A/N: Sorry sorry! It's taken so long to write it! I've had to scrap my original plan and I'm completely lost haha.. Also, for some reason keep deleting my paragraph spacing.
Shikamaru ran, her feet pounding along the street as she left Ino behind. She needed to do something… anything! Preferably something painful and tiring; something she could pour her anger, her confusion, and this strange emotion in her belly, into. Adrenaline thrummed through her veins, a rising urge for a fight simmering in her blood. Unusual for her she would admit, but she was a kunoichi; she had literally been bred to fight from generations of shinobi bloodlines. Her chakra spiked pulling attention from passing ninja, as she headed towards the training grounds. A nice spar would be good, distract her from these tiresome, troublesome emotions. Hopefully the guys would still be training and hadn't left for their night in the Barracks. Shikamaru smirked, she owed Ko' and Gen' for wiping the floor with her yesterday, maybe she could return the favour. Yeah, that sounded good, now she just had to…. Shikamaru hit the ground with a soft huff, wincing at the dull throbbing pain that shot up her coccyx.
"You should pay more attention to where you are going Nara." An emotionless voice drew her attention up a set of loose white robes to long chocolate hair and a pair of pearlescent eyes. Shikamaru recognised the Hyuuga. He graduated the year before her, got knocked out by Naruto in the finals. Supposedly a genius of his fighting style, even as far as being labeled a prodigy. Shikamaru smirked, slightly feral, here was her sparring partner! He was perfect; fast, strong, intelligent, and relied on hand to hand combat. Besides, that arrogant attitude of his was irritating her.
"Almost mistook you for a lamppost there Neij." Shikamaru smirked up at the Hyuuga, her quick mind spinning through the various methods to get him to say yes to a spar. She did briefly entertain the thought of just asking, but quickly abandoned that idea. She was too wound up to just ask. She wanted him to be just as mad during the spar. "Then again that's pretty much what you Hyuuga are, right? Emotionless, mindless unless it's to follow your..." Here Shikamaru paused to sneer the next word at him "…traditions." Her amber eyes flickered down to Neji's hands, catching the slight twitch indicating her words were hitting home. Her smirk widened, a glimmer of a challenge in her eyes as she raised them to meet Neji head on.
"I'm surprised such an inconsequential clan as yours, Nara, even knows what traditions are. Don't tempt fate by bringing up the differences between our clans' statuses." Neji's voice was ice cold. Emotionless, at least on the surface. However, underneath was a faint hint of bitterness curling through the ice.
"It's funny you mention fate Neji… Especially after the Chunnin exams. Let me just refresh my memory briefly. Wasn't it your destiny to beat Naruto?" Shikamaru paused to chuckle as she stood up lethargically. "Though it does seem that fate isn't as clear to your eyes as you thought; you know, the dead last beat you, and despite fighting you still didn't get promoted. Clearly fate is not at play here, otherwise you would be the chunnin..." Here Shikamaru leaned in and lowered her voice, letting a tone of triumph slip into her voice. "… not me!" Straightening, she let her smirk widen into a sadistic grin. She knew she had him where she wanted him. The snarl breaking his unaffected mask, was delicious. Shika delighted in seeing Neji under her control. Playing with his emotions gave her a thrill that she hadn't felt before. Maybe this is why Ino liked to manipulate people, the sense of control was addicting; she mused to herself. Cocking her hip to the side, Shikamaru folded her arms across her chest, pulling on her knowledge of Ino to seem as condescending as possible. One last comment should be enough. She should be able to outrun him to the training fields. Watching Neji scathingly, Shikamaru carefully composed her next comment, making sure she had enough space to run.
"Tell me Neji." Shikamaru tilted her head to the side and widened her eyes in faux curiosity. "Is it fate that makes the so-called genius of the branch family, always second best to inferior shinobi?"
A loud growl was the only warning she had before Neji launched himself at her. With a smug smirk, Shikamaru through herself backwards, avoiding the chakra laden palm narrowly. With a teasing, slightly feral grin, Shikamaru spun on the ball of her foot to launch herself towards the training field. She needed to lead him away from the civilian populous. Injuring the civilians because of a spar, especially if she had deliberately antagonised Neji to attack in the streets. Throwing herself to the right sharply, she avoided yet another blast of chakra; it occurred to her that she may have poked Neji a little too much. Shikamaru mused on the draw backs of fighting a pissed off Hyuuga. Hmm she'd have to put some rules into place for their spar, but first she needed to capture him. Good thing she's a capture specialist in the making. A mischievous smirk played across her mouth, Shikamaru poured a little more of her chakra into her legs to increase her speed. With gleaming eyes, she darted through the village occasionally dodging an attack. The nearest training ground was surrounded by dense forest. Dense forest means shadow, a lot of shadow. Her smirk broadened into a grin. Plan: Capture Neji is a go.
