The Mission

Unbeknownst to Naruto, the moment he was gone, Kakashi had cleared his throat and said to Iruka, “So, I see you didn’t have much of a problem with Sasuke spending the weekend with us.”

“Were you expecting me to?”

“I won’t deny that I was.”

Iruka headed out of the room then, his anywhere but that of the alpha with him, “I couldn’t tell him Sasuke couldn’t stay here on those terms. It’d be very hypocritical of me to do that since here I am, an unmated omega, staying with an unmated alpha I have somewhat of a past with.”

“You ever told him of our past together?”

“No, but he would bring up the fact that we’re living here with you despite you having an obvious thing for me.”

Kakashi is actually pretty impressed with Naruto right about now, “You mean, he actually figured it out on his own?”

Iruka nodded when heading over to the kitchen to grab himself something to drink, “He put two and two together when he saw you getting all pissy when that one alpha hit on me the last time we went out to get some ramen.”

It’s amazing it took Naruto seeing such a thing to see it for himself, but he supposes it’s amazing he ever discovered the obvious for himself at all, “I see…well, good for him for noticing it then.”

He does comment then, “The home still reeks a bit of your heat and my rut. Should we try to get rid of the scent more before Sasuke comes? The last thing we need is Naruto knowing we had wild, crazy, amazing sex when he was gone.”

If Iruka’s glare could kill…Kakashi would be vaporized to nothingness, “That was a moment of weakness on my end—nothing more, nothing less.”

“Really? Is that why you asked me to spend your heat with you the week before, when Naruto wasn’t home?”

He pauses then as his face reddens in horror at what was brought up. It’s only so horrific because Kakashi wasn’t lying; he was being completely honest.

Iruka had asked him to spend his heat with him. Mainly because he remembers they had amazing sex in the past and he knows his omega wouldn’t be satisfied with anyone other than Kakashi himself now that they’ve lived together for so long, with the alpha proving he wasn’t a complete pervert or nuisance in his day to day life…

Wait, why is he trying to justify this to himself?

He should be able to have sex with Kakashi and not suffer any shame or pressure to be with him. He deserves to have a heat go by smoothly for the first time in a year or two instead of having to needlessly suffer through it.

“…Okay, you got me there. It wasn’t a moment of weakness and I did ask you beforehand to be with me during my heat. It’s not a big deal, Kakashi—I should be able to have sex with you when I want to without having to justify it.”

“I’m telling you to; all I’m asking is for you to be honest about it.” Kakashi does not stop from pushing this issue further, “Why would you try to lie about it to me when we’re alone? Are you ashamed of what happened?”

When Iruka has nothing to say in response other than, “No, I’m not.” Kakashi moves a bit closer, smirking underneath his mask, “Why deny it to me then?”

He was a bit cocky when moving in closer to the Chunin omega, “Ah, you’re embarrassed because deep down, you know there will never be another alpha or beta who could ever be as compatible sexually with you like me.”

Iruka didn’t bother responding to this because Kakashi doesn’t need to know of this recent fear that popped up after their shared heat/rut.

For Iruka, sexual compatibility is a big deal when it comes down to mating. He cannot mate someone he’s not sexually compatible with; being an omega who enjoys sex, the idea of having a mate he’s not sexually compatible with is enough to make his skin crawl. It would not only be miserable for himself, but for the poor unfortunate person as well.

He won’t deny that he hasn’t found anyone who matches up with the sexual compatibility he has with Kakashi. In his misadventures of dating, he has yet to find anyone who he has chemistry and a connection with who is also sexually compatible with him.

(Naturally, this could’ve been partly due to Kakashi sabotaging his dates, but he won’t chalk everything to that alone. The way he figures it, if any of the people he’s dated in the past were serious about him or felt anything at all for him, they wouldn’t have let Kakashi interfering stop them from seeing him again.)

“That’s none of your business.” he unsuccessfully retorted while turning his back to him in an attempt to hide how unnerved he is at the moment, whereas Kakashi hums and, in his cockiness, states too assuredly, “You would be right if I wasn’t interested in having you as my mate…but alas, I am. I know you too well to know you wouldn’t be acting so strangely over sex alone. You are one of the most sex positive people I’ve ever come across, far more than some alphas I’ve met in the past—are you ashamed or embarrassed about the truth of this because you wouldn’t mind giving me a chance?”

