Chapter 2 (II)

One month later.

Fugaku Uchiha stood at the entryway of his palace. His family, along with other notable and reputable royals stood alongside him as they waited for the Uzumaki royal family to arrive. The king of the Uchiha clan scowled as another minute ticked by.

"They're late like always!" Fugaku hollered. It was bad enough that it was windy outside and now he had to wait out here in the cold like some freezing peasant. "They're a whole week late and even now when they said they'll be here today, they still manage to be late, unbelievable!"

"Hush, darling. They'll be here any second. I just know it." Mikoto rubbed her husbands arm in a calming manner. "You've fought wars that lasted longer, you can wait this out."

Fugaku said nothing but his hardened expression softened a fraction of a bit.

Sasuke paid his parents no mind. For the first time in a long time, nothing anyone said or did could irritate him because in a few moments, the love of his life, the person who had filled his dreams for the past five years, would come back into his life again. The wait had been a long one, and many times Sasuke felt like the weight of the anchors was too much and he'd drown, but miraculously he had made it.

Not even Sakura's vice like grip on his hand could sour Sasuke's jovial mood. Five years ago, when he had waited for Naruto just like this, he had been angry, jealous, and a child. He had been just like his father, yelling about how late the Uzumaki's were, but now Sasuke was brimming with happiness.

"Stop smiling like that, you're creeping me out!" Gaara leaned over and whispered to Sasuke who was smiling from ear to ear.

"Shut up!" Sasuke retorted, still smiling as he kept his eyes straight ahead on the road.

Gaara raised a nonexistent eyebrow and straightened back up. He had never seen Sasuke this happy before; it was suspicious. He decided to not dwell on it and trained his eyes ahead of him.

The rolling sound of wood hitting gravel caught everyone's attention. The next second three large white carriages rolled down the gravely road and then pulled up in front of them.

Sasuke noted the Uzumaki clan flags pinned to the carriages. Just seeing them sent a jolt of excitement through his body. He couldn't believe Naruto was actually seated inside one of the carriages. He wanted to run up to each carriage and throw each door open until he spotted the blond. Once he found him, Sasuke would carry Naruto and whisk him away into the forest where they could love each other and not have to be restricted by betrothals and marriages. It was a dream Sasuke loved to think about.

Sasuke held his breath when the two first carriage doors opened. He sighed in disappointment when a slew of guards, butlers, and maids clambered out.

Sasuke's excitement reignited when he realized that this meant that Naruto must be in the last carriage.

Two guards went up to the carriage door. Another guard pulled a horn latched to his belt out and blew it. The crowd fell silent. They all knew what that melody being blasted from the horn meant-the royal family was about to make their entrance.

Sasuke couldn't be more excited if he tried. He briefly wondered if his hands were sweaty enough for Sakura to notice but then decided that he didn't care, he had waited five years for this moment-not even his annoying wife could damper his mood.

Finally, the guards opened the carriage doors and out stepped the large figure of Karin Uzumaki. Just as Sasuke had thought, she had developed into a strong dominant. She was muscular but still petite. Her red hair was even shorter than last time, it was almost all completely gone from the back and all she had left was long bangs falling in her face. A crown still adorned her head but this one was much larger than the one she had been wearing five years ago. She was wearing a dark blue haori that had the Uzumaki clan symbol emblazoned on her back and her hakama were white.

Even as she stood there Sasuke could still recall that night long ago in the pond when her muscles had rippled in the moonlight. Her muscles had tripled since then. But so had his so she no longer scared him as she had once used to.

Kushina stepped out of the carriage next. Her long red hair was all tied up into a large braided bun. Her bun was encased in a golden hair comb. There were dozens of diamonds going around it and in the center of the hair comb, a single sapphire lay. It was the size of a peach pit; the mere size of it stunned Sasuke. The cost of the sapphire was probably something only a king's wife could afford. Kushina's kimono was a watery gray color and bound at the waist by a light blue obi. Her kimono had painted white cranes and blue wind patterns swirling at the bottom of it. As always, she looked like a walking piece of art. So extraordinary to behold that it was hard to think that she was real.

Everyone bowed as the Uzumaki clan's queen stood there smiling. She bowed slightly at the crowd. Her tight obi still disallowed her from bowing properly.

