Part 4

Kiba had been drifting, half asleep and content in the warm circle of Neji's arms, for some time when he heard the barking start. To a non-Inuzuka it would have sounded like the random barking dogs did whenever they got excited; to him it was as clear as an announcement over a loudspeaker. His mother had returned.

Damn. He found himself reluctant to move, to wake Neji and lose that comfortable warmth. Much as he enjoyed cuddling Hinata, there was something to be said for being the one encircled, rather than the one doing the hugging. Though he seemed to be wearing Neji down a bit, he doubted he'd get too many chances to enjoy this.

Still, if his mother had to come looking for him for the debriefing, it wouldn't go over well. Stirring, he nudged Neji with his shoulder, not sure if the older boy had already been woken by the dogs or not. "Oi. Kaa-san's back, I need to go report."

Neji had woken with a start, every sense tuned, when the dogs suddenly started barking like the compound was being invaded. The only reason Kiba had thought he was still asleep was because he hadn't actually moved at all, upon awaking - a trick most ninja mastered fairly young, in case they needed to feign sleep to catch an enemy off guard.

When Kiba spoke, he finally relaxed, opening his eyes and withdrawing away from the other boy to sit up. "Do you have anything I can wear?" he asked.

"Mmph. Yeah." Yawning, Kiba sat and stretched, muscles sliding under the exposed skin in his torso. "Not in here, though. C'mon." Rolling gracefully to his feet, he padded towards the door, grabbing the kunai he'd used to turn off the lights on his way by.

The moment he slid the door open, puppies spilled into the room, yipping softly and snuffling around his feet. Rolling his eyes, he growled at them softly. "C'mon, guys, back off, you're gonna get stepped on. We need to go get dressed."

The same bold female who'd accosted Neji earlier squirmed past him, and trotted up to investigate the stranger in her home once more. Regarding him with suspicious amber eyes, she sniffed at him and barked.

Neji glared down at the puppy, then raised his eyes and swept past her, as though completely ignoring her. In reality, he kept an eye on her, just to make sure he could dodge if she tried to trip him up. He didn't want to be accused of kicking one of the family familiars on the first morning of his arrival. "Where are we going?" he asked, wondering why Kiba didn't keep clothes in his own bedroom.

"To get clothes," Kiba replied, glancing back over his shoulder. "Hoshi, stop it. Leave him be, he's a friend." The puppy looked at him and barked a question, and he laughed. "Yeah, he's Hinata's cousin, that's why they smell similar." Appeased, she licked Neji's ankle as a sign of acceptance.

Neji frowned at the dog. "I'm related to Hinata-sama, and therefore acceptable?" he asked in confusion. He leaned down and patted the top of Hoshi's head gingerly.

Making happy little whining noises, Hoshi squirmed under his hand, guiding him to the best spots. Leaning against the doorway, Kiba couldn't help but grin. "She was confused why you smelled kinda like Hinata, that's all. And she likes Hinata - they all do. She's good with the puppies; she always plays with them when she comes over."

Neji nodded, rising to his feet and moving to catch up with Kiba. "So... it's not that they hated me on sight," he said. "That's what it seemed like."

"Heh. You've really never spent any time at all around dogs, have you?" It was a statement more than a question. Kiba led them down the hall to another room off the main section of the building. It was something like a cross between a locker room and a giant walk-in closet.

"You were invading her territory, so she had to check you out and make sure you were acceptable," he continued as he moved to his section and grabbed pants and a shirt. "She's kinda the leader for that litter, that's for sure. Now she's satisfied that you're not a threat, so they'll all be friendlier towards you. She likes you." Grinning he nodded towards the closet. "Grab anything you like, I've got non-mission stuff in there, too. Pants and sleeves might be a touch short on you, but we're not too dissimilar in build, at least."

Neji peered into the closet, looking over the clothes and pulling out a dark blue cotton shirt with a soft weave, trying to figure out if it would fit him. "Her territory?" he asked. "Isn't it your territory?" He glanced at Kiba, smiling slightly.

Snickering as he pulled a shirt over his head, Kiba grinned at him as he emerged from the folds of soft cloth. "Not just dogs... you've never spent much time around any animals, have you?" He laughed. "Everything belongs to them. We only get to stick around on their sufferance, because it's useful to have someone with opposable thumbs around." Kicking off the pyjama bottoms, he moved to pull on underwear and pants as well.

"I thought that was just cats," Neji said, pulling off the pyjama top and pulling the shirt over his own head. He took off his bottoms and hunted up underwear and a soft pair of pants. They'd be a little baggy, made to fit Kiba, but at least they were comfortable and not constricting. He might have to fight later.

"Nah, cats are just the most obvious about it." Kiba's lip curled slightly; he had no use for cats, though he supposed he could respect them, one predator to another. Since he was done dressing before Neji, not having to search out clothes that would fit him, he dropped down to sit on the ground, letting the puppies tumble over his lap as he ran his fingers over their silky fur.

"Anyway, in this case, it's 'her' territory in the sense of her versus you, the outsider, not in the absolute sense. This building is undeniably my mother's and Kuromaru's territory, in the absolute sense. They're the alpha bitches."

"Right," Neji said. It was all very fascinating, in an otherworldly sort of way. He supposed the situation could be likened in some ways to some of the things that humans did, but in a much more simplistic form.

