There are so many people to thank as I start posting fanfiction again for the first time in 7 years. The Empress of Konohagakure has been a project of mine for officially 5 and a half years on June 30th and what is a better time to start posting it.
First off I would like to thank morninglilac (ff . net) and RadioactiveKitten (ff . net) for their excellent work in making Empress presentable for public eyes as my betas.
Next in the long line of accolades are all the works that have lent me inspiration or motivation over the years. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. Empress was greatly inspired by several things such as cynchick's gorgeous rendition of Sakura as the tarot card the Empress. The Hand of Lady Hyugaby the point was another source of inspiration for an Imperial AU. More recently Amaryllis by silverfootsteps played a large role to motivate my writing as their depiction of Sakura was one I enjoyed and felt in some ways mirrored the Sakura of my story.
Finally in this list of tributes I should not neglect my dear friends both in fanfiction and in reality GaiaMystica (AO3) and [still need username] for their endless patience in many a "What should I do here?" "Oh I'm working on Empress again." "Oh I'm not working on Empress even though I should be." As well as all their efforts to beta the work, make it coherent and motivate me if only for their own selfishness of finally getting to read a finished work.
Without further ado, I present the Empress of Konohagakure.
It was with small certain steps that Hyuuga Hinata, the eldest daughter of the Head of the Hyuuga Clan, made her way through the hallways of the Imperial Palace of the capital of Konohagakure. Everywhere she looked there was a flurry of motion, and while a few servants greeted her as she passed, most could barely spare a short bow as they were working tirelessly to prepare the palace for the rapidly approaching Social Season.
Hinata was suitably dressed for a companion of the future Empress, her kimono an impeccable creation of beautiful violet patterned with lilies in lilac coloured silk. Her long dark hair was carefully piled on top of her head and held in place with a lily comb. The Hyuuga were well known for their beautiful and graceful appearance as well as their ghostly white eyes and dark hair; Hinata, as the eldest daughter of the Head of the Hyuuga Clan, was no exception to this.
As she watched the servants scurry about, Hinata was distinctly aware that it was not just the Season that brought life and movement to the usually dreary palace. The tang of excitement and nervousness coated the air. Hallways blocked off for years to save on costs were opened and cleaned; the heirlooms and tapestries depicting the history of Konoha were once again on display.
Everywhere whispers of gossip floated, and the news spread from the ears of the nobility, to the servants, to foreign lands. There was to be a coronation! A descendant of the First Emperor would once again sit upon the Imperial Throne. Everywhere the name of the soon to be Empress fell from the lips of every man, woman, and child in the Empire.
Senju Haruno Sakura.
Underneath the brilliant display of excitement, the Fifteen Clans of Konohagakure plotted. Even Hinata's own Clan, the Hyuuga, began to subtly position themselves for their own benefit. After years of questioning Hinata's worthiness as heiress of the clan, the Clan Elders had finally begun to speak in her favour. She knew it was only because of her close friendship with the future Empress, and that Sakura had made known she favoured absolute primogeniture[1] and not agnatic primogeniture[2].
Not every clan intended to support Sakura's claim to the Imperial Throne; the more conservative clans that had once opposed Uzumaki Kushina's right to the throne were now Sakura's main opponents. The Hyuuga Clan often sided with the conservative bloc and Hinata knew that the instant it benefitted her Clan their support would be withdrawn from Sakura.
Still Sakura was not without allies. She had the support of Hinata and her peers, many of whom were Clan Heirs. As the Clans angled for power, Sakura's friends maintained their support, even when facing adversity from their own families.
For years Konohagakure had been in a steep decline, and while it still commanded respect from its heyday, it was clearly wilting. The most obvious sign was the decrease in Clan members. Some Clans were down to only the main family, in others—the Haruno and Hatake Clans—only a single member existed. When Konohagakure had been first created the Imperial Palace was full to bursting, now nearly half of it was deserted.
It was Hinata's hope that under Sakura's reign Konohagakure would attain its former glory. With Sakura at the helm, it would blossom and flourish to surpass the Empire created by Sakura's great-grandfather, the First Emperor.
As she walked down the deserted hallways Hinata had to wonder if perhaps there was a grain of truth to the whispers that Konoha would only flourish under the reign of a Senju. After all, for the first time in nearly seven decades, a Senju would sit on the Imperial Throne.
