A/N: Hey guys, just letting you know that I may discontinue this story, or put in on a very extended hiatus. Not really getting as much feedback as I hoped for, and feel like I'm making an idiot out of myself haha. I may post one or two more chapters, but then I'll give it a rest. If anyone was actually interested in where this was heading, I'm sorry. Let me know and I may reconsider, but until then, I apologize :(

Hope you enjoy this chappy anyway. Not much happens, more so a bit of a filler. Enjoy.

It was a long, restless sleep.

Kiba's body was exhausted . His muscles and shoulder ached throughout the whole night, enabling him of a well rested sleep. His eyes were heavy with tiredness but his brain was alive with thoughts. He thought a little, he looked at the ceiling, and he thought some more. He missed his father and sister. He missed home, he missed his normal life, he missed his family.

He did manage to get a few hours sleep, and during those few hours he also managed to dream. He dreamt that he was back in the forest; standing eye to eye with the Carnotaurus he had encounted earlier. It roared, but not a single sound came out. Everything was quiet, almost mystic like, and so eerily still. Kiba didn't flinch nor did he attempt to fight the creature off. He stood there and stared as the Carnosaur charged. It felt as if it took forever to reach him, and it was at that moment he realized it couldn't; he was protected by some kind of shield. A small, petite hand gently cupped the side of his face and turned his head to face her. It was Sakura, staring sadly at him before removing her hand. As she did, sounds appeared all around him, including the Carnosaur's roar, and he turned to face the vicious creature which was now charging full speed straight towards his frozen body.

Kiba shot upright, his face and chest damp with sweat. His heart was pounding like a thousand drums beneath his chest as he tried to shake off the awful image within his mind.
He glanced out of the window next to his bed. It was early morning now, the sun had barely risen. The impatient snorts and stomping of the dinosaurs within the barn could be heard outside of his old, worn down apartment. Kiba slowly emerged from his mess of tangled sheets and walked towards the bathroom. The tiles were lit up by the Barns flood lights that shone directly through the bathroom window, casting an orange glow over the whole room. He turned the cold tap on slowly, cupping his two hands underneath it before splashing the tiny collected pool over his face.

Meanwhile Sakura was entering the barn with a large wheelbarrow of prehistoric flora and hay. It was her duty to feed the Family's livestock in the morning. She unintentionally glanced towards the old strapper apartment that Kiba was now staying in, and she could see directly through the bathroom window. She saw Kiba standing there leaned over the sink, water dripping from his face. But that wasn't what interested her; the fact that he was standing there shirtless and in boxers, is what interested her.

Her rush to get the Kyoryu fed had suddenly been slowed as her eyes caught hold of the handsome boy behind the window. She admired his tall, tanned, toned body. She had recognized his strength the previous day when he had climbed that tree with a dislocated collarbone. Small scars lined his back and some of his ribs from the coral that braised against his skin during the boat accident. She liked that he was taller than she was, and she also liked the way his stomach was lined with a hard earned six-pack. She had always had a thing for well-muscled boys; it was just one of the things that made her instantly attracted to someone. His tussled brown hair complimented his wild eyes and she appreciated the way his back muscles flexed as he moved.

Her thoughts and secretive day dreams however came to a thudding stop as she had subconsciously walked the wheelbarrow straight into the barn wall, missing the doors completely. Kiba glanced out the window at the sound of the thump, noticing Sakura standing there in a pair of cream jodhpurs and a grey hoodie, her hair thrown up in a messy pony-tail, complimented by a very pink and flustered face. For a moment he took in how casual and pretty she looked. She quickly glanced away pretending she hadn't even seen him, before picking up the spilt foliage and walking into the barn as quickly as she could.

Oh my god! How could I let myself do something so embarrassing! She through her hands to her face in humiliation, completely and utterly ashamed at her lack of slyness. Get yourself together Sakura, she thought as she dispensed the vegetation evenly amongst the Dinosaurs. You have a Jaunt in a matter of hours, now is not the time to be perving on some stupid boy.

Dex snorted within his stable, almost as if he too had picked up on her clumsiness. "Shut up you." Sakura said bluntly as she through a carrot at the large, scaled reptile.

