Ok I know not many people will read this, but for those who do...I know I haven't updated in a long time and it's not because I didn't want to work on this story, believe me I was dying to work on this chapter and others as well, it's because my laptop of 4 years decided it was going to die beyond the means of repair, so I literally had to save up for a year to get a new laptop, and no I had no other ways to type this. My computer was the only one with typing software in the house, and the library is too far away for me to walk there. My car died beyond means of repair as well, so driving there was out of the question. I just got it maybe a week or two ago and since then I have been moving all my Omega files to it, but for a while I couldn't locate chap 11, so I spent a few more days trying to desperately find it. I found it in a folder it shouldn't have been in and have been working on this chapter for a few days. The reason it took so long was because not only did I have to figure out where I left off, I had to reread previous chapters to find out the progress of certain characters, and figure out what I was planning for this chapter and future chapter's contents. So, now I can continue like I've been wanting to. The longed for chapter 11 is now finally here!
I don't own Naruto or it's characters.
(There would be much more yaoi if I did.)
Naruto joined Sasuke in devouring the meat, using his now stronger teeth to strip the carcass from the bone. They ate in mutual silence, wanting to fill their aching stomachs more than anything at that moment. Even though they were extremely hungry, they made sure to leave something for the female to eat whenever she woke up. With their hunger somewhat satisfied they licked the lingering blood from their chops. Naruto shook his fur but, stopped immediately and whined. The pup's muscles were screaming at him to stop all movements. Sasuke quirked a brow at the Uzumaki. He didn't know what happened.
'He must have pulled a muscle.' He confirmed calmly. The Uchiha went to also shake himself of the dirt but stopped instantly as well, his eyes scrunching up. He suppressed the small whine that wanted to come out.
'Ngh. Damn, that training seemed to get to me after all.' Black eyes shifted over to where Naruto stood whining. 'And if I'm feeling something, then Naruto must feel five times as worse.'
It was some time after that Naruto seemed to recover from the aching, and was able to stand properly. Naruto then began to venture off to the mouth of the cave. The orange pup grunted a bit before Sasuke followed suit, not wanting Naruto to go anywhere without him. He looked at the Uchiha expectantly. Said pup quirked a brow in confusion.
Naruto sighed, "Come on Sasuke I wanna catch a damn fish." The Uchiha's black eyes shifted to Naruto's wagging tail and sighed. Even though he was tired and sore, he gave into the pup's wants and padded out the cave in front.
"Fine, but this time we're practicing in shallower water so you don't drown if I happen to fall asleep again." He muttered.
Naruto's ears picked up the Uchiha's words and shivered at the mention of drowning. He still remembers the horror of almost dying the last time he was near deep water.
He shook away the fearful thoughts plaguing his mind. He didn't want to think about that since they were going to be near water. Naruto nodded, Sasuke's demand that they be near shallower water helped ease his mind. The Uchiha led the way at a slow pace, he didn't want to lose the other on the way there. While they strolled through the thick forest Sasuke would often here grunts coming from Naruto. He would quickly turn his head around to observe the other's progress, but would only grunt himself from the soreness of his own muscles. He'd wait until the orange pup was close to him before leading the way again.
Although Sasuke was calm and collected on the outside, he was a nervous wreck on the inside. What if he slept and Naruto fell in? Would Naruto drown in shallow water too? Should they even try this tonight? These thoughts clouded his judgment on where the pup should resume his late night training. He thought long and hard as they trekked through the bushes to their secret place.
'Should I just take him to another spot? I don't recall there being any shallow spots where we usually spend time at. Damnit Sasuke think!' His black orbs dilated with realization.
'Of course! How could I have forgotten that there's shallow water under the waterfall cavern.'
The Uchiha was relieved that there was a place they could go to where he wouldn't have to worry as much.
Naruto noticed Sasuke's pace picking up and cocked his head. What could be on Sasuke's mind? Instantly a flash of what happened in Kakashi's cave flooded his memory.
