Finale (Part 2)
While all this was going on, Naruto and Lee were greeting Ino in Kakashi’s room, “Hey Ino, Lee finally came!”
“Lee,” she immediately got a whiff of his scent, her first reaction being, “you mated Neji, huh?”
“No, I mated Gaara.”
She couldn’t believe it and he knows it’s for good reason. She hasn’t spoken to or been by Neji ever since the Chunin exams happened. Ino, compared to Naruto, would be less privy to Neji’s change, “He didn’t do a thing to stop you? I thought he was supposed to be the one to end the mating, not anyone else.”
“He was, but he chose to let me be with Gaara instead.” Lee grinned when showing her the mark on his neck, “See? I got mated to him today!”
Neither one of them were shocked at Ino’s genuine happiness for Lee; she had never really objected to him liking Gaara like Naruto had been and she was with Naruto in the idea of ‘anyone’s better than Neji’, “That’s great! How did he mate you?”
“He mated me in Lady Tsunade’s office when she gave him her blessing to.”
Her and Naruto both stare long and hard at him in disbelief because surely that is not what happened…right?
Naruto is the one to speak up when the silence becomes too much for him to handle, “He didn’t actually mate you in front of her, did he?”
“Yes, he did.” Lee answers so easily and happily it’s honestly off putting to them, “He did it so quickly, like he knew he wanted to mate me and didn’t have any doubts or second thoughts! I never thought I’d get that lucky in my lifetime!”
Ino clears her throat, trying to be positive for him, “How…wonderful.”
“Wonderful? The guy couldn’t mate you somewhere more romantic, huh?”
She nudges him hard in the ribs and Naruto doesn’t stop regardless, “I would kill Sasuke if he mated me that way! Either do it right at a ramen shop or when there’s a festival with fireworks going off or don’t do it at all!”
“What’s romantic about a ramen shop?”
“Everything!”
“Please, if I were to be mated by Sakura, I wouldn’t want it done in a ramen shop, in front of a bunch of a strangers! That’d be just as bad as having it done in front of my parents!”
Now it’s Lee and Naruto’s turn to be left speechless by this statement.
She glances at them oddly, finding their reaction to be a bit much, “What?”
“Sorry Ino, it’s just…I never thought I’d hear of you talking about mating in a way that isn’t ranting about how awful it is.”
“Yeah, Lee’s right; you never had any interest in mating before—when I think about it, I cannot name one time you had anything good to say about mating. All you’ve ever done was ranted about how sexist it is. What changed?”
Her response is thoughtful in a way that seems confident without being defensive, guarded, or brash; like a more natural confidence that would come to person at peace with themselves as opposed to ‘faking it until making it’, “I realized I don’t have to blindly follow everything Deidara believed to make him happy or proud of me. He wants me to be my own person and I’m going to live up to that wish from now on.”
“Things have really improved between you and Sakura then, huh?” Naruto begins with a raised brow, clearly too amazed at what he’s heard to properly process this information, “I never thought I’d hear you talking about mating her. Are you two dating or something?”
“Yeah, we’ve been going on dates recently.” she says it so easily, like there’s nothing to be shocked about here, “I don’t get why it’s a big deal. Sakura changed a lot as a person and became the sort of person I want to date and possibly mate someday.”
“Didn’t your brother hate her? I remember her ranting about that before.”
Ino winces at the memory of that particular detail of her childhood, “He did…but he’ll have to come around to it because I’m not breaking up with her to make him happy.”
Now that he’s heard all this, Lee is the first one to smile so widely and hug his friend tightly, “I’m proud of you, Ino!”
“For what?”
“For doing all that you can to live your life for yourself instead of your brother.”
When she appears to be taken aback by what was said, he explains it a bit further, “I know you love your brother, but I always thought it was a bit unhealthy to base so many of your views on what he believed and devote your life to him when he has always lived for himself. It’s great that you’re starting to live and believe what you want instead of what he would.”
