Shikamaru

Shikamaru stood with his hands in his pockets looking up at the sky. The clouds overhead were thick, black, and menacing. He knew that any moment now, it would start to rain. Evidently, the people of Konoha also sensed the imminent downpour, as they seemed to be hurrying towards their homes and out of sight.

Shikamaru sighed and looked at Ino, standing in front of him silently, unmoving. Her head was lolled onto her chest as if she were asleep standing up.

"Ino," Shikamaru started irritably, "This sucks. It's going to rain. Aren't you done yet?"

Instead of Ino, a woman with short brown hair who had been nervously pacing about in their general vicinity turned and frowned at Shikamaru with her hands on her hips. "You'll find ANYTHING to complain about, won't you?" She asked in Ino's commanding voice. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he replied. "But don't start whining when your caught in the rain and your dress gets soaked."

The woman opened her mouth to reply, when suddenly Ino's body collapsed. Shikamaru caught it just before it hit the ground. The brown haired woman gave a frustrated sigh, rolled her eyes, and formed her hands into a seal.

"KAI!"

She and Ino suddenly jerked, and Ino stood up, pulling herself away from Shikamaru. She smiled sweetly at the woman and bowed. "Thank you for helping me with my training!"

"Uh... sure... no problem..." the woman replied, confusion obvious in her voice, and wandered away in a dreamlike state, as if trying to recall where she had been for the past few minutes.

"Not so good at it, are you?" Shikamaru asked placidly, his hands back in his pockets. Ino shot an offended glare at him.

"I was standing for seven minutes!" She defended. "That'd be enough to kill YOU I'd bet, Nara Shikamaru!"

"Don't say irritating things. You couldn't kill me."

Ino stamped her foot. "Can't you EVER say anything NICE?"

"Can't you?"

A moment of awkward silence passed between them as each of them tried to stare the other down, silently storming. But Shikamaru, who couldn't stand the look on her face anymore, was the first to back down. His face fell, and he turned away from her. "Sorry," he muttered. "You did really good."

Ino raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a questioning look. Shikamaru? Apologizing? Complimenting? Was he ill?

"That's unusual," she noted. "Did you finally realize my awesome supremacy, or did you just finally wake up on the right side of the bed?"

"I was just trying to be nice, like you said!" He snapped at her. Was nothing good enough for this woman?

Ino looked surprised for a moment, then, to his surprise, she smiled at him. "Thank you," she replied, looking so sweet, "I appreciate your support."

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to raise a quizzical eyebrow, as he had been expecting another exchange of verbal unpleasantness. But he decided to leave well enough alone. To see Ino smile like that- a genuine smile, not laced with her usual cynicism- was indeed such a rare and lovely occurrence that it was enough to pacify any angry thought Shikamaru may have had stored up.

Then, she reverted back to normal. "Anyway", she began in her most assertive voice, "YOU'RE supposed to be training too, Shikamaru. And I don't know WHY Chouji decided not to show up, but he's gonna hear about it."

"I am training," Shikamaru protested. "There's a guy around the corner who has no idea why he's been unable to move for the past five minutes."

"What?" Ino looked down at Shikamaru's shadow. True enough, it was stretched out down the street and around a building, out of sight. "Who is it?" She asked, trying to decide exactly what her opinion on that was.

"I dunno," he replied, slightly shrugging. "I just sent the kagemane no jutsu around the corner behind me, and kept going till I caught someone. He's gonna be mad by now. I think I'd better run after I release it."

Ino stared at his shadow for a moment with her mouth slightly agape, wondering how she felt about that. Finally she decided her opinion, and that was that it was probably the funniest thing she had ever seen. Ino suddenly broke into peals of laughter.

Shikamaru smirked, encouraged by her obvious approval. He raised one of his feet up behind him. "Now this guy has no idea why he's standing on one foot," he jested. Her continued laughter fueled him. He lowered his foot and raised his hands up to his head. "Now this guy has no idea why he's making bunny ears. We should see if he can be taught how to juggle."

