Disclaimer: Heeheehee. That's a good joke. Me, owning the rights to Naruto? Oh, god. Stop, please. Don't tell another one. I think my sides have split.

Author's Note: I've had this one written and sitting around for quite a while. I think I was half-asleep when I came up with the premise... but the cute fluffy scenes were too much to resist. I mean, comeon. It's fluffy angst. What's not to love! (hit with shovel) ... Ohh. Anyway, I'm pretty self-conscious about this. Seriously. The Master/Slave storyline is waaay overused, so I was terrified of using it again. But again, I couldn't resist. However, I may have been scared enough to not post this if I hadn't sent it to a most wonderful friend of mine, Bonfiore'sGirl, who told me she loved it. That gave me just the kind of confidence I needed to post this. So, pretty please, if you like this story even a bit, drop by Bon'sGirl's page, read her stories, drop her a line, something. Just do something to show her how much you appreciate her for appreciating me. ;3

The nation was teetering on the brink of revolution. Everyone could sense it, even the slaves. They were all whispering about it, passing rumors down the chained line. Once in a while, a grimy man would open the door to their communal cell with a grating crunch and take one of the slaves away. Only then would the rumor swapping die down, but only until the man was gone. Naruto could hear them. Though he never joined in the conversations, he could listen to them, and he'd heard everything before. They had the same conversations every time a slave was taken away.

"Poor, poor sucker..."

"How could they do this to us! We're human beings, not cattle!"

"The government will collapse. Everyone knows it."

"The king doesn't know, though, and that's what is great!"

"I heard the revolutionaries will free us slaves if they take the government."

"Really, seriously! I hope they do..."

"I'd help them if I could escape this place! I want to bathe in the royal family's blood."

Naruto had heard everything, but he didn't much believe it. They were just rumors, after all, and there was nothing to a rumor. Nobody was going to save them from their miserable fate. They could only wait here in this stinky, disgusting cell until the man came to take them away, to sell them to a new family who might work them to death.

When the man came to take Naruto away, it wasn't much of a surprise. Even through the grime and dirt, one could see he was a well-built child of about nine, more suited to fighting or heavy labor than most other kids his age. He had a boyish, charming face surrounded by a shock of blond hair, and electric blue eyes. His eyes were the only part of him that wasn't tarnished by dirt. If his face had been clean, one would have noticed the three whisker-like scars that each of his cheeks bore. But Naruto was glad for a reason to ignore those.

There was no surprise when Naruto was taken away. He wasn't even surprised to get a look at his new master, a greasy-haired man with a snakelike face. The man strolled around him, eyes flitting up and down his body critically, and still Naruto was not surprised. The man soon nodded with satisfaction and paid the grimy man a hefty sum, then grasped Naruto's shoulder and steered his new purchase away. They drove back to his mansion, which was no surprise. He had to have been rich to buy a slave.

The first surprise came when the man lead Naruto though a secret passage hidden under the stairs near the back of the mansion. He was lead into a dimly lit room, where the only curiosities were a giant table in the middle of the room and all the men sitting around the table. They all jumped to their feet when Naruto and his master entered the room.

"Orochimaru-sama!" they all cried like soldiers. Orochimaru lead Naruto down to the table, where all the men craned to get a look at him.

"This is the one." said Orochimaru in a smooth voice. The change around the room was instantaneous. All the men cheered and clapped their hands together. A few even fell to their knees, thanking the Lord above. Naruto had no idea what they meant by this. Orochimaru left the men to their celebrating and knelt down to face Naruto eye-to-eye.

"Child," he said, "I bought you for a reason. See these men here? We are plotting a revolution. It will happen very soon, but it cannot happen without spies in the castle. This is what I want you to be. The family has been looking to buy a slave for the youngest prince, and I believe you are perfect. Your job will be to watch the prince constantly, remember his movements, and tell us as soon as you can. We have spies already watching the other members of the royal family, and though I doubt the littlest prince will be much of a threat right now, we cannot take any chances."

"What will you do once you know his movements?" Naruto asked, his throat scratchy from lack of use.

"Plan a time to kill him, of course." Orochimaru's lips cracked into a sickening smile. "Him and the rest of his useless family. We will eliminate the royal family and carve a new era from their blood."

Naruto shuddered. This man was insane, that was clear. But a new era... one where the slaves would be free, perhaps... that would be wonderful. Naruto was willing to give his life up for that dream. "I'll do it." he agreed fervently, and Orochimaru's grin widened.

"Very good, very good..."

The next surprise was the royal family themselves. Naruto had never bothered to envision them, as he'd never suspected he'd have to see them at all. But now that he was seeing them, they did not look as bad as everyone said they were. The king had a stern face, but he seemed to care for his family enough. The queen was a kindly woman who smiled at Naruto as soon as he came in. A man Naruto assumed was the older prince reclined on a smaller seat behind his parents, staring down at Naruto though very bored eyes.

"Your Lordships, I had heard you were looking for a slave for little Sasuke-sama, and I brought this one for your judgment." Orochimaru announced silkily, patting Naruto's blond head.

"He's filthy." the king commented distastefully. "You couldn't have washed him before you brought him?"

"He's cute." the queen commented sweetly. "I think Sasuke-chan will like him."

"The final decision is Sasuke's, however." the older prince drawled.

"Well? Call him in!" the king ordered, and several servants standing by scrambled off to obey. A few moments later, they lead the little prince in.

The prince himself wasn't much of a surprise, now that Naruto had seen the rest of his family. He was about the same age as Naruto and looked more like his mother than anyone else. He had his mother's dark raven hair, pale glossy skin, sweet face and round, glittering black eyes.

