The Bastard

A/N: Ok there is a bit of the lemon in the first section, before the scene divider and it might be good for those who are offended to read after the (Lemon ends) warning. That last paragraph is funny as well as pertinent to the rest of the story.

And here we have Kiara back, but do not worry; Sasuke is not girly in this at all. Except maybe when he plays Kiara, but even so…you’ll see what I mean. Enjoy then! Oh yeah one more, thing. I know Naruto has died his hair, but you all know who I’m talking about when I say blond and I usually type it automatically, cos he is blond even though technically he has chestnut hair in this chappie!

Chapter 11:

Sasuke was staring at the man slack jawed. He’s collapsed onto his bed, unconsciously moving until his back hit the wall. He just sat there unmoving; it was as though he couldn’t comprehend what was going on. Naruto sat down in front of him and reached out to cup his face.

“Sasuke? Are you still there Sasuke? Or have you gone off into some sort of fantasy land?” Naruto grinned at him.

“Stop grinning, you fool! I was wondering if I had heard right…did you just say you loved me? But why?” Sasuke asked him, giving him a cold glare.

Naruto put on a serious face. “I said it because if I had not, you would have cut off your hair again! And I like you hair…” then Naruto laughed and threw an arm around the brunette. “You are being idiotish Uchiha! I love you because you’re you. You are the only one who can make me really angry and also the only on who can make me laugh and be myself…what more should I say?”

The Earl was silent as if mulling it all over in his mind. Then he looked at Naruto, the look in his eye making the blond man recoil and actually move a bit backwards. Naruto stuttered. “S…Sasuke?”

(Lemon begins)

Then there were two hands on his collar and a hot mouth on his. Before the blond knew what was happening the Uchiha was sitting atop him, his tongue merrily sparring with his own. With every slide that the Earl’s tongue made against his, a little more of the Captain’s consciousness went with it. Naruto fought to hang on to his mind, which was turning into mashed potatoes. But then the crafty Earl began to unbutton the black shirt, trailing soft kisses down his neck, a cool hand resting on his chest.

Naruto moaned and licked his lips. “Sasuke….” He breathed. The Uchiha looked at him with the old smirk. He loved that Naruto was moaning his name so. It should teach the idiot, that as lovely as he might look in a dress, there was no way he was going to let the blond inside him, without having taken the blond a few times first. He would not be the lady in the relationship and that was final.

Sasuke Uchiha was a man who did not forgive easily. He was a little vengeful and would take revenge when the opportunity presented itself. And seeing the Captain lying at his mercy, he could not help smiling. He continued to kiss the Captain, leaving a trail of his saliva, down that beautiful tanned chest. He stopped at one brown nipple and decided it looked lonely without anything to give it company.

Naruto’s eyes shot wide open and he yelped as the Uchiha’s mouth descended on his nipple. The things that the Earl was doing to him were completely new, he had never given himself time for these things and yes he had kissed women before, but they didn’t have this effect on him. The dark haired man on the other hand was busy sucking at the brown bud until he was satisfied that it couldn’t get any tighter. Then he moved to the other one, enjoying Naruto’s gasps and cries. He licked his way lower, moving to dip his tongue in the man’s belly button (again I couldn’t think of another word). His skilled fingers quickly undid the buttons of the Captain’s pants and pulled then halfway down.

Then Sasuke took a moment to regard the rather impressive erection his love was sporting. He reached out and rubbed the tip with his thumb, experimentally. The way Naruto arched right off the bed, assured him that it felt good. He slid his palm over the straining flesh and began to move it up and down, again experimenting with different speeds and strokes. Then he bent down and gave it a lick.

Naruto screamed out Sasuke’s name and thrust upwards a few times. “Please Sasuke, do not stop there!” the Uchiha got the hint and engulfed the manhood in front of him, wrinkling his nose at the taste. Common sense told him to hold the Captain’s hips down if he didn’t want to be suffocated. He tried everything from licking to kissing and laving at the slit with his tongue.

(Lemon ends) (Just a sentence of it continues…but it’s needed.)

Naruto was moaning and making erotic but incoherent noises, when suddenly the silky warmth was gone. He whimpered at the cold hair that he felt down there and looked at Sasuke who had moved to the table. He looked at the man confused. “Sasuke, what…?”

