FicWad

This chapter is rated R-ish

Disclaimer: don't own it, don't profit from it. This is all for my own personal enjoyment (and hopefully yours as well).

A/N: Beta'd yet again by the fantastic omgcats.

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Kiba was drunk. Eight beers, five shots, and four hours later he'd reached the point where he was unable to think too deeply about anything.

Standing at the kitchen sink he could hear Akamaru grumbling behind him. He knew his friend was upset about being stuck at the bar for so long. Digging around in the cookie jar he pulled out a treat and tossed it to the waiting dog; it was little in the way of compensation but Akamaru accepted it, albeit grudgingly. He'd apologize properly tomorrow, with a nice long run through the outlying forest. They both could certainly use a bit of cleansing exercise.

Finding a clean glass took a bit of searching but Kiba found one eventually. He downed a full glass of water before refilling it and heading to the bathroom to take a couple of pre-emptive pain pills and wash the taste of beer from his mouth.

Kiba stared at his reflection as he brushed his teeth. He looked tired, dark circles smudging the flesh beneath his eyes. There was a healing cut that slanted from his right temple past the corner of his eye to the ridge of his cheekbone, just touching his clan tattoo. It was a gift from the bastard in Earth Country. The wound was healing nicely, the redness faded daily, and it would probably leave only the barest of scars. Not too bad as far as mission souvenirs went.

He turned away from the mirror and switched off the light, padding silently across the hall into his tiny bedroom. Despite his level of inebriation he moved noiselessly, reflexes honed by years of training.

After setting his usual array of traps Kiba peeled off his clothes, dropping them into a pile to be dealt with in the morning. Akamaru was already curled up on the bed, taking up most of the space. Apparently he wasn't disgruntled enough to give Kiba the cold shoulder.

Kiba climbed under the covers, stretching, shaking the tension from his muscles. The sheets were still cool and the smooth slide of them against his skin was soothing. His mind wanted to imagine that the cool brush of cotton across his back was Neji's fingers but he resolutely pushed that fantasy aside. He'd drunk himself nearly to oblivion to forget the asshole.

Reaching out Kiba ruffled the fur on Akamaru's side, the hair rough and familiar against his hand. When he was small he would sleep curled around the dog, protector and protected. It'd been years since he could embrace his friend like that and in that span of years the roles between them had settled into ambiguity. Kiba could see the moonlight reflecting in Akamaru's dark eyes. Tonight he was the protected.

After a final affectionate pat Kiba turned over onto his stomach, burrowing under the covers until only the pale oval of his face was showing.

The alcohol made falling asleep easy.

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They had been deployed to Tea Country to assassinate a politician, Shijo Eito, and retrieve some politically sensitive documents held in his possession. The man had become a nuisance to the government, largely because of his attempts to blackmail the Daimyo. The Daimyo wanted those papers back and had been willing to pay top price for their return. His top price had bought ANBU.

The Hokage had sent a four man ANBU team composed of Ram, Dog, Rooster, and Tiger. Ram, Tiger, and Rooster had worked together before, knew one an others idiosyncrasies and methods. Kiba had worked with Ram and Tiger in other capacities, hell they'd been friends for years, but Rooster was an unknown. Older than them by a few years the rumor mill said she was slated to retire back to jounin soon. Rooster was quiet, as serious and as focused as the other two. Kiba wondered what she looked like under the mask.

It was dark, the moon a crescent sliver that provided very little light. Perfect for a mission like this one. A soft steady rain dripped down through the leafy canopy.

They had taken up stations around Shijo's mansion, each at a cardinal point. The manor was huge, crawling with guards, but their intel was good and they knew where their man would be. The politician, or at least his head of security, was smart; there was at least one hundred yards of clear-cut land between Kiba and the target. He and Akamaru were concealed in the forest to the north of the compound, waiting for Ram's signal, shadows among shadows.

This mission was Kiba's third for ANBU, his tattoo freshly healed and dark against his skin. His third mission but already he'd learned and adjusted to the changed priorities.

