Chapter 10
"Tsume!" Tsume cocked her head at the call of her name, she didn't jump when she came face to face with her husband. She pressed her lips to his dimpled cheek "Hey, Stranger" she greeted softly against the cleanly-shaved jaw.
"How was your day, Honey?" He asked, Mister Inunzuka practically purred against his wife's lips and trailed a line of kisses from her temple down to her cheek. Tsume nodded, "It as alright, did some dishes, took a nap... Made some lunch, threw that up." She rolled on the balls of her, resting her aching back against the Inuzuka male. With a small grunt, she pulled her husband's hand swiftly, letting it rest on her stomach. The young businessman shuddered at the feeling of the resistance that he felt as the stomach tried to push his hand away.
"She's getting restless..." Tsume complained quietly into her husband's ear, she couldn't hold back the smirk that lit up her face though. "So, since you caused this. I think you should get me some chocolate" The request came out pleadingly, but they both knew that Tsume Inuzuka was going to turn into a demon from Hell if she didn't get what she wanted.
"Do you wanna help pick some out?" Mister Inuzuka replied, wrapping his other arm to tie his hands around his wife's large stomach. "But, Baby!" She whined, the term of affection oozed out like molasses. Tsume sighed dramatically, throwing her head back against her husband's shoulder with a thump! "My feet are so swollen!" She exclaimed suddenly, rolling her head in denial over that fact.
"Don't make me go!" Go was dragged out onto the verge of annoying, but the Inuzuka male just smiled against his wife's neck and kissed her jaw softly. "Go rest, I'll get the chocolate" Tsume smiled, she always got what he wanted after all.
The businessman lifted a hand from his wife's waist to rub at his head, fingertips rubbing over the enflamed bump. "You didn't forget my favorite did you?" She asked, devilish smile pulling on the end of her lips. A predatory glint appeared in her eyes.
"N-No, of course not..." he let out nervously, sweat already starting to appear on his forehead. Tsume giggled, something between a harpy and a school-girl. Mister Inuzuka knew he just signed his own death warrant. He backed up from his wife, nearly tripping over the stupid rug she insisted on putting in front of the door.
Waking up in a smelly environment was becoming a routine that Kiba had no intention of falling into. The rug was filthy, he was shocked that the whole apartment didn't rot from the scent. Pushing his palms against the rough material he lifted himself into a sitting position, the muscles in his back protesting having been compacted from being still for so long. Kiba shifted his legs, rocking his feet back and forth, when he noticed that the door was open. Cracked seemed more of an appropriate way to put it, he nudged the wood with his toe - trying to push it closed- it moved closer to the hinges but ultimately opened more than it did closed. A zephyr tumbled forward, pressing against the door until it crashed open, pushing against Kiba's shoe like it was fighting back. He removed his foot from the door's carved path and watched as the wood arced around the corner of the rug, exposing a large hole in the wall. Kiba watched the outside world that transpired around the building from his vantage point.
The view was different from his normal view at home - and from Naruto's home - that much was obvious. There was no endless line of cars and concrete. While cars still fluttered along there was still more empty space between the vehicles than he was used to. The other side of the street held a path of sidewalk and trees beyond that. It was strange, seeing a tree, it had felt like a lifetime since he had seen any vegetation that wasn't piled onto china plates and served with an array of oils and sauces.
A yawn was pulled out of throat with his yawn, his mouth stretched open and air was pulled out of him. Twice. Kiba rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his palms, darkness engulfing his vision, bright spots danced in his vision. He removed his hands from his face and waited for everything to clear once more. He stared at his hands.
The scar tissue was still there, and the tattoos. Paw tracks, claw marks, and tree that spanned the near entirety of his left forearm. Multiple bright flowers cascaded down the branches, contrasting against the darkness that tinted his flesh. He sighed lowly, the branches were almost full. There wasn't much room left until the entire tree was full of white blossoms. That was supposed to mean something. A count-down of some sort he assumed dully, the realization that he had little time left was refusing to dawn upon him.
