Ill Met by Moonlight

A Naruto Fanfiction

(Continued from previous)

"Who is your master, Cesly?"

The fae grinned, her black beetle eyes crinkling as she fluttered beside Sasuke. "Master is master, Sasuke-human."

Sasuke held back the frown that threatened to break through. The fae answered his questions readily enough—now he knew that an asparan was one of four kinds of fae, and that they had elemental affinities—but whenever he asked something related to her master, she would answer with riddles, sometimes nonsensical lines delivered in a singsong, breathy tone that Sasuke was sure she was playing with him. In short, the asparan both amazed and irritated him.

He sighed instead, closing his eyes for a moment. "Is he human?"

"Master is both," Cesly replied, floating a bit ahead of him, both hands clasped behind her back. "Master is both."

Both? This time he could not help the annoyance lining his voice. A slight furrow appeared between his brows. "What do you mean both?"

The fae hummed, turning her head to look at Sasuke, a smile still on her face. If Cesly had not frowned at him earlier, Sasuke would have thought her face never did anything but smile. "Sasuke-human's question has two answers. Master is both."

This caused Sasuke to raise an eyebrow—the most he would allow of his emotion to show. He and Itachi were similar in that respect. "He is both human and not," he deadpanned. Cesly did not answer, only hummed.

Sasuke shook his head, sighing under his breath. Another answer full of rubbish. He would have to pry something sensible out of her later, Sasuke decided, seeing Cesly flutter off to speak with Kurenai, who rode beside Sasuke, but far enough that he could not hear what they were talking about. It seemed the asparan was more comfortable speaking with humans who could wield magic. Oddly enough, she talked with Itachi as often as she did with Sasuke and Kurenai. Sasuke shrugged it off as something uniquely Itachi. His brother just attracted people to himself—human or not—and that was that.

Sasuke heard Kakashi's voice rise above the sound of horse hooves cantering. "Woah. Cesly, the mushrooms stop here."

Sasuke looked around. They were still in the woods, following no visible trail that he could see. The ground underfoot was carpeted thickly with golds and browns, and the smell of earth was rich and heavy in the air. Most of the trees around were already bare, a handful of yellowing leaves clinging to a few branches, while the evergreens stubbornly clung to their needles. Below and to the right of him, Sasuke could see silvery white mushrooms growing among the roots of a few trees.

The mushrooms, Cesly had said, would lead them to the right path, and that they need only to follow them. Kakashi seemed doubtful at first, but when they saw the mushrooms magically pop into existence the moment they entered the treeline and vanished when they had gone past, the Sonata captain wordlessly led them through the woods, following the thin, silvery white trail. Cesly hummed and danced among them, answering questions when they asked.

"We are here! We are here!" Cesly flew straight to Kakashi, clapping her small hands in delight. "Master will meet us here. Come humans, Cesly will show you where to rest."

All of them got off their horses and opted to walk, glad to be out of the saddle. They had been riding in a slow canter for the entire day, not stopping for breaks, eating or drinking while they rode to save time, although the asparan assured them they did not need to worry. Kakashi wanted them to go a faster pace, but the fae insisted on the slow gait. Oddly enough, no one argued with her.

Sasuke peered through the trees. The sun was already beginning to set, orange-gold light spilling from the gaps, the sky turning into different hues of pinks and purples. As it grew dim, they were surprised to find that Cesly's skin glowed like a firefly, a soft, lush green light. Kurenai told Cesly she looked very pretty, and Cesly giggled, her glow turning brighter for a moment.

The asparan led them deeper into the woods, the trees grown so close together they had to go single file. Fortunately it was still light enough to see, so that human and horse avoided a rough stumble. Before they had gone fifty paces, they had arrived in a small clearing.

Tall pine interspersed with ash grew tightly around them. The only gap in the tree line was the one they had emerged from, as if the trees intentionally grew in such a tight circle, but allowed that small space through. The ground was covered in needles and dry leaves. The small, almost circular patch of sky looked like a cutout pasted overhead.

