Authoress: I can't believe I'm back already with the second (maa…first, since the first chapter was a prologue…)chapter to "Revealing A Kitsune"!…I didn't think it would be taken as well (since it's not the usual Naruto/Sasuke or Naruto/Gaara pairing…), but I'm ecstatic that everyone seems to like it so far! I nearly bounded in joy when the reviews for chapter one hit twenty….and that number just keeps increasing daily! YOSH!

Tina-chan: Ooo, this chapter is really interesting! –turns to Kanemoshi- Do you really need betas? I couldn't find any mistakes… but at least we get to read them before anyone else! -hee-

Disclaimer: …wah, I don't own Naruto…never did…never will…now that I'm in a depressed mood…onto my angst-filled chapter!

Chapter One

Naruto sighed as he slowly opened his apartment door. He hadn't even needed to get his keys out because he had long since given up on locking the door when he left during the day. Even if someone had the urge to break in, they would just break the piece of metal if it had been locked. It was just, in the words of Shikamaru, too troublesome.

As the door creaked open, Naruto's senses suddenly went into overdrive, picking up the faintest scent-one that he knew shouldn't have been so noticeable inside his tiny apartment. He slipped into the room, slowly closing the door behind him. Whoever had been in his apartment had left only a few seconds ago-probably when they heard his door scraping on the floor as he opened it.

Naruto calmly walked across the two-room apartment and realized that the smell was emanating from his bed. Whoever had broken into his home had been sitting on his bed, judging from the different pattern of wrinkles on one spot right next to his nightstand. That made the blonde wonder who would have broken in without stealing something or even doing any visible damage. All the other times someone had gotten into Naruto's apartment, he came home to find all the windows broken, his furniture torn apart, his mattress slashed…even every picture in his apartment had been thrown around, torn apart, or otherwise destroyed.

Who was here? Naruto wondered as he sat down on his bed in the exact same spot his intruder had, noticing that his gaze drifted over to his nightstand immediately, as if something there was pulling at him. He smirked as he bent over and opened the small table's sole drawer. Everything was in its right place-the exact way he had left it-but there was something different. Naruto blindly sifted through the drawer's contents and nearly jerked his fingers back when he felt something sharp prick his fingertips. As a warm trickle of blood slid down his punctured finger, he carefully wrapped his hand around the warm object and pulled it out of the drawer.

He studied the kunai for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly when he realized that, compared to the rest of his room, the knife was exceptionally warm, which only meant one thing. Someone had broken into his house and had found the blood-coated kunai. The intruder had held the blade in his hand and, from the slight indents Naruto could see on one side of the blade, the mysterious person had scraped off the dried blood.

They know… Naruto ignored the growling voice in the back of his head as he, literally, threw the kunai back into the drawer, kicking the nightstand shut as he let his body drop backwards onto the bed. Whoever had broken in now knew about Naruto-they knew about the one thing no one knew about. The blonde cursed loudly as he brought a hand up to cover his face. He closed his eyes slowly, loving the darkness that enveloped him for the moment.

His eyes snapped back open when he recognized the thick scent that had been surrounding him. No one else had that particular smell of grass, dirt, and sweat, combined in such a way it wasn't too overpowering, but enough to be evident to Naruto's nose. No one else had that wet-dog scent surrounding them either.

Kiba…shimatta…Naruto pulled his hands off his face and found himself staring up at a silver moon and the beginnings of a sunrise. For a second, the blonde was sure he saw a brunette, minus his usual companion, leaning against the tree right outside Naruto's window. Naruto blinked his eyes, but by then, the image was gone. The view troubled Naruto because, for that short moment, he was sure he could see lines trailing down the boy's cheeks, reflecting the silver of the moon.

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Kiba had been able to slip back into the Inuzuka household without any family member catching him, but as soon as he opened his bedroom door, he was met with a pair of knowing brown eyes. His heart plummeted as he shuffled across his messy room to flop down on his bed next to Akamaru.

