My Prince (BOOK 1)

Chapter 29

It was late in the evening when Orochimaru and Kabuto finally came into view of their home. Dismounting the horses and leaving them to one of the butlers. They went to walk to the front door when Leo came running up.
He looked panic and out of breath. Kabuto looked up at Orochimaru, thinking he'd known what was up.

"What's wrong Leo?"
He puffed and stood straight, crossing his arms to try and hold in his heat. "The front... there.." he gulped. "there's something v-very unpleasant there."
"From an enemy?"
"I-I don't know... I was waiting for you two to arrive home and look at it."
Orochimaru hummed and walked to the front doors to see a truly unpleasant scene. Kabuto pushed his glasses back up the tip of his nose as his husband went to see who was hanging from their front steps.

It was three men. Two looked unrecognizable as human beings but one looked as if he had been stabbed in the throat and nothing more. Orochimaru pulled the letter pinned to the worse damaged boy, the one seeming to have been burned to death and have every little extended limb cut off (including the nether regions). He shook his head seemingly unaffected by the gruesome damage to the human bodies.

Flipping the letter open he read;
If your going to piss yourself over the money they couldn't give you I'll be more than glad to once I'm back from the Wind.
Make sure Kabuto keeps up on Sasukes treatment, I don't need to come back with his death over my head.

"Not signed." He looked back at the three bodies hanging from nooses. Shaking his head he had already known who set this up.
"An enemy of yours Orochimaru?"
Kabuto crossed his arms from the bottom of the stairs. Orochimaru smiled with glee and a humored fondness.
"Dear you know no enemy of ours can do this." He chuckles. "It was our lovely hebi."
Kabuto took the letter from between Orochimarus fingers. Reading it, he looked back up at his husband.
"How are you certain this is Naruto? She didn't sign it."
"Kabuto we taught her not to sign such letters." He mused. "Especially with the dramatic scenery she set up here." Snapping his fingers, a man as tall as 6' foot .5 inches and as skinny as a pencil came walking from nowhere. "Go alert his majesty we have the culprits he's been looking for."
He bowed and stalked off without any words shared. Kabuto looked at his husband.
"What are we going to do with the bodies?"
"Take them down and leave them for his majesty. I'm sure with the amount of damage made by our hebi the animals at night won't even think to get a bite of them."
Kabuto scowl at the disgusting idea. He sighed, "Why'd she have to leave it on our property?"
"Well I'm sure neither of us would've believed how gruesome she was with them if having not seen them for ourselves."
"She's just like you."
Orochimaru smiled at the compliment. "Thank you."

~~**~~

Kushina looked down at Sasukes unconscious figure. She scoffed at him.

"Why would my daughter do so much for you Huh? If it was me I would've let those men kill you."
"Would you now. I never knew the queen was such a heartless bitch."

Kushina looked over to see Naruto leaning against the wall. Her arms crossed and look blank. The only emotion Kushina could see was anger and those were in Narutos beautiful azure eyes.
Naruto pushed off the wall and walked over to the desk holding the medicine and pills Kabuto brought to heal Sasukes wounds. She picked one up but set it down after reading the label.
Kushina watched her.

"What are you doing?"
"Making sure there's nothing mixed in to harm Sasuke."
"Why do you care? He's a self-centered prick."

Naruto turned and pulled Kushina closer to her face by the collar of her now scrunched up gown.

"Touch him while I'm away and I will make your life hell Kushina. As I said before I left to find him, I don't care what it takes but he will be under my care and act like a child while I'm around." She let her mother go and opened the door. "You have no business here."
Kushina clenched her hands and walked to the door. "I've never met someone as disrespectful as my own daughter."

Naruto followed Kushina out of the infirmary and called over Isamu.

"Yes General."
"Makes certain that Queen Kushina does not enter this room. If she does, I give you permission to drag her out by her hair."
Isamu nodded, and smirked. He's never been given permission to disrespect a royal before.
"Are you going somewhere General? You've only just gotten back."
"I made a promise and need to keep my word. I'll be gone for a few days and no more."
Isamu nodded as Naruto walked off.

"Naruto."
Itachi ran to catch up with Naruto as she entered the horse stalls. She looked back as she grabbed one of the saddles.
He frowned. "Where are you going?"
"I have something to do."
"That isn't watching my brother?"
"Kabuto will be able to heal his injuries." 'My blood should also help when it kicks in' "I'll only be gone a few days."
"You were gone a "few days" last time."
Naruto sighed and strapped the horse before looking back at Itachi. "I made a promise and need to keep my word Itachi. This time I won't be coming back looking like I got a whip from a belt alright."
He crossed his arms as she mounted the horse.
"Have you even ate? Slept? All I've seen you do is change clothes, leave, come back to check on my brother and now your leaving again."
"I've taken a bath if that makes you feel any better."
"It doesn't. Your not supposed to be running off everywhere. Your supposed to be here with my brother resting because I'm sure you haven't had a good nights sleep for at least a week."
"Oh I see you found out I went to orochimarus."
"Even Shisui figured that out!" He glowered in annoyance.
Naruto gave a reassuring look. "I'll be back in a few days Itachi."
"Where are you going?"
"The Wind."
"Why?"
"Because I need to keep my word."
"To whom? May you enlighten me?"
"To one of the men I was sold to."
Itachi looked at her in disbelief. "You mean who put my brother in this state?! Your going to help them?!"
"Oh no those men are already dead. You should get word in a few hours." Naruto clarified. "I promised I'd keep his pregnant sister safe."
"That's not your job Naruto."
"Itachi I am your general and I am a knight who cares more about their job than you could know... but these will be my people one day. I left her without a source of income for her and her child."
Itachi frowned. "Don't use that against me."
"I'm bringing her back here so I can keep an eye on her and the rest of what I've been neglecting."
"And what will happen when the others find out your letting a Wind native stay in your chambers?"
"I think you underestimate how much people are actually scared of me Itachi. She'll only be staying until the baby is born. After that I'll travel with her back to the Wind where she'll be able to find a job."
"As a prostitute."
Naruto scowled. "No idiot. There are places that women are allowed to work, like farms and book stores."
"I'm not an idiot." Itachi pouted.
Naruto rolled her eyes. "Don't discriminate the female gender again than." She sighed, "I'll be back early morning or late afternoon on Monday. Isamu will be stationed outside the infirmary until further noticed and seeing I haven't seen Shisui all day it's highly unlikely he'll go back to second command and think I'm back in charge."
"And your health Naruto."
"I'll buy something to eat in the Wind father, don't worry."
"I'm not your father I'm just nervous I'll hear you were killed by a wolf or molested in a weakened state. It's also becoming colder with winter rolling around."
"A week without me and you forget who your talking to." Naruto snapped the lead and dug her heels into the horses side. He began to move as Itachi yelled at Naruto.
"I haven't forgotten one bit you stubborn girl!"