Shadows and Fangs
Chapter 15
I'm back! With a vengeance! Or...you know...just the next chap - the officious start to 'part 2'.
Enjoy!
Until the war, a meeting of the five Kage had been an extremely rare occurrence, one that didn't bode well, and usually didn't end well. Ever since their victory though, the villages had agreed to an annual meeting, to share in person those details that couldn't be trusted to be put in writing, with the location rotating every time. It was also a good way to keep the relations from degrading due to lack of contact. The first had been in the neutral Land of Iron. Then back during Kiba's stay in Suna, the Kage had taken advantage of the chuunin exam to hold the meeting there as well, to save the extra journey. The next year, it had been held in Kiri. This year would see it in Kumo. Konoha was slated to go next, because it figured that Iwa stalled as much as possible!
Knowing this, Chouji had immediately volunteered to be the Hokage's guard along with Naruto, and Kakashi had eventually granted him his request with barely concealed amusement – besides, as Naruto himself had pointed out years before, the Kage traveling with bodyguards was more a matter of image and tradition than actual necessity.
However, Kiba had also been asked to accompany the little group – to discuss, he'd been told, a potential expansion and even branching off of the exchange program. He wouldn't be alone in this as Tenten was currently already in Kumo finishing her own six months – the Cloud favored the use of weapons, and with her unique techniques, she'd quickly won their approval. Their exchange shinobi from Suna had just gone back home, but Kiba had heard she'd travel to Kumo with the Kazekage, and Konoha's exchange shinobi currently posted in the Sand as well. The exchange shinobi from Kumo had already left the week before. So all in all, everyone who'd been involved in the program and was available would go, he figured.
There was one person however who was unhappy at the prospect.
"I don't like this," Shikamaru muttered for the umpteenth time from his seat on the couch as Kiba brushed Akamaru on the night before the mission.
"Yeah, I think I got that the first thirty-seven times you said it," the Inuzuka muttered back as he cleaned the brush of its hair before continuing his task to the nin-dog's great pleasure. "At least tell me why!" he threw over his shoulder.
Shikamaru's frown deepened as truthfully, he couldn't, because it was baseless. And ridiculous.
"I'm looking forward to it," Kiba continued, unfazed. "It'll be nice to see Tenten and Omoi again – and I suppose I'm happy that Chouji will be able to spend more time with Karui," he added with a grin.
Shikamaru had to concede those were good points. He still wasn't swayed though.
Akamaru barked happily and Kiba nodded. "That's right, we'll see Kankuro, Gaara and Temari, too! I mean, I suppose so…they wouldn't let anyone else be Gaara's bodyguards, right?" he asked rhetorically as he turned to his lover with a raised eyebrow, pausing as he noticed his tense expression. His eyes narrowed at this, and he groaned as it finally clicked in his mind. "Don't tell me you're jealous because of Kankuro again!" he said disbelievingly.
Shikamaru didn't say anything, but that in itself was even more of an answer.
Kiba sighed at this, looking at him in complete exasperation. "I really don't know how to make it clear to you that we're just friends," he said tiredly. Besides, the Sand Siblings knew about them – Temari had been in Konoha after all, and there were no doubts she'd told her brothers in turn.
"Who were lovers," the Nara muttered despite himself.
"For a month! Years ago!" Kiba reminded him as he threw his hands up in the air. "And we weren't in love!"
"Well excuse me for not liking the fact that you get along so well with a guy you had sex with!" Shikamaru replied sarcastically.
This clearly wasn't what Kiba wanted to hear. "Hey you have no right being pissed about things I did before I got together with you! I never complained about you spending so much time with Temari – either in Suna, here or in Kiri!" he then added figuring two could play this game.
"How is that even similar? I never slept with her!" Shikamaru protested as he sat up to look at him.
"Maybe not, but everyone always assumed you would! How do you think that makes me feel, seeing you get along so well with the perfect woman that I know many people would rather see you with – including your mother, who, I might add, invited Temari over to dinner while she still won't look me in the eyes!" Kiba countered as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Akamaru whined as he looked between the two as their voices increased in volume – he'd never seen them like this.
"I'm not even attracted to women!" Shikamaru argued incredulously.
"Yet you were willing to suck it up and make baby geniuses to placate your clan!" Kiba needlessly reminded him.
"Before you!"
"And Kankuro was before you!"
Shikamaru groaned in frustration at this, resting his forehead in his hand tiredly. "Do you honestly not see why I'm annoyed?"
