Lil' Stuffers: Epilogue

The boys stayed slumped back in their chairs for a few minutes, groaning and rubbing their overstuffed bellies. They barely even noticed the waiter coming by, wide-eyed as he left the massive check on the table. Without even bothering to look at the check, they both rummaged around in their back pockets, found their wallets, and plunked a huge wad of cash on the table each. That would probably cover it…

Looking up from his prone position on the floor, Akamaru wagged his tail. Wow, hope they have enough left to get their clothes fixed… He burped lightly, causing his stomach to shake. He whined in a low tone. Oh man… I need a tummy rub so bad right now…

Eventually, after a few minutes had lapsed, Naruto lifted his head up, looking across the table at Kiba. “Hey, Kiba, my tummy doesn’t feel so bad right now; ya wanna get going?”

Lifting his own head, Kiba burped before he replied, “Yeah, let’s go.” He yawned suddenly. “Right now, all I wanna do is go home and take a nice, long nap.”

Akamaru lifted his head, tilting it sideways at this comment. Sleepy? After all that sugar they downed? As though to punctuate this thought, Naruto suddenly yawned as well, smacking his lips. “Mmm, yeah; a nap does sound good about now…” He rubbed his massive belly tenderly, and Akamaru’s eyes widened.
Yeah, I guess the fact they have so much crammed into their guts right now sorta overpowers the sugar rush… the dog mused, lying his head back down on the floor.

Grunting and pushing their chairs away from the table, Kiba and Naruto shifted their positions until they were facing away from the table. Carefully, they shimmied their way towards the edge of the seat, their bellies jiggling with the movement. Then, taking a deep breath, they half-slid, half-leapt down off the chairs and onto the floor. The momentum, as well as the sheer size of their midsections, caused them to stumble forward a bit, but they were able to regain some semblance of balance and lean back on the chairs for support.

Unfortunately, they hadn’t accounted for the damage that had been done to their pants.

As they had been gorging themselves, the inseams of their pants had continued to rip and rip, exposing more and more of their undergarments and, eventually, parts of their bare legs. A bit more subtly, however, was that as the front continued to rip, the grip that the garments had on the boys, even with the presence of two massive bellies, had continued to loosen.

As a result, as soon as the boys steadied themselves against their chairs, their pants promptly dropped down to their ankles.

Akamaru, hearing the sound of the garments hitting the floor, looked up again…and his eyes bugged out, mouth dropping open. Oh, please tell me that didn’t just happen… The other patrons of the restaurant, looking over at the two boys, had similar reactions; one even fainted. Though the two boys had yet to fully realize it (though the puzzled frowns on their faces indicated they were starting to get an idea), their boxer and brief-clad torsos were showing for the whole restaurant to see…at least, those parts of it not covered by their guts.

This was nothing, however, compared to the reactions of the two stuffed kids when the realization dawned on them seconds after the pants dropped.

Naruto looked down, trying to see past his gut. “Huh, did it just get a lot draf--WHAT THE HELL?!” Reaching straight down with one hand, the other one steadying himself on the chair, his eyes bugged out in sheer horror as his hand felt only the cloth of his boxers, and, as he reached further down, bare skin. As he did this, he experimentally shifted his feet; as he feared, there was a lot of some kind of cloth around them. “D-did I just…” his face flushed beet red, unable to continue.

Kiba, conducting a similar investigation and coming to the same conclusion, yelped, his facial markings becoming indistinguishable from the rest of his face. “Oh great…” he muttered, his voice surprisingly low. “Wait’ll my mom sees this…” It’s bad enough she gets on my case when I come home lookin’ pregnant, and she got pissed enough when I got shrunk… The little dog-nin shuddered as he imagined his mother’s reaction to getting stuffed while shrunk, not to mention mangling his pants…

“Akamaru,” Kiba muttered,  getting the big dog’s attention, “I don’t think I wanna go home just yet…”

Akamaru, having a very good idea of what was going through Kiba’s head right now (that was one of the perks of having grown up with someone,) simply woofed and nodded. Fair enough. His skin reddened slightly under his fur. To be honest, I really don’t feel like having Kuromaru get on my case, either; it’s bad enough when he chews me out for not controlling you better…

