DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS EXCEPT FOR THE SNOW SHINOBI. RANDOM CHARACTER AND ANIME REFERENCES MAY BE MENTIONED, BUT PLEASE TAKE THAT WITH A LAUGH AND GRAIN OF SALT!
Author's Note: This came to me after reading Perfect Them by Moonveil, which depicts Sasuke's return, Karin in tow, and how she usurps after a time, all that Sakura holds dear, and no one sees it.
This brought to mind an interesting thought: Everyone writes about how Sasuke returns, and 75 percent of the time, falls in love with Sakura, and they get married. Other scenarios, like Team Hebi returning to Konoha with Sasuke permanently, are in the making now, and Moonveil's story brings up a good point: if Karin did return with Sasuke, two things could happen. 1. He'd restart the Uchiha clan with Sakura and ignore her, happily married to his former teammate; or 2. He'd marry Karin, and Karin would "replace" Sakura in his life, but not in everyone else's, thus allowing for Sakura to find happiness with another (coughbettercough) guy, or my own scenario, 3. The dreaded number 2 situation, except everyone passes Sakura off as a jealous bitch and she slowly fades into the background.
This is what would happen, (ideally for me) with scenario #3, and a lot more.
As Sakura seems to have grown and matured after the infamous Time skip, I believe she would survive, and eventually find happiness…
QW
Once upon a time, a little girl got lost trying to find her way home through a snow blizzard. Pushing her tired body as far as it could go, she soon collapsed halfway there in a snowdrift, her already pale skin turning red and blue as the cold fought its way into her system. Face toward the sky, tears traced the contours of her face, then froze, the only sounds accompanying it her subtlety slowing breathing. As the snow fell upon her prone form, her breaths hardly making considerable fog in the air, her lashes closed over her eyes in tiredness. So tired, she thought to herself, her once brilliant mind succumbing to the haze of the vicious storm, I just want to sleep…forever…and ever…
What do I have left to live for? I am a lost and forgotten thing…her mind flashed briefly back to the old attic in her grandmother's cottage, stocked with old clothing from different eras, love letters, costume jewelry, and hundreds upon hundreds of photographs and wooden toys.
I have been…replaced…with a newer, more special toy, she thought with bitter humor, a hacking giggle escaping her now blue lips.
Letting out what she had planned to be her last breath, her lips cracked into a gruesome, bitter smile. In fairy tales…he would come running…fear clenching his heart as he frantically called out my name; frightened since I was two days late in returning…but this is no fairy tale, and the newer toy is one he, and they, would rather play with than this old, broken thing…
Her mind finally succumbed to the darkness.
The cold North Wind swirled around her sorrowfully, sending a blanket of snow to cover the lower half of her body in a simile of a blanket made by tender hands.
Crunch.
Crunch.
Silence.
Crunch Crunch Crunch!
"Over here! Look, over here!"
"Oh my God!"
"Is there a pulse?"
Pause. "Yes, but very faint; if we don't take immediate action, she'll die."
"Okay, on the count of three. Seals ready? Good. One, two, THREE!"
A flash of blue light.
A body shape rapidly filling in with snow from the now billowing North wind.
A fallen hitai-ate with a leaf insignia.
A lone voice caught on the wind.
"Who is she?"
"Dunno; no insignia or ID…guess she'll just have to be our Yuki no Tenshi!"
Laughter.
1. Sorrow
The "Angel of the Snow", as her rescuers had dubbed her, was nineteen with pink hair and green eyes. She was about 5"5 in height, and was underweight at about 125 pounds, when she should have been ten pounds heavier.
But she was alive, and Doctor Tanaka was grateful. Flipping through the chart they had made up for the woman the snow ninja had brought into the ER, he carefully jotted down the readings on her life support machines before placing them in the folder on the back of the door to her room. Smiling at her prone form, he chuckled and shook his head. "Well, Tenshi, I hope you get better and wake up soon; there's a lot of answers to questions we have about you," he said softly, calloused hand reaching out to stroke her light pink hair. "What a strange hair color," he murmured, fingering the darker pink strands before his fingers touched the white strands. "You must have undergone a lot of trauma to have your hair white at such a young age and in such copious amounts. But I dare say you'll enjoy the shading effects of the different colors."
Absently stroking her cheek, he sighed wistfully. "My daughter, Kagura, would have been about your age," he murmured, brown eyes clouded over in unshed tears. "Poor dear, so far from home…"
And Doctor Tanaka leaves the room to go back to his office and call his wife, because he needs to hear her voice right now.