The blood surfaced to his cheeks revealing his flustered state. 'Agh! What is wrong with me? Except for the fact that I'm interested in Sasuke more than a friend…and what happened in the cave is probably why he's acting that way. He doesn't want to be near me…' Naruto's eyes casted down in shame.
He still didn't know what Sasuke would do if he ever found out that he liked the Uchiha, but he didn't want to find out. 'Could he like me too or will he hate me if he knew? Would he disown me like the others?'
Tears gathered in the corners of his crystal blue eyes the more he thought of Sasuke being disgusted with him, but before any more negative thoughts crossed his mind an image of the dream he had with Sasuke briefly flashed in his head.
Naruto gasped, he had almost completely forgotten about the dream he had that day when Iruka was training him.
"You fool, you really are dense aren't you?" The pup's heart skipped a beat as the Uchiha's words echoed in his head.
"I'm here aren't I?" His eyes watered even more.
"Why? Why don't you treat me like the other wolf pups?" Naruto felt his chest tighten.
"Because, you're different from the others. You want to be friends because you simply want to, not because I'm strong, or a perfect male." His heart skipped another beat with a wrenching ache.
"Naruto, I've actually taking…a liking to you…" The image of Sasuke leaning in to nose him seemed to slow down immensely in his head, making his eyes shut tightly.
The tears were finally able to flow freely as his emotions overwhelmed him. Aside from the actual nosing he and Sasuke shared, this was the only thing he could cling to in hopes of the Uchiha reciprocating his feelings. It was one of the best dreams he had ever had since his parents died and he would always cherish it.
Being to wrapped up in his feelings, he didn't see where he was going and bumped into something soft. Naruto closed his eyes and whined due to his aching muscles. 'What did I run into?' His eyes opened slowly landing on Sasuke, the very thing he happened to bump into.
"S-Sasuke, I didn't mean… sorry." He whispered dejectedly. He didn't mean to bump into the Uchiha like that. He should have been paying more attention to his surroundings.
Sasuke gave the pup a quizzical look. He didn't know why Naruto was apologizing. He just wanted to see why the other smelled of sadness. The Uchiha's nose had picked up the smell of saline and figured Naruto had stopped to grieve about his near death experience. He turned to Naruto and sniffed. Naruto retracted his head a bit at the sudden closeness and blushed heavily; ears drawn back.
Sasuke growled softly, "Are you still thinking about them?"
"Huh?" Naruto was shocked, he thought that Sasuke caught onto him. With the Uchiha getting impatient he replied nervously, "Oh, yeah. Heh, it's still fresh in my head, so I might do that every now and then." Sasuke eyed the way his tail curled slightly and how drawn back his ears were.
Once again the way Naruto answered gave the Uchiha a reason to not fully believe what he said, but he let it go anyway. Besides, he'd eventually find out what it really was that was on his mind.
He moved to start walking again when his ears picked up the faintest whisper, "Sasuke...?"
The Uchiha's head turned back to Naruto. "What is it?" He asked calmly. Maybe Naruto would tell him after all.
The Uzumaki blushed slightly, "Did I annoy you with my nightmare?".
The Uchiha gave the other a slightly puzzled look, "Why would that annoy me Naruto?" He moved closer to the embarrassed pup.
Naruto's ear fell, "You seem kind of mad. Normally you talk to me and aren't so mad."
Sasuke's look of confusion was replaced with a smirk. "You idiot, you really think that I'm mad because I'm sore?" He chuckled, "You really are a dobe. I'm tired and sore, and I know you are too. Aren't you doing the same thing as well?"
Naruto looked down in shame, "Yeah, I'm pretty tired and sore...sorry Sasuke." The pup felt a paw lift his chin up. He gulped softly as black eyes bore into blue ones.
"Your nightmare has nothing to do with how I'm feeling at the moment, so stop worrying so much about it. You don't have to be sorry all the time for asking me something either." He answered.
Naruto could feel the blush rising to his cheeks. If Sasuke kept this up his new fur color would be blood red. When Naruto didn't give any sort of answer he dropped his paw and circled the pup. He leaned his mouth over to the Uzumaki's ear.
