He blinked. "D-Did you just say sex?"
"No."
He scratched his face a little, looking around at the bottles sitting towards the side of the counter. He was almost amused at the sight of a jar of black licorice. It really seemed old-timey…
"You…You want some licorice?"
He turned to her, surprised she'd caught him staring at it and smiling. He was about to say no, but she quickly seized the jar in her hands and pulled out five sticks, shoving them in his face. "H-H-Here!" She smiled again, that giggle coming back. "Th-They're free…"
He took them dumbly, putting them in his pocket. "Right. Thanks. So, I was wondering if you had anything for ulcers… If not that, where do you keep the pain killers?"
She stared at him, her face clearly showing she had no idea what he'd asked, let alone where it would be located in the store. He gave her a slight sneer, starting to find this really aggravating. His stomach had been shooting pains at him for quite some time, and he was in no mood.
She smiled. "We carry Aspirin!" Oh! Finally some help!
"…Where would it be?"
She pointed off toward a rack of almost fifty different pills–vitamins, mostly. "Somewhere over there!"
He stared at where she pointed, his face falling at the sight of vitamins rather than pain killers. He bit his lip, looking back at her, his patience wearing thin. "Listen, are you even experienced for this job?"
She went bright red. "A-Are you coming on to me, Mr…?" She played with the end of that, hoping he'd answer her and she'd find out his name.
His face fell, and he put a hand to his forehead, realizing he might as well get some medication for head-aches while he was here…if everyone in this town was this disoriented. He turned around. "Nevermind, I'll find it myself…" It was obvious she was so scatterbrained and boy-crazy to really take anything he said and figure out a way to help him. She was just staring at his face…which she liked, apparently. He never really considered himself "sexy".
He walked toward the racks, looking at all of them. There was an almost unbearable jolt of pain that shot through him, and he cursed a bit louder than he would have liked. "Shit!" He groaned, putting a hand to his stomach. "Damn ulcer…"
"Ulcer, eh?"
He turned to see a man with bleached-white hair in front of him, his jacket a mess of studs and chains. Shino stared at him, almost unsure if it was him who'd said it. He sounded so sure of himself, while his appearance suggested he wouldn't even care about anything. The man looked familiar–oh! He'd been at the funeral, standing over next to Hana.
The man spoke again. "Are you sure it's an ulcer? You may have just had a rough night and not realized it. Kiba can get pretty wild."
Shino's face paled when he realized what the man had meant. "What? N-No. Listen, I'm not involved with Kiba. Why is everyone assuming that? I'm straight!"
The man extended his hand and coughed slightly, obviously a bit embarrassed that he'd potentially outed Kiba without his permission. "U-Ukon. I work at the hospital. It's my day off, but if you'd like, I could take you over there or something. I mean, if you think it's an ulcer, I could pull some strings and have them take a look at you real quick…"
Shino gave a sigh of relief and shook the man's hand firmly. "Really? That would be a lot of help."
"Yeah. That way you could get a prescription that actually works. Advil and Aspirin are only going to curb the pain, not help the ulcer. Geez. Why are so many people like that? They think everything turns fine once the pain stops…"
"I'm well aware. I've had an ulcer before, you know. I'm just not getting any help from the girl up there."
"Of course you wouldn't be getting any help." His voice grew a little louder, and he glanced at the woman out of the corner of his eye. "She knows shit. She couldn't help lead someone with perfect vision through a pitch black room if she were blind for ten years."
She shot him a dirty look, growing slightly angry. "Don't take that tone with me, Ukon."
"Oh whatever, Okyou. You're only working here because you need the money for a bigger pair of breastsss." He drew that last word out nice and slow, making sure to smile at her disdainfully.
She glared at him, and he just nodded his head in Shino's direction. Shino turned to leave, but before he even got to the door, he heard her screech. "You asshole! Five pieces of licorice, that's a buck twenty-five! I don't care how much you love licorice! You can't just keep stealing it!"
Ukon just laughed in her face. "But it's free!" He dashed over toward the door, pushing on Shino playfully. Shino stared at him for a moment until the girl started storming out from behind the counter. He stepped out of the door quickly, Ukon right behind him.
