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Chapter Text

     This story starts at the beginning of Shippuden. This story somewhat follows canon for the central plot up until a certain point. The only straying storyline at the beginning is that Iruka lowkey adopts Naruto when he's at the academy, bringing him to live with him, and considers Naruto his own pup at this point.

     In this AU world, there are only Omegas and Alphas. Both can be dominant and possessive if provoked and can be either gender. Still, alphas always have a dick and omegas, a vagina, and whatever their gender has typically. Omegas and alphas find their designation somewhere in their teenage years. There have been very few omegas who became shinobi, not because of skill but simply because they did not want that life plan. There are a few in this story; and will be introduced with time. An important one to know is Iruka Umino and in the Konaha 12, there are two omegas, Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuuga.

     In this world, alphas and omegas have soulmates and often participate in Polygamy. Soulmates are written along a person's arm, black for alpha names and dark blue for omegas. There are lines along your arm starting at 14, so you can see how many soulmates you have, but not their names. Your names appear on your arm when it's your 16th birthday, but only the names of those who are also 16+; the other names appear on birthdays.

     Omega names do not appear on the alpha's wrist until the Omega wills it to be. Then, they can decide when they accept them.

     Before Naruto returns to the village, many of the young Alphas started receiving names; Naruto has his complete soulmate list but not the Omega's names.

Chapter One: Return

     Naruto signed with relief, seeing the village gates for the first time after being gone so long. The wrapping along his arm itched in anticipation as they approached. He touched the wrapping, tracing the names he knew were underneath. Jiraiya had told him most Shinobi covered their names, so their enemies could not track down their mates. Thinking about his mates in danger because of him made him feel nauseous, and he covered the names immediately. Then, at night, when Jiraiya was asleep, Naruto would uncover them, tracing their names along his arm.

Shino Aburame

Chouji Akimichi

Neji Hyuga

______________

Rock Lee

Gaara (Lol, who knows)

Kankuro (Lol, who knows)

__________________

Shikamaru Nara

Sasuke Uchiha

     Naruto always spent a little extra time tracing the last name, hope swelling as he did so. If Sasuke’s name is there, then Naruto's name is on Sasuke's wrist.

     His fists clench as he remembers what Jiraiya told him. "Many of those names on your wrist are your friends but remember; many are to be heads of their clan. You might see Sasuke's name and think it means you are destined to get him back, but others might see a rogue ninjas name appear on their child's wrist and feel shame." Naruto had wanted to argue, but instead, he sat in silence and hoped that his friends-one day mates, wouldn't be that way. A slight blush covered his cheeks as he thought about it.

     “Hey now, is that who I think it is?” A voice brings him back to the present moment.

     “No doubt about it.”

     He heard some people near the gate as he entered. He couldn’t stop to wave or say Hi; his heart was pounding too loud in his head. The names had all started appearing when he was away, and the passing of his birthday had meant that his name showed up on their wrists. Excited nerves flowed across his skin; he had mates to come home to.

     He hadn't had anyone to come home to for a while before the academy; he remembers the loneliness that swallowed him whole. So, he acted out, trying to get anyone to acknowledge him, even if it was negative. Then Iruka happened. He heard Naruto's unspoken plead, saved Naruto from Mizuki, and took him in. In all ways besides biological, Naruto was Iruka's pup, though he never called him Mom. He wonders what Iruka had been up to while he was away, briefly wondering in the back of his mind if he had accepted his mates yet.

     Naruto knew Iruka’s mates and was confused when he found out about Iruka’s hesitancy towards accepting them. They were some of the best people Naruto knew. Then he had overheard two shinobi talking, saying that Iruka did not accept because he didn’t want to burden anyone with a pup that wasn’t theirs. Naruto had been silent for a week before Iruka had gotten him to reveal why he was upset.

     “You are not the reason.” Iruka had said with a sigh, “I haven’t accepted yet because I’m just not sure I’m what they need.” Naruto didn’t understand why Iruka thought that, sparing a glance at one of the names on Iruka’s wrist, Kakashi Hatake. Iruka was exactly what Kakashi sensei needed.

     “It’s been two and a half years.” Naruto said once they got a bit into town.     

     “So, it has.” Jiraiya says, sounding happy to be home himself.

     Naruto, stopped, dropped his bag, and ran up a pole, leaving a smirking Jiraiya on the ground. “Always rambunctious.”

     He gets to the top, looking out at Konoha; he had missed the leaf while away. "Now this takes me back! The village hasn’t changed a bit! I’m home everyone! Naruto Uzumaki has returned to the hidden leaf village!”

     "Naruto!" Sakura's voice trailed up to him. "When did you get back to the village, Naruto?"

     He jumped down from the pole; the wind rushing through his hair felt freeing. Finally, finally, he was back home and about to see his mates as potentially courting mates for the first time.

     “Just now.” Naruto smiled at Sakura; for a while, Naruto had hopped Sakura had been one of his mates, but when Sasuke’s name appeared on his arm, he realized it was him and not her that he’d always been in love with. Looking back on it now, he feels a bit dumb for ever thinking otherwise. “Long time no see, Sakura.”

     “Wait a minute, you’ve gotten taller than me, haven’t you?”

     “Yeah, I guess I have.”

     “So, what do you think, do I seem more like a woman to you now.” To be honest Naruto didn’t even know what that meant. So, he went with the answer he’d want to get if he asked someone if he’d changed.

     “Are you kidding,” He gave a thumbs up, “Not really, you haven’t changed at all!” Sakura seemed kind of put out by this. Do people want to be different? Naruto thought she was fine before he left. A sudden thought broke into his head, what if all my mates are different than I remember them now.

     Sakura, sensing something was amiss changed the topic. “Are you going to see Lady Tsunade?”

     “Oh, yeah.” Naruto answered, though he couldn’t shake the thought. What if they're different? What if they think I’m different? What if they don’t like me anymore.

     “Great, me too, I’ll walk with you.” As they start walking Naruto notices Sakura’s covered wrist for the first time, her wrapping pink to match her hair.

     “Did you get your names?” Sakura tucks a hair behind her ear, blushing slightly.

     “Yeah, I did.”

     “Do you want to see mine?” It wasn’t uncommon to show friends or relatives your names but Naruto, after being away, wasn’t sure where Sakura put him on closeness.

     "Yeah." She said, "You can see mine too if you want." Naruto smiled; he guessed he was still high up on Sakura's list of friends then. Then, with Jiraiya trailing a bit behind them, Naruto took off his wrapping and revealed his incomplete list of names. Sakura went to trace them, then pulled back as if remembering something.

     "You can touch them. You're basically like my sister." Sakura's eyes sparkled with wetness for a moment before being blinked away. She touched his arm and looked closely at the names, though she perhaps knew of these revelations already, as she didn't appear surprised by any of them. Naruto did not know if any of his soulmates loudly announced their mates or not to their friends. Sakura's fingers hover over Sasuke’s name.

     “There was a moment I thought I loved him, but now that I know better, I see how wrong I was.”

     "Do you think-" Naruto starts but doesn't even know where he's going with the sentence. Sakura knows what he's thinking anyway.

     “We can get him back.” She says eye’s confident, locked with his.

     “Thanks, Sakura.”

     “No worries, little brother,” she winks, laughing before taking her own wrapping off as he puts his back on. “Here.”

     Naruto Reads the names.

Tenten (Lol, last name?)

____________________

Ino Yamanaka

Temari (why so many don’t have a last name)

     “Temari,” he recognizes the last name, “Looks like we’ll be in-laws then.”

     Sakura wraps her arm back up before linking her arm with his. “Are you excited to see them all?”

     “Excited and nervous.” He admits.

     “Well, they haven’t started courting yet.” She tells him in a gossipy way.

     “They haven’t?” He’s a little put off by the news. He had hoped he would be coming back into the village and allowed to sweep them off their feet, though he had no idea how to do that.

     “No, I heard from Temari that they decided to wait until something happened,” she hip bumped him as they walked, “Something like the return of one of the alpha’s so said alpha wouldn’t feel left out.”

     A blush rose across Naruto's face. Alphas tended to court each other right away to show their omega mates out there that they were worthy of acceptance. Naruto had two blank spaces in blue lines, meaning he had two omega mates. He had a theory about one of them but was totally lost about who the other might be. Nevertheless, he felt incredibly loved that the other alphas decided to wait for him.

     He couldn't stop smiling as they walked the rest of the way. Before they knew it, they had made it to the Hokage tower, walked up through the stairs, and were inside the main office.

     “It’s been a long time you two.” Tsunade said, “You’re training proved to be fruitful I hope.”

     “You think we would have come back without producing any results.” Jiraiya smirked.

     “Mission accomplished Granny.” Naruto gave a thumbs up.

     “I’m glad to hear it,” Tsunade leaned forward, “Show me what you got kid.”

     “What right now?” The office would get messed up with they fought in here.

     “I have someone I want you to go up against. I’ve kept him off missions the last few days, so he’d be ready for just this moment. Your opponent will be-” Before Tsunade could finish her sentence, there was a knock on the door. "Come in." She said.

     Naruto turned and had to fight the heat that spread across his face and started making its way down his body fast.

     “Hey, Shikamaru, Temari, look what the cat dragged in?” Sakura teased.

     But Naruto could only focus on how much taller Shikamaru had gotten, leaner he was. He hoped his face wasn’t bright red at this point.

     "Naruto?" Shikamaru's eyes opened wider, his laid-back self, exuding an air of excitement for a moment before he remembered where he was and quickly returned to a professional persona. Hearing Shikamaru's voice saying his name made Naruto want to tackle him to the ground and kiss him like a mad man, though Naruto had never kissed anyone before and doubted he'd be good at it. But then again, Shikamaru was always good at everything, so he could probably teach him. Okay, he told himself, I need to stop this line of thinking for now.

     “Shikamaru!” He says his name back, his voice sounding far too high-pitched, in his opinion. “Hey, does this mean you’re my opponent?”

     “Opponent, what are you talking about, I just came over here to drop off some paperwork.”

     “Oh, then, is it?” He looks at Temari.

     “I also have no idea what you’re talking about.”

     “Naruto,” Lady Tsunade finally had pity on him, “You won’t find your opponent in here, he’s out there.” She points to the window. Naruto goes over, bending out to look.

     “So, Naruto,” Kakashi sensei says, sitting on the roof, “You went and got all grown up.”

     “Kakashi sensei, you haven’t changed a bit!” Naruto jumped out of the window onto the roof Kakashi was sitting on. “Oh, hold on I got something for you, sensei. A little present.”

     “No way!” Kakashi says, “Is that really-“

     “The first new issue of the make out series in three years.” Naruto says handing the book from his bag over to Kakashi. “Pretty boring if you ask me, but I know you like this stuff.” Sometimes Naruto wonders if he had been spared by Iruka not accepting his mates yet. Based on how much Kakashi liked this book he can imagine he could have been accidently scarred for life by now if Iruka had accepted.

     “So, you’re my opponent then?”

     “Half right.” Kakashi walked to the window, “Hello, Sakura, long time.”

     “Hello. Kakashi Sensei.”

     “I’ll be facing you both.”

     “Time to prove your training meant something Sakura.” Tsunade said before turning to Naruto. “You too Naruto.”

     “So, are you ready?” Kakashi asked, lightly.

     “Huh?” Why was everyone trying to fight him in this office.

     “You’re right, you need time to rest. We will meet tomorrow.”

     “But-” and without being able to say another word Kakashi vanished.

     “No doubt he wants time to read that book.” Tsunade said, shaking her head.

     “Well, now I regret giving it him.” Naruto pouts, re-entering the room through the window. When Iruka does finally accept his mates, he’s going to have his hands full with Kakashi sensei, let alone the rest of those names along Iruka’s arm.

     “Well, it seems that this won’t be happening today.” Tsunade says with a sigh, “You’re all dismissed.”

     Sakura, Temari, Shikamaru, and Naruto all leave the tower together, walking back out onto the street. Naruto trying not to stare at Shikamaru, but he found it difficult, “So, what are you doing here, Temari?”

     “I’m the delegate from my village for the chunin exams.”

     “And I’m her escort.” Shikamaru says, “it’s a drag and don’t ask how it happened. But I’ve been put in charge of organizing the Chunin exams.”

     “Speaking of which, what are you going to do, Naruto?”

     “What do you mean?” Naruto asked confused.

     “What do you think, about the chunin exams. Well, you’re the only one of our years who’s isn’t a chunin. Everyone is but you.”

     “Wah,” Naruto looks at them all, “Sakura, you’ve been made a chunin?”

     “That’s right.” Sakura says giving a peace sign. “Neji, Kankuro, and Temari have already been named Jonin.” Naruto suddenly felt insignificant. He trained for years but now his mates have moved on to bigger statuses.

     “What about Gaara?” Naruto asks, Gaara is the one person who can understand something about Naruto that no one else can, “what’s he?”

     Shikamaru pauses, like he doesn’t want to say anything.

     Temari smiles proudly “Gaara has been appointed the Kazekage.”

     “Wow.” Naruto breaths in deeply. Gaara. He’s come so far. One of Naruto’s future mates is the Kazekage. Naruto turns his head to look at the stone faces on the mountain cliff. “Well, glad to know that when I become Hokage one day, I’ll already know someone.”

      Shikamaru smiles fondly at him when he says this, and Naruto’s heart flutters at making him smile at all.

     Sakura knowingly, quickly links hands with Temari, "Let's grab dinner." Temari smiles, and both walk off together. Naruto will have to get used to Sakura acting coupley with her girls. "See you later, Nii-San!" Sakura giggled.

     Shikamaru raised an eyebrow, looking towards Naruto for an explanation, "It's an inside joke, I think." Naruto rubs the back of his head sheepishly. It struck Naruto then that it was just Shikamaru and him; he glanced back at the fading form of the girls; that's what she was so giddy about.

     Naruto's thoughts from earlier came rushing back with a frenzy; he didn't know what to do, what to say, how to act.

     “Stop freaking out.” Shikamaru breaks into his thoughts.

     “Huh?”

     "I said stop freaking out." Shikamaru takes a step closer, so they're only a few inches apart. This close, he can smell Shikamaru's scent, lavender, like those calming scented candles. "Let's get dinner and talk. It's on me."

    Naruto can only nod his head, and Shikamaru lets a small smile loose.      "Ramen, I assume?"

     "I'll never turn down free Ramen," Naruto replies.

     They make their way to Ichiraku Ramen. Shikamaru holds open the curtain for him.

     "Thanks," Naruto says.

     “My pleasure.” He responds, entering behind him.

     They eat in mostly companionate silence. Naruto slowly telling Shikamaru about his training. When they exit the restaurant, the sky is getting much darker.

     "So, how does it feel to be back," Shikamaru asks as they walk through town.

     “Great.” He starts, “a little strange, ya know.”

     They walk in silence a bit longer.

      "Naruto....we've all had time to see each other in a new light, as more than friends. We don't expect you to jump into anything." It's Shikamaru's turn to look sheepish, anywhere but Naruto's face.

     “Sakura told me that you all waited for me.”

     "We did." He said, finally looking back into Naruto's eyes, "It wouldn't have felt right. But like I've said, we've all gotten closer, even if we weren't courting. Just knowing, it was inevitable. We won't rush you if you need time to adjust and-"

     “And if I don’t need time to adjust?” Shikamaru stops walking, his eyes bore into his, a glint of something Naruto doesn't recognize within them.

     "Then we can start courting now," Shikamaru says, stepping into Naruto's personal space again. "And maybe our omega's will accept us afterward."

     "Sounds amazing," Naruto says, almost breathless, realizing the street they're in is empty except for them, the sun setting in the sky. "I kind of thought that was a date anyway; you did pay."

     Shikamaru's eyes darken, and Naruto realizes what that glint from before was. Oh. Naruto doesn't know what slow vs. fast in courting is, but he's been thinking about this for months. Naruto leans forward, and Shikamaru mirrors him closing the gap between them. Their lips press together softly at first, Naruto unsure what to do. Then Shikamaru's hand comes up to tilt Naruto's head slightly to the side, and he feels something poke his lips, so he opens them. Shikamaru's tongue goes into his mouth, and Naruto lets out a noise he will later try to deny was a squeak.

     Naruto feels like he can get addicted to this feeling. He pulls Shikamaru closer by his vest, and Shikamaru hums approvingly. Naruto tries to match everything Shikamaru does, and slowly his hands travel down to rest on Shikamaru's hips. When Shikamaru pulls away, Naruto chases his lips briefly before pulling back with a blush.

     "You're a good kisser." Naruto's voice was huskier than he had ever heard it before, and Shikamaru flushes.

     “You’re not bad yourself.” He responds.

     “I was just trying to copy you.” Naruto breaths out, honestly. Shikamaru smirks.

     "So, your first day back is going well then."

     "Better than well." Naruto smiles, "So, um, how do I tell everyone that I'm back and we're all, ya know."

     "I'll let everyone know, though that probably means Lee will be knocking on your door with flowers when he gets back."

     "I'm okay with that. And thanks for letting everyone know; honestly, it might have been a bit overwhelming."

     "Yeah, well," Shikamaru clears his throat, "We haven't been courting, but we did decide something important when you were gone."

     “Oh?”

     "Yeah, we decided when we start courting that I'm head alpha. Neji and Shino are second.”

     "I'll be honest, I don't know a ton about all the head alpha stuff or the dynamics between alphas; Iruka has been the only one labeled as family, so I haven't had an alpha to watch or understand. Maybe you can explain all that later?"

     "Definitely." He responds, leaning forward to peck me on the lips one more time. "But let's stop here for tonight. You probably need to sleep, and I've got some places to visit now. Plus, Iruka has been periodically watching through the window, waiting for you to come in." Naruto hadn't even been aware they had stopped in front of Iruka's and Naruto's apartment. "I think he will explode soon if you don't go inside and tell him everything."

     Naruto smiles, “So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

     “You will. I’ll see who else is free.”

     "Awesome." With a surge of confidence, Naruto leans in a pecks Shikamaru on the lips as he did to him earlier. "See you then."

     They part ways, Naruto making his way down the street and then sprinting up to Iruka's door, finding the key he had somehow not lost in all this time, and quickly opened and shut the door, resting his head against the wood, smiling.

     "So, how's my long-lost pup doing today?" Iruka's presence in the entryway makes him jump; he turns around, blushing as Iruka stares at him with a knowing look.

     “How much did you see?”

     "Not everything." Iruka replies with a small laugh, "I'm not a creeper. So come in; you ate yet?"

     "Yeah," Naruto says, "Shikamaru took me out for Ramen."

     "Oh?" Iruka smiled.

     "Go shower, and then you can come to tell me all about it."

     Naruto went to shower, changed and went back into the living room where Iruka had constructed their family nest. They didn't have a large apartment, so it made the most sense. It was a foldout couch with pieces of comfy pillows and fabric surrounding it.

     Iruka lay inside grading some papers when Naruto threw himself into the circle. Immediately he felt calmer, his mother's nest and scent making him relax; that's a typical reaction. But now he can't help but think what the nest of his omegas will look like, feel like.

     "Okay," Iruka says, putting the papers aside and letting Naruto cuddle next to him, "Tell me everything, pup." And he did.

...

Meanwhile in the Sand: Two suspicious men in black robes with red clouds make their way towards their destination.

Chapter Text

Chapter Two: First Day of Courting

Shikamaru was tired waking up the next day, eyes blinking slowly at the light streaming through the window. He's never been a morning person. 

A few minutes later, his alarm blares in the silence of his room. He sighs; what's the point of an alarm if I'm just going to wake up before it. A part of him wants to throw a kunai at it and go back to bed for a couple of hours, but he knows he has some preparations for the Chunin exams later today, and he's meeting with Naruto in the morning. 

Shikamaru puts his hands behind his head as he stretches. If someone had told him yesterday morning that he'd get to start courting his mates by the end of the night, well, maybe he'd throw a kunai at them for taunting him with one of his largest desires. But, just like that, Naruto returned, and now they're, well, courting. 

Shikamaru's thoughts flew a mile a second with possibilities. Over the last few months, he's read a lot of boring but informative textbooks about mate packs that are heavily alpha-dominated. There were nine alpha names written on his arm, though only maybe eight he currently has to worry about right now; Sasuke's name almost glares up at him. Still, there are many personalities to keep track of, boundaries to be aware of, and everyone will court differently, at different speeds. Shikamaru is in charge of ensuring it doesn't end with an explosion, though with some of these names, an explosion is likely to happen no matter what he does. 

He rolls out of bed; he had stopped at both Shino and Choji's houses yesterday to tell them the newest update, Neji and Lee were on a mission, and he'd have to send a letter to Kankuro and Gaara, or maybe just let them know when he heads back with Temari. 

Choji had been ecstatic, if still shy; Shino seemed happy with the news even though Shikamaru couldn't see his smile when he wore that jacket around. So today was technically day one of courting; he got to his feet. He had ordered some of Choji's favorite food to be delivered to him this morning and a potted plant that he knew Shino's bugs liked to eat or sleep on; he can't remember, but Ino had told him it was a good pick from the flower shop for insects and he didn't question her judgment on that. 

He goes about his morning routine with a slight smile, trying to keep a neutral expression once he reaches the kitchen table where his mother was serving breakfast. 

Shikaku looked at his son deeply before smirking, "I heard something interesting yesterday." 

"You did?" His mother asked, "How so, love?" 

"I heard Naruto Uzumaki returned from training yesterday." 

 "What?" His mother gasped in excitement, turning to Shikamaru, "Is that true? Did you see him? Did you talk? Are you-" 

"Yes, I did see him." He interrupted his mother's questions, which he knew would have never stopped once she started. 

"And I also heard from Inoichi Yamanaka, that you sent some flowers to the Aburame residence," Shikaku says before taking a sip of his morning tea. 

           "Shikamaru!" His mother exclaims excitedly, grasping his cheeks together, squishing his face, "Oh, my little boy is courting, isn't he." She lets go of his face, and he rubs his cheeks. "I'll have to go to lunch with Mrs. Akimichi today to celebrate." She turns to him, "You did send something to Choji as well, correct?" 

"Yeah, Mom, I sent some food over this morning." 

He slowly starts to eat his breakfast.

"Good," she hums, "Oh, I'm so excited. Maybe we'll get some cute grandbabies in a few years, love." 

Shikamaru choked on the drink he had only just taken a sip of. He had just kissed the last of his Alpha mates yesterday for the first time, and they haven't even been accepted by their omegas yet. "Mom, we just started courting yesterday; little early to be talking about kids." 

"Oh, I know," She giggled, "I just wanted to see your reaction." Shikaku was laughing into his cup. "Alright, you to clean up when you're done; I'm going to the Akimichi's." 

"Sure." They both responded. As the door shut, his father studied him. He ignored it for a while, continuing his breakfast.

"Can I help you?" Shikamaru asks. 

"I don't want you to take this the wrong way." Shikaku states, putting his cup down, "Just be careful. You have a lot of names on your arm who people would say have high statuses; people might use that against you. The enemies of your mates become your enemy eventually. Whether that's the enemy looking to take out the current kazekage or an enemy of a rogue ninja, you might not see either before they try to take you out or take you for leverage." 

"I know." Shikamaru replies, "I've thought about it a lot. But we can't live our lives in fear of being attacked. We just need to be strong enough to handle it." 

"And what about your omega's?" Shikaku asks, "I know you think you know who one is, and he's a ninja; that's great. What if the next one isn't?" 

"I guess I'll figure that out when we get there," Shikamaru replies. He's thought of all this before. If their omegas aren't shinobi, they could be at risk. He just doesn't know yet. 

"I trust you, son," Shikaku says, "Your smart. I know you'll be careful. But make sure they all know to be careful." 

Shikamaru nods, and they slowly start to clean up breakfast. He gets ready for the day, quickly leaving his house and as many negative thoughts behind him as he can. Shino and Choji had said they could meet up for lunch today, so he headed towards the Umino residence to invite Naruto out. A second date? A first group date? He wasn't sure. It is probably best not to label any events like that anyway; too many people to keep up with. 

The walk-through town was lovely; it was sunny today, with a few clouds in the sky to give moments of respite from the sun. Once he gets to the apartment building, he climbs the stairs and knocks on the door. 

"One second," Iruka Sensei calls from inside. He hears some fumbling and the sound of a metal pot falling to the ground. "Naruto, you better clean that up." 

"Hey, Shikamaru," Iruka says as he opens the door. 

"Hi, Iruka sensei, how are you?" 

"I'm fine," Iruka smiles. "My pups been back ONE DAY and is already breaking my cookware." 

"I didn't even touch it! I swear!" Naruto yelled from inside the apartment. 

"So," Iruka said, turning back to Shikamaru, "Taking my pup out on another date?" 

Shikamaru felt his face grow hot but didn't let his expression change, "With Choji and Shino."

"How cute." Iruka said, "Naruto go change quick, so you don't keep Shikamaru waiting!" 

"What about the mess?"

"I'll get it," Iruka says with a fond eye roll. 

"Okay!" Shikamaru can hear Naruto sprint through the apartment. 

"Shikamaru," Iruka says, face now serious, eyes narrowed, "Don't break my pup's heart, got it." 

"Yes, Sir." He said, out of all the people to get the shit talk from, he had not expected it to be from Iruka. Naruto bounds through the door a moment later, running full speed into him. He had to put his foot back to not fall over from the force of the hug. 

"Hi!" He says, pulling back. 

"Hey," Shikamaru responds with a small smile. 

"Okay, have fun, boys." Iruka smiles before glancing at Naruto's shirt and deadpans, "Naruto, your shirt is on inside out," before closing the door.

