Kitsune no Yomeiri

A/N: i'm so sorry that this chapter is late! i went out friday night and fell and injured myself to the point i couldn't update. so here's chapter 7, and i apologize that i don't have any reviewer responses either. but once the pains go away, i'll try to get chapter 8 up too. enjoy!

same tags apply


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Chapter 7: Mad at the world
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“Sasu-chan!”

“What is it, Naru-dobe?”

“Will you take me as your bride when we’re older?”

“Aniki says I’m supposed to marry a strong female to produce heirs.”

“But I can produce heirs, too!”

“Alright, Naru-dobe. I’ll take you as my bride.”

Sasuke…? Why do I feel Sasuke? Is my yearning for him so strong, I imagine him next to me? I feel as if I open my eyes, he’ll be beside me, as he’s meant to be.

Sasuke…

Naruto awoke to the feeling of suppressed chakra exiting his chambers. It was obviously a very strong shinobi, for though he could still sense the chakra, it was suppressed enough he couldn’t tell whose it was. Regardless who it was, it was a very bad thing. Naruto didn’t have his glamour cast, and so whoever was just in his room had just seen his true form.

Of course, his mind reasoned, no one would remember a blonde haired boy from fifteen years ago, so his panic mode was still calmly lurking in the back of his mind. That, and he was still half asleep. But at least he had slept last night, unlike the night before. And again, he was besieged by the same dream, his heart’s greatest desire, and it was eating away at his soul.

Sasuke hadn’t given him an answer to his very foolish proposition, which he couldn’t figure out whether to be relieved or annoyed, and the wedding was getting closer. Jiraiya had told him last night, after Sasuke had left him to ANBU, that Sakura was in a fury over his brash words and was trying to get the wedding moved up. And Sasuke, being Sasuke, would more than likely tell her he didn’t care, and the wedding could very well take place tomorrow!

That was unacceptable.

He once again made his way to the bathroom, making himself presentable, and reactivating his glamour. Naruto decided that if people were going to be sneaking into his chambers, he’d need to keep the illusion going through the night. That would be a drain on his energy supply, but he could handle it. And if it turned out he couldn’t handle it, he’d just borrow from his father’s stored energy.

He’d found at a young age that he could use his father’s powers as his own, so that’s how he’d been known as the most powerful great lord that had ever been. No one else could boast that a kitsune lord was sealed in him or her, not that Naruto felt like boasting about it. It was his own father, after all, whose reign was cut short by a misunderstanding that left Naruto parentless in a strange human village. No, it wasn’t something to boast about. In fact, he’d often thought of trying to undo the seal to release his father, but the elders had thoroughly examined the seal, only to discover that trying to undo the seal or even change it would cause the death of the host, and they were unwilling to sacrifice Naruto, even if it meant they’d have Kyuubi back.

So Naruto had grown with his nearly limitless energy and chakra supply, and his father’s boundless reserves on standby. It was a comforting thing, to know his father would always be there for him, for they were both immortal, to an extent. The only things that could kill them would be themselves, and only certain lords that had need would go off into the forest and let their blood flow into the earth.

His grandfather had been one. His mate had been a human, and she’d denied the ceremony that would bind her life to his. But just being the mate of a demon lord would prolong her life a significant amount, however, eventually she, like all other human mates that refused the binding ceremony, had grown old and passed from this realm. His grandfather, overcome with sadness, had killed himself to join his mate in the beyond. So Naruto had never met him, but that story had been told to him many times, sometimes to show the amount of love that existed between mates, and sometimes as a warning to choose another kitsune as his mate once he came of age.

But he had no intention of marrying anyone other than Sasuke. And if Sasuke refused him, then Naruto would be the first great lord that didn’t take a mate. He had the power to do this, for not even the entire of the kitsune tribe could take him on, and do it he would if he was denied the only thing in the world he wanted.

‘That is foolishness. You must mate and carry on the line.’

‘No. If I don’t get Sasuke, I’ll have no one. And when I have had enough of my lonely life, I will have the elders extract you, and you can continue your reign and your bloodline.’

‘You imbecile! No parent ever wants to outlive their child! I would be overcome with grief if I were to lose you!’

‘As I would be to lose Sasuke. He is a part of me, a part that I must have or I cannot live.’

