Disclaimer: Naruto and it's character's don't belong to me.

Warnings: Shounen Ai, angst and occasional bad language. May contain topics which could offend. Un-betad

Pairings: Kiba/Naruto, Kakashi/Iruka and others.

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Chapter Three: Once Upon a Time

Naruto decided to head to the forest to train after he had seen Tsunade. Even if he had just taken time off to sort a few things out, that didn't mean he could stop training. Besides, training helped him to clear his mind, and once his body found its rhythm, he found his mind was clear to think while he worked. Any anger his thinking may provoke could be worked out of his system through the training. It was a good way to vent.

Today was another beautiful day, but it was cooler than usual which meant that it would be cold tonight. Maybe tomorrow there would be rain. He hated the rain, because it suited the sadness he felt inside. When it rained, he would always get depressed, because it seemed as if the sky was crying- crying along with him.

Even so, it wasn't all bad. If it was raining then the villagers would stay indoors and he would be free to walk in peace with no one to hinder him.

Sometimes he would come to the forest and listen to the rain falling on the leaves, a soothing melody for troubled souls like his. So even though rain usually made him more depressed than usual, it had its good points too.

As he ran, the leaves swayed gently, bring to his nose a wonderful scent of crisp greenery.

He was about to enter a clearing by the river but halted suddenly when he realized that there was someone else there.

Naruto crouched, hidden from sight on a branch. It was Kiba, sitting by the river. Akamaru was no where to be seen. He was about to leave silently, without disturbing him but…some small part of him was curious. Why was he here alone? Shouldn't he be training with his team? Or maybe even visiting with his friends?

He jumped to the ground and landed quietly. Even so, Kiba's sharp ears picked up the sound and his movements and he turned. Seeing who it was he smiled.

"Hey Naruto."

Naruto hesitated, unsure of what was going on. Why was Kiba being nice to him? Shouldn't he be telling him to go away? Or at least telling him how annoying he was. But Kiba's smile was full of warmth and welcome, and he couldn't bring himself to leave.

"Hey. What're you doing here? He asked, feeling slightly apprehensive.

"Not much. I came out here to walk Akamaru, but now I'm just thinking."

Naruto wasn't used to seeing this calmer, quieter side of Kiba. Wasn't he usually as loud as Naruto and twice as daring? He was shocked. Kiba…..serious? Devoid of his usual feiry personality, Kiba was a completely different person, and Naruto was intrigued to find out what was behind Kiba's exterior.

Maybe…maybe he wasn't the only one to hide behind masks.

"About what?" Naruto asked as he moved closer.

"A lot of things. Nothing really important." He shrugged then looked at Naruto once more. "Where are you off to then? I thought your team had a mission."

"We did. We do, it's just…Tsunade gave me time off for awhile." Naruto explained, feeling slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed. He shifted on his feet for a minute before finally walking over to where Kiba sat on the river bank and sitting down a little bit away from him.

"I see."

And that was that. Kiba asked no questions about that particular topic and for that Naruto was grateful. They didn't say much for awhile. Kiba was looking out over the river, his eyes distant. Naruto was shredding a blade of grass meticulously, concentrating deliberately on that as he tried to think of something to say.

It occurred to him, somewhere in the back on his mind that maybe Kiba didn't want him to be here at the moment. Perhaps he had come here to be alone, and here was naruto, intruding yet again where he wasn't wanted.

Just as he was about to make an excuse and leave him alone, Kiba looked at him.

"Naruto, I wanted to…" he began, but excited barking nearby cut him off.

Akamaru raced into the clearing with his tail wagging and his tongue flying. The dog leapt onto Kiba and began to lick his face enthusiastically.

Kiba laughed as he tried to fend off the dog with little success. Naruto smiled a little sadly. Akamaru wasn't a puppy anymore; he had grown over the past few years and was now fully grown. He would never be a huge dog, but he was a fair sized medium one, with a well-compacted body and strong, sharp teeth and intelligent eyes.

Naruto's glance flickered towards Kiba. He was tall now at seventeen years of age, and he had discarded his favored jacket years ago for a chuunin's flak vest, underneath which he wore a short sleeved, form fitting fishnet shirt. He wore baggy black cargo style pant favored by most shinobi, riddled with pockets for his foods pills and the like. Kiba had a well-proportioned body, with broad shoulders and a wide chest, slim hips and a thin waist and long legs. His shaggy hair was still messy, his eyes were a deep warm chocolate brown with slightly slitted pupils. The red painted fangs on his face were slightly longer now, symbolic of his higher ranks. All in all, his body type was well suited to his brawling style of fighting.

Naruto was also a chuunin now, although he wasn't as tall as Kiba, he was a little more compacted in the body, and although neither of them were particularly bulky, both were strong. Naruto would be hard pressed to beat Kiba in a fight; the man had improved his skills with hard work and his strength had increased drastically.

As he watched Kiba with Akamaru now happily curled up on his lap, he wished that he too could feel as if he were moving forward. He wanted to feel as if he had a destination in his life, and he definitely didn't want to feel as if he was always going to be walking down this same, endless and lonely road.

