Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sasuke’ POV

Sasuke let out a quiet breath, as he walked through the hallways. People looked at him , whispering and gossiping. Girls giggling and omegas blushing, directing their scents at him, sasuke barely noticed it, he rarely ever did. It was only the start of the school year and he was tired.

It has been three weeks since the start of the school year.

Three weeks since he transferred to Kohona high.

Three weeks since he saw Naruto Uzumaki again.

And for three weeks Naruto was ignoring him.

Remembering how he ended in this situation, he sighed again.

**********Flashback:first meeting**************

Sasuke was outside the classroom waiting for Asuma sensei to call him. Though he would never let it show but Sasuke was nervous, which was ridiculous because Uchiha do not get nervous god damm it!

He was going to see Naruto again, talk to him again, after so long. Sasuke had so many imagined scenarios in his mind. ‘Would Naruto recognize him immediately ?’ or ‘Would he be happy to see sasuke or would he question sasuke on his sudden disappearance ?’

“Sasuke, you can come in”, Asuma sensei called from inside.

He opened the classroom door and stepped inside. Not even in a second all eyes were on him. None of the students had pretty blue eyes , Sasuke’s eyes swept over the class, and then he saw him. The blond mop of hair on the table Naruto had his head on the table, sleeping.

Sasuke simked to himself, how typical of the blond, he was as interested in studies as ever.

“Introduce yourself, go on” Asuma told him

“I am Sasuke Uchiha. Transfer student from Nada high school.” He said simply, he wasn't here to make friends…... .other than naruto, of course.

A small wave of whispers spread across the room.

“That’s it ?”, Asuma asked but seeing as he wasn’t going to get an answer from Sasuke, just told him to sit down.

Asuma looked around the class. “Go sit beside the sleeping beauty and shake him a bit too”
"All right so let’s get started”. Asuma turned towards the board. Muttering under his breath “I already want to go home”.

Sasuke cheered internally at his luck as he made his way towards his designated desk.
Settling down, Sasuke fully turned his attention to Naruto.

‘His hair is so bright, I bet it’s just as soft. He looks so stupid like this, it suits him’

“Hey there!” The shrill voice of the pink haired girl was what brought Sasuke back out of his own mind.

Sasuke stared at her.

“I'm Sakura! Welcome to our class!” said Sakura Haruno, speaking a little too loudly. Her sweet scent easily marking her as a omega.

Sasuke turned his eyes back to the desk.
“…Thanks.”

Sakura leaned forward slightly, clearly excited.“So where did you transfer from? And do you like sports? And—”

Her voice kept rising with every sentence.
Sasuke tried to ignore her questions, but the volume was impossible to ignore.
Next to him, Naruto shifted slightly.

Sasuke froze.

Naruto slowly lifted his head from the desk, clearly annoyed at being woken up.
“Ugh… who’s being so loud this early…” Naruto muttered sleepily.

His blue eyes opened halfway.
And then Naruto noticed Sasuke.
Sasuke was still staring at him. He didn't have a strong scent, naruto mostly smelled like miso.

‘He's a beta then’, Sasuke thought.

For a moment neither of them spoke.
Naruto frowned slightly, confused.

“…Who are you?” Naruto asked.

That hurt a bit to be honest, Naruto couldn't recognize him. Sasuke opened his mouth to answer.
But he never got the chance.

Suddenly several students rushed over.

“Hey! You’re the new transfer student, right?”

“Did you say your name was Uchiha?”

“Wait, like that Uchiha family?”

More students crowded around Sasuke’s desk, excited and curious. Their scent almost crowding him. As a dominant alpha he could catch even the faintest of scents, crowds were overwhelming. Sasuke didn't like it.

Sasuke sighed quietly as questions started flying from every direction.

“Where did you come from?”

“Are you good at sports?”

“Why did you transfer here?”

Naruto sat there watching the sudden crowd form around his desk.

“…Uchiha?” Naruto repeated slowly.
Something about the name caught his attention.

He looked at Sasuke again, studying his face more carefully this time.

Then Naruto leaned forward slightly.

“Hey,” Sasuke heard himself saying.

The students around them quieted a little.
Naruto pointed directly at him. Typical of him.

“What’s your full name?”

Sasuke looked straight at him.

For the first time since entering the room, their eyes properly met.

