Cats and Dogs (Naruto)

Chapter Six

Mace and Layla were still in the hospital when the finals for the chunin exams rolled around. Shiro had spent the majority of her time in the hospital with her friends. Genma occasionally showed up to drag her out of the hospital for fresh air. On the morning of the final Mace and Layla ordered Shiro out of the hospital and even went so far as to have the medical staff escort her off the premises.

Shiro sighed as she wandered around the village aimlessly, she didn't know where the finals were being held or where anything was located. Genma was the proctor for the final exam and had probably arrived early. Kuro was snoozing atop Shiro's head not seeming the least bit bothered by her aimless wandering and pacing.

Her ears picked up on a familiar voice that instantly grated on her nerves, it was the stupid dog lover. Shiro turned in time to see him heading in her direction, he looked lost in thought and didn't appear to have noticed her presence. He was wearing a plain black zip up hooded jacket with his faithful puppy lounging in the hood hanging on his back. His dark brown hair was a tousled mess, he looked like he'd just rolled out of bed not too long ago.

The puppy in his hood barked upon spotting the cat like girl, causing Shiro to jump and try to scramble out of his line of view with a squeak. She ended up diving behind a chalkboard sign for a nearby café before cursing herself. Why was she hiding?!

"What are you doing, Hairball?" Kiba pondered as he paused in front of the café upon noticing her display of odd behavior. "You know, you can't play hide and seek alone, right?" He teased her.

"S-Shut up! I thought I dropped something!" Shiro covered quickly. "Why are you here?"

"I was on my way to meet Hinata at the training grounds." He shrugged, "Do you always dive on top of something when you think you dropped it?"

Shiro shot him a glare, "So, what if I do?!"

Kiba chuckled, "You're weird."

"You're weirder, Fleabag." Shiro hissed as she scrambled to her feet and dusted off her black spandex capris before righting the long loose fitted lavender tank top Layla insisted she wear. It was long enough that it fell past her bottom and had a cute little white cat embroidered on the front chasing a ball of white yarn.

Kiba shook his head, "Are you going to watch the finals?"

"Obviously that's where I was going." Shiro huffed.

"You have no idea where you're going, do you?" He smirked. "Need my help?"

"As if I'd ever stoop so low as to need help from a stupid dog!" Shiro stubbornly folded her arms across her chest and turned her nose up in the air.

Kiba laughed at this, which was not the reaction she was expecting and she nearly lost her composure, "They were right, you're not honest at all."

"Sh-Shut up!" Shiro's face burned and she turned abruptly and stormed off in a different direction than she had been before, praying it was the right way.

"Still the wrong direction..."

"I know what I'm doing!" Shiro huffed before turning and heading in the opposite direction.

"Still not right, just come with me." Kiba smirked.

Shiro stomped her foot in annoyance before turning back around and trailing after the smug Dog Boy. Her face felt like it was on fire, he really knew how to get under her skin. Once they reached the training grounds and were under the cover of trees, Shiro felt herself begin to relax. Kuro was still snoozing, not the least bit disturbed by her earlier outburst.