Lil' Stuffers: Chapter 3

“Mmm,” Naruto sighed as he walked through Konoha’s streets on his way to the training grounds, hands in his pockets and his head tilted up. “Man, I picked a great day to train! Sun’s out, weather’s nice, streets aren’t too crowded...” He grinned, taking his hands out of his pockets and folding them behind his head as he continued walking. I mean, it still sucks that I’m stuck like this, but really, why be grumpy on such a nice day?

He continued walking for a few minutes, sighing happily as the beams of sunlight hit his face. “Ah, yeah, that feels nice… So warm…heehee…”

His eyes flew open. Wait a minute…. Did I just giggle?

Giggling was nothing new to him, of course; he’d done it often while playing pranks, and even during many of his eating competitions with Kiba. Those times, though, he had giggled simply because of his victims’ reaction to the prank, or at the feeling of his belly slowly expanding.

But giggling just because the sun made him feel nice and warm? That was a new one…

“Must be this stupid jutsu,” Naruto groused, inspecting his 8-year-old body. “Bad enough I look like a kid again; now I’m thinkin’ like one, too!” His former good mood abruptly gone, he folded his arms and pouted as he continued to walk. “Guess it’s like Granny said….”
---
Tsunade’s eyes widened at the sight of the two small, yet very familiar children glaring at her, each now wearing more form-fitting clothes. “What…what on Earth….” In spite of her surprised tone, she managed to keep her composure; Kages needed to conduct themselves with dignity, after all.

Kakashi was the first to speak. “Tsunade-sama, that jutsu we were told about? It seems our intel was a bit…faulty on its exact effects.”

“A bit faulty?!” Naruto had piped up, soft blue eyes hardening in indignation. He rounded on the Hokage. “What kinda bozo gets ‘jutsu that disintegrates people’ mixed up with ‘jutsu that turns people into little kids’?”

Tsunade sighed. “I’m sorry, Naruto; I really am. We knew nothing that suggested this jutsu was anything more than a simple disintegration technique. And at any rate, the end result of both would have been the same.” She leaned back in her chair. “All things considered, you two got off fairly easy.”

“Easy?!” Kiba had snapped, balling up his fists and causing Akamaru to whimper. “You call this ‘easy’?!” He held up his hands, allowing Tsunade to see them in their entirety.

Tsunade remained unperturbed. “Considering you two would have regressed out of existence had it not been for Yamato and Kakashi’s intervention…yes, I’d say you got off easy.” Kiba yelped, taking a step backward…and falling flat on his rump, thanks to an unfortunate misstep. “Owww…” he hissed, rubbing the seat of his pants while Akamaru craned his head down, checking to see if his partner was all right.

“That being said,” Tsunade continued, folding her hands on her desk and quirking an eyebrow at Kiba, “I’ll have to have some tests run on the two of you right away.”

Both boys had yelped at that. “Tests?” Naruto had whispered, his eyes widening in thinly-veiled terror.

“Yes,” Tsunade affirmed. “We’ll have to confirm exactly what effects this jutsu has had on your bodies, what effect, if any, it’s had on your minds, and most importantly…” she paused significantly. “…whether there is any way of reversing it.”
---
The tests, Naruto recalled with a grimace, had involved a lot of poking, X-rays, and a bunch of weird, medical jutsu stuff he didn’t understand. After a few days of this, the results had come in.

The good news, as Tsunade had relayed it to them, was that the jutsu was reversible; all the medical ninja needed to do was develop a jutsu that would remove the rogue ninjas’ chakra from their bodies and simply allow them to age quickly to their proper ages.

The bad news? Well…

“A few weeks?!” Naruto exclaimed. His eyes widened once again. “Why so long?!”

    Tsunade sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Like I’ve told you both,” she began tersely, “this jutsu is far more complex and well-put-together than we had initially imagined. We need time to develop and perfect our own counter-jutsu…and by perfect, I mean we must make absolutely certain there is nothing that can go wrong.”

