Hunted

Chapter 2: Changing World

by Zenerific1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. They are the work of Kishimoto.

It had been two days, and the company was stopping for an afternoon break.

Somehow, Hinata was able to get Naruto to drink little sips of water. But short of forcing mashed food down his throat and choking him on it, she wasn't able to get the small golden fox to eat. Sasuke kept the little blond fox next to him for the most part. He'd had to buy an extra horse to carry the liter but to his thinking it would be worth it.

The animal/human hybrids were highly sought after in the large cities. There was little space in the towering city and the hybrids eliminated the need for room for the most part. Though there were people that used the 'brids in a different manner. That was to say, that they were used as sexual partners, as slaves and not pets. The unique healing abilities of the 'brids allowed them to take higher amounts of damage in that capacity, not to mention that their stamina was outrageously extended. Especially when they entered their heat.

Sasuke hadn't been bothered by this knowledge, until just now. He wondered if the young fox they had captured had been through his first heat. Then he began to wonder what would have happened to the fox if he hadn't taken an interest in him. He could see how valuable he would be to certain clients. The richly designed bordellos hidden deep in the tawdry parts of the city would have become his home. And if he hadn't had his first heat then the client would wait until it began then brought in as many high paying customers as the boy could take, the first charged an exorbitant fee to be the fox's first. Within a year the young fox would be used up, most likely hooked on drugs that would make their heat come quicker, drugs that would make the pain easier to deal with, and drugs that would make it so the bright eyes were dull and uncaring. A little after that year, the fox would most likely be dead. The client seeking fresh meat. This knowledge began to weight on Sasuke. It irritated him that he felt guilt because he had provided 'brids to these people. He hadn't cared about what they would go through, as long as they paid the hefty sum for the capture of the animal.

Sasuke gritted his teeth before glancing at the boy lying on the liter just a foot from where he sat on a log eating a simple lunch of onigiri. The blue eyes were open but he was staring at nothing in particular. Sasuke didn't even know the fox's name and it grated on his nerves that he had many questions but wouldn't be getting any answers with the boy in such a state. He wasn't even sure if the fox would survive. And that irritated him even more, because he hadn't captured the fox, defied Orochimaru, and went through the trouble of securing a safe future for the idiot just to see the boy wither away and die.

Setting aside the plate he knelt by the fox's side and studied him. There wasn't even a flicker of the eye in his direction.

He heard a rustling sound behind him and he turn to find the young cat, Hinata, behind him. Her eyes were sad as she watched the fox, a slight frown on her face. She held a cup in her hands.

"There hasn't been any change," she muttered and Sasuke was surprised that the stutter was gone. He knew that she had been nervous around him, but she seemed to have grown more comfortable in his presence. "I've been trying different herbs to see if anything made a difference, they help a little in providing some nutrition but nothing seems to work in bring him back to us. I thought that the ginseng would stimulate him, because he doesn't seem like one who would sit still for very long, but…" She trailed off, going to his other side, and lifting his head carefully. She tipped the cup to his lips having to manipulate the cup to get the closed mouth to open slightly. Sasuke heard the clink of teeth against the hard metal then Hinata set the cup side and messaged the fox's throat to get him to swallow. She repeated this process until most of the contents of the cup were gone. When she was done she laid the kit back down and gathered up her cup, leaving.

"Are you just going to lay down and die?" he asked the little fox. He glared down at the boy beginning to vent his frustrations. "Are you just going to give up? Because the boy I met yesterday, struggling to get out of the cuff didn't look like a person that would just give up." He began to build up steam as he spoke. "Coward! I bet your parents didn't raise you to be such a coward! They would want you to stay alive! Your mo—," he didn't get the chance to finish because he found himself sitting on his ass staring at an angry fox. His jaw throbbed where a fist had connected to it.

"You don't talk about my mom!" The fox yelled his voice even huskier than usual from two days of not using it. "You…your people killed her! Killed them both and all I could do was watch. I didn't even get a chance to tell them I loved them! I didn't even get to say goodbye! That…that…snake bastard…his sword…!" The fox crumbled to the ground unable to continue as he broke down into loud wracking sobs.