Naruto made his way out of the bathroom and to his closet. He quickly dressed himself in the green kimono of the previous day and smoothed his hands down the silk front. He gazed at himself in a full-length mirror that was standing next to the closet, and he was suddenly filled with an intense dislike of what he saw. The red hair and gray eyes weren’t him; the proper speech and the constant apologizing of things he just felt were getting on his nerves. With a narrowing of his eyes, his kitsune magic reached out and turned his green silk to an angry red while the white flowers were now the symbol for ‘rage.’

Eyes flashing red dangerously, he stalked to the door and threw it open. Sasuke was standing calmly on the other side of the hall, back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest.

“Get up on the wrong side of the bed? Your eyes are…”

Naruto let out a vicious growl, and Sasuke’s eyes narrowed. The ANBU outside his room tensed and moved next the Uchiha. Naruto’s growl turned into a low roar, and all he could see was red.

“Kazahaya-sama, you need to calm down. Any more hostile behavior and we’ll be forced to retaliate.”

“Just try it, pathetic human. I’ll rip you to shreds, even if you’re not worth it.” Naruto’s voice was inhuman, a deep, guttural growl that had the ANBU inching away, though the Uchiha stayed where he was. But at Naruto’s words, he seemed to pale and tense, as if he’d heard something he wasn’t particularly happy about.

Out of the corner of his reddened eyes, Naruto saw a buxom blonde glaring at him. He could smell the hostility rolling off of her, and it made his blood boil. He whirled on her and began to slowly stalk down the hall.

“Kazahaya-sama, please stop. I don’t want to hurt you, but you are endangering the village in this rage of yours.” She eyed his kimono, its blood-red color shining in the sunlight coming in from the windows, the many symbols of ‘rage’ highlighted spectacularly.

“As if you could hurt me. You have nothing going for you but your strength, which in comparison to my power, is laughable.”

Naruto was vaguely aware of a voice at the back of his mind, roaring at him to stop what he was doing before he brought the wrath of Konoha down upon him. Of course, the rational part of his mind that was still unaffected by his animalistic rage was calmly telling him that should Konoha attack him, it would be nothing to level it and kill every single person in it.

He bared his fangs, his claws tensing wickedly, as he prepared to lunge at the Hokage. But before he could, hands had a vice-like grip around his arms, shaking him. He growled loudly and went to tear the restrainer away from him, but a desperate voice stopped his movement.

“Snap out of it, dobe!”

It was like ice-cold water was poured over his head. The red bled from his eyes, and he slumped into the arms that held him still. Naruto was lowered to his knees, Sasuke kneeling in front of him, arms still holding him up. Naruto took deep, calming breaths, his long hair in his eyes, his eyes glued to the floor. He felt the ANBU and Hokage move near him, keeping safely behind the Uchiha, using him as a shield between them and a rampaging animal.

‘Do they think so little of him?’

Naruto felt his anger returning, but Sasuke’s fingers squeezed painfully into his upper arms, reminding him where he was. He took a few more deep breaths and calmly stood to his feet. Sasuke rose with him, but didn’t move his hands. Naruto stared into his eyes, seeing them searching his for something. Naruto stared back in confusion, but then slowly moved his hands up and detached Sasuke’s from his arms. He moved to the side, pushing Sasuke gently away so he could face the Hokage.

“I apologize, Hokage-sama. I was a little angry with myself this morning, and my control over my temper was fragile. I deeply regret my actions this morning, and I understand if you wish to add more guards to my entourage.”

Tsunade stared at him for a moment, her eyes glancing to the side at Sasuke, who was still staring at Naruto.

“I had heard, when I was younger, that a kitsune’s temper was something that could snap at any moment. Some speculated that Kyuubi couldn’t be reasoned with because the death of his mate forced his fragile hold on his temper to slip. I guess I can only be grateful that you were angry with yourself and not someone of the village, or I fear we wouldn’t be chatting right now.” She threw another quick glance at Sasuke. “As for your guard, it seems that Uchiha has it under control. Maybe I should take to calling you names, too, ne, gaki?”

“Listen, you old hag-”

“Old hag? Why I ought-”

“Hokage-sama, please return to your office. There are some scrolls that still need your signature.”

Tsunade sighed. “Fine, Shizune. Kazahaya-sama, please try to control your temper from now on.”

Naruto bowed a bit and watched as Tsunade walked away.