“…Sasuke.”

A small pause.

“Sasuke Uchiha.”

Naruto’s eyes widened slightly.

The classroom noise suddenly faded into the background.

For a split second, Naruto looked like he had just remembered something he thought he had forgotten.

“Sasuke Uchiha…..from Kohona Elementary”. Naruto asked slowly.

“So you remembered me”. Sasuke felt pleased. Naruto recognized him, remembered him. He only wished that Naruto missed him as Sasuke had missed him.

“You two know each other?” The pink haired girl spoke again.

“Oh Naruto stole another handsome alpha from us yet again.” She said dramatically, her tone mischievous.

But before Naruto could say anything, an arm wrapped around Sasuke . Another alpha's scent coming up to his nose. Sasuke lifted his eyes to meet brown ones.

The dark haired boy, hanging to Sasuke, said “An Uchiha huh? I am Nioi Warui”

The alpha now known to him as Nioi smirked. He was looking directly at Naruto.

Sasuke's eyes met Naruto's blue ones.

Naruto looked pissed. His eyes narrowed, turned icy.

“Nioi shut-fucking-up or I will rearrange your face so badly that even your mom won't be able to tell who you are!”

Wow

‘Naruto's eyes look so pretty when he is angry’. Was Sasuke's first fleeting thought.

Second came confusion , what did this alpha do that his friend was so angry? . Sasuke stared at the boy.

“Prissy aren't you? It's okay I like it when omegas play hard to get”. Niio, noioi….whatever his name was said to Naruto.

Naruto's frown intensified.

“I am not in fact an omega, you know. And even if I was you have no game or face to pull me. So why don't you fuck off, alpha”
Naruto hissed out.

It seemed there was a story behind this, but from what Sasuke understood, this stupid alpha was trying to get with Naruto but Sasuke wasn't sure if misgendering your crush was the right way to go about it.

Sasuke wasn't in the mood for this. He wanted to talk to Naruto.

“He said leave, do you not understand human language, or are weak of hearing?” He said, Naruto looked at him.

“Come on man, alpha to alpha you know omegas like to play hard to get”

It seemed Sasuke's calm tone was misunderstood.

“He said he is not an omega, I can't even smell any scent from him so, get lost” . His tone was serious, with no room for argument. Naruto was still staring at him.

“Yeah, be respectful man. That's our team captain or you might get jumped or something, right” . A brown haired boy spoke up.

“That's right, you tell him kiba” . Another one agreed. Then everyone did.

Naruto smirked at them. It seemed everyone was done enjoying the show.

Whatever his name was, huffed, glared at Sasuke a bit and went to his seat. Seeing that, everyone else did too.

Sasuke turned to Naruto again. Finally they would be able to talk.

“You're an alpha?” Naruto spoke before he could.

“Yes,” Sasuke nodded. It made sense that Naruto wouldn't be able to tell that as he was a beta and they couldn't smell any scents and weren't affected by pheromones.

Though it seemed that was the wrong answer because Naruto's next words were

“You're the same too huh? What, want me for yourself as well? Unfortunately for you, I am a beta and I don't roll that way. So, Mind Your Own Fucking Business”

Sasuke's eyes widened a little, that was unexpected.

“I don't want you and I am not like that” he emphasized. He wasn't like those alphas. If he did act like that , his mother would come out of her grave to beat the shit out of him. And not to mention his brother, Itachi.

“Oh yeah, I am not that much of an idiot you know. They all said the same, like fucking Nioi”. Naruto's tone was definite.

“I am not the same, I jus-”

“Ok stop talking, I want you to open your textbooks now”. Why did Asuma sensei come back to class like right now of all time?

‘Where were you when these boring looking people crowded around us , huh ?

Sasuke looked at Naruto again, who was now very obviously, mind you, ignoring him.

*******************Present time *****************************

Sasuke sighed again as he entered the class, Naruto wasn't here yet.

Comfortable with not talking to anyone present in the class, sasuke looked out the window.

He let out a quiet breath.

He had imagined their reunion so many times. Back when he first saw Naruto in years during an inter-school football match , laughing with his teammates under the bright stadium lights, Sasuke thought things would somehow fall back into place.

They didn't, he himself had changed and so had Naruto. The blond was still bright and cheerful but he was more guarded now, especially when it came to alphas. And seeing how some of them behaved towards Naruto wasn't completely wrong.