“ But what are we supposed to do about missions?” Kiba piped up, shifting in his perch atop Akamaru’s back so as to better see his Hokage. Due to his ‘condition,’ it looked as though he were a child on a pony ride…except in this case, the ‘pony’ was more like a full-grown mustang. “We can’t just hang around the village doing nothing!”

“Absolutely not,” was Tsunade’s immediate reply. Kiba’s face fell, as did Naruto’s. “You’re far more vulnerable in this state, and I will not have any of our young ninja dying needlessly. Besides,” she added, shaking her head, “as I’ve told you before, the jutsu also affected your minds; you could easily lose your cool in a dangerous situation.”

Naruto snorted. “Granny, please; I know our bodies are messed up, but that doesn’t mean our minds are affected that much…”

Kiba chose this moment to butt in. “Hate to interrupt, but can we go now? I’m sleepy.” He yawned widely, moisture collecting at the corners of his eyes as they squinted shut. “Right now, I just wanna go home and snuggle with Akamaru.” At this, the dog’s ears had perked up in surprise, and both Tsunade and Naruto’s eyes flicked towards the young dog-nin. Seemingly not noticing, the boy went on. “I mean, he’s so big now; its actually really nice to just crawl up and cuddle with him. It’s sorta like being wrapped in a buncha blankets, ‘cept its even nicer ‘cause Akamaru’s so fluffy and warm.” The boy giggled, grinning at the thought even as he remained oblivious to Naruto and Tsunade’s steadily widening eyes. “Plus, he makes funny noises when he sleeps, and they help me have nice dreams. Isn’t that right, boy?” Still grinning, he looked down at the massive dog from his perch.

The dog did not reply immediately, instead flicking his own eyes upwards at his partner and staring up at him (or as best he could, given Kiba’s position). Uh, Kiba… the dog ruffed, his eyes widening.

Kiba frowned quizzically. “Yeah? What is it, boy?” Starting, he looked up to see Tsunade and Naruto staring at him with much the same expression; the blue-eyed boy’s mouth was even hanging open a bit. “What? What are you looking at?” He growled slightly. “Hey, I was just talkin’ about how comfy Akamaru is to cuddle with, and how funny those noises he makes are, and how nice it is to-“

He came to an abrupt stop as his own words finally registered in his mind. His mouth snapped shut, and he felt his face heat up. “W-wait,” he stuttered, his facial markings becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from the rest of his face, “I didn’t mean to say it like tha-“

It was at that moment Naruto burst out laughing.
---
“Heh, what an idiot,” Naruto giggled as he recalled the memory. “Didn’t even realize he was talkin’ like a little kid!” He grinned, some of his former good mood returning. “Least I haven’t done anything like that.” He grinned wider. “Yep, as long as I stay alert, like a real ninja’s supposed to be, I won’t end up saying dumb stuff like that. ‘Course, Kiba’s probably too busy playing with Akamaru to pay attention to that kinda stuff…”
---
Kiba whooped, face set in a massive grin as Akamaru bounded through the streets. “Woohoo, yeah! Go, Akamaru!” He pumped one arm in the air, being careful to hold on tight with his other arm.  “Don’t slow down, boy!”

Couldn’t even if I wanted to! Akamaru barked back, his reply nearly lost at the speed he was running. Speed I’m going now, I’d probably send ya flying!

Kiba laughed. “Ooh, sounds fun! We should try it!”

How about no? the massive dog ruffed flatly, not taking his eyes off the street.

Kiba grinned and gave the dog a friendly smack with his free hand. “Ah, c’mon, boy; what’s the worst that could happen?” he giggled, blushing slightly as he did so.

Giving a resigned sigh, Akamaru tilted his head slightly, trying to look at the young boy perched on his back. Seriously, Kiba, you’re not as sturdy right now as you usually are. You could end up getting really hurt. Kiba’s mouth opened slightly, and his eyes widened just a bit. Seeing that he had the boy’s attention, Akamaru continued. I mean, what if I stopped and ended up sending you flying into a brick wall, or through a window, or even…

“Vegetable cart!”

