Under A Golden Moon
Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto nor the song Time in a Bottle (by Jim Croce)
Sooooo sorry about this chapter being late! Something is wrong with my laptop and I had to send it in to be fixed, so I'm using google docs and any other computers I can get my hands on to type this chapter up. This chapter is much longer than usual since I didn't want to split it up into two parts.
Enjoy c:
Thanks to FlamesOfASaphire for the favorite and SagenWarrior for following and reviewing! :D
"Hey!" The blond prisoner shouted as a palm pushed him onto his knees, "The fuck is your problem?" Part of a thick tree root emerged from the ground, right between the blond's legs, before diving back into the dirt. The carcasses of unknown animals fell next to Naruto, their wretched smell slammed into his face. The contents of his stomach flopped as he gagged instinctively and shot a fatal glare at the two hooded men. One of the men sighed from annoyance and dragged one of the fallen corpses to a spot in front of a lone tent. Two large trees stood on either side of the enclosed area, the royal raven walked through the fabric and out of Naruto's sight. Neji wandered to the entrance of the tent and puckered his lips to whistle a high pitched tune. Green leaves fell from a spot above the camp and was followed by a small silhouette dropping from a branch, a young woman landed on her feet with a sword in each hand.
"Tenten, no need to watch over the camp anymore. Sasuke requests you be with us." The long haired man informed the female, tossing the particles of clothing into her arms. Her face turned to the prisoner's direction. Braided dark hair was wrapped into two small buns, any bangs were tucked behind a silk band she wore on her forehead.
Dusty brown eyes grew with curiosity, "Who is the new guy?" she questioned eagerly. "He's hot!"
"Come. Now." Neji commanded through gritted teeth.
"Aw… Don't be jealous." She pouted playfully, allowing the annoyed man to drag her into the tent.
The smaller, chubbier, hooded male grabbed a small knife from within his cloak and kneeled down to the blond's level. With a quick jerk of the wrist, the rope tying Naruto's hands collapsed. Before he could thank the man or even sigh from relief, more rope wrapped around his tan wrists. The hooded man tightly fastened the prisoner to the extended root and delicately placed his knife on a tan neck. "Try to escape or even budge…" The point of the blade painfully poked the underside of Naruto's chin, "and I'll gladly separate that bright head of yours from this neck."
The man, satisfied with an audible gulp from Naruto, stood and headed to a small fire near the tent. Both hooded men sat next to the medium sized corpse and bowed their heads while joining hands. Voices above a whisper mumbled together, though Naruto was out of ear shot to understand what the strangers were saying. The hidden men both unsheathed small knives and each grabbed a leg of the animal, begging to remove the skin from the meat. The blond quickly turned his head away and looked to the treetops.
"Your highness." Tenten bowed her head to the prince, "How was the scouting?"
"Uneventful, until the journey back." Sasuke smirked as he thought of his blond prisoner, seating himself at a table set in the middle of the area.
"Oh, Yeah! Who's the handsome new guy?" The brunette happily asked the prince.
The raven raised an eyebrow in response to the description of the blond, "A stranger we happened upon while returning to camp. He seemed to have been drying his clothes…"
"So that's why he's partially nude eye candy." She stated while lightly licking her lips, dropping the stiff belongings onto a bed made from blankets. A strange, upsetting, feeling poked at the back of the prince's mind. He stood abruptly and headed towards a large rucksack in the corner of the tent.
"Sir, we must get rid of him." Neji growled at his superior, "For all we know, he could be a spy for Kabuto!" He smacked his fist onto the wooden surface.
"I have already considered that…" Sasuke turned his head to the bodyguard, "But I can't believe an idiot like that would be a sneaky underling for that serpent." Neji contemplated speaking more on the topic, but was silenced by a pale hand. The prince leaned down and rummaged through the bag, ultimately pulling out a particular item. "What is to be done with him is up to me, I will decide before we depart in the morning." He stood with a lump of fabric clutched in his hands and was blocked at the entrance of the tent by one of his guards.
