Chapter 3: Interruptions

Airi giggled at Kiba's joke. "Oh Kiba, you're so funny!"

Kiba grinned. "There's many more where that came from." He had taken her out for breakfast at an outdoor restaurant.

She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Wow Kiba, you're very interesting. I sure wish I had a life like yours."

"What're you talking about? I'm sure your life is way cooler than mine is. Speaking of which, you haven't told me much about yourself."

She looked up from her orange juice. "H-Huh? Wh-What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that you haven't told me about your childhood or something like that."

She looked away. "…My childhood isn't for sharing…"

He tilted his head to one side. "What? What're you talking about?"

"So this is what you've been up to all morning, huh?"

"Oh, hi Shino," Airi said with a wave. She smiled. "What 'cha been up too?"

Kiba gritted his teeth. Damn, why is bug freak here? And he's interrupting my date with Airi! "Wh-What are you doing here Shino?" He tried to suppress his anger.

"Nothing, I was just passing by and I happened to see you here," was Shino's response.

"Wanna sit with us Shino?" Airi asked.

"What!" Kiba shook his head. "You gotta be-"

"It's alright Kiba, I don't mind getting another chair." She got up and went to get a chair.

"Airi, that's not what I--" He sighed. "…Great…"

Shino sat down with a smirk. "She's very…polite."

Kiba looked at his friend. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"What're you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? What am I talking about! I'm talking about you interfering with my date with Airi!"

"Date? You? Ha, don't make me laugh. There's no way that any girl would date you."

"Alright, so this isn't an official date, but--! Wait just a damn minute there! What's that supposed to mean?" Shino chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Airi asked as she returned with a chair. "You guys are really good friends, huh?" She sat down.

"You could say that," Shino said with a grin.

Kiba, trying to ignore Shino, turned to Airi. "So, so you wanna go for a walk?"

"A walk?" She thought it over for a bit. "Sure, I'd love to!" Both of them got up.

"This way beautiful."

She giggled. "Hold on." She turned to Shino. "Hey, aren't you coming?"

"What?" Kiba shouted. You can't be serious?

"Wh-What? Me?" Shino looked around. "But I have-"

She grabbed his hand. "Come on Shino! It'll be fun!" She smiled.

He looked at their hands. Her hand…it's so warm. He looked up at her. Sh-She's kinda…kinda pretty…

"Don't be that way Shino! Come with us! Please?"

"He doesn't want to go and besides," Kiba began, "it's not like I want him to come or anything."

She tilted her head. "What do you mean, Kiba?"

"O-Okay, sure, I'll join you guys." Shino stood up.

"Yay!" Airi cheered. She held both of their hands. "So, Kiba, where should we go?"

"Let's go to the training grounds," Kiba responded.

"Training grounds?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's really nice there."

"Alright." All three of them went to the training grounds, but Shino remained quiet. "Wow! This place is amazing!" She dropped to the ground and closed her eyes. "I could stay here all day! I just love it when it's a bit warm in winter."

Kiba sat next to her. "Yeah, it's really nice." He smirked as he watched her body move up and down to match her breathing. When he looked up, he noticed Shino staring at him. "What?" Shino shook his head and turned to his right. "So," he began slowly, "Airi-"

"You're not very talkative, are you Shino?" Airi asked as she opened one eye to look at the quiet teen.

Kiba fumed. Why does she have to go and start talking to him? It's not like he's gonna respond! "You know-"

"Idle babble gets nothing accomplished," Shino responded after a while.

Airi tilted her head to one side. "Oh? Wow, that was blunt." She felt a little stupid. I shouldn't have asked that.

"So Airi, what's your village like?" Kiba asked.

"My village? Oh, it's wonderful! Everyone's always so cheery and happy! It's just a lovely and friendly place to be!" She paused. "…But…"

"But what?"

She waved her hand. "It's nothing!" She got closer to him. "Where's Akamaru?"

"U-Um…" He blushed. "A-Akamaru, come on out." The little dog crawled out from Kiba's jacket.

"Hi Akamaru!" She began to rub his head. "Does he know and tricks?"

"Tricks? Oh, um, Akamaru, roll over!" The dog tilted his head. "Come on, roll over!"

"Maybe you should show him?"

"Good idea!" Kiba got on his back and started to roll around. "Come on Akamaru!"

"You can do it Akamaru!" Airi began to cheer. "Go!"

Shino rolled his eyes at them. Must they be so loud?

'You know I don't do those type o tricks Kiba!' Akamaru barked.

"It's never too late to learn!" Kiba whispered.

'You just want to impress that pretty female, don't you?'

"So what if I want to?"

'Kiba, you never cease to amaze me. So now I'm a show dog!'

"Roll over boy!" Akamaru whined and got on his back.

Airi giggled. "Good boy Akamaru!" She rubbed his stomach.

'Ooh, she's a nice female!'

"Isn't she?" Kiba looked up at Airi. "What about me?"

She smiled. "Good job Kiba!" She rubbed his stomach as well.

Wow, this is heaven! he thought. Getting rubbed by a cute girl! I'm totally falling for her!

"Akamaru isn't a performing dog," Shino said.

"Oh, really?' She stopped rubbing Kiba. "What kind of dog is he then?"

"A fighting one."

"Huh?"

"Kiba uses him in battle when we fight other ninjas."

Damn you Shino! Quit interrupting! Kiba sat up. "So what?"

She turned back to Kiba. "That's awful!"

"What?"

"You use him to fight? That's cruel!"

"Wait! It's not what you think! Akamaru is a special bred of dog used by ninjas! He's strong and loves to fight! Tell her Akamaru!" Akamaru bark happily and licked Airi's hand.

"Well, if you say so…"

"And besides, Shino's the one that uses bugs. I mean, they come out of-"

Shino got up. "I'm leaving."

"Huh? Why?" she asked. He walked off. "Sh-Shino? Wait!"

"Forget him Airi, he's just weird like that."

She watched Shino leave. He's so…so mysterious…