The radio in his ear crackled to life and they were on the move, fast and deadly across the clearing. Kiba took out a pair of guards patrolling a side entrance, kunai cutting deep, severing muscles and arteries. He was already moving away as they fell, focusing on the next doorway, and the next set of opponents, methodically working his way towards his objective. Get to Shijo's office, procure the documents and retreat, all while as being as inconspicuous as possible and taking down any potential witnesses. He slipped through the opulent interior, not noticing the intricate woodwork and priceless artifacts.

He ran into three men on his way. One had stumbled at the sight of the huge dog at Kiba's side, leaving him open to a precisely aimed kunai. They were all well trained, undoubtedly dangerous to the average intruder, but in no way capable of handling someone of his caliber. They fell as swiftly as their comrades, a quick twist of his wrist and a flash of steel all he needed.

Kiba had only one more hallway to maneuver through before he was at the politician's set of rooms. The hall was quiet and, when he arrived at the door, there was no one standing guard. According to the information they'd gathered, that discrepancy was a break in protocol.

Suspicious, Kiba slid the door open and slipped into the room, Akamaru still at his heels. It was a waiting room of sorts, where people seeking audience with the politician could wait before being called into the inner sanctum. Leaving Akamaru to watch the door he moved deeper into the suite. Crossing through the dim seating area he approached the door to the office, adjusting the blood-slicked kunai in his grasp.

It had been less than five minutes since the go ahead from the captain; Rooster should have reached the politician.

Crouching down he pressed close to the door. There was a slight noise behind it, far too faint for ears not trained to hear such things. That too was suspicious; Shijo was supposed to be enjoying his nightly liaison, not still occupying his study. The politician's scent was layered over everything, but it was a few hours old at least. Who ever the person in the office was, it wasn't Shijo.

There was a flare of chakra from the room and Kiba scrambled backwards, muttering expletives beneath his breathe. Akamaru was at his side in an instant, alert and ready for whatever came through the door. There was a tense second of waiting before the door exploded outward, wood splintering into hundreds razor sharp shards.

The man who stepped through was huge, easily a head taller than Kiba, and no doubt twice as wide. A ragged scar cut along the left side of his face, temple to jugular.

He was in the Bingo Book, a missing-nin from Hidden Mist. Kiba couldn't for the life of him remember his name, only that he was a B-class criminal.

Judging from the man's uniform, he was probably also the missing guard from the entrance.

Dropping into a fighting stance, Kiba's smiled behind his dog mask. The guards he'd run into earlier had been nothing, but this man, this man was going to be a challenge.

The fight was vicious; the missing-nin was surprisingly fast for his size, and he landed blows heavy as boulders on Kiba. He appeared to be mainly a taijutsu user, though Kiba would bet this missions paycheck that he'd enhanced the power in his arms in some way. The space was too small for Kiba to fully use his ninjutsu so he was forced to rely on his own taijutsu expertise. Thank God for Naruto and his never ending quest, all that sparring had paid off.

He and Akamaru picked and pecked at the man's defenses, starlings against a hawk, wearing him down little by little. The missing-nin may have been fast, but Kiba was faster and it wasn't long before stripes of red were showing through the man's uniform. A few more well placed hits and it was over, the huge man tumbling to the floor. The fight had taken less than five minutes.

"That was a B-class criminal?" He spoke softly to Akamaru, earning something of an amused look from his companion.

Shaking his head he left the man where he lay momentarily, slipping into the office to take stock of the situation there. To an untrained eye everything looked normal, orderly. There were no visible signs that the place had been searched. Nodding to Akamaru he left the dog to investigate with his nose, trying to determine where the guard had searched.

Back in the waiting room, Kiba knelt down next to the body and began rifling through the big man's clothes, looking for any places where the document could have been concealed. Akamaru returned to him shortly, his soft bark confirming what he had suspected. The office had been thoroughly searched. To his surprise the man didn't have the documents on him. Maybe they'd interrupted him before he could find them.

The radio crackled back to life.

"Status?" Ram's voice held none of its usual lazy drawl. It'd been nearly fifteen minutes since they began. They were pushing the time limit.

"Mission accomplished, but I ran into a missing-nin." Rooster's voice was quiet and calm across the radio. "He's been dealt with."

