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Thank you for reading and please enjoy

Fluffy Foods Fantasia

-Chapter 4-

-Last Time-

"Are you really turning down free new clothes?"

"…Fuck you."

"Pass. I have a girlfriend already. See you in an hour!"

"Grrrr…"

-And Now, A few Days Later-

"Alright everyone, we're opening in twenty minutes and Boss wants everything triple checked." Naruto, or rather a clone of him, called out as he paced through the main floor of the restaurant alongside a half dozen other clones. Each of them was dressed in red and black waiter outfits with matching hats that covered their golden locks and cloth masks to cover their whisker marks, thus leaving them all looking nondescript. And to top it off was the logo for the restaurant itself, a chibi fox and chibi tiger curled together atop a cinnamon roll shaped cloud, which was sewn onto the backs.

All of them were rushing around the Front of House, scouring the entire place from top to bottom for anything that may have been missed.

Meanwhile, another clone in a slightly different uniform (being more black than red) was over at the bar alongside Loona doing one last scrub down. Well more so he was doing the scrubbing while the Hellhound, who hadn't bothered to put on her human disguise, boredly tapped her claws against the counter and poured herself a glass of vodka.

Speaking of the demonic canine, Loona was dressed up in some new clothes of her own thanks to Naruto dragging her off to shop the other day.

Her shirt was mostly the same as her old one, a shoulder-less grey belly shirt that had straps set in a reverse pentagram. The only real difference was the addition of a couple silver eyelets where the straps interlocked, or at least what could be seen past the unbuttoned studded red leather jacket she wore over it. Along with this new coat she had a pair of short black denim shorts that were torn 'stylishly' at the bottom with a blood red belt holding them around her waist and studded black thigh high open toe stockings.

All in all she was a stark contrast to the formal appearance of the clones yet none of them seemed to mind one bit.

"Give me that." Her drinking, however, was another issue it would seem as the Bartender clone swiped the cup out of her hand before she could take a single sip while giving a disapproving shake of his head. However, all this did was make Loona growl as she stomped right up in the masked doppleganger's face.

"The fuck's your problem prick?" She demanded, jabbing a claw at Bar Clone's chin. "You said I could help myself to have a drink."

"Yes, from the regular stock, NOT the top shelf liquors." The duplicate stated as he grabbed the bottle that Loona had served herself from, a rather fancy bottle that had a bejeweled dragon wrapped around the neck with the mouth acting as the cap. Glancing at the missing amount, he shook his head with a sigh while placing it behind a glass case and handing the cup off to another clone that ran it to the back.

Once he was done Bar Clone grabbed a bottle of a regular brand of Vodka and poured some into the new glass before sliding it across the counter to the Hellhound. "I'll let it slide this time but try that again and boss will be docking the loss out of your pay."

"Oh whatever, so I'll be out a couple bucks, big fucking whoop," Loona said while rolling her eyes, flopping into a seat as she downed half her drink in one swig. "I'm so sca-"

"The cheapest liquor in that case is three thousand a shot."

"-red…" The demonic canine's voice cracked a little and she almost dropped her drink when the masked duplicate informed her of the cost. Three thousand? For ONE shot!? Considering the size of her glass, which was a LOT bigger than a shot, that was… well a lot of fucking money!

"I'll take your shocked silence as a 'Understood Boss, won't happen again'." The clone said with a nod before going back to scrubbing the counter down once more.

-Meanwhile, in the Kitchen, 15 Minutes till Opening-

"Now are you two absolutely sure you're up for this?" The real Naruto asked in concern as he stood before the two most recently hired employees of his and Dou's restaurant, Lop and Hana.

The ladies were currently adorn in waitress outfits which bore the restaurant's logo as they sat before the blonde, who was dressed in a stereotypical chef outfit.

"Yes sir, I'm ready to go." Lop seemed quite eager to get started, smiling confidently as she sat up attentively with her arms crossed over her lap.

On the other hand though Hana was much more subdued as she just stared at floor submissively while nervously fidgeting every few seconds. "I'm h-happy to be of use."

Despite their positive responses, the frown on Naruto's lips remained, if anything growing deeper, particularly at the kitsune's wording.

Truth be told he hadn't exactly been keen on hiring either of them when they'd asked because it made him feel as though he was taking advantage of their situations for his own gain. It had only thanks to Dou insistence that he'd caved, having whittled him down with a mixture of cold hard facts and those accursedly adorably pouty faces she could pull at the drop of a hat.

