"Kiba…"

"Alright, just let me set this down here…good. Chapter two, grooming your foxboy! Now…C'mere, Naruto!"

Naruto took a step back as his name was called.

"Naruto…"

The foxboy began backing away.

"Get him!"

Naruto tried to run, but Kiba and Shino leapt on top of him. Between the two of them, they were able to lift the struggling boy and keep him from escaping, Naruto beginning to whine piteously.

"On three! One…two…three!"

With a splash, fox-Naruto landed in the pond, Kiba and Shino wading in after him and assaulting the poor boy with soap and brush, scrubbing the now-docile, whimpering foxboy clean.

"Don't give me that!"

They had tried not ten minutes earlier in the bathhouse. The resulting mayhem had left the room demolished and Tsume had thrown a fit when she saw the damage done.

"There!"

Naruto sank up to his nose in the water, sitting perfectly still as Shino and Kiba walked to shore. Shino picked up a towel and motioned to the boy.

"Come out, Naruto."

Naruto didn't move.

"Naruto…c'mon!"

Kiba began walking towards the water when Naruto suddenly shot upwards. He lifted his nose and began sniffing the air, a deep, happy purr rolling out of his throat before he ran right past the startled boys and into the guest house.

"There, almost ready."

Hinata hummed happily to herself as she prepared Naurto's lunch. Real ramen, not the instant garbage. It had some meat, and she had sneaked some vegetables inside after remembering Kakashi-sensei mentioning how atrocious Naruto's dietary habits were.

"I hope he likes it."

She blushed and sat down, watching the pot boil quietly.

"NARUTO!"

"Kiba?"

"COME BACK HERE!"

"Kiba! What is it? Is something wrong?"

Hinata heard the tramp of feet closing fast and other feet in fast pursuit.

"NARUTO! PUT YOUR DAMN PANTS ON!"

"P-p-p-p-p-p-pants?"

Full frontal foxboy skidded to a stop in front of Hinata.

A moment later, Shino, carrying a towel, and Kiba, waving a pair of pants, jumped through the doorway into the kitchen.

"Hinata?"

"Yes?"

Naruto was sitting at the table, tail waving frantically, drooling open-mouthed as Hinata calmly placed a fresh bowl of ramen in front of Naruto, who yipped once before cramming his face into the bowl.

"Hinata…"

"Yes? What is it?"

"Err…it's just…Naruto…"

"What about Naruto?"

"He's…naked…"

"Yes…you two did just bathe him, right?"

Kiba's mouth dropped open and he stared, aghast, at the perfectly calm girl before him. He tried to say something else, but found he couldn't. He tried to say it with gestures, but Shino motioned at him to stop.

"Shino?"

"I believe…she's in shock."

"Ohhhhhhhhh…"

"There, it's wearing off."

A small trickle of blood made it's way out of Hinata's nose as her face went from pale white to bright pink. She stiffened a moment before collapsing in a boneless heap, Shino catching her before she hit the ground and carrying her away, leaving Naruto to slurp up his ramen and Kiba to stand there, fidgeting with the foxboy's pants and hoping Naruto didn't need another bath, considering the way the boy ate.