"Man, I still can't believe I did that!" Kiba shouted, "Really pisses me off. What a damn rookie mistake!"

"Don't dwell on it too much," Shino told him calmly. "In the heat of battle, it's not always possible to react perfectly. Snap judgements are often called for. I, myself, have sometimes--"

"Hey, it's not you we're talking about here!" Kiba snapped. "It's me. You're not the guy with the injured pet. Akamaru broke his leg because of my screwup."

Shino said nothing. It'd already been two days since the incident in question, but Kiba hadn't let it go. They both knew it hadn't been his fault. Their team had been ambushed, and everyone had reacted as best they could. But, when Akamaru was involved, Kiba sometimes lost perspective. He was too quick to punish himself when Akamaru was concerned. Too eager to condemn himself as a bad master.

"I just hope he's doing okay," Kiba said.

"I'm sure Hinata is taking good care of him. We left them in a safe place."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just . . . " Kiba kicked a rock, before suddenly exploding, "UGHH! This blows! If my mom was here, she'd beat my ass raw for letting Akamaru down. It'd hurt like a bitch, but at least I could stop feeling so rotten afterwards!"

Kiba fumed and mulled it over. He hated it whenever his mother decided to discipline him. It was almost always painful, humiliating, and, worst of all, public. There was always forgiveness once it was over, though. . . . And now he couldn't get Akamaru's pained yowls out of his head. The sickening crunch of the dog's bone getting cruelly crunched.

Then, he looked at Shino, as if noticing his teammate was there for the first time.

"Hey, Shino . . . " Kiba grinned. "We've been buddies for a while now. Worked together for years, yeah?"

"This is true."

"So . . . if I asked you to do me a favor, you'd help me out, right?"

"I suppose."

"Even if it sounded sorta weird?"

"What exactly are you asking me, Kiba?"

"Uhh, well, I guess I'm asking for a, uh . . . " Kiba bit his lip, and gathered up his courage. He squared his shoulders and puffed his chest out. "I need you to beat my ass, Shino!"

"You . . . I'm sorry?"

Kiba gritted his teeth. "Do I need to spell it for you, man? I need a good spanking."

Shino stood very still. "I don't want to give you a spanking, Kiba."

"Hey, I don't want one either!" Kiba quickly pointed out. "I gotta get one though, or I'll feel guilty forever! But, as long as I'm punished for my screwup . . . "

Shino regarded his teammate. "You seek absolution through pain," he said in sudden understanding.

"Uhhh . . . " Kiba scratched his head. "I guess? All I know is, I need a hard ass-beating from somebody, or I won't be able to look Akamaru in the eye when we get back."

"Couldn't you ask one of your clansmen instead, or--?"

"Well, if one of them were around, I wouldn't need to ask. I'd be flipped over their knee before you could say 'Go Fetch'," Kiba said. "But it's just you and me out here. And it'll be a while before we make it back to the village, so . . . C'mon, Shino! You got to do it!"

" . . . Very well then." Shino had worked with Kiba since they were genin, and knew his habits well. The incident with Akamaru had clearly rattled him, and it was necessary for him to regain his focus. If spanking his teammate would accomplish that, then Shino had no qualms. "You'll have to direct me, however. I've never taken part in this procedure."

Kiba chuckled. "What, the Aburame don't spank their kids?"

"No. We punish our youth in . . . other ways."

"Huh. Okay. I probably don't want to know. You can start by sitting down, I guess. I figure over your lap should be easiest." Kiba fiddled with the clasp on his pants, then he drew them down.

Kiba's underwear went with them.

Shino almost did a spit-take. "Kiba. You're . . . "

"Naked, yeah. Didn't I mention that?" Kiba asked. "All spankings in the Inuzuka clan are bare-ass."

