Naruto
When Sakura came to see Sasuke five days after the exams were put on hiatus, it was more of a detour than anything else.
She had originally come there to see Lee with Ino, but Ino had already arrived to see Lee with Hinata. While this development was concerning, it felt like too much of a waste of a day to not at least see him herself to better explain to him what she saw in the forest. She did try to see Lee without Ino for this reason alone, but Might Guy wasn’t letting anyone else in, his reasoning being, “Sorry Sakura, normally I would let you see him, but Lee is going through a lot right now and I don’t think allowing any more alphas to see him will really help him right now.”
She heard his loud groaning from his door, telling her all she needed to know about his condition. Whatever he was going through it was the result of the actions of two alphas who couldn’t bother to be considerate of him. Naturally, he wouldn’t want to be by alphas and she can respect that. As such, she accepted the rejection with ease, “I know…I’m sorry Guy sensei. I really hope Lee gets better soon.”
“All I am hoping for now is for the poor boy to have a chance to live his dream. It’s all I can do because I’m not sure if he’ll be able to have it or not.”
It was depressing to think, but then she had decided to see Sasuke since well…why not? He is her teammate and whether she wants to or not, she has to try to get along better with him.
Seeing him in his room, she was shocked to find him sitting up, awake and ready to leave the hospital, “Sakura, what are you doing here? Where’s Naruto?”
“I came here to check on Lee originally, but it sounds like he’s still in recovery or something. They wouldn’t let me see him because of everything that happened to him, so I decided to see you.” Sasuke looked at her as though she had grown a third head, leading her to groan, “Come on, Sasuke, I’m trying to make an effort here! Don’t make this harder than it has to be!”
“Forgive me for being shocked. You and I have never gotten along, so why would you blame me for being suspicious of you?”
“I get that, but…look, I went through something in the forest that took place when you and Naruto were passed out. It involved Lee, the Sound Genin who passed away because of the mark left on him by Neji, and Neji calling me out for the not being any better than him.”
Sasuke is staring at her as though she’s making this all up, which leads into her smacking a hand against her forehead, “Alright, I’ll tell you everything right from the beginning!”
Which leads into a fifteen minute explanation of what happened when he and Naruto were passed out in the forest, the severity of Lee’s mark from Neji and what all it does, as well as what happened to Lee when he had to face Gaara in the exams.
When she was done explaining herself, Sasuke was calm but not without one major thing driving him: “Naruto…I want to see him.”
She’s a bit annoyed that’s all he could say after everything she told him. She had thought that maybe she would’ve gotten a thank you for all of the information she shared with him, but no. She got this instead, “Naruto? That’s all you’re thinking of? I know you like Naruto a lot and everything, but I just explained to you a major situation that could have gotten our village in trouble with the others here and that’s all you can think about? Really, Sasuke?”
“I’m thinking about him because Naruto always thought highly of alphas and betas. Now that he witnessed Neji acting like a jerk, he’s probably going to not trust me or like being by me. I need to see him to clear things up with him before he decides he wants to become like Ino or Deidara and never mate me because I’m an Uchiha.”
Sakura does feel bad for him on this end. She can see the distress in his eyes, the tension in his posture, and the way his knuckles are slowly going white from how tightly he is gripping the edge of the bed he is sitting on. She knows he is very distressed right now, which is why she does something she wouldn’t have done before the Chunin exams: “If you want to find Naruto, go find Ino. She’s been spending time with him after the exams were put on hiatus, I’m sure she’d know where he is now.”
His sharp dark eyes are on her instantly, the question on his mind getting past him, “Why are you helping me with him? You’re normally snide and passive aggressive towards me whenever I go near Naruto, almost like you enjoy watching me make a complete idiot of myself in front of him. What changed?”
“I told you, didn’t I? Neji called me out for being a sugar coated version of himself. Seeing how he treated Lee disgusted me and I don’t ever want to be a thing like that guy. I am trying to be better so I can be good enough for Ino, but Ino won’t believe I’m changing unless if I start showing it with actions.”
“So it’s all to win over Ino? Nothing else? Don’t use me as a pawn, Sakura, I’m better than that.”
She shakes her head, “It’s not just that! Neji is horrible to Lee not only as an alpha to an omega, but as a teammate as well. I saw how he acted towards him in the sudden death matches. I didn’t hear what was being said, but I could tell he was making him upset. If Naruto and Ino weren’t there, I would have had to step in to help him.”
He snorts, finding this to be a bit ridiculous, “I don’t get why you didn’t in the first place if you thought it was that bad.”
“I didn’t because I didn’t want Ino to think I was patronizing her or trying to be a proper alpha. I was trying to prove that I have confidence in her abilities to handle things without me getting involved.” Sakura does everything she can to contain her annoyance with the other alpha, ranting a bit when asking, “Why can’t you just be happy I’m trying to be a better person and teammate? Why can’t you accept what I’m trying to do for you, Naruto, Ino, Lee, and others?”
He would have said ‘because everything is too motivated on winning over Ino’ only to stop himself before he said it. If he had said it, he’d be the biggest hypocrite around.
