My One and Only

I'm actually ill, but wow I on a roll so far, so many updates so little time, I’m tired now! Well this chapter is very important, you get the bulk on information here today, but the actual ‘mating’ will be only mentioned in the next chapter.I don’t really know who to pair Itachi with, I did have an idea for it, but I wonder now if that’s too cliché... (and no it isn't Kyuubi)



Beta read by Lainie12777!



New Picture out as well, called 'Family Portrait' http://rakasha3.deviantart.com/art/Family-Portrait-139629492

Now you can all see what I imagine Kyuubi to look like!



I hope I haven’t missed anything out. Enjoy!



Chapter 9: Ceremony



The fire country is split into two parts; one half is known as Konoha, a luscious forest land with mountain scopes, and raging rivers, bordering close to the human’s. While the other half was a barren landscape, dry, with sand dunes, and little signs of life; known as Suna.



Now while Suna looked like a hostile environment, amongst all that sand was an Oasis. The capital of Suna, Oashisu (literally meaning Oasis, I know, I’m just clever with names like that).



It was like a tiny island hidden in a sea of sand, lush green palm trees, blooming flowers, and crystal pool right in the middle of the city. It was a bustling area, with market stalls, clay square-like buildings and magic; another village of demons. In the biggest building closest to the pool stood a young red-haired demon watching the town with dull teal eyes.



He was a raccoon demon by the name of Gaara, the Kazekage of Suna, and currently waiting for his spy to come back with some important news.



He felt the hot blast of air first and then a whirlwind of sand followed, and then in the empty space behind stood a tall demon, clad in heavy brown clothes and a raccoon mask as a face.



“What have you found?” Gaara asked coolly, causing the other behind him to flinch in fear.



But the spy composed himself and gave the report. “We found a young Kitsune demon in Konoha, and he’s to be mated into the Uchiha wolf family today.”



Teal eyes narrowed. “Leave,” he commanded, and the spy disappeared just as instantly as he came.



Garra remained stoic, but on the inside he was thrilled; he should have known that the old demon couldn’t keep to himself for long. He turned away from the balcony and went inside, with a quick snap of his fingers some servants came rushing in. They bowed respectfully and waited for his order.



“Call Temari to my office, I need to speak to her, and get my things packed I’ll be leaving soon.” They bowed again and left.



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=



The next time Naruto woke he was lying practically naked on the futon, drenched with sweat. What had actually happened? He had felt hot all of the sudden, and from then on things were such a blur. His training with Kakashi had taught him how to take the smallest things into account, and as he scanned the room he noticed the signs of struggle, his new kimono was almost tattered, and there were claw marks on both the floor and the door frame.



Really, what had happened while he was asleep?



There was a knock against the door, and Naruto hurriedly pulled the covers up before Mikoto entered. Her face was flushed red, and dark eyes were averted downwards, not meeting up to his own embarrassed gaze.



“Are you feeling better now?” she asked.



Naruto squirmed. “I-I... what happened?” he asked.



“Well sweetie...” she said, taking a step into the room; she would have to explain what was happening, or the Kitsune would be more confused than ever.



She kneeled down beside him, and started to explain. “What you went through my dear was a heat frenzy; it will come up more and more during the next two weeks, it is really meant to drive your mating further. You almost drove Sasuke wild with it, so we had to separate you two for now.”



Naruto blushed crimson when he heard her saying that; he was so naive! Mikoto recognized the embarrassment passing over the young youkai and tried to reassure him. “Never mind about all that though, now let’s get you cleaned up and ready for the ceremony.”



“Ceremony?”



“Well of course, you’re going to be mated by tonight!”



Naruto stared back dumbly at her; it took him some time to process the information, but by that time she had already stuck him in the Onsen and was now washing his hair again. He looked up at her, and then realized how naked he was.



“Now don’t do that, I have given birth to two males so I know exactly what’s down there!” she said with an impish smile. Not that this helped Naruto in the slightest as his blush deepened.



