His scent is full bloom by the time they arrive back with the deer. Sakura can see that hunting had helped some, but his instincts are putting on the pressure for the main purpose of the rut.

In most cases, a rut would align with the omega's heat -- Practically ensuring a pregnancy.

Thankfully for Sakura, Shisui is not that lucky.

They take the buck to the shed a few feet from the cabin and set it on the table.

"Look at you, alpha hunter." Says Izumi as she leans against the doorway, arms crossed. "I was worried you got lost in the wilderness."

"Nah," Says Shisui. "Sakura has an internal map of this place."

"I can take it from here," She says. "You two go warm up."

The pink haired alpha finds herself hesitating to hand it over to Izumi. There's something about her dark eyes and pseudo casual stance that puts Sakura on edge.

"Cool," Says Shisui. With a surprising gentleness, he hefts Sakura over his shoulder. "We need a shower."

And she watches from over his shoulder as the brunette stares after them, arms still crossed.

xXx

When they come out, the omega are crowded around the door. Ino sits down the hall, telling them to give Shisui some space.

It was Sakura that had brought down the deer, but she had pointed them towards the alpha in rut.

Kin and Sai show their gratitude before running back to their own alpha. Itachi softly grabs his hand. Sakura looks back at Ino who waves her off.

There's a creeping anticipation when Itachi leads Shisui back to the room they share. She and Deidara follow and she's surprised to see the blonde omega with them.

Itachi stands on tip-toes to reach the taller alpha and Shisui dips down to kiss him.

His mouth immediately opens, wanting and pliant. Shisui makes a low, pleased noise, his left hand softly cupping the dark haired omega's bottom.

Itachi guides him back to the bed and the alpha follows as he's bid, intently looking to Sakura who might oppose him. Itachi pushes the older Uchiha's shirt up his chest and Shisui pulls it off.

"Don't move your hands from this spot," The smaller Uchiha tells him as he positions Shisui's hands on the metal bars of the headboard.

Shisui has gone quiet, gaze intent on the omega. When he pulls away and the curly haired alpha doesn't move, Deidara steps closer.

Sakura hangs back, watching with curiosity as the omega rub their cheeks against the bigger man's.

His eyes close and he pushes his shoulders down, neck arching enough to give them more space when they move to it and down his trapezoids.

The Godaime's apprentice moves to sit on the bed while they're lost in marking the other alpha.

His fingers drum restlessly against the metal, pinky-ring-middle-index then it starts again. Eyes tightly shut, his breath hitches when their faces brush his ribs, over the tops of his obliques to his hips.

Shisui's practically purring, abdominals twitching, and Deidara finally pulls away. "This is where I stop."

"I got you," Says Sakura. "I'm sure he knows you appreciate him."

The blonde strides from the room and the pink haired alpha takes his place beside the older man. Slowly he lets go of the supports, offering his hands to his lovers. Itachi's tongue swipes against the gland on his wrist and Shisui exhales between clenched teeth.

His fingers tangle tight in inky locks, pulling him down against a broad chest. The omega presses their mouths together and while Shisui returns the kiss, he doesn't let it deepen.

His fingers almost timidly pull at Itachi's shirt. Sakura's nails are light as they scratch along his hips.

Her palm glances against his tented pants and his hand closes around her wrist. It's not painful but it's firm enough to give Sakura pause.

"I'm going to lose it if we do this now," He says. His voice is like cold gravel during a blistering summer.

Itachi's mouth peppers kisses over his neck. "We can handle it."

He hums in appreciation, cards his fingers through long, dark hair. "Not after last time."

"Please?" Asks the younger Uchiha.

He meets Sakura's gaze again and the pink haired alpha thinks she probably shouldn't have punched him as hard as she did. His grip twitches around her wrist and her fingers inch towards his waistband, watching for any sign he may stand firm on his earlier decision.

