A/N: Please, enjoy. =)


XVIII: Third Date's the Charm

They had fled the family's compound, stopping in a park when Akamaru refused to go further because, well- -'You're seriously fucked up right now,' was the reason he'd given. His dog sat, the picture of serenity, as Kiba paced, trying to shake the chilling impression his mother had imprinted on him. Nervous wreck was an understatement.

Her look had never been so murderous before. Would she ever warm up when she saw him? Fuck. Fuck! His outright defiance had cracked their solid relationship, maybe even irreparably cracked it. Not involving his mother in his life was…was…unthinkable!

Akamaru shifted a bit in the sunlight. So what now, partner?

And that was the question. What now?

"I don't know. Lemme think, dammit."

Massaging his temples, Kiba tried to think past the physical and emotional horror. His stomach churned- -and a cold sweat soaked through his undergarments. Even his breathing was off. Okay. Okay, getta grip. Breathe. Find yer center. He brought his hand to his mouth and bit it, hard, tasted blood and salt. Focus on the pain. Focus.

The throb radiated up his arm and riding on that pain, Kiba shoved the panic into a corner of his mind; the edges were there, but at least he had space for thinking. He released his hand- -his bite marks bled freely and would need to be bandaged. But later.

Logic dictated that they needed a homebase, preferably one where no one would be able to keep tabs on them for Mom. Some place unexpected. That ruled out the Aburame, Nara, and Akimichi households, since those were all Mom's close friends. They were barely welcome at the Hyuuga compound, and they didn't know Sakura, Tenten, or Lee good enough to ask.

Hm. Left the Yamanaka residence, Naruto, and Master Kurenai as options, and staying with the Yamanakas was out of the question. Naruto seemed the likelier choice, if he was there. If not, then maybe Master Kurenai could put them up, but Kiba don't wanna impose on her with her being pregnant and preparing for the baby's arrival. She was almost due.

"Okay, Akamaru. We'll head over to Naruto's and see if he'll give us a place to stay."

Sounds good. Let's go.

They left the park and walked through the village to where they knew Naruto's apartment was. The streets and lanes were crowded with the afternoon lunch crowd. Above the marketplace, Naruto's balcony apartment looked like an oasis, and they jumped to the roofs for an abbreviated route to Naruto's door.

Suddenly nervous, Kiba licked his teeth and shifted his weight. Stalling. The door he faced was a scarred grey with nicks and dings near the lock, beat-up and abused, almost like the person who'd lived behind it for so long.

Asking to stay with Naruto felt like asking for charity; pride told Kiba to find another solution, but they had no other choice but for him to swallow that clan pride and knock. When Naruto answered the door, he still wore his pajamas, but after Kiba invited him to lunch, he was ready to go into public within five minutes.

During lunch, Naruto did most of the talking and eating. Recent events had spoiled Kiba's appetite. Worse, he had to work up the courage to ask Naruto for help. When he finally told Naruto what had happened and asked if he and Akamaru could stay with him, Naruto surprised them with his response.

"Really? Stay with me?" He swallowed the rest of his noodles. "Yeah, that'd be cool!"

"Thanks, Naruto." Relief flooded Kiba. "Yer a good guy."

"Oh, man! This is gonna be so much fun! We can train together, and I've always wanted to play with Akamaru, and then you can help me test this new technique…"

Naruto then led them back to the apartment. Conversation was put on hold as Naruto tore through the place looking for the spare key. While his 'roommate' was busy, Kiba checked out the fridge. Empty.

"Ah-ha! Found it!" Naruto exalted. He held up the silver key. "I knew I knew where it was!"

"Thanks." Kiba accepted the key, knowing it was time to do the inevitable. "Listen, I need to go talk to Yukari about some plans me'n'Shino made on Tuesday. I'll see you later?"

"Uh, yeah. That sounds good."

He turned to leave, but Naruto called out, "Hey! Thought you were with Ino?"

"No. That…wouldn't work out."

"Why not? You guys looked pretty tight."

Talking about Ino wasn't a good idea; he couldn't be sure who was listening. One hand slipped into his jacket pocket and fingered the smooth earrings.

"I'll get some groceries while I'm out," Kiba said. "Yer runnin' low on supplies, and we eat enough to feed a family of five."

Naruto looked confused. "Um, okay? But what about-?"

