Blurred Lines
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 10
Sasuke allows the unicorn to guide him straight into the heart of the Goblin Kingdom. It was a strange place. The buildings were generally made out of stone, tree mark, and moss. Houses tended to be small, but there was a grand castle in the center of the village.
It was grand because it was large. The stone was grotesque shade of gray. There was vomit green moss growing over it in some places. All the windows were boarded up, though he could see some holes in the windows. Small ones for the archers' arrows.
"So this is the Goblin Kingdom." He murmurs to himself as much to the unicorn.
Perhaps most disturbingly, there were sections that had a reddish tint to the stone. Sasuke had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what that tint really was. Blood.
"Yes, it is. My kind does not like to go here. It is an evil place. The Goblins at best are greedy and at worst, well you'll see. I hope that you can rescue Prince Itachi. He is a good elf." The magical horse answers him.
The unicorn was spooked by the strange city. That probably wasn't a good sign. Sasuke was far from an expert on the breed, but he doubted much really scared unicorns.
"Good to know. Will you wait here, until I come back?" Sasuke inquires as they head closer and closer to the castle.
"I will do my best. The goblins may try to attack me. If that happens, I will attempt to make them think twice before trying something so foolish again. I can naught promise that I will not have to run though." The beautiful creature replies.
"Got it. You got me here. If you can't stay, I understand." Sasuke says a few minutes later, as he dismounts the horse.
The unicorn nods and watches anxiously as the Traveler approaches the gates of the castle. It seemed that the elf was going with the direct approach. The beautiful mare wasn't entirely certain if that was as wise idea or not.
"Who goes there?!" One of the guards demands as Sasuke notices that there were several bows and arrows peeking through the holes in the windows.
They meant business. The Traveler didn't doubt for one minute that these strange beings were more than willing to shoot him. No wonder the unicorn didn't want to come. These people were insane.
Of course, he knew that he was using the term people rather loosely. These goblins were certainly not going to win any beauty contests. He sighs and braces himself. Showing fear was more likely than not to get him an arrow straight to the heart or between his eyes.
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I'm a Traveler. I have come here to speak with the Goblin King." He states.
"Prove it! Anyone can claim to be a Traveler!" The goblin sneers at him.
Sasuke mentally concedes that was a good point. Apparently, riding a unicorn wasn't enough proof. They'd need something more. Fine. He could give them something more.
He forms his Susanoo. The good news was that he could now summon it on command. The bad news was that he wasn't entirely certain how strong it was or how long he could hold it.
"That's an Susanoo. It's like Prince Itachi's. Cedar, he's telling the truth!" Another goblin says.
The first goblin had molten looking pink skin and large yellow eyes the size of baseballs. He wore a leather armor and had a wooden shield.
The second guard was even more strange looking. His skin was purple, but with green stripes. His eyes were bright orange and had slits like a cat's. Their armor was entirely silver and they had a spear.
"The color is different though, Stripes." Cedar observes in a curious fashion.
Sasuke got why the second was called Stripes. He couldn't for the life of him understand why a pink goblin was named Cedar though. That's when he made a disturbing discovery.
The striped goblin's breastplate was suspiciously full. Oh God! Stripes was apparently a female goblin!
"Something wrong, Traveler?" Stripes demands.
"Oh nothing. I was just wandering why your companion was named Cedar is all." He replies truthfully. (It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either.)
"Oh that's easy. I was born underneath a Cedar tree." The male goblin explains.
"Oh. That makes sense. Anyway, I really need to speak with your King." Sasuke repeats as he dispels his spell.
He didn't know how long he could really hold it, but getting rid of it was easy enough. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to use it again today. Sasuke would, if he had to though. He'd do anything to save his brother from this wretched place.
"Very well. Stripes, go tell King Danzo that a Traveler is here to see him. I will stay here with him." He assures the other goblin.
"Very well." Stripes says as she darts off into the castle.
She was rather fast for such a strangely proportioned creature, Sasuke notes. He wondered how fast that species could go. Apparently, they could move at least as fast as human at a bare minimum.
"Do you mind if I eat your horse? Unicorns taste the best!" Cedar asks.
"How dare you?!" The unicorn hisses at him in utter outrage as she rears up and raises her hooves at him menacingly.
"I don't think that you'll go near her, if you want to live. Her hooves will bash your skill in." Sasuke informs him.
Meanwhile back on Earth, Jugo frowns. Sasuke had been gone for a long time. He hadn't seen Kimimaro around either.
"I think something happened to them." Jugo tells Karin and Suigetsu.
