Part 3

If he'd had any way of being aware of his actions, Kiba might have been impressed by his own restraint... it was nearly an hour before he started moving in his sleep, instinctively seeking out the heat and comfort of the nearby warm body he'd mentally tagged as 'friendly'.

As he'd once lamented to Shino - while his unsympathetic teammate was helping him ice a lovely black eye from Kurenai - he really needed to develop a way to tag people as something other than either 'friendly' or 'dangerous'. Shino had suggested he simply mark anyone not open to casual cuddling as 'dangerous', but doing that rendered Kiba completely unable to sleep at all because his instincts wouldn't allow him to be unalert in the presence of danger.

Neji awoke when Kiba touched him, and it was due purely to his excellent reflexes that Kiba wasn't strangled or at least punched. Unfortunately, the struggle between attack and restraint was such that by the time Neji finally calmed down enough to consciously register what had awoken him, Kiba was already fully wrapped around him and clinging like a leech. What is he DOING?

Content now that he had a warm body to curl up against, Kiba returned to the half-dead state of sleep common to exhausted puppies everywhere. He was totally unaware of the way Neji was rigid against him, except perhaps to snuggle a little closer in an instinctive attempt at reassurance.

Neji vainly attempted to squirm out of Kiba's grasp for a few moments, but with the wall so close, he had no where to escape to. Finally he shoved on Kiba's shoulder. "Kiba! Wake up, you idiot!"

If they'd been out in the open on a mission, Kiba might not have been asleep so deeply, but here in a place he considered safe, even the distressed tone in Neji's voice didn't wake him. His only response was to mutter softly, burying his face in Neji's shoulder.

Neji hesitated for a moment, flabbergasted that Kiba - a trained ninja! - hadn't woken up. Remembering with chagrin what Kiba had advised him to do, he shoved Kiba hard, tipping him off the bed.

The next thing he knew, he was throwing himself forward as well, tumbling with a cry of surprise off of the bed and landing on top of the other boy in a tangle of limbs.

That, Kiba's sleeping mind interpreted as an attack, and he was instantly awake. Squirming free of the weight over him, he crouched and quickly searched his surroundings for the source of the threat.

There was no scent but Neji's nearby, and no sound but their own breathing and heartbeats. Confused, he rocked back onto his heels, adrenalin still pumping through his system. "What the hell?"

Neji sat up, glaring at Kiba angrily. "Isn't that my line?" he asked.

Judging by their position on the floor and Neji's glare, it wasn't hard for Kiba to figure out what had happened, at least on his part. "I did warn you," he said, unrepentant. "But... why're you down here? And why'd you hit me? Shoving me off would've been enough."

"I fell," Neji snarled, rubbing his shoulder as a bruise was already developing. He vaguely remembered his elbow hitting something as he fell. It was probably Kiba's shoulder. "Or, to put it more precisely, my body threw itself after you. I guess the jutsu pulled us more closely together, for some reason."

"What?" Dismayed, Kiba scrambled to his feet. "How far is it now?" He started edging away, wanting to determine the limits of the spell that bound them.

He'd moved a distressingly short distance before Neji started following him. "Two feet?" Kiba stared at his teammate, thoroughly put out. "We can only get two feet apart? This is getting ridiculous!"

"...Surely it'll get larger," Neji said with obvious frustration. "This is insane. I am following you so closely that I'd be a real danger to an enemy, if I was tied to them. It would be easy to do something to them, like this. What possible reason could there be to design a jutsu this way?"

"Well..." Uncertain now, Kiba stared at him, mind racing. "I guess... maybe because I'm not the one that cast it? I mean, maybe if it'd worked like it was supposed to, he'd have more control over it, presumably. It better not get any closer than this!"

Neji winced. "That's possible." He sat down on the bed, frustrated. "I don't know what to do, now," he growled, the closest he'd yet come to asking Kiba for advice.

Scowling, Kiba started to drop down to sit against the wall again, only to realize that the action would take him out of range, leaving Neji to scramble after him. Frustrated and growling under his breath, he sat on the bed beside the older boy instead.

"I guess we should go see Tsunade-sama in the morning," he finally said. "It's not important enough to wake her at this hour, but she seemed to know a lot about the jutsu. This might even mean it's not the same jutsu she thought it was, since she didn't mention anything about this." The thought dismayed him. If it wasn't the same jutsu, or if the unusual circumstance had altered the jutsu in unpredictable ways, what if it didn't wear off in a few days?

Neji nodded, disquieted by a similar thought process. He glanced at Kiba, thinking hard. "I suppose...we might as well try to get some sleep," he said quietly. "There's no point in neither of us getting sleep tonight. I will...be fine."

Kiba gave him a crooked grin. While the situation wasn't exactly pleasant for him either, at least he could go where he wanted... he felt kind of guilty for being the reason Neji was trapped like this, even if it wasn't really his fault. "If you sleep right on the edge of the bed, I can crash on the floor and we'll still be close enough, but you'll be out of reach," he suggested. "I don't mind, honest."

Neji eyed the floor doubtfully. "Will you sleep all right down there?" he asked. "We don't have any extra bedding." He felt a little guilty over this. It wasn't his fault, but he also knew that he wouldn't sleep a wink with Kiba wrapped around him like that...or would he? Maybe I'll get used to it and sleep anyway, he thought consideringly.

"I've slept in worse places," Kiba shrugged, slipping down from the bed to the floor. He couldn't get to the wall with Neji sitting at the foot of the bed, but he wasn't going to be sitting up anyway. "Just give me one of the blankets to use as a pillow, maybe. And don't roll over, what ever you do, or you'll end up on top of me when the stupid jutsu pulls you back!"

Neji didn't move for a long moment, then finally sighed. "Get up here, dumbass," he growled. "If I fall asleep with you...wrapped around me, I'll stay asleep." I hope. He tried desperately to convince himself that he wasn't blushing, without much success.

It was too dark for even Kiba's sharp eyes to be able to pick out the blush on Neji's cheeks, but he didn't need to be able to see it - he could hear it in the older boy's voice, and smell it in his scent. His first instinct was to say something dumb like 'You sure?', but he doubted Neji would appreciate being questioned and asked to actually think about the decision.

"All right, but if you can't, just let me know and I will sleep on the floor," Kiba insisted as he shifted back onto the bed.

