Warning(s): Angsty backstory and implied underage drinking. That is all.

In the very beginning, Tobirama assigned Kiba for Saturday morning training.

It was only one day a week that he would not go into his office in the very mornings and he could afford such a schedule. And Kiba himself found no complications within his own schedule to use his Saturday mornings for physical training.

At first, Kiba struggled to keep up with the grueling program Tobirama established. This did not surprise the man at all, seeing how he had expected complications to arise as soon as he showed Kiba just how truly serious he was about getting him into the track team.

He may have always found complications in his life when it came to outside sports because of his skin condition, but that had never stopped him from keeping a strict workout regime that still kept him in pique physical condition. He may not have been able to run around in the sun like others, but he did everything he could to be able to exercise underneath a sturdy ceiling.

Midway through their first month, Tobirama had fully expected for Kiba to call it quits, call him a drill sergeant, and promise to hate him for the rest of his life. And he would have perfectly understood this, seeing how he had done his best to try and break the teenager within the first month.

He wasn't being so harsh out of spite. Not at all. He was being harsh because he needed Kiba to know that there wouldn't be anything about him joining the track team. He needed to understand from the very beginning that he would not get cut any slack and he would not be receiving any sympathy- not from Tobirama.

But something happened to Kiba in between the night before their fourth practice in the month- a night in which he had seemed to be ruled over by doom and gloom and lack of enthusiasm- and the following morning.

The kid had not run that fast in the whole time Tobirama had been training him… And the man had found himself feeling somewhat cheated.

But, at the same time, he was proud.

Kiba understood the difficulties that would come from their continued practices. And he was clearly prepared to face them head on.

"Monday night. Be here at eight sharp. Have I been understood?"

Kiba had been busy panting like one of those dogs he loved so much after he had finished up the last lap Tobirama had assigned him to do. And the man had fully expected to have to repeat himself because the teenager had not managed to hear him over the sounds of his own mouth.

But then something unexpected happened.

Tobirama found himself with a sweaty, out of breath, yet completely elated teenager wrapped up in his arms, panting out huffed "Thank you!"s and "I won't let you down, Tobirama!"s.

Awkwardly, he patted at the kid's back, feeling both disgusted at the sweat that was soaking into his clothes yet happy to find the kid so happy and excited to continue their practices.

"Whatever… Just get off of me and go take a shower." Tobirama managed to push Kiba away with a bit of force, only to find him grinning like a complete fool.

Kiba was an oddity Tobirama would never have expected him to be in the beginning. And, really, he was happy about this. He was happy that his initial judgment about him had been completely wrong.

Kiba Inuzuka was a good kid.

He wouldn't have expected that in a million years from just their first meeting.

~/~

"Oh, no, I can't hang out with you guys today. I've got to get home before Hana does if I don't want to get locked out by her."

Tobirama was out of town on some kind of business trip or something and he didn't want to bother Hashirama because the man really needed some rest and relaxation after all the stress he'd been under now that he actually had to get serious over sending Tsunade to an actual school instead of just home schooling.

Hidan could house him, he guessed… But he didn't want to bother his old friend. College had started up for him yet again and he was actually trying to make something out of himself; which meant that he needed to get grades rather than just parade around and have fun.

Summer was gone and his training with Tobirama was put on a small hiatus because of the business trip he had to go on. The fall semester had already begun, but there still wasn't enough work for them to complete for them to have to lose their weekends doing projects. So he'd been invited to hang out with Hinata, Neji, and Tenten.

He didn't mind Neji… Too much.

But his friends still made sure that he and Rock Lee never crossed paths.

Not like he'd do anything to the little shit… He didn't think he would be able to handle another scolding from Hashirama and Tobirama if he managed to get into another fight with the lowlife.

Look at that: avoiding fights to keep the Senju brothers happy. Wasn't he an upstanding citizen?

"Lock you out?" Tenten parroted, her eyes widening immediately. "You can't be serious. Nobody'd lock their little brother out of the house just because he stayed up too late."

"Oh, you don't know my sister." Kiba smiled softly, even though he wasn't able to keep bitterness from slipping into his words.

Hidan said that this was the biggest change he didn't know how to deal with. And, quite frankly, Kiba only knew how to handle it because he did his best to avoid all kinds of confrontations with his sister- no matter what.

They'd never had a great relationship. He and Hana had fought like cats and dogs when they were kids. But Kiba had once admired his sister.

He didn't admire her anymore. All he did was avoid her at all costs.