Cesly was already in the middle of the clearing, smiling at them as she floated five feet in the air. "Humans can rest here while master comes. Cesly will keep watch for the humans."

Kurenai looked around. "Where are we?"

Kakashi was already tying the reins of his horse to the nearest tree. "If I have read the map correctly, we should be at the very bottom of the Blackteeth mountains rearing down on us right over there." He pointed in a northerly direction. Eyes followed his hand. In the little gaps they managed to peer through the trees, there was only sky. No mountain , not even a hill. Kakashi shook his head, scratching at his left ear. "Apparently we're not."

"Silly Kakashi-human," Cesly laughed, her voice breathy and musical. "Lightning country is far behind us now. Do not frown so, Cesly speaks the truth." She smiled. "Humans should rest before master comes. He will take you to the Earth king right away."

Kakashi stared at her for a moment before shaking his head, calling Yamato and ordering him to take care of the other horses. Kurenai did her part by magically conjuring a fire in a shallow pit Sasuke dug and bordered with stones. He maybe a prince, but being in exiled had taught him many things. One of them was physical labor, although Mistress Chenley would never abide with it if she ever knew. Sasuke imagined she would have a fit if she saw him now, getting his hands dirtied and kneeling on the ground. He smirked.

Itachi saw the smirk on his brother's face and raised an eyebrow. "Do you find something amusing, Sasuke?"

"I was just thinking of Mistress Chenley."

"Ah." A smile quirked the corner of Itachi's lips, a look passing between them.

In short order everyone had gathered around the fire, sitting on blankets or dry logs while Kurenai took charge of making their dinner from the rations Mistress Chenley had generously packed for them. It was well and truly dark by now, the clearing illuminated only by the camp fire. The sky above was dark velvet dotted with stars, a low moon hanging lazily over their heads. Cesly was nowhere in sight; when Sasuke asked, Kakashi only shrugged.

"She did say she would keep watch," he said, doubt creeping into his voice. "Although how a little thing like her could do that is beyond me…"

They planned what to do next as they ate, the warm stew and hot tea melting away some of their tiredness. Kakashi still did not know where they were; judging from the distance they had traveled that day, they should have been right at the mountain's lowest slopes by now, not in the middle of a sea of trees. No one was keen enough to try wandering out of the clearing. He and Itachi were arguing about this—Cesly had warned them not to leave—when Kurenai spoke up.

"Your highness, might this not be because we traveled using magic?" she asked, red eyes unblinking.

Itachi paused. "Is that possible?" he asked, mildly. He glanced at Sasuke, who shrugged. He did not know.

Kurenai bit her bottom lip. "I don't think we used a Translocation spell. I was half-expecting it, though," she admitted.

Sasuke turned to her. "Why?"

Kurenai put down her plate and spread her hands before her. "Translocation spells are tricky, even if you know what you are doing, and they are very delicate. That is why shields and charms should be removed when casting one, to prevent accidents." She lowered her hands. "When Cesly told me not to bring up a shield and remove the warming spell, I thought she would cast a Translocation. But she never did."

Kurenai had a point. With his senses, Sasuke could feel that Cesly teemed with magic, almost as if she was made entirely from it. Casting a Translocation, even with her small size, should be possible. "But you still think we traveled using magic," he said, and Kurenai nodded. "But there are no other spells even remotely similar to Translocation."

Kurenai sighed. "I know."

Kakashi scratched at his head. "Well, you can discuss this later when Cesly comes back." He frowned at that, as if doubting the fae ever would return. "For now, I suggest everyone gets rest. Yamato, I'll take the first watch. You take second."

Yamato nodded. "Yes, sir, captain."

Sasuke was helping Kurenai clear away the plates when a bright green glow announced Cesly's arrival. She looked ecstatic, her dress fluttering as she flew. "He is here! Master is here! Master is here!" She kept repeating, twirling in the air and doing loops of excitement. She glowed even more brightly as she faced them. "Master is here!" she exclaimed yet again.

