Naruto 1. Kyoshi

Okay, I've been having a very hard past few months, my brother lost my flashdrive with all of my other story on it and the only other place that I it saved was laptop, which crashed not even three days later. So right now I'm bumbed out about that and I cannot seem to bring myself to rewrite all that I have lost. So, as too try to get back into writing, I decided to write this two-shot. Hope you all like.

D-claimer: I don't own Naruto and never will so there.

* * *

**_To the Snow Dogs_**

The only clock in the small office chimed three times before falling silent. Not even a second later, onyx eyes looked up from under raven locks to momentarily glare at the offending piece of furniture before going back to the diminishing stacks of paper on the desk. Healthy, yet pale, skin gleamed in the artificial yellow light making the businessman that sat behind the desk look sickly and older than he was. The suit the man wore with his current agitated expression did nothing to help and actually made him look even older in the poorly lit room. Nonetheless, even the illuminating light and his poor choice of clothing could not deterrent the young man's handsome features.

The young businessman was also known as the most eligible bachelor on the market at the moment. Uchiha Sasuke, his name was well known for the fact that he was a survivor of the Uchiha Massacre. The whole family murdered by the psycho Uchiha Madara, making the family name famous in some ways. The Uchiha name was not only famous for that event but in the business world as well. Sasuke had the money and family status that women would die to have in their future husbands. The fact that he owned his own company and had the looks that women would fall over themselves to ogle was another good reason why he was the number one bachelor at the moment as well. Something that caused the Uchiha great loathing was the fact that these women did not see him, but his money and looks. None of them even cared about his personality or who he was as a person in general. They were all too vain.

Suddenly the door to his office was flung open and a cry went out through the room before Sasuke felt something attach to his body. "Daddy!"

Lifting his head and turning his chair towards the attachment on his body, the Uchiha saw a carbon copy of himself, only smaller. Raven colored haired, onyx eyes, and pale skin; the dominate traits in the Uchiha genes. The boy's cheeks were slightly round, not with obesity, but with baby fat, while his eyes were wide with innocence that only a child could hold. Yet they also held little emotions since he seemed to be guarding them away. The child's hair fell into his eyes and was a little long in the backside, having been in need of a trim for a while. He wore a pair of black polished to a shine shoes and, matching in color, slacks that contrasted with a purple overcoat and a white shirt underneath. It was the uniform of Otogakure, one of the most prestigious schools in the nation. The little raven was no doubt an Uchiha, and there was no uncertainty that the like boy was Sasuke's son. They two looked too much alike for them not to be.

"Kyoshi," Sasuke whispered into his son's hair as he hugged his little boy. His son was his world; he was one of the only reasons that the young businessman had to live. Ever since his parents and the rest of his family were murdered when he was seven, Sasuke had become detached and emotionless. He did not care about anything else, not even his own life. Sure, he excelled at school and later, when he graduated college at eighteen, he took the business world by storm. However, at the age of nineteen, Sasuke had a one-night stand with some woman. Nine months later, he got a call from a nurse in the local hospital asking him if he wanted to see his son before he was put up for adoption. Needless to say, the young Uchiha not only went to see the son he never knew he had but also had all legal rights concerning the boy put in his name and his name alone. "How was your day?"

"It was okay," the youngest Uchiha, Kyoshi, stated somewhat unsure of himself. The boy gave his father a small smile, one of his rare smiles that were hardly ever seen. "Nothing really happened."

"Nothing, huh?" Sasuke asked, one of his eyebrows raising in mild curiosity, but no other visible sign of emotion crossed his face. Hearing a slight noise coming from the door, the raven looked up to see Uchiha Itachi, the only other Uchiha that survived Madara's mass slaughter and his older brother. His brother was taller than him by a half of a head, and he had an even paler complexion than Sasuke. Itachi's face was longer and the only flaw on his face was the two long scars that ran from under his eyes to just pass his nose. The older Uchiha's eyes had a slight red tint to them, a byproduct of his eye surgery that he had because of his deteriorating eyesight, and long black hair that was held in a horsetail at the nape of his neck. He too was a businessman, hence the expensive dark gray suit he wore.

"Nope, nothing," Kyoshi answered Sasuke, but his father's eyes were not on him, but his uncle, allowing Sasuke to see Itachi shake his head negatively. Seeing this, the father looked back at his boy and the two continued with their conversation. They talked about how Kyoshi did on his last test and how his new gym teachers, Sakon-sensei and Ukon-sensei, made him feel a little uneasy. Every once in a while, Itachi would speak up and start on a new topic, but mostly he looked over the files on Sasuke's desk. Finally, when the clock chimed four, the three Uchihas made their way to the car waiting for them. Kyoshi running a little ways ahead, giving the two brothers a chance to talk without him hearing.

"So what happened this time?" Sasuke finally asked, watching his son carefully as the boy ran towards the car but stopped just before reaching it. The child then turned around and waited for his guardians to catch up with him, all his childish attitude from before gone. The boy did not like feeling of vulnerability and acting how a child his age should made him feel exactly that, vulnerable. Usually, out in public, Kyoshi acted like an adult and not as a child, something that concerned the older Uchihas.

"His teacher, Kimimaro-san, said that he almost got in another fight with a few of the kids if he hadn't come in just at the time to break it up," the oldest Uchiha stated, putting his hands in his pockets. "The rest of the day Kyoshi was silent and isolated himself during break and lunch. Juugo-san suggested that Kyoshi needs to make a connect -a bond- with someone to keep him from getting into various fights."

"Don't you think I've tried that?" Sasuke asked a little harshly, a glare directed at his brother. Upon realizing whom exactly he was talking to, the raven let out a sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose. "Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. I've done everything to give Kyoshi what he needs, but it just doesn't seem to be enough. I don't know what else to do."

"I know Otouto, I know. For a single working parent, you're doing your best. Unlike other business-parents, you don't neglect or ignore Kyoshi. You make time for him and actually do things together. You put Kyoshi above work, most parents nowadays don't. Sasuke, you're doing your best, there isn't much else you can do," Itachi reassured his younger brother. He saw how good Sasuke was to his son, even though Sasuke did not.

"Yea, it's just my best isn't good enough," the single father said bitterly.

Patting Sasuke on the shoulder, Itachi gave him an encouraging smile. "Don't fret it. Everything will turnout fine in the end."

"I sure hope so," Sasuke whispered as they caught up with Kyoshi. The boy now had a frown on his face, impatient that his father and uncle took so long catching up and he had to wait.

"Daddy, I'm hungry," Kyoshi said, try not to whine, yet a part of the grumble came out anyways.

Chuckling slighting, Itachi ruffled his nephew's long locks, noting that they would have to go have them cut sometime soon. "And what would you like to eat?"

A thoughtful expression crossed the child's face, causing his uncle to chuckle. The boy looked so much like his father when he did that. After a few seconds of inner debate with himself, a bright smile finally appeared across Kyoshi's face. "I know, let's go to that American restaurant next Deidara-san's work."

"Okay," Sasuke said, opening the door for his son to get in and make sure he was buckled in.

* * *

It was only a few days later, that Sasuke found himself once again sitting at his desk, looking up when his clock chimed three. His son and Itachi should be coming soon, just as they did every day at this time. There was not a day that went by that Itachi did not bring Kyoshi to Chidori, the company Sasuke worked at and owned, to visit his father after school ended. It was a routine that had yet to be broken.

Going back to paper, Sasuke tried to complete the last of his workload before the two arrived. It was Friday and he did not want to come to work tomorrow. Besides, he wanted to do something with Kyoshi this weekend; they had not done family bonding in a while. It would also sort of be a reward for the boy, since he had not been any fights real fights for a time. Hopefully, it would motivate the boy to stop fighting constantly.

The shrill of the phone interrupted Sasuke's thoughts and without thinking about it, he answered while still working on the last of his paperwork. "Yes Karin-san, what is it?" the businessman asked his secretary.

"Uchiha-san, the principal at Otogakure, Orochimaru-san just called, he you need to come and talk to him about Kyoshi-chan's behavior," Karin said on the other end of the phone, causing Sasuke to freeze and slightly swear.

"Alright, tell him that I'll be there in fifteen minutes," the raven replied as he stood up and pulled on the jacket to his dark blue suit on. Hanging up the phone, the Uchiha grabbed his keys and marched out the door. Luckily he had parked closer to the building this morning and did not need to go far to get to his vehicle. Within ten minutes of getting in to his car and pealing out of the parking lot, Sasuke was walking down the clean corridors of Otogakure.

Walking into the office, the principal's assistant, Kabuto if his memory served him correct, pointed him towards the door of the principal's office. However, he could hardly miss it, not with the gold nameplate on the door and all. Once inside, the first person Sasuke saw, was the sickly looking principal with his greasy black hair and eerie yellow eyes boring into him. In one of the chairs in front of the man's desk, Itachi sat looking slightly amused for some odd reason and Kyoshi, in his uniform, sat to the side of the room in a chair meant of an adult. His head was bent causing his bangs to fall in his eyes and his little legs swayed below the chair, not being able to touch the ground.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun, so you actually came," Orochimaru greeted, standing up to greet the businessman. However, the man did not notice the slight growl coming form the Uchiha at the suffix added to his name, but Itachi was not one to miss the grow and give one of his own. This man seemed to think that he was on the same level -or even above- them and that was definitely not acceptable. This snaky man had another thing coming.

"Why wouldn't I? This is _my _son that is concerned," Sasuke snapped, taking a seat as Orochimaru stood there speechless, gabbing a bit from the businessman's remark. He was too use to have the students' parents fall over him and treat him with respect because he ran _Otogakure_. He was not used to the Uchihas and their attitude, which showed with each visit that they had about Kyoshi.

"Why of course, Uchiha-san, my apologies," Orochimaru stuttered, catching his mistake and trying to cover it up. Quickly regaining his composure, the snaky man sat down in his leather chair and shuffled some papers about. Finally, he found the thick folder labeled Uchiha Kyoshi and flipped it opened. "As you know Uchiha-san, your son has had some… problems in the past. He doesn't socialize with the other students around him, he isolates himself. The only time that he does interact with other students is when he gets into fights. All of which have been overlooked for obvious reasons, but this, this is unacceptable."

To emphasize his anger at the situation, Orochimaru threw down the folder on his desk with a loud thunk and looked up at Sasuke, locking eyes. "Your son has no only broken the rules, but has caused enough chaos in this school in one day to last a year," the principal stated, looking back down at the folder in front of him. The man continued to ramble on, telling in great detail all that Kyoshi had apparently done. Yet not once saying what the boy had _actually_ done to cause such vast problems, a fact that Sasuke was started to get really annoyed with.

Having enough of the snake's slimy voice, Sasuke finally cut him off, harshly. "_Exactly_, what has Kyoshi done to cause _so_ much problems that _you_ cannot handle?"

Drawing back slightly, Orochimaru yet again had to deal with the raven's short temper concerning his son. Standing up, the principal went to a door in the corner and pulled out something -which Sasuke could not quite make out from where he sat- from inside the closet none too gently.

"Kyoshi brought this _thing _to school today and thought he could hide_ it_ from the faculty of Otogakure," Orochimaru sneered, showing exactly what the little raven had brought to school. The _thing_ caused Sasuke to raise his eyebrow in confusion and surprised that it was what had caused all the problems. "The little devil ran threw the cafeteria during lunch and then processed into the girls' locker-room. _It_ caused damage to the school library and an uproar in the 4-H class."

The _thing_ was nothing more than a puppy. Sure, it was covered in mud and other grim, but the little puppy looked semi-cute hanging there from the grip Orochimaru had on the scarf of his neck. The pup was even wagging his tail cutely and seemed to have a smile on his face. Hearing a small whimper -that did not come from the dog- Sasuke turned towards the noise and saw his son looking at the puppy with longing, but when he saw his father looking, he bowed his head in shame. Turning back to the principal, the Uchiha was greeted with another folder explaining in great detail all the damage Kyoshi and the puppy caused and the cost of it all.

Close reading over the report, the raven went into business mood. Once he was finally finished reading it, the businessman looked up at Orochimaru before taking a glance at his son and resting his eyes on his older brother. It was decided in his mind right then what he would have to do. Turning back to the Orochimaru, Sasuke grinned a sadistic smirk.

"You're telling me, that this dog here caused all of this damage?" the Uchiha asked emotionlessly, but he did not wait for answer. Instead, he continued onwards. "I think not. It says here in paragraph 3, section 6 -and I quote- 'that the dog was seen exiting the girls' locker-room ten minutes after twelve' and paragraph 4, section 2 it states that the dog 'was ripping up books in the library at twelve fifteen' -end quote. However, that is not possible, for if I remember correctly, this schools library is on the third floor to the west wing while the girls' locker-room in on the first floor in the east wing. Meaning that the little puppy there hand to run up three flights of stairs and cross the whole school in less than five minutes. Tell me how this is possible, when it takes an adult like you to get there in five minutes to do the same thing. Do explain."

Orochimaru was dumbfounded. There was no way to answer that truthfully. So he had exaggerated somewhat on his report -just like all his other reports to parents- but none had called him on it and now that someone had, he did not know what to do. He could not say anything and after a few minutes of silence, he knew he lost. He did not miss the way that Kyoshi stiffed a chuckle or the oldest Uchiha smirk at his discomfort.

"I thought not, so if there are no further problems, we'll take our leave now," Sasuke stated rather harshly, standing up while Itachi followed suit.

Kyoshi, seeing that his father and uncle were heading out towards the door, hoped off the chair and followed behind them. But not before casting one more look at the little puppy he had found by the side of the road that morning. However, when he turned around again, he saw his father had gone back over to his principal, unnoticed to him. Apparently, his father was not done yelling at the slimy snaky serpent -as Kyoshi nicknamed the man in his head- and had more to say that man. But what happened next, the little raven was never expected.