Sasuke watched with relief and a bit of empathy. He remembered Orochimaru laughing at the couple, the blond man in front of his mate, growling. When they had first entered the small settlement they had expected to find chaos, not the organized defense that the clan had put up. After the first assault though, most of the group had scattered, but a few were still holding out. This man had rallied the skulk to renew their efforts to stop the hunters from getting past. When Orochimaru had gone after the red headed female he'd jumped to her defense immediately.

"Stand aside, fox," Orochimaru had ordered but the man glared back. "This can end peacefully. All we want is the young golden fox. The rest of you will be free to go back to your lives."

The man had snarled viciously at Orochimaru and not being the most patient of people, Orochimaru had grown tired of the game and run the man through impaling his mate along with him. Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes at the needless violence. He thought to himself that Orochimaru for all his capabilities was somewhat stupid. Of course the man wasn't going to give up his son. But then again, the snake man probably had known that but had issued the threat anyway to see if the others would back down.

After the couple had been killed, the rest of the skulk had tucked their tails between their legs and ran off into the woods. The hunters had quickly searched the village but hadn't found any sign of the group. That was when Orochimaru had called for Neji.

"There are two groups of small foxes heading in opposite directions. The larger group has a very young fox with them which will slow them down considerably and if I'm not mistaking the golden fox is with them." Neji's eyes were exceptionally sharp and could pick up even the tiniest details. Sasuke still didn't know how the cat had known that the golden fox had been with them. It could have been anything from a single strand of hair caught in the leaves to an invisible foot print in the dirt that no one else could make out.

Watching the young fox, work through his grief, caused a pang of regret to run through Sasuke. He could have stopped Orochimaru. He'd known that the young kits had run from the first instant that they had entered the village. Neji could have been called for sooner and the young fox would have been spared the torment of watching as his parents were killed in front of him. But in the end, Sasuke had done none of those things.

Not knowing how to comfort the boy, Sasuke could do little but watch. Eventually, the sobs slowed and became small hiccups. Running on instinct, Sasuke slowly approached the fox then reached out with one hand laying it on his shoulder. The fox stiffened but didn't pull away, a miracle in the raven's opinion to say the least. Inch by inch and mile by mile, Sasuke pulled the fox into his lap and arms. He hugged the boy to his chest offering the warmth of his body. For some reason, Sasuke knew that closeness to another brought more comfort than words ever could, touch was even better. But he added words also.

"Hush, it will be alright. I'll make it alright, everything will be better." He really didn't know what he said just that a litany of words began to spill from his lips. "I'm sorry," being the gist of the cadence. It was really out of character for him, but he felt the need to be closer to the boy, to try and make up for everything that had happened in the past two days.

After the first storm of tears and sobs, the cub's cries withered to small hiccups. "Nothing will ever be alright again. My family is gone and I don't know what to do." The cub's wet, saddened voice reached Sasuke's ears. He felt a small squeeze to his heart.

Sasuke remembered that feeling all to well, though it had been a long time ago. His own parents had died when he was very young and Itachi had raised him, or had done the best he could do since he was only seventeen when their parents were killed. It had been an accident. A small herd of horses had been spooked when a real dog had snapped at the heels of one of them. In a sudden panic, the horses had bolted and both of his parents were caught in their path unable to get away, along with a few others. His father had been killed quickly having suffered a broken neck, but his mother had lingered for a few days, but her internal injuries were too severe and she died at the hospital.

But Sasuke remembered well the debilitating loneliness. The pain at knowing that he would never see his mother smile at him, give him a hug, or read him a bed time story. His father would never pat him on the head in passing, see the stern frown as he lectured him about being an Uchiha, or tell him that he was proud of him. He remembered the disquieting feeling at the empty house that didn't smell of fresh baked bread. Nostalgia crept in on him as he thought about the vase of fresh cut flowers that found their way to the dinning table almost every night.

"I know little one, but you will work through this. The ache will lessen in time and you will go on living. I will help," Sasuke said.

"How can it?" the boy asked. "I'll never forget them or what happened."

"I think that you just learn to live with it and things get easier. It hurts a lot at first, but within a year, you'll be engaged in other things, other people, and—as much as you don't want to hear it now—you don't think about them as much." Or that was the way that Sasuke saw it. It still brought about that familiar ache but it was quickly gone when he turned his mind to other things.

"You sound like you know," the boy pulled away to look up at him with a tears still clinging to his lashes.

"My parents died when I was very young, but I still had my brother," Sasuke told him.

"I'm sorry."

"Why? It wasn't you fault, it was an accident."

