I do not own Naruto, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 11: Gladiolus

Naruto felt warm. It was a familiar, yet different feeling. He didn't want to get up, but he knew he had to or else Ino would surely nag him for oversleeping. His eyes blinked open, however, he didn't see the usual light blue sheets. Instead, he saw pain skin. He tried to move, but a growl and the grip on his waist kept him down. He glanced up to see Sasuke's sleeping face. The memory of the last time he'd woken up in bed with Sasuke popped into his mind. He blushed. Part of him knew that it wasn't a good idea to be in this position, but the other part wanted to bask in the warmth of Sasuke's arms. He took a deep breath, calming his pounding heart. "Sasuke." He coughed to clear his throat. "Prince Sasuke." He shook his shoulder. "Please wake up."

Sasuke groaned, but he opened his eyes. "What?"

"Please let me go," Naruto said. "I um…." His voice trailed off.

Sasuke took in how he was holding Naruto and then their states of undress. He moved his arm, allowing Naruto to move.

"Don't look," Naruto said. He moved one of Sasuke's hands to his eyes. Sasuke groaned as he obeyed Naruto. The rustling of clothes hit Sasuke's ears and he had to turn slightly to make sure he didn't look. Once the sound stopped, Naruto said, "Ok. Now you should get dressed."

Sasuke moved his hand and looked at Naruto. The blond stood several feet away from Sasuke, red face turned away from him. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk as he got up. He didn't really care if Naruto saw him naked, but seeing the uncomfortable shift in Naruto's stance made him grab his clothes. "You know, these are just going to get wet again. We have to swim to get out of this cave."

"T-that's fine," Naruto said. "I'm sure people are looking for us. It would be best if we don't keep them waiting for long."

"I'm sorry about your corset," Sasuke said. "I had to cut it."

"It's fine. But you didn't have to take off all of my clothes."

"I didn't want you to get sick."

"The fire would have been fine." Naruto paused. "I'm amazed you were even able to make a fire in here. It dried most of my clothes. Though, my boots are still sopped."

Sasuke grabbed his own. "Mine too. It may be better to just leave them here, though walking through the woods barefoot isn't really a good idea."

"Then we wear them." Naruto grimaced as he put his stocking covered feet into his boots. Sasuke also made a face as he put on his. Once he was done, he inspected the area outside of the cave. The nearest piece of land was pretty far away. From what he could remember, the land on the left was the closest to them. "It will be hard to swim that far. I'll have to leave my bracers as well." Sasuke watched Naruto unravel the ties. "I lost my bow and arrows, so my hunting gear is useless." He looked at them sadly.

"We'll get you another set later. The less weight we have on ourselves the better."

"Isn't your tailcoat heavy?"

"Yes, but I don't have anything else." Sasuke motioned to his side.

"I'm sorry that you got hurt."

"As long as you're safe, it doesn't matter."

"Take it off."

"What?"

"I said take it off. The weight of your tailcoat is probably agitating your wound." Naruto grabbed the hem of it before moving his hands to the buttons. He began to unbutton them, but Sasuke stopped his hands.

"I'll do it." He removed his tailcoat. Naruto gasped at the red spot growing from under the pieces of Sasuke's undershirt. "Don't worry. A doctor will patch me up soon." The sound of fabric ripping caused Sasuke to turn towards Naruto. He had ripped some of his shirt, causing some tanned skin to be seen.

"We need to change those first." Naruto began to undo the wrapping. He frowned when he saw the wound, but was glad to see that it wasn't as big as he thought it was. He took some parts of Sasuke's undershirt and folded them over the wound. Then he tied the pieces of his own shirt together before wrapping them around the wound. He made sure it was tight enough to slow down the bleeding, but not enough to hurt Sasuke too much. "That should last until we get you to the doctor. I'll help you swim so you don't move too much." He headed to the edge of the cave. Before Sasuke could stop him, Naruto walked into the water. He turned around and held out a hand. "Shall we?" Sasuke chuckled before taking ahold of Naruto's hand.

