You're Mine
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. Sorry this one is a bit late. I got side tracked by some of my other stories. *Sigh* Reviews still aren't showing up on the site, but I can see them in my email. Anyway, please enjoy this chapter. Lots of flashbacks this chapter. ;)
Chapter 10
The next day, Sasuke goes to receive his first treatment for his PSTD. Naruto wanted to go with him. But Tsunade informed the blonde that Sasuke would probably censor himself, if he didn't have privacy. It had been the battle of the blondes, but eventually Naruto had kissed Sasuke and decided to wait outside the door.
"Alright, Sasuke. Tell me how you came to be at the Arena and about your time there. Don't worry. I won't judge you for anything that you did or that happened to you. You didn't have a choice. Nothing you say to me, will ever be shared with anyone else." She assures him.
Sasuke looks at her skeptically. The black lion didn't detect any deception in her scent. The nose didn't lie, did it?
"I was taken from the wild when I was a cub…" He begins and winces as the memories hit him.
Sasuke was just a cub of seven. He hissed. He bit. He kicked. He clawed. He tried everything he could to escape, but the human was just too strong for him. He still had his baby teeth in his animal form.
"This one's a fighter. Definitely selling him to Orochimaru. Look at that fur. He'll pay a fortune for him." One of them said.
"Oh yeah. Real cutie too. I bet the women will get a kick out of watching him fight in a few years and the female hybrids will be more than eager to breed with him." Another said.
"LET ME GO!" Sasuke growled.
"Sorry kitty cat. That's not going to happen." He said as Sasuke is thrown into the trunk of the car.
Sasuke wasn't sure how long he was jammed in the trunk. But by the end of the ride he was dizzy from thirst and hunger. Maybe they just didn't care. If he died, they could sell him for his fur, he figured.
"Well looks like the kid is alive. Told you that he was a fighter." The larger one said.
"Hmm well I'll be damned. Thought for sure he'd die on the way here. Oh well. Come here little guy." He said..
Sasuke shrinks as far back as he could. The human wasn't deterred though. He goes to grab Sasuke. Sasuke bit him as hard as he could, causing the human to curse and he could taste some blood in his mouth. He'd drawn blood. Take that!
"OWE. DAMN FUCKER BIT ME!" He hissed in pain.
"Idiot. You should have worn your gloves." The other scolded him.
"He's just a baby." The larger one argued.
"That baby drew blood. Get your ass to the infirmary. He might have a disease for all you know. He's wild." The smaller one warned him.
"You're right. Kid you are going to get torn apart in the Arena. Should have been nicer. Maybe you would have been a pet." He spat at Sasuke and headed off.
"Come on." The other said, wearing special gloves for protection, and he grabbed Sasuke by the scruff of the neck.
Despite being weak from thirst and hungry, Sasuke struggled valiantly. But once you had a cat by the scruff of the neck, they were helpless. His struggles seemed to amuse his captor more than anything else.
"Orochimaru, got one for you. A black lion hybrid. He's just a cub right now. But he survived the journey and is a fighter. Took a good chunk out of the idiot's arm." He said.
"He's stunning. Look at that fur. Hmm and rather scrappy. How much you want for him?" The snake like man asked.
"I'd say he's worth at least a hundred grand." The man replied.
"Hmm…normally I would haggle. But I suspect he'll end up making me a hundred times that by the end of his career. That's not counting any cubs he will sire. Very well." Orochimaru gave the man a rather large diamond that Sasuke would later find out was worth $100,000 dollars.
"Pleasure doing business with you." He said and walked off with the diamond.
"What's your name, child?" Orochimaru asked.
Sasuke stays silent. He didn't like this man anymore than the people who had taken away from his family. His instincts screamed PREDATOR.
"Are you mute?" He questioned in amusement.
Sasuke looks at him defiantly and tries to run off. Orochimaru grabbed him though and threw him against the wall.
"I think it is best that I make a few things clear. This is the Arena and my word is law here. If you do not do as I tell you, life will be very short and unpleasant for you. If you are a good boy, you might make it to adulthood." Orochimaru explained to him as if he was Sasuke's teacher and Sasuke was a naughty student.
Sasuke's tiny fury form bounced against the wall. He felt a sharp pain to his head and everything went black. When he woke, he was in a kennel. That was the beginning of his own personal Hell.
"So he threw me against the wall. I was knocked out and woke up in a kennel." Sasuke finishes, not realizing his whole body was shaking with anger and terror.
"Very good. That's a very good start Sasuke. It takes a lot of courage to talk about such things. I am proud of you." She murmurs.
"I don't want to talk about this anymore." He mutters.
