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The puppy got to his feet and left, as embarrassed as any beaten dog.

"And don't come back!" Sasuke yelled. The stupid white ball of fur had been following him around Muramasa's house and the surrounding land for days, and it was pissing him off. He didn't need a fucking shadow. It would cramp his style.

"Now, now, Sasuke-kun," Muramasa said from somewhere behind him.

And he would never get used to that creepy old man sneaking up behind him.

"You should try to be nice to that dog. It showed up here only two weeks ago; he needs a friend."

"Whatever."

"And it's really not creepy-I've just learned to mask my presence better than even a great ninja like you could detect."

He would never be able to get used to that, either.

*

It was on his chest. It was licking his face. There was a stick next to his head.

You have to be kidding me, Sasuke thought. I am not in the mood for this...

"Oh, how cute, Sasuke-kun! It looks just like you! Oh, but your face...!" Yuya exclaimed from the doorway. He sat bolt upright and wiped the slobber from his cheeks with his blanket before she got any ideas about wiping it off for him.

"What is it, nee-chan?" he asked, ignoring the puppy, who was thumping its tail excitedly on the floor. "Is breakfast ready?"

"Mmm? Oh, yes, it is. Have you picked out a name for your dog yet? It looks like it wants to play."

"It's not my-"

"Oh, I'm sure that Muramasa-san will let you keep it!"

*

"My strong little Sasuke and his dog are very cute," Yukimura said, coming around the corner dressed in nothing but a towel. Sasuke pretended to be very interested in his kendama, which was difficult because the dog was nudging at his leg.

"It's not my dog," Sasuke said. "The stupid thing is just following me around."

"Don't be silly," he replied. "And you have dried dog drool on your nose. Let's get you washed up!"

Sasuke considered reminding Yukimura that he had just gotten out of the bath (hence the towel-why the hell wasn't he wearing his yukata?), but decided not to bother.

*

"So, what's the real reason you agreed to come along, bonbon?" Sasuke asked, annoyed-he didn't want to spend any more time with Tora than was necessary, but Bon was busy and Yuya was busy and Yukimura was /busy/; Muramasa was sick, and he hadn't even bothered asking Kyo. He had been the only one left to go get food with him.

"Well, chicks dig guys with kids, and chicks dig guys with dogs... so, if I have both..."

Sasuke would have smashed Tora in the face with his kendama, but the dog got to the idiot first.

I could get used to this.

*

The puppy, Sasuke reflected, running a hand through his very clean hair as he threw the stupid stick for the fiftieth time, did have the same colour hair that he had, but that was where the resemblance ended. Nee-chan can be so stupid sometimes.

"Come on, mutt, we need to get you a new stick," he said when it snapped in half in his hands.

As he searched the trees and the ground for one of just the right length, he started thinking of names.

*

"Nee-chan," Sasuke said. "I need your help."

"My help, Sasuke-kun?" Yuya asked. "With what?"

"Well..." He hated asking people for help, but he was truly torn and he knew that Yuya was the only one who wouldn't take him to task for it. "I'm trying to think of names for my dog." He handed a list of names. "Would you help?"

"Of course I will!" She scanned the list. "Kumiko, Tsukiko, Tsukino, Tsubame, Mika, Maeko, Kana, Kaori, Kaoru," she read, "Ayumi, Ayame, Akane... um, Sasuke-kun? Did Yukimura-san give you this list?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Well, you see, these are all girls' names."

"So?"

"He's a boy dog."

"Oh. How can you tell?"

"...ask Yukimura-san."

*

"You know, Sasuke-kun," Muramasa said, doing that creepy sneaking-up-on-him thing, "you shouldn't think too hard about it. And I wasn't sneaking up on you."

"Whatever."

"Perhaps you should name him after his traits-"

"Baka," Sasuke said automatically. "Ahou. Tora/." Baka-Ahou-Tora barked at him, as though he understood what he was being called. (Considering the freaky amount of intelligence that contact with Muramasa seemed to give animals, he wouldn't be shocked if the dog /did know what he was saying.)

"-physical traits, that is. He's a white dog, isn't he?"

"Uh, Haku? But that's a stupid name."

"Well, you're considering 'Tsubame', which is equally ridiculous."

"Whatever. Haku."

But he still couldn't get used to that creepy old man sneaking up on him.

*

A/N: For the chain_of_fics livejournal community. The prompt absolutely screamed Sasuke and Haku.