They took it slow, but they soon reached land. Sasuke allowed Naruto to help him out of the water. Naruto looked at Sasuke's side. Nodding in approval, he grabbed Sasuke's hand again. This time, Sasuke took the lead. They didn't know exactly where to go, but they figured they'd run into someone. When Sasuke heard the sound of hooves, he let go of Naruto's hand and put an arm out in front of him. Luck was on their side as it turned out to be Kakashi and a few knights.

"Prince Sasuke," Kakashi jumped down from his horse and bowed. "I'm glad we finally found you." His eyes moved towards Naruto. He opened his mouth to say something, but he must have thought better of it as he shook his head. He turned back to Sasuke. "Allow us to escort you back. A doctor is already there looking over Prince Itachi and…"

"Is Itachi ok?" Naruto asked, grabbing one of Kakashi's arms. He couldn't believe that he had forgotten about Itachi.

"Prince Itachi is alright," Kakashi said. He patted Naruto's hand and the blond pulled it back. "A few knights got to him before he could lose an arm. Most of the assassins are dead."

"Most?" Sasuke asked.

"What seemed to be their leader got away," Kakashi spat bitterly. "We lost a few good men, but the survivors said the leader killed his own men before leaving. He must have thought all the soldiers were dead. The survivors described what he looked like so we have people looking for him."

"I want him alive," Sasuke said. "Whomever dared to send assassins after a member of royalty…"

"King Fugaku has approved of the death penalty to the instigator," Kakashi interrupted. "More importantly, you must be treated." He motioned to Sasuke's side.

"Right," Sasuke said. He reached for the reins of a manless horse. Kakashi helped him up. Once Sasuke caught his breath, he held out a hand towards Naruto.

"Lord Naruto will ride with me," Kakashi said.

"I'm fine," Sasuke protested.

"I'm sure you will be," Kakashi said. "But for now, it is safer to not have someone holding onto you. And you can't hold onto him either." He turned away from Sasuke and walked back to his horse. Getting the hint, Naruto walked over to the Knight Captain and the man helped him onto his horse. Kakashi then jumped behind Naruto. He wrapped an arm around Naruto's waist before grabbing the reins with his free hand. Sasuke glared at Kakashi. He knew the man was right, but he didn't like how he was treating Naruto. He chose to ignore it for now. The group rode off, keeping a steady pace.

Mikoto and Sakura ran towards them, calling Sasuke's name. After Sasuke got down, Sakura tugged him towards a tent. Mikoto waited until after Kakashi helped Naruto down before she inspected him. She frowned at his state and chose to lead him to a different tent. Ino looked up and upon seeing Naruto, she ran towards him. "Get him into some dry clothes," Mikoto ordered. "I'll call for the doctor."

"I'm not hurt," Naruto said. Ino was already helping him out of his clothes.

"Can you tell me what happened?" Mikoto said. "One of the knights said you and Sasuke fell off a cliff."

"I lost consciousness," Naruto admitted. "Sasuke brought us to a cave. He…" Naruto blushed. "He took care of me and made sure that I didn't get sick."

Mikoto nodded. She wanted to know more, but it would have to wait. "I'll be back after I check on Sasuke."

"Can I see Itachi?" Naruto asked. "Ita… Prince Itachi saved me. I just want to…"

"He's in the tent next to Sasuke's," Mikoto said. "Wait until after you're warmed up. He's sleeping right now anyway." Without another word, Mikoto left the tent.

"Did anything happen?" Ino asked.

Naruto caught onto what Ino was really asking and he shook his head. "No."

"You know that if anything did, you could tell me," Ino pushed. Again Naruto shook his head. "The reason we asked is because Prince Sasuke's scent is all over you. And if I had to guess, yours is all over him."

"We slept close to each other in order to keep warm," Naruto said.