His lips quirked slightly as he strapped on his weapons. Then again, given how simplistic humans could be, maybe it really wasn't all that different.

He turned around, now fully dressed and finally feeling a little more comfortable. "Shall we go meet with your mother, then?" he asked.

Nodding reluctantly, Kiba ruffled one last set of ears before standing again. Automatically he checked to make sure his weapons were where they belonged before he headed for the door.

"I'm sorry to have to put you through this," he grimaced. "I'm about to get chewed out, probably. We seem to be back to five or six feet of distance, you want to try waiting just outside the door?"

Neji shrugged. "Do you want me to wait outside the door?" he asked. He didn't much care, either way, but he wouldn't blame Kiba if he didn't want to get chewed out in front of Neji. It would be embarrassing to say the least. Of course, with Neji there, he could defend him.

"Doesn't matter to me." Kiba sighed. "Easier just to have you there, I guess, she's gonna want to talk to you, too."

Akamaru met them just outside the door to his mother's office, jumping up excitedly and butting against Kiba to reassure himself that his partner was okay. Kiba scooped him up and hugged him, doing the same. Akamaru had grown enough that he couldn't ride around on Kiba's head or shoulder anymore, but he was still more than small enough for Kiba to carry him.

"Hey, buddy. Run into any problems?" Akamaru shook his head and gave a dog-grin. "Good. How mad is she?" The puppy whined and flattened his ears, and Kiba made a face. "That bad? Crap. All right, might as well face the music."

Cradling his partner in one arm, he knocked sharply on the door frame, waiting for his mother to acknowledge him.

Neji nodded, watching the reunion with a neutral expression. He couldn't imagine being so tied to someone. It seemed... confining, but Kiba seemed to enjoy it. "I'll do my best to defend you," he said quietly.

Snorting in amusement despite himself, Kiba grinned at him. "Don't worry about it too much. This is normal." At his mother's sharp command from inside, he opened the door and trooped in.

He'd barely cleared the door when a hand connected with his shoulder and shoved him hard. He staggered and released Akamaru hastily, just in case he fell. A sharp smack to the back of his head had him dropping quickly to his knees, bowing his head in submission. Akamaru flattened himself beside Kiba, whining softly in the back of his throat.

"What in all the hells did you think you were doing?" Inuzuka Tsume demanded, standing over him with her hands on her hips, glaring. Kuromaru stood behind her, a large black shadow whose glare was no less heated than his mother's.

Neji was also flat on the floor, stunned by the blow, but more sprawled then bowing. He shook his head to clear it as he pushed himself up onto his knees. He raised his head and gave Kiba's mother a look that could kill. "That hurt," he snapped.

She gave him a scornful look. "If you can't take that much without complaining, you're a pitiful excuse for a ninja," she retorted. "Sit and be silent until I'm done with Kiba; this is no business of yours."

Kiba hunched a little further down, a whine to match Akamaru's escaping his throat. He'd expected her to be angry that he hadn't come home to report on the situation before going to the Hyuuga compound, but he hadn't expected her to be this angry. If he'd had dog ears, they'd have been flattened to his head. Akamaru's certainly were.

Neji rose to his feet, a little unsteady. "It damages me more than it does him," he growled, livid at her words. "And I am not your child, nor am I a dog. I will not 'be silent'. Deliver your tongue-lashing if you must, but I am not subject to your barbaric forms of punishment."

"Sit!" she ordered again, pointing to the floor at his feet. "The only reason you're even present is because I can't separate the two of you. I don't particularly care what kind of status you have within the Hyuuga clan, this is my clan and you are nothing more than a genin who would do well to learn to show respect to his betters."

Kiba cringed. Neji was accomplishing nothing more than to piss his mother off further, and he was the one who was going to have to deal with it. "Will you just sit down and shut up?" he hissed at his teammate.

Neji glared at Kiba, and then up at his mother. The way Kiba was cringing and submitting was tripping off something very deep-seated and very, very angry inside him, and he struggled to control it. "My apologies for my disrespect," he said finally, his voice bitter cold, as he sat down on the floor in the spot she indicated. He turned his head deliberately away from Kiba and tried not to listen.

Seeing that he didn't intend to interfere further, she nodded once and promptly ignored him entirely. Turning her full attention back to her cringing son, she scowled. "So. Perhaps you'd care to inform me as to the thought process that led to you ordering Akamaru back here without you?" she growled. "I'm sure it was quite fascinating. Was he injured?"

...ah, SHIT. So that's what this was all about. Kiba flattened himself a little further. "No, ma'am," he replied humbly. His mother knew the puppy hadn't been injured, of course. She was driving home a point.

"So?" She raised an eyebrow at him. "Was it perhaps too dangerous where you were going for you to want to risk him, then?"

"No, ma'am," he repeated, hanging his head. Looking back on it now, his reasons for sending his partner away seemed rather silly. Akamaru had been so reluctant to go, too.

"Well, then. Exactly what was it that caused you to order him to abandon his duty to you, and your duty to him, hmmm?" She raised the other brow, her voice now dangerously soft.

"I, uh..." he glanced down at the puppy, who looked back up at him with soulful eyes. "I thought he'd be happier here at home, since I wasn't going anywhere I'd need him."