"I wouldn't worry about it. They probably just went out to shoot some hoops or something. Knowing Sasuke, he's probably threatening to castrate Kimimaro. Well you know, if he hurts you." The violet eyed college student observes.
Despite the situation, Jugo chuckles. That was true. Suigetsu was certainly right about that much. He could easily picture his friend doing exactly that. Sasuke wasn't exactly the type of person to sugarcoat anything, especially when it came to Taka's well-being.
"It's more than that though. Orochimaru has been looking at the two of them in a really strange way. I think that he might try something." The gentle giant whispers.
Karin frowns. Normally, she would disagree. Professor Sannin was likely a pervert with an interest in much younger man, but he wasn't stupid.
Making advances towards one of his students might be legal, but it could very well end his career. At the very least, it would seriously damage his reputation. She had noticed it too though. The looks.
"He might be right. Hate to say it, but I think that Jugo has a pretty good reason to be concerned. We should go and try to find Professor Sannin. My hunch is that if we find him, we'll find Sasuke and Kimimaro." The red head admits.
Suigetsu frowns. This was serious. Karin and Jugo weren't joking around. They sincerely thought that Professor Creepy was going to hurt their friends. Well that wasn't going to happen on his watch. No way.
"Alright. Let's go. I hope the two of you are wrong, but I'm not going to lie. Our psychology professor has been giving out weird vibes all semester. He's way too interested in Sasuke and Kimimaro for it to be normal." The white haired man concedes.
"Guess we should try his office first." Karin suggests.
The others nod in agreement and head there. That's when they noticed something really strange. The door head been kicked down.
"You were right to worry." Karin whispers in horror.
Suigetsu's eyes widen in shock. What could have happened that merited kicking down the door. Somehow he doubted that Orochimaru and Kimimaro did it. So Sasuke must have done it.
Orochimaru was a middle aged and heading towards his twilight years. It was unlikely he could kick down a door. As for Kimimaro, he struck Suigetsu as being fairly delicate. It was hard for him to believe that he was the one who kicked down the door. That meant that Sasuke had done it.
"This isn't good." Suigetsu whispers.
"Should we tell the campus police officers?" Jugo suggests and immediately his friends shake their heads.
"That wouldn't be a good idea. We don't know what happened. If Orochimaru grabbed them somehow, that will just make him bolt faster. We've got to find them!" Karin exclaims.
"Let's check Sasuke's room." Suigetsu suggests and immediately the friends head there.
When they got there, the friends blink. Sasuke wasn't in his bed. It had obviously been slept in recently though.
"Guys. There's something strange going on. It feels weird here." Karin says as she waves her hand into seemingly thin air.
The air sparked her though and glowed slightly blue. None of them knew it, but it was the remnants of a portal. Sasuke's portal hadn't fully closed yet.
"Karin! Stay back! That could be dangerous!" Jugo calls out.
It was too late though. The blue light grows and begins spinning. Karin gets sucked into it and her two companions jump in after her. Whatever was going on, they weren't going to abandon their friend. That was the last thing they remembered, before everything went black.
A short while later, Naruto blinks when he sees a blue light. Was that a portal? It couldn't be? Could it? Sasuke was already back and he didn't really create conscious portals yet.
"It looks like we have some investigating to do." Gaara says to his friend and the blonde nods in agreement.
With that being said, they quickly head off towards the source of the light. The portal had formed in the Leprechaun Castle's Courtyard. Three bodies were ejected from it.
"Do you think they are Travelers?" Naruto asks in awe.
"Can't be. A Traveler would be awake. I think they are from Sasuke's realm. Their scents and energies are similar. They must have gotten sucked into the remains of one of his unconscious portals and ended up here." The Egyptian reasons.
Naruto blinks at that explanation. It made sense, but it didn't explain what they were going to do with them. What would Sasuke think?
"I'm going to go get him. If they were close enough to him that they ended up getting caught in a portal, he might know them." The Viking says brightly.
"Good idea. I'll make sure to restrain them in the meantime. We don't know, if they are friend or foe. It's better to air on the side of caution in a situation like this." The ruler observes.
Naruto nods in agreement and quickly departs to find his elf. Sasuke would know what to do. Hopefully, he would recognize these people. Whether they were allies or enemies, it would be better to know that now than to find out later.
The Dragoon liked surprises. He just didn't like those kinds of surprises. Then again, who did? Despite his concern, he finds himself smiling as he goes to find Sasuke. He really did adore his elf.
Back in the Goblin Kingdom, Sasuke sighs in relief when Stripes comes back with another goblin. There was a crown on the creature's head. He must have been the king.