"I imagine not. But that's a good start today. Besides, if I keep Naruto waiting too much longer, he'll probably break down the door." She states slyly.
"Yeah. He probably would." Sasuke lets out a choked laugh.
"Go to him." She tells him.
"Thanks." Sasuke says and opens the door.
Naruto almost fell on the floor. He had been pressed up to it. Sasuke figured the blonde was trying to listen in. The dark haired lion knew he should be angry. But he couldn't be. Naruto was only doing it because he cared. He smiles. The Uchiha was still getting used to people caring about him again.
"Shit! Sasuke you are shaking like a leaf. What'd she do to you?" He growls and looks at Tsunade like he was considering tearing her to shreds.
"She didn't do anything. I was just remembering things that I would rather forget. But I know it's all part of therapy. I'm not going to get better, if I can't face my demons. Can we go home now?" He murmurs.
"Yeah. Of course." He says, pulling Sasuke into his arms and holding the other man against him.
"Good." Sasuke says and buries his face into Naruto's as they walk back to their room.
Meanwhile Danzo goes and checks the prison. Orochimaru would be there. While the old man held Orochimaru in low esteem, he also knew that the man never failed to make a delivery. Without him, huge networks of sellers and buyers were going to be thrown into chaos.
"Orochimaru." Danzo says.
"Danzo, come to get me out of here?" The ashen skinned man asks.
"You know that I can't do that. Well at least not yet. I want you to tell me what you know about Sasuke Uchiha. I think he could prove problematic." He states.
"He's a black lion hybrid. Probably the best fighter, I've ever had. A crowd favorite. A natural killer instinct. Highly intelligent. Strong. But very proud. His pride will make him do things that are not…the wisest course of action. I remember as a cub, I had to beat him into submission and even then, he was forever trying to challenge me. Miracle that he's still alive. I'm surprised his skull didn't shatter to be honest." He finishes casually.
"Ah pride. That's a major weakness of all big cat hybrids, I've noticed." He chuckles humorlessly.
"Indeed it is. He's magnificent in either form. Pity that I wasn't able to breed him. He does prefer males. I offered him…companionship on more than one occasion but he is such an antisocial thing." He adds.
"You'd sleep with a hybrid? Disgusting." Danzo lips curl in distaste.
"They have human intelligence and as long as they are in their human form, I see no problem." The other man counters.'
"I'm not here to discuss your sexual preferences." Danzo says.
"Well I've told you what I know. I doubt he'd let them know you are a buyer. He's tasted freedom. He's not the type to stick his neck out for strangers." He says with a smirk.
"Good to know. Though perhaps he simply wasn't into old men. He's taken a lover." He says.
"A lover? That is interesting. Who?" Orochimaru asks.
' "Tsunade's pet, Naruto. He's a golden lion hybrid." Danzo answers, not able to resist the impulse to taunt Orochimaru a bit.
"A golden lion and a black lion, I'm certain that must be quite the piece of art. Tell me, which seems to be the dominant in that pair?" He asks curiously.
"I'm not sure. They both wear collars with each other's names. Nor do I particularly care who tops when they mount each other." He says with a shrug.
"You never were any fun." Orochimaru says.
"You were always…disgusting. Good night Orochimaru. I will work on getting you out of here, if only to keep the black market from spiraling into chaos." He says and leaves.
Meanwhile Kisame watches as his mate paces. Something had clearly gotten under his normally very composed lover's fur. On one hand, he did enjoy the sight of Itachi's fine ass pacing back and forth. On the other, it meant he was distressed. He decides to just ask and see what was bothering him.
"Itachi, you are wearing a hole in the carpet. What's eating you?" He asks.
"Sasuke's receiving his first therapy session today. I'm worried that it might trigger an episode." He answers.
"Oh. I see. Don't worry, if he's anything like you, he's tough. He'll be fine." Kisame tries to reassure him.
"He's tough in the Arena. The Arena of your mind can be an even harsher mistress at times." He says.
"True. But pacing won't help him. We can ask him how it went when he gets back. Will that make you feel better?" He questions.
"A little." Itachi replies.
"Good." Kisame says and he couldn't help but remember the first time that he met his mate.
Kisame was a thief. He was a master thief. He specialized in the theft of rather expensive swords. Kisame liked swords. He liked shiny things. The blue skinned man supposed that it was the kleptomaniac in him.
"Hmm, someone's following me." He says.
He had felt like he was being watched for awhile. He just couldn't see who it was. At first, he tried to pawn it off to nerves. But then he had caught a scent. It was subtle but he definitely smelled apples and cinnamon, along with a musky undertone.