"Sir, the jiragu is ready."
Sasuke nodded and beckoned his bodyguards to follow him out of the enclosed area.
Naruto hummed a soft tune in his isolated spot, the elf-beings had gathered together by the fire to eat the cooked animal. The lyrics of his favorite lullaby echoed in his head along with the thought of his parents. Quietly to himself, the blond prisoner began to rehearse the song his parents would sing during his early childhood. "If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing I'd like to do..."
Sasuke stalked to the other side of the open area, lured by the small melodic sound. Crumpled fabric and some food taking space in both of his hands.
"Is to save everyday 'til eternity passes away. Just to spend them with you." Naruto slowly shut his eyes and swayed to the beat in his head. "If I could make days last forever, if words could make wishes come true."
"I'd save every day like a treasure and then, again I would spend them with you."
The silent prince looked back to his subjects, still huddled around the fire and conversing loudly. Not one seemed to hear the melancholy music their prisoner was performing. Dark eyes softened as they focused once more on the swaying blond.
"But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them. I've looked around enough to know, that you're the one I want to go through time with." Azure eyes opened once more, looking down towards his tied wrists.
"If I had a box just for wishes, and dreams that had never come true. The box would be empty, except for the memory of how they were answered by you." A small, delicate, smile found its way on Naruto's lips before journeying to his eyes.
"But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them. I've looked around enough to know, that you're the one I want to go through time with." A slight breeze brushed through the sunshine locks, some leaves floated above the ground to waltz and scatter. Long fingers twitched to a guitar rift strumming in his mind, finally humming the last chord.
Cerulean orbs focused on a bright yellow moon peeking through clouds and dancing branches. "Hey Mom, Dad, are you still watching over me? Even in this strange world?" He questioned the moon, "I can't be dreaming right? I mean, I fell in a lake and got drenched. Plus I was able to eat that weird red plant…" He explained to the golden sphere, seeming to try to convince himself. "I just wish this is the same moon as back home, so I can still be able to talk to you like this." Naruto lowered his head and watched an armored insect climb another extended root a few feet away.
Sasuke shifted his weight at the wrong time and crushed a few dry leaves under his foot. The prisoner snapped his attention to the sound, deep blue eyes widened at the sight of the prince. "I apologize for intruding," The raven bowed his head slightly, "but I have a few things for you." He raised his filled hands and calmly walked closer to the blond.
"How long have you been standing there?" Naruto whispered, slightly pouting and looking up into black eyes.
"I brought you a cloak to cover yourself…"
Naruto groaned quietly to himself, the prince had evaded his question and ignored the topic. Sasuke set down the small pile of fabric next to him as he seated himself on the cold ground, extending his arm to offer some meat to the blond. The prisoner responded to the gesture with a disgusted face, "Isn't that the dead thing from earlier?"
"It is charred jiragu."
"The hell is that, some kind of rabbit?"
"What is a 'rabbit'?" Sasuke wondered, repeating the foreign word slowly.
Naruto raised his brow, "You know, a bunny?" He poorly explained. The raven shook his head with a deeper confused look on his face. "Like, um… Hop hop, really tall ears, and long back feet."
Sasuke's face brightened, "Yes! A jiragu! They hop, have long legs, and tall ears." He told the blond, "Now eat, before Neji scolds me for taking care of the prisoner." The raven commanded and shook his food filled hand slightly in front of the blond's face.
Naruto took a small bite of the meat and chewed slowly. His blue eyes enlarged, he didn't expect it to taste good, and hungrily took a larger bite. Sasuke was caught off guard at the blond's appetite and quickly let go of the food. The piece of meat dangled from Naruto's jaws, which he vacuumed up into mouth in mere seconds. "What?" He asked the stunned raven, "I'm hungry, I haven't eaten in hours!" His words muffled between chews.
