DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO!

Summary: Uchiha Sasuke is a Wolf, banished from his Pack because of his brother. As he strolls along the forest, he bumps into a Fox named Uzumaki Naruto. Only, he isn't your ordinary Fox – he's a hybrid. What happens when Sasuke is mixed up into Naruto's Pack?

Warnings: (Supposedly) aloof Naruto, short chapters, possibly slow updates, possible OOCness, rating may go up, YAOI, SHONENAI, more warnings adding onto later

Pairings: NaruSasu, KakaIru, ShikaTema kind of later, GaaNaru kind of later, ChoujiShika friendship, slight ShikaNaru, NejiHina sibling bond, GaiLee student-teacher bond, KibaHina, LeeSaku, NejiShika, ShinoKiba friendship, ShikaIno friendship, NejiTen friendship, NejiLee "friendship", AsumaKurenai?, adding on more each chapter or so

IF YOU DO NOT LIKE THE STORY, DO NOT READ IT! CRITICISM IS NOT APPRECIATED!

Review Replies:

m3rokoyui: Ehehe… sorry? Thanks for the review! – Hands you six cookies –

Jadej. j.: Thanks! Don't worry – Sasuke's back again now! - Hands you three cookies –

DrowningInTheNight: I'm so glad you liked it! My friend practically planned out the whole thing so you should thank her! She even wrote the KibaHina part! Thanks for your review! – Hands you six cookies –

DarkRavie: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. - Hands you three cookies –

Cherry-Coated-Confusion: Hehe, sorry – I needed to include the side pairings so I added a filler chapter. – Sweat – But, fear not! Sasuke and Naruto have come back now! - Hands you four cookies –

SUNTAN140: Ehh… sorry, pairings ended a few chapters ago… But, I'm glad you participated in it!! – Hands you three cookies –

MyStrawberry Kitten loves Yaoi: WOW THANKS! I'm so glad you like the humor! Unfortunately, I cannot write decent humor even if my life depended on it. - - Which is why my friend helped! She's hilarious! You should give the credit to her! - Hands you five cookies –

Disgruntled Minion: Whoa… just whoa… every time I feel like updating, you review! It's really ironic… and creepy. XP Thanks for the review! I appreciate it. :D – Hands you six cookies –

Fan: Thanks for the review! – Hands you three cookies –

Okami'sTot: Thank you for the review! - Hands you three cookies –

I'm sorry for the late update – it was the last week of school and I was really lazy because of that. But, fear not, summer break is here now! That means (possibly) faster updates! Yippee!

Well, I have nothing more to say now. Let's go read!

(WARNING: I think there's SUPER OOCNESS in this chapter… my mind is a bit sluggish so I don't feel like fixing it. - - Well… that and I'm a bit too lazy to. XP)

(Just an A/N: I changed Sasuke's shorts to white jeans. Yeah, he's sixteen or something in this so I had to fix it. XP)

--

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

"Speaking in animal Form"

Friendship/ Close Relationship Messages

"Screaming at the top of their lungs"

--

The Wolf, the Packs, and the Hybrid – Chapter Nine: Winter Part I: First Snow

'Cold,' was the first thought that came into Sasuke's mind. And not just "oh, it's a little chilly" cold – it was a "I'm going to freeze of death" cold!

He covered himself with his blanket to block out the icy cold wind but to no prevail.

Sasuke sighed in exasperation as cold air hit his shoulder, causing him to shiver.

Suddenly, his covers were yanked off and he yelped in surprise; he was met with a triumphant cheeky smile.

"Naruto, why are you here?" he asked, sitting up on his bed.

The Alpha pouted and crossed his arms; "Excuse me for saving you from freezing!" He replaced his pout with a smile and then tugged at Sasuke's arm; "Come on, shower and dress! Make it quick!"

"May I ask why?" Sasuke questioned him.

Naruto's smile grew; "You'll see! Hurry up now!" From there on, Sasuke was pushed into his bathroom.

--

"Are you sure you washed thoroughly?" Naruto inquired once again.

"Yes!" Sasuke answered, exasperated, "Naruto, I took a shower and dressed – what is it that I'm going to see?!"

