Shadows and Fangs
Chapter 26
I got a lot of responses to the last chapter - I guess people really don't like cliffhangers, eh? :)
Don't worry, I'm behaving this time - and I think (I hope!) you'll like it.
Warning: may contain an excess of fluffiness. (In case anyone forgot this was a romance.)
"Shikamaru, Kiba's hurt!"
Silence followed Tenten's words, and Kankuro opened his mouth to ask the weapons specialist what happened to Kiba, exactly, when his brother spoke before he could.
"Go," Gaara said simply to Shikamaru – even though the Nara was gone before the word had really been spoken.
Tenten nodded at the Kazekage, apologizing for her loud irruption, before turning to go after her friend. "We managed to catch up to her but we couldn't avoid a head-on confrontation – and she'd joined up with accomplices by then. Yuoh was severely wounded, and Kiba got poisoned when he pushed Omoi out of an attack's way. He should be okay but he collapsed right after we handed our captives to the interrogation team," she explained quickly as she led him towards the medical wing.
He only listened to her words absently, forcing himself to repeat 'please be alright' over and over in his head to retain some semblance of control over himself. Kiba wasn't even supposed to be on that mission! But he often mentioned he grew antsy staying in the village so much, and Omoi's assignment clearly needed a rapid tracker…plus it was their job.
Upon reaching the emergency ward, he barely registered Omoi as his friend got up to greet him. Akamaru sat whining on the floor by his master's bed as a sickeningly pale Kiba rested there uncharacteristically still. There was a scratch on his forearm which was currently being disinfected by a nurse, but it seemed to be his only injury.
Darami was there, curtly calling out orders and it reassured him slightly. She was by the second bed of the room, where Yuoh, ironically enough the team's medic, lay badly wounded. She briefly looked up at the Nara and then promptly returned to her patient.
"Don't worry, he's not in danger. I got the poison out and Mizu's currently picking Rema's mind apart, so I'll be able to create a counter-toxin for any residual effects soon enough," she said in her usual clipped tone – but she was oddly reassuring, somehow. "He just collapsed because his body relaxed once the mission was completed."
Shikamaru nodded back mutely, knowing that Darami did not lie – if Kiba were in grave danger, she'd tell him, bluntly so. He raised a hand to touch him, but the medic-nin sent him a warning glance so he let his hand return to his side as he took a step back, turning to Akamaru. "Hey boy, are you okay?" he asked quietly.
Akamaru whined as he set his head down on his paws, and Shikamaru sighed as he rubbed his fur.
Tenten let out a breath in relief from the door as she looked at them, and then jumped slightly as she felt Omoi reach for her good hand to drag her away. "Omoi, what are you doing?"
"Making sure you get that arm fixed," he noted simply as he signaled one of the healers. "We've got a broken arm here," he said as he pointed towards her limp left arm.
Tenten looked down sheepishly as she'd wanted to make sure that their teammates were okay first – and that Shikamaru would be with Kiba if not. "It doesn't really hurt anymore…" she mumbled.
Omoi raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, and opened his mouth to remind her that just because she didn't feel the pain anymore, it didn't mean that it wasn't effectively painful, and a broken arm shouldn't be taken lightly, not to mention a wound could always get infected, particularly as they'd fought a kunoichi who visibly employed poison as a weapon, and maybe the lack of pain was a sign of worse things to come and she'd lose that arm, and then what?
He was kept from expressing himself however as Sojiro, effectively looking the part of having just returned from mission himself, poked his head around the corner. "If you're looking for Darami, she's in the second-last room to the right," Omoi told him, correctly deducting his purpose.
"Thanks!" the Kiri shinobi replied as he quickly made his way as directed, stopping in front of his fellow captain. "I just got back to the village – Mizu tagged me. This is the list of components, and I'm also at your disposal if you need to test anything," he offered as he looked down at the Sand shinobi. His wounds were worse than he'd thought and clearly looked infected already – the poison was obviously very potent, so the man was one hell of a fighter to still be alive.
Darami frowned, ignoring Shikamaru's inquisitive look as she snatched the paper and read over its contents. "I can do this fairly quickly," she noted simply. "Can you identify potential side-effects we need to look out for if I give you a sample? That would save time he doesn't have in case I need to redo anything," she added as her eyes darted back to her critical patient.
"Easily," Sojiro replied as he pulled a chair to sit down.
"A sample?" one of the assisting medics repeated with a frown.
