Disclaimer: Kushina doesn't belong to me. Nor does Minato. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
UPDATED: 2/21/10
"Kushina-sama, please, go to your bedroom. We servants cannot rest when the princess is here in the royal library, studying herself to death!" Sano, the head servant, cried out.
In turn, the red haired, silvery-black eyed princess of whirlpool just looked up from her books and smiled guiltily.
Her long, red hair fell to her waist, and she wore the finest red and green silk clothes. Her earlobes held gold, dangling earrings, and around her delicate neck she had a fine chain of silver with a circular pendant. In one hand, she gently held the end of a brush, halfway to the paper, wet with black ink. The other hand was on the ornately carved table, softly resting her fingers against the aging papers.
"I'm sorry for all this trouble, Sano," she replied smoothly, smiling her guilty smile. "It's just that I was so fascinated by our tax regulations, I didn't know how late it was! And..I have been trying to organize some of these records." she shuffled through the many booklets scattered across the table. "There are too many records for one thing and I thought it would be best for the country if I accurately marked all of them down,"
Sano, the elderly, aging woman wearing a simple, white/gray robe with silver earrings, sighed gently. Despite her rather colorless garb, she never failed to make herself known to the crowd. She was also known as the fierce protector of the beautiful princess. She had personally helped deliver Princess Kushina and had taken care of her ever since. When the girl's mother died soon after she was born she had taken it up on herself to become the Whirlpool's only royal princess' caretaker.
Sano had seen to it that Kushina-hime grew up to be the finest princess ever, and looking at her, sixteen years old and already so into making her country a better place, she couldn't help but feel proud.
"I understand that you are simply wanting to make things better for our people," she stated, hiding her inner feelings, "but, you must still get some rest. You have been in the library since dawn and now it is midnight. You hardly ate your meals, and you've hardly budged from your chair except to retrieve more records! You must retire to your bedroom! His majesty would be most unhappy if you were to fall ill,"
The princess' shining eyes suddenly drooped. She did not want her father to be sad over her. Because her mother had died giving birth to her, her father was very protective. Her brothers, Shinzou and Temjin too, cherished her and cared for her very much.
Knowing that she'd won, Sano smiled triumphantly and helped the delicate princess from her stately chair. The rest of the servants obediently bowed their heads low and spread away from the door to make room for Kushina.
The male guards stationed around the library bowed down deeply and swung open the doors. Although Kushina had a delicate build and her sweet face and smile often brought forth the conclusion of her being a frail person, she was one of the master swordsmen in the royal family. As such, all of the soldiers and the political leaders of the land held great respect for the princess, with her astounding skills in fighting as well as in intellect and grace and beauty.
All the land proclaimed that they had a boundless future ahead of them, with a wise, powerful king and strong, handsome, intelligent princes and his kind princess. The road ahead of them was clear, the people were sure of it. They trusted the royal family with absolute certainty.
Making her way over to her room, Kushina looked up into the dark, starless night. The moon was barely visible, and just the slightest of crescents brought out the glimmering light. Without the tall, fire stands around the courtyard and around the hallways, she would definitely be lost. The chilly air that assaulted her open, creamy skin made her shiver involuntarily. Today was a dark night.
The servants at her bedroom door swiftly bowed and opened the sliding paper frame doors. Smiling kindly at the servants to thank them for their service, Kushina stepped into her magnificent room. It was very wide and spacious, with half the room split by a thin, see through white cloth with silver flower designs. On the other side of that curtain, one could see the large bed and pillows, as well as several vases of flowers. On the side closer to the door, however, was simply decorated with a carved table and stools and drawers placed along the walls. Fans and a portrait of herself decorated the walls, and the drawer was piled with books.
Kushina, taking in the familiarity of her room, lightly shuffled the curtain out of the way and entered her personal space. When looked from the outside, it appeared to be the same size as the other part of the room, but in truth, the rest of that room fanned out to the sides, making it triple the size of first part. The walls hid the actual size from view.
Sano gestured to the servants to leave. Kushina, then raised a hand to halt them. "Ah, please, could you bring in a bath? I wish to bathe,"
Sano widened her eyes. "So late into the night? Princess, I think it will be better if you bathed early in the morning. It is still winter, even if it's slowly fading away to spring. It is cold, and you mustn't get wet,"
"But it isn't like I am going to go outside, Sano. Also, I have been sitting all day long, and I would like to loosen up a bit before going to sleep. Otherwise, I would never fall asleep, not with all these thoughts in my head!" Kushina persisted, widening her eyes and tilting her head adorably.
