Shadows and Fangs

Chapter 33

Somehow, having told their friends that they'd be leaving in a few months seemed to spring them into having drinking nights way more often than before – no one was complaining, of course. The group nearly always included Kankuro, more often than not Temari, sometimes their respective partners, and even Gaara and/or Darami when they managed to persuade them – usually with pleading expressions (Kiba), shameless guilt-tripping numbers (Kankuro), or a plain 'you're coming along and that's it' (Temari).

"I can't believe we're ready before you are," Kankuro teased his lover easily as he and Shikamaru waited for him near the missions assignment room.

"Oh sure, that's easy to say when you're the ones in charge of your own schedules!" Tsuneo replied with a snort, very unimpressed with them as he finished filing the mission reports he'd just been handed. A few minutes went on like this until he turned back to them and looked at them pointedly, saying, "You know, having the two of you looking over my shoulder while I'm working really isn't helping."

The puppeteer only grinned at this, pointing towards himself. "Want me to ask Shikamaru to leave, so I'll be the only one hovering around you?" he offered easily as he slung an arm over his shoulder.

Tsuneo simply used the scroll he'd been holding to smack his hand away as he continued his task. "No inappropriate gestures at work," he needlessly reminded him. Naturally the whole village knew exactly what was going on between them, but he really made it a point to never give anyone cause to accuse him of receiving preferential treatment for it – something Kankuro really wasn't making as easy as it should've been at times.

Shikamaru only shrugged at Kankuro's look as he returned to patiently wait along with him. "You make the worst victim I've ever seen," he informed the puppeteer quietly.

"Why isn't Gaara joining us?" Tsuneo asked before the other two could start their usual bickering – he was almost done, he really didn't need more distractions and when they got going, it could last a while!

"Darami just got back from a mission back in Kumo," was all that Kankuro needed to say. And truth be told, he wasn't entirely sorry, because his brother really had a tendency to always side with Tsuneo anyway – and that had only had been cute at first.

It wasn't long until the chuunin was done, and then they casually made their way to their usual family-owned restaurant – home to Suna's most infamous homemade liquor. They'd barely been served their drinks and a few appetizers when Sojiro walked up to them, holding a hand up in greeting before sitting down with them.

"Temari had to stay back to arbiter a…shall we say disagreement between two shinobi – barring murder, she shouldn't be too long though. And Kiba says he'll be there as soon as he can – but to get started without him," he relayed to the other three.

"Busy day at the HQ?" Kankuro asked conversationally as he filled up a glass for him.

Sojiro shrugged helplessly as he nodded his thanks. "We saw that fight coming in the last few days, so I'm not surprised – a fair dose of jealousy mixed in with unresolved and inhibited sexual tension."

"Dangerous mix," Tsuneo noted with a frown.

"Indeed. As for Kiba, no idea what's keeping him," the captain finished with a shrug.

The Nara shook his head as he grabbed a bite. "It's probably just that reproduction contract negotiation taking forever."

Sojiro had had the presence of mind not to drink just yet but Tsuneo choked on his and spit it back out in his glass, causing quite a mess over his face and his hand as he looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Wow, that sounded wrong on so many levels – I don't even know where to start!" Kankuro told the shadow-nin slowly as he handed his lover a few tissues.

Shikamaru frowned at them and then thought back on his words, letting out an 'oh' as he realized what he'd likely sounded like to someone who wouldn't have any context. "For Akamaru. He's negotiating a reproduction contract for Akamaru," he rephrased.

"Yeah, next time, start with that," Tsuneo advised as he finished wiping his face and pushed his glass to the side, turning to Kankuro to check whether he'd missed a spot and sighing in relief at his reassuring nod.

"So I suppose that's kind of a big deal, huh?" the puppeteer ventured a guess as horror had given way to curiosity.

"You can ask Kiba for the full story, but yeah. One of the families in charge of breeding's trying to get Akamaru to pay them a visit, on account of his being one of the first nin-dogs to live and train in another village for so long," the Nara explained, feeling somewhat proud as well – because even though it was weird, he knew it was a big deal for the Inuzukas.