"Oh, and Orochimaru, give my son back his dog."

Exiting Otogakure, the older Uchihas watched as Kyoshi cuddled the grim covered puppy to him, never minding his uniform. The two saw that for the first time in a long time, the little boy was the happiest they had ever seen him. A true smile spread across the little raven's face as the puppy licked his cheek affectionately. A cross between a chuckle and a giggle come out of his mouth.

"Daddy?" Kyoshi finally spoke for the first time after they left the office.

"Hm?" Sasuke answered, still slightly lost in thoughts.

"Do you mean it?" the little boy asked innocently. "Can I really keep the puppy?"

Stopping in mid stride, his father turned to his son and blinked a few times before smiling. "Yea, I meant it, but you have to take care of him and train him. I don't want the little guy messing up the house or being unruly. Got that?"

"Yes Dad, I'll do my best!" the child chirped happily.

And he did. The first thing Kyoshi did when he got home was run to the kitchen to get the puppy something to eat, since he was so tiny. After the dog ate his fill, the little raven showed the dog every room in the house, not caring if the canine could understand what was going on or not. Nonetheless, both of them enjoyed the little tour together and by that time it was dinner, which Kyoshi took the liberty to share his meal with his new pet that was hungry once again. After dinner, Sasuke made his son sit down and do his homework, which never was a problem, and take a bath.

The bath did both the puppy and Kyoshi good, for the boy had been covered in the grim and dirt that transferred from the canine's fur coat to him and the dog no longer looked like a mangle-mutt. Two light brown erected triangle ears perked up at every little noise and beautiful soft coat was seen. The puppy's face was white with light brown fur on the side of his face and the top of his head down his back and the side of his legs. His whole underside was snow white along with his paws and the tip of his tail. A cold black nose and hazel eyes completed the clean doggie look and it was now obvious that the dog was some type of a husky.

"So, have you come up with a name for the little guy?" Itachi asked Kyoshi as the little boy searched for a makeshift bed for his pet. So far the little boy had found an abandon box and had asked Itachi there was any sheets he could use for the bedding itself.

"Yep," the boy answered, grinning.

When the boy did not elaborate, Itachi pushed onward. "And that would be?"

"Eskimo!" Kyoshi exclaimed. The little dog at his feet gave a little bark happily as if he already knew his new name. "Because with the way his fur coat is, it looks like he is bundled up like the Eskimos in the Artic Circle are during the winter."

"Ah, I see," Itachi answered, ruffling his nephew's hair. "Now off with ya, it's your bedtime and we don't need you staying up too late, got that?"

"But what about the sheets for Eskimo?" the little raven tried not to whine. Itachi just chuckled before getting the boy some old sheets and sent him to his father. Itachi watched as the boy scurried about, setting up the little box with sheets at the side of his bed with his father's help. Once that was finished and Eskimo put to bed inside, Kyoshi crawled up into his own bed and Sasuke tucked his son in, kissing him on the head, and bidding him goodnight.

As his little brother flicked off the lights and shut the door, Itachi caught his eye. "You know, for the first time in a long time, Kyoshi is acting as a child his age should?"

Sasuke stayed silent at his brother's remark, knowing fully well that he was right. The two had talked on numerous occasions about how Kyoshi never interacted with other children and acted more like an adult than a person his age should even be allowed to. They both knew that raising Kyoshi would not be easy without a mother figure around the house, but they both knew he needed more than what they could give him. However, Sasuke would not let his son go and did everything in his power to make him happy.

"I think that this family is in for some big changes and that puppy is only the beginning of it," Itachi stated.

* * *

The next day, the father and son duo could be found walking down the slightly busy streets. Both were wearing casual clothing, nothing fancy, just regular cloths. Sasuke wore some black slacks and an olive green button down shirt while Kyoshi wore white knee high shorts and a dark blue shirt with a white and red uchiwa fan on the back. Little Eskimo was tucked tightly in the little raven's arms watching everything around him with curiosity.

Just as he had planned, Sasuke and his son would be spending some quality time together. Nonetheless, it was not exactly the way he had envisioned their day to be. Instead of going to some theme park or something along those lines, the two of them were going out to buy everything they needed to take care of Eskimo. Sasuke did not mind though. He enjoyed listening to Kyoshi as the boy talked.

"Dad, thank you," Kyoshi suddenly stated, startling his father slightly at the abrupt change of subject.

"For what?" Sasuke asked confusedly, watching his son look down at the little canine.

"For letting me keep Eskimo, you- I just really want to thank you," the boy stated rather shyly. Something that was strange, for Kyoshi was anything but shy. He stood up for what he believed in and would not change it for anybody in the world.

The older Uchiha did not know how to respond to his child exactly, yet that was part of being a parent. Going with the flow of life and learning along the way. "You're welcome, little one." 'I'm just glade you're happy,' his mind continued for him.

Suddenly, a low growl came from Kyoshi's arms. Eskimo -unknown to the two Uchihas- had spotted a canine's worse enemy. A sassy tabby cat. Instinct had taken over and the little puppy started to bark at the alley cat hidden in the shadows. His little owner tried to shush him, but Eskimo was too focused on the feline to pay attention. He even started to squirm within the boy's grasp, trying to get free. When he heard the cat hiss at him, the white and brown dog could not take it anymore and -after freeing himself- chased the tabby.

Seeing that the canine was coming towards him, the feline bolted from its alleyway and through the feet of the crowd, the puppy still in pursuit. Neither did Eskimo pay any heed to the faint frantic call of his name nor the fact that he had even left his owner behind. The two animals continued weaved their way passed the busy streets and dashed around corners, unknowingly losing Kyoshi and Sasuke in the mess of people.

"Eskimo! Eskimo!" Kyoshi screamed above the noise, his voice becoming desperate when he could not locate his pet. Looking back and forth, the little raven was not even able to distinguish the way he had run. Everything was so much bigger than he was and Eskimo was even smaller, they were both lost. He had tried following after his puppy when he first ran away, leaving his father behind and ignoring the shout telling him to stop in hopes of getting a hold of his puppy once more. Sadly, he had done just as Eskimo had and gotten himself lost.

Tears started forming in the corner of his eyes as he realized that he too was lost. Turning about the streets, he tried to find his father, but to no avail. Fear started to take over and the tears at the corner of his eyes began to grow bigger and bigger until they finally fell. Kyoshi could not help himself. He started to cry. Not only had he lost his new puppy, but also he had gotten himself lost. His father would never trust him again after this and that thought sent a sharp pang through his being. He could not deal with losing his father's trust.

Sob after sob came from the little raven standing in the middle of the streets. His eyes closed as the tears rolled down his face and little hiccup like gasp came every time he tried to breathe. It was not until a few moments later that Kyoshi realized that someone was holding him tightly in their arms as the person reassured him that everything would be all right. The child's first instinct was to push this person away, but when he caught the scent of coffee, the little raven embraced the person right back.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the boy sobbed, hugging the adult tighter as the tears keep flowing. "I didn't mean to run away. I just wanted to catch Eskimo. Please don't be angry, please."

"Shhh, it's okay, everything's going to be alright. I'm not mad, ," Sasuke cooed softly, rubbing small circles on his son's back just as his mother had done for him when he was a child. He did not get why his child thought he would be angry with him. Sure, his heart had almost stopped beating when he lost sight of his son in the crowd and he was scared to death something might happen to the boy, but he was not mad. After all, Sasuke had found Kyoshi unharmed. That was all he could wish for. "We'll find Eskimo, I promise."

"Really?" Kyoshi hiccupped; pulling away from his father to look in his eyes with his tear filled ones. What he saw, was that the man was being sincere about his words and was not angry with him. "Thank you Daddy," the boy whispered, whipping the tears away from his eyes.

Together, the two Uchihas wondered the busy streets, calling out for the lost dog and asking people if they had seen the puppy. All their searching turned up negative. None of the people that answered them -for there were a few stuck up men and women that completely ignored Kyoshi- had seen Eskimo. There was no sign of him whatsoever and after two hours of searching, the little Uchiha was giving up hope that he would ever find his pet and Sasuke noticed as depression took over him. It just strengthened his resolve to find the canine, since his son had already become so attached to him.

It would have been easier for Sasuke to just get another dog, instead of searching for a mutt Kyoshi had picked off the streets. He could even get him a dog of the finest breed and lineage; nevertheless, the businessman knew what it was like. He remember when he was a kid and lost one of his favor toys -a hand craved red painted firetruck- that his father just replaced with a high quality electronic firetruck. Sure, the little truck could make sounds and mimic a real firetruck, but it was nothing like _his_ toy. It did not hold the same sentimental values as his truck had and Sasuke felt like his father was buying him off. That was way he vowed never to be like his father and why he was looking for the canine.

During the time that Sasuke was lost in thought, he and Kyoshi entered a small urban park that had more of a rural feel to the area. Kyoshi running a little ways ahead of his father to see if he could find Eskimo, but still staying close enough to not leave the older Uchiha's sight. The park was fairly large with many different pathways for joggers and people taking a stroll could walk on that diverged and lead to separate areas. Trees were everywhere and a person could get easily lost if one were not to pay attention to the path taken. However, it was not big enough for a person to be lost for days on end without being able to find a way out. There were benches spread periodically throughout to let people rest upon or simply to enjoy the flowers and grassy plans surrounding them. A small pond for the ducks was even placed within the park's boundaries.

The older Uchiha was finally pulled out of his memories when a shout penetrated through his head. "Watch Out!"

Turning, Sasuke only had enough time to realize a red flying disk was about to hit him. Before he could even think about moving, a black and white blur crossed his vision almost instantaneously before bounding away. In that instant, the raven could see that the blur was actual a dog before disappearing. The red Frisbee about to hit him vanished with the canine.

The shock of the whole situation did not last long, since the sound of small feet hitting the ground and the cry of a child's voice distracted him. Yet, hidden under the cry, another person's running could be heard.

"Daddy!" Kyoshi cried, running up to his father and making sure that he was not hurt.

The voice that had called out the warning filled the air once more. "I'm sosorry. I didn't mean to hit anyone, the wind caught the Frisbee at the last second and it just happened." The person, a man judging by the voice, continued rambling on apologizing for hitting him, even though the disk never actually touched him, before Sasuke finally stopped the man.

"It's alright, the thing never even hit me anyways," the businessman said carelessly, turning towards the other man while his son hid behind his leg. What he saw, the Uchiha was definitely not expecting and had to blink a few times to make sure he was not seeing things.

The man before him looked to be around the age of a freshman at college at the most -more so a boy than a man- but he looked even younger than that. That was because of his height, sure, the young man was only a head shorter than him, but that was the average height for _girls_ and he probably got a lot of grief for that fact. He was quite slender with obvious, but not bulky, muscles on his biceps and legs. Tan skin contrasted with bright sky blue eyes and sun-kissed blond hair in a messy disarray, making the three scars like whiskers on either side of his willowy face stand out. Nonetheless, what got Sasuke the most was that the man was wearing a bright neon orange shirt with loosely fitted blue shorts and old rundown tennis.

Sitting obediently to the blond's left was the canine that saved the Uchiha from being pegged in the face by the red disk, which was currently still in the dog's mouth. Now that he could get a better look at the dog, he could see that the dog was not just black and white, but had gray in its coat as well. Actually, there was very little white, mostly around the canine's face and the thick coarse fur on its belly and chest; yet, other than that, the dog was grey and black with most startling yellow eyes. It stood a good three feet tall while sitting, wearing an orange collar and silver dog tags around its neck. The dog's erected ears were turned slightly towards the blond while the mainly black and white tail -which was well furred- wagged slowly on the ground. In spite of the cuteness, the scary thing was the wolf like features of the canine.

"I'm still truly sorry for almost hitting you and apologies deeply for it," the blond honestly stated. "Thankfully Ace here caught the Frisbee in time, which she is a very good girl for doing so," the dog owner continued on, patting the dog on the end. Yet the last part was more directed to the dog than Sasuke, which she seemed to know, since she let the red disk fall to the ground and gave a small bark while leaning into the petting. It was a strange sight to watch, the canine and owner before them just radiated energy and seemed so happy. Something that Kyoshi and Sasuke both noticed.

Though, Kyoshi seemed more interested in the dog than anything else as he peered around his father's leg. The act not going unnoticed by the blond.

"You know, you can pet Ace if it's okay with your guardian here. She's a really friendly girl and won't bite," the man stated, smiling brightly at the unusually shy boy. Kyoshi looked up at his dad and seeing the man give the okay, he little by little walked up to the dog that was almost as big as him. Ever so slowly, he reached out his hand and reached out to the dog, which sniffed his hand before giving it a nudge encouraging the boy to pet her, which worked. While Kyoshi stroke Ace's fur coat, the blond turned his attention back to the older raven. "Again, I'm really sorry for almost hitting you."

"As I said before, it's alright, you really don't need to continuously apologize," Sasuke told the man. It was a tiny bit weird to have someone apologizing to him, working in the business world where everyone had a façade with alternative motive. All the vultures were just waiting for him to have a weak moment so they can swoop down and pillage his success. But to have this blond in front of him so freely apologize, not once but three times, was a different -good-change of pace.

Rubbing the back of his head, the blond smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, it's a bad habit. I'm Namikaze Naruto by the way," the man, Naruto, introduced himself, stretching out his hand.

"Uchiha Sasuke," The raven replied automatically, taking the other's hand and shaking it in the normal American fashion to greet others. "And this is my son, Uchiha Kyoshi."

"It's really nice to meet you Uchiha-san," the blond politely replied letting go of the raven's hand. "And it was nice to meet you as well, Kyoshi-san," Naruto said, crouching down to the little boy's level, who was still petting Ace.

