Chapter Text
Chapter one:
When the lands were not named and clans killed each other without mercy, nine beasts roamed the Earth bringing terror and death unlike any other entity.
The strongest amongst them was the Nine-Tailed Fox, the most vicious and cruel of them all. One step of the creature had chakra rippling across the Earth and disintegrating anyone in its path.
It was that terror that united the Senju and Uchiha clan to capture and seal the terrifying beast away.
With the mightiest of the beasts gone, the rest soon followed a similar fate.
Sasuke, with the stealth of a cat, moved across Konoha’s rooftops. The darkness of the night aided him in his endeavour to not be seen. Distantly, he registered the owls hooting, noises of the night the only sound of life at this hour. Besides the shinobi that hid in the shadows of the village, on watch duty. But their purpose was to not be noticed. Otherwise, they failed in their job to monitor the village without spectacle.
He was out later than he should be. Later than he usually was. It did not matter that he would soon be twenty-one. Living in the type of household he did, meant that everyone followed the rules of his father, Fugaku Uchiha who was every bit the dominating and stoic alpha. Especially because he, Sasuke Uchiha, was an omega.
The word still caused distain to simmer inside him.
If rage had been enough to change his secondary gender, Sasuke would have never presented as an omega. But he had. No amount of wishing for any other option would change that.
Hence, the sneaking into his house at the three in the morning. Heavens forbid his reputation be tarnished.
Slipping inside through his bedroom window, he met the watchful eyes of Toma. Her eyes were big and owlish as she sat perched on his bed, staring at him with the type of curiosity only cats could muster. Sasuke and- and Itachi had found her when they were five and ten. They had been playing hide and seek before they heard a distressed meow and followed the sound until they found her in tall grass, scrawny and fur matted with dirt. They had taken her home, and when their father had refused them keeping a pet, Sasuke cried the entire night until his father reluctantly gave in. Years have passed, and she was an official family member. His father now slipped her raw chicken as an occasional treat and Sasuke would often find her curled on his chest whenever he fell asleep in the living room.
After debating with himself for a solid five minutes, he decided he could not go to bed in these clothes. Summer air and late-night training had it sticking to his skin with every movement to the point that Sasuke would be unable to sleep if he got into bed like this.
A floorboard creaked when he made his way to the bathroom and he bit back a curse. All his shinobi training seemed to go out the window when he was trying not to wake his mother who had the hearing of a feline. She woke up once, because he had sneezed. Sneezed. His parents’ bedroom was on the other side of the long, never-ending hall. He had received a three-hour lecture and was threatened with being disowned. But that was a regular Tuesday.
The water was scalding when he lowered himself in the tub, turning his pale skin red and burning away the knots in his body. The tension and mild pain melted the more steam filled the bathroom and the harder it became to breath. He leaned his head against the edge, fingers gliding through the water.
Thinking about the upcoming mission had his stomach turning.
Which was ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
Except-
No.
That did not matter.
He did not matter.
It had been months since he was given a mission so far from the village. He would not let old acquaintances ruin this golden opportunity. Not when he was always fighting tooth and nail to be allowed to go on these missions.
Being an omega in a traditional clan like the Uchiha made it hard enough. The incident made it even harder.
He forced his thoughts away from that road, refusing to give it the time of day. Some things were never to be spoken about. This was one of them. So, he dug a deep hole and buried it.
Dragging his washcloth across his skin, he watched the soapy foam form on his body. Sasuke used a scent-removing wash, focusing on his scent glands with the attention of someone who did not want anyone to smell him. It was better this way. It always had been.
By the time he was finished, clothed in light-cotton sleepwear, his body felt heavy and his eyes were burning. Toma was asleep on his pillow, monopolising it. She was the reason he always had white fur clinging to him. He needed to brush her fur out soon. She was a very furry cat which had been cause for bickering in the Uchiha household when his father would find cat hair on the sofas.