"A slave for you, Sasuke." the king said crisply. Naruto chanced and incredulous glance at him. What a formal way to speak to one's son!

Sasuke looked upon Naruto with new interest and, like Orochimaru, circled around him, staring him up and down. Naruto held himself completely still, rigidly, as if Sasuke was going to bite him if he moved an inch. When Naruto got a sneak look of Sasuke's face, he was smiling slightly. The expression let off a strange, endearing light from his face.

"He seems scared." Sasuke commented, and Naruto was almost ashamed to admit he liked the prince's voice. It flowed smoothly, like liquid. "I like him."

"The Lord has spoken." the older prince muttered sarcastically.

"Thank you for this gift, Orochimaru-san, how much would you like for him?" the king rumbled.

"No money." Orochimaru replied smoothly, mouth stretched in a nauseating grin. "I would be pleased and honored to present him to the prince, Sasuke-sama, free of charge. Consider it a birthday present."

"It isn't Sasuke's birthday..." the older prince's mouth curved sardonically. "Even so, that's very generous of you, Orochimaru. Are you sure you don't have any ulterior motives, perhaps, something that involves getting into my younger brother's pants...?"

"Itachi, enough!" the king snapped. "Thank you very much Orochimaru-san, this is a wonderful present..."

"I am honored." Orochimaru bowed, and Naruto noticed that sickening smile was still on his face, though it was a little forced now. "If I may take my leave..."

"Yes, please!" Sasuke laughed with delight. "Thank you, Orochimaru-san!" Orochimaru's forced grin grew even tighter. Without another word, the snakelike man swept out of the room. Immediately the tense feeling that had pervaded the room disappeared. Itachi let out a long-suffering sigh.

"I dislike him, Father... he's plotting something, I know it." Itachi said, glowering at Naruto suspiciously. Naruto quailed under the glare, but Sasuke saved him by grasping his hand and tugging him out of the room, through a side-door that lead to the rest of the castle, shouting a vague goodbye to his family. He pulled Naruto through a series of well-decorated hallways until they reached what had to be Sasuke's room. Everything seemed to be too large for such a small prince, from the high ceilings to the giant bed in the middle of the back wall. Sasuke dragged Naruto though his bedroom, through another door, and into his own personal washroom. Just like his bedroom, the tub was much too big for one person.

"Take off your clothes." Sasuke ordered suddenly. Naruto jumped in fright.

"Wh-What!" he cried. A smirk took over Sasuke's face.

"Take them off, or do I have to take them off for you?" Sasuke leaned in to breathe right into Naruto's ear, sending shivers down the slave's spine. His grip on Naruto's hand was still tight.

"Yes, Master..." Naruto grumbled, remembering his manners.

"Not "Master"." Sasuke corrected. "I don't like that. Just call me Sasuke."

"Sasuke...?" Naruto tested timidly. Sasuke laughed.

"Yes, that's me. Now, do I have to repeat myself? Take your clothes off."

Naruto winced, but saw no way out of it. Sasuke was his master now. Slowly, he started to peel his filthy shirt off, unpleasantly aware of Sasuke's eyes watching his every movement. No matter how much he stalled, the shirt finally came off and flopped listlessly on the pristine white floor. Sasuke cocked his head.

"You're moving too slow." he complained, and swooped on Naruto before he had a chance to move. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of Naruto's pants, and, ignoring all of Naruto's pleas, swiftly pulled them down, baring all of Naruto's body to the cold air. Naruto shivered and whimpered, vainly trying to conserve his modesty by covering himself with his hands. Sasuke stepped back to take in the full sight of the blond for a few seconds, then turned away (to Naruto's great relief) and bent over the side of the bathtub. He twiddled some knob hidden from Naruto's view, and several jets of water sprayed out from the walls of the tub. When it was filled to Sasuke's satisfaction, he crooked a finger at Naruto.

"Come here." he said softly. Naruto, still shivering in the cold air, hobbled over as modestly as possible. Sasuke smiled a bit at the boy's plight and, when Naruto came close enough, took his hand, guiding him gently over to the tub. While Naruto stumbled, Sasuke pulled his hands and slid the boy over the side and into the bath. Immediately Naruto's muscles unclenched in the warm, relaxing water, reducing the boy to a limp, comfortable noodle. The best part was that the surface of the water was covered with bubbles, so Sasuke couldn't stare at him like before. Dirt and grime slid off his skin like snakes, clouding the tub with brown.

"How does that feel?" Sasuke murmured into the blond's ear, scooping some water with a bucket and pouring it over Naruto's dirty hair. "Good?"

"Yeah." Naruto returned contentedly. A second later he remembered he was a slave and should not have been relaxing like that, but all thoughts were swept cleanly out of his mind when Sasuke threaded his fingers into his blond hair and started to massage his scalp.

"I know you're a slave and all," Sasuke said to the sleepy Naruto, "but at the same time you aren't. You're my playmate. That's really it. Don't be afraid. You won't be doing normal slave work. You're mine from now on."

That was the third surprise of the day.

Naruto awoke the next morning inside something warm and fluffy, a soft cloth pressed against his cheek. It occurred to him that he was a slave and shouldn't have been sleeping in something this comfy, so he bolted up and looked around.

Wherever he was, he was alone. It was obviously a different room than the prince's bedroom, as it was much smaller. There was only one door, which Naruto assumed was the entrance and exit. Naruto glanced down at his own body and found it clothed in fancier clothes than he'd ever had in his life. His skin was also clean and raw, with not a speck of dirt on it anywhere.