Since the first day, that conversation, that moment when he had said ‘yes’, Naruto avoided him whenever possible.

If Sasuke walked into a room, Naruto would suddenly find somewhere else to be. In the hallway, Naruto talked loudly with his friends but never once glanced in Sasuke’s direction. Even when Sasuke tried to make conversation, which truly took great effort, especially for him, he was ignored.

First he tried to convince himself that it didn't hurt. That he wasn't affected, like he hadn't literally transferred here, to this school after he saw Naruto again during the first year football game.

Sasuke had felt alone, when he saw his only friend again, realized how much he missed Naruto's smile that felt like a bright sun.

Naruto was his sun. The only one who had been willing to put up with sasuke all those years.

Memories surfaced in his mind—old, bright memories that felt strangely distant now.
Running across the elementary school playground.
Naruto shouting that he would become the strongest player on the team someday.
Both of them sitting on the swings after school, arguing about who ran faster.
They used to be inseparable.
Until the third year of elementary school, when everything fell apart.
After his parents died in that car accident, Sasuke barely remembered the weeks that followed. Everything had been blurred by grief and confusion. His older brother handled most things, and before Sasuke could process what was happening, they had already left the city.

The sound of footsteps echoing behind him was what brought him back to reality.

Sasuke turned slightly.

A group of students pushed open the classroom door, their voices loud and cheerful. Among them was Naruto.
Naruto was laughing about something one of his teammates said. The sound was exactly the same as Sasuke remembered—loud, bright, impossible to ignore.

For a moment, Sasuke thought their eyes might meet.

They didn’t.

Naruto’s gaze moved across the classroom and passed right over him as if he were just another stranger.

Sasuke felt a familiar coldness settle in his chest.

So this was how things were going to be.

Naruto wasn’t just avoiding him.

He was pretending Sasuke didn’t exist.

Sasuke looked away from the group and back out the window.

He hadn’t transferred schools just to stand silently on the sidelines.

Had Naruto hated him for a proper reason, it would have been fine. Sasuke was a reasonable person, he knew when he was at fault.

Had Naruto been angry because of something he did then Sasuke would accept it.

Naruto was acting as if all those moments meant nothing. And Sasuke wasn’t going to accept this silence just because he was an alpha. What did second gender have to do with their friendship?

Sooner or later...

They were going to talk.

**************************2 days later**************************

Monday mornings were the worst.

For Sasuke Uchiha, this one was even worse than usual.

The cafeteria was loud with the usual chaos of recess—chairs scraping, people shouting across tables, the smell of fries and instant noodles filling the air. Sasuke sat alone at the end of a table, arms crossed, staring at nothing in particular.

Or rather… staring at the empty seat on the table across from him.

Naruto wasn't there.

He was absent today.

Sasuke clicked his tongue in annoyance. It wasn’t like he cared. The idiot probably overslept again.

Still… It was irritating.

The chair beside him suddenly scraped across the floor. Someone sat down.

Sasuke turned slightly and found Gaara calmly opening a juice box like the cafeteria wasn’t packed with people fighting over seats.

The red haired boy was good friends with Naruto.

At first Sasuke thought that the boy was an alpha which made him annoyed (and upset) because why was Naruto treating him differently for being an alpha but being buddies with one.

But sitting this close, Sasuke could only smell the scent of detergent on him.

‘Gaara is a beta too huh. I made a wrong assumption.’ This only annoyed him further. If he was going to prove to Naruto that he wasn't like those stereotipical alphas then he couldn't be making such mistakes.

But why was Gaara here?

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Sasuke stared.

Gaara stared back.

Finally Gaara raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Sasuke leaned back in his chair, frowning. “You’re Naruto’s friend.”

“Yes.”

“And he’s ignoring me,” Sasuke continued flatly. “So why are you here?”

Gaara took a sip of juice before answering, completely unfazed.
“Because Naruto’s other friends are very loud.” His eyes briefly flicked toward another table where shouting and laughter echoed across the room. “I prefer quiet.”

Sasuke glanced over. Sure enough, the chaos could only belong to Naruto’s group.
He looked back at Gaara.

“So you just sit with strangers?”

Gaara shrugged slightly. “You’re not a stranger. Naruto talks about you
.”
That made Sasuke pause.