He had to change and grow as a person ever since getting lucky enough to be in the same team as Naruto. He can’t deny his main motivation was because he wanted to win over Naruto so he could become his mate someday. It’s one of the main things in life keeping him going, almost as much as his desire to avenge his clan and kill Itachi.
If winning over Ino is helping Sakura become a better person towards everyone including himself, who is he to be mad about it? At least he’ll finally be able to have as a somewhat confidante now instead of frenemy hell bent on getting back at him for his threatening and humiliating her at any chance he could get when he found out about Naruto having a crush on her.
…Okay, he wasn’t the best either. In fact, looking back on it, his behavior did cause all of those problems between them. He couldn’t expect her to take that and not retaliate.
He may as well take the olive branch while he can and stop being so stubborn for once, “…I’m sorry, I let our past hostilities get in the way of my seeing an improvement in you. I shouldn’t be so stubborn on my thoughts like that.”
He was lucky he didn’t need to ask because Sakura already knew what he was thinking, “Apology accepted… Sasuke, I haven’t heard from Naruto at all these last few days. I don’t know what he’s doing or what’s going on with him. All I can do is tell you I think you can find him if you find Ino.”
“Thanks, Sakura. I’ll be sure to do just that.”
Sasuke gets off of the bed and rushes out of the door after she moves aside for him to do so.
She knows he has a lot on his mind and stopping him from seeing Naruto now would be cruel. She’s trying to be better, and that extends to Sasuke as well.
As for Sasuke, he’s hoping he can find Naruto so he can explain himself to him before it’s too late.
Naruto is by Ino at the moment, begging her from her spot in the flower shop, “Please, you have to help me out here! If I can get that lazy alpha to want to be my mate someday, my future as hokage is guaranteed and I’ll become the first ever omega hokage! Is there something he likes or someone he finds sexy? Because I can be sexy if I try!”
Normally, she wouldn’t be willing to hear him out on this. This time it’s different.
Hinata doesn’t like Naruto anymore and still has feelings for Deidara. Naruto’s best option is currently gone, which leaves her wondering if Shikamaru would really be that bad for him. It’s either him or Sasuke and Naruto can do so much better than that guy in her eyes.
Which is why she is entertaining this at all, “Don’t try to be sexy. Shikamaru finds those types to be too high maintenance. If you want to get him to like you, then you have to show interest in things he likes. Try playing shogi or go with him. Go out cloud watching with him and Chouji or try showing you’re an intellectual by offering to go somewhere he can go to learn about something new like a library or something.”
He nods taking notes down on a pad and a pen he has, smiling as he whistled, “Wow, thank you Ino! I really needed this—Iruka sensei was no help at all today but you’re giving me really great advice and tips.”
“Oh and try to not be too loud and hyper. Shikamaru prefers quieter, calmer company so do your best to not be over the top on that stuff.”
“Got it!” he cheers when finishing writing down this part, asking her, “So…where is he?”
Ino doesn’t hesitate in telling him, “He’s at the barbecue shop with Chouji. Oh, by the way, Chouji his best friend. Don’t insult him or else he will want nothing to do with you at all.”
“Thank you so much, Ino!” Naruto cheers as he hugs her, “I have to get going now. I’ll see you when I get my date with that lazy alpha!”
She has a feeling it won’t work, but it’s Naruto. If there’s anyone who can make the impossible, possible, it’s him.
Sasuke didn’t have to find Ino to find Naruto. He found Naruto when he was approaching a barbecue spot. At first, he had been relieved to find Naruto so easily…that is until he saw he was speaking to Shikamaru and Chouji. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but the way Naruto was speaking and acting was concerning for him.
“Hi! Oh, sorry, I mean…hi, Shikamaru. What’s up?” watching his Naruto go from bright, loud, and sunny to a calm and demure was something Sasuke had never thought was possible. Then he heard the lazy alpha’s response, which did not bode well for him, “Hey, nothing much. I’m about to go cloud watching with Chouji and then I’m going to go play shogi with Asuma. Why would you want to know? You’ve never shown any interest in anything I do before.”
“I know, but I want to get to know you better and I think it’d be fun to play with shogi with you.”
“Do you even know how to play?”
He shakes his head, but his smile is as bright as ever, “No, but I’m willing to learn!”
Shikamaru deadpans then, his glare hard on the omega in front of him, “Yeah, I’m in no mood to teach you how to play. It’d be too hard and I don’t want to put in the work on my day off. Tell me why you’re showing interest in what I do now when you never did in the past. Is this some form of asking me out on a date?”
“What would be so bad about that? I’m gonna need a mate someday when I become hokage and who better than you? You at least come from a clan that doesn’t hate omegas like the Hyuuga’s do.”
Sasuke was about to strike at Shikamaru for trying to seduce Naruto behind his back when he heard him groan, “Hell no…don’t get me dragged into this! I don’t want to be killed by Sasuke! Can’t you find someone else to die for you?”
Naruto’s back to being loud at that point, “What do you mean you’d be killed by Sasuke? Sasuke wouldn’t do that to you!”
Oh poor, poor Naruto…he would. He totally would if this damned alpha tried to steal him away from him.