When he makes no attempt to stop her, she interprets it to mean he's changed his mind.

xXx

"Are we finally past it?" Asks Ino.

Sakura nods, "I think so."

They sip from their mugs of hot chocolate.

Izumi sets the venison stir fry in the center of the table. Almost as if by magic, the omega appear and sit. Shisui takes his time.

"I didn't know you could cook," He says.

Izumi settles into her own spot. "I've picked up a few things under Mikoto-sama's tutelage."

While the food is dispersed, Shisui's voice pipes up again, "Is that my Killer B shirt?"

Between bites, she says. "Looks better on me."

Ino and Sakura share a glance.

"So how long have you two been friends?" Asks Ino, gesturing between them with her hashi.

"Fourteen years," Says Shisui as he stares daggers into Izumi. Sakura can tell he wants his shirt back.

"Loss brought us together," Says the umber haired alpha but she doesn't look up.

"So you fucked, un." Says Deidara.

Both of the older Uchiha pause. They look to each other, Sakura, then Itachi. Their gazes meet again.

Izumi leans against the back rest and Shisui says. "Ah. One time. At the beginning."

The blonde omega quirks a brow.

"We're better as friends," Says Izumi.

"Really?" Asks Itachi. "What happened?"

Shisui says, "Romantically incompatible." At the same time Izumi says, "He bit me."

Itachi furrows his brow. The curly haired Uchiha looks to Sakura like he doesn't know how to explain.

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Sakura isn't all that bothered. She thinks she probably should be, but Shisui hadn't made any indication whatsoever that he'd had an attraction towards the female Uchiha.

"Bit... You?" Asks Itachi.

Shisui's eyes close as he sighs through his nose, running a hand through his hair before meeting Itachi's gaze. "I got overzealous and didn't know my own strength. Things went a little sideways after that."

Sakura glances to Izumi. The expression she wears tells the pink haired alpha that it was not an accident.

She thinks Izumi is probably one of the first women Shisui had inadvertently, "burned."

But they were still friends. Still talking shit and cracking jokes. She'd seen them on the porch smoking cigarettes and discussing random stuff a few times during this trip.

"Also," He says, tone mildly offended. "You had just discovered that you had a vagina at that time so you didn't want to be serious. You wanted to fuck every dick in a two mile radius."

Izumi shrugs. "You got me."

"What happened with Mikoto-sama?" Asks Sakura. "Did she find you?"

The brunette shakes her head. "But she'll have the entire Clan looking for me when I get back. So that's fun."

"For someone who doesn't like outsiders, you sure do spend a lot of time with them," Says Ino.

"Why wouldn't I?" Asks the female Uchiha. "No guilt when I wipe their memories and send them on their merry fucking way."

Even Itachi looks a little shocked as the entire table, sans Shisui, stares. "What?" She asks. "You realize Shisui can manipulate memories and thoughts, right?"

"Pear," Says Shisui, annoyance finally making an appearance in his voice.

Ino's expression when she looks at Sakura says there's going to be a long conversation as soon as she can get the pink haired alpha alone.

"Sui, there's nothing wrong with me--"

His hand goes up. "No one's judging you." He says. "You just caught everyone off guard. That's all."

Deidara opens his mouth and Sakura knows he's going to say that he is actually judging her. Shisui's gaze lands on him and the blonde's mouth snaps shut.

He sighs and returns to his meal with an air of nonchalance. But she can see he's just pushing food around.

He's worried.

"Do you and your husband not get along, un?" Asks Deidara.

Sakura thinks he's determined to see a fight tonight.

"We're six years apart in age," She says. "And he's gay."

Shisui just about spits his drink. Swallows and breaks into laughter. "Wait, wait." He says. "I thought he was bi?"

"Nope," She says. "One hundred percent homo."

"You could triad?" He says.

Izumi shudders. "Absolutely not."

"Is it your husband or his lover that grosses you out?" Itachi asks.