"My body breaks down any poison I come into contact with as a way to protect itself from my own techniques," the other man explained. "But I can tell which areas would have been affected."
Darami didn't even need to be told as much as she carefully dipped a syringe into the removed poison and moved towards him. "Open up," she instructed as she unhesitatingly emptied the contents in his mouth before turning to her assistant to give him the empty equipment to dispose of.
Sojiro's eyes took on the yellow color that indicated his bloodline ability had been activated, and he winced for a moment – at the taste or in pain, they weren't sure. "No hidden side-effects, it's fairly straightforward – it's designed to knock out the target and fester painfully in wounds to render natural remission impossible," he declared swiftly.
Darami nodded and gave more instructions before taking with her the poison and the list to go fix the antidote.
Shikamaru just remained by Akamaru's side, eyes fixed on Kiba as the words 'he'll be alright' were the only thing going around his head. Looking up as he felt someone looming over, he saw it was the Kiri shinobi. "Thank you. That didn't look like it tasted good," he said automatically although he knew that ingesting new poisons actually strengthened his own ability, so it wasn't only for altruism's sake that he'd done it.
Actually, the way he'd come to understand it, Sojiro's body didn't actually break down poisons he came into contact with so much as it created stronger versions that negated (and absorbed) the original strain, consequently immunizing him. So naturally, the more he was poisoned, the stronger he became.
Sojiro shook his head at his words, eyes back to their regular brown. "Don't mention it. He'd have done the same for me, despite having actually bitten me twice," he said earnestly, indicating that no thanks were necessary among comrades.
Yes, Kiba would've, definitely, Shikamaru agreed with a tired smile.
The other man then cleared his throat, frowning as he hesitated over his words. "He'll…uh…he'll be okay. His resilience has surprised me more than once before," he finally said.
Shikamaru chuckled despite not really having the energy to, raising an eyebrow at him. "Sojiro, are you trying to comfort me?" he asked despite himself.
"No," the poison specialist replied matter-of-factly, crossing his arms over his chest. He held his look for almost a minute before sighing. "Okay, yes – maybe. No offence."
"None taken," the Nara replied in almost amusement.
Same-gender relationships were much more discreetly lived in Kiri than they were in Konoha, so he knew Sojiro had looked at them very puzzled and uncertain at first. That he was now keenly trying to cheer him up felt like a real change, one that he knew couldn't entirely be credited to his relationship with Temari. Sojiro had just needed to see the obvious for himself: that they were no different from any other couple, in the end.
He certainly helped, even in his clumsy way, but still it wasn't until Darami was back with an injection ready and a smug look on her usually guarded face that Shikamaru allowed himself to stop worrying.
Without pause or ceremony, she injected her cure into Kiba's neck, pressing a hand to his chest and closing her eyes to sense him before nodding once in satisfaction and stepping back. "He'll wake up soon," she declared summarily as she turned to Shikamaru. "You can touch him now, if you must," she told him with a tone that could almost be likened to kindness before walking off to fully concentrate on Yuoh, with Sojiro walking after her to give them some privacy.
Regardless of her bedside manners, he didn't need to be told twice. Akamaru followed him, resting his head on the other side of the bed by Kiba's hand. For the next few minutes Shikamaru's heartbeat was deafening in his ears and his breath nearly inexistent, but as color slowly returned to Kiba's skin, he felt his entire body sag with relief.
Kiba groaned groggily, eyes scrunching before he blinked them open slowly. He tried to sit up with a start, but his body wouldn't really allow him to move yet so he just moaned at the pain. "Who used me as a practice dummy?" he wondered with a frown.
Shikamaru chuckled breathlessly, shaking his head fondly as he brought his hand to his lips. "I can't let you out of my sight for even a day, can I?" he asked him tiredly.
Kiba grinned feebly, turning his other hand slightly to rub Akamaru's head as the nin-dog's tail wagged frantically. He then frowned as he turned back to his lover. "How's Yuoh? And Tenten—I know her arm got broken pretty badly," he asked urgently.
Shikamaru momentarily felt guilty, because he hadn't really paid attention to Tenten, although now that he thought back on it, her left arm had remained completely limp from the shoulder down as they ran here.
"They're both being taken care of, Captain, and our mission was a success," Omoi replied for him as he walked in before pausing in front of him with a sigh. "Sorry I was careless, and thank you," he said earnestly. "I owe you one."
