Shadows and Fangs

Chapter 18

With the Allied Division's rapid development, they'd all been so busy that before they knew it, it was once more time for the Kage's annual meeting, this time to be held in Konoha. Anko, Maki and Gai had offered the HQ's help with the security – with all three equally claiming full credit for the idea, quite comically – and Kakashi had humored them and accepted their offer – although officiously, there was a betting pool going on for which of the three would snap first and rumor had it the Hokage had quite some money on his eternal rival outlasting the other two.

So it was that running errands between the Grand Youth HQ (the name had stuck, to a lot of people's dismay and many more's amusement) and the Hokage's office became a recurrent enough task for quite a few members of the allied division, Kiba included. That was why he really wasn't suspecting any foul play when he was summoned to the Hokage's office one morning before work.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked Kakashi with a raised eyebrow, ignoring the way the copy-nin put down his Icha-Icha as though it was something that had its place on the Hokage's desk – no wonder Shizune needed more vacations.

"Yes. As I'm sure you well know, the Kazekage will be coming to Konoha soon for the next Kage meeting; he'll actually get here earlier as there are other matters we must discuss. Anyway—he's requested a meeting with you at that time," he informed him, voice always too light and cheerful.

"Lord Gaara did? Am I in trouble?" Kiba joked as he placed a hand on his hip.

Kakashi's eyes trailed down to a scroll on his desk and he shook his head. "I doubt it. He said 'please'," he relayed as though that was all he needed to hear – because obviously people couldn't be up to no good if they made the effort of being polite.

Kiba snorted at that, refraining from pointing out that Gaara said 'please' and 'thank you' a lot as a result of Temari's 'politeness' lessons without necessarily meaning the words all the time. "Well, even if he hadn't, it's not like I'd ignore a request from both the Hokage and the Kazekage!" he replied with a mock-nod.

"I thought as much," Kakashi replied as he handed him a scroll with his orders and schedule. He then picked his book back up, signifying the meeting was over.

Akamaru whined curiously and his master shrugged at him, absently going over the details as they returned to their division's headquarters. Well this should be interesting…

Shikamaru, as could be expected, did not share his mindset. "Gaara asked for you?" he repeated. "He's going to ask you to move to Suna again, I'm sure of it…" he muttered crossly as he stirred the stew he was cooking a bit more energetically than was warranted.

"Think so?" Kiba asked distractedly as he chopped up the nervy meat parts for Akamaru's dinner.

"What else could it be?" the Nara wondered with a frown as he stopped and looked at him. Something else bothered him. "And where there's Gaara, there's Kankuro," he noted darkly.

Kiba paused as he turned to him, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "And…?" he prompted. Shikamaru had never really completely gotten over his jealousy towards Kankuro, and sometimes it was as unnerving as it was endearing.

"Nothing," Shikamaru muttered, realizing he was being unreasonable and not wanting to cause a repeat of their biggest fight yet.

"We'll see what Gaara wants – you never know, maybe he's just thinking about getting a dog and wants an expert's opinion!" Kiba said brightly as he wasn't interested in starting a fight either.

Shikamaru snorted at that. "Yeah, right!" There was nothing to it anyway, they'd just have to wait and see.

In all honesty though, nothing could have prepared Kiba for Gaara's actual request.

He'd met up with him in the Hokage's office, greeting Kankuro at the same time – with Shikamaru silently glaring daggers at the back of his head when he got close to the puppeteer. They'd then moved to another room with casual furniture while Kankuro took a short break. Kiba had honestly expected a request for input on Suna's current program volunteer, or even maybe a recommendation for a Konoha shinobi. He'd visibly aimed too low.

"You what…?" he asked with wide blinking eyes while Akamaru cocked his head to the side, just ask shocked.

"I'd like for you to fill the position of deputy commander of the joint village rapid response elite division headquarters in Suna," Gaara repeated word for word – and of course he used the complete official title! "As you well know, it was decided that a shinobi from another village should be the second-in-command in each village's headquarters, but we've had…troubles with Iwa's representative," he admitted, which was likely a toned down version of 'Temari has reached the limits of her patience and has seriously threatened to kill her'. "We have no choice but to replace her without delay, and Temari and I agree you are the one who immediately comes to mind when thinking about outside shinobi who understand the Sand," he developed, holding his gaze. "The situation is such that my sister could not afford to leave the village, although she'd have wanted to extend this invitation to you herself. The Hokage for his part has naturally given his approval, and should you agree I have brought a transfer request for your commander," he added as he slid a folder to him over the table.

