A/N: At last, the stunning last chapter of this story. Enjoy.
~The Darker Garden~
PART THREE
When he got to the sidewalk outside the hospital, Kiba stopped. What was he going to do? He should do the right thing. But did the right thing entail killing Kaia's attacker outright, or letting that scum live long enough to go on trial and rot in prison?
Frowning, he leaned against the rough brick of the hospital's wall to scratch at his hands and forearms, torn between following orders and doling out justice. Ino was inside the hospital, examining Kaia, and he felt he knew what she was going to find. Closing his eyes, he inhaled the night air, thick with moisture and the multitude of different scents, and searched for an answer. What if 'Lester' was acquitted? Or there wasn't substantial enough evidence? Or what if the court was corrupt?
A growl rumbled around in his chest. Too many variables. Too many chances for 'Lester' to wiggle his slimy way free. Disgusting. And his skin continued to crawl unpleasantly; he suppressed the sensation as best he could, but he couldn't think clearly.
Kiba opened his eyes. Was he, or was he not a shinobi of the Leaf? Maybe he could ask around, judge the quality of the justice system of the town. Ah, but that would be a prolonged investigation, and there wasn't time enough before their mission ended to do a decent job.
And what about Ino? Would she share in his drive to see that Lester received justice? Maybe she would; maybe she wouldn't. Ino was never one to be predictable. He could possibly send her on ahead, while he and Akamaru hung back to investigate. But if she went to Lady Hokage alone, they were both fucked for breaking standard operating procedures.
He squeezed the bridge of his nose. Well, nothing was getting done standing around here. His primary objective was to locate the police headquarters and lead them to the sick fuck's hideout. And he'd left Akamaru alone long enough. A chill of worry crept down Kiba's spine.
"Okay," he told himself, huffing. "Get it done."
Finding the central police station was a matter of orienting himself from the hospital and taking the most direct route over the rooftops. He did not want to deal with the throngs of people reveling in the streets; no, what he wanted was for the goddamn itching to stop. Hands clenched into fists.
When he arrived at the police station, he expected quiet darkness, not the full blaze of lights and the hustle and bustle of daytime hours. It was after midnight on a weekday. He entered through the heavy wooden doors, found the head honcho, explained everything and was told to wait out front for the police squad to gather. Quickly he made way to the front of the building, where he loitered for the captain and the men he would lead into the forest to Akamaru's position. They arrived a few minutes later: gruff, stocky men similarly armed with katanas.
"I'm Captain Kuromaru." The captain brought up the rear, his bald head the only difference marking him from his officers. "We're ready, sir."
Kiba pointed in the direction they'd be going. "We'll avoid the main streets if possible. The suspect's hideout is several miles from your east gate in a clearing. I've already bound and disarmed him and left a guard with him. Follow me and keep up."
Without further acknowledgement, Kiba jogged down the street and listened to the steady footsteps and steady breathing keeping in time with his. Long minutes passed. He had a general sense of direction from jumping over the rooftops and knew which streets were populated and which were clear. Even though he followed a near-direct path, familiar impatience bubbled up. They weren't even halfway to the gate yet. Seriously, this was taking forever. The chill of anxiety returned. He couldn't help wondering. What if Lester broke free of his binds? Akamaru could handle himself, surely. Yeah, there was nothing to worry about. But what if?
A few more minutes passed as he and the squad wound through the back streets; the close-together buildings casting them in darkness broken only by the glow of streetlamps. A cool dampness from the night had descended. The crowd and its noise was everywhere. Akamaru was fine by himself, right? But what if Lester had help? An outside guy? Or guys?
Nah. That wasn't the case. There'd been no other scents except Lester's. No other accomplices. He shook the thought but the worry had planted a seed in his head and it would not be uprooted. The vines of it curled up, thick and invasive, smothering out rational thought. The itching, which had been a mild annoyance thus far, flared up, painfully this time, like his skin had dried and cracked apart, nerve-endings splitting and hissing. He clamped hard on his tongue to keep from whimpering and forced himself to concentrate on reaching the east gate.
Agonizing minutes ticked as Kiba led the troop into the cool, dark blue of the forest, beating a straight path to Akamaru's location. His anxiety was in vain. There sat Akamaru, unruffled, patiently on guard over the hog-tied prisoner.
Good to see you, partner. Akamaru's tail wagged in greeting. He accepted a chin scratch with loving eyes. Everything go well on Ino's end?
"Yeah." Scratching Akamaru alleviated the voracious itching in his own hands. "She's at the hospital. Told me to meet 'er there when we were finished here."
The dog nodded, and Kiba turned to speak to the captain of the squad, in order to lead him to the grave site. The squad motioned at two other men and they fell into a loose formation to follow Kiba down the animal trail, through the stark, withered trees to the field. The stink of death clogged his nose, strangled him, and a hot flash broke out cold sweat as his gorge rose. His leaving and coming back strengthened the potency of it so that the queasiness he hadn't felt before shuddered through him full-force.