“What exactly had your panties in a twist?” Naruto turned to look at the Uchiha, who had a superior smirk on his lips.

“Listen, teme, don’t start something with me. Let’s just go get something for breakfast before I bite your head off.”

The Uchiha just grunted an agreement, and they walked out of the Tower. While out, they ran into Sakura and Ino, and Naruto’s anger placed itself on a very precarious edge between explosion and depression. The two girls chewed him out, as much as mere shinobi can chew out a demon lord, about his ‘retainers’ who had spoken to them so brutishly in the bathhouse. He had to bite his tongue to keep from saying that only one of the retainers had actually spoken.

When the two women heard they were going for breakfast, they invited themselves along, and Sasuke had placed a warning hand on his elbow, squeezing just a bit to tell him to cool it. The women then led them to a quaint little restaurant, and after they were seated, went about informing him and Sasuke not to bother looking at the menu.

“Ino and I come here so often, we know the menu by heart!” Sakura and Ino giggled a bit, and the pink haired girl leaned over to hug Sasuke’s arm, which meant that Ino was seated next to Naruto. He remembered the first time he met the blonde and couldn’t help the scowl that decorated his brow.

The waitress came to ask their orders, and before he could open his mouth to say he hadn’t had the chance to look at the menu, Sakura opened her mouth and said, “We’ll have the breakfast platter for four.” The waitress smiled and left to get them some coffee and juice. Naruto turned to look at Sakura.

“And just what comes with this breakfast platter?”

“Oh, a lot of things! Bacon, eggs, potatoes, toast, sausage, pancakes, you name it.”

Naruto saw Sasuke’s lips thin, but other than that, his face showed nothing. Naruto was suddenly hit by a memory from long ago.

“Sasu-chan! I can’t believe you made me breakfast!”

“Well, Naru-dobe, it is your birthday. And you did stay the night last night. I thought I should make you something, and I can’t make a cake, so I thought breakfast would be good enough.”

“Of course it is, Sasu-chan! I’m just so surprised! No one but Iruka-sensei has ever given me anything on my birthday! Hey, how come you don’t have any eggs on your plate? You don’t have anything on your plate that’s on my plate!”

“Don’t get hysterical, dobe. I just don’t like all that breakfast stuff. Mom never made it for anyone other than Itachi, so I’m just used to eating something else. But I know how you eat, and what I eat for breakfast would never satisfy you.”

“You are the best friend a guy could have, Sasu-chan!”

“Tell me something I don’t know, dobe.”

“Arrogant teme.”

“I’m surprised you know a word that big, usuratonkachi.”

“Argh!”

“Kazahaya-sama, are you okay?”

“I’m sorry, Sakura-san, I must have lost myself in a memory, the first time I’d ever had a breakfast as you’ve described, in fact.”

“Oh, what do you usually eat?”

“My servants hunt for my meals every day. It always varies, but it’s always fresh meat.” Naruto grinned and let his fangs show, delighting in the slight paling of Sakura’s face. While he’d been in the memory, the waitress had come with their drinks, and now she was back with their breakfast.

They ate quickly, Sakura and Ino chatting nonstop, while Sasuke and Naruto just sat there staring at nothing. Well, actually, Sasuke didn’t eat and Naruto wasn’t staring at nothing; he was staring at Sasuke.

“Oh, Sasuke, why didn’t you eat?”

“I wasn’t hungry.”

‘He doesn’t like any of this shit, you twit. God, she didn’t listen to a word I said, did she?’

“By the way, Sasuke, I was thinking, why wait for the end of the month to get married? I mean, my apartment sold already, so I was thinking we could move up the wedding so I could go ahead and move in. I wouldn’t want to impose upon any of my friends until the end of the month.”

Naruto’s breath caught in his throat. He’d been warned this would happen, but he hadn’t expected it to happen right in front of him. He couldn’t look at Sasuke. He wasn’t sure he could hide the hurt in his eyes. In fact, he was pretty sure, under this stress, his eyes were flashing blue. But Sasuke said nothing for a moment, and Naruto calmed down enough to look up. Sasuke was staring at him, and without looking at Sakura, said, “Fine.”

Naruto watched as everything around him slowed down, and he saw Sakura fling herself at Sasuke in slow motion. Her arms going around the Uchiha’s neck was like a noose going around his. He caught a strangled cry in his throat and quickly stalked from the restaurant.