Kiba's eyes didn't diminish in size yet as they slowly moved to the earth-colored binder. He kept himself from asking 'you what' a second time however, because knowing the other man, he'd have repeated the same words again. "But…I'm sure there are other people better suited for command than me – even already in Suna's HQ. I could captain a unit if you want to promote one of your captains, maybe give you an outsider's fresh point of view, but I'm not a division commander, even a deputy!" he told him honestly.

He wasn't completely shocked to hear they'd want to change their roster however, because there had been talk of Suna's HQ's struggles for some time now, and Tenten had even said as much before rumors made it to them. He hadn't been deployed there in a long time and so hadn't been able to verify things for himself however, and now he felt really bad about it. Still, that didn't mean he felt qualified to fix anything.

"Kankuro thought you would say that," Gaara mused as he crossed his arms over his chest, looking at him curiously. "But I think you're quite capable. You understand people, and your instincts are usually correct. You aren't easily intimidated, but aren't stubborn to the point of not admitting someone else's input. Your service records were exemplary during the year you spent with us, as they have been in Konoha and in the division so far."

Kiba was temporarily rendered speechless both by Gaara's completely innocent assessment of Kankuro's knowledge of him and the undeniable praise the Kazekage had just given him. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. Of course, when he'd been previously offered to move to the Sand, that was already quite the offer, but this? Command? He'd likely never get such a high position in Konoha as things stood right now, he was well aware of that. But would Shikamaru agree to follow him? That was much more uncertain, even if the position would only be temporary. Not only was he still very much attached to his clan, and his father's memory, but it was his goal to serve as Naruto's personal advisor one day, and there was little doubt that he'd eventually follow in Shikaku's footsteps and be promoted to jounin commander. Was that it then? Did they have to decide which of their careers should be prioritized? "Lord Gaara, I…" he sighed and gave himself a moment to find his words as he looked up at him. "I'm thankful, really, for your offer. It means more than you know, and I would do anything in my power to prove that you'd be right to trust me. But this isn't a decision that I can take lightly, or alone," he told him, resisting the urge to squirm in his seat under his unblinking gaze.

"I understand," Gaara replied with a tentative smile, visibly still trying to figure out just how he should react at times, but getting there. "I would not wish to cause you trouble, and of course, I want you to think about it carefully before giving me a response. After the meeting with the other Kage, I will have time to set this up properly, if your response is positive; following that, the aim would be to have you take your functions within a month. Do you believe you might be able to come to a decision by Wednesday evening, so that I'll know if I'll need to extend my stay in Konoha by a few hours?" he offered as he cocked his head to the side.

"I'll make sure I do, thank you," Kiba replied before thinking about something else. "Can I…ask something else?"

"Naturally."

"You're looking to pacify a tense situation, from what I understand? Get the division back to running smoothly?" the Inuzuka started, humming in thoughts at the other man's nod. "In that case, would it be acceptable to you if I were to take on this position for a set period of time – say, a year or so – until the situation can be resolved?" A year away from Konoha seemed a reasonable compromise, neither of them had any particular commitments that they couldn't take a break from.

Gaara frowned at this, and it was hard to say whether it was because the request surprised or annoyed him. "Well…certainly neither Temari nor I would force you to stay if you wished to return to Konoha. If that were your decision, we would respect it," he started fairly. "And it's true that there's a certain urgency to the situation; as such, we would both be relieved to hand it over to you as someone we personally know and trust," he answered as he looked back up at him.

Kiba sighed in relief and then asked his second question, and he was really glad that this was Gaara, someone he knew as a person beyond his title, or this would've been much harder. "Could Shikamaru come along as well? I'm sure you can imagine I'm not really prepared to leave him behind," he said as he held his look.

This time Gaara huffed in amusement. "I don't think you of all people need me to inform you that Shikamaru Nara is the envy of many villages. I have no doubt I could offer him a suitable position in Suna for as long as you'll both be willing," he replied honestly.

"Then you'll have our answer by Wednesday evening as agreed," Kiba promised him with a nod, inwardly hoping that it would be a positive one. Now how to bring it up to Shikamaru, that was another problem altogether…

"You said no, didn't you?" Kankuro asked him with a raised eyebrow as he stood waiting for his brother outside the room.

"I said I'd think about it," Kiba replied with a grin as he crossed his arms over his chest, noting with amusement that Akamaru instantly walked over to get a pat from the puppeteer.