"Oh," Ino said, letting out a sigh of relief. "That makes sense. It would have been hard to start a fire, especially with the rain." Naruto opened his mouth before quickly closing it. He hadn't really noticed that it had rained, but that would explain why the ground had been so wet even in the woods. Naruto wondered just how Sasuke had made not only one fire but two. He put those thoughts to the back of his brain as Ino said Itachi's name. "I'm not sure what they told you, but Prince Itachi was found, barely standing. A knight saved him and brought him back here. From what I've heard, the doctor said he was lucky to be alive. He lost a lot of blood." Seeing the sad look on Naruto's face, Ino added, "but he'll recover soon. He's a strong man after all."

Naruto smiled sadly. "Right." He slipped on his shoes before standing up.

Ino caught on to what he was planning to do and she grabbed a rabbit furred capelet and wrapped it around him. "We can't have you catching a cold." She finished buttoning the capelet. "There. It should be ok now." Naruto nodded. The two headed to the tent Mikoto mentioned. The doctor looked up. Naruto recognized him as the court doctor, the same one that took care of Sakura in his dreams. The man took in Naruto's form before turning his head slightly away.

"Prince Itachi is resting right now," the doctor said. "You should leave." The hostility was obvious and anger blazed in Ino's eyes. Before she could confront the man about his attitude, Fugaku entered. His eyes roamed across the scene before him and chose to ignore it.

"How is he?" Fugaku asked.

"Prince Itachi's fever has gone down," the doctor said. "We should be able to transport him back to the palace in a few hours."

"Alright," Fugaku said. He then turned to Naruto and Ino. "Sasuke is done being treated."

"Then I shall take my leave," Naruto said bowing. Ino followed after her own bow.

Fugaku turned back to the doctor. "You called me here for a reason and I'm guessing it's not to tell me that my son is fine."

"While treating Prince Itachi, we found something," the doctor said. He pulled back the sheets covering Itachi's body. He then pulled at one of the bandages to show some spots.

"Is that…?" Fugaku began.

"No. I'm not sure what it is, but it's different." The doctor returned the sheets to their previous position. "I think we need to call for someone more adequate."

"Who would you recommend?"

The doctor grabbed a file and handed it to Fugaku. "Her name is Tsunade Senju. She is a doctor from the east."

"The east." Fugaku looked at the file. He nodded. "Ok." He handed the file back to the doctor. "Send for her." He turned around and headed for the exit. He paused. "And thank you, Kabuto."

"You're welcome, Your Majesty." Kabuto bowed before attending to his patient.

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Naruto and Ino walked into Sasuke's tent. Sakura, Sasuke, and Mikoto looked up. Each of them had different expressions on their faces. Mikoto was a bit surprised to see Naruto so soon, but she was clearly pleased that he had come to see Sasuke. Sasuke's expression was a bit hard to read but he gave an aura of contentment. Sakura on the other hand didn't bother to hide her resentment towards Naruto. Ino was surprised to see her hatred. It caught Mikoto's attention and the queen turned slightly, but Sakura was quick to compose herself, putting on a fake smile. When Mikoto turned back to Naruto, Sakura glared at Ino and the blond chose to pretend that she didn't see anything.

"I'm glad to see that you are ok," Mikoto said. "Sasuke explained that after you two fell, he managed to bring you to a cave."

"I still can't believe such a thing happened," Sakura said. "Why would anyone want to attack you?"

"I don't know," Naruto said. "They didn't care about who they killed to get to me." Naruto clenched his fists as he remembered all the people the assassins had killed.

"But Prince Itachi is going to be fine," Ino interjected. "The doctor said we'll be able to transport him back to the palace soon."

"That's wonderful news," Sakura said. "It is a shame that the Hunt had to end like this, but maybe we can throw a ball to show how strong the Kingdom remains even after such an event." When Mikoto didn't respond, Sakura added, "and the knights deserve to be praised for standing strong."

