Hey guys sorry for the long, long, long, long, wait. I had one unfortunate event after the other happen sequentially that got me really depressed, which hindered my typing and thought process on this chapter for quite some time, but I think it's under control now. This was actually supposed to be two separate chapters, but when I got to typing everything up it was too short for my liking so I combined them to make one super long chapter that will also be the last one. : Honestly, I'm a bit sad that it's ending because this was my first chapter story, but I'm also glad it's ending because I've reached the goal I set for the story. Fear not though because for those who would love mpreg and puppies from Sasuke and Naruto and various others I began a skeleton of a sequel with all that and more. Anyway, here's the long awaited chapter 25.

0o0o0o0o0o

Naruto groaned as he stirred awake, darkness welcoming his bleary eyes as they strived to open.

Alarmed, he moved to stand only to whine loudly at the sudden, throbbing pain in the back of his head. He stilled himself until the aching dulled before daring to move even the slightest.

Now able to sit up without the pounding in his head, he noticed that he was in an unfamiliar cave. This one was much larger, the roof of the cave towering well above him. His eyes blinked repeatedly to adjust to the dimly lit cave and found, as they focused more, that he seemed to surrounded by hundreds of green lights.

'Fireflies?'

Naruto found himself shaking his head slightly as his vision cleared, ruling out fireflies completely. What he once thought were fireflies were actually a form of crystal. His jaw gaped as he marveled at the green crystals gleaming within the walls. It was eerily beautiful, almost ethereal.

His nose suddenly pulled out of his stupor and found himself taking a whiff. It smelled...different. Much different than the comforting caves he was used to. There were all kinds of lingering scents here, but the most concerning one was the smell of death. Apprehension began to set in until his nose caught the hint of a familiar scent.

"Sasuke." His anxiety began to dissipate with a smile appearing as warmth spread throughout his body.

"Oh good, you're awake."

Naruto whipped his head around at the strange voice and instantly regretted it, yelping as the pain returned tenfold.

A sturdy female wolf leaned over him as she sniffed at the back of his head.

"Who...who are you?" Naruto asked tentatively as his nose latched onto the new scent, storing it in his memory for later use.

She chuckled at him, smelling the slightest ounce of fear on him as she pulled away. "I am Tsunade, healer of the Konoha pack." She replied, raising to her full height.

Now that he knew he was in good paws he eased up and went to introduce himself only for Tsunade to interject. "I know exactly who you are Naruto, Gai mentioned your name several times as well as your mate."

Orange ears perked up at that last part. "Sasuke...where is—"

"Ah-ah," she tutted. "before I let you ask any questions, I need to make sure you're ok." she smirked. Naruto huffed, ears pulling back a little, but complied nonetheless with the healer. "Now then, how are you feeling?" she asked, a concerned smile adorning her chops.

"Aside from the throbbing pain in the back of my head I feel fine." he grunted.

"Well that's a good sign." She nodded before questioning him again. "Can you tell me what you remember? Especially from what happened just before you blacked out."

The pup nodded slowly as he racked his brain for the information. "I... I remember being told to back up, and when I did..." the features on Naruto's face narrowed in concentration as he tried to recall exactly what happened. "I heard this growl right behind me and then...pain." he turned towards Tsunade with an apologetic look and drooping ears. "Sorry, that's all I remember." he whined softly.

Tsunade stretched languidly. "Hm, you seem to remember everything except for one crucial part." she then took to lying in front of Naruto before continuing. "Your mate, Sasuke, as well as two others said that this Neji pup intentionally scared you so that you'd get kicked."

Naruto's scent flared with emotions such as anger and sorrow, then courage and determination.

Tsunade raised at brow at him.

Was this the last straw?

"I'm not surprised at all. I just—" an image of Neji smirking at him abruptly flashed in his mind making him growl softly. "I remember now, seeing his smug face right before I blacked out." he seethed.

Tsunade rose on her paws with a serious expression settling on her face. "He's very lucky that you weren't severely injured, because if I was the alpha of the pack I'd kill him for jeopardizing not only the hunt, but also a vital member of the pack itself." she growled out.

Naruto shook his head, "I don't want him to die. I just want him to stop trying to kill me, but I know he won't unless I challenge him and beat him into submission, so that's what I'll have to do." he concluded solemnly.

Tsunade's tail flicked as a smirk formed, "You know, that's the exact same thing your mate said before he ran off."

A faint blush settled on the pup's face once the realization that she knew about their mating finally crashed down on him. He quickly shook the embarrassment, after all, he wanted to know where his mate was.

"Where is Sasuke?" he asked, rising to his paws much too quickly for his sore head to comprehend. "Ah!" he winced.

"Hang on." Tsunade was instantly at his side with a plant that smelled really sweet.

Naruto inhaled the strange plant and let out a pleasant sigh as the aroma soothed the throbbing in the back of his head.

She left the plant with him for his own sake before sitting once again.

"Don't move so quickly. That bump on your head may have shrunk but it'll be sore for a while so, try not to be so rough or you'll end up right back here." she advised strongly.

"A-alright but please tell me where Sasuke went. It's urgent." he pleaded desperately.

Tsunade sighed, a worried smile gracing her chops. "While I don't know exactly where he went I did over hear him talking to the hunters. Maybe they know where he went." she offered.

Naruto eyed the exit that led to the labyrinth and nodded, "Thanks Tsunade, I'll be extra careful with my head." he promised before bolting out of the area in a hurry.

His nose quickly went to work, smelling his way out of the maze. A grin worked its way on his face when he finally picked up the scents of Kakashi and the other hunters and sprinted towards them. After rounding a few bends, the pup was thrilled to come across three of the hunters talking amongst themselves with his guardian being one of them.

Iruka's voice faltered when his own nose picked up Naruto's scent and whipped around to see his pup skidding to a halt. Iruka was immediately at his side, licking and fussing at the pup with worry.

"Iruka sensei I'm fine, really." he assured, leaning in to nuzzle his guardian. Orange ears twitched as he heard another hunter approach and lick him in the same manner as Iruka. "Kakashi sensei, seriously I'm fine." He assured.

Both hunters cocked their heads at him in disbelief.

Knowing they weren't convinced, Naruto sighed and let his ears fall slightly. "Ok, the back of my head really hurts and Tsunade said that I should be careful with it." he admitted sheepishly. "But she did say I can leave the cave." he tacked on quickly.

All the hunters let out a collective sigh of relief knowing very well the outcome could have been grim.

Gai was next to make his way to Naruto and almost immediately the pup noticed how guilty he smelled.

"It's good to see that you're ok... I'm sorry that Neji put you in such danger." Naruto frowned as the smell of guilt thickened. "If I had known that Neji planned on doing something so cruel to you, then maybe I could've prevented it from happening in the first place." he whimpered, the guilt becoming too much for the hunter to handle.

"But it's not your fault." Naruto countered. "Even if you kept a close eye on him. I think he would've eventually found a way to hurt me somehow."

Gai glanced at Naruto uneasily, then shifted his attention to his fellow comrades who were nodding at him with remorseful eyes. They knew it would have only prolonged the inevitable, so with a heavy sigh, Gai let go of the guilt that was eating him and smiled at the pup. Everyone else seemed to be more at ease now that the tension had dispersed.

Suddenly Naruto whipped around, the slight scent of fear filling the air. "Have any of you seen Sasuke?"

Blue eyes watched as Iruka stiffened, shift his gaze to Kakashi then back to him, not knowing how to answer. "Well...he—"

"He went to find Neji a little while ago." Gai interjected. "He said he would make Neji pay then ran out of here with the rage of an overprotective mother."

There was no way around it. Naruto would eventually find Sasuke anyhow so they might as well give his whereabouts.

As quickly as the words left his mouth Naruto made for the exit. The only thing that mattered right now was finding Sasuke.

Back inside the cave, Gai eyed the other two hunters with a hint of concern in his words. "You think he'll be alright with that injury?"

"Don't worry he'll be fine." Kakashi assured. "The pups need to sort this out on their own, but just to be sure, Iruka will you keep an eye on him while Gai and I report to the elder?"

"Of course." Iruka replied before dashing off in tow of Naruto.

0o0o0o0o0o

The first thing Naruto noticed after he left was that the scents of the all the other pups seemed to have congregated in one area. He followed the strong scents until he came to a small clearing where he saw them all gathered around Sasuke and Neji, snarling and barking while the two fought viciously.

