Chapter 16: One Team

"Well then," Aurion said as he stretched, "What're you guys gonna do now?" He looked at Kakashi and Kurenai.

"Yes, I am also curious to know about your decision," Airas said. "Where will you go from here?"

"Well, Kurenai and I have thought long and hard about this situation last night," Kakashi said as he crossed his arms. He looked up and held his chin with his right hand. "We did make a decision though."

"Yes," Kurenai continued. "And our decision is this…" Everyone looked at her. "We'll continue to travel with you."

Aurion's eyes suddenly turned into love balls. "Oh my wonderful Kurenai! You made a wise decision! I shall cherish our time together!" He grabbed her hand.

Airas walked over to Aurion and punched him. "Sit boy!" He fell to the floor.

"Ow…"

"May I ask you why you chose to come with us?"

"That's simple," Kakashi said. "This war thing going on between the Nozomis and the Aburames will affect everyone."

"And we can't allow this to happen," Kurenai said. "With more people aiding you, I'm sure we can accomplish this goal." She smiled. "Besides, one of my students will be traveling with you guys."

Airas looked at Shino. "Yeah." She looked at her sister. "Airi, these guys will be traveling with us for a while, you okay with that?" Airi continued to stare at ground. "Airi!"

Airi looked up. "Who's there?" Everyone looked at Airi.

Aurion stood up. "You okay Airi?"

"Y-Yes, I'm fine. Sorry about that." She rubbed her head. "Wh-What did you say Airas?"

"I asked you if you're comfortable with them traveling with us."

"Oh…" She looked at Shino. "…Yes, yes it's fine."

"Well, now that that's done, let's get moving!" Aurion shouted.

"Wait, where are we going?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah!" Naruto and Kiba shouted.

Aurion stopped. "…Good question. I have no idea."

"Hopeless!" Airas said with a sigh.

"Idiot," Sasuke said.

Hinata walked over to Airi. "Airi, you seem a little upset. Did something happen to you this morning?"

"No, I'm fine. But thanks for asking Hinata." She looked at Hinata. "…Thank you so much Hinata."

"Huh? For what?"

"For being there when I need to talk to someone. Thank you…for being my best friend."

Hinata blushed. "Best friend?"

"Yes, you're my best friend. You're someone that I can confide in. I know I can trust you. I'm not afraid to talk to you because I know that you'll listen…" …Yes, I don't have to be afraid. I can trust her. "H-Hinata?"

"Yeah?"

"…Something did happen to me this morning."

"Like what? Are you hurt?"

"No, nothing like that. You see, Shino and I, w-well, he--" She stopped.

"Airi? What did Shino do?"

She blinked several times. "…Home."

"What?"

"Airas, Aurion, we need to go back home!"

Airas and Aurion looked back at Airi. "What? Why?"

"I don't know, but I have this feeling that something is happening back at our village."

"Okay, fine," Airas said.

"Our village is pretty far from here. We should reach it by nightfall."

"Well," Kakashi began, "let's get going." They all nodded.

"Hinata, I'll tell you what happened while we're walking, okay?" Airi said.

"Okay," Hinata responded.

XXXX

"Listen up everyone," Airas said, "Kurenai and I have been talking and we've come across something."

"What is it?" Naruto asked.

"I'm getting to it!" Airas sighed. "Look, if we're gonna be traveling together, we have to cooperate, alright?"

"Even when we fight," Kurenai started, "we have to fight as a team, okay?"

"No sweat," Kiba said.

"Which also means that we can combine our attacks and make one attack," Airas said.

"Like a unison attack with two people, right?" Aurion asked.

"Yes."

"Cool," Aurion said.

"Okay, we want to end this war thing between Airi's clan and Shino's clan, right?" Naruto asked.

"It is," Hinata answered.

"Well, why doesn't one person from the Nozomi Clan marry someone from the Aburame Clan?"

"What the hell are you trying to say!" Airas asked.

"Wouldn't that work? Shino and Airi are the same age, so they could get married and stop the war."

Airi stopped and blushed furiously. "Wh-What did you just s-say?" She looked at Shino who stood perfectly still.

"No way!" Aurion exclaimed. He looked at Shino. "Hey…Shino's blushing!" Everyone looked at Shino. "Shino's blushing! Shino's blushing!"

"Quit it Aurion!" Airas hissed.

Shino looked away. "Sh-Shut the fuck up."

Aurion chuckled as he glanced over at Airi. "Hey Airi, can you…?" His little sister had her head down. "Oh, oops…"