-Team Yamato gets a mission which involves the Royal Family of the Land of Fire. However, they soon find out Team Hebi's there too. And just what is Sakura's relationship to Lady Cornelia and Lady Euphemia? WARNING: DARK SAKURA FANFIC AND INCLUDES CODE GEASS CHARACTERS-Based on Hong Kong drama 宫心计-


Okay, I'm thinking the last chapter was a bit too rushed. Don't you guys think that, too? Well, if you do, I'm sorry for the lousy chapter. This one, I believe, will be better. So without further ado, the second chapter of my fanfic. Please Enjoy!


Chapter Two

That night, Sakura was unable to fall asleep. Madara's words haunted every corner of her mind.

"Your leaving was in vain. The current Fire Lord is cruel and brutal. He wants to burn down the monasteries and kill all the monks. Sooner or later, he'll start setting his eyes on the ninja villages and the surrounding nations. He's offended the people!"

She shook her head. No, she couldn't get caught up with the issues of the palace. She wasn't a palace lady anymore. Why should she concern herself with such problems that were out of her hands? There was nothing she could do; she wouldn't be of help, and she knew that.

"But you can, and you know it! Your brother, after all, is the rightful Fire Lord! The Empress just played a horrible trick to help her son rise to power! Listen to me: pretty soon, the Fire Lord will lose his throne. When that happens, I want to help your family return to its former status! The other officials will assist you. Your family can rule the country with love and kindness. It's really a blessing for the people."

But she had to admit. Madara's words held a bit of truth in them. The Empress did play an awful trick to ascend the throne. And if the Fire Lord were to lose his throne then her family would return to their rightful status. And if the officials were to help…

No… She shook her head, trying to rid herself of these thoughts. She had no way of knowing if Madara spoke the truth. In fact, when did he start caring about "the people"?

"I don't have a choice! I've seen my wrong ways… I want to change, starting with the administration and His Majesty! And once your family gets back their status, you would be able to leave shinobi life and return to the palace!"

She scoffed. Since when was shinobi life worst than palace life? Was he sane? To live in the palace was to be cursed. There was only tricks and deceit in that place. Nothing good could come out of living there.

"My Lady, do you actually believe the current Fire Lord would allow you to live if you just stay low? You think he won't hunt you down? You think you can stay as a commoner, free from the troubles of the palace life? His Majesty has eyes everywhere! Not only that but your whole family is still in the palace! Do you actually believe he would just let them live, having the royal blood flowing through their veins, knowing that your brother is just a challenger to the throne and nothing more than a nuisance?"

And though she had believed the Fire Lord would allow her family to live peacefully, there was still some part of her that knew he wouldn't. After all, her brother was his only competition. And though the Fire Lord thought her brother was a retard, who's to say that he wouldn't try to have him killed? And what would she do if that were to happen?

"If you want to save your family, you must act quickly! You must restore your family back to its original status as the true Royal Family and help your brother become Fire Lord! And not only for your family's safety but for the people, too! Do you want them to suffer? Do you want to see that? For the sake of the nation, the people, and your brother, you must return back to the palace and get back what you deserve!"

In some way, Madara's words were starting to make sense. She knew he was only using her. However, he needed her to get rid of the current Fire Lord—who knows what he was planning after that—but could she really do that?

"If you don't believe me then have faith in the gods. From a young age, both you and your sisters were sickly beings, but you've all become such beautiful and healthy women—the youngest may still be blind and crippled, but she still lives! And your brother has suffered through a horrible head wound that was supposed to kill him, and yet he has survived! This shows that the gods favor your family! They've given you their blessings! What else can't you do?"

She sighed. Really, why was life so complicated nowadays? Why couldn't she just get a day of peace?

She looked back down at the ornament she held in her hands. It was a beautiful hairpin, and it suited its name—the Phoenix Welcoming the Sun… The phoenix itself was golden, but the eye was a luminous pearl, harvested from the mines of the Land of Lightning. It was round, crystal clear, and small in size, but its brightness was above that of all other pearls. It could have been seen a hundred miles away. And though rubies and turquoises tied with a golden thread were initially planned to be used for the tail, the pearl itself was supposed to be the focus of the hairpin; as such, a feathering method was decided upon, and the feathers of a river kingfisher were used. Because of that, the hairpin was really supposed to be a treasure but, instead, it became a curse.