Sasuke smiled in amusement. “Well, I thought you would like to know what I felt like Uzumaki. After the little stunt you pulled in the morning…you felt me with a ‘problem’ shall we say? And I am a vengeful creature, so I am sorry I guess you will have to take care of yourself for now…”

And with that Sasuke walked out of the room, with a smile. As he walked away a scream echoed through the inn. “YOU BASTARD!!!”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They were discussing things once more and again Sasuke refused to be Kiara. It was all Naruto could do, not to punch the man hard. “Could you stop acting like a stubborn mule, Uchiha and just do as we say? Either that or you sit here and wait for us…”

“Could you stop ordering me about, Captain? Or are you angry about last night? I can assure you that it might not happen again. I just want to try another disguise…” Sasuke gazed nonchalantly at the blond.

“Who do you want to be? My mother? Or a servant?” Naruto growled, feeling embarrassed that last night was being brought up in front of the other men.

Sasuke pursed one corner of his lips deep in thought. “No I wouldn’t want to be your mother; it would be too mortifying to have brought up such an ungrateful brat! People would think I had not taught you any manners! And I wouldn’t be able to have my way with you, if I thought of myself as your mother!”

Naruto spluttered trying to think of a ruse reply, but nothing came to mind. Iruka was covering with smile with one hand and Kakashi was giving a cough that sounded suspiciously like a giggle. Then Kakashi sobered a bit more and looked at Sasuke seriously.

“Do you have any other ideas Sasuke? I would send you as a jester, but unfortunately they are not hiring one for this party. And I cannot send you as a butler or servant, because Haku and Zabuza will know who you are. You do not want to dye your hair. So why do you not agree to be ‘Kiara’ for two hours?” Kakashi asked him.

Sasuke thought about it. “All right, but only two hours. It is not that I don’t want to save Konohamaru, but I will not stay in skirts for longer than two hours. I will wear breeches underneath the skirts in order to be able to fight and Naruto will be obliging enough to bring an extra sword or dagger. Kakashi you will put it in a place that only I know about and can reach it, in case of imminent danger. If we follow those rules, then I might consider being ‘Kiara’ after this as well, if the situation merits it.”

Naruto wanted to yell. He wanted to yell, because he really was angry with the Uchiha for last night and for acting like a brat. He had thought that the Uchiha was not like a brat but he seemed capable of acting like one, when he deemed it necessary it seemed.

Kakashi agreed. “That sounds all right. Now coming to Iruka and I, Iruka will be trimming his hair some, dying it black…and I well, I will be myself. The last time, neither Haku nor Zabuza got a good look at me. But then again, Iruka will be working in the kitchens and I will only come out once when no one is around to hide your rapier and once when you’re there to tell you where it is. Then we will follow the plan we concocted yesterday.”

Sasuke nodded at that and then smiled. “So the party is tomorrow? What is the reason for it, Uzumaki?”

Naruto looked up at him. “Well…I don’t really know why they are having the party, but…”

Kakashi smiled. “Well, it’s the anniversary of the King’s Coronation. The sixth apparently. I cannot believe that King Gatou has actually reigned for that long!”

“Oh well, they get him to abdicate, if Zabuza is defeated… I hope I get the chance to defeat him tomorrow.” Naruto grinned ferally, before deciding he was hungry and walking out the door.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke dabbed a little more pink lip colour onto his lips and glanced at himself in the mirror. This time he was wearing another off shoulder dress in light green, the colour of grass. It had some kind of elastic so it caught at his shoulders easily with sleeves that were just an inch wide. Then it tightened at his waist and fanned out into a huge skirt. This would help hide his breeches which he had rolled up to his knees. He wore a piece of dark green ribbon around his neck and pretty green dangling earring. A green clip held up his hair which had been coaxed and twisted on top of his head.

There was a knock and Naruto entered. Thankfully, he didn’t gape or stare like he had been wont to do. He just smiled. “You look lovely…shall we get going?”

Sasuke smiled, he actually liked the fact that the blond wasn’t paying attention to his dress. “Yes, I am finished. So how are we going?”

“Carriage. Kakashi bespoke a carriage for us. He said we were to capture and hold everyone’s attention until Iruka raises the alarm. Do you think we can manage that?” Naruto asked him as he led him out to the door.

