Hunted

By Zenerific1

Chapter 4: Safety

The terrified cry split the night and Sasuke felt his heart freeze. Naruto was in trouble.

Sasuke had actually been enjoying the chase; pitting his superior intellect against the kit's determination. He'd been strategizing ways to corner the boy all night and with every new move the kit unpredictably changed his movements. Sasuke had to admit that he'd been having…God forbid…fun.

Sasuke closed his eyes briefly and prayed for strength and speed to find the little kit quickly. Taking to the roof tops he opened the link between him and everyone else.

"Kakashi?"

"I heard it! He's north, northwest of me. I knew that something was wrong when his patterns changed. I'm closing in, but I think he's closer to your location, Sasuke, than any of ours at the moment. It seemed like he was running in your direction."

Sasuke nodded knowing that no one could see him and a small, worried smile played about his lips. The boy had been coming to him, perhaps knowing instinctively that Sasuke meant safety. It gave him a sense of smugness but it also filled him with further fear for the young fox. If Sasuke didn't make it in time, would the kit ever forgive him?

*** ***

Strangled protest whimpered from the gagged throat even as the knife slid under the waist band of his pants. The metal so cold it felt like it was burning Naruto's flesh. He twisted sharply and felt the bite of the blade on his hip and tried to suck in a breath. Then he let out a muted bellow and bucked against his captors succeeding in wrenching one of his hands free.

"Shit!" the blond man snarled. Naruto didn't waste any time on his triumph but threw his fist as hard as he could towards the man holding the knife. His knuckles slid past the cheek barely brushing the skin then seconds later white, static-ridden pain seared through his jaw as the man backhanded him. Flashes of light burst in front of his eyes and he was knocked back into the asphalt. His arm captured again and held down even tighter against the ground.

The cool morning air brushed the flesh of his leg raising goose bumps as the material was removed with quick and efficient movements. Unable to move and the throbbing of his face and head, hindered all of his movements, such that he couldn't think beyond the pain and the prayer that had been filtering through his head.

Sasuke! Please hurry! I couldn't make it, I'm sorry!

A cold hand grasped his limp member and began to pump it roughly. To Naruto's shame, his body responded to the touch and hardened even more from the touch, preparing itself for the invasion.

"Ah, it's not bad," the blue haired man spoke in a gleeful high tenor voice. "But I can't wait until I get inside of you. Flip him over, boys."

Naruto renewed his struggles and when they let go of him briefly he tried to desperately to get away but only helped them in their endeavors. Once he was on his hands and knees trying to crawl away, his legs were grabbed then his arms pulled out from under him so that his head hit the pavement again. Dazed, Naruto felt the man called Kisame pulling his cheeks apart. The two men holding his legs adjusted them so that Kisame could push his body between them. Naruto heard the hiss of a zipper being lowered then felt a blunt pressure against his entrance. Keening low in his throat, he closed his eyes and tried to focus on anything else.

"Kami's sweet titties!" Kisame snarled. "He's too small, I can't gain entry!" Then a burning bowed Naruto's back as something was thrust into him. Gagged though he was he let out a scream that echoed through the alleyway. From the wriggle of the thing, he could only guess that it was a finger. "He's a virgin!" Kisame spoke a few minutes later. "Oh, Kami has blessed us this day! What luck would put a virgin 'brid out on the streets unprotected!"

"You're bad luck," a low voice snarled from the opening of the alley.

The men turned towards the voice but no one was there. A second later a soft thud was heard behind them. Deidara was lying motionless of his back looking up at the sky with sightless eyes, a kunai sticking from his throat, but there wasn't anyone there. A burst of fear began to move through the rest of the men.

"A ghost?" whispered Hidan. He let go of the 'brid's legs and started to move away turning to dart towards the opening in the alley wanting to get away. The others two kept a hold of their captive but were looking to the roof tops. A short cry that was abruptly cut off had them looking to where Hidan had taken off. Only his legs could be seen, but they began to move, being dragged out of the opening and to the side. Kakuza's eyes widened but he didn't move.

"Kisame?"

"Hm?"

