I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.

Coup d'etat

Ryuu looked around the completely deserted streets in silence. Beside him, Fu did the same. Something was wrong. Horribly. These people's prince had returned and yet they couldn't be bothered to come and say hello?

"I don't like this," Ryuu said.

"Me neither," Fu agreed.

Ryuu glanced to the side, catching site of someone darting between a pair of buildings. He glanced up at Yomo, who was circling overhead, and saw Yomo looking around, clearly tracking several different people. Finally, they left the city, heading along a forest path until they reached a massive gate with the castle on the far side. The gate opened and they passed through, heading toward the castle. It was massive and made up of a bunch of round white pieces with blue along the top, all of the tops completely flat. In front of the castle was a large fountain and a pair of staircases leading up to the main door on a raised balcony.

"Not much of a 'welcome home,'" Michiru said as they stopped, he and Hikaru climbing out of the wagon, Hikaru remaining silent and glancing at Fu for a half second before returning his gaze to the castle.

After the storm, Hikaru had admitted to being lonely and not knowing how to make friends, though Chamu and Kiki both instantly tackled him to show him they were his friends, so Naruto and the others, Fu and Ryuu included, agreed to be his friends. Since then, he hadn't been acting like a spoiled brat. He had been much more pleasant to be around. And he no longer looked at Fu like she was a piece of property. Now, when he glanced at her it was more because he was thinking about what she had said on the ship.

Ryuu was yanked out of his thoughts as the door opened, two men waking out of it and stopping at the edge of the balcony. One wore a long-sleeved white shirt under a red vest with a pink sash wrapping around his torso. He had brown hair spiked up on the sides of the top and with his sideburns wrapping around into a bushy mustache. The other man wore a simple white robe, and had thin brown hair reaching backward down his head and just past his shoulders.

"Ah, Shabadaba," Michiru smiled, watching the man with the mustache.

"Well well, if it isn't Michiru," Shabadaba said, holding a hand bearing a ring on each finger to his chest. "Back from your travels? You must be weary from your long journey. You and young Hikaru are well, I hope?"

"Yes, thank you Shabadaba," Michiru smiled. "What's going on in town? Where is everyone? There was no one to meet us."

Shabadaba watched them all in silence and Ryuu's feeling that something was wrong skyrocketed. He rested his left hand on his trench knife's pouch, seeing Fu resting a hand on her kunai pouch as well.

"Shabadaba?" Michiru asked, receiving no response before looking around. "Where is my father? Is something wrong? Why didn't he come?"

"The king, I'm afraid, is dead!" Shabadaba said, laughing as he said the last word.

Suddenly, armed soldiers surged out of the castle, quickly surrounding them as Fu and Ryuu drew their weapons, the others doing the same.

"I rule in the Land of the Moon now," Shabadaba said. "Which means, there's no need for you anymore, Prince. Kill them all!"

The soldiers all shouted as they charged, only for Ryuu and Sasuke to jump, linking their arms and facing away from each other before spinning around in the air, releasing twin streams of flame, throwing the soldiers back without killing them. As they landed, the soldiers began to charge again. Everyone scattered into the soldiers, quickly laying waste to them, Michiru and Hikaru getting back into the carriage and leaving quickly. As they did, however, one solider managed to knock the driver off the carriage, soldiers swarming toward the carriage as it slowed to a stop. Ryuu used the Body Flicker Technique to get to the carriage, then darted into the ranks of the soldiers, quickly knocking them all out. It felt good to fight without killing. Finally. Then, just as he finished, another carriage, this one armored and with troops bearing a different uniform, arrived, one soldier jumping off of the carriage and charging. He wielded a cutlass, using it to quickly drop several soldiers before taking the carriage's reins and flicking them, getting the carriage moving away from the soldiers again, Ryuu covering his retreat as several soldiers tried to follow.

The second carriage followed the Prince's and Naruto's team fell back past Ryuu. Ryuu looked back as Kakashi slammed his hand into the ground, the ground breaking apart and making it impassable, then smirked, putting his weapons away and holding his hand up, Fu grabbing it as she streaked overhead, both turning invisible instantly, keeping anyone from seeing her wings. After a few minutes, they caught up to the carriage and landed, beginning to run again, fleeing through the streets of the city. Then, they took a side street, fleeing the city and heading into the mountains. After about half an hour, they reached a small cave deep in the mountains and stopped outside, Michiru and Hikaru going to the entrance before breaking out into a run. Ryuu walked to the mouth of the cave and saw why. An old man, clearly the king, was lying on a makeshift bed with a blanket over him.

"What...what happened to him?" Ryuu asked.

"There have been clashes of late between the king and his ministers, mainly Shabadaba," the leader of the soldiers that had helped them, Captain Korega, said. "Each side had different ideas about who they wanted to lead them. The king had hoped he could reason with them, sway them over to his side. However, Shabadaba decided to take matters into his own hands and try to overthrow the king. By chance, we discovered his plot before it was too late. The king knew the time had come for him to confront his ministers. He knew it would be dangerous so he sent the princes on a royal tour of many lands in order to protect them. Once you were safely out of the way, the king moved to settle the matter. But it was too late. Shabadaba had already hired shinobi mercenaries to secure his path to the throne. We were outmaneuvered and outmanned. We arrived in the knick of time. We were able to escape unharmed...but the king, to my shame, did not."

"Let me take a look at his injuries," Sakura said, stepping forward.

Hikaru pulled the blanket down and they all stared. Half of the king's torso had been turned to stone.

"It's turned to stone," Sakura breathed.

"Yes," Korega said. "One of these three shinobi has possession of a special jutsu. And due to my negligence, he was able to...use it on the king!"

"What do you think?" Kakashi asked.

"It's worth a shot," Sakura nodded, beginning to try and heal the king.

As she worked, Ryuu walked outside, staring at the sky and at Yomo, diligently standing watch. Ryuu sat down, Fu sitting beside him, and whistled. It had been a long time since he had tried it, he had killed a lot of people, but even still, dozens of birds answered his call, flying out of the trees and settling on his shoulders, head, legs, and around him. There were birds of all shapes, sizes, colors. Fu smiled upon seeing it, Ryuu smiling as well and stroking one of their heads. He saw Fu staring at one particularly colorful one about the size of a fist and set his hand in front of it the bird obediently stepping onto it. Then, he held the bird out to Fu, who gently scooped it up, beginning to pet it. She smiled as it brushed its hand against her finger.

"This is amazing," Fu smiled. "I've never seen anything like this."

"I used to spend more time around birds than I did people," Ryuu said. "When I was young, I'd spend all of my free time with them. Especially after my brother died. It's actually how I met Yomo. He just showed up one day and then wouldn't leave, so I kept him."

Fu smiled, slipping her hand into his, her bird now sitting on her leg. And that's where the two of them stayed for the next few hours.

Leave a review.