Chapter Text
Midnight mist
Settings: A few days after finishing the mission in the land of the waves.
It was a calm, chilly night, the sky was dark and shrouded with thin clouds obscuring most of the stars and wrapping the half-moon with a feathery blanket. The bonfire they have set for cooking was almost burned out, adding its spiraling smoke to the general haze.
Naruto could not fall asleep, as much as he tried, sleep just would not come to him. He tossed and turned in his bedroll, almost grunting in frustration, he could not figure out his problem, usually, he hit the bed snoring, but not tonight. What was wrong with him?
He peeked out from his bedroll to see Sasuke and Sakura on the other side of the campfire, both soundly asleep, snug into their bedrolls. Sakura's beautiful pale skin glowed in the moonlight and her lovely pink hair glossed under its silver rays. Sasuke was a pool of darkness, buried deeply under his covers, unmoving, not making the slightest of sounds, only his black-blue hair disclosed his presence.
He envied them both, how he wished he could just close his eyes and fall into the same lull, but rage was building inside of him, for no particular reason, and sleep moved further and further away from his reach.
"That does it…" Naruto growled quietly, then fought his way out of his bedroll, there was no use in pretending to be asleep, when all he wanted to do was to punch someone.
"Going somewhere?" asked Kakashi-Sensei, seated by the fire, nose buried in his book.
"Gotta pee." Naruto answered with a grunt.
"Don’t stray too far." Kakashi warned after him. "Remember, mission is over but Gato's men might still be around."
"Hnnn…" Naruto nodded, and secretly wished he'd actually run into some of them.
Careful not to wake Sakura or Sasuke, Naruto walked into the bushes and then further into the woods where he found a suitable tree to use.
He finished and tucked himself back into his pants, then a random gasp of wind brought into his nostrils the scent of the same herbs he had helped collecting, and the memories of the past few days rushed into his mind like a lightning strike. He found himself punching the tree trunk with his bare hands, until they started to bleed. He then took some few steps back and fell on his knees, tears running down his face.
"Hey, there, you took too much time, I was beginning to worry."
Naruto turned to look at his Sensei, that came forward with a lazy stride, not bothering concealing his movement or chakra, his silver hair was also a beacon of light in the darkness.
"Wanna talk about it?" Kakashi asked tenderly, finding a seat on a nearby rock.
"It's nothing, just some stupid feelings." Naruto blushed in the dark. "I'll be ok in no-time, don’t worry about me, Sensei."
"Hnn…." Kakashi hummed in relief, but patted the space next to him, inviting Naruto over.
"I don’t know what got into me." Naruto mumbled. "I don’t want to be a bother."
"Whatever it is, it's already a bother." Kakashi noted. "Maybe it is also worthy of discussion."
"Ninjas are not supposed to cry." Naruto sniffled and got up.
"On a mission." Kakashi agreed. "But now that it's over, why won’t you tell me what's on your mind?"
"Really?" Naruto dared searching for Kakashi's gaze now, and he met his Sensei smiling eye. "Ok, I guess…."
Kakashi waited for the boy to come seat next to him, and even then, he held still for Naruto to start the conversation. He did not lose his patience as the boy struggled, but allowed the silence between them to be comfortable and inviting.
"Kakashi-Sensei…" the boy tried after a while in a very low voice.
"Yes?" Kakashi answered with a whisper.
"I think I failed this mission." Naruto continued, embarrassed, throwing a side-glance at the clearing they both came from as if Sasuke or Sakura were eavesdropping on them.
"Why would you think that?" Kakashi simply asked, following Naruto's glance but there was no one there.
"Because I didn’t have it in me, that killer instinct, I… I didn't want to kill Haku, even after everything he had done to us… to Sasuke… it still felt wrong… he was so young, so strong, smelled like Jasmine tea…"
"He was an Omega." Kakashi stated softly.
"Was he really?" Naruto gasped. "A male Omega?"
That explained so much, that boy was too cute, even cuter than Sakura.
"It is hard for us, Alphas, to strike down an Omega, or even a Beta, for a matter of fact. It goes against our protective nature." His Sensei explained. "It was nothing I enjoyed, running a chidori through Haku's chest." Kakashi's voice became melancholic as his speech progressed, and he ended it with a soft sight.
But Kakashi's words only inflamed Naruto's rage further, the boy nearly growled at the memory, he made a fist and smacked it on the rock beneath him.
