The Raveness
Disclaimer: Sadly, Naruto is not mine… But this story is!
Thanks to DancingGhost and JustEnjoyingGoodStories for the favorite!
Thanks to JustEnjoyingGoodStories, Marine Snow, Thetextmaser and Princess Sin for following!
Wind whistled in the prince's pointed ears and whipped his focused face, His onyx eyes blinked in order to rehydrate from the wind and any debris in the air. It must have been a few hours since they left the camp, Naruto's grasp around the prince's waist lessened continuously. The blond rested his head against the raven's cloaked back, lifting his half-lidded gaze to the bouncing black spikes. "I'm sorry." He said.
"For what?" Sasuke questioned, glancing back for a moment.
"Your coat." The blond explained, taking a breath before continuing, "My blood has gotten on your back."
"Have no worries. I can always get a new cloak, but I can't get another idiot prisoner like you." The Woodlander prince smirked.
Naruto gasped as if he was insulted, but held a small smile on his face. "That is so corny…" Sasuke pondered for a second why his captive was referencing food, giving up after deciding the blond was strange enough to figure out. "How much longer?" He asked the prince.
"Not much further, at this speed we will arrive within an hour."
"Tell me about Natorin Desandi?" The bleeding man butchered the last word.
"Desam." The raven corrected. "What do you want to know?" Sasuke asked, somewhat desperate to keep the blond awake.
"Hmm…" Naruto took a moment, his blinking and thoughts slowing down. "What is it like?"
"Natorin is our powerful kingdom and is surrounded by trees which bloom no matter the season. Many Woodlanders live there, while some others live in the neighboring villages mixed with allies." Sasuke described while picturing his beautiful home. "Woodlanders from families of magic, hunting, healing, and creativity maintain peace with each other. I, myself and my brother, come from a family of hunting. Though you have not mentioned, it would seem that you are from a fam-." He abruptly stopped talking when Naruto's arms went limp. A pale hand darted from the harashik and grabbed the unconscious prisoner. Sasuke readjusted tan arms and held them in place. "Hold on, please, Naruto." The prince whispered to the abusive wind. He yelled a command at the beast to maintain its full speed, the massive creature cried loudly before finally pushing itself for the last stretch.
The Woodlander's charcoal orbs lit up at the sight of his home kingdom, the blooming trees whizzing past the two men. The harashik slowed as they approached the closed gate and huffed from exhaustion. Men wearing shining armor peered over the gate's walls and called out "Who approaches Mother's home?"
"Open up, your prince needs aid!" Sasuke called, unable to lift either of his arms to wave to the men.
"Wood Sasuke!" The tallest of the men announced before pushing past his partner to open the entrance. The prince clicked his tongue and commanded his tired beast to enter the kingdom, "Mother's love!" both gatemen yelled the blessing.
The harashik refused to gallop at the speed it previously reached, settling for a hurried speed. Men, women, and children gathered in front of their houses and shops to greet their prince. Calling and blessing the raven as he passed, none noticed the bleeding male. The large grey castle came within running distance of the riding men, its large stone walls were covered in moss and climbing vines. The prince stopped his exhausted horse and hopped down. He took Naruto into his arms and bolted for the entrance to the castle. "Step aside!" The raven commanded to a small group of guards stationed out front. Seeing the desperation and sense of emergency in their prince, the royal guards moved and one opened the large oak doors for Sasuke. Two from the group escorted the raven to the healing ward of the castle, where Neji's cousin was in charge. "Hinata!" Sasuke called while bounding up the spiraling stairs. The pale eyed woman rushed to the door of her ward. Her long black hair was tied into a hip length braid and contrasted against the long lilac robe she wore.
"Your highness?" Her meek voice asked.
"Prepare a bed." He announced, panic rising as he felt the crimson fluid bleed through the cloak and bead down his white shirt.
At the sight of the unconscious man, Hinata rushed back into the room and started going through a stack of herbs by a large window. Sasuke walked in and set Naruto down onto a free bed. While the female raven gathered her supplies, the prince unwrapped the torn cloak pieces tied around the blond and applied immediate pressure to the raw wound. Hinata threw the handful of herbs and berries into a marble bowl and started to mash it together with a rounded block of stone. Once she was satisfied with the mixture's consistency, she brought the bowl over to the two men and seated herself on a stool beside the bed. The Uchiha removed his hands from the blond's abdomen and wiped his bloodied palms on his brown leather pants. Hinata used her index and middle fingers to spread the green mixture over the wound and around the general area. "Desam wihalik chiraim." The meek girl said with confidence. "Desam wihalik chiraim." She started to chant the ancient language while hovering her pale palms over the wounded belly. The mush glowed green and the rays of light rose like fire, the tips of the flames turning gold as they lifted away from the skin. To the prince, the chanting continued for an unbearable amount of minutes. Hinata stopped repeating the sentence when the glowing fire ceased and the blond started to open his eyes again. Sasuke sighed from relief, he couldn't explain why but he felt unbelievably happy.
Cerulean eyes opened halfway and set their gaze upon the white robed healer. "An angel?" The grogginess in his body made his voice deeper than normal.
