DISCLAIMER: I do not, have not, and will not(not for lack of wanting) ever own Naruto. That honor belongs to that lucky bastard Kishimoto. I envy him for his storytelling skills, I really do.

Ch. 1: Fox Hunt

The cart careened along the dirt road violently, every minute bump threatening to unseat its passengers. The air around it was alive with the sounds of thundering hooves and gun shots. A sharp bend in the road nearly managed to overturn the wooden vehicle. Following close behind two men dressed in the dark purple garb of the Empire took aim. One bullet went to the far left, missing drastically, but the other dug into on of the wooden crates that still lay in the bed of the cart.

"Now would be a great time to lose them," snarled a raven haired man who was crouched behind the crates. Hefting up his own shotgun he raised his body up as far as he dared to return fire.

"We can't until Naruto catches up," shouted the driver, a man with gravity defying white hair and an eye patch.

The younger ducked again, pressing his back against the crates and steadying himself as they took another turn. Where was that idiot? The teen partly blamed himself for being unable to stop him from jumping out in the first place, but he already knew that there was nothing he could have done. Pale lips twisted into a grim frown. They couldn't keep this up forever, sooner or later something would go wrong. As the wagon returned to all four wheels the young man positioned himself to fire again.

"Sasuke, how many bullets do you have left?" called the man at the reins.

This was another problem, "You don't want to know. Just keep going!"

The dark haired teen, Sasuke, took another shot. It was close, one of the persuers had to swerve to avoid it. As the soldier struggled to get his horse back on track a blur of yellow streaked down from an overhanging in the tall, tree-lined hills that flanked their left side. The horse and it's rider that had taken the lead went down in a cloud of dust. As the dust cleared the creature stood, ready to pounce as the soldier that had fallen behind approached. The remaining soldier did not falter, bearing down on the beast that killed his comrade with his gun aimed and ready. The creature had just sprung forward as the Imperial fired, dropping short of the target with a snarl. Another shot rang out causing the unknown being to dodge. It seemed to give up on the soldier and instead moved on ahead. It was easily faster than a horse and in no time a young man with a wild mop of blond hair was vaulting over the barrels to land beside Sasuke.

"Took you long enough!" the raven berrated with a scowl.

The man was too busy trying to catch his breath to scowl back, "I missed one, I don't know where he went."

"It doesn't matter, we're not staying around much longer. We could have lost them sooner if you hadn't gone running off on your own."

"I couldn-," the other boy hissed suddenly and pitched forward. A crimson stain was spreading across his tunic on his right side.

"Naruto..." there was worry in Sasuke's voice but it quickly changed to ferocity as he shouted to the driver, "Kakashi, it's time to go. Now!"

There was no response but the crack of the reins as the horses moved with renewed vigor. In the back, Naruto bit his lip in pain; sharp fang-like canines causing blood to swell out and fall over his chin. Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to dress the wound properly in their current situation. He forced the blond to lay out as much as he could in the cramped space and pressed one of the tunics he had retrieved from their bags on the wound .

"Fucking bastard... If you hadn't caused that one to fall back I would have gotten them both," the wounded teen said, releasing another hiss as the cart hit a particularly large bump.

"If you weren't screwing around you wouldn't of had to worry about attacking in the first place. Kakashi could have lost them, but we had to stall our escape because some idiot decided to lead a group of Imperials on a fox hunt in the opposite direction," Sasuke let all of his irritation sink through his voice.

It only irritated him further when the blond moron took on a whimsical smile, "Fox hunt, eh? Clever. You could have left me behind"

Dark eyes averted to the side, "No, I couldn't."

For a pregnant moment they were left in a resigned silence.

A fox hunt, indeed. With two, orange ears, whisker markings on his cheeks, and a plumed tail, Naruto was a kitsune. A rare version of magical beasts that roamed the lands. Creatures of human, or greater, intelligence, that came in various forms, and had the ability to weild certain magics. In many countries they were considered as low as common animals, including Sasuke's own, Konoha. Only creatures who became Bonded with humans held any status, and that was an ability only the old noble families still retained.

"Well, I suppose I should say I'm sorry for taking so long now, just in case I die from blood loss," Naruto said in an all too cheerful tone. At the glare directed his way, he added, "But, I'll try not to."

"Idiot."

The cart jerked hard and the startled cry of horses rose above the previous cacophony. Sasuke swore and peeked over the edge of the crates again. The soldier that was still in pursuit seemed to have run out of bullets but was closing the distance. Turning his head toward the front, trying to understand why they were slowing down, Sasuke saw that the soldier that Naruto must have lost in his own chase had reappeared ahead of them. Kakashi was dighting to keep the two horses pulling the carrage under control, but with the man in front of them in the way, he was unable to gain any speed.

Cursing under his breath Kakashi pulled his pistol out and started firing. With only one hand to control the cart, the horses veered from side to side, causing their driver to miss with every shot.

Having lost their initial lead and most of their speed, the soldier from behind managed to pull up beside the cart. Sasuke fired his gun, only to find it empty of ammo. Thing were not looking good, but he didn't have time to bother with worrying over all that had gone wrong that day. He started to sift through their bags again, cursing under his breath. The soldier had climbed into the bed of the cart, abandoning his mount. Naruto released an animalistic growl of warning just as Sasuke turned to face their attacker with a elegant looking sword. Careful not to trample his wounded companion, Sasuke kicked a crate loose, trying to knock off the soldier and create more room to maneuver. The crate went tumbling off the wagon's edge, smashing violently as it hit the ground. The enemy had managed to dodge the box and drew his own blade.

