Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"Behind you, Naruto!" yelled Sasuke through gritted teeth as he maneuvered his sword to throw an enemy soldier off his horse.
Naruto turned around just in time to fend off the blade aimed for his back and quickly turned the tables on the enemy soldier.
Releasing a small sigh of relief, Sasuke turned his attention back to the rest of the battlefield. They had been travelling through the Water Kingdom to reach the Land of Iron on the other side, with the purpose of negotiating a peace treaty. They had almost reached the border of the Water Kingdom when their party had been ambushed by enemy soldiers, which led to their current predicament.
Fighting off another soldier, Sasuke's trained eyes tried to look for some sign that would indicate under who's orders were these soldiers operating, but the enemy was smart and bore no identification. For now it seemed the only way out was to fight their way through.
The battle raged on and it finally seemed the travelling party was gaining the upper hand until Sasuke heard a young girl's cry emanating from the forests.
'Shit. Civilians.' he thought as he willed his steed to move towards the sound. The canopy of trees dwindled as he moved in the direction of the cry until it disappeared completely and made way for a cliff with a river flowing under it. Near the edge of the cliff stood an enemy soldier, his hair tightly gripping a young girl's hair.
"Ever the honorable, King Sasuke. We knew you wouldn't ignore a civilian's cry. You're far too predictable." the soldier mocked as his lips twisted into a sinister smirk and his grip on the girls hair tightened, making her cry out once again.
Grinding his teeth together, Sasuke spoke. "Let the girl go, you bastard. Your fight is with me."
The soldier's smirk only widened and Sasuke felt someone coming up behind him. Alas, he turned around a fraction of a second too late and the enemy soldier charging behind him grazed his arm with his sword and knocked him off his horse.
Ignoring the cries of his muscles, Sasuke willed himself to get up from where he fell and positioned his sword to fight. The soldier holding the girl hostage flung her aside and charged towards the young king.
Blocking the incoming attack, Sasuke engaged in close combat with the enemy, swords colliding again and again as the sound of metal clashing with metal echoed through the valley.
'What's happening? My body isn't moving the way it should.' Sasuke frowned as he fought off blow after blow.
Glancing at his injured arm, his eyes widened when he saw the edges of the wound turning a deep violet color.
'Poison!' his mind exclaimed. Taking advantage of his distracted state, both enemy soldiers charged in at once. Moving reflexively, Sasuke managed to block off one of the soldiers but a mangled cry escaped his throat when the second soldier's sword tore through his abdomen.
Retracting his sword from Sasuke's body, the soldier smirked. Clutching his wound, Sasuke's knees folded underneath him and darkness began to creep in through the edge of his vision.
"What do we do with him now?" the soldier asked his comrade as he wiped the blood from his sword.
Gesturing to the valley behind him, his partner spoke. "Throw him over the cliff. If he survives the sharp rocks below, he'll either bleed out or the poison will do its job."
Nodding in approval, the soldier twisted his injured arm as he dragged him towards the edge of the cliff. Bending down to speak into the royal's ear, the soldier spoke "Well, well. This is it. The end of the last standing Uchiha. Go join the rest of your dead clan, punk."
The next instant, Sasuke was falling.
.
.
He felt like he he had been falling for ages but before the thought could end a sharp pain seared up his spine, causing explosions of white behind his eyelids. Before he could even register that his impact with the rocks had most likely broken his spine, the water was already sweeping him away.
Struggling to keep his head over the water, he used up every last bit of his remaining strength to fight his way to the shore. But with even the slightest movement, the pain in his back spread further and the wound on his arm burned and throbbed.
'What's the point? Even if I make it to the shore, the poison will kill me.' He thought. 'Besides, the cold water feels so good against my skin...'
He closed his eyes and stopped struggling.
.
.
Sasuke groggily opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Though still not completely liberated from sleep, his mind could sense he was not in his castle. It seemed as though he was in a small hut of sorts. Instead of the wide, rose wood bed of his chambers, he was lying on a mattress on the ground. There was a wooden tray next to him with herbs and vials arranged on it, and another tray beside it with ingredients to prepare tea.
Little by little, the memories of the ambush and his defeat that followed came back to him. He remembered giving up hope and letting the water embrace him and pull him under, so how did he end up here?
Sitting up a little, he opened the buttons of his shirt and inspected the wound on his abdomen.
'It's...gone?' he frowned in confusion when his eyes only met with unmarred, alabaster skin. 'Was the whole thing a dream?'
Quickly, he turned to inspect his arm and found that it too was in perfect health. All that remained from his memory of the fight was a dull ache that still resonated in his back.
"I see you're awake. That's good." he heard a voice say and he quickly turned his head to where a woman had just entered the room.
She was petite, lean with bright green eyes and pale pink hair that fell till her waste in soft waves. She donned a long white robe with a maroon obi tied expertly at her waist.
She made her way to the mattress where he lay and busied herself making tea from the ingredients kept beside him.
"Did you heal me?" Sasuke spoke in a low voice.
Smiling a little, she answered. "Aa. I did."
"You have my thanks, fair lady. How long have I been here?"
Closing the kettle to let the tea brew, she turned her entire attention to him.
"I'd say a few hours. How are you feeling?"
Sasuke frowned.
"A few hours? That cannot possibly be." he looked down at his stomach. "A wound like that couldn't heal in only a few hours."
The smile she donned left her face. "That doesn't matter now. Tell me," she asked again, "How do you feel?"
Confusion still evident on his face, he looked at her.
"Quite healthy. There is only a dull ache in my back."
"Ah, yes. I thought so. I couldn't quite angle you properly to take of that completely." she said, standing up. "If you take off your shirt, I'll have a look at it now."
Following her, Sasuke stood up- ignoring the jab in his back- and lifted off his shirt. She moved to stand behind him and placed her palms in the center of his back. Immediately feeling vulnerable, Sasuke opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing when suddenly a warmth began to seep into his inflamed muscles. His eyes widened at the sensation and he instinctively turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of the ethereal, green glow surrounding the woman's palms.
It only took a moment for him to recount where he had read of such a sight before.
"You...you're a battle priestess." he exclaimed.
A ghost of a smile formed on her lips as she nodded slightly.
"Indeed I am." she said as she removed her hands from his back and returned her attention to the tea.
Sitting back down in front of her, Sasuke thought long and hard for a few moments before he spoke.
"The priestesses, they disappeared a hundred years ago."
She poured the tea into a ceramic cup and placed it before him. Looking into his eyes, she said,
"It seems like we are both the last of our lineage, your highness."
A/N Another story. When will the government stop my sinful hand?