"Ah. A Traveler. What an honor. What an honor. I am King Danzo. I rule the Goblin Kingdom. What may I call you?" He asks smoothly.
It was a little too smooth. He was certainly a practiced politician. That thought didn't make Sasuke feel better. That meant that he was definitely going to have to play his cards right.
Danzo was likely quite used to spotting liars. Sasuke would have to tread very carefully. Not that that was going to stop him though. One way or another,, he was going to rescue his brother and get them out of there.
"Sasuke. You may call me Sasuke." He tells him.
Thankfully, it looked like Danzo wasn't going to question him. Apparently, he must have trusted his ugly guards. Then again, Danzo was in some ways even more hideous. Sasuke was rather glad that he was an elf and not a goblin.
He didn't think of himself as a particularly vain person, but the Traveler didn't think that he could handle being a goblin. As he was pondering this, Danzo gestures for Sasuke to follow him inside the castle and he does.
"This is my castle. What do you think of it?" He asks.
"It's very big." The raven haired college student replies honestly, but vaguely.
In all honesty, it was ominous. The inside the castle was drafty to put it mildly and the gray stone walls were depressing. There were various tapestries hung on the wall, but all the scenes made Sasuke want to vomit.
Most of them involved battle scenes. There were others that were portraits though. Sasuke assumed that they were either previous or current Monarchs. He didn't really care though. His priority was on getting Itachi out of there. Not on becoming an art critic.
"Yes, most castles are." Danzo replies in amusement.
This Sasuke was so young. Perhaps he would not be nearly as vexing as his elder brother. The elf was still clearly getting used to this world. He was wide eyed with wonder. That was something that was easily exploitable.
"Yes, I suppose so." Sasuke says.
Several hours pass. Danzo gave him quite a thorough tour of the palace. The Goblin King hadn't said a word about his brother. Sasuke doubted that he was going to admit that he had kidnapped Itachi.
That made him revile the other man. Sugarcoated words. They meant nothing to him. The man was deceiving him and didn't even flinch. This was a creature without any sense of guilt.
"Come. You must be exhausted. Let us get you a room and you may rest." Danzo says as he places his hand on Sasuke's back.
The Traveler was barely able to hide his disgust at being touched by the filthy creature. He didn't care if Danzo was a King or not. He was even more creepy than Orochimaru in some ways.
That was certainly saying something because Orochimaru had always made Sasuke feel uneasy. He knew why now. The other man was really from another realm. He also wasn't human.
"Yes, that sounds wonderful. You are a most generous and wise king." Sasuke praises him.
He figured that would do the trick. Leaders of all kinds were horribly susceptible to flattery. Judging by the smirk on Danzo's face that appeared after the compliment, it looked like the goblin was no exception to this rule.
"You are most kind to say that. It's unfortunate that there are many who do not share your impeccable manners." The King says as he opens the door to a grand room for Sasuke.
"Yes, most unfortunate indeed. I believe in treating everyone who they deserve to be treated." The raven haired man says with a smirk.
This was going well, Danzo thinks to himself. The Traveler had come straight to his door step. It was almost too perfect. He would have to watch Sasuke closely, but he couldn't help but be terribly pleased at this latest development.
"Good. I feel that way myself. Good night, Sasuke. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask anyone in the castle for assistance. I shall go and announce your arrival." He says.
"That would be great. Thank you." Sasuke states as he watches Danzo go.
Well step one down. He was in the Goblin Kingdom and had made nicey nice with the King. Now there were only three other steps left.
The second step was that he had to find Itach. Next, Sasuke had to get them out of there in one piece. Finally, he had to do so in a way that wouldn't alert his finally to what had really happened. His family or Naruto.
He doubted that the Dragon or his family would react well to his plan. Sasuke had to do it though. Itachi needed him now. He couldn't afford to wait and the youngest Uchiha had the element of surprise on his side. That was something that the others just didn't have.
"They'll understand. I had to take the only chance that we really had." He whispers to himself.
Meanwhile Kimimaro and Orochimaru head inside the Goblin Kingdom. Orochimaru was using a glamour to look like another goblin. Fairy magic did have its perks. One of them was Glamouring.
"How do I look?" Orochimaru asks.
"Ugly. All goblins look ugly though. So that doesn't mean much." Kimimaro assures him and Orochimaru twitches.
Many other species simply did not recognize true beauty when they saw it. That was alright though. When he was King again, he would show all of the realm what goblins were truly capable of.
