Being reinstated into the royal fold, Sakura must now adjust to a life she left behind as a child. Now being a face for a royal family, there are new responsibilities and expectations, some that Sakura has no say in. A new romance could be a wise political move, but has Sakura moved on from the past enough to trust her heart?
Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Naruto or the characters. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto or their respectful owners. This work is purely a piece of fiction and is for entertainment only, no profit is made in the publishing of this work.
How Does a Cherry Blossom Bloom?
Chapter 1: Silver Gems
A 22 year-old Sakura fluttered down the street, the tails of her sheer skirt floating behind her. As much as she was uncomfortable with this kingdom's attitudes towards attire and the flaunting of physical maturity, she had to admit that the outfit she now donned daily upon arrival in the capital did look good on her. It was comprised of a low-cut, maroon bandeau top, showing off her hard-earned, chiseled abdomen, a short skirt of matching color, and over that a sheer long skirt tinted a perfect rosy pink which complemented her bubble gum hair wonderfully. Much to her pleasure, boots were considered attractive in this culture as well so she merely had to trade out her shinobi standard boots for some higher quality ones with tapered heels and a few more decorative buckles instead of practical Velcro. The biggest qualm she had about the outfit was that the tailor woman who tended to her insisted that she don a crown which was forged of silver and decorated with jewels. Its twisted design sprawled from above one ear, across her forehead, to the other. Attached at the back was a veil of small, precious jewels resting against her naturally wavy tresses. Each gem of this headdress was white and pure as the tailor insisted they were a better fit for her than any colored version.
This went against Sakura's instinct as only a certain class were allowed to parade clear jewels upon their forms and she, being raised in a shinobi village, was not used to drawing attention to herself, especially since her hair color did that well enough of its own accord. At least she had drawn the line at wearing the matching bracelet cuff and near gaudy necklace that would have taken up the entire expanse of her collarbone and shoulders. Although she had finally made herself accept her new post in this strange land she would not concede to being too over encumbered with trifles to spring into action and call upon her training if need be. She kept this mentality even as she observed the eerie peace of this land, no ill will or even petty thievery appeared to plague these people Sakura noticed as she strolled towards the center of town.
It had been a full six days since she had been removed from her hometown of Konoha and transplanted in the land of Akaruichi, specifically in the city of Ryu, the center of the kingdom's expanse of lands. She had been summoned to the capitol building this morning by way of a messenger in royal guard garb knocking on the door of her apartment at 7 in the morning and bypassing the guards which stood on either side of her door at all hours to deliver the hand-written message. The king and queen of Ryu had summoned her to the great hall and she was to meet with the queen to speak of her new role in Akaruichi. She had calmly accepted the message and begun getting ready about 20 minutes before now, as she neared the capitol building's entrance. Sakura was no fool, she knew this day would come eventually, although she had spent the latter part of her teenage years convinced that she would be allowed to stay in Konoha, maintaining her guise of an ordinary shinobi save being friends with the two most powerful men of all five of the major countries. Most of the ladies who had been in the situation she was currently in had experienced it around the age of 16, she was the oldest to go through with the ritual, at least to her knowledge.
Sakura strolled past the numerous guards lining the pathway to the capitol building without incident; they all knew who she was and why she was there so none of them questioned her. She climbed the many steps to reach the oversized double doors made of cherry stained oak and they were opened for her upon arrival. Past that, she stepped lightly and almost silently on the ruby rug extending from the doors to two highly decorated thrones in front of her. The seat on the left was empty, the king would be signed an endless supply of legal and diplomatic documents at midday, while the right seat was occupied by a very regal looking Queen Sagami. She had the same feminine yet sharp eyes as Sakura, though hers were a friendly, calming shade of blue, almost like the sea and the sky had met and melded together. She wore a traditional gown with long sleeves and a long skirt; the royals occasionally indulged in the more scantily clad fashions of the people, they definitely had the best figures for it, but more often wore more conservative garb to appeal to foreign relations when visiting the capital. The wine color of her gown blended nicely with hair, which reached down to her waist, a dark burgundy that was envied and lusted after by men and women alike. She smiled warmly upon seeing Sakura enter her hall, like an old woman seeing a long-lost friend she never thought she would lay eyes upon again. Sakura halted a few yards away from the step leading to the thrones, she knew to go any farther without permission would incite the guards to take action in order to protect their charge.