The carriage door was opened again. Sasuke held his breath, there was a high chance Naruto could come out next since his father was the king and therefore respectfully should come out last but then again Naruto was the betrothed and everyone knew that the betrothed wasn't allowed to come out until the very end when everyone else had come out.

The carriage door swung open and a head of blonde hair peaked out.

Naruto? Sasuke thought hopefully.

The blonde hair was immediately followed by a pair of wide shoulders.

No, not Naruto. Sasuke frowned but then quickly forced a respectful expression on his face as Minato Uzumaki, the king of the Uzumaki clan, stepped out of the carriage.

"I want to thank you all for being here to accept our arrival." Minato announced. He oozed power by just standing there. Sasuke had once overheard his father telling a story to a general commander about how Minato Uzumaki was known as the yellow flash of the west due to his extraordinary ability to teleport. He was like a flash of lighting; once you saw him you never knew where he'd strike next.

"It is a pleasure." Fugaku replied while smiling falsely. A blind man would've been able to see just how much real "pleasure" Fugaku had written all over his face. He had been kept waiting and he was not happy about it one bit.

"We are all here for a special reason, the binding of two clans through marriage. I have brought you my son just as you ordered, in return I trust that you will treat him well."

"Of course, now let's get this over with and get inside. It's too cold for all this pointless talking."

Minato's expression hardened at Fugaku's rudeness but nodded in approval. He opened the carriage door himself and stepped aside.

"May I present to you, my son, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto stepped out of the carriage and Sasuke all but lost his breath. For the second time in his life the sheer beauty of Naruto Uzumaki overwhelmed Sasuke Uchiha. The five years had definitely been kind on Naruto. For one, he no longer had the chubby cheeks of a child; they were thinned out but still had the slight blush to them and the three scars on each side that Sasuke loved. Naruto had grown a bit taller too. His big blue eyes, which never looked up from the ground, were outlined with a light purple shadow color and his long blond hair was half tied up into a bun. There was a single white lotus with hundreds of shimmering diamonds hung on silk strings pinned in the center of the bun and the diamonds sparkled as Naruto bowed in greeting. They were so mesmerizing; everything about Naruto was mesmerizing, even his kimono was beautiful. It was a blue, almost white color, the obi that bound Naruto's small waist was black and the tassel around it was gold. On Naruto's back the Uzumaki clan symbol was emblazoned, just like on Karin's haori. The sleeves of Naruto's kimono were long and hung heavily at his sides. Only those coming of age were allowed to wear kimonos with such long sleeves, the long length of the sleeves symbolized innocence. But it wasn't needed because the white collar of Naruto's under kimono was pure white, which meant purity. He was untouched. Seeing the white collar pleased Sasuke greatly. Naruto raised his head but kept his eyes on the ground, his scarred cheeks turned dark red. It was then that Sasuke realized what had happened. As he was ogling Naruto's beauty Itachi had walked up to Naruto and bowed lowly at his feet. It was the same bow he had done when he first met Naruto. Sasuke tried to not let it anger him. Itachi's extremely low bow signified respect for the one who would give him children in the future. Meaning, Itachi was thanking Naruto in advance for accepting his seed inside him.

Naruto's purity would be gone and the pure white color of his collar would turn into black. The mere thought of it angered Sasuke. When he was a child he had sworn to make Naruto his but as he matured and grew older he realized what that statement entailed, Naruto already belonged to Itachi, making Naruto's his would mean betraying the brother he loved. Sasuke tried to stave off his anger by reminding himself of this. It wasn't working though, thinking of Naruto's virginity being taken by anyone else but him was making Sasuke furious.

"Oww, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelped in pain. "You're holding my hand too tightly!"

Sasuke ignored his "wife" and continued to look at Itachi and Naruto. Itachi had risen off the ground and was now helping Naruto step down from the carriage. Sasuke was so angry that he actually wanted to hurt something. Preferably Sakura.

"Let's go inside, the winds are getting stronger." Itachi commented as he watched the luminous stringed diamonds hanging in Naruto's hair blow harshly in the wind. "I don't want my betrothed out in this kid of weather."

Everyone found Itachi's concern for Naruto sweet, they eagerly followed Itachi and Naruto into the Uchiha palace.