Upon having the attention on him again, Kyoshi retreated back to his father's side, a little uncomfortable around the blond. It was not the kind of uncomfortable he got when he was around his principal, that guy gave him the creeps, but it was different. It was the kind of uncomfortable that he got when he did not know what to do and had to make a choice right then and there. The blond had this feeling about him, almost like innocence. A feeling that he just wanted to embrace himself in and never let go of. And the man's smile was uplifting, making him feel safe without saying any words at all. The man even paid attention to him without having to and called him -san, not -chan or the occasional -kun he got from the adults around him that had to pay some attention to him, but -san. It made him feel special in a way.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Namikaze-san," the child greeted back like he would for when he meet his father and uncle's business associates.

Grinning with his head tilted to the side and eyes closed, Naruto could not help but chuckle. "What a polity person you are, Kyoshi-san. You don't have to call me Namikaze-san; it makes me feel older than I am and let me tell you, twenty-two is not old," as he continued to talk to the little raven -pouting slightly- the blond missed the way that Sasuke chocked on nothing when he stated how old he really was. "So just call me Naruto, alright?"

"Okay, Na-ruto-san," Kyoshi stumbled over his name, not used to being told to call an adult by their first name, but the way the blond's face lit up even more made him feel really happy. However, his newfound happiness seemed to vanish when he remember that his puppy was still lost. Tugging on his father's pant leg, the boy looked up in the older raven's face and reminded him what they were doing at the park to begin with. "Daddy, we still need to find Eskimo."

"Eskimo?" Naruto asked curiously, standing up while grabbing the red disk and brushing some of the dirt and dog hair off his shorts.

"My son's puppy," Sasuke explained quickly to the blond, before patting the boy on his head. "We're still going to look for him, don't worry. I haven't forgotten my promise."

"Would this puppy happen to be light brown and white with hazel eyes? Has no collar on and his yeah big?" Naruto interjected, holding his hand together about the right size as little Eskimo was.

"That's Eskimo!" Kyoshi cheered, staring straight into sky blue eyes with hope. "He jumped out of my hands before he disappeared in the crowd."

"Really now? 'Cause you're in luck I found a husky just a little while ago barking up a tree he had cornered some cat in. I was thinking of keeping the cute little fella, but if he is your Eskimo, I'll give him back. On one condition though," the blond said friendly enough, but the last part he stated in all serious tone. It showed that he was not joking around and causing all the hope that have build up in Kyoshi to crumble back down. Sasuke, was about to yell at that man for trying to take away his son's only happiness, but he was not given the chance. "You have to get your Eskimo a collar and some ID tags so if you ever lose him again, you'll be able to find him too. Next time he gets away, someone might not find him and he'll end up in the pound, which we both don't want to happen. Okay?"

"Okay," the little raven answered, his hope once again returning, nodding his head in agreement. The older Uchiha on the other hand was a little taken back yet again, his anger deflating. The blond never was going to keep the puppy, he just wanted to make sure that Kyoshi never had a heartbreak over losing the dog again or have Eskimo end up in a pound. He was looking out for both of them.

"Good," Naruto said, smiling brightly down at the boy. "Now let's go get you your Eskimo."

Naruto ended up not only giving Eskimo back to Kyoshi, but also took them to a local pet store -apparently one he worked part-time at and even gave his employee discount to Sasuke, which he really did not needed but Naruto insisted- to help them pick out supplies for the puppy when he found out that they had just gotten the dog the day before. His help was undeniable needed. The blond knew exactly what the would be needing and what puppy chow was best for Eskimo's breed, which happened to be a Siberian Husky. Now, Sasuke knew about dogs somewhat, but Naruto knew _much_ more than he could possible ever imagine. The cheerful man pointed out to both Kyoshi and him how when Eskimo's tail was brush like, just like a fox's tail, curved like a sickle and trails behind him when in motion. All features of a Siberian Husky.

When Kyoshi asked him what kind of dog Ace was, Naruto answered him and pointed out the different physical feature between a Husky Malamute and a Siberian Husky. How Ace had more of a plume tail, which hangs over the back as if there were a plume resided on the end, and it was not fox like, but still well furred and generally longer in length. Ace was also a supposedly bigger breed of dog than Eskimo, but they would be about the same size since females were notable smaller than the male of their breed. Yet their breeds did have their similarities. Both breeds were energetic, hyperactive, and would be gentle and devoted; though Ace's breed was more territorial by nature being closer related to wolves than Eskimo.

What Sasuke dreaded hearing the most was that Eskimo would needed daily exercise and frequent training with a person that was use to training these dogs, especially huskies. Kyoshi could learn how to train Eskimo properly, but he would need someone to teach him how. In other words, a trainer was needed and the older Uchiha did not like the fact of having to deal with another stuck-up person around him. Yet somehow, that problem was worked out as well. Naruto had offered himself up to teach Kyoshi how to train Eskimo properly, if Sasuke did not mind and they could all agree on a time that suited all of them.

So two hours later, the little group was walking down the street, Eskimo walking on a new black leather leash attached to a matching collar with gold tags. Ace walked right beside him on her own orange leash held by her owner. The two adults discussing the best time for blond to come over to help with Kyoshi's -and Eskimo's- training. Finally, the two of them decided that before Kyoshi would go to school, Naruto would come by and they would come to the Uchiha household so they could go on a morning jog. Something the blond was persistent about and once he explained that if the puppy were not to get exercise in the morning than the raven better be prepared to come home a destroyed house, Sasuke readily agreed. Naruto would also come by Tuesdays, Fridays, and every other Sundays for obedience training.

'Itachi was right,' Sasuke thought to himself as he continued to listen to his son and the blond talk with each other, 'our family is going through a lot of changes and it's all because of the puppy.'

* * *

The next few months seemed to fly by for the Uchihas and they fell into a new routine. Sasuke would wake up at five-thirty, dressed in old black pair of sweats and make some hot tea to wake him up before waking Kyoshi and Eskimo. Kyoshi would get dressed into a similar pair of sweats like those that his father wore, only his were dark blue, and Eskimo would go outside to do his morning duty. The trio would then wait outside, but never for more than five minutes, for Naruto to come jogging up wearing faded red and white sweats. At his side, on her orange leash, Ace would be trotting happily with her tongue hanging out and tail held high.

After a thirty-minute jog -which Sasuke had to admit was a killer on his and Kyoshi's bodies for the first few weeks since they were not used to running daily and neither were their muscles. Thankfully, the two soon grew use to it- the four would return to the Uchiha house where Sasuke and Kyoshi would proceed to take their own showers and change into their clothing for the day. While Naruto would make breakfast for them, seeing as the rest of the Uchiha family was not much for cooking. Itachi would then come down and have breakfast with them, even though the oldest Uchiha was not much of a morning person. The Namikaze and his canine would take their leave and the Uchihas would go to work once they dropped Kyoshi off at school.

At three-thirty, instead of three like it use to be, Itachi and Kyoshi would burst into Sasuke's office along with Eskimo. The family would then head on home where they would spend some quality time together after homework and other choirs were done or Naruto and Ace would come by again for obedience training. They two would stay an hour, before leaving once again. Sometimes he would stay for dinner, but most of the time he would go home himself. By the time Kyoshi finished taking another shower and brushing his teeth, it was night and time for bed for the little ones while Sasuke and Itachi would stay up and have time for them to relax.

Weekends, that were usually spent inside, were now spend outdoor playing around. The Sundays that were spent with the blond were usually spent teaching Kyoshi and Eskimo obedient lessons in the morning and fun games in the afternoon. However, what the boy did not know that Sasuke did, was that the games were other types of lessons that were meant to be fun. Naruto had once even taken the whole family, Itachi included since he seemed to get along pretty well with the Namikaze as well, on a hiking trip in the nearby mountains.

Today was no exception. Sasuke had woke up to the constant beeping of his alarm clock and groggily got up. He did not even need to think about pulling on the black sweat pants or shirt and by the time he got to the kitchen, he was a little more awake. The raven then put on a kettle to boil some water for green tea; Naruto had gotten him out of the habit of drinking coffee and substituted with tea since it was healthier. When he was finished with his tea, the Uchiha was awake enough to wake his son and put the puppy outside, yet Eskimo was not much of a puppy anymore.

No longer did Eskimo have his soft and fluffy light brown puppy fur, but a rough thicker dark brown coat that was a pain in the neck when it came time to clean the house. His fur was everywhere. The canine had even grown some, though he only came up to Kyoshi's waist and had a long ways to go still; the pup could no longer be considered a puppy.

They waited for five minutes before Naruto came running up with his dog on his left side. However, there was something different today. Something was off.

"Good morning Sasuke. Good morning Kyoshi, Eskimo," the blond said in hearing once he was in hearing distance without having to shout. Sasuke and Naruto had decided long ago to call each other by their first names with nothing add, and not to be left out, Kyoshi insisted the blond do the same for him.

"Good morning Naruto-sensei," the little raven replied. His own greeting muffling his father's.

"Sorry I'm late," the man apologized for being late, when he technically was not. "Ace went to the vet yesterday and I decided to give her the morning off, so K9 and me had to check on her quickly before we left."

"K9?" Kyoshi asked a little confused looking at the dog by Naruto's side. The canine looked just like Ace at first glance, but when looking harder, one would notice that this dog was bigger and had amber eyes, not yellow. Other than that, everything else was the same, down to the orange collar and the silver style tags. However, an orange vest like saddlebag resided on the dog's back.

The Namikaze blinked a few times at hearing the boy's question before a light bulb seemed to go off in his head. "Oh, that's right, I never introduced you to K9, I've always brought Ace with me. Sorry," the blond said, a little embarrassed, which he rubbed the back of his head with the hand not holding K9's leash. "Well, I would like you to meet K9, he's from the same litter as Ace, and is almost identical to her in everyway. K9 meet Sasuke, Kyoshi, and Eskimo."

K9, upon hearing his owners command, put one of his front paws before him and the other held to his body as he lowered the front of his body down to the ground in a bow. Sasuke was thoroughly impressed with the trick, even if he did not show it, and Kyoshi began asking Naruto if he could teach Eskimo to do that as well. The light chuckle pulled from the blond made the businessman's heart skip a beat, but that was ignored in favor of the small group to begin their early morning jog.

They continued with their routine the same as every day, but again it was thrown off. This time when Sasuke can into the kitchen after his shower, and saw Naruto standing over the stove with a glazed, tired, look in his eyes. The blond almost looked like he was defeated in someway, but the raven could not figure out the reason for it. He did say Ace had to go to the vet the other day and he had given her the day off, but he seemed so cheerful about it. There could not be anything wrong with the female canine, could there?

"Naruto, are you okay?" the Uchiha asked, snapping the blond out of his thoughts and back to cooking breakfast.

Hurriedly, the Namikaze pulled the eggs off the pan before they could burn and divided them up between the four plates, ignoring the longing looks form the two canines that had already been feed. "I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all. Nothing to worry about, really," he reassured the other with a smile. Sasuke could always read the man so well by looking into his eyes, but today, the other's eyes were closed and it was impossible to tell if he was lying or not.

"If you're sure," the raven said doubtfully, helping set the food on the table.

As if placing food on the table beckoned him, Itachi arrived in the kitchen. His hair flying in every direction and a zombie look on his face. The only difference between a zombie and Itachi in the morning was he ate food and not people. Yet, today seemed like a day full of inconsistencies in their usually routine, for the oldest Uchiha actually talked without grunts and moans.

"What's with the new dog, Naruto?" the weasel asked, shocking Sasuke that he could tell it was not Ace with only a half of a glance when he could not.

Laughing at him, blond could not believe that was the first words out of Itachi's mouth this morning. "K9 isn't new, he's Ace's brother. I just haven't brought him around before, until now that is."

"Ah," the weasel grunted in understanding before digging into his food, as soon as Kyoshi sat himself at the table.

Breakfast moved on like it more would, yet, Sasuke keep a closer eye on the blond sitting across from him. He seemed distracted still, even when talking to Kyoshi or himself, almost like he was not completely there at the moment. The raven even caught sight of the little bags under the Namikaze's eyes that were not noticed before.

Breakfast was finished too quickly for Sasuke's tastes, since he still had yet to figure out what was wrong with the blond before he left with K9. Nevertheless, he did not have the time to contemplate the fact, seeing as Kyoshi still needed to school and he had to go to work. The next time he managed to think about the blond's strange behavior was on his lunch break. It was actually during this time that he ever got time to himself to think. It was his time of silence. It was his time to relax and not worry about a single thing. It was not working today.

"Still haven't figured it out, have you little brother?" Itachi asked, walking into his office without knocking, not that he did anyways.

"Figured what out?" Sasuke growled out, glaring up at his older brother. Somehow, the man always seemed to know the right time to show up when he could not figure something. That or the weasel would show up when he would be able to annoy his younger brother the most.

Raising an eyebrow, the older Uchiha sat down in the chair on the other side of Sasuke's desk, a smirk on his face. "Oh, I don't know, maybe the tiny subject we have been talking about for the last two weeks. The one that has bright blond hair and ocean blue eyes, you know, that subject."

He knew what his brother was going on about, oh did Sasuke know. It was him that made the mistake of bringing up a certain Namikaze to the other businessman at lunch two weeks ago and he was still regretting it. The conversation had gone well enough, they both talked about how the blond seemed to bring life into the house and with him around, Kyoshi was acting more and more like a child should. Then the chat changed a little bit. Somehow, that turn caused a whole new branch to grow; the Uchiha still could not quite recall all of the conversation, just that they shared how they both thought of Naruto.

Not that it was bad or anything, but somewhere while he was talking, Itachi picked up something within his words and found something. Something that his brother would not tell him, saying he needed to figure out it for himself, and everyday afterwards, the older Uchiha would ask if he figured it out yet or not. Safely to say, he had not, and it was starting to drive him mad. How could Itachi know something about himself that even he did not know?

