Bloodlines

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto, nor do I make any money.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Bright light filtered through the curtains that hung over the windows, casting their light upon sun kissed hair and scarred cheeks. Cerulean eyes slowly cracked open, cursing the sun and the morning that it brought. They slid over to the window wondering why the sun was shinning so brightly at six o' clock in the morning, and it was not until they glanced at the clock did everything finally click.

“Shit!”

Naruto sat up quickly in the bed and threw the covers off the bed, scrambling to get some form of clothing on. After finally pulling some old jeans and a shirt on, he flew down the steps. He made a quick pit stop in the kitchen to grab a muffin before running out to the track where a grey Thoroughbred was cantering around the track.

“Sorry I'm late.” He said gasping for breath.

Jiraiya turned to look at him, “Hello Sunshine, glad to see you up.”

Naruto scowled, “What horses needed exercising today?”

“None for you,” Came the answer, “Sakura mentioned that you have tests this week, so Iruka wants you to study for them. Lee can handle the exercising in the morning; most of them just need an open gallop (1), besides, that is what we pay him to do. Now go.”

The blond trudged back up to the bunkhouse where Gaara was pouring some tea into a cup, “You sounded like an elephant going down the steps this morning.”

“Sorry ‘bout that Gaara, I forgot that I could sleep in this morning.” He stopped, “Were you here when I ran outside?”

Gaara nodded his head as he took a seat and read over the morning’s paper, sipping at the hot tea. “I didn’t bother to stop you since you seemed so determined to get outside.”

Naruto moved around the kitchen table, scowling at Gaara before he dropped some bread into the toaster, and then went off to find his books so he could study while he ate. For the sake of his sanity, he took almost all his classes online, except for one night class that met on Tuesday nights. The online classes permitted him to balance his racing and school rather nicely; provided he remembered to take a quiz or test.

The sound of the toaster drew him back to the kitchen where he dropped his books on the table, then moved to grab the toast. After he put some jelly on top, he carried the plate back, sat down, and began the boring task of studying for his Moral Issue's test. He glanced up at Gaara who was still reading the paper and frowned at him.

“I hate you.”

“Why?”

“’Cause you clept out of everything.” He answered.

Gaara let a small smile cross his face, “That's because I actually studied when I was younger instead of rebelling.”

Naruto grumbled out a reply before the door burst open, blinding the two and a green clad figure appeared in the doorway.

“Good morning my youthful friends!”

“Augh, not the person I want to be dealing with right now.” Naruto said and dropped his head on the table.

“What has you so down on this beautiful spring day?”

Naruto lifted his head, and his eyes met with round eyes with thick eyebrows and black hair, “Please not now Lee. I have my Moral Issue's test today and I don't wanna take it.” He whined.

The energetic teen flashed him a smile, “Then I shall help you study for it.”

“No.” Came the quick response, “I, uh, study better when I'm by myself.” He threw a pleading look to Gaara, begging for some way out.

“Lee, don't you think Sakura needs some help with the horses today?” Gaara questioned as he set the paper down. “She seemed tired this morning.”

Lee’s eyes lit up and he bounded to the door, “Good luck on your test later Naruto, maybe later we can study.”

The blonde-haired jockey let out a sigh of relief and picked up his books, deciding that it was probably a better idea to study in his room where others couldn't distract him. He thanked Gaara before heading back up the steps and to his room again.

After kicking some clothes off his desk chair and into a corner of the room, he sat down and started studying.

Only to be interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone.

He reached over and flipped the phone open without looking at the caller, and instantly regretted it.

“I heard you visited the Uchiha's facilities last night.”

“News travels fast.” He said tensely

“I found out last night and tried calling you then, you didn't answer.”

“I know; I saw that you were trying to call and put the phone on silent.” Naruto snapped, “What do you want anyway?”

“What did they offer?”

The blond snorted, “Nothing that would concern you, just a chance to ride for them if they're short handed.”

The voice on the other line was silent for a while and Naruto checked to make sure that he hadn't lost his signal when the voice spoke again. “You know that this jockey thing can't last forever, and what are you going to do when you can't ride anymore?”

