Constancy
Chapter One
-New Generation-
Sakura let out a sigh as she finally got her two year old daughters to sleep for their nap. She snuck out of the room, gently closing the door and making her way towards the throne room where her husband was. Having a family was a lot of work, but she loved it. It had been four years since she and Gaara had become parents, and the Masters of the King and Queen of Dragons, and a lot had changed.
The dragons that had been given to Sasuke, Kiba, Naruto, and Hinata had already fully matured, an interesting sight to watch, for sure. Since they were from the old queen's batch, they had grown up a bit in their eggs. Not to mention that a dragon grew as their owner did, and since the others were already adults, the dragons aged faster.
Niro and Taira were enjoying being the rulers of the dragons, and Taira had even had another cave built for her beneath the palace, since she was loathe to leave her mistress, and Niro his master. Eventually they would move to the other cave, but for now, Taira wanted to be able to watch over her eggs so that she could see them hatch, her curiosity demanding that she do so.
The six eggs were still sitting down in the cave, waiting for their riders to be discovered. Naruto and Hinata had gotten married and had a daughter the age of her twin girls, and Kiba had finally hooked Ino into marriage, as she had gotten pregnant and had a little boy. The two really did love one another, and the pink haired woman was glad that her friend had finally found someone that could keep her happy. Sasuke had had a child as well, though he didn't marry the mother. The unfortunate woman had died in childbirth. But on the bright side, all of the children were the best of friends, especially her son, Toshiro, and Sasuke's son, Akito.
Sakura entered the throne room, smiling at the sight of her husband. "I finally got them to sleep." She said, kissing his cheek and staying next to his throne. "Those two just have so much energy. Especially Natsumi." She chuckled.
"She is a lot like you after all my sweet queen." The redhead smirked, watching her as she came before him. "You made sure that Akito doesn't know where they are? You know how he's obsessed with them, especially Natsumi."
"Well you know how he loves their pink hair." She said. "But he and Toshiro are out in the gardens playing knights, so they won't be inside for a while."
Gaara nodded and pat his lap, giving her a devious smirk. "Won't you join me?"
She giggled, straightening and going over to him, seating herself in his lap. "I love it when things are quiet." She sighed, laying her head on his chest and looking up at him. "You need a haircut my lord." she brushed some of his bangs from his face. "I fear the length will impair your vision, and you won't be able to see me as clearly when we make love." She kissed his jaw.
"Oh, but I hate haircuts." He pouted, smiling lazily. He nuzzled his wife affectionately, wrapping his arms around her waist. "I love you Sakura. So very much."
"I love you too my dearest." The pink haired woman said, running her fingers through his hair. "And I love our life together." She kissed him then.
"We do have it pretty well, don't we? And to think we've been married for almost twelve years now." He said, resting his head on her shoulder and she continued to shower him with kisses. The doors to the throne room opened and a hand maiden ran in.
"M-My Lady! The princesses were awakened."
Gaara sighed, "I'll handle this one my queen." He said, but before he could pick her up and stand, the maid cleared her throat. "The princesses…want to see Master Akito and Prince Toshiro."
Sakura let out a breath. "I knew their nap was too good to be true." She groaned. "I'll handle it. You stay here and look cute." She pat his chest before rising. "Thank you Hana. Please fetch the boys, and I'll handle the girls." She said, making her way towards the doors. The maid nodded, hurrying off to get the requested children.
The queen walked into her daughter's room, seeing the two pink haired girls sitting expectantly in the center of their crib. "Sweeties, why aren't you asleep?" she cooed, going over to them and smiling down at their mirrored faces. "Are you no longer tired?"
"Akki!" one beamed, bouncing happily.
"Toshi and Akki." the other said, much more timidly.
"They're coming." She chuckled, bending down and picking up the oldest twin. "I sent Hana for them." she bent again and picked up her youngest, holding each girl on a hip.
Natsumi, the younger of the two girls, gripped onto her mother's hair and pulled at the soft locks. "Flowers!" she cried out happily. Satomi watched her sister and did the same, smiling slightly.
"Pink flowers."
