Here's a new chapter. I do not own Naruto. Enjoy!
Later that night...
The Uchiha matriarch bid farewell to her son as she made her way to her sleeping quarters. She yawns.
She holds onto the railing as she ascends the royal staircase to the guest rooms. Her vision gradually falling in and out of haze from the night's drinking. She stumbles on the last step but is quick to regain her grace.
As she walks along the long corridor of rooms, she can see her room come into sight. The door is wide open and the inside is dark. Something is wrong. Mikoto feels a chill run up her spine as she approaches her room. But it doesn't feel cold. Her blood feels like it's boiling and yet she feels the chill. She peers into the room and calls out her husband's name. She is met with no answer.
She walks in, grasping a dagger she hides under her dress. She is quick to light a nearby candle and carries it as she investigates.
Looking around the dimly lit room, she begins to worry. 'He said he was going to bed.' She wonders as she pulls the sheets off the bed to reveal nothing. She drops the sheets in dismay and turns around. She walks to the armoire but trips. 'Now I know it isn't the drinking that caused this.' She thinks as she actually feels something blocking her way. She leans down with the candle and sees pants that she knows her husband was wearing. She moves slowly to follow the legs wearing her husband's pants to discover his face. Bloodied from an open forehead gash, her husband croaks out "Mi-k-ot-o" very slowly. She drops the candle.
A scream reverberates throughout the castle.
Meanwhile
Down the royal staircase, and in the maids corridor, a certain brunet kisses his fiancee farewell. "Don't forget to write." Tamaki says. Kiba kisses her forehead and says, "I won't." They embrace once more and he makes his way down the corridor.
He turns a corner and sees Suigetsu and Rock Lee walking toward him. They spot him immediately.
"Hehehe somebody's a lucky dog!" Suigetsu says. Kiba looks confused as Rock Lee's eyes light up with understanding.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba asks. But he is met with no answer as the clanking of armor is heard down the hall.
Shit! It's the guards!" Suigetsu exclaims.
The three young men duck into a nearby room and shut the door. Rock Lee presses his ear against the door.
"What happened?" Suigetsu whispers.
Rock Lee shrugs and continues to listen for the guards passing by.
Kiba's eyes light up. "I heard a scream not too long ago. It sounds like an emergency." He says quietly.
Suigetsu looks at his feet and mumbles. "That explains the guards on high alert. We should lay low for now."
"I think it's too late now." Rock Lee says as the door rumbles on it's hinges.
Rock Lee is thrown across the room as the door busts open and six guards clad in shining armor stand in the doorway. "Don't let them escape!" One shouts.
The three young men scramble to their feet, bracing themselves for a fight.
The guards are quick to restrain them as their leader commands them, "Take them to the dungeons for questioning." Kiba looks to Suigetsu and they exchange a look.
Maybe they are closer to saving their teammate after all.
Konoha Castle Infirmary
Mikoto sits outside of the infirmary awaiting the results of her husband's condition. A busty blonde woman steps out of the room and greets her. " He is very weak right now. Looks like a lot of blood-loss and a couple broken ribs."
"Will he survive?" Mikoto asks somberly.
The blonde woman hesitates for a moment, unsure to speak. Mikoto's face falls.
"He has a small chance of surviving. He lost a lot of blood. I'm sorry." She says.
Mikoto struggles to hold in her tears. "C-can I see him?" She says brokenly. The blonde woman nods and opens the door for her.
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Mikoto says as she walks into the infirmary. The door closes behind her and she sits down next to her husband. He is barely conscious.
"Can you hear me?" She says to him. He grunts weakly. She grabs hold of his hand and he squeezes hers.
"I don't have much time." He croaks out. Mikoto forces back her tears back and squeezes his hand gently. "Don't say that, you can get through this. Tsunade-sama said there was a chan-"
"A small one. But I can feel there is none. My body is shutting down." He interrupts
Her eyes well up in tears that she cannot hold in anymore. "Please don't speak like that." She whispers softly in between tears.
Fugaku gives her a weak smile and says, "Please take care of the kingdom, and Sasuke."
Mikoto continues to cry. "I can't lose you."
Fugaku's eyes start welling up in tears, touched by his wife's words. "I don't want to lose you either." He coughs, blood-dripping from his lips.
He looks frail, and skeletal lying on the infirmary bed. His skin once pale, is now ghost-like. Mikoto's eyes rove over her husbands condition and wipes her tears. A red-hot rage burns beneath her skin. She has never seen her husband look so weak before.
She squeezes his hand and in a low voice, she asks him, "Who did this to you?"
Throne Room
Sasuke feels a chill run down his spine and he shudders. He sits across from the King of Fire and his fiancee. The king rubs his chin thoughtfully, contemplating the recent events. His advisor stands next to him, deep in thought. The room is very quiet, all that can be heard is Karin tapping her fingers on the chair in agitation. Sasuke finally has enough and snaps.
"Well? What now? A king, my father, has been attacked in your castle! And no one has anything to say?"
Karin attempts to put her hand on his shoulder but he shrugs it off. Hiruzen studies the young man intently. "We are thoroughly investigating the perpetrator as we speak, young Sasuke. I am very sorry for your father."
Sasuke clenches his fists and is ready to respond but a knock is heard on the door. A guard opens it to reveal Mikoto Uchiha.
She strides in, exuding an air of confidence and eerie calmness. She puts a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and says lowly, "Go see your father now." Sasuke obliges and leaves. Karin attempts to follow him and she says, "Do not follow him. It's a family matter. Go outside to the garden."
Karin's mouth drops and she looks to Hiruzen, but he nods in agreement. She leaves.
"How is he?" Hiruzen asks as she stands before him.
"There is a very little chance he will survive." She says coldly. Hiruzen looks down in sorrow.
"I am here to discuss with you the events leading to his fall." She continues. "But what about the future of your kingdom?" Hiruzen asks.
"I will remain queen and rule Sound, until I pass the crown to my next heir of my choosing." She says coolly.
Hiruzen grunts in approval. "Therefore, I am calling a council of rulers to discuss these events." She says.
"You think these events are tied to the recent murders?" He asks, stroking his beard.
Mikoto responds coldly. "We have a name."
Stay tuned for the next chapter! Bye!