Meanwhile, Naruto had been grunting, bending his knees as much as he was able without losing his balance…which is to say, not much. Regardless, he had managed to lower himself slightly to the ground, his non-balancing arm reaching out towards his fallen pants. Sweating a bit and grasping at the fabric, Naruto brushed it with his fingers a few times before finally managing to get a grip on it. Smiling in relief, he promptly pulled it up on the side, before taking his other arm off the chair and pulling up the other side, resting his elbows on the seat so he could maintain balance. The pants were still visibly ripped, and they’d fall back down the minute he let go, but at least he wasn’t running around in just his shirt and underwear.

Kiba, struggling to pull up his own pants in much the same way, glared at the blonde. “Naruto, this is all your fault!”

At this, Naruto’s smile fell from his face, and he whipped his head to the side to face the brown-haired boy. “MY fault?! How’s it my fault?!”

Akamaru let out a long-suffering whine. Oh, please tell me they’re not starting this now…

Kiba, oblivious, shot back, “It was your idea to eat here in the first place, dummy!” Grunting, he pulled his pants up around his waist and held them as  best he could, balancing in the same way as Naruto.

Naruto bristled. “Well, it was your idea to get dessert!”

Kiba scowled. “What? No it wasn’t!” At this point, the boys had once again drawn the attention of the other patrons, who stared at them as they sat in their seats. Some blinked in confusion, but most simply groaned and facepalmed; some things never changed…

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Kiba. “Yeah it was!”

Kiba bared his teeth at Naruto. “No it wasn’t!”
“Yeah it was!”

“No it wasn’t!”

“Was too!”

“Was not!”

“Was too!”

“Was not!”

“Was t—“

WILL YOU TWO SIMMER DOWN FOR JUST ONE SECOND?!

The series of loud, throaty barks that made up this exclamation caused the two boys to yelp and jolt,  their hands barely managing to hold onto their pants. The other patrons, equally startled, fell into a hushed silence.

Akamaru took a deep breath, calming himself a bit. Well, looks like that did the trick… he mused to himself, as he took a look at the two boys, who were still clearly startled.

Naruto and Kiba both stared at him with wide eyes, clearly not having expected his outburst. Akamaru flinched. Maybe I laid it on a little too thick…

At the behest of some sudden urge, Akamaru took a closer look at Kiba. The dog-nin’s eyes were just as wide as his blonde friend’s, but it wasn’t just shock that lay behind them…

It was hurt. To Akamaru’s horror, his eyes had begun to get a bit shiny, and oh Kami, was his lower lip trembling?

Feeling absolutely horrible, Akamaru whined. Yeah, I think I mighta been laying it on a little too thick.Come to think of it, he’d never really “yelled” at Kiba before…

I’m sorry, Kiba, Akamaru woofed apologetically. I didn’t mean to snap at you two; I’m not mad, honest. Kiba’s expression brightened considerably at this, and his shocked expression became a smile.  Feeling a wave of relief, Akamaru continued. It’s just that, well, you two look pregnant, I look like I’m carrying puppies, and I really don’t wanna be out in public any more than we absolutely need to be.

Blushing a bit at Akamaru’s statement, Kiba nonetheless grinned. “Sounds like a plan, buddy.” Naruto looked over at Kiba, raising an eyebrow in confusion and annoyance. What he wouldn’t give to speak ‘dog’….

Akamaru wagged his tail a bit. Great! Lemme just get up, and we can get going. Taking a deep breath, he began rocking from side to side on his back a bit, his belly swaying as he did so. Kiba and Naruto, for some reason, found their eyes following Akamaru’s gut as it went back and forth, back and forth.

This was not lost on Akamaru, who reddened slightly in embarrassment. Ah, well, I’ve done the same sort of thing with them a bunch of times before; only fair they do it with me. Shaking his head, he continued rocking back and forth on his back. Slowly, he built up his momentum, and he began rocking back and forth at faster and faster speeds; ironically, his belly helped, as the extra mass was helping to ‘push’ him about.

Confused, Naruto looked at Kiba. “Uh…what’s Akamaru doing?”