Sighing, Sasuke leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose in hopes of releasing some of his pent up stress. Mainly, wishing that Itachi would disappear for a while. It did not happen though. "Yes, I know that subject, and no, I haven't figured it out. Don't you have some other employee of yours to annoy? You are the _almighty Uchiha-sama _after all."

"And leave you to fend for yourself?" Itachi feign appalled dramatically. He put his hand over his heart like he had just been stabbed and everything. "Never!"

"Why me?" the young bachelor asked himself rhetorically, but his brother decided to answer him anyways.

"Because I'm your Aniki and I know best."

"I hate you, _Aniki_."

"Lover you too, Otouto." Itachi's only answer was a groan.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by like normal would, Sasuke finished his work right as the doors opened at three-thirty as his family entered the office. They headed home and had a nice quiet evening, since it was not a scheduled day for Naruto to come by, and Chinese takeout for dinner. Kyoshi finished all his homework like he should and then he and Eskimo worked together on his obedience lessons alone. The canine had already learned how to sit, stay, and walk on a leash properly, but the little raven was having a hard time getting Eskimo to lay down on command. The two had to practice inside though, since it started pouring, but they did not mind, it gave them the chance to show Itachi what Eskimo could do. However, one last inconsistency just had to occur. It was after Sasuke had had put Kyoshi and Eskimo to bed and was walking back into the living room when there was a gentle knock on the door.

Wondering who could be coming by so late, the Uchiha opened the door and was slightly dumbfounding to see Naruto standing there looking like a total mess. He was soaking wet, his clothing plastered to his body and his untamable hair obeying the laws of gravity for once. His old white tennis seemed to be drowning his feet and the normal bright blue eyes were cloudy and dejected.

"Naru-" Sasuke started but was cut off by a soft, much quieter, voice that could barely be heard above the winds outside.

"Sorry, for coming by so late," the blond stated, almost unsure of himself, looking down at the ground and never making eye contacted. "I just… I wanted… I needed…"

Sasuke could tell by the way that the other man was speaking that his mind was in a total disarray and by the looks of things; he did not know exactly what was going on around him. It was almost as if the man was in a state of shock, but that could not be it. Not all of it. And what had caused the blond to become this way in the first place? Had something happened to Ace that made him this way?

"-to see a familiar face before I left," the words came tumbling out of Naruto's mouth, the raven not catching the first half since he was deep in thought. Nevertheless, the last half he definitely did catch and he was more than confused himself. He was going to ask the blond what the hell he meant, but the blond continued. "An old teacher and dear friend of mine has been having some troubles lately, back in the town where I grew up. He assured me that it wasn't anything too bad, but I couldn't help but worry because of it," Naruto said rubbing the back of his head as he gave a little laugh. One that was forced.

"But last night I…I don't really know what, but something just kept on nagging me. I-I couldn't sleep and when I got back from our morning jog, I got a call," the blond startles some when a crash of thunder echoes around them and Sasuke realizes that they are still standing in the doorway to his home, but he cannot bring himself to move the Namikaze inside. At the moment, all the Uchiha wanted to do was calm the other man down and figure out what was the matter so that he could help him. Protect him even.

Realizing that Naruto was speaking once more, the raven listened to the blond. "I'm leaving tonight, he -my friend- needs my help," the Namikaze whispered out. His voice cracking, but he tried his best to be strong. The sudden beeping of his watch made the blond look down, even though he could not see the displayed time to begin with. A worried look passed over his face and his voice even out his voice so he was talking normally when he next spoke. "I just wanted to let you know, so you don't wait up for me tomorrow. I also felt the need to say goodbye. I'm sorry, I've got to go or I'll miss the flight. Tell Kyoshi that I'm sorry and I'll visit him as soon as I get back. I promise. Bye."

With that the blond rain back out into the rain and Sasuke was left there watching his retreating back. Something inside of him leaving him with the blond as well and it was at the moment that the Uchiha realized he had not said a full word to the Namikaze, but he had run off so fast, that the raven was not given the chance.

"Bye," Sasuke finally said just as Naruto disappeared from sight. Knowing that he could not hear him, but hoping his message was still received by the blond.

* * *

Tell me what you think and I'm sorry to all those who are waiting for the next chapter of _Spring Time in the Foxes Den_. I don't think it will be coming anytime soon, I'm really sorry.

Shi no Tenshi 902


	2. Sasuke & Naruto

Thank you for all the reviews and here's the next part of this fic, I hope you all like.

* * *

The next day was very different for Sasuke. He had grown so used to the routine that he had fallen in with the blond that it was odd without him. He was not the only one that felt the discomfort without Naruto. Kyoshi seemed at a lost when he found out the Namikaze was gone when his father had told him. He was sad that he was not able to say goodbye and it showed. When it came time for breakfast, Itachi entered the kitchen waiting for his usually hot meal that Naruto would make, but found nothing seeing as the other two Uchihas were taking a shower and the blond was gone. The family ended up grabbing some fast food for breakfast before dropping Kyoshi off at school. Sasuke then told Itachi about what had happened the night before and the older Uchiha seemed to understand. Hell, even Eskimo seemed at a lost without the blond and his canine companions.

But that was only the first day. As the days went on, Sasuke was able to see just how much the blond had become incorporated into the Uchiha family's life. At work, both Itachi and him were back to being the coldhearted bastards that their employees feared to run into. Something that they had never noticed before until Naruto came along and lightened up their attitudes, but with him gone, there was no one to do such a thing. They were back to being the Ice Princes of the business world. And that was just at the end of the first week without the Namikaze.

By the beginning of the second week, Sasuke got a call from Otogakure, the first one he had gotten since Eskimo had become a part of the Uchiha family. Kyoshi had been in a fight and this time, there was nothing the young father could do. His son was to be suspended from school for a month and he had to come down to pick up his son right away. By all means, the first thing that the raven had in mind to do when he saw the smaller raven was scold the boy harshly. However, upon arriving at the school and seeing his son sitting in the principal's office once again, his head down cast and bruises and cuts scattered across his body, he could not do it. Instead, he found himself hugging his son and telling him everything would be all right.

And that was only the icing on the cake. The cherry on top was when Itachi came back home and told him that one of the higher up employees at Akatsuki, Itachi's business dedicated to modern medicine and finding cures, had been caught embezzling money and sending the shipments of medications ordered to drug dealers. The man, Pein, had apparently been doing this for two or three months now, when a rush order came in and the buyers had paid double the price so that the medicine would be there within the week. Pein had taken it upon himself do get the order ready and shipped out to meet the deadline, but he decided to keep the extra money for himself. When he found out that he got away with it, he became even more daring and started to take more money from Akatsuki and then he ended up shipping the medication that people needed to drug dealers for even more money, which was ultimately his down fall for some drug dealer ratted him out in a plea-bargain.

But that had not solved the problems there. Itachi and Sasuke had to clean up the mess that Pein left after being arrested and sentenced to life with no chance of parole. At the end of the week, the Uchiha brothers got most everything sorted out, but one thing. A clinic in Alaska had yet to receive their order, which was supposed to be sent two months back since Pein had redirected every shipment that had been ordered. According to the books, all of the medicine had been delivered, but further digging showed that the clinic had called countless times asking when the medicines would arrive. That was not what concerned the Uchiha though, for Itachi had sent out the medicine a few days ago on a plane own solely by the Akatsuki. The plane disappeared.

It being the reason that the small Uchiha family now resided in a small jet plane flying over the snow covered tundra that soon turned into snow-covered trees. Itachi was almost frantically typing on his laptop, going over old records in the Akatsuki database to make sure they had caught everything Pein had done, while Kyoshi sat in his seat looking out at the icy land beneath and Eskimo in the seat next to him. If it had not been for the fact that the boy was currently suspended from school -and the only person he trusted enough to take care of the boy other than an Uchiha was gone- Sasuke would have left him home. Nonetheless, seeing as that was the case, the Uchiha brothers decided to bring him along. Maybe a trip out of the country was what their broken family needed.

For without Naruto, the family was indeed broken. And he was only gone for two weeks. Had they all gotten attached to him that much? There answer was a simple yes. They all had gotten used to him; he was the exact opposite of the Uchihas. Bright, warm, energetic. He contrasted with them greatly, but that was exactly what they needed.

When the plane finally landed, the group exited the plane, which had already been brought into the hanger for them to unload and make sure no ice formed inside the jet engines. Outside the plane, an older woman in her thirties -maybe even forties- was waiting for them. The woman wore a pair of heavy dark grey pants with black snow boots over the top. A big fluffy green coat with grey fur lining covered most of the rest of the lady's body. The only thing one could really make out of the woman with her bulky clothing was her face.

A heart shape face brought out the soft feminine features of the healthy woman while two long blonde horsetails were pulled to the back, keeping her hair out of her sharp honey brown eyes. A lavender diamond-shape stone was somehow secured on her forehead. Even with all the clothing she had on, Sasuke could tell she had the largest bust he had ever seen. Yet, other than that, nothing of the lady's body could be seen.

"You must be the people that Akatsuki said would be coming," the blonde hair woman said in English, her voice a bit rougher than one would have thought. "I'm Tsunade Senju, the leader, if you will, and head healer of this village."

"Itachi Uchiha," Itachi stated in perfect English as well as he took her offered hand and shook it. "And his is my brother, Sasuke Uchiha, and his son Kyoshi," the weasel introduced the rest of his family, who also shook Tsunade's hand, as was an American custom. She in turn, shook all their hands as well as gave a slight bow, as was their custom.

"It is a pleasure to have you here, Uchiha-san," Tsunade said, switching to Japanese, which she spoke flawlessly. "But I do wish it was on better circumstances. I heard what happened to our last shipment of the vaccines and medicines with Pein and all, but it couldn't have happened at a more crucial time and now this happens." The last part was spoken with the utmost distress.

"If I may," Sasuke spoke for the first time since landing, "what exactly happened to the plane?"

"We don't know exactly," a man stated in Japanese, coming to stand besides blonde. He too was dressed exactly like Tsunade, except his coat was a dark red along with his boots and his pants were a forest green color. His face was older looking, older than the blonde's, but there were no signs of old age, wrinkles, save for the long spiky white hair. Two tattooed red lines ran from under his black eyes and down his cheek, almost making it look like he was crying blood. "But we have a good guess."

"And who are you?" Itachi asked, looking the man over and seeing that snow was stuck to his clothing meaning he had been outside just prior.

"Senju Jiraiya, Tsunade's husband and one of the village's Elders," the man introduced himself in the Japanese fashion, wrapping his arm around said woman's waist. "Anyways, the Akatsuki's plane was sighted a hundred or so miles from here just before a blizzard hit. The radio tower tried to warn the pilot about the sudden weather change, but they only got a hold of the pilot for a brief second before they were cut off. Since then there has been no distress calls or anything. Judging by the location of the last sighting of the plane, we can make a fair assumption that there was nowhere of the plane to safely laid. So the pilot either had to make an emergency landing before the blizzard hit or was stupid enough to try to fly through the blizzard and went down. In that case, the plane could be anywhere."

"Has there been anything done to try and find the plane?" the younger businessman asked, watching out of the corner of his eye as Kyoshi and Eskimo ran around the hanger playing.

The woman seemed to bristle at the comment, seeing as Sasuke was indirectly challenging her authority. "We sent out our own planes to the last sighting of the Akatsuki plane, hoping that it had made an emergency landing somewhere close by. However, the aerial search turned up with nothing. There were no signs of an plane making an emergency landing nor were there any signs of a crash. We even sent out some dogsled teams to see if they turned up with anything. So far, the ones that have come back haven't found a single thing."

The four adults continued talking of an hour or so, trying to find a way to find the missing plane. They covered all bases, trying their best to help out the village with what they could, but it was turning up to be a difficult task. Somewhere during their conversation, Tsunade had decided to show the Uchihas around their little village and after donning on their own heavy winter coats and boots, they followed her out of the hanger.

Outside the hanger was much different then the stuffy, smelly inside. The area was covered in a freshly fallen snow with few footprints in the soft powder. The air was crisp and cold beyond belief, yet it was not freezing, thanks to their winter gear. The village itself was rather large, but not vastly so. All the buildings were made out of wood or a combination of wood and stone. Nothing came close to reaching above the treetops surrounding the village a good eighty yards away. The place was not rainbow bright, but it did not have a gloom dark felling to it. Serene was the only word that could truly describe the quiet village.

With all the piece and beauty surrounding them, the passed couple of weeks seemed to wash away the bad. The wind surrounding them and the untouched nature surrounding them seemed to make everything even more beautiful.

'If only Naruto was here to share it with us,' Sasuke thought to himself before stopping dead in his tracks, realizing what he had just passed through his mind. Shaking his head to clear his mind, the raven hurried to catch up with the rest of his family and the two Senjus.

After a little more walking, the group reached a fairly large building. It was only one story with a stone and log structure. The front had a big red cross on the sloped roof that could be seen from just about everywhere in the town and by the looks of things; it was in the center of the village as well.

They were about to go inside when Kyoshi remembered that he had Eskimo with him and the canine, no matter how much he wanted the dog to, could not come with him inside of the hospital of sorts.

"Mrs. Tsunade," Kyoshi said in shaky English, still not totally used to the language even though his father and uncle had taught it to him since he could talk. It was just that he did not use the language a lot and so he was still unsure of himself when speaking it. "What do I do with Eskimo?"

Smiling down at the little boy holding tightly onto the black leash, the blonde could do nothing more than chuckle. The boy sure had s soft spot for his dog that not a lot of people had, which was refreshing. "You can leave him in the lobby for now. But just this once, got it kid?"

"Hai, arigato Tsunade-san," the little raven thanked, not realizing he had switched back to Japanese.

"You're welcome," the older woman said with a smile on his face.