Sakura remembered it well; of course, she would—her mom was the victim, after all.

When the hairpin was finished, the Empress had received it. But during her stroll in the garden, the phoenix had bled. It was a bad sign and, as a result, she had all who was involved in the hairpin's creation punished. Those who made the design had been demoted to laborers while Sakura's mother, Marianne—the one who had poured her heart and soul into making it to please the Empress—was beaten. The Empress had been generous, so Marianne was beaten only thirty times, but she had died that night due to her injuries and sickly form.

Sakura stroked the feathers and sighed once more. The hairpin was ordered to be destroyed, but such an act could not be carried out. And so it was supposed to have stayed in a temple for the rest of eternity, but now it was back in her hands courtesy of the Uchiha warlord. The hairpin was really a beauty, but would it really bring her bad luck?

And yet, as Sakura stuck it in her hair, she really didn't care. Besides, she had a touch of reversing such luck. And more importantly, she had a plan, and she needed all the luck she could get.

She clasped her hands together and prayed. Her life wasn't going to be the same anymore.

✿。.:**:.。✿

Knock! Knock!

"Come in…"

The door opened, and the girl stepped in.

Tsunade stopped what she was doing and folded her hands together. "I didn't expect you to come this early, Sakura. Is there something wrong?"

"Oh, no, everything's fine, Tsunade-shisou…" Sakura said, still thinking over what she'd say to her mentor.

"Oh?" A mixture of confusion and worry painted the Hokage's voice and expression. "Then . . . is there something you need? Something you want to tell me?"

Sakura nodded her head, taking in a deep breath. "I actually . . . I have a request."

"What is it?"

"I . . . I wish to leave Konoha!"

✿。.:**:.。✿

"Obasan, you look so much better today."

The sickly purple-haired woman smiled. "Don't I? And it's all thanks to you, Euphy. Before, I thought I was going to die, but you've taken such good care of me. I owe you my gratitude."

"Obasan, I'm only doing what's right. You are my aunt, after all. Taking care of you and Nunnally while Oniisan and Oneesama are away is my duty."

"But, Oneesama," the much younger girl said. "You should leave that to Obasan's and my ladies-in-waiting. You should be doing other things, other fun things."

The other princess just giggled, combing back her pink hair behind her ear. "Nunnally, it's okay. I really don't mind. There's nothing fun to do in the palace anyway."

"Euphemia," her aunt sighed. "You've been using that as an excuse ever since Eulalie disappeared. Is there something wrong?"

The rosette just gazed at the marble floor. "It's . . . it's just a coincidence, Obasan. I-"

"You're lying, Oneesama." Nunnally said, "You should know better than to lie in the presence of a blind person."

"Euphemia, please…" their aunt pleaded. "Tell us what's wrong…"

"I . . . I just miss her, Obasan. I have no way of knowing how she is or what she's doing, and I don't even know how her days go by."—her tears slowly dripped out of her eyes and onto the floor—"Is she suffering? Is she happy? Does she even know how heartbroken I am not to hear from her as the years pass? Is Eulalie even alive..? She's gone because of me… Because I was too weak to make the decision… I-"

"Euphemia, you know your sister went for the good of the country as well for the well-being of our family; she did it with no regrets. Though that trip has separated her from us, I strongly believe she is alive and well."

"But Obasan . . . if she's alive then why hasn't she come back to us? I understand Oniisan's reasons, but-"

"Euphemia, no matter what kind of life Eulalie is leading now, it would be better than living here in the palace. You know that as well as I do. If she were to come back-"

"Her life would be forfeit. I know that, Obasan, I know that." Euphemia cried. "But I miss her so much. She's my twin! I can't live knowing that we'll be separated for life! I just can't!"

"Euphemia…"

"Cornelia-obasan! Euphy! Nunnally!"

The three turned their heads towards the doorway.

"Lelouch?" his aunt asked, unable to believe her eyes.

Euphemia started to wipe away her tears. She didn't want her brother to see her tears.

The black-haired boy ran to Cornelia's side. "Obasan!"