Kiba grinned. “Well, Akamaru obviously can’t get up the normal way ‘cause of his gut, so his building up momentum so he can hop onto his feet.”

Naruto blinked, tilting his head. “Huh, that’s pretty impressive.”

Kiba smirked. “Of course it is; Akamaru’s too awesome to be anything else.”

Akamaru’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and the strange warmth once again ran through his chest. Kiba praising him was nothing new, of course, but there was something so earnest about the way he said it….

He pondered this, even as he continued to rock back and forth, gradually going faster and faster. After a few long moments, he’d worked his way up to practically a blur. Akamaru’s eye’s narrowed in determination. Alright, now should be good. He continued rocking back and forth.

One… He began going even faster.

Two… He tensed his back, doing his best to do the same to his stomach.

Three!

With an impressive sideways jump, Akamaru heaved himself onto his paws. The dog wagged his tail in triumph…only to stumble sideways as his belly, hanging down and forcing his back legs apart, caused him to momentarily lose balance. Ah, crap. Whining, he jerked in the other direction, only to go stumbling in that direction, wincing as his belly all but scraped the floor. Oh, geez… Guess he’d eaten more than he’d thought…
Putting that embarrassing thought out of his head for the time being, he once again jerked in the opposite direction, sending himself stumbling once again. This time, though, it wasn’t quite as out of control. Getting an idea, Akamaru jolted in the opposite direction, then in the other direction.

The kids watched him, unable to suppress giggles as they watched the dog shift back and forth, stumbling less and less with each movement but causing his  belly to sway underneath him.

Finally, Akamaru managed to steady himself, gut wobbling as he finally found fairly even footing. The dog sighed in relief. Phew, glad that’s over with. Still, the really hard part was yet to come…

Looking down at his own expansive gut, then at the engorged midsections, distended navels and ruined pants of the boys, he tilted his head. Sooooo….how we gonna do this? Kiba and Naruto exchanged an uneasy look.

---

Fifteen minutes later….

“Gah! Naruto, you’re putting too much weight on your side!”

“I can’t help it! It’s hard to balance with just one arm!”

“Then just ditch the pants, dummy! Everyone can see our undies, anyway!”

“No way, I’m not walkin’ around without any pants! But if you think we should ditch our pants, why don’t you take your own advice, dog-breath?”

“’Cause unlike some people, I actually have some pride!”

“Pride, right; coming from the guy who goes around wearing a stupid dog face on his shirt…”

“I told you not…IT’S NOT STUPID!”

In between the two boys, Akamaru sighed a doggie sigh. Well, this seemed like a better idea at the time…

Back at the restaurant, the three had debated how best to go about navigating. It wouldn’t be too bad for Akamaru; it would be slow going, but if he were careful, he’d be able to waddle and lurch his way through the streets without incident.

Kiba and Naruto, on the other hand, would need something to hold their pants up to keep them from falling down again, so at least one of their hands would have to be go towards that duty, leaving only one arm to balance themselves; and, as a brief trial run by Naruto had demonstrated, that was a recipe for disaster.

Then Kiba had gotten an idea; seeing as how Akamaru would probably have a little trouble balancing anyway, he and Naruto would each walk on either side of him, balancing themselves on Akamaru with one arm while holding up their pants with the other.  That way, they could all keep each other balanced while the boys wouldn’t have to walk through the village in their shirts and underwear. It had been a fairly sound plan; indeed,when the boys had managed to lurch over to Akamaru, barely holding their pants up, they had been able to balance themselves surprisingly  well on the dog. What was more,  they found that if they held their pants at the front with their unoccupied hand, they were able to keep the garments on. Granted, the pants were still ripped, and their undergarments and an uncomfortable amount of their bare legs were still exposed, but at least they were able to keep them up.