Suddenly he remembered the events from yesterday and curled into a little ball around his pillow. The prince... Sasuke was very confusing. Naruto remembered what he said yesterday, before Naruto fell asleep, but he still felt that he'd be kicked out of the castle quicker than a sack of potatoes if he offended the prince. And Orochimaru would be most unhappy if that happened. Orochimaru... Naruto groaned when he remembered him. Orochimaru the rebel... who expected him to aid in the plan to murder the prince who had taken him in. This in itself was now just as confusing, if not more so, than Sasuke himself. The royal family didn't seem too bad to Naruto... especially Sasuke. As strange and slightly scary as he was, he was also very nice. It was odd and a little irritating to Naruto to admit it, but he wanted to see more of the prince. This couldn't be right. Sasuke was part of the family that ruled this nation, the nation that killed his parents and took him away as a prisoner of war, forced him into slavery in the first place.

Ruminating about his situation was not changing anything, and his stomach took that chance to grumble loudly. Naruto patted it feebly, a terrible hunger overwhelming his senses.

Swift as a fox, Naruto clambered out of bed and bolted out of his room.

The door lead straight into Sasuke's bedroom, but it was empty. Judging by the messy bedsheets, Sasuke had only recently risen too. He must have been nearby, Naruto decided, and started poking around. No sooner had he stepped out of the room when Sasuke's pink-haired nurse waiting by the door jumped and smiled.

"You are Sasuke-sama's new friend, yes? Sasuke-sama requested that you be taken to the kitchens to be fed. He awaits you there." the nurse bowed.

"Thank you..." Naruto said uncertainly. He wasn't quite used to such treatment. The servant lead him down those hallways again, but they forked off into another room just before they hit the throne room. The dining hall, which is where Naruto assumed he was, was very large, like everything else in the castle. It was all very overwhelming. The ornate table was much longer than one family possibly needed, no matter how rich. This Sasuke was sitting at, swinging his dangling legs and staring off somewhere in space.

"Sasuke-sama, your friend is here." the servant bowed again, quickly, and practically fled the room. Sasuke looked over and a grin stretched across his face. He bounced away from the table and took Naruto's hand. Naruto quietly observed that he must have liked to hold Naruto's hand, since he did so often.

"Good morning! I hope you slept well...?" Sasuke gazed unswervingly into Naruto's face.

"I did." Naruto replied stiffly. This was the prince he was supposed to kill, after all. A member of the family that forced him into slavery. He should have hated the boy.

Sasuke clicked his tongue a little. "I never caught your name."

"My name, oh! My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto flushed a little.

"Naruto." Sasuke said thoughtfully. "You probably already know me. Sasuke Uchiha. Anyway, here, you must be hungry..."

The two ate in silence after that. Sasuke kept glancing at Naruto out of the corner of his eyes, as if trying to gage Naruto's reaction to everything. Naruto wolfed down the food like he hadn't eaten properly in days, and just kept eating. The amount of food this person consumed amazed Sasuke, who typically did not each much. So different.

"Since you fell asleep yesterday, we might as well have the tour today." Sasuke said when he thought Naruto was finally finished. Naruto watched Sasuke with caution. "There's somewhere I want to take you. Can you spar at all?"

"Spar?" Naruto repeated suspiciously. "Like, fighting? Do you want me to fight you?"

Sasuke smiled mischievously. "Something like that."

"I guess I could." Naruto said doubtfully. "What if I hurt you, though?"

"I doubt you will. I can take care of myself." Sasuke replied confidently, and hopped off the chair. "Come on, I'll show you the training ground."

A few confusing hallways later, Naruto found himself facing an empty courtyard, green and tidy. Sasuke lead him over to a secluded corner and faced him, a cocky smirk on his face.

"Well? Let's spar." he said coolly. It took Naruto a moment to realize that he was being serious, and by that time, Sasuke had lunged at him. Naruto had enough reaction time to block the attack, but Sasuke took advantage of his momentary weakness and pushed him over. "You aren't very fun yet, dobe." Sasuke smiled.

"Dobe!" Naruto snapped at the nickname. Then a feral grin pushed it's way onto his face, the adrenaline of battle swirling around inside of him. Sasuke wasn't a light opponent, that was for sure. "I'm not a dobe, you teme! And you got lucky! I'll get you back for that."

"I hope you do." Sasuke smirked, and the fight was on.

Naruto had never considered himself a very weak fighter, but Sasuke was just as good as him. The two wound around the courtyard, punching and dodging and weaving around each other to find an opening. They fought for more hours than either of them cared to count, and Naruto hated to admit it, but he was having fun. Sasuke was a very fun opponent to fight. They were equal, in a strange way. Sasuke was more nimble and was able to dodge more of Naruto's punches than Naruto could dodge his, but Naruto had more pure power and endurance.

They fought until the sun had climbed high into the sky and burned the back of their necks, sweat coating their limbs and grins painted on their faces. Finally just as Naruto was going to throw a punch, Sasuke threw his hands in front of his face and shouted, "Stop!" Naruto flopped forward onto the cool grass, gasping for breath. Sasuke wasn't much better off, as he fell to his knees the moment Naruto was down, chest heaving. The boys both took a moment to catch their breath, and when they did, somehow, they both instinctively knew to seek out the other's eyes. In this way, their gazes met and held each other. Sasuke smiled a little, uncertainly, warmly, and it caught Naruto's breath in his throat. Sasuke really was very beautiful. He had no idea why he was just noticing this now...