"You don't know how to juggle!" Ino managed to wheeze through hysterical fits, trying to breathe through her laughter. Shikamaru grinned. "You're right. We should see then if he can teach ME."

Usually, Shikamaru didn't bother to play games with the victims of kagemane no jutsu, as he found it a waste of time to do so, unless he found that the situation called for it (like if it were reeeeeally funny). But the sound of Ino's voice, her spirits so high, and knowing that he was the source of this joy, brought him undue pleasure.

Suddenly, a harsh tap on his shoulder brought Shikamaru back to reality. He turned to see a man with short dark hair and oval glasses standing beside him.

"Excuse me," the bespectacled man said, "but the man you have under your technique requests that you kindly release it, as he's going to be late for an appointment."

"Uh-oh," Shikamaru said, scratching his head in an embarrassed sort of way, "he said that?..."

"Well," the man began, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "the words he used were a little more... 'colourful' than that, but yes. He also wishes for you to know that he knows who you are and, in more or less words, he intends to make you sorry."

Shikamaru was shifting sort of uncomfortably. "Right," he said, and the man nodded and turned to leave. "I was almost out of chakra anyway." He then released the jutsu, and much to their dismay, ended their afternoon's entertainment.

"Too bad," Shikamaru started, "I was gonna make him do a dance."

"You were not!" Ino said coyly, "You'd rather die than dance."

"You're probably right," he smirked, "I just wanted to disappoint you."

"How flattering," she replied cynically, then smiled at him. She then straightened up. "I think it's time to get back to our training," she said matter-of-factly.

"Are you serious?' He asked, discouraged. "It's seriously going to rain. That's going to be reeeeally bothersome. Can't we train more tomorrow or something?"

"I'm going to do it one more time!" She insisted. "Then we'll go home. I'm going to try a long range, and see how long I can stand at long distances." To anybody else, he was sure that wouldn't have made a lick of sense.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, and Ino raised her hands into a seal, pressing her thumbs and forefingers together, encircling the distant form of the last passerby still on the streets of Konoha before the rain began to fall. She concentrated. "Shintenshin no jutsu!"

Ino suddenly jerked, and went still, her head fell onto her chest once more.

Shikamaru sighed, thrusting his hands back into his pockets, and glanced around. The city was dark and empty. He raised his head up to gaze at the sky, but the usually puffy, cheerful looking clouds he so enjoyed looking at were replaced by ominous, dark gray storm clouds, angrily threatening the world below. As he looked at them, wishing it were a nicer day, that he could see streaks of sun breaking through, a large raindrop plopped onto his cheek. Shikamaru flinched, and brushed it away, but another soon landed on his shoulder. Looking around, he noticed that the ground was now being peppered with little wet droplets. The rain began to fall heavier now, and the storm began. Shikamaru groaned. He tried to shake out his hair, but it was too late. His clothes and hair and skin were already becoming drenched, his vest clung uncomfortably to his skin.

He looked around, trying to see the person Ino was inside, but he didn't know who it was. There was nobody around. It was just he and Ino's lifeless shell, standing around in the rain.

The steady sound of the spattering rain was interrupted suddenly by the crash of a thunderclap overhead. Proof that it wasn't going to let up anytime soon. Shikamaru strained his eyes, hoping to see Ino's host body, knowing that she MUST realize that its raining, doesn't she care? Doesn't it bother her that when she returns to her body, it's going to be soaking wet? Doesn't it phase her that she's making him stand out here, waiting for her, all alone in the rain?

No- that's wrong. She's not MAKING him do anything. She never said 'you wait here'. He wasn't obliged to help her train. He could leave right now. Shikamaru shifted, considering that.

He took a step back, and looked behind him. He knew he was right. Besides, would she stick around to help him if it started to rain? No, probably not. There was nothing keeping him here. He should really just leave. Why should he stay out here and get drenched? There was absolutely no good reason for it. He took another tentative step back.

