ONLY TIME MAY TELL
Chapter 1
Hikari-Japan-Chan
:DISCLAIMER:
I don't own any of Naruto...If I did...I bet I would totally be your friend, reader, right hmn? Ha ha...
A soft glow of light from a window nearby trickled through the foggy blankets cuddling the courtyard. The small face of the princess appeared in the window, her hazy lavender eyes peering out the window. "I-I can't see the moon, Advisor Masaru," she pouted to an older boy nearby, who was sitting on the bench next to her.
"Of course not, Princess," the mahogany haired boy said, chuckling. "It's covered by the fog. You'll probably see it tomorrow."
"But the Mid-Autumn Festival is coming soon!" the young princess of fifteen years stood, sighing. "This fog hasn't lifted at all during the night for three days! And the festival is supposed to be in a week!" She huffed, a strand of her raven hair falling in front of her face.
The brunette boy, who was slightly five years older than her, stood to attention as the princess paced back and forth, his hazel eyes twinkling in amusement. "Princess Hikari, the fog will not lift with all that pacing. You should go to sleep. After all, you need energy for tomorrow's preparations."
Princess Hikari stopped mid-circle. Sighing with defeat, she stiffly waved him off. "Alright, Advisor Masaru. I shall. Good night."
Masaru hesitantly paused, then bowed, murmuring, "Good night, Princess." He slowly backed his way out of Princess Hikari's room, closing the tatami screen quietly in front of him. As he walked away from the princess' room, Masaru mentally kicked himself for not telling the princess of what was going to happen. And then, when she is informed by the Elders, what would she think? Masaru growled to himself. He furrowed his brows together, concentrating at the floor.
Why did I even want to tell her in the first place? Is it because...I want her to choose-
The brunette's thoughts were startled when he ran into somebody. "Advisor, you seem 'in the clouds' tonight, hmn?" the imposing person towered over the young man.
"Oh, General," Masaru bowed respectfully. "Ah, I didn't see you there...and, er...yes, I was...deep in thought..." His thoughts went back to the beautiful princess, who was hardly four years younger than him.
The General's silver eyes shone through the dark hall. "I see...perhaps, thinking about...hmn, the princess, maybe?" He chuckled in delight, pleased that he had guessed right as Advisor Masaru's tanned cheeks flamed in embarrassment.
"N-No, I mean, yes," Masaru groped for words, flustered about how the General could have possibly known. "I-I mean, I was wondering if I should..." Should I really tell the General? he thought to himself. He already knows. What the heck, I'll just tell him. "...I was wondering if I should tell Princess Hikari about the Elders' decision."
Running his fingers through his long white hair, the General grunted in disapproval. "You mean about her getting married already? I have already got the solution to the problem. We'll just marry her off. An arranged marriage."
"D-Did you talk to the princess about it?"
"Pfft. Of course not. If I told her, she would probably run away or...even try to marry you just to get out of it. Don't be so naïve," the General added, seeing the multiple shades of pink on the advisor's face. "We both know that you want to marry the princess, but that's impossible. After all, if we arrange a marriage for her with somebody wealthy or with a large army, the kingdom of Rikuto would be saved! And perhaps, the husband we find for her would be...influential."
Masaru mentally sighed. Of course, he forgot that the General would always try to find someone rich he could influence so the power would be manipulated to him. "I...I don't think that's a good idea," the young advisor tried to grope for the right words. "If we tell her she's going to be forced to be married, she might not like it. But..." an unpleasant yet logically safe idea was forming in Masaru's mind. "If we just introduce her to some men...maybe..."
The General slapped the brunette on the back. "I like it! Let's do it! She'll never know what hit her."
Masaru could only sigh. He really didn't want to do this...but this was for the kingdom of Rikuto, after all. Then, a small hope wavered in the brunette's heart. What if she didn't choose any of the nobles? Would she choose...me?
{While Princess Hikari slept that night, she had a dream...}
Princess Hikari woke as a little girl of four again. Then, she was still Princess Hikari, but she was called plain Hikari. She was walking into the castle, hand in hand with her mother and father, the Emperor and Empress, along with Grandfather, the former Emperor. The cherry trees bowing in front of the gateway drooped from the burdensome blossoms that flittered away in the breeze.
"Mama," Hikari looked up at her mother innocently, "Could I plant a cherry tree in my bedroom?"
The Empress looked at the Emperor helplessly, while Grandfather just laughed. "Of course, my cherry blossom," the Emperor ruffled Hikari's hair confidently.
"You know you can't do that, right?" the Empress shook her head.