"It'll be alright Dobe." He assured, letting his tail brush the orange body before turning to lead the way again. Naruto feverishly wiped his tears away with a yellow paw before following the other again.
Once they reached the spot they were familiar with, Sasuke immediately began heading in the direction of the enormous waterfall. Naruto cringed, just seeing the amount of water pouring into the lake made the pup freeze with fear. Sasuke looked back to see Naruto just standing there; petrified. The Uchiha's eyes held concern as he trekked back to him. He nipped at the Uzumaki's ear to grab his attention. The startled pup gasped, but snapped out of his phobic trance and lowered his ears in shame.
"Come on Naruto, it'll be ok." Sasuke walked behind Naruto and nudged the pup in the direction of the falls.
This time he would be able to keep track of Naruto and help him move along. The orange pup whined, but kept Sasuke's assuring words in mind. He would be ok as long as the Uchiha was around. Even so the pup was reluctant to proceed any further. He had stopped about three more times before finally making it near the roaring falls. The Uzumaki flattened his ears against his skull. This was the closest to the falls he had ever been, and it was loud. The pup looked around, not sure of what they were doing here; this was surely the deeper part of the lake.
Naruto's tail curled between his legs. "Uh, Sasuke? Isn't this the deeper side? I thought we were practicing in shallow water?" Worry laced his voice.
Sasuke could hear the fear seeping from the pup's shaky voice, and decided to reassure him. "We are, but there's a shallow part behind that waterfall. "That's where we're going." He added.
Naruto relaxed a bit, but his scent soon became shrouded in fear once again as his eyes darted around, failing to see any part of the ground connecting to the falls. He instantly became fearful again, pushing his paws against the dirt.
"But Sasuke! There's no land…I can't… swim…" he lowered his voice. Naruto was very embarrassed that he was the only pup who couldn't swim.
The Uchiha frowned, Naruto shouldn't feel ashamed about a simple fear, everyone has one; even he had a fear.
'To think that giant snakes were what I was always afraid of, but being all alone with no one to understand me and losing Naruto are my newest fears. I can't imagine what I'd do if he were to vanish. Heh, I'd probably go insane and leave as a rouge wolf.'
He nuzzled Naruto's back and shoulders in a soothing manner. "Calm down Dobe. There's a sliver of land hidden beneath the water that runs across the falls. If anything the water will at least come up to your chest." He assured, nipping Naruto's ear again.
The pup yipped and bit at the Uchiha's shoulder playfully as he passed by. Sasuke smirked, he was really good at bringing Naruto back to his regular self. The blue pup then waded into the water on the strip of land and waited patiently for Naruto to follow. He watched the other whine with his ears down and tail curled. Naruto wasn't going to come in just like that.
"I can't…I don't even see the strip of land Sasuke." The Uchiha exited the water. He had an idea to get Naruto moving.
Sasuke moved around to where he was behind Naruto and nudged him to the edge of the bank. The Uzumaki gritted his teeth as he saw the water get closer and closer to him. His anxiety levels rose drastically; his small claws dug into the damp earth trying to cease his advancement towards the cold, unforgiving water. He looked back at Sasuke who only motioned for him to continue with a wave of his paw. Naruto sighed, before closing his eyes and dipping a shaky paw in. A rush of cold ran up the pup's spine making him shiver. Naruto hesitantly forced the rest of his limbs into the water and stood there; shivering from both the cold and fear.
Sasuke hopped in behind Naruto and proceeded to guide the shaking pup behind the falls. "Now just relax Naruto. I'm right here if anything goes wrong. I won't let you drown I promise." He said sincerely.
"O-ok." The frightened pup nodded and began walking towards the cavern shakily. He tapped his paws around the land to make sure he wouldn't slip while he slowly made his way behind the falls. It was a really slow start, but at least he was making progress unlike when they first arrived.
Sasuke noticed that Naruto started tensing up again when the sliver seemed to get very narrow and leaned forward. He nuzzled the others' neck and whispered reassuringly in the pup's ear, "You're doing fine, just keep going. One paw in front of the other Naruto. Good just like that. See Dobe you're fine, just keep moving."