Kiba gestured and spoke to the captain. "Each of these stones marks a grave. I uncovered this one victim, killed prior to Kaia's kidnapping, so I assume there will be other bodies. Is there anything else you need?" Please, dear God, let them say no so I can puke without anyone seeing.
The captain assured him that everything would be handled and there was no need for further shinobi presence. Without pressing the issue, Kiba dodged deeper into the forest until he couldn't hear the men's voices or their rustling clothes, leaned over and retched. It felt like his stomach wanted to turn inside out. Hours had passed since his last meal, so everything had been digested, at least. He dry-heaved bile, but still…ugh. He allowed a few more moments to calm his stomach before rinsing out his mouth with water. The back of his throat burned and the acidic taste lingered on his tongue.
His stomach was better, not great, but better, and he thought he'd be able to travel. Kiba returned to the shack and gestured for Akamaru to follow. Clustered groups of police officers investigated the shack and surrounding area for more evidence. But Kiba didn't feel like dealing with this any longer. Together, he and Akamaru leapt to the trees boughs to travel back to the village to meet with Ino. His upset stomach had been the least of his worries. The crawling skin continued to bug him, the idea of writhing little maggots burrowing into flesh sickening him to dizziness. He had to stop for a moment to steady himself- -the world spun out of control. That did not help his stomach.
Akamaru bumped closer to his master and snuffled. What's wrong? You're really pale! Are you sick?
The questions served to agitate Kiba into growling. "I'm fine. Let's go." Unsteadily, but too prideful to ask for a ride, he continued on. A long silence followed him until he heard the beat of Akamaru's paws on the branches. His dog must've sensed Kiba's need for privacy because there was no more conversation to the village hospital. That was good, mainly because Kiba didn't think he'd be able to uphold an intelligent conversation with concentrating so fiercely on staying upright.
Ino waited for them outside, and in the yellowed pools of light, she looked worn and haggard. She smiled tiredly at them, greeting Akamaru with an outstretched hand, which the dog licked and nuzzled. She had healed the slight head wound she'd obtained but the evidence still remained. Kiba busied himself with clenching and unclenching his hands on the inside of his pockets; he'd have to wash his hands, vigorously scrub them, to stop the millions of little bites. Coolly, he leaned against the brick wall to avoid falling face-first to the cement.
"Well," she said, "how'd it go?"
"The guy's in police custody," he told her. "It's pretty late. Did you want to get some shut eye before notifying the family?"
She shook her head. "We'll notify them now. I have a feeling they're waiting up. Hey," her warm, nurturing hands cupped the sides of his face to turn him toward some dim light, "you look peaky. You okay?"
"Everything's good."
Her eyes, though shadowed in dark, took him in, and her thumbs gently traced the tops of his clan marks. "I see. Let's go, then." Her hands dropped and he missed them like he missed home.
As a unit they dashed to the rooftops for an abbreviated journey to the neighborhood. The nighttime festivities had quieted some, but there were small packs of people scattered about on the streets below. The majority, Kiba could smell, were clustered inside, drinking sake or ale and singing off-key. He found he had a headache on top of a sloshing stomach on top of weird itchy hands on top of…yeah. You get it. When they landed in the Takahashi's yard, Kiba took a hold of Ino's arm, unable to suppress the touch.
"I'll wait out here with Akamaru, if that's okay," he said.
She considered him a moment. "Okay. I'll be out as quick as I can."
Then she strode up the stoop stairs and knocked at the door. Kiba settled on the roof of the place, staring across the darkened homes to the lights of the town. Clouds had rolled in sometime over the course of the night and all the stars were hidden from view. To occupy his time- -and to avoid scratching himself- -he petted Akamaru, who'd rested his heavy-ass head on Kiba's lap. The section of roof spread out under another set of windows and was flat enough to comfortably keep balance, so when Kana approached him from behind- -having stood at the window for five minutes and finally screwed up her courage enough, he guessed- -he was confident she'd be all right and not fall.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked her. Akamaru remained unmoving and relaxed.
She made a tiny 'eep!' sound. "H-how'd you know I was here?"
"Same reason I knew where to find yer sister," he told her. "I'm trained for it."
"Oh." Hesitantly, she stepped beside him, and when he didn't admonish her, she sat. "Did you really find Kaia?"
"We did. She's at the hospital recovering. I'm sure you and yers can visit her tomorrow," he continued, glancing over at her. She'd huddled up under a blanket, her knees drawn up to her chin. She seemed such a small, fragile thing. "Ino checked her over."
"That's the lady you're with," Kana said. Her face peeked up at him. "She seemed really nice."
Kiba snorted. "Mostly."