With all the commotion going on, no one even noticed Naruto until he trotted up to Shikamaru and nudged his side. The action startled Shikamaru enough to where he turned to Naruto with his ears back and teeth bared at him threateningly. However, when he realized it was only his friend the aggressive manner ceased and was soon replaced with confusion.

"Naruto? You're ok!" the Nara was elated to know that he was up and about after being unconscious for nearly an entire day.

The pup gave a sheepish grin, "Yeah I got away with just a bump." he bowed his head to show the other, who offered a small, sympathetic whine. "It's not as bad as it looks. I can move around without it hurting so much now."

Shikamaru grimaced but Naruto reassured him that it was much worse when he first got it.

"Good thing you're ok." Shikamaru then turned his attention to the brawl making Naruto look as well just in time to see Sasuke knock Neji down. "He was actually much more aggressive earlier. He nearly went ballistic when Neji admitted trying to kill you. I can only imagine how ruthless he'd really be if you had more than just a bump on the head."

Both males shuddered at that.

Just the thought of a blood thirsty Sasuke was enough to send a shiver of dread down Naruto's spine. He quickly shook his head to rid himself of the image. He didn't need to think like that right now, especially when the Uchiha was already battered from the ongoing battle.

Both Sasuke and Neji snarled at each other, neither one backing down even after inflicting a myriad of cuts and bruises to each other. After glaring each other down they lunged at one another and collided with such brute force that it had the other pups cringing. With various ferocious bites and frantic struggling, Sasuke finally managed to pin the other male down. The Uchiha released several threatening snarls that suggested the Hyuuga give in and submit, but Neji only snarled back with equal hostility and fierceness.

When the Uchiha snarled again Neji smirked, not even fazed by the warning in the male's growls. "Uchiha be reasonable here." Sasuke's growling ceased but his lips were still curled in a snarl. "He is more than likely already dead. It wouldn't surprise me if he gave up the fight for his life." Neji chuckled darkly.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as an enraged snarl erupted from his throat and past his lips.

With lightning, speed he dove for the Hyuuga's neck, teeth hovering around it in hopes of scaring the male into submission. Neji didn't flinch, even when the Uchiha's jaws wrapped around his neck. This only enraged Sasuke further.

He pulled back just enough to utter, "Naruto will be ok...but you won't be after I'm done with you." he grinned maliciously.

Neji glared, a low growl emanating from his throat. "How low have you fallen Uchiha. You could've been a model alpha, mated to a fine alpha or beta, it wouldn't have even mattered if they were male, but instead you lowered yourself to the point where you mated with an omega who can't even fight his own battles." He seethed.

Sasuke glowed at the other with simmering fury, but Neji never let up.

"If he really is alive then you should let him fight me instead so that he can prove himself. It honestly just degrades him even more that he asked you to fight for him." he hounded.

Naruto glared and stepped forward, no longer able to just sit back and watch. "I never asked he chose to on his own!" he growled out.

The barking and growling around them ceased as Naruto entered the ring.

Sasuke and Neji both directed their attention to him, their fight now on hold as Naruto sauntered on over.

Everyone was shocked to see the pup up and about so quickly when the last thing they heard was that the injury was life threatening. Many greeted him with wagging tails, happy that he was ok while others just gawked at him, not trusting their own eyes with what they were seeing. The females were more shocked than any of them as Naruto walked as if nothing happened to him.

Seeing his mate conscious for the first time since he got knocked out, Sasuke moved off the Hyuuga and met Naruto the rest of the way. The Uchiha quickly wrapped his neck around his mate's and sighed deeply, inhaling the scent that soothed him so much.

Naruto returned the affection, nuzzling into the Sasuke's neck with a smile. "I knew you'd be ok dobe, but I couldn't just lay around and not do something about him." he muttered angrily.

Sakura and Ino observed the pair with sorrow permeating their scents. Sure, they could no longer do anything knowing that Naruto would win again, but it still hurt for them to see Sasuke choose Naruto over them.

Hinata's own scent had the unmistakable smell of dejection and her lowered ears proved it. She was also heartbroken as Naruto chose Sasuke as his mate, but she also knew that Naruto wouldn't be happy if he wasn't with the Uchiha. So, with a heavy heart she tried to be happy for them like Shino suggested.

Neji glared at the scene as he staggered to his paws. "You're supposed to be dead. I saw the kick to your head!" he declared furiously as a new wave of rage settled in his bones, fueling him with renewed energy.

Sasuke whipped his head around and growled at the Hyuuga until Naruto nudged his shoulder. The Uchiha looked to his mate about to retort when he caught the other's serious expression. He backed down instantly and ceased his growling, resorting to glowering at Neji instead.

"And yet, I'm still alive." Naruto retorted, crouching low and stalking closer to Neji. "And I'm sick and tired of you telling me that I'll never amount to anything when I already have!" he growled, tail rising along with his anger.

Neji scoffed, "As if, the only thing you've managed to do was gain a few friends. Your victory at the tournament was sheer, dumb luck. Getting Haruno and Yamanaka to submit to you was effortless, because they're just as weak and pathetic as you are."

Behind him Sakura and Ino gawked then snarled in protest. They didn't stick their necks out and do everything the Hyuuga instructed just for him to insult them like that.

He paid them no mind as he continued to taunt Naruto. "And you even being considered for the hunting party only happened because the head hunter is your group leader." he seethed.

Everyone else growled and closed in on Neji to intimidate him, leaving barely enough room for him and Naruto to fight.

White eyes shifted to everyone, but the only wolf who wasn't snarling down his throat was TenTen. Although she wasn't part of the intimidation party, she was glaring daggers at him as if to say that he had gone too far with this.

Naruto raised his head high along with his tail and snarled, challenging him to a fight.

Shock overcame Neji but it was soon replaced with a smug smirk. He had to admit that he never thought the Uzumaki would have the gall to challenge him, but this was still a fight he could easily win.

The barking and growling ensued as the two circled each other slowly, waiting for the opportune moment when Neji chuckled, "I have to say I'm quite surprised to see you standing so well. Naruto glared at the jab but didn't lash out. "Especially when you're still recovering." Neji lunged with such speed that his paw swiftly met with the back of Naruto's head in the blink of an eye.

Naruto yelped as immense pain enveloped him.

The blow had Naruto stumbling about, his vision blurring to the point where he saw stars. He fought hard to try and remain conscious while also trying to regain control of his movements. Naruto shook his head to help get a hold on things but instead made him dizzy and unbalanced. He heard Sasuke snarl ferociously in the background and hoped that his mate would not jump in the fight.

He needed to do this on his own.

With his mate taking a rather unfair hit, rage clouded the Uchiha's senses and had lunged, though he didn't get far. Four other pups moved to restrain him from charging into the Hyuuga, with Chouji gripping the Uchiha's scruff tightly in his mouth while the other three braced his front and sides.

Neji grinned at the expected results and swiftly went in for another attack, knocking Naruto down on his side.

The Hyuuga drew in close as he cackled, "You're so pathetic!"

As Neji leaned for the bite, Naruto quickly rolled over and avoided the attack. Ignoring the pain, he scrambled to his paws and dodged the blow aimed at his head. Neji followed suit with various attacks while Naruto dodged them all. He couldn't afford another hit to his head, otherwise, he might black out and never wake up.

The Hyuuga glared, a soft growl escaping his throat, "Challenging me with the hopes of removing your status when you so truly deserve it. Omegas are nothing but weak, inferior scum who are granted the delusion of importance with the petty tasks that betas and alphas assign to them." he fumed, ears drawn far back to express such ire.

Naruto jumped back, managing to avoid a lethal bite to his throat while Neji chuckled darkly. Naruto's eyes narrowed at the way the Hyuuga looked. Unbridled hatred had consumed him to the point where he didn't even know who this wolf was anymore.

"Give up now omega. At least you can maintain what little dignity you have instead of shaming your entire pack." he goaded.

That struck a nerve within Naruto and instantly the pup had Neji skidding across the ground. He snarled and barreled towards the Hyuuga at top speed before landing several deep puncture wounds on his body.

Neji yelped at the sudden pain and proceeded to writhe about in order to throw the omega off balance. He succeeded and managed to get up only for Naruto to immediately rise back on his paws. For a brief moment Neji's pale eyes reflected fear before clouding with anger and hatred once again.