Speaking of the devil, a familiar pair of arms gently wrapped around the whiskered teen's waist from behind as his girlfriend, also in chef clothes, rested her chin on his shoulder. "Relax Love, they're just gonna be waiting tables, it's not that bad."

"I really don't think this is the best time to throw them out there, we're not even open yet and we already have four hundred people lined up and dozens of reservations," The blonde muttered with a shake of his head while pulling himself out of the tigress's grasp, gesturing to a monitor that showed security feed of the front of the restaurant. And sure enough there were dozens, possible hundreds, of people lined up outside the front door with another masked clone checking each of their reservation. "Things are going to get completely crazy out there the moment we open the doors and-"

"And if fortune favors us as we hope then we'll be packed like this every night if not more, so we might as well let them wet their feet now," Dou cut in, placing a finger against her lover's lips to silence him while she spoke. When she finally removed it though, she stopped him from trying to talk again with a swift kiss on the lips and gently stroking his whiskered cheek. "Everything will be alright Love, you just gotta relax and go with the flow."

"…Alright," Sighing, Naruto just couldn't stop himself from smiling as he kissed Dou back before chuckling softly. "Even after I've graduated, you're still reminding me of the basics."

"That's why you keep me around, isn't it~?" The feline yokai asked coyly with a seductive purr, dragging a claw up his chest until she flicked his chin. Dou then spun around and sashayed away to another part of the kitchen, smirking as she could feel Naruto's gaze on her ass. About halfway across she stopped just to look back and send the blonde a playful wink. "I'm gonna get the stoves prepped, I'll let you know if I need any… help."

…

"God damn I love that woman," Naruto stated as he sighed once again, slumping a little with a goofy grin on his lips and little hearts practically floating around his head. Fortunately the sound of Lop clearing her throat was enough to snap the whiskered young man out of his love stupor, and he turned his attention back to her and Hana. "Oh right, sorry, well if both of you are sure you're ready then head over to the staging area and wait for the orders to be ready to go out."

"You got it, sir." Lop gave a salute, quickly jumping to her feet and marching off to do what she was told whilst Hana just nodded her head as she followed at a more sedate pace.

The latter had only made it a few steps though before she was stopped by a hand on the shoulder. Jumping a little at the touch, her head snapped back towards Naruto in alarm, worried that she'd done something wrong, only to find him offering a soft smile.

"Don't be afraid to stop and take a break if you begin feeling overwhelmed, Hana," He told her while subtly gesturing to a door off to the side marked 'Break Room: Employees Only'. "Waiting tables can be a lot more taxing than people think, especially when you're just starting out, so make sure to pace yourself. I don't want you trying to push yourself too much out there when you don't need too, okay?"

"…I…" Averting her gaze, the kitsune stumbled over her words for a moment before slowly nodding her head while fiddling with her hands nervously. "I understand… sir."

"Great, and just call me Naruto, I'm not a fan of that Sir nonsense." Naruto said before letting Hana continue on her way, his smile growing a little when he saw the small but noticeable upward quirk of the fox lady's lips.

Sadly though, his good mood was cut short when a Clone ran up to him and whispered something into his ear while holding up a glass of booze.

"Seriously? She got into the Dragon Heart?" He asked with a deadpan, his frown deepening when his duplicate just nodded in response. Swiping the glass from them, he took a small sip of the liquor before sighing in exasperation. "Fantastic… go report to Diane so she can mark up the loss then make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Hai boss." The clone gave a salute and ran off, leaving the original to himself as he polished off the rest of the vodka. Just because he couldn't sell it didn't mean he'd let such high-quality stock go to waste after all and it wasn't like one drink would be nearly enough to get him tipsy.

It was however enough to keep him from noticing the figure sneaking up on him from behind, silently stalking closer and closer until they were in range to strike.

In the blink of an eye Naruto's vision was enveloped by darkness by a pair of paw-like hands while the unknown person sidled themselves up against him. He tensed upon feeling a large pair of breasts smoosh against his shoulder blades while the newcomer's breath tickled his neck.

"Guess who~?" Any worry the whiskered blonde had immediately melted away into surprise when a soft yet heavy voice that had a mild accent whispered teasingly into his ear.

"Nala?" The voice giggled as the hands blocking Naruto's sight moved, with the otherworldly young man wasting no time whirling around to face his 'assailant'. His lips almost instantly split into a huge smile upon seeing a familiar lioness yokai standing before him with an amused smirk of her own.

"Long time no-whoa!" Was as far as Nala was able to get before Naruto pulled her into a hug, both of them bursting into laughter as he twirled her around.