"Why? Why did Haku value Zabuza's life above his own? Why was he so hell-bent on protecting that demon? An Omega life for an Alpha? That's crazy, Sensei!"
Kakashi shrugged and shook his head at the same time. "Omegas are just like us, Naruto, they have their own free will, their own priorities, their own faults. Gone are the days when they were kept away from the world and used for breeding only. For the better, don’t you think?"
"Of course, I do! But… But… it feels like… such a waste."
"I know." Kakashi pet Naruto briefly on his shoulder. "Any life taken is a life wasted, but we are shinobi, we are tools of destiny, we must accept death even when we do not understand it."
"Hey, Kakashi-Sensei." Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Already told you, I got my own Ninja way! When I am Hokage, Omegas will be safe again!"
"How? Are you planning on putting them back in their cage?"
"No, hell no!" Naruto scowled. "I will find a way!"
"Sure you will." Kakashi nodded with a smiling eye. "Just remember, Haku and Zabuza were criminals, working for a very bad person, with very bad intentions. Once they took Gato's commission, they've made their stand. I'm glad we were able to stop them."
"I'm glad too, I just… I'm not sure I will be able to kill an Omega, Sensei, ever."
"I understand."
"I don’t want an Omega to give up their life for me either… or anyone else, actually."
"You would not let Sakura protect you?" Kakashi wondered. "Has Sasuke not done this already at the ice cage? Are you not worthy of protection?"
"Wait, Sakura is an Omega?" Naruto nearly jumped off his seat.
Kakashi sighed and held his hand to his forehead protector. "Females are usually Beta or Omega, rarely an Alpha. Males are usually Alpha or Beta, rarely an Omega."
Naruto glared at his teacher. "But Sakura! You didn't answer my question." He stated.
"It is hard to tell between the secondary genders." Kakashi agreed. "Unless you strip them naked. Sniffing may help, but not everyone gives out a distinctive smell, preadults scents are even harder to decipher."
"So how did you know about Haku?" Naruto wondered.
"I have a very good nose." Kakashi replied. "My nin-dogs got a better one."
"Alright." Naruto nodded slowly. "I think Haku is the first Omega male I've ever met."
"There are one or two male Omegas born in every generation, some of them are even shinobi. I'm sure you ran into some without even noticing. Not everyone announces their secondary sex in public, after all, there is such a thing called privacy."
"This means Sasuke could be an Omega too?" Naruto gasped again. "He's so pretty! You must know, Sensei, please, tell me!"
"Alpha, Omega, beta…. It is none of your business." Kakashi squirmed on his seat. "What I am telling you kid is- this is well past your bedtime."
"But Kakashi! It's unfair! Everyone knows I'm an Alpha, everyone knows you're an Alpha too! "
"True, both of our scents are very obvious."
"I think I deserve to know my team-mates' full gender!"
Kakashi sighed. "If this is so important to you, I suggest you ask Sakura and Sasuke yourself. They might tell you… or kill you instead."
"Fair enough." Naruto nodded and gulped." Last question, promise- Could it happen to us too? Same as Zabuza and Haku?"
"Gotta be more specific, kid. What could happen to us?" Kakashi sighed again.
"Could the Leaf village take a commission that put us on the wrong side and force us to become bad too? How could we know? What should we do?"
"Well done, Naruto." Kakashi gasped with surprise. " That's a really profound question. Usually you don’t get this deep, " He noted with disbelieve. "Are you coming down with a fever or something?"
"You did not answer my question again." Naruto muttered with frustration.
"Fine." Kakashi sighed. "I'll do my best." He nodded, then fell into a moment of silence, gazing at his shadow on the ground.
Naruto rose his head to the sky of clouds; the half mood was just a fuzzy blur behind a curtain of mist.
"We choose our Hokages with great care." Kakashi struggled with his words. "We choose them according to their strength, but not only the strength of their muscles or mind, but also the strength of their spirit, spirit of fire, pure, blazing and bright. We trust them to keep us on the right path, and we know they will never lead us into darkness. Is that a good enough answer?"
"I don’t know, I'm not that smart." Naruto smirked and got up on his feet, he started walking back to their camp. "Goodnight, Kakashi-Sensei, wake me up when it is my turn to keep watch."
"Good night, Naruto." Kakashi answered and went up in smoke.
A shadow clone? Naruto frowned and lifted up his gaze to see the real Kakashi. His Sensei was next to the fire, and he had never once laid down his book. The boy shook his head as he went back into his bedroll.