"Was that what you wanted me to find?" Kiba asked softly, burying his head into his soft comforter. Akamaru didn't answer, but from the nuzzle his white dog gave the side of his head, Kiba knew Akamaru's answer. A sudden urge to scream took over Kiba's body as he rethought what exactly it was that he had found. "WHY, DAMN IT!" he exclaimed as he flipped over to glare at his dog. Whatever attempts Kiba had made to keep his family asleep were all nullified with that outburst. The other canines in the family had picked up the exclamation, along with the tone of helplessness in Kiba's voice, which had gotten the majority of the furred beasts to come flying towards Kiba's room, barking loud enough to wake the dead-along with every member of the Inuzuka clan.

Kiba was so aggravated by his dog's actions-and his need to share that little bit of information with Kiba-that he didn't even realize he had woken up the entire household until his father came flying in, his two eldest nin dogs at his heels. The old man looked around the room, searching for whatever danger had woken everyone up out of a sound sleep, but caught one look at Kiba's expression and his guard immediately dropped.

"Kiba…Daijoubu ka?" Kiba shifted his glare from Akamaru to his father, who had a worried look on his tattooed face. Kiba forced himself to take a deep breath, calming his expression into something that (he hoped) resembled the 'I'm fine' he was about to utter. Kiba never got the chance since his sister came thundering into the room, with the rest of the family at her heels. From the whines the furrier half of Kiba's family was emitting, the boy knew his 'fine' excuse wouldn't hold up. They had heard his desperation

"Kiba-kun!" Kiba tried his hardest to evade the older Inuzuka, but still found his face being crushed into her massive chest as she let out a variety of squeals. Somewhere among her painfully high vocalizations, Kiba picked up a 'what happened!'

"It's alright, I'm fine," Kiba stated, trying to gasp for air at the same time. His comment must have gotten the canines surrounding his bed to stop their barking and whimpering, judging from the dead silence that ensued, but when he finally extracted his head from his sister's chest, he noticed that the dogs were all looking at his white puppy. Akamaru had somehow told all of the other nin dogs to stop their complaining. It wasn't the first time the Inuzuka teen wondered if their family dogs were telepathic, since the dogs' human counterparts were lost as to what had just transpired between their dogs and the boy.

"Kiba…you screamed…"Kiba's mother pointed out as she sat down next to Kiba, patting his hand reassuringly. The woman was one of those people who everyone immediately warmed up to and was very calming presence most of the time. But this time, not even his mother would be able to make Kiba feel any better. Nothing short of a miracle could do that now.

"I'm fine, kaa-san," Kiba said softly, knowing that, if he let himself, he would break down in a moment. He would wrap his arms around the woman and just sob into her shoulder, but he couldn't do that…it was one thing to tell a friend that he knew something, but another thing entirely to tell his whole family (and, consequently, the entire village) before even talking to Naruto. If nothing else, Naruto deserved a chance to be heard out, just in case Kiba had misunderstood something.

The boy wasn't exactly one for religion, but, for the first time in his life, Kiba found himself praying-praying that when he went to see Naruto tomorrow, the boy would just laugh it off and give him a completely plausible excuse as to why there was a kunai coated in Naruto's blood in his nightstand. It would be so believable of an answer that Kiba would gladly accept it as the truth and forget about his findings.

Things would be completely normal if things panned out like that. There was only problem with the Inuzuka's delusion. The feeling he got as he thought of just forgetting about everything; the ache in his heart.

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Sakura yawned, stretching her arms up as she walked along the bustling streets. The morning traffic wasn't that bad this morning, which gave her a chance to walk at a pleasurable pace, taking in all the new displays that had been put up in preparation for the festival next week. It was going to be the village's chance to properly welcome Tsunade as their new Hokage and show off the village's prosperity to their new leader as well as other villages who might have ambassadors in Konohagure during the festival.

There were countless windows packed with delicious looking treats or newly imported bottles of alcohol, while others were filled with beautiful articles of clothing. There were even shops that had really gotten into the festival spirit and had constructed life-size statues of the Hokage, the Hokage monument…there were even a few jewelry shops that had beautiful bluish crystals displayed. Sakura hadn't ever seen that particular necklace anywhere else, but had heard that the new Hokage had worn one exactly like that for many years. The blonde woman probably still wore it, but it would have been difficult to see underneath the Hokage robes, so Sakura couldn't make a decision on how authentic the necklaces looked.

