Good day, dear readers! Here's a new chapter for you all. This one focuses a bit more on a character we haven't seen too much of lately, so it was fun and different to write. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it as well! Anyway, thanks for reading and reviewing, now on with the chapter!

49. Hazy Shade of Winter

Kiba Inuzuka awoke that Monday morning to the incessant beeping of his alarm. For a minute or so he chose to ignore the sound, opting instead to turn over onto his belly and try to muffle the sound with his pillow. Soon, though, the pressure of Akamaru pouncing onto his back forced him to give up any illusions of going back to sleep, at which point he haphazardly slapped at the alarm clock until the sound was silenced. Satisfied, Akamaru yipped once and trotted over to his master's face, where he licked Kiba's face happily.

"All right, all right, I'm up," Kiba groaned before scratching the puppy's head. "I'll get you breakfast in a minute, okay?"

Yipping again, Akamaru hopped off the bed and raced out of the room for the kitchen while Kiba groggily kicked off his sheets. He sighed.

Alone again… naturally…

Swinging his legs over the side of his bed, Kiba ran a hand down his face. Ever since their housewarming party for Sasuke, Naruto had spent every night at the Uchiha's house, leaving Kiba on his own with Akamaru. Sure, he was happy for Naruto – he wanted nothing more than to see his best friend find true love. The problem was, of course, that seeing his roommate in such a satisfying relationship only reminded Kiba of his single status.

Standing up, Kiba stretched and faced his mirror on the opposite wall. With the exception of his mild case of bed head, the Inuzuka thought he looked pretty good, posing in his black briefs. He flexed his biceps and admired his physique for a moment, having worked hard on it under Gai's tutelage.

Now, why can't I get any girls with muscles like these? Sasuke practically needs bodyguards to keep the girls away from him, and he's scrawny as a twig. And gay! What's the deal?

The dog boy shook his head. Maybe he just wasn't meant to find love yet. Scratching his bare midriff, the depressed teen strolled out of his room and into the kitchen, where Akamaru was waiting over his dog dish. He barked irritably, causing Kiba to roll his eyes.

"Hold your horses, boy. I'm getting it," Kiba said, picking up a large bag of dog chow. He poured some of the kibble into the bowl, at which point Akamaru began to stuff his face, paying no heed to his master. Waving a hand dismissively, Kiba left the dog and started towards the bathroom, saying, "You're welcome."

Once in the bathroom, Kiba unceremoniously slipped off his underwear and turned on the shower. After waiting a moment for the water to warm up, he stepped inside and closed the curtain, allowing the steam to build up within. With the hot water running off his shoulders and rolling down his lean back to his bubble butt, Kiba allowed his mind to wander.

Were there even any girls he was interested in? Sure, there were some hotties around, but so many of them just had the most repulsive personalities. Ino, for example – yeah, she was gorgeous, but Kiba was pretty sure he'd shoot himself if he somehow wound up with her. Same went with Sakura, though Sasuke seemed to think she'd turned over a new leaf. Who else was there? Tenten? If Ino and Sakura had bad personalities, then Tenten's problem was that she had no personality to speak of. That, and she was already dating Neji, and Kiba really didn't want to get on Mr. White-Eyes' bad side.

There really aren't a ton of girls I'd even consider. Too many of them only have eyes for Sasuke, and the ones that don't are already taken…

Grumbling in frustration, Kiba picked up a bottle of shampoo and squirted out a handful of liquid. He then began to rub it into his hair as he tried to sort out his dilemma. He felt as though he was missing something. There was always Temari, he supposed, but he knew she was taken, and there was no way he was going to try to steal her from Shikamaru. There were some lines you just didn't cross.

Maybe that girl who works at Ichiraku? She's pretty cute… but she's in college. There's no way she's going to date a guy who's still in high school.

As he moved on to lathering up his body, Kiba frowned. Surely there was someone who was available: someone who was right for him – someone cute, but who didn't have an obnoxious personality,

Maybe even someone soft-spoken…

Suddenly, Kiba realized he had been showering off for well over twenty minutes. Shutting off the water abruptly, Kiba hurried out of the shower and toweled off. He then threw open the door and streaked down the hall to his room, where he hurriedly threw on some clothes – he didn't particularly care what. Black briefs, blue jeans, black t-shirt, a jacket – once he was satisfied, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and slipped on his shoes as he hopped down the hallway past a very bemused Akamaru.

