Summary: Uchiha Sasuke isn't someone Naruto would want to spend the rest of his life with - especially since his life as a fox demon won't end anytime soon. Too bad that his wishes don't matter to Sasuke; since suicide is obviously out of question, only one option remains...

Warnings: male slash, yaoi, lemons, some violence, cursing, minor character bashing (Kagome)

Author's note: This chapter has been beta'd by 'XxDreaming of RealityxX'

Disclaimer: don't own anything T.T

"Talking"

"Demon talking"

'Thinking'

'Inner demon'

Dreams/ flashbacks

Chapter 7: Not his best idea

Sighing in exasperation, he answered: "The old dog doesn't have a say in these things, you stupid girl. He's not on the council and he's not the Lord of these Lands. What can he possibly do? He holds very little sway over Sesshomaru-sama's decisions and he is the one who has to approve in the end."

For another countless time since he had left the safety of the Western palace, Naruto was running. From yet another angry hoard of human villagers with torches, pitchforks and other pointy objects. Jumping from tree to tree he laughed gleefully as the maddened mob triggered yet another of his prank traps. He loved the screams of anger they let out as they were covered in glue and colorful feathers.

Kami, he was having a lot of fun on his little trip through Edo. Though, admittedly, he was missing the company of his grandfather and that of others he really didn't want to think about even a little bit, still it had been the right decision to leave the west. No potential mates, or rather rabid stalkers, anywhere in sight, he didn't have to hide all the time and most importantly there was no Sesshomaru. But even with all of that, he still couldn't truly convince himself of that fact. His inner demon was really getting on his nerves.

'You shouldn't have left because of something like that.' It commented every time Naruto so much as thought about the stupid bastard.

'Oh, come on. Not that again.' he thought, exasperated.

'Yes, that again. You didn't even let him explain.'

'Kami. Are you stupid? What the fuck is there left to explain? The situation was quite clear. He basically said that we are not good enough for him because we are immature and stupid,' Naruto replied bitterly.

'That's not what he said!'

'Oh, come on. Stop trying to defend him. You're my inner demon. Shouldn't you be on my side here? So he wouldn't want to mate with us, big deal. I don't care. We hadn't wanted to mate anyway, not after all that shit that has happened with Sasuke- at least not for quite some time still.'

'You're such a bad liar. You're just saying that because he hurt your pride.'

'Oh, he hurt more than just my pride as you know. Now, would you please shut up about it already? That topic is finished. I don't want to hear it anymore.' Naruto finally snapped. He was really not in the mood to argue with himself, when he was having so much fun. Or at least trying to. It was more of a welcome distraction; he could at least admit that much to himself. No time to worry about heartless bastards when he was kind of busy trying to escape a mob of angry people screaming for his blood.

Pranking the unsuspecting human inhabitants of Edo was not really a challenge for Naruto and his superb skills in all things to do with pranks, but he still had a lot of fun. When Naruto had left Sesshomaru's palace to travel this new world he was a part of now, he had just wanted to travel around peacefully before making his way to the South. But then, after traveling through some human villages, he couldn't help but notice how the humans kept glaring at him for no reason. One second they behaved as if they were afraid that Naruto would attack them, eat their children or rape their women. But as soon as they believed him to be out of earshot they started whispering very rude and insulting things about him all the while glaring at his back.

So that was how Naruto came to the conclusion that the people of Edo were stupid racists and were in serious need of some painful lessons to cure them of their ignorance and intolerance towards other sentient beings. With that in mind, he got started on his pranking rampage and decided to keep it up until the very end of his journey. It was a welcoming distraction from the whole mating mess he couldn't get out of his head. Even though he told himself that he was far too young to mate. Fox demons mated for life and he was too young for a permanent commitment like that, he was barely mature after all. He really didn't need all that stress now, just after he finally got rid of Sasuke. He had many good and convincing arguments why leaving was for the best. Too bad he couldn't convince himself.

