Once a Wizard, Always a Shinobi Ch 18-20
Rating:: M (to be safe)
Warnings:: Slash/shounen ai (maybe YAOI), Het, blood and stuff, non-con (though I'll warn you so you can skip), mentions of underage (I guess) HarryOC (OC dies so don’t get in a twist) ShuraHaku (yes, he WILL be a HE)
Diclaimer:: Well I challenged a chap from Japan to a break dancing contest and got broke. I then challenge a chick to a drinking contest and ended up under the table while she laughed at me. So now I’m broke, vomiting, and have nothing but last nights dinner to show for it!!
Note:: SORRY THIS IS LATE, though I don’t really set an update deadline for myself. I’m seriously spazzing out right now though guys, Siriusly. This is the last completed chapter, ignore the blatant rape of cannon in it please, and you all have Lyn908 to thank for it and the stuff that’s coming up after it as she viciously spat me out of my funk.
I’m kind of nervous about this chapter, so let me know how bad it was. Also, for those of you on LJ, this is last weeks update attached to this weeks update. I put it up on fanfiction.net and forgot to put it up here. SORRY!!
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Shurachi groaned a little as he caught sight, or rather scent, of Remus Lupin. The man had been trying to become his friend/father figure since the week he started living in Konoha. As a result Shurachi had been avoiding him and anyone who liked him like the plague. Kiba thought he was the next best adult aside from his teacher, Iruka, or his mother, Shurachi, or his ‘uncle’, Hajime.
He didn’t have a chance to get away before golden eyes locked on him however, and a brilliant smile lit up the mans face. The distinct scent of wolf grew stronger as Remus approached and became nearly overwhelming once he stopped to bow a little awkwardly. Obviously he wasn’t any more used to the motion than Haku had been.
“Shurachi! It’s nice to see you again! How is little Kiba doing?” Shura resisted the urge to growl at the mention of his pup and instead pulled his cloth mask up from around his neck. He’d taken to wearing it there when he’d started going on unexpected missions for the Hokage. With the amount of blood that was usually spilled on said missions, not to mention the need for secrecy as to the shinobi’s identity, it was only logical he wear it.
Remus’ smile faltered a little, but it soon picked up as Shura refrained from fleeing his presence right away as he usually did. “I was wondering if you’d like to learn the sort of jutsu my home village practiced. It’s a lot different from yours, but I know you have the ability to use it.”
Suspicious eyes narrowed on Remus “Jutsu? What sort of jutsu? What can it do and why would I want to learn it?”
Despite the obvious mistrust for the offer, Remus was brightened that he was actually considering it instead of just ignoring the idea all together. “Well I could show you a demonstration if you’d like. It isn’t any trouble at all for me if you don’t mind taking a little bit of time to have lunch with me.”
Though Shurachi would have preferred to continue on his way to the Hokage’s tower in order to turn in his report, he nodded his agreement. The report wasn’t due for another day, so he wasn’t really in any hurry.
They arrived at the Konoha Lotus Blossom, a rather cheep place to have a drink and some grilled meat, with little problem. Shurachi motioned for Doku to sit on the bench beside him and Remus took the spot across from them on the other side of the table.
“Alright. Ah, what would you like to see first?” Shurachi lifted an eyebrow and raised his hand to motion for a waiter to come by their booth.
Without bothering to think about it to much, he ordered them both some grilled beef with a dish of soy sauce for dipping and a plate of calamari. The Inuzuka remained silent until their order was delivered and the waitress had left before speaking. “They’re your jutsu, how would I know what you should show me?”
He broke his chopsticks and picked up a slice of beef, dipped it in the soy sauce, and slipped it into his mouth with a happy little smirk. Remus noticed a bit belatedly that the mask had been removed. “Oh, well yes, I suppose it would make more sense for me to decide then, wouldn’t it?” He shifted a bit uneasily at the silence that followed this.
Shurachi snorted quietly, then ate another piece of meat. “Wouldn’t it be better if we finish eating then go to a training ground? This is a civilian restaurant, I don’t want to do the paper work if you manage to destroy it with your jutsu.”
Remus nodded mutely, feeling very much like a pup being reprimanded, and quietly finished eating his meat before letting Shura lead him to an empty training ground. He cleared his throat, feeling significantly more foolish than he had in a very long time, and aims his wand at a rather large rock.