He would not allow this worthless omega to beat him!

Naruto panted as they stared each other down, "I don't know what I did for you to hate me, other than just being here, but if there's one thing I learned it's that omegas aren't weak. Omegas can become alphas just as easily as alphas can become omegas." He snarled before lunging at the smug male with brute force.

Neji barely evaded the attack before landing a seemingly small scratch on Naruto's side. He smirked at the pained whine and landed another once his paws touched the ground.

The others watched with concern, their barking and growling had since ceased as Neji attacked Naruto in the same manner as Hinata in the tournament, landing a multitude of scratches with lightning speed.

Naruto curled his lips in a snarl and quickly searched for the other. He wouldn't go down like Hinata did. Once he caught a glimpse of the crazed male, Naruto backflipped throwing Neji off his pattern. With the routine now broken, Naruto lunged at the confused male and rammed his head right into Neji's side with a solid headbutt. The others cringed as the dull sound of cracked bones could be heard with their sensitive hearing.

Neji coughed sporadically as he struggled to remain on his legs. The blow left him winded and unable to breathe properly, making him panic. He searched frantically for Naruto but before he could locate his attacker, Naruto bashed their heads together making the others wince.

Dazed and in pain Neji was suddenly on his back with a throbbing sensation pulsing throughout his head. Blood spurted from the Hyuuga's mouth as he coughed violently, giving Naruto enough time to hover over him and bite down on an arm. Neji yelped loudly as sharp canines burrowed deep into flesh, rendering it useless for the time being.

He then turned to the other limb and bit down hard until he was sure Neji couldn't use it.

The Hyuuga struggled to get the omega off of him by thrashing around, but without the use of his front paws the effort was futile. Neji snarled at the fact that his arms were out of commission and resorted to hooking his strong hindlegs under the yellow belly and forcefully pushed the omega off. The unexpected maneuver was in vain however, for even with the omega off of him, there was no possible way for him to gain the upper hand, let alone stand up to defend himself.

Sensing the Hyuuga's desperate situation the others began barking encouragingly at Naruto to end it.

Panting and bleeding, Naruto slowly sauntered over to Neji with a murderous look in his blue eyes that had Neji's blood run cold.

As soon as he registered the feeling of fear, Neji growled weakly only for it to come out as a gurgle from the blood pooling in his mouth.

Once Naruto was close enough, he dove down at the Hyuuga's left hind leg and bit down to where blood flowed from the wound freely. He then did the same to the right leg, leaving the bloodied male completely defenseless. With Neji at his mercy, Naruto opened his mouth and snarled as he poised his jaws over the male's vulnerable neck. Even with the tables turned Neji refused to submit to the likes of the omega.

He would not submit.

Blue eyes narrowed before sharp teeth clasped Neji's neck in a firm hold, slowly applying pressure.

White eyes widened as Neji's already constricted airway became blocked. He quickly tried to weigh his options only for tears of frustration to well up in the corners of his eyes once he realized that there was only one way out of this. Reluctantly and shamefully, Neji slowly curled his tail before letting out a strangled whine of defeat.

Naruto instantly let go of his neck, shocked to hear the submissive whine and stared down at the broken male.

With his neck released, Neji turned away as humiliation spread throughout his entire being.

It was quiet for a moment until a loud howl broke the silence. One by one the wolves around them howled in unison at Naruto's victory, even the females. Said pup panted heavily as a smile broke out on his muzzle. He was no longer an omega, the status had been neutralized. Now, he was able to receive a proper rank.

With a winded laugh Naruto reared his own head back and let out an impressively assertive howl of his own.

A grin spread across Iruka's chops as he watched the pups from within the bushes that concealed him. He came in a bit late but had seen most of the fight play out and he couldn't have been prouder at his pup for overcoming this obstacle. With everything thrown back at Neji's face, he wouldn't be bothering Naruto anymore.

The guardian's smile faltered though when he saw Naruto sway a bit before collapsing on his side.

The pups around him gathered worriedly asking each other what they should do.

No longer needing to hide, he trotted right over to them. "It's alright, let's just get him to the healer." he instructed calmly.

Sasuke, who was right by Naruto's side, grasped his mate's scruff with his mouth and proceeded with the task of lifting him on his back. Though he was strong, Iruka and the others noticed that the Uchiha was having some difficulties after Naruto slipped a few times. Frustrated, he growled until Shino and Shikamaru gave him a helping paw. With Naruto now lying securely on the Uchiha's back, he quickly but carefully made his way to the healing caves.

Knowing his pup was in good paws Iruka turned to the situation at hand.

"What do we do with him?" Chouji pointed his nose at Neji who seemed to have passed out as well.

"I say we just leave him here." Kiba disputed.

Shino reluctantly sighed, "...We can't do that. He's still part of the pack." he argued calmly.

Kiba cocked his head at him like he grew another tail. "With everything that he's done? Sure we can!" he countered angrily.

Shino sighed, annoyed with his teammate.

Not up for hearing an argument right now the guardian walked over to Neji's body. "I'll take him to the healer, alright? We can't leave him here, he's defenseless and not to mention still a pup."

Many of the others around him groaned and Iruka growled low to dispel any objections.

"You may not get it now, but when you have your own pack, you'll understand the importance of pups and learn not to go against the alpha's orders." the others grumbled and glared at the unconscious body of Neji and watched as the older wolf took him away. Iruka looked back at them one last time with a smirk. "Now had he been older then yes, we would've left him for dead for going against everything a pack stands for."

With that, Iruka bounded for the healer while the other pups' moods were lifted at the guardian's last statement.

0o0o0o0o0o

When Naruto woke up again, he was surrounded by the familiar luminescent glow of green crystals. He groaned as he shifted around, alerting the healer nearby that he was awake.

"I tell you not to be rough with that head of yours and then you go off and do it anyway." Tsunade scolded, tail swaying in a rather irked manner.

Even with the dim lighting Naruto could see the glare set in her features. He smiled sheepishly which earned him a low, disapproving growl from the healer.

He whimpered, "Sorry..." he couldn't come up with anything more than a simple apology. After all, he did promise her that he would be careful.

She sighed and returned her ears to their normal position. "Iruka told me everything he saw, including the part where Neji purposely hit your head." her sudden growl startled him. "He's very lucky that he's still just a pup or I would have killed him myself." she added lividly.

Naruto frowned, a bit of worry seeping into his scent. "What...what's going to happen to him?" he asked softly, afraid of the answer.

Tsunade smirked, "Nothing would've happened, but since he deliberately inflicted injury to an already sensitive wound that he gave you that's potentially lethal, he'll spend the next few weeks being shunned by the entire pack. It's the harshest thing you can do to a pup that doesn't involve death. He's basically going to go through what he wanted you to go through." she concluded before heading to the cave's exit.

"Get some rest, you woke up too soon for me to let you rejoin your friends just yet." she advised, motioning to the series of healing cuts littering his body before going check on her other patient in the next sub cave.

Naruto obliged, feeling a yawn creep up on him.

The healer's expression immediately changed upon entering the next cave. Neji didn't even look at her, too humiliated from everything earlier to consider looking at anyone right now.

"You're going to be fine." she stated curtly. "Your limbs will require a few days of rest before you can walk on them again, but your ribs are fractured, so they may take up to a month to heal properly." she glared at him. "Until then rest up, because after this your punishment starts." she growled before placing a few Chamomile flowers right in front of his nose. "This will ease the pain in your body as your bones and muscles heal. I will bring you food and water in a little while." With that she left him to wallow in his self-pity.

Neji scoffed lightly, cringing in pain as the small action caused him immense pain. Agitated, he sighed and closed his eyes as he tried to get some sleep. But before he fell into the unconscious, his ears perked up at the sound of paws ambling over to him. He sniffed the scent approaching him and growled, softly.

"What are you still doing here?"

"I told you not to underestimate omegas." a low, raspy voice remarked.

Neji's eyes snapped open then shifted his head to face towards the foreign pup as he growled warningly.

Gaara simply sat down and growled back, "You're in no position to threaten me Hyuuga." he emphasized with a threatening growl of his own that was much louder.

Neji scoffed but didn't do anything else. "Fine. But you could at least answer my question." he grumbled.

"I'm enjoying my last day of the elder's hospitality." he replied boredly.

