Shikamaru

"Ginger!"

"Radish."

"H... Jalepeno!"

"Jalep- that starts with a 'J'! Pick again."

"Wh- I knew that. Eh... Hhhh... Humus! Spices count, right?"

"Yeah, sure. S... Sugar."

"Ramen!"

"You've been WAITING to use that! Nectarine."

"Err... Mmmm... Oh! Eggs!"

"Salt."

"Teriyaki! Good luck with that 'I'!"

"Ach... Iiiiii... no..."

"Ino?" Naruto pulled his face away from his ramen bowl and looked questioningly at Shikamaru. They had been playing a boredom-induced word game while sitting lazily at a booth in a restaurant. Naruto grinned. "Ino? Our theme is 'food'. What made you say 'Ino'?"

"I- I didn't say that!" Shikamaru jumped to defend himself, flushing slightly. "I was thinking of an 'I' word and said it out loud. Then I thought I had one but realized it started with an 'E', so I said 'No'. They were two different words! Ah, why am I explaining this to YOU?..."

Stupid stupid stupid...

"That's a lie!" Naruto accused, his grin broadening. "You don't make mistakes like that, you haven't faltered once this whole game. You were thinking of something ELSE! Something female, I think!"

"You spend too much time training under Jiraiya!" Shikamaru scoffed, folding his arms and looking away. "You're starting to think like him. Always about girls!"

"But I didn't START this one! That was you! And if I'm wrong, then what was that "E" word you thought you had, huh?"

"It was..."

shit shit shit what's a food that starts with a long E?

"...It was 'eat'."

Eat? Eat? What the HELL were you thinking? I thought you were smarter than that, Shikamaru...

Naruto burst into laughter. "That's not in the least bit true!" he gasped between hysterical fits, "Even I'm not dumb enough to believe that! So you like Ino, huh?"

"NO!" Shikamaru demanded, "so don't go spreading it around! I DON'T like stuck-up girls like HER. And I DIDN'T say 'Ino'!"

"Hey, don't get mad, Shikamaru!" Naruto grinned, "It's cool. I like Sakura. Now you know who I like, so there's no need to be embarrassed about me knowing who YOU like!"

"I know who YOU like, you aren't exactly shy about it. And your logic is stupid. Just because you think you find out that I like Ino- which I DON'T- doesn't mean that already knowing who you like makes me any less embarrassed."

"If you don't like her, why are you embarrassed?"

"I- I'm NOT!" Despite saying it, he could feel that his face was burning hot. He tried to hide it by turning away and resting his face in his hand, with his elbow on the table. Why was he even friends with Naruto? He never did or said anything that wasn't annoying. He was always loud and arrogant and so sure of himself. Did he have to go and twist things around like this?

...Did he really say "Ino"? He hadn't meant to if he did. Of course he didn't, no... That would be stupid. He merely said "Iiiiii" and then "no", they were entirely separate. Even if he had been thinking about her at that particular moment, wondering what she was doing, where she was; considering that she might be working at her mother's flower shop; he wouldn't have said it out loud, it was just a passing thought. Something he was thinking because he wasn't really concentrating on anything else. Where was Ino... Where was Chouji... what's for dinner... Nothing given serious thought. And Naruto was especially not supposed to know that he might have been wondering that. But now! Naruto practically blundered into Shikamaru's thoughts- not that there was anything to know, of course- so now what was he supposed to do? He didn't need this. It was probably time to leave, and escape this bothersome, not to mention humiliating conversation.

"It's cool," Naruto began with a smile, "I don't blame you. Ino's got great legs."

"What!" Shikamaru was taken aback by this abrupt statement. He truly surprised to hear him say that, though he shouldn't have been- he was right earlier when he said that Naruto had been training a lot under Jiraiya, and lately he HAD started sounding more and more like him.

"You didn't notice?" Naruto grinned. "You have good taste, she's a fox."

Shikamaru rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. He was still red as a tomato. "Well... yeah, I noticed..."

"Heh! She has a great figure, but as far as pretty faces go, she can't hold a candle to Sakura."

"That's bull! Sakura and her huge forehead don't even compare to Ino."

Jesus, was he REALLY having this conversation with Naruto? Go ahead, Shikamaru, blurt out whatever comes to mind. What a flippin' genius.