She stepped forward and he flinched, expecting a blow. She didn't touch him, but he knew it was only because of his link to Neji. The knowledge that it would have been coming was enough to achieve the effect she wanted, anyway.

"If it kills me, I am going to drill this into your head," she growled. "There is no excuse for you to abandon him like that! Do you have any idea how miserable he was, being ordered away from you? Can you even imagine how frantic he was when he realized you were in trouble and he wasn't there to help?"

Apologies were useless at this point. "Yes, ma'am," he murmured. And he could; it would be how he would feel if Akamaru were in danger when he wasn't around. "I won't do it again, ma'am."

"You'd better not," she snapped, stepping away again. He dared to look up slightly. She still looked angry, but somewhat appeased by his submission. "If I catch you without him again for any reason short of a debilitating injury on his part, I'll skin you alive, you hear me?" He nodded.

"Good. Now," she turned to Neji again. "I spoke to your uncle again before returning here. Between our clans and the anbu, we're fairly certain we've taken care of all the attackers. The Hyuuga compound is going to remain on guard for a few days, and all the clan members are restricted to the grounds, but that's just a precaution. Hinata and Hanabi have been removed to a safe location, much as you have been. The main problem at this point is all the people who think this attack was an attempt to get you put in line as the next clan head."

Neji was unaccountably relieved that she hadn't continued to abuse her son in his presence. In comparison, she had been quite gentle. He looked up and met her eyes fearlessly. "I'm aware of that, Inuzuka-san," he said, his voice and manner completely calm. "I'm not certain how to deal with that, but I'm sure a solution will present itself."

She nodded. "Hiashi doesn't believe you've got anything to do with it; that's all that truly matters. You're welcome here as long as you need the refuge, although," she scowled slightly at him, "I'll ask you to show a bit more respect than you were a moment before. Your ways are not our ways; do not presume to try to force your sensibilities on us. This is our clan and you are a guest here, remember that."

To his credit, Neji reddened with shame. "I...I'm sorry, Inuzuka-san. You're right." I still don't like it, though.

"All right." Moving back, Tsume buried her hand in Kuromaru's ruff and absently stroked the soft fur, thinking. "Kiba, you might as well take over that room you two were using earlier. You two are being removed from active duty for the moment; you'd be worse than useless with this damn jutsu tying you together, anyway. It'd be best if you didn't have anyone over; the fewer people who know Neji is here, the better."

Neji nodded in agreement. As though we'd have a party to celebrate our union! he thought, repressing a snort of amusement.

"Shikamaru and the others will coming looking for me eventually," Kiba pointed out. "Though I guess since there are people who know Neji and I are stuck together, in order to hide him we have to hide me too, don't we? So I suppose you'll just have to tell them I never came home." He glanced down at his partner. "That means you have to stay out of sight too, Akamaru. If they see you, they'll know I'm around." The puppy barked his agreement.

"That's settled, then," his mother declared. "There's no way we can hide from the rest of the clan that you're here, but they'll keep their mouths shut. So you've got the run of the compound, just stay away from the outer walls."

She strode towards the door, ruffling Kiba's hair on the way by much as she'd tousled the dog's fur a moment before. He tilted his head into the contact and grinned at her, relieved that he'd apparently been forgiven his screw-up. "Stay out of trouble," she admonished them both as she left.

Once she was gone, Kiba gave an explosive sigh and straightened from his subdued half crouch, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, that could have gone a lot worse."

Neji twitched, rising to his feet. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know how you deal with her, if she's normally worse than that."

"Huh?" Kiba gave him a bewildered look. Standing, he stretched, working out the kinks from flattening himself like that. "What do you mean? It's not supposed to be pleasant to get chewed out, that would defeat the purpose."

Neji gave him a measuring look. "She must have really hurt you, for you to be so frightened of her," he said, an oddly gentle tone creeping into his voice that Kiba had never heard from him before.

Now truly lost, Kiba just sort of gaped at him, trying to find something to say. "What on earth gives you the idea that I'm frightened of her?" he finally asked, puzzled. "Not that she couldn't hand me my ass without even breaking a sweat, but she'd never hurt me."

Neji blinked in confusion. "But...the way you were cowering like that. You seemed so terrified. I've never seen you like that before." What the hell is going on?

"Well, yeah." Kiba was no less confused than Neji. "She's alpha, Neji. I barely even qualify as a gamma. But I wasn't terrified, I was just submitting." He was sort of vaguely aware that those terms probably didn't mean much to the older boy, but it wasn't like other people didn't have authority hierarchies that they followed. His mother was at the top of the Inuzuka pack structure, and Kiba was near the bottom. What was so hard to understand about that?

Neji hesitated, frowning. "You weren't afraid?" he asked tentatively.

"No more'n I would be of any alpha," Kiba replied, shrugging. "I mean, I've got a healthy fear of pissing her off, but if there's any kid that doesn't feel that way about their parents, they seriously need some more discipline!"

Neji eyed Kiba for another moment, understanding beginning to dawn. "So...the way you were cowering was just a... pack domination thing." He coloured. "I guess I got angry for nothing."

