AN: Originally I had a prologue for this story, but as I type this first chapter I just found myself explaining things all over again in what I thought was a more interesting way, and so I decided to scrap the prologue and jump right in. I'm always happy to clear up any questions that you may have, and if you think that a descriptive prologue of some sort will explain things better, please let me know.
This story is an obvious AU and Non-Massacre. For this story Itachi is 21 and an ANBU Captain. Sasuke, Naruto, Sai, and Sakura are all 16 and have all VERY recently reached the status of Jounin.
I hope you all enjoy and that I don't confuse you too terribly!
Chapter One: A Whole New World
"Do you think she'll be hot?" Naruto asked, fidgeting endlessly as he waited with Cell 7 for the ship carrying their princess to enter the harbor.
"Naruto…you're already in a relationship…with a man. I don't think her attractiveness should really matter to you," Sakura pointed out dryly, rolling her eyes.
"I can still appreciate beauty, Sakura-chan," Naruto responded hastily, beginning to pace in front of the group.
"Careful Dickless, I may get jealous and have to kill our new princess before she ever even sees her village," Sai commented from his position on his back. He was lying on top of the railing the other three ninja were leaning against.
"Like I care," Naruto responded with a shrug. "It's Baa-chan's position anyways and we shouldn't be giving it to some dumb outsider anyways, even if she is royalty. She probably didn't even know until they told her. Did your brother say anything about her, Teme."
"No. He told me it was classified since he was on a mission when he met her."
The whistle from the ship interrupted any further conversation and the shinobi widened their senses in case of enemy ninja as they watched the ship's crew lower the gang plank.
"Guess you'll find out about your question soon , Dobe," Sasuke finally responded to Naruto's earlier question as he adjusted his hitae-ate. Both he and Naruto, as well as Sakura had adopted to wearing them similar to belts, so that the metal banding dipped over their right thighs.
"She'd better be hot because she's got nothing else going for her. Probably some stupid, rich, spoiled brat that's never worked a day in her life. This royal family thing is complete bullshit!" Naruto ranted in response to his teammate. Sakura tried to interrupt by waving her hand in his face and calling out his name, but Naruto was on a roll and would not be deterred.
"I mean seriously. How long has it been since the royal family has even been across the borders that separate the worlds. At least a decade, that's how long. And then only as a little visit, nothing big. They left, gave up…why the fuck are we asking them to come back now? Kami it's going to suck babysitting some dumb bitch!"
"Tell me how you really feel," a quiet and unfamiliar voice was the only one to respond to Naruto, emanating from behind him. He looked to his pink-haired teammate at his front to see her arms crossed and foot tapping at him, irritation written all over her face. He stayed with his back to the girl, mentally cursing himself as his sensei (always sensei no matter how much they had progressed and how much he protested) greeted the voice.
"Ahh, Hime-Sama, welcome to the Shinobi Nations. It is your first visit, is it not?" Kakashi asked the girl as he bowed before her.
"Yes sir it is and thank you…" the girl responded in a quiet voice, the language obviously not her first. Her sentence trailed off, waiting for an introduction.
"Hatake Kakashi," he replied as he straightened. He then continued, "this is the rest of Cell 7, Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto, Sai, and Uchiha Sasuke. We were sent to escort you from the border to Fire Country." Kakashi paused and looked around a moment before continuing. "Did you come alone?" he asked, surprised she was sent without accompaniment.
"Um…yes, I came alone," the girl responded after a moment's pause, her expression clearly marking her discomfort. "You do last names first, right?" she asked after a moment.
Naruto burst out laughing before anyone else could respond, "Last names first! That makes no sense. Why would something that's last, go first? And you guys call me a baka!"
"That's because you are a baka, Dobe!" Sasuke replied quickly in time with Sakura's smack to his head before turning back to the princess. "Yes, family names are given before individual names."
"Thanks. So, I would be Perry Kiriyana. But you can just call me Kiri or KJ if you prefer, or anything else. It doesn't really matter to me. Also, if you could please talk a little bit slower. I've been learning this language for several years now, but I haven't had much practice," KJ requested, her voice still quiet and her eyes down.
