I guess love is like a flower, huh, Shino?

Nuture it right, and it can blossom into something beautiful.

But slip up once, and it can wither, and crumple,

and die.

KILLING FLOWERS
A Shino x Kiba story, based on a soon-to-be-made doujinshi
by Jay

Do you remember the first time we met, Shino? I do. It wasn't a very pleasant moment, but it was still precious to me.

I remember the very first thing I said to you.

"What, THAT FREAK OVER THERE?!"

"Kiba!" the teacher scolded, "Sit back down and apologize! You will show respect to your peers, and especially your newly assigned teammate."

"But Iruka-sensei!!" Kiba wagged his index finger at the accused classmate across the room. "He's weird! He talks to bugs, who the hell does that?!"

The amused snickers of a toublesome blonde boy were heard from the back of the room, and the yawns of a bored one next to him.

"Yes," Iruka continued, "and you talk to a dog. Does anyone else in this room to talk to dogs?" The chuunin turned and asked the entire class, which burst out into laughter. Kiba sat back down and grumbled, throwing a glare at the Aburame boy who still hadn't said a word. Finally the quiet student spoke up as the children's chuckles died down, and his words were directed straight at the Inuzuka.

"Why don't you just let me be weird on my own, then?" The words came slowly in a deep voice, slightly muffled from behind the tall coat collar. As he spoke, he rose a hand and let tiny bugs crawl over it. A few people stared in amazement; Kiba cringed.

Kiba raised his hand with a fanged grin on his face, never the type to stay silenced. "Excuse me? Sensei? Can I please be excused? I think I have to throw up." Some of the students laughed at his rude comment.

Shino didn't say anything.

"That's enough, Kiba. If you don't start treating your new teammate with more respect, then you will be punished. Now, moving on. Team 7: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura…"

As the ever-patient teacher's voice droned on in the distance, Kiba turned his head to glare at the 'freak' that was to be his new teammate. Shino only looked at him from the corner of his eye, concealed under his ever-present sunglasses. The air between them froze like ice.

Kiba stuck out his tongue and then turned back his head to start doodling in his notebook.

Shino didn't say anything.

You know, I didn't really think anymore about what I had said until later, but now I wonder. I wonder how much you thought about what I had said. I wonder how much it actually hurt.

But you never tell me, do you Shino? Even if it did hurt, I bet your pride would block the path of any emotions wanting to slip out.

When class was dismissed, I met up with Hinata, who thought we should practice training as a team now that we were one. That was the next time that we talked to eachother. Do you remember, Shino?

Kiba walked along the peaceful dirt path right outside of the academy, a dog sticking out of his coat, and a nervous girl by his side. Tree branches overhead loomed above them, leaving only speckled spots of sunlight on their forms.

"D-Do you think he w-went home, Kiba-k-kun?" The girl asked, her hands up to her chest and her head bent low. Said 'Kiba-kun' was still confident as ever.

"Nah, he's probably just being a wimp and hiding because he doesn't wanna face me." The small dog in his jacket barked, and both students' heads jerked up to see Aburame Shino up ahead of them on the path.

Kiba's grin grew wider, as he gave Hinata a rough pat on the back and exclaimed, "See? Told ya, he's right over there! YO, FREAK!" Kiba called out, as Hinata grew more nervous at the tension that might ensue.

Shino didn't move as the two, plus dog, approached him.

"The hell's wrong with you?" The wild brunette said after running up to him. "We've been looking everywhere for your ass!"

"It's not my obligation to inform you of where I am at all times." Came the deep voice again, calm and blunt. Kiba's reply was not as calm.

"Don't get cocky with me, buddy!" He sneered, his finger harshly poking the other boy in the chest. "It's not like I give a shit about where you were, but Hinata, here, thinks we should train with eachother." He motioned with his other hand to the blushing girl behind him.

Hinata spoke out in her small voice, the blush spreading like a fever. "U-um… Yes, I was j-just thinking…B-but if you want, we don't have t-to or anything, I just th-thought...um…"

"I'm afraid it's not in my interest to train with you both. Maybe another day."

Kiba's anger levels rose at Shino's statement, and he grabbed the other's collar in one wild swoop. His eyes seemed to snarl as much as his teeth were. "Listen you, who the hell do you think you are to say that WE can't train as a team?!"

Shino remained silent until Kiba shook him and spat out a loud, "Well?!" He slapped away Kiba's tight grip and repeated, "I don't have time today. Maybe another day."

Shino's calm replies acted like a swarm of ants crawling up Kiba's leg. "Like we have to fit YOUR schedule?!"

Hinata started to walk up to them, hoping to stop the argument before it got any more serious, but Kiba glared at her to stay back before turning his attention back to the bug-boy in front of him.

"You know what? FUCK YOU. I never wanted to include you, anyway. And don't even bother in coming back to train with us tommorow! Just…..LEAVE." His hands urged to punch something, but he held back for Hinata's sake.

Kiba turned his back on Shino and led Hinata to a quieter place where they could train on their own. Training would come in handy for easing the twitching feeling in Kiba's fists.

As they walked along, Kiba started venting about what a snooty jerkass Shino was, Hinata only sighing a breath of relief that the fight had stopped at that.

Shino didn't say anything.

I'm not sure why I got so worked up. Was it the flat tone in your voice? The fact that you didn't seem to be bothered by it all one bit? Or was it the way you never said more than you had to?

I wish I would've known myself. But I wish even more that I wouldn't have been so stubborn. So stubborn not to see the way you never even looked at me for the next 24 hours.

So clueless not to notice the smell of dried tears on your coat the next day.

But you were never one to show emotions, were you? Even after it all, after we we got together and everything, I could never hear you say those three words in anything above a whisper. Those three words my heart aches to hear again...

"I love you."

"What?!" Kiba screeched from his position on the couch. Akamaru squirmed around, startled, from his position on Kiba's lap.

"Liar! You never loved me, Garcia! I know it! I know it when I see you flirt with my sister, Veronica! You're only using me, aren't you!"

"You tell him, girl! That bastard wouldn't know love if it kicked him in the ass!" Kiba cheered, Akamaru rolling his eyes with a light whimper.

"AREN'T YOU, you conniving cheat?!"

Kiba's attention was drawn away from the TV as he heard his father yell out from the upstairs bedroom, "Kiba! Turn that crap down, you're a young man, for god's sake! What young man watches that trash?"

"Fine, fine!" Kiba yelled up, annoyed, turning down the volume low so that his parents wouldn't hear. "It's not my fault if this show is addicting," he muttered to the dog in his lap. Akamaru nestled his head into Kiba's stomach more, until his whole body perked up at the sound of the doorbell ringing.

"I'll get it!" Kiba shouted, getting up and tossing the remote down onto the couch. He opened the door to see Hinata, her hands at her side bunching up the fabric of her jacket, her head facing the ground.

After talking to her, it was easy to conclude that what she had asked me to do seemed like the most impossible thing in the world.

And later I found that, no, it wasn't impossible, just the worst thing that I could've been asked to do at that moment.

Ever.

-End of Chapter One-