He barely made it in the covers before sleep was pulling him under, eyes too heavy to stay awake any longer.
“Your father missed you at dinner last night.”
Sasuke had brewed his coffee for twenty minutes. He liked good coffee. It was how he started his day so he did not commit a crime when dealing with particularly annoying people. He had taken one sip, relished it for about ten seconds before his mother decided to sour the morning with her words.
He was an expert in translating what his mother actually meant:
Your father expects you at dinner tonight.
It was an order.
He tried to put his cup of coffee down without showing his frustration. He failed when a ‘clink’ resonated in the kitchen in a way that obviously spoke of negative emotion translated through the slamming and misuse of inanimate objects.
Taking a breath, he opened his mouth to speak but his mother, ever loving and gentle intervened.
“He just worries about you. It’s all out of love.”
That same old rhetoric.
“I’m going on the mission, Mother.”
He made sure to fill Toma’s bowl, and she came scurrying at the sound.
“I know, I know.” She said, taking some vegetables out of the pantry. “I need to get some meat from the butcher. How does grilled meat and rice sound?”
He made a sound of approval, uncaring either way.
“I’ll bring the meat when I come back later. The meeting shouldn’t take too long.”
The Yondaime Hokage had sent a brief letter explaining that there was a mission outside the village that could take a few weeks. When his father had heard of it, he had left to share some words with the Hokage but was unsuccessful in his pursuit to change the Yondaime’s mind.
Sasuke was grateful.
“Do you know who your teammates will be?”
“No.” He lied.
Because speaking the truth would mean having to think about it. Sasuke did not waste time thinking about irrelevant things. He did not have the luxury to do that.
“I hope Sakura-chan will be with. She always looks out for you.” His mother chopped spring-onion as she said this, always preferring to prepare the vegetables earlier.
Sakura Haruno. They had been on a team together. She was a beta-girl who had a crush on Sasuke in their academy days and following their genin days. He was not sure when she grew out of it but he was thankful she did. Their friendship was forged through years of forced proximity and the catty personality Sakura hid under her sweet smile that went well with Sasuke’s own, less than pleasant personality. Sasuke found it hard to be friends with people who were too nice.
She bothered him constantly.
He pretended to hate it.
Luckily for his mother, she would be with. Along with his other former teammate.
He pursed his lips in irritation when he realized he was thinking of him again.
“I’m going to get ready.” He announced to end the conversation.
There was still one hour and thirty minutes before he had to go the Hokage’s office. But that was beside the point.
The shinobi uniform consisted of a plain, long-sleeved sweater with matching long, pants. With that, came an olive-green flak jacket which always sat heavily on Sasuke’s shoulders, fingerless gloves that hid the calluses on his hands and shinobi sandals. And of course, the shinobi headband. The forehead protector, engraved with Konoha’s symbol. The metal was heavy and he could feel it through the fabric against his forehead.
He parted his bangs and tied it in a tight, secure knot at the back of his head where his hair always tended to stick up at odd angles. Sakura said he was using the wrong conditioner.
That was the compulsory garments.
Sasuke added bandages around his arms which he used to usually hide his fuinjutsu tags. He needed to get more at the weapon’s store. His weapon pouch sat comfortable and familiar against his thigh, held by his weapon holster. Underneath his pants, his toeless socks reached his knees. Many shinobi used bandages but he much preferred the support and elasticity from this fabric.
Toma was staring up at him, so he leaned down to lather her in some affection before going to greet his mother.
She was finished in the kitchen and he now saw her watering her indoor plants. She took great pride in her gardening skills. They had a garden outside. Three separate ones. One for vegetables which was further back of their yard. Two flower gardens, as you entered the house and as you entered the backyard.
His mother was an omega.
The perfect omega.
Soft and submissive.
Sweet and understanding.
Homely and nurturing.
She was everything Sasuke never wanted to be.
Everything he was running away from.
