Ready for love...

Naruto gaped as I pulled off the heart monitor attached to my hand and set the whole room a-beeping but he kept his mouth wisely shut. A nurse rushed in—not Sakura, thank my healing bones—and looked between the two of us with a horrified expression on her face. She even managed a few weak protests to the general tune of "you were still in a coma not an hour ago" but they didn't last long. I slipped out of bed, thankfully dressed in someone's clothes—they didn't look like anything I'd ever owned—and walked past her with the blond-haired man in tow.

"You probably shouldn't be up," reasoned my companion.

I couldn't exactly disagree with him without knowing the extent of previous injuries but nothing seemed broken now and I was only bruised and burned. Not wanting a wheelchair, I stalked down the hall, ignoring the pain and after giving me a sidelong glance, Naruto walked beside me, intimidating anyone who tried to stop us. With him it wasn't exactly a lot of work because the blonde certainly looked the part.

"My car's in the parking lot," he suggested as we exited the hospital, "unless you want to walk all the way back to my place."

"Car's fine."

He looked at me sheepishly. "It's actually Hinata's. You totaled my Jeep."

Blink. Blink. "I what?"

"You broke your spine and left a nice, Sasuke-shaped dent in the front of my car." Then, he grinned like the Cheshire cat. "Thankfully you have me for a mate, and we heal pretty quick."

"Sorry about that." I blushed and stared at the concrete beneath my feet, entirely glad to be out of that stuffy hospital room. "I know you really liked that car."

He gestured to a white Toyota something-or-another and opened the passenger-side door. "Don't even say that. I'd rather have you in one piece than the Jeep."

After I got in, wincing at the prospect of bending however little and then again at actually doing it, he followed suit and we managed to drive all the way out of the crowded parking lot before my stomach growled. My companion chuckled almost gleefully—kid in a damn candy store—as I suddenly felt hungry enough to eat a horse. One moment nothing sounded appetizing and the next, I didn't really care what I ate so long as it was very soon. I looked over at Naruto and he was tasty, too, just not in the same way as lunch; he also smelled yummy, a sensation I can only describe as fucking confusing.

"Um..."

"I'll pull over at the nearest fast food place," said the blonde reassuringly and tousled my hair, earning himself a death glare in the process. "You'll need calories. Not too many at first, but more than you normally eat." When my expression turned curious, he went on. "We heal quick, sure, but we need a lot of energy to keep running."

"How much do you normally eat?" I asked as he pulled over at a drive-through.

He ordered a lot of food, enough to feed at least three people and paid without answering my question. It was only once we were waiting for the food to arrive that he said, "You don't wanna know."

"Sure I do. Since you've apparently conferred your ravenous appetite onto me and all."

"I eat maybe as much as three normal humans, but most of it burns off as soon as I change shape." He shrugged. "Also, shifters hibernate until food becomes available." He seemed to think because I could practically see gears turning in his head.* "But this may all not apply to you. You were low on energy, too, but you didn't just curl up and doze off until we drugged the living daylights out of you."

"Dragged me?" I paused as a hand reached in through Naruto's open window and dropped three bags of food into his lap. "Why?"

"You were screaming..." He handed me a greasy big mac. "Eat."

"Don't normally like fast food," I mumbled but took a bite anyway. I expected my stomach to rebel against the food but it seemed content enough to keep it down.

"Think of it as calories," said the blonde casually. "It's not like you have to worry about your cholesterol anymore."

It brought me back to my previous line of questions. "Why was I screaming?" And conveniently don't remember doing so.

"You were in pain. Trust me when I say that a spine kitting back together is one experience I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Even more to the point, normal painkillers go through your system like candy." He managed a smirk.

"And this aforementioned bath?"

"Well, more like a giant pool filled with hot water, but the idea's the same..."

I glared at him but accepted a chicken sandwich. "Can you be any more obtuse?"

"You'll like it," he said reassuringly. "Since we run hotter, we like warmth a lot more. There's a reason I love living in Cali."

I shrugged. "Maybe you're just weird. Ever thought of that?"

"Aww, come on..."

He was, to my chagrin, right about the bath, too. Damn fox and his pack. A poxy on you all.

***

As soon as I slipped into the warm water, I understood exactly why Naruto had invested some obscene sum of money into converting the basement of his apartment building into a pool. The hot water felt soothing against my cold skin and for the first time since leaving the comfort of the blonde's arms back at the hospital, I was warm again.

The sides of the pool were smooth stone and after finding a low stair, I sat down and leaned back against the edge of the pool, staring blankly at the white ceiling. I heard the blonde enter long before I saw him, perfectly aware of his soft footsteps and shallow breathing. He was trying to be stealthy about it and failing rather poorly. I think I was still grinning dementedly at this new found skill when I turned to watch his approach.

"How's the water?" he asked.

"Well, this is the closest I'm ever getting to heaven."

He chuckled and took his clothes with a kind of casual disdain, prompting a blush on my part and reminding me yet again that shape shifters didn't have the same moral dilemmas as human beings. It seemed that only my kind had any taboos against naked bodies. With a grin, the blonde dived into the pool, splashing hot water everywhere, and then surfaced, still smiling.

"See, told you it'd feel great." He nodded to himself. "Now if only I could convince Neji to hold weekly meetings here, we'd never get a damn thing done."

I stifled a giggle at the thought. "I think that's exactly the point."

Ignoring my point, Naruto stepped out of the water and grabbed himself a towel. I watched him not so much with envy as mild excitement. It was a stupid feeling, completely out of place with somber mood of the upcoming Gathering but I couldn't help it. The blonde was nothing if not handsome, and naked, he was especially interesting.

"You're not all that bad looking."

He laughed at me. "That would be your hormones talking. Might want to remember that you can smell lust the way most people smell smoke."

