I do not own Naruto, Dragon Age (minor, not to a degree warranting a crossover status (in my opinion) nor any other element that may arise in this story. I'm fairly sure that has well been established at this point... In any case, this story is for entertainment purposes only. Why else would it be in FanFiction?

Answer me that, I dare you! (Supreme glare (OF DOOM)!)

Of consequences: From it an Empire

Chapter Five: A secret in the forest

Yonzo Province, Fifteen Years ago

It didn't take a genius to know that the only one keeping the peace at the moment was none other than Fujiko herself with nothing more than a sharp glare that pierced through the darkness of the night at anyone who even had the inkling of an aggressive thought in their mind. As such a tense silence fell upon them with the clansmen intently glaring at him and he himself consciously keeping his hand from so much as fingering the ring of his kunai for its security. Things didn't get much better either when he learned that more than a few more had joined them since then yet kept out of sight either within the rustling trees or creeping about in the darkness beyond them, but alas there was nothing he could do without potentially starting a fight. It wasn't until they reached the perimeter of their destination that anything had changed however.

His only clue that their destination was within reach were the few lit lanterns ahead easily stood out for all to see under the overcast sky of night. In contrast however were the thick wood walls that almost erupted into view from the gloom with an equally mighty gate which was left open without the benefit of a light. The same could be said for the multitude of neatly arranged wooden stakes arrayed before the wall to break a charge. As expected the village itself was directly behind the wall and at best poorly lit by the numerous lanterns that subsequently came into view, leaving only shadows and vague figures in their wake amongst the darkened scenery.

About halfway through the village where their numbers were undoubtedly thickest yet unseen in the shadow but heard like before in the forest they came to a stop. Just as Fujiko was dismounting on her own accord with the help of an aid wrapped in shadow, a pair of shinobi grabbed him by the arms and began to drag him away. Between the resulting cry of surprise and the struggle that almost became a brawl as more shinobi set themselves upon him to restrain him, Fujiko's attention was drawn to them in less than an instant. "I do believe we settled this back in the forest!"

"He's within the village!" the horseman spoke up as he rounded his mount toward them. In the meantime the struggling had stopped in favor of what may come much to everyone's discontent. "He is going to be where we can see him at all times during your visit, Lady Fujiko! I'm sorry but I am not willing to potentially jeopardize her safety on your trust alone!"

The elder was about to speak up again when the sound of running feet caught everyone's attention. Soon enough a runner had indeed reached them and made his way directly to the one on the horse whom leaned down to better hear the messenger's whispering words which were solely meant for him. With a grunt the horseman straightened himself and slouched his shoulders in defeat as an all too visible scowl made itself evident in the poor lighting. "Am I to assume then the matter has resolved itself?" she asked rather tersely.

"Indeed." With a heated gaze the man atop the horse directed his attention to 'Jiraiya.' "But understand that we will brook no threat beyond this point, jesting or otherwise." With a tug of the reigns the horse turned and cantered out of view, disappearing into the shadows and softly plodding out of earshot as tense arms reluctantly let go of the disguised shinobi. In the meantime the elderly woman sighed.

"Well, I suppose we shouldn't keep her waiting then."

"Huh?" Even when most of what he saw was basked in shadows, he knew that all too familiar look given to him by the entire group of shinobi. It was often the same look Sakura, Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shikamaru... frankly everyone he met gave him when he asked a question, a particularly legitimate question as well no less! Especially for someone in the dark, figuratively speaking...

At least Fujiko seemed more weary than annoyed at least.

"It would seem you have an audience with the Princess herself."

"Princess?"

In the partially illuminated gloom Fujiko slowly looked over her shoulder to him. "Princess Rei, the true ruler of this land."

XVX

As it was made abundantly clear prior to arriving in what he could only assume to be the village's 'square' there wasn't much in the way of lighting. In fact it was evidently purposeful, at least in part. Regardless, with their guides and subsequent 'bodyguards,' almost all of whom were boring holes in him with their quieted glares, they weren't lead to any dead ends, abrupt stops or the like in the darkness. In fact when they arrived he was almost dazed when a door seemingly materialized out of nowhere in the darkness, outline only by the almost ludicrous amount of light that shone forth from the doorway the minute the barrier gave way.