"Oh." Her scent changed; she was embarrassed about something. Then she said, "Are you married to her?"
He laughed outright and some time passed before he was able to answer her. "No."
Kana groaned. "I'm sorry. I just thought that-"
"I know," Kiba said, and gently patted her head. "We're a good team. It makes sense."
"Yeah." Another considerable pause. "Do you think…do you think Kaia will be okay? Mama says she might not be herself when she gets back."
Kiba thought for a moment. "Only time will tell. You'll have to keep an eye on her, but I think she'll turn out fine." Some movement inside the house drew Kiba's attention. He gestured to the window. "You ought to get back to bed. Seems I'll be leaving here soon, and I betcha yer mom'll check up on you before long."
The girl got to her feet. "Thank you. Thank you so much," she said and swept herself over the windowsill into her dark bedroom.
He waited until she'd settled into her bed- -the rustling of bed sheets and her slowed breathing- -before hopping with Akamaru to the front lawn so they could meet Ino on her way out. She didn't disappoint. The front door opened and closed, and Ino flounced down the front steps to stand in front of them. Something inside him licked its chops at her cut figure in the light his eyes seemed able to pick up.
"You guys ready? I thought we'd take a night at an inn, if there are any available," she said. She smoothed a hand over her hair. "I could use a hot shower and some time to sort out my feelings."
"Sounds good, sweetcheeks," he replied. He saw the white of her eyes when she rolled them. "After you."
She didn't snap back, an indication of how tired she was, and they traversed with leaps and quick sprints over the roofs to the town. His body, oddly enough, reacted to Ino's presence, her scent. A slow, bright light had sparked deep inside him, a hot flare of desire that quickly reached a zenith. He knew the arousal was lust-driven. He'd been wanting after Ino for some time, but even as he knew the feeling, the urge, he couldn't understand it. His want for her hadn't peeked from its hiding spot since they'd arrived at the town, so why now?
The breeze shifted. Her scent wrapped a fist around him, a mix of pheromones and exertion and very clearly an image inserted itself in his brain of Ino's pale skin shiny with sweat, her naked with those perfect breasts and toned stomach splayed out in front of him, her hair spread like spun gold around her head, and he was fucking her as she screamed…
Tripping saved him from possibly blowing a wad in his pants. He recovered, muttered, "I'm fine," when Ino glanced back at him and concentrated on evening out his thumping heart. He ached all over. Trailing behind her was agony when all he could think of was taking her mouth with his, of shoving his hand up her shirt to the swell of breasts.
She stopped on the edge of a building that lined the main street of the town, where most of the partiers reveled, and gestured outwards with her hand. "Take your pick."
"I don't care," he replied, licking his dry lips. He stayed some distance from her for fear of tackling her to the ground. "Whichever one suits you."
"All right." A breeze rose and tangled her pale stream of hair. He imagined stroking his fingers through it or of kissing her fingers as she held them against the side of her face to shield her eyes. "Does Akamaru have a preference?"
Kiba eyed Akamaru, who shrugged in his doggy way. "Nah," Kiba said. "He doesn't care either."
In the darkness, he saw her flash a smile before jumping to street-level. He hesitated on the roof, to collect his wits, and Akamaru nuzzled his hand.
You're jonesing for her, Akamaru grunted. I'll keep out of your way once you two've settled in.
"What? The feeling's not mutual," Kiba replied, embarrassed. "She doesn't…want me like that."
Akamaru huffed. Yeah, she does. You tellin' me you didn't notice it?
"Hey! You guys coming or what?" Ino called from the street. She waved them down.
Had he not noticed Ino's feelings? With Akamaru at his side, he hopped down beside her and tagged along as she walked purposefully along the street. The idea that she might want him as much as he wanted her niggled at him, gave him something to hope for. But he had to be careful. It could be that he needed some type of stress-relief and she was convenient. He did not want her to be a convenience because that would complicate their already complicated relationship. They had circled and snapped at each other for as long as he could remember; neither had instigated a romantic or sexual relationship with the other. And why was that? For the life of him, he couldn't remember.
The ache, the flash-bang of heat inside him, didn't help his thinking. His lust for her had grown so much that it overtook his reason, his clarity of thought, and his discipline. At one point she bumped into him, and he nearly shoved her against the wall and ripped off her clothes. After a couple different places, which were fully booked, they found an inn that had a room open, but it was a single.
"Whatever," he told Ino when she asked, "I'm sick of tramping around."
She nodded and accepted the room key. Their room was on the top floor with sliding doors to a balcony. Immediately, Akamaru occupied the cool floor outside the fluttering curtains once Kiba had opened the doors and dumped the backpack near the bathroom door. Between his shoulders was an enormous tension knot; in fact, he felt like his whole body was in a tight knot over his attraction to Ino. But he couldn't be sure if she would appreciate him putting the moves on her.
"Do you mind if I go first?" Ino asked him.