Sakura winced. "Girls, mommy's hair is not flowers." She said, lowering to the ground and trying to set them down. "Mommy doesn't call your hair flowers, so mommy's hair is not flowers." She reasoned, despite knowing that they didn't fully understand her.
"Flowers!" Natsumi screamed into her mother's ear, yanking down on the hair. Satomi cried from the loud noise and released her hold before trying to wipe away the tears. "I want flowers!" the younger twin shrieked, hitting her mother on the leg now that she had let go of her hair.
The pink haired woman closed her eyes, praying for patience. "Girls…" she sighed. Just then the door opened once more and Toshiro and Akito ran in.
"Natty! Tomi! I came to save you!" Akito called out, going over to the little girls, holding his arms wide for a hug and smiling. He looked eerily similar to his father, the only noticeable difference his dark green eyes.
"Akki!" they both cheered, running towards him and enveloping him in a tight hug. Toshiro laughed, watching them. His sisters were the cutest things in the kingdom, and he loved them so. Sakura instantly became relieved. Somehow, the presence of the two boys always calmed her girls.
Akito laughed, returning their embrace. "You guys were so loud, I could hear you from down the hall!" He told them.
Satomi pulled away from Akito and ducked under his arm to hug her brother. Natsumi stayed with Akito, nuzzling into him and then burying her face in his shirt. "Mommy won't gimme flowers." She pouted.
The pink haired woman nearly rolled her eyes. "Natsumi, honey, maybe Akito can take you outside and get you some flowers, hm?" she asked.
"He can?" she looked back and then up at Akito, beaming.
"Of course. Hana can take you guys and watch over you." Sakura told them.
The maidservant bowed and gestured for them to go ahead and she would follow. Natsumi took off before she could be told otherwise. "Come on Akki!"
The ebony haired boy ran after her as Hana scurried after the children. They entered the garden then, and Akito grabbed Natsumi's hand. "Come on Natty, I'll pick you some flowers." He said.
"Yay!" she squealed with delight, running into the beautiful masses and twirling around in her excitement. "Flowers as pretty as me!" she cheered, clapping her hands together.
He smiled, following her into the plants and beginning to pick some lilies. "Lots and lots of flowers for Natty." He said to himself, making a small bouquet.
The princess smiled, looking around the plants and the sky, soaking in the gorgeous light of the day. Suddenly she stopped, staring up at the sky with a blank stare. "What?" she whispered.
Akito paused in his actions and looked over at the little girl. "Huh?" he asked. "Natty, did you say something?"
But the girl didn't respond. She stared into the sky before looking around the area. Her light jade depths focused on the side of the palace and wordlessly she walked over to the wall, feeling around with her hand. One of the stones pushed in and the wall slid open, revealing a crystallized cave that plunged deep into the earth. She stepped inside, disappearing from sight. "Natty!" Akito called out, his eyes widening. He immediately dropped her flowers and ran after her, not wanting to her get hurt.
"Natty!" he called into the tunnel, moving as quickly as he could to catch up to the small pink haired girl.
She stopped at the mouth of a large cavern. Looking around, her gaze was distracted as she searched the beautiful area. There were diamonds, rubies, and sapphires along all the walls, and there was gold everywhere. She stepped forward and continued in, just as Akito had caught up to her. A few mounds of the gold started to move, and before they knew it a massive dragon head was before them, staring the two down. "Natsumi!" Akito yelled, pulling her back and hiding her behind him, despite the fact he was terrified. What was a dragon doing under their home?
"It's okay Akki." She told him, walking past him and staring at the dragon. "Hi!" Natsumi smiled finally.
'Beautiful little princess, you are more in tune with us than first anticipated.' The dragon purred as she pat his snout.
"Who…who are you?" Akito asked, walking up to the large beast and looking at him in awe, though he was still a bit weary.
The large golden dragon glanced up, watching Akito with interest. 'How interesting…it's been a while since an Uchiha was the true alpha.'
The young boy's eyes widened. "You know who I am?"
'Of course.' There was a low growl. 'I know all young one. And you…you will be responsible for something far more precious than any jewel.'