Naruto looks down; Shikamaru can tell Iruka's correct; Naruto's tee-shirt inside his jacket is on inside out. "One sec." 

Before Shikamaru can process what's about to happen, Naruto quickly drops his jacket to the ground and strips his tee-shirt off. His abs are now well defined and something Shikamaru did not expect he would be seeing today. He restrains the motion to reach out and touch them. His spectacular show leaves as Naruto puts his shirt back on, quickly putting his jacket back onto his arms. "So, what are we doing today?" 

Shikamaru blinks at him, trying to banish the shirtless image of Naruto from his head. "Choji and Shino are free today; I figured we could all go to the park and hang out. I don't have anything to do till this afternoon. When is your test with Kakashi?" 

"Whenever Kakashi shows back up, I guess," Naruto responds, and they start to make their way to the park. They chat about random things for a while, and once they are a bit away from the apartment, Shikamaru grabs Naruto's hand. 

Naruto's hand freezes, almost as if Naruto is expecting Shikamaru to pull his hand away. Then Naruto laces his fingers with his and gets a large smile on his face as he continues the conversation. 

Once they get to the park, Shikamaru takes him to the hill he likes to sit on. No one often walks by the path, so it's secluded but has a tree that provides shade. They take a seat under it, still lightly conversing. 

"At what point will you notice I'm here." 

Shikamaru looks up to see Shino sitting on a tree branch, looking angsty. 

"Well, why didn't you mention your arrival?" Shikamaru raises an eyebrow. Shino's stealth quality was far under-utilized, in his opinion. Naruto was looking questionably at Shino. 

 "Who are you?" Naruto asks Shino and Shikamaru facepalms. 

"You don't remember me." Shino's gloom evades the area. He jumps down from the branch and lands crouched in front of Naruto.

"Naruto, it's Shino." Shikamaru sighs; he knows Shino will not be letting that go any time soon. 

"Huh?" Naruto questions, and before anyone can say anything else, Naruto grabs the front of Shino's long jacket collar that covers most of his face pulling it down. "Oh, Hi!" Naruto leans into peck Shino on the lips before letting go of the collar, which pops back up. "Why are you covering your whole face! How am I supposed to know it's you!" 

Shikamaru laughs at the scene that just played out. Shino's gloomy air fades away. 

A familiar voice comes from behind Shikamaru, "What's so funny?" Choji asks, a bag of potato chips in his hand. 

"Don't worry about it," Shino says, going from his crouch to sitting on the grass beside Naruto. Choji sits in front of them, forming a little circle. Naruto blushes a little, though Shikamaru doesn't know why; maybe it's just all of them together.

"Thanks for the food, by the way, Shika." Choji says, "It was super good!" 

"I received a potted plant this morning," Shino says, "Delivered directly by a very excited Ino. I didn't realize we were giving gifts already; I would have planned something." 

"You've probably had gift ideas planned for weeks, haven't you, Shika," Choji says between bites of the chips, "Do you know what you're getting Neji at some point because I'm at a loss." 

"I can't figure out what to get Gaara." Shino chimes in. 

"Sand," Choji says, and Shikamaru laughs a little.

"Get Gaara anything, and he'll treasure it forever," Naruto replies, staring off into space. Then he shakes his head and looks back to Shikamaru, "So, what step of the courting process is gifts? Iruka sensei explained it to me once, but I wasn't really paying attention, and I think he gave up." 

"For alpha's, it's not an actual step; it doesn't have to come before or after something like it does for omegas," Shikamaru shrugs, "it's just something nice to do, but it's definitely a part of courting." 

Naruto nods thoughtfully. "Well, Gaara didn't have a lot of comfort in his childhood, so maybe something nice like that."

"That's a good idea." Shikamaru says, "I remember Temari said he used to have a teddy bear when he was little, but it was taken away by his dad." 

Choji puts his chip down, "I don't understand parents like that." 

Shikamaru agreed; he couldn't imagine not loving and adoring his future child. He can't imagine causing them any pain. 

He internally laughs; his future kid could look like anyone or any combination with so many parents.

Shino brought the conversation back on track, "Anything particular you'd like to get Naruto?" 

Naruto tilts his head like he's thinking and leans his back against the tree. "Not really."

"Nothing you can think of?" Choji asks?

"Not really," Naruto leans his head back against the tree. "I'll like anything you get me, to be honest. I don't think I'm too picky, though; Iruka is the only one who's ever gotten me anything. Although Jaryiah got me these new clothes while we were away?" 

"They look good," Choji says, munching again on some chips. 

Naruto flushes, smiling sheepishly. "Thanks." 

Shikamaru leans back against the grass, the heat from the sun hitting his face. Then, staring up at the clouds, he listens to his mates talk amongst themselves, letting Naruto get reacquainted with them, both as friends and more. Eventually, Choji lays next to him and curls his fingers into Shikamaru's. 

Shikamaru looks over at Choji, who smiles back at him. 

"This is nice," Choji says. "We should plan something when Lee and Neji get back. Ino caught me this morning talking about a big double date with her and the girls." 

"She's been everywhere this morning." Shikamaru says, "She will be on a gossip war path later."

"I think she's just excited to have another courting alpha couple to complain with." Choji shrugs, "They've been courting for months now, and their omega hasn't accepted them. I'm not excited for that part myself."

"They know who their omega is, though." Shikamaru says, "If it's not Hinata, I'll be shocked. Ino told me she felt pulled by her the other week. That's not something alpha's feel with any omega." 

"But why not accept them." Choji asks, "Why wouldn't she accept them." 

"Well," Shino says from over by the tree, though Shikamaru can't see him, "Kiba told me that Hinata didn't want to accept her mates yet. She didn't want to rush into anything; she's a bit shy."

"What did Kiba say to that?" Shikamaru asks. 

"He said that if she wants to wait, then wait, but she can wait while courting," Shino says, putting a Kiba-like vocal into his words, sounding funny in Shino's usually monotone voice. "He told her that her mates would rather wait with her than without her." 

"So, there's hope for us yet then," Shikamaru says, watching one cloud split into two. 

"We shouldn't assume, though." Choji says, "It's not healthy." 

"I'm not assuming," Shino says.

"What's happening?" Naruto asks again. 

"We think Kiba is one of our Omega's." Choji answers. 

"Thought we weren't assuming." Shikamaru taunts. 

"Well," Choji says, "You're right. It just makes sense."

"Kiba had just presented as an omega before I left." Naruto reflected, "is he any different?" 

"Not really." Shino says, "Still loud and easy to anger. He said that omega stereotypes can screw themselves if they think he will ever remain a quiet housewife."

Though many don't think omega's are weak, some do see omega's as inferior physically, which is why some don't like omega's being shinobi. A long time ago, omegas tended to have careers in childcare, teaching, and cooking, but now there are many omegas in business: nurses, doctors, and construction. So they aren't told to be a specific mold anymore. And with there generally being more alphas to omegas in a family, it's more acceptable for Alphas to stay home with the kids. But there are still some that stick to the old ways. 

"I'll cook." Choji says, "but I hate cleaning." 

Shikamaru's stomach starts getting little butterflies; how are they now talking about living together. He tried hard not to imagine it. Live in the moment, don't think too far ahead; you'll stress yourself out.

Choji and he chat on the grass for a few more minutes before Shikamaru realizes he hasn't heard anything from Naruto and Shino. He raises his head to see both leaning their sides against the tree, kissing slowly. 

"Damn," Shikamaru lets his head fall back onto the ground with a thud. Choji raises his head to see what Shikamaru is talking about and blushes bright red. Shikamaru studies his best friend and mate, Choji might look like fat, but Shikamaru knows from training sessions that it's mostly muscle underneath. Shikamaru rolls onto his side, facing Choji better, and Choji blushes again. They've kissed a handful of times and perhaps heavily made out once on a mission when no one was around, but still, Choji always blushes at first. 

Shikamaru leans in and presses his lips against Choji's. They stick to casual kissing, just sweetly passing the time. 

"Ah, young love," A voice above breaks both pairs away. Shikamaru sees Kakashi sensei, book in hand, balancing on a tree branch. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need to borrow Naruto for a while." He turns to Naruto, "Training ground, twenty minutes. See you then." 

No one says anything for a moment. 

"Well, that's mortifying." Shino says, "Guess we'll see you later, Naruto."

"Sure thing," Naruto says, standing, stretching his back after leaning against the tree for so long, "It was nice."

"We should plan a sleepover soon." Choji says, "we can totally do that now that we're courting." 

"Ye-yeah." Shikamaru watches Naruto's eyes dilate at Choji's suggestion. Shikamaru doesn't think it will end well. Or, well, it will end too well, and maybe they would be going too fast. Though he supposed after waiting for Naruto, they probably can afford to go fast, not necessarily making up for missed time, but setting a pace that perhaps lets out some pent-up waiting. Either way, Shikamaru didn't see the harm. 

"Maybe when Neji and Lee get back," Shikamaru states, resting against the grass.

...

Gaara stared down at the ninja on the bird. He had used up a lot of his chakra in the attack that gained him his opponent's arm. But, after this whole time, the man had yet to let anything slip about his true purpose of being here. He had taunted Gaara multiple times, "the sands ultimate defense." But hadn't mentioned why he was attacking Gaara's village. 

"That was a doll molded from detonating clay," the man laughs as a large clay figure grows in size in the air, "it's a specialty of mine, full of C3 and the most powerful chakra I possess."

It starts to fall.

Gaara sees the villagers below move to take shelter. 

"You're too late." The man says before forming a sign. 

Before the large clay structure could explode, Gaara willed the sand on the city streets to stand between the fire and his village. The brightest light streaked across his vision as the explosion went off. When the smoke cleared, the sand laid as a protective shield. 

A piece of white caught the corner of his eye; he had little time to bring the sand back, fully enclosing himself, before the explosion. He's breathing heavily. Kankuro is somewhere in the streets below, no doubt authorizing a counterattack. Gaara needs to think, to strategize. He pauses; tiny white insects crawl out of the sand that protects him. 

At the explosion, he almost loses consciousness; he blacks out for maybe a moment, vision fuzzy. The sand around him is slowly dripping and falling to the ground. He's so tired. 

The man on the bird flies toward him. Gaara can't leave it like this. Raising his hand, Gaara forces the sand to move out of the city. The man hesitates as he does so but then abandons hesitancy and flies straight for Gaara. Explosive arrows hit the sky in all directions as the last of the sand gets to the edge of the village, and Gaara lets it fall. 

Then he's falling. 

Then he's not. The explosive arrows still rain around him, but he's being held tight by something; with barely visible vision, he turned to see he was trapped on the bird's tail. "Well, my mission is clear." He hears the man say as his vision fades. He tries to fight the darkness, but it overwhelms him. 

           I'm sorry, he thinks.

Chapter Text

Chapter Three:

Iruka was glad his pup was home again. The time Naruto was away had been hard on Iruka; he had gotten used to the constant chatter, the bright smile, and the comfort of having his pup in their family nest at night. 

While Naruto was away, Iruka had almost accepted his mates simply because of desperate loneliness. But he knew that wasn't fair to them. His mates were well-ranked Shinobi, and he would drag them down. He might be a Shinobi, but he knows too many he's just a teacher. He stares down at the list of names on his arm: 

Kakashi Hatake

Might Guy

Asuma Sarutobi

Iruka Umino

Kurenai Yuhi

All were sensei of some of his favorite students, not that he'd admit to having favorite students to anyone. All had been courting since they were in their late teens; they had such a well-oiled courtship at this point that Iruka didn't want to interrupt. Only three people know his list of names, Naruto, Tsunade (due to an incident where she had to for medical reasons), and the late third Hokage. The third had been happy with his sons future omega mate and expressed that he looked forward to Iruka accepting them, so he could get some more grandkids before he gets too old. Then he died, and Iruka felt even worse. 

In the back of his mind, though, he felt the itch to be close to them. He'd watched them from afar for so long that he couldn't have helped fall in love with them all. And he was so proud of them, they had trained some excellent shinobi, and he's watched them grow into even more powerful and impressive Shinobi themselves. But meanwhile, nothing about him has changed. He's still the same old Iruka.  

Naruto had told him multiple times that he should accept them, that they'd want to know who he was. But Naruto was just a kid when he said all that. Still, with Naruto getting his names, going on dates, and getting courted by his fellow alphas. Iruka thinks he'd be mad if Naruto's Omega's didn't accept him. But, even if they felt like Iruka, how was Naruto supposed to know it wasn't because of him. 

A shock ran through Iruka.

He had never thought about it that way before. What if his mates thought it was something they were doing, that they were the reason he wasn't accepting them. Guilt rose in him. That's not what he had wanted them to feel at all. He stared down at the names again. Maybe... Maybe he should accept them to explain that he wasn't what they needed. Then they could move on and be happy.

He looked at the clock; Naruto had stopped by to grab a few things about an hour and a half ago, on his way to a sparring session with Kakashi. They should be wrapping up, if not done by now. He put down the paper he was grading and touched his arm. Okay, he thought, I accept. And although he didn't see his name appear on the alpha's wrists, he knew it had worked. A sensation of relief crossed over his body like a dam had been released. He smiled.

No. He stopped smiling. This wasn't for him. This was for them. 

...

Kakashi sighed; Naruto and Sakura had pulled one over on him. He knew he'd never hear the end of this one once it got out to Guy, defeated because of a book. Tsunade had a look on her face that meant nothing good for his reputation; the next time she goes drinking, he already knows this is the story she's telling. 

"Lady Tsunade," An Anbu appears to her side, "An urgent message awaits your response." A serious look spreads across her face, and she nods. 

"We'll talk later." She says before leaving with the Anbu. 

Kakashi frowns behind his mask; whatever that message is, it can't be good if they've sent an Anbu out. 

Then Kakashi feels a tingling sensation on his covered arm; a rush of warmth envelopes his body. Could that be? "Naruto, Sakura, I'll see you both later." Both waved him off, vocally replaying their previous victory, laughing. It was nice to see his team together again. 

Kakashi gets out of the immediate vicinity of anyone as quickly and non-suspiciously as he can before he slowly unwraps his arm. Don't get your hopes up, he thinks; it could be a rash or something for all you know. But as his names are shown, his eyes widen at the new name written in blue. Iruka. Kakashi had suspected, but he didn't want to make any moves; he honestly would have been disappointed by any other name. 

He looks back towards where he came from; Naruto will probably hang out with Sakura for a while; he starts walking again in the direction of Iruka's apartment. He's waited a long time to get to call Iruka his. 

...

Naruto and Sakura walked toward town. Naruto felt something under his wrapping itch. He scratched it, but the feeling didn't go away. Still, he didn't want to interrupt the great time he and Sakura were having; they had a lot to catch up on, so he tried to ignore it. 

Sakura notices anyway, "Something wrong?"

...

Iruka jumps at the knock on the door ten minutes after he accepts his mates. "One, second." He yells, putting down his papers and climbing out of his nest. He takes a deep breath, walking over to the door. He opens it, and Kakashi is standing there, looking at Iruka with a look he's known Kakashi to give his Alpha mates when he thinks no one is watching. 

“Kakashi Sensei,” Iruka says. 

"Iruka Sensei," Kakashi mirrors, amusedly tilting his head to the side. "May I come in?" 

"Yes," Iruka moves to the side so Kakashi can enter, blushing at realizing he had just stared at Kakashi and been caught. Kakashi makes his way into the apartment and takes a seat on the floor outside his nest in the living room. Iruka scolded himself; he doesn't have many visitors, so he doesn't have many places to sit outside the nest. Iruka wants to get into his nest for this conversation, to feel more secure, but that isn't fair to Kakashi, so instead, he sits down in front of him on the floor. 

"So," Kakashi starts to talk, but Iruka cuts him off. 

"Before you say anything, Kakashi, first, I have something to say." Kakashi raises an eyebrow but nods to show he's listening. "I, I've been selfish for a long time. I haven't truly thought about how you would all feel not getting accepted. But, I realized recently that not being accepted might make you feel that you've done something wrong and you haven't. I didn't accept because of me, and I'm sorry for not telling you all earlier. I just don't think I'm what you all need in an omega; I'm nothing special. So, I've accepted you, but I wanted to tell you that I'm not good for this. So, now you can all move on." Iruka blinked back tears he hoped Kakashi didn't see. He knew he was doing the right thing, but his words felt like jabs to his own heart. He couldn't even look at Kakashi's face, so Iruka stared off to the side, waiting for Kakashi to respond. 

"Bullshit," Kakashi growls, and Iruka's eyes snap back to look at him. Kakashi now loomed over him, kneeling so he was only inches from his face. 

"What?" Iruka hated how breathless he sounded, but Kakashi looked beautiful. 

"Bullshit." Kakashi repeated, his hand cupping the bottom of Iruka's chin, "You're perfect. How can you not see that?" 

"What?" Iruka repeats, feeling like a broken record. 

"If you think we will not fight for your love, you've severely miscalculated," Kakashi says. 

"I never said I didn't love you," Iruka responds, and the one eye Kakashi is showing grows darker. 

"So, you just don't think your good enough, omega?" Kakashi's alpha voice felt heavy, making his body go weak. He hadn't commanded him, but he had asked a question. 

"Yes," Iruka answered. 

"Let us change that," Kakashi says, leaning down, forcing Iruka to go from sitting to laying on the floor so Kakashi doesn't bump into him until Iruka has nowhere to go and Kakashi is above him. "Please give yourself one chance to be happy. Then, I'll prove to you you're worth it."

Iruka felt the tears go down his face though it was more of an out-of-body experience, if anything. Kakashi's alpha voice settled on him like a weighted blanket, making him feel secure and safe in ways he's never felt before. 

"Okay." He manages to say in a whisper. 

Kakashi smiles, reaching one hand up to his mask. Wait, Iruka's mind supplies. Kakashi pulls it down, and Iruka studies him; he's beyond handsome, his scar going down to his cheek. Iruka wants to trace it. He wants to study the face that most never get to see.

Kakashi presses closer, not touching him but lips centimeters from his own. His eyes are darker than usual, and Iruka doesn't fight him as Kakashi presses his lips to his. Iruka melts against the floor. Kakashi brings a hand up to wipe the tears that lingered on Iruka's cheeks. Iruka should feel embarrassed by it all, but strangely he feels calmer than he's felt in a while. 

Give yourself a chance , Kakashi's statement rang in his head. Iruka wrapped his arms around Kakashi's neck, forcing Kakashi to put some of his weight on him. Iruka didn't know if he deserved this chance, but he was going to take it and try his best. 

Iruka kissed Kakashi hungrily like Iruka was starving, and only Kakashi could soothe him. Kakashi growled into the kiss, pushing Iruka to the floor, not enough to hurt him but enough to happily make Iruka's inner omega purr. 

Then Kakashi suddenly pulls back, bringing separation between them. Iruka is breathless, panting, on the floor, Kakashi hovering over him. Why did he pull away, Iruka thought, I knew I wasn't good enough.

"Stop," Kakashi says, "You didn't do anything wrong. I just need to stop before I get a little too excited." 

It takes a moment for Iruka to process what Kakashi means; when he does, a blush spreads across his face. "Oh." 

"I won't lie, Iruka." Kakashi breathes deeply, "We've been waiting for you; we're a little pent up. I want to ravage you so badly right now, but you don't deserve that; you deserve to be courted."

Iruka can only nod. 

Iruka hears keys being put into the front door. Kakashi is on the other side of the room before Iruka can blink. Then, the apartment door slams open. Iruka sits up quickly, looking like he hadn't just had the make-out session of his dreams. 

"Iruka!" If Naruto thought something was off, he didn't care as his panicked voice pierced the room. 

"What's wrong?" Iruka asks, quickly standing, and Naruto runs up to him, the wrapping covering his arm untied, hanging loosely towards the ground. Sakura runs in after Naruto, looking worried. Iruka's parental instincts are screaming at him to comfort his pup. "What's going on?" 

Naruto looks pale like he's about to throw up. He holds his arm out, and Iruka sees the problem immediately; Gaara's name is slowly turning gray. Iruka looks into Naruto's eyes, knowing he can't make his pup feel better. Grey names mean their dying, close to dying. Once the name becomes white, they're dead. 

"Let's go see Lady Tsunade." Kakashi chimes in. "She might have more answers." 

Naruto looks at Kakashi like he just realized he was there; Iruka ushers Naruto out the door, and Kakashi follows, Sakura taking up the front. When they get to the tower, they aren't the only ones who thought it a good idea to come. 

Shikamaru, Shino, and Chouji, all with their parents, were waiting to be seen. Iruka felt like a true parent as he ushered Naruto into a chair. Kakashi silently followed. Sakura went over to Temari's side; she looked nervous and agitated at the state of her brother's name on his pups wrists. 

Shizune comes out of the office, taking in several clan heads with their pups, and then Iruka and Naruto. Iruka once again felt a bit inadequate amongst the others here. 

"If you could all come in, please." Shizune gestures, and they all stand, making their way in. Tsunade is at her desk, paper in hand, looking a bit stressed but put together. Once everyone is in the room, and the door is closed, she speaks. 

"Tonight, we got an urgent message from the village hidden in the Sand." Tsunade speaks, "About a terrorist who attacked the sand. No villagers were harmed in the incident, as the Kazekage was able to shield the village from a large explosive." Naruto's hand finds his and squeezes; he squeezes back. "But, in the aftermath, it seems the Kazekage has been abducted."  

There was silence in the room, but anger radiated from the young alpha's, mirrored in their parents, who were upset that their children had to go through something like this. 

"Do we know who took him?" Kakashi asks, eyes narrowing at the letter Tsunade had on her desk.

"We have reason to believe the attacker was a member of the Akatsuki." Most of the people in the room stiffened slightly; Naruto remained still. Naruto doesn't know who that is, Iruka thinks; he's been away so long.

"I'm sending a team over immediately." Then, Tsunade says, "Kakashi, you and your squad will go back with Temari to assist the sand." Shikamaru and Shikaku both make to interject, but Tsunade holds a hand up. "My decision is final. You will leave immediately." 

"Yes, ma'am," Sakura says, and Temari turns to leave with a determined look on her face. Naruto follows after, and Iruka starts to depart with Naruto. 

"Iruka, if you wouldn't mind staying a moment," Tsunade asks. 

"Of course, Lady Tsunade." He replies, gesturing to Naruto that he'll catch up.

Once the door is shut again, Shikaku voices his thoughts immediately. "If it's the Akatsuki, they are after the tailed beasts. Sending Naruto is sending him into a trap. He shouldn't be leaving." 

"The Akatsuki won't know he's coming," Tsunade says, "And Naruto's passion will be the best bet at getting Gaara back."

"And if it turns to rage." Kakashi says, "What is your plan if he can't control the nine-tails." 

"That's why you're going." She replies. "Plus, Naruto has something in common with Gaara that none of us will ever understand; even as your mates, they've both experienced something you will never be able to feel. So Naruto needs to save Gaara." The unspoken line to make up for not saving Sasuke hangs in the air. "You need to have faith." 

"I don't agree with you, Tsunade," Iruka states, partially unconvinced he was able to tell the Hokage that so firmly, "You're sending my pup right into the hands of the group that is trying to kill him. I have no faith in your plan." Iruka rolls his shoulders, "But I have faith in Naruto to come back alive." His will to save Sasuke won't let him die, Iruka thinks. Without saying another word Iruka leaves, exiting the building with hurried footsteps. 

"Iruka," Kakashi's voice next to him causes him to stutter step, but if Kakashi notices, he doesn't mention it. Iruka hadn't seen Kakashi leave with him. "I'll make sure he comes back. The Akatsuki won't get him while I'm breathing." Of course, Iruka already knew that, and the thought was both comforting and terrifying. With that, Kakashi flickers, most likely to gather his supplies. 

Iruka heads to the village gate and waits for Naruto, who comes jogging up to him, and Iruka pulls his pup into a hug which Naruto sags into. "Be careful, Naruto." 

"Sure thing, Iruka." 

...

Kakashi watched Iruka hug Naruto as any mother would hug their child before going on a mission as dangerous as this one. Iruka spoke his words of concern but never told Naruto what he couldn't do or what his path should be. Kakashi couldn't help but admire what an amazing mother Iruka was. Something about the fact that Minato Sensei's child was raised with the parental love of Kakashi's omega mate makes Kakashi feel fuller. Kakashi had grown to care about Naruto while being his sensei, much like a father would a son. Kakashi knew if any of this courtship were to work, all his mates would have to gain Naruto's favor and prove to Iruka that Iruka was worthy of them. He has a sinking feeling that the latter will be a more challenging feat of accomplishment. 

As Sakura and Temari arrive, Kakashi makes his presence known. 

...

Kankuro wasn’t going to wait. Everyone else was taking too long, back up would have to catch up to him. If he waited too long, he might completely lose the trail, and Gaara would be gone. Once he got into the desert, there were trails, all leading different paths. Someone had taken the time to make these to confuse any pursuers. Shit, Kankuro thought, if I follow the wrong one now, they’ll get away. 

He looked closely at the trails; then, something caught his eye. He bent down, noticing some sand that wasn’t the same as the rest. Gaara, he thought, from the sand shell around his body. He’s leaving a trail. 

Kankuro quickly spotted more of the sand along one of the paths, then more the further he went. This has to be the one; Kankuro ran as fast as he could, hold on, Gaara, I’m coming.

He followed for what felt like hours, though he doubted it was. Every second felt like an eternity; he felt the adrenaline rushing through him as he ran; he repeated I’ll get him back, like a mantra in his head.