“Of course we can! Who do you think we are? We’re the best actors in all the world!” Sasuke smiled, actually making it look real.

They got to the castle in a short while. Many people were milling about, not too many Englishmen though, most tended to be wary about the Spanish king. The footman cam up asking their titles and names in order to announce them through.

“Naruto grinned. “I’m Mr. Philip Locksley and this is my fiancée lady Elizabeth Morland.” He ignored the scandalized look Sasuke was giving him.

As the footman made he announcement, Sasuke leaned closer to Naruto. “That’s absurd…it would have been better say I’m your wife! A fiancée wouldn’t be here without a chaperon!”

Naruto winked. “But, my dear we’re running away from England, because we want to get married. And we could say we didn’t run to Gretna Green because your father knew we might do that….so Spain was the best option….”

Sasuke pouted slightly. “You always make me out to be someone disrespectable! Couldn’t you come up with something better than Elizabeth?”

Naruto just laughed and plunged into the crowd, noting how Sasuke’s hand on his arm tightened. They made a point to look a little lost, so someone could offer to help them. Sure enough someone came up tapping Naruto on his shoulder.

“You look lost, may I be of any assistance?” said a soft voice and Naruto found himself facing Haku. Luckily for him, a lot of English men had bright blue eyes with all sorts of hair, so his hair was enough of a disguise.

“Yes, we are new here, arrived just a while ago. My fiancée Elizabeth did so want attend this ball. But we have no acquaintances…” Naruto gave him a charming smile. “I’m Philip Locksley, by the by.”

Haku gave him a sweet smile, reminding Naruto of their times aboard the Nine Tails and feel a pang of hurt. “You do make a charming couple… where might I ask, is your chaperon, my lady? An aunt perhaps?”

‘Elizabeth’ blushed. “That is… oh dear…well can you keep a secret?”

Haku nodded, looking a little curious and Elizabeth continued. “Well we are on the run, if I might use the term. We couldn’t possibly marry at Gretna Green because my father had people awaiting us there. You see the Locksley family and mine do not get along! It is about some old time family feud and we, Philip and I fell in love….since my father has relations in France, we were forced to flee here, to Spain.”

Haku clucked sympathetically. “Oh, I see. Well, you would do to be a bit careful, since we do have English folk around. How silly of me! I’ve forgotten to present myself. I’m Haku.”

Elizbeth smiled. “Haku?”

The older man caught the question in her eyes. “Well, yes. Just Haku. I was an orphan… I still do not know who my parents are and well, the last name the orphanage gave me was never remembered since Haku was adequate.”

Elizabeth’s eyes widened and she sighed. “I am so very sorry for asking.”

Philip smiled jovially placing an arm around his fiancée. “Yes, my Elizabeth tends to let her tongue run away with her sometimes. Do forgive her bluntness…”

Haku shook his head. “T’is all right. Now won’t you dance? I am sure you will meet new people by the time you finish. General Zabuza is a little busy but he will meet you as well…”

The couple smiled and nodded waiting for the next song to start. Sasuke spotted Kakashi. The man’s eyes darted once towards a suit of armor and there was the merest flick of his finger towards it as well, before he served some guests and disappeared. Sasuke kept smiling at Naruto, steering him to the dance floor as the song began.

They began dancing, once again it was easy, both knowing the other well and Sasuke letting himself be led. They danced gracefully, far more perfect than the other dancers save for a few. Once more they took up the whole dance floor, almost forcing the other dancers to move away. They did this deliberately; though they gave the impression that they were lost to the world, save for each other.

Haku looked up to see Zabuza watching them as well; they made a fine couple he thought. Moving so perfectly, so much in love. He wondered what else the girl was accomplished in…maybe he could ask her to sing for them, or a few more dances like these would not be so bad.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the meanwhile, Iruka put away his apron and stretched. One the maids smiled at him. “Well, Cook. Ya’d better leave…ya lookin tir’d. “

Iruka smiled back. “Yes of course. I will go home now, my wife will be waiting. Uh…Lord Zabuza asked me to take some bread and water for a little boy in the dungeons… has it been done all ready?”

