Warning(s): Kiba does not control his language this time around. And further implied domestic abuse.

It was impossible to not see how damaged Inuzuka Kiba was. One would have to be blind to be able to miss everything that was amiss with the teen. And even though Hashirama was usually an oblivious idiot, he was more than able to see the dysfunction within the boy he had taken under his wing.

"His mother is barely ever home. Before I contracted him to take care of Tsunade, he'd just wander around the city." Hashirama's lips were pulled into an uncustomary frown as he sat behind Tobirama's large, pristinely organized desk, "That's how we met, actually. He was walking around like a soul straight out of Hades and wound up crossing mine and Tsunade's path. She fell in love with his dog."

Tobirama had not heard this story before. Even though Hashirama was usually a man that enjoyed to chatter on and on about most things, he'd actually been pretty tight lipped about the young teenager that helped him take care of his granddaughter. Although, from the way his eyes shined and his shoulders straightened whenever he spoke about the kid, it wasn't hard to guess why he'd been so careful with his brother.

Hashirama's expression whenever he looked at Kiba was the same as the one he'd wear whenever he'd looked at his youngest son. A son that currently occupied his rightful (wrong and untimely) place in their family's plot at the local graveyard.

"So you decided to let Kiba into your life because of his dog?" Tobirama asked in a voice he knew sounded dismissive. But his brother knew him well enough to know that he was paying attention. To both his story and the paperwork he was currently working on.

That Kurenai character, the one without any more money, wanted to meet with him. She'd sent him a letter that was just shy of sounding like begging. Aside from that, there was the paperwork to actually complete and file away on this suspended case.

Tobirama had never been the kind to enjoy leaving his cases up in the air...

"Just about, yeah." Hashirama chuckled softly as he then said, "You've got to admit, Akamaru does as much a good job of taking care of Tsunade as Kiba."

From what he had seen, Tobirama could agree with his brother. The moments in which he was able to see Akamaru with his grandniece were very little. But what he had seen had left him more than pleased.

Although Tsunade was now constantly crowing about wanting a dog of her own...

After this was said, the brothers fell into a pleasant silence. Tobirama was close to finishing up with his paperwork and Hashirama was easygoing enough to not mind having to wait a bit longer.

Once the younger brother had finished what he was doing, the man stood up, pocketed the letter sent to him by Kurenai, and nodded over at Hashirama.

"Let's go make sure those two haven't burned down your house."

Hashirama chuckled at the not-quite joke as he pulled on his coat and opened the door into Tobirama's office, "You know Kiba would never let her do that. There are too many books he likes in there to allow that to happen."

A small smile found its way onto the man's lips at the reminder of how much Kiba truly loved Hashirama's collection of books- he'd even gone as far as sneaking into the man's library during his first few days of getting to know him because he didn't want to get caught in fear of getting booted. When he'd first heard about this, Tobirama had found it hard to believe a teen that looked like Kiba might like literature classics. But when he saw the teen with Hashirama's beaten up copy of Brave New World pinched between his arm and stomach as he chased after Tsunade, the man had begun to see the teen enjoyed a good classic.

As they walked the echoing halls of his small practice, the men crossed paths with Tobirama's partner, Madara.

This was a man Tobirama could not stand. When one spoke of just personality, he was one of the worst people in the world. Annoying, rude, and conceited. But, professionally speaking, he was the smartest choice for a business partner. And after years of putting up with him because of his brother, Tobirama had become accustomed to dealing with the jerk.

"Heading off so soon?" Madara asked Hashirama, for it had always been those two to get along. "I thought you had a sitter taking care of the ankle biter."

"Yeah, a neighborhood kid." Hashirama answered with an easy smile, all the while Tobirama breathed in, steeled himself for a long conversation, and leaned against the wall beside him. "His name's Kiba and he's great with kids. Not only that, but he's one of the best students I've ever head."

"Is he in your class?"

"Not at all! High school! But he listens, Madara!"

Hashirama had a pride filled glint in his eyes and his voice was agitated and happy... They'd be here a while.

~/~

Tobirama had no idea why it was that he was driving down to the local high school.