Oddly, Kiba found he was touched by Neji's protective anger. Probably nothing more than 'watch your teammate's back' syndrome, but... I wasn't even sure he gave that much of a damn about me. "Trust me, that was nothing compared to what you'd have seen me doing if she'd really been pissed off," he assured his teammate dryly. "It's just a way of acknowledging her authority, I guess. Like saluting or bowing or any other show of respect."

Neji nodded thoughtfully, looking somewhat disturbed, but no longer afraid for Kiba. "I...suppose that makes sense." He smiled at Kiba wryly. "Have I mentioned that you have a very weird family?"

"We're not weird, the rest of you are," Kiba countered with a grin, heading for the door. "And I'll take our way of doing it over yours any day.

"You want breakfast?" he added as he pulled open the door. Then he scowled down at his feet as the puppies swarmed him again, yapping excitedly. "No, not you!" he exclaimed in affectionate exasperation. "You've been fed already this morning, you can't fool me."

Not sure he agreed with Kiba's assessment, but also not sure he was referring to Neji's system, or the Hyuuga system, Neji shrugged. When the door opened, he rolled his eyes at the dogs. "Breakfast sounds excellent," he agreed.

"What is with you guys, anyway?" Kiba demanded, scooping up four of the squirming furballs into his arms, purely in an attempt to keep them out from underfoot. "You'd think you never saw an outsider before. Hinata comes over all the time!" Two of the puppies in his arms barked in unison, and he rolled his eyes. "Oh, I get it. You think he's gonna play with you like she does, huh? I wouldn't hold your breath."

Akamaru grabbed another of the puppies by the scruff of the neck, leaving it dangling from his mouth with an adorably confused look on its face. Hoshi, the only one still free, managed to squeak past both Kiba and Akamaru in order to go sniff at Neji's feet again.

Neji eyed the puppy, then grudgingly bent over and picked her up, cradling her gingerly in his arms as though he was afraid he'd break her. It's just so I don't step on her, he told himself firmly, though he couldn't help but smile at the adorable, mischievous expression.

Snuggling in contentedly, Hoshi licked his knuckles before going on to try to chew on the dangling strap of his headband. Catching sight of the two of them, and in particular the look on Neji's face, Kiba had to hide his expression lest Neji realize he was smiling like that. "Well, you know from being out in the field with me that you don't want to eat my cooking. Might as well go over to the communal kitchen, I suppose. They'll have something around, even if it's just fruit and biscuits."

Neji pulled the strap out of Hoshi's paws. "Stop that," he admonished her sharply. Then he realized that Kiba was talking to him. He looked up. "Oh," he said, somewhat distractedly. "Sure. Anything is fine."

Hoshi yipped softly in protest at having her new chewtoy taken away, but accepted Neji's admonition that she wasn't to chew on it. She mouthed at the joint of Neji's thumb instead, careful not to put enough pressure on it for her sharp little fangs to break the skin.

Kiba had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at Neji's distracted tone of voice. Nothing like a young, furry, friendly animal to break through someone's reserve.

"The puppies aren't allowed outside the building, they're too young," he said as they approached the main door, though he was reluctant to separate the two. He'd have offered to let Neji take just Hoshi out, but he figured if he called attention to the fact that Neji was enjoying having the dog with him, the older boy would promptly put her down and refuse to have anything more to do with her.

The teeth felt odd, but not unpleasant, though the spittle left behind was a little disgusting. At Kiba's words, Neji glanced up at him. "Ah, OK," he said. "She'll have to stay here, then." Though there was no outward sign of reluctance as he pulled his thumb out of Hoshi's mouth and set her down on the floor, he felt a tinge of regret. You're being stupid, he told himself. She's just a dumb-- well, OK, not dumb, but an animal, nonetheless.

"You guys stay," Kiba said sternly to the puppies, as Akamaru deposited his mouthful with the others Kiba set down. "You know the rules - if you make a break for the door when I open it I will tell Kuromaru that you've been misbehaving." As one they whined and flattened themselves, much like Kiba had been doing before his mother. "Well, don't misbehave, then," he chided them with a grin.

Neji watched the puppies' behaviour curiously as Kiba opened the door and they walked through it, leaving them behind. I wonder if it ever feels weird to him to be acting like a dog, rather than a human being, he wondered. Probably not.

Once outside Kiba sniffed at the air, automatically checking to see who was around. A bunch of his cousins, of course; his father's scent was several hours old, so he hadn't been back to the house since he'd left that morning. His mother's scent was strong, and laced with anger going in, but worry coming out.

"Feels weird not to be going to training," he remarked as he headed for the common area of the compound. Akamaru trotted at his side, occasionally ranging out to investigate things to either side of the path, or to greet the other dogs who were wandering around.

"I know what you mean," Neji agreed. "Normally, I'd have been up training for hours already. I feel... wrong."

"I repeat what I said yesterday about us getting bored quickly," Kiba commented wryly. "We're both used to being active, and now we can't even go out of the compound! Well, the puppies will be happy, anyway - they don't usually have people around all day to pay attention to them." He snorted in amusement.

Nodding, Neji winced. "I'm not used to filling my days with meals and sitting around," he agreed. "Do you have any suggestions? We can only read so long..."

"Well... we did pretty well fighting back to back over the girls this morning," Kiba said thoughtfully as they approached a long, low building. "Maybe we should try practicing under constricted conditions? Like, in hallways, or when you need to protect someone."

