My Prince (BOOK 1)

Chapter 33

Anastasia laid under the cherry blossom tree in the palaces backyard. She had wanted to relax and read and seeing Naruto had many more important things that wasn't her, Anastasia saw it as a good idea.
A maid was nearby just in case she needed something. If Anastasia remembered correctly her name was Hinata, Hyuga Hinata. She was very pretty.

"Hinata do you know when Naruto will be done with her duties?"
Hinata looked at Anastasia, smiling at the peacefully lying down girl.
"No. I'm afraid Sir Uzumaki has many things to catch up on since her detour from the palace a week ago."
Anastasia frowned but nodded.

She understood Naruto had work to do. She just didn't think that a great knight like Naruto would have so many responsibilities on her plate.
Lying back down on her pillow, Anastasia opened the book back up. It was a romance, a very common one every teenage girl liked to read.

Inside, Naruto was sitting on the edge of the infirmary bed Sasuke currently laid in. Leaning forward her fingers ran through the washed dark locks and curled a few of the bangs strands around her finger. She had only done this the few times Sasuke was actually ill.
Of course those few times he was actually awake and complaining about how much his throat hurt or how Naruto wouldn't let him out of bed.

Naruto felt annoyed just thinking about the fourteen-year-old acting as if he were two. Shaking her head, Naruto pulled back her hand and went to find Orochimaru but her hand was, very weakly, grabbed.
She looked back to see Sasuke looking at her, though he looked exhausted. Softening her gaze, Naruto let her weight dip the edge of the bed once more.

"So you are conscious."
"Mm."
Frowning, Naruto ran her thumb over the pale knuckles.
"How do you feel?"
"Pain."
Naruto winced at how scratchy Sasukes voice was. She sighed and grabbed the water from his bedside.
Pouring a bit into the glass, she lifted his head and tilted the cup on his lips. Helping him take small sips, Sasuke grabbed her hand. She soon put the empty cup down and rubbed Sasukes cheek.

He sighed and leaned on the thigh that had been keeping his head tilted.
"Your nicer when I'm sick."
A smile graced his lips but Naruto didn't smile.
"What's the last thing you remember Sasuke?"
He hummed, closing his eyes but kept a hold of Narutos hand. "... drinking.. cheating in poker." He looked back up at Narutos unfocused figure. "How long have I been out?"
"Couple of days."
"Oh... that's not bad."
Naruto moved to be more comfortable. "Since I found you Sasuke, not you got food poisoning and blacked out for a few days."
"Nn... like.. blacked out in the middle of the road, found you?"
Naruto sighed. "No like you had gone missing and I had to kill three fucks to get you back to the palace."
Sasuke groaned and tried to move more than just his head, but his whole body felt like led. He sighed and tried to ignore the hardness of Narutos shin guard.
"'m tired."
"Than I'll go."

Naruto went to stand but Sasuke tightened his grip on her hand.

"No... stay."
She looked down at him and leaned back on the bed.
"I'll have to go soon Sasuke."
He was none responsive. She sighed, beginning to run her fingers through his hair.

"Well that is just heart wrenching."
Naruto looked at the door to see Orochimarus eyes twinkling with amusement. He walked over and sat in the chair next to the bed.
"Got tired of waiting for me?"
"Kabuto informed me that you were back. It's only responsible I thought you'd be with your Prince Charming... of course we will need to talk about that little insect you brought from the Wind." He smiled.
Naruto hummed. "And what does she have to do with anything?"
"Well seeing you killed her brother and left him on the front of my house..."
"Kabuto said you praised my work." A smirk curved Narutos lips, remembering Earls blissful screams and the tears that betrayed his masculinity.
Orochimarh waved a hand. "I did not do such a thing."
"Mm."
"Why bring a girl back from the Wind? She seemed weak for carrying a child in her five months stage."
"She's in her final stages before giving birth Orochimaru. The doctors in Kuni say she has a possibility of dying when she's giving birth."
He waved another hand in dismissal. "Doctors know nothing."
"Yes. I know."
Orochimaru stared at Naruto and ran a finger over his lips. "What do you plan to do with the child if the girl really does die? And if she does could I have the body?"
Naruto rolled her eyes. "I'm going to ask Itachi about the child when I get a moment alone with him. As for the body if Anastasia really does die, that will be the king and queens choice, not mine."
"Che. Everything has to be approved by the king and queen." He muttered said complaint. Naruto of course heard it loud and clear but didn't comment.
He looked back at Sasuke. "Kabuto told me you had used your blood to heal the Uchiha."
"I did."
"Why? You know the obvious risks of using your blood and using it on someone you care about— well you know the consequences."
"Don't talk to me as if I'm a child pater." Naruto looked at orochimaru. "I don't take kindly to being talked down to."
Orochimarus eyes sparkled in amusement. "Yess. It's one of the traits you got from Kabuto." He smirked. "Do your dear birth parents know of who adopted you when you ran away?"
"No. I've only talked to them when they talk to me, they have no reason to know of my life when I left theirs all those years ago."
"Yes but their reactions would be spectacular."
"Did you only come here to talk with me about the adoption?"
"Oh, no. I wanted to see if the slave thing truly had gone to your head hebi. I'm very glad to see your just the same little lady I raised." He smiled.
Naruto grunted.

