A/N: Hello! I will try my bestest to keep each character as close to canon as possible.
Chapter rating: T+
Chapter 1: Meeting
The Uchiha's household was bustling about as if Sasuke was going on a yearlong mission. The stable master prepared a grand black stallion for the young lord saddled with the finest cow leather. The blacksmith sharpened the already splendidly made long and short sword glinting in the sun. The head house cook whipped up the most mouthwatering meals for him and his companions. The maids carefully packed up scrolls, writing instruments and any books the young lord might have needed.
Sasuke did not enjoy the fuss and the noise that the whole household was creating. It was as if they were announcing to the whole village a significant event was happening within the Uchiha clan. Just this past year during his coming of age ceremony,* the whole village witnessed his transition into adulthood including his flawless demonstration of archery and swordplay. He expected acknowledgement from his father, but what he received were praises of how he finally lived up to the standards and expectations Itachi Uchiha had left behind.
With a tense stroke of the brush, a thick black line ran across the cream parchment in front of Sasuke into a curve depicting a bent bamboo tree. With his brow furrowed in concentration, his next flurry of strokes completed the branches and the leaves of the bamboo tree.
"Sasuke-sama, Itachi-sama is here to see you." The servant girl announced.
The raven looked up and called to let his older brother in. While doing so, he stood from his seat fluidly and removed the painting onto the floor to clear the table. The shoji door soon pulled open and his older brother walked in with grace, there was a certain air about him which made him all the nobler. He was wearing a dark red open long vest pronounced at the shoulders, golden stitching marked the fine clothing, and the symbol of Uchiha stamped onto the breast of the vest on each side. His kimono was of cream colored held together by a navy sash. The elaborate design of snakes coiled around each sleeve, the design was so elaborate and detailed to where one could make out each scale on the snake's skin. Compared to what the handsome man was wearing, Sasuke was deeply under dressed in a simple navy kimono with no vest. Itach's hands were tucked inside his sleeves as he exchanged place in seating with the younger Uchiha in a ritual of respect. They now both sat facing each other.
"Brother, what had made you come to see me?" Sasuke inquired, though he knew.
"Of course I have to see my little brother before he sets off to a mission as important as this one." His eyes crinkled with a small smile reached up to his eyes.
Sasuke was anticipating some kind of a lecture from his older brother. As each year had past, the responsibilities fell on Itachi at a feverish rate. He was often out of the village on diplomatic assignments and evaluating the country's well fare. He also frequently visited the Emperor and served as one of his advisors. Itachi was a very busy man, hardly ever had the time to visit his own little brother. Sasuke cherished and hated those increasingly rare moments. He missed those intimate moments they've shared when they were kids; they were nothing but a faded memory now.
"Of course." Sasuke said, with a small smile. He was never a man of small talks, if that's what it was. Politics, warfare and current events were always their subject of discussion when they meet, sometimes even women.
"No lectures today." Itachi's deep tone was playful, he caught a surprised look from Sasuke, with a chuckle he said "I have brought you something."
From his sleeve pocket, he retrieved a silver encased dagger; it was exquisite in design and beautiful. "This dagger was specifically hand crafted from the best blacksmith from the Land of Earth. I commissioned myself." Itachi said, and held the dagger to the other raven.
Sasuke took the dagger from his brother's hand. His fingers traced each chiseled outline of the dagger's scabbard. The design was of fallen cherry blossoms coupled with leaves of Konoha, the hilt was of the same design with a single round silver ring attached at the top.
"A samurai has no need of a dagger. Especially something so…womanly…" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, unsure of his brother's meaning.
This time, Itachi chuckled louder. "My dear brother, the dagger is not for you. It is a gift for your future wife! Only a woman of grace and high birth is worthy of this fine piece of art!"
Sasuke let out a laugh; of course it wasn't for him specifically. "Where do you think I'm going, to a marriage proposal?"
"As a matter of fact, the Haruno clan has a very beautiful and fair heiress. She is a master of art, literature, poetry and most of all a healer. Her beauty is like the bloom of sakura blossom at its flowering peak and is worth every woman's envy."
Sasuke should have known this meeting wasn't just a brotherly farewell. "What about you? As the oldest, isn't it your duty to marry before the youngest?" He countered.
"I've never said I didn't have my eyes set on anyone."
"Oh, really? Who may this fair maiden be? She must be of a goddess of a woman to have caught my most noble brother's eye." Sasuke's lips curved into a smirk, eyes playful.
"Well, you will just have to find out like the rest of the clan, dear brother." Itachi smiled, gave no hints whatsoever. "It's time, I must go." Both brothers stood from their seats and headed toward the door.