It took a few minutes—specifically, when they’d made it out of the restaurant—for the three to realize an unforeseen wrinkle in Kiba’s idea; specifically, they would have to constantly distribute their weight so they wouldn’t end up toppling over. Problem was, none of them had a firm grasp on each others’ center of balance, only their own; as a result, whenever they shifted their own weight to balance themselves, they would either end up stumbling to the side as the weight of the other two pushed them over, or leaning over into them. As a result, as the three lurched down the street, they continually swayed back and forth to the sides, occasionally even stumbling over to one side of the street before regaining their balance, only to stumble back to the opposite end. All the while, their bellies, stuffed with all manner of sweets and gallons of milk, swayed, sloshed, and bounced as they moved. Predictably, this attracted the attention of the villagers, who gaped at the three; they were unsure as to whether they should be shocked at the stuffed states of the three (Kiba and Naruto had been de-aged for a few weeks by now, so they were all used to that, at least) or laugh at the sight of them swaying back and forth across the street, engorged midsections bouncing and sloshing about.

“Ah!” Naruto yelped, gripping onto Akamaru’s fur as they began stumbling back to the opposite end. “Kiba, lean on Akamaru  some more, will ya?”

Kiba groaned, but complied, leaning into Akamaru…and causing Naruto to yelp again as he stumbled away from Akamaru. “I didn’t mean that much!”

“Yeah?” Kiba replied, smirking. “Ya shoulda been more specific!”

Naruto reddened. “Hey, if I wanted to fall over, I would said, ‘Hey, Kiba, lean on Akamaru so much we all topple over!’”

Akamaru whined, shooting a plaintive look at the blonde boy. Please don’t give him any ideas…
`
Luckily, Kiba didn’t seem to fancy the idea any more than Akamaru did. Grudgingly, he let up on the pressure on his side, not surprised as he began stumbling  back in the opposite direction.

Akamaru, situated between the two, sighed as they swayed back and forth. Good, that’s taken care of… He wagged his tail a bit as the two boys continued to bicker. Never a dull moment where my pups are concerned, that’s for…sure…

His tail slowed to a stop. Whoa, where did that come from? He felt the urge to shake his head, but he didn’t want to confuse Kiba…and honestly, telling him why would have freaked him out. To that end, he settled for looking down at the ground; all he had to do was help balance them, and they’d watch where they were going, so it was no problem.

Did…did I really just think of the two of them as my pups? Sure, Kiba was his best buddy-he had been since he’d been a pup—and he’d grown quite fond of Naruto as well, but he’d never quite thought of them like that before, but then again he hadn’t been full-grown while they’d been small and young before, either… Akamaru growled suddenly, just quiet enough to avoid being heard by either of the boys. That pesky warm feeling from earlier was acting up again…

Wait a minute…full-grown, small and young… His eyes narrowed as he mulled over that thought. The warm feeling that had popped up whenever either of the two were involved…his fear at disappointing Kiba…how utterly happy he’d been when Kiba had worn the clothes he’d liked back in his academy days…

“Hey, guys! What…whoa.”

At this interruption, Akamaru’s head shot upwards, coming to a stop. The boys, not expecting this sudden halt, lurched forward, and it was only by gripping tightly onto his fur they were able to remain upright. Barely taking notice of this, Akamaru’s eyes widened as he saw who it was, and he couldn’t quite hold back the wave of embarrassment that flushed through him. Kiba wasn’t too far behind, if his own widened eyes and flushing face were any indication. Naruto, on the other hand…

Beaming, the blonde boy leaned against Akamaru, freeing up his hand to hold onto his pants while the hand previously occupied with that task went up into the air and waved. “Hi, Shikamaru! Hi, Choji!”

The two shinobi in question, clad in their ninja clothing (presumably, they’d just returned from a mission),  only stared back for a second before they responded. Shikamaru groaned and facepalmed, muttering something along the lines of ‘troublesome guys’ under his breath. Choji, on the other hand, returned the smile even as he munched on his bag of chips. “Hey Naruto, Kiba! You guys holding up OK?” Laughing a bit at Naruto’s enthusiastic nod and Kiba’s sheepish yet earnest one, he walked a little closer and crouched down to their level. “Yeah, ya definitely seem a lot happier now than when you first got shrunk.” At Akamaru’s small yap, he reached a hand out and gave him a pet on the head. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about you either, Akamaru.”