"Dog?"

"I hit a snag with a missing-nin too. And if the docs are here I'm not seein' them."

"My mark has them. Heading west." Tiger sounded like he was running, focused and intent on his prey.

Kiba wanted to ask why the hell Tiger hadn't told tell them that helpful bit of information earlier, but he held it back. Barely.

"Rooster, Dog, coordinates 33 35N 137 81E."

In less than a minute Kiba and Akamaru were slipping out the door, back the way they came. This wing of the manor must not be used much after dark, as no one seemed to have discovered the men he'd taken down on the way in. Luck was apparently on his side. He paused for a second at the threshold, taking a quick moment to scan the clearing before making a dash for the cover of the trees.

The coordinates were farther into the forest, northwest of the manor, one of three agreed on rendezvous points. Ram was a good captain; he planned for all contingencies.

Both Rooster and Ram had already arrived at the edge of the shallow pool by the time he made it there. Rooster was kneeling, dipping her hands into the cool water. It was too dark to see well but Kiba could smell the blood on her. Quite a bit of it was hers.

"Can you track him?"

Pulling his attention from Rooster, Kiba shrugged. "Sure, no prob."

Without hesitation he turned, jumping the creek that fed into the pool and setting off after his team member. Kiba set a steady pace, Akamaru in the lead, hearing Ram and Rooster fall into place behind him. Her stride seemed slightly off and he wondered how bad her injuries really were.

The forest was dense, thick with giant trees and Kiba guessed that even if the moon had been full it wouldn't have been of any use to them, the canopy above blocked out the sky completely. The rain had stopped at some point but droplets still fell from the leaves above them.

The rain and damp had muted Tiger's scent a bit but he'd left a fairly obvious trail for them to follow. They caught up to him soon enough, perching in the trees to watch what they could of his battle. He'd been in charge of monitoring the movements of Shijo's head of security. Obviously the man had some concept about what was happening if he'd had the presence of mind to grab the documents and run. They'd undoubtedly sell for a large sum of money to any number of corrupt individuals.

Kiba wished he could see Tiger better; he was fascinating to watch in battle. It'd been a few years since he'd been able to watch him up close. Tiger had been one of the first of their age group to join ANBU, and Kiba found his style just as enthralling as he had when he was younger. Tiger was a fitting alias for him, as lithe and graceful and deadly as any predatory jungle cat.

The politician's man was a ninja as well, possibly A-class, and an earth jutsu user. The smell of freshly turned earth, clay, and the decomposition of green things, assaulted Kiba's nose. He wondered if the man could see what he was doing or if he was just throwing out jutsu's, hoping to get lucky. Pity for him, Tiger could see in the dark.

It was over fast, a few minutes past their arrival the man was on the ground, breath rattling harshly in his lungs. Ram dropped to the ground next to him, Rooster following closely behind. Kiba stayed in the trees, backup should anything occur.

"Tiger?"

"We're clear for the moment."

"Rooster." His voice had slipped back slightly into its usual bored tone.

She nodded, forming seals rapidly before placing her hands on the fallen man. He slumped to the ground, obviously unconscious, possibly dying, though Kiba couldn't tell from the distance. He could hear the slight sound of rustling cloth as she searched through his clothing. She found the missing documents quickly, handing them over to Ram for safe keeping. There was a tiny hiss as Ram flicked his lighter, using the tiny flame to verify that the papers recovered were actually the ones they were after.

"What are the chances he'll make it to interrogation?"

"It's not likely."

"Fuck." Kiba could practically hear the 'how troublesome' lurking in Ram's voice. He didn't say it much any more but it was usually implied. Ram stood silently for a moment, undoubtedly considering and discarding several of the plans in his head.

"Tiger, Dog, I need you to run interference, the usual arrangement. Rooster and I will deal with him."

Kiba spoke his assent before taking off into the forest with Akamaru at his side, knowing Tiger would go in the opposite direction. Both would swing around, leaving circuitous trails for anyone who might be following. They were all experienced, concealing their tracks was second nature, but it never hurt to be cautious.

