A/N: Okay this is definitely the last chapter now, I promise. The end is nigh! Typical that I finally draw the cover pic for this on the last chapter, eh? :P Oh well.

Let me know if anyone is interested in a sequel, or has any ideas for one. There are a few I've been playing around with, but so far not enough to motivate me to write them.

Disclaimer: For the last time, I don't own Naruto, only the plot of this fic and the OCs.

The King and The Queen

The exchange chunin that Kiba had been assigned to work with proved to be somewhat more time-consuming than he had originally predicted. Several weeks passed of busy schedules and training regimes, but that didn't stop the Inuzuka heir from preparing among his clan for when he inevitably came to challenge his mother.

He spent every spare second he could gathering supporters from the previous generation's most influential members of his clan, targeting their sons and daughters who were closer to him in age. It was a tactful, political move, one that no one saw coming from the usually careless Inu nin. Even Luna was surprised by his sudden dedication.

And it was smart, considering that most of their parents had already long-pledged their loyalty to their current reigning Alpha.

Cradling a mug of half-cooled coffee in her cupped palms, a soft smile slipped onto Luna's face as she spotted the object of her musings across the courtyard of the Inuzuka compound, rough-housing with Akamaru and Hana's three grey ninken. He'd most likely been out training with the large white canine, faint tracings of scuffle marks still marring his arms when he rolled up the sleeves of his leather jacket.

The largest of the triplets growled playfully, and leapt up against Kiba's shoulders, trying to push him down. The dog trainer grinned and wrapped his arms around it's middle, fingers digging into smoky-coloured fur and shoving him off to the side just in time to dodge as Akamaru threw himself at his master, tongue lolling and slobber flying.

Luna chuckled as Kiba pulled a face, swiping at the drool that had landed on his wrist, and sound of her laugh caught his attention even from across the compound. She stifled her humour as he gave her a half-wave, looking slightly embarrassed at being watched. It left him completely unprepared for the smallest of the Haimaru brothers who took his momentary distraction as opportunity to pounce.

Kiba landed on his back with a huff, spluttering as the husky lapped at his face, assaulting him with victorious, wet doggy kisses.

The she-wolf didn't bother to hide her amusement this time as he gave Akamaru an affectionate rub on the head, then trundled over to her. She shook her head slowly when he came into coherent earshot, his muttering about how he was winning until she'd distracted him, making her laugh harder.

"Yeah, yeah. Keep telling yourself that, Inuzuka."

Onyx eyes rolled, the slight brown flecks in his irises seeming more apparent in the late afternoon sun. The detail made her smile.

It was in that moment of admiration that Luna noticed the sudden serious glint in those dark irises, his expression sobering from good-natured sulking to uneasy reluctance.

"It's almost time, by the way." Kiba pinned her with a heavy gaze, suddenly deadly serious as he waited for her reaction. Her eyes widened, and she glanced around nervously in case someone overheard.

After a flick of her head, the dog trainer followed her into the house, coming to a halt by the living room window, his back to her as he stared through the glass.

Moments of silence passed, and then, "Tomorrow."

Luna knew what he was referring to, of course she did. It was all she had thought about these past few weeks. Her mouth set in a firm line as she debated her response, but when words failed, she faltered. The hybrid knew what she wanted to say, but how to convey it was another issue.

Acting on instinct, she padded quietly over to where he stood, wrapping her arms around his torso and nuzzling her nose into his back between his shoulder blades. It was only after she felt him relax that she decided on what to say, and it was the simplest way she knew how to.

"I will stand with you."

He turned in her arms to stare at her deeply, ebony eyes searching for any hint of doubt. Luna stared back with equal sincerity, until finally, he seemed convinced.

"Tomorrow, then. I'll send for you."

Her head bobbed up and down once, and he placed a single kiss against the crescent-moon symbol on her forehead, before backing away slowly, and taking his leave.

As soon as Kiba was out of sight, Luna's gut twisted with what she realised was anticipation. It surprised her, that she didn't feel even a slight trace of nerves in that moment right there, and it was all she needed to see that she had made the right decision.

Kiba was ready, and Luna was, too.

Although the following morning came around at a glacially slow pace, the messenger eventually arrived in the form of his sister, who greeted her pleasantly enough and informed her that Kiba had said to meet him in the courtyard outside his house.

As they walked side-by-side, Hana broke the silence they'd slipped into by asking, perceptively, "It's today, isn't it?"

