Clash 2: The Wolf and the Desertstorm - a collab with Amaterasu

Chapter 23

Akira chuckled as he snuck a glance behind him to see Ken in hidden pursuit. "Like he's not being obvious or anything."

"Just ignore him," Suzume held her head up high, fighting back a giggle. She grabbed Hiro by the arm so he could lead her. "We're busy. We have a bakery to raid."

Hiro's cheeks heated up when Suzume locked arms with him, but at her last few words, a smirk fought its way to his mouth. "Alright! Doughnuts and bread rolls here we come!"

"Okaaay," Akira continued to chuckle, "Let the new war and new alliances begin."

"Oh, it's be war alright if he tries anything mean." Suzume smiled brightly to Hiro. "Don't worry, I'll keep you under my protection, Hiro-kun."

"Ah... huh?" Hiro said confused while blushing madly. Protection from who?

...

Ken gasped as he witnessed Suzume and Hiro locking arms as they walked down the street. His eyes then narrowed. "I shouldn't have let my guard down after all." He was too busy stalking the duo—trio—ahead of him, that he didn't pay any attention to anything else...Like the pair quietly following after him.

...

"He's not a very subtle person, is he?" Kumiko commented as they shadowed Ken across the town.

Kuro smirked. "I think anyone can sense the jealousy radiating off of him right now."

"You don't think they will actually fight, do you?" the little girl was worried now. She liked her new found friends, but she knew Ken was a force to be reckoned with as an opponent and she didn't want her teammate to get hurt. After all, it was not Hiro's fault he was so dense.

"Nah," Kuro said casually. "Suzume won't let it go that far. She's only messing with his head."

Kumiko frowned. "That doesn't seem really fair to Hiro," she said.

"Don't worry about him," Kuro assured her, "it will be fine." He remembered all too well how things had gone last year. "A bit of rivalry will do him good, besides, at the end of the day, Suzume will go back to Konoha with Ken. Hiro knows that too. It's just that she's the first girl that pays attention to him." Like Daro with his crush on Taryn, Hiro would get over his as well. He didn't think his friend would be that upset.

...

Akira gaped in awe as he looked through the glass display at the piles of jelly rolls. "Yes! They do carry cherry and blueberry! I want one of each! Wow, prickly pear flavor? Never seen that one before."

"It's a Suna special," Hiro provided.

Suzume chuckled. "I guess that means you're going to have one of those too?"

"Do you really have to ask." Akira grinned, placing his order.

Suzume asked for her order—one raspberry filling.

"The lemon curd ones are good too," Hiro mentioned. "Oh! They have fresh pastries! Still warm!" His eyes went large as he saw a large tray being pulled from the oven.

"We'll sit here then to eat, just in case you want any more." Suzume offered, paying for her order and pointing over to the available indoor seating.

The baker laughed at Hiro's outburst. "You'll have to wait a bit, Hiro-kun. You don't want to burn yourself, do you? I'll put some to the side for you until they've cooled off." He looked over at Akira who was still ogling the display. "I see you have found a friend with common interests."

Hiro nodded eagerly. "I had to show him all the good stuff. He's not from around."

"I see that," the baker smiled, "go sit then. It's not polite to keep a lady waiting."