"Shino, give the hell up! You want me to come down there?", Kiba yelled to Shino from up on the platform. He didn't even look like he heard him, which was one of the most irritating things about Shino, at least to Kiba.
"Shove that pride somewhere, will ya! He's gonna kill you on the spot if you try to fight him!" He tried his best to get through, but the efforts were futile.
"The exams aren't going anywhere, ok! We'll try again together next year, just as now. No shame in that, Shino." He looked in his direction, but paid him no attention, which made Kiba even more motivated to just go down there and beat all the high and mightiness out of Shino.
Furious to no end, Kiba wasn't just gonna stand by and watch some random shinobi kill his best friend in the preliminaries of the Chunin Exams. No, he wasn't gonna let something like what happened to Lee the previous year happen to Shino. Never.
Without warning, Kiba appeared behind Shino. It all happened so fast that no-one was albe to prevent it.
"Well, if you're gonna get yourself killed, I'll be there by your side, just you try and stop me!", Kiba whispered into Shino's ear with a very sadist looking smirk on his face, and a hint of excitement in his voice. Kurenai were heading towards the two of them with the intention on shoving Kiba the hell off the arena. After all, this was not a playground, but a serious fight between shinobi. It'd make her look stupid if she let her genin interrupt the order.
"Shouldn't you have realised it by now?", Kiba started, as Kurenai go closer. "I've never felt this way about anyone before, honestly. When it comes down to it, I guess I'm just selfish, that's why I want you to stop this fight before it gets started."
By now, Kurenai was standing in between her two students, meeting Kiba's annoyed stare with an equally annoyed one, if not more. Getting the hint, Kiba slowly and very reluctantly made his way towards the exit.
"You really don't get it, do you?", Kiba replied to Shino's silence, as he continued to walk further and further away from him. Yet again, his questions were met by silence. Shino never listened to him, and he knew that. Shino had said it himself, and it had never escaped Kiba's mind. "I know I never listen to you, because, frankly, I see straight through you." It was hurtful, yes, but Kiba knew Shino just lacked the way to express himself politely. He didn't really hold it against him.
As he got to the end of the room, he stopped. Looking back at Shino from over his shoulder, he one last time replied to the silence he'd been given.
"We're supposed to grow up, get married, have children and all those things." First now did Shino show that he actually listened to Kiba, by slightly tilting his head to the side, looking somewhat perplexed by what his friend had just said.
"Who are my children supposed to play with if your children never get born? Who is my wife supposed to chit-chat with if you never have a wife? Now how on earth am I supposed to live on if you're dead?"
Before Shino even could think of something to reply to what Kiba had just said, Kiba had left the room.
"You always get your way", was the answer Kiba got, hours later, as he sat there on a barstool, dangling his legs, eating his ramen. His life wasn't gonna stop because of something like that. Actually, Kiba had almost forgotten about it by now, being the person he was.
"You always expect to get your way, that's who you are", Shino coldly stated these facts as he took a seat next to his friend.
Taking this as though Shino had followed his advice to surrender the match, Kiba's face took on such a self-righteous smile that it even left the noodle chef feeling a bit annoyed. He threw his head in Shino's direction, and just as his mouth opened to say something smug, he suddenly stopped, noticing a cut on his comrades cheek that wasn't there before.
Maybe he'd felt it in him all along, that Shino was to proud to ever either give up or take advice from Kiba, but it still hit him like a dead center stab in the back.
Jumping right to his feet, he was just about to leave Shino, convinced that he'd never feel the same way about him ever again, when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder, pushing him right back in his seat.
Staring back at Kiba were two raven black eyes. He hadn't even noticed Shino taking the glasses of, but there they where, Shino's eyes.
"Do you really think I'd do something if I thought it was going to get me killed? You show little trust in me, despite the fact that we've known each other for quite some time now." Shino said, as Kiba stared deep into his eyes, as if they where bottomless. He seemed almost hypnotized.
Putting his sunglasses back on, Shino regained the Inuzuka's attention.
"I never even knew what the word friend really ment until I met you, Kiba, and you think I'd hurt you that deep?" The serious tone of his voice said it all.
Nothing ever seemed to touch Kiba emotionally, still Shino could see how his eyes started to tear up, paralyzing Kiba down to his core.
His hand still hadn't left Kiba's shoulder as he slowly got up from his seat. As he leaned forward over Kiba's shoulder, about to say something to him, Kiba knew he'd never forget the words Shino was about to say.
"I'll always be here, from the moment I wake, until the moment I sleep, so please, don't shiver."