Once inside, the group shed their heavy clothing like a dog would do their fur coat and hung them up on a coat rack near by. After tying Eskimo's leash to one of the chairs in the waiting room, the grouped moved on as the Senjus showed them about the hospital. The place was very nicely kept, better than some of the hospitals Sasuke had been to and had that homely feeling. There was no overly clean, sterilizing smell. More so, the pleasant smell of oak, contributed by the logs that made up the building. The staff was friendly enough and the patients that they meet were in the best of spirits.

The only thing that Sasuke was not able to understand was why they wanted the medicine and vaccines so much when everyone around the clinic seemed perfectly fine as is. The Senjus made it seemed like it was the utmost important that the medicine was there soon. But no one looked like they were dying with the medication the clinic already had in stock.

"Kyoshi-kun, would you go cheek on Eskimo, make sure he is alright. After such a long flight, dogs can become very restless after all," Jiraiya said, seeing the boy looked slightly bored and for another reason all together. Once he was sure the boy was gone, the older man turned back towards the two brothers, a strained smile on his face. "Come on, there is one last stop we have to make."

With that, Tsunade opened a door just a few feet away from them and held it open for them while they went inside, while Jiraiya decided to stay outside. The room, unlike the rest of the hospital, was dimmed with barely any lights. It took a few minutes for their eyes to adjust, but while they could not see, they could still hear. There were slight moans of pain and whimpers of discomfort coming from within the confinements, and they could tell that it did not come from one person, but a bunch. When their eyes finally adjusted, the sight in front of them appalled the businessmen.

Two rows reached from one wall to the opposing wall lined with beds. Each bed held a small body covered in sweat and panting softly or coughing from illness. Cold presses were placed on some of the children's heads while others had fallen off as they thrashed in feverish dreams. Yet, at the far end of the room, a glass window allowed nurses and others to look into another small room filled with small cribs with a half of dozen babies inside, just as sick as the children within the room. It broke their hearts to see such a sight.

"It wasn't this bad at first," Tsunade whispered quietly, walking up to stand next to Itachi. However, none of their eyes ever left the children in front of them, they watched as nurses went up and down the aisle checking on each one of the small patients. "It seemed like a common cold, a man came into the clinic sick and left a few days later felling better. However, about two days afterwards, the man came back again, this time with his daughter, who seemed to have the same thing as he had. I didn't think much of it at first and gave her the same treatment as her father, but then it started to spread. Child after child came into the clinic and we were able to treat them with the vaccines and medication we had on hand.

"Yet, the virus was spreading too quickly and we ran out of the vaccine. We did all we could with what we had, waiting for the vaccines and other medication to arrive, but it wasn't enough. The children ended up like this," the blonde woman finished. "I'm afraid if we don't get the medication soon, then some of these children won't make it."

The three adults lapped into an uncomfortable silence, listening to the various noises made by the suffering children and the busy nurses.

* * *

"Jiraiya, one of the remaining three dogsled teams still out there arrived around a half an hour ago," a man in his thirties said tiredly as he brushed snow out of his dark brown hair. Exhausted black eyes looked up, catching his own reflection in the mirror, and seeing the scar that ran across his nose before looking away. He continued to brush off the snow on his weathered down brown coat and shook off what snow he could from the leather boots he wore, trying to ignore the image of himself in the mirror. He did not want to acknowledge the bags under his eyes or the way his hair had lost all he had to it. That was not important at the moment to Iruka Umino.

"Which one, Iruka?" Jiraiya asked, heading in the direction of the exit with the younger male right by his side.

"Kiba's," Iruka stated, depression lacing his voice. "He says there was nothing in the south, the woodlands' creatures weren't disturbed in anyway and the forest itself was left unharmed." Jiraiya just made a small noise in the back of his throat signaling that he heard burnet, but had nothing to say. "Also… Also, there was a broadcast on the radio. Another blizzard's coming our way in the next two to three days. It's supposed to be a bigger than the last one."

The white haired man began to curse in every language he knew, which was a lot, seeing at the man had once been a general in his past that traveled from country to country. "And the other two team? Please say that they are not who I think they are. Please say that-"

"Jiraiya! Iruka!" a man hollered as he came running down the hallways. The nurses around giving him glares for being so loud, but he ignored them. "Another one of the dogsled teams came in! And he brought with him an injured person. They're saying it's the missing pilot!"

The two men, not hearing the rest of what the messenger had to say, bolted, heading for the doors. Yet, they did not get very far, for as soon as they opened the doors, crowds of people were rushed inside. Most of them were helping to carry a man wrapped up in blankets and shivering from the cold. Frostbite had turned his lips and nose black and what could be seen of his fingers. There was no doubt that the man would be severely scarred for the rest of his life in one way or another. However, the two did not care about the man; he was already being taken care of by the nurses and doctors that had come running.

Instead, the two headed outside to see a dogsled team at the entrance of the clinic. All of the dogs were yipping and moving about restlessly, trying to free themselves from their harnesses and not waiting for their owner to do so. The owner of the dogsled team was currently standing to the side of the sled. The man had silver hair that defied all gravity and had one black and one red eye, with a scar slashing down his red eye. He was tall, yet most of his body was covered by a black sweater and grey pants that were tucked into his boots.

"Iruka," the man called happily, upon seeing the two other men dashing out of the clinic and held his arms opened to receive a hug. What he got was definitely not, what he expected. A fist came flying and connected painfully hard with his head, causing him to stumble back and land in the snow on his ass. "What was that for?"

"You Idiot! What the hell are you thinking, Kakashi? Where is your coat? You could die without it!" Iruka screeched, his emotions going all haywire because of his worry. He really needed to vent and since the silver haired man in front of him was just standing there -now sitting- like nothing was wrong, he took out his worry on the older man. The once overly hyperactive and energetic canines were now lying on the ground, their ears tilted back as soft whimpering noises could be heard coming from the dogs ever now and again.

"Mou, that hurt Ruka. And here I was trying to be a nice guy and give the poor pilot my coat. I thought you would be proud of me, doing a good deed and all," the silver haired man, Kakashi, pouted like a child.

"Nice guy my ass," Iruka grumbled, but let his anger go all the same. Sighing, the brunet helped the other man up, but he soon found himself in the man's arms being hugged tightly to his chest.

Hot air tickled his ear as the dolphin tried to understand what just happened to him. "And what a nice ass it is," Kakashi said huskily, giving said ass a nice pat.

"Pervert!" Iruka screeched, shoving the silver hair man back and scrambling to his feet.

Three minutes and twenty-eight seconds later, Kakashi was sitting in the lobby of the clinic while Jiraiya cleaned him up and Iruka watched in mild interest. His attention was more diverted to the raven-haired child and Siberian Husky by his side that was asking his lover a million and one questions about his dogsled team. The silver haired man would answer the boy, but he did not make it easy for the kid. He told the raven everything in a roundabout way, which frustrated the child to no end.

"So there was not sign of the plane?" Jiraiya finally asked, cutting off Kyoshi's questions, once he was finished with patching the man up.

Shaking his head, Kakashi answered him negatively. "There was no sign of it. I found the pilot wondering about, his mind deteriorating because of the cold. He could not remember where he had come from or what way he had gone. He was suffering from hypothermia, so I wrapped him up in my coat and got back here as soon as possible. That was about two-three hours ago. I figured with a good meal and some rest, my team and I could go out again in a few hours, having a better idea where the plane went down."

It was Jiraiya's turn to shake his head negatively. "I can't allow that, there is another blizzard on the way and I don't need you to be caught out in it."

"But-" the silver haired man tired to protest.

"No buts about it!" the Elder all but roared. No matter how much he wanted to help the children, he could not risk another life to be sent out when a blizzard was coming, even if it was two or three days away. Mother Nature was always unpredictable, the last blizzard proved that to him, and he was not going to have another person's death on his hands, he quit that when he left the army to become a regular civilian. "I already have to worry about the last dogsled team out there; I don't need to worry about you too."

"The last team?" Kakashi asked himself slowly, trying to remember exactly who was sent out and who the villagers had told him had already arrived back. "Please tell me it is not who I think it is. That brat has already left me broke in our last poker game, I still have to beat him."

"I'm afraid so, but he's smart…"

As the conversation continued onwards, Kyoshi and Eskimo sat to the side, listening to the grownups talk and becoming more and more confused with every word. He was just about to interject and ask who they were all talking about when his father and uncle came back with the blonde haired woman. At the sight of Kakashi, Tsunade perked up and he had to retell the story of what had transpired with him out in the forest. Jiraiya had to then explain why the silver haired man could not go back out and ended up paling considerable when she heard about the blizzard.

When everything had settled down, Iruka and -an unwilling- Kakashi volunteered to let the Uchihas stay at their house for their stay. Something that Kyoshi was not thrilled about. He did not really know these people and he was not about to trust them even if they were friendly to him. He did not even care that Kakashi had a pack of sled dogs. Naruto's canines -Ace and K9- were better anyways.

* * *

Kyoshi was bored. No, Kyoshi was beyond bored. Here he was in Alaska, one of the most beautiful places in the world, and he had nothing to do. His father and uncle were with Tsunade and Jiraiya talking about business and he was left back with Iruka and Kakashi. His father promised him that they would play together later that day, but that did not help the little raven at the moment. He was bored now and had nothing to do. He had already taken Eskimo for his daily jog -even though it was more of a walk since the snow was ankle high- around the village and had gotten to see the village. What surprised him was that most of the shops he passed wither had a place for people to tie up their dogs outside or the store would let the owners bring the canine inside.

But now, Kyoshi was back inside the Hatake household, Eskimo lying on the floor next to him, and he had nothing to do while waiting for his father. He had helped Kakashi feed and groom his nin-dogs -as the scarecrow called his sledding team- just to help the man out. The man was incredibly lazy from what the child had observed of him and when he wasn't taking care of his dogs, he was reading a neon orange book that Kyoshi knew was not appropriate for kids his age. As for Iruka, he seemed nice enough. He made them a wonderful breakfast; it almost tasked like Naruto's cooking, and made sure he was comfortable. However, the older man had a lot to do and the small raven did not want to cause any problems for the man, so he left him alone. Besides, the burnet seemed really worried and depressed about something, which he could not help with.

Letting out a sigh, Kyoshi continued looking out the window, not realizing that he was being watched. Iruka, who had finished making meals for the clinic, watched the little boy looking out the window in misery. The boy gave off the impression to him that he was not the type to sit around and do nothing. He seemed like a wild dog, not wanting to be caged down and stuck inside the house. He was a child after all and children were not known to be able to stay still for long periods of time. Nevertheless, the Umino had a plan to fix it.

"Kyoshi," Iruka called out to the boy, gaining not only the boy's attention but the pup's as well, "would you help me take these meals down to the clinic? And maybe afterwards, I can show you where our lake is, though at the moment it is frozen over."

"Really?" the boy asked semi-excitedly about getting out of the house.

"I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't," the man said, chuckling at the boy's enthusiasm. After writing Sasuke a quick note telling the man where his son would be in case the man arrived back before they did, the two collected the food and walked down to the clinic, Eskimo trotting along with them since the little raven persisted that the dog come along as well. Iruka did not mind though, after all, his precious people loved dogs to death and he himself had a rather huge soft spot of them as well. It took them awhile to drop off all the food, seeing as they had to go around delivering the meals to various rooms, but it was all worthwhile. To see the happy faces at a hot fresh home cooked meal and the thanks they received was all worth it.

Once they were finished in the clinic, the little group headed out towards the outer part of the village. It was a long walk and if Kyoshi was not used to his morning jogs, he would have been tired, but instead he was full of energy. He barely even noticed when they building started to diminish until there were no more surrounding him, the little raven was having too much fun jumping into pills of snow and feeling it crunch beneath his feet. What the boy notice was when they came close to the forests surround the village and the only thing separating him from entering the condensed trees was a vast frozen pool of water in front of him.

"Wow," Kyoshi unconsciously whispered, "it's magical looking."

And it was. The lake was a decent size, nothing real big, one could walk around it if they really wanted to and some even had. Their were some larger bolder like rocks along the shoreline that were covered with a slippery layer of ice, glistening in the sun's rays. Snow covered most of the shoreline and the edges of the water, but the rest was uncovered. The water having a marble like quality from being turned into ice, yet what was truly magical about the lake was the colored lights dancing off the rock faces from the sunlight refracting off the ice.

"It is, isn't it?" the scared man replied, his eyes focused on the colored lights. Even after all the times he had seen the lake in winter, he could not help but think the place looked magical still. It never got old and usually the man always felt at peace when he came here. Somehow, the sight calmed his nerves and made him forget his troubles for a while. "You know, this lake had a special meaning to the villagers around here," Iruka said wistfully.

"Nande? Why's that, Mr. Iruka-san?" the little raven asked, not noticing he had mixed his two languages together. Thankfully, the other man knew Japanese as well and was not affected in the least.

Snapping out of his thought, the Umino realized that he had spoken aloud without meaning to do so. However, he was not one to deny any child knowledge; he was a teacher after all. Smiling down at the boy, the burnet began the tale that made the lake so special to the village.

"This story takes place years ago; our village was in in fear of the wolves that roamed the lands. At the time, the caribou herds were dying from an unknown disease and both the village and the wolves were affected by the small population that was left. The villagers had to rely on the small amount of livestock for the winter and what food they had saved up and it would have been enough. However, with the small amount of prey in the around, the wolves had to look elsewhere. They kill and devoured our livestock. Some even took our dogs back into to the woods with them when they left, either to kill them or make them apart of their packs; no one was ever quiet sure. Not only that, but the wolves had become real daring in their famine and dared to walk into the villager during daylight.