Being very careful to enunciate each word, he didn’t want to get it wrong and make a fool of himself, he levitated, “Wingardium Leviosa!”, the boulder sized rock three meters into the air. When he glanced over at Shurachi, he was pleased to see the wide eyes and slightly incredulous expression.
“So, did you want to learn my jutsu, or should I show you more?” He grinned as green eyes focused on him, ignoring the now earth bound rock.
“How did you do that? What sort of jutsu would allow you to levitate a rock like that? There are Earth Style jutsu that let you pick up a rock with chakra and throw it, but my kikai say you didn’t use any chakra at all! What was that?” Shurachi demanded, obviously shaken with the demonstration.
Remus’ grin widened “That, Inuzuka-san, is magic. It’s what wizards use in place of chakra, and from what I have seen, it is much more versatile. I could clean your clothing as good as new while you’re still wearing them, I could conjure up a shield and block an attack without ever moving a muscle, I could even transfigure an opponent into a harmless toad.”
Green eyes stared at him suspiciously. “Magic?”
A happy nod “Magic.”
“Well, maybe you aren’t as useless, or helpless, as I thought you were.” Shurachi enjoyed the brief flash of confusion that skittered across the mans face before shooting forward with inhuman speed and placing a kunai at the mans neck. “But that doesn’t mean you can get cocky. Just because you can do some fancy jutsu doesn’t mean I can’t still kill you.”
The confusion left Remus’ eyes as he began to realize what was happening. Shurachi was an alpha dog. He had even told Remus that, though at the time he hadn’t really understood. It was just like when he’d played envoy to the werewolf packs for Dumbledor. Here Inuzuka Shurachi was the alpha male, the strongest, the protector of his clan, and Remus’ very presence threatened that.
With this in mind, Remus tilted his head just enough for the kunai to make a thin slice on his neck. Along with that, he let a small, submissive whine bubble out of his chest and lowered his eyes in such a way that he was watching the ground rather than the alpha dog above him. He hadn’t noticed it before, but he’d been forced to his knees when Shurachi had attacked.
Blood trickling down his neck, and obvious submission soothing Shura’s threatened senses, the Inuzuka took a step back. “I will learn this jutsu of yours, but do not think that I will continue to learn from you should this threaten my pups in any way.”
Remus readily agreed.
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Shurachi crouched down to smile reassuringly at Kiba as the pup sniffled into Akamaru’s fur. “You make it seem like I’m going off to die or something Kiba-pup. It’s just a two week mission to Suna. You’ll be staying with Kunimitsu-oji until I get back, so you don’t have to worry about not being able to see Shino.”
He ran his fingers through Kiba’s spiky hair “Hajime-niisama has agreed to let you stay the night on the weekends so long as you and Shino stay out of trouble in the Academy as well.”
Kiba sniffled and smoothed down Akamaru’s now wet fur, doing his best to consol the whimpering little puppy as much as trying to stop his own tears. “What about Uzumaki? I heard you and uncle talking about how the Hyuuga were trying to get rid of him. I don’t know why they would want to, but won’t it be easier for them if you leave the village?”
A fang poked out as Shura smirked at his little brother. “You were eavesdropping on a private conversation and you weren’t even suspected of it? Good job pup! Unfortunately though, you gave away that you had disobeyed my orders to go to bed because I know that conversation took place after two in the morning. Do you know what that means?”
Kiba squeaked as he realized exactly what that meant and tossed Akamaru at Shura in a desperate attempt to get away. Sadly for him, Shura merely caught the dog, set it down, and grabbed his retreating ankle to drag him back down to the floor. The tickle fight that ensued was enough to lift Kiba’s spirits and dry up his tears.
“Now be a good pup for Kunimitsu-oji and try to stay out of trouble. I’ll be back in two weeks with presents for you and Shino, so I don’t want to hear that you were impersonating your uncle to get out of going to class or something similar.” He pressed a kiss to Kiba’s forehead, ruffled the already wild hair, and called Doku to his side before making his way to the gate.