2. Rebirth
It is a week later, two weeks now after the snow ninja rescued her, that the Yuki no Tenshi wakes up. At first, she is quite disorientated, and her eyes refuse to focus. When the doctor puts in eye drops, however, the muscles clench and pull, and she can see.
The first thing she notices is the bright yellow room with a television in front and a window overlooking what seems to be a very busy business street. She then notices how many people are in the room; her physician, Doctor Tanaka, and the five people who rescued her, two men and three women, who smile and jokingly say they're glad that their "Yuki no Tenshi" survived. Cocking her head to the side, she asks them if they mean her, and if that is her real name. Paling, they turn to the doctor, who frowns and asks her a couple of routine questions, and what she can remember about herself. That last question makes her heart clench so tightly she gasps for air, and her heart rate monitor speeds up as she goes into shock. After calling an emergency crew in, she is brought to a machine that makes loud banging noises and is cold.
Later, Doctor Tanaka explains to her and her rescuers that some of the cold affected a wound she had attained beforehand, (as well as other assorted injuries), on the back of her head. She was suffering from source amnesia, which meant she would be able to recall certain information, but cannot remember how she obtained it.
Somehow, upon hearing that revelation, she does not worry so much.
She tells this to her rescuers, (who had immediately dub her their "friend" when she first inquired about them), and tries to reassure them that if she doesn't feel bad about it, then she really must have wanted to forget something, something bad that happened, so don't worry about me, I'll survive somehow.
3. Friends
Her new friends take her "home" from her interview with the council and their Yukikage, who have allowed her to stay in the village and practice the ninja arts. She smiles brightly as they all chatter around her, and ask her all sorts of questions. Before she knows it, they are standing before a building made up of modge podge parts of metal and stone. This is our home, they tell her, and yours now, too.
Soon, they are all in the common room downstairs, sitting in a circle as they all introduce themselves. She is sitting between two girls, who introduce themselves as Zeke and Hiromi.
Zeke is her height with violent purple hair and amber eyes. She wears what she calls is a gothic Lolita style, her hair pulled into curling pig tails and her ninja attire replaced with a civilian poufy red skirt and matching top with patent leather Mary Janes and red swirly stockings. She is a jokester and a prankster, and clings to "Yuki-chan" as if they are the best of friends and sisters, (which they almost are, she finds out from Hiromi later on; Zeke was her blood donor). She specializes in genjutsu and water type jutsu, and just loves Yuki's long hair (which she plays with the entire session).
Hiromi is taller than Yuki by two inches and has pale bluish blonde hair over warm chocolate eyes. She is an expert at weaponry and taijutsu, and sheepishly admits with a laugh, that she enjoys blowing things up in excess. (Yuki privately thinks she just has a lot of pent up energy and need for attention, as she is quite introverted, and lets those loose by blowing things up). She is laid back in a tight dark grey sweater, loose navy jeans, and comfortable looking ninja boots, while silver chains with colorful charms surround her waist. (She's also obsessive, Yuki learns, with collecting cute charms and trinkets, which is why no one goes near her closet in her room, in fear of being killed by an avalanche of collectible figurines).
Hiromi's twin brother, Hiroshi, is the one who rescued her. His hair is fire engine red, with bright orange highlights, and stares at her mischievously with the same eyes as his older sister. He has the same talents as his sister, (but is much more of a pyromaniac, Zeke whispers to her mutinously. Yuki learns he set an entire wardrobe of her clothing on fire, claiming it was an accident), but is also a master of the Eternal Fire, a forbidden jutsu taught to him by a council elder when he showed signs as a child of being a prodigy. He boasts with pride, (as he clasps Yuki's hands between his own on one knee) that he was the one who found her, and would she marry him? (Yuki blushes beat red, while his sister, Zeke, and the other girl beat him with random objects. According to the next boy, they do this often).
This boy is a whopping 6"0 with long, white hair that falls to between his shoulders when it's up in the intricate lord's knot on his head. With piercing amber eyes, he smiles warmly at Yuki and tells her all she needs to know about the village. She finds he is not naturally this calm, as his family is said to possess ancient blood from a prominent wolf or dog Youkai, and when angered, his eyes turn red and his canines extend into lethal fangs, while the purple tattoos on his cheeks become larger and more ragged. His specialties lie within the two katana he keeps on his back in an X during missions, as well as wind-based jutsus. Right now, he wears black jeans, black ninja boots, and a form fitting white dress shirt, his right ear pierced with a dangling fang, ("Dog Youkai, supposedly," he told her later over tea, "It's been passed down for generations since my family's ultimate matriarch, Rin.")