"People of the village started to shot and kill the wolves in fear they would attack. That scared them off awhile, but during the dead of night, they would still come and steal our livestock. Finally, the people had enough. They were going to kill every last wolf, at least that was the council's plan. The next day however, things changed when a boy came out of the forest surrounded by a pack of wolves. The boy -who had been lost in the forest- had been adopted by the wolf pack, he was one of their members and had only survived because of them. It was like the book _Julie of the Wolves_, yet different in some ways. Though at the time we knew nothing of this- upon seeing some of the villagers, darted back into the forest along with the wolves, confusing a lot of people.

"Weeks went by, and every now and again, people would see the boy along with the wolves but just as soon as he was spotted, he was gone. This confused many and their focus of the wolves shift to him, it also helped that the attacks of the livestock had steadily decreased since the boy's arrival as well. However, the council, one man in particular by the name of Danzo, would not give up the idea of hunting down and killing all the wolves. He continued to push for the extermination of the creatures and had many killed. He blamed the wolves for the loss of caribou, but that wasn't the case.

"Danzo, during one of his many hunting trips, came across an unprotected den and found a litter of new born pups. Having no mercy, he was able to kill all but one before the rest of the pack returned and attacked him. He was able to kill most of the wolves, but they were able to disarm and horribly harm him. Before he could be killed by the surviving wolves, the boy arrived, saving his life. Not that he was grateful or anything. Instead, he cursed the boy for saving the creatures that had destroyed the village and killed all the caribou for their own needs. Upon hearing the reason why the wolves were being killed, the boy turned it around on him and defended the wolves saying it was the humans that had killed the caribou because of the contaminated waters. After carrying Danzo back to the village and told the rest of the people to stop killing off his pack, it was their own fault they the caribou were gone before leaving and he was proven correct.

"This lake in front of us was what once held the contaminated water that had been killing off the caribou and if the boy had never told us, not only the caribou would have died off, but we would as well. Our water source is all connected to this lake in one way or another and it would have killed us if we continued on how we were. That boy became a hero. Though he never liked all the attention he got for it," the last part was said with a fawned smile on his face and a low laugh.

"Are you serious?" Kyoshi asked in genuine excitement, a look of wonder and awe on his face. However, upon hearing another laugh, this one sounding different than the last one, the little raven frowned. "You're joking, aren't you?" this time his voice was even and a slight pout marred his face.

"I told you it was a story," Iruka said in good heart. Yet seeing the frowning boy's face, the Umino tried to cheer him up some. "If you want, you could look around for awhile, but just stay in my sight, okay? I don't want your father mad at me if you get hurt somehow."

"Okay," the boy said, leaning down to unclip the leash from Eskimo's collar, totally forgetting about his disappointment from the fairy tale he easily believed in. Once the leash was safely tucked away in his pocket, the two began to explore the new surrounding, all the while Kyoshi working Eskimo on his obedience. He would make the dog sit and stay before running ahead and then calling for the canine to catch up. The two played mindless different games for an hour and sometimes Iruka would even join the two.

They were having so much fun that they did not realize what time it was. It was no wonder when a distant cry calling Iruka's name caught the burnet's attention. Turning towards the sound of his name, the Umino saw his lover wearing his heavy jacket that matched his hair with the second oldest Uchiha tagging along behind wearying his own heavy black jacket. Kakashi looked happy to see him, though one could not really tell with all the layers of clothing he wore that covered his whole face, save for his eyes. Yet Iruka was not pleased to see the neon orange book in his lover's hand and the twitched in his eye told him so, but the silver haired man either did not see the twitch or ignored it.

"Daddy!" Kyoshi called out upon seeing his father from his place upon the lake's icy surface. A squeal of delight went through the area when small white flakes began to gently fall from the sky. The small Uchiha started spinning around on the ice, dancing in the white powder falling from above. Eskimo was at his feet, yelping and prancing happily. "It's snowing! Daddy, it's snowing!"

"I see that Kyoshi, now be careful out there. I don't want you falling in if the ice breaks," Sasuke said smiling slightly as his son danced on the frozen lake without slipping and falling on the ice. By this time, the group of adults had come to stand by the edge of the lake, not wanting to slip on the ice. They could not understand how the little child could be out there without falling at least once yet, but he had somehow managed.

"That shouldn't be a problem, with the recent blizzard and the temperatures lately, the lake is frozen solid," Kakashi answered without as second thought, still reading his book. However, as soon as the words left his mouth a frighten scream reached the adults ears. Sasuke's head whipped towards the sound to see his son standing unsteadily on his two feet, Eskimo was now on the shoreline, barking his lungs out. Beneath the young Uchiha's feet, a large crack had formed as if to contradict everything the scarecrow had just said.

"Daddy!" the terrified boy screamed, his eyes showing how scared he was. "Help me, Daddy please!"

"Hold still and everything will be alright. Kyoshi, just listen to me, ya hear?" Sasuke tried to say steadily, not wanting to panic. If he panicked, he would not think correctly and he would make a mistake. Any mistake made would cost his son his life and he did not want that. He never wanted that.

Carefully taking a step onto the ice, the worried father slowly put his weight onto the ice, testing it to make sure the frozen water would not break. The ice underfoot moaned and groaned under protest before it could not take anymore and splintered. Instantly, Sasuke jumped back onto the shoreline, yet the ice had already cracked even more and spread out like a spider-web. Not being able to stay up on the shaking slippery surface, Kyoshi fell to his knees with his hands supporting his upper body weight.

"Daddy!" the boy cried, tears flowing freely down his face. Yet, Sasuke could only watch helplessly from the sidelines as the ice continued to spider-web outwards and around Kyoshi. He never felt so damn helpless in his life, not since his son had been a baby and he had just brought him home from the hospital for the first time.

"Kyoshi," the helpless defeated tone escaped deadly pale lips. He barely even noticed when the gentle falling snow became more harsh and unforgivable.

The fear inside the Uchiha welled up as the ice's groans became louder and the sound of cracking became louder, yet no visible cracks could be seen. That could not be a good sign. The snow that had come to rest in his hair that had melted because of his body heat had started to freeze and bite against his pale skin. Sasuke did not even register that the sound of the canine's barking changed, almost as if it was echoing across the icy surface of the lake. Another -visible- crack in the ice was the last that the solid surface could take before it separated. The separating ice caused Kyoshi to scream and call out for his father yet again.

Sasuke was about to go against his better judgment and run onto the ice to save his son, but Kakashi pulled him back. He had every intention to turn on the other man and yell his heart out, but he was too focused on his son's safety. Before his very eyes, the frozen surface gave away and Kyoshi began to slip into the icy waters beneath. The cry coming from Sasuke could not be described, if a person was to try, the only word that would come to mind would be broken. And then a miracle happened.

A blur that could only be a person, ran across the ice, bounding over the cracks in the surface, never staying still long enough to be able to fall in the icy depths. The person's features could not be made out with the off-white coat and hood covering up any physical characteristic, but at the moment, no one could care. They just watched as the figure came closure towards Kyoshi, never breaking stride except to pick up the terrified boy and continuing onwards, trying to get the boy to safety. Nonetheless, the combined weight of the two could not hold up on the surface of the unstable surface.

They were not going to make it.

At least not both of them, and the person knew that. Without a thought, the individual throws Kyoshi into the air and just as soon as the boy was away from the person, the figure disappears under the ice. As for the youngest Uchiha, he landed in the soft snow on the shorelines, seeing as the two had been pretty close for the both of them to make it, but not close enough.

In an instant, Sasuke was by his son's side checking the boy over to see if there was anything wrong with him. Other than the fact that the boy had a few cuts and scraps, there was no real physical damage, but the older Uchiha did not get enough time to really look his son. The boy had latched onto him and would not let go, tears still falling down both their faces. Eskimo was right by their side, trying to nose his way in between the two and pawed them while whimpering. He wanted to make sure Kyoshi was okay too.

"-kami," Kyoshi breathed out into his father's ear, the older man only barely being able to hear half of what he said. At first, he thought the boy was thanking God in Japanese, reverting to his original language because he was so disoriented, but that was not the case. "Ookami."

Looking up, Sasuke followed the finger which his son pointed and saw an ookami, a wolf. One could tell that it was definitely a wolf; it was larger than any dog with a longer tail, broader shoulders and narrower chest. The wolf was pure white, just like the snow surrounding the majestic creature. The only reason was not totally camouflaged in snow surrounding it was the fact that its bright blue eyes stood out like a sore thumb. The animal was beautiful, and they seemed caught up in watching the creature, everything else around them dissipated into the back of their mind.

While Sasuke ran towards his son, Kakashi and Iruka ran towards the lakes edge, desperately looking for the child's savior. There was no sign of the individual and it was very disconcerting. All the ice had broken apart by this time and there were gaps giving the person room to come up, yet still there was nothing. If whoever it was that saved Kyoshi did not come up soon, death was the only thing that awaited the person. Hypothermia would take care of that, first shutting down the body functions furthest from the heart, rendering anyone unable to swim. There for, leaving the person to drowned.

A long howl directed Iruka's attention towards the wolf, his ears going deaf at the sight of the canine. He was never able to hear the answering calls to the wolf's howl, all he was able to see was the creature running towards the ice. Dread filled his heart at the sight before him.

"No…it can't be…please, don't be what I think it is…," the dolphin uttered weakly. Whirling back towards the lakeside, the frantic man eyes sweep over the water hoping upon hope. Nonetheless, his eye fell back on the magical creature, but this time, the wolf was now on the edge of the lake, pulling something -someone- up onto the land. He wished he had not seen what was in front of him. "No, no, no, this can't be happening! **_Kakashi!_"**

The scarecrow twisted towards his lover and then towards the area burnet was pointing to. His breath caught in his throat before darting towards the unmoving body, never minding the wolf hovering over the person. No matter how fast he ran, it seemed like eternity. His mind was racing a mile a second and every cruse word he knew was threatening to fall from covered lips. His mind keep on telling him that this was not happening, yet his heart was telling him otherwise, breaking into a thousand pieces at the same time.

Sasuke and Kyoshi watched at the two men ran over to the prone figure, the wolf never leaving its spot hovering over the young Uchiha's savoir. In fact, the wolf only moved when Iruka skidded on his knees and dropped to the person's side, and even then, it was not far. Only enough to let the burnet turn the body over and check the vital signs. From their spots, however, the two Uchihas could not make out what was happening with Kakashi and the wolf blocking their view. The heavily falling snow did nothing to help their vision, but hindered it immensely.

Wanting to make sure that the person that saved his son had not just traded lives, Sasuke picked up Kyoshi in his arms and tucked the boy's head into the junction between his neck and shoulder with his large hand. He wanted to make sure that if the person that saved his son was dead, the little raven would not see it. The child was too young to see such a thing, especial seeing the person that saved him dead. Either way, the businessman had to know for himself if the motionless figure was dead or not, thus his feet carried him towards the group ahead of him, Eskimo trailing at his side.

Seeing the way that Iruka was hastily trying to tug off the person's coat and Kakashi pulling off his own to replace it, Sasuke figured that the individual was still alive. The scarecrow hurried up and handed over his coat as Iruka throw the drenched and beginning to freeze coat off to the side. The scared man tried to wrap the new coat around the figure, but the wolf keep on getting in the way of him doing so.

"Kakashi, take Lady and get the sled ready to carry a passenger. If we don't get him to Tsunade soon, he-he won't make it," Iruka tried to say calmly, but his voice wavered with every word. Kakashi merely nodded his head while pulling the wolf away and off to the side. Yet Sasuke did not notice where the older man went off to, his eyes were fixated on his child's savoir in front of him. Without the scarecrow in his sight, the Uchiha was able to see the man clearly and his heart jumped up in his throat.

Even in the dense snowfall, the older Uchiha could see how pale the man's skin was and his lips were turning blue as he watched. There was barely any movement to the young man's chest, it was hardly moving and becoming even scarcer as the time ticket by. Yet, there is only one word that Sasuke could say.

"Naruto."

* * *

Sasuke sat in a darker part of the clinic, his hands folded in front of his face and his eyes peering over his interlocked hands, watching the doors in front of him. He was waiting for the female Senju to walk out through those door, hoping for the best but his mind keep coming up with the worst case scenario. Yet, that is how a person's mind works when it has nothing to do but wait for hours on end. That and other things.

He had been reflecting on the past, on how much his -and the rest of his family's- life had changed since he had meet Naruto. All of the changes for the better. His son had almost stopped fighting all together and he seemed honestly happy, not that happy façade the boy used trying to appease his father. Kyoshi got out more; he played and acted like a kid for the first time. Itachi had altered as well. He had become more open and did not focus on his work completely like he had. Sure, before he did care about this only two family members, but never anyone else. Somehow, the blond made the oldest Uchiha take interest in him and care about him wellbeing as if he was apart of the family too.

He did not want to admit it to himself, yet Sasuke had not stayed the same himself. At first, he did not notice the changes himself. From his point of view, he had stayed the same. So he had made friends with Naruto. And let him around his son on his own free will when he barely tolerated his oldest friend Suigetsu around the boy. And he called the other man by his first name; it was not that big deal… Okay, maybe for him it was a big deal, but he never noticed it. Not until Naruto left did Sasuke realize what a big impact on his life the Namikaze had caused. Not until his family was broken and the blond that had changed everything was on death's doorstep did the Uchiha finally figure it out.

Hearing footsteps, the raven looked up but looked back down again. "I heard what happened from Umino-san," Itachi's voice flowed through the air in the Japanese language. "How's Naruto doing?"

"I don't know yet… Tsunade-san hasn't come back," Sasuke mumbled into his hands, his eyes once again looking towards the doors. No one was coming out.

The two sat there in silence for a while. Neither really moving much both caught up in their own thoughts. Thoughts that led to unwanted images of death.

"I've finally figured it out," the raven seemingly said, yet when his older brother looked at him, he looked as if he had never moved at all.