“…He does?”

“Sometimes. Just how annoying you are.”

Sasuke scoffed internally, he wasn't annoying but Naruto definitely was.

Silence settled between them again,

though this one wasn’t quite as awkward.

After a moment Gaara spoke again.

“At the start of the school year,” he said calmly, “Naruto was bullied”

Sasuke’s eyes sharpened.

“Some alpha students thought he was an omega and when Naruto said that he wasn't, they tried to find out by themselves.” Gaara tapped his straw against the juice box. “So he’s wary of alphas.”

Sasuke's expression had grown more serious. ‘They did what.’ He thought, anger filling him.

“…Were they punished?”

Gaara blinked once.

Then a small, rare smile appeared on his face.

“Oh,” he said. “Naruto handled it himself.”

Sasuke frowned. “Meaning?”

Gaara took another calm sip of juice.

“Something happened, they took too far, and said something about his mom.”

He paused.

“Then Naruto beat them to a pulp.”

For a moment Sasuke just stared.

Gaara’s smile widened slightly, almost proud.

“It was awesome.”

Sasuke huffed out a quiet laugh before he could stop himself.

Yeah.

That definitely sounded like Naruto.

They ate in silence, not awkward like before.

The bell rang, indicating the end of lunch. Garaa sat up.

"Let's eat together again tomorrow."

And so they did. The next day Sasuke walked into the cafeteria and saw Garaa sitting at the same table as yesterday, quietly eating while the rest of the cafeteria buzzed around him.

Sasuke sat across from him.

Neither of them said anything.

After a minute Gaara pushed a bag of chips across the table.

“I don’t like this flavor,” he said.

Sasuke looked at the bag, then at him.

“…You already opened it.”

Gaara nodded.

Sasuke took it anyway.

The hallways were packed. After lunch they walked towards class in silence until the hallway cleared.

Garaa suddenly said, “Naruto will probably be back tomorrow.”

Sasuke kept his hands in his pockets.

“Hn.”

But he walked a little faster.

Wednesday, Naruto returned.

The moment Sasuke entered the cafeteria, he heard loud laughter from across the room.
There he was—Naruto Uzumaki—talking loudly with his friends.

Naruto noticed them approaching and immediately frowned.

“…Why is he with you?” Naruto asked Gaara, pointing at Sasuke.

Gaara shrugged.

“He sits with me.”

Naruto squinted suspiciously at Sasuke.

“…You’re following me. I am not an omega, you know”

“I know and I’m not,” Sasuke replied flatly.

Gaara sat down.

Sasuke sat beside him.

“Oh my god, they're both like vampires, so quiet and pale.” Kiba joked.

Naruto stared for a long moment… then groaned and dropped into the chair across from them.

“Fine. But if he’s annoying I’m blaming you,” Naruto told Gaara.

****************next week*************

They didn’t plan it.

It just happened.

Between classes, Gaara waited near the stairs like usual.

Sasuke stopped beside him like usual.

Naruto spotted them from down the hallway. Being around meant being around Naruto and his nosy friends, but it was fine because at least now, Naruto couldn’t ignore him.

The pink girl besides Naruto, Sakura, sighed dramatically.

“Oh my god, now there’s two of them.”

Gaara stopped beside Naruto, Sasuke did the same.

Naruto huffed.

“You are replacing me,” he complained to Garaa.

The beta said nothing. Letting Naruto act like he was in a soap opra.

Sakura made a face at them, “You guys are hot but soo weird ”

Sasuke glanced at Gaara.

“…They talk too much.”

Gaara nodded.

“Yes.”

Naruto groaned loudly. Sakura giggled.

“Hey! I can hear you!”

For the first time, Sasuke almost smiled. As Naruto joked with his friends and laughed.

Sakura shouted, “Let's go before the cafeteria is full!”

*********the next day**********

Recess was chaotic as usual. Scents filled the hall, everyone being their teenage self.

Sasuke paused near the cafeteria entrance, immediately spotting the loudest table in the room.

Of course.

Naruto’s table.

Naruto was standing on his chair, arguing loudly while everyone else talked over each other.

“—I’m telling you I could totally beat you in a race!” Lee said.

“That’s impossible,” said Naruto with absolute confidence.

“YOUTH DEMANDS SPEED!”