Unable to resist, Sano sighed once more and allowed the servants to go through with the request. If the princess wanted a bath, who was she to stop her? "Very well,"
XXXXXXXXXX
The light splashing of steamy water could be heard in the spacious room.
"My lady, I hear that he is coming to meet you in two days," Sano softly said as she combed Kushina's wet, red hair.
Kushina, currently sitting in the steaming bathtub, her clothes cast away carefully to the side, looked up curiously. "By "him," you mean..?"
Sano looked at the princess in surprise. "Why, I thought you would know by now. Were you so caught up with the taxes that you forgot such important things in your life?" she teased.
The princess blushed lightly. "I don't know what you are talking about," She said stubbornly. "Who's coming to see me?"
"Why, your betrothed, of course!" Sano faintly smiled as Kushina "eeped" and turned completely red.
Blushing, she dived into the hot water. Sano chuckled at the girl's embarrassment and continued to comb her hair. "I thought you'd already know and start fussing over your looks and preparations to meet him and such things. But, when I saw you, you were studying! It struck me so hard as to why you were so different today, but it seems you were plainly not notified yet,"
Kushina emerged, dripping, and while still red, turned to grasp one of Sano's hands. "He's coming? Oh, what am I going to do? I spent the last few days hardly sleeping and instead fighting and studying and such things that I must look terrible! What if he thinks I'm not pretty anymore?"
"My dear princess, that is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. You, are simply dazzling and the Prince of the Fire country doesn't just like you for your looks. He loves you, and believe me when I say, 'love.' He loves you with all his heart and it's not just because of your beauty or intellect or strength or personality or whatever. He loves you because you are who you are,"
Kushina blushed a darker crimson. She sputtered, "..L-love?"
"Of course! Haven't you realized? The look in his eyes, anyone can tell that he cares for you very much. It's a good thing that he does, because I know you love him as well, and heaven forbid you marry to a person who doesn't love you back."
"M-me? Love him?"
"Yes. All my years of taking care of you, I know he is the one for you and the two of you were destined to be together. I had initially planned to assassinate his majesty if he had paired you with someone you didn't like, but fortunately, all's well that end's well." the head maid stated, not once raising her voice and delivering the statement in a normal voice.
"Sano! You do know that is treason?! And spoken so blatantly in front of the princess too!" Kushina gasped, horrified. Sano looked grave, then winked.
"Please keep it a secret, Kushina-sama. You'll do that for me, won't you? After all, it was planned for your good, anyway,"
Kushina let out an uncertain breath, then eased back into the water. "I'm glad father decided to follow my wishes when choosing the person to whom I'm to be betrothed to. I met the Hi no Kuni's prince while we were children, at the forests at our southern borders, and..we've met there secretly every year. I couldn't even imagine being promised off to someone else, someone I've never met, and...he promised to always protect me...to be there for me..." she got a faraway look in her eye "...and so when the issue of being betrothed came up, I asked father to engage me with the Hi no Kuni's prince.....and....at the same time, he fulfilled his promise to me by coming here and personally asking for my hand,"
Sano dreamily gazed up. "Yes, it was all incredibly romantic..when I first saw you bursting to tears when his majesty accepted, I thought you were sad, but it happened to be the exact opposite. I felt happy for you, but at the same time, it shocked me to know you had been secretly meeting and playing with him during our summer vacations at the borderline retreat. I had never known that, and it made me feel incompetent as your caretaker."
Kushina whipped around. "No! You are the best nanny anyone can ask for, Sano! I-I'm sorry if I made you feel that way—it was really selfish of me, I know."
"Well, putting yourself in danger like that without any guards or maids but just the prince was like asking for someone to kidnap you! But, you were also strong in the blade at that time as well, and so I suppose it is all right," Sano mused.
"I really, really thank you for everything you've done for me, I'm very grateful," Kushina smiled sadly.
Sano bowed her head. "At your service, my lady. Shall we get you dressed for bed?"
Rising from the tub, Kushina helped Sano wrap the white sheet around her slender frame. Drying herself off, she watched as Sano retrieved a white, silk robe and a sash. Walking over to the now dry Kushina, the elderly servant placed the robe around her shoulders and firmly tied the sash around her slim waist. She then pulled the thick covers of the bed back, and led Kushina by the hand to her soft mattress. "Oh, and Kushina-sama," Sano said, remembering something.