The maid frowned a bit. “No it has’n. We all bin busy t’ guests… Ya’d better feed t’ lil’ twerp b’ fore ya leave…”

Iruka nodded. “I think I shall do just that. Thank you Fanny…”

Then Iruka slipped out the door and made his way to the entrance to the dungeons. After a few minutes, Kakashi joined him and they proceeded with caution. Kakashi shoved Iruka against the wall and leaned a bit to see around the curve, there were two guards standing there. Kakashi pulled out a small sling he’d been carrying and watched as Iruka did the same. Then they both placed a stone in it and burst out suddenly shooting them with perfectly accurate aim. The guard fell over even before they saw the two men.

Kakashi walked ahead, scouting out the rest of the passage. Then he turned to Iruka. “Obviously they weren’t expecting Naruto to come down here… there don’t seem to be many guards… or maybe there was supposed to be a change in their shifts.”

Iruka nodded, still wary. It seemed too easy! That was the right track to take because suddenly Kakashi started running forwards to go crashing into someone. There was a loud noise as the armored knight was bowled over. Iruka wondered how to help, but Kakashi was shouting for him to go ahead carefully.

He sped past the grappling men, pulling on of the torches off the wall. Luckily he had the keys to the cell with him, and more luckily no one else turned up. He unlocked the door, one handed and undid the bolts. Here was a huddled figure sitting in the corner of the cell. Iruka shone the light of the torch on him, it was thankfully Konohamaru. He smiled at the boy and whispered urgently. “Konohamaru?”

“Iruka? That rally ya?” the boy stood up looking joyful. Iruka shushed him. “Kakashi’s fighting at the corridor; I must get you out of here. Come with me!” He grabbed the boy’s hand and snuck out, trying to find the sewer entrance as fast as possible.

Kakashi staggered as the blow hit him in the stomach. He blocked the next one and slammed the other man against the wall. The armor protected the man, Kakashi growled as he pulled a knife out from the man’s belt. He kicked the man hard, using the knife to cut strap holding the armor in place. The metal clanged onto the floor. Kakashi gutted the man as hard as he could in his stomach, pulling the knife upwards in a slash. The man howled, punched Kakashi hard, making star burst in front of the gray haired man’s eyes.

Kakashi backed away as the large man lumbered forward clutching his stomach, sword held out threateningly in front of him. The valet’s eyes flew around finally settling on the armor that had fallen. He lunged for the armor, as the sword came down in an arc catching him on the arm. Kakashi grit his teeth, picking up the metal and hit the man on the head, bringing him crashing down into oblivion.

That done, the man leaned against the wall for support, he ripped of the sleeve of his shirt, using the less bloodied part to tie up his wound. Then he forged on ahead.

Iruka looked around warily. He’d found the entrance at last and if Kakashi didn’t get here, there was no way he’d be able to notify Naruto and Sasuke! They’d just have to wait until the party ended and until it was time to leave. He heard footsteps and readied himself meaning to attack if it was an enemy. He gasped as he saw Kakashi arm red with blood, staggering towards him.

Iruka decided what had to be done. They had no choice but to leave with Konohamaru and trust that Naruto and Sasuke could make it out on their own. He slipped an arm around Kakashi’s waist, making the older man lean on him and then caught Konohamaru’s other hand, proceeding to lead them out of there. He closed his eyes for a second, praying hard that the other two might get out safely.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Haku watched as Philip sang and Elizabeth played the piano. She was very good at it as he was at singing. Though, Haku frowned, this Philip’s singing seemed to be familiar…. A lot of the guests had left, a few still remained scattered about, mostly couples, trying to catch a moment for themselves away from their mama’s eyes.

Suddenly a servant burst in screaming. “ATTACK! There’s been an attack! The dungeons! The boy’s gone and Sir Raoul is unconscious!”

The moment they said that Haku caught sight of the English couple moving to the door, everything made sense suddenly. He smiled and yelled out to them. “Captain Uzumaki! Lord Uchiha! What a pleasant surprise!”

The two turned to look at him; it was as though they were expecting this all ready. King Gatou who was settled on his throne watching the crowd, howled in rage! “Get them!”

At once the Uchiha toe his skirt off, to reveal rolled up breeches. He sprang towards the armor pulling out a rapier and looking around determinedly. Haku almost growled, looking at the Uchiha made him angry and anger was an emotion Haku rarely felt.