Sasuke forced a smile on his face and followed along. He wanted nothing more than to snatch Naruto away but he'd have to wait, there was a time and place for everything and unfortunately right now was neither the time nor the place to fulfill his deepest wishes. Not when his dear brother was here to see everything. Sasuke would have a moment alone with Naruto the only question was when and would he be able to wait that long?

"I'm thrilled with how beautiful Naru-chan is, he was beautiful as a child but now-he's stunning." Mikoto raved.

The royal families were all gathered in a spacious tearoom. The walls were red and had gold flecks splattered all over it. There was various hung weapons hanging on the walls that had been used in battle by Fugaku and other previous Uchiha kings. On the back wall there was a large scroll that depicted a portrait of Fugaku and underneath it the words the king of the dragons was printed. All of the royal families were sat around a long lacquer tea table. There was a marble fireplace burning up the cold in the room, which allowed many to discard their heavy coats. Mikoto was sat at the head of the table next to her husband. Minato and Kushina sat right next to her. The table was big enough for the parents of both the betrotheds to sit at its head.

"Thank you, Naruto's beauty is due to Kushina." Minato said proudly. Even after all these years Minato's favoritism for his son was still apparent.

"His hair looks like spun gold," Yoshino Nara, the queen of the Nara clan, commented. Her brown eyes were ogling Naruto who hadn't said a word since he arrived.

Sasuke briefly wondered if Naruto still didn't understand their language. A small part of him hoped that Naruto hadn't learned it because over the years he had learned Naruto's intricate language. He had had to learn it secretly so he wouldn't draw any suspicion to himself but now he was itching to speak to Naruto to show him all that he had learned. Sasuke wanted to apologize to Naruto about all that had happened in the past, properly in his language so that Naruto could understand. He'd do it when he was finally able to have a moment alone with Naruto.

"It's such a vivid color, his royal blood must run strong." Hiashi Hyūga said stiffly. The jealousy practically oozed from his stern face.

He glared at his daughter, Hinata. "I hadn't thought that there was anyone better suited for Itachi than my daughter but it seems I was mistaken, Naruto is exquisite, I wish I had gotten him for my own son."

"Yes, as do I father, Naruto's lovelier than any submissive I've ever come across. It would've pleased me to have him." Neji Hyūga, Hiashi's son and crowned heir of the Hyūga clan said in agreement. His white, pupil-less eyes roved over Naruto's body as if he were undressing him.

Neji's shameless interest in Naruto instantly set Sasuke's dominant inner beast into a silent rage. He was about to growl at Neji but then he abruptly heard a loud snarl come from across the table. Sasuke looked up, startled by the sound. It had been Itachi. His eyes were blood red and spinning madly as the three tomoe inside spun in a circular motion. Sasuke had never seen his brother act like this before, Itachi was calm about everything, he was a genius who didn't have to try much; even when they sparred Itachi always had a calm look on his face. So to see him now, ready to attack and with such a wild expression on his face, flabbergasted Sasuke.

"You will never have him." Itachi hissed.

Neji hissed back. His white eyes narrowed as veins appeared on his temples. "I never said I would touch him just that I wanted to, but who cares, I've been itching to fight you ever since you turned down my sisters marriage bid!"

The room fell silent as the two dominants rose to their feet. There were much stronger dominants in the tea room who could've put an end to Itachi and Neji's oncoming fight, Minato alone could've stopped them but it was well known that it was extremely rude to stop a dominant from fighting if they were battling in defense of their submissive. Neji had made a pass at Naruto and therefore Itachi had every right to rip Neji to shreds. No one moved; all of their eyes were glued on the two dominants. The fight would most likely leave one of the two heirs gravely wounded but they could do anything about it.

Naruto suddenly stood up. After looking at the ground all night long, Naruto finally raised his eyes. The guests gasped, his bright blue eyes were filled with tears. Sasuke wanted to get up and comfort Naruto but he couldn't. He sat and watched to see what Itachi would do. His brother looked far beyond the point of return, his eyes were spinning wildly and were boring dead straight into Neji's white eyes.

Naruto raised his hand, his long kimono sleeves swung back as he settled his hand on Itachi's upper arm.