She’s glad to see they are being better about this than her team was; Shikamaru had gotten too skeptical and invasive with his questioning whereas Chouji got on her for ‘abandoning Deidara in a way’.
(He has a crush on him though so she saw that one coming. Shikamaru’s questioning was not something she foresaw.)
“As long as you’re happy that’s all that matters!” Naruto grins before asking her, “What’s Sakura like on dates anyway? Is she more strict or laid back? What does she do for fun and romance?”
Ino blinks to this, but answers him regardless, “She’s laid back…we usually do outdoorsy stuff like camping, hiking, and swimming for dates. She likes to take me out to fun places we both enjoy going or doing together—she hasn’t done anything surprising yet, but we haven’t been together as long as you and Sasuke have.”
Speaking of which, she does ask him, “What is Sasuke like on dates? Is he always brooding?”
Naruto scoffs, “Sasuke is not always brooding! On our dates, he’s awesome!”
Lee and Ino both seem to struggle with the idea if their shared looks are anything to go by, “He is capable of smiling you know—he does it around me when we date and I’ve gotten more action from him than Kakashi sensei has with Iruka so there’s that.”
(Oh if only they all knew the truth…)
“What action did you get?” Ino is wary when asking, not sure of what Naruto’s idea of ‘action’ could be.
“Um, duh!” he states with all the pride in his person, “We’ve only made out like, a million times by now.”
Now the omega girl cannot believe it, “Yeah right, there’s no way that happened!”
“It did too—here, I’ll count down all the times we made out!”
As Naruto does this, Lee sees a book on Kakashi sensei’s night stand and clears his throat loud enough to get their attention, “Hey guys, looks like Kakashi sensei is trying to learn more about omegas.”
At the news, they stopped in their tracks, unable to conceive of the idea that Kakashi sensei could, genuinely, be trying to get better at winning over Iruka.
“No way…” they say in perfect unison yet when they see the book Lee is holding isn’t one of his smut books, it’s mind blowing for them.
They instantly rummage through the book, each one left speechless at the stunning revelations of the man trying to actually improve himself well enough to get Iruka to want him.
“Whoa…I never thought this would happen in my lifetime.”
“It’s as shocking as it is disturbing…”
“I think it’s sweet.” Lee coos, “He’s really trying to make a real effort to be better for Iruka sensei! What could be more romantic than that?”
Naruto is the one to say it, “We need to redefine romance here cause your definition doesn’t sound like anything I’d want for myself.”
Ino shrugs, not being as stiff on this as Naruto is, “I think romance varies by the person…not everyone wants to make out as much as you and Sasuke do. I’m sure Lee has his reasons for finding this to be romantic.”
He nods, filling them in on it, “Well, yeah it is sweet to me! I always thought romance was supposed to be letting an alpha or beta do whatever it is they want to my body…but what makes me ‘swoon’ as Tenten says is seeing alphas and betas trying to be good to omegas and doing all that they can to be good to them because that’s honestly all I wanted my mate to do for me.”
They don’t know whether to find this aspiring or downright depressing, but they won’t say such things out loud. Ino does say, “I’m not sure what romance is, but I think Lee’s definition could be close to it.”
“Maybe…for me, romance is someone who is willing to come for me when I’ve been kidnapped, fight by my side no matter what…” something in his voice changes when he speaks, “and someone who will understand and wait for me when I have to leave.”
Naruto then looks his friends in the eye and tells them something he didn’t want to have to do so soon, “Ino, Lee, I didn’t get this idea outta nowhere. I actually did this to have one last night of fun with you two—but I have to tell you this before it gets to be too much.”
He exhales gets it off his chest in one fell swoop, “I am going to be leaving with the damn Pervy Sage very soon and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“What?” Ino pales to this, realizing she will be alone when Lee and Naruto both leave her, “We’ll be able to write to you, right?”
“I dunno…he made it sound like we would be traveling a lot.” Naruto sighs when going over to Kakashi’s bed and face planting on it, “Ugh, this sucks! I wanted to train and get stronger, but I didn’t think I’d have to leave you, Ino. I’m sorry, I really am, I tried to get him to let me take you along, but he said I can’t because he said the Akatsuki are after me and that would put you in too much danger.”