Kakashi drew back to them, watching Cesly. "Where?" he asked.

"Over here, captain."

Everybody turned. In the gap between the trees, beyond the circle of light, a figure loomed against the dark, hidden in shadow. Cesly cheered, her voice tinkling, as she flew to him, the green glow of her skin casting her master in a wash of jade.

Shin Tavelor had been right in guessing his age. He was probably no older than Sasuke, although he was taller by a head, his shoulders wider. He was not well-built, nor was he slender like the young prince, but somewhere in between. He wore a billowing black cloak that opened partly in front, showing heavy, black leather boots and just as black trousers. Even his upper garments were all black, as were his gloves, open-fingered to show human hands. A head of golden yellow hair in short spikes adorned a face that grinned widely at them, stretching what appeared to be three thin scars on each cheek. Blue eyes twinkled almost as much as Cesly's black ones. "So you're the ones I have to take to Gaara, right? I didn't think there would be this few of you."

Itachi stirred. "You were expecting a larger party?"

The stranger shrugged as he walked nearer, and without further ado flopped down on a spread blanket. He seemed not to notice that everyone was still staring at him. "Two of you are princes, right?" He turned to look at each one, then pointed. "I'm guessing you and you. You like alike, and seem royalty enough." He grinned again. "Am I right?"

Sasuke's stare turned into a warning glare, while Itachi only raised an eyebrow, his face betraying nothing. Kurenai gaped at him, aghast at his insolent behavior. Kakashi and Yamato just stared at him, as if they could not believe what he just said. Itachi and Sasuke…seem royalty enough? They are of Uchiha blood, for spirit's sake! Not even being in hiding for years could diminish their nobility! Kakashi could already sense Sasuke's anger boiling underneath the surface. He glanced at the younger prince and mentally sighed. Sure enough, he was glaring so much at the newcomer that Kakashi thought he might flay his hide just by looking.

The stranger did not pay Sasuke any attention, though. Neither was Cesly, who flittered excitedly this way and that, but near enough to her master that his face was washed in her green glow. "Cesly missed master!" she sighed in her singsong voice. "But Cesly kept her promise, she did."

The stranger laughed. "Yes you did, Cesly. I'm proud of you."

The asparan puffed her chest in pride, then giggled, hiding her face in her master's hair. The stranger looked up then, noticing the stares. "What?"

Sasuke chose to speak up first. He stood before him and glared imperiously down. "Who are you?" he asked, short of demanding.

The stranger blinked, then broke into a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, didn't I?" Cesly giggled beside him, saying her master was very silly sometimes. "My name is Naruto." He did not stand up, nor did he offer his hand. He only sat there and grinned like an idiot.

Sasuke decided right then and there that he hated him.

Naruto seemed unaffected by Sasuke's hot, angry glare. Instead he turned to each one of them, asking their names. When he got to Itachi he smiled again. "So…you're thinking of taking back Sound from the Snake lord, huh?"

Itachi shrugged. "Perhaps. Though I cannot see why this would be any of your business," he added, his tone light. Sasuke inwardly smirked.

But Naruto did not seem offended in the least. He raised both hands in a peaceful gesture. "True, true, but in my opinion, if you want to take back the throne, you'll need more than Gaara's help. Orochimaru is a warlock, and he isn't your run-of-the-mill type, either. Still," he added, stretching more to get comfortable, "going to Gaara is probably the best." Cesly settled herself on his shoulder, perched daintily there while one hand grabbed a hold of Naruto's ear to keep her steady.

Itachi did not reply. He stared at Naruto for a few moments longer before he turned to the camp fire again, thinking. Sasuke sat beside him, still casting heated glares at Naruto. Kurenai took over taking the plates and cleaning them off with magic. Kakashi stood where he was, watching Naruto. After a while he spoke.