The Uchiha hoped if Naruto focused on his voice like he usually did, then the pup would forget his fears for a minute and keep going and it did. The orange pup was so intent on listening to Sasuke's deep voice that he didn't notice that they were already behind the roaring falls.
Naruto gasped, shifting his head back and forth between Sasuke and the bank across from them. Had he really crossed over so quickly? The hyper pup felt the corners of his lips curve upwards into a full smile as he celebrated loudly of his victory. It was enough to make the Uchiha crack a smile as well. Sasuke's ears perked up as an idea struck him.
"Hey Dobe, since you did so well I guess you deserve a reward." He said stepping closer to the orange pup.
"Reward!?" Naruto's ears perked up; his tail wagging at the praise as he begged for his gift.
'I wonder what Sasuke's gonna give me. Maybe it's food? That would be awwwwesome.' He closed his eyes and gave a satisfied growl at the thought of a juicy slab of meat appearing on the ground before him.
He reopened his blue eyes only to see the Uchiha had gotten extremely close to him. Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat and lowered his ears as Sasuke inched closer and closer to him. The Uchiha quirked a brow and smirked to himself. Did he really have such effects on Naruto? Before the orange pup could escape he darted his muzzle forward and licked the other pup's forehead.
Blue eyes widened in shock. Did Sasuke really just lick him? Before Naruto could say anything the Uchiha was walking past him. The Uzumaki's cheeks flushed red as he just stood there in silence. Sasuke smirked at the other's reaction and continued on his way. He knew Naruto would eventually come out of his daze and follow him.
It seemed like forever before Naruto came out of his stupor. He shook his head, grunting and blushing furiously. Was that the reward?! The pup's head whipped around to look at the Uchiha. Was he toying with him? Naruto tensed. Did Sasuke know of his feelings?
The pup shook his head. 'No, Sasuke's too blunt. If he knew he would have said something about it, or wouldn't even be talking to me right now, let alone help me with anything.'
Naruto brushed his thoughts aside and galloped to catch up to the Uchiha, being mindful of the still sore muscles. It wasn't long before Sasuke stopped, and Naruto stopped right behind him. He waited, but the blue pup eyes were transfixed on something. He looked to where the Uchiha's eyes were, and his blue eyes widened in awe.
The moonlight seemed to reflect the water inside the cavern, making it glow a pretty light blue. And there swimming in the water were many sliver fish that seemed to glow as well. Naruto smiled, this would be fun.
Sasuke returned his attention to the pup beside him. He noticed Naruto's attention was not on him. He frowned, growling lightly. He didn't like that the Uzumaki wasn't paying attention to him. The soft growl was enough to pull the other away from the mesmerizing water, and back to the Uchiha. Sasuke smirked. 'That's much better.' He thought.
"The water here should come up to your arms before your elbow, so even if you and I fall asleep, you should be able to wake up from falling and stand right back up without my help." Sasuke said, laying down on the cool rocks beneath him.
Naruto nodded, he wouldn't be able to actually drown this time. The Uchiha yawned, resting his head on his paws. "Get started, we don't have that much time before Iruka and kakashi sensei notice we're gone."
Naruto was already ahead of him, raising his paws and fixating his eyes on a fish that kept creeping close to the bank. This would be the fish that Naruto would pull up successfully.
'Concentrate Naruto, just keep your eyes on this fish, predict it's next move, annnnd swing!" A flash of yellow darted into the clear water and, with practice, swung at the oncoming prey. He winced at the pain, but pushed through it. He really wanted to pull this fish up.
Water splashed the eager pup like usual, but this time a sound other than falling water caught the pup's ears. A large smile formed on his lips, his teeth showing. There flopping a few feet beside him was the silver fish he was so intent on catching. He did it! He really did it!
"Alriiiight! Yeah! I did it! Sasuke! Sasuke I did it, I finally did it!" Naruto shouted excitedly, his tail wagging.