Naruto shook his head and then reacted, "How can someone take a bath so fast without washing thoroughly? You probably skip scrubbing yourself or something because-"

"I do scrub myself!" Sasuke shouted, nearly pulling out his hair; seriously, how stubborn was this Fox?!

Growing tired of this issue, Naruto sighed in defeat and then concluded, "Fine, but next time, I'm watching you take a shower to make sure." The Alpha missed the noticeable blush that crossed the Wolf's cheeks because he looked out the window.

The blond Fox urged, "Sasuke, come on, hurry!" before pulling said Wolf outside his home. He stopped momentarily to ask, "'You want to borrow my sweater? It's pretty cold outside." "No." "Suit yourself," Naruto said as he lifted up the door cover.

Sasuke did not expected to see a white ground with white frost falling from the sky; he reached to touch one and was surprised to see that it melted on his palm.

"N-Naruto – what is this?" Sasuke questioned the other male.

"Geez, you'd think you'd perk up at least a little seeing this," Naruto commented and then responded, "It's snow. Cool, isn't it? It's like frozen water falling from the sky!" His Fox ears twitched with excitement and his tail wagged happily.

'Snow?' Sasuke repeated in his mind as he reached out again to touch the white water crystals; instead, he felt coldness and wetness rise up on his front side.

Sasuke growled, "Naruto…" The Fox just laughed as he saw snow melting on Sasuke's blue shirt.

Without warning, Sasuke threw a handful of snow at Naruto, successfully hitting the laughing blonde on the face; "Oof!" Naruto responded and then wiped the snow off, revealing a smirking Uchiha; "Oh, you're so going to get it now…" Naruto told him and then tackled him into the snow, both of them getting wet because of the snow ground. After a while, both ended up laughing as snow slowly dissolved in their hair.

Naruto heard shifting noises and then turned around; he smiled as he greeted, "Hey, Shikamaru!" He waved as his face expressed joy.

Shikamaru grunted in response and then looked between the two: the simple bliss on Naruto's face told him that he was right about trusting the Uchiha.

Suddenly, Naruto's smile ceased as he looked at Shikamaru's face; "Oi, Shikamaru, are you okay?! You look like you haven't slept in weeks!" Worry replaced the earlier happiness that was on his face. Although he was grateful for Naruto's concern, Shikamaru felt bad that he ridded Naruto of his thrill.

"It's all right – I just haven't slept for a while, that's all," Shikamaru replied, blandly, turning his head away from his friend.

Naruto's eyebrows knotted together and then demanded, "What happened? Did someone hurt you? Threaten you? Blackmail you? What. Happened."

Sasuke had never seen this side of Naruto, which caused to be a bit astonished; who knew Naruto could be this protective?

Shikamaru, however, had seen this side of Naruto already and responded, "Nothing happened, Naruto."

Fury engulfed Naruto; "Don't tell me it was nothing! Lack of sleep can be dangerous, Shikamaru! I lost so many friends before – I am not going to lose another!"

The taller Fox's eyes widened as he realized what Naruto had just yelled out; however, his close friend had not realized it until Sasuke stammered out, "L-lost friends?"

Naruto's eyes broadened as he recognized the fact that he spoke something of that in front of Sasuke.

"E-e-eh…" Naruto reacted, not knowing what to do.

"So troublesome…" Shikamaru sighed.

I'll cover for you.

Naruto slightly mumbled something incoherent.

Thanks.

Back still at Sasuke, Naruto informed him, "I-I forgot that I was b-busy today…"

Leaning towards Shikamaru, Naruto whispered, "I'll see you later…"

I'm sorry. We'll talk about it soon.

Shikamaru faintly nodded his head.

With that, Naruto vanished, as if he was never there a second before.

The tired Fox looked back at the still sitting perplexed Wolf; "W-what did Naruto mean by 'lost friends'?" Sasuke queried.

Shikamaru slightly turned away before responding, "Naruto's past… has made a really big impact on him. It's been… really hard on him."

"His… past?" Sasuke repeated.