Akito put on a brave face, puffing out his chest a bit. "I'm 'sponcible for Natty. And she's the most precious thing to me."
The dragon chuckled. 'You have no idea…at least not yet.'
"What?" Natsumi asked, but she wasn't talking to either the dragon or Akito. She was crouched by a large black egg that seemed to be humming. "You want to come out?" the pink haired princess touched the smooth surface and giggled. "I can't open an egg. I'm not a mama hen! If I sat on you, you might break."
Kogané stared over, his old and thoughtful eyes wide with surprise and disbelief. 'Impossible…'
"Natty, what are you doing?" the young Uchiha asked, walking over and crouching next to the egg. "Who are you talking to?"
"Kensei." She answered with a small shrug. "He wants to come out, so let's take him to my daddy." Natsumi giggled, wrapping her arms around the egg and lifting it up. She stumbled back slightly, only to be caught by Akito. The princess beamed up at him, holding the egg more carefully. She blinked and walked forward, staring at a red egg. "Uh huh…" she nodded. "Oh okay." Natsumi turned and met Akito's gaze. "Rikou wants to come too. Will you get him?"
He frowned. "The red egg?" he asked, getting a nod in return. He walked over to it and picked it up, trying to keep it balanced, since it was heavy.
She giggled and hobbled out, Kogané staring after them, still shocked. When Natsumi and Akito came out from the cave, guards were running all over the place. Finally one saw them and sounded a call to the others. Hana rushed over to them and gasped loudly. "Princess! Where did you get that?"
"I found it. He wants to come out."
The maid servant blinked. "What…?"
Suddenly there was a loud and angry roar, followed by a more feminine sounding one. "Niro! Taira!" Natsumi squealed, hurrying towards the steps of the palace so she could go see her father. Akito followed her, running as fast as he could with the large egg he was holding. And when they entered the throne room, Gaara and Sakura looked over, their somewhat irritated looks disappearing when they saw the eggs.
"Natsumi? Akito?" the pink haired woman asked, lowering down to her daughter's level. "How did you get those?"
"Kensei wants out. Rikou wants out too. So I went to get them." she explained, setting the large black egg down.
"I just followed her." Akito said, placing the red egg next to the black one.
Gaara stood and walked over to them, his expression fearful. "Who…?"
Natsumi smiled up at her father and touched the black egg. "Kensei." Then she touched the red one. "Rikou. They called for me Daddy."
Loud roars erupted around the palace, before two massive beasts landed on either side of the balcony. They shot their heads and necks in, and almost snapped at their eggs and the ones near them, when they saw who it was. Niro growled out warningly. 'Master, I demand to know what is going on. Why are my eggs out from their nest.'
'I am curious as well.' Taira rumbled lowly, her golden gaze on her eggs. 'They are not toys for the young ones to play with.'
Sakura blinked. "Natsumi…knows their names." She said, confused awe evident in her tone. "She said they called for her, and want out."
Niro lifted his head and then looked at his mate. 'Their names? Even we do not know their names until they hatch.'
Natsumi clapped her hands happily as the black egg shook excitedly. "Kensei can't wait, he wants to meet me and his ma…mast…a?" she tried to form the word.
The pink haired queen stood and looked to Gaara. "We should get Toshiro." She said. "He might be Kensei's master."
The pink haired princess shook her head. "No. Kensei wants to meet Akki." She beamed.
Akito looked confused. "You mean…he's going to be my dragon?" he asked, his gaze glued to the black egg now, which was becoming more energetic in its shaking.
Niro leaned closer and nudged Akito towards the black egg. Natsumi looked up at him, her smile widening as she watched him move closer. The ebony haired boy raised his hand, slowly reaching out and laying it against the hard shell. He drew it back quickly, as the egg cracked and a small snout could be seen. It let out a tiny roar, shaking the egg before making it fall over and shatter, revealing a black dragon with red eyes. It shook off the eggshells, also flinging off some of the liquids from inside the egg. He looked right at Akito, before launching at him, tackling him to the floor. It roared once more, before nuzzling the boy.