Luna glanced at her, unsure of how to answer, but her not-answering spoke volumes, and Hana's lips pressed into an unreadable thin line.

"The whole pack can tell. It's in the atmosphere. Something has just changed overnight, and everyone can sense it. I wouldn't be surprised if we have an audience when we arrive."

The she-wolf swallowed a bubble of adrenaline, pushing down the butterflies in her stomach as the thought made her nerves threaten to arise.

Unfortunately, when they did arrive, it was abundantly clear that Hana had been right about the audience. The whole courtyard outside the Inuzuka main household was crowded with anxious looking Inu ninja and equally anxious ninken. The pack had formed a circle around the edges of area, clearing an arena-like space in the centre, where Kiba and Tsume stood facing each other.

The crowds parted at their approach, and Kiba momentarily broke eye contact with his mother as Luna moved to stand just behind him and off to the side.

His dark irises softened briefly as they met her scarlet ones, then he returned his level gaze across the circle to where Hana had joined his mother's side. The hybrid noted Akamaru shift his weight on Kiba's other side in acknowledgement of her presence, too.

There was a hum of whispers that spread around the pack lasting no longer than 30 seconds, though no one looked surprised by Kiba's choice of 'second'. Even his mother flashed Luna a fanged grin, having expected nothing less. Luna nodded once in return, respectful, but confident. She'd had a long time to build up to this moment, and after all the efforts Kiba had put in leading up to today, there was no way she was going to let him down. It was just not an option.

Her confidence sparked not only in her body-language, but also, suddenly, deep in her gut. She hadn't thought she'd have felt so assured of her position even in the heat of the moment, but somehow, standing here beside Kiba, it just felt right. Like they could conquer the world together, and it reminded Luna of her conversation with Hana a few weeks ago.

"So, you've finally decided to step up, huh, Pup?" Tsume opened the dialect once everyone seemed to have settled, Kuromaru pawing the ground eagerly beside her.

Kiba only smirked as several members of his clan took this as their cue to step forward too, positioning themselves defensively around him.

Tsume's grin deepened. "And I see you've been doing some research on how these things are done. Colour me impressed."

Although something about her tone made Luna's ears flatten, the words, though phrased as a compliment, seemed condescending instead. Her tail twitched upwards as some of the older members of the clan mirrored Kiba's following behind their Tsume, their loyalty standing strong after over twenty years of her rule. Of course, these challenges were never just battles of Alpha to Alpha.

Luna's face set in determination, eyeing up the Inuzuka's across from them. However, the strengthened numbers of the opposition only seemed to spur Kiba on further, flashing his fangs in a wild grin that rivalled his mother's. He knew he'd have to prove himself against the strongest of them all if he wanted even a chance at being accepted, and them joining the arena carved the opportunity for him to do so. The harder the challenge, the greater the win.

The role of the potential and current Alpha's following, was to be a source of defence, to have their chosen leaders back and keep the opposition busy and away from their challenger, so that the two Alphas could fight undisturbed. If they let even one slip away from the opposition's army, their leader would be left vulnerable to those attacks too, and they would become outnumbered. And everyone knew Kiba would need to give Tsume his full attention when they fought, he couldn't afford to have even one small distraction. Tsume was formidable indeed.

Over the weeks between her and Kiba's first conversation on the matter, Luna had learned that a challenge to a pack leader was very similar to the way her own family used to work. The only difference being that for the wolves, only an even number on both sides was permitted, to make for a fairer fight and encourage the challengers true leadership skills to shine through. Intelligence skills as a tactician for one, proving themselves by gathering the strongest, most influential members of the pack to fight by their side to ensure their clear shot against the alpha. And also proving their own ability in strength, speed and stamina. If both parties' following members did their jobs, the alpha and challenger would be engaged in a fair, one-on-one battle. It was the perfect mixture of a team and independent effort, something that was absolutely necessary for leading a pack of wolves.

But the Inu humans, apparently, saw fairness as an unnecessary trait. Their way left either side open to gaining the advantage, either through strength or intelligence of gathering a larger army than the other.

Coincidentally though, Luna counted close numbers on both sides in this case, which she was pretty thankful for. But even despite the fairness in sides, Luna made a mental note to watch Kiba's back anyway. She would not let him lose any advantages he gained.

