Peace for Traitors

The hierarchy of a Jinchuuriki's subordinates is not like that of a conventional harem, in which the women may claim their status based purely upon the order in which they were married. Subordinates are selected from the strongest ninja of any given population and so it is almost inevitable that powerful personalities may come to clash until a kind of balance is found. Who becomes a leader in the pack and who follows has more to do with each individuals personal strengths and vulnerabilities than it does the will of the alpha. Many argue that without the thrall, subordinates would have no affection for one another at all, but my own observations indicate quite the reverse. The pack dynamic promotes affection, not despite the differences between subordinates, but because of them.

-Koumyuo Sanzo, Lives and Habits of Far Eastern Demons

Sai found Naruto and Sasuke resting against one another's backs in the midst of what appeared to be the aftermath of some kind of natural disaster. The two men were shakily sipping tea from chipped cups, silently taking comfort from each other and ignoring the overturned chair and broken furniture that surrounded them. Sai felt something sharp and hurtful lance through his belly. He suddenly felt distant and a bit lost, and he wanted…he wanted… Truthfully he didn't know what he wanted, but the hurt brought blood to his face and made Sai feel slightly faint. The artist clenched his hands, feeling strange, unsure of whether he should speak or move or simply just leave the way he had come. They were here, together, and it was…special. Something so special and intimate between the two of them and he had never known that kind of deep trust and affection from another person. Sai coughed a little and bit his lip. Sasuke raised his eyes and appraised him slowly, before leaning his head back against Naruto's shoulder with a long sigh.

"Don't be jealous. I'll let Naruto keep you up all fucking night next time." Sasuke snapped sourly.

"Jealous?" Sai asked, lowering his eyes.

"Yes, idiot, you're practically green with it…which makes no damn sense by the way." Sasuke replied irately.

"Oh. You just seem so intimate…" Sai whispered.

"Intimately exhausted…." Sasuke grumbled, yawning.

"…And not in the good way." Naruto added.

"Oh." Sai said and tried to halt the blush creeping over his face. Naruto noticed, his blue eyes blood shot with fatigue, but the gaze was still steady and warm.

"Sai, come here." Naruto whispered, his voice raw from shouting.

Obediently, Sai moved to kneel before the jinchuuriki, noticing that he looked exhausted. Naruto smiled at him a little and raised one of his hands to touch the artist's hair affectionately. Just as before, Sai felt his body respond deeply to the touch, his skin feeling hot and his breath coming faster. The artist leaned into the caress, letting Naruto's rough and wonderful hand stroke his cheek. The jinchuuriki's hands were so beautiful, mobile and sensual and complicated with texture, the sensation of them against his face made Sai shiver and gasp. Porcelain shards, probably from another teacup, had healed shallowly into the flesh of Naruto's left palm and Sai knew that Sakura would be very angry when she saw them. The girl hated it when they were hurt. Gently, he took Naruto's hand from where it rested against his cheek and brought it to his lips, dexterously breaking the skin with his teeth. Naruto hissed in pain, but made no effort to move away and Sai felt the fluttery sensation in his belly turn hot. Sasuke turned to watch as Sai nibbled the shards out of the blond's flesh with his teeth and tongue, pausing only to spit bits of broken porcelain to the side. The men were silent while he coaxed the foreign material out of Naruto's palm, working his tongue into the bleeding lacerations, searching for more of the splinters. The weight of their eyes was heavy against the top of Sai's head as he bent to the task and the ink nin suddenly had to exert additional effort to keep his hands from shaking. The artist had done this once before, only once, when Shin had hurt himself in a fight at a tavern.

There was an intimacy in this that he had never shared with anyone else. Before meeting Naruto, digging the broken glass out of Shin's hands with his mouth had been the closest he had ever come, physically, to another human being. His brother had merely sat, face as blank and emotionless as his own, as Sai pulled out the glass. Even then, the experience had been like a thunderclap in the otherwise emotionally silent course of Sai's life. Root had taught them that touch meant nothing unless it was to kill and Sai had known that by touching Shin that way he was rejecting everything he had ever known. That night he had willingly betrayed the most fundamental tenet of Root's very existence and lost his ability to maintain absolute emptiness. If Danzo had seen them, if anyone had seen them, Sai would have been killed instantly and Shin would have been tortured for allowing such a betrayal to take place. To do such a thing, to touch to heal and bring relief, was against their vows. The fear of it, the quivery terror that someone might see or that Danzo might somehow know, had colored the act and the memory with the thin veil of unpleasantness.

Now, the touch of his lips against Naruto's hand was only stimulating and a bit warm. There was no fear, and for that Sai felt slightly ashamed. Something so deep, so quivering and taboo should have been frightening and all Sai could feel was hot and nervous and totally absorbed. Naruto sighed softly and the artist trembled at the sound as a gentle thrill of pleasure ran through his flesh. There really should have been fear, and if not that than at least pain in the act. To disobey everything so thoroughly should have hurt somehow and yet there was only heat and sensation and a bit of fluttery trembling in his belly that had nothing to do with fear. Truly, Sai had been a traitor since the moment he had pressed the flesh of Shin's knuckles to his lips. He was as much a traitor as Sasuke had ever been, shaming the people who had raised him, rejecting the teachings of his very religion. Root did not accept weakness and Sai had been weak, too weak to resist the urge to help, to soothe the pain away. Perhaps Danzo might have forgiven him that, a mistake made by a child, but worse even than the act itself had been the knowledge that he had enjoyed it. Sai had enjoyed that feel of Shin's flesh against his lips immensely. To his shame, Sai replayed the moment over and over in his mind, trying to memorize every detail, every sensation. Now, with his loyalty to Root renounced, Sai welcomed the emotion and merely tried to understand.

Shin had watched and said nothing, which was in itself a kind of communication, but Naruto was different. The blond sighed and groaned and gasped beneath his lips and Sai had never realized that something like sound could affect him so deeply. Naruto's voice made his pulse loud in his ears and the untouched flesh of his penis firm and sensitive. Sai blushed, the fear finally coming, but it was not enough for him to stop. Blood ran fresh and clear from the wounds and even though he knew that there were no more ceramic pieces left, Sai was loathe to move his mouth away. Softly, his lips shaking despite the efforts he made to still them, Sai kissed Naruto's hand. The blond gasped and the sound made Sai feel suddenly very, very glad that he had disobeyed Root and come into Naruto's life. The artist kissed him again, letting his lips play over the tiny holes in Naruto's skin as they closed and healed fully. The taste of Naruto's blood was sharp in his mouth, but not unpleasant. The jinchuuriki curled his fingers up, brushing his claws over Sai's jaw and the ink nin shut his eyes tightly against the sudden flood of emotions that the sensation brought. He pulled back a bit, overwhelmed, trying to make his heart slower, trying to ignore the electric tingling in his lips…

"Sai…" Naruto whispered, his pupils huge and dark.

"Where did you learn to do that?" Sasuke asked, dark eyes intense and watchful over Naruto's shoulder.

"I saw it once." Sai whispered, hiding his face behind his hair.

"In Root?" Sasuke pushed, narrowing his eyes.

"No." Sai practically hissed.

"Oh…then on a mission?" Naruto offered gently, hooking his fingers under Sai's chin to tilt his face up to meet them.

