When I was a kid, I hated bugs.

They were gross, or stinky, or they made you itch in places you couldn't scratch. They were sneaky, too, cause the worst ones didn't really have much of a scent and so unless you were looking for them, which I never was, they could sneak right up on you.

I remember the time that one of the dogs got fleas and brought them in the house and they go all over the place, biting everybody. I was a kid then, maybe seven, and a bunch of them got in my bed and bit me all over. I itched for weeks!

Then when I was eight, a stink bug got into the house when I left the back door open. It snuck into mom's room and stunk it all up. Mom kicked my ass for that one. Stupid stink bugs.

Then when I was ten, I got bitten by a big ole spider when our class at the academy went off training in the woods. I was sitting under a tree minding my own business when the damn think fell on me and, chomp! Right on my nose! I smushed it.

That was the first time Aburame Shino ever glared at me. He scared the shit out of me, too. Not to mention the whole bug thing was more than a little creepy. I didn't like him very much.

The next time we were out in the woods, I stomped on a bunch of ants. Those ants hadn't bothered me in any way, but I only did it because I knew Shino was watching. I even ground my heel pretty hard into the dirt to make sure I got every last one of the little bastards. He glared at me again, but this time I only laughed about it. Already I was immune to Shino and his tough guy act.

Eventually, though, I got sick of it. Sure it was entertainment to be found in otherwise boring classes, but Shino never said a word to me about it. What fun was it if he never got upset? Besides, it wasn't long after that that mom gave me Akamaru and after that, most of my focus was spent on him rather than tormenting some anti-social bug freak.

Akamaru turned out to be a big distraction from classes, too, but I figured he was a lot more important than listening to Iruka-sensei ramble on and on. Akamaru and I spent a lot of time sleeping in class; though at least we were smart enough to get decent grades without paying attention all the time. Besides, it was boring! I liked it better when we were outside, anyway.

I used to sneak off from the class sometimes and work with Akamaru. I thought I was pretty damn smart, too, because the way I saw it, Iruka-sensei never noticed. At least, I thought that until the day he sent someone after me.

We were just playing a nice game of fetch; Akamaru never missed a throw, that's how good he was, even when he was just a puppy. I had just thrown a long one to see how fast he could move, but before he could catch up, someone else snagged it out of mid air. Of all people, it had to be Shino. "Oi, I was throwing that for Akamaru!"

Shino ignored me, instead peering down at the stick, examining it carefully before carefully cracking it open to allow some stupid bug to come out and fly off. I wasn't too happy about that. It had taken a long time to find such a good stick! "Tch, you didn't have to break it!"

Finally, Shino looked at me, his brows creased unhappily. "An Academy student is to always listen to his sensei and stay with the class. These are the rules."

"Rules?" I laughed at that. Why should I have to follow the rules when I had more important things to do? "Then why aren't you with the class, eh bug freak?" As always, Akamaru backed me up with a few firm barks. I was already learning that it was good to have backup and I had already started slipping into my habit of confirming everything with Akamaru.

My insult had made him angry, or at least I liked to think so. Really his expression, or what I could see of it, didn't change much at all. There was that constant furrowed brow and not much else. Despite that, his voice was still level, if a little harsh. "I was sent to find you. Iruka-sensei gives such assignments to his obedient students."

Did Shino even know how annoying he was?

"I'm busy out here, bug freak. Me and Akamaru have training to do." Again, Akamaru confirmed this at my side.

"I've been given permission to use force, if you protest. This is your single warning."

Now that was going too far. I didn't like him threatening me like that. "Force, huh? I'd like to see you try it! Me and Akamaru could kick your ass!"

That only prompted the arching of a brow from Shino. And really, when it came right down to it, he was more than a match for me. Shino was one of those genius types, after all, so as it turned out, he ended up carting me back to class with his damn bugs, Akamaru nipping at his heels the whole way. He never hurt either of us, but he did a damn good job of ignoring my noise and Akamaru's yaps. The rest of the class got a pretty good laugh at my expense that day.

Before class was over, I stepped on another ant.