Tearing himself from his thoughts, Naruto finally came to a halt in a small clearing. He decided that he could finally stop running since he couldn't hear any more angry voices behind him. It seemed like he had once again been successful with his escape plan, not that much of a plan was needed to get away from a bunch of humans. It has been a good or rather brilliant prank, despite its simplicity, if he said so himself. He had spiked the villagers' water supply with some special herbs that turned your skin an ugly green color after consumption but were completely harmless besides that. The humans would have never known that it had been him who had pranked them, but he just couldn't resist the temptation of seeing the results of his wonderful work.

'Damn that fox demon gene. I don't even want to imagine how many of my ancestors ended up as a fur rug because they stayed to watch their pranks play out. That's gonna be the death of me one day.' Naruto thought in exasperation.

"Probably better not to think about it." His youkai commented.

Staying to watch his work come into fruition alone wouldn't have been a problem, however once Naruto saw the angry green faces of his unfortunate victims, he couldn't help but burst out laughing, inevitably drawing the attention of the irritated villagers. It had been a stupid thing to do, he knew, still their reactions had been too funny. Especially the face of that one girl, in a very short green skirt, had been absolutely hilarious.

Climbing into a huge tree, he decided to take a short nap before continuing his journey. Once more Naruto snickered remembering the angry screams of that scantily clad human girl.

'Hah. What a day.' The blond thought as he settled down on the biggest tree branch he could find, making himself comfortable before slipping into a, for once, peaceful sleep.

The young kitsune couldn't have been sleeping for very long when he was awoken by an impossibly shrill voice yelling:"There it is Inuyasha! That's the demon that had tried to poison Kaede's village. Get it, hurry, it's very fast."

'Huh?' was the only thing Naruto's sleepy mind could manage to think before he was forced to dodge an arrow that has been coming straight at him. His body had reacted on instinct, before his mind was able to understand what was happening, letting himself fall from the tree branch and onto the forest ground. Thank God for his shinobi training, even without being fully awake, his honed reflexes saved him from injury. Turning his body in midair he landed on his feet and instantly moved into a defensive position, looking around for the source of the attack.

Within seconds he had spotted is assailant. It seemed like the arrow had been shot by the same human girl he had encountered in the small human village he had pranked some time ago. Her skin still held that ugly shade green and it clashed quite horribly with the short, green skirt she was wearing.

This time, instead of the villagers, the girl was accompanied by a ragtag group of people: a monk, a female demon slayer, two demons and a half demon.

'A demon slayer and a monk in the company of demons, oh well, stranger things have happened,' Naruto thought randomly.

He was eying the group warily, trying to appraise the situation, when the half demon stepped forward, unsheathing his rusty, old sword. The same old sword that had looked as if it could break apart any moment transformed into a giant sword as it was unsheathed by its wielder. Now that was something Naruto hadn't been expecting.

Somehow he had the feeling he knew who that half demon was and that he was dangerous, but he just couldn't remember where he had heard of him.

Without so much as a warning, the hanyou attacked and Naruto had to duck to avoid being beheaded. The half breed was fast. Lucky for Naruto he wasn't fast enough to catch him, but he was still very fast. Naruto was pretty sure that without the rigorous shinobi training he had undergone as a child he would have lost his head, literally.

Meanwhile, Sesshomaru was in a foul mood. Naruto had really left the Western palace; he still couldn't believe it. No potential mate or lover had ever left him before. And now the only person whom he deemed worthy to be his mate and whom he didn't want to kill painfully after spending some time together, had left the palace, had left him. Mating season was approaching fast and he had only two options. He could either choose to mate with someone else, someone that was unworthy, or he could try something to get his fox anyway.

'That's it. I should have a talk with Lord Yuuki,' Sesshomaru thought, he had gotten an in his opinion brilliant, idea how he could still get Naruto to be his mate, 'A political mating arrangement would solve all of my problems. The council couldn't interfere without insulting Lord Yuuki and both, the West and the South, would benefit greatly from a union between the two of us.'

'And you think that Lord Yuuki will agree to that?' Sesshomaru's inner demon asked skeptically.