"Yes?"
"You know that your father's cousin has adopted a daughter?"
"Yes, I've heard. Her name..was Rawaka.. I believe?"
Sano grimly nodded. "I've heard that the girl was taken off the streets, and that she has no proper manners at all. It was pure charity and pity for her that your respectable relatives had chosen to take her in. That, and the fact that they have no children...well, I hear that she is learning to be noble, but still is having a hard time adjusting to her new lifestyle. Please watch out for her, princess. And I mean this both ways: to be kind to her like you are to everyone, and to be careful when in her company. Street-bred children are always troublemakers, the filth they are," Sano wrinkled her nose.
Kushina frowned. "I don't think that's nice at all, Sano. If she was truly filth, then I'm sure Obaa-sama and Ojii-sama wouldn't have adopted her at all. She's probably having a hard time adjusting, as you've said,"
"Either way, please take heed to my words,"
"I will, thank you Sano. Good night,"
Tucking in the red haired princess, Sano too whispered, "Good night,"
XXXXXXXXXX
Rustle.
Deep into the night, Kushina woke up instantly to the sound of movement in her room. Her trained, warrior instincts told her that there was someone close...standing just beside her cabinets and vanity mirror to her left. As a princess, she had come into contact with more than one attempt on kidnapping, and so, with practiced ease, she silently slipped her arm out of her covers and reached for her sword on the wall beside her.
Straining her ears, she tried to pick up on what the infiltrator was doing, but instead of the careful steps toward her bed, she heard—her drawers opening?
In the darkness, she caught the glimmer of something shiny and silver... Burglary!
The thief tucked the item into his/her shirt, and sprinted out the curtain, jumping out the side window. Pivoting up and out of the bed, Kushina pulled her sword from the wall and slipped on some light shoes. Gracefully jumping out the same window, she ran swiftly after the disappearing outline of the thief. Goodness, how useless were the guards these days?
With her superior agility and speed, she caught up to the thief quickly. The thief, registering a presence behind him/her, jumped rapidly out of the way to dodge the near silent slash of Kushina's sword. The nimble but uncontrolled movement told the battle trained princess many things. That this person did not learn technical martial arts, but rather, learned them through experience and fights.
The thief, wearing a bandana over his/her face so that only his/her eyes were visible, was clad in black head to toe and was very hard to discern against the darkness of the night. In this alley between buildings, there were no guards around. Kushina inwardly bit her lips. What a great situation to be in, she thought grudgingly.
"Hand over what you took from me, and I will show mercy," she said calmly, meeting the thief's glare with a controlled expression. The thief, in response, ran towards her in desperate fury. Kushina simply brought her blade up, and saying, "lets see what you look like," swiped cleanly through the air and perfectly sliced off one end of the bandana. The black cloth dropped to the ground, and Kushina gasped.
"Y-you? How..why..?"
Rawaka, her new cousin, spat on the ground in anger. Here she was, caught in the middle of stealing, with no weapon, and cornered by the prissy princess who happened to have a sword that she could swing around.
"Why, sorry, your highness," her voice dripped with sarcasm. Rawaka's opinion of Kushina was not very high. Everyone praised her and loved her, so she must be spoiled, right? She'd never talked to the princess up front, but had seen her at some public arrangements, and saw how finely dressed she was, with all her sparkling finery, and that stupid smiling face...che. Rawaka hadn't been too shabbily dressed either, in silk clothes befitting her new station as one of the royal family, but somehow, the princess pissed her off.
It didn't help that she didn't hear much about her yet, either. She had just been adopted not too long ago, and so Rawaka had no knowledge of Kushina's skill with a sword. She merely thought that the princess dragged a sword out in desperation. Well, she couldn't be more wrong.
"I wanted this, alright?!" Rawaka threw down a silver necklace with a chain that came down to a person's mid chest. It had a sparkling, mystical gleam to the beautifully fashioned pendant that had a leaf dancing in the whirlpool.
Kushina's eyes widened at the object, and slowly bent down to pick it up. Her eyes went foggy.
"If, if you had asked me, then I would have been happy to give you any of my belongings. There was no need to steal," she said quietly. Sadly looking at the necklace, Kushina pressed it to her heart.
Rawaka snorted. "Yeah, right."
