Chapter Text
Gaara and Naruto sat talking until the sky turned red and dusk set in. They spent a whole day together. They either sat opposite each other chatting, Naruto would lie down as he listened to Gaara, he would look towards the sky, to the leaves flickering in the breeze. He laid his hands folded behind his head and Gaara would copy the motion, occasionally looking over to the other Jinchūriki almost as if to ensure he was doing it right. One thing was for sure Gaara was in disbelief that another was talking to him.
Naruto was still a bit unsure of the red haired omega but Kurama was snoring away in the mindscape so obviously wasn’t the least bit concerned about the situation… Even though his Tailed Beast killed people. Naruto shuddered at the thought of how different his life would be if Kurama was like that.
They discussed how hard growing up was. Naruto learnt that even Gaara’s siblings were scared of him. He told Gaara about his mother being Kurama’s Jinchūriki before him, they wondered about what life looked like for her, especially after marrying the Hokage.
Naruto learnt that Gaara’s own mother died not long after giving birth to him. That he came too early and many thought he wouldn’t survive. He was only meant to be a temporary vessel for Shukaku but once the tailed beast was placed inside of him, the tiny baby that was Gaara only grew stronger and stronger. Gaara heard Shukaku mutter something about being welcome but wasn’t too sure as it wasn’t said in his usual tone.
Naruto wondered if it was a good thing that he grew up all alone. The fact that even if he had a family and they hated him would have probably hurt a lot more than growing up without any.
It was only when dusk rolled in that Naruto started to panic about getting back into the safe zone. He couldn’t have wondered too far following that squirrel .
Gaara sensed his panic by his scent changing.
“What’s wrong? Why has your scent suddenly soured?”
Even without eyebrows Naruto could tell the boy was suspicious of him.
“I just need to get back is all. I’ve been away from, errr you know my camp is all.”
He grinned nervously rubbing that back of his head.
“Well we are heading to the village anyways so why doesn’t your group come join ours? We can make our way to the leaf together. I’m sure you may know a short cut or two no?”
Gaara questioned while standing. The dirt that cling to him swirled up around him and into his gourd on his back.
Naruto stood too and was trying to work out what to do as he brushed the dirt from his trousers. He thought they would just say goodbye and no questions asked but it seemed that the red haired omega was a clingy one as he grabbed his hand and tilted his head to the side.
“We are only half a mile or so away, I will come with you to get your stuff and then you can come with us.”
“Errr I don’t think that’s possible, you see I’m not… I mean we are not, going to the leaf. Yeah that’s right we are on a mission going the other way yeah.”
Gaara let the Naruto’s hand fall from his own.
“If you didn’t want to be friends just say so.”
“No no its not that.”
The last thing Naruto wanted to do was hurt his feelings. The fact they had opened up so much already… he could trust him right. He wasn’t from the leaf and he was a Jinchūriki too.
“Well you see I... well I kinda ran away.”
Naruto sighed and whispered with his eyes closed. Internally praying to every deity that he could think of that his new found friend would understand and not tell a soul that they had met.
“Oh. You didn’t run very far then.”
Naruto peeped his eyes open and laughed and reached out taking both the red haired Jinchūriki’s hands inside his own when he saw the smirk on the others face.
“Promise me please. You can’t tell anyone we met. No one can know. Please Gaara please, I am begging you. As a friend. You gotta understand why they can’t find me. Why I can’t go back there.”
Gaara squeezed his hands and nodded while smiling gently at his new found friend.
“Ok. I promise. Are you going to be here when the exams are done? Can I see you on the way back to the sand?”
“Yes, well maybe. You see, I’m not actually meant to be out here. The leaf shinobi are still looking for me, well Kurama I think. If they were to find me, well my friends would be in trouble too and I can’t let that happen.”
“Oh. How can I find you then?”
“Well I can come out here once a day I suppose. When the sun is the highest it will be? Think that will work? Kurama will be able to sense if you and Shukaku are close.”
Gaara nodded.
“Yeah I think that will work. My siblings won’t argue with me. I will come find you after the exams. I better get back to them before they come looking for me. Wish me luck in the exams Naruto and thank you for being my first friend.”
Naruto dived in and clasped his hands behind the boys back, finding the large gourd on his back a bit awkward for giving him a hug. The other omega let his hands hang by his side as he stiffened. He quickly relaxed and wrapped his arms around Naruto. He breathed in the others calming omega scent, and quickly and with very little restraint scented his neck.
They pulled away after a little too long and Naruto blushed scratching the back of his head.
Although still not having a very good understanding of the social etiquettes between alphas and omegas, Shisui had told him that it was not very appropriate to scent another without permission when you are not of the same family. Now he was wondering if it was deemed inappropriate for omega and omega, or whether it was just an alpha omega thing. Maybe it was an ok in the Sand village thing he thought.
Gaara just stared and the boy in front of him blinking. He looked down to the blondes wrist and snatched it and rubbed the delicate skin where the veins lie with his thumb before his eyes flickered between brown and green. Brown slitted eyes quickly looked up at Naruto’s confused expression before yanking Naruto forward so the wrist could be rubbed over the red haired omegas cheeks.