The Hyuuga cocked a brow at Gaara. "I thought you'd be more than willing to return to your own pack after all the humiliation you've endured here."

Gaara smirked, "I was, until I found something that piqued my interest enough to make me appreciate my stay."

Neji scowled, "What could possibly make you enjoy your stay? Uzumaki already rejected your claim." he spit out the other's name like it was poison.

Gaara paid no mind to the utter hatred seeping out of the disgraceful male's mouth. "True, but your teammate just so happened to interest me more than Naruto." he admitted.

Neji gave Gaara a puzzled look. "Lee?" he scoffed, ears pressing back, "He's just as annoying as Uzumaki."

Seafoam green eyes narrowed as a snarl ripped from his mouth. "That narrow mindset and reckless tongue of yours is what's going to get you nowhere in a pack. It's the very reason your lying here, broken, and it will also be the reason that you never end up as a respected alpha. You will be cast out and forced to roam as a pitiful rouge." he admonished.

When the other's only reaction was to avoid eye contact, he continued, "Lee may be more enthusiastic and optimistic than the average pup, but he's not annoying. He's strong and even... adorable... at times." he smirked at how seemingly uncomfortable Neji was with his choice of words.

Gaara stood up to leave but leered back just before exiting. "Just know that this is what you deserve for everything you've done to Naruto. Now you'll get to see exactly what it's like to be useless, just like the omegas you claim are." he left the brooding pup with a humph.

Neji glared at Gaara's retreating form and scoffed. What did he know? As far as he was concerned Gaara's words meant nothing. He wasn't even from this pack.

Not expecting anyone else he closed his eyes once again and tried to focus on getting some sleep, but not even five minutes later another wolf sauntered into his resting area. Except this time it was a very familiar scent that he had known since he was able to smell.

Neji's head snapped upwards and curled his lip as he snarled viciously. He did not want to be bothered by anyone right now, especially his cousin. Hinata's high pitched whine and fading paw steps only made the Hyuuga sneer before setting his head down again to finally sleep.

0o0o0o0o0o

Sasuke paced back and forth anxiously outside the caves that accommodated his mate. It'd been hours since Naruto was admitted to the healer and he was getting restless.

Behind him were the other pups, either entertaining themselves or simply watching as the Uchiha's calm demeanor began to unravel expeditiously.

Shikamaru yawned from his spot on the grass and eyed the Uchiha lazily. "Sasuke you heard what Iruka said. He just needs some rest."

The Uchiha's pacing ceased snapping his head in the direction of him and three other males.

Kiba scratched an ear vigorously. "He'll be fine man, besides, it shouldn't be much longer until he wakes up."

Sasuke glared at them over his shoulder, his tail flicking in an irritated manner. The others only pressed their ears back and returned the gesture. Sasuke furrowed his brow, perplexed until he realized the only reason for them doing so was because he was growling at them. The Uchiha ceased the unwarranted noise and shook his head. There was no need to take his frustrations out on them. They had been just as worried about Naruto and were merely trying to help alleviate his concerns.

Normally he was much more composed, but ever since the mating his behavior had deviated from the norm. Now, he was always on edge and easily agitated. Sasuke inhaled deeply through his nose then exhaled before sitting down and repeating the process.

They were right, he needed to control himself and relax. Nonsensical worry would only bring him unnecessary anxiety.

From a distance, away from everyone else, Sakura and Ino sulked as they observed Sasuke.

Ino sighed loudly, a rather hurt expression on her face. "All that hard work and nothing. I can't believe Neji would say all that after everything we did for him."

Sakura tore her gaze from Sasuke and glared at Ino. "Wake up Ino, Neji lied to us." her ears fell, "It was all a setup from the beginning." she whimpered.

Ino looked at the other female sadly, "But he...Sasu—"

"He used us Ino! Don't you get it? He was never worried about helping us get Sasuke!" she shouted and then in a much softer, despondent voice added, "We never had a chance."

Ino whined, shaking her head in denial. "No, Sasuke may think that he's happy now, but Naruto still can't do the one thing we can." Sakura grimaced at the desperate look in her rival's eyes. "Naruto can't give him pups, and when he finally realizes that he'll leave Naruto and come for me."

Sakura sighed sadly. She already knew that Sasuke would never think of them as potential mates, especially after everything they've put Naruto through. Ino on the other hand was in denial and continued to cling to false hope, but Sakura could only wonder how much longer Ino could hold on before Sasuke's message finally set in.

The sudden outburst of Naruto's name brought their attention back to the group in time to see Sasuke nuzzling the very male while the others corralled around the pair, expressing their relief for him.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief for her teammate and observed the reunion while keeping a close eye on Ino, whose cheeks had a steady flow of tears trailing down. Sakura frowned as she nudged her rival's shoulder, empathy laced within her actions and scent.

Forgetting their petty rivalry for a moment, Ino reluctantly accepted Sakura's comfort and leaned on her for support as reality came crashing down on her. She whined loudly into Sakura's red fur as tears of anguish flowed freely. Pale green eyes mirrored Ino's pain and became glossy as the shed a few tears of their own.

Brown eyes full of regret observed the two females before shifting towards the cave and then the crowd. TenTen sighed, a deep frown marring her face as she made her way to the other pups. Sure she wasn't directly involved with Naruto's incidents, but she still needed to apologize.

The others became less festive as she approached them, their expressions becoming neutral as she entered the inner circle. Sasuke's ears perked up making his head whip around with a growl at the intruder.

Naruto tilted his head to see TenTen stop at the threatening growl. He then nipped a blue ear that halted the Uchiha's growls. Sasuke glared but didn't growl again. Naruto moved in front of TenTen and patiently waited for her to speak.

"I know I didn't directly have anything to do with what's happened to you, but I still let it happen even though I knew it was wrong." she knit her brow, brown eyes full of regret. "I should've convinced Neji to let this go but I didn't. I just sat there and did nothing except let him plot and for that I'm sorry." she lowered her head and exposed her neck to indicate just how sincere her apology was.

Naruto as well as the others were taken aback by the sudden apology. He never thought that any of them would be sorry enough to apologize, and even though TenTen hung out with Neji the whole time the worst thing she really did was ignore him.

Naruto smiled, his tail swaying a bit. "Thanks but you don't really have anything to be sorry for." TenTen lifted her head, confusion written all over her face. "Neji still would have done everything even if you would've said something." he responded sadly.

"But I could have told you guys or even sensei." TenTen countered.

"Even if you did it would've only prolonged the inevitable." Sasuke remarked as he came to Naruto's side. "He would've bided his time and come up with different plans that we wouldn't suspect."

TenTen sighed as she realized they were right. If Neji's plans were discovered beforehand then he would've only suspected a spy and not tell any of them what his next attempts would be.

"At least you had the decency to apologize TenTen." Lee commented gleefully.

TenTen smiled at him and began asking how his legs were doing.

With the tension gone everyone relaxed and lazed about. Sasuke even managed to revert to his old self again knowing that his mate was alright. Right now he was sparring with Kiba and from what Naruto could tell, he seemed to be enjoying himself.

"It's good to see you moving again Naruto."

Said pup turned his head to see Gaara smiling softly at him. Naruto furrowed his brow in confusion. "Thanks but I thought you'd be returning to your pack by now."

Gaara's smile turned into a small frown. "I will be soon enough, but for now I'm enjoying what little time I have left here with your friend over there." he motioned his muzzle towards Lee who was animatedly talking to TenTen as his tail wagged rapidly.

Naruto blinked his eyes then turned back to Gaara only to see him staring fondly at Lee, and just like that it became very clear what Gaara meant. "Ohhhh, so that's where he's been recently." he smirked.

Gaara turned his attention back to Naruto and tensed slightly at the smirk the other was giving him.

"Sooo, when did you start taking interest in him?" Naruto pressed on, a mischievous look adorning his face.

A faint blush rose to Gaara's cheeks as he answered, "The very same night you and Sasuke officially mated." Gaara smirked back as the other's face became heated.

Naruto's embarrassment soon faded as a question nagged at him. "What's going to happen when you go back home though?"

Gaara's blank face came back. "For now, it will be a matter of patience as we are not mated, but once he is deemed an adult, then he is welcome to leave this pack and join mine, but if he'd rather I join this one I won't refuse him."

Naruto smiled, "That's really sweet of you."