The curse would probably be permanent after New Year's, maybe even before Christmas, there was no way he could tell. He wasn't that fluent in magic tree time-telling.
Kiba rotated his mid-section, popping his back loudly - the columns made sick noises as he continued to rotate - he pressed his palm against a seemingly clean section of the rug. The youngest Inuzuka shifted his weight onto his shoulders and turned his feet inwards, pressing the haunches of his shoes against the ground. With more effort, and bending, Kiba eventually stood to his full height, and spun himself in the opposite direction until the rest of the joints in his back popped.
It didn't come to much of a shock when Naruto was one of the first things that crossed his mind once his brain was functioning normally - just behind finding a place to piss, and wondering if there was food nearby - he glanced around the apartment, not paying that much attention to anything that didn't related to blonde hair or a toilet.
He found the toilet first, if only by luck, he was ready to piss all over himself by the time he had found the room, and was a few milliseconds away from having his pipes rupture if he couldn't get his belt loose. He aimed, and fired, the semi-yellow translucent liquid rushed out of him, splashing into the small puddle of water in the toilet, the contact resonated around the walls that seemed too close together.
Kiba held in a groan of pleasure, but figured that could lead to some odd encounters if anyone else was in the house, or if Naruto decided to use the bathroom at the same time as him. The pleasure ended shortly after it had arrived, Kiba shook himself clean of any lingering liquid and flushed the toilet, closing the lid out of courtesy. It was something he had gotten yelled at quite often for and the routine was carved into his brain.
After zipping up and re-clasping his belt, something he was reluctant to do considering it had caused him so much trouble, he walked over to the small porcelain sink that took up the rest of the room next to the toilet. He pulled one of the handles, not really caring at how hot or cold the water was, and rinsed off his hands before turning it back off.
He shook his hands dry on his way back into the living room, and settled for wiping them on his jeans when air-drying wasn't fast enough for him. He found Naruto, passed out on the couch, and envied him slightly for having the will to explore the house before passing out. He wiggled his back slightly, the tightness grasped at his spine awkwardly, at least the feeling had come back into his hands from sleeping on them.
Perhaps kicking Naruto awake wasn't the best prank he could have proved, it wasn't that funny and it ended up backfiring rather quickly. After two or three nudges, Naruto came into consciousness and ended up trying to rip his foot off with his eyes closed, Kiba fell onto his butt with a loud bang, only dulled, thankfully, by another rug that was settled over the living room floor.
His fall had pulled Naruto into awareness, something he was thankful for, at least he had succeeded in his end goal. Waking the blonde so he wasn't alone in his mother's old house, stuck only with his thoughts as company.
Naruto was not amused by the joke, even if he wasn't fully aware of what he was doing when he pulled on Fang's shoe, inadvertently sending the scarred teen to the ground.
The blonde couldn't help the smirk that worked its way onto his face though, "Heh, sorry about that..." he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, trying to move his smile into something that looked like sympathy. It didn't work. Fang glared up at him, looking ready to kill him for the unintentional mutiny.
"Yeah, whatever" Kiba growled in reply, still glaring holes in the blonde, he was pleased with the effect it was having on the blonde. He continued doing it, even if he wasn't that mad anymore.
Naruto looked around the living room from the couch, it was a mixture of cramped and spacious. Not the perfect blend of space, or color, or anything really. Some parts of the room seemed too bright and the rest was too dark. His eyes were captured by a rather obnoxious entertainment center that took up most of the space on the wall across from him.
Kiba watched Naruto watch the television. Surely he had seen one that size before, it wasn't even that big. Perhaps it was the realization that he was staying in a place with such possessions. Hopefully the blonde wouldn't overreact and close himself of, or just be pissy in general.
His eyes were pulled off of the television, and Fang's were pulled off of him, when his phone started to vibrate. He fished it out of his pocket with some effort and slide it open with his thumb. Naruto pulled his phone closer to his face so he could read the small but vast print.