'Why wouldn't he? As the Lord of the South he should have the best interest of his country at heart. It is a great opportunity for both of our lands.'

'Yes. Great opportunity. Of course, I'm sure that's the reason why you're proposing it, not because that is the only way for you to preserve your pride. Only you would think that he cares more about his lands than for the only family member left he has left? His only grandson and heir. Are you stupid? Did you happen to forget the verbal beating he gave us after Naruto had left?'

'… I will still talk to him. There's nothing else that I can do. Or maybe you would prefer this Sesshomaru to mate with Kaoru, or perhaps another one of our charming guests?'

'I'd rather die than mate that stupid bitch. Even the most painful death would be preferable to an eternity in the company of that thing.'

'… . Indeed.' Sesshomaru shuddered in revulsion at that thought. That woman could never be compared to Naruto.

His idea was certainly worth a try he reminded himself as he went to find Lord Yuuki. He had to talk to the Lord of the South as soon as possible, seeing as the other lord planned to return to his own palace soon, without his grandson the old lord had no real reason to prolong his stay... Not one to waste time Sesshomaru made his way to the chambers the older demon still stayed in.

When he finally reached his destination, the doors of said chambers stood wide open and several servants were scurrying around, packing up and carrying the possessions of Lord Yuuki out of the rooms. It seemed the Lord of the South was truly preparing his leave.

Knocking on the door frame he entered without waiting for a reply, he was in a hurry and it was his palace after all. After he had entered the room he found Lord Yuuki talking with one of the guards that had accompanied him on his way to the West. As soon as the older demon lord noticed him he dismissed the guard and turned to look at Sesshomaru... The old lord was still angry, very angry at him; Sesshomaru could practically feel it in the air, though it had improved some since the last time the two of them had talked to each other. Or rather since Lord Yuuki had yelled at him. But still, he had to try to talk with the older demon.

"Lord Yuuki? Can I have a moment of your time?" The young inuyoukai asked, displaying a confidence he didn't truly feel.

"Follow me," Yuuki answered shortly and led Sesshomaru to the study that he had been provided with and which was connected to his chambers.

"What is it that you want from me, Lord Sesshomaru?" The kitsune lord asked coldly, narrowing his eyes at the other in suspicion.

"I wanted to talk to you about something of great importance before you return to the South. I have a proposal for you, Lord Yuuki, one that would benefit both our lands." Sesshomaru calmly replied, trying hard to ignore the glares the other lord sent his way.

"What kind of 'beneficial' proposal would that be?"

"I want to create a treaty between the West and the South."

"A treaty? What kind of treaty?

"A non-aggression pact and maybe a trade agreement. The relations between our lands have been tense for a long time now; there is a lot of room for improvement. It is time to let old aggressions go."

"That may be so, but why propose it now, just when I was about to leave? I've been staying here for quite some time and you've never approached me in this regard. Where's the catch? You want something in return, don't you? What is it?"

"…Naruto." Sesshomaru replied after a pause.

"What?" The old fox demon asked, believing that he had misheard the other man.

"Naruto, I want him to become my mate. None of candidates appeal to me, but that is not the case with your grandson. And he was certainly attracted to me. It would be beneficial for both our lands. I..."

"So, let me get this straight. You want me to force Naruto, my only grandchild, to mate with you… for some kind of treaty? Mere weeks after I have found him. The only grandson of my beloved son, who I've learned, has been dead for some time. " The fox demon growled furiously, visibly suppressing the urge to kill something through the clenching his fists.

When the other lord said it like that it didn't sound like such a good idea anymore. He should have put more thought into it. He should have worded his proposal with more care. Now he had to see it through.

"Do you want to know why my son had left our world?" Yuuki asked, noticeably fighting with his composure.