"Oh, it's great to see you again Nala, it's been way too long," He said between chuckles after he set the tan furred feline back down. As his initial excitement winded down though, he scratched his cheek as he tilted his head in confusion, especially when he noticed her wearing a matching set of chef wear. "Not that I'm not happy that you showed up but uh… what are you doing here? And why are you wearing our uniform?"

"Well, it would've been bad for to show up for my first day on the job out of uniform," Nala said with a giggle, which only caused Naruto's confusion to grow even more. Upon seeing this, the lioness pulled out a folded up letter from her apron and flicked it open to reveal an acceptance letter bearing the restaurant's logo. "Didn't ol' Stripey tell you? She hired me as a chef so we'll be working together again."

"Wait really?" Swiping the letter out of his old friend's grasp, Naruto's brow knit together as he read it over. "Huh, well what do you know… she told me she hired a guy named Ryuji."

"She probably wanted it to be a surprise, you know how sneaky she can be when she wants to be." Nala said with a nostalgic giggle while a snort slipped past Naruto's lips.

"I know all too well," Wiping a pretend tear from his eye, the blonde shook his head before wrapping the lioness in another, much gentler, hug. "Well either way its still great to see you and it's gonna be awesome working with you again. It'll be just like old times."

"Oh I hope so." Nala said with a soft purr as she let herself sink into Naruto's grasp, resting her chin on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him as well. However, whilst she was enjoying the feel of the blonde holding her, the lion chef suddenly felt someone staring at her.

Following the feeling, her eyes locked with the burning rage filled gaze of one Dou as the tigress glared daggers at her from the other side of the kitchen. So of course she responded maturely…

By sticking out her tongue while flipping the bird behind Naruto's back.

'What the fuck is that BITCH doing here?!' Dou had heard the duo's entire conversation, her ears weren't just for show you know, and she knew for a fact that she did NOT hire that no good man stealing whore! In fact she had made sure to send a very clear letter of rejection that left no doubt that there was absolutely no way she'd ever even consider doing so.

So how in the world did she have the exact opposite?! It was impossible!

Unless…

'Noooo, there's no way I could have sent the wrong letter. I made sure to double check everything when…' Dou's eyes widened suddenly in alarm as a particular memory flashed through her mind.

-Two Days Ago-

It was very late at night and Dou was hunched over a desk filling out letter after letter to be sent to the various applicants she'd interviewed. Finishing up the latest, one of the few that she'd actually be hiring, the striped feline girl wiped her brow with a sigh.

"Man, this is taking a lot longer than I thought," She mumbled while taking a sip from a cup of coffee, only to grimace when she got a mouthful of nothing but cold bitter dregs. Setting it aside, she grumbled to herself as she rubbed one of her eyes tiredly while grabbing the last applicant file, which also happened to be her least favorite. "Ugh… I still can't believe she had the nerve to apply."

Just the sight of Nala's picture caused her already poor mood to worsen, the dark lighting (or just her lack of sleep) making it look as though the image was smiling at her mockingly.

Scowling as she grabbed a blank sheet of paper, Dou wasted no time writing up a firm and thoroughly concise message that left in no uncertain terms that there was absolutely no way she'd ever-

"AAAAH!?"

The tigress jumped in her seat when a terrified scream rang through the apartment followed by several crashing sounds.

"Lop?" Her eyes widening in worry as she recognized the voice, Dou dropped everything and bolted towards the source of the noise. She scrambled through the apartment until she reached the bedroom and yanked the door open, almost ripping it right off the hinges in the process.

The room itself looked like a hurricane had blown through, the bed flipped off the frame, almost everything smashed, and debris strewn about everywhere. Her attention though was focused solely on the sobbing bunny girl right smack in the middle of the carnage.

Dou was just about to rush in to see what happened, however she stopped herself at the first step when she realized that Lop wasn't alone. She clung desperately to none other than Naruto with her face buried in his shoulder, sobbing her eyes out while her whole body shook like a leaf.

"Shh… it's okay, it's okay… you're safe… nobody's trying to hurt you…" He said, speaking barely above a whisper while gently stroking the Lepi's head to calm her down. When that didn't seem to be working, the whiskered teen sighed before a soft soothing humming filled the air. Thankfully that did the trick as Lop's shaking started to slow down and her crying slowly died down to a quiet whimpering.