Soon enough they were ushered through the door and lead down the rather plain hallway beyond it, one that ran from their left to their right the moment they crossed the threshold; they were made to go to the right to a dead end. As it seemed like they were about to deliberately smack into the wall for the sake of sheer stubbornness the boundary parted way like a false wall. In essence it was. More accurately it was a thick door decorated like the surrounding walls that was opened by apparent servants rather than shinobi: they were thinner than everyone else though not unhealthily so. Not only did they lack the noticeable speed, strength and coordination of shinobi but were utterly winded from just opening the door, never mind the fact they were wheezing while pushing them closed, but that was neither here nor there.

Though he didn't know what lay in the left route, the further they traveled down this path it became clear it was a residence as the odd servant was seen here and there, vases with or without flowers and decorative pieces were seen by some doors and even some miniscule paintings of the landscape variety decorated the walls in some places as they ventured deeper into the depths of the installation. But what he ended up noticing the most however were the guards. At every corner there was a guard to keep watch of the hallway. Looking up into the surprisingly high rafters above them he was barely able to make out a foot or a limb of a shinobi either on patrol or following them from above. While none of them were heavily armed, they nevertheless had their weapons well within reach at a moment's notice, particularly so when they saw him traveling down the hall despite the shinobi surrounding him. No, the heavily armed ones, armored even, were the indisputable samurai. Two to be exact who were standing guard over the only set of double shoji doors he had seen since stepping foot within the compound. It was also the same set of doors they were heading to it seemed in the one of many hallways they had traveled through. This one however had the benefit of the door being at the very end of which as opposed to being on the sides like he had seen thus far, making it all the easier for the samurai guards to see who was coming.

Though their hands gripped the two pronged yari tightly enough to creak the wood, neither stopped any of them as they arrived at the door. Nor did they do anything when one of the shinobi kneeled down and bowed his head.

"My lady, Lady Fujiko has arrived... as did your... guest."

"You may enter."

The shinobi hesitated before reaching out and meticulously drawing the door to the side, revealing at least a section of the room at best. Though initially it didn't stand out any greater than what he had seen in the hallways, plain walls and a stone floor, he was quick to notice that many a cloth had been laid out on the floor in lieu of wood or carpeting. What held his attention however was the woman sitting on her bent knees facing the door from the opposite end of the room, her eyes closed. A shinobi in fact gauging from her curt attire and the ninjato strapped to her back. Without warning her eyes flew open in a heated glare as the veins around her eyes pulsed and strained.

Poof!

And before he realized it his guise was dispelled the woman broke eye contact and hunched over in pain as she clutched her eyes. By the time he tensed, the startled guards had already drawn their weapons and brought them to bear whilst an equally bewildered chieftain slowly rounded on him so as to not exacerbate the situation at hand.

"... well that explains your immaturity."

In spite of his doom being a hair's breadth away he had found time to give her a deadpan stare in response.

"That's enough!" a regal voice softly commanded from the more hidden depths of the room. "I wish to see him."

With gritted teeth the swords were reluctantly lowered and sheathed whilst the yari were drawn away from him.

"Please, enter," the voice more gently commanded. Begrudgingly the lead shinobi reached out and drawn the other door open before stepping through the widened entrance with the samurai whom were replaced by two of the original escort. As soon as Fujiko was able to turn herself around they were ushered inside by the remaining shinobi of their escort. Meanwhile the kunoichi from earlier, while clutching at her eyes, was escorted out a secondary doorway by the head shinobi who had entered the room with the samurai.

When they stepped inside it was readily apparent it was a bedroom thanks to, obviously, the bed nestled against the back wall to his immediate left. A real bed, not a futon like he had seen the villagers sleep in, Fujiko included, as well as himself. Its configuration was far from luxurious however. In fact it was as simple as one could get for a four poster bed which was surprising given the silken white sheets adorning it. Even its occupant, whom he could only guess was Princess Rei herself, was clad in relatively simple garb as well, a pale lavender kimono with a blue border at most for decoration. For a supposed princess there wasn't much in the way of decorations in her own room besides the 'carpeting' and even a painting of a mountain majestically towering over an ocean view along the left wall. She didn't even wear anything that could signify her station beyond her relatively simple clothing be it make up or even the more customary headdress tiara he seen some princesses wear. She was no less regal however in her poise whilst sitting up from her bed, hands folded in front of her and laying atop her blanket covered lap, her dark fair and beatific face flawless in its presentation. Even her eyes, while twinkling with curiosity of seeing something novel for the first time were veiled with a ruler's authority as she watched him for a moment before turning her attention to Fujiko who stood by the eastern shinobi.

"Lady Fujiko," she regarded her with a nod. "I'm terribly sorry if my subjects had inconvenienced you in their retrieving of your person. I had tried to dissuade them that it wasn't necessary, but they felt it was... pertinent to have my cough remedied."