Then, he saw them in the distance—the man on the bird and a man who looked like he had a hunched back. Gaara was still wrapped in the bird’s tail; he wasn’t moving, though Kankuro knew he was still alive. The sand cracked away from his face, bit by bit. 

Kankuro readied his puppets and charged to save Gaara from the monsters who took him.

...

Sakura felt lost. She didn’t know how to help Naruto, nor did she know how to comfort Temari. As they moved through the tree, Temari was silent, her face contorting from fury, guilt, sadness, and fear.

“Talks to me,” Sakura says to her. “Talking it out will help.”

“I should have been there.” Temari says, anger and guilt dripping on her words, “I could have prevented this.”

“You don’t know that.” Sakura says, “You couldn’t have known that this would happen.”

“My little brother’s come so far,” Temari says, voice cracking, “He turned his whole life around. I- this can’t be the end for him. It just can’t.”

Sakura doesn’t know what to say to that; she doesn’t want to make promises she can’t keep. She doesn’t want to say we will save him because she doesn’t know if they can. Gaara isn’t weak, and they took him down; Sakura doesn’t know if they can beat the people who took Gaara.

“I’m scared for Gaara.” Temari admits quietly, “For Kankuro, I’m worried he’ll do something risky. I can’t lose my brothers.”

Sakura feels more lost than when she started. Talking might be helping Temari, but Sakura doesn’t know what to say. So instead, she grabs Temari’s hand, squeezing it. Temari squeezes back and returns her whole focus to the road ahead of them. Sakura does as well, watching Naruto ahead of her. She doesn’t know if they can do it, but she’ll try with everything she has for both Naruto and Temari.

Chapter Text

Temari had immensely enjoyed her recent time in the leaf village. When her mates all started courting a year ago, she had felt a bit out of place, being the only one so far away. Sure, they had written to each other, but when Gaara had suggested she run the chunin exams, meaning an abundant amount of time spent in Konoha, she jumped at the chance. Gaara, ever the selfless person he is, willing to stay alone, suggested Kankuro go. Kankuro declined, not wanting Gaara to be alone. Kankuro staying behind solidified Temari’s comfort in leaving Suna for some time.

Now she regrets it. 

She had been with Shikamaru when it first happened. She watched his usually lackadaisical stance and bored expression morph into confusion, then to fear. Her own confusion came forward as Shikamaru quickly started unraveling the wrap around his arm, and her own heart-stopping fear took hold of her when she saw Gaara’s name in grey letters. 

She should have never left Suna. 

“Eat.” Sakura handed her a ration of food as they ran; Temari took it but knew she didn’t plan on eating anything. Her stomach couldn’t take it; her nerves were too intense. They were so close to Suna now, Temari couldn’t do anything but run through the sand below her feet. 

Yesterday Kankuro’s name started turning grey. She fought back the tears as and clenched her fists. I cannot lose them both, she thought to herself.

...

"I know I promised to finish this quickly and not keep you waiting," the large man says mockingly, "but facing one of my disciples using my old toys, I can't resist savoring the moment."

Kankuro looks at the remnants of his puppets. He’d be lying if he didn’t consider himself a master of his art, yet his attacks had been blocked easily, his puppets ripped to shreds. "So, then, you must be the legendary master craftsman of the puppet core. Sasori."  

"I'm honored that my name is so well known, even to a child such as you."

"You deserted us twenty years ago. Why do you come back to us now." Kankuro doesn't know how or why this has happened, but Gaara didn't deserve this; after all he's been through and all he's worked towards, Kankuro had to save him from this fate he didn't deserve. He just needed to keep the guy talking.

"What's the point of asking questions when you're about to die?"

Kankuro is about to make a comeback, something to keep his enemy talking until backup arrives, but as he opens his mouth, a pain shoots through him, and he falls to the ground. My body's going numb, he uses poison, but when, Kankuro thinks back to when the tail hit him, of course, it happened then.

"The poison is circulating; it's over." Sasori's tail comes at him, he moves Ant's head to hit it away and its arm to slice off a piece of the fabric draping from his chin. "Since you want to live so badly, I won't finish you. I'll let the poison take its course. You'll wish I hadn't, your suffering will be unimaginable, but it will be over in less than three days."

It's fine, Kankuro thinks; he has information; he needs to tell someone. If he dies, so be it, but he'll help the rest of his village find Gaara no matter how much pain he must endure. 

...

Once they get to Suna, they don't stop, they are informed on the way to the hospital that Kankuro was poisoned, and lady Chiyo has yet to make progress on his condition.  

"Sakura." Temari turns, still running, Sakura's face is serious, and she doesn't turn to face her. Temari knows she can't promise her that she can save him, but she wishes she would. She doesn't know what will be left of her if she loses her brothers. She doesn't think she'd make a good mate with the amount of baggage she'd bring.

They enter the room Kankuro is being treated, and chaos follows immediately.

"Finally! My revenge." Lady Chiyo yells, going after Kakashi, Sakura doesn't stop to give them any mind, and Temari follows her. She hears the others sort things out behind her, but she doesn't pay attention. Instead, her focus is on Kankuro's form on the medical bed, twitching in pain even though he's unconscious. 

"Let me take a look at him," Sakura says, putting her hair up. Temari hasn't seen Sakura where her hair is in a ponytail in a while and can't help but think she's beautiful. "Listen, it might help if you all clear out and give us some room."

Naruto looked lost; Temari knew he couldn't feel right about leaving the room, looking at his mate he hadn't seen in years, struggling to breathe. His eyes are razor-focused on Kankuro's form.

"You got it, Sakura." Naruto's voice is earnest, and Temari's eyes dart to Naruto's. Who, without any doubt, puts his mate's life in Sakura's hands. He's so confident Sakura will succeed. Temari pushes her fear down; she needs to be that confident in Sakura too. 

Sakura immediately examines Kankuro's eyes, a light reaction, and puts her fingers in his mouth to test something Temari is unsure of. 

"Who are you?" A Suna medic asks skeptically. 

"I'm a leaf village medical ninja." Her voice is stern but not harsh. "We're dealing with a heavy metal-based toxin, the kind that attacks muscle tissue, destroying the cell's integrity." 

"You were able to learn all that...." One medic starts.

"In one look..." Another medic continues, both medic's exchanging a glance of astonishment. 

"May I see his chart." Sakura's confidence is different in this room, and it starts to sink into Temari; Sakura is in her element. 

"Yes, of course, here it is." The medic hand's Sakura the chart. "We were getting a breakdown of the poison, but there are still quite a few blanks."

"I know just what will happen-" Temari listens as Sakura explains how the poison works with horror, "-And we need to find an antidote quickly, or he will die." 

"What can we do?" Temari asks, and Sakura's eyes lock with hers for the first time since they got to Suna. Something is comforting in them.

"I'm going to need a few things, quickly." Sakura listed her items, and everyone gathered quickly to deposit them where she said. Temari did not understand what Sakura's plan was with the water bowl, but she trusted her. "Okay, now I'm going to need everyone to hold him down." Sakura gathers water into her hand, and Temari feels herself almost slipping into a distant state like she's not there; she's in shock, she realizes she can't handle all this happening. 

Kankuro shoots up in agony as Sakura starts, "Hold him down!" Temari grabs his shoulders. Please hang in there; she thinks, please. 

Temari watches Sakura; she's concentrated on something, then the water comes back out of Kankuro's body, a purple liquid with it. The poison. Sakura drops the water into a bowl. "Another." She states firmly, and the other medics are quick to comply. 

They continue this for a while. 

Sakura steps back, "That should put him out of any immediate danger." Her words race through Temari. She backs up to the wall, sliding down, falling as her knees give out. Her breaths are shaky as she finally lets it all flow over her. "He's not out of the woods yet. I still must find an antidote." 

Sakura gives out more instructions, but Temari can't hear them. Eventually, Sakura leans down in front of her, and Temari notices she and Naruto are the only ones in Kankuro's room. Naruto stands next to Kankuro's prone form, looking at him with anger, probably thinking about the person who did this. Temari feels similar. 

"Go get some rest." She says, "I'm going to the greenhouse to test antidotes, but you need rest." Sakura cups her face.

"No, I want to go with you." Sakura gives a sad smile before looking back at Naruto and Kankuro, "You don't want to be here? He might wake up." 

Temari hesitates, looking again, "I'll stay." She whispers, and Naruto's eyes lock with hers, a hint of understanding in them, they both almost lost something today, and it's still not over.

...

Tsunade looked at the team before her, “Get to the sand village as fast as possible and find any support as necessary, is that clear.”

“Crystal.” Guy sensei gave a thumbs up.

“Ready, Lady Tsunade,” Lee says, tightening his shoes.

“Leave it to us.” Tenten smiles.

“We’re on it.” Neji finishes, but he’s looking in the direction they’ll be headed.

“Good.” She responds. They were the first team available and a tremendous force of Shinobi to send out, but she’s worried about Lee and Neji on this mission. She hopes their emotional attachments will be their strength, not their weakness.

“Team Guy is always ready for action.” Guy sneezes, chuckling it off, “No worries, only my allergies. I think we can make it to the sand village in one day.”

“I think we can make it in half a day, sensei,” lee responds in typical fashion for those two, though this time, she thinks perhaps Lee’s dedication to getting there as soon as possible does not come from his sensei’s ideas.

“It will take three days, no matter how you slice it.” Neji retorts, sounding a bit annoyed.

“Yeah, what’s the point of making promises we can’t keep,” Tenten responds, looking at Neji with a worried glance.

Tsunade hopes she’s not making a mistake.

“We won’t know until we try, will we? Forward everyone, with the speed of youth” Guy leads the charge with an exaggerated motion, taking off into the woods.

“Lead on, sensei,” Lee shouts, following right behind Guy.

“So embarrassing.” Tenten groans.

“They are who they are, Tenten,” Neji responds with a small smile that breaks through his distant expression from before. They take off after them.

“Still as enthusiastic as ever, I see,” Tsunade says to Shizune with a head shake; she hopes she’s doing the right thing.

...

Once Sakura discovered an antidote, Kankuro woke up soon after. Naruto watched as Kankuro’s eyes opened. Temari cupped his cheek, moving his head to face hers. His eyes widen, “Temari, your back already?”

“I heard the village was in trouble.” Her voice sounds shaky. 

“I’m sorry to be such a bother,” Kankuro says, trying to lighten the mood, but his voice is strained. Naruto couldn’t follow the conversation. He could only stare at Kankuro, struggling to speak. Something raged inside him as Kankuro sat up, his arms almost giving out under him. He hears people talk around him, but he is only focused on watching his future mate try and fight through his pain. 

“-No need for that,” Kankuro said to Kakashi, “Where are my puppets? I assume my puppets were recovered, right.” The puppets were nearby and brought to Kankuro right away. “One of them fought me, while another carried Gaara away.” Kankuro seemed upset with himself, and Naruto wished he knew what to say to improve it. “But I made sure- I got his scent right here. The last thing I did was make sure I got a scrap of his clothing.”

Naruto wouldn’t have thought of that, he’s never been a great planner, but all his mates seem to be exceptional strategists. 

“Even in loss, you still walked away with something.” Kakashi compliments.

Kankuro smirks before coughing harshly. When he looks back up, his bleary eyes look at Naruto for the first time. Kankuro looks at him like he’s confused. Naruto wants to say something, but he doesn’t know anything to say. Now’s not the time to be like, hey, it’s me again; I can’t wait to get to know your more as a person and probably make out. Yeah, not the time. Not while Gaara is out there somewhere.

“Naruto Uzumaki,” Kankuro speaks like he can’t believe the name. 

“Hey there,” Naruto says, feeling dumb immediately. So that’s what he goes with; hey there. 

Kankuro looks back at the bed he’s on, then at his own hands, shaking, unable to grip tightly together; he was weak. Naruto thinks he sees tears in his eyes but doesn’t point it out. “Naruto.” Kankuro says again, looking at him with a trust Naruto didn’t know he earned from Kankuro yet, “Save Gaara, will you.” 

“Don’t worry.” Naruto says, more sure of this than anything else, “I will.” 

Chapter Text

Chapter Five (Rated M for Mature Content!)

Kankuro couldn't sleep. 

He doubted he’d get much sleep until Gaara was back, and safe. Kankuro felt like an idiot. Who was he kidding, Gaara could kick his ass any day of the week, and they beat Gaara, but still he chased after them like he could save Gaara from this fate. 

Sure he got a scrap of cloth, and it's being tracked to Gaara’s location, but Kankuro wasted valuable time. The time it took for the sand Shinobi to take him back to the village, that’s time they all could have spent searching for Gaara. 

Getting poisoned, therefore delaying Naruto’s team from leaving Suna till tomorrow morning. 

He sighs, running a hand down his face. Everyone keeps telling him he did well, but he feels like a failure. He wants someone to come and yell at him. He wants Temari to come in and scream at him for being reckless and weak, but she doesn't. She stayed with him, tried to comfort him, and only left when he feigned sleep. As soon as she was out of the room his eyes opened again and he stared at the blank ceiling above him, and in the emptiness of the room there were no witnesses to say whether or not he cried. 

…

Despite Guy Sensei's proclamation and enthusiasm, they did camp for the night. Neji knew that even with guys' words of “even the youth must stay energized '' did nothing to calm the pulsing energy through Lee. Even after they set up camp he could not sit still. Guy had drifted off immediately and Tenten sat stroking a fire. Lee paced around like a caged animal. 

“Lee “ Neji says, Lee's body turns to face him, “spare with me.” Neji got up off the ground where he was sitting and walked into the forest, knowing Lee was following after. 

After walking a few minutes, Nejo turned back around “okay, lets go.”

Lee doesn’t hesitate, storming him, and Neji quickly dodges.

They continued sparring for sometime, 30 minutes if Neji had to guess and still Lee was pent up with emotions. The thing that bothered Neji the most was that he felt it in Lee’s fighting, in his kicks and punches. If this was a real fight Lee would be giving away his actions to the enemy before he struck. 

“Will you focus,” Neji bites out, more in frustration than anything else.

Lee turned his punch into a grab and Neji’s dodge was then unneeded as Lee grasped the fabric of Neji’s shirt and pulled him close. It took Neji a few moments to realize they weren't sparing anymore and that Lee was hugging him. 

He quickly brought up his hands to hold his mate. “Lee?”

Lee pulled back so he and Neji could look each other in the eyes. Neji then realized how close their faces were to each other. 

Without a thought of anything else their lips crashed together, like they were still fighting. Lee pulled him closer, gripping him tightly like he was afraid Neji would disappear. With Gaara’s name on their wrists slowly fading more and more to gray, Lee very well might feel like Neji could also disappear. 

Lee kissed like he fought, he gave his all in every way. His hands traveled up and down Neji’s body, and Neji slowly did the same for Lee. Neji preferred to take his time with things, not that they haven't kissed before, but it’s different now, since getting the message that they are all courting officially since Naruto’s return. 

Neji did suppose this was a good way to deal with Lee’s pent up frustration and emotions though. Lee tended to surprise him like that. Speaking of, Lee suddenly cut off the kiss and dropped to his knees in front of him. 

“I wanna suck you.”

Neji was stunned for a moment but nodded. Lee didn't hesitate. He grabbed Neji’s hips and pulled him close. He grabbed the edge of Neji’s pants and underwear with his thumbs pulling them down at the same time. 

Neji shivered as the night air reached his member.

Lee immediately grabs him and licks a long strip from the base to the tip. “Lee,” Neji gasps but clenches his mouth shut immediately. Lee takes that as encouragement and wraps his mouth around the tip, sucking before putting as much of Neji in his mouth as he can fit. 

Neji curls his fingers into Lee’s short black hair as Lee starts to bob up and down with enthusiasm. 

Neji pulls Lee’s hair a bit to get him to slow down. Lee looks up with a questioning gaze that Neji can tell asks, did you not like it?

He definitely liked it, he liked it a lot, but if Lee goes that fast right away Neji is not going to last long, and Neji would rather continue for a while.

Lee must see Neji’s silent answer written on his face, and smirks with his lips still wrapped around Neji’s dick. Then he goes right back to bobbing with enthusiasm, fully ready to bring Neji to a breaking point as fast as he can. 

You little shit, Neji thinks to himself as he feels a familiar sensation build up in his abdomen. 

“Lee pull off,” Neji gasps and Lee swirls his tongue around his staff, “Lee I’m going to-”

Neji doesn't even have time to finish his sentence because Lee shoves most of Neji into his mouth at once and sucks so hard Neji thinks he sees stars, the heat and pleasure spread quickly across his body. 

When he opens his eyes again, which he didn't even realize he closed, Lee is sitting on the ground looking quite smug and Neji feels like his knees are going to collapse under him, the only reason he doesn't topple over is pure stubbornness to not show how affected he really was. But Neji is never one to turn down or lose a challenge, so after a few deep breaths, he quickly pins Lee on the ground, and Lee doesn't resist. Lee kisses Neji and Neji can taste the salt of himself on Lee. 

“Your turn.” Neji says, hand trailing down Lee’s body, mouth following it. 

…

At Night Naruto lays staring out at the stars from the window of a sand village hut. He doesn't know what he’s feeling, or maybe he does but it’s just too much.

He’s worried about Gaara, terrified for him. Naruto doesn’t know what he’d do if he lost one of his mates before he even gets a chance to court them, to love them. Naruto knows what this love must mean to Gaara, Naruto knows the loneliness he felt. 

He knows that the life of a Shinobi is dangerous, but he was never worried. The names on his arm, each of his mates, were incredibly strong. Gaara is strong, and that fact is what keeps him from weeping 24/7, or waking up Sakura to spar until they depart at sunrise. 

Naruto knows how much love means to Gaara, and so he knows Gaara is not going to let himself be killed before he can obtain that love. 

Naruto looks at the gray letters on his arm.

He’s sure of it. 

He looks up at the window, stars shining, sand blowing across sand in the wind.

Please Gaara , he thinks, Wait for me. 

Chapter Text

Shikamaru could not focus on planning the chunin exams and he didn't know how anyone expected him to.

Well, actually, no one expected him to.

Lady Tsunade actually called him into her office personally to tell him to go home and stop trying to work on the chunin exams until this matter has been handled. 

So he went home and someone else took over his duties temporarily. 

His mother kept making his favorite foods, which he ate but not with the appreciation he usually has for them. He kept his arm covered in company but long sleeves did nothing to stop the feeling of the letters changing color. It was like his arm had fallen asleep but only in that one place, and the pins and needles feeling that accompanied it was driving him crazy. 

The next day he went about his normal day, he trained for a bit, went to his hill, he checked on Choji and Shino, who were both feeling anxious as well, and he went to bed early. He felt numb the whole time. 

It was hard to get out of bed a few days later, but his dad stood in his doorway with a look that said, you better get out of bed . 

He did, with what felt like tremendous emotional effort. 

He ate breakfast slowly, mostly because he wasn’t hungry but knew he needed to eat. By the time he got past nibbling on some bacon his eggs were completely cold. 

He cleaned his plate methodically and went outside for some air, knowing he’d rather that than face his father or mother at the moment. 

When he got to his favorite hill he was surprised to see he wasn't alone. 

Kiba sat on the grass, leaning back against Akumaru as he stared at the clouds overhead. It looked like Akumaru was sleeping in the sun and Kiba was basking in it as well, his jacket discarded leaving only his mesh undershirt to cover his chest. 

Shikamaru felt the wind shift, blowing across his back towards Kiba, and Kiba looked up instantly. 

“Hey,” Kiba says.

“Hey,” Shikamaru says walking up the hill so he stands beside Kiba, casting a shadow down so Kiba doesn't need to squint at him. “Mind some company?”

“Go for it,” Kiba says, gesturing at the grass beside him. Shikamaru sits and can feel Akamaru behind him sniffing the air curiously and then go back to lounging. 

They sit in silence for a while, longer than Shikamaru was aware Kiba could do, a soft breeze inconsistently blows across his skin and blows the clouds high above them through the air.“I heard about Gaara. I’m sorry you all have to go through this.”

“Yeah.” and part of Shikamaru wants to say, ‘ you too, ’ but he knows now is not the right time. “It sucks.”

Shikamaru watches a cloud drift by, its shape pointy on one end, round on another, looking a lot like a shuriken in his eyes.

“Gaara’s strong though,” Kiba says, “I'm sure he’ll be okay.” Shikamaru wonders if Kiba is comforting him or himself more right now.

“Yeah, Gaara is strong.” 

That's what everyone keeps saying, Gaara is strong, and Shikamaru knows that already, because he is strong….and they still took him down. 

How strong are the Akatsuki, and does Shikamaru have any hope to keep his mates safe if one of his strongest mates was taken down by one of them? 

Shikamaru is sure it wasn't an easy fight, and he assumed they sent someone with specific abilities that played well against Gaaras, but that means they are prepared, that they think strategically. He has to be smarter than them.

And now Naruto is running right into their grasp. 

Shikamaru didn't know how to feel about any of it. He trusted Naruto, he trusted Lady Tsunade, and he trusted Iruka’s words he had spoken before storming out of the tower, but there was this worry he couldnt put aside that something terrible was going to happen. 

It had been a week since Naruto had left, three days to get to Suna, maybe some days to track Garra down, but he’s worried that there had been no news. Kankuro’s own name had faded briefly but was brought back to normal soon after. Shikamaru didn't know what he’d do if he had two mates with feet in their graves. 

“You really think a lot.” Kiba said, interrupting his train of thought, “I can practically hear the wheels turning.”

“Well thinking is kind of what I do.” Shikamaru says, not dismissing Kiba, but not really carrying on the conversation. He’s not really sure what he’s supposed to say. The shade from the tree nearby stretches down the hill reaching just enough that Shikamru can sense the shadow nearby, as well as the ones that cross briefly over his face as leaves fall from the tree and into the wind.

“Being a Shinobi is kind of frustrating.” Kiba says, he folds his arms behind his head, pressing more snugly into Akumaru’s side as he lays on the grass, “I mean I know we signed up to risk our lives for the village but most times I don't really think about it that way.”

“What do you think about it then?” Shikamaru allows himself to lean against Akumaru as well, the warmth from the dog a comforting feeling.

“Well, I guess I do think about protecting the village,” he says, “but when I was a kid it was just the natural next step, it made sense to learn how to fight, to learn jutsus, plus it was really cool when we were younger.”

“Now those rose tinted glasses fell off.” 

“Yeah,” he sighs, moving his hands from behind his head to clasped at his chest, like he was trying to hold onto something, “I know we’ve been in situations before where someone we knew was hurt, but it’s different now. It feels like there is so much more to lose.”

Skikamaru thinks Kiba is referring to the same thing Shikamaru’s thinking, their mates. Kiba once again makes Shikamaru want to come straight out and ask him if he is theirs, even though Kiba’s words seem to speak volumes in that direction. 

“Yeah, I get it,” he said, “before we didnt think too much of the future, now it's all I can think about, and I’m scared to lose it.”

Kiba hums in agreement and subconsciously rubs his sleeve that covers the names on his arm. 

“Have you ever felt about accepting your mates?” Shikamaru asks, and Kiba's hand stops its movement as Kiba realizes he’s been stroking the names.

“Every day.” Kiba says, turning his head to look into Shikamaru's eyes. “But I can’t yet.”

Shikamaru wants to ask why but something in the way Kiba speaks makes Shikamaru hesitate. His tone is gentler than normal, not rash or impulsive. Whatever the reason is, from the thinned lined expression on Kiba’s face Shikamaru knows Kiba has thought it through. Kiba has made up his mind about something, and Shikamaru doubts he’d be able to change whatever it is. Ugh, why were all his mates so stubborn? 

“I’m sure whatever your reasons are your mates will understand.” Shikamaru says trying to sound comforting and not frustrated about the lack of reason provided. 

“Probably.” Kiba shrugs, turning back to the clouds. 

This time Shikamru sees a cloud in the sky and it looks simply like a cloud, but when a cloud is the chosen symbol of the enemies trying to kill his mates, he wishes it would shift to something else.

They don’t say much else for the next hour, when Kiba gets up to leave. Shikamaru immediately misses the warmth the other put off naturally, and watches Kiba walk down the hill, Akamaru giving a bark and nudging him to the side, causing Kiba to laugh. 

Shikamaru smiles, something he hasn't done in days, and lays back down on the grass to continue to watch the sky. 

Everything’s going to be fine , he thinks, it has to be. 

…

Kiba enjoyed spending the morning with Shikamaru, though he feels a bit bad for interrupting what was probably going to be some alone time. He just felt that he needed to be near one of his mates, even if they didn’t know he was theirs yet. 

He subtly itched his arm where the names where, as Gaara’s name faded it felt like it was burning, not enough to cause him actual pain, but enough for him to sometimes wince at a stronger surge. 

He walked back to his house mostly silently, the village felt quiet, though when you got to the Inuzuka compound it was never quiet. There were dogs running and playing fighting along the streets of the Inuzuka clans homes, some young dogs were being watched by some of their mothers as they rolled around in the dirt. 

The humans of the clan were just as rowdy as he walked back to his family's house. They lived at the center of the clan as his mother was clan head, a title his sister would inherit though Kiba knew that she did not want to at all.

Kiba opens the door to the house and smells the familiar scents of home. He feels a lot better than he had this morning after talking to Shikamaru.

He opens his mouth to call out that he’s home when a pain hits him. He hadn't even shut the door all the way when a scorching pain rips up from his arm to his abdomen. He drops to his knee’s panting and Akamaru whines in confusion and comfort. 

Kiba pushes his sleeve up. 

Gaara’s name is completely white.

The world tilts. 

