Kiba found Naruto sitting in Ichiraku's ramen, slurping down the noodles and broth with wanton abandon. Looking down at the note card in his hand, he memorized the line that Shikamaru had told him to. He wanted to make certain that he wasn't going to mess this up.

Entering the stand, he sat down next to Naruto with a huge grin on his face. "Naruto! Just the... uhhh..." Kiba paused nervously to check the card again, "Man I was looking for... I was thinking about those pranks we used to do..."

Naruto finished his bowl of ramen, not noticing the weird pause from Kiba. "What about them?" Naruto asked, looking up at the old man coming for the bowl. "Another bowl ji-san! Beef, this time!"

"I'll have a bowl of pork," Kiba answered when Teuchi asked him if he was eating. "It was more about how funny they used to be, wish I had some mementos from them. Know what I mean? Like a picture from when we died Ino's hair neon green, or that mask I wore when we scared Shino into thinking we were exterminators."

Naruto chuckled as he pulled his bowl closer. "Yeah, those were some good ones. Or how about that time we swapped out a porn novel for Mizuki-sensei's lecture?" Kiba joined in with the laughter for a moment before the both of them slurped down their ramen like starving animals. For once, Naruto looked civilized while eating in comparison to his dining partner.

Kiba and Naruto ate for a few minutes in silence, only stopping to call out for refills every few minutes. After they'd finished eating and paid their bills, Naruto looked at the clock and smiled. "Hey, if you want, Hinata's got a few hours of training with her father to do... so, why don't ya come over to my place and we can talk about the pranks we used to pull."

Kiba smirked as Naruto played right into the rough plan he and Shikamaru had thrown together. "Sounds great!"

A few minutes later found the two friends in Naruto's house, sipping drinks. "So, how about that time you put glue into all of the ANBU coffee pots? Got anything for that?" Kiba asked with a smirk.

"Yeah, it's in a box right now, but I have pictures of the ANBU trying to pry open their coffee cans with crowbars," Naruto bragged with a laugh, "I'm surprised I made it out of that one without getting caught."

"I'm surprised you even got in, did they ever find out about you being the one to do it?"

"Not that I know of," Naruto answered with a shrug. "If they had, I bet that would have hunted me down and given me over to Ibiki for a few weeks of 'tender, loving care' at his hands."

"No kidding," Kiba snickered, "Did you see him that day? I think the Sandaime was ready to convene a war crimes tribunal if someone didn't buy him that new coffee pot. What about that time you swapped out the sweet dango and red bean juice for hot pepper balls and that insanely spicy hot sauce you found on that psycho woman?"

Naruto shuddered a moment before chuckling and shaking his head. "Never again... I found about Anko's... disliking for spicy foods, after she katon'd the area with her fire breath, she chased me around the entire village, throwing kunai and snakes at me every step of the way... lots... lots of snakes..." Naruto finished with another shudder. "I won't even go into what she threatened to do to me if she caught me."

"Think you could get me her number?" Kiba asked with a thoughtful look on his face. "I mean... she's crazy, but damn she's hot!"

"Why don't you just hang out at the dango shop and ask her out man?" Naruto countered, edging away from his drooling friend. "I mean she's always eating there, so it's hard to miss her. But seriously, she's too crazy for you, and she's already into someone."

"Yeah, I know all about her and loving to lick your cheeks man, but come on. You're taken already, and I'm single."

"Not... what I meant, but go for it, if you think you have a chance," Naruto added with a sigh as he figured Kiba'd find out about Anko's preferences on his own. "Hey, what about that time we slipped sneezing powder into the school's ventilation shaft before the big battle royal sparring match? It was funny seeing Sasuke sneezing and whining like a girl, wiping off that mascara."

Kiba laughed heartily at the image that brought to his mind, before shaking his head. "That was nothing, remember when we had Mizuki-sensei glued to the sparring mats?"

"Oh yeah, that was awesome, I don't think he ever figured out who did that," Naruto laughed with Kiba, a large smirk to his face. "Or the time we had the entire camp pee themselves in their sleep on that survival mission? That was epic."

