Blurred Lines
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 16
Later that day, Kimimaro manages to sneak back to Ireland. He sighs, knowing that the other warriors were likely going to be less than thrilled with his news. He wanted them to fight for Orochimaru.
"Kimimaro, you have returned to us safe and sound. Pray tell, what news have you brought us?" Guy inquires, once the fairy made his way over to the Council Room.
It was a beautiful room with handsome gray walls, a red velvet carpet, fireplace, and a table made out of solid gold. The windows were made out of colorful glass and a glass chandelier hung above their heads.
"I'm afraid that I don't come bringing good news. It seems that Danzo is alive. He has named Kabuto as his temporary successor, until he is well again. I doubt that the goblin has any intention of allowing him to reclaim his crown though." He begins warily.
"I swear all goblins are treacherous snakes." Fugaku growls with disapproval.
"Fugaku! That was incredibly speciest of you! What kind of example are you setting for our sons?!" Mikoto demands.
"I didn't mean for it to reflect as poorly on me as it did. You must admit though My Love, goblins are in a class all their own. Name one decent goblin. Just one and I shall retract my statement." The Fae assures her.
Sasuke watches in amusement as his mother blinks. Clearly, the Empress was attempting to answer her husband's question. It was obvious that she was struggling though.
"Well just because I haven't met a decent goblin yet, doesn't mean they don't exist." She protests with a huff.
"You're positively enchanting when you sulk like kitten that can't catch the laser pointer." Fugaku observes with a chuckle.
"Sasuke, what's a laser pointer?" Naruto whispers to his elf.
The young Traveler sighs and smacks his forehead. He really had so much to teach Naruto about his world. Then again, the college student supposed it didn't matter. It was highly unlikely the blonde was ever going to cross over anyway.
"I'll explain it to you later." The raven haired man whispers back.
"Kimimaro, please tell us everything that you found out. Was that it?" Jugo asks.
He was relieved that the fairy had made it out of the Goblin Kingdom alive. Jugo wasn't sure what he would have done, if that hadn't been the case. He was still upset with the silver haired youth, but that didn't mean that he wanted Kimimaro dead!
"It appears as though Kabuto must have found Danzo when he was dying. I'm uncertain as to how, but somehow they were able to nurse him back to help. Out of gratitude or because he's under a witch's spell, the Goblin King "temporarily" handed power over to Kabuto." Kimimaro explains.
Jugo blinks. A witch? A spell? What madness was the other fairy speaking of. He had to be joking, right?
"Are you certain that someone put him under a spell? Is that even possible here? What kind of spell?" The orange haired man demands.
"Almost anything is possible in this realm. I'm a fairy. You're a fairy. Suigetus is a merman, Karin is a Siren, and Sasuke is an elf who is dating a Dragoon. The sooner you all expect that the normal rules of your realm don't apply here, the easier your transition will be." The beautiful man replies.
The gentle giant wasn't particularly pleased at that answer. It was an accurate one, but he didn't care for being treated like a naïve child. He sighs and glances at Sasuke helplessly.
"What else happened?" Sasuke demands.
"I saw Orochimaru. This is the part that I was dreading. I have no love for him, but he's better than Danzo or Kabuto. If we help him take back the throne. He will owe us and he says he will cease all attempts to meddle with your family." The fairy admits.
Sasuke tries his best not to gape at Kimimaro's answer, but that it was a futile effort. He couldn't believe that the other man had actually made some kind of deal with Orochimaru. Was he out of his mind?!
"He helped me rescue Itachi because he owed me. I'm not sure that I would trust him in further dealings, but this is a group decision." The youngest Uchiha concedes with a sigh.
"I can't disagree. Orochimaru is pretty shifty, but then again so are most goblins. Sorry, Mikoto. You know it's true." Kisame says to the Empress.
"Fine. It's mostly accurate, but I'm sure that there are probably at least some decent goblins. Somewhere." She mumbles and feels her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
Sasuke glances around the room as everyone begins weighing in. They had his family, two mermen, a Siren, Naruto, the Leprechaun King, and the Egyptian Rulers all squished into one Council Room. To say the least, things were rather tense.
"It would be very youthful to defeat Danzo. It's not very youthful to trust Orochimaru, but I don't see an alternative." Guy offers.
"At least Orochimaru never successfully managed to kidnap me. Besides, Kimimaro helped to rescue me. I trust his judgment." Itachi adds.
There were murmurs of agreement. Sasuke sighs and interlaces his fingers with Naruto's. He drew comfort from the other man's touch. He wasn't sure that this was a good idea, but he had a dragon for a boyfriend. That should dissuade Orochimaru from doing anything too stupid.