Kiba open-closed the door, cutting off Naruto, and evacuated the premise. Guilt welled up about evading Naruto's questions, putting him out of the mood to mess around. And his bitten hand sang with pain- -he'd have to get it disinfected.

He and Akamaru traveled quickly to the Nakamura manor, where they found that neither Mrs. Nakamura nor young Miss Nakamura was at home. To avoid any more contact than was necessary, Kiba left a note with the servant Kin detailing the date for Tuesday.

Already, the day was getting late, so they headed over to the training grounds to let off some steam. They got in several hours of good, hard training and visited the grocery for some essentials before heading to their new home. The sun was low on the horizon and shadows long when Kiba and Akamaru walked through the door.

"Welcome home! How'd your day go?"

Naruto greeted him from the table, where books and scrolls were piled haphazardly. It looked like Naruto had been studying hard. Feeling slightly wrong-footed, Kiba set the groceries on the countertop and began unloading them before he answered.

"Ah, didn't get a chance to talk to Yukari, so we ended up training," he said finally. "Yerself?"

Naruto was in the middle of his answer- -something about new information on Sasuke- -when Kiba smelt Hana and her three dogs approaching. Worry clenched in his stomach. Was she coming to check in and report to Mom? God, he hoped not. He didn't want to have to fight against both his mother and his sister.

Hana knocked on the door, causing him to slightly jump and steel himself at the same time.

"Who could that be?" Naruto asked, half-getting up. "I wasn't expecting anyone."

"Don't worry…it's my sister." Kiba waved him to sit back down.

"You didn't tell me she was coming!"

"I didn't know myself," Kiba said, then opening the door, "Hi."

Hana embraced him instantly, strong arms bringing him in tight. "Shorty-pants! I was so worried!"

"Worried?" He had to speak into her flak jacket. "You?"

"Yeah…worried that I'd hafta hire extra help instead of making you do all the work."

"Haha, very funny." She smelled like home; the throb in his newly-bandaged hand increased, as did an ache in his chest. "What're you doin' here?"

Breaking the hug, Hana leaned back to study him. Her answer was slow, drawn out. "When Mom wouldn't explain what was going on with the weird vibe in the house, I figured you'd gotten in trouble."

"She…didn't say anything at all?" For some reason, the hurt sharpened, stabbed his chest.

"No, nothing." She paused. "Can…I come in? Or are you planning on keeping your sister out on the doorstep?"

He stepped in her way, lifting an arm to bar her from entering and to show her he was suspicious of her intentions. Hana was forced to draw back a couple steps and look evenly at him.

"I'm not here to spy, if that's what you're thinking," she told him lowly.

He hated himself for doing this, but Mom couldn't get involved, nor could Hana. If they did, Roach's attention would shift to them and become deadly; he wouldn't think twice about killing them for interfering.

So, was Hana telling the truth or lying to him? Kiba gathered chakra in his nose to analyze Hana's scent. She smelled normal, maybe a touch on the anxious side- -but that didn't mean anything and was probably from worrying about the fall-out between he and Mom.

"Hana!" Naruto's sudden exclamation startled Kiba. "How're you?"

Kiba accidently dropped his arm, and Hana slipped deftly around him, the three dogs at her heels. She returned Naruto's greeting.

"Hi, Naruto! I'm good, thank you. How are you?"

As Kiba stood there, trying to figure a way to get her out, a meet and greet between the dogs occurred in the middle of the open space, and to his surprise, Hana dumped an away-pack and a sleeping bag on the floor near the entrance.

His away-pack and sleeping bag! And it looked like she'd packed all of Akamaru's equipment too. A lump formed in Kiba's throat and shame heated his face, as Naruto chuckled and mentioned his training.

When Hana's attention refocused on him, he felt under inspection from both of them, and Kiba felt that an understanding had passed between his sister and his now-roommate.

"So." Her hands went to her hips. "What's going on?"

Naruto leaned in. "Yeah. What's goin' on?"

Nerves and guilt and stubbornness mixed together, tensing the muscles in his shoulders. To avoid answering, he sighed and stepped over to continue emptying out the grocery bags. He'd been evasive and non-specific when he'd told Naruto about the argument, and he'd have to be the same to Hana.

"Mom just had some…wrong ideas about me."

His sister helped him with the groceries. "Wrong ideas?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Why not?"

"Because I just don't!" He huffed in frustration, setting down a glass jar too heavily. "It's complicated."

"Sorry. It must've been big for Mom to chase you outta the house."