"Yeah, you can!" Hikari piped up. "If Papa says he can, it can happen!" she said, confident in her father. Then, she ran ahead through the gates into the castle.
"Welcome back, little princess. How was your stroll through Konoha?" the General suddenly appeared behind her.
"It was great! We saw koi in the pond!" Hikari beamed up at the old General. Then, she ran to the inner courtyard by her bedroom and looked for a vase to hold her flowers she had picked during the walk. After finding a little chipped china vase, she stuck the flowers in and walked into the throne room. Surprisingly, her parents weren't in there. Neither was Grandfather. Hikari placed the little vase next to her mother's seat and ran back outside. "Mama? Papa? Grandpa?" Hikari tilted her head as she stared at her parents and grandfather, who had suddenly ceased to do anything except stare at the stranger advancing towards them.
"Hikari, go back inside," the Empress flicked her eyes towards her only daughter. But Hikari didn't listen. She ran up to the Empress' side, clutching her hand. "Daughter, don't be so stubborn," she tried again, her voice getting slightly agitated.
"Ah, your little princess has grown into such a fine young one," the stranger suddenly interrupted. His dark red eyes pierced into Hikari's, who cowered behind her mother.
"What do you want, Uchiha?" Hikari's grandfather finally spoke.
"You know exactly what I want," the raven haired man smirked, turning his attention from the girl to her grandfather. "You owe me, Hideki. The girl belongs to me. She has the Uchiha blood in her."
"You can't force her at this young. Wait until she's old enough, then I'll give her to you to train. Besides, here in the palace, she will also be trained," Hikari's grandfather argued, motioning for the Emperor and Empress to leave, which they hurriedly did. But Hikari stayed. She wanted to know what was going on.
"My eldest son, Second Cousin, is six years older than your granddaughter, and he has already mastered the Sharingan. She is fine," the mysterious man thundered. He put his slender fingers under Hikari's chin and forced her to look at him. "She will be fine." Hikari's lip started to quiver.
"My final answer is no, Uchiha," Grandfather placed a hand on Hikari's shoulder. "I'm willing to let you have her when she is older and more experienced. She is too young!"
"I'm tired of playing games with you, Hideki." The man stood to his full height. "You do not know what you have just done." Then, swiftly, the man turned and started walking away. Before crossing the gate, the man looked straight at Hikari and said, "Only time may tell the future...only time may tell...I hope to see you again, dear Hikari..."
Hikari woke up, sweating. Her heart was racing, and her breaths were light and quick. She looked out the window. It was only midnight, three hours since Advisor Masaru told her to get rest. The dreams had been happening more frequent. She knew she didn't want to go to sleep, for the rest of the dream would continue. The raven haired princess walked to the corner of the room, where there was a little shrine with three pictures. Bowing three times towards every family member, she whispered, "Honorable Grandfather, Honorable Father, Honorable Mother, I wish you peace."
Sighing, Princess Hikari slowly shuffled out of her room, closing the tatami door behind her softly. The tapping of her footsteps was the only other noise in the quiet hall besides the nightly watch. She walked into the courtyard and looked up at the sky. The fog had started to clear away, and some stars peeked from behind the gray blankets.
It had been ten years since that happened. Yet, Hikari still shuddered every time she had the dream. The mysterious man, coming to claim her, to train her. But why? To train her for what exactly?
The hooting of a great gray owl in the willow tree nearby reminded Hikari to go back into her comfortable bedroom. As she snuggled back under her blankets, Hikari wondered what Masaru was trying to tell her tonight. He seemed hesitant...but why? What was he going to say? Her eyes started to slowly close, and Hikari tried to brace herself for the rest of the dream, but she knew it would do her no good. She knew she would have to relive her parents' massacre...and murder of distant family she would never know...and her grandfather's death.
Only time may tell...only time will tell...
A/N: A hug for you reading this! yays!
Yay! This is actually my first story...in a while...from me, Hikari-Japan-Chan, of course! Yeah, I know there wasn't really that much Naruto in this first chapter, but there will be in the next (hopefully, from what I recall so far)! I hope you enjoy it! And...well, it's weird if you beta your own stuff, so I don't really have a beta, unless Shigure-senseii wants to go through all that hard work to beta for me...
I love you all! Please review! Or favorite! Or follow! OR DON'T FOLLOW ME AT ALL AND BE GUILTED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE BY MY 'cute' BETA GHOST FOREVER! Or like Shigure-senseii! HAHA!
From you lovely,
HIKARI-JAPAN-CHAN