"No you don't," Kiba replied matter-of-factly, blinking sleepily, relieved that despite his lackluster shape his team was alright – and their mission was a success, which was always good, naturally! "I think I'm going to take a nap now," he informed them before his eyes closed and he effectively lost consciousness.
His even breathing and peaceful face reassured them it was indeed just a break.
"I'll go report on the mission to the commander," Omoi replied as he figured he should leave them alone. Of course, Temari probably already knew a lot, since after all Darami, Sojiro and Mizu had gotten involved, but someone really should brief her on the outcome before she brought the building down on them because she was the last to know. And then naturally, he should also advise the Kazekage. And send a message to the Raikage's office. And—
Tenten shot him a tired grin as he walked by her and he casually waved back.
He wanted to ask her to come back to the Cloud, although he had no idea how to bring that up. And then what if he asked her and she said 'no'? Should he just keep trying?
Or maybe simply chicken out like every time before, which was easier. Of course, afterwards he'd be really annoyed with himself, maybe even downright angry, and who was going to fall for an annoyed-slash-angry guy? He'd spend the rest of his life alone, shadowing the future Raikage, and everyone in the village would know him and praise his dedication to his job before sighing and adding that it was such a shame, because he'd been such a lovely-looking young man and he could've been so happy with a nice wife by his side. So maybe he'd get a cat. He wouldn't be completely alone that way.
But he really felt too tired to think about that after such a stressful ordeal.
"Omoi!"
Ears twitching, he turned around to see Shikamaru walking up to him. "Hey, he still okay?" he asked worriedly – things couldn't have worsened so quickly, right? Darami had looked so confident!
Shikamaru nodded, running a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Yeah, but Darami sent me that look that sort-of implied I'd be better anywhere but in her line of sight."
"Ah, yeah. That look," the Kumo shinobi related easily. He'd been on the receiving end before – the first time when he'd been young enough to end up crying, actually. His father had even yelled at him for allowing a girl to make him cry, but had dropped it when he'd actually met Darami.
"It's troublesome, but she's got a life in her hands right now, I get why manners aren't her priority," the Nara tempered as he looked around. "Where's Tenten?"
Omoi pointed towards the room in question and tried to relax some as he said, "She's getting her arm treated right now, should be fine – seems like it was a clean break."
"Good, I'm relieved to hear that," Shikamaru said sincerely, still feeling slightly bad that he'd ignored her state. "I know you need to get going, and so do I actually; but I might need a favor, so I just wanted to know – are you staying in Suna for a few more days, or will you be off to Kumo now?" he wondered.
"Staying for a while longer. Transport's too risky, I'm not positive we've caught the whole gang yet; so we'll interrogate them here," Omoi replied easily – he had to put that in place, actually, assuming Mizu hadn't completely broken their prisoners yet. Apart from Rema, they'd managed to capture one of her accomplices – the other, Tenten had had no choice but to kill as he'd been about to deal the already wounded Yuoh a fatal blow. Still, two was better than one, and definitely better than zero, which was what they'd had until just this morning.
"So what can I do for you? Just name it," he added earnestly.
Shikamaru smiled slowly, relaxing the slightest bit, and simply slid his hands in his pockets. "I need to touch base with someone else first, but I'll let you know," he replied mysteriously.
Omoi spent the entire walk to the HQ trying to predict what this 'favor' could be, and although his guesses had gotten pretty wild by the time he met Temari, he had no idea whether he was any closer to the truth.
At the very least, despite their dangers, it could never be said that his travels were boring.
Between his own physical fitness and Darami's medical skills, Kiba hadn't needed more than a good night's rest before returning to his duties, although Temari showed her relief (and worry) by dumping as many administrative tasks as she could on him for the next few days. Following Kankuro's earnest recommendation, the Inuzuka amiably put up with it – besides, Darami brought him an herbal infusion 'just in case' once in the morning and then again in the afternoon if she was there, and it wasn't that bad.
But because of Temari's murderous mood, everyone turned to him instead, even if it was just to ask him to hand her a report or other, and he'd probably made a few enemies when he'd refused and sent them to the commander's office to face their doom on their own.
It was in that mindset that Kiba groaned from his desk as he saw Shikamaru walk in with a folder under his arm. "Please don't say that's more work – I swear, Temari's trying to drown me under all that paperwork to make sure I won't ever leave the village again!" he growled in annoyance, not caring if she heard him from her office.
Indeed, her response of, "Less talk more work, Kiba!" wasn't long in coming from across the corridor.
