Chapter Nine

Kiba was sitting out, looking up at the night sky, Akamaru by his side, letting his mind wander. Soon he got to thinking about the people in his life.

When he'd been assigned to his team, he was worried. How the hell were they all going to work together? Hinata was so shy she could barely look at him, and her only joy seemed to come from loudmouth Naruto in his ridiculous orange jump suit. Shino was so aloof he seemed to stand on his own, with no need for teammates, and Kurenai was the newly minted jounin they'd been tossed to.

It was no surprise, the Ino-Shika-Chou team was formed – it wasn't original, but hey, if it ain't broke don't fix it. Team Seven just seemed exhausting; Naruto's painfully obvious and unrequited crush on Sakura, ditto Sakura's crush on Sasuke; Naruto and Sasuke's intense dislike – or whatever it was – of each other. After the Chunin Exams he got to meet Gai's team; Genius, hardworking underdog and a headstrong kunoichi in the middle. Was everyone in this village doomed to repeat the same story over and over till they got it right?

At least his team was different. He didn't have a crush on anybody, who knew what went on in Shino's head, and Hinata's affections lay elsewhere, so that was a headache he didn't have to deal with. They could be themselves with each other. He got to appreciate there was more to Hinata, someone who was strong enough to respect herself when no one else did, and who was a soothing, steady presence in a tense spot.

Sometimes he felt isolated away from his clan, where it was a given nin-dogs were a part of life – outside he was the weird kid with a dog on his head, or tucked in his shirt, but with Shino, that didn't bother him. Compared to the Aburame, his clan's relationship with dogs seemed downright domestic.

Speaking of his clan, his mother was – in his opinion- the scariest in the Leaf. He was able to compare because he'd met some of his classmates' families. A lot of them weren't kunoichi. Being around Ino's mother had the feeling of being next to a string that was pulled too tight; it looked okay for now, but at any moment it could snap.

Chouji's mom was cheery, always offering a good meal. Shikamaru's mom put up with no bullshit- he imagined dealing with her had honed Shikamaru's genius.

Hinata's father had a regal bearing that confused him, went against everything his ma raised him with: "Kiba, in battle, no one cares if you've got the best manners, how beautiful your clothes are, what house you live in. Focus on yourself, not all that outer crap. You can only be yourself in this world anyway – so fuck whatever anyone else has to say."

And his ma did just that. You could make a whole load of complaints after dealing with Tsume Inuzuka, but you always walked away knowing you'd heard what was really on her mind.

So he'd had experience with a lot of different people but Shino stumped him for awhile. At first he tried fronting a bit but that didn't work – and honestly their fighting styles were so different, they couldn't really compete with each other. Yeah, he was better at taijutsu, but it was like comparing apples to oranges. The Aburame specialized, they preferred to fight in groups, or training for truly covert missions. The fact Shino did as well as he did in the one-on-one fights at the Chunin exams spoke to how clever he really was.

He'd been curious what his ma would say, after she met his teammates. He was sure she would give him a no holds barred evaluation – and she did not disappoint.

"That Hinata – she's shy now, but she's a diamond in the rough, and really, what the hell is wrong with young kids anyway? Anyone with eyes can tell you she'll be a looker when she's older."

"Ma!"

"Mark my words. You're gonna to need a frickin' broom to keep 'em away. And Shino, I respect that kid. He's one who takes after my own heart."

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"He doesn't conform. He's always himself, no matter what pressure he gets – his weird speech, that crazy afro – he does what he wants to do, just like me. I like him!"

It took him awhile, but eventually he agreed with his ma, and he really appreciated that about Shino – he learned you could be yourself without getting all up in someone's face like Ma did, and when he was being painfully honest, like he did too. Shino was Shino, no matter if they were on a mission, having a meal, or walking together in silence. And he found he missed that honesty – he loved his other friends, but he found himself wishing Shikamaru would quit it with his lazy slacker attitude – everyone knew how much he cared for the village – that Chouji would quit acting like a tough guy – Kiba knew he had a heart of gold – that Ino would stop covering up her brains in her attempts to get a boyfriend.

It took him a long time to warm up to Neji – but he found he actually had a wicked sense of humor underneath that sour face, when he chose to share it. He wished Lee would let go of his constant idolizing of Gai-sensai long enough to realize he was a pretty great guy himself – that Ten Ten would stop feeling the need to mother her two brilliant, but at times intensely insecure teammates and focus on what a kick ass kunoichi she was. Why was it always like that? These genius types, their fighting skill was off the charts, but there was a certain fragility about 'em. Guess even geniuses are human.

And he wished Sakura would drop the huge guilt complex about Sasuke long enough to realize she had a bunch of people right here who cared about her, and that Naruto would quit it with his constant shouting about being Hokage and just be himself.

He'd tried to apologize to Naruto, about how rough he'd had it as a kid, that he wished he'd been there more for him.

"You didn't know, Kiba."

"That's no excuse."

"It's fine."

"I'm trying to apologize to you, dumbass. Just shut up and accept my apology!"

"Then why are you calling me a dumbass, dumbass!"

But really, what was the point of all this? It was just a long winded, round about way of saying how much he missed Shino.

Kurenai told him Shino almost died on a full moon. He remembered a night with a full moon – he felt Shino come and say goodbye, in some half awake, half asleep state he'd been in at the time. He immediately tried to argue it. "Don't you dare leave."

"I owe you thanks, because you have been my friend."

"Then do me a favor and don't go."

"You will be alright."

"I'd like to be more than 'alright,' thanks."

"You will be alright."

"Look, I don't want to hear that right now. Especially from you."

"In many ways, I believe you are the strongest member of our team. The reason being, you are rather like water – if you cannot get through headfirst, you go around. And if you cannot go around, you wear them down. I am stubborn, as you have said. Sometimes I need to bend and I do not, where sometimes Hinata bends when she should not.

"While I'm happy that you're finally agreeing with me, what part of 'This is not helping,' do you not understand here?"

"Farewell, Kiba."

He continued laying in bed, but he was super tense, so he got up and walked over to his sister's room. He made sure to knock. When he was younger, he had burst in there and found Hana in bed her boyfriend. She was not happy about it.

"Sis, you awake?"

The door opened, revealing his sister, looking tired, running a hand through her hair.

"Yeah, baby. What happened?"

"It's stupid Shino, and his stupid cryptic messages. I think he's gone, you know, really gone."

He made his away over to her bed, empty tonight, and laid down. Akamaru followed him and found a spot on the floor not currently occupied by the three Haimaru brothers. He often visited with Hana when he was upset. He had a lot of nightmares as a kid, hence his habit of just bursting in. He told her what happened.

"And then he cut if off on his own terms, just like he always does!" He was glad Hana did not point out the reason he did this was probably because Shino was dead, or try to argue with him about did this really happen or not. He knew he wasn't making a lot of sense, but he also knew he would feel better if he got this out.

"Well, what would you say to him, right now?"

"You know, 'I love you. I miss you. I wish I knew what happened to you.'"

"Now he knows. So go to sleep."

With her words, and the presence of their dogs, that was enough, and he did just that.