He said, with a slight smile and a peck on her hand, his name was Renji.
The last girl has, the entire time, has been fumbling with a piece of string and weaving it into different shapes and patterns: withouther hands. Smiling, she cheerfully exclaims her name is Thea, and that her specialty is espionage and interrogation, as she is a student of genjutsu. Her family has a kekkei genkai that allows them to manipulate any type of fiber, like the string she was using, as well as chakra strings. Her brown hair was bobbed and her violet eyes sparkled from beneath the baggy collar of the blue hoodie she was snuggling into. Kicking her jean-clad legs out to amuse herself, she said she was the one who named her. ("I…hope you don't mind," she said blushingly, which made Yuki smile happily, "Oh no, I love my name! I thank you for honoring me with it.")
And after looking at her expectantly, she haltingly tells them what she can remember, which is little, but somehow enough for them to appreciate her.
Smiling after her short dialogue about herself, Zeke grabs her arm, dragging her upstairs to see the space they've set up for her. "You'll be living with me now!" chirps Zeke, while Thea and Hiromi giggle as they follow. Hiroshi snickers, while Renji stares after her retreating form in fascination, a curious look overtaking his face, before he scowls and hits Hiroshi over the head, which escalates into a full-blown brawl.
4. Acceptance
She is twenty and after a year of rigorous training, she passes the tests set up for her by the Council of Snow. As of six o' clock that evening, as her friends clap hands on her shoulders and ruffle her already mussed and bloody hair, "Yuki Tenshi" becomes an official Jounin shinobi of Snow, just like them.
Laughing with them as they pull her into a nearby bar to celebrate, she feels a twinge of familiarity, as if she has done this before; a set of blonde hair and blue eyes as well as charcoal and spinning red flash through her mind, then disappear.
Smiling with her three closest girl friends, she sees another three girls; a platinum blonde, a girl with brown buns, and one with dark purple hair and lavender eyes.
Shaking her head as she hits the dance floor with her best friends, the four girls spin each other around in a circle happily, proud to be Jounin.
As a fast-paced step dance comes on over the speakers, she finds herself suddenly in Renji's arms, his golden eyes shining through his white bangs. Laughing as he pulls her close and spins her around, Yuki muses how safe and warm and loved she feels.
5. Flashes
The flashes come faster now, and more often than not, Yuki and Zeke are caught by Thea and Hiromi sleeping in each other's arms, tear tracks on Yuki's face. This is usually followed by periods of consolation, (while Hiroshi and Renji yell from downstairs for them to prepare for their mission du jour).
(Yuki seems to float downstairs after those kinds of days when Renji hears her footsteps, the girls clambering down beside her as they laugh and hold hands. Hiroshi is sidling up to Thea, and tickling her, her laughter loud and violent, but all Renji can see or hear is Yuki and her own laughter as she and Zeke smile mischievously as they put an ice cube down his back).
6. Shock
She is twenty-two now and they are acting as a bodyguard for their village's representative in Sunakagure, when Yuki's friends notice the Kazekage and his siblings watching her like a family of hawks, even though she is across the room and not paying attention to them. Unaware of their intense scrutiny, Yuki merely smiles when all five of them come to surround her and escort her off so they can "settle into their lodgings and get an early start in the morning". (As they walk out, Renji turns around and smirks in their direction, an arm bringing Yuki to his side in an intimate embrace. Gaara's eyes are wide in shock and anger, while Kankuro glares in warning, hands reaching for his puppet scrolls, and Temari has a bitter look on her face).
7. Moonlight
When they are all settled in and sleeping, Yuki is wide-awake, a memory flash so intense keeping her from the land of dreams. Silently opening her room's window, she sneaks onto onto the roof, and perches alone near the warmth of the chimney. Gazing up at the stars and moon above, she turns sharply in her sitting position when she sees the silent form of the Kazekage watching her.
He is frowning, and silently standing with his arms crossed as he watches her now loose hair sway in the breeze, its multicolored pink and white hues capturing the moonlight. Standing, she moves to join him, and he lets her. Gazing into green eyes a shade paler than her owns, she quietly asks him if they have met before.
(Gaara is so shocked to hear those words come out of her pink lips that he is momentarily thrown, but successfully recovers, and asks her name. Upon hearing "Tenshi, Yuki", he asks where she came by that name. She admits her friends gave her that name four years ago when she was found half-dead and awoke with amnesia in Yukikagure. Curiously, she never questions why she is so comfortable to talk with him on a subject she usually does not mention with anyone outside her friends).