"Yes…it was a woman and she was digging shrapnel out of her husband's back, they didn't have any medical tools. He died anyway, though." Sai replied dully.

"Thank you, Sai. I'm not going to die from this, believe it." Naruto said, smiling brightly.

"I…you are welcome." The artist replied quietly, blushing hard.

Sasuke looked odd for a moment, like he wanted to ask another question, but the dark haired killer remained silent. The moment stretched long between them, no one speaking, only breathing and thinking. Naruto brushed his fingers through the artist's hair affectionately and Sai finally managed to take an entire breath of air. He licked the few drops of Naruto's blood off of his fingers and Sasuke watched him like a cat might watch a bird, his cheeks flushed and his eyes almost hungry. Sai noted Sasuke's expression and found it strange, but he did not know what to make of the raven's reactions beyond merely appreciating the fact that they existed. Suddenly, Sasuke moved and in a blink the raven's face was barely an inch from his own. Sai lowered his hand and looked into the inky pools of the other man's eyes, painfully aware that in this position Sasuke could kill him in an instant if the raven so chose. Sai trembled and forced himself not to move, not to react, so that he could sit still and…trust. He understood little of human feeling, but Sai knew that Sasuke was offering him something in this, this intense and almost threatening gesture. He was waiting, watching to see if the artist had the courage to accept the offering. Sasuke watched the struggle and Sai knew, inexplicably, that he understood his thoughts.

The ethereally lovely, porcelain pale ninja did not murder him, but bent and drew his tongue roughly against the corner of Sai's mouth. Sai gasped, the fresh, wintery scent of Sasuke's flesh almost banishing logical thought from his mind entirely. The raven moved closer, cupping Sai's jaw aggressively, his fingers almost bruising, as he drove his tongue deeply into Sai's mouth. The artist gasped, the feel of Sasuke's powerful tongue moving against his own almost enough to overwhelm him completely. The raven's kiss was nothing like Naruto's had been. The jinchuuriki's lips and tongue had been gentle, warm and careful, while Sasuke was rough, unyielding and possessive. Sasuke probed him once and then again before pulling away, his dark eyes hot and a little feral.

"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered, shocked to see his subordinate behave so forwardly.

"He missed some." Sasuke replied, turning away.

. The artist did not miss the way that Sasuke's hands clenched and unclenched as he pushed them into his sleeves and leaned against Naruto's back once again. Sai cocked his head and wondered

OoOoOoO

"Whatever you're doing isn't working." Hiashi said coldly as Suki moved out of the shadows to crouch beside him.

"Forgive me my lord, but poisoning the Inuzuka is proving far more difficult than we originally thought." She replied, quietly.

"Obviously."

"Poison may never be an appropriate method for his…er…removal." Suki whispered.

"Perhaps you should try a different toxin." Hiashi suggested impatiently.

"It is not the poison that is the problem. I believe we may be unable to sicken Inuzuka Kiba regardless of which compound we use. At least, that is, if the death must be made to look natural."

"How so?" Hiashi asked, crossing his arms.

"He is too much like the dogs his clan worships. Any kind of poison in his food and he immediately vomits up the meal, nullifying whatever effect the substance might have. Worse, he has learned to smell the toxin in almost anything and has taken to sorting through all of the food brought to the compound." Suki explained.

"Damn him! By Kami, how could he have realized what was happening?" Hiashi asked.

"I'm not sure that he has. After the servant girl died, Kiba decided that the food must be infected with some kind of taint and has been systematically checking food deliveries for the entire household. He has become increasingly popular with the members of the branch house for his efforts." Suki reported, her head bowed apologetically.

"This is not acceptable."

"My apologies, my Lord." Suki whispered, bowing low.

"What about poisoning an article of clothing?"

"He can smell that too and I believe attempting to poison him in that manner again will only fully arouse his suspicion. The first time we poisoned his pillow, Kiba complained of the odor all the way down the hall and refused to allow Hinata to even set foot into their bedroom for almost a week. " Suki whispered.

"The Inuzuka matriarch comes to visit him and formalize the match in two days time. If he notifies her of his suspicions, the bloody dogs would have grounds for war! Not only have you failed to even sicken the mutt, but you have managed, also, to cast serious suspicion of foul play upon our house!" Hiashi snapped.

"I know, my lord."

"Well? What do you propose we do?" Hiashi hissed.

"At this time…it may be best to do nothing." The kunoichi suggested softly.

"That is not a satisfactory answer, Suki. If that fucking mongrel impregnates my daughter, I'll have both a worthless son-in-law and a weak blooded grandchild to contend with. I won't allow half-breed scum to rule my house!" Hiashi snarled.

"I have already begun sneaking contraceptives into Hinata's tea."

"While that may be fine for now, that is certainly not a solution to our problem."

"Actually…it may very well be." Suki offered.

"Explain."

"If, in a year's time, Kiba has not sired any children, then you can claim that he is infertile. Even the Hokage would not fault you for trying to protect the potency of the Hyuuga bloodline. Without an heir, any house will fall. Infertility is one of the few legitimate reasons to terminate a union through marriage between two houses." The assassin explained.

"What you suggest may be an appropriate option, if a risky one. Kiba has been tiresome after barely a month and I hate to think that I might suffer him for an entire year, but if poison is ineffective, perhaps it is the only way." Hiashi sighed.

"I have tried every poison my lord."

"And if you are wrong and the dog already believes that he has been targeted, what then?" Hiashi asked.

"I request permission to poison Toki Hyuuga."

"What! How can that possibly serve our purposes!" Hiashi snarled.

"The child has always been sickly and his death will assure that Kiba believes the odor he detects is nothing more than spoiled food." The Kunoichi said, her voice steady and casual.

"But Toki? The boy is barely four years old and he isn't a worthless servant, but a Hyuuga!" Hiashi growled his voice low and dangerous.

"The child is weak anyway. He certainly won't survive training to become a ninja and the best you can hope for him is that he might be intelligent enough to attend the academy as a scholar." Suki said, shrugging.

"Such a thing is too cold, regardless of its purpose."

"War with Inuzuka will cost far more lives, especially if they are joined by Uzumaki…" Suki noted.

"You honestly think the Oni would join the Dogs against us? Even now my nephew warms his bed! If anything he would be compelled to come to our aid! You disappoint me badly tonight, Suki." Hiashi snapped. The woman finally flinched at the insult.

"I think that our assault on Uzumaki might also bring the Dog Lords down upon us as well. Our enemies must remain isolated and off balance if we are to succeed!" Suki urged.

"So I should allow my enemy to live and continue fucking my daughter every night in favor of murdering one of my own kinsmen!" Hiashi hissed.

"Yes. By murdering an inconsequential child who may never live to adulthood anyway, you place control back into your own hands! How can Kiba be suspicious of you if a Hyuuga is struck down as well?" Suki whispered, her soft voice sharp with urgency.

"Suki…There is no other way in your estimation?"

"No other way to be sure. The question is to what lengths are you prepared to go in order to preserve Hyuuga superiority in Konoha?" Suki asked, raising her eyes and surveying Hiashi steadily.

