Dedicated to: Bullwinkle's Lady, and any strange people that have me on alert because my previous works, quite honestly, stunk.
What happens at Team 8's first meeting. Oneshot, thinking about making a series of them revolving around this one scene. No flaming, constructive witticisms and compliments welcome with wide-open arms and two-week old Valentine 's Day chocolate. Enjoy! (I hope)
Kurenai had ordered her team to assemble at what she believed would be one of the ideal places to practice, with leafy trees surrounding a small clearing, providing shade, privacy, and room for evasive strategies when they actually came to sparring.
Shino arrived first, as she expected. He stayed hidden behind his sunglasses, the image of a silent enigma wrapped in a mystery pulled off with ingenuity.
Hinata came shortly after, stammering her apologies and trying not to show her fear of this new environment and behave as her father believed befitting the heir of the prestigious Hyuuga clan.
Kiba arrived ten minutes later yet with his dog and no apologies, but Kurenai was just glad not to have a Kakashi-personality on her team. In fact, her team as a whole was very well-balanced, and Kurenai reminded herself to thank Iruka later.
"Before we train together, we must become well-acquainted with one another's personalities," she stated. "In order to do so, you may each ask a question to your teammates. I trust you will not ask anything crude-" Kurenai paused, her piercing red glaze lingering a moment too long on Kiba, "-and answer the inquiries as honestly as you can."
"I'll go first," said Kiba, smiling devilishly as he turned to Hinata.
"Who is the most handsome guy you know?" he asked, expecting either himself or the Uchiha. (Really, can anyone blame him?)
Hinata blushed and stammered. "W-well… N-n-n-" she was cut off by Shino. "It's Naruto-san, obviously." he stated, emotionless.
Kiba snorted, disbelieving anyone could get past his godlike- I mean doglikecharm. (Right…
"Who do you think is the strongest genin?" Kiba asked, directing the question towards Shino this time.
"…It depends which strength you are describing…" was Shino's cryptic response.
"Strength as a ninja, of course!" Kiba explained, barking with laughter.
"Nara Shikamaru… he does no unnecessary actions yet does what is needed of him." replied Shino, his expression still masked. "Now it is my turn…and I'll ask you first, Kiba."
"What is your strong technique in battle?" asked Shino.
"Now, I don't really know any techniques… but I'm sure Kurenai-sensei will teach me some awesome moves I can try with Akamaru!" exclaimed Kiba, directing a hopeful grin towards his silently observing teacher, who responded with her own small smile.
"Hinata-sama…what did you do on the first day of school? You weren't at the academy," asked Shino, muttering the second part.
"A-ano…I l-like… bees," blurted out Hinata, surprisingly not stuttering on the last word. "M-my f-f-father was l-leaving on a…m-mission of s-sorts and force- w-wanted me to s-spar with him. I w-was going to c-come to s-school f-for the l-last hour b-but I got caught up w-watching them."
"K-Kiba-kun…w-why do you h-have those… r-red t-triangles on y-your f-f-face?" Hinata asked, gazing at her feet in embarrassment but genuinely interested.
"At first the people in my clan were fierce warriors, and would wear this face-paint when they went to war. But they went ahead of the army in their eagerness for battle, and got lost in the woods. The warriors encountered wolves in the forest after three days whom they befriended instead of killing for food. The animals recognized their kindness and rewarded it in kind by leading my ancestors to a stream and edible bushes. They then led the warriors out of the forest and into Konoha, where my clan decided to become ninjas while keeping their loyalty to the wolves. We keep this face-paint as a reminder that we would never have become shinobi if not for those intelligent wolves, who evolved to even more amazing dogs like Akamaru," said Kiba proudly, ruffling said canine's fur affectionately.
"Sh-sh-shino-kun, w-why-" here poor Hinata turned beet-red at the thought of talking to her stoic teammate, but took a deep, calming breath and ploughed on. "Why do you wear your s-sunglasses?"
Shino regarded her thoughtfully behind said glasses before sighing and taking them off. "Girls stalked me in elementary school. I do not need such distractions when training," he replied, balancing the glasses perfectly on the handle edge with the tip of his finger.
"A-aah…" whispered Hinata understandably, feeling another blush come on as Shino replaced his shades over his deep eyes, which were many shades darker than Sakura's glittery green.
Kurenai beamed at the endearing scene, also pleased with the information she had herself gleaned from the exchange. Kiba was concerned with people, Shino their actions, and Hinata the reason behind said actions. She was wrong with assuing they evened each other out; her team's individual skills would be enhanced by the others, not toned down.