"It's agreed them. As distasteful as it is, Orochimaru is the better option. Remember, we aren't fighting for him. We are fighting for a stable Goblin Kingdom. One that won't cause us issues later on." Gaara reasons.
Sasuke couldn't lie. That was a good way to look at it. It was amazing really. Gaara was the same age as him and the leader of one of the world's largest empires. Incredible.
"That's true enough, My Heart. We'll never be able to fit all of our armies into the Kingdom and have any room to move. I suggest that we all sent a part of our forces. The rest can stay behind and defend our homes, if something goes wrong." Mei suggests.
"That's a good point. Perhaps we can each send a quarter of our forces. That will balance out the numbers. It will likely even tip them in our favor, while leaving our homes well protected." Mikoto adds.
Sasuke nods. It was hard to reconcile this woman with the mother he remembered sometimes. Mikoto was now the Empress of China and apparently, she had seen many battles before. His mother had been someone who hugged him and made him cookies, after a bad day. The contrasts were quite striking, really.
"That sounds like a good idea to me. How soon can we get everyone there?" Sasuke asks.
"Well we and the leprechauns can be there by tonight. The others will likely take a bit longer. We should build some trenches though. It'll provide some cover while the catapults help to break down the walls." Fugaku observes.
"Father, the goblins will notice. If we start building trenches outside their wall, they'll see us and attack." Sasuke warns him.
That's when Sasuke notices that his father was smirking. Hmm. That was new. It looked like the Emperor had a few tricks up his sleeves.
"My son, the goblins aren't the only ones who can employ witches. Believe me, they won't notice what we're doing." He assures him.
"Awesome!" Suigetsu exclaims, clearly happy at this new development.
"We'll make the trenches for the catapults and some of the Chinese to hide in. Our chariots shall head in first. The horses will give us an advantage in speed and might overwhelm them. We'll provide as much cover as we can for the Vikings. The leprechauns can slide onto the rooftops by using their rainbows and serve as archers." Gaara says.
Sasuke blinks. He makes a mental note not to annoy the red head. He was disturbingly efficient.
"Right. Well in that case, let's go." Sasuke says as they head out of the castle.
The leprechauns and Royals quickly head towards the coast. Itachi summons the ship that Kisame gave them. After all, they still had to get to the Kingdom.
"Yeah. I gotta admit the whole getting a ship for your boyfriend thing is pretty badass." Suigetsu observes once they were on the ship.
"Thank you. Only the best will do for my Itachi." Kisame says smugly as he wraps his arms around the handsome elf.
"He does love to spoil me. It's a good thing you essentially destroyed their fleet. We can sail through these waters without any trouble now." Itachi says, apparently content to play the role of the "princess" in that relationship .
Idly, Sasuke muses that he was kinda doing the same thing. In his defense though, Naruto was actually a Prince and could turn into a dragon. It was hard to be the dominant partner, when your almost lover could become a mythological beast with ease.
"Something amuses you?" Naruto asks.
"A little. It's nothing important though." Sasuke says as he kisses Naruto.
Thankfully, the rest of the voyage across the sea was uneventful. Well other than Karin trying to shove Suigetsu over once or twice. Sasuke was also a bit traumatized when he saw his father carry his mother off Bridal Style to one of the ship's cabins, but he decides it was probably best not to dwell on that.
"We're here." Guy says, a few hours later as their ship docks.
Sasuke nods in agreement. Everyone proceeds to get off of the ship. That's when he realizes something.
"This ship wasn't big enough for all the leprechauns." Sasuke muses.
"They can use rainbows to travel anywhere they like. Well as long as it's above ground." Itachi explains and Sasuke ohhhs.
"Right. Of course, rainbows are transportation in this world. I should have known. I mean it's just so logical." Sasuke says as he playfully rolls his eyes.
He didn't know if he was ever going to get used to this place, but Sasuke was going to try. He had his family. He had Naruto. The Traveler knew that he would have to adapt fast or he'd likely die in battle. A battle that was now imminent.
Meanwhile Kabuto smirks. Things were going perfectly. Danzo was completely unsuspecting. Soon enough the former King would be dead and he could rule.
Orochimaru and Danzo were far too obsessed with the Travelers. It wasn't healthy and they would both end up paying for their fixation on that family. Kabuto wouldn't make that mistake though.
"Thank you, for signing these papers. I can't tell you how much it means to me and the Kingdom." The silver haired man says.
"You saved my life, it's the least that I can do." Danzo replies.
Kabuto had to fight the impulse to smirk that response. If he had realized how easily Danzo could be controlled through magic, he would have hired a witch's service ages ago. It was the perfect plan really.