Hiashi gazed at her for a moment before turning away to look out across the darkened room to where the Hyuuga standard hung high on the wall, well lit by oil lamps. The symbol had been cast of heavy bronze and finished with twining golden filigree to represent the somatic energy techniques wielded by the Hyuuga clan. The standard had been made almost three centuries ago, but had not darkened with age like so many other relics passed down from the age of Fire. Inuzuka had nothing like this, proof that their clan had fought beside the very gods for the honor to rule the world, and the damn upstart Oni likely wouldn't even know what the symbol meant. Many ancestors had died to establish the clan and many more to maintain its power. Hiashi sighed.

"Take Toki's life, but know this my Suki…" Hiashi said, his voice cold even in his own ears.

"My Lord?"

"If we fail, you shall join the child in his death and your ending will not be so swift." Hiashi whispered coldly, and his voice carried the weight of an oath.

"I expect nothing less if I should fail you, my Lord." She replied before melting again into the darkness.

OoOoOoO

Sakura sighed and let herself relax against Naruto's chest as Sasuke gently unwound the bindings from her breasts. So much time had passed since they had been able to be together this way, to share this kind of communication. She sighed, enjoying the raw strength in Naruto's arms as he lifted her easily into his lap. She was tired of the terror and the fighting and the constant worry that someone was going to end up hurt and broken as her family tried to regain its balance. Adding Sai to the pack had been natural, even if Sasuke was furious, and the artist fell into step with life as an Uzumaki almost as if he had been there the entire time. True, Sai was awkward and often mysterious, but even Sasuke had slowly become accustomed to his presence. Neji, however…Sakura felt her belly tense at the thought.

"You're thinking too much." Naruto whispered from behind her, his voice husky and rough with desire.

"Sorry…" She whispered, turning deftly to plant a kiss against his jaw.

For a brief, mad instant Sakura felt guilty for making love with her husbands without the artist. Sai had gone out to buy some art supplies for the new studio he was creating in one of the many empty rooms of the Uchiha estate and she had leapt at the chance for a bit of intimacy in his absence. The situation felt strange and a little empty, being without him after the last few days, but it was welcome too. Sai was always so starved for any kind of affection, relishing every kiss, but she knew as well as any of them that he wasn't ready for the claiming. Any moment of hesitant affection had become sharp with worry as Sakura tried to ease the artist into the strange relationship they shared and today she simply needed release. Perhaps even more importantly, Sasuke had become increasingly paranoid with Neji in the house and Sakura did not think that he would be able to both accept Sai into their bed and resist the temptation to murder Neji simultaneously. Their lives had become so terribly complex and at least some of it was her fault. Sakura did not regret her decision to bring Sai into their lives, not even a little, but the truth was that everything might have been simpler without him. She sighed and tried to relax. Naruto nipped her lightly on the ear lobe and the sensation tingled maddeningly in the wake of his lips. Sasuke released her breasts and Sakura winced a little as the swollen flesh bounced.

"Do they hurt?" Sasuke asked, his warm obsidian eyes curiously studying her body.

"Yeah, a little. It isn't too bad, really…I just hate looking so chubby." Sakura replied with a laugh, tracing the elegant angle of his jaw.

"You're beautiful though, even more than usual. I like how your breasts are now and your belly too, it's…voluptuous." Sasuke purred, moving to kiss the tender flesh.

"Hmmm, it's true. Your breasts have gotten so big." Naruto rumbled, running his large hands over her bosom.

As one the men moved against her and Sakura felt her body warm to their touch, little thrills of carnal pleasure ricocheting through her hungry flesh. She wanted to keep her eyes open, to watch them, to see every expression, but heady waves of pleasure threatened to crumble her self-control. Sasuke nibbled at her throat, his teeth clever and sharp against the skin above her collar bone, but wholly unthreatening. She closed her eyes with a hungry sigh. Naruto's fingers slid languidly down her body until they reached the ever growing swell over her womb. He lingered there and Sasuke joined him, lacing their fingers together and sharing the contented quiet for a moment. Even with her eyes shut, Sakura could almost see them staring, as if seeing all the way in to where their child slept. Sasuke could have used the sharingan if he wanted, but for a moment Sakura was sure that he didn't even need the technique to know exactly what lay within her. Naruto sighed, resting his cheek against her shoulder. Softly, Sakura laid her fingers over those of her mates and smiled.

"Will it hurt her?" Naruto asked timidly.

"No. Tsunade says that sex is good, especially now, otherwise I will be very tight and the muscles will be weak. If my body is too stiff when she is born, the labor will be difficult and that would be bad." Sakura whispered.

"Stupid, you still have almost five months until she comes." Sasuke said softly, his tone completely at odds with his words. Sakura smiled.

"Oh…so I shouldn't trouble you then? I'm sure you're very busy…" Sakura said, letting heat flow into her voice even as she teased him.

"I never said that I didn't want to." Sasuke whispered, a slow smile spreading like melting honey across his face.

"Good…If someone doesn't fuck me today I am seriously going to die…" Naruto groaned, rocking against Sakura's hips suggestively.

"You have a very dirty mouth, dobe." Sasuke hissed.

Naruto laughed, low and sultry, and moved to wind his fingers into Sasuke's dark hair, tugging gently to bring the other man closer. As always there was a moment of tension between them, a challenge sounded and met before Sasuke melted into Naruto's touch. The raven nuzzled his alpha's palm, his entire manner seductive and Sakura could barely breathe as she watched. Naruto kissed him over her shoulder, plunging the powerful muscle of his tongue into the raven's submissive mouth as he ground the fevered length of his arousal against Sakura. A fierce surge of heat flooded her flesh and left the girl gasping in its wake.

"Is it cleaner now, Teme? Clean enough to fuck you with?" Naruto asked hotly, his blue eyes almost molten in the gentle bedroom light.

"You're disgusting. Pervert." Sasuke said, making no move to pull away.

"Too bad you like it, baka." Naruto accused, laughing low in his throat.

The rumbling sound of Naruto's sultry mirth crawled up her spine, shedding little sparks of searing arousal all throughout Sakura's body and she was suddenly very tired of all the talk. The girl sighed, arching against Naruto's hard musculature at her back as she undulated and pressed her breasts against Sasuke's chest. Naruto and Sasuke moaned in unison, their hands sliding over her skin like white hot brands. She was caught between them, straddling Naruto's muscular thighs with Sasuke's graceful hips snug between her knees. They rocked her, surging beneath her in a primal dance, breath harsh and gasping as each tried to find leverage, struggling for rhythm. The girl used the new position to suck one of Sasuke's sensitive nipples between her lips, lapping at the captured flesh until it stiffened against her tongue. Sasuke made a sharp, almost desperate noise at the contact which sent a shiver through her skin and made Naruto purr. She held the delicate peak between her teeth, pressing enough to thrill him and no more. Sasuke whimpered, leaning into her mouth, his pale body flushed and wanting and more beautiful than a single human being had any right to be.