On his run through Konoha, Mikaro caught up with him. “I want you and your brother to organize a team of Inuzuka to protect Uzumaki Naruto from any and all attacks. I don’t care if they’re sanctioned by the Hokage, no one is to touch that boy with anything less than kindness. I can’t stand the thought of any canine, even a fox, falling victim to birds like the Hyuuga.”
Mikaro smirked a little “Not to mention you have a soft spot for kids. Don’t try to deny it Alpha-sama, you’re even nice to the Hyuuga brats whenever you have the misfortune of being near them.”
A quiet snort was her only response and she laughed quietly. “I heard the only reason you volunteered for this mission was to check up on a pup you met when you were only nine years old Alpha-sama, you‘re nearly seventeen now so that’s a long time to worry for a brat you only met once.” She broke off her run, barking at her own dog to find Yagumi and tell him their orders while she went off to gather the team.
As a result she missed Shura’s worried frown and Doku’s quiet yip “I hope he’s okay too Doku, but I have this horrible feeling that something went terribly wrong with him.” Doku whined his agreement and the kikai crawling around under his skin even paused long enough that he could pretend they were worried for the child too. “I only hope you haven’t fallen victim to your village Gaara.”
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It was Inuzuka Shurachi’s opinion that the concept of a Goodwill mission was fine when talked about. It was even okay during the planning stage. Hell, he probably wouldn’t have anything against it when it was executed either, if it weren’t for the fact that he was one of the shinobi involved.
Sure he’d agreed to go on the mission, and sure he could see why an exchange of shinobi would strengthen ties between allies, but damn was he regretting ever having heard of the damn thing! He’d forgotten in the seven or so years since his last mission to Wind Country just how dry and hot it was!
Poor Doku was still shedding his winter coat, panting beside him. Some Hyuuga idiot, who had been sent along as soon as the Hyuuga learned he was on the mission, was trying to shake the last drops of water out of his canteen a little behind them. The team leader, some newly retired Anbu named Kakashi, was reading a porn book in front of them.
To top it all off, though he was actually rather relieved for these two being on the mission, Hasunuma and Mitsuo were stealing glances and brushing touches against each other the whole way. He was the only one acting like a proper shinobi, even if he was mentally whining like a five year old about the heat.
Sunagakure came into view and Doku barked a little in relief. They were shown to the hotel they’d be using for the duration of their stay and immediately Doku jumped into the cool bath tub. They couldn’t turn on the cold water, their water share wasn’t for another four hours, but they could enjoy the coolness of the tile, much to their teammates amusement.
The Hyuuga turned up his nose at the doggish behavior he was exhibiting while Kakashi lowered himself to the ground beside Shurachi and continued to read. They were close enough in attack partners that they could understand one another. Hasunuma and Mitsuo were curled up on top of one bed, stealing small kisses and making sleepy noises.
Kakashi closed his book and cleared his throat once the Hyuuga had sat down on the bed farthest from and cuddling couple. “We get our patrol schedule tomorrow, so enjoy your free time today. Water share is for an hour at twilight, so be considerate and don’t hog the shower.” With that he moved to his own bed and settled down to continue reading.
Shurachi absently reached over to pet his panting dog in the bath tub as he closed his own eyes and let a tired breath escape him. He wondered where he should start looking for the little boy he’d met almost a decade ago, if he even should go looking. It seemed to him as though the child could already be a Shinobi on missions with his weird control over sand.
Well, he’d keep an eye out for any signs, scents, of the child, but he wouldn’t actively search for him unless he caught a lead by coincidence. With his mind made up he pushed himself to his feet and made his way over to the bed next to Mitsuo and Hasunuma. Green eyes glanced at the pair, Mitsuo already out on Hasunuma’s chest.
“You two are sharing right?” He was quiet in order to not wake Mitsuo, but Hasunuma heard him anyway and nodded. With a tired nod of his own, he flopped onto the bed next to them and let a fitful sleep take him.
It was on his second day of patrol that he caught wind of a vaguely familiar scent. He turned his head away from the suggested patrol path and instead followed the scent. He came upon a red haired genin with a large sand gourd on his back. His canine tendency to label others according to pack rank immediately recognized him as an adopted pup, the same as Shino, and was eager to reaffirm the pack bonds.
Doku growled a little, unsure but recognizing that the boy before them was familiar. “I brought juice.” The quiet voice lacked the childish mispronunciation, but he recognized it anyway.