"Is the little fox worth it?"

"Doesn't matter if he is worth it or not," the disembodied voice spoke, the rage palpable in it, "neither of you are leave here alive!"

"Shit, I'm not scared of you!" Kakuza yelled. "Show yourself or can't you face your opponent. Is all you can do is stab someone in the back, are you a coward!"

Sasuke stepped into the opening of the alley wiping the blade of his sword down with a scrape of Hidan's coat then tossing the scrape aside he sheathed it into the scabbard that he was holding in his hand.

"You have something that belongs to me," he stated coldly, little inflection in his voice.

"It seems like my friend here likes him," Kakuza stated getting to his feet to face the dark haired man.

Kisame dragged Naruto to his feet, placing him in front of him. "I do, he's quite pretty for a 'brid." He fondled the boy's genitals to show off just how much he liked the boy.

Sasuke felt a hot shard of rage but controlled his expression. He'd had years of practice at being an Uchiha and an Uchiha didn't show they cared to anyone. Repressing his need to charge and slaughter these two men, he took slow even steps towards them.

"Remove your hand from my property and leave."

"Ha! Did you hear that Kakuza? He wants us to leave. Tell you what," Kisame laughed, "how about you just stand there and watch while I fuck the virginity out of this boy and when I'm done then you can have the leftovers."

"This is you last warning, let the boy go and I'll let you live. Continue touching him, I'm going to spend the rest of the morning carving you into little pieces starting with your hands."

Both men just laughed and Kisame's hand trailed up the golden skin to pinch a nipple. Naruto released a whine from deep in his throat but otherwise showed no sign of really understanding what was happening. He was lock inside himself detached from reality. It was a defense mechanism that had engaged when the mind couldn't deal with what was happening to the body.

Sasuke looked into the glazed eyes, it was very similar to what had happened when he first captured the fox and it was beginning to worry the raven. A low snarl eased from his throat and he knew that he was going to enjoy what would happen next.

He focused his attention of the man not holding Naruto, and they had a stare down. Sasuke's lip curled into a sneer.

"You guys must be desperate if you can't even get laid without doing by force," he taunted in his cold, emotionless voice. "Picking on someone weaker and smaller than you. Such brave men hiding behind a child." Ice dripped from every syllable.

Kakuza wasn't a person who liked to be called a chicken. With a deep bellow, he rushed at the man while pulling a dagger from a sheath in his boot. He slashed at the black head, but was blocked by the scabbard of the sword. He snarled low then attacked again. But it didn't matter how he attacked, what movement he made, or how skillful he was; every thrust of the knife was blocked by the scabbard. The guy wasn't even fighting back.

Sasuke smiled but it wasn't a comforting or warm smile. It was cold and evil. He soon tired of the man in front of him. He felt an even greater urge to get to Naruto because the man holding him hadn't bee idle the whole time he was fighting. He'd been moving back and judging the distance to the roof and strategizing ways to escape with or without his prize.

With a shift of his foot, he swung the sword's scabbard, disabling Kakuza. Then before the man could even blink or acknowledge that he was disarmed, Sasuke slide the blade of his sword through the man's ribs and into his heart, stopping it permanently.

Kisame froze when he saw his partner fall. He'd felt that Kakuza's skill with the knife was legendary and he'd be able to dispatch of this obstacle. With more than a little trepidation he looked with new eyes at the man standing over his friend. The guy's eyes were blood red and something swirled in their depths. He was even smiling and Kisame hadn't felt his blood freeze like it did since he was a kid watching his father kill his mother then turning to him.

"I'm giving you one last warning. Let the boy go and I'll let you live."

Kisame shuddered at the emptiness of the voice. He swallowed thickly. The knife he'd used to cut the clothing from the fox was clenched in his fist and he held it to the kid's throat. The blade slicing a thin line into the flesh and a trickle of blood slid down Naruto's throat and over his collar bone.

Sasuke watched dispassionately as the red drop paused on the curve of Naruto's clavicle and pool for a second before continuing its journey. He's jaw clenched briefly and his eyes narrowed even further.