Finally, Sasuke moved to kneel low on the bed, pressing his lips to her belly. The kiss was chaste at first, just the soft press of lips to skin and nothing more. He trembled against her, his breath warm and fast and when his tongue touched her skin the sensation was electric. Sakura moaned, squeezing her eyes tight as Naruto wound his powerful fingers into her hair, firmly pulling her head to the side to kiss her throat. Sakura sighed, tipping her chin as the jinchuuriki gently closed his sharp teeth around her pulse point, mouthing her neck softly. Sasuke trailed kisses up from her navel to the center of her chest, his eyes hot and predatory as he gazed upon her body. The raven haired ninja moved closer, lathing his tongue over her sensitive nipples. He ran the slick muscle over the underside of her breast, enjoying the round weight of it against his mouth, as Naruto reached around her waist to stroke the growing roundness of her belly. The jinchuuriki cupped her heavy breasts so that Sasuke could better fold his hot lips over the sensitive peaks. Sakura moaned, the feeling of his mouth on her breasts making her blood run like fire in her veins.

The raven took his time, running his fingers over the areolas, holding the rosy flesh delicately in his fingers as he kissed each nipple. He tugged pressing gently and Sakura nearly screamed. Naruto gasped against her as Sasuke gently sucked the tender flesh between his lips, working his mouth roughly over the flushed peaks. The touch sent spearing arches of heat through her body until Sakura was on the edge from the nipple play alone, so aroused that she practically ached. Sakura cried out at the sensation, Naruto's powerful hands firm on her shoulder and waist, arching her own hips hard to meet Sasuke's hips. The raven moaned, his face flushed and eager, as he reached lower to run roughened fingers over the fiery folds of her vulva. Sakura cried out, arching her body, one hand tight on Naruto's wrist and the other on Sasuke's shoulder. The bruises faded almost as quickly as she made them, but something primal in Sakura was still aroused to see her marks on their bodies.

Naruto snarled softly into her hair, holding her left nipple between his thumb and fingers as he continued to ravish her neck. Sasuke worked his fingers against her most intimate skin, spreading the moisture her found there and sending hard surges of heat through her groin. He pressed in, delicately at first, but her body was moist, flexible with lust, and accepted the penetration easily. Naruto followed him, skimming his claws teasingly over her waist and lower to where the raven stroked her clitoris with his thumb and filled her with his fingers. They pumped her, a deep maddening rhythm both torturous and ecstatic. The jinchuuriki rubbed the delicate folds, the friction making Sakura writhe against Sasuke's clever hand until a fine mist of sweat coated her skin and orgasm tightened her body. She screamed, her body drawn taught with the thundering pleasure of it, held still only by the sheer vastness of Naruto's strength. Sasuke withdrew his fingers and Sakura fought not to whimper at the loss as she watched him lick the slickened digits.

"Oh…Kami…" Sakura breathed, staring, her body still singing with heat.

"She tastes different." Naruto whispered, running his thumb possessively over Sasuke's lower lip to steal some of the moisture there.

"Yes." Sasuke replied, his long pink tongue darting out to lick teasingly at Naruto's hand.

The jinchuuriki lapped his fingers as well, practically purring with arousal and satisfaction. Sakura watched, but observing wasn't good enough so she turned in Naruto's arms, moving her breasts against his chest. The kunoichi kissed him deeply, tasting the strange, tangy, musk of her own body on his lips and moaned at the sensation. Naruto made a strangled noise and then he was pulling her down with him, returning the kiss with savage ardor born of stress and worry and many days of waiting. Sasuke was kissing her lower back, his dexterous lips and sharp teeth maddening as he explored the curvature of her buttocks. The girl ground against them, pressing back against Sasuke and forward into Naruto's eager arms, as she felt another climax draw near. Behind her, the raven gripped Sakura's hips and positioned his body to penetrate her. There was the strain of muscular limbs, a sharp intake of breath and Sasuke was inside her, his entry a single fluid stroke. The girl came again as her trembling muscles clenched around the raven's hard arousal, coaxing a desperate noise form the man at her back and a low growl from the one clasped in her arms. Sasuke grunted and pressed his fingers hard against her hips as he fought for control, fought to make it last.

Sakura reached behind to clasp his hand, her touch both commanding and reassuring at once, and rocked softly against his hips as her body stretched and took the raven in fully. Sakura moaned into Naruto's fevered mouth, nipping his lips aggressively and gyrating her hips to deepen the penetration as Sasuke moaned softly and began to move. The raven haired ninja practically shrieked and set his teeth against the flesh of her shoulder to halt the noise as Sakura clenched her strong internal muscles around him. Naruto surged beneath her, grinding against her slickened arousal even as Sasuke pumped her, finding his rhythm and moving deep. There was a tangled moment of hands and teeth and an awkward shifting of hips as Naruto moved forward and Sasuke back and then…they were both inside her. Sakura yelped with surprise and pain, stilling her body and suddenly everything was silent

"Shit!" Sasuke hissed, moving to pull back. Sakura's pained cry stopped him.

"Oh, Kami…we…are we…?" Naruto fumbled.

Sasuke was panting hard, the muscles of his thighs jumping against the skin of her own and Naruto had frozen as if afraid to move. They were in her, both of them, together. Sakura took a trembling breath, her knees shaking. Nothing like this had ever happened before, not in all the years of making love and Sakura had never even imagined that something so…drastic…was even possible. Her body trembled with the unexpected penetration, the ache deep and visceral in her core, but she had both of them. Even the thought was erotic enough to make her moan and the pain was already beginning to fade. Experimentally, because the sensation was still good even though it felt tight and a little raw, Sakura moved against them. Naruto cried out, throwing his head back against the pillows as she engulfed them fully and began to move.

"Wait…Wait…" The jinchuuriki panted, clearly trying to regain control.

"Why?" She whispered.

"What if it hurts you?" Sasuke asked, sounding both aroused and faintly terrified.

"Doesn't…doesn't hurt much." She hissed, moving against them again.

"Sakura…" Naruto warned, but the girl stubbornly ignored him.

Her flesh was tight and the angle was awkward, but there was something so unbelievably good about being filled completely with her lovers. Sakura wondered if this was how Sasuke felt when Naruto loved him. Naruto groaned beneath her, still stubbornly trying to remain still as Sasuke gasped, moving into her again with a frightened, jerky little thrust that was more reflex than anything else. They fumbled, Sakura trying raising herself up onto her hands and Naruto digging his fingers hard into Sasuke's hip in a vain attempt to gain some kind of leverage. She winced as they moved, her body filled to its limit and tender.

Breathing deeply, Sakura braced her hands on either side of Naruto's head and pressed up, achieving an angle with which she could move against them and forcing Sasuke slightly onto his knees. The girl took a few deep breaths, letting her body adjust and enjoying the feel of both hardened erections trembling inside her. Naruto was looking as if he might object and Sasuke was nearly pulling away when Sakura thrust hard against them. She took them, both of them, all the way, moaning as her body stretched even further. Her skin tingled both from the stimulation and also the strain, but it was still pleasurable. Sasuke snarled, holding her hips and trying to keep his balance as Sakura pumped them, finding a rhythm despite the strangeness.

There was stretch and pain and then mind shattering ecstasy. Sakura moved, deep and powerfully, carrying both her own weight and Sasuke's as she moved against Naruto's firm hips. After a moment, her men found a tempo and began to thrust synchronously until the movement was smooth and unforced. She rode them, her body growing warm as every last inch of her intimate flesh caressed the firm ridges of her husbands' bodies. The deep, penetrating heat spread, the pressure building as her body slowly began to respond. The kunoichi felt her muscles tighten and she came again, the slick heat of her release only further lubricating the movement inside of her. There was no more pain, or worry, or politics or even sanity. There was only the hardened rise of Naruto's chest and the searing heat of Sasuke's breath and the muscular thrusting of both of them together. Gently, Naruto shifted to the side and began to change his angle, penetrating more deeply and forcing a heated scream from Sakura's lips.

