Hi, everyone! Sorry I took so long with this chapter. I actually went back and forth between the storylines for Ino and Sasuke and then also I wanted to introduce more of this Naruto/GoT universe I made without making it seem too rushed. Alas, I feel like I haven't set up the story all that well. I also was fighting a bad stomach virus, so the update took longer.
To IsseyRiot, thank you very much for all the love in your review! To answer your review, I made Ino more doting on Sakura to make her seem like an older sibling instead of just an elder twin but also to show the craycray in her. I will explain further in the story that this personality comes from their father's different treatment of them but also because Ino isn't too far off from Jugo — she's paranoid of everyone else except Sakura, but unlike Jugo, she's not going to go around burning people. Sorry, no spoilers, but I'm trying to make Ino one of those smarter, calculating Targaryens while at the same time, laying the stepping stones for insanity in both Sakura and Ino, should I decide to go along with the Targaryen insanity storyline. (But don't worry, everyone! I'm not going to rush the Targaryen insanity like D&D did with Daenerys!)
Thank you for all those that reviewed and to those that favorited this story! Now on to the chapter!
A Storm of Blood and Fire
Chapter Four
Sasuke has always been an outcast.
At Casterly Rock, the servants never gave him the respect they gave to his brothers, his parents, or the rest of his family — for gods' sake, the servants feared his crazy uncle, Obito, more than they respected him. The servants had always spoke behind Sasuke's back of the rumors surrounding his birth, of how his mother had been shut away with him for the first few years of his life, and of how his father — his father, Fugaku, because there's no way he'd call his crazy grandfather his father — never gave him the time of day. During the siege against King Jugo, he had been ordered to stay behind with his mother.
After the siege of King's Landing of which was won by his older brothers slaying King Jugo and the king's monstrous dragon, he was left behind at Casterly Rock when his brothers, who were supposed to return home, joined their grandfather's Kingsguard and when even his mother was summoned to join his father at court. Even Obito had made King's Landing his permanent home.
Sasuke was left alone at Casterly Rock, now the heir to Casterly Rock, a position that Sasuke had long dreamed to hold. A dream that was now just some big joke.
Sasuke had thought that, once he became heir, he would gain the love and respect that he deserved from his family. And yet, he was still largely ignored and especially still by his father, who spent most of his time in Kings' Landing, even though tradition demanded his father, now the Lord of Casterly Rock, to hold the fort and to groom his heir since the previous lord, Madara, Sasuke's grandfather, had assumed the throne.
Since Itachi was now also Kingsguard, Sasuke was now more alone and slighted than ever before. With Shisui having been sworn as a Kingsguard for King Juugo, it was Itachi who should had been the one to inherit their ancestral home — even when Itachi had joined the Kingsguard after the siege and even now when Sasuke had been named heir for almost five years, the servants and a large majority of the Lannister bannermen still believe that Itachi is the rightful heir.
He's sure even his parents agree with the sentiment, for why else would they send their sole heir to The Vale of Arryn? If they really thought of him as their heir, they wouldn't have sent him even further away from them.
An outcast he was in his family and now in foreign territory. Upon his arrival at the Arryn's castle, the residents of the Eyrie kept their distance from him, the sole outsider — Sasuke's sure that, if Lannister blood weren't flowing through his veins, the Knights of the Vale would have hurled him through the Moon Door by now, though he supposes that maybe the Knights were waiting for a perfect excuse to drive their swords through his heart.
But the Knights' suspicion and kept distance were things Sasuke could easily endure — he had years of practice back at Casterly Rock, after all, and Kakashi kept him busy with spars and new combat techniques.
What Sasuke couldn't endure was the incessant chattering from the Tyrell idiot that had arrived barely a fortnight later. And to make matters worse, the idiot had brought with him his idiot cousin. At least, the Tyrell heir was easily shaken off, but no matter how secluded the area Sasuke chose to train in, the Tyrell girl always managed to find him. How, Sasuke had no idea — it was as if the Tyrell girl could sense his presence, no matter where he went.