"Sasuke-sama?" a voice called from the entrance to the courtyard. "Are you finished yet? It's time for your lessons!"

Every day Sasuke took Naruto somewhere knew and showed him something fun to do, and every day Naruto had to remind himself that he hated this boy, that he was only there to bring the little prince to his death. But that hate was slipping away, like a greasy orb he just couldn't get a firm grip on. There was absolutely nothing about Sasuke that Naruto had left to hate. He couldn't even bring himself to hate Sasuke because of his parents, because there was a clear gap between Sasuke and his parents. Sasuke was Sasuke, and the king and queen were themselves. Sasuke was much too innocent to hate for what his parents had done.

Naruto could no longer deny a growing attraction to the raven-haired prince.

Yet neither could he forget his parents, dead at the hands of this country's soldiers, or the chains that so often bound his wrists in the past, because he was a slave. For this, he hated the king and queen, and even Prince Itachi. But not Sasuke. There was no way Naruto could ever have hated Sasuke.

Sasuke took Naruto everywhere with him, including to audiences with the king and queen. These were particularly bad for Naruto, because that hate toward the rulers grasped hold of his heart whenever he saw them. It took all of his self control to keep his head bowed and to not run screaming from their presence, or better yet, attack them with all of his fury for their sins. Sasuke seemed to sense his opinion of them somehow, and always kept very close to Naruto whenever they went to an audience with his parents. Usually Naruto would have tried to loathe falling back on Sasuke for assistance, but he hated the king and queen so much that he used anything to keep his mind steady and clear. That anything tended to be Sasuke's hand around his, or the warmth of his body standing very close to his.

These Naruto focused on, instead of the king's grating voice.

"And you studies, Sasuke, how have they been going?"

"Fine, Father." Sasuke said, his little voice echoing throughout the hall.

"Good. You'll be a good subject for Itachi some day." his father rumbled distractedly, glancing around the hall for his oldest son. Sasuke squeezed Naruto's hand for reassurance, because he could feel rage building in Naruto's heart. That was another thing Naruto hated about the king: his flippant attitude toward his youngest son. It was always Itachi this, Itachi that... Sasuke was never outright praised. If he was, it was only by comparing him to his older brother.

Sasuke bowed quickly and escaped when his father waved his hand in a sign of dismissal. He dragged the blond out of the room, through the never-ending hallways, and out into the courtyard. The sun was shining merrily, and the grass looked greener than ever. Naruto fell belligerently down onto it as soon as they came in, causing Sasuke, who was still holding his hand, to stumble. Sasuke slumped over next to Naruto, silent, just gazing into the other boys unreadable expression.

"Where did you get these?" Sasuke asked abruptly, running light fingers over one of Naruto's cheeks, which bore three whisker-like scars. Naruto flinched from the contact.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked hoarsely, and Sasuke nodded. "... You know I'm a slave. But I wasn't always one. I'm originally from a country more south of here... Troops from this country invaded without provocation and tried to take us away. My parents were killed in the struggle and I got these." Sasuke's round eyes were wider than Naruto had ever seen them before.

"I'm sorry." Sasuke mumbled sympathetically. "I had no idea... No wonder you hate us so much."

"Not you!" Naruto said suddenly, fear twisting the inside of his chest. The words poured out before he could stop them. "Not you! I could never hate you! You've been nothing but kind to me."

Sasuke cheered a bit at this. "Really? That's good to know. I don't hate you either, Naru-chan. I like you a lot." Heat pervaded Naruto's cheeks at the nickname, and Sasuke giggled at the reaction. "You're blushing, dobe! Come on, let's go get some lunch."

That night, Naruto had a nightmare. He dreamed of his parents' deaths again.

He revisited his old house, where his parents' blood was staining the walls he knew so well. Foreign soldiers were standing over him with blood dripping from their swords. They demanded that he come with them quietly, but he could only scream in terror. One smacked him across the face with this sword, leaving a clean, thin slash. Naruto was crying now, his own blood mixing with the tears as they passed over the cut on his face. The soldier smacked him again, and again for his disobedience, leaving two more cuts underneath the first. A perfect three-whisker formation of scars. When Naruto still refused to oblige, they smacked him three times across the other cheek, too. Terrified, half-dizzy and half-blind from tears, Naruto finally gave in and allowed them to clap chains around his wrists.

Naruto awoke abruptly, shouting weakly into the darkness, body streaked with sweat and tears. He sat up and clung to his knees in an attempt to alleviate the trembles that wracked his body, but they refused to desist. As he sat, the darkness around seemed to morph and leer at him, hiding monsters that were just waiting for the chance to dismember him. This only shook Naruto's body even more, until he couldn't stand it any longer. Blind with terror, he ripped the bed sheets off and flung himself out the door.

Sasuke's room looked much different in the dark, as he couldn't see most of the features he knew so well. He could barely make out Sasuke's huge bed, and Sasuke sleeping quietly in the middle. He was an odd sleeper to Naruto. He hardly ever moved, and he didn't even snore at all. If one didn't know better, he could have been dead...

The warmth that the image of Sasuke had calmed Naruto with was abruptly chased out and replaced with terrifying images of Sasuke dead, covered in his own blood like Naruto's parents... Naruto stood rooted to the spot, horrified. This was exactly what Sasuke was going to be reduced to. This was exactly what Naruto was working to bring the boy to. The very thought brought bile rising in Naruto's throat.

Naruto let out a little moan of distress. Sasuke twitched, and slowly rose to consciousness at the noise. He turned over onto his back, eyes half-lidded, and noticed Naruto standing in the middle of his room. What immediately struck him was Naruto's clearly panicked state.