Well, he knew why it was that he was going there. What he didn't quite understand why was he still allowed himself to do things for Hashirama even when he didn't want to.

"Please, brother! If his mother finds out, she'll skin him alive! I just need you to pick him up as if you were his uncle or grandfather- it doesn't matter. The school accepts anyone that looks fancy enough. It's your lunch break, so you shouldn't be too bothered, right? But, please! I'll take him off of your hands as soon as I finish with today's lectures."

The fact that his brother had said the school accepted anyone that looked 'fancy enough' to pick up kids from school was not the right thing to say when they were currently debating over what school they should send Tsunade to. If there were no safety measures to keep these kids protected and safe from getting kidnapped, then there was no way Tsunade would be enrolled.

The man's black Audi stuck out like a sore thumb among the beaten up cars used by both the student and laboral bodies. It wasn't a car that had cost him too much, he'd found a good deal. And it was, luckily enough, not high maintenance enough that he wound up having to send it to the shop every other month. But it was well kept and looked as if it had cost more than fifty thousand dollars.

He parked it in the closest parking spot he could find and made sure to activate all the security measures it held. This school didn't have crime running rampant in it like the ones in the city, but that did not mean Tobirama trusted the more criminally inclined students.

When he walked into the large office in the main building, Tobirama was hit by the smell of scented candles, ink, freshly brewed coffee, and the slightest scent of blood. And when he looked over to one of the chairs near the principal's door, he found two bloodied teenagers.

One was a dark haired boy with one of the dumbest hair cuts Tobirama had ever seen, an almost ghastly love for the color green on his clothes, and an inclination to shift his eyes over to the door every few seconds as if in fear of whatever would come in.

The other was a dark haired boy he knew well.

"Tobirama Senju?" Came a curious, completely interested voice.

"That's me." The man turned from looking over Kiba (he took complete note of the way the teen avoided his gaze) to see the secretary that had called him. "I'm here to pick up Kiba."

"Oh, we know." The woman's hair was dark, but, whenever she moved her head just the slightest bit, there were flashes of purple to be seen. "But, you see, this is his second fight with the same kid. So the principal wants to talk to you about warnings of a third fight."

Tobirama did not have time to spend in a principal's office as a middle-aged, over bearing, and condescending brute warned him over a kid that wasn't even his. He had more than enough work to complete back at the firm. But Hashirama wanted him to help Kiba... And if he didn't stick around, the kid's mother would be called. And he was sure that if he allowed that to happen, then Hashirama wouldn't leave him alone.

With a stiff nod, the man moved to sit down on the uncomfortable plastic chair beside Kiba.

Neither had a single thing to say.

~/~

"If another fight is to break out, Kiba will be getting expelled. Morino has a zero-fighting tolerance and the only reason he hasn't kicked him out yet is because of the sudden spike in grades he's currently been on. He's lucky he's only getting suspended right now."

As Tobirama explained the situation to his brother, he noted that Kiba kept his head down and towards the dining room table.

Hashirama frowned heavily as he looked over at the kid from the corner of his eyes, then asked, "And Rock Lee? How hurt was he? What was his punishment?"

With his arms crossed over his chest and with a plate of food that had yet to be touched sat in front of him, Tobirama finally turned to glare at Kiba.

"Why don't you answer that?"

The teenager shifted in his chair as he stifled a flinch, then breathed out heavily and answered, "Split lip, couple a cuts... Fucker said 'e lost a tooth..."

"What?" Hashirama gasped, eyes wide, even though Kiba refused to look up at him. "You hit that boy hard enough to make him lose a tooth?!"

Tsunade wasn't inside of Hashirama's house. Which was the reason why Kiba had used such a word. And also the only reason why Hashirama dared shout out. His brother, even if in a fit of blind fury, never screamed whenever he was around his granddaughter. He still remembered their father's propensity to become angered much too quickly and refused to give Tsunade that image of himself.

"He was going off 'bout his fucking family again." Kiba spit out, even as he kept his gaze down on the dinner he had yet to touch.