The dog’s eyes widened at Kiba’s sudden outburst.  Not exactly what I was thinking, and seeing as how they’re not exactly rock-solid, I don’t see how…

A spike of inexplicable panic shot through Akamaru’s body at that moment. Instinctively, he returned his attention to the street…and promptly yipped in panic. He’d been too preoccupied with Kiba to notice it before, but now he saw it, “it” being a small cart of vegetables and the man who was pulling it along. He was frozen in place, mouth gaping and eyes the size of saucers, too shocked to do anything else.  This expression became reflected on Akamaru’s face as he realized he was making a beeline right for it.

Oh, crap! Yelping, Akamaru tensed his legs and pushed off the ground, leaping into the air just seconds before he would have smashed into the terrified man. He sucked in his stomach and raised his legs as much as he could, hoping he wouldn’t end up brushing the merchant. Kiba, far from being frightened, was ecstatic, pumping both arms in the air with an excited “Yahoo!” (he made sure to  cling onto Akamaru’s sides with his legs, so as not to topple off.)

The dog needn’t have bothered, though; the moment the man saw the dog bounding towards him, he winced at covered his head, ducking down as quickly as possible. As a result, the massive ninken sailed smoothly over him.

The cart, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. As the dog reached the end of his arc and his front paws smacked onto the street, his back paws clipped the back end of the cart. At the speed he was going, this was sufficient to tip the cart over, sending an assortment of cabbages, squash, tomatoes, and who knows what else sailing up and through the air. As a result, there was barely enough time for Akamaru’s back paws to contact the ground with an audible thud before the volley of produce smacked into Kiba’s back, splattering on his shirt. Yelping in surprise, the boy loosened his leg-grip on Akamaru and tried to turn around to see what was hitting him, only to splutter as several tomatoes splattered onto his face and the front of his shirt. Furiously wiping at his face to clear the splattered vegetable out of his eyes, he loosened his grip on Akamaru a bit. Unfortunately, this resulted in him losing his balance and toppling off the side of his partner’s back. He winced as he landed on the ground, giving a small cry of pain as he did so.

Feeling the weight leave his back, Akamaru skidded to a stop. Kiba? Spinning around, he looked downwards to see  his friend lying on his side, cheek pressed against the ground. One arm was lying flat out to the side, the other pressing against the street, as though preparing to push himself up. The back of his shirt had several large splatters dotting it (mostly from tomatoes,) and from the little Akamaru could see of it, the front of his shirt was in much the same shape.

Whimpering, Akamaru lowered his head and nudged Kiba’s cheek. Kiba! You OK?

In spite of his obviously uncomfortable position, the child smirked. “Y-yeah, I’m OK. No worries here, Akamaru.” Grunting, he pushed off the ground, rolling completely onto his back before planting his hands on the ground and pushing himself into a sitting position. Instead of resting in this
position, though, he straightened up, folding his legs and resting his arms on them. “A little sore, but hey, I’ve had worse.” As if to punctuate this, he rubbed his sides, wincing slightly. “Still kinda tender, though…”

Akamaru closed his eyes, as though in deep thought. Sore, huh? Let’s see if maybe we can’t do something about that… Without giving the boy a chance to offer his confused reply, he moved closer to Kiba and nosed the side of his veggie-covered shirt up, exposing a bit of bare skin. Then, sticking his tongue out, he began licking the sensitive area.

“C’mon, Akamaru, cut it out!” the child laughed, though his tone was more playful than anything. “That tickles! C’mon, I’m not that sore! I’ll show ya!”

A mischievious glint forming in his eyes, the young dog-nin sprung up, arms extended up and out towards his partner. Akamaru barely had time to blink and take a step back before the boy’s arms wrapped around his neck. K-Kiba?

Arms encircling the dog’s neck, Kiba pulled himself towards the dog, pulling himself completely upright in the process. Without missing a beat, he pressed the side of his face against the ninken’s, grinning widely. “Gotcha, boy!” His grin grew even wider as, with a wag of his tail, Akamaru began licking the side of his face. “Heh heh! Good boy, Akamaru! Good boy!” Hearing Kiba’s delight, Akamaru’s tail began wagging faster.