"You had a bad dream." Sasuke mumbled sleepily. It was not a question. Naruto jumped, clearly unaware that Sasuke had woken up.

"N-No, just go back to sleep..." Naruto said as quietly as he could, but his voice was a few octaves higher than usual. Sasuke read all he needed to know in that.

"You're lying." Sasuke sat up as much as he could, leaning against the headboard. "You did have a bad dream."

"No..." Naruto whined, unconsciously trying to block the prince's voice out. He had become forgetful as of late. He needed to reestablish his hate for the Uchiha. He needed to cling to the image of Sasuke dead, needed to take glory in it. After all, his blood would make a new era... Wouldn't it? But what kind of era could be forged out of blood, even less out of the blood of one like Sasuke, who had never harmed anyone in his life?

Sasuke could not have known exactly what his inner turmoil was, but he sensed something. "Come here." he said quietly, opening his arms. Naruto stared at them for a moment, then reluctantly slid into bed next to the prince. Sasuke wrapped his arms snugly around Naruto, rubbing his back, scratching his head and whispering anything he thought might comfort the distressed blond. But it was late, and he quickly slipped back off into sleep.

Sleep was a bit more elusive for Naruto, who lay awake for an uncountable amount of time afterward, trying to ignore the pleasurable warmth of Sasuke's body or his breath on Naruto's face. No matter what he did, though, he could no more have embraced the thought of Sasuke dead than he could have bitten his own leg off. Finally, he gave in to temptation and snuggled more comfortably into Sasuke's bed, drifting off into a light, restless slumber.

From then on, Naruto slept beside Sasuke in his bed. Sasuke said it made him more comfortable, and it admittedly kept nightmares away from Naruto's dreams. But Sasuke could not dispel the lingering unease that was starting to grow on Naruto. He'd heard nothing from Orochimaru for several weeks, so he could sense his and Sasuke's time running short.

"Naruto, pay attention when I'm talking to you." an irritated voice snapped Naruto out of his ominous thoughts, and he turned to Sasuke with a guilty smile on his face.

"Sorry, Sasuke, I was just thinking..." he said as sweetly as possible. Despite his annoyance, Sasuke's lips quirked in a smile.

"Since when do you think, dobe?" Sasuke teased. Naruto glared at the insult, to which Sasuke only laughed. "Come on, follow me. There's something I want to see." Curious, Naruto hurried after the pale boy as he lead the way through those infernal hallways, into a courtyard he'd never seen before. Sasuke had only ever taken him to the sparring field.

"Come on, hurry up!" Sasuke called, breaking into a casual run. Naruto followed suit, curiosity thoroughly aroused. "Look!" Sasuke laughed, pointing to somewhere in the distance. Naruto strained his eyes, and found what Sasuke wanted to see.

The courtyard was walled off with stone, but beyond that, Naruto could see winding, rolling green hills rippling in the breeze. That sight would have been magnificent enough, but it was completed by...

Butterflies.

Masses of them. Clouds of fluttering butterflies, swaying in the breeze like one entity. They were flowing over the grass just beyond the stone wall. They took Naruto's breath away. They looked so free... so carefree.

Sasuke was watching him expectantly, so he said over the lump in his throat, "I-I... they're amazing. I don't know what to say."

"That's fine." Sasuke seemed satisfied. "I just wanted to show them to you." Then he smirked mischievously. "Come on, follow me. I found this before you came, when I was bored one day." He took Naruto's hand and led him to a crumbled part of the wall that nobody noticed. The boys scrambled over the rocks and onto the top of the wall.

The scene was even more breathtaking than before. Now Naruto could see the butterflies in their entirety. Great clouds of them streaming along on such a set path...

"Sakura-san said they'd be migrating today." Sasuke said carefully. He was watching Naruto closely again. "I thought you might like them."

"I... I do." It was hard to speak with a constricted throat, Naruto found. "They're really... um, pretty." he finished lamely, and scratched his nose. His ears picked up Sasuke's tinkling laugh, which made Naruto look up again.

Sasuke was sitting with his legs thrown over the wall, watching the butterflies with a slight smile on his face. The smile was like moonlight to Naruto. It was faint and softer than the sun, but it was still bright. It lit up his face like the moon. The butterflies still shimmering in the background completed the scene so perfectly that Naruto's breath caught. Sasuke must have noticed, because he turned his moon like face to Naruto, still smiling.

"What's wrong, dobe? You look shocked." he teased. Naruto flushed and considered uttering a retort, but he couldn't think of a good enough one fast. Before he could get his wits together, Sasuke leaned over and planted a light kiss on Naruto's cheek. Sasuke's lips were much softer than Naruto had imagined, a little dry too. But it was certainly good enough to wipe out any attempt Naruto was making to get his breath back.

Sasuke laughed and flipped over, hopping agilely off the wall and landing like a cat. "Come on, dobe, we don't have all day to hang around here! Come on, let's get some food!" he called. Naruto followed quickly, his head spinning like a top.

He didn't want Sasuke to die. He didn't know if he could keep his sanity together if Sasuke's blood stained his hands.

Despite their closeness, Sasuke still demanded privacy while taking a bath, so Naruto was always forced to wait outside for the little prince. He tended to amuse himself with the prince's toys, which were very interesting and sometimes breakable (he found thatone out the hard way).