"One of the families in charge of breeding?" Sojiro repeated with a frown. "So it's not every dog for himself, so to speak?"

"Kiba's mother would punch you for that one," Shikamaru noted very seriously with a lazy grin. Tsume was actually one of the clan's best-known breeders and took her role very seriously. "They keep records – how could they do that if everyone went about it however they pleased? Plus you can't exactly give them out to anyone like normal dogs, so what would they do if they had dozens upon dozens of litters each year?"

"Makes sense," Tsuneo noted with a shrug. "So Akamaru's sought after, isn't he? I can't say I personally know many nin-dogs, but I'm not surprised!" he added with a grin.

"He's the smartest nin-dog in the World!" Kankuro confirmed, dead serious – and Shikamaru could only chuckle as this reminded him of a comment Kiba had made years ago that Akamaru could likely single-handedly take over Suna thanks to his hold over the Sand Siblings.

Tsuneo looked like he wanted to say something but then simply turned to signal a waiter, probably figuring he'd ask Kiba directly.

The tracker and his nin-dog looked quite satisfied when they joined them not much time later, and were happy to reply to more questions – and laughed quite loudly when Tsuneo told them just how Shikamaru had originally told them about his hold-up.

"So why are people only waking up now when it comes to realizing how awesome Akamaru truly is?" Kankuro asked with a frown, one arm slung over the nin-dog who barked happily.

Kiba sighed at this, resting his chin in his palm. "Because negotiations should be conducted with the nin-dog's master, and the sad truth is people just assumed I couldn't be taken seriously," he said in an annoyed tone. "I guess I've finally convinced them otherwise!" he then added modestly.

"Wait, so are we going to get swamped with requests once we're back in Konoha?" Shikamaru wondered with a raised eyebrow.

Kiba blinked at him and shook his head, waving the question away. "Nah, don't worry. After that it'll be a few years before it can be brought up again – nin-dogs aren't just breeding stocks, they're really meant to have an Inuzuka partner!" he reminded him, grinning as Akamaru barked his agreement.

Of course it was usual to have more nin-dogs than shinobi in the clan, but generally speaking the whole point of having a limited number of select breeders was to ensure that the difference ratio never got big enough to be considered wasteful.

Shikamaru held his hands up in apology and then smiled a bit as he thought about a young Inuzuka getting to be partners with one of Akamaru's pups – and wow, that felt weird, but at the same time, he'd love to see it. Maybe even with Kao, after all she'd be turning five this year and finally get her own nin-dog! But then he figured that she'd probably get one of Tsume's pups, possibly related to the triplets (he figured Kuromaru was too old, unless maybe it would be one of Kuromaru's grandpups or something – if that was even a word).

It would be a sight to see anyway!

Temari only joined them quite a few drinks later, and wordlessly reached for Sojiro's glass to empty it as soon as she sat down.

"That bad?" Kankuro asked her in amusement.

The kunoichi snorted and grabbed his drink too. "We'll need to go over that tomorrow," she told Kiba as she let out a deep breath.

The tracker nodded back and handed her his drink as well, grinning when she smiled gratefully. Kiba then eyed Shikamaru's glass and Kankuro figured they should just order up a new round before everyone ended up stealing each other's liquor.

Temari still stole Kankuro and Sojiro's shares. No one said anything to her, of course.

Eventually, after the requisite time for people to apply to the deputy commander position had passed, Kiba was finally able to give a shortlist of five names to Temari – with two from Iwa. It had been a nightmare, he'd swear to it until the day he died – and yet, he realized it was also a tremendously good exercise that would likely greatly help him in the future.

He was proud of himself, because he'd managed to remain quite neutral, in the end. He'd removed someone he considered a friend from the list because he honestly didn't believe he'd be harsh enough, and kept someone that he personally didn't get along with and wanted to turn into a kunai target practice but knew would be excellent at the job. All that, and he also needed to have a sense as to whether they'd get along with Temari – and that was easier said than done.