Sasuke shook his head, feeling a happy nostalgia. It had been a while last they've spoken with playful banter. Before leaving, Itachi put a hand on the other man's shoulder and gave it a small squeeze, his eyes gentle face soft. Sasuke's hand touched the spot where his older brother had squeezed briefly; he let his hand fall and then balled into a fist. He padded over to the back corner of the room where two tall wooden armoires stood. One contained his ceremonial samurai armor, a grand one with the finest gold and silver decorations and made with the best leathers. The second was a simpler in fashion, still made in the best leathers and dyed a deep wine red with lines of dark navy, it had less of certain flair. Sasuke opened the second armoire and gave the neatly hanged armor a once over.
Neiji, Shikamaru, and Kiba, were already mounted on their horses at the front gate of Konoha waiting for their commander. Each man donned armor dyed with each clan's perspective colors, Hyuga's beige and lavender, Nara's black and dark green and lastly Kiba's black and blood red. It wasn't long until Sasuke rode up with Suigetsu and Jugo trailing behind him. Both Suigetsu and Jugo wore the same deep red and dark navy dyed armor as their lord.
The Haruno clan resided on the country side to the east in the Land of Fire to escape the influences of the Uchiha, though for the past couple of decades, the pressure had been immense. The journey to the country side will take three days, maybe two if the company moved fast enough. Sasuke did not see the rush, two weeks' time to complete the assignment was more than enough.
The sun was setting, its waning rays splashed the sky a mix of red orange and yellow. Sasuke raised a hand to stop the company, a signal to make camp for the night.
"You're making the fire all wrong." Shikamaru sighed as he watched Kiba messily tossed thick pieces of wood into a pile.
"Whaddoya mean?! It's perfect!" The man looked up from his mess of brown hair exclaimed at the other. He clapped his hand together to get rid of pieces of dirt from gathering the wood logs.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sighed again, "Haven't you learned anything? If you all have are thick pieces of wood, the fire won't pick up." He poked at them.
"If you're the expert fire builder, you do it!" Kiba growled and stomped over to Neiji to complain.
Neiji was a slender man underneath the armor compared to the other men, he carried himself with grace and maturity. He pretended to listen to Kiba's rambling as he unloaded some blankets for a makeshift bed.
"Can you believe this guy?!" Kiba jerked a thumb at Shikamaru who was removing some of the thicker logs and replacing them with twigs and leaves. "Always correcting me!"
"Mmhmm." Neiji murmured in response.
As everyone settled around the now glowing small camp fire, Sasuke instructed Jugo to pass out the bento boxes that his household had prepared for everyone. The only thing that was strung above the fire was an iron cast kettle steaming with hot tea. The night air carried a slight chill, the tea would warm up their bodies throughout the night.
As each of them opened the bento boxes, Shikamaru whistled at the sight of grilled meat, veggies and sticky rice.
"Damn, it must be nice being the privileged!" Kiba let out a laughing, voice mocking.
Neiji's hand immediately connected to back of the laughing man's head. "Don't be disrespectful before a meal."
"Hey! You should be grateful that Sasuke decided to share the food that you can never hope to eat on a regular basis, dog breath!" Suigetsu chimed in hotly, his expression smug pointing his chopsticks at Kiba.
"Say what! I dare you say that again!" Kiba stood up suddenly facing the white haired man, eyes challenging.
"DOG. BREATH." Suigetsu crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue.
"Why you…!" Kiba was about to close the gap between him and the other man until Shikamaru gripped his shoulders preventing him from moving any further.
"Enough." Sasuke's voice commanding, he had enough of the noise. They were in the middle of the forest, the last thing they need were any unwanted visitors. "Eat, and then we need to discuss a few key information concerning this mission."
The raven glared at the white haired man who was still standing, he sat down without another word and started eating.
"Tch." Kiba shrugged Shikamaru off and started to stuff his face with rice. Both Shikamaru and Neiji sighed with relief, without much delay they've started their meals as well.
The six man team sat in a tighter circle around the fire, conversed in hushed tones so that their voices wouldn't be carried too far into the night.
"The Sarutobi clan had been waning in power especially now that Hiruzen Saruobi is getting old. From my sources, his only son, Asuma's interest in politics is close to none." Neiji said with a cup of tea warming his hand.
"Our objective is to use the Sarutobi as our medium to get the Haruno's heiress into the capital and their sworn loyalty. The lands to the east had been producing fewer yields of crops every year and they will need the support from the capital to survive." Shikamaru deduced, his hand rubbed the underside of his chin as he stared into the fire.
"That is correct. As long we offer amity and ensure his clan and family are well taken care of. Regardless of what the old man's concerns are, Asuma will agree." Sasuke nodded.
"Hah! This will be a piece of cake!" Kiba grinned with rice stuck around the corner of his mouth.
"And if they disagree?" Neiji said, the mood suddenly shifted, even Kiba's grin turned into a slight frown, his eyes reflected the dancing flames intensely.