"I sure don't see why you're making such a big deal out of it, no," Kiba replied bluntly. "What, do you think I'd sleep with him again? Is that it, you don't trust me?" he asked him with a frown.
"No, of course that's not it!" the shadow-nin retorted, clearly aggravated. "It's just not possible for me to simply be okay with it! I mean—even Akamaru likes him better!" he added with a huff.
The nin-dog in question cocked his head to the side at this, wondering how he got brought into the argument.
Kiba raised both eyebrows in confusion at this. "What makes you say that?"
"He just does!" Shikamaru insisted before getting up with a sigh. "This is getting nowhere. I need some air," he muttered as he headed towards the door.
"Hey, where do you think you're going?" Kiba demanded as he got up to follow him. "Don't walk out on me in the middle of an argument!" he said with a frown as he moved to stand in front of the door.
"What argument? You're just going to cozy up with an old friend, I'm completely okay with that, and I'll see you when you're back," Shikamaru replied blandly as he zipped up his shoes.
Kiba frowned as he looked at him, closing his mouth before he ended up gaping stupidly. "Well fine, if you're going to be like that!" he snapped as he stepped away and let him go, feeling angry, hurt, and extremely annoyed as he watched him leave, and feeling regret as soon as the door closed.
They'd never really fought before. He supposed it was bound to happen sometime, but wow…he liked it better before! Letting out a groan, he walked back to the couch and let himself fall on it face first, pulling his head back from the cushion when he felt Akamaru lick his fingers. "It's okay…supposedly, it's healthy for couples to fight from time to time…" he told him with a weak grin.
Akamaru whined and stepped closer to lick his cheek, tail wagging as he managed to draw a smile out of his master.
Kiba sighed as he sat up and ruffled his dog's fur. "Hey, Akamaru…do you really like Kankuro better?" he asked him quietly with a frown. Akamaru barked his response and he sighed in relief. "Yeah, I thought so, too…I really wonder where the genius got that idea from…?" he muttered with a huff before looking back at the door. Should he go after him? Shikamaru had been the unreasonable one after all; he was the one who should apologize, right? Or was he being too prideful?
Groaning once more, he let himself fall back into the cushions and looked up at the ceiling. Shikamaru would come back soon anyway, wouldn't he? He just needed a short walk to cool down; it wasn't like he'd really left him. (Had he?) Letting out another groan, he pressed his palms into his eyes. Talk about blowing things out of proportion!
"He's not right, is he?" Kiba wondered out loud after a moment, the silence getting to him. "Just because I slept with Kankuro, it doesn't mean that we can't be friends, does it?"
Akamaru whined at this, resting his head on his stomach.
"Thanks for backing me up," Kiba replied as he felt himself smile slightly, although the sentiment wasn't really there. He fell asleep on the couch, looking at the door and waiting for it to open. It didn't. Morning came and he realized Shikamaru hadn't returned but he forced himself up anyway since he had to get ready for the mission. He didn't feel well rested, and neither a shower nor his breakfast helped pep him up as he'd hoped, but he was a shinobi; private matters shouldn't impact on missions. So once ready, he took in a deep breath, held it shortly and let it out slowly before stepping outside.
Naruto and Chouji were as usual quite cheerful – even if for entirely different reasons – and he didn't want to bring them down, so he grinned at them, returning their energetic greetings. Kakashi was taking his time, as always, as even becoming Hokage hadn't changed that nasty habit despite countless efforts on Shizune's part, so they just waited by the gate. Truth be told, they were still early, so he wasn't exactly late yet. "We're sure he said this gate, right?" Kiba asked for the principle as he kept looking from side to side, although in all honesty he wasn't really hoping to see the copy-nin.
"A hundred percent sure!" Naruto confirmed before sighing as he created a shadow clone. "I'll go see if he's still in bed!" the clone declared before hurrying off. A few more minutes passed uneventfully before Naruto looked up, his clone having visibly relayed something to him. "He's not home," he muttered, figuring that was half-good, since at least it meant he hadn't overslept.
Chouji didn't let his good humor be impacted by this delay though. "I can't wait to get there…" he said happily.
"You realize we'll still have actual work to do, right?" Naruto teased him good-naturedly.
"I don't care as long as I get to see Karui, even from a distance!" the Akimichi insisted, nodding with certainty.