"That means 'no'," Kankuro noted as he looked up from the nin-dog.

"That means 'I'll think about it'!" the Inuzuka argued as he mock-punched his shoulder. He then looked to the side as he sighed. "I mean it's not just my decision. I'm not leaving Shikamaru behind," he said with a warm grin.

Kankuro chuckled as he cocked his head to the side. "Heh, maybe I should give that whole 'settling down' thing a try, what do you say?" he joked as he pulled him in a headlock and ruffled his hair. "It seems to be working out alright for you!"

"No one could handle you, Kankuro!" Kiba teased back as he pulled away and made a show of putting his hair back – meaning there literally wasn't any difference. "Lunch later?" he offered easily.

The puppeteer raised an eyebrow at that, smiling slightly as Akamaru barked his agreement, tail wagging happily. "Well, Gaara has a lunch-meeting planned with the Hokage, so I'm free but…I'm not sure your Nara would be too wild about that," he remarked half-seriously.

Kiba winced as he knew that but wasn't about to take his offer back. "Then we also grab him if you're afraid of your shadow," he offered with a shrug as he pat Akamaru.

"Heck, now you're trying to make this more awkward than scary!" Kankuro replied with a frown. "I'm cool with just us – like old times."

"Great. We'll pick you up here," Kiba replied as he and Akamaru turned to make their way to work.

"Hey Kiba," Kankuro called him back. "For what it's worth, I really do think you'd do a great job at it," he told him seriously.

Kiba's eyes widened and he was momentarily at a loss for words, so he simply grinned at him and waved before leaving.

As if he'd needed more reasons to want to do it!

Although Shikamaru was unusually gifted in appearing bored in all circumstances, Kiba had quickly learned that it didn't apply at all when he was genuinely curious – particularly when he tried to act like he wasn't. "So…what did Gaara want?" he asked nonchalantly as he hung up his jounin vest and his equipment.

Kiba grinned fondly for a second before sobering up as he motioned for him to sit on the couch – which he did, with a long-suffering sigh, figuring something big was afoot. "He does want me back in Suna, you got that part right – or well…Temari does, to be more accurate," he started as he sat cross-legged next to him. "They've offered me the position of deputy commander of Suna's Allied division HQ," he said, watching his reaction attentively.

Shikamaru's eyes widened momentarily before he frowned and then hesitated, as though unsure whether to congratulate him. "What did you tell him?" he finally asked.

"Nothing yet. He's expecting an answer by the end of the meetings, Wednesday evening," Kiba replied with a shrug.

"That's only four days away."

Kiba nodded slowly, very much aware of that fact. "He needs to know whether he'll return to Suna first thing in the morning or stay a bit longer to put this in place, I guess…"

"Oh." In any other circumstances, it would have been amusing to see Shikamaru struggling for words as he was at that moment. But turning down an offer like that wasn't a light decision; they were both aware of it.

"I asked him if it could only be a temporary posting – for a year or so," Kiba continued, purposefully not going into details because as the other man wasn't part of the Allied division, he couldn't just talk to him about the organization's internal struggles, even if he'd probably find out on his own soon enough – Kiba always made it a point to respect the chain of command and follow the procedures in place. "And then of course I asked if you could come with me, and he said yes to both!"

This had the merit of getting Shikamaru to snap out of his thoughts. "You mean move to the Sand? The two of us?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"For a year or so, yeah," Kiba repeated, reaching to place a hand on his arm before he could speak. "Wait, hear me out before you dismiss the idea. Back when Gaara offered me to move to Suna three years ago it was an amazing opportunity for me, but I turned it down for you – and I'm not blaming you, that was my choice and there hasn't been a single day when I've regretted it. But this time I would," he told him honestly, taking in a breath and bracing himself for the rest. "Aside from my tracking skills, I'm an average shinobi, Shikamaru. We both know it's unlikely I'll ever be offered a position that high up in Konoha as it stands now – I didn't even make captain!" And that had stung, he wouldn't deny it.

Akamaru resisted the urge to whine from his side, knowing this was a discussion he shouldn't interrupt but not liking to see his master like that.

"You, on the other hand, have future positions lined up with your name on them already – you can take your pick anytime, anywhere," he continued matter-of-factly. That much was true, and he wasn't jealous of him – he was proud – but it was undeniable that the Nara had it easy compared to nearly everyone else. "So I'm asking you for one year, maybe two, and then we'll come back to Konoha," Kiba finished as he looked at him – firmly resisting the urge to use his so-called 'puppy' look because this was serious.