He's on the ground, barely registering anything around him. He thinks he hears Akamaru barking, and he feels like he’s drowning in the anxious scent that’s rolling off of him in waves. He stares at the name on his arms, his own heartbeat rings in his head. 

“Kiba!” His mothers voice makes him blink, there was an alpha command in her voice that allowed him to briefly look away from the names and towards her. She was cupping his face, a distraught expression on her face. 

“I’m going to move you okay.” Kiba didn’t nod, he felt like he couldn't move his body, like he was in a trance. His mother lifts him up and his head naturally lands against her neck. Her scent calms him slightly. 

He can see through the doorway a few worried clan members keeping their distance, but they can smell Kiba’s distress, probably from houses away they way it's coming off of him. 

A clan member gasps as they see his face. 

A moment later when his mother starts moving Kiba can see his own reflection in a nearby mirror. His eyes are pure gold, a sign that an omega has slipped into an omega state. Omega states occur when Omega’s are so distressed or overwhelmed that their minds retreat in on themselves. It’s extremely dangerous, and if not brought out of it an Omega could fall into a coma, or die. 

Kiba had never seen his eyes with this gold color before, and while a part of him recognized the reason the pieces were not clicking together. 

His mother brought him to his room, placing him in the nest made out of the family's clothing. Kiba doesn't remember a lot after that, he doesn't know how long he was there. He knows his sister eventually appeared in the nest as well, and later Hinata appeared.

The burning pain in his abdomen stops suddenly hours later and something snaps in his mind. He’s suddenly sitting up, staring again at his arm, with all black names, Gaara’s name now completely normal and alive. 

“How?” Kiba asks, his voice horse, had he cried? He didn't remember. 

Hinata sits up next to him, he realizes she's the only one here at the moment. 

“Naruto.” she whispers, “It has to be Naruto.” 

Kiba knows that Hinata has always been motivated by his mate's personality, which makes him extremely proud of naruto. 

“He’s alive.”

“See it's all gonna be okay.”

Kiba lets his head fall onto Hinata’s shoulder and this time he remembers crying, but this time it’s from relief. 

Hinata rubs his back comfortingly, “would you like me to go tell your family?”

Kiba nods but doesn't move from resting on her. 

“Do you want more Omega cuddles first?”

He nods again. 

She wraps her arms around him. Neither talk for a while. 

“Thanks for coming.” he says. 

“Once I knew, I had to come. I'm surprised a dog didn't bite me when I charged through the main entrance.”

He smiles and lets out a laugh which makes Hinata giggle. 

“They all know who you are at this point.” 

A creak of the door has them looking up, a light shines into the dark room, Kiba had not realized how late it must be. 

“Kiba?” Hanna asks, smelling less distress and seeing Kiba out of the Omega state. 

“He’s alive.” Kiba whispers knowing she’ll hear it. He holds up his arm for more proof, to show all the black names. 

Hanna rests her back on the door frame and slides to the ground with a sigh. “Thank goodness.”

Kiba smiles. Then his stomach rumbles. Hanna laughs. 

“Let's get you fed,” she says, “Hinata you're welcome to dinner as well.”

“Thank you,” she says with a small smile and head nod. They detangle themselves and walk out of Kiba's bedroom and toward the kitchen. Kiba glances at his arm consistently, almost expecting it to change again but it doesn't. 

Maybe Hinata is right, it's all going to be okay.

Chapter Text

Gaara woke up, this time not surrounded by hundreds of shinobi who had come to save him. The feeling he had inside him about that whole situation made him want to cry if he was being honest. He knew he had earned the title of Kazekage but he never felt that way until his village came to his rescue. 

Though, he knows Naruto and his team are what actually saved him. 

Them and Lady Chiyo. He shuts his eyes again for a moment. Lady Chiyo had never cared about him before, nor the fate of the sand, but Naruto changed that, in just a few days. Gaara knows the feeling in one moment Naruto had changed his entire life. Naruto made him the man he was today, put him on the path that led to him becoming Kazekage of the Sand. He knows why Lady Chiyo was so moved by Naruto, and he mourns the loss of someone who gave their life for him. 

“Are you going back to sleep?” Naruto asks and Gaara opens his eyes again. Naruto was sitting a little bit away, throwing his kunia in the air and catching it. They were in a tent of a decent size, Kankuro laid on the other side of him, mask and paint off, wearing a dark shirt and pants that matched Gaara’s own, asleep but still looking like he hadn't slept in days. 

“Sleeping wasn't something I’ve always been able to do.” Gaara says, “it’s nice.”

Naruto smiles, he’s still in his orange pants, though his jacket is discarded behind him, leaving only his black undershirt. 

“How’d you get past the guards?” Gaara inquires, because mate or not he doubts they’d let him in without waking him or Kankuro.

“I can be pretty sneaky when I want to be.” 

This is the first time they’ve had alone time since Gaara came back. 

“Thank you.” Gaara says. 

“You don’t need to thank me Gaara,'' Naruto pulls his legs up, rests his head on his knees facing Garra who sits up as well. “There was no way I was gonna let you die.”

Gaara nods and for a moment they sit in silence. “They’ll come after you too, Naruto.” Gaara says, “the Akatsuki are going to come for the fox.”

“Yeah,” Naruto sighs, his smile thinned slightly, but his eyes are crystal clear,“guess I’ll just have to train harder then.”

“It worries me.” Gaara admits, “they are stronger than I assumed.”

“If anyone is allowed to be worried it's me,” Naruto pouts, “you scared me to death Gaara, I don't know what I’d do if I lost any of you.”

“I'm no longer in danger,” Gaara says, shuffling closer so they are sitting right in front of each other. Naruto’s bright hair falls in his face while he’s not wearing his shinobi headband. Gaara gently reaches up to push it back. “You are, so it’s my turn to worry.”

“Firstly you're the Kazekage so you're always gonna be in danger somehow,” Naruto points out, “and secondly, we saw that they can be beat, they aren't invincible so, it will be fine.”

“Should I not comment on the hypocritical statement about the Kazekage when I'm looking at the future Hokage,” Gaara smiles, it's small and teasing, one that Gaara only gives to people he’s close to. 

“You should not.” Naruto tries to look indignant, eyebrows scrunching together as he straightens his back, but he lets out a laugh anyway, letting his smile return Gaara’s in a teasing undertone.

“Maybe we both try not to worry then.” Gaara suggests. 

“Yeah,” Naruto, “I'll leave that to the brainer of our mates.”

“I think you’re plenty smart Naruto.” 

“You’ve never seen my test scores.” Naruto smirks, teasing himself. 

“Intelligence isn’t just one thing.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he brushes Gaara off with a wave of his hand, moving his legs to sit in a criss-cross position. “You know, this is nice.”

“I agree.”

“I’ll have to come back and visit.” Naruto nudges Gaara with his foot.

“I would really like that.” Gaara answers, moving subtly forward, craving closeness, “you’ve never been shown my village before.”

“No.” Naruto agrees, his blond hair falls back in his face and Naruto blows a bit of air up to get it out of his eyeline.

“I’d like to take you out sometime.”

Naruto’s face tints pink, and he leans forward a small amount. “Sounds like a date.”

Gaara leans forward the rest of the way, closing the gap between them. Their lips collide a little less than gently, as Naruto immediately puts his hand on the back of Gaara’s neck, pulling him closer. 

The fear and worry they both shared through words was nothing compared to the feelings they were showing through action. Gaara let himself be pulled to Nartuo and they both fell to the ground, foreheads together, looking at each other's eyes. 

Naruto smiles, and the next second their lips are back together, not that Gaara minds. He lets Naruto take the lead. Their hands start to slowly explore each other's bodies, staying decent still, but slowly running up and down chests and backs. 

Gaara makes a noise when Naurot’s tongue enters his mouth and Naruto eagerly kisses harder. Gaara had never been kissed before, and while he imagined it before, the real thing was much more intense. Naruto radiated heat which Gaara wanted to lay in all day, his mouth was softer than he thought, but Naruto was as passionate as he predicted. Gaara can’t really breathe but he doesn't care at all, as long as Naruto stays in his arms like this.

They pull apart at the sound of the tent unzipping, Naruto rolling away from him, red faced, fiddling with the kunii he’d been throwing.

Lee’s head pops into the tent. “Naruto!” he whispers, startling Kankuro who shoots up, looks around at the occupants, including a red faced Naruto and then lays back down.

“Why are you all awake?”

“Sorry,” Lee says, fully emerging into the tent. Neji follows after,  raising an eyebrow at Naruto’s red face, and Gaara’s devoid of emotion. 

“Temari let us in.” Neji says, “though I'm not sure how you snuck past, Naruto.”

Naruto grins cheekily, “a good Shinobi never tells.”

Kankuro snorts. “So who's sleeping in your tent then? I doubt Sakura wouldn't notice your absence.”

“Shadow clone.” Naruto shrugs, “though I saw Sakura sneaking into Temari’s tent so I don't think she’s keeping tabs on me.”

Lee goes to sit between Gaara and Kankuro, smiling brightly, as if the presence of so many of his mates is just charging him full of energy. 

“We’re all keeping tabs on you.” Neji reports, sitting down to complete the makeshift circle. “With the Akatsuki out there-”

“Can we talk about anything else?” Naruto interrupts, “I've heard enough about them today.”

Neji regards Naruto and for a moment Gaara thinks Neji might continue talking about it anyway, but he nods and says, “very well, but this conversation is not over.”

“What do you want to talk about then Naruto?” Lee inquires.

Kankuro interrupts, “how about no one talks and we all go to sleep cause it’s the middle of the night.”

“Are you all sleeping here?” Gaara asks. He didn't mean it to feel suggestive but Lee and Neji’s faces get as bright red as Naruto’s had been. 

“Gaara,” Kankuro says rolling over, “you can’t just ask that.”

“How else should I have asked?”

“I can’t believe you're in charge of a village.” Kankuro says, “if only they all knew how socially awkward you are. Instead they think you're the strong silent type.”

Gaara raises an eyebrow. “Who?”

“Your fan club is a bit annoying,”  Neji says, as he moves to lay down next to Kankuro, Lee reclining as well. “All those girls acting like fools when they know you have mate names.”

“I think it’s the position,” Kankuro says. 

“They’d have to fight us all for your love!” Lee announces loudly and Neji shushes him.

“We don't need the whole camp knowing where in here, Lee.'' Neji sighs. 

“So you are sleeping here?” Gaara asks again. 

“Oh my god, Gaara just lay down.” Kankuro half laughs. Gaara does as he says, laying down next to Lee and Naruto follows after, at first no one is touching, just laying in the space, but as they all get swept into dreams they move closer, and when they wake up the next morning their arms and legs are tangled. It's the best sleep they’ve had in a while. 

...

A few tents over Sakura watches Temari duck into the tent with a knowing smile.

“What's that look for?” Tenten asks.

“Just might have let a few leaf ninja into my brother's tent.” She giggles and Tenten lets out a small laugh and Sakura smiles.

“They would have snuck in anyway I'm sure,” Sakura says.

“Like you two did.” Temari smirks.

“Duh,” Sakura says at the same time Tenten says, “exactly.”

Temari lays down with her two mates, they’ve been courting for a few months now, and it's nice to have this time with them. Tenten lays on one of her shoulders and Sakura on the other, all three cuddled together. 

“I'm glad they can start courting.” Sakura says after a moment, “it's like another step showing us how adult we all are.”

“Yeah,” Tenten agrees, “it will be nice to talk to Neji and Lee about courting stuff now.”

“It will be nice talking about the future.” Temari says, “Gaara’s worked so hard for one.”

Sakura, not for the first time, thinks how amazing of a big sister Temari is. 

The future, Sakura thinks, that’s something she’s excited for. She hadn't put much thought in it before, but in more recent months she has. She can see herself having a family with her mates, teaching their kids jutsu. She hadn't come from a clan that had family jutsu's, her parents weren’t ninja at all, so she’s glad her mates have that history to share with their future child.

Even if her child doesn't want to be a shinobi she’d be happy if they were happy. 

All she wants is for them to find something they believe in, and follow that dream. 

The concept makes her think of Naruto. She wonders if this pride she feels for Naruto is similar to what Temari feels for Gaara. Sakura can’t help but be proud, to be able to change the minds of others. 

She tries not to let her eyes water at the thought of Lady Chiyo. They had gotten off on a strange foot but in the end she’s someone Sakura admired and strived to be like. Naruto is the one who changed her mind, created the hero she became. 

Sakura is grateful. 

Chiyo, she thinks, looking at her mates, it would be a nice name for a child one day.

…

Kiba knew he had been through something traumatic, but he felt embarrassed. When he and Hinata, who had stayed the night, left his house the next morning he tried to ignore the worried glances of his clan, dogs and humans alike. 

He knew it was a normal response, that he couldn't have done anything, but he felt weak, inferior. He hated being unable to control himself, and when the Gaara’s name changed, his body took over, shut down. If he was an Alpha he could have gone into a rage, or Alpha state where protecting their mates was the number one priority but no, his body reacts by completely failing him. 

Hinata pinches his arm. 

“Ouch,” he says rubbing the skin, “why’d you do that?”

“Because I could tell you were being hard on yourself for nothing.” She says, “you can’t control your body Kiba, stop trying to compare yourself to someone you're not.”

“I’m not comparing.” he said, even though that's exactly what he’d been doing.

“Neji always says it’s important to trust your instincts.” Hinata informs him, with a small smirk, “I'm sure he’d be annoyed at you not following yours.”

Kiba rolls his eyes, Hinata knowing who his mates were was a blessing and curse. Blessing because, well, most reasons, and curse only for the fact that she teases him constantly. 

“Whatever,” Kiba huffs, he should be allowed to be annoyed at his situation. Akumaru brushed up against his side as if to say, I agree with her.

Traitor . 

“Has this made you change your mind?” She asks. 

“About what?” 

“Telling them?”

“Kind of, but I don't know.” Kiba sighs as they walk down the nearly empty street on the way to their teams' meet up spot. “I hadn't really been worried one of them would die before I told them, but now it basically happened and sure it worked out okay this time but what if there's a next time. But….”

Hinata waits for him to continue and when she doesn't she prompts him to, “but…What about Sai?” 

“Yeah,” Kiba rubs the names hidden under his sleeve, the other omega name written in the same color as his. “I feel bad if I accept them and they're not here.”

Kiba had looked for them, going as far to scan the village census for the name, but none were there. Kiba figured Sai must be from another village, and Kiba felt bad, wherever Sai was he was alone right now, feeling the fear Kiba had when Gaara's name changed color. 

“It just doesn't feel right.” Kiba says, looking up towards the sky as they walk. Hinata hummed and nodded. The meeting spot came into view, the long fenced in road was deserted, and the singular tree created a shadow in the morning sun. they sat down in the shade as they approached, Akumaru laid in the sun, basking in its warmth. 

“Did it change your mind?” Kiba asks Hinata, more as a conversation starter than an actual question, he wasn't expecting a different answer than usual.

“Yes.” 

Kiba wipes his head around to look at her, eyes wide, “really!?”

“Yeah,” she smiles softly, “When they all get back. I’m going to accept them.”

“Wow.” Kiba says, letting his back fall against the tree trunk, “This is so exciting!”

He had felt a general lack of energy since the breakdown, this announcement pumped the energy back into his system.

“What’s so exciting?” A voice from above had them look up, Shino stood on the branch. 

“N-Nothing!” Hinata stumbles, blushing, and Kiba starts to laugh, head hitting the tree with a small thud as he leans his head back, though he doesn't care. 

“What?” Shino raised an eyebrow, though it was hard to see under all those layers. 

“It’s really nothing Shino,” Kiba says, collecting himself. Shino studies him for a moment. 

“You look tired.” 

“Yeah, I didn't sleep much.” It was a bit more than that but he can’t tell Shino that, he doesn’t want to give away anything, and saying anything happened to him last night will be a total give away. 

Shino himself looks weary. Kiba wonders how Shino reacted to the color change. He hopes Shino’s body handled it better than his. 

“Will you be okay to train?” While Kiba is sure Shino meant well, he was annoyed at the accusation.

“What, you think one bad sleep means that I can't function?” He spits out, leaning forward and glaring up at Shino. 

Shino doesn't respond for a moment, body freezing in place, seeming to realize his wording had been taken the wrong way somehow. Wind rustles through the trees, a few leaves falling to the ground. Hinata looks between them, and Kiba knows if she were the type to roll her eyes she would.

“You simply looked very tired.” he finally says, “I meant nothing more than that.”

Kiba doesnt answer for a moment either, then the wind blows a bit stronger, Shino’s scent of fresh dew and pine waft over to his nose. He blushes, and lowers his head so Shino wouldn't notice. He manages to grumble out a, “yeah, whatever.”

Hinata breaks the tension, “don't mind him Shino, he’s all in his head this morning.”

“A dangerous place to be.” Shino smirks at him, teasing. 

“Oh, I’m SO kicking your ass in training today.” 

“You can try.”

Akumaru huffs out a breath which Kiba knows is a laugh, traitor!

…

In an undisclosed part of the village Sai knelt before the command of Danzo. 

“This mission is the one we’ve been preparing you for.” Danzo states as Sai’s eyes focused on the ground. “For this mission you will take your real name.”

Sai nods to show he’s listening.

“You will be placed on team seven, but you are not to reveal yourself to anyone, your names are to stay covered until it is time to reveal.” Danzo stands lecturing Sai on aspects he already knows, “the Inuzuka will know of course, so you must persuade him to like you, to love you. If this plan is to work, and all the pieces end up where they need to be, you must become a part of their community.”

Sai’s names burn, but it’s almost a little itch at this point. Words burn in such a way only when you’re going against instincts, or performing actions against your mates. 

“You will not wear scent blockers, they must know you are an omega. You must not indulge yourself though in omega traits while alone, no nests in your apartment, and you must take your heat suppressants daily, we can’t have you risking the mission with trivial things. In public you must allow the Inuzuka to befriend you, do anything he asks to get him on our side, but do not tell him anything about the mission.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“You will be of great service to this village,” Danzo says, walking forward to cup Sai’s face in his hands, stroking a thumb down Sai’s pale cheek. “What a shame you’re an omega.”

Sai has felt the repulsion of Danzo’s touch many times before, he knows not to pull away from the hand on his face, but his stomach feels queasy at the touch. Danzo removes his hand, turning his back to Sai and walking away.

“Remember if you get a chance to kill Sasuke Uchina, do not hesitate.” He looked over his shoulder, glaring at Sai. 

“Yes Sir.”

 The names burn.

Chapter Text

Naruto was both happy and sad to be back in the Leaf. Happy because he loved his village, but a bit sad to have to depart from Kankuro and Gaara so soon. A part of him ached to be away from Gaara after something so traumatizing happened. 

But he was back in the village, and while he wished he could relax and spend time with his mates, he had work to do. They had a lead on Sasuke, a good one, one that could finally give him another chance at bringing his mate home. 

Grandma Tsunade told him she’d be putting the team together, as Kakashi is out of commission, and even with him they’re still one guy short. She’s going to have to ask around to try and have someone fill in. 

Naruto felt that would all take too long but did not fight Lady Tsunade’s judgment. 

Instead he went home. Unlocking and walking in the front door he was greeted with multiple vases of flowers, filling all the kitchen counters. 

“Um, what?”

“One of them is for you,” Iruka calls, though Naruto can’t see him from the entryway. 

“Are we opening a florist?”

Iruka walks into the hallway sheepishly, “Um no, well, you see.” He starts a few sentences and finishes none of them. Naruto walks over and inspects the flowers, noticing a note on them, he reads it. 

To my dearest mate, these flowers could not overcome your beauty, - Might Guy

Naruto whipped his head around to look at Iruka still fumbling over his words in the doorway. 

“You accepted!!!” 

Iruka stops fumbling at the excited outburst, blushes slightly, then nods. Naruto basically tackles him in a hug. “Finally!”

Iruka slaps him on the back of the head, but hugs back. When Iruka pulls back he ruffles Naruto’s hair, and points to one of the vases, “One’s for you.”

Naruto looks at the orange sunflowers sitting in a yellow vase. He picks up the note, 

To one of my loves, I think these flowers reflect your brightness- Lee. 

“Like teacher, like student.” Iruka chuckles reading behind him. 

Naruto can’t help the smile that spreads over his face. It’s been a good day, they have a lead on Sasuke, none of his mates are dying, and Iruka finally accepts his mates. 

“If I call Kakashi dad, do you think he’ll have a heart attack?” Naruto grins conspiritualty.

Iruka smiles mischievously back at him, “maybe, but remember you can only do it for the first time once, time it well.”

“Good point,” Naruto says, “I'll have to wait for the perfect moment.” 

“I had just ordered some Ramen, it should be here soon, come tell me about your mission.” Iruka says exiting the kitchen turned into a jungle, and heading toward the living room. Naruto follows after, taking one more glance at the orange sunflowers before turning away. 

…

Kakashi lays in the hospital bed, more exhausted than anything else, reading a book, waiting for everyone to arrive. He’s not sure what’s taking Guy so long to get everyone. 

Not even seconds later the door bursts open, “Kakashi, I’ve got everyone!” 

“We probably should not be screaming in the hospital.” Kuranei says, walking right by Asuma and Guy and taking a seat at the end of Kakashi’s bed. “Probably shouldn't be smoking either.” She makes a pointed glare at Asuma who had a cigarette halfway to his mouth. 

Asuma sighs, going over the window and sitting in its entryway, lighting the cigarette so it blows outside, he looks back at her as if to say, happy. 

“So,” Kakashi starts, “we have some things to talk about.” 

“Our Omega has finally accepted us,” Guy interrupts, “we must shower him in courting gifts!”

Kurani looks at Kakashi, scrutinizing him, “You know something else, don't you.”

“I went over the night he accepted.” Kakashi starts, Asuma raises an eyebrow, Guy’s mouth drops open, and Kurnai looks skeptical.

Guy speaks first. “You started without us!”

“I didn't start anything.” Kakashi sighs, rubbing his temples, “and none of you were even in the village.” 

“So what happened?” Asuma asks.

“He tried to reject me.” Kakashi says and their eyes all widen, “or well us.”

“I- he- what?” Kurnai looked heartbroken, out of all of them, she wanted kids the most. Kakashi didn’t think he was meant to be a dad, but that’s another story. 

“Well,” Kakashi cut in before anyone could get too upset, “It wasn't really true, I found out he just hates himself and doesn't think he’s worthy of us, which is why he never accepted. He finally actually did because he wanted to tell us in person he wasn't good enough, so we could move on.”

No one said anything for a moment.

“For a teacher he’s pretty dumb.” Asuma says letting the smoke blow out his mouth and into the wind.

“What did you say back?” Kurani asks. 

“I told him that was bullshit and made him promise to give us a chance to change his mind.”

“And?” Asuma said.

“He agreed.” Kakashi shrugged, though he left out the kissing part. “Then Naruto ran in because Gaara’s name was changing colors so I didn’t get much time to talk to him.” 

Again no one speaks for a moment. 

“Well,” Guy says, “I suppose it’s time to formulate a plan then. To make Iruka feel he’s worthy of us, I already started.” 

“How could you have already started?” Kurani asks, amused. 

“He’s sent a horde of flowers over to Iruka’s place.” Asuma chuckles, “Ino told me earlier. Apparently Lee also sent a vase over Iruka’s though I suppose that one would be for Naruto.” 

“Lee!” Guy says with a proud look on his face, “my pupil, courting so well.” 

Kurnai laughed, Asuma smiled, and Kakashi sighed. 

...

Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha the next day feeling like his life was finally getting back on track. The sky above him was bright blue, with clouds dotting the sky, and a slight breeze cooled him down from the sun, a leaf blowing gracefully down the path he walked. 

He was courting his mates, and had a mission coming up, to finally bring his last mate home. 

Naruto sometimes wonders what his mates all thought of Sasuke. He never brings the topic up and he has a feeling they all might try to change the subject away from their far off mate. Naruto wonders if it will affect their omega’s accepting them. Would they want to accept a group of mates when one has run off, deserting the village, and on a revenge mission to kill his brother. 

It's a bit complicated, and a lot of baggage. 

And that’s only one of them. 

He sighs and shakes off the thoughts. Worrying about that stuff won’t do anything but give him a headache. He walks along the path and tries to think of anything else, anything to distract him. He gets to a fork in the road and see’s down the street to the right, Shino leaning against a tree. 

“Shino!” Naruto calls, walking toward him, and Shino perks up at the sound of his voice. 

When Naruto gets to him he pulls him into a hug immediately. It takes Shino a few seconds to respond, and he wonders if Shino is not used to physical expression of love like he is. 

“I’m glad you are back.” Shino says, pulling back. “I was worried.”

“No need for worries,” Naruto says, hoping that he can hopefully have a conversation without the Akatsuki being brought up. 

Shino studies him briefly, “Well I’m still glad your back. It’s nice having everyone in the village.”

Well not everyone but those who actually live here.

“Yeah, I haven't really had time to enjoy the village again yet.” He had gotten home and then immediately sent on a mission, and now he is about to leave again. Both missions for his mates, both he’d do gladly again, but he wished he had more downtime in Konoha. Once he gets Sasuke back, he decides he's taking a vacation. 

“Maybe I can help you get reacquainted with the village.” Shino says, “we can invite everyone.”

“Yeah, though I need to stop somewhere and get something for Lee, he had flowers delivered to my house already.”

“He’s always been fast and persistent.” Shino comments and Naruto chuckles, though before he can answer, something lands loudly to his side, making him fall over in shock. Shino remains standing, not having been surprised.