"I couldn't allow such a noble ruler to be cut down by a coward like that. I had to try to save you." The other man replies.
Danzo nods and the usurper smiles slyly. Sakura was certainly a powerful witch. Perhaps he would just lie to her.
He could always say that the Travelers couldn't send her back. After that, ,the pink haired woman would likely be more than willing to live in a castle. Women generally were rather fond of castles and she would be a powerful ally in his Court.
"That's very kind of you. What were those papers for anyway?" The older goblin inquires.
"Oh they were the authorization to set up academies to train young goblins in the art of healing." Kabuto replies.
It wasn't exactly a lie. It was just that the art of healing also included some rather interesting applications. Not all of them were benign in intention.
What better way to train warriors how to kill than to teach them about anatomy and other such things? There would also be some experimentation going on. Kabuto had high hopes that eventually they would be able to develop super soldiers.
"That's a good idea. We have so many hostile kingdoms surrounding us. It would be good to have more goblins tried to care for injuries and the like." Danzo says reasonably.
Like Danzo and Orochimaru, he had greater ambitions than just to rule the Goblin Kingdom. Unlike them though, he wasn't going to allow himself to get side tracked by the Travelers. Kabuto was too smart for that.
"Yes, it will." The silver haired goblin agrees.
It was almost a shame really. Danzo was so much more agreeable when under the witch's spell. He almost felt guilty about having to kill him.
Did that mean he wasn't going to go through with his plan though? Absolutely not. Kabuto was not a man who liked leaving loose ends hanging around and Danzo was a very loose end.
"I feel rather tired. I think I shall go see, if I can find Sakura. She might give me another potion for the pain. Damn Itachi. That insolent whelp actually slit my throat. When I get my hands on him, he will rue the day that he ever crossed me." Danzo vows.
"That's a good idea. Sakura is well versed in all manner of potions. I'm thinking about having her as an instructor at the Academies actually. Don't worry, My Lord. I'm certain that you will have your revenge soon, but first you must fully recover." He says in feigned concern.
He probably should feel guilty. Danzo sincerely was under the impression that Kabuto cared about him. Nothing could be further from the truth in reality.
Kabuto still felt an attachment to Orochimaru because the man had bene his mentor. He felt no such attachment to Danzo though. He had just done what he needed to in order to survive when power exchanged hands.
"That's true." Danzo says as he wheels himself off.
He'd still slit Orochimaru's throat, if it came down to it. Kabuto would feel guilty about it, but he would do it. Only the strong survive in this world and Kabuto had long ago, decided to be strong.
At that same time, Taka stares in amazement as more leprechauns started arriving. There must have been dozens of rainbows in the sky. The leprechauns would slide down them and land on roofs or other strategic locations.
"Won't the goblins notice that many rainbows? We could get away with one or two, but there has to be at least a few dozen." Sasuke asks Naruto.
"Normally, they would. We have witches on our side though. For now, we're all cloaked. Invisible. Pretty cool, huh?" Naruto asks.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. He had no idea where the blonde had learned the word cool from. On second thought, he had a pretty good suspicion.
It was likely the Viking had picked it up from a member of Taka. Oh well. At least the Prince hadn't taken to swearing in modern slang like Kisame. That was something, right?
"Yes, it's very cool." Sasuke agrees.
He watches in awe as the dragons work with Gaara to build the trenches. Gaara's sand was quite good at drilling holes and the dragons massive bodies were good at forming them. Working in unison, it didn't take them long to construct the trenches.
Getting the catapults in place proved to be more tricky though. Those things were massive. Sasuke was suddenly very grateful to the witches. There was just no way that the goblins wouldn't have noticed those without magic helping them.
"I could teach you how to use your magic some, if you like." Kimimaro offers to Jugo.
"We're attacking at dawn. I'm not sure how much you can teach me in a few hours." Jugo replies.
Sasuke sighs. His heart ached for them both. Kimimaro had just wanted to go home and Jugo didn't like being used. Both positions were very understandable. He could only hope that somehow, they would find a way to patch things up.
"Are you ready for this? It's likely going to be a very blood battle." Itachi warns his lover.
"Itachi, who do you think you're talking to? I'm the merman that organized the sinking of a thousand ships. Bloody and chaotic is kinda my thing." Kisame replies with a toothy grin.
Sasuke blinks. Yeah. It was still amazing that Kisame could kiss Itachi and not accidentally shred his face off or something. Despite their species difference, it seemed to work for them though.
He was happy that Itachi was happy. It didn't really matter that Itachi had found his happiness with a merman who had super sharp teeth. Itachi was safe and sound. That's what mattered most when it came to his brother.
"Mmm well that's very good to know." His brother replies.