It had been a quick dinner Hashirama had picked up on the way home, apparently feeling like there would be no time for a home cooked meal. Tobirama was grateful, seeing how he'd ended up skipping his lunch to rush back into the office and continue working. And Kiba, if he hadn't been pig headed enough to refuse to eat until either of the brothers did, would have been scarfing it down like a starved animal, seeing how he too had lost his lunch time.

As he'd sat in Tobirama's office, the man had learned quite a few things from just his body language.

First, the teen had a tendency to jump at any loud noise that startled him. If it was because he was naturally a jumpy individual or because he thought loud noises meant danger, Tobirama was not sure. But both seemed likely. Second, he did not like sitting around. He'd squirm, bounce his knees, twiddle his fingers, and randomly begin to hum to chase off the boredom. And, the last thing he'd learned, was that Kiba did not like being touched suddenly. Sasuke had just barely dodged the fist thrown his way when he'd asked the teen if he wanted anything to drink.

Tobirama had been slightly amused at seeing the teenager trying to keep himself busy and quiet as he'd worked. Although he'd wound up becoming even further frustrated with the troubled boy when he'd almost hurt his partner's nephew.

"There is nothing wrong with talking about someone's family." Hashirama told the boy in a firm voice that left no room to discuss. "You cannot solve your problems with your fists, Kiba. That is not the right way to go about your life."

"Dyumbass cunt of a bastard don't understand nothin' but fists-" Kiba began to shout and look up defiantly at his brother, only to suddenly force his head back down.

"Doesn't. Kiba." Hashirama hissed in warning as his jaw visibly tightened, "Look at me, dammit."

Kiba's whole body froze up at the sudden growl that left Hashirama, making Tobirama frown.

Even though he was able to keep himself under control when around Tsunade, Hashirama still had Butsuma's anger. The man was less of a terrifying creature when compared to their brother... But it was almost scary how Tobirama was able to compare them both.

"Brother." He called out, grabbing his attention. Then he sent a pointed look to the man, motioning to the subtle quaking that had overtaken the teen's shoulders.

If one were to strain their hearing, they would hear the teen sniffling to hold back sobs.

When Hashirama noticed this, his whole demeanor fell. His face went from one of restrained anger to complete terror, and he quickly moved to try and salvage the situation.

"Tsunade should be arriving any time now; she went to visit her friend Jiraiya, you see. I'm sure she'll be excited to see you tonight, seeing how you weren't supposed to come here." Hashirama's tone was softer and much more composed now, having taken note of how much his anger was affecting the teenager. "You know you did wrong. You know you can't get into another fight. How about we just finish this dinner and go ahead and watch a quick movie before putting Tsunade to bed?"

Tobirama did not agree with Hashirama's complete turn. The fact that this was the second time the kid had gotten into a fight proved that he didn't understand that he couldn't continue getting into them. But, at the moment, he was more than sure that Kiba was about to break down. So he wasn't about to push the teen to try and become somewhat disciplined.

Although, if his brother wished to help the teen, he couldn't continue to be too soft with him. The kid would need a heavier hand to keep him grounded. To keep him from doing anything as stupid as getting into a third fight.

~/~

The Saturday morning after Kiba had been suspended, Tobirama found himself having a small conversation with the kid.

His mother found out about the fight and subsequent week long suspension. And she had not happy with any of this at all.

"You worthless little shit! I work two jobs just for you to get suspended from school? Kiba Inuzuka, either you start taking your future seriously or I'll disown you faster than you can get a girl pregnant!"

Tobirama had not expected these words to be the ones to walk out to hear when he began to make his way to his brother's home. But they had been what greeted him on what had been a rather peaceful Monday morning. And when he looked over at his neighbor's, he found a woman that looked like a carbon copy of Kiba only with ample breasts, taller height, and an even fiercer look on her face smacking the teen upside the head.

Kiba wasn't even out of his pajamas. But he was still being dragged out of his home by the rather terrifying woman.

"Now you get the hell out of my house. I can smell the weed you've been using in your room and I refuse to let you stay alone for the rest of the day! Hana, her girl, and I are going shopping and I'm not about to let you have your fun in my house!"

