Night Time Strolls Along the Tori Gates
Chapter 3: Unraveling Seals and Preparing for Battle
After their family gathering Fugaku went off to his postponed meeting. Mikoto made an excuse so she could go drink her morning tea and Kakashi went right after her. Naruto remained in Sasuke's arms and Itachi sat with a smirk on his face.
"*cough cough* So…" Itachi broke the silence. "Are you love birds going to continue holding each other or can I take Naruto to start our research on the seal he has."
Sasuke growls, "Fine, but I am coming with."
Naruto smiles, "See Teme, I knew you would come around and be my friend!"
Itachi laughs at Naruto's innocence knowing full well that with the look his brother was giving him, friendship was not on the table. Sasuke looked a little disgruntled not really wanting to be the omega's friend, but also not knowing to what extent he wanted the little fox.
They continued walking down the corridors together when they came to the center of the house. At the center of the house there was a large old cherry blossom tree that had been in bloom earlier that year. There was a coy pond and a Zen garden with bamboo fountains and small windchimes. Naruto's eyes brightened as he saw the space. Sasuke looked at Naruto as he admired the garden.
"This is the center of our home. It's a large garden that my mother and I work very hard maintaining year-round. This is the place we like to come and look at the moon and the stars and even have our important talks here." Sasuke shocked himself at how much he was revealing to the blond.
"This place is so marvelous, and the cherry blossom tree looks so beautiful even well past its bloom." Naruto commented.
"This tree has been in our family for generations. Its strength and shade giving comfort to our home. The Uchiha grounds are quite large but this is the central location. The tree is proof that our family has withstood and will continue to withstand throughout the ages." Sasuke continued.
Naruto loved hearing about the Uchiha family and saw the pride that Sasuke had. At this thought he started to become sad, he didn't know anything about his family. Apparently, he came from this prestigious demon clan and yet he had no memories. What if there was something wrong with his family. Were his parents okay? Sasuke could sense Naruto's apprehension.
"What's wrong Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"I am worried about my family Sasuke. As you talk about your clan I wonder what has happened that has left me without my memories. What if I did something bad and my family disowned me? They could've sealed me away because they were ashamed of me." Naruto said sniffling.
Itachi watched from afar curious as to how his brother would react to his future mate's tears.
"Nonsense. Don't be a Dobe, Naruto. One look at you tells me that you are beloved and treasured by your family. You are someone to be treasured. I am sure your family loves you very dearly and are probably quite concerned as to where you have gone off too. Remember my family has promised you that we will help you regain your memories and we are going to the Inari grounds tomorrow. That is why we need to see what kind of seal you have and remove it so that we can make sure to get you to your family as soon as possible." Sasuke calmly explained.
Itachi was dumbfounded he could not believe that those words had poured out of his brother's mouth. It's not that Sasuke was not smart. In fact, many knew the Uchiha brothers were prodigies, but Sasuke was not a man of many words. Yet, Itachi could see the great lengths he was willing to go to comfort his Omega. He could see his brother growing up right before his eyes. 'I still can't believe my brother is going to have a mate before I even meet mine' Itachi thought with a smirk. The boy who didn't believe in love was here already doting on this omega. Itachi saw the irony in all this but couldn't help but smile at seeing his love struck ototo.
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"This is so frustrating Itachi, we can't find anything!" Sasuke exclaimed.
Naruto had been sitting in the middle of their library with his shoulder that had the demon mark exposed. A slight blush sitting on his cheeks since he felt so exposed. Sasuke came up and touched his mark pointing out one of the ruins to Itachi for what felt like the hundredth time.
"See it's like they mixed a few of the seals together to create it. This ruin pattern is part of this seal and the other half is part of the other seal." Sasuke continued.
"Yes, little brother, I can see that. Also refrain from touching poor Naru so much, you're going to give him a heart attack." Itachi Snickered.
"Itachi! I am doing fine here. I may look flushed, but it's because the study is hot!" Naruto defended while Itachi snickered.