Sasuke looks around and was relieved to see that their numbers were still growing. The leprechauns were getting into position and the Vikings were now arriving in even greater numbers. The Chinese were mostly getting the catapults ready. Not to mention, the Egyptians were checking their chariots.
The Egyptians appeared to be really fond of their chariots. Not that Sasuke could blame them. He half hoped that maybe there was an extra one somewhere for him to use.
"Think they'd give us one?" Sasuke asks Naruto.
"I doubt it. It wouldn't make much sense for them to transport those things all the way here, if they didn't have someone automatically ready to ride them. Besides, you would have no idea how to drive it." The blonde says.
"Yeah. I guess that's true. Maybe, Gaara will teach me later on." Sasuke muses thoughtfully.
That would be fun. If he was going to be in this realm forever, he might as well get a car. Well at least the closest thing to a car that he could get at the moment. Actually, maybe there were cars here.
Sasuke pauses briefly for a moment to consider the possibility that more modern eras might be somewhere out there. Yeah. He should probably ask.
"Naruto how far does the timeline go?" He asks.
"In theory, forever. It's just we live in the past. People like us can't go any further than the current year. The rest has some sort of barrier around it because the future has yet to be determined." The blonde answers.
Sasuke blinks. That was far more serious and wise than he had come to expect from his lovable Dragoon. In a strange way, that made sense though.
"Well that's good to know. You've been on a lot of raids before, right?" Sasuke asks.
It was fine to go marching off to battle in theory. This was reality though. There was a very good chance that some of them could die. There was even a chance that they could all die.
"Of course. Don't worry, My Elf. I'll protect you. You can fly on my back. It'll be better to launch your arrows and spells up there anyway." Naruto says brightly.
"Naruto, you know that this isn't a video game. People are going to die in this fight." Sasuke whispers.
"I know that. Wait. What's a video game? The blonde inquires in confusion.
Sasuke sighs. Oh boy. Yeah. He was definitely going to teach the Dragoon about his world. At least a little. Otherwise, the Viking wouldn't understand half of what he was saying.
"Nevermind. I'll explain later. For now, we have more important things to worry about." The Traveler replies.
"That's right. Well it looks like everything is ready. Everyone, get a good night sleep. We'll attack at first light." Mikoto calls out.
Sasuke gulps. A good night's sleep was something that he wasn't sure, he'd get. What if he ended up going back to his realm?
He couldn't abandon his family and friends to this fight. Whatever he could do to help, Sasuke had to do it. He couldn't leave them to face a crazy Wannabe Goblin King on their own, could he?
"Don't worry, Sasuke. If you haven't gone back in days, I think you are here permanently." Naruto says as he caresses his cheek.
Clearly, the Viking had seen his fear. Sasuke could only sigh and lean into Naruto's touch in response. It calmed his racing nerves at least a little bit and he desperately needed to calm down. He could feel the telltale signs of a panic forming.
"Thank you." Sasuke whispers as he kisses Naruto.
"Mmm no. Thank you, for being my elf. I'm sure that when the Sun rises, we'll both still be here and we will take back the Goblin Kingdom. I can't believe that I'm fighting on behalf of Orochimaru. That's madness." The sapphire eyed man observes.
Sasuke nods sympathetically. He couldn't believe it either. Orochimaru had never been his favorite person, even when he thought the other man was human. Unfortunately, Sasuke also knew that he beat the alternative.
"It's a choice between bad or worse. We're merely choosing to go with bad instead of worst." The raven haired college student says in an effort to reassure his most precious person.
"Yes, that's true. Well come on. Let's get some sleep. It's going to be a very long day tomorrow. Have no fear, we shall triumph!" The Viking Prince assures him.
"That we shall." Sasuke agrees with an amused smile.
He couldn't believe how different they were. It was like night and day. Somehow though, it worked. It worked really well.
He couldn't imagine his life without his Dragoon now. That was such a bizarre thing to even think, but Sasuke knew it was true. He loved the blonde Viking with all his heart and he didn't see that changing anytime soon.
"Well it's always really nice to share furs with you." Naruto says cheekily as he shows Sasuke his tent and the furs he had laid out.
"Same goes for you. I know where your mind is going though. You're such a pervert." Sasuke observes with a laugh.
Naruto at least had the decency to look embarrassed. Maybe, he really was bashful. Sasuke doubted that though.
To him, the other man was a conqueror. The blonde tended to take what he wanted with out any hesitation. It was both one of his most attractive and annoying qualities.
"Goodnight." Sasuke whispers as he curls up against Naruto.
"Goodnight, My Elf. Sleep well." He says and with that, the two almost lovers drift off into a pleasant sleep.