The position was better as Sakura no longer had to hold herself up through sheer upper body strength to keep the weight off of her occupied womb and both men were afforded greater opportunity to thrust more deeply. The girl grit her teeth and came against them again, shuddering even as Sasuke moaned. They moved together, harmonious and entranced, as each sweat slickened thrust wrung a desperate cry from each of them. Sakura let herself be rocked, accepting the perfectly unified strokes as Sasuke and Naruto loved her as one, stimulating each other even as they moved inside her. Hot, molten arousal filled her abdomen and lower and the girl could feel Sasuke tensing at her back. The hot rush of Sasuke's seed flooded her body and she came even as Naruto gathered himself and came hard within her as well.

They lay, panting and satisfied, tangled in one another's limbs. Finally, Naruto gently moved from her body, kissing her throat softly to ease the ache as Sakura winced slightly. Her body was so flooded with endorphins that the pain was distant and unimportant, but she knew that she would be tender later. Sasuke threw a hand over his face, breathing hard.

"How…how was that even possible?" He panted, voice breathy and faintly awed.

"I'm pregnant…that must be why. My body is producing relaxin." Sakura said, laughing breathlessly.

"Relaxin?" Naruto asked dubiously.

"Yeah, it's a pregnancy hormone. It makes all my tissue…you know…flexible." Sakura said, as Sasuke pulled out of her and turned to look incredulously into her eyes.

"That sounds…uncomfortable." Sasuke said, flushed and still looking worried.

"Felt really good, actually." Sakura sighed.

"You aren't hurt? The baby…?" Naruto asked, suddenly worried.

"She's fine. We're both fine. I don't even feel like puking for once!" Sakura said, giggling.

Naruto laughed a little as well, nuzzling close against her hair, his chest shaking as he laughed. The sound was so bright and wonderful that it made her laugh as well and soon both of them were giggling hard enough to bring tears to their eyes. After a moment, Sasuke was laughing too, holding her shoulder as he brushed covertly at the tears streaming from his eyes. They laughed, letting all the stress of the past few days roll away under the hot tide of sex and laughter and sheer closeness. After a while, Sasuke managed to regain his composure.

"I think the pregnancy suites you, now that it isn't trying to kill you." The raven said at last.

OoOoOoO

Sai examined the fine squirrel fur brushes lined up according to size against the shop's far wall. He wanted to paint again, perhaps sumi this time, and needed a very high quality brush with enough absorptive capacity to make long, firm strokes. The brushes were expensive, very expensive, but Sasuke had explicitly told him to get whatever he wanted as long as he picked up chocolate ice cream and mushrooms while he was out. The thought of Sasuke's pretty porcelain face, scowling haughtily in that way he had when he was trying not to smile, as he shoved the money into Sai hand made the artist's chest warm and full. The artist had worn the borrowed orange and black livery to go out, even though the garment fit poorly. He had merely belted the kimono a bit more tightly than it had necessarily been designed for and let the cuffs slip down to the second knuckle of his fingers. The Nara clan wore their kimono sleeves long on purpose and Sai did not feel as though anyone would really notice or care if Sasuke's kimono was just a little too big. Besides, the bright black and orange made him feel so…confident.

Perhaps squirrel fur might be a bit too soft for such precise work. Sai bit his lip, mentally comparing the brushes to the consistency of the ink he had purchased earlier that afternoon. He moved to another display, examining some of the fine horse hair brushes that the shop offered for calligraphers, wondering if a brush made for writing might be a better fit for the piece. He had already bought several scrolls of fine, heavy paper and another set of charcoal pencils wrapped carefully in race paper so that they wouldn't smudge quite so readily. The studio would be bigger than his entire apartment had been before and Sai enjoyed the idea of a space truly of his own other than the small bedroom he had currently been occupying. True, he slept there, but the room was just a place to lie down and not anything that felt like his own. Naruto had sensed that, that Sai still felt a bit like a stranger, and suggested that he put together an art studio. Sai smiled remembering the way Naruto's eyes had sparkled with excitement at the suggestion.

Shino entered the shop as Sai continued to puzzle over the brushes and stopped dead as if he had been struck by some kind of paralyzing jutsu. Sai smiled and waved to him, wondering if maybe he was feeling ill. Shino's face was impassive as ever, but the insects ever present in his clothing buzzed in agitation as the ninja stared at him like he had grown another head. The bug loving ninja gathered himself and strode towards Sai as if marching into battle, his shoulders hunched forward and insects buzzing loudly.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Shino asked bluntly.

"It's Sasuke's. He wanted me to wear it when the Hyuuga's came a few days ago and never asked for it back." Sai explained.

"Why are you wearing Sasuke's clothing?"

"He said I could and it smells nice." Sai replied.

"Yes, but I ask because wearing other people's clothing is unusual and also because you happen to be wearing Sasuke-fucking-Uchiha's Uzumaki livery." Shino huffed, his voice frustrated.

"It's my livery too." Sai said, a bit defensively. Shino's eyes widened at that.

"You…you married Naruto?" Shino asked, startled.

"I think so." Sai replied, examining another paint brush.

"How can you not know whether or not you have married someone?" Shino snapped, crossing his arms angrily.

"Everything happened rather quickly." Sai said, unperturbed.

"I have been trying to find you. I just came back from my mission this morning and went to visit you, but the nurses at the hospital said that you had leveled the entire wing and then left." Shino explained impatiently.

"Sakura was sick." Sai replied. Shino huffed angrily.

"You do realize that that explains absolutely nothing."

"I am not crazy after all." Sai said, smiling in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

"Right." Shino replied, rolling his eyes sarcastically.

"Don't worry. I am feeling much better." Sai said, smiling again.

"But…Naruto just took you? Just like that? Are you under the thrall?" Shino asked, mouth hanging open in amazement.

"Well no, Sasuke was really angry at first and there was the explosion too…"

"Explosion?"

"Yes. I still need to apologize to the hospital for that and I think Sasuke is still angry, but not at me anymore. I don't think that I'm under the thrall yet, though Naruto does this thing with his tongue when he kisses me that does make me feel rather suggestible…" Sai said, spreading the brush bristles with his fingers.

"He kisses you?" Shino said, sounding dubious.

"Yes. Sasuke kissed me once too, but that kiss wasn't the same, it was sort of fierce, I guess. Still nice though. I thought all kissing was the same, but apparently it depends on the person. Isn't that odd?" Sai said, finally deciding on the horse hair brushes.

"Yes, definitely odd." Shino groused.

"Have you ever been kissed?" Sai asked.

"Sai, I do not want to talk about kissing. I want to know why you blew up the entire fucking hospital and then managed to be taken as one of Naruto's subordinates. I want to know because I am not sure you will be able to adapt to such a situation easily." Shino said, crossing his arms.

"I do find the situation challenging, but also enjoyable. I want to stay…"

"Stay?" Shino asked, looking worried.