It was ugly.
His thoughts were ugly.
She tilted her cheek up when he came to her and he leaned down to place a soft kiss on it, her scent, a sweet plum and despite it all, comforting.
She smiled at him, gentle in a way only a mother ever could be.
“See you late, sweetie.”
He gave her a weak smile, choosing not to say anything.
“Sasuke, dear!” His Aunt yelled the moment she saw him.
The Uchiha compound was lively this time of the day. It was late morning and everyone still had the energy of good sleep. Unlike Sasuke who could feel his late-night escapade weighing down on him.
“Auntie Sayuri.” He greeted, nodding in acknowledgement to the rest of the clan members who waved at him. Uncle Kazuki was opening his butchery, knives glinting. He always gave them his latest cuts. He saw Chikari run off, probably late for her new job at the tailor store more central in Konoha. Souma had taken over his father’s food vendor, and smiled softly as Sasuke passed.
Most of the Uchiha compound was residential with a few family-run stores here and there.
Everyone’s scent mingled together to the point that it became hard to deciphers whose was whose. This was worse in summer, the heat making everyone’s scent richer. It had been difficult to get used to at the beginning, but he realised soon that the more he exposed himself to all the things people said made an omega unfit for this lifestyle, the quicker he could overcome it.
“Your mother’s gardening tip worked! My tomatoes are all ripe!” She gushed, lines of age etched into her face, making her appear warm and soft. She showed off the few she hand picked from her garden.
“That’s nice.” He said because he did not have anything else to say.
“I know you’re such a lover of tomatoes so I’ll bring some when I visit your mother later, okay dear?”
“Thank you.” It was useless to refuse and seen as impolite. “They look delicious.”
She took in his uniform, and her eyes shifted.
It was the same.
It has been years since he presented and fought with every bit of courage he had not to be forced to stay at home. It was clan etiquette. The Uchiha did not believe that omegas made good shinobi. They were meant to be kept inside and raised to be homemakers. When Sasuke had presented, the procedure life and body altering, it had nearly taken everything from him. Within their lineage, there had not been an omega born for years. Strong alphas married fertile omegas and produced stronger alphas as heirs to lead the Uchiha clan. Their lineage had been seen as strong and dominating. The symbol of strength.
Until Sasuke.
The spare heir that failed.
His clan was traditional.
He tried not to bristle under the same judgement but his hackles always rose.
“I see you’re ready for a mission.” He could tell she did not mean anything by it. But his aunt did not understand it. She could not comprehend how an omega could want anything other than the straight path of marriage and children.
“Yes, I’ll most likely leave tomorrow and be gone a while.”
Aunt Sayuri placed her hand on her heart in a theatrical gesture.
He wanted to roll his eyes but respect for his clan had been drilled into him since young.
It was the same old performance every single time.
“I can’t imagine how your parents worry for you, Sasuke dear.” She touched his arm, genuine concern dripping from her voice, “You need to be careful. It’s not normal for-”
“I will.” He cut her off and lightly pushed her arm away, looking at the rooftops and wondering if he should just go that way instead to avoid any unwanted conversation.
Sasuke did not get to decide.
Though, this conversation was not as unwanted.
An arm wrapped around his shoulder as he walked and the cheery voice of his third-cousin greeted him.
“You look like someone took a piss in your coffee.” Renji laughed, waving at Chikari’s grandfather who was dusting out his carpet.
Renji’s words reminded him of his coffee this morning that he did not get to enjoy and his mood soured further.
“What do you want?” He asked, detangling himself from his cousin. He took a right turn and his cousin trailed after him.
“To talk to my cousin who sneaked home at-”
“Shut the fuck up.” He hissed, looking around to ensure nobody else heard. All he got was the same smile that most of his clan gave him. There were others whose lips were pressed into thin lines at the sight of his uniform. But that was nothing new.
“Relax.” Renji chuckled.
Of course he did.