8. Outrage
They leave the village the next day, and the Kazekage himself is there to see them off, his siblings by his side. This time, instead of shock and anger clouding their faces, Temari and Kankuro cheerfully say their goodbyes. (Temari looks at Yuki so intently as she converses with Gaara, Renji at her side, that she doesn't even realize her eyes are tearing up until Kankuro pulls her backwards into a hug.)
Smiling as she leaves, Yuki looks up at Renji, who bends down to kiss her head gently, making her blush, and asks her if she wants to see a movie when they get home. She smiles prettily and says yes. (Zeke, Thea, Hiromi, and Hiroshi grin; their usually stoic friend has at last, found romance).
Behind them, Gaara's sand destroys a random object while Temari shrieks in outrage. Kankuro can do nothing but stare in silence, his jaw dropped to the ground.
9. Smile
Renji and Yuki make good on that date promise, and at eight o' clock that night they go to the movie theater and order a big tub of popcorn and two boxes of raisinettes, which they mix together with barely suppressed glee. Clutching their ticket stubs, Renji leads them into the action movie they have wanted to see for a while. Munching and smirking in barely suppressed pleasure at the movie, they whisper in between the things they notice, and laugh over private jokes. (He clutches the hand nearest to him tenderly, stroking her hand with his rough thumb. She shivers at the contact and lays her head on his shoulder, smiling as they watch the end credits until the film stops). When the theater is still dark and everyone is gone, they stare into each other's eyes, and kiss tenderly, the armrest between them, before he pulls her into his lap and gives her such a searing kiss, hand entangled in her hair as hers clutch his face, that Yuki sighs in satisfaction.
(And even though the flashes had been particularly vicious as of late, there were none with this entire date, or even this kiss. Yuki finally lets go of what could have been in the past, and smiles as Renji pulls away from her, his eyes smoldering, her own a mirror image of his in green.
(He later recalls that was the most open smile he had ever seen her show him or anyone else, and is secretly pleased by that).
10. Family
Three months of courtship later, she is meeting his mother, a petite woman with thick, chocolate brown hair and smiling eyes of the same color, her hair arranged in a half up half down ponytail. Bouncing towards them, she squeals when she sees Yuki, and throws her arms around the stunned girl, commenting on how it was time "Renji-chan bagged himself a mate—I mean—girl!" Chuckling at his wife's antics, her longhaired husband, the spitting image of Renji, welcomes her into their home. The dinner goes well, and his father blesses their union, (which makes Renji blush and Yuki look at him in shock, as he had not been planning to propose until later that month, on her birthday, the exact same day they had found her lying comatose in the snow).
11. Dancing
She is twenty-three, and Renji thinks how lovely she looks tonight as all five of them are invited to the Snow Country's annual ball as escorts of the Yukikage. Allied Kages' and their shinobi are present alongside nobles and executives, milling about the large dance floor of the ballroom. Laughing as he murmurs a private joke into her ear, Yuki smiles brightly and fingers the white gold engagement ring with the small diamond snowflake in the center, given to her only a few nights ago.
Finding their table as the Kages all sit together to show their unity, the six Yukikagure Nin are surprised and delighted to see several Suna Nin sitting with them, cheerfully conversing about the happenings in their lives with their allies and friends.
(Temari and Kankuro greet them politely, their gazes nervously switching between Yuki, her friends, and the trembling Godaime Hokage, who can barely keep herself from marching over to a certain amnesiatic kunoichi and suffocate her in her large bosom. The Sand Siblings are just glad she hasn't, and that the Konoha Nin, who had not understood why their close friends had declined sharing seating arrangements, cannot see Yuki, who is blocked by Renji's tall, imposing frame).
Relishing in the food and the liberally poured wine, (but not too much; a shinobi must always be alert), the Sand Siblings nearly cringed when Renji stood and asked Yuki to dance, (what would they do if they saw her then?!). It is not until they see the engagement band on Yuki's left hand, that Temari pales and knows this will wind up a disaster.
Leading his fiancée onto the floor, his kimono the mirror image of his family's patriarch, (down to its red honeycomb shoulder design, purple and yellow sash, as well as black obi), Renji cannot help but bask in the loveliness of his future bride. Her hair has been straightened and tied into an engaged lady's formal knot, set with his engagement hair ornaments resting between the fancy up do, the lightest splash of opalescent make up highlighting her natural beauty. She wore a sash and obi with his family's colors, declaring her engagement and loyalty to him, offset by the swirling lotus blossoms of her forest green and gold kimono. Smirking as he spun her laughing form around the dance floor, he misses the pale faces of the shinobi sitting at Konohakagure's honorary table.
