A/N: Welcome back, friends! Things heat up a little in this chapter. Thank you to all those who have shown an interest in this story. Your kind comments are very much appreciated. Thanks to darkewulf for beta'ing these first chapters, and again, thanks to of815 for giving such good commentary and kaotic312 for the much-needed inspiration. Please, enjoy!
Chapter 2: Complications
Nervously, Kiba stepped down the dim hallway, his bare feet silent on the cool tile. He heard Ino rummaging around in what he thought to be the kitchen- -a clatter, the squeak of a cabinet, and the smell of various meats and vegetables all clues to what she was doing.
His stomach rumbled, and Kiba knew he wouldn't be leaving if she was making him lunch. Around the corner, he found Ino doing exactly that. She smiled at him and turned to open the refrigerator door.
"Think fast!"
Out of nowhere, a package flew at him. "What the-?"
Fast reflexes saved him- -his hand snapped out and caught a package of some sort. He stared at it in his hand, registered 'Bob's Frozen Peas,' and could not quite comprehend what this meant.
Kiba glanced at Ino and watched her mouth twist as she answered. "For your forehead."
"I knew that," Kiba muttered.
He pressed the improvised cold pack against his head, advancing to the kitchen area and hopping on a bar stool to watch Ino. She artfully folded lunch meat into squares, layering them on a bed of lettuce, and she addressed him without looking.
"So tell me about Yukari."
That sounded like a suspiciously causal question, coming from her. "Why?"
"She seems like a nice girl. I was wondering if she was."
He said nothing. Was Ino just being polite? Or was she being nosey? Before he could come to a decision, she continued. "You don't have to talk about her if it makes you uncomfortable."
For an unknown reason, he felt irritation at her dismissive comment. "No, it's fine. She's quiet and kind…laughs easily. But she was nervous around me. And…you know…just…"
"Conservative?" Ino supplied. Then, "You want ice?"
"Yes. Please," he added when Ino shot him a look. "Conservative? That's what you think of her?"
He watched Ino flex and stretch for glasses in the cabinet, but dropped his gaze when he caught himself staring at her hips and breasts again. His thoughts seemed to stray irrationally to her…and he wondered why he suddenly found her attractive when he hadn't before when they bickered. He traced the tiles on the countertop with his fingers to keep his mind distracted from Ino's body and listened as she opened the refrigerator door.
Ice clinked in the glasses. "It's because you're used to a shinobi's personality. Unafraid, motivated, passionate…" she trailed off, and the fridge door slapped shut. "It'll be quite an adjustment if you choose to pursue her."
That was a curious thing to say. Kiba narrowed his eyes at Ino, but her back was turned to him.
"If I choose to pursue her? It's not like that…not…not serious."
Ino turned and shrugged her shoulders, as she gestured vaguely. "What if she wants to be serious?"
"I'm just casually seeing her," Kiba said, feeling defensive suddenly. "And why is this so important anyway?"
"All I'm saying is that you don't know her. She may…have different ideas about the path of your relationship."
Kiba's nostrils flared. Ino sounded neutral, but he smelled her emotions writhing inside her- -a heady combination of anxiety, jealousy, and excitement. It attracted him, but at the same time jumbled up his own chemistry and made his own emotions swirl violently.
Her emotions had never been so clear to him before…had she been using a jutsu to prevent him from sensing her emotions previously? If that was the case, her weakened condition would prevent her from using that jutsu currently.
When she set the glass of juice and the perfectly made sandwich in front of him, he caught her wrist by pure instinct. A fine line appeared between her brows, and he watched as her jaw set.
Kiba got to the point. "What's going on?"
Now that he thought of it, she hadn't been mean or bitchy to him this entire time, and she was feeding him and letting him grasp her wrist.
He had to give her credit; she kept her gaze level, but her flushed cheeks were a dead giveaway to her inner turmoil.
"Nothing."
"It's not nothing," he answered her. "Why aren't we arguing like we usually do? Why are you…doing all these weird things?
She snorted in disbelief. "Weird things?"
"Yes. Weird things…like…like," he used his free hand to gesture to the lunch and to the hand connected to her arm, "this. What's going on?"
As Kiba slid off the stool and came around the counter, his heart pounded against his chest. He gripped her wrist loosely- -but he still felt her quickened pulse. The knowledge that he'd caused her heart to beat faster, in addition to her powerful scent, slowed his thoughts and made him feel reckless.