"Just don't use all the hot water, sweetcheeks."
Her lips twisted in a wicked smirk. "Will you spank me if I do?"
Whoa. Flirting? Hell, yes, this was the opportunity he'd been looking for. "I might even if you don't." He held his breath for her response.
"Hm. Sounds promising."
With that, she hoisted the backpack and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Kiba to flop on the bed and seethe in an agony of waiting and horniness. She'd given him the all-clear for starting a new facet on their love/hate relationship. He worked to get himself under control. If they did end up in bed together, he wanted to make sure he impressed her by not coming two seconds inside her. His hormones were in a tizzy, so he seriously considered a cold shower to calm everything down. Maybe a bit of hand play.
He listened to the water run in the bathroom, and under the constant sound, he heard Ino humming. Her humming was gentle, soothing, and he hadn't even realized he'd fallen into a hard sleep until Ino shook him awake so he could shower. Groggily, he rolled over and stumbled to the bathroom, which was moist from steam and fragrant with Ino's shampoo and soap.
"Kiba," Ino said before he closed the door, "I'm waiting."
The weariness in his muscles forced him into taking a longer shower than he wanted. Had he had it his way, fastest shower ever. When he was through sloughing the grime off his skin, he brushed his teeth and pulled on a cotton shirt and drawers for decency's sake. Then he opened the bathroom door to Ino sprawled in the bed. Seriously, he must be dreaming.
"C'mon," she whispered. She flipped open the covers so he could climb in. He heard a sigh and the rustle of sheets as he lay back on the pillow. "You smell great."
His brain refused to allow him to think of anything else besides sex. Her arm fell across his chest, tugging him to his side, and when he complied, her soft mouth waited for him. Arousal had curled up inside him, resting for this moment when it could unfurl and strike him hard with aching heat. His hand reached out and found her hip silky smooth and bare and when had she stripped off her clothes? He didn't care. His need yawned open inside him and he drew Ino closer, intensifying their kiss so there was no physical or emotional space between them. Their tongues met, licked, stroked as hands caressed skin and curves and planes of hard muscle.
Ino fogged his senses. He could hear nothing but her. Smell nothing but her. Taste nothing but her. Everything clenched together, blazing forward to find all her secrets and make them his. Ino's body bowed under his- -he had pressed her underneath him- -and her hands shucked off his shirt and yanked down his shorts. His temperature was a million degrees, hot enough that Ino felt cool by comparison, but when he slipped a thigh between her legs, her core nearly melted his skin. She wiggled some and her dampness spread where her body touched his.
That feel, paired with her lust-laden scent, drove him mad. Slipping inside her was so, so easy and he panted from the strain of holding back an orgasm that seemed determined to explode him. He managed to keep a tenuous hold on controlling his movements; she groaned, shifting her hips, deepening his touch, and his whole body pulsated with the dip of his hips. Somewhere at the back of his head, he thought he should slow down and enjoy this more, but then a hot crest rose from his nutsack upwards to his gut. Ino's nails scraped over his shoulders, digging in as she cried out his name, and he couldn't stop from plunging into the wave of pleasure that swept over him. It was over too, too soon.
He panted, pulled free from her, and fell on his shoulder to the side. Sweat had broken out along his back and chest from exertion. Otherwise, lust's iron fist had finally released him from its grip. Ino scooted closer, likewise breathing hard. She smiled, and he noticed for the first time her loose hair draped over her arms. Her hand came up to trace the side of his face, ruffling his unruly hair between her fingers.
"Are you better?" she asked.
"Much." He couldn't help nodding his head forward to rest his forehead against hers. "Was I a pain in the ass to you?"
She laughed. "No. But I could tell that finding the dead body freaked you out."
"Yeah." There didn't seem to be much to say on the subject.
"I do have to tell you I rewired your brain," she said at length. "I'm sorry."
The indignation was there, but he was drowsy and exhausted and on a high from their sex. He could only generate mild annoyance and that took too much effort itself. "I should've figured."
"It's good though! Whenever you start thinking about it, instead of your itchy hands, I made it so you would, you know, feel…amorous."
He thought about that for a minute or two, as much as his soupy brain would allow and finally shrugged. "I could think of worse things."
"You're not…angry?"
"Nah. Too tired." But after a second, he amended, saying, "In the morning I might be."
"Maybe breakfast will fix matters?" She giggled when he tickled her. "Stop!"
He sighed, settling into the covers and closeness. "Shut up, sweetcheeks. Time to sleep."
"Just…be sure to wake me if you have bad dreams," she whispered to him.
Kiba heard what she had to say, but had sunk too far into sleep to murmur a reply.
A/N: I do have an Epilogue planned to better tie up all the loose ends, but expect it to be shorter than the previous parts. Hopefully, then, the story can be posted as 'Complete'! Now to finish up Catching...