"See what I mean? This is bordering abuse!" the Inuzuka muttered with a frown as he absently moved another transfer request from Kiri to an ever-growing pile. "So, is that one for me or for her?" he asked with a defeated sigh as he shrugged his head towards him.
Shikamaru chuckled as he shook his head. "Oh, this one's definitely for you," he replied cryptically as he walked to lean back against his desk, facing him. Wordlessly, he then handed him said folder.
Kiba sighed but complied, pulling the paper out, freezing as he read the header before looking back up at him. "A…marriage certificate?" he asked, confused, eyes darting back to re-check it.
Their details were all entered, only the signatures and official seal were missing – had he forgotten something? Did the poison sap some of his memories? A quick look towards Akamaru didn't reassure him any more as the nin-dog simply wagged his tail happily.
"I don't want to wait anymore," Shikamaru replied simply, honestly. "Marry me, Kiba. Today—now," he asked him seriously.
"Today? Now?" Kiba repeated with wide eyes – it couldn't be that easy, could it? "Won't Gaara have more important things to attend to?" he asked for the principle.
"The Kazekage won't mind – I have connections," the Nara informed him with mock-modesty.
This had Kiba chuckling. "You do, huh?" he asked teasingly as he got up to wrap his arms around his neck and nuzzle his cheek. "Okay, let's do this! I just need to ask my boss for a moment's reprieve."
"Why do you think she was keeping you so busy?" Temari drawled from her spot by the door, grinning smugly as she looked at them.
"Because she was in on it," Kiba realized with a fond roll of his eyes before smiling at his lover. He couldn't really help himself and leaned in to kiss him, only pulling back when Temari cleared her throat loudly.
"That's traditionally what tonight will be all about, but until then, can we please get going? People are going to start thinking you turned Shikamaru down if we're late," she said teasingly as she turned to leave.
"People?" Kiba repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"News travel fast and everyone loves an excuse to drink," Shikamaru replied with a helpless shrug.
'People', Kiba soon found out, turned out to be about everyone they knew well and who was currently in Suna. They were all simply dressed in their uniforms, and the room itself was barely decorated, but that actually felt natural – neither of them had ever liked stuffy clothes or showy designs anyway.
Tenten and Omoi were waiting for them at the door, and had actually helped plan this, Shikamaru informed him. Sojiro and Darami were present, the Kumo kunoichi looking puzzled at her own attendance but managing to sound (somewhat) genuine upon wishing them well. Mizu and Yasha, he knew, were on deployment outside of the village, so he wasn't surprised they weren't there, but Sojiro assured him they were sorry to miss it and wished them the best – and had pooled in for the drinks.
Some of the Allied HQ members who weren't currently on missions were there as well, with Kiba recognizing most of them as having probably been in on the whole 'keeping him busy' scheme when they grinned roguishly. People were offering congratulations ranging from nods to handshakes, without forgetting winks or shoulder-claps, until Temari walked in with her brothers in tow, and as he saw Gaara, it somehow grounded the situation into Kiba's mind: they were getting married. He found himself chuckling happily at this.
Gaara offered them his version of a smile as he reached them. "I'm glad to see you're feeling well," he told Kiba sincerely.
"Hey, Temari was the real danger to my health these days," the Inuzuka immediately dismissed teasingly, figuring she wouldn't dare hit him at his wedding.
She visibly saw through him, because she glared at him. "Enjoy it while you can," she said warningly before smirking in satisfaction at his gulp. She then winked at Sojiro who chuckled before leaning in to give her a quick kiss.
"Shall we?" the Kazekage asked as he gestured towards the desk where Omoi had placed the document after Shikamaru had handed it to him when they arrived.
The two shared a look – and a smile – at this before nodding.
Taking a hold of the pen set next to them, Shikamaru signed his name first and then handed it to Kiba, who shook his head in amusement and disbelief before signing it as well. Gaara then affixed his own signature before Kankuro handed him the village's seal and he stamped it in the designated spot.
"I'm glad to say it's now official," the Kazekage declared as he held up the certificate. "Congratulations," he said earnestly.
He'd signed many marriage certificates, but never for friends until that day – and for the first time, he was really happy that it was part of his duties.
Akamaru howled happily as those present clapped while Tenten kept taking pictures left and right, and Kiba chuckled before grabbing a hold of Shikamaru's vest to pull him to his lips. "Mine," he whispered as they parted.
"Yours," Shikamaru confirmed with a smug expression.
