Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Madan no Ou to Vanadis.

His eyes were droopy and heavy making it hard to keep them open so he could stay conscious. Considering there really wasn't much to do when traveling with a group of about one thousand men and women, that trusted him as much as he enjoyed the three minutes to make ramen, he was left to either stay within his space and watch as the scenery change or allow the drowsiness of the ride whisk him to sleep.

Obviously his choices were limited and the idea of sitting in one spot long enough for the scenery of trees to change into mountains wasn't really something he looked forward to. Using a vehicle to travel from one place to another was a luxury that he never really had since a ninja's main transportation were their own two legs, but sometimes it was nice to just take it easy.

The road from Alsace to the Zhcted capital of Silesia wasn't necessarily a long one but when you took into account the amount of people they had with them then the relatively short distance took a little longer to traverse.

A few days after the battle against Thenardier's army, Ellen was called back by her King after informing him of what had transpired. It came as no surprise to the girl that she would need to return and explain herself after the events and quickly made preparations to leave the small town.

Naruto had tried to sneak out during the bustle of men packing but whenever he got close enough to the walls to make a break for it a smiling Ellen would be there to greet him as if she had been waiting for him the whole time. After the third try he had just resigned to his fate and allowed the girl to drag him along to where ever it was they were headed.

Almost a week since he had woken to find himself in a completely new environment he had still yet to pinpoint where in the hell he actually was. Without the immediate danger of the people around him he was able to focus on his own objectives. In hushed whispers with Titta they had managed to get him a map of the continent without the knowledge of Ellen, so as to not alert her of his plans of leaving. Not that it did him any good.

Even after finding out where exactly he was in proportion to the land around him it didn't help since he still didn't know if the Elemental nations were North or South of the continent. Hell it could have been East or West for all he knew. Geography was never his strong suit and the people he had talked to weren't any help since none of them had even heard of the Elemental nations. He definitely didn't want to try asking Titta again. The sad smile she gave him whenever the topic of him leaving came about was more than enough for him to leave the subject alone when around her.

Frustrated and annoyed at the fact that he was essentially stuck didn't sit well with Naruto so he attempted to leave regardless of knowing the lay of the land. He didn't know what would happen but he decided to just deal with it when it comes up. After his three attempts, thwarted by Ellen's seemingly psychic ability to know just where and when he would sneak out, he had calmed down enough to realize that acting out on his frustrations would do him no good. If he really wanted to get back then he would need to find out more about the strange land he quite literally landed in.

It was still frustrating since he couldn't even remember how he even made it to Alsace. Neither Titta, nor Bertrand, were of any help since they only knew that he was grievously injured when Titta had found him. The whole mystery behind his sudden appearance in Alsace grated at his nerves almost as much as the feeling of helplessness he felt at the fact that he had no idea how to even begin to make his way back to Konoha.

His nerves combined with the looks of mistrust that Ellen's men gave him left him in a pretty bad mood for most of the trip to Siesta, and they were still a few days off! Of course not all of Ellen's men looked at him with distrust. After the battle for Alsace Rurick's attitude towards him had changed from antagonistic to one of reverence, he even went as far as shaving his head to make up for his earlier behavior. It was actually a little creepy for him to have the man treat him so nicely after the way they butted heads but he wasn't going to deny making new friends. After all most of his friends had, at one point, hated him or fought him. He was more than happy to mark the man off as another one of those people he had somehow befriended through violence.

Deep in thought Naruto never noticed the flaps of the carriage open. His eyes were closed in content peace as the figure drew closer to him. Cold metal pressed against his lips causing him to open his eyes, though reluctantly as the motion of the ride made his drowsy.

"Wha—"

He never got to ask the question as a sword was pushed into his mouth as soon as the words started to form. The taste of metal teased his tongue and found Limlisha standing over him with a sword in hand making it kind of hard to care about anything but his life.

Both of them stayed frozen in the same position as cold sweat formed around Naruto's brows. He knew that teasing the woman would bite him in the ass eventually but he didn't think that it would end with a sword literally shoved into his mouth. Out of all the ways to die and it had to be something like this.

"Um Limlisha-sama, what are you doing?" Of course with the sword shoved into his mouth it came out as nothing more than muffled sounds but somehow she was able to understand his words.

"I was told to wake you up."

He bustled at her aloof response, "This is not how you wake someone up!"

"…Your presence in wanted by Eleanora-sama."

He slowly removed the sword from his mouth keeping a wary eye planted on the woman. While he didn't think she meant any harm with her actions it was still such a bizarre way of getting someone's attention that he couldn't help but feel a little cautious.

"Who the heck decides to shove a sword in someone's mouth as a method to wake someone up? How do you even come up with something like that?"

She just gave him a blank stare.

"Ugh, never mind I don't even want to know." Naruto said in an exasperated manner, there were somethings just better left unknown. "Wait is this the same sword you use to kill people with?"

"Of course it is," she gave him a look like he was being stupid for even asking such a thing. "As a soldier I must always have my weapon near me at all times, especially when we are still on the road where danger is abundant."

"No, no that's not what I meant. I mean is that the same sword you use to stab and cut other people?"

The girl just nodded slowly as if not comprehending the difference. His face turned green at her answer.

"Gah! You stab people with that thing!" He said clawing at his tongue. "You kill with that thing and you still put it in my mouth! Do you have any idea how unsanitary that it."

"I don't see why you keep stating the obvious."

"You put it in my mouth." He said glaring.

"Yes, that is an obvious fact that doesn't need repeating." The frown on her face deepened as if he was the one that didn't comprehend the situation. "Now please hurry. We've wasted enough time with your foolishness."