"Her forehead ISN'T that big!" Naruto defended, "And her hair is the prettiest in Konoha." He smiled sort of dreamily, thinking about her now, evidently. Shikamaru considered for a moment, then was finally forced to agree. "Yeah... you're probably right about the hair. But you're also right about Ino having a better figure." He looked around quickly, making sure no one was listening.

"I didn't say 'better', I only said 'great'. Ino's too skinny, not as curved as Sakura. Although, have you seen Tenten lately? I didn't used to notice her at all, then all of a sudden she REALLY filled out!" He giggled in a sort of vulgar way and made a curvy gesture with his hands. Against his better judgement, Shikamaru added with a smirk, "Everyone noticed that, except Neji." Then he wondered angrily how it was that Naruto could get him to admit things he would never tell anyone else.

"He noticed. He has 360 vision, he notices everything. But since he can see behind him, we never know if he's checking someone out or not, because he could be looking in the opposite direction!"

"That's not something I want to think about. Besides, I still doubt it- he's so self absorbed I don't think he's ever given anyone else another thought. Looking at Tenten would be beneath him, or some bullshit."

"I BET you he does!"

"And how will you prove that?"

"I'll ask him."

"You're just gonna walk up and ask Neji if he thinks Tenten is hot? Man, you ARE an idiot."

"I bet you a ramen treat I'll ask him AND he'll admit that he does!"

"You're on, but you better have a witness. I'm not trusting just YOU."

"HAH!" Naruto pointed his finger at Shikamaru, half standing, with a short, triumphant laugh. "You'll see! I never fail at ANYTHING I say I'm gonna do! You better start saving your money 'cause I can eat A LOT of ramen!"

He grinned and giggled victoriously. Shikamaru snorted and rolled his eyes. At least the topic of conversation was no longer on him. He then noticed that Naruto's eyes were past him, at something across the room. He had a sort of vacant expression on his face. Without taking his gaze off his target, he pointed at it from behind his hand, trying to make only Shikamaru notice.

"Although," he started quietly, "I think the best chest in the whole village is probably Hinata's."

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at Naruto, then curiously turned his head, trying to make it look casual. Hinata was sitting at a table across the room, looking at a menu. She lifted her eyes towards Naruto and Shikamaru, then quickly buried her face in the menu when she noticed him looking at her. He turned back. He had only caught a glance- he didn't even really care to look at Hinata's breasts, but his curiosity and the current topic of conversation had brought his attention to them- and he saw enough. Damn, she really was filled out. Naruto was right. How often did that happen? And why the hell was he looking that way at little Hinata?

"You're an idiot," Shikamaru said, "and this conversation is stupid. I don't wanna look at Hinata's chest."

"Right," Naruto smirked, "You wanna see Ino's instead."

Shikamaru pounded his fist on the table, his face red. "SHUT UP!"

"So, you don't want Ino?"

"No!"

"No you do, or no you don't?"

"You- No I DON'T!"

"You keep changing your mind! You DO like Ino, you DON'T like Ino..."

"I never said I liked her! I merely agreed that she was attractive!"

"Oh? So if you really aren't interested, and since she IS so fine, then can I have her?"

"NO!"

"So you DO want Ino for yourself!"

"I d- I didn't SAY that!" Right now, he hated Naruto more than anyone else in the world. "Stop putting words in my mouth! I DON'T want Ino. But I don't want an idiot like YOU with her, either!"

"Ooh, so you really DO care for her, then! If you're so concerned about who she dates!"

"I DON'T care! TAKE her, then!"

"Naw, I don't want Ino, I like Sakura."

Right now Shikamaru's frustration was so intense he could no longer express it in words. He fumed silently for a moment, clenching and unclenching his fists and trying to force out some kind of response, something clever to REALLY shut Naruto up, when in vain he finally just pounded his fists onto the table and stood up.

"This sucks. I don't even know why I hang out with you." he turned to leave. Naruto grinned behind him, then stopped him a few feet from the table.

"Oregano!"

Shikamaru turned and raised an eyebrow at him. "What?"

Naruto grinned, with his hands behind his head. "You said 'Ino'. That leaves me with that 'O', right? So I said 'Oregano'."

"What and stick ME, with that 'O'?"

Naruto laughed, but was abruptly cut off.

"Orange."

He immediately stopped laughing. "So now I'm stuck with that 'E'?"

Shikamaru left him to think about that.

