Reckoning

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Naruto Home, Greenwood (43 miles East of Konoha City)

As expected. It didn’t bode well. That evening, as Naruto was home Kurama took to barking wildly at the door practically clawing at it. The blonde went to go check what was outside, Perhaps Hinata was back for another late night conversation. Maybe a wild animal. Regardless, as he cracked the door open trying to squeeze by without letting the dog out— Kurama of course escaped. 

Kurama escapes and then takes off dashing into the shadows of the trees in the dark at night. At first it was fine, mostly loud barks from the dog but suddenly a loud high pitched squeal jerked his attention and Naruto rushed back inside for his gun and flashlight anger pulsing under his skin. That was his dog, his family out there and something just tried to hurt him. Running between trees and shadows, the blonde bares his teeth, growling, before he spots Kurama. The dog is laying out on his side, blood matting his fur on his hind leg. The blonde gave a soft gasp and the dog whimpered softly when he spotted Naruto. The blonde gave a quick glance around, careful to pick Kurama up so he could still fire his pistol and carry his dog back home. 

The moment the blonde made it inside he chucked the flashlight to the side, and gently set Kurama down before moving to turn off every source of light in the house. He checked his gun, made sure there were bullets and settled in to wait. Inwardly, Naruto could feel the tickling sensation of his alpha hormones pushing at him, fueling his rage and instinct to protect his home— his pack— his nest. A pulsing need to fight or fuck burned underneath his skin. 

Glass shattered as something broke through the window and Naruto turned to shoot, glad that it was the side of the house furthest from Kurama. An alpha wearing some sort of suit made from bones and a mask of teeth came clawing at him. Glad to have an outlet for all of the pent up anger he was feeling Naruto sent his first shot straight through His mysterious attacks stomach before tossing the weapon aside to pin down the intruder with his hands. Naruto threw all of his weight on its throat, choking him until the intruder fell unconscious. Feeling a rush of excitement run down his spine gave him a shiver, and removed the Weird suit and mask to reveal Kenmoro underneath it all. Working quickly, Naruto bound his would-be killer so tightly he couldn’t move, before taking the chance to carefully inspect Kurama’s injury. 

“Dammit my dog is bleeding and I still need to figure out what to do with this asshole.” Naruto muttered, as he looked at Kurama's wound which, thankfully, didn’t seem to be very deep. Kenmoro chose that time to start to wake up and Naruto bared his teeth at the alpha a snarl tipping it way free from his throat. “You hurt my dog.” Kenmoro gave as much of a shrug as he could consider the ropes. 

“You were planning on killing me weren’t you Agent?”

“Who told you that?” 

“Gaara. He warned me about the association.” Kenmoro snarled and the blonde could smell the scents of angry and frightened alpha pouring off him in waves and it was wonderful. Between the rush of adrenaline, his anger of his injured dog and thrill of raw power the scent gave him Naruto’s alpha instincts kicked in, and he enjoyed ripping Kenmoro apart with his teeth as the alpha screamed— helpless. Afterward, Naruto put his dog into a dog carrier carefully of every move he made, and in general babying the crap out of the dog. Then, hurriedly he threw the body into a couple trash bags and in his car trunk. The vet needed to take a look at Kurama and he owed Gaara a visit. 

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Gaara’s home, west side Konoha City

Kurama was checked into the vets. The wound was still terrible and Naruto left him there overnight after the doctor mentioned possible broken bones and surgery. ‘Should have tortured that alpha longer.’ The blonde grumbled inwardly as he finished driving to Gaara’s. The redheads' house was dark and quiet when he got there. No sign of his car and the blonde didn’t even hesitate before just breaking through the back door and smuggling the body inside anyway. (Being careful not to attract attention of course) 

When Gaara returned, with a grocery bag in one hand, it was to the sight of Naruto facing the painting of Leda and The Swan in his dining room, with Kenmoros body draped across the table. 

“I would say that this makes us… even.” Naruto said, still feeling the afterglow of killing the rude alpha who had harmed his pack. “I sent someone to kill you, you sent someone to kill me.” The blonde turned to face Gaara, his eyes flashing alpha red, his hormones drilled raced under his skin. Gaara set down his bag, and walked carefully around the table towards him, eyeing the body as he went. The teeth marks on Kenmoros throat, the purple bruising where Naruto had thrown his weight down and pinned him all caught his attention before he came to stand next to Naruto. 

“The prospect of death drives us to greatness. Tell me— did you kill him with your hands?” 