Kushina turned her pitying gaze to her straying cousin. "I mean it, Rawaka. Though, you are right, in a way. I would have given you anything you would have asked for, except...except for this," She held up the fine necklace. Rawaka took one look at it, and snorted again. "I know you're going to say that to everything you have, you spoiled bitch,"
"No! I really mean it! I would have been happy to share with you what I have. It just that, this necklace is extremely important to me! You saw that I wear it every day, right? Someone very special gave this to me as a present!"
"Sure I did," Rawaka mocked. But truthfully, she did see the princess wear it every day. She saw how she handled the thing with care and always smiled at it...it annoyed her so goddamn much! That's why she had wanted to take it, to try and inflict some pain on the spoiled bitch, to teach her a lesson, that not everyone had the things she had, and..!!
Rawaka inhaled sharply as Kushina was suddenly in front of her, taking one of her hands in her own soft ones.
"What are you doing--" she started to say, but the expression in Kushina's eyes cut her off.
"Rawaka...san," Kushina said, unsure of what to call her, "I..I am sad to see you like this. You are family, and...family mustn't be so hostile with one another! Please tell me what I have done to offend you, and I'll apologize. I'll try to fix my mistake and make amends! Please! I..I wish to be your friend,"
Rawaka froze, staring into those smoky eyes. She just said..!!!
Trembling, Rawaka lowered her head. "..what the hell do you know," she said. "What the hell do you know?!"
In a burst of rage, she screamed, "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW!? YOU'RE THE PRINCESS! YOU DON'T KNOW SHIT! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ME? YOU HAVEN'T EVER SEEN THE PAIN I'VE WENT THROUGH-- THE PAIN OTHERS GO THROUGH EVERY DAY!"
Kushina quietly assessed her cousin's state. Rawaka was huffing, angry, but with a hint of sorrow, her eyes dampening and turning red.
"YOU DON'T KNOW HALF THE STUFF THAT PEOPLE FACE EVERY DAY, THE POVERTY, THE HUNGER, THE PLAGUE! YOU DON'T KNOW!!"
"Maybe not, but I know it's out there," Kushina's calm voice jolted Rawaka, whose tears were now streaming down her face.
Kushina continued to speak, not once breaking eye contact. "True, I've never had to deal with hunger, but I know it's out there. I've seen it before, when we were out in battle, and was cut off from our supply. When we visited a dying village and saw them starve, to cry for their dead ones. People volunteering to serve in the army just for a chance to eat properly for once! Do YOU know what it's like to fight? To fight not just for yourself, but for the sake of your country? True, I don't know plague, but I do know death. My own birth killed my mother,"
Rawaka gasped at this, her chest still constricting with tears. Kushina, her face was now no longer calm, but it was looking like as if she was about to burst into tears as well. Her jaw tight, the grip on Rawaka's hand turning into a vice-grip, she kept on talking.
"You're right, I don't know poverty, but I've seen what happens to villages that the army wasn't able to defend in time. The pain, the anger, the sorrow..." Kushina abruptly hardened her eyes. "Don't you think you are being selfish? True, I don't know those things! BUT! I know it's out there, and I know it's hurting our citizens, just like you've said! That's why I train with the sword and participate in diplomatic conversations, and study our laws and political matters...all to help things get better! I'm trying to do my share of work in making the world a better place to live..but what about you?? All you can do is complain and scream about your unfortunate life?!"
Rawaka, shocked at the outburst, openly gaped at the red haired princess. Kushina, realizing what she had just said, took in a deep breath to calm herself. "That's why," she quietly said, "you shouldn't steal like this. It degrades you, and degrades everyone else. And so..." Kushina let go of Rawaka's hand. Looking up carefully into the black eyed, black haired girl, she hesitantly reached out and offered her hand. She gave her a tentative smile. "Let's...let's start over, Rawaka...chan," she shyly turned her gaze down. "I wish to be your friend,"
Rawaka, stunned to say anything, was hardly able to take in what the princess had just said. No one, ever, in her life had said something like that to her...no one had taken her hand like that with the exception of her new parents who had been very kind to her and was willing to let her join their family...
Rawaka slumped to the ground, looking dazedly at Kushina, and started to cry. Unlike the screams from before, now she was hugging herself with her skinny arms, and Kushina dropped next to her and gently took the crying girl into her arms.
"There, there, don't cry," she softly said. "I'm your friend, and you can tell me anything. That's what friends are for..you are precious, and I'm here for you."