"Alright. I know you're following me. So how about we cut to the chase and get to the part where I beat you up and you run back to whoever sent you with your tail between your legs?" He asks mockingly.
"That was rather speciest of you to assume I had a tail. There are hybrids that don't have them." He hears a voice that felt like pure satin to his ears say.
"Was I right though?" He asks, wanting to hear that voice again, and looks around to see who his chaser was.
"In this instance, yes. But you really shouldn't assume things." He hears the other man say and a soft thud as the man jumps down from his hiding place.
He couldn't him yet. It was late at night. The thin sliver of the Moon that was visible cast only shadows. But the fact he had landed on his feet told him that he was probably dealing with some sort of cat hybrid.
"Come out and play." He says.
"If you insist." He hears the voice say and Itachi walks out of the shadows.
Itachi, as Kisame would later find out was his name, had to be the most beautiful creature that he'd ever laid eyes on. Raven black long hair pulled back into a sleek ponytail, crimson red eyes, sun kissed skin, exotic markings on his cheeks, black furred lion ears, a matching tail, and that gorgeous lithe body of his.
Damn. He didn't know who had sent this one, but Kisame was in the mood to send them a nice gift basket. Maybe he could have some fun.
"Your talents for…acquiring precious objects have been noticed by Konoha. Normally, your string of high end robberies would land you in prison. But your skills are too valuable to waste. So if you come with me, you'll get a job instead of jail time." Itachi said.
"So all those others who were after me, were…recruiters?" He asked.
"Something like that. You are very good at escaping. So they decided a tracker such as myself would be best." He replied.
"Well if they had sent your gorgeous ass to start with, then I would have stuck around longer to hear the explanation." Kisame informed him.
"I shall take that as your agreeing to come with me." Itachi ignored the gorgeous part.
"I'll cum with you anytime you want. But first I think you should at least kiss me first. I'm a romantic deep down, ya know?" He asked.
"That is not amusing." Itachi had replied and his tail had flicked in agitation. (Which Kisame thought was so fucking adorable.)
"Who says I was joking?" He questioned and came flying at Itachi.
He was a hybrid. They were just wired differently than humans. For most hybrids, if you couldn't win someone over by wooing them, it was considered perfectly acceptable to try to impress them with a show of strength and then fuck their brains out. It was primitive drive, designed to increase the chances of strong offspring. Somehow though, it appeared to work equally well on pairs that were the same gender in hybrids.
The had spent the entire night fighting. Kisame had never been so turned on his life. Itachi fought with such an elegant, fluid, and sensual grace. It was worth taking whatever blows he managed to land on the much larger shark hybrid just to see it.
Itachi at some point had realized they were too evenly matched for him to win the fight by conventional means. So yeah, Kisame realized later that he was a sucker. But he still remembered when Itachi had suddenly kissed him.
He'd never felt anything so good. Then there was a sharp pain to the back of his neck and everything went black. Itachi had used the kiss to distract him and knock Kisame out. Sneaky little kitty.
"What are you smiling about?" Itachi asks curiously.
"I was just remembering the first time we met. Such a sneaky little kitty." Kisame says.
"…Don't remind me. I can't believe I had to resort to such underhanded tactics, but you left me no choice." Itachi mutters.
"You can be as underhanded anytime you want with me. Anyway, we should probably go check on your brother. I'm sure he's out of his session by now." Kisame says.
"Yes, let's." He agrees and walks off with his mate.
Meanwhile Danzo finds Sai. He wasn't pleased to say the least. He had given the hybrid the file with Sasuke's suggestion on it. Sai had delivered all the other suggestions. So he highly doubted it was likely that Sasuke's got "lost in the mail."
"Sai, why did you not do as I asked?" Danzo questions him furiously.
"I did. I gave Tsunade the folder." He answers.
"But she never received my suggestion for Sasuke Uchiha. If you gave her the folder, I wonder how that could be. The only logical conclusion that I am left with is that you removed his name from the pack. I wonder why you would do such a thing?" He muses.
"I didn't. It probably just fell. I would never disobey an order from you." Sai lies.
"It seems you did. Which of the two did you fall for? Was it Naruto? You spend an unusual amount of time watching him. Or perhaps you like them with darker fur." He says menacingly.
"You know I'm not capable of love. I'm not capable of any emotion. You trained me to be efficient. Emotions only get in the way of completing missions." Sai informs him.
"Yes, it seems I did train you. There must have been a flaw in your training if you are so willing to defy me. And here I thought that you were trustworthy. Tsk. Tsk. I should know better than to trust a filthy animal." He says and raises his cane to strike him.