12. Ghost
Before the dessert is served, each of the Kages in attendance gets up to speak before all their allies and further cement their bonds. By this time, Yuki and Zeke are speaking quietly while Thea and Hiroshi are holding hands beneath the table, and Hiromi lectures Renji on taking care of their "angel". Kankuro and Temari watch them from the corners of their eyes, and Temari grows wistful as she sees how close Zeke and Yuki are, wondering if things could have turned out the way they were now, with her in Zeke's place. However, as she glances toward the Konohakagure table and sees Uchiha Karin glaring viciously beside her dazed husband and his former teammates, a hand clasped to her heavily pregnant belly, she immediately knows it could never happen.
Finally, the Yukikage rises and speaks, her voice a cheerful soprano above the scraggly baritones of the other Kages and her feminine counterpart. She compliments all her shinobi and their allies, as the others have done, and when it comes time to speak of important announcements, she glances toward their table warmly. "To celebrate the New Year and our alliances, I would like to ask all our engaged or otherwise connected allies to grace the floor with the traditional Dance of Spring, which, as the legends of Snow hold, will bless new and old marriages and relationships, as well as new life."
Smiling at her fiancée, Yuki and Renji rise from their seats and head to the floor, Thea and Hiroshi behind them. Taking their positions, they just miss Uchiha Karin drag her husband onto the floor, as well as Uzumaki Naruto, the Hokage in Training and his Hyuuga wife, and a one eyed silver haired man and the Hokage's first apprentice, Shizune. Behind them, another blonde and her pineapple haired husband enter the dance floor, and the fireworks begin.
Fully prepared for this dance, Yuki and Renji smile gently as they gracefully dance within their protective embraces. With a whirl, she sees the entire dance floor, and a flash begins, the music drowned out.
Red eyes with spinning black tomoe…red eyes and claws and nine tails…
Ink drawn animals leaping off paper…
The earth shattering with her fist…
His return with the new toy…
Her replacement…
Unwanted; unneeded; undesired; unloved…all abandoned her…
"You're just jealous, Sakura…" an exasperated, high-pitched voice and blue eyes say…
"…uki….Yuki!" And she is staring into worried golden eyes, still dancing. Swallowing, she lays her forehead against his, eyes closing with unshed tears, and he understands. Drawing themselves away from the crowd and out onto the balcony, he leaves behind several pair of curious, worried, and angry eyes.
"Yuki-koi, are you alright?" he whispers into her hair as she clings to him shakily. "It's nothing, Renji; I was just remembering…oh Kami…I don't want to remember…" she said fearfully. "What if I remember my past, and forget you and the others? You are the best thing to ever happen in my life, Renji-kun, and I love you so much--" Crushing her to him in a searing kiss, he cups her face between his hands and stares into her shining eyes. "I love you, Yuki no Tenshi, and what we have…I believe will last forever; wolves mate for life, right?" he finished jokingly, making her smile.
Behind the curtain, three males clench their fists in rage, while the others stood stock-still.
"Have we lost Sakura-chan forever?" Nara Ino whispered forlornly to her husband, who wrapped her in his arms.
13. Powder Room
Laughing as they waved goodbye to their dates and lovers, Yuki, Thea, Zeke, and Hiromi settled onto the plush red round couch in the women's powder room, gasping as they recalled the last, fast dance that most shinobi had fallen over from. "D-did you see h-her buttons on that dress? BAM! Popping off!" laughed Zeke as she and Yuki snickered back to back, Hiromi and Thea in the same positions. "Y-you forgot th-the Raikage's robes! Right over his head as his father watched! Oh man!" Thea laughed. Locking arms with Zeke, Yuki pulled forward, making the slightly tipsy girl shriek. Kicking a snickering Hiromi for good measure, Thea was pushed off, and retaliated by stealing Yuki's hair ornament. Eyes widening, she gave a low shriek and chased after her. "Thea, that's Renji's mothers! Her engagement present!" Standing on a chair, Thea raised an eyebrow, "Come on short stuff, you want it, reach for it!" Laughing, Yuki jumped and pulled it back with a chakra string. Readjusting it as she looked in the mirror behind the chair Thea stood on, she laughed triumphantly, walking towards the door. "Ha! Chakra strings beat out height anytime. Oh, pardon me," she said with a dazzling smile to a blonde with blue eyes wearing a Konoha pin on her kimono, as well as her two companions, a blue haired beauty and pregnant red head. "Oi, Yuki! Movie night on Friday?" Zeke yelled as she finished touching up her make-up. "You bet, Zekks! I'll bring the grande size bucket of popcorn!" she called back amidst the laughter of her friends. Two of the new women stared in shock at their interaction and regret, while the third seethed in anger.