"But still you felt pain and I'm sorry that you had to. I used to wish that I had a brother, but my parents only ever had me."

Sasuke tilted his head to the side, puzzled at the sincerity in the young man's voice. Most people apologized when they found out that Sasuke's parents were dead, but most didn't mean it. This young fox cub had just suffered a terrible loss and yet felt compassion for Sasuke's own pain. It was something foreign to the raven and gave him pause, something to ponder.

"What's your name?" the cub asked suddenly.

The change of topic caught Sasuke of guard but he quickly recovered. "Sasuke Uchiha and who are you?"

The boy slid off his lap but didn't move farther away. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki."

"Is that right?" It really wasn't a question just a remark. "And how old are you, Naruto?"

The boy lifted an eye brow, then frowned thinking it over. "I don't know. I've seen nineteen solstices but I was born just before my first. Though, I'm still not of age like Kirabi." This thought brought a pout to the boy's lips.

"Not of age? What does that mean? And who is Kirabi?"

"Um…I'm not of age, because I haven't seen my first season. And Kirabi is…was one of my group. He's really strong like his brother but really annoying because he likes to rap almost every time he talks. He just went through his season and became an adult, but his brother wouldn't let him stay and fend off the hunters so he was the one leading us."

Everything that was said only confused Sasuke more and he frowned. The young cub was very talkative when he wasn't drowning in self pity.

"Your first season? I still don't understand what you mean by that? You must explain it better."

The fox frowned then turned a bright shade of red. "It's when we have our first mating season. We—ah—we…," his voice trailed off as Naruto tried to think of the words his father had used when he'd explained it to Naruto. "We go into…heat? Um, Dad said that it when we gain this need and the need is only satisfied when we have sex."

The words themselves didn't bother Sasuke, but they induced some pretty explicit pictures to form in his mind. And he wanted to question the fox further but the rustle of leaves announced the presence of another. Hinata paused when she saw that the fox was awake and coherent.

"Ah! Sasuke, you revived him?" she exclaimed the sadness evaporating from her eyes.

Neji, who had been scouting the area, appeared at her side. He looked down his nose at the young fox in a blatant show of superiority. "So it wasn't his destiny to die just yet. Well, that is good."

"What does destiny have to do with anything?" the cub asked frowning. "My dad al—." The young fox stopped and a sudden look of grief passed over the boy's face.

Sasuke could sense his withdrawal and needed to distract him again. "Naruto, what do you want to eat? We have eggs and sausages or muffins."

Naruto blinked at the sudden change in subject but didn't let it fluster him. "All of it!" He caught the female cat's soft smile and grinned at her apologetically. "I feel like I haven't eaten in days and I'm starved."

"You haven't, idiot," Sasuke commented. He'd seen the exchange and felt a little nudge of jealousy tighten his stomach muscles. He wanted the fox's attention on him, not the female. It irritated him irrationally when those expressive blue eyes turned away from him.

"Hey, where are we and where is everyone?" It was Naruto's turn to switch topics suddenly.

"We are en route to my home. And everyone else stayed at the camp. We should be reaching it by mid after noon the day after tomorrow."

"Why didn't you wait for the others?" The puzzlement was clear on Naruto's face.

"Why should I have?"

"Well," Naruto began with a little frown that wrinkled the skin between his eyebrows, "I thought they were your friends."

"They're not and I decided to go home."

"Oh, okay."

He just didn't really understand the human. Most traveled in large packs like his clan. They've never come across a lone human and the hunters could sometimes be numerous. Naruto hadn't seen the camp but from the noise that had filtered through the tents thin wall, it had sounded really big. But this human was choosing to travel in a very small band and from what he'd seen the female cat didn't look like she could protect herself.

Thinking about the hunter, Naruto felt a little off kilter by the dark eyed man. Every time he spoke to him or even watched him, Naruto felt a different emotion. It was like racing through a fog wrapped valley; one second you were fine and your path clear, the next you were dodging trees and boulders that suddenly appeared out of the mist. His stomach tightened and heat flooded him whenever he caught sight of the man. Talking with him evoked anger most of the time but it was quickly followed by a sense of homecoming or comfort which was odd in his opinion.

He was startled out of his thoughts as a plate of delicious smelling food was thrust under his nose. Looking up he saw that the male cat was holding it along with another full of sausages.