Just as Gaara was about to retort Naruto's ears twitched. He turned around to see Hinata exiting the cave with a frown on her face. Her scent was giving off conflicting emotions while her body language further insinuated confusion.

Gaara looked over to her a swell and hummed, "She seems upset."

"Yeah," Naruto muttered absently before getting up and trotting over to her along with Shino and Gaara.

"Hey Hinata." Naruto called out.

She stopped in her tracks and immediately became shy like she always was around Naruto. "H-Hi Naruto."

Naruto eyed her but ignored the obvious change in her scent and asked, "What were you doing in there?"

Hinata stuttered, focusing her gaze on the ground.

"...You went to see Neji." Shino stated suddenly.

Hinata only nodded, her ears drooping slightly.

Both Gaara and Naruto frowned at that. "Knowing what he's done to you, why would you even go near him?" Gaara asked curiously. As far as he was concerned there was no reason that she should feel the need to see the Hyuuga.

"...It's because... Neji didn't always used to be that way."

Both Naruto and Gaara stared at Shino puzzled.

Shino simply answered, "There was a time when he and Hinata were very close, and he was not the cold, hateful wolf you see now."

"I...I thought that since Naruto beat him he would snap out of it." Hinata added sadly.

Before any of them could ask what she meant Hinata bounded off for home, leaving the three males to ponder over what she said.

Even Shino was perplexed by her statement. He knew a lot about their history together, but there were things that even Hinata didn't confide in him with and this was surely one of them.

0o0o0o0o0o

Within the next few days things finally started settling down.

Gaara and his siblings as well as any other remaining foreign wolves had returned to their own packs with either disappointment or pride. Lee was a bit sad but promised Gaara that as soon as he was able to leave the pack, he would join Gaara in his. The pups went back to living in their subgroups, training each day like they had been for most of their lives. The pups who were able to hunt at night continued their progress and found themselves participating a little more each night.

Needless to say, they were growing stronger and bolder.

Even Hinata, who after sparring, would go off to the caves without the accompaniment of Shino to check on Neji.

At first, he would snarl and send her running out, but as the days progressed, he found himself snarling less and less at his cousin to the point where he eventually allowed her to step inside and sit a few feet away from him while he stared at her in silence until she left. It wasn't exactly welcoming but it was a start in the right direction.

After two more weeks Neji became comfortable enough to rest while Hinata accompanied him. She would sit there with a smile the whole time as he rested, feeling at ease around him now. As a wolf, letting one's guard down meant that they trusted whoever was within their presence, and Neji was finally trusting her again.

A day later Neji's ears swiveled, alerting him to the pitter patter of Hinata's paws approaching his cavern.

Only when he knew she was in with him did his pale white eyes open slowly.

"Hinata." he muttered.

The female Hyuuga stiffened, her ears standing at full attention as he uttered her name in a way that he hadn't used since they were very tiny. Hearing a part of him she used to know, Hinata drew closer without hesitation until she was laying in front of her recovering cousin.

"This must please you to see me like this, after all, this is what you wanted right?" He refused to meet her eyes while he talked. "Uzumaki is no longer an omega and I'm cut down. I'm sure the news of me losing to an omega has already reached uncle. I won't be able to face him or the rest of the Hyuuga pack without being severely shamed and he might even kick me out of the pack." He chuckled darkly.

Hinata's brow knit together as she listened to his distress.

"Neji... we only wanted you to stop being so mean to Naruto. You wanted to kill him just because he's an omega." she sniffed, "I never wanted to see you like this, but you had to be stopped." She stretched a delicate paw out and hesitantly placed it on his much bigger one.

Neji eyed the rare touch from her but didn't pull away or interrupt her.

"You should leave the Hyuuga pack Neji." she finally blurted out.

Neji growled, "Why, so you can be there alone when they find out you're an omega? Uncle will banish me from the pack regardless, but you... you're his pup and he'll punish you far more greatly if you're ranked as an omega."

Hinata gave him a puzzled look. "But I thought you wanted to...kill me." she uttered the last part softly, her ears dropping.

Neji sighed, focusing his attention on the ground once again. "Never. I only did what I did to you so that you would gain strength and confidence... but it didn't work. I've failed you as both family and a protector." his barrier faltered, allowing emotion to show once again.

"I hoped that after the tournament you would've been pushed far enough to retaliate but I was wrong. I couldn't change you no matter what I did and it made me frustrated, because I knew you'd be dubbed an omega."

Hinata opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted, "Face it, you know as well as I that you'll be an omega. You're too kind to be a hunter. You're a nurturer, you always have been." he muttered softly, but loud enough for her to pick up.

Hinata shook her head. "Omegas are part of the pack Neji. We need them just as much as alphas. We were taught this right after we got into our subgroups. They help relieve stress from everyone by talking, they watch pups while everyone else is busy, and they think of clever solutions when the others can't think of anything."

"No, they're scum that need to be eradicated!" he denied, snarling as rage clouded his mind once again.

Hinata growled at him, a disappointed look settling on her face. "You sound just like father and you know he's wrong Neji."

He only glared at her, teeth barred but not in a threatening manner. He was frustrated and shocked to say the least. Hinata never growled at him like that before and never imagined she would.

He brushed the feeling away and continued angrily, "Uncle isn't wrong, or have you forgotten what my father did?" his ears folded back aggressively as he snarled.

The crestfallen look on Hinata's face morphed into one of sorrow. "Neji, what uncle did to my father was his own fault. If uncle had been a beta and acted the way he did, then father's hatred would have been geared towards all betas instead of omegas."

Neji stared at her for what seemed like an eternity before all the anger melted into realization. She was right, despite his father's rank his actions would still be unforgivable. After his father's death, his uncle, her father took him under his wing only after Neji swore to become higher than an omega. With a heavy sigh Neji locked eyes with his cousin, the same cousin who he had hurt many times in order to help her and uttered the one thing she never thought she would ever hear from him again.

"Hinata...I'm sorry, for everything." he choked at the end, his ears lowering as humiliation for his behavior set in.

Pale blue eyes widened.

Shock overwhelmed her to the point that tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

Neji instinctively leaned forward to lick them as they spilled over, just as he'd done so many times before they were introduced to the others of the pack.

Hinata closed her eyes and relished in the familiarity of Neji offering her comfort. When the warm tongue left her eyes, she crawled closer to him and lay her head down on his sore arms.

Neji winced slightly at the added weight, but assured her that he was alright by resting his head atop hers. His limbs may have healed, but they were still stiff due to inactivity.

Hinata's lips curled in a small smile as the wolf she knew came back. "We'll get through this together." she muttered. "You also have to apologize to everyone else too, including Naruto." she quickly added.

Neji hummed, closing his eyes to rest. He would eventually apologize, but he had a much more pressing matter to deal with first. It was going to be a lot harder to reason with Hinata's father than she thought.

0o0o0o0o0o

The last two weeks of Neji's recovery flew by incredibly fast with Hinata coming by to visit him every day.

After their initial talk, opening up to Hinata became easy again. She would even accompany him in moving about in the caves so that his limbs would not collapse under him. Neji was a bit concerned with how easily she forgave him, but she insisted that she had only forgiven him after his apology. She also mentioned that it would take the others much longer to accept his apology, especially Naruto and Sasuke. Neji had already figured as much, but he wasn't looking for their forgiveness either.

No, he was more worried about confronting his uncle after the upcoming status ceremony.

A few more days passed until Tsunade deemed Neji's chest healed enough for mobility and told him he was free to leave.

He couldn't get out quick enough, he was eager to move around outside once again. Hinata walked right beside him as they left the large caves. His eyes were instantly assaulted by the blinding light of the outside world. A whole month in nothing but a dim cavern didn't prepare him for the brief intense burning of nartural sunlight.

While his eyes continued adjusting his ears twitched when Hinata called his name.

"It looks like everyone's already here for the ceremony."

With his vision finally focused, Neji could indeed see that all the pups of Konoha were gathered together with their assigned group leaders in tow.

"Ah, Hyuugas it's nice to see that I won't have to personally fetch you."

Both Neji and Hinata turned to their left to see the elder giving them a tired grin.

"W-We're sorry elder, healer Tsunade was just checking on Neji's injuries." Hinata squeaked. She may have grown bolder, but there were still times where she would revert back to her old, shy and easily startled self.

The elder nodded, "Well, then I trust you're doing alright since you're finally joining us." he then motioned a paw to the others. "Let's get started shall we?"

