Ch. 11

House Balitang, Rajmuat, Kypriang, Copper Isles

"Naruto! Hey, brat! Are you done peeling those potatoes yet?" Chenaol yelled over the kitchen chatter.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm done!" Naruto called back dejectedly. Not only did he have to do all kinds of chores, he was working in a kitchen full of delicious smells. But if he tried to snitch even a little bit, Chenaol would threaten to cut off his hand. "…damn obaasan." He muttered.

"What's that?" Chenaol said. She walked over, flipping a cleaver casually from hand to hand. She looked on the huge bowl where he'd been putting the peeled potatoes. "Hmmph. Looks like you're finally getting the hang of it. You didn't waste too much with the peelings this time."

"…so can I go now?"

"No. Scrub the carrots, and then we've got a delivery coming in that you can help with."

"Then I can go?"

"I'll think about it."

"…damn obaasan… grumble… mumble… whine…"

"You say something, brat?"

"Nope, not a word! I didn't say a thing!"

"Good, now get scrubbing!"

"Fine."

Naruto scrubbed at the carrots, trying to get all traces of dirt and root from them. After almost an hour, he thought he was finally done. Naruto looked around for Chenaol, to get her final approval, but he didn't see her. That didn't mean anything though. He'd found out the hard way that it was almost impossible to sneak out of her kitchens without being caught.

"Chenaol-obaasan?"

No reply.

"Oi, Obaasan!"

"What?" Chenaol came in through the outside door.

"Are these carrots done now?"

She looked at them. "Yes. Now help bring in the delivery."

"Fine, fine, obaasan." Naruto put his hands behind his head and strolled out the door.

"Wait."

"Huh?" Naruto turned to look back over his shoulder at her.

"Put it back."

"Put what back?"

"The roll. Put it back."

"I don't know what you're…" Naruto started sweating.

"Roll or hand, your choice."

"Eheheh… Here…" Naruto took the roll out of his shirtsleeve, handing it back with an incredibly tense grin.

"Good. Now scoot!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Naruto ran out of the kitchen, and towards the front gate, where the wagon carrying their kitchen delivery stood. He started carrying crates back to the kitchen. When he reached the kitchen, he carried them to the back storeroom and started stacking them by the back wall. Curious, he opened one of the crates to look inside. It was full of knives, from small belt-knives and daggers to longer skinning-knives, cleavers, boning-knives and the like. There were knives of every description, including some which were so flat it would be easy to conceal them in any but the tightest-fitting clothing.

"Nobody thinks it's odd for a cook to be ordering knives."

"Aah!" Naruto practically jumped out of his skin. "Don't do that, Obaasan!"

"Hmph. I still can't believe that you're supposed to be the prophesied 'Fox.' Especially since you jump like that every time I walk up behind you. I'd think a fox would be better at hearing people."

"Ahh, I can't hear a thing in here. It's too noisy. 'Sides, you walk so quiet…" She'd make a good ninja. She's so sneaky…

"Well, that's the last of the delivery. I guess you can go now. Oh, and that pineapple-headed brat-leader of yours wants to see you."

"Eh? Shikamaru does? Guess I better go see him." Naruto trotted off.

Half an hour later, Naruto pushed open the door on his way out of Shikamaru's office, almost knocking over Hinata.

"Oh, Hinata! Eheheh. Sorry 'bout that." He steadied her for a second.

"Naruto-kun… e-excuse me… I'm h-here to see Shikamaru-kun…" stammered Hinata, turning pink.

"Eh? Oh, go on in, he's in there. But, are you feeling okay, Hinata? You're all pink."

"Oh, y-yes, I'm just fine… I-I'll go in and see Shikamaru-kun now…"

"Oh, yeah… see ya Hinata! I've gotta go work on the job Shikamaru gave me!"

"S-see you…"

Naruto ran outside and looked around for a place where Chenaol wouldn't find him. He ran over to the stable and climbed up to the loft, where he sat on a bale of hay and took out the small scroll on which Shikamaru had written his instructions.