She’s not mad about not being able to go along since she’s not certain what she would do if she had to fight her brother, but she can tell something more is bothering him. Luckily for her, Lee seemed to catch onto it right away, “You’re worried about Sasuke, huh?”
“Of course I am!” Naruto half shouts when pulling himself off from the bed, “What if he loses interest in me and starts dating another omega or beta? What if he thinks I’m ugly when I come back? What will I do then, huh? Date Kiba? I’d like to think I have a shred more self-respect for myself than that, but I don’t know if I would if Sasuke didn’t want me anymore.”
Lee hums to this, taking a seat beside Naruto on the bed, “I get it—the whole time Gaara was here, I tried to not get too interested in him because I knew he’d leave and I knew if he found someone else, it’d ruin me. I was so afraid he wouldn’t want a thing to do with me that I shied out of writing to him until you brought me what I needed to do it.”
“Lee—”
“No, I could have asked Guy sensei to send a letter to Gaara for me and have the hokage mail it to him. I didn’t want to do it though because I was scared of hearing him say he found someone else or he got himself a mate that I didn’t do it. I owe you everything for the gift you gave me because it allowed me to get everything off my chest to him.”
He does wrap an arm around his friend and do his best to comfort him in light of this, “But you know what? I never had any reason to worry; from what Gaara’s siblings told me today, he thought of me too much when he was gone, and he never looked at anyone else the entire time he was home. Now if this can be true for Gaara and I, then I think you definitely have no reason to worry about you and Sasuke.”
“You think?”
“I do! Sasuke and you have a great relationship and he seems to really love you in his own way. There’s nothing which will guarantee success more than that.”
Ino takes a seat on the other side of Naruto, grinning with a devious glint in her eyes, “He’s right about that one—but if he doesn’t stay loyal, I will kill him for you and make him regret it.”
Naruto chuckles and hugs them both, “You guys are the best.”
“You know we are,” Ino, though feeling upset at the idea of being without them, does her best to keep things light for the both of them, “but let’s not make this all mopey, okay? Let’s make this the most fun night of our lives!”
“Hell yeah, let the fun begin!”
As the omegas set about this, they never noticed Ino’s mom was the one watching them since they were having too much fun causing general chaos in Kakashi sensei’s room. When Iruka did come back and she left, they didn’t notice since she was gone when they exited the room to get some snacks from the kitchen.
He would have asked them what happened, but he figured it was best to save that for tomorrow when they were all gone.
For now, he is going to ask them in an attempt to appear normal and not as though he got out of a serious meeting with a bunch of Jounin, “Ino, Lee, Naruto—you guys want any ramen?”
“When would we not want ramen?” Naruto pipes up, his excitement barely contained, “Get us the ramen, Iruka!”
“Sure thing!”
He tries to act normal while with the omegas, hoping against all odds that there will be no need to stress so much over the safety of his son and village in the upcoming days.
Iruka discovered the truth later on from Kakashi about what happened and he was deeply relieved to hear it. This allowed him to sleep good that night in his room while Kakashi took the couch.
However, it did not stop the alpha from looking at his room in pure horror when the omegas were eating breakfast together, “Naruto…what did you and your friends do to my room?”
“To be fair, you let me have them all in there knowing what three omegas could do when put together in a room.” he calls back to him while eating his breakfast of miso soup and rice.
“My room is a wreck! Why are my books and things from my personal drawer all over the place and—” he stopped to call out to him, “what were you guys doing with my shampoo!”
“Washing out the food in Ino’s and Lee’s hair when we got some in it during a battle for the snacks!”
Iruka raises his hand, ordering the omegas to, “Stay here; I have to talk to Kakashi for you guys…looks like he’s trying to pretend that I did not warn him about how chaotic omega sleepovers can get.”
When he’s gone, Ino is wondering, “Where’s Gaara? I’m amazed he let you spend the night with us. Most alphas are usually very clingy when they first mark their mate.”