He pushed open the door to reveal a large hall, filled with benches and tables, not unlike the cafeteria they'd had at the Academy. "Aw, man, the hot food's already gone," Kiba noted the empty serving area at the far end with dismay. Well, it wasn't really surprising - it was well after breakfast time for a shinobi clan like the Inuzuka, though 'normal' people would probably still be just starting their day.

There was plenty of cold food laid out on a sideboard, however; meat and cheese and bread and greens, anything that would keep well between meals. There were a few people and dogs scattered throughout the hall, most of who waved a greeting to Kiba and gave Neji a curious look.

Neji glanced around, his expression neutral. "It's like the cafeteria at the academy," he remarked, following Kiba towards the sideboard and grabbing a plate. "You all eat here every day?" he asked curiously.

"We've all got kitchens too, but most of the families like mine where all the members are shinobi just don't have time to deal with food," Kiba replied as he started piling sandwiches together. "Some of the non-combatants take care of things like cooking for everyone here, or cleaning, or whatever else needs to be done. Isn't that kind of how they do it with you guys?"

"Yes, it's basically the same," Neji said, nodding. He began to form sandwiches, making neat piles of bread, cheese and meat on his plate. "But we don't all tend to congregate nearly so much. We are split up more into family groups within the family. Parents and their children, and maybe grandparents, have their own houses within the compound, and eat their meals separately."

"Different priorities, I guess," Kiba said. "For us, the individual families aren't as important as the clan as a whole. Socializing is important... you've gotta know your pack." He shrugged, picked up his plate, and made his way to an empty table. Akamaru hopped up on the bench beside him, sniffing at the plate, and he absently slipped his partner a piece of ham.

Neji sat down across from Kiba, setting his tray down in front of him. "I think we've pretty well established that our families are completely different," he said wryly. He picked up his sandwich and took a bite.

Conversation generally fell to the wayside when food was presented to hungry teenaged boys, and this was no exception. By the time their plates were clear, Kiba felt about a hundred times better; Akamaru was with him again, he wasn't in the Hyuuga compound, he'd gotten the confrontation with his mother over with, and he wasn't hungry for the moment.

"So, what do you think, should we go practice back-to-back fighting?" he asked as he shoved the plate over for Akamaru to lick the juices clean. "I'm sure some of my cousins will be up to a sparring session if we want live opponents."

Neji nodded thoughtfully. "It certainly can't hurt for us to learn how to fight this way," he said. "And I can't imagine a day without training." He stood up, grabbing his tray. "Let's do it."

The compound had a large training area, and it wasn't hard to find willing sparring partners. Most of the off-duty Inuzuka fighters were thrilled by the chance to fight a Hyuuga, regardless of the fact that he was hampered by his link to Kiba.

It didn't take them long to confirm the fact that their usual fighting styles were not well suited to restricted situations. They were good enough fighters to be able to compensate to a certain degree, but they also wound up tripping over each other as often as not, much to the amusement of Kiba's cousins.

Neither of them was particularly happy with leaving things at that, and they quickly began to work out variations on their usual styles. Lunchtime came and went without them even noticing, they were so absorbed in perfecting their new techniques. As they learned to work together more smoothly and began actually relying on each other instead of trying to fight separately-but-together, they started winning more matches than they lost.

Then they started winning, period. It evolved into a sort of round-robin challenge match, with a new Inuzuka fighter or team jumping in to replace each group Kiba and Neji defeated. To Kiba's surprise and glee, they were even easily defeating some of the older chuunin-ranked shinobi.

The battle finally ended when his sister showed up and joined with another of their jounin-ranked cousins, though they gave the two women and their dogs a run for their money. Kiba even dared to think that had he and Neji and Akamaru been less exhausted from a full day of fighting already, they just might have won.

"Good fight," Hana commented with a grin as she tugged on the wires pinning Kiba and Akamaru to a tree, releasing them. Neji was flat on his face on the ground, one of the massive dogs trapping his arms, and another draped over his thighs to keep him still. In a real fight, he'd have had his spine snapped by those powerful jaws in half a second flat.

Neji held still until the dogs finally released him, sitting up and brushing off some clinging dirt from his pants and shirt. He was exhausted, but that had been the most fun he could ever remember having in his life. Oddly, he and Kiba made a great team - once they'd gotten over their egos. Despite himself, he was smiling as he got to his feet.

It was then that it finally hit him, and he sagged against a tree, bruises and cuts that he didn't remember getting - which meant they must have been Kiba's - pulsed with pain. "Oh...Fuck," he muttered, trying to stand up straight.

Caught up in the adrenalin rush of battle, Kiba had been completely unaware of receiving the minor cuts and scrapes and bruises that were just a normal part of sparring. He could feel them now that the rush was wearing off, but it wasn't enough to bother him.

Neji, however, felt all of Kiba's injuries worse than he did, he remembered with a bit of guilt. "Oops. Shit, I forgot," he said regretfully as he moved to help support Neji. "I was having so much fun I didn't even think about it."

Neji shook his head. "Not your fault," he said firmly. "I should have thought of it before." With Kiba's help, he finally straightened up, though he still leaned slightly on the other boy. "I think I need to do something a little less active for a while," he said ruefully. "I'll be all right, with some rest."

