(A/N) Was not expecting this fic to be the one updated honestly. I thought it would be Family Means Nobody Gets Left Behind. Not that I'm complaining, this fic is awesome, but still. I have no voice today, someone save me. Four hours of choir(straight) were not kind to my voice. Wasn't kind to anyone's…
Graduation year was mostly review. They went over the henge, clone, and kawarmi, Taroko was having difficulty henging into a human form, then they tried Naruto's oiroke no jutsu, and it somehow worked, giving Taroko a basis for henge. She did it perfectly the next time in class, turning into a perfect replica of Shino. Iruka was so proud of his only non-human student. Briefly, he wondered if he could pass Taroko, and use that to pass Naruto. The Hokage had said that unfortunately Taroko could not be counted as anything more than a ninja animal. A pity, really, she was smarter than most of the class and could hold her own perfectly well against him and Mizuki, although that could be attributed to the fact that most taijutsu styles were designed to fight humans, not velociraptors.
"Hokage-sama," Iruka said. "If I may request."
"It involves Taroko?" The Hokage asked, hiding a smile.
Iruka chuckled. "Ah, yes. I was wondering if we could average Taroko and Naruto's results to give a final report. I still haven't found a fix to the clone problem, but Taroko can do it perfectly."
"Same as with everything else, as a couple of civilian parents have come to complain to me," the Hokage agreed, a slight smile at the reminder.
Iruka chucked. "Yes, she would be top of the class if she was an actual student."
"I will allow it, if just to ensure Naruto-kun passes, even with his… hated status because of the furball."
Iruka bowed his head. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
"Of course, Iruka-kun. If he didn't graduate, I would've had to figure out some other way to give this to him." The Hokage pulled out a picture, handing it to Iruka. "Another shinobi mission to the outside, but I do not believe this is the same kind of egg, as the shinobi of the research division reported that the egg was healthiest when in a fire."
"In a fire?" Iruka repeated. "Well, if this creature turns out to be as intelligent as Taroko, perhaps placing him with Kakashi is a good idea, give him the kick in the back end he needs."
The Hokage chuckled. "Perhaps, he is one of our most powerful, and perhaps close to the sanest elite jounin we have."
"Close to the sanest," Iruka agreed. "Although, Maito Gai isn't exactly the best comparison."
The Hokage chuckled. "I suppose not. Dismissed."
Iruka bowed his head and walked out.
When it became clear Taroko was large enough she couldn't just fit on the desk, Iruka had managed to con his students into a project that meant at least a quarter of them picked up a hobby of woodworking. The assignment? Make a desk for Taroko.
Teams had been chosen carefully, Sasuke immediately claiming Naruto and Shino, with Hinata claiming their fourth spot. The fangirls had to be at least slightly careful to have someone that Taroko didn't mind in their group if only so she wouldn't dismiss the desk out of the fact she just didn't like the creators.
Naruto's group won in the end, a lot in part to the fact that she liked all of the members of the group, and they had basically 24/7 access to her, while the others could only test their designs in class.
The result, something that had adjustable legs, to adapt for when she got bigger, it had hooks so it could attach to one of the desks that were already there so it could be used after Taroko was out of the academy. It was just high enough for her to write, and since it was separate, she could stand at it and not worry too much about hitting people with her tail. It also had the extra bonus, that as it was so far apart, she didn't need a privacy screen during the test.
Naruto did moderately okay, certainly not the best, but he did pass that segment. Taroko, as usual, had the highest grade possible. Sasuke and Sakura matched her, of course, but, well, it was a test, they could only do so much.
Taijutsu, Naruto was okay, once again, not the dead last he'd been before Taroko hatched, but not the top. Taroko had a bit harder of a time and went up against Mizuki, who was clearly going a bit too fast for a normal academy student, but as she lasted long enough, Iruka marked her down with top marks. At this point, she was on the roster.
Weapons, Naruto had certainly improved his aim and scored as one of the highest in the class. Taroko admitted that she was making him practice trying to hit her. Dulled kunai like the ones he would've been using bounced off her scales, so she was never harmed. After trying to hit her, stationary targets were a breeze. Taroko used her floating kunai trick and consistently landed in the center, earning her the top spot right next to Sasuke, who'd also hit all the centers, and Naruto, who'd done the same.
Base conditioning wasn't really a segment that counted in towards their scores, but they had it anyway. Taroko topped in speed, and Naruto again topped in stamina. Sasuke tied with Naruto for strength.
Jutsu was the final test. It had been a bit of a struggle for Taroko to be able to perform the jutsu, but she could now, and sealless, as her arms and hands were not conductive towards hand signs.