"Can I ask you a question?"

Naruto craned his neck to look at Kakashi. "Go ahead."

"Are you from Earth country?"

Naruto grinned. "Nah. But I'm staying there at the moment."

Kakashi glanced at the asparan sitting on Naruto's shoulder, and the young man seemed to understand. He said, "I met Cesly while I was in Fire country—you know, I was curious to see what the merchant caravan from Hidden Leaf looked like, so I went there. Cesly was wounded when I found her."

"Cesly would have died if master did not find me," Cesly sighed, patting Naruto's ear. "Master took Cesly and saved her life."

Naruto only grinned sheepishly. "Now Cesly goes wherever I go. Mostly she has to hide, though; the mainland's not used to seeing fae."

Kakashi's shoulders slumped. "So you're not from Hidden Leaf?"

Naruto laughed. "Why would you think that?" he asked, at the same moment that Sasuke asked, "Where are your tails?"

Naruto turned to Sasuke then, blue eyes baffled. "My tails?"

Kakashi explained about how Gaara's letter came to them, delivered by a man in a black coat with four fox tails. Naruto grinned apologetically. "Sorry. I thought I would catch the man's attention if I appeared…intimidating."

Sasuke stared at him. Appear intimidating by playing a prank? "That's stupid," he said suddenly, without thinking. Beside him Itachi froze, glancing at Sasuke, who in turn looked away, shame diffusing a touch of pink in his cheeks, hidden by the night.

Naruto's smile faded. His brow furrowed, blue eyes narrowing slightly. "What is wrong with you? Ever since I arrived you've been acting like something crawled up your ass and died there."

Several tin plates clattered loudly as they slid from Kurenai's hands. She was staring incredulously at Naruto. Yamato stared too, pausing in the middle of brushing down the horses nearby. Kakashi gave Naruto a weighing look, though he did not look the least bit surprised. Itachi…Itachi was looking between Naruto and Sasuke, his face devoid of anything, although Sasuke could swear he had smirked for a moment. That couldn't have been right though; maybe the light was playing tricks on him.

Cesly giggled on her perch. That seemed to stir Kurenai to action, and she swooped down on Naruto like a red-eyed hawk, an angry frown on her face. "You should not talk to the prince like that!" she snapped, pointing a finger at him. She continued lecturing him in a stern tone, emphasizing again and again that no matter who Naruto was, he should give the respect Sasuke deserved as a legitimate prince of Sound. The young man let her drone on, a slight frown transfixed on his face.

Cesly watched Kurenai, interest piqued. Were humans from the Outside all like this? she wondered. Upset easily because of a small matter of addressing a human prince? She glanced at her master's face, frowning slightly. Well, at least he was not angry. Cesly contented herself with watching Kurenai lecture up a storm before huffing away, packing the plates away in one of the packs.

Sasuke watched darkly from his seat, the sight of Kurenai lecturing the idiot bringing a slight sense of satisfaction in him, childish as it may seem. He did not hold back the smirk on his face even though Naruto never looked in his direction the entire time.

As he watched Sasuke remembered the asparan's answer to one of his questions. He observed Naruto intently. He looked like any ordinary human, from the rounded ears to the tanned hands. Except he had never seen anyone with a combination of yellow-gold hair, blue eyes, and tanned skin before. He frowned. Nor had he met anyone as rude and barbaric as Naruto. Even the Sonatas and the servants, though born from common blood, treated him with respect, sometimes with awed reverence, though not as much as they did Itachi. Or his parents.

When Kurenai had stalked off Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "The way she ranted at me, you'd think I drowned kits for fun," he mumbled, Cesly murmuring her agreement. He looked up to see Sasuke and Itachi staring at him. He shrugged. "I hope you're not planning on staying the night here. I was planning on Translocating all of us straight into Earth kingdom after you've all rested a bit. Cesly told me you rode all day."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Is there any particular reason why we shouldn't stay?"