Renji was a beta.
A male beta.
He could stay out until the next day and the most he would get was a light scolding.
“Do you want a matching scar on the other side of your face?”
Renji had a long scar on the right starting from his cheekbone and ending just before the corner of his lips. It was given to him on a mission. He remembers the aftermath clearly because it had been used as a lesson to Sasuke on what could happen to him out there.
“Not particularly, no.”
“Then zip it.” He snapped.
“Just wanna make sure you’re not letting any wild alpha take advantage and steal your flower-” He said mockingly, the same way the elders of their clan would say it. Renji was his favourite cousin for a reason. He did not believe in the archaic mindset of many of their clan members. In a society, where omegas and beta women were condemned to be lesser, Renji had never treated him as such.
“I’d rather die than let some slimy alpha touch me.”
“Touch bit dramatic, don’t you think?”
“I am related to you, despite how I wish I wasn’t.”
“Hurtful.”
“The truth hurts.”
“Just be careful.” Renji said when they reached the Uchiha’s weapon store owned by Ryota, his tone slipping into something more serious.
“I am care-”
“No, you’re not.” He cut him off, the protective side of him coming out. “If you were, I wouldn’t have seen you while on patrol last night, would I?”
Sasuke clenched his jaw.
A firm hand gripped his shoulder. It was supposed to be comforting. It felt like humiliation.
“I just don’t want to see you locked up in that house again, little cousin.”
His words made Sasuke bristle.
“If that ever happens again, I’ll run away.”
Renji laughed but Sasuke was not joking at all.
Walking the streets of Konoha always came with mixed reactions.
Curt politeness or nervous politeness.
Curt from those who looked down on them and nervous from those who were scared of them.
By them, he meant the Uchiha.
The friction between the Uchiha and the people of Konoha stems back to an ancestor who had tried to destroy the village. There was a time where there had almost been something close to peace, but the attack of the nine-tails had changed everything. It had cemented to everyone that the Uchiha were not to be trusted.
“You’re looking pretty, today.” Ino Yamanaka linked their arms together. She was an omega as well. Her scent was flowery and the lavender scent swirled around her. Sasuke had seen first-hand how inviting her scent was to other alphas.
“I look as I always do.”
“And that is always pretty.” She winked, a basket of flowers in her other hand.
“A delivery?”
“Yes. We’re always in good business when it’s summer.”
“My mother plans to expand her flower garden. She’ll probably come soon for something new to grow.”
“We have honeysuckle. I don’t think she’s bought that from us yet.”
They walked in step. That tense feeling eased up a bit with her presence. Ino’s friendship was forged in darker waters than his friendship with Sakura. It was a bond that only grew when two people survived the grimmest of circumstances. It was life-bonding.
“Sakura says you guys have a mission on the outskirts.”
“Sakura knows missions are meant to be confidential, right?”
“Don’t be a bore. I like to live viscerally through you guys.”
“You could reinstate yourself as a ninja.” He pointed out.
Ino shook her head, fingers tightening on his arm, her nails digging into him.
“I prefer running my mother’s flower shop. It’s much more relaxing.”
He did not comment on that statement. Ino has not been an active ninja for years now. Different people had different reactions to certain things. Although Sasuke did not completely understand it, he tried to empathise.
Things were harder for omegas in the shinobi career than alphas and betas.
It was a hard pill to swallow but no less true.
“How are you and Sai doing?”
He watched her face brighten considerably, cheeks flushing the way it always did when they spoke of the beta.
“Things are good-” She let go of his arm to tuck her hair behind her ears.
It was a very omega-like gesture. Revealing more of one’s neck while acting demure and shy. It was something he had never found himself doing. His goal in life was to be as unsuitable to any alpha as possible.
“-He wants to get married as soon as he has saved enough up to buy a house.”