The Sand siblings exchanged satisfied looks and Kankuro fondly punched his brother's shoulder as he saw his expression. "Days like this could come more often, huh?"
"Indeed," Gaara agreed with a small smile.
"Your hints are as subtle as ever, Kankuro," Sojiro muttered with a stubborn blush at Temari's more than pleased chuckle. Yeah…the puppeteer really wasn't discreet in letting everyone know he wanted nephews.
At least he had the decency not to deny it.
Likewise, Temari was always willing to annoy her brother back. "Hey, look who also showed up," she 'whispered' as she elbowed his side and shrugged her head to the side.
Kankuro frowned as he followed her look and then gulped as he saw Tsuneo there – well sure, he was also friends with Kiba and Shikamaru, so he wasn't exactly out of place but…
Gaara joined his sister in pushing him forward, and he knew that was a lost fight, so he took in a deep breath, straightened up, and went to talk to him.
"They grow up so fast…" Temari cooed smugly as she watched him go. Next to her, Sojiro snorted in amusement but didn't say anything. She then blinked as she looked at Darami who was to the side, looking down at the marriage certificate curiously. "Darami, grab something to drink!" she told her easily.
The Kumo kunoichi looked up and tilted her head to the side. "Oh, so drinking in large quantities is also customary here," she noted neutrally as she followed their lead and picked up a glass – following customs was an important part of integration after all.
"I think we can safely establish that's likely customary everywhere," Sojiro noted with a raised eyebrow. "It certainly is in Kiri as well!"
"I wouldn't know," the medic replied with a slight shrug. "I've only attended my sister's wedding before. But since she's not a shinobi, I don't think it's the same. It was extremely lively," she then added with a frown, and it was hard to say if her tone was disapproving or not.
This piqued Gaara's interest, as usually, the way of the ninja was a family affair – barring illness or severe injury, it was rare for siblings to follow such radically different paths. "That is an unusual situation – that you would be a ranking officer while she remained a civilian," he commented.
Darami blinked as she turned to him and tilted her head to the side. "Well back when we were at the academy, we soon realized she wasn't cut out for it – she's a carpenter now, it suits her much better," she noted simply.
"Was the academy particularly difficult?" Sojiro wondered with a raised eyebrow.
"Not compared to Kiri, I'd say," the medic replied openly, acknowledging that no hardship could equal Kiri's old custom of aspiring ninja killing each other to be promoted to higher ranks. She wasn't sure whether Sojiro had graduated under these circumstances – his age would indicate that yes, but since his clan held a bloodline limit, he'd most likely not followed the usual curriculum, for his own safety.
"For girls it was tough in a different way though; Kumo didn't think much of kunoichi back then and it showed," she concluded before the conversation could get carried away – they really didn't need a 'who had it worse' contest.
Temari scoffed at the idea and crossed her arms over her chest. "I bet they're regretting that now, with three women having attained the Kage position in other villages these past years!"
Darami shrugged noncommittally as she looked back at the Kazekage. "So…since you're the one signing all the marriage certificates, what happens when you get married?" she wondered, tone almost curious – but really, just 'less blank'.
Gaara opened his mouth to respond but then realized he wasn't sure, exactly. A quick look to his sister – who just shrugged – indicated she didn't know either. "Well…perhaps then the Council will step up," he opinionated.
The medic hummed and then returned to her drink.
Temari raised an eyebrow at the scene, as having those two standing next to each other suddenly made her realize how similar they were, at first glance. And judging by Sojiro's amused grin, she wasn't the only one to think so.
Kiba chose that moment to sling an arm over their shoulders and 'whisper' conspicuously, "Is it just me or is Kankuro talking to Tsuneo?"
"Isn't it just an awesome day?" Temari asked back with a clear laugh. Sparing a look towards her brother and his ex, her smile widened – it seemed to be going not so bad, too!
"Thank you for persuading him to attend," Gaara told Shikamaru with a neutral expression as he held out his fist to him.
The Nara chuckled as he bumped his fist against his and shook his head. "My pleasure – really." After all, as the one who spent the most time with Kankuro, if he could help resolve his issues, he'd really be quite happy. His grin widened as Kiba nearly launched himself at him at this and he barely managed to grab him before he sent them both to the ground. Akamaru chose not to imitate his master for once so he sighed in relief – and then went back to grinning as the nin-dog turned to the Kazekage who obliged and reached to pet his head.