He took a moment to give himself a pat on the back and then walked to her office, Akamaru in tow. "Your cream of the crop, Commander!" he declared as he handed her the five files.

Temari raised an eyebrow in amusement and quickly perused them, looking back up at him as she cleared her throat. "So…I have to ask, I'm sorry. I see most of these are women – did Sojiro by any chance…how do I put this…well, you know what I'm talking about. Did he?" she asked him, face neutral but tone quite fond.

Kiba could only chuckle and shrug helplessly at this. "Yeah, he did. But I promise you, no one's looks were taken into consideration when I reached this final tally," he assured her easily.

Temari nodded at him gratefully, turning her attention back to the shinobi files. "Well, I guess the rest's up to me, then! Five new people I can torture to my heart's content!" she noted contemplatively.

"My thoughts exactly, Commander!" Kiba replied cheerfully, not at all embarrassed to be relieved that she'd direct her attention elsewhere for a while. She yet again raised an eyebrow at him at this and he took it as his cue to return to his own office before she remembered to tease him some more.

He still thought he deserved a pat on the back so he gave himself another one.

"I finally gave Temari the list today," he told Shikamaru happily that evening as he let himself fall down on their bed. "I'm telling you, I'm in charge of rosters all the time, but making a shortlist like that? Exhausting!" he said quite honestly.

Shikamaru chuckled as he looked at him, stifling a yawn while he brushed his teeth.

"Seriously," Kiba insisted as he propped himself up on his forearms. "That's like deciding who's good enough to be worth someone else's time." At the other's raised eyebrow, he sighed and shrugged. "Yeah, I know it's basically what you do for Gaara all the time since you're in charge of his schedule," he acknowledged. "Don't know how you do it, though!"

Shikamaru shook his head as he held a finger up and turned around to spit out the toothpaste. "It's something you get used to," he told him eventually as he walked back towards the bed. "Plus it's not just me – Kankuro weighs in on it too," he tempered, stretching his arms over his head. "Besides, he's the Kazekage – it's realistically impossible to fit in everyone who asks, even for a minute each, so you have to make a selection."

Kiba hummed contemplatively as he let himself fall back down, looking at the ceiling. "I suppose you're right – as usual…" he was forced to admit.

"Wow, don't sound so sorry," the shadow-nin drawled as he moved to lean over him.

"Don't worry, I know I married a genius," Kiba replied airily, trying to look unaffected.

"Don't sound so sorry about that either," Shikamaru mock-commented as he leaned down to kiss him.

"Not sorry at all," Kiba somehow managed to say back in between kisses.

There really were worse things to feel sorry about, after all.

Time goes by quickly and there's no slowing it down, but it's always difficult not to be surprised by how fast, exactly, it flies.

When April came around and they realized they were spending their last few weeks in Suna, Kiba and Shikamaru felt a bit saddened for a while, even though at times the thought that they were going back home cheered them up. The people they worked with also seemed to act differently.

Most were commenting on how nice it likely felt, the thought that they'd be going back home – and yeah, admittedly, they couldn't deny that. There were many aspects of Konoha that they were looking forward to, and not just seeing their friends and family more often once more. A few commented on how they were going to miss them, more often than not with wiggling eyebrows when they were hoping for favors. It didn't work (all that often). Most just acted like no one would replace them and therefore they had to hurry and give them all the work and ask them all the questions right this instant because later it would be too late.

Shikamaru usually sighed deeply while Kiba much less tactfully snorted and rolled his eyes.

Having recently become a father and looking for an opportunity to have less missions outside of the village, Korobi had applied to take over for Shikamaru as Gaara's assistant. Seeing as not only was he already familiar with the job, having handled it with Yaoki back when Temari had first been transferred, but that he was also a good friend of the Kazekage, needless to say the job had been his right away.

He spent the last couple of weeks shadowing Shikamaru at times, mostly during meetings, and gradually started taking over some aspects, such as reports reviews with Gaara or the like – the Nara didn't mind the extra bit of free time, as with the last time, moving was a daunting task.