Some dust had been thrown into the air at the landing but as it settled Naruto can see what it was, or more accurately who it was, he struggles to keep his jaw from dropping. 

Kiba had gotten a lot taller, they all had, since Naruto had last seen him. He had tan skin and deep brown eyes, and a smile with white canines reflecting the light. He was stunning, and Naruto felt his face turning red.

Shino lets out a noise that Naruto thinks is a chuckle. 

“Shino you’re early!” Kiba says loudly, he’s always been loud, and Naruto can’t stop his mind from quickly making the connection that maybe Kiba would be loud in other ways too. 

He’s pretty sure his face looks like it’s on fire. Stupid brain. 

Kiba turns to him then, brown eyes locking on Naruto, then widening in realization. “Is that Naruto?”

Kiba jumps off his dog, and Naruto comes to the horrifying conclusion that that huge dog is the little pup he remembers Akamaru being. 

Naruto stands up and Kiba steps close into her personal space, taking a sniff. “Oh, it’s definitely you.” 

“You had to smell me to know.” Naruto says deadpan. 

“At least you were recognized right away.” Shino grumbles, face scrunching even more into his jacket which covers most of his face already.  

“I figured out who you were!” Naruto turns to Shino, “but you weren't any help with your whole face covered!”

Kiba laughs, making Naruto turn back to him.

“So I guess you haven't changed a bit then?” Kiba’s white canines stand out when he smiles and Naruto tries very hard to not stare at his face for an unreasonable amount of time.

“I’ve changed a little,” Naruto argues, shrugging, “just not the important stuff.”

A bark makes Naruto finally glance down at the large white dog next to Kiba, it takes a few moments to make the connection in his mind. 

“Is that Akamaru?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s huge!” Naruto stood shocked, Kiba used to carry Akamaru around on his head, not the dog coming up above Kiba's hip. 

“Huh,” Kiba tilts his head, “Guess I didn't notice, we're always together.” 

Naruto mentally makes a note of that, not that he didn't already know that, but if Kiba is his mate he needs to make sure Akamaru likes him. Maybe he should start carrying dog treats around or something. 

“We were planning a group outing?” Shino chimes in to Kiba, “Would you like to join?”

“Group outings like with your mates or with the girls too,” Kiba asks, “I don't really feel like being a ninth wheel.” 

“I doubt you'll feel that way.” Shino responds. 

“We’d never leave you out.” Naruto says and Kiba’s eyes lock on his for a second, and it feels like he’s thinking about something. Calculating. 

“Sure, then I guess.”

Naruto smiled wide, and he’s sure Shino was too if Naruto could see under the collar, he covered his face with….

…

A few hours later found Naruto grouping together with his mates and Kiba, who Naruto felt an odd calmness being around, even though they were both what the adults would consider rowdy. 

Naruto was expecting a nice evening before he went on his mission. 

He did not expect that before they could even get to the restaurant that Shikamaru would be pushing him out of the way, and Chouji punching a lion looking creature that erupts into black ink.

He mentally sighs, can’t he just have one nice night. 

Chapter Text

Sai tried to push every instinct deep down inside him, attempting to smuggle any feelings he had until that familiar numbness overcame him. 

And for the first time since his brother died, he struggled to do so. 

Sai knew what his mates looked like, acted like, and fought like, he had been given training based on their specific styles, but it wasn't the same as seeing them in person. 

They were all beautiful. 

Even so, he drew the strokes of the lion, letting the creature run right at Naruto Uzumaki, only for Choji and Shikamaru to save him at the last moment. Sai is unsure if he's happy they saved him or mad they didn't notice sooner, but mostly he feels nothing. The emotions are locked down, sealed with the same thing that prevents him from speaking freely. 

By the time his mates get up to the roof he's on, he's long gone, having seen what he needed to. 

He briefly realizes that he had never referred to them as his mates internally until he saw them in person. 

Before any butterfly feeling can overtake his stomach, a pain shoots through him, stemming from his tongue and lighting his nerves on fire. He stops in an alleyway, panting. 

Don't think about them like that. 

He's on a mission, nothing more. 

The pain stills, and not for the first time does Sai wish he could rip his tongue out and live a silent life than the forced silent one he faces now. 

But he can't.

It doesn't work like that.

This mark prevents him from speaking of his true mission, of everything that happened to him, makes him follow orders, makes his instincts clouded and weary, and pushes his inner omega down until there is nothing but numb. 

The seal works too well; Sai has never had heat before because of it. Though he hears they aren't something he'd miss experiencing. 

He straightens up and continues again towards the Hokage office, where he is to meet his new team. He supposes it should be an exciting interaction now. 

....

…

Iruka had known that Guy was stopping by with Asuma and Kurenai in tow; he received another bundle of flowers stating as much and that they would like to take Iruka on a date. So, Iruka knew it was happening… but that did nothing to soothe the thoughts inside his head as he got ready. No matter how much he showered, he could still smell a hint of anxiousness coming off him. He signed, giving up after a while. 

When there is a knock at his door, he runs to it, almost tripping, and brings himself to a halt before he face-plants the door his mates are behind. 

He takes a deep breath, squares his shoulders back, and opens the door. 

They all look the same as when he saw them last; Guy grins like a lunatic, while Asuma and Kurenai have more coy smiles. 

A moment passes, and he realizes he is supposed to say something. 

"Hi." he blurts out and immediately regrets it. He doesn't see Asuma's smile twitching at its corners with amusement. 

"My love," Guy exclaims, "It's time for the best date you've ever had." 

Iruka did not doubt that since he had never been on a date before. "Um, okay." 

Kurenai grabs his hand softly as he shuts the door behind him. Her hand is warm and gentle as their fingers wrap together. She leads them in front of Guy and Asuma so they are walking together, with an unknown destination, "I've been thinking about this a long time." 

"Oh?"

"I have a list of different dates and courting ideas." 

"I'm sure a list isn't necessary." 

"I'd never remember all the ideas otherwise." She smiles at him, making him feel like he's the only one in the world. 

"I would remind you!" Guy announces loudly, causing Iruka to jump slightly in surprise as Kurenai laughs. Asuma also lets out a small laugh while blowing out a mouthful of smoke from his cigarette. 

"I'm glad we can finally cross one of those ideas off the list, though." She smiles at him, and the smile makes his heart flutter. How did he deserve someone so kind? "Thank you for accepting us." 

"I-"

"Kakashi told us all what happened." She said sternly, "And we share his opinions, so don't even try to change my mind." 

Iruka blinks, “I wont.” 

She smiles, "Good." 

"So where are we going?" Iruka asks. 

"Well, my love!" Guy starts behind them, "We have assembled a delicious assortment of foods to share!"

"We're having a picnic." Asuma restates. 

Iruka watches as Guy pulls out a picnic basket from who-knows-where with a massive smile on his face. 

"Sounds nice." Iruka doesn't know what to say and doesn't know how to act. He's noticed some people on the street have seen them, noticed his hands clasped with Kurnai's. It will be public knowledge now; people had been making bets on who these alpha's belonged to for a while. Iruka doubts anyone bet on it being him. He subtly moves to stand a little taller. 

If he's going to do this, he needs to act worthy of them and show everyone that he's good enough. He wishes he felt that way. 

Out of nowhere, Kurani gives him a peck on the cheek, his face burning red and warmth spreading along his skin. It's more tame than what Kakashi did, but it makes his heart beat a thousand beats a minute. 

"Sorry," she apologizes but doesn't sound sorry, "you look cute when your overthinking." 

Iruka doesn't know if he is going to survive this date.

But he's going to give it his best try. 

....

Kiba wasn't fully prepared for Hinata to come bounding around the corner at high speed, mainly because it's the kind of lunacy that Hinata doesn't show others outside her close-knit group. Nevertheless, Kiba is able to help her stop in time before she rams them both to the ground. 

Before she can say, ask, or tell Kiba what's going on, she realizes everyone is around her and quickly freezes under the attention. 

"Sup Hinata!" Naruto grins excitedly, "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

“Every okay, Hinata?” Neji asks, stepping closer so her Kiba and Neji form a little circle. None of the others take offense, knowing Neji is overprotective of his cousin.

I wonder what he'll be like with kids, Kiba thinks before he can stop himself, causing him to blush and quickly try to change his internal thought process.

"Nothing is wrong, really." Hinta says softly, "I just need to talk to Kiba if that's okay, but I can see you later if you're busy."

"No way," Kiba grins, "I'm way too curious now."

Hinata gives a brief smile of relief. 

"Thanks for the food, dudes," Kiba says back to the group, "I had a good time."

"Me too!" Naruto and Lee say a bit too loudly, which Naruto realizes and sheepishly rubs the back of his head. Meanwhile, that's just Lee's average volume. Not that Kiba can speak about being loud. 

"We'll see you around," Shikamaru says; his eyes are dark and alluring, and if it weren't for Hinata grabbing his hand, he thinks he might break down right there and tell them because of those eyes. 

"Sure thing." He manages to say before Hinata leads him away. 

A few streets away, he asks, "So what's really up?"

"I'm going to accept my mates."

"You already told me that."

"I know," she says, looking down at the ground.

"Hey," he nudges her shoulder, "what's going on, tell me?"

"I guess I'm scared?"

"Of what?"

Hinata's silent. 

"You're worried they'll be disappointed."

"Yes." 

Kiba sighs, "Well, that's bullshit. But I also know nothing I can tell you will change your mind." He holds her hand, the one with the names hidden under a large sleeve. "So accept them, and if the worst happens, I'll be here with you; I won't leave. You won't be alone; I won't allow it."

Hinata has tears in her eyes that threaten to fall but manages to nod, "Okay." 

…

Sakura's arm itches like crazy suddenly, but the weird thing is, she's seen TenTen itch that same spot on her arm multiple times since their walk. 

A thought hits Sakura like a slap, a thought that has her pausing mid-step and quickly unraveling her arm covering. 

"What are you doing?" TenTen asks quickly at the weird behavior. 

Sakura pulls away the last of the material and can't believe her eyes.

Hinata's name, etched in her skin, is clear as day. 

TenTen gasps beside her. 

"Let's go get Ino." Sakura smiles, "And then head over to the Hyuga clan."

…

Hinata felt like she was dreaming. It was like all her worries were gone, and a burst of energy flooded her system as she and Kiba sat in her bedroom and awaited the consequences of her actions. 

She was still nervous and overwhelmed, but she also felt peaceful. Her emotions felt all over the place. Kiba was trying to keep her calm, making jokes and telling her about his day with the boys. She appreciated the distraction. 

She suddenly whipped her head in the direction of the front door. Kiba paused mid-sentence. Even without the byakugan being used, she could sense her mates nearby. 

"Hinata?" Kiba asks. 

"They're almost here," she whispers. 

"Do you want to meet them at the door?"

She kind of doesn't but then realizes how awkward it would be if anyone else opened the door instead. "Yes." She stands, and Kiba does as well, following her lead out of her bedroom and through the compound until they stand at the front door. 

The knock happens as they arrive. 

Kiba and Akamaru go behind the far wall, and Kiba gives her a thumbs up, akymaru's tail wagging happily beside him. 

Hinata takes a deep breath, then opens the door. 

Sakura, Ino, and Tenten stood there smiling, each holding a bundle of flowers. No one speaks for a moment, and it makes Hinata uneasy. 

"Hinata," Tenten says, "Thank you for accepting us. We hope we can always provide for you the life you deserve." She bows, and Sakura and Ino follow, all bowing and holding out their flowers. 

"We all picked out different flowers we felt represented you." Ino says, "I picked sunflowers because, in my eyes, you are a beautiful woman who always looks to the sun and therefore sees the brighter side of things." 

"I picked forget-me-nots because you're quiet but unforgettable. Ino also told me that these flowers are also used to prevent animals from entering gardens, so they have a protective streak for their home, which I also see in you." 

"I picked daisies because most people underestimate them. But daisies are used in multiple medicine types and tend to survive in harsh weather. They help and hold their ground, both ideals I have seen you practice."

Hinata did not know what to say. This was above and beyond anything she had ever imagined out of all the situations she had considered. 

"Thank you," she says, her voice soft, but her smile slowly rises. "Would you like to go on a walk?"

The three nodded eagerly, and she giggled. "Let me bring these flowers inside, and then we can go." 

She walks back inside after being given the flowers. Kiba rushes to her side. 

"Damn, Hinata, that was one of the most romantic moments I've ever witnessed." 

Hinata laughs. "Make you want to change your mind?" She looks up at Kiba when he doesn't respond; Hinata feels free, happy, happier than she has ever felt before. Kiba looks longingly towards the door. He looks sad. "Kiba?"

"Huh?" he snaps out of it, a smile crossing his face, but Hinata doesn't believe it. "Oh, of course not; I'm going to wait for Sai first." 

Hinata nods, wondering if that resolve would hurt Kiba in the long run if Sai isn't found soon. She can only hope that he will be. 

…

Naruto was having a mixed day; on the one hand, hanging out with his mates 10/10 fantastic time, but on the other hand, he was randomly attacked in the street, which was 0/10, not fun. It ruined the fun a bit, as many of his mates were worried an Akatsuki attack would happen to him any second. The guy didn't look like Akatsuki, though, and had not worn any red cloud garb, so Naruto didn't think that was the answer. 

Not that he had a better explanation for why he was randomly attacked. Which did bother him. 

He was headed to the Hokage's office with Shikamaru because Shikamaru wanted to tell the Hokage about this intruder and because he and Sakura were being assigned to a new team temporarily while Kakashi was getting better. He was glad he didn't have to wait to follow up on their Sasuke lead, even if it won't be with Kakashi. 

When they entered the Hokage's office, neither Naruto nor Shikamaru expected to see the person who attacked Naruto earlier leaning on the wall next to the window to the office. 

"Naruto," Lady Tsunade says, "welcome; I was just introducing Sakura to your new team leader Yamato sensei, and your new teammate-"

"You attacked me!" Naruto pointed at the guy; he had black hair that fell just to his eyes and wore all-black clothing to match. It all contrasted against his pale skin. He looked like a piece of art Naruto would be told not to touch as a child because it was priceless. 

"What?"

The guy had the audacity to smile, but the smile was too calm like there wasn't any emotion behind it, like a trick; it felt fake. 

"I simply wanted to test my new comrade's abilities firsthand before working with him," Sai says. His voice is different than Naruto would have assumed, but the same non-emotion tone rings through his inflection. 

Tsunade looked a bit bewildered but kept her composure. "Well, I hope you got a good look at your new team's skills," Tsunade says sarcastically, but Sai doesn't seem to notice or care. "You'll all be moving out tomorrow morning, so get ready tonight; you have a tiring journey ahead of you." 

…

"Don't you look silly," Master Jiraya appears in Kakashi's window just as he's sitting up. "They tell me you're gonna be holed up here for a week," Jiraya says, walking into the room and placing familiar books on the table. "Well, here's a get-well gift; I'm sure you've read them, but they'll help pass the time."

"Thanks," Kakashi grunts, "But you didn't return to the village just to see me."

"Let's wait for Tsunade and the others to get here."

"Others?" 

"I believe he'll be going by Yamato on this mission; you'll know him when you see him. And your mate was also called in, seeing as he's the closest thing Naruto has to family." 

Kakashi wants to say Iruka isn't the closest thing; he IS Naruto's family but doesn't have much energy to fight right now.

There is a knock at the door moments later. 

"Can we enter?" Tsunade's voice rings through the door. 

"Didn't take them long," Jiraya says with a chuckle. 

Tsunade enters with Shizune, Iruka, and a man Kakashi knows well.

"Long time no see Kakashi." Yamato smiles. 

"So this is the Yamato you were talking about." Kakashi deadpans, sparing a quick glance at Iruka, who looks nervous but is trying not to show it. 

"While I'll be filling in as interim team leader for team Kakashi, Yamato will be my codename, Sir." Yamato relays. 

"If he's going to lead your team, Kakashi, I want him to know exactly what he's dealing with," Tsunade says sternly. 

"What we are about to tell you is the exact reason you were chosen as Kakashi's replacement," Jiraya admits. 

"Is this about Naruto?" Yamato asks, glancing at Iruka and back to the others, knowing there would be no reason Iruka would be present if Naruto weren't the subject. 

"Exactly. You already know Naruto has the nine-tail fox spirit sealed inside of him." Kakashi starts. 

"There are times when the nine tails chakra starts to leak out of Naruto's body," Jiraya continues for him, "We've been referring to it as the nine tails cloak."

"Nine tails cloak." Yamato seems shocked. Iruka is looking out the window, an unreadable expression on his face. 

"He'll take on the fox spirit form," Kakashi admits. 

"How long has this been happening to him?" Yamato asks. 

"As recently as our last mission," Kakashi says, remembering the fear he felt when he saw that red glow encompassing his student. "When his emotions overcome him, the fox spirit's chakra begins to surface." Kakashi could only think of protecting Naruto, and his team, getting them home safely, getting Naruto home safely- to Iruka. "Just before the second tail formed, I was able to suppress the chakra, but if I had not intervened, who knows what might have happened." 

"So it's just as I feared," Jariya says. 

"Judging by the shape the chakra was taking-" Kakashi starts.

"That about sums it up." Jariya mumbles. 

"The number of tails will probably grow. And eventually, they'll be nine." Kakashi says, then looks to Jariya, "Master Jariya, how many tails have you seen?" 

Master Jiraya chuckles a bit as if reminiscing. "In all my years of living, I've come close to death only twice. That was when I was caught doing research at a hot spring. I broke six ribs, both arms and ruptured a handful of internal organs- Tsunade beat me like a drum." He slowly raises his shirt, revealing a horrific scar on his abdomen. "The second time was back when Naruto and I were off training together, and the fourth tail appeared."

…

As the meeting concluded, everyone left, but Iruka stayed in Kakashi's room. 

"Are you okay?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge. 

"I'm fine," Iruka replies. But he's not sure. "I'm just worried." 

"He's going to be okay. Naruto is going to be okay."

But Iruka knows Kakashi can't promise that. No one can. 

Kakashi sighs, then scoots over on the hospital bed. 

"Lay with me a bit?" 

Iruka blushes but doesn't hesitate, this time to lay next to Kakashi, letting Kakashi place an arm around him and put Iruka's head on his chest. At this moment, Iruka is too worried about his child to even think about his self-doubt. Right now, he just needs to be held. 

And Kakashi holds him . 

Chapter Text

Naruto was a bit grumpy when the newest temporary version of Team Seven rolled out. 

Yamato seemed fine, and Kakashi trusted him, and if Kakashi trusted him, that was good enough for Naruto. 

They were possibly on their way to find Sasuke so that they could bring him home. 

He shouldn't be grumpy. 

But Sai was bothering him. 

There was something about him that got under his skin, and what annoyed Naruto the most was that he didn't mean that only in a bad way. 

Sai was an omega, that was clear, he didn't wear scent patches, so his scent was never hidden. The scent of ink on fresh-cut paper surrounded him. Naruto knew not all omegas were comfortable always having their scent out, as they would be immediately identified as omega, and that scared some omegas enough to use patches to dampen the scent. Kiba never wore them; he learned from Shino that Kiba was not afraid of people knowing he was an omega and would gladly fight anyone who dared say anything against him or attempt anything with him. 

It makes Naruto wonder why Sai doesn't use them. Does he feel like Kiba does? Or maybe he was raised that way? He knew next to nothing about the guy, and it bothered him. 

But not as much as the shirt Sai wore. That bothered him in a whole different way. 

Sai is very attractive; he has beautiful pale skin, fragile-looking features, and cheekbones that make you want to caress his jawline. 

But his smile annoyed Naruto. It just wasn't real. It was like everything Sai said was fake, an emotional facade. It was insane, and something inside him told him something was wrong; something weird was happening. He had always trusted these feelings before, and they had never led him astray, but he didn't know what the issue was. 

A day into their journey, he decided to ask Sakura what she thought.

…

Sakura listens to Naruto's thoughts as they come out a mile a minute, about how he feels something is off about Sai. 

"I think you're right," Sakura says, "something is going on; there is no immediate emotion behind his eyes." 

"Immediate?"

"Well, yeah, no one can have no emotion, right? So whatever his emotion is, it's just really locked down." 

"Why?" Naruto looks perplexed. Sakura, knowing Naruto for so long, knows Naruto wears not only his heart on his sleeve but also his emotions, which are always expressed, no matter what they are. 

"I'm not sure. It honestly doesn't sound healthy. I could look into some theories in some medical journals. Like phycology stuff." 

"Phycology? Like head stuff."

"Yeah, maybe it's a trauma response? I mean, he's a Shinobi? We've all seen some things that cause us pain. Maybe that's how he copes?" 

Sakura watched as Naruto looked in the direction where Sai was, sitting on the edge of a dock nearby but not in hearing range. He's drawing in a notebook, sketching something. Naruto stares at Sai intensely, "trauma?" He repeats. His eyes fill with rage for a moment, and while Sakura can understand why he'd maybe be mad, Naruto's reaction seems a little too much for someone he just met. 

She wonders. 

"He is cute, though."

Naruto's face lights up like an inferno as he whips back to look at her. 

Bingo. 

"What?!" Naruto responds. "Sakura, you have an Omega-mate."

"I do, and I love her so much, but Sai is cute, and I think you think so too." 

"What." Naruto brushes it off, "No way, plus I'm sure Kiba will be a name on my arm."

Sakura giggles, walking by him towards Sai. "So, you have two omega mates; maybe he's the second. And what an image Kiba and Sai would be together, hmm." Sakura teases, and Naruto somehow gets even redder. 

"Sakura!" He stammers, embarrassed.

She leaves him behind and approaches Sai. He doesn't stop sketching as she approaches, so she sits down next to him, her legs dangling off the end of the dock. 

"What are you drawing?"

Sai stops then, looking at her. "The river." 

"Can I see?" 

Sai hands her the drawing, and her eyes widen. "Wow, this is really good!" The colors blend together, but somehow, you see the river exactly how it's meant to be, in motion. The colors match perfectly; Sai is really a fantastic artist. Naruto comes up behind Sakura and looks over her shoulder. 

"That is really good." He says, and Sakura watches Sai's reaction. He inflates for only a second at the tiny praise Naruto gives, then before she can blink, he brings back that phony smile, and whatever emotion was about to escape him is shoved down somewhere. But still, the way he reacted to Naruto's statement, well, she didn't want to get too invested in theories. She hopes she can see Kiba meet Sai if Kiba reacts in any way; well then, that solidified her thoughts. 

"What's the painting's name?"

"Name?"

"Yeah, don't you name the paintings?"

"I never had before," Sai says, shrugging his shoulders. "Why would they need a name?"

"Well, a name would give it a meaning. Something to refer to it by." 

Sai hums in thought. "I guess river, then." 

"Kinda on the nose, but that works," Naruto says, sitting beside Sakura. "So… you born in Konoha?"

…

Hinata was nervous, though she'd felt nervous most of her life. Today, though, she felt like her heart was going to jump out of her throat and fall on the floor from how loud it was beating. 

It shouldn't be a big deal, but it felt like it to her. She was going on a date. 

Ino was taking her out to dinner.

And Hinata was panicking. 

Kiba had come over to help her get ready, but his words or kindness on every outfit she tried on did not help her decide what to wear.

"Or don't wear anything, that will certainly get your mate's attention." Kiba winked. Hinata blushed. 

"Don't tease me if you can't handle the payback later," she said, looking at him in the mirror's reflection, "You were red in the face when you bumped into Neji earlier." 

"Was not!" Kiba grumbled. She laughed, looming back at her outfit. She wore a simple dress; it was long, past her knees, and had short sleeves on the arms but felt tight across her chest. She felt a bit exposed even though no actual cleavage was showing. Still, she felt she looked good. And time was running out before Ino got here. 

"I think this is the one," she says, and Kiba looks up from where he was lying on her bed. 

"She'll love it," he says, with a thumbs up. She had a feeling he would have said that to any outfit but appreciated the sentiment. "And she'll be here in about 15, so I should probably head home." He gets off the bed, Akamaru stretching out on the floor before standing, "I expect full details tomorrow!" 

"Okay," she says, still analyzing her dress choice.

And then she's alone. 

Fifteen minutes now seems like an eternity, and yet not enough time. 

She brushes her hair again and goes to the front door. Not surprisingly, her father is there. 

"Father," she says, with a slight bow. 

"Hinata," he says; he looks like he wants to say a lot of things but chooses one, "have a nice time, and make sure you are treated well ." 

Ever since the chunin exams, her father has cared more for her life rather than her training. Though out of her family, she still feels closest to Neji; having her father feel like an active participant in her life these last few years has been nice. 

"I will," she smiles and heads out the front door. She doesn't wait long as Ino is in view a minute later, walking down the street. She meets her halfway.

"You look beautiful," she says to Hinata. Ino is wearing a dark purple dress that falls just above the knees, the top a bit low cut, making Hinata blush. Ino also has on a matching jacket and knee-high, heeled boots.

"So do you," Hinata says back. 

"Thank you," Ino smiles, offering her hand, which Hinata accepts, letting Ino lead the way to the restaurant. It wasn't too fancy, but it was not somewhere to wear your mission outfit. Once they arrived, they were seated almost instantly, keeping the small, casual conversation going as they waited. 

"First dates are supposed to be where we get to know each other," Ino says as they settle at their table, "but we already know a lot about each other." 

"I'm sure we don't know everything," Hinata says, looking at the menu before her, glancing at the different options, and deciding what to get. 

"I doubt anyone knows everything," Ino agrees, glancing at the menu as well, "though if you ask Chouji, he'd say Shikamaru does, and Shikamaru won't deny it because he secretly thinks he does."