"My husband would be," She tilts her head this way and that as she searches for the word, "Tolerable. His lover, I am repulsed by."

"Okay," Says Sakura. "I have to know. Who is it?"

Shisui and Izumi look to each other. There's more head tilting and gaze shifting. Finally, Izumi says, "It doesn't matter."

Obviously still mad about the commandeering of his shirt and being outed for his abilities, Shisui says, "It's Sasuke."

"Uh?" Says Ino. "What?"

"Really?" Says Itachi. "I... Never would have guessed."

Glaring at the older Uchiha, Izumi says. "We just don't talk about it. He warms the bed of the idiot Jinchuuriki, and I do as I please."

xXx

"Sakura," Whispers Ino the moment they're alone in Sakura's room. "I don't think you should stay with him any longer."

"Ino, I know what she said but she's probably just being dramatic. Uchiha do that."

"Is drama something you actually want to be in all the time?" Asks the blonde. "Because I promise that shit is exhausting."

"It's not going to be all the time--"

"Yes it is," Argues Ino. "Uchiha are nothing but trouble. And he is high-ranking. Which means he is going to be interacting with and sorting out the drama of the Clan."

"Ino--"

"I'm telling you." She says. "Don't let him guilt you in to staying. You're going to get hurt."

"Alpha~" Calls Kin. "I'm sleepy. Come love me."

"For real, Sakura. Get the fuck out of this relationship." Then Ino leaves the privacy of Sakura's room and disappears down the hall.

Contemplating whether or not her friend is right, she stands from the foot of the bed. The Uchiha trio had gone outside to cool down for a bit.

Stepping out to join them, she finds it odd that it's just Itachi on the porch. Even more so that he has a cigarette between his fingers as he'd been lecturing the curly haired alpha to quit over the last few months.

"Hey," He says. "Will you sit with me?"

She pats his head. Something feels off. "Where are the other two?"

"They went to finish cleaning the shed," He says. "Stay here with me."

She opens the door to the shed. Shock and anger spring up when she meets glowing red eyes that stare at her from over a broad shoulder. The bloodstained table knocks against the wall where Izumi's legs are wrapped around Shisui's waist, fingers splayed over his back.

It's the fact that he doesn't even look up to the door being opened that tips her off. "I know this is a genjutsu."

She blinks and finds herself standing in the living room next to the wood burning stove. The fire is just coals but it puts off a substantial amount of heat.

The brunette is sitting cross-legged in the recliner. "So there's a use for that massive forehead after all."

Shisui and Itachi are talking shit on the porch. The omega starts laughing as the curly haired alpha says, "No! I'm serious!"

"What the hell is your problem?" Asks Sakura. "I have no bones to pick with you."

"Shisui is my best friend," She says. "And he always chooses dumbfuck whores who have an Uchiha fetish and think he's going to suddenly be sunshine and roses."

"Shisui is sunshine and roses," Says Sakura. "He's just got a few razor blade thorns."

Izumi blinks. Sakura thinks she's surprised her. "So you know about his proclivities, then?"

"You thought I didn't know?" Says the medic. "That bringing up his teeth would tip me off and I'd run away after he explained himself?"

"He usually hides it until he can't anymore."

"Not from me," Replies Sakura.

"Okay, I'll skip to the main point then." She says. "If you hurt him, I'll turn you into a goddamn vegetable."

"Have I given you any reason to think I would?" She asks.

Izumi's legs unfold as she gracefully rises from the chair, her shoulder jars against Sakura's as she moves down the hall to her room.

Stepping onto the porch, she sits on the other side of Itachi. "Can either of you explain why Izumi is on the war path anytime she and I are alone?"

"Sorry," Says Shisui. "I'll talk to her."

"No," Says Sakura. "Just explain it to me."

"Ah," Says Shisui. "When she was a kid, she got bullied. Kurama attacked and the entire Uchiha Clan got blamed. The bullying got more intense."

