[Mad Tiger] Chapter 45

"Remember this, Akamaru: a good soldier stays close to the kitchen and far from the higher-ups," I declared solemnly to the pup.

Ah, teaching bad habits—and enjoying it. While the boys were unpacking, Akamaru and I committed a daring heist, liberating a bag of chips from Choji. We retreated with our spoils to the kitchen, where the girls were busy cooking.

"Keep it together, don’t start drooling before we’ve even divided it up," I warned the pup, side-eyeing his wagging tail and barely-contained excitement. "How are we splitting this? Fairly or honestly?"

Akamaru froze, scratching behind one floppy ear with his hind leg as he processed my question.

"Uh… what’s ‘honestly’?" he asked cautiously. Smart kid—he’s learning.

"Well… honestly means proportional. Think about it. You played the decoy, faking undying love for our Butterfly and nearly knocking him over with slobber, while I handled the actual theft. Clearly, I deserve the lion’s share—let’s say, 80%. You get the remaining 20%."

"Is 20% a lot?" he asked, sniffing the bag suspiciously.

"Let me put it this way: imagine our loot split into five bowls of food. I get four, and you get one."

The pup’s face scrunched as he thought it over. His floppy ears twitched, and his little brow furrowed. It was like watching someone solve a jigsaw puzzle in their head.

"Usually, one bowl of food is enough for me…" he said hesitantly.

"So you’re good with 20%?" I asked, feigning innocence.

Not that I intended to scam him—this was about the principle! He studied the bag of chips again. I’d picked the bacon-flavored ones, but the bag wasn’t exactly the biggest.

"But this bag doesn’t look like five bowls of food…" he said, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "If we divide it into five parts, it’s barely anything!"

"So, how are we splitting it?"

"Let’s just go 50/50," he decided finally.

"Alright, you pull," I said, biting down on one corner of the bag. With a satisfying pop, the bag split open, releasing the heavenly aroma of fried potato and bacon.

Ino’s head popped into the kitchen.

"Oh, so this is what you two are up to!" she said with a grin.

"Yep, we’re feasting on chips," I replied smugly, tossing her a look as I divvied up the spoils.

Once we’d polished off the ill-gotten chips, I rejoined the others in the main room. Temptation whispered for me to snag something from the girls’ prep table, but I held back—taking food from kids just felt wrong. Besides, I was curious to see what Hinata and Ino would whip up. Hinata, to my surprise, was the real star in the kitchen. I hadn’t expected much from the quiet Hyuga, but she handled everything with grace and efficiency.

Through their chatter, I learned that Hinata’s mother had passed, and she’d taken on cooking duties for her father, little sister, and occasionally her older brother—and my new acquaintance—Neji.

Back in the main room, the boys were hard at work. Kiba’s gray jacket was spread on the floor, and Akamaru was sniffing a saucer of ink with intense curiosity. The pup had devoured his chips faster than me, so I sent him scouting to keep him busy.

"Can you control your chakra?" I asked him. "These inks need a chakra seal to set."

Akamaru tilted his head in confusion. I demonstrated by extending my paw and channeling chakra into my pads. The boys gasped in awe.

"Look at that! That’s definitely chakra control!"

"Namaiki-chan’s incredible!"

The praise was well-deserved, and I soaked it in. I dipped my paw in the ink and pressed it to the jacket, sealing it with a faint burst of chakra.

"So that’s how he did it!" Naruto exclaimed. "I told you, Namaiki-chan’s a ninja cat!"

"Akamaru can’t do that yet, huh, Kiba?" Shikamaru mused, noticing the pup’s dejected look. "You’ll either have to settle for cat paw prints or train your nin-ken better."

"Well, uh… honestly, I kinda like Namaiki-chan’s prints," Kiba admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "They’re pretty cool. Can we put some along the edges of my jacket?"