Eventually she drifted off into an uneasy slumber and Naruto carefully stood up with her held in his arms. Once he had a good hold, the blonde quietly made a few clones that got to work straightening up the room while he headed for the door, only to stop when he finally noticed Dou in the doorway.

Seeing the confusion and concern written all over the tiger yokai's face, another sigh escaped his lips as he simply mouthed two words. 'Another Nightmare'

'Oh dear…' Dou nodded before quietly closing the door and stepping away, doing her best not to make much noise. Only once she was certain she was out of earshot did the tigress let out the weary groan that she'd been holding back as she ran a hand through her hair.

While Lop had been doing surprisingly well over the last few days since… her arrival, the force sensitive space bunny was still shaken by the whole ordeal. Almost every night so far she'd either wake up screaming in the middle of the night, often losing control of her powers like she just had, or she'd end up snuggling in bed with Dou and/or Naruto. And while the Tigress was happy to comfort the poor girl in her time of need it was obvious that she needed some serious professional help.

So as she sank back into her chair at the desk Dou pulled out her cellphone and scrolled through her contacts until she found the one she wanted, then holding it up to her ear while it rang.

*ring* *ring* *ri-click* [Heyo! Baozi here! Who's this?]

"Oh good you're up," Dou sighed in relief, half mindedly tucked the letters she'd been writing into their envelopes to be mailed in the morning as she spoke. "Hey sis, it's Dou… sorry to call you up so late but I need your help."

-Present-

'Stupid! Stupid! I must've gotten the letters mixed around when I was talking to Baozi!' It took all of Dou's strength to keep herself from bashing her head into the wall as she berated herself for her mistake. Now she was stuck dealing with the one person she didn't want anywhere near HER Naruto working alongside him every day!

And based on the smug look that Nala was still giving her behind Naruto's back, the lioness was well aware of this too.

'Fuuuuuuuuuu-'

-Meanwhile, Diane's Office, Ten Minutes till Opening-

"Yes Ma'am, earliest available spot is Wednesday at nine forty-five pm… I'm sorry but we really do not have anything sooner… Yes I'm certain… Okay then so party of four? …Understood… is there anything else I-and she hung up," Diane shook her head with a bemused sigh as she put the phone back on its stand and finished typing in the information for the newest reservation. 'Sheesh, and I thought people were impatient back in LA. Maybe Dou and I did too good a job of marketing this place?'

They'd only just started accepting reservations a few hours ago yet they were already fully booked up for the next three days. It was to be expected though considering they had not one but two of the most renown and popular chefs in the country running the place. So now she was stuck dealing with the many would be customers that did not want to accept this fact and were all too eager to voice their displeasure at being told they had to wait…

'Bah, better too many customers than too few.' The Kitsune shook her head and decided to just enjoy this brief moment of calm until the next inevitable call came a ringing.

Stretching her arms above her head, she grunted when her back realigned with a satisfying *pop* before laying back in her chair and letting her gaze drift over her new office. Modest was the perfect word to describe it, being neither too big or too small with about half of the space taken up by her desk, a few filing cabinets, and a pair of chairs. Diane had also taken to adding her own little touches such as putting up a poster of her old home on the wall and a few knickknacks she'd brought with her from the US were set about.

She'd even been able to customize her computer a little, although that mostly amounted to putting a few stickers of her old college on the Tower and picking a cute background/screensaver.

But sadly, the former governor didn't get to enjoy her peace for long before the phone went off once more as expected, forcing her to quickly sit up and answer.

"Hello and thank you for calling-" She started to say, only to be cut off by fast talking on the other end of the line. "Yes, that is us, how can I-" Once more she was cut off by the caller. "Yes, we-" And again. "Well if you'd like to make a-" And yet again. 'Oh for crying out loud, could you let me finish a sen-' "Oh? You want to order a delivery?"

To help bolster business for the official opening, Naruto and Dou had been doing delivery orders for a couple of months already. And thanks to the former's clones they had a near flawless record of on time arrival and customer satisfaction.

…Apparently it would have been perfect perfect if not for a small incident involving a clone, an oil spill, and a box full of thumbtacks.

Diane was soon snapped back to the present when the caller started talking once again.

"Ah yes we're still accepting them, shall I go through our- a wedding palate sampler? Are you sure? No we're not out I'm just trying to- it's one of our most exp-" Biting back a scathing retort as the customer continued to keep cutting her off every two seconds, the peach-furred fox couldn't help but roll her eyes in exasperation. She could understand if the dude was excited, assuming the guy was planning to get married considering his order choice, but he could at least let her do her job.