Naruto blinked at him. He turned to the asparan on his shoulder. "You didn't tell them, Cesly?"

The asparan shook her head…looking much too innocent. "Cesly did not think it was important. Cesly thinks it is silly to be afraid of the forest, she does."

A prickly feeling crept up Sasuke's spine despite himself. He frowned at the asparan and her master. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto seemed torn between answering and keeping his mouth shut. Sasuke's glare, however, pressed him into talking. "I told you I would meet you at the border. We're in the forest directly south of the border of Water country."

Yamato, who had just finished brushing down the horses for the night, almost slipped as he sat on the log, looking incredulously at Naruto. "That's impossible! Water kingdom is hundreds of miles from Lightning—it would take days of hard riding for us to reach that far."

Naruto shrugged. "You walked that entire distance the whole day," he answered. When Kurenai demanded to know how, Naruto only grinned at her and said, "It's a trick I learned from a few friends."

Sasuke frowned. Naruto said they were near the southern border of Water. Wait a minute. He stood up abruptly, everyone staring at him. Itachi looked at his younger brother. "Sasuke?"

But Sasuke did not acknowledge that he heard. Instead he glared all the harder at Naruto, not caring that he looked ready to bite. "Why did you bring us here?" he demanded angrily.

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "I knew you would react like this," he muttered, then said more loudly, "Relax, prince. You're perfectly safe. The whole clearing is set up with wards."

"Wards?" Kurenai repeated, frowning. "Why?"

"You worry too much," Naruto began, but Sasuke overrode him.

"Worry too much? You idiot, you practically led us into a death trap!" Sasuke snapped. He turned to his companions. "I know where we are. He," he said, pointing at Naruto, "led us to Whisper Woods."

Silence. Naruto sighed under his breath, bracing himself for what would come next…

Sure enough, Kurenai exploded on him while Itachi and Kakashi wore frowns on their faces. Sasuke just scowled at him. Kurenai was practically shaking him, grabbing his cloak and almost screaming in his face. Yamato stared grimly at the fire, almost as if seeing his death in the flames.

Kurenai looked ready to tear him to shreds. "You brainless oaf! Why did you let your little creature lead us here? Whisper Woods? Are you planning to get us all killed?!" She had heard the stories; no one who came into Whisper Woods got out alive, or even intact. Whenever travelers or hare-brained fools wandered into the woods, bloody, mangled corpses would appear near the edge of the trees the next day. Or pieces of corpses. Sometimes only tattered clothes would be left behind.

Numerous soldiers and mages have tried to rid the woods of this dangerous threat, but none have succeeded in all of both Sound and Water's history. Whisper Woods lay right between the to kingdoms, covering what should have been the shortest and direct route between the countries, but because of whatever man-eating creatures that lurked inside, the road had to swing in a northeasterly arc, circling the forest and part of the Blackteeth range. The dangers of Whisper Woods became such that there was no need to issue a decree that the woods were forbidden grounds.

And this fool Naruto led them straight into it. Sasuke was right to hate him.

What made matters worse—and Sasuke scowl even further—was that rather than taking Kurenai's tirade in silent humiliation, the idiot had the gall to shout right back, his face red with anger. "Calm down, you fool woman! I know what I'm doing!"

"Hah! If you knew what you were doing we would not be here, in the middle of the Whisper Woods!"

Naruto growled in frustration. "Will you stop screaming so that I could explain? Didn't I tell you there are wards around this clearing?"

"Don't act all-knowing with me," Kurenai snorted. "I know for a fact that no kind of ward or shielding could protect us from—"

Naruto scrubbed at his face with a hand and sighed in annoyance. Cesly, sensing his distress, fluttered off his shoulder and patted his head with a sad frown. Sasuke stared incredulously at her. "Like I said, shut up and let me explain!" He glared at Kurenai, who seemed startled by the glare, and sat down on a log. Naruto puffed out a breath.

