Hi, I realized I didn't put any notes in my first chapter, and I'm also lazy as fuck so I'm just gonna smash them all here.

I am not a fan of this pairing (at least not yet), and I am a KibaHina fan. But, I think this is an interesting pairing none the less, and it just makes me curious with all these unexplained relationships. So, this is just my take on it.

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Tamaki and I had coffee, once a week. Akamaru was such a fucking traitor though. He liked her because she brought these homemade treats from her store. So he would put his head in her lap and she'd pet his head, his big fat tail wagging around and his tongue lolling out. She didn't even care when he drooled all over her. She just laughed absentmindedly and Akamaru would just grin at me. The damn mutt got more action than I did.

What I found out about Tamaki was pretty simple. She and her grandmother owned a pet store nearby; her mother had been a great kunoichi who fought in the Anbu with Tsunade. She died after Tamaki was born though, and her father left.

She liked her coffee black and croissants with apricot jam. Most times, we would split a large croissant, which I paid for, and she would buy me a coffee. I wasn't as hardcore though; I liked it with milk and sugar. She liked to tease me about it.

Apparently, Tamaki was pretty well known. A lot of people went to her store to buy pet supplies. And she was the only operating vet in the village.

Shikamaru convinced me to take her out for lunch with them.

Actually, correction. Temari convinced Shikamaru to convince me. Shikamaru didn't care.

She liked vegetarian dumplings and spicy beef stew. She and Choji talked medicine, Temari and Shikamaru were arguing among themselves. But, even though their conversation was heated, they were smiling the whole time.

I was so envious.

Ino got me another cup of tea, to rescue me from my brooding and myself. She winked at me. "She's pretty cute, eh?"

Tamaki was pretty. But that wasn't it. I guess we got along because she was honest, and I was brutally frank. I gave her crap, and she gave me crap right back. Also, the smell of musky vanilla underneath that cat stench was comforting.

I did like her. I will admit to that. She was easy to talk to, but she wasn't dense and she wasn't stupid. She wasn't superficial, and she wasn't narcissistic.

But, I still thought about Hinata too much. My wounds were too deep to start anything new. I think Ino knew this because she didn't say anything else. She didn't push the matter, which was unlike the old Ino.

I really was happy for Choji. I had to hand it to him, he did good.

Tamaki and Temari were gossiping or something. I didn't want to listen in, but what she said I couldn't ignore.

"I heard the Hokage is getting married."

Shit. The tea cup in my hand shattered. The broken pieces between my shaking fingers looked just like me.

Choji frantically looked at me, and Tamaki glanced over. I guess the look on my face shut her up because her eyes widened a little and she looked quizzically at the rest of them. Nobody said anything.

I stood up suddenly. I hated it. This was pathetic. I was pathetic. Everybody was staring at me like I was going to break down and cry. I wouldn't though.

"I'll see you guys later."

Tamaki started off after me, but Temari hushed her gently and pulled her back down. That was probably the first time I had seen her looked shocked and hurt. They were going to give her explanations. And she was going to pity me. Our friendship would probably end there. I didn't need pity.

I started avoiding the coffee shop. I avoided my friends, too. But, that wasn't exactly new. Even Akamaru was peeved at me. He wanted to see Tamaki, and he mostly wanted to eat those treats she had. But still, I wouldn't comply. I told him to go find her himself; it would be easy for him. But, he was faithful, and I couldn't be angry at him after that.

It had been a week or two. I was running a few errands for my mom as courtesy for taking up space and food in the house.

I saw Temari looking outside the shop window. I was going to ignore her, but her puffy eyes told me something was up.

"Temari."

She barely glanced at me. "Hey, Kiba."

"What's wrong?"

Even though she was wickedly tough and had a thorny personality to match, I knew why Shikamaru loved her. I knew why he chose her as his mate. So, it bothered me that she was unhappy.

It came out like a whisper. "He proposed."

I grinned. "You should be happy." Right? Girls liked these things, I thought.

She shook her head, her little pigtails bobbing around. "He wants kids. His family is expecting grandchildren."

Temari. Desert bitch. Fan-wielding queen. Sister of the god-fucking-damn Kazekage and part of the horrific Sand Sibling Trio. And she was afraid of popping a few babies out her vagina.

Still, I tried to be understanding. Let's be honest; I was a dude, I didn't have to worry about these sort of things. "If you're not ready yet, he can wait. He's the heir to the Nara clan. His parents will understand." Maybe not. His father was pretty lazy and understanding. He wouldn't care either way. It was probably the mother.

Yeah. It was definitely her.

Temari kept shaking her head. There was something I was missing. "It's not that… Kiba. Things have happened to me. I don't even know if I can have kids."

Oh. Shit. That was pretty bad. If you couldn't mate, you couldn't have kids. If you couldn't have kids, you couldn't pass on your genes, your inheritance. In the Inuzuka clan, these were all bad. There was nothing worse than being unable to pass down your strength, your bloodline.

"Have you told him yet?"

She shook her head again.

I sighed, "You should tell him."

Temari started crying. "What if he leaves me?"

Which translated into: what if she turned out like me. Having one of me was bad enough. Having another would be much, much worse. Especially if it was Temari.

I gave her a squeeze around the shoulders. "Oh, c'mon Temari. Shikamaru loves you so damn much. Sure, he might want kids. But, he cherishes you so much that if you can't, it won't matter."