I hope not, Akamaru barked, wagging his tail as some of his self-consciousness abated. As embarrassing as it was for some of their friends and comrades to see the three of them with big, stuffed bellies, he could think of worse guys to run into; after all, Choji was a nice guy, and Shikamaru wasn’t bad either (even if he was a lazy bum, Akamaru mused quietly.)

Lowering his hand from his face, the lazy shinobi in question planted both hands in his pockets and walked up to his best friend. Unlike the Akimichi, though, he simply settled for looking down at them. He shook his head. “Let me guess…you two had another eating contest, right?”

Kiba, coughing, looked up at him and smirked. “Kinda-sorta. Me and the dummy weren’t really competing; we were just havin’ a good meal.”

“Yeah!” Naruto piped up, taking the hand he had used to wave with and rubbing his exposed, bloated belly. “It’s actually really cool when we splurge like this; dunno why, but it just seems like it’s so much more fun!” He grinned widely, squeezing his eyes shut. Smiling in return at Naruto’s enthusiasm, Choji reached over and ruffled the blonde’s hair. The boy turned a bit red at this, but was unable to keep from giggling.

Shikamaru, unable to repress a small smile of his own, turned his attention back to Kiba. “Good to hear you guys had fun.” He turned his attention to Akamaru. “Doing a repeat performance from last time, Akamaru?” At this, Akamaru flushed and turned his head to the side, and Shikamaru was unable to keep from smirking a bit.

“That reminds me,” Choji suddenly spoke up, standing back up and reaching back into his bag, “where didja guys eat?” He popped a few chips in his mouth as soon as the last word left his mouth.

Naruto opened his mouth, but Kiba spoke up first. “It was that new ramen place that opened not too long ago.” He licked his lips. “The ramen was really good, but the desserts were even better!” His cheeks puffed out a bit as he burped, and he flashed the two a sheepish grin.

Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. “Let me guess: you had the entire dessert menu, right?” A cheerful “Yep!” greeted his question. Groaning, Shikamaru massaged his temples, though Choji noticed a tiny smile on his face. “Why am I not surprised?”

Laughing, Choji smiled and popped another chip in his mouth. “They were that good, huh?” At the enthusiastic nods from the two, he turned to Shikamaru. “Hey, Shikamaru, we should try that place out, huh?”

The young Nara shinobi shrugged. “Sure, sure, just make sure we have enough money…” Sighing, he turned his attention back to the three. “Actually, saying hi wasn’t the only reason we stopped you.”

Catching the tone in Shikamaru’s voice, Naruto and Kiba both frowned, and Akamaru whimpered, tilting his head. “Huh? Is something going on?” Naruto piped up.

Shikamaru sighed again. “We just got back from the Hokage’s office, and, well…” he rubbed the back of his neck. “It seems like she’s run into a bit of a…complication in that counter-jutsu she’s been working on.”

“What?!” Kiba exclaimed, his eyes widening drastically. “Don’t tell me we won’t…”

“Calm down, calm down,” Shikamaru cut in, raising both his hands in the air. “She’s still absolutely certain your condition’s reversible, so you won’t be stuck like that permanently.” Kiba and Naruto both let out simultaneous sighs of relief. Akamaru, though he sighed alongside them, couldn’t help but feel a tiny spike of disappointment at that.

Oblivious to his friend and partner’s confusion, Kiba looked up at the two (currently) older ninja. “OK, so we won’t be stuck like this; what’s the bad news?”

Choji, wincing, picked up from Shikamaru. “Well, the Hokage said she came across a fail-safe or something in the jutsu’s composition…” he blushed. “…or something like that. I only got the gist of it.” Noticing his friend’s discomfort, Shikamaru placed a friendly hand on his shoulder and continued where he left off.

“Long story short,” Shikamaru began, trying to think of a way to word it delicately, “If the counter-jutsu was activated as it currently it was, it would have even worse effects than the jutsu initially had.”

Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru shared an uneasy look, the two boys gulping. “Um…what kind of effects?” Naruto ventured reluctantly, immediately regretting he’d asked.

Choji and Shikamaru shared a similar look. “Uh…” Choji began, addressing his friend. “You wanna take this one, Shikamaru?”