Neji nodded slowly. "Okay," he said quietly, laying down on the bed again. He automatically curled against the wall, then reluctantly inched closer to Kiba, curling up next to the other boy and shifting to try to get comfortable. The warm body was nice, but...distracting. It was difficult to figure out exactly what to do with his limbs with the obstruction next to him.

Figuring Neji might be slightly more comfortable if he was in the 'dominant' position, Kiba wriggled and nudged until he was lying with his back to Neji, the older boy's arm under his neck and pillowing his head. He could feel Neji's warmth against his back, though they weren't quite pressed together. "That's not so bad, is it?" he mumbled, already half asleep again.

Neji nodded, a little surprised by Kiba's move. "You won't turn around in your sleep?" he asked.

"Mmm, maybe," Kiba acknowledged. "If I do, just shove me back over, I guess. Might not if you don't move, though." If he was sleeping alone he almost always woke up in the same position he'd gone to sleep in... it was only when there were other people around, shifting, that he tended to find himself situated differently when he awoke.

Neji nodded slowly, his breath reflecting back in his face after bouncing off the back of Kiba's neck. The boy was lying on his arm, and his hair was tickling Neji's nose, and it was all strange and uncomfortable and oddly... nice. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath, relaxing deliberately and trying not to think too hard about where he was and what he was doing. Amazingly, he found himself falling asleep.

Despite his own sleepiness, Kiba found himself lying awake for a time, counting the slow, measured breaths against his neck, trying not to shiver as each one ghosted over his skin and made it more sensitive to the next breath.

He hadn't really expected Neji to fall asleep like this. He'd figured the older boy would tough it out at best, and eventually kick him out onto the floor at worst. Well, hell, he wasn't complaining. Smiling to himself, he closed his eyes and settled himself for sleep, careful not to move enough to wake Neji.

Shortly before dawn would have begun to brighten the horizon, the sound of a huge bell began to toll. Neji snapped awake instantly, leaping over Kiba and halfway out of bed before he suddenly reversed and crashed to the floor, sprawled halfway over Kiba. The attack bell! The last time it had rung was when Hanabi had been kidnapped, and shortly after that, his father had been killed. Neji's heart thundered in his ears, the memories of that time flooding into him.

Awake the moment the strange bell had started ringing, Kiba had been scrambling to get out of bed as well when Neji fell on him. With a muttered oath, he thrashed to get out from under the unexpected weight and sent them both tumbling to the floor beside the bed.

"Tell me that's not an attack alarm," he snarled as he quickly untangled himself from Neji and stood. He already knew it was, though - he could hear the shouts and sounds of fighting in the distance, too faint for most people to pick out - and it might have been his imagination, but he thought he could detect the barest trace of blood in the air as well.

"It's the attack alarm," Neji returned, trying to reach his desk and continually getting turned around. "I need to go over there!" he finally snapped in frustration, not angry at Kiba, but at the situation in general.

"Sorry," Kiba said, slapping the lights on as he passed by the switch on his way to the desk. He took stock of himself quickly, and didn't like what he found. No weapons, no armour, no clothes... and worst of all, no Akamaru. He couldn't possibly be much less battle-ready short of being physically incapacitated somehow.

"Shit... lend me a couple of kunai?" he asked. Actually, he revised his earlier thought - worst of all wasn't Akamaru's absence, it was the fact that he, a fighter who specialized in bouncing around too much to get hit, was effectively tied down, unable to leave Neji's side. Or rather, HE could leave, but he'd be dragging Neji after him, and that would just be... bad. Very bad. "Fuck, we should stay out of the way, we're more of a liability than an asset right now."

Neji was tying his forehead protector securely into place. He'd go protect his family in pyjamas, but not without his forehead covered. He opened a drawer and pulled out four kunai, holding two of them out towards Kiba. "You can't possibly expect me to sit in my room when they've attacked my home," he snarled in reply, though there was a part of him that whispered that Kiba had a point.

"Of course not, I'm just saying we should stay out of the way of the fighting if we can," Kiba replied, taking the kunai and grabbing his own forehead protector from the desk. He held the kunai in his mouth as he quickly tied the protector on. Given that he was probably going to be the only non-Hyuuga involved in this fight, he figured he'd do well to have his Konoha affiliation marked prominently so he wouldn't be mistaken for one of the enemy.

The rest of his clothes were still being cleaned, presumably. He felt a little silly going out to fight in nothing but pyjama bottoms and his forehead protector, but he'd deal. "You're an easy target at the moment," he pointed out after grabbing the kunai again. "Let's go!"

"Maybe we can goad them into breaking the jutsu," Neji suggested, following Kiba out of the room with a kunai in each hand. "And then kill the one who cast it before he can cast it again." He knew he was stretching, that the one who cast the jutsu might not even be here - but he wanted to try, anyway. Somehow.

Outside was just this side of chaos. The Hyuuga compound was full of people running; either shinobi heading for the battle that seemed to be centered at the front gate, or non-combatants heading for safety further inside the compound. Kiba and Neji joined the stream of people heading for the battle.

The sounds and scent of the battle increased in intensity the closer they came, until Kiba's whole world was scented with blood and other battle smells. He skidded to a halt just before they would have rounded a corner and come into the middle of the fight, and peered around from that sheltered position.

It was a bloody mess - there were dead bodies littering the ground already, though from what he could see they were almost all the enemy. The Hyuuga line of defence was holding strong, and Kiba could see a few other Konoha jounin and what looked like a couple of anbu fighting on their side as well. The alarm bell continued to ring, and outside the walls of the compound other alarms were taking up the call. The entire Konoha fighting force would be here in minutes at most.

"Why would they come here, for such a senseless slaughter?" Neji murmured, his voice pitched so that Kiba could hear him over the sounds of battle, but it wouldn't travel much further than the two of them. "It doesn't make sense. They can't have expected to beat any of us."

Kiba nodded, his brow furrowing with confusion. "This is nuts," he declared. "It's practically a suicide attempt. They don't have enough people to punch through your defences. So... why the hell aren't they retreating? They've got to know there'll be more fighters showing up shortly. Why aren't they pulling back like they did when they fought us?"

"I don't know..." Neji said, and then his eyes widened slightly. "Unless this is some kind of distraction tactic. But what would they be distracting us from?"

"Another kidnapping attempt," Kiba replied grimly. "But who? Everyone's either here in the fight, or presumably tucked away safely wherever you put the non-combatants in case of an attack."