Mindful of the unstable wagon Sasuke jumped on top of one of the crates to engage his foe. The raven was no master swordsman, but he had been taught by the best available. While he had neither the experience or finesse, his innate talent and ferocious determination carried him through the battle. With every blow he felt himself gaining the advantage. The soldier was an older man, weighed down by heavy armor and an old wound that caused him to favor his left side. Sasuke continued his assault, a feirce smile spreading across his face.

The soldier suddenly swept his horizontally at Sasuke's legs. The raven jumped, but as he was already balancing on a precarious crate situated on a moving vehicle, he lost his footing when he landed. Like a cat, his body twisted around as he fell, landing awkwardly. The raven wasted no time in sheathing his blade into hiis attacker's middle. Flailing wildly, mouth agape in agony the soldier fell backwards off the side of cart, catching hold of Sasuke's sleeve in the process and dragging him along.

As he tumbled through the air, Sasuke wondered if he would break just as harshly as the crate had upon meeting the ground.

"Sasuke!" clawed hands wrapped firmly around his bicept, saving him from what would have surely been a painful death.

Naruto grimaced in pain as he held tight and struggled to pull his ally back over the railing of the cart. With his injury the feat was agonizing, but he was able to do it. Once safely inside Sasuke kept one tight grip on his sword and another on Naruto. The two crawled back to safety near the front of the cart, resting their backs on the crates once more.

"Thanks," Sasuke said, wiping the blood from his sword onto his pant leg.

Naruto managed a smirk through the pain, "No problem, but we're not out of the woods yet."

Kakashi had gone through his bullets and was back to trying to outmaneuver the remaining soldier that impeaded their escape.

"Hold on!" He warned. The two passengers pressed against the side, clinging tightly to the railing as Kakashi steered the horses off road. The soldier was only momentarily confused before following. every jostle was now considerable more violent, like a bull trying to pitch off it's rider. They had reached a veil of trees, a disadvantage for the less maneuverable and larger wagon.

"Sasuke, get up here and take the reins," Kakashi ordered. The younger man carefully climbed over the edge to take control of the horses. The white haired man hurried with his instructions before diving off the cart. Sasuke whipped his head around, but was unable to see his mentor. Whether that'he as a good thing or not he wasn't sure. As instructed he waited a minute or soo before turning to run parallel with the road they had abandoned. Trees blocked the otherwise clear path back to it and he turned to make a mad dash back as soon as their was a gap.

Their pursuer burst out from the trees to their left, pistol cocked and aimed steadily at Sasuke's head. Sasuke's eyes narrowed though he remained true to his course. Suddenly Kakashi dropped down from a branch, landing behind the soldier. With one quick slash,of his knife the warrior slumped over. Kakashi pushed him off and took control of the steed, meeting Sasuke back at the road.

"That was awesome, for an old man anyway," Naruto grinned as Kakashi rode up.

Sasuke let the horses rest for a moment and returned to the blond's side.

"That should be all of them, but we don't want to wait around too long. The quicker we get to Suna the better," Kakashi noted as he climbed down and released the horse.

Sasuke nodded as he pulled out a roll of bandages, "Naruto's been shot."

"I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt anymore," the blond sighed, waving Sasuke off.

"Really? So I can do this?"

"Ow! Fuck, bastard! What was that for?"

"You said it didn't hurt."

"Well I didn't expect you to press down so hard."

"If he's still this annoying it must not have hit anything vital, but we should still hurry so it doesn't get infected," Sasuke turned to Kakashi.

"We better get moving as soon as you're done wrapping him up then," the older man replied before adding, "You handled that sword well. Your father would have been proud."

Sasuke shifted uncomfortably, averting his gaze to the task at hand, "Let's just go already..."

Kakashi didn't comment any further. As the cart started back into motion Sasuke sat in the corner, letting his finger move along the engraved design on the blad of his sword. When had things gotten so complicated? His eyes lifted to his blond companion. Naruto was already out cold. After all the energy he had expended that day, he would probably sleep for a long while. A normal human wouldn't have been able to survice the strein, but after a good rest and food Naruro would be back on his feet.

You could have just left me behind

No, I couldn't

Something deep inside Sasuke cringed at the memory. The thought of leaving Naruto behind almost physically sickened him. It was an odd feeling, especially since he still knew very little about the other. It was a feeling that very few could ever feel. A magnetic pull. Ever since that day...

That day when his life changed completely for a second time, this time for the better. He hadn't known it at the time. The day he and Naruto Bonded.

End Chapter

This is the first chapter in a multi-chapter fic. I have absolutely no idea what will happen, because when I plan things they never work out. Due to that, I'm going to keep it loose and only think out my chapters right before I write them. Eventually there will be more naughty scenes, I'll make sure to either post those in separate works for those who are sensitive or give warning beforehand. Don't expect them to jump right into bed though.

More on Bonding and Sasuke's past in the next chapter. Sorry if this first one was a little confusing, I promise it will be explained soon.

One more thing, excuse me for any strange spelling mistakes. When I wrote this is was about 5 in the morning on my touch screen phone, in a PM(private message). I'll try to fix them as I see them.