Just turn around and go. Just walk away. Let her be alone out here now. She'll be mad, sure, but she'll get over it. Just turn around and go. This wasn't his problem. It wasn't up to him to stand here with her. What would happen? There are no enemies around to attack. The worst that would happen is she would fall. She's fallen a million times before, and she's always gotten up before. Turn around and go home. She won't die if you do. She'll suffer maybe a scratch or a bruise, nothing she hadn't suffered before. It's not up to you to stay. Get out of the rain. Go change into something dry and watch the rain from the safety of your window. Just go.

With a slight sneer, Shikamaru turned around and began to walk away. There was absolutely no reason for him to be standing out here, catching a cold, just because Ino was out here somewhere. He didn't care what she thought anymore. This was just far too troublesome. He began to head home.

Shikamaru had only gotten a few paces away when he heard a familiar sound. Behind him, where Ino was standing, there was a slight scraping of gravel beneath her feet. Thoughtlessly, a surge of irrational panic swept through him, and he turned around and dove forward at full throttle with his arms outstretched. Her caught her just before she hit the ground.

And so here he was again, supporting Ino's inert body, standing alone in the pounding rain, wondering exactly how it was he had gotten there. He had been so adamant on leaving just a second ago, and now he somehow seemed committed to staying here with her against all reason. What obscure train of irrationality lead to this? Was he so determined to cause himself all this trouble?

Didn't she realize she had fallen? Could she feel it? If she could, she probably would have returned by now, so she must not know it. He wondered how much she COULD feel in this state. Her mind was elsewhere, but her body still should be retaining all it's nerve endings. If an enemy stabbed her in this state, would she feel the blade first, or just inexplicably die? Could she feel Shikamaru's arms and body supporting her? Could she feel the rain pounding down on them both? Or could she only feel what she experienced in her new body?

As he gazed at her in his arms, he let out a defeated sigh. Droplets of rain pattered rhythmically across her face and careened in tiny rivulets down her skin, to pool in the crevices of her collar. Her wet hair matted to her face, or hung in damp, untidy strands, curling and winding around each other, and dripping little waterfalls from each tip. She was terribly lovely. Again, he considered the binder she had fastening her hair into a ponytail. He bet that, allowed loose, each damp blonde lock would wind and crimp and allow itself to be beaten upon by the rain and look just so very sexy. He shifted her weight in his arms, considering that. He began calculating ways to pull out her hair without being at fault, when his attention was drawn suddenly, and with great embarrassment, to the fact that her dress, upon the application of water, may as well have not been a dress at all. It clung sharply to her skin, allowing him to see more than he ever should have been allowed. Her curve of her hips and her waist, her thighs, the roundness of her breasts...

Shikamaru looked up quickly as the blush spread across his face. Where WAS she? Didn't she realize the material of her dress was so thin? She was going to catch a cold in something like this. How could she allow herself to be standing in the rain in a dress like this, it was anything but decent. And it was distracting, as well. Was she doing this on purpose? Where the hell did she go, did she get stuck somewhere?

His eyes wandered back down to her face. Couldn't she feel the material clinging to her skin? Could she feel his arms tightening around her slender form? Couldn't she feel the rain?

Shikamaru swallowed a large lump that had suddenly formed in his throat.

If he... if he kissed her right now... would she feel it?

He looked around hastily, but there was no one left on the streets. Whoever's mind Ino had taken, that person was entirely out of sight. It was just him, and her unconscious, wet, outrageously attractive and terribly distracting body. He looked back down at her, almost cautiously. Was it wrong? Would she know? How could she find out? There were no witnesses. She would probably never find out. His heart rate increased considerably. He shifted his weight uncomfortably, and drew her slightly closer to him, as if trying to make it seem as though it were a coincidence that her face was now so easily accessed by his own, as if there was anybody around for him to put on this appearance for. His breathing became heavier, and his face reddened. He began to close the distance between them.

Closer... The rain seemed heavier now, and the air seemed thicker...

Closer... His heart pounded...

Closer... His breath quickened...

Merely atoms away... Just a little bit... closer...