The girl couldn't take a hint either, and Sasuke honestly couldn't take her fawning or any girl's, for that matter — even at Casterly Rock where suspicion of his blood ran rampant, girls still fawned over him at an alarming rate. Hell, if Sasuke could choose, he'd rather deal with his crazy uncle than to deal with never-ending fawning from any girl.
The only solace Sasuke could find was that the other girl, some distant Tyrell relation that had also been dragged along to The Vale with the Tyrell siblings, didn't participate in Karin's fawning, choosing instead to duck her head behind whatever book she was reading whenever he caught her staring at him.
She was . . . annoying, for lack of a better word. From the moment he laid eyes on the girl, Sasuke knew she'd be annoying — any girl with pink hair was bound to be in his book. Pink hair and large green eyes, she seemed to be the embodiment of spring — not that he noticed, it was just that the idiot Naruto kept on repeating it over and over again. And any such embodiment meant that she was just too innocent to survive in the world. She'd be lucky to find a good match and leave the Tyrell's service, lest she get caught up in whatever womanly schemes the Tyrells were known for.
And yet, though the girl's supposed to be Karin's highborn lady companion, she doesn't act at all like any of his mother's ladies-in-waiting. Sasuke is loathe to admit this, but the pinkette, who surveys the Knights' training spars and spends the rest of her time in the Eyrie's library (or so she claims), has piqued his interest. And not only does the girl return from her library sessions with her hair tossed by the wind and her face completely flushed, Sasuke's also caught glimpses of burn marks on the girl's skin and dresses.
Whatever secret she's hiding, it won't be long until he finds out what it is.
The missive from the raven crumples in her hand as Tsunade leans against the table for support, one of the very few times she has ever needed to do so — not much has ever shocked her, but this certainly takes the cake.
"How in the name of the Seven Gods did the Lord of Winterfell go from being The Hand of the King to being a prisoner and then to being beheaded all before noon?" she asks of no one in particular. She mirrors the incredulity on her son and daughter-in-law's faces.
"They called him a traitor," Minato can barely keep the anger out of his voice. "Hizashi wasn't a close friend of mine, but as strict and formidable as he was, he put his family above all else, and everyone who knew him knows that he was nothing but honorable!" He slams his fist onto the wooden table, his anger burning further at the thought that Obito, one of his wards long ago, had been the one to carry out the execution.
"Mikoto's beside herself. Hizashi didn't even want the position," Kushina says, her hands curled into shaking fists on her lap. Mikoto's rushed and tear-stained letter had come with the missive, and Kushina hadn't seen Mikoto so uncollected before, not since the near extinction of the Tully line. Kushina feels as though her heart is being crushed by her immense worry. "But he went to help her. They're distant cousins, you know, and Mikoto grew up in Winterfell, not to mention that he was also great friends with Fugaku. He didn't like it at all that Madara was taking advantage of her, and he must have said something against it. That's why he's dead now..." She's rambling, but she knows what she feels is nothing in comparison to those the Stark patriarch had left behind.
Tsunade almost paces in thought — barely holds herself back from doing so because, even with only her family in the room, she doesn't like to give away when she's strategizing — and chooses instead to tap her fingers, the loud drumming the only sound among the tense silence for a few moments.
"What is the situation now in Winterfell?" she asks tersely. "Have the Northern Lords even received news of their liege's dreadful demise? I can hardly imagine his bastard son doing nothing in retaliation — I heard they were quite close, the bastard being Hizashi's only son."
"Neji is rallying his father's bannermen as we speak," Minato answers, having received a missive from Winterfell's maester just moments ago. In account of Naruto's friendship with Neji and betrothal to Neji's sister, he's hesitant to ask, "Will we be pledging our support to him?" Minato doesn't know how he'd sleep if his mother were to deny Neji's request — doesn't know how he'd go about going against her, should she actually deny the request.