Naruto only let out a little squeak and tried to pull his hand back which did absolutely nothing.
When eyes returned green they quickly dropped Naruto’s wrist like he had burned him and looked around as if something was going to fill the awkward silence between them.
Ah now that must have definitely been inappropriate, Naruto thought to himself. Storing that bit of information away.
“Heh well good luck then I guess! Go beat them Gaara! Show them what your made of yeah? Believe it! Your gonna smash the chunin exams!”
Gaara was glad that the blonde didn’t mention the overly affection and damn right abusive scenting he had just put Naruto through. He was just overcome with emotion of having a friend that he couldn’t let a bond with another go without it. He had never been scented before or had someone willing to let him scent them. His omega urge took over and Shukaku had willingly let it happen.
“Thanks Naruto, Ill see you in a month or two. Take care. I won’t tell anyone of our meeting. And thank your beast, mine has been humming and peaceful since they spoke. He hasn’t been loud in my mind. Whatever happened, can you just can you thank yours please. I think he made mine… happy? I don’t know. It’s never been this quiet in my head before.”
Naruto gave him a thumbs up and waved off his fellow omega. He watched him disappear into the trees in front. He turned around to walk back to the cottage and sighed.
“What a day heh Kurama?” he said into the mindscape.
He took two steps from where he was and was met with a very angry Shisui who jumped down from a tree.
Naruto would have screamed with terror if the other hadn’t covered his mouth. Meanwhile Kurama had sensed the other watching him and chose not to warn Naruto at all. The fox was now rolling behind his bars in the mindscape chuckling at the blonde whose heart was racing in his chest from the shock.
Shisui glared with his sharingan spinning. He uncovered Naruto’s mouth who didn’t even get a chance to explain as he was spun and grabbed him by the scruff of his top and lifted so just his toes dragged along the floor as he marched him back to the cottage mumbling under his breath about stupid blonde idiots.
Sasuke spent his days strolling the woods on the outskirts of the village and his nights in the local inns.
During the day he would practise various jutsu, throwing skills and generally be bored. Cursing Jiraiya’s rut for coming at a very inconvenient time.
His evenings however where spent listening, his ears twitching constantly, always picking up the conversations nearby hoping to hear intel on the Slug Princess Alpha they were supposed to be seeking.
It was the third day that Jiraiya had been occupied in the rut house when Sasuke was on his way back to the civilian settlement. His knuckles were wrapped in bandages from a particularly rough training session. He was tightening it around one hand which was still bleeding slightly when a scent crept up his nostrils and brought him to an immediate stop.
He had only smelt it when he returned home from that mission over a year ago and it was riddled with heat, stress and anxiety but there was no way it couldn’t be him.
Naruto.
He turned around a few times, cloak flapping around his body as he did so, nostrils flaring and sharingan spinning to eyes as he spun taking in his surroundings, trying to work out which way it was coming from.
He picked up a faint trail and immediately set off in its direction at a sprint, chakra enforcing his feet as he took to the trees to get a better look on the area, his alpha jumping to the forefront of his mind.
He started to slow when he picked up some more scents in front of him, they were sat around a campfire chatting between each other. A blonde girl and a brown haired guy who had purple paint over his face, both were dressed for hotter weather and Sasuke’s first thoughts were confirmed when a sand village headband reflected the light towards him.
They were shinobi but did not sense his presence in the trees nearby.
He started to scent the air again, picking up the scent behind him and turned around to be met with piercing green eyes staring into his own. How he didn’t pick up the presence of another right behind him, well he will put that down to the distraction of Naruto’s scent.
He jumped a little as the figure stepped back and blinked at him.
“Spying on my brother and sister are we?”
Hearing their brothers voice they both looked up from the camp fire they were sat around. They gulped fearing the worst for the stranger who seemed like he wasn’t going to be in the world for much longer as sand swirled around their Jinchūriki sibling.
Sasuke’s nostrils flared.
“You…”
He whispered in disbelief and then cleared his throat and jumped down from the tree landing in the sand ninja’s camp.
“I apologize, I was merely looking for someone and thought that I had picked up scent of them.”
As the red haired ninja floated down to the ground in front of him, he tilted his head to the side and eyed Sasuke up and down.
Sasuke inhaled again and stepped closer to the red haired sand shinobi.
“It’s you. You smell like him. Do you know a blonde omega. He is maybe around this tall… have you seen him?”
Sasuke looked around the camp hoping to find some sort of clue. His eyes skimmed over the terrified expressions of the red haired boys siblings, both were stood on the edge of what looked like flight rather than fight for ninja, however they remained stood and silently watching the exchange.
The one tailed Jinchūriki tilted his head to the other side as Sasuke focused on him and stepped closer again.
“Please I am looking for him. I know you’ve been with him. I can smell him on you!”
The sand siblings looked at each other before they made their way over to Gaara, they expected to see his sand or him splattered with the blood of the blonde omega the other was scenting on their brother. They never stood by his side but remained behind him, yet close enough that they could hear the discussion more clearly.
