Hoki's eye began twitching. He ruined everything! There was no way he could take over the country now. He couldn't even use Toki as a hostage because Naruto was blocking his way, and he was not stupid enough to get in close to the person who just countered all of his jutsu so easily.
"Do you really think you have me beat!" he yelled. "This is far from finished! I may not be able to get my hands on Tori no Kuni anymore, but don't think this is the last you will hear from me! One day, I'll find a place of my own, and then I'll have my revenge!"
"Um, no you won't," Naruto said, and then pointed at something behind Hoki. Like an idiot, Hoki turned around, only to be knocked unconscious when a Naruto clone decked him in the face.
Toki blinked as she watched Hoki crumble to the ground like a house of cards. It had been so easy for Naruto to deal with him. Compared to her, it was like Hoki was nothing to him, nothing but a speck on the wall.
Was this the strength of a Konoha shinobi?
As Naruto watched his clone removing what looked like some kind of large costume from Hoki, he turned to look at Toki.
"You alright, hime?" he asked.
"I... I'm fine," Toki breathed out. She blinked at the hand Naruto offered to her, before taking it and allowing him to help her stand. Looking up, it was only now that they were standing so close that Toki realized just how much taller he was than her. "Thank you... for your help. I... I would have been killed if you had not shown up."
"Why did that sound so hard for you to say?" Toki flushed a bit at the question while Naruto chuckled. "Well, it's cool. I'm glad to have helped out."
"Oyabun!"
Two heads turned to see the Naruto clone that had knocked Hoki on his ass dragging the unconscious man towards them. He dropped the wandering ninja like a bag of rocks in front of them, and Naruto and Toki got their first glimpse of the real Hoki.
"Wow," Naruto whistled. "I always thought he looked like a clown before, but now he really looks like a clown. Is that make up he's wearing? He and Kankuro would probably get along famously."
Somewhere in Sunagakure, a certain cat pajama wearing ninja shook his fist in the air and shouted "IT'S NOT MAKE UP! IT'S WAR PAINT!" much to the confusion of Gara and Temari.
"So what do you want to do with him?" asked Naruto, turning to Toki who was looking down at the man. She looked up at him when he spoke, though. "This is your country that he wronged. As Daimyo, you get to decide his punishment."
That's right. It was her job to punish him for betraying her country. This was her chance for revenge. The chance she had sought for so long. Hoki was now helpless before her. She could kill him and he wouldn't be able to do a thing.
She gripped her katana so tightly that her hand began shaking. Raising her blade above her head and holding it in a two handed grip, she prepared to bring it down on Hoki, killing him and achieving her revenge.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Naruto, who was looking at her in disappointment. She paused at the look, feeling a small pit of unease in the pit of her stomach. For some reason, Toki did not want that look pointed at her.
She looked back down at Hoki, still unconscious, still helpless, then turned her gaze back to Naruto. He was eying her with a carefully masked gaze now. She could determine nothing from his face, though his eyes had now gone from disappointed to curious.
Taking a deep breath, Toki closed her eyes.
… then brought the blade back down to her side.
"He will stand trial in front of a tribunal and receive punishment befitting his crime," she determined, which meant he would still probably be killed, but it wouldn't be by her hand. Killing a Daimyo and betraying a country is serious business.
Naruto put a hand on her shoulder, and Toki shuddered at the warmth that seemed to exude from the simple gesture.
"Come on," he said softly. "Let's get you back home. My clones can take care of this trash."
Toki smiled as she reached up and placed her hand over his larger one. She was very glad that it was so dark so Naruto could not see her blush.
Too bad she didn't know Naruto could see in the dark just as easily as he could the light.
"Thank you, Naruto."
"Mmm. No problem."
They began the walk back towards their residence, Naruto with his hands up behind his head in a look of casualness that was only added to by his grin, and Toki with the poise and elegance of a Daimyo, albiet, one who had just been on the receiving end of a minor beating.
"Besides, you still have to explain to Chomei and Chishima why you decided to disguise yourself as your brother.
Toki's eyes widened.
Oh crap.
XoX
Naruto groggily opened his eyes as something disturbed his sleep. He blinked several times, trying to get the gunk and crust out of them without having to use his hands. It would have been too troublesome to actually lift any part of his body right now.
Damn, he felt like Shikamaru.
It had only been a few hours ago that he and Toki returned to her palace. After she had explained to Chomei and Chishima how she had disguised herself as Sagi (which had been very amusing), she had offered Naruto a place to stay until it came time for him to leave. She had even managed to wrangle a promise from him that he would stay until her 'official' coronation as Daimyo of Tori no Kuni.
The bed Naruto was in was very comfortable, more so than anything else he had ever slept in (especially his own bed), which explained why he had fallen asleep so easily and so deeply. Royalty sure knew how to live it up.
That did beg the question of just what had awoken him. While Naruto could be a light sleeper when he wanted to be, when not required, he could easily sleep like the dead.
Blinking several more times, Naruto finally saw the cause of his awakening.
"I had better be dreaming because if you're real, then I'm going to scream."
Floating above him, his form ethereal and transparent, was none other than Sagi. Or the ghost of Sagi, but Naruto really hoped it wasn't a ghost and that this was just a dream.
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