Plus Kankuro helped Korobi, too – they were both puppeteers after all, they'd always had a sort of brotherly 'code'.

The Allied Division HQ's next Deputy Commander, a mature shinobi from Iwa, arrived in the village in the last week of April. Kiba hadn't deemed it necessary to hold his hand through all the steps and Temari had agreed he'd learn well and fast enough on his own – plus, she didn't really want someone who tried to 'work like Kiba', if that made sense. As she'd done with her first deputy, and then with Kiba, she preferred to leave it up to him how, exactly, he wanted to do his job – as long as his duties were filled, of course.

During that last week, every time someone was sent out on a mission, they stopped by to say goodbye, 'just in case'. Shikamaru indulged them but Kiba had to threaten people with bites because he was afraid he'd just tear up in the end – and he wanted them to keep the image of the scary deputy, not a weepy emotional one who broke down when people said goodbye.

To be honest, he did feel a pinch when he cleared his office, and then when he turned around, Temari was at the door, and she wordlessly hugged him – and yeah, maybe his eyes watered up a bit at that, and if anyone saw, well too bad!

"We had fun, didn't we?" she asked after a moment, not pulling back because her eyes weren't so dry either – plus Akamaru was nuzzling her side, so how could she not react that way?

"Yeah, we sure did!" Kiba replied happily, tightening his hold on her. "I'm sure we'll manage to keep it up!" he added confidently.

Temari snorted in amusement but didn't refute it.

Shikamaru's goodbyes at the Kazekage's tower were much different, actually. Firstly, there were no tears – Korobi didn't count, he was just 'a new daddy in his emotional phase', as per Yaoki's words. There was no hugging, either – Kankuro tried it, just to be aggravating, but Shikamaru still wasn't ready, publicly speaking.

"It has been an honor and a pleasure, Shikamaru," Gaara said solemnly as though they'd never see each other again.

"…We'll see him again, you know!" Kankuro rightfully noted with a raised eyebrow, chuckling at his brother's demeanor.

"Likewise, Gaara," Shikamaru replied instead as both he and the Kazekage ignored the puppeteer.

Tsuneo and Yaoki then poked their heads in the office and asked them what was taking them so long, and weren't they supposed to go get drinks one last time?

No one could reasonably say no to that, and so they met up with the team from the HQ for one final evening as fellow shinobi of the village of the Hidden Sand.

The hugging and crying was a common thing by the end of the evening, but most politely pretended not to notice.

The next day, they set out towards Konoha to return home for good, with their friends seeing them off at the gate before returning to their posts.

Feeling so sad about one thing and so elated about another was a strange sensation, one they'd already felt back when they'd originally moved to Suna, but it was somehow magnified this time.

Still, it felt amazing.

Their first day back in Konoha was spent resting at the Nara house – and waiting for their things to get to the village.

As if she'd been waiting for them, Hana went into labor on that very day, so she and Aoba naturally couldn't help them with the move – but arguably, as far as excuses went, that was ironclad. One of the Haimaru triplets came to get them once it was over, and so it was that they met their new nephew, who'd been named Shisen.

And then on the second day, all Hell broke loose. Back when Yoshino had originally told Shikamaru and Kiba that they should take the house, when she'd added she just expected them to help her move out in exchange, they'd immediately agreed it sounded reasonable, and figured it would be no big deal.

Except reality turned out to be different, because it was a daunting task, and she was a slave-driver.

Their only slight comfort was that a lot of what was stored in the attic was already Shikamaru's, so it was one less thing to worry about. Well, that and the fact that most of their things were actually already in boxes, be it from the move from Suna, or simply leftovers in storage from before they left years back, so in effect, packing and moving their stuff was mostly already taken care of.

Thankfully, they had enough friends willing to help around the village – or who were just drafted without a real say in the matter, but details, details. So in the end, the team consisted of Chouji, Shino, Sai, and a handful of Naruto's clones for the so-called 'manual' labor, and then Ino and Hinata who were busy doing a more delicate type of work – and helping Yoshino. Karui had originally stayed with the women to help them out, but had quickly gotten bored with spice cupboards and had promptly swapped places with her lover, claiming that he was better with kitchens and she with muscles anyway – nobody contradicted her on that.

