Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Naruto finally allowed Kiba to go to the other campsite to pick up the supplies, though there was a tricky gleam in the blonde boy's eye that let Kiba know he was planning something awful. Hell, Naruto was always planning something awful, so Kiba went anyway, happy for the space and a chance to move around. He and Akamaru set out early and took their time walking to where Sasuke and Sakura were set up.
Kiba was still bitter about the entire Sasuke incident, but the weeks with Naruto had worn him down and Kiba was almost looking forward to seeing the Uchiha, if simply for a change in irritations. Though he still couldn't figure out why Sasuke had been so cruel and taken the fight so far, Kiba realized that in order for the mission to end quickly, he would need to try and forgive Sasuke--- at least a little. After all, the boy had carried him home, and had gone the extra mile to clean Kiba off and get him in bed. The whole bathing and cleaning thing still made Kiba feel a little weird, but he decided to give Sasuke some respect—it was a sign of the Uchiha's maturity that he had not been intimidated by Kiba's naked body. Kiba remembered how nice it had been as a child to have his mother or sister bathe him. He could vividly recall the relaxing feeling of someone squeezing warm, soapy water down his back, or feeling their fingers massage the shampoo into his hair and scalp. Kiba wondered if, had he been awake while Sasuke was bathing him, it would have felt as soothing. He also wondered if, had the situation been reversed, he would have been able to bathe Sasuke. To take off his clothes… One piece at a time… Until Sasuke was…naked. Kiba began to wonderwhat Sasuke's body would look like naked, and found himself blushing.
That is when Akamaru barked and Kiba stopped just short of walking into a tree. He had been so engrossed in naked images of Sasuke that he had stopped paying attention to his surroundings. Aka was barking something that sounded and awful lot like, "you deserve to be a genin if you can't even see where you are going," but Kiba was shook up over how much energy he had been spending on thinking about Sasuke. A naked Sasuke. And that just made him feel weird, because why in the hell would he be thinking about that?
The whole situation was making Kiba embarrassed and uncomfortable, so he challenged Akamaru to a race: First on to sneak into the camp undetected was the winner! They split directions and Kiba was thankful for a new task to devote his thoughts and energy to. Who knew where his previous train of thought would lead?
Kiba was far enough away that, even with his superb hearing and smelling, he could no longer tell where Akamaru was. This was good, because that meant he was hidden from Aka as well. Kiba crept along, silently jumping across tree branches, using his chakra to keep his balance and to keep quiet. Occasionally he would hide behind a trunk, or jump down and crawl under some bushes, butthere was no sign of Akamaru.
When they had parted, Aka had made to take the long way around. That dog was so arrogant—he probably thought that even with taking the long road around he would still beat Kiba. But the boy thought he could make it, and was probably even ahead, so he took a minute to just sit on a branch. He had been sitting on branches for weeks now, but this was the first time during the mission he was sitting alone. Breathing in the air and closing his eyes, Kiba just listened. It seemed like he was just now hearing the wind in the leaves and the pitter-patter of a squirrel's feet somewhere behind him. He focused on listening so much that eventually he could hear his own heart beating in his chest. It was reassuring, to hear and feel his heart beat, to be so aware of being alive. After he had almost died chasing after Sasuke all those years ago, Kiba taught himself to do this. When he had been sitting, leaning against a tree and hiding from his enemy, bleeding from the wound where he had stabbed himself, he had listened to his heart slowly beat his life-giving blood out of him. After that, when he listened to his heart beat, it was like his body's mantra, telling him over and over again that he was alive, alive, alive.
Feeling calm and reinvigorated, Kiba smiled and jumped up. After all, he was good, but he knew Aka was fast and he wanted to beat his dog!
The campsite looked quiet. Slowly, Kiba crept along, smelling the air for clues. However, his teammates' morning fire had been doused and the stench from it covered every other odor. He was about to start celebrating his victory as first one to the camp when his sensitive ears picked up a shuffle to his left. Kiba hit the ground and carefully crawled over, hiding behind a tent and peeking around to see who had made the noise.