Naruto grumbled at the turnabout but begrudgingly followed the young woman. Why was he the one being told that he was being silly for finding the fact that a used sword was just shoved into his mouth? Why it was even shoved in his mouth in the first place is the real question that should be asked. Unknown to him a little smirk formed on Lim's lips before it disappeared.

"So what does Ellen want with me anyways?"

"I don't presume to know everything that goes on in Eleanora-sama's mind."

He just sighed irritably knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with her and elected to just keep his mouth shut and follow.

It was near sun down so the group had set up camp allowing the soldiers to rest. He had never really been part of a large group like this and he found that armies themselves probably only fought ten percent of the time while the last percentages were spent traveling and preparing. In conclusion when it came to a large group, travels tend to be slow and boring. No wonder ninja's had limited teams to a four man cell. If they grouped up and moved in this slow pace then they would be dead before they even made it to battle.

"Enter."

He entered the tent and found the inside was fairly Spartan containing a simple bunk and a table set. As soon as he entered Ellen looked up from the map she was looking over and a wide smile formed on her lips.

"Naruto, what can I help you with?"

"You were the one that sent for me, so shouldn't that question be directed at you." He replied back in a dry tone causing the young commander to laugh in mirth.

"I guess I did, didn't I?" She had that glint in her eyes, which he already picked up on even after only knowing her for such a short period of time that told him that she was getting a kick out of getting a reaction out of him "It's just been so long since I've seen you. I was starting to think that you were avoiding me."

"I wouldn't say I've been avoiding you…" He winced at the flimsy excuse. He was in fact avoiding her but for good reason. Her men had made it pretty clear that they only tolerated his presence because Ellen brought him with her. Being seen with her only seemed to increase that hostility. Plus he really needed to find a way back to Konoha!

"Regardless, we have a lot to discuss." The subtle shift in her demeanor didn't go unnoticed. While Ellen was typically easy going, it didn't mean that she wasn't a serious person when the situation called for it. "I can't have you trying to escape when we make it to the capital."

He blanched at being called out so bluntly. It wasn't like he was really trying to hide the fact that he didn't accept being a prisoner of war but to have his attempts so blatantly thrown in his face was another matter. There was a subtlety to the little cat and mouse game they were playing and she just had to go and ruin that.

"I-I haven—"

"Naruto this is for your own good." The look in her eye told him that she really meant it. There was no twinkle of mischief or even a hint of playfulness. "We are only a few days march to the capital and I can't have you threatening my authority. If you attempt to escape with the King and everyone watching us then even I won't be able to protect you."

"What makes you think that I need protection?"

"Maybe not you but Alsace would certainly need it." He stiffened at her words. "I was ordered to take Alsace in its weakened state. I cannot return having given it up without anything to show for it. I'm not asking for your safety."

Naruto gritted his teeth but understood at the moment his hands were tied. He could only nod in acceptance but doing so felt like pulling out teeth. He needed to return to Konoha but he wasn't going to do it only to leave the people that had healed him to the wolves.

"For what it's worth I promise to keep my word," Ellen's voice softened and he knew that she truly meant it but at the same time he knew that her word was only golden as long as he didn't try to do anything.

"Was that all you needed?"

She flinched obviously sensing the coldness of his words but he couldn't find it in him to care. Ellen nodded and tried to place an apologetic hand on his shoulder but he had already turned away leaving her grasping for air.

He knew that she had her own objectives but the friendly rapport that they had made him forget that she wasn't necessarily on his side. Their coming together was both a forced and necessary alliance at the time. He should have expected that she meant to make sure that he kept his end of the deal. At the same time he just assumed that he would have been able to sneak out whenever he wanted but he didn't take into account that there were others involved, not just him.

Naruto didn't think that Ellen had told any of her soldiers to back off but for the last few days her men had steered clear of him. They avoided him and didn't mutter amongst themselves when he was seen. His bad mood had clearly been felt by everyone and that had made all the hostility lessen like they were afraid of the caged animal that he was.

He was just fine with that. He wasn't in the mood to deal with their distain. So the last few days of the trip back to the capital went by without any more incidents. He didn't see Ellen once during that time.

He knew that she didn't tell him all that stuff because she was a bad person. And that was probably the hardest part. If she had just been your everyday bad guy then it would have been easier. He could be upset with her without having to empathize with her.

He couldn't do that though because her hands were just as tied as his were. Just like he would need to follow the orders of his Hokage she would need to follow the orders of her King. She had already skirted around his orders when she made that deal with him but if she were to comeback empty handed then she would be in just as big a trouble as the people of Alsace would be.

Naruto understood that but he was also a stubborn bastard and it was hard to just accept the facts. For the moment all he could do was grit his teeth and meet with this so called 'King' of hers. He didn't know what he was going to say but damn it he was going to say something.

Silesia was unlike any place he had ever seen before. The buildings were built with a stone white concrete that added a sort of elegance to the whole town. He wanted to call it a city because of how big and imposing some of the structures within its walls were but really it was more of a town.

While the castle was bigger than the Hokage tower—it was pretty much the size of the Hokage Mountain— the whole town itself was barely half the size of Konohagakure. Still there was a liveliness to it that was similar but oh so different from Konoha.

As they marched through the streets people lined to the sides with young men and women pointing and cheering while mothers held back their kids in exasperation and fathers regaled to their children in pride. This was something that never happened in the ninja villages.