Naruto's eyes flashed in annoyance, “I don't tell you how to run your life; so don't tell me.”

“I still have that position open for you if you ever change your mind. It would be wise if you took it now; it's a valuable spot that pays well.”

“Money can't buy happiness, and if you're working all the time, you can't spend it on anything to make you happy because you won't be able to enjoy it.” Naruto answered, “Look, I have a test to study for, so bye.”

He snapped the phone shut, not caring if the other person was going to say anything else, and pulled his arm back, ready to throw the phone when he remembered that if it broke, he would have to buy a new one. Instead, he picked up a small can that held his pencils and chunked it across the room, and then tossed the phone onto the bed, where it harmlessly bounced across the mattress before dropping to the floor.

Picking up his book, he flipped open to the dog-tagged page and started to read for a while, only finding it hard to concentrate after the conversation. With a sigh, he gathered his books up for the last time and marched out of the bunkhouse, ignoring Gaara who was working on the computer.

He found his way to Kyuubi's paddock where the horse where grazing contently in the sun. After jumping over the fence and leaning against it, he pulled out the book for the last time and began studying.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The nice thing about the library is the silence. Everything is quiet and when the noise level happens to get too loud those making the noise are kicked out. To make things better, the library offered small rooms where only one person was permitted at a time, allowing students the solitude to study without interruption.

These rooms were Sasuke's haven.

He had his iPod on, listening to random music while he worked on a paper, away from the girls who were trying to ask him on dates, and more importantly; his brother. He planned to stay in the library for as long as he could. This would put him home at a late hour and it would be rude to stop by Eclipse Estates. Besides, it wasn't as though he wasn't getting work done and just stalling, if his brother decided to use that to make his page visible. So far, he had finished his position paper for a class and was almost done coding a project in his computer class.

Ebony eyes scanned the computer screen in front of him and he saved the document before taking a break to check his email. They went wide when he saw that he had over fifty new emails and he wondered if they were from owners who needed a jockey for some races next week.

They weren't.

The mouse scrolled through the new emails, and his eyes quickly ran over the words that seemed to be repeating themselves over and over in all the messages. All of them had mentioned something to do with a cute picture.

‘He wouldn't.’

With dread filling his stomach, he clicked a link that was attached to the email and nearly let out a cry of rage, but he held it back by only by years of Uchiha practice. Instead, he ground his teeth together and quickly pulled up a website and typed in his user name and password.

‘Incorrect password.’

“That crazy, psychotic, bastard.” He growled.

He typed in another word that his brother might have used but only received the same message. After he ran out of idea's he tried the simplest change that his brother could have tried, by simply adding a number after the word, but after trying over twenty numbers, he gave up.

Shutting his computer, he packed his bag quickly and walked out of the library. He refused to let himself run, but nothing stopped him from peeling out of the school's parking lot and speeding all the way home. A short fifteen minutes later; it would have been ten if he hadn't been stuck behind that old man driving slow, he arrived home. Now he was furious, he hated it when people took their time on the highway, slowing him down.

He made his way through the large house to the second floor where his room was, along with his brothers. He wrenched the door open to his brother's room and found him by his computer with a family photo album sitting on the desk. His brother glanced at the computer screen and frowned.

“You should always knock before entering someone's room. I thought mother had taught you better.”

“Not when you go posting pictures on the internet of me.” Sasuke hissed.

Itachi finally looked up from his work, “But Sasuke, you looked so cute when you were a baby in your little bumble bee costume.” He held up the offending picture for his brother to see.

Sasuke moved forward, snatched the picture from his brother's hand and glared at him, and then the picture. He was barely thirteen months old when his mother dressed him in the bee costume and then went to a Halloween party at a friend’s house. Too young to remember the party, but everyone there was old enough to remember and they never let him live it down.

“I was still at school; that went against your threat.” He growled.

“Your test should have been finished about two hours ago, and you said that you wanted to ride Sanis today before you studied for a test tomorrow.”

“I was held up.”

Itachi smirked, "Stalling would be more like it, now go ride Sanis over to the Eclipse property and tell the blond you're sorry; otherwise, your friend lil’ pony will posted next to his friend the bee.” He held up another picture of him in a pony costume, clutching a stuffed horse with a wide smile plastered on his chubby cheeks.