“Ah, well, when Gaara and I got back to the place he was staying at, he got this message about being needed for a meeting with Lady Tsunade and I didn’t really hear from him after that, so I got ready for the sleepover while he was gone.”
Naruto does want to be sure before he starts freaking out, “Does he know you’re here?”
“He does! I left him a note saying I went here to be with you guys.” Lee informs them, allowing the duo some peace of mind, “I should get going after this: I want to check on Gaara and then I need to see Tenten before I leave.”
“Why her?” Ino is curious because last she checked, Tenten did visit him at the hospital when he got back, “Didn’t you two talk at the hospital?”
“We did, but it was only once and I don’t know if she’s mad at me or not for getting mated to Gaara.” Lee is a bit down when picking at the last bit of rice he has to eat, “I don’t want Tenten to hate me or be mad at me…Guy sensei said I should to talk to her, so I’m going to do that today because I don’t know when Gaara wants to leave.”
Right…Lee could be leaving today…
Naruto clears his throat, asking him, “You will tell us when you’re going to leave, right?”
“Yeah, we do deserve the chance to tell you goodbye in person.” Ino reminds him and he does all that he can to reassure his friends, “Don’t worry, I’ll let you all know right away, I promise!”
“You better keep that promise or else I’ll march over to Suna and rip your mate a new one!” Naruto warns and it makes Lee laugh because it’s just so Naruto to threaten such a thing, “I’ll definitely be sure to let you guys know! How about we meet up at the gates at noon? I’m thinking that if Gaara wants to leave today it will be then.”
“That sounds like a great idea!” Ino agrees to it simply because, “I have today off from the flower shop and training, so I can meet you guys there at noon. Just don’t be shocked if Sakura comes; I’m sure she has the same day off too.”
“I can make that work—oh, then Sasuke and I can go to the hot spring together! I never got to do that with him before…hopefully we don’t get in too much trouble over that. Iruka isn’t for it and Kakashi sensei is completely against it because we’re dating, but I think that’s just being dumb about things.”
“Or you know, he could have a point—” Ino was about to say when there was a knock on the door.
Naruto was the one to answer it, his confidence wavering at the sight of him, “Gaara…hi…what’re you doing here?”
“I’m here to see my mate,” he answers with ease, “we do have to get going soon—my siblings and I are supposed to head out at noon. If he wants to see his teammate and sensei, we should leave now.”
“He’s right, I should get going,” Lee got out of his chair, grabbing the bag he brought with him for the sleepover, and waved his friends off, “I’ll see you guys later at the gate! Goodbye for now.”
Before they could him one of their final farewells, there was someone behind Gaara clearing his throat, “Hey kid, mind if I speak to Naruto about something important?”
The blonde omega knew that voice right away, “Pervy Sage? What the hell are you doing here so early?”
“I’m here because we’re heading out at noon as well. Whatever you need to do, you only have a few hours to get it done before we have to go.”
Jiraiya actually wanted to leave earlier, but he could smell the sadness from Naruto’s scent at the news of his friend leaving so soon. He decided it was best to give him some time to say his goodbyes and spend time with those he wanted before leaving, especially since his mated friend was getting the chance to do the same.
Which reminds him, “You oughtta use some of this time to find Sasuke.”
“Why? So he can breakup with me and move on faster?” Naruto moped as the idea of Sasuke doing just that entered his mind, breaking his heart at the very imagination of it.
“No, Sasuke is coming with us.”
Not for the reasons of keeping Naruto happy, but for the reason of wanting to avoid any unnecessary drama that could happen from the village elders being killed last night. The last thing they need is for Sasuke to stay too long in Konoha, find out what Ino’s meeting with Deidara was actually about, and then go down the route of possibly becoming an Akatsuki member just like Deidara himself.
Sasuke is too young to really handle what all was discovered about his clan’s massacre. As such, he should be kept away from the village to ensure they won’t inadvertently create another Deidara.