After the prisoner finished devouring the meat and swallowed, the prince picked back up the fabric and scooted closer to Naruto. "So you don't get cold during the night, you may borrow an extra cloak." Sasuke explained while he tied the thick fabric around the blond's exposed neck.
"Aw… you care!" Naruto dramatically batted his dark eyelashes and smiled widely.
"Neji seems to think you are some master spy, I just don't want you to freeze to death before I can prove an idiot like you couldn't be that elite." He smirked as the blond's face twisted at the insult.
"Asshole…" Naruto muttered through a deep scowl.
"So why were you singing?" The raven asked boldly, the sudden question surprising the blond.
"So you did hear that!" A crimson heat rose to his ears and scarred cheeks.
"Well you were singing it aloud."
"But… you… teme…" Naruto stumbled over his words. He exhaled loudly as he gave up, glancing up into charcoal eyes. "It was a song my parents used to sing to me when I was young. It always seemed to calm me down, no matter what was going on. I never fully understood the lyrics until my parents died in an accident."
The raven nodded respectfully before speaking up, "If you don't mind me asking, what is the meaning?"
"Maybe I'll tell you, maybe I won't…" He teased, "If you bring me more of that jiragu thing, I might change my mind." A somber smile graced his lips and caused the prince to look on in fascination. "I'm guessing that if you heard that, then you also heard me talking out loud?" Sasuke nodded, silently apologizing through his eyes. "Ah. I bet I looked like a maniac, talking to myself and everything…" Naruto joked while raising his head to look at the golden moon in the sky. "My mom told me that no matter where they were we would always be looking at the same moon. So if I was every upset or felt alone, I could talk to the moon and they would be able to get the message. Childish right?" Azure orbs glanced at the pale man.
"Not at all, I often talk to my mother through the tree above her grave." Sasuke shared with his prisoner. He wasn't sure why, but a friendly aura radiated from the blond stranger and made the prince feel comfortable. The raven stood from his spot, he needed to leave before he accidently shared anything else no one knew. "Rest now. One of my guards will watch over you while you sleep." And with that, Sasuke walked away and into the tent.
Naruto sat bewildered, "How am I supposed to get any sleep? I'M TIED TO A FREAKIN' ROOT!" He screamed in his head.
The pale tent fabric fluttered past the raven bodyguard, his pale orbs focused on the slumbering prince before him. Sasuke rested his head on folded arms, sitting mostly upright in his seat in front of the wooden table. An array of maps and books were strewn around the table's surface. "Sir" Neji softly said, tapping two fingers on the sleeping man's shoulder. "It is dawn."
Groggily, Sasuke lifter his head and squinted dark eyes at his bodyguard. "What?" His voice was low and rough from sleep.
"It is dawn, sir, have you decided anything about the nuisance?" Neji grimaced as he thought of the loud prisoner.
The prince let loose a long sigh and ran pale fingers through his dark locks, "Yes, I have." Sasuke hesitated to tell the long haired man, knowing full well that the bodyguard would not approve of the decision. "I don't believe he has malicious intentions so he will journey home with us, my brother will decide his fate after we arrive."
"Yes, your highness." The raven bodyguard huffed from defeat and stormed out of the tent, leaving the prince to get ready for the long day ahead of him.
Naruto woke to a stick poking his head over and over again, he jerked his head back from shock. "Who the hell ar-" He was stopped by a sudden pain in his neck. The blond whimpered as he tried to deal with the pulled muscle in his neck. A young woman squatted down to his level with a thin branch in a free hand, her dark brown
"Your head was in a weird position, it was so strange I had to poke you to make sure you were alive." The lone female grinned wickedly. "So, you are our prisoner?" She asked, tapping the long stick on the crown of his head. As a response, Naruto glared at her and flailed his hands to bring attention to his binds. "My name's Tenten!" She smiled and extended a hand toward the root, "What's yours?" Her brown eyes shined with a fierce curiosity.
"Naruto" The blond replied, somewhat thrown off by the outgoing personality.