The raven bit his tongue and simply left the room, slamming the door in the process.

Itachi put the pictures away and moved the album onto his bed, reminding himself to replace the book when he finished his work. He knew after this, Sasuke would seek out the pictures and destroy them, but he already had extra copies stashed away for more blackmail or embarrassing his brother when needed. After clearing his desk of the photo's he turned back to the computer and began to fill out racing paperwork.

It didn't take Sasuke long to catch, groom and tack Sanis, and he didn't try to stall either. He figured the best thing to do now was apologize and leave. His brother never said anything about small talk. So all too soon, Sanis was tacked and ready to go as he led her down to the east side of their property.

He had never been on the east side, finding it too thick with trees for his taste, especially when the summer months hit, bringing out the mosquitoes and other annoying bugs that liked to bite. Now however, he found that the far side of the woods was clearer than he originally thought, with most of the lower branches cut away or broken from previous riders. After deciding to let Sanis have a loose rein, he took the time to enjoy his surroundings, knowing that next week; he would poke through the wooded area more thoroughly. Birds chirped softly as they flew around, collecting twigs and moss for their nest, and squirrels chattered amidst the noise.

All too soon, he found himself crossing the wide stream. He had to coax Sanis through the water though, as she refused to put her hooves in the water; like some horses, she didn’t like to cross running water.
After finally getting her to cross, he fed her some carrot slices as a small reward, and then continued on his way. Black paddock fences soon came into view and he could see some horses grazing out in the afternoon sun. He could hear voices calling to each other and the squeal of a colt along with the thundering of hooves. Glancing towards the direction of the noise, he noticed two people in a ring with a chestnut horse that was prancing at the end of his lead line.

The raven directed Sanis towards the ring to get a better look, soon finding out that one of the bodies in the ring was the jockey he sought, but the other one he hadn’t met yet. Sanis let out a whinny as they approached and both heads glanced in his direction, and he silently cursed the mare.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Two hours after studying for his test, Naruto had finally taken his test, passing it with an 83, making him happy. After another hour studying for different test, he decided to take a break and continue his most recent project. Training Miso.

Miso was the last of Kyuubi’s father's; Demon's Treasure; offspring and he was finally old enough to be introduced to the track. He was already saddle broken and knew how to act under a rider, but he had never galloped on the track with other horses. Jiraiya was already at the stables checking over the horses from this morning, when he approached the trainer with his suggestion. After agreeing, they groomed the frisky colt and attached a lunge line so they could quiet him down. (2)

“Was Kyuubi this hard to train when he was younger?” Jiraiya huffed as he fought the rearing horse.

Naruto shrugged, “He almost always listens to me, and it was no different when he was younger.”

The white haired trainer tossed the lunge line at him, “You’re on your own kid.” He said, backing out of the ring. “I have some writing to do right now, so just take him on the galloping lanes to calm him down, and then we can try him on the track tomorrow morning.”

“Oh no,” Naruto said, “I’m not having Lee ride him on the track. Miso will kill him, and I can’t train in the morning because of my exams.”

A loud whinny interrupted their argument and he fought back a sigh as he led Miso to the railing where Sasuke had brought his mare to a stop.

“Can I help you Mr. Uchiha?”

The raven shifted uncomfortably, “I’msorryIattackedyouyesterday.” He muttered quickly.

“What?”

Sasuke sighed; this shouldn’t be so hard to do. “I’m sorry that I attacked you yesterday.” He finally said a little bit slower. “And if my brother calls, tell him I said that.”

Naruto blinked. Of all the things that he expected the raven to say, that was not it. But after realizing that he only came because of his brother, he felt slightly angry. He shrugged, “Its okay, you hit like a girl anyway.”

“What did you say?”

Naruto smiled as he led Miso out from the ring, “Nothing. I was just kidding.” He glanced at Sasuke who was still standing next to Sanis, glaring at him. “Um, I would give you a tour and all, but I need to gallop this guy for a while in the back.”

Sasuke shook his head, “It’s okay, I was just came by to say sorry.”

