Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
I don't know how often I'll get to update this, but I didn't wanna leave it on hiatus anymore. And for those of you who are still staying with this story, thank you so much for the kind reviews:bows: I love that you all are soooo positive and kind :grin: so I refuse to let you wait any longer for updates.
I'm sure everyone wants to see Naruto's cute cubs, right?
Naruto peaked around the fence to see that Sasuke and Kakashi were still in the garden, finishing up with laying out mulch and such. They were both coated in a thick layer of sweat and dirt, their sleeves rolled up. The blond could tell that Sasuke was especially hot, since his silky, black ears were twitching in annoyance atop of his head.
Stepping back, he scurried to the side of the large home and looked up, his bottom lip jutting out cutely. The flag pole he'd used to get out of the house was too high up from the ground and he couldn't jump that high, despite his cat reflexes. Looking around, he spotted an empty milk crate by the fence that seperated one residence from the Hatake's and smiled brightly. Hurriedly making his way to the item, he lifted it up and carried it to the side of the house, leaping onto it and reaching his arms up.
Crouching down, he jumped up and grasped the flag pole, his fingers twitching in irritation at the coating of dirt on it. He swung himself back and forth until he had enough momentum, then he used what little arm strength he had to hoist himself up onto the pole.
"Nyah!" he squeaked when he almost slipped, his ears flat on his head. Sure, he had his moment of agility and grace, but it was over now, his slight fear of heights kicking in. He mewled softly and glanced up, the window in arm's reach. Quickly shoving upward, he grabbed onto the sill and hauled himself into his and Sasuke's bedroom.
"And just where have you been, brat?" Jiraiya asked gruffly from his Indian-style position on the king size bed. He was frowning, his Icha Icha Paradise book tucked away in his back pocket, a little sliver of bright orange visible behind him.
Naruto swallowed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, stepping closer to his sensei. "I-I went for a walk."
"Hn, a walk? If you would've just asked me, we could've went for a walk together. There was no need to sneak out," the teacher uncrossed his legs and stood up, bending back so he could stretch. "Not that I believe your excuse."
The young cat huffed and crossed his arms, his tail fluttering back and forth behind him in impatience. He just wanted to go outside with Sasuke and Kakashi.
Jiraiya raised a brow. "So where did you really go? Don't worry, I won't tell your father."
"Really?"
"Really."
"I went to go see Sai with Kiba, in the city," Naruto said truthfully, uncrossing his arms and fiddling with the hem of his shirt. "I was worried..."
The older man nodded and pulled his novel back out, flipping it open to the page he'd marked with a frog bookmark. "He told you about his 'problem', I take it? He's a fine pet, so it's a shame he has to deal with that," he looked up from the words typed on the page and noticed Naruto staring at him. "What?"
But Naruto remained motionless and Jiraiya was beginning to get worried.
"Naruto?" he stepped forward and shook the boy's shoulder, letting out a muffled curse when the other fell back as if his body was only a sack of potatoes.
Unmoving blue eyes finally blinked and there was a deep intake of breath before Naruto latched onto his teacher's arm in reaction to his fall. He could hear his heart hammering in his head and he looked up at the white-haired ape with confusion written all over his face. He'd heard Jiraiya talking, then it just went black for a moment.
"Are you ok?" Jiraiya asked, worried.
Naruto steadied himself and rubbed at his face, wondering what could've happened. He felt so light-headed and his chest ached horribly. Then he remembered one of the problems Tsunade had said he'd have. The thought of his brain stopping, even for just a few seconds, frightened him and his bottom lip trembled as fear rippled through him.
"Naruto?" a large, calloused hand touched messy locks of blond hair, but the cat ripped himself away from the other almost immediately, his footsteps loud as he rushed downstairs.
Eyes wet, Naruto swallowed down the sobs that wanted to make themselves known and hurried to the kitchen, ignoring the stares he received from Itachi and Kyuubi (who must've returned from wherever they'd gone while he was out). He shoved open the doors that led to the large Hatake garden and he could barely make out the outline of his father through the tears in his eyes. But the scent of the leopard was so distinct and had been carved into his mind the moment he'd touched him that afternoon in the rain so long ago. So as he ran, he was able to find his way easily.
Sasuke caught the scent of his cub in the wind, but before he could turn, a flash of blond latched itself onto him and wailed, a sound that could break anyone's heart in an instant. Without even understanding what was going on, Sasuke pulled Naruto away gently and bent down, immediately bringing his son back into his arms so he could hold and comfort him.
"Shhh, what's wrong?"
"I don't wanna die!" Naruto cried and wiped his tears on the raven's shoulder, his nails digging into the back of his sweaty shirt. The smell of sweat was strong to Naruto's sensitive nose, and he felt everything become all too real. He really was close to death, despite how healthy he felt and acted. "P-Please don't let me die...! I don't wanna leave you, Susu Oppa!" his pleading was muffled by the shirt, but Sasuke could still understand him.
Kakashi stood there, watching them. He then turned when he caught Jiraiya exiting the home from the corner of his eye, the bulkier man looking troubled as he approached them. He nodded to his friend and Jiraiya sighed, glancing at his trembling student.
"What happened?" Sasuke asked harshly, dark eyes boring into the ape's.
"I don't really know for sure. I was talking to him in your room and he just zoned out. When I shook him after he didn't snap out of it, he fell over," Jiraiya scratched his neck. "Then he went back to normal. It was strange."
Sasuke held Naruto closer and cradled him as he cried, whispering soothing words in his ear so he'd stop. "His brain must have..."
"Should we call Tsunade-sama and tell her?" Kakashi asked, wiping sweat from his brow.