Reaching the forest, with several close calls, Shikamaru dived into forest and activated her blood limit. Feeling the shadows around her stretch and fill her, as the clan call it, shadow sense with information about her surroundings. A very handy side effect of the connection to the shadows; and a side effect that only the Nara are allowed to know. The feedback from the shadows let her know Neji was heading her way, and fast. Apparently, he was too far gone in his anger to notice he was being led into her clutches. Wait … wait for it… NOW! With a flex of her control, Shikamaru's shadows sprung to capture Neji.
"Shadow possession successful!" Shikamaru announced and walk both of them to the clearing of the field. She could feel Neji fighting her hold. Time to impose the rules before he broke her hold. "A moment Neji, and then I'll let you go. No bloodline limits, no jutsu. Just taijutsu and ninja tools. We go until one person yields. Sound okay to you?" Shikamaru kept her voice calm and relaxed, she didn't need to antagonise him anymore. Despite wanting a fight, she'd like to survive to see another day. Keeping a careful eye on her opponent, she slowly relaxed the shadows attached to Neji. He had calmed a little whilst restrained. His emotionless mask was slipping over the rage from a few minutes ago.
"As you wish Nara, pure taijutsu and ninja tools." Neji's voice was frozen and controlled. The run over had cooled him off, and he was feeling a little ashamed that he had allowed himself to react to the Nara's taunts. He had, admittedly, been taken off-guard by her comments. Now he had calmed down, he recognised that the biting words were deliberately aimed to hurt. Something so unlike the Nara heiress to do, that he took a moment to look at the younger girl in front of him; to read the very few signs the Nara shinobi hadn't hidden. She was angry at something, the glint in her eyes told him that, but the faint tremor through her body was odd. It was almost like she was feeling a hint of bloodlust… but that couldn't be, her clan were too chilled out to feel bloodlust, right? That's what the clan elders said. Clearly, she wanted a fight. A fight he was happy to give her. Especially since she insulted him, that cannot go unanswered! As she released him, Neji slid himself into a ready position, waiting for the start sign. Oh, he was going to enjoy wiping the floor with this slacker.
Shikamaru readied herself, falling into her clans fighting style but with a twist of her own. Her left leg stretched out to the side, her weight resting on her bent right leg. She lifted a kunai to defend her face, with her other arm outstretched. She was at a disadvantage, but that's the only way to improve she guessed. With a firm nod, she braced herself as Neji threw himself at her. His palms moving swiftly to land a series of hits. Throwing herself into a backbend, Shikamaru felt the air shift over her chest as Neji's palms barely missed her. Swinging her left leg up into a kick, Shikamaru attempted to push Neji away. Moving with her leg, she twisted on her bent right leg to put more power into her hit. Unfortunately for her, Neji wasn't a hand to hand expert for no reason, and he managed to twist himself up vertically in a front flip landing on his feet, a meter or so behind her. Completing her movement, Shikamaru fixed her eyes on her long-haired opponent, her eyes glaring at him to take in any action. She would plan later, after she had had some fun releasing her frustration. Launching herself at the Hyuuga, Shikamaru snarled and sent a fist at the boy, letting herself sink into her chakra. Recognizing the sensation from her spar with Kakashi, Shika smirked ferally and gave herself over to the shadow chakra within her. It hadn't steered her wrong before. Her fist hit hard against Neji's forearm as he blocked; quickly gripping his arm, Shikamaru lashed out with her foot, just to be sent flying by a palm to her stomach. Grunting, Shikamaru sent her kunai flying at her opponent as she righted herself. Reaching into her pouch, Shika pulled out a handful of senbon. As a clan, the Nara were outstanding at assassinations and medical know-how, which means senbon were a standard part of clan training. Sending the handful of the thin needle-like weapons at Neji, Shikamaru launched herself just behind them. Neji would dodge the senbon, of that she was sure, so she started her own physical attack.