"Still… Locking you out in the middle of the night… It's excessive." Neji added his own cents, only to have Hinata nod beside him.

"Not even Uncle Hizashi threatens Neji with that… And he's really strict."

Kiba wanted to scoff bitterly at them.

These three… They had good families. They had the kind of families that would be able to send them to college once they got the scholarships they deserved for their stellar records. They had the kind of families that would send them to a good college even if they weren't able to get their scholarships… They had the kind of families that would make sure he didn't have to suffer through injuries without going to the hospital because 'it builds character'… They had the kinds of families that wouldn't kick them out in the middle of the night because a bratty sibling swore they had smelled marijuana in their rooms.

They lived good lives.

He didn't.

It was just the way the world worked.

Sighing softly, Kiba glanced down at the lunch Hashirama had given him before he'd left for school.

Even as swamped and overworked as he was, Hashirama Senju still found a way to get up before he had to leave for school so he could pack and deliver him a proper lunch.

Even with Tsunade becoming a fussy child that was too much like a teenager sometimes and overbearing bosses that needed to get with the times to avoid a full on revolution in the university he taught in, Hashirama still found a way to make his day better.

Well… His life was pretty bad… But at least he had the Senju family.

"That's just the way the cookie crumbles. I could maybe hang out with you next week, though. Tobirama will be back from his business trip so I'll have a place to crash in."

Hinata frowned in that way that always sent a pang of regret shooting through his heart.

But Kiba did his best to ignore her as he took a bite out of his delicious, meat laden sandwich.

When Hana had been a snooty pre-teen- no more than twelve, maybe- and he'd still been too young to man a stove, their parents had asked her to make sure he was fed before he went to bed.

Like eight year olds were prone to do, Kiba had run amok in the neighborhood and made sure to do everything possible to avoid going back home. By the time he had returned, though, he had been hungry and prepared for a good meal.

There had been nothing waiting for him. Not even in the fridge.

When he'd sought Hana out in her room, he hadn't found her.

So he'd served himself some milk, cried a couple of tears, then waited in his bed for his parents to come back.

Both of them had been enraged. His mother more than his father because she had been the one to leave Hana with the orders. So they'd made a big show of pulling her out of the party she had been in and scolded her in front of all of her friends for having abandoned her little brother in such a cold manner.

Sighing softly, Kiba blinked quickly to cease the stinging in his eyes.

His friends were talking amongst each other again, apparently ignorant to how quiet he suddenly became.

He wasn't sure if this was the night his sister began to hate him. But he was sure that nothing was ever the same after that.

His sister still hated his guts, after all. Even after almost a whole decade.

~/~

Kiba staying the night wasn't odd anymore.

The teenager spent more time outside of his home than he did inside.

Tobirama still had no idea just how in the world Tsume Inuzuka had managed to keep custody of both of her children with the way she ran her household. She must have bribed some social workers, given sob stories to countless police officers, maybe she had even claimed abusive husband and bratty children at some point. Because there was no way that she had never encountered any kind of challenge because of how she chose to raise her kids.

The Senju had always been firm believers of 'spoil the child, hurt the child'. They believed that a child should be called out when necessary to keep them from becoming self-entitled and useless as members of society.

But what he had seen Tsume say to Kiba whenever she refused to listen to him and instead only paid attention to her daughter… Well, Tobirama genuinely believed that she must be delusional to some degree.

It was because of Tsume's harsh- almost borderline abusive- parenting that Tobirama never denied Kiba entry to his home.

Like tonight.

He had been spending a quiet evening reading up on a case he was supposed to present in court the following day when he was pulled out of his reading by a swift knock to his front door.

When he'd opened it, he had found Kiba standing in regular clothes with a bag over one shoulder, his hand closed tightly around Akamaru's leash.

The dog had been busying himself by sniffing at the bushes nestled between Tobirama's front door and his home's outer wall.

"Hey, there's a party tonight. I was wondering if I could go and then spend the night here?"

The request was new. But it didn't really catch Tobirama by surprise.

Not much caught him by surprise if it dealt with the true depravation Kiba had to deal with because of his family.

He glanced at the clock behind him to find that it was only six in the afternoon. It wasn't particularly late- if anything, it had been rather early for a teenage party.

"Why? Did your mom kick you out of your house again?"

"Nah." Kiba shrugged as he offered a small smile. Tobirama was able to see the sadness he tried to hide with it. His blood began to boil. "Sis is staying the night, though, and Mei too. If I'm not back in the house before ten, they usually lock me out. And this party's supposed to go until at least midnight."

Tobirama frowned when he heard the sister's name.

