Chapter 3: Agenda

Being of dog-like nature, there was a certain curiosity in Kiba's heart that willed him to follow Shikamaru. And, another part of these instincts - a combination of loyalty and protectiveness - also willed him to find out what exactly Yamanaka Ino was scheming. There hath no fury than a voluptuous blonde woman denied her sexual fantasies. Or at least, that's what Kiba thought. If he knew Ino well, which he did, this 'something I have to tell Shikamaru' combined with her nervous behavior at said boy's apartment, can be described as attraction.

Kiba wouldn't admit it, but there was a hint of jealousy mixed in there as well.

This whole train of thought is what led him to be browsing around the flower shop, keeping a watchful eye on Ino. She caught his stare, sauntering over to him with a smile.

"Hey, Kiba! What's the occasion? Looking for something that goes with leather? If you ask me, definitely roses."

Think fast. "Actually... What's good for Shino's grave?"

Ino smiled softly, giggling to herself. God, how could Shikamaru resist someone like her? She tugged on his arm and led him towards a rather large planter near the window with the biggest blue blossoms he'd ever seen. They grew up a trellis that had been placed behind the planter. He just looked dumbly at her, not knowing what type of plant this was.

"These are called 'morning glory' flowers. I happen to know Shino was extremely fond of these."

Kiba gently touched one of the blossoms. "Yeah? Why's that?"

"These flowers are special, that's why! They get their name because when the sun sets, the blossoms die only to bud new flowers in the morning. At sunrise, the new flowers open up with the sun, to die at sunset. It's like a cycle. And Shino's long time favorite. He'd come in and look at these all the time to watch them curl up at sundown."

"They're nice, Ino; but this isn't exactly a bouquet. I can't take it to Shino's grave."

"Well then plant them, stupid! Wouldn't it be nice to have flowers blooming at Shino's grave all the time instead of bringing bouquets that will eventually have to be replaced?"

The Inuzuka let out a sigh. This wasn't what he was here for, and he was having a hard time keeping this conversation when he had other things on his mind that were more important. He didn't really know why Ino's love interest really mattered to him, other than the obvious fact - it was Shikamaru. But his mind still couldn't place it. He'd come to terms that it was just the Nara's welfare, feeling the need to examine everything that could cause him stress. That included women.

But to his knowledge, it was just a crush, and Shikamaru didn't seem to really care. Unfortunately, his mind refused to rule out that trait he had been thinking about earlier - jealousy.

He had to rule that out. He was just looking out for his best friend, right? Well, best friend besides Ino. And he was starting to feel kind of guilty for snooping around in her private life.

Not to mention the fact that talking about Aburame Shino's death still made tears come to Kiba's eyes.

"Hello? Dog Boy? Are you listening to me?"

"Yeah, I'm listening."

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Kiba stuffed the flower seeds into his pocket after stalking out of the Yamanaka flower shop rather pissed off. His plot to interrogate Ino totally flopped. He didn't have it in him to mistreat a close friend of his that way, and if she had feelings for Shikamaru, he was just going to have to accept that.

Accept? He was also somehow pissed at himself for being jealous. In the back of his mind, Kiba knew that it was being neglected that he feared most. Ino and Shikamaru were his two closest friends. If they got together, he'd be the third wheel and forget all about him.

His claws dug into his hands as he clenched his fists and cursed himself. He was letting his own emotions get in the way of helping Shikamaru. Not that he would ever admit he needed the help in the first place. Maybe he needed a trip to the spa.

A sharp ringing brought him out of his thoughts, and he wrinkled his eyebrows as he plucked his phone out of his pocket. It was probably Naruto, as nobody else usually called him unless it was important. But he was surprised to see the name that had popped up on the caller ID.

Nara, Shikamaru
383-6272

Kiba flipped the device open and hesitantly hit the Talk button, knowing that Shikamaru was one of the ones on his list that wouldn't call unless it was important.

"Hello?"

"Are you busy?"

He glanced at his pant pocket - the seeds. "A little. What's up?"

"What about tomorrow?"

"Uh... I think I'm free-"

"The weekend?"

"Shikamaru, what's going on?"

"Kurenai wants me to take Midori to the Sakura Festival this weekend because she'll be out on a mission. Come with me."

"...What? Why me? Ino would like that kind of stuff more than I would." He mentally slapped himself at that moment for adding the last part to that sentence.

"I don't want to spend the weekend with Ino."

Didn't want to spend the weekend with Ino? That sounded like a good sign to Kiba. Maybe a weekend away would help with some of Kiba's de-stressing plans.

"Hello? Kiba?"

The dog boy shook himself from his inner ramblings. "Sure. I'll go."

"Good. It starts Friday afternoon so I want to leave in the morning to get to Suna on time. That's tomorrow, so be ready."

"Gotcha. I'll be ready. See ya."

"Wait."

He pressed the phone to his ear once more. "Yeah?"

"…Thanks."

"No problem, Shikamaru."