Walking outside, Yuki smiled confidently. Renji had his back to her, and seemed to be conversing with four men and…was that the Godaime Hokage? Frowning as she noticed how tense his shoulders were, she focused some of her chakra to her hands and ran her hand lightly on his shoulder. Relaxing, he turned to face her with a smile, a frown disappearing from his face. "Ah, yes, Hokage-sama, this is my fiancée, Tenshi Yuki. Yuki-chan, this is the Godaime Hokage, and her entourage; her successor, Uzumaki Naruto; and the representatives of the Nara, Uchiha, and Hatake clans." Smiling pleasantly as the four men and woman gazed at her attentively, she bowed. "It is a pleasure to meet you Hokage-sama, gentlemen."
The Hokage eyed her with sharp eyes. "Tenshi Yuki…what an interesting name; how did you come by it?" she asked skeptically. Frowning slightly at her tone, she said confusedly, "Well, my fiancée, (Was that a choked gasp from Uzumaki-san?) and my companions found me half way between Yukikagure and Konohakagure. I was practically dead, and had no form of identification on me," she looked down, and Renji lowered his arm to rub her back, and kissed her head lightly, much to the chagrin of the Konoha Nin. By now, Yuki and Renji's friends had joined them, as well as the men's wives. "We brought Yuki-chan to the hospital," Zeke continued from beside her, "and she was out for two weeks. When she woke up, she had no memory of who she was." Yuki was quiet now, and sighed, her lips pursed, before she broke out into a bright smile. "Like a fairytale, ne? The fallen "Yuki no Tenshi", saved by her own guardian angels," she said wryly, making Hiromi laugh and pull her into a backwards embrace.
Tsunade could only nod in agreement, as she watched her former apprentice laugh in the arms of her new friends, her throat too constricted from sadness to even reply.
14. Blizzard
The party carried on far longer than normal, and a blizzard hit, forcing the entire assembly to stay in the sponsoring daimyo's castle. Brushing her hair in her room, Yuki hums as she prepares for bed. Secure in the knowledge that Renji's room is next door, she practically skips to her bed in the ankle length, spaghetti strap white night gown she had found in her bedroom. Stretching her arms over her head, she is surprised to hear a knock at the door, and smiles mischievously when she recognizes it as the one used by her friends. Opening the door, she beckons them in, prepared to have a night of fun as Hiromi reveals the cards and poker chips.
15. Aces
As if she has smelt the gambling, the Godaime knocks quietly on Yuki's bedroom door, Shizune the Uzumaki and Nara wives behind her, asking if they may join. Trading looks with her friends, they all smile and welcome the four inside.
16. Sake
While Zeke, the Hokage, Yuki, and everyone engage in the game, they decide to make the stakes higher, and for each round, the loser must drink some of the fine plum sake Hiromi has been able to filch from the pantry, and reveal a secret about themselves.
Snickering, as she is the first to lose a while later, Zeke drunkenly admits that if it weren't for Yuki, she wouldn't know what to do, as they are "Best friends forever! Did you know I was the one who had to give blood to Yuki when we rescued her and she was in the ER? Man, I've never seen her even come back from hiccup S-Ranked missions so badly before!" Yuki and the Snow Nin laugh loudly, while the ones from Leaf laugh in a strained manner.
The Hokage is the next to lose, ("Unlucky gambler, hiccup lucky in love, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune giggles), and her little truth strikes her in a strange way: "I wish I had never sent my apprentice on a mission during Christmas; I thought I was doing her a favor, getting her out of the village and away from the man she suffered unrequited love from. Hiccup It wasn't until after she was gone," her voice wavered, "that I realized I was doing it because…because…" her eyes watered, and she excused herself from the room. Staring after her, Yuki quietly told them to continue the game as she left after the Hokage.
17. Breaking Point
Tsunade is crying in the darkened ballroom that earlier today was lit brightly and filed with the sound of laughter. Clutching herself in a torn embrace, she is startled when pale, toned arms embrace her and long strands of two-toned pink and white hair fill her vision.
"Hokage-sama," Yuki says quietly, "I think we need to talk."