Kiba smiled softly, sighing before rubbing Akamaru's head as the nin-dog nuzzled his hand. They nearly simultaneously looked up as they felt a painfully familiar smell however, and he felt his heartbeat increase as he looked to the side, waiting to see Shikamaru. He soon saw him round the corner running, before stopping and sighing in relief as he realized he hadn't missed them – the Inuzuka felt strangely satisfied that he'd had a scare. Their eyes met and he really had to ground himself to resist running to him and tackling him down however. Shikamaru didn't look away as he walked to him, and Kiba half-expected him to ask to speak to him in private, but he didn't.
"I'm sorry," Shikamaru said without preamble as he reached him. "I behaved like an idiot and I shouldn't have walked away. I tried to catch you at home, but you were already gone – I didn't know you'd leave so early," he added as he looked to the side self-consciously.
"You didn't give me a chance to tell you," Kiba replied quietly, acutely aware of Chouji and Naruto as they turned to look the other way to give them some privacy but couldn't help but listen anyway.
"I'm sorry," Shikamaru repeated with a sigh. "I got carried away, and I was way out of line, you were right," he admitted with some difficulty. "I promise I'll make some serious efforts not to get so jealous again in the future."
"You left! And I waited for you to come back!" Kiba accused with a frown. "Where were you anyway?"
Chouji and Naruto exchanged glances at this, silently agreeing that leaving at this point would be even more awkward, and both dreading the day they'd have fights like this with their lovers.
Shikamaru winced but held his look. "I stayed at Ino's. Look, Kiba, I was just…I thought you'd be really mad at me, and that you wouldn't want to see me."
"This isn't exactly my happy face," the Inuzuka pointed out with a raised eyebrow, finally taking pity on him as he looked really remorseful. "And get your facts straight, genius, because even if it's true that Akamaru really likes Kankuro, he likes you better," he told him matter-of-factly with a sigh.
Shikamaru let out a breath at this and reached down to pat the nin-dog. "Sorry for dragging you into this, Akamaru," he apologized, smiling at the happy bark he received in response. He then looked back at Kiba. "As long as you like me best I'm happy," he assured him, thinking back on Chouji's words when he'd complained to his best friend about this over a year ago.
"I don't care what everyone's always going on about – you're a complete idiot," Kiba snorted as he grabbed his face between his hands. "And don't ever walk out on me in the middle of an argument again – ever," he warned seriously.
"I promise I won't, even if I'd rather just never have another argument," Shikamaru easily replied as he reached for his wrists and pressed his hands closer. "I'm sorry," he repeated one last time.
The sounds that came next left no room for doubt for Chouji and Naruto about what was going on behind them, and they did try to inconspicuously inch closer to the gate this time. Naruto chanced a look over his shoulder and promptly looked back ahead with a blush on his face – did he and Hinata look as invested as well when they kissed? "So…you ever seen them go at it like that before?" he asked his friend conversationally.
"Nope," Chouji replied simply. And a good thing it was, too!
"I wonder who they fought about though, to get Shikamaru that jealous!" the blond shinobi added with a curious grin.
Chouji hummed, figuring it was likely Kankuro – Kiba's comment about Akamaru liking Shikamaru better was a good giveaway. He supposed this had been brewing for some time then, better that it was out, right? He had to admit though, now he was curious to see just how Kiba and Kankuro behaved together.
"Think we gave them enough time?" Kakashi asked distractedly from Naruto's other side as he idly turned a page in his book as though he'd been there for ages.
"When did you get here?" Chouji asked him with a frown – seriously, how was it allowed to be that stealthy?
"Oh, not long after Shikamaru – I figured they could use a moment," the Hokage replied with a shrug, chuckling at a joke on the pages.
Naruto looked over his shoulder and then quickly looked back ahead again (no, they weren't done), clearing his throat loudly. "Kiba, Shikamaru, the Hokage's here, we're ready to go!" he called loudly.
The two in question parted with a sigh, and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at his partner. "Stay safe, okay?"
"Back at you," Kiba replied with a mock-salute as he stepped back, Akamaru barking his own farewell. "Okay, let's get this show on the road!" he told the others energetically as he slung an arm over Naruto's shoulders.
"Ah, to be young again," Kakashi said with a wistful look as he put his book away and looked at them.
"Lord Kakashi, please stop saying that – you're still in your prime," Chouji reminded him with a sigh.
"Are you kidding? His hair's all grey and all!" Naruto pointed out obnoxiously.