"That jutsu is fairly nasty, isn't it?" Hana commented, raising an eyebrow. "Still, at least some good has come of it. You looked like you'd both picked up a few new tricks there."

Kiba grinned at her. "Come back and fight us later when we're not so tired, nee-san," he challenged her. "We almost had you a few times there!"

"Almost doesn't count in battle, little brother," she proclaimed, ruffling his hair briefly before turning away. "I'm on guard duty soon. Go get something to eat and take care of those injuries."

Neji smiled at Kiba's sister. "We would have had you," he muttered, though loudly for her to hear. Then he glanced at Kiba. "I don't suppose we could get food and eat it in your room," he said, eyeing the stream of Inuzuka who were heading for the cafeteria building. He didn't really relish eating amongst a horde of boisterous ninja and even more boisterous dogs. All of whom would be looking at - and talking about - him.

"Yeah sure, if you don't mind scrounging again," Kiba agreed. He didn't particularly want to deal with endless questions about why Neji was there or what had happened last night from his cousins, either. Turning, he headed back towards his family's building, away from the main areas. "There'll be food of some description in our kitchen, I guess. We can skip the question and answer session entirely."

Neji limped along after Kiba. "That sounds excellent," he said, some of his relief entering his tone. "Also, the fewer people who know I'm here, and why, the better. Not that your family is untrustworthy, but if one of the Hyuuga could betray us, I'm unwilling to trust anyone at this point."

"Heh. I hate to break it to you, but everybody probably already knows you're here," Kiba said sympathetically. "They'd have caught your scent going in the gate, and you haven't gone OUT again. But Kaa-san will have passed around the word that it's not to be discussed, so don't worry about it too much."

"But they don't necessarily know why," Neji pointed out, shrugging. "It doesn't really matter, I suppose."

"They'll know you're not officially here, so they won't accidentally mention it to an outsider," Kiba said. As they approached the door, he could already hear the excited barking of the puppies on the other side of it. He rolled his eyes. "Oh for... they're really getting attached to you, aren't they? I think Hoshi's decided you're her new favourite toy."

Neji frowned, steeling himself for the horde this time. He wasn't planning to go all squishy this time, damnit! "I don't understand why they like me so much," he complained.

"Because you're new, and that makes you interesting," Kiba explained, opening the door and shoving the overeager puppies back with one foot so he could get in. They were careful not to cross the threshold, he noted with amusement; apparently his threat to tell their mother about their misbehaviour had sunk in.

Hoshi squirmed past him and yapped at Neji's ankles, imperiously demanding to be picked up so she could play with her new toy again. Kiba stifled a snicker, shutting the door behind them.

Neji frowned down at the puppy. "She's very loud," he said irritably. He repressed the urge to pick her up to make her quiet down. After all, it would only encourage her.

"Takes after her mother," Kiba muttered, which earned him glares and growls from Hoshi and her siblings. He laughed and ducked into the kitchen, where they excitedly followed him, hoping for food. Hoshi stuck close to Neji, however, worrying at his ankles in reprimand for ignoring her.

Neji high-stepped, trying to keep his ankles out of Hoshi's teeth. "Argh!" he finally growled in frustration, bending down to pick her up. "Stupid thing..."

Happy that he'd finally listened to her, she wriggled out of his grasp and climbed up on his shoulder, sniffing at his hair and ear. Kiba couldn't quite contain his laughter, coming out in strangled little coughs that he quickly turned away to try to hide.

Neji glared daggers at Kiba, holding completely still so as not to dislodge the puppy. "When... this... nightmare... is over... you... are... dead," he growled, though he couldn't quite repress the gasps of laughter that were bubbling up inside him, as well.

"She likes you," Kiba informed him, his voice only slightly strangled by the laughter he was still trying to suppress. "Just pick her up again and cradle her... oh, here," he added, seeing that Neji was afraid to move for fear of her falling off. He scooped the puppy up despite her indignant yap, and deposited her back into Neji's arms. "Behave, Hoshi." She groused and snuggled back into Neji's arms, sniffing at his sleeve instead.

Neji relaxed, holding the puppy in his arms again. "Animals are weird," was his solemn pronouncement. "Now, where is the food? And the first aid kit..."

Kiba managed to get them both patched up without even having to dislodge the determined puppy, and made instant ramen for them as well. "Not exactly gourmet, but it'll do," he declared as he scooped it into bowls and carried it out into the main rooms. "You want to eat out here, or in the spare room?"

Neji shrugged. "Anywhere I can sit down," he said fervently. "I haven't felt this beaten up since my fight with the spider-ninja."

"It's that bad?" Kiba frowned. For the most part, his injuries weren't even bothering him; they were just the usual practice-induced scrapes and bruises. But he'd seen Neji after the fight with the Sound ninja; he'd been the next thing to dead.

He led them into the main room, which had several low-slung couch-like things that could be comfortably sat or lounged on, and sprawled over one of them. Three of the puppies immediately jumped into his lap, and Akamaru curled up beside him.

Neji sat down with a sigh. "No...I was exaggerating," he said. "But I feel like I've had my ass thoroughly kicked, that's all." He lifted an arm and inspected a long scrape. "It's definitely getting worse."