Meanwhile Kiba had walked back to his room with an ever so smug smirk plastered across his face. He had grown accustomed to having woman admire him throughout his teenage years. Back in his home town he was a ladies man, always being chased by a female but never one to settle down. Why did he have to settle down? He knew from all the horrible stories his dad had told him about his bossy, moody, overly aggressive mother that girls were just trouble. His sister Hana however would always argue against there claims, stating that the two men just hadn't found the right woman yet. But if all women were like his mother, he didn't really even want to begin the search to find this 'right woman.'

He smirked again at how she was clumsy enough to embarrass herself as she checked him out. Hell, it was almost…cute. "Maybe this place won't be so bad after all," he mumbled quietly, burying himself beneath his warm, messy sheets.

Kiba was awoken approximately three hours later by the sound of a knock at his door. He slowly sat upright, feeling somewhat relieved as he managed to get another few hours of deep sleep in. He thought for a second who the knock could be, but figured it would be Sakura bringing him breakfast or something. He had not met anyone else besides Shino, the boy in the street who he had talked to the previous day, but even then he didn't think he had talked to him long enough for him to walk out the back of Sakura's place and visit him.

Kiba went to throw on his shirt but hesitated, remembering how funny it was to see Sakura infatuated with his shirtless physique. He smirked smugly to himself again before placing the shirt back down and strolling over towards the door.

"So, I take it you liked what you saw before, huh?" He smirked as he slowly opened the door.

"AHHH! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!"

Kiba's stomach dropped as the pink haired, emerald eyed girl he expected to see was replaced with a blonde boy with bright blue eyes holding a crate of food.

"What the! Who the hell are you!" Kiba yelled as he grabbed the nearest possible item of clothing he could find. He threw it on as quickly as he could whilst his cheeks flared with embarrassment.

"I'm Naruto, you sick perv! " the blonde clenched his teeth in fury. "Sakura's older brother!"

Kiba, his face now bright red, frowned and balled his fists. "What the hell are you doing here! I don't even know you!"

"Sakura told me to drop off this crate of food so you can make yourself breakfast! But she didn't tell me I was going to be greeted by a half naked pervert trying to hit on me!"

"I wasn't trying to hit on you, you idiot! I thought you were someone els- ugh! Never mind!" Kiba grabbed the crate of food from the blonde boy's arms. "Where is Sakura anyway? She should have done this herself."

"She's at the tracks preparing for her stupid Jaunt." Naruto replied, folding his arms against his chest. "She said she'll come and get you after the race to take you shopping or something."

Kiba frowned at the idea of Sakura attending that Jaunt. His mind flashed back to the race they went and saw yesterday, and he remembered how the dinosaur had viciously attacked the one who was racing beside it. He could still feel the rumbling of the ground, the smell of the dust, and hear the groans of the wounded dinosaur. It was dangerous and brutal, and Kiba did not like the fact that Sakura was going to put herself in that situation.

"Whatever," Kiba mumbled before stepping back inside the house. "What time does this uh, Jaunt thing start?"

"They usually start at about twelve O clock. Why do ya wanna know, anyway?

"Because maybe I want to watch it? Jeez, are you usually this annoying?"

Naruto's eyes flared with anger again. "You're the annoying one, buddy!" the blonde teen tried to stop himself from getting overly angry at the boy before him. Sakura had lectured him the night before to take it easy on the new kid, and even though he wasn't taking a great liking to this arrogant Inuzuka boy, he appreciated his sister to much to disobey her. "Let me get this straight. You want to go and watch that stupid race? Sakura told me how much you hated dinosaurs. Why would you want to go and watch it?"

"What? I don't hate them – Pfft, I don't have to explain anything to you. Why are you still here? You can leave y'know." Kiba closed the door behind him.

"Hey, you better watch your attitude pal!" The blonde screamed from outside the door. "Don't forget that you're living on my property!"

"Yeah yeah whatever," Kiba placed the box down in the kitchen. He rummaged through the items.