"You're hot Naru-naru! I hope Sasuke doesn't decide to kill you!" Tenten chimed, the happiness in her voice contrasted with the topic brought up.
"Naru-naru?" He asked, confused about the pet name, before the rest of the sentence hit him. "WHAT? They are going to kill me?!" Naruto's azure eyes went wide as his blood froze.
"No, no, no" She tsked, "His highness is going to decide what happens to you, you aren't dead yet!" The blond focused mainly on the last word.
Panic washed over his face and he looked around for the pale raven. The two unknown guards stood by the small campfire and cooked the rest of the animal corpses, while Neji stormed out of the enclosed tent. His long black hair fell past his shoulders freely and his pale eyes were darkened with anger. Tenten rose from her spot next to the prisoner and rushed to the other bodyguard. Neji's face softened at the sight of his childhood friend, they exchanged a few words before Neji turned away from the woman. The brunette took a band from her wrist and gathered long black hair into a loose ponytail. Naruto noted the tender look on Tenten's face as she gingerly tied her friend's hair, a slight pink tinted her cheeks. Neji informed the brunette what Sasuke had decided about the blond. His pale eyes looked downwards in disappointment and he walked over to the small fire. She looked upset, until she turned back to the prisoner and let loose a huge grin. When she was back in front of the blond, he questioned her of her giddiness. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing… other than you are going to live to see another day!" She happily announced, raising a victory fist in the air.
"Really?" Naruto's face brightened at the news.
"Apparently his highness has decided you will come with us back to the kingdom." Tenten explained just in time for Sasuke to emerge from the cream colored tent.
"Tenten." The prince called, "Get the harashik." He commanded as he sauntered over to their spot. The brunette bowed before dashing up a nearby tree.
"Whoa…" Naruto commented, watching the petite woman jump from branch to branch like a flying squirrel. "Where did she go?" The blond asked the approaching raven.
"To get transportation, we must leave for the kingdom immediately." Sasuke replied, taking out a small dagger and cutting the binds off Naruto. The blond raised his hands and stretched his arms high into the air, letting out a small sigh and squeezed his eyes shut. His sigh quickly turned into a groan when he opened his eyes to see the raven holding the same line of rope previously tied to the root, slightly shorter due to cutting it free from the tree's root. The blond dramatically shoved his arms toward the prince, who tied the tan wrists back together.
"Damn, I can already feel my wrists chafing!"
Sasuke rolled his eyes at the complaining prisoner, a noise brought their attention to the brush behind them. The prince tightened his grip on the dagger and scooted the blond behind him, placing a slender finger on his lips to tell Naruto to stay silent. A loud, bird-like song sounded in the distance before four large animals pushed their way through the tall plants. Tenten waved energetically from atop the horse-like animals, jumping down once she reached the prince. Naruto stood frozen in his place at the sight of the creatures, "W-what are th-those?" He managed to get out.
The royal raven stared at him incredulously for a moment, "What kind of place is this idiot from?" He questioned in his thoughts. "These are harashik, they will aid us in our journey back to my kingdom." Sasuke explained as he escorted the prisoner to the female guard.
Naruto gasped as he examined the massive animals before him, the top of their backs reached a few feet above his head. The creatures had light brown short fur, two with black splotches around its body, and flowing dark manes. Slender legs met flat hooves, a lion-like tail swished from side to side behind the animal. Their long faces lead to cat or dog-like mouths with low hanging whiskers. The strange creatures spoke, their voices high pitched and melodic. The blond prisoner stayed with the brunette while the others loaded belongings onto the backs of the behemoths. Tenten watched Naruto with entertainment while the blond watched flabbergasted with every move the creatures made. Once the small camp was taken apart and packed, the brunette guard helped Naruto onto the harashik holding the least stuff. "How am I supposed to steer, drive or whatever, this thing?" The prisoner asked while holding up his bound hands before putting them back onto the animal's back to steady himself.
