Chapter 3: The Gypsy Girl

In the town of Konoha, a handsome young warrior named Sasuke Uchiha was walking with his horse named Achilles to find his way to Orochimaru's palace of justice. As he walked, he had a map in front of his face to find his way to the palace. Finally he lowered it to look at the buildings to study his location, shook his head, and threw the map aside. He looked to his horse and began talking to his horse like it was human.

"Honestly," he sighed wearily, "you leave town for a decade and they change everything." At the sight of two Sound ninja he called out to them, "Excuse me, gentlemen, can you take me to the palace of—hmm, guess not." They walked away before he could finish his question so he turned to walk down the road more.

The sound of music attracted his attention and he saw a small black dog dancing along with a wood piper. Amused he threw a handful of ryo in the hat on the ground and then looked up to see a sight as lovely as heaven. A woman with dark brown hair and mocha colored skin danced seductively to the music as she played a tambourine. She was smiling and swaying her hips invitingly and he stared at her, feeling the time stop.

Her strident green eyes pierced Sasuke's soul and her shapely, slender attributes of her body stupefied him. His coal colored eyes shined with curiosity as he watched her dark blue velvet skirt swish and exfoliate as she danced. Her off the shoulder white cotton shirt expressed her large, shapely breasts and her leather black corset made her waist look slim and trim. She had a coin wrap around her hips and the coins clinked whenever she swished around.

She gave Sasuke a seductive smile and bounced her hip at him as she beat her tambourine. Suddenly a whistle from above made her cease dancing and she looked around with a frightened look. The companion that was with her ran off and she went to follow suit but her little puppy dropped the coins that was in the hat so she whipped around and went to gather them. Two soldiers (the ones Sasuke met earlier) stood over her and gave her a cold look but she gave them a heated glare too and went to stand up. When she stood, however, they grabbed at her hat threateningly.

"All right, gypsy," said the one with wire glasses and gray hair, "where'd you get the money?"

"For your information," she said in a throaty, seductive voice full of anger, "I earned it!"

"Gypsies don't earn money," said gray-haired, shaking his head.

"You probably stole it," said the man with dark spiky hair with coal colored eyes, grabbing her by the elbows but she struggled.

"You'd know a lot about stealing," she bit back at him.

"Maybe a day in the stocks will cool you down," said gray-haired but she kicked him in the face causing him to fall backwards a bit.

Sensing her owner was in danger, the dog head butted the dark haired man and kicked the gray haired man in the gut and they both released her. The girl gave them a smug look and dashed off past Sasuke before they could get up. Once they did, however, they bumped into Achilles's rear-end which Sasuke purposely intended.

"Achilles, sit," he whispered, and the horse sat down on the gray haired.

Onlookers laughed as the man struggled and cried out to be released. Sasuke smirked and said, "Oh, I'm so sorry! Naughty horse, naughty! He's impossible, really, I can't take him anywhere!" Sasuke shrugged and rested his elbow on the horse's saddle.

"Get this thing off of me!" begged the gray haired, looking at his companion desperately.

"I'll teach you a lesson, peasant," growled the dark haired, drawing a dagger.

Sasuke pulled out his katana and held it steady at them. "Is that a challenge, lieutenant?" He gave the man a playful smirk.

"O-oh, captain," said the man, fumbling to salute but hit himself in the helmet. "At your service, sir!"

Sasuke placed his sword's tip at the gray-haired length of hair. "I know you both are busy, but the palace of justice?"

….

The men led Sasuke down the brick road, telling people to make through for the new captain, but Sasuke stayed behind a bit to look around and he saw an old woman in a cape hunched over. He gathered the few coins on the street and tossed them in the hat next to her. If he stayed near her a little longer, he would have seen the gypsy girl stare at him in awe and wonder.

"Come on, boy," he said to his horse. "Achilles, heel." He walked off with the horse towards the intimidating palace of justice.

….

A harsh whipping sound greeted Sasuke as he stepped into the chilly palace of justice. The sound made every hair on Sasuke's neck and arms stand up but he used all of his courage to step forward. He saw the minister of justice and stood straight respectfully. Orochimaru looked over at him and smirked a chilling smirk that made Sasuke shift his feet nervously.

"So this is the famous Captain Sasuke home from the war?" asked Orochimaru in more of a statement than a question.

"Reporting for duty, sir, as ordered," replied Sasuke respectfully.

"Your service record precedes you, Sasuke," said Orochimaru serenely. "I expect nothing but the best from a soldier your caliber."

"And you shall have it, sir," said Sasuke, "I guarantee it."

"Yes," said Orochimaru, smirking unpleasantly. "You see, my last captain of the guard was a bit of a disappointment." At the end of his words, a loud masculine scream echoed throughout the palace, causing Sasuke to jump a foot in shock. "Well, I know you'll be able to whip my men into shape." He placed extra stress on the word "whip".

"A tr-tr-tremendous honor, sir," stammered Sasuke, praying not to end up as the last captain of the guard. "Thank you." He followed Orochimaru as the man went out to the balcony of the castle that overlooked the town.

"You've arrived at our darkest hour, captain," said Orochimaru, gesturing down to the streets. "It'll take a firm hand to save the innocent minds from being so easily misled."

"Misled, sir?" repeated Sasuke, not exactly seeing the problem.

"Look, captain," said Orochimaru, gesturing to the colorfully dressed woman Sasuke saw earlier, "gypsies. The gypsies live outside the normal order. Their heathen ways inflame the peoples' lower instincts." He looked at Sasuke with a fierce determination that worried the captain a bit. "They must be stopped."

"I was ordered from the war to deal with fortune tellers and palm readers?" asked Sasuke, baffled by the minister's requests.

"The real war," retorted Orochimaru, "is what you see before you, captain." He touched the young man's shoulder and gestured once again to the gypsies. "For twenty years, I have been taking care of the gypsies one by one." He made his point by crushing a few ants with his fingers. "And yet for all of my success, they've thrived. I believe they have a safe haven in the walls of this very city; a nest if you will…called the Court of Miracles."

"What are we going to do about it, sir?" asked Sasuke, cocking his head curiously.

To prove his point, Orochimaru used a small piece of marble to crush the remaining ants crawling along the balcony. Sasuke gulped involuntarily, feeling a tad bit of pity for the gypsies.

"Y-you make your point quite vividly, sir," said Sasuke shakily.

"I like you, captain," said Orochimaru matter of factly, "shall we?" Before the two could turn away, the sounds of singing and loud instruments filled the air. "Oh, duty calls," he groaned. "Have you been to a peasant festival lately, captain?"

"Not recently, sir," answered Sasuke honestly.

"Well, here's a brief education for you," said Orochimaru, turning towards the door to his room. "Come along." He gestured for Sasuke to follow him, which the young man did willingly.

Well, thought Sasuke as he followed the minister, here you go, Uchiha. First time on the job. Don't fail the minister.

A/N: Sorry if I was late. Stupid school has been keeping me busy and I've been doing many other things, also working on a story not made for . Please read and review!