"I remember that," Says Itachi. "It didn't bother me very much, but she had a hard time with it."

"It lasted for a long time," Says the older Uchiha. "She made friends with a girl who set her up to be mobbed by the other girls in the group -- It put her in the hospital."

"Outsiders..." Says Sakura.

"It didn't help that some of the well-meaning members of the Clan kept telling her she wouldn't have that problem if she hadn't befriended them in the first place."

Itachi sighs. "I know which ones those are. I don't think they knew any better."

"Itachi got snatched, the girls started rumors about her." Says Shisui. "And then someone leaked the information on Danzou wanting us all dead."

Sakura's mouth comes open. "How does he still have his office?"

"Dunno." Says the curly haired alpha. "It was too much for Pear and she tried to off herself. The Clan had to step in at that point, but it wasn't until Mikoto went to each and every girl's family personally, that it finally stopped."

Sakura chews on this for a minute. "Was she serious about your ability to plant thoughts and memories?"

There's a long pause before he says, "Yes."

"Have you ever used it on us?" She asks.

There's no hesitation this time when he says, "No."

"Have you ever thought about it?"

His eyes move back and forth between Sakura and Itachi. He anxiously licks his lips before he finally says, "Yes."

"Why?" Asks Itachi.

"The first night when Sakura said she was handing you to someone else. I realized there were other options. I've thought about removing your trauma," He admits. "Convincing you both to change your mind about the abortion. I couldn't do it."

Izumi comes out to the porch, sits on Shisui's knee and starts rifling through his jacket pockets.

He leans back on his hands. "What are you looking for?"

She finds a small, square packet and sticks it in her own pocket.

"Wait a minute!" He says, "That's my last one."

"You aren't going to use it," She argues and they proceed to childishly slap fight for it.

"What is it?" Asks Itachi.

She manages to grab the cigarette pack before throwing herself into the snow away from him.

"Don't you dare," He says as he watches her pull out the one cigarette he has turned upside down. "Don't take my lucky and my last mint condom, you fucking monster."

She cackles and Ino steps out too, sitting beside Sakura. "She looks like a whole ass villain right now."

"That's because she is one," Says Shisui as he straddles her in valiant effort to rescue his rolled tobacco as she attempts to light it.

They pause when she accidentally kicks him in the groin and he drops beside her into the snow to catch his breath. "I always thought it would be Sakura."

Izumi shows no remorse as she lights it, inhales long and slow, then blows the smoke in his face. "I win."

"I find it hard to believe this guy took on Orochimaru and won," Says Ino. "He got incapacitated by a kick to the nuts."

"Christ," Says Shisui. "Let a man be mortally wounded for a minute."

"Mortally wounded," Snorts Izumi with an eye roll.

Something shifts in the skeletal trees and the older Uchiha move to their feet.

Shisui meanders over to stand next to Itachi.

Izumi throws open the door and darts back inside.

"Bitch," Mutters Shisui.

"It's probably a squirrel," Says Ino. "They make a lot of noise out here."

Someone screams and the group rushes inside.

The three omega are spattered in blood. Sai seems indifferent to it, but Kin and Deidara appear to be excited.

"Do it again, un." Says Deidara as he approaches Izumi, licking the blood from his arm.

The brunette has a member of ANBU by the hair, the kunoichi's throat has been slit open.

The blonde tries to take the hunting knife from Izumi's hand but she holds it higher than he can reach.

"No fair, un."

"Don't eat it, un." Says Izumi. "She might've had an STD or a fucking contagious disease."

At his pout, she says, "You want to give everyone around you the clap?"

"What I love is that is the one you reference," Says Shisui. "You couldn't say mono or herpes."

Izumi shrugs, dropping the kunoichi. "That the only one?"

"So far," Replies Shisui as he rolls her over and pulls the porcelain mask from her face. He whistles a long, low note. "If it isn't Konohagakure at it again."