Akito reached up and pet the small beast, stroking the top of its head. "I can hear him." He said in awe, before laughing. "You're slimy Kensei."
Natsumi burst into giggles, drawing the attention of the baby dragon. "Hello Kensei!" she waved.
Kensei squawked excitedly, crawling off of his master and going over to the pink haired girl. He circled her legs, rubbing his head against her thigh and cooing. She cried out in excitement and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him lovingly. Gaara stood, his eyes widening. "What is going on?"
Niro made a small noise that sounded somewhat like a call. After all, he wanted to see his first born son. Kensei stopped what he was doing and looked over at his father. He left Natsumi's side, going over to Niro and craning his head up to try and smell the older dragon.
The red dragon cooed, for the first time that anyone had heard, and nuzzled against his son. 'Come my young one.' He said, lowering his head so that Kensei could crawl on top. When he was latched on, Niro pulled out and took off into the sky, not as swiftly as he normally would, but they both disappeared. Taira pulled her head out of the room as well, turning and flying after her mate and offspring.
"What are they doing?" Akito asked, getting up from the floor.
"Your guess is as good as mine." Gaara grumbled. He didn't realize how different things were really going to be concerning his dragon.
Natsumi got up, wobbling a bit before she scampered over to the balcony. "They want Kensei to see flight."
Sakura blinked. "How do you know that sweetie?" she asked, walking to the balcony as well and picking up the young girl so she could see better.
The princess looked down at her mother, seeming a bit confused. "I dunno…"
Gaara and Akito came to the balcony as well, watching as the dragons flew around, and moving out of the way when they returned. Kensei hopped off his father's head, cooing along with Taira as she nuzzled him. Akito stepped forward then, going over to his dragon. 'Are you really mine…?' he thought, petting the small beast.
Kensei looked right at him, intelligence clear in his red depths. 'Yes, my young master.' He responded, making Akito go wide eyed. He was going to have to get used to hearing another voice in his head.
"What about the red egg?" Sakura asked, looking back into the throne room at said object. "Didn't Natsumi say that it wanted out too?"
"Rikou wants Toshi. He will not come out until he's here." She told her mother, starting to laugh as Niro and Taira sniffed and licked the princess experimentally.
"Fetch my son." Sakura ordered one of the servants, watching as they ran off to do so. "Gaara, this is so exciting." She smiled at her husband. "Toshiro's going to get his dragon today!" she nearly squealed, trying to reign in her excitement.
The king nodded, but shifted his gaze to Akito. "Akito…come with me please." Gaara said softly, so as to not make the boy think he was in trouble.
"Can Kensei come too?" the young Uchiha asked, reluctant to part with his dragon.
"Yes." The redhead said, turning and going off to one of the side rooms. Akito and his dragon followed, both curious as to what the king wanted.
Once the door was closed, Gaara turned around, assessing the two with curious eyes. "Akito…you understand what has happened correct?"
He nodded. "I get to be a dragon rider like my uncle."
The redhead smiled somewhat and nodded. "Yes…but that is not all. Your dragon, Kensei, is like my own dragon. He is the alpha dragon of his pack. That is why he went to Niro, instead of Taira."
"But I thought Toshiro was s'posed to lead the riders."
"He is." Gaara sighed. "It is the eldest rider's responsibility to lead, which is why it is very important that I speak with you. As you are now in the same position I was. You are a natural leader, that's why the alpha chose you. But you must be submissive to your leader, as I was to Itachi. You will be more powerful and your dragon stronger, but make sure you stay wise." He kneeled down before the boy, placing his hand on his dark locks. "Does that make sense my boy? I know what you are about to go through, so do not hesitate to ask me for anything, okay?"
Akito nodded. "Kay." He said. Kensei made a noise to get both of their attention, before he climbed up Akito's legs and perched on his shoulders. He flapped his wings, something he wouldn't be able to effectively use for a while, wrapping his tail around the boy's neck for better stability. Akito looked from his dragon to the redhead. "He said that he will be a good alpha."