Whilst this was going on, one of Naruto's clones walked in, looking like it needed to speak with her, but quickly took a seat without a word when it noticed she was on the phone.

"I understand sir, if that is all then I'll just need your name, an address to receive the delivery, date you'd like it to be delivered, and your payment information," Thankfully, by some small miracle, the caller finally kept quiet long enough for her to get a word in edgewise. At the same time, Diane pulled up an order form on her computer, filling out the type of order and costs. "Uh-huh… and how do you spell that? Uh-huh… alright… and the address? Yes, we deliver to the Underworld… alright… then when would… next week? Yes that'll… yes we take… alright… alright… got it. That should be all, thank you for business and I hope you are satisfied with your order."

Almost as soon as those words left her mouth a cross look formed on the fox's face and she pulled the phone away from her ear like it burned her. Her lips curling into a scowl, she may have put it back on its stand with just a tad more force than necessary.

"Pervert."

"Tough customer I take?" Naruto's clone asked rhetorically, earning itself a dry look from Diane before she rolled her eyes once again and focused back on her work.

"Less tough more irritating, especially how he kept referring to himself in the third person for some reason, and I could have done without him offering to 'satisfy me'," She grumbled while typing in the last few details and forwarding it to the original blonde to be completed. Once she was done, the suit clad yokai took a few deep breaths to calm down before continuing. "So what can I do for you? Does Dou or Naruto need something?"

"Sort of," The duplicate said, making a 'so-so' motion with his hand as he spoke. "Boss told me to let you know that Loona accidentally got into the Dragon Heart and we're down eight ounces."

…

"…I'm sorry, she accidentally got into the third most expensive alcohol this place carries? The stuff that's supposed to be kept in a reinforced locked case unless being served?" Diane asked incredulously, to which the shadow clone nodded his head. "How?"

"Well she does have a key, being a Bartender and all," C Naruto stated with a shrug. "Boss just forgot to warn her how much that stuff cost beforehand, so she didn't think it was a big deal to help herself. That's been fixed though."

"Oh, I'm sure it has…" Sarcasm dripped from the kitsune with each word while she unlocked a drawer on her desk and pulled out a thick ledger. "At least until the next time she causes trouble."

"Come on Diane, don't be so harsh, I know that foxes and hounds don't usually get along but she's not that bad…"

"That has nothing to do with it," Diane stated with a huff, her tail swishing behind her rapidly in clear annoyance as flipped through pages until she found the one she was looking for. Grabbing a red pen out of a holder, she quickly jotted down the loss before slapping the whole book shut and tucking it away, making sure to lock the drawer back up tightly. "Didn't she almost maul your arm off just to avoid getting a few shots?"

"Yes, but in her defense, Loona's terrified of needles and wasn't given a choice about them." The whiskered teen pointed out, frowning as he recalled that little incident…

-A day and a half ago, Apartment 6-F-

"Am I the only one that thinks this is-ow-a bit excessive?" Naruto asked with a dull look, flinching slightly with his face scrunching up in a pained grimace as he spoke.

The reason for both his question and pain was due to the VERY angry Hellhound he was holding in a headlock on an old couch whilst she clamped her jaws deep into the forearm of his free arm. Loona was growling in pure fury as she furiously dug her teeth into the blonde's flesh, jerking left and right with all her might trying to rend the limb off. Yet Naruto's grip never wavered as he kept the demonic canine's head firmly in place even as his blood poured down both his arm and her chin.

She would have probably also been ripping his face off if not for the pair of clones sitting on her back, one holding her hands down and another keeping a firm hold on her thrashing tail. Meanwhile a third clone was on the other side of the table holding her legs while Gu prepped several injections.

"Shh… shh… easy Loona, it's gonna be okay…" Back at Loona's head, Verosika rolled up in her wheelchair and gently scratched the demon dog's head to hopefully calm her down. "It's just a quick little poke then we can have some drinks, buy ourselves some good shit and get totally shitfaced."

This seemed to work a little bit as Loona's hackles lowered a tiny bit and she stopped thrashing as much, though she was still growling quite aggressively.

"But seriously, is this really necessary Tang?" Given a little breathing room, Naruto turned his head to the last occupant of the room, a tall horse-like yokai covered black and white fur with long blonde hair that covered one of her eyes. The now named Tang was a police officer, if the peaked cap atop her head and badge hanging from her waist was to go by, and also another one of Dou's many sisters, as evident by the iconic red dress she wore.