Shikamaru chuckled as he watched them go, knowing they'd be okay, and feeling his smile widen as Kiba turned to grin at him one last time. Yeah, fighting sure sucked. Making up though…not so much.
Hopefully, Chouji would keep an eye out for Kankuro. He'd likely figured out they'd fought about him, after all. Now he just had to wait for them to come back.
(Those would honestly turn out to be the longest twelve days of his life.)
"Oh, you'll see, barbeque is a big deal as well in Kumo, and they have this amazing open-air one that's on the roof of one of the highest building – it's like floating!" Chouji described happily with wide hand gestures as the village of the Hidden Cloud finally came into view.
"Will you please stop talking about food? You're getting me so hungry Akamaru's looking better and better for a snack!" Naruto complained half-heartedly, grinning as the nin-dog in question and his master turned to glare at him.
Kiba huffed at his friend's ever dubious sense of humor and then looked back ahead with a grin. "We've got a familiar welcoming party," he informed them as he smelled Tenten and Omoi. And sure enough, when they finally reached the gate there they were, one with a happy wave and the other with a lazy one, true to themselves.
"Welcome to Kumo!" Tenten said happily as she took them in. "Aw, seeing you again, it's like you brought a piece of home with you!" she added wistfully as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Long time no see. Welcome to Kumo," Omoi said much less ardently. "If you'll come with me, I'll show you to the Raikage's office," he said to Kakashi as he motioned for them to follow him.
Chouji looked from side to side hopefully, letting out a saddened sigh as he didn't see Karui anywhere.
Kiba however smelled differently. "Cheer up, she's not far," he whispered to his friend, grinning as he immediately brightened up. Sure enough, Karui leisurely fell in steps with them not much long after, off-handedly reminding her lover to focus his attention on his Kage, not her.
"You'll be staying with me after we drop off the Hokage and his guards!" Tenten informed Kiba cheerfully as they closed the small line.
The Inuzuka raised an eyebrow at this. "Do you have more information?" he wondered as he absently raised a hand to pet Akamaru. "I wasn't really told much…"
Tenten shrugged back at this, shaking her head. "Nope…but I know a samurai is the one in charge, so to speak," she replied. "And Temari's also here!"
Kiba hummed at this, figuring they'd just need to wait and see. "So how's your stay been?" he asked conversationally.
"Different, but so eye-opening!" she replied thoughtfully. "It wasn't always easy though, they still tend to expect less from women here," she added honestly. "And not that it's directly related, but I think I just might apply for a different village next year. I don't know, it's still just a thought but…I feel like I want to see more of the world and its cultures. Did you ever want to?" she then questioned as she cocked her head to the side.
Kiba looked up as he wondered how to best reply to this question. "Sure, I thought about it…but then I had other things keeping me busy in Konoha – my promotion, my niece…Shikamaru…" he trailed off with a shrug.
Tenten laughed at this, having to concede the point as she teasingly elbowed his sides. "You lucky devil!" she said with no real animosity before looking up and grinning at him. "Look up and be prepared to say 'wow'," she instructed as they reached the Raikage's office.
Kiba chuckled as he followed her look, but he had to admit that building was quite impressive. He'd seen it from a distance, back during the war, when the different divisions assembled, but seeing it up close was much more impressive. He had to admit, that building did fit the physically imposing man who commanded the village of the Hidden Cloud. "Wow," he said simply.
Omoi turned to them at this and shrugged his head to the side. "Tenten, Kiba, the two of you should report to the council room on the first floor tomorrow morning as discussed. In the meantime I'll show everyone else to their quarters," he said with slightly more motivation than usual.
"Yeah, I'll show him to his," Karui dismissed plainly as she dragged a visibly happy Chouji off by the back of his shirt.
"Isn't he supposed to stay with the Sixth?" Tenten wondered with a frown – purely for the principle.
Kakashi for his part didn't seem to mind overly much, if his amused expression was anything to go by.
"You want to tell Karui that, be my guest," Omoi deadpanned as he resumed his walk. Maybe he could use this opportunity to convince the Akimichi to finally take her to Konoha for good…
Chouji had an unmistakable skip to his steps in the morning, but no one said anything since he was in time to do his actual job and 'guard' the Hokage as he made his way to the meeting. (Alright, Naruto did tease him, but not too much, because Chouji didn't hesitate to turn the tables on him – and for someone usually so outspoken, the Uzumaki really turned into a blushing babbling mess when people teased him on his relationship!)
