Rating: M (to be safe)
Warnings: Slash/shounen ai (maybe YAOI), Het, blood and stuff, non-con (though I'll warn you so you can skip), mentions of underage (I guess) HarryOC (OC dies so don't get in a twist) ShuraHaku (yes, he WILL be a HE)
Diclaimer: You want peppermint varigated vinca? Well I want to own Naruto and Harry Potter! Looks like we don't always get what we want doesn't it? DOESN'T IT?!
Note: Oh em gee, guys. I am so tired right now. I have a new job, at a plant nursery, and it makes me veeeery tired. That's why I didn't update last weekend. I hope this peak at Konoha is a nice chapter, showing how the pups are doing. I'll have a whole chapter for how Haku is doing in a little while, after a couple more hogwarts ones.
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Kiba stumbled sleepily down the stairs and into the kitchen. A jaw cracking yawn blurred his eyes and made him grumble quietly. "Morning Kaaaaaaasan." he yawned again and then glanced confusedly around the kitchen as the usual reply didn't come. There was no Kaasan in this kitchen.
Then he remembered that his mother had gone on a long term mission and would be gone for a while. A frown pulled at his face and Akamaru whined unhappily. He would have to make breakfast for himself then, and lunch. Hopefully someone made him dinner though, because he wasn't very good at cooking.
Several minutes, a piece of burnt toast, and a smoking oven later, Kiba was heading toward the meeting place for his team. He grimaced as the last of the toast was forced down, his mothers admonishment to have breakfast echoing in his ears.
When he arrived. Shino shifted enough to expose two bento boxes, making Kiba feel a little better about his food situation. Hinata showed up last, apologizing and bowing like crazy in order to make up for her tardiness.
Kurenai smiled at her team "Alright genin, your first official mission is to help Yamamoto-san rebuild his shed! Get to it!" There was some confusion, but they all went along without much complaining.
When they paused for lunch Kiba and Shino settled together on a large rock and opened their bento lunches. "My grandmother made them, so we don't have to worry about them being edible." Kiba grinned widely and stuffed a rice ball in his mouth. Shino couldn't help his small smile at his friends antics, even as both of them ignored the fact that Shurachi's usual note to have a good day wasn't there.
The return home after the mission was lonely, though Kiba couldn't figure out why as he had walked home by himself numerous times. He thought he had an idea of the reason when he got home and found it silent though. The Inuzuka went through the motions of heating the leftover dinner from the night before, something his mother had made, then settled himself into bed without a friendly voice calling good night.
Akamaru was strangely silent through the whole day and when they settled for bed neither boy nor dog slept very well.
Several weeks later, Kiba had managed to burn something into the bottom of the oven. Shino had smirked at him, his version of a chuckle, and tossed a convenience store package at his head. They'd taken to staying at each others houses, mostly Shino's, because neither could really fend for themselves all that well.
They had another useless mission, this time to catch a bird who had had one wing clipped and could still fly a little. It was difficult, especially considering the damn thing kept flying higher and higher then falling out of the trees.
With Hinata's help they managed it though, and brought the retarded bird to it's owner. Both boy's bid their female teammates goodnight and headed to Kiba's house.
"What should we have tonight?" The Inuzuka asked brightly, obviously trying to lighten the idea that Shurachi wasn't going to be cooking for them.
Shino reached a hand into the small bag he'd had with him the whole day and held up a partially thawed something. "Shura-obachan made some soup for Otousama and we never finished it. Otousama just froze it and I remembered we had it this morning. We could heat it up on the stove and have it for dinner?"
The grin that split Kiba's face was wide enough to frighten several civilians on their way home.
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Naruto stood in front of the Inuzuka compound gate, obviously uncertain if he should go in. Deciding it was better if he didn't, the blond moved away and wandered back to his own house.
It had been a long day of 'missions', if one could call painting a fence a mission. Sakura had yelled at him to quit being so stupid three times, Sasuke-teme had told him he was a moron more times than he could count, and Kakashi-sensei had ignored him until the mission was over and he was assigning individual training times.
All in all, he really needed a hug and maybe some good home cooked food. So Naruto found himself outside of the Inuzuka compound for the second time, sweaty and hot and miserable in general. Again he wondered if he should go in, if he would be welcome now that Shurachi wasn't there; and again he decided he couldn't risk being rejected and turned to walk morosely toward his apartment.
Several weeks, and an unholy amount of ramen, later he was back with a pillow, blanket, night cap, pack of clothes, and uncertain eyes. Once more he was starting to turn back when a large arm wrapped around his waist, picked him up like he weighed nothing, and began to carry him inside the walled off area.
Naruto knew he would have struggled more if it weren't for the dog trotting along beside them.