"Figured out what?" Itachi asked, confused about what the other Uchiha was trying to say.

It was silent again and the weasel thought that Sasuke was not going to answer. However, as soon as he looked else where, his eyes were diverted back towards his little brother.

"I finally figured out what I feel towards him. I-I've fallen in love with him," Sasuke answered only stumbling once while the rest of the time he kept his voice even and steady. It was almost like he was stating the fact that the sky was blue, not confessing that he had fallen in love. For the first time since the conversation started, the two brothers looked each other in the eyes and no matter how much his demeanor hid it; Itachi could see the worry, the torment, the uncertainty floating around in his eyes. Eyes truly were the windows to a person's soul. "Since the first time I saw him, I loved the fact that he was so friendly and honest in everything he did. I loved the fact that Kyoshi liked him and made my child happy, which made me happy. I loved the fact that he filled the missing piece in our family, that our family wasn't broken anymore. Aniki, I love _him._ I love him and I never got to tell him."

"I know," the older Uchiha stated sadly, knowing that this was the worst time to figure out he loved the blond when he might very well be dead. "I know. I'm just wondering why Naruto even here to begin with."

"Maybe I can clear that up for you," someone said, causing the two brothers to turn towards the voice. They saw the male Senju walking towards them, a grave expression of his face and snow stuck to his coat and hair. The older man was also panting some, like he had been running real hard. "Iruka told me what happened, but I had to stay behind in the children's ward to help the nurses distribute the medicine and administer the vaccines. I came as soon as I could, though Iruka stayed behind to keep his mind off things and put his restlessness to good use. How is he?"

"We don't know," Itachi replied, wanting the man to elaborate more on his last statement. "Want to tell us why Naruto is even here to begin with?"

Jiraiya looked at the doors before him for a second, before turning his whole attention towards the Uchihas. He did promise to tell them the story and he would do so.

"Iruka called him a few weeks back, before that plane of yours crashed. The two talk all the time, but with the children getting sick, Naruto became concerned. The kid has always had a big heart and when he heard how bad it truly was, he immediately came back home," the white haired man explained, and as he went on, Sasuke realized that the teacher that the blond had talked about before he left and Iruka were one in the same. He could not help but to flinch when Jiraiya called the village Naruto's home. "Upon arriving, he devoted all his efforts to helping with the sick children and when the plane went down, it was no wonder that he was one of the dog-sledding teams to go out as a part of the search party. He knows these parts better than most.

"From what I've been told -and what I know of him- Naruto found the plane's crash-site a few days after he left and discovered most of the vaccines and medicines intact. Taking what he could, he loaded the boxes on his sled and began his trek back. The trip took him longer to get back; he was probably only halfway here by the time you arrived, because of the heavier load. But here it gets a little sketchy, when Naruto finally came out of the clearing, I'm betting the first thing he saw was Kyoshi standing on the cracking ice and he acted without thinking," Jiraiya uttered and he was going to say more, but seeing Sasuke's face, he decided that was not the best idea. "He put your son's life before his own. The rest you know."

* * *

Kyoshi did not know what to think. He was scared for Naruto, worried that the blond might die, yet he did not show it. He did not know how to show it. He knew about death and what to expect of it, but he could not fully comprehend what death meant. He was still a child after all; he did not know everything and was still learning.

"Kyoshi," Kakashi called out to the little boy for the third time, trying to get his attention. The boy looked as if he was in shock, never moving more than the steady rise and fall of his chest. His little arms were wrapped around Eskimo, the dog sitting to his side, whimpering softly. "Kyoshi," the scarecrow repeated, this time catching his attention. Giving the little raven a smile of support, the man continued, "Kyoshi, would you mind helping me for a little bit?"

The boy nodded mindlessly and got up, his eyes still looking emotionless and he followed Kakashi without a word, Eskimo faithfully following on his heels. The husky was very welled trained and the scarecrow could tell that Naruto had some help in training the canine, the blond was the best dog trainer there was, in his, and many others people's, opinion. Why else would they being willing to pay the Namikaze big money if that was not the case?

Shaking his head to rid his mind of these thoughts, Kakashi lead the boy to the small house back behind his house. It was the house Naruto used when he still lived there, where he and his canines stayed now. The house itself was pretty small for him, having only one room, a bathroom, kitchen, and a living room. The place might have been small, but it was well taken care of and had a homely look to the outside, even in the dead of winter.

Kyoshi watched as Kakashi unlooked the door and opened it. However, the scarecrow did not go in, he moved to the side and held the door open for the child and his canine. The little raven took the unannounced invitation and walked into the house. Eskimo perked up immediately upon walking into the dwelling and he was assaulted by the sounds of barks followed closely by nails scratching on the floor as the residents inside came to greet them. The Uchiha was surprised to see a group of dogs running towards the door, seven if he counted correctly, and two of them he knew on sight. Ace and K9.

All the dogs -save one- circled around him and Eskimo, sniffing and licking them happily. Unknown to the two, the dogs were being friendlier to them then they would have any other person. One, because Ace and K9 knew the boy and, two, they could smelly their master's scent heavily on the child, meaning their master trusted him and they could too.

"Kyoshi, I would like you to meet Naruto's sled team," Kakashi said, coming in from behind the boy that was surrounded by the happy hyperactive dogs that were asking like puppies at the moment. "That one there, he's Iceman," the silver haired man said, pointing to a dog that looked to be the same breed as Ace and seeing as he was the same size as K9, that seemed to be the right conclusion. Kyoshi could see why he was named Iceman too, his fur was mostly white with some grey in it making it look like ice and his eyes look liked glass. "The one next to Iceman is Ace and next to her is K9, they're from the same litter," this time the scarecrow pointed to the two dogs that he did know. "Those three are Husky Malamutes.

"The one on your other side, he's Noble," the scarecrow said, pointing to a dog that looked to be a husky, yet different. The canine was slightly bigger than the Husky Malamutes, but not as big as a wolf. It did have move wolf like features, like longer muzzle and sharper looking teeth, but not by much. As for Noble's appearance, his coat was mostly white with a copper-red on the top of his head running all along his back to the tip of his tail while his eyes were light green.

"He's Titian," this time, the finger was pointed toward a canine that looked to be all white, yet there were black flame like socks on the dog's feet and his entire left ear. The weird thing about him, was that he had bicolor eyed, his right was light green while the other was a hazel color.

"And that she-devil is Mutt, just so you know, her bark is definitely not worse than her bite," Kakashi explained wincing as he pointed to a pure black dog with reddish colored eyes. "Noble, Titian, and Mutt are Husky-Wolf Malamute. And that over there, that's Lady," the man said, pointing to the canine that had stayed back and once Kyoshi's eyes landed on the creature, he could not look away. It was the majestic wolf that had pulled Naruto out of the lake. "She's a wolf and the head of Naruto's sled team."

"Ho-how can Naruto-sensei have trained a wolf? There wild, untamable," the child asked, his eye never leaving the wolf in front of him that was watching him slightly weary.

Smiling, though one might not see it under his clothing, Kakashi could not help but think the boy looked cute staring at Lady as if she was an almighty being. "Well, when one lives with wolves for a year and a half and then saves their population, they tend to listen to him, if not out of respect, then out of gratitude."

"Nani?!" Kyoshi all but yelled, remembering the story Iruka had told him that he thought was not true. But it seemingly was and it was Naruto who had lived it.

"How else do you suppose that the brat knows so much about canines and their behaviors?"

* * *

Slowly opening his eyes, Naruto looked around the dark freezing cold room. He could hear the wind tearing at the outside of the clinic -because it was the only place he knew that had a white tiled ceiling- and howls of despair whistling in the gale. He could tell right off that another blizzard had hit the village. There was no excuse for the excess lack of heat -more so than usual- and the winds howling in the way they were now only when blizzards came. Nevertheless, the last of his thoughts were directed else where when his eyes landed on a mob of raven hair.

It was Sasuke… Sasuke was here? When did Sasuke get here? Why was Sasuke here? These thought keep racing through Naruto's mind as he watched the sleeping Uchiha. However, his train of thoughts was interrupted when he went into a coughing fit. The sudden, different, noise in the room aroused the unconscious raven. Bolting up, the man looked about, before his eyes fell on the blond hacking harshly and finding him awake. He was instantly at the Namikaze's side.

"Naruto. Naruto," Sasuke called out, trying to get the man to look at him, yet the blond could not look at him. He was coughing too hard. "Are you alright?"

"C-c-col-ld, sooo co-ld," the Namikaze whispered out harshly, trying to catch his breath and shivering violently. He had not realize how cold he was when he first woke up, but now he did realized exactly how cold he really was and the blond did not like it one bit. The raven looked around the room frantically and spotted a bureau. Running over to the cabinet, the Uchiha opened three of the drawers before he came across some blankets. Grabbing the heavier covers, he spread them over the shivering blond and cocooned them around the majority of his body. "Th-a-an-k yo-ou."

"You idiot, I should be the one thanking you," Sasuke said, trying to reign in his emotions. "You saved my son; you don't know how much that means to me. You risked your life, why?"

Shivering slightly still, Naruto tried to smile, but ended up in another coughing fit. The blond looked so helpless there, so weak, so _fragile_, that it scared the Uchiha that if he might hurt he would break. Or even worse, he would die. Tsunade had told him that the Namikaze might not make it through the night; some of his internal organs had started to shutdown by the time they had gotten the young man to her. The female Senju had been able to stabilize him, but just barely, he was on the edge of cliff and at the bottom laid death and if anyone of his organs failed him that night, he would surely die. The thought alone left Sasuke feeling even more helpless than he already was.

Finally, after getting his breathing back under control, Naruto answered the raven's question. "Because, I wanted to. Because he is too young to die. Because it is in my nature. Because Kyoshi and you are precious to me. Take you're pick."

"We're precious to you? Why?" the Uchiha asked, confusedly, refusing himself the prospect of hoping that Naruto felt the same way he did. He was not going to get his hopes up for them to come to a crashing halt with just _mere _words. Yet, words were never just mere; there was always something more to them.

"Because I like you," the blond said trying to not drift off into his unconscious mind. He did not want to fall asleep now, he wanted to hear Sasuke's reaction, he wanted to know right now if he would be rejected or not. He _needed_ to know. Then, _then _he could rest. But, hell, he was so damn _tired_; his body just wanted to fall asleep and never wake up. "I like you a lot, more…than a…friend. I… think… I might… even lo-,"the rest of Naruto's words were lost as his head lolled to the side and his eyes shut. Not even a second after the man lost consciousness, the silent monitors attached to the blond came shrilling to life.

Sasuke, who was listening intently to what the Namikaze was saying -and noticed how his words had become drawn out and spoken with more effort then it should- was by Naruto's side instantly. Subconsciously, grabbing onto the blond's shoulders and holding on tightly. His fear that had started to settle down while the man was talking -Naruto's voice had a calming effect on him- had skyrocketed with the piercing noises.

"Naruto, _Naruto_," the Uchiha called frantically, shaking the young man by his shoulders. He was trying to get a response from the blond, yet, there was nothing. "Naruto, don't you **dare** do this to me, not after I just figured out my feeling for you! You can't do this to me! I love you, Goddamnit!"

Sasuke would have continued on with cursing and shouting at the blond, but he was forcefully pried off the other man and thrown out of the room by doctors and nurses rushing in to save the Naruto. He tired to go back in, but Itachi -who had come running at the sounds of his brother's screams- held him back. All the two Uchihas could do was to watch the many nurses and doctors try to save the Namikaze who had become an unofficial Uchiha by fixing their broken family. If anything was to happen to him, there was no telling what their family would be like. It was already broke with the blond gone for a couple of weeks, but with his dead, none wanted to think about that.

The last the two Uchihas saw of the Namikaze, was of a nurse forcing a tube down his throat to help him breathe before the door to the room was closed. Seeing no reason to hold his brother back anymore, Itachi let go of Sasuke, but he did not expect the raven to slump to the floor motionless. His eyes were fixated at the door. If anybody else had seen the two Uchiha brothers -one on his knees and the other standing there- they would not believe the emotional duo were actual the ruthless business tycoons that ran the Chidori and Akatsuki corporations.

"Sasuke, coming on, let's get something to eat," Itachi finally said, breaking the silence. "We haven't eaten since this morning and there's nothing we can do here right now. Let's go."

His brother tried to pick up, but Sasuke just jerked out of his hold. "No, I'm not hungry. I want to stay here. I have to know what happens to him. If you want to go, that's alright with me."

"You know what, I'm not hungry either," the weasel said, sitting down on the floor right next to his brother.

Neither of the brothers cared how they looked sitting on the ground in the middle of the hallway in front of a door. The two just sat there watching the door, listening to the noises of the nurses and doctors in the room that drowned out the harsh winds of the blizzard going on outside. They sat there for what seemed like hours, just the two of them. Waiting.

It was when the noise stopped and the blizzard could be heard once again that the door was flung open and Tsunade walked out. She must have been one of the many people that rushed into the room and they just had not seen her among the group. Nonetheless, looking at her appearance -her ruffled hair, the wrinkles in her face making her look her age, and the abnormally pale skin- the Uchihas were afraid of what was going to be said. She looked like she was about ready to share the worst news possible.

"What's happening Mrs. Senju?" Itachi spoke first, being polite as possible.

"Well… He's not dead, but his chance of living through the night just dropped from fifty-percent to less than twenty-percent. I-I-I don't know if he'll make it," the blonde woman stated, trying not to stutter. "There's nothing more I can do."

The hallway held little noises as the nurses and doctors left Naruto's room and went about their duties. All of them ignored their village leader talking to the two men that sat on the ground; they were more worried about the children in the next wards over and Naruto as well. He was a rather energetic boy when he lived here and when he was younger, he made it his goal to get to know everyone in the village. Needless to say, he fulfilled that goal and the village all had a soft spot for the boy, which went to show when everyone bolted to the Namikaze's room when the monitor went off.