Trading blows, the two geniuses of their generation danced around each other, vicious in their attempt to one up each other. Any passing shinobi could see that one of them clearly out matched the other in physical combat. Light glinted off the occasional weapon, the clinking of weapons mixed into the grunting of the fighters. Both opponents marred with slight cuts and bruises, backed off from each other, one panting heavily whilst the other had barely broken into sweat.
"It looks like you were all talk Nara. An hour in, and you're already out of breath. It must be fate that I will always be superior to you. Afterall, I am from the strongest clan, and you? A barely known clan. I will always beat you." Smugness radiated from Neji's words as he took in the girl in front of him. Smirking as he compared their physical conditions. "Stick to running away like a coward, Nara. It's your destiny to be running."
"At least I'm the heir to my clan. You're destined to be a bodyguard to Hinata. Maybe that's a good thing that you're good enough to protect your future Mistress." Shikamaru snarled in response. She had landed a few solid hits on the taijutsu user, but she knew she was losing. She needed a plan, and fast. Step one? Get Neji mad again. Cut his ability to rationalize and plan an attack.
"How does it feel Neji, to never be good enough, despite being hailed as a genius? Do you like being paraded around like their prize show pony, only for them to tell you that you are still worth less than her?" A cruel grin split her face as she watched here words register. Apparently, he could dish out the talk, but couldn't take it in return… typical Hyuuga. Shikamaru darted to the side to avoid the palm thrown in her direction, she pushed herself into the cover of the trees, letting her body blend with the shadows. Without his eyes being fed chakra to activate his blood-limit, the shadows gave her a slight advantage. Maybe she could slip some senbon under the radar. Sending a wave of shuriken at her opponent, she moved deeper into the forest of the training ground, deliberately sending waves shuriken slightly off target to drive Neji into the shrubbery to her right. With a grin, Shikamaru sent a kunai with exploding tag, to the space just in front of the Hyuuga, compelling him backwards. Not wanting to waste time Shikamaru set to work with her ninja tools. In some ways he was right, her clan weren't really heavy hitters, or frontline fighters; mostly because they chose that. Instead, they chose to utilize poison and ninja tools from within a protected position. She may be lazy, but no-one left the clan school without being taught to use a wide range of tools. A flare of killer intent announced her time was up; it was time to end this. Jerking the last knot tight, Shikamaru barely had time to move before Neji came smashing through. The veins around his eyes bulging from his activated doujutsu. Swearing aloud, Shikamaru panicked. Neji had broken the rules, which meant he could see through her trap… Looks like she was also going to have to break the agreed for the clearing, Shikamaru managed to roll out the way as Neji's attack splintered the ground. Not good, not good she thought. Fear making itself known, as she called out to Neji.
"It's over Neji, you broke the agreed rules!" Shikamaru yelled from where she was crouched, keeping her eyes on her rival. She was hesitant to drop her guard with how murderous Neji was looking. Seemed like she made the right choice not to lower her defense when the fury in the opalescent eyes increased. Shaking her head to clear her mind as Neji stalked closer, Shikamaru decided on a plan. A risky plan, but a plan, nevertheless. There was a jutsu. A clan jutsu that was only learnt on promotion to chunnin. Despite it being against the rules, Shikamaru had been teaching herself it for the last few weeks. She was fairly certain she could pull it off, whether she could control it…. Now that was a different question completely. Still, she didn't appear to have much choice, he was too close for her to run. Folding her hands through careful hand signs Shikamaru pushed her chakra into her shadow.
"Shadow strangle jutsu!" At her words, her control over the shadows snapped into place and sent them shooting towards the approaching threat. Faintly someone else registered in her vicinity, but she was too busy forcing the shadows to hold Neji still as they wrapped around his body. Shadow caricatures of hands stretched to wrap around his neck, tightening as he struggled. Their aim was to overpower not kill, and Shikamaru could feel the drain on her chakra as she struggled against Neji and against her control. The shadows didn't like to be reined in; especially not when they recognised that their welder was in danger. A stalemate, Shikamaru despaired, unless she ran out of chakra or gave into the shadows wants, or Neji broke free. Sweat ran down her neck as she trembled from the strain of holding the jutsu. Shika glanced around frantically trying to find a new plan when it happened. She dropped the jutsu, the tension of holding it had her stumbling to the ground, as Neji launched at her. Shikamaru screwed her eyes closed, this was going to hurt.