Sakura stopped by to help with the furniture at some point, but she'd had to leave shortly because of work, dragging Ino along – although the Yamanaka kept giving out instructions even as she was pulled away. Everyone present – Karui included, for once – politely pretended not to notice Sai's relieved sigh.

And in all fairness, Yoshino had actually started sorting things out on her own before they even got there – well, her friends had helped, truthfully – so packing was fairly painless and quickly done. The moving, on the other hand…

And not only that, but then the part where they had to get rid of everything she'd deemed useless took them almost a day. Kiba had a few things stashed in the Inuzuka household's attic though, so they grabbed those on the way back – so no trip was wasted, in the end.

But when they found themselves placing their first boxes down in the much-emptied house, they had to admit it was really worth it. Even if following that they'd need to actually open and unpack all the boxes, which would certainly take much more time than they'd spent packing them in the first place.

This was finally their place to call home.

"We'll need to have sex in every room," Kiba declared decidedly as he looked around the living room while they took a break.

Shikamaru almost choked on his tea, still not being entirely used to the things his husband could spout out of nowhere. "Is that an Inuzuka rule or something?"

"What, does that sound like a chore to you?" Kiba asked back matter-of-factly, raising an eyebrow at him as he lounged back on the couch.

"No, of course not," was Shikamaru's honest response. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Akamaru huff from his corner.

The tracker was visibly satisfied. "Good. I like it better when we're on the same page," he added absently.

Akamaru then whined something and his master laughed.

"Okay, okay, we won't do it in the living room now," he agreed magnanimously – the nin-dog really didn't feel like moving.

Shikamaru chuckled at their antics as he let himself fall back against Kiba on the couch. Sometimes he felt like he had no actual say in the matter, but in the end, things always worked out and Kiba knew him best, so there wasn't anything to complain about…

Plus with everything they put Akamaru through on a regular basis, he was allowed to call the shots from time to time…

"He didn't say anything about the bedroom, did he?" the shadow-nin wondered nonchalantly.

Kiba laughed heartily as he nuzzled his cheek. "Nah, he didn't!"

"Well, that's a start…"

…With no end in sight, but not that either of them would ever complain about that.

"So how does it feel to be back for good and all settled this time?" Aoba asked Kiba and Shikamaru as they enjoyed a relaxing drink while Kao wrapped up a game of hide-and-seek with the Haimaru brothers in the garden.

"It feels chilly here!" Shikamaru replied with an only half-faked shudder.

"Compared to Suna, I'm sure it does!" Hana agreed with a laugh.

"But it's nice! Although…maybe I'll have to make a quick appearance next month, but we'll see when the time comes," Kiba informed her with a grimace.

Tsume grinned at this, absently reaching for another biscuit and splitting it with Kuromaru, expertly rocking baby Shisen with her other arm. "My, so popular, aren't you!" she accused teasingly.

"It's what I keep telling him," Shikamaru replied with an amused sigh.

"It's just because I'd already committed to be one of the teachers at that particular cross-HQ training!" Kiba defended himself with a pout. "There was so much to do! I almost thought they weren't going to let me go!" he added with a growl.

"Aw, my baby brother's all grown up!" Hana cooed with a warm grin, absently checking over Akamaru – not that she didn't trust Suna's veterinarians, but she knew him better after all.

"I hope you won't be too bored with your new job," Tsume added with a raised eyebrow, looking serious for once.

Kiba shrugged back at this, not wanting to make a big deal out of it. Kao skipped back to them and moved to grab another biscuit to share with Kuromaru and he reached to ruffle her hair fondly. "I doubt it, don't worry."

"I never worry!" the matriarch reminded him with a fond huff. "I know I taught my kids well! Even your father gave you some useful advice once or twice – when he was there!" she recalled with a grin.