At the table, Shikamaru Nara looked half asleep.“How is troublesome…” He mumbled

Choji Akimichi was eating chips like none of this concerned him.

Beside him, Kiba Inuzuka laughed loudly.
“You’d lose in five seconds, Naruto!”

Across the table, Sakura Haruno smacked Naruto’s arm.

“Sit down! You’re embarrassing us!”

Naruto grumbled but dropped back into his seat.

That’s when he noticed Sasuke standing there.

Sasuke glanced at Gaara.

Gaara was already sitting.

Naruto sighed dramatically but said nothing, which honestly, was progress.

Sasuke sat down beside Garaa.

Immediately the table went quiet.

Everyone stared at him.

Sasuke stared back.

Kiba leaned forward, grinning.

“You barely talk. Naruto said you’re annoying.”

“I did but he's an alpha so it's true!” Naruto protested.

“So am I Naruto” kinda replied.

“Yeah but…but that different!” the blond huffed.

Sasuke was confused and hurt to here that, how was it different? Sasuke was trying so hard to understand Naruto's dislike towards him for being an alpha but he okay kiba being one?

Garaa seemed to have noticed him, so he whispered “I will explain later.”

Sasuke decided to question that later.

Across the table, Hinata Hyuga quietly waved.

“H-hello…”

Sasuke gave a small nod in return.

Then someone new spoke.

“You’re Sasuke, right? Your hot”

The voice came from a girl with red hair and glasses leaning back in her chair. From her scent, he could tell that she was a omega.

Almost everyone in the table was a beta with only 3 omegas( from what Sasuke could tell ). Only kiba was a alpha other than Sasuke.

Karin looked him over like she was inspecting him.

“You’re quieter than I expected.”

Sasuke frowned slightly.

“And you are?”

She pointed towards Naruto.

“His cousin. Uzumaki Karin”

Karin smirked.

“Favorite cousin.”

Naruto rolled his eyes.

Sasuke blinked once. He didn't know that Naruto had a cousin and he knew Naruto the longest here.

“You’re related?”

Karin pushed her glasses up.

“Unfortunately.”

Naruto threw a fry at her.

“Fuck you”

“You want to fuck your cousin!”

“What, NO!” Naruto shouted again, throwing another few fries at her.

Across the table, Ino leaned toward Sasuke with a grin.

“They argue like this every day.”

Kiba snorted.

“It’s honestly funny.”

Naruto glared at them.

“It’s not funny!”

Beside Sasuke, Gaara calmly continued eating. Like this was normal, like he knew that Naruto had a cousin forever.

Sasuke had a lot of questions for Garaa

Chapter Text

Naruto’s POV

The school campus was loud after classes.

Students filled the walkways, some heading to clubs, some to practice fields. The late afternoon sun stretched long shadows across the grass, and the wind carried the sound of laughter from somewhere near the basketball court.

Naruto walked a little behind the others.

Up ahead, Kiba was arguing loudly with Lee about some race they were planning tomorrow. Lee was shouting about youth, while Kiba kept insisting he’d win easily.
Beside them, Choji was eating something from a paper bag.

Some things never changed.

A few steps ahead, Shikamaru had his hands behind his head, walking lazily beside Ino , who was talking nonstop.

Sakura and Hinata were discussing homework.

And just ahead of Naruto, Gaara walked quietly beside Karin, who was explaining something while adjusting her glasses. Unlike him she was an omega, but she wasn’t delicate or dumb, karin was strong and smart.

Karin laughed at something Gaara said—well, almost laughed. Gaara rarely said enough words to deserve a full laugh.

Naruto smiled a little.

Karin looked… happy.

That mattered more than anything.

He wanted the best for her.She was the only family he had left.

Naruto frowned slightly and looked away. Shaking his head, ‘Don’t think about it .’ But his thoughts drifted towards the sad memories anyway.

He thought about his parents. They were an unusual pair, especially for their time. They were the perfect example of love.

Naruto didn’t remember much about his mom. Only stories. Her name was Kushina and she was an alpha.

People said she laughed loudly. Said she had red hair and a temper.

But she died the day Naruto was born. Pregnancy for female alphas was difficult, especially back then.

His dad,Minato, was an Omega. Naruto remembered him only slightly, his blue eyes that Naruto inherited. he lasted two more years
Then a car crash took him too.