Shikamaru sighed, shaking his head. “Fine, I’ll do it.” Oh man, this is gonna be troublesome… he thought as he looked down at the boys. “Well, the best-case scenario to activating the counter-jutsu now is that you’d be aged forward too far, and you’d end up becoming, even weaker than you are now and more vulnerable as a result.”

Kiba and Naruto’s eyes bugged out, Akamaru whimpering. “That’s the best-case scenario?!” Kiba exclaimed, clenching Akamaru’s fur even harder and causing the dog to wince a bit. “What’s the worst case?!”

Shikamaru sighed, closing his eyes. “The worst-case? Well…” He shared a look with Choji. “The worst case is that you would age forward so far your bodies would lose all cohesion and become reduced to piles of dust.”

Naruto and Kiba said nothing; they merely looked at each other, paled, and looked back at the two older ninja. “D-dust?” Naruto finally spoke up, his face haunted but his voice unusually hushed.

“Th-that’s what he said,” Kiba replied, his voice equally quiet. Akamaru, noticing the look on Kiba’s face, whined and licked him.

Choji winced. “Um…maybe you could have worded that a little differently, Shikamaru.” He popped a chip in his mouth, looking at his friend as he did so.

Shikamaru shrugged,  looking back at Choji. “Maybe, but with these two, it’s better to get it said as quickly as possible.” He smirked at the Akimichi. “They’re too impatient for anything else.” At this, Choji chuckled and nodded, chewing on his current mouthful.

Naruto and Kiba, for their part, chose to ignore the comment (though they both reddened slightly,) but their faces were still pale. We gotta change the subject, they both thought simultaneously.

Unsurprisingly, it was Naruto who composed himself and once again addressed the other two. “So, um…did Granny say how long we’d be stuck like this?”

Privately relieved to have been steered away from that uncomfortable subject, Shikamaru looked back down at the two boys. “In the very least? Three or four weeks. The longest?” He rubbed the back of his neck, not particularly relishing what he’d have to say next. “Choji, you wanna take this one?”

Choji nodded; it was only fair, after all. “Sure thing!” He directed his attention towards the two stuffed children. “Um…at the longest, and honestly, the Hokage said this was more likely… it’ll be a couple months before the counter-jutsu’s complete.”

At this, Naruto’s, Kiba’s, and Akamaru’s mouths all dropped open, their eyes widening. “Th-that long?” Kiba ventured, finally finding his voice. Akamaru would have seconded that, had a burst of inexplicable joy not suddenly exploded in his chest.

Choji winced and nodded. “Um...yeah.”

Naruto, Kiba, and Akamaru slowly turned their heads to look at one another, having managed to close their mouths but still blinking owlishly at one another. Choji and Shikamaru exchanged a nervous glance. Here came the outburst…

Sure enough, an outburst did come from the two boys, but it was prefaced by something neither Choji nor Shikamaru anticipated: specifically, massive grins across Naruto and Kiba’s food-stained faces. “YIPPEE!” They both cried, pumping their free arms in the air, immediately blushing as they realized what came out.  Their smiles quickly returned, however, and they turned to each other and began chattering excitedly.

Choji and Shikamaru shared a befuddled look. “Uh, wow,” Choji began, scratching the back of his head. “You guys are, um, taking this a lot better than we thought you would.”

“Yeah,” Shikamaru agreed, tilting his head quizzically at the two. “We thought you’d be a lot more upset; I mean, you won’t be able to go on missions for a while…”

Kiba looked up at them, beaming. “Well, yeah, that still sucks, but it’s actually a lot of fun being stuck like this!”

“Yeah!” Naruto piped up, placing a hand back. “It’s actually really cool just running around and not havin’ anything to worry about.” He grinned at Kiba. “Plus, it’s kinda nice having someone stuck in the same boat as me…” He sniffed a bit, though his smile remained. “…especially someone who’s my friend.”

Kiba smirked. “Hey, don’t go getting’ all sappy on me, Uzumaki.”

Naruto smirked back, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Oh, you mean like you were after we got in that fight, and you came to see me?” Choji and Shikamaru exchanged a concerned look at this, but but something told them they were better off not asking.

Kiba’s cheeks flushed a light pink. “Sh-shut up!” he retorted.