"I can't tell you about that – it's personal," Shikamaru notified the Wolf, "You're going to have to wait until Naruto's ready to tell you." He was about to walk away until he saw Sasuke's downcast look. It wasn't that he cared about the Wolf but if the Wolf was depressed, then Naruto wouldn't be happy.

"Naruto really cares about you, you know," he told the Wolf, whose Wolf ears perked up; "He really really cares about you, but it takes a while to gain his trust." Again, Sasuke became dejected.

Shikamaru cursed himself; he was never one to say good words. "Err…" he began, not knowing what to say; "Naruto will tell you, don't worry about it." Sasuke's courage seemed to grow at this.

With those last words, Shikamaru walked away; he needed to piece something together since he saw how upset Naruto was. However, that did not stop his mind from thinking about Naruto's hope.

'I've seen the signs between you two – Naruto's finally recovering from his past…

'But, if you dare hurt him in any way, you're going to regret it…

'… But I can't hurt you…

'Because you mean so much to Naruto…'

--

Neji once again banged his head against a poor tree; he didn't care if it was freezing – he messed up with Shikamaru and now the Fox was avoiding him!

During the past weeks, Neji had been brooding on his stupidity and eventually causing self-harm to himself, which caused Hinata to be extremely worried about her cousin's health condition.

It had gone on for who-knows-how-long, slowly tearing Neji apart. Now, when Neji thought that he did something wrong, he wouldn't let go of it, no matter how much reassurance was given to him; all he wanted was (insert name)'s forgiveness but if it was a huge thing… well, it took forever to convince him out of it.

So, there he was, blaming himself about advancing on Shikamaru. He wasn't sorry for it – he just regretted it.

'Idiot, idiot, idiot,' were the thoughts roaming through his head that time.

After a while, he finally stopped, dizziness having the best of him, as a giant red bruise grew on his forehead.

He clutched his temples but did not emit any sound of pain; 'Not enough pain, for this situation,' he thought to himself, 'I deserve more pain for advancing on him.'

He was about to resume injuring his forehead again when he heard an unexpected voice.

"Eh, Neji, what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked, truly befuddled at the Wolf's actions.

"Sh-Shikamaru!" Neji reacted, covering his noticeable bump and looking for an escape route; however, a distressed Neji was not a smart one so, after seeing as he could not escape (however, he could have just run to his sides), he unceremoniously passed out onto Shikamaru's arms.

The Fox just blinked as he stared at the unconscious Wolf; he had come here to settle things, not heal someone!

"Oi, Neji!" Shikamaru shook the other, irritation etched into his every feature.

However, Neji still did not wake up; Shikamaru sighed in defeat and then looked around for any witnesses; seeing none, he abruptly dropped Neji onto the ground; yet, the Wolf still remained out cold.

'So troublesome – I wonder what wakes him up in the morning – maybe a bullhorn?' Shikamaru thought blandly.

Here was Shikamaru's already planned out scenario:

1. Find Neji

2. Discuss the issue about the kiss and such calmly

3. Bluntly tell him that he was not interested, if Neji still did not understand

4. He understands and then they resume their peaceful lives

(However, lack of sleep managed an effect on Shikamaru's brain, leaving out precious details such as: how Neji would take it, if they wouldn't agree, if a certain Wolf fainted, and etc.)

Here was what was happening now:

1. Shikamaru finds Neji injuring a tree and himself

2. Neji passes out

3. Shikamaru tries to wake up the knocked out Wolf

4. Not yet in progress

So… Shikamaru had a small problem… okay, a huge problem considering Neji was awful big.

'I wonder what other parts of him are big…' Shikamaru pondered, eyes trailing down between Neji's legs; he realized he had just thought and then blushed madly, fume nearly spewing out of his ears. 'Why in the world did I think that?!' It couldn't be that Shikamaru was… was… was attracted to Neji, was he? Shikamaru shook his head at this; he was a boy, and not to mention the fact that his first affair had been with a girl!

'But… Naruto was a boy and he had an affair with Gaara…' Shikamaru reminded himself, 'But I'm not Naruto.'

Shikamaru's eyes knitted in concentration as he processed out the percentage that he liked guys.

Meanwhile, an earlier comatose Wolf was beginning to feel the impact of all the soreness.

