The sun was beating down on Kiba, drying the water droplets that were sprinkled along his skin. He squinted his eyes against the sun's rays and turned his head to the left. There, lay Ino, clad in only her thong and bra, her head resting on Akamaru's back. Her golden hair was glowing with a life of its own under the sun and her pale skin became illuminated.

Kiba let his eyes trail up and down her body, greedily soaking up every inch of her. He had tried so many times to picture her like this in his mind. Through all of the one night stands, all of the strip clubs, all of the crazy parties, he'd chased after every bleached strand of hair with tits that he could find. But nothing was as perfect as the real thing. Nothing was as perfect as Ino.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Damn.

Kiba tore his eyes from her body and saw that she was looking directly at him, her eyes were now a sky blue in the sunlight.

"Don't flatter yourself, blondie," Kiba muttered.

Still, he felt like he was a little boy again and he had just gotten caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He tilted his head away from her and back towards the sun. The heat against his face wasn't exactly unpleasant, but the light was enough to annoy him. He wished he had sunglasses.

A light breeze dragged across his body, making him feel refreshed and comfortable in spite of the heat. Along with the breeze came the overwhelming scent of Ino, a smell Kiba was sure he'd never be bored of. It was a smorgasbord of various flowers and fruits that left his mouth watering and his heart aching with a feeling of want that was nearly unfathomable.

He sighed and pulled his arm over his eyes, squeezing his hand into a fist. Seeing her like this and being this close to her just reminded him further that if it wasn't for Shikamaru, he might have had a chance with her. He might have been able to be with her like this everyday.

He already knew Akamaru was growing fond of Ino. Back when he had first discovered Ino swimming in the river, he and Akamaru had locked eyes and had some sort of telepathic conversation. It was apparent that Akamaru was enjoying her presence in their home, not only as a friend, but as a means of making Kiba happy and keeping him out of trouble. This meant the world to Kiba since Akamaru's opinion meant more than even Tsume's.

If Ino met Tsume and Hana and they liked her, what would I do then? Kiba thought solemnly. If I love her, and everyone I know loves her, why should we be apart?

It was unfair, it was torturous, and swimming with her and sleeping with her and being half naked with her...it was only getting worse.

Kiba pulled himself up in a rush, leaping up onto the tree branch where his clothes were still dangling, swaying in the afternoon wind. He pulled on his pants and tugged his shirt on over his head.

"Kiba?" Her voice slid into his ear like a thread of silk. Kiba felt goosebumps dance across his body.

"Hm?"

"What are you doing?"

He looked down at her. There was worry in her big, blue eyes and below that, Kiba died inside as he scanned her voluptuous body. He had to go, and he had to go now, otherwise, he might do something he knew would come to regret.

"I just remembered that I had made plans with Naruto today," Kiba winced slightly as the lie escaped from his lips.

"Naruto?" Ino gave him a puzzled look.

"Yeah. He said we needed to talk about some stuff."

It was such a lame excuse, and it came with such a piss poor story. Still, Ino seemed to buy it. At least, she didn't try to stop him from leaving.

He watched her stand up and Akamaru stood up beside her, using his furry form to cover most of her body from the ribs down.
"Alright. When should I stop by to train?"

Kiba shrugged. "Whenever is fine. I'm running on your schedule. You have the ball and chain, not me."

Her eye brows furrowed a bit but she nodded, not saying another word.

"Come on, Akamaru," Kiba called. He watched Akamaru turn to lick Ino's hand softly before leaping up onto the tree branch next to him. Not allowing himself to sneak another look at Ino's body, he hopped onto Akamaru and let his canine companion carry him back to his house and as far away from temptation as possible.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, dudes. I'll have more for Kiba later ;) R&R and all that jazz