Cautiously, Shura approached and sat down beside him on the ledge of the building. A long tube of sweet juice was handed to him and he absently sniffed it to make sure it wasn’t poisoned before taking a sip.
They sat in silence, watching the half moon rise, for several long minutes. “You left.” It probably wasn’t meant to be said out loud, but the almost accusatory tone made Shura frown.
“I had no choice, my mission time was up and if I’d stayed I would have been labeled a missing nin. I couldn’t do that to my pup, not with the way my family would have reacted.” Shura sipped his juice again and smiled as he realized that it was the exact same flavor as the juice he’d given Gaara so long ago.
They sat in a, if not comfortable, content silence until both of them had finished their juice and the paper tubes were burned away with a katon jutsu. Shura was perfectly happy to lean back on his arms and stare up at the stars that were clearly visible in the unhindered desert sky, but Gaara broke the silence again.
“I though you had found out what I was from the villagers you know. I thought you were leaving because you had learned to hate and fear me just as they did.” Shurachi felt his eyes widen, felt his body move, and finally came back to himself properly when the warmth and slight pain of pulling Gaara very forcefully into his lap hit him.
The younger boy was cradled gently, but tightly, in an obvious protective embrace. Sand whirled and shifted uneasily, but it seemed Gaara had better control of it now then he’d had last time Shura had visited. He could still remember the sound of the tiny bird being crushed when it came to close to a frightened and startled Gaara.
Shura took a deep breath to calm himself “I would never do something like that Gaara-kun. I may have only known you for a short time, but Inuzuka don’t hurt pups. It doesn’t matter to me that you’re a jinchuriki, one of my adopted pups back home houses the Kyuubi no Kitsune. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a pup of the pack, I’m rather fond of a wandering pup that sometimes visit’s the village.”
He pulled back some to stare into the confused aqua eyes. “You are a precious person, someone to be cherished and not hurt. Something to be protected, be it by teaching you how to protect yourself or wrapping you in cotton. The villagers fear and hate what they don’t understand, yes, but I could never do that.”
Pale lips pulled into a smile and graceful hands brushed some sand from Gaara’s cheek. “I would be quite the hypocrite if I disliked you because you were different since I, myself, am not originally from this place. I am different to you, to your people, and to my own village. An unnatural outsider, one who is far to powerful for their liking.”
A green eye winked at Gaara, who felt his face twitch like it wanted to smile. “Now, how have you been since I was away? Are you a Shinobi yet? Will you be taking part in the next chûnin exam? My little Kiba isn’t a genin yet, but he will be soon. Hmmmm, you need to eat more. Healthy Shinobi eat healthy meals.”
His mothering seemed to be doing the trick. Shura wasn’t usually one to act like an overprotective hen, but he was trained to see and understand body language. It didn’t matter that the body was sitting in his lap, he still played the role he knew would be the most likely to relax Gaara.
It was something he wasn’t really familiar with, outside of hazy childhood memories and Koi-Hajime’s mother, but he was pleased with himself for trying as the body in his arms relaxed almost completely.
There was no chore in listening to Gaara’s quiet voice tell him about the various things he’d done in the academy, the things he’d learned, the careful omitting of anything that could be connected to friends or family. There was a brief scent of old pain when Gaara told him about how he liked to sit on the roof of his family home and watch the stars. Something bordering on fear when he mentioned how he couldn’t really sleep because of the demon housed inside of him.
By the time the sun was rising, Shura was sure that Gaara would be alright. Maybe a little unstable, but certainly able to function somewhat normally.
“Ah, Gaara-kun? My shift is ending, I have to check in and let my squad leader know I wasn’t murdered in the night.” He smiled a little at the tired eyes blinking owlishly up at him. The smaller boy had fallen into his trance-like replacement for sleep nearly two hours ago.
A pale hand came up to rub at one of Gaara’s eyes before the red head nodded. “When is your mission over?”
Shurachi almost winced at the slow, but obvious, distancing the pup he held was working on. It was probably for the best, as he would be leaving soon, but it still made him feel terrible.
“In a few days. This is just a goodwill mission between our villages. Perhaps next time you can come visit Konohagakure. It’s certainly less exhausting than the desert!” He tried to make it sound teasing, and from the glance he got it was taken that way, but with the sun came Shurachi’s personal reminder.