And as for her role, as his chosen second, she would be keeping Tsume's second busy. And as she was painfully aware, that would be Hana.

Her prior knowledge of this had lent her some favours though. While Kiba had been gathering followers, Luna had been gathering information on the Inuzuka vet. Snippets of detail filtered through her mind as she assessed Hana's battle stance in the arena opposite her own place. She stood leaning her weight slightly to her left, and Luna recalled noticing this as a common habit. Perhaps shifting away from an older injury somewhere on her right?

Then there was her Inuzuka sense of smell to watch out for. Stay upwind, Luna reminded herself. That one could prove tricky if Hana caught on to her awareness of this, but the hybrid could cross that bridge if she came to it.

And the more concerning thing to keep in mind, was Hana's three ninken. Oh yes, the dogs were involved. Kuromaru wasn't such an issue. Luna knew that Akamaru would be keeping him far enough away, and she trusted him as much as she trusted Kiba. But the Haimaru triplets were all on her.

At least, that would have been the case, had she not previously briefed the brother and sister, Kishu and Shikoku, that she may need their assistance in keeping them off her back while she dealt with Hana. Although she hadn't seen them, she could sense their chakra lingering close behind her to her left, ready to come to her aid should she need them. She was grateful Kiba had enlisted the siblings, since they were some of the few Inuzuka's that Luna had befriended herself over the past year.

She was shaken from her battle plan for his sister when Kiba suddenly grabbed her hand, giving it a squeeze as he openly challenged his mother, the words falling from his mouth like rehearsed lines from a script.

"Tsume Inuzuka, I challenge you in front of these witnesses, for the title of Alpha to this pack." His heels dug into the ground as he braced himself, then, as was customary, he sprung forward in making the first move.

As soon as he'd made his first step, Hana reacted, darting in front of their mother to meet him, but it wasn't her brother who met her head on in the centre as expected.

Luna had moved too, before anyone'd had the chance to register, even surprising herself. She'd dimply acted on instinct, giving Kiba the freedom to round them both and find his original target easily.

"Ichimaru!" Hana called out to the largest of her three canines, who bounded to her side immediately. She placed a hand against the ninken's shoulder and channelled chakra through her palm, and Luna realised a second too late that she was conducting an energy-share.

A jutsu flew from Ichimaru's open jaws, a tornado of wind that sliced at the she-wolf's bare forearms as she lifted them in a cross to protect her face and chest. With a grunt, she rolled to the side to avoid the next wave of power, but was forced back into the line of fire again when she found the other two grey dogs waiting to attack on either side of the wind tunnel.

"Shikoku! Kishu!" The hybrid barked, but the young Inuzuka siblings were already racing to help.

"We're on it!"

"Go straight down the middle!"

It took a heartbeat to realise what they meant, but Luna soon caught on. She positioned herself in the eye of the spiralling winds, finding momentary solace as she ran towards the source. She barrelled into Ichimaru's chest, breaking his connection to Hana and sending him tumbling backwards.

Hana growled in light frustration.

"What, did you think I'd be more easily beaten?" Luna scoffed, mildly offended.

The growl turned into a smirk. "I figured you'd be more easily distracted."

"Ha, not today."

Tail standing upright, her body was suddenly enveloped by a thick burst of smoke, a silvery furred wolf springing out from the cloud and pushing against Hana's collarbone with large front paws.

The veterinarian grimaced as she gripped Luna's muzzle with both hands, clamping her snapping jaws shut as the she-wolf's head thrashed from side to side. Using her new form's weight against the Inuzuka female, Luna relinquished her stance and dropped her full body flat against Hana heavily, winding her enough to loosen her hands and free her mouth.

She readjusted hurriedly, aiming a bite at Hana's upper arm, and yelping in shock when she was suddenly flung sideways. Rolling back onto her stomach, she pushed up and shook herself briefly as she identified the source of her attack. Akamaru shook himself too, grunting a doggy apology for landing on her as he wobbled a little, seeming dizzy.

Luna's red eyes shot up, scanning the crowd-formed arena for his previous opponent, and cursing internally when she found the Alpha's black hound joining formation with Tsume herself.

They twisted together in a hurricane of limbs and claws, narrowly missing several times as Kiba expertly evaded their attacks, only one actually landing damage to his left leg. The jutsu tore through the material just above his knee, and his winced as his mother and her companion spun around again and prepared to launch once more. But Luna and Akamaru met them head on before they could, in an oddly successful charge of white and silver fur, throwing off the attack enough for Kiba to regain composure and Akamaru to engage Kuromaru in a side swept battle.