"Itachi-san. Please look at me." Naruto murmured, stunning everyone in the tearoom again. They had all thought that Naruto didn't know how to speak their language. Sasuke's hope that Naruto hadn't learned their language was obliterated. Naruto didn't even have a trace of an accent anymore.

The sound of Naruto's distressed voice calling out managed to get through Itachi's anger. His wild eyes snapped down to Naruto.

"Please calm down, I don't want you to fight Neji-san." Naruto boldly looked up and then tiptoed. No one expected what came next; Naruto had placed a kiss on Itachi's cheek. The kiss proved to be the exact thing Itachi had needed to calm down, his eyes faded back to black and his usual calm expression returned.

"I only have eyes for Itachi-san so please don't mind what others say." Naruto said shyly.

Sasuke withheld the urge to growl. Naruto's love proclamation to Itachi cut deep. Did Naruto really love Itachi then? As the thought entered Sasuke's mind he suddenly saw Naruto's blue eyes look at him. He blinked to make sure he hadn't imagined it. He opened his eyes and was surprised to see that Naruto really was looking at him.

"I've loved you since I was a child, another dominants flattery is nothing to me but useless words." Naruto's eyes remained on Sasuke then flickered away quickly.

Sasuke glanced around to see if anyone else had seen what had just happened. No, everyone was still focused on Itachi and Neji. It was so peculiar, for a moment there it had actually felt like Naruto had been talking to him.

"Your words please me." Itachi grabbed Naruto's hand a kissed it. "You're right, this is childish, but," Itachi turned back to Neji, "the next time you make a pass at my betrothed I'll give you the fight you've been 'itching' to have, Hyūga."

Neji growled in return but still sat back down. If he attacked Itachi right now he'd look bad, which would in turn make his clan look bad. He couldn't have such a thing happen when practically every royal family in fire country was here. The Hyūga name was a reputable one; he couldn't ruin it while all eyes were on him.

"I think this is the perfect time to separate this party," Mikoto glanced at her husband for approval, the Uchiha king nodded for his wife to go on, Mikoto cleared her throat then proceeded, "Itachi, take your betrothed and friends to the rose tearoom."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the word friends. The heirs of the royal clans were hardly considered friends; if anything they were acquaintances whose only common interest was that they were of noble birth. The only one in the whole lot who could've been considered a friend was Gaara and that was only because he was family.

"Sasuke, you go too, and remember what we talked about." Mikoto's eyes hardened. "Take good care of Naruto-chan."

"Of course, mother." Sasuke bowed. She had no reason to worry; it was physically impossible for Sasuke to treat Naruto harshly like he had when he was a child. He wanted to kiss Naruto, not glare at him.

Itachi stood up. "Please follow me to the tearoom." Itachi took Naruto's hand and helped him stand up. "The rest of you please join me as well."

Shortly after the heirs and children of the kings and queens got up and followed Itachi out of the dragon tea room and down the hall to the rose one. Even Neji reluctantly followed the Uchiha heir, but only because he didn't want his sister to go alone but mostly because he wanted to see more of the pretty blonde submissive with the stunning blue eyes.

"Hi, I'm Yukari Tamura, but you can call me ten-ten!" Ten-ten's hair was tied up into two large buns, there was white tassels coming out from the both of them, she wore a white kimono that was outlined in orange and had small mousy features. "It's so nice to meet you!"

Naruto bowed at the girl. "It's nice to meet you too ten-ten chan."

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka, you might have heard me. The Inuzuka clan has quite the reputation." Kiba was wearing a dark brown haori with matching hakama. His hair was spiky and short and he had two inverted red triangles tattooed on his tan cheeks. His features were plain but his confident grin made up for it tenfold.

"The only reputation you have is of being a dog." A blonde girl with icy blue eyes quipped. Her kimono was a deep purple color and she had an array of colorful flowers in her tied up hair. "I'm Ino Yamanaka, my father is the king of the Yamanaka clan, have you heard of it? I'm sure you have." Ino said pompously.

Naruto shook his head no. He blushed in embarrassment. Ino's confident expression turned sour.

"Hah, your clan isn't as well known as you thought!" Kiba taunted.

"Shut your mouth, dog-breath!"