"Yes. I am living with Naruto and Sasuke and Sakura…and Neji too now, I guess, though he hasn't left his room very much. Sakura says that he is trying to adjust and Sasuke says that he is plotting to kill us, but Naruto just says to leave him alone and so I haven't really talked to him too much." Sai continued, shrugging.

"Wait, what? Neji?"

"Yes, he was married to Naruto two days ago."

"Naruto took two more subordinates? By Kami…" Shino said, looking a little pale.

"I talked to Sakura in the hospital and I told her what you said, about me being in love. She let me come home with them and Sasuke let me stay. Naruto just does what the other two tell him most of the time." Sai noted.

"Sakura Uzumaki dug you out of the psych ward and took you home like some kind of lost pet?" Shino asked, sounding angry.

"She said I was in love. I guess she agreed with you. " Sai said, smiling a little.

"Did you also mention the part where I said that you were insane?" Shino sniped.

"Yes, but she says that you were wrong about that."

"I do not think that feeding this obsession of yours is healthy! I say so because you have no idea about how to interact with people in the first place and Jinchuuriki packs are dangerous. I do not think you have any idea how intense this relationship with them is going to be." Shino whispered urgently.

"I'm not obsessed. I'm in love."

"Those two things are not mutually exclusive, Sai…"

"Sakura wants me. She knows, she's a doctor." Sai argued.

"She's a surgeon and she doesn't know anything about people getting obsessed!" Shino snapped.

"I don't care. I want to stay with her, with all of them. I'm not leaving." Sai replied harshly, his voice more firm than he had intended. Shino's brows rose over his dark glasses.

"Sai, the thrall kills people. It's not easy, even for people who know what the hell is happening!" Shino hissed.

"I want it anyway." Sai said stubbornly.

"Sai…"

"Until now, my life…has been very simple. I do not want simplicity anymore." Sai said, meeting his friends eyes.

"I don't want you to be hurt." Shino said after a moment, still sounding grouchy.

"I prefer feeling pain to feeling nothing." Sai replied and it was true.

OoOoOoO

Neji watched Naruto and the others through the walls, using the Byukugan to see the fiery webs of their energy. He observed Naruto, Sasuke, Sai and Sakura moving through the vast house as easily as he would have seen them face to face. He had not been free to move about the compound as he wished, which was to be expected, but Neji had already learned a great deal about the Uzumaki household simply by employing his ability to watch their energy. No one had been unkind, though Sasuke had yet to speak to him, but Sakura said that the tension between the two families was simply too great for him to be allowed free access to the compound yet. Neji did not want free access, he did not want anything that would help him to be a better spy, that might put him into a position to betray his friends. Anko's words had worried him. Neji had been told that the marriage was a peace offering, a precaution against the Kyuubi, but Anko's trepidations had made so much sense. The way she looked at him, she had seemed so sure... Neji shook his head. Even his sensei make mistakes and she was badly jaded by her own experiences. Hiashi did not want Naruto dead, the Hyuuga leader just wanted assurances that Konoha would be safe, the kind only political marriage could give him. Neji was not here to hurt anyone, merely to watch and that was all. Watching was harmless, watching was something he would have done anyway, but doing so still felt wrong.

Neji was already fairly certain that Hiashi's concerns were groundless and that Naruto had no intention of allowing Kyuubi to rampage through Konoha. The Jinchuuriki was obviously completely focused on protecting the tiny flicker of light growing in Sakura's womb and, other than loving his subordinates, the blond was oblivious to almost everything else. Neji had been so surprised to see it, he had looked twice, but the glow was definitely there. She was pregnant and not only that, but the child's energy was incredibly well developed considering that it was still no bigger than an apple, structured enough that Neji was almost positive that the fetus was female. Suddenly, looking at the tiny flicker of purple light couched within Sakura's green chakra, everything had made far too much sense and Neji felt as if ice water had been splashed down his spine. With the birth of their first child, especially one so powerful, the Uzumaki clan would rise to the forefront of Konoha leadership. An heiress would not only confirm clan Uzumaki's continuing existence, but also present the possibility of alliance with the rising Oni clan to both foreign powers and other Konoha nobles. Though he surely did not know it, with the birth of his daughter, Naruto placed control of the Konoha nobility firmly into the palm of his hand. No one knew if the Uzumaki clan passed leadership through their sons or their daughters, no one knew if they married siblings to preserve the bloodline, no one knew what kind of power would arise from a melding of the Sharingan with Kyuubi's energy. The child was an unknown variable, but not one that anyone would make the mistake of underestimating and when she was born Naruto would be able to maneuver around the other houses with ease.

Neji knew that it was possible Hiashi knew nothing of the child and the implications the little life brought, but his belly still clenched into knots at the thought. The Hyuuga clan ruled Konoha and had since the fall of the Uchihas, growing more powerful and filling the gap left by Sasuke's family. Neji knew that Hiashi would never willingly give up that position, especially not to a resurrection of house Uchiha led by a half-foreign Jinchuuriki. Still, he had only been told to watch and watching could not hurt anyone. Neji had no strategic facts, nothing that could be used against Naruto, especially since he could only see the silent energy and had to guess at what was being said. He was not doing anything wrong, nothing like what Anko had done, but chilly doubt had kept him sleepless anyway. The Hyuuga bit his lip and tried not to panic about cloaks and daggers and what role in the great intrigue he might have been set to play. There weren't any other options, no other paths to follow and so he would do what he had to and nothing more.

Sakura had come to visit him almost every day, bringing lunch or books or fresh clothing, but only a few days had passed and Neji was already restless. The hours always stretched too long before she arrived and the time she spent with him seemed to last less than a heartbeat. The girl was unafraid of his silence, filling it with news, opinions and observations so astute that Neji wondered often if she had somehow learned to read minds. Before, when they had been students together, Neji had barely spared Sakura Haruno a glance. She had been a rather plain, relatively weak nin who cried over everything and was only dangerous because her teammates had a habit of killing anything that upset her. He had never realized the depth of emotion that Sakura possessed or appreciated how difficult it must have been for her, the child of artisans, to learn the ninja art. Neji came from a ninja clan and had learned the basic techniques of chakra manipulation even before he could walk, Sakura's first exposure to the discipline had come with her acceptance to the academy. She told him this, as he sat and sipped tea and said nothing, saying how much she had always admired him, how everyone had. Things that Neji had always taken for granted were valuable to Sakura and she somehow made him feel exceptional in a way that had nothing to do with fawning or jealousy.

