Reading Time: 100 Minutes

Title: Whispers of Scales and Waves
Author: Strailo
Fandom: Naruto
Genre: Drama, Family, First Time, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Pre-Relationship, Romance, Slash
Relationship(s): Kabuto/Naruto, Sasuke/Sakura, Kakashi/Iruka/Orochimaru, Sasuke/Naruto
Content Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Underage, Violence-Graphic. Explicit sex, canon typical violence, manipulation, abuse of power, lying, cheating/infidelity, minor character bashing, redemption, brainwashing, discussions – multiple wives for clan revival, snakes as caretakers, political maneuvering, vying for control over a person, discussion – surrogacy
Beta: CutsyCat
Word Count: 143.274
Summary: It started with a summons from some called a traitor sent to care for a young child who was hated by the village at large. It grew into a village revived and a village brought to it’s knees because of the hubris of men in power. And a relationship that helped to shape lives.
Artist: Mizu Sage

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61

Naruto moaned, burying his fingers into the soft silver hair of his lover. He pulled the bigger, broader body of the other man into his, loving the way he felt against him. He could feel the muscles that came from hard work, both in the field and in the hospital.

The moan that slipped out when Kabuto reached down and curled his hands around his thighs was eaten by the kiss. Kabuto hauled him up with ease, pulling him away from the door and turning to the bed.

The kiss continued as Naruto was pressed down into the bed, sounds still escaping him. Kabuto chuckled into the kiss. He pulled away from the kiss, his eyes dark as he licked his lips and sat up on his knees, Naruto’s legs resting on either side of his hips. “Tell me what you want to do and I’ll do it. Tell me your boundaries, Naruto, and I will keep to them.”

Naruto sucked in a deep breath, surprised. Sasuke, during their time together, had never once offered to discuss their boundaries for what they had done together. Naruto had to do all of the work between them to make sure that they didn’t go past what he was comfortable with since it was as if Sasuke was all for fucking.

“I want to see you in full, but I don’t want to have full sex. I want to taste and be tasted in turn. I want to touch and be touched in turn. But I’m not ready for the rest of it. At least not where I’m not one hundred percent sure that we’re safe,” he finally admitted.

Kabuto hummed, dipping down to kiss Naruto gently before he sat up again. He pulled off his vest, shirt, and gloves, dropping them to the side. He quickly had their weapon pouches removed, making Naruto laugh softly in amusement as they were put to the side out of the way but within reach should something happen.

Naruto hummed his appreciation as he smoothed his hands over the skin before him as Kabuto sat back on his knees again. Grey eyes watched as the blond explored, long fingers sliding over Kabuto’s chest, down over his pecs and abs, feeling them twitch under the exploring touches.

Kabuto blew out a slow breath as Naruto’s fingers danced over the bulge in his pants, looking up at him with a coy look. He caught sight of the knowing smirk from his younger partner as his fingers curled to cup him, squeezing gently.

“Fuck,” Kabuto hissed, pressing into the hand. Naruto hummed at the feeling of Kabuto’s prick, hard and hot against his hand.

“I think that you’re a lot bigger then Sasuke was,” Naruto breathed as he let go of the bulge in his hands. “I wanna see.”

Kabuto slid off of the bed, Naruto pouting but pushing himself up to kneel on the bed and pull his hair free from his ponytail. He tossed the hair tie to the side as Kabuto undressed, pulling his pants and boxers off, letting them land on the floor. Naruto’s eyes widened at the sight and he nearly drooled.

He had been right. Kabuto was clearly bigger then Sasuke had been. Thick and long, curved just enough to point straight up and slightly at his stomach, Kabuto’s dick twitched in the cool air of the room. Naruto’s nose twitched at the rich scent of their need combining around them.

Naruto looked up at Kabuto through his lashes before he pulled off his kimono top, not wanting to get it messy, dropping it off to the side. He watched the way dark storm, gray eyes turned even darker, just shy of black at the expanse of light caramel skin that was exposed.

Feeling rather desirable in a way that was heady, new to Naruto, he moved forward on the bed. His hair shifted and spilled over his shoulders as he came to kneel at the edge of the bed. He ran a hand over Kabuto’s thigh that was clearly built from long hours of walking, running, and lifting. He slid it up to rest on his hip as his other hand came up to carefully curl around the length before him.

Kabuto hissed as the slim fingered hand stroked him slowly from root to tip before sliding back down.

Kabuto watched avidly as a pink tongue came out to lap at the tip of his dick, dark blue eyes looking up to watch his reaction as pink lips kissed the tip before opening and sliding down. He groaned and stopped himself from reaching down to grab Naruto’s hair and push forward into the furnace of a mouth that was sliding down over him. Taking and teasing his length with an ease that belayed his low experience.

He had promised himself that he would allow Naruto to control their times together until such a time that his lover was ready to give up that control. But he was finding it very hard with the way that the blond was starting to happily moan as he sucked, moving further down his dick with each bob of his head.

Kabuto finally allowed himself to bury his fingers into soft blond hair, the hands on his hips squeezing as Naruto moaned and dipped even more over him.

Kabuto jerked when he felt the way that he had slid all the way into Naruto’s mouth and down his throat. Felt the way the muscles squeezed around his tip a few times before Naruto pulled back to take deep breaths. Blue eyes looked up at him as long legs spread on the bed, the two falling into an easy rhythm together.

Kabuto would roll his hips forward each time that Naruto pushed forward, keeping the movements shallow, every few thrusts the blond sliding all the way down, swallowing his lover’s dick whole. The older male groaned, shuddering and feeling the way that his climax was curling and tightening deep in his gut, blood hot and heady, ready to jump over that edge.

“Naruto,” he groaned out in warning. Naruto moaned in return, his tongue twisting as he pushed forward, swallowing and sucking hard. Kabuto bit his lip to stop the yell of Naruto’s name that escaped as he came, grey eyes wide as he watched Naruto pull back to swallow his cum.

Naruto pulled off once Kabuto had finished, licking his lips and looking very much like the cat who had gotten the cream and the bird. Kabuto growled and swept him up into his arms, kissing him deeply, uncaring that he was tasting his own spend. He dropped them back onto the bed, Naruto happily allowing him to do what he wanted. He soon found his own release over Kabuto’s hand as the other man stroked him, relaxing into the bed with a mewl.

It didn’t take long after taking off the edge before they were once more exploring each other. They took their time the second time. Kabuto got to taste Naruto for the first time, teasing him with his tongue and mouth. His fingers played with the ring of muscles that he knew one day he would spread wide to bury his cock in.

Naruto himself found his body coming off the bed with his second climax when Kabuto slid a single slick finger into his ass, stroking over the muscles inside and barely touching the bundle of nerves. He laid there under his lover, dazed as Kabuto panted, using the slick that he had used on Naruto to jerk off to the sight of his blissed out partner. He shuddered as white splattered over Naruto’s stomach and groin.

Naruto hummed. He could feel something deep in him feeling rather pleased at having been marked by his lover in such a way. Even more so when Kabuto laid over him, smearing the mess between them and kissing him gently. After a few minutes of lazy kisses, they stood and cleaned things up. They only had a little bit more time before Kabuto’s teammates came back to the room.

Kabuto replaced the sheets, making a note to personally take them down to the laundry room the next day before they took turns showering and preparing for bed.

Yoroi and Misumi smirked at the two of them when they got back but handed them bags of drinks and snacks, food for tomorrow already put away, before disappearing into one fo the rooms with the promise to use the privacy stone. Kabuto told Naruto that Misumi had paid a pretty penny for it when he and Yoroi had first gotten together.

After all, at the time they had shared an apartment with Kabuto and hadn’t wanted to disturb him. And the stones were fairly easy to carry around just in case they had time and a safe place to have a bit of fun.

Naruto rolled his eyes, making a note to get some of those to deconstruct, found his cinnamon bread and a bottle of caramel coffee before he tucked the rest away. He returned to their shared room with Kabuto following after him with his own snacks.

Two hours later found them tucked into bed, fast asleep wrapped up in each other. Naruto was pressed into Kabuto, feeling safe and resting deeply for the first time in a long time.

62

The end of the second exam finally came and everyone from Konoha had luckily made it to the tower within the first three days. Naruto had pulled aside Neji and Hinata to explain everything that had happened in the last couple of weeks with his team. And what he had done since Team Seven had gotten to the Tower. He had also told Shikamaru, Ino and Choji what he had done since they arrived. He knew that they would tell their teammates for him if he couldn’t get at them.

The two Hyuugas had indeed told their teammates what he told them, and Sasuke and Sakura had found themselves suddenly being scrutinized by their fellow nins. Every team that came in from the forest with their scrolls learned about what had gone down between Team Seven by the power of Ino’s ‘gossip’ train.

One thing that no civilian had ever learn and would never learn if the nins had their way, was just how much gossip the nins traded daily.

Naruto did his part to fan the rumors, using all of the teachings that he had learned from Nissa and Orochimaru. Along with the teachings that Kabuto had given him to round things out. He was intent on making it an absolute bitch for Hiruzen to slither out of his consequences when it came to one Uzumaki Naruto.

But now they were standing in the smaller fighting areana to whittle down the amount of fighters for the last round of exams. They had been told by their sensei’s that those who didn’t make it to the main exam would end up being judged accordingly based on their performances during their fights. And depending on how they did, they would either get a note to get a promotion at a late date in the field or would be promoted.

Naruto was rather pleased about the changes that had happened since it had been the decision of the Daimyo to change things. A messenger had delivered the information to Naruto about how things would be judged so that he didn’t have to worry about Hiruzen trying something.

It also helped that everyone knew that the villages needed chunin, so not making those who showed promise chunin after they got cut from the exams was considered a stupid move.

Hiruzen was smiling at the people before him, his eyes seeking out the bored looking Naruto who had quite the visible marks on his neck. His hair had been pulled up into a high ponytail that was then braided while his entire outfit screamed ‘Uzumaki’ in both color and style. Everything, from the length of the sleeves to the height of the heels on his knee high nin boots, was carefully chosen that helped his carefully crafted fighting style and were an unspoken statement to all who looked.

The fact that Sasuke had sent him a letter from both him and Sakura telling him that Naruto had learned about their fucking around and had put two and two together made it so he wasn’t surprised. Pissed, yes, but he still thought that he had time yet.

He was hoping to get to the Daimyo before Naruto was able to do.

Shaking off his thoughts mentally, he smiled at the ones who had made it through the second round. “Welcome to the preliminaries of the Third Exam of the Chunin Exams. Before I explain why it is we are having our preliminaries, can you tell me why it is we hold the Chunin Exams?” he asked.

“They’re War Games,” Kabuto called out.

“They’re to flex on our fellow villagers. To show the strength and power of their nin while showing that they have the best military power should the other villages want to go to war,” Temari said next.

“Both,” Naruto said as he shrugged. “We’re not in active wars, and we do work to stay out of them. But we still need to show off our strength while we also wear out some of the aggression that we have for each other. We show we have the strongest, brightest, most powerful fighters that will defend the village and if they die, they’ll take their enemies with them,” he mused.

Kabuto smirked at his lover. “Like I said, War Games. But with just a lot of military flexing.”

Temari smirked as Gaara yawned, sipping at his bottle of coffee that he had grabbed that morning.

Jiraiya had fulfilled his promise on day two of them being in the tower and fixed his seal. He had removed the Monk from the Seal and Shukaku was resting at the moment, not being driven insane by the damn Monk.

Gaara was learning how to sleep again but it was odd to her how tired he became at random times.

“Indeed! You all are correct.” Hiruzen’s smile looked rather strained to Temari’s well trained sight. “All three of you. We come together as a War Game to show that we have powerful fighters. But we also show good will in the willingness to show our military power to each other,” he continued. He tucked his hands behind his back. “Before the villages were formed, we were wandering clans and enclaves, small families that all fought for land. For safety. We call that time the Warring Era for a good reason. Then Konohagakure was built as were other villages all over the lands. They provided homes for those who wished to come together to find safety and trust.

“Since that time, we have gone through two wars and have found a tentative peace at this time. I am so very proud to see that this peace is continuing. But today, today we come together to cut down the amount of people who are going to the final exams. As much as this is an exam to find out who would make good chunins for their villages, this is also a way for the village and merchants to make money,” Hiruzen stated.

“And you can’t really do that if things drag on for six days if all of the battles take an hour or two per battle,” Tenten drawled. “So you’re trying to cut us in half to make it easier to have the fights in a single day?”

“That is correct. But do not worry! You are being judged just as your counterparts will be judged by a hand chosen group who will watch the video of those who do not proceed to the next part,” Hiruzen said. He waved a hand to the various cameras that were around the room. “The Daimyo’s have all decided that due to the nature of the exams this year, they would choose two groups to judge the participants. Even I will not be making decisions on my own nins, just signing the paperwork. It will not just be the fights to come through but your over all performance since you have started the exams.”

He looked to a tokubetsu jounin who had a sword on his back, bags under his eyes and looking on the sick side. “My name is Gekko Hayate, and I will be your proctor for the preliminaries,” he stated. He coughed into a tissue and stood straight.

Naruto looked to this lover and tilted his head, Kabuto leaning down slightly to speak.

“He has lung issues. He was caught in one of the last assults on the village when he had been fairly young, during a gas attack. Tsunade-san had tried to help all that she could at the time but she needed herbs that had been running out so that he ended up not getting the full dose due to some idiot doctor. He decided that since he was a kid, he hadn’t needed it,” Kabuto stated. “She sends the wild herbs that she finds now though and we’re still working on his lungs. He’s doing better but he still has a good year and a half unless we can gather some herbs from Uzu.”