"Isn't it obvious?" Neji belittled Naruto, "Someone will ride with you, to make sure you don't try anything…" He tried to mutter the last part of the sentence.
"And who, pray tell, will volunteer?" The blond asked in a mocking tone, causing the pale eyed raven to twist his face in annoyance.
"Hn." A low grunt came from the prince, who was tying a cloak around his shoulders. Casually, he walked to Naruto's harashik and launched himself up and onto the beast. Naruto exhaled loudly, this was going to be a long ride… The thought of riding with Sasuke instead of Neji comforted him greatly.
Large trees and overgrown bushes surrounded the wide path the four harashiks ventured down. The two covered guards rode side by side in the front, their hands on the creature and their weapons. Sasuke and Naruto rode together behind them, the prince keeping a watchful eye on the sides of the road. Lastly, Neji and Tenten's harashik strode next to each other. Neji focused his attention on the prisoner in front of him, one of his hands gripped a wooden bow. Tenten would constantly look back to make sure nothing, or no one, was following them.
Naruto's eyelids bounced up and down, the rhythmic movements of the beasts were like a silent lullaby for the blond. His head started to fall forward and would softly bump onto Sasuke's back as sleep was winning the battle. The raven turned his head to the side to check on his passenger. Naruto swung his head back up in an attempt to stay awake but kept his eyes closed. The prince smiled softly to himself and turned back to the path in front of their harashik.
"Sir, the light will leave us soon." Neji announced, jolting Naruto awake from his drowsy state.
"Very well…" Sasuke responded, whistling to the guards up front before bringing his harashik to a halt. "While we are here, we might as well get some food for tonight." After all of them had dismounted the creatures, and Naruto basically tumbling off, Tenten gathered the harashik around her. She closed her eyes and one by one placed her palm on the tops of their heads. The beats' eyes grew and their pupils dilated, all bowing their heads to the young woman. As she stalked off through some low hanging branches, the mesmerized creatures followed close behind her. Neji grabbed hold of the prisoner's arm as Sasuke walked to the closest tree and placed both hands on the rough bark. He rested his bang covered forehead on the timber as dark eyes closed, a small golden light illuminated from beneath the tree's skin. The shining light disappeared as quickly as it came, but the yellowed color remained in the raven's black eyes. The prince motioned for the rest to follow close behind, pulling an elegant bow and an arrow from his back.
"What is going on?" Naruto quietly asked the pale eyed raven grabbing his forearm.
"His highness has found an animal nearby willing to provide for us." Neji replied in a whisper. Naruto blinked repeatedly in confusion, Sasuke looked back and met the blond's glance. A gold spiral spun in place of pupils and pulsated like a heartbeat. A small sound brought Sasuke's attention back to the task at hand. "Another jiragu." The bodyguard muttered, sounding a bit disappointed.
"That is a jiragu?" Naruto inquired, lifting his tied wrists and pointing in the direction of the calling creature. Its body was slender like a deer and long stick legs lead to small hooves. Its face, however, was small and had plump cheeks. Ears, as delicate as a rabbit and jagged like antlers, pointed up to the treetops. Neji replied to the prisoner's question with a mute nod.
Sasuke arranged the painted arrow in his bow and brought it to eye level, taking a small breath and focusing his spiral eyes on the jiragu. With a swift action, the arrow soared through the air and hit its target straight through the heart. The jiragu faltered before plummeting to the ground, a quiet call vibrating its chest. Neji left Naruto's side and slowly approached the fallen animal. The creature's body rose and fell weakly, small brown eyes darted back and forth but clamed upon seeing pale eyes. Neji sat on his knees and gently pulled the arrow from the beast's chest. Much like when Naruto ate the red root, Neji chanted some words though this time the blond could understand them. "Mother to us all, take this soul and create life." A light surrounded the jiragu, the same color as the glow in Sasuke's black eyes, rising upwards. The creature's shape rose with the light and shinned a bright white with a gold aura radiating like small waves on a beach.
