So, some of you, who may follow my twitter, know I got a new tattoo last week. Of course it's Naruto! Anyhow, the artist overworked an area on the tattoo and it had caused me great stress and pain. Needless to say it effected my health, my walking, not to mention my way of thinking.
It is better now, but still needs a good amount of tender loving care for the one area to be fully healed and hopefully (fingers crossed) that the area doesn't scar to badly. I so wanted to keep writing so much, but the discomfort caused a delay in this and my other wip, so I'm trying not to kick myself for not keeping on top of this. Its a personal goal for myself to get chaps out and done.
So I accepted with myself to release a short chapter to answer the questions of the previous chapter...is kinda how I looked at this. I wanted this to join the pervious chapter, but was still trying to deal with what I described up top there. 8-X
Be well all you amazing readers and writer!
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Utakata stood standing at the large window, watching the fat fluffy snowflakes fall gently and softly down to the white ground below. The sun was shining brightly against a brillant blue sky, which definitely could fool anyone who was indoors that it was actually warm outside. Only the snow blanketing the ground showed the truth of how chilly it was outside.
Kyuubi and Kimimaro were outside, breaking through the trees, returning from a run they had left together earlier. Kyuubi's large reddish fur was like fire against the snow but graceful to watch as he shook his massive wolf body to shake off the snow.
Kimimaro's wolf coat was white like the snow around him, blending him into the elements easily. Especially when he shook his body of the gathered snow on his fur, he almost looked as if he was disappearing into a sudden snow swirling storm. Did the little omega know how lucky he was to have such a skill? Probably not.
Utakata had begun to move about the Uzumaki home, now that the pink haired beta gave him a clean bill of health. He was still hesitant to be in a strange home, but after his talk with Kyuubi, then the clan leader Itachi, Utakata shivered involuntary as something deep within him shook at the memory of Itachi, his curiosity got the better of him to see what the Uzumaki clan was about. Certainly nothing in the home was what he had experienced on his own.
The Uzumaki head alpha Naruto had not returned yet, but his pack did not seem overly concerned. Utakata had heard the pack talking about how Naruto was at his mate's ancestry home, and probably wouldn't be home for a few days. The pack wasn't sure why Naruto wasn't returning to the pack home right away with his mate, but the pack did not express any anxiety over the fact and just accepted it. Utakata found this also to be strange behaviour for an alpha clan leader, odd for the pack to question their leader's direction and he shook his head as a pain shot between his eyes. Too many new scents, sounds, and culture of this pack was getting to be a lot. He rubbed at both of his temples, closing his eyes briefly.
"Are you okay?" A voice called out quietly behind him.
Utakata turned quickly, his stance ready for anything at the strange voice.
"Woah, woah, it's okay."
Utakata's eyes looked over the form before him. It was the elder beta man called Nagato. He gave a small smile that reached his eyes and clasped his hands before him. Utakata took in the appearance of the beta, noticing that the wolf was not presenting any type of threat towards him and he relaxed himself.
"Hard to get relaxed when you're used to being prepared for anything eh?" Nagato chuckled slightly and turned to look out the large window beside Utakata. He chuckled again when he saw Kyuubi and Kimimaro rolling about in the deep areas of snow outside, still in their wolf forms. "Those two, they are good for each other you think?" Nagato nodded slightly and kept staring out the window.
Utakata turned to look back out the window, seeing what Nagato was seeing. He said nothing.
"Both have been through so much, yet, both managed to go above and beyond to protect themselves and persons they love," Nagato hummed. "They deserve someone to look after them now."
Utakata pinched his lips together in thought as he watched Kimimaro jump on Kyuubi's large wolf form, causing Kyuubi to fall over and roll into the snow, howling out in feign pain. It was interesting to see that, considering Kimimaro was more than half the size smaller than the red alpha wolf, there should have been no way Kyuubi should have fallen. He gasped slightly at the warmth of a hand that landed on his shoulder.