The Hyuugas quickly trotted over to the rest of the pups where they met with their respectable groups. Their teammates didn't have time to even ask how they were doing before a commanding bark was issued. The pups instantly ceased any noise and sat down attentively along with their group leaders as the elder sauntered closer.

"As of today, you will get your official ranks, and as you know, they are not permanent. Your rank can easily be taken away from you if you're careless." he then paused and eyed Neji. "Or arrogant. One by one you will come up to me and I will examine you and then you will get your ranks when the last of you have been observed." the white wolf's moving ceased as he turned to them. "Let's start at the end with you Chouji."

"Me?" the larger pup's head darted around nervously before the elder nodded.

"Yes, come."

Chouji tentatively made his way to the alpha and stood in front while the white wolf slowly circled around him.

Not sure what was happening Chouji began to fidget, his tail flicking nervously while he jerked his head around to keep an eye on the elder's suspicious behavior.

Once the old wolf completed the circle his ears suddenly perked forward and lunged with a growl.

Startled, Chouji crouched down with a yip, curling his tail and hunching his body as he waited for the impact. When nothing happened Chouji hesitantly straightened himself back out and eyed the elder with confusion.

The old wolf just stood in front of him with a thoughtful look in his eyes. "Good work, you're done." He turned his head to Shikamaru, who had been sitting beside Chouji, and motioned to him. "Come."

The two pups quickly changed places with Shikamaru now standing in front of the elder while Chouji sat down, confused. The others watched curiously as the elder repeated the same actions, albeit in a different pattern. This this time instead of cowering, Shikamaru took a denfensive stance ready to fight back if need be. After a moment the elder returned to his original stance and motioned for another pup.

"Who's next." he grinned.

One by one each pup was evaluated, making Naruto's heart hammer rapidly against his chest while anxiously waiting for his turn. Nervous blue eyes watched as Neji wound up in the same stance as Shikamaru earlier. He didn't know what the stances meant to the elder, but he had a feeling that it would be better than what he would revert to once he stood in front of the alpha wolf.

"Next." Naruto tensed as Sasuke calmly trotted over, wanting to get this evaluation over with as soon as possible no doubt.

The elder began another routine of stalking that was different from the last. As the elder made to launch at the Uchiha, instead of curling or taking a defensive stance, Sasuke raised his tail and body while baring his fangs as he let out a vicious snarl that surprised almost everyone.

The alpha's eyes flickered for a moment before returning to their thoughtful appearance. "Interesting." he muttered before calling for another pup.

Naruto swallowed the lump caught in his throat as he shakily switched places with Sasuke. The Uchiha gave him a reassuring smirk before letting his tail brush against the nervous pup's side.

The small gestures did their job as Naruto's once timid form gained a bit of confidence.

The elder smirked as he began the short examination. Blue eyes followed the elder's every movement, his form no longer tense with anxiety. With the circling complete the elder lunged forward with a loud snarl.

Naruto's mind froze, leaving his instincts to take over. In an instant, his fangs were bared and his tail rose as he leaned forward to snarl right back just like Sasuke.

Once the snarl faded blue eyes blinked in confusion. He didn't expect himself to do that. He glanced up at the elder who was deep in thought.

The alpha gave him a small nod and called for another. The walk back to his group was slow as he tried to process what exactly happened.

He was so entranced that he bumped right into Sasuke.

Naruto looked up at his mate only to catch a glimpse of the Uchiha's signature smirk before receiving various licks and nips to his sensitive ears. Immediately all of the confusion faded from his mind, replaced by a warm, comforting sensation. The soothing motions were gone all too soon though, leaving Naruto whimpering for more as Sasuke pulled away.

"Later." the Uchiha whispered.

Naruto pouted, earning a chuckle from his rather amused mate. He then remembered the evaluations were still going on and quickly returned his attention to the ceremony in time to see Hinata cowering just like Chouji.

The alpha dismissed her and sat down. It was then that Naruto noticed that she was the last one to get tested. Just how long had he been distracted? It felt so brief to him.

The elder cleared his throat, "The evaluation is complete, now, I will present you with your ranks." the alpha chuckled as some of the pups began fidgeting anxiously. "Ino Yamanaka, Chouji Akimichi, and Hinata Hyuuga as of now you are the omegas of the pack."

Naruto glanced at the three to find that only Ino seemed to be the one in utter shock.

"Shikamaru Nara, Sakura Haruno, TenTen, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuuga you are now betas."

Naruto didn't even have to look to know that Neji was upset at not being an alpha, but everyone else seemed pleased with their newly obtained rank.

"Which leaves us with Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki as the alphas."

Naruto gawked, realization that he was indeed an alpha slowly setting in.

"As you know these ranks only apply to your pup pack and will be changed once you decide to either leave or stay in the Konoha pack when you're of age. If you leave, your rank may remain or change depending on where and who you join up with. If you decide to stay and are an alpha you will be stripped down to a low-ranking beta. You will earn your spots among the higher betas if you manage to challenge and best one of the higher betas like your group leaders." he grinned.

The pups looked over to find the hunters giving them smug looks, as if already daring the pups to challenge them.

"Since you have all completed your lessons and tests, you can either choose to remain with your group leaders and group mates or return with your parents. Those of you hunting at night will still be required to do so and the betas will now assist, but other than that you are free to do as you please."

The hunters began congratulating their pups while the old alpha made his way back to his post.

"Well done you three." Iruka praised.

The pups turned their attention to the pair of hunters and wagged their tails at the commendation.

"Yes, I have to say I would have been proud either way, but I can't complain with two alphas and a beta. You trained hard and this is the result of all that hard work." Kakashi praised.

The hunters soon found themselves tackled to the ground by Naruto and Sakura with Sasuke watching with an amused smirk on his face.

Kakashi gently pushed Sakura off him and stood. "I guess the only thing to figure out now is where do you intend to stay Sakura?"

"Well." She rose back on her paws. "I was actually planning on going back to my mom. I miss her and now that I'm old enough I want to help her collect herbs for the healer." she confessed.

The hunters nodded, pleased that she had grown up and mellowed out a bit since Naruto fought her. "I'm sure both your mother and Tsunade will be pleased with your decision." Iruka commented.

"All right you three, we'll be at the den resting if you need us." Kakashi then turned to the males. "Make sure you two are well rested for tonight, because you pups will be leading this time." he smirked at the fire lighting up their eyes.

"We'll be ready for sure sensei." Naruto remarked eagerly. He couldn't wait for tonight.

"Good." with that the hunters made themselves scarce, leaving the pack of pups to talk with each other.

Sakura turned to her teammates and spoke. "Congratulations Sasuke, I knew you'd be an alpha."

The Uchiha just stared at her with an unamused look. He knew what she was trying to do and he wasn't in a forgiving mood yet.

Her brow furrowed at his reaction. 'I guess he's still mad at me.' She decided to turn her attention to Naruto instead, who had been staring at the ground since the hunters left.

With a small smile set on her chops she slowly approached Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto."

When he didn't respond Sakura crouched down and waved a paw in his line of view to draw him back to reality.

"Naruto." she called a bit louder.

This time his blue eyes blinked and focused on her.

Sakura returned to her standing position and flicked her tail slightly in mild annoyance. "You know, I thought you'd be more excited about becoming an alpha but here you are staring off into nothing."

Naruto's ears tilted downwards a bit as he sat down. "Well." he looked away from her with a sheepish grin. "I honestly didn't think I'd get to be an alpha so soon. I thought I'd at least qualify for beta so, it's still a surprise for me." he admitted, a shy grin slowly spreading across his chops.

Sakura's eyes widened slightly before narrowing. "After all those talks about how you could be an alpha just as much as any of us and you doubt yourself?"

Naruto's ears perked right up, his form tensing at his teammate's sudden mood change.

"If anyone should be shocked it should be Neji, not you. Even I knew you'd get an alpha rank." Naruto opened his mouth but was cut off. "Sure, you may be loud and annoying sometimes, but I also know that you're extremely determined. You've come such a long way from the insecure omega pup that I used to know and for you to doubt yourself now, after all the hard work and training that you've done is just not the Naruto I know." she growled.

Then she flashed him a grin. "The Naruto I know, my teammate, would be so excited right now so, where is he?"