Remembering the death of his parents, Naruto couldn’t help but think of….

Jiraiya.

Jiraiya had never been quiet.

He filled the house with noise—music, dumb jokes, stories about places Naruto had never seen and his dumb books that he wrote.

For a long time, Naruto thought that was normal.

It was just the two of them most of the year.

But during festivals or big celebrations, they visited family.

Naruto’s aunt, Karin’s mom.

Those were the only times the house felt crowded and warm, with too many people talking and food everywhere.

Karin used to follow Naruto around everywhere back then. She was tiny and stubborn.

Then everything changed when Naruto was eight.

His aunt was next.

She got sick .Cancer, it was. She was gone within the year.

Karin was seven.

Jiraiya didn’t even hesitate.

He brought her home.

From then on it wasn’t just Naruto anymore.It was Naruto and Karin.

Naruto’s chest tightened slightly at the memory.

But those weren’t even the worst memories.

That came later.

***********************Flashback*************************

Naruto was thirteen when everything fell apart again.

He remembered the night clearly.

It had been a normal evening.

Karin was at the kitchen table with her homework, complaining loudly about math. Naruto had been trying to cook something that vaguely resembled dinner while Jiraiya sat on the couch flipping through TV channels and making sarcastic comments about everything.

“Are you sure that’s edible?” Jiraiya asked from the living room.

Naruto shouted back, “If you don’t like it, cook for yourself!”

Karin snorted from the table.

The house had been loud.Comfortably loud.

Jiraiya grabbed his jacket around nine that night.

“Heading out for a bit,” he said casually.

Naruto didn’t even look up from the stove.

“Don’t forget the milk,” he said.

Jiraiya laughed.

“Bossy brat.”

Then he ruffled Naruto’s hair on the way out the door.

That was the last time Naruto saw him alive.

The police arrived just before midnight.

Naruto remembered the knock on the door.

Hard. Serious.

He opened it expecting Jiraiya to have forgotten his keys again.

Instead there were two officers standing on the porch.

For a second Naruto thought they were at the wrong house.

They asked his name. Asked if an adult was home.

Naruto felt something cold settle in his stomach before they even finished speaking.

The words blurred together after that.

“Incident…”

“Assault…”

“Hospital…”

“Gang related…”

Naruto didn’t remember much of the explanation.

Only that the officer eventually said the word dead.

Karin had been standing behind him in the hallway. She heard it too.

The next few days were a blur of paperwork, questions, and quiet rooms. The police told him Jiraiya had been attacked in an alley near a bar. The leader of the gang apparently had an old grudge against him.

No one explained the details clearly.

Naruto didn’t ask.

He didn’t want to know.

What mattered was that Jiraiya wasn’t coming home.

The house felt enormous after that.

Too quiet.

Too empty.

Naruto spent most of the first night sitting on the couch where Jiraiya used to sit.

Karin fell asleep next to him eventually.

He didn’t sleep.

***

A few days later, Tsunade arrived.

Naruto had only met her a few times before.

She lived in London most of the year, busy with work.

But the moment she walked through the door she took one look at Naruto and Karin and immediately understood the situation.

They talked for hours that first night.

About guardianship.

About where Naruto and Karin would live.

About the future.

Tsunade’s first suggestion was simple.

“You both come with me to London,” she said.

Naruto shook his head immediately.

“No.”

The answer came out before she finished speaking.

That house was everything he had left of Jiraiya.

Every memory.

Every stupid joke.

Every loud dinner.

He wasn’t leaving it.

They argued about it for nearly two hours.

Naruto was stubborn.

Tsunade was worse.

Finally Naruto said something that made her pause.

“I can take care of Karin.”

Tsunade looked at him carefully.

“You’re thirteen.”

“I cook. I clean. I already do half the stuff anyway.”

Naruto gestured around the house.

“I can do it.”

Karin sat quietly beside him the whole time.

Watching.

Waiting.

Finally Tsunade sighed.

“If the court allows it,” she said slowly, “I might be able to arrange something.”

The next few weeks were full of legal meetings.

Lawyers. Social workers.

Court documents Naruto barely understood.

Jiraiya had left everything to Naruto in his will—his savings, the house, the property. But that didn’t mean two kids could legally live alone.

Tsunade worked through every possible option.

