Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Sorry for the long wait. I just recently found out that I most likely have a form of OCD, so I've been workin' through anxiety and depression. But don't worry loyal fans! Vanity-sama will never give up on her stories!
So enjoy this chapter of KWSC! This chapter is dedicated to all of my fans who still stick with this story! I love you all to pieces!
Sasuke stared at the closed door of his and Naruto's bedroom.
It was almost eight at night and the clouded leopard had yet to exit his room for anything. He hadn't eaten for days, he hadn't slept from what Sasuke could tell, and he hadn't talked to anyone about the death of his cub. The only thing the boy did was shower in the large bathroom inside of the room every morning.
Saying that Sasuke was worried was a complete understatement. Never in his life had he been so worried about something, mainly because it had to do with his mate... No one could dare say that he wasn't upset about Seung dying, for he had mourned over the loss for two days, devoid of any emotions save for anger and confusion. But he managed to move on while Naruto hadn't. He had an excuse, though, he had been the cub's mother.
Kakashi walked out of the kitchen with a cup of hot coffee in his grasp, steaming rising up like clouds in the dimly lit living room. He was just as worried about Naruto as everyone else, but he knew that the blond would be fine after a while, so he didn't sit around waiting for him to heal like Sasuke was doing.
"I suggest you go into the room anyway. The door's not locked, you know, he just expects you to respect his privacy. The only way he's going to get better any time soon is if you talk to him and console him, like any other human being," he smiled.
The leopard looked up at his owner and nodded in a shallow manner. Standing, he approached the door that seemed to be eminating sadness and put his hand on the knob, twisting it open. The strong smell of an older cat hit him and he scrunched his nose, not used to that.
He'd known that Naruto was going to start growing, if he could go by what Tsunade had told him... But he hadn't expected it to be so sudden and fast.
Sitting on his bed was a much taller, leaner version of his cub. How much could he have grown in only that week? He was probably 5'7" now, instead of the puny 4'4", and all of his baby fat was gone from what he could see. His hair was still very messy, but his eyes were slanted more, almost almond-like. It was definitely his mate...
"Naruto," he called and shut the door behind him. He wasn't used to seeing the other male so much bigger than he usually was. Would he still be the same? Would he be completely different?
Naruto looked over at his father and smiled so faintly that no normal person would be able to spot it, but it warmed the senior leopard's heart.
"I was... scared to come out," the blond stated rather shyly. "I was afraid of showing you how much I grew while in here..."
Sitting down beside his lover, Sasuke placed a hand on top of a head of golden locks.
"Is that the only reason you cooped yourself in here for an entire week?" Sasuke tried to tease, earning him another half-smile. It was an image he'd treasure until his death.
Naruto licked his dry lips and looked down at his larger hands.
"I was able to... accept Seung's death three days ago," he growled, the sound echoing in the room and sending a shiver up Sasuke's spine. Such a dangerous sound shouldn't have come from his mate. "But I will never forgive who murdered him."
"I know," was all Sasuke said.
"I'll kill whoever--"
"Stop it," Sasuke snapped. "Revenge is never the answer. My brother opted for revenge before and it ended in our parents getting killed. Don't you ever even think about revenge."
Naruto's ears flattened on his head and he gave his mate a hurt look. He hadn't meant to make him angry, not at all. Plus, shouldn't it be okay for him to want revenge for the death of his cub?
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to upset you, Sasuke, I just..."
Sasuke sighed and leaned back on his arms.
"I know," he repeated. "Just promise me that when you confront whoever did it that you won't give in to your desire for revenge. If you are to kill them, you kill them because of everything else."
Naruto almost felt like laughing.
"I can kill them for everything else except the death of my cub?"
"I find it easier that way," the black leopard smiled bitterly. "To kill in a selfless manner is much better than killing in a selfish way. So when you confront them, think of what they could do to everyone else, and kill them because of that. That way, you get your revenge indirectly."
The blond smiled.
"That makes no sense," he told Sasuke.
"Believe me, it works. It keeps that heavy burden off of your chest."
"But it makes no sense," Naruto repeated, on the verge of pouting.
"You'll understand some day. I suppose you're still a little too young," Sasuke teased with a sparkle in his dark eyes. He'd missed his mate that whole week he'd kept himself in here, but now he was just happy to be in his presence again. Naruto may have changed physically, but he was still quite the innocent kitten Sasuke knew him as. "Now, come on, I'm sure the plates of turkey Kakashi was shoving under the door every day wasn't enough to fill you up. Let's have some salmon."