"Sakura-chan!" The pink-haired teen couldn't help but cringe slightly when she heard that particularly screechy voice erupt somewhere down the street. Within seconds, she found a bouncing ball of blonde energy standing in front of her, his usual Cheshire grin on his face. "Ohayo!"

"Ohayo, Naruto…" Sakura replied, smiling at her friend's contagious enthusiasm. He, more than anyone else in the village, seemed to be excited about Tsunade becoming the new Hokage. Maybe it was because he had been the one to go and get her…or that Naruto had someone new to challenge for the Hokage position. Sakura inwardly grinned, unable to deny that, one day, Naruto might just achieve his dream. A year ago, Sakura would have been mortified to think that this blonde idiot could even think of becoming Hokage, but after getting to know him…after seeing how fiercely loyal and determined he was…and how powerful he could be…Sakura knew he had more of a chance than anyone else.

"Maa, Sakura-chan…do you know where Dog-Breath is?" Naruto's question caught Sakura off-guard. The two boys were like fire and ice-oil and vinegar. It was just something that, even if they trained together for years, would never get better. Even Sakura could clearly see that. She smiled pleasantly, but shook her head. Naruto didn't look too disappointed, so Sakura guessed he just wanted to find Kiba in order to make fun of the Inuzuka or something. Sometimes Naruto's juvenile mind could be entertaining…other times, it was embarrassing. Today happened to be a enjoyable day.

"So, Naruto…are you doing anything today?" Sakura, for once, didn't ask him about his plans out of manners. She seriously wanted to know what he was doing. Ever since Sasuke abandoned the village, it was too depressing to be alone. Most days, Sakura went to hang out with Ino, but the blonde girl had quickly gotten annoyed with Sakura's clinginess, so that was no longer an option. She tried to get closer to TenTen, but the girl crept Sakura out way too much, so she had no one to fill her time with yet. Naruto was her only other choice.

"Un, Ero-sennin and I are training…" Naruto replied proudly, puffing out his chest. Sakura shook her head. The boy had only been released from the hospital a few days ago, but he was already getting back to his training. His healing abilities amazed Sakura. If it had been anyone else to receive those injuries, they would still be unconscious on a hospital bed. The girl was so intrigued that she promised herself to one day find out how Naruto did it.

"That sounds like fun…" Sakura said softly, trying to hide her dejection as Naruto said a quick farewell, then went sprinting off towards the training grounds. She watched the blonde leave, his bright head of hair disappearing into the crowd. With a sigh, Sakura went back to her window shopping.

Within half an hour, she had become so bored with the window shopping, she had evolved to outright shopping. She found herself laden with several bags-mostly filled with unnecessary things or small gifts to give all her friends at the festival. There was one bag in particular that Sakura was surprised to find in her hands. It was a normal enough looking bag, but inside, Sakura knew that there was a beautiful kimono wrapped up so that not even its forest-green color could be seen. The salesman in the store had been all too persuasive with that purchase. The kimono alone wiped out almost all of Sakura's savings, but she had to admit that she needed a new kimono for the festivities-and it wasn't like she needed the money for rent or food, like so many other shinobi. Sometimes living with your parents had its perks.

Sakura continued glimpsing down into the bag with her new kimono, wondering if her mother would approve of it. It was a beautiful design, with soft, pink cherry blossoms cascading down the whole outfit, as if they were falling from Sakura's hair. It had an amazing overall effect. When she had tried it on in the shop, Sakura was surprised to find it was a perfect fit-as if it was made for her. It made her look older-more sophisticated, in many ways. It also took people's attention away from her flat chest and behind, pulling their eyes to her small waist (which Sakura hadn't really known she had until today) and gracefully curving hips. Even the salesman was at a loss for words when she came out with the kimono on.

The pink-haired kunoichi was so caught up in the memory of how good she looked in the outfit, she slammed into someone before even realizing it. Sakura's eyes scanned around, apologizing profusely until her eyes met those of the girl she had nearly ran over.

