Amidst a hedge-bounded garden resplendent with bright and colorful flowerbeds and playful topiary animals, sat a pavilion crafted in the fashion of an ancient ruin. The shadow of one of its broken columns darkened suddenly from deep, pale grey to obsidian black, and Tomoki – the unremarkable-looking boy with brown, cropped hair, blue uniform, and a high-collared, grey, multi-pocketed vest, stumbled from its depths. By the left hand, he pulled his fellow ninja, Naruto, in orange pants and jacket, accented with blue at the shoulders and white at the collar. In Tomoki's right he brought along a woman, Lady Acacia, the Princess in Exile, a fit, older woman in tan and blue who, until a few moments ago, had held dominion over this estate.

Naruto looked around and his piercing, blue eyes widened. "Why'd you bring us here?" he asked as he turned toward Tomoki.

The genin shrugged. "No reason," he offered honestly. "It was just the first place I thought of."

The Princess looked around her, then back at her rescuers. "That was very neatly done," she told them, and the two smiled at her appreciation. "You work well together."

"Being super-cool ninja, and saving ladies in distress," piped Naruto energetically, "is what we do!"

Tomoki grinned awkwardly at the remark, then looked up at Lady Acacia gravely. "We can't stay here," he pointed out. "Those stone-ninja are bound to find us before too long."

Naruto thought furiously for a moment until his face lit with inspiration. "Hey," he rasped. "Lady Acacia, why don't you come back with us?"

"Back?" the Lady inquired uncertainly, "Do you mean to Konoha?" She turned toward Tomoki incredulously. "Can you really take us that far?"

"Sure he can!" the yellow-haired genin assured her and Tomoki nodded. "He's gone lots farther than that."

The woman pondered for a moment then gave them a far-away smirk. "Would your Hokage really be agreeable toward taking me in," she asked with a trace of exaggerated melodrama, and clasped her hands at her breast, "a pitiful, penniless refugee?"

Tomoki's mouth fell open slightly then set firm. "Of course he would," he vowed emotionally and took hold of her arm.

Naruto grinned widely with his eyes narrowed into happy slits, then he rubbed the back of his neck. "What choice do you have anyway?"

The Princess nodded with stoic understanding. "Good point," she acknowledged. "It's not like I have many options."

"Hee-hee, right!" chuckled Naruto who said to Tomoki: "ok, Tom-tom, let's go!"

Since the decision was made, the genin quickly centered his chakra and began to make his hand signs, but suddenly bursts of smoke erupted all around them. Tomoki turned his head sharply and just barely avoided an oncoming bo-staff's lunging poke that came close enough to wipe his nose. He stumbled backward into a powerful grip that took him around the neck, whereupon he seized the offending arm in both hands, spun out of it and reaped his attacker's leg with his and sent the stone-ninja crashing to the ground.

All around the once-peaceful garden, a fearful melee now ensued. Shuriken flew; Naruto's shadow clones appeared then disappeared in puffs of smoke as the stone-ninjas struck them down. Lady Acacia flowed effortlessly from opponent to opponent, paralyzing one then another with pressure-point strikes and stunning, iron-handed slaps. Despite everything, more and more ninja came – an entire army that leaped in over and crashed through the hedges, or appeared amidst explosive puffs of blinding smoke.

Battered and beaten, the two leaf ninja gathered close to Lady Acacia as the Tsuchikage's forces gathered around them in a fearsome array.

Naruto crouched, grit his teeth and looked out into a wall of slate-colored uniforms and brandished steel. "Any ideas?" he growled towards Tomoki, who shook his head.

"Fresh out," he admitted, "you?"

Naruto shrugged. "You take the hundred on the left. I'll take the hundred on the right."

"Perfect…," Tomoki commented with dry sarcasm, "and the Princess can handle the hundred in the middle."

Lady Acacia snickered, then said, "I'll try to do my part."

At an unseen, unheard, and unfelt signal, the stone-ninja attacked en masse in a charge that matched the crashing surf of the ocean. Tomoki and Naruto, both with kunai knives in either hand, dug in and prepared to meet the onslaught of stabbing spears, slashing swords and crashing staves.

The blows never came. Lady Acacia stepped forward then dropped into a low horse stance and swayed; her hands swirled over the ground then spiraled up high over her shoulders at which the charging stone ninjas slowed then stopped like insects trapped in amber. The Princess looked at them with a bemused expression, then guided her two guests out of harms way.

"Wow…," muttered the astonished Naruto as he looked around in wonder at their adversaries' motionless bodies and captured expressions. "That's some jutsu."

Tomoki nodded and stared along with him then asked, almost as an afterthought, "What now, Lady Acacia?"

The woman turned to the frozen army then, with a gesture, suddenly released them. She held out her hand. "Stop," she said gently and the oncoming army at once complied. "Thank you, that will do."