“I have no idea who you speak off. I have been wondering the forest and there are lots of wildflowers, maybe some of the flowers I brushed past could be mistaken for the scent of this blonde omega you speak off. I apologize I can help no further.”
He stepped past Sasuke and past his siblings who stopped when they heard their brother speak rather than tear the alpha in front of him apart. Their mouths dropping with shock as he sat himself down by the fire and retrieved himself a bowl of dinner they had prepared.
Sasuke’s alpha was roaring inside of him. He knew the red haired omega was lying. Apart of him wanted to roll out his dominant scent and make the omega answer his questions. But he could not be so barbaric just because of his secondary gender.
He clenched and unclenched his fists. His inner cheek bleeding where he had bitten it in frustration. He would have to tail them. They will probably lead him straight to Naruto. He willed his eyes back to black.
He bowed.
“Apologises. I must be mistaken.”
And without further glance at the obviously lying red haired omega or his siblings. He turned and made his way back into the forest. Jiraiya’s rut better be finished otherwise he was storming in there and dragging him out himself.
All the while the two sand siblings whispered between themselves, they had just met the last Uchiha. And what the fuck was wrong with their usually homicidal brother.
Itachi’s crows were circling the whole time. Itachi sat watching the youngest Uchiha from the safety of the cottage using a jutsu he had taught himself, meaning he could see through his summons eyes.
Itachi had sent his crows to scout the area once Shisui had retrieved a certain blonde, who was currently in big trouble with the Uchiha Omega was being punished by being made to scrub the bathroom. At least then the two Uchiha could discuss the situation without Naruto getting involved.
Both the Uchiha he resided with were beyond paranoid and very obviously frustrated with Naruto wandering out of the safe zone. Especially about the exchange between the Jinchūriki. But they supposed out of everyone Naruto could have met, it could have been much much worse.
Itachi had sensed his brother nearby, their chakra so similar he knew it almost as well as he did his own. He felt so guilty, for he knew he would be looking for the young blonde Omega he was currently hiding and housing.
Itachi knew himself how he would rip the world apart to find Shisui if anything would every happen to him. He could only imagine what turmoil his brother was going through. No clan and now… Itachi could only suspect Sasuke’s alpha thought of Naruto as his mate.
It was the first time he had come across him since the massacre. Always avoiding the village when he was within it. The only reason he had found Naruto was because he thought the house was vacant, otherwise it would have been Shisui finding Naruto.
He had grown into a fine alpha, definitely broadened out and muscled up. He almost laughed at the fact that he could tell that he was pissed off. Sasuke still wrinkled his nose like he did when he was younger.
He toyed with the idea of going out to meet him. He wasn’t far from the cottage after all. The crow summons doing a simple sweep of the area since Naruto had the stupid idea to venture out of the safe zone.
Should he tell Naruto that the alpha was nearby? The timing wasn’t right. If Naruto was to go to meet him then that would mean exposing himself and Shisui too. They needed to gather the information to clear his name. To explain what was going on within the leaf villages walls.
His brother would kill him if he couldn’t prove anything.
He still felt like a child unsure of what to do. Would his brother hate him more for not coming forward now? For not allowing him to know that his omega was at least safe with him?
Itachi could only watch his brother through the eyes of his crow summons. He was only causing his brother more heartache wasn’t he? He thought with a tear running down his cheek.
Meanwhile back in the leaf in an underground hideaway deep beneath the Hokage tower, a secret meeting was taking place.
Three people sat around a circular table with only a lamp in the middle of a dark room. The Hokage’s advisors. Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane and Danzo Shimura.
Seals decorated the walls and there was only one way in or out. A large heavy wooden door that led to dusty uneven stone stairs.
Their mutterings echoed in the quietness of the room. An occasional drop of water could be heard dropping into a puddle in the corner of the room.
“We have much better control of the clan heads, apart from them. I understand that dwindling down the Hyuga clan is no easy task. The fact that many of them even with such a powerful Kekkai Genkai remain untrained…”
The alpha of the advisors interrupted the two betas.
“We assume they are untrained Homura. Do not assume. The walls to the Hyuga district and thick and high. Although they behave as mere civilians, I highly doubt that many of them are not at least trained in the basics of ninjutsu and tai jutsu. The fact they all bare Caged Bird seals mean that they cannot be of any use to the village in the way we want.”
“We cannot achieve anything like the Uchiha so soon.”
“I wasn’t suggesting that. They were a threat that needed to be handled sooner rather than later. At least we can control the one we have left. We need to get him mated and settled to restart the clan. The same with the Hatake. We cannot have an alpha, alpha relationship as such tainting our village.”
“He is young. First lets look at bloodlines to marry off some of the branch family. Lets look into the other villages. I’m sure we may find some good exchanges. Make sure we have some unsealed Hyuga babies taken please, let the mothers think they did not survive the birth. They will make a better trade off.”
“Understood.”
The two beta nodded their agreement.
“Now then how long does our dear Hokage have left do we think?”
Danzo smirked with his face leaning into the light.