"Lelouch, is that really you?" The lady stroked her nephew's cheek. "My little boy…"

"Oniisan…" Euphemia cried once again, this time out of happiness.

"At last, I can see you three again…" Lelouch said, hugging his aunt then his two sisters. He lingered longer on the youngest one. "I missed all three of you so much…"

"We missed you, too, Oniisama…" Nunnally was also in tears.

"Where is Eulalie?" the prince asked.

Nunnally and Euphemia suddenly fell silent. What were they to say?

"Lelouch, why are you here?" Cornelia's fearful voice brought them back to palace life and off of that topic. "Who gave you permission?"

"The Empress said that you're really ill… She gave me special permission to come and company you, Nunnally, and Euphy. I was worried about you three especially you, Obasan."

"Thank you for your concern, Lelouch, but I feel much better now. I'm sorry I worried you."

"Oniisan, did you go see the Empress?" Euphemia asked, also worried now.

"I didn't go anywhere after I came back," was Lelouch's answer. "I came straight here to see you three."

"That's not good…" Cornelia gasped, quickly wiping away her tears. "Hurry! Go get changed! You need to come with me to see the Empress. Otherwise people will say we're at fault."

"No way, I don't want to." Lelouch complained. "The Fire Lord doesn't like me. He yells at me all the time."

"Your elder brother's fifth son is Fire Lord now," his aunt explained, "You're his uncle. He won't scold you. Just hurry and go…"

At this point, one of the entrance guards came running into the room. "My Lady, His Majesty and Her Highness have already arrived."

Cornelia's eyes widened, her fear clearly written on her face.

"Welcome them in right away!" Nunnally commanded, her tone also frightened.

Euphemia quickly ran towards her younger sister and carefully pushed her wheelchair. Cornelia grabbed her nephew's arm and quickly followed her nieces into the main corridor—just in time, too. The Fire Lord and his grandmother, the Empress[1], had just come in.

"Tennō Heika, Kōgō Heika." the three bowed.

Cornelia turned around to glance at her nephew. He was just looking around the room, oblivious of the new people in the room. She tugged on his sleeve to get his attention.

Lelouch saw them then and quickly bowed. "Tennō Heika, Kōgō Heika."

Empress Villetta smiled a bit but quickly turned her attention back to Cornelia. "Imoto-san[2], you're ill. There's no need for the formality. Please sit down," she said, taking Cornelia's hand and leading her to a chair.

"You have my thanks, Oneesama."

The two women sat down.

Villetta folded her hands on her lap. She quickly glanced over Cornelia's nephew and smiled. "Prince Lelouch has been away for so many years. He's such a big boy now?" she asked. She gave a small nod to her grandson.

Schneizel understood immediately. "So you're Ojisan?" he asked Lelouch. "I really can't tell it's you."

"You don't remember me, but I remember you. Dragon, right?" Lelouch asked, ever-so stupidly."Euphy explained it to me. Whoever wears the dragon robe is the Fire Lord, right?"

"Lelouch, don't be rude." Cornelia scolded. She knew for a fact that, if he did anything to displease either the Empress or Fire Lord, he'd be punished. That was how it's always been.

"Imoto-san, it's just an innocent comment. Never mind that…" Surprisingly, Villetta ignored it this time. Lelouch was safe . . . for now. "Imoto-san, you look so much better now. If I had known that, I wouldn't have asked your nephew to hurry home. I was afraid he couldn't come home to see you off in time."

Cornelia and her nieces all turned to the Empress, their eyes filled with annoyance, but they couldn't do anything about it. She was the Empress, not them.

"I hate seeing people off the most," Lelouch suddenly said. "Last time, when Otousan died, I cried for so long. I don't like it, I really don't."

Villetta smiled a grander grin. "Prince Lelouch is really such a nice nephew," she commented to Cornelia. "Now he can keep you company. Imoto-san, I bet you don't even need the medicine anymore."

"I'm grateful for your concern, Oneesama." Cornelia bowed her head but, in reality, she knew very well what Villetta's true intentions were and how disappointed the Empress and her grandson were that she did not die. Their obstacle and only threat was still alive, after all.

