The Black Box

Chapter One

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"Sasuke, this is getting ridiculous." Itachi closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. His little brother was being completely unreasonable.

"No, what's ridiculous is being forced into a marriage with a rich harlot I've never met and will never love." His brother shot back from across the room, sitting on the bench below the window in his room, staring out into the garden beyond the glass. A frown marred his usual stone-face, and his coal black eyes flashed red in the sunlight that shimmered through the window.

Itachi opened his eyes and looked towards his younger brother, wishing there was another way out of the mess they were both in; their father had recently died, leaving his entire kingdom to his two sons. They were still very young, Itachi being only twenty three and Sasuke five years younger.

Yet the laws that ruled over the entire fire country stated that every ruler have a partner, otherwise rule would be stripped from the royalty in power, and given to the best court-elected official. In other words, if they didn't get married within three months, they would lose their power and their home, and the village would be under the control of some decrepit old fool from their father's council.

Itachi refused to let someone rule over his and his brother's kingdom; they'd trained their whole lives to become kings, and they both loved their home and their people dearly…

They'd just figured they'd have more time before it was forced upon them, was all.

They weren't ready. Not for their father's death, and certainly not for this. They'd never taken the chance to scope out possible partners, because everything was so peaceful, it hadn't even crossed their minds.

Itachi looked deep into his brother's eyes, and he saw the pain that swam through them; the anger at the council for forcing such a large burden on them at such a grievous time. He saw so many emotions flittering through those onyx eyes, and he wondered if his brother could see the same in his.

"For heaven's sake, Sasuke, the poor girl fainted." Itachi scolded, but they both knew there was no real admonishment behind it.

"Just proves how weak she was." Was Sasuke's answer, as he picked up a glass of wine and brought it to his lips. Itachi felt the urge to drink as well, all of a sudden. Sasuke looked up and saw the look in his eyes, and simply reached for another glass and poured one for his brother as well. Itachi took the beverage with a grateful sigh, and downed the entire glass in a second before joining his brother on the bench by the window. Reaching out he grabbed the wine bottle and began to pour himself another glass, this time filling it up a little more.

"It's a drink to be savored, Itachi, not gulped down like a shot of vodka." Sasuke quipped, then returned to staring out his window. They both sat in silence for several minutes, drowning themselves in their own thoughts.

Every day the council was getting more and more restless, and they still had three months left; God knew how they would act in two and a half months…

Itachi sighed again and covered his face with his hands, setting his elbows on the window sill and releasing some of the tension in his shoulders. He'd never act so calm around anyone other than his brother and mother. His father had been so demanding and harsh that he'd never felt comfortable around the man. With his father suddenly passed on, Itachi was finding it difficult to stay collected instead of falling apart. He heard shuffling a few seconds later, and felt hands around his wrists, pulling them away from his face. He saw Sasuke kneeling before him, a sad look in his eyes once again.

"What do we do, Aniki?"

Itachi breathed deeply. "I've re-read the law over and over, and I don't see a single way out of it. Of course there's always the chance that our spouse suddenly dies, but I'd rather not resort to killing someone. Because father left the kingdom to the both of us, we both have to be married, as well. If one of us isn't, the law still applies."

Sasuke hung his head and ran a pale hand through his raven locks, making them stick up even more. "This is complete and utter bullshit."

"Language."

"Would you prefer it in French instead?"

"We're getting off topic, Otouto."

A knocking on the door to Sasuke's room brought their attention, and Sasuke called the person in. The large oak doors swung open slowly, and a man with spiked silver hair walked in. He closed the doors behind himself, giving the two brothers a smile from underneath his mask.

"How are you two fairing, so far?" He asked in an overly cheery voice, both his red eye and his black one curving up with his smile. Both brothers stared pointedly at him, and his question was answered without words.

"Not well, I see." Kakashi walked forward and took a seat in a lavish chair next to the window, spreading his legs and resting his arms on the armrests looking completely relaxed.

Kakashi was their personal advisor, and the only human being that they both trusted that wasn't blood related. Kakashi's father had served under their father, and he had taken the same path. He'd watched both of them grow up, and they both held a special place in his heart; seeing them so distraught affected him more than they knew.

"How did the meeting with the Waterfall princess go?" Kakashi inquired, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Sasuke glared her into unconsciousness." Itachi replied calmly, looking over his wine glass to his brother who frowned and looked away from the two.

"She was giving me that 'eat me' look." He answered calmly and returned to his post, glancing out his window once again.

"There has to be an easier way to do this, Kakashi." Itachi hung his head backwards and let it thunk against the wall, his long black ponytail falling over his shoulder in strands.