Naruto giggled. “What was it you said? ‘’Cause you’re my friend, dummy. Why else would I put up with ya?’? Sounds pretty sappy to me…”

“W-well, it wasn’t!” Kiba snapped, the flush in his cheeks deepening a bit.

Naruto grinned. “Eh, whatever you say, dog-breath.” He looked back up at Choji and Shikamaru. “Anyway, thanks for tellin’ us, guys; really appreciate it!” He licked his lips, having felt a few crumbs. “By the way, are the training grounds busy?”
Shikamaru threw a bemused glance at the boys’ distended midsections. “Why, to work those off?”

Kiba giggled. “Well, of course we’re gonna work off whatever’s left, but nah; first, we just wanna sleep most of it off.”

Choji nodded. “Well, Shikamaru and I walked by there earlier this morning, and it was pretty much deserted; dunno about now, but its probably still  empty.”

Naruto’s face lit up. “Thanks, guys!”

Kiba grinned. “Yeah, thanks!” He started taking a luriching step forward. “Well, we’ll see ya guys!” Yelping, Akamaru took his own step forward, which prompted Naruto to do the same. Soon, they were doing what they had been doing minutes before; waddling down the street, using Akamaru to balance themselves, and swaying to and fro all the while.

Blinking, Choji and Shikamaru nonetheless stepped aside to allow the three to pass.  “You sure you guys don’t need any help?” Choji offered, popping another chip in is mouth.

Without turning around, Naruto leaned against Akamaru, using his supporting hand to hold up his busted trousers and his other to wave at them. “Nah, we’re good!” In the process of doing so, though, his weight shifted, and Kiba and Akamaru stumbled to the side, yelping.

“Hey, watch it, Naruto!” Kiba snapped, pushing back against Akamaru. Crying out, Naruto quickly lowered his waving arm and took a grip of his waistband, freeing up the other one to steady himself on Akamaru.

Choji and Shikamaru watched as the three left, staring bemusedly after them. “Well,” Shikamaru started, “that…went a lot better than I thought it would.”

Choji chuckled, reaching back into his bag. “Yeah, they seemed really happy; they were actually pretty cute.” As soon as he realized what had left his mouth, the Akimichi flushed and crammed a few chips into his mouth, turning away from Shikamaru.

Shikamaru’s eyebrows merely raised at this statement…right before the corners of his mouth quirked into a smile.

“Yeah, they were.”

---
Luckily for the three, upon reaching the training grounds a few minutes later, they were indeed quite deserted, as Choji had assumed they would be.
Naruto giggled. “Cool, we have the place all to ourselves!” No sooner had this last word left his mouth than he yawned loudly; obviously, the ludicrous amount of food they’d consumed was starting to catch up to them.

Kiba smiled, yawning as they stumbled about through the grounds. “Heh, looks like it.” Smacking his lips, he looked about. “Anyone see any good places to sleep?”

Unable to suppress a yawn of his own, Akamaru swung his head about, also looking. I’m lookin’, Kiba, I’m lookin’…

Fortunately, it didn’t take them long to find a resting spot; specifically, a rather tall, thick tree, perfect for lying against. Happy at finding a resting spot so soon, the three waddled over to the tree as fast as they could. When they reached the tree, their delight only increased; the leaves provided just enough shade to keep the sun out of their eyes, but it also let just enough sun in to warm their faces and bare bellies.

Stopping before it, Akamaru turned towards Kiba. Say, Kiba, Akamaru woofed, would ya mind just movin’ over to Naruto’s side?

Confused, Kiba tilted his head. “Uh, sure, but why…”

Trust me, Akamaru barked.

Kiba raised an eyebrow, but he nonetheless did as asked; after all Akamaru had never steered him wrong before, so why start now? Slowly, he maneuvered his way around Akamaru’s body, finally making it to Naruto’s side, which, it just so happened, was on the opposite side of the tree.

Naruto, obviously not having understood Akamaru, raised his eyebrow as he saw Kiba come in next to him. “Kiba? What’re you doing? You have your own side, don’t yoAAAAAAAAH!”