They grabbed Akamaru and got out of there, and as they dashed off they could still hear her screeching.
"You'll never grow up, Ukon!"
–––––––––––––––––
There were a few routine tests until the doctor came by and scribbled out a quick prescription. He looked slightly wary of Shino, being naturally suspicious of him because he was out of town. Regardless, the tests didn't lie and the man really did have an ulcer. He wasn't just doing it to get painkillers for illicit use.
Shino thanked the man, shaking his hand and walking out to the waiting room, where Ukon was waiting for him and talking to a man with pale, pale skin and hair that was so light blond that it looked white. The man looked very frail, with puffy red circles under his eyes and a tired look to them. He had a few bandages on his hands, where I.V.'s had surely been stuck, and he was carrying a pair of hospital footies with him.
Shino stared at them for a moment before Ukon waved at him, taking a big bite of licorice–he'd already eaten his stolen sticks; now he was eating the ones Shino had received for free. "Come 'ere! This is one of Kiba's friends from way back when! His name's Kimimaro!"
The pale man looked over at him, waving his hand thoughtfully. Shino walked over and nodded his head curtly in return toward Kimimaro, holding onto the slip of paper in his hands like it was his lifeline. A wave of pain shot through his belly and he wondered if it would really be the best time for a chat.
Kimimaro turned back to Ukon, a puzzled look on his face. "Who's that?"
"Him? I don't know his name. Apparently he's a friend of Kiba's, but Kiba never mentioned him at all. Not even a name. In fact, he didn't mention life in the city either. I think he hated it there…"
Shino's eyes narrowed as Kimimaro glanced back at him skeptically. "Then…why is he here?"
Ukon shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. Maybe he thinks Kiba will actually go back with him? Whatever. He's a friend of Kiba's, so I have to play nice. That means you do, too."
Kimimaro gave him a small smile, coughing a little. "…As if I don't… I'm too weak to pull any of the antics we pulled back when we were kids. I'm just glad Kiba's back. He's staying with us, right? I still need to catch up with him."
Ukon nodded his head. "Hell yeah, he's staying. No way I'm going to let him go back to the city. Not when he's got us here."
"I'm Shino."
Both of the men turned to look at him, a slightly amused look on Ukon's face. 'Gotcha!' Ukon thought. 'Just as much of a closet case as Spidernerd!'He grinned, speaking out loud. "Shino. Shino what?"
"Aburame. Shino Aburame."
The two men exchanged looks before Ukon started to laugh. "What? You a cockroach?"
Kimimaro smiled. "Seems more like James Bond, to me…"
Shino just glared, rolling his eyes ever so slightly. Why were they picking on him? It was obvious they wanted Kiba to stay with them. He'd be damned if he let that happen. Kiba would be leaving with him, damn it. Even if he had to drag him kicking and screaming back to the city.
Ukon nodded his head confidently. "This guy's got nice eyes, though. And his hair's not too shabby, either. Way better than at the funeral yesterday… Nowhere near as good-looking as Kidoumaru, though." Ukon turned and grabbed Shino's arm. "Come with us…Roach. We have much to talk about. It's about Kiba. My pal has to pick up some pills from the pharmacy and you need to pick some up, too, so we might as well all wander over there and…talk."
Shino could tell right away he wasn't going to enjoy their company at all.
They left the building, Kimimaro lagging behind a bit. As much as he hated to admit it, Shino was just a bit curious about the man. He'd never seen him before in his life. And he hadn't been at the funeral. Was he really a friend of Kiba's? What was Ukon to Kiba, anyway? What did he think of Ukon? Ukon certainly seemed to have something against him–was it because he was trying to get Kiba to go back to the city with him? He seemed to think they were involved, but that was crazy. Kiba and him were just friends.
…Why the hell did he even care what Kiba was to any of these guys?
Akamaru bounded over toward them and stood right in front of Shino, the leash in his mouth. Shino took it, smiling a little. Well, at least there was one friendly face. They all started to walk down the street, back to the pharmacy. His stomach was killing him.
Ukon looked at him, stating matter-of-factly, "I don't think you should try and convince Kiba to go back to the city."