Naruto almost began salivating at the attractive thought of eating something other than processed aviary creatures. It'd been such a long time since he'd enjoyed the flavor of smoked salmon. Of course, he would enjoy a whole lot more if Kakashi would cook it on the grill like he used to.
"Would you want it cooked on the grill?" Sasuke asked, as if reading his mind.
"Hai!" Naruto smiled cheerfully, his heart free again, yet still weighed down by his cub's death. It was sad and threatened to ruin his suddenly good mood, but he had to live with the fact that no matter how long he ruminated over it, Seung wasn't going to come back.
He wasn't going to see the happy kitten chase after butterflies anymore...
"Naruto?"
The blond blinked his bright cerulean eyes and smiled reassuringly, noticing the hint of worry in his lover's voice.
"It's nothing!" he lied with a large grin. "I was just wondering if we could have crab dip, too?"
Sasuke smiled warmly.
"Anything you want."
xXxXx
Kyuubi rolled over on the leather sofa so that he faced away from the bright television, having found the contraption too distracting. He'd plopped down on the piece of furniture earlier in hopes of finding a good movie to watch before the entire family came back home from shopping for the much taller Naruto, but had no luck. Unfortunately, instead of being able to get up and do something else, the unpleasant reminder of him harboring Itachi's cubs hit him full force when something seemed to shove violently against his stomach.
He winced at the memory of one of his kits kicking him.
"Itachi will pay dearly," he seethed to himself, fervently hoping that his mate would walk right through the front door with the rest of his happy family so that he could rip his pretty tail out slowly and ever so painfully. Yes, Kyuubi was not in a good mood.
It was nice to be alone in the spacious home, though. He didn't have Kakashi and Lukki getting into small arguments every few minutes or so over whether or not the plastic should remain over the corn when a frozen dinner is placed in the microwave, he didn't have the rowdy Naruto bugging him all the time to play videogames with him, and he most certainly didn't have to deal with the all-too-happy atmosphere.
But he had to admit that he did miss Itachi a bit... Sure, he would get angry at the albino leopard for putting him through what he was going through, but he was positive every soon-to-be-mother got that way every now and then. All he wanted was to feel the warmth radiating from the other pet's body and smell his strong aroma.
Opening his closed eyes, the fox sighed and propped himself up on his elbows.
He was going to miss this... all of this. He would complain about how annoying Naruto was, or how stupid his owner was, or how much he hated being around so many sickeningly joyous people, but in all honestly... he cherished every moment he had in the Hatake household, for he'd be leaving only a few days after the kits would be born.
"That leaves me about three months," he told himself under his breath, his own voice being drowned out by the loud commercials on TV. He spared a glance at the bright screen and watched as a lively woman advertised the upcoming Showcase that was going to commence in one week. That was odd... the next one wasn't supposed to be for a while.
Muffled laughter reached his ears and he turned his head toward the long hallway that lead to the front door. He heard the door opening and Naruto's matured laughter floated into the home, warming up the seemingly lonely atmosphere. He should've expected everyone to come home when he was in pain.
He cringed as another kit kicked him in the stomach.
"Kyuubi, are you alright?" Lukki asked as he walked past the sofa, spotting his pet lying there with droplets of sweat rolling from his temples to his defined jaw. "You're looking a little pale..."
"I'm fine," the fox hissed as he felt another strong kick. "It's the kits, they're saying 'hello'."
The blond man blinked, then furrowed his brows. He turned slowly, though, when he felt the presence of someone else, coming face to face with Itachi. The leopard looked concerned, having finally warmed up to his mate more and more the past few days.
Kyuubi smiled reassuringly, but wasn't too convincing considering his breathing was shallow and his skin was a little more pale than usual.
Itachi went over to his lover and carefully lifted him up.
"You need to rest in bed for a while," his deep voice chimed. "You shouldn't be moving around too much."
"What's wrong with Kyuu-Kyuu?" Kyuubi could hear Naruto's new voice asking curiously behind him. He leaned his forehead against Itachi's boney shoulder and exhaled, his eyes closing. Being pregnant was a hassle, that was for sure. It made him tired all of the time, he craved sex he couldn't have, and he was always irritable. Right now, he was in one of his more tired and calm moods, which he was sure Itachi was thanful for.
Entering his bedroom, Itachi closed the tall door behind him and locked it, wanting to be positive that no one would come in and disturb them. He pushed back the heavy comforter and laid Kyuubi down on the plush mattress, brushing back the sweaty red bangs.