"Hmm. Well, hopefully it'll wear off soon," Kiba said, a little disappointed. If Neji was getting hurt this badly, that would mean the end of their sparring sessions, and he'd been having fun. "We should work out like that more often, though. I feel like I really got a lot out of it."

Neji nodded. "I enjoyed it, a lot," he said. "And I think we were getting the hang of it." He sighed and flexed a sore muscle, then grabbed his soup. "I think the pain goes away quickly. The bruise from Tsunade-sama's blow is gone... so it looks as though I'm not really injured, though I'm sure I could die if something really bad happened to you."

"Well, I'm not likely to get that injured in a simple sparring match," Kiba said, poking at his own ramen with his chopsticks. It was still too hot to eat, but he was starving; only now really realizing that they'd missed lunch. "We'll definitely have to try again sometime when we're not linked, though... if we don't have to worry about being careful because of damage to you, and we're not tired from spending all morning getting it right, we'll kick all their asses." He grinned.

Neji smiled. "Definitely," he said. "It'll be a good experience for us." He mixed the ramen with his own chopsticks, trying to get it to cool. "I wonder if it would work with anyone else, or if what we've learned is only applicable to us?"

"Mmm... I think some of the general stuff about modifying our own styles to account for someone else would be applicable to anybody," Kiba said thoughtfully. "But towards the end, we were getting really good at anticipating each other, and even combining our jutsu a little. That's more specific to us. Probably wouldn't hurt us to train that way with the rest of the team, though... you never know who you'll end up back-to-back with, guarding someone else who's down." His grin returned. "Bet none of them can take us, though. We make a pretty good team."

Neji smiled back. He just couldn't help himself - Kiba's enthusiasm was so infectious. And he was pumped about what they had accomplished - he'd never combined with anyone else and found it made him more effective, before - he just didn't normally show it so overtly. "You're right, we do make a good team," he said.

He lifted his chopsticks and began to eat with enthusiasm.

Immediately he ran into problems... on his lap, Hoshi had decided the dangling noodles looked like either fun, food or both. She started batting at them, trying to catch them in her paws to bring them to her mouth. Once again stifling his laughter, Kiba turned to his own food and started eating with the ease of long practice at shielding his food from overeager puppies. Though he did slip them each a bit of noodle or pork at one point or another.

Neji tried to emulate Kiba's way of hunching over his food, holding it protectively, but pretty soon he was splattered with soup stock, in addition to the dust he was already covered with. "You're just encouraging them!" he snapped finally, seeing Kiba giving one of the puppies a bit of his food.

Shoulders hunched and shaking with laughter, Kiba couldn't reply for a long moment as he tried to collect himself. "If you just give her a bit, that'll keep her occupied and out of your way while you eat the rest," he finally advised the older boy, dark eyes dancing with mirth. "The only other way to deal with them is to put them out. I can do that if you want." The puppies started whining pathetically at his words, and Hoshi looked up at Neji with big, shiny eyes.

Neji glared down at the puppy. I am unmoved by her eyes. Unmoved. "Very well," he resigned himself to it, pulling out a piece of meat and dropping it into the puppy's lap, then quickly beginning to bolt his food.

Growling happily, she pounced on the meat and worried it with her sharp little teeth, gnawing at it. One of her siblings crept towards Neji, hoping to score another bite for himself, and she chased him off with a possessive yap.

Watching with one eyebrow raised, Kiba paused in his own eating. "Oi, Hoshi," he finally said, amused. "You do know he's not an Inuzuka, right?" Neji was wearing his clothes, which probably made him smell a bit like one of Kiba's family. Hoshi was a bit young to be forming attachments, but it wasn't unheard of for a dog to bond that young... Akamaru hadn't been much older when he was presented to Kiba. Still, not only was Neji not a clan member, he didn't have the training or inbred abilities necessary to be able to understand or bond with the dogs properly. He didn't want Hoshi to make a mistake and end up upset that she couldn't have him.

Neji blinked, looking at Kiba. "What do you mean? Why wouldn't she know I'm not an Inuzuka?" And what happens if she doesn't?

"You've got my scent on you 'cause of the clothes," Kiba told him, shaking his head. "I'm just making sure she knows she's not allowed to keep you... you're going home eventually, after all." Hoshi sniffed imperiously and wagged her tail, as if laughing at the very idea that she wouldn't be aware that Neji was an outsider.

"Keep me?" Horror dawned in Neji's face, though he relaxed somewhat as Hoshi seemed to react negatively to the idea. "No, you can't keep me. I don't want a dog," he said emphatically.

She barked imperiously at him, and Kiba sputtered with laughter through the bite of ramen he'd just taken. Hastily swallowing, he couldn't resist translating. "She says you're just going to have to resign yourself to the idea, at least for as long as you're here... she's bound and determined to 'train you properly'."

"Train me?" Neji glared down at the dog. "And what does training me entail?"

The puppy gave him a sweetly innocent expression in return, and licked her nose cutely. Kiba was still snickering. "Mostly just getting you to do what she tells you to... like picking her up, paying attention to her, or giving her some of your food. I told you, she likes you."

Neji rolled his eyes, but didn't put her down. "She clearly has bad taste," he said, tapping her on the nose. Giving her another piece of meat from his bowl, he went back to eating.