I winked at her wolfishly. "Besides, you've never tried right? Practice yields results most of the time."

She turned bright red. I had to admit, they probably didn't have sex quite that often because Temari was busy with her own village's affairs.

"Okay… I'll trust your word." And she should. I was pretty good with these sorta things.

She wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"Oh, by the way, Tamaki is waiting for you at that café."

Shit. It was like, nine at night. "You're joking."

She shook her head. "No. She wants to apologize to you, but you keep fucking avoiding her." She laughed. "Tamaki is damn persistant, you know."

Fuck. I guess I had to go see her then.

I went out to look for her. But, when I found her, she was yelling.

Not at me though. At these guys. They were harassing her. What did she expect? A pretty young thing, sitting all alone at night. God, she was stubborn and perhaps stupid too.

I wanted to wait for them to leave her alone. I knew she wouldn't want me to get involved. But, one of the guys started to yank her out of the chair and that's when I drew the line. Women were to be respected; not abused.

"Hey, hey guys." I lazed over and draped my arm around Tamaki suddenly. She jumped out of her skin, but I grabbed her hand with mine. She was shaking, and her fingers were cold. Just how long had she been waiting?

There were three of them. True, I could probably take them. But, it would be painful and dangerous for Tamaki. Also, I kinda didn't want to get fucked up.

So I did what I did best.

Make shit up.

She was pale and obviously scared. The guys were scrutinizing me up and down, and I pulled her closer into my side.

"This one yours?" The ugliest one asked me. God, he has bigger canines than Akamaru.

I nodded, looked down at Tamaki, and nudged her gently. "Yeah, she's mine."

One of the others wrinkled his nose in disdain at me. "Didn't know your boyfriend was an Inuzuka, Cat-chan."

"I am, I swear. We go way back." I winked at her, and she smiled faintly.

When they looked as though they still didn't believe me, I flexed my arm menacingly. "I claim her." I growled. "She's mine, and if you want her, you'll have to fight for it."

I grip tightened around Tamaki; I was prepared to shove her out of the way and beat some ass.

With mixed expressions on their faces, they glanced at one another for a moment.

"Okay... Later... Cat-chan."

They left. Actually, they ran off. We were known for being dogs, but we were tough as shit too. You didn't pick a fight for us unless you were desperate or had a death wish.

Once they were out of sight, I let out a sigh of relief and relaxed my hold. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her really hard. "You fucking idiot. You could've gotten really messed up there."

Tamaki was still pale as a ghost, but she shoved me off and stuck her tongue out. "A gentleman doesn't make a lady wait."

She had a point.

"I'm really sorry about that." In retrospect, I was ashamed of myself. All I did these days was run away.

"I'm sorry too."

We were quiet for a moment, and I couldn't see her face that well due to the dim lighting.

"I'm sorry about the other day, too. I didn't know that happened." She added softly.

I shrugged it off. But, the wounds still ached, "It's fine."

She laughed, "You're a damn liar." She wiped at her face. Was she wiping away tears? Who was she crying for? Herself? Or was it for me.

I was startled to see a smear of blood on her cheek.

"Shit, you're bleeding."

"What?" She was just as shocked as I was. I looked over and checked her face. All clear. It took us awhile to figure out that it was from the palm of her hand. One of the guys had probably scratched her by accident... Or maybe on purpose. Who knew their intent.

She tried to wipe it off on her skirt but I grabbed her wrist gently and dug around in my pocket for a handkerchief. I pressed it against her palm and tied it clumsily. "I wish I had some disinfectant. I don't know how nasty those guys were..."

She laughed again. She liked to laugh. And I liked it when she did. "You don't have to do that. It'll ruin it."

And I started laughing that she was worried over something so trivial. "I'm your strong, Inuzuka boyfriend, Tamaki. I gotta take good care of you." I joked with her. She laughed at that, too.

But then, she watched me carefully.

"Are you willing?"

I didn't understand. "What?"

"To date me."

Ah, shit. She was serious.

I didn't know how to answer, but she was patient. "Be honest. It won't hurt me."

I liked that about her, too.

"You are attractive." I flushed because that came out all wrong. Why was that the first thing I said? I sounded like such a superficial guy. Because for her, there were more prominent redeeming qualities. Like her laugh. And the way she teased me, but still pet Akamaru and paid for my coffee. The way she slid off the stool when we parted at the café every week.

"I mean, I'm attracted to you."

She smirked. "Glad I'm not unattractive."

Not a good start so far. "Physically and emotionally." I added. That wasn't a lie. I was comfortable around her, and what was most important was that she was equally comfortable around me.

I wasn't sure if she believed me.

"Really." I added gently. I reached out to catch a wild strand of her thick hair and tuck it behind her ear. It was her hair that smelled like vanilla, even though her clothes reeked of cat.

She smiled, "But, it's not enough."

I thought about what I told Hinata when I lost her. "I don't want you to be second in my eyes. You deserve better."

She really did. I felt bad that she chose me. I was broken, used goods.

She wasn't upset by this; in fact, I thinks he was grateful. "Thanks, Kiba."

"But when you're first, I'll ask you in a heartbeat."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

She gave me that little half-smile of hers. "Deal."

She started to walk off, and I tried to stop her. "Do you need me to walk you home?"

Tamaki just laughed, "We're not together yet, dog-boy." She waved at me, and I cussed at her but couldn't help but smile anyways.