"Let's see… There're two garrisons that need to be disabled, and that Duke Nomru guy got arrested on false charges. He's been put in the Maximum Security Prison with all of the other political prisoners. They keep the worst criminals there too. The murderers and rapists… Erg… sounds like a nasty place. Anyway, I'm supposed to make sure that none of the soldiers in those garrisons can fight, and I need to break out Duke Nomru. Yosh! This is a job that only I, Naruto, the genius ninja can complete!"

Naruto jumped down from the loft and ran out of the stable, looking for someone. "Oi, Obaasan! Obaasan!" He ran into the kitchen. "Obaasan!"

"What is it, brat? Need some more chores to do?" Chenaol put her hands on her hips, still foamy and wet from dish-washing. "As you can see, I've plenty of dish-washing for you to do."

"Oh, no, no, just… can I talk to you in private?" He looked around furtively.

"Hmph. Fine, but don't expect me to believe you if you say something stupid." She took him to one of the smaller, lesser-used storerooms, where she kept her herbs separate from the main storage. She shut the door and turned to face him. "So, what do you want?"

"Shikamaru gave me some jobs to do, but I'll need some stuff to do them. Will you give it to me?"

"What exactly did you have in mind?"

As Naruto outlined his plan, Chenaol started to grin evilly.

The guard captain for the Western Docks Garrison yawned, and then blinked. It was so hot out, and they still had to wear full armor? What were the rulers thinking? He was so thirsty… He blinked again, and saw a welcome sight indeed. Coming up the road was a group of about a dozen women. They were all Luarin, and they were all pretty, but they each had different coloring. A few had brown hair, a few black, a few were blonde, and there were even two red-heads in the group.

The young woman in the lead was particularly good-looking. She had bright yellow-blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes, and a figure the captain had only dreamed about. Her sarong was a bright orange color, and the other girls were as vibrantly-dressed as she. This wasn't all that rare. The common Luarin women seemed to think that dressing in bright colors would make them look wealthier. As it was, it simply made them stand out a bit more. The captain didn't see anything wrong with that though; they were pretty young things, why shouldn't they flaunt it?

The young women chattered at each other, laughed, and generally had a good time as they walked toward the garrison. Each of them carried a basket of especially juicy fruit cocked on their hip. In this position the basket emphasized the swing of their hips. The lead girl walked up to the captain and smiled at him, holding out her basket. "Oh, captain, my friends and I were just so grateful for the protection we get, we just had to bring you poor soldiers some refreshment! Surely you must be hot in that armor…" She smiled at him, and winked flirtatiously.

"I sure am! I could definitely use a break, but I don't get off until late tonight."

"Oh? How late?"

"…Late enough, I think." He grinned at her innuendoes.

"Mmm-hmmm… But until then, won't you take some of this fruit? I wouldn't want you all tired out…"

"I think I will. But what about the rest of you girls?"

One of the red-heads giggled. "Oh, we brought fruit for your men! After all, there's only one of you."

"Really? But there's a lot more soldiers than there are of you."

"Heehee! Then we'll get quite the selection, won't we?" put in one of the brunettes, switching hips.

The leading blonde took control again. "But in the meantime, we'll leave you with these fruits. There's a time for the other fruit later." They set their baskets down by the wall, and turned to go.

As the girls started to leave, one of the black-haired women, who had eyes as black as her hair, turned around for a second and called, "Make sure you all have some, or you may not get any!" She giggled, and they turned a corner and were gone. The guardsmen watched them go, and then began splitting the fruit amongst themselves.

Around the corner, the girls disappeared in puffs of smoke, to be replaced by a single boy with whisker marks, bright yellow hair, and blue eyes, wearing a pair of loose slacks and a bright orange shirt. He grinned evilly for a few seconds before walking off casually, hands behind his head. By that night, the whole Western Docks Garrison was ill with such violent cases of dysentery that they forgot all about the 'girls' they met earlier.

