"So when the dust settles am I going to die for touching a member of royalty with my… you know?"
"HA! I'll pardon you… maybe,"
It made Naruto happy to see that smile, hear that laugh. It excited him in fact. His cheeks might have even reddened, thank all spirits right and good that she was busy pulling her cloak back on. Honestly, it was the best he'd slept in a long time. His smile remained even as they restarted the journey, putting some fresh torment on their already aching feet. The whole ordeal had him confident enough to start up a conversation after only a few minutes.
"So uh… not to pry but, where the fuck are we going?"
"North,"
"Ah, of course, thanks for clearing that up,"
"To the colonies dumbass, what else is up there?"
The answer caught Naruto by surprise.
"Don't you need to get to the capital so you can tell King Lukbern about…" he trailed off as she turned to stare, I'm sorry glare, at him. The long pause put him on edge. Though her words seemed more 'exasperated' than angry as she replied.
"Yes, I'm sure the King will be more than happy to welcome a filthy orphan with nothing but the clothes on her back into the Ivory Hall and hear her appeal,"
"Doesn't the dagger prove-"
"-her appeal against Itachi Uchiha, one of his direct vassals who has now ruled over a decade without making any real trouble for him! Even if he believed me and that's a big fucking if, he'd be a fool to depose my brother and put me in power. The four other grand stewards would rightfully assume I was his puppet and the whole thing was a power grab, they'd conspire together to guard their interests IF they didn't outright rebel,"
She didn't say anything else, which was fortunate as Naruto needed a moment. His knowledge of court politics basically amounted to 'king tells people what to do, grand stewards manage the 5 nations for him'. According to Sasuki a king didn't even have the power to punish his vassals, not really. It was a bit of a revelation, just a bit unnerving too. It was almost a relief when Sasuki piped back up.
"I need power," she punctuated.
Something in the tone, the way she said that word, brought the nerves right back.
"How are we gonna get power in the colonies?" he asked delicately.
"It's one of the only places in this damn nation where commoners are allowed to hunt, and hunting is about the only option I have for earning real money. We play our cards right, live frugally, and it won't take more than a few years to buy some land. Once I'm technically nobility again I might be able to make a move on Itachi, assassinate him or something,"
"Well, you certainly think long term,"
"Try it sometime," she quipped, revealing just a ghost of a smile as she looked over her shoulder. It made him grin too, despite the jab. God what a smile this woman had, that bemused tired look, that reluctance in her eyes, made all the more special by how rare it was. Idly he wondered if she kept it when her eyes went back to the road. If she was he was missing a hell of a sight, though not like she was ugly from the back. That shiny dark hair, that graceful stride, that perfect sinfully soft pillow of an ass.
Best to keep his eyes off that.
The last thing he wanted was to get caught staring when she finally seemed to be warming up to him. A little look was hardly worth the risk of not spooning against that wonderful buttflesh the next time they 'made camp'. It almost made sleeping outdoors on a dirt road pleasurable.
So you can imagine there were mixed feelings in the young man when he spotted the watchtower on the road up ahead. Sasuki by contrast looked half deflated with the sigh of relief she let out, overjoyed to finally see civilization. Well, maybe they could rent one bed for the night, just to save money. She mentioned living frugally! He could at least float the suggestion.
He halted abruptly when Sasuki stopped to look at him, boring her eyes into his with a serious frown.
"Okay, we're just two dumb kids heading north to seek our fortune, we didn't come from the tin mine and we've never met Argile," she said, confusing him until she got to the last word. "We need to find out if any of the northbound ferries are looking for crew, or book passage if they aren't,"
"Right, yeah, of course," he nodded. When she didn't turn back around instantly he dared make a suggestion. "Can we find something to eat first?" he asked, keenly aware that both of them had now gone well over twenty-four hours without food.
Holy hells. He just remembered how much blood Sasuki lost! She had to be even hungrier than him! The minuscule widening of her eyes confirmed his suspicion before a word was spoken.
"Yes," she said softly, turning around quickly and walking with renewed vigor. Honestly just the lack of snark or any wasted time would have tipped him off too. The fact she didn't hesitate for a second to disagree with him just on principle.
Not another word was spoken until they had crested the hill, waved to the smiley guard on top, strolled into the small bazaar of tents and honed in on the smell of cooking food like hungry mindless mutts. Naruto only hesitated for a half a second to yank the simple wooden door open. Exactly long enough to crane his neck and confirm that there was a sign and that he wasn't just bursting into some poor shmucks house.
It was crowded.
It was cozy. There was an atmosphere of real warmth despite all the people, hell all the laughter and the chatter almost added to it, not to mention the adorable little blonde girl running between tables with a pitcher. In any case, the crowd didn't cause any wait, almost immediately a young brunette woman, distinct from the others by the apron around her waist, came to greet them.
"Hello, here for rooms, or food?"
"-Both"
"-Both"
"Wonderful, that will be two silver pieces per room, only one bed per room but I can bring you a sleeping roll if you'd like, and that does come with one free meal. We have stew ready, or I could make you some oatmeal, or-"
"Stew is fine," Naruto practically quivered out. That's what the smell was, that meaty, heavy scent. Oh god's how he wanted that weight in his stomach! "F-For me, I mean I don't-"
"Stew is fine," his companion echoed.
And with a soft clap from their hostess, the conversation was over. She scuttled off to the back and Naruto helped himself to one of the few empty tables. He was suddenly dizzy from hunger. All but drooling with anticipation. Barely a sound was uttered and barely a motion was made until he carefully wrapped his fingers around the wooden spoon she'd brought with the bowl.
He didn't taste it until his third bite, and he didn't spare a glance at his companion until his fifth. She was devouring her own bowl with….some grace. She certainly looked more dignified than him, but the stew was disappearing just as fast.
The first deep breath after finishing the meal was refreshing in it's own right.
"So I should… go see about the boat, yeah?" he asked, grabbing the clay cup he finally noticed and pouring the cool water down his throat.
It was still daylight out and it would be for at least a few more hours. No reason to waste time. Sasuki looked pensive for a few seconds, then agreed.
"Yeah, here, the rest of the money," and to his surprise, she untied her purse and dropped a few coins in his hand. With her four he now had eight, their parting gift from the mine, their travel money. Just enough coin for a young orphan to find someplace needing an extra pair of hands. Now it was all in his hands. Granted, he wasn't going to do anything nefarious with the opportunity, but he could. Hell he could run to the sheriff or whoever looks after this place and tell them everything, even about the last name.
As long as she wasn't right next to him, the threat of violence didn't really carry any weight.
Did… did Sasuki trust him?
That thought put a smile on his face, despite the chore he was about to do for her. Ah, what did that matter though? The river was in sight coming into town, it couldn't be that long a walk.
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