The two men stood back to back, watching the soldiers every move. Zabuza’s lip curled as he saw he soldiers Gatou had commanded. A man like Naruto who could defeat some of the king’s greatest general’s would make short work of these measly little soldiers. But then, they would tire him out, making him easy prey for Zabuza.

Naruto grinned ferally, enjoying the moment, wondering if he could murder Gatou as well…then they attacked. Haku watched as the watched as they moved easily, not getting in each other’s way. There was grace to this as well, almost like they could read each other’s minds. But this did nothing to quell the anger, Haku felt. He loved Zabuza, but Naruto was still the person he’d shared almost all of his childhood with. They’d been friends since they were ten, they’d met in Bordeaux…when Naruto was with the Hyuuga’s desperately trying to make something of himself, so he could support his sister without relying on anyone else.

The once blond twisted easily blocking an oncoming lunge and driving his rapier through the soldier. His eyes met Haku’s briefly and he turned away, pain filling his chest once more. He’d met Haku when the other man was a street urchin, barely alive. He’d been eating an apple which he offered to the waif with big brown eyes. The boy had eaten it quickly and looked for more. He had taken the boy to his home and the Hyuuga’s had agreed to give him a meal in the kitchen. They never been apart since, but when Haku had confessed his feelings, Naruto had been more than a little revolted. He loved Haku as a friend and brother, besides his Christian feelings had gotten in way! He had needed time to overcome his anger, but by then Haku had left. The n time he saw the man was on board a Spanish ship siding with a General named Zabuza! He’d never been given the chance to explain to Haku. With Sasuke it was different, Naruto had returned the Earl’s feelings… he saw the last soldier coming towards him.

Haku watched the last soldier run towards Naruto. The blond blocked and parried with lightning speed maneuvering the man into a position where Uchiha could attack. The Uchiha swung his sword slashing the man right across, deep enough to kill him instantly. Then thy both stood panting very slightly, but not by any means out of breath.

Haku and Zabuza came forward. Haku saw Gatou run through the door, leaving the battle to them. He could never understand why no one had killed Gatou yet. Haku turned to the Uchiha who still had the green choker and top half of the dress on. “You look very beautiful in a dress, Uchiha!”

Sasuke glared at him, but gave a mirthless smile. “Why thank you, Haku. You would too!”

The long haired man growled, Sasuke moved quickly drawing him away from Naruto and the general. Haku grinned; “This time, I do not feel like using swords!” he brought out needles. “Let’s see you dodge this Uchiha!” He flicked his hand, sending the needles flying at Sasuke. Sasuke blocked a few with a sweep of his sword, but one of them grazed him. He flew at Haku, who only moved backwards and ran to the left throwing a few more needles, but this time in random directions.

Sasuke who knew he couldn’t dodge all of the, used his sword as a shield, still moving towards Haku. Hen he had an idea, every time Haku threw, Sasuke leaped into the air swinging his sword at the same time, evading and blocking the needles. He wondered how long this could continue.

Naruto was in a body lock with Zabuza and the bigger man was trying to force him onto the ground. He dropped rolling away just in time to miss the sword, which cu through where his head had been. He leapt to his feet and away, bringing his sword up in and arc trying to catch Zabuza by surprise. The general blocked at move as well, lunging to gut the Captain in his chest, but the blond man dodged and swung his sword. The two swords clanged against each other as they met with force. They swung again and again, when Zabuza suddenly kicked Naruto in the stomach, making him fall forwards in pain.

The Uzumaki bit his lips and stood in time to stop the sword from slicing his head off. He grunted as his stomach hurt as he jumped backwards avoiding Zabuza’s sword which seemed to relentlessly beat him back towards the wall.

Finally Haku was forced to pull out his own sword and fight the Uchiha seriously. They met in forceful swings, each trying to disarm the other. Sasuke was angry… he wanted this to be over with, so he could just go home with Naruto. He began a the tiger pattern of attacks, but Haku blocked an parried, it was like they were back in the practice rooms only with an actual killing intent.

Sasuke grit his teeth and wondered how to disarm the man and help Naruto. He thought about the different patterns of attacks and finally decided to merge the swallow pattern with that of the lion. He began by falsely lading Haku to believe he was going to use the whole pattern of the swallow, but finished off using the last complex move of the lion. The sword flew out of Haku’s hand, Sasuke’s sword snaking up to meet his throat and Sasuke hesitated.