Shino glared at him. He knew it! Well, he'd already prepared himself for this. "Why not?"
"Because, he's much happier here. And that's what his mother wanted. I spoke to her every time I had free time while she was stuck in a hospital bed. She said she wanted Kiba out of the city and back home where he belonged. You don't want to go against his mother's wishes, do you?"
"…That's for Kiba to decide. Not his mother."
"Look, you wouldn't like Kiba anyway. He's got more secrets than you can shake a stick at!"
Shino glanced back at Kimimaro, choosing to change the subject entirely. "Why are you sick?"
Kimimaro coughed a little. "Anemia. They say it's some freak form of hemophilia or something. My body heals at an abnormal rate, but I have a low red blood cell count so I get tired often. At the more intense lows I have a low white blood cell count and wind up at the hospital for the simplest illnesses." He pursed his lips together, giving him an appraising look. "…But that's not the subject, is it?"
Ukon seized Shino by the shoulder, nodding his head. "Yes, Roach. That's not the subject. I really think you should just leave right now. Kiba doesn't need you as much as you think he does. He has his old friends here. We've been with him far longer than you, so we know things about him you probably don't."
"What? That he's gay? I'm well aware he's gay."
"Has he told you anything about us?"
"Well, no…but he did mention something about him and his friends having a friend who's father died. He kept saying something about that friend's mother having a divorce or something…"
"That would be me."
He looked back at Kimimaro, nodding his head. "Yeah. He mentioned stuff about his friends back home… He also said his father found him in bed with a man and kicked him out of the house."
"That would be Kidoumaru. That nerd has had a crush on him ever since he kicked some guy's ass who was stepping on Spiderman's spiders. What kind of freak befriends bugs?"
Shino's cheeks went slightly pink upon hearing the man behind him state that so coldly. He didn't even want to think of what they'd think of him if he mentioned he…sort of did the same thing only with roaches. Instead, he retaliated with his…somewhat vast knowledge of the dog-lover he'd accumulated from his conversations with Kiba. "He also liked Pound Puppies and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mortal Kombat. He continued watching 'All Dogs Go to Heaven' into high school. His parents train and breed dogs. He can't sleep in silence; and he and his sister shared a room. And he said he loved it in the city."
Kimimaro and Ukon exchanged looks, completely stunned. Finally, after a while, Ukon leaned over toward the pale man, whispering. "He said he hated 'All Dogs Go to Heaven' when we asked him about it junior year, right?"
Kimimaro nodded his head a little and leaned over, whispering something Shino couldn't hear. Ukon nodded his head, completely agreeing with him. Finally, Ukon turned back around to Shino, his face stiff.
"Did he tell you I used to fuck him all the time in high school?"
Shino glared. "No. He doesn't know I know he's gay."
Ukon snickered. "Good. Because that makes our job so much easier. And I never fucked him, by the way. Just my twin brother…fucked him. I…didn't fuck my twin brother; Kiba did. So…don't go getting all jealous and hating me."
Shino's face stiffened this time. "I'm not jealous." He found they'd reached the pharmacy, and started tying Akamaru to the fire hydrant, that slip of paper still in his hands.
The two old friends exchanged looks before Ukon walked into the pharmacy. "I hear it's nice in Egypt this time of year…"
Kimimaro followed him in, a tiny smile on his face. "I hear the Nile's even nicer…"
Shino glared at them, clearly hearing those lame jokes and seeing right through them. Screw them. He wasn't in denial. He and Kiba were just friends. That was it. And he wasn't jealous. He was just angry at them because they were probably the biggest obstacles to get across after Kiba got over his mother and he finally had to convince him to come back to the city with him.
–––––––––––––––––––––––
Kiba sighed a little, going back to the same office. Because Hana knew how upset it would probably make him, they'd lagged around, driving around town for quite some time before they finally made their way to the office. It had been about two hours since they left around eleven. He was pretty sure he saw Akamaru outside of the pharmacy. What was he doing there, anyway? He shook his head, trying to keep his thoughts focused.