"Grandpa Kaoru was very pretty!" Kao interrupted happily as she moved to put a finger in her little brother's hand, giggling as he preferred to pull on her hair instead. Obviously she'd never known her grandfather, but she'd seen pictures – she loved going through old photo albums, actually.

The adults chuckled at her words as Hana gently corrected her, "Handsome, Kao. Women are pretty – men are handsome."

"Meh, let's face it – Kaoru was pretty!" Tsume stated unequivocally. "Good thing the two of you took after him anyway!" she then conceded gamely.

"He wasn't pretty!" Hana argued in amusement. "He was very manly – maybe not compared to you, though!" she teased her mother easily.

Kiba burst out laughing at Tsume's frown, but Shikamaru and Aoba didn't dare to and only managed to share a look to silently acknowledge they were in the same boat.

"Wait wait wait," Kiba said as he wiped his eyes. "So does that make me pretty too?" he asked with a shit-faced grin.

"Of course, Uncle Kiba!" Kao reassured him loyally as she pat his leg. "Mommy's prettier, though," she then added quite earnestly.

"Ooh, hear that, little brother? I'm prettier than you," Hana cooed insufferably.

"Yeah, manlier, too!" Kiba teased right back, not even bothering to avoid her when she reached to wrap an arm around his neck tightly.

"I'd forgotten what conversations could actually turn into with more than one Inuzuka present," Shikamaru confessed to Aoba as he tried to keep from betraying his loyalties.

The sensor raised an eyebrow at this, shaking his head as he reached for his drink. "Sometimes I'd like to remember what not knowing felt like!" he admitted.

Shikamaru could only pat his back in sympathy.

It was good to be back though.

The thing he'd missed the most about Konoha wasn't even Konoha itself, Shikamaru realized as he sat in the same old BBQ restaurant watching Chouji and Ino bicker about whose meat that one was. It was these two he'd missed the most, really. They were really a part of his routine, without them he'd always felt like something was missing – inconsequential as it was.

"To be perfectly honest, I had ulterior motives in asking you out tonight," Chouji admitted while they waited for their second platter of meat to arrive.

"You, Chouji? You wound us!" Ino chided him playfully.

Chouji grinned back and shrugged helplessly. "Karui's fault – it's her bad influence. But…well, I can't say I dislike it," he admitted with a warm smile before clearing his throat. "And…huh…actually…well, we're going to get married, and she'll join the Akimichi clan!" he finally declared happily.

Ino made a happy sound as she reached to ruffle his hair and give him a one-armed hug at this. "She took her time, eh?" she teased him as she pulled back.

"Better late than never," Shikamaru added as he reached to clap his shoulder. "So when's the feast?" he asked, because rationally, Chouji was bound to have one hell of a feast to celebrate his wedding, right?

"Well, the sooner the better, really! Karui wanted to drop the form in today but I insisted I wanted to tell the two of you before! And I just wanted to make sure you didn't have assignments outside of the village so we can celebrate together," the Akimichi informed them with a wide smile.

Ino and Shikamaru shared glances and shook their heads. "All good – for now anyway!"

"When her mind's made up, she goes for it, doesn't she? I've always liked that in her," Ino commented with a grin as she tightened her hold on her childhood friend.

"Hey, I'm somewhat involved too, you know!" Chouji commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course you are," Ino replied pacifyingly, patting his arm. "Oh, look! The meat's here!"

Shikamaru could only laugh at Chouji's pout. Those two were definitely a part of his life that he hoped to never leave behind again.

While Kiba did pride himself on not being stuck-up when it came to expressing his feelings, he hadn't cried often in his life—uh…his adult life, of course, kids' fits didn't count, obviously! But…he had to admit, children could really throw you in for a loop!

"I can't believe this day's already here!" he repeated for the thousandth time as he ran his sleeve over his eyes. They were waiting for Hana, Aoba and their kids, as Kao, (sweet) little monster that she was, had just turned five and would therefore receive her own nin-dog.

"Damn it Kiba, pull yourself together!" Tsume scoffed although she was barely holding in place herself. "You'll make Shikamaru wonder why he ever married you!"