"…"

"My son Kyuubi and Naruto have a lot in common, you know. Their characters are very similar. Just like his grandfather, Naruto is a sensitive and mischievous child with a quick temper. Naruto would never agree to an arranged mating. I have made that mistake once, I won't repeat it. Before Kyuubi disappeared I had wanted him to mate with the daughter of the Lord of the East as part of a peace treaty between our lands. He begged me not to force him to mate someone he didn't love and because I refused he left. It wasn't even an important treaty; my lands would have flourished just as well without it. They did flourish without it, but it still cost me my son. I'm sure that it will be the same thing with Naruto. He won't let himself be forced into anything; he's too much of a free spirit. And who am I to ask something like that from a child that I have only just met? I may be his grandfather, but my being Kyuubi's father hasn't stopped him from leaving, has it? I won't lose the last of my family because you believe an apology to be beneath you... If my grandson chooses to mate with you of his own free will, it is his choice only, I won't stop him. But I won't move a single finger to help you to regain his favor," The fox demon explained, his voice growing colder with every word. Then he left, leaving Sesshomaru to his thoughts.

He had been standing motionless, in the same for a long time, thinking hard and trying to come up with an alternative plan of action, when his grandfather found him.

"He left," Rei Inu said grumpily, obviously displeased.

"Who left?" the young lord asked absentmindedly.

"Yuuki"

"… ."

"For Kami's sake, Sesshomaru, why don't you just go looking for him? It shouldn't take too long to find him Talk to him, apologize to him and explain yourself. Grovel a bit if necessary. He'll give you another chance, I'm sure," the old dog demon sighed.

"… . I can't just leave."

"Why not? You've never had a problem with that before."

"… .I"

"Stop making excuses, Sesshomaru."

"Making excuses? I'm not making excuses. This whole situation is your fault to begin with, so stop treating me like a child." The young lord snapped, having enough of his grandfather's attitude.

"My fault?" Rei Inu asked, taken aback.

"Yes. Your fault! You just had to start that conversation in front of Kaori. Without you I wouldn't have had to say such things!"

"What's that got to do with anything? I've put no words in your mouth."

"No. But you gave me no other choice. The council had made it nearly impossible for me to spend some time with Naruto. Somehow they got wind of our improved relationship. Kaori would have reported everything I told you to the council. They would have done everything to destroy our relationship."

"They've been interfering?"

"Of course they were. They are a manipulative lot, they have always been. What did you expect?"

"I didn't know that."

"Yes, you were far too busy panting after Lord Yuuki to notice what has been going on around you."

"So leave, go after Naruto. Apologize." Rei Inu repeated.

Sesshomaru didn't reply. Then the older demon noticed the complicated expression on his grandsons face. Had he been anyone else he would have missed it. But watching his grandchild grow gave him a better insight into Sesshomaru's range of facial expressions.

"There's another reason why you are so reluctant, isn't it? The things he said have hurt your feelings."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Sesshomaru denied stiffly.

In situations like this, Rei Inu felt an overwhelming hatred for Sesshomaru's mother. The cold bitch has done a lot of damage to his grandchild. It was her fault that the boy couldn't really deal with emotions, neither his own nor those of other people.

"You do. You've taken his words to heart."

"Don't be ridiculous grandfather. I have done no such thing."

"Who are you trying to convince, Sesshomaru? Me or yourself? He asked patiently.

"…"

"He didn't mean what he said to you, child. He was hurt so he lashed out. He's the first person you've shown any interest in.

"The council won't let me go…."

"Fuck the council" The older demon snapped, he was slowly getting tired of this conversation with Sesshomaru. The boy was too stubborn for his own good.

"Grandfather!" The young lord protested.

"What? I won't see my grandson mating with someone he detests, you will go looking for Naruto! If I have to kick you out of the palace, I will!"

"-I..."

"I'll cover for you. And I'll keep an eye on Rin."

"Thank you," Sesshomaru finally relented.

"Go on then. You better hurry. You don't want the old bags to get wind of your plan. "

His grandfather was right, the young lord finally decided. Finding Naruto and talking to him was his only chance to make things right. He didn't want look back someday and regret that he had let the kitsune go. He hadn't been acting like himself, being so hesitant and emotional. Moping was beneath him, but that was over now. He was Lord Sesshomaru, he always got what he wanted and nothing would stop him from achieving his goal.