"It was supposed to be a complement, you moron."

The smile on his face slowly faded into a more solemn expression. "Sorry. No one's said it quite like that."

"I'm honestly surprised. The way you look, I'd wager no girl's ever denied your advances."

"I haven't been with anyone." Now the shifter was outright blushing. My eyes must've widened at this revelation because Naruto grinned. "Is it really that hard to believe?"

I shrugged. "I thought you guys went at it pretty frequently."

"We still mate for life," he pointed out. "It's just not as sickeningly romantic. I mean, it could be. Want me to buy you roses or something?"

"Hell no!" I stood up, walked out the water, and punched him.

For a brief moment, we stood only inches apart, and my own body refused to think happy thoughts. I looked up at Naruto, opening my mind because I wanted badly to know what he was thinking, but before I could catch a glimpse of his feelings, we were interrupted by Neji's haphazard entrance. He tumbled unceremoniously down the steps, pushed by something or someone, and landed at the bottom with a kind pissed look on his face.

I grabbed for the nearest towel and practically hid behind it while the blonde took it all in stride. As soon as he was standing upright again, the Second said through clenched teeth, "The Altar is ready."

Behind him, a woman with short, black hair descended the steps but she kept her distance. Tenten, Naruto thought helpfully as Neji swept the stranger off her feet and climbed back up the steps. His latest...uh...friend.

When he was gone, the blonde smiled and put on a clean pair of black shorts and one of those sickeningly-orange shirts. I presumed he had a closet filled them with them just hiding somewhere. Then the blond-haired shape shifter turned to look at me.

"As my mate, you have every right to join our pack. If you're willing, we can perform the ceremony tonight."

"What for?" I asked as calmly as I could, still holding onto the white, fuzzy cloth though it offered no protection.

"You'd have the pack's protection and loyalty behind you."

I looked at him head on for a moment and shook my own head ruefully. "All right. Let me go get dressed."

"Here." He tossed me a shopping bag full of clothes. "We couldn't salvage anything from your grandfather's house so I asked Sakura and Hinata to go shopping."

"Are you bankrupt now?"

He laughed easily. "Not quite, but it was certainly an interesting receipt."

"Why Sakura?"

"We were trying to cheer her up a little."

"Did it help?" I asked, looking at the more formal outfit inside.

Naruto grinned. "Hinata's a miracle worker. I doubt there's anyone she can't somehow calm." After a moment, he went on. "Why don't you get dressed and then meet me out back, in the woods. You can't miss it."

"Kay," I said as he left and watched him go.

My body missed him already and he'd barely walked out the door. I felt oddly pathetic for wanting something when even I knew the same rules didn't apply. Just because their goddess thought us mates...what did that even mean, exactly.

Less sickeningly romantic indeed...

***

I couldn't help but wonder if either of the two women had ever seen the inside of my closet after putting the provided outfit. It was a pair of beige-colored slacks, black shoes, and a long-sleeved white shirt. Someone had thoughtfully sewn the Uchiha family crest across the right breast pocket of the shirt; touching it brought back enough emotions that I had to breathe for a moment to keep from crying.

When I felt like moving again, I left the towel folded neatly in the bathroom and made my way out of the apartment building. The sun was starting to set, coloring the blue shy shades of orange and the air smelled of upcoming rain. I followed a dirt path through the tree line and into a small clearing where Naruto and Neji already waited. I caught sight of Tenten, but she kept her distance from me and the ritual.

I'd seen one other Ceremony of Joining before and knew, to some extent, what would happen next. Still, chills ran up my spine as the blonde came to stand beside me and Neji pulled a small knife out from his belt. The dark-haired second-in-command stood up off the rock he was sitting on—the altar—and approached us. If he held any disdain for the situation, he was keeping it well in check because his face was properly solemn and his gaze blank.

"Tonight we call to the goddess of the moon, under whose watchful gaze we reside, and ask for her blessing as a new member joins the hunt." His voice was slow and melodious, a prayer of piety.

He really believes, I thought with a twinge of surprise.

Neji went on after a moment of silence. "We share our blood, so our brother may become one with us, and we offer it to the goddess."

He took the knife and drew its sharp edge across his palm, not even wincing as a line of blood followed it. He held his hand above the altar as a few crimson drops fell leisurely onto the smooth stone, and then the cut closed cleanly. He passed the knife to Naruto gingerly and then took a step back, taking his place inside what I now saw to be a large star symbol drawn in chalk on the ground.

The blonde followed suit. "As Alpha, I accept Sasuke Uchiha and offer him a place among us, goddess permitting." He too shed blood before giving the ritual dagger to me. Softly, he said, "It's going to hurt."

The smell of blood made me giddy; almost despite myself, I wanted to howl at the sky. If right then, I had been a beast, it would run until it couldn't breathe anymore for sheer joy. Holding the knife steady, I cut a thin line across my own palm and watched, mesmerized, as it dripped warm across my hand down to the altar.

The circle under our feet began to glow, a steady blue shine that felt more like a glimmer with the sun still up. And then I did scream, out of fear and joy and happiness and a thousand other feelings I couldn't even hope to express. The dagger fell out of my hands, but the sensation lingered; I was crying and couldn't understand why.

The beat inside us usually takes over right about now, thought Naruto calmly, but this. It's enough.

Neji took a deep breath as the blood vanished from the altar. "The sacrifice has been accepted." He wrapped his arms around me for a moment in a strangled hug before stepping back. "Welcome to the Running with Scissors Blood Pack."

"Who named it that?" I asked cautiously and Neji rolled his eyes at Naruto.

"Ah," I whispered, "self explanatory."

"What sort of goddess allows a human this kind of privilege," Tenten mumbled.

"The kind that already knows what happens next," I said and to this day, I haven't the faintest clue as to why.