"I-I'm sorry for dragging you into this Naruto…" She mumbled softly, just barely above a whisper, tapping her hoof like fingers together as she stared at the floor shyly. "But getting these s-shots is mandated in her parole… she was supposed to g-get them when she was first let out but… well…"

"The doctor was too scared to even try after Loona flipped her shit when she saw me getting them." Verosika finished for Tang, still petting the hellhound's head to keep her calm, getting the horse lady to nod her head.

"Yeah… that… so the Parole board gave her sixty days to get the shots on her own… that was two months ago… she has to get these now… otherwise… I'll have to take her in for violating her parole."

"I get that part, but why? This still seems pretty extre-"

"Because demons like us are natural super spreaders for mortal diseases, why do you think people call us the 'bringers of pestilence'?" Verosika cut the blonde off with a dry look.

"Oh… right… makes sense… I'll shut up now."

"Alright, first up the penicillin shot, keep her steady," Gu told the clone holding Loona's legs, who nodded before closing his eyes as the snake girl pulled down the hellhound's shorts just enough to expose a butt cheek. Wiping a spot down with an alcohol wipe, she carefully removed the safety cap on the needle and lined it up. "And… there."

"HIIIIIIIIIII!?" Tang and Verosika both flinched as Loona yelped extremely loudly the instant needle met flesh, before thrashing even more with a wild look in her eyes. The latter was forced to wheel back when the enraged demon dog managed to get Naruto's arm out of her mouth and snaped at her wildly. "I'm gonna fucking kill you assholes! Let me go right now! I'll rip your guts out!"

Thankfully, Naruto and his clones were able to keep her put until she tired herself out and she flopped back down with a pitiful whimper.

"There we go, see, that wasn't so bad." Verosika said, rolling back closer to continue rubbing the hellhound's head once Naruto had her gagged again.

"Fuff vou." Loona mumbled around the arm in her mouth, though she had at least stopped growling.

"Okay then, one down, five more to go."

"WHAFF!?" Nevermind…

-Present-

"So it was either get the shots or go back to prison, huh? Sounds like she'd have preferred prison." Diane stated dryly, before cocking a brow when Naruto's clone shook his head.

"She was the one who asked me to hold her down for the shots, said and I quote 'make damn sure I get those fucking things because there ain't no fucking way I'm ever going to the Satan damned place again'."

"Wait… she asked you to make sure she got them and then tried to rip your arm to stop you from giving her them?" If she had a hairline the Kitsune's eyebrow would have disappeared into it from how high it rose up. "How does that make sense?"

"Since when does anyone who's scared out of their minds make sense?" The whiskered teen countered, making Diane frown but nod in agreement.

"So is that why you're letting her drink on the job?"

"Partially, but only as long as she doesn't have enough to get herself drunk, which I'm not too worried about," The clone said with a chuckle. "Boss took everyone out for drinks after the shots and it took almost three cases of whiskey just for Loona to get buzzed and she kept griping how weak it was, guess liquor on earth ain't as strong as down in the Rings."

"If you say so…" It was clear by the tone of her voice that Diane wasn't exactly convinced but she allowed the matter to drop for the time being. Well that and the phone was ringing again meaning she actually had to get back to work again. "Hello and thanks for calling-yes that's us, how can I-well I-" 'Ugh… here we go again…'

-Restaurant Entrance, Five Minutes till opening-

Naruto and Dou stood side by side with smiles on their faces as they looked at the people all lined up outside the door just waiting to get in.

"You know, I almost can't believe that we're finally here already," The whisker-faced young man said, chuckling softly as he wiped the corner of his eye. "Feels like only yesterday we'd bought this place up. Remember?"

"Oh I remember all right, I remember thinking this was the sorriest dump I ever laid my eyes on and you told me-"

""Anyone can buy some generic cookie cutter place fresh off the lot, but we're gonna make this place all our own."" The couple said together before bursting into laughter at the same time, Dou leaning onto Naruto for support as they reminisced.

"That had to be the cheesiest line you ever said, and I loved it so much," The tigress said between giggles as she rested her head against Naruto's chest, purring in sync with his heartbeat. "So is it everything you imagined it'd be?"

"Almost," The blonde stated with a sigh while wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's waist in a hug as they watched the last few minutes till opening slowly tick by. At the one minute mark he reached over and pressed a small button that was covered by a lockable case, causing the sign of their restaurant 'Fluffy Foods Fantasia' to light up. Each of the words was stylized differently, Fluffy shaped as giant Marshmallows, Foods as different types of Ice Cream, and Fantasia as cake getting a slice taken out, all above their logo of a Chibi Fox and Chibi Tiger riding on cinnamon roll shaped cloud. "There's just… one thing missing."