Issuing a short goodbye at his grandfather he hurried to his rooms to prepare his leave.

Naruto couldn't remember a time when he had been more grateful for his shinobi training. He and his hanyou opponent have been going at each other for nearly an hour now. And there was still no end in sight. They were pretty much evenly matched.

'Damn, that guy sure is scary,' Naruto thought amazed, narrowly avoiding to be cut in half by the giant sword of his opponent.

'And let's not forget his huge sword. That thing is unreal; it's bigger than its wielder. And I thought Samehada was huge. One hit with that 'Wind scar' of his and I'll meet my ancestors, that's for sure,' the young fox demon cursed inwardly.

'We're too handsome to die!' His inner demon commented as he avoided another attack that ripped a giant hole into the forest when it missed him.

'Would you shut up, I'm trying to save our ass.' Naruto screamed at his youkai.

Until now the fight had been very balanced. Though it was clear to him that the hanyou was physically stronger than Naruto, they were able to fight on even ground due to Naruto's superior speed. Of course Naruto was at a disadvantage since he didn't want to kill the half demon. Killing was never something he liked to do.

'I knew all that running from angry prank victims would save my ass someday.' The blond thought as he used kawamari to avoid yet another 'Wind Scar'.

"Stand still, DAMN IT!" The half-demon yelled, getting frustrated that the younger demon was able to avoid all of his attacks so far.

"Sorry, but I'm kind of attached to living." The blonde answered dully.

The hanyou growled at that seemingly careless remark. He was slowly getting tired. The fight was tiring him out more than it did his opponent since the blond kept on dodging, never attacking Inuyasha himself. It was rather strange. Kagome had told him that the boy had tried to poison the people of Kaede's village so why wouldn't he fight back? It made absolutely no sense. Why poison a bunch of humans but avoid using deadly force in a fight for his life?

He attacked once again and once again the blond dodged, but this time Inuyasha's friends attacked as well and when he dodged Sango's boomerang and Kagome's arrow Inuyasha finally saw his chance. He attacked while the other demon was distracted and was finally able to pin the blonde to the forest ground with Tessaiga. The weight of giant sword really came in handy in situations like this.

The blond kept struggling until Inuyasha let out an angry growl. Hearing the growl the young demon stopped moving on instinct, bearing his throat in submission.

'Works every time,' Inuyasha thought smirking.

"Now," the half demon spoke slowly,"Who are you? And why were you trying to poison that village?"

'Poison?' Naruto thought, astonished by that accusation.

"I didn't try to poison anyone!" Naruto protested angrily.

"Lair!" the strange girl in the overly short skirt yelled in a shrill voice.

"Are you fucking stupid?" Naruto yelled back.

"Shut the hell up! Tell the truth, or I'll make you a head shorter!" The hanyou barked.

"I am!"

"Yeah? Well then, why don't you tell me why all of the villagers suddenly turned green after they drank some water from the well in the village?"

"Yes. They turned green, or rather their skin did, but they didn't die, did they?" The blond said bluntly, he was really pissed now.

"…"

"Why would you turn their skin green?" The monk asked, bewildered while the hanyou seemed to be deep in thoughts.

"You're a kitsune, aren't ya?" The half demon finally asked, though he didn't really need an answer to that question since the blonde's scent had already confirmed his suspicion.

"Yes, I am." The blond said in an 'are-you-stupid'-voice.

"Oh," was the hanyou's intelligent response.

Then, finally, he let go of the fox demon. Dusting themselves off, both, Naruto and the hanyou got back to their feet.

"Inuyasha! What are you doing? Aren't you going to kill it for what it tried to do?" The girl whined.

"I'm a guy not an it, in case you didn't notice." Naruto mumbled as he tried to straighten out his wrinkled clothes. It was a hopeless case; really, his clothing had taken some damage due to some close calls with Inuyasha's claws.

"No. I'm letting him go." The half demon responded as he sheathed his sword.

