"Count to one thousand, then charge, loud,"
It was the last thing Tsume said to Sakura before leaving her behind, no small distance from the fortress ahead. There was nothing visibly threatening about the chalk-white mountainside they approached, it was beautiful in fact. Although as they came closer he did see the various caves and holes along the outside.
They were much closer before he actually saw another biped. It didn't take half a minute afterward to see the second. Dozens were congregating around the small pond at the base of the mountain, some washing some drinking, a few chatting back and forth.
The trees still hid him, and the dozen other sling-carrying little folk he was towering over.
He had not the faintest idea what was hiding Sasuki and the Speaker, but he saw their forms a dozen-odd yards off, a dozen yards closer to that mob by the watering hole. They crawled occasionally, and sprinted from tree to tree when they weren't, but they were so close! He sucked in a breath each time they briefly flew across the sparse clearing.
Thankfully the wait wasn't long.
A roar that literally echoed against the mountainside brought the quiet, tense scene to life. Thunderous footsteps slammed against the dirt, making nearly as much noise as the warcry! Sakura weaving through the trees and finally breaking out into a dead sprint as she reached the clearing was hard to miss. Little shaggy men and women scrambled about the mountain, a few diving into the various caves while the rest scrambled up the stones with the grace of rodents.
One, an older-looking guy with a gnarled branch supporting his weight had only just finished standing up from the pond. Unconcerned it seemed to be the closest of his tribe to the giant. He didn't even wave his hands or mutter incomprehensible bullshit or create lights or do anything else mages were supposed to do! A line of dark brown roots just exploded from the grass like a line of planted spears!
Sakura was moving far too fast to avoid the impalement, it was impressive that she pulled into a hard stop with only one of the thick spikes impaling her shin.
It came out easily enough, but the defacto barricade forced her to shimmy and step carefully. Something she had to do as stones and sharper fell down in a massive barrage from the cliffside. Worse, the old man was lifting his staff as if it were a weapon, his face tight with focus as he eyed the giant!
Naruto was desperately trying to make a stone stay in his sling when his neck suddenly spilled open.
The druid, that is.
His neck fell open, causing a large swath of blood and goop that fell out like vomit. His disgust didn't stop Naruto from sagging in relief as the spellcaster slipped to the dirt. Although that one small act made him the last one to load his sling and launch a stone at the cliffside. It went off course, far, far to the left.
He didn't even hit the mountain.
Many of the fangfolk did though! Across the way, from a long line of bushes closer to the battle, two dozen more joined in, whipping their hands repeatedly at the air and making more enemies fall off the cliff with each swipe! The darts were basically invisible at this distance but they were dropping bodies fast.
Seeing that none of his fellow slingman had fallen or even taken a visibly hit, Naruto slipped out and hurled another rock, which might have even been a hit! It was hard to follow your own stone when it was accompanied by a dozen others.
One thing was clear though, the battle was over. How long had it been? A minute, two? Two-thirds of the fangfolk on the mountain were still, and all left were either scattering in panic or fleeing back down towards the various openings. He waited until his comrades left cover to do the same, but he didn't wait long. A quick glance showed Sasuki uninjured and Sakura still on her feet, though hobbling now that there wasn't any particular rush.
They were rejoined in minutes, Naruto, his giant friend, and 14 heavily armed four feet tall wild folks. The ones who'd caught either a dart or broken bone during their ballistic exchange. The uninjured were poking about the side of the mountain, just making sure nobody came out. The same reason Sakura beside him was sitting against a particularly large boulder with her club still resting in her dominant hand.
His dominant hand was using her leg as an armrest, trying to hover as close as possible to the nasty wound that had finally stopped bleeding. Sakura made no complaint. Sasuki about made him crap himself when she flew out of nowhere down the side of the mountain. She reeked of blood and her hands were covered in it, but the smile on her face was quite likely the purest look of glee he'd ever seen.
"A hundred ears!" was all she said.
He couldn't help but smile back.
If Tsume and her clan didn't betray them they were rich!
"Halfway to that farm huh? Or is there something else we're gonna buy?"
"A good crossbow, for starts," she said with playful venom, poking a hand into his chest. "Some durable leather to wear would be nice, for the next hunt," her eyes did the frowning for her as she laughed at those last few words, no doubt lost in the same painful memories as him.
"Maybe some women's tea?" he dared ask, placing a hand just above her knee. The question was as much to distract her as anything else. It was a surprise that she didn't glare, even half-heartedly. No, she just grew a faint dusting of pink on her cheeks to highlight that beautiful smile.
"I suppose we could waste a gold on that," she agreed quietly, not quite looking at him. Pretty gleeful himself at the answer, he stole a kiss on her mouth. Staying close and looking into the black void of her eyes when she didn't pull back. "Maybe another coin on a room at the inn, a nice room where we can uh… celebrate?"
"Celebrate! Yes yes, time to celebrate!" Tsume bellowed as she also flew into his field of vision hopping down the cliffside of the mountain. "Great victory! Great partnership!" her own smile was manic, almost frightening in a way as she looked them over, all the same, the enthusiasm was contagious.
Even with the intimate moment soured both youngsters chuckled.
"Don't we need to breach the caves somehow first?" Sasuki asked, no longer smiling but not seeming particularly annoyed.
"No no, no need, what Egg Eaters left will come join soon with so much power lost," she waved off. "Celebration time! Full bellies and funny fungus for all!"
The small crowd of hairy folk, mostly healed by this point, cheered, some even jumping up and down.
"Fey man! Come, celebrate with me, strengthen our alliance," she said, tugging at his hand.
"What?"
"Put babies in my belly," she clarified like that fucking request wasn't particularly remarkable.
"What?" Naruto repeated.
"What?" she echoed thoughtlessly. "Not going to make war or kill me with babies in my belly. Now come!" she demanded, pulling harder, hard enough to strain the ball of his shoulder against something it wasn't supposed to go through. He looked to Sasuki.
The smile was still gone, if you can believe it.
"Could you two even produce an offspring?" she asked dryly.
"Maybe. Fangfolk came from Fey's endless forest once, no?"
"Okay but, I'm barely a fey. Fuck I don't even know that I am one, just that I'm something that looks human and has inherent powers,"
"You're fey," Tsume assured him with a nod, and without any hint of doubt in her voice. "Now come, now!"
Her tone was suddenly annoyed, angry, and she pulled harder.
"We don't want anything to screw this up," Sasuki whispered in his ear. "Three hundred gold coins Naruto!"
With a squeeze on his shoulder and a swat on his back, the princess had her defacto retainer on his feet. It stung seeing him walk away towards the tree line with her, but she could bury that emotion. There were plenty of good ones still fresh in her psyche after all.
They were fucking rich!
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