Akamaru was standing in the campground, his fur bristling and his teeth bared. A low growl was coming from Aka, so Kiba slowly looked to see what had the dog so upset. It was Sasuke, who was standing, kunai in hand, looking ready to fight. Kiba's first instinct was to jump in and stop them, but he wanted to see what would happen and besides, Akamaru could easily fend for himself.
"Now Aka," Sasuke was saying, " I know you are mad at me for getting you and Kiba into trouble." Sasuke felt dumb talking to a dog, but he knew Akamaru was special and could understand perfectly what he was saying, so he continued. "For getting the three of us in trouble, I am sorry. No, not just sorry because I got in trouble, too, sorry because I never meant to hurt you or Kiba. It is just that…"
Sasuke paused. If he had felt stupid talking to a dog before, he felt even more stupid confessing to one. Especially one that was growling and probably prepared to bite the shit out of him. But… well, Sasuke had needed to talk to someone, and no one he knew seemed to be the right kind of person to listen, and now he was explaining himself to a freakin' dog, and it just started to pour out of him. At least as much as emotion could pour out of Uchihas.
"It is just that I have been lonely, and I can't seem to connect with anyone on my team. Sakura is wonderful and I know she would listen to me if I let her, but I don't know. She is simply not the right person to confide in. And Naruto is a good guy, and he has matured a lot, but still not enough for me to ever really confide in him. I'm not looking for a best friend in Kiba, but I was hoping that maybe, if I helped him, he would want to hang out with me. Just so I wouldn't be a lone all the time. I had hoped that since Kiba didn't seem to be interested in dating like everyone else, maybe he would have some time to… I don't know. I had come over that morning to ask Kiba if he wanted to hang out or train together. But he… he seemed to hate the fact that I was there even before I even said anything. I had thought he and I were just having a fun fight, but his reaction… I thought he hated me, like all the other guys. And my family…I go a little crazy when I remember everything."
Whoa. Kiba had to bite his lip to keep from yelling out in surprise, and his fangs cut his lip a little, causing him to taste blood. Sasuke had just spoken more words than Kiba had ever heard the Uchiha speak in his entire time of knowing him. Not only had Sasuke said a monologue, but it had been about his feelings. Kiba hadalways assumed the only feelings Sasuke had was hate and self-pity, but this Sasuke, this stranger, just admitted to being…human. Kiba didn't know what to do or say, so he just lay still, watching.
After Sasuke finished talking, he realized how much he had just blurted out to Akamaru. Akamaru, who would probably tell Kiba, and then he would think that Sasuke was weak. Quickly, he put his kunai up. So what if Aka attacked—he wasn't going to start fighting back again. Sasuke dropped to his knees in what he hoped was a sign to Aka that he wasn't going to fight.
The dog let down his guard and trotted over to Sasuke. They both looked at each other until Akamaru surprised the boy by licking his face, causing Sasuke to laugh.
"That is disgusting." But really Sasuke had been glad for the sloppy dog kiss, and he reached up and began to stroke Akamaru's fur. He was surprised at how soft it was, how it felt like velvet under his fingertips.
"I'm sorry Akamaru. Thank you for understanding. You are a good listener, better than most of the ninjas in the village. And…" The dog gazed up at him expectantly.
"And… do you think you could not tell Kiba about this?"
But the dog didn't agree. Instead, he barked and took Sasuke's sleeve in his mouth, tugging it, as if he wanted to show the boy something. Getting up, Sasuke allowed himself to be pulled. Over to the tent, and then next to it, where he found a very in-shock Kiba, too stupefied at being caught and what he had heard to get up.
Sasuke's face turned a dark shade of red and Kiba was scared he was angry. But when Sasuke didn't say anything, just stood and gazed down, Kiba knew that it was shame and not anger causing the deep blush. Uncomfortable, Kiba stood up and looked at Sasuke.