“It was…. intimate.” Naruto said slowly looking down at his bloody knuckles, before giving a soft, growling soft. The lingering urge to fight slowly developing into the desire to fuck as Gaara’s scent began to fill his nose. Gaara seemed to be affected by the statement, redhead inhaling Naruto's scent deeply, before leaning into his eyes closed as though drinking something positively divine. 

“Your in a relationship with Sakura.” Naruto whispered, as Gaara pressed his nose to the blondes throat. 

“You consider one-sided relationships of convenience as counting?”  The alpha murmured and Naruto growled sharply, biting the redheads ear in warning— or in lust. Gaara went still, Perhaps recognizing how easily the desire to fuck could shift right back into fight with an alpha and pulled back slowly, before giving the blonde a soft kiss, his own eyes flashing. The redhead ran his hands down the sides of the blonde, and the blonde shivered. 

“Not tonight.” Naruto breath out. “Not— not like this.” Gaara paused, before nodding.

“As you wish.” Just like that, a sort of peace had been reached. The anger Naruto had been holding onto faded underneath Gaara's careful care and attention. The redhead pulled out rubbing alcohol, gauze and various other things from the first aid kit, Tending to the blondes bleeding hand like it was precious. 

A single thought tickled the back of the blonde mind. Kenmoro had said— association. Naruto puzzled over this but couldn’t come up with anything. ‘It didn’t seem like he was talking about the FBI.’ The blonde thought before being distracted by Gaara speaking. 

“Do not retreat inside your mind. Stay here, stay with me.” The redhead asked quietly, noticing how quiet the blonde had been 

“Where else would I go?”

“You have everywhere to go.” Gaara replied softly, still bandaging the blondes alpha. “You should feel proud. I am.”

“Of course you are.” Naruto huffed. 

“Most of what we do is motivated by death.” The redhead murmured, before tilting his head. “Tell, how did it feel to kill him?” There was a long pause before Naruto could find the words to describe it— before he could understand himself how he felt about it. 

“I… I have never felt as alive as I did when I was killing him.” Naruto admitted. Gaara smiled, inhaling the blonde scent deeply as though trying to memorize every detail to it. 

“Then you owe Kenmoro a debt. How will you repay him?”

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Konoha’s Museum of Natural History 

The blonde had used the next several hours crafting his repayment of sorts before he went home to bed. The next day, it was no surprise that Naruto received a call from Kakashi telling him another body dropped. 

The body that Naruto put there. 

Naruto felt oddly serene as he walked through the crime scene to see murder he had committed himself. Everyone was scurrying around as usual, but the world itself seemed different. Gaara was already there, viewing the murder scene for the first time as Kakashi watched him closely. 

“This is a humiliation.” Gaara stayed. “A single final indignity, after the indignity he caused his own victims.”

“The killer isn’t mocking him.” Naruto responded, unable to resist. Gaara and Kakashi both turned to look at him. Gaara with well hidden pride, Kakashi with thinly disguised wariness. “This isn’t disdain— the killer was commemorating him.”

“No fear for what he has done.” Gaara added and the blonde nodded. 

“No guilt.” The blonde finished, gaze on the corpse that had its teeth removed and replace haphazardly with the teeth of the fossils the alpha had once been obsessed with. Naruto blinked and mentally pictured a candle. Allowed it to flick. Once. Twice. Three times…..

“Can you see you?” Kenmoro asked me, voice rasping through the over sized teeth I had fastened in his mouth. 

“Clearer and clear.” I answer as I circle the damage done. “You forced me to kill you.” 

“I didn’t force you to enjoy it.” I nod. “You made me into a monument. The association would love you.” 

“Your welcome.” I say to him, idly. 

“The monument isn’t to me, it’s to you.” 

“Does it matter?” I ask. “I gave you want you wanted. This is who you are. Your outsides, finally match the reality that I see. Your teeth finally match your insides.” 

“This was my becoming, and now— it’s also yours.” Kenmoro acknowledges. 

“This is my design.”

Naruto felt himself pull back inwards, shaking off the mental impressions of Kenmoro easily, like killing a second time. 

“He knew his killer. There was some familiarity here.”

“So… his killer understood him?” Kakashi asked, and Naruto glanced at him.

“Don’t mistake understanding for this. This was… envy.”

“Envy?”

“Yes.” Naruto said, determined. “Kenmoro came into his own skull much easier than his killer. He envied that.” 

“A fledgling killer. Never killed before— not like this.” Gaara said and the blonde glanced at him, recalling Mikoshi and the gun and how this all started.

“Not like this no.”