"No kidding, how did you ever get that many cups? Or to get Iruka to let us both be on watch detail together? I mean I saw Iruka inspect your pack before we left," Kiba asked when his laughter subsided.

"Hidden compartment in the backpack, sewn shut to match the lining's stitching," Naruto replied with a smirk. "He never thought twice about it, or that the bag was so heavy. As for getting us on detail together, I used some of Iruka sensei's old schedules to change up the order, and put us together. Then I just traded the schedules, and he never suspected a thing until the next day."

Kiba was about to ask something else, when someone knocked on the front door. Naruto left to go answer the door, and came back with Hiashi in tow. "Hey Kiba? Hiashi asked me to go with him to pick up some gardening supplies... Do you mind stepping out for a bit? Ya know, take Akamaru for a walk, get some snacks... maybe see a movie..."

"That's cool," Kiba answered standing up, "Actually, why don't I wait here, that way you don't have to find me? I mean I'm sure it'd be cool, and I wouldn't wreck anything..."

"Because Hinata would come after you like a tailed demon if you did?" Hiashi asked mildly, his eyes full of suspicion. "I remember what happened last time you broke one of her dolls Inuzuka-san, and I'm sure you would too... if the hospital didn't report you having amnesia..."

Kiba visibly paled under Hiashi's glare, flashes of a painful slaughter playing through his mind. "Yes sir! I promise not to touch a single thing until Naruto gets back..." Kiba answered, both hands waving frantically, getting ready to run for the hills should either of the two come after him.

Naruto eyed Kiba cautiously for a few minutes before Hiashi nodded and nudged Naruto towards the door. "I'll explain how we can trust him while we're on the way to the shop Uzumaki-san. I believe that you can trust Inuzuka-san here not to do anything to harm the place while you're gone."

Kiba nodded earnestly, holding up his hand with a pinkie extended. "I promise Naruto, you can trust me man."

Before Naruto could answer all the alarm bells ringing in his mind at the sight before him, Hiashi nudged him again. "Shall we Naruto? I fear we really must hurry."

Naruto sighed and nodded, waving for Hiashi to go first. Once he was out of the room, Naruto turned on Kiba, his eyes going red, fangs growing in, and whiskers darkening. "If so much as one thing is out of place when I get back... Hinata won't find you first."

Kiba nodded mutely as he fought against his bladder emptying onto the carpet. "Uh... just one thing... where's the bathroom?"

Naruto returned to his normal self so fast one could almost hear the crack. "Down the hall to the right, kitchen's on the left. If you get a drink, please use one of those coaster things of Hinata's."

Kiba nodded, as he heard Hiashi mumbling something about never forgetting that again and Naruto walked out. After a few seconds he left to go to the bathroom, finally allowing his poor bladder the relief it sought. His next stop was the kitchen, the thought of one of Hinata's juice boxes sounded great to him. Plucking out one of the small boxes from the stack of them, he put the standard fifty Ryo fee in its place, as was the usual when he got them from Hinata at the main house. Popping the straw into place, he drained the box in a matter of seconds.

Tossing the box into the garbage he began his hunt. Following the lingering scent of Ino's perfume was easy, finding the stack of boxes that she'd dug through easier still, getting to them, hard. Why had Naruto and Hinata moved those dolls into a wall around those boxes?

Naruto snickered as he pulled out a few tools and looked them over. "So Kiba doesn't remember a thing about that day? Wow... note to self... do not tick off Hinata."

Hiashi nodded silently as he picked up a hand rake, feeling the tines for any give in the metal. Nodding with satisfaction he added it into the basket they were carrying, only to have Naruto to remove it and put it back, holding out another one, almost identical, save for the handle. Gripping the handle, Hiashi was surprised at the feeling. "How did you know?"

"Experience, these ergonomic grips are a little more expensive, but worth it when you don't have to worry about cramps when you throw a kunai," Naruto pointed out, adding in a few seed packets.