When he was let down again they were in front of Shurachi's house. The man gave him a little push and opened the door.
"Shurachi-alpha says that you can stay here as long as you want." Naruto whirled around to look at the older man. Brown eyes were trailing over him critically before a smile lit the older mans face in a way that reminded Naruto strongly of Shurachi.
"I believe Shino is already staying with Kiba, so I'm sure they won't mind you joining them." Naruto smiled brightly up at the man.
"Thank you Inuzuka-san!" He reached out to pat the dog on the head and then ran into the house.
Outside, the man closed the door quietly and took a step back. When his canine companion whine quietly he gave it a pained smile. "This was once our house Kira, but our pup has made it a home filled with pups of his own. We don't belong here anymore."
The dog whined again, but stood to trot slowly alongside the man toward Kunimitsu's home. Yes, they had once lived happily in that home, but now it was his sons turn to lead the clan and raise a family. Even if that family was his other son, an Aburame, and the holder of the Kyuubi.
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Shino woke and got dressed as he usually did. He ignored the empty echo of his home, lacking the sounds of his father in the shower, and set to work making his and Kiba's lunches. Once that was done he moved out to the shrine wall and stood in front of his uncles shrine.
"Please look after use while Shurachi-obachan and Otousama are gone. I know they can look after themselves, but Kiba is very difficult to manage sometimes." He bowed slightly and placed the bread rolls on the alter before heading to the meeting place.
Red eyes caught the last piece of blackened toast being shoved in his friends mouth and Shino grimaced. Good thing he had some idea on how to cook. So, wanting to make sure Kiba didn't try to make anything, Shino let him see the pair of bento he'd tied together for them. Kiba's grateful smile was enough to make his getting up an hour early worth it.
When they stopped for lunch Shino realized with a small blush that it would be highly embarrassing for him to admit to having made their lunch. He didn't want to sound like some love-sick girl! And so he mumbled that his grandmother had made it and watched his best friend enjoy the lunch he'd made.
They parted ways to head home and Shino settled for bed. He tried to sleep, even went so far as to have all of his kikai move to his gourd, but by midnight he was still trying to fall asleep. So with a deep frown he gathered his blankets, a pillow, and some clothes into the rather large pack he'd gotten as a graduation present.
Silent as the shinobi he was, the Aburame slipped out of his house, across the compound, and then into the Inuzuka compound. Kiba's window was found and squeezed through with the ease of practice.
"Kiba?" Shino whispered quietly. The Inuzuka didn't rolled over with a frown, but remained asleep. Shino shrugged and pulled his sleepover things out of the pack. Once settled, Shino took little time to fall into the oblivion of sleep.
Shino rolled to his feet silently, long practice making the motion subconscious. It had been several weeks since Shurachi and his father had left for their mission and he was starting to get the hang of feeding himself and Kiba. He had a brand new respect for his adopted aunt considering Shurachi had made most of the meals for much more than two people.
Rummaging around his fridge for something he could make for himself and Kiba to eat at dinner time, Shino suddenly remembered the soup his father had brought home from a visit with the Inuzuka's not to long before he left. They weren't able to eat it, so Hajime had frozen it in the freezer.
The Aburame rummaged around in a cupboard for the miniature, portable cooler that was usually used for over night training trips into the forest. He put the large bag of frozen soup into the cooler, packed in some ice, and set off to meet with his team.
He planted a kikai on the bird and followed it silently from the ground, frowning when the creature ate his insect. Thankfully Hinata was able to find the stupid avian and they caught it with relative ease.
On the way home He showed Kiba the soup and smiled behind his coat as he realized the small offering had brightened his friends mood. They set it on the stove, in a pot, to heat and moved into the living room.
"Did Hokage-sama tell you how long they would be gone? Or if we could contact them?" Shino asked after a few seconds of silence.
Akamaru barked and Kiba flashed the canine a grin. "He didn't say how long it would be, but he did say that he was sending reports to Kaasan, so we could probably get him to send our letters as well."
Shino hummed and moved to check the soup, it was almost hot enough to eat.
"What do you think we should write about?" Kiba asked from behind his friend, startling the Aburame into turning around.
"I'm not sure, I guess we can tell them about how we're doing, how everyone is getting along without them here." Shino shrugged and checked the soup again; close enough.
They filled two bowls, leaving some in the pot, and settled down at the low table. Kiba was about to take the first bite when Akamaru began to bark and Naruto wandered timidly through the door decked out for bed and dragging a blanket.
No one said anything, Shino simply filled a third bowl with the rest of the soup and they ate in silence.
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Oh god, please review guys, please? I'm so dying right now it isn't even funny. Well...maybe a little funny, but not to me! DX
Taku