"Thank you," Naruto said taking the plate.

"Yeah, just don't get used to it." The cat settled onto the ground a couple of feet away to plow through his own meal. "It isn't in the stars for me to be your servant."

Naruto ate as quickly as he dared trying to use the manners that his mom had drilled into him. He'd never felt so hungry though. Using the fork as a shovel he stuffed his mouth, chewing little, and swallowing most of the food whole. When he slowed a few minutes later, he looked up to see everyone watching him with various expressions of incredulity, humor, and disgust—this last from Neji. The female cat blushed and looked away but Sasuke just shook his head.

"Must be hungry," Neji commented then returned to his meal only to see a hand dart out and snatch up a sausage. "Hey!" Looking up he met a dark glare.

"Just think of it as pay back for the ham."

Neji nodded, subsiding, but he began to eat just as quickly as Naruto had a minute ago.

"I'm Hinata," the female cat spoke beginning the introductions, "and this is Neji. I'm guessing that you already know Sasuke's name."

"Naruto." The cub said with a small smile.

"I'm pleased to meet you. I was worried that you wouldn't wake up, but I'm glad that you did." Hinata's face was nearly the same color as a tomato and her index fingers met—a habit that had formed from her childhood shyness. She still felt really unsure when she met new people.

Naruto gave her a reassuring smile. Sasuke watched as the young cat relaxed under that smile and felt an inexplicable need to hide the fox away from her. He rolled his eyes at this feeling and proceeded to ignore it. He was also going to ignore the need he felt to touch the young man.

*** ***

Naruto plucked at the small blanket that was draped over his frame. He was bored, past bored; he was about to enter the going insane because I'm so bored stage. The two cats had disappeared right after he'd finished his breakfast and the hunter had insisted that he stay were he was before going off to god knows where. He'd tried taking a nap but couldn't settle down long enough to do so.

He looked around to make sure that everyone was gone. Throwing back the blanket he stood up, looking around again he moved towards the edge of camp. He couldn't believe that they had left him alone. Of course, it could be a trick, testing his determination to leave. In theory he could go back to his clan, but there wasn't anything left. His parents were gone and his world irrevocably changed. He paused at the edge of the encampment then wandered to the other side. It was a large clearing and the horses weren't unpacked, nor were there any tents set up. The three horses chomped at the grass near the edges of the clearing not sensing any danger and Naruto grew bored with watching them.

There was a large tree with wide branches that looked like it would be fun to climb. He quickly leaped to the first branch and barely caught it with his hands. It was plain that he had lost some strength these past few days. Leaping to the branch should have been easily accomplished. He'd spent most of his youth playing in the trees with Gaara, Kirabi, Konkuro, and Temari. Pulling up to the branch, he draped his lank form over it. From the height of the branch he could see Hinata down by the river washing some clothing and dishes.

It was such a domestic chore and it made Naruto wonder about why the timid little cat was with the hunters. She didn't seem like the blood thirsty type of animal, unlike the other cat, Neji. The older cat was well versed in fighting and protecting himself as was the hunter. The two cats were related in some fashion but their characters were completely different.

The hunter, Sasuke, was a puzzle to the young fox. When Naruto had been running from him, he was sure that the dark haired man was like the other hunters, ruthless, uncaring, only wanted to make a quick coin for his own selfish ends. But he'd held Naruto when the boy was lost in his grief, murmured soothing words, and he'd understood what Naruto was feeling.

The trips to the small villages for supplies had shown him more than once what happened to captured 'brids. Those that he'd seen told horrific stories of being sold and raped only to be tossed aside when younger, fresher meat came along. The 'brids in those villages were forced to beg or steal for a living or worse. He could clearly picture the cougar sitting along side the road, hand held out for a coin, saying that he would be willing to do things…sexual favors for a coin. His father had dropped a handful of coin into his palm with a pitying look. When he'd asked his father why the man didn't go home, his dad explained that the man didn't have a home anymore. Until now, Naruto hadn't understood.

Naruto now understood that the man's family was probably dead or gone. He knew that his own clan would have moved on to new territory, wanting to get away from the hunters as quickly as possible. He only hoped that Gaara, Kirabi, Yugito, and Yuki had been able to find their way back. That option was no longer possible for Naruto. It would take him months to find his clan if he survived long enough and he didn't have any rations or anyway to get them to see him through the search.