Shikamaru sighed as he moved to grab the hand that was on his arm and hold it between his, unable to deny that he had a point – over the years, it never ceased to impress him how perceptive Kiba really was despite his perpetually carefree demeanor. Because it was true that Kiba's career in Konoha had peaked with his promotion to tokubetsu jounin, and he had been passed over for captainship when the Allied division had been put in place despite his greater experience working with foreign shinobi – because of them, no less, something Shikamaru had always blamed himself for and resolved to give back someday. Gaara and Temari had really offered Kiba the biggest promotion he was likely to get. On the other hand, as his lover had rightly said, there was little doubt he himself would be able to get any position he wanted down the road. And of course he wasn't about to let him go on his own for so long.

Which only left one question, really.

"What am I going to do in Suna?" he wondered with a raised eyebrow as he tugged on Kiba's arm to pull him against him.

"Gaara honestly didn't seem too worried about coming up with a suitable offer for you," Kiba assured him with a happy grin as he wrapped his arms more tightly around him and nuzzled his neck. "Thank you," he said warmly.

"There's no need to thank me," Shikamaru muttered self-consciously. "The plan is to tackle life together, right?" he asked rhetorically, smiling as he felt Kiba nod against him. "Then it doesn't really matter where we are."

And well…a couple of years in another village might not be so bad after all. Less bossy Ino and exasperating Sai, less crude Karui and smitten Chouji, less constantly annoyed Yoshino, less perverted Hokage…and more really-bossy Temari, more annoying and annoyingly-favored-by-Akamaru Kankuro, more strangely all-seeing Kazekage, more scorching heat, and not to forget the sandstorms. Fifty-fifty then.

Forget the odds. They'd make it work – Shikamaru had no doubts Kiba would even make it fun.

Keeping that decision to themselves once it was taken was actually the hard part. Kiba insisted they should wait for the end of the meetings to tell Gaara, because he wanted Shikamaru to really think it over again and then some – even as the shadow-nin repeatedly told him there was nothing to think about but still indulged him. In the meantime, they put their free time to good use by starting to sort through their belongings for what to keep, what to store, what to bring, what to throw and so on – a daunting task, they soon realized, as it was definitely mind-boggling the amount of things that could get accumulated over the years.

"When did we get this?" Kiba wondered as he held up an apparatus he found at the bottom of one of the kitchen's cupboards.

"Forget the 'when'; I'd like to know what it even is!" Shikamaru replied as he studied it with a frown. "Are you sure it wasn't already there when we moved in?" he wondered as he gingerly tried to poke it and then wiped his finger on his trousers.

Kiba shrugged and they exchanged a nod before he simply tossed it over on the 'throw' pile. Reaching towards the back of the same cupboard once more, his eyes widened in amusement as he found one of Akamaru's old chew toys. "So that's where it was!"

Akamaru scoffed at it and shook his head, clearly indicating he was just fine without it, and onto the 'throw' pile it went too. Ears perking up as this gave him an idea, he made his way to another part of the apartment and pulled out the bottle of vitamins Hana insisted he should take – which tasted foul, and he was just fine without them, thank you very much! – and casually dropped them on the 'throw' pile. Looking up, his tail stopped wagging as he met Shikamaru's amused eyes.

The Nara raised an eyebrow and inwardly debated whether he should tell Kiba and get the vitamins back. He almost broke when the nin-dog did his best puppy eyes, but when Akamaru switched tactics and looked at Kiba before turning back to him, clearly stating 'you don't want me against you', Shikamaru promptly decided that he hadn't seen anything after all and returned to his own sorting.

When Wednesday evening finally rolled by, bringing with it the end of the Kage's meetings, Kiba and Shikamaru managed to get a moment with Gaara before he went to the traditional dinner closing the visits. "We agree to your offer," they told him simply.

"Both of you?" Gaara clarified as Kankuro grinned behind him.

"Both of us," Shikamaru confirmed.

The Kazekage nodded and smiled imperceptibly. "I'll let the Hokage know, and then we can finalize this tomorrow morning," he said with thinly veiled satisfaction before he turned to rejoin his fellow Kage.

Kankuro only lingered to grin at them, saying a quick 'thank you' for helping his siblings before following his brother.

As they were left alone, Kiba and Shikamaru looked at each other and laughed as the tension seemed to come down without warning. "I can't wait to see Anko's face when I tell her!" Kiba admitted as he slung an arm over his shoulder.

