Chapter 2: Squad 8's Charms

Shino, Hinata, and Kiba tiredly walked through the streets after a long eight hours of training and missions. They were ready for some much needed rest and relaxation.

Kiba looked around at some of the villagers. They were holding up little items and showing them off. Two girls held up seas shells and smiled. "What's with everyone? Did some little trinket craze sweep this village while we were training or what?"

Hinata looked around as well. "I'm not sure, but those little toys look so cute." She blushed. "I wish I had one."

"Well," Kiba began again with a smirk," let's ask the bug freak here what's going on. I mean, he came to training today with a weird colored feather."

Shino twitched at the name. "You're one to talk since you smell like a dog."

"What was that!"

"Oh, no, please, don't argue!" Hinata said getting in between the two. "Be nice!"

Shino backed off. "Fine, fine." He looked at the feather. "Some girl gave me this feather this morning when I saved her."

"'Saved her'?" Hinata repeated.

"Long story. She said that this is a charm for evasion."

"Oh, then these little toy things must be charms," Kiba said. They stopped by a little shop with more charms. "And lemme guess, this is the place where all of these people bought these charms."

"Is anyone here though?" Hinata asked as she leaned over the counter. "Hello?"

A sixteen year old girl popped up from behind the counter. "Hello and welcome to the Nozomi Clan Charm Shop! How can I--" She looked at Shino. "Hey! You're that boy from this morning! Shino, right?"

He looked at her. "Yeah. Hey, um, Airi."

"Nozomi Clan?" Hinata began to think about those words. "Where have I heard that before…?"

Kiba stood in a daze. Whoa, she's a total hottie. I'd like to get those measurements. "U-Uh…"

"So, how's that evasion charm holding out Shino?" Airi asked.

"Well, it's certainly made my training a lot harder for my teammates to hit me, so yeah, it's working fine."

"That wonderful!" She sighed inwardly. I'm so glad that I did it right. I'm not gonna fail, not this time. No one will suffer because of me anymore. I'm going to do this right! She looked at Hinata and Kiba. "So, who are these guys?"

"Oh, these are my teammates, Hyuuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kiba."

"So, what are you anyways? You say 'teammates' so are you like part of a sport or what?"

"We're-"

Kiba pushed Shino out of the way. "We're ninjas." He smirked.

"Ninjas?" Her eyes glistened. "Wow! I've never met any ninjas before!"

"Really? Then where are you from?"

"You're from Maho, aren't you?" Hinata asked.

"Oh, yes!" Airi tilted her head. "How did you know?"

"Well, when you said Nozomi Clan, I remembered learning about that clan when I was back at the academy. They lived in a mystical village called Maho and that village is supposed to be sacred. It's not open to common people, is it?"

"Nope. Only our clan may enter. It's impossible to find unless you're from that clan." She pointed to an emerald stone hanging from her neck. "See this? This is a charm that'll lead my people back to the village if they choose to leave for a bit. The only reason why we hide our village is because we don't want to get involved in anything violent. We don't have ninjas to protect us, but we also don't allow ninjas in. They elders think that ninjas will only bring about violence, but I don't think that's true."

"No, it's not! There are good ninjas in the world!" Hinata blushed because of her little outburst.

"Nozomi Clan…isn't that the clan that has magic powers or something?" Kiba asked.

"Well, something like that. You see, we specialize in casting charms and making them too. That's how we hide our village. We use the power of charms." She looked down. "…Yeah…"

"Rowf!" Akamaru popped his head out from Kiba's hood.

"Oh, hey Akamaru," Kiba said.

Airi looked up. "Oh! A dog!" She smiled. "It's so cute!"

"Huh?" He suddenly smirked. "You think so?"

"Of course! I just love dogs!"

His smirk became even wider. "Really?"

She reached out and began to pet Akamaru. "Hello there. Oh, you're such a cute dog. Good boy!"

Kiba blushed. U-Um. She's so pretty up close. "His name is Akamaru."

"Hmm, hello Akamaru." She glanced quickly over at Shino. He was looking around, not even paying attention. "You guys are really nice, I like you. Tell you what, I'll give you some charms, free of charge."

Hinata smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah! And based on my amazing skills, I'll give you the charms that you are destined to have!" She pulled out a box. "Okay, for the pretty Hinata, you get a strength charm." She handed her two bracelets. "This charm not only strengthens you physically, but also your mind and soul. You'll be able to stand up to anyone and you won't be afraid of speaking your mind."

Hinata gasped. "Oh, thank you Airi! I know that this will come in handy!" Naruto… She blushed.

"Now for Kiba." She gave him a stone in the shape of a dog. "Coincidentally, you get this charm. This charm is for speed. With this, you'll be faster than before."

"Ha ha, thanks." Kiba put the charm in his pocket.

"Oh, and I have one for Akamaru too." She gave Kiba a bell. "Here. This bell will sharpen Akamaru's senses and he'll be more alert."

"Alright!" He put the bell around his dog. "Say thank you Akamaru."

"Rowf!" Akamaru barked.

Airi turned to Shino. "Would you like another charm Shino?"

He looked at her. "No thanks, this one's good."

"Hey, bug freak, don't be rude. Just take another charm!" Kiba shouted. He looked back at Airi.

"Stop calling me that!" He turned his back on them in a huff.

"It's alright Kiba, don't force him. If he doesn't want one, he doesn't want one. It's totally understandable. 'Sides, he has one already."

"Alright, alright." Airi's so different. I wonder what brought her to Konohagakure. Well, whatever the reason, I'm glad she's here. She's so beautiful and she's smart. I think she's the one. The one girl that I'll go all out for. He turned to Hinata and Shino. "You guys can go on home. I'll catch up to you tomorrow."

"But Kiba, tomorrow's a free day," Hinata informed.

"I know, but I might see you. I just wanna talk to Airi a bit more."

Airi looked at him. "Huh?"

"Whatever, do what you like," Shino said. He pushed up his glasses and began to walk down the street.

"It was nice meeting you Airi," Hinata said with a bow. "Hey Shino, wait up!" She ran after him.

"G-Good bye Shino!" Airi shouted. He put his hand up and she smiled

"Now it's just us," Kiba said.

"And Akamaru, don't forget him."

"I would never." He smirked and took her hand. "You know, people tend to say that…" he lightly licked the top of her hand, "…I act like such a dog. What do you think?"

She blushed furiously. "Oh, my…K-Kiba…" Kiba's…something else… They both began to laugh.