Kiba laughed, and Akamaru, unable to help himself, gave the boy’s face a huge lick, a burst of warmth surging through his chest. This wasn’t anything new, of course; even at his proper age, Kiba would often pull the dog in close, playfully roughhousing with the canine. There was something more, though; maybe it was the fact that, aside from the obvious, neither of them had any big concerns at the moment, or the fact that Kiba was a great deal smaller now, but there was no denying that there was something different here…

“My cart!”

The man’s despairing cry snapped both ninja and dog out of their happy embrace, and they both glanced up and over at the ruined cart. The merchant, hands spread, gaped at his tipped cart, and at the smattering of splattered produce that now dotted the ground before him. He fell to his knees, a series of indecipherable splutters streaming from his open mouth.

Kiba, his arms still wrapped around Akamaru’s neck, blinked at the sight. He opened his mouth as though to say something to the man-to apologize, maybe-but he instead looked back at Akamaru, staring the dog in the face. “You, uh, got any ideas, boy?”

Akamaru took a quick peek at the merchant. The man, still on his knees, had reached out and picked up what looked like leafy, green mush, and was now holding it up to his face. “My cabbages!” the man exclaimed, despairing. Dropping the mess, the man reached out for another barely recognizable mash of squash, hands quivering all the while.

Get on my back, Akamaru woofed quickly, lowering his head and neck. Kiba, all too happy to oblige, clambered up, crawling to the dog’s back once he’d made his way up the neck.

Checking quickly to make sure that Kiba was holding on tightly this time, Akamaru turned back around in the direction they had been going and, with a loud bark, sped off.

“Wow, that was a close one, huh, Akamaru?” Kiba leaned down and whispered in his friend’s ear once they’d put some distance between them and the ruined cart.

Too close, Akamaru agreed, making certain to keep his eyes on the street this time. If its OK, though, try and keep the talking to a minimum while I’m running here. The dog felt Kiba shift, and he didn’t need to see the slightly hurt look on the boy’s face to know that maybe he should have worded (or barked) it a little differently. Actually, Akamaru added hastily, What I meant was, I wanna be able to concentrate so I don’t end up bowling over another cart. He woofed softly. Like I said, I just don’t want you to get hurt. The dog breathed a quiet sigh of relief as he heard  Kiba giggle.

“Alright, buddy,” the boy laughed, tussling the fur on top of the dog’s head. “No more distractions.” He grinned widely, showing his pointed canines. “Just keep on running!”

And you just hold on tight! Akamaru woofed joyously, veering to the side to avoid a rather flustered couple.

“Sorry!” Kiba yelled back, laughing happily. The young couple simply stared as boy and dog both retreated further from their view.

Still laughing, Kiba paused to take a breath…and his nostrils wrinkled in disgust. “Ew…what smells like veggies?” Remembering, he glanced down at his brown, bone-patterned T-shirt, now painted in a variety of reds and greens thanks to the cart’s contents. “Oh yeah…that’s right,” he muttered to himself, laughing in a slightly embarrassed fashion.

Something up, Kiba? Akamaru barked, veering to the side just in time to avoid a rather startled squad of Genin.

“Um…” Kiba blushed slightly, not quite sure how to phrase his question. “Akamaru…I…think I need a change of clothes.”

That all? Akamaru woofed, his tone slightly surprised even as he dug his paws into the street and skidded to a stop. If ya want, we can stop back home and see if you’ve got any more old clothes lying around in your room.

Kiba glanced behind him. “Well, yeah…” he looked back down at Akamaru. “But we’re right in the middle of town, and going all the way back home just for another shirt would kinda be a pain…”

Giving a surprised yip, Akamaru’s ears perked. He’d have thought Kiba would be all for that plan, if only so he and Akamaru could run around even more. What was going on?

As though reading his mind, Kiba chuckled. “See, boy, the truth is…um…” He grinned nervously, scratching the back of his head. “I…sorta…wanted to find something new.”