Kiba smiled at him now, and he managed to return it.

"I wanted to apologize." Kiba said.

"What for?" Naruto asked, a confused frown on his face.

"For yesterday. Even if the others don't realize it, I know it must have hurt you and I'm sorry for that. I thought you knew."

For a moment, Naruto was surprised. No one had ever apologized to him before, and he was left wondering how to respond. Then he felt that twinge of resentment again and he looked away.

"I don't want your pity. There's no need to feel sorry for me." He said quietly, but with an edge to his voice that even he could hear.

"That's not it, Naruto." Kiba insisted strongly. "I don't feel sorry for you, I just…regret that I haven't seen what's been going on until now."

"Forget about it Kiba. It doesn't matter anyway."

"Yes it does. Maybe I haven't been as alone as you have, but I have felt lonely before, and I know what its like to be left out."

Naruto looked at him curiously, and Kiba smiled at his unvoiced question

"I come from the Inuzuka clan. It's a big family, and I was always the youngest when I was growing up. I was left out of the things my sisters and cousins did because I was too young and childish. I was too old to stay with my parents and the adults all the time, so I often found myself alone."

This was an alien concept to Naruto. Feeling left out, even when you had a family of your own was something Naruto had never thought of before.

Kiba smiled again when he saw Naruto's disbelief.

"You should talk to some of the other big clans as well. Hinata, for example. She has always felt inadequate and useless amongst her own family. Her own father shunned her for years when she was growing up because he thought she was too weak. There are problems in every family."

Naruto nodded, seeing the sense in this.

"And families don't always know what's best for you either. Sometimes they let their own hopes and desires get in the way of letting their children grow up to be who they want to be."

Naruto waited for Kiba to continue. Here was someone who could tell him what it was like to have a family. Here was someone who could tell him what he'd been missing out on his whole life, and what's more, Kiba didn't seem to mind telling him either.

"Sometimes…life sucks doesn't it?" Kiba said, somewhat sadly.

"Kiba? Did something happen?" Naruto asked, almost shyly.

He didn't receive an answer for awhile and Naruto had just decided not to ask again when Kiba finally spoke.

"In a few days time, it's the anniversary of my father's death."

"Oh.I'm…I'm sorry. How did he…"

"Die? He was injured on a mission when I was fourteen. By the time they got him back to the village they couldn't save him."

Naruto could feel Kiba's pain emanating off of him; his brown eyes were clouded as he remembered and he wanted to reach out and touch his shoulder but he couldn't bring himself to.

A moment later, he berated himself for being such a coward.

"You miss him don't you?" he asked eventually.

"I do. He was. He was everything to me. My best friend, my idol. We were very close, and once he was gone, I didn't know what to do with myself."

"How did you cope?"

"I promised myself that I would become just like him. I would be a great shinobi like him, and I would make my clan proud."

Kiba's fingers were buried in Akamaru's thick fur, and they moved slowly as he talked.

"When I became a genin and started doing mission, I realized that there was no way I could be like him. We were two completely different people, and no matter how hard I tried, I could never be an exact copy of him, and I definitely couldn't fill his place in the clan. I watched my family and relatives move on and forget him and I was so angry at them."

Kiba had a small smile on his face as he looked down at Akamaru in his lap. It was obvious that this was a very painful subject for Kiba, so Naruto stayed quiet and let him talk, because it seemed like he needed someone to listen. If it made him feel better, then Naruto was content to just listen.

"Recently, I realized that they haven't forgotten him. They're trying to live their lives and be happy, because that was what father would have wanted. It was me who was the foolish one. Instead of trying to be myself and become a strong shinobi in my own right I was living in the past and trying to copy him. I was the one who was wrong, not them."

"Is that…is that why you're here now?"

Kiba shook his head. "No. I'm here because I need to get away sometimes to remember what I'm supposed to be. It helps."

Naruto nodded, unsure why his throat was so tight at the moment. So maybe there was no one who understood his pain, but that didn't mean he was the only one who felt pain, in what ever form it may come. He felt suddenly ashamed of himself. Kiba had fought against his pain and learned from it had used it to help himself grow. Naruto was not able to do that and he didn't know why. Maybe there was something wrong with him, but whatever it was, it made him feel very small and unworthy.

He drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them tightly.

"Thank you for telling me."

"That's okay. I thought that maybe it would help you. With whatever it is that's bothering you."

It does. If only you knew how much……

"Would you tell me about your family?" he asked hesitantly.

Not a very long update I know! Sorry! But I've done three updates in three days and I wanted to post the chapter by today! Next week I'll be updating again because I've finished school….and I'm unemployed…..and I have nothing better to do! So there you go! At least it gives you guys something to keep you occupied right?

Thank you for all you reviews, and I will now be replying to the personally, which is a lot easier! It means that I don't have to sit here and type them out all in one go! Very easy!

Thanks for reading, and I hope to be hearing from you!