She curled up in his lap with the meat, gnawing it in contentment, satisfied that she'd won a battle. Kiba ate with a smile on his lips, watching them both. It really was just too cute. Hoshi had always been standoffish, even with Hinata - hell, even with Kiba and his family. She was very much the arrogant little leader of her litter, that was certain.

He supposed he shouldn't be surprised that she'd taken such a liking to Neji - they were very similar in some ways. He had no doubt that if Neji were an Inuzuka, Hoshi would have chosen to bond to him. As it was, he suspected she would remain one of the unbonded dogs - there were more dogs than people to work with them, and many of them never found their perfect match.

Neji finally finished his bowl without further incident and set it aside, petting Hoshi absently. When the puppy wasn't being rambunctious, loud, or otherwise annoying, it was sort of pleasant having her in his lap. And it was pretty amusing, watching her growl and eat the piece of pork as though it were going to get away from her.

Having thoroughly conquered the meat, Hoshi snuggled into his petting, rolling over to give him access to her stomach in a show of complete trust. Kiba finished his own ramen and shifted to sprawl over the seat, with Akamaru draped over his legs and the rest of the puppies playing on his lap and chest.

As far as he was concerned, this was what made life worth living - a quiet moment with the ones you cared about, enjoying the simple joy in life that was the mindset of a carefree puppy. "Not a bad day, all around," he commented with a happy sigh. "Worked out a few new techniques, took on some relatively powerful fighters and won, and now we get to relax."

"Yes," Neji agreed softly, leaning unconsciously towards Kiba, just a bit, as he rubbed Hoshi's belly. "Not so bad at all..." The feeling of contentment wasn't something he felt familiar with, but he was enjoying it a great deal.

Deciding she wanted to play instead of merely being appreciated, Hoshi grabbed onto his wrist with her forepaws, chewing gently on his wrist. Kiba grinned at them as he incited one of the puppies on his chest into chasing its tail in dizzying little circles until it collapsed, panting. "They're cute at this age, aren't they? Too bad this is probably Kuromaru's last litter; she's getting old. I'll miss having puppies around."

Neji frowned, allowing Hoshi to chew on him. "They are pretty cute," he said reluctantly. "Won't Akamaru have a mate eventually?" he asked curiously.

"Yeah, probably," Kiba agreed. "If we're lucky, he'll take to the partner of whoever I marry eventually, the way my parents' dogs did. But either way, it'll be a while before he's old enough to start thinking about having pups of his own." He ruffled his partner's ears with a grin. "He's still hardly more than a puppy himself."

Neji nodded. "Would it be awkward if he didn't like the partner of your wife?" he asked curiously, wondering if it would affect Kiba, somehow.

"Nah, it just simplifies things... keeps it all in the family, so to speak," Kiba chuckled. "For one thing, if his mate is unbonded, she'll probably end up living with us too, and that might cause problems with my wife's dog. If she is bonded with someone else, well, I won't see much of the puppies, they'll all be with their mother." It always unnerved Kiba a little to talk or think about 'his wife' in concrete terms. He knew it would happen, but it was still sort of a hazy 'eventually' sort of thing. He wrinkled his nose and snorted as if to clear away a bad scent.

Neji raised his eyebrows at the gesture. "What's wrong?"

"Mmph." Kiba made an unsettled noise, and shrugged as best he could with puppies all over him. "I dunno. Just don't like thinking about it much, I guess... I'm so not ready to settle down yet." Akamaru barked his agreement.

Chuckling, Neji scratched Hoshi behind her ears. "I know what you mean. It sounds as though you dislike thinking about it as much as I do." He frowned in thought. "Is there anyone your age in your family that's a possibility to marry?" The only women he knew in Kiba's family were his sister and mother, and for so many reasons... he shuddered.

"Couple of distant cousins - none right at my age, but there's a bunch within five years of me on either side," Kiba confided. "It won't be chosen until much later, though. They have to see how far I'll get in ranking, and the girls, too." He tugged on the tail of one of the puppies, grinning as she snapped at her brother, assuming the other puppy was biting at her.

"My sister still hasn't chosen her mate," he added. "She wants to wait and see who among the males her age has the ability and ambition to match her. She's got a good chance of being the next clan head, if her mate is strong enough."

Neji nodded in understanding. "Your clan politics are a lot more complicated than mine," he said. He smothered a yawn, still petting the puppy, who was getting antsy in his lap. She seemed to be torn between joining her siblings in their current romp, and keeping control over Neji's lap. He wondered curiously which would win, or if she would fall asleep before a decision was made.

"Eh, they don't seem all that complicated to me, but I suppose that's just 'cause I'm used to them," Kiba acknowledged, stiffling a yawn of his own in response to Neji's.

Glancing at the clock that hung over the mantle, he frowned. "Damn, I didn't realize it was all that late already. My family'll be back soon... dunno if you want to get caught in the chaos that can ensue when we're all around." Another yawn caught him off guard, and he gave in to it before he realized it was coming. "You wanna crash and avoid them, maybe? We worked pretty hard today."

Eliciting a whine of protest, Neji put Hoshi on the ground. She whimpered at him, but when he remained steadfast, she ran off to play with her siblings. "Yes, please," he said firmly. "I am not up to dealing with any sort of 'chaos' right now."

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