"Now. Like I said, I put a ward around the clearing—a ward, mage Kurenai, and you'd better believe it," he added firmly when he saw Kurenai opening her mouth to retort. His blue eyes stared hard at her until she clicked her mouth shut, glaring at him. Naruto did not seem fazed by her red stare. Instead he continued on.

"Yes, the ward is not common knowledge, but it will do its job," he said, his voice firm, serious. There was no grin on his face. "After an hour we can go. When the time comes, everyone should gather around me in a tight circle. You know how Translocation works, so I don't need to go into details." He looked at each of them in turn. "Any questions?"

"Yes," Kakashi quipped, rather cheerfully, which led Sasuke to doubt if the man still had his sanity intact. "Why did you lead us here?"

Naruto shrugged, his anger deflating. "It's the last place Orochimaru would think to look for you. I thought it was the safest route to take," he added. Behind him, Kurenai seemed to choke on air, her lips slowly mouthing the words, 'safest route?' disbelief written all over her face.

Surprisingly—or maybe unsurprisingly, given the man's tendencies to think up dastardly plans himself—Kakashi nodded in understanding. He looked at Naruto, his one visible eye slightly narrowed. "And you are sure you can take the princes to Earth safely?" he asked, stressing the last word.

Naruto smirked confidently. "Of course!"

For a moment Sasuke thought Kakashi would get up and smack the idiot upside the head, but then the Sonata captain only nodded, his eye crinkled visibly into a smile. "That's good then. However Master Naruto—"

"Naruto is fine."

"Then…Naruto, the moment one hair on their heads is harmed, I will personally skin and gut you with a knife and hang your sorry hide out to dry," Kakashi continued, his voice cheery. "Is that understood?"

Sasuke was satisfied to hear Naruto's laugh shake every so slightly. "Yeah. Sure, captain."

"Ah, you can call me Kakashi."

"Er…right."

0 0 0 0 0

The horses seemed to pick up their tension, because they whinnied in fear, heads rearing. Yamato and Kakashi both tried to calm their down, holding onto the reins tightly to keep them from running. Between them and Naruto, the two princes and Kurenai stood together. The camp fire had been snuffed out and buried. Only the silvery light of the pale moon and Cesly's own glow illuminated their faces and hardened eyes. No one spoke a word unless it was Kakashi mumbling soft cooing noises to the horses, or Naruto mumbling something under his breath.

"Is the ward still up?" Kurenai asked suddenly, her voice tremulous. Her scarlet eyes seemed black in the semi-darkness.

"Yes," Naruto answered, "But it won't be up for much longer." That answer sorely tempted Sasuke to bring out his Sharingan so that he could at least see. But Itachi stood stoically beside him, seemingly unfazed, his eyes the same onyx black. Sasuke gritted his teeth.

Maybe it was the trick of the moonlight, but Sasuke thought he saw vague shapes darting between the trees. More were flitting across the only gap in the tree line. Fear twisted his insides horribly. His clenched fists started to shake. "Is the Translocation spell ready yet?" he asked in an angry hiss.

"Nearly," Naruto replied, annoyance edging his tone. "I just need to let the ward fade completely so I can release it."

Cesly flew over their heads. Remarkably, her green glow felt like a comfort, although she was not smiling. "Master, they are coming." She tilted her head, as if listening. "They want the humans, they do."

Kurenai moaned somewhere behind Sasuke. Two of the horses whinnied again, sensing her distress. Itachi moved closer to Kurenai and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Kurenai," was all he said.

The mage sucked in a sharp breath and looked at the First Prince, her face turning into a resolute, hard expression. She nodded, a slight inclination of her head, yet that seemed enough to Itachi, because he let her go and returned to Sasuke's side.

Sasuke felt Itachi's warm hand closing softly on his left shoulder, and he felt the fear subside into something more manageable. Straightening, Sasuke steeled himself, wishing he had a sword in hand.