Mikoto started adding perfumed oils to the water; the scent of lavender and oranges started hitting his sensitive nose. Mikoto worked quick and efficiently; soon she had him cleaned up, and then left to get a towel and robe for him to wear. She then escorted him to another room, where she started combing his unruly blonde hair, so that it looked tamed.



Then she told Naruto to get behind a screen and handed him a bundle of cloth. Naruto was confused as he looked down at the unfurled mass of white satin. When she saw his confused expression, Mikoto sighed and got to work. Anyone outside the room would be wondering what all those muffled screams and whimpers were about, but let’s ignore that shall we.



Mikoto wiped the gathering sweat from her brow and marvelled at her handy work. The Kimono was a bit big on Naruto, but with a few adjustments it would work out just fine for him. She then sat him down on a low stool (making sure that he didn’t trip over the long material) and started applying make-up.



Now it wasn’t girly make-up per se, just some blush to darken his cheeks, and something to outline his eyes and make them stand out more than they already did. She then got to work on his hair; obviously enough it was short, but she managed to add two beaded hairpins on either side of his head, just under his fox ears. Naruto recognised the Uchiha fan symbol on them, and for some reason that stung.



From what little he knew of ceremonies the bride would wear the jewellery passed down from her side of the family. It was just another stinging reminder that Naruto was an orphan. He tried to ignore that empty feeling as Mikoto continued to work her magic, and soon he was finished.



The she-demon went and unveiled a full-length mirror for him to look at, and he was stunned; the person in front of him might as well not have been him. He looked so refined and elegant that it scared him; hesitantly he reached up and touched his face, half-wondering if he was wearing a mask, but no, it was his face.



“Well what do you think?” she asked.



He didn’t like it. The make-up she applied covered up his demonic markings and made his face look too smooth; as mentioned he had never worn extravagant kimonos before so this was almost too much. So many layers; first the under-shirt, then a middle robe, then the Kimono, and then a gold-embroidered shawl over his shoulder. A gold obi was tied around his waist, and pinned into an elaborate bow at the back. He didn’t think he could even walk with this on.



“It’s really nice...” he replied instead, not wanting to hurt her feelings.



“Good, good!” she replied happily and started packing away her kit, when a knock on the door alerted her.



The shoji slid open, and in stepped Fugaku, his face as impassive as always, but when his gaze met the young Kitsune his eyes widened. It was like looking at Kyuubi, expect for one small detail...



“Mikoto, he should be wearing this,” he said, handing her something.



She looked down at the object and her eyes widened in surprise. They were Kyuubi’s hairpins. The general had long flowing ruby-red hair that he usually tied up with a pin, and these were his favorite ones; Mikoto couldn’t believe that he still had them. They were made out of a rare stone, cut into the shape of Sakura blossoms, with smaller bead-like ones hanging down in rows. Kyuubi always said that they reminded him of fire.



“Koi...?” she questioned.



“It’s what he would have wanted.” He didn’t need to elaborate; she knew he was talking about Kyuubi.



Mikoto couldn’t help but smile at how thoughtful Fugaku could be at times; she stood on her tiptoes and gave him a small peck on the cheek.



Naruto watched them interact; he couldn’t hear what they were saying, but for now he was seeing a different side to the stoic demon. It surprised the blonde when he saw the Ookami blush after his wife kissed him, and then walk away without another word.



Mikoto turned around with a huge smile on her face. “We’re going to make some changes now!” she said happy and once again set to work on his hair. When she was done she once again motioned him to look into the mirror.



He glimpsed at the hairpins; they were beautiful, but for some reason he felt like he had seen them somewhere before. He tried to think back when he could have seen this pin before, but nothing came; it was like a block in his mind.



“You look gorgeous!” Mikoto exclaimed. “Now wait here, I’m just going to check on the preparations, and then I’ll come and get you,” she said and then left.



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=



The preparations where already in full swing; in all honesty most of it was ready even before Sasuke found his mate. Since Fugaku was going to force Sasuke to mate no matter who he found, most of the things needed were already done and ready to be put up.



I should probably go in some detail how the mating ceremony works now, shouldn’t I?