His jacket was far too short to cover any of his lower extremities, so Kiba didn't even bother trying to cover anything up. He just let it all hang out in plain view, with only a faint facial flush betraying any embarrassment he might've felt. Shino suspected this was part of the ritual. Then, the Inuzuka laid across his lap. Kiba's body felt strange, draped over him half-nude. Heavy, and warm. Twin crests of ass rose from the tops of muscular legs, and even Shino had to admit they were fairly spankable.

Kiba stiffened slightly, most likely from feeling the thrum of kikaichu inside Shino's thighs. The bugs had always disgusted the Inuzuka, and it was probably difficult to willingly remain next to them. It was a testament to Kiba's determination, that he remained in his vulnerable, horizontal position. After a few moments, the guy managed to relax. Notably, his buttocks became much less tense. "You can start whenever you want," he muttered.

Shino nodded, and drew his hand back. He swatted down on one buttock, causing it to slightly wobble. Then he repeated the process on the other cheek. He started going back and forth between them, slapping down lightly like he assumed a seasoned spanker would. They did do warm-ups in spanking, didn't they?

After a good minute had gone by, however, Kiba turned around. "Uh, what exactly are you doing back there?"

" . . . Spanking you?" Shino queried.

"No you're not. It feels more like you're playing patty-cake." He checked out his ass. "Man, I'm not even pink yet! What's the deal?"

"I apologize," Shino said stiffly. "As I said, I've never done something like this before."

"Yeah, I can tell. Well, to start with, I'm not made of anything breakable. Swing your hardest at me. Seriously, make 'em sting."

"Hmm . . . " Shino considered. "Like this?" He swatted down with considerable force, making Kiba's muscled buns bounce. Immediately, a red mark appeared on the flesh.

"Ow--!" Kiba winced. "Yeah, more like that."

Shino nodded and started putting more power to his spanks. He was quickly satisfied with the results. Both Kiba's buttocks soon sported bright red "tattoos", and, judging by the indrawn breaths and slight squirm to his hips, Kiba was beginning to feel the burn.

"Ouch . . . Don't hit just one spot, either. Spread 'em around the cheeks. You gotta get the top, the sides, the bottom . . . " Kiba groaned.

"The bottom?"

"Yeah."

Shino's lips quirked up in a rare display of amusement. "I thought I was already hitting the bottom." He swatted down heavily.

"Ow! You know what I meant!"

Shrugging, Shino did as Kiba told him. The Inuzuka was the expert in matters of spanking, after all. He swatted all around his teammate's ass, paying particular attention to the areas at the base of his thighs. He was soon rewarded with more grunts and yelps from the guy.

As more and more swats crashed down on his backside, Kiba began to regret asking for this. Shino had picked up the nuances of a good spanking very quickly, and now it was starting to hurt like hell. His whole butt had to be red by now--it felt hot and sore all over. He gritted his teeth and tried to shield his ass. "Ooh . . . ! Ah, okay, Shino. I think that's enough--yow! I've learned my lesson."

But Shino didn't stop. Instead, he seized Kiba's wrists and drew them up his back. He didn't even take a break from the steady spanks. "I can't stop yet, Kiba," he said. "Why is that? Because I still haven't properly disciplined you."

"O--ow!" Kiba struggled. "Hey! Man, stop!"

"I haven't even shown you my trump card yet."

"Your--nng!--what?"

Wordlessly, Shino drew a mass of kikaichu up his arm. They gathered around the palm, coalescing like a glove. Once he had sufficient amount, he slammed the black, wriggling cloud of insects into Kiba's rump.

"YOOWWW!" Kiba arched his back in pain. "What the hell was that!?"

"My kikaichu."

"It felt like a whole hive of bees just stung my ass!"

"That is, in effect, what happened," Shino replied. He did it again, and Kiba howled. Now, both of Kiba's red buttocks sported an array of tiny bite marks. He raised his arm again.

"Fuck! Stop!" Kiba yelled, bucking.

Beneath the cowl of his jacket, Shino smiled slightly. Kiba had asked for a good, hard, spanking, and that was just what he was going to get.