Hinata was slightly startled by the quick gossip, "oh?"

"Oh, yeah, Shika might act aloof, but he's got an ego to him." Ino says, rolling her eyes, "Trust me." 

"Kiba has a bit of an ego," Hinata says, offering her gossip on her own team. 

"A bit of one?" Ino chuckles. 

"Not as much as you might think," Hinata says, and Ino raises an eyebrow. 

"Oh, do tell?" For a moment, Hinata hesitates; she is talking about her best friend; should she be saying anything? But this is her mate, and she started this line of conversation.

"Hinata?" Ino interrupts her thoughts. "you don't have to tell me anything; I won't be mad. If Kiba said something to you in confidence, then you don't have to tell me."

"I wasn't going to say a secret or anything; I just never talked about others before," Hinata says, "I'm not sure what is allowed to be said."

"Well, I always talk about people; I find it fascinating to analyze them and their motivations. It's all widely interesting to me, but if Chouji ever told me a secret, I'd take it to my grave." 

"that makes sense," Hinata says, pondering a moment before speaking again. "Kiba is very self-conscious, though; not many people see that side of him."

"I honestly would never have guessed it." Ino says, hands folded in front of her on the table, expression interested, "The way he talks doesn't portray that."

"He's loud; that runs in his entire culture; all the Inuzukas are loud and easy to anger." Hinata explained, "But he struggles to see himself as strong; sometimes, I think he feels that way because he's an omega."

Ino doesn't respond; instead looks sullenly into the distance. The waiter appears moments later and takes their orders. After he leaves, Ino talks again. 

"That's sad that he feels that way," she says, "but why would he feel that way?" 

"Well-" Hinata was really into this conversation now because she's been trying to figure out Kiba and help him with his mental state for years (unbeknownst to Kiba himself), and she's been on her own, and now she has someone, and gosh, she's excited. "I think it's because of-" she stops herself quickly, clamping her mouth shut. She was going to say his mates. She thinks that how strong his mates are is the reason he feels weak by comparison. "I actually can't say." 

Because that would be too much information, information that wasn't her's to share. 

"No worries." Ino smiles, anyway, reaching to take her hand across the table, fingers intertwining. "You like being an omega, right?"

Hinata had never been asked that question before, "I suppose I don't have an opinion on it, to be perfectly honest." 

"Oh?"

"I mean, I guess. I know omegas are more in tune with others' emotions, and I like having that connection to Kiba. We are best friends, but it's more than that, with us both being omega's. I always have someone to lean on, and he always knows how I'm feeling without saying it."

"I don't have any omega friends besides you, but I heard omega friendships tend to be closer and more meaningful than alpha ones."

"I don't know if we're closer, but it might be different." 

"How so?" 

"Would you ever cuddle with Choji or Shikamaru?"

"Ew, no, lol, I see your point." Hinata laughs at Ino's grossed-out expression. 

"Do you like being an alpha?"

"I like providing for others, not that Omegas can't do that, but I love caring for my family. I know alphas are supposed to be protective, but I want to show my mates off to the world. Show everyone how amazing they are."

"That's very sweet of you." 

"Thanks."

Then the food arrives, and they eat, joking about recent missions. Ino tells her a story about Temari putting on the wrong shoes in the morning and falling flat on her face. 

The check comes, and Ino pays, not even allowing Hinata to look at the price. 

Then, they start to walk back to the Hyuga compound. 

Once they get there, they both hesitate silently for a moment, unsure of what to do.

"I had a good date." Hinata says, "Thank you for taking me." 

"I will absolutely do it any time," Ino says, taking Hinata's hand and kissing the back of it. Hinata appreciated the gesture, as Ino allowed Hinata to set the pace. "Have a good night, Hinata."

"You as well," she says, entering her home and shutting the door behind her. She smiles as she leans back against the now-closed door. 

"So it went well?" Neji questions, making Hinata jump a bit.

Neji lets loose a small smile that's almost a laugh. 

"Yes, it did," Hinata says, more confidently than she usually would. 

"I'm glad," Neji says, "you deserve a mate who treats you with respect."

Hinata nods. 

"And if any of them do anything to hurt you, I'll break them." 

Hinata still smiles but rolls her eyes. "You are far too protective."

He smiles, "You're worth being protected."

"Thanks, Neji."

…

Naruto has gotten used to Sai, kind of sort of. He's gotten better and reading him a bit, and he's noticed a few things about him. He tends to shy away from touch; if Naruto is too close to his space, he'll try to make room between them. He doesn't do it as much with Sakura, so Naruto wonders if it's a thing against male alphas or something else. He's also not sure if Sai even knows he's doing it. But yeah, Sai doesn't love to be touched, and he keeps his distance. He doesn't talk much, interjecting only when he has something about the mission or when asked a question. 

And yet, he feels like Sai has things to say. 

Naruto just can't shake this feeling. 

Sakura and Naruto had both seen glimpses of this book Sai is constantly drawing in. Eventually, when Sai leaves to bathe in a nearby lake, Naruto can't help but look at the book. Sakura and he huddle around the small sketchbook. It shows two people fighting new opponents on each page, eventually meeting in the middle. But it still needs to be finished; half the page still needs to be completed—the half from the side, whose character is remarkably similar to Sai. 

"What do you think it means?" Naruto asks Sakura after they put the book back before Yamato notices or Sai returns. 

"I don't know. But I'd imagine the two would fight when they got to the middle, but the one boy is reaching his hand out." She leans back against the tree next to him with a thoughtful look. "It could be someone from his past?" 

Naruto was not good at puzzles, and Sai felt like a major one, with tiny pieces he couldn't get to fit together. 

Later that night, they were all resting in the cabin Yamato made, which was awesome and much better than the ground. Naruto couldn't sleep, though; tomorrow, they had their rondeau with one of Orochimaru's people. This was how they were going to find Sasuke. 

Naruto got out of his sleeping bag and went to sit outside. It seemed he wasn't alone with that idea. Sai was sitting there on the front steps, enjoying the night air. For a small second, before he realized Naruto was there, naruto thought he saw a small smile on his lips, not the fake one, but one that reached the rest of his face. 

It was beautiful. 

But then he noticed Naruto's presence and the fake smile cemented itself upon Sai's features as he greeted Naruto, "You're up late." 

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep." He says, going to sit next to Sai. "You?"

"I don't sleep well on missions." He says, "I prefer to be around my own things." 

"Makes sense; Iruka always hates leaving his nest for too many days," Naruto responds. 

Sai's eyes glossed over briefly before the neutral face hardened, "Yes, it's hard away from my nest." 

Naruto had yet to get much information out of Sai, only very basic things, and always had vague answers.

"Do you live alone? Is it just your nest?" It was a non-personal question followed by a decently personal question. 

"I live alone." Sai says and leans back, looking up at the stars, "I doubt I'll ever share a nest with anyone." 

Naruto glances to confirm Sai has the same wrapping on his arms as many others. "Why? You have a name under there, right?" 

"Yes, I have quite a few names," Sai says, and Naruto holds his breath momentarily. Sai turns to look at Naruto, and for a moment, he's a different person, the mask slipping. 

"Why wouldn't you share a nest then?" He says, and it comes out breathy, his voice lower. His heart was beating fast, and he didn't know when he started leaning into Sai's space, but for the first time, Sai didn't pull away. 

"I don't really think they'd like me." And there is more behind those words, some reading between the lines that Naruto is unable to do. So he doesn't.

"If they're anything like me, I'd love my mate, no matter who they are." He whispers, and Sai shivers lightly, then his eyes widen as if he got hit, and he quickly stands. 

"Sorry," he says, "I need to go."

And runs inside. 

Naruto stays out a little longer, evening out his breathing. He definitely needed to talk to Shikamaru when he got back. 

He stares at where Sai has gone. 

He might just have found their other mate. 

…

Sai runs back into the cabin, almost falling over as the pain ripples down his spine. The pain shot through his veins like lightning. 

He falls to his knees, panting. 

Stop, he tells his mind. Don't think about it. You can't get out of this situation. Don't fall for Naruto Uzumaki. 

He's part of your mission. 

He repeats, nothing more.

The pain slowly resides, leaving him twitching in shockwaves of hurt. 

What am I doing, he thinks. Don't forget who I am. No one. Don't listen to Naruto's words. There is no way out for him, and none of his mates will ever love him like this; they can't, he can't. 

So don't try. He tells himself. 

His body no longer feels the pain from Danzo's seal, but the names linger, almost as if his mates were trying to change his mind.

…

Iruka was cooking, and nothing was burned—a miracle in itself. The cooking also helped him focus on the task and not on the fact that Kurenai was coming to his place for a meal. 

It has been a spur-of-the-moment decision. After hearing all the date ideas she had planned, he figured he had to make some to show his interest. Why he decided to cook for her… who knows, but so far, so good.

When the door knocks, he puts down the spoon he was storing with and answers it. Kurenai was the only one available today; everyone else had missions, and he had school prep on other days. Still, he felt less anxious about being more individual and having fewer people to impress. 

He opened the door, and Kurnai smiled at him. "Iruka," she bowed formally but with a teasing tone. 

"Kurenai," he did it back, and she giggled. He moved to the side to let her pass. 

"Come in?"

"Thank you," she says, "it smells amazing in here. What are you cooking?" 

"Oh, um, some homemade ramen." He goes back to his spot, stirring the spoon. Kurenai is suddenly behind him, leaning over his shoulder. They are about the same height, but it certainly doesn't feel that way now. She's pressed against his back, her warmth seeping into him.

He blushes and shivers at her touch. Damn. How is he this lucky? She could have anyone.

"Your scent just soured." She pulls back, guilty. "Sorry, I didn't mean to overstep." 

"No, no, no." Iruka turned around and cursed himself; he was so bad at this. "You didn't do anything." 

"So, your scent?"

"I was just thinking that you could have anyone you wanted…" the rest of his statement was left unsaid, but Kurnai seemed to pick up on it. 

She looked at him, gaze slowly moving up his body… Was she checking him out!? "I could have anyone." She confidently walks back to him, grasping his hips and pulling him into her, "But I definitely want you." 

Damn.

Her lips were an inch from his, and just like with Kakashi, he couldn't stop himself from diving in. Their lips meant and what starts sweet is quickly turned passionate and hungry. Absentmindedly, he feels Kurenai reach behind him to take the ramen off the stove and turn off the flame. She breaks the kiss, and he's panting. She pulls him with her, leading him to the living room; he recently got a few chairs and a small table to have his mates over. He also moved the nest a little to make some room on the couch. 

She sits on the couch and pulls his hips till he's straddling her. When he sits, he can feel her hardness through her skirt. Damn. He thinks again. He leans down to kiss her, and she grinds up into him. He whines, having never felt like this outside a heat. A need was building inside him. Kurnai had a firm grip on his hips as she helped him move in synch with her. 

She stops kissing him and starts kissing and sucking her way down his neck. He moans, and god, he doesn't care what he sounds like or if the neighbors can hear him; all he can think about is his alpha and how good he feels.

He was close. "Alpha!" He yells, and Kurenai growls in response, thrusting hard; even through her skirt, he can feel every inch of her. 

Iruka whimpers as he cums, collapsing onto Kurenai, whose pace speeds up, and moments later, she muffles a moan by biting just below his scent gland. 

Iruka shivers from the climax. It lingers in his body. He feels like he's in heaven and hell at the same time. It feels so good. 

"Iruka," Kurenai says, gently maneuvering his face to see hers. Iruka shivered again, and Kurnai's eyes went wide. "Iruka, was this your first?" 

Iruka can barely nod. For omegas, they can jack off all they want, but it won't feel as satisfying for them as if an alpha is involved. So when an alpha is involved, and it's the first time orgasm, the omega tends to get overwhelmed, and it tends to last a bit longer than a second. Usually a minute or two, but it's exhausting. 

Kurenai brings his face into her neck, and it's calming as he works through the longest and most pleasurable minute of his life. "I'm sorry, Iruka, I assumed you had- that you'd-"

"I never wanted to," Iruka said through panting, finally relaxing, but he felt exhausted. "No one was going to compare." 

Kurenai let out a growl, and Iruka shivered again. "Sorry, she apologized." 

"Don't apologize." He said, but his body was slumping against hers more and more. He should really change his pants, he briefly thinks. 

"Do you want to shower?" She asks, "I'll clean up here and finish dinner." 

He had said that out loud!? 

Kurenai laughs. 

"Shower," she pecks him on the lips, "take your time and relax. I'll be here when you get back." 

He stands and feels like jello. But he manages to stay standing while walking to the bathroom. 

He cleans off in what he hopes is a quick shower before changing and entering the living room again. A room that now smelled of him and Kurenai, causing him to blush. 

"Oh good," she says, "dinner is just finished." 

She puts two bowls on the table, and reluctantly, Iruka goes to sit across from her. She must have noticed, though, because she immediately asks, "Iruka, would you like to be in your nest."

"That would be very rude of me."

"Do you want to?" She repeats. And he nods.

"Okay, go on," and he doesn't feel the small alpha command laced in her voice. It's very gentle, a push in the direction she knows will make him feel better.

 Once in his nest, he feels calmer, eating his ramen. She smiles at him from her chair.

He wasn't expecting the night to go this way, but he wasn't complaining. 

…

The bridge was a disaster. Naruto felt a guilt inside him that he couldn't get rid of. He had hit Sakura, who was attempting to calm him down to stop his transformation. 

He's trained for years and still feels totally out of control. 

He's frustrated and angry, and he can't believe in any mindset that he'd hurt Sakura, but he did. 

She said it was fine, that he wasn't thinking straight in that state. He didn't like the excuses she was making for him. 

The only good thing was they got a lead on Saskue, and by tomorrow's time, they'd hopefully have tracked him down. 

He sits on the steps outside the wood cabin again, the emotions from the day keeping him awake when he should be asleep. 

"You should rest," Sai says from behind him.

"I will soon," he says, not bothering to turn to face him; Sai sits down next to Naruto instead. Naruto can feel Sai watching him, but Naruto continues to stare up at the stars that peak above the trees. 

"You seem…upset." 

Naruto turns to look at Sai; the moonlight shines on his pale skin, giving him an angelic glow. His fake smile is cemented on his face, but his eyes seem concerned. 

"I'm fine."

Sai pauses, "Are you mad for hurting Sakura?" 

Naruto grits his teeth. While he had grown fond of Sai, he wasn't used to Sai's ability to have no emotional tact; it's like he never had to talk to people before and, therefore, didn't know how to say things, well, without a bluntness to them. But he didn't seem to mean harm; he just did not know. 

"Yeah," Naruto says, going back to looking at the sky. 

"You shouldn't." Sai says, "Getting hurt is part of a shinobi's line of work. Things like this happen; people mess up all the time." 

"It's worse when I do." 

"What makes you say that?" 

Naruto knows that Sai knows why he thinks it's worse. Other people don't have to deal with a stupid fox inside him, constantly trying to get out, especially when his emotions are high. 

Naruto doesn't respond to Sai. 

"While training, I once injured my brother with a kunai. After that, I wouldn't pick one up again for months." 

Naruto turned back to Sai. 

"It turns out that not using kunai is not beneficial to training, but during that time, I discovered ninja art and started using that. I did pick up a kunai, though again, but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have been able to save my brother from an attack years later. 

Naruto wasn't sure exactly where Sai was going with this.

"You made a mistake, but that doesn't make you bad. It just means you need to work harder, gain skills to get stronger, and be more in control."

Naruto was stunned. Control. Could he control the fox? He didn't know. But the way Sai stared at him, with determination in his eyes, Naruto would try his hardest. 

"I didn't know you had a brother?" 

Sai now turns to look at the sky, giving a nod.

"Is he a shinobi, too, then?" 

"He was. He died when I was younger." 

"I'm sorry," Naruto says, and Sai doesn't look back at him, staring at the sky. Naruto moves closer so that their shoulders are brushing. "Thanks for the pep talk." he changes the subject. 

Sai looks back at him and smiles, fake, but Naruto will take what he can get. "I'll be here if you need me." 

And Naruto felt more lay beneath those words than he knew.

…

Although Sai was very well trained and briefed on Sasuke Uchiha, he was unprepared. Sai opens another door to another empty room in the large compound or seemingly endless empty rooms.

He pauses the next door he opens; this one looks lived in. He enters cautiously, but apparently not cautiously enough. Sasuke is in front of him in seconds; before he can undo his scroll to make a beast, he's pinned against a wall, hands above his head; he at least was able to get a kunai into his hand, though it's useless as his hands are now pinned. 

Red eyes bore into him. "And who would you be?" Sasuke asks, and oh, his voice does things to Sai. He resists the urge not to shiver, forcing his body to remain taut. "You came here with the idiot," -Sai assumes he means Naruto- "but I've never seen you before." 

At this time, a pain shoots through him, and he remembers. If you get the chance, Danzo's voice rings out, Kill Sasuke Uchiha. 

"And you won't again," Sai says, knocking his head against Sasuke with force neither was expecting. Sasuke steps back, dropping him, and Sai goes to sweep his legs. 

Sai is pinned again before anything else can happen. This time, he's on the floor, Sasuke above him, one hand pinning his wrists. Something inside wants to preen at the strength of his mate, but another is screaming at him to run. Sai has never had a lot of physical contact, and even this is overwhelming his senses. 

Sasuke leans in and takes a breath, smelling him. "You smell nice." 

Sai doesn't respond. 

"I think most people smell like shit, except for a few. What's your name?" 

"Sai." He doesn't know why he answers him. 

Sasuke's eyes soften only slightly. "So you're one of my mates then," Sasuke says.

"No." 

"No?" Sasuke brings his unclothes arm to show off, "Then this must have lied to me." He has all the names on his arm, including his and Kiba Inizuka. "It was a side effect of the experiments."

Sai doesn't respond; he does try to head butt him again since it worked the first time. He tried to shift his weight to throw Sasuke off balance when it didn't. 

"Stop squirming." Sasuke says, annoyed, "I'm not going to hurt you. I'll let you up if you behave." 

Sai continues to squirm. He can't behave. 

Kill Sasuke Uchiha. Kill Sasuke Uchiha. Kill Sasuke Uchiha.

It plays on repeat in his head.

His arm is on fire. The names burn like smoldering metal on an open wound. 

If he's let up, he'll try to kill Sasuke again. He can't not do it. But he doesn't want to do it. Everything hurts. His body screams at him.

…

Sasuke could see something was wrong. Sai's scent was sour, and his body language was confusing, to say the least. He kept this tight, emotionless expression on his face the whole time, even though Sasuke could feel Sai's body radiating with repressed convulsions of pain. He hadn't pinned the other that hard, so what was happening?

"Omega." Sasuke had never used his alpha voice before. Sai's eyes met his directly. "What's wrong." 

"I can't say." Sai's voice sounded forced like he was fighting two alpha commands instead of one. It piqued an interesting idea. Then his eyes showed a small amount of gold, and Sasuke knew he needed to act now. 

"Omega," he tried again. "Are you here to kill me?" 

Sai did not respond but struggled more. 

Yes, then, he assumed. 

"Omega," Sasuke said a third time, and Sai looked exhausted, "Sasuke Uchiha is dead." 

Sai stops moving and stares at him. 

"I'm not the boy I was; I'm a new person. You could say Sasuke Uchiha, who I was, was dead. There is no one for you to kill." 

Sai slumps to the ground, and Sasuke finally lets go of him, giving him space. This wasn't what he expected. Not at all. Someone was controlling one of his omegas. He doubts the idiot knows about it at all. The gold from Sai's eyes fades. Whatever is controlling him, it's strong enough to go up against an alpha's voice, one of his mates no less. 

Sasuke needs to learn more.

Seconds later, pink hair comes into Sasuke's peripheral vision. He moves before the punch can come; the room gets wrecked as Sakura punches a wall instead of him. Now, a gaping hole in the ground. He hears Naruto shout for Sakura somewhere in the distance. 

Sakura is leaning down to Sai, who is sitting up but looks like an utter mess at the moment, exhausted, but he doesn't look in pain anymore. Having an alpha command you as an omega was a tiring experience, and Sai just had it done thrice quickly. His body and mind must be exhausted. But if Sasuke hadn't, he would have stayed in that state, and who knows what would have happened.

After he finds and deals with his brother, whoever controls one of his omegas, he is next on his list. 

…

Naruto runs out into the light; once a room, it is now a gaping hole in the ground. Sasuke stands at the top of the ruins; Sakura stands in front of Sai, sitting on the floor looking a little worse for wear, though he doesn't see any injuries. Seeing Sai like that made him angry. 

"Sasuke!" He yells at the man. And whoa. Sasuke has grown too, now sporting an entirely new outfit, chest on display for the world. 

"Naruto," Sasuke says, and his voice is deep and alluring. Damn. That's hot. 

"Sakura," she glared slightly, stepping in front of Sai, who was now standing up. 

Naruto had yet to think this far ahead. Usually, he goes forward without thinking it all through, anyway. 

He unravels his arm and holds it up, "We're mates, Sasuke." 

Sakura looks like she wants to facepalm. 

Sasuke chuckles. "So." 

Rude.

"So, come home!" Naruto says, "Come home, and we can help you find your brother!" 

Naruto can feel a pull to Sasuke. God, he just wants him home. 

"No." Sasuke grits his teeth, "This is something I need to do alone." Then, in an instant, Sasuke is in front of him. "Perhaps I'm not the mate you should be worried about." He glances in Sakura and Sai's direction briefly. 

Before another word could be said, wood shot from the ground. Sasuke dodges, moving so as not to be captured. Then, he's gone.

"Everyone okay?" Yamato appears, and Naruto nods, still slightly stunned by the encounter. 

"Are you okay, Sai?" Sakura asks.

 "Yes, I am fine." He says, fake smile back in place, "Thank you." 

"All right, team, let's move out," Yamato says with a bit of worry. 

Naruto does so, Sasuke's last line in his thoughts. What did he mean? Who should Naruto be worried about? What does Sasuke know?

And why can't he just tell him plain and simple! 

God, he's so annoying. 

But god, Naruto still loved him. 

Chapter Text

The journey back to Konoha had Naruto feeling happy and disappointed. He was happy because he would be back home with his friends and mates, this time longer than just a few days. But disappointed, he felt he was coming home empty-handed, with no Sasuke. 

He sighed, causing Sakura to look over at him and raise an eyebrow, giving a concerned look.

He doesn't pay her look any attention, just ready to get home. They enter the village in the late evening, right after sunset. 

"I'll report to the Hokage's office; you all head home," Yamato said, which Naruto appreciated. 

"Naruto, let's hang out tomorrow?" Sakura says before Naruto can take off. 

Naruto nods. 

"You too, Sai; we should get to know you more if you're working with us now," Sakura says.

Naruto turns to Sai, who tilts his head, "Sure. I suppose."

"Great! Meet in the town square at ten, then!" She said, taking off. Naruto briefly noticed it was not in the direction of her house. He shrugged.

"Goodnight, Naruto," Sai says before turning and walking off. Naruto couldn't help but watch Sai walk off; his steps seemed so gentle and silent, like he wasn't even there. 

Naruto continues home alone, letting the night air ease some tension off his body. He gets to his and Iruka's place, unlocks the front door, and steps inside. 

Since it's only ever been Iruka and him, the house was never noisy. It had noise, whether that was the scrape of the pencil against paper while Iruka was grading exams, the radio on, or him and Iruka attempting to cook, but he would not call his home loud in any sense of the word. 

But it seemed tonight, it was.

As he stepped into the front entryway, it was not just Iruka who welcomed him. 

"Naruto!" Guy Sensei spoke loudly, "You're back, wonderful; we were just about to eat."

Naruto blinked, and then a smile spread across his face. He realized it wouldn't be Iruka and himself anymore; Iruka's mates would also be a part of his life—more than they had been before, at least. 

"How was your mission?" Kurenai asked, stepping out of the kitchen holding a pot of something that smelled amazing, but the question made his smile deflate. 

"Not great, to be honest." Kurenai seemed a bit shocked by the honest answer.

"Let me guess," Kakashi said, appearing down the hall and gesturing for Naruto to come out of the entryway and into the living room, which he did. "Sasuke hasn't changed a bit."

"Personality-wise, no." Naruto said, "And he's so cryptic; why can he just say things normally." Naruto huffs and immediately shuffles over to Iruka once he sees him sitting at the table. He sits beside him, whispering, "When did we get a table?"

"Last week?"

"Why did we get a table?"

"People needed somewhere to sit." 

Naruto hums in agreement. It was nice as Iruka's mates put out plates and dinner as Iruka was grading exams at the dinner table. Asuma snatches the pile of paper, though, before he sits down next to Iruka to eat. 

It's different from what Naruto is used to, but he likes it. 

…

Naruto wakes up the next day with too much excitement. He knows he should still be upset about Sasuke, but how can he be when he gets to have a sleepover with his mates tonight? 

He packs, unpacks, and repacks his backpack several times throughout the morning, much to the teasing of Iruka. He goes to a nearby sweets shop and buys several goodies to share with his mates, getting a range of flavors because he's unsure what each one prefers. 

When he returned, he was already off to meet Sakura and Sai at the square. He was running a few minutes late, but neither Sakura nor Sai scolded him about it when he arrived. 

They walked around for a little while, entering a few shops to window shop; Saukra was looking for her next mating gifts, which Naruto found exciting, though Sai mainly remained expressionless. 

"What do you think about this one, Sai?" Sakura asks, holding up a Kunai with a special inscription and the sign for Eternity on it. She turns to Naruto, "Do you think TenTen would like it?"

