Tai: Well, it's a bit of a short chapter. I start back at University soon so you will get updates, but they'll be slow. Rest assured I won't forget about this story again. I think I've finished Chapter 6, so you'll get at least two updates during my first term back.
Onto the chapter!
Sniffing the air the tanned male looked at his partner for confirmation of what he was picking up. The white canine nodded, and both sped up to avoid being boxed in. Two of the scents were weakening substantially and the others had spread out in an unusual pattern. Hinata and Shikamaru were directly behind him, Tenten and Naruto to his right and the remainder were on his left.
"Seems like Ino and Lee are trying to cut us off." Kiba muttered, his grin widening. "At least they're making it challenging for us." Akamaru grinned at the comment, sniffing the air cautiously. "We should be able to outrun all of them, except maybe Lee and I can't smell him anymore. He was on our left..."
They'd been running for a while, and Kiba was thankful he knew the area well enough to realise he was making a beeline toward a lake, which would effectively block him in. Changing course the Inuzuka veered to his right, dropping to all fours to utilise all of his speed in an attempt to escape the other shinobi. "They're on the move; Tenten's sped up again." Akamaru growled, earning a nod from his partner. "I still can't detect Lee, and Ino's just gone out of range"
"We should be able to outrun Tenten. Seems like the others are speeding up too…" the brunet pondered. "If we can get out past Tenten we should be free."
"Sounds like a plan." The Inuzukas opted to stop their conversations as they focused on running from the group. It didn't take long before Kiba realised the brunette was making a beeline for him, intent on cutting him off. 'Time to see if I am faster than her.'
The tan male kept track of just how close Tenten was getting and he soon realised that, due to his sudden right turn, the woman would indeed catch him, or come close to it. Unless of course he sped up, but with how near he was to the other teen it would be very close. Speeding up, he was glad he'd already dropped to all fours as both male and canine raced through the trees.
"This might be close, Kiba."
"Ah. That's what makes it fun."
It took several minutes but sure enough brunette appeared to his right, the weapons ninja clearly half expecting to see the male as she dragged one of her scrolls out and summoned several weapons, throwing them into his path. Forced to drop to the ground, he cursed silently and kept moving, cautious of the strings the woman almost always had attached to her weapons.
He didn't stop and Tenten swore, resuming her chase as both male and canine disappeared from her sight. Naruto soon appeared at her side, the girl sighing. "He got past me."
"I'm not surprised." Shino's statement startled the pair, and they turned to see Sakura, Choji and the heavily clothed male not far behind them. "What's the plan Shikamaru?"
The Nara and Hyuuga had caught up and the group ran along behind their targets, the black haired male pondering things for a moment. "I take it you sent Ino and Lee further on ahead?" He asked the Aburame, who nodded sharply.
"I have one of my insects leading each of them; they should be moving up on his left outside of his range." Shino informed him, earning a nod from the Nara.
Hinata focused her vision on the Inuzuka and searched for any sign of the last two members of their group, extending her range to spot the pair. They were ahead of the male but out of the range Kiba could pick up scents within, allowing them to slowly get in front of him. Checking the area the Inuzuka was approaching, she frowned slightly. "There's a lake coming up on his left; Ino and Lee can are in front of him, but they're well out to his left."
Choji sighed at the news; cornering him meant that some of them would have to draw up alongside the black haired male. "So more running?" he grumbled, earning a nod from the pink haired woman. "But we've been chasing him for over an hour."
"Tenten let's go and see if we can get up next to him." Sakura suggested, the brunette nodding in agreement as they both sped up, pulling away from the rest of the group. Shino followed silently, leaving Choji and Naruto with Hinata and Shikamaru.
"This is probably our best shot." Shikamaru muttered, looking at the remainder of the group. "Spread out; we'll work under the assumption that Shino, Sakura and Tenten can draw up next to him. Naruto, can you create some shadow clones to help us out?"
Nodding, the blonde stopped briefly and used the jutsu, multiplying so there twelve of him. "Eight of you need to go and help the other three block off his escape to the left, the rest of you can help us box him in." Naruto stated, the clones dividing themselves up as needed for the task. Shikamaru nodded, and they continued at a manageable pace, Hinata informing them the Inuzuka appeared to be finally tiring after running at such a pace for so long.