"Hinata-chan…gomen, I wasn't paying attention…" Sakura said, noticing how the girl started shivering almost as soon as Sakura had said her name. What a weird girl……matte…maybe I can hang out with her, since Naruto ditched me for training…Sakura thought to herself with an evil grin. If she could make friends with the Hyuuga heiress, she would have someone to talk to and train with (who wouldn't beat her to a bloody pulp within five seconds, like everyone else). Not only that, but there was something about Hinata that just made Sakura at ease. Perhaps it was the fact that the girl was so shy she was unable to even say anything. Someone like that was the total opposite of Ino-which was a blessing in Sakura's mind.

"S-S-Sakura-s-san…" Hinata stuttered, bowing her head respectfully. Sakura took a deep breath, feeling uncomfortable at how polite Hinata was being. They were classmates and, being such, they had talked every now and again.

"Hinata-chan…I-I was wondering…are you doing anything today?" Sakura asked curiously, watching in amazement as Hinata's expression changed from curiosity to fear to embarrassment to shock, then finally, to happiness. "I'm taking that as a no…"

"I'm free, Sakura-san…" Hinata said softly, smiling at Sakura as she stood back up. Sakura noticed, for the first time, that Hinata actually was quite tall-only a few centimeters shorter than the pink-haired kunoichi. If the Hyuuga didn't bow or hunch over so much, she would have been much more noticeable. Sakura inwardly smirked, letting her eyes trace along Hinata's face. The girl was actually quite pretty when she didn't have the 'deer in the headlights' look or a terrified expression on her face. She had beautiful (if not slightly creepy) eyes, perfect skin, a slight frame that showed that she wasn't small or thin, but perfectly fit. It made Sakura wonder why she was hiding an amazing body like that underneath her baggy clothes.

A small part of Sakura was immediately attracted to Hinata. Not in a sexual way or anything like that, but more of a respectful sense. If Sakura had that kind of a body, she knew she would wear the skimpiest thing she could get away with and wouldn't be the timid girl Hinata was. If it wasn't for her nature, Sakura was sure Hinata would be incredibly popular with the male population of Konohagure. Maybe it was a good thing Hinata wasn't interested in relationships, though. It would have meant that boys would have to get to know her father. Sakura hadn't actually 'met' the man, but still disliked him after hearing all about the Hyuuga main and branch families.

"So, Hinata-chan…what do you want to do? Do you have something to wear to the opening of the festival next week?" Sakura asked, shaking her kimono's bag as she said so. She was surprised to see Hinata shake her head. She had assumed that, being the Hyuuga heiress, she would have had a dozen custom-made kimonos hanging around at all times.

"Iie…I was actually going…to go get one…today…" Hinata replied softly, smiling slightly. Sakura couldn't help but smirk at that. In the few moments she had been talking to the girl, Hinata had already begun warming up to her.

"Yosh! Then I'll help you get something to show off that body of yours!" Sakura exclaimed loudly, making Hinata blush furiously. The excited Haruno smiled evilly as she wrapped her hand around Hinata's wrist and began dragging the girl back to the shop where she had gotten her kimono.

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"Arf?" Kiba pulled his head out of his pillow enough to get a wet tongue across his exposed face. He cursed under his breath, wishing Akamaru wouldn't do that, but couldn't help but smile at his puppy's enthusiasm, since it was infectious.

Today Shino and I were going to train, then go take Hinata out to lunch…then some training alone with Akamaru…then I could go bum some dinner off of Kurenai-sensei…Kiba carefully planned out his day as he slid out of his bed, sniffing his clothing curiously. It didn't smell, therefore it was clean enough to be worn in public, according to the Inuzuka's philosophy. He chuckled softly as he slipped out of his room and started sprinting down the hallways of his house, only slowing down as he ran through the kitchen. He pilfered a muffin out of his sister's hands as he ran by, laughing at her loud cursing as he continued jogging out of the house, heading towards the training grounds.

