Naruto:

Don't You Dare!

"C'mon, Kiana! Let's goooooo!" whined Chikara, "You're not gonna accomplish anything by sitting around here!"

"Works just fine for me!"

"Well not for me! Don't you want your own bubbling shoujo extravaganza?!" Suddenly, there were fireworks.

"Like how Chouji and you have a kid ten years?"

"WHAT?!"

"What?"

"…C'mon Kiana! Let's goooooo!"

"Can't I goooooo later?"

"NO! Do it now, while you have the confidence!"

"What confidence?!"

"…While inspired!"

"Who says I'm inspired?"

"No, while I'm inspired to drag you over there, since I probably won't feel like it later."

"And you have a date with Chouji?"

"You shu—"

"Hey!" a grumbling bark halted the argument. The two females, who had been strolling around the academy, winced at the sharp sound delivered to their ears. Sure, it sounded gruff and manly, but their ear drums didn't appreciate the angry, arrogant tone that accompanied the voice. With a swift twist of the neck, the girls met sight of an annoyed Kiba in a tree. Akamaru looked positively hyper, barking lots of greetings at them.

"Hey you!" shouted the water nin, "Wassup?"

"Could ya keep it down? We're trying to train here?"

The two chuunin began a subtle dispute, while Kiana's mind was sent reeling. 'We? D-Does that mean that Shino…-san…'

"O-Oh, h-hello Kiana-chan, Chi…Chikara-chan." Hinata squeaked. When had she landed in front of the two, Kiana couldn't recall. She was still lost in her mental freak-out session as she waved a careless hello to her comrade. 'This…might be it… Oh boy!'

Shino Aburame just so happened to leap from a nearby tree at this point, landing directly in front of her. "Hello, Kiana-chan." He nodded slightly, the action was nearly missed.

The human-bomb nin bowed her head politely, which made it possible to hide her face, "Good afternoon, Shino-san."

"Woo hoo!" Kiba howled, "What's this going on here? I didn't get a greeting like that."

"Ki-Kiba-kun!" protested a fretful Hinata. Before she could protest anymore, Chikara gave him his first experience of a foot-to-the-groin moment, complained that he needed medical attention, and convinced Hinata to help her carry him away.

'…That…was excessive.' The two remaining unknowingly thought in unison.

Then, a breeze blew by, and the realization that she was alone with him caught up with her. 'It may have been an assist, but could this be…it? Is the time t-to…talk to him, or ask him…about…?'

"How are you feeling?" The comment made her stare at him, bewildered. She saw his eyebrows arch, forming a gaze that clearly said, 'Has your head fallen off your neck yet?' She softened her expression in order to answer, "Oh, I'm fine." He nodded as a reply, then turned to gaze out toward the sun.

She began to shiver. Not because of the wind or the weather, but because the moment was increasingly awkward! She needed to take the chance; who knew when she would be alone with him again? Like hell she was going to ask such a thing in front of the others!

"Ah—"

"You're cold?"

"Huh? …No! I wasn't shivering beca—"

"You should head home," he nodded again, this time with it was more defined, "Good-bye." And he leapt off with grace that could never belong to any kind of bug.

She stared at the spot where he disappeared into the trees. Sighing with defeat, she shook her head out. 'Maybe if I wasn't so busy wondering, I could have just asked him… That's it! I have to sum up all my strength and ask him! I have no choice! Who else could I possibly ask about this, after all! Alright, I'll do it next time I see him!' she mentally proclaimed.

Later, Into the Night…

If it weren't for the fact that there was a street festival, she probably wouldn't be able to mellow out, after the kind of day she had had.

"So…what all happened?" Kiana looked to her friend, intending to scream as a form of ventilation, until she saw all of the snow cone juice on her face. Sighing, she first offered her companion a napkin, and then chose to start again.

"What all happened? Well, you know how the first and second meeting went. After that, I kept seeing him everywhere! It was like magnets meeting and then being ripped apart! And what's more annoying is that it happened at least six times!"

"Wow. I would have just grabbed him, pulled him aside, and told it to him straight."