She seemed frozen in place. "Kiba…"
His instinct clicked on- -the part that inexplicably knew what to do in situations when he wasn't thinking, just acting- -and when Kiba's arms enclosed Ino and drew her close, he surprised himself.
He repeated his question. "What's going on?"
"Kiba," she whispered again, breathlessly. She continued as she wrapped her arms around him. "I'm so stupid. So very stupid."
Kiba's hand ran up her spine to her nape; he felt the knobs, and the clasp of her bra through the material of her shirt. Moisture broke out under his arms and in the small of his back.
"Why?" His voice was hoarse, his throat desert-dry.
Ino made a noise that sounded like a cross between a sigh and a groan. She shifted against him, those lovely, womanly parts he so admired pressing closer. He couldn't swallow or breathe for that matter.
"I think," she said in a soft voice, "that I've always been mean to you because I've liked you. And when I saw you with Yukari," she paused to nuzzle his neck, and everything inside him took a deep, anticipatory breath, "I realized that was the wrong way to go about things."
There was no hope for his poor brain, because right then, at that moment, Ino smelled like the confidence a predator had when slinking through the jungle seeking her next meal- -all rippling muscles, sleek coat and feminine wiles. The scent reached into his dysfunctional brain and gripped it by the shirtfront…and wasn't letting go.
Her hands wandered from his back to his chest to undo the zipper on his jacket. All his synapses misfired when Ino's clever hands swooped under his mesh shirt, toying with his ribs and abdomen. She had effectively rooted him to the spot, as immobile as a damn rabbit waiting in a paralyzed trance.
Her mouth found his jaw line and trailed a line of butterfly kisses there. Closer and closer her lips came to his. All his attention zeroed in on where her kisses landed- -there and there, and, oh, yeah, there- -and it was impossible to do anything else.
When she rubbed her mouth against his, the world as he knew it spun out of control.
Kiba had read a few of his sister's trashy romance novels when he'd been bored out of his mind, and the 'she tasted exactly the way she smelled' line seemed extremely accurate.
Then…then she parted her lips, and Kiba stumbled into nirvana.
The few adjectives that came to him- -soft, warm, delicious- -seemed completely inadequate. The feeling- -the consuming, searing heat that ripped though him- -was nothing like he'd expected. Not even those romance books could have prepared him for this.
Pages out of every dirty magazine he'd ever read flipped through his mind, and he felt a desire to do those naughty things with Ino. A whispering, pushing urge had him wanting more, to slake a thirst for an animal side he'd never experienced before.
When control slipped from him- -the rational side losing control to the animal side- -Kiba let loose a deep, possessive growl and nipped at her throat. She gasped, and in her surprise she tripped backwards. Together they sprawled on the kitchen floor. Unbidden, his hand glided up her toned thigh, under the ridiculously short hem of her skirt, and brushed the edge of lace.
Ino moaned, then guided his mouth back to hers. He felt her fingers dig into his hair. A very primal need twisted in his stomach and places below, and it felt so good, and yet so very wrong. Everything he wanted was at his fingertips, but his conscience came squirming back, shaking a disapproving head at how he was behaving.
The front door's slamming brought them back to reality with crashing suddenness, and they stilled instantly. Both held their breath as they looked at each other, startled like skittish animals. Tension pulsed in the air as someone shuffled around in the foyer.
Kiba had enough time to wonder what the hell had just happened before he realized it was her mother he smelled. This is bad, he thought as panic constricted his lungs, really, really bad!
"Ino, darling, I'm home!" Mrs. Yamanaka called from the entrance. "Oh! We have a guest?"
Her mother's voice seemed to spur Ino into action and she roughly shoved him off, hissing, "Shit!"
His sentiments exactly; if her mother found them together- -like 'flat on the kitchen floor' together- -there would be no stopping the wrathful vengeance that would rain down upon him.
Kiba shuddered; they must eradicate any and all evidence of making out, ASAP.
Together they scrambled around and stood. With practiced efficiency, Kiba zipped up his jacket and adjusted himself as Ino twisted her skirt back in place. Her scent had faded from that explosive energy-smell to something more anxious and fearful.
"Ino? Are you here?"
"Act like nothing happened," Ino whispered, pushing him around the counter.
Kiba nodded, afraid to speak, and perched on his barstool. He tried looking as innocent as he could, for when Mrs. Yamanaka entered the kitchen. He prayed he didn't look too grey- -fear had a draining effect on him.
