Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

REVISED 5/30/2015

All posted chapters have been revised. This basically involved cleaned up typos, rewording a little dialogue, fixing a messed up name and correcting a continuity error. While there are very likely still errors because I'm not perfect, these should be a little cleaner. I have redone all that was already posted in order to get myself back in the game of writing. I know it's been getting close to a year now since I've last updated, but I am working on it. Life happened and I'm sorry but I'm back. And if it makes you feel better, my little sister is going to be badgering me to update and since I live with this person and I'll want her off my back, it is likely that you will get more frequent updates now.

No Thanks Necessary

Chapter 3

Shikaku Nara stretched out a crick in his neck as he meandered down the road from the village proper to the edges where his clan's compound was located. At his side was the silent Shibi Aburame whose home was also in that general direction.

The pair was heading home from a jounin council meeting where they had been revamping the village safety procedures. He hated those meetings. They were always long and drawn out, with people rambling on and on and on and in the end they just ended up doing whatever it was that Shikaku himself had suggested in the first few minutes. If they would just get over having to hear themselves speak, they could all just get out of there a lot sooner and be back with their families instead of stuck around an oval table listening to grown adults bitching and whining like children.

There was a loud thumping bang-like sound that echoed from another compound off the road.

"The Inuzukas are sure riled up tonight." He grunted glancing over towards the canine clan.

"Are they ever not?" Shibi countered, moonlight tinting off of his glasses as he shifted them on his nose behind his high collar.

"Hmmm," Shikaku hummed in agreement waving off Shibi as the bug user turned off to his own family's home and continued on to his.

With instincts honed by years of experience on the battlefield, Shikaku jolted awake in what most would deem the silence of his own bedroom, on complete alert and ready to lash out or bolt at a moment's notice.

He took in the dark stillness of the room and understood no immediate threat was hurtling towards him.

But he had heard it.

He was out of the room, tugging on his mesh armor shirt before his wife could even wake up or nag him about waking her up as he got out of bed.

Again.

There it was.

"Mr. Nara! Mr. Nara!"

He was at the door, yanking it open when a sleepy eyed Shikamaru stood in his own doorway trying to figure out what was going on, rubbing the back of one fist against his right eye.

Shikaku tore the door fully open to see young Hana Inuzuka bolting up the front path, mostly out of breath, cheeks reddened from the effort, but not slowing.

She scaled the steps and bent over, hands on her knees.

"Kiba…" she gasped, "Here…?"

"Is your brother here?" Shikaku clarified, voice tense, his mind instantly jumping to the Hyuuga incident years before when Shikamaru's classmate Hinata had been kidnapped as an attempt to steal the Byakugan. Was someone else stealing clan children? Even though the Inuzuka's didn't have a bloodline limit, they had powerful stamina and the inherit ability to understand the speech of canine's and fierceness in battle would be a powerful aide to any army.

Hana bobbed her head incessantly, her eyes looking up hopefully at the Nara leader.

Shikaku shook his head. "I'm sorry, we were all asleep. Your brother isn't here."

Hana's eyes dimmed and her legs shook under her. "Where could he be…?" She whispered, fear edging into her voice.

"Here." A dull voice spoke suddenly and Shikaku glanced down to see his own son offering the girl a glass of water, which she gulped gratefully.

Kiba was Shikamaru's age Shikaku thought idly.

"How about you tell me what's going on and then I can try and help you find your brother." Shikaku proposed.

Hana's hand shook as Shikamaru took back the now empty glass and she let Shikaku steer her to the edge of the porch where she took a seat.

"Kiba wasn't in his room." She said shortly. "And most of the dogs are off on a hunting mission, the others lost his scent at the stream."

So Kiba was actively trying to avoid being found. Interesting. "And he's nowhere in the house." That wasn't a question. An Inuzuka would always know who was in their house. "And you checked all of his friends?"

"We're doing it now." She bit her lip and looked like she was fighting back tears. "I was just at the Aburames and then I came here because you're close."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes. "Kiba can take care of himself." He offered, carefully watching the young girl. "I'm sure he's fine."

She waved a hand in the air, "I'm sure he is. He spends more nights away from home than he does in it lately."

She stopped suddenly and clasped her hands over her mouth, staring up at shock at the jounin who smile mirthlessly.

"Why doesn't he stay at home?"

Hana looked utterly miserable. "I can't really say…"

Shikaku sighed, "So something is going on at home. Something that scares you into silence and Kiba to the point where he can't even remain in the house. If it's happening so frequently it has to be something within your immediate family. The question then is, where is Kiba running to for safety?" Shikaku didn't force the answers out of the girl, he already had a million scenarios in his mind. Most of which weren't too pleasant.

"If it's happening frequently we should have heard about it by now. People gossip and we should have heard about the son of the Inuzuka clan head frequently staying with another family." Shikaku paused. "Unless he's cycling to more than one and they don't know it…"

"It would seem not." Tsume Inuzuka stepped out of the darkness, a tired expression on her face.

A gruff voice came from behind her and the tired expression turned to one of intense anger.

"None of his friends know where he is. And he hasn't been staying with any of them either." A large man, wide in the chest and almost nothing but muscle walked up the path, his facial expression contorted in annoyance and anger and something else that Shikaku feared very much to be rage. Biyoku Inuzuka was infamous within Konoha and so needed no introduction.

"Dad…" Hana whispered, tense.

And all of Shikaku's fears about the home life of Kiba and Hana Inuzuka were confirmed.

"The little brat shouldn't be running around on his own!"

"Well maybe he wouldn't need to run off if someone…"

Shikaku stood up suddenly, "Tsume please!"

She shut her mouth, but continued to glower at her husband.

"The important thing here is to find Kiba."

"Um…" Shikamaru coughed behind him and the assembled group turned to look at Kiba's classmate. "Has anyone checked with Naruto?"

Shikaku knew his own eyes flashed wide for a moment but that ended when he heard the growl.

"With…that…?!"

Biyoku was turning purple with rage and he quickly turned and bolted away, Tsume on his heels, "Don't you dare harm that boy!"

Shikaku knew of the man's temper. It had landed him on suspension more times than the Nara cared to remember and he found himself taking off after the man as well, trying desperately to catch up, even though trying to match an Inuzuka in speed was like trying to keep a single grain of sand from falling – namely impossible. Nevertheless, he pushed chakra through his legs and dashed off into the night, hoping that what he feared would not be coming to pass, tossing a "Stay here!" back towards Hana who Yoshino was steering inside, trying to ignore the fear in his own son's eyes.

Both of them knew that this night would be ended badly for someone.

And logically, statistically, realistically, the blonde was in trouble.