"What were you doing while we were out?" he asked.
Kyuubi snorted.
"All I was doing was lying on the couch and watching television. I wasn't running around or anything like that; I know better."
Itachi sat down next to his lover and placed a hand on the bulging stomach. The kits were going to be really small, so the red-head's tummy wasn't too big. He could feel them moving around and smiled to himself. Never in his life would have thought that he'd smile over something like this...
"So what did you guys buy little Naruto?" Kyuubi asked, breaking the sudden silence.
"Clothes," Itachi stated, "and a few other things. He kept begging Kakashi for a camera, so he ended up with one. I'm sure he'll be following everyone around, asking to take pictures," he grimaced. "Joy."
Kyuubi laughed and rolled closer to the other male, breathing in deeply.
"Anything else?"
"We signed ourselves up for an upcoming Showcase. We were surprised that there was one happening so soon, but Kakashi didn't mind."
"Ah."
"Are you tired? I'll leave the room if you'd like," Itachi went to stand up, but Kyuubi wrapped his frail fingers around the thin wrist, crimson eyes staring up at onyx ones through messy bangs.
"Please stay. I don't... want to be alone right now," he admitted while looking away.
Itachi couldn't help but smirk a little.
"Alright."
Kyuubi smiled a bit. All he could think about at the moment was how he desperately didn't want to go back to Africa.
He wanted to stay with Itachi forever.
xXxXx
Naruto turned away from the magazine he was looking at when he heard the bathroom door open, Sasuke emerging with long silky PJ pants on that were low on his slim, milky hips. The blond blushed prettily and went back to looking at his reading material, trying to get rid of the flutter in his stomach. When he was smaller, he was only a tiny bit tempted by the sight of the beautiful man half-naked, too concerned with just cuddling with him and having him read him a bed-time story. But now that his body and mind had matured, he could feel his animal instinct kick into high gear.
"Is that a gossip magazine?" Sasuke asked while drying his hair with a velvet towel.
Naruto huffed, but kept his eyes glued to the page he pretended to be reading.
"No, it's about cameras..."
"You've taken a liking to cameras, I take it?" Sasuke smiled and threw the towel on the floor, running his thin fingers through his hair before sitting down next to his mate. The closeness caused Naruto to swallow and his face to heat up. He didn't understand at all. He wasn't in heat, so what...?
I've always wanted to make love with him... Naruto admitted to himself shyly.
"Yeah..."
The leopard cocked an eyebrow at the strange behavior. He wondered why the boy wasn't looking him in the eye and leaned forward, his eyes meeting Naruto's startled blue ones. He took notice of the pretty flush and smiled warmly. Ah, he understood now.
"You are growing up, aren't you?" he teased playfully.
"Of course I am," Naruto closed the magazine, the blush never leaving his whiskered cheeks. "But I've... I've always wanted to do that with you. The urge was never this strong, but I... I wanted to even back then."
Sasuke reached over and grabbed the blond's chin with his hand, firmly forcing him to look him in the eyes. He could see Naruto's small pupils get bigger, then get smaller, then get bigger again. The smaller feline was trying his hardest to keep himself under control. He'd never experienced such a strong need for mating before since his body was so tiny and couldn't handle it, so it'd never tried.
"I would never deny you that pleasure," he purred, his voice rumbling deep in his chest. "If you want it, then--"
"I-I want it," Naruto cut him off, needy. "Can I...?" he lifted his arm and gently ran his fingers down Sasuke's cheek, his eyes moist. Was he finally being allowed to do this? The title of father and son were gone, replaced with the title of lovers... Was he finally allowed to share this with the one person he adored the most?
Sasuke pulled the smaller male against him and tangled his fingers in unruly golden locks, his lips pressing fervently against the other's. Never had they shared a kiss so passionate as this one, both of their bodies setting on fire. The leopard could feel the desire rolling through him in waves and he almost flinched at the intensity.
Naruto couldn't contain his need, his lips pressing so lovingly and rough against Sasuke's. His eyes were closed in the heat of the moment and his eyelashes caressed his cheeks, his back arching so that his body could fit perfectly against the bow that Sasuke's body was in.
Neither of them had thought that this was going to happen tonight. They'd thought that they were going to get cleaned up then go to sleep with the thoughts of tomorrow on their minds. But the both of them weren't disappointed at all with the change of plans.