Naruto hummed, nodding. “I’ll talk to Haku and Zabuza about the plants that they have growing. See if they have the ones you need,” he promised. Kabuto smiled softly and placed his hand on his lower back as they listened to the rules.

The rules were simple: No killing each other. Either knock out or giving up. When the match was called, it was called. The names would be chosen by random on a board and everyone who wasn’t fighting were to watch in the rafters.

“The first pair of fighters will be…” Geeko said, looking to the monitor where it flipped through the names. Sasuke’s and Yoroi’s names appeared first. “Uchiha Sasuke VS Akado Yoroi. Every one else please head up to the rafter walks out of the way.”

Naruto looked to Yoroi and hummed.

“Do not fuck around with him, but I do suggest that you throw the fight if you can,” Naruto hissed to him. Yoroi raised an eyebrow. “They will get you out of the finals if they think they can if you defeat their precious Uchiha, Yoroi. And with the way that things are going right now, you can put on a very good show and either get promoted, or get a recommendation for a field promotion,” he continued.

Yoroi nodded, seeing where Naruto was coming from when it came to the Uchiha, who was just smirking at him. He looked as if he knew what the final results would be.

Yoroi cocked an eyebrow, settled into his fighting position and waited for the call to start the fight.

63

Yoroi tipped his head and narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, waiting for sasuke to make the first move. He had often watched the other man spar before whenever he had gone with Kabuto to collect Naruto. His movements were predictable if one paid attention. He didn’t mix in any kind of different moves from other styles.

He would usually lead with a punch from down low or a swinging kick that came from up high, followed by the opposite move.

This time, Sasuke came at Yoroi with a back kick that was blocked with one armored arm, shoving the other male off balance before he used the flat of his hand to shove the fist away from him. It threw the Uchiha even more off balance, forcing the Uchiha to dance away in a small circle before coming to stop.

Yoroi just stood his ground, waiting, having drawn off a bit of Sasuke’s chakra with each touch.

Not really enough to be noticed by Sasuke, just enough to start to pull on Sasuke’s reserves. He knew that the cameras were catching all of his movements and what he was doing.

They continued to trade blows. Mostly Sasuke coming at Yoroi and then being pushed back or landing a hit on the other man. Yoroi finally allowed Sasuke to land a hard blow that smacked him into a wall. Sasuke snarled and moved to follow after him as he shook his head, acting as if he had hit his head with the wall slam.

“I give,” Yoroi stated. He stood up. “Any good nin worth their salt knows when to run and when to fight on the field. If I hit my head during a mission or battle and had not run for it, I would most likely have gotten sloppier in my movements. Possibly been maimed if not killed due to a possible head injury,” he stated.

Gekko nodded and held up one hand. “Winner: Uchiha Sasuke!” he called out.

Sasuke twitched before he stalked off, not feeling as if he had actually won. He caught sight of Naruto standing next to the Otogakure nins, chatting with their sensei who was showing him to do a move. Kabuto was watching them with a soft expression on his face.

Sasuke forcibly stopped himself from going over there and yanking Naruto away from them, dragging him back to Sakura and forcing him to listen to them.

Sakura placed her hand on his arm, gave him a look and shook her head. Hiruzen had warned them that they had to move carefully from then on and that if they went to fast that they would make Naruto bolt for it. Most likely getting permission from the Daimyo, and then he would be out of their reach. They didn’t want that to happen so they had to wait. Watch and strike at the right moment.

Naruto looked over at them as if he knew what they were thinking and smirked before he went back to speaking with the hidden Orochimaru. He could ignore them, knowing that their plans weren’t going to work.

“The second match will be…Abumi Zaku VS Aburame Shino!” Gekko called. Naruto smirked as Kin and Dosu looked over at him.

“Shino will win the match. I’m going to guess that you guys force your sound based attacks through modifications right?” he asked. Kin blushed but nodded. “Yeah. Shino does have weapon and hand to hand training but I’m going to say that he won’t use them this round. He’ll use his hive.”

Five minutes after the start of the fight, he was proved right when Zaku’s arms busted from the inside out. Naruto just smiled at the other two as they groaned. Orochimaru shook his head. “He’ll have to go through some new trials to figure things out when we return home ,” he drawled. Kin pouted.

She was glad that her sensei had been changing so much in the last year and a half. In the village, according to the files, they were already chunin, but to the rest of the world, they were still genin. They were a special kind of team that tested others but had at one time been Orochimaru’s personal strike team.

But she was far more happier with the new changes. Even though their training was much harder, more geared towards working together with others, not just with each other.

She huffed. “Okay, so I learned not to bet against you, Naruto-san. You seem to have some insane luck,” she drawled, smirking teasingly at him. Naruto just batted his eyes at her as Misumi and Kankuro were called next.

Misumi already knew that his opponent used puppets, having seen the other guy work on one of them in the training halls while they waited. His plan was to not let him get close.

Naruto tilted his head as Kabuto rested his chin on Naruto’s shoulder with a purr. “Who is going to win?” he asked softly.

“Misumi will most likely follow Yoroi’s example and throw the fight after putting on a good show for the judges,” Naruto mused. “Kankuro, from what I know, is a good long distance fighter and he’s going to stay far away from him any way that he can. But if Misumi does get close to Kankuro, there’s a chance of poisons, blades or senbons. Puppeteers are far from one trick ponies despite what others think,” he said. “At least from what Mito-sama’s journals said about a good puppeteer.”

Kabuto hummed, nodding slightly. “I am hoping htat you will let me read her medical books soon,” he said. Naruto smiled.

“I think that if she was still living, she would love to have her things read by those who are passionate about medical practices and learning new things. I know that Tsunade-san used copies of some of them to help build up her own knowledge and skills when she was training, but she didn’t have the full set. And she was dealing with a war for a long time,” Naruto hummed.

They watched as Misumi put on a good show, before he dropped out because of a poisoned senbon that Kankuro was happy to hand over the antidote to. Naruto clicked his tongue as Gekko called the match in Kankuro’s favor. Sakura and Ino were called down next, making him squint as he thought.

“Do you think that your, uh, teammate down there will make it?” Dosu asked, staring at the two women with an eye. Naruto snorted.

“I can tell you that she is very strong, yes, and she does have the potential for being a good fighter. But to be serious about this fight? She lets her anger still get the best of her,” Naruto said, sounding sad about something. Dosu blinked. “And I do think that she is blinded by her feelings for Sasuke, doesn’t see his flaws. I don’t even think that Sasuke really knows who he is. But the closest that I can figure out is that he’s a homegrown narcissistic bastard. His ego was fed from the get go until he the point that he now thinks that he’s above laws and rules. He thinks he can get whatever he wants. He’s so far up his own ass that he’s unable to think that he’s not the God’s Gift to Humanity. And Sakura has been fed that same kind of shit about him, and to a point, herself.”

“So she was mentally and emotionally groomed by the village to be attached to the Uchiha in all ways,” Orochimaru mused. “I’ll have to contact Itachi and warn him what the village is doing with his brother.”

“Tell him to send all of his information that he has to the Daimyo and to get the paperwork started to move the Uchiha clan to Uzu. And cut Sasuke’s part of the family off of the main branch if needed. That will allow him to get everything away from Sasuke and remove his clan position from him to. At the least in the eyes of the Daimyo. Knowing the Hokage though, he’d probably still make sure that Sasuke would be considered to be the head of a secondary branch of the Uchiha clan. He’d just have to start from the ground up. On his own. Without all those lovely, lovely samples of the Uchiha clan.”

Orochimaru snorted as he turned back to the fight. “Young Haruno would have to deal with the fact that should she marry her lover, he would be fucking one of his wives on a rotation to make sure that they all had at least once child,” he drawled. “That would be the only way to repopulate his clan after Itachi removes the clan from the village.”

“Would have to make sure those extra wives had weak enough genes to be overtaken by the Uchiha genes on top of that,” Kabuto mused. He watched as Sakura was slammed into a wall, Ino snarling, looking pissed. “I wonder what Haruno said.”

“Not a clue. But it looks like Ino won that fight,” Naruto drawled. Ino was called as winner.

64

“I kind of hate to stay it, but Temari won’t be nice. She’ll probably win this round,” Naruto said as he frowned. “I sparred with her a few times while we were chilling and she doesn’t pull punches. I bet you ten to one she won’t pull them even more in this kind of fight either.”

“You would be quite right,” Orochimaru hummed. “She is quite strong and the only reason why she has yet to become chunin is because she can control her siblings. And their tendencies,” he said. “Especially since everything has been restructured all over the nations with how early you can become Chunins and Genins after some things were looked at.”

“It really is a surprise that so many of the other villages followed us in how things got restructured,” Naruto admitted. He rested his chin on one hand as he watched the beat down go down.

He was proven right in that Temari wouldn’t hold back, but Tenten put in her own good showing. In the end though, she lost when she was tossed into the air by one of Temari’s air attacks and hit before she could right herself.

Naruto sighed, stretching his arms up over his head. He cracked his neck as Tenten was gathered by medics and carried off of the field. “I’ll go visit her later after this. She’s a good person and I kind of want to pick her mind about weapons what kind would be best to incorporate into my fighting style,” he said. Kabuto smiled softy at him as Kin and Shikamaru were chosen to go next.

“Kin-san, I suggest that you do not underestimate the lazy bastard,” Kabuto drawled as Naruto snickered softly. “He was able to keep up with this chaos gremlin and Ino-chan after all.” Naruto huffed and lightly jabbed at him with an elbow.

Kin’s eyebrow twitched at that bit of news, glad that her actual promotion wasn’t on the line. Just the kind of training that they would go through would be chosen afterwards. She went down and Kabuto’s advice proved right as ten minutes into her fight against Shikamaru, her head met the wall and she was knocked for a doozy. It was just a half inch far enough from the wall to just make her have to quit instead of knocking her out.

The match was called and Orochimaru personally came down to check her over with the medics. She was cleared with just a mild concussion instead of a worse one. She was told to take the usual care post concussion, like waking up every two hours for the next couple of nights and to get a full check up by a trusted medic every few hours just to make sure nothing cropped up.

She shook Shikamaru’s hand, told him that it was a good match and headed up to where her teammates were waiting for her to return. Naruto gave her an amused look as Orochimaru made her sit down and, in his own way, fussed over her.

“The next match is Uzumaki Naruto VS Inuzuka Kiba!” Gekko called out. Naruto groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Thirty yen that the so-called random matches aren’t so random and that they think that my feelings towards Kiba is one of disdain. On both sides,” Naruto drawled softly. Kabuto snorted.

“That is a sucker’s bet,” he drawled as Naruto rolled his eyes, walking down the stairs and coming to stand in front of Kiba. The dog male smirked and winked at him as Akumaru woofed softly, tail wagging back and forth.

“You really would think that in a village full of nin, that they would know better then to set us against each other. Even if it is supposedly randomized,” Naruto stated. He looked at Hiruzen from the side of his eyes.

The man frowned as his eyes flicked back and forth between them.

“Hell ya. I have yet to win going up against you. With or without Akumaru,” Kiba drawled, smirking. “I’m not going to walk out of this with a win,” he said, shaking hsi head. “But it’ll be fun.”

“To true,” Naruto drawled. Geeko stepped back out of the way and called the start to the match. Akumaru came to sit next to him, tongue lolling and tail wagging as the two males went head to head. The assembled nins watched as the two just let loose, twisting, swiping, punching and kicking as they moved around the grounds.

It was obvious that they were showing off for the cameras and the judges that would watch the video afterwards. Especially with the way the two twisted and moved in some rather interesting ways before Naruto pinned Kiba to the floor in a way that if Kiba moved, he would lose a foot to the wire around his ankle. Or getting his throat slit from the kunai that was pressed against his throat.

“Damn it. Knew I shoulda given when you started to pull out that damn wire,” Kiba grunted. He pouted as he relaxed in Naruto’s hold. Naruto chuckled and the kunai disappeared somewhere along with his wire before he helped the other man up.

“Yep. You should have, but you did want to show off a little,” Naruto drawled, smiling at the other. They fist bumped as Naruto was declared the winner. With his spot secure for the third round, he headed back up to Kabuto and his teammates, ignoring the glare that Sasuke was sending him while Sakura just looked on thoughtfully.

As soon as he was within reach, he was pulled into Kabuto for a kiss, giggling softly as the next match was called. Hinata and Neji would be going up against each other, the two cousins staring at each other and knowing how their spars usually went, the two doing a quick round of rock-paper-scissors to figure out who would win before the actual fight.

Neji got to show off his new moves that he had learned from his Uncle after the seal on his forehead had been changed. Hinata allowed him to show off before they broke apart, bowed to each other and ended the match with Neji stepping down.

Hinata took her winning spot and waited.

“I’m so damn glad that they started to work with each other the way that they have. Can you imagine that fight if they had just gone full out against each other?” Naruto asked.

He smiled when Gaara and Lee were called next. It was a kind of short match with Lee showing off his moves and tactical skills, Gaara taking the win by hitting Lee hard enough with a sand fist to knock him out.

Gaara sighed and gently picked up Lee with his sand, taking him to the medics and handing him off to take him to the medical wing to be checked over.

Finally Dosu and Choji were called to finish out the battles. Dosu won just barely by getting a lucky sound attack in that slammed Choji into a wall and knocked him out.

