Sasuke watched Naruto sleep curled up against him. Progress in training was slow as Naruto's maturation completed itself. Naruto spent far too much time rubbing against him in an obvious attempt to cover him in Feral scent. It would have been endearing if not for Sasuke's impatience for them to fully bond. There was also the issue of Naruto's lack of control over his more feral nature. He doubted he would hurt him, but having a wild Feral in the capital would be difficult to handle.
He turned his gaze from Naruto and fought against the shame washing through him. Some of this bonding should have been done ages ago, but his own fear of control and Naruto's almost childlike appearance had deterred him. Even when Naruto's body looked barely older than a child, he had wanted him so badly that the shame was barely enough to prevent him from claiming the young body.
The only possible option was to lock himself away from Naruto and focus on gaining much needed control over his powers, even if that control would not be complete until he fully wove Naruto's essence into his mana. Familiars were more than magical companions. They truly did complete the sorcerer or caster. The stronger the bond, the more strength the sorcerer could obtain through their Familiar. Itachi's bond with Kisame could never be broken, even in death. Death for one was the death of the other.
Sasuke needed the same strength with Naruto. His arms tightened around Naruto. Naruto was his. He refused to relinquish his hold on him. His Uncle Madara's fate would not be his own.
Frowning a bit, he turned his gaze to the opening of the small cave where they slept. Something was at work. His father's reasoning was flawed beyond all understandable reason. He had known it when he had seen his father's eyes. His own emotions had clouded his thinking as well, not that his choice to leave with Naruto would have been any different had he realized at the time that his father was not thinking correctly.
His bond with Naruto needed to be irrefutable and Naruto needed to be in complete control of himself. Only then could he risk heading into the capital and addressing the court. There was no way of knowing how the monarch would rule if Fugaku addressed the court. He wrinkled his nose at the foul stench of magic making its way to him. Something was brewing. He had felt it almost instantly upon landing at the edge of the desert. They would have little time to prepare and Sasuke was the one who needed all possible advantages.
The court knew nothing of him other than his position as Fugaku Uchiha's younger son. They could very well decide to allow Fugaku his decision to sever the bond he possessed with Naruto, maiming him and killing Naruto. But if the bond was exceptionally strong, stronger even than the one Itachi possessed, severing the bond would kill both of them. Fugaku, even with his mind hazed from whatever was affecting it, would never willingly kill one of his children. Ice sorcerers were driven into near extinction a thousand years past. The Uchiha family was the last known practitioners and they were so inbred that there were no more marriages to be had. His father's marriage to his first cousin was the last.
Any marriages now would have to be done by splintering off and wedding outside the family. Doing so would extend the life of the family, but destroy their magic. The mixing of elemental magic destroyed it. Even when compatible magic such as fire and wind were intertwined, the final outcome was less than the parents. Magic warred for dominance and it would take centuries to breed power back into the bloodline if they mixed it with other magics. There was no successful way to combine it to allow interbreeding. Itachi and Sasuke would be the last children of their family.
He gave a small mirthless laugh, recalling as a child, the sight of his broken uncle. Those permanently red eyes had stared at him before gesturing him to approach. Sasuke's fear had not been enough to override the compulsion brought on by those seemingly brittle hands.
"Do you know who I am?" Madara had asked in a raspy voice that had sent chills of fear down his spine. "I have cursed this family. We shall be brought to dust and scattered, forgotten."
Sasuke remembered asking him why. The words had felt like ash in his mouth as he spoke. The gathering of elders had ignored the old man speaking to the small child, but Sasuke had wished they had. It was like he had been called to be the witness to the destruction of their family.
"Magic will not be denied, child. The tear created by the broken bond is not only mine to bear. All Uchiha bear it. We are dead. Hashirama would scold me for my words, but the truth cannot be denied. We bear the fruit of our actions. I am not long from his side, so it is to you I will impart the strength to decide the fate of this rotten family."
His hand had felt unbearably hot when it had latched onto his shoulder. He felt the rush of power in his veins and his previously barely awakened magic flared to life with such force, he felt his eyes shift their color. The small cry that escaped his lips had drawn the attention of several of the family mulling about in discussion.
Itachi had appeared then, and dragged him away from the frail old man. Yet he had spoken one last time, words Sasuke could still hear ringing in his head to this day. "When the time comes, what will your choice be, young Uchiha? Will you rip your soul or will your choices heal our magic?"
Sasuke had not understood and Itachi had ignored his questions. He heard his father speaking to his mother the next day. Madara had died the previous night without warning. The family, his father included, had seemed almost relieved, as if some dark unseen blemish was wiped clean upon an old man's death.