"Of course, Hime-Sama. Shall we go and get your things?" Kakashi asked her, slowing his words just slightly to help her understand.
"I have everything I brought it my bag here," she replied, patting the tan messenger bag with the strap going diagonally across her chest. "And please don't call me Hime-Sama. A princes I might be, but I am well aware you do not hold me in any special regard," she requested, her eyes moving towards the blonde.
After a moment of silence and a strong jab from Sakura, Naruto moved forward and bowed before KJ, "I am deeply sorry about insulting you Hime-Sama. It won't happen again," he grumbled, eyes on the ground.
"Don't lie, it doesn't suit you. You should never apologize for things you aren't sorry for, anyways. You meant every word you said. If anything you are only sorry that I over-heard," she told him crisply, but a smile broke on her face quickly afterwards. "It's okay though. When I made the decision to accept the Elder's summons, I did not expect to come into warm welcoming arms and happy cheers from the crowds. I am aware that you don't want me here," KJ replied to his apology in her slow formed language, slipping on the words only a few times before finishing.
"Shall we begin our trip, Hime-Sama," Kakashi asked, ignoring the interaction between her and Naruto.
"Please don't call me Hime-Sama. And yes, I am ready. How long until we reach Konoha?"
"It's a day and half ride. We have a carriage ready for you, Hime-Sama," Sakura replied.
The girl only sighed in response and gestured that she was ready. Kakashi and Sakura led the way to where they had a carriage waiting, with Naruto and Sasuke following and Sai slipping away in the crowd to keep watch from a different angle.
"Here you are, Hime-Sama. It should be a fairly smooth ride in here for you. We will stop whenever you require for food or other such necessities, just let us know," Sakura informed her as the princess climbed into the carriage. The pink-haired kounichi shut the carriage door before the princess had a chance to respond and motioned for the driver to put the horses into motion. No one wanted to ride in with their new royalty.
"So, Naruto, does she meet your hotness standards?" Sakura asked teasingly as she walked next to her blonde friend, Sasuke on her other side.
"Why are you asking me, Sakura-chan. I'm gay, remember. I don't look at others," Naruto replied with wide, innocent eyes. Everyone knew his response had more to do with the artist-nin walking with his hand entwined with the blonde's own than Naruto's own honest assessment.
Sakura rolled her eyes before questioning his partner, "Well, Sai, what are your thoughts?"
"She's hideous." Which everyone also knew meant that he thought she was gorgeous for a girl. He had a bad habit of calling others the opposite of what he saw them as. Sai was his own special ray of sunshine.
"I'm sure Kakashi-sensei would agree with your assessment, however I refuse to even allow him to speak of it. My poor ears cannot stand his perversion."
"Sakura, I hear what you do with my brother at night…in the morning…pretty much all hours of the day. Don't play innocent here," Sasuke replied to her comments blandly, eyes never even straying towards her.
Sakura smacked Sasuke on the back of her head (barely restraining herself from adding chakra) as the color of her cheeks rivaled her hair.
"Who cares what she looks like? How are we going to get rid of her?" Sai asked, leaning forward to look down the line of people next to him, eyes glancing briefly to the top of the carriage in front of them where they all knew that Kakashi was listening to them, but was religiously reading his Icha Icha and pretending not to.
"We can't get rid of her. She's fucking royalty. She's going to lavish herself in luxury at our expense while we all wallow in misery. It's what stupid rich people like the teme here do," Naruto replied dramatically.
"Fuck off, Dobe. Regardless of that, we can't get rid of her, because if she renounces her title, the council gains power, not Tsunade. While I doubt she cares, it's in our best interest to keep her around for now. At least this way there is some small point of hope that we can figure a way out of this."
"We could just kill them all," Sai offered.