They'd likely get a world of pain from their families and friends back in Konoha, but in all honesty, that simple ceremony – if it could even be called that – and its small group of attendees was just perfect for them. Ending the celebration with Suna's famous gut-piercing liquor made it even better. And, of course, after Temari slyly informed Kiba that Shikamaru had additionally negotiated the next day off for them, well…there was nothing keeping them from enjoying the night to its full extent. Neither of them would have changed a thing.
"There's just one thing missing," Kiba commented with a hum as he pushed himself up on his elbows over Shikamaru much time later, after the party had disbanded and they'd returned home. Thankfully, he didn't feel too bad even though he'd had a lot to drink, so maybe he was building up a resistance to the stuff? (Stranger things did happen, didn't they?)
"I'm listening," Shikamaru humored him as he reached up to run his hand through his hair.
The Inuzuka grinned and grabbed his wrist, gently tugging his hand back before moving to lightly bite his left-hand ring finger.
"More food?" Shikamaru asked lazily because being annoying was his legal right now, correct? He chuckled as his lover – now husband, he reminded himself – gently nibbled on his finger in retaliation and he raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, I get it, I get it…you want a ring."
Kiba let go of his finger to press a kiss to his hand, grinning in satisfaction. "Call me old fashioned, but yeah!"
His parents didn't carry rings, but then again their marriage hadn't exactly been a conventional one – and okay, so fairly, neither was his, but it was still more traditional in the sense that at least they'd be together, so getting rings wasn't too far-fetched, right? Right.
"Fine with me," the Nara replied easily as he pulled him back down against his lips. "We can check on that tomorrow after picking up the certificate from the registry."
Kankuro had promised them he'd personally see to it that it would be ready the next day, and much as he was loathe admitting it, he trusted his word. His eyes briefly darted to the side then, to his jacket, where Tenten had carefully stuffed the two rolls of pictures she'd taken – the last half of which when they'd all been on the last bottles, so 'sobriety and propriety not guaranteed', she'd warned fairly. They should also drop by the photo shop to get them developed, because he was really curious. "'A picture's worth a thousand words', right?" he quoted quietly.
"Mmh? What're you mumbling about?" Kiba wondered as he pulled his head back from his neck.
"Just wondering what kind of crazy behavior those pictures will reveal," the shadow-nin replied slowly with a self-satisfied smirk.
Kiba laughed at this, remembering Kankuro and Sojiro's drinking competition – how had it ended, already? Ah, yes! With the both of them passing out, leaving Darami as the victor – yet between future brothers-in-law, a tie was really the best outcome…
"Yeah, some people really got out of hand…" he commented airily.
"Pot calling the kettle," Shikamaru said with a raised eyebrow.
Kiba just shrugged, grin smug. "Hey, I got married – I think I'm entitled some leeway."
"Oh? Is that contractual?" the shadow-nin played along with a smirk.
"You're entitled too, husband," Kiba reassured him mock-reassuringly.
Shikamaru didn't exactly respond to that with words, but that was okay. They'd always been entitled to that.
As they knew he would, Kankuro did deliver, and they picked up their certificate from the admin desk the next day, in the early afternoon – with effective changes registered in their shinobi files and even forwarded to Konoha.
"I guess the clan-stuff you'll have to take care of in the Leaf, since we don't have access to their registry, but the important part's done, at least," the puppeteer noted with a grin as he crossed his arms over his chest smugly. "Go on, then. Say it. I'm awesome."
"That you are!" Kiba greed cheerfully as he punched his arm, grinning cheekily as he saw him hold back a wince.
"I'm not saying that," Shikamaru replied with an amused roll of his eyes. "But thank you," he conceded anyway.
"Good enough," Kankuro said back with a shrug.
Kiba's grin then widened as he moved closer to poke his chest and then sling an arm over his neck. "Sooo…anything you want to share?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
The puppeteer mirrored him as he didn't even try to break free – he knew Kiba had ever more fun when people fought back. "No idea what you're going on about!"
Shikamaru huffed as he resisted the urge to roll his eyes at this – oh, he read him like a completely open book at this point. "I think nothing happened yet, but a dialogue has been tentatively established so something might happen eventually," he ventured a guess.
Kankuro openly frowned at him as he tried to understand just how he did it. "You know me too well – and I've gotta be honest with you, I'm not so comfortable with that," he told him quite seriously.
For obvious reasons, it only pleased the Nara to be told this. Kiba found it too amusing for words.
Kankuro just sighed before shrugging his head to the side. "Now off with you, before we draft you back into work!"