“And that is the end of the preliminaries!” Hiruzen called out. Two tokubetsu jounin carried out a box full of balls with numbers in it, one of them with his hiate-ate turned around and a senbon in his mouth smirking. “From here on you, you will all have a month to prepare. Due to the uneven number of participants, it is likely that there will need to be an extra fight, but I am sure that you will be fine with this. There are nine of you currently. If you will all take a number, we will find out the brackets for the fight in one month,” he said.

Shikamaru sighed as he tucked his hands into his pocket and stepped forward to get his number. In the end, the brackets ended up being Naruto VS Gaara, Sasuke VS Hinata, Shino VS Kankuro, Temari VS Kabuto with Shikamaru VS Ino and Dosu fighting whoever won the Naruto VS Gaara fight.

“In a months time, we will come together in the main arena and fight one on one. During that time, you will show your skills and knowledge to a panel of judges, live. They will give advice to each person in a personalized report. For the promotions, they will either suggest that you keep training and try again in six months; suggest you for a field promotion after some focused training; suggest a promotion to chunin. I will have no decision in the end about my nins. And neither will your Kages. Your Daimyo’s have all agreed to this, and wish to see how this works out for the next four exams. Or for the next two years.

“I do suggest that you use the coming month to train, plan and prepare for your fights,” Hiruzen stated as he smiled. He nodded. “You are dismissed.”

Naruto hummed, turned on his feet and looked to Kabuto, smirking. “You wanna stay at the house with me to train?” he asked.

“I take it that it’s ready to live in?” Kabuto asked.

“That it is.”

“Then I would love to.”

“You and your team are welcome to come train with us, Kurinaga-san,” Naruto offered to Orochimaru. The other male tipped his head in acceptance. “I’ll have Nissa come show you where the gate to the house is and show you how to get in.”

Kakashi chuckled as he walked up to them. “I take it then that you won’t need me?” he asked. Naruto shook his head.

“Sorry, sensei, but your fighting style isn’t what I need to help with mine,” Naruto said. He giggled when the man ruffled his hair, missing the warning glare that Kakashi sent to Kabuto.

“Fine. But I still want to come by and spar with you sometimes,” he said. “Give you someone different then your usual sparring partners.”

“Just remember that the Uchiha and Haruno are not allowed on my family land because of their actions,” Naruto reminded him. Kakashi nodded in agreement. Naruto turned and left his his group of friends.

65

Standing in front of his house, Naruto used some chakra to unlock the front door. He had just set up the seals to allow Zaku, Rin, Dosu, Orochimaru and Kabuto into the house as they wanted. He stepped inside and slid off his shoes, the smell of cleaning supplies and fresh paint making his nose twitch. “Home sweet home. Alright, so when you visit here, there will be rooms that you can’t enter for various reasons,” he warned.

“We kind of figured as much,” Zaku hummed. He was still slightly high from the work that had to be done on his arms. Orochimaru had collected him, glad that his own medical team had taken over the young man’s care. Seeing as the Konoha medics didn’t have to knowledge to fix the tubes and muscles around it, it was a good thing. He was on strict orders to not train with them for six months outside of the PT he had been assigned, and after that he would have to deal with light duties until they were sure he was good.

Being a chunin though, he wasn’t really worried about his orders. It was part and parcel of his rank.

“Sensei here made sure that we all learned why clans do certain things. Including locking rooms down”

Naruto smiled at him. “The rooms that are locked down will be the office through there,” he said, pointing to a door on the other side of the living room. “Two rooms that are down in the basement, and half of the attic. The other half of the attic just stores random things, nothing amazing or anything. But the other half was set up for my seal work area. Don’t want anyone to go up in a blast of chakra if they trigger a half finished seal,” he told them.

Rin shivered, her hair seemingly standing on end before she used a hand to smooth it back down.

“Yeah, no. Don’t want to go in there, do we?” she huffed as she shook her head. “Seals are fucking scary and my chakra is not built for them. It’s to…off for something so delicate.”

Orochimaru smiled at her and patted her on the shoulder. “The seal that I used to use was changed to allow those with unstable chakra to help keep their chakra stable from now on. I stripped it down to the most basic form for it. I’m hoping to refine it even more for those like your friend, Lee, so that he could use his chakra outside of his body. Or at the very least set his chakra system back into proper place. Granted it would have to be applied fairly young but still.”

“It sounds like it’s a good piece of work, hard to get right, and I hope that you can do it,” Naruto said. Orochimaru chuckled and patted his head. “The kitchen is through there along with the dining room. I refurnished the dining room furniture so that it’s like new and works well for more then just us since it’s an expanding table.

“I was lucky enough to help him to refurnish the pieces. They’re beautiful pieces of simple works and strong wood. I think that his mother created it by the mark on the bottom. I saw some of her designs in sketch books and it was her mark,” Kabuto drawled, already knowing where they were going. He had wandered around the house while it had been worked on, learning the layout of everything.

“Now, the guest rooms are down this way if you guys want to stay here instead of the hotel rooms. I don’t mind as long as you pay into the grocery fund along with the rest of the bills,” Naruto said. “Which are fairly cheap.”

“We’ll be able to do that, thank you,” Orochimaru said. Dosu nodded his head in agreement as they headed down the halls to the guest room.

He noticed that there were more bedrooms down another hallway, figuring that those were the household bedrooms. From what they were able to see, there were a total of four guest rooms, two bathrooms, and through a close door, a half bath with a toilet and a sink only.

“The rooms all have their own personal floor tables so that you can use them like desks or storage spots when you’re going through things. The futons are covered in protective covers but they are the softest that I could get my hands on. There’s blankets, sheets, pillows and the such in each closet with the futons,” Naruto went over. He opened the sliding doors that lead outside. “One wall slides open to allow air flow and has a screen door to keep unwanted bugs out.”

“Nice,” Rin sighed as she looked around the room. “Do the bathrooms come with baths?” she asked.

“They do. They’re the old shared style baths to. Shower first, then use the bath. The water can be rotated through the bath and will filter it if you want it to. I plan to do a deep clean every couple of weeks on them,” Naruto explained. He showed Orochimaru to his room then Zaku and Dosu. Kabuto smirked, knowing that he probably wasn’t going to stay in his own room but would most likely be staying in Naruto’s.

He had very much come to enjoy his time holding the slightly smaller male close at night. It wasn’t just a sexual thing, which while their sexual intimacy was nice, it wasn’t the top reason that he loved to be in Naruto’s bed. Feeling him close, trusting him to keep his safe through was something that he had always wanted but had never found in a partner until Naruto.

Naruto smiled up at him and winked. “If you want to go and gather your things, I know that your rooms have been paid for for the entire month so if anything, you can also use them to get away from each other. Or when you need to do something private,” he said. “Though you will most likely end up with ANBU on your ass since you’re hanging out on my land. They can’t come on here without my express permission though. And unless they ask nicely, I’m not letting them on for anything less then a rogue or enemy nin,” he drawled.

“That will be fine, Naruto-un,” Orochimaru said as he smiled slightly. “I think that we will go gather our things from the hotel and bring them with us though. Before I go shopping for food for tonight.”

“Thank you,” Naruto chirped as the four Oto nins left the house. “Come on, let me show you to our room,” he said. The words sounded so natural and free to both of them that Kabuto had to smile as he followed.

He was lead down the other hall towards the household bedrooms and to the master bedroom.

Walking in, he saw just how huge the room was. There was a large platform bed that sat in the middle of the room. Two of the four walls were able to be opened, both with their own screens that could be pulled down to keep bugs and creatures out of the room. There was a private bathroom with a large bathtub and shower that was big enough for the two of them to share if they wanted. There was also two sinks, two separate toilets and quite a bit of storage.

“Mum’s journals said that she and dad were planning on moving in after I was born and she didn’t like to share her toilet,” Naruto hummed. He smoothed a hand over a dresser with a smile on his lips. “I know that I’ll be leaving sooner rather then later, but I’m still going to empty this house out to take everything with me. If I could, I would take the house itself with me. Most likely I’ll just seal it up until one of my family lines come back or until Konoha breaks the seals to tear it down. But either way, I’m not going to be able to make many memories here,” he said softly.

Kabuto came to stand behind him, pressing his face into his lover’s neck to take in his scent, offering him silent comfort. “Then we’ll just have to make some good memories while we are here, and then make even more memories in our new home when we move,” he said as he lifted his head. He placed his chin onto Naruto’s shoulder and smiled. “We’ll build a good life together. As partners and friends hopefully. But I’ll take just friends if we don’t work out. I promise.”

Naruto smiled as he laced their fingers together, turning to face him, his head tipping back to look up at Kabuto properly. “I know that we will. I find myself missing you every time that you’re not close. Is that worrisome?”

“I don’t think so, as long as it doesn’t get to the point where we can’t do our missions,” Kabuto chuckled. He leaned down to kiss his lover. Their hands were just starting to wander over each other when the doorbell that was attached to a seal on the gate went off. Naruto whined as the kiss was broken.

“Damn it, Kakashi-sensei. You fucking cock blocker,” he whined.

Kabuto chuckled lowly and gave him a quick kiss before he pulled away and smoothed his hair down. “There is always tonight. And the entire month ahead of us,” he teased Naruto. Naruto hummed and smirked at his lover before he disappeared with a puff of smoke.

Kabuto shook his head and started to explore the room that he would be sharing with Naruto for the coming weeks.

66

Naruto hummed softly to himself as he walked through his house late at night. He and Kabuto had gone back to their own apartments to pack up the things they needed to move to the house. At least most of Naruto’s apartment and only the most important stuff for Kabuto. He had left his partner in their bed, the two having crashed out after making sure everyone had settled in but now he was up and unable to sleep.

Walking into the kitchen, he found that Orochimaru was standing at his counter as he stared out of the window. The man was frowning slightly to himself as he stirred the cup of tea that he had made himself. His marks were in view instead of hidden, the rich purple adding something more to the unearthly gold eyes that were thoughtfully taking in the woods.

“Why are you up so late?” Naruto asked softly as he walked up to his mentor and penpal. “I would have thought you’d be resting after everything.”

“I should be, but I find myself lost in thought,” Orochimaru admitted. He shook his head with a small smile. “What are you doing back up?

“I don’t really need as much sleep like when I was younger,” Naruto admitted. “At least not most nights. Sleep doesn’t do much for me really, even with Kabuto in my bed.” He shuffled around to make himself some of the tea. “I tend to do some light reading if I’m up late or really early.”

“I have a feeling that as soon as Kabuto learns of this information, he will make sure that you are to tired each night to be able to leave the bed,” Orochimaru snorted. “I know how he is with his lovers. He has quite the stamina due to the way that his chakra works in his body.”

“We found out that his chakra style comes from his clan. They have to have the insane amount of stamina due to the fact that they originally made up the Uzu Hunter corps. Both the ones who hunted animals and the ones who went after the humans. They also made up a good chunk of our medical practitioners. The medical jutsus that they learned seem to kick in quite a bit for them so they can self-heal on a microlevel and that kick starts the stamina that they have. I’m thinking that they’re under utilizing him at the hospital, but I’m not going to complain since he can match me,” Naruto said, blushing slightly. “Not that we really have gotten to that point.”

“The relationship is still new for the both of you,” Orochimaru said, nodding his head. “Do not rush your relationship. You both have known each other for a few years now, but your romantic feelings can make things new and sticky in different ways.”

Naruto looked up at Orochimaru, blinking very slowly. “You were once in love with Jiraiya, weren’t you?” he asked.

Orochimaru snorted as he picked up his tea to sip it. “Yes, I was. I loved him deeply as a young man, but even then I knew that we would never work in the long run. He liked his women to much and was madly in love with Tsunade. Not that he could ever gather up his balls to ask her out before she met Dan-kun. Then…Dan-kun died and she was not available romantically any more. She didn’t want anything to do with romance after such pain. Doesn’t want it. Not really. She has her sexual dalliances, true, but she doesn’t want a true love any more,” he said.

Naruto let him work to collect his thoughts as he poured the hot water from the kettle into a cup with a tea bag, adding some of his made simple syrup to it.

“I didn’t want to be a consolation prize in my partners eyes . I don’t want to be a consolation prize to this day. And to be truthful, this body has been in suspended animation since I left it. It’s my original body that I kept around, just in case. It felt like the right thing to settle back into my actual body after everything that has gone on,” Orochimaru admitted.

“Yeah. The seal set that you used to remove things from your body and mind would have prompted you to be in your proper body. To be truthfully you. You’re really not the first of your clan who had to jump bodies, willing or not. Though he was doing it because he liked living like a child and being taken cared of instead of living as a grown man. Something to do with mental issues,” Naruto said.

“I remember reading about that ancestor. He did finally figure himself out and did stop jumping bodies. I believe that he ended up with a lover from the Hatake Clan but had no children,” Orochimaru said. He shook his head. “To be truthful, I was doing it at first so that I could see my parents become reborn. But later, it had been twisted and changed from the original purpose of my life by the one who messed with my mind.”

“It was because of that old bastard war hawk wasn’t it?” Naruto asked. Orochimaru hummed. “Yeah, that old bastard really needs to die before I leave here I think” he said.

“It really wouldn’t be hard to kill him,” Orochimaru mused. “Or at least start it enough so that you do not have to worry about him coming after you under the table. Removing that arm of his would be a good start. Knowing Hiruzen though, he would allow it to happen, turning a blind eye to the bullshit that the man did the way that he has done.”

“Do you think that he’ll become desperate when I leave the village for good?” Naruto asked as he sipped his tea. Orochimaru sighed.