Note- Shikamaru and Naruto are playing an English version of the Japanese word game shiritori, wherein the last syllable of a word is used as the first syllable of the next word. Our language structure being different, they're using the last letter of the previous word rather than syllable.

Kiba

Kiba shot from tree to tree at blinding speed, a wide smile across his face. He couldn't see or hear Akamaru behind him, but he could smell him, and was sure that his dog was not far behind. Kiba was pleased that his training was going so well, not just Akamaru's but his own as well. Faster and faster he sped, as if trying to outrun the wind, while seeing only darkness. Kiba was trying to train his senses of hearing and smell to be as reliable as his eyes, and had started training while wearing a blindfold.

So far, everything was a brilliant success. Though blinded, he was perfectly at ease, could sense everything around him, judge the distance to the next branch, even at his speed, and even recognize any person or animal in the woods by their scent. No enemy would ever be able to ambush him- he was positive of that. A little more training like this, and he was sure he would still be able to win a fight even if the enemy stabbed his eyes out, though he would still try to avoid that- losing his eyesight would still of course be a huge sacrifice. That aside, he wanted to be able to prepare for anything. The next step was to train Akamaru likewise, as the dog kept shaking of his distasteful blindfold, no matter what Kiba said.

Wordlessly, he sped through the forest, trying to be as silent as possible. His steps were never faltering, but stealth while blindfolded was still a bit difficult as his concentration was going into not crashing tail over teakettle into the earth below him. Suddenly, something caught his attention. The scent... to the right and below. It was familiar. In fact, he knew it quite well. He slowed down slightly and began to head lower, trying to follow it. She was moving... slowly, to the left. He didn't know if she could see him or not. He sped closer, trying thoughtlessly to catch her. It didn't occur to him to remove the blindfold until...

There was a heavy THUD sound, a woman's scream, and Kiba felt himself crashing headlong into something soft, which promptly fell backwards at his impact. "I'm sorry!" Kiba shouted, trying to untangle himself, though he still couldn't see from what. He jerked his head up and felt a sharp, searing pain on his scalp. His hair had caught on something! What! He still couldn't see! He thrashed about wildly, trying to tear his hair free, unable to stand, totally blinded.

"No, it's my fault!" Hinata apologized desperately, "I saw you coming, and I even saw the blindfold, but I was unable to judge your speed and get out of the way in time!"

"I shouldn't have changed direction so abruptly, don't worry about it. WHAT am I caught on!" He struggled some more, unable to stand. He could feel Hinata beneath him- he had landed on top of her. A guilty surge of pleasure coursed through him. She was also trying to stand, somehow stuck to him, and her writhing beneath him was a little arousing...

Finally, the idea dawned on him to tear off the blindfold. When he did so, he found that he was staring, not an inch away, directly into Hinata's chest. He gasped, and his face turned bright red. He tried to jerk his head away again, only to feel another sting on his scalp. By now, he was ready to pull out ALL his hair to get away from this awkward entanglement. He reached up to try to find the offending lock, and traced it down to the zipper of Hinata's jacket, where it was caught.

"My hair is caught on your zipper..." He confessed, embarrassed, trying not to stare at her breasts, or think about how he had probably plowed face first into them without even knowing it.

"Here," she said, blushing a little, "L-let me try..." She moved his hands away from her zipper, where they were still trying to rip the brown lock painfully from her jacket, and gently started to untangle the hair, concentrating as though it were a puzzle. Kiba, blushing heavily, tried not to fidget. Nervously, he racked his brain for something to say. Something to break the awkward silence. Think... think... How can a person who talks as much as him not have something to say when it's important!

"Heh... hope no one sees us like this," he laughed awkwardly, "How would we explain that?" God her breasts are big. Don't look at that! Think of something else. Think of the dog. Where's Akamaru? Did he get lost? Is he laughing somewhere? Stupid dog...

Hinata giggled nervously. Finally, she moved her hands aside. "Done!"

Enormously relieved, Kiba jerked away and shot back a few feet, trying to avoid her eyes with a beet red face. "S-sorry," he apologized again. He could still feel her warmth as though she were still pressed against him, could smell her scent on his coat... her hands, when they touched his, were so soft... Not to mention the heat between them when he was pressed against her... It was strange, a moment ago, he had wanted nothing more than to get away from Hinata, but now that he was several feet away, he wanted to be back where he started...

