Chapter 4 - The Blonde Legacy

The dark haired boy was worried. What had happened? It had been 3 days since he'd felt that tingling sensation from the Uzumaki Kingdom. He knew this meant something, but what?

He paused in walking, the troops were moving, and looked to the side. Someone was there. He ran over, catching his fellow soldiers' attentions and got to the edge of the trees in time to see a man fall out of the bushes.

"H-help..." he muttered. The boy picked the man up and set him against a tree. The man needed water, so he forced some into the man's mouth. The other soldiers gathered around.

"Who are you?" came the voice of the large man who had come to his tent.

'Merdal, you ass. He's in no condition for your prattle.' The dark kid cursed in his mind.

"An...Uzumakian...warrior...my whole fleet...was destroyed..." he managed.

"What? How many were there man?" Merdal boomed. Unable to speak, the man raised one finger. "One?" He nodded.

"He had...blazing hair and...fire in his eyes...we attacked his captain...and he attacked us." the man muttered.

"Who was his captain? Who was his captain soldier!" Merdal yelled. The soldiers around him flinched.

"C-captain...Fehrock..." the man muttered. "The boy was...not like a usual soldier...he yelled at his captain and...they were on a first name basis...He wielded a sword, not a gun, and ran like wildfire through the grass...I've never seen someone like him..."

"Who's regiment are you in man?" Merdal asked. The man's eyes widened.

"He...he...he beheaded my leader...He beheaded General Wilham!"

"General Wilham is dead?" The black haired boy soldier asked softly. Merdal glared at the boy.

"Do not speak unless I give you permission Sasuke! I do not care that you are the prince! You are the second prince and I work for your brother, the first prince." he turned back to the man. "Can you tell me more?" the man seemed to go into a revere as he spoke.

"Bathed in the blood of our men...his eyes changed from the blazing blue of a natural blonde...to an evil, blood thirsty red...He didn't smile, didn't speak much either...just fought...and won...Before I got away...I saw him...he collapsed after he murdered my general..." he seemed to be fading.

"How long ago did this happen?" Merdal asked quickly, wanting more information before the man died.

"Th-three days...ago..." then the man was gone, muttering one last word, that wasn't audible.

'Three days?' Sasuke thought, his pupils small.

It had been 3 days since that feeling stopped coming. So either he was one of the Uchiha army men stationed there, or he was...Sasuke gulped...or he was the bloodthirsty fighter who fell out of exhaustion after the battle.

He knew full well that his 'feeling' didn't come from an emotionless Uchiha fighter. So...that meant...it was this...uber fighter. The man that had been coated in his enemies blood, and had defeated an entire fleet all by himself.

Sasuke stood up from the dead man's body. Merdal scoffed and called his men back into line. They continued walking, Sasuke lost deep in thought.

"An...Uzumakian...warrior...my whole fleet...was destroyed..."

"He had...blazing hair and...fire in his eyes...we attacked his captain...and he attacked us."

"The boy was...not like a usual soldier...he yelled at his captain and...they were on a first name basis...He wielded a sword, not a gun, and ran like wildfire through the grass...I've never seen someone like him..."

"He...he...he beheaded my leader...He beheaded General Wilham!"

"Bathed in the blood of our men...his eyes changed from the blazing blue of a natural blonde...to an evil, bloodthirsty red...He didn't smile, didn't speak much either...just fought...and won...Before I got away...I saw him...he collapsed after he murdered my general..."

"Th-three days...ago..." then the man was gone, muttering one last word, that wasn't audible.

Sasuke was still walking, but his mind was elsewhere.

Sasuke sat at a lake. He knew he was no longer in the Uchiha Kingdom. He was bent down to get a drink when he heard a snap. He turned and flung the water that was in his hand at the new comer, thinking someone had followed him.

"What's your problem?" the boy he'd attacked asked, shielding his eyes. The boy wore grand robes, which hid him from view mostly.

"Oh, sorry. Thought you were someone else." he turned around and sat cross-legged, staring into the calm blue waters of the lake.

"Is something wrong?" the boy he'd attacked asked. Sasuke shook his head.

"Nothing. I'm fine." he hoped the boy hadn't heard the tears in his voice.

"No, You're not okay. What's wrong?" Sasuke felt a hand placed on his shoulder.

That did it! No one had ever actually acted as if Sasuke was a living breathing human. If he'd told them there was nothing wrong, they walked away. This person didn't. They seemed to actually care! He spilt.