“Iruka would kill me if he found out that I didn’t show you around. After all, your brother did let us see your facilities.” He looked around Miso and spied Sakura, “Hey Sakura, want to give Sasuke a tour?”

Black eyes widened in horror, and he quickly shook his head no. “I really should get back, and Sanis would get bored.”

“You can let her rest in a paddock for a while.” Naruto answered, “Look, I really need to get going; he’s starting to get antsy.”

Before the other jockey could answer, he climbed onto Miso's back and tapped his sides with his heals, sending the chestnut away at a trot, leaving Sasuke alone with Sakura.

A grin spread across his face as he moved away from the rings, “I win bastard.” He said aloud.

Miso flicked his ears back towards Naruto, and then pricked forward again as the signal to canter came. The blonde-haired jockey waited for a little longer before cuing the horse to move into a gallop once they reached the galloping lanes at the back of the property.

As soon as Miso picked up to the gallop, Naruto knew that Kyuubi's father was his sire; no other horse that he knew had the easy rocking motion that the other horse had. It was passed down to all his offspring making them a pleasure to train and race. After letting the colt run down the lane, he led him to the empty track. Normally training was done in the morning, but Jiraiya wanted to wait until Naruto was finished with his exams before they started; he had a talent dealing with all of Demon's Treasure's foals and they responded well to him.

Demon's Treasure was one of the first horses that he groomed and trained when he first started out and he had a chance to ride him before he retired to stud three years ago. Kyuubi was his first offspring and was given to Naruto by Iruka as thanks since he helped to train the stallion when he first starting out and knowing that he would be big on the track. Ever since then Demon's Treasure produced several winners, but none with the talent of Kyuubi, who seemed to mimic his father in almost every way, and now Miso was following suit. It was sad to Naruto though since Miso was Demon's Treasure's last colt, the stallion had to be put down after catching an infectious equine virus.

When they were inside the track, he let the horse sniff around for a while as he took him around the long track at a steady jog. Once he seemed content on the track, Naruto signaled for a gallop, and the colt took off. Wind whipped up the red mane, causing tears to form in blue eyes as the strands attacked his eyes, but he crouched low and moved his hands up on Miso's neck, asking for more speed. Scenery blurred together as the asked speed was given and they came around the corner, making the jockey glanced down to check the horses legs.

A smile flicked over Naruto's face as he stood up in the stirrups, pulling the horse down from his fast-paced gallop. His coat was slightly wet with sweat as they left the track and began looking for Sakura so she could cool him out. They found her reading a book in the sun next to Sanis who was grazing contently.

“Where's the Uchiha?”

She shut the book and reached forward for Miso’s lead shank, “I left him talking to Iruka.”

Naruto thanked Sakura and then went in search of Iruka, hopping that he hadn't told Sasuke anything he didn't want him to know. He found them inside their second barn looking over their retired stock and the two horses that they used for trail riding. They looked up from their conversation and Iruka smiled at the blond.

“How was Miso?” he asked.

“Energetic as always” Naruto answered and leaned against the wall, glaring at a spot to the right of Sasuke's head

Sasuke held his glare for a moment before turning to Iruka, “Thank you for the tour and the chance to talk business, but I need to be getting back. I have tests to study for.”

He turned to leave when Iruka stopped him, “Naruto can go with you.”

“What?” They both asked.

“Well, you should always walk your guest out when they leave, so Naruto, you should walk Sasuke to his car.”

“He rode over here Iruka, I can walk him to his horse; Sanis, I think her name was.” Naruto argued while the raven quickly assured Iruka that he would be fine.

“Just take Trickster then Naruto, he needs the exercise.” Iruka said and the blond pulled him in close.

Blue eyes flashed, “Why are you doing this to me?” He whispered.

Iruka held the glare, “You did the same thing to Sasuke by sticking him with Sakura while you were out. And don't deny it.”

“He started it, apologizing because his brother made him, not because he was truthfully sorry.”

“So now I'm making you do the something against your will, congratulations, you're both even.” Came the answer.