Turning away from the fight in front of them, Kiba strained his senses, trying to find some indication that something was going on somewhere else in the compound.

Neji nodded. "If they had any chance of getting that far, they'd go after the non-combatants. There would only be a few guards, because most of the fighters are out here, and just approaching will trigger another alarm, unless they're with a Hyuuga," he explained quickly, still watching the fight going on. He activated his Byakugan and strained his own senses in all 360 degrees, hoping for a clue.

There was nothing obviously wrong for Neji to see... but once he made himself ignore the sounds of battle from behind him, Kiba could just barely make out the sound of screaming, from further inside the compound.

Worse, one of the screaming voices was familiar. "Hinata! Fucking hell!" Swearing, Kiba took off running back the way they'd come, completely uncaring that Neji would be dragged haplessly along behind him.

Neji yelped as his feet nearly went out from under him as he went to follow Kiba without taking a moment to shift his weight. He ran after him. "Hinata-sama?" he asked. "What's wrong with Hinata-sama?!"

"I dunno," Kiba snarled, "but if it's bad enough to make her scream like that, I'm damn well finding out!"

He paused at a spot where the paths crossed, turning his head this way and that to try to identify the source of the sound. Without Akamaru there to help him triangulate, it wasn't as easy. There were now two distinct sources of panic - a sort of general mass of hysteria from the center of the compound, and what sounded like Hinata and one or maybe two other people, off to one side and getting rapidly distant.

Logic told him they should probably head for the source of the most noise... but this was Hinata they were talking about. "Look that way," he snapped, pointing in the direction Hinata's voice was coming from. "Can you see her?"

Screaming? He can hear her screaming in all this racket? Neji thought as he ran after Kiba. When they stopped, he peered in the direction Kiba indicated. After a moment, he saw Hinata, backed up against a wall and calling out for help, a kunai in her hand with blood on the blade. Four of the enemy ninja were arrayed around her, and from the way one of them was holding his arm, she had scored at least one hit, but she was obviously outmatched. "That way!" he said, pointing.

Kiba took off as soon as Neji indicated the direction. The farther they got from the main battle, the easier it was for him to pick out Hinata's voice from the chaos. He could only hope that someone else would notice whatever it was that was going on at the center of the compound, because there was nobody around for them to grab and point in the right direction.

"This is going to be fun," he ground out sarcastically as he readied his kunai. Two boys in pjs, tied to each other by an impossibly short invisible rope and one girl who'd dropped genin rank to train as a mednin. "Are there any dogs loose in this compound?" he asked, casting desperately for something to give them a fighting chance.

"Dogs?" Neji asked. "Why would there be loose dogs--" then he realized that Kiba probably had some way of utilizing dogs. "No... no dogs, that I know of," he said, shaking his head. He readied his own weapon. "We should fight back to back," he said. "Get between Hinata-sama and the enemies. That way, we won't step too far apart from each other." Neither of them normally fought in that sort of style, but all ninja were trained in back-to-back fighting styles, for situations where they were hemmed in by many enemies, or where they were protecting innocents, or injured comrades. The strategy should work, Neji figured.

"Good enough," Kiba agreed, wishing again that he hadn't sent Akamaru home.

And then there was no more time for thought, because they rounded a corner and ploughed into the fray, catching the unsuspecting enemy from behind. Just before they made contact, Kiba caught sight of Hanabi crouched behind Hinata, clutching her arm and hardly able to move from pain, and something that had been nagging at the back of his mind clicked into place.

"Oh, shit, Neji, we can't hurt them!" he cried, jerking backwards and perforce dragging Neji away with him, moments before Neji plunged his kunai into the back of one of them. "They've already cast the damn jutsu on them!"

Neji swore loudly, something Kiba had never seen him do before. Now that he was looking for it he could see the faint trail of chakra connecting the two girls to their enemies, but everything was so tangled it was hard to be sure which of the enemy shinobi the jutsu was specifically connected to. "Hinata-sama! Hanabi-sama!" he called, hoping they would hear him. He saw Hinata perking up already, overjoyed that they'd arrived to help. "Who cast the jutsu, Hinata-sama? The green one that hit you and Hanabi-sama!"

Ducking a strike from one of the kidnappers, Hinata indicated two of their attackers. "The injured one is Hanabi's, the other is mine!" she shouted, slashing at another one who got too close.

"Right... the other two die now, and then we 'convince' those two to remove the jutsu," Kiba snarled, advancing again now that he knew who was a safe target.

Neji nodded, his eyes narrowing as they advanced. Another attacker came at him from behind and he whirled automatically to slash at him, back-pedalling quickly to avoid getting too far away from Kiba.

Their attackers had several distinct advantages, not the least of which was that they knew that Kiba and Neji didn't dare hurt two of them. They managed to get through to Hinata and Hanabi, and formed a protective group around the whimpering younger girl.

Between the two of them they did manage to take down one of the enemy, despite the handicaps. At that point, however, Kiba saw the other man not already linked to the girls fall back and start forming the seals of that damn jutsu... aimed at him.

Of course, he realized grimly. They must realize Neji and I are linked... they probably can't cast the spell twice on one person, but if they take me, they've got Neji too, and we can't hurt any of them.

There was nowhere to dodge, the two 'untouchables' had them thoroughly hemmed in. Just when Kiba was starting to think they really were all going to be captured, there was a low snarl and a heavy body suddenly impacted the man at the back, knocking him over and disrupting the jutsu.

"Whaa... Kuromaru!" Kiba cried gleefully, recognizing his mother's partner. Right behind the massive black monster came Akamaru flying towards him, growling and yapping at the men attacking him. And behind him was a mixed group of very pissed-off looking Hyuuga and Inuzuka clan members.

"Don't hurt them, they're linked to Hinata and Hanabi!" he called the warning just before Kuromaru would have jumped on the next attacker.

"Capture those two men!" Neji shouted to reinforce Kiba's words. "But don't hurt them! And do not let them get away!"

Seeing that they were badly outnumbered, the two enemy ninja glanced at each other, then abruptly reversed their kunai and plunged them towards their own hearts. Horrified, Kiba lunged for the one linked to Hinata, certain he was about to see his best friend killed right in front of him.

He was too far away to reach the man before he killed himself, as were any of the others. Hinata and Hanabi both screamed and clutched at their chests, Hinata collapsing to her knees... but then the two men were dead, and somehow the girls weren't. Shaken and terrified, but not dead.