Ninja's were rarely admired so openly and never had there been crowds of people to cheer them on. They were talked about but they weren't really seen. If anything citizens talked about ninja's in mixtures of tension and resignation. They weren't people to cheer for because most often than not when ninja's were involved in conflict the people were dragged into it, willing or not.

While they did do some good around the community and around the nation they weren't hero's that worked for justice and peace. He was one of the few exceptions as his dreams of peace were a rarity that differed from everyday ninja's. Most were only in it for the money and necessity or a matter of family honor. It didn't start off that way for him as he only became a ninja for necessity and respect but along the way his dreams of peace and protection for his love ones became his driving force.

He was getting off topic but the point is ninja's did not get the recognition that Ellen's men and women did. People openly cheered for them and even tried to talk to them with clear admiration. He wasn't use to the treatment but he couldn't help but get caught up in the moment.

His bad mood that had followed his around like a personal rain cloud over his head seemed to clear up and he found himself grinning and waving back to the people. It was amazing how a little recognition could change a person's mood.

He heard the crowd on his side cheer even louder and found the reason was because of a certain silver haired girl bumping her hips against his. She grinned at him and waved to the people causing them roar in cheer.

He couldn't help himself and bumped her right back forgetting for the moment that he wasn't happy with her or that they had not spoken since that very day. The only thing that seemed to matter was the good vibes and the feeling of respect and admiration that he never had growing up. He might not necessarily be one of Ellen's men but at the moment he was a part of the reason why the people were cheering.

"Forgive me," he heard her say amidst the crowd. He looked to her a little shocked that she was asking for forgiveness but she continued to smile to the crowd never looking towards him. "I know I do not deserve it with what I had done. I made you a promise to keep Alsace safe and I wrapped that around your neck like a leash. I gave you my word and I intend to keep it but now I'll be the one to ask you for a favor." She finally looked at him and smiled only at him, it looked a little strained and some hints of guilt and weariness could be seen. Had she been worrying about what had happened this whole time? "I won't use my promise as a way to keep you in line but in turn I want you to also keep your word and please don't try anything."

His mouth opened to speak but stopped to think about his response, "You know they tell you to forgive and forget but you know what I say?" She looked at him questioningly, and a little hopeful. "I say forget about forgiving." He continued on even when she tried to interrupt. "I'll just accept that you did what you thought was best and I can understand that. I won't promise that I'll be you're 'prisoner of war' forever because no one keeps Uzumaki Naruto down for long! But I will promise not to do anything while we're here. So don't worry anymore."

She looked stunned before she truly smiled like a weight had just been lifted from her shoulder. Looking at her, Ellen looked like she hadn't been sleeping properly with minor bags under her eyes. It didn't look that sever but with her light complexion it was noticeable when you looked closely. He started to feel guilty that he was the cause for it, even if he was justified with his reaction, but the beaming smile he got from her conveyed that all were good.

He couldn't help it and smiled back just as brightly. He started to laugh causing her to laugh along with him. And throughout this they smiled and waved to the crowd, laughing like a couple of loons.

The atmosphere inside the castle was like a complete one eighty from the joyous celebration outside of its walls. While it was loud and rambunctious outside with the people cheering for the visiting troops it was quiet and solemn within the castle walls like a tense seriousness that he could only compare to the time he had really screwed up and Tsunade had threatened to suspend him.

Instead of Ellen's whole conglomerate of soldiers packed into the castle halls it was only him, Ellen, and Limlisha in attendance. Along with a line of heavily armored men along the sides of the room there were also men and women dressed impressively with expensive looking fabrics and intricate designs whispering among themselves like a bunch of gossiping house wives.

He caught a few of their words with him and the other two ladies as the main subject. Nothing too bad were thrown at the two girls as they seemed to be well respected amongst the people but there were a bit of speculations and outlandish ideas concerning him ranging from the absurd like he was a sex slave that Ellen had captured. Now that was just completely crazy—the sex part but the slave part was actually slight accurate— he wasn't some character that filled some weird sex plot that only Jiraya could come up with.

There were some, from what he could hear, that came pretty close to the mark thinking he was a prisoner of war. That still pissed him off though since Uzumaki Naruto was no one's prisoner of war dattebayo! He was just forced here against his will…

"Come forth, Eleonora Viltaria."

Ellen strode forward with her head held high. She gave him a reassuring glance as she passed him and stood before the King. She knelt down on one knee with her head bowed down.

There was pause of silence as no one made a noise and the King said nothing. Naruto wanted to fidget as the silence was starting to make him feel awkward but a sharp elbow from Limlisha told him that he was to be on his best behavior.

After what seemed like an eternity the King finally acknowledged Ellen. "Rise Lord of Leitmeritz," he said in a slow rumbling timber.

The man looked to be in his late years but his eyes held a certain glint to them that he had only seen in experienced old fogies like the late Sandaime. Despite the wrinkles, he had a certain regal face that bore his aristocratic heritage and a tightness about him that made his back stiffen straighter. He knew right away that this was a man that knew the ins and outs of the game.

Ellen slowly rose to her feet and only then did she finally made eye contact with the King. It was not only a sign of respect but her willing servitude to him. It made him realize all the more just how much he had put her between two hard choices.

"In respect to your loyalty we have not punished you for your disregard of our orders. We instead will allow you to explain yourself to us."

Naruto felt like he needed to defend Ellen's actions and was going to tell that King of hers just that but once again Limlisha caught him in the rib with an elbow causing him to shoot her an annoyed glare.

"Wha—"

"—Stay quiet and do not embarrassed Eleonora-sama any further." She whispered sharply before he could ask what her deal was.

He felt the coldness of her stare and realized that while most eyes were on Ellen and the King, he had garnered some looks from the surrounding people. He bit back whatever he wanted to say only because he didn't want to cause Ellen any more trouble.

"We want to know why you helped the town of Alsace instead of subjugating it."

"I apologize your highness," though she neither looked nor sounded apologetic. If that bothered the King, he didn't show it. "For I made judgement call and did not have the necessary time to relay my planned actions to you."

Murmurs within the crowd gained volume as Ellen's words were heard clearly. Ellen had apologized, true, but what she had apologized for was being unable to tell him in advance that she could not do as he says as opposed to actually the disregarding orders part. It was a more political way of saying that my improvising was the right move. Though how someone reacts to getting told that they were wrong tends to vary.

What surprised Naruto was that instead of blowing a gasket like most nobility the King actually cracked a ghost of a smile that disappeared just as quickly. He looked blank once again as if he was a slab of stone.

"With the Brune Prince presumed dead you were correct that Brune's borders would become weak and the town of Alsace would become defenseless. Moral was high due to our victory and the taking of Alsace would have been simple despite scouting indications of another army with our same line of thought."

Naruto listened intently as he wasn't aware of some of the details on Ellen and Zhcted's end. He only knew that his friends were in danger and that there were two armies trying to take over Alsace. Though he eventually allied with Ellen to save the town he didn't know the specifics of what had brought her there or all of the motives involved.

"Zion Thenardier's forces outnumbered our own two to one but even against those odds I was confident in our ability to win. While we were aware of Thenardier's march to Alsace he was blind in his belief that the town would be easy to take and did not scout the surrounding area. His arrogance proved to be his downfall as he was completely unaware of our presences until it was too late. With a small group, I chose to lead a small force to infiltrate the town and kill Zion Thenardier as a portion of his force and himself ransacked the town."

The memory of that time made Naruto clench his hand tightly. He was still kicking himself for letting that bastard even come close to laying his hands on Titta. The sweet girl was absolutely terrified and he felt responsible for not leaving at least a couple of clones to keep her safe.

"We met and disposed of almost half the men that were within the town quickly, and that was when my objective changed from the orders you gave me to the actions I had taken, all because of one man. My King may I present to you Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto wanted so badly to facepalm at the way Ellen had introduced him. Without even any sort of background on him she had just announced that he was the whole reason for the debacle. He was at first surprised with her political savvy but that sort of misleading statement just made him doubt she actually knew what she was doing. If he didn't know that Ellen was a mostly straight forward, and slightly clueless, girl then he would have thought that she had deliberately thrown him to the wolves.

His exasperation only grew as he once again caught some of the mutterings around him that were not so subtly being done. It was too much for him.

"Oi Ellen couldn't you have phrased that a little better!" There was only so much patience in him, time and place be damned. He couldn't care less about manners and subtlety at the moment.

The girl tilted her head slightly, "Did I say something wrong?"

Face meet palm. An amused chuckle sounded beside him causing him to glare at the source. "Something funny?"

As soon as he turned to question her Limlisha stopped chuckling and quickly masked her face once again though a small tint of flush adorned her cheeks. "I do not know what you are talking about."

"Sure you don't," he muttered under his breath. "Why don't you continue with your report so all of these people," he glared at the crowd but that only seemed to ignite even more poorly disguised whispers. "Can finally stop it with their weird theories and hear what really happened."

Thankfully his blunt assessment of their ideas caused the gossiping to stop as Ellen turned to the King for permission. He gave her a small nod as she continued.

"As I had said we were able to defeat Thenardier's men but there was already a good portion of the force defeated when we arrived. Naruto had single handedly managed to thwart the raiders and seemed to be doing it with ease. We were forced to engage the remaining men and that allowed Naruto the distraction to slip from my view. After the brief scrimmage we made our way to the Vorn mansion where we would meet Naruto once again. We were only a few moments late as Thenardier managed to escape. At the time I was intrigued with Naruto and his abilities. He had single handedly defended Alsace and I believe would have done so even without our intervention. It was at that moment that I decided to make him my prisoner of war—"

"—Hey Uzumaki Naruto is no one's prisoner of war dattebayo!"

He drew an amused smile from Ellen but was mostly ignored. That caused him to grumble irritably still muttering that he wasn't a 'pansy-ass prisoner of war' under his breath.

"He proved to be much more though and managed to surprise even me. He managed to place me under knife point but I managed to equalize with my sword. We were caught in a stalemate so he cut a deal with me. Instead of both our mutual defeats and Thenardier taking the town by default he agreed to be under my care in return for the protection of Alsace and its people. That is the reason why I return not with a town subjugated but a man who is on the same level as the seven Vanadis."

Silence followed her bold claim. Many were too shocked to respond as Ellen dropped the bomb that Naruto was as capable as a war maiden. A Vanadis was equivalent to a whole army and to have gained someone on equal standing was hard to believe but if true would be far more valuable than a small town.

The people seemed to be split in opinion. Many couldn't fathom someone like him could be in the same league as one of the seven Vanadis but just as many saw the benefits of someone with that much potential and were willing to believe the Lord of Leitmeritz's word.

Though many opinions varied there was only one person's that truly mattered. The King had yet to say anything and looked contemplative. His face was a hard mask to read and Naruto couldn't tell what was going on in his head.

"Preposterous! Why should we trust the word of a woman who has already disobeyed orders?" Naruto looked around to try and find who had the courage to actually speak their opinion out loud in such a setting. He didn't have to search for long as a short girl with shockingly light blue hair came out of the crowd and stared Ellen down. Uncharacteristically Ellen returned the glare. "Just because one of the lesser Vanadis had been lacking in training and was caught unaware does not mean that this man could be considered our equal."

It wasn't so much the insult that Naruto picked up on but her usage of association. She was elegantly cute and not at all imposing but the way her word seemed to carry some weight made him think that maybe she was one of these so called war maidens. Just from her opulent looks he would have thought that she was one of those noble wallflowers but she had an iciness to her that bore depth than just what her appearances alone conveyed.

The interruption seemed to be the light to start the fire as people all over started to take sides. The order and manners that the people of the court once held was thrown in disarray as opposing opinions clashed against one another.

At the helm of one side was the blue haired girl that had challenged Ellen's words and on the other was Ellen herself who looked like she had some past history with the girl if the glare she was sending her was any indication. There seemed to be some animosity between the two girls and perhaps just general dislike but the two clearly held an ounce of respect for each other because while the people around them spoke out vocally the two girls said nothing just glaring at each other, waiting for the King to make his opinion known.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the chaos he had brought just by being him. Even the sharp elbow delivered by Limlisha didn't deter him as he looked around in glee. This would teach those idiots to call him a prisoner of war.

Almost as deafening as the noise level had gotten the silence that followed was just as loud when the King raised a palm. Even without having to say a word everyone stopped talking. Even without having to do anything but raise a hand, the chaos that had swirl around the room disappeared as the King finally spoke.

"We have heard you claim and have determined that the Lord of Leitmeritz was justified in her actions." The chaos would have started once again if not for the sharp eyes of the King bearing into everyone. The blue haired girl looked like she wanted to protest but just like everyone she was unable to with the weight of the King's eyes on her. "If the Vanadis of Leitmeritz claims to have found an equal then it certainly is a boon for our kingdom. But should she be wrong in her assessment then we shall act accordingly."

He could see Ellen smiling in relief but he wasn't so sure what she was so relived about. It kind of sounded like the King still hadn't let her off the hook just yet. If anything it kind of sounded like was going to test—

"Should Uzumaki Naruto prove to be everything the Lord of Leitmeritz claims him to be then this matter is unneeded."

He wanted so badly to groan at the Kings words. It seemed unfair that he was being tugged at all directions without his say so. He shot Ellen daggers with his eyes and reserved the tongue lashing he was going to give her for later.

"My King if I may, I would like to be the one to test the man." The girl with blue hair strode forward in determination. She looked happier with the decision. "If he meets the standard then I will retract me previous words."

The King nodded as if he had predicted that she would volunteer. It made him wonder if the man had calculated this sort of outcome or if he was just over estimating the man. Well whatever, it's not like it really matters.

Without even any need to say anything people started to leave, muttering amongst them, sensing the King's dismissal. Ellen walked to him with a wide smile as if she had just won a competition.

"That could have ended worst."

Naruto had to keep himself calm by taking a deep breath and, instead of yelling like he intended, said in a calm voice, "I hate you."

Naruto continued to stubbornly ignore Ellen despite her pleading to him to talk to her. He was being a little unfair but he didn't really care. He was going to be forced to do kami knows what just to 'prove' himself, whatever that even means.

He turned his head away from her defiantly with his arms crossed over his chest. Ellen pouted at the clear dismissal but didn't let it discourage her.

"Oh come on Naruto it's not that bad," she pleaded trying to get him to lighten up. He was a stubborn knucklehead so it wasn't working out too well. "At least we're not in trouble right?"

"Not in trouble!? What if they have me doing exams or something? I think you'll be singing a different tune if that were to happen."

Ellen laughed and thumped him in the back. "Glad you finally responded to me."

"Did you not hear a word I just said lady!"

She just continued to laugh boisterously as if she had all the confidence in the word. Limlisha sighed as her commander dismissed all possible failures. While she had every bit of confidence in her leader's decisions she had to agree slightly with the brute's point.

"Eleonora-sama perhaps there is semblance of truth to his worries. Even an idiot may speak the truth every now and then."

Naruto pouted, "Why do you have to be so mean to me Lim."

"Do not call me that!" She turned to him with such an icy glare that he would have frozen over if not for the slight flush on her cheeks.

"You don't have a problem with me calling you Lim, Lim." Ellen stated tilting her head to the side.

"Eleonora-sama not in public!"

Limlisha's face looked like it was about ready to burst. She actually looked really cute all embarrassed like that, he didn't know she was that easy to rile up. A grin spread on his lips that sent a foreboding shiver down Limlisha's spine.

Before Naruto could act upon this new found information the group was interrupted when the same girl that had called out Ellen in the hall showed up. Instantly Ellen's grin disappeared replaced by a challenging look.

The girl held a similar look as if she was just as ready to butt heads with her. If it were possible he would have probably seen sparks between the two with the way they were acting towards each other.

"My, my how unfortunate of me to run into such an unseemly person. Still as clueless as ever I see Eleonora Vitalia."

Ellen's frown deepened before smirking after she looked over the girl. "Oh my the same thought ran through my mind. I see you still have yet to grow since we last saw each other Ludmila Lourie."

As if to emphasize her point Ellen crossed her arms under her bust and looked down on her to accentuate the difference. He could practically hear the blue haired girl's teeth grinding but she covered it up real nicely.

She flicked her hair at Ellen as if her taunts were beneath her. "I see you have grown my dear Eleonora. Though it's to be expected that someone who lacks training would grow an excess amount of flab. Even in areas unwanted."

The smug look on Ellen's face slowly vanished as the shorter girl went below the belt, per say, and hit a woman where it truly hurt.

Naruto slowly backed away knowing that any woman called out on her weight was a ticking time bomb just waiting to explode. It didn't matter if he wasn't the cause, just by being within the area made him a potential target.

"What did you say you flat-chested—"

"Who are you calling flat-chested you cow—"

Almost in unison they turned to him with a glare as if he was the one that had been the one to call out their chest sizes. Cold sweat rained down his neck and knew that his chance to escape had gone out the proverbial window.

"Naruto I'm not fat am I!"

"You, tell this cow to have her eyes examined!"

He wanted nothing more than to run for the hills and get away from this hazardous situation. He was essentially being double teamed by two separate girls asking him no-win questions. There was absolutely no way out of this so he did the only thing he could and threw the attention on to someone else.

"I-I think Limlisha is more equipped to answer those questions."

Limlisha's eyes widened comically showing more emotion that he had ever seen on her face. He would have teased her for it if he wasn't in the situation he was in right now. He silently prayed for the woman's survival as he quickly made his escape before the attention could be thrown back at him.

He had promised Ellen that he wasn't going to try and escape but he was pretty certain that this was an exception that he could exploit. There was absolutely no way that he was going to get in between two girl—two magically power girls at that— and their argument about boobs and weight.

He was stubborn, and if totally honest not the sharpest knife in the pile, but he wasn't a total idiot. He had some semblance of self-preservation thank you very much.

Naruto skid to a halt causing a comical amount of dust to plume around him like he had just been running with the devil nipping at his heels. Well two she-devils to be exact.

He glanced around to determine where exactly he was as he hadn't been paying attention as to where he was going. He was too busy running away to save his fine behind to really care.

He was a good distance away from the castle and looked to be in some commercialized district. Shops lined the streets and shoppers glided around avoiding playing children and bartering with overzealous shopkeepers.

It reminded him of the busy streets of Konoha only without the silent eyes of ANBU watching over head or the way nature seemed to be a fixture in Konoha's streets. Everything seemed to be prim and proper. The buildings were all pristine white and the roads were paved. Though he couldn't decide which was more beautiful he did know that he preferred Konoha's earthy look more.

He wandered around the streets without a clear destination. He probably had a good couple of hours before he needed to return to the castle so Ellen didn't think he had skipped town on her. Maybe a couple of hours were cutting it a bit but he wanted to be doubly sure that he wasn't returning to a potential landmine.

He was just walking around aimlessly when he noticed a crowd growing in front of a stand. His curiosity got the better of him so he jostled through the crowd to see what was going on. Finally he managed to clear through the sea of people to see two men arguing and an angry looking shopkeeper between them.

He wasn't completely sure what was going on but from what he could tell someone had knocked over one of the plates the owner was selling and the two men were arguing over whose fault it was.

"You were the one that bumped into me you should be the one to pay for it!"

"What, it's your fault for standing too close!"

The two men butted heads but nothing was being resolved. The shopkeeper was starting to lose his patience and looked about ready to join in on the argument.

Being the meddling guy that he was, Naruto decided to intervene before things broke out into a fist fight. He walked towards them and placed a hand between the two arguing men.

They both turned sharply at him with matching glares. He just smiled brightly unintimidated by it. He had faced men much, much scarier than the two combined.

"What seems to be the problem guys?"

The two seemed to find some comradery over him.

"Get lost kid this doesn't involve you."

"Yeah get out of here brat the adults are talking."

The smile on his face strained but remained intact. His calm hand on their shoulders tightened though, to a tight grip causing both men to wince in pain.

"Why don't we try that again and lets all be adults here."

The shopkeeper seemingly had enough and answered for the two unwilling men. "These two broke one of my plates and both are blaming the other. Well I don't care who it was but someone has to pay for breaking it!"

"See was that so hard?" Naruto thumped both men in the back, hard, causing them to stumble.

"Whatever kid, what do you even want?"

"Now is that anyway to address the person that's going to solve this problem."

One of the men scowled. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto just grinned and pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket. "Hey old man is this enough to pay for the damages?"

All three men's eyes bulged out at the amount of money he took out. He didn't know exactly how much it was since he wasn't sure how the currency here worked but he figured it should have been enough.

"Y-Yes it's more than enough. In fact it's too much."

He just waved him off, "Don't worry about it take it. It's not even mine." He thumped both men once again and like last time they both stumbled. "See told you two I'd take care of it.

The owner gave him a confused look but didn't want to question someone that was willing to pay over the amount needed to cover the damages and just took the money.

"Thank you very much sir," he bowed gratefully before he turned on the two men that had been bickering with a glare. "Now please kindly leave my storefront. You have caused enough trouble for me and my business."

The two men were quick to leave glad that they both had gotten away without having to pay. Naruto chuckled because they'll find out later that they had in fact been the owner of the money he had given the shopkeeper. A simple sleight of hand and he was able to pickpocket them easily and return their wallets a little bit lighter because he 'borrowed' all the money from their wallets.

"I want to thank you again for everything sir."

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, a little embarrassed by how sincere the man sounded. "Aw it wasn't a big deal old man."

"I disagree," a melodic voice said. Naruto turned to the person to see a beautiful lady with curled blonde hair and one of the biggest pair of knockers he had ever seen. He was talking about Tsunade size chests. "It was very admirable of you for stepping in like that."

Her voice knocked him out from his daydream and blushed for having been staring at her for a little bit too long. She didn't seem to have noticed though and giggled when he turned away thinking his embarrassment was due to her praise.

"Sofya-sama!" The shopkeeper exclaimed and quickly bowed. "What are you doing here, it's an honor ma'am."

The woman smiled politely, "I was just strolling by and noticed the commotion. I would have intervened myself but it seems I was beaten to the punch."

Naruto blushed even harder when she redirected her words to him. While he had been around stunningly beautiful and well-endowed women before there was just this calming aura around her that spoke of maturity and serenity that really threw him off balance.

"I didn't do anything special. Anyone would have done the same thing."

She giggled causing hypnotic things to happen to her chest. He struggled to keep his eyes planted on her face and thankfully he somehow managed. He may not have been completely corrupted by Jiraya and Kakashi but he was by no mean pure after role models like them.

"Oh I don't think just anyone could do what you just did." She leaned in and eyed him mischievously as if knowing a secret. He struggled to not let his eyes wander down knowing she had innocently given him prime viewing angle. "It's not every day you see someone giving away that much money. Makes you wonder just where that sort of money came from~"

He could only chuckle nervously but she just smiled brightly. "Ehehe you know…"

"Well I do believe that your good deed deserves a reward!"

His first thought went straight to the gutter causing him to curse his perverted senseis. "W-What do you mean?"

She grabbed a hold of his arm and locked hers around his. He would have objected to being pulled along by this seemingly random woman but with his arm positioned to brush against her as they walked caused his mind to haze a little bit. Before he knew it they were standing in front of a ramen stand.

"What are we doing here?"

"You're reward of course!" She let go of his arm to his extreme disappointment and relief. "Now come on order as much as you want my treat."

Those seemed to be the magic words as his confusion turned into glee. "Well if you're sure." She giggled as he was already seated and calling out his orders. "Yo old man start me off with three pork and two vegetable ramen. Make it snappy too!"

The ramen chef looked at his dubiously. "Are you sure kid?"

"Yeah that should be good enough for a snack." He turned sheepishly at the woman who had taken the stool next to him. "Gotta save room for supper, ya know?"

The chef didn't know what to say but made the order anyway. As long as they payed he didn't care if they ordered a hundred bowls and only eat one.

"I'll have a bowl of your shrimp ramen please."

The ramen chef seemed to have only realized that she was there as well and quickly bowed in respect after realizing who she was. "I'm sorry Sofya-sama I did not realize you were there. Please the ramen is on the house."

Naruto looked at her with his eyes squinting in thought. That was the second time that someone had bowed down to her and called her –sama. "Are you someone important or something?"

She smiled mischievously. "Or something."

"Fine, don't tell me." He said pouting.

She giggled at the cute expression on his face. "Oh come now don't look like that. Look our food is here so no need to pout."

He grumbled something under his breath that sounded something like 'men don't pout' causing her to giggle once again. He was mid-bite when he realized something. "Hey we never introduced ourselves. I'm Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"It's nice to meet you Naruto. My name is Sofya Obertas but my friends call me Sofy."

"It's nice to meet you too Sofy and you can just call me Naruto." He grinned brightly making his eyes squint into slits. "And thanks for the ramen."

"It's the least I can do for someone willing to step in and mediate a potential problem." She gave him a teasing smile. "Even if your methods were a little… dubious."

His cheeks flushed slightly causing him to chuckle nervously and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Picked up on that didn't you."

"Oh don't worry I won't tell." She smiled at him reassuringly. "In fact it made me more curious about you. Did I see you with the Vanadis of Leitmeritz earlier?"

"Who Ellen?" Her mouth opened to a little 'o' surprised at his familiarity. "Yeah I guess you must have seen us walking by when we entered the town."

"Are you a part of her troops?"

"Not really," he said shrugging. "I've only been with Ellen for a little bit but I guess you could say that we're stuck together for the time being."

She looked thoughtful for a second before she looked at him seriously. "Are you and Eleonora friends?"

"Um, I guess," he wasn't completely sure how to respond to her when she looked so serious like that. Her tone seemed to have gone from friendly and innocent to something with more steel to it. "I mean I think she can be a little annoying and a little bit ditzy sometimes but for the most part I think she's sincere and a good person at heart."

Sofy looked thoughtful for a second before the seriousness she had before vanished and that warm and friendly aura she had returned. "That's great! I think Eleonora would benefit from having a wonderful friend such as yourself."

He blushed at her blunt words. "Hey do you know Ellen or something?"

She smiled mischievously at him once again. He was beginning to love and hate that smile. "Or something."

He groaned causing her to giggle cutely.

Naruto returned to the castle probably a little later than he had wanted to but the 'reward' for his good deed had somehow transpired to him being led around town by Sofy. He would have returned earlier but despite her light demeanor she could be really cunning. Using her innocence and her looks like that made it practically impossible to say no to her.

Not that he minded walking around town with a stunningly beautiful girl but he had a feeling that there would be consequences to his actions. So instead of returning and possibly be subjected to Ellen's anger, and most likely Lim, he was going to sneak in and hope they'll forget everything by tomorrow. He shuddered to think what those two would do to him specially Lim after he left her like that. He was a dead man walking.

Well he wasn't going to go down that easily. He was going to hide and sneak and hopefully by that time they'd have calmed down and his life spared. It probably wasn't the smartest of ideas to sneak into the castle where the ruler of the nation resided but when self-preservation was in the forefront of things to do the thought that this might be a bad idea never crossed his mind.

If there was one aspect of ninja skills he excelled at, it was stealth. Sure he preferred the straightforward in your face method but that didn't mean he couldn't be covert. There was a reason why only Iruka-sensei was the only one that ever caught him, and that was because he let him. If he didn't then no one would have ever known that he was the prankster that terrorized the village and gotten the attention he craved.

He didn't know it then but those pranking escapades had been amazing in building up his stealth skills. Despite probably being a little rusty he figured that he could still sneak into the castle undetected but what he failed to account was that while he was good at sneaking around he had no knowledge of the castle layout.

Naruto snuck into an open widow and breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't think it would be that heavily surveillance but then again it was equivalent to the Hokage tower so it made sense that there were so many guards around the place.

He looked around to find that he had managed to enter through one of the baths in the castle. The floor was a beautiful tiled marble and the large hot spring like bath was steaming with warm water. He looked around trying to find where the door was and froze in place when he heard the splashing of water.

He didn't dare move or breath. If it was a guy then he could hopefully pass it off but if it was a girl well he would experience what Jiraya probably experienced every day of his life. Being beaten for peeking at a girl bathing was not something he wanted to check off in his things he had done.

He slowly craned his head to look at who was in the bath and felt all the blood drain from his face. It was the same blue haired girl that Ellen seemed to have a rivalry with. She had soap in her eyes and was scrubbing her hair with some shampoo so she had yet to notice that he was in there with her.

He thanked kami for the small miracle but realized quickly that if he didn't find a way to hide then he wasn't going to live for much longer. He tried his best to look away but the way her soft skin glistened in its wet state was captivating.

His face burned crimson as his eyes traveled along her body. Ellen was wrong, she might not be as well-endowed as Sofy or Ellen but the girl was definitely 'grown'. She was more petite and proportionate and that was just as attractive.

He watched as she reached for the bucket of water with her eyes closed. She pawed around cutely trying to find it and the look of happiness that showed on her face when her hands managed to find it was absolutely adorable.

She poured the bucket over her head to rid herself of the suds and he could have died a happy man. Now he realized just what it was that had Jiraya coming back for more despite all the beating he got for peeping. The way the water traveled down her body was art in on itself.

He watched at the water droplets traveled down her soft cheeks and down to her slender neck. He gulped audibly when it slithered along the curve of her breast and disappear into the towel wrapped around her body. He wanted so badly to know just how far it had managed to travel but the mystery itself was both mind boggling and erotic.

His eyes move back up to her face hoping to see another little droplet with a similar path and instead found a pair of wide crystal blue eyes. They stared at each surprised to see the other. He didn't know how long they stayed rooted in that same position but he knew that this wasn't the time to freeze. No amount of words and excuses would help him in this situation.

So he did the only thing he could. He ran.

Things exploded into chaos after that. Somehow a spear appeared in the girl's hands and crystalized ice spikes materialized.

"PERVERT!"

The spikes were hurled at him causing him to jump out of the way. In his stunned state he barely just got out of the way. He held his hands up in surrender.

"W-Wait there's a perfectly good explanation for this."

Her wet hair shadowed over her eyes causing a cold tingle to run down his spine. Somehow the warm bath had iced over and he could see his breath.

"Die," she muttered under her breath. A deathly aura formed around her and Naruto knew right way that his life was over. "Die!"

He was forced to jump out of the way unless he wanted to be impaled by spears of ice. The girl had barely contained tears forming and a healthy blush on her cheeks.

She kept hurling ice spikes at him muttering 'die' over and over again. He managed to dance around all of the projectiles but he didn't notice the ground starting to freeze and he wound up slipping.

His head made a loud cracking sound as it impacted against the unforgiving tile floor. His momentum carried him crashing out the door but the pain in his head was much more prominent. He felt his head swirling and when the room finally stopped moving he saw the blue haired girl positioned over him with that spear of hers just above his stomach.

She looked murderous and he could see his life flashing before his eyes. So this was how he died. Death by peeking. God he really was his sensei's student.

"Prepare to die."

"—Mila!"

Both of them froze but for completely different reasons. Naruto was just frozen ready to have a spear shoved into his gut while Mila froze because of the voice that had called out.

"W-What are you two doing?"

Her head slowly turned to the person that had shouted out her name to see Ellen looking at them with wide eyes. When she looked down to see the position they were in her face turned crimson.

Even though she had her spear threatening to impale him she was also straddled his legs with only a towel on. She quickly jumped off and covered herself with her arms as if that would cover her dignity. She glared at the stunned form of Naruto.

"I won't hold back. Tomorrow you will die, you pervert."

She quickly scampered away leaving Ellen still wide eyed and Naruto completely stunned. "What just happened?"

"I should be asking you that." Ellen said looking at him seriously. "What did you do?"

Naruto tried to sputter out an excuse but everything he tried just made him sound more and more like a pervert. "I didn't mean to! I mean it just happened!"

She sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Well whatever it was, it sounds like Mila's not going to take it easy on you tomorrow."

He tilted his head in confusion. "Go easy on me? What are you talking about, what's happening tomorrow?"

"Don't you remember Mila's the one tasked with testing you." She looked pained at her own words. "And it looks like she's going to be going at you seriously."

Naruto gulped only remembering that tid-bit just now. He looked at the bathroom completely decimated by ice that looked like it would never melt and felt like he had just made life harder on himself.

"Crap."

Authors Note:

Well I finally managed to update this story after a bunch of you pm-ed me to update it. Truthfully when I started writing this I didn't really have any concrete idea on what I wanted to do so it was mostly just a write as I go kinda thing. Well after so many people clamoring to have me continue this I took the time to formulate a real direction for this story and decided to write this one a little more seriously. So here's the fruits of my labor and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

Don't forget to leave me a Review!