“Yes, I believe that he will. He will not like the fact that he can’t control you any more. Not that he does right now. But he will also not like that he won’t have a single say in you leaving and building up Uzu again. That all of his hard work in getting you under his control was wasted. It’s kind of pathetic just how hard he clings to an illusion of peace and control. The only reason why there hasn’t be any war to break out is because all of the villages don’t have enough fucks to give for an attack. That there are rumblings of things that are happening that are taking their attention is another reason. The fact that the last Kage for Kiri had been found under someone’s control spoke quite a bit about what is going on in our world.”

“Oh yeah, that reminds me. I need to talk with Haku and Karin. We found her in the forest and I’m having her taken over to Uzu as soon as possible. She’d make a really good healer with some training and not just because of her bloodline. But because she’s really smart and has good chakra control from what the letter Haku sent me said,” Naruto told him. Orochimaru nodded.

“I’ll help her get there if you need me to,” he offered. Naruto nodded as Kabuto walked in as he stretched his arms over his head. Naruto was quickly distracted by the play of muscle under pale skin as Kabuto ruffled his hair and glared at him with a sleepy pout.

“Is there a good reason as to why you were not in bed when I woke up just now?” Kabuto asked. His voice was sleep husky and far from awake.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Naruto told him. He put his arms around Kabuto’s neck when the man came over to him, wrapping his own arms around a lean waist before he buried his face into Naruto’s neck. Naruto’s chuckle was soft and loving, making Orochimaru smile before he slipped out of the house. Leaving the two new lovers alone.

He could feel the flutter of Kakashi’s chakra hanging out in a tree on the land. He figured that Naruto had added him to the seals if his parents hadn’t done it before they died.

He walked up to the tree and looked upwards, raising a delicate eyebrow. “Kakashi-san. What brings you here?” he asked. Kakashi looked down and shifted on his branch.

When Kakashi had been younger, he had thought that the androgynous looks of Orochimaru had been the best thing in the world. He had had a heavy crush on the man, and late in the night, he had often fantasized just how the snake sanin would be under him as a lover.

It had been a guilty fantasy for a long time, but now he knew things that he probably shouldn’t know. And because of what he knew, he found his attraction to the man coming back full force.

He knew that his friend and lover, Iruka, would really love to find out what Orochimaru could do in their bed as a lover. But he pushed those thoughts down until he could talk with him later.

“Just watching over my little brother,” he chirped in answer. Orochimaru snorted. “Do you think I should cock-block them again?” he asked as they watched Kabuto carry Naruto back to their room through the windows. The two were sharing soft kisses as Kabuto walked.

“No, don’t. Tonight is not about passion but just touching to touch between them, I think,” Orochimaru stated. He shook his head before he looked up again. “Come inside, mutt. I’m sure that I have a yukuta some where that you can borrow. And my bed is more then large enough to share for a night.”

Kakashi smirked. He wouldn’t say no to that offer, so he hopped down from the tree and followed Orochimaru back into the house. He took the offered yukuta from Orochimaru, the other man turning to remove his earrings and the light amount of weaponry he had worn.

When the next morning came around, he was amused when he had found himself being used as a pillow, black silky hair spread out over them and the Snake Sanin sleeping soundly on his chest.

67

During the first week of their month long training, Naruto worked with Dosu, Kin and Zaku on some of his various skills. He also invited Shikamaru, Ino and Choji with Asuma to come train when they had some time. To allow them onto the land, he had given Asuma a temporary tag to get past the gates when they were coming around, his students already had been keyed in.

Haku had also came to visit with Karin following him.

She had bowed deeply to Naruto and thanked him for his help before she was escorted to Uzu by one of Orochimaru’s personal guards, a guy named Kimimoro. Once more, Naruto had been bowed deeply to by Kimimoro, but he had been thanked for bringing back Orochimaru to be who he used to be by the man.

Naruto had just blushed, stuttered and promised to let Kabuto see all of the scrolls on healing that he had in his collection. They were hoping to see if they couldn’t help the other man from his familial blood born disease. Kimimaru had thanked him again before he lead the young Karin to where she was to meet with Zabuza who would take her to her new home in Uzu.

There were already several families who were connected to the island living there and helping to fix the island, breathing new life into it and bringing the island back from it’s slow sinking.

Naruto was pleased by the news. But he was also being highly amused by the way that Kakashi seemingly ditched Sasuke with a clone back where they were training. Apparently Kakashi had taken him to the Hatake grounds and was forcing him to camp during training.

Every time Kakashi ditched Sasuke though, he was coming to flirt with Orochimaru, who would return it with coy little smiles and being extra slinky in the way he moved. It was something that drew a dark eye that watched in great concentration at how the other man moved.

Naruto shook his head one night after they had finished their training for the day, Kabuto snickering into his cup of water as they watched Kakashi follow Orochimaru off to where they sparred. “How long do you think that they’ll end up flirting their way around their attraction before they make a move?” Naruto asked.

Kabuto snorted. “Orochimaru knows how the Hatake clan works. He’s just waiting for Kakashi-san to make a move before he does. He also knows that Kakashi-san is with Iruka-kun even though they’re not monogamous lovers. From what Aoba gossips about, they don’t work without a third from what I heard.”

“Iruka told me that they need a third who can go both ways, so Aoba isn’t wrong. But it’s not that they don’t care about each other, but rather they need someone to be a buffer between them. They both have strong personalities and willpower that can clash so their third needs to be calmer,” Naruto mused. He shifted so that he could rest against his lover. He smiled when Kabuto’s arm automatically came around his waist and a broad hand came to rest on his thigh. “They’ll work it out. You hear anything when you leave the compound about things?” he asked.

Kabuto grunted. “Sasuke is being kept away from the village completely from what I hear. Kakashi has full on isolated him from the village. He hasn’t been to his house since the end of the second exam and even then, he was just there to grab some clothes. Though, Kakashi-san has been nice enough to feed the cats that Sasuke takes care of around his apartment.”

“While I know that Kakashi doesn’t get along with cats being a dog and wolf clan member, he does like them well enough to pet those that want his love. And make sure that they’re taken cared of,” Naruto said. He shrugged with a smile. “Anything else?”

“Hiruzen is still trying very hard to find a way to get onto the land,” Kabuto warned him.

“And he’ll find that he’s called down a whole lot of trouble with Daimyo onto his head if he keeps pushing it,” Naruto snorted. He shook his head. “You think that he’s going to try something?”

“I have no doubt that he will try something. He’s desperate after all,” Kabuto snorted, pulling his lover even closer to him. “We won’t allow him do anything.”

“Of course we won’t,” Naruto snorted, shaking his head with a smile. “He has made his bed and it’s time for him to lay in it.”

Kabuto hummed, leaning down slightly to press a kiss to his neck with a smile. “Come on then, let’s go start some dinner. I don’t think that those two will be back any time soon,” he teased. Naruto groaned but followed him into the house. Kin joined them in the kitchen so that she could continue to learn how to cook.

When Naruto had learned that all she could do was prepackaged foods that just required water and a microwave, he had taken her on as a cooking student. He had so far taught her how to make simple, tasty and cheap meals from what a person had in their pantries that still fed into their bodies and chakra stores. She was soaking everything up and was hoping to learn how to can and create preserves from various fruit and vegetables during the month before they were forced to return home.

Naruto had already promised her the next rest day that they took they would go buy things from the farms and he would show her how to do so. She had told him about how she wanted to do more for the village. Zaku had been learning how to sheer, clean, and spin wool from the various animals that they kept for the weavers. Dosu had learned how to weave various types of cloth and was learning how to create chakra thread while learning how to design clothes. She hadn’t fount anything that she had enjoyed or wanted to do before she had started to learn how to cook.

Kabuto watched the two of them talk about how Kin would find new cookbooks and experiment when she returned home, an indulgent smile on his lips. He opened the jarred corn and pea mix that Naruto had created for a rather interesting soup that he was making for dinner. He rinsed them off and dumped them into the mix of pork and beef broth to cook into a mush for an hour. Naruto and Rin worked to prep the various bits of meat that they were going to use.

By the time dinner was ready to be served, Orochimaru and Kakashi still hadn’t come back. Naruto put some of the food aside along with heating instructions. Everyone else sat down and enjoyed their meals, Zaku having to move slowly, a Naruto clone helping him where he needed it. His arms were still sore.

Zaku talked about the types of animals that he used to cerate his wool blends and how he made them super soft instead of itchy like most wool mixes were.

Naruto asked him if his techniques could be used on already woven wool blends, and Zaku promised to show him the mix that he used to soak his wool. As long as he could use the spinner the next day off to re-spin it. Naruto agreed, smiling as Naruto felt warmth fill his heart and body.

He had long found that he liked Team Dosu. They were all very smart and willing to work hard, both with their nin skills and their community building based skills.

Dosu, when he wasn’t wearing his sound gauntlets and various armor bits under his clothes, was strongly built and tall. Because of this, he said was able to maneuver the animals around that he worked with without hurting them. While he didn’t really do the raising and caring, preferring his loom work and designing new styles of clothes, he could shear the animals easily and they liked him.

He was also good with the children of the village.

Zaku himself, while a strong warrior and protector, loved to create soft, warm threads to be used in the looms and for clothes. He had worked long and hard between his nin training with his master to create his process. He had wanted to keep it simple, easy and nature kind since tehy used the same water to wash the wool to help water their crops and orchards.

He also worked at the orphanage with the older kids to figure out life skills.

Kin was still learning what drew her attention, but kabuto could see that she was really enjoying learning how to cook. She found she liked the process and was picking up things easily under Naruto’s tutelage.

As for Kimimoru, Kabuto figured that he would do anything for Naruto just for helping Orochimaru, but more so if Kabuto found a cure for his disease in the scrolls.

And Kabuto himself? Kabuto would burn the world to ash to see his lover smile.

After dinner, the Sound Three shooed them off with promises of cleaning things up. Even Zaku promised to keep to just wiping down the surfaces and putting the extra food away instead of any heavy cleaning. Kabuto smiled and nodded, promising himself that he would make brownies for them the next night before he drew a giggling Naruto to their bedroom.

68

Sliding under the high kick that was aimed at his head by Kakashi, Orochimaru twisted, bending into a split and watching the already black eye watching him go darker. He smirked as he came up and out of the twist. He planted his hand on the ground and pushed up, swinging his own leg up and over the extended leg in a weird half ax-kick that showed off just how flexible he was.

Kakashi was quick to dodge out of the way, doing a hands-free cartwheel only to grab Orochimaru’s leg and jerk him up and over so that he could pin the leg down. He quickly moved out the way of the following kick and punch.

They both panted and smirked once Orochimaru was pinned, smirking at each other. Their eyes were half lidded as they felt the rush of adrenalin from their spar charge the air. Orochimaru looked up at the sky and hummed softly. “It seems as if it’s coming time to go back for dinner,” he drawled. Kakashi chuckled softly.

“I don’t think I really want to go to dinner,” Kakashi admitted. He shifted so that he was sitting over Orochimaru instead of just pinning him down. It allowed the other male to untwist his body under him, feeling the way his body was still warmed up. Still wanting to keep the other under him, but in a much different way then another spar.

And the fact that Orochimaru wasn’t moving from him told him that he wasn’t in any particular rush to move either.

The languid smile and stretch was enough of an answer for Kakashi’s unasked question. He bent down and finally tasted the lips that had haunted his fantasies since he had learned what a fantasy was. Orochimaru groaned and met the kiss by lifting his head up, opening his mouth to the tongue that swiped at his lips.

Kakashi buried his fingers into soft hair and tugged gently, feeling the moan rumble along his tongue. He shifted to press Orochimaru firmly down onto the ground, sliding between long legs that parted easily. He rolled his hips and rubbed against the matching hardness under his and growled in delight. Orochimaru chuckled softly, rocking his hips into Kakashis.

“My my, but that is a delightful sound,” Orochimaru panted against Kakashi’s lips. “What are going to do with me now that you have me, mutt?” he asked.

Kakashi groaned, nipping at Orochimaru’s bottom lip. “What are you willing to let me do? While we’re out here in the forest? Are you willing to let me bend you over and fuck you until you can’t see straight? To show you just how good sex is with me and how good it could be with me and Iruka both when we get you into our bed? Let me convince you to stay with us even if we’re living in different villages?” Kakashi breathed against his lips.

Orochimaru’s breath hitched at the hints of promises of more then just a quick fuck with Kakashi in the woods. More then just something to take the edge off of the worry and hyper-awareness of everything that was going on around them. It was something that he had hoped for once before with another Hatake. But he had squashed his feelings for the man when he had found out he had been long courting his wife.

But now, looking up at Kakashi, he didn’t see the man’s father. Had never seen Sakumo in him in all of the years of knowing him. Had never seen the weakness that had ended up completely and utterly destroying Sakumo the moment that the village had turned on him. If the village was to turn on Kakashi right then, the man would pack up everyone that he loved, grab his clan things and just leave instead of allowing himself to be dragged into nothingness.

Pure and simple. He wouldn’t kill himself and leave behind his mourning loved ones to face the scorn of the village.

Licking his lips, Orochimaru breathed out a yes, and moaned into the kiss that was part passion and part happiness. Deft, long fingered hands worked on undressing him as he was distracted, and somehow unsealed a blanket that he found himself laid back on as the kiss was broken.

Orochimaru gave the blanket a look. “How in the…” He trailed off.

He laughed and shook his head, looking up into mismatched laughing eyes as Kakashi smiled down at him.

“Iruka asks me that all of the time,” Kakashi chuckled. He leaned down to press a kiss to the tip of his nose and winking. “Won’t be telling either of you though.”