Kiba didn't know what had just happened, and frankly he didn't care. Hinata was still alive, and that was all he cared about. Dropping to his knees beside her, he pulled her into a fierce hug which she returned with interest.

Neji was yanked forward when Kiba lunged, and simply sank to the ground, stunned, when he realized that Hinata wasn't dead. What just happened?

There was a lot of arguing going on over their heads, mostly about how exactly some of the enemy had managed to get far enough into the compound to kidnap Hinata and Hanabi. There was also a bit of sniping between Inuzuka and Hyuuga about why Kiba was there, and what the hell he was doing hugging their princess like that, but he ignored it all in favour of reassuring himself that Hinata was okay.

"You scared the shit out of me," he told her when he pulled back slightly to be able to see her face. "Thought I'd lost you there for a second."

"I thought you had, too," she whispered, giving him a shaky smile despite how frightened she obviously was. "I felt him die, and I thought I was going to follow... but then something snapped, and I was okay again." Turning her smile on Neji as well, it grew a little more firm. "You saved us, both of you."

Neji nodded, rising to his feet and turning towards the Inuzuka and Hyuuga that were arguing. Though he'd gradually become more expressive and open in Kiba's presence, it seemed almost as though being addressed by Hinata had erased all of that instantly. He watched the argument in process, his eyes narrowing.

A sharp, snarling bark from Kuromaru halted the escalating argument just long enough for Kiba's mother to step forward and take charge of the situation. "Enough! You've obviously got a turncoat in your midst, and you'd best get to work finding out who it is - we may have killed them all, but that doesn't mean you want a snake still living among you."

That was enough to still most of the bickering, though a few Hyuuga were still giving Kiba dirty looks. "Honestly," he muttered under his breath just loud enough for Hinata and Neji to hear him as he helped her to her feet, "You'd think they believed only reason a person would ever want to touch someone else is if you're lovers." Hinata bit her lip to try to hide a smile.

"They do," Neji said coldly, glancing at Kiba over his shoulder. He glared at one of the other Hyuuga until they looked away. "Kiba is here with me, and anyone who has a problem with that can deal with me directly," he said firmly. "Believe me when I say that there is no possible way he could have contributed to this. He hasn't left my sight since we arrived earlier today - after he saved me from being kidnapped the same way Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama nearly were!" There was a ripple of surprise through the Hyuuga present that Neji might have needed that help.

Once he was sure Hinata would stay steady on her feet, Kiba released her with a last gentle ruffle of her bangs. Seeing that his partner's arms were free, Akamaru jumped up and Kiba caught him reflexively.

"You better take Hanabi back to the infirmary, make sure that arm wound isn't serious," he said. And once they've got them in their clutches, no way are the Hyuuga healers going to let Hinata go without checking out any damage caused by those suicides, either. He knew from personal experience that Hinata could be very stubborn about admitting to her own injuries, especially if there were other people hurt that she thought she could help.

She nodded and helped her little sister up. Hanabi, usually so fiercely independent, accepted the help without complaint, which told Kiba the injury was probably pretty serious. Two Hyuuga and an Inuzuka split off from the main group to guard the girls on their way back to the center of the compound.

"So, now what?" he asked, the question directed mostly at Neji and his mother. It was his mother who answered.

"Now we send the dogs out to scout the perimeter and make sure there aren't any more of them hiding out there," she growled, and speared Kiba with a glare that made him cringe reflexively. "And then you and I are going to have a talk about exactly what the hell is going on here. Akamaru wasn't exactly informative."

"The Hyuuga clan appreciates your help, Inuzuka-san." The voice caused all of the still-bickering Hyuuga to go silent as the head of their clan stepped into their midst, addressing Kiba's mother with a polite smile that revealed little. "I would ask that if you are going to send the dogs out, however, that you coordinate with my people. The Hyuuga prefer our privacy, even in the worst of times."

She turned and gave him a polite nod in lieu of a bow. "I had planned to send them around the outside of the compound - I assumed your people would know best where to look for hidden enemies within your own walls," she replied. "My daughter is co-ordinating most of the fighting; I was just following Akamaru to where my wayward son was apparently in trouble."

Her gaze flicked over Kiba again, and he flushed, one hand stroking his partner's ears. " 'S not my fault," he muttered, and her glare intensified. If he'd had dog ears, they'd have flattened as he wilted under that look.

"The boy is right," Hyuuga said, giving the woman a sharp look. "He is staying here as our guest - and, quite frankly, unless you would prefer that my nephew come with you, he is staying here."

Neji edged towards Kiba slightly, showing solidarity. That's right. He's not going anywhere. A few of the Hyuuga were muttering to one another, eyeing each other with a sort of confused suspicion. Who would let enemies into the compound? Particularly to attack and kidnap the well-loved sisters. Not to mention that they had already attacked the fiercely respected Neji. No self-respecting Hyuuga would betray Neji, would they?

More and more of the fighters and scouts were returning, with reports that all of the enemy were either dead or fled. The spot where Hinata had been fighting had turned into an impromptu meeting spot, since the clan heads were there.

"Issues of who's child will be staying with which family and why aside," came another voice from the back, "perhaps what you need to be asking is why they seemed so determined to get those two girls, in particular." A path opened, revealing the speaker - Kiba's sister, with her three dogs prowling around her.

"I've seen the infirmary area - they killed and injured several people to get to the middle of the room, grabbed your daughters, and then left," she said as she moved up to join the two clan heads. "There were several easier targets - non-combatants, people who would have had no chance of fighting them off. And why take both girls? If they specifically wanted someone without the Torikagao seal, they wouldn't have gone after Neji earlier."

Neji stared at the Inuzuka, and then narrowed his eyes angrily. "Maybe after their experience with me, they decided that a full-grown and fully-trained Hyuuga was too much for them. After all, they'd have to transport whoever they captured back to wherever they're going."

Hiashi put out a hand, intending to quiet Neji, though the boy ignored him completely until he'd finished what he was saying. "No one is accusing you of anything, Neji," he said.

"If they were so intimidated by you, why go after Hinata and Hanabi, both trained fighters?" Kiba's sister countered. "They were very specifically going for the daughters of your clan head. And from what I've seen of your security, the only way that group could have gotten so far into the compound was if they had inside help."

Another wave of murmurs, some rapidly escalating into arguments, swept through the gathered Hyuuga. Listening to it, Kiba shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Neji. It was only a matter of time before someone pointed out the obvious...