Both Sasuke and Naruto had stunned looks on their faces. While they thought Sakura would eventually

start being nicer to Naruto they had no idea that she'd try to encourage him after her defeat so quickly.

Sakura took advantage of her teammates surprise and spoke calmly this time. "It took a long time for me to see that what I did to you was wrong." Her ears flattened while her eyes dulled. "I was a pup with only one thing on my mind, and when I let my own fantasies get the better of me without even thinking of what the actual possibilities could be, I acted on my own hurt feelings thinking that you were the cause of all my misfortune with Sasuke."

The Uchiha growled with disdain that didn't go unnoticed by the crestfallen female.

"I blamed you for Sasuke not being interested in me and I didn't realize until you challenged and beat me that even though I wanted Sasuke, there was always a possibility that Sasuke wouldn't want me." she looked up at the Uchiha whose expression was neutral, she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

The familiarity brought a sad smile to her face. She then turned to Naruto who was gawking at her with his mouth agape.

This brought out a genuine laugh from her. Of course they would react like that after everything she's done to Naruto. After her laughter died down her mood changed back to a more serious one. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm sorry Naruto, I'm sorry for everything I've done to you. For giving you that omega rank, trying to ki... kill you, and for giving Neji all the information he needed to try and get rid of you."

A loud snarl sent Sakura jumping back as Sasuke lunged at her.

"Sasuke!" Naruto blocked the Uchiha before he could seriously injure their teammate and frowned.

The Uchiha stopped, relaxing his form but he was clearly still agitated if his growls were anything to go off of. "She just admitted to everything and you expect me to remain calm?" Sasuke asked furiously.

Naruto flicked his tail, "No, but we already knew what she was doing and now she's apologizing for it." he countered.

Sasuke growled, his lips curling into a snarl. "She's feigned apologies before." he reminded him.

Naruto's frown deepened. "I know, but I think she's being sincere this time. Her scent gives everything away and you know that. All I smell is guilt and fear, what do you smell?" he asked, shooting a small determined glare his way.

Sasuke took Naruto's words into consideration and calmly sniffed Sakura's way only to find that Naruto was right. Her scent was always her biggest downfall as she could never seem to get a handle on masking her emotions, especially when trying to lie in front of him. He didn't smell any anger. Black eyes bore into pale green ones as he tried to find any trace of ill intent in them but all he found was sorrow and a bit of jealousy. She was sincere.

Sasuke closed his eyes and took a deep breath before revealing his normal, stoic expression.

"Alright, I believe you." a small smile was sent Naruto's way, making the other beam brightly.

Being the one watching, Sakura could only offer a sad smile at the pair. She now understood that Sasuke being happy made her happy as well, but that didn't make the pain of rejection hurt any less. She would always love Sasuke, but knowing she could never win his affections via challenge or time meant she would have to learn to let Sasuke go.

Just as Sakura was about to walk away Naruto turned back to her, his smile now aimed at her. "Hey since you really mean it, apology accepted. Right Sasuke?" he gave his mate a stern gaze that had him conceding just slightly.

The Uchiha sighed, and connected gazes with her. "For me not yet, but I have to say admitting you were wrong and apologizing is a step in the right direction to me forgiving you."

Naruto's ears drew back and another frown replaced his smile. "Well I accept it at least." he offered.

Sakura's eyes widened and suddenly her vision became blurry as tears welled in her eyes. She knew Sasuke wouldn't forgive her right away but for him to even acknowledge her trying was such a shock. It was even more shocking that Naruto forgave her so easily after everything that she'd put him through. Although, this wasn't the first time that he'd surprised her like this. It's happened before and she couldn't be more grateful for the fact that Naruto was so forgiving.

She quickly scrubbed a paw across her face to rid herself of the tears and offered a genuine smile that made Naruto grin. Finally, they could be an actual team that could understand and be on the right track with each other. Deceit would no longer be a part of their group.

It was then that Sakura noticed how inconsolable Ino looked right now and frowned.

"Well if you guys need me I'll be with my mom from now on, but right now I should check up on Ino. I don't think she knows how to take being labeled an omega just yet." with that, she trotted over to the overwhelmed female who was beginning to spiral out of control.

Naruto watched as they talked, not realizing Sasuke had drawn closer to him.

"Well she is right about one thing." Naruto turned to his mate curiously. "You should be excited about being an alpha."

"Oh that." A large smile beamed across his chops as his tail wagged. "You're right, I'm an alpha now just like you. I'm an alpha!" he cried out, his tail wagging sporadically.

The Uchiha smirked, "Are you really that surprised, dobe?" he leaned over to lick Naruto's forehead lovingly.

A light blush covered Naruto's cheeks. "I was but now I'm just really happy that I proved Neji and the others wrong. That I had what it takes to become strong like the—–"

He was cut off by another voice along with its owner's body leaning heavily on him. "You sure did show them."

Naruto beamed when he turned his head and saw that it was Chouji, though his smile faltered some when a thought came to mind. "You seem to be alright with the omega status."

The bigger male shrugged, "I'm not really cut out for fighting and hunting like you guys. I'd rather watch pups or lounge around and eat." he informed. "Besides, I'm gonna be a big wolf one day so I doubt anyone will mess with me too much, and I'll be there to watch out for Ino and Hinata too."

Naruto's smile returned, happy to know his friend was more than alright with his new status.

Shikamaru joined them then sighed heavily, "Just make sure Ino doesn't get into trouble, you know how she gets and it's such a drag to get her out of a mess." he griped.

Chouji chuckled, "Yeah she can be quite a hothead."

"I heard that!" Ino shouted a few feet away, growing hysterical from being deemed an omega as Sakura tried her best to comfort her.

Shikamaru, Chouji, and Naruto stifled their laughter while Sasuke smirked, clearly amused.

"I guess that's our cue to leave." Shikmaru sighed, giving them one last look before heading over to drag Ino back to her own mother, knowing full well she could comfort their teammate more than they could ever attempt.

Though before they left, it didn't go unnoticed when their tails touched every now and then. Naruto smirked, having been proven right about the two of them being interested in each other. He was happy that some of his friends were finding their mates. He only hoped Shino and Kiba would stop beating around the bush and admit their feelings too. For Shino's sake Kiba wouldn't gripe as much if he were being attended by the Aburame.

Naruto's eyes then swept over the pack of remaining pups only to frown and grab Sasuke's attention.

"What's wrong?" he asked curiously, his tail flicking.

Naruto knit his brows together in confusion. "Nothing except... Hinata and Neji are missing."

Sasuke took a moment to sweep over the group to find that his mate was right, the Hyuugas were nowhere to be seen.

"It's strange but they do live in the same pack." he reminded.

Naruto nodded absently, still perplexed as to their strange behavior from earlier. "I hope everything's okay." he muttered. He didn't know what was going on between the two but he hoped it was fine, especially when Shino had no answers and was just as confused.

0o0o0o0o0o0

"You're a what!?"

An enraged white wolf with a single black stripe running from the top of his head down to his tail barked at the two Hyuuga pups before him. His lips were curled in a snarl, his ears drawn back as he awaited an explanation.

Hinata bowed her head, offering her neck as she submitted instinctively to her father. Status or not, she was always the submissive type, destined to be an omega from the get go.

Hiashi Hyuuga growled at her with disgust. His own daughter had been ranked an omega and he wasn't having it. No one of the Hyuuga pack was to be an omega. If they were, they'd be banished for tarnishing the blood line.

His pale eyes suddenly found his nephew's averted eyes and snarled as his rage grew. "You!" Neji took a chance and met his uncle's fuming gaze. "You are to blame for this outcome." Hiashi rose to his full height as he looked down on his nephew. "To think you would insult the Hyuuga lineage by allowing my daughter to be ranked a lowly omega while you skated by with being a beta." he spat with utter disdain.

Neji growled low but remained still, he always knew it would come down to this anyhow. With him being banished from the pack.

"Have you nothing to say insolent pup? No defense against your utter failure?" Hiashi prodded, inching closer to Neji.

"No!" he barked out, his ears dropping once he realized he'd yelled at their alpha. "Other than I tried my hardest to push her out of her shell but failed."

The was no reasoning with his uncle. His fate had apparently been decided long ago. No amount of status would fix this, he would've been banished for another reason if not this one.

Hiashi glared down at Neji, his dominance on display for everyone watching as he growled out. "You didn't try hard enough!" a smirk slowly spread across his chops. "And now you must pay. My daughter may be an omega, but unlike you, beta, you are hereby banished from this pack."