Akamaru raised an eyebrow (or where one would be, anyway).  Kiba, wanting to buy clothes? That was a new one, even given his condition…

Kiba laughed again, this time a bit more easily. “I know what you’re thinking, boy; heck, I’m surprised I wanna get a new shirt.” He blushed a bit. “There’s, uh, just this one shirt I saw a couple days back, and…”

Where’s the store?

Kiba gave a startled exclamation, looking down at his friend. “Akamaru?”

The dog shrugged his massive shoulders. Hey, you wanna get a new shirt; nothing wrong with that. He wagged his tail a bit. Still, I am sorta surprised; why the sudden interest?

Kiba smirked good-naturedly. “You’ll see.”

Akamaru shrugged again, realizing that that was all he was going to get out of the boy for now. Fair enough. He crouched towards the ground, his legs tensing up. Anyway, just tell me where the place is, and we can get going!
---
A few minutes later, the two friends skidded to a stop, having come to the front of a small, nondescript store. There was nothing special about it, really; just a little building painted in yellows and browns, with the store’s name spelled out above the doorway. This the place, Kiba?

Kiba grinned. “Yep! Great job gettin’ here, by the way; I think you made record time!” Swinging both of his legs over Akamaru’s side, he dropped straight down, landing in a crouch.

Akamaru wagged his tail at the praise. Thanks, pal.

Kiba ruffled the fur on his friend’s side. “Don’t mention it!” Reaching into one of his pockets with his unoccupied hand, he rummaged around, giving a small “ah!” once he’d found what he was looking for. Withdrawing his hand, he held up his prize and smiled. “Wow, I’m glad I held onto this; at least now I can use it and not look weird.”

Akamaru glanced at the object: it was, put simply, a wallet. More specifically, it was a wallet shaped like a dog’s face, complete with eyes, ears, and a “tongue” that doubled as a zipper. The surface was covered in a soft, fluffy material, to simulate dog fur. Bet you’re happy you didn’t throw it out a few years ago, Akamaru woofed, unable to hide his amusement.
The boy tossed the wallet up, catching it on its way back down. “Yeah; never could bring myself to get rid of it…” Grabbing hold of the “tongue”, he pulled it down, opening the wallet and revealing its contents. “Let’s see…” he peered into the opening, opening it a bit wider to get a better look.

After a few seconds of this, he lowered the wallet and zipped it back up. “Yep; that should be fine.” He turned towards the door, depositing the wallet back in his pocket. “Alright, Akamaru, wait here; I won’t be long.”

Akamaru’s ears perked up, and he tilted his head. You don’t want me to come in with you?

Kiba blinked. “What? No! It’s not that!” He held up his hands and waved them frantically. “It’s just, well….” He turned his attention towards a sign on the front of the store, scowling. Akamaru followed his gaze, echoing the Inuzuka’s expression as his eyes found it. The sign, quite clearly, read “No dogs allowed”.

Akamaru growled. Seriously, what is it with these places and these stupid ‘no dog’ policies? What, they think we’re gonna pee on everything or something?

Kiba’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, it really stinks, doesn’t it…” He turned to Akamaru, looking almost apologetic. “But don’t worry, boy; like I said, I won’t be long.” Flashing the dog a quick smile, he turned around and pushed the door open, heading inside and letting the door swing shut.

Akamaru watched Kiba go, unable to suppress a small surge of regret. Yeah, it was just a store, but he and Kiba almost always went everywhere together; that was how it had always been, and how it, hopefully, would be for years to come.

Akamaru shook his head, flopping his ears a bit in the process. Nothing he could do now but wait…

This in mind, he turned around to face the street, letting his rear plop down on the ground. Turning his attention toward the street, he let his eyes wander,  taking in the everyday sights: civilians strolling through the streets, off-duty Chunin loitering about and chatting with each other, villagers of both sorts lugging bags of groceries…

”C’mon, Akamaru!”