Her innocently bringing it up jabbed him in the heart. Ouch. He prevented the wince from showing by opening the cabinet door above the counter. He didn't answer as he organized the cans and boxes on the shelves.

"What do you mean by big?" Naruto wanted to know.

There was a pause before Hana replied. "I can think of two things that would make our mother go off the deep end."

The panic rippled through him- -Red alert! Red alert!- -and before she could continue, Kiba jumped into the conversation. "Hey, Hana. Wouldja mind choppin' the veggies?" The chopping board was on the counter so he shoved it at Hana. "I don't know where the knives are."

He could tell she saw right though him when she smirked. "Looks like you were planning an Everything Pot tonight."

"It's quick'n'easy." Kiba turned to Naruto. "The knives?"

Naruto stood by the table, looking on with a mix of sadness, curiosity, and something else. "In the drawer next to the sink."

Hana spoke as Kiba reached for the drawer. "You and Naruto need to decide who's setting the table, feeding the dogs, and manning the pot."

As he handed her the butcher knife, Kiba nodded, and accepted Hana's control because being told what to do was easier than him thinking of it himself. He and Naruto divided the leftover tasks- -he set up the dinner bowls and fixed up the dog food as Naruto set the table and then helped Hana stir in the ingredients.

"Lying and cheating," Hana said when Naruto stood next to her at the stove. "That's what would've gotten him kicked out of the house."

Sonova- -"Hana! Shut up!"

"So which was it?" Naruto asked.

"Neither! Stop talking about it!"

Hana continued as though he didn't exist. "Probably lying. Although someone who wasn't Yukari used my hairbrush. So that points to cheating."

"SHUT UP!" The panic and guilt and hurt were full-blown, careening through his system unchecked. He had to make them stop. "IT'S NONE OF YER FUCKIN' BUSINESS! I'M NOT A GODDAMNED CHEATER!"

Hana and Naruto stared at him as though he'd lost his mind. Frustrated, scared, Kiba escaped through the front door and ran until he couldn't breathe anymore. He'd run blindly, so he didn't even know where he was. It didn't matter. The panic was there, saturating through him, scattering even the most rational of thoughts, increasing with the rapidity of his heartbeat.

Had Roach heard that? Had Hana given Roach what he wanted? What would Mrs. Nakamura do? What should he do?

Sudden pain surprised him. "Ah!"

He sank to his knees, poking some fingers into the cramp in his side, the other hand flat on the cool cement for balance. What should he do? He didn't know. He didn't know. He couldn't breathe, he was suffocating, dying, why couldn't he breathe…?

Tears stung his eyes. Angrily he pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping to stave the crying because it was fucking pathetic and he would not be a sobbing mess…

"Kiba? Are you all right?"

That male voice dried the tears right up. Nervously, Kiba looked to the side, and as he saw Inoichi approaching from the right, he stood up. Great. Just great. Could this day possibly get any worse?

Inoichi was probably here to interrogate him about his activities with Ino. Or to kill him. Kiba's knees felt watery, and he concentrated chakra in his nose to search for Inoichi's other two teammates, Akimichi Chouza and Nara Shikaku. They weren't around; must be that Inoichi was working alone tonight.

Inoichi came closer, but stopped short, when Kiba stepped back. "Are you feeling well?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"I'm fuckin' fine."

Inoichi's eyebrows jumped at his language. Kiba didn't care and shoved his hands into his jacket pockets before the shaking gave him away. His fingers found the earrings and worried them. He wished she was there with him. She'd know what to do. When Inoichi shifted, the warning growl leapt from Kiba's throat automatically.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Inoichi lifted his hands out in plain sight, eyes concerned and cautious. "What's happened?"

Inoichi's hands. Kiba's eyes zeroed in on them. "Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine."

"Are you surprised that I don't believe you? That's my specialty, you know. Finding the truth." Inoichi chuckled when Kiba shifted back suspiciously. "Didn't I tell you I'm not here to hurt you?"

"Don't fuck with me."

Inoichi studied him. "I'm not. I'm asking questions. I'm concerned about-" my daughter's lover.

The pointed, almost physical thought, layered over whatever Inoichi had said, stole the breath from him, like electricity zapping through him. A warning sounded at the back of Kiba's head.

"Leave me alone."

"I will when you-" answer my questions.

There it was again, the thought that he felt. Irritated with Inoichi's games and presence, Kiba withdrew his hands from his pockets, fingers clawed, and growled. "Fucking leave me alone."