Koishi had always loved watching the sun rise. He’d never really mentioned it, or woken Shurachi for the event, but most mornings after a night they’d spent together usually started with Shura finding Koishi on the roof.
A weight that seemed much lighter, but was still much to heavy, settled over him. His good morning, or in their case good night, to Gaara was very much subdued and the usual rush he got after the first jump from one roof to another didn’t come.
By the time he was flopping into his bed, Mitsuo fast asleep in the bed next to his and Hasunuma sipping something that smelled like lavender tea, he was thoroughly ensconced in his memories of Koishi.
“Shurachi! Come look at this!” Shura looked up from the little snow fox he’d spotted across the field to glance at his bestest friend in the whole world. Sure Koishi was older than him, sure he was really just his big sisters friend, but the older boy had come over to play with him three days in a row and that made him the closest thing to a best friend Shurachi had ever had.
One last glance at the fox and he was wading through the snow to get to the boy crouched over something he had unburied. Laying frozen and slightly crushed in the snow was a small purple flower.
Shura smiled brightly at it and made an effort to try and get it to stand like the ones in his aunt’s garden had. He’d enjoyed the few hours he’d gotten outside when he’d been helping take care of the garden.
Apparently Koishi noticed this, as he reached down to pluck the flower from it’s frozen prison and, a tad shyly, hold the droopy piece of flora out to Shurachi. “Here. You can keep it. It would just freeze to death out here anyway.” Shurachi’s whole face seemed to brighten as he took the flower, and if it didn’t wilt for an entire month neither boy really thought it odd.
Green eyes watched in curiosity as Koishi tugged his shirt off, the girls off to the side cooed, and the sparring continued. It was a rather hot summer day and Koishi had invited Shurachi, who was newly enrolled in the academy, to watch him spar against Kabuto.
The white haired boy had been his creepily polite self, offering Shurachi his jacket to sit on instead of the damp ground, catching him when Doku made him stumble by stopping to inspect some smell or other, and even trying to offer Shura his own lunch when it became obvious the younger boy was hungry.
Koishi had neatly canceled out the gesture of the jacket by handing his own to Shurachi, followed by his over shirt. Both had been spread in such a way that he was very much comfortable, and very content with the scent of his best friend in his nose. The lunch was taken care of no problem; they’d both packed one.
It was a little more dangerous to outdo the catching of Shura after his stumble but, as expected, Koishi met and surpassed the gesture by snatching Shurachi up just in time to miss a rain of badly aimed kunai.
The warm bubble in Shurachi’s chest grew and he couldn’t stop the glowing smile from forming on his face.
Blood trickled from a split in his lips, a bruise was darkening on his cheek, and he had a smile so wide his face could crack. Shurachi had just completed his first B-rank solo mission and to top it all off? Koishi didn’t have to go on his mission for another three days! They had three whole days to get up to all sorts of fun.
Happy at the prospect of spending time with his new lover, he rushed quickly through cleaning up and hurried to the Aburame compound. Maybe he would get lucky and little Shino would be visiting with his uncle.
Green eyes flew open, a sense of peace invading his body. The reason for his waking from a good dream, for he often tried hard to stay in them as long as possible, was Mitsuo.
The former kunoichi was very carefully blowing the scent of lavender from a small bottle at him, making him sneeze again. “Buchou! You’re awake, good. There’s been a weird kid sitting outside on the balcony for nearly an hour and Hasu-kun said I should probably wake you if he didn’t leave.”
Shura glanced at the balcony and let a quirky little smirk pull at his lips when he saw Gaara sitting there and staring unabashedly at him. “Don’t worry about him Mitsu-chan, he’s a friend of mine from my very first mission here.”
Doku yipped a little, making a very chatty kind of sound afterward before going over to the screen and nudging it open. He cautiously skirted around the pool of sand and took hold of a loose piece of cloth to tug Gaara into the room.
The redhead followed without complaint and settled on the edge of Shurachi’s bed where Doku finally let him go. The dog barked happily, waved his tail a few times, then settled back down to sleep. It was the middle of the day, the hottest part, and most of the village was sleeping through it in order to avoid the heat.