The two leaf-ninja's expressions blanked as, one after the other, their adversaries transformed from slate-clad, stone-ninja into the Princess in Exile's uchi-deshi. First and foremost among their ranks stood tall Sebellius who smiled apologetically. As one, they bowed to Lady Acacia, rose, then rushed off, carrying their injured and unconscious with them.

Naruto's jaw dropped as he gaped in shock and stared at the retreating ninjas. "What is this?!" he cried, turning slowly as he watched them go, "Huh?!" Tomoki's eyes shut and he grimaced as he let his head fall back. "What's going on here!?" demanded the blond genin who stormed toward Lady Acacia, fists balled and yellow eyebrows knitted.

The Princess shrugged noncommittally. "Sorry about that, kids," she offered only half-contritely.

"What?" he shouted breathlessly, "'Sorry'? What does that mean?"

Tomoki let out a disgusted breath and spat. "It's a trick, Naruto," he explained tersely, "a trick."

The shorter ninja's eyes narrowed as he swiveled toward his taller companion. "What do you mean?"

"He's right, you know," Lady Acacia added casually.

"Think about it," Tomoki went on, though the admission was painful. "She learned more about us in five minutes than she would have in hours of interrogation."

Naruto's face went slack. "So that's…all it was?" he grumbled hollowly. His features wriggled for a moment then settled into an angry mask. "That's pretty low-down, 'Lady'. If you wanted to know something, you could have just asked."

The Princess frowned. "Come, come, boys," she offered. "You're starting to make me feel embarrassed."

The blond genin thrust his finger at her, red-faced. "You should be embarrassed! You should be ashamed!" he cried. "We were all ready to help you, to fight for you, and this is how you treat us?!"

"Naruto!" erupted Tomoki in a stern voice. "She got us; we fell for it. That's it." He raised his hands and let them fall to his sides. "If anyone's at fault here, it's us."

The boy looked at his fellow ninja ambivalently for a moment, then crossed his arms. "No way, Tomoki," he insisted. "A dirty trick is still a dirty trick no matter how smart we're supposed to be."

Tomoki spared him a glance, swallowed hard, then looked away.

"Naruto…Tomoki," began the Princess calmly. "Walk with me. Come on, I'll make it up to you."

Both gave her suspicious glares. "I don't think so," said Tomoki in an icy voice.

Lady Acacia stared back at them and fumed. "Will you two stop acting like a couple of old ladies!" she stormed. "Deception is a part of your world, so get used to it already!" She paced away a couple of steps, then offered in a more diplomatic tone, "Still…I regret that I hurt your feelings."

Silence fell like an oppressive pall over their garden, which was somewhat worse for wear after all the fighting. Each of the three brooded and looked off in different directions.

"Well," said the Princess after a time, "if we're going to stew about this, could we not do it as well indoors, sitting down, and with a hot meal in front of us – something more sustaining than punch and cookies?"

Two sets of eyes flickered toward her, then toward each other. "I suppose…," the two ninja grumbled together then slowly fell in behind her as she started to walk. But their faces and postures made it evident that all was not forgotten or forgiven, and it would take more than a decent meal to compensate.

"Just so you know," she revealed to them in a quiet, confiding voice, "Reona and Fugo know nothing more than what is obvious – that they were sent to locate and collect you." Tomoki looked up at her but kept silent. "Uiko undoubtedly knows more but certainly isn't going to share it with me." A quiet moment passed as they made their way through the Lady's gardens. "And since I'm not prepared to be forceful with her, then that's that."

Naruto snorted. "Why don't just use one of your 'tricks' on her?"

"A fair question," Lady Acacia admitted. "But she's been around long enough to be wary of such tactics."

"What does any of this matter to you anyway?" asked Tomoki in a stung voice.

The Lady looked off across her grounds. "It shouldn't matter to me at all…after all, it's no longer any of my concern," she answered matter-of-factly. "I was brought here from the River Lands, a far-away province, as part of a settlement between my clan and the preeminent Shan family who rule this land." She laughed and snorted. "Ha, that seems like so long ago. I never wanted to be a princess, you know, however delightful that title sounds. But," she added with a shrug, "I figured if I was destined to be one I was going to be good at it. I came to care about the people of Earth Country and the Village Hidden among the Stones, even if I could do little to affect its policies and practices." The Princess slowed her pace to allow Tomoki and Naruto to draw close.

"So when a team of stone-ninja is dispatched to abduct another village's genin, in what is clearly a hostile action, I take notice!"

Tomoki's eyes narrowed. "And just how did you know that," he inquired, making an effort to sound civil, "before you questioned Fugo and Reona, I mean? Clearly you had Sebellius intercept us."

She grinned at him disarmingly, sniffed and tapped her forehead. "Deep dark ninja secrets, my boys."

"Whatever," scoffed Naruto.