“Fine.” Naruto slipped inside Trickster's stall and clipped a lead line on the horses halter then led him out. It didn't take long to groom him and slip a bridle in his mouth before he gestured to Sasuke, “Let's go get Sanis.”

Sasuke nodded to Iruka in one last thanks, and then moved after the blond. He eyed the horse that followed Naruto and noticed that it wasn't a Thoroughbred, but instead a Quarter Horse, the steeply slanting hindquarters giving the breed away quickly. The horse a light chocolate brown, with a darker brown mane and tail and two white socks on his back hooves, white whiskers were visible around his nose, but bright brown eyes showed him that even though the horse was older, he still had a lot of spirit left.

They reached Sanis and she greeted the raven eagerly, before he placed the tack on her back and mounted. He noted with interest that Naruto had chosen to ride bareback. “No saddle?” he asked.

Naruto nodded his head as he climbed onto the railing so he could mount onto the Quarter Horses back, allowing his legs to find a position that came natural to him. He sent Trickster off at a walk, Sanis following closely behind. The two road in silence for a while before the Thoroughbred became bored and broke into a trot, passing the other horse, causing him to snort in annoyance.

“So why do you have a Quarter Horse on a racing farm?” Sasuke asked as the bay caught up.

“Quarter Horses are technically race horses as well, they just race shorter distances, thus their name.” Naruto answered, signaling the horse to move into a canter, “Trickster is Iruka’s old horse that he used to ride, and we’ve raced him once or twice when he was younger.”

Silence settled between them for a while as they enjoyed the easy three beat rhythm that the canter provided. Behind them, the farm was slowly fading from sight as they moved further into the wooded area and the sound of the stream could be heard, allowing the two jockeys to slow their mounts down to a walk as they neared closer. Both horses pricked their ears at the sound of running water and Trickster picked up his pace to get closer to the stream so he could splash through it.

“How’d you get him to go through the stream so easily like that?” Sasuke asked amazed.

Naruto shrugged, “This is the thinnest and shallowest part of the river, if you start them at the smaller parts of the water, they become less afraid, especially if you don’t force them through. They have to want to cross it normally on their own accord.” He glanced at Sasuke’ horse, “Does Sanis not like water?”

“Just running water like this. Give her a bath and she could never be happier.”

“So how did you get her here?” He asked curiously.

Sasuke ignored the blond’s eyes, “I coaxed her and we went through some carrots.”

It was silent for a while making Sasuke look up at Naruto, wondering if he was laughing at him for not being able to get his horse to cross a little river easily. Instead, he noticed that Naruto was looking at Sanis with a questing look in his eyes before he looked back at him.

“Have you ever tried to pony her across?” He asked, “Sometimes that helps.”

He shook his head no and Naruto pushed Trickster forward. He leaned over, grabbed her reins, and then let his horse move back into the water again, where it barely covered his hooves and behind him,

Sanis followed with perked ears. She snorted and hesitated slightly but as Trickster continued, she decided once again to follow him and they made their way across the stream without any other problems.

When they reached the other side, Naruto released Sanis’s reins and Sasuke stared in amazement at his horse.

“There you go.” Naruto said, “Sometimes it helps when they have other horses to lean on, makes them feel more comfortable. Besides, it also helps if you have the confidence in them that they will be able to perform the task you ask them.”

“You make it sound like they are human and they know what we’re thinking. I know they’re smart, but they are just horses.”

Naruto shook his head and he turned Trickster around and drew him even with Sasuke until he could look him square in the eyes, “And that is why you will always lose to me.”

Ebony eyes hardened and held Naruto’s eyes, “Tell Iruka thanks for the tour and that I enjoyed the tour. He’s a nice guy.” He said stiffly.

“Yes he is; he’s like a father to me.” Naruto answered.

Sasuke nodded and tried to find the best way to word his next question, “So what about your father?"

Naruto's eyes hardened, “I don't like to talk about him.”

An uneasy silence filled the air before Naruto turned Trickster around, saying that he needed to get back to study for a test. Trickster broke out into a canter before Sasuke could say anything and the sound of hooves against the ground filled the air and it didn't take long for the two to vanish from sight. He turned Sanis around and let her trot back through the woods until the farm came into view and he slowed her down to a walk. She was already cooled down enough by the time they reached the foaling barn so he untacked her and led her to a paddock where she went to roll around in the cool grass.