It was the very end of March and the trees outside bore the heavy weight of petals about to bloom. The sprawling structure of the Imperial Palace was nigh silent save for the quiet whispers and footsteps of servants as they prepared for the onslaught of clan members, nobility and foreign dignitaries that would arrive with the Season.
Within the office of the Haruno Clan wing, the soon to be Empress shifted a stack of paperwork from the centre of her desk to the side. Lifting her arms above her head, she arched backwards, sighing in relief as muscles stretched. While most of the Clans had left the capital to winter in their private estates, Sakura had remained behind.
There had been so much to accomplish before the social Season began, and her impending coronation arrived. The paperwork was never-ending, it seemed. Millions of tiny preparations for the coronation, endless letters to compose to foreign guests and dignitaries who had offered their congratulations and sent gifts or accepted her invitation to visit Konoha.
In a desperate bid for distraction from paperwork, Sakura's eyes lingered on her window where the Imperial Monument was visible. It stood as a testimony to the history and power of Konohagakure. Carved into the face of a mountain the four regal faces of the Emperors looked out over the Empire they had loved so much.
Sakura's eyes lingered the longest on the First Emperor's face. Senju Hashirama, her great-grandfather and the reason she was to become Empress. All her life she'd gazed up at his visage never knowing her relation to him. But now, with the discovery of documents hidden by the Second Emperor, everyone knew she was a descendant of the First Emperor by way of his posthumously legitimised son.
Sakura was startled from her reverie by a knock on her door. When she gave her assent, she was pleasantly surprised to see Hinata enter. Even without the close friendship formed during their Academy years, as two members of the Fifteen Clans within the same age group Hinata and Sakura knew each other quite well.
"Good morning," Hinata greeted Sakura softly. "The Emperor asked that I give this to you." Hinata held out a folded note carefully sealed with the symbol of the Emperor Regent.
"Good morning, Hinata. Running errands for the Emperor, I see," Sakura teased her friend. With a grudging sigh, Sakura opened the note was not surprised with the contents. She was being summoned to the Emperor.
As the next ruler of Konohagakure, it was not uncommon for her to be summoned by the Emperor. This, however, was a formal summons. The note invoked the Imperial Rite of Summons. Meaning that if Sakura did not attend to the Emperor at her earliest convenience she could be charged with treason.
It had been an ingenious practice implemented by her ancestors in a time when they precariously ruled over the independent warrior Clans who were just settling in Konohagakure. By requiring the Clans to spend at least six months in service of the Imperial Throne, and the ability to charge any Clan member who refused a summons by Rite of Summons with treason it allowed them to govern and maintain control of a possible threat.
Sakura saw Hinata's eyes flicker from the note to her face. There was hardly any point in hiding information or emotions from any member of the Hyuuga; their ability to read the intentions of others was nigh legendary. She knew Hinata had read the contents of the message, likely before it had even been delivered, with her clever eyes.
"The Emperor has called you by Rite of Summons?" Hinata's soft voice searched for confirmation.
Sakura smiled grimly. "You already knew that," she accused the dark haired girl without any venom, laughing softly when Hinata blushed and ducked her head. Still, she could hardly blame Hinata for spying. It could, after all, be valuable information to any interested sources that the Emperor felt the need to force Sakura into obeisance.
In public, the Emperor and Sakura maintained the appearance of a close relationship. He was her mentor and father figure, and while once Sakura had enjoyed playing the role of his daughter, time had worn admiration into hate. Relationships between members of the Fifteen Clans were multifaceted. With so few members and so many marriages, alliances, friendships, and enmities the relationships often took on a nigh acrobatic level of balancing.
"We all must obey the Emperor," Hinata acquiesced, pale eyes fixed on Sakura, "even the future Empress."
Grudgingly Sakura pushed her paperwork aside and prepared for a meeting with the Emperor. This affair was likely to consume the rest of her day.
One day, she reflected, lips twisting into a smirk, he would be the one to drop everything to respond to her Rite of Summons.
Namikaze Minato sat on a loveseat beside his wife. The two of them were drinking tea as they waited for the arrival of the third member of their party. Despite the Rite of Summons this was to be an informal meeting with their pseudo-daughter.