Kiba started nibbling on the muffin on his way there, noticing immediately that it was his favorite kind. Mmmm…corn, raisins, and blueberries with onions…Kiba could taste all the distinct flavors, which weren't lost in his ravenous state. He would have been a terrible Inuzuka if he couldn't take the time to smell or taste the flavors around him. Kiba had been devastated the last time he had gotten a cold and could do neither. Now he never took that ability for granted, no matter how much his stomach growled for him to finish the muffin.

For a moment, Kiba looked down, watching Akamaru running next to him. It wasn't often his mother made his favorite muffins-the only time being when he was sick, sad, or otherwise not his usual self. Kiba tried to think of what made his mother bake the small cakes, but couldn't place it until he ran into it once he reached the training grounds. He didn't actually run into the cause of his muffin's existence. Rather, it was that Kiba froze as soon as his eyes registered that there was a tan blonde standing a few feet away from him, stretching like all shinobi did before beginning their daily training.

"Oi, Dog-Boy!" Kiba snapped out of his state once he heard that voice-its tone so sickeningly happy, while still somehow having a biting edge. No one else had ever been able to master that particular ability, but Kiba didn't take the time to appreciate that small talent as his eyes met those impossibly blue orbs.

"Oi…" Kiba replied softly, finding his ability to walk again. He took a few steps forward and was surprised to see Naruto's expression change to immediate annoyance-an emotion he had never seen on the blonde before. Well, he had seen the boy annoyed, but not like this. Not with the barely contained hatred underneath it.

"…next time you break in, I'll kill you…" Naruto stated threateningly as he stood up from his stretching and looked at Kiba with distain. The Inuzuka was too surprised…and afraid…to do anything else but flip off Naruto. That, obviously, had a bad effect on Naruto's already awful mood. "Fuck off, Inuzuka…"

It was the first time Kiba could ever remember Naruto using his surname, let alone cursing at him with such seriousness in his voice that the boy could faintly hear Akamaru whimper fearfully. "Arf…" the white puppy barked softly, warning Kiba to get away from Naruto now.

What the hell is wrong with Naruto? Kiba almost laughed at that thought. He knew exactly what was wrong with his rival-Naruto wasn't normal. The boy had serious problems and knew that Kiba knew his secret. Is this really what Naruto is like? He couldn't help but wonder as he became lost in that cold blue which usually held so much happiness.

"Naruto…I just want to help…" Kiba said softly, unable to tear his eyes away from Naruto's. The blonde smiled sardonically and actually chuckled at Kiba's statement. Kiba could clearly hear the disbelief in his voice.

"Help?…I don't need your help, asshole," Naruto retorted, his voice surprisingly calm and even as he took a step towards Kiba, making the blonde close enough to touch Kiba if he stretched his arm out. For a moment, Kiba wondered what Naruto was doing, but didn't even have the chance to think about it more as Naruto, with a speed Kiba had never seen before, landed a powerful blow to the boy's abdomen.

That hit knocked Kiba to the ground, where he proceeded to heave up his small breakfast, along with whatever else had been hiding in his stomach. Somehow, Kiba didn't have to look up to know that Naruto was enjoying this. If it had been anyone else besides the Inuzuka, they probably would have wondered if this was the real Naruto. Too bad for Kiba; he knew the boy's exact scent, the way his heart beat slightly irregularly-faster than a normal person's, skipping a beat once every few soft thumps. Even the boy's breathing patterns were revealing. No one, no matter how good they were at jutsu, could never perfectly replicate all of that, especially well enough to fool an Inuzuka.

"Stay the hell away from me…" Naruto stated dispassionately as he crouched down to look into the kneeling teen's eyes. Kiba found himself mesmerized by those deep blue orbs which held all the emotion that had been absent in the boy's voice. He could see the hatred Naruto held, but seeing that distain at such a close distance, Kiba could now tell that it wasn't completely directed at him, but someone else. Whoever it was, though, had obviously done something terrible to Naruto. Kiba smiled despondently when he realized who it was that had wounded Naruto so badly. All he had to do was see the loneliness in those beautiful, pain-filled eyes.