“You mean it? He’s coming with us?” Naruto is suddenly full of life, bouncing from his spot in the doorway, “I can really bring him along?”
“I said you could, didn’t I? Now go, get him and let him know we’ll be heading out at noon!”
“Yes, perv!” he cheers before shoving Gaara, Lee, and Jiraiya aside to find his boyfriend.
Gaara only blinked to this and turned his attention back to Lee, “…Let’s get going before anything else odd happens.”
“That’s fine with me. I shouldn’t keep my sensei and Tenten waiting.”
As they all left, it started to dawn on Ino that she wouldn’t have her omega friends in the village anymore…she’s going to be alone without them…
She may have her teammates, but that’s no real replacement for the sort of camaraderie she has with her fellow omegas.
Now that it’s all officially happening, it feels much heavier than it should and she’s worrying over what will come next.
After leaving Iruka’s place, she is heading to Sakura’s to let her know of what’s going on though it’s painfully obvious to anyone who knows her that there’s something troubling her.
It was at this time that she heard the gentle call of, “Ino, hi!” that caused her to turn around.
There she sees Hinata jogging up to her with a pep in her step, “It’s been so long since we’ve last spoken! How have you been?”
“Good, how about you?”
“I’m doing great; if I keep up my training, I can one day become strong enough to bring Deidara back and hopefully win over his heart.”
…She has no idea how she would ever begin to tell the painful truth of her brother’s mating situation to Hinata.
Oh well. That can wait for another time, “Wow, that’s awesome! I’m really happy for you, Hinata.”
She glances at her oddly then, immediately picking it up, “Is there something wrong? You look like you’re about to cry.”
“It’s just…” she stifles her tears to properly say it, “Naruto and Lee are leaving the village today at noon. The last time I ever had an omega friend was my brother and when he left, it really hurt me because I never saw him again. I know I’ll get to see Lee and Naruto will come back someday, but I don’t know what I’ll do without them. It’s not like I can talk to my teammates or Sakura about omega stuff; they wouldn’t get it the same way an omega friend does…and I guess I’m not really ready for them to leave.”
Hinata takes her hand and gives it a gentle squeeze, “I may not know what it’s like to go through that, but you’re a lot stronger than you think. I know you can handle them leaving even if you think you can’t. I’ve always admired you for how strong you were to keep on wanting to be a shinobi even when facing so much hate and bigotry while dealing with a loss of your own. If you can handle that, then you can handle this as well.”
When she says nothing in response, Hinata does let her know with a firm eye contact she’s never really held with many people in the past, “If you ever feel lonely or overwhelmed with anything, come get me and I’ll be the friend you need to be there for you no matter what, okay? And if you want an omega to speak to, I’ll find one for you and—”
Ino giggles then, suddenly feeling a little bit more confident in being left in Konoha, “Thank you for that, Hinata. You really are the best.”
“Um…thanks.” she quickly says with a small blush on her cheeks, “I’m sorry if that was much.”
“No, it’s fine! I needed to hear it from someone and I’m glad it was from you; you’re one of my good friends and I will always be grateful to have you here at least.”
It makes Hinata smile and the heavy feeling in her chest lighten to know she will always have the beta girl by her side even when she doesn’t have her other friends in person.
They would speak for a little longer with each other, with Hinata leaving her to go back to her home to train more and Ino arriving at Sakura’s place in a better mood than before…only to find out from her mother that she had gone to ask Lady Tsunade about being trained by her.
It didn’t bother her to go see her there. After all, it would be nice to see the alpha again to talk to her about what all is happening and see if she can get her to come to the gates to see the boys off.
Naruto, on the other hand, had given Sasuke the surprise of his lifetime by running into his arms, in his pajamas nonetheless, and jumping into his arms the moment he found him, “Thank kami I finally found you, Sasuke!”
His legs were wrapped tightly around his waist and while Sasuke wishes he could enjoy this, he couldn’t—not with all the alphas and betas around staring at his mate now that he’s not in his jumpsuit, “Naruto, why are you in your pajamas?”