"And start a civil war that, even if it only lasted for a week, would open us up to outside attack? No way. There are still quite a few nin that would fight for the council if only because that is what they are trained to do. We would be the criminals in that case and would have to kill our comrades. We have to wait and see if there is a better way," Sakura replied strongly, fists clenching.
"It still sucks," Naruto replied, eyes down-cast.
"Hn," his best friend agreed silently.
Inside the carriage……
KJ stumbled into the seat as the carriage started moving before she was settled. She sighed heavily as she adjusted herself in the carriage. The windows were all covered with curtains and she decided for the moment she would enjoy her privacy. She could easily here the shinobi conversing behind her, and she wondered if they knew how thin the walls of the carriage were.
'How did I get myself into this mess?' She wondered silently as she rested her head to the side. 'Obviously they hate me, just as I figured they would. I knew and still, here I am. I have to learn to say no.'
Flashback (KJ's POV)
Knock. Knock. Knock. A sharp rapping on the front door broke through the sounds of the television.
"I wonder who it is. I didn't hear a car come down the road or pull into the drive," my father commented as he rose from the couch.
"Probably Adam," I replied to his rhetorical question. My best friend lived just up the road from me and we always walked back and forth from each other's homes.
"Hello, can I help you?" I heard my father's unsure voice from the front door and I sat up on our couch and turned around to face the door. The person was still outside and the blinds were closed so I couldn't see our visitor, but I certainly didn't recognize the responding voice.
"I have been sent by Konoha's council with a formal request of your daughter's services," I heard the rich voice inform my father.
Konoha!! I of course knew about my family's position as royalty in the shinobi country, and had even received basic training in their language and customs as tradition dictated. But I had never thought that I would ever even get to see the shinobi nations, let alone be summoned.
The border between worlds had been discovered by a family member of mine 100 years ago when he was lost. The border today was well regulated as people on both sides feared what would happen if serious components of the worlds crossed. There were too many differences in personal ability as well as technology for the people to intermingle.
And so movement was restricted to high priority political parties and the like and consent always had to be given by officials on both sides of the border. Luckily the area where the fabric was thin between the worlds was small enough that it could be easily monitored. My mother had crossed twice, once as a child and again before I was born to visit and to gain understanding of the current news so that I could be taught properly, but only as backup, not because I would need the information.
I can't believe that a ninja crossed the border for me. What the fuck could the elder council want with me? I failed to notice during my pondering that my father had allowed the ninja to enter the house and in fact both were standing in front of where I was kneeling on the couch, my arms hanging over the back and my head resting on the cushion.
I quickly straightened and rose from the couch as I straightened the old tank top and plaid pajama pants that I had on, a testament to the lazy evening my father and I were spending. "Hi," I barely managed to squeak out as I took in the man before me.
I think ANBU is the division he's in, if I was remembering the uniform classifications correctly. The hard mask and silver vest over black was fairly elite looking, and I'm pretty sure ANBU is the name of the super-elite ninja in the village.
"Hime-Sama," the ninja before me greeted, bowing deeply before me. I scanned through my vocabulary as it's been a while since I'd practiced that language. Hime meant princess and Sama was put onto the name of someone who was highly respected. I immediately doubted that this ninja could actually respect me, and that he only addressed me so formally because he was trained to.
I hate formalities. I hate formal period, and so I couldn't help immediately correcting him, "Kiri, or KJ. No crazy Sama stuff, please."
"We must always address our superiors with the proper respect they are entitled," his lifeless voice rattled back without thought, and I instantly knew deep down that he didn't agree. He couldn't, nor should he.
"You can consider me your superior and address me with your respect when I deserve it, not because I was supposedly born with it, if you don't mind."
"Okay," my father interceded quickly, knowing I was quite opinionated on the subject of formalities for a 16 year old. "Why don't you have a seat here on the couch and tell us what specifically brought you here."
"Hai, Perry-San. I was sent by the Elder council to deliver this scroll to you and request your immediate response to the question within," he offered the information monotonously as he handed me the scroll before settling gracefully onto our overstuffed couch.
"Do you have a name?" I asked as I opened the scroll.