"For sure!" Naruto says, giving a thumbs up. 

"I wouldn't really know." Sai says, "I have never given anyone a gift before." 

"Never?" Naruto questions. 

"Not that I recall." 

"What about to those who gave you a gift?" Sakura asks. 

"I've never been given one." 

"You've never been given a gift?" Sakura repeats, shocked, "What about  birthday gifts from your parents." 

"My mother died when I was born." Sai says, "And my father, well, I never met him." Sai says it all casually, like it's nothing, as he examines a piece of stained glass shaped like the sun hanging from the ceiling. It sprayed yellow light onto the floor and sparkled in the sun. 

"I'm so sorry," Sakura says. 

"Why?" Sai asks, "You couldn't have done anything to stop it." 

Naruto exchanges a look with Sakura as Sai brings his hand up to touch the stained glass, stopping before he actually touches it, bringing his hand back down. 

Something is wrong here. Wrong with Sai. He just doesn't know what yet. 

"Are you going to get that?" Naruto asks, gesturing to the stained glass sun. 

"No, I don't need it," Sai says, that fake smile on his face. 

Sakura does end up getting the kunai, and as they leave the store, Naruto has an idea; he stops and pretends to check his pocket. "Oops, I left my wallet on the shelf inside. Be right back." 

He runs back in and goes up to the cashier. 

"Hello, can I help you?" she asks. 

"Yes, do you do deliveries?"

...

Kiba walked with Hinata on her way to meet up with her girls. They had a group date, minus Temari, and they were going to the park, which is very adorable. As they turned the corner to the meeting spot, he noticed his mates were all mostly there as well. 

"Hey, Shino!" Kiba announced loudly to his teammate as he and Hinata approached. At his shout, most of the boys looked over, smiling or waving in his direction. 

"Hello," Shino says as they approach, followed by Ino, who comes up to stand next to Shino, hugging Hinata and then pulling back so she can speak. "We are still waiting for Sakura, but then we will head out." 

Tenten comes out of nowhere from behind them, also hugging Hinata. "How is the most beautiful woman today?" 

When Hinata doesn't respond to her right away, he stage whispers at her, "She means you." 

"I'm good, thank you." Hinata blushes and Kiba laughs, turning back to face Shino. 

"What? Do I have something on my face?" Kiba rubs his face quickly and wonders what Shino's expression is under the coat; his body freezes at the words, though, like he'd been caught. Had Shino been staring at him? Kiba wills himself not to blush. 

"How have you been, Kiba," Ino says. Hinata, Tenten, Shino, and him forming a circle. The rest of the boys were talking a few feet away about something. Kiba was a bit caught off guard by the question, not because of the question itself, but because Ino had never asked before. He wouldn't say they were close friends. 

"I'm good, nothing crazy to report." Kiba shrugs, "How are you?"

Kiba did not know what was happening right now. He felt like he was missing a piece of the puzzle.

"Pretty good; we have a mission to the sand in a week, which will be nice to see Temari again." 

"We should request a mission in the sand soon," Kiba suggests, looking at Hinata, "Since you haven't been able to see Temari yet." 

"That's a great idea," Tenten says, and she looks at Kiba with a similar look to the one his sister gives him when she's proud of him. This is also weird since he's never been too close with Tenten, either.

"Hey, guys!" Kiba turned when he heard Naruto's voice. He and Sakura were walking over to the group. This was probably his cue to leave, as he was only walking Hinata to her date and heading home anyway. The boys had their date. 

He wanted to go on a date with them, but it wasn't the right time yet. 

As Sakura walked towards them, she seemed to keep glancing at him. He subtly rubbed his face to ensure he had no food on it again; what was it with people staring at him today? Behind Sakura was another shinobi with skin like snow and beautiful soft eyes. 

"Hey, boys," Sakura said, making her way over to Hinata; they all said various forms of hello as she passed them, and they greeted Naruto. She approached Hinata, speaking a bit softer, "Hey, honey."

Hinata's face was red as a tomato. "Hello." 

Sakura glanced in my direction again. What did she want? Then her eyes lit up like she had an idea. 

"I want to introduce you to my new teammate." She says a bit loud, drawing a few of the boys' attention. 

"Oh yeah," Naruto agrees, finally getting through and saying hello to everyone; he turns, gesturing to the guy behind them, "This is Sai."

Kiba had to physically stop himself from gasping, but his eyes went wide as he watched Sai tilt his head and give a wave. "Hello, nice to meet you all." 

Naruto starts listing everyone's names, and Kiba is only drawn back to reality by Hinata nudging him. He realizes Sakura is staring at him again, a look of achievement on her face as if she had assembled a complex equation. 

It hit Kiba a moment later; she was watching for Kiba's reaction to Sai's name. 

Shit. She knows for sure.

He looks around. Has anyone else noticed... he looks to his left to see Shino staring at him, too, and Shikamaru, on the other side of the group, is looking at him smugly, not a usual expression for him.

Shit. 

"And this is Kiba." He's broken out of what was about to be a total panic at the sound of his name. Sai was looking at him, and he felt on fire. 

Shit. 

"We should get going." Neji says, "Before we miss our reservation." The boys all start to move, and so does Hinata, with a confidence he only sees sometimes.

Hinata walks right up to Sai and asks, "What are your plans for the day." 

Sai seems surprised that she approached him, "Not really sure. I was probably going to buy some art supplies."

"There is a great ink shop a few blocks north of here," she says, and Sakura has come to stand behind her as the boys disperse. "Kiba is walking that way if you want to go with him."

Sai looks around Hinata at Kiba, who smiles back. Akumaru nudges him this time as if to say, Speak, idiot.

"Sure," Sai says.

"Great!: Hinata says, taking Sakura's hand and pulling her away. "Have a good day." 

And then, Kiba realizes what's happened; he and Sai are alone.

He's never been so happy for Hinata in his life. 

"I-"Kiba doesn't even know where to start.

"I'm excited to have met you, finally," Sai says, and Kiba echoes the sentiment. 

"I can't believe it's you."

Sai smiles and steps closer, "I can't either, to be honest." 

Kiba steps forward until they are about a foot apart. Sai smells like the ink on a new book, and while Kiba has never been a big reader, he's never been so content as he is now with that smell encasing him. 

They are about the same height, Sai maybe half an inch taller, "I want to know everything about you." Kiba says.

"Likewise," Sai says, smiling, though his eyes seem a bit sad. "Can we go somewhere to talk?" 

"We can go to my house?" Kiba says, then realizes how it sounds, "Not like in a like, you know, I just meant-"

Sai giggles. "I understand it's okay."

"It's this way." He leads, and Sai follows; after a few seconds, he notices Sai staring at his hand. He takes a chance and reaches to interlock his fingers with Sai's. 

… 

Sai was more stressed, more happy, and more terrified than he'd ever been. Kiba was stunning, with dark skin and fluffy brown hair; Sai wanted to run his fingers through it. He wants to hold Kiba and let Kiba's scent of autumn wash over him.  

And Kiba looks so happy to have met him. 

And that terrified Sai because this was a mission, and he had to do what he was told. But he doesn't want anything to hurt Kiba. 

 He wants to protect him; his seal sends subtle waves of pain. 

Then, he remembers what Sasuke did and how he changed the wording of the perception to help him. 

Danzo said he wanted Kiba to fall in love with him, to do anything Kiba wanted. 

Obviously, Kiba would not want to be hurt. So Sai won't hurt him.

…

Kiba couldn't contain his excitement, practically pulling Sai through the streets towards his house, talking a mile a minute about anything he could think of. Sai would ask some questions, leading Kiba from one tangent to another; Kiba was curious to know if he had finished any one train of thought when they stood outside his house.

"Will I be meeting your family then?"

Kiba hesitates at the door. He hadn't thought of it, but there would be no hiding who he was from Kiba's mom. 

"We can go somewhere else if you'd like?" Meeting the family might feel too soon for Sai; Kiba doesn't know; he doesn't know anything about him. 

"If you want me to meet them, I'd be happy to," Sai says, and Kiba smiles so big he thinks his face might start hurting soon. 

"They'll love you," he says confidently, opening the door. "Hey, Mom! I have a guest!"

"In the kitchen!" He hears her yell back. "I suppose it's not Hinata if you didn't just say her name," she says, turning as they enter the kitchen; she and Kanna stare past Kiba as Sai follows him in, their eyebrows raised. 

"Mom, sis," Kiba says, gesturing to the other teen, "this is Sai." 

Their eyes go wide, and no one speaks for half a second. Then Kanna jumps up and down excitedly, running over to Sai and hugging him. "It's so nice to meet you finally!"

Kiba's mom hugs Sai next, "Welcome to the family pup." 

"Thank you for having me," Sai says, and for the first time, Kiba notices the smile seems unchanging. 

"And so polite, maybe he'll rub off on you," Kanna says. 

"You're staying for dinner, right, Sai? Or do you have a family to get back to?"

"I live alone," Sai says, and Kiba frowns. Omegas tend to live with others due to their need for physical touch. 

"Well, you're welcome to stay the night; we'd love to get to know you."

Sai gives a slight bow, "Thank you."

Kiba watches the whole encounter, watching as his newest mate, and while he's the happiest he's been in a while, something is off. He just doesn't know what.

…

Naruto had his sleeping mat, a change of clothes, and everything else he might need to pack in his bag. He was too excited for tonight as he walked to Shikamaru's house. They were having a sleepover, everyone but Gaara and Kankuro, and he did feel bad about them being so far away. But not even that could squash how excited he was. 

Once everyone was inside, they didn't go to Shikamaru's room but a spare room. It made sense since he doubted they would have all fit in Shikamaru's room.

They joked and got ready for bed, and Naruto felt more at ease than he ever had before being surrounded by his mates, laying next to each other on sleeping mats; he felt so domestic.

Naruto takes it all in as his mates talk around him. 

"Ino ha told us about her first date with Hinata alone," Chouji said, munching on some of the sweets Naruto had bought. Naruto was glad everyone liked the flavors he chose. 

"How'd it go?" Shino asks, causing confused stares. 

"She didn't tell you?" Lee asks.

"I asked," Shino shrugs, " but she blushed so hard I thought she'd pass out, so I didn't press the issue." 

"It went very well," Neji chimes in, "Hinata was very happy upon returning home." 

"Good," Naruto says, "She deserves it." 

"Ino mentioned, though, that Hinata talked about Kiba," Chouji says, continuing, "and that she hadn't realized how close they were. She said she knew they were friends, but she did not know the expanse of it."

"They're omega best friends?" Neji states, "What did she expect? Omega's tend to form deeper bonds with each other naturally outside of romance."

"Ino doesn't know many Omega's. There aren't many in her clan." Shinakaru says. "But after finding that out, she decided she needed to get to know Kiba more."

"So that's why Ino asked Kiba how he was earlier," Shino said, "Kiba looked so surprised." 

"She could have slipped it in conversation more subtly," Shikamaru says, "That's for sure."

A few hums of agreement rang through the room.

So far, no one has brought up his mission with Sasuke, but he can feel the questions bubbling more and more to the surface as the night goes on. He didn't want to talk about it; he still felt like a failure. 

So when the first hint of a question was asked, Naruto immediately changed the direction of the conversation. 

"So Naruto, how did-"

"I think Sai is our other mate." Naruto blurts out before Neji can finish his sentence. Everyone stares at him for a moment. 

"It explains Kiba's reaction." Shino agrees. 

"What reaction?" Lee asks eagerly. 

"When Naruto said Sai's name." Shikamaru responded, "Kiba's eyes went wide until Hinata nudged him, and he put on a more neutral face."

"So you think that means Sai is written on Kiba's wrist," Chouji asks excitedly. 

"We shouldn't get our hopes up, though." Neji cuts in. 

"I'm not," Shino says, "I'm positive Kiba is my mate, and with that reaction, I'd believe Sai was as well." Shino turns to Naruto, "How did he act around you, Naruto?"

Somehow, the attention was back on him. 

"Um, well," Naruto wasn't sure what to say. "He's kind of... weird."

"In a good way?" Chouji asks. 

"Not like weird as in weird, weird as in strange." Naruto says and sees rows of confused eyes on him, "There's something wrong with Sai, like he's never saying what he's truly thinking, and his smile is the fakest thing I've ever seen." 

"Not exactly what I wanted to hear," Shino says sarcastically. 

"He's nice, though, if a bit awkward." Naruto says, "I've talked to Saurka about it; she thinks it's a trauma response or something." 

"What do you think?"

"I don't know." Naruto says, "I just have this alarm in my head that's telling me something wrong or out of place, but I don't know what." 

And it's like that that Sasuke's words rush back at him. His eyes widen. 

"When I saw Sasuke," Naruto says, and if all eyes weren't already on him, they are locked on now, "he told me he shouldn't be the mate I should be worrying about." 

"You think he meant Sai?" Neji clarified.

"How would he even know something's wrong?" Chouji asks, "He wouldn't know Sai is even his mate?"

"Sai found him first." Naruto said, "I have no idea what they said to each other." He should have asked but was too gloomy in his failure to think about it. "Or how he'd know Sai was his mate."

"Let's keep an eye on it." Shikamaru says hands knit together, his shin resting on top, "Maybe get to know Sai a little; if Sasuke can see something wrong quickly, we should be able to figure it out." Although Naruto heard Shikamaru say we, he knew Shikamaru would take it upon himself to do so.

"Maybe we won't have to for long?" Lee says excitedly, "Maybe now that Kiba and Sai know each other, they'll accept us sooner." 

The statement alone sent butterflies to Naruto's stomach, and then he felt his face heat up, reminded of what Sakura had said a few days back. 

"They do look good together." 

His mate's face blossomed the same red he had when Sakura sent it. 

He laughs; it's fun being on this side of it.

Chapter Text

Iruka doesn't tell Naruto that he is having his own sleepover while Naruto is away. It's been about three months since he accepted his mates, and while he's had plenty of dates with them all, individual and group, he had not stayed the night at any of their places. After that first date with Kurenai, his mates were all very expressive in showing him how much they wanted him.

Still, everything done so far was above the clothes; his Alphas were waiting until he gave the okay to do more.

His Alpha's.

He had to say, he liked thinking that, and he liked saying it out loud even more.

It's not required for an omega to call their mates Alpha, but it's a gesture that shows how close and far they are in their emotional relationship. It was instinctual, something an Omega says when they feel fully comfortable with an alpha.

He hadn't used it much but has said it multiple times to each of them over the last few weeks. Every time, it makes him feel sparks of passion.

He makes his way down the road, a backpack packed with some necessities to stay over. They are going to Kakashi's place, which Iruka has realized from many other conversations is where they all tend to hang out for the most part.

Surprisingly, Kakashi doesn't live in an apartment but a house he inherited from his parents. Kakashi lived in an apartment for a while but eventually returned to this house after courting his mates. They've been making it more of a home over the years; one Kakashi feels comfortable in again.

Iruka approaches the three-story house. It's got tan walls and a light blue tiled roof. The windows are light wood, and the front door is a sandy shade of yellow. There was a small front yard with a path leading behind the house.

He double-checked the address to ensure he was at the right house, mainly so he would not disappoint himself if he were wrong. The house was beautiful, and he would love to live here; he could imagine kids running in the yard already, his mates and son playing with the little ones.

He blushes at the thought, pushing that aside.

He walks up to the door and knocks, fidgeting with his backpack straps as he waits.

Asuma opens the door with a small smile. "Hey, beautiful."

They always call him pet names; whenever they do, it flusters him and spreads a warm feeling across his skin.

Asuma turns his body, allowing Iruka enough space to step inside.

"Hello, Asuma." Iruka smiles, stepping through the entryway, stopping when Asuma wraps his arm around his torso and pulls him close against his chest.

A blush creeps across Iruka's face.

"Let me take your bag," Asuma says, reaching around him. Iruka lets the bag slide off his shoulders into Asuma's hand. Asuma's other hand cups Iruka's jaw, thumbing his lips before Asuma captures them with his own. Iruka's feeling sparks at the intimate gesture.

Asuma's lips were soft, which surprised Iruka every time. Iruka lets Asuma tilt Iruka's head slightly and pull him into a deeper kiss. Asuma's scent makes him feel a bit light-headed, surrounded by the smell of a campfire, and so comfortable. He does find it ironic that Asuma's scent is smoke-related.

"At least shut the door," Kurenai says, teasing, rounding the corner. Iruka pulled away, embarrassed, realizing they were making out in the entryway, where anyone could walk by and see.

Iruka quickly walks the rest of the way inside while Asuma chuckles.

...

Kakashi felt on fire, having Iruka in his home. He desperately tried not to think of it as their future home, all his mates living here together. He suddenly felt domestic as he cooked beside Guy while Kurenai gave Iruka a brief house tour, and Asuma dropped Iruka's bag in the bedroom.

When they returned, Iruka greeted Guy and him with a kiss.

Whenever he kissed Iruka, his senses sharpened as if trying to preserve every detail about him.

"How was your day love?" Kakashi asks, pulling back.

"It was good," Iruka smiles, looking over what they were cooking, "I had to write a note on one of my student's exams, though, definitely not their usual effort, want to get to the bottom of that Monday."

Kakashi loved how attentive Iruka was to his students.

"Didn't Naruto have his sleepover at Shikamaru's tonight? Asuma asks, walking in and leaning against the doorframe to the hallway.

Iruka snorts, "He packed, unpacked, and repacked his bag five times. It was very adorable."

"They sure do grow up fast," Kakashi said, to which Iruka hummed in agreement.

Over the next few hours, the group ate and relaxed in each other's presence. In the end, they were in the living room; he was sitting on the couch, one leg on the ground, one on the sofa, and Iruka was sitting between them. Iruka's back was practically flush to Kakashi's front. Iruka was playing a card game with Asuma, seated on the couch across from Kakashi.

Guy and Kurenai are chatting about something almost conspiratorially on the other couch. Kakashi is reading a book, not one of his usuals, though he smirks at the idea of Iruka reading one of them while in his lap, blushing madly.

An idea for a future day, perhaps.

As Iruka and Asuma's conversation naturally dies, Iruka speaks to the group: "So I have a question, or, I guess, a request?" He doesn't look up from the card game he's playing. Kakashi can see Iruka trying to act like he's not nervous, which he's failing at, which is adorable.

Still, the way he asks has Kakashi put his book down on the coffee table and sit up more to wrap his arms around Iruka.

Asuma puts another card down in the game to allow Iruka to pretend he's focusing on it.

"My heat's in three weeks," Iruka says.

If Iruka didn't already have their undivided attention, he did now.

"Would you like some of our clothes for your nest?" Kurenai asks sweetly.

"You can have all of my clothing," Guy says seriously, and Kakashi chuckles behind Iruka's back. He feels Iruka shiver slightly in front of him.

"Oh, um... I wanted to know if you'd like to join me?" It comes out as a stumbled question, and Iruka hunches his shoulders slightly as if wanting to disappear.

No one says anything for a moment; shocked by the question, Kakashi hadn't realized Iruka was ready for something like that. They'd all been taking it relatively slow with Iruka, not wanting to scare him off.

"That's okay if you don't want to," Iruka says, taking their lack of response immediately as a no.

Kakashi tightens his grip on Iruka. "Iruka, we would love to spend your heat with you."

Asuma abandons the cards entirely, kneeling before Iruka and pushing Iruka's back further onto Kakashi's chest.

Asuma cups Iruka's cheek, "We'd be honored. Are you sure, though? We don't want to rush you."

"I'm sure." Iruka says softly, "I've thought it over. I'm ready."

Kurenai kneels beside the couch and rubs a hand along Iruka's arm, "Are you sure you want your first time to be during a heat?"

"No, I don't want that, you're right." Iruka agrees, "But we have three weeks, and we're all here now...."

His implication was not lost on them.

Iruka wanted to have sex with them. Tonight, right now. This was not how he expected tonight to go, but he was not complaining.

"We can help with that," Kakashi says, slowly rubbing circles on Iruka's arms.

Asuma leans forward, Iruka having nowhere to go between them. Asuma kisses Iruka gently, then deepens the kiss, pushing Iruka so he's flush against Kakashi. Kakashi took the opportunity to start kissing down Iruka's neck, stopping right above his scent gland and peppering kisses around it. Iruka gasps into his kiss from Asuma. Kakashi is hard in his pants, and there is no way Iruka can't feel it against his back.

"Unless we plan to use the couch, we should move now," Kurenai suggests. Kakashi looks at her to his right, her eyes dilated and lustful.

Asuma pulls back, and Iruka is panting. "To the bedroom then," Asuma says, standing, offering Iruka a hand. Iruka takes it, but once he's standing, Guy swoops him up into his arms.

"Absolutely no walking. We'll do everything for you," Guy says dramatically, causing Kakashi to roll his eyes.

He stands and walks by Iruka, cradled in Guy's arms, "You might love that rule afterward when you can't walk." He didn't know if that would come on too strong for Iruka, but his eyes darkened as much as his blush at the implication.

Guy moves Iruka, so instead of carrying him bridal style, Iruka's legs are around Guy's waste, and Guy doesn't waste a second before he kisses Iruka like it's his life purpose.

...

Iruka is on fire. And he'd be happy to burn to keep this feeling going. Guy's hands rested on his thighs and ass as he carried Iruka up the stairs. Iruka's legs were wrapped around Guy's waist, and Iruka's arms wrapped around his shoulders as their mouths moved together in a sensual kiss.

Iruka doesn't remember being carried through the house. He was too focused on Guy's overwhelmingness to process anything else until he felt his back hit the mattress.

Guy hovers over him, pulling back from their kiss. Another hand directs Iruka's face to turn to the left. Kurenai kisses him fiercely. Then Iruka's head is directed another way to kiss Asuma this time. Then, his face is tilted so Kakashi can give him an upside-down kiss.

Guy rocks against Iruka, causing Iruka to gasp. He can feel Guy through his pants, Iruka's pants feeling tight.

"Can we undress you, baby?" Kakashi says in his ear.

He nods, "Yes."

He's pulled into a sitting position, and they all start lovingly stripping him of his clothing, one piece at a time, while also stripping themselves. The moment it goes from cloth on cloth to skin on skin, Iruka shudders. Once they're all naked, he feels self-conscious for a moment, fidgeting before Guy locks their lips together again, "You're gorgeous."

Iruka is sure his face is a tomato.

Guy moves his hands to Iruka's waist, "Sit up on your knees." Iruka does as he's asked; as he does so, Asuma and Kurenai latch onto opposite sides of his neck, kissing up and down his neck and shoulders, their hands exploring his body. Guy is still in front of him, kissing him, but Iruka feels Guy's hand as it leaves Iruka's waist to wrap around Iruka's cock.

Iruka gasps into the kiss with Guy and lets out a small groan as Guy starts slowly stroking.

Asuma and Kurenai trace patterns on his body, finding any spots that make him feel weak at the knees and littering his neck with kisses.

Iruka feels like he's entered another world filled with only pleasure. He feels slick start to leak out of him, and he knows they can smell it, but he feels too good to be embarrassed about that right now.

He feels Kakashi behind him and feels a finger circle his entrance. Iruka tenses at the foreign feeling, pulling back from Guy's kiss.

"Relax, Iruka," Kakashi comforts, his other hand rubbing circles on this hip. "We'll go slow and stop anytime you want; just say the word." Kakashi kisses the back of Iruka's neck. "We'd never hurt you."

"I know," Iruka breathes, "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." Guy says, cupping his face, "It's natural to be nervous."

"We'll take care of you," Asuma says.

"We'll make you feel good," Kurenai agrees.

Iruka nods again, relaxing. Guy starts pumping his hand a bit faster, thumb circling the tip. When Kakashi pushes a finger inside, it doesn't hurt but feels a bit strange. Kakashi starts pumping his finger in and out of Iruka, prepping him. After a few moments, Kakashi adds a second finger. The stretch feels weird still, but it still doesn't hurt. Asuma and Kurenai go back to kissing his neck, and Guy starts stroking him faster.

Iruka is letting out gasps and moans every few seconds due to the stimulation he's getting from his four mates. Then Kakashi curls his fingers, hitting the spot inside Iruka that makes him see stars.

"Kakashi!" he all but wails, bringing his hands up to Guy's shoulders to steady himself, as his thighs started to shake. Kakashi didn't hesitate to start pumping his fingers in and out of Iruka, continuously hitting that spot.

Iruka was a mess, falling apart at the seams as he felt a familiar pressure start to build.

Kakashi adds a third finger, Guy speeds up his strokes, and he screams as he cums, his orgasm hitting him suddenly and intensely. He shakes and clutches onto Guy, who holds him up.

He doesn't feel Guy maneuver him onto his back, lost in waves of pleasure. When it subsides, Guy looms over him, one hand resting beside Iruka's head, the other rubbing Iruka's thigh.

"Are you okay to keep going?" Guy asks softly, "We can stop here if you want."

The others had backed up a bit, not immediately in Iruka's space, but he could feel Guy's dick hanging in between Iruka's spread legs, a thrill of excitement went through Iruka.

"I'm ready," Iruka says, his voice sounding hoarse. I want this, Alpha."

The Guy's eyes darken when he says Alpha; he hikes Iruka's leg up to his hip and pushes himself against Iruka. Guy leans down and captures Iruka in a kiss, and Iruka can feel as Guy lines himself up with Iruka's hole, feels the tip start to push it.

Iruka tenses again.

"Relax, Iruka," Guy says, "It will hurt if you don't relax."

Iruka takes a deep breath and lets his muscles relax against the bed.