The ninken shook his head; an old memory had come back to him just then. Of himself, as a pup, running alongside an (naturally aged) 8-year-old Kiba, bolting through these same streets, off to cause whatever havoc they’d had in mind. Cutting class, playing, or just bonding further…

Akamaru let out a deep breath, his version of a happy sigh. Barring the Academy, those days had been great: no worries, no fears, no concerns about missions…just training together, running together, playing together…

The canine’s tail began wagging. It had seemed so long ago, but he could remember it almost perfectly: himself, bounding alongside his partner, and Kiba, wearing that dark green shirt with a cartoony dog face he’d seemed to like so much back then, looking down at him, eyes practically squinted shut in a happy grin…

“Akamaru?”

Akamaru let out a startled bark, and he could have sworn he’d jumped at least a couple of inches into the air. K-Kiba! He swung around to face the boy. Sorry, Kiba. I was just…thinking… He stopped short, staring at the sight before him.

Thinking that Akamaru was looking at his new shirt, Kiba looked down. “Ya like it, boy?” He pinched the fabric and gave it a quick, experimental tug. “Heh, I was surprised that they were still makin’ ‘em!” He let go of the shirt, the satisfied smile never leaving his lips. “Man, I forgot how comfy this thing was: it’s soft, it fits nice, it looks really good…” The boy trailed off as he noticed Akamaru staring directly at him. “Um, Akamaru? Is everything OK?”

Akamaru didn’t reply instantly; he was far too busy staring at the young boy who had, it seemed, stepped right from his memory into the present. The dark gray pants (which he had been wearing earlier anyway,) the dark green/gray shirt, the yellow, floppy-eared dog face on the chest, even the red lining around the v-shaped neck…

“Akamaru?” Now even more confused, Kiba tilted his head slightly, almost like a curious puppy might. “Is something wrong?” He frowned. “Is something wrong with this?” He  tugged on the cloth of his shirt again. Still, Akamaru’s gaze did not shift. “Akamaru?” The boy waved a hand in front of the dog’s muzzle, to no avail. “C’mon, buddy, you’re starting to worry me. What’s wrong?”

Two things happened in the seconds following that question. First, Akamaru felt the same warmth from earlier swell up in his chest, this time with a far greater intensity. Second, well…

“WAGH!” Kiba exclaimed as the dog lunged at him, knocking him onto his back. “Akamaru! What’s gotten intAAAH!” He spluttered as Akamaru’s tongue lashed out, furiously licking his face.

“A-Akamaru!” the boy giggled, his surprise quickly giving way to playful delight. His legs flailed and his hands pushed up and out from him, trying to get the dog to ease up. It didn’t work; if anything, Akamaru’s licking became even more energetic. In turn, Kiba’s arms and legs began flailing about with even greater intensity.

“Seriously, Akamaru,” Kiba laughed, finally managing to lift his hands up and  stay Akamaru’s muzzle (though he kept licking his hands). “What’s gotten into you?” The boy took his hands away (and opened himself up to another flurry of licks) and clambered to his feet.

Akamaru’s ears lifted slightly. What, do I need a reason to say hi to my best buddy?

“’Course not,” Kiba reassured him, ruffling the dog’s head to get his point across. “I was just asking because you seemed really happy to see me when I came back out. I know we’re not usually apart, but I was only in there for a couple minutes.” He reached up to scratch one of Akamaru’s ears, causing one of his massive hind legs to kick slightly. “So, what’s up?”

Akamaru stopped kicking at that question. That was kind of a tough one…

Well, no, it wasn’t, really; he knew why he’d been so overjoyed to see Kiba in his old clothes, but what would he tell him? ‘ Oh, no reason; seeing you in the clothes you used to wear when you actually were this age just made me really happy because it made me remember our Academy days’? Yeah, like that wouldn’t weird Kiba out…

So Akamaru decided: he’d tell him a part of the reason, but not the whole reason.

“Akamaru? You’re spacin’ out again.”