"We will make them submit, no matter what the cost." Sasuke's voice rang in everyone's ears. The fire crackled and popped loudly as the wood turned black and crumbled underneath the heat.
Jugo hoped the mission wouldn't come to the draw of blood but he will do what he has to do in order to serve his lord.
With a basket strapped onto his shoulders, Naruto shopped around the food market for the best meats in preparation for tonight's dinner feast. Couple days ago when Sakura hurriedly took him back to the house, he was informed of an important figure from the Uchiha clan is visiting the clan. The blond farmer boy was assigned to be in charge of gathering food supplies and other items needed for the arrival of the Uchiha. Naruto was not ignorant of who they were, in fact, he knew a lot more than what a measly farmer would know. He absorbed information and knowledge like sponge whenever Sakura shared her news of current events and anything she learned from her lessons. Sakura didn't have any siblings, she looked at Naruto as a close brother and shared everything she knew. Sometimes Naruto wished he could be more than a just a brother. During his off times not on the wheat field, he practiced hand to hand combat and excelled at the naginata*.
Naruto stopped in front of a pig shop and examined the hanging hallowed body of the pig, fresh, bloody, and lifeless. The shop owner appeared from the opened door, his hands rough and caked with dry animal blood. He seemed to be just finished another butchering.
"You want this one kid?" The butcher pointed at the pig Naruto was looking at.
"How much?" The blond inquired, nodding.
"50 Ryo."*
"50 Ryo! Are ya trying to rob me mister!" Naruto exclaimed, just because he looked young doesn't mean he can be easily swindled!
"Look here boy, you have good eye, this pig here was just been freshly butchered. 45 Ryo, that's the final price. We have cheaper pigs like this one over here, if you prefer, for 40 Ryo." The butcher pointed at another pig next the one Naruto wanted.
Naruto sighed, Haruno-donno wanted the very best, and there was no way he would get a lesser quality pig.
"I'll pay 45 Ryo, you have to quarter the pig and toss in the livers!" Naruto grinned and stuck his hands on his hip.
"Fine, fine. Just wait a bit then." The butcher shouted for someone in the back, a young boy came out and started to unhang the pig.
Naruto reached for his frog shaped coin purse tied to his sash around his waist. As he was counting the gold coins, a crowd started to gather along the street. Naruto quickly counted all 45 Ryo and hand them over to the butcher.
"I'll be back for the pig!" He shouted over the noise, and joined the crowd to see what all the commotion was about.
The blond could not see a thing through the thick crowd, instead of forcing his way in he just went further down toward the shape of horses from the outer crowd of people. He could hear the villagers' whispering of how the capital had come to the village to raise taxes again and taking away their livelihood in order for the capital to live a lavish life. There were also excitement in the crowd of something big is finally happening in the quiet village. Naruto had finally gotten closer, and then he saw an opening in the crowd and snuck his way in.
Sasuke had thought this was a small village, as his company approached the main market, more and more villagers and children crowded around them. He suspected that the village rarely had visitors from the capital.
"Make way, make way!" Suigetsu shouted, trying to manage the crowd.
Sasuke scanned the crowd's faces. He could see their emotions mixed with anger, fear and excitement. All dressed in simple farm clothing, some with dirty and tired faces and the children held close to their mothers.
"Mommy, look it's a horsy!" A little girl ran out into the street with her little hands waving.
Suddenly, Sasuke's horse whined and began to thrash violently, he pulled on the stallion's reins trying to calm it down but with no avail. The mother shouted for the girl to come back but she kept running toward Sasuke. Why isn't anybody stopping her! Sasuke thought, he gritted his teeth as he tried to rein the horse with both of his hands.
A flash of yellow streaked across the road, Naruto's wrapped his arms around the little girl and fell into a roll right before the legs of the stallion crushed down on the earth. The crowd gasped and then fell into murmurs. The vegetables and other items he had bought tumbled out of his basket onto the dirt. The blond sat up with the girl in his arms and checked if she was ok.
"Phew, that was close. Don't run away from your mom ever again ok!?" He beamed at her with a toothy grin. The little girl nodded, shaken and then ran to her mother's open arms. "Damn, now all the vegetables are all dirty!" He grumbled as he picked up the lost items and tossed them back into his basket.
"Hey you. " Sasuke said to the blonde after finally gotten his horse to behave.
"Eh?" Naruto turned around, face streaked with dirt. He stood up and dusted himself off.
"Here." The raven tossed a small bag of coins at Naruto. "Your compensation."
Naruto caught the bag, surprised marred his expression and then it grew hard. He tossed the bag back at the raven.
"I don't need your money in order to save someone." He said simply turning to leave.
"You dare to refuse Sasuke Uchiha-sama's goodwill?!" Suigetsu growled, his eyes looked down on the blond, how dare the little nobody talk back! "Do you know who he is