Gaara reached forward and scratched under the dragon's jaw. "I know that he will. He is after all, my own alpha's very first offspring." He smirked and pat Akito's head. "Go have fun boy, enjoy your new life partner."
"Thanks sir!" Akito said, reaching up and holding onto Kensei as he ran from the room. Toshiro just happened to enter then. "Look Toshiro!" he shouted. "I got a dragon!" Kensei chirped, looking over the prince in curiosity.
"Whoa!" the prince exclaimed, running to his friend and admiring the thing on his shoulder. "It's so small! I've never seen a baby dragon before!"
"Me either." Akito laughed, watching as Kensei leaned forward and sniffed the prince's hair. "Natty can talk to him. She said that him and Rikou were ready to come out." he pointed to the red egg. "That's Rikou, he's your dragon. But you gotta touch the egg for him to come out. That's what I did."
Toshiro's eyes widened and he looked over to the mesmerizing orb. "Mine?" he whispered, walking over to the egg and kneeling beside it. "Wait…Natty can speak with them?" he asked, looking over at his mother, who was currently still holding their youngest daughter.
"Apparently so." Sakura said, going over to the red egg. "Now come on Toshiro, I want to see your dragon." She said, practically bouncing in her eagerness.
The younger redhead nodded, placing both his hands over the egg. His eyes widened as it began to shake and crack, the entire case becoming warm. When it exploded, the shell flew all over the place, and in the small smoky cloud, was a light red dragon. He was a bit smaller than Kensei, but his emerald green orbs were full of affection once he met the surprised jade of his master. "Hello Rikou." The prince smiled.
Hearing his name the dragon pounced on the prince and wrapped around him in adoration as he tried to blow fire, but all that came out was smoke. Sakura smiled, watching the entire scene proudly. Taira called out to her second born softly, her head as far inside the room as she could get it.
The red dragon looked up and searched around, bounding towards his mother and jumping on her snout. Niro let out a low noise that sounded like a chuckle as he watched with proud golden eyes. Natsumi grimaced, rubbing her head as if she had a headache. "Too much talking…" she said, closing her eyes.
Kensei roared, hopping off of Akito and scurrying over to the other dragons, wanting to meet his brother. Seeing him coming, Taira raised her head, watching as the black dragon climbed up onto Niro's head once more. 'Hold on little ones.' She said, waiting until Rikou was on top of her head before pulling out and taking off into the air. Niro followed his mate, Kensei letting out a noise of joy as he was taken into the sky once more.
Everyone went back out onto the balconies to watch, Sakura stroking Natsumi's head to try and soothe her. Gaara stopped beside his wife, offering his hands out to take Natsumi from her, since she had been keeping their two year old up for some time now. Toshiro was in absolute awe. "This is so awesome!"
"I can't wait until we can ride them." Akito said as Sakura gave Natsumi to her husband.
The king rubbed his daughter's back and began to walk off, heading for the door. Toshiro turned around and looked after his father.
"Dad, where are you going? What do you think of my dragon?" he smiled hopefully.
"He's an impressive dragon." Gaara said without turning around. "I'm going to lay Natsumi down." Was all he said, disappearing from the throne room. Toshiro frowned, looking down with a small sigh.
Seeing this, Sakura crouched next to her son and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "I think he's great sweetheart." She said, tickling his side with her free hand. "Just as great as my little love." She nuzzled him.
He smiled at his mother and nodded. "Yeah…"
She chuckled, kissing his cheek. "Now you and Akito play with your new partners and get to know them. The first few days are important to the bonding process." She said, looking up as the dragons began descend to the rolling grass of the large gardens.
"Come on Akito." Toshiro smiled once more. "Let's go meet them in the yard!" he called, taking off towards the door. Akito ran after his friend, eager to play with his dragon.
Sakura smiled as she stood and looked after the children as they disappeared from the room. She was so happy that her son had finally gotten his dragon, along with Akito. The boys were the best of friends, but tended to get a little competitive, and so it was better that both had their dragons at the same time. Sighing, she turned and headed down the hall to find Satomi and see if her eldest daughter wanted to play with the dragons as well.