Tsunade doesn't miss a beat in answering. "Of course, he'll have our support!" she says as if it's the most obvious thing. "Everyone in the Seven Kingdoms knew about our alliance with the Starks! For the Lannisters to have done what they did..." She shakes her head. "Why, Naruto's very own betrothed is being held hostage in King's Landing along with her sister! The crazy king will probably think he can walk over us next if we don't rise and stand with our allegiance. Send a missive pledging our support, along with war rations and five-thousand of our men."
Minato nods before going to find the maester. It's not until his footsteps disappear down the hall that a conversation he's not privy to starts.
"Perhaps it is a good thing that Karin has snuck along with her brother. War is a very unsightly thing, and I don't want her seeing such ugly things," Tsunade says before bringing her water to her lips.
"That's probably the only thing you've ever said that I can easily agree with," Kushina muses, but her worried expression barely conveys the sentiment.
"Yes, well, all the other things, you were just too stubborn to admit your foolish fallacy," Tsunade remarks blithely, loudly placing her cup back on the table. "Now, about Ino..."
The Red Keep stands proud and tall in the south-eastern corner, almost as if it were oblivious to the wretched smell coming from the rest of the city, an oblivion that Ino would love to share.
The blonde Targaryen princess hates the smell, her nose wrinkling at the sight of the waste-filled streets of the capital. Do the commoners just empty their bowels in the middle of the streets? How dare they besmirch the very glorious city her ancestors founded! When she's queen, she'll make sure these dirty peasants don't ruin her capitol.
Taking a page out of her brother's book has never been so appealing — she's sure burning down the city and all these turncoats that now bow to the Lannister filth would get rid of the smell. For now, she'll have to make do with burning her cloak once she gets to her destination.
When her guide stops, she glares at him for the impromptu detour. "What is it?" she barks when Shikamaru continues to ignore her and stare upwards. If he's cloud-watching again...
"He was always a fool bound by his honor," the Half-Targaryen, Half-Baratheon murmurs. When Ino follows his gaze, she's met with a decaying head on a pike. "It's sad, isn't it? Lord Hizashi always thought that honor would guide him to do no wrong, but it was honor that brought him to his death."
When Shikamaru meets Ino's gaze, he expected sympathy, maybe even pity or empathy, but all he sees are Ino's icy eyes filled with angry spite and disgust.
"Now, why would he have my pity?" she sneers. "He was a traitor to his king, and there's no place in my kingdom for such people." And with one last look at Hizashi's decaying head, the warning not at all bothering her at all, she strolls along into the Red Keep.
That's it of this chapter! It's a bit longer and has a bit more characters in it, but I hope you guys like it!
Below is the character list so that you guys aren't confused with whose in what house. I also changed it from last chapter as I've tweaked the plot.
Baratheon: Kiba, Choji, Shikamaru (half-Targaryen bastard)
Bolton: Danzo, Kabuto
Drowned Men: Suigetsu, Zabuza, Kisame
Faceless Men: Orochimaru
Lannister: Sasuke, Itachi, Shisui, their parents, Madara, and the rest of the Uchiha clan [Itachi and Shisui are twins, sorta based off Jaime and Cersei Lannister without the incest, or maybe with, if you guys want it]
Martell/Dorne: Gaara, Temari, Kankuro
Stark: Neji (somewhat Jon Snow), Hinata, Hanabi, Hizashi (Ned Stark) [I combined Hiashi and Hizashi together into one character, so Hinata and Neji are siblings. This is also because I get confused which twin is which since their names are too similar.]
Targaryen: Sakura (Daenerys/Sansa), Ino (Daenerys/Cersei), Juugo, Kizashi, Mebuki [Sakura and Ino are twins]
Tyrell: Naruto, Karin, Kushina, Minato, Tsunade (Olenna Tyrell), Jiraiya [Jiraiya has already passed, but he was Tsunade's husband]
The Vale: Kakashi
Tarth: Haku (Brienne of Tarth)
Also, I decided to name the dragons after members of the Otsutsuki clan since they won't be showing up in this fanfic!
Ino's dragon: Toneri
Kizashi's dragon: Hagoromo
Mebuki's dragon: Kaguya
Sakura's dragons: ?
Leave some reviews, and tell me what you guys think of this chapter!