Chapter 18 - Draggin' Ass out of Dragonstone

"Well, this will be interesting," Hanko murmured out loud to himself as he used the spyglass to look at his destination.

The rest of the crew on the boat they had chartered was still working throughout the ship with nervous energy. When Hanko had first chartered the boat, he had asked the captain for his discretion in the form of 100 gold dragons. He then went on to explain that they would be making a stop just past Dragonstone and would take on another passenger before dropping them all off North at White Harbor. Along with this charter, they would also start bringing along the first order of sand, among other trade goods, from Dorne in order to get the glass making process started. They couldn't just bring an entire ship filled with sand after all, that would be too much for these era of ships.

The captain agreed to it. He knew that Dragonstone itself would be a tricky place. The realm knew that Rhaella Targaryen was currently there and pregnant. Since they were passing by Dragonstone itself for the passenger, he let the thought slip by. Whatever is happening at Dragonstone wouldn't affect them, surely.

How wrong he was.

Now Hanko was standing on the deck, holding his spyglass looking at the very castle that the captain was ignoring.

"You are really going to sweep her away from there?"

Hanko turned to look at Lyanna before answering. "Indeed. Call me a sucker for saving highborn ladies in bad situations." He looked at her again realizing she wasn't holding her son. "Where is Aemon?"

"Elia said she could watch him as Rhaenys always seems to keep herself occupied with her Focus."

Hanko chuckled, "like a child with a new toy." He looked back out towards Dragonstone. "Speaking of. Have you been using the Focus I gave you?"

"Yes," Lyanna confirmed while looking out in the same direction as Hanko. "I've been browsing what it has on emotional intelligence." Hanko gave her a smirk, and Lyanna huffed. "I figured with all the damage I caused, it would be a humbling experience."

"Although I commend you for admonishing yourself, I hope you realize it is not truly necessary right?" Hanko pointed out. "I thought we told you that with Aerys' actions, sooner or later the realm would be at war."

"You say that, but because of what I did and the reactions of other people due to my actions, it drew certain lines and alliances. If I hadn't been so...emotional; events would have ended much differently." Lyanna glanced at Hanko before turning back to her view, "especially if you weren't there. You saved me. You saved Princess Elia. You are about to save Queen Rhaella." she looked down at her hands on the boat railing.

"It's not like I'm not getting anything out of saving you," Hanko pointed out. "Now I have great relations with the North, Dorne, the Westerlands, and soon hopefully the former Dowager Queen." Hanko mused, "I have great influence in the realm now."

"It's true, you do, but the difference between you, and some other power-monger is that you are not only using it to help the smallfolk, but you are planning on letting it go after the worst has come to pass are you not?" Lyanna harrumphed. "That is better than most men in Westeros." She knew of his dimensional travel already after they were practically living together for a month at the Tower of Joy.

Hanko just waved off the praise as he decided to change the subject. "Anyway, back to the Focus question; I need you to do something for me." Lyanna glanced back his way before he continued. "I need you to use it to brush up on midwifery through the Focus. There are some texts in there that can help. If you need more than that, Elia can walk you through. I have a feeling Rhaella will be soon along and we might need you both to act in that role. I'm sure you and Elia can decide your tasks for once the time comes. I have a feeling we will need it on the boat ride."

Lyanna looked startled. "Giving birth is hard enough on dry land. You want the -" Lyanna stopped herself realizing how loud she was being. Lowering her volume greatly to almost a whisper she continued. "You want the Queen to give birth on the ship?"

"I don't want her to do it, but we must be prepared for the situation should it arise." Hanko answered her, whispering in kind. "I will inform the Captain we will leave in the night." With that, Hanko walked to speak to the Captain.

- Later that Evening -

They really lost their supporters it seems. Hanko thought as he stealthily made his way through the castle. It seemed most of the men were outside as there were very few inside the castle. That, or Jon Connington was exceedingly paranoid on who could be around the former Queen.

His first stop had been the bottom cliffside as he investigated the caverns there to make sure they still housed the 'dragonglass' which would be needed for the future fight to come. Once he confirmed the existence of the mines with relief, he then slowly started his way up through the castle. He also came upon the castle vault and eyed it in passing thought.

It probably wouldn't help them any now that their cause is lost; thanks to the rebellion winning.

Hanko sagely nodded. It will hopefully be a good start for the north to start funding the changes they will need to do. He crossed his fingers together

Shadow-Clone Jutsu

With that, he created three clones and left them at the vault with a large storage scroll as he quickly left the immediate area.

I'm guessing you still plan on the trip afterwards to raid Old Valyria?

For what all needs to get done, more money will be needed. Hanko countered as he turned a corner.

You realize there might be reasons why it hasn't already been pilfered? There wasn't much in the books or the show about what could be there preventing people from returning.

That is true, but since magic has been basically gone from the world for a while I doubt there is anything too difficult there that a little ninjutsu won't handle.