Inside was a loaf of bread, a small container of butter, a bottle of milk, two boxes of cereal, a tub of pea-nut butter, a glass of jam and a bottle of orange juice.

"Wouldn't mind some bacon and eggs…" he mumbled as he flipped through the remainder of the boxes contents. Then he remembered what kind of eggs he'd be eating, and his stomach turned. "Uh, maybe not."
He decided to settle for cereal. Once he had finished, he threw on the stupid Parasaur shirt that he was wearing the previous day. It stunk of sandy sea water and sweat. Kiba knew he would go insane sitting around this old house by himself, especially when Sakura was about to start her Jaunt.

"I heard off Sasuke's father that he's in the fourth gate today," Jiraiya said as he flicked through the Jaunter profile sheets. He and Sakura amongst other trainers continued to finish tacking up their Kyoryu's in the rider stables. The rider stables were a large set of rooved holding stalls equipped with rider necessities for all contestants. The stables contained a colored race jersey of their choice, tack oil, a booklet of rider profiles and a TV screen which allowed riders to view the betting stats on other Jaunters. All this was situated in what they called 'the contestant area', located in the center of the race track.

"Who cares," she replied as she tightened Dex's girth again. "I knew they wouldn't give me fourth gate, that's why I didn't train using it. Dex runs better on the out side anyway."

"Don't get too confident Sakura. Also remember Temari will be racing today, and you know she's going to target you. I want you to be very careful. Stick with Sasuke if you have to, he knows not to let anything happen to you."

"Dad! Just let me race. I've done it a million times before. Dex and I can hold our own against Temari." Her mind flashed back to yesterday, and how the blonde had reminded her of the anniversary of the awful event that took place two years ago. Her chest felt heavy, and she would admit that she was a little nervous. She knew however that she was more than capable of winning this Jaunt; she wasn't about to let haunting memories get the better of her.

Almost as if the mention of his name had been on cue, Sakura rolled her eyes at the sound of a certain ravened-haired boy's voice. "You heard your dad Pink; stick with me. Or behind me, I'll try to be as realistic as I can here."

She turned to see Sasuke leaning smugly over her stable gate. His hands were wrapped in the usual protection bandage that all riders used to prevent reign-burn, and he wore his normal navy blue riders jersey with 'Uchiha ' written in white bold letters on the back. Sasuke had always been one to match Sakura in Jaunts. Their rivalry was competitive, but friendly. Over the years their friendliness had evolved into a type of sexual competition as the two got older, their racing frustration later being taken out on each other in the bedroom rather than the race track. She was attracted to Sasuke, and he was attracted to her, but nothing had ever come of it. He was usually always away on business trips in The Hidden Mist Village with his father. She only saw Sasuke as the rich daddy's boy who knew how to race and fuck.

Jiraiya nodded to Sasuke before leaving the stall to let the two teens talk. "I'll catch up with you at the starters gates Sakura. Be serious you two; cut the shit and focus on the race please. The last thing you want is to become distracted."

Sakura nodded as she watched her dad leave, before focussing her attention back on Sasuke. "Ugh, you have to be kidding. I thought you would be fairly accustomed to watching my ass on the race track by now."

"The only time I'm ever behind you to watch your ass Sakura, is in the bedroom. We both know that." The corner of his mouth rose crookedly.

Sakura usually would have retorted with a flirtatious come back, but her mind was focussed on other things. Sasuke knew her thoughts were elsewhere and decided to cut the act.

"Two years, huh?"

The pinkette ran her hand down Dex's warm, scaly neck. Her eyes focussed on the ground, not blinking, as her mind wandered back to the day it happened. "Drop it. I'm trying not to remember."

"Suits yourself. But remember, Pink. If I'm near you when Temari try's to pull some kind of sick stunt, I'll help out. But if I'm leading then you're on your own, I'm not turning around Hideki and risking the chance of losing the prize money. Dad say's there a Liliensternus up for auction in the fire village next week. Can you imagine if I was to jaunt with that thing? I'd have every Jaunt I race in the bag."

