A/N: Don't own crap. Thanks to all those who have reviewed my story! I have the warm fuzzies now! This fic is pretty fun to write and I've enjoyed it so far! I hope you all enjoy it too. :D

Chapter 4: Contemplations

Itachi sat beside the sleeping Kiba, black eyes half lidded and his attention focused inward. Despite trying to slip repeatedly into his meditative stance Itachi found his mind returning time and time again to Kiba.

With a silent huff Itachi centered his mind for the fifth time, pushing all thoughts of Kiba away with extreme effort. Breathing out slowly he relaxed his muscles one by one, resting his hands limply on his bended knees. Closing his eyes he let himself focus on his inner mind, a pool of creamy white and splashed of vibrant red. Slowly, one by one he began building landscape in his mind, a paradise. He'd only gotten half way done 'building' a waterfall when a low moan from Kiba snapped him back to the present almost painfully.

Almost cursing Itachi finally gave up, admitting to himself that there was no way he was going to be meditating with Kiba in such close proximity. So instead he focused his intent attention on Kiba.

His eyes were almost immediately drawn to Kiba's mask, where the Inuzuka slashes had been scrubbed away, the white mask still tinged red where the marks had been. It could have meant any number of things. Maybe Kiba had just decided to remove them. Perhaps he wanted a less notorious mask. But then Itachi knew better. No loyal, stubborn Inuzuka would ever willingly strip their clan markings from their masks unless they were forced. Itachi's quick mind immediately told him that Kiba must have been cast from his clan, which would also explain this morning.

Itachi had just fallen asleep not an hour before Kiba had landed on the roof, waking just in time to hear Kiba dress down the Anbu guard. He doubted the same guard would be back tonight. The Uchiha could fairly feel Kiba's depression and anger when the boy had finally came through the balcony. Kiba hadn't looked at Itachi once, which bothered the Uchiha more than he would admit, and that was very uncharacteristic of the normally talkative brunette. He had expected at least a blunt acknowledgement but now that he could see Kiba's mask clearly he understood perfectly the brunette's mood.

Selfishly Itachi realized this would ease any future relationships with the boy greatly. Now there would be no clan to get around in order to start anything with Kiba. He had the brunette completely to himself. He knew the thought was selfish, but he couldn't help but feel that way. There was already so much different with this one boy that Itachi was loather to share him, even with his family.

If there was one thing Itachi was it was honest, at least to himself. He knew he could be a bastard. He knew he could be possessive of what he considered his. He knew he could get jealous easily. And he also knew that this was likely caused by his time with S class criminals. But there was nothing he could do about that, nothing but try to temper them slightly until he was sure just how much Kiba could handle.

But Itachi also knew that he took care of his things, no matter what or 'who' they were. Although he had never considered claiming anyone else, with Kiba he couldn't think of not claiming the boy. He knew that if the boy was his, and he would be, Itachi would take care of him no matter what. And he thought Kiba needed someone to take care of him very much.

Not to say that the boy was weak, in fact he would be a formidable opponent even for Itachi, but Itachi's eyes caught things most wouldn't. There was no doubt in his mind that the boy was emotionally damaged, perhaps even psychologically damaged. Kiba could pretend to be fine all day long but Itachi's eyes could see the cracks in his mask. Something horrible had shaped Kiba into the machine he was now, something very traumatic that no doubt revolved around his scars. Itachi would find out in due time where each of those scars came from but he could wait for Kiba to tell him. The scars were really of no importance, they were only scars, but he wanted the trust and loyalty he knew would come with the telling.

Normally Itachi would not want to become involved with something that was already damaged but there was something different about Kiba. Something that drew him like nothing else ever had, something uncomfortable and hot and fierce and encompassing. Itachi had become so used to his normal lukewarm emotions that the sheer amount Kiba made him feel in such a short time enthralled him like he never had been. It was almost addicting the unprecedented response Kiba drew from him. The emotions felt invigorating and passionate, warm and intense, possessive and magnificent. He had never felt something so strongly before, much less felt so many, many things at once.

Kiba was….everything Itachi was not. He was open, trusting, emotional. Even damaged he trusted more than Itachi had ever trusted in his entire life. He had never been able to give his trust lightly. Itachi felt almost honored to have Kiba's trust, something precious that the brunette gave him so easily. Kiba was sheer instincts, fierce and intense. Itachi was all calculating logic, calm and serene. Itachi was quiet, Kiba was talkative. Kiba was passionate while Itachi was indifferent. There were so many differences between the two of them. Even physically they were almost opposites. Itachi's body was lithely muscled, broad but built for speed rather than strength. Kiba was heavily muscled, his body perfect for endurance and power.