First is the actual ceremony where the priestess enters and recites a few prayers, and those of a ceremonial binding. Then comes the chase, now that’s the exciting part!



Under the full moon at the stroke of midnight, the submissive is given a ten minute head start to run, and the dominant then has to chase the submissive down. The submissive will most likely fight the dominant, reacting on pure animalistic instinct of fear, before mating. Now don’t think this is barbaric, it’s more of a proof of the dominant’s own convictions.



If he gives up, it will show that he isn’t worthy of the submissive, if he wins it shows that he’s strong enough to look after his mate and pups. It’s an ancient right passed down to the youkai from their animal forefathers.



Now then, after the chase they will spend the rest of the mating season rutting; now that’s just two weeks filled with nothing but lust and sex, then they will pass each other a mating mark. The mating mark is a bite just by the collarbone; having the bite there is a sign of trust, since that’s a vulnerable part of the body. And then lastly comes the feast, a bit of a ‘congratulatory’ part for the new couple.



Everything for the initial ceremony was already set up; the rest could be done over the rutting period. Mikoto double-checked that everything was in place, and when Itachi came back asked him about the priestess; this was a busy time for them, but as she was a personal friend of the Uchiha’s, she made time. (meaning she cancelled a few appointments)



“Itachi go check on your brother.”



Itachi nodded and went into his room to see a struggling Sasuke battling with his own ceremonial robes.



“Otouto, there is no need to be so nervous,” he said, gently prying the material away from his brother.



Sasuke snorted as a reply. “I’m not nervous, Aniki,” he mumbled.



“Sure you aren’t, now how about you wear that under-shirt the right way around.” Sasuke looked down and blushed. Not only was he wearing his under-shirt the wrong way, but it was also inside out.



Okay maybe he was a little bit nervous, but why shouldn’t he be? This was a new stage in his life; he would be entering a binding commitment that couldn’t be annulled. But he was excited at the same time; Naruto was special, and in the short time he had known him he felt that he might have actually fallen in love. And no, this wasn’t his hormones talking! Even away from the Kitsune’s pheromones he just couldn’t stop thinking about him. Such unique features; he could tell the fox was strong from reading his chakra, and a heritage that could even put the Uchiha name to shame. He didn’t care that Naruto was half human, only that he was his.



“Sasuke,” Itachi’s voice startled him out of his thoughts, and he looked around to realize that he was completely dressed, and he didn’t even notice it.



“Sasuke,” Itachi called him again. “Otouto, you have to listen to me, tonight when you start ‘the chase’ I want you to be careful.”



“Why?”



“The Kitsune is half human, you don’t know what his limitations are, and if you get a little ‘rough’, you might seriously injure him.”



Now Sasuke was taken aback by that comment, he wouldn’t hurt Naruto! Itachi could literally read his little brother’s mind. “I’m not saying intentionally, but you might lose control, so I want you to be careful, alright?”



Sasuke nodded, and Itachi went back to help with the preparations.



=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=



Hours had passed, the sun was already setting over the horizon, and Naruto waited in his room, snacking on some onigiri that his ‘mother-in-law’ had brought him. He ate them carefully, making sure not to get any on his robes. Mikoto said that he would need to store up as much energy as possible before the mating. In the next few minutes he would enter the ceremony, and he was scared.



So far he knew nothing about Sasuke; sure the other demon was sweet and treated him differently from the rest of the villagers. But would his outview change after they mated? What if the villagers started treating Sasuke and his family different as well because of him; what if he started resenting Naruto because of that? The thought scared Naruto.



Since so far the Uchiha’s were the only ones (expect for Kakashi and Iruka) who had treated him like a person, and not some abomination, he didn’t want to lose that. He felt almost crazy for thinking all of these thoughts; after all, Naruto had only known them for a day, and he was already getting so attached. It was ridiculous.



“Naruto are you ready?” the blonde looked up; he didn’t even hear Mikoto enter.



The older submissive saw the signs of fear passing through his blue eyes, and she gave a soft, reassuring smile. “It will be alright, sweetie,” she said and reached out her hand to help him up into a standing position.