Kakashi walked into the library to see what they had found. Sasuke was explaining how there were nine different seals integrated into one and how the chakra used in each was intertwined.
"Those Uzumaki's are masters at crafting seals, but this is not an Uzumaki seal. This is definitely the work of Orochimaru." Kakashi stated.
"Orochimaru?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke audibly growled. He hated the idea that, that snake had done something to Naruto. That the snake that had almost tricked him into leaving his family in search of power had been anywhere near Naruto. Sasuke began to recognize the possessiveness his demon was showing but couldn't stop himself from activating his sharingan. Naruto felt Sasuke's anger and thought it was perceived at him. He couldn't help but hid behind Itachi as he looked at Sasuke's eyes that were Red with swirling tomoes.
"Sasuke stop you're scaring Naruto." Itachi called out to his brother.
At the thought of scaring Naruto, he forced himself to calm down. Kakashi took the initiative to explain to Naruto who Orochimaru was.
"Orochimaru belongs to the snake demon clan. He is the current head after ruthlessly taking over in the area on this mountain that we call the sound. He has given us a really challenging time because he is always on the search for power and wants to subjugate all the clans, so he can take over the lands that the humans currently own. He has been one of the Uchiha's greatest enemies and its of great worry that the seal he has on you is from him." Kakashi explained.
"Uncle is there a way to remove the seal?" Sasuke asked.
"I am able to remove the first 8 seals, but the last seal requires someone of his own bloodline to remove it. This is the one that is blocking him memories and the direct access to be able to communicate with his demon. The fact that there are 9 seals leads me to believe he is a nine-tailed fox that has been in training to be one of the Inari 9." Kakashi continued.
"So, what you are suggesting is that we remove the first 8 seals, so he has access to his power and full chakra network, so he can assist us in finding his family." Itachi said.
"Yes, his body should remember how to fight, just a few sparing sessions with you and Sasuke should help him regain his muscle memory." Kakashi said.
"You're telling me this dobe right here was training to be in the Inari 9?" Sasuke snickered in disbelief.
"Hey Teme, I will have you know I can kick your ass any day! Datebayo!" Naruto said not liking the tone in which Sasuke said his previous question.
"Can I just say I love the fact that we might get to see Sasuke get his ass kicked?" Itachi smiled.
"Tachi! I am your brother aren't you supposed to root for me?" Sasuke asked.
"Sorry ototo, I just would love to see an Omega put you in your place." Itachi revealed.
"Ten dollars on blondie" Kakashi placed his bet.
"Kakashi-sensei please remove this seal, so I can show the Teme what I got!" Naruto exclaimed.
Naruto began moving around getting ready for a good fight.
"Alright settle down tiger, let's get the first layers of the seal removed, this might be a little tiring but if you are a nine-tailed fox you won't even feel it with your limitless chakra." Kakashi stated.
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Itachi kicked Sasuke out knowing very well this seal removal could be a very painful process. Sasuke's demon didn't like the idea of an unmated demon touching his Naruto. Even if that was his uncle so if he experienced Naruto in pain he would surely interrupt the ritual. Sasuke was pacing in the garden waiting for them to finish the ritual when his father came into view.
"Sasuke, I need you to go to the Hyuga's and the Nara's to get some additional help. They were not able to come to the morning meeting since they are preparing for their summer rituals. The Inuzuka's, Yamanaka's, Akimichi's, and Aburame's already told me they're sending their best trained heirs to come with you. I want them to accompany you in case this becomes a high-risk mission." Fugaku told Sasuke.
Sasuke nodded, "Yes Father. Is there anything else I need to prepare?"
"Yes, prepare your gear carefully, I have met Minato Uzumaki the head of the Uzumaki clan and that boy is his mirror image. If that boy is his son, like I think he might be, there must me something very wrong for him to be here without his memories. Be prepared for anything. What did Kakashi find when looking at Naruto's seal?" Fugaku asked.
Sasuke's blood boiled just thinking about what Kakashi had said, "Uncle Kakashi thinks that the seal was placed by Orochimaru. He said it's a 9-tiered seal and that he can only remove the first 8. The final one must be removed by a blood relative."