Kiana almost glared. As if she hadn't thought of doing that, by this point! The second time she saw him was at the gates of Konoha. Naruto and Chouji were returning from a mission, so by the power of Jem and Chikara, the five met up again. Since Chikara had left her to stand alone, and Hinata and Kiba were listening to Naruto's mission summary, they were left to each other again. The interruption? Kakashi appearing out of the blue, kind of distracting everyone from what they were doing, since he had been chased away by Anko.

No harm, no foul.

"The third time I saw him, it was in front of Ichiraku's. I was going to stop by Tsunade-san's office when I saw him. This one probably doesn't even count as an encounter, because the guys dragged him inside for an eating contest!"

"But it still pissed you off, right?"

"Not really. But there are still three more meetings."

"I'm listening."

"The fourth time was while Tsunade-san offered me a simple D-class mission; finding this woman's cat."

"Didn't Naruto-san's team have that mission already?"

"Then that woman loses her cat a lot. Right while I was stalking it near the edge of the forest place area, while I was on all fours, he just randomly strolled by! And because I was reaching for the cat, it scratched me up!"

"So that's why your coat's ripped." Chikara gathered. She subconsciously looked at her left sleeve.

"Yup. The fifth time was when Dad called for me. I was helping him organize some things for the next exam when Kiba-san and Shikamaru-san ran through the window! They ran into the desk we were at and totaled everything! Shino-san was chasing them - I hope it was for training – and my dad yelled at him for the damage the other two did!"

"Whoa…your dad is scary sometimes." That had to be the umpteenth time she had heard that remark. From Chikara alone!

"The sixth time—"

"I don't know if I want to hear anymore."

"…Fine, let's just say that Shizune's piglet, a chair, a window, Iruka's ponytail, Konohamaru's scarf, that lady's cat again and the Hokage Mountain was involved. It's the reason I'm temporarily color-blind in my right eye, and why I can't remember how to count past one hundred for a few days."

"…Okay, now I'm curious. You gotta tell me what happened with this o—"

"Are you guys stalking us, or something?" A bark met their ears.

Who else would it be, in a fanfic like this? In case it's still unclear, Team 8 stood before them.

Kiana's breath caught in her throat. After all she had been through today, her heart still skipped a beat at the sight of him. Embarrassment sunk in shortly after, but it somehow didn't overwhelm her heart.

"How are we stalking you if we were here first this time?" Chikara rebutted.

"Because you knew we'd be here."

"Riiight…because that makes sense."

"Hey, you—" BOOM!

"Oh no! Kiba collapsed while randomly holding himself. Gross! Better get him to Sakura! See ya! Hinata, help me would you?"

So now, for the seventh time in twenty-four hours, they were left all alone.

The festival may have been functioning quite lively around them, but all form of sound was deaf to their ears. Or at least, to Kiana's. She had learned from experience to never waste an opportunity with this guy! She had to ask him, now or never! Her lips parted, she took in a deep breath, and she made a sound.

"Ah—"

"Shino! Don't forget about our meeting tomorrow! Training grou—"

"That's it!" That was the final straw. Kurenai-sensei was a nice person, but Kiana just wasn't going to take it anymore! By the flick of her wrist, she had grabbed hold of his sleeve and dragged him off into the woods. He tried to protest, disliking the feel of being dragged around when he could clearly walk for himself. However, he returned to his usual silent demeanor when she yanked on his arm to walk faster. In a few minutes they were in a secluded area. Kiana surveyed the land for any detection of chakra and found it clean. Then she whirled to face him, her eyes knit with rage.

"…What's this about, Kiana-chan?" he sounded as aloof as usual, however his posture displayed his true uneasy.

"…Shino-san," exhaled the kunoichi, "I've been trying to ask you something all day."

"Really? What is it?"

"…" Of course she randomly forgot!

"Kiana-chan?" questioned the bug-man somewhat impatiently.

"I'm thinking!" She was just so flustered and displeased with the day she had lived. She needed to cool down before asking him. This wasn't something you could ask in the heat of anger. That would be improper.

But sadly, time passed by quite quickly. The festival seemed to be dying out, and Shino was actually shifting his weight periodically, as if showing signs of boredom! Since when did the silent one care to act bored?! She hoped her mind was simply over exaggerating.