"FANG OVER FANG" echoed around the clearing as two fast spinning twisters folded over themselves to run directly into Neji, catching him just before he landed his hit on Shika. Dust cleared to reveal Kiba and Akamaru crouched over Shikamaru protectively. Both had their fangs bared at Neji, their own killing intent flaring slightly. Their feral eyes watching Neji closely as he pushed himself to his feet before scoffing at them and storming off.
Whining, Akamaru nuzzled into the girl on the floor, licking tentatively at her face. He liked this human. She gave the best scratches and always had a tasty morsel for him! Akamaru wagged his tail and stretched a grin across his muzzle as the deer human giggled and stroked him. Yipping his questions at her, Akamaru waited for her response. Unlike most humans, that weren't part of his pack, this one always seems to understand what he is asking. Now if he could just get his idiot human to claim her, then life would be great. She would give the pack strong pups. With a sly look at his human, Akamaru sprawled across the girl's lap.
"Im fine Akamaru; thanks to you and Kiba arriving when you did. It appears I may have pushed too many buttons" Shikamaru ruffled the pup's fur and glanced up at boy standing over her. She was glad they arrived when they did, but also slightly embarrassed about needing to be rescued.
"We followed you, after you and Neji ran past us in town. He looked fit to kill, but we stayed out of it until just then." Kiba paused and glanced over the girl in front of him. She made a pretty picture sitting on the ground with his ninken sprawled in her lap. Something instinctual tightened in him. She really was pretty, and smart, he mused to himself. Not to mention strong. He had been watching the spar and could easily acknowledge that she had improved dramatically. With a cocky grin, Kiba continued. "You've got stronger, Shikamaru-chan, but since I had to jump to your rescue, I think you should go to dinner with me."
Shikamaru blinked up at Kiba, his cocky grin fading as she stared at him in silence, absently petting the puppy in her lap. Kiba was…cute… she guessed, but boys hadn't really been on her radar like they had on Ino's. How did one respond to a dinner date invite? Maybe she was overthinking. Kiba and her were friends, had been for years. Obviously, he was just asking her as a friend. Smiling slightly, Shikamaru nodded her head.
"Sure Kiba. You and Akamaru saved my hide. I can treat you to dinner." Shikamaru shifted the pup off her lap and reached a handout to Kiba, to be pulled up. "As long as I can go get a shower first."
"We can go to my clan's compound. We had a new litter of puppies! You can meet them and have a shower." Kiba replied as he pulled her to her feet and started guiding her towards the village. "My mum and sister will be pleased to meet you again. It's been a while since your dad brought you to a clan meet up."
Shikamaru hummed in agreement, content to be guided to their destination. Now the adrenaline of the spar was leaving her, she was exhausted. Nothing a warm shower wouldn't fix, so she leant into the hand on the small of her back, reveling in the heat that emitted from it. For now, she'd follow Kiba's lead, listening distantly as he chatted about the new puppies and the clan's plan to train some as therapy dogs; as no clan members needed a ninken currently. His voice was nice, she reflected, it was deeper than at the academy but still dropping lower.
Leaning further into Kiba, Shikamaru barely noticed the village passing by, until they stood at the entrance to the Inuzuka compound. Giving herself a mental shake, Shikamaru straightened and nodded at the guards. She should sign into the compound, but since they were officially at peace most clans had relaxed their security. Shikamaru looked around interested, as Kiba lead her to his home. It wasn't as big as her own compound, but the Nara clan were quite private people. They liked space, and to not be too close to others. Whilst the Inuzuka were very pack orientated, they liked to be together, so it made sense that they packed closer together so had less complex was vastly different to hers, but still she could see parallels in both. The buildings were an ode to the nature they were built in; simple and elegant, built with wood and covered with flowers and moss. It was loud though. The constant barking and yipping of dogs mixed with the loud talking of people. It didn't blend with the nature surrounding it, instead it stood out, but was still a nod to the nature. It was…nice. Different from what she was used to, but still a welcoming place. A slightly bigger building loomed in front of her and, noting the variances between this building and the rest, Shika presumed that this was their destination. The clan head's home. Reminding herself that this clan was Matriarchal and quite rough around the edges, Shikamaru prepped herself to be bombarded by the personalities inside the home.