Ino suddenly jerked back to life. In his great shock, Shikamaru dropped her and fell back a few feet, his hand clutching his heart as if trying to keep it from bursting out of his chest, which he was quite sure it would. She knew. She HAD to know! She wasn't stupid. What was she going to say? His humiliation was so intense, he hoped his heart really WOULD burst, and put him out of his misery.

Ino pulled herself out of the puddle Shikamaru dropped her in, and looked at him strangely. "Did you DROP me," she asked, "Or did I fall just now?"

He stared at her, dumbfounded. She... did know, didn't she?

This would be a very good time to lie.

"You fell just now," he replied. "I was really surprised."

"You LOOK like you were really surprised! You look like you just ran a marathon!"

Shikamaru realized that with his heavy panting and blood red face, he probably wasn't the epitome of level headedness. Shit, that meant he had to think of something to tell her, quick. Think... think! How could one of the most intelligent ninjas in the entire village turn into such a complete and total idiot when it came to this girl?

"I was training," he lied. Training for what? To be the world's biggest jackass? If so, he was going for gold.

Ino raised a questioning eyebrow at him, but didn't press the matter, much to his relief. He decided to change the subject as fast as he could.

"What took YOU so long?" he asked, "You do realize it started to rain, right? I don't know if it was all sun and smiles wherever the hell YOU went, but I sat here soaking wet."

Then, much to his confusion, Ino, while standing in the pouring rain, her dress sopping and her hair frazzled and dripping, smiled at him. And her smile was like the sun coming out.

"I was sure you'd leave," she confessed.

The look on Shikamaru's face was quite possibly the king of all dumb looks. He found he had absolutely nothing to say.

She continued. "I stayed away for as long as I could hold the technique. When it started to rain, I thought 'I should get back now- but I just got here...' and then I began to wonder if you'd stick around and wait for me, even in the rain." Her smile brightened. "And you did. I was sure you'd be gone."

Flustered, Shikamaru fumbled for something to say. He had thought about leaving. Then he thought about a lot of stuff he was sure she'd find a lot less flattering. "Well, I... I couldn't just leave you here..." he finally managed to stammer. Wow. Your smarts sure are shining through now, Shikamaru.

"I'm glad you stayed," she smiled. And the heavens burst forth.

She turned, and began to take a few steps away. "Now," she began, "I'm going home to shower. I'd suggest you do the same. Bye, Shikamaru!" She waved over her shoulder. Slightly downput to see her go, he turned the other way and began to head in the opposite direction. The sound of her voice halted him.

"Hey!"

He turned, and saw that she was smiling. "Did I really stay standing that whole time?"

Truth or lie. Truth or lie. Truth or lie.

"You did," he replied. "It was pretty impressive." He felt bad about lying for a moment, but her bright countenance, the pride she radiated, convinced him that just this one time, it was okay. He would tell her the truth someday. Maybe on his deathbed.

She waved again, turned, and casually strolled through the deep puddles and pounding rain towards her flower shop. Shikamaru turned and walked home, with a slight spring in his step.

Kiba

"That son of a bitch," Kiba seethed. "That son of a bitch! I'm gonna kill him!"

Kiba stood on a corner in Konoha village with his hands casually in his pockets, looking up at the darkening sky. Rage was rising within him. "What is he DOING!" he snarled, "Does he have any idea who he's messing with!" He looked back down. "I'm gonna make him pay- eh!" He suddenly thrust his hands out, as if catching something that was falling, but there was nothing there. Nothing except the man he bumped into in doing so.

"Excuse me!" said the startled man, pushing his oval glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"I'm not doing it!" Kiba protested. His hands slid back into his pockets. "My body's moving against my will! I haven't been able to move in five minutes and I bet I know exactly whose doing it! I'm gonna kill him- I'm gonna KILL him! He's making me LATE!" He growled, infuriated. When he glanced up at the dark haired, bespectacled man again, he thought of something. "Do me a favor- is my shadow stretched out around the corner of the building?"

The man looked down, studying the shadow formed under Kiba, which stretched and wound out of sight around a corner. He then said impressively "Why, yes it is. That's an interesting technique you can do, there."