"We're gone!" Kiba assured him as he turned and dragged Shikamaru along. "And we were never here, either!"
"Sure you weren't! I must've hallucinated the whole deal! Let me go tell my brother I'm too overworked and need a day off too!" Kankuro called back in amusement before shaking his head and returning to work. He'd get payback on Shikamaru soon enough anyway…
It was hard not to be in an extremely good mood when every acquaintance in the village congratulated them on their way out – or their walk about. Even buying rings was entirely mundane, with the merchant in charge not even blinking when he saw them.
"You know, not to bring down the mood, but I get the feeling that we'd be getting odd looks instead of congratulations in Konoha," Shikamaru mused as they made their way back home.
"Yeah, Shino said so too!" Kiba commented in amusement as he hummed, looking at his left hand happily.
"When?"
"This morning – when I told him," was the simple reply. "He sounded happy though – for us, I mean, because it's easier here."
Shikamaru stopped in his steps at this. Again? When? How? He couldn't even remember a moment when they'd been apart that day that would be long enough! How did they do it? Did Team 8 undergo some sort of sensing experiment that formed a link in their minds or something? Or was there some sort of bug that Shino planted on his teammates that somehow related everything that happened to them to another bug the Aburame kept on his own person?
"This is giving me a headache…did he issue any new threats for me?" he wondered as he fell back into steps with him.
"Of course not. He's an awesome best friend," Kiba added with a happy grin, once more stating the obvious as Akamaru barked his agreement.
"Apparently, he is…" the Nara was forced to admit. "Did you tell anyone else?" he then wondered – maybe he just didn't know it, but Hinata always knew everything right away too?
But Kiba shook his head. "Nope. Didn't have much time this morning," he added with a sly grin as he bumped their shoulders. "You?"
"No," Shikamaru replied before adding, "But my mother knows – I actually called her the day before, so she wouldn't feel blindsided by the news," he told him with an amused smirk.
"And? What did she say?" the tracker asked curiously while Akamaru tilted his head to the side.
"I'm not entirely sure she doesn't think it might be a joke," Shikamaru admitted with a hum. "She sounded worried about you though, when I told her what happened – so I suppose that's a good sign," he mused as he turned to him.
Kiba automatically smiled back and then shuddered. "Or maybe she just doesn't want anyone else taking me out first…" he added despite knowing how overly dramatic it made him sound.
"Yeah, maybe that's it," Shikamaru said with a snort.
"Bad Shika, bad – only I can joke about my own impending doom!" was Kiba's only reply – his shit-faced grin betraying him.
"Sorry…" the other man replied not sounding sorry at all.
Akamaru just shook his head at his humans' antics.
As that year once more marked Suna's turn to host the Kages' meeting, preparations started early, despite it being held in August as always. Nearly every department naturally expected they'd end up working overtime in the weeks leading up to it.
On the other hand the various Allied HQ commanders had apparently judged the previous years' meeting to be useful and conductive to progress, but while they agreed this should also become an annual occurrence, they also decided it would be best if it weren't held at the same time as the Kages' meeting, so June it was for them. Temari complained for the principle, wondering why they bothered meeting in the same village if they weren't going to travel together, but she was still determined to make it the best damn meeting they'd ever attended.
So unfortunately for Kiba and Shikamaru, that meant there was no way to get enough days off at the same time to enable a visit to Konoha in the summertime.
Basically, May and June were black-out months at the HQ, while July and August were black-out months at the Hokage's tower for anything more than the odd day off or maybe two, which obviously wasn't enough to make the trip home. So getting two weeks off together (the minimum for it to be worth it, since the journey alone already almost took one week) could be compared to juggling shuriken while walking on a wire and dodging kunai lined with explosive tags – only harder, much harder, since they'd actually done that as genins (and more).
They naturally would've preferred to tell people about their getting married in person, but figured half a year would be too long to keep such a detail secret. So they had to say it over the phone, however impersonal that felt.
Kiba insisted it wouldn't be such a big deal, because Shino took it just fine.
Shikamaru refrained from saying that Shino was not a viable test subject for comparison.
"Worst case, we can always say it was an accident," he said instead, thinking back on Kankuro's joke back when they got engaged.
Kiba laughed happily but didn't refute the idea, so at least they agreed on the back-up plan.
But anyway…they called Yoshino first even though she already knew, because Shikamaru figured she should still know he hadn't been joking.