At the Eastern Docks Garrison, a Luarin boy with bluish-black hair in a style that was reminiscent of a cockatoo walked along the wall, looking around with eyes that were black as ebony and as cold as ice. He wore a dark blue shirt with an odd symbol on the back, somewhat like a fishing bobber. Smirking, he looked up at the top of the wall. "This is too easy." Making certain that no one watched, he walked up the side of the wall, the soles of his feet glowing blue as he did so. When he reached the top, he leapt from the wall to the roof, and crouched there. After a while, he began moving around the garrison, trying to find something. Avoiding the guards was difficult, but not especially so, because they tended to move in predictable patterns. He searched the rooms diligently, including closets, storage rooms, even the kitchen, until he found what he was looking for.

It was in a room on the side of the garrison pointed east, that is, along the shore, pointing away from any other buildings. Luckily, the room had a window. It was a high one, and narrow, but it could be reached from a tree outside the garrison. After he left, and after he was a suitable distance away, with no witnesses, he poofed into a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, whisker-marked boy, wearing a pair of loose slacks and a bright orange shirt.

That night, the Eastern Docks Garrison exploded as its store of Blazebalm was pierced by an oddly-shaped knife with a piece of scroll wrapped around the handle. The knife puffed into smoke and became a stick, as the scroll caught on fire. It had burned for less than half a second before the whole place burst in an explosion of fire, stone, and masonry. The casualties were in the hundreds, luckily with no deaths. But only a few of the soldiers stationed there escaping unscathed. Later, if anyone had asked the people living nearby, they would have described the boy who came by earlier, with the cold eyes. They would have sworn they saw him leap from the tree and run away across the surface of the harbor water, leaving only ripples in his wake.

With all of the commotion, almost half of the guards at the Maximum Security Prison were called out to assist by the docks. One, after leaving the compound, was jumped by a short blonde kid with golden-yellow eyes, a fierce aspect, and a pigtail. He wore a blood-red coat, with a snake wrapped around a cross drawn on the back, and heavy black boots. The boy swiftly beat the guard into submission and stole his keys and clothes, hiding him, bound, in the bushes where nobody would find him for a long time.

After he made certain that the guard wouldn't be going anywhere, the blonde kid found another hiding place of his own, and poofed into the guard. He put on the guard's clothes and headed back to the prison. He explained that he'd been told that too many guards were missing, and that he was supposed to remain. "That way, there won't be any trouble here." He said.

"Thank goodness, we have too many murderers and assassins and rapists and homicidal maniacs downstairs. I almost had to leave the Pointless unguarded."

"The… Pointless?"

"Heh, that's just my name for the political prisoners. There's really no reason for them to be in a max-security place like this."

"Yeah, it's not like they could even break out of a normal prison."

"Would you mind taking over watching them for me? I'd ask the Boss, but he's been holed up in his office for hours now. Probably had one too many glasses of Arak."

"Sure, no problem. At least it'll be easy work." He was elated at this turn of events, it couldn't have been better! He was assigned to look after the political prisoners' entryway, because his superior was drunk. The man was an idiot, and a cruel taskmaster to the few Raka guards, he found out after a few more minutes of talk.

Once the fake guard was alone, he entered the section with the political prisoners and started searching. Unable to determine his target's cell due to the fact that they had solid fronts; he returned to the entrance and looked at the diagram on the wall. It had a list of cells, but no prisoner names. "Damn… there's gotta be a way…" He looked closer at the diagram, almost glaring holes into it. "Hmmm… Aha!"

The letters next to the cell numbers corresponded to the set of switches on the wall. Each switch opened five cells, and there were fifteen switches. The fake guard looked at them for a while, and then shrugged. He walked over and pulled them all down, one right after the other.

The next morning, news of the prison break spread rapidly. The deposed guard had been found when the returning guards realized he was gone. When he told his story, he was deemed unfit for duty and was given a dishonorable discharge. His superior was executed as an unwitting accomplice and an incompetent guardsmaster. The Rittevons were infamous for executing those in command when things went wrong. He was made an Example.

Among the escaped prisoners was one Duke Vurquan Nomru, who, it was rumored, must be hiding on his family lands on the other side of Kypriang. No one had seen him go there, but the nobility had ways, right?

At two in the morning, an old Mithran priest entered House Balitang, along with his trusted page, a tall, thin boy with tired blue eyes and black hair. The boy wore small oval spectacles and was possessed of a somewhat limp manner; he also seemed to be a bit slow in noticing things on his right. If anyone had been awake to see them at that hour, they would have ignored them completely.