Spotting Sasuke and Neji returning to the camp, he jumped down from the tree and went to greet them.

"Dobe, I thought I told you to say on the pallet. You've been sick and need to rest," Sasuke asked as soon as he spotted the fox approaching.

"Dobe? I'm not a dead last! Bastard…teme!" Naruto exclaimed at the insult. "Besides I was bored. I'm not used to sitting still but there isn't anything to do."

"Hn."

"You could have helped Hinata wash the clothes," Neji suggested idly.

"Do I look like a—a washer woman?" Naruto asked indignately.

"Well, you do remind me of a shrew."

"A shrew! You butt-lickin' pussy!"

"Enough!" Sasuke ground out interrupting the argument before it even got started. It seemed like Neji wanted nothing more than to sink his claws into the fox and Naruto wasn't much better. If he didn't get the camp moving again he was sure that they would be delayed while injuries healed. "Neji, help Hinata gather up the clothes and get them packed back up. We still have a few hours of daylight left, I want to reach home by nightfall tomorrow." He grabbed Naruto's arm and directed him away from the indignant feline before a full scale cat fight got underway. He dragged Naruto back to the pallet and pushed him down upon it.

"Hey!" Naruto yelped before the blanket was tossed over his head.

"Stay!"

"But I'm fine! I wasn't sick! I was just…just…" He tried to think of what he'd been. He didn't really remember the past two days; he'd just been lost in a fog mostly. Unable to surface from the pain of losing his family no matter how hard he'd tried. It had been Sasuke's insistent voice that had finally penetrated the fog. He'd roused enough to hear the insults that Sasuke was doling out and he'd felt angry, he'd wanted to punch that smirking mouth that had been dishing such rude comments about his parents out.

To Naruto, it felt like a lifetime had passed in the space of three days. The world as he knew it had ended and a new one began, and he didn't know his place in this new one. He felt off kilter and he wanted to strike out at the hunter, but at the same time he wanted to burrow under the blanket and hide.

"I—," Naruto began.

"There will be time enough to figure things out," Sasuke said looking down at the confused fox. He'd figured out that the fox was feeling lost. "We'll be home tomorrow night and we'll find a place for you. But until then, just take it easy."

"I don't know if I can. Could I just walk?" Naruto felt that anxious, restless feeling welling up again and he want to move, needed to move.

Watching the fox fidget restlessly on the pallet, Sasuke capitulated. "Fine, but if you start feeling weak then you will return to the pallet."

Naruto didn't agree or disagree but flipped the blanket off again and jumped to his feet with a wide smile. It lit up his whole face and Sasuke found it difficult to look away. That need to shelter and protect this boy was building inside of him. He itched to pull the fox into his arms again just to feel his body. Scowling, Sasuke turned away to check his mount. He figured that he would walk with the fox for a while.

*** ***

Sasuke had found out that the fox boy had more energy than an entire power station. He'd watched the boy bounce from his side, to Hinata's and back again for the rest of the day. He was also full of questions and when any thought occurred in that golden head he'd run off again to find out the answer. Sasuke was more exhausted from just watching him than from the actual trek.

"Ne, Sasuke? What town do you live in? I don't think that I've ever been this far south." Naruto asked as he helped the raven gather wood for the evening fire.

"I live in Konoha, formally known as the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"Why is it called that?"

"Maybe because it's surrounded on almost all sides by a huge forest, or it could have been named that so long ago that the real meaning of the name is lost in time. I don't know, I didn't care about why it was called Konoha."

"What do you mean by almost surrounded by a forest?"

"It sits below a small mountain on one edge. It has a huge gate surrounding the town and past those gates is the forest."

"Why are there gates?"

"To protect us from enemies."

"Does Konoha have a lot of enemies?"

"I guess but we haven't gone to war with anyone in a long time."

"You have wars?"

"Everyone does."

"My clan doesn't and neither do any of the other clans…that I know of. I've never heard of the 'brids going to war."

"Bully for you." Sasuke could hear the irritation I his voice. He'd never been tolerant of people who liked to ask questions and having to explain everything to Naruto, especially things that he'd never really thought about was pushing him past his patience container.

"Sasuke, what is your home like? Is it big?"

"Look, Naruto, I just want to get the wood gathered so that we can get back to camp. I'm tired and answering all of these questions is irritating." He looked up to glare at the kit.

