The training ground was loud—too loud.
Sweat slicked the earth. Shouts rang out like kunai clashing. Teams of genin rotated through sparring drills under Asuma's sharp gaze, the smell of steel and sweat thick in the air.
Naruto stood at the edge, watching from the tree line.
He wasn't supposed to be there. This was a group exercise, a team-building session for newer squads.
But Naruto didn't do groups.
He preferred the shadows.
And besides… he was watching someone.
Ino Yamanaka stood in the ring now, blonde ponytail high, her form sleek in a sleeveless kunoichi top that clung in the right places. Her hips moved like she knew she was being watched.
And she was.
Not just by Naruto.
By Soma, the new transfer from the western patrol units—a pretty-boy with too-perfect teeth, a cocky smile, and a reputation for flirting with anything in a skirt.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Soma was talking too much. Smiling too much. Touching too much.
Ino laughed at something he said.
Naruto's jaw tightened.
He told himself it didn't matter.
He had Hinata. She was loyal. Sweet. Vulnerable. She looked at him like he was the only god left in the world.
But Ino… was different.
She wasn't submissive. She wasn't quiet.
She was fire and sharp teeth. She played games. And she'd been playing with him for months.
And now she was laughing at another man's joke. Letting him rest a hand too casually on her lower back. Letting him lean too close.
Naruto's hand curled into a fist.
He didn't even realize it.
Soma made a mistake.
He leaned in, whispering something near Ino's ear.
She giggled and swatted at him, and for a split second, her eyes flicked toward the trees. She knew.
She felt him.
Naruto didn't move.
But his eyes met hers.
And the look on his face made her laugh die in her throat.
It wasn't anger.
It wasn't hurt.
It was…claiming.
Like a hunter watching another man touch his meat.
And Ino's breath caught.
She hadn't expected him to care.
Hours later, the sun dipped low, painting the sky with gold and fire.
Ino walked the path behind the academy, wiping sweat from her brow, her body sore from sparring. She took a side route near the creek—quiet, shaded, always empty.
Except tonight, it wasn't.
He was there.
Leaning against the bridge rail, arms crossed, eyes unreadable.
Naruto.
She stopped walking.
Her throat dried instantly.
"Naruto… I didn't know you were—"
"Why him?"
His voice was flat. Dangerous in its calm.
Ino blinked. "What are you talking about?"
Naruto pushed off the railing and walked toward her.
Slow. Purposeful.
Like a wolf who already knew where the lamb would fall.
Ino didn't move. But her heart beat harder.
"He touched you," Naruto said. "You let him touch you."
She scowled, folding her arms. "It was a joke. He's harmless."
"He put his hand on your back."
"It's not like I let him kiss me."
Naruto stopped inches from her.
His gaze burned now. Not hot like fire—but cold. Contained. Possessive.
"You've been teasing me for months, Ino," he said. "Looking at me like you want something. Biting your lip when I walk by. Laughing too loud when I'm near. You think I didn't notice?"
She swallowed hard. "I… I didn't know you cared."
"I didn't. Until I saw you laugh at him like you laugh at me."
That stunned her into silence.
He stepped closer.
"You don't get to do that," he said, voice softer now, but no less dangerous. "Not with me."
"I'm not yours," she whispered, but her voice lacked conviction.
"You want to be."
His hand came up, hovering at her cheek—but not touching.
Not yet.
"Say it."
She tried to back up—but her back hit the tree behind her.
Trapped.
And something in her stomach twisted—not fear. Not exactly.
Desire.
She liked it. The way he cornered her without ever lifting a hand. The way his presence made her feel smaller, pulled apart, claimed.
"I don't share," Naruto said. "Not touches. Not laughs. Not glances. Not even the way you say someone's name."
She stared up at him, chest rising and falling fast.
"I didn't mean anything by it…"
"Then why are you trembling now?"
She couldn't answer.
He didn't wait.
His hand touched her cheek.
Gently. Carefully. But with possession behind it.
"I don't love easily," he said. "I don't trust. But when I take someone into my life… I don't let go. I don't move on. I remember everything. Every sound they made. Every look they gave me."
His thumb brushed her lower lip.
"You want that kind of attention?" he asked. "The kind that never fades?"
Ino nodded—barely.
"Then don't ever laugh at another man like that again."
He turned to leave.
But she grabbed his sleeve.
"Wait."
He stopped.
"I'm not like Hinata," she said. "I won't wait in the dark. I won't beg."
Naruto turned just enough to look at her.
"You don't have to."
She stepped forward, pressing her body to his. Bold now. Reckless.
"But I don't want to be just another girl."
"You won't be."
"I'm not soft."
"I don't need soft."
She grabbed his collar.
And kissed him.
Hard.
Fierce.
Nothing like Hinata's breathless sweetness.
This was wild. Demanding.
Her nails scratched the back of his neck.
He didn't stop her.
He crushed her against the tree.
Their mouths devoured each other.
The kiss was war.
And when he pulled back, her lips were swollen, her breath ragged.
He held her jaw, made her look at him.
"You want my attention, Ino?"
She nodded.
"You have it now."
That night, Naruto walked through the village streets with heat still in his blood.
The air was cool. The sky dark.
But inside?
He burned.
He didn't understand what was happening to him.
Why every glance from another man toward a girl he touched felt like a knife.
Why his fists clenched when others even spoke her name.
He wasn't in love. Not yet. He wasn't even sure what love meant.
But he knew what it meant to want someone to be his.
Fully.
Unquestionably.
And he knew…
He'd never share.