"And what is that, Love?" Dou asked curiously, before blinking when she felt Naruto lacing his fingers with hers. It wasn't him holding her hand that was surprising though, rather the hard velvety lump she felt sandwiched between hers and his.

His smile growing at the adorable look of confusion on the cat yokai's face, Naruto slowly raised their hands up together, before pulling them apart just enough to reveal the little black box clasped between them. "Knowing that you'll always be by my side, no matter what."

The world went silent for Dou, her heart skipping a beat the instant her gaze laid upon the tiny velvet covered box sitting in the palm of her and Naruto's hand. Her eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped like a stone as everything in the world just stopped existing to her except her, the blonde, and that box. Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, she tore her gaze from it to look at Naruto who was still smiling at her.

"Naruto… are you… is this…?" She couldn't even finish her question, the words seeming to get stuck in her suddenly very dry throat.

Not that Naruto minded at all as he gave her a kiss on the forehead with a soft chuckle before using his thumb to guide hers to the case's lid. With a gentle flick the lid popped open to reveal a rose gold engagement ring with the top crafted into a pair of intertwined hearts inlayed with diamonds. And at the very center of the hearts was a pair of orange diamonds that glistened in the light of the sign.

"Yes I am and yes it is," He said softly yet confidently as he plucked the ring from its case and held it up, though the slight shaking of his hand belied his inner nervousness. "So… what do you say Dou, shall we take this next step together?"

…

"…Absolutely, Love." Dou was nearly blinded by how brightly Naruto smiled upon hearing those two words as she let him slip the ring on her finger. Looking at it again, tears of pure joy started to well up in the tigress's eyes before she threw her arms around Naruto's neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

The now empty ring box clattered to the floor as the couple held each-other close, either unaware or not caring of the muffled cheers and camera flashes from the other side of the doorway from customers that'd seen their little moment. Nor did they pay any mind to Loona making a "gag me" gesture behind the bar until Bar Clone nudged her back to work.

As much as both of them wanted that moment to last forever though, the chime of the clock soon brought them back to the present.

"Well looks like it's time, shall we open our doors, Love?" Dou asked with a grin that Naruto shared.

"I do believe we shall," He said as he gave her another kiss before they walked to the doors together, still holding each-other close. After the blonde undid the lock they each grabbed a handle, sharing one last loving look, and pulled the doors open wide.

""Welcome to Fluffy Foods Fantasia, please come on in and-""

"YES!" Naruto and Dou were caught by surprise as tall very well-endowed blonde woman with fox ears and nine fluffy tails dressed in a shrine maiden outfit burst through the crowd of people.

""Lady Yasaka?/Mom?"" Dou and Naruto said at the same time before they were scooped up in the woman's arms, their faces buried into her sizeable chest as she excitedly twirled through the restaurant!

"Yes! Yes! Yes! You're getting married! Oh it's about time~!"

-End Chapter-

-Omake Flashback: Asking Her Out-

Naruto was nervous. More nervous than any other point in time throughout the years of his life.

Today was Dou's birthday, and he only knew this after getting the info from Nala; something she oddly seemed reluctant to share with him. In the fridge in the kitchen, behind a majority of the food used for work, was a cake he had personally baked just for this day.

Having worked with Dou for almost a year at this point, Naruto wanted to make her birthday special. It wasn't just to celebrate, but it was also a means for him to thank her for everything she had taught him. Meat prep, veggie prep, seasoning, appetizers, desserts, and so much more… He thought the cooks at Yasaka's home knew their stuff, but they had nothing on her!

'She's amazing…' he mused internally, knowing that what he felt for the Tiger Yōkai was much deeper than his so-called feelings for Sakura.

What he felt for his old teammate was simple attraction; a puppy crush, if you will. But when it came to Dou? He would proudly admit – to anyone but her, at least – that he had fallen for the cool-headed woman. She was smart, talented, gorgeous, and she even started to find some amusement in his more childish moments.

Seeing her smirk, and hearing her chuckle when he did something silly or stupid never failed to make his heart flutter or his cheeks turn a bit red.

He was slightly distracted through the day's shift, making small mistakes here and there that, sadly, got Dou a little annoyed with him. He played it off by saying he hadn't slept well the night before; which wasn't exactly a lie.

Four failed attempts at her birthday cake, all of which were in his trash back home, would attest to his excuse.