Orochimaru huffed at him, tugging on Kakashi’s half removed flak vest, putting it to the side once he got it off along with the other’s shirt. His fingers glided over the dark red ANBU tattoo that sat on one bicep, feeling the echo of chakra within. He could imagine how it had looked when it was fresh and with chakra pulsing within, but it had long turned into a maroon color.

It was inactive, dead. The ink and seals within it lifeless. A permanent reminder of another life long left behind.

He moved on from it and continued to trace his fingers over the well defined muscles that came from years of practice and dedication to being the best he could be. To keep strong even if he had let himself go in other ways. Kakashi growled lowly as his fingers found the hard length that was hidden in loose pants, just teasing over it. Discovering just how long he was, Orochimaru found himself a little breathless at the thought of it fitting in him.

“How in the world does Iruka fit you in him?” he asked, looking up at Kakashi with a bit of a surprise.

“With practice and a lot of foreplay,” Kakashi drawled. He smirked and shrugged one shoulder. “The same that you will. Unless you want to top for this first time. I can go either way.”

Orochimaru huffed at his offer. “I’ve had lovers before but I do think that you are going to make me forget about them,” he stated. “I do not enjoy topping often. You…” He trailed off. “I want you in me more then I want to be in you. Just make sure that I am prepared properly,” he said.

Kakashi smirked and scooted back away and standing up from Orochimaru so that he could pull his pants off, putting them to the side. With that done, he once more sat on his knees and he flipped his lover over, smoothing his hair out of the way.

Orochimaru hissed at the sudden movement before he shivered as the other man draped himself over his back, pressing a kiss to his neck.

“Then let me get started on that,” Kakashi purred into his ear.

The sound of pops told the sanin that the other man was doing something behind him. One of those somethings turned out to be a rather thick pillow that Kakashi tucked under his hips and another smaller pillow so he could rest his head and shoulders on it.

“It’s for your comfort. This part can take a bit of time,” Kakashi explained.

“Thoughtful man,” Orochimaru hummed as he settled on the pillows, gold eyes glowing as he stared over one shoulder.

He melted as the other man stroked his hands down his sides before sliding them up his front. They worked their way over his stomach and chest to his pec, teasing his nipples and testing his reactions before moving on when they didn’t do much for Orochimaru.

He found better reactions when he smoothed his fingers over Orochimaru’s ribs with just the smallest bit of his nails, feeling his lover shiver and suck in a breath.

Smirking, he lowered his mouth and nipped at the shoulder blades before him that was begging to be marked up. He loved the moan that the scrape of his teeth over skin got. He would have to talk with Orochimaru about what his boundaries when it came to their bedroom activities, but that would have to be a later discussion when he wasn’t about to distract the other man.

One hand reached out and grabbed the small box that he had unsealed with the pillows, a few special items within it waiting for him. He had commissioned a new set of toys just for Orochimaru on the hope that the other man would say yes. The toys were built to help him to prep his lovers for his cock. He knew for a fact that he was above average in size and length, and some had had issues taking him the first few times before their body got used to it if he didn’t prepare them right.

Most of the time, he just didn’t care enough to put the work in, only fucking them with a part of his length, the rest held back by a kind of ring that stopped him from going to deep. They were both happy in the end usually.

But with his two proper lovers, his Orochimaru and Iruka? He had wanted to be buried fully in them. He wanted to go as deep as he could and feeling them squeeze every time he bottomed out. But to do that without hurting them, he had to make sure that they were prepped, thus the toys. They ranged in size and length to help tease their muscles to open and relax.

Kakashi smirked and picked up the first toy of the set. It was about as slim as his fingers were, but it was as long as he was. It was made to test his lover’s depth and willingness. He grabbed the bottle of lube that sat in the box.

With one hand, he slicked the toy, playing it around the ring of muscles as he sucked a mark onto Orochimaru’s tail-bone, listening to him whimper softly. He smirked when the tip slipped into Orochimaru’s ass, the muscles relaxing. He slid the toy inwards, and growled happily at the way that it sunk in without an issue, the base and finger hold stopping it from going further.

Orochimaru moaned under the feeling, his arms stretching forward as his hips canted up into the toy, inviting more as his legs spread. Kakashi hummed and slid upwards, lips brushing over his spine as he pulled the toy back, pushing it back in and drawing soft signs of pleasure from Orochimaru.

Pressing a kiss to the top of Orochimaru’s spine, he pulled the toy out and dropped it down on the blanket, finding the next toy as his lover growled his displeasure.

“I’m not going anywhere. I just need the next toy,” Kakashi chuckled, slicking the toy easily. It was just as long but slightly thicker, about two fingers thick.

He smirked at the words that were started out as a snarl but quickly died out as he worked the second toy inwards, rocking it in and out in smooth strokes. He could feel the muscles relax and give way under the gentle movements as Orochimaru melted under him again.

He kept up the slow movements that he had started with each time that he switched out the toys until he could thrust them easily. Orochimaru settled into the movements with him easily, rocking and rolling his hips with each thrust. His dick leaked heavily against the pillow, the teasing not enough for him to get off just yet.

Kakashi groaned after finally sinking hte biggest toy into Orochimaru’s body, standing to pull off his boxers. His cock jumped once it was freed, allowing him to stroke it with a groan. Orochimaru looked over his shoulder, inky black hair falling around his face that was covered in a dark blush, his gold eyes liquid. Want and need radiated off of him.

Kneeling behind his lover once more, Kakashi moved Orochimaru’s dark hair and pulled him back into a bit of a bend to kiss him. He removed the toy, putting it aside, before replacing it with his cock. Orochimaru pulled away from the kiss to cry out his pleasure at being filled with a hot, living cock, squeezing tightly around Kakashi.

Kakashi growled and rocked hard into the heat, shuddering and barely stopping himself from just taking his lover hard and fast.

Orochimaru slumped over the pillow, panting, limp, making Kakashi chuckle as he rocked again. “I hope that you’re not thinking that I’m done just because you came,” he growled. He started to move carefully within the other’s body, being careful. Orochimaru could do nothing but moan and allow the man to do what he wanted with him, feeling the near over-sensitivity turn into an almost painful pleasure. It was making him grow harder with every thrust into his willing body.

He mewled when Kakashi’s hands came to rest on his hips and adjust them, crying out when the next thrust in had Kakashi’s dick in him scrapped over his sweet-spot, making it sing. He clawed at the forest floor, not caring about anything at that point about who could possibly hear him. He didn’t care about a thing beyond the dick in him that was rocking his world as it rearranged his guts and broke any expectations of what sex was supposed to be like with every inward thrust.

As he came a second time with a yell, heat and stickiness filled him quickly after. Orochimaru’s eyes rolled back as he moaned and passed out, wondering if he would truly be able to keep Kakashi and Iruka in his life from that point.

Kakashi pulled out of his limp lover after he came back to himself. He eyed the come and slick that came out with his dick, making sure that he hadn’t hurt Orochimaru. Pleased that there was no blood mixed in, he smirked when he found that Orochimaru had passed out completely. Pressing a kiss to his cheek, getting a soft hum in response, he reached over to the box once more and found the wipes that he kept in there for after care.

He cleaned up Orochimaru first, laying him on his side on a small towel to clean his front with careful touches before he used another large wipe to clean the mess on his ass. He put the two pillows back into their seals, knowing he would strip the covers off of them and wash them later. Kakashi then cleaned the toys and lube up, putting them in the box and resealing it.

Cleaning himself last, Kakashi shoved the used wipes into a bag and unsealed a rather long pillow and thick comforter, putting the pillow down and covering them with the comforter before he pulled Orochimaru close as the nosies of the night started up around them again.

Nissa hissed softly as he slithered past their little nest, a promise of a guard and privacy even as he disappeared into the brush around them. Kakashi smirked as he arranged Orochimaru so that he was resting against him and promised to find Nissa an extra large, juicy rat the next time that they went hunting together.

69

Naruto beamed at the chuckling Daimyo, bowing to him before he and Kakashi left, the older man walking behind him. He carried the signed and dated decrees in one hand, pleased with how the talk had gone.

“It’s official now. After the final exams, I can leave to focus on rebuilding Uzu. And the Fire Daimyo will wait for me to signal that we can start to take missions and once more funnel the proper missions to the village,” he breathed as he clunched the scroll.

Kakashi smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Your mother would be so proud of everything that you’ve done so far,” he told him. Naruto stared up at him with wide eyes, still unused to hearing about his parents. “I know that she wanted to go and breath new life into Uzu herself but she never got the chance to. She could never find the time or the energy to do it. But you have. You made the time and energy to do it.”

“Yeah. I couldn’t…I can’t stay here, Kakashi-sensei. Not now. Not ever. We should remember to tell Iruka-sensei about this,” Naruto said. Kakashi nodded his head and disappeared with his student to head to see Iruka.

The final test for the Chunin Exams was scheduled to happen in three days and almost everyone was doing the last minute prep for it. The Fire Daimyo was in the village under heavy guard and would watch the fights with the chosen judges from the various villages. They had all been chosen for their even heads and unbiased attitudes towards other nins. Even nins from enemy villages.

They all knew that they were to judge the future of the genin, to act as the allies that they should be and to offer their judgement without considering them enemies. They would not hear any names, jutsu’s or village affiliations. Every genin had been warned to not wear their hiate-ates. They would be assigned a number that the judges would know and nothing more. Naruto himself was going to wear a plain black battle kimono with his chakra weave pants and plain heeled, knee high nin boots, keeping his hair under a bandanna.

Kakashi had told him that Sasuke was rather pissed that he had been told flat out that he couldn’t wear anything with the Uchiha fan on it, but he had been quiet lately. Apparently he was thinking some hard thoughts.

Sakura had also been found to be thinking between her own training after Ino got a hold of her and tore her apart during a spar that had turned into a drag out, knock down fight. It hadn’t been pretty for either of them, but apparently it had been a turning point for Sakura in a lot of ways according to the information going around.

Hiruzen, as far as Naruto knew, was still doing whatever it was he was trying to do. Or wanted to do. Naruto was ignoring him and had been carefully making sealing scrolls so that he could send things to the village via Kimimoro and the Sound Four. They sent the empty scrolls back each time he sent things out each week once they were done with them. He had emptied out the warehouse first, not wanting to take the miniscule chance of Hiruzen trying to get his hands on the things within if he didn’t. Nissa had even taken a few of the more delicate items himself to Oto so that Orochimaru could transport them once Naruto was settled in the village.

“Kabuto will be very happy once he can get you out of the village for good,” Kakashi drawled as they went from roof to roof, heading towards Iruka’s personal home.

He was silently selling it to a civilian family that only lived there for the big festivals. The plan was that he would be out of the house by the next year, just in time for the next Yondamine Memorial Festival. He had already filed the needed paperwork, stamped by the Hokage without him even knowing that he had signed it.

Iruka’s plans was to stay long enough to get a few other things signed for the people that he could get out without having to go through the Daimyo. But he wasn’t going to stay longer then necessary.

Landing on the balcony, the window open and waiting for them to get in, they smiled at finding that Orochimaru was sitting in Iruka’s office already. He was sitting on a rather thick pillow and sipping tea next to Iruka, who was also on his own thick pillow. It looked as if they were working their way through several pieces of paperwork and discussing what would be needed to be used in the new village and what could be consolidated.

“I’m hoping that we all know that I’m far from ready to be any kind of Kage right now,” Naruto drawled as he closed the door behind them.

“Oh, do not worry about that. I am sure that we can arrange a temporary Uzukage until you’re ready to take over,” Iruka said. “The first Uzukage for the village will need to be one who can do the administrative set up and work anyways. Setting up the missions, village day to day paperwork, budget, job placements. That sort of thing,” he mused.

“That sounds like you’d make a good Kage for the first couple of years,” Kakashi drawled, teasing his lover. Iruka gave him a long look that promised pain if he kept talking in return.

“I think not. I will happily help whoever is chosen as the Uzukage at the time, but I refuse to be one. I know the in’s and outs of how a village runs, but I’m fairly sure that Naruto has several files on the various positions that will need to be filled in Uzu that will help support the Uzukage,” Iruka said. Naruto nodded. “As it is, I think we’ll need someone to help set up and run the hospital still. Do think that Tsunade will come and help us set things up?” he asked, tapping his fingers.

“She’s been using her connections to the Uzumaki family to become a Medical liaison between the Daimyo and Uzushigo,” Naruto admitted. “We’ve met up a few times to talk whenever we know Hiruzen is busy. She’s going to see how Hiruzen reacts to her taking over the hospital here and see how much control she will be allowed to have first though.”

Orochimaru hummed into his cup before setting it down. “I doubt that she will have as much control as she wants and needs to whip that hospital into shape. He wants to punish her for turning her back on him the way that she did in the first place. If I remmeber right, she called him a fool when he started to treat me like some social experiment gone wrong,” he said. He shook his head. Iruka gave him a soft look, brushing their hands together and getting a slight smile. Kakashi just felt warmth bloom in his chest at the easy interactions of the two.

He had been kind of worried the day that he had brought Orochimaru back to Iruka that first time, but they settled in with each other without an issue. Naruto was just happy that they were happy together. That’s what all he wanted for them, to find happiness with a loved one.

Naruto blew out a breath and put down the scrolls from the Daiymo onto the table. “It’s official now. Once the Chunin Exams are over with and the promotions are handed out, I will be heading to Uzu a month later,” he said, smiling at them. “With Kabuto joining me in leaving, I am to take everything that is connected to the various Uzu clans and I have permission to activate the clans seals to bring them to Uzu if it comes down to it. I have agreed to allow the seals that are currently being used by Konoha to continue to be used as long as they are not changed or turned into something that they are not meant to be. Or if they are indeed changed, all changes are to be sent to Uzu for approval. Once we are sure that our village is ready for missions, the Daimyo will send the requested missions to us, using the satellite village that will also be where the Nara’s are going to set up their deer farm.”