Shurachi was rather looking forward to slipping away from the oppressive heat again, but first he had to find out why Gaara had shown up at his temporary living space.
“Is something wrong Gaara-kun? I thought you were going to rest after you fell asleep on me last night.” Gaara looked down at his lap before aqua eyes turned on him.
“Would I be able to…would you mind if I stayed here? I couldn’t rest and I thought maybe I would…” he trailed off in a fashion that was very unlike him. It made Shura think of the small boy who’d had trouble properly pronouncing almost every word.
Nevertheless, green eyes softened and the thin sheet covering his uniform clad body was pulled back to make room for the smaller male. Gaara took no time to think of how odd he was acting, of how much the child he once was, was crying in relief inside his mind. Instead he cuddled closer to the only untainted memory of his childhood he had and brought forth the trance that he used to rest.
Shurachi didn’t take very long to drop into dreamland either and Mitsuo, a bit confused but still happy, pulled out his camera and snapped a quick picture. He was sure his Buchou would want one.
When it came time for them to leave, Gaara was nowhere to be found. Doku whined and barked and even howled a few times, but there was no head of red hair coming to say goodbye. Shurachi understood that the younger boy was only trying to distance himself from the possible hurt this would cause, but he couldn’t help his own hurt at the refusal to say goodbye.
The desert was as hot as it had always been, but this time the sand didn’t make them sink with every step. He guessed it was because they’d gotten used to walking on it after two weeks, but he wondered if it were possible to become so good at something like that with only two weeks practice.
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Shurachi growled low in his throat as the staff he was using spat a jet of angry birds at the man across from him. He’d just learned the avian spell, mostly at the promise that such simple things would lead to more useful spells once he had a hang of his magic.
It had been nearly a year and half since he’d started learning though, and the only spell he considered remotely useful had been one that protected from physical attacks. He’d cast it on Kiba and Shino so many times it was a wonder they never noticed.
“Well Shurachi-kun, I think you should be able to learn something entirely new. You passed the exam I set with flying colors.” Shura’s scowl didn’t lessen at all at the flat joke, but his tenseness did seem to be going away.
“It’s called the animagus transformation and it-”
“-lets one change into an animal that matches their soul. I know this, you gave me several books on it to read when we first started transfiguration.” Remus laughed a little forcedly, wondering why the younger man was so upset. It had been a long time since Shurachi had been so short with him!
“Yes, well, I brewed the potion you would need, so you can take it whenever you like.” A small orange vial was produced and Shura was slow to take it. He gave the vial a suspicious glare, wary of potions despite knowing it wasn’t poisoned.
He did take it though, and immediately drop to the ground on all fours. Something warm seared through his body before he felt himself detach from the world. He could see his body growing, morphing, sprouting fur, but he couldn’t feel a thing.
When finally the change seemed to be done, he slammed back into the large, three headed dog that had taken his place. It was an entirely new thing to smell, hear, and even see in triplicate. He could already tell this was going to be a form he would have to train in for it to be of any use at all.
The little human before him seemed surprised, afraid even. Shurachi wasn’t sure why, the scent of pack was all over this one. He wouldn’t hurt a pack member, he was the alpha protector after all.
Something shivered along his body, little insects inspecting the new form. Apparently they found it satisfactory because a content fuzz reached his mind before cold flooded his system and he was laying on the grass panting.
“That was…” He trailed off, unable to find a word that could describe the feeling of utter happiness he was experiencing right then.
Haku had given him a Cerberus puppy and recently it had been getting hard to control it. The dog run he’d kept it in had gotten to small, but he couldn’t just let it roam about freely. If he could master this form, he could keep easy control of it. It wouldn’t go against the alpha of it’s pack.
Keeping this in mind, he turned sharp green eyes on Remus. “How do I do that without a potion? It said in most of the books that a person could, but they never explained how.”
The little bubble of protectiveness that appeared inside of him when Remus smiled was set aside for later examination. He could consider the ramifications of accepting the older man into his pack after he was told how to find his Soul Animal.
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Shurachi glanced up from the group of puppies he’d been teaching the basic commands to when he felt a brief flare of familiar chakra. A sharp bark sent the dog running back to it’s fellows, more than happy to chase a dragonfly with it’s brothers and sisters.