'Ouch… maybe that was enough…' considered Neji as he contemplated what was happening. 'I was hitting my head against a tree… Shikamaru came… I passed out… oh, drat, Shikamaru!'

With that last thought, Neji scrambled up to his feet, snapping a nearby Fox out of his own thinking.

"Oi, Neji!" Shikamaru called out, watching the panicking Wolf try to stand up; "Neji, wait, I just want to talk!"

"Shikamaru, I am dreadfully sorry for what I did those weeks ago!" Neji shouted, bowing as his long pony-tailed hair covered his face.

'Okay… wasn't expecting that…' Shikamaru reacted; "L-listen, Neji…" he began but then stopped and told the Wolf, "You don't have to bow, you know." Neji slowly lifted up his head to meet Shikamaru, eye-to-eye.

Shikamaru explained, "Listen, Neji… I forgive you… so can we just forget about everything that happened? I appreciate that you like me that way, but my feelings aren't mutual. I see you as a… colleague." He didn't know why but there was this small voice telling him, 'No, stop! You don't want that!'

Neji's hand twitched; he could tell that Shikamaru lacked sleep because of it because of the slight bags under his eyes. 'He really wants to forget about it…' "Sure, Shikamaru…" the heartbroken Hyuuga mumbled, barely audible.

The Fox inwardly sighed in relief, but for some reason, he felt disappointed at his choice; why, though?

"I-I'll get going then…" Shikamaru informed the other Pack member, back facing him.

"Sh-Shikamaru, we're still… colleagues, right?" he heard Neji ask him.

The now distressed Fox nodded and then left a brokenhearted Neji behind him.

'Will my feelings ever be returned?' Neji questioned himself.

--

'Brr…' thought Sasuke as he trudged through the now busy snowy streets of the Konoha Pack, 'Where could Naruto be?'

It was only a short while after what had recently happened and everybody was out and about. ('Maybe Naruto's outburst had something to do with it?' Sasuke questioned himself.)

He had been looking around for the Fox for a while and had no such luck in finding him. Not to mention, the breeze was picking up and it was chilly now. Sasuke sped up his pace a bit, arms folded as if it could radiate enough heat.

He finally spotted Naruto around the frozen lake; the Alpha was staring into the forest, as if waiting for something to happen.

The Wolf was about to call out to him until somebody unfamiliar came; he stood behind a tree and watched the scene.

"Naruto-kun, hello!" the Wolf greeted, a wide smile on his pale face.

"Hi, Sai," Naruto greeted back, a hint of delight in his voice; "How's your Pack been lately?"

The Wolf, Sai, responded, "It's been going very well, Naruto-kun – Roots has been living well, courtesy of you, of course." Everything was said with closed eyes and a smile.

Sasuke took in the appearance of this Wolf: his face was pale – just like his – and everything he wore was black; his shirt stopped just around his abdomen and he had a weapon on his back; his hair was sleek and he had a green headband on.

'A Cora?' Sasuke thought to himself, confused – wasn't this Sai from another Pack?

He snapped back to reality when he heard Sai saying something; "…gift for you."

Naruto protested, "No, Sai, really – I told you that you don't need to pay me back."

Sai objected, "I insist, Naruto-kun; this is from the whole Pack so they'd appreciate it if you accepted it."

Sasuke saw Naruto sigh, obviously giving in, and Sai giving something to him.

"It's a flute, Naruto-kun," Sai told the Fox.

Naruto eyed the small wooden instrument in his hands with interest. It was a hollow cylinder with several holes in it; it was a light mahogany color, and it looked very simple.

Sai chuckled at the Alpha's curiosity and explained, "It makes music."

"You mean… music like that drum you gave me last winter?" Naruto asked.

"Well, yes, but it's different – you have to blow through a hole and then press your fingers onto the other holes to emit a sound," Sai clarified. Naruto placed his lips at the correct spot, blew, and produced a very screechy sour note; the two winced at the sound.

Naruto guessed, "I'm thinking that it's not supposed to make that sound."

"Let me try," Sai suggested, gently grasping the wooden instrument, positioned his lips exactly where Naruto's were, and softly blew into it, sending out a much more delicate and soft tune. He looked towards Naruto to see an amused grin.