Oh yes. He had so many plans. The college professor couldn't wait to put them in motion. Most of them involved Sasuke. That was only to be expected though. It wasn't everyday that a Traveler fell right into your lap in such a fashion.
"I really should rip out your wings. I wonder what your lover will think of you then. I can't believe that you were foolish enough to fall for a human. What kind of fairy would ever do such a thing? Have you no common sense?" The other man hisses at him underneath his breath.
Orochimaru was disgusted by Kimimaro's attraction to Jugo. Humans were of no interest to him. Elves were different though. Oh they could put humans to shame in terms of beauty and especially endurance. Elves were famous for being sensual beings, though slow to trust other races.
"Love has nothing to do with common sense. You might know that, if you had ever been in love. It knows no boundaries." The fairy says with a fond smile.
A smile that made Orochimaru want to knock his teeth out and tear out his wings. He was a fool. Orochimaru had no idea how such otherwise intelligent people could behave so foolishly when it came to "love," but it was irritating. Very irritating.
"You are a fool." He mutters in revulsion as they head towards the castle.
Kimimaro had even made himself look like a goblin. They would blend in perfectly. Now all they had to do was find Sasuke. Oh and come up with an excuse to get beyond the guards.
That was easily done though. Orochimaru planned on pretending that Kimimaro was a prisoner and that he had come to collect the bounty on the "goblin's" head.
"Who goes there?!" Cedar demands.
"I am Vipertooth and this is my prisoner. He has been wanted for a very long time. I've come to collect the bounty." He says with a smirk.
Orochimaru knew that it was childish, but he was rather enjoying himself. It was nice to see the treacherous fairy play the role of a criminal. It certainly suited him. He was now well aware that Kimimaro would have likely backstabbed him, if given the opportunity.
"Very well." The guards say as the allow Orochimaru and the fairy to walk inside the castle.
"You're enjoying this." Kimimaro mutters in annoyance.
"Perhaps, I am. Who could blame me though? You were planning to betray me. I think that the part of a criminal suits you. A criminal and a liar are often the same person. It makes perfect sense that you would play this role." Orochimaru says smugly.
Kimimaro twitches. He was no betrayer. It wasn't his fault that Orochimaru was about as trustworthy as a snake.
In a twisted way, the name Vipertooth suited him. He certainly acted like a viper. Sadly, that was not his most pressing concern at the moment. (He wished that things were that easy, but they were not.)
"How utterly childish of you. I can't believe that you were once a King. Mayhap, your people are better off with Danzo leading them." The green eyed fairy retorts.
SMACK! Orochimaru wasn't going to let that comment stand. How dare he speak to him in such a fashion?! This fairy certainly had a death wish. That was the only logical explanation for his very stupid behavior.
"Touch me again and I will kill you." The silver haired man warns him.
Oh how he reviled Orochimaru at that moment. If it were up to him, he would turn the man into Danzo immediately. He'd likely collect quite the reward.
After doing that, of course he would help Sasuke escape with his brother. He was a fairy of honor, after all. It wouldn't be right to abandon the elf in his time of need, especially after Sasuke had brought them home.
"You wish. Do not make threats that you are not prepared to carry out. Come. Let us find Sasuke." Orochimaru instructs and with that, the two of them take off.
Helping Sasuke took priority over their hatred of one another. Kimimaro doubted that would be the case for long though. Once Sasuke had rescued his brother, Kimimaro might come back and alert the Goblin King that Orochimaru had returned. That would serve him right.
It didn't take long for them to find the room where Sasuke was staying in. His scent certainly stuck out in a castle filled with goblins. Suffice to say, that Sasuke certainly smelled far more pleasant than most of the other inhabitants of the castle.
"You made it!" Sasuke whispers as he lets them into his room.
"Yes, we did. Really, Sasuke. I'm quite hurt. Did you really think that I was going back on my word. I would never abandon you. After all, I am your professor. It was my job to guide you in the other realm and now it is my job to guide you in this one." He coos.
Sasuke rolls his eyes. Orochimaru was certainly laying it on thick. He wondered if maybe most people from this reality were all so…slick. It was really annoying.
"Good to know. Kimimaro, are you okay? What happened to your cheek?" Sasuke asks in horror.
"Orochimaru slapped me for telling him the truth." The fairy says simply and Orochimaru shoots him a withering glare.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. If looks could kill, Kimimaro would be at least six thousand feet under. Forget about six feet. The glare was that cold.
"I don't care what your issues are with each other. I'm rescuing my brother. If either of you get in the way of that, I'll turn you in myself." Sasuke warns them.