The hot desert sun was heading towards the west, and so was the man in the tan leather jacket, his hat brim pulled low, creating a shadow across his features. He sat atop a chestnut-colored horse, which was moving at a slow pace, kicking up puffs of dust from the trail. The man was in no hurry; he had found what he wanted.
Under a juniper tree slept a young, ragged man in ragged cowboy attire. One arm was wrapped around a large white dog lying next to him. He had two red fang-like tattoos on his cheeks, not quite hiding his handsome features. His short but messy brown hair was currently being offered up as fodder to his horse, which munched away lazily.
"Kiba," said a deep, quiet voice.
The sleeping man swatted half-heartedly at his horse's face, but did not wake up.
"Kiba," came the voice again, followed by a sharp pain in the man's side.
The young man's eyes flew open, and he found himself staring…at a picture of himself.
"Well good morning, beautiful," he grinned tiredly.
At that, his portrait was crumpled up by strong, pale hands, revealing a man with his hat brim pulled low. Yet he could still see the man's eyes, glinting like two small chunks of obsidian. His face was pulled into a scowl, contorting what could be an attractive face. He stood, silent and ominous.
Kiba remained unperturbed, however, and instead leapt up, grinning even wider. His dog jumped up as well, wagging his tail excitedly after sniffing the man. "Well if it isn't Sharp-shooter Shino!" He wrapped his arms around the man in a bear hug, but his actions were not returned by the stolid stranger.
"You stink," was all he said, though his scowl seemed to lessen by a fraction.
"Yep, it's Shino alright! How'd you find me? Did you miss me so much, is that why you have a poster of me?"
"I followed you; it wasn't hard," replied Shino stiffly. "I did it because of this." He opened up the poster, smoothing it out a bit. Now that Kiba could get a closer look at it, he realized it was a wanted poster.
"You have a $10,000 bounty on your head. What on earth have you been doing?" Shino's face remained hardened.
"Lighten up, pardner! That's just my tab down at the bar!"
Shino glared at Kiba suspiciously, but didn't say anything more on the subject. "You camping here for the night?"
"Sure am," Kiba said, relieved for the change of subject. "Now smile, for once, and let's eat!"
Later that night, the two young cowboys settled down to sleep on either side of the dying fire. Akamaru yawned widely, and settled down by his master. The night sky was obscured by dark clouds, moving as quietly as shadows across the moon and stars. The crickets set up a symphony, orchestrated by the branches of the tree as a breeze swept through the dry land.
"Get up," threatened a whisper in Kiba's ear. "Slowly."
He could feel the hard metal of a gun barrel pressing into his left temple, could almost sense the bullet waiting for its chance to slip into his skull. He crawled gingerly from under his blanket, noticing Akamaru was missing. The gun stayed with him the entire way. Kiba tried to see who was at the other end of the weapon, but the person's face was covered up to the eyes with a bandana. Kiba then let his eyes trail to where Shino was. By the light of the dying embers, he could make out his prostrate shape, still fast asleep.
"What do you-" Kiba began.
"Shut up," growled the assailant. "I'm doing the talking here. I don't want your life, but no one can know I was here. So be quiet, and listen. I'm here to make a deal."