"S-sleep n-now." She quietly commanded, lightly tapping Naruto's forehead. With this, she used her magic to connect with the mixture his body consumed, the blond instantly fell asleep. A bright crimson dusted her cheeks while she watched the slumbering man.
Sasuke silently observed the scene in front of him, "Hin-."
"Wood Sasuke." He was interrupted by an armored guard, "His highness, Wood Itachi, calls for you immediately."
With a curt nod, the raven prince turned to leave the room. He looked back at the scene before closing the oak door. Deep within him; a concoction of anger, disgust, and sadness swirled in his mind and heart. He didn't understand why, but he felt the overwhelming impulse to either kill someone or fall to his knees and cry. The guard shifted his weight and caused his armor to clatter. Sasuke turned once more away from the healing ward, closing the door fully, and followed the escort to where his elder brother was waiting for him.
Itachi paced in his study, light filtering in through a partially covered window and illuminating the shelves filled with an array of books. The wood floors creaked under his harsh steps and the slight breeze caused by the turning of his robe scattered loose pieces of paper on the floor. The creases under his onyx eyes housed both shadows and bags caused by sleepless nights. Head held high, his shoulder length hair swayed with every step he took. Long, pointed ears twitched at an almost unnoticeable creak in the floorboards down the hall. The guard escort opened the door and bowed to his king before stepping to the side to allow the young prince to enter. Itachi's usually emotionless face cracked to reveal a pained and worried expression. "Sasuke, what has happened?" He rushed over and opened the bloodied cloak, "Are you injured?"
"Brother." The young raven hushed the panicking elder, setting a palm on one of the arms holding open the dirtied coat. "It is not mine."
"Then who?" The older brother's face relaxed at the news, but his eyes still retained the same amount of worry.
"We found an elven brother by the shore of the lake, close to our camp." Sasuke explained, "An idiot guard we took stabbed him. Just for asking for food! I want Guard Jae to be punished!" He growled. Itachi lifted a dark eyebrow at the ferocious anger his brother held.
"Where is this man now?"
"Resting in Hinata's ward, she got to wound to heal. Thank Mother." He whispered the gratitude, the young raven's voice deepened from relief.
Satisfied with the situation, Itachi changed the subject. "So you're scouting was beneficial to the research?"
"Yes and no." Sasuke replied. "Neji was able to get some information out of a minion that we captured, though he was killed by Orochimaru's spell before we could get anything really useful."
"So what does this mean for our cause?" The king questioned.
"A first step." The young prince smirked. "That snake doesn't know where the entrances appeared. He is no further than we are…"
Itachi nodded and turned away from his brother, lifting up the window's covering to peer into his kingdom. "Could tell me again how you came across this prisoner, what was his name again?"
"Naruto." Sasuke softly announced while seating himself in a nearby chair. "We were on our way back to the camp when…"
The sun had begun to set and painted the castle's corridors with shadows. Sasuke covered his mouth as a wide yawn emerged. The day had been long and tiring for the raven, the urgency finally receding and turning into exhaustion. Guards, traveling to their stations or patrolling the halls, stopped to greet their prince before excusing themselves with a bow. The respected prince simply nodded his head in response and would resume his walk to the healers' room. Thoughts of Naruto plagued his mind since he left the slumbering blond in the ward. A small feeling of anger and jealousy came and went as he remembered the image of a blushing Hinata watching over his resting prisoner. Sasuke ran a pasty palm along the cold stone wall as he climbed the spiral stairs toward the healers' ward. Once he arrived and the blond idiot awoke, Sasuke would ask about the mesmerizing song he heard his captive sing. A gentle smile graced the raven's lips at the thought of spending more time, one on one, with Naruto.
"Naru." His pointed ears perked up as a gentle voice called, the prince could easily pin that voice to the pale eyed maiden. Sasuke opened the large wood door a crack so he could see the healer seated once more with the blond, who was now sitting up in his temporary bed. "Naru, tell me!" The raven cringed at the nickname. He couldn't figure out why, but Hinata's endearing name for him made him feel like slamming a fist on the stone wall beside him.
"Whaaaat?" A familiar voice teased. "You mean the song?" Sasuke's charcoal eyes widened, the blond must have performed to Hinata the same melody the raven heard the night before.
"It was so beautiful, I would like to know more about it." Her small fingers played with a loose strand of hair before tucking it behind her elven ear. The stubborn lock of hair fell from its spot and tickled her cheek. A light pink blush rose from her cheeks to the tips of her pointed ears.
"Well…" Naruto paused, "The song means a lot to me and I'd love to tell you about it." The blond sported a wide grin as he helped tuck the elusive strand back behind her ear.
Sasuke groaned slightly as he turned his head away from the door, closing his eyes and resting his head back onto the damp stone. Something in his chest constricted and pained him internally. A boney hand gripped the dirtied fabric covering his heart. The raven felt betrayed by his blond, "How dare he… How dare he break a promise with me, the prince of Natorin!" He screamed in his head. Before he could hear another word come from his prisoner's mouth, Prince Sasuke blended into the setting sun's shadows and escaped to his chambers.
"The meaning of the song is…" Naruto began, too captivated with the woman beside him to hear the pained groan, his azure eyes swimming with contemplation.