The Emperor was a man in his mid-forties. He was known for being a heartthrob in his younger years—and his looks had not faded with time. A kind face, charming personality and vibrant blond hair set him apart. Even before Minato had become Emperor, his peers respected him for his skill as a shinobi and his ability to win over people.
In comparison, the Empress Consort, Uzumaki Kushina, was a stunning contrast to her husband, matching him in a way few women could hope to rival. Striking red hair and a vivacious personality drew people to her just as easily as they flocked to her husband. As a member of the Uzumaki Clan, she was minor royalty and a distant relative of the Senju Clan.
One of the servants approached, clearly to announce Sakura's arrival. Sakura entered gracefully, her expression cool, followed closely behind by Uchiha Sasuke. The dark haired man peeled himself away from her to stand against the wall with a clear view of the room. If it just so happened to place him directly behind the Emperor's defenceless back, none of them mentioned it.
The instant the Uchiha had entered the room the smile on Minato's face had drooped. He did not trust the man that his son and pseudo-daughter had so become so foolishly devoted to, the man that they so readily shared their secrets with and trusted to defend them. The Uchiha were rarely trustworthy and those who had been trained by traitors were even less so.
Sasuke stayed true to the typical Uchiha looks; he had dark hair with dark eyes that concealed the deadly crimson gaze of the true power of the Uchiha Clan, the Sharingan. Sasuke remained unperturbed by the Emperor's disapproval. He was the second son of the Head of the Uchiha Clan. He had been raised to conceal his feelings and to subtly undermine his competitors. He was an Uchiha, a shinobi, and a politician, and he knew how to play the game.
"Namikaze-dono," Sakura greeted the Emperor formally with an icy gaze and a rigid curtsey, before warming considerably as she turned to the Empress with a murmured, "Kushina-sama," that marked her respect for the older woman. Sakura gave a slight dip of a curtsey before accepting an embrace from the redhead.
Once seated Sakura eyed the elegant design of momiji[3] leaves on the Empress's kimono with admiration as Kushina gracefully poured Sakura a cup of tea.
"I hope I did not interrupt your plans for the day," Minato explained genially as if he had not forced her to attend to him or be charged with treason.
"My plans were not disturbed much," Sakura complied graciously. She settled the tea in her lap, enjoying the warmth of the mug even as she kept her hands loose so as not to reveal her tension to the Emperor.
Minato repressed a sigh. Once he had enjoyed a close fatherly relationship with Sakura, but no longer. She continued to behave like a petulant child simply because she disagreed with the actions he took to preserve Konohagakure. She behaved… as if they were strangers and it cut him deeply. Perhaps when she became Empress she would understand the demands the position placed upon him.
"Sakura," the girl in question hid her irritation at the intimate way he addressed her, simply taking a sip of her and waiting for him to continue.
"Although I support your claim to the throne and consider you a worthy heir to the Will of Fire… I'm afraid I can offer you support only as Minato—not as the Emperor Regent or as the Clan Head of the Namikaze. Kushina," and here the Emperor gave his wife a significant look, "is in much the same position."
Kushina gave a small apologetic smile before averting her eyes towards her lap.
Sakura's smile felt plastered to her face as she nodded in agreement. The support of the Uzumaki Clan would have been monumental as a hint of their disapproval was capable of destroying dynasties. She had expected that there would be little political support for her, but it was still a blow.
"There will be political upheaval now that you have been announced as the heir, but it is preferable to the civil war that was brewing in the Clans. You have destroyed many plots and ambitions for the Imperial Throne."
Before the announcement, the Fifteen Clans had been in fluctuating chaos, with alliances made and broken in the same day. With no obvious Senju, the Imperial Throne was ripe for the taking, and its wealth and power would become part of the new Imperial Dynasty's. Then, from obscurity, Sakura's claim had been revealed. It was a watered down claim, but with the support of Princess Tsunade paired with Sakura's formal training in Senju techniques made it undeniable that Sakura was a member of the Imperial Family.
"I am not unaware of this, Namikaze-dono," Sakura replied, voice sharp. "I have been making my own alliances, gathering information and consulting with the Rookie Nine."