How wrong they were. Madara had not disappeared completely. They could not have known that Madara's magic had been imparted into Sasuke. Of course, his had absorbed it immediately and none was the wiser.
But he had known. Some small inkling in the back of his mind had whispered that his lack of control was due to the wild magic introduced into him. No one, not even Itachi, had known. Even he had forgotten it until he stood before his father.
In some ways, this felt like a test and Madara's words seemed all the more appropriate. What compulsion had his father felt when he bonded him with a wild and yet powerful creature? Had it been some residual push from Madara Uchiha's magic?
A powerful sorcerer required a powerful Familiar. No member of Kakashi's pack could have hoped to have the strength to withstand Sasuke's magic for long.
But Naruto wasn't some mere wolf Familiar. He was a Feral. He was able to withstand nearly all magical attacks once his maturation was complete and retaliate with claws and teeth. Despite being magic null in the sense of casting, his natural magic made him highly compatible as a Familiar.
Sasuke ran a finger over one of Naruto's silky ears, giving a silent chuckle as it flinched and wiggled. Naruto presence calmed his magic. The more he grew into his maturity, the stronger that calm became. There had always been a sort of restraint he was forced to exert. His father had always reprimanded him for his lack of control when compared to his brother. But now that Naruto was mature, he could feel that calm he so desperately sought washing over him as the bond they shared strengthened.
"Sasuke?"
Sasuke turned his gaze to Naruto's face. "Did you sleep well?"
Naruto stretched like the feline that he was and sat up slowly. "I guess."
"We don't have much time, so we need to get started." Sasuke reached for the bag containing their supplies and tossed Naruto a roll of crusty bread and a hunk of cheese before taking an ice apple for himself.
Sasuke took a bite of his apple and walked out into the dawn light. He flinched at the heat already beginning to build in the area. The edge of the desert was one of the worst places for an ice sorcerer to be, and one of the last places they would search for him. Itachi and Kisame weren't fools.
Disintegrating the remaining core with a small burst of magic, he slowly turned to where Naruto was seated. He reached to his crystal with one hand while an ice sword formed in his other. The strength of the sword was determined by his control.
"Now come at me," he growled at Naruto and moved into position.
oOo
Fugaku slammed a fist into the wall, causing an icy wave to spread across the hard stone. The stone around his neck glowed brightly and his eyes shown darkly with his fluxing power. Kakashi watched silently from the door as his master vented his anger on the wall.
He was glad Itachi had taken Naruto and Sasuke. He was paying for his interference by a sound flogging. Kisame was likely going to be livid when he returned to find Itachi in the shape he was. He had tried to stop Fugaku, only to earn a slap to his face. His master had never lifted a hand to him in all their years as Sorcerer and Familiar. Something was not right with him.
"Fugaku?"
Fugaku turned his face sharply. His eyes held mixed emotions. Anger. Frustration. Confusion.
"You should calm down." He sent a calming pulse along the bond they shared and watched in relief as his master relaxed, if only minutely.
"Both my sons have turned against me, Kakashi. I have every right to be angry."
Kakashi frowned and tugged at the high collared shirt he wore. "They have not turned against you. Sasuke left because he had no choice. You essentially told him you would kill half of his soul for no reason."
"It is for his own good," Fugaku roared.
"Is it?" His words earned him another slap, this time with enough force to cause his lip to be cut by a sharp incisor and blood to trickle down his chin. "Are you finished? Or would you like me to strip so you can flog me as well?"
Fugaku's hand latched onto Kakashi's hair and tugged his head back. "Don't tempt me."
The wolf instincts rose hard and fast in Kakashi. His teeth were bared before he could stop himself and more blood dribbled down his chin. Fugaku's volatile emotions were beginning to affect him. His hackles raise and he snapped out a claw tipped hand, just barely missing Fugaku as he jerked away.
Fugaku sent a burst of magic toward him in retaliation. Only Kakashi's quick reflexes kept him from being stunned by the attack. He dropped to a crouch and growled low in his throat.
Fugaku's eyes were bright with the power spillover his lack of control brought. The spillover of emotions too great to be held inside flooded Kakashi and he lunged without thinking only to find himself flung roughly against the wall and bound by powerful magic.
"You dare attack me?" snapped Fugaku as he approached.
"You're my master, but you don't own me." Kakashi was almost grateful for the pain in his back from being tossed so harshly against the wall. It awoke him from his mindless attacking caused by Fugaku's spillover.