Kiba and Akamaru for their part followed Omoi and Tenten to another meeting room where they met up with other shinobi from various villages, a fair number of whom they'd met before thanks to the exchange program.
"If it isn't the mutt! And Akamaru," Temari drawled from behind them as she walked in, smiling as the nin-dog walked to her and she pat him fondly. "Hello Tenten," she then said with a less teasing grin as they'd already met the day before.
"Hello again," the weapons specialist greeted back easily as Kiba raised an eyebrow at her.
"I missed you too, Temari," he deadpanned before they shared a chuckle. "How're your brothers?" he asked easily as they all walked to sit down.
Temari sighed at this, frowning at him. "I think Gaara's trying to work himself to an early grave – while Kankuro and I are just working ourselves to early graves trying to get him to relax some," she explained with a huff. "As you can see, it's just a vicious, vicious circle," she concluded pragmatically.
"You're enjoying every second of it," Kiba accused knowingly.
"I am," she was forced to admit with a bowed head. "How about you?" she asked conversationally. "Still enjoying every second of life with Shikamaru?"
Kiba frowned for an instant, thinking back on their big argument, but then his thoughts shifted to Shikamaru's apology and he found himself grinning fondly. "Yeah…" he replied honestly.
"No fair…" Tenten pouted as she leaned her face in her hands. "I want that too! Every guy I try is a complete disappointment!" she declared with a huff.
"Uh…not to judge or anything, but perhaps you should stop just 'trying' them, or lower your standards," Omoi commented with a frown from where he sat down next to her.
Karui wordlessly sat on his other side, a half-smirk on her face that they did not need to ask about.
"But that's the fun part!" Tenten insisted as she turned to him. "Oh, Omoi…I'll miss our drunken talks about my failed conquests!" she then added as she squeezed his shoulder fondly.
The Kumo shinobi sighed at this. "You mean your drunken rants and my consequent headaches?" he deadpanned, being forced to look away at her bright smile. "Okay, yeah, I will too…" he muttered despite himself.
"If you'll all sit down, the meeting will start," a steady voice called from the entrance as the door closed behind him. Those who weren't seated yet did as instructed, and those who already were sat up straighter as the samurai walked to the head of the table. "Thank you. I am Irune, from the Land of Iron. You're probably wondering why you were asked to come to Kumo during these meetings, so I will not stall any longer," he started as he sat down and motioned for them to open the folders set in front of them. "In light of the ties formed during the war, and following the various successes of the exchange program, it has been decided that another division is to be created. The joint village rapid response elite division will aim to create balanced units among the main villages to enable a better distribution of the various assignments received by all members of the Shinobi Alliance."
Murmurs filled the room at this, as many shared looks, with Tenten whispering, "Did you know?" to Temari.
"Gaara's the main backing voice," she whispered back, not really surprising her friends.
"All of you here have either personally participated in the exchange program, or have at the very least been regularly involved with other villages within you own borders," Irune continued once they'd settled down some. "As such, this meeting serves two primary purposes. The first is to ask for any input or recommendations you might have, once I will have explained the project to you. The second, that is purely voluntary, is to allow you to apply for positions within the various headquarters of the future division," he laid out summarily.
Eventually, most hidden villages would in theory be invited to join the Alliance, but at least for now, only the five main villages and the Land of Iron – in other words, the original Alliance – would be part of it, with the hidden villages having permanently based units within a headquarter. In each, a commander – from that village – and a deputy-commander – from another, to keep a balance – would review and dispatch the assignments among their units, which would be comprised of shinobi from all villages. They wouldn't be looking for large numbers at first, as they naturally couldn't risk that some wouldn't have missions for extended periods of time if their particular skillset didn't fit the requests. But it was also a goal to have a rotation and equal representation of every village. It was reasonably well thought-out, if slightly on the optimistic side, although as usual only time and trial would tell the results.
"So…think you'll apply?" Omoi asked with mild interest as they walked out much time later.
"To keep getting drunk with you? What else could I do but apply for a position in Kumo?" Tenten teased him mock-dramatically as she wrapped her arms around one of his.