But Itachi thought these differences charming and found he didn't want to change anything he knew about Kiba thus far. He liked that Kiba rambled to fill the silence. He liked that Kiba trusted him even though he really shouldn't. He liked that Kiba trusted his instincts. He liked that he knew that if he ever earned the boy's loyalty that he would have it forever. He liked the fire he could feel barely below the surface of the brunette's skin. He liked the intensity that Kiba seemed to thrive on. And Itachi definitely loved the boy's sculpted body, perfect with wide shoulders and a surprisingly slender waist, packed with tight muscles and an amazing ass.

Itachi was drawn from his thought of Kiba's tight ass by a low groan from Kiba. Blinking he looked down at the brunette's sprawled body. Kiba was laying on his stomach, head turned to Itachi and his arms tucked close. He was waking up. Itachi kept his expression blank with long practice as he felt Kiba's chakra begin to uncurl and awaken despite the eagerness that wanted him to smile. He watched Kiba stir and decided he would wake before Kiba every morning just to feel the sleepy touches of Kiba's chakra to his own.

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Other than a gruff good morning Kiba said not a word to Itachi that entire morning. Feeling furious and melancholy Kiba thought it best to keep his distance, at least while he felt so emotionally strung out. Inuzuka's had a bad reputation for losing control of their animal sides when they let their emotions get out of hand and Kiba had no intentions of losing control. Especially since he knew his first instincts would be either aggressive or sexual, both potentially dangerous to his mission. He wouldn't be a very good bodyguard if he attacked what he was supposed to be guarding.

So while Itachi went through his training regimen Kiba retreated to the roof, perched on the balcony overhang. He could still see Itachi from here but he kept his eyes on the walls to the compound, not wanting to tempt himself. Akamaru remained on the ground in the shade, not certain what depressed Kiba so but keeping a distance anyway. Kiba knew he was probably confusing both of them with his hostility but couldn't do anything about that now. He was to close to losing control to be near either of them.

Kiba sighed to himself, arms crossed as he leaned back against the roof. He kept all his senses wide open, ready to catch any sign of intruders. Knowing he would be feel when someone came within range he let his thoughts wonder.

Despite knowing why his mother had done what she'd done Kiba couldn't help but feel betrayed. Her decision had shone him that she valued the clan laws over her only son. Honestly he hadn't thought she would really cast him out of the clan entirely. Maybe pass him up as heir, but completely banish him? No, Kiba hadn't thought she would do something so extreme. She knew he was an Alpha, she knew he wouldn't let her push him, yet she had and then banished him for his instincts.

The separation would be painful. Unlike most clans, which summoned their animals, Inuzuka's were actually bonded with the pack from birth. They were born and raised around the pack and learned to understand the canines from a very young age. The pack was family. In return every child with the potential was given a pup at birth as a companion. Inuzuka's had had the bond with the nin-ken pack for so long that they were born with the instincts and attributes of a canine. They also felt the pack bond just as strongly as the nin-ken. Leaving the pack at Kiba's age would be the same as tearing a piece of his soul away.

Would his mother take him back if he only explained to her what had happened? Kiba doubted it. Ever since he'd staggered into Konoha after his capture and flinched away from her for weeks she'd almost resented him. As though he was the one that had betrayed her. Tsume had mentioned on more than one occasion how disappointed she'd been in him for his stupidity in getting captured. Of course this was her canine instincts talking through her but the words didn't hurt any less.

With a frustrated huff Kiba pushed thoughts of damn his mother away. That's what had pushed him into such a fuckin' bad mood in the first place. Instead he began to think of his most recent obsession: Itachi.

Every single one of his instincts pushed at him, telling him to get closer to the Uchiha. Kiba wasn't one to refuse his instincts but in this case he just wasn't sure at all whether this was a good idea. His heart told him to go for it but his head told him this was a very bad idea.

First of all he wasn't sure if he could be what Itachi wanted him to be. Itachi was a dominant force, an Alpha all in his own right, and despite how much that might arouse him Kiba just wasn't sure if he could handle it. He was the first to admit that he was damaged goods, would Itachi be willing to deal with his problems? Would Kiba be able to deal with his own damn problems?

He was sure Itachi was a dominant lover, someone who demanded everything from his partner. Would Kiba be able to submit to something like that after all that he'd been through? Could he make himself give Itachi control? Those were the questions Kiba needed to answer before he could take the first step in becoming Itachi's lover.