Today he was just starting to pick up an odd cannon-like thing with a lever and a few pulleys (Sasuke said he couldn't figure out how to work it, and Itachi had only given it to him to confuse him) when he was interrupted. He had never been interrupted before, but today there was a white-haired man hiding in the shadows, beckoning to him. Curious, Naruto set the toy thing down and approached the stranger, only to fall prey to the man's admittedly tight grasp on his arm. Naruto started to shout, but a hand clapped over his mouth.

"Orochimaru-sama sends me." the white-haired man whispered, glasses glinting in the faint light. This effectively shut Naruto up. Satisfied, the white-haired man tugged Naruto into his personal quarters for more privacy. In the full light, Naruto noticed a purple servant's uniform on the man.

"My name is Kabuto." he said. His voice was sharp like needles, and very businesslike. He didn't seem to waste a single word. "I've been sent by Orochimaru-sama to check up on you. Hurry, though the prince will be some time, he will emerge from the bath sooner than I'd like. Tell us, what have you found out about him?"

Naruto gulped. He didn't want to, couldn't trust this man with information about Sasuke... but he noticed a knife lying placidly on a shelf behind him, so he shivered a bit and said slowly, "He... he wakes up at the same time every day. He eats three times a day, every day at the same time. He talks to his parents once a day... and he studies in the afternoons."

"What about his sleep?" Kabuto asked impatiently.

"He sleeps pretty lightly..."

"That'll be a problem." Kabuto muttered to himself, half-turning from Naruto. Naruto took the opportunity to glare fiercely at his back. Kabuto abruptly whirled back to face Naruto, and Naruto's face dropped into an expression of dumb surprise. "Listen, boy, I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but Orochimaru-sama is planning to attack at night. I don't care what you do, but restrain the prince somehow. I heard that nurse of the prince's saying you sleep in the same bed?" Naruto needed mutely in confirmation. "That'll make your task easier. To help," Kabuto snatched the knife off the shelf and held it out to Naruto, "you can have this. Hide it under your mattress if need be. If we don't come in time and the little prince is bothering you, it's up to you to kill him first, OK? Orochimaru-sama would prefer to not to take that path, but if you must, you have orders to do so. The important thing is that the prince gets killed. The revolution will happen in a few days. Now hurry back, the prince should be out soon." Without missing a beat, Kabuto pushed Naruto out of the room and, watching carefully for others, shoved him back into the prince's room. "Now hurry and put that under the mattress." Kabuto hissed, and lingered long enough to watch Naruto scurry over and hide the knife under the mattress. Then he slipped out like he'd never even been there at all.

"Naruto?" Sasuke called, the door to the bathroom cracking open and releasing a puff of steam. "Are you there?"

It took a moment for Naruto to gather his wits enough to yell back, "Yeah, I'm here!"

Sasuke emerged, patting his damp hair and clutching a towel to his waist. "Oh, good. I thought I heard something weird... do you want the next... bath..." Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he took the sight of his friend in. "What's wrong, Naruto? You look really pale. What happened?"

Naruto's legs couldn't hold him anymore, so he set himself gently down on the ground next to the bed. "I'm fine, nothing's wrong." Naruto said brightly, flashing a brave smile at Sasuke.

"You're lying again." Sasuke said calmly, sitting down next to Naruto. The blond flinched unconsciously. Sasuke was sitting right in front of the hidden knife. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I..." Naruto knew he had to lie. The only problem was that was he was a terrible liar. "I was, uh... thinking about my- my parents. Yeah." Sasuke still looked doubtful, but if Naruto's parents were truly involved... Sasuke decided to let the issue drop.

"Come on, you moron. Just take a bath." Sasuke said fondly, and pushed Naruto off to the washroom.

Never end. I never want this to end. I want to stay here for the rest of our lives.

Every noise that night was magnified to an unbearable degree. Naruto could hear every creak, every breath of wind... He knew what was coming. He knew who was coming, too. The Grim Reaper was coming, circling closer over the castle like a vulture. He was going to get his fill of blood that night... Naruto shivered. It was impossible to think about that. Terrible to think about the revolution staged for that night.

Naruto couldn't sleep that night. He was holding Sasuke around the waist, sniffing in his scent and listening to him breathe for as long as possible, trying to block out the telltale sounds. Every time a footstep reached his ears, he whimpered a little and clung harder to Sasuke's shirt.

As quiet was he was trying to be, it was inevitable that Sasuke, being the light sleeper he was, would wake up.

"Nnn... Naruto?" he mumbled thickly into Naruto's collarbone. "Whasamatter? Why are you awake?"

"Nothing." Naruto replied softly, squeezing his eyes shut and thinking about the knife under the mattress. "Go back to sleep."

"Did you have another nightmare?" Sasuke asked, rising slowly to full consciousness. Naruto bit his lip. The image of the knife wouldn't be dispelled.

"... Not really." Naruto admitted, then took a risk and pecked his forehead briefly. "Go back to sleep."

"Wait, I hear something..." Sasuke sat up a little straighter, eyes unfocused. Naruto's heart skipped a few beats. Sasuke wasn't supposed to wake up. If he woke up, that knife under the bed...

"No, it's probably nothing." Naruto murmured, clinging harder to Sasuke's shirt. "Just go back to sleep..." But the noises were reaching his ears by that time too. Shouting, and some feminine screaming. Sasuke sat up completely, wide black eyes shining in the dark.

"What is that?" he whispered. "What's happening?" Fear and panic was taking hold of Naruto. He couldn't let it end like this... but what if he didn'tlet it end like this? What if Sasuke could escape...? "What's happening to them?" he heard Sasuke ask, as if from a great distance. He tugged Sasuke back down by the neck of his shirt and held him there with his arms around the prince's neck. A confession pushed itself to the edge of his tongue, and everything spilled out of him at once.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke, I've done a horrible thing." he whispered, tears leaking out of his eyes.