Yet you are staying here in this world to help them fight against the Night King. A frost zombie that even stops you from just going to the Lands of Always Winter and quickly ending him.

Hanko had to pause as he thought that one over. You are right in part. I could just solve their problems for them, but what would that teach them? They should just rely on someone else to come around and solve their own problems? To keep squabbling amongst themselves in the darkest of times? I also understand I shouldn't be a hypocrite. You think I should bring men-at-arms with me to Valyria? His thoughts stopped as a pair of guards came around the corner. He quickly shunshin'd behind them and chopped at the back of their necks, knocking them out, before finding a room nearby to dump them in and continue on.

They might not be much help on the 'heavy lifting' you will probably come across there, but at least you could have people guarding a small boat, or help making camp for the night. It would probably also go far with currying good relations. When they see you take into account their presence and work together with them, possibly even defer to their judgment on certain things, it could go a long way to strengthening ties with them. Remember, things in Westeros are all about the Game true, but a main power about what influences people's actions here is a person's Reputation. By having them see you do "incredible feats" it will leave a lasting impression and the rumor mill will explode with whatever you do.

Hanko had to agree with that assessment. It seemed that since he got here he was more directing people without thinking. It wouldn't do if the people he wanted to work with just listened to him out giving input of their own. He might have good ideas, but he knew he wasn't infallible. Plus, having people speak of his incredible feats will solidify his fame and prestige.

It didn't take him much longer to find the room that he was looking for. The door was guarded by two men-at-arms in front of the door. Hanko sighed. If they had just stayed beside the door he could have genjutsu'd his way in. Instead now he had to knock them out too.

- Inside the room: 3rd Person -

At first, Rhaella didn't know why she had awoken, until a loud bang was heard against the door. She tensed as the sound of steel being drawn could be heard briefly before another crash against the door. Her fear had now risen higher as she took in the silence before the door casually opened and a man walked through dragging the two guards in armor inside. The thinner man with a skull-decorated kabuki mask did not seem to be grunting with strain as he did so. Once he casually placed them, so they were laying in the corner he turned to Rhaella, bowed, and removed his mask before the mask disappeared out of thin air.

"Salutations Your former Grace, I'm here to save you from the impending siege by the rebels."

Rhaella took in the man fearfully. "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Currently, I only want to get you out of here before the rebels come and make things harder."

"I can't leave, I'm close to giving birth," Rhaella quickly countered. She did not know this person and they wanted to just have her go with them without questions? She was already being housed by Jon Connington and his army. Why would anyone with an army around them lead by someone they know; take their chances with a single person they didn't know?

"Look," Hanko said with a sigh, pulling out a letter and carefully placing it on the bed. Rhaella had scrambled away from him thinking he was going to be rough and drag her out, but was surprised instead at his next statement. "If it helps, I have a letter of introduction here from your good-daughter who I also rescued and is close-by." Hanko was glad he had her write the letter before he set out.

Rhaella quickly grabbed for the letter and opened it. She had gone so long without any family correspondence that she was desperate for anything. As she read, there was a tear in her eye as she read the first part of the note. Her expression changed to awe when she looked both between the note and Hanko himself repeatedly as she read about the man in front of her.

"I understand," Rhaella relented at the end. "We will go with you."

Hanko smirked before giving snark. "So, it's that easy to trust me over a small army outside your room?"

"The note is in her handwriting and Elia trusts you. You also saved her from the realm that is currently after her. That alone would make you qualified. Added to that, If the 'small army' as you put it was able to protect me, you wouldn't be here now anyway." Rhaella pointed out with a sigh. "Lord Connington might be even more upset, but with the rest of the loyal houses already defeated, there is not much more he can do besides delay the inevitable."

"You would be right in that," Hanko confirmed. "Without me here, the rebels would have eventually come. With you pregnant and as haggard as you currently are, you would have given birth in bad circumstances and probably died. Your childr…"

Shit, I should have realized why she said 'We'. I forgot Viserys was also here in the novels.

Rhaella will probably ask you-

"Can I ask you to please escort my son Viserys to these here?"

"You wouldn't happen to know where he might be?"

"He is probably staying in one of the closer rooms. If there weren't other guards, then his is probably with Jon Connington."

Hanko nodded. "Do you have anything here that you might want to take with you?" Rhaella looked at him with a furrowed brow before he elaborated. "I have...ways to store objects with me."

Rhaella shook her head. "There might be some useful documents in the Lord's Solar, along with my son, and possibly his guard and Lord Connington."

Hanko agreed with a smirk before crossing his fingers together.

Shadow-Clone Jutsu

With a puff of steam, six other copies of Hanko appeared in the room. He didn't glance at Rhaella's expression as he gave out orders.

"You four to the Lord's Solar in case there is resistance. You two outside this door transformed as these guards."

Reaching for the storage seal tattoo on his arm he spawned a smaller storage scroll he tossed to the group of clones going to the Lord's Solar. The two clones acting as guards had already transformed and opened the door. The other clones transformed to his blacked-out anbu garb with masks. They took the opening and sushined quickly out to complete their task, before the door closed back up.