Itachi was everything he wanted in a lover, he knew that. Itachi was calm and collected, menacing in his control. Just watching Itachi could make him shiver. There wasn't going to be a problem being aroused, the problem would be submitting. With his last lover it hadn't been the fucking that had been the problem, it'd been the trusting issue. When his last lover had attempted to hold his wrists during sex Kiba had completely lost control, nearing sending his partner through the window. Since then he hadn't wanted to risk having even a casual fling at a bar.

But Itachi was a shinobi, and a higher ranking shinobi at that. He should be able to handle Kiba if Kiba lost himself. Hell, Itachi had the fuckin' sharingan for crying out loud, he could subdue Kiba within seconds. So Kiba losing control wasn't a problem anymore. He would have to warn Itachi about it though. So that was one question answered.

He would have to tell Itachi the baggage that came with him if they became involved. Could he trust Itachi enough to tell him something he had only ever confided in Tsunade? That was the real question. Not even his team or his sensei had been aware of what torture methods had been used to damage Kiba so badly. Hell, they hadn't even seen his wounds. Kiba had escaped by the skin of his fuckin' teeth with no help whatsoever after 13 weeks of being held prisoner. They hadn't even seen his scars after his wounds had fully healed. It wasn't long after that, that he'd left their team, promoted to jounin. Hell, not even his family knew anything besides the fact that he'd been captured.

Could he trust Itachi? He would have to see. So far he'd seen no reason not to. If anything the Uchiha seemed like a fuckin' vault. He wouldn't be spouting shit to anybody, Kiba doubted he'd even mention it to Sasuke. Would he use it against Kiba? Again Kiba sincerely doubted it. What would he gain? Nothing, there was nothing he could possibly take from Kiba that Kiba wouldn't willingly give. Would he manipulate Kiba with the knowledge? Hmm, that was the hardest question.

Did he think Itachi would use the knowledge to manipulate him? Perhaps. But really was there any reason not to go for it? He didn't think so. The brunette suddenly found himself very sick of his train of thoughts. Before he'd been captured he would have gone for it in a second, trusting his instincts immediately, hell he'd probably be getting fucked right now instead of being a melancholy bitch. There was no reason not to trust his instincts now, they'd never set him wrong before.

Suddenly, decision made, he was immensely glad that he'd received this mission. Itachi was definitely not something he wanted to miss out on. Even if Itachi only saw it as a fling Kiba could see himself falling in love with the stoic man. He liked just about everything he'd seen of Itachi so far. Calm, in command, serene. Logical, deadly, precise. Kiba was sure he could think of a hundred other words for the Uchiha, every one a compliment.

Kiba didn't think he'd ever had his animal instincts react quite the way they did to Itachi. Fuck, his first impulse had been to stroll up to the older ninja a lick him. Used to his animal instincts he'd been able to resist, barely, but the urge had still surprised him. He'd never felt the impulse to lick someone before but that skin had registered the exact color of vanilla cream, which had immediately made his animal urges want to taste him.

Of course that hadn't been the only occasion such an impulse hit him. Kiba found himself frequently inundated by such impulses when he was near Itachi. He wanted to rip his mask off and see if those lips tasted as sweet as they looked. He wanted to rub skin to skin, chest to chest. He wanted to see that normally calm expression dark with lust. He wanted to touch that black hair and see if the shiny mass was as silky as it looked. He wanted to cuddle against that chest like a puppy. He wanted to protect Itachi fom every single possible threat. Yeah, there were a lot of impulses his animal side had concerning Itachi but he liked every single one of them. Which made the impulses all the harder to control.

Usually his instincts were a lot more circumspect when it came to strangers. Even with his friends, people he'd known his entire life, his animal side was a little more cautious. He'd never had the urge to lick Shikamaru, even when he'd had a little crush on the lazy ass. Might as well follow his instincts. He'd wait for Itachi to make the first move, warn him about his damage, then see what the Uchiha would do from there. With the decision made he nodded decisively. Already he could feel his irritation and moodiness drifting away.

It wasn't ten minutes late that a low pulse at the edges of his senses told him that Naruto and Sasuke were approaching quickly. With a small huff Kiba sat up and leaped off the roof in one agile movement. He landed beside Akamaru, who was watching him with wary eyes.

Feeling a little guilty, Kiba crouched beside his companion and scratched the big canine behind the ears in apology. "Sorry, buddy, I promise to explain later." He muttered quietly, Akamaru giving a small nod in reply.

Standing Kiba turned to face Itachi, who had paused in his katas to watch him. "Naruto and yer brother will be here in….." He paused to inhale deeply then cocked his head to listen. "'bout ten minutes."

