10: Team

Kiba wiped his hands cleaned as he smiled contently. "Good job, Akamaru. You too, Shino," he said, turning to the boy. Shino gave a terse nod.

"What should we do with his body?" Shino said, raising an eyebrow.

"Just leave him," Kiba said, much to Hinata's dismay. "He'll wake up eventually. Then he'll be just as loud as ever."

Hinata knelt by the pitiful figure of Naruto, which lay on the ground without a sound, obviously unconscious. "G-Gomen ne, N-Naruto-kun," she mumbled. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a jar of salve. "H-Here. I hope you can f-find it when you w-wake up…"

"Hinata, just leave him," Kiba said. "Who cares about that loudmouth?"

"O-Okay," she said, though reluctantly.

"I think it's about dinnertime," Shino said, looking at the sky. "Do you guys want to go get something to eat?"

"That sounds good," Kiba said good-naturedly, the bet erased from his mind by the exhilaration of the chase. "But what about the house?"

"The dragonflies finished it when we left," Shino said.

"T-thank goodness," Hinata said.

"What do you guys wanna eat?" Kiba asked, placing Akamaru back on his head. "My treat."

They walked away from Naruto's unconscious form, debating on where to go eat for dinner and chatting amicably. Hinata sighed in obvious relief—it was a good thing they both forgot about that ridiculous bet. But then again, as she thought about it further, Shino must've done it for deeper reasons than for a date with her.

She looked at the boy out of the corner of her eyes and smiled slightly. Yes, he was a complex guy.

---

"What. The. Hell. Is. This."

"We painted it, like you said," Kiba said languidly on the grass to his sensei, who looked positively appalled. It was the next day, and Kurenai was inspecting their work. However, she was far from happy at the results.

"THIS ISN'T PAINTING!" she exclaimed, pointing at the dried blobs of paint on the wall. "PAINTING INVOLVES USING BRUSHES! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS USE? YOUR HANDS?!"

"Actually," Shino said, "a horde dragonflies."

Kurenai could only stare.

"They enjoyed doing it," Shino shrugged.

"W-Well," Hinata said nervously. "We got a little s-sidetracked…"

"Okay, I can understand Kiba laziness. I can understand Akamaru's paw prints. Hell, I can even understand Shino's dragonfly-horde thing," Kurenai said. "But I expected you to at least keep a harness on these boys, Hinata!"

"G-Gomen…" Hinata said meekly.

"Hey, don't pick on Hinata," Kiba said. "It's not her fault."

"She fell from a ladder. She's probably suffering from trauma," Shino said bluntly.

Kurenai stared at the three of them, a bit astonished. Before this mission, they could barely talk to each other, let alone about each other. She marveled at the quick bond. She let out a sigh, but she smiled.

"Well," she said. "I'm glad that you guys are getting along better, nonetheless."

The three looked at one another appraisingly.

"But promise me this," Kurenai said, looking stern. "Next time you guys are on a mission, no bets, no goads, and NO picking on the weak!"

Kiba snickered.

"And finally, there is to be no dating Hinata!"

Kiba stared at his sensei incredulously. "What…?"

"No inter-team relationships! It'll ruin the teamwork!" Kurenai said, shaking a finger.

"But! I never—"

"Kiba," Kurenai interrupted. "Don't even think about it."

"HEY! BUT SHINO TOO—"

"I know it's that time of life for you guys," Kurenai said solemnly, with a surprisingly straight face. "But really, you need to learn how to control your urges."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU OLD HAG?!"

Hinata blushed furiously as the two argued heatedly while Shino stood in the back, not participating at all.

At least, she thought nervously, they trusted each other a lot more now. She smiled slightly.

"TELL HER, HINATA! TELL HER THE TRUTH!"

---

Coming up...

11: Yakisoba
"You abandoned your mission?" Asuma said incredulously. "Have I taught you guys nothing?!"

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