Sasuke found his way back to the house as the sun started to set, casting its light on his back and creating a long shadow in front of him. Once inside he found his brother in the kitchen eating a salad and he glanced at him before going into the refrigerator and grabbing himself an apple.

“I didn't expect you to take that long over there.” Itachi said, “Anything interesting happen?”

An eyebrow raised and Sasuke found himself pondering the question, “No. But do horses feel emotions like humans?”

Now it was Itachi's turn to raise an eyebrow at him, “And the reason for this question?”

“None, just wondering.”

Itachi shrugged, “I'm not sure, I don't get a chance to ride much anymore so I'm out of tune to the horse’s feelings.”

Sasuke scowled, “That wasn't the answer I was looking for.”

“Life's rough.” Itachi answered, “And in case you were wondering, I took the picture off and reset your password back to its boring self.”

He nodded; surprised that he had forgotten about his website problem in the past two hours that he had been gone. “What was the password that you had used before?”

A smirk flickered across Itachi's face as he stood to put the bowl in the sink, “Foolish little brother.” He said.

Sasuke thought for a moment, “Wait, was that the password or are you just calling me foolish.”

“Maybe both.” Was his response and Sasuke chunked the apple at his brother’s head, satisfied when he heard it hit.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto frowned as he let Trickster eat his dinner before trying to find the perverted trainer. Since Iruka had him escort the raven home, he had not had a chance to tell him about Miso's training and he was eager to tell Jiraiya what he had found. He found him in Iruka’s office talking about the race at the end of the week, but they stopped as Naruto entered the office and sat down in a chair, scowling at Iruka.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He said, “It’s only fair that you be tortured.”

“We both were.” He said before turning to the trainer, “Since I had to escort the bastard back to the stream, I never had the chance to tell you how Miso’s training went.”

Jiraiya nodded, “So tell.”

“He seems to have the speed and definitely the will to run. He also can change leads without being asked (3) which means less training for us. This colt will follow in his father’s line, just like Kyuubi did.”

They both nodded and looked at the blond jockey. “On another note, we’ve booked a ticket for you to fly down to Florida after your last exam. Your flight leaves at ten our time, allowing you to arrive at one or two Florida time.”

“That’s fine. When do you fly out?”

“We leave Wednesday morning, and don’t worry; we’ll take good care of Kyuubi while you’re gone.”

Naruto grinned, “You better, otherwise that horse will never let me forget it.”

Iruka laughed, knowing that it was true, even if it sounded weird to people who didn’t know the stallion’s personality. “Gaara will pick you up when you arrive Thursday; remind him that when you go back to the bunkhouse, and then start studying.

The blond let out a sigh and told the two to have a good night before he headed up to the bunkhouse where Gaara was watching TV quietly while Lee made dinner. He waved at them before heading upstairs to study some more before dinner was ready. As he pulled the book onto his desk, he groaned and wished the week would hurry up and it would be Saturday soon. Saturday was the start of his Spring Break and the Florida Derby. A shiver of excitement ran through his body as he leaned back to read from the textbook and he had to force his mind to focus on his studies for just a few more days.

Then it was sunny Florida, where the only thing that awaited him was a long stretch of dirt and the sound of horse hooves pounding along the track.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(1) An open gallop happens when the rider takes the horse for a short gallop around the track and their times average 15 seconds an eighth. It is slightly slower than a breeze; which can be considered racing pace at 12 seconds an eighth

(2) A lunge line is a lead line that is attached to the bridle; the trainer then works with the horse in a large ring. Usually when you’re training for the first time, it’s used to help the horse understand commands and gaits.

(3) Horses have two leads, left and right or called the inside or outside lead. Horses are trained to run on their inside lead (the left) when they go around the curves, and then they switch to their outside (the right) when they go down the straight parts of the track. Sometimes a horse does this automatically, if not they are trained to change when a signal is given, such as a tap on the shoulder. They train horses to switch leads so they don’t become tired on one lead, so when they change, it gives them more energy