"I don't think that you have any leverage here," he said to the raven. He felt a smidgeon of bravery shore up his courage as he spoke these words. He had the upper hand with having a hostage that the man in front of him wanted so badly. "So what you are going to do is move to the side of the alley, and you aren't going to try anything stupid while I leave. Otherwise this little 'brid is going to end up with an extra wide smile in the wrong place."

Sasuke didn't move. If he did, he probably wouldn't see the fox alive again.

"Move it now," yelled Kisame.

Sasuke shook his head. "No."

"Fine, have it your way," he said in the same tone of voice as the man used to deny him. He tightened his grip on his knife and began to move his arm in a sideways slicing motion. Then he felt a burning sensation low in his abdomen. Looking down he saw a blade piercing him, just narrowly missing the fox that he held in front of him. Numbness seeped into his body and his hands lost their grip of the knife. Dimly, he felt the blade being retracted and his body falling limply to the dirty, urine smelling street. Standing above him was a white haired man that would look like an angel, if it wasn't for the one red eye that stared back at him. Then nothing.

Sasuke rushed forward, to grab Naruto before he hit the street. A whining, whimper left the boys throat, a low keening barely heard that pieced the raven's cold exterior as it continued. He checked the boy over, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to swipe at the blood on his throat and chest, and finding the slice in his hip and cleaning the blood from that as best he could.

A bundle of cloth appeared in from of his face and startled he looked up at Kakashi. The man's eye was hidden once more and a solemn blue eyes gazed at him. Sasuke looked at the cloth and began to see that it was a shirt. He took the bundle with a nod of thanks and pulling Naruto he tried to get the shirt onto the naked body. It was awkward and finally with Kakashi's help, they were able to get the shirt into place and buttoned.

Light footsteps sounded from behind them and he glanced around to see the rest of the search part arriving. Kiba and his dog, Akamaru, Shino, Kotetsu, Izumo, and even Konohamaru with his uncle, Asuma.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted then turned his attention once more to the fox.

"What Sasuke means to say," Kakashi said with a small smile, "is 'thank you all for your help tonight. I wouldn't have been able to find the young fox on my own and I appreciated every one for you generosity in helping. I will be sending you all a reward in the near future.'"

Sasuke looked up at Kakashi at this last part and glared, silently willing the man to die on the spot. Then giving up because the man didn't disintegrate into a million particles, he nodded to the group in agreement.

"Thank you," he said and left it at that. Shino stepped forward and began to shrug out of his long coat. Sasuke watched in interest as a slender, though muscular body emerged from the depths of the jacket. It wasn't a sexual interest but more of an observational interest. Shino didn't go anywhere without the coat and everyone that he knew had speculated as to what the man looked like underneath. He smile sardonically as Kiba moved up, staking his claim on the man. The 'brid glared at Sasuke but couldn't do more than that.

"It covers more, and it looks like he needs it to ward off the shock that he's feeling. Perhaps it would be best to take him to see Hana?" Shino commented relinquishing the coat.

"Thank you, Shino. And I think that maybe you're right. I don't know what they did to him before I arrived so I need to make sure that there wasn't any more damage to the body." Sasuke pulled the coat around the kit but didn't try to get his arms through the sleeves. Gathering the boy into his arms, Sasuke began to walk and the group with him. It seemed that they all wanted to make sure that the fox in his arms was going to be alright.

It wasn't a quick trip to Hana's clinic, since the place was all the way across town. Hana was Kiba's sister. Her master had taught her everything he knew about being a veterinarian and he'd set her up with her own little place. She was one of the best 'brid veterinarians in the Fire Nation. Many of the more prominent members of society brought their 'brid to her to be looked after.

Sasuke entered the rather non-descript building and frowned at the customers already lined up around the room. He should have known that the place would be packed even at this early in the morning. Approaching the reception desk, he was greeted with a smile by a elderly 'brid. The woman was of the dog variety and by the look of her she was probably Kiba and Hana's mother.

"Uchiha-sama, what can we do for you today?" the low gruff voice said.

"I need Hana to take a look at Naruto."

"Oh, what 'brid is he?"

"Fox."