"The ward is gone," Naruto said, although Sasuke could see, hear, or feel nothing. The clearing was silent.

Then the whispers came.

Give us flesh, tender and warm and gliding smoothly down our throats, the smell rich and enticing with blood rich blood warm blood let us drink more give us more rip out their hearts and suck on their bones and hear them scream while we devour their flesh and oh we want to hear their dying screams that make us laugh give us flesh to rip and chew and blood to drink and savor we want to break their bones and hear their madness give us—It was a feverish mantra that started as a soft buzzing and grew to a crescendo around them, feverish and mad. Sasuke gasped, and he could see Itachi tensing beside him. Kurenai whimpered, but she did not run. The horses were suddenly frantic, and it took all of Kakashi and Yamato not to have them loose.

Kakashi's voice suddenly bellowed over the maddening whispers as Sasuke saw writhing shadows bleed into the clearing, velvet black against the silvery light of the moon. "Translocate us NOW!"

A small ball of light bloomed between Naruto's opened palms. "Ready!" he screamed above the mad voices. Sasuke could see the mass of shadows lunge at them suddenly, as if realizing its prey was going to escape. He opened his mouth to scream at his brother to run.

There was a flash of brilliant white light so fierce it blinded Sasuke momentarily. He snapped his eyes shut, stinging, raising his hands before him to fight off the shadows. He waited.

Nothing happened.

Sasuke blinked several times before opening his eyes. Disoriented, at first he did not notice that they were not in the clearing any longer. The horses have calmed down considerably. Only Kurenai's gray mare was still whinnying in fear. When the clop of horse hooves against stone met his ears, Sasuke looked up. They were in the middle of a small courtyard paved in stone. No trees, no shadows, no voices.

Where the hell…?

"Finally! It took you long enough," said a dry, female voice somewhere to his left. Sasuke turned to see a young woman near Itachi's age, wearing baggy silk trousers in deep purple that closed over her ankles, and a matching purple silk blouse with just as baggy sleeves that closed over her wrists. Delicate pale cream lace spilled over her breast, and a matching purple cape hung on one shoulder, trimmed in silver. She wore an impatient frown on her face, a golden coronet on her brow. Her sandy blonde hair was parted into four sections and tied behind her. There was a jeweled dagger hanging by her hip.

Sasuke's eyebrow rose. The woman was frowning at Naruto, completely ignoring the rest of the party. She ignored her escort just as easily: two female servants in plain cotton white baggy trousers and blouses almost similar to the woman's, though with no trace of lace or lining. They were barefoot, compared to the woman who wore bright yellow silk slippers that tapered to a point. Behind them were two soldiers in the same baggy trousers and sleeved shirts in pristine white. The lower half of their faces covered with a white cloth, and large scimitars hung on their waists. They carried bucklers and halberds in their hands, the blade gleaming sliver-blue in the moonlight.

Naruto's nervous laugh startled Sasuke from his observations. The idiot was grinning sheepishly at the woman who had spoken. "Sorry, Temari. I had something to take care of before I could get a hold of them." Sasuke glared at the idiot's back. He talked about Sasuke and the others like they were some…some package he had to deliver!

"Temari? As in Princess Temari Sabaku?"

Sasuke looked up at his brother, his eyes slightly widening in surprise, before looking back at the richly dressed woman. He noted the sandy blond hair again, the impatient expression. Then it clicked. It was her. Gaara's older sister.

Princess Temari's frown was replaced with a smile. "Hello, Itachi. It's nice to finally see that you are alive, instead of just hearing the odd rumor here and there." She turned to Sasuke. "Hello, Sasuke."

Years of childhood training ingrained into his bones immediately snapped Sasuke's spine rigidly straight, and he bent his lower body until it was almost parallel to the ground. "Greetings, princess."

Temari's eyebrow rose, but the smile on her lips did not fade. "It's nice to see you too, Sasuke. How was your trip?"