He nodded along as she spoke, making sounds of acknowledgement and attempting a smile at certain things she said that excited her. Such as going to look at bridal kimonos. Her long, blonde hair shone in the sun. It reminded him of-
No.
“At least your dad doesn’t hate him anymore.” Sasuke said when she mentioned that her father, Inoichi Yamanaka, wanted to go on a mission together with Sai to get inside his head before he takes his daughter away. He remembers how the man had refused to let Sai enter the Yamanaka house if he was not home. Whether it was raining and cold, Sai would have to wait until Inoichi was home before being allowed inside.
Sakura had been baffled.
Perks of not growing up in a clan.
Ino laughed, “Gods, it used to be really bad, huh?”
“Sai got a fever because of it.”
He only knew this because Sakura had nursed him back to health. He wasn’t really fond of the beta. He said odd things that always stirred the pot. Sasuke did not care if it was unintentional. It was aggravating.
Ino waved to him as she took another road, going into the more residential area of Konoha.
Sasuke finally made it to the Hokage tower which felt more intimidating than usual. He nodded to the two men who guarded the entrance as he passed them. One of them had a clipboard with a page where they had a record of who was expected.
He walked up three flights of stairs, thighs burning with the memory of his training. Reaching the reception area, Suzune Nara sat at a desk, an omega from the Nara clan who worked as a receptionist for the Yondaime. She was a quiet woman, a specific quietness inherited from the Nara clan. She pointed at her record book and he filled out his name and the time.
It was as he was straightening up that he heard it.
Laughter.
Loud and boisterous laughter.
Something in his chest tightened considerably.
Familiar laughter.
It sounded older yes, but it was no less different. Only deeper with a rumble that had something foreign run through him to the tips of his fingers and toes.
The source of the laughter had been back for five months and fifteen days.
They had seen each other briefly at the gathering his former classmates had held for him.
Then, only in passing.
The sound was warm, and hard to ignore. To ignore it, would be to try and deny the sun’s existence. It was impossible. That same, traitorous feeling that he had carved out with an icy precision only the Uchiha were capable of, surged violently wrapping around his lungs and squeezing the air out of it.
Every step closer to the door that separated them felt as if he were marching, flying closer and closer to the sun.
He could hear voices. Four voices, intermingling and yet one stood out so starkly as if Sasuke’s ears had been trained to hear his voice alone.
He hated that voice with a burning passion.
Taking in a deep breath, he let the indignation rise within him at his own behaviour.
He was an Uchiha.
Nobody was allowed to unsettle him.
He had worked far too hard to perfect his mask of stoic composure.
His hand wrapped around the door handle before yanking it open roughly, the gesture overly confident.
The voices stopped. The office was bright, sunlight pouring through big windows, so searing that the dust particles could be seen floating in the air. Sakura stood on the right of the Hokage’s desk, green eyes always welcoming and sparkling in the sun, hands clasped behind her back. Kakashi Hatake, their former sensei, lounged on the sofa, nonchalant, with that filthy book in his hand. Minato Uzumaki, the Yondaime, and one of the greatest Kage’s of their time, sat behind his desk, smiling in a soft, unassuming way despite his rank.
And-
Something seized in his chest.
Naruto Uzumaki.
Son of the Yondaime.
Leaning back against the desk, arms folded across his chest in a way that showed off the strength in them. Hair wild and untamed, spiky and some falling over his headband, appearing golden in the consuming light of the sun. Tall and broad-shouldered and very much not the seventeen-year-old boy he was when he left three years ago.
Their eyes met.
His irises were that same startling blue, but, for a brief millisecond, it appeared stormy.
An intense, captivating blue that was reminiscent of the ocean’s temper.
Sasuke remembers how deep the tides of that temper ran.
Then it was gone and a brilliant, charming smile broke out onto his face.
“Hey, Sas-” That irritating nickname slipped from his mouth without a care in the world, mouth curving into a smirk that displayed his canines. “-you finally decided to join the party, huh?”