“He would because he likes you and Uchihas by nature are territorial alphas and betas who cannot tolerate competition.” Shikamaru answers for him in pure exasperation, leaving Sasuke to want to attack him for exposing his desire to mate Naruto like that, “You really could not tell? Sasuke only antagonizes you when you’re giving attention to someone else because he cannot stand it. He bought you ramen for the longest time when he’s not that much into it himself and he was horrible to Sakura because you had a crush on her. In fact, hasn’t it ever hit you that every time you had a crush on someone they would never speak to you again whenever Sasuke found out about it? If it hasn’t, then you’re a lot dumber than I thought you were.”
“W-What?”
“Sasuke. Likes. You. Because he does, I won’t ever date you no matter how hard you beg me to because I don’t have a death wish. Those Uchihas can get real nasty about that sort of thing, and I’d rather not get caught up in it.”
Naruto is quiet, with Sasuke watching from the corner of the building to gauge his reaction to the news. While he is neutral at first, his light blush fades upon the realization when he suddenly asks Shikamaru, “H-He does, huh? I never really knew that…I guess I really am dumber than you thought.”
“Sasuke…I don’t know much of anything about his clan…and I wouldn’t mind dating him, but I…I don’t know.” Naruto meets Shikamaru’s eyes in pure desperation, his stance somewhat shaken, “Look, it’s easy for you to not be scared after what happened to bushy brows because you’re an alpha and you’ll never have to fear someone treating you that bad because of it. I can’t afford to not be scared—I’m an omega and if I’m not careful, I could wind up in his situation if I trust the wrong person like he did. Kakashi sensei has told me this is wrong, but I cannot get it out of my head no matter how hard I try! I don’t want to think bad of Sasuke—he’s my friend and teammate, but I bet Neji was that way with Lee too and look what he did to him! How do I know Sasuke won’t ever do the same to me because of clan tradition like Neji did to Lee?”
Sasuke knew this would come up after hearing what Sakura told him. He was so afraid Naruto would be thinking ill of him after the exams were put on hiatus and it turns out his fears had been realized. Naruto is afraid of him acting like Neji and treating him like he treated Lee.
Sasuke cannot blame him for thinking this way. Naruto had always been naïve in his thoughts concerning alpha and omega relations, so it made sense he would’ve been deeply shaken by what Neji did to Lee so openly in front of him.
…Stupid Hyuuga, ruining his chance at getting with Naruto! He should have told him how he felt about him before the exams started; then Naruto wouldn’t be so scared of him like he is now.
Shikamaru does speak up on this end, shocking Sasuke with what all he has to say, “I wouldn’t worry about that. Uchiha’s aren’t a clan that goes the route of leaving curse marks or other marks outside of mating marks on people. Besides, compared to the Hyuugas, they are fairly progressive so logically speaking, you have no reason to worry about Sasuke doing that to you.”
“You think I don’t have to worry about that?”
“No, not at all. Leaving curse marks or other marks that aren’t mating marks is a skill that not many clans in this village have—in fact, my dad told me only the Hyuuga clan has the skill to do such a thing and I can believe him on it because if the Uchiha could do it, Itachi would have done it to Deidara a long time ago.”
He’s amazed his fellow alpha is defending him…though what he said is correct.
The Uchihas don’t believe in leavings marks outside of mating marks on people. There has never been a history of leaving curse or other marks that aren’t mating marks on people in the clan. If such marks were used, like Shikamaru said, Itachi would have been the first one using such a thing on Deidara.
He knows his clan has some conservative views on omegas and their rights, but it’s nowhere near as severe as those of the more regressive clans such as the Hyuugas.
He doesn’t know how Shikamaru would know of this. He didn’t think he was close to Ino and Deidara when he was in the village, unless if he’s wrong about that one.
“How would you know that for fact?” Naruto has his hands in his pockets, appearing to be calmer than he was before which is a good sign in Sasuke’s eyes.
“My dad has a record all of the clans in the village and their traditions, as well as their views on omega’s rights. They had been thinking I was going to be born an omega, so they compiled it all together to make sure I dated someone from a clan with progressive views on omegas and their rights.” he offers then to all of them present, “I have the book at my place if you want to read it. It’s a pretty interesting compilation if you want to see who to date and mate as well as who to avoid.”
Naruto smile reappears, though it appears to be less certain than before, not as bright as before either which is concerning for Sasuke, “That’d be great! That way I can see if Sasuke and I could work out or not.”
The alpha amongst them shakes his head, “There’s more to it than clan beliefs. Just because someone comes from a conservative clan doesn’t mean they hold those beliefs to be true and just because someone comes from a progressive clan doesn’t mean they are progressive at all. You have to keep it all in perspective, Naruto: compatibility is more than just clan stuff, it’s about what the person you’re dating actually believes for themselves, not what their family thinks. All my dad’s book will do is show what he was raised to believe, not what he actually believes. It’s up to you to ask him that for yourself when you’re done reading it.”
Sasuke doesn’t know why Shikamaru is being reasonable right now, but he’s not going to complain.
If he can get Naruto to consider him as a potential mate, then he’s not going to stop him.