The Rookie Nine was, of course, the nickname given to Sakura's peer group during their academy days. Of the nine children she had befriended, seven of them were Clan Heirs. The friendship of youth translated into an alliance, as they grew older.
Sakura's proud, cutting expression faltered, becoming almost wary as Minato's amiable face became blank, the only sign of tension in it the slight furrow of his brows.
"Can you be certain of their continued loyalty in the face of opposition from their own clans? Their own families?" Minato frowned. "I do not mean to cast aspersions, however…"
"I am, of course, cautious, but I believe my faith in them is well deserved." Sakura paused in her reassurance, eyes widening as understanding dawned upon her.
"It is not the Rookie Nine you are concerned with, but Sasuke." He dared to suggest, albeit subtly, that Sasuke was a traitor while the man was still in the room. Minato did not deny it.
"I trust Sasuke as much as I trust your son, Namikaze-dono." Sakura hissed, her turning the title into a weapon. "Naruto himself would be the first to say that Sasuke is trustworthy. Though to be fair, you've always doubted our assurances of Sasuke's loyalty."
Flashes of Sasuke lying broken on the prison floor consumed her mind, the agony lining his face cutting into her heart, even as his pride kept him from begging. Healing him only to watch, as once more he was tortured to simply confess that he had been helping the traitor. It's for the good of Konoha, Sakura. It's for the good of…
During this heated exchange, Sasuke remained passively against the wall, seemingly ignorant of the way Sakura was so boldly accusing the Emperor of torturing him.
It had been a dark time; being abandoned by his Clan, the ongoing torture, and the betrayal of his mentor had left deep scars. Throughout it all Naruto and Sakura had been his shining beacons of hope. Not even for an instant had they doubted him.
"This has gone on long enough," Kushina intervened, eyes as sharp as her voice. This old disagreement was one of the central components that had led to the strained relationship between her husband and Sakura.
While Naruto could not find it within himself to continue to hate his father, Sakura had no such qualms. She had seen the true monster that lay hidden behind the handsome face of the Emperor. He was a man who could torture innocent people into confessing their crimes because he desired their guilt.
"Of course, the only reason you have to doubt Sasuke is because even after torturing him," Sakura's voice broke but her eyes remained steely, "he wouldn't confess to being guilty. You wanted him to be guilty—"
"That is enough Sakura," Kushina interrupted with an edge to her voice. "We've been over this before there is nothing to be earned from bringing it up."
Minato's eyes were closed almost pensively, but she knew he was trying to compose himself. Sakura could have laughed. She had dealt the Emperor a blow.
"There is an additional reason we have called you here." Kushina began as her husband tried to compose himself. "As the Empress, your primary duty is to ensure that there is a new generation to inherit the Empire. You are currently single and there are doubtlessly many young men who are vying to become your Prince Consort, but you must be extremely careful in selecting a future husband who will doubtlessly become the father of your heir."
In an effort to distract himself, Minato began to fiddle with the tea set. Using a small convenient fire jutsu often used for starting campfires he rewarmed the tea and prepared to serve another round of tea.
"There will be no need for diligence in selecting a husband because I don't intend to marry."
Minato's grip on the teapot tightened, and it shattered in numb fingers, boiling liquid spraying out. Both Kushina and Sakura hissed, recoiling from the droplets that landed on them, Sakura winced at the sight of the stains on her skirt. Unfortunately, the damage was noticeable; Ino would kill her for ruining yet another outfit.
The incident was utterly ignored as Minato's gaze was fixed forward. The Imperial couple looked shocked at the news. "I thought they were just rumours," Kushina whispered leaning forward. "Why ever not?"
"I won't allow a man or anyone else to control my Clan and my Empire. Because I don't want to find that one day the Fifteen Clans have given what is rightfully my power to my husband simply because I am a woman." This last was a jibe at the Imperial couple. "Because men lead to the ruin of good women."
Sakura's resolve was firm—Fourth Emperor Regent Namikaze Minato should never have sat upon the throne. He was not a Senju, he was not chosen by a Senju and he was not an Uzumaki. While The Fifteen Clans had chosen him to serve as Regent, his wife Uzumaki Kushina should have been the Fourth Empress Regent. She was of the Royal Uzumaki Clan and it was her duty to serve the Imperial Bloodline.