"You should bow to a dominant of my quality you stupid submissive bitch!" Kiba roared.

"I'll only submit to dominants who are above me, you are clearly far below me." Ino's ice blue eyes looked up pointedly at Kiba's head of brown hair and then down to his unremarkable brown eyes. Kiba's face turned bright red in anger.

"You should learn to submit to every dominant you come across! That's your duty as a submissive!"

"Enough of this." Itachi announced sharply, "You're both scaring my betrothed."

"Sorry, Itachi-san." Kiba and Ino both apologized. Itachi was the highest dominant other than Fugaku and the emperor within Fire Country. The Uchiha clan was a clan that their parents had taught them to never anger or cross. If there was one clan you didn't want as an enemy it was the Uchiha's.

"We've met before but I don't know if you remember me, I'm Gaara, I'm Itachi and Sasuke's cousin as well as the heir to the Suna clan in Sand Country." Gaara said to break the tense atmosphere.

"Oh, Gaara-san!" Naruto bowed, "I do remember you, I remember you because when I first saw you I thought you were a submissive like me but then later on that day I saw the half moon mark on your palm, I had never seen a dominant like you so I never forgot you." Naruto smiled brightly.

The room grew silent. Everyone knew how sensitive Gaara was about his short stature. Anything that had to do with Gaara's childhood disease was a subject no one was allowed to talk about.

"I had a disease as a child that stunted my growth," Gaara's teal eyes looked murderous, "I've been cursed with a small body that makes others think that I'm a submissive but-"Gaara smiled, the killer look in his eyes vanished as if it had never even been there, "I've gotten over it, I'm still an heir to a throne that many covet, an unsatisfactory appearance is the least of my worries."

The tension melted, everyone sighed in relief.

"I-I'm sorry about the disease, you still look like capable dominant." Naruto's eyes watered slightly.

"Don't cry for me Naruto." Garra laughed, "I don't want such a pretty submissive to shed tears for me."

"Sorry." Naruto murmured as he wiped at the corner of his eyes.

"I must say that you're much more beautiful than when you came last time. I didn't think it was possible but you've somehow managed it. Your hair is so lovely, I'm sure my father would love it if I had it."

Naruto cherry cheeks bloomed to an even redder color than before.

"It's even lighter than Inos! Someone's finally beat you at your own game, there's someone in Fire Country with hair more beautiful than yours!"

"Shut up you stupid mutt!" Ino screeched. Jealousy was burning in her icy eyes as she glared at Naruto's mane of luscious blond hair.

"Forgive me for asking if this is a dumb question but…why is my blond hair such an important issue?" Naruto asked, confusion was written all over his face.

"I've never gotten so many compliments on it as I have had here."

"In the north and south we believe that the lighter your hair is the more royal your blood is, that's why everyone keeps complementing you on it, your hair is the color of the sun. There is no brighter color." Gaara explained.

"Oh," Naruto touched his hair, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "But Itachi-san and Sasuke-kun and the Hyūgas...their hair is as black as the night sky?"

Naruto glanced around the room. There were many royals in here that didn't have light hair-how were they royals then?

"There is an exception to this rule, any clan that posses ocular powers such as the Uchiha's or the Hyūga's don't need light hair to proclaim their royal status-their eyes do that for them. If you don't have light hair or ocular powers you can still be a royal but others will consider you to be a second rate royal."

"Oh." Naruto answered. He now understood the heated interaction between Kiba and Ino.

"Your hair really is lovely, I can't wait to comb it for you, we'll be like sisters! Oh, I'm Sakura by the way, I'm Sasuke-kun's wife."

Naruto's eyes widened. "You're Sasuke-kun's wife?"

"Yes-" Sakura smiled widely. "He will also be the father of my child in a few months!" Sakura's hand was resting against her stomach to show everyone that there was a baby growing inside of her. It wasn't necessary because everyone could smell the sweet change in her scent that meant she was with child.

"Are you okay Naruto-kun? You look pale?" Ten-ten abruptly said.

"I'm fine, sorry!" Naruto said hurriedly.

Itachi palmed Naruto's cheeks to check for a fever. "You're not warm. Do you want to lie down, you must be tired from the long journey here." Itachi's smooth voice murmured so that only Naruto could hear.

