A/N- Sorry for the wait! I was actually inspired to write again by a reviewer this week, and frankly, I do love this story so you all should not worry about me NEVER updating… cause I always get to it eventually.
Also, I was upset at first by the lack of reviews for my last chapter… but then I got more over the last month or so… and now I'm happy. (sorry, I'm sensitive and get hurt by not getting reviews!)
Warnings: Not beta'd, not even read through a second time by me. So forgive any random, stupid mistakes.
Disclaimer: I still don't own anything.
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Chapter 5
Naruto had woken up even earlier than usual that morning. It had been two weeks since his whipping ordeal, and his wounds had healed for the most part, though the scars on his back were still a fresh and vivid red.
The blond sat up in his cot, stretching his back and smiling as he stood up in the dark stall. He greeted Satan as the horse stumbled over to him in a sleepy haze. "Poor, innocent little horse, did I wake you up?" he asked sarcastically.
Satan pouted in a way that only horses can manage, and rested his nose on the cot closing his eyes once more.
Naruto went through his morning chores, whistling (badly) to himself all the while. He groomed all of Itachi's mounts till they shone in the early-morning light and moved onto Star and Indigo. He had taken more time with the two horses lately, feeling bad for them and the master they had to deal with all the time.
Sure, Sasuke was nice to him two weeks ago when he had brought him food. And sure, trying to buy his forgiveness with a horse was pretty damn nice too. Yet when it all came down to it, Naruto just couldn't forget how Sasuke had treated poor Star. The mare was constantly nervous, and even shied away from Naruto when he would try to groom her face.
It was simply disgusting that such a kind-hearted mare would be afraid of humans because of ill treatment. Yet Naruto knew he couldn't do anything about it, for fear of Itachi simply killing him next time. So Naruto worked as hard as he could to make the time Sasuke's horses had with him pleasant, and hoped that perhaps the boy would learn to be more of the calm horse-person like Itachi was.
Naruto had to admit that even though the King scared the living hell out of him, Itachi had a classic personality that horses tend to like. He doesn't overreact to anything and is a strong 'herd leader', while at the same time horses would respect him enough not to try anything. The blond supposed those were the aspects of the King that made him a good (if not renowned for his ruthlessness with humans) leader.
Naruto put the horses back into their stalls and got them fed. He ran to get his own food from the servant who always distributed food to the other non-noble inhabitants of the castle from the kitchen's back door.
He was surprised when he hit something hard and toppled to the ground with it, rolling over and hitting his still sore back.
"Ouch! Ow, ow, ow… Ow!" Naruto stood up and did a little dance to shake off the pain.
"Watch were you are going, stupid!" The kid that Naruto had crashed into yelled angrily. He was very odd looking, with wild brown hair and red triangle tattoos under both of his eyes. He was wearing the same outfit as Naruto, the black tunic and brown breeches that labled him as a servant in the royal household. "Look, you made me spill my food! Now I'm going to be hungry all day, I can't believe you!"
Naruto noticed the oatmeal streaked all over the ground around them, along with a half-eaten fruit and some strips of what looked to be leftover chicken. "Oh my god! I'm so sorry… I.. I didn't mean too!" The blonde went to go pick up what remained of the peeled orange, looking at the dirt-covered fruit sadly. He felt so guilty, he knew what it was like to only have one meal a day, and now he had ruined this kid's! "I.. um… I was just about to get my food, I'll give it to you! I'm really very sorry."
The brunet looked down at the blond and suddenly smiled. "Ok then, mate! You should have just said so in the first place! Now lets go get your food, so I can eat my breakfast!" The kid gave a hearty laugh and slapped Naruto on the back.
At this point in time, our dearest blond was wondering why he was the only one with bad enough luck to run into a bipolar kid…
"By the way, shortie, my name's Kiba, and I help with the hunting dogs! What about you?"
"Uh… I'm Naruto. I'm the King's and the Prince's stable boy." Naruto collected his food from the servant by the kitchen and handed it to Kiba, mentally waving goodbye to his food. The brunet snatched the food up and immediately dug into it.
"Oh!" the brunet exclaimed through a mouthful of food, "you're the kid who yelled at the prince a few weeks ago! I heard about that! That's so awesome, man. I wish I had the balls to yell at that little brat sometime! But the king… hey wait… why are you even still alive?"
Naruto barely processed what Kiba was saying, he was so transfixed on the brunet chowing down on his only meal. Ahh… if only it was his!
"Uh.. Naruto? Did you hear me?"
Naruto jumped as if shaken awake, smiling embarrassedly. "Whoops! Sorry, I guess I zoned out for a minute! And I'm still alive because, well… Prince Sasuke asked the king not to kill me."
Kiba just stared at him, shocked. "The Prince stood up for you?!"
Naruto nodded and frowned. "yeah, but he's still an asshole! I hate that bastard so much!" He pumped his fist in the air for emphasis. Kiba laughed as he set aside an empty plate.
"We should hang out more, shortie! It's not often I find someone I like as much as you!" Naruto blushed with happiness at the comment. He had never really had friends before, unless you count the four-legged ones. And Kiba was ok by his standards, and obviously he knew something about animals if he worked with dogs.
The two boys parted to go back to their work, both feeling a little bit more content than they had in a while.
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Naruto couldn't even focus anymore, he was that hungry. He had already exercised the horses that Itachi hadn't chosen to ride that day, and now it was the heat of a very warm afternoon, and he still had yet to hear from the Prince as to which horse he would be riding that day.
Naruto had just sat down when he heard the sound of footsteps entering the stables. He stood up immediately when he recognized not only the prince, but the king as well.
Itachi looked at Naruto, sizing up the boy's exhausted appearance. "Why were you sitting instead of doing chores that I know you could be doing, Naruto?"
The blond shuddered and looked down, scuffing his foot along the floor. "I'm sorry, highness. I was just exhausted and was.."
"There are no excuses for laziness, Naruto. So do not try and make any ever again. You will not receive your meal tomorrow morning as punishment, and if I ever see you lazing around again you will receive a harsher punishment." The blond's eyes watered momentarily at the prospect of another morning without food, only to be quickly blinked away.
"Yes, your highness, I apologize for my laziness." Naruto said almost robotically, head still down. It was that moment that Sasuke chose to step in.
"We are going to go look at the foals for this year right now Naruto, and you are going to come with us and choose yours." Sasuke looked at the blond, noticing the boy's eyes light up again.
"Oh!" Naruto swiftly bowed his head. "Thank you highness!" He smiled at Itachi, blatantly ignoring Sasuke, which was something that didn't escape the king.
"You should thank my little brother, Naruto. I find no reason for you to have your own horse, but my little brother desires a riding companion and you are around his age. Plus, he will be finished with his training by the time you are able to ride the horse you get, so it should work out well."
Naruto internally sighed. He didn't want to be that Sasuke bastards riding partner! "Thank you, Prince Sasuke." The blond hated the sound of his own voice forming those words.
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Naruto trailed behind the two royal brothers all the way to the far end of the castle, which he had never been to before. What lay there amazed Naruto to no end. Fields of mare's and foals lay before him, with a separate field next to it for just-weaned foals.
"Naruto, you may only look at the fillies. There is no need for a servant to get a colt that will one day have to be cut. It is too much hassle." The king said, looking bored.
Naruto nodded, unsure of what to do, and feeling very dizzy. It wasn't until the Prince grabbed his hand and forcibly dragged him out into the middle of the field that he realized what he should do.
He walked around looking at foals, immediately dismissing ones that he knew were much too nice for the likes of him, and others that looked dull or mean.
He kept walking until he came upon a pair of blue eyes just like his own looking up at him. The foal was perfect. She was a paint with the lightest shade of brown—almost yellow— and white, all swirling together on her small body. Her eyes stuck out like two sapphires as she looked at him with intelligent eyes.
Naruto walked close to the foal, his eyes downward and his shoulders facing the ground to appear non-threatening. The filly met him halfway, a soft pink nose meeting his hand.
"I suppose this is the one you want then." He heard Sasuke say from behind him.
"Yes, Prince Sasuke. She is perfect."
"If you ask me, I just think it is a weird looking animal. I guess it suits you though, doesn't it, idiot?"
Naruto was too entranced to react. Itachi came over with a servant who held the little filly's halter and haltered up the horse, handing the lead to Naruto.
That's when it hit Naruto. He, the unworthy orphan, was finally getting what he had dreamed of forever. His very own horse.
And that's when he passed out.
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A/N- Ok, so things both got better for Naruto in this chapter… or did they? How will his passing-out episode go over, especially when Itachi and Sasuke learn that he gave his food away! Dun, dun, dun!
So tell me what you think about this chapter, cause I have mixed feelings about it!
Review, review, review!!