"Good boy," Guy says, and Iruka whines, a noise he had never made before outside a heat. He flushes, embarrassed, but Guy only smirks.

"You like being called good?" Guy says, his voice huskier than normal, causing Iruka to shiver. “You're the best omega for us, Iruka. The strongest omega I know. You're so good for us, so nurturing, so dependable." Iruka feels his body shaking under the praise from his Alpha. “And you took me all in, such a good boy."

Iruka hadn't even realized Guy had started moving, but now he was bottomed out, and Iruka was suddenly struck by how full he felt. His nerves were on fire; every slight movement sent pleasure up his spine.

Guy stayed still, waiting for Iruka to adjust.

"Please move, Alpha," Iruka said, and Guy didn't wait a moment. He pulled out and then slid back into Iruka. Iruka shouted, "Guy!"

Guy growled at the sound of his name; he quickly found a pace and set it, driving Iruka mad with pleasure.

Many would have assumed that Kakashi was the head Alpha of their mates, but Guy was actually the one the alpha’s had decided on. When Iruka found that out, he felt it suited him well. The moment he was told was the moment he knew he'd be giving Guy his virginity, Omega’s with multiple alphas always have sex with the head alpha first.

Guy thrusts in and out of Iruka, speeding up at the sound of Iruka's pleas to go faster, go harder, please, Alpha. Guy is nothing if not an overachiever. It doesn't take Iruka long to feel the pressure of orgasm building again.

"I'm close, Guy," he says, which causes Guy to shift his angle slightly, hitting that spot that drove Iruka into a whining mess beneath him. His orgasm chased him quickly, and soon, he was screaming Guy's name as he came.

He felt Guy thrust a few more times before he felt warmth seep into him as Guy released inside of him. His omega hummed in approval as both he and Guy rode out their orgasms.

Guy pulls out of him, and Iruka immediately misses the feeling. Still, Guy pulls Iruka into his arms and kisses him.

He hears the others shuffling towards them, and arms wrap around him from behind. "How do you feel?" Asuma asks.

"Great," he says, voice scratchy; how loud did he scream?

"Let's get you cleaned up?" Kurenai says, "I'll draw the bath."

"What about you three?" Iruka asks, confused.

Kakashi chuckles from behind him, "This was your first time, Iruka. We aren't all going to go right after each other."

Iruka blushes at the comment.

"We have all night," Asuma reminds him, "there is no rush."

Iruka nods and lets Kurenai draw them a bath.

And Kakashi was right about what he said earlier. He was happy to be carried to the bath by Guy; he's not sure his legs would have even worked.

...

Naruto remembers when Neji was a stuck-up prick with a chip on his shoulder. He remembers encouraging Hinata to stand up to him, he remembers fighting him in the chunin exams, and he remembers telling him off for his bad way of thinking.

Naruto does that to everyone, he supposes.

After that, Neji had always respected Naruto when all the guys hung out. He trusted Naruto and became a big brother and mentor to Hinata, instead of a bully.

Naruto and Neji had never discussed it before, but they admired each other after that. He wasn't surprised when Neji's name appeared on Naruto's arms.

But this was a whole new side of Neji—a whole new side of all his mates. He's not sure who started it, but somehow, they were now kissing, a candle in the far corner providing the only light, flickering, casting shadows of their bodies along the wall.

Naruto let Neji pull him onto his lap, straddling him. He could hear heavy breathing and small noises of groans and gasps throughout the room. Noises were coming from his mates nearby; he was hard beneath his pants before Neji and his lips collided.

When Naruto's lips meet Neji's, he immediately feels fireworks behind his eyes. Neji's hands wrap around him, running over his body, and Naruto does the same. Naruto explores Neji's body, running his hands across his back and chest, tangling his fingers in Neji's hair while deepening the kiss.

Then Neji starts to move, his hips rolling against Naruto's, and Naruto can feel that he's not the only one who's hard. He gasps into his kiss with Neji and Neji takes that opportunity to trail kisses down his neck.

Neji's hand finds the waist of his sweatpants and reaches inside. He pulls back from kissing his neck. "Is this okay?" he whispers.

"Totally," Naruto responds, reaching for Neji's waistband. “How about you?" he smirks.

Neji returns the look, bringing him back to kiss him hungrily; both of them gasp as they reach their targets.

Neji's dick feels different than his own does in Naruto's hand, and boy, does Neji's hand around Naruto's dick feel much better than his own.

As Neji starts to move, so does Naruto. His hand slowly moves up and down at first, agonizing, like Neji is trying to memorize the shape. Naruto squeezes a bit harder when his hand gets to Neji's tip, causing him to gasp.

Around the room, Naruto could hear his other mates making similar noises as they all got more pent up.

Naruto speeds up his hand, and Neji does as well. The friction drives Naruto crazy.

"Neji," he gasps.

Neji leaned his forehead against Naruto's shoulder, gasping, "Naruto."

Naruto feels like he's on fire, and a building need of release is starting to form.

"Fuck," he whispers, moving his hand faster, causing Neji to groan.

He's so close.

He glances over at his other mates to see Lee lying between Shikamaru's legs, dick in his mouth, bobbing up and down. Naruto must have been the luckiest guy alive because he looked over just as Shikamaru gasped Lee's name and came.

Naruto's own pleasure exploded as he reached orgasm, Neji's hand not slowing down, and his own hand speeding up on Neji's dick.

His mind goes blank for a moment, and all he can think about is the pleasure he's feeling right now. When he starts to process again, he hears himself and Neji panting, holding each other tight. Neji smiles and brings Naruto into a kiss, this one softer, as both come down from their high.

...

Shino knew some people did not think Chouji was attractive and that his clan was unattractive due to their body type. Shino also knows that Chouji has mostly muscle, not fat, under his clothes. Lastly, Shino has always understood the feeling of having an 'unattractive Justus'. Shino himself has heard what some say about his own clan. Not everyone thinks bugs are cool.

He thinks all his mates are attractive in their own unique ways.

So when the room turned from casual talking to pent-up sexual tension, he was fine with getting to kiss any one of his mates.

He ends up with Chouji and him lying side by side, their lips locked in a kiss that's much more intense than any other they've shared.

He's not sure who in the room started their group makeout session, but he revels in the chance to finally kiss and touch his mates.

He and Chouji let their hands wander each other's bodies, slowly mapping out each other's forms under fingertips that ignite their skin with passion, sending sparks from their touch that quickly make Shino hard under his clothes.

Soon enough, they are panting into their kisses; the intense feeling of each other's presence is enough to get them incredibly pent up. He makes the first move, as he knows Chouji is far too shy to do so. He lets his hand linger around Chouji's waistband, not asking for permission but giving Chouji enough time to stop him if he wants to.

As he pushes past the material, Chouji reaches down to his own waist, moving past the elastic material.

Shino grunted as Chouji made contact with his penis. Shino quickly wrapped his hand around Chouji's member, stoking it at a slow leisurely pace. Chouji follows his lead, their lips finding each other once again as they slowly brought each other further into the throws of pleasure.

Eventually, their slow pace picked up, getting faster, and messier, their forms molding against each other as they both attempted to bring the other to the edge of climax.

Shino could feel the sensation building and tell from Chouji's small groans that he was feeling the same.

They came together, both gasping each other's names, kissing sensually as they stroked each other through their orgasms. Shino shivered at the intensity of the moment.

He couldn't wait to experience this with every single one of his mates.

...

Shikamaru couldn't say he wasn't excited for tonight; the whole day, he practically felt like he would vibrate out of his skin with excitement. Still, he kept his calm, composure, and that all fell away as they started talking about Kiba and Sai.

All it took was one mention of them looking good together for Shikamaru's brain to wander, and he could tell he wasn't the only one.

He's not sure who started it, but within minutes, everyone was paired off and kissing like it was their last night on earth.

He figured this would happen when you stick a bunch of teenage boys in a room with their mates and have no supervision. He's not surprised.

Lee practically tackles him to the ground. He wraps his arms around Lee's shoulders, bringing him down flush against him.

Lee rocks against him, and their erections brush each other through the pants.

"Lee," Shikamaru gasps, which Lee quickly turns into a kiss. Shikamaru starts rocking his hips, gaining each of them the friction they are desperately craving.

"Shika," Lee gasps into the kiss, and suddenly, Shikamaru wants nothing more right now than to make Lee fall apart in his hands.

Shikamaru rolls them to their sides and swiftly reaches into Lee's sweatpants. He grasps his dick and begins a fast pace; Lee shutters, going to reach for Shikamaru's waistband. Instead, Shikamaru captures his wrist and holds it to the floor.

He picks up his pace, and Lee groans; the noise fills Shikamaru with a feeling he's never felt before. His Alpha growls in pleasure, causing Shikamaru to let out a low growl in real life.

He feels the sound vibrate through his chest, and at the noise Lee groans, "Fuck, Shika."

Shikamaru's hand speeds up, and Lee gasps and shudders, and then Shikamaru's hand is covered with cum. He stokes Lee through his orgasm, letting Lee pull him into a sloppy kiss.

He gradually stops moving his hand as Lee shudders once more. Shikamaru is filled with pride at having cared for one of his mates.

Mine. He felt himself think. Only to think a moment later, woah- that was a power high.

He's not sure where that came from.

It felt very... primal.

Lee recovers his breath and smirks at Shikamaru as Shikamaru releases Lee's pinned wrist.

"You turn," Lee says, rolling Shikamaru onto his back and quickly reaching into his waistband. Shikamaru doesn't resist in the slightest but gasps when instead of stroking, Lee takes Shikamaru's dick out of his pants and immediately engulfs it in his mouth.

"Shit." Shikamaru gasps as he feels the heat of Lee's mouth around him. Shikamaru loses all thought when Lee starts to bob his head; all he can think about is the pleasure and coiling pressure building up in his gut.

When Lee sucks hard, Shikamaru sees starts, and pleasure shoots through him as he spills into Lee's mouth. "Lee!" He gasps as he releases himself.

Lee pulls off and crawls up to hold him as he shudders through his orgasm.

"That was fun." Lee says, "We should definitely do these sleepovers more often."

Shikamaru can only hum in agreement as he tries to catch his breath.

...

"You know you don't have to stay the night if you don't want to," Kiba says, showing Sai to his bedroom. They had just had dinner with his family, and his mom insisted Sai stay the night, especially once she heard more about his living situation, mainly living alone since his brother died. "I know how pushy mom can be; if she's doing too much, let me know."

"I'm fine, really," Sai says, following Kiba up a set of stairs till they reach Kiba's bedroom. "It's very sweet of her."

"I'm not sure anyone has ever called my mother that before," Kiba laughs. "Let me get you something to wear to bed." Kiba rustles through his dresser, presenting Sai with a T-shirt, shorts, and boxers.

"Thank you," Sai says, removing his shirt to change. Kiba makes a noise he'll deny forever, and by the time Sai's head pops out of his shirt, Kiba is facing away from him. "Are you okay?"

"Totally-," Kiba responds, going to the dresser again to grab clothes for himself. Seeing Sai change his pants, he needed to calm down. "-Super okay."

Kiba changes quickly, keeping his back to Sai, before turning around. Sai looked cute in Kiba's clothes. They were a little big on him, Kiba being a broader guy than Sai. Kiba blushed and headed for his nest, "You can join."

He added the comment because he needed to learn how traditional Sai was. It's polite to wait for an omega to say you are invited into their nest, but it also depends on closeness; like Hinata and Him, they don't ask anymore; they can enter whenever.

Sai followed him to the bed, crawling in after him. They situate themselves under the covers, facing each other.

"If someone told me this is how my day would end, I wouldn't have believed them." He moves closer to Sai, hyperaware of any action that might make Sai uncomfortable or any reaction that might show the same. Sai did not react seemingly at all to anything, or at least did not honestly react. He smiles, but it feels forced, like someone who doesn't know how to smile was attempting to anyway.

Kiba reaches up to cup Sai's face, and Sai finally reacts slightly. A tiny intake of breath that, if Kiba were not so close, would have been missed.

"I want to know everything about you," Kiba says, his voice whispering as if not to break the moment. "Tell me?"

The small moment of peace Sai had perhaps found when Kiba touched his face seemed to wash away.

"Of course," Sai answered as if reporting to a higher-ranked shinobi rather than his future mate. "I was raised in the Academy."

"I don't remember seeing you in school?" Kiba questions.

"It's a different one. More focused on training mentality and hand-to-hand rather than specific jutsus. If you want to learn those, that's during your free time."

Kiba hums to signal he's taking the information. "I had a brother, but he died before we graduated. I live in an apartment alone; my mother died when I was born, and I don't know who my father was. I was in the Anbu until recently."

Kiba's eyes widened at that, Sai having casually dropped how talented a shinobi he was by saying he was an Anbu.

"That's why I couldn't find your name?" Kiba asks, "You were using a fake."

"Yes, until recently." Sai says, "Truly, that's everything about me."

Kiba blinks as Sai sincerely infers that his whole life, whole personality, everything, was summed up in a couple of sentences.

Something is wrong here.

"I don't believe that." Kiba strokes Sai's cheek with his thumb, "I think there is much more to you."

Sai moves his arms, wrapping around Kiba's neck and scooting closer, their foreheads almost touching. "I'm not very good at talking about myself," Sai says, and Kiba feels there is both truth and lies to those words.

"No worries. I'll find everything out eventually," Kiba says, swearing he sees Sai tense slightly at the statement. "And I'll love every new part of you I find."

It might be forward and way too fast to say something like that, but they were destined for each other, and Kiba wanted to show Sai he would always be here for him and that nothing about him could make Kiba turn him away.

Sai opened his mouth to speak but then winced. "I'm sorry," he said, " I have a headache."

Kiba doesn't believe him but doesn't call him out. Kiba doesn't let his facial expression show that he's worried about more than just a sudden headache appearing when he thinks Sai is about to open up. Instead, he kisses Sai's forehead. Where his lips touch the skin, they tingle, making butterflies in his stomach.

"It's been a long day," Kiba says, pulling back. Sai's grip on him was firm, as if afraid he'd run away. He's not going anywhere. “Let's get some sleep."

Sai and he lock eyes once again, "Goodnight, Sai."

"Goodnight," he whispers back, letting Kiba pull Sai into his arms. They fall asleep, tangled in each other's embrace.

Hours later, Kiba lies awake, watching Sai's chest rise and fall. His hand tangles in Sai's hair, weaving his fingers through it. He doesn't know how to fix this, whatever it is, but something is wrong, and he will find out why.

...

Sai smiled internally as Kiba walked him home. He slept better than he'd ever had before. He never knew having a nest could be so helpful, or perhaps it was just being in Kiba's presence. Either way, he hoped it happened again and often.

A subtle pain starts radiating inside him.

He shakes his head slightly; why did he even think that? He knows he can't have that.

This is a mission. This is a mission. This is a mission.

"This is my apartment building." Sai says, turning to Kiba, "Thank you for walking me home."

Kiba's smile is carefree in a way Sai has never experienced. He wants to paint it.

Another ripple of pain rolls through him. The hum of the pain is so constant this morning that he doesn't flinch, growing used to it.

"What kind of mate would I be if I let you walk back from my house alone?" Kiba says, his hand coming up to rub the back of his own head. Thanks for staying over last night; it was nice; we should do it again."

"I would like that," Sai says in agreement, and this time, he can't stop flinching when the pain shoots through him.

"Still got that headache." Kiba questions.

"Yes, I'm prone to them." Sai figures if this is going to be a constant, he should keep this excuse going.

"Maybe Sakura could help?" Kiba suggests, studying his face.

"Perhaps." Sai agrees. "I've gotten them for as long as I can remember; they don't bother me much."

There is a beat of silence. Akamaru breaks with a bark, to which Kiba blushes and says, "Did you want to meet up tomorrow? Maybe go to lunch?"

"I'd like that," Sai says, and Kiba steps forward, grabbing Sai's hand with his.

"I am excited to get to know you, Sai," Kiba says, leaning in and kissing Sai's cheek. The skin tingles, and the pain he feels almost vanishes as comfort passes through him. He wants more of that feeling. He wants to drown out the pain. He wants to feel only Kiba's scent around him and his lips against his.

He can't remember a time when he thought about wanting things so frequently.

He leans into Kiba's space, and Kiba doesn't pull back; as their lips almost touch, Kiba pulls Sai against him softly, and their lips meet.

Fireworks go off behind Sai's eyes; his body feels like a fire ignited inside him, a feeling he doesn't know how to describe washing over him as Kiba pulls back.

Kiba's pupils are blown wide, and Sai wonders if his own are identical.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Sai asks.

"Definitely," Kiba responds.

Sai turns and leaves, feeling Kiba's eyes on him as he enters the complex. He walks the empty halls and stairs to his apartment, the feeling Kiba left with him lingering. But the feeling wears off when he turns the corner to get to his front door.

Pain surges through him.

He falls to the ground, gasping, meeting the hard pavement, in too much pain to catch himself.

It's worse than other times.

He all but crawls to his door, shaking as he tries to unlock it, the pain ripping through him in a way he's never experienced before.

When he gets in, he shuts the door, and before he can do anything else, blacks out.

When he wakes, the sun is much higher in the sky out his window, meaning he’s been out for a few hours. He felt exhausted, sitting up on the floor.

Something catches his eye immediately. A package near the door. It must have been there when he opened it and fell in.

He shuffled over to the package, opening it, only to gasp in surprise.

The stained glass sun from the shop that Sakura and Naruto had visited rests now in his hands.

He sees his tears hit the floor before he realizes he's crying while holding the gift.

The last time he cried was when his brother died.

He softly clutches the piece of art to his chest so as not to break it.

He wants his mates. He wants their care and affection. He wants to love them and be loved back.

He feels the pain start to creep up again.

He remembers again what Sasuke did and how he changed the commands. Kiba wouldn't want him in pain, so I will do what Kiba wants, he thinks to himself, and surprisingly, the pain dulls.

He looks again at the Sun in his hands before standing and going over to the window. He hangs it and watches the colors stream across his room.

He smiles, and it isn't done this time because he thinks he's supposed to. He smiles, and it feels different. He smiles and wishes that he could smile like this forever.

...

Kiba drops Sai outside his apartment, standing there like a lovestruck teen he probably was. His body felt on fire, and his smile was so large he felt his cheeks start to hurt. It's not like any feeling he's had before. He wonders if this will happen with all his mates or if Sai is unique because he's another omega.

Kiba pulls himself together and heads off toward his next stop. He and Akamaru walk across town to the Hyuga Compound, to Hinata's house, and knocks on the door.

The longer he waits, the more anxious energy seems to bubble up inside him. The lingering pleasant feeling from the kiss is replaced by the fear of something being wrong with Sai.

Hinata's father opens the door. Kiba is not as close with Hinata's father as she is with his mother, though his mother has always been far more welcoming to Hinata than Hinata's father had been to him. However, he treated him with more respect when he presented as an omega. He reasons, if Kiba had to guess, it's because Hinata's father did not care about him as he was not mated to Hinata or was someone who was a threat to do so.

"Sir," Kiba bowed.

Hinata's father gave a crisp nod, "Kiba." There is a few seconds of silence, "Hinata is in her room."

"Thank you," Kiba says, bowing again and quickly departing toward Hinata's room, Akamaru sticking close.

He gets to her door quickly and doesn't bother knocking.

"Hinata! I need your help; something's wrong-" He burst into her room in a whirlwind, Akamaru doing a quick lap around the room in excitement. Only for Kiba to stop mid-sentence as he sees Hinata sitting on her floor with Tenten, Ino, and Sakura.

"Um..." they all blink at him. Akamaru goes to lick Hinata's face, and she giggles.

Kiba looks back at the door. "I'm surprised that your dad let you close the door." He says, "I'll catch you later then."

Even though he wanted to talk to Hinata now to figure this out about Sai.

"Kiba, wait," Tenten says, "You don't have to leave."

"We'd be terrible alphas to send you away right now." Ino added, "You reek of anxiety."

"Sorry," he says, not knowing what to say.

"We will leave if you want us to." Sakura says, "But if you happen to be bursting in because of a special someone you met yesterday, we could help. I have known him a bit longer than you."

"By like two weeks." Ino rolls her eyes.

"Um." He didn't know what to say; he'd never really talked to any of them before, never considered them close friends; he was closer to the boys.

"Hinata is our mate, and you are her pack." Tenten says, "So you're in our pack too, then. We'd love to help you with anything."

He pauses for a moment still, looking at Hinata, whose face blushes fiercely at her alphas being good mates. But, she does turn to give him a comforting look that Kiba interprets as, do what you're comfortable with; I won't be mad.

Screw it, he thinks.

"So something is off about Sai, like, he's not acting like he has omega instincts at all," Kiba says, joining them in their sitting circle on the floor.

"The new guy on your team, right?" Tenten asks Sakura.

"Yeah," Sakura confirms, "and Kiba's mate." She smiles cheekily, "right?"

Kiba rolls his eyes, "I figured you knew when I saw you looking yesterday."

"That's so exciting!" Tenten says, clapping her hands together, "Congrats Kiba!"

"Thanks," he says, and can't help but smile.

"So are you going to accept the boys soon, 'cause Shikamaru is such a brooder about it," Ino says, and Kiba's face turns bright red.

"Let's focus on one thing at a time." He deadpans.

"He didn't deny it," Ino stage whispers.

Hinata chuckles.

"As I was saying," Kiba says again, "Something is wrong with Sai."

"I know." Sakura agrees. "It's like he's holding things back."

"And not saying what he wants to." Kiba agrees, "He doesn't act like he has any instincts."

"And the way he talks about his past, it's like he didn't have one, that nothing ever really happened to him, just showed up here one day." Sakura tells them, "Though the things he does say are all very concerning."

"Well, that's not good," Ino says, ingesting all that information.

"He also gets these headaches," Kiba says as Akamaru makes himself comfortable behind him. Right when I think he's about to say something important or open up, it's like a pain hits him."

"What did he say about his past?" Hinata asks Sakura and Kiba.

Kiba lists them while counting on his fingers, "He has lived alone since his brother died; his mom died at birth, and he doesn't know his father." Kiba says in one breath, "he also casually mentioned he used to be Anbu. Then, he went on to say that was all the information on him he had."

"He told Naruto that he never thought his mates would accept him." Sakura added, "and told us he'd never received a gift before."

"Oh, and," Kiba remembers, "He was raised at something he calls The Academy."

"He only gets headaches during specific moments, Kiba?" Ino asks, looking deep in thought.

"Yeah, it always seems like he's about to say or do something beforehand." Kiba restates.

Ino furrows her eyebrows, staring off into the corner of the room in thought.

"What are you thinking, Ino?" Tenten asks.

"I don't want to assume and be wrong," Ino says, "but did his headaches look like headaches?"

Kiba thought back, "No, it looked more like he was punched in the gut. I've never seen someone react to a headache like that."

Kiba feels stupid for not spotting that before. He looks at Ino and says, "Do you know what's happening?"

"Not for certain." Ino says, "But I know there is a seal that can be used to stop people from talking or doing, well, whatever the person administering the seal wants them not to do."

"How come we haven't heard of it?" Tenten asks. " It seems like a seal like that would have been well known."

"It was outlawed a long time ago," she says, "it worked almost too well. It was originally used in prisons to control prisoners, but it started to be used for much worse things."

"You think someone is controlling Sai?" Hinata asks, her face shocked.

"Maybe," Ino whispers, less confident now, or more so she didn't want that theory to be true.

Kiba didn't realize he was pushing out an anxious scent until Hinata shuffled to sit beside him. Resting her head on his shoulder, trying to put off the calming scent of her own. Her scent of fresh lavender spread over him. He takes a moment and takes a deep breath.

"Why would someone be controlling Sai?" Kiba asks.

"Many of your mates are very important people or will grow into very important people." Tenten says, "Your future pack will be stronger than one seen in a long time, with many political ties."

"Someone is controlling him because of us?" Kiba whispers fearfully.

"Someone must know the names written on Sai's arm then." Sakura says, "Whoever put that seal on him

Now he's angry.

"Well, shit, how do I stop it then." Kiba says, throwing his hands down, "How do we even confirm it?"

"We'd see the seal on him somewhere," Ino says.

"I doubt he's just gonna let us look for it." Kiba sighs, "Plus, he changed in front of me yesterday; I didn't see anything out of the ordinary."

"I think we should tell Lady Tsunade," Sakura says, and Kiba raises his eyebrows.

"I feel like telling the Hokage is a big step." Kiba says, "especially without evidence."

"We have evidence." Sakura states, "You said you felt something was wrong."

"yeah, but-"

"Mates are more attuned to each other, even when just meeting." Tenten agrees, "If your instincts are telling you there is something wrong with Sai, then there is something wrong with Sai."

There is silence for a moment before Hinata quietly asks, "Kiba, did Sai ever say no to you?"

"What?" Kiba asks, confused.

"Did Sai ever say no when you asked something, or did he ask you for anything?"

"No, he didn't." He answered, trying to follow the dots Hinata was connecting.

"We don't know what whoever the person controlling Sai wants," She says to him, holding his hand, "we also don't know what he was told to do. But what if he can't say no to you."

"Why would you think that's the case?" Tenten asks.

"I was just thinking this sounds like a nightmare, not having control, and it popped into my head." Hinata admitted, "It could be dangerous for Sai as an omega. For all we know, he was told to keep his mates happy and do what they wanted. He might not always be ready for everything they want.”

"You're right." Ino says worried, "That is dangerous."

"This is a nightmare," Kiba whispers, and Hinata turns to hug him now, hugs that usually help calm him down, but now they feel like they're barely keeping his head above water.