Then he stepped aside and motioned for Kiba and Akamaru to walk into his house.

"And at what time would you be returning from the party?"

"Wait, I have to give you a time?"

Tobirama rolled his eyes at how utterly surprised Kiba sounded.

"If you wish to stay here, yes."

The teenager blinked at him, looked down at his dog, then looked back up at him. He looked unbelievably confused and taken aback.

How could Kiba still not understand the need for curfews?

"Uh… Three in the morning?"

It was almost cute how utterly clueless he was.

"Too late."

"Two thirty in the morning?"

Tobirama merely stared at him with an unimpressed look on his face.

Kiba pursed his lips, then tried, "Two in the morning?"

Now Tobirama smirked. He couldn't help himself. It was just amusing. "Twelve thirty. And if you're not here by twelve forty, I will go out to look for you."

"Wha- seriously?"

Tobirama had been prepared for an argument.

He had not been prepared to hear Kiba sound so surprised.

"Of course I'm serious. How long have we known each other now, Kiba? You know I don't mess around."

"Yeah, I know… S'just…" He shrugged and looked down at the floor, all the while he thrust his hands into his pants' pockets.

Those had been bought by Hashirama. They were lacking holes and tears.

That jacket had been a gift from both brothers.

How could Kiba seriously still be surprised when they let him know that they actually cared about his well being?

"So, I'm allowed to go?"

"Whose party is it?"

"This chick named Karui. She's Chouji's girlfriend."

Tobirama looked at Kiba with a deadpan glare. "And who is Chouji?"

"Shikamaru's friend."

Kiba seemed suddenly rather chipper.

"And who is Shikamaru?"

"Ino's friend."

"…" Tobirama frowned, crossed his arms over his chest, closed his eyes, and sighed.

He couldn't see Kiba's broad smile. But he knew the exact expression the teenager was wearing.

"Hinata invited me. And, come on, if Hiashi is letting his little princess go, then you know there's nothing wrong with me going."

Kid had a point.

"You are insufferable…"

"Big word. Are ya proud I know what it means?"

This kid would be the death of him…

~/~

When they arrived at the party, it was for Hinata to immediately be scooped into a large hug by Ino.

Neji and Tenten were received in a similar manner by Ino's friends, Shikamaru and Chouji.

He shuffled awkwardly in the doorway, trying to seem busy by staring at the decorations that had been strung around the two-story house rather than waiting around for someone to notice him.

A dark skinned chick with dark red hair walked up to him with an almost wicked look in her bright eyes.

"I'm guessing you're the tattooed brat that Ino had to kick the crap out of?"

"Karui!"

Ino appeared beside them in a flash, glaring at the other girl while Kiba regretted having accepted the invitation to come.

He'd never bothered with parties before. Not because he didn't like the idea of them- dancing around, having fun, and acting like complete fools? Sign him up! No, he hadn't gone to parties simply because he didn't want to fall into the same crowd his sister had. The lone wolf act had worked well enough for him. And lone wolves did not go to teenage parties.

But now that he had friends… Well, he had friends that invited him places.

It was still weird… People that wanted to hang out with him without needing him to give them something in return… It was a nice change, though.

He was sure that he wouldn't have felt as awkward in a party thrown by somebody from his old school. But everyone in this school was still kind of wary and weird when it came to him… So he felt like a complete outcast sometimes, even though he managed to make some- he thought- solid friends.

"What? I'm just messing with him." Karui smiled at him then motioned for him to follow her. "Welcome to my lovely abode. Drinks are in the kitchen, second floor bedrooms are off-limits and locked, and the pool is right outside. Skinny dipping is only allowed after ten and three tequila shots."

He would not be doing that.

Even though Tobirama hadn't told him he couldn't drink, he had the feeling that the man wouldn't appreciate him taking part in an activity that was illegal for his age.

"Uh… Thanks…"

The girl led him through the dancefloor already filled with too many people, past a lounge where four people were playing some racing game and had a rather large crowd cheering and jeering, and directly into the kitchen.

A couple of seconds after she pushed a red cup into his hands, the Hinata and Neji arrived.

"I'm completely stunned you three came." Karui admitted as she served three more drinks, having to raise her voice so she could be heard through the booming bass of the music that rattled the house's foundations. "The Hyuga Cousins and Mr. Juvvie? I never would have expected it."

She gave two cups to the cousins, grabbed her own, and pushed her right hand towards Hinata, Neji, and Kiba with a broad smile.

"To a night we'll never remember, yeah?"

~..~..~

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