The distraction was all it took for Hana to land a swift kick to the Hangestu wolf's withers and send her sprawling across the floor. Landing roughly enough to force her transition back into her hybrid form, Luna grit her teeth as she scrabbled back to her feet.

Sanmaru, the smallest of the Haimaru brothers, leapt at her before she could stop Hana from turning her attention back to her brother. With an irritated snarl, Luna skidded backwards as the dog pounced on her, but she had just about the sense of mind to use the attack against him, pushing against his stomach and hauling him over her head and backwards. Luna wasn't the strongest of beings, but Sanmaru was luckily the lightest in weight, and she was able to succeed in throwing him out of her range, even if only temporarily.

But, feisty as he was, Sanmaru was too slow to stop her from blocking a clawed, chakra infused swipe that Hana had aimed at Kiba's undefended right side. Not having had the chance to block with anything other than her shoulder, she hissed as Hana's animalistic nails raked through her skin, fresh blood splattering across the courtyard as she clutched the wound.

Kiba, being right beside her at the time, tugged her non-too-gently out of the direct line of fire from his mother and Kuromaru's combination jutsu. She threw him a grateful glance, vaguely noting the glimmer of concern in his onyx irises but having no time to reassure him that she was okay.

Standing back to back with Akamaru next to them, the Inu and the Okami faced off against their opponents with newfound determination.

"Let's finish this, Akamaru." Kiba ground out to his white canine, who woofed in agreement.

Luna heard a poof, followed by a light gust of chakra infused energy, and felt their presence's launch away from her in synchronisation. She resisted an eye-roll as the words 'Wolf fang over fang' were exclaimed, and refocused on Hana and Sanmaru.

"So, you've decided to get serious?" Hana taunted, gesturing to the upright position of her tail and ears pricked forward, a rare display of dominance from the she-wolf.

Luna snickered. "Have you?"

And with that, she charged again. Somewhere in her peripheral she was aware of Sanmaru being harassed by Shikoku, leaving her and Hana to engage alone. Luna surprised them both by throwing her smaller frame just lower than usual, ploughing into the veterinarian's stomach and successfully knocking her to the ground with an 'oof'. Pinning the Inuzuka's elbows with her knees, the hybrid bore her palms down hard into Hana's shoulders with all her strength.

The woman beneath her bucked and thrashed against her weight, but somehow, Luna had gained the upper hand in their current position, and it dawned on them both at the same time.

A grin flashed across Luna's mouth as she held her there almost easily, long enough until the rest of the side-line battles had been fought. A scattering of panting Inuzuka's dotted the make-shift arena, all eyes now on their Alpha and her son.

With a soft smile, the veterinarian's movements slowed to halt, something akin to pride colouring Hana's expression. Understanding hit Luna instantly, and she pushed off from her shoulders gently and got to her feet. The she-wolf reached out a hand to Kiba's sister, who took it eagerly and allowed her to tug her up as well.

Apart from Akamaru and Kuromaro, and Kiba and Tsume, they were the last to relinquish their battle. But it was only moments after Hana had yielded when the dogs broke apart, panting furiously as they faced off against each other until mutually deciding that the time had come to end it.

And that left just Kiba and Tsume.

The fight between them looked brutal and vicious, each with their own severe looking wounds, chests heaving as they fought for air against burning lungs. Luna resisted letting her concern show, knowing that if Tsume went even the slightest bit easy on Kiba, the pack may not fully accept him as their Alpha. But it would be a lie to say it sat well with her, watching them fight so ferociously.

There was a collective wince from the watching crowd as a bone-shattering kick landed heavily against Kiba's ribs, but no reaction rivalled Luna's exhale of relief when he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and reappeared behind his mother's back, appearing unaffected.

Luna's heart hammered in her chest as he tackled the unsuspecting Tsume, twisting one of her hands behind her back, with his free arm snaking around her neck so that her throat tucked into the crook of his elbow. It was a near-inescapable choke-hold, but in their current exhausted states, the outcome right now was anyone's guess.

Tsume fought against him furiously, her claws tearing at his sleeves as she struggled to break his hold, and for a moment, it looked as though she was going to, until he readjusted hastily and regained his grip.