Sakura rolled her eyes at Sasuke's typical selfishness. He was seriously going to let the girl he's known for seventeen years risk getting hurt? Not that Sakura couldn't defend herself; it was just comforting to have someone back her up if things became serious. It wasn't only his lack of protection that agitated her. She couldn't help but feel annoyed with the fact that Sasuke would dump Hideki, his Herrerasaurus, in order to buy a new dinosaur. "Ugh, that's so you. Only thinking about yourself."

Sasuke snickered, re tightening his protective bandages around his wrists and palms. "I'm sure if you were in my position, you'd focus on the win too. I mean, you did that two years ago, didn't you?"

Sakura's mouth dropped at his comment, her heart becoming heavy in her chest. It was then Sasuke realised the harshness of his words. He regretted them instantly, knowing full well Sakura may never talk to him again based on the vicious comment he had just made. "I was joking, I didn't mean that." He spat out instantly.

"Get the fuck away from me Sasuke."

"I said I was joking. Come on Pink, you know I didn't mean it."

"I said leave!" she shot him an angry glare as her voice raised with agitation. Dex flinched at the noise, his breathing increasing as he picked up on his rider's anger.

Sasuke could feel the glares from surrounding riders. The stables had gone silent. Men from the surrounding villagers tried hard to listen in on what the argument was about.

Shaking his head and tensing his mouth, Sasuke scoffed. "Whatever. Good luck."

Sasuke walked angrily down the isle which separated each of the trainer stalls. The concrete was wet with water from riders who had used the hose to cool down their Kyoryu's, and the contestant area had come alive with noise again. "Sorry boy," Sakura said quietly as she patted Dex on the snout. She scanned her eyes over his tack, making sure everything was in order as the race neared. "Boy's are just stupid."

Kiba continued to walk down the streets of Konoha, completely and utterly unsure of where he was going. He tried to remember the path that Sakura had pulled him through in order to get to the race track but couldn't remember at all.

He stopped in the middle of the road, trying to visualize where it was that she led him. He stepped to the side as the group of Protoceratops from yesterday shuffled past him. He wasn't creeped out, nor did he flinch as the creatures passed. Instead he smiled. He realised how harmless these creatures were; well, compared to the Carnotaurus from yesterday, that is.

"Oh my god, its you, it's totally you!" a screeching voice called out from behind him.

Kiba turned around, not sure if the excited yelling was intended for him, or for some other unfortunate person. Unfortunately he saw a girl with bleach blonde hair sprinting happily towards him. The girl embraced the brunette who just stood there in confusion, not knowing whether to push the crazed stranger off of him or embrace her over the top affection.

"Ahh! I can't believe you're like, here!"

"Uhh, do I know you?" Kiba asked, frowning as he awkwardly stared down at her.

She released him before taking a hold of his hand and pulling him back down the street. "Ugh, I can't believe Sakura hasn't told you about me! My name's Ino, Sakura told us all about you the night she found you on the beach! It's so exciting to finally have someone our age wash up instead of boring old people…" the blonde continued to drag him down the street. She turned around to wink at the startled brunette. "Sakura forgot to mention how handsome you were!"

"Yeah I don't mean to kill your buzz or anything, but I kind of need to be somewhere. Where are you taking me?"

"Sakura texted me last night asking if I could arrange some clothes for you. So before you go anywhere, I'm getting you out of that hideous Parasaur T-shirt and into some clothes that don't look like they were pulled straight from the charity bag."

She walked him into a small, crowded clothes shop. The lighting was very dim. The walls were lined with racks of bright and colorful clothing. Shoe racks lined the wall to the left while a jewellery stand stood opposite it. Towards the back near the counter was a young man slouched in a chair, looking bored out of his brains. He wore black jeans and a dark green T-shirt. His hair sat in a pigtail on top of his head, and he yawned as Ino pulled Kiba into the store.

"Shika! This is the boy Sakura was talking about the other night. Isn't it exciting!"

The boy didn't look the least bit phased as Ino continued to ramble on with useless information. Kiba continued to stand next to her awkwardly, still a bit taken back from her straight-forwardness.