She had calmed down by a great amount. She was…ready. She could now recall her question, and was prepared to take a hit. Kiana's eyes glowered as she lifted her gaze to stare into his eyes. He looked surprised to see her move, but tightened his exterior, showing she had his undivided attention.

"…Shino-san, I have to ask you something very important. I need you to be honest when you answer me, okay?"

He nodded. Clearly, the sound of her voice was all the sound he wanted to hear, after those few moments of silence.

"Thank you…so—"

"Wa HOOOOOO! You'll NEVER catch me, Naruto! There's NO WAY a fox could catch a dog!"

"Get back here and say that to my face, Kiba!"

"G-Guys! Puh-please stop fighting!"

"HEY! Kiba! You owe me a snow cone!"

Of course the pack of misfits ran through their moment. Of course. Because that was just her life. First, Kiba bumped into her. While waiting for Naruto to run through, Shino had reached out and pulled her to his side, shielding her with his arms. That probably wasn't the smartest thing to do, since Naruto used their heads as stepping stones and knocked them both down. Hinata scurried by, bowing repeatedly in apology for Naruto. And Chikara skipped on through, making lewd remarks about how they were alone on the ground together.

Since when was her life so hectic?!

She meant to seethe, when Shino rose to his feet, glaring darker than the night in the direction of the destructive trio and their cheer leader. He never voiced why he was so infuriated, but somewhere inside, it was because of the harm they had caused Kiana…or rather, her skull.

"Hold on, Kiana-chan," He shockingly growled back to her, "I'll be right ba—"

Shino-san was spun on his heels in a matter of milliseconds, and was met with the most amazing sensation of his life (so far); Kiana was actually kissing him! With his face caught between her hands, he was trapped in…well, in a corny yet simplistic sort of way, the most enjoyable trap he had ever been caught in. Her lips felt…in a physical sense, like a leaf; how the curves would feel against lips when the leaf would be used as a whistle of sorts. But in an emotional sense, again to be simplistic, Shino had never felt anything so emotionally stirring that left a joyous residue in his heart.

It was because of Kiana-chan that he was feeling so…happy.

Slowly, his eyes began to close and he grabbed onto her. He pulled tightly into the shape of his frame, and suddenly, her confidence lost a fraction of will power. Her hands were no longer as fierce against him, but gentled in their grasp of his cheeks until they slid leisurely down his next to rest on his shoulders. The intensity of her compiled irritation felt like birds in a cage, all being released at once. Her heart fluttered just the same.

It was because of Shino-san that she was feeling so…blissful.

And neither of them would have had it any other way.

She felt a firm finger trace the back side of her neck. A shiver danced down her spine, causing her to arch into his body even more so. One of his arms rested then in the small of her back, to easily keep her in place. Meanwhile, the other hand snuck into her hair. He had always wondered somewhere in his mind if perhaps she had locks of golden thread. A pale gold, that was such an interesting and lovely shade. Feeling her stiffen, he tilted his head to apply more pressure to the softest kiss, but more so did so to offer comfort to her racked nerves.

Now her hands performed a little hunt of their own. Instead of resting on perches, her arms slid around his neck, tugging him in but keeping him at a distance. She decided to play the same game as he; she let her slender fingers slip into the spikes of his hair. But to her dismay and utter surprise, the moment her hand stroked the hairline at the top of his neck, he increased the passion of the kiss! All motion was lost on her then and her arms merely went limp. The emotion and feeling surging from his kiss alone made her forget the world around her. It made her feel as though her entire body just exploded with innocent pleasure.

And just then went a set of fireworks. The two broke apart quite quickly at the sound. Needless to say, they were panting slightly. Kiana felt a bit intimidated by the eyes hidden behind sunglasses, no matter how lovingly he held her and how exciting it was to be experiencing even the after math of a kiss with him. Still, she dropped her head while she explained herself, "Don't you dare…leave again, when I'm trying to ask you a something important…okay?" So much for asserting her authority.

However, she felt him nodded, and whisper a kind word of agreement. The kunoichi then stared up at her nin, and smiled shyly but peacefully.

"So what did you need to ask me?" He questioned, and tilted his head a tiny bit.

Oh, to hell with the question! He just looked so cute, and tasted so yummy! She could ask him later… Right now, she wanted to indulge in the essence of Shino-san.