"If it was truly a bother I would've complained of it even as we stepped through the door," Fujiko waved her off as she shuffled toward the woman whose samurai stood at attention at either side of her bed. While flicking his eyes about Naruto noticed a numerous set of herbal ingredients had been set out on a previously unmarked yet ordinary table where a lantern silently helped illuminate the room. Likewise on the opposite side of the room sat another table with yet another lantern that added its own luminescence to the room. Regardless, Fujiko marched forward and took a seat on an offered stool by the side of the bed. "At any rate however I have been meaning to perform a checkup. Now then, may I see your arm?"

Without further prompting the princess pulled back her sleeve, revealing the pale skin underneath it to the older woman and offered the limb to her with her palm facing up. As such the elder woman took it and with a hum she expertly placed her fingers along the younger woman's wrist in search for a pulse. In the meantime the princess redirected her gaze to the blond who no longer had the benefit of his disguise who in turn anxiously shifted in response.

"Um... hi?" he offered with a nervous grin and a raised hand in a half planned wave. It was barely even a moment later when he heard hands clenching their respective weapons which in turn caused his eyes to tightly close shut as he restrained a groan. His grin on his face became strained in the moments that followed as he kept his hand up. When nothing had happened he slowly cracked an eye open in time to see her hand drifting back to her lap. Looking to the sides where the samurai were prominent he saw them relax somewhat as far as guarding a princess was concerned. Slowly he lowered his hand so as to not set them off once again. Just as his hand came to his side the woman on the bed slowly bowed to him at a meticulous pace.

"I am Princess Rei of the land of Yonzo. It is a pleasure to meet you, man of the East."

"H-hey! I'm... Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki," he offered in return and fell silent. His grin was strained even further as he fought it to keep it from turning into an uncomfortable frown whilst he felt the glares intensify all around him. In response though the woman closed her eyes and canted her head forth in thought after she had straightened herself in the first place.

"Perhaps it would be better if most of my guard left the room."

Horrified gasps bloomed around them from the shinobi. Even the samurai guards looked gob smacked. In all likelihood it was through sheer discipline and willpower that they hadn't rounded on her with wide eyed stares.

"My Lady!" one spoke up before the others could form proper words. "That is—This—Are—He's an Easterner! This is improper, my lady! He could very well slit your throat the moment the opportunity presents itself! This... Just...!"

Rather than address him the princess brought her attention to the shinobi in question and leveled a hard stare on him, her lips creased in a frown of silent annoyance. As she did so the man in question seemingly shrank in place in the corner of Naruto's eye.

"He shouldn't even be here to begin with, Lady Rei!" another spoke up in the man's place. "We all know the stories! He could very well have come here at the behest of Akihito to dispose of you once and for all!" Her attention diverted to the other shinobi who, like the other one, sat at the corner of Naruto's vision. "Even then some of them are known to have gone on killing sprees for the sheer thrill of it! Wakai even employs them to slaughter uprisings!" He jutted a hand at Naruto who did everything in his power not to instinctively scowl at him in return much less turn lest it be mistaken as a hostile action. "For that matter, even if this easterner wasn't hired by anyone, what reason would he have to be here then?"

"A criminal! He has to be!"

"Enough!" the woman demanded with a regal calm before everything could be carried away. Even Fujiko paused to level a stern, disapproving stare on them. The princess then spared the older woman a glance. "If he truly was as horrible as any of you claim then I would have little doubt Lady Fujiko would've vouched for him as she did. For that matter, as I understand it, she wouldn't have encouraged him in following her here to begin with." She returned her hardened gaze upon the men before her. "Even then if the stories are true and if he wasn't lead here directly by my wishes, do you believe his supposedly unrivalled might would have been stopped should he truly seek our destruction?"

Her frown creased as another attempted to speak up but was silenced with a preemptive glare.

"My retainers shall remain by my side. Do please wait for us outside, and please close the door behind you."

The shinobi were resistant at first until one by one they stood and left, each casting a scathing glare promising utter pain and death on the renegade before slipping out of the room and ultimately closing the shoji behind themselves. Yet in spite of that Naruto was finally able to relax, at least a little as was her intent it seemed. Regardless, his body became less tense and his grin dropped under the hard gaze of the remaining guards. Thankfully though its now neutral appearance didn't seem to upset them nor the princess in the slightest.