Doku was similarly ordered to remain, Kiba would be getting home from the academy soon after all. Then, when he was sure everything was taken care of, the Inuzuka launched himself into the trees and moved as quickly as he could toward the burst of chakra.
When the scent of heated water reached his nose he slowed. The natural onsen about three miles outside of Konoha’s borders was a favorite spot for shinobi that didn’t want to put up with the civilians in the public baths. Shurachi himself had been there several times after Koishi’s death when the idea of the various memories they’d made in the public baths had been to much for him.
He didn’t think he would be visiting it any time after his fight with his father, the older Inuzuka frequented the springs three or more days a week when he wasn’t on missions after all. Now that he was there though, he was rather glad to have followed the chakra.
Haku was settled in the warm water, an ice mirror floating in front of him melting and refreezing in the steam. It was obvious he was trying to train while still enjoying himself. The water flowing down the smooth, pale body caught Shura’s eye more readily than the mirror though.
Drops were condensing and making small trails on the alabaster skin as it desperately made it’s way back to the pool it came from. A dark trail of hair led into the water and Shura could just barely make out the boys manhood under the steaming water.
He’d always thought of Haku as a pup, a child of Zabuza’s pack, definitely not a candidate for mating. He wasn’t oblivious, he’d smelled the pups interest, but all pups became interested in the leaders of different packs when they met. Kiba had been very much enamored with the Nara Alpha when he’d first met him. The small crush had disappeared very quickly, but it was still proof that pups had a fascination for the Alpha’s of other packs.
Haku reached a hand up and pushed it through his hair, dipping his body back to get it wet and then standing back up in such a way as to make his hair cling to his chest and shoulders. It framed his face, making him seem much more feminine than he really was. The most noticeable thing about it though, was Shurachi’s complete and utter inability to think of him as a pup anymore.
It was very obvious, despite the water in the air, that Haku had hit puberty and would be thinking of mating soon. Though Shurachi couldn’t smell very well with all the vapor, he was quite certain that the scent now coming from the younger male would be much more enticing to him. As such, he had to leave quickly. It wouldn’t help him at all if he was caught peeping on the boy by Zabuza.
Maybe he just needed to get laid? Check out other potential mates before he fell into bed with someone two years his junior? There had been a couple jyônin who had hinted that if he was ever looking they’d be happy to accommodate him. Iruka was also a candidate, especially as Kiba and Shino already liked him well enough.
Maybe Abarai Renji would be up for a tumble in the leaves to help get the image of a wet Haku out of his mind. They hadn’t really interacted as anything but passing acquaintances since a year or so after Kyuubi’s attack, but the red head was known for being rather loose with his morals when it came to bed partners. He certainly wouldn’t protest to Shurachi looking for a little oblivion.
Zabuza watched from his position in a higher tree branch as the Inuzuka left. He knew what the younger shinobi was thinking, he’d thought it a few times himself, but he didn’t really hold any interest in his traveling companion as anything more than an able shinobi.
He was a little annoyed that Haku had let his chakra spike like that though. Zabuza knew it was deliberate because it had happened right after he’d mentioned that they were near Konoha. He’d have to talk with the boy about luring enemy shinobi to you when you were bathing.
Haku ducked himself under the water again and came up with a little gasp when Zabuza’s chakra touched along his briefly. “You shouldn’t be letting out signals like that.” The deep voice had him sinking into the water a little.
“I know Zabuza-san, but I was kind of hoping Inuzuka-san would have felt the spike and come to see what it was about.” He blushed as Zabuza grinned a little meanly through his bandages.
A gleam that made Haku nervous entered the older males eyes. “You really think Shurachi Inuzuka, leader of the Inuzuka Clan, would want a mate as weak as you are right now? He has his pick of strong mates in Konoha, why would he want a punk like you?”
Haku’s eyes widened and he shook his head a little before ducking back under the water to disguise the tears threatening to break loose. He hadn’t really thought about it before, but what Zabuza said was true. Why would such a powerful person want weak little him when they could have any number of strong shinobi in his own village?
Well, he’d just have to get stronger, become someone that Inuzuka Shurachi would want to have as a mate. Next to the spring Haku was still hiding in Zabuza smirked. If that wasn’t motivation for his weapon to get stronger then he didn’t know what was.
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