"Alright," Mikoto said. "I'll talk about it with Fugaku. For now, I think it would be best if we allow Sasuke to rest."

"I'm fine," Sasuke said.

"You got hurt," Sakura said. "Queen Mikoto is right. You should rest until it is time to return to the castle." Sasuke wanted to argue, but he gave in. With a sigh, he laid down, falling asleep quickly. Sakura took the opportunity to help cover Sasuke with a sheet. Mikoto smiled in approval. The four of them left Sasuke's tent and joined Fugaku at the main tent. They were served something to eat and drink while the knights worked on the preparations of their return.

A couple hours later, Naruto joined Ino and the other maids in their carriage. Mikoto was displeased at the decision, but Naruto assured her that it was fine. Sakura clung to Sasuke, being careful not to agitate his wound. Fugaku and Mikoto sat across from them. An unconscious Itachi was in a carriage of his own. The knights surrounded the three carriages with Kakashi leading the way. The other nobles had already been sent back long before.

Once everyone was safely back at the castle, Fugaku decided to reward the winner of the Hunt by throwing a small party. The winner joined his fellow knights in getting drunk as the party continued. Naruto excused himself, and with Ino, went to his room to rest. Sasuke stared after him until Sakura gained his attention. The party changed into a vigil that ended up celebrating the lives of those lost during the assassination attempt. Eventually, only the knights remained in the hall.

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Fugaku and Mikoto eagerly welcomed Tsunade. She brushed aside their welcome and headed straight to Itachi's room, her assistant Shizune following quickly after her. Kabuto stepped aside, allowing Tsunade to take a look. Kabuto told Tsunade everything he knew. "Do we have a timeline?" Tsunade asked. "Of when this first started."

"I don't know," Kabuto admitted. Everyone turned to Fugaku and Mikoto. Fugaku shook his head while Mikoto had a sad expression on her face.

"If it was brought on by the attack, it may just be an infection," Shizune said.

"Possibly," Tsunade said. "We'll give him some medicine to start with and we'll go from there." She grabbed her suitcase and opened it up to reveal several small jars filled with different colored liquids. There were also some plants and herbs. She took out a pouch that had some berries. She handed the pouch to Shizune who took out her mortar and pestle set and began to crush up the berries. It became an intense blue-purple juice. She placed the juice in a jar. Using some water and a stirrer, she mixed them together. The liquid turned a reddish color. Tsunade motioned to Kabuto who sat Itachi up. Tsunade took the jar and poured some of it on a spoon. She began to feed it to Itachi. Luckily, Itachi swallowed it. Once he had swallowed it all, Kabuto lowered Itachi's body back down. "Shizune, if this works, go get more sambucus berries. Make sure to wear gloves. We will also need to cook them in a pot that can be burned."

"Yes Lady Tsunade," Shizune said with a bow.

"As for the rash, we need some chamomile or lavender," Tsunade said, once more returning to her suitcase. She took out a small jar filled with purple oil. She then spread it onto the rash closest to her. "This may also need to be applied a few times."

"How long will it take?" Fugaku asked.

"It may take a couple hours," Tsunade said. "For now, we must let the prince rest." Everyone agreed and began to leave the room. Just as Tsunade was about to close the door, Itachi's eyes opened.

Gladiolus symbolizes strength, strong character, honor and moral integrity. It also stands for remembrance, sadness, faithfulness and death. Gladiolus can also signify serious romantic feelings.

Sambucus berries, also known as Elderberries, are made into a variety of products, such as elixirs and pills, that are used to naturally treat viral infections like the flu, the common cold, and other upper respiratory infections. They are also extremely rich in vitamin C. However, the uncooked berries and other parts of plants from this genus are poisonous.

Lavender has antiseptic properties that have been shown to cure acne and other skin issues. This property helps kill the bacteria that cause skin rashes. Lavender oil also serves as an anti-inflammatory.