"Hn." Itachi grunted softly in acknowledgement, concentrating his own senses to check. He could just barely feel Naruto and Sasuke and he definitely didn't hear or smell them. "Your senses are indeed very sensitive. I can just barely sense them on the edges of my chakra grid."

"I'm surprised ya can sense them at all. Most shinobi wouldn't be able ta sense them that far away. Their goin' pretty fast so it shouldn't be to long 'til they get here." He said, impressed by Itachi's perception, although he shouldn't have been. Itachi was a genius after all.

"Hmm, would you like to spar until they arrive?" Itachi asked his dark eyes fixed on Kiba's mask. Kiba's stomach clenched a little when he remembered that he'd removed his clan markings but Itachi didn't ask so Kiba relaxed a little.

"Sure, katana?" Kiba gripped his katana handle, nodding to Itachi's katana. At Itachi's slight nod Kiba grinned savagely behind his mask. If there was one thing he exceeded at it was definitely sword usage. During his 'recovery' period after his capture he'd trained exclusively with Tenten's father in the art of sword fighting and to the older man's surprise he'd excelled beyond even Tenten with the katana. Of course it had taken almost the entire four years to beat her but he had in the end. Now he could beat her perhaps half the times they sparred, a magnificent achievement against the weapon's mistress. So he drew his katana, named aptly Onami (Howler in English), and prepared to dance just the way he'd been taught.

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Several hours before hand….

"What do ya mean you don't know where Kiba lives?" Naruto exclaimed in astonishment, blue eyes incredulous.

"Ano, I didn't know Kiba lived out side of his compound." Hinata replied honestly, her face sheepish. Although still shy she'd long since gotten over her stuttering around the blond and become a rather competent chuunin medic nin.

"How often do you actually see Kiba?" Sasuke asked, his black eyes intent. His arms were crossed over his chest and his mouth was tight. This situation was becoming more curious the more he learned.

"Not often, not since last month, actually." She said softly, a frown pulling at her fragile features. She took a small sip of her tea. "Kiba doesn't have much spare time out side of the extensive training he does and missions."

"Extensive training? Since when?" Naruto scowled fiercely. His blonde hair glinted brightly and his face radiated irritation. Sasuke supposed it was justified, they'd had to look for Hinata for an hour before they found her.

Hinata hesitated for a moment, making Sasuke's focus sharpen. There was definitely something odd going on. "Ano, I'm not sure if its my right to tell you, Naruto-kun." She said at last, blushing lightly in embarrassment.

"Hinata-san." Sasuke started quietly. "Naruto and I are only concerned for him. He is one of our friends and we want to help him." He ignored Naruto's doubtful glance at him, trying to keep his expression as sincere as possible. It was hard, he wasn't used to expressing such things but it seemed to work.

Sighing wearily with a somewhat sad tilt to her mouth she began to explain. "Four years ago, as a genin team, we were sent on a retrieval mission to Iwa. It was supposed to be a simple mission, retrieve a scroll from a private party and return with the scroll to Konoha. On the way home we were accosted by a group of a dozen bandits, most missing nin of at least chuunin level." Her breathe caught for a moment, her eyes focused fixedly on her cup of tea clasped in her hands. "We ran, it was the only option we had at the time. Kurenai-sensei is a genjutsu specialist, and even if that were not so she would not have been able to defend all of us. We were doing well, keeping ahead of them, until they unexpectedly cut us off." Her eyes flickered as though she were seeing the memories again, her expression becoming pained. Naruto placed a hand over hers, giving her a comforting look. It was enough to let her continue. "Kurenai-sensei became critically injured and Kiba stayed behind as a diversion as we escaped." Her eyes were haunted at this point. "He was the only team member still able to fight affectively, so he sent Akamaru with us to carry Kurenai-sensei and told us to run and bring reinforcements." She paused and it seemed like she wouldn't continue.

"But obviously you got back with reinforcements in time because he's still alive." Naruto prompted, sharing a frown with Sasuke. Their respect for Kiba was growing by the second and Sasuke was frankly surprised that the Inuzuka had been so determined to save his teammates.

"No." She said somewhat sharply, a rare occurrence for the girl. Her eyes were fierce. "Kiba was captured and held prisoner for 13 weeks. We all thought he was dead even though no one found his body. A team of hunter nin searched for 3 weeks before he was declared dead. His name was etched into the memorial stone." Her voice choked again, although her face remained completely blank. Her fingers trembled slightly around her cup.

"What?" Naruto's face was horrified as he looked at the trembling Hinata. He couldn't believe Kiba had been captured while he'd been away training, completely oblivious. It was hard to wrap his mind around it.