"Oh," Naruto said. He looked down at the ground his ears drooping as he fell silent returning to the task of picking up dead fall to burn.

Sasuke felt a nudge of guilt as he looked at the smaller man and the crest fallen ears. He sighed as he bent to pick up a slender branch.

"I live with my brother because my parents were killed several years ago. The house is big enough for several people but it's usually empty. My brother works for the city guard, patrolling the gates and occasionally going to different places to settle disputes that crop up in neighboring cities and countries. I make a decent enough living by providing rich clients with their animal of choice. But I'm thinking about changing my career. I might attend the academy to be trained in the things that my brother is trained in." He didn't know why he was sharing this with the fox. It really hadn't registered that he was unsatisfied with hunting, but now that he'd said it, he decided that it was a good idea. He knew that Itachi would be happy. Itachi had been trying to get him to change his career since he first chose to become a hunter. His family too would be happy with that decision, since he father had been with the local police who worked to keep the city safe from its more 'enterprising' residents. Hell, he could probably even go into that line of work and still be satisfied. The only reason he'd chosen to be a hunter was because he was tired of chasing after his brother only to be lost in Itachi's shadow.

"Why would you want to change your job?" Naruto asked pulling Sasuke out of his thoughts. Sasuke looked up to see that the sad look was gone from the fox's countenance and his ears were once again sitting high on his head.

"For most of my life, I've been chasing after my older brother, Itachi. He was also so good at everything and I felt like I never measured up. My father would compare me to him. I'd get a good mark in school and I would hear about how Itachi had gotten a better mark. It never seemed to fail that when I did something Itachi had done it better and at a younger age. So when it came time to chose my career, I wanted to do something different. So I became a hunter and I was good at it."

"So why would you want to change now?"

Sasuke stopped and sat down on a boulder that was nearby. He dropped his pile of wood on the ground. Naruto perched next to him and placed his armful of branches and twigs on top of Sasuke's. His full attention was now on the raven, listening intently to the voice that had reached through his despair and pulled him out of it. Resting his feet on the boulder, naruto wrapped his arms around his knees, his tail swishing back and forth on the rock before stilling as the boy focused on the man.

"A few months ago, I went on a hunt for a dragon. Several of the other hunters had tried and failed to bring the dragon in so the client had raised the payoff. I captured the dragon, but not before I killed his guardian. The young dragon's name was Lee and I delivered him to the client. He'd seemed docile enough when I delivered him but in a week the dragon killed the client. The council ruled that the dragon was too dangerous and euthanized him. I don't know what it was about him that has stuck with me. I don't usually hear about what happens to the client after I fulfill the contract. This client was in my district, however. Maybe it was the way the man died, the client got Lee drunk and the dragon must have seen him as a threat and killed him, broke his neck. Or it could have been that I remember the terrified look in Lee's eyes as I gave him over to the client. I just know that I see him in my dreams." Sasuke trailed off.

"So why didn't you just give up the hunt then?"

"I…I don't know. I thought about it but for some reason I didn't think that I should." Sasuke studied his hands that were resting on his thighs.

Naruto thought about things. If Sasuke had given up the hunt maybe his parents would be alive. He wouldn't be here, that was for sure. But would it have been better or worse?

"Orochimaru already had the contract to capture a fox, specifically a golden fox. And your clan was the only one rumored to have one. Plans were already in place for this hunt when I went after the dragon. Orochimaru can be pretty vicious on a hunt if he doesn't capture his prey right away," Sasuke stated interpreting the emotions that were flickering across the young fox's face. "I'm sorry that I couldn't stop him from killing your parents, but I can't say that I'm sorry that I captured you. I knew as soon as this hunt started that if we caught the golden fox, I was going to keep it…you."

"Even before you knew me?"

"I didn't know you when I told Orochimaru that he wouldn't be delivering you up to the client, that I was taken my cut as it were with keeping you."

Naruto didn't know what to say about everything that he'd learned about Sasuke. He was angry and glad at the same time but he didn't want to think about the 'what ifs' at this time because the possibilities were hypothetical and not reality. His reality was that his parents were dead, his clan possibly scattered, and he was a 'pet'.

He picked up the pile of branches and headed back to camp. For the first time all day he was voluntarily quiet. His ears twitched back and forth as if he was listening to the forest and not his internal thoughts.