Hinata's eyes grew wide at that.

With a burst of courage, she whipped her head up and growled out, "Wait!"

Hiashi turned with ears perked and a small amount of shock on his face as his normally quiet daughter spoke up.

"Why is he being banished instead of me?"

Hiashi only stared at her as she begged him for answers.

"I'm the omega not Neji, so why am I allowed to stay?" Still he offered no explanation which further upset her to where tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. "That's not fair, if he's going to be banished then I should be too. Please, why?" she pleaded desperately, the tears threatening to spill any moment.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the alpha spoke, "Hinata, you know why."

She shook her head with disbelief, her ears dropping as far as they'd go. "No... it wasn't his fault. You can't pin that on him."

"Of course I can." he growled out, turning back to Neji with evident anger on his face. "He agreed when I assigned him to be your protector that your status would be his responsibility." he reaffirmed.

Hinata shook her head as she whined, "Not that, I mean your hatred towards him and any other omega!" she shouted, the tears falling as she wept. "You blame them and Neji for what happened but it wasn't his fault, it was uncle Hizashi's alone and you know it."

Neji's fur bristled as he felt the rage literally roll off his uncle's body in overwhelming waves.

The Hyuuga pack members backed away or curled their tails as they too felt the hidden fury seeping from their alpha. Though Hiashi was no longer an alpha due to combining their pack with Konoha, he was still their alpha and very much feared.

Hiashi moved until his muzzle was barely an inch away from hers. "Hizashi, was a no good, rotten omega who dared to challenge me for power and my mate! All omegas will try to steal what isn't theirs and will resort to anything to obtain it, even cheating. "he countered angrily.

Hinata sniffled, "Not every omega is like that father. I'm not like that." she suddenly growled, "I was never cut out to be a strong leader like you or mom. I'm not a killer, I'm not a hunter, I'm not assertive. Deep down, you must've known I'd be an omega, so you can't blame Neji for any of this."

"Maybe, but he is still going to be banished." he declared, his will unwavering.

Hinata quivered with anger and sorrow, "You can't keep blaming him for Uncle's actions. He had nothing to do with it."

Hiashi's gaze shifted from Hinata to Neji then back to Hinata, "My decision still stands."

Hinata closed her eyes and inhaled deeply before exhaling, her tears beginning to dry as she steeled herself for what came next. "Then I'm leaving too. I won't be a part of a pack that can't differentiate pups from their parents." she stated firmly before walking off, avoiding everyone else's gazes except for Neji's.

His face held regret and shame but she offered him her brightest smile before nuzzling him. "We can always stay with our groups until we're old enough to start our own packs." she reminded him.

Neji, stared at her incredulously. Not only had she spoken up for him, but she had stood up to her own father, alpha, and leader of the Hyuuga pack. A wide smirk stretched across his chops. She may be an omega, but she had also grown a backbone and he was proud of her. Who knows, maybe she'd climb rank and end up a low beta, but for now they'd leave and live with their statuses in their sub groups.

Without so much as a glance from either pup or Hiashi, the Hyuuga pups left the pack they were born from and made their way back to their groups to inform their leaders they'd be staying with them for a while.

On the way, Neji apologized to every pup he encountered until all that was left was Ino, Sasuke, and Naruto. Ino's apology would have to wait until tomorrow, now wanting to feel the wrath of her mother while she was comforting her pup. Naruto and Sasuke, however, would be approached before the hunt started. He quickly gazed up at the darkening sky and frowned. He didn't have much time left until then so he needed to hurry.

He told Hinata to get to her group, that he would be along for some much-needed bonding as soon as he finished up.

She had given him a smile and ran to catch up with Kiba and Shino, who immediately bombarded her with questions and concerns.

Now alone, he bent down to pick up Naruto's scent and began following when he found it.

It didn't take long to find them, what with their cave being close to their group cave and all, and when he did find them his breath stilled as he took in the beauty of where they decided to call home. All serene beauty aside, he slowly made his way to the entrance and found the pair snacking on freshly caught fish.

Before he could even announce his arrival, Sasuke instantly growled at him, warning him to back off.

"I'm not here to start anything Uchiha." he sighed softly.

Why did Hinata think this would be a good idea? Apologizing to the others, sure, but Sasuke and Naruto? This would probably end with him being marred for life.

"Like I'd believe you after what you tried to do." he seethed, rising up and snarling to his full height. He wanted the Hyuuga to understand just how much he was despised.

"Good thing I'm not here for you then, not really at least." then, with some reluctance Neji bared his neck for the Uchiha and lowered his head, averting the alpha's gaze. "I wish to... apologize, to your mate."

While he hated submitting, it needed to be done if he had any hope of making peace with the Uchiha. If there was anything they had in common, it was that they responded well when others submitted. He only hoped the Uchiha was in a merciful mood.

He heard Sasuke snort at him but otherwise didn't growl again.

"You want to apologize?" he heard Naruto ask, the disbelief rolling off his tongue.

Done with submitting, Neji looked up at Naruto and saw just how cautious he was. "Yes."

"Why?"

It was a serious question that held many meanings and he had a right to know them all. Neji prepared himself with a deep inhale of air then proceeded.

"Mostly because Hinata convinced me that my way of thinking is wrong, that omegas being no good scum is a lie, and that me being worthier than you is conceited." He kept his eyes locked with Naruto's, watching the differing emotions change their blue hue. "I became jealous, weak, a slave to my uncle's teachings and I let it cloud my own judgement. I'm not putting the blame on him entirely, because deep down I knew it was wrong and still plotted against you."

He then gave Naruto a frustrated growl, "It's not that I hated you... more like you were new and therefore I had no attachment to you. I was free to release my anger without any remorse because I didn't know who you were. Then, you defied and stood up just like my father to my uncle and it made me hate you when I realized you resembled him so much. Throw in Uchiha, an alpha, mating with you and I hated you even more, because you resembled my father so much that it sickened me." he growled out.

Neji shook his head, "If you want to know what happened ask Hinata, I'm not here to tell you my past, I'm here to apologize. I don't expect forgiveness but it still needed to be said." he made to leave when something bit his tail.

Enraged he growled and shot Naruto a hard glare as he caught the male in the act.

Naruto gave him his own glare, "You're not going to just walk away before I say anything." he growled before offering a slight smile, "I may not forgive you just yet, but I'm glad you apologized. Maybe we can be friends, or allies in the future."

Neji huffed, a smirk playing on his chops, "And here I thought you'd hate me for eternity, though I'm sure it's true for Uchiha here." he motioned to the angered male.

"You're damn right, now leave!" Sasuke commanded, snarling.

Neji didn't even flinch, his legs already moving before Sasuke said anything.

The Uchiha didn't let up his guard until he could no longer smell the Hyuuga. Only then did he resume his position by Naruto's side, who had already resumed eating once Neji left. Sasuke was content on watching his mate eat, his appetite had been spoiled once he caught the Hyuuga in their cave.

Naruto on the other hand was giving him a rather disappointed look. At first it didn't faze him but found it bugging him the longer Naruto held it.

"What?" he asked blandly. When Naruto's ears drew back slightly he sighed, "I meant it." he stated firmly.

"Eternity?" Naruto pressed on, clearly unhappy with his mate's response.

"He tried to kill you, numerous times." he stated calmly, the rage bubbling just beneath the surface of his cool demeanor.

"I know." Naruto responded, ears dropping, "But if Sakura can be sincere, why not Neji?"

"After all he's said and done it's going to take more than a few 'remorseful' words to convince me." Sasuke growled softly.

Naruto leaned his head on Sasuke's shoulder with a sigh, "And what was wrong with saying that?"

The Uchiha smirked as he leaned in for a lick. "Because, he'll be on his toes and his actions will convince me more than his words ever will."

"Fine" Naruto gave up in favor of rubbing noses with his mate as they prepared themselves for hunting. It was dusk, which meant they needed to meet up with the hunters.

When they caught up with the hunting party they were greeted by the new additions to the team, Lee, TenTen, Kiba, and Sakura.

"Alright, newcomers, you are to watch what we do and familiarize yourselves with the routine until further notice." Kakashi instructed before turning to his advanced pups. "So, are you guys ready to lead the hunt?"

The four pups grinned with Naruto speaking for them all, "Of course."

End