A loud roar suddenly rips through the hallway. Danzo is thrown to the ground by the weight of a 480 pound African black furred lion. His fangs were bared and his eyes red as a demon.
"Filthy animal? Is that what you call us when the mask slips?" Sasuke snarls at the man underneath him.
"SASUKE!" Naruto cries out and races after him.
He didn't know what happened. They had been walking down the hall. Sasuke's ears had twitched and he had phased instantly. Sasuke was charging at someone and had let out a blood chilling roar. Now Sasuke had pinned someone underneath him and looked like he was about to tear the other man's head off.
"Thank you." Sai mutters in shock.
"You're welcome." Sasuke snarls his fangs ready to tear Danzo's throat out.
"Sasuke stop! If you do it, you are as bad as him." Naruto says.
"He deserves it. Do you know how many lives this man has ruined?" Sasuke growls.
"Sasuke." Naruto says warningly.
"He was going to attack the horse." Sasuke points out.
"Yes, you saved him. Come on. Let's go home. I could give you a nice belly rub. I know you like those." Naruto offers.
"You are so lucky." Sasuke growls, but his fury was too great to let it slide.
Naruto could only watch in horror at what unfolded next. Sasuke unsheathed his claws and scratched into Danzo's cheek the word BUYER in all capital letters. He smirks in his animal form cruelly. Enjoying the man's howls of pain and the sight of fresh blood on the bastard.
"Suffer, as I have." He snarls and bounds over to Naruto.
"You going to be okay, Sai?" Naruto asks the horse hybrid.
"Yes, I think so." He murmurs.
"If you touch him, I'll make sure it's your throat next time." Sasuke promises Danzo.
Naruto drags Sasuke back to their room. He had to figure out what made the darker haired lion snap like that. It wasn't normal.
"Sasuke, you wanna tell me what that was all about?" He asks.
"It reminded me of what used to happen to me when I was a cub. I wasn't going to let a human beat another hybrid with me watching. So I hurt him first." Sasuke says.
Naruto sighs. His eyes soften. God only know what had happened to his almost lover as a cub. Damn.
"It's okay now. You helped him. He's not going to touch you. I promise." The blonde murmurs.
"I know he won't. I'll fucking kill him if he tries it." Sasuke says.
"Was it just hitting?" Naruto asks warily.
"Hitting, deprivation of all sorts, solitary confinement, medical experiments, the list goes on. The only thing that I never let the sick fucks do was TOUCH me. If they tried that, I made sure they were sent to the emergency room before they got far." He admits.
"Shit. Sasuke. I knew you had to fight in the Arena, but damn. I can't believe you went through all that. How are you still sane?" The blonde asks.
' I stayed sane out of spite. I wasn't going to let them break me. Most hybrids went insane after awhile. They tended to kamikaze in the ring or just stop eating. They got new hybrids all the time. So if someone ended up dying, they just replaced them easily enough." He answers.
"You're safe here. You know that right?" Naruto murmurs and caresses the other hybrid's cheek.
"I know." He says and kisses the palm of Naruto's hand.
"Good. I will kill that fucker myself if he so much as looks at you the wrong way." The blue eyed hybrid promises him.
"I know. Naruto?" He says uncertainly.
"Yeah?" He replies.
"I love you. I want you to know that." Sasuke tells him.
"I love you too. So fucking much, but I don't want you to say that because you are scared." Naruto warns him.
"The two aren't mutually exclusive." Sasuke admits.
"Sasuke." He says warningly.
"Would you prefer I lie?" The other lion asks.
"No…but I don't want you scared. I'll protect you." He promises.
"I'm not a damsel in distress." Sasuke states.
"I know. But you are in distress. God, I want to kill that asshole. I wish I had found you sooner." Naruto says and kisses his forehead.
"You found me. That's what matters." Sasuke says with a smile.
"Yeah and I'm never letting go." He says.
"Good. I don't want you to." Sasuke admits.
"Good because that definitely wasn't negotiable. Come on. Your fine ass needs to get some sleep." He says and lays on the bed, pulling Sasuke against him.
"Yeah." He says with a sigh and snuggles into him.
Naruto watches as Sasuke closes his eyes. Eventually the other man's breathing evens out. The blonde knew that he was asleep. Naruto sighs. Damn. He hated what his soon to be mate had been through. He couldn't do anything about it either.
"I can't wait to watch Danzo explain his new tattoo." He smirks to himself.
That was a consolation prize at least. Sasuke had some wicked claws, it seemed. It was sorta a given. It was part of the reason why the other man had survived long enough to be rescued. Still served that son of a bitch right.