He looked like he was really considering applying somewhere far away from her at this, but didn't say anything as he suffered her enthusiasm in silence. Besides, what if upon embarking on his journey to Distant Lands he developed an allergy to some local delicacy that they couldn't cure, because none of the locals had ever reacted like that? Then what, huh? He'd die at the tender age of not-even-twenty-yet and would rapidly be forgotten, because who has time to keep track of shinobi who die far away from the village of decidedly lackluster food intoxication? And that was assuming he wouldn't get involved in a freak accident on the road before even reaching his new post! Maybe he should simply apply to stay based in Kumo, to be on the safe side.
"Who knows," Karui replied summarily with a shrug, but the way her brows furrowed, it was obvious she was seriously considering it in the near future.
"I suppose you wouldn't leave your brothers behind?" Kiba asked Temari with a fond grin.
Temari absently ran a hand down her fan at his words and grinned half-apologetically. "Actually, I'll be Suna's headquarters commander!" she admitted, closing an eye at the 'what' that the Konoha shinobi yelled in her ears.
"You could've said something sooner!" Tenten grumbled with a pout.
"It completely slipped my mind!" Temari said with perfectly faked innocence. "Act extra nice and I'll consider making you my second-in-command, Tenten!" she offered slyly with a raised eyebrow.
"Thanks but no thanks," the weapons specialist immediately dismissed straightforwardly. "People are funnier in Kumo."
"I guess that's a compliment," Omoi muttered with a sigh before nodding at them as he and Karui left to return to their posts.
Kiba hummed in thoughts as he looked at them go with an absent-minded grin. "I think I'll apply as well. I like working with shinobi from other villages," he added honestly, Akamaru barking his agreement.
"Suna will take you any time," Temari reminded him straightforwardly. "You and any strays you drag along. And Akamaru, of course," she added as she winked at the nin-dog. Her tone was teasing, but the look in her eyes left no room for doubt that she meant it though.
Still, Kiba knew that he'd be applying in for a posting in Konoha, despite a wish to travel more. It was unlikely Shikamaru would want to transfer to another village after all, and he wasn't about to leave him behind, so that was that…
Akamaru whined excitedly by his side and it snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking up, he grinned as he saw Gaara and Kankuro, and looked back down at his nin-dog to nod his agreement at him. He didn't need more before he dashed off and ran to tackle the puppeteer happily, causing his master to chuckle.
"Hey, if it isn't the smartest dog in the world! Good boy, Akamaru!" Kankuro greeted him in amusement as he rubbed his sides.
Next to them, even Gaara smiled slightly. "Hello Kiba, Akamaru. It's good to see you both in good health," the Kazekage greeted them simply, nodding at Tenten as he'd already seen her before.
"Likewise!" the Inuzuka replied brightly before he clapped hands with Kankuro and lightly punched his shoulder. "Nice face paint," he noted as he cocked his head to the side.
"This new pattern was inspired by his recent break-up," Gaara informed him with a sigh.
"Gaara! No it wasn't!" Kankuro insisted with a frown, dragging Kiba in a headlock to punish him for laughing – he couldn't take it out on the Kazekage in public after all, even if they were brothers. "Stop laughing, mutt!" he threatened good-naturedly.
Temari rolled her eyes at their antics and turned to Gaara with a semi-reproachful look in her eyes. "Don't tease our brother so much in public outside of Suna, Gaara."
It was actually funny how he sighed once more and looked away somewhat guiltily at this.
"Aww, it's so cute the way you scold your brothers like kids, Temari!" Tenten cooed as she lightly elbowed her friend's side teasingly.
"Someone's got to keep them in line," the kunoichi replied with a wide self-satisfied grin.
"Right! For me, that would be Shizune!" Kakashi commented matter-of-factly as though he'd been part of the conversation from the beginning although in effect, he and his guard had just joined them.
"A necessary evil, I'm sure," Temari replied with a shrug, eyeing him shrewdly.
Next to the Hokage, Chouji frowned slightly as he looked at Kankuro and Kiba, took in Kankuro's arm around Kiba's neck while his other hand absently scratched Akamaru's head – and yeah, the nin-dog really looked fond of him. Seeing them like that, he did get why Shikamaru was jealous although maybe it would be better if he didn't tell his best friend that.
Much better.
TBC
Mmh...so yeah. Shikamaru's jealousy. It's my experience that the more nonchalant people act, the more they're not, deep inside. And so I do believe that in this situation, a part of him will always resent and be jealous (and wary) of Kankuro. Yet at the same time, he'd soon realize he was blowing things out of proportion and feel annoyed about his reactions.
On another note, writing Omoi and his crazy tendency to blow things out of proportion cracks me up.