"You may call me Weasel as long as I am wearing my mask."
"Remind me again on the whole mask etiquette thing. I know there are certain rules about when you wear them and take them off and all that, I just can't remember," I asked him since I couldn't remember if it was appropriate or not to ask him to remove it.
"Our masks go on the moment we start a mission and we do not remove them in the presence of anyone aside from other ANBU, the Hokage, or other people we see fit such as close friends and family members," he grit out at me. I don't think he really enjoyed conversation that much, but probably felt obligated to answer.
"Well, in that case, please feel free to remove your mask if you wish, but do not feel you must."
"Arigato, Hime-Sama."
"So, what is the scroll about, Princess?" my father rejoined the conversation. I glared at him over the parchment for his obnoxious use of my title for a moment before continuing to read.
"The Elder council has removed the current Hokage from power, and as law dictates is requesting the royal family resume control," I summarized for him, my mind still processing the news.
"What?" My father responded quickly, shock evident on his face. "Why have they removed Tsunade?"
"It doesn't say. It just requests that I return to the Fire Nation soon, and that the council will be running things until then."
My father quickly turned to Weasel to have his questions answered, "Why did they remove Tsunade?"
"I am not permitted to answer."
"Well don't I override that a little?" my father scoffed at the shinobi's response.
"No. You are merely the husband of our deceased queen and father to our current Princess. Under our tradition that garners you respect, but no actual power."
"But I do," I interjected. I trumped everything, whether I wanted to or not.
"Hai, would you like for me to break the council's instructions, Hime-Sama?" he questioned as his face turned to me. His voice was still emotionless, and it made me think of him as some ragdoll in the middle of a game of tug-of-war. Whose commands should he obey, whose confidences get broken? I could never force that decision on someone. He may not have cared, it's not like I knew anything about him, but I cared.
"I would like for you to tell me anything you feel comfortable disclosing. If you do not wish to break the council's confidence, I won't force you, but I do give you permission to do so if you wish. However, I have a few other questions first. What is your rank in the ANBU?"
"I have been a Captain in ANBU for several years now."
"So you are a very elite shinobi who knows a lot about the village, right?"
"Hai."
"Let's be honest here. I don't know much of what is going on. My mother's last visit was 20 years ago, and we've been given little information since her death. You are obviously very good at serving your nation and such, so I would like to know what you think. And don't worry about insults or punishments or anything like that. Not that you would of course. I suppose I'm not very intimidating to someone that could kill me before I even saw you move , huh."
He contemplated my words for a moment, and I got the sense that he was sorting things out and trying to decide how to respond. I don't think that he expected this response from me at all. Finally he answered.
"The council has removed Tsunade from power because they are greedy and dominating and she refuses to be controlled by them. It is a move that they have been considering since the previous Hokage, and have finally decided to act on it. They want more power and money for themselves, and worry about their reputation more than the people. Of civilians I really cannot speak as I am not familiar with many of them. However, most of the shinobi support the Hokage. She is concerned for our well-being and safety before the success of a mission, and is highly respected."
"You seem like a very capable shinobi. I wouldn't think you would need the Hokage to look out for you," the question was obviously a les direct way to ask him to explain his support for the Hokage, and I could tell he knew that, but answered anyways.
"My younger brother and his team recently became Chuunin. They are very capable, but a shinobi's life is filled with enough danger as it is. We don't need stupid people to make it any harder for us. I have many other family members that I would not wish to see harmed because of poorly made decisions by their superiors."
"And what do you think of me?"
"I do not know you."
"That is not what I asked."
"I think that it is very foolish to ask a child with hardly any experience in the realm of leadership, let alone in the country she would be leading, to take control."
"I agree."
END FLASHBACK
(Normal POV)
'And yet, here I am. Less than three weeks after the mysterious Weasel ANBU left from his two day stay and I'm in a carriage off to my new life,' she thought again to herself as she carefully pulled back the curtains and watched as the trees slowly came and left the tiny view.
'I hope I made the right choice.'