"Bad language isn't going to deter me. Tell me what's caused you to be upset."

For a long moment, Kiba was sorely tempted. Inoichi looked and smelled so much like Ino that spilling his guts would be so easy, but that fear, that panic, warned him from doing something so foolish. Still- -the need to tell the story from the beginning was overwhelming. He stepped back again, unsure of how to react.

Inoichi persisted. "I can help you. Just tell me what's wrong."

"I…" Kiba's throat closed; he felt dizzy. He wanted to. He wanted to so badly. "I…can't."

"Relax. Get some air."

Kiba inhaled a few times; the dizziness left. He glared at Inoichi, knowing something strange was going on, but powerless to avoid it.

Inoichi continued. "You can tell me."

He had no time to prepare. Stronger emotions than his fear and chaotic panic welled up, connecting to the memories, and it was like he was reliving them, each cutting word, each reaction and feeling, somehow becoming a vivid daydream he got lost in.

First was what had happened in Naruto's kitchen; Hana blurting out that shit about him being a liar and cheater, him running scared from the apartment because they wouldn't leave him alone about the argument with Mom, her words were crystal clear, the backhand across his face, his own words to her that had forced her silence about…Ino.

The bookstore. He was there, surrounded by shelves and whisper-disturbed quiet, the smell of new paper and ink, and Ino two feet away, reaching up for a paperback that she'd spotted, which he grabbed for her, and her grateful smile moved him, and oh, he remembered this- -he set the stack of books on a shelf so he could touch her hair and her face because he needed her beside him, needed her close and safe, especially after she'd just saved his ass with the whole Yukari-catching-him thing- -

A flicker of movement in the corner of his eye; some barking and howling. "Kiba!"

- -that didn't make a shred of difference especially since now everyone was in danger from fucking Roach and Mrs. Bitch, and he couldn't escape them no matter where he went, what he did, and he couldn't keep others out of his business- -

"Stop what you're doing!"

- -she'd warned him that if anyone found out that Ino'd be the first killed, and there was no way she'd be able to fight against all that and it scared him out of his mind- -ouch.

A nip on his arm ended the thought abruptly. He blinked, trying to gain his bearings since the broken daydream left him disoriented.

Akamaru was beside him. Are you okay?

Kiba knew where he was- -near the Hokage's Office, but how'd he get here? He felt like he was waking up from a deep slumber.

"I…don't know."

"What the fuck did you do to him?" Hana yelled at Inoichi, drawing Kiba's attention. Her hands had fisted his shirtfront and she was in his face. The triplets surrounded them, hunched and snarling. "Tell me right now!"

Inoichi didn't bat an eye. He covered Hana's hands with his own. "It's not what I did. It's what you did."

She released him like he'd burned her. "What?"

"I'm giving you a warning. Let him be. Don't dig into him like that or you might lose him."

In the shocked silence that followed, Inoichi disappeared into the dark night surrounding them and ended anything further his sister might have to say to him. Hana stared after Inoichi, and in the meanwhile, Kiba rubbed his eyes. Tired. That's how he felt. And hungry. Emotionally, things inside had calmed down, and that was a relief, at least.

"Let's go, guys," Hana said softly. "Dinner's waiting."

He didn't question her, as they all headed back to Naruto's apartment where the conversation steered away from Kiba's problems and the weird encounter with Inoichi. He wasn't sure what to make of what happened, so he didn't think about it. Then, as Hana opened the door to leave, Kiba gave her a tight hug, which she returned in kind and with a kiss on the head.

"You'll be home soon, baby brother," she said. "I'll come and visit as often as I can. And I won't…hurt you anymore."

Kiba didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He watched her and the dogs disappear in the night and stood outside the door long after they were gone from his sight.

- -N- -

Tuesday afternoon was here, with torture in store the likes of which he hadn't seen since the first chunin exam. The mirror reflected his frown, his bare forehead. Kiba tugged at the unforgiving collar choking him. Damn, he didn't feel normal wearing these clothes.

You clean up nice, Akamaru commented from the doorway of the bathroom. I don't think I've seen you wear a shirt with a collar before.

"Yeah, and there's a good reason for that, too." Collars made him feel leashed. He never wore them if he had to. "I wanna get this over with as fast as possible."

Nuh-uh. Don't be that way. You know you hafta be charming.

"Fuck charming."