"Shikamaru, this is…." The blonde trailed off, her eye brows furrowing in confusion. "Erm, I don't mean to be rude, but I didn't catch your name…"

Wow. This girl is totally living up to the reputation of blondes being dumb. "Uh, Kiba," he said as he scratched the back of his head. "Kiba Inuzuka."

"I'm Shikamaru." The boy lazily held out his hand and Kiba shook it. "Don't mind Ino. She tends to get so into herself sometimes that she forgets some of the most important things about people."

"Haha. Funny." The blonde snarled. "This is why we're one of the worst couples ever, because you're such an ass!" She finished glaring at the boy who was now trying to sleep, and focussed her attention back on Kiba. "Anyway, let's get you into some clothes!"

"Listen, I appreciate this gesture and all, but there's somewhere I need to be." The brunette exclaimed. He had a headache, and Ino was just adding to the fire. "Plus, I don't have any money to pay for new clothes."

"Oh sweetie, don't be ridiculous. The clothes are my treat. I can't have someone as handsome as you walking around in rags!" she pulled at his cheeks as if she were an old lady. She raced off to the front of the store, flicking through the racks of clothes looking for the perfect outfit for him to try on.

Shikamaru opened his eyes and shifted in his chair, knowing Kiba wasn't going to be leaving here any time soon. "No use fighting it dude. Once you're in here, its an eternity before you get out."

"She's really your girlfriend? I've only known the two of you for five minutes, but I can tell you'd have nothing in common with each other."

Kiba felt a little rude saying it, but he was right. Ino was so bubbly, boisterous and extravagant. She hadn't stood still since she had dragged Kiba into the store, nor had she stopped talking for more than ten seconds. Shikamaru on the other hand looked quiet and withdrawn. Kiba got the impression it wasn't shyness, but more of a dislike for people. He appeared lazy and tired, most likely because of his over-the-top girlfriend.

"Yeah, she's a drag, but she's great in bed. So really, what's a man to do." He winked sluggishly before leaning back in his chair and resting both of his feet on the footrest. He folded his arms against his chest, and shut his eyes yet again.

Before Kiba knew it, Ino had shoved him into a small, stuffy change-room. She was throwing clothes over the door every two minutes. Kiba swore that he hadn't tried on so many jeans, T-shirts and shoes within such a short time period in his life. Four pairs of Jeans, nine T-shirts, a beanie and three pairs of shoes later, Kiba had finally escaped the dreaded clutches of the change room.

"Oh my god. You're now like, one of the hottest guys in Konoha. Seriously." Ino gave herself a round of applause as she praised herself for her fantastic stylist work. Kiba looked down at what he was wearing, and although he wouldn't say it out loud, he thought he looked pretty good himself.

"There, he has some new clothes, now let the poor guy go already." Shikamaru groaned from his chair.

"Thanks for this Ino, but I seriously need to go." He looked at the bags of clothes beside him. "Listen, are you able to look after these until I get back? I'm going to watch that race thing that Sakura's entering. I can't exactly take these with me."

"Oh, you mean the Jaunt?"

"Yeah, that one."

"I should be able to hold them for you. You're staying at Sakura's place, right?" The blonde asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Well, out the back of her place actually. In that old apartment next to her family's stables."

Kiba could swear she had a glimpse of disappointment in her eye when he told her he was staying at Sakura's. Ino had a boyfriend, but he could tell she had been eyeing him off the whole time he'd been there. "I'll get Shika to drop them off at her house later today. It shouldn't be a problem, that lazy ass wouldn't be doing anything worthwhile anyway."

"I can hear you woman." The lazy brunette called from the desk. Ino rolled her eyes.

"Could you tell me which way it is to the track?" Kiba asked, changing the subject before the two got into yet another argument.

Shikamaru was the first to answer, considering Ino looked as if she had never even stepped foot inside a Jaunting arena. "Walk to the end of this street, then turn right. Follow the bush line and you'll see a little track veering off to the left."

"Alright, thanks." He thanked Ino again before leaving the store. He ran to the end of the street, feeling a whole lot cleaner now he was out of those dirty clothes. He reached the bush line and followed the directions Shikamaru had given him. It was time to talk Sakura out of that stupid race.