Hinata stood up, blushing and looking away. She zipped her coat all the way up to the top, and started to fidget with her zipper again in a nervous way. "No, I'm sorry," she apologized again, and started to back away. It occurred to him then that Kiba didn't want her to leave. What was it about her? Why did he act so differently when they were alone? If Shino or Kurenai-sensei were there, he was perfectly at ease and totally himself. But with Hinata... how was it it was always so awkward with her?

"Er- Hinata, wait-" he stammered stupidly. "Lemme... make it up to you, huh?" He grinned. "C'mon, I'll buy you lunch."

"You don't have to do that," she replied shyly, "It was my fault for being careless..."

"No, I insist!" He smiled. "I want to."

She pressed her fingers together with a slight, timid smile. "What about your training?"

"I can do that later," he grinned. "I'd rather spend the afternoon with you." Smoooooth. You are the original lady-killer. "C'mon, waddya say?" Best attempt at dashing smile. Little to no realization that aforementioned 'dashing smile' may be harder to convey when one bares fangs. Hinata giggled lightly. How could she resist someone trying so hard to be charming? It was sort of cute. Finally, she submitted. "All right, then."

Kiba wanted to do a victory dance but settled for a grin, placing his arms around her shoulders, leading her back towards the village. It wasn't until Akamaru barked impatiently and nipped at Kiba's shoes that he remembered he even HAD a dog. He looked down at Akamaru questioningly for a moment, as if momentarily forgetting whose dog that was. How long had he been standing there watching? Only Hinata could make him forget his best friend like that. Kiba bent down close to the pup, whispering "I'm just gonna be gone for a while, alright? We'll run some more when I get back."

Akamaru barked angrily in response.

"Don't worry," Kiba assured him, "I don't like her more than you." Maybe. "I just need a break for a while. I'll be home later, all right?" He smiled at his puppy, who growled at his master before huffing away.

"Is he offended?" Hinata asked worriedly, knowing what Kiba and Akamaru meant to each other.

"He'll get over it," Kiba replied, watching the canine exit with a hint of scorn. Sure, Akamaru was important to him and all, but he didn't have to spend every waking moment of the day with him. He turned back to Hinata, forgetting instantly about his spat with the dog. "C'mon, I know a great place."

Kiba sat in the restaurant beside Hinata in a state of sheer mortal terror. Why was it so hard to be alone with her? Years ago, when they had first been put on a team together, it was simple. But years ago, she was just his teammate, and the only thing he was interested in was becoming a stronger ninja. Now that he was older, though, everything was more complicated. He had more concerns than just being a ninja, (though that was still highly important), and she was now on his list. When did this start happening? When did he first realize he couldn't keep his eyes off her? When was the first time he thought about just suddenly wrapping his arms around her and kissing her? Because THAT thought had been coming up in his mind A LOT lately.

He glanced over at her. She was looking at the menu, sort of distantly. He looked down at his own menu and stared at it unseeingly. Why on earth couldn't he think of ANYTHING to say? What could possibly be making him so nervous? He's been friends and teammates with her for years, and he'd NEVER been shy before. In fact, his brain didn't hold the ability to be shy. Damn, this girl brought out the WORST side of him.

Say something. Anything!

Hinata looked up from her menu and glanced around the restaurant. Across the room, she could see Naruto at a booth, and the back of Shikamaru's head. To her surprise, Naruto looked directly at her, then said something to Shikamaru, pointing at her in a sort of secret way so that she wouldn't notice (he seemed to forget that she was a Hyuuga and she sees everything). Shikamaru tried to turn his head in a casual way to look at her then. Hinata suddenly found that being the center of attention was quite embarrassing. Blushing heavily, she buried herself in her menu, trying to hide her face behind it. What were they saying about her? Was it good or bad? Her face reddened. She hoped it was good. If only she had Shino's ears! He would know what they were saying!

Hinata inwardly smirked at herself. Some ninja she made. Can't even spy from across the room. In the back of her mind, she decided that the next training she would work on would definitely be lip reading.

Trying to find something to focus on, She looked up at Kiba beside her. Why was he so quiet all of a sudden? Was he nervous about something?

Finally, Kiba turned to her and grinned. "I know I said that this was a good place," he started, "but that was code for 'this is the cheapest place'. Heh. It's alright, though."

Hinata smiled at him in response and Kiba suddenly found himself wishing he were dead. You IDIOT! Now she's gonna think you're too cheap! Say something else, quickly!