"Yield, Ma!" He ground out, the effects of the battle evident in his voice.

Tsume gasped raggedly, fighting for oxygen as she threw her head back and almost managed to butt him off, but his newly adjusted grip held fast.

"I said yield, Ma!" He snarled again, more forcefully. There was a ring of authority in his tone that Luna had never heard before, and it made her tail curl as she flexed her fingers in and out of a fist at her sides.

A broken growl tore from the Inuzuka Alpha's throat, and then suddenly, she stilled.

The courtyard was silent save for the agonising sound of heavy panting, until finally, Tsume patted her son's arm, which was still clamped around her neck.

"Alright, son. I yield."

For another long moment, nobody moved. Nobody spoke. Nobody breathed.

"I said I yield, Kiba. It's over."

Hesitantly slowly, his grip loosened, Tsume shrugging him off the rest of the way and inhaling hoarsely, coughing a little as her lungs filled with much needed air.

The pack watched in captivated awe as the long reigning leader's gaze lifted and dragged across the scene, from her own ninken and Akamaru, to Hana, to Luna, and then to somewhere off behind the hybrid.

Someone cleared their throat, and footsteps sounded across the gravel. An elderly male joined Tsume and Kiba in the centre of the crowd-made circle, his slit-like irises narrowing as he surveyed the area like Tsume had done just moments before.

Unsure of this part of the event, Luna's gaze searched Kiba's face for a clue, but his gaze was guarded as he watched the man levelly. Had it not been for the heavy rise and fall of his chest and torn clothing, Luna might've wondered if he was even worn out at all.

"Well, you have your initial victor, but as is tradition, I put this to you all. As the oldest living Inuzuka, I offer the chance to speak now if anyone wishes to dispute this outcome."

Ah, so that's it, Luna realised. The challenge was only finalised once acknowledged by one of the clan's elders, and apparently tradition also required this question be put to the pack.

Seconds of tense-beyond-belief silence passed, as the Inuzuka elder waited patiently for every single member that was present – and Luna was pretty sure it was the entire clan – to nod their heads in acceptance. His eyes hovered over hers too, until she copied their actions and nodded as well.

And finally, he moved to Kiba's side.

"And you, do you swear to lead, protect and defend this pack, with all your soul, for as long as you hold this title?"

Kiba flashed his fangs at the elder, unable to hold back his grin any longer. "I do."

"Very well." In one swift movement, he lifted the Inuzuka heir's arm into the air. "As elder of the Inuzuka clan, I give you, your new Alpha."

The crowd had erupted before the man had even finished speaking, the Inuzukas rushing forward to surround Kiba with a series of whooping and cheering. Their voices sounded all at once in excited babbling, as though all trying to outdo each other with their own 'congratulations'.

The she-wolf chuckled at the sight, backing up slightly and pulling out the back of the hyperactive crowd to watch quietly from afar.

"You should be up there too, you know." Hana startled her as she appeared beside her, but Luna shook her head.

"No, this is his moment. He deserves this."

But Hana only chuckled, "You sure about that?"

Luna only had a split-second to glance at her questioningly, before the sound of her name reached her ears in an invitingly familiar voice. Scarlet eyes landed on a mess of unruly brown spikes bobbing towards her through the crowd, shouting her name again.

He broke through the last of the Inuzukas and ran towards her, swooping her up off the ground at her waist and turning a full circle in one smooth movement. She laughed and clung to the back of his neck as he lowered her back to her feet, a wild grin on his face which she couldn't help but mirror.

"You did it." She beamed, her eyes sparkling with pride.

"No," Kiba tilted his head. "We did it."

The new Alpha left her no time to process his words as he pulled her flush against him in a full kiss, humming against her mouth as she relaxed against him after the initial surprise. The clan members around them laughed and whistled, and Luna blushed when he pulled back, suddenly feeling shy.

The embarrassment wore off instantly when Kiba snickered, "Guess this makes the Princess a Queen now, huh?".

Her expression replaced instantly with something more mischievous. "Well then, you better start treating me like one, hadn't you, mongrel?"

A/N: The end!

If this isn't the cheesiest ending I've ever written then I don't know what is. I hope it wasn't too terrible anyway…

And I hope you've enjoyed this whole fic, and thank you to all those who have stuck with this story! I know it took a while, but I finally managed to finish, and I hope it was worth it :)

Goodbye for now!