"Grandma died...and no one seems to care." he said suddenly. "She was the only one that even recognized me as an actual living being. Now she's gone..." he said softly as the tears he'd been holding back, fell.

The boy next to him sat down and suddenly pulled Sasuke into a warm embrace.

"Go ahead and cry..." the boy said in a soft, gentle, and caring voice. "It's alright..." Sasuke remembered his grandma saying that before... "I know what it's like to need someone who cares."

Sasuke got used to the fact that someone was hugging him very quickly and then the boy's words sunk in. He let it out, he cried. The tears flowed down his face in waterfalls and he didn't try to hold them in. He clutched to the boy holding him and cried into his fancy, yet soft shirt. The boy pat him on the back and comforted him as he cried. Finally, he found his voice.

"M-my name is...Sasuke...What's yours?" he managed to choke out. He'd cried into his shirt, might as well learn his name.

The other boy smiled softly. Sasuke couldn't remember what the boy had said his name was...

Sasuke looked up and saw his face. It was so angelic like. Sasuke also couldn't remember what the boy looked like exactly, but knew he had been so peaceful looking, like an angel. And he seemed to glow gold in the sunlight.

"So, you're not from the Uzumaki Kingdom, are you?" the boy asked. Sasuke blinked.

"How'd you know?" he asked, sitting up straight so he could talk with this boy. 'So I'm in Uzumaki. Who is this guy?'

"You're to dark to be one of us. I'd say you were pretty dang upset to have run from another kingdom...let's see...the closest is...Uchiha...Are you from the Uchiha Kingdom?" the boy asked, smiling.

'Dang, he's good.' Sasuke thought. It was just a passing thought and he smiled back at his new found friend.

"Yea. You'll be my friend?" he asked. The boy blinked.

"Of course! And you'll be mine, right?" he laughed. Sasuke smiled. He heard a horse whinnying and turned when the boy ran off. "Oh! Hebbet! Hold on, I'm coming!" he called.

Sasuke saw the black horse looking through the bushes. It was a glistening black.

"Hebbet? He looks like one of ours." he muttered, walking over.

"Really? He's one of only two black horses we have here. Both are males, or we'd breed them." The boy smiled as Sasuke pet his horse.

He pet Hebbet's nose and the horse seemed to smile. When he brushed his right hand down the horse's mane and pat his saddle, Hebbet made motions as if telling Sasuke to ride him. Said boy blinked.

"You want me to ride you?" he asked in awe. His new friend smiled. He was always smiling.

"He's no grandma. But how about I give you Hebbet as a gift, huh?" he suggested. Sasuke couldn't believe this!

"Give him to me? But! A man's most precious item is his house, his horse follows close behind! How can you give him away?" Sasuke asked, baffled. His newly found friend laughed. Why was it that all he could really remember were the boy's smiles? He was always smiling...It was...nice...to think about it.

"That's right, you don't know. You're from the Uchiha Kingdom, you've never met me. I'm-" again, Sasuke couldn't remember his name, but knew the last name due to the fact that he remembered his own reaction. "-Uzumaki."

"Uzu- You're a royal?" he stepped back. He remembered that he was a prince too and regained himself. "I'm a royal too! Uchiha Sasuke." Why did he always say his last name first?

"Oh. You're the scrawny second prince huh?" he said with a smile.

Sasuke scowled. Great. Another person who would define him by his position. He blinked when the boy laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll support you!"

'What?'

"You're the future king! I know it!" He seemed so sure of Sasuke, a boy he'd just met.

"But my brother is before me. It'd take a miracle for me to become king." Sasuke glared at the ground. He wanted it to catch fire, to show his anger towards his brother.

"Saaaassssuuuukkkkeeee!" he remembered his 6 year old friend placing a hand on each of his shoulders. "Don't think like that! You'll be king! I hear your brother is a two-faced good-for-nothing, he won't last long as a king. If he ever gets there. So don't worry so much. I believe you'll make a great king some day!"

"You too Uzumaki!" Why had he called him Uzumaki? Oh well. But truly, this boy was so kind. He would definitely make a great king someday.

"Naruto! Not Uzumaki!" That was his name! Naruto! "We're friends, right?" he smiled again. Sasuke loved his smiles.

"Right...Naruto. Thanks. I'll take good care of Hebbet...How are you getting back to the palace?" he asked as he mounted his new horse.

"I'll walk." Sasuke blinked. "I like walking." Ok. "By the way. Hebbet is a grand stallion. He's won every race he's been in. You can breed him, but please make sure no harm comes to him. He's my favorite horse." Naruto walked up and pet his horse once more before backing off.