He couldn't stand it. Another message from his mom? What…Why did she insist on making him suffer so much? Each time he even thought about her he had to repress the urge to go find a bottle of whiskey stowed away in Dad's stashes. And if Shino saw him, he'd surely throw it out. He really wanted to go to a bar… At least then he could get away from Shino for a while.
Hana grabbed his hand as they took their seats and Mr. Tobitake pulled out another VHS tape. He was ripped from his thoughts again, and he looked down at her hand, starting to feel uncomforta– Why was their great grandmother's engagement ring on her finger?
He stared at it for the longest time, finally looking over at Hana. She had started making herself up to look prettier. All the previous week she looked a mess, except for the day of the funeral and today. The only eventful thing other than the funeral was the arrival of Shino and Akamaru and– His face paled, and he leaned over.
"Hana…?"
She lifted her hand to motion for Tobitake to stop and looked back at her brother. "What is it, Kiba?"
"Why are you wearing that ring? You're not engaged."
She leaned over, side-glancing at Tobitake. "I…I know that, but…I…don't want him hitting on me. It's for sentimental reasons, too. Just…let's watch the video, alright, Kiba?"
She turned back around a bit quicker than he expected, and his eyes narrowed. Why the hell would she give him such an obvious lie? He'd have to stew over that later. Tobitake flipped the video to run, and he soon became distracted by the television.
His mother was settling back in her bed, coughing slightly. "Thank you, Hana. I'm sure you made my eulogy lovely. To be honest, that man always rubbed me the wrong way. Ever since…that bastard Sakon–no offence, Ukon, but he was a bastard–"
There was a voice from the camera, a chuckle. "It's alright, Ms. Inuzuka. He was a bastard."
Tsume cleared her throat again. "Well, the man always rubbed me the wrong way. My Bible Study teacher, I mean. I would ask him to pray for my kids and he'd pray for you, Hana, but not Kiba! The only man who actually gave a damn about Kiba was the pastor, so I wound up being closer to him than anyone else there. The rest gave me dirty looks after Kiba was found out to be gay, but were completely dear to me when I started going to church… One woman actually came up to me and told me she was happy I was trying to make up for being such a terrible parent and raising a child in sin!! I figured I'd stir up some trouble at my funeral because none of them really gave a shit about me anyway. That's the way I've always wanted to have it–people arguing up a storm. It makes up for everything being far too depressing than it should be. I'll bet all of you your inheritance that same fucking cunt who told me I raised my little pup wrong was one of the ones that gave you the most trouble." Her eyes went bitter, and she stared off into space, as if the woman was right in front of her. "You…ugly cuntrag … At least I had children. No man would touch you with a four foot pole…"
She laughed, waving her hands of her anger in a flash. She came back down to earth, looking directly at the camera again. "I suppose you tried to be a diplomat at first, Hana? You're like your father in that aspect. Your father was quite the diplomat back when he was younger. In fact, his parents hated me. That's why we rarely visited them. I changed him from a promising law student to a dog-training, dog-breeding alcoholic after the first meeting."
She laughed again and cleared her throat.
"Of course, you both know that…which is why I feel it's important to mention what he said before he died. I never told you all because you weren't around at the time he died and when you both came down for the funeral, I was too upset to tell you. But, now is the time to say it. …Your father said he was sorry, Kiba." She laughed, tears coming to her eyes. She put a hand to her cheek. "He said you could do a lot worse…which, coming from him at the time was as good as saying he loved you very much." She wiped at her eyes. "And Hana, he said he was proud of you, too. He said he wanted you to find someone better than him to marry, that you deserved someone more understanding than he ever was. …He…He hated himself so much after he kicked you out of the house, Kiba…" She wiped at her eyes again, motioning toward the camera.
"Ukon, come here, please…"
There was some shuffling around and bumping of the camera, until finally it was set down on what appeared to be a tray of food sitting against the bed, according to the small fork in view of the lens.
Soon, Ukon had taken a spot next to Tsume, staring at the camera with that playful gleam in his eyes. Their mother looked at him, laughing a little and grabbing his chin, shaking his head around playfully. She looked back at the camera, showing his face to it. "Don't let this sweet face fool you, Hana. He would look through your underwear drawers every time he visited Kiba after you went off to college. The little pervert. Your father's twice the man he'll ever be. Find yourself a man who doesn't have the same taste in music as I do. A punk like him will only bring you trouble, no matter how sweet he may be…"
Ukon went red, frowning a little. "I only did that once when I was thirteen… And I'd treat her very well, Ms. Inuzuka. You have no right to say I'd bring her trouble when you actually went to concerts and got drunk while you had a child at home."