Because it was his job, Sasuke followed him, but Naruto ignored his presence completely. He had known that the Uchiha would never accept his proposal, but for him to do so like that, by moving his marriage to Sakura closer, was just too much. Yeah, Naruto had his pride, but he had feelings, too, dammit!

His mind was lost among memories and promises, so his body unconsciously propelled him forward, to a place he hadn’t been in fifteen years. The trail was long gone, since no one but he and Sasuke had ever really used it. The trees were thick, letting only small dapples of sunlight through the canopy of leaves and branches. The grass beneath his feet was soft and wet, the morning dew still clinging heavily to the blades. The smell of nature was everywhere, and then he came to the top of the climb.

It was a clearing at the summit of a mountain that looked out over the entire of the village. The sun in the bright blue sky beat down upon the rocky slope, and Naruto moved forward until there was but an inch of ground between him and nothingness. He looked down and saw the rocky carvings of faces within the mountain, his eyes wandering idly over their features.

Hokage Mountain had always been a place he’d come to in order to let off some steam or cry in solitude. And he did indeed feeling like doing both right now, tearing the forest apart while crying his heart out. But he could feel Sasuke standing some distance behind him, so he just lowered himself to sit on the head of the fourth Hokage, legs swinging out into the air.

He breathed in deeply and said to the air, “You know, you could have just said ‘no’ instead of crushing my hopes.”

He heard shuffling, and then Sasuke was sitting next to him. “I didn’t say ‘no’, did I?”

“Well, it certainly seems like it when you tell your fiancée to up the wedding.”

Sasuke didn’t say anything, just sat there watching Naruto’s legs swing. The silence continued for some time, until it felt like hours had passed. And when Naruto looked up at the sun, he found that hours had indeed passed.

“I guess your attire for today reflected your mood?”

“You could say that.” Naruto’s magic reached out and changed the ‘rage’ adorning his kimono to ‘peace.’

“That red really doesn’t go with the kanji.”

Before Sasuke’s sentence had ended, Naruto had changed the red silk to a serene blue. Then, with a mischievous grin, he sent his magic over to Sasuke and changed the man’s black ensemble to a bright pink.

“Kazahaya! Dobe, change it back this instant!”

“Nope, you need some color in your life.”

Sasuke carried on cursing and threatening him, picking up rocks and throwing them at a dodging Naruto. The fox’s melodic laugh filtered through the clearing, and then Sasuke’s stomached growled. Naruto’s amused laughter changed to raucous guffaws, growing in volume and intensity when he caught a slight blush on the pale man’s face.

When his laughter died down, Naruto walked over to the motionless Uchiha and placed his hand on his shoulder. “How about we go get some lunch?” When Sasuke said nothing, Naruto walked away a bit, and then turned his head to glance back at the Uchiha, eyes sparkling with an unidentifiable emotion. “Onigiri, on me.”

He didn’t wait for Sasuke to answer and continued his way down the mountain. He heard Sasuke following behind him, but the steps that sounded weren’t those of someone who had to follow, but someone who wanted to. Naruto smiled to himself and slowed down a bit so Sasuke could walk beside him.

“You… like onigiri?”

“Hn. But you do.” Naruto saw the surprised look thrown his way, and even though he knew he shouldn’t have said that, he couldn’t find it in himself to regret it. If Sasuke was under the impression that nobody knew him, Naruto would make sure that the brooding man knew somebody had the ability to.

‘Let’s just hope he didn’t catch on that nobody told me he likes onigiri.’

As they continued down, Naruto changed Sasuke’s attire back to its original color, and his demonic hearing picked up a very faint ‘thank you.’ He smiled as he thought that he was making progress, and he dared to brush his arm against Sasuke’s. When Sasuke did nothing, Naruto’s smile widened, and he started to whistle as they reentered Konoha proper.

‘I’ve got high hopes. I’ve got high hopes. I’ve got high in the sky, apple pie hopes…’


TBC


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i hope everyone liked this one. i really liked the way naruto rampaged in the tower, and his line about eating fresh meat. ahahahahahaha sakura better watch it. lol i realized recently that the timeline of this story is undetermined, so i have no idea how many days naruto still has to go through before the wedding. oh well, i'm sure y'all will enjoy whatever the hell i come up with.

until next time, and thanks for reading!