"What? What did you do?" Sasuke asked, patting his head awkwardly.

"You have to understand, I didn't want to! I had no choice! I'm a slave, it's not like I ask to get sold!" Naruto cried wildly all of a sudden. He gulped a bit, then calmly began his story. "I was sold a few months ago to Orochimaru. He... he said he would free the slaves. He gave me to you... said I needed to watch you. It... it's him, Sasuke. It's a revolution."

"Those noises...?" Sasuke sounded horrified. It sent a thrill of dread into Naruto's cranium.

"The revolution is staged for tonight." he muttered. "That's probably them..." Then, eager to get everything off his chest, he scrambled out of Sasuke's warm embrace and out of bed. He struggled for a moment to pull up the heavy mattress, thrust his little hand under it and groped for the cold metal of the knife.

He saw Sasuke's eyes glinting in the darkness, wide with fear, when he pulled it out into plain sight. "Kabuto gave it to me. He said... Orochimaru is coming here tonight. Everyone has to die." he closed his eyes against the tears threatening to spill over. "He said I'm supposed to keep you here until Orochimaru gets here. If I can't, then I'm... I'm supposed to kill you first."

Naruto could practically feel Sasuke's sharp intake of breath in his bones. His eyes shot open, as fearful as Sasuke's. "I won't, though! I'd never hurt you, Sasuke! Believe it! You have to!" Then he was forced to close his eyes again. His eyes felt too warm and damp. Tears leaked down his cheeks in spite of himself. "I'd never tell you all of this if I wasn't loyal to you. I don't want to see you die, Sasuke. I loveyou. You have to believe me." He suddenly chucked the knife away, violently, across the room.

"Y-You..." Sasuke's voice sounded light and breathy with terror. "You've been... all this time... and you never told me? Orochimaru... he's been planning this... and... oh god, my parents! What about them? A-Are they--!"

"You can't worry about them!" Naruto cried, stomach lurching. "If you do, you'll die, Sasuke! I can't watch you die! Come on, I can save you!" He crawled half-heartedly onto the bed, toward the dark-haired Uchiha, stretching one hand out to him.

Sasuke slapped the hand away. "Don't touch me! You knew this whole time! And if you told us, you could've saved... my parents..." Sasuke choked a little, and rushed suddenly for the door. Naruto caught him around the waist and held him fast. "Let me go, you traitor! I trusted you, and look where we are now! My parents! My brother! Theycan't be dead, they can't be!" Those words stung like a poison thorn, but somewhere deep in his heart Naruto knew he deserved it. He could feel furious tears falling on his shirt, so he hugged the Uchiha a little tighter.

"I'm so sorry, Sasuke, but there's nothing you can do! Let's just concentrate on getting you out of here--"

"Ah, so you're both still here. Good." a silky voice cut into their little world. Cold, skin-crawling dread washed over both children.

Orochimaru was standing in the doorway, splattered unflatteringly with blood, a smoking gun in one hand and a vintage sword gleaming red in the other. "Sasuke." he addressed the trembling prince with sadistic amusement. "You're the last Uchiha alive now, did you know that? I killed the rest of your family." Sasuke let out a pained groan. "But it was over so quickly. Much too boring. I want to have a little fun with you before I kill you." In one swift movement, Orochimaru knocked Naruto out of the way and pinned Sasuke to the bed by a death-hold on his throat with one long, spidery hand.

Naruto shouted with pain and fear as he fell hard onto the rough floor, but that pain was nothing compared to the stab of terror that Sasuke's following scream sent into him. Naruto was on his feet again in a flash to see Orochimaru's teeth clamped over Sasuke's neck. The prince's skin was broken, and blood was dripping down his neck and Orochimaru's chin. Orochimaru's other hand was fumbling with the prince's pants.

With a furious roar, Naruto lunged at Orochimaru and pulled his long, oily black hair so hard the man's head snapped backward, ripping his hold off Sasuke. When Orochimaru growled and swung around to knock Naruto away again, Naruto ducked and punched Orochimaru in the gut so hard the man fell over backward, wheezing unpleasantly. Without skipping a beat, Naruto snagged Sasuke's hand and fled out of the room with him.

They had only run down a few of the confusing hallways when two rebels turned the corner they had been heading toward, so the children skidded to a halt and hurled down a different hallway. But there were more waiting for them down there. Without any other options, Naruto pulled Sasuke into a deserted hallway and shoved the little prince into a closet, closing the door silently behind them.

"Do you think we were followed?" Naruto asked quietly, both of their heavy breathing magnified ten times in the cramped space. The little that Naruto could see of Sasuke's head in the dark shook in dissent.

"Naruto..." Sasuke's voice sounded so broken. Naruto felt the lean body edge forward and pull him into a shaky embrace. "I'm scared, Naruto..."

Naruto wrapped his arms securely around Sasuke's shoulders. "I know... we'll get out of this. No way we can't. We can do anything together." His only response was a soggy little laugh.

They waited there in silence for what felt like years. It might have been, for all the children paid attention. It could have been hours, weeks or months. It didn't matter. Footsteps pounded through the halls once in a while, but the closet was well-hidden from view. It was a weapons closet that was only visible to those that knew it was there.

So both children were unpleasantly surprised when the door slowly slid open without a sound. They clung to each other, holding their breaths, as a woman slipped into the closet. She seemed to sense the other two presences, however, as her breath caught.