She laughed, tossing him out of view again. She looked straight at the camera. "He says he's going to kidnap you if you're not married by forty. Kick his ass for Mommy, won't you? He's an evil little boy at heart…"
"Am not, Ms. Inuzuka…"
She cleared her throat, pointing at the camera and looking at him. "Go pick the camera up again." He did so, and the angle adjusted itself again. She started to speak.
"Kiba, I gave you the house so you could cope easier. I have no intention of you staying there. One of these days you'll have to move on. The last thing I want is for you to stay in this town. The people here hate you. Go someplace where you'll be loved as much as I want you to be loved. Sell the house or give it to some charity as a shelter for dogs or something. Do something with it, but please, for me, don't wallow around in pain in that house. I couldn't bear it if I found out you were doing that… It would break my heart all over again…"
Tears made their way to her eyes. "And that's all I have to say…so I guess this is good-bye…again. It's…It's not enough time… There should be more things I want to tell you… There's so much…" For a while she sat there, her face in her hands, sobbing. She waved her hand at the camera. "T-Turn that thing off, Ukon. …L…Let me compose myself."
There was a slight blip and the picture changed completely–the sun was setting in the window next to her. She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I think…yes. Alright. Good." She turned back to the camera. "I love you both so much. Please do your mother proud. ……B…" She put her hands to her mouth again and sucked in a breath.
She released her hands from her mouth, her voice feeble. "…G-Good-bye." Tears made their way to her face again, and the screen went black.
Kiba felt his heart tearing to pieces. He was saying good-bye all over again. It was…painful. And not just because Hana was squeezing his hand so tight he thought she was about to shatter the bones. She was crying heavily, and he finally reached around and captured her in a hug.
"C-Come on, sis… Let's get this paperwork done and you can go cry on Juugo's shoulder when you get home…"
She looked up at him, her face looking a mess. "Don't…D-D-Don't be so calm about this. I know you're just as torn up about this as I am."
He frowned pitifully, his breathing catching in his throat. It was hurting him to see her like this. His chest was actually starting to ache.
"I…I'm so sorry, Hana. I've cried all the tears I can. …It's your turn now…"
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Juugo was sitting on the front porch, staring at a girl riding by on her bicycle. He felt so at peace here. He felt like he could stay here forever. It was like heaven to him. All of his problems just seemed to fly right out the window. He glanced over at the dog sitting next to him watching the girl ride by on her bicycle as well.
The dog merely grunted a feeble, "Cuntrag". Juugo smiled sadly, reaching down and patting the old dog on the head.
"You miss Mom, don't you? You probably went through a lot over the four months she was sick. I'll bet it drove you crazy."
The dog looked up at him as if he was an idiot, before it barked a soft, "Yes."
He nodded. "Yeah…"
The door behind him opened, and Shino came out carrying a tray of lemonade. Two white-haired men came out behind him, and Juugo rolled his eyes. Ukon and Kimimaro had been here for the past hour, pestering the poor man like crazy and asking him all sorts of questions about his sexuality. It was slightly humorous, because he knew they were just doing it in Kiba's best interest. They were trying to convince Shino he was in denial, but all it seemed to be doing was shoving him even deeper into whatever closet he lived in. Now Shino was even going on about how he masturbated ten times a day because he couldn't get enough pussy.
"Hey, give me some of that, Roach!"
Shino handed the more talkative of the two a glass of lemonade, and the man drank it eagerly. He whistled as he finished off the glass.
"Man, Roach, you're a master of making lemonade."
Kimimaro grabbed a glass, taking a sip. He spit it out, glancing at Ukon like he was a complete idiot. "I think we should leave, Ukon."
"…Why?"
"Because he just gave you a glass full of dog piss."
