[Mad Tiger] Chapter 53

Naruto was fidgeting, restless, grabbing onto anything he could in the kitchen like he didn’t know what to do with himself. He washed the dishes. Started cooking something. At this hour? Well, I guess he was hungry—probably drained a ton of chakra too. He put rice on the stove to cook, then finally sat down, slumping into his chair.

"Tora-chan, do you think I’m a monster too?" he asked me suddenly.

"What?" I blinked at him, startled. Then I shook my head.

"Mizuki-sen— Mizuki," Naruto corrected himself, biting his lip. "He said I’m the Nine-Tails, that’s why everyone in the village hates me. And the people who don’t… it’s just because they don’t know what I really am. That I’m doomed to be alone and hated forever."

Oh. I’d… kinda missed that part. I was so focused on watching Iruka and keeping track of everything happening around us that I hadn’t even thought to listen closely to what was actually said to Naruto. Big mistake.

"You knew, didn’t you?" Naruto sniffed. "You knew I was like this?"

I nodded. And to prove it, I nuzzled against his cheek.

"You really knew?" His blue eyes widened. I nodded again. Tora the All-Knowing, that’s me.

"What about Sasuke? He didn’t know, right?" Naruto pressed on. "He just found out that he’s been friends with a demon… He probably won’t want to be friends anymore. And neither will the others. I’ll be alone again." He clenched his fist and bit down on his knuckles, probably trying to stop himself from crying.

"Okay, enough with the depressing talk," I huffed, swatting him with my paw. Anything to snap him out of this spiral.

I wanted to smack some sense into him properly, but honestly, even I wasn’t feeling too great about this whole thing. Sasuke… I had no idea what was going on in that spiky head of his. Was he mad? Freaked out? Or was he just giving Naruto space to think? Who knows? 

And Naruto, well—Naruto just cried like it was the end of the world.

Maybe it was the stress. Maybe he thought their friendship was over. Maybe the post-battle adrenaline crash just hit him all at once. In the anime, Iruka had been the one to comfort him, tell him he wasn’t the demon fox, that he was just Naruto. He'd made sure to settle Naruto emotionally before his brain had time to spiral. But here? Here, it had all played out differently. And Sasuke had learned the truth in the worst possible way—secondhand, under messed-up circumstances.

And now they were both at that age—twelve, almost thirteen, just hitting that horrible transitional phase where everything pisses you off and you take it out on everyone around you. You’re moody for no reason. Your emotions are big but you don’t know how to deal with them. It’s a mess. Their heads must be spinning right now.

Suddenly, the rice pot hissed.

"Oh, crap, it’s boiling over!" Naruto yelped, jumping up to stir it.

I heard something outside and spun toward the noise. Scratching. A window shifting. Someone trying to get in?

"Tora-chan, it’s me," a familiar voice whispered.

I turned back just as a shadowy figure slipped through the window and landed on the floor.

Sasuke.

Oh, thank the Cat Gods, he actually showed up. Wait. What if he’s just here to quietly pack up his stuff and leave? He’s practically been living here—his stuff is all over the place!

"Tora-chan… is Naruto okay?" Sasuke asked softly. I stared at him, then flexed my claws into his palm.

"He’s upset… because of me, isn’t he?" he guessed immediately.

I nodded.

"Don’t worry, Tora— I mean, Namaiki-chan," Sasuke said, gripping my paw like we were shaking hands. "Everything’s fine. We’re still friends."

Whew. Okay. That definitely deserved a hug.

Sasuke scooped me up and, with me still in his arms, quietly stepped into the kitchen.

Naruto jumped, nearly dropping his bowl of rice.

"Naruto…?" he hesitated.

"You hungry?" Naruto cut him off, slamming his plate on the table with a little more force than necessary.

"Uh… yeah, sure," Sasuke said, surprised.

"With fish?" Naruto grabbed a can of smoked fish from the fridge.

"And me too!" I announced. Look, emotional crisis or not, I also missed dinner.

"You too?" Naruto blinked at me, his lips twitching like he was holding back a smile.

I nodded.

"Tora-Namaiki-chan was really worried about you," Sasuke said. "He ran all over the village looking for you after you disappeared with Mizuki. I was worried too."

That shut both of them up. They focused on eating instead, chewing slowly like they were waiting for the other one to say something first.

I decided my time would be better spent enjoying my meal—some high-quality rabbit in a can. Mm. Finally.