"Bye, Akamaru! Be good while I'm gone!" Kiba called, eliciting a bark from the dog as he shut the door.

Damn… how could I let myself get all distracted like that? Now I'm gonna be late. I'll have to hurry!

After sprinting down the stairs of the apartment complex, Kiba began to run alongside the road towards school, keeping an eye on traffic. Once the coast was clear, he darted across the street and continued on his way, weaving through the crowd of people on their morning commute as he went. In only ten minutes he reached the school just as the bell rang.

Shit, shit, shit…

Rushing inside, Kiba found that the hallways were mostly empty, save for a few kids who were as late as he was. Knowing that his class was only a short distance away, Kiba turned on the afterburners and hurtled down the corridor, passing numerous stunned students and one very angry teacher, who shook her fist at the dog boy as he whizzed on by. It was only after turning the corner, however, that Kiba ran into trouble – that trouble being a girl with dark blue hair, pale eyes, and fair skin, who let out a weak cry as the Inuzuka barreled into her.

"Sorry!" Kiba said, having fallen to the floor. He dusted himself off as he rose to his feet before helping the girl up as well. "Are you all right?"

"Umm… y-yes. S-sorry…"

"Well, if you're okay, I have to get going. Sorry again!" Kiba called out before darting back down the hallway to his class.

Of course, in the end, Kiba's efforts to make it to class on time were for nothing. He was still late, and he was given detention for his consistent tardiness. Bitter, he ignored everything Kurenai said throughout the class, opting instead to write spiteful haiku on his notebook.

"Ebisu's a jerk

I hate him with all my hate

I like burritos"

The next class passed in a similar fashion, albeit without the haiku. Instead, Kiba struggled to keep his head up as Asuma rambled on about averages, and how the mode was the single least useful statistic ever, yet they still had to use it for whatever reason and…

"Kiba! Were you listening to a word I just said?" Asuma asked, tossing an eraser at the dog boy's head.

"Umm… sort of?" Kiba responded honestly.

Asuma ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "Well, just pay attention, all right? This stuff's going to be on the exam next month, so take good notes."

Grumbling, Kiba glanced back down at his notebook and scribbled out Ebisu's name in his haiku, replacing it with Asuma's. He tried his best to remain vigilant throughout the rest of the period, but he just couldn't get himself to care. Instead, his mind for whatever reason jumped back to the girl he'd bumped into that morning. Who was she? Something about her seemed familiar, but he couldn't think of a name.

When the bell rang, Kiba's mind jumped back to the present as he eagerly threw his backpack over his shoulder and darted out the door. Sure, statistics were boring as hell, but at least he had one class to look forward to, and that was gym with Gai. They were going to play basketball that day, and Kiba was anxious to kick some major butt.

Upon arriving at the locker room, Kiba quickly found his little cube and got dressed. It was then that the other students began to file inside, among them a certain blond, who the Inuzuka greeted enthusiastically.

"There you are! Ready for some b-ball, Naruto?" he asked, throwing an arm over his roommate's shoulder.

Glancing up with distracted eyes, Naruto hesitated a moment, as if he hadn't heard the question, before responding, "Oh, yeah. You bet."

"Oh crap, did the two of you have another fight or something?" Kiba asked, seeing that something was clearly troubling the vulpine boy.

"Not exactly… you see, we just heard some news this morning," Naruto said as he began to change at his own locker. "On Saturday, Itachi confessed to killing their parents. He admitted everything."

"Didn't we already know that?" the Inuzuka inquired, scratching his head in confusion.

"Well, we knew there was a lot of evidence against him. A couple of witnesses, that journal they found, motive… still, I think Sasuke wanted to believe that it was all a misunderstanding – that Itachi had been set up or something." Naruto shook his head before slipping on his gym shirt. "That's why he's not here today – he wanted to go and hear it from Itachi himself. I'm worried about him, that's all."

Though Kiba certainly sympathized with his roommate, he also felt a hint of bitterness at hearing this story. After all, this was exactly the kind of fulfilling relationship that he'd been thinking about all morning – the relationship that was missing in his life. Taking a page out of Naruto's book, Kiba decided to mask these conflicting feelings with a forced smile.