"Wh-what is that?" Naruto asked the prince, now next to him.
"The jiragu's spirit, Neji has soothed the creature in our world and is releasing its soul." Sasuke explained, meeting the blond's gaze. The spiraling shape in his eyes slowly fading as the jiragu's soul brightened.
The spirit lifted its head toward the sunset sky, letting loose a loud melodic call. It stomped its slender legs and huffed at Neji, bowing its head. The jiragu's spirit galloped off towards the large tree Sasuke had touched earlier. The figure slammed into the bark, seeming as if to pass through it but didn't appear on the other side, making the tall timber beam white from roots to leaves. After the tree's light faded, the two hooded guards advanced towards Neji and the fallen creature. Taking it into their grasp and lifting it into their arms.
"Around those trees is a spot we can set up camp for the night." Sasuke announced, pointing a pale finger at three trees standing in front of them.
As they started for the area Naruto leaned closer to Sasuke, "Am I going to be tied to a root again?" He pouted and looked at the prince with big blue eyes.
"No, lucky for you there is no root to tie you to." Sasuke smirked, letting loose a low chuckle when the blond did a victorious jump in the air. "But that just means I can tie you to Neji…" The raven teased.
"You wouldn't dare…" Naruto shot him both a look of complete terror and murderous intent. Completely ignoring the blond, Sasuke continued walking and teasingly hummed a happy tune. Naruto kept yelling at the prince, thinking he was being 100% serious, and Sasuke smirking while ignoring him. The two walked together like this until they reached the others, a fire already made in the middle of the small area. The jiragu was roasting over the fire by then and Tenten had returned, sitting next to Neji and watched the meat hungrily. Naruto stopped in his tracks and caught the attention of Sasuke, all the strange concepts had finally boiled over. His azure eyes had gone dark and empty, he glanced up and into dark eyes. "What are you? Where am I? What is all this?" The questions started to pour out, a genuine look of panic prominent on the prisoner's face. His eyes started to dart back and forth, looking around at the surrounding trees.
"Calm down," Sasuke attempted to soothe the frantic blond, "I'm Prince Sasuke, where are all these questions coming from?"
"What are you?" Naruto repeated, lifting his hands and pointing a shaking finger at the raven's face. "Where are you from?" He desperately added.
"I, I mean we, are Woodlanders." Sasuke set a palm on the prisoner's shoulder and waved his other hand toward the loud group by the small fire, "We are also of elven descent, over decades of generations our clan adapted to the nature and the wooded area. We can communicate with the Mother and all her children."
"Mother? Children?" Naruto desperately tried to keep up.
"The Mother, she whom created us and watches over us through a chosen queen." The prince explained with his eyes cast downwards. "A chosen daughter born from the Mother Tree will be queen, formally known as 'Queen Mother', will help maintain peace among the different elven brethren."
"A child born from a tree?" These explanations had only gotten weirder and failed to bring the blond out of his confusion.
"When a couple has been picked by Mother, their souls will shine and the couple should be taken to the Mother Tree immediately. After two moons have passed a daughter of the couple will take place of the Mother Tree."
"How does the Mother Tree come back?"
"Each Queen Mother is born as a seed… When their souls return to nature, their bodies will let loose the seed born within them. The Mother Tree will fully grow within moments and watch over us while Mother chooses the next worthy couple." Dark eyes filled with sadness met conflicting blue orbs.
After a long awkward pause, Naruto changed the subject. "Where is your kingdom?"
"In the heart of the forest lies my kingdom, Natorin Desam. If we are continue at this pace. We will reach it before dark the day after morrow."
"That's a strange name…" The blond commented.
"It is the name supposedly given to the first generation of Woodlanders by the Mother, it means 'Nature's Children' in the ancient language. Now," Sasuke told his prisoner before beginning again for the roasting food.
"Huh…" Naruto said while he followed the prince to the rest of the group, too much information swimming around in his head.