"Sarutobi-sama taught you well, didn't he?" Hiashi asked after a moment of observing Naruto. His eyes watched the blond drop the trowel he had been holding with nearly limp hands. "Yes, he and I were friends; in fact, he had more than once tried to get me into gardening. I miss him too."

"Does it ever get better? The pain and the feeling that something's missing," Naruto asked softly, for once his masks of joy and rebellion were lowered, showing his blue eyes shining with unshed tears. "Some days I wake up and expect to see him when I go in for missions, but then I remember he's gone..."

"He's not gone..." Hiashi mused softly, as he observed the young man before him. "So long as he is in your heart and thoughts, he'll live on. Especially if you continue to bring the will of fire to everything you do."

Naruto smiled sadly, picking up a packet of tomato seeds. "He was a great guy... loved hearing my tales of pranking and dreams of being Hokage, even convinced me to keep a journal of my pranks. I hope that no one ever sees that, or I'm a dead man."

"Sometimes the best way to avoid punishment for a crime is to confess to it happening in the first place, and you never know. If you show them the journal, they may join you in laughter," Hiashi commented as they headed for the checkout. Naruto paused in thought for a moment before following him with a waning smile, for some reason that had made him feel better.

Kiba found the easiest path to simply cling to the wall and walk over the doll stands. He had opened all five of the boxes before finding the one holding the pictures and the items. A smirk played over his face as he noticed a few mementos from pranks he had played with Naruto.

A whiny bark from outside let Kiba know that Naruto was on his way back, and so he grabbed an envelope out of the box, tucking it into the inside of his coat before resealing the box, and leaping over the doll stands. Landing in front of the stands he smirked back at the stand, only to dive in a panic to try and catch a doll that had started to fall.

He barely made it under the doll, cradling it in his hands carefully. Standing up, he looked down into the carefully painted eyes, seemingly shining with unshed tears of gratitude. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned to set the doll back down when he heard the door behind him opening. Without even turning, he knew exactly who it was.

"Kiba... what the hell are you doing?" Naruto asked warily, his voice edging on the verge of going off the deep end and going Kyuubi on Kiba's ass.

Kiba gulped as he looked at his hands holding the doll. "I can explain... really I can..." Kiba pleaded as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I was looking at the dolls, and was heading out to see if you got back yet, when my coat caught on this one... I was just putting it back. I swear!"

Naruto forced himself to calm down, walking over and taking the doll from Kiba's hands and putting her back into place with an eerie gentleness. "Be careful man, Hinata'd kill us both if any of these dolls were broken."

"Yeah, I know... uhh... let's go back to the other room..." Kiba said, edging away from the dolls, carefully avoiding snagging any of his clothing on one.

Naruto shook his head, walking out of the room cautiously, slowly shutting the door behind him. "Actually, I think it'd be better for you to go... it's almost dinner time, and I have to start cooking for Hinata. I'd invite you to stay, but I was hoping to talk to Hinata about some private matters before having to go back on duty next week. You understand, right?"

"Sure man, I should get going and train some. Maybe another time?" Kiba offered, nearing the door out, the envelope secure in his coat.

Naruto nodded silently as he herded Kiba out, after a moment he gave the dog user a bright smile. "Sure Kiba, I'll let you know when."

Kiba nodded and left, shutting the door behind him. Hopping onto Akamaru's back, he smirked and patted the material he picked up satisfied. "He doesn't suspect a thing."

Little did he know that while he was heading back to meet up with the others, Naruto was looking at the box Kiba had broken into. He adjusted the lid back into position. "It's time to get rid of these..."

A few minutes later, Shino looked down at the pictures that Kiba had laid out before the group. In each and everyone was an image of himself, some were ages ago, when he would play house with his bugs, but three were more recent. They were pictures of him when he'd been poisoned with that laughing drug, on the back of one was a detailed report about the mission.

The next thing anyone knew, Shino was up and gone from the room. The only indication of his intentions being a dented fist imprint in the floor where he had been sitting.