Sasuke's mouth was open. Naruto had really done it. The look of shock was soon replaced with a knowing smirk. He knew the pup would get it eventually, but he didn't think it would be this quick. 'He really does learn fast, it took me nearly four days to catch my first fish successfully, and I was practicing day and night. Then here's Naruto catching one on the third night of training. Then again it really shouldn't be that surprising to me. He did catch Kakashi sensei first during our training session today.'
All in all Sasuke was proud of Naruto. He lifted his head to acknowledge his friend's achievement. "Hn, impressive. Could you do it again?" He challenged.
Naruto flashed him a bright smile, his crystal blue eyes beaming with confidence. "You bet I can !"
The energetic pup took his place again and waited for another fish to wander close enough to the shoreline. Meanwhile Sasuke watched with a small smile on his chops as blue eyes were narrowed in concentration. The Uzumaki pup kept his paw raised and steady as a fish swam closer and closer towards him.
'Come on just a bit closer...' With the fish in range, a yellow paw once again dove into the clear water with lightning speed and swatted out the unsuspecting fish. It lay there joining its friend; flopping around.
Naruto laughed with joy. If he kept this up he would show every wolf pup that he wasn't a weak, pathetic omega like they all thought. Meanwhile Sasuke let a full smile play on his lips as he watched the pup howl with joy. He then stretched out his sore limbs before resting his head on his paws again.
"Hn, pretty good, but how many can you catch without missing?" He smirked at Naruto.
Said pup turned to the Uchiha and wagged his tail, "I don't know, but I bet I can catch a lot!" He said bursting with confidence.
The Uchiha chuckled, "Then prove it."
The two didn't know exactly how much time they had spent in the cavern, but it was enough time for Naruto to have quite an impressive pile of fish on the side of the shore. So far he had, without fail, managed to catch twenty-five silver moonlight fish. Sasuke had fallen asleep since maybe around the fourteenth or fifteenth fish. He didn't want to, but the after effects of Kakashi sensei's training had taken such a toll on him. It was only when ice cold water soaked his blue fur that Sasuke was jolted awake.
Black eyes widened in fear. Had Naruto fallen in again? He looked around the spot the other pup had been at and noticed he was no longer sitting on the bank. He growled lightly. Ignoring the pain shooting through his limbs the Uchiha got up and looked around at the edge of the bank. 'Damnit! Where is he!?
Another splash of water hit the Uchiha, this time on his right cheek. He turned to the direction in where the water had come from only to see Naruto snickering. He exhaled the breath he didn't realize he was holding and made his way to the pup. Upon standing in front of the other he noticed that Naruto was shorter than before, a lot shorter. Focusing more on reality rather than his worries he could now see that the orange pup was not on the shore, but rather in the water itself.
"Naruto...you're...standing in the water." He stared at the pup. It was only just a while ago that Naruto wanted nothing to do with water at all, but here he was, calmly standing in the very thing he was scared of.
Said pup simply smiled sadly, "I guess I'm not that scared if I know I can stand in it without having to try and swim."
The Uchiha glided his blue paw into the cold water and into Naruto's direction; splashing him in the face. "Ack! Hey!" He retaliated, shaking his face.
"Tch, that's for splashing me in the first place Dobe." He smirked.
Naruto pouted cutely, "Well maybe I wouldn't have to if you didn't look so worried that you didn't even notice I was here." He snickered.
Sasuke could feel a light blush rise to his cheeks. His tail flicked back and forth before he turned his face to the side refusing to look at the other in the eyes. That was when the Uchiha saw the pile of slightly moving fish. He walked over to them and smirked. "You caught that many without fail?"
"I sure did!" Naruto called out excitedly.
Blue ears swiveled to the sound of dripping water. When he looked back Naruto had climbed onto the shore and shook his heavily soaked orange coat. The Uzumaki trotted over next to Sasuke and grinned widely, tail wagging.
"The last one I didn't get because I fell in." He laughed nervously. "I guess I got too excited and slipped." Sasuke's eyes widened a bit. So he had fallen in.
The Uchiha swatted the other pup's body with his tail. "Be careful Dobe." He said endearingly.
