"Nope!" Tsume said, at the same moment that Kuromaru snarled, "I am not a dog!" She put a hand on his shoulders and closed her fingers on fur, just in case he decided to leave. "We'll have a chat with him later on how our village should treat its ninja. Meantime, sit."

Still muttering, Kuromaru settled back down.

Tsume kept grinning. "Did you get a good scent?" she asked Asuma, strangling the urge to see-saw across the table and sniff him back. Again. All she'd gotten was a looming man and more cigarette smoke. That just wasn't fair.