XXXXXXXXXX
"Wow, you're the same age as me! For a moment I thought you were younger, because you are so skinny!" Kushina excitedly said. The two of them were now sitting on Kushina's bed, halfway covered with the blankets. It was still the same night, and it was getting closer to dawn, but once Rawaka had been cleared up they'd taken to talking on and on and on. It was so fun!
"So what are some of your hobbies..." Kushina started to say when all of a sudden the door burst open, revealing a fuming Sano. "S-sano..." Kushina stuttered.
Sano, the elderly woman who wore white, couldn't be scarier than the executioner, who wore bloody red. Fury rolled off the aged woman in waves, and she took a step into the bedroom.
"Kushina-sama.." she spoke, her eyes narrowing to slits. "I thought you had retired to sleep? What nonsense is this?? Still awake and chatting with—OH my! I did not see you there, Ra- Rawaka- sama," Sano bowed slightly. "For what reason are you here with Kushina-sama?" she couteously asked, but Kushina could hear the subtle note of anger in the woman's voice. Quick to defend her newfound friend, Kushina jumped. "Sano, my dear friend Rawaka has very kindly accepted my offer to sleep with me in my quarters! I had been unable to sleep and her presence has been most comforting,"
Sano smirked. "Yes, it must have been, for you to be chattering away at 5 in the morning,"
Kushina gasped. "It's already five?"
"That's right,"
"Oh no! I'm sorry, Rawaka! You weren't able to catch any sleep because of me and I..!"
Rawaka hesitantly laughed. "It's...it's okay, Kushina...chan. I had fun, so it's alright," Then, she looked over to the elderly woman. "I'm sorry for troubling you so early in the morning," Rawaka said respectfully. Surprised at her manners, Sano quickly said, "Oh no, it's perfectly fine! Thank you for keeping the princess company, she often suffers from insomnia,"
"I do not," Kushina huffed. Sano glanced at her.
"Yes you do," she replied. Kushina pouted and crossed her arms. For some reason, Rawaka found this situation very funny, and clutched at her stomach and began to laugh. Hard. Kushina and Sano both looked funnily at her, but she didn't care.
"Oh! Sano! I've just remembered! I asked Rawaka to stay with me for tonight as well, and so can you go tell her parents that she's here? They might be worried when they know she's gone," Kushina asked, getting out of bed and swiftly writing a letter in perfect calligraphy.
"As you wish," Sano bowed.
"And Sano, don't you think...ah..well...that Rawaka needs some new clothes?" Kushina slyly said. Sano gasped at what Rawaka was wearing.
"Rawaka- sama! Those kinds of apparel are not suited for someone of your position! We must get you into better clothes at once!"
"Oh, and Sano, please bring the silk the foreign dignitary gave me as a gift. And call the seamstress, I want Rawaka to have the clothes made out of the cloth," Kushina turned to Rawaka while speaking.
"M-me?" Rawaka said, stunned. "You're going to make me a new robe?"
"Yup! Think of it as a gift from your friend," Kushina said brightly. "And when they're done fitting you, we can take our time picking out jewelry to match the clothes. You can pick any that you want!"
Rawaka just looked at her in astonishment. Kushina lightly giggled, then pulled Rawaka from the bed and paraded her towards the bath.
"First, we need to give you a bath! This will be your new makeover! I always wanted to do this, but I have no sisters, hehe, and it would be unseemly to do it to my brothers.."
"Kushina-sama! It is disgraceful to talk about such matters!" Sano's voice rang out as she hurried back with the silk.
"He he, sorry, Sano," Kushina bashfully smiled.
"And Rawaka-sama, let's hurry up and get you cleaned up, so that you can be fitted for your new clothes," Sano briskly said as she set down the material. Rawaka gaped at it. It was slippery, light green with lavender trimmings, and with wonderful, gold stamped flower design all over it. Sano, not taking notice of the gaping girl, walked up and began to strip her.
"H-hey, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! Ah, oww! Hey, stop, I can do it myself!!" Rawaka screeched, but to no avail, as Sano mercilessly plunged her deep into the soapy water, completely naked.
Kushina clapped her hands together. "Oh, isn't this delightful?! I've never done this before! I'm sure you'll look like a completely different person when we're done with you!~"
Rawaka emerged from the bubbly water. "b-but I already have noble clothes and a good bath, so what makes you think I'm going to look any different?" she gulped in the oxygen.
Kushina's lips pointed up. "Because you've left the brooding Rawaka behind. Now, everyone will see the shining girl you really are,"
Hello, this was an idea that just came to me...
The next chapter is already written.