Neji stood from his seat next to Tenten and rushed to Sasuke, "Sir." He bowed.
"Watch the prisoner." He commanded to the two hooded guards. "You two come with me…" Sasuke pointed to the pale eyed raven and the brunette and lead them past some trees lining the camp area.
"Sasuke?" Tenten called to the prince with a worried tone.
"Neji," He turned to the male bodyguard, "How could Naruto be a spy if he didn't know anything about our clan?"
"It could be a ruse…" The guard suggested after a short thinking pause. "He could be pretending to throw us off."
"Naru-naru seems like he would be a terrible liar…" Tenten chimed in, mentioning her little nickname for the prisoner.
Neji and Sasuke looked at each other before both asking "Naru-naru?"
"He was too cute to not give a nickname! Since his name was Naruto, I thought Naru-naru was appropriate." She put her hands on her hips like it was obvious to the two men. "Right Hubby-kins?" She asked Neji, batting her big brown eyes and stuck her bottom lip out.
"W-What?! I t-told you to not c-call me that!" The long haired raven blushed from embarrassment and sputtered out.
Sasuke sighed and placed his index fingers on his temples, "Come on gu-" He was interrupted by a loud yell.
"GAAAAH! HOLY SHIT! DUDE!"
The three of them raced back to the camp at top speed, each pulling out their weapon. Tenten reached the area first, her hands clutching twin swords, she gasped loudly and rushed to the three figures by the fire. Neji's pale orbs grew as he sheathed his longsword and followed close behind his childhood friend. Sasuke was the last to arrive, his breath escaping his lungs as he viewed the scene in front of him. Naruto lay on the ground with red liquid staining the cloak Sasuke had loaned him. The chubbier guard stood above him, apparently out of breath, with a long dagger stained crimson. "Jae! What have you done?!" Tenten yelled at the panting man.
"The prisoner trash asked for some food, OUR FOOD!" Jae explained, his eyes hard with anger and "Back me up Reyn!" He begged the other hooded guard, who stood frozen on the other side of the campfire. Reyn was too shocked to say anything to defend his partner's rash actions.
Sasuke ran to the bleeding blond, cut him free from his binds and pulled open the borrowed cloak to reveal the wound. Blood rose from the wound on his abdomen, trickling down his exposed skin and pooled in the dirt. The prince ripped two pieces of cloth from the cloak, one short and the other lengthy. Crumpling the small piece, he dabbed the falling blood from the wound. The long piece of cloth was tied around the blond's stomach and applied pressure to help stop the bleeding. "I-I'm fine…" Naruto said as he winced from pain. He tried to push himself up into a sitting position but fell back down due to the immense pain. "Ah-haha… Maybe it's not so fine?" He smiled weakly.
The prince frowned, turning to give the aggressive guard his death glare. The raven stood from his spot next to the blond and strode to Jae, whose angry face faltered from fear of the prince. Sasuke looked down upon the plump guard and seized the weapon, making the hooded man jump for a second. Without a word, the prince thrust the dagger into the grasp of Neji and turned to Tenten and instructed "Get them." The brunette nodded fiercely and ran as fast as she could to the creatures she hid. Sasuke kneeled back down to Naruto and reassured him, "I'll carry you to Natorin if I have to... I still need to hear the meaning of the song." He smiled softly as the bleeding blond chuckled.
"I'll tell you now if you want." Naruto looked up into black eyes filled with worry.
"No." His black bangs swayed as he shook his head, "You'll tell me after you're healed." The prince seemingly commanded. Tenten pushed through some brush with one of the harashik from before following close behind. Sasuke lifted the blond into his arms and placed him on the back of the creature. "Grab hold." He instructed, placing tan hands around his waist. Naruto did as he was told and the raven lead the beast full speed toward his kingdom.
"Now…" Tenten said through a forced smile, which could only be described as a grin straight from hell, and turned to Jae while cracking her knuckles. "This is for Naru-naru."