Haku’s hands had fallen to his side. “Kill me, Earl of Andover. I no longer deserve to live if I cannot keep you occupied and protect General Zabuza, as I am supposed to…”

“Don’t act like a nincompoop! We are only here to save Konohamaru! We don’t mean to kill you, unless we meet aboard another ship!” Sasuke said roughly, wondering why he did not just slash the man’s throat.

“But this is a battle, if you do not kill me, then I will stop you from helping the Captain…he will be forced to fight Zabuza on his own… he might get injured once more, now that the general has seen his move thrice…kill me!” Haku gripped the sword determinedly.

Naruto was pressed against a wall, fighting for dear life. He dropped and punched Zabuza in the stomach and hen whirled around planting a kick in the man’s face. Zabuza staggered back wondering how Naruto had gotten so flexible. He tripped over on of the many bodies lying around and went over backwards. Naruto gave a triumphant shout.

Haku pulled Sasuke’s sword towards him, not minding the lade cutting into his palm, when he heard Naruto’s shout. He flung the blade away and sped towards his prone lover.

Naruto drew back his hand and drove the sword forwards feeling it bite into soft flash and hard bone. Then his eyes widened, he pulled his sword out, bring the impaled Haku staggering towards him, to collapse onto top of him. Naruto caught the body as he fell backwards, sitting up to turn Haku’s face towards him. “Haku!”

The older man just smiled, seemingly uninterested in the gapping wound on his right breast. He gasped a little, coughing up some blood. “Naruto…”

Naruto’s eyes filled, tears freely flowing down his cheeks. “I, I never meant to kill you… forgive me, Haku!”

The long haired man shook his head a little. “No, it is all right. I did it of my own free will. I am sorry I betrayed you… I still love you…you are my best friend…”

Naruto consumed by sadness did not see the larger man run at him, sword poised to take his head off. But Sasuke did and lunged forward sword out to run it through his throat. The man gasped and fell to the ground gurgling. Haku watched as his love fell to the ground.

“Put me down next to him, Naruto…”

Naruto did so and watched as his best friend slipped his hand into his lovers. Though Zabuza’s life was fast fading, he managed to look into Haku’s eyes conveying love, before his eyes darkened forever. Haku smiled too, closing his eyes and giving into darkness.

Naruto stood staring at them, his knees threatening to give way. He sobbed silently, wondering what to now that his greatest enemy and dearest friend were gone.

Sasuke grabbed the Captain and threw him over his shoulder. The man remained limp, letting the Uchiha run to the stables as fast as he could. Thankfully for Sasuke, most of the soldiers had come to attack them in the ball room; he was able to sneak into the stables with no trouble. He picked a horse and made sure it still had its reins. He didn’t have time to saddle it. He swung the blue-eyed man onto it and leaped on. Taking a hold of the reins he nudged the horse with his heels to make to go. He galloped though the gates, leaning low, using his elbows to hold Naruto in place. The man seemed o have lost consciousness. He made it to the inn and was greeted by Kakashi and Iruka who were standing outside with the horses already addled and ready. Kakashi took Sasuke’s horse, while Iruka helped him ie Naruto onto his own horse. Then Sasuke heaved Konohamaru onto the other one and the party left in a fast trot. Sasuke managed to remove the green top and choker, more content to just be bare-chested.

They rode all night, during which the Captain didn’t stir. Nobody spoke after Sasuke told them what had occurred. Iruka cried, for he had known Haku very well. Finally they reached a near by village, and asked for shelter. It was a village against Gatou…so they were helped readily.

Sasuke let himself into Naruto’s room before collapsing on the bed next to the blond. He did not bother to change into more appropriate attire as he was too tired. I just hope we can make it to the ship without any more tragedies! And then he was asleep.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: as you all know this story as been nominated for the TONFA awards in the Best Alternate Reality category. So please please Vote for me!! Link is in my profile!

Yeah so I hope you liked this long and difficult chapter. Sorry for the delay, I’ve been sick and college has begun with more work for me to do!! So please review…if I don’t get more than fifteen reviews for this, I’m not going to complete it! Did I scare you? Nah… I’ll complete it anyway! Ja ne!

Taka