Their relationship as sorcerer and Familiar was a cold one. Kakashi had been brought to him when he was barely a teenager after the death of Fugaku's previous familiar. There were times when Kakashi wondered why Fugaku even bothered to claim a second Familiar. It was obvious by his minimal use of the bond they shared that he had no desire for Kakashi to be by his side. He used him sexually on occasion, but decidedly less than he would have liked.
And then there was Mikoto.
Jealousy was not something he cared to admit. He was not sure if Fugaku loved the woman, or just kept her around because she was the mother of his sons. She was a pleasant woman, but too weak in the magical arts to warrant her own Familiar. Regardless of her power, Fugaku spent many nights with her and it brought fresh jealousy. He saw how Itachi and Kisame were. He sensed the same connection building within Sasuke and Naruto.
He wanted that. He wanted that closeness and mutual desire. Each time Fugaku sought him for the release only a Familiar could provide, he savored it.
Now, faced with the overflow of power build-up inside Fugaku, Kakashi found heat flooding into him despite the chill of the magic swirling around them. He hated his master. And loved him.
"Fugaku," he whispered. "Your power is spilling over."
The haze in Fugaku's eyes cleared for a moment, and the darkness that had taken him over in recent days faded. The magic holding Kakashi prisoner loosened and he slipped to the floor. His muscles ached and he was certain there would be a multitude of bruises covering his body tomorrow.
"Why did you anger me, Kakashi?" Fugaku wrapped his hands around Kakashi's biceps and gave him a little shake. "Tell me?"
"Because you struck your son. You needed someone to take the anger from you before you did something even worse." Kakashi's triangular ears flicked back to lay flat against his head. "That is my job as your Familiar."
Fugaku's cheeks paled and Kakashi felt another burst of anger from him only moments before their lips were smashed together. He nearly cried out at the pain the kiss caused his injured mouth. The kiss hurt and it was wonderful at the same time.
He barely registered being pushed onto Fugaku's desk or his trousers being torn from his body. His tail swiped back and forth and his body arched at the touch of cold lips onto his stomach. Teeth bit none too gently followed by the cold swipe of an icy tongue.
His nipples pebbled beneath his shirt and he lifted hands to pinch and tug at them while Fugaku attack his abdomen and thighs with biting teeth. When that cold mouth closed over the head of his cock, he should have wilted. The cold should have caused his dick to shrink and wither, but the feel of Fugaku's arousal across their bond only caused him to harden all the more painfully.
The cold and wet mouth lifted and Kakashi's thighs were pushed up moments before a slick cock was pressed inside him. He shouted out his pleasure at the burning cold that seared him to his core and was grateful Fugaku had been considerate enough to conjure some lubricant before pressing inside. It had been several months since he had been taken and his body was not used to it.
He whimpered and arched back across the desk. The people around the keep might think him strong and dominant, but when Fugaku took him, he whimpered and begged like the animal he was.
Fugaku's tapered fingers traced across Kakashi's abdomen, leaving trails of magic in their wake. He groaned at the feel of magic on his skin. It burned so deliciously and would leave marks that would remain for days. He loved when Fugaku marked him like that. He could touch the marks and relive the moment.
The cold blanket of Fugaku's magic engulfed him. He screamed out in pleasure and arched into him. In some vague part of his mind, he could feel his master's movements inside him. His body shook and the bond between them thrummed with life. He was being torn apart and remade anew.
One leg was lifted and the change of the angle of thrusts caused him cry out from the pleasure. He could not bear it. He had needed this so badly, almost as bad as Fugaku.
In the back of his pleasure fogged mind, he could sense the darkness that was woven through Fugaku's magic. It was different and his own slight magic rebelled against it. As he gave a final shout of pleasure and pulsed in the pleasure of his release, he mentally cringed as the dark tinged magic that had not been there the last time they had strengthened their bond washed over him.
He felt Fugaku give a few final thrusts before he collapsed upon him. The cold puffs of a chilled breath brushed his cheek and he shivered in response. He could feel the wetness of the spilled seed begin to seep from him as Fugaku withdrew from his body.
"Get out," he snarled and hurt worked through Kakashi, which he tamped down immediately before it could be sensed through the bond they shared. He had never received the gentle cuddling of lovers in the past, so why should he be given it now?
He tugged his pants over his hips and winced at the wet semen dripping from his ass. His master was in more control now. He could sense the wildness to his magic had been tempered. At least he could feel some pride at being able to do that for him, even if he wished for me.
Fleeing from the room, he closed his eyes once the door sealed behind him. That darkness in Fugaku's magic worried him. Pure darkness such as that should not be present in magic. The ice magic that the Uchihas wielded was elemental in nature and as such, naturally neutral magic. What the wielder did with his or her magic did not change the magic's nature at its core.