"Well, just try to forget about it and focus on the game, all right? There's nothing you can do about it now, so there's no sense in worrying."

Naruto's eyes brightened a bit at this, his lips curling upward. "Sure – let's show them who's boss!"

Once the blond was dressed, he and Kiba headed out to the gymnasium, where they gathered around an exuberant Gai, who cradled a basketball under his arm. They waited a few minutes for the rest of the class to get dressed, at which point the instructor blew his whistle for an unnecessarily prolonged period of time.

"All right! As you all know, today you will be playing basketball. It is a sport that truly tests the limits of youth, because you are constantly moving from one end of the court to the next, chasing the ball, guarding the ball, owning the ball. The teams will be as follows: those on Neji's side of the room will be Team A. Those on Kiba's side of the room will be Team B. Any questions?" Gai asked, indicating both sides with a wave of his arm.

"No, sir!" the class shouted in unison.

"Excellent! Then go out and play, and let your youth shine!"

After a blow of Gai's whistle, the teams split up to their respective sides, with Kiba and Neji facing each other at center court. They each shot the other a cocky smirk as Gai tossed the basketball into the air, signaling the start of the game. To Kiba's chagrin, Neji was able to jump a smidgeon higher and slap the ball to his side, giving them the offensive.

Fortunately for Kiba and the rest of his team, they had a strong defense that was able to counter the opposing team's relatively feeble offense. From what Kiba could tell, only Neji really had any skill on their team – the other players were either completely uninterested in the game, like Ino and Shino, or were simply not much good at the game, like the freshman Konohamaru. Thus, when Ino was given the ball, she simply tossed the ball in the general direction of the hoop and missed by a wide margin.

When Kiba retrieved the ball and began Team B's offensive, though, it was a much different story. Dribbling down the court, Kiba found his track team training paying off, as he was easily able to weave between the opponents, with one exception: Neji. The Hyuuga's raw talent was enough to match Kiba's hard work, and the white-eyed teen stuck to Kiba like glue all the way down the court. When the time came for him to take a shot, the Inuzuka went for a lay-up, leaping just beyond Neji's reach to roll the ball into the basket.

"That's two, Hyuuga," Kiba replied, flashing a peace sign and a grin as he hurried back down the court.

The game continued in this pattern for a while, with Team A struggling to earn points save for those earned by Neji, and Team B racking up points with relative ease. After a half hour, the score was 42 – 20, and Kiba's ego was only growing larger with every point he earned.

Dribbling down the court after having blocked yet another shot, Kiba was on top of the world. He didn't even hear when one of his teammates asked for him to pass the ball, but instead went for a three-point shot, sending the ball flying over Neji's head. With a grin, he watched as it went in before pumping a fist in the air.

"Swish! Take that, Hyuuga!"

Neji glared at the Inuzuka before taking possession of the ball again and dribbling down the court, sweat running down his face. There was not enough time for Team A to catch up – that much was clear – but Neji was determined to at least close the gap. When he went for a lay-up, however, Kiba was there to slap the ball away and knock the Hyuuga to the ground just as Gai blew his whistle.

"All right, that's game! Good show, everyone! Now hit the showers!"

Feeling quite proud of his performance, Kiba raced to the locker room with a spring in his step as the rest of his team followed closely behind. As for Team A, they trudged behind in defeat, with Neji taking up the rear, his eyes brimming with rage. Kiba himself remained completely unaware of this, however, as he sauntered over to his locker and proceeded to undress. He was sweaty and exhausted, but he'd won, and that was all that mattered.

"We~ are the champions, my friend~" he began to sing as he threw a towel over his shoulder and headed for the showers. "And we'll~ keep on fightin', till the end~"

Setting his towel on a hook outside the shower area, Kiba wandered into the tiled room and stepped under a showerhead, where he continued to sing as the water poured over him. His eyes closed, he was oblivious to the rest of the world for a moment, until he heard the sound of bare feet slapping against the floor. Turning around in surprise, he cracked open one eye to find Neji, along with a few other guys from both Teams A and B standing with their arms crossed. Kiba noted that they were all clothed, and they all looked pissed.

