ᴅᴇꜱᴛɪɴʏ ʀᴇʙɪʀᴛʜ|ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒˣⁿᵃʳᵘᵏᵒ

Same shit, different day

"WHAT?!" Kiba shouted in anger when Iruka announced all the teams as the boy looked indignant and unconvinced.

Naruko glared the dog user slightly. His disapproval of Naruto's placement in Team 7 was, in her mind, an indirect insult towards her brother as a shinobi of Konoha.

"But he only joined yesterday! How can he be put in the same team as Sasuke and Naruko-chan!?" Kiba asked in a slightly louder tone.

It was bad enough that he wasn't put on the same team as his crush, but for him, along with another good-looking guy to be on the same team with Naruko when he only joined them yesterday threw him over the edge. He was not going to stay quiet after this turn of events!

After Team 7 was announced, Team 8 had been him, Hinata and Shino. Team 9 was still active and Team 10 had consisted of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio. Kiba could readily agree to the others, but he was still adamant about their decision to put Naruto into Team Seven.

If anything, it should be him taking the blonde's place!

The scarred chūnin instructor sighed as he shook his head in disappointment as he looked at the boy. "Kiba, I am very disappointed in you..." he reprimanded. "Barely a few minutes had passed and you're already acting as if Naruto is beneath you. That is not exemplary behaviour for a Konoha shinobi." He said sternly, causing the boy to shut up instantly, though his eyes still shone with defiance. Iruka sighed. "It looks like you are still unconvinced..."

Then an idea hit him as he turned to the young blonde shinobi, who had his eyes closed in a meditative position at his desk, with his sister sitting beside him trying to do the same, but failing miserably at it, much to Iruka's silent amusement. "Naruto!" he called.

Naruto opened one of his azure orbs and looked up at the brown haired chūnin, "What is it Iruka-sensei?"

"I still haven't graded your taijutsu yet, and I believe we have the perfect opportunity to do that right now!" Iruka announced, making the rest of the class look stunned at the news. Naruto had not only passed the Graduation Test, but he passed it without taking the taijutsu portion of the test?! Many of the girls were starting to eye him in a new light while the boys started seethe in jealousy.

Naruto however acted indifferent as he just shrugged and he rolled his shoulders as he stood and walked over to Iruka, with Naruko following behind him.

"Guess that's alright with me — I haven't had a good fight in a long time." He said with a slight smile, "So — who's my opponent?"

"Well..." Iruka started, adopting a slight thinking pose, "I was thinking about putting Sasuke against you, but since Kiba is unconvinced about your abilities as a shinobi, I'll let him take you on before your Jōnin senseis arrive."

"Alright!" Kiba shouted cockily as he smirked at Naruto, stating confidently. "Just you wait! Soon I'll show everyone and Naruko-chan who's the top dog here!"

Akamaru on the other hand lowly whined as the puppy retreated further into his master's jacket. The small canine had already sensed the tremendous power radiating off the blonde, and the ninken was sure that the blonde boy in front of them was no ordinary boy. The small pup felt pity towards his partner — the blonde was way out of his league.

Naruto immediately lost the cheerful expression on his face as he looked at Kiba coldly, promptly making him and the people around him back away from him in fear. Naruko was also slightly scared at first but when she looked at him, she noticed that all of his anger wasn't directed at her or anyone in particular... it was directed at the Inuzuka Heir, who was close to wetting his pants. Even Iruka sweated a little at the blonde's obvious display of power — no normal boy should possess such an overwhelming aura!

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he spoke, "Listen here dog boy, and you listen well," His voice was icy like the frozen north — unknown to everyone, he was letting a sliver of Kurama's chakra into his vocal cords, adding more weight to his statement while making everyone shake in fear, "I don't care about you showing that you're some top dog alpha here, or about me taking the spotlight away from you as the class clown away from you."

His every word, every syllable was laced with so much coldness most would've thought Kiba had caught frostbite from it, "But... if you talk about Naruko-chan, my precious sister, like she's just some trophy to be won... Well, pray that you won't find out when I get my hands on you, dog breath."

He left the threat hang in the air as he slowly, and audibly cracked his knuckles, making sure every crack was crisp and loud enough for everyone to hear. Iruka could've sworn, not in his many years of teaching, had any of his classes been as quiet as this one was now.

Just as quickly as it appeared, a neutral but calm look replaced the cold one on Naruto's face and everyone relaxed as everyone looked at him in slight fear, Kiba more than most. Even Shikamaru was shocked awake by the tense atmosphere and that was saying something.

Naruto smiled a bit as he bowed his head slightly, "I hope we've reached an understanding Inuzuka-san. Now, shall we head to the sparring grounds?" he said curtly before walking out of the room, heading towards the sparring grounds, leaving the stunned class behind...

And a heavily blushing Naruko.

Hinata leaned over to her best friend's ears, "I didn't know he was the overly protective type... but still," she giggled as she smiled, "She's a good catch Naruko-chan — handsome, smart, and very protective — the perfect boy—"

She never got to finish her sentence as her mouth was instantly covered by a pair of hands, courtesy of a tomato red Naruko. "S-Shut up! Dattebane!" she cried out in embarrassment before she went after her brother while desperately fighting down the blush on her face.

Never in her life had someone so openly said that they would protect her and wouldn't let anyone treat her like some trophy. She felt warmth welling inside of her as she thought of the words Naruto had said to protect her — the confident and possessive tone he spoke with, and the way his cerulean eyes shone with untamed anger as he defended her.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her look into the beautiful cerulean eyes of Naruto, who had a concerned look on his face, making her feel all warm inside. "Naruko-chan, you alright?" he asked in concern as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, "Sorry about earlier — I had to get my message across to dog boy."

Naruko blushed at his concern and shook her head as she embraced him, resting her head on his chest, listening to his strong and steady heartbeat. "Don't worry about it," she replied, "And I think Kiba-kun got the message quite clear after your little stunt."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly as he led his sister towards the sparring ring, right arm still draped over her shoulders, never breaking physical contact. "I was never one for theatrics, but I handled it well don't you think?" he joked, receiving a giggle and a light jab to his ribs from Naruko in response.

"I think it was good," Kurama said telepathically, sounding amused, "Did you see the look on the dog boy's face when you said you would do Kami knows what to him! Hah!" he laughed, "I'm willing to bet a million ryō that he pissed his pants right there at the end!"

'Didn't think he would get scared so easily,' Naruto mentally chuckled, '...but, so was my unwarranted reaction to his remark...'

Kurama howled in laughter as he spoke with mirth, "Don't you see? You were just protecting your mate when you heard that remark and went all protective of her! That's what having a soulmate is all about..." Kurama laughed again at his host's blush as the blonde tried to gather his thoughts.

'But... how? I mean I do love her already... but I don't know if it's familial love or...' Naruto hesitated as he fumbled with the last word, while trying to hide his growing blush from Naruko who was right beside him.

Kurama sighed as he laid down on his paws, already knowing the dilemma which he was faced with.

"Don't worry about it, kit." He replied, "The best thing to do at this moment is to follow your instincts — it helped me, so why not you?" he added with a chuckle, making Naruto roll his eyes at the fox's antics.