Genkaku (Naruto fanfic)

Chapter 2: Of ducks and dogs

She stared at the puppy for a few seconds, not quite knowing what to do until it yipped softly at her, pressing its face into her ankle before looking up at her again. Something inside her softened and she slowly extended her hand down towards it to let the dog sniff it before it pushed its head closer against her hand.

Slowly she started petting its head, scratching behind the ears intermittently for good measure, marveling at the soft feel of its fur against the palm of her hand. Belatedly she realized that her breathing was back to normal.

"Aren't you a cutie." Shizuka cooed softly.

The puppy's tail started wagging even quicker at the sound of her voice. Suddenly, it took several steps backward before it jumped right up into her lap, circling around a few times before laying down and looking first at her hand and then back up at her pointedly.

An amused puff of air escaped her nose at the dog's antics as she resumed scratching behind its ears. Its tail thumped against her thigh rhythmically.

"Akamaru! Where are you boy?!" A boy's voice echoed around the courtyard.

The puppy's ears perked up as it let out a bark louder than Shizuka had thought possible for such a small creature. Several seconds later, a young boy hobbled into the courtyard frantically looking around until his eyes fell on the dog. He visibly let out a breath of relief as he approached the pair.

The boy was wearing a comfortable looking grey vest with a furry hood paired with loose pants that matched the color of the puppy's colored fur patches on the ears. His left ankle was bandaged up and he was clearly unused to walking with the singular crutch he had with him.

"There you are, Akamaru. I was wondering where you ran off to." Belatedly the boy seemed to realize she was there. "Oh sorry if my dog bothered you. We'll be out of your hair now, let's go, Akamaru."

The dog, whose name was Akamaru apparently, stared at his owner for a moment before putting its head back down on her lap and closing his eyes.

His owner sputtered indignantly, raking a hand through his messy brown hair.

"Leave the nice girl alone. Come on."

The puppy didn't even glance in the boy's direction.

"I am so sorry about Akamaru, he doesn't usually act like this." The bow did an awkward semi-bow, hindered by his crutch, clearly embarrassed by his mutinous dog.

"It's okay." Shizuka mumbled.

If anything, she should be thankful to the little puppy for coming over and distracting her from her own mind.

With his dog clearly not going anywhere, the boy was left standing in front of her awkwardly. He obviously couldn't leave without his dog. He scratched his neck in discomfort, gaze scanning around the courtyard for who knows what.

"You can uh sit down if you want." She shuffled to the side of the bench, careful not to jostle the puppy in her lap.

"Uh yes, right. Thanks." 

The boy took a seat next to her, placing his crutch down on the ground and stretching his injured leg out. The only sounds filling the clearing was the thumping of Akamaru's tail against her thigh and the soft quacking of the ducks swimming around the pond.

It was painfully awkward.

Shizuka shot furtive glances at Akamaru's owner from the corner of her eyes. Judging by the way he was fumbling with his thumbs in his lap, he was feeling equally uncomfortable by the situation the two strangers found themselves in.

"So-"

"Right-"

They spoke simultaneously.

Shizuka cleared her throat, raking a hand down the dark strands of her hair before gesturing for the boy to speak first.