"Umm… hey, guys. What's up?" he asked as he shut off the water.

"You're quite the showoff, Inuzuka. Must be your fate to show everything," Neji said before snapping his fingers. "Get him."

As Neji's lackeys moved in, Kiba attempted to escape to the side, but ended up slipping on the wet tile instead. With a surprised cry, he collapsed into a heap on the floor, where his assailants seized his arms and legs. The next thing he knew, Kiba was being dragged out of the showers and towards the exit.

"Let me go, dammit!" Kiba barked as he struggled to break free.

His efforts were in vain, for soon Neji's followers had carried the dog boy to the locker room doors, which they kicked open before swinging Kiba back and forth.

"One… two… three!"

On the last count, the gang released Kiba's limbs, sending him tumbling out into the hallway. Though the impact had hurt more than he expected, Kiba was less concerned about any possible injuries from his little spill than he was about getting back inside the locker room as soon as possible.

Rushing up to the now-closed doors, he began to pound on the fogged-glass window, shouting, "Let me in, guys! Come on!"

Inside, Kiba could just make out the voice of Naruto over the din, telling the others to let the Inuzuka back inside. When the door remained tightly shut despite Kiba's attempts to force it open, it became clear that neither Neji nor his cronies had any intention of letting him in any time soon. Taking a few steps back, Kiba crossed his arms over his bare chest and studied the door in frustrated bemusement.

Well, that's just great. What the hell do I do now?"

Suddenly, Kiba heard a slight 'eep' from off to the side. Turning his head in horror, he found the same girl with dark-blue hair from earlier that morning standing at the corner of the hallway. He blanched.

"Oh! I-I-I'm sorry! I didn't know…" the girl stuttered, her face turning a deep red as she tried to look away, though her eyes remained fixed on the dog boy in spite of her.

Shit! Okay, okay… you're naked in front of a cute girl. Just stay calm… act natural so she doesn't think you're a doofus…

Trying his best to look nonchalant with his hands at his side, Kiba soon recognized a key flaw with his plan: it was impossible to look cool in this particular situation. After all, it wasn't like he could somehow pretend that he meant to be standing outside the locker room without a stitch on him. Staring at the door, he began to sweat as he silently prayed for Neji to open the door.

This is so humiliating… goddammit, Neji! Is she still there?

Kiba glanced to the side, where he found the girl still apparently paralyzed by the sight. She was standing sideways, though her head remained fixed in his direction. Staring forward again, Kiba's eyes went wide.

Yes, yes she is. Okay… what the hell do I do here? Should I say something? Maybe she'll just go away and pretend she never saw this… then again, maybe she'll go away and get other girls to come see the naked guy. Shit, shit, shit! WHAT DO I DO?

Taking a deep breath, Kiba slid one hand over his groin, effectively concealing the goods, as he turned to the girl. He grinned sheepishly. "Umm… hi."

Her face somehow turning an even deeper shade of red, the girl began to play with her fingers while glancing back and forth between Kiba's crotch and the ground. "Oh, uh… hi. W-why are you out here n-na… like that?"

"They locked me out," Kiba said, nodding towards the door. "Sorry if I scared you there."

"N-no, it's not that. I-I just wasn't expecting…"

"To see a naked hunk like me standing here?" the Inuzuka offered with a forced laugh. He couldn't believe he'd actually said it.

"Yeah," the girl replied, equally shocked by her word choice.

Kiba offered the girl a genuine smile, his cheeks reddening, though not to the same extent as hers. "The name's Kiba."

"I-I know," the girl said before bowing her head. "I-I mean, nice to meet you. I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga."

Hyuuga?

His eyes wide, Kiba spun around to face the locker room doors once more just as they burst open. There, a smug Neji awaited some sort of admission of the Inuzuka's defeat, but was instead greeted to the sight of him chatting with Hinata. Immediately, his eyes were filled with rage as he rushed over to stand between the dog boy and the Hyuuga.

"Hinata! What are you doing here?" he asked in an accusatory manner.

"Whoah, calm down, dude. She was just walking by," Kiba said, clamping a hand on Neji's shoulder. "Now, if you don't mind, we were just introducing ourselves…"

Spinning around, Neji slapped Kiba's hand away before delivering a swift kick to his exposed groin. Letting out a muted yelp, the Inuzuka's knees buckled and he fell to the floor, struggling to see clearly through the pain. He could feel his head as it was tilted upward, however, so that it faced the silhouette of Neji above him.