So yeah. Everything was complicated. But at least they were still friends. Sasuke had come back on his own. I hadn’t even needed to track him down and drag him here myself. And honestly, they hadn’t really even fought. Naruto had just freaked out and ran off, convinced that no one would want to be friends with him anymore.

Thanks a lot, Mizuki.

Still, I guess it was inevitable. Naruto had probably wondered his whole life why people treated him the way they did. And thanks to the Third's expert-level gaslighting, he’d never gotten a real answer. Sandaime had just kept feeding him some bullshit about being "mischievous" or "causing trouble"—like a twelve-year-old would buy that. But now? Now Naruto knew. And Sasuke knew too. And that meant they might actually start thinking about it.

Huh. Looks like Hiruzen accidentally shot himself in the foot with this one.

Honestly? Not a bad outcome, all things considered.

The next morning, we all woke up together. Same as always. Sasuke and Naruto had slept head-to-toe like usual, and I rotated between them as I pleased. They didn’t bring up the whole "fox demon" thing again, but they did discuss grocery shopping. And honestly, Naruto was way too happy about it.

Sasuke, apparently, had "proved" he wasn’t leaving by making a shopping list for the future. And Naruto was downright giddy about it. Meanwhile, I was just happy that said list included canned cat food and those crunchy little snack pellets that tasted like bacon-flavored chips.

"Hey, Sasuke, yesterday Mizuki said that we were gonna be on the same team," Naruto said as we walked to the Academy. I popped my head out of his backpack and let out a satisfied little mrowr. Sasuke glanced at me.

"You heard that too, Namaiki-chan?"

I nodded and purred.

"He’s happy," Naruto grinned. "Me too."

Sasuke gave a small nod, looking a little embarrassed.

"Maybe they’ll put Hinata or Ino on our team," Naruto continued. "I heard we have to have a girl. That’d be cool."

"Oh, right," Naruto suddenly perked up. "I wanted to ask you something! Yesterday— I wasn’t just seeing things, right? Your eyes— they were red?"

Sasuke tensed slightly, then sighed. "No, you weren’t seeing things. I think… I awakened the Sharingan. I could see everything—every move. It’s hard to explain. It’s a clan dojutsu."

"Whoa, that’s awesome!" Naruto practically bounced in excitement, shaking me in the process.

"I— I still don’t know how to activate it on purpose," Sasuke admitted. "But once I figure it out, I’ll show you."

"Alright," Naruto agreed. "But your clan must have had scrolls, a library, some kind of instructions, right? Or does it just… happen differently for everyone?"

"Hmm," Sasuke frowned in thought. "I know the basic properties of the Sharingan. And I know that it usually activates in moments of extreme danger, especially when someone close to you is about to die." He hesitated slightly, casting a quick glance at Naruto before looking away.

Naruto immediately skidded to a stop. "So yesterday…?"

"I was scared you were gonna die like an idiot, alright?!" Sasuke snapped, suddenly flaring up before spinning on his heel and stomping toward the Academy.

Naruto blinked, then took off after him, falling into step beside Sasuke without saying another word. They didn’t talk the rest of the way, but I could tell—both of them felt lighter. Like something had settled inside them.

Before the team assignments, Iruka pulled Naruto aside for some ‘heartfelt’, teacherly wisdom—the usual stuff about believing in himself and not letting what people say get to him. But Naruto just nodded absentmindedly, letting the words wash over him. Then he straight-up told Iruka he was fine. Said that even if everyone saw him as a monster, he’d still protect Konoha and his friends. And that, personally? He didn’t feel like a monster. He didn’t sense any scary Nine-Tailed Fox thing inside him, and he wasn’t mad or upset about anything.

Iruka, after hearing that, finally calmed down. He even offered to take Naruto out for ramen during their lunch break. Naruto, being Naruto, immediately agreed—but only if Sasuke came too. Iruka, surprisingly, did not immediately veto the idea of feeding two bottomless pits at once.

And that was that.

The team assignments went exactly as expected. Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru got grouped together. Kiba ended up with Hinata and that bug guy, Shino. And, of course, Naruto and Sasuke were paired with… Sakura.

Naruto kept sneaking glances at their new teammate, looking embarrassed, while she spent the entire time making goo-goo eyes at Sasuke. Yep. Nothing new here.

Honestly? Good.

I’d had enough stress for one lifetime in the past twenty-four hours. I needed a break. A nice, calm stretch of time where no one tried to fight, cry, or set anything on fire. Otherwise, I was gonna start shedding out of sheer emotional exhaustion. And no one wants that.