"No," Sasuke answered. "I don't want to put Naruto through anymore testing, he's had enough of that already. It happened only once and Tsunade said it would, so we won't need to worry unless it happens more often."
Kakashi nodded. "Jiraiya, you should go home. There won't be any lessons today, not with the condition Naruto's in right now. Let's reschedule for next week, alright?"
The taller man nodded and mumbled a "get better, brat" to Naruto before heading back in the home so he could leave through the front door. As he stepped through, Itachi leaned out.
"Is something wrong?"
Sasuke lifted Naruto up into his arms and he stood, carrying his son to the kitchen where the two other pets were, their lunches already eaten. Itachi stepped back, his snow white ears contrasting greatly with the heavy atmosphere that suddenly warped everyone. Sitting at the table, Kyuubi looked up, worried as he saw the weeping clouded leopard cub.
"Itachi, please put together some of the foods Tsunade-sama reccomended for Naruto-kun's growth," Kakashi asked his eldest pet while getting a wash cloth from the cupboard underneath the sink. He soaked it in cold faucet water, then rung it out before going back over to his newest pet, lifting his face away from Sasuke's shoulder with much effort, considering Naruto was thrashing around as if being away from Sasuke would result in death. "Naruto, I'm only cleaning your face off. Your nose is running."
The blond sniffled and finally relaxed under his owner's touch, the cool and damp rag feeling wonderful on his heated cheeks. His eyes were red from crying and his shoulders were still shaking as sobs continued to slither up his throat. He kept them down though and soon settled down, his tears finally coming to a stop.
Sasuke kindly placed a small kiss on his cub's forehead, wanting to do so much more to comfort him. He couldn't in front of Kakashi, Itachi, and Kyuubi. He didn't want them to think he had those kinds of feelings for the cat he considered his son. He even felt disgusted with himself for wanting to kiss the smaller male...
Naruto sniffled once again and reached forward, placing his small hands on Sasuke's cheeks, the warm fingers brushing over cascading, black bangs. The depth of Naruto's eyes only got deeper as he stared at the leopard, then he smiled, a sad twitch of his pink lips.
"I don't wanna die..." he whispered fearfully and his golden bangs fell over his eyes, shadowing his young face. He clutched onto Sasuke's shirt tightly. "I don't wanna leave you... Susu Oppa, I don't wanna be without you..."
Itachi glanced over his shoulder at the two and noticed something smouldering in his sibling's eyes. He finished heating up the soup that Kakashi had made and brought it over to the table with a spoon, sitting it down next to Sasuke. Calling softly to Kyuubi, he led his mate out of the kitchen and dining area, and to their room. They passed by Lukki, who was fast asleep on the couch, where Jiraiya had occupied previousloy.
Sasuke smiled softly and brushed his fingers through Naruto's hair.
"You're not going to die, so don't worry. It's a side effect to what happened to you... nothing more. You'll be fine, I promise."
Naruto looked straight at him with pleading eyes. They seemed to shimmer under the kitchen lighting and he tugged on Sasuke's shirt more, the scent of sweat lingering around them. He smiled.
"Promise..."
"Yes, I promise. You'll be fine," the black leopard reached up a bit and ruffled the blond's hair. "Now, eat your soup so we can get cleaned up. We're going to the hospital tomorrow morning."
Naruto blinked, his eyes still a bit watery. He felt safe now that Sasuke had promised him nothing horrible would happen. Words meant nothing, because fate was fate, but... he desperately wanted to hold on to that promise.
"How come we have to go to the hospital? I don't have to... you know..." he blushed faintly. "I don't have to do it again, do I?"
Sasuke chuckled and shook his head. "No, you don't. We're going to go see if our cubs are there."
Naruto blushed hotly, but shook his head and smiled crookedly. He knew what the "our" in that sentence meant, but his mind had decided to misinterpret it. Reaching to the side, he pulled the bowl of soup toward him and started to eat, even in the akward position he was in.
Kakashi watched them and laughed quietly beneath his mask, already understanding what was going on between them. He believed there was nothing wrong with it, he just didn't want to deal with a fuming Sibel Claire once she found out the handsome and dashing Pureblood was more interested in a stunted male Impure than her beautiful and sweet White Tiger.
xXxXx
Naruto happily ran into the average-sized hospital building, asking every nurse he saw where the cub nursery was. He practically bounced from one foot to the other when one of them pointed just down the hall, to a see-through window that undoubtedly peaked into a nursery. He took off down the hall in his snug blue pants and light sweater (since it was cold out), and pressed his hands up against the glass as soon as he reached it.
His smile was huge and Sasuke coudn't help but smile also when he reached the nursery, as well. He lifted Naruto up when the boy complained of not being able to see and he let his eyes scan over the comfortable-looking beds within the spacious cages. There were three golden-colored cubs within on of the large beds and two white ones in the other cage, shifting in their sleep.
"Those three are yours," Sasuke whispered to Naruto and pointed to the golden lumps of fur. "The white ones are mine."
Naruto practically pressed his cheek against the glass to get a better look. His smile was huge and his heart throbbed happily in his chest as he looked at the cubs. He remembered when he was that tiny... and his tummy did flips as he realized that those tiny things were his.
"How come yours are white, Susu Oppa?" he asked, curiously, finally looking over at the two others.
"Itachi and I are Albino Leopards, but I was born melanistic; albino-like red eyes and black fur. But that was a defect, so my cubs usually aren't born with it."
"Oh... they're very pretty," Naruto said in awe.
"Your cubs are beautiful too. Just like their father," Sasuke found himself saying without even noticing. As he continued to look in at their cubs, Naruto blushed hotly beside him.
Sorry that was short and uneventful, but I wanted to get something out to you all tonight :sweatdrop: Please review!