"Now you listen to me, Inuzuka – stay the hell away from my cousin. Got it?"

In the corner of his misty eye, Kiba could just make out Hinata as she cowered off to the side. He smirked. "Fuck you."

Delivering another kick to Kiba's stomach, Neji then walked back to Hinata and grabbed her by the shoulder before dragging her away. As he lay on the floor in agony, Kiba could just make out the look of admiration in Hinata's eyes. Thus, when Naruto hurried out of the locker room to his roommate's aid, a towel in hand, the Inuzuka was smiling despite the pain.

Hinata Hyuuga, huh? Well, I've always liked a challenge…

XXXXX

They stared at each other in silence for some time through the glass – Itachi on one side, an armed guard beside him, with Sasuke on the other. Gripping the phone, Sasuke did struggled to maintain his cold exterior, trying hard not to let his emotions get the best of him. His hand began to shake as he gripped the phone harder, his eyes boring into his brother's skull.

He'd done it.

At least, that's what Itachi told the police. That's what the police had reported to the press, and what the press had told the rest of the world. Itachi Uchiha had admitted to parricide. Yes, it had only confirmed what everyone was already certain of – if he had denied the charges, their beliefs would not have been swayed in the slightest. They'd already deemed him guilty in their minds.

But not Sasuke. No, he had feared it, suspected it, and the logical part of his brain had been screaming that it was the truth, but in his heart, Sasuke had always hoped that there was another explanation. That Akatsuki had framed Itachi, or that it had been in self-defense or anything besides cold-blooded murder. His heart didn't want to face what the rest of the world insisted was the truth – he didn't want to suffer that kind of betrayal.

Yet, there he was. Even though they hadn't spoken a word, Itachi had already said enough in his demeanor. The way he tried to avoid eye contact with Sasuke, the way he was hunched over as he held the phone to his ear, as if trying to hide inside of himself, and the way he bit his lip ever so slightly. Sasuke knew – he was guilty. He'd told the truth.

"You bastard," Sasuke muttered, the words as agonizing to Itachi's ears as they were to his own. "Why'd you do it? Huh? WHY?"

Itachi was silent. He bit down harder, drawing a drop of blood from his lip. Sasuke's grip on the phone tightened even more, until he felt it would snap in two.

"Is that it? You have nothing to say for yourself? Just tell me why you did it, Itachi! TELL ME WHY!" Sasuke yelled into the phone as he pounded on the glass with his free hand.

The elder Uchiha stared up at the flickering fluorescent lights above. His cheeks were wet. Raising a finger, he poked the glass, right in front of his little brother's face. "I'm sorry, Sasuke… maybe next time…"

Sasuke nearly dropped the phone. He knew those words – they were what Itachi always used to tell him when they'd play as kids. Whenever Sasuke would want Itachi to quit studying and play ninja, he would always poke the younger Uchiha in the forehead and say, 'Sorry, Sasuke – maybe next time.' Sasuke's hands began to quiver as his eyes widened with rage.

"Do you think this is a game? Mom and Dad are dead because of you! You killed them, and that's all you have to say? 'Maybe next time?' What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

Again, Itachi lowered his head. For a second, Sasuke thought he had gotten through to his brother, that perhaps he would explain himself. Instead, Itachi lifted the phone and set it back on the receiver. The guard grabbed the elder Uchiha by the arm and raised him out of the chair, while Sasuke screamed into the phone on his side of the glass.

"Don't you fucking walk away from me! Tell me why you did it, dammit! ITACHI!"

The phone clattered on the table as guards dragged Sasuke away from the glass. The conversation was over, though it raised far more questions than it answered.

Maybe next time, Itachi…

There you have it! I believe this makes it the third chapter in a row featuring one of our characters getting naked in front of a girl, which I believe is a record for me. What's going to happen between Kiba, Neji, and Hinata? What about Sasuke and his tense encounter with Itachi? And what about Naruto and Sasuke's relationship, now that a certain holiday is just around the corner? Find out next time in For Naruto, Whenever I May Find Him, and remember: review!