Kushina opened her mouth to deny Sakura's claim, but she could not refute it. She'd known that Sakura had been watching wide-eyed at the lives of the many strong women surrounding her, but she'd never guessed at the messages Sakura had been learning. It was obvious to see where Sakura drew her ideas.
Sakura had watched her mentor Tsunade grieving decades later for the loss of her lover. She'd watched the Inuzuka Clan Head refuse to marry because she'd lose control of her Clan. She'd watched her own mother behaving as a demure housewife to a civilian man, before succumbing to an illness her husband had refused treatment for because it used medical ninjutsu. Sakura watched Kushina become Empress Consort when the laws dictated that only the Senju and Uzumaki could rule until no one of either bloodline remained.
"I'm not the little girl who chased after Sasuke promising eternal love." Sakura vowed steely-eyed. "Love is impossible when power is involved."
"I… Sakura, I—" Kushina tried to say but nothing seemed to come out. Kushina reached out to grab Sakura's hand. Trying to express her feelings through touch.
Minato frowned. "Sakura you have to understand your position. You are the Empress, you're single and you need an heir. Everyone from Konoha to Iwa knows this. I wouldn't be surprised if half the Empire had plans to seduce and marry you."
Sakura's hand tightened its grip and Kushina repressed the urge to sigh. Her husband never seemed to know when to leave well enough alone.
"I'm well aware. Let them come to try and seduce me, but I won't marry any of them. The child does not need to be born from wedlock. I may even adopt a child." Sakura's sharp words paired with her icy tone cut off further conversation. "This conversation has gone on long enough. By your leave." While it was rude and likely treasonous to leave the Imperial presence before permission had been granted, Sakura took no heed and marched from the room, closing the door with a slam that nearly wrenched it off its hinges.
A bare few moments after she left, Sasuke finally peeled himself from the wall and followed after the furious girl, but not before giving a deep mocking bow to the Imperial couple.
Uchiha Sasuke allowed a smirk to cross his lips as he trailed after his friend. Sakura was a formidable enemy when she was angry, and now she was well and truly pissed off. Were she not so skilled in her chakra control and maintaining her emotions he had no doubt that small craters would mark where each of her furious footsteps had landed.
Resisting the urge to sigh, Sasuke continued after Sakura. Usually, when she was in such a foul mood he avoided her until she had calmed down or worked her frustrations out. This was easily accomplished by tricking Naruto into provoking her. A few good punches culminating with a knocked out Naruto never failed to brighten Sakura's mood, and it served as a great source of entertainment for Sasuke.
Still, he could not leave her unattended now, despite the risk of becoming the focus of her fury. Since the announcement of Sakura's inheritance, he and Naruto had divided the task of guarding and supervising Sakura into shifts. She presented an enticing target now that she was to be Empress, and although both boys knew she could defend herself (Sakura would kill them if they implied otherwise); they were secure in the knowledge that they would be able to intervene if necessary.
The meeting with the Emperor could have gone better, Sasuke reflected, even if Sakura had won some small victories. By invoking the Rite of Summons the Emperor had set the meeting up for disaster. It had been a display of force and a painful demonstration in how little trust and respect the Emperor had for Sakura.
Sakura had retaliated by bringing Sasuke with her. By standing behind the Emperor's back it had been a clear message saying that neither of them trusted him. It had been more than enjoyable to watch the irritation in Minato's form, distrust and the barest flicker of guilt in the Emperor's eyes every time he saw Sasuke. It was a very firm reminder to Minato that even the Emperor was but a man and therefore fallible.
Sasuke was jerked from his thoughts as Sakura swerved sharply into a small alcove. Sasuke took a quick glance around to ensure their privacy before he followed her. There was no need to fuel the gossipmongers of the Empire.
Despite her childhood crush, her feelings had melted into the kind of respect and friendship that could only be held by teammates who trusted each other to have their back.
"I can't believe the audacity of him! Daring to mention that my trust in you might be misplaced—while you were in the room!"
While Sakura's righteous anger on his behalf filled Sasuke with glee, he knew intellectually that the Emperor had only done what he thought right at the time. The seal of that traitor burnt uncomfortably on his shoulder at the flash of anger. Calm down, he told himself silently counting his breaths before speaking.