He frowned and moved quickly to his room so to clean up before seeing to Itachi. He had left him in the care of Kabuto before going to Fugaku. In his weakened magical state, his body was likely in worse shape than it would have been if he had not completely exhausted his magic. Itachi was no fool. He had to have known his actions would have resulted in punishment from his father.
Kakashi shook his head and made quick work of his cleaning. He would bath more thoroughly after he spoke with Itachi.
On silent feet, he approached the thick door leading to Itachi's chamber. Kabuto was nowhere in sight and Itachi looked small and pale as he lay on his stomach across the length of the bed. Kakashi cringed mentally at the bloody welts spread across a previously unblemished back.
"I can sense you there, Kakashi."
Kakashi chuckled and moved closer to the bed. "Where is Kabuto?"
Itachi sighed and turned his gaze to Kakashi. "He left after cleaning the wounds. There is little else to be done. He left some ointment I'm to apply every few hours but thought it best to let the wounds air rather than bandaging them."
"I'm sorry for this, Itachi."
Itachi shook his head and pillowed it once more on his arms. "There is nothing you could do."
The truth of the words burned him. "I should never have allowed him to do this to you. I could have stopped him if I had really tried."
"And then taken the punishment along with me."
Kakashi looked over Itachi's frail frame. "Do you have enough strength to keep Kisame at bay when he returns to you?"
Itachi gave a small groan. "I doubt it."
The answer was not the one he had hoped for. "He will kill your father. An elder dragon...he will be too much for him."
One of Itachi's eyes popped open and he stared at Kakashi. "You're worried for Father."
"I am his Familiar."
Itachi struggled to lift his torso from the bed. "He hurt you and yet you would worry for him. Kakashi, do you love my father?"
Kakashi's jaw tightened and he ducked his face from view of those piercing eyes. "I am his Familiar," he repeated.
Itachi's strength failed him and he collapsed once more to the bed with a small grunt. "Fine."
Silence extended between them until Kakashi spoke. There was little he could do, but perhaps Itachi could shed light onto why Fugaku was acting so distant and strange. "Your father's magic is not right."
This got Itachi's attention and his closed eyes shot open. "How do you mean?"
"It feels different. There is a darkness in it that was not there before."
"Impossible. Ice magic is neutral. It is not created from light or dark, but from nature."
Kakashi shrugged and folded his arms across his chest. "I know what I felt. My master is not in his right mind. Darkness is tainting him."
Itachi shook his head wearily. "I'm too weak to investigate anything as I am. It will be at least a week before I am able to bend magic, maybe more because of the flogging. Until then, Sasuke and Naruto are on their own. "
A chill filled the air that had nothing to do with the temperature or Itachi's natural icy state. A wave of magic descended on the keep and Itachi had the grace to flinch. Kakashi sighed and reached up to rub at his brow. Kisame was back.
"You need to control him, Itachi," he hissed moments before Itachi's door was flung open and the dark blue man stepped into the space.
Kisame's pale eyes skimmed the darkened room before lighting on Itachi sprawled across the bed. When his eyes settled on the seeping wounds on Itachi's back, a black fury blanketed the room.
Kakashi was forced to wrap his cloak even more tightly around his body or else he would have been frozen where he stood. As an elder ice dragon, Kisame's power was nearly as great as Itachi's and untempered, it was dangerous.
"Itachi," hissed Kakashi as he took a step back.
Itachi was drawn from his mind and turned his gaze to Kisame. "Kisame!"
He spoke sharply enough that Kisame was drawn from his anger to stare at Itachi. "What happened to you?"
"I was left too weak to fight back when Father found me in the courtyard shortly after you left. I knew he would sense the powerful burst of magic." Itachi shrugged his shoulders only to wince as the wounds were jostled.
Kisame knelt beside the bed and placed his massive hands on either side of Itachi's face. "I didn't feel anything."
A trickle of sadness flickered through Itachi's eyes before it was hidden. "I blocked it from you. I had enough magic left in me for that."
"Why?"
"Would you have taken Sasuke and Naruto all the way to where we discussed if you had felt me in pain?"
Kisame was startled before his eyes grew hard and cold. "No," he snarled.
"Then it was necessary." Itachi pulled away and lowered his head to his folded arms once more, signaling the end of the conversation.
Kakashi waited for Kisame to begin his rampage, but was surprised when he simply settled on the side of the bed and lowered his face to inches above the crisscrossed wounds visible on Itachi's back. His magic flared out before icy breath whispered from his lips and across Itachi's back.