Orochimaru looked around the small room full of stone walls, cabinets of medicine and beds. Than he looked back at Naruto.

"Don't think just because he went through a kidnapping he'll change Naruto, Sasukes never been one to change from his ways."
"Yes I know." Naruto sighed. "Never once did it cross my mind Sasuke may change for the better or worse. He's the prince, my job is to protect him... even if the people don't like him."
"I hope that's true hebi. You seem to have gone soft after killing those men."
"Just because I want to help one innocent girl does not mean I have gone soft. This is also beneficial for the palace."
"The palace? Not the whole kingdom?" He mused.
"Yes. Izumis going through that sick baby phase every woman seems to go through. It's best to have a pregnant girl in this palace and a small child than forcing another to get impregnated."
"For say Sasuke having to fuck one of the women."
"With the damaged that had been done to his body, he may just not be able to have child."
"With your blood in his system that's very unlikely Naruto. It may be dangerous and could kill with one too many drops, but also brings many benefits."
"I've heard the blood from a beast carrier can change a man's productive system. Would you like to give Kabuto some?"
Orochimaru laughed at Narutos sick joke. He looked back at her.
"I'd rather us transfer more of our dna into yours. Maybe this time you may just grow some similarities to us."
"I'm just too far from the puberty stage for that to work pater."
"You never know hebi. You never know what other miracles your body may be hiding." He wrapped a strand of Narutos bang around his finger and tugged it from her scalp. She didn't give any indication it had hurt.
"Like your hair hebi. If I eat it I may die, or, I may wake up with your abnormal ability to heal."
"Well go on then."
"That's what rodents are used for Naruto, I'm no fool."
"Your the one who suggested it. I'm not treating you as if your a fool."
Orochimaru hummed and tangled the strand of blonde hair within his long sickly pale fingers.
"For the child. Why wouldn't you want to keep it?"
"Do you think I could take care of a child?" She inquired, generally curious.

She wasn't going to lie, it had come to mind more than once. But more than half her life she'd been trained to kill and-or used as an unidentified object to be cut into because of her Uzumaki lineage.
Taking care of a child when she barely even knew what it meant to have loving parents wasn't a smart idea. It wasn't a good idea, either, with her current job and the risks that came having blood relatives (that were known) with her reputation in the Underworld.
It simply wasn't possible with all of the sins following her around.

"You can do everything perfectly Naruto." They looked at each other.

It was true. Ever since Naruto could remember, she could do everything perfectly just by watching someone.
For example;
  When she was eight-years-old and Kabuto was teaching her to shoot an arrow, she had been able to get straight bullseyes in two hours. Kabuto had said it was luck until she had beat his record of twenty arrows shot in the bullseye in five minutes.
Or another example;
   Jiraiya was teaching Naruto to paint. A day later she had painted a masterpiece of him sitting under the oak trees with an erotic novel in hand. Tsunade had been impressed by the amount of detail Naruto had been able to capture from just a look at Jiraiya. His cheeks had even been pink with his perverted grin.
  Kushina hadn't been impressed by the whole thing. All she said was that Naruto was the Uzumakis new beast holder, she was born to do everything perfect, but should strive to do everything above perfection. At that time Naruto had been trying to get her mothers approval.

"Your also a woman, taking care of children is as simple as killing someone for you. Of course seeing you've never been around a small child, you may doubt yourself on that."
Naruto grunted.
"If Sasuke doesn't count."
She rolled her eyes.