"Sakura, my darling, it has been too long since last I laid eyes on you. How do you find your lodgings? Are your guards to your liking? I had tried to convince your father to allow you to stay here in the new chambers but he thought it best to keep you in an apartment until Ayami has a chance to decorate it appropriately." Sagami smiled the entire time she spoke to Sakura, happy simply to be in the young Kunoichi's presence again.
"The lodgings and guards are fine, mother, as always. But why did you choose to bring me to Akaruichi now? Aren't I past the age of ritual?"
"Now, now, darling, you may think that but I think otherwise," Sagami had a twinkle in her eyes as she stood up and descended the step to place her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "Trust me, a mother knows when her daughter's time to blossom is, as I knew with your sisters and even with your cousins. But let's not dwell on that too much, come, let's catch up on all the wonderful adventures you've had in Konohagakure while you were away." She turned Sakura to face a smaller hallway to the left of the thrones and began leading her down the corridor to their favorite room: the kitchen.
x - x - x
Naruto slouched down into his chair, fiddling with a fountain pen as he rested his feet onto his desk. He had mountains of paperwork to review, as usual, but decided to rest as he was about to head home for the day. Shikamaru placed a stack of mission reports on a shelf in the wall and shook his head at the deflated Hokage.
"Well, the good news is in one month's time you'll have a nice, long break from the paperwork while you're entertaining the other Kage and several countries for the spring celebration."
"Yeah, but it's going to be boring with just Sasuke to keep me company. Sakura leaving is going to make it impossible to deal with that butthead now." The Hokage's faced deflated a bit more, which surprised Shikamaru since it was already so full of the look of boredom.
"I'll make you a deal, if you finish reading and signing these proposals," the advisor pointed to a stack containing at least 100 pages of legalese, "I will personally see to it that five different master ramen carts are available for the festivities." Naruto's entire body perked up at the offer, like a dog just offered a steak. "But you have to actually READ through them, don't just sign off on them like you did with the plans for new construction in the western sector."
"I DID read through those, they just didn't put the part about a nude beach in the draft I got!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he put another stack of papers away. "It was from Konohamaru, you should have known better than approve anything of his." He swore if Naruto weren't engaged to Hinata, a woman of decent morals, the Kage would have been impeached long ago for antics Konohamaru would have dragged him into.
x - x - x
The sun was setting as the fierce winds kicked up sand and settled repeatedly in the land of Suna. Gaara was perched on a window seat with his chin on his palm, elbow propped up on his leg, observing the random patterns in which the air moved, veiling the tangerine sun in grains of sand. Kankuro entered the Kazekage's office after releasing everyone for the day, always coming to Gaara last.
"Times up, you're gonna have to go home and stare at the sun there till you blind yourself, Gaara." The leader of Sunagakure made no motion to indicate he had heard his older brother. "Alright, have it your way, spend the night in your office again, but don't expect me to be here to bring you late night takeout, I've got a date." The brunette snickered and exited, closing the door behind him.
Gaara repositioned himself slightly, just enough to ensure his limbs wouldn't go numb as he continued to stare out of his window. No paperwork piled up in this Kage's office, Gaara was constantly on top of his work, something that made him admirable to the people he lead. He had no childish drama like his good, perhaps best, friend the Hokage of Konoha. His life was simple, structured, and the same day in and day out. He was looking forward to having some fun and a change of pace at the springtime celebration, which was being held in the land of fire this year. The celebration was a joint effort of the larger military countries to have a reason to bring together their citizens annually; having Kages constantly convene is one thing, but allowing your people to intermingle truly strengthens the idea of peace and fraternity after a final war. The people of Suna much appreciated being included in an event of fellowship and Gaara was not bothered by allowing them to do so, he relished the casual time he could spend with his hyperactive, blond friend. The festival was always a welcome distraction from the toils of running a village and Gaara expected this year's to be just as beneficial.