The second practice field.
Students clustered in two loose groups — boys on one side, girls on the other — while Iruka stood apart with his roster.
"Next up," Iruka called. "Shin Takami."
Shin stepped out of line. He stopped ten meters from the target, two shuriken pinched between the fingers of each hand.
He dropped into a slight crouch. Arms crossed. Then, in a single motion, he released.
Thwack.
All four shuriken hit in a clean vertical line.
"Good," Iruka said, smiling. "You've improved fast."
Shin dipped his head and returned to his spot without a word.
"Sasuke Uchiha."
A certain someone with a small fan crest on his back pulled his hands from his pockets and walked out. He stopped a step farther back than Shin had.
He drew six shuriken — three in each hand.
Of course. Shin watched without expression. The message was obvious.
"Sasuke, go for it!"
"Sasuke-kun, you're the best!"
"He's so cool—"
"Tch." Kiba crossed his arms beside Shin, clearly unimpressed.
Sasuke threw. The six shuriken cut through the air in a neat arc and embedded in the wooden target in a perfect ring.
Show-off. Shin kept the thought behind his eyes. His own shuriken accuracy was among the best in class — but not that.
"Sasuke-kun—!"
The fan club erupted. Sasuke turned back, face blank as ever, and walked past Shin. He flicked a sideways glance at him as he went.
Shin said nothing.
"Next. Naruto Uzumaki."
"Here!" Naruto's arm shot up and he bounded forward.
"Again?" Kiba muttered. "I already know how this ends."
"Same," Shino said.
"Naruto." Iruka's voice cut across the field before Naruto could raise his arm to throw. "Focus. If you pull the same stunt you always do, I won't let it slide."
Naruto's arm dropped. "...Got it."
The energy went out of him. He set his stance, threw, and — honestly — both shuriken caught the very edge of the target. Barely passing.
Naruto's face fell when he saw the result.
"Alright, that's enough." Iruka glanced at the target and made a mark in the roster. "Back in line."
"Tch." Naruto turned and shuffled back.
"That's it for this morning's assessment." Iruka snapped the roster shut. "Everyone who didn't meet the standard will be doing supplemental training."
Groans rippled through the class.
"Shuriken is the baseline of shinobi combat," Iruka said, not particularly bothered by the noise. "If you can't master the basics, you might want to reconsider a career change now, while it's still an option."
"Morning session is over. Report to the first practice field this afternoon for taijutsu sparring."
"Dismissed."
He vanished in a Body Flicker. The students scattered in his wake, a low undercurrent of grumbling filling the air.
Naruto appeared at Shin's shoulder. "Man, what's Iruka-sensei's problem today?"
"He's looking out for you," Shin said. "Shinobi go into real fights eventually. If you haven't learned the fundamentals by then, you're not going to last."
Naruto pursed his lips. Hard to tell if it landed.
"You'll get there," Shin added. "Just practice."
"Honestly," Kiba cut in, "only an idiot stays this bad this long. Me and Shin and Shino don't have anything to worry about." He glanced down. "Right, Akamaru?"
"Woof!"
Naruto's face went red. "What did you just say?!"
"Am I wrong?" Kiba shrugged. "Akamaru could probably pass the test at this point."
"Woof!"
"That's it — I'm gonna flatten you!"
"Okay, enough." Shin stepped between them, one hand catching Naruto's arm. He gave Kiba a flat look. "Don't say that."
"Naruto." He turned. "Let it go. Kiba's being an idiot."
Naruto's arm slowly lowered. The color in his face faded from red to a dull irritation.
"If you weren't holding me back," he muttered, "he'd already have a black eye."
"Sure he would." Kiba laughed.
"Both of you." Shin rubbed his temple. "It's lunch."
He nudged Kiba's shoulder, steering him away, and glanced back.
"Naruto?"
Naruto looked at Kiba, then at Shino — who had, as usual, said almost nothing — then at Shin.
"I'm good," he said. "I'll eat by myself."
"Alright."
......
Shin turned and walked. Shino fell into step behind him, and Kiba trailed alongside.
After a moment, Shino spoke. "You're very protective of Naruto Uzumaki."
"Yeah," Kiba said, still a little heated. "What's the point? He's just a dead weight."
Shin exhaled quietly.
"He doesn't have any friends. Everyone in class freezes him out." He watched the path ahead. "It's not hard to understand why. Kiba — stop picking on him."
"He starts it."
"I'll tell your mom."
Kiba's foot caught the ground. He nearly tripped. "Shin — you wouldn't—"
Shin glanced at him.
"...Fine." Kiba scowled, looking away. "Fine, whatever. I'll leave him alone."
Shin's mouth curved slightly.
"Good boy."
"Don't say it like Hana says it, that's creepy—"
"I didn't say anything."
Shino, two steps behind them, lowered his face into the collar of his coat to hide the smile.
"You laughed!" Kiba pointed at him.
"I didn't," Shino said.
"You absolutely did — what is wrong with both of you—"
The first practice field. Afternoon.
"Now we're testing taijutsu," Iruka said, roster in hand. "I've paired each of you with a partner. Anyone who doesn't meet the standard gets penalized — this weekend, you're staying here to train. I'll be with you."
Scattered groans. A few tense faces.
Naruto didn't look great. Whatever had happened at lunch had stuck with him — he was standing apart from the others, hands in his pockets, eyes moving restlessly across the field. He spotted Shin and the tight set of his shoulders eased, just a little. Shin gave him a small nod.