The Hyuuga had extended her range out past her tanned teammate, somewhat surprised to find the blonde woman and black haired man waiting at the upper edge of the lake to block him in. "Lee and Ino are waiting for them."
"Are the others in place?"
Nodding, the Hyuuga heiress increased her speed, gaze fixed on their target; they only had one shot at this, and if the Inuzuka slipped through a gap they would all likely be too exhausted to keep chasing.
"Hell, probably overdid it a little." Kiba panted, slowing slightly. Akamaru was panting alongside him, both males tiring.
"We've been running for an hour, and a lot of that was spent going full speed." The white canine agreed, sniffing the air curiously. "Ino and Lee are up ahead; looks like we're trapped."
Kiba sighed; his partner was right they were boxed in between his friends and a lake. "Guess it's time to face them all then." The pair headed toward the lake and stopped, dropping onto the grass while waiting for his nine pursuers to drop down and finish surrounding him.
It didn't take long for all nine to appear, watching him cautiously. "Finished avoiding us, Kiba?" Sakura asked triumphantly, earning a wolfish smirk from the male.
"Ah. I think an hour of avoiding all of you is good enough training." The statement stunned most of the group, Shikamaru pondering the information.
"So you weren't running to avoid answering questions?" Ino frowned, although a quick glance to her black haired teammate told her not to drop her guard. The Inuzuka was up to something.
"I didn't say that."
A nod from the Nara was all it took, and Ino readied herself to use her Mind Body Switch, both Lee and Choji readying themselves to pin the tanned teen. The rest of the group was ready to act as a backup in the event all four missed, and they waited for the Inuzuka to move. The brunet had stayed settled on the ground, still panting along with his canine, Shikamaru watching him closely.
After several moments passed and none of the group moved, save for Kiba panting on the ground, the black haired Nara knelt and used his Shadow Binding, somewhat surprised when the Inuzuka didn't even attempt to dodge. The easy snare seemed to disappoint the rest of the group as they seated themselves around the brown haired male, though Shikamaru hadn't moved yet, keeping him bound.
Golden orbs met the familiar brown of Shikamaru's, the Nara still wondering what was going through the Inuzuka's mind. Their eyes remained locked for several moments more, the group sitting in silence glancing between the pair. "So that's it then?" The black haired male finally asked.
"That's it." Kiba confirmed, watching as the shadow joining them receded. The black haired moved forward and sat opposite the Inuzuka, nodding to Sakura so she could start questioning the brunet.
The green eyed teen seemed to ponder her questions while the group made themselves comfortable, waiting for someone to start. "Kiba…last night I saw you, shirtless, on top of Neji who was also shirtless. What exactly did I interrupt?" the pinkette finally asked, drawing a sigh from the exhausted Inuzuka.
'I suppose it's time to start lying. I'm rather glad I managed to avoid them for so long so I had time to think.' Kiba thought, finally meeting the woman's gaze. "Neji and I having some time alone together. Both of us spend all day training, so we started meeting up in the evenings so we could see each other."
"That doesn't really answer her question, Kiba." Ino stated, watching the male closely. "Were you two going to….you know…out there? In the open?" Hinata turned bright red at the blonde's questioned, clearly not wanting to think about her cousin and her teammate in that sort of situation.
Kiba shrugged, earning a few wide eyed stares from the group. "Akamaru was meant to be keeping watch; we check the area's clear and normally don't have any issues with people walking around at that time of the night." He lied, wolfish grin returning. "It's not like we actually stopped after you left, Sakura."
The girls face had gone the colour of her hair, though it seemed she wasn't the only one as the tanned teen glanced around the group. Shino seemed to be the only one not completely horrified or embarrassed by the response, though the more the Inuzuka studied his teammate, the more he realised he had reacted. He'd known the Aburame long enough to pick up on the small changes in his attitude.
"So you and Neji are together?" Shikamaru confirmed, still not fully over his surprise. "It's not just you two benefiting from the fact that you're both gay?" He received a nod from the brunette and sighed, biting his thumb gently. "I see…"
"How long have you been together?" Naruto asked curiously, grinning at the idea. "I mean Neji likes his privacy and you don't tend to share that much about your personal life; hell if Sakura hadn't seen you two last night we'd probably never know." The blonde was receiving nods of agreement from both Choji and Lee, the black haired male still blushing darkly.