He sighs to this and heads over to the door, more than ready to leave the apartment and find somewhere to go to get away from the Jounin alpha, “Like I could give you one…I don’t want Naruto thinking I’m dumb and self loathing.” before he exited his temporary home, he tells him, “I’ll be heading out now, but I’ll be back soon. I have some things to get from the market; if Naruto gets home before me, tell him where I went.”

Kakashi merely agreed with a certain nonchalance that suggested a bit too much confidence in what he said, “Will do. Have fun at the market.”

When Naruto did arrive at Lady Tsunade’s office, he was beyond pissed off.

She had promised him—promised on her life, to be exact—that she would change the laws in the village for Lee’s sake. To know she had broken her word was enough to make him seethe and want to scream his heart out at her the moment he laid eyes on her, “What the hell, granny! You promised on your life that you’d do all that you could to change the laws for Lee, so why didn’t you do it, huh!”

“Naruto—”

“No, don’t you ‘Naruto’ me! I don’t care that you’re a beta and none of these laws will ever harm or affect you in any way, but omegas are people too, not just betas and alphas!” he was having a near impossible time controlling his scent, his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white, and his voice was little more than a growl as he spoke, “Lee deserves better than what he’s been given in life! He deserves better than a clan who treats him like he’s property to be sold off to the highest bidder! He deserves a loving home like the one I have—I thought you saw that, I thought you saw omegas as people too, but I was wrong about you, you’re just like everyone else in power here.”

“Just listen to me, okay, I know I—”

“No, don’t.” he cut her off, this time his eyes were filled a fear she hadn’t seen when the incident he recalled happened, and it hit her then that this could be part of where the intense anger is coming from, “I had to fight against that Orochimaru guy and Kabuto. Don’t you remember how they looked at me? Don’t you remember what they said about me in battle?”

She does, all too well actually:

Orochimaru, upon seeing Naruto, eyed him like a lion does a gazelle and he purred at the omega openly, “My, how lovely you are indeed—it’s no wonder Sasuke wants to mate you… If I were to take you with me, I know I could get Sasuke to come with me willingly…though I cannot guarantee I’d ever let him have you.”

Kabuto hadn’t been much better during their fight: he smirked when glancing at his neck a bit too long, “Sasuke hasn’t mated you yet, huh? That’s too bad for him, but good for you in this incident.” he began to speak in that scary alpha voice Itachi’s Akatsuki partner had used on him, the one that made him whimper upon hearing it from his former ally, “I’ve wanted to have you as a concubine for a while. Partially for my own pleasure and partially for a certain breeding experiment I wanted to try with a particularly fertile omega…and you have the right body for it. If you submit now, Sasuke won’t be pursued, Tsunade’s life will be spared, and I will give you a life of luxury you could never know.”

Naruto had whimpered back then, but he did his best to stand tall, “No way…no way in hell am I leaving with you sexist jerks! Sasuke is my boyfriend and I wouldn’t—couldn’t leave him for anyone else!”

Tsunade had vowed at one point in the battle to him when Kabuto had gotten a bit too close to him, “Don’t worry, Naruto. I swear on my life that you won’t be taken here to be used by these men and no omega will ever be seen as less than human when I am hokage.”

“…Do you really mean that?”

He didn’t like to be wary of betas, but after the whole Neji thing…he’s wary of anyone that isn’t an omega.

“I mean it, and to show serious I am about this, I will swear on my life to change the sexist laws in Konoha and give all omegas the same legal freedoms as anyone else for the sake of your friend Lee.”

He had decided then to put his trust in her since she had seemed so genuine in her resolve.

Now he is upset at himself for ever doing that in the first place, “I put my trust in you after struggling with completely trusting anyone who’s not an omega thanks to the way Neji treated Lee. I wanted to trust you so badly, I really thought you were different, but you’re not! I went through all of that and…for what? For my friend to still have to go back to his home? What was the point in ever going to find you then if you never had any intention of changing things?”

She set her pen down and met his eyes, calm in her demeanor as she spoke, “I know of the discomfort you experienced in battle, I know how scared you had to have been to be so openly sexualized by your own opponents, but I did try my best to change things. Just because I’m the new hokage doesn’t mean I can start writing new laws to get rid of the old ones; I have to go through the elders and they are the ones who decide which laws get to my desk to be passed and which ones don’t. Ultimately, all the laws I tried to change for the better didn’t sit well any of them, especially Danzo.”

“Why not, though? Don’t they have omega kids or grandkids or mates they should want to have rights?”