The two boys yelped as, with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes, Akamaru let himself fall sideways, coming to rest against the tree. Naruto and Kiba, yelling and flailing, grasped at Akamaru’s fur, taken off guard by this sudden move, but they were nonetheless pulled downwards as well, eventually falling down and coming to rest upon Akamaru’s white, distended tummy.

Naruto and Kiba, pulling themselves into more upright sitting positions, looked at Akamaru, shocked, before looking at each other…and promptly bursting into laughter.

“Heh, ya got us, Akamaru!” Kiba breathed, scratching his white, rounded stomach-pillow, causing one of Akamaru’s rear legs to start kicking a bit.

“Yeah, that was kinda fun!” Naruto giggled, leaning back against Akamaru’s belly.

Akamaru woofed, tail wagging even as the warm feeling intruded again. Hey, I’m a dog; I aim to please.

Chuckling, Kiba folded his arms behind his head, resting them between it and Akamaru’s stomach and leaning back against it. “Well, ya did a real good job of it, Akamaru.” He yawned, letting his eyelids drop.

Naruto, not having understood Akamaru, simply turned on his side away from Kiba, giggling after a few seconds. “Heh heh, your tummy’s making funny noises, Akamaru.” He yawned, smacking his lips a bit. “Actually sorta nice to listen to...”

Akamaru opened his muzzle to say something, but recalled that Naruto wouldn’t be able to understand him. To that end, he simply adjusted his position a bit so that Naruto was lying more against his belly, and therefore in more of a position to hear the noises. Giggling, he closed his eyes, snuggling closer to the stomach.

Wagging his tail happily, Akamaru looked off in the direction they’d come from, releasing a mighty yawn of his own. This has been a pretty interesting day, hasn’t it? the dog woofed without looking at the kids. I mean, in between the running, the playing, the… Akamaru winced at what he was about to say. …the pigging out... Akamaru smacked his own lips. Overall, it was a really fun day; I’m lookin forward to the next month or so. What about you, Kiba?

A few seconds ticked by before Akamaru realized that Kiba hadn’t answered him. Kiba? Akamaru gently barked, getting confused. You OK? He turned his head towardsthe two. Naruto, are you two…

Akamaru was brought up short by the sight that caught his eyes…and his tail wagged gently, the warm feeling coming in, stronger than ever.

The two boys had already dozed off; Kiba with his arms folded behind his head, his mouth was shut, but his tongue stuck out the side, a gentle smile upon his face. Naruto had curled up in as much a ball as his belly would allow him, one hand resting upon it as the other one was held up to his mouth as he placidly sucked his thumb.

Aww, Akamaru cooed inwardly, nuzzling the boys softly. They’re so cute; then again, pups usually are…

This time, Akamaru immediately realized what he’d thought…but as he watched the two doze and slip into deeper slip, he was no longer confused as to the reason. The warm feeling, the thoughts, the fear of disappointing Kiba…suddenly, it all made sense.

Now one must take in mind: normally, when two dogs have a litter of pups, it is simply the mother’s job to take care of them. In the Inuzuka clan, though, all the canine members viewed themselves as part of a larger pack, taking care of one another, watching each others’ backs, and, even taking care of the pups.i

The warm feeling, Akamaru realized, was joy at having two young creatures of whom he was very fond looking up to him and depending on him, to the point where they felt no need to worry at all, hence their relaxed positions. The fear of disappointing Kiba? Well, no parent really wants to disappoint their kids. And that realization brought him to…


Oh Kami,Akamaru thought, eyes widening. I’ve gone and adopted them. Of course, Kiba’s family was alive and well, but he and Akamaru spent a ton of time together anyway. But Naruto…aside from his teachers and friends, he didn’t really have anyone else; he was alone in that regard.

Not anymore he’s not, Akamaru thought fondly as he nuzzled the little blonde boy. He’s got me ‘n Kiba, now.

He slowly retracted his head, letting loose with another huge yawn and letting his head rest upon the ground. Before he shut his eyes, his gaze flitted over to the two. Sleep well, kids, the dog barked softly, before shutting his eyes and slipping into a deep, peaceful sleep, filled with dreams of running, laughing, and playing with his pups.

Yes, it was good to be Akamaru.