"Maaaaaaa!" Kiba shouted into the home, "I'm home, and I brought a guest! We are going to have a shower, play with the pups and then head to dinner!"Shikamaru flinched at the volume of the shout, and chewed the inside of her cheek nervously, as an older, feral looking woman pelted down the hallway, preceded by a rumbling of the floorboards. The woman, Shikamaru was pretty certain her name was Tsume, grabbed Kiba into a headlock and ruffled his hair. She shot a fanged grin at Shikamaru.
"Welcome to my clan home, little deer. Be at peace and welcome here." Tsume's formal wording broke through the confused haze; years of heiress training kicking in, Shikamaru bowed deeply.
"Thank you for welcoming me to your home Inuzuka-sama." Shikamaru's polite words drew another grin from the wild woman.
"Runt, your friend looks exhausted! Be a good host and get her a drink, then show her to the showers!" Tsume clipped Kiba across the back of the head affectionately and chivvied both of them into the kitchen.
"Alright alright, old woman! Give us a second to get into the house and I'll get Shika-chan a drink!" Kiba sassed right back at his mother. The play was clearly a staple in their household, Shikamaru concluded. Fumbling to hold onto the glass of water thrust into her hands, Shikamaru watched the mother-son duo snipe at each other, tumbling and pushing into each other; similar to Akamaru and Tsume's companion in the corner of the room. Shikamaru let a gentle smile curve her pink lips. It was sweet to watch, and she had to admit that them carrying on made her relax into the warmth of their home. She sipped at her drink, enjoying the company that didn't demand she join in the roughhousing with them. If possible, she would definitely come over more often! Shikamaru blinked as the mother-son pair turned to her with matching smirks.
"Think we are funny, do you little deer? Giggling to yourself in the corner there." Tsume's deep tones were filled with mirth, pulled Shikamaru from her thoughts. "Now you're back with us, Kiba will show you to the guest bathroom. Do you need clothes?"
"No thank you Inuzuka-sama, I have some sealed in a scroll. Just use of your shower would be great please."
"Just call me Tsume, kid. Runt show the little deer where the guest bathroom is. Hana will be home soon, so if you wanna wait for her, you can go see the pups." Tsume replied, and gestured to the kitchen door, whilst pushing Kiba out of the room.
Shikamaru gave a shy smile to the woman, before ducking out of the kitchen, and padding after Kiba. Hopefully she will be quick enough, that she can have all the puppy cuddles! Shikamaru thanked Kiba as she slipped past him into the bathroom. It was a nice size, and the shower was practically calling her to use it. Grimacing at the feeling of dirt and dried sweat on her skin, Shikamaru stripped off and stepped into the stream of hot water from the shower. Luckily the room had hair stuff and body wash in it, as well as towels. Moaning lightly in delight as the water flowed down her body, washing the fatigue of the spar away. Squeezing a handful of shampoo into her hand, Shikamaru inhaled the faint coconut scent happily, before lathering up her hair. Shika went through the motions of her shower, whilst letting her mind wander. Shifting her thoughts around, she turned to coming up with a reason for Kakashi. Why did she want to learn seals? Was it for the power they represented? It certainly wasn't just for the theoretical knowledge; of that she was sure. So, what was the reason? Shikamaru slowly considered her options. She enjoyed the technical precision of seals; they would work really well with her shadows. Most people didn't realise that the ink used in the calligraphy for seals had to be infused with chakra. That's why the proper supplies were so expensive. Now her shadows channeled chakra, which means she just needed to shape her shadow to create the seal. They were also great for utility ninja; the ones that weren't frontline fighters but were excellent at backing said frontline fighters. Their potential ranged from battle to medical usage. Shikamaru hummed quietly as she wrapped a towel around herself and her hair. She had a start on her reasoning, which was good enough for now. Unsealing her emergency civilian clothing; it was an odd thing her cousin insisted on. Spare clothes of both shinobi and civilian locked into a scroll. Slipping on her clothes, Shikamaru dropped the towels into the hamper, and headed back towards the kitchen. She was certain she could hear another female voice alongside Tsume's… maybe Kiba's sister?
Peeking her head around the doorframe, Shikamaru eyed up the new addition to the house and the three ninken that were with her. Chewing on the inside of her cheek, Shikamaru was debating entering the room, when four pairs of canine eyes swung her way. Blinking at the stares, Shikamaru stepped into the room, jumping at the two identical barks of laughter.
"Hope the ninken didn't scare ya, pup! Hana, this is Shikaku's fawn. Shikamaru meet my eldest, Hana." Shower okay?" Tsume's voice was calmer than earlier, though still loud.
