Sage of Hearts

Sage of Hearts 3

Disclaimer: I certainly don't own Naruto, Disney or any of its affliated properties.If I did, I wouldn't be writing this now would I?

"The connection of our hearts..." : Speech (Bold for yelling ,Bijuu, or massive creatures)

'The connection of our hearts...' : Thought

The Sage of Hearts

Being the bodyguard of a princess wasn't a bad gig – you were basically at the beck and call of your charge and her parents but not many other people could really tell you to do stuff. Naruto was assigned his job when he was seven – now at the age of thirteen, he was finally allowed to train with the castle guards to be able to actually fight for Snow White (granted he could basically trounce anyone with his raw strength but the king insisted on some sword training at the very least). His formative years in the castle (basically the six years he spent goofing off with the princess) were fun as he learned two things about the royal family. The first was that Snow White was an absolute joy to be around – she could light up a room with her cute and delicate demeanour but never really took advantage of her sway over people (Naruto was glad that was the case – he had charisma in spades but even he was taken aback by her effortless moe factor). The second was that while the king appointed him as his daughter's bodyguard, he rarely got to see the man especially as he seemed to waste away with every year. Instead he spent most of his time with Queen Grimhilde, who insisted on 'tutoring' him with the excuse of 'edifying his simple and brutish' mind to better suit a person of his standing in life (apparently being a meat shield and playmate for royalty qualified as a better standing ...meh...).

Naruto would freely admit that she was a weird lady, what with her strict tutoring sessions where she would drag her fingers across his face, shoulders and chest while teaching him stuff like history, math and English. He certainly could see why he had to learn the stuff even if it made his head hurt but he always left those sessions feeling oddly drained – he had boundless energy but he could feel the slight dip in his reserves, noticeable but generally insignificant. He also learned that the Queen was also a *bit* in love with herself – seriously, who needed a huge mirror that they always kept in their room? It wasn't like she had only one...she just seemed to be extra protective of that particular reflective surface for some reason (Naruto couldn't see why – the endless depths of that mirror just gave him the creeps).

In any case, our story begins in the early hours of a spring morning in the castle barracks where Naruto was busy torturing *ahem* "training" with his teacher (none other than Humbert – the queen's personal aide and huntsman). The two of them were going through their sword fighting forms, with Naruto swinging his wooden sword with energetic flourishes while Humbert was busy defending and occasionally riposting Naruto's advances.

"Give it up old man! I got you on the ropes already and I haven't even started sweating yet!" Naruto said as he darted around poor old Humbert, who was helplessly watching as this teenager was flitting around him like a damn hummingbird while wearing full plate armor (he might as well have being in his underclothes with how much the armor 'weighed' him down). Nevertheless, he kept calm and waited for an opening – Naruto was fast and strong but he also had the attention span of a goldfish. He would eventually grow bored of harassing him and slip up and that would be when he would strike.

"Ah...Naruto, why do you insist on calling me old? I am merely in my early thirties, arguably still in my prime – besides, the art of battle is not always decided through overwhelming power and skill. Sometimes, all it takes is a little..." Humbert paused as he saw an opening and struck with a quick riposte that had Naruto's eyes wide in surprise.

"...sleight of hand."

Humbert made to disarm Naruto but as he approached the young lad, he saw his surprised demeanor suddenly shift into an impish expression.