"How did he escape?" Sasuke asked, brow raised slightly. He leaned back in his chair, thoughts whirling. He knew exactly what happened to prisoners and it wasn't a pleasant experience. As it was he was surprised Kiba was still sane after such a long time imprisoned. Especially as he was the prisoner of a gang of missing nin, who were known for torturing their victims.

"No one knows." She said, finally seeming to gather herself. Hinata sniffed lightly and straightened her shoulder, visibly shaking off the effect of the memory. "He appeared at the gates and Tsunade personally saw to his care. He came into the hospital and stayed for two months, and no one but Tsunade was allowed into his room. After that it was only two months before he became chuunin. Almost three months after that he became a special jounin and then not even a year after that he became a full jounin."

Sasuke visibly had to fight to show his shock as her words registered. It was almost impossible to believe that anyone let alone Kiba had improved so quickly. "It would take an almost unbelievable amount of training to accomplish such a feat."

"Kiba-kun trains very hard." Hinata said softly with a nod. Her lavender eyes were proud as she looked up at them for the first time since she began to explain the mission. "As soon as he was able he began to train with several specialized jounin. The last time I talked with him he was training nearly sixteen hours every day when not on missions."

"Sixteen hours?" Naruto gaped at the girl and she laughed as she nodded. Even Sasuke looked incredulous of the boy's training schedule.

"Yes, I believe he said that he trains with Gai-sensei and Lee-kun for three hours in the morning, then trains for 5 hours with Tenten and her father. After that he trains with Morino Ibiki for 5 hours. Then with Kakashi-sensei for 3 hours. In the evenings he helps Iruka-sensei teach a remedial class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. " Hinata listed meticulously, ticking off fingers as she went. She smiled when she was finished, pleased to have remembered it so well.

"Kiba? Teaching snot nosed brats?" The blonde muttered dazedly, shaking his head in puzzlement.

"That is a very demanding schedule." Sasuke commented, frowning.

"Yes, he's very determined." Hinata said, then lifted her eyes to Sasuke's face with a hard glint. "Now what is this about? Is something the matter with Kiba-kun?"

"No, we only wanted to know cause we haven't seen him in such a long time." Naruto smiled guiltily and scratched the back of his head. It was clear he was lying. Sasuke sighed.

"Kiba was cast from his clan yesterday." Sasuke said bluntly.

"What?" Hinata gasped sharply, eyes widening. She looked horrified.

"Yeah, we seen Kiba and he said his name wasn't Inuzuka anymore." The blonde nodded grimly, crossing his arms. "We can't find out where he lives though. We thought you might know."

"Ano, I know he has an apartment outside of the Inuzuka compound but I have no idea where it is." She said regretfully, fingering her tea cup in worry.

"Well, just keep an eye out for him." Naruto told her. "I don't think he needs to be alone right now."

"I will. I will ask Shino to watch out for him as well." Her lavender eyes were firm as she nodded.

"We had better get going, if we're gonna find him today we gotta hurry." Naruto said as they stood. They distractedly said their goodbyes as Hinata paid her bill and hurried to return to the hospital before her lunch was over.

"So what should we do now?" Naruto asked his companion in frustration as they began to aimlessly walk down the street, away from the little dango shop they'd found Hinata in.

"It's a risk but we could ask Itachi's Inuzuka guard. I'm sure he would know where Kiba lived." Sasuke said after a moment of thought. He didn't like the idea but it was the only option he could think of.

"Risk?" The blonde tilted his head in confusion. "How is it a risk? The guy seemed kinda like a bastard but pretty cool otherwise."

Sasuke sighed in exasperation, rolling his eyes at his lovers naivety as they began to head for the Uchiha compound. "You obviously know nothing of clan politics, dobe." He responded somewhat grimly. "Once a clan member is cast out they're completely cut from the clan, their names erased from the clan birth records and all their possessions and assets turned over to the clan. Kiba is lucky he had an apartment or he would be homeless with nothing to his name. Any Inuzuka caught talking to him will be similarly cast out of the clan. By asking Akuma Kiba's location we could get him cast from his clan."

"But that's not fair!" Naruto protested loudly, his blue eyes sparking into a familiar outraged expression that Sasuke had seen more than once.

Sasuke voice was sharp when he replied, "Life isn't fair, Naruto. Right or wrong, Kiba's clan has the right to cast out anyone they see fit." He knew the blonde wouldn't accept it but he had to say the words anyway. There was nothing anyone could do for Kiba but be there for him.