"Duke Nomru! What a pleasant surprise!" Lady Nuretin Balitang exclaimed, embracing her old friend. "What happened? However did you escape that awful prison?"

"With a great deal of help, milady. I think it's time I had a talk with your niece and the most recent additions to her household."

Lady Nuretin rang for a servant, and sent young Kiba and his dog off to fetch the others Duke Nomru had asked for. However, she couldn't help asking, "But why? What have they to do with it? And who is this boy? A fellow prisoner?"

"Oh, no, this boy is the one who freed me and the other political prisoners. He said you'd recognize him."

"I've never met him before." said Lady Nuretin, looking at the boy closely.

He grinned suddenly in a manner that was completely adverse to his looks. Once the rest of the called for people had arrived, he poofed into smoke, and in his place stood a much shorter blonde boy with whisker marks and an orange shirt.

"What! How did you… What is going on here?" Lady Nuretin was shaken and angry at her ignorance.

"Let me explain, Aunt Nuretin." said Lady Dove. "These are the ones prophesied to attend the 'Queen With Two Crowns,' who happens to be me. Naruto here is the 'Fox.' It seems that the Trickster's chosen animal lives up to its name!"

"Heheh! Yep, I'm the best! Go me! Go me! I am stealthy, I am smart, I am… whups!" Naruto tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his arse.

"This is the Fox? Gods help us." said Lady Nuretin, nonplussed.

"Hey, I got Duke Nomru-ossan out of jail didn't I? And I've done lots of other important stuff too!"

"Such as?"

"Don't argue you two, please." interjected Lady Dove. "Before you get too confused, Aunt Nuretin, let me reintroduce the rest of them to you and introduce them all to Duke Nomru." The Duke seemed just as flabbergasted as Lady Nuretin. "Mastersmith Fandarel's assistant is Rock Lee, the 'Strong One.' The messenger boy is Inuzuka Kiba, also called the 'Wild One.' This dog is called Akamaru, and is his constant companion. My personal bodyguard, Hyuuga Neji, and his cousin, Hyuuga Hinata, who is my lady-in-waiting, are the 'White-eyed Ones.' And finally, my clerk, Shikamaru, is the 'Clever One.'"

"Ah!" said Duke Nomru, "So this is the infamous Duan I've heard rumors of. Or rather, a rumor, from a very reliable source. Though he didn't say you were just a lad."

"Duan?" asked Shikamaru.

The duke chuckled. "It means 'Old Man' or 'Boss' in the old Raka tongue."

"Ha! That fits our Shikamaru all right!" exclaimed Kiba. "He's just like an old man, playing Shogi all the time and staring at clouds and saying things are troublesome!"

"Hn. You are troublesome." said Shikamaru by way of reply.

"Well, Duan, I'd like to make you an offer. I'll try to stiffen up the spineless Luarin conspiracy, if you'll fill me in on what you and the Raka rebellion are doing. Let's work together on this, shall we?"

Despite all of the commotion, the regents determined that the King must still have his birthday party. Dunevon, dressed in scarlet, half-asleep in the saddle, rode his pony between the regents. Taybur Sibigat led his pony, one hand behind the king's back. As the royal group passed, Dunevon's few friends and their families rode into place behind them. Behind them came the other Luarin and Raka nobles, all in their finest day clothes. Down the broad avenue they rode. People waved from their windows and cried their birthday greetings to the child king. It was impossible to hate the little boy, even if he was a Rittevon. Banners and garlands hung everywhere, and even the stormwings seemed decorative, the sunlight glinting off their wings as they circled above.

Through the city they rode, and down to the royal docks, where the Rittevon was moored. Taybur excused himself and asked the shipwright to check the boat for the third time in two days. The man complied without complaint. When he came back ashore from his inspection, he announced it fit to sail.

Once this was done, Rubinyan looked over at Dunevon. "Your Majesty," said Rubinyan, his voice carried on the breeze, "from Her Highness and me, to you, with love, we give you your first sailing vessel. For the king of an island kingdom must have his flagship, do you not agree?"

Dunevon bounced in the saddle, applauding. Everyone around him relaxed, taking honest pleasure in his happiness. He dismounted somewhat clumsily and strode up the gangplank, thrusting out his small chest proudly. Taybur, his men, the captain, and the sailors lined along the rail bowed deeply to him. Imajane rode over to the four boys waiting with their families and smiled at them. "Master Elsren, Master Huldean, Master Gazlon, Master Acharn," she said teasingly, "I do believe that if you do not hurry to board, His Majesty will order the ship to sail without you." The boys bowed to the regents in their best courtly fashion, and then to their families. Well-coached, they did not run to board, though they did walk very quickly.

Although the sky was clear when the little boat was launched, after only a few hours of sailing, the sky suddenly clouded up. And not with ordinary clouds. These clouds seethed and boiled, a sick green-black color, with lightning flickering among them. By this time all of the people who had gone to see the launching of the Rittevon had returned to their normal routine.

When Naruto noticed the storm, he snuck out of the kitchen and started towards the gate, looking for a way to get to the docks without getting caught and sent back for chores.

When he reached the gate he was met by the sight of Lady Dove standing, hands akimbo, glaring at the guard. She said, "Ulasim Dodeka, you have been a friend to me, and I know you are being a friend to me now, but as the gods are my witness, you will either stay behind or carry my umbrella, but you will let me through that door. I want to be on the royal docks when they come home. They are just boys. They will want their mothers, and His Majesty has no mother, I can at least be a friendly face and open arms."

"Hey, Lady Dove-sama!" said Naruto.

"Naruto? What is it?"

"I could hold your umbrella, if you want." I can go out that way. I wanna know what's going on, and why those clouds scare me so much. And Chenaol-obaasan won't be able to complain or drag me back for chores!

Lady Dove looked relieved. "Would you? I'd feel so much better knowing one of you was around, and I told Neji to take care of Aunt Nuretin and our guest."

"Sure, no problem, I wanted to get out anyway."

"Chenaol working you to death?"

"Eheheh…"

"Don't worry about it, I understand. But having the kitchen boy as my escort will look odd, you understand?"

"Oh, right." Naruto quickly performed a Henge no Jutsu, turning into Neji, complete with stiff posture and unconscious scowl. "This better?"

"Much."

"Let's go then, Lady Dove-sama." He took her umbrella and opened it, holding it up for her as they walked through the town to the royal docks.

When they reached Dockmarket square, Lady Dove said, "It's the wrong time of year for such damage. And the royal docks are in the snuggest harbor. What did this do on the open sea?" She indicated the harbor.

Naruto saw what she meant. There were tiles, ribbons and flowers that had been torn from decorations, a few signs, and the collapsed remains of stalls all along the waterfront. The ships were tangles of torn sail and spars. Small boats had been driven against the pier and smashed. Naruto thought about the damage such a storm would cause to a medium-sized boat such as the Rittevon and shuddered in his guise as Neji.

His darking, Jelly, stretched one quivering tentacle over his ear and whispered to him. "Inkblot say that Shika say this is magic storm. Shika say is Luarin magic. Say is Crown magic. Say is wrong in many ways. Say is bad for ship to be out in storm. Say regents have many opponents on ship. Say Dunevon is obstacle. Say Taybur is obstacle. Say other boys are from opposing families. Say are younger sons, but still much loved. Shika say… say he hoped it would work out without child king dying, but was in way of Queen With Two Crowns too. Shika say, is better this way. Say, is not our fault now. Say, now regents in trouble, and we safe, but king still dead. Say is very sad."

Naruto's grip on the umbrella tightened unconsciously. Those bastards. "How does he know? How can Shikamaru know that they're dead?" he whispered, so low that nobody but Jelly could hear.

"Inkblot say Shika say, so troublesome to answer question. Say is obvious that storm that bad will wreck ship. Say child king not swim good. Say… say Secret is there with ship. Say Secret is trapped under ship for long time, with Dunevon. Secret say Taybur come get Dunevon. Secret not know if Dunevon breathe now. Secret is tired. Secret… is gone now."

"Gone? You mean… Secret died?"

"Yes, Secret dead. Darking need less air than human, but still need air. Secret run out. Inkblot say, Secret gone, Inkblot need make more darkings now. Not crying, but sad, Naru. Naru sad?"

"Yeah… yeah I'm sad. But not crying. Not now. Hey Jelly?"

"Yes, Naru?"

"Tell Inkblot to tell Shikamaru… don't say anything to Magnolia or Lady Dove-sama yet. Let her find out herself."

"…Inkblot say Shika say yes. Say is best not be bearer of bad news. Say also would be bad if Lady Dove-sama show she know beforehand that they in trouble or dead. Also say… say is best let have hope for a few more hours."

"Yeah. That's best."

It was two hours after sunset before a ship arrived. It was not the Rittevon. The craft had taken a battering. One mast was broken in half; the sails were tatters. A handful of men were slumped on the deck, others worked slowly and painfully around them. Lady Dove heard footsteps and turned to see the regents, looking properly worried, riding up on horseback. The four mothers came to stand with Lady Dove, drawing strength from her quiet hope.

Finally, the battered ship was tied up. The first man to come down the gangplank, bearing a small, motionless form in red satin, was Taybur Sibigat. His eyes were red and swollen, His chain mail was gone, his clothing ripped. There was a long gash over his left temple, and the entire right side of his face was one purple-black bruise. He limped as he carried Dunevon's corpse to the regents.

People in the crowd moaned. Someone shouted, "He's just a boy!" and was silenced.

Behind Taybur came a Raka sailor. In his arms he carried one of Dunevon's court, Acharn Uniunu, very much battered but alive. He wept as he strained to reach his noble parents. They ran to him, his father seizing him while his mother wept and kissed him. Naruto recognized two of the Rittevon's sailors helping a Guardsman off the vessel. He was missing half a leg. One of the sailors had a bandaged head. The other had an arm in a sling. Handing Lady Dove her umbrella, which she took without protest, Naruto quickly moved forward and assisted them in getting to a bench.

Taybur turned from the regents and came over to the families of the other boys, who had not returned. He didn't seem to realize that he still held the dead king. Looking at them his eyes overflowed. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

"What happened? Asked Lord Lelin as his lady and daughter began to weep.

"The storm came out of nowhere," replied Taybur. "Gale-force winds, waterspouts… it was a ship-killer. We weren't the only ones caught out there." His voice broke. "Forgive me. My boys and I tried to save them all, but…" He looked at the boy in his arms, then at the mothers of the other three lads. "We couldn't even find their bodies."

"I, too, am sorry, Captain," said one of the noblewomen who had lost a son, her voice cracking. Her husband put an arm around her and led her away, weeping.

"We must go home." Lady Dove stood very straight, her beautiful brown eyes dead in a face as white as a fish's belly. "We must… tell our people…" She reached out with hands which shook. Naruto took her umbrella and her hand, and led her quietly back to House Balitang. For once, he had nothing to say.

The next day, a messenger delivered an unmarked, unopened message to House Balitang, saying only that it was from his master. It was not addressed, but the boy insisted on giving it to the lady-in-waiting of Dovasaraiyu Balitang, Hyuuga Hinata.

The message it contained was this. "The boat came apart in the first big wave. They didn't need a storm that sank a number of other ships, too. Whatever it is that you intend to do, I am your man.—T.S."

The only T.S. that they knew of was Taybur Sibigat. The regents, now the monarchs, had made a stupid mistake in killing the boy king he had loved. Shikamaru had been sure that Taybur had been meant to drown as well, and just as sure that Taybur knew that as well.

Duke Nomru's estates had risen on his behalf against the Crown. Their new Majesties needed more troops, but they didn't have enough for Malubesang and the other rebellions that were cropping up, ignited by members of either the Raka Rebellion or the Luarin Conspiracy. They were stretched especially thin after the recent disasters in the Docks' garrisons. There were only a few more preparations left to make…

Notes: Lots of paraphrasing and quotage! That's the real Taybur Sibigat letter, and poor Dunevon really did die like that. :(