"It's not your fault he left…" Kiba wheezed as he said it, trying to gain some of the breath back that Naruto had knocked out of him with that single punch. Naruto didn't respond verbally to Kiba's observation, but he didn't have to. The change in his expression said it all. The boy's eyes lost all the hatred and isolation and was replaced by nothing. Where there was once so much emotion, there was only deep blue voids left. It was as if Naruto's fury and aloneness were just a façade and somehow, Kiba's statement had dissolved the boy's resolve and Naruto was finally showing his true face. Kiba discovered that seeing Naruto like this-so exposed-made him tremble slightly. This wasn't the loud, boisterous shinobi he had known since he was a child. He wasn't the smiling blonde who was always in the wrong place at the wrong time, pulling pranks, or otherwise terrorizing the village at all times. He was just a boy who had been utterly destroyed by his best friend's betrayal.

Kiba brought a shaking hand up to touch the teen's face, fairly surprised when Naruto didn't jerk away from him. Instead, the blonde remained perfectly still, his eyes locked on Kiba's as the emptiness in his blue eyes filled with unrestrained sorrow…and regret. "…I couldn't save him…" Naruto whispered softly, his eyebrows furrowing into an expression of desolation as he dropped his head slightly. Kiba's hand was still touching his cheek , so the Inuzuka slowly picked Naruto's head back up so he could look into Naruto's eyes.

"…no one could have saved him…" Kiba said gruffly, surprising himself with his own understanding of Naruto's situation. He was never one for kind, comforting words, but he was compelled to help the boy a few inches away from him, who, now, was on the verge of tears. Even within his own team, Kiba disliked showing any of the 'useless' emotions, since it wasn't fitting for a shinobi to show their weaknesses. For the first time, Kiba realized that these emotions were far from 'useless.' They were powerful-even more so than anger or hatred. And he couldn't help but inwardly admire Naruto for containing such influential feelings all the time, covering them with a grin and a proud laugh.

But that didn't stop Kiba from frowning when he saw Naruto trying to hold back the tears as well as his emotions. Both boys knew that what Kiba said was true, to a point. No one could have ever brought all of Sasuke back-not even someone as powerful as the Hokage. It would be one thing to drag him back to the village, but Kiba knew that Sasuke would never be the same if that had happened. He would have become even more withdrawn, probably so much that he wouldn't even speak to his best friend anymore. Sasuke, in essence, would have died with his reluctant homecoming.

As much as Kiba hated to admit it, things were better-for everyone-this way. Even considering one of the strongest people he knew was before him with tears in his blue eyes, Kiba knew this was for the best. He put on a smile and brushed away a falling tear with his thumb from the blonde's round cheek.

"I…tried…but I wasn't strong…enough…" Naruto whispered softly…stubbornly, pressing his soft flesh into Kiba's hand. For unexplainable reasons, Kiba felt his heart speed up with Naruto's action. He couldn't stop himself from bringing his other hand up to Naruto's face and pulling the smaller teen's face closer to his own.

"…no one could have brought him back, baka…" Kiba added the nickname with a smirk, which got Naruto's face to break into a soft smile. Kiba reluctantly admitted to himself that he liked Naruto better this way-not pretending to grin at the smallest of things. The tiny smile he could see on the boy's face in this moment was more radiant than anything Kiba had ever seen before in his short life. "Maybe, when you finally become Hokage…you can beat the crap out of that bastard and drag him home kicking and screaming…" Kiba knew immediately that he had said the right thing when Naruto attacked him.

This 'attack' wasn't anything like Naruto's earlier punch. The boy simply flew into Kiba's chest, wrapping his arms around Kiba's neck and clinging to him as though he was the only thing anchoring Naruto to the ground. Kiba instinctively returned the comforting embrace, burying his face into the blonde's silky locks.

Kiba held onto Naruto as the boy's body began to shake. If it had been anyone else, Kiba knew he would have been flipping out if they tried to cry on his shoulder like Naruto was. But it was different with Naruto. The boy needed this release and Kiba wasn't going to deny that he liked the feeling of Naruto trusting him enough for something like this. Hell, it was an added bonus that Naruto's body was flush against his own, sending a spectrum of sensations through the Inuzuka's body.