Rhaella looked at Hanko now with renewed awe. "Are there more like you who can do the same magic?"

Hanko chuckled. "It might look like magic, but that was a technique called jutsu." Rhaella kept staring at Hanko as he continued. "Jutsu is the word for 'technique' where I originally am from. Jutsu uses an energy inside all living beings called chakra for power. There are many different kinds of Jutsu and some can only be done by certain ninjas based upon elemental affinity, skill, chakra capacity, chakra control, or bloodline."

"If everyone supposedly has this energy as you put it, then why haven't we already seen more people like yourself running around?" Rhaella asked.

"That's probably one of the easier questions," Hanko agreed. "For one, people might have chakra, but they might not have the proper chakra network to work jutsu. Another important note would be that no one knows the easy and/or safer ways to activate a person's chakra network."

"But you do?"

"Yes, I do."

"What about me? Would I be able to have a network and could it be activated."

"If you would allow me to-"

"Of course it's fine-"

"I would have to touch your back directly; my hand to the skin of your back." Hanko informed her. He knew that some royalty might take offense to an unknown person touching them without permission.

Rhaella frowned at first, but didn't take long to nod in acquiescence. She leaned forward a bit and Hanko took two fingers perpendicular to her back and did a small sonar pulse into her network with his own chakra.

"Well you do already have an extremely thin chakra network, and it's already activated. The bad news though is both its skinny nature, and that it is atrophied."

"How bad?"

"Bad enough that I know why you look as emaciated as you do now." Hanko noted while moving back to his original spot facing Rhaella. "Probably because your chakra consumption has increased due to your pregnancy. Have you been eating enough?"

"I've been eating what I can without throwing up, yes."

"Maybe its not the right food," Hanko bemused to himself before shaking his head and waving away the thought. "Doesn't matter, I have something you can snack on for now that might help." With a puff of steam from his tattoo storage seal, he gave Rhaella a ration bar. "It might not taste the greatest, but it will have more chakra restorative qualities to help you and the baby. You need to eat this, at the very least, to get you out of danger levels."

"In that case, I thank you, Lord Hanko."

Hanko just nodded. He didn't want to correct Rhaella at all and just let her get started on the ration bar. They were both sitting in silence now as she chewed.

Once Rhaella was almost done with the ration bar, the door opened and the clones all filed in at the same time with a trailing child who could only be Viserys. It was at that point Hanko internally groaned because he didn't hide his face to the child in time.

Great, now I have to hope a child doesn't give away the face of the all-powerful-ninja to the entirety of Westeros.

Not going to do the memory-seal fuinjutsu?

His mother is right here, can't start freaking her out by doing something unknown to her child.

The sad part was he didn't even get a snarky comment from Shi. That told him enough.

"We knocked out two guards, and I believe the pleasure of also knocking out Lord Connington at the Solar. We also retrieved Viserys."

"The vault was fairly easy to. Gotta say the haul was pretty good."

"Mommy!" Viserys immediately shouted gleefully and wiggled his way out of the hold of a clone. Quickly running to his mother's side, he stopped short of glomping his mother. Instead he was jumping up and down in his excitement. "These men brought me here to you saying we were going to be leaving. Are we going back home to King's Landing?"

"No my dear, I'm sorry," Rhaella confirmed gloomily. "We can never go back to King's Landing."

"But-"

"You are no longer royalty," Hanko interrupted the boy, staring him down. "Your father was a Mad King that turned his own people against him by burning alive anyone he chose; when his own shadow grew too fast for him."

"Who are you to tell us-"

SLAP

The sound was fairly loud in the larger room. What took Viserys by surprise, besides the stinging pain on his cheek, was the larger fact that his mother was the one whose hand did the deed.

Rhaella turned to Hanko. "I apologize for my child's unseemly words, my Lord. He did not recognize that the loss of our lofty station means that we have no more right to request anything of anyone. I hope you can forgive my son for this transgression and that you will still take us to safety with you."

Hanko nodded as he took the scrolls the clones handed to him. The scrolls disappearing into thin air seemed to make the hurt Viserys completely shocked. "Is everything in order, we should probably go before they notice their Lord is knocked out."

Rhaella nodded. Hanko helped her to stand from the bed. A clone took the hand of Viserys. Hanko had the clone activate the Hiraishin seal on the boat first, disappearing in a dark flash with Viserys. A few seconds later, he activated the same Hiraishin seal and they both disappeared from the room.

Author Note: This is the last immediate update as I originally created the first 18 chapters before posting this story, so I have technically caught up. The rest of the chapters might take some time in between uploads as I tend to list-away from writing, along with having a full-time job. Otherwise, I'm looking at about one upload a week at this rate. That might change if inspiration hits me like a freight-train and I start pumping out chapters faster than the practically verbal diarrhea I'm spewing as this author note. I'm shutting up now. See you soon for the next chapter :)