Naruto's Best Friend

Transformation

Ryoko sat silently on Naruto's desk as the blonde pet the cat's back. Naruto stared at the board as if he were listening, but he wasn't. He was thinking about ramen and what to get Ryoko after school.

The cat decided to listen to Iruka's lesson, but eventually got bored and laid down to take a nap. She dozed off peacefully as Naruto continued to stroke her fur.

Hours had passed and the lunch bell rang, waking Ryoko up immediately. Naruto felt Ryoko flinch in surprise and snapped out of his daze, quickly realizing it was lunchtime.

Naruto got up and held his arm out, allowing the small cat to climb onto his shoulder and sit there. He ran to his favorite ramen shop and sat down on a stool.

"Naruto! Nice to see you again." The man behind the counter walked closer to the boy, suddenly noticing the cat on his shoulder. "Who's your friend?" Naruto glanced at Ryoko and grinned widely, picking her up and placing on the counter.

"Her name is Ryoko! She's my best friend!" He yelled happily, causing the man behind the counter smile as well.

"Hello, Ryoko. My name is Teuchi." He scratched the cat behind her ear, a purr humming through her throat from the action.

"Two bowls of the usual please!" Naruto cheered happily, glad that his friend brought his frog wallet earlier.

After waiting a couple of minutes, two ramen bowls were placed in front of the two. They stared in awe and hunger as steam rose from the delicious looking ramen. The two dug in and greedily ate the ramen, immediately asking for seconds.

They continued to eat until lunchtime ended for school, rushing back to class. Ryoko had trouble catching up with Naruto's fast speed and ended up transforming into her saber form. Flames surrounded her small body and grew bigger, before disappearing completely. A giant saber cat with two large fangs jumped out of the flames, surprising onlookers.

Ryoko, suddenly faster, instantly caught up to Naruto and picked him up with her teeth, running at full speed to the academy.

Naruto yelped in surprise and looked up to see what was carrying him, only to find his best friend in a bigger form.

"Woah! You're huge! Thanks, Ryoko!" The large saber cat came to a stop, dropping Naruto on the ground as she transformed from her saber form to her kitten form.

Large flames engulfed her and grew smaller, revealing the small cat.

"That was so cool-" "Your class, Naruto?" Ryoko reminded Naruto, cutting him off before he went on a full blown rant and made them late.

"Oh! Right." He turned around as the grin never left his face. Ryoko jumped onto Naruto's shoulder and sat there while he walked down the hallway and to the class's door. He opened it and stepped through, sighing in relief as he realized he wasn't late.

The blonde sat in his seat as Ryoko jumped onto his desk. Soon, class started and the day ended quickly.

The two walked home side by side, the cat deciding to stretch her legs from sitting for so long. However, the peaceful atmosphere ended as quickly as it came when a group of boys, older than Naruto, showed up.

"Oh, look. The freak got himself a pet. It only makes sense for a demon to have a freakish pet." The boys laughed as the supposed leader glared at the two with a smirk on his face. Ryoko got into a defensive stance, ready to attack if they tried anything.

A growl erupted from her throat as she stared intently at the group of boys. Naruto's fists clenched as he glared at the ground.

"Awww, little kitty is upset." The leader of the group mocked, not realizing how angered the two-tailed creature was.

Ryoko became engulfed in flames and transformed into her saber form, effectively silencing the group.

"U-Uh...." The leader spoke suddenly feeling scared and unsure. Ryoko growled, not sounding at all like her other form, but instead more deep and threatening.

The group gulped loudly as they stared, shaking in fear at the sabercat that towered over them.

Flames suddenly danced around the cat's paws and tails as she roared at them. The group shrieked in a higher pitch than before and ran with their tails between their legs.

Ryoko's face relaxed as she got out of her fighting stance, staring at the group as they got further and further from the two.

The sabercat felt something wrap around her fur. Looking down, she saw Naruto hugging her and snuggling further into the cat's fur. She bent down a little and nuzzled the boy's head affectionately, a wide grin spread across Naruto's face.

He looked up at Ryoko and gave her a closed eye smile.

They parted after a few minutes and Naruto suddenly got an idea.

"Ryoko! Ryoko! Can I ride your back? Please!" The cat looked at the boy and licked his hair, turning towards the direction of the apartments.

Naruto took that as a "yes" and climbed on her back, having a little difficulty at first from her being so tall. Once on, he held onto her fur tightly.

Ryoko took that as a sign to move and she ran with a good pace that didn't cause Naruto to fly off.