Sasuke straightened and glanced at Naruto, who blinked at him. "It was…eventful, yet fine."

Temari gave him a look, then turned to Naruto. "Alright. Spill, Naruto. Where did you make Cesly lead them?"

The asparan was fluttering a little ways from Naruto, watching the entire thing with a mischievous grin. Naruto stepped back from the princess, who had advanced on him with narrowed eyes. The soldiers and the servants behind her stayed where they were. "Er…"

Temari's mouth was now in a thin line. "Where?"

Naruto swallowed audibly. "Whisper Woods, ma'am."

What happened next made Sasuke stare so hard his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. The princess—princess—clenched her left hand into a fist and punched Naruto hard on the face, sending the young man stumbling back a few paces. Itachi's face was as expressionless as ever, yet both his eyebrows rose almost to his hairline. Kakashi chuckled, and Kurenai sniffed, though a smile curved her lips slightly. Yamato whistled under his breath.

"You sand-brained moron! Of all the stupid, dangerous—what the devil were you thinking?!" she yelled at him, angrily, even as Naruto moaned with pain, doubling over. Temari sniffed. "Serves you right. You could have had them killed!"

Naruto winced as he glared mulishly at the princess. "I already told Gaara about the plan. He agreed."

Temari's eyes grew wide, her nostrils flaring. "Gaara did what?" She turned heel and walked quickly, through one of the walkways that headed out of the courtyard, her servants and guard following along at a jog.

Naruto cursed under his breath, straightening, one hand still on his stomach. Great; that will leave a bruise come morning. He turned to Sasuke's group. "You should follow her. Temari's heading to Gaara's chambers anyway. It's best if you sorted this out now." He turned in the other direction, Cesly following behind him, giggling.

Sasuke stared at him. "Wait! Are you not supposed to escort us there?"

Naruto turned just long enough to snort and look at Sasuke as if he'd gone mad. "I'm not a servant, prince. My job here is done; you should hurry after Temari—this palace has too many corridors and hallways you'd be liable to get lost if you don't hurry." Then he turned and walked rather wobbly away, Cesly's musical and whispery voice murmuring something in his ear.

As Kakashi handed the horses to a groom passing through and led the way to the path Princess Temari had stalked through, an image of Naruto's face flashed in Sasuke's mind.

Oh yes, the prince decided, he hated the idiot through and through, no two ways about it.

0 0 0 0 0

Oh my…this is the first time I've written Itachi onto a story. (blink) And he's getting along fine with Sasuke! Is it too OOC? What about Kurenai?

My goal for this story: To have more than a hundred reviews, at least a thousand hits, and to be placed in the selection of stories for the COOL not Deadlast Community.

Author's Notes: The title was taken from one of my favorite author's books, "Ill Met by Moonlight" written by Mercedes Lackey, co-written with Roberta Gellis. I recommend you read the novel if you like historical fiction with a fantasy twist.

I am thinking of uploading the maps and illustrations for the saga (yeah, crazy isn't it? I even drew maps and costumes), but I have trouble deciding where to put them up. Any suggestions?

The asparan truly is a type of faery, although I may have changed its appearance to fit into my story's universe. Guess where I got the idea for the letter on the leaf? Chocolates to those who can guess correctly.

This one-shot serves as a prologue to my Naruto trilogy, called The Prince Saga, which will not be posted on ffnet until the end of my hiatus on May 25. You can say this story heralds the coming end of my long (very long) absence in the site. The saga will have a NaruSasu pairing. Read and enjoy, my friends. Oh, and reviews are highly appreciated. For more information on the saga, read my profile or send me a PM. It will also be posted in a thread on my forum! Visit my forum, guys! I created it to allow everyone a chance to learn writing and have fun in the process; I hope you like it. Link is in the profile. It's still incomplete, though, so please bear with me, haha.

This story has not been edited. I welcome any and all grammar and/or typo errors you might notice.