Orochimaru smiled at him, pleased at the way Naruto had been setting things up as he continued to explain the new set up of Uzu and how it would operate. Naruto talked about how academy students would learn how to navigate the waters around the island from the day that they learned how to use chakra, one of the first exercises being water walking to build precision and stores. They would be under the careful watch of jounin’s at all times during those lessons even though they had chunin for teachers. At least for the most part.

Any level would be free to teach as long as they could prove that they had the knowledge and ability to teach. They would have to take classes to gain the proper accreditation to teach at the academy. Iruka would most likely end up taking over as the headmaster of the school once everything had been settled if he didn’t take over as head chunin.

There would be many changes in how the village was run to reflect the modern day, along with how it interacted with other villages. Most specifically how it interacted with Konohagakure and Orochimaru was looking forward to it.

70

Stepping into the arena with the rest of his fellow final examinsts, Naruto looked over the group. His eyes swept over the people around him, taking them in. They had all worn simple, dark clothes with no hiate-ate’s on their bodies and their hair hidden by bandannas, as they had been instructed by their sensei’s. There were also no familial marks on their clothes, which he knew Sasuke hadn’t liked.

They all knew that the judges were watching them in a room with no sound from the arena. They were judging them on what they showed during their fights and nothing more.

Temari and he had worn different styles of battle kimonos while most everyone else had gone for the standard issued nin pants and shirt with mesh under armor. Shino still wore a jacket that he had kept only partially zipped up. It was fairly normal for his clan and his classes were still hiding his dark purple eyes. Naruto knew that the swirl of the purple of the Aburame eyes put people off.

Hinata had worn a black jacket with nin pants and shirt, while Ino was rocking on her feet and looking bored, having forgone her usual skirt and short set for a pair of nin pants.

“Welcome, dear spectators, to the final Chunin Exam! If you will notice, today our fighters are looking rather plain. Due to the changes to the tests, they were asked to dress plainly for the judges. Said judges are in a separate room without any sound right this minute!” Genma announced. He was standing on a platform just over the arena so that he could be easily seen. “All contestants today are being judged on the skills that they have already shown and will show during their fights. Again, welcome! Please enjoy the fights that are to come! Will Uzumaki Naruto and Gaara of the Sand please stay in the arena? And will the rest of the other contestants head up to the observation area?” he called out.

Everyone left the field, leaving Naruto and Gaara to stand there together. Naruto smiled at the other male and nodded in greeting, Gaara returning the nod. “You ready to put on a good show?” he asked as he smirked. Gaara hummed.

“Mo…The Raccoon says thank you from freeing him from the insane monk,” Gaara stated. Naruto waved him off.

“I really hate when people fuck around with shit that wasn’t supposed to be fucked around with. He wasn’t supposed to be sealed into a tea pot at any time as it is. Much less with a monk who went nuts,” Naruto huffed. “After this, I’m going to tell you why things have gone down the way they have,” he promised. Gaara smirked.

They waited patiently for Genma to call the start of their fight. Naruto wasn’t out to really win the fight so much as to show off his skills just enough to show that he was more then ready to do missions as a chunin. He had been learning on his own and with others for a long time already, and Kakashi had told him he had the skills to be one.

Either way, Hiruzen wasn’t going to be able to stop his promotion as long as he got it, and he was beyond happy about this fact.

He dodged out of the way of a wave of sand, forcing Gaara to engage with him in hand to hand. Despite the fact that Gaara’s sand was the Ultimate Defense, he did know how to fight hand to hand. Mostly because one day Temari had told him that there were people out there that would be able to disable Shukaku or force him to have to defend himself without chakra or his sand. Thus he needed to know how to fight face to face.

He found that he was glad that he had listened to her since he was going toe to toe with Naruto, who was like water and air in the way he moved.

He flowed like a river that had the strength of a storm. The clash of their kunai rang in the arena as they weaved, dodged, kicked and punched. They occasionally pulled apart and sent out a small jutsu. The entire time they were fighting they were also laying out their own traps, distracting each other while Gaara’s sand swirled and danced, coating the area around them. Disguised clones used the mixed terrain of the area to lay even more traps.

In the end, it was almost a draw between them if Naruto hadn’t misstepped in trying to get away and couldn’t quite catch himself in time when he had stepped on a loose kunai that the sand had stuck under his foot. It was all that took for Gaara to wrap more sand around him and flip him upside down.

Naruto pouted at him as Gaara smirked at him, crossing his arms.

“Stupid sand,” Naruto huffed as Genma called the fight in Gaara’s favor. Gaara set Naruto down on his feet and collected the various kunai and wire around the grounds with his sand. The two boys took a moment to separate out their own weaponry.

“You did really well. I just happen to be fast enough with my sand to catch you on that misstep,” he said softly. Naruto chuckled as he tucked his weapons away, fist bumping him. Naruto bowed to Genma before he joined Kakashi in the stands along with Anko. The woman was snickering softly.

“You really kicked all sorts of ass there, kid,” she greeted. Naruto hummed as he pulled his bandanna off of his head. He ran a hand over the crown braid that was keeping his hair out of the way.

“Yep. I’m hoping that it was enough to,” Naruto said as he started to remove the nin strength hair pints. “Who’s up next?” he asked.

“Sasuke VS Hyuga-san,” Kakashi said. He slouched in his seat with a smirk behind his mask. “I heard her say that she’s gonna show just enough of her ability to secure her promotions. She already has a promotion recommendation from some of their team missions. Same with Kiba and Shino. You do to actually,” he told Naruto.

“That’ll be a big ass blow to the ego for him,” Naruto mused. He caught sight of Orochimaru sitting with Zaku and Kin in the seats near them. They were talking softly and by the looks of the booklet in Kin’s hand, making bets.

“What do ya mean by that, foxy?” Anko asked as she leaned over the seat to look at Naruto. He tipped his head back to look at her properly, his braid now free to hang.

“I mean that’ll not only will it be the second fight where his opponent forfeits, but it’ll also tell him she was there just to show off her skills. That she doesn’t consider him a a proper sparring partner. She will hand him thewin after she shows off her skills and he will end up pissed that not only is she has skills he wants but that he’s not on her radar,” Naruto told her. “He’s always considered her weak, even in school. Tsunade-sama is actually wanting to teach her a thing or two about healing since her chakra precision is so sharp. And her chakra stores are really good. Even Kabuto was impressed when he first tested her.”

Anko cackled at that, shaking her head. “You mean that he’s going to hate what she’s plannin’ on doing’?” she asked. Naruto nodded his head.

“It’s going to be a good fight. I hope you have some popcorn,” Naruto drawled, smirking at her. Anko chuckled and sat back as Genma looked at his list of fights to go, rolling his eyes.

“Will Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata please come down to the areana floor? Your fight is next!” Genma called, looking over to where Naruto was smirking. The teen looked as if he knew something was going to go down and he had a feeling that the fight to come was going to be interesting.

Where as Gaara and Naruto had showed off enough of their skills to be considered for chunin without much effor, they hadn’t done anything big or flashy like most first time exam takers did. They had done just enough to show off their skills and move on. Or fail depending on the person.

He knew how Hinata worked though. Had worked with her on her own senbon skills at the request of Kurenai when she showed a promise with them. Had even had the chance to see her flowing style of the Juken. It had been Water based compared to the clans Earth based Juken. A lot like her mother. Genma still had vague memories of the woman who had been Hinata’s and Hanabi’s mother.

She had been one of the best kunoichi out in the field and looked like a dancer when she fought.

Hinata had really taken after her mother in a lot of ways with her Water based Juken and the new rather interesting techniques that she had worked hard on creating and perfecting. He was looking forward to the delicate beat down that was about to happen.

71

Sasuke stepped out onto the field, Hinata already waiting for him, staring him down with a raised eyebrow and a smile on her face. Her lavender eyes seemed to gaze at him with an intensity that had always seemed to be missing when they had been academy students.

He brushed off the worry that it sparked in him, not thinking that she had been training just as hard if not harder then he and Sakura had been. It wasn’t an important thought to him.

Sasuke was there to show his strength. To show his skill and get out of Team Seven for good. The hit to his ego when Naruto had some how found out about him and Sakura had made him start to think about things but he was still focused on rebuilding his clan. He could care less about controlling a brat just because the Hokage didn’t have the balls to control him himself.

Genma gazed over them as he rolled his senbon in his mouth, nodding. “And start!” he called out.

Sasuke moved first, rushing at Hinata. She seemed to flow as she twirled on one foot, the other sliding behind her. Her hands pushed Sasuke’s punch out of her face before she came to rest on the moving foot, once more ready to respond.

Sasuke snarled at that and attacked again. And again. And again. He used every skill that he had in his hand to hand, some getting brushed aside, some landing an actual hit. Hinata though didn’t just play on the defensive. Any time that they came apart, when Sasuke would throw a weapon or use a jutsu, she would return it with her own attack.

She finally stared him as they panted, having gone back and forth for quite a few minutes before she nodded once. She readjusted her footing, ready for his next attack. When he did, she used the techniques of her family to land her own hits, closing his chakra points. She kicked him in the stomach, chakra flowing from the bottom of her food and knocking Sasuke back before she stood straight.

“I forfeit! I know my own limits and I know that I will not be able to continue this fight,” she called out loudly so that she could be heard. She deactivated her Byakugan. Sasuke snarled at her, stepping forward as if he was going to force her to continue teh fight before he went still at the almost glare that she shot him. “Just know this, Uchiha Sasuke, that I know just what you were planning on doing to Naruto-kun. And should your idiotic plan try to continue, I will find you. You are not worth our time or energy,” she said, her voice just loud enough for him to hear. She spun around on the ball of her foot, facing the exit. “And remember, if you attack me right now, you won’t be continuing the test. This fight is over.”

She left the field, confident and light on her feet. Sasuke scowled but stalked off the field to the medics, knowing that she had been right. He couldn’t attack her, couldn’t get his revenge on her for leaving the fight like she had. The entire thing screamed that he wasn’t worth her time or energy.

He passed by Shino on the way to the medics, the other male looking at him before he continued out to the arena. The next fight had been called while Sasuke had been snarling. The Hyuuga medic helped him open his chakra points and he left to join everyone else in the observation area.

Ino gave him a searching look before she turned to watch the fight down below them. The only Sound nin and Kabuto both ignored him.

Sasuke missed the way that they studied him from the side of their eyes before Kabuto found his lover in the stands as he smirked and took money from a groaning Anko. Kakashi was taking money from Gai. He just shook his head.

Sasuke moved to stand against one wall as he watched the fight between Shino and Kankuro go down. It turned out the Suna nin was a puppet user and the fight went pretty fast since he was a wuss when it came to bugs. Seeing as Shino’s clan was, in general, living hives, the guy didn’t stand a chance against him. Not when the little creatures raced along the chakra strings that controlled the puppet and even over the puppet itself, eating at the chakra and getting to Kankuro quickly.

Shino was quickly called out as the winner and Sasuke snorted as he looked around the stadium. He found Sakura sitting off by herself, watching the fights but quite obviously still thinking heavy thoughts. He had been able to speak with her a few times during the last month, using the family summons that he called to send her messages when they couldn’t see each other.

He noted when Kabuto and the fan user, Temari, both headed down to the arena as Shino walked back up to them. Kankuro headed for the medical units wanting to check his chakra levels and make sure that there were no issues after the bugs.

Sasuke watched as the fight went back and forth between close range to long range with gusts of wind and careful replacements using the weapons that Kabuto had already scattered around the arena.

He had a feeling that the asshole was probably saving his best moves for later in the exams as he watched him fight. More so when Kabuto used the switching jutsu to get behind Temari, slam a hand into her shoulder to force her to drop her fan. She was quickly taken down by the man, a kunai held to her neck and one arm being yanked back, stopping her from fighting.

Sasuke had to admit that she had been good and would most likely become a chunin. Along with that fucker who had ruined his mission with Naruto.

He glared at Kabuto when he rejoined them, the man just smirking at him before the silver haired man took up his place next to the railing. Shikamaru and Ino started down the stairs, Shikamaru groaning all the while about fighting his sadistic best friend.

Ino just teased him as they walked that if he beat her, she would stock pile his and Choji’s ‘supplies’. Shikamaru hissed softly at her as they left their hearing, Sasuke wrinkling his nose at the thought of Shikamaru and Choji together. He knew that Choji was a strong man, with the normal layer of fat over sheer muscle as with all Akimichi, but he still didn’t appeal to Sasuke.

Then again, he preferred Sakura with her lean body that was well muscled from hours of training but still full in all of the right spots. He liked the way that she felt in his arms. Felt under him or riding him. Or just in his arms all around. He had enjoyed what he had done with Naruto during the mission, but his thing with Sakura was so much better in his book. Less about lust and more about actual enjoyment of spending time with the person.

Sasuke frowned as he watched the two below exchange jutsus, weapons and moves that twisted and bent their bodies. He shook his head as he tapped his fingers on the railing under one hand, pushing his thoughts to the side for the moment.

He didn’t have time to linger on those thoughts. He couldn’t afford to care about people. He had other things to think about, to worry about. He had to win the exam, show that stuck up bastard who was most likely fucking Naruto every single night and mocking their failed mission by just being with Naruto.