"Is it alright if I stay with him?" Sasuke asked, getting up from the floor slowly. Tsunade nodded her head and, not being able to take seeing her pseudo little brother and grandson -if anyone to ask, their relationship was strange- laying before her on what might be his deathbed. She could not speak and quickly left to tell Jiraiya and Iruka what had transpired.

"Aniki, could you go back and watch over Kyoshi?" the raven asked, helping his older brother up off the floor. "I want to stay here with Naruto tonight and I don't want to leave Kyoshi with people we barely know. Please?"

Knowing he needed to be with the blond and that Sasuke hated leaving his son with anyone other than a family member -and lately Naruto- Itachi agreed. "All right Otouto, I'll look after Kyoshi, but you got to promise to fix our broken family. You have to bring Naruto back."

"I'll try," Sasuke said unsure of himself, he wanted to keep that promise with all his heart. He could not work miracles, no matter how much he wished.

Biding each other goodbye, the brothers separated and the younger Uchiha walked into the room. The changes in the room since he last been in there were not much, but it seemed drastic. The blankets Sasuke had tucked around the blond were now skewed across the bottom half of the bed, revealing Naruto's upper half of his body. The tube that had been stuck down the blond's throat was nowhere to be seen, but an air tube was stuck in his nose to make sure he was breathing. His skin was still deadly pale and the blue color seemed to have return, not good sign.

Slowly, Sasuke made his way over to the panting unconscious blond. Along the way, he picked up the blankets and readjusted them around the shivering Namikaze. Making Naruto comfortable before making himself comfortable, the raven got ready for a long night. He was planning to stay up all night with the younger man to make sure he did not die on him and that he was not alone.

And he did. Sasuke stayed up all night long, sitting by the bedside holding onto one of Naruto's hand the whole night through. He would not leave the blond alone, not now. Not ever again. This was the position that the Uchiha fell asleep in and this was uncomfortable position that he woke up in the next day. There was only one change though, and that was the fact that the hand he held onto was not limp. It was clutching his hand tightly in his own.

Looking up, Sasuke saw that the Namikaze's eyes were half lidded, dazed but not glazed over in death. "Hey," the raven all but whispered.

"'Ello," Naruto greeted weakly, a small smile straining his unnaturally pale skin. However, his skin was healthier looking than he last night, his skin no longer held a blue tint to it. "How's Kyoshi? Is he all right?"

Sasuke had to blink a few times to clear his head, not expecting that the first thing out of the blond's mouth was his son's wellbeing. "He's fine, but how are you feeling? You were on Death's doorsteps last night and seemed to be going in," the Uchiha said, running his hand through his hair in his nervousness. Talking about death was not an every day conversation and it was hard for him to actually get the words out of his mouth.

Chucking lightly, yet ending up couching in the end; though, it was not as bad as the night before. "I'm not in the best of health, I'll admit that, but I'm not dying either. And I have you to thank for that."

"Me?" the raven asked, totally bewildered at the statement. Not getting what the bedridden man was talking about.

"Mm-hm," was all the Uchiha got for his reply at first. "Did you mean it? Do you really love me?"

Sasuke was completely dumbstruck; he did not think the blond was even awake to hear him say those words. It did not make them any less true, but to think that his words were the only thing that kept the Namikaze alive was a lot to handle. But he was responsible for Naruto being alive and he was going to take full responsibility for it.

"Yea, they're true and I meant every word of what I said," Sasuke spoke what his heart was telling him, squeezing the blond's hand within his own. "I love you."

"I love you too," Naruto replied, a spark of life in his dazed blue eyes. It seemed to bring life back into his very being and Sasuke could not help himself. Leaning down, the Uchiha captured the blond's lips in his own. Unknown to the two -or they just ignored it- the howling winds from outside ceased as the blizzard died down.

* * *

It was the day before winter break and Kyoshi could not sit still. But that was not the reason why the little raven could not sit still, after coming back from being suspended, his peers -or private bullies- seemed to take it upon themselves to make his life a living hell. Since they were able to get away with it the first time, the bullies thought they could get away with it every single time. But they had to catch him first, and that was where the problem now laid. At least for them, since Kyoshi was a much better runner from his morning jogs.

Now, instead of fighting back, he ran. It was not like he was scared of them, seeing how he was the one with the least injuries, but fighting back with fists seemed to cause more trouble then it was worth. Besting them verbally was much more satisfying than with his fist. Something he learned from his father and uncle.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the bell rang signaling the end of the day and effectively snapping Kyoshi out of his thoughts. Gathering up his belongings into his little suitcase like bag, the small Uchiha slowly made his way out of the classroom and towards the school's main doors. The boy made sure he stayed close to the walls as to not get in anyone's way and not to be seen. He did not want to run into any trouble, not today.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here guys?" a familiar male voice said as a heavy arm was draped over Kyoshi's shoulders, causing him to flinch involuntarily. "A little Uchiha coward that runs at the slightest sign of danger, whatever shall we do with him?"

"Let's take him to the football field out back," another male voice said, the promise of pain lining every word, from the other side of the little raven. "We don't want our skills to get rusty during winter break and we could always use a goalie. I'm sure _Uchiha-san_ wouldn't mind _helping_ us _practice_, now. Don't you agree?"

"I see no problem with that," the third, and final, tormentor stated from behind. It was easy for Kyoshi to tell that he was surrounded and trapped with no way of getting out. He did not even have to look around him to see the three; he already knew who they were.

Dosu, Zaku, and Kin, his three personal tormentors who were herding him like a little lost ship into their clutches, otherwise known as the football field. Kyoshi knew it was futile to fight back with them and, truth be told, he did not have the strength to fight with them today. He simply just let them drag him to the snow-covered field. The journey seemed to take longer than it really did, but it did not last forever. When they were out on the field, Dosu, the one that had his arm around his shoulders, shoved the little raven forward into the goal, hoping he would lose his balance and fall into the snow. He was greatly disappointed though as the Uchiha caught his balance with ease.

Dosu -and the rest of his little followers- were even angered by the way the boy just adjusted his uniform and checked his bag over to make sure everything was in place as if nothing had happened. But it was when Kyoshi turned around with a bored look on his face, almost like he was impassive, that really set them off. He was supposed to be shaking in fear for his person or at the very least being suspended again or even expelled, but he was none of those. After spending all that time tracking the kid down and spending even more time to catch him, this was not the reaction they wanted from him.

"You damn brat, no wonder you're mother didn't want you when you were born," Zaku growled out, watching for any sort of reaction, "you're just a bastard."

"Hell, his father only took him in because he didn't want to lose any of his social status," Kin smirked out, seeing that Kyoshi's head was lowered and his fists were clenched tightly. "Can you imagine what it would do to his company?"

Dosu let his head fall back and laughed his lungs out. "I can just imagine what the newspapers would say, the business tycoon Uchiha Sasuke having a bastard child with a common whore because of a one-night stand. That's just rich."

With that said, the three broke out laughing at the raven's expense. None of them noticing the way that Kyoshi's clenched fists were shaking, but they soon had to take notice. They had to take notice when he burst out laughing, catching all of them off guard and causing their own laugh to dissipate. The young Uchiha laughed and laughed and laughed and it became disconcerting to the three tormentors. At last, Kyoshi calmed down and looked the trio over, his eyes having an unnerving glint in them.

"So what? My father had some random one nightstand with a whore. It was a mistake. One that he never regretted. I can't say the same for you guys though," Kyoshi said in a way that very much mirrored his father with his hand crossed over his chest. "One, two, three," the boy counted, pointing to Dosu, Zaku, and Kin each in turn, "three mistakes, three regrets, three different whore, three bastards, and still your father has yet to learn. Maybe that's why his company has reached bankruptcies and no respectable business man will loan any help, he doesn't know how to leave the trash outside like a normal person does."

The three half-sibling did not know what to say, shell-shocked that Kyoshi actually knew their problematic secret. They all had different last names to so that no one would catch onto their father's dirty little secret, yet this small child had figured it out. And that was when his words finally reached their mind and they registered what he said completely.

"You little ass, you're going to regret ever learning that!" Kin screamed on the verge of pounding the Uchiha before her, her brothers right behind her. Yet, before any of them could do so, the raven held up a hand momentarily stopping them, if only because of curiosity.

"I have only one other thing to say," Kyoshi said, a smirk on his otherwise emotionless features.

Growling, Dosu held back. It was a last request after all. "And what would that be?"

Smiling, not smirking but actually smiling, like a little kid. "Duck."

"Huh?" the three asked, not getting what a feathered animal had to do with anything. They did not have too when a shout caught their attention.

"Heads up!" It was too late, for a simple red disk hit Zaku on the back of his head, causing him to turn and look at what hit him. Seeing the red Frisbee, the boy was about to yell at the whoever threw it. Upon looking up, he saw a ferocious pure white wolf sitting not far away, the Abumi lost his nerve and became still as a statue.

Noticing their half-brother's immobile state, Kin and Dosu turned to see what his problem was and frozen too. The wolf, seeing that no one was moving, stood up and started to move towards the group of Otogakure students. Three of which paled and lost all their nerves and before the canine could understand what was going on, the three ran away hoping that the predator would go for the easy prey. Kyoshi. However, the white wolf just looked at the running backs of the three children before looking at Kyoshi with what seemed like curiosity before nudging the red disk on the ground.

"You sure like to play, don't you Lady?" Kyoshi asked, smiling as he picked up the red Frisbee as the wolf gave out a bark of acknowledgement.

"Yeah, she does, but that's why we get along so well," Naruto said, walking up to Kyoshi with Eskimo at his side and his eyes watching the three children running off in the distance. "I wonder what their problem is?" the blond said off hand, but the wicked smile on his face and that glint in those sky blue eyes betrayed the innocence in his voice. Something that just caused the Uchiha to roll his eyes and chuckle. Giving the red disk in his hand a twirl before throwing it, Kyoshi watched as Lady took off after the flying red dot. Very few paw prints being made in the powdery snow beneath her feet before she jumped high up into the air and caught the disk with graceful fluency.

"So, is Dad still not letting you go to work still?" Kyoshi asked, knowing fully well that after the blond's near death experience his father had been overly protective of the younger man. Of course, it could have something to do with Senju Tsunade threaten Sasuke with castration if anything happened to the Namikaze, but that could not be the case. The little Uchiha's father was afraid of no one, at least that was what Kyoshi had thought before hand.

"Naw, with him and Tsunade-baachan's constant calls, they've found away to keep me indoors for another month at least," Naruto bemoaned his inability to do anything too strenuous, on Tsunade's orders. It was all because of the simple fact that he almost died and they were all blowing it out of proportion. "I'm not allowed to even go to the park with any of my puppies, they're gonna get lazy if I don't take them out all out at least once a day."

Smiling, the little raven giggled knowing that the blond could not lived being caged, just like any caged untamed canine. "But that's just Daddy showing his love for you, he wants to make sure you're perfectly safe."

"I know that, but it can be annoying at times," the Namikaze said truthfully.

"So I can be annoying at times, can I?" Sasuke's voice asked slightly disdainfully, coming up behind his son and new lover while wrapping his arms around the smaller male. Naruto immediately leaned back into the embrace and nuzzled his head into the junction of the businessman's neck. Something that the older Uchiha had learned when he started officially dating the blond was that his little lover adored physical contacted, it did not have to be anything sexual -they had not gotten to that stage of their relationship yet anyways- just a regular hug or holding hands would make Naruto happy, which in turn made him happy.

"Yup, you're annoying at times," the blond said playfully, leaning up and giving his boyfriend a quick peck on the lips. "But that's what I love about you."

"I love you too," Sasuke replied, catching the pink lips once again in another kiss. "But I would also love to know why you're picking Kyoshi up and not my wonderful Aniki."

Looking at each other, Kyoshi and Naruto could not help but grin and try to hold back their laughter. This only caused the older raven to raise one of his eyebrows in confusion.

"He's on a _date_," the child answered in a singsong voice, which totally caught his father off guard. His _brother_, on a **date**? No way.

"Yep," the Namikaze answered the unspoken question. "Since you won't let me take my puppies out for exercise, I've been having my cousin -who is practically my older brother- Uzumaki Kyuubi take them for their walks and what do you know, him and Itachi met, your brother falling for him instantly. He just got the courage to ask Kyuu-niisan out last night and he said yes. Haven't you noticed that Itachi was acting strange lately?"

Not believing that his brother had finally hooked up with someone, Sasuke just shook his head smiling. "I have, but I just thought he was going through his monthly PMSing."

"That's not a nice thing to say about your brother," the blond chastised, yet with him chuckling like he was, it did not do much good.

The little family continued onwards, making their way back home while laughing all the way and Sasuke looked over at his little lover chasing after his son with two canines tagging along as well. He could not help but admit that this was what had been missing in his life. That the bright blond ball of sunshine had been the missing piece to the Uchiha family and with him there, everything else seemed to just fall into place. And he found the missing piece to his life all thanks to a little mutt of a puppy his son found. Yeah, the puppy had been the first of many changes, his brother was right, and he could not be any happier for it.

Now, all Sasuke had to do was convince the Namikaze to move in with them and everything would be just perfect.

* * *

Okay, that is another story done, I hope you all enjoyed the story, I was trying to get into the flow of writing again. However, the story didn't come out how I wanted it too. It was supposed to be a short story, yet -both chapters combine- it equals forty-four pages on my computer in size twelve font. So, yea, I don't think in can be considered a short story really. Anyways, I want to know you -the readers- favorite part in the story and what you thought was the funniest part, 'cause I want to better my writing by knowing what I'm doing right.

Shi no Tenshi 902


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Naruto, Drama, Family