Chapter 2 - Dear Sasuke
Naruto was called to his mother's room. He hid the necklace under his shirt and knocked on the door.
"Come in." came a voice.
He slowly opened the door and entered the room. His mother sat across the large room in her bed. She had been ill for about a week now. Apparently some sickness brought on by the war. She wore white, silk robes and a red and gold quilt lay over her.
"You wanted to see me mother?" he asked. Naruto hadn't seen much of his mother since she got ill. Heck, he hardly saw her anyways!
"One of my maids told me that you asked your father if you could join the army." she said slowly.
"Yes, I did. I wanted to go an protect the land that will one day be mine." Naruto explained.
"No." his mother said. "I do not want to lose my son to a stupid and pointless war!"
"But mother! I'm a great fighter! I know martial arts and swordsmanship!" Naruto yelled.
"You play piano and sketch! How are those talents supposed to help you in a battle?" she yelled back, then coughed.
"Mizuki taught me to use a gun! I'm a great shot mom! Please let me fight mother, please!" Naruto looked so earnest.
"I'm sorry son...Besides my own opposing, your father has already told you no. I can not go against his wills. I'm sure you would make an excellent fighter, but I do not want to lose the only heir to the kingdom! This war will take many of our best mens' lives, the prince will not be one of those murdered in this senseless time." she went into a coughing fit and the nurses walked in.
"I'm sorry young master, you need to leave now." Hinata, the main nurse, informed him.
"Of course Hinata-chan." he smiled softly at his friend before leaving. Hinata blushed and returned to the queen.
Hinata and Naruto had met a few years ago, when Naruto had once again been exploring the castle. Sakura, another nurse, had been complaining that her 'sister' Ino (they communicated through letters) got to work with the most handsome guy in the world, the second prince of Uchiha.
Naruto remembered thinking that Sakura was right, for only a split second, then he had noticed Hinata's uneasiness and had stepped in to help her. Hinata always called Naruto 'young master' but Naruto insisted on calling her 'Hinata-chan.'
Now Naruto knew what he was going to do. He walked quickly, yet calmly, to his bedroom and went to his closet. He packed his simplest clothing, his martial arts uniform, swordsman uniform, and his favorite orange outfit. He also put in a few books, a pen, and a pair of shoes besides the ones he wore.
Naruto slung the bag over his shoulder and went to the window. He glared back at his bedroom door. He couldn't believe he'd actually thought of staying once. His mother and his father, what did they know of war? They sent off countless numbers of people. Neither of them had ever been in a battle so how could they tell him he couldn't go?
He slipped out the window and used the uneven bricks to climb down the tower where his bedroom was and onto the grounds. He ran stealthily and swiftly across the grounds and into the woods. From here, he ran to the current known location of Captain Fehrock.
-
Meanwhile
A dark haired man looked out from the darkness. He walked out and called his troops to order. His eyes were red and evil. When he ordered his men around, his voice was deep, dark, and cold. Soon, they were off, sneaking through the underbrush as they headed for the Uzumaki territory.
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"So, Prince Naruto. You want to join my corps?" a man with sliver hair, and the like eyes, asked, smirking.
"Yes sir. I wish to fight for my kingdom." Naruto answered, military like almost.
"And your parents disagreed with your joining so you ran away?" he asked, his smile widening.
"Yes sir." Naruto said again.
"Well, Sir, I have come to my conclusion." Fehrock said after a pause, leaning over some papers he had out. "Here, you'll be in charge of whether it's clean or not." he handed Naruto a suit. "Wake up is at dawn, go to bed whenever you want. I never want you to give our secrets away to the enemy, though being the Prince that's not a problem. If you do not work hard for me, I'm sending you home to your father for punishment."
"Th-Thank you sir!" Naruto said happily, yet military like. He was dismissed and sent to his tent, on the far side of camp and mostly away from others.
-
Naruto spent that day setting up his things. His tent was small, like the other soldiers' were. Naruto left his clothing in his bag unless he needed them. At the moment, he wore his soldier uniform and looked as casual as anyone else...ok, screw it. His blonde hair stood out like a sore thumb amongst the black and brown haired people.
Naruto was visited that night, around dinner, by the captain.
"Oh, good-evening Captain Fehrock." he greeted.
"Same to you, my soldier prince. How has your day gone so far?" he asked, handing Naruto some of the food the men had made.
"Thank you." he began to eat, talking when he wasn't chewing. "I've finished setting up. Which mainly just included putting my bedding where I wanted and laying my bag to one side. I've been listening to the other soldiers as they walk by."
"That's good." the Captain nodded. "From now on, no staying inside your tent all day, and you must come get your own food. This is a solder's camp. If you can't even get your own food, you are no use to me." he smiled.
"Of course captain." Naruto smiled. He was almost always smiling.
The captain knew full well that Naruto nearly took care of himself, by himself, for most of his life. When he was a baby, the maids and nurses cared for him. As he grew older, Naruto did everything himself and his connection to his parents grew somewhat...colder.
"I shall see you at day break then. Good evening soldier." The captain took Naruto's empty bowl and left with one final sentence. "Oh, and you put your bowl near the 'sink' we have near the dinner bowl when you're done."
Naruto smiled again, taking out the blue book from his bag.
Hey, Sasuke!
I joined the army! Can you believe it? My mother and my father were very much against it. But I ran away and joined Captain Fehrock's ranks. So now, I'm in my tent and I just finished eating dinner.
How are you? I hope you're doing fine. Life has been very boring without you here. I got that necklace you sent me! In fact, I'm wearing it right now! It's very pretty. I hope that, when this war is over, I can come to Uchiha and see you again.
For now, it's time for bed. I'll write again tomorrow night, and tell you all the happenings in our camp. I miss you!
Lots of love,
Naruto Uzumaki
Naruto closed the book and put it away. He'd been writing 'Dear Sasuke's' for years now. This book was thick and held he newest ones. The other books were from his years of 'Dear Sasuke's.'
He laid down on his hard bed of earth with a pillow and blanket, soon falling to sleep.
-
A dark haired boy blinked and turned around. Why was it almost every night, he seemed to be being called from the direction of the Uzamaki Kingdom? It had been going on for years now, and he still couldn't figure it out. He had come to expect the tingling sensation on his neck, and the warm feeling of being needed that called him in that direction; and he silently waited for it every night, like a friend he could always depend on.
The boy smiled at the feeling and stared out towards Uzumaki. The forests around him gave off no indication that any 'feeling' or 'sense' had just passed through. The many identical living quarters didn't stir and everything was silent in this night.
-
The dark man laughed silently to himself, the castle was closer now. Soon, his job would be over and the war would end. Soon, he would be king of the world.
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