A/N: Here's the first of a couple of chapters where you'll get to have a sneak peek of 'him'!
Chapter 30: A Traitor Amongst Us
Something was wrong in the castle. He could feel a disturbance among them, an unusual chakra presence that grated at his brain constantly.
Someone was here that didn't belong. Someone had infiltrated the city. But who?
Who was the interloper? Who could it be?
He felt a distinct minty feeling to the chakra, something only found in the most expert of healers. Very, very briefly, his mind went to Rin - alas, poor Rin - but he quickly shoved it away. There was no way she could have come back to Konoha. She was dead, long dead. Or, at least, he'd seen her die.
But that was the thing about watching death, wasn't it? As the past month had taught him, sometimes what you see isn't all there is. The prince had surely learned that lesson the hard way.
He'd instructed Fugaku to come to his private chambers for a one-on-one meeting - something he'd learned quickly to do, as Mikoto was something of a spitfire when she wanted to be. The man was definitely more pliable when his wife was absent, as she seemed to have a larger influence on him than the man wanted to admit. He had to confess, there was a time long ago when he could have said the same.
When the king came into his chambers, bowing respectfully before his seat near the tower window, he hardly looked at the man. He merely flared out his chakra in annoyance, and that was enough to make the man nearly keel over in fear.
"You wished to see me, sir?" He asked softly.
"Yes," he hissed. One blazing eye glanced over at him, but he quickly looked away. "As of late, I have noticed a... particularly vexing chakra presence amongst your staff. I need you to interrogate each staff member to weed out the traitor among you."
"T- traitor?" Fugaku repeated, dumbfounded. The king hadn't sensed anything, but of course he had. Whoever this was had perfect control of their chakra if only he was able to sense something amiss. "A- are you sure?"
"Would I have summoned you to speak of this if I wasn't?" He all but growled, standing from the high-backed chair. He pointed a finger towards the door. "I need reports of the traitor by sunset tonight... it would truly be a shame if even your best guards were not able to save your precious son from certain death."
"Yes, milord, of course." Fugaku bowed again and stood, turning and walking quickly from the dark bedchambers. His expression was darkened, as it usually was when he used the man's youngest son in a thinly-veiled death threat.
"How pitiable human bonds are," he thought dourly. "How easily created... and how easily broken."
As soon as the door clicked shut, the man settled into his chair once more, gazing at the bright blue sky in distaste.
Everything was so... bright and happy. So peaceful. Blech.
Of course... His lips curled into a smile. No one would be expressing their happiness soon. One way or another, he would make sure of it.
Peace was never an option.
"I have gathered you all here today because of a report of a traitor amongst you." Fugaku announced as he paced back and forth in front of the line of palace staff. "Do not be alarmed, I will not terminate any of you without ample evidence. But if any of you recognize one of your colleagues as a rebel spy or otherwise suspicious, then I encourage you to privately come to me."
Shien looked collected on the outside, but on the inside she was panicking. "Shit! Who sold me out?! Who told the king about this?! No wait, wait- I must be calm. He doesn't know it's me, otherwise he would have thrown me out the instant he knew. I must get through this - I'm at the end of the line, so if I can just find an excuse to leave..."
"As a safety precaution, I have to ask to see your Fire-issued identification card," Fugaku continued. "Starting with the guards, I will make my way down the line."
Her heart was pounding. Sweat was beading on the back of her neck. Her fingers twitched the slightest bit before she folded them in front of herself, much like several of the maids were doing. Everyone looked nervous, even though she doubted that any of them were traitors to the crown.
At least, she didn't recognize any as traitors to the crown. For all she knew, there could have been a third-party assassin amongst them. She wouldn't expect one of the wealthier clans (or, much less likely, the people of Sand) to hire a hitman, but then again, she'd seen her fair share of attempted assassinations to realize that a second option wasn't off the table.
The king casually made his way down the line, inspecting the identity cards with a scrutinizing glance and a nod.
She let out a silent breath and casually slipped out her own card, even though she knew it would probably trip her up.
Oh sure, the seal was official, but if he ran her name through the official roster of inhabitants of the town the Hayashi clan lived in, they'd suspect that she was an impostor. Shien Hayashi was indeed a real person, but the real girl had a totally different face and stature, and she and her mother hadn't lived with the rest of the family in the young girl's lifetime. Not to mention that she'd been caught in one of the skirmishes between a rebel faction on the outskirts of Nakamori-chi, the spot she lived, a few months prior, and she and her mother were pronounced alive and well, but only Riot knew their true status. In exchange for their silence about the deaths, the clan allowed them use of the young woman's name to infiltrate and take control of the capital.
While it was a bit macabre knowing that she was effectively wearing a dead girl's face and name as her own, she had to remind herself that she was doing it for the greater good.
"Shien did not die for nothing," she firmly told herself, letting out a long exhale through her nose. "We will create a better world for those who come after her."