"And how old is he?"

"Nineteen, I think."

The woman looked up at him in question. "You think? You don't know when he was born?"

"No, I captured him about a week ago."

She frowned at him then made a note on the form that she had been filling out. "Is he going to need his shots and other vaccinations? Has he gone through his first heat yet? From the smell, I would say that he's in the first stages of heat."

Sasuke was startled by this news. He looked around at Kiba who nodded his agreement. Shit! Sasuke thought. He didn't know the first thing about taking care of a 'brid during their heat. He didn't know what to expect and was slightly ashamed that he was going to have to ask Hana about it. He'd been capturing the 'brid for most of his adult life, he even had one in his home, but he'd never thought to ask about Iruka's heat to find out if the man was alright. All he really knew is that Iruka would disappear for the duration of it. Was he in pain, how was he able to find someone to help take care of it? These were all questions that he should know the answer to and yet didn't.

"This would be his first heat." Sasuke answered.

The woman nodded then motioned towards the chairs.

"Take a seat and Hana will help you when she's able to."

Sasuke shuffled over to a corner seat and sat holding Naruto's still limp body against his. The rest of the group took up the few remaining seats and those that didn't lounged against the walls. A few of the patrons were intimidated by the extra people who really didn't have any business being there and got up to leave, making new appointments at later dates. Sasuke smirked and made a note to add a bonus to the reward for helping to get him in to see Hana sooner rather than later.

During the half hour that they sat there, Naruto didn't even twitch, not even when his stomach began to growl from lack of food. Sasuke looked down once. The big blue eyes were looking unseeingly up at the ceiling. Sasuke held the boy a little tighter despite the ache that was burning in his arms from fatigue for holding Naruto as long as he had but he wasn't about to put the boy down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch up to you in time, Naruto," Sasuke said lowly so that no one else could hear. "I should have explained the reasons why you couldn't go out on your own better, made you understand. But I figured that just telling you 'no' would be enough. I didn't expect you to defy me."

"Sasuke?" a female voice called from the open door way.

Looking up, Sasuke noticed that everyone but their group had left. Standing, he began to follow Hana back to the exam rooms before stopping.

"No," he stated firmly. "You can all wait out here. Naruto doesn't need an audience in there and neither do I." He gave everyone a firm look and they all backed down to settle once more into their various chairs and walls. Rolling his eyes, he continued to follow Hana to their room.

"If you will just put him on the table…" Hana said.

Sasuke lowered Naruto to the table only to paused when arms came up to wrap around his neck and a head buried itself into his chest, the pitiful keen coming once more from Naruto's throat. He looked up at Hana as she watched with a frown on her face. Picking Naruto up once more, he turned a sat on the table holding the boy. The whine stopped and Sasuke breathed out in relief.

"What happened to him?" Hana asked, concern showing in her voice.

"He ran away yesterday and was attacked. The men planned to rape him, but I was able to stop them although I don't know how far they got during their actual plans."

Hana nodded, and then proceeded to examine Naruto. She cleaned the cuts thoroughly but said that they weren't deep enough to worry about bandaging so left them alone. She looked at Sasuke when she was done with those small tasks.

"I'm going to have to examine him rectally to see if there is indeed any damage," she began and Sasuke could see immediately what she meant.

Thinking quickly, Sasuke moved up to sit sideways on the table. Naruto thought that he was leaving him and wrapped his arms around Sasuke's waist. They were able to maneuver the fox around so that he was lying on his stomach with his head in Sasuke lap, but the whimpering had begun again but didn't subside this time.

Through out Hana's examination the whimpering continued, rising when Hana had to do the rectal exam but otherwise just a maintained low wounded sound. When she was done, Sasuke once more gathered the fox into his arms. He no longer cared if someone found it distasteful; he needed the sounds that Naruto was making to stop. Nor did he care about his reputation as an Uchiha; he pressed his own face into the fox's shoulder and breathed in the earthy scent, taking comfort from the warmth of the boy in his arms.