He would have to deal with Naruto after the exams finished to. At least for a short time. He knew that there was an unfulfilled request to rebuild their team into two new teams, using other genin who hadn’t passed the chunin exams. So he had to deal with all of that paperwork that came with things like that.

But he didn’t care. He couldn’t care.

He pushed the bubbling resentment and anger down, taking a deep breath as Ino was caught by Shikamaru in a well laid wire trap. The woman yelped as she was turned into a cocooned mind walker, glaring at her friend from the wires as he smirked at her.

“I’ll get you that list to stock pile for me and Choji,” Shikamaru drawled as he let her down. The sound of laughter from where Naruto was sitting drew Sasuke’s eyes. He was leaning into a smirking Kakashi as Anko was losing her shit behind him.

Yeah. He didn’t care.

So why did it feel like he was trying to convince himself he didn’t care?

72

The next battle after the first rounds had been done was Dosu going up against Gaara since Gaara had won his first match. It went for a while, the two getting creative with their moves and jutsus to really show off their skills. Dosu sent out sound based ones while Gaara sent out his sand and Suna based jutsus.

In the end, Dosu won by a hair, using a clone to get under the ground of Gaara and dragging him down into the ground just enough to land a kick to his head. The kick knocked him out.

Up in the Kage seats, the Kazekage Rasa tensed, waiting for the One Tailed Beast to break free but blinked when nothing happened. Dosu simply dug Gaara out of the dirt and smacked his cheek a couple of times to wake him up. The man then helped Gaara over to the medics and was told he was good but did have a minor concussion. He would have to watch that for the rest of the day and maybe over night, but was free to go.

After things had been cleaned up from the two’s fight, Kabuto and Shino went down to the arena for their own fight. They to put on a bit more of a show compared to their first fight. Their first fight had been more of a show of their hand to hand, weapons, and stealth skills along with their ability to strategize on the fly. Their second fight was used to show their fighting prowess. They showed off how strong their chakra was and how well they could control it. And it showed in the way that the two went back and forth between them.

In the end, Kabuto showed that his medical jutsu knowledge and careful control of his chakra was just the smallest bit more precise then Shino’s own command over his chakra, hives and tanto. Sasuke watched as Kabuto helped Shino to limp off of the field, obviously running his own diagnosis over him before Sasuke was called down to go against Shikamaru for their fight.

Sasuke scowled at his opponent as they stepped onto the field, ready to show that he did deserve his place and having all eyes on him. Hinata had been wrong about him not being worth her time and he would prove it.

In the end, it was Shikamaru who won their fight. He used the dodged weaponry between them to extend his shadow for as little chakra as possible and snag Sasuke, forcing him to hold a Kunai to his own throat, having the match called. Shikamaru just snorted and released him, using the shadows to grab his own kunais and bring them back to him.

Sasuke snarled, snatched up his own weapons and stalked off of the field. He found Hinata walking up to the stands with drinks in her hands.

“I see that you were defeated by Shikamaru,” she hummed. She eyed him before snorting. “You know, the more you look down on others, the more that you will stagnate. The village does run on teamwork, no matter what the Hokage has been trying to pull with you and with…Sakura. If people do not work together then we will all fall,” she warned him before she continued to walk. “You tried to use your own teammate for your own purposes. This is karma starting to work on that,” she said.

Sasuke distantly heard when Dosu and Shikamaru were called out to the arena for the next fight. He watched as she disappeared up the stairs to the stands, her words bouncing back and forth in his head.

Was she right? Was Karma really coming at him by showing him just how weak he was compared to his fellow genin just because he had refused to work with others? Refused to trust them and considered them less then him? Had his ego really gotten so big that he couldn’t see the truth before his very eyes?

He left the arena, knowing that he would have to be back for the end ceremony after the last fight, but at the moment he needed quiet. He found a spot just outside of the arena on a roof and sat back on one hand, flipping a kunai as he watched it. Geta that clanked heavily, on purpose by the sound of it, made him look up at the man who had walked up to next to him. Jiraiya, the Toad Sanin, stood before him.

“What do you want? Come to rub it in my face that I’m pathetic?” he asked, growling. He didn’t want to deal with someone interrupting his thinking.

“Nah. But you know what I see? Truly? I see a lot of my younger self in you,” Jiraiya drawled as he squatted down next to him. “Despite what I showed to everyone around me when I was young, I really was an egotistical bastard. I had thought that I could get away with all sorts of shit just because Hiruzen doted on me. Let me get away with shit that should have rightfully gotten me into trouble with black marks in my jacket. I was able to get away with it though because I was his good little soldier that did whatever he told me to do. He expected me to one day settle down and have more little soldiers that would also toe the line just like I had. And it fed into my ego, that knowledge. Knowing that as long as he was in power, I could do no wrong because I was strong and powerful and had him backing me.”

Sasuke stared up at him with wide eyes. His mind was already making connections. He knew that he was smart, had trained himself to see patterns in things when needed. And he could see the pattern that Jiraiya was painting for him with each word.

“I thought though that Orochimaru was the chosen child for Hiruzen though. The man watched his so damn closely but then…things started to change for all of us. Hiruzen asked me to keep an eye on him. To make reports on where he went, who he talked with. Who he fucked. What he read and researched. That sort of thing. Spying mission. Then I was to work on controlling him. In any way that I could. He even suggested that I sleep with him to get him to become attached to me. But while I do enjoy the male form, I liked the female form much more then that, and I wasn’t attracted to him,” Jiraiya drawled. “That sounds familiar, yeah?” he asked.

Sasuke swallowed, nodding his head. He didn’t have the voice or words as he started to put more and more things together.

“Yeah, I could have told you that you’re not the first one who he’s used like this to try to control someone who isn’t controllable in his eyes. And you probably won’t as fuck be the last considering that he thinks he can use whoever he wants without repercussions. Anyone that the villagers consider to be other? Yeah, he’ll do what he pleases with them or to them.

“There’s a reason why I fucked off and don’t have any kids. I’m not good with kids as it is. But I was not going to fucking well put my kids through the bullshit that I was put through,” Jiraiya said. He stood up straight. “It was Minato, Naruto’s father, that knocked me off my pedestal by the way. The kid was brilliant, scary powerful and didn’t take any of Hirzuen’s bullshit. If he had lived, the village would be much different and you’d still have your family at that,” he told him.

Sasuke swallowed and nodded as Jiraiya brushed his knees off.

“Think what you want, kid. I’m going to say you have around a year before shit starts to go to shit for Konoha and the Daimyo steps in to fix things personally,” Jiraiya said, tilting his head. “You have about a half hour before the ceremony by the way. They’re taking a few minutes to reset the arena and then they’ll have the final round.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Sasuke said. He watched as Jiraiya hopped off of the roof and headed for the arena. He was thinking hard when Sakura came to find him during the break. She handed him a bottle of strawberry juice, sitting down with her own mango soda in her hands.

“We really fucked up didn’t we?” she asked after a moment of quiet. Sasuke blew out a slow breath.

“Yeah. I think that we really did. I think that we need to figure ourselves out before we try to work out our relationship with Naruto and the others though,” Sasuke said. He reached out and gave her hand a squeeze with a small smile. She gave him a smile in return, making the warmth that he felt every time that she looked at him bloom in his chest.

He quietly wondered if what he felt was what love felt like before he decided he would think about that later. He stood up, offered his hand to her and helped her to stand. They headed back to the arena where the final ceremonies were about to start.

73

Sitting around the table as the exams finished up, the prizes for the first, second and third places having been handed out, Kabuto, Shikamaru and Dosu in that order, the judges started to talk. They knew each other by their letters, A to F, which was more then enough to vote properly and coming from each of the participating villages.

They had already gone through the videos for the first and second exams to make notes on those examinees who hadn’t made it past those exams.

They mostly wrote down suggestions on what they should have done and what they should work on when it comes to their training once they returned to their villages. The second exam had shown some that could have made it if their teammates hadn’t messed up the way that they had.

“I say that we go through each person as they were eliminated this round,” F finally states, tapping at the pages. “Some of them did better then the others, which does say something.”

A hummed, nodding. “I agree with F. Let’s start with 46 and 47 first. It was a good showing between them since they didn’t use any jutsus. From what we saw during the second exam, 46 is smart. Very powerful and easily able to work with others. They’re good and have showed the skills of a chunin.” D nodded.

“They really have. Their file is fat with recommendations and information from their sensei. Along with recommendations from various nins who they’ve worked with,” D said as he shuffled through the file for Naruto AKA 46. Names had been redacted from the files but were still informational. “It looks as if the Hokage has tried to come after them for whatever reason. Luckily for them, all files need to be kept separate from the Kages for just such a reason.”

“Which is good for us. All for Examine 46 becoming a chunin?” E asked. They all voted in agreement and he wrote that down. “The next examine was 49. If I remember right, she walked away from her fight to prove a point to her opponent from the note that we were given,” he mused.

C looked at the note that they had been given and nodded. “Yes, that was what we were told. Her sensei stated that she is more then ready to become a chunin but is still willing to wait to prove a rather sharp point to others. For example Examine 48, which is why she kicked his ass then walked off,” he said. He flipped through her file with a thoughtful frown. “She has several recommendations on her file and has shown that she is a good leader. Her file does note that she is learning field medicine and would love to take on a field medic position if possible.”

“So we suggest that she takes up a position as a medical chunin with a possible promotion to tokubetsu jounin when she has gotten more training and a wider set of skills in her chosen fields?” A asked. The group agreeing and E wrote that down.

“Next Examinee is 51. He has the ability, yes, but I would suggest that just having him stay as a genin with a possibility of a future field promotion. His issues with bugs and the fact that they caused him to panic is something he should figure out before he takes on Chunin based tasks,” B stated. The group voted on him and agreed. “52, while good with her fan and a strong kunoichi, is still a tad on the hot headed side if she’s poked just right.”

“Make a suggest that should she become a chunin, she is to learn how to focus or control her anger issues. Make her go through those classes. I know that she’s from Suna and they, like other villages, do have classes to train such things. The fact that she hasn’t taken them yet tells me that she does have it mostly under control but she could use some fine tuning,” E told them.

They voted and agreed with his comments on her taking the classes as a Chunin. E wrote it down on their list and moved forward.

“Examine 55. She was really good in her fights nad showed a good grasp of tactics. Along with her chakra control and jutsu knowledge, which is extensive from what her file says,” he said. He patted the file in front of him.

“Her knowledge is quite extensive and even her sensei has agreed that she would make a very good chunin as long as she was able to work with strong personalities. She needs them to be able to communicate in a proper and calm manner when on missions, not shying away. She’s very head strong but she has made leaps and bounds in being able to listen to others when they give her good reasons,” C told them.

“I would suggest she’s set for field promotions as she keeps working out her fighting style and finding out what she wants to do as a kunoichi,” F suggested.

The group agreed with him, writing it down with a note that she should be a field promotion but could take on higher ranked missions during the time.

“56 should also be a field promotion?” he asked.

“Yes,” replied D. He knew who 56 was and what his real rank was but he wasn’t going to say a thing as they voted and agreed. “50?”

“Promotion I would think. But with a recommendation that he continues to train outside of his clans jutsus and fighting styles,” B said. E wrote that down after the vote agreed and they moved onto 48.

“No recommendation for field promotion or Chunin promotion,” A flat out stated. “He has shown the entire time that he has an ego that needs to be worked on. His file is full of reprimands that were never followed through on by anyone but his sensei. He’s a fucking mess.”

The others checked out their own files, shaking their heads. “We all know who he is behind the number and the clothes. A is right. He’s got a giant ego. I say that he should be forced to retake the Chunin exams at a later date with a heavy recommendation that he go through Konoha’s Hell Training under his sensei. Get rid of that ego and get his head on straight.”

F wrote that note down once they had agreed before a ‘whoops’ slipped out as he looked over their list. “We forgot to decide on 47 when he had gone up against 56. We thinkin’ promotion?” he asked.

“I would say yes,” C said. “From what I do know of him, he has changed in the week during the time that they waiting for the second exam to finish,” he told them, looking to B.

“Something was fixed and that’s all I can say. I say a field promotion after he settles into his new reality and learning how to work with others outside of his own genin team,” D suggested. They all voted and agreed with that suggestion, moving onto Examine 54.

“54 put on a really good show through all of his fights,” E stated, going through the informational file. “I think he’d make a great chunin leader once he was trained for it. He’s rather lazy, according to his file, but he’s not so lazy as to not keep up his training and mental prowess. I say that we go for a chunin promotion with training for future leadership positions.”

They voted and once more agreed. It was written down.

“Finally, our winner, Examine 53. What are we thinking?” A asked.

B spoke up first. “He has showed a willingness and ability to work with teams, even those that are not his own.”

C went next. “He’s strong. Not just in his jutsu’s and hand to hand, but with his medical jutus. It’s said that he created a couple of ones based off of some older jutsus and updated a few of them.”

D hummed, nodding. “He’s very smart. From the file that we were given, he put off his promotion so that he could learn all that he could work on his medical skills along with his nin skills and what it means to be a chunin. His teammates are actually becoming chunin through field promotions from the files so I think he’d make a good chunin to.”

E and F nodded in agreement. “True, true. He has shown that he is good at what he does. So we’re all in agreement with him? 53 is to be promoted?” E asked. Everyone nodded. “Alright. That’s all of the Examinees. Let’s compile our final forms then.”

At the end of the meeting, a good majority of those who had participated in the chunin exams either had a recommendation for field promotions or promotions. A select few were told to take the exams at a later time after some work with their skills and ability to work with others.