"I can sense the confusion on you," Nagato whispered, his hand gently on Utakata's shoulder. "You can come to me, if you are comfortable, and ask me anything." He hummed out a slight chuckle, "to the best of my ability that is." He smiled warmly into Utakata's eyes.
Utakata just stared back, saying nothing at all. Nagato nodded and patted his hand on Utakata's shoulder and left the room.
These packs were strange, nothing like he had met before. Nothing like what he has been exposed to before. There were many questions and confusing situations that left him wary and cautious, yet, other situations left him feeling comfortable and welcome. The pink haired beta for example. Her skills were remarkable, she had proven herself indispensable on several occasions while Utakata watched, and she did not hesitate to ensure Utakata was treated with all the respect of an alpha would. If Utakata hadn't sensed her status, he would have thought for sure she was an alpha with how she presented herself around the home.
The alpha clan leader of the Uchiha was a big mystery. Utakata had no sense of why his mind was completely on edge when the alpha entered the room. Something he had not felt so strongly for, he couldn't remember when. He knew something existed deep within the recess' of his mind, but he was always so careful to keep that inner being buried deep. And over the years, he believed he had done well, until Itachi Uchiha, alpha wolf, walked into his space. His body shivered again at the thought, a sliver of fear tried to etch his way into his mind but he bit his bottom lip and pushed it away.
~flashback~
Itachi licked his lips before he spoke. "Where are you from?"
Utakata thought about his answer carefully. "What does it matter?" He decided to test the waters that surround him and this alpha.
Itachi smirked. "Well, it could lead to conversation in many different directions," he chuckled deeply. "I could ask about how the weather is there, or how the hunting is, the terrain, or sunsets. It all depends on how you answer really."
Utataka felt his head tilt in confusion. 'What an interesting answer,' he thought to himself. Certainly not what he was expecting. "I lived in the mountains of what the human's called The Rockies."
Itachi nodded. "The mountain range can be quite spectacular. I have only seen that area once in my life, though it wasn't long, I do recall it was stunning no matter the season." He clasped his hands together on his lap. "Have you always been there?"
Utakata nodded no in response, recalling immediately how his mother had moved them to various areas throughout his youth, always hiding away, running in the night that had them staying in many terrains, too many to count.
"Ah, so you were born in another area, how interesting," Itachi hummed out. His words did not speak of any questions, just a realization of hearing Utakata's words. "Allow me to share where I am from." Itachi spoke of his clan, where the Uchiha's were from, his parents, his otouto, his mate and how he came to be where he is now.
Utakata took in the story carefully, realizing that the story this alpha shared was more than a clan leader would often share with a stranger. 'Why would he tell me this?' Utakata thought, his mind trying to come up with strategic reasoning of why. "Why are you telling me this?" Utakata just thought to ask straight out, his curiosity peaked.
The raven haired alpha chuckled. "Well Utakata-kun, I hope that the more you know about me, the more you can learn on how our clan's work down here. I am wrong to think that you perhaps have not grown up with a clan?"
Utakata just stared in response.
~end flashback~
Utakata had kept up a conversation with the elder Uchiha alpha clan leader, but his answers were limited, he was still hesitant and cautious. Their conversation fell rather neutral, discussing nothing that led to Utakata's wolf form and other abilities, and surprisingly enough, Itachi did not ask about how he had saved his pack member, Kisame, if he recalled the name correctly. Itachi appeared to just quietly observe him, determine if he was a threat or not, and just as quickly as the conversation started it seemed to be over. Itachi excused himself, thanked Utakata for his time and stated he would call upon him again when he was at full strength - if that was okay with Utakata. Again, the wolf was caught by surprise when an alpha head was asking for his permission.
He continued to watch the alpha and omega outside in the snow as the reminder of his conversation with Itachi flittered through his thoughts. Perhaps he would approach the beta Nagato, he seemed to be wise in several areas and was also a new father. Utakata was curious about the new pup, his scent, his abilities that seem to show every day and he was curious about the relationship between the beta and omega.
He saw that Kyuubi and Kimimaro now appeared to be coming towards the home and Utakata decided he would go explore where he thought Nagato and his mate were in the home. Maybe he did have a few questions for the old beta.