"Sasuke," Naruto murmured softly when a warm hand made its way up his shirt, hot fingertips brushing along his ribs and sides. "Sasuke," he repeated, overwhelmed. He could feel his heart speeding up, but thought nothing of it, the passion so strong. Wrapping his arms around Sasuke's shoulders, he tilted his head back and moaned when a hungry mouth latched onto his pulse, canines digging into his skin. To him, it hurt sooo good.
Sasuke could feel the pulse with his tongue, loving the delicious feeling of his mate's blood pumping so furiously in his veins. He sucked on the smooth skin and growled like a posessive lion, his thumbs brushing over the younger cat's nipples softly.
"A-ah," Naruto's body shook and he exhaled rather harshly when he noticed the frame around his vision was becoming dark. He blinked slowly and the darkness slipped away, so he brushed it off as nothing, his nails digging into the raven's shoulder blades.
"I love you," Sasuke pulled back and breathed against Naruto's collarbone, his hands moving underneath the blond's arms to run along the dip in his back.
So long had he yearned to hear that being said in a moment of bliss such as this.
"I love you too," Naruto smiled, but his upturned lips shifted and he made an 'o' with his mouth when a rather talented mouth placed pleasurable kisses up his neck and along his jawline, a tongue darting out to taste the salty skin.
Sasuke pulled away once again and that action earned him an impatient groan, cerulean eyes staring at him in annoyance. He smiled and used his thick tail to rub Naruto's thigh affectionately as he pulled his mate's shirt off and began working on his bothersome cargo pants.
Naruto blushed a bit at the thought of being completely naked in front of the leopard, but he realized that he'd been his birthday suit before while under Sasuke's scrutinizing gaze. Well, he'd never scrutinized, but... it was still very, very embarrassing, especially since he'd never really gotten the chance to check out his own newly formed adult body.
"Don't be embarrassed," Sasuke crooned, noticing the other's timid actions and nervous looks. "You're beautiful."
A smile so gorgeous spread across Naruto's face and Sasuke thought he was going to die from the sheer beauty of it. Never in his life had he seen something so breathtaking.
Removing the final piece of clothing, Sasuke kissed down a tan chest and let his tongue linger on the hard nubs, his muscle swirling in circles aroung them. He loved the way Naruto squirmed underneath him and it made his member twitch between his legs. He'd never wanted anyone so much before.
Naruto's head was spinning so much that he thought he was going to pass out, all of the heat so unbearable. His heart hammered in his chest and he smiled to himself, feeling a calm sensation come over him. He thought it was supposed to be normal, but after his body decided to stop responding to Sasuke's lingering kisses and loving touches, he began to worry a bit.
"Sasu...ke...?"
His heart throbbed and pounded, almost painfully so now. Everything around him sounded muffled, as if he were underwater, and Sasuke's voice sounded frantic above him. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't feel... Everything was just numb. His eyes refused to move, but he could see Sasuke moving through the blurred colors, their bedroom door opening and people coming in.
He couldn't hear them anymore, though, the world closing off on him. The darkness was seeping into his vision once again and it refused to go away, like a mist rolling through the woods behind their home...
The last thing he saw before everything went completely black was the distorted image of Sasuke. He could see him reach out to him, but then darkness consumed him and he was back to where he had been a long time ago, when he had "died" the first time.
The coffin of blackness.
"N-No... Sasuke? I don't... I don't want to die!"
His thoughts only echoed in his head, ever so faint. He'd always been able to hear his voice when he'd "died" before, but as he spoke, his words faded into nothing and his voice became softer. If he couldn't hear himself anymore, did that mean there was no way he could come back?
"Baa-chan! Get Baa-chan! D-Don't let me die! Sasuke... Sasuke..."
"Papa..." Seung's voice chimed in his head. "What are you doing here, Papa? You should be with Sofu... not here with me."
"Seung...? I-I want to go back to him, but..."
"You can't stay here with me."
"How do I get back to him?.!"
Seung's voice came again as a whisper, but Naruto couldn't hear it.
"Seung?.!" his own voice sounded muffled and distorted and he knew he was getting closer to not being able to come back. "Sasuke, please... p-please..! Sasuke! Sasuke!" he repeated the other's name like a mantra, even though he could hardly hear himself.
"Sasuke!" he yelled again. His voice was only a whisp of a murmur, though. Pain was laced in his final desperate attempt.
"Susu Oppa!"
But he heard nothing and everything else became silent, his thoughts not there anymore.
I know, I'm a horrible, horrible person :evil grin: Lotsa reviews, yes?