"I'm fine, thank you for worrying Itachi-san." Naruto replied quietly.

"So, how are you liking it here Naruto-chan?" Ten-Ten asked. "Are things here completely different than in Whirlpool Country? I've never been there."

"Fire Country is very different than Whirlpool Country, I haven't been here long, even when I visited as a child I wasn't here longer than a few days, but yes, Fire Country is very different than my home." Naruto answered honestly. His blue eyes glanced at Sakura then looked away, "Very, very, different."

"How so?" A lazy eyed boy with spiky brown hair in a ponytail asked. The emblem on his shirt signified that he was from the Nara clan. He had been dozing off all afternoon long, it had begun to seem all the boy could do was eat and sleep. "I'm Shikamaru by the way, it's good to see you again, I was here last time as a boy when you came too, but I don't have unique features like Gaara-san so I doubt you remember me."

"I don't remember, I'm sorry." Naruto said sheepishly.

"It's fine, I didn't expect you to." Shikamaru replied unbothered. "So, what's so different here than in Fire Country?"

"Well, the language is different."

"Obviously, what else?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Anything really surprise you yet?"

"The rules for submissives are very different here." Naruto admitted.

"How so?" Sakura prodded.

"Less freedom." Naruto didn't look at the pink-haired submissive when he answered. No one noticed.

"How do submissives in Whirlpool have more freedom than us?" Sakura snapped. "You're being too vague!"

"It's just different. Everything is completely different." Naruto said flatly. He stared ahead, as if seeing right past Sakura.

"What do you mean!" Sakura yelled, angry by Naruto's inability to elaborate.

Itachi shot her a warning look. She gulped. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, what I meant was how are submissive different than us?"

"Submissives in Whirlpool aren't even called submissives, we're called omegas and dominants are called alphas. Since clans in Whirlpool are descendants of animals we go by animal rules, submissives can live virtuous lives but only if their not claimed by an alpha." Naruto explained. His apprehension to fully look at Sakura was becoming more noticeable now. Sasuke found it strange, he had no idea what Naruto had against Sakura.

"That's so interesting!" Ten-ten marveled. "So you have mates and things like that?"

"Yes, our husbands are our mates and a wedding ceremony is called a mating."

"So that means you're my mate Sasuke-kun!" Sakura gushed.

"Actually, no you're not." Naruto said tightly, his eyes were finally focused on Sakura. "The only way you can call someone your mate is if you both have a mating mark on your neck, submissives who don't have the mark are considered unclaimed, in fact if you went to Whirlpool County as you are right now, pregnant and unmarked, people would think that you're a common whore who opened her legs for an unworthy alpha."

Sasuke snorted. The heirs laughed along at Sakura's shocked expression.

"Well, we aren't in Whirlpool Country so it doesn't matter!" Sakura's green eyes narrowed. "Sasuke-kun is still mine and I am his."

"You're only 'his' because your father threatened war if he didn't accept your marriage bid!" Ino snipped.

"What does marking mean?" Ten-ten interrupted. She wasn't going to let Ino and Sakura get into another argument. The last time it had lasted a solid twenty minutes and she could still remember the headache it had induced.

"It's when a dominant bites your neck hard enough to leave a mark," Naruto blushed, "It tells all other dominants that you belong to someone."

"So, since you're still unmarked other men can still bed you, right?" Neji leered. "If you want I can show you a good time before Itachi marks you-"

Neji didn't even get to finish his sentence. Sasuke was on him before his next word could come out. Sasuke's body had moved on its own. He was so angry by Neji's crude words that he had punched Neji square in the jaw.

"B-brother, are you okay!" The usually silent white-eyed princes, Hinata Hyūga kneeled to the ground and propped her brother's head up on her knees. She hadn't spoken a word all night; it was easy to forget that she was even there.

"I'm fine." Neji spat. He got up from the ground and glared at the younger Uchiha. "You-"

"This is between me and you, Neji." Itachi stepped in-between his brother and Neji. "I told you the next time you made a pass at Naruto I'd give you the fight you've been itching to have."

"Fine, let's settle this like men." Neji glared, "I challenge you to a duel!"

"I accept." Itachi replied stoically. "I'll gladly give you the beating you've been wanting so badly."