Huh? Oh! With a surprised yip, he jolted and focused his attention back on the young boy. Oh, you were wondering I went crazy like that on you? He took a breath. Um… I liked your shirt?
---
Naruto grinned, lifting the dango stick up to his mouth and biting off another dumpling. Mmm, this is yummy! he thought to himself, feeling a quick surge of embarrassment. Fortunately, this quickly faded as he continued walking. At least he hadn’t said it out loud….

A while ago, when he had already made it halfway to the training grounds, the boy had felt a slight pang of hunger. Nothing that would prompt a visit to Ichiraku’s (and about eight or ten bowls of ramen), of course, but just enough to make him wince and clutch his belly.

Well… I guess its OK if I have a little snack before I start, he’d reasoned to himself. This in mind, he’d quickly changed course and made his way towards the nearest dango shop.

The shopkeeper had started at the sight of the young boy, and Naruto had felt a pang in his chest; that’s what it had been like before…

Fortunately, instead of driving him away or insulting him, the shopkeeper had simply composed himself and asked the boy what he’d like.  

Willing the pang away, Naruto had ordered a single stick of dango; no sense stuffing himself before training…

Now, though, he was back on the street, resuming his journey to the training grounds and munching on the remaining dumplings.

Naruto smiled thoughtfully as he chewed. Hmmm…it’s not ramen, but this is still a nice pre-training snack. He swallowed, licked his lips, and prepared to take another bite.

Here it comes…eh? Naruto paused, the stick halfway from his mouth. Was it just him, or had he heard something?

“Bark! Bark!”

Ears perking, Naruto turned around, facing the source of the sound. “Barking…” He groaned. “Don’t tell me…” More barking reached his ears, and he groaned again. “Yep, that’s definitely Akamaru. Which means...”

“Yahoo!”

Naruto grimaced. “Oh, great, it’s Kiba,” he grumbled, turning back around and resuming his walk. “He sure sounds like he’s enjoying himself…”

He wasn’t all that surprised, really; from what he’d remembered, Kiba and Akamaru had always been really tight, even way back in the Academy. They’d always been running around together, playing together…

Musta been nice, having a friend like that, Naruto thought bitterly. Having someone to talk with, play with, train with…I wouldn’t know that though, would I?

His eyes shot open. “Whoa, where’d that come from?” Shaking his head to clear it, he once again cursed the jutsu that had gotten them into this mess. It was bad enough that he looked and sounded like an 8-year-old kid again, but thinking like he had back when he’d actually been this age? The minute we’re back to normal, I’m asking Granny if those ninjas are up for a little Rasengan to the face….

Grinning excitedly at the thought, Naruto opened his mouth, intent on finishing his dango.

“Full speed ahead, Akamaru!”

Naruto stopped. Was it just him, or did Kiba’s voice sound a lot closer than it had a couple of seconds ago?

“Bark!”

Naruto’s eyes widened; Akamaru definitely sounded closer than before. Don’t tell me they’re…

Spinning around, Naruto’s eyes widened as his worst fears were confirmed: further down the street but growing ever closer, he beheld the huge, white form of the ninja dog racing towards him, a small shape-Kiba, undoubtedly-astride his back.

“Whoa!” Yelping, Naruto looked about, frantically searching about for anywhere he could escape to-possibly inside a store, or a side alley-until Akamaru passed by. Unfortunately, as he soon came to realize, the street he was on was quite narrow, and there was barely enough room for him to even hop out of the way. What was worse, there were no doorways to any of the shops beside him. He didn’t want to risk running towards them, not with the speed Akamaru was approaching. Beginning to panic a bit, he began searching even more frantically. “Damn it!” he cursed through grit teeth. “There’s nowhere to…”

It was at this moment that Akamaru, having closed the distance in the time it took Naruto to search for possible avenues of escape, suddenly realized that there was something blocking his path: a very specific something, Kiba idly mused, if Akamaru’s surprised yelp was anything to go by.  “What is it, Akamaru? Is it another veggie c….”

“GAH!”

Kiba’s eyes shot open as the obstruction let out  a surprised yelp of its own. That voice…it sounded an awful lot like…

Akamaru’s legs collided with Naruto in that same instant.