"What?" Sai queried, perplexed and frowning.

Naruto snickered and replied, "You know, some people would call that an indirect kiss."

Sai raised an eyebrow and questioned the Fox, "And, may I ask, what do these indirect kisses mean?"

Naruto chuckled and responded, "They're not that big of a deal – unless, you want it to be."

Sasuke silently fumed behind the tree – he wanted nothing more than to stomp out there and drag Naruto all the way back into the village, away from the Sasuke look-alike!

A sudden melody of slow, soft notes caught his attention. "Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of this!" Naruto exclaimed.

The thought of "indirect kiss" zipped through Sasuke's mind again, and the poor tree had a dent in its trunk.

Sasuke now noticed that their voices were hushed into a whisper but if he came too close, he'd interrupt it and would never find out.

Boiled anger rose when he witnessed Sai walking too close to Naruto. Sasuke's eyes widened when Sai kissed Naruto!

He never wondered why the rational part of him never showed up; his irrational thoughts were too powerful for him to think of anything else.

The Wolf growled viciously under his breath and then stomped away from the scene; he didn't know where he was going – he just wanted to get away from that.

When his conscience returned, he found himself immobile in a blizzard.

--

It was their annual meeting again and Naruto had been waiting for Sai to appear; he felt bad leaving Sasuke in the snow like that, but he had just blurted out a pretty big secret in front of him.

Sai had come after a while, giving him another gift yet again; Naruto had commented on "indirect kisses" which led to…

"Naruto-kun," Sai called out and then inquired, "What would a… direct kiss be like?"

Naruto looked hesitant to answer that; "You have to give physical contact for that."

"As in?" Sai continued querying.

"Like… your lips can kiss their cheek or… lips…" Naruto responded, a bit uncomfortable with the situation.

Sai contemplated this before asking, "Can I… give you a direct kiss, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto blinked and uncertainly replied, "Sure…"

The Wolf carefully approached the Fox and then leaned in.

Naruto realized that Sai was going to kiss him on the lips and then quickly turned his head away, resulting in Sai kissing his cheek.

"Naruto-kun?" Sai reacted, after backing off, "What's wrong?"

"Eh… the cheek and lips mean two different things, Sai," Naruto clarified.

"How so?" Sai inquired, frowning and completely baffled.

"I-I can't explain that…" Naruto responded, rubbing the back of his neck, "Anyways, thanks for the flute."

Sai nodded his head, smiling once again; "You're welcome, Naruto-kun! I must be on my way, now, however; my Pack is awaiting me back at the eastern mountains."

"Aw, now? You were barely here for five minutes!" Naruto protested.

Sai notified the Alpha, "Naruto-kun… you have changed – do you know that?"

Naruto blinked; "What makes you say that?"

Sai shook his head and bid farewell; "I'll see you again next year, Naruto-kun."

"Yeah, I'll see you then, in that case," Naruto concluded.

He watched the Wolf from the branch Pack run back into the forest and then thoughts were swirling in his mind – thoughts about Sasuke.

"Why does Sai look so much like Sasuke?" Naruto mulled over; a harsh breeze blew pass him, resulting in him shivering a bit.

"Drat, it looks like a blizzard's coming – I better warn the Pack." Naruto hastily sprinted towards the village.

But the real words behind that sentence were:

'I hope Sasuke's okay.'

--

"O-Baa-chan, is everyone safely in their houses?!" Naruto asked over the increasing winds.

"Yes, you idiot, now stop worrying!" Jiraiya answered for the female Fox.

"IS SASUKE SAFE?!" The two Foxes heard Naruto's panicked scream.

Tsunade voiced to the other, "We haven't seen him anywhere."

"Naruto, did you check his house?!" Jiraiya hollered.

"I CHECKED THE ENTIRE VILLAGE AND THERE'S NO SASUKE! I HAVE TO FIND HIM!"

Tsunade protested, "Naruto, you can't go out into the blizzard! It's too dangerous!"

Her warning was either unheard or ignored because Naruto had already ventured out into the severe winds.