18. Listening Ears
"Oh Yuki-san! You remind me of her so much!" she sobbed heartbreakingly. Making cooing noises as she embraced the woman who was so familiar and yet not, she rocked her back and forth as her hug was returned.
Lying with heads toward the center of the floor and their bodies in opposite directions, Yuki patiently listened as the Hokage spilled forth the tale she had kept locked inside all night long.
19. Fairy Tale
"Once upon a time, when I had regained my hope for the world from a loud mouth blonde boy, (my future successor), I took on an apprentice, who was my pride and joy."
"For seven years I trained her to become stronger, and soon, she was at my other apprentice, Shizune's, level. Then…a man that she had declared her love, her entire heart to, returned from a journey of revenge. And with him, he brought another."
"She had traveled with him and his two other companions, both whom had also followed him. So he was welcomed back, all four were put on probation, and for a while my apprentice was happy."
"However, she admitted to feeling a little jealous of the new girl her love had brought home, and her closest friend reassured her that she had nothing to worry about…"
"Yet…after a year within the village, the more people seemed to admire and profess desire for the newer girl, rather than my apprentice…and after a while, I also took on the newer girl as my apprentice, which only worsened things, now that I think on it…"
"I…I don't think I realized it at the time, but as I spent more time with my newer apprentice, I became irritated with the former, especially when she quietly came to me one day and said she had not learned a new jutsu from me in a month. At that point, I called her bitter, and said things I should not have, that she did not deserve to hear…"
"And when my eldest apprentice Shizune approached me and chided me on my behavior, I ignored her words, and later that year…around Christmas, when I knew everyone would be at the Uchiha Manor for the Christmas Eve Party…I sent her on a mission for a week, with a four day return trip."
"I thought I was doing her a favor!" Sobbing…
"The Uchiha was proposing to my newer apprentice Karin! I might have been a bit irritated with her, but I still cared…and thought if she didn't see it, then she couldn't be hurt by it…but when I reflected on it afterward, I realized I thought she would spoil the happiness…" A heart wrenching moan.
"And then…when her return deadline passed, we sent out hunter Nin, and all we found was her head band…" Tsunade removed the crimson clothed hitai-ate.
20. Understanding
Yuki was silent; she was used to people confiding to her, as they had been since the day she arrived in Yukikagure. Propping herself up on her elbows, she turned to gaze down on the Hokage, only to find the hitai-ate in the older woman's lap. Trembling, she moved farther away from it…
"In fairy tales…he would come running…fear clenching his heart as he frantically called out my name; frightened since I was two days late in returning…but this is no fairy tale, and the newer toy is one he, and they, would rather play with than this old, broken thing…"
Tsunade sat up and eyed her hazed expression. Snapping out of it, she looked at the Hokage, really looked at her. "I am sure, Hokage-sama," she said quietly, standing and offering her hand out to the woman, "That your former apprentice has forgiven you, and understands that your actions were for the best. After all," she continued, pulling the older woman to her feet, then releasing her hand, "I wouldn't be blessed with the second chance to live again, would I, if your apprentice had not died?"
Silence swept through the rapidly chilling room. Tsunade's eyes were wide open as she clutched the red hitai-ate in her hand.
Standing in the center of the room, her braided hair swaying as she moved closer and kept her eyes on the old ninja headband, Yuki smiled sadly. "You didn't think I'd make the connection? When my friends and I visited Suna, rumors surrounded me, about how I resembled the former medic-nin apprentice of the Hokage of Konoha…and from the way you and your shinobi stared so intently at me and my entourage…and on the balcony…"
She picked up Tsunade's hand and together they held the hitai-ate.
"I may not remember, Tsunade-sama, but please be relieved to know, that your former apprentice has found happiness. You said it yourself; you sent her—me—on that mission five years ago, to bring me a measure of happiness. You did, in the end…"
Sobbing once more, Tsunade pulled the younger woman into a hug.
21. Breakfast
Each party has been allowed to eat their breakfasts in the common rooms that connect their sleeping arrangements, but that does not stop Tsunade from inviting herself and her own shinobi into the Yukikagure Nin breakfast. The Yukikage is pleasantly surprised, but welcomes them warmly.
Yuki is sitting on her right, between Zeke and Renji, and before she knows it, across from her is the Hokage, as well as the Uzumaki, the Uchiha, and the Hatake. Smiling at them before she turns to talk to her fiancée again, the early breakfast goes well. Although she is aware of whom these people are, or were, to her, she is still uncomfortable with their intent stares, especially when their eyes glare at the Yukikagure Hitai-ate around her right arm. When everything has been cleared away and they prepare to adjourn for the day, and return to their villages, she is shocked when the Hokage silently removes Haruno Sakura's hitai-ate, and puts it on the table between them.