"Who's there?" she whispered. Sasuke tensed in Naruto's arms.

"Sakura-san?" he whispered harshly. The woman started.

"Sasuke-sama! Oh, thank the lord, we all thought you were dead! Oh god... Sasuke-sama, the king and--"

"I know." Sasuke cut his nurse off hurriedly. "I heard from Orochimaru..." he gulped. Just saying the name seemed painful.

"How will you escape?" Sakura asked, sliding forward toward the children. "The castle's swarming with that rebel's army, and he's looking for you... I and the other loyalists only escaped by pretending to join or just surrendering. They think I'm--"

"Shh!" Naruto hissed suddenly. Boots stomped past their hiding spot, and voices shouted roughly at each other outside. The closet's occupants held their breaths tightly until the boots stormed away again.

"You can't stay here, Sasuke-sama." Sakura whispered nervously. "Hold on, maybe if we disguise you with a cloak... that might work. But they aren't letting anyone out of the castle--"

"I know where we can escape from." Sasuke said quietly. "The wall fell down at one place in the third courtyard. From there it isn't far to the docks..."

"And we could get a boat to carry you away!" Sakura finished breathlessly. "Because you know it won't be safe for you anywhere in this country, not for a few years at least..."

Naruto winced. He'd been afraid of that. Sasuke must have felt his tenseness, because he kissed the blond's cheek lightly.

"You're coming with me, of course." he said it so matter-of-factly. Naruto nodded fervently. Who cared about freeing the other slaves now when he was in love. Sakura looked a bit pensive, but she didn't voice any complaints.

"Ok, then, follow me... the rebel army has just been attacked by the King's army." Sakura said with relish. "It'll be easier to escape now... come on."

While Naruto and Sasuke sneaked around the castle in the shadows, Sakura lead the way, scouting out routes for the boys to take and serving as a lookout. The pink-haired nurse had been right; the army was now engaged with the regular King's army and couldn't be bothered to look for a little kid. The children's escape was mostly undisturbed.
Until they reached the courtyard.

"You there! Stop!" A masculine voice shouted at them from atop one of the castle's lookouts. A moment later, a shrill whistle pierced the silence. "Come quick, come quick! The prince is escaping! Third courtyard, third courtyard, the prince is escaping!"

"Run!" Sakura cried desperately. All three of them took off sprinting down the grassy plane, toward the section of crumbled wall that Sasuke had once taken Naruto to, back when the boys still had peace. That time seemed like an eternity ago to Naruto.

The group scrambled over the fallen rocks and barreled across the field behind it. At the dock, only one boat was ready to leave. A passenger's boat. The three of them pushed their tired selves even faster and shot toward it, shouting for the captain.

A burly-looking seaman emerged from the boat's bowels. "What, what? Who's shouting?" he yelled irritably.

"Captain, we need passage!" Sakura gasped, clutching a stitch in her side. "Please, it's urgent..."

The captain eyed them warily. They saw his eyes flit up the countryside, obviously to the castle. "What's the commotion, then?" he asked gruffly.

"There's a..." Sakura glanced nervously at the boys. "There's trouble at the castle..."

"The king and queen are dead." Sasuke said shortly. "They're going to kill me too if I can't escape."

The captain's eyes popped right out of his head. "You don't say! Then you are...?"

"The youngest prince." Sasuke cast his gaze downward.

"You're just a boy, though! What harm can you cause those rebels?"

"They're afraid of what he stands for." Sakura said quickly. "He could grow up and try to take the crown back. That's what they think."

"I don't want the crown. I just want to stay alive." Sasuke said softly.

The captain just stared into the distance, toward the castle's general direction. "... I never disliked the king and queen." he said finally. "I didn't particularly like their rule, but they never made trouble for an honest seaman like myself. Ok, boy, I can help you." The whole group let out a collective sigh of relief. "But I only have room for one. She's booked full, otherwise. One won't weigh her down too much, but three... I can't take three." All three faces twisted in shock and grief, and Sasuke clung a little harder to Naruto.

"... There's nothing we can do." Sakura sighed. "Naruto-kun and I can survive, but you, Sasuke-sama... you'd be dead on the spot if they catch you. You have to leave."

Sasuke looked uncertainly to Naruto, and, forcing a lump in his throat away, Naruto nodded. "You can't stay." the blond said thickly. "I don't want to watch you get killed." A few tears rolled down his cheeks. Sasuke wiped them away.

"I'll come back." he promised. "I don't know when, but I will."

"I believe you." Naruto said simply. The boys pressed their foreheads together, just a simple gesture of affection.

"Nine years." Sasuke said suddenly. "It'll take me nine years to get back on my feet. I'll... I'll come back then. I promise."

Naruto gulped. Nine years was a long time. "I-I believe you. I'll wait for you. I promise."

"Me too." Sasuke said solemnly. "I swear I'll never look at anyone else."

The captain and Sakura waited patiently. When their moment was over, Sasuke gently pried himself away from Naruto and climbed onto the boat. He stayed outside as it started to sail away.

"Wait, Naruto!" Sasuke called from the boat. "As your master, I officially free you!"

Another tear leaked out of Naruto's eyes. "Thank you, Sasuke!" he shouted, his voice cracking. Sakura wrapped one arm around his shoulder. "I love you..." Tears blurred his vision too badly to see Sasuke anymore, but he knew that the boy stayed out on the deck until the boat faded from sight.

Nine years wouldn't be too long to wait, right?

Author's Note: Watch out for the epilogue, it will come out soon! REVIEW, dear god, if you love me:D