As he dropped the phone into its rightful place in his hidden chest pocket, he realized that through his conversation he had made it all the way home. He took a seat on the front porch, wondering idly why Shikamaru would rather go with him than Ino. She would be better with children, Kiba thought; and hell – she worked in a flower shop so why wouldn't she enjoy a Sakura festival? Ino was obviously the better choice, but then again, Ino was his best friend, not Shikamaru's.

It made more sense when he thought of it that way. The Nara was obviously choosing his best friend over his not-so-best friend. And then again, he'd never really seen Shikamaru with Midori, so maybe he didn't need another woman around.

And if Kiba ever needed to go somewhere, he'd pick Shikamaru.

He planted the seeds behind the grave and around the sides, not wanting to cover up the inscriptions on the front of the tombstone, patting the soil one last time. He told himself that he'd bring water after the weekend if it didn't rain.

Crouching down and scanning the words carved into the headstone, he realized there were some things he just didn't quite understand yet – death being one of them. Kiba wasn't afraid of death, per se; but he just didn't understand it. Shino had been one of the best ninjas in Konoha, one of the only ANBU operatives in his group of friends. He and Hinata had been the most in-love couple he had ever seen, and he chuckled as he remembered the day Shino accidentally spilled his plans of proposal.

He died before the wedding. She still wears the engagement ring, though.

Was Kiba supposed to be afraid of falling in love? Shikamaru has always been consumed over the death of his mentor, not that they were in love. But death was all around them.

"Kiba? Is that you?"

He turned on the balls of his feet, seeing the purple-haired Hyuuga standing before him with a single red rose in her hands. It was fate he decided, that would bring her here when he was just thinking of how she was with Shino. Kiba stood, pulling the lithe female into his arms.

"How've you been?" He mumbled, words hushed by the flesh of her neck.

"I've been alright," she giggled, "but you're squishing me, Hercules."

That was just like her, trying to bring light into a situation that would most likely have turned out to be morbid, considering where they were. He loosened his grip and stepped back, motioning to the disturbed soil in front of them.

"I planted morning glories."

"I take it you must have seen Ino. She knows they were his favorite."

Hinata placed the rose at the foot of the stone, quickly planting a kiss to her fingertips and touching them to it.

"Were you prepared for something like this, Hinata?"

"Yes, we both knew there was a chance death would come for one of us."

Kiba wondered if Shino would have responded the same way if it had been Hinata who died, but knowing the Aburame he would be the calm and collected about it. It seemed they both had shared the same beliefs and views on life. They sat in the grass together, watching the ground as if Shino could pop out of the earth at any moment.

"Are you going to the Sakura Festival this weekend?"

Kiba chuckled. "Actually... Shikamaru called me a little while ago and asked me to go with him. He was asked to take Midori and I don't think he wants to go by himself with a hyperactive 6 year old."

"I'm surprised he didn't ask Ino. Wouldn't it be more sensible for him to want to bring a woman if it came to dealing with a child?"

Kiba seethed. He hated it, he hated being brought down because he wasn't a woman. He was responsible, and so was Shikamaru, and he'd prove it to them. To fill in the silence, though; he came up with something that all of Konoha knew.

"Ino is a handful all on her own, don't you think?"

Hinata giggled, but before Kiba could laugh with her, her face turned to a serious expression. "I guess so. But you know... Ino has this thing for Shikamaru."

Kiba's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.

"...Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. We were going to go together to the festival, but I'm surprised she hasn't tried to bug him about it. You never noticed?"

"Well... she told me she was going over to his apartment the other day, but Shikamaru said she came and left within a couple of minutes."

"That's odd, she was never nervous around Sasuke when he had a crush on him."

Kiba swallowed hard. He didn't want to be hearing this right now, especially when he had a whole weekend with Shikamaru to be looking forward to. He didn't want to bump into Hinata and Ino there, and he certainly did not want to be pulled away from Shikamaru by the boisterous blonde. He had his suspicions about Ino's feelings, but now that the Hyuuga was confirming it for him, he felt sick to his stomach.

"Kiba, are you alright?"

"You're not jealous, are you?"

"Uh.. no. No, it's fine."

She made a dramatic swing of her wrist to her forehead. "Phew! Because if you don't mind the honest truth, I have an inkling that Ino thinks you're gay."

"I...see. I think I'm going to hit the road," Kiba stood from his place on the grass, "long day tomorrow after all."

"Alright, I'll say hello if I spot you at the festival."

He spun on his heel and headed toward his house, not looking back to see if Hinata was still sitting or following him. He cracked every knuckle he had on the way home – this weekend would be a very interesting weekend indeed.

Author's Note: Huuwaaaa! Now that my sister's wedding is over and my engagement ring crisis is over (It came off in the shower – I freaked, but later found out that mother-in-laws are good for something xD), I actually have the time to write!! I was so stressed for the wedding but I'm glad it's finally over.

Enjoy the chapter!! (P.S. 6272 is 'Nara' spelled out in numbers ;) )

If you care, I have 6 pictures here: i3luemagic. tripod. com/ wedding. html (no spaces)