"I, uh…I'm sorry to have intruded, I didn't know you were going to, uh, going to, uh, have a heart to heart talkwith my dog---"
"You were spying. I wasn't having a 'heart to'---" Sasuke's tone was defensive and his voice was becoming cold, so Kiba held up his hand to silence the other boy.
"Sasuke, I am not trying too mock you, I am just still in shock from what I accidentally overheard. What you said was not intended for my ears and I apologize, and if I could take it back, I would. However, I did hear everything, and so I have several things to say to you, if you will please listen to me."
Sasuke didn't say anything, didn't move a muscle in face. But he didn't walk away, either, and so Kiba knew he was listening.
"First, about this whole fight, all if forgiven--- no questions or explanations needed. This is not a pity hand out;I am simply saying I am ready to let our fight go. Second, though I cannot promise to forget everything I heard you say, but I can promise never to repeat it to anyone, and I do promise that. Finally,I am sorry for not having been kinder to you. No offense, but you make people dislike you with your attitude, and your superior skills cause jealousy that push me and the other shinobi away. I can understand why you find it difficult to talk to someone, and for that, I am sorry. I don't expect things to change between us if you don't wish it, but I would like to be your friend. And even if you don't want to be my friend, well…"
Kiba trailed off and gulped. He didn't even sound like himself, but something about this situation, and about Sasuke, made him feel different inside. He felt more mature, wiser and compassionate. So he took a deep breath and gave Sasuke the biggest gift he could.
"If you choose to not be my friend, but you still need someone, you may borrow Akamaru from time to time, if Aka doesn't mind. You obviously can talk to him, and I know from experience how soothing dogs can be. So just think about it, OK?"
Sasuke stood silently. What could he say, when he did not even know what to think? This was not the Kiba he knew. The boy in front of him was not the loud and arrogant boy he knew, who had been just as stupid as Naruto about running his mouth. This man in front of him was offering him everything he had with no strings attached. After years of having people being indifferent to him, Sasuke had begun to expect the worst in everyone. Not a good ninja. Too noisy. Too stupid. Too talkative. Not talkative enough. There were hundreds of reasons he had used to not like anyone so that when they were cold towards him. he could be three times as cold back. Now that someone was…was actually being nice to him, he simply did not know what to do.
Then Sasuke looked at Kiba. Actually took in everything about how the boy looked. When they were in the academy, Kiba and Naruto had been the smallest boys. They seemed to use loud and egotistical personalities to make up for their small size. Now Sasuke realized Kiba was actually taller than him by at least two inches. The Inuzuka clan tattooed all their members at a young age. When Kiba had been a boy, the marks had made him look foolish, but now Sasuke could see that Kiba had grown into his red face tattoos, making him appear fierce and proud. The red triangles highlighted his sharp cheekbones and strong jaw. Kiba was, Sasuke realized, very masculine and beautiful.
While Sasuke looked at him, Kiba began to feel a little weird under the Uchiha's piercing stare.What he wasn't sure about was Sasuke's Sharingan. The boy had activated it in his scrutiny of Kiba, and Kiba wasn't sure if it had been by accident or on purpose, but those red eyed were so intense that he needed to look away. He could feel those strange eyes staring at him, and it felt like they saw everything he was, his history, his power, his emotions, his thoughts and Kiba wasn't ready for the visual intrusion.
"So…just think about it, Sasuke. I'm going to go find Sakura and get our supplies." With that said, Kiba practically ran to find the pink-haired girl, glad to be out from under the scrutiny of the other boy. He found her and they talked quickly, getting his supplies. When he was ready, Kiba grabbed everything and he and Aka were off, hoping to get at least halfway to the other campsite before nightfall. He hadn't meant to stay so long and was worried Naruto would punish him somehow for the half day delay.
Sasuke still stood there, thinking, long after Kiba left, long after dark and even after Sakura had gone to sleep. Though he felt violated by Inuzuka overhearing him, he realized he felt somewhat glad, too. Now it wasn't his secret. Fighting his instinct to become even colder and push Kiba away, Sasuke made a decision and went to bed. And for the first time in years, he slept soundly.