It didn't take long before Kiba was out of the radio's range. He stretched his legs, enjoying the cool rush of wind past his face, pushing himself to a comfortably challenging pace. He could feel Akamaru's pleasure at being allowed to run full out. No one had ever said they couldn't find enjoyment in their job.

Kiba ran the forest for a little less than an hour, on the ground and in the trees, occasionally crossing over one of Tiger's trails. There were some other trails in the forest but none were recent and he hadn't come across any evidence suggesting that they were being tracked.

Deciding to call it a night he headed towards the rendezvous point, a good five kilometers away. The sudden grumble from his stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten since the quick bite they'd all grabbed on route to Shijo's. He was looking forward to a getting something to eat when he got to the cabin.

Tiger was perched on the roof when he arrived, scanning the forest, still on the lookout. Ram had chosen a run down cabin deep in the forest. Kiba was surprised that the roof hadn't collapsed, it looked about as strong as paper. It was unfortunate that there were no shinobi hideouts in Tea Country.

"What's up?" Kiba dropped down next to Tiger as carefully as possible. A shingle dislodged itself and slid partway down the roof.

"Nothing."

"They still working him over?"

Tiger nodded, face still turned towards the trees. Kiba sighed, leaning back to lie against the rough shingles.

Pushing his mask up he rubbed a hand across his face. He hadn't fully adjusted to the mask yet; it still made him feel a little claustrophobic. Reaching into a pocket he pulled out an energy bar, breaking a large chunk off and tossing it down to Akamaru. He ate the rest in silence, contemplating the man next to him. Tiger finally turned, acknowledging his stare.

"You should take the mask off man, stupid thing's annoying and 's not like I don't know who you are."

Tiger looked at him for a moment before pushing his own mask up and off. Kiba grinned.

"Hey Neji."

Neji raised an eyebrow, not bothering to answer him. Kiba openly studied the man before him. They'd not seen much of one another since Neji joined ANBU and, since he rarely joined them at the bar, Kiba had forgotten how attractive he was. The mild fascination that been simmering since his hormones had flared to life finally ignited. Pretty and stoic were such a deliciously seductive combination.

Still grinning Kiba twisted around until he was lying with his head against Neji's leg, nearly in his lap. He reminded himself of Akamaru when he wanted a quick pat or tussle. Maybe his friends were right when they said he spent too much time with the dog. Reaching out he snagged Neji's hair, running his fingers through the long strands. It was thicker, heavier, than he thought it would be.

Neji was still staring down at him, a peculiar look on his face. Kiba had to admit he was a bit surprised that he hadn't been knocked off the roof yet. Deciding to take advantage of Neji's complacency, Kiba tugged on the strands still wound around his fingers pulling Neji's face down to his.

"You know, I've always thought you were hot." Successful missions tended to loosen his inhibitions. There was no other explanation for it really.

Kiba briefly caught the startled look of surprise on Neji's face before he was pressing his lips against Neji's. It wasn't passionate really, more friendly than anything else, but it was nice all the same. He was startled when Neji suddenly took control, the intensity of the kiss increasing instantly. Neji's tongue worried the seam of Kiba's mouth, attempting to work its way inside. Kiba resisted for a moment before submitting, allowing the warm, slick flesh to tangle with his own.

Kiba bit back a moan. Mid mission wasn't really the time or the place to be kissing but he couldn't quite make himself pull away. This scenario had definitely been in the fantasy rotation for a while.

If he had been startled when Neji had deepened the kiss, he was even more so when he felt a hand stroking his side. It raised goose bumps across his arms and he shivered at the sensation. He was used to pursuing, used to dominating. Neji was obviously used to the same.

Just as things were getting interesting, Neji suddenly froze, pushing himself upright and slipping his mask back on. Kiba could smell the cigarette smoke drifting up from the doorway of the cabin. He couldn't help cursing his friend under his breath.

Kiba pushed his mask down before he leaned over the edge. Ram was in the process of stubbing out his cigarette.

"Rooster and I are going to take care of the body. We'll leave when we get back."

Kiba swore he saw Ram wink at him through the mask.

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