'Shouldnt have done that kid' was the ominous message that glared back at him. He rolled his tongue over his teeth, a nervous happen that was always his tell, Fang didn't know that tough. He cleared his throat, effectively clearing it and deleted the message before looking down at Fang, who had moved himself into a stretched pose on the rug. "I- 'm gonna take a leak..." He quipped sullenly.
Kiba nodded, and watched as Naruto left, the blonde practically dragging himself away from the couch, away from him. Again, he couldn't help but wonder what had made Naruto react like that. A text message. He didn't seem like the type that had girls interested in him, no offense, so that left family. Which Naruto hadn't brought before, besides his dad. So it was him. But he was captured. Which left Gato. Gato had texted Naruto. He wasn't sure why that bothered him so much, other than the obvious, the dude had tried to kill them after all.
After a life-time of waiting, Naruto didn't return from the bathroom, an act that Naruto seemed to be pulling too often. Kiba sighed, hoping that Gato hadn't managed to track them down. Perhaps he should have been more alerted by that thought than he was. But he wasn't.
The first place he checked was the bathroom, the obvious first choice, Naruto wouldn't lie to him after all - one should never lie to the person that saved their life - the room was empty. The toilet was still swirling, gulping down water and releasing it noisily.
It wasn't a complete lie, he had to give Naruto that. He checked the front door, looking for any signs that Naruto had walked across the rug and found nothing. He hadn't heard the door close so the blonde had to be somewhere in the house.
His next logical idea was to search the entire house from top to bottom. Starting with a detailed analysis of the kitchen. He didn't find Naruto, nor did he find food. His stomach grumbled in protest, but Kiba ignored it. He had to find Naruto, even if the blonde wanted to be alone.
Leading out of the kitchen was a corridor that went two ways, one leading back to the living room and front door, the other led to a staircase and a pair of glass doors.
Nostalgia struck him like a gun-shot at seeing the glass doors, they weren't the same as the ones on the penthouse, but the view seemed similar enough to bring back memories. Walking through the lobby with Rose, or Hana. He gulped, he didn't see Naruto through the glass and figured he wasn't in there anyway.
He climbed the stairs quietly, a difficult feat to accomplish considering they squeaked, and with the narrow passage it echoed. The squeaking resonated along with his footsteps to the point of driving him insane. He blamed it on the curse for no steps could be this loud without someone falling into the basement.
He wiggled the door at the top of the staircase. Locked. He pressed his ear against the wood, tensing as it squeaked on his hinges. He was going to kill this door. Later. Muffled somethings were coming from the other side. He couldn't make out what kind of sounds they were, sadness or comedy, but he was going to assume the first. Kiba knocked on the bedroom door loudly. Not the best method for someone who had almost go kidnapped, but effective none the less.
Naruto didn't shift when Fang knocked on the door. He figured that the wolf-guy would find him sooner or later. Even if he had personally hoped for later, he didn't respond but did make an effort to silence himself so Fang couldn't hear him crying like a girl.
"Naruto" Fang's voice carried easily through the door, "Come out." It sounded more like a command than a plea or question, which for some illogical reason made Naruto want to curl up into the bed further. He had taken the precaution of barricading the door with some easily movable furniture and figured if that wasn't a sign that he wanted to be alone then he didn't know what was.
Kiba knocked a little louder, then he heard a small shuffling on the other side of the door, but Naruto didn't unlock the door. He knocked louder and louder, until he was almost punching holes in the wood. "Dude!" Kiba spat at the door. Still no reply.
He buried his head into a pillow and let Fang continue to bang on the door, probably yelling his name and screaming, but he made no move to react to the yelling and wrapped himself in the bed's comforter.
Being ignored was not something he was used to - with the exception of his father of course - and found out that he did not enjoy the feeling. He didn't want to sound needy and possessive, but the best way to get through this was together, that way if Gato found a way into the house they would have some chance. Naruto obviously didn't think the same way, and he figured if Naruto was going to be a bitch about it, he could be a dick about it in return.
He bounded downstairs and made the smartest decision he had made in months. He called Rose. Kiba was thankful that he had memorized her number, if only to call for a ride or bail, but now he had a good reason.