The thought had barely occurred to him before someone in the back spoke up. "If Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama both died, then Neji-sama would be next in line as clan head..."

Neji coloured slightly, clenching his fists with anger. "That is not news to anyone," he snarled. "But I had nothing to do with this!" His words only seemed to make the arguing worse.

Hiashi raised a hand. "Quiet!" he snapped, and the shouting trailed off reluctantly into silence. "At this point, there is no way to know who the insider is. We will investigate without delay, and the perpetrator - WHOEVER it is - will be found. I will not take this lightly." He turned to Neji, frowning, and the boy glared at him defiantly, as though daring him to make an accusation.

"This could get ugly," Kiba murmured to Neji, his sharp ears picking up the sound of continued quiet grumbling and hissed accusations out on the fringes of the group. He wasn't the only one; the rest of the Inuzuka were watching the proceedings warily, alert for any actual fighting that might break out.

"There are other possibilities," Kiba's mother stated. "Perhaps it was for blackmail purposes. Perhaps not. Arguing among yourselves serves no purpose, and may even help your enemies."

Turning to Hinata's father, she added, "Since it seems my son is somehow inextricably involved in all this, perhaps we could go somewhere a little less public to discuss how and why, and what will come of it."

Hiashi nodded, giving a small bow and gesturing towards his home. "You're right. Arguing and accusations will get us nowhere." He frowned at the worst arguers. "All of you would be better to go check around the grounds to ensure that nothing was missed. Go in pairs, and if anyone figures out where the attackers entered the compound, let me know." He glanced at Kiba's mother. "Shall we go sort this out? Kiba and Neji, come with us."

Neji sighed softly and moved to follow his uncle, being sure not to get too far away from Kiba.

Hiashi led them to a small room near the center of the compound, so he would be easily available to anyone returning with reports. Kiba's sister joined them as well, though two of her three dogs remained outside. Kiba clutched Akamaru to him, happy to have his partner back, and stayed close to Neji.

Once again they related the story of the attack in the forest, and the strange jutsu that had locked them together. Kiba's mother was scowling by the time they repeated what Tsunade had said about the jutsu. His sister showed no expression, more controlled than their mother, but Kiba could tell she wasn't any happier about it.

"Whoever your enemies are, they're very persistent," his mother noted when the story was done. "And they were very nearly succesful this time. Given what I can hear of what's going on outside," she tilted her head towards the door, "it sounds like there is definitely a faction of your clan that is in favour of breaking tradition and making Neji the next clan head because of his strength; those people are now coming under attack by those loyal to your family. If it were one of them who allowed the outsiders into the compound, it would certainly explain why the target of the attacks changed abruptly to Hinata and Hanabi alone."

Neji winced, hunching his shoulders slightly and glowering generally. "I am not encouraging anything like that, from anyone in our clan," he said. "If someone is trying to eliminate Hinata-sama and Hanabi-sama, with the idea that this is what I want, they won't get any thanks from me."

Hiashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Neji," he said calmly. "I do not believe you need to prove anything to anyone here. I know what you want, but I also know that you're not the sort of man to do something like this."

"Stop being so impatient and actually pay attention to what people around you are saying, boy," Inuzuka Tsume growled at him. Kiba's mother had never tolerated fools - or anyone she considered a fool. "Nobody's here is accusing you of anything. That doesn't change the fact that you can argue yourself blue in the face, and some of them," she gestured at the door, "will still believe there's a possibility that you're behind it." She turned her attention back to Hiashi. "If you want to prevent an inter-clan war, you'd best find your traitor quickly."

Kiba flinched. Internal wars within large clans like the Hyuuga tended to be far nastier than any outside war could ever be. The last major conflict within a clan had been the slaughter of the Uchiha.

Hiashi winced visibly. "I agree," he said. "I will go to the Hokage and see if she can spare some anbu for the investigation." At Neji's shocked glare, he shrugged. "It could be anyone, and we are family. The instinct will be to protect each other. The only way to be sure the investigation is fair and complete is to trust an outsider."

He glanced at Kiba's mother and sister, giving a small bow. "I know this is a lot to ask, and I would not take offence if you say no, but things could become dangerous for Neji. Would you consider taking the boys until the investigation is complete."

Kiba hoped his relief didn't show too obviously in his expression. There was no way in hell he wanted to get mixed up in an internal battle among the Hyuuga of all clans... not while he was inextricably tied to the person half of them would be wanting to kill.

"Of course we'll take them!" Kiba's mother snapped, scowling. "As if we would refuse, considering one of them is an Inuzuka himself."

"If you don't object, I'd like to leave Kazemaru here with you," Hana added, nodding at the one dog who'd followed her in. "If anything happens at our compound, he'll be able to warn you."

"And I can scout for you," the whippet-thin brindled dog added, pacing forward slowly. "I've got the bastards' scent now, I'll know if they come back."

Neji startled slightly when the dog spoke, but covered the reaction quickly. Despite his association with Kiba, that was the first time he'd actually heard one of the Inuzuka dogs speak intelligibly. He sighed inwardly, but to his own surprise, he found he was relieved that he'd be leaving the compound for a while - even if it was to go to the Inuzuka compound. He didn't want to be here to make things worse, and despite his own protests, he knew that his very presence probably would.

Hiashi nodded, offering Kiba's sister a smile. "Thank you," he said, bowing. "If you could take them quickly, and secretly, I will spread other rumours, to make our traitor think that they have gone somewhere else. Hopefully I will be convincing enough, and our enemies will not seek Neji with you."

"Easily enough done," Tsume declared. "Akamaru."

Kiba released his partner, and before the puppy's legs hit the ground, he'd transformed into a copy of Kiba himself. A quick hand seal, and a moment later his mother had used henge to change herself into Neji's double. Pointing at Neji, she ordered, "You take my place. Kiba, you can be your cousin Touru, he's home with that broken leg, so none of the Hyuuga will see you both in the same place at the same time."

It was strange to hear Neji's voice giving him orders in his mother's tone, especially since she still smelled like herself. Henge was a simple illusion, meant only to fool people briefly - it covered sight and sound and even touch, but not taste or smell.

"It won't fool any Inuzuka," 'Neji' added, "but I'll make sure some of your people spot us on our way out, into the forest maybe. It'll help confuse issues."