"What?! Why?!" The girl screeched.

Naruto couldn't suppress a wince at her grating voice and he was not the only one.

"He's a fox demon," The hanyou answered shortly.

"What does it matter? Why do you care? He still tied to poison me!"

"Kagome. I don't think he was trying to poison anyone," the demon slayer explained patiently," he's a kitsune. They are known for being pranksters. You should know that, Shippo is a kitsune too. Since no one actually died it's obvious that it was just a prank."

"It turned my skin green!" The girl whined.

"For the last time, I'm a guy! How would you like being called 'it'? And I thing you look rather charming like that. Besides, it's certainly seems to be an improvement and it distracts people from you horrid personality." Naruto snarled.

"How dare you? You've ruined my beautiful complexion."

"Can't ruin something that doesn't exist. It's a prank and it's only temporary. Really, some unfortunate cosmetic changes are no reason to kill someone!"

You're a demon. That's reason enough!" Kagome replied viciously.

"Kagome!" The monk exclaimed, outraged.

"What?"

"Oh, I don't know. Say, you do realize that two of your companions are demons and one is a half demon," Naruto asked in a tone that one would use to speak to someone mentally challenged. .

"That's different!"

"How is that any different? They're demons, too. One of them is a kitsune, even."

"They're not evil!" She exclaimed with conviction.

"I'm not evil either!" Naruto snarled at the clueless girl.

"You turned my skin green!" She shouted as if it was a crime punishable by death.

"It was a joke, for kami's sake!" The blond answered, rolling his eyes at her childishness.

"It's not funny!" She said huffing, stomping her foot angrily.

"Well, for you it's not. For me it's hilarious. You should have seen your face!" Naruto replied, chuckling in amusement at the memory.

"Inuyasha! Do something! Don't let him laugh at me!"

"Why? It's true. Your face was hilarious!" The hanyou confirmed grinning.

"Inuyasha… OSUWARI;SIT BOY!" Kagome screeched.

The moment she finished her command the necklace around Inuyasha neck glowed and painfully slammed the hanyou face first into the ground, leaving a small crater in his wake.

'Sit? Holy shit! What the fuck is that?' Naruto thought bewildered.

"What was that for, you stupid wench?" The half demon snarled as he climbed out of the hole his body produced.

"For being mean, obviously!" She huffed exasperated, as if the half demon should have already known that.

"Are you fucking stupid? What the hell are you doing? I thought you guys are friends, why the heck would you slam him into ground because of something like that?" Naruto asked disbelievingly.

"Oh, come of it. Of course we are friends. Besides Inuyasha is a half demon, it doesn't hurt him," Kagome said sounding as if she really believed that.

"Oh, well then it's okay them. Come on let's slam the half demon face first into the ground. It's ok, he doesn't feel it. And it's not humiliating for him at all…. You're even more stupid than you look. Just because he's a half demon doesn't mean he does not feel pain. Just because he heals fast doesn't mean its ok to hurt him."

"Well, he needs to learn some manners."

"Manners! That didn't have anything to do with that. You just didn't like what he was saying. You weren't teaching him any manners. And inflicting pain is no way to teach someone. He's not am animal. That's just plain abuse. You can't just hurt someone because he doesn't share your opinion. People like you are the worst!" Naruto ranted - the girl reminded him so much of Sakura in her fan girl days and it was pissing him of.

"…." It seemed he had rendered all of them speechless.

"We've never really looked at it that way," The demon slayer admitted shamefaced.

"… . Che. Let's go back to the village, I'm hungry." Inuyasha said, hoping to change the topic, not liking the direction the conversation had taken, "And you, kitsune, you'll come with us and fix this mess. What's your name by the way? I'm Inuyasha!"

"Naruto," the blonde answered absentmindedly.

'Now I remember where I have heard of him before. He's that bastard Sesshomaru's baby brother. Just my luck.' He thought wearily.

A bit shorter than the previous chapters, let's hope it's not a trend. Anyways, thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review!