"Hey there kiddo, heard you and my little bro are planning to see the puppies?" Hana's voice was smoother than her mother's. "Come on, I'll take you. The runt will join us when he is done." Shikamaru called her thanks to Tsume, as Hana pulled her outside into the cool evening breeze.
"We keep the pups and their mother in the specially built barn. It has buttons at a level the mother can press for help. It rings the bell in the house of whoever is on puppy duty. We also have seals layered on the building; in case the mother can't call for help. We find the barn gives mum and pups some privacy and peace." Hana explained as they reached the barn. Shika waited impatiently for the doors to be opened; the explanation was pretty interesting, but she wanted to see the puppies! She would also forever deny the squeak of joy that escaped her when the barn doors opened. They were gorgeous little balls of floof. Shikamaru skipped over to the edge of the pen and stopped to kneel, waiting for the large white and grey sheepdog ninken. The mother fixed her bright blue eyes on Shikamaru, seeming to weigh her worth before slowly nodding her head. Shikamaru grinned and crept towards the puppy pile. 7 little wiggly bodies were pretzeled together, snoozing happily. Shikamaru very softly stroked one finger across the tiny heads, one of the babies squeaked at her, and that was that. Dinner was off! She was staying here.
Sometime later Kiba poked his head into the barn and smiled at the sight. Shikamaru was sprawled again the mother, with the pups spread across her body like a living blanket. From his position, Kiba could see a sweet smile spread across her lips, pure delight and adoration shone in her amber eyes. He leaned against the wall, watching the cuteness as his sister leant next to him.
"She is a cutie. Mum said you were interested in her. Isn't she a bit out of your league, little bro?" Kiba rolled his eyes at his sister. Honestly, he swears she was only around to torment him.
"Whatever, sis. How long has she been like this? I'm hungry, and I wanna take her to the new BBQ place." Kiba hesitated and turned to Hana. "I heard her team is going to be there with their parents, I don't wanna upset her; and she isn't talking to most of them. I don't wanna upset her."
"Hmmmm, difficult choice runt. Go to the BBQ place. I know their dads, I've worked with them, they won't cause a scene." Hana ruffled his hair, before slipping out of the barn. Kiba grinned as she left and turned back, once again looking at the girl with the puppies.
"Hey Shika-chan, shall we head to dinner? I was thinking that new BBQ joint. It's about time the pups went to sleep for the night." Kiba smirked as Shikamaru jumped and looked him with big doe eyes. He couldn't help himself, she looked so delectable. He couldn't remember the last time he saw her in civvies. Kiba stalked over towards the doe in his barn, his eyes fixed on hers. A fang glinted in the light as his smirk widened, watching as Shikamaru's eyes widened the closer he got. "Need a hand up there, Shika-chan?"
Kiba watched her scramble to her feet, in amusement. He seemed to be making the normally unflappable Nara nervous, which was a nice ego booster. Kiba took in the denim shorts and white tank top. He was going to have to try and get her to wear civvies more often! He took in her shifting uncomfortably, before stepping back and gesturing to the door. A soft voice filled his ears.
"A new BBQ? I didn't know a new one had opened." Shikamaru was flushing a soft pink as she headed to the door. Trotting as fast as she could to hide her nervousness.
"Yep, opened whilst you were out of town. Sensei was taken there by Asuma-sensei when it opened. She said it was amazing." Kiba threw his arm over Shikamaru's shoulders as he spoke. "Apparently, they only season the meat. Nothing comes with a sauce, instead each person has a selection of sauces to marinate their meat; or dip it in later."
"I see. Sounds interesting. If it's any good, might have to make it my normal hunt with Chouji." Here Shikamaru hesitated. "Assuming we sort our team out."
Kiba stayed silent. This wasn't the time to put his opinion on her teammates out there. He did like Chouji, but really disliked Ino; she was loud, pushy, and a bully. Personally, he was glad Shikamaru had pulled away from her team a bit. Still, he didn't want to make anything awkward by staying quiet.
"You guys will be fine. Just give it time. Oh hey, I wanted to ask; your taijutsu has improved a lot form the academy, what have you been doing?" Kiba was hoping this would help steer the conversation away from their peers, to a safer subject. He grinned at her grateful smile and continued chatting with her as they passed through the village. He had a feeling tonight was going to go well…