He was nearly to her now, and it was growing harder to keep her hands from shaking. She held the fake card tightly in her fingers, habitually covering the photo. She happened to glance down and quickly noticed and fixed it, instead holding the card by the edges.
"What's taking him so long...?" She thought to herself. He was a fair distance ahead on the line, only at the cleaning servants yet. The next were the maids, and there were a lot of them.
Finally, he began going down the line of maids. Every girl diligently presented her card, and he gave each a faint nod or a speculating frown.
She closed her eyes tightly for a second. "Kami-sama... please... please don't let him find me out!"
"Father, what's the meaning of this?"
At the sound of Sasuke's upset voice her eyes snapped open, and at the same time the line of maids and the king turned to look at the boy, whose arms were folded across his chest, a frown on his face.
"Prince Sasuke," Fugaku greeted pleasantly, turning to face his son. "Just a routine check through the staff. What do you need?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he pointed at Sakura. Her heart absolutely jumped out of her chest and into her throat for a few seconds as everyone began staring at her in varying states of confusion and surprise.
"She hasn't finished cleaning the floor in my private bathchambers!" He spat angrily. "You know Naruto made a huge mess in there this morning! It's beginning to get too sticky to walk. You knew that I'm swamped with work today; I needed it done fifteen minutes ago!"
Fugaku blinked for a second, turning to look at her. She gave him a bewildered look back before she shrugged, giving a sheepish smile.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose for a moment. "Very well, you may take her with you."
Sakura let out an almost invisible sigh of relief and stepped out of line.
"Wait a moment!"
She paused, turning as the king strolled up to her.
"Your card," he said.
She showed him the identification card and he barely gave it a once-over and a dismissive nod. The look-over was so quick that she almost thought she'd imagined it.
"Carry on," he said, waving her off as he walked back to the line.
She quickly speedwalked to catch up with the prince as he strode out of the throne room.
As soon as the doors were shut and they were alone, she suddenly threw her arms around him in a crushing hug for a few seconds, stunning him enough that he froze in his spot.
"You have no idea how much you've helped me just now," she breathed quietly as she pulled away. Her eyes glimmered in the light as she gazed into his own onyx irises. "I am in your debt, my prince."
He stared at her in befuddlement for a few seconds before he shook it off, putting his neutral face back on.
"Yes, well," he coughed into his hand, hiding his faint blush by turning away, "I wasn't lying about the floor. I really do need you to help us get it mopped."
"Have you spoken to the clansmen yet?" Tsunade asked as she walked through the camp, inspecting their work.
"Yes, Lady Iris," a soldier reported with a salute, "We currently have the support of the Yamanaka, the Nara, and the Akimichi, as well as a few royal captains, such as Captain Guy."
"Excellent!" She grinned at him, nodding in approval. "Keep up the negotiations. Any updates about the Hyuuga?"
"They were... shall we say, unwilling," the boy hesitated. "They refused to speak to us at the time. We have faith that we will speak to the clan head soon, however!"
"You do that." She nodded once more, this time sympathetically. "Ol' Hiashi can be a bit of a... stubborn tortoise at the best of times. Especially since his eldest daughter has... 'died'..."
"You have no idea," Shikamaru popped up, looking bored as usual.
"Ah, Nara." Tsunade greeted. "What of your friends? Are they with us?"
"Eager and willing," he replied with a chuckle. "They'll do whatever they can in the invasion. They should be arriving in about a week or so via a 'special escort', whomever that may be. They were adamant that they couldn't tell me, but they did say that he's trustworthy enough."
"Special escort, eh?" Tsunade frowned. "Well, if they trust him, then I guess we have no choice but to give him our trust too."
"Yeah." Shikamaru agreed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "An old friend, Chouji, is gonna be helping too."
"Yes, the Akimichi heir," the blonde recalled. "His father is the head guard of the dungeons, correct?"
"Used to be," Shikamaru corrected. "Now Ino's father is the head guard... and interrogator."
"Busy man," she mused with a light sigh. "Lucky we haven't been caught yet, but it's bound to run out one of these days. I just hope that those bumbling idiots don't get themselves captured. I don't have nearly enough men on my side to rescue anyone just yet."
"Not like Itachi-sama would ever pass up the opportunity to storm the castle to get our most trusted soldiers back," he snorted. "I gotta wonder about that guy, though... he's got this intense look in his eyes. It's something I've never seen before."
"He's been through quite a bit," Tsunade replied lightly, "with his upbringing in the Uchiha household and whatnot."
"Yeah, but..." he seemed to hesitate. "It feels... unnatural. There's a fire within them, something that makes my hair stand on end. He's- he's not stable. I fear that his emotions will hinder the mission."
"Need I remind you that he's one of the best we've got?" She pointedly asked, yet not unkindly. "Not that I don't share in some of your concerns, but without him, I honestly don't think we'll be able to take down the son of a bitch once and for all."
A/N: Whew, a close call.
Tell me what you thought of it! I'll see you next week.