"Alright, Taroko, your turn," Sasuke said, plopping down in his seat with a headband tied around his head.
Taroko made the chirrupy noise they'd come to the conclusion meant 'alright', and walked out of the room. There were two other teachers, ones who didn't really know Taroko, aside from Iruka's highly amusing ranting about how a dinosaur was smarter then most, if not all of his class. They were rather surprised when Taroko opened the door, walked in, and closed it behind her. She then proceeded to make a clone, henge into a perfect copy of Naruto, and substitute with the conveniently placed log.
The teachers aside from Iruka and Mizuki blinked at her in surprise. Iruka offered her a headband and she took it gently in her mouth, trying to not dent the metal or slice through the fabric.
The class didn't look at all surprised when she waltzed back in with the headband held gently in her teeth. Naruto helpfully tied it around her neck. She nosed him, tapping that it was his turn.
Naruto came in, slightly nervously, but he could do it, he and Taroko had practiced a lot for this. He henged into a copy of Taroko, Iruka giving him a proud smile that he hadn't done the Oiroke no jutsu. He could do the substitution fine, swapping with the log, but his clone came out faded.
Iruka smiled at him, handing him a headband. "Congratulations, you pass. Even with your low clone score, your other scores, and the fact that Hokage-sama allowed me to average your lower scores with Taroko's, you passed, right about in the middle of the class. Congratulations, Naruto. I'll see you after school for ramen?"
Naruto shouted in joy, hugged Iruka, and ran out. Iruka took that as a yes, and got up to call the next student in.
The Hokage met them at Ichiraku's, and Naruto happily attacked him with a hug and started babbling about how he passed! Taroko tapped that she passed too, and Teuchi happily set her usual plate of meat scraps in front of her.
"First bowl on the house to celebrate your graduation!" Teuchi said, grinning as he handed a bowl of ramen to Naruto. Naruto grinned back at him, and Teuchi just smiled back and moved to make more ramen.
"Naruto, as you did so well hatching and raising Taroko, there's another egg, supposed to hatch tonight, that the research division has requested you look over. It's unlikely that the egg is the same species as Taroko, as it is healthiest in fire."
"So, it's fireproof?" Naruto asked.
The Hokage nodded. "Most likely."
Naruto swallowed the last of his bowl. "Do we have time for more ramen, or do we need to go now."
The Hokage smiled. "An ANBU will alert me when we need to go. We have some time."
Naruto cheered, and Iruka ordered his own bowl of ramen. If they had time, they were going to eat.
After another four bowls of ramen for Naruto, and Taroko having finished off all of the scraps Teuchi and Ayame didn't want, an ANBU lept down to tell the Hokage that it was time.
"Alright, Naruto-kun, let's go," the Hokage said, placing down money for his meal and half of Naruto's, Iruka filing in the other half.
The research division room with the egg in it was very hot, as there was a fire burning 24/7. They kept the windows open as much as they could, but then it was cold and hot, and the entire room was just a mess of temperature.
The egg had been removed from the fire and was sitting on a table, metal, but covered with a fire-resistant fabric.
Naruto and Taroko circled the egg curiously, and Naruto finally found the place that was cracking. The egg was jet black, run through with swirls of silver.
A piece cracked off, staring Naruto in the eye. Naruto and the creature blinked at each other for a bit, then the rest of the eggshell fell away, showing a creature that sort of resembled Taroko, but instead of smaller arms, it had feathered wings. A crest of feathers around its head rose as it shook itself, then started rubbing against Naruto's offered hand. It was jet black but had similar silver spirals as its egg. The feathers were striped silver at the tips.
Upon seeing the sharp teeth in the creature's mouth, "uh, I'm pretty sure this one's a meat eater too. Is there some meat nearby?"
A research division shinobi helpfully handed him some, and he gave it to the tiny creature.
"Iruka-sensei, you knew what Taroko was, so you know what this one is?" Naruto asked, glancing at his sensei.
Iruka tilted his head. "I was an avid reader as a kid, and the closest thing I can think of is a dragon. But I don't remember dragons having feathered wings."
The Hokage shook his head. "A dragon then." He gently picked the dragon up, quickly checking its gender. "I believe it's a female."
Naruto glanced around, spotting the fireplace. "Danromi!"
"Cute name," Iruka said approvingly.
Naruto beamed at him.
"Well, I'll leave you to it," the Hokage said, beginning to walk away. "I have a son and grandson waiting for me."
"See you, Jiji!" Naruto shouted after him, waving.
(A/N) Danro means fireplace. -mi is a common ending for girl's names. So, Danromi.