Behind her, two more women walked out. The first had long black hair that was pulled into a polished ponytail, features that looked a lot like Kiba's own, just much less feral, and two fang shaped tattoos on her left shoulder. And the second was a brown haired woman that wore a long, tight, blue dress that left almost nothing to the imagination and had a face Tobirama immediately knew he would never trust.

"But, ma, I don't-"

"Want me to kick your ass?!" The woman interrupted, shoving him over towards his mailbox to then shove a finger in his face. "Then shut your petty mouth up. I don't wanna hear it." Then she turned back to the two woman, "And today started off as a good day..."

The one Tobirama assumed to be Kiba's sister shrugged half heartedly, "Told you he's been up to weird stuff lately, mom."

"Damned deadbeat." The woman frowned, then shouted, "Just like his father!" To make sure Kiba heard.

After this, the three women piled into a clean yet old pickup truck Tobirama assumed to belong to Kiba's mother. This left Kiba standing out by the mailbox in only his beaten up pajama pants, barefoot and shirtless in the early morning.

As he'd watched the scene unfold, Tobirama had slowly walked down his walkway. He'd looked on quiet, silently taking notes of how truly dysfunctional the family was. And once the women were gone, he crossed the street and cleared his throat to get a glaring Kiba's attention.

Not once, in all the time Tobirama had spent around him, had the teenager reeked of weed. Even though, at one point, he'd faintly smelled of it. When Tobirama had pointed it out, Kiba had shoved his jacket off and thrown it into the trash.

His father had smoked. His sister smoked. The no good girlfriend smoked. But Kiba didn't.

When he heard Tobirama, Kiba jumped away with wide eyes. But when he noticed who the man was and how he wasn't about to get hurt, the teen visibly relaxed.

"Oh, hey Tobirama..." He tried to offer a small smile, which failed and looked more like a wince than anything else. "Sorry... If that woke you up, I mean... Shitty way to wake up..."

Kiba continued to ramble about something at that point, but Tobirama did not pay attention. Instead he looked over the teen's visible skin, scanning to try and find any traces of bruises, cuts, or makeup used to hide injuries.

His face was still busted up from the past fight, and there were two bruises to his side, just like Tobirama had known would form after the two hits Rock Lee had managed to land.

There was no concrete evidence of domestic abuse. Yet.

"Sis smokes." Kiba huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he hunched over self-consciously. "Mei does too. But I don't. Can't stand that shit, you know."

Tobirama did not know. But it seemed that Kiba wasn't aware of that.

"Bitch says she uses it to focus an' shit, but I ain't an idiot. I'm a goddamn moron, but I'm not an idiot. An' I ain't a fool either." He frowned heavily as he glared over in the direction his mother had left, "Bitch told on me. That damned girl o' her's is horrible. Makes her snitch on me just ta get herself some shiny new purse or whatever from ma."

This was odd. "What do you mean?"

The teen passed his hands over his arms, trying to warm himself in the morning chill. "Whenever I'm caught by either Hana or Mei, ma rewards 'em for 'keeping me on the straight an' narrow' by buying them useless shit they'll never fucking need or use."

The fact that this woman abandoned her son out in the middle of the street without proper clothes and ran off to 'reward' her daughter and daughter's girlfriend for having told on Kiba... It was horrible.

Butsuma had been a military man that had accepted zero shit from his sons. He'd drilled discipline and respect into them as soon as they had been able to understand the difference between right and wrong. And he'd handed out some harsh punishments in his time, but they'd all had reasons to be in the end...

All parents had a different parenting style. All parents had a reason for what they did. Maybe this was just this woman's way of disciplining a child she thought was too far into troublemaking for normal punishments.

"Why don't you come in? I'll give you some breakfast and find some old clothes for you to change into." Tobirama offered the teen, all the while motioning for his own home.

"Sure about that?" The teen asked, "She don't seem like she'd be happy seein' me gettin' helped and shit."

It was odd to hear that Kiba actually cared about what his mother thought, but the man soon nodded. "What she does not know will not hurt her."

..~..~..

Kiba's family is so messed up... I feel so bad putting him through this...

But, please, review and tell me what you think! Make this struggling college student happier than she already is! ... 'Cause she ain't all that happy...