Ukon's jaw dropped, and he started looking green. "Wh-Wh-What!? Dog piss!? You gotta be shittin' me!" He grabbed the glass from the white-haired man, taking a sip. He spit it out, swearing to high heaven. "You're fuckin' right! What the hell!? That's not ordinary piss! I could've sworn I drank lemonade! Which dog's piss did I drink!?"
Shino just stared at him blankly. "…Akamaru's."
"What the hell kind of trick is that, you sneaky bastard!? You want to get rid of us that much!?" Shino just stared at him like he didn't even know why the man was asking.
Kimimaro sighed, gently nudging him off the porch. Ukon was swearing a blue streak, shouting at Shino that he was going to puke in the bushes. Amazingly enough, the man seemed to have an iron stomach and it never happened.
The other man waved to Juugo, smiling a little. "We had a nice chat, Juugo. We should definitely continue it sometime…" He glanced back at Ukon, who was giving Shino the finger as many times as he could in one go, using as many methods as possible. He sighed, turning back to the larger man. "…Without Ukon being a jack-off, hopefully."
Juugo returned the wave, nodding fervently. "Of course. It was nice talking to you as well. See you later, Kimimaro."
The men walked off, and Shino dumped the glasses out in the flowerbed at the foot of the house. He sighed, taking a spot on the wall next to where Juugo was sitting and setting the tray with empty glasses on it on the porch beside him. "I thought they'd never leave…"
Juugo smiled. "Ukon's a bit of a handful."
"He's troublesome."
Juugo did not know Shikamaru, so he didn't get the joke. But he laughed at something else, staring at the empty glasses on the table. "So you really gave them dog piss?"
"…No. I actually just dumped most of the salt in the house into the mix and hoped they fell for it."
Juugo's laugher died. "…Oh…that's not nearly as funny…"
"Well, I tried. But Akamaru wasn't cooperating even after he drank about three gallons of water when he got home…" He shrugged. "But Ukon was right. It wasn't ordinary piss."
"I've been meaning to ask, Shino…"
Shino groaned, expecting the worst. The last thing he wanted was for people to ask about his sexuality again. He was hoping Juugo was the one person he could trust to not bring it up. That and Kiba, but that was Kiba.
"What are you going to do when your four weeks of vacation are up and Kiba still refuses to go back to the city?"
Shino's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't need to worry about that, because he will agree to go back with me. I don't know how I'm going to convince him yet, but I'm fairly sure he will get over his mother as long as I'm here."
"…And what are you going to do when he goes back to the city? I spoke with Hana. Jiraiya has a contract with Kiba that says if Kiba comes back, he has to allow him to have his job back. But that's only if there's a job open for him. A temp probably took over his job by now…"
Shino cleared his throat. "…I'm not sure. Something will present itself. I know it will."
"You sound so confident."
Shino looked back at him, looking completely serious. "Can't you feel it? If Kiba's mother hadn't died, you wouldn't have realized how much you needed Hana and it probably would've been forever before you realized you wanted to marry her… I can't explain it. I just feel…like something will come out of this. I have a feeling that everything will work out fine in the end."
Juugo stared at him for a long time, before he finally smiled. "And what do you think her death will contribute to Kiba?"
Shino sighed, glaring up at the sky. "I'm still trying to figure that out. I'm sure when all of this is over he's going to be stronger. That I'm sure of. But something in my bones tells me that's not all…"
"Your bones?"
"…I…can't describe it." He admitted, twisting his fingers together anxiously.
There was a sound from the street and they looked up to see the car driving back. It parked behind the van, and Kiba stepped out of the driver's seat. He walked over, helping Hana out of the passenger's seat. She was crying, from what the two men on the patio could see.
Juugo immediately stood, and Kiba led her to the porch. He deposited her in Juugo's arms and gave the far larger man a long, long look. Finally, he punched him in the arm, bringing their eyes to meet. He pointed at the much larger man's eyes with two fingers, bringing his fingers back to his own eyes. There was more silence between them as Hana stared at her brother, puzzled, and Juugo stared into his intense eyes. Finally, Kiba spoke.
"I don't want you on my couch. Find someplace else to sleep."