"Welcome home, Mom!" Ino greeted, smoothing her hair before her mother appeared in the hallway. "Dad wrote you a note to explain Kiba."
Mrs. Yamanaka was not a tall woman, but she certainly intimidated the hell out of Kiba. Her razor-sharp blue eyes flew to him, and he shifted nervously when she glared. He silently thanked Ino when she walked to her mother and handed her Inoichi's note.
"Here," she said. "We were just finishing lunch. How did your day go?"
Ino and her mother stepped from the hallway to stand together behind the counter where Kiba sat, preoccupied with his forgotten sandwich.
Look innocent, Kiba told himself, pretending to ignore Mrs. Yamanaka's penetrating gaze, look innocent. You're just a guy eating a sandwich…you totally did not just make out with Ino, right there on the kitchen floor…nope, never happened. He tried to ignore the very clear fact that he'd be a victim of Mind Destruction jutsu if Inoichi found out what had transpired in his kitchen.
A bite of sandwich lodged painfully in his throat.
Mrs. Yamanaka finished reading with a satisfied, "Oh. Well, thank you for your courtesy, Kiba."
When Ino pointedly coughed, he gulped to clear his throat. "Any time."
To his complete relief, Mrs. Yamanaka sat down at a table nearby and began prattling on about her day. Kiba tuned her out and concentrated on chewing with a closed mouth. Several instances he caught himself shifting his eyes over Ino's curvy form, thinking of their previous activity, and kicked himself each time for being so obvious about it.
The door slammed again, and this time Kiba smelled Inoichi. He had really hoped to be out of the house before facing the man known throughout Konoha as "The Mind Cracker." Like a master thief cracked a bank vault, Inoichi was known to 'crack' the minds of some of the worst criminals in Fire Country.
Inoichi called down the hall. "Oy! Is Kiba still here, then?"
"Yes! In the kitchen!" called mother and daughter.
Kiba's palms went clammy and cold. He eyed the kitchen window, wondering if he should make a break for escape before interrogation or worse could occur.
He hesitated a moment too long. Inoichi walked into the kitchen, and when he was in range, laid a heavy hand on Kiba's shoulder. Nerves prickled down Kiba's back. Nothing happened, he thought. Nothing happened, nothing happened, nothing-
"Good to see you got her home safely. Did she cause any problems for you?"
"No, no. None." Kiba's response seemed too quick even to his own ears. He caught a telling glance from Ino. "Look…I really should be-"
"-heading back," Ino finished in tandem with him. She walked around the counter to give her father a peck on the cheek. "I'll see him out."
Kiba and Ino quickly exited the kitchen and moved down the hallway to the front door. As he wiggled his feet into his boots, he could hear her parents whispering but their voices were too low for him to eavesdrop.
Ino stood nearby, watching him. Her gaze felt as heavy as Inoichi's hand on his shoulder earlier.
Kiba looked up at her and noticed the ghost of a frown. "Is…is there something wrong?"
"No," she said, but it looked like she wanted to continue. He didn't press her.
He supposed they were both thinking about what they'd done in the kitchen and on the floor. Kiba knew they would have pushed their…uh…activity a lot further if they'd been uninterrupted.
How had it all happened? Before this day, he had never felt even the slightest iota of attraction to Ino, and judging from her prior behavior, he assumed that she had not felt attracted to him. Their typical behavior usually included hurling insults like they hurled kunai and shiruken.
That thought reminded him of her stomach wound- -guilt threaded through him. Ino had been in a weakened condition. Had he taken advantage of her?
His mood spiraled downwards, and the silence lingered as he laced up his boots and continued as she opened the door to let him out. Sliding past her, their eyes locked, and it was like a high-power beam had spotted him, uncovering the dark ripples of guilt.
That guilt gnawed at him. He started to speak. "Ino…I…uh…" but he ran out of steam. What was he gonna say- -nice making out with you? Kiss ya later? Yeah, right.
"Yeah," she murmured and dropped her gaze. He took this as his cue to leave.
The words hung awkwardly in the air as he crossed the porch…touched the railing…stepped down the first step…then the second step. There were flagstones leading in a meandering curve to the sidewalk. Various flowers and vegetation swayed in the slight breeze. His foot landed on the third step.
Was he really just leaving like this? He was acting like a damn coward.
"Kiba!"
He stopped and turned to look at her. Ino had stepped forward, but she looked like she was hesitating. Then her expression changed, and before he could identify it, Ino stepped over to him and flung her arms around his neck.