"This is marriage; no one ever said being married was easy." Kakashi smiled softly to the elder Uchiha. Itachi said nothing.

"I hate to agree with Sasuke on this, but I feel the same way; I don't want to marry a person that I won't ever love and who takes my position for advantage. I also refuse to have weakness in my mansion, so marrying some little mouse of a girl will not suffice."

"You're a prin-… a king now, Itachi. The odds aren't exactly in your favor." Kakashi sighed and stood up, walking over to the window and looking out with Sasuke. Itachi joined them both in looking out into the garden.

Despite it being so stressful and dreary inside the mansion, it was a beautiful day outside. The sun sat over the trees surrounding the kingdom; it was only mid-day. The wind blew very softly, almost not even there, and the flowers were deep in bloom. Such a summer's day should have made them all cheerful, yet instead it seemed to drag them all down even more.

A large garden sat below Sasuke's window, with an ornate, intricate maze that led around half of the property of the garden. The bushes and flowers were neatly trimmed, and the grass was deep green and healthy.

They all watched as a tiny maid, carrying a basket on her hip filled with fruits and vegetables, made her way towards the castle. A young boy, about the same age as her, snuck up quickly behind her and covered her eyes with his hands. She jumped and almost dropped her basket, but held on tightly and said something to the boy.

He shook his head, and she paused for a moment, before smiling and saying something else. The boy smiled as well, and removed his hands. She turned and smiled, swatting him on the back of the head and motioning towards her basket. The boy relieved her of her burden, and they both continued on their way back to the castle.

Kakashi smiled at the show of love and happiness between the two. Such a simple game, yet they both left smiling and-

"A game…" Kakashi spoke a few seconds later, startling Itachi and Sasuke. They turned to him and gave him twin looks of confusion. Kakashi turned to them with a wild twinkle in his eye.

"A game; you can find someone by playing a game."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, skeptical over Kakashi's sanity at the moment, and Itachi continued to stare blankly at him. Kakashi sighed and turned to them completely.

"You both wish to find someone who will appreciate you for who you are, not what you are, correct?"

Both brothers nodded.

"Someone who thinks like you, who feels the same way as you do. Correct?"

More nods.

"Then have them prove it. Bring people into the castle, commoners and royalty alike, and have them answer a riddle or something, that shows their true intentions and feelings. Make them guess about something, or even answer a straight-forward question. If they think it's a game, they'll be less likely to think deeply about their answers. That will help you figure out what they really feel, not just what they think you want them to feel."

Kakashi turned and walked towards Sasuke's dresser, staring at some of the items placed on top of it before lifting one hand and picking up a simple, black box. It had been a gift from his mother when he was very young. "The people aren't aware of you both needing to marry in three months, so we can take advantage of that and hold a ball of sorts."

"You want us to hold a party after our father's death?" Itachi asked calmly. To be truthful he didn't feel the need to wallow in grief over the man's death, but to throw a ball? Not to mention the fact that he and his brother were the least social creatures this side of the country.

Kakashi hummed and without permission, opened the box and began to remove all the trinkets and notes Sasuke had organized. The younger Uchiha's glare went unnoticed or ignored.

"You may take the opportunity to let the people know you will protect them like your father before you, and promise your loyalty to the kingdom and all that inhabit it."

Sasuke wanted to deny the idea, to tell the older man that it was completely idiotic and worthless and a waste of time. But the more he thought about it, the more he saw the logic in his advisor's words. Honestly, something so simple could be the answer to their problems. Besides, he'd prefer this method to meeting princess after princess. The ogling and drooling wasn't appealing in the slightest. This way he could mingle at his own leisure and scope out a larger number of suitors.

Itachi could see the acceptance in his brother's eyes, and smirked to himself. Of course Kakashi would choose something as simpleminded as a game to determine marriage. But he had to admit, it was an idea worth thinking over. Plus, they had no other options, other than walking out into the street and accepting the first person to tackle them down.

Finally emptying the box of all it's possessions, Kakashi closed it with a resounding thunk and took it to his younger master. Holding it out for Sasuke to plainly see, the little twinkle of mischief returned to his eyes.

"What shall your secret be, Sasuke?"

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I own nothing but the laptop I typed this on. Don't sue me please.

This is just part one of a much longer story I've been saving for some time. Not quite sure why I never put it up, but I guess we'll see how it takes with the reader's, huh?

I would like some recommendation on who you think Itachi should be with, though. I have an ending in my head, but I'm wondering if maybe you guys would prefer a different partner with Itachi than my original one. This is a SasuNaru though, so don't worry about that part.

Please regard me kindly,

Kyori-Aleas