Neji winced. "Make sure they see you at a distance," he added. "Any Hyuuga who knows me well will see the difference in the structure of your chakra points."

Hiashi nodded in agreement. "I'll leave you all to make your way out. I have to go spread some rumours." He bowed one last time and ducked out of the house.

"At a distance, hmm? I think I can manage that." Kiba's mother waited until Neji had transformed, then stepped forward and put her hand on Akamaru's shoulder. "I'll see you all back at the compound."

With a puff of displaced air she vanished, taking Kiba's double with her. "Let's get this over with," his sister said. Nodding, Kiba transformed as well.

They made it out of the Hyuuga compound without any trouble, collecting stray Inuzuka as they went. None of Kiba's clanmates so much as looked twice at either of the two boys; their clan head's daughter was with the two 'fakes', so obviously it was all right, and giving them odd looks could give away whatever it was that they were hiding.

Despite pausing several times on their way across the city so Hana could receive reports from the scout's dogs, they made good time back to the Inuzuka compound. In stark contrast to the cold marble and stone of the Hyuuga buildings, the Inuzuka compound was panelled with the more traditional wood and rice paper, and had greenery everywhere. As the main doors closed securely behind them, Kiba took a deep breath and savoured the scents in the air. He felt a hundred times better already, just being home.

Neji, on the other hand, was nervous as a cat, looking around the compound with suspicious eyes. The distance between them had extended almost to six feet again, but he edged a little closer to Kiba. What now...?

Once inside his family's part of the compound, Kiba dropped the henge illusion. As clan alpha, his mother rated better quarters than the rest of the clan, but everything was still very simple and unassuming. The floor, lower walls and much of the furniture was scuffed and scratched, the result of the dogs being allowed to roam anywhere they liked. They were intelligent, of course, so it wasn't nearly as bad as it would have been if they were normal dogs, but the damage from sharp claws and general roughhousing was unavoidable.

No sooner had he come through the door than half a dozen puppies, Kuromaru's latest litter, fell upon him. Yapping and barking, they tried to swarm over him, making him laugh. "Hey, guys, I'm all right," he assured them. They were far too young to have gone with the rest of the clan to the fight, but Akamaru's panic over Kiba's danger would have made them worried anyway. He dropped to his hands and knees, letting them sniff and lick at him to reassure themselves that he was in one piece.

A few of the more adventurous ones made their way over to sniff at Neji, looking up at him with wary brown eyes. The smallest and boldest of them was a virtual copy of her mother in attitude if not appearance. She yapped imperiously at him, demanding to know what he thought he was doing invading her territory.

Neji eyed the puppy. "What?" he asked coldly, knowing it could probably understand him, even if he couldn't understand it. He eyed Kiba. "Tell it that if it brings its tongue, or paws, anywhere near me, I'll seal the chakra points that control smell."

Kiba coughed into his hand, trying to mask his laughter, but his sparkling eyes gave him away. "C'mon guys, leave him be - he's weird, he doesn't like dogs," he said, reaching out and gathering the squirming puppies up and away from Neji.

"I'm going back out to organize the defences," Hana announced. Nodding to Neji, she added, "For as long as the circumstances continue, please consider our home as yours. Kiba can get you anything you need. It would probably be best if you stayed inside, out of sight of anyone outside the compound, until we're certain the threat to your family has passed."

Neji bowed, though not quite as low as perhaps he should have. "Thank you for accommodating these unusual circumstances," he said. He folded his arms and leaned against the wall, unconsciously putting himself into a perfect, brooding, sulking posture.

Once his sister was gone, Kiba stood and stretched, ignoring the puppies who continued to tumble around his feet. "Well, we can crash and try to sleep for a while longer, or give up and stay awake," he said. He was normally up by now doing his exercises, but they'd already decided there was no way they could do that while stuck together like this.

Neji hesitated, eyeing the bed with distrust. He opened his mouth to ask what the point was, and was interrupted by a yawn. Reddening, he covered his mouth. "Maybe we should try to get a little more sleep," he suggested unhappily. "What choice do we have, really?"

"Sounds good to me," Kiba agreed. He led the way further into the building, to one of the spare rooms. The puppies trailed after him, and he somehow managed to avoid kicking any of them despite their best efforts.

"No, you stay out," he told them firmly when they tried to follow the two boys into the room. He had to enforce the order with a few 'gentle nudges' with his foot, but finally he got the door closed with all six puppies on the other side. Akamaru and his mother would be setting false trails for a while, but when his partner got back Kiba would let him in.

The room was small, with tatami floors and a futon that would fit two people if they were relatively friendly. It was an internal room, so it didn't have any windows; the only light source was the overhead light.

Turning, Kiba caught sight of Neji in his pyjamas, and paused. Then started laughing ruefully. "Damn. I guess you're gonna have to borrow some clothes from me. We can't even send anyone after your stuff, because it would give away your location."

Neji stood for a moment, stunned. In all of the excitement, it had completely slipped his mind that he was in his pyjamas. "Good gods," he said, dropping his head into his hands with a pained sound. "Can things possibly get any worse?" he asked rhetorically.

Smacking him lightly on the back of the head, Kiba scolded him. "Don't ever say that!" he chided, only half mocking. "That's like an invitation to the universe to prove that yes, it can!"

Gesturing at the futon, he added, "Might as well make yourself comfortable. We're probably gonna be here for a while. Want me to stay on watch so you can actually get some sleep?" It wasn't really necessary for one of them to be on watch, not this far inside the well-guarded compound. But he knew Neji wouldn't sleep well with Kiba curled up around him, and he figured the proud older boy would be more likely to take the offer if Kiba termed it that way.

Neji sat down on the futon. "All right," he agreed quietly. "Are you afraid of an attack in your compound?" he asked, a mixture of uncertainty and curiosity in his voice. "Should I be on alert? I...thought we'd be safe here."

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Kiba just shook his head at the older boy. Dumbass. "No, we're safe enough. If they can get through all the guards and an entire compound full of battle-trained dogs, they deserve to get you. But if I were you, I'd be jumpy as hell, so I figured you might sleep better."

Neji nodded slowly, a frown forming a line between his eyebrows. "So you're telling me you're going on watch, but you're actually just leaving me alone to sleep without you leeching on me, is that it?" he asked, a smirk twisting his lips as he glanced up at Kiba again.