"I apologize for that," she offered with a polite bow even as Fujiko continued to tend to her, seemingly lost in her own little world as she hefted herself up so as to place a hand on the unperturbed woman's forehead. If he looked closely enough however he could almost swear he saw an embarrassed blush on the princess' cheeks, though from what exactly he wasn't quite sure given the circumstances of verbally belligerent shinobi and being actively tended to by a doctor. "They are... very concerned for me as it is as you can see. Your presence here only exasperates them further I'm afraid given what is famously attributed to Easterners."

"Uh, it's not a problem," Naruto waved her off, figuratively off course. The samurai were still glaring at him and he could've sworn he heard something creek in the ceiling above. "Just... I don't know... I guess... just why did you... bring me here?" he asked uncertainly. This time he didn't bother suppressing the urge to scratch his head. It seemed harmless enough even though the samurai tensed for a brief moment. "I mean you're basically the..." He quieted himself as he was about to say "leader." An important figure for sure, but why? Why the security and secrecy? His mind was awhirl as it tried to explain who she was despite even hearing about her for the first time roughly an hour ago. A part of him even wanted to attribute her as the leader of Yonzo itself, the country rather than the namesake province, but from what he heard in passing the daimyo was a man, one whom no one would miss should he suddenly keel over and die...

Again the woman bowed once more in acknowledgement rather than formality. "True. Even though I have no place in a war room or be council to those who fight on my behalf, even I recognize there are significant risks in meeting you in person, regardless of character. But you had saved Yama from the coming season of taxes, Fujiko's village, and for that I am grateful. As such I refuse to allow you to be purposefully mistreated and in here, within my gaze, none may object to your presence short of deliberately threatening my life."

"Uh, thanks..." he said unsuredly, gaining another nod of acknowledgement from the woman.

"I'll admit though that wasn't my only reason however."

"Huh?"

Her cheeks which had returned to their original pallor were once more flush with embarrassment. "Admittedly I was wondering what someone from the East would look like. Though you may not have known it, thank you for indulging my rather selfish reason." She bowed to him once more before turning to Fujiko who had her lean over so as to inspect the princess' mouth for a brief moment. Her eye was next. When that was over...

"Would you all mind turning your backs?" the older woman asked rather abruptly. Everyone minus the princess looked to the chieftain with their own variant of confusion. The samurai seemingly figured out what the older woman wanted and gave her a defiant glare which was split between her and the rogue shinobi in a rather pointed fashion as if they were silently conveying their own argument with the medicine woman. Unfortunately for them she matched the both of them with a glare of her own that was undoubtedly reinforced with years of experience and the natural right of being set in her ways due to old age. Needless to say they lost and almost sullenly turned their backs to the two. Sadly however even Naruto who was still confused as to 'why' she made her request got an eyeful of her stern glare as well. He didn't last even a quarter as long as the samurai before folding as well. When he heard the slipping of cloth his cheeks flared to a brilliant red as he finally puzzled out why Fujiko made her demand.

"Alright, you may look now," she grumbled aloud sometime later. By the time he turned around he found her manning the desk with her herbal supplies and the Princess was decent once more. The samurai were more evidently grumpier for wear though.

"If you would indulge me further," the princess softly spoke up, "would you mind answering a few of my questions as we wait?"

"Uh, sure... what do you want to know?"

The princess looked him in the eye. Though he wasn't quite experienced with the tells of people as some of his former comrades were, he was fairly certain there was a sheepish look of the curious variety to her despite her careful schooling.

"If I may ask, what was it that my shinobi manage to dispel when she saw you?"

"Oh! That was... uh..." he glanced to Fujiko who was looking at him out of the corner of her eye, no doubt curious herself given the fact he used it ever since arriving at Yama to begin with. "That was my henge technique," he almost muttered in both embarrassment and a bit of shame; she undoubtedly knew his reasons, but... what guilt he had learned to ignore came back tenfold.

As if reading him like an open book she rolled her eye and gave an irritated sigh through her nose. One that was ignored if not heard by the princess.

"Can you show me what this henge is?" the princess innocently asked.

He hesitated and fidgeted as he wrangled with—

"Unless you were plotting to steal our food, burn down our village and run off with all the women, which I sincerely doubt at this point since you run from them like the plague, I do not hold it against you," Fujiko loudly grumbled as she took a pestle to a mortar laden with herbs. As she did so she began to incoherently grumble to herself. It was only thanks to similar mutterings back in Konoha that he was able to discern her saying "brat" however. He couldn't help but grin at that.

"Alright then!" He brought his hands in a hand seal in spite of the wary guards gripping their primary weapons all the tighter. "Prepare to be amaze!" he said with a grin.

Poof!