The rose haired kunoichi was nothing at all like Anko and perhaps that was why Neji had come to be so utterly obsessed with her. Once he would have scoffed at the idea of Sakura Haruno being in any way interesting, not like Anko, whose every smile, every look, every gesture was filled to the brim with hidden meaning, expectation and contradiction. Sakura hid nothing, but she was far more complicated than he had ever imagined simply because she managed so many different feelings all at the same time. He understood now how she could love multiple men the way she did, there were so many different facets to her personality and the only person who had even a chance of knowing them all was Naruto. Neji drank in the conversation like clean water, listening to how she loved each of them and none less than the others. She loved Sasuke for his pride and his honor and his grace. She wore the once-Uchiha's love like the finest of jewels, deeply cherished by a common girl who had never even seen anything nearly so fine in all her life. Sakura loved Naruto for his honesty and kindness and power, he was both her rock and her river, everything in the world that Sakura could count as beloved and familiar. The jinchuuriki was no less than the sun in her sky, even if Sasuke was the moon and Neji was thoroughly convinced that she would be unable to even contemplate survival without him. The girl's love for Sai was softer, more subtle and newer, but no less intense. Whether she knew it or not, Sakura had always loved him, even if the feeling had been only an undercurrent to the other passions in her life. Sai was the man who made Sakura feel powerful, who made her confident and she loved him for his aestheticism and vulnerability and sheer innocence. Sai was the stars in her sky, ever present and essential as air, but subtle…quiet. Neji found himself quietly amazed at the breadth of her affections, none of them shallow or foolish as he had once believed.

She was soft where Anko was hard, bright where Anko was dark and not mysterious in the slightest, but fascinating nonetheless. Neji had come to look forward to her visits with a kind of fragile desperation that he refused to acknowledge other than to silently concede that he might be suffering from Stockholm syndrome. He often fantasized about walking with Sakura in the garden or reading with her in the library as he watched the others do, but Neji was relieved for his imprisonment. Here, locked firmly in a room, he could not learn things that Hiashi could use against them. Isolation was, at least, safe and Neji had carefully declined any of Sakura's implied invitations to join the others.

He intentionally manipulated her into believing that he preferred solitude. Neji already saw more and learned more than he wanted to and not all of it was as meaningless as he wanted to pretend. Even locked in the small, if beautiful room, Neji could see when they argued or embraced or made love…His cheeks heated at that and Neji was glad that the act had only happened once. He should never have watched them that way, doing so had been unnecessary to his mission, but Neji had not been able to tear his eyes away from the surging chakra of the three forms wound up in each other. Apparently, Sakura made love to both of them at once and, while he was shocked, Neji was also mildly titillated by the thought.

Even though the Byukugan offered him only the bare chakra outline of the other's bodies, the Hyuuga could see them in his mind, how they would look and sound. He imagined Sasuke, his pale skin warmed with blood, trying to remain detached and failing as Sakura coaxed him to orgasm and how Naruto would moan and sigh and come undone for both of them. The vision shook him, made his breath come fast, and for the first time since leaving Anko, Neji was too aroused to find his center. The Hyuuga lay awake at night, straining to hear as the others spoke and laughed and loved each other, feeling empty and yet grateful that he had not been called upon to join them. He was only doing as he had been ordered, completing his mission to the best of his abilities, but Neji could not hide from the gnawing worry that only something terrible could come from doing so. True, very little of what he knew had any real significance, but the act of spying itself still felt wrong.

Tonight they were cooking together, as far as he could tell, standing close in the kitchen and occasionally touching affectionately. Sasuke, the Hyuuga was sure that it was him, hovered close to Sakura as they cooked. The raven was always close to her, his energy protective and vigilant. Sai brushed his hand against Sasuke's arm and Neji waited for the psychotic killer to tear the artist's hand off, but the raven's swirling blue energy suffered the touch as always. The phenomenon never failed to shock Neji, that Sasuke allowed the ink nin to touch him so frequently, and he wondered how they had ever come to tolerate each other. Naruto shared a brief kiss with Sai and Neji watched his energy flare with what could only be assumed was arousal. So, Naruto was not only allowing Sai to stay with them out of friendship, he had come to want the artist sexually. Neji filed away the tiny piece of information away, hoping as usual that it would never be anything that might interest Hiashi.

The four of them worked for a while, cutting vegetables probably, and then Sasuke and Naruto began to argue. Neji rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to look away. The two of them fought almost as much as they talked and seemed to communicate better shouting than they ever did with any kind of mature interaction. He yawned. It was nothing unusual. Neji took no note of the behavior until Naruto's energy flared and synchronized with Sasuke's. The bands of chakra aligned so perfectly that at first Neji was not sure who was who, the lines of energy pulsing in time with one another like a single heartbeat. He gasped. Naruto had exerted the thrall, it was the only thing that could account for something so utterly unbelievable. Neji had never seen anything like it and watching the chakra of a person straighten and match another sent a shiver up his spine. Sasuke turned and began moving towards him, his pace both swift and efficient. Neji shut his eyes and halted the Byukugan just as he heard Sasuke's swift, angry tread in the hallway near his room.

Neji had a breath and a heartbeat before Sasuke tore the locking jutsu from the door and stormed in. The raven slammed the door open with an audible crack, looking positively deadly in his black and orange kimono, eyes blazing like living coals in his pale face. Even without spying on him earlier, Neji could tell that Sasuke was furious. The killer scowled at Neji as he moved to lean against the door frame, mouth set in a fierce, angry line.

"Naruto wants you to join us for dinner." Sasuke practically spat.

"Oh?" Neji replied, raising an eyebrow.

"The idiot thinks that you need company." Sasuke fumed, the sharingan blazing scarlet in his anger.

"What do you want?" Neji asked quizzically, sipping the cold tea Sakura had left earlier.

"I want to gouge your eyes out and chain you to something heavy in the room beneath the root cellar that Naruto still doesn't know about." Sasuke replied without hesitation.

"I mean your family no harm, Sasuke." Neji said, keeping his voice calm.

"Lie to me again Hyuuga and even the thrall won't help you." Sasuke hissed, his face twisting with rage.

"Does your sharingan give you any reason to think I'm lying." Neji whispered, watching as Sasuke studied him.

"No. But your kinsmen in my woods certainly do." The raven replied coldly.

"My kinsmen?" Neji asked, suddenly off balance. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh. I see." The raven said, smiling rather nastily.

"What are you talking about?" Neji demanded, feeling unbalanced and not liking it.

"Hiashi never told you that four of your kinsmen, dressed in the gear of an elite recon team, were sent to the western woods of our estate…and that I sent one of them back in pieces as a message for the others." Sasuke whispered, the threat heavy in his voice.

"No." Neji replied, feeling anger twist his belly.

Hiashi had sent him into a situation already on the verge of violence without crucial information, information that he needed to have! Neji had understood that there were things he did not know about the relationship between the Hyuuga clan and that of Uzumaki, but he had no idea that someone had already died. No wonder Hiashi had been so desperate to repay his debt to Naruto following the duel. The Hyuuga leader had already made a covert statement of war and without something as drastic as a favorable political marriage, clan Uzumaki could attack with impunity.

"I meant what I said. I have no wish to hurt your family, Naruto is my friend…" Neji said, sighing heavily.

"He was my friend too, and that did not stop my family from convincing me that I had to kill him. Even after all of them were dead, I still fought on, murdering for a cause I never really truly understood until Naruto took me. I know how it works." Sasuke replied quietly.

"Your brother was insane…"

"And are you so sure that Hiashi isn't?" Sasuke asked sharply, his expression cold with some old wound.

"I…I do not know." Neji whispered.

"Che. Whatever. Come eat." Sasuke snapped crossing his arms and looking away.

"I'll stay. I'm not hungry anyway. Thank you." Neji replied, looking away.

"Naruto won't stop asking and I already have a headache…" Sasuke groused, his tone a warning.

"I'm sure it will be fine…" Neji argued.