"Is a marriage license issued in Suna even valid in Konoha?" she questioned instead – curiously, and the slightest bit teasingly, not antagonistically, to their relief.
The two exchanged a look at this and then shrugged. "There's probably more paperwork involved, but I don't see that it should be an issue nowadays," Shikamaru noted evenly.
"We have lots of married shinobi who work at the HQ, and they've never mentioned they had a hard time getting their unions recognized…" Kiba added as he thought about it.
Yoshino hummed and then declared, "Well, I still say it doesn't count – so I suppose if you really want it to be validated, you should come back home sooner rather than later." And she said it so off-handedly it was hard not to laugh.
"Much as we'd love to, unfortunately as you already know, we won't be able to make it until autumn – at best," Shikamaru replied with a sigh – it sounded like such a long time away!
"Well, not that I don't want to see you, but if you're going to visit that late, you might as well make it New Year's – I'm sure they don't do it like we do in the Sand," Yoshino added, subtle as always.
Yet they had to admit it wasn't such a bad idea – while the Sand held excellent celebrations for the New Year, they'd missed Konoha during that period.
Tsume spent a good minute laughing into the receiver but eventually reiterated Yoshino's comment that they should just as well postpone their visit to the end of the year and make it longer. "Ah, Kiba…! My little tracker, all grown up and eloping! I'm so proud of you!" she cooed before promptly dissolving into another fit of laughter.
Kiba wasn't the least bit ashamed that he hung up after another minute had rolled by. (He was fairly certain she wasn't offended, and had likely laughed even more anyway.)
Hana and Aoba, of course, were models of perfection – the right amount of teasing and congratulation mingling perfectly with Kao's earnest and heartfelt wishes for: "A marriage as happy as mommy and daddy's." (Predictably, they heard Aoba choke on a sob in the background, as he was always prone to do when his little girl acted 'extra-extra-cute' – his words, although of course no one in their right mind could ever contradict him on that.)
Chouji admirably played his cards to make his best friend feel bad about it. "Of course, I'm very happy for the both of you…!" he assured him before sighing woefully – and quite exaggeratingly, if you asked the Nara. "I just…I really wish I could've been there!"
Shikamaru just informed him that was a low blow – to which his best friend cheerfully replied: "I know, but what did you expect?"
He couldn't reasonably reply anything to that. In the background he head Karui say a very monotonous and disinterested 'hurray' as Chouji relayed the news to her – but that actually made him smile, because constants were reassuring.
Ino didn't even pretend not to care. "I'm thrilled for you two – I really am! Of course though, that doesn't mean I'm not incredibly pissed you went and got hitched without me – and Chouji – around! Seriously, Shikamaru, what kind of best friend does that? And Kiba's probably broken poor Shino's heart!"
Shikamaru personally doubted that, and Kiba raised an eyebrow at the accusation.
"Shino's not heartbroken," he insisted, adding, "He's an awesome best friend," under his breath – to which Akamaru loyally barked in agreement.
"Of course he is!" Ino maintained with a huff. "Sai, didn't poor Shino look heartbroken when we saw him earlier?"
"…"
"Sai, darling?"
"…He looked heartbroken," the artist confirmed contritely.
"Heartbroken!" Ino repeated once more.
Kiba winced and Shikamaru felt sorry for him – Sai had learned his lesson long ago regarding what would happen to him should he contradict Ino in public, so they forgave him for it.
"Look, we'll still have a celebration of sorts once we'll be back," Shikamaru tried to placate her – and it worked, of course, because she was just teasing them on purpose after all.
Following that, Kiba called Shino to ensure he really wasn't heartbroken, and the Aburame actually sighed before assuring him that, "No, I'm not heartbroken, Kiba."
Kiba sighed in relief at that, but still, once they'd called Hinata and Naruto – and lived through his excited and loud congratulations – he asked his teammate whether she'd noticed any chance in Shino's behavior.
"I don't think he's heartbroken, Kiba," Hinata assured him serenely, the amusement audible in her voice.
Kurenai reassured him as well, quite amused that he'd taken Ino's teasing to heart. Her voice sounded slightly emotional, and Kiba concentrated real hard not to let it get to him. He lost it however when Mirai took over the phone and congratulated them too.
So in the end, as they'd imagined, everyone teasingly gave them a hard time but no real grudges would be held – and really, it would just be turned into an excuse to treat them all once they'd be back.
They could live with that.
Really.
TBC
PS: Shino's totally heartbroken. He's just putting up a good front because he's an awesome best friend.