.
.
.
"Hungry?" Kyuubi gruffed out when he stepped into the front area of the home, Kimimaro coming in behind him.
"Absolutely," Kimimaro squeaked out as he closed the door behind him. He shook his head, getting the snow out of his long white hair and quickly ran past Kyuubi to grab his clothing tucked in the closet. He managed to maneuver himself around Kyuubi so his nakedness wouldn't be in full view of the alpha and Kyuubi just chuckled deeply at the sight.
"It's not like I don't know what you have Kimi," Kyuubi teased out. Unlike the omega, Kyuubi stood tall, his red hair damp from the snowflakes but he certainly wasn't bashful of what his body was. Kimimaro just eep'd and turned red when he looked at Kyuubi standing proudly before him. Scrambling about, Kimimaro slipped into his loose fitting clothes as quickly as possible, Kyuubi just chuckling behind him while slipping into his own clothes. "I'll go start making something to eat," Kyuubi called out as he stepped towards the kitchen.
"Hey K'ubs," the brunette beta called out to Kyuubi in the kitchen. Kiba was leaning up against one of the counters munching on a sandwich. Kyuubi just grunted out a noise of acknowledgement while moving towards the fridge. "I need to talk to ya," Kiba called out.
Kyuubi grabbed various items from the fridge, put them down on the counter before responding. "What's up?"
"Caught some of the scents again by the borders. And since Naruto isn't here to talk to him about, thought I would let you know, since you're back." Kiba took another bite of sandwich before sitting at the table.
Kyuubi nodded in agreement as he prepared some food.
"Let me do that Kyuubi," Kimimaro called out when he entered the kitchen. He rushed over to Kyuubi's side, trying to take over the simple dish.
"Just sit down chibi, I got this ya know," Kyuubi nudged Kimimaro in the shoulder and his voice was filled with mirth. "You think I need to be taken care of or something? I can cook!"
Kimimaro stuck his tongue out at Kyuubi. "Fine, I was just being nice." He stomped over to the table, taking a seat beside a now giggling Kiba.
"You two are just so like an old married couple," Kiba cackled out in between bites.
Kyuubi sputtered out in surprise at the comment and Kimimaro just blushed. Kiba waggled his eyebrows when Kyuubi shot him a glare.
With a forced frown and glare at Kiba, which left Kiba snickering at the weak attempt to scare him, Kyuubi sat beside Kimimaro and placed the plates of food before him. "So what did you sense kibbles?" Kyuubi smirked big at the nickname which had Kiba glaring at Kyuubi.
"The other day, caught the scent of a vampire by our borders."
Kyuubi raised a brow in surprise, his hands halted while he was reaching for food. Kiba pinched his lips and nodded. "Was the same one as all those months ago, but this time," he hesitated. "There was another." Kiba raised his brows and tilted his head towards the window. Kyuubi turned fully towards Kiba. "While you were gone, Sakura kept the log book updated, and there were at least four times vampire scents that came close to our borders." Kiba crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. "I know Naruto had discussed this with Tsunade-sama and I'm pretty sure the Uchiha's as a precaution, but no other packs had heard anything or reason to believe that vampires in the area were a reason to be wary."
Kyuubi gnawed on his bottom lip, a memory suddenly jumped to the forefront of his mind.
~flashback~
"Tsk, what a pity." A voice broke through the stillness.
Kyuubi whipped his head to the sound, his eyes glaring at the person who dared interrupt his moment. Golden eyes took in Kyuubi's frame and a sneer was placed on his lips. The breeze ruffled silver shoulder length hair as the golden eyes stared hard back at Kyuubi's glare.
"The fuck? Have some respect," Kyuubi hissed out. His alpha was suddenly wary of the stranger, as the stranger gave off no scent. Kyuubi could feel his hackles rise from the irritation of the strangers comment and not detecting any scent.