“Because I had to find you as soon as I could!” he begins excitedly, “Sasuke, you and I are going with the Pervy Sage to go train and travel together!”
“Wait—why do we need to leave?”
“Um, isn’t it obvious?” and when Sasuke doesn’t get it, Naruto groans and fills in the blanks for him, “I need to leave because the Akatsuki are still after me and it’s obvious you’re coming along to keep me safe from your creepy brother who clearly wants a pretty blonde omega harem if he can come after me when he already has Deidara.”
“Pretty blonde omega?”
“Hey, I may not be Deidara but that doesn’t mean I’m not pretty.”
Sasuke rolls his dark eyes and kisses him, gently setting down on his feet afterwards, “You’re not pretty, Naruto. You’re more beautiful to me than Deidara could have ever been.”
Naruto gasped, never having heard anyone say such a thing to their mate or romantic partner before in this village, “You really mean that?”
“I really do; I have always thought you were the most beautiful omega in the village, and I stand by it.” he growls out of nowhere to anyone near them but to Naruto, he’s impressed it didn’t come out earlier, “I won’t let him have you, not when you’re finally mine, and even if I wasn’t asked to come, I would have anyway to keep you safe.”
Naruto kisses him back, his happiness making him appear radiant at that moment, “That’s why you’re the only one I’d ever want to mate! You clearly love me to do stuff like that for me. I don’t know why I was worried you’d wanna break up with me, think I was ugly when I came back, or find someone new when I was gone—I guess I let my nerves get to me—”
He is cut off by Sasuke gripping his hand firmly, his Sharingan almost coming out due to his rage at the statement, “I would never do that, even if you left without me. I would be waiting for you if I couldn’t track you down to keep you safe from my brother, and when you got back, I wouldn’t have found you ugly—I would have asked you to be my mate so I’d never have to worry about losing you to anyone ever again.”
“Aww, that’s my teme!” Naruto nearly cries, but then he remembers, “Oh, you should get packed! We’re gonna meet the perv at the gates at noon!”
Naturally, this left Sasuke to groan, “You couldn’t tell me that when you were dressed, and I wasn’t on the way back to my place from getting groceries for a meal I was going to make you tonight?”
“I forgot I wasn’t properly dressed and I was too excited to have you coming with me that I forgot! You can’t blame me for any of this! Blame the damn sage for not telling me in the hospital when he spoke to me alone.”
(This is actually how Naruto had found out he was going to be leaving the village: he had a final follow up with the doctor on his last day in the hospital, but by the time he was done, Jiraiya had entered the office to speak to him about leaving the village. At first, he wasn’t happy about it, but he knew he had to leave—he couldn’t risk everybody else’s safety by being here anymore and he had to get stronger to protect everyone he loves. This is what led into him planning the sleepover with Ino and feeling down about leaving without Sasuke.)
“Okay, I get that, but you need to go get dressed and pack and I need to pack too if I want to leave on time. I’ll come by your place to take you to the gates when I’m done.”
Sasuke kisses him on the cheek, giving him a quick, “I’ll see you at your place, Naruto! Don’t come for me, wait for me to come for you!” before he makes a run to get to his place.
“I will, Sasuke!” Naruto shouts back as his boyfriend’s figure soon disappears down the street, making him feel like he’s walking on air now that he’s heard all that he has from Sasuke.
He has something no other omega in this village got: his future mate telling him he’s more beautiful than Deidara and meaning it.
What could be better than to know he matters so much to him?
Nothing, that’s what; nothing.
Tenten and Guy sensei were in the area Lee had thought they would be: the area in the woods where they typically trained together as a squad.
Gaara is with him simply because, according to him, he has ‘nothing better to do with his time’ and Lee can believe it. Seeing as how Kankuro had already packed for his siblings and Lee had gathered up his belongings yesterday after they got mated, they were all ready to leave.