"As much as I might prefer it, you aren't a prisoner here, and Naruto won't treat you like one. We are your family now and that is something you need to accept!" Sasuke snapped.

"A family that locks people into root cellars with their eyes gouged out?" Neji taunted, laughing bitterly.

"One of us was born an Uchiha." Sasuke said as he turned and strode out of the door.

Neji stood and moved to follow the dark haired traitor. As he moved out into the hallway and away from the open door, the direction of the breeze changed. Neji stopped cold, his heart nearly coming to a stilling in his chest. He smelled it, the scent he had tried so many times to forget, the unmistakable smell of winter. The odor was unique, cold and clean and painfully arousing, and he had only ever experienced it in Anko's bed. Neji's eyes widened, startled, as the fragrance of Anko's hair and flesh, the scent that had clung to his own body after making love to her, the fragile fragrance too easily scrubbed away, washed over him again. Sasuke turned, looking over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow, waiting impatiently. The Hyuuga shook his head to clear it and moved closer, but the smell did not fade, only growing stronger and more enticing. Anko was not anywhere close by and the only other person in the hallway was Sasuke, but the smell was one he knew. Despite the strange circumstances and everything that had happened, the smell of winter still stirred him, making his heart hammer madly in his chest. Neji let his mouth fall open, searching the smell for…something, some way to understand. True, this scent was sharper, harder, more masculine than Anko's had been, but the character of it was undeniably the same. Though worrisome, the fragrance was just as intoxicating, perhaps even more so for its strength. Sasuke surveyed him, looking annoyed, as Neji moved to stand beside him.

"You…you smell like winter." Neji whispered, feeling a deep quiver settle into his gut.

"I guess. Naruto always says so. Why do you care?" Sasuke snarled, crossing his arms.

"I…It reminds me of someone I used to know." Neji replied quietly, still half drunk on the fragrance and the memories it brought.

"Did that someone try to kill you? Because I will! Hurry up!" Sasuke growled, angry.

"Sometimes, I truly wish she had." Neji muttered.

"Dammit! Is everyone Naruto marries completely fucking crazy?" Sasuke groused, striding down the hall.

OoOoOoO

Neji stared at the fish prepared with lychee nuts and rice with mushrooms and tried to ignore how badly his hands were shaking as he took a bite. Sakura smiled at him and Neji blushed, feeling both warmed and embarrassed by the gesture. Dinner turned out to be a tense affair made no better by Sasuke's rather obvious sulking, which Naruto tried, and failed, to ignore. Sai had been staring at him, unblinking, for at least twenty minutes and Sakura had already broken two tea cups out of sheer nervousness. The only person who was actually managing to eat normally was Sasuke, who had finished his first serving and was currently eating his second, chewing being a favorable alternative to talking. Naruto shoved his food around a bit more and asked Sakura about the weather for the third time. Neji sighed. Perhaps the root cellar would have been preferable after all.

"Are you really planning to kill us?" Sai asked suddenly and Naruto choked painfully on his rice.

"No. Apparently not." Sasuke muttered, spearing a piece of fish with his chopsticks as if the meat had personally insulted him.

"Neji would never do that." Naruto gruffly said when he could breathe again.

"Good. If you did, I would kill you so quickly that you would not have time to inhale." Sai said and smiled.

"Sai!" Sakura hissed, kicking the artist hard beneath the table.

Sai flinched, but the smile never budged. The whole effect was exceedingly creepy and Neji wondered how Sakura had ever come to love someone so strange. Regardless, Neji knew that Sai would ruthlessly dispatch any threat, regardless of the consequences. The knowledge was not unexpected, but it still made Neji faintly ill.

"I am not planning to kill anyone. May I go?" Neji asked with a sigh, setting the chopsticks aside.

"Sure, I mean…I guess so…I mean…if you want to that is…" Naruto fumbled lamely.

"You haven't eaten hardly anything Neji…" Sakura whispered, upset.

"Maybe he's sick of mushrooms…" Sai postulated.

"Don't project." Sasuke muttered, shooting Sai a reproachful glance.

"Neji, please, I know it's a little… rough at first, but everything will be okay! Believe it!" Naruto said, smiling a bit too forcefully.

"I'm really not hungry." Neji replied.

"Just eat. If you worry my wife, I'll kill you." Sasuke hissed.

"Sasuke!" Naruto snapped.

"Please don't worry. May I be excused?" Neji asked, keeping his eyes locked firmly onto the table before him.

"Why is he asking you?" Sai asked, raising an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Neji…" Naruto sighed, frowning a little at Sai.

"Please understand me. I do not want to be here any more than you want to have me." Neji hissed, rising.

"What makes you think I don't want you?" Naruto asked quietly and the conversation ceased.

"The shouting, when you were arguing, you said…" Neji began, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Just because I don't like being forced to do things, or being told by my Teme that I have to sexually assault my friends, doesn't mean I don't want you here. The situation is a little shaky, but it doesn't have anything to do with you." Naruto said, crossing his arms and glaring briefly at Sasuke.

"Someone has to tell you the truth of things. You are too naïve." Sasuke grumbled.

"And you are too jaded, asshole, believe it." Naruto replied, smiling a little.

"Tch." Sasuke responded haughtily, but his eyes were warm.

"But…Hiashi…He practically forced you…" Neji said, startled by the jinchuuriki's bold statement.

"You, Neji Hyuuga, are one of the greatest ninja in all Konoha. You were the one we all looked up to, the one everyone talked about, aspired to…even idiots like me thought you were cool." Naruto said, blushing a little.

"You…you really thought that?" Neji whispered.

"Everyone did! Everyone thought you were the greatest! Well, everyone except for Sasuke…" Naruto said smiling.

"This isn't a team, Naruto, and it isn't the academy either! I practically belong to you!" Neji hissed bitterly.

"It's surprisingly close to being a team though, except that now there's sex and Sasuke and we eat a lot more mushrooms..." Sai said. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Just shut up and eat the damn things!" Sasuke snapped.

"I...I mean you do…I guess…belong to me, I mean…but…it isn't like…that." Naruto replied lamely, cheeks burning.

"Like what?" Neji asked coldly.

"I told you bringing him to dinner was a stupid idea. Baka." Sasuke grumbled.

"Don't we all just…belong to each other?" Sakura asked softly.

Everyone was silent at that, turning to look at the rose haired kunoichi as she toyed self-consciously with her chopsticks. Neji sighed and moved to sit down again. Sai rested his chin on Sasuke's shoulder and the raven haired ninja flinched a little, but did not push him away. Naruto looked at him, his eyes such a vibrant hue of blue that it almost hurt to look at and Neji felt as if everything he was had been laid bare for the blond to see.

"If having you by my side buys peace for my family and for yours, then…I'm only just grateful." Naruto said at last, his voice quiet.

"Grateful." Neji laughed, his voice hard and bitter in his own mouth.

"Who wouldn't be grateful to have you?" Naruto asked, smiling a little.

The expression was tentative, warm and very innocent. Neji felt the hidden truth of his purpose, to wait and watch, like frozen stones in his belly. Naruto smiled at him and despite the fact that his ANBU face lay in a thousand pieces and that his future had been crumpled up and burned away for the sake of politics, Neji felt…precious.