WHAT?
All the breath in my body left me in a whoosh of sound. I struggled to keep my face neutral, and free of emotion. Mind racing, I cleared my throat, not because of need to, but out of nervous habit.
"Forgive me, Lady Tsunade, but I don't think I heard you correctly. Could you repeat that for me?" Her sigh was long suffering, and the glare directed at me could have melted metal with its intensity.
"You heard me the first time, Koizumi, but I will humor you. You have been selected to assist Uchiha Sasuke in the revival of the Uchiha clan." Honey brown eyes assessed me, waiting for my response. My heart pounded in my chest, before jumping into my throat to jackhammer away at my pulse point.
"I – I don't understand, Lady Tsunade." Surely there has been a mistake, she can't possibly be serious.
"It's not brain surgery, Koizumi." A pointed look sent a red flush up my neck to my face, all the way to the roots of my dark, curly hair, against my wishes.
"I understand what you mean about reviving the clan, Lady Tsunade. What I don't understand, is, well, why me? If I might be so bold as to ask." Why is this happening now?
Word of Uchiha Sasuke had been sparse for the last few years, and Koizumi Akemi had assumed, along with many others, that he had either lost interest in his home village or he had been killed in his quest to avenge his fallen clan. She had never spoken with him personally, being a year older than him and such, not to mention civilian born. She, along with the rest of Konoha, knew of his past and his plans for the future. His name had become a sort of taboo around the village, especially when in the presence of the Rookie Nine or his former teammates.
"Simply put, he chose you out of the list of candidates that were sent to him." My brows furrowed in confusion. My expression was met with another heaving sigh.
"Several weeks ago, we received a message from the Uchiha." The Fifth Hokage reached into one of her desk drawers and pulled a scroll from within its depths. "He has offered up a treaty with the Leaf, so long as his demands are met." She passed the scroll across the desk to me. With trembling hands, I opened the scroll, skimming its contents as the Godaime continued.
"He has succeeded in avenging his clan, and now wishes to start the revival process." The Godaime leaned across desk to look into my eyes. "For the past several months, the Leaf has been receiving Intel that the Uchiha wishes to bring war to our village in response to the wrongs done to the Uchiha clan at the hands of The Council. He will drop these threats, if we provide him a spouse and future mother to his children, as well as the charge of Traitor being dropped from his name and the Uchiha Compound being returned to his ownership." The Godaime leaned back in her desk chair, regarding me coolly.
"I believe I understand the reasons that you are agreeing to his terms, Lady Tsunade. War right now would be the end of Konohagakure. Our economy is currently fragile, and war would be the straw that broke the metaphoric camel's back." The Godaime nodded her head approvingly. "What I still have trouble understanding is why he chose me, why not Haruno-san? Or one of the clan heiresses such as Yamanaka-san or Hyuuga-san? I am a civilian born kunoichi, with no high ranking social status, other my rank as a Jounin." As much as I wanted to deny the Godaime what she was asking of me, I knew I would never be able to live with myself if anyone were to be harmed by the Uchiha, when I could have stopped it.
"I cannot answer that question unfortunately, but I assume it has to do with the fact that you are civilian born. He has no need to worry about his Kekkei Genkai not being passed down because of another bloodline limit. You are, figuratively, a blank slate." It wasn't supposed to be like this.
"He wants me to marry him and bear his children?" The blood pounding in my head could make any dubstep fan proud, and I started to feel faint. The Godaime's face softened, uncharacteristically.
"I understand that this is a lot to take in all at once, Koizumi, but it is now, more than ever, that your village needs you." I felt myself nodding, but I couldn't bring myself to meet her eyes. Love wasn't supposed to be like this.
"When will he be coming back to the village?" Forcing my face into a blank kunoichi mask, I resolutely stared at wall behind the Godaime's head. Marriage wasn't supposed to be like this.
"We will first have to send word of your agreement to the arranged marriage, after that, it should be a couple of weeks before he returns, and then the wedding will take place a few weeks after that. You have time." Having children wasn't supposed to be like this.
"Time for what, Milady?" I straightened my spine reflexively.
"How long have I been Hokage of this village, Koizumi? How many missions have I assigned to you? I seem to remember many. How well do I know you? Admittedly not as well as others, but I do know you well enough to know that you need time to process this, and prepare, and time is what you will have. You are making a great sacrifice for this village, Akemi, and we will all appreciate. The least we can do is ensure that you are allowed the time to cope in your own way." As much as I appreciated Lady Tsunade's kindness, I couldn't bring myself to acknowledge it.
"I accept the terms of the Uchiha's treaty." Lady Tsunade nodded, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flash of sadness in her honey colored eyes. She turned to the ANBU member standing in the corner of the room.
"Bring me Hatake Kakashi." Nodding, the ANBU disappeared in swirl of light. Minutes later, he returned, one Copy Nin in tow. He glanced between the two of us, before turning his full attention to the Hokage. She nodded to him ruefully.
"We need a witness in order for this document to be signed legally." It was hard to tell what the Copy Nin was thinking, with his face being covered and all, but after beat he nodded his consent and stepped closer to the desk. I looked to Lady Tsunade expectantly. She paused before passing me a blank scroll as well as a pen. My hand was shaking something fierce as I began to write out my acceptance of the Uchiha's offer.
"I, Koizumi Akemi, of sound state of mind, do hereby accept the marriage proposal of Uchiha Sasuke."
Water began to cloud my vision, and tears, as well as fear of the future clogged and tightened my throat painfully.
"I also accept the responsibility of reviving the Uchiha clan."
My hand stopped shaking as I finished writing out the document, signing my name as well as the date, before passing the pen to Hatake-san. His one visible eye widened a minuscule amount, before he scribbled out his witness statement, and then handed the document over to the Fifth. She signed it herself, and then called forth a messenger bird to send the acceptance letter to the Uchiha. It wasn't until after the bird had left the office that anyone spoke.
"Koizumi, I thank you for your service to the Leaf." While her words rang hollowly in my ears, her eyes were sincere, and I nodded appropriately to the Godaime.
"May I be excused, Milady? I have much to prepare." She gazed at me for a few more moments, before nodding again. I bowed to her as well as the Copy Nin respectfully, before making a B-line for the door.
"Akemi." I paused, doorknob in my grasp. "For what it's worth, I'm glad it's you that will be reviving them. Maybe this time, the Uchihas will be a kind people, as well as proud."
"I hope so, too, Milady."
I was out the door and gone in a swirl of Ume petals before she could respond.
A/N: I do not own any of the Naruto characters or plots. I only own my OCs as well as my plot.