He stalked back into the house, slamming the door behind him in a fury. Shino winced. The two men on the porch exchanged looks and Hana groaned into Juugo's chest, all three saying the same thing:
"He knows about the engagement."
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Shino stared out into the backyard, at Kiba drinking from yet another bottle of whiskey on the table. Where did he keep finding these? Surely they must've been hidden somewhere. Shino walked out the back door, going and sitting next to him. He watched the shorter man for the longest time, just watching him guzzle that booze like it would save him.
Kiba finally got fed up with the way Shino was staring at him and tossed it into the side of the house angrily, where the bottle promptly shattered. He turned back to Shino, glaring.
"There. Now will you stop staring?"
Shino turned his head away, toward his hands, and Kiba just growled. He clenched his fists. "You knew about it, didn't you? That Juugo would come down here and bring that fucking ring. That he'd pop the fucking question? You knew. And…And you didn't even tell me! Juugo and Hana kept their mouths shut about it, too. If there's one thing I hate more than anything, it's people keeping secrets from me because they think I'll get upset about it. They wonder why I get upset? It's because they fucking keep secrets from me!" He glared at his hands, clenching them even tighter. His nails looked as if they were starting to dig into the flesh of his palms.
Shino stared at him, his stomach starting to churn. He looked back at his hands, taking a deep breath. That was right. He had no reason to keep it a secret any longer. Whatever the outcome, he had to tell Kiba. Sure it might be awkward afterwards, but things were already awkward, so it wasn't like it would be that much of a change.
"Kiba…do you remember when we first met?"
Kiba turned and looked at him, his face softening just a little. "Yeah. I do. What of it?"
"Well…you said you were supposed to meet someone there?"
Kiba nodded his head slowly. "Yeah. I had a blind date. What's your point?"
"Well, you had a date…and, well…your blind date was…" He took a deep breath, rubbing a hand through his hair anxiously. Finally, he sighed. "Your blind date was a coward." He was unable to say anything, and now he was starting to think he knew what made that ulcer pop back up again.
Kiba stared at him as if he was completely stupid. What the hell. Why would Shino bring something so pointless up? It was obvious he was trying to make him forget about being angry. Shino was always nice like that… He looked away, his chest growing heavy. It felt like he was breathing in thick air or something, and he took a deep breath, looking slightly less upset than before.
"S-Sure my blind date was a coward…but…look at what I got in return…"
Shino turned and looked at him, and Kiba shrugged his shoulders, glancing over at him. He frowned a little, and Shino could tell he was meaning to smile but was too upset to do so. "I mean, she never showed and all, but…I wound up meeting you, didn't I? And…you're willing to drive all the way down here for me, so I guess that makes up for a failed date, right? I got a friend no one could ever replace in the process. Well, I'm sure Ukon would bring Akamaru across practically four states just for me, but I've known him for years. I've only known you for about four weeks and you'd still do that for me."
Shino felt his cheeks go slightly pink, and he nodded his head again, looking down at the grass. "Yeah…but I made you really upset by coming…"
"So? My mother died and I thought you were trying to get me to forget about her. But I was wrong…" He squeezed his hands anxiously. "T-Tomorrow when I wake up…I'm probably going to wake up numb again, and I'm counting on you to try and get me out of that…"
"I'm not great with people, though. I'd probably fail miserably. As a friend, I'm probably nowhere near as comforting as Ukon."
Kiba patted him hard on the back and jumped off the table, going to the back door. He looked back at him, nodding his head a little. He just couldn't get the image in front of him out of his head, and, quite frankly, he didn't want to. The man's hair wasn't as frizzed as it usually was; his dark eyes had a hint of sadness in them but were just as collected as they normally were. His lips were slightly parted, and he'd even managed to take off that trench coat for longer than four seconds. Hot damn, Shino looked sexy today…
"Deny it all you want, but I hit the jackpot when I met you, Shino."
Yes! The last of the infernal "The Funeral" chapter titles! I wonder what I'm going to name the next one… Onto my question I discussed before. Constructive criticism. I kind of need some in regards to the cramped-ness. If you want to review, it doesn't really matter if you don't want to lend me advice. But. Just know. Constructive criticism is appreciated just as much as reviews.