Smirking back, Kiba raised an eyebrow at him. "Hey, if you're saying you'd rather have me curled up against you, I'm not gonna complain about getting more sleep. I'm flattered you'd miss me after just one night..."

Neji flushed, and his embarrassment was quickly turning into anger over the way Kiba kept doing this to him. "Why do you keep flirting with me like that?" he snapped. "It's not funny, Kiba!"

"Huh?" Honestly bewildered, Kiba just looked back at him with a blank expression. "I was just teasing you, just now. And when else have I flirted with you?"

He supposed he might have, without realizing it. Neji was, well... hot, especially when flustered. And Kiba had seen him flustered more often in the last day than in all the rest of the time he'd known the older boy.

"If I was, I'm sorry if I offended you," he added, shrugging. "I'd think you'd be used to it by now."

Neji glared at him. "You've been flirting with me non-stop since last night," he declared. Why do you think I keep blushing you idiot? Kiba's apology, once it penetrated, gave him pause, however. "I...wasn't offended," he said. "But I'm definitely not used to it."

"C'mon, I've seen the way the girls flock around you," Kiba protested, disbelieving. "They're almost as bad around you as they were around Sasuke! I'm surprised you even noticed one more person flirting with you."

"It's different," Neji protested. "I can ignore them."

Tilting his head, Kiba considered that. "Why is it different with me?" he wondered aloud, curious. Not that he couldn't see how it would be more difficult to ignore a teammate flirting with you than a bunch of girls you didn't have to work with or spend any time with. But he wanted to know if that was all it was, or if there was really more to it.

Not that he necessarily expected Neji to admit it if Kiba affected him in any way. Not out loud, anyway, and he was too good at controlling his expression and body language to give anything away. But he had no control over his scent... and there was a subtle but noticeable difference between 'I'm flustered because I don't know how to deal with this kind of unwanted advance' and 'I'm flustered because I don't know how to deal with wanting it'.

"Because you...keep touching me," Neji said, clenching his fists. "And I can't get away from you. And you're not intimidated by me." Shut up and go to sleep, Neji, before you embarrass himself any further, he told himself, but it was a little too late now.

"I'm not easily intimidated," Kiba replied, grinning. "And I haven't been touching you that much!" Reconsidering, he added, "Well, not that much for me. I suppose it would seem like a lot from your point of view."

He sobered slightly. "And I know it must be driving you nuts not to be able to get away." Or be able to do anything else to stop it - Neji couldn't even hit him, thanks to the damage transference part of the jutsu that bound them. "I just keep forgetting. Look, if it really bothers you that much, I'll try to keep my distance, okay?" He padded over to the far corner - it was a small room, so he was still just at the limit of the distance currently permitted them by the jutsu. "I'll sleep over here. It's far enough that I shouldn't end up moving over to you."

Neji winced. "No," he said, shaking his head quickly. "It's fine. I didn't mean...you asked me why I thought you were flirting with me, and I told you. Evidently, I was mistaken. You don't have to go all the way over there."

That made Kiba laugh. "I never said you were wrong, just that I was sorry if I offended you," he answered. "I didn't really realize I was being obvious enough about it that you'd notice, I guess. We're stuck together for the next couple days, I don't intend to make you that uncomfortable."

Neji froze for a moment in surprise, then looked up at Kiba warily. "You...were flirting with me?" he asked. "On purpose?" Mentally, he reviewed all of the times Kiba had done things that embarrassed him, from undressing without modesty to cuddling up to him at night - practically groping him! Suddenly it all seemed to take on a much more sinister air.

"No, not on purpose!" Kiba gave him an exasperated look. "Well, except for when I was teasing you, and that was teasing. Geez. I said I didn't realize I was being so obvious, didn't I?"

He shrugged, and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. With the dirty look Neji was giving him, he suspected he wasn't likely to be sleeping on the futon any time soon. "Look, it's not like I'm not aware that you'd kick my ass for trying anything, you know. Give me some credit!"

"Except I can't kick your ass," Neji pointed out, but he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look... I know you're not going to rape me or anything. I just didn't know you were a pervert..."

Well, that was politically correct. Despite himself, Neji winced.

That earned him a glare and a soft growl. "There's nothing perverted about it, damn it! Why do people make such a big deal about it, anyway? And you might not be able to kick my ass now, but we both know this jutsu is going to wear off in a couple of days. I like my face the way it is, thanks."

Neji looked away, chastened. "I guess it's not perverted," he said quietly. "I just never... I mean, all of this was bad enough without knowing...Fuck." He closed his eyes and rubbed the spot between his eyebrows with his index finger. The whole thing was giving him a headache.

For a long moment, Kiba just studied him. Under other circumstances, he'd have just taken Neji at his word and stopped bugging the older boy. He wasn't interested in pestering people who didn't like him in return. He had better things to do, frankly.

But the signals he was getting here were so mixed he felt like he was in a paint shaker. Neji was interested in him - if he was sure of nothing else, Kiba was sure of that much. Even now, as upset and disgusted as Neji seemed to be with the idea, Kiba could smell it on him.

Given what Neji was saying about perversion, it wasn't hard to guess the other boy didn't think much of people who were interested in their own sex. Kiba had never understood what the big deal was, but he knew it was a big deal with some people. He was forced to wonder if Neji was even aware of his attraction to Kiba, or if he'd passed it off as something else.

Neji shifted uncomfortably. "Why are you staring at me?" he demanded finally. "Look, I'm sorry if I insulted you. I don't really think you're a pervert."

"Part of you does, or you wouldn't have said it," Kiba replied easily. His tone made it clear that he hadn't actually taken offence; if anything he was mostly just puzzled. "I'm just trying to figure out why it's such a big deal to people. I've never understood it. Why is it more of a big deal for you to find out that I'm interested in you than, say... Tenten?"

Neji frowned in thought. "I don't know," he said after a moment. "Maybe it's just surprise. If I were stuck with Tenten, there would be certain accepted ways of interacting, part of which are meant to deal with the fact that I'm a man, and she's a woman." he glanced up at Kiba. "None of those are supposed to matter between two men, but with you, they do."

"Rules'd be different for two guys, anyway," Kiba muttered. "Girls have a disturbing habit of thinking that if you show any interest in them, it means you want to be their boyfriend." He rolled his eyes. "And you can see the wedding bells and babies in their eyes when they look at you, too. Scary as all hell."

Neji twitched and nodded. "That's true," he said. He frowned thoughtfully for a long moment. "But...you don't want to be my boyfriend, then."