Though even with Gaara by his side, it doesn’t make facing Tenten any less harder than it is now, especially when she looks at him with so much pity and sorrow she cannot contain it, “Lee…”
“Tenten, I’m sorry for whatever it is I did that made you angry. I want to leave on a good note with you, so please, can we still be friends when I’m gone?”
She places a hand on his shoulder and shakes her head, “Don’t apologize for anything. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did to the news of you getting mated, but I was upset because I was afraid you were forcing yourself to be optimistic about this like you were with Neji’s mark at first. I couldn’t stay there and watch you be so happy over losing so much—not when I thought it was all an act you were doing to be strong for everyone else. I guess it’s also because losing you is too much for me…I really don’t want you to leave.”
He places his hand on hers, his eyes starting to water at the love he is receiving from his friend, “None of what you saw was an act. I really did want to mate Gaara and I’m still so happy to be his mate. I know it seems hard to believe, but I know I will be happier in Suna with Gaara than I ever could have been had I mated Neji or gone to prison for refusing to mate anyone.”
“You’re giving up so much—how can you be at peace with that?”
“I was going to be forced to give it up before I hit eighteen anyway with the way my clan’s traditions are. At least I got to give it up for someone of my choosing instead of theirs.”
She wipes at her own eyes, muttering, “I guess it makes sense when you put it down like that.”
Tenten hugs him for a moment, not saying a word as she does so, and when she ends it, she tells him, “Guy sensei says he is going to visit you as often as he can in Suna and so will I, so be prepared to keep up with me during training!”
“I will, Tenten!” he beams to the news whereas her attention on Gaara was not so kind, “And if you so much as make him cry, I’ll kill you myself, got it?”
“I’m seconding this one with her,” Guy sensei adds, “If you dare hurt Lee, I will make you suffer for it, that much I promise you.”
“Why would I hurt my mate? It’s not logical to do to a person one likes…at least to me it isn’t…unless if it’s a normal thing to do in Konoha. Is it normal to do such a thing in Konoha? I can never tell with this village and how it’s run.”
“…You know what sensei? I think Lee is going to be fine.”
“I think he will be too, Tenten.” Guy sensei says before approaching the omega he sees as the son he never had and hugging him tighter than Tenten did, with the young omega immediately returning the favor, his voice muffled when he spoke, “I’ll miss you, sensei. Promise me you will write me as much as possible and visit me as often you as can.”
“I promise I will do all of the above, Lee. You are like the son I never had, and I will never let you become a stranger to me.”
“It’s funny because you’re the dad I always wanted and while I never got lucky enough to have you as my dad like Naruto did with Iruka sensei, I will always treasure our moments spent together because in my eyes, you are my dad.”
While they are going on and on like this, he can tell Tenten is getting a bit done with it. Gaara himself, on the other hand, is getting a bit done with it as well, but he won’t stop Lee from having this.
His mate has been through hell and back again with his clan. He deserves to have at least one moment with the one person who’s good enough to be his dad.
At noon, all three omegas with their love interests—whether they be recently dating, boyfriends, or mates—had all met up at the gates for a final goodbye.
In the first moments, it was a bit awkward because none of them wanted to say anything. They had been confident to leave earlier because leaving the village behind is easy—leaving each other is hard.
Lee and Ino—while sad to see each other leave—know they can always write to each other or visit one another. They can’t do the same with Naruto when he’s gone since it sounds like he won’t be in one stable location for long.
Lee is the one who ends the silence by coming out with it, “Thanks for all the support you’ve given to me ever since we met in the Chunin exams. I am lucky to have some of the best friends in the world with you guys.”
“Lee, don’t thank us! It’s what friends do for each other and besides, like Sakura told me,” Ino said while holding her hand tightly, “I can always visit you and write you as often as I wish.”
“But won’t you get lonely without us?”
“I mean, I know I will, but whenever I do, I’ll at least have Hinata and Sakura to talk to. Besides,” she reminds them all with a proud smile on her face, “I survived everything that happened with my brother. I can survive this too because you two are coming back someday and I know for fact you will.”