Hana watched them for a moment with a warm look in her gaze. It had been a long time since she'd seen two people who were more than right for each other. They seemed to be the opposites, dark and light. And the Uchiha was very protective towards the fox. She couldn't judge the fox's personality because he was still too traumatized by what had taken place but she bet that he was energetic and playful.

"There is some minor tearing around his anus, but it doesn't look like they were able to penetrate him. Other than the cuts and a few bruises, physically he is fine. I would give him a few days to recover mentally, but I don't think that there is anything that rest and some care won't take care of.

"However, he is in the first stages of his heat, in three days time it will be a full blown heat. I'm guessing that this is his first?"

Sasuke nodded.

"In that case, I would suggest that you find him a partner quickly. The first is always the worst, because he doesn't know what its like. If he were with his family and in the wild, they would already have picked a mate for him, someone older and more experienced to see him through it. Then afterwards they would find him a more permanent mate."

"What do I need to expect?" Sasuke asked, blushing a little.

"What do you mean?"

"I…I don't know the first thing about a 'brid going through their heat. Is there something that I should be aware of, odd behaviors, cravings, thing that are out of the ordinary?"

Hana smiled widely suppressing her laugh because she didn't think that the young man sitting there holding the fox would appreciate it. "Other that an almost uncontrollable need to procreate?" She asked, and watched as Sasuke's eyes met hers in a flare of anger. "He will feel hot, sometimes panting to try and cool down. It might be a good idea for him to take cool showers or baths frequently. During the actual heat and mating, he won't feel like eating, so before it actually happens several meals that are high in protein are recommended. He might even start to rub against things…walls, furniture, maybe even people…"

"What do you mean by rub against…things?" Sasuke questioned.

"Well…um, have you ever seen a cat, not a 'brid, in heat. They rub their bodies against the furniture, nuzzling. I would say that Naruto will feel the need for more touch, so maybe petting him a lot will help control those urges."

"So he needs to eat more meat, be petted more, and have a lot of cold showers. What about finding him a mate? Do you have any recommendations?"

"Nara-sama has a female fox. I also heard about one in the Wind country, but if would take far too long to reach there. It would be torture for the boy to endure a heat that long, so I don't recommend going there now. So, Nara's fox is the best recommendation that I can give."

Sasuke knew exactly who, Hana was talking about. He'd been on the hunt last year when they'd taken the male and female fox. The female had been sold to Nara while the male had been shipped to Suna. A captain over there had purchased him.

He'd take Naruto home and then call on Nara so see if he could arrange something. He left the exam room with Naruto once more carried in his arms and went to reassure the rest of the group that the boy would be fine. Kakashi and Shino said that they would come over for a visit next week and the rest expressed their wishes for a speedy recovery for the boy.

*** ***

"I'm sorry, Uchiha," Shikamaru Nara was saying.

Sasuke had dropped Naruto off in his room, leaving him in Hinata's and Iruka's care. The older man relieved that the boy was safe, and the cat worried once more about the fox's health. He'd avoided Itachi who had been lying in wait for his younger brother, by going out the window.

Now he was sitting in Shikamaru's living room trying to convince the man to allow Naruto and his female to mate. Shikamaru's brown gaze looked at him steadily. He'd known as soon as he opened the door why Sasuke was paying a call on him. He'd immediately shook his head.

"Temari already has a permanent mate and he won't share."

"But…"

"Look," Shikamaru sat forward, "I'm going to be very blunt. I'm her mate, man. It wasn't planned but it happened. I won't share. If you need a mate then you will have to find a different one, or…" Shikamaru paused his hands folding into a circle and pressing to his upper lip as he assessed the man before him.

"…Or?" Sasuke pressed.

"…or mate him yourself."

Sasuke sat back on the couch and just looked at the pineapple headed man. It was one thing to think about mating Naruto, but quite different from having someone suggest it.

"It's a unique experience," Shikamaru continued, "and very arousing. I can see now why people go to the bordellos. A 'brid in heat is…well, it stimulating. They can last longer than a human, their stronger…I won't go into that, but the climax is a hundred times more powerful than having one with a human."

"I don't need to hear this," Sasuke muttered standing up. "I'm an Uchiha for Kami's sake."