Eventually they reached a compromise.

Tsunade would become their legal guardian.

On paper.

But Naruto and Karin could remain in the house.

Under conditions.

There would be regular check-ins.

Financial supervision.

Emergency contacts.

One of those contacts was Iruka Umino, Tsunade’s friend and someone Naruto already knew.

Iruka was tasked with visiting every few weeks to make sure the two of them were actually surviving.

Naruto still remembered the day the judge finally approved the arrangement.

Stacks of papers. Signatures everywhere.

Tsunade signing as guardian.

Naruto signing as the legal resident of the property.

Karin signing because they asked her to.

It felt strange.

Official. Heavy.

But when they walked back into the house that evening…

It still felt like home.

**********

Naruto picked up a part-time job as soon as he was old enough.

Not because Tsunade didn’t send money. But because Naruto didn’t like using it.
It felt… wrong somehow.

So he saved.

For college. For Karin.

She had an academic scholarship already.

And luckily Naruto had gotten a sports scholarship that covered most of the insane tuition at this school.

But college was another story.

Naruto wanted Karin to go wherever she wanted without worrying about money. Omegas were already discriminated against, Naruto didn’t want money to be an issue as well. She was destined for greatness, tsunade was already talking about internships for Karin at her medical institution.

So he worked.

Saved.

Planned.

The future felt less scary when he did that.

“Oi, Naruto!”

Kiba’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Naruto blinked.

Everyone had stopped walking.

They were standing near the sports field now.

“What?” Naruto said.

“You zoned out again,” Kiba said.

Shikamaru glanced back lazily.

“Thinking too hard. Troublesome.”

Karin walked over and poked Naruto’s arm.

“You do that a lot.”

Naruto scratched the back of his head and laughed.

“Yeah, yeah.”

He looked around at all of them.

Kiba arguing. Lee standing dramatically. Choji eating. Shikamaru complaining.Ino and Sakura bickering. Hinata smiling softly. Karin adjusting her glasses while Gaara stood beside her quietly.

The noise.

The chaos.

The laughter.

It felt… warm.

Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned.

Things are better now.

Way better.

For a long time, he thought he’d always feel alone.

But somewhere along the way…

He found people.

Friends.

People who showed up every day.

People who stayed.

For a moment, Naruto’s gaze drifted past them.

And landed on Sasuke Uchiha. Two weeks around Gaara, and the alpha had quietly made his way into their group. In his friend circle, everyone was a beta and few omegas, Karin, Ino and Sakura. Kiba was an alpha but his situation was different, with him being gay and all.

Sasuke was walking beside Gaara, hands in his pockets, quiet as usual.

It wasn’t that Naruto hated alphas he didn’t, he had alpha acquaintances, Gaara’s sister and brother were both alphas and he didn’t hate them.

He was just very wary of them, with how many alphas behaved and omegas were treated , Naruto’s distrust wasn’t misplaced.

His own experience wasn’t great as well, it was one thing to mistake one’s gender based on their appearance ( it wasn’t even that, Naruto had big blue eyes, blond hair, cute face and a good body. Picture perfect, ideal omega. He wasn’t petite or small by any means and he had an impressive amount of muscles but he had a lean build and was a bit short in comparison to most betas which made them think that he was an omega.) When most people use scent patches.

But many alphas saw Naruto’s denial of being an omega as a competition, they saw him as a prize to be obtained. They become forceful.

He shuttered, ‘Don’t remember it, don’t think about it.’

Naruto glanced to the side again.

And caught Sasuke watching him.

Naruto looked away almost immediately.

For some reason…

Sasuke still reminded him of a time when things were quiet.

Empty.

Lonely.

Maybe it was because Sasuke lonely or because he had been there when Naruto was, he didn't know. Naruto didn't want to think about it.

He didn’t like thinking about those days.

***************************** Few days after*****************************

“Oi, Naruto!”

The shout barely registered.

Naruto sat on the grass near the practice field while his friends argued somewhere behind him. A soccer ball rolled past his foot, but he didn’t move.

His eyes were unfocused.

He was somewhere else entirely.

Back at the beginning of the school year.

Back before Sasuke Uchiha showed up.

****************

The classroom had been loud like always. Kiba was arguing with someone across the room, Shikamaru had his head down on the desk pretending to sleep, and Choji was already eating snacks even though class hadn’t started.