Minato had his reasons to be wary of the Uchiha. Since the founding, the Uchiha Clan scrambled for power and took it where they could. At every exchanging of power, the Uchiha Clan circled, much like the tomoe in their eyes, prepared to benefit in some way. They had been his strongest opposition for the title of Emperor Regent, and their efforts to undermine him had only deepened his distrust.
"You know as well as I do that the Emperor had the right to suspect anyone who was associated with that man." Sasuke could never bring himself to say the name of the man who had so betrayed him.
It had been a time of great upheaval. After months of debate on who should take the throne after the Third Emperor had abdicated, the Fifteen Clans had finally settled on Minato. Just a week after his coronation Orochimaru had rebelled, successfully assassinating the Third Emperor and attacking the newly crowned Emperor before he fled.
The Emperor needed to show his people that he was not weak; that traitors would not be tolerated. With Orochimaru's actions suspicion naturally fell upon his students. The extended interrogation and torture of Orochimaru's students had only served to show the public that the Emperor was serious.
Sakura shook her head fiercely. Sasuke and Naruto could excuse the Emperor's behaviour until the end of the world and Sakura would refuse to accept it. She had witnessed the horrors of Orochimaru's twisted laboratories and known without a doubt that Sasuke could never have been complicit in those warped experiments.
She had been the one to heal Sasuke after each torture session, only for him to be sent to the interrogation room once more. At one point she had reached her limits— there was only so much she could endure—but Minato had manipulated her saying that if she didn't heal Sasuke, that no one else would. It had been unbearable to watch her dearest friend and teammate suffer so.
Minato thought it was misguided loyalty to their teammate that motivated his children to defend Sasuke, even as he withered, abandoned by the Uchiha in the face of accusations of treason. Maybe it had started that way, but watching Sasuke, who truthfully had always remained distant, lose parts of himself in that time had only revealed the depths of his humanity.
That brief moment where she had stumbled upon Sasuke weeping for the atrocities that Orochimaru had committed had strengthened Sakura's resolve. She would give herself wholly over to Sasuke's defence. Publically she honoured Sasuke's wishes to forgive Minato. Privately she would not and could not forget how he had so nearly broken the man in front of her.
"On top of that, he accuses me of neglecting my duty! I have done nothing but consider the future of this Empire since he told me I was a possible candidate for the throne. I will not marry and let a man have control over me or the Empire!"
Sasuke remained silent. Even as a child Sakura had been strong-willed to the point of frustration. Once her mind was made up it was easier to smash your face in with a rasengan than change her opinion. She was simply trying to preserve her power, and save Konohagakure from the influence of someone who would abuse it. As her guard and one of her most trusted friends, Sasuke was not oblivious to the danger Sakura was in. She was right to fear for the future of Konohagakure when everywhere the Clans vied for Imperial power.
Sasuke paused in his thoughts when he felt a small weight against his chest. Sakura's face was buried in his shirt, concealed by him and her own pink locks. Without even thinking he wrapped his arms around her.
"Sakura…" she could feel the rumble of his chest as he spoke, his voice full of warning. They were in public and Sakura's actions and words were constantly scrutinised.
"Just give me a moment, Sasuke," Sakura's muffled reply came. She felt crushed by the weight of obligation.
When Sakura pulled away Sasuke immediately cast a glance to ensure they were still completely hidden in the small alcove. There was no need for curious passerby to begin spreading rumours about their forbidden romance or some such nonsense. "Thanks for listening, Sasuke."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted taking in Sakura's soft smile. While he loved Sakura like a sister that did not mean he would have anything to do with her emotional outbursts. "Naruto and I will spar with you next week." Sparring, Sasuke and Naruto had agreed, was the best way to express their love. There was nothing quite like fighting with your friends and teammates to show you care.
[1] Absolute primogeniture: a form of inheritance where the gender does not matter. The inheritance passes from parent to eldest child, regardless of gender.
[2] Agnatic primogeniture: a form of inheritance determined by tracing shared descent through male ancestors. Inheritance passes from parent to eldest male and their line, followed by next male and their line. If no sons exist it will often transfer to the next closest male such as an uncle and their line. In a last resort women can inherit.
[3] Japanese Maple Tree