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at this, knowing she was just using him to diffuse attention from her. Those Inuzuka were all the same! At his feet, two puppies gave their best efforts trying to bite off the hem of his trousers, and he simply tsked at them reprovingly – evidently, he'd gotten the tone down pat after a few years with Kiba, and the two fur-balls whined as they immediately stopped and turned on each other instead. "Which one do you think it will be?" he wondered conversationally.

It was likely she'd just have one; he knew that Hana's was a very rare and particular case, as she'd rescued the litter and they'd immediately taken to her as a result – or so The Story went, and he'd never felt the need to challenge It. Tsume had chosen Akamaru for Kiba, knowing they'd be a perfect pair, but usually, nin-dog and shinobi mutually chose each other – that was his understanding, at any rate, he'd never actually seen it before.

Kiba's head snapped to the side before he could reply, and he grinned widely as the little family arrived, with Kao jumping at her grandmother's neck in a second.

"Daddy says I'm almost a grown-up now!" she informed her happily. Behind her, Aoba insisted on the 'almost' as he walked into the garden with baby Shisen in his arms.

"Your daddy's a smart man!" Tsume praised as she threw her up in the air and caught her at the last minute amid happy shrieks before setting her down. "It's a big day today!"

Kao nodded at her and then turned to her uncles with a happy grin. "You're here too!" she exclaimed as she ran full speed into Kiba's legs and looked up at Shikamaru with a toothy grin.

"We wouldn't miss it for the world!" the Nara assured her as he reached to ruffle her hair, grin widening as Kiba tried to walk away while she clung to his leg.

"Okay, Kao, settle down now, this is important," Hana gently instructed as she motioned to the grass. The little girl let go of her uncle's leg with a pout but did as she was asked, and Tsume corralled the puppies to line up in front of her (although 'line' was a pretty big word, scattered as they were).

"As you know, today you'll get your own nin-dog. He'll be your partner through thick and thin, the one person you'll do everything with for as long as you'll both live. Despite the situation, this isn't a matter of choice – the choice was already made for you. Just feel it," she encouraged her as she placed a hand on her chest and moved back to let her do it on her own.

The adults did their best not to hover as they looked on nervously and waited with bated breath. Tsume was visibly keeping herself from crying through sheer force of will, while Hana was literally crushing Aoba's arm between her hands. Kiba let out strangled noises every time Kao looked at a different pup, and only marginally relaxed when Shikamaru wrapped an arm around him. For his part, the shadow-nin knew it was a privilege to be allowed to witness this important moment of their niece's life although he wasn't part of the clan. And he had to admit, the anticipation was killing him.

"I know! I've picked his name!" Kao declared as she looked up at them brightly.

"Pup, first you need to find your partner," Aoba gently reminder her.

Kao frowned at him as though he'd clearly missed the point. "But that was done fast, daddy, I just needed the name!" she informed him with a shake of her head as she puffed her cheeks, making the red markings stand out even more.

The tension came down immediately and they all chuckled at this, sharing amused looks. "So which one is it?" Hana asked.

Kao just pointed towards the one puppy who seemed more interested in dandelions than humans. "It's Aomaru – because his eyes are blue like mine and like dad's!" she explained, giggling as the pup finally seemed to respond and licked her finger.

Aoba bravely tried to put up a good front as he choked on a sob while Hana laughed happily. "That's a great name, pup!" she praised.

"Great, now that that's settled, let's eat!" Tsume immediately said as she headed up inside so they wouldn't see her tear up as well.

Kiba had no such reservations as he felt his eyes water and sniffed loudly. "I've never seen anything so cute in my entire life!"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes fondly and wordlessly handed him a tissue. Looking down at Kao playing with her nin-dog, who did in fact have rather striking blue eyes, he had to admit it was pretty cute.

Then she stood, picked up the puppy and ran over to properly introduce him to her family, starting with them since they were closest (and her daddy was busy 'not' crying as he rocked little Shisen).

"Aomaru, these are my uncles Kiba and Shikamaru, and this is Akamaru," she said happily.