"What does that have to do with it?" Shikamaru asked. "I'm a Nara, but I still love Temari."

Sasuke shook his head and headed for the door. Nara certainly didn't understand about being under pressure from his family. If he gave into his urges, he would be no better that the low class people that went to the bordellos. Uchiha's were the example, they were the ones people looked up to, judged.

Walking along the road back to the compound, he looked around, noticing things that he hadn't paid much attention to. Human's and 'brids were wandering around some of them holding hands. Not just humans with humans, but human's with 'brids, and 'brids with 'brids (human escort trailing slightly behind). He frowned when he saw a young man pull his female companion into a kiss, she was a mouse hybid. He crossed over a bridge and saw a male cat and a human girl under a cherry tree on a blanket talking and just enjoying being together. He saw the girl blush as something the cat said then leaned forward to give him a hug.

As he watched, questions began to form. If the Uchiha's were the example, then why was it that everyone didn't followed their example. They didn't seem to be embarrassed about being together, or even sexually involved. The other citizens didn't look back at them with disgust or anger. To them it was just common everyday life.

The closer he got to home he noticed a different sight. A young dog 'brid was trailing behind a woman, fear etched onto his face. When the woman looked back, he ducked into an alleyway. Frowning he paused to watch the woman's shoulder fall before she turned away and continued up the road, turning into a well groomed yard. She made a show of locking the gate then looking back at the alley from where the dog peaked with regret. The man wilted on the spot and slid down the wall crying into his arms. The last thing Sasuke saw before the woman turned away was the tears in her eyes. She had obviously turned the 'brid out because of Madara.

He'd almost reached his home when he heard a low whimpering coming from an alley. It sounded enough like Naruto that he had to look. Entering the alley, he approached a huddled figure towards the back, hiding in the shadows. As he approached what he saw had him inhaling sharply. It was a small kitten, she wasn't even a full grown cat, but she'd been beaten badly. At the sound, the kitten looked up with terrified grey eyes. With a small cry, she scuttled even further back trying to hide in the shadows.

"Wait," Sasuke said lowly, trying to convey safety in his voice. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"No, please, no more!" the small voice cried. The kitten had hair as dark as Hinata's, but the eyes were a dark grey and were huge on her small face.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Where is your master?"

"I—I don't have one anymore. She said that having a 'brid was dirty and said that I had to go. She just opened the door and t—told me to l—leave!" the girl sobbed.

"What happened to you?" Sasuke asked crouching down but leaving enough room so that the girl didn't feel threatened anymore than she was by his presence.

"A man found me. He said that he'd be my new master an—and I was happy, so I went with him. He hurt me…" she whispered.

"I want you to come with me…"

"No!" the girl cried out. "Please, I don't want to be h—hurt anymore."

"I won't hurt you, but you can't stay here. What…what if the man comes back?"

Her wide eyes got impossibly larger and she began to tremble in fear.

"I'm not going to touch you, and I certainly won't hurt you. I just need to get you to my house, you don't even have to enter it, just be outside. I want to call a friend…a female friend. She'll come and get you and be your new master."

The child wasn't completely lost in her fear, or so mentally traumatized that she wouldn't recover in time because she finally nodded.

Sasuke sent a message by Iruka to Ino telling her what had happened and what he wanted her to do. She arrived in short order and immediately took pity on the small kitten. Ino cooed over the little cat before bundling her into a warm blanket and taking her to see Hana.

Sasuke made an abrupt and probably detrimental decision.

A/N: WHOOO! An update my young aspiring writers and readers! Well, I hope that you enjoyed it. I'd apologize for the sporadic updates, but it won't change the fact that all the rest of the chapters will be intermittently updated. please leave a review! The more reviews the more I want to update so the sooner you get the next part of the story. this story isn't beta'd and if I proof read then it will take longer to put the update out! So please forgive the errors, yes i know that there are some...

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Disclaimer: Yes, I'm putting it at the end. I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, and i do not make money from this story...However if you are interested in other yaoi stories not Naruto you can visit my site at: .com.

Thank you and Goodnight!!!!