"Not saying it wouldn't be a possibility under the right circumstances," Kiba allowed. "But girls don't seem to understand that any little indication of return interest does not necessarily mean those are suddenly the 'right circumstances'!"

Neji nodded slowly, trying to picture himself and Kiba as boyfriends and failing miserably. What would it be like? he wondered. "I just don't want to lead you on," he said quietly. "I don't want you to feel that I'm disgusted by you, either." He met Kiba's gaze. "I was surprised, and I apologize for what I said, but I'm not disgusted."

Sputtering, Kiba tried not to laugh and failed. "Lead me on?" he repeated, howling. "Neji, in order to lead me on, you'd have to be showing some sign of interest in return!" Other than what I can smell but you probably aren't even aware of... much less aware that I can sense it!

Shaking his head, he added, "Look, you're taking this way too seriously. I'm not really treating you all that much differently than I treat... well, Hinata, for example. Only difference is that if you actually seemed interested, I might do something about it, where I wouldn't with her."

Neji's attention sharpened at that. So he doesn't like girls at all? "Well... I did consent to sleep with you wrapped around me last night," he pointed out.

"Heh, yeah... but that not necessarily flirting in my books, remember?" Kiba grinned at him, showing a hint of fang. "That's just normal to me. Can't say I was complaining, though. It wasn't so bad as all that, was it?"

"...no, it wasn't all bad," Neji allowed grudgingly. "But how do I know you didn't enjoy it...a little too much?" he asked, reddening.

Sighing, Kiba scrubbed his face with his hand. "You wanna define 'a little too much' for me there?" he asked helplessly. "I enjoyed it more than I would've if you were, say, Chouji, or Shino, but it's not like I got off on it or something!"

Neji reddened. "I guess...that's what I meant," he said. He sighed softly and shook his head. I'm just being an idiot, and trying to apologize or become comfortable with this isn't helping. "Just...forget it. All of it. Come here."

Cautiously Kiba crawled forward until he was perched on the edge of the futon, within arm's reach of Neji. "Look, I'm seriously not trying to make you uncomfortable," he said. "Well... not much, anyway." A hint of fang once again showed in a grin. "You're cute when you're flustered, and gods know I'll probably never get a chance to see it again." 'Cute' wasn't really the word, but he thought 'hot' or 'sexy' might be just a bit too much information for poor Neji's sensibilities to handle.

Neji glared at him. "I am not cute," he snapped. He kept up the glare for a long moment, hesitating as he warred with himself. If I don't get over this, I'm going to be uncomfortable for an entire week, he told himself. What's the big deal? We can't keep going back and forth on this.

With the lightening-fast reflexes that he was famous for, he reached out and grabbed Kiba, pulling him down next to him and nestling against him. "Go to sleep," he said tersely, closing his eyes.

Kiba's body had tensed automatically at what his subconscious couldn't help interpreting as an attack. When he realized what Neji was actually doing, it still took him a second to forcibly relax his muscles and uncurl his fingers. "And here I thought Naruto was the only one suicidal enough to go around glomping unsuspecting shinobi like that," he muttered, half amused and half on edge from the adrenalin still in his system. He conveniently ignored the fact that he himself had glomped Hinata earlier that night - Hinata would have been expecting it anyway, Kiba usually did that when he saw her.

"I didn't glomp you," Neji said archly. "I'm trying to...deal with a hang-up."

"You still nearly got a fistful of claws in the face," Kiba informed him dryly, squirming to get more comfortable. Neji's embrace was awkward; Kiba once again moved until he was lying with his back to the older boy, Neji's arm around him, as they had been earlier that morning.

Neji shrugged. "You're too edgy," he informed the other boy, cuddling against him. There, this isn't so bad. Now enjoy this, Neji, it's probably your last chance. He blinked. Where did that come from?

"I do believe that's a textbook case of 'pot calling kettle black'," Kiba snorted, grinning. Fishing for one of the kunai Neji had lent him, he tossed it towards the light switch, letting the round part of the handle hook over the switch. The weight of the metal blade pulled the switch down, leaving them in darkness; he heard the blade clatter to the floor by the door.

That done, he yawned and settled in, automatically wrapping his own arm over Neji's, his spiky brown hair brushing against Neji's throat as he settled his head using the older boy's shoulder as a pillow.

Neji yawned as well, closing his eyes. "I...guess this isn't so bad," he said softly. "Not that I have anything to compare it to." There was an edge of sadness to his tone that he was totally unaware of.

Kiba heard it, though he knew better than to comment on it. He'd heard it before, too... in Hinata's voice, when she'd said much the same thing. He remembered the circumstances - he didn't think he'd ever forget them. There'd been a meteor shower, and Team 8 had been out in the forest on some mission or another; chasing deer away from the farms outside the village, he thought. That detail wasn't important.

Kurenai had woken them all when the shower had started on her watch; awed, they'd found a meadow to sit in and watch the show. Kiba had been slowly accustoming Hinata to brief hugs from him; this time he simply pulled her against his side and held her for the duration of the shower.

She'd been stiff at first, but by the end she'd been relaxed against him, exclaiming in wonder at the beauty of nature. When he'd teasingly asked her after it was over if he'd been distracting her too badly, she'd blushed and admitted that it had been nice to share it with him that way.

It was the shy 'I've never done anything like that before' she'd added that had gotten to Kiba, and made him all the more determined to make sure she had at least one source of open affection in her life.

Hearing that tone in Neji's voice now made him wish he could share something like that with the older boy, to show him that not everything in life was as hard and cold as the Hyuuga family would like to pretend it was.

"Well, you could always go ask people to let you hug them to see how it compares," he forced himself to say lightly, grateful his voice didn't give away his thoughts. "But I think they'd probably lock you up as a loony pretty fast."

Neji stiffened. "I wouldn't do that," he said shortly. The thought was...disturbing. "Even if I would, I don't have anyone I'd want to hug."

"I know, Neji." Kiba's tone of voice was amused and indulgent, with some sleep creeping in on him as well. The excitement of the fight had worn him out again, and he hadn't exactly slept well the night before. "I was teasing you again. Go to sleep... we'll probably only get a few hours before my mother and Akamaru get back."

Neji was silent for a long moment. "I know," he said softly. He sighed softly, doing a few quiet breathing exercises to get himself to relax. Why does something so stupid have to feel so good?

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7

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