Sasuke ended up being the only one who ended up with neither and a note in his file that not even the Hokage could go against the fact that they wanted him to go through the Hell Training with his sensei.

They signed, dated and sealed the papers to send to the various Daimyo’s and they all parted. They agreed that if they were chosen again to judge, they would be happy to work with each other. They also had reviewed each other in their reports, but in general they all agreed that they worked well together.

Their Daimyo’s were all very pleased with the reports and sent out letters to each person thanking them for their time and a day to talk one on one about the recommendations.

74

Two days after the final exams had wrapped up, Naruto and Kabuto took the free time to do a deep clean of the house. They were starting to prepare to move from the village after all. During their cleaning, Naruto was called to join the rest of the genins in the Hokage’s office, where the Daimyo was sitting in his own chair and smiling at them.

“Ah, welcome, genin and their senseis’. I am sure that you have all since received your letters stating that today that you will go over your status now that the exams have finished,” he said, smiling at them. “Your performances were judged by a group of five highly trained nins from the various villages and had been chosen for their unbiased views along with their abilities to work with others. They did not know who they are beyond their letters during their time as judges, and did not know who you were beyond the numbers that had been assigned to you. Even if you did not make it past the second exam or the preliminaries, they were able to judge you on that.”

He looked over to Hiruzen, the man having stayed quiet so far. Hiruzen had already expressed his own ‘concerns’ about some of the promotions and had been told in no uncertain terms that he was just going to have to suck it up. That the Daiymo didn’t trust his decision making process at the moment about the promotions.

And that the promotions and recommendations had been finalized already since there was solid evidence that he was biased against certain people in his village.

“Now. Let us go over those who did not get any recommendatiosn beyond trying again at the next exam to be held. Uchiha Sasuke: The judges have all agreed that you should go through a hell course with your sensei, whoever they may end up being, before you are to take the next exams. Haruno Sakura: the judges suggest that you keep training and try again at the end of the next exams. Work on your skills while expanding your range.”

Sakura looked over to Sasuke, finding him stone-faced but still thoughtful, before she nodded her head. “Yes, sir,” she said, looking to her feet.

“To those who are up for field promotions: Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Neji, Lee Rock and Tenten. All of you did very well and have some remakable skills. You will have the opportunity to take on a field mission to gain a chunin rank in a month’s time. You have three tries to do this mission successfully before you have to redo the exams when they next come up. So train hard, prepare well and be careful when you take on this mission. Seeing as Chunins in general work on teams, you will be working with a team for your mission. Depending on how you do during it, you may or may not get the promotion,” the Daimyo told them.

The group applauded those who had been named with smiles.

“Well done. All of you. You have indeed shown that you have the potential to be chunin and I am very eager to see where you go in the future,” Hiruzen finally said. He handed out the various files to everyone that explained how the field tests worked and when they could first try them.

Neji looked fairly pleased by his file along with his teammates and the others who had been named.

Kiba smiled and patted Akamaru’s head. “This just means that we’ll have ta keep working on things yeah?” he asked. Akamaru happily barked as his tail fanned back and forth.

“Now for those who will be going forward along with some notes on them. Nara Shikamaru. They want you to learn how to lead a Chunin team. Congratulations,” the Daimyo said. Hiruzen handed over the flack jacket and file from the judges.

Hinata was next, getting her jacket along with the suggestion that she continue to work on her protective and healing abilities to specialize for the rank of tokubetsu jounin. The young girl beamed at that. Neji quietly agreed that she would make a wonderful field medic and backup to any team.

Shino was called, his file suggesting that he work on his long range skills but that he had shown that he was well rounded as a fighter and had a good head on his shoulders.

Kabuto, Yoroi and Masumi were all given their own flack jackets and told that if they wanted to, they could become a Chunin team. They replied with that they wanted to talk about it and see what their goals were long term. The Daimyo agreed with them, pleased by the response, smiling as the turned to the last of them to get their promotions.

“Uzumaki Naruto, you are truly an outstanding nin. You have shown that even when you have been sabotaged from the start of your schooling that you still worked hard to learn. To grow.” He bowed his head towards the Uzumaki with a smile on his face. “You do this old man’s heart good to see your strength and growing wisdom. Your parents would be very proud of you, no matter what you plan for your future. I am looking forward to see what you do in the coming days with your new position, Uzumaki-san,” he said, holding out a flak jacket that was much different then the others.

This flak jacket was slimmer. It was made to hold seals all over it instead of holding the items within pockets. It had been made from fabric that came from Uzu, a homage to one side of his family.

“Your family once entrusted me with several scrolls with these very vests within to hold. Just in case they found a need for one or two while on missions,” the man explained. Naruto walked forward and took it, smiling at the feel of the specialized wire thread under his fingers that they had used to create the seals all over it. “I feel it is only appropriate that you wear your family flacks now that you are a Chunin. And as promised, these are the copies of the files that you requested,” he continued, handing Naruto a thick binder.

Naruto bowed at him with a smile. “Thank you, Daimyo-san. I will, as I have promised, keep you updated on everything that I am doing. You have been getting my reports, yes?” he asked. Hiruzen narrowed his eyes.

“Indeed. It seems to be going well. That makes me quite happy. I will be sending you a full reply as soon as I have returned to the capital,” the Daimyo stated. Naruto nodded with a beaming smile. He again bowed before he returned to his spot next to his lover, Kabuto giving him an amused look when the younger male pulled on his flak jacket.

“And with that, I welcome you all to the ranks of Konohagakure’s Chunins. Please, do us proud. From here on out, you will all be doing harder missions with different teams and teammates. You will find the niche that works for you and continue to grow as nins. Congratulations,” Hiruzen said as he stood and bowed. He stoped himself from allowing his scowl to slip out as he smiled at the group. “Dismissed.”

The gathered group left, leaving Hiruzen and the Daimyo alone. “You are not happy with the very fact that it was your own actions that have caused one of your own nin to wish to leave the village for good,” the man stated. He stood and smoothed out his clothes. “I had warned you that when I took over for my father that you would need to step carefully with your people. That the next generation will always look at the generation before them and think of what could have been done better.”

“Yes, so I have heard often and loudly,” Hiruzen grumbled. He shook his head. “I am unable to do anything about it now. He will be leaving, cutting all ties that he had with us at one time.” He stood from behind his desk. “Hawk will escort you back to your own guards. If you will excuse me, I need to finish off some paperwork to set the promotions in stone.”

The Daimyo hummed, but did follow the ANBU out, leaving Hirzuen to his stewing.

Outside, Naruto, Kabuto, Shikamaru, Choji and Ino were all heading to the house to talk about how things were going at Uzu. And how it was being set up for those who were going to follow after Naruto.

Not all of the Nara had decided to follow, the same with the Akimichi and the Yamanakas. They were going to split into two parts of the family so that the village didn’t feel to much of a strain with losing such large families, still providing money, business and mission support.

Naruto was really looking forward to the future that was coming and couldn’t wait to see how things happened for them all.

75

Staring at Kakashi across the table, Sasuke sighed as he put a tea cup down. Sakura, who was in his small kitchen making more tea, shooting them a look.

“So, whose going to be our sensei?” he asked, cutting through what he thought of as bullshit small talk.

“For now? Me. At least until there is someone who can take you on and not feed your ego. Until that time though, I’ve been instructed to run you through the hell training with a rotating third from the genin corps. Sakura will be joining us in this hell training. You have six months to get through it and show progress before the next chunin exams,” Kakashi stated. He watched as Sakura poured more tea once it had been made, setting out the sugar and cream.

“What is this hell training going to include?” she asked as she sat down at the table.

“How to work with others even if you don’t like them. How to take orders, putting aside your own biases against certain people. The sort of thing that all jounins and ANBU learn how to work around. It’ll be set up to hone your skills and work on your flaws,” Kakashi stated. He shrugged as he pulled his cup closer to himself. Sakura and Sasuke shared a look before Sasuke sighed.

“I don’t have a lot of choice in this, do I?” he asked.

“Not a single one.”

“Yeah, I figured as much,” Sasuke sighed. He added a bit of cream to his tea, but ignored the sugar. “When do we start that?” he asked.

“Tomorrow. I’m going to suggest that you bring extra clothes, lots of weapons, and lots of high caloric, high protein meals along with a shit ton of water and electrolyte mixes,” Kakashi said. Sasuke groaned, taking the schedule that he and Sakura would be following for the next month.

Reading over it, they found that every morning they would meet up at seven in the morning. They were to arrive and immediately start to stretch and be ready for the day so that by the time that Kakashi arrived at the meeting at seven-thirty, they were ready to go.

After that they would do a small warm up spar for a half hour, head to do two missions and finish them before noon. After a half hour of lunch and hydration along with stretching, they would do their customized exercises in whatever they were working on that day and then get down to the harder training.

What they were focusing on would be different for each day and would be brutal for a genin.

Neither of them were looking forward to the training, but they had talked during the last two weeks since the end of the exams, and had come to the conclusion that they had dug their own graves. Once Kakashi had left the apartment, Sakura sighed as she sat down again. “We really fucked up. So much,” she said after a moment of silence. Sasuke groaned, nodding.

“Yeah. We did,” Sasuke replied as he stared at her. “I think we really did misread Naruto,” he admitted.

“You think so?” Sakura stared at a wall in thought before groaning. “Yeah. I can see it. When I was hanging out with him, I found it was easy to forget that he was supposed to be a mission. That we weren’t supposed to be friends with each other and that I was trying to get him to stay in the village so that Hiruzen could keep controlling him… Why does the Hokage have such a hard on about controlling him?” she asked. “It can’t just be because of his parents. From what he let slip, they wouldn’t have stood for the way that the village has treated him from day one.”

“From what I remember hearing my mother talk about them, nope. If my mother was right, they would have turned the village inside out at the first hint of the village hating Naruto,” Sasuke said, shaking his head. “I heard mother talk about him a few times before they were killed. She said that his mother would have ditched the village at the first hint of anything wrong, taking him and her husband with her. She was all fire and protectiveness of those who were hers.”

“Do you think that it’s because of those rumors that we heard about him? That he’s not just an active nin now, but the holder of the Kyuubi? Or if you want to really go into conspiracy theories: is the Kyuubi,” she said softly, leaning towards him.

Sasuke frowned. “Him being the villages biju’s holder would fit. We have heard people call him a demon and they were civilians. They don’t really know how sealing works as it is, so.” He shrugged. “It would fit. Not that we can ask him to his face ourselves after we fucked up. As it is, I have a feeling that that particular secret is S-Rank and we’d end up in a shit ton of trouble even if the Hokage would keep us safe from anything too horrible.” He shook his head and put his tea cup to the side with a sigh. “I think we need to figure out what is happening without getting the information from biased sources,” he finally said. “We need to work things out for ourselves. I know I need to figure out how to think and feel for myself, and not be all about Itachi. And I need to, want to work out my own issues. You think that the Yamanaka’s would be willing to set me up with a therapist? I never did try originally after what happened with Itachi and our family.”

Sakura frowned as she tapped her fingers on her cup. “You know, that’s something else that kind of rubs me wrong now that I can stop and think about it,” she said. She shook her head as Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “How did he kill every single Uchiha without someone hearing what was going on?” she asked. “Granted, his Sharingan was strong but not that strong and we both know it. Even you have asked how he was able to do all of that in just an hour or so. Sasuke… how was he able to pull it off? Without anyone screaming or being heard?” She pursed her lips. “I think that there’s a lot more going on then what we know and what you were told after the fact. I’m thinking you should hunt down and talk with Itachi. We can see if he’ll give you the answers if he’s away from that big guy that is his partner, but right now we can’t be seen stepping out of line.”

Sasuke groaned, rubbing at his face. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said, breathing out a slow breath. “I never told you but he comes back sometimes. Leaves behind messages. I’ve never read them, but they’re all there in the main house,” he told her softly. Sakura stood up and started to clean up their tea, giving everything a quick clean before letting the dishes sit to dry.

“Then let’s go read those messages. I think that it’s time to face your demons. I’ll be by your side the entire time,” she promised, grasping his hand. Sasuke took a deep breath and nodded. She was right. He had to face his demons, and try to figure out what his brother was trying to tell him. He needed to know.

He wanted to know.

Standing up, they left the apartment that was on the edge of the Uchiha property, just outside of the walls, and walked down the paths to the main house.

They stood on the porch, staring at the door before Sasuke used the key to unlock it and the chakra locks that he had installed after he had cleaned it out originally. He had moved all of the scrolls that he thought he would need when he had taken over his smaller home for the short time, but he did sometimes come back to the main house to visit.

The two walked through the hallways of the house, Sakura taking in the carefully cleaned surfaces, knowing that whenever Sauske had a bad day or night, he would come and clean the house top to bottom. He did it to wear himself out and get out of his own head. They walked down the main hall and to where Itachi’s bedroom door still had the name plaque.

Saskue reached up and stroked his fingers over his brother’s name before he took a slow breath, opening the door for the first time in a long time. Sakura found out that it was the only room still covered in dust.

New and old footsteps were evident in the dust that lead to and from the window.

The two shared a look and Sasuke walked over to the desk, finding that there was a box that had been stuffed full of notes in order of date written. He pulled them all out and they quickly left the house, missing the crow that was sitting on the branch just outside of the window that cawed before taking off from it’s perch.

Later that night found Sasuke finally mourning the loss of his family, his brother and what he had been pushed to do, and his own childhood that had been manipulated from day one. Sakura held him close the entire time and mourned with him.

 

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