Rose answered more rudely than he had anticipated. Asking Kiba who he thought he was calling so early. Kiba bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. "Well, I think I'm your boss and you better show me some respect" Kiba shot back, lowering his voice and adjusting his accent to sound like his father, something he was reluctant to do, despite it being a decent enough prank to play.
The phone crackled on the other end as Rose checked the caller ID. "Kiba? Where're you calling from?" She asked, concern laced through the phone lines and wiggled into his ear. "I'm at mom's old place..." he admitted. Rose clucked her tongue several time and Kiba wondered if she had switched to her native language. He wasn't going to ask though. "And you're calling 'cause?" Rose asked, making her sour tone evident.
Excuses and lies spread through Kiba's brain as he tried to think of the best approach, he wasn't going to go with overly happy, but he didn't want to be commanding and demand her drive over here at whatever time in the morning. He swallowed. "I just... Uh. I needed you..." God that sounded wrong. "We have a small problem." He hoped that cleared up any loose ends that could possibly arise without giving too much away to the caretaker.
"That's 'da one across from 'dat park right?" Her native accent drifted heavily into her voice as she spoke. Kiba nodded. "Yeah." Rose hummed on the other end. "Want some breakfast?" It came out brayahkfast, and Kiba held back a snicker. Free food was free food after all. He nodded again, "Yeah." He could practically hear Rose smile cheekily on the other end and he frowned. "I'll be D'are shortly." Kiba hung up the phone.
Rose arrived an hour later and Kiba couldn't help but explode on the Jamaican woman for taking so long. She carried in a single grocery bag and Kiba bristled, stomach ready to implode into nothing. "That's all you brought?" Kiba asked when Rose pulled out one medium sized plastic container. The dark woman gave him a look to silence him, her lip rolled in distaste. "You called on short-notice" she shot back, her eyes twinkling with something Kiba didn't like.
"Where's that one kid?" She asked next, pulling her over coat off of her shoulders, Kiba tried not to look at it. If he saw another bear, he was going to die, he just knew it. "Naruto?" He asked, still staring at the ceiling. Rose fell silent, her eyes narrowed playfully as if asking Naruto, now is it?
Kiba groaned inside and out. "He's... Upstairs. Resting." It wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't exactly the truth. He didn't really care though, he had lied to Rose plenty of times and was probably going to lie to her a million more times.
"He not gonna eat?" Rose asked, pulling out a plate from her purse. Kiba blinked, then again when Rose pulled out a fork. Kiba shook his head. "Nah." He had to sympathize with Naruto, for not being tempted by the aroma of food. He wondered if Naruto could even smell it and he shot a look at the hallway behind him. He turned back before Rose could notice- She noticed.
The scarred teen shot her a look, something between a silent death threat and a plea to shut up. An interesting mix, but Kiba seemed to have pulled it off alright considering Rose said nothing and slide the plate over to him.
Pulling off the top of the container was very satisfying when the scent of crispy bacon and scrambled eggs splashed into his face like a waterfall. He wiped some drool from the corner of his lip and dumped the container's contents onto his tray.
Rose watched Kiba eat. Observing his usual pattern of hunching over his food, protecting it like a wild animal. Her thoughts drifted to the blonde boy. He was still here, she was sure of that by the way Kiba looked back. But the resting thing seemed unlikely. Very unlikely, if they both had slept here over night.
"Why're you here, Kiba?" Kiba flinched as his name was called. "Don't call me that..." He hissed. Rose's thick eye brows raised up on her forehead. "Whadd'ya want to be called?" She asked instead of the two-hundred questions she had lined up. "He calls me Fang" He nodded his head back, motioning to the blonde that wasn't there." She snorted at the name and repeated her first question.
"Why're you here?" Kiba looked up at her, emotions playing across his face, anger, annoyed, sadness, then acceptance. "He was in trouble" was his reply before pushing himself up from his seat. Kiba rounded the the table and set his plate in the sink before walking off. Rose's eyes drifted to the sink, eyeing the dirty plate with an equally dirty look.
Somethings never change after all.