"So- anyway-" he hastily added, "What were you doing in the woods? Y'know, when we collided?"

"I was about to start training," she replied in a quiet sort of way. "I was just about to perform 'Byakugan' when I heard you coming behind me. I should have done it anyway-" she laughed a little, "maybe I would have been able to judge your distance and speed and get out of the way."

"Don't blame yourself," he smiled, "I came barreling at you blinded. To be honest, I probably would have hit you even if you HAD moved, because I wasn't thinking very hard when I decided to just follow your scent, wherever it lead me."

"Why were you following my scent?" She asked quizzically, suddenly forcing Kiba to wonder the same thing.

"Something to follow, I guess," he replied. It was mostly true anyway. "For my training. See if I can follow someone blinded." He laughed aloud. "It didn't occur to me that you might be holding still and I'd actually CATCH you!" They laughed together.

After that, Kiba felt more relaxed. He was able to talk more easily, and, though he may not have realized it, at great length. When they were finished eating, he emptied his wallet to the cashier and they decided to take a stroll to walk off their meal before the two of them returned to their training. Kiba was at this point unthinkingly chatting about anything and everything while Hinata smiled and giggled occasionally and even more rarely commented on what he was saying.

"So theres three guys, who all decided to gang up on me- probably all friends who decided to lessen the competition, right? Anyway, They make some snide comment at Akamaru, doesn't even occur to them that I brought a dog to the jounin exam for a REASON, so I laugh at them and say- eh, what did I say... well, it was something about how pathetic they looked trying to challenge ME, thinking I'm the weakest one when clearly if they wanted a FIGHT they'd have brought more guys! So I have Akamaru do the beast-human jutsu and I can tell NOW they're getting scared but they still wanna act tough so they start coming at us, until the quadruped bunshin takes out two of 'em EASY, and I stop and say to the last guy- ...er, Hinata?..."

Kiba was forced to stop when it occurred to him that Hinata was no longer walking beside him. He turned around to see that she was a few paces back, looking in a shop window. He backed up a few feet and looked into the store, trying to find the source of her sudden fascination.

It was a teashop. Quaint and cozy, probably owned by a family as opposed to a company business. It was sort of feminine, filled with cups, kettles, and teas of every distinction. Kiba sniffed the air, taking in the fragrance. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he rather liked the smell of tea.

Kiba was forced to smile as he watched Hinata's face, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned as she gazed somewhat dreamily into the shop window. A tea shop. That was so like her. God, she was cute. And she looked so happy. He could just look at her all day. Right now more than ever, he wanted to kiss her.

Kiba turned his head to hide the blush creeping across his face. Across the street, something caught his eye. He grinned.

"Wait here," he informed Hinata with a smile, "I'll be right back."

Hinata nodded with a smile and waited contentedly by the teashop. After a few moments, Kiba returned with something behind his back. He grinned, obviously pleased. He then reached over and plopped something atop her head.

"What-" She reached up to retrieve it while Kiba laughed. It was soft and small. When she looked at it, she found it to be a plush puppy dog. She smiled brightly.

"Now we both have one," he grinned. "I saw that in the store across the street and thought it looked JUST LIKE Akamaru!"

Hinata looked across the street, where there was a toy store. In the display window were an arrangement of plush animals. She looked back at the cute stuffed dog in her hands. Indeed, he did look like Akamaru. She smiled happily and rubbed the puppy against her face.

"He's so cute! I love him!" She beamed, "but why did you get him for me?"

"He just sorta stood out at me," he shrugged, "And I already got one. Plus, Akamaru would just eat him. So he's yours."

Hinata threw her arms around Kiba in a hug. "Thank you! You're always so nice to me, Kiba-kun!" she beamed. Kiba blushed, unsure as to whether or not he should hug her back. She was being unusually affectionate. Could it be that she was finally succumbing to his obvious charm?

Kiba grinned, and was about to embrace her when she let go, to his disappointment. Damn- too slow again. Next time for sure.

"Here," he said, taking the doll from her, "you put it here." He unzipped her coat part way and stuffed the plush into her jacket front, the way he often carries Akamaru. He then grinned, partially out of the cuteness of a plush Akamaru sticking out of Hinata's coat, partially out of knowing how very close he just was to touching her chest. Hinata smiled at the doll, then up at him, her face glowing.

"Thank you, Kiba-kun."

Kiba could have skipped home.