Apparently it was too much cuteness for Kiba to handle, so Shikamaru reached over to shake the offered paw on their behalf. "It's nice to meet you, Aomaru; please take good care of Kao," he said with the most solemn expression he could muster as Akamaru barked his own greeting.

The little Inuzuka was visibly pleased with the seriousness and then ran to her parents. "These are my mom and my dad, and my little brother Shisen, and the Haimaru triplets! They'll show you the ropes!" she continued, giggling as her mother's nin-dogs took turns smelling the pup and licking her cheeks.

And it was convenient that Aoba never removed his sunglasses, because he didn't have to feel self-conscious when later that day he accompanied his daughter around the clan grounds as she introduced her nin-dog to everyone they met. No one ever found out how red and puffy his eyes were underneath, but many were surprised to learn that his eyes were in fact blue, after Kao had explained to them how she'd chosen Aomaru's name.

One less mystery for the ages.

As far as work went, while their new posts weren't exactly easy, it was a fact that they weren't as challenging as their previous jobs.

Shikamaru didn't have to fight people off with a clipboard because they wanted him to pencil them into the Kage's schedule, but that part he wasn't overly sorry about. And actually getting to take real lunch breaks was a nice change of pace, too. A lot of people still came to him for advice at any given time, but he only pretended to mind, so all in all, he didn't have much to really complain about.

And if he was often asked to assist Naruto with this or that procedure, he didn't even pretend to be annoyed, so in the end he found himself tasked with more and more responsibilities.

Kiba on the other hand needed slightly more time to adjust to having fewer duties. Sometimes he had to keep himself from doing certain things, because they weren't his responsibilities anymore, but Maki's. It took some getting used to, but he got there eventually – the hardest part was to stop feeling like he was being lazy, but his squad-mates reassured him he really wasn't. The members of Konoha's HQ, Captains included, treated him a bit more deferentially than they'd had before he'd left, because they respected that he'd been a Deputy Commander for a few years, and that recognition felt nice, no use denying it.

Plus his reputation had preceded him, and in Konoha as well people believed he'd bite them if he was unhappy with their work. He reveled in it.

Besides, once they got back home, in their home, well…nothing could trump that feeling of finally having their own place. And as always before, they did what they had to in order to make time for each other no matter how busy their respective jobs kept them at times.

And Kiba had finally gotten around to nurturing his Nara side.

"Argh! Again! Not giving up!" he exclaimed as he once more tried to get his shadow to spike up.

"Come on, you made a lot of progress for one day," Shikamaru reasoned as he kissed the side of his head.

Kiba could now stretch his shadow to capture someone – not for long, but he could do it. The next step was leaning how to shape the shadow, either into a hand capable of squeezing a life out, or into countless spikes strong enough to pierce obstacles – but that took time, and patience, which the tracker didn't always have.

"Not giving up!" Kiba repeated as he felt his chakra reserves being depleted to the core – training in unfamiliar techniques drained you exponentially faster than what you were comfortable with after all.

"You're not giving up, we're calling it a day – there's a clear difference," Shikamaru reasoned in amusement, being as usual drawn to that persevering side of him. "We can get back to it the next time we have some time off," he promised.

Kiba growled but sagged back into his arms, relaxing his wrists. "Okay, but I'm not giving up!" he insisted as he leaned his head back against his shoulder to look up at him.

"Of course not – that's not your style," Shikamaru indulged him as he pressed his lips to his.

He'd never known that teaching someone else could be so much fun. And if teaching Kiba made him feel so satisfied, then he could only imagine how it would feel to teach their kid one day.

TBC

I have this vision of Kiba using the shadow jutsu to play pranks on his friends - poor, poor Shino. (Shikamaru would secretly love that.)

Also, about nin-dogs. My head-canon is that they live as long as their masters do, and are healthy and able to fight as long as their masters are. Kuromaru looked spry enough, and was clearly still in fighting shape when Hana and Kiba were adults, so I never really understood why Akamaru looked so frail in the epilogue...