"It's not MINE!" Kiba raged. "I KNEW it was the kagemane no jutsu! I'm gonna KILL that son of a bitch!"

"Calm down," the dark haired man said. "I'm sure you can figure this out. Try to break the technique."

"CALM DOWN!" Kiba exploded, "Calm! I am calm! I am NOTHING but calm! The very DEFINITION of calm! And I've been TRYING to break the technique for five straight MINUTES! That son of a bitch, I'm gonna- Euwah-!" His leg suddenly lifted, and he was standing on one foot, trying desperately to force his leg back down. "DAMN IT!"

"Well, would you look at that," said the bespectacled man. "That's pretty good work there."

"DON'T COMPLIMENT HIM!" Kiba shouted furiously. His leg suddenly lowered, and his hands came up to his head, making rabbit ears. "SHIT! I'm gonna be LATE! I have to meet Shino at the training grounds!"

"Indeed, you do need more training," the man replied coolly, further infuriating Kiba. He was about to let loose a colourful stream of insults when the man said, "Should I go tell him to release it?"

"YES!" Kiba replied, exasperated. His hands lowered. "You tell that asshole that I know who he is and I'm gonna KILL him when I get my hands on him!"

"I'll say something similar to that," the man replied, then rounded the corner. Kiba was so humiliated, he hoped he would die. How did this happen? What was he so distracted by, that he was able to get caught by this stupid technique? Could it GET any worse?

"Kiba-kun," Hinata's voice sounded from behind him, "Are you okay? You look upset."

Evidently, it could get worse. In spades.

"Er- FINE!" He stammered. Not in front of Hinata, anyone but Hinata! Please, PLEASE, guy- get him to release his jutsu soon!

He was then forced to scratch the back of his head. What the Hell was going on around the corner? Keep Hinata's attention up here- don't let her see the shadow!

"Uh- so- uh-" appropriately, he shifted rather uncomfortably. "W-what are you doing out here?"

"I was thinking about heading over to the training grounds," she replied. Kiba grinned.

"I was doing the same thing! I was gonna meet Shino there. Wanna go together?"

"Okay," she smiled. Kiba grinned again, then felt as if an enormous pressure had just been lifted from him. He raised his hand to his face and wiggled his fingers, and was pleased to discover that he could move on his own will again. He grabbed Hinata's hand and began to run. "Let's go!" He commanded.

"Kiba, wait!" Hinata called, being dragged behind him, "What's the hurry?"

"Er-..." He looked up at the dark storm clouds as he ran. "It's gonna rain!"

When they arrived at the training grounds, they were a little winded from all the running. For some reason Kiba had decided not to stop the whole way there, probably decided that his story was more believable this way. Panting, they looked around. It was deserted.

"Where's Shino?" Hinata gasped.

"Shit," Kiba swore, "it's probably too late. I bet he went home. I got... sorta caught up and now I'm real late."

"Oh," Hinata replied. She looked around. "Maybe he left because it's going to rain."

That part was true. Kiba could smell it in the air. A heavy shower was imminent any moment now. The sky was very dark and menacing. It promised to be quite a storm.

"Should we go home too?" Hinata asked.

"Absolutely not!" Kiba replied fervently. He wasn't sure why that statement came out as an outburst. Why was he so adamant on he and Hinata staying out here, knowing full well that it was about to downpour?

"I mean..." he continued, "What kind of ninjas are we if we can't train in a little sprinkle?" Yeah... that's not so bad. Quite good, in fact. She seemed to be buying it.

"I suppose your right," she replied. "It might be very helpful. The rain should hinder my sight and your smell- it should be a very good exercise."

He actually hadn't thought of that. She was really quite smart. He just wanted to make her stay, and SHE thought of the reason why. This was really working out quite well.

Of course, now he had to actually do some training. But that was okay, too- he enjoyed doing that, and if he was with her, he could accomplish anything. Hinata closed her eyes, and raised her hands into a seal. "Byakugan!"