"A little over three months; Akamaru and I were out for a run and I ran into him; not literally of course. We got to talking and after that happening a few times…I asked him out." Kiba mentally swore at himself for blushing, though he was inwardly hoping the pink tinge wasn't visible beneath the red fangs. He'd thought about doing just that several times after picking up the Hyuuga's scent, but better sense told him it was unlikely to end well.
"Of course; and your midnight romance couldn't be shared with anyone else! It had to be kept secret between the two of you so you both continued to sneak out at night." Lee nodded, thankfully drawing the group's attention to himself. "The power of youthful love will never cease to amaze me!"
Tenten sighed at her teammate's reaction, over at Kiba. "I can see why you didn't want to tell the rest of us."
"It seems weird to me that you'd do it out in the open if you wanted to keep your relationship a secret." Choji stated, frowning at the male. "Wouldn't it be more private to go-"
"Back to the Hyuuga clan compound, where everyone can see through walls?" Kiba finished for him, raising an eyebrow. "Or back to the Inuzuka compound, where if we managed to hide his scent getting into and out of the compound, the smell of sex and his sweat would be a tell-tale sign?"
"There aren't many places an Inuzuka and Hyuuga couple could go without drawing attention." Shino agreed, glancing over at his female teammate. The Hyuuga heiress couldn't go redder if she tried and was probably moments from passing out, something that didn't normally happen unless she was only inches away from Naruto.
Hinata's gaze dropped to her hands, the woman clearly intent on saying something. "So you're why Neji's been sneaking out at night?" She confirmed, voicing her question before looking up to meet his eye.
The golden eyed male almost hesitated in answering, the familiar pale eyes almost daring him to lie, but he'd promised another pale pair that he would. He couldn't obey both, and he sighed. "Yes; he had a feeling you or your father might noticed. He would've said something but he didn't want to worry you if you hadn't noticed." Kiba wasn't happy lying to his teammate; they were meant to trust each other and if she found out he'd lied….he didn't want to think of it. The girl seemed somewhat comforted by the news that her cousin was out for such a warm reason, putting the Inuzuka's mind at rest.
"...hiding your relationship?" Sakura asked expectantly, finally moving the conversation on from their choice of meet up location. The Inuzuka mentally swore at himself for his inattention; he'd missed the vital part of her question. He remained silent, thinking of the best way to answer when he didn't really know what she was asking.
"Continuing to hide it would probably suit Neji, I mean he doesn't like sharing more than necessary. Hell Lee and I didn't find out his father was dead until his fight with Naruto at the chuunin exams." Tenten stated, the green clad male nodding his agreement.
"But it's safer for the rest of us if everyone's aware they're together." Ino countered, looking to Shikamaru for support. "Otherwise they could be sent of a mission together and have one lose focus because the other's injured."
Both females had valid points, and Shikamaru let out a slight sigh, fixing his gaze on the Inuzuka. "So what are you guys going to do, now that some of us know?"
"We didn't really talk about it last night; he told me he was going on a mission and that I should field the questions." Kiba sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I don't really have an issue with people knowing, so I'll leave it up to Neji."
"He's probably the one who'll be most affected by it; he's a jounin, and the easiest way to avoid you two being on a mission together is to send him off alone." The Nara stated, looking at Hinata. "It's common for him to be sent on solo missions anyway isn't it?"
"Yea…Tsunade-sama sends him out on missions frequently because he always gets good results." She stated, the news not really surprising any of them; he was considered a genius after all.
Kiba stood and looked between the four girls present, his gaze lingering on the Hyuuga female. "Nothing else you wanted to know?" Akamaru returned to his feet, looking expectantly up at the tanned teen.
Tenten met his gaze, her eyes sparkling somewhat. "Who tops?" The question renewed the blushes on the faces of most of the group, but they all watched him with interest.
"Me."
"I think we're out of questions, Kiba." Shikamaru sighed, closing his eyes. "But you have to answer any new ones we think of in the future."
The wolfish smirk returned once more. "Sure; you just have to catch me first."