The declaration of the duel soured the jovial party mood. For the rest of the evening the young royals sat in silence until it was time to go back home.

The next day, the Uchiha palace was busy teeming with preparations for the upcoming wedding. Preparing for such a large-scale wedding would take a solid month. During these days Sasuke rarely saw Naruto, the only times he'd see him were when he visited his parents palace for dinner. He had begun to look forward to these nights; they had begun to feel like the only good thing in his life. Being in his own home with a pregnant Sakura was tortuous, all of his annoyance faded away when he saw Naruto's beautiful face at the dinner table. It wasn't fair; he still hadn't gotten his chance to be alone with Naruto. As the days wore on Sasuke began to think that he'd never get his moment alone with Naruto. It had left him bitter and hopeless.

Sasuke's moment alone with Naruto finally came and it had come completely by coincidence. He had been walking around his parent's palace one cold afternoon. Earlier that morning Sakura had tried to lure him to bed with her. It had been the final straw in Sasuke's patience for the day so he had decided to go to his parents palace but the problem was that he didn't want his parents to know he was there so Sasuke had decided to go to his favorite childhood hiding spot, the north wing rose garden.

It was a set of completely unrelated events that had led him to the garden. So it was surprising when he arrived and the most unexpected sight greeted him. It was Naruto, lying amidst the flowers and looking up at the sky. Naruto's kimono was light yellow and his long hair was in its usual half bun hairstyle. This time there was a crystal daisy hairpin in the center of it and three strings of pearls dangling from it. He looked more dazzling than the bed of flowers he was lying in.

As Sasuke intently watched Naruto, he debated what to do. The love of his life was lying there all alone, this was the chance he had been praying and hoping for. But did he really want to go behind his brothers back by being alone with Naruto? Royal dominants and submissives, especially if they were unmarried, weren't allowed to be alone together. It was a taboo. Was Sasuke willing to go against both societal rules and his beloved brother just to spend some time alone with Naruto? Yes, yes he was. This was the chance he had been waiting for; he'd be a fool to waste it.

Sasuke took a deep breath. He was going to do this. With one last exhale he straightened up and walked up to the rose garden where Naruto was lying.

"You'll get your beautiful kimono dirty if you lay out here like that." Sasuke commented out loud so he could rouse Naruto's attention.

Naruto bolted upright. His wide blue eyes peered up to Sasuke's face. As soon as he recognized who had spoken a blush flared across his cheeks.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun!" Naruto slowly stood up. It took a lot of effort due to the tight white obi around his waist and the high geta he had on his feet. Sasuke wanted to help Naruto up but he knew touching Naruto would either scare him off or anger him. Since Sasuke wasn't Itachi, any touch by a dominant that wasn't Naruto's betrothed could potentially set him off and that was the last thing Sasuke wanted. So instead Sasuke kept his hands to him self and watched as Naruto struggled to stand.

"It's nice to see you, Sasuke-kun." Naruto bowed as soon as he was on his own two feet. "It's rare, I don't think we've shared a moment alone since I've been here."

"No, I don't think we have." Sasuke said graciously, Naruto had no idea just how much he knew they hadn't 'shared a moment alone.' He had praying to Kaguya for one since the day Naruto arrived. "You're always with my brother so it wasn't possible for us to ever meet like this."

"You're right, Itachi-san loves to tote me around." Naruto laughed, it was a light and melodic sound. The beautiful sound was mesmerizing. Everything about

Naruto was mesmerizing, even the dangling pearls in Naruto's hair, the way they reflected the light when Naruto threw his head back to laugh was spellbinding.

"A moment alone is incredibly rare."

"You shouldn't ever be alone like this, you should have guards and your handmaiden with you at all times. If I had been another dominant without self control I could've easily had my way with you." Sasuke's words were hollow. He was distracted by everything that Naruto was. His mind was caught up in memorizing every single detail of Naruto's face. He hadn't physically been this close to Naruto since he was nine and Naruto had given him a goodbye kiss on the cheek. Seeing Naruto this close and all grown up was...too much. It was overwhelming how beautiful Naruto was. His eyelashes were as gold as his hair and Sasuke found himself wondering if the hairs above Naruto's most intimate parts were the same color of gold. Sasuke wanted to throw Naruto back down onto his back and lift the multiple layers of his kimono and part his legs just to see if they were the same.