--

"SASUKE!" Naruto yelled, his voice beginning to weaken after continuous shouting; where could Sasuke be? He couldn't have been frozen to death, could he?!

Naruto's face blanched; no, he was NOT going to lose another friend!

With that thought in his head, he trudged through the thick snow, determined to find the Wolf.

After endless traveling, Naruto's legs bumped into something under the snow; the Fox's face was nearing frozen and his joints were almost immobile.

He forcefully pushed away all the snow and then found part of a blue shirt and part of a Wolf tail; "Sasuke!" Naruto reacted; he hurriedly shoved away all the snow and uncovered an unconscious Wolf; "Sasuke, you better not die on me!" Naruto hollered, his voice almost gone.

Naruto hastily unzipped his sweater and then wrapped Sasuke in its warmth; he hugged the Wolf tight until he heard regular breathing.

"Thank goodness!" Naruto breathed out, relieved; now, he just had to go back all the way to the Pack.

"I told you to wear my sweater," Naruto murmured into Sasuke's ear, embracing the Wolf tighter; he had to reach the village soon – the raging frost was catching up to him.

Sasuke felt abundant heat surround him everywhere, as his vision cleared up.

'What happened?' he reacted, seeing nothing but black, even if his eyes were slightly opened.

He heard a familiar voice say, "I told you to wear my sweater" and then he was moving – but it wasn't his legs.

The Wolf's eyes widened in realization; 'Naruto!' He would have screamed it out but his throat and mouth were pressed tight onto someone's chest; the only passage of breath he had was through his nose.

He urged his left hand to move up and clutched onto the black shirt, as if his life depended on it; he felt tears well up from his eyes, for a reason he did not know. He was just really happy that Naruto was saving him.

The next thing he knew, he was in a warm bed. His head seemed half-awake since he could not identify most items.

"Sasuke? Are you awake?" he heard a recognizable voice asked, concerned.

His thoughts were coherent enough to realize who it was: 'Naruto.'

There was pressure to the left of him and he felt slender fingers intertwine with his left hand.

Unconsciously, Sasuke sat up (ignoring the "Sasuke, you shouldn't move!" caution from Naruto); however, his head will still too dizzy and jumbled to stay still so his head ended up on Naruto's left shoulder.

The thought of Naruto brought back up the scene of Sai kissing him and automatically, Sasuke lifted his head up once more and softly kissed Naruto's cheek.

His mind shut down and Naruto instinctively grabbed him before he could hurt himself; he then gently laid Sasuke back onto the bed.

'Sasuke just… kissed me…' Naruto rewound the thought through his head over and over again at the possibility.

The Alpha's eyes softened and his free hand trailed across the Wolf's cheek. 'I should return the favor, shouldn't I?' Naruto asked himself. With that, he leaned in towards Sasuke and softly pressed his lips against his cheek – though it was against the side of his lip, in truth.

Naruto's hand never let go of Sasuke's the entire event.

--

Eh… is it fluff? I'm not sure. - -

Like I said, I'm too lazy to fix the OOCness so you can complain about that.

I really found this chapter cute. Credit goes to my friend for planning it out! (Eh, I hope you don't mind me changing a bit of it. )

I'm trying to make sure Naruto and Sasuke's relationship isn't too fast or slow but I think it's ending up too fast. - -

The shower time scene really does happen in my life – my sister takes like two minute showers and she comes out CLEAN! CLEAN, I TELL YOU! XP

Im not happy with the NejiShika part – it seems too abrupt, sudden, and terrible. - - Maybe I should edit it later…

I'm a little distraught about the Sai part because it seemed really rushed. You can complain about that too.

Okay, I think because of the late update, you readers deserve a preview – YAY! – but it won't be that long – BOO! - . Boy, I sure can bust a bubble, can't I?

--

"ACHOO!" The loud sneeze caused the whole village to quake.

"Hey, Kiba, what's going on?" Sasuke asked the Fox.

Kiba replied, "Only something that happens once every few years – Naruto has a cold."

--

It's supposed to be a humorous chapter where Naruto and Sasuke's relationship develops. Maybe even Kiba and Hinata's.

We're permanently sticking with cookies now (with the occasional side of cake). Review please!

Bye now!