“There is someone here to see you,” she said, and then looked towards the door. Naruto followed her gaze and saw Iruka and Kakashi standing there, dressed in their own formal wear.



“Iruka! Hentai!” Naruto shouted excitedly, and shuffled towards them.



Iruka met the struggling Kitsune halfway and enveloped him into a bone-crushing hug; he had his baby back, and he was safe! “Let’s get a good look at you!” he said, prying himself off the blonde.



The first thing he noticed were the hairpins. Brown eyes glittered when he recognized them, then he looked down at the Kimono. Naruto wasn’t recognizable under all that material; it was like looking at a different person. But he smiled either way, reassuring Naruto that he was happy for him.



Then Naruto turned to look at Kakashi; the man was rigid, and his face so passive, and Naruto wasn’t sure if he was angry. No emotion betrayed his composure, which unnerved the blonde. Not that they were easy to read with him wearing his mask.



“Chichi...?”



The Inu youkai stepped forward and bent down to Naruto’s eye-level; mismatched eyes stared deeply into Naruto’s own sparkling blue. Kakashi tilted his head to the side. “Are you sure?” he asked.



Naruto nodded. Kakashi reached up and tugged his mask down to reveal a gentle smile. “I’m proud of you son,” he said and also hugged the Kitsune tightly.



“Thank you...” Naruto whispered back.



“Alright then, let’s get this started!” Kakashi said enthusiastically. Naruto let out a sigh of relief; he was so glad that Kakashi was happy with him. If there was someone that he didn’t want to be disappointed in him, it was his family.



Mikoto smiled at the happy scene and then started gesturing them out of the room, through another doorway, and Naruto was instantly fazed at the sight. It was already dark, but the area was illuminated with lanterns hanging from ceiling to ceiling. The plucked sounds of the Ichigenkin could just be heard above the whispers of the gathered guests. Not that they were nice whispers; but Naruto only caught part of it.



“...that fox...”



“Is it true?”



“How could it be...”



Mikoto fixed them with a harsh glare, which quietened the crowd instantly; she wasn’t a youkai to be messed with. Naruto himself was nervous; he looked behind him to see his adoptive parents take their own seats near the front, and he felt like he should run away. But Mikoto led him towards the stage, where a translucent veil hung across the middle, splitting the area in half.



Naruto could barely make out the shadow of the person on the other side, but by scent alone he could tell that it was Sasuke. The gentle strum of music stopped, and the ruffling of silk caught his attention. Naruto looked to his side and saw a tall she-demon enter.



She wore all white, with a large pillar-like hat on her head, effectively hiding her ears. A veil covered half of her face, so that her piercing grey eyes shone like silver coins in the light. She raised her clawed hands, hovering just above his head, and she started chanting. An ancient song passed between her lips. She praised Gia, mother of the earth, her brother Tsuki the moon God, and her sister Taiyoo the Sun Goddess. She called out to their forefathers, asking them for protection and blessing. Her voice changed in a light whisper, disappearing like the wind; he was utterly transfixed.



He was startled when he felt her grasping his hand, and tugged it towards her. Naruto could just about make out Sasuke’s own hand from behind the curtain, and made them hold hands. Naruto couldn’t help but blush; the wolf’s hand was hot, and he felt himself going hot as well. The priestess then took out a crimson ribbon, a sign of fertility, and wound it tightly around them.



“A promise has been made here, blessed by the God’s themselves, and you now have bared to a binding contract taking place between Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. They are entering a new stage of life, so let us all pray for their happiness.” She finished, and then grabbed the barrier, ripping it away to reveal them to each other.



Sasuke blushed when he saw the Kitsune; he was stunning. The kimono, if a bit big, brought out the feminine side of the fox, orange ears folded back, but the make-up he didn’t like; it covered up Naruto’s markings, which the young wolf actually liked looking at, so he raised his free hand, and smudged away the blusher.



The guests themselves had by now stood up. Iruka and Kakashi couldn’t help but smile proudly at the heart-warming display in front of them.



Now on to the next step.



~*~



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