"I'm happy Sasuke-kun cares so much about my safety but I was never in any real danger," Naruto smiled and then pointed up to the edge of the garden where a large group of apple trees was located. Sasuke looked up to where Naruto was pointing and saw a purple haired woman dressed in an all black combat suit crouched on a tree branch. Her amber eyes were focused intensely on Naruto and she was holding a kunai pointed directly at Sasuke's head in her hand. He hadn't even noticed her presence; she was good.

"My handmaiden Konan is also my guard. She never leaves my side." Naruto confessed somberly.

"Oh, I see." Sasuke replied awkwardly. He suddenly wanted to take back all that he had said about how Naruto should have guards on him 24/7. Naruto looked so desperate for freedom and Sasuke desperately wanted to give it to him. What had Naruto's life been like for the past five years? Had he been sad like this the entire time?

"You look like a caged bird who wants nothing more than to fly." Sasuke observed. He panicked when he realized he said it out loud. "Not that I'm saying anything's wrong with that! I'm sorry, It's just-"

"Sasuke-kun, it's fine!" Naruto laughed, his eyes crinkled into two crescents as the giggles slipped from his pink lips. Sasuke's heart warmed up at the sight, Naruto still laughed the way he had when he was ten, carefree and full of mirth.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke repeated quietly.

"Don't be sorry, you're right, I am a caged bird." Naruto's lips dropped into a frown. He looked up into the tree where Konan was still crouched in. "I'm not that weak, I wish my family realized that." Naruto sighed.

Sasuke didn't know what to say. How could he relieve Naruto of this burden? An idea suddenly popped up in his mind, it was risky but if it worked he'd get to spend much more time with Naruto.

"I could escort you around the palace until the wedding if you want, Konan won't be needed if I'm with you."

Naruto's cheeks turned red but he quickly shook his head no. "My parents would never allow it!"

"I see." Sasuke replied solemnly. He had really hoped that Naruto would agree but deep down he knew he wouldn't. Naruto was a royal unmarried submissive; he wasn't allowed to be alone with another dominant.

"But...I have an idea of my own." Naruto shyly looked down at his hands. "I-I'd like it if Sasuke-kun could train me, that way I could show my parents that I'm strong enough to be alone sometimes!"

Sasuke gaped. He hadn't been expecting Naruto to say that at all. Royal submissives training, sparring, learning combat techniques was unheard of. It wasn't necessary for them to learn because they'd be taken care of by their dominants and would never have to fight for anything in their life. A royal submissives only duty was to please their dominants and give them heirs-that was it. So hearing that Naruto wanted to be trained was surprising to say the least.

"You want me to train you?"

"Yes!" Naruto said excitedly.

"But-"

"I know it's unorthodox but I really want to learn. My whole life I've been treated like a doll, in the Uzumaki clan every royal submissive is born with a seal on his or her stomach. Because I was born with it, my parents knew I was a submissive before I turned ten and my sun mark appeared, I didn't get the luxury of living a carefree life until I turned ten like other submissives do. I want to train, it's not fair that Karin gets to wield a sword but I don't get anything except for guards who will fight for me."

Sasuke was moved by Naruto's speech. He hadn't known about the seal thing either. He didn't know how it felt to be treated like a submissive since he wasn't one but he could only imagine how hard it must've been for Naruto. What Naruto was asking was tremendous. If he agreed no one could know and even then they risked the chance of getting caught. But Naruto was the love of his life; his happiness meant more than anything to Sasuke. He was worth the risk.

"Fine, I'll train you-"

"Thank you Sasuke-kun!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear. It was dazzling and momentarily made Sasuke forget what he was going to say next.

"If we do this it'll have to be kept a secret from everyone, not even my brother can know. Do you understand the risk we are taking?"

"I understand." Naruto's eyes twinkled.

Sasuke wasn't sure why but he got the feeling that Naruto was hiding something. He put his suspicion aside and decided to bask in Naruto's glory. The way he laughed was so child like it made Sasuke want to laugh along too.

"If I learn enough then maybe I can finally get rid of Konan!" Naruto said hopefully.