With dull, cautious eyes, Hinata regarded the boy with curiosity. "Kiba-kun? I-Is something bothering you?" With slender fingers, the Hyuuga interlaced their hands.
With a forceful jerk, Kiba snatched back his hand, and tore his gaze from the girl. Why did she have to do this to him; EVERY time the two of them were together? The way she cared for everyone and everything, the slight hesitation in her voice when she worried; the way her innocence shone through everything she did-it was all too much to bare. If only-

"I told you it was a bad idea~!" Naruto urgently whispered, inching away from the scene. "Let's go!" But, Hinata stood her ground. Kiba had a voice of his own, and, until she heard it, no one would be leaving the clearing.
Kiba reluctantly turned to face the Hyuuga- breath held, teeth clenched. "I'm fine." He finally managed to retort, "Everything's…-peachy." Ignoring the blond's presence, Kiba kept his unwavering eyes locked on Hinata. "Why are you here?"

Wincing slightly, her sight averted to the ground. "We're going on a mission. A-and, we wanted to you to come…" For some reason, the grass seemed UNUSUALLY interesting at the moment…

With a finger curled over his lips, Kiba began to ponder. Well, he pretended to at least. "Well, I don't know… Now-a-days I have a pretty busy schedule." It was a lie; Hinata could tell that much in an instance. None the less, she began to play along.

"We're searching for the NightCrawler. But, if you don't have the time to help out, I suppose we could always recruit someone else…" At this point she let out a sigh-an over exaggerated one at that.

Grasping his girlfriend by the hand, Naruto began to drag her off. "Too bad! So sad! Looks li-"
Kiba chuckled softly, holding out a hand. "-Not so fast. I'd be honoured to help out on this little mission." Bowing slightly, he locked eyes with the Uzumaki-a smug grin playing on his lips. This was an opportunity-not one that Kiba was willing to pass up.
Hinata's lips turned upwards into a smile, as she pulled Naruto back. "I guess we should start-before someone else gets hurt~" Hinata advanced a few paces towards the village, unable to hide her relief. About time Kiba got out of solitude.
At this point, both boys were walked side-by-side, in the midst of conversation.

"-I'm not here because of you. I'm here because Hinata wanted me-" Kiba glowered at the slightly shorter boy.

"-Well, good! Because if I had my say, you wouldn't even be here!" Naruto countered, returning the other boy's glare.

Turning back to the two, the Hyuuga let out a muted sigh. So it began-already. Couldn't they go two feet without bickering? "Uh, guys? We should g-"
"Coming!" With one final glance at the other, the two raced forwards towards the village-and the girl. Hinata sighed. This was going to be a long day…-an EXTREMELY long day.

"A-ha!!" The blond's voice sliced through the fresh, spring air like a blade meeting no resistance.

"What?!" Hinata shouted, following the voice of the Uzumaki, eyes sparkling with hope. She soon found him standing outside the "doors" to his favourite restaurant. "You found a clue?!"

Laughing with slight embarrassment, Naruto turned to face the Hyuuga-face tinted red. "No…-but Ichiraku's having a sale! Come on!" Taking hold of the ivory curtain, the boy gave it a small tug-giving himself a chance to enter. But even before he could even place a foot inside, a hand roughly took hold of his shoulder and tore him away from the delectable scents. Turns out that hand belonged to Kiba-quel shock! Desperate for freedom, Naruto fought against his captor's grasp, but failed to escape.

"B-but it's sixty percent off~!" He whimpered the tears imaginable on his now childish face.

Sighing deeply, Kiba dropped the boy off between himself and Hinata-now narrowing his chances to run. "We can't, baka! We're on a mission! And to think, you're the one who started all this..."
Giving up on the Inuzuka, Naruto turned his gaze to the slender female, eyes pleading. "Come on, Hinata! I know you of all people would unders-"
Turning her face away from the blond, she softly shook her head. "We…-we can't. While we're gorging on that, another innocent could be killed! I-I can't let that happen. Not again…" Her pale eyes clouded over, the memories of her former team mate taking over her mind.

Even though he could be quite idiotic at times, Naruto was not emotionless. "Fine….-but we'll go there later!" With that, he turned on his heels and spun away from the ramen restaurant. I will be back for you my beautiful ramen!!

"Naruto walking AWAY from Ichiraku's? Now that's a sight I thought I'd never see…" A monotone voice teased; a young boy joining the trio. A mocking grin pulled at the guy's chapped lips, his obsidian eyes staring down at the shorter teenagers.

"Very funny, pineapple boy." Rolling his eyes, Naruto's voice was heavily laced with sarcasm. "Not that that I had much of a choice, baka..."

Anxiously poking her fingers together, Hinata looked up at the Nara, eyes gleaming with unanswered questions. "S-Shikamaru? You have a library in your house, right?"

With a curt nod, he looked towards the Hyuuga, confused.

"I-I'm looking for some information-mind if we come over??" Looking over her two male companions, a scowl formed on the elder boy's face. "It'll be awfully troublesome…-but, I may be able to help you." Sighing deeply, he turned on his heels, taking his leave towards the Nara estate.

Exchanging glances, the trio raced after him, hopes racing through their minds.

Like a true gentleman, Shikamaru swung the door open to simply drop it in the face of his visitors. Catching the block of wood with the palm of his hand, Kiba thrust it open for his fellow companions, sighing in slight annoyance.

"Well, we're here…" He muttered gesturing to a room filled with open windows and a variety of shelves; a vast amount of books on each.

Inching into the room- their eyes wide, mouths gaping in awe-the trio in took the scene before them. Though, they were quickly stopped by an extended hand of their host.

"Information isn't cheap. This trip is going to cost you…" A teasing grin played on the Nara's lips. Taking a seat before a familiar board, he beckoned his guests forward. "So…-which one of you is brave enough to be my challenger?"

As though the question had been left unheard, Naruto made his way over to the boy, taking a seat on the opposite side of the table. "You know, this place looks STRANGELY familiar…."

Kiba glared furiously at the Uzumaki, whispering harshly. "Dobe!! There's no way you can beat h-"

"I got it!" With a snap of his fingers, the memories came flooding back to our persistent hero. "It's from that one show I used to watch!! Yu-Gi-Oh!"

With a wave of his hand, Shikamaru revealed a set of figurines, both black and white. "Talk is cheap. It's time to play." With an intimidating look gleaming in his eyes, he pointed a finger towards the poor soul. "Yu-Gi-Oh you say? Well, how about we make this relate to it."

"Naruto Uzumaki, I challenge you to a Shoji Game."

Author's Note

Crazygal: And that 'tis the end! Sorry it took so long….-life's been so busy! *sweat drop*
Naruto: Well? What do you think? Pretty daring, aren't I?? *beaming*
Kiba: *coughs* More like idiotic. *coughs*
Naruto: XP I heard that dog boy!
Kiba/Naruto: *bickering*
Shikamaru: *sighs* Well, I guess that's a wrap… Stay tuned in for chapter three. *yawns* Whatever it ends up being called…

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the characters mentioned in this fanfiction…-Masashi Kishimoto holds that grand honour… And thank you to Yu-Gi-Oh for the inspiration for the ending~ ^w^