The thumbs of large hands circled around on Itachi's hips as he moved down over the back to where the marks ended just above the base of Itachi's spine. Kakashi felt he was watching something intimate, yet he could not pull his gaze away. When Itachi moaned and shifted back against Kisame, heat pooled into his loins and he began moving quickly and silently towards the door so not to draw the attention of a very volatile elder dragon. Before he left the room, he noticed the wounds on Itachi's back were decidedly less angry. They were still fresh and likely painful, but the violently angry look to them was gone under Kisame's ministrations.
With a quiet snap, the door was closed and he leaned against it with closed eyes. He had always had a soft spot for Sasuke and Naruto. He hoped Itachi was able to heal before Fugaku found the two of them and ripped their souls to pieces in his unnatural anger.
oOo
Naruto's breath came in pants as he stared at Sasuke. He seemed the model of cool and collective despite the heat from the desert that was likely making him more uncomfortable than he appeared. His ice sword caught light from the blazing sun and shimmered without even the slightest sign of melting.
"Again," hissed Sasuke.
"Sasuke," whined Naruto. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Stop being a scared and attack me," Sasuke snapped.
Naruto's mind short circuited. The exhaustion and heat had his more feral nature taking control. His mind was blank as he charged Sasuke with no thought other than taking down an opponent.
And the next moment he was face down in the sand. He snarled and shouted at Sasuke to no avail. The thick weight of Sasuke's magic held him firmly to the ground and the tip of an icy sword was placed sharply against his throat.
"You're an idiot."
"And you're an asshole."
Rolling his eyes, he knelt beside Naruto. "You lost control. That's unacceptable. If you lose control, then I have to not only have to worry about seeing to controlling you, but also protect myself. You want to protect me? Then learn some damn control over yourself."
Sasuke turned and walked toward the natural stone wall. Naruto watched as he stumbled slightly and leaned heavily against the stone. Panic worked through him and he was on his feet, at Sasuke's side in an instant.
"I'm fine," said Sasuke, lifting a hand to wave Naruto aside. "It's just hotter than I like."
Naruto gave a small growl and lifted Sasuke over his shoulder. Sasuke, too weak to fight him, gave only a small grunt as he was carried into the cooler space of the cave that served as their home.
He was careful as he lowered Sasuke onto their makeshift bed made from their cloaks and a blanket they had found stored in the pack.
Sasuke slumped weakly against the wall. Naruto felt his eyes on him and gave a small whine as he settled beside him. "I'm sorry."
Sasuke shook his head. "Our bond is too weak. I was stupid to delay in strengthening it but I was weak. I wanted you too badly and you were still too small."
"And now?"
"Strengthening a bond is something that happens over time. We can't force it." Sasuke turned his eyes to the entrance of their cave. "And we can't stay here forever."
"Why?" Naruto wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his chin atop them. "Kisame said that the whirlwinds in the desert blocked our magic from being detected. We could just stay here."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're insane if you think I would remain in this heat for any extended period of time."
"It doesn't hurt you," argued Naruto.
"The heat makes me irritable."
Naruto pouted and pressed his face into his knees while muttering to himself. "Like that's any different from normal."
The hard expression on Sasuke's face softened and he reached out a hand to stroke over Naruto's silky ears and down to rest on his blond hair. "We can't stay here. Something is wrong in the capital. I can hear the magic on the wind. It is my duty as an Uchiha to defend the Emperor from all threats. There is something off in the capital and we will have to leave soon for it. Something was off about Father, and I know I'll be able to figure out what is wrong if I go there."
"Why not leave now?"
"You're not ready. Your instinct is still too dominant. You're dangerous when your instinct is in control, but even more so when it is not."
Naruto cocked his head and blinked at Sasuke. "How long will we stay?"
"Until we're ready." Sasuke closed his eyes and held out a hand for Naruto.
Naruto moved quickly to Sasuke's side and buried his face in his neck. A small purr rumbled from his chest and he felt the bond between them flair to life. Every moment spent with Sasuke like this strengthened the bond. He could feel Sasuke's cold, it chilled him and yet warmed him all the same. Sasuke's grip on his control was iron clad as his fingers traced down Naruto's bare arm, leaving the faintest trails of magic in their wake.
"I'll protect you, Sasuke, just like I was meant to."
Sasuke huffed a laugh. "I believe you."
Naruto's purrs continued as the sun dipped further into the west. He was determined to gain control over his feral nature, for Sasuke. A small growl rumbled in his chest. That darkness he felt growing in the direction of the capital would not hurt Sasuke. He would destroy the world to keep him safe.