Just then, it began to rain. Slowly at first, little sprinkles that wetted down their hair and clothes. Then it picked up in speed and volume. Before long, the two of them were drenched and heavy with rainwater. It weighed down their movement slightly, and reduced the strength of their senses. Hinata had been right- it was a very good training exercise. Kiba's nose was having trouble breaking through the wind and the rain to catch any other scents, and Hinata seemed to be counting the drops of rain with her Hyuuga eyes. A burst of thunder sounded overhead, but it did little to distract them. Accompanied by the sound of the rain splashing in the puddles, pounding off their faces and coats, and dripping from their hair, the two sixteen year old shinobi practiced their arts.

Kiba pulled his forehead protector over his eyes, blinding himself once again. He began weaving at his fastest speed through the tangle of training poles and random trees sticking out of the ground, able to pick them out fast enough to avoid colliding into them by the smell of their wet bark and the sound of the rain splashing against the wood. He then jumped up atop one of the cracked and battered training poles, and sailed flawlessly through the air, jumping from one to another, through branches of trees, without missing a beat. Even without his eyes, this was child's play. Kiba grinned, satisfied that his training had started paying off. He was sure now he could probably even fight blindfolded.

He landed atop another pole, and suddenly his balance was thrown off. Something had struck that pole heavily the moment he landed on it, and nearly caused him to fall. Regaining his composure, he raised his forehead protector and looked down. Below, at the foot of the poll, Hinata was looking up at him. "Sorry, Kiba-kun!" She apologized, "I didn't think I'd hit it hard enough to affect you."

Kiba squatted down, looking down at her. "You hit it? That's pretty good. If that had been my arm, I bet it would have broke." He grinned at her. She smiled timidly back up at him, a small blush creeping across her face. Down there, with her cheeks reddening and her hair matting to her face and her coat hanging heavily from her skin, making her appear so much smaller... She looked so cute... The rain coming down hard, soaking through her clothes, caressing her skin...

Kiba's face began to flush. He shook those thoughts from his mind. Then, considering what he had thought about earlier, he replaced them with different thoughts. A low grin spread across his lips. "Hey, Hinata," he started, "You wanna spar?"

"Spar? With you?" She asked, startled. "I... I don't think I'm good enough for that yet, Kiba-kun... I'll just... disappoint you."

Kiba appeared very suddenly behind her in a cloud of smoke. "C'mon!" He prodded. "I'll give you a handicap. I was gonna put my forehead protector over my eyes, see? I wanted to try fighting blinded." He pulled the headband back over his face, blinding himself. He then smirked, and readied himself in a fighting stance. "Come at me from any angle."

Hinata seemed to consider this for a moment. Truly, he was at least at a slight disadvantage. He had been training without his eyes, but could he fight yet? Were his senses as strong as her sight?

In response to his request, having finally made a decision, Hinata threw a punch at him. He dodged it, and kicked his leg at her. Having aimed too high, she ducked beneath it, sweeping her own foot under his one unbalanced leg. He fumbled, but landed on his feet quickly, sending his fist towards where he could best judge by the smell her stomach was. She was able to avoid it, and sent a palm full of chakra directly into his chest.

"Shit!" He swore, as he fell back. He stood up quickly, sorting out her scent through the rain. His chest hurt where she had struck him. She was getting pretty good! Or was he that bad blinded?...

He picked out her scent just in time to dodge a flying kick she sent towards him. He grabbed her outstretched leg, and swept his foot beneath her, as she had previously done to him. She stumbled and fell backwards, but quickly got up again. As she attempted to regain her composure, she was only barely able to block Kiba's next volley of attacks, as he barreled his fists down at her. She backed away, but he kept pressing forth. Finally, she was backed into a training poll. She moved her head just in time to dodge a punch that easily cracked the wood of the poll.

"Kiba, stop!" She called desperately. Her plea halted him suddenly, and he pulled up his headband. He was horrified to discover that she looked... A little depressed.

"I'm sorry, Kiba-kun," she said, "I wasn't a very good opponent."

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Why didn't you use any of those chakra attacks you've been practicing?"