The stranger huffed out a sarcastic sound and crossed his arms. "Respect? Ha! Don't make me laugh dog," the stranger rolled his eyes. "A simple situation like this has me saddened that more didn't die." He chortled out another espasterated laugh.
Kyuubi saw red. "How dare you! You low life situated shit for brains!" With his fists clenched at his sides, his eyes burned bright emerald as his alpha prepared for an attack. He released a growl as he made to lunge at the stranger, but the sound of a car coming made him hold his stance. He growled through his teeth, "I suggest you take your disrespectful fucking ass out of my face."
The silver haired man tilted his head and lifted a brow. "My my...you kiss your mom with that mouth dog? Tsk tsk!" The stranger shook a finger and his head at the same time, scorning Kyuubi. The silver haired man looked to the side, when two police cars pulled from around the corner, heading straight for the charred building. "Pity I can't stay and play, but mark my words, you will see me again, " he hissed out threateningly before turning and walked away.
Kyuubi snorted out loudly watching the stranger make his way down the street quickly. 'Who the fuck does that guy think he is? And what the fuck was he?' Kyuubi watched the stranger until he was gone and then turned to see the police cars parking up to the burned building.
~end flashback~
Kyuubi lowered his eyes as he went over the scene over and over. The scene was a painful one, as he stood before the charred remains of the bar, that was where he had met Nagato and Konan. How could he forget that night...He left Kimimaro in the care of Nagato and Konan, knowing they would be safe, but he never would have guessed that Sakon, Jirobo and Kidomaru figured out he was friends with the three and made a move to kill them. And when he learned the three were secured and the place set a fire around him and no one from the raid had seen nor pulled anyone from the burning building, Kyuubi assumed they were dead. A part of him died that morning when he stood before the smoldering remains of the building. And a rude interruption of a stranger did not fair well between him and the other.
He ran a hand through his thick red locks, his eyes staring at his food but not focusing. 'Fuck...could that have been?' Kyuubi jumped up suddenly, causing Kimimaro to flinch in surprise and Kiba widened his eyes. "I - I need to check something," he stuttered out. "In the library." He didn't look back as he pushed through the kitchen door leaving Kimimaro and Kiba just staring at his back.
.
.
.
Utakata poked his head around the doorway, seeing Konan sitting with the small cub in her arms, her eyes looking down and a hum of a tune coming from her lips. Nagato was sitting near her, with a book in his hand and he looked up to smile at Utakata. With a nod of his head, he invited Utakata into the room with his smile.
The brunette wolf walked quietly into the room, his eyes watching Konan when she smiled up at him and looked back down at the infant pup. Taking a seat across from the couple, Utakata watched quietly while Konan continued to hum and rock her arms slowly.
The pup was moving his arms about a bit, every now and then small fingers would reach and clasp, a gurgle of a noise would rise from the small lips, but in every sense, the small pup was fragile and needed the consistent attention of his mother. Seeing how dependent the pup was and how attentive Konan was, was this normal? Seeing how the pup would obviously not survive without an elder tending to his needs, surely there was some sort of bonding that happened? Utakata had so many questions raiding his mind that the onslaught of pain hit between his eyes again and a whimper escaped his lips without his consent. His fingers went to his temples once again, his eyes squeezed shut.
"Welcome young one," Nagato's voice was deep and gentle when he placed his hand on Utakata's shoulder. He sat slowly beside the other, slight concern showing on his face at Utakata's obvious discomfort. Utakata said nothing and continued to rub his temples. "I know we all haven't officially met, so this is my mate Konan and our pup Iwai." Nagato rubbed Utakata's shoulder soothingly till Utakata opened his eyes to meet soft purple eyes.
Utakata faltered at the soft look, his body suddenly relaxed in the atmosphere, and he found his mind, his thoughts, suddenly quiet. Something he couldn't recall ever feeling. He glanced at the omega across the way when Nagato did, and found a small look of concern cross the omega's face before she relaxed and gave him a smile. The pup in her arms still moved his small limbs about, not noticing anything that happened just those few seconds and Utakata found himself nodding. The golden eyed blued haired woman stood carefully and came to sit beside Utakata.