“Most of them do, but most of them are not too far off from the Lee clan in terms of conservativeness. In their eyes, tradition needs to be respected no matter what, even if it does mean an omega gets abused. They also took offense to the changes I suggested because they said that doing so would violate the rights of these conservative clans to practice their traditions as they see fit—even though abuse should never be tolerated in any way, shape, or form no matter what the tradition, they didn’t see it that way because they don’t see omegas as people.”

She appeared genuinely guilty when glancing down at her desk, “I’m so sorry, Naruto…I really tried my best to change things for your poor friend, but nothing I did, nothing I said could make them budge. They’re too old and stuck in their ways to change. I fear the only way they will change is when they take their last breath or if something drastic happens to this village to make them reconsider the laws in place.”

He calmed down to this, currently feeling incredibly stupid for snapping at her so harshly, “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that without hearing your side of the story. My dad would be very disappointed in me if he ever found out and I know he won’t be happy to know I told you off. I highly doubt Lee will be either when he hears of this.”

“Maybe not, but that kid seems to be the optimistic, loving type. I wouldn’t worry too much over that.”

Naruto turns his gaze to the floor for a moment before raising his head and going towards the door, “You’re right that he would; if he can forgive Neji after everything, then forgiving me will be a piece of cake. Besides, I need to go see him anyway. I know he’s going to be needing me and I’m not the type to let my friends deal with anything this heavy alone.”

He didn’t see it, but she smiled as he exited her office, leaving her with a somewhat upbeat, “See ya, granny! I have a friend to go see.”

She did protest this, but it wasn’t with any bite as usual. She couldn’t do such a thing, not when she realized that Naruto was indeed more shaken from what happened on the battlefield than what he’s let on. Though she supposes she cannot blame him. Anyone would be terrified if they were in his shoes: not only does Orochimaru want to use him as a bargaining chip to get Sasuke to join him, but Kabuto wants to use him as a personal concubine and breeding experiment. Anyone in that situation would be shaken, even the ever confident Naruto.

She wonders if she should tell his parents about this, if she should go against Jiraiya’s advice and tell not only them, but Sasuke as well.

When their battle ended and they were on their way home to Konoha, Jiraiya had said to Tsunade as she watched over the sleeping omega with a certain protectiveness one would have over their pup (though who could blame her for this after hearing what was said to him out in the open by her own enemies), “You were worried about the kid, huh?”

“Anyone would be if they heard what Kabuto and Orochimaru said to his face.”

“Yeah, I hear ya on that one.” her fellow Sanin frowned while looking at Naruto’s peaceful form, “Maybe I’m being a bit of a dick here, but I don’t think Kakashi, Iruka, or Sasuke should know of what was said here.”

“Why not?” she was flabbergasted to hear him say such a thing, “Those men are like his parents from what you’ve said and Sasuke is his boyfriend…shouldn’t he know about this?”

“If he knows there’s a chance he could go to Orochimaru’s place and betray the village as a whole for the sake of keeping Naruto safe. If Iruka and Kakashi know, they could wind up saying something at the wrong time where Sasuke could overhear what was being said about this, with the end result being the same as it would be if Naruto did tell him. For now, it’s for the best if this remains a secret between us.”

She had understood where he was coming from with this, even if she didn’t really want to. The risk of Sasuke leaving to join Orochimaru to keep Naruto safe was too great to take with this information.

They had gotten Naruto to keep this a secret as well with the fear that if Sasuke knew, then he could do something reckless to stop Orochimaru from wanting to take him or to get revenge on the man for the way he spoke to him in battle.

(They never went too deep in detail as to what that something reckless could be on Jiraiya’s advice; he said Naruto would get angry and fight them on it if they told him the real reasoning. She didn’t think that was true until she saw for herself how loyal and intense their relationship could get in person. Now she’s grateful they didn’t do that.)

As much as she understands the reasoning behind why they can’t tell anyone…she also thinks on some end or another, it’d be better if Sasuke and his family knew everything. Then maybe Naruto could get some real support for it instead of having to handle this trauma on his own.

Maybe she and Jiraiya should try talking to him about it more, to be some form of comfort and support. After how miserably she failed him, she figured it’s all she can do to make things right for the omega she made such big promises to in the heat of a battle where he fought so hard to save her life.

She sits up straight in her chair, gets out a piece of paper, and starts writing in the hopes that man will get this soon.

Naruto’s trauma from that battle needs to be addressed now so it doesn’t cause him to make a dire mistake in another battle in the future.