After getting his act together, he knuckled down for the rest of his shift until closing time, helping with the cleanup of the kitchen. When they finished, most of his fellow coworkers had already gone home, and a couple others were bidding good evening to them.

"Hey, Dou…?" he spoke up, seeing her put on her coat in the locker room of the restaurant.

"Hmm?" she hummed back, giving him an inquisitive glance.

"You mind hanging back for a bit? I uh… I wanted to give you something."

She raised a brow at his nervousness, having grown used to his confident attitude and cheerful persona. The man before her looked almost…anxious about something.

"Okay…" she replied. "I'll wait by the bar."

"Right!" Naruto bid, watching her leave the kitchen. When she was out of sight, he went to the fridge and pulled out her cake before placing it on a tray and covering it with a lid. Taking a breath to steel his nerves, he whispered to himself, "This is it, Naruto… Don't wuss out, now."

Carrying the covered dessert out of the kitchen, he headed for the bar and started humming the Birthday Song as he approached Dou. She turned to him with a look of slight surprise, which he took as a win as he placed the covered tray on the bar top in front of her.

"Happy Birthday to you~" he finished the song vocally. "I made you a cake last night, and I was worried about how you'd like it. That's why I was distracted so much today," he added, coming clean about what had happened.

"Naruto…" she muttered softly. "You… You didn't have to do that."

"I know. But I wanted to. You've done so much for me since I started here, and I wanted to show you my appreciation. Doing something for your birthday was the kick in the ass I needed to actually do it."

She smirked softly at that. "You gonna show me your efforts, then?"

Nervousness rising once more, Naruto nodded and grabbed the lid by the top handle before lifting it to reveal the personal sized cake. His eyes were closed, not wanting to see her expression at what was written in icing.

Dou curiously eyed the cake, smelling it to be chocolate with a vanilla icing on top, despite the orange coloration of the sugary spread. However, it was the words written in red icing that caught her immediate attention:

Happy Birthday Dou

Will You Go Out With Me?

'Did he really just…?' she mused, looking to the blonde human out the corner of her eye and spotting his closed eyes and nervous stature. 'Well, gotta give him some credit. This took balls.'

"Do you like it…?" she heard him ask, noting that he had yet to open his eyes. "It's chocolate cake with vanilla icing, and I used orange food coloring to have the colors match your fur. The red icing is meant to match that dress you wore during the Christmas Party here at the restaurant. I also tried to-!"

"Naruto," she cut off, knowing that his nerves were making him start to ramble. "Look at me."

Swallowing heavily, his eyes slowly opened to the sight of her giving him a straight look. "Yes…?"

"Let me just say, right now, that this," she gestured to the message on her cake, "was stupid. Ballsy, but stupid."

He winced at her blunt review of his attempt to ask her out, and he was afraid that this had ruined the friendly relationship that they already had.

'Did I ask too early? Or is she not looking to date right now? Or maybe I-!'

"Stop ranting in your head and listen to me," she cut off his thoughts, having seen his small panic attack on his face. When she had his attention, she continued, "Look… I appreciate you doing this for me, and I'll admit that I've enjoyed working with you and teaching you what I know. You're also a really nice guy; sometimes a little bit too nice, but it's sweet to see."

Despite wanting to blush at the compliments thrown his way, Naruto was waiting for the inevitable rejection. He'd seen this plenty of times back in the Hidden Leaf, in some of the novels he's read, and in some of the movies he had watched. Right now, his heart was begging for her to just get it over with.

"And, well…" she continued before – to his surprise – her cheeks dusted slightly red. "I was actually thinking of asking you out sometime. You just…beat me to it."

"…I did what now…?" he mumbled, his brain fried from what was happening.

Snorting in amusement, she clarified, "What time will you pick me up?"

It took a moment for him to reboot his brain, and when it did, he was a brilliant red at her accepting his request to take her out. "I uh… I'm free right now…?" he attempted.

Smirking at him almost sensually, she stood up and replaced the lid on her cake before handing him the tray. "Now's good. Put that back in the fridge and we'll go to a bar down the street."

His legs were cemented where he stood as he watched her grab her handbag and head to the doors of the restaurant. She stopped and looked over her shoulder, piercing him effortlessly with a smoldering eye.

"You coming~?" she asked with a smirk, prompting him to rush to the kitchen to put the dessert back and grab his things. 'He had the guts to try something different when asking me out… And at least he isn't slobbering over my body all the time like most guys. Let's see how you do tonight, Foxy.'

-End Omake-