*** ***

His first sight of Konoha was apprehensive. Calling the place a town was an understatement. It was huge spread widely over the valley floor. As they approached the gated, Naruto felt a tad claustrophobic thinking about being shut up in that city. The gate towered over them as they approached and he could only stare up at them.

The gates opened as they approached to allow them entrance into the city. There were two guards that greeted Sasuke and he introduced them to Naruto as Izumo and Kotetsu. They were fascinated with the fox cub wanting to touch his hears and pet him. As soon as one of them reached for his ear, Naruto darted behind Sasuke ducking away from the unfamiliar hand. His hands clutched into Sasuke's shirt.

"Seems he's a little skittish," Izumo laughed warmly.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted. "That would be a first."

"Huh?" Kotetsu asked trying to circle around Sasuke to get a look at the fox.

Hinata giggled and Neji rolled his eyes as he watched the fox try to get away from Kotetsu's hand.

"Hey, knock it off! Don't touch my ears!" Naruto suddenly yelled swatting as Kotetsu's hand got too close to his head. The yell drew more attention and Sasuke sighed as he tugged his shirt out of Naruto's grasp.

"Oh! Sasuke, I didn't know that you were back!" A female voice called as he straightened his shirt trying to smooth out the wrinkles.

Sasuke glanced up to see Ino rushing towards him. Great, he thought to himself. He fixed a firm scowl on his face hoping that maybe she would be warned away by this one. He should have known better as she immediately attached herself to his arm.

"Sasuke, I'm soo glad that you returned unharmed. Every time you go hunting I'm sure that you'll get yourself killed," she cooed.

Sasuke heard a low growl coming from behind him and he turned to see Naruto glaring fiercely at Ino. His teeth were bared and his hand fists at his side.

"Oh, how cute!" Ino gushed detaching herself from Sasuke and reaching out to the fox to pet him, or rather his ears. Ignoring the growl, her hand found the back of his ear and began to scratch. Startled Naruto jumped a bit then his look of anger dissolved into one of bliss as Ino found just the right place to pet him.

Sasuke's scowl darkened as he watched the fox lean into Ino's touch. An irrational feeling coming over him as he watched. Suddenly he stepped forward, grasped Naruto's shirt and jerked him away from Ino.

"I need to get home, Ino. Come on, Naruto," he snapped then began to drag the fox down the street ignoring the greetings that were called out to him.

They finally reached the Uchiha compound. This section had been cordoned off and most of his extended family dwelled within the fenced in compound. He pulled Naruto with him through the opening and into a wide courtyard of sorts. Naruto hadn't protested once though he was nearly pulled off his feet when Sasuke continued to walk even though he wanted to stand still and just look at everything. Every building it seemed held the same symbol or had little flag with the symbol on it. It was the same one that Sasuke wore on the back of his shirt. It looked like a fan cut in half with the top half a brilliant crimson while the bottom was bright white.

"Hey, hey, Sasuke, what is that symbol?"

"It's the emblem of my clan. It's to remind us of everything that we overcome. That our minds need to fan the fire that burns within us."

"The fire that burns within?"

"Yes, my clan has belonged to the fire country for generations. We were one of the first families to establish Konoha and we established the police force that helps keep Konoha's citizens safe. So the fan symbolizes that we are part of what keeps our country strong."

Naruto followed Sasuke down the streets staring at every vegetable cart, every shop keeper that stopped to greet Sasuke and smile at him. He felt overwhelmed by the whole thing that he was literally speechless. He was startled when one old lady reached out and hugged him before gently tugging on one of his ears. She laughed when he quickly ducked away.

"You'll have to get used to people wanting to touch your ears. They're so exotic that we have to check and be sure that they are real," she chuckled before waving them away to continue sweeping her front stoop.

Sasuke lead them up to a large house that was situated at the back of the compound. A large garden with a pond flowing through it was set up in from of the white two story house. He blinked as the door slid back and a slightly taller version of Sasuke came out.

"Welcome home, foolish little brother."

A/N: Ah, finally an update. Sorry that it took so long! Its unbeta'd for now, I will probably go back and fix everything later this week, but for now it is what it is. Gosh, like I said before I was only planning on a one shot but it didn't turn out that way! Please let me know what you think and click the ugly black button just below and center!

ZEN

(Thanks for telling me about that discrepancy! Its fixed now!)