XVX

Time passed. Fujiko had long since finished what she had set out to do and simply sat back to what the spectacle Naruto was making of himself at the princess' ongoing requests. What was deemed to be fascinating replications and perfect impersonations of themselves and some other villagers were first. He even threw in some of his friends and well remembered personalities both in and out of the Leaf Village much to the princess' almost childish amusement and awe. Then came his clones, earning the flabbergasted attention of all at seeing another him literally appear out of thin air. The Rasengan came afterwards, bewitching the princess with its circular maelstrom of energy. He even did some wall walking much to their surprise. He even added a male variant of his Sexy Jutsu just for laughs at her expense... both were red at the end of that one: her face aflame with a trickle of blood spilling from her nose whilst his was from having a cane smashed into his face right before being lecture by an outright furious Fujiko.

In all honesty though it was worth it. Sort of. He was a bit disturbed however when one of the samurai was floored by a nosebleed himself... the barely concealed leering didn't help matters either. He did unwittingly knock a kunoichi out of hiding from the rafters with a crimson stream of her own however, lightening his mood somewhat with impish joy. Her own subsequent leering was mixed with an undulating hatred stemming from embarrassment though.

"Thank you," Rei said after recollecting herself. That and after Fujiko put him through the ringer while adding a few for whacks with her cane while she was at it. "It's been awhile since anyone was so willing to converse with me and make me laugh."

"You're welcome Rei!" Naruto beamed as he held up a thumbs up. When the guards stiffened and tensed, one of whom was audibly growling with displeasure, he realized his mistake. "Uh... Princess Rei. Sorry, I don't talk to royalty that often—"

"It's fine," she softly murmured with a gentle smile of blissful contentment. "You may address me as Rei if you so wish." If she noticed the shocked looks of her bodyguards and even the mild widening of Fujiko's eyes then she masterfully ignored them. "It is like what I said before, it's been awhile since anyone would talk so freely with me, aside from Lady Fujiko of course. And I thank you once more for it." She bowed to him once more, causing an embarrassed blush to erupt on his face as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

An amiable silence fell upon them as Fujiko gathered her belongings into a bundle. As such it was broken once she hefted the small bag, hobbled over to Naruto, handed him the bag and turned to the princess whom never once left the bed. "Be sure to call on me if you ever start feeling ill. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to the village before they do something... rash. More so than sending our rather immature troublemaker."

"Hey!" he cried indignantly. "It's not like I plan to cause trouble! And half of those women are crazy and you know it!"

She pointedly chose not to dignify that with a response, thus she solicited a pout and a grumble from the blonde as he crossed his arms rather haughtily. Regardless it was enough to earn a good natured giggle from the princess from behind her now uplifted hand. She wordlessly nodded to them and they bowed to her in return before they left.

Like before they were escorted through the labyrinth under guard and promptly led out of the village in all agitated haste. They even walked them out a distance beyond the walls and into the darkness before finally abandoning them at the very road he had originally found them at. Exactly where though was beyond him as the shinobi were all too happy to put as much distance between himself and them so long as he was with Fujiko. Being out of their village and out of their semi-baleful presence would probably make anyone at least partially giddy at the prospect of being abandoned at some random spot on the road, yet it bothered him little. As for Fujiko, she just seemed content in his opinion if anything at all from what he could make out in the dark.

He couldn't help but frown however as they slowly made their way across the road in what was undoubtedly a long trek back to the village, in the dark with but a clouded sky obscuring the moon on occasion.

"Hey, Granny Fujiko?"

"Hm?" she hummed noncommittally in acknowledgment.

"What was all that back there? I mean the princess, the shinobi, the... fortress? I don't know. I didn't get to see a whole lot in the dark there."

A spout of silence ensued between them as they crossed the road and entered the forest in what was likely to be a meandering search for the village.

"Tell me," she spoke up after awhile as she muddled her way through the brush of their darkened world, "during your time in the village, what have you learned of our country?"

"Uh... other than the tax thing? Well, Wakai to the north, Shoho to the east and those, uh, Shiki guys to the northeast? That those guys invaded and Yonzo lost or something, hence the tax?"

She was silent for a moment but a loud, wearied sigh left through her nose.

"I don't know who told you that part but that is a lie. It was Princess Rei's father whom invaded Shiki, not the other way around."

"Huh?" he intelligently asked, his head tilting for an added effect even though her back was to him. He came to regret it a second later when a low hanging branch ended up scratching his face. In the meantime the elder was silent as if contemplating her soon coming explanation during their trek back to Yama.