"A lot of faces are bound to be funny," Shikamaru admitted as he leaned back against him. "Except maybe my mother's," he added with a frown.

Kiba grimaced at this, and even Akamaru huffed. "Hey, maybe I should leave the village first – then you can tell her you're leaving to join up with me, and that way she won't have a chance to kill me!" he offered, only partly joking.

Shikamaru didn't reply anything to that as he had to admit the plan didn't sound half-bad.

Kakashi had arranged for their respective schedules to be cleared for the day, and so it was that after breakfast, they were meeting up with Gaara and Kankuro once more, this time in their own meeting room, and also with Temari via the communications screen.

"Gotta admit I'm really glad you said 'yes'!" she told Kiba happily before smirking smugly. "Well, I knew you wouldn't be able to resist me, but still…" she teased him easily.

"Is it too late to take it back?" Kiba asked Gaara with a frown for the principle, grinning when the Kazekage understood that it was a joke – a clear improvement from even a couple of years back!

"Gaara should've already given you the transfer order with my signature on it," Temari continued, absently drinking some tea – and he noted she looked really tired, and not just because it was morning.

"Got it here," Kiba confirmed as he waved the papers in font of the camera so she'd see them. "I've signed it too, so now I've just got to hand it over to Anko."

"Good. That means I can tell my current deputy she can return home!" the kunoichi replied with a relieved sigh.

Kiba swallowed a lump at the back of his throat but didn't say anything, only grinned at Shikamaru's reassuring look.

"Now as for you, Shikamaru," Gaara started as he turned to the shadow-nin. "We've discussed it, and we've come to the conclusion that Temari's former position as my advisor and assistant would be perfect for you, if you'd be interested," he offered as his siblings nodded.

"Really?" the Nara replied in surprise – even though he knew Gaara wouldn't joke about this. "Of course, I couldn't ask for better! But I'm not stealing someone's job, am I?" he then wondered with a frown.

"Nah, just returning Baki to his real duties in the council and giving Korobi and Yaoki less headaches," Kankuro assured him seriously. It was true that the two puppeteers had been heavily solicited since Temari changed jobs, and they would undoubtedly be happy to return to their old obligations.

"I left shoes too big to fill," Temari added modestly.

"Then yes, I accept – without question!" Shikamaru repeated, thinking to himself that it had to be fate that he'd always wanted to be the Hokage's assistant and would now end up filling that position for the Kazekage, even if only temporarily.

"Excellent," Gaara noted with a small satisfied smile. "This will need to be handled differently, since the contract will be with Suna, but I don't foresee that there should be too many holdups," he commented thoughtfully.

"I can set that up with Baki as soon as we're back," Kankuro agreed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "And since the Hokage already knows and gave his approval, I think the administrative part here should also be fairly painless," he surmised with a shrug.

Everyone thought to themselves that administration was never painless, but as by some universal agreement, no one spoke the words.

Temari said her goodbyes and added she looked forward to seeing them again before the communication was cut, and Kiba then headed to his HQ to get his transfer started while Shikamaru remained with Gaara a moment longer to discuss his future assignment in more details.

Anko stared at the transfer order for a long moment without saying a word when he handed it to her, while Gai looked from the paper to Kiba repeatedly, eyebrows drawn together as he studied him intently before finally breaking into a wide grin and holding a thumb up to him.

"Spread the youth to other villages, my friend!" he encouraged him solemnly. "I know you can do it!"

"I'll…do my best," Kiba replied slowly after Konoha's Green Beast stared at him a bit too intently while waiting for his answer.

"What goes around comes around, huh?" Anko asked rhetorically as she signed the form and applied Konoha's HQ's seal on it. "I'm not too happy about Temari snatching one of my best elements, but well…you've earned it I suppose," she added with a sigh – because she couldn't just say something nice and be done with it, it wasn't her style.

Lee just further proved how awesome he was and why it was impossible to be jealous of him as he grinned widely and hugged him happily once he told him the news. (Although in all fairness, Lee had been in a fantastic mood recently, even more so than usual, and Kiba wasn't the only one to suspect their Captain Junior Green Beast was involved in a youthful romance, although the mystery lover's identity eluded them all. Drats. He had to make sure someone would keep in the loop in case there were further developments.)

Maybe 'youth' was really just a state of mind in the end…

TBC

Youth is completely a state of mind. ;)