"I tried," she replied, "I did once, to your chest. But I felt... bad. I just... I can't fight you seriously, Kiba! I don't like... seeing you hurt..." she turned away from him. Kiba was stunned. He suddenly felt awful for suggesting that they spar, and worse for all the damage he might have done to her. He couldn't see her face, her emotions... he was concentrating on just finding where she was. It never occurred to him that she didn't like fighting him, that it might hurt her feelings more than her body. He stared at her, dumbfounded, trying to think of what to say or do to make her feel better.

Kiba pulled off his forehead protector and put in his pocket. He peeled back his hood, and all his relatively dry hair quickly soaked through, matting his messy brown locks to his head and hanging damply around his face. For some reason, he felt that it was very important that she could see his whole face now. Kiba gently brought his hand to her face, and raised her chin, forcing her to face him.

"Hey," he said soothingly, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to... you know, hurt you. Let's just forget it, okay? We won't do it anymore. That's all there is to it." He smiled cheerfully at her. "Don't be sad, Hinata! You have a beautiful smile. You should use it more often."

"Kiba," she began, avoiding his eyes, "Am I weak?"

"Of course not!" He quickly reassured her, "That attack to my chest was REALLY powerful! Your heart just wasn't in this fight. That's okay." He smiled, blushing furiously. "Because it means that... you... must care... for me... to not want to see me hurt..."

Hinata looked up at him, meeting his gaze. He had a strange look in his eyes. His face suddenly seemed very close to her own, and backed against the training pole, she felt a little trapped all of a sudden. Her face turned red. The look in his eyes... didn't he know that she could read it?...

"Hinata... there's something I... wanna tell you..." His heart pounded furiously, threatening to shatter his ribs. His face became very hot, despite the cold rain beating against his cheeks.

Hinata studied his eyes. Nervousness. Fear. Determination.

For a moment, he looked very pained, like what he wanted to say was on the tip of his tongue but he just couldn't get it out. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand and pressed it against his chest. "Do you feel that?" he asked, exasperated, as if he could not seem to articulate the words he had actually wanted to say. Looking into her eyes, his face nearly the same shade of red as the clan marks upon his cheeks, his emotions were clear. He was determined to say whatever it was he had to say. Hinata nervously looked at her hand, where he held it pressed against his heart. She could feel his blood pumping at an exceptional rate. His heart was racing. Her own cheeks flushed bright red.

"That's... for you..." he finally managed to say. He looked strongly into her eyes. "...My heart... It's only... for you... Hinata."

Worry. Honesty. Resolve.

"K- ...Kiba..." she stammered, but couldn't seem to finish. Her face was shocked, flustered, burning hot.

He kept her right hand pressed against his heart. With his free hand, he cupped her face, moving in slowly. All rationality escaped him. His mind whirled frantically and a rabid haze. He could only focus on one thing- how strongly he felt for her.

"Hinata..." he barely whispered her name, closing the distance between them. Her breathing became heavier and her chest heaved with each breath. He closed his eyes, and pressed his lips fiercely against hers in a burning hot kiss.

And all was right with the world. He took in everything; the feeling of her soft, wet lips, the smell of her rain soaked skin, the sheer ecstasy of the moment; he took it all in and swore to remember it forever. He wanted to stay this way, locked passionately to this girl for him he felt so strongly, and he knew that he would do anything for her.

Hinata suddenly pulled herself away from him, and backed away. "Kiba..." she squeaked, "I... I can't..."

Kiba stared at her, horrorstruck. What did she mean by 'can't'? What couldn't she do? He tried to say something, but nothing came out. He was silenced by the look on her face. She seemed as though she were about to burst into tears. Had he... done something wrong? Was he wrong? His heart stopped beating.

"I'm sorry..." she managed to say, trying very hard to hold in her emotions. Covering her eyes, she then turned and fled. Kiba raised his hand, he wanted to stop her, wanted to say something, but nothing came out. He stood there by that training poll, alone, crushed and broken, watching the place she disappeared too, as the rain poured down upon him, washing away her scent.