I'm been trying my hand at anime slash, and so far it's been going quite well. Shino/Kiba is my OTP right now, inspired by some of the best fanart and fanfics I've ever come across. This was supposed to be short and drabble-ish, but it grew into a full-fledged one-shot. I kind of like it, actually, how it doesn't seem to fit just one category. You'll find out why.

Smoke wafted in and out of the windows, staining the air a horrible, pungent kind of smell. The trees beside the said houses were either withered or currently up in flames, their leaves littering the ground like brittle confetti. The clouds were still white and soft as they sailed across the sky, and the sunlight didn't burn any less brighter than it did the day before, but the village below them was a far cry from what it had been. Once so bustling, so happy and human, now desolate as distant fires ate up what remained.

Konohagakure was in ashes.

Stones were dyed the black of dried blood, and heaps of flesh and jutted bones were strewn about the streets. The enemy had attacked so quietly and so unexpectedly that they had wiped out at least half of the city, before the other half figured out what had been going on. Some of the most exceptional nin were slain in their beds, and the rest had either fled to ally villages, fallen in the wake of such monstrosity, or were slumped on the ground, barely and horribly alive.

Two such people's bodies overlapped, a few meters from the Hokage's office. It was the one place that citizens rushed to when they sought shelter, and in turn was the one most important place shinobi had to protect, even if their last mission would transpire within their own gates.

It was a failed mission in all its entirety anyway, and that struck one of the forms as so oddly funny that he had to laugh, even if it stretched and stung the wound that slathered across his stomach.

The other, on whose lap his head lay, frowned, but could only summon a sigh in his weakness.

"It's... inappropriate to laugh right now, Kiba," he said, almost sternly, his back aching from where he was slumped against a wall, but could do nothing about it since the poison was now slowly rushing into his veins.

Kiba let out one last chuckle as he touched his torn skin, though not without wincing, his fingers coming up as red as his clan tattoos.

"When... have I ever... done the proper thing, Shino-kun?" He asked, almost seriously, if not for the dry humor tinged in his voice.

Shino sighed, regretting the fact that he no longer had his glasses to hide behind. There was still that urgent need to mask the emotion in his eyes, tired but laced with affection, when he answered, "Never."

That made Kiba erupt into pained smiles again, and Shino wished he hadn't said anything at all. Kiba only ceased when it seemed to hurt too much.

"Did you... ever think... that it would end like this?" Shino wondered aloud. He was glad he had found Kiba before they were both rendered immobile by their injuries, if only to have someone to talk to before he died.

"Oi, you gotta be... ashamed of yourself. That... makes it seem like... you don't even know me." Kiba heaved, struggling to put enough air in his lungs to stutter out his next words. "I never used... to think about endings...

"Until now."

Surprise was highlighted in Shino's quirked eyebrow, which turned to suspicion when the other boy flashed a grin at him, canines sporting maroon.

"Shino... does it bother you?" His mouth seemed permanently etched upwards, mischief fluttering about his gaze. "That at least one of us... is gonna die in a few minutes, and... you still haven't even kissed me?"

It took a couple of precious moments before Shino fully understood what had just been said. The shock made him flush profusely, completely thrown off-guard, and Kiba resisted the urge to laugh, yet again.

Maybe it's because he thought it futile to deny; first, simply because it wouldn't even matter when tomorrow comes, and secondly because it was already so glaringly obvious anyway. Shino settled for a, "How... did you know?" because it was the best he could come up with, under the circumstances.

Kiba would have shrugged, if he had the luxury. "Meh... I could... smell it on you... miles away. Bodies... kinda give people away, you know."

Shino nodded, trying to maintain his composure in such an uncomfortable situation. "Fair enough."

A smirk adorned Kiba's lips, a shadow of the old arrogance darkening the gesture, but it was just a poor attempt at normalcy. "Besides... I barely... sleep on missions. It's watch dog thing... hey... did you ever know... that you talk when you dream?"

Shino's cheekbones speckled with the beginnings of a blush, and he coughed to cover up his embarrassment, all the while thinking back to what he had dreamed of on those eager nights. What he came up with weren't very promising for his ego. "No... I was not aware of that."

"Hn."

Silenced draped over them then, warm and comforting, before Kiba muttered something into the fabric of Shino's coat.

"Yes?" Shino inquired, because it wasn't as if there was anything else to do.

Kiba made a grunting noise that echoed impatience. "I said... aren't you... gonna do it?"

Another crease deepened Shino's brow. "Do what?"

"Ugh," Kiba groaned, slapping his forehead figuratively. "For someone... really smart... you can be so slow... on the uptake."

"Please stop... insulting me... with your last breaths," Shino requested, for both their sakes.

"Heh. Fine... but you... really should kiss me."

"Why?"

Kiba shook his head, as if the other boy was just silly as can be, then stared up into his eyes once more. "Because... you want to."

Shino finally gave into expressing his desire, at the very least, since there really wasn't a point left to make. "I wouldn't... take advantage of you... even if..."

He was interrupted by an annoyed Kiba, whose fists where digging into the ground, with soil getting stuck under his nails, to relieve his frustration.

"Dammit, Shino... it's not like you're... the only one who's been hiding something... so just do it... already, please?" And then he pouted, the ultimate sign of anti-masculinity that Kiba only used when he really, really wanted something.

It wasn't as if Shino wanted to blatantly ignore his team mate's dying wish (and his, too, perhaps), but his excuse seemed pathetic when he uttered, "I don't know how."

Kiba adopted softer eyes, a softer tone, almost pliable to the touch, when he whispered, "It's not... something... you should think about. You just do it, and..."

This time, he's the one who got cut off when he felt a palm shifting under his nape, its twin molding under his back to lift him. It's clear that Shino was mustering the final shreds of his strength to carry him like this, and he felt a little guilty that he couldn't even move enough to help raise his own weight.

After a handful of minutes devoted to struggling, they ended up with Kiba's shoulder digging into Shino's chest, Shino's arm nearly cradling Kiba's frame so that his position resembled sitting. It wasn't a perfect stance, but this way, Kiba only had to tilt his head back and Shino only had to lean forward for their lips to meet.

The result was far from the aforementioned theory, with Shino's nose pushing up against Kiba's, robbing him of air, and their jawlines an ill-fit to each other. But somehow, in that mess of a not-kiss, Shino's searching mouth found Kiba's and their eyes slid shut so that their minds could focus on that one thing they had waited too long to act upon.

Kiba massaged Shino's wet, slick tongue with his own, though it wasn't fervent or passionate or needy, not in the slightest. It was careful and deliberate and a bit sloppy, but sweetness could be tasted on their cracked lips, where Kiba murmured, between stills of contact, "Why the hell... didn't we do this earlier, Shino?"

Shino responded not with words, never with words if he could help it, but by trapping that mouth within his; murky eyes clenching tightly to avoid the booming reality that this had been his first, and might as well be his last.

He sensed Kiba's lips curling into a small, sad smile, and after that he knew something was wrong when Kiba no longer breathed.

But he couldn't bring himself to stop.

I think I kill Kiba the most because I love him so much. Anyway, please do review.