Akamaru growled a warning. Kiba pressed his forehead against the mirror, naked without his hitai-ate. Weapons. Leather jacket. Anything shinobi.

"Can't I just take one kunai? Please?"

Heh. No, sorry.

"Can't you go in my- -"

Stop your bitchin'. We've been through this before. My answer stands.

"KIBA, I'M HOME!" Naruto shouted from the front. "ARE YOU HERE?"

"Yeah."

"WHAT?"

"I said, YEAH!" Kiba exited the bathroom and bumped into Naruto who was coming in. "Whoa, sorry."

Naruto stepped back. His eyes shifted down and up. "Oh…wow. You look…different."

Kiba snorted. "Gee. Thanks."

"No…I mean…it's a good thing. Just…I've never seen you…dressed like that."

"Naruto. This is how yer supposed to look for a date."

"I know. I…uh…" He laughed nervously. "Never mind. Are you leaving?"

"Getting ready to."

There was a pause as Naruto studied him, like there was something wrong. Which, there was something wrong, just something wrong he couldn't talk about. But…surprisingly, he could think of Ino without feeling like he'd go crazy from not seeing her, and similarly, when he thought of his mother, there was the same emotional ambivalence. He liked having his emotions kicked back into neutral; saved him from the eating guilt.

"You don't look…" Naruto said, drawing Kiba's attention again. He shrugged and seemed to struggle for words. "You haven't seemed…happy, I guess. In a while."

Naruto's spot-on observation annoyed him, especially with the blue eyes shining in concern and searching Kiba for answers. How could he be happy when his whole life was turned upside down because of the girl he was taking out that very night? Nothing made sense anymore. His hand ducked into his pocket to touch the earrings.

"Not everyone can be happy all the time." Kiba stepped around Naruto. "That sort of thing can't happen."

"Why not?"

"It doesn't."

"But why not?"

"It doesn't!"

"But why?" Naruto persisted.

Kiba's patience snapped. "What are you? Two? It just doesn't!"

He heard Naruto's wounded pause, smelled the sorrow in the other's scent, which made Kiba want to wither away into nothing from the intense attack of guilt. Oh, that's where it'd been this entire time.

Nice work, jerk, Akamaru snuffed from the side. You're getting too good at saying mean things lately.

"Quiet," Kiba told his dog, and then to Naruto, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Naruto gave an odd half-smile. "No, it's cool. You have a good time." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Or…at least try."

As Naruto turned away, the scent of his sadness lingered. Dammit, the apology had not been enough, but Kiba had to pick up Yukari for the date and couldn't stay to beg for forgiveness. Argh…why was everything he did wrong?

Good luck, Akamaru said as he opened the front door.

"Yeah."

Gonna need it to get through this evening.

Kiba walked, since he didn't want to show up sweaty to Yukari's. The thing with Naruto pestered him the entire way. There was nothing worse than an uncomfortable atmosphere between two people living together…and especially since Kiba couldn't return to his home, for obvious reasons, amending things with Naruto was the best option.

At least Shino would be there to diffuse any awkward situations Kiba might fall prey to. Maybe Masako would take Yukari's attention off him. His main problem was that he'd be faking attraction. How would he fake being attracted? Guess he had to figure it out.

Which brought around a new difficulty: would Roach be prowling around? Nothing bad had happened since the night Hana had visited, and Naruto's apartment had been quiet- -too quiet- -recently and that bothered Kiba. Surely Roach would've followed him to the new residence? But no scuttling, no scritscritscrit, nothing! Like Roach had left town. If only. He wished he knew what the hell was going on.

When he arrived at the Nakamura manor, Kiba stopped abruptly to watch the windows for movement. Hn. Something felt weird.

All was still, but he could smell the people inside. A distinct pall hung over the building- -not the scent of death per se, though there was that, but a scent of hesitation, of paranoia, of anxiety bordering on fear that he'd missed the first time around.

Perhaps there was something now to fear.

At the gate, Kiba stalled. He thought of a hundred reasons not to press the buzzer and only one to go ahead with it. Master Kurenai had told them that there would be some missions that would make it difficult to separate emotions from logic.

The trick, she'd said, was to keep focus on the end result. Thinking of the end result would always make the means worthwhile and therefore easier to accomplish.

Would it work? Kiba sure hoped so as he buzzed the Nakamura manor. He really wanted to get to the end result:

Ino.


A/N: And there we have it. Next chapter: Desert Sands. See you then!