"Very well, I will take that information into account as I prepare the briefing for your team." Fugaku stated.
Fugaku was relieved that Kakashi couldn't remove the whole seal, it would be a bad idea to do so since it is what has stopped Sasuke and Naruto to complete the bonding since they have already partially imprinted. He would rather they do that after they assure the Uzumaki's are okay and with the permission of Naruto's parents. He knew that if someone had taken Itachi and brought him back with a mate he would want to kill and the Uzumaki clan was not one he would like as enemies.
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Sasuke reluctantly left the compound since he knew he had important matters to deal with. He merged into his full wolf form and headed straight to the Nara compound. When he arrived, he merged back into his hybrid form. The Nara were a wise prestigious clan known for their knowledge and skills. Shikamaru the next Nara heir was an Alpha Deer demon. He was powerful, but his real strength was as a strategist. Sasuke and Shikamaru were friends since they both had very easy-going personalities. The biggest difference being that the Nara found everything troublesome. He walked to the front gate of the compound where he was let in. He commonly came to see Shikamaru, so his presence was not alarming. He walked to Shikamaru's room and knocked on the door.
"Hey Shikamaru, I need to talk to you about something important." Sasuke said.
"It better be important to wake me up so early on a Sunday morning. You know Sundays are the days I sleep in and go cloud watching." Shikamaru stated as he opened his door.
"My dad is getting all of the clans together to go on an important mission there will be a debriefing later this afternoon with everyone else." Sasuke said.
"Troublesome" Shikamaru stated. "Okay, I will be there. If Uchiha-Sama is the one calling the meeting, then this must be something big. Are we bringing in the Hyuga's?"
"Yes, I am on my way to go get Neji now, did you want to join?" Sasuke asked knowing that Shikamaru would make any excuse to go see the Hyuga.
"Yeah, I'll be out in a minute." Shikamaru stated before closing the door again.
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Neji was not the Hyuga heir, but he was the one that he was the most comfortable speaking with. Both of their quiet stoic personalities matched well and he always seemed to scare the Hyuga heiress. The Hyuga's were owl demons. They were quite knowledgeable and could fly long distances in both their hybrid and full forms. Neji was an Omega owl demon and anyone who knew him knew that Shikamaru and Neji had something going on. No one was sure if they had imprinted or not and things were kept in secret, but just by the way the two looked at each other you know there is something more than friendship there. Neji was not an Omega with any freedom to choose his mate since he came from the Hyuga's branch family, but Neji was strong and didn't let that get in his way. When Neji saw Shikamaru his eyes lit up. This made Sasuke wonder if Naruto did the same for him. He was missing Naruto even though it hadn't even been a few hours. Neji's smile turned into a grimace when he saw the youngest Uchiha following close behind.
"What is going on Sasuke you never come and visit on the weekends?" Neji commented.
"My father needs us to go on a mission. There will be a debriefing at my house. Grab your things we will need you there." Sasuke said.
"Alright I will be there. Let me tell my Uncle what is happening he will probably have us bring Hinata as well." Neji stated.
Hinata was another Omega in the Hyuga family. She was the famed Heiress to the Hyuga clan. She was very nervous and stuttered when she spoke. Sasuke was hoping to avoid her coming, but another set of eyes from the Hyuga clan could help their mission. Neji came back out ready with all his gear and with Hinata following closely behind they departed back to the Uchiha grounds.
Author's Note:
Here it is chapter 3! I have been working really hard on this all week and I am hoping I will be able to keep up with an update schedule for every Sunday. I also loved the feedback that I was getting in the reviews and I tried to incorporate that into this chapter by making the dialog a little clearer by separating it. I also went back to chapter 1 and 2 and edited those to make it easier to read hopefully. This chapter is really setting up for some big climaxes in the chapter to come. I hope you all enjoy! I am still looking for a Beta so if any of you readers would like to beta for me I would very much appreciate it since I am so new at actually writing my own fanfiction 😊