Her warmth radiated to his bones, and when she kissed him, he couldn't breathe for the surprise. That clever tongue of hers glided along the edge of his teeth, finally teasing his own tongue. A little grunt escaped her throat.
The snarling heat that had finally died down now growled and kicked him in the stomach again. Before he could grasp her and keep her flush against him, she flitted out of his reach.
She called over her shoulder. "See you around, Inuzuka."
He could hear the bitchy self-satisfied smile in her voice, and because of it, he felt back on familiar territory.
"Not if I can help it, Yamanaka," he replied, watching the swing of hair and ass when she crossed the porch, went through the door and slammed it shut. He was left with the feeling that she'd taken advantage of him, not vise-versa.
However, as he walked home, his mind continued swirling with questions concerning the afternoon's bizarre turn of events.
The guilt twisted again in his gut when he realized he had completely forgotten about Yukari. Ah, hell. What was he going to do about her?
Kiba groaned. How could this possibly be? This was so unfair! He finally had found a decent non-shinobi girl and had gotten her to go on a date with him, but of course, Ino had to show up and faint. Then the planets aligned (or something like that) and he had been able to practice those making out and kissing skills Shino, Naruto, and Shikamaru had been bragging about, only not on Yukari but on Ino!
What the hell had he done to deserve this confusion?
Kiba abruptly realized he'd already entered the front gate to his family's compound and was standing at his front door. He rested his hand on the doorknob.
"KIBA-A? Is that you?" His mother yelled at the top of her lungs at him.
"YEAH!"
He entered and turned the corner as his mother answered. "YER GIRLFRIEND STOPPED- -oh!"
Mom stood at the stove, stirring something in a pan that smelled fantastic. Kiba sniffed over her shoulder as she continued at a normal volume. "Yer girlfriend stopped by and left a message."
"Yeah, okay"- -he walked to the refrigerator, where a pink note hung precariously by a magnet- -"thanks."
"Dinner's in an blahblahblahblah. Blahblahblahblah? Blahba? Blahba!"
Kiba didn't hear her, too busy reading Yukari's note:
Dear Kiba,
I stopped by earlier to see if you wanted to go out for lunch, but you'd left. I had a really
nice time last night, and I wanted it to go on. I was hoping to see you again soon, before you left on
any more assignments. Maybe we could meet Saturday? I'll be in the Southgate Park until
sundown. I'm there anyway this Saturday, so if you can't make it, it will be okay.
Yours always,
Yukari
Her handwriting was neat and flourished, and the paper smelled good, like it'd been stuck under her shirt closest to her perfumed skin. And she'd written 'Yours always'. That was as good as writing 'Love', wasn't it?
A smile crawled across his face. He would definitely be meeting her Saturday (Second date! Yes!)… if he could wait that long. Then blue eyes and blonde hair interrupted his pleasant thoughts.
What was he gonna do about Ino?
He leaned against the counter, resting his head against the wood cabinets, suppressing a groan. What about Ino?
A hard pinch on his neck roused him. "Go get yer sister, lover-boy."
"I'm going." Kiba warded Mom's hand away, flicking the letter out of her nearly closed fingers. He felt irritated. "And don't pry into my personal life."
He tucked the note into a pocket as she smirked. "Yeah, yeah."
"I'm serious!"
"Seriously lame," Hana voiced from behind them. She continued over Kiba's growl. "I got out of the clinic early. Dinner smells good!"
"Hm," Mom grunted, tapping the wooden spoon. "Kiba, you need to feed the dogs."
He always fed the dogs, and it wasn't fair. "Aw-w…why can't Hana do it?"
Hana glared at him, a slight sneer curling her lip. "I worked all day! What did you do? Trail around after your village girl?"
He felt angrier than he should. "You guys suck!"
Fuming, he spun abruptly and stalked through the kitchen to the back of the house. Through a haze of red, he banged around the backroom getting the dog food ingredients.
Some calm, reasonable side told him to stop worrying. He measured, dumped, and mixed together the ingredients, equally doling everything out in the bowls. As he did so, the same voice told him that while Yukari was a sure thing, Ino wasn't.
He would continue to date Yukari. When he met Ino again, he would tell her to leave him alone. He was Yukari's boyfriend (in the loosest sense of the word) and he had to save all his attention and care for her.
A/N: I know Hana seems like such a nice girl, but come on! Kiba's her brother, and it's like an unofficial rule that older siblings must tease younger ones. Next chapter: Ino pays Kiba a visit. And things really heat up. =)
