The storm was a brutal one, Kiba noted as he stared out of his window into the nearly-blinding sheets of rain and random bursts of lightning spread out across the sky, and it showed no signs of relenting in the slightest. It was a good thing that he had kept Akamaru in after all, the dog always had a bad habit of loving to run out of the house just at the onset of bad weather, but he could not help but feel an edge of wariness creep down his spine.

The canine-loving shinobi groaned in restlessness and ruffled his hair, letting out a soft whimper as he realized that his formerly long brown strands were now shorter and more spiked, before sinking from the window seat to sit on the floor. He sat, his feet crossed under his thighs and his hands tucked into his armpits while his knee bounced up and down in impatience. Beside him sat his life-long partner, Akamaru, whose white fur bristled with pent-up aggravation. Obviously he was having just as much trouble staying inside as Kiba was, but the boy couldn't very well let his little buddy out in that weather...

True, Akamaru wasn't a puppy anymore–both and Kiba had grown in the past year but Akamaru was now big enough to ride and no longer the size of a small lapdog while Kiba had only sprouted upward a few inches. Though Kiba was keen to remind people that his additional muscle tone and more-tamed(though still wild hair) were just as great as his dog's explosive growth... A shame that people were less-inclined to notice that when they were too busy trying to avoid being snapped in half by Akamaru's playful yaps–but that did not mean that he didn't need someone to watch out for him. Which meant that Kiba was no more less-responsible for the pup than he was a year ago, growth spurts be dammed.

"Don't look at me like that, Akamaru! You think that I want to be stuck here! I am just as bored as you are!" Kiba finally admonished, pinning the loppy-eared white canine with a sympathetic yet stern expression which earned him only an annoyed rumble of a growl which translated to "If you're so bored, then why are we still here?" and made Kiba only sigh in aggravation and lean on to his back, propping one sweatpant-clad leg over the other and folding his hands behind his head.

"I don't know Akamaru, it just looks so... harsh out there. Maybe we should ride it out here." Kiba tried and received another grumble of protest from his companion who shifted to curl around his master. "Sorry, little buddy... Besides! You know how it gets when you get wet! Hinata and Shino complain for days about the smell."

Well, it wasn't exactly the truth. Hinata was far too polite to complain and Shino never really said anything other the occasional, condescending words. It really made Kiba, who was used to voicing his opinions and thoughts as soon as they came to him, a little annoyed to have to put up with their silence about things that were easily taken care of. But no, they chose to throw Kiba snide glances and recede even further into their silences whenever something he did bothered them. It really annoyed and hurt him, on some level at least, to have the two people he trusted most ignore him like that. If he could be so open and trusting with them, why could they not reciprocate the feeling? What was their problem?

"Especially Shino! He thinks that he's the smartest guy to set foot on solid ground! I don't think he's so smart... Sure, he knows a lot about bugs, but what good is that in the real world?" Kiba asked angrily, his voice bitter as he reached out to pet Akamaru on the head. In truth, Kiba knew very well how useful Shino's bug knowledge was in the real world, having been saved a few months before from being poisoned by Shino who quickly stepped in to snatch his hand away from the offending insect, but that didn't mean that the Aburame had to be so withdrawn all of the time.

"...Shino why are you holding my hand?" Kiba asked, his voice somewhat shaky at the attempted joke, as he looked at his teammate.

"Damn it, Shino! Why do you always do that?"

"..." Shino, having decided that now would be a very good time to drop the matter, literally dropped Kiba's hand and turned to walk away in an effort to catch up with Hinata. "In the future, Kiba... watch where you put your hands. I won't always be there to "hold" them for you," was all that he offered through the material of his white coat before striding cooly away.

Kiba stared, dumbstruck as he turned to look at the bug he'd almost picked up and nearly gaped. The bug, which had been a smooth shade of green and rather flat had quickly transformed into a violent, hot pink color with sharp spines jutting up in odd directions. Despite his surprise at the insect, Kiba was more shocked by the way his hands tingled in Shino's absence. Kiba hated being cold... and Shino had made him cold just that by walking away and letting his hands drop which infuriated the the dog-user.

Growling under his breath, Kiba shoved his hands into his pockets and trudged grumpily behind them with no intention of ever speaking to Shino again... He failed, having almost touched yet another strange bug and thus forcing Shino to hold his hands.

Kiba sighed then squirmed uncomfortably as a flash of lightning illuminated his room and cast shadows across the tan skin of his exposed chest and torso. Narrowing his eyes as Akamaru growled piteously, Kiba scratched the white dog behind the ears and sighed again.

"Not yet, Akamaru... Just a bit longer and then we will go..."

"Thought you said that you would always be there to hold them for me..." Kiba whispered as he leaned closer to Shino, his breath fanning out across the short distance between them and into Shino's coat.

"I did... However, that does not mean that I cannot occasionally save you from a slow and painful death," Shino mumbled back in the low, cultured voice of one not used to speaking to others using more than a sentence as he dropped his eyes down to his hands that were cupped around Kiba's that were also cupped... around something. Something which Shino could not quite make out in the low light of the fire around which they had set up camp.

"Haha, Shino! Smart guy, it's just a lightning bug!" Kiba laughed, opening his hands and thus sliding them out of the Aburame's grasp to reveal a slender bug whose tail end glow a dull yellow.

"Gah, Shino! Why do you do that! We are on the same team and you treat me like a stranger! At least--"

"It would be wise to lower your voice... Unless you want the forest to know the subject of our conversation.." Shino responded quietly, firelight dancing across the reflective surface of his dark shades, and withdrew from Kiba to stare pensively into the distance.

Chastised, Kiba sighed and mumbled under his breath before signaling to Akamaru and crossing across the campsite to sit next to Hinata, leaving the stoic bastard to his silence...

Kiba frowned and stood up sharply, peering outside into the storm which seemed all the more furious as the wind howled against the trees.

"No more waiting, Akamaru... It's time we broke this foolish silence," He growled out to his friend who was also sitting up and furiously wagging his tail. The red fang markings on Kiba's face seemed to glow as a bolt of lighting cut through the air and sliced open a nearby tree. The Inuzuka had had enough of all the stoic silences and denial-filled missions... He was about to shatter the quiet with the only way he knew how: With bold action and reckless abandon. The Inuzuka way.