“Hell yeah we are and when I do come back, I’ll be able to kick any pervy Akatsuki ass!” Naruto confidently declares, though it doesn’t feel as strong as it would have been had he said it the day before, “I’m gonna miss you guys lots, but when I come back, I expect us all to go out to ramen together and have another sleepover at Iruka’s place!”
Sakura asks him rather worriedly, “Did you get to say goodbye to Iruka sensei? How about Kakashi sensei?”
“I didn’t because he was working today and Kakashi sensei wasn't home when I left. I had to pack so…” he turns his attention to Ino, “You better make sure Iruka doesn’t end up with Kakashi sensei for me, Ino.”
“What?”
“If I come back and I find out he’s with that guy, I will kill the damn perv for corrupting my dad like that, no mercy shown! So keep an eye on him for me, okay?”
She nods, promising him, “I promise I will keep an eye on for you, Naruto. Don’t worry, I won’t let that pervert mate your dad!”
Sasuke takes this time to comment as the omegas talk amongst themselves, “You really got with Ino, huh? How did that happen?”
“Uh, yeah I did, her and I are dating now. Is it really that shocking? Here, I’ll tell you how I did it… It’s called ‘bettering myself as a person’, Sasuke. I am capable of that, you know.”
“…If you would have told me at the start of the Chunin exams, I wouldn’t have believed you, but you have changed so…I guess I was wrong to ever doubt that. Keep her safe—Naruto would kill you and deny me any affection if something bad happened to her.”
“You don’t need to tell me that, stupid! I’m wanting to mate her someday, of course I’m going to keep her safe!” Sakura chides him without any heat in it.
Gaara rolls his eyes to the alpha chatter and focuses on the omegas instead, finding them to be less grating at the moment.
“No, it’s weird, isn’t it? My old place with Iruka was finished being built when I was in the hospital and he won’t move back there because ‘it’s nice to have another adult around’. You have to keep my dad safe from him, that dirty perv will corrupt him, I just know he will!”
“Wow, I never knew that one! I will be sure to keep a very close on him then. We do not need sweet, precious Iruka sensei to settle for such a smutty man like Kakashi sensei.”
“I don’t know guys—what if he likes him and you both are being selfish about this?”
“Lee, we’re not being selfish!”
“He’s right, who in their right mind would want anyone in their family to date that man, let alone live with him?”
Lee shakes his head, knowing he won’t get through to them, “Fine, just don’t be shocked if they do wind up mated despite your objections.”
Naruto openly seethes while punching his open palm, “And if he does mate him, I will rip his dick off!”
The omegas—and Gaara, since he cannot deny he found the image humorous—laugh to this for a moment, the air lifting enough for them to give their final goodbyes to each other.
Naruto, Ino, and Lee joined in one last, quick group hug before heading off.
Lee waves to Ino and Naruto as he begins to leave with Gaara and his siblings, tears starting to build in his eyes despite the smile on his face, “Goodbye Ino and Naruto! I cannot wait to see you again and hear from you soon!”
“Goodbye Lee, I will always miss you!” Naruto calls out to him as he leaves with Gaara taking his hand, then he faces Ino, waving her off as well, “Goodbye Ino and Sakura, you guys have been the best friends I could’ve ever asked for!”
“Goodbye Naruto, I’ll miss you and Lee for as long as you’re gone… Don’t be like my brother; actually come back for real, okay?”
Naruto, upon seeing the sadness in her eyes, agrees without hesitation, “I am coming back; I’m not your brother, I won’t leave you behind, I promise!”
She smiles to this while leaning into Sakura’s side as the alpha waves off her teammates, “So long Sasuke, Naruto—don’t worry about the village, Ino, or Iruka sensei when you’re gone. I’ll become strong enough to keep everyone safe, that much you will see when you do come back!”
“Pfft…whatever.” Sasuke said loud enough for her to hear and subsequently roll her eyes at him as he too left with Naruto in tow.
The omega trio are now going their separate ways, each one nervous for the road ahead yet facing it as bravely as they can so they can make the other proud when they do finally reunite again.