"Yeah yeah, I know." Naruto blushed at the word Sasuke used.
A blue paw pinned one of the many collected fish and bent down to sniff it. Even though he had eaten only a while ago he was still hungry, and who would pass up a free meal? Once he deemed it still good, he revealed his fangs and started devouring the small prey. Naruto felt his stomach growl and without hesitation he grabbed his own fish and began stripping its flesh immediately. There was no way that they would be able to bring back that many fish to the den, so they figured they might as well fill their bellies with as many as possible here.
Not long after the two pups had started eating had they become full. Naruto found himself staring at the leftover fish and cringed slightly. Just the sight of more fish made the pup feel sick. He had definitely eaten enough. He looked over to Sasuke who seemed to have just finished his last meal as well. Black eyes met blue and Naruto blushed.
The Uchiha smirked, "We should really head back now."
The orange pup nodded in agreement, he was tired again. Blue paws padded over to the edge and began slipping the remaining fish back into the water. A yellow paw joined in helping to push the fish back into the water. Once the last one was in it swam away instantly. Naruto laughed lightly.
The orange pup felt something nudging him. He looked up to see Sasuke's head leaving his side. He motioned for the other to follow. The Uzumaki trailed behind Sasuke like he usually did when they come into forest. The pair walked back in silence since both were too tired and sore to really talk to each other. That meant that Sasuke had to focus hard on Naruto's scent so that he wouldn't leave the other behind by mistake. It was a long silent trip back to the cave, but neither cared, all they cared about was getting back to the cave and sleeping again.
By the time they did arrive back at the cave the dark night sky was beginning to lighten up slightly. As the two tip toed into the cave they were surprised to see that the only wolf in there was Sakura. Not only that but, she was still asleep in the exact same position before they had left!
Sasuke shook his head. 'She should have at least woken up once during the night.'
Thud. The Uchiha's ears swiveled in the direction where the sound came. He looked behind him to see Naruto flat on his stomach passed out, snoring slightly.
He chuckled lowly, "Dobe."
He made his way over to the exhausted pup and stretched himself out on his belly. Once he deemed he was close enough to the orange pup, he laid his head on his paws and closed his eyes. Darkness instantly surrounded him.
It was only maybe four hours later when Iruka and Kakashi arrived back at the den. As the pair quietly entered, they noticed all three pups were still here and safe. Iruka padded over to his pup and smiled. The sight of Naruto sleeping beside Sasuke was definitely a cute image to behold. He then leaned down to sniff the orange pup. He pursed his lips and flicked his tail in an annoyed manner. His pup had disobeyed him again!
Iruka's ears picked up a chuckle. "Why Iruka, what's got you so mad?" He nuzzled his mate that seemed to come out of nowhere.
The tan wolf sighed, "The fact that Naruto keeps disobeying me and leaving the den with Sasuke to who knows where."
Kakashi smirked, He knew where the other was coming from. He nipped his irritated mate's ear. "I know that you want him to be safe, but from the smell of things, I think that you should be proud of him."
Iruka gave the hunter a confused look, "What do you mean by that?"
The hunter just smiled, "It seems that Naruto has been playing in water. Not only has he been facing his fear, but it smells to me like he was training as well." He said before picking a spot to lie down. "And I don't think he would have done those things if Sasuke wasn't around." He added.
Iruka was baffled, 'Naruto? In water? Wasn't he scared of it?' The caretaker leaned down once again to sniff his pup.
His eyes widened, just like Kakashi had said. There was a stronger smell of water clinging to his coat and a generous amount of fish scent lingering as well. His black eyes softened. This was all because of Sasuke's presence? He guessed that he would be ok as long as they were safe. With a quick lick to the pup's head he walked over to his mate and went to curl into Kakashi's side. He layed his head on his paws, but not before licking his mate's muzzle.
The hunter licked his mate a few times and chuckled softly before laying his own head on top of Iruka's. The adults tried to sleep as much as they could, because once morning came, there would be a lot to do.
Ok chap done. Next one should be up soon.