"Meet our pup, Iwai," she whispered and shuffled slightly so Utakata could see the pup fully.
Utakata's eyes graced over the small infant who stopped moving and focused right back at him. The round dark eyes moved slowly as they focused on various parts of Utakata and he gasped when he felt something. He jerked backwards suddenly, scaring himself when he hit Nagato behind him. "Wha - what was that?" His fist hit his chest and he could feel his heart beating fast in surprise. There was something about this little creature that - that touched him. His wide eyes looked up to Nagato then over to Konan. "It was - I felt something, did you?" Utakata stuttered out in a whisper, as he willed his heart to slow down. He didn't understand why Nagato and Konan did not appear alarmed.
Nagato chuckled softly and reached over to run his fingers over Iwai's forehead. "Did you feel his wolf reaching out to you? Iwai certainly has an active inner wolf. He has reached out to mostly everyone in this house." Nagato's voice was laced with pride.
"We believe it's Iwai's way to tell you his trust in you," Konan added and then lifted the child to kiss his forehead.
Curious, Utakata leaned close again to the infant. Small round eyes stilled up at him and once again, Utakata felt the flutter in his chest as the young inner wolf touched his own. His breath faltered at the strange warm yet peaceful sensation. The feeling was over quickly when the small pup pulled his eyes to look at Konan and cooed out a sound filled with bubbles through his small pink lips. Utakata leaned back, his body still warm from the sensation and he took a moment to analyze what just happened. He understood the concept of what happened, but again it was a sensation that he couldn't identify ever happening to him in his recent history.
"Would you like to try holding him?" Konan spoke softly at Utakata, noticing that the brunette appeared what she would describe as awestruck. She was told that Utakata was remote, and that there was the suggestion that he didn't have a pack for a very long time, but she could see the curiosity in his eyes and expressions. Her maternal instincts certainly have picked up since giving birth and they twitched a lot around Utakata. It was if her omega wolf was telling her something and she listened closely. She leaned closer to Utakata, reaching out to show him she meant no harm.
Utakata shook his head no quickly. The whole sensation was still strange, the emotions that were breaching his mind were all unfamiliar and though it seemed that he should be comfortable with them, a part of him was still shaking in fear.
"That's alright, I understand," Konan's warm voice spoke. "It takes time to feel comfortable." She leaned back against the couch and began to hum again to the child in her arms.
She didn't get up from her seat, she remained sitting beside Utakata, Nagato on the other side of him, and Utakata suddenly felt something he knew he hadn't felt for as long as he could remember - safe.
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Kyuubi skimmed a finger over the volumes of books on the shelf, his eyes reading quickly the words on the spines. He knew what he was looking for, just he couldn't recall where it would be in the Uzumaki library.
"Can I help you find something Kyuubi-san?" the soft female voice echoed in the room.
"Perhaps," Kyuubi responded, not turning to look at the voice, since he knew who it was.
Hinata didn't respond, she just waited for Kyuubi to explain what he was looking for. She walked up softly and waited behind the alpha.
"I'm trying to find information regarding vampires, the teachings, the history, their looks and regions." Kyuubi knelt down to another level of shelving and began reading the spines of books.
"Oh, those are filed in this category over here," Hinata called out and she walked around behind the large shelving unit. Kyuubi jumped up and followed. "It starts here, and - here we go, the last one that I know of." Hinata grabbed the last book. "Shall we take them all down?"
Both took the books and laid them out on a table in the room, Kyuubi reading each title carefully and explaining to Hinata what he was looking for. Hinata took notes when Kyuubi explained what he remembered. It wasn't long until the pair found what Kyuubi was looking for,
the two began to put together the pieces and Kyuubi gnawed his bottom lip with a frown.
"What is it Kyuubi-san?" Hinata placed her hand gently on Kyuubi's arm.
Kyuubi ran a hand through his hair, letting out an exasperated breath and he leaned back against the hard wooden chair. His emerald eyes glanced at Hinata, "I - I think I'm in big shit."
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