…do I…like Naruto…? Kiba wondered to himself as he felt the blonde begin pushing away from him. He reluctantly loosened his grip and sat back on his heels as Naruto backed up slightly. The boy's face held a faint blush, along with tearstains down his scarred cheeks. Kawaii… That image, along with the mental comment that went along with it, made Kiba snicker. No one would believe him if he ever admitted that Naruto was amazingly cute when he blushed. Just confessing to himself made Kiba seriously question if his mother hadn't put something strange in the muffin he had for breakfast. He was seriously considering the thought of her drugging him, but remembered (with a helpful reminder from his growling stomach) that he had lost his breakfast due to the blushing teen a few inches from him.

"…oi, why don't we get some breakfast, since you…stole…mine…" Kiba said softly, unconsciously knowing not to mention anything about Naruto's crying. The boy smiled in the 'usual Naruto way' and nodded his head energetically. "…and…Naruto…I-I…I mean…if you…" Kiba didn't know how to put his thoughts into a coherent sentence, but, from the chuckle that came from Naruto, he guessed the boy understood.

Gaki, don't get close to him…he'll just hurt you…

I'm not stupid, fox…I know that…but…it felt nice…

Nice doesn't keep you safe from the villagers…he'd just be like the rest if he knew what you were…

I know…

"Leave me alone, Kiba." Kiba gaze snapped up to Naruto's eyes when he heard the seriousness in the boy's voice and was surprised to see the coldness had returned to his eyes. For a moment, Kiba wondered if Naruto-like a certain pink-haired kunoichi he knew-had split personalities, but knew it couldn't be true. There was something in Naruto's unbelievably blue eyes that got Kiba to frown, shaking his head stubbornly. "…Kuso…next time I won't just punch you…so…just forget about everything…"

"Baka…if you think I'm going to sit back and watch you kill yourself, you're seriously wrong…" Kiba folded his arms across his chest, mentally wondering how far Naruto would go to protect his secret. From the murderous glare that his comment received, Kiba knew that he made a big mistake-and was about to pay for it in blood unless he was able to move quickly.

"…why the hell would you care?" Naruto retorted frostily as he slowly stood up, wiping the still-wet tears from his face. Kiba followed suit and, once standing, took a step back as he surveyed the area. It was a more open area of the training grounds, which wouldn't help him-or Naruto-with concealing themselves, but still gave the blonde the upper hand. He had speed and an amazing amount of power. Kiba was calculating, sneaky, and very good with using his senses, but none were useful right now. Inwardly cursing, Kiba glanced around and found Akamaru resting serenely in the shade of one of the few nearby trees. Damn dog…Kiba cursed as he felt the blonde's chakra levels increase to the point Kiba's skin began tightening from the heat the boy was radiating.

Kiba knew that this couldn't have been the boy who was the dead-last in their academy class…this wasn't the blonde who had actually failed his final exam, but still graduate by helping return an important scroll (that had been stolen by him). What could have happened in such a short period of time? Kiba wondered in incredulity, but before he got a chance to mentally suggest any answers, the blonde attacked.

The only thing Kiba felt after the burst of chakra was a staggering numbness, which was quickly followed by complete blackness.

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Authoress: okay, okay…that was a bad way to end the chapter…but, what did everyone think?…gomen if I started playing with Naruto's emotions and reactions too much…but I'm basing his personality off some of the people I know who suffer from depression…and they're kind of hard to predict in that emotional way…so, gomen if I made Naruto OOC (or…well…whatever…) and as for Kiba…/applauds the dog-boy/ he's finally realizing he's starting to like Naruto…go Kiba! So, once again, review please…last chapter got an amazing turnout (26 reviews)…so I'd like to get somewhere around that many…if it's at all possible…/smiles innocently/ so…until I finally get around to writing the next chapter…ja ne!

Oh, and one more thing, I'd like to thank Beta-chan and Tina-chan for beta-ing this chapter…they did a wonderful job, ne//claps for her wonderful beta readers/ they're so wonderful…I'm going to have to write some amazing lemons dedicated to them one of these days…as a big thank you! Kukuku…I'm so bad…