Naruto's mouth tugged into a grin — the kind that showed too many teeth and meant I'm fine, don't worry.
"Hmph." Kiba looked away.
Naruto's grin flickered.
"Kiba," Shin said, keeping his voice low.
Kiba didn't answer.
"First pair," Iruka called, opening the roster. "Kiba Inuzuka."
Shin blinked. Kiba went still.
"And..."
"Naruto Uzumaki."
A beat of silence.
Shin looked at Kiba. Then at Naruto, standing alone on the other side of the field. Their eyes met. Naruto's had gone uncertain.
Kiba's mouth pulled into something that wasn't quite a smile. It had teeth in it.
"Kiba," Shin said quietly.
"Relax." Kiba passed Akamaru into Shin's arms without looking at him. "This is a sparring exercise. Not my fault who they paired me with."
He walked out.
Shin looked down at the small white dog nestled against his chest.
Naruto walked out too, slower. His posture was off — too tight in the shoulders, not enough in the knees.
"Come on, Kiba!"
"Show him what you've got!"
Naruto's face closed off at the cheering.
"He's going to go hard," Shin said, low.
"He might." Shino was quiet for a moment. "But I think the problem isn't Naruto."
Shin glanced at him.
"You pay a lot of attention to Naruto," he said. "More than you do to Kiba, most days." He didn't look up from the field. "Kiba doesn't like it. You're putting him in the role of the villain — telling him not to do things, mediating every time he and Naruto argue — and that just makes it worse."
Shin watched the two of them take their positions across from each other.
He's jealous, he thought. That idiot is actually jealous.
......
"Begin with the seal of opposition," Iruka said.
Both of them extended their right hands, two fingers raised. They bowed to each other.
"Begin."
Kiba moved the instant the word left Iruka's mouth.
Naruto wasn't ready. He caught the first punch on his forearm by instinct alone, and the impact shoved him two steps back. Kiba was already turning — a kick caught him in the side.
Naruto hit the ground.
"Tch." Kiba looked down at him, unimpressed. "What are you thinking about?"
Naruto didn't answer.
"Fight back," Kiba said. "Or are you just going to go cry to Shin when this is over?"
"I wasn't—"
"Someone who's going to be Hokage." Kiba's voice went sharp. "Sure. That's a good joke."
Something shifted in Naruto's face.
He pushed himself up with one arm. He didn't wipe the dirt off his clothes. He settled his weight, dropped his chin, raised his hands.
Kiba snorted and came at him again — faster this time, harder.
Naruto caught the right hook palm-first. The force rocked him, but he didn't fold. He brought his arm up for the left — blocked it — then pushed forward hard, putting his weight behind both hands.
Kiba gave a half-step. He pulled back, circled, and came in low.
Naruto sidestepped, miscalculated, caught a heel kick across his back and stumbled two full rolls before getting his feet under him again.
He stood up.
He ran at Kiba.
Back and forth — hit, block, step, reset. Naruto couldn't land a clean strike, but he stopped folding. Every time he went down he got back up, and every time Kiba expected him to stay down he didn't.
It started to get annoying.
Kiba's jaw tightened. He opened up the speed — full throttle, no more holding back — and drove Naruto into a defensive spiral. Two hits through the arms, one to the ribs. Naruto's guard slipped. Kiba brought a palm strike down on his forearm, swept his leg from under him, got behind him as he fell, grabbed both shoulders—
—and threw him.
Naruto hit the ground and rolled and lay still.
The field spun quietly above him. Iruka's voice reached him from a long way away.
"Winner: Kiba."
I lost.
Scattered cheering in the background. Muffled. He stared up at the sky and felt a dull ache spreading across his back, his arms, his ribs.
"Seal of reconciliation."
A pause.
Then footsteps. Kiba appeared above him — two fingers extended, hand held out.
He didn't say anything smug. The hard energy from before had burned itself out somewhere in the last five minutes.
Naruto stared at the offered hand.
Slowly, he reached up.
Their fingers locked. Kiba pulled him to his feet.
They bowed.
"Good form, Kiba — you're clear," Iruka said, making his mark. "Naruto, I'll see you this weekend."
"...Yes, sir." Naruto's voice came out flat.
......
They walked back to the group.
"Kiba," Shin said.
Kiba didn't look at him. He reached over and took Akamaru back. "What."
"Nothing." Shin was quiet for a moment.
Kiba's arms tightened around the puppy. He still didn't look up.
"Naruto was scared," Shino said.
Kiba glanced at his sideways. "Scared of me?"
"Scared of losing Shin."
Kiba didn't say anything.
"You and Shin grew up together," Shino continued. "When you and Naruto kept clashing, he didn't know where Shin would land. He was trying to disappear so the choice never had to happen." He paused. "That's why he wasn't fighting back at first. Then you provoked him, and that overrode everything else."
Kiba was quiet for a long moment. He looked down at Akamaru. Akamaru looked back.
"That's," Kiba started. Stopped.
"...Fine," he said, very quietly. "I said I'd leave him alone. I meant it."
He turned his head away.
Shin looked at him — that stubborn jaw, that carefully averted gaze — and didn't bother hiding the quiet laugh.
"What?" Kiba muttered.
"Nothing."
......
"Next pair," Iruka called. "Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara."