Disclaimer: Don’t own Naruto

Chapter 12: Episteme

Knowledge is the fruit of salvation.

Neither knows the other’s heart,

but both beat as one being.

Seek an ally from the pair.

Plant the seed and the babe of Artemis will hear you.

The bond is strong,

despite the serpent’s tongue.

The pinnacle of Artemis draws near,

nourishing the babe.

The fields writhe with Sparta’s plotting livelihood.

The serpent’s fate hangs in the balance.

Artemis will let her children rule.

So says Pythia, voice of Apollo

Orochimaru stood above the crimson mattress that now held his helot apprentice. His yellow eyes traced the line of the boy’s nude back as it curved beneath the sheets. Yet again, the boy was in a fetal position, his lanky, muscular limbs folded against his abdomen and his face hidden behind one palm. He looked so innocent – naïve.

Orochimaru smiled, but any observer would cringe at the coldness of it.

He knelt beside the bed and traced long, cold fingers along Naruto’s exposed shoulder. The boy shivered, but didn’t wake. Orochimaru licked his lips.

So naïve, this boy was.

And tragic.

To think that he had fallen in love with another beast, and hadn’t known that it was wrong and punishable by death. It had all been too easy to manipulate him and fill in his ignorance with lies that worked to Orochimaru’s advantage. Now he had something Jiraiya wanted, and only time would tell how Jiraiya would react.

Jiraiya knew something about this helot that was important, important enough to try to protect a mere helot boy, and Orochimaru was going to find out what this was – and what it had to do with this helot’s mysterious power.

Orochimaru smirked. And if this helot turned out to be a dead end , Orochimaru would have a reason to kill him. After all, the child had confessed to breaking Spartan law.

Naruto shifted in the bed, moaning a very familiar name under his breath.

Orochimaru’s ruthless smirk widened.

No one would have the power to stop him.

“The fields writhe with Sparta’s plotting livelihood?” Iruka repeated, his voice low as he paced slowly back and forth.

Archon Jiraiya nodded in response.

Tsunade and Jiraiya were both sitting down at the stone table in their house as Iruka paced in front of them. Tsunade seemed to be contemplating the words Jiraiya had just imparted to them as well, her eyes tracing something invisible on the table top.

“The helots?” Iruka realized, sending Jiraiya a shocked look.

“We can’t be certain until we see for ourselves,” Jiraiya replied. He took another swig of his drink. “Pythia’s prophesies can be vague.”

“Although I can’t think of another explanation for this one,” Tsunade murmured, her expression dour. “It would seem the helots are revolting.”

“But they…” Iruka paused, before he corrected himself. “We haven’t held an uprising in one hundred years! Why would some of the helots decide to do so now?

“The Krypteia,” Tsunade replied with complete certainty, her honey-colored eyes flashing as sunlight drenched the room from its morning rise. “They were reinstated by Orochimaru shortly after he took power and the attacks have been increasing in frequency ever since.”

Iruka shook his head. “But that’s been happening for sixteen years now. Why now, of all times?”

Tsunade shook her head in reply. “I don’t know.”

“Either way, we will have to confirm the prophecy,” Jiraiya stated, tapping his large, weathered fingers against the table top. “Iruka, I nominate you to investigate the helots.”

Iruka hesitated for a moment before nodding. “I’ll do my…”

“No, Jiraiya…” Tsunade interjected. “He can’t do this.”

“Why not?” Jiraiya looked a bit flustered at his wife’s objection. “He’s the only one of us who knows how the helots operate from the inside.”

“No, no,” Tsunade shook her head. “He can’t. The helots think he’s dead.”

“What?!” Iruka’s voice rose an octave in horror. “Why do they think that?”

Tsunade actually had the decency to look a little guilty and her breast rose and fell as she took a long deep breath before answering. “I told them.”

Jiraiya’s eyes widened a bit as he regarded his wife.

“You told…?” Iruka replied, starting to panic. “WHY?”

“Naruto’s friends,” Tsunade replied, frowning. “I can’t remember their names….”

“Kiba and Chouji?” Iruka offered.

“Yes,” Tsunade nodded. “Those two came to my door the day after Naruto disappeared. I had to tell them something…”

“You told them we were dead?” Iruka almost couldn’t believe his ears. “But…but…we’re not!”

“I’m sorry, Iruka,” and she actually appeared as though she meant it, much different from her usual no-nonsense demeanor. “I couldn’t tell them the truth, and we couldn’t have them asking more questions. So I thought…” She rubbed a hand through her golden bangs. “I thought it would be easier for them to let Naruto go if they believed there was no way he could come back.”

Iruka regarded her silently, deep in thought about what this could mean; how Kiba and Chouji would have taken the news. “How did they look…after you told them?”

Tsunade remained silent, sorrow still pervading her features.

“I see…” Iruka replied, looking down at his hands in thought. He knew Kiba was stubborn and that Chouji was basically unmotivated by most things, but he was loyal. He knew Naruto’s death would devastate them both. A bird chirped from its perch somewhere on the house’s roof and cool breeze blew through the window and cooled Iruka’s perspiring skin.

“Father, you’re home?”

Iruka turned to see Tsunade and Jiraiya’s daughter, Sakura, standing at the threshold to another part of the house, where the bedrooms were. She appeared as if she had just woken up and she was glancing back and forth between her father, mother, and Iruka in confusion.

“Sakura,” Jiraiya replied, a smile lighting up his previously serious face. “How are your studies? Still practicing your archery?”

“Yes, father,” Sakura replied, although she still looked confused. “Why are you here?”

“What?” Jiraiya pretended to look offended. “You don’t want me here?”

“No, of course I do!” Sakura explained, and this time her smile was genuine. “It’s just…you’re never here.”

“Your father is back home to rest,” Tsunade explained, placing a hand on Jiraiya’s shoulder.

“Why? Is something wrong?” Sakura questioned, and this time her gaze turned suspicious as she looked at Iruka.

“No, no,” Jiraiya chuckled. “I’m fine, I’m fine. Just visiting.”

“Oh…okay.” But Sakura still looked a bit unconvinced as her eyes locked with Iruka’s again.

“It’s time for your lessons,” Tsunade stated, breaking Sakura’s attention. “Go outside to meet the other girls. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Yes, mother,” Sakura replied with a deep sigh. She rubbed a hand through her long pink hair before turning back to her room. There was a back door to the house that she would leave through after getting her supplies.

Once Sakura disappeared, they were all silent, Tsunade and Jiraiya sharing a look. All of them knew it wasn’t beneficial for Sakura to have walked into one of their meetings.

Iruka straightened up and regarded both the Archon and his wife, his tone full of conviction. “I still want this mission.”

He turned around to look out the window. He vaguely watched the helots entering the fields below for another day’s hard labor.

“Iruka…” Tsunade began, but he interjected, his voice soft.

“I think I know exactly who are leading this revolt.”

“Oh?” Jiraiya asked, curious. “Who?”

Iruka turned his head to look back at them over his shoulder. “Two helots who would fight to the death for their best friend’s stolen life.”

Tsunade’s eyes widened, one hand rising to cover her mouth. “No…”

“Are you certain?” Jiraiya asked, moving to place an arm around Tsunade’s shoulders, something he didn’t do very often.

“Almost,” Iruka replied. “Let me take on this mission and I’ll prove it.”

Jiraiya sat back in his chair and sighed, his eyes searching the ceiling as if he could see the heavens beyond. “You’ll have to go completely unseen. Always in the cover of night, you got it?”

Iruka nodded. “That’s the only time they’ll be training anyway.”

Jiraiya shared a look with Tsunade, before nodding in agreement. “Alright. Retrieve the information on their operations, then report back to me.”

“Yes, Archon,” Iruka replied. He turned around fully to salute and Jiraiya nodded in acknowledgement.

Iruka glanced one last time at Tsunade, who now looked incredibly guilty and uncharacteristically unsure. He smiled at her, before turning around and exiting the house out the back, where Sakura had left moments before so that none of the helots could see him.

He pinched the bridge of his scarred nose between his thumb and forefinger and sighed as he stood in the shadow of the house. He would have to be careful with this one.

He would wait until nightfall and then make his move.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he watched Sasuke and his eromenos spar for the first time since Archon Orochimaru took advantage of his rights as patron. Both boys were clearly tense, and Naruto’s attacks were especially vicious. Although every once and a while Sasuke would say something and Naruto would appear flustered, losing his momentum.

Even at the beginning of the spar, Naruto had refused to let Sasuke touch him with the oil, and in the end after a glaring match, Sasuke had actually relented, allowing Naruto to do it himself. What was worse, they looked completely out of sync. Neither seemed able to read the other’s next move and so the attacks, dodges, and blocks were awkward.

Sasuke was still as graceful as ever, his moves flawless in their execution, but sometimes Naruto would break his rhythm with a move that was completely unexpected. And Naruto’s attacks were ruthless when they hit. Sasuke was already bleeding out of his mouth, a welt growing on his side. Despite this, Kakashi could tell Sasuke was holding back. The boy could have stopped Naruto with brutal force if he’d wanted to, but he was treating Naruto with care, as if he was afraid his eromenos might break. Naruto seemed to notice this, because after a few lacking attacks from Sasuke, he’d only gotten angrier.

It didn’t take an expert to see that something was wrong between the two. Kakashi had suspected as much since he’d had to punish Sasuke for his eromenos’s undisciplined behavior two nights ago. Something was straining at their bond, and it didn’t all have to do with Archon Orochimaru’s intervention, although Kakashi was suspicious of the man’s motives. He’d caught the tail end of their argument that night, and it didn’t take him much thought to notice that there was something deeper smoldering beneath the surface of their words. Sasuke’s voice had held more emotion than Kakashi had ever heard in it, and when Sasuke had tried to step toward his angry eromenos, Naruto’s name on his lips, Kakashi could tell.

Their bond had grown into something else completely different.

It had reminded Kakashi of a time when he was young; when he had made the same mistake. Sasuke’s sour mood when Naruto was gone, and how he watched Naruto from the corner of his eye with something close to yearning on his face, told Kakashi that his dire conclusion must be right.

As he had taken out Sasuke’s punishment that night, he had vowed that he would make sure Sasuke grew out of his new, forbidden emotions – just as Kakashi had those many years ago – because there was no way a Spartan could survive the punishment.

Sasuke managed to block another attack from Naruto, before dodging out of the way. Both boys looked worn out and unsure even as they continued to push their bodies to the limit, neither backing down.

Kakashi knew Sasuke was aware of the consequences if the state found out about his love for a fellow beast, and he was glad that Naruto seemed to be making it easier for Sasuke to resist the temptation.

But he wondered when both boys would break, because inevitably in their situation, they would.

And he wondered how he would protect Sasuke then.

The last light fell with the sun and then Iruka made his way out. He had spent the day in the forest, sitting beside a tree and waiting for sunset. In that time, he’d pondered where the helots were most likely to train, and he’d decided that the forest that ran along the valley and up mountains would be the best place to keep their operations hidden while they trained at night. Iruka also knew of places in the forest that not even the Krypteia entered on their weekly rounds. This was because these groves were unseen unless one really looked for them.

He knew where one such hidden space was because he had caught Naruto playing with his friends there when they were young and trying to shirk work. He suspected that Kiba and Chouji probably opened operations in one of those groves when they tried to gather a force for their rebellion.

Moonlight seeped to the forest floor and dappled the ground at Iruka’s feet, allowing him to move easily through the thick shrubbery. He re-found a path that lead back to a neighboring wheat field and followed it. It was a while before he made it to the forest’s edge, and then he crouched in wait. He knew that most of the helots would have to trek through the fields to enter the forest, and so he surveyed the tall stalks of wheat for any disturbance.

There was nothing for what seemed like hours and Iruka was beginning to doubt his instincts before he caught a rustle in the wheat stocks out of the corner of his eye. He watched the disturbance in the stalks as it moved toward the forest and he squinted his eyes when two helots stepped out where the crop line ended. It took him only a moment to recognize them as Kiba and the more heavyset Chouji. Iruka felt a pang of guilt and regret that he had been right. Since they were the first to arrive, it would seem that they were the leaders.

They slipped into the tree line and Iruka looked around to make sure more weren’t coming through the field, before following. He ran crouched forward along the tree line to their position, utilizing his hoplite training from years ago. He re-entered the forest cautiously, not knowing how far ahead they were. He spotted them only a few meters ahead, and hid behind a tree to peer around the trunk and mark where Kiba and Chouji were headed. They travelled in complete silence, Kiba leading the way. Iruka continued to follow them in this way for a while, before the two finally stopped at thick wall of trees.

Kiba pulled some overgrowth away with his hand. It looked as though he was parting a sheet or vegetation, and beyond it Iruka just managed to see the familiar space between the gnarled trees, just big enough for a person to cross through. Kiba and Chouji entered, but Iruka waited where he was, crouching low behind a bush.

Soon, more helots came and Iruka recognized some of them. They were close to silent, barely making a noise as their feet touched the forest floor. He noticed they were all carrying weapons. Some spears, some bows and arrows, and even some swords. Two of the helots, men who had worked in Tsunade’s field alongside Iruka, stopped and stood beside the opening to the hidden grove, on guard. Iruka began to keep count of the arrivals, and by the time the flow petered out, he had counted seven thousand one hundred forty three heads. That was less than half the size of the Spartan hoplite army.

No more arrived after that for a long time. So Iruka assumed that was the last of them. Quietly, he made his way around the grove, away from the guards and peered through a small opening between the trees. He saw the helots sparring with their weapons, and Kiba walked among them, critiquing their work. Iruka wondered what, if anything, Kiba knew about war techniques, but slowly he realized that the boy wasn’t bad. In fact, his instruction looked familiar. And then Iruka understood. They were Iruka’s hoplite lessons to Naruto, who then must have passed on the lessons to Kiba.

Iruka sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Everything was connected, and it would seem, everything was his fault.

Carefully, Iruka stepped away, only turning around and running through the forest when he was a safe distance away.

He ran along the forest line, before changing course to run through the field. He used the fastest possible route he knew of to get back to Tsunade’s house and impart the news. He ran up the rocky incline to the house and knocked on the front door, as it was night and he didn’t have any fear of being seen.

As usual, Tsunade was the one to open the door and let Iruka in.

“Report?” Jiraiya asked, as Iruka stepped in and Tsunade closed the door behind him. One candle was set on the table and its flickering light cast deeper shadows on Jiraiya’s weather worn face.

“Confirmed,” Iruka replied. “Kiba and Chouji are leading a helot revolt seven-thousand one-hundred forty-three heads strong.”

Jiraiya sat back in his chair and shared a look with his wife, who only looked saddened by the news as she stood beside him, arms crossed under her ample bosom.

“Then Pythia’s prophesy can be trusted,” Jiraiya murmured.

“Yes, Archon,” Iruka agreed.

“Then our next step is obvious.”

“Sir?” Iruka asked, noting how old Jiraiya suddenly looked as his expression took on the gravity of the world.

“Retrieve Naruto’s erastes,” Jiraiya ordered, the candle’s flame flickering with his breath. “Sasuke of Uchiha must learn our greatest secret.”

Sasuke awoke to the feel of someone’s hand pushing insistently into his shoulder. He looked up, eyesight compromised by sleep and the darkness of his surroundings, but after a moment, he was able to focus enough on Kakashi’s face.

“Come with me,” Kakashi spoke quietly.

Sasuke nodded obediently, wondering what was going on, but never questioning his herd leader as he followed the man out of the barracks and through the dim, lamp lit halls which led to the royal chambers. Kakashi remained silent the entire time, never even looking back to check if Sasuke was indeed following him.

Sasuke suddenly wondered if Kakashi was somehow taking him to see Naruto, but his hopes were dashed of this preposterous notion when Kakashi stopped in front of an opening in the hall, which led to the royal stables. Sasuke stopped at the threshold and turned to look up at Kakashi questioningly.

“Go on,” Kakashi murmured, flicking his wrist as if shooing Sasuke out the door.

Sasuke frowned, but he didn’t object, years of Spartan training engrained into his psyche. He stepped out into the night air, looking around for some sort of clue to what he should be doing. He looked back at Kakashi to see that the man was gone. Sasuke’s frown grew. Moments passed and he began to wonder if this wasn’t all a trick, or even some type of trap. Then he heard an unfamiliar voice come from the spot beside him, and he very admirably kept himself from jumping out of his skin.

“Sasuke of Uchiha, come with me.”

Sasuke turned toward the voice to see a man who looked about Kakashi’s age, maybe a little younger, standing there and watching him. The man had a scar across the bridge of his nose and he was shorter than Kakashi, with a slimmer build. He was wearing the tunic of a helot. He also wore a strange expression as he looked down on Sasuke, as if he knew who he was and didn’t know whether to trust him or not.

Somehow the man looked familiar, but Sasuke couldn’t quite place him.

“I finally get to see Naruto’s erastes up close,” he murmured, almost low enough to be heard by his ears only.

This man seemed to know Naruto, which made Sasuke suspicious. Just who was this helot?

The man in question must have seen Sasuke’s confused expression, because the man quickly explained. “Archon Jiraiya requests your presence.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened a bit. He couldn’t understand what the archon would want with him. He’d had no idea the archon had even known who he was. A similar feeling of suspicion to the one he’d felt when Tsunade had looked at him the other day as though she knew him crawled up his spine, but he bit his tongue.

“Follow me,” the man continued a bit awkwardly, before walking passed Sasuke toward the stables.

Sasuke hesitated before complying, finding the man in the stables, and waiting at the threshold as the man chose a horse.

“The journey won’t be long on horseback,” the man stated, as if in explanation. Then he pulled two horses toward the paddock, handing one dappled horse’s reins to Sasuke.

Sasuke suddenly wondered where the archon was, and why he wasn’t in Sparta. It wasn’t normal for an archon of Sparta to be outside of the city walls unless he was the strategos of a war and there were no wars right now. At least, not any that he knew of.

The man mounted his animal and Sasuke followed suit, curiosity piqued despite himself. He followed the man around the paddock once to warm up the horses, before they both left the paddock and came to the river bank. Sasuke followed the man across the shallow river and through the mountain pass on the other side.

It was cold, and Sasuke’s naked skin covered itself in goose bumps as they rode faster and faster through the night. The horse was warm though, and Sasuke unconsciously leaned into its body to soak up the heat as he rode. It was the first time since he had entered the agoge that he had been this far away from it. The geography was just as dramatic as he’d remembered it, but this time the moon provided the only light, casting every rock, every mountainside in a blue florescent light. When the mountain pass ended, the land opened up into endless fields. The sight reminded him of his mother and her home, and for the first time in a long time, he felt nostalgic.

They rode through the fields, some of the crops rubbing against Sasuke’s feet as they passed through. Then they rode upward and Sasuke could see a house at the top of the hill. The man headed straight toward it and dismounted at a door in front. Sasuke followed suit and the man knocked once on the door.

The door opened to reveal the archon’s wife, Tsunade. Sasuke saluted automatically, and she merely nodded, her gaze calculating. He stepped back and he followed the man into her house. When he heard the door close behind him, Sasuke noticed the archon sitting at a table with a single candle lighting his features.

“Sasuke of Uchiha,” Jiraiya stated.

Sasuke saluted again, his pose stiff and back straight.

“At ease.” Jiraiya nodded. Sasuke complied by standing, gait widened and arms held behind his back.

Sasuke could feel the man behind him, leaning against the wall by a window, and Tsunade took a seat beside her husband to watch Sasuke as well.

“You may be wondering why you’re here, Sasuke of Uchiha,” Jiraiya began, sipping from a small bronze cup.

That was an understatement, but Sasuke remained silent, watching the archon and waiting for him to continue.

“The Oracle told me to include you in our little operation,” Jiraiya continued, almost looking amused with something he said. “But before I tell you what she wants me to tell you, you must swear to me on your life that you will not impart this information to anyone else. “

Sasuke felt confused, his heart beating strongly within his breast at the implications of the archon’s words. He felt as though he was about to hear something very important; something that would answer all of his recent questions. He nodded slowly, “Yes sir.”

Jiraiya continued to gaze at him, as if he was gauging whether or not he could trust him at his word, before he finally relented, nodding in return.

“Then I have a story to tell you. Sit.” Jiraiya pointed at one of the stone chairs across from him.

Sasuke hesitated, as it was against Spartan law for an agoge student to sit in front of an archon, but Jiraiya seemed insistent. So he complied, sitting down carefully. He waited for Jiraiya to continue.

“Some time ago,” Jiraiya paused. “Sixteen years ago, in fact. Two Archons of Sparta died in battle, both without a suitable heir. One was heirless and the other had a baby boy, hardly of age to take on one of the thrones.”

Sasuke wondered where this was going. He already knew of the two archons who had died, Archon Sarutobi and Archon Uzumaki had both been killed by the Persians in battle, and Archon Uzumaki’s infant son had died that same night in the archon’s burning home. This was how both Archon Jiraiya and Archon Orochimaru had been nominated to take the thrones.

“There were only two contenders to fill the roles as the next archons, one was me,” Jiraiya said, pointing at himself. “And one was Orochimaru. Orochimaru had plenty of support in the council of elders.”

Sasuke began to feel his excitement wane. He already knew all of this.

“I, however, had more support than he did. So he was nominated to watch over the post of the one remaining heir to Uzumaki’s throne, and when that infant grew to the age of eighteen, Orochimaru would relinquish the crown. “

Sasuke nodded. He knew this. He began to wonder why Jiraiya was telling him this.

“But I, and a few of my loyal followers, including your father,” Jiraiya gestured toward Sasuke, and Sasuke’s eyes widened. “ Knew that Orochimaru was dangerous and would do anything for power. We knew that Uzumaki’s son’s life was in danger.”

“So we devised a plan, and Iruka here,” Jiraiya gestured toward the man behind Sasuke. “He and your father carried it out. “

Sasuke was riveted now. Although he tried not to show it, struggling to keep his face a mask of mild interest.

“The plan was to take the infant and burn the house,” Jiraiya continued. “Making it seem as though the baby had died in the fire. Then Iruka would take the infant to Artemis’s temple and bless him, before bringing him to Messenia and raising him as a helot.

“It was for his protection,” Jiraiya stated, the edges of his mouth pulling into a frown. “He was meant to live in anonymity, away from Orochimaru’s dangerous influence, until he grew to be of age and we could orchestrate our coup.

“But in his sixteenth year, our plan was foiled…”

Sasuke was struggling to keep his expression neutral, like a Spartan should in front of his archon, but his hands were in fists and the knuckles were turning white. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His mind pieced together all the facts to one stunning conclusion, but he found it hard to accept.

The archon’s heir, the Spartan heir to the throne who grew up a helot in order to hide from Orochimaru’s wrath…it could only be one person…

“Naruto…” Sasuke whispered, unable to remain silent in his shock.

Jiraiya only nodded.

Iruka came forward to stand beside Sasuke’s chair and Sasuke realized exactly where he had seen the helot before. At the Hyakinthia festivals with Naruto.

“Naruto doesn’t know who he is or his important lineage, of course,” Jiraiya stated. “It was for his protection, until the time was right.”

To think that the entire time, Naruto was of royal blood, an heir to one of the highest ranking blood lines in Sparta, and he didn’t even know it. Sasuke didn’t know what to think. He had grown up meeting the loud-mouthed, brash Naruto at the Hyakinthia festivals, thinking that he was the lowest of the low. A helot who knew nothing of Spartan society, but who seemed to want to be part of it so badly, he’d try to prove himself in any way he could. To think that Naruto shouldn’t have had to try at all. It was in his blood all along.

“I nominated you his erastes in order to protect him,” Jiraiya added. “Being connected to a noble Spartan such as you would keep Naruto in the walls of the agoge, but Orochimaru can still influence Naruto without taking him out of the agoge entirely.”

“Does Orochimaru know?” Sasuke asked, deciding to forget protocol for just this moment.

“No,” Jiraiya replied. “And we hope to keep it that way. He has suspicions, I’m sure, but he certainly isn’t aware of who Naruto truly is. Otherwise, Naruto would be in a lot more danger.”

“How is your bond with Naruto?” Tsunade asked. Her expression was slightly accusing, and suddenly Sasuke understood the expression entirely.

He hesitated. He certainly wasn’t going to tell them everything, but there were things he could say without incriminating himself or Naruto.

“Ever since Orochimaru reinstated his patronage, Naruto has been belligerent with me,” Sasuke stated, keeping his voice as monotone as possible.

“As I suspected.” Jiraiya nodded. “Orochimaru is manipulating Naruto against me and my supposed allies, including you.”

“But I’d like to know how he’s doing it,” Iruka added. “After all, it isn’t easy for Naruto to get angry enough to hold a grudge that lasts more than a few hours. He’s just not the type.”

Sasuke remembered what had sparked off their argument before Naruto had been taken away by Orochimaru that first night, and all the misunderstandings before that. He remembered how angry Naruto was that he didn’t understand anything that was going on.

“I don’t think it would be that hard,” Sasuke stated.

“How so?” Iruka seemed more than a little offended, as if Sasuke was besmirching Naruto’s honor.

“Naruto doesn’t know very much about Spartan law or culture,” Sasuke replied, unable to keep the accusation out of his tone as he gazed back at Iruka. “It would be easy for Orochimaru to lie to him and Naruto wouldn’t know the difference.”

“Of course he didn’t know everything,” Iruka snapped back testily. “I was raising him as a helot. To tell him any more than I did would look suspicious.”

“Now, now, Iruka,” Jiraiya commented, holding his hands up in a calming gesture. “Calm down. We did the right thing.”

“He should have been told,” Sasuke murmured, before he looked about the table accusatorily. He suddenly felt angry for Naruto. He knew Naruto would have wanted to know. He knew that the one thing Naruto hated more than anything else was being kept in the dark or lied to. Sasuke had learned that lesson after their last argument. And Sasuke couldn’t blame him. If he was in Naruto’s situation, after everything he’d gone through, he would be frustrated too. He would want answers. “Everything.”

“No,” Iruka retorted. “Definitely not. Naruto would have been in danger.”

“Too late,” Sasuke replied, struggling to keep his voice even and calm. “He’s in danger now.”

If Naruto had known about Orochimaru and his dangerous past than Naruto would have had the sense to never enter the agoge in the first place. If Naruto had been taught about his past then he never would have felt as though he’d have to prove himself all the time. If he’d been taught about Spartan laws and customs then Naruto would have never made the mistake of kissing Sasuke two nights ago. Sasuke would never have had to deal with forbidden feelings for his eromenos that could get them both killed.

Sasuke’s eyes suddenly widened in realization. Naruto didn’t know about the laws, which meant that he could have easily told Orochimaru about the kiss. If this was true, Orochimaru could have Naruto killed at any time.

“We had no other choice,” Tsunade said, shaking her head.

“Naruto had no choice at all,” Sasuke stated coldly, his voice almost shaking. “And he could die because of it.”

Sasuke stood up abruptly, but didn’t forget his training as he saluted both the archon and his wife, before stepping out the front door into the moonlight. He had to get back and warn Naruto – protect him somehow.

A hand gripped his shoulder before he could get too far.

It was Iruka. “Where are you going?”

“To tell Naruto the truth,” Sasuke replied, looking over his shoulder at the man behind him with a cold expression.

“You swore not to tell anyone…”

“Naruto will die if I don’t,” Sasuke interrupted. “That’s all I care about.”

He waited until the hand finally left his shoulder before moving forward to mount his horse.

He rode away as fast as he could, never looking back.

Iruka entered the house again, anxious and frustrated. “I hate that boy.”

“It’s exactly as Pythia prophesized,” Tsunade replied, sounding remarkably calm.

Iruka sent her a confused look.

“Knowledge is the fruit of salvation,” Tsunade quoted. “Seek an ally from the pair…”

“Plant a seed…” Jiraiya continued, smiling slightly.

“And the babe of Artemis will here you,” Iruka finished in a whisper.

Unbeknownst to the three occupants of the room, they were not alone. A girl with pink hair was crouched on the other side of the wall, one delicate hand covering her slightly open mouth.

AN: That took longer to write than I thought it would, but I’m glad I did. Thoughts?