All motion has stopped, and the pregnant Karin glares at the blood torn symbol of her former "enemy". The male members of Team 7 are stunned, and look at Yuki with hope. Looking at the object with a tenderness she usually reserves for the children she tends in the hospital sometimes, she picks it up and looks at the Hokage, while the Yukikage looks on with a knowing smile.
Closing her eyes, she looks up at the Hokage and nods sharply, before tucking it beneath her winter coat in a hidden pocket. From her pocket, she removes a sealed envelope, and in turn lays it across the table. "Remember, Hokage-sama; you did me a favor; you gave me my happiness with Renji, with my friends, and helped me find what I was missing, all without me knowing it. So should ever need my assistance, the jutsu and hair clippings inside that envelope will allow me to hear you, and come. I thank you," she bowed low, causing a cry to emerge from Naruto's throat, and without further ado, she walked away, toward her fiancée, toward her friends…toward a life worth living.
Behind her, Uchiha Sasuke stands next to his smug, pregnant wife, regretting every day that he never chose her over the girl he met during his time with the former Snake Sannin.
Behind her, her two former Sensei regret not spending more time or devotion to her learning.
Behind her, her former friends bemoan their loss; the little girl that they had depended on to always run to them was on her own two feet now…and her bright light of friendship was turned upon others…
And in the recesses of Tenshi Yuki's mind, Haruno Sakura sighs, and falls completely into darkness…
22. The Future
Taisho Yuki stands proud in the crowds of the Chuunin exams as she watches her twin son and daughter compete against the Uchiha girl and boy respectively. A twinge goes through her mind, but she passes it off as she cheers them on in a confidant voice. Grinning madly when her children win, she goes wild, and kisses her equally ecstatic husband on the mouth.
The Rokudaime Hokage watches sadly from besides his wife, and both wonder what might have been…if the Uchiha children had been hers; if she had stayed and been happy in Konoha.
The Uchiha Patriarch also watches, from behind his ANBU mask. His wife of twelve years now is at home, pregnant with their seventh child, and has refused to move out of bed to see the match. The fact that she is five months pregnant and still comes to watch her children with that bastard husband of hers, does not escape him. (That could have been you, his mind whispers, but he squashes that thought viciously. He knows that in the end he made a mistake…that he chose whom he thought was stronger over who was truly in his heart). He watches, his mask hiding his envious glare, as she kisses him and he kisses back with an equal passion, and wonders what his life would have been like if that had been him, and the children with the name Uchiha were theirs.
Shizune and Kakashi, standing above the crowds in the stand, smile quietly as their miracle child Sakumo is called into the ring, and begins his fight against Taisho Kenshin, the son of their former student who they see cheering on her son alongside her husband.
("He's not good enough for her," Kakashi muttered to an amused Shizune as they watched the couple walk down the aisle, the Hokage and her entourage in the front row as family of the bride)
As Kai and Tai Uchiha are led off the field and pass their opponents parents, they both feel a twinge inside their hearts, (especially when the pink and white haired lady smiles at them, and compliments them on their skills in battle), and wonder what it would be like if their mother was as affectionate as Taisho Yuki.
(Karin has been so obsessed with Sasuke and tying herself to him that she passes her newborns onto wet nurses and nannies; Sasuke-kun is her number one priority, after all, in her mind. So when Taisho-san comes and smoothes the hair on her children's heads down as they lay in the hospital wing recovering from their latest battle, the twins listen from behind the curtain separating them as she tells them a story. All the while, they clutch on to each other, their eyes clenched tightly, wishing she was doing the same to them.)
Life is no fairytale; Haruno Sakura knew that as she lay dying in the snow halfway to her village, where, at the moment she fell into darkness, her one true love was proposing to her replacement, amongst cheering friends and family, while she fervently wished upon her deathbed for him to come and rescue her.
Life is no fairytale; Taisho Yuki, the "Yuki no Tenshi," knows this, as she strokes her children's hair as they lie bruised and bleeding in the hospital wing while her husband speaks with their medic, Hatake Shizune. She knows this as she hears the efforts of the Uchiha's own twins to stifle their tears as they wish their own mother was there, (but affection would go against their clan rules…)
Life is no fairytale, but her efforts have given her a fairytale ending, Yuki knows.
A bittersweet one, but Yuki knows that no fairytale is truly perfect.