✿。.:**:.。✿

"You want to leave?" Tsunade asked, disbelief showered her voice. "And just exactly, on what grounds?"

And Sakura did what was least expected. She got on her knees and begged. "Please allow me to return home!"

"What . . . what are you doing, Sakura?" the Hokage asked; she couldn't believe her eyes or ears. "And . . . what do you mean by 'home'? You're a Konoha nin! You-"

"Shisou, you once asked me about my family. I couldn't tell you then because it would have done me no good to have anyone know of my identity. I intended to keep it a secret and bring it to my grave. However, times have changed, and the Imperial Palace is beckoning for me to return."

"Imperial . . . Imperial Palace?" Tsunade really couldn't believe her ears now. How was she not to know of this? Something so important? "Sakura, don't tell me you're…" She couldn't bring herself to say the words.

"Hai, Shisou." Sakura had tears in her eyes. "My real name is Hamasaki Eulalie, third princess of the Land of Fire. I was brought to Konoha when I was very small because I was seriously injured. The life that was here enticed me to stay when, in fact, I should've returned home. Now trouble has risen in the Imperial household that calls me back. Hokage-sama, please let me go!"

Tsunade was silent. All the information that she had just heard . . . there was no way it was true… Perhaps she was drunk. Yeah, that was probably it. She was drunk and was starting to hallucinate. There was no way her apprentice was trying to leave her… No, it couldn't be… But somehow, in her heart, she knew she had to let Sakura go.

"Sakura… No, Princess Euphemia…" Those words were like weights on Tsunade's tongue. The next ones were worse. "I'll let you go . . . but only if you'll tell me why… I want to know what I'm sending you off to."

"Shisou…"

"You can't just ask me to blindly send you into danger. You're my apprentice even if you are the third princess of the Land of Fire. I've treated you as a daughter for all this time… You can't just tell me to stay out of your life… You need to tell me what's going on…"

Sakura debated with herself for a moment. Should she tell her? In the end, she chose to. After all, she could trust her mentor.

"I have reason to believe that my family is in mortal danger. The current Fire Lord is growing wary of their status to the ascension of the throne. I fear he will target my brother and later rid himself of my aunt who proves to be a threat to his grandmother's position."

"Then I'll send a group of ANBU with you," Tsunade offered.

Sakura shook her head. "Shisou, that will only cause complications. The royal families are interdependent within each other. If one person is in trouble then that means all of the members are in danger. They all take action whenever they feel threatened by an outside force. However, if the conflict is from the inside, the truce between the families is broken, and it's every family for itself. It is too dangerous to have Konoha start the usurpation but, if I go in myself, the chances of success are higher."

"But . . . it's still as dangerous—maybe even much more—if I send you in alone, Sakura."

"I know that, Tsunade-shisou. However, I've got no choice but to take that risk."

Tsunade sighed. She knew that look in her apprentice's eyes—her eyes were full of determination, the same determination that was always in Naruto's eyes. If she didn't grant Sakura the permission to leave then her apprentice would become a missing nin. She wouldn't let that happen. Anything was better than having her apprentice being branded a traitor.

"Fine, Haruno Sakura or Princess Eulalie, I hereby grant you permission to leave Konoha, but you must promise me that you'll return in one piece."

"I can't promise that, Shisou…" Sakura cried, unable to meet the elderly lady's eyes.

"And why not?"

"Because if I am to carry out my plan successfully then I must smear my name and make myself out as the bad guy."


Hai = yes

Kōgō Heika = Her/Your Majesty the Empress

Obasan = aunt

Ojisan = uncle

Oneesama = older sister

Oniisama = older brother

Oniisan = older brother

Shisou = mentor

Tennō Heika = His/Your Majesty the Emperor

[1] = The Fire Lord's main wife would be Queen who would be in charge of the Inner Palace. If he did not have a Queen then the Empress is in charge of the Inner Palace in place of the Queen. The rest of the wives would just be Ladies.

[2] = Between the concubines of one man, they treat each others as sisters. As such, depending on their age, sisterly honorifics are used.

Phew, this chapter was kind of long, wasn't it? Well, I hoped you all liked it. Please tell me in your review what I should improve. Thank you and please continue to stick to it!