Naruto had actually been sleeping.

His head rested on his arms, half-listening to the noise around him.

Then Asuma sensei spoke.

“Class, we have a new transfer student.”

Naruto didn’t care.

Transfer students happen sometimes.

But then the room went unusually quiet.

Curiosity made Naruto crack one eye open.

At the front of the classroom stood a boy with dark hair and an expression that looked permanently annoyed.

The guy introduced himself quickly and looked around the classroom like he’d rather be literally anywhere else. He barely heard what the kid said.

Naruto closed his eyes again.

Didn’t care.

Didn’t want to care.

Then someone started talking loudly near the front.

Probably Sakura asking questions.

The noise woke Naruto up properly.

He lifted his head—
—and immediately caught the new guy staring at him.

Naruto blinked

“…What?”

Before Sasuke could answer, half the class started talking again.

The moment passed. It felt as if they were the only people here.

Then fucking Nioi spoke up and ruined the moment.

This kid was Sasuke, who was his childhood best friend, and was an alpha so, any possibility of interactions died in Naruto’s mind.

So he did the easiest thing possible.

He ignored him.

At first it was easy.

Sasuke sat near him sometimes.

Tried to talk once or twice.

Naruto pretended not to hear.

If Sasuke looked his way, Naruto looked somewhere else.

If Sasuke joined a conversation, Naruto walked away.

It wasn’t exactly subtle.

But Naruto didn’t care.

He didn’t want anything to do with him. The same way he didn’t want to do anything with most of the alphas at school.

Alphas reminded him of a version of himself he didn’t like remembering.

Quiet.

Alone.

Watching everyone else. Begging for help.

Naruto had spent years clawing his way out of that feeling.

He didn’t want to be dragged back.

*****************************************

The real problem started when Gaara got involved

They were sitting under the big tree near the sports field.

Naruto was halfway through a sandwich when Gaara casually said,

“I had lunch with Sasuke today.”

Naruto almost choked.

“You what?”

Gaara looked completely calm.

“I sat next to him."

“And he just… let you?!”

Gaara blinked slowly..

“Yes.”

Naruto stared at him like he’d lost his mind.

“That guy is weird.”

“He’s quiet.”

“He stares!”

Gaara considered that.

“Yes.”

Naruto threw his hands up.

“So why are you trying to be friends with him?”

Gaara looked at Naruto for a long moment.

Not annoyed.

Not defensive.

Just thoughtful.

Then he asked something that made Naruto pause.

“Why shouldn’t I?”

Naruto frowned.

“Because he’s—”.

Gaara spoke again before Naruto could finish his sentence .

“If we do that,” Gaara said quietly, “what’s the difference between us and those alphas? They treat you badly because they think you're an omega trying to play hard to get, their assumptions are based on stereotypes, if you and I do the same then what will be the difference between us?”

Naruto froze.

The words hit harder than he expected.

Gaara rarely talked about the past.

But Naruto knew enough.

Gaara had been treated that way too. Most assumed he was an alpha being cold, omegas harassed him too.

Different reasons.

Different schools.

Same kind of loneliness. Same feeling of loss as if your identity was being taken away.

Gaara looked down at the grass while he spoke.

“I know what it’s like when people decide if they want to be around you or not before they even know you.”

Naruto swallowed.

Gaara’s voice stayed calm, but there was something heavy behind it.

“I don’t want to be the same as them.”

Silence settled between them.

Naruto stared at the ground for a long time.

He hated admitting when Gaara was right.

But this time…

He was.

Eventually Naruto sighed.

“…Fine.”

Gaara glanced at him.

“But if he turns out to be annoying,” Naruto added quickly, “I’m blaming you.”

Gaara nodded.

“That’s fair.”

**************************************

Naruto blinked as the memory faded.

The present rushed back in.

The field.

His friends.

The afternoon sun.

Someone shoved his shoulder.

Naruto looked up to see Kiba grinning down at him.

“You zoned out again!”

Naruto scratched the back of his head.

“Did not.”

Behind Kiba, Gaara stood quietly.

And beside him—

Sasuke.
Naruto looked away quickly.

Even now…

Part of him still wasn’t sure what to do about that guy.

Because every time he looked at Sasuke Uchiha…

He remembered the past, that moment.