"I promise Naruto. I'll always care for Hebbet, until he dies. And any off-spring he has too." Sasuke suddenly had an idea. "Send for me some day! I'd be happy to answer the call of a prince so handsome and noble as you, Naruto."

'Why did I just say that?' he asked himself. He smirked though when he saw said prince blush.

"I'll think about it, Sasuke. You can call on me too though, ya know?" He seemed to give Sasuke a piercing look, but Sasuke brushed it off.

"Right." Sasuke laughed once, smiled, and waved good-bye as he rode off with Hebbet into the setting sun. Naruto getting smaller as he went.

'I could've at least given him a ride to the edge of the forest...stupid.' Sasuke thought as he rode. 'Oh well, I guess it's a bit to late now...isn't it?'

"Well Hebbet, let's go home. To Uchiha!" he pointed and Hebbet ran off. Naruto had been right, he was pretty fast. Sasuke had seen faster though.

'Good-bye, my lovely, smiling prince. I love you.' Sasuke blinked. Where had that thought come from? Oh well, he smiled.

Sasuke heard his commander's voice.

"Ok, we'll set up camp for tonight. Everyone be on guard, this is only a 2 day walk from where the enemy killed General Wilham. If you see anybody, attack first, ask questions later." Merdal was saying.

Sasuke set to work putting up his tent. When he was done, he put his things inside and got something to eat.

Ever since meeting the prince by the lake and receiving Hebbet, Sasuke couldn't stop thinking about him. He was fiddling with his necklace when he got an idea. But before he could do anything, whinnying caught his attention and he ran over.

"This horse has a colt, and he's old. This is the age set for the glue factory." One man was saying. His friend nodded his head.

"Yea. We'll take him tonight. This old guy is no more use to the king and queen." He went to slip something over Hebbet's head and neck, when a black something latched on to the horse. "Huh?"

"Get away! You can't have him!" Sasuke yelled, head on Hebbet's neck. "Hebbet will die of old age! Nothing less! He will not be killed! I won't allow it!"

"But young sir. This horse is past his prime. He has nothing left to offer us." the first man tried. The 8 year old glared at him.

"No! He has sentimental value! He was a gift to me and anyone who messes with him or his colt will have to answer to me!" he yelled. The men were scared by his eyes, so unnaturally cold and slowly turning red.

"O-of course sir...We'll inform the other workers not to hurt your horse..." the second, smaller man said nervously. Both men then walked off slowly, though wanting to run for their lives.

Sasuke calmed down and released his horse's neck. He looked up at the great stallion to see it smiling back.

"See Hebbet? I'm keeping my promise to Naruto. I'll keep you safe...you're so precious to me." he gave his horse a hug. "I'm gonna give Naruto a present. My necklace! But first, what should we name your colt? He's almost a month old now." Sasuke smiled.

Hebbet padded the ground and threw his head. He seemed happy. Sasuke laid his head on Hebbet's side and closed his eyes. In his head he saw the smile of Prince Naruto Uzumaki and heard his voice.

'Don't worry, I'll support you! You're the future King! I know it!'

Sasuke smiled. What kind of name would he like? A grand name to match his grand smile...Hmmm...

"Rasiel. How do you like that name, Hebbet? Would you like to name your colt Rasiel?" He looked at his horse to see a smile in his eyes and hear him whinny. "Then that's his name. Rasiel!"

Later, Sasuke wrote Naruto a letter and then tore off his necklace. He folded the letter until it was small enough to fit inside the locket and then saddled up Hebbet for his last visit to Uzumaki.

"Uchiha!" Merdal called. Sasuke looked up.

"Yes sir?" he asked, setting his bowl down with the other dirty dishes.

"Tonight I'm assigning you a new mission. Now, you'll be a spy." he smirked.

"Spy?" Sasuke asked dumbly.

"Correct. Every night you'll go out and sneak around in the bushes or whatever and see if you can find any enemy troops. If you find a camp, you can do whatever you like. But you'll have to tell us before you do anything." Merdal explained in a cold 'I'm better than you' voice.

"Tch, whatever." The dark boy scoffed, turning around and heading for his tent.

"Starting tonight Uchciha, starting tonight." Merdal called after him. He smirked when Sasuke paused.

"Whatever." he went and got his katana before pulling a half-mask over the lower part of his face and heading out.


Le Sigh...Mostly memories...