I nodded, and the room buzzed with excitement. Akamaru added his own, smaller paw prints above mine, and I sealed them in place with chakra. Then Hinata stepped in to help, using her Hyuga-style precision to enhance the designs.

By the time we finished, everyone had personalized items: Kiba’s jacket, Choji’s scarf, even Shikamaru’s vest got a stylish border of prints. Hinata, inspired by the creative energy, requested a few paw marks on her beige coat too.

Lunch, prepared by Hinata with Ino’s enthusiastic assistance, was amazing. Ino even brought a special bento for me with smoked eel—my absolute favorite. I let her pet me as thanks and even rolled over to offer my belly, earning delighted squeals.

After we ate, we resumed our fashion endeavors. Ino sketched out designs for her outfit, and though I hoped she’d use her clan’s jutsu to communicate directly with me, she stuck to verbal instructions. So, Hinata and I handled the details while the others watched.

By the end of the evening, everyone went home sporting "Namaiki-chan Originals." Even the perpetually lazy Shikamaru couldn’t resist adding some flair to his vest, and Sasuke allowed me to leave a subtle pattern on his pants.

The next day, the Academy was in uproar. Almost every elite kid from A-Class showed up flaunting their "modifications." The sight of Ino sauntering into class and casually telling Ruri, "Oh, this? We were at Sasuke’s yesterday…" was priceless. Whatever she said after that was drowned out by squeals and chatter.

I perched on a beam, watching the chaos below with a satisfied smirk. The kids had grown used to me by now and kept my presence a secret from the teachers, who were far too busy (or self-important?) to notice.

A new week had begun. Kuromaru was due back from his mission in a few days, and I was eager to see my shaggy friend again. It had only been a week since Shijimi "recaptured" me, but it felt like an eternity.

Soon, it would be a month since the "Complete Cat-tastrophe." I wondered how Shisui and Kushina-san were faring. Had Kushina broken free of that curse seal? Was Shisui still searching for Itachi? Where were Tsunade, Shizune, and even little Tonton?

Shijimi had said it might take a couple of months for news to arrive. Ugh, feels like "Snail Mail" USPS competitor is running this operation.

"Sasuke-kun, is it true you helped Ino with her outfit?" Sakura's shrill voice yanked my attention back to the classroom.

"No," Sasuke answered calmly. "Namaiki-chan and Hinata handled it just fine on their own."

"That's right! Hinata-chan has the same designs!" came the excited whispers from the girls.

"Sakura-chan, go on a date with me, and I'll ask Namaiki-chan to jazz up your clothes too," Naruto piped up, ever the little hustler.

The pink-haired girl hesitated for a moment, clearly torn, before scoffing and walking away from my boys' desk.

Looks like Naruto really does have a thing for her.

Lunch was a delight. Kiba brought meals for Sasuke and Naruto, while Ino—bless her sneaky little heart—brought me my own bento. I perched on her lap, clearly the VIP of the group. Our little "fashion club" had morphed into a full-on secret society—The Cat Mark Brotherhood, if you will—with everyone sporting my paw prints as their badge of honor.

Hinata was shy at first, but eventually, she pulled out a batch of sandwiches that sent the group into fits of laughter. Somehow, they were shaped like Naruto’s head, complete with jagged slices of bright yellow cheese sticking out like his spiky hair. Kiba immediately dubbed them "Narutowiches."

I hadn’t seen my little chick this happy in ages. Surrounded by friends, Naruto practically glowed, grinning like a kid who’d just discovered a ramen buffet. Even during class, when Iruka-sensei tried to cut him down to size with snide remarks, Naruto didn’t let it faze him.

What shocked me the most was the class’s reaction. The kids didn’t laugh or pile on when Iruka threw out jabs. They just stayed quiet, their expressions unreadable. I could’ve cried from sheer pride. It wasn’t open rebellion, but it was clear where the leaders of the class stood—and they weren’t siding with Iruka. Even Ruri-chan, the usual teacher’s pet, kept her mouth shut.

This is getting interesting.