As they approached the cottage, a paved courtyard opened before them adorned with urns and marble statues. A flight of stone steps led up to a wide balcony upon which three pairs of glass-paneled double doors lead inside.

Tomoki's face pinched in thought and he stopped. "Just a minute," he said wearily, tired of his own questions. "Since you knew we were the captives and didn't know anything, why did you test us against your uchi-deshi?"

Naruto looked at him, then at her. "Yeah!" he joined in.

The Princess stopped too. "Ah, yes," she began tentatively, "at this point I hate to tell you this, but it was out of simple curiosity. I wanted to know what sort of ninja the Hidden Leaf Village produced. It didn't matter to me what you knew as much as your manner. That's why I didn't give you time to think, only to react."

Tomoki rolled his eyes and frowned while Naruto groaned loudly then bellowed, "Lady…just ask next time!"

The two leaf ninjas discovered that the interior of the Princess' cottage was as magnificent as the outside, not that they'd harbored any doubts. Their hostess took them though roomy halls where their feet padded softly over thick, woven rugs; where portraits and tapestries hung beneath patterned, plastered ceilings and glowing chandeliers. The tour lead past galleries full of plush furnishings, libraries filled with scrolls and bound volumes, and armories filled with curios and strange weapons both practical and ornamental.

Tomoki and Naruto soon forgot their resentment at being fooled and lost themselves in this mansion's delicious strangeness and opulence. They couldn't help but joke and comment on all the wonders they passed until finally the drifting scents of cooking took hold and they followed their noses.

Lady Acacia chuckled at the two as their strides began to quicken. Tomoki, seeing that they were outpacing her, slowed and allowed her to catch up. She looked cleverly between the two of them. "I can see why your masters put you two together: one's too pensive, the other's too impetuous," she observed mirthfully, then stated: "There's balance there."

The two boys looked at her uncertainly for a moment but did not correct her, then smiled and nodded instead.

"Ha, you must drive the third of your team crazy!" the Lady expounded emotionally with a heavenward gesture that drew laughter from both of them. "I've enjoyed our brief time together," she said with heartfelt warmth in her eyes, "and I apologize for earlier. You were right, Naruto, it was discourteous and a shabby way of returning your protection. At the risk of appearing overly frank, I'll just say it plainly that I like you two." She considered for a moment then smirked and shook her head. "I confess I don't understand why you've allowed Uiko and her team to take you when you could so easily overpower them, Tomoki, and I certainly don't understand, Naruto, how you came to be involved." The Lady sighed then shrugged. "But it's no great matter," she said. "I gave up thinking I have to know everything a long time ago."

Tomoki shared her smile. "Thank you for your kind words, Lady Acacia," he offered. "And…about setting your uchi-deshi on us," his head lolled back and forth, "there's no hard feelings."

Naruto, who'd nodded at first at his sentiments, looked at him sharply. "There's not?"

"Nah," he answered with a shake of his head, then clapped his friend on the back. "After all, it's not like our senseis never put us through stuff like that, right?"

Naruto's expression twitched uncomfortably as he remembered. "Um…," he began sheepishly, "I guess you're right."

Lady Acacia smiled with satisfaction then lead the way to her dining hall. "Uiko intends to take you to Castle Omphalos, the seat of governance," she informed them in a dutiful, dire voice. "I'll warn you now not to go." Her soft eyes drifted toward Tomoki as she raised her finger. "You should use your shadow-gate jutsu to go back home and forget you ever heard about that place. Dark times have come to the Hidden Stone Village, and I can't help but feel that your abduction is not coincidentally timed."

She looked back again at the two of them, who hung on her words as they walked, then laughed lightly. "You have such brave spirits and I'm sure they can't be swerved by scary stories, but please…please…," she continued seriously and her voice suddenly took on a sense of fearful desperation. "The Shan family, from the Tsuchikage on down, is an inbred snake pit – a filthy reptile house from which nothing decent can escape unaltered."

The leaf ninjas looked at her speechlessly and Tomoki nodded. For a woman with such skills and unfathomable powers to quake so at the thought of their destination gave him a moment of pause. Could he really trust her? he considered. Begrudgingly, he concluded that he could, even if she had tricked him. In plain truth, Esmeralda-sensei really had done to him things a thousand times worse all in the name of 'training'.

This, he realized in a moment of astonishing clarity, is advice I should take. As the scale in his mind dipped toward resolution, the Hokage came up out of his memory to add his weight to the other side – the confidence he'd placed in him, the chance to wipe away all his past failures, the chance to prove his worth and become a chunin!

"We appreciate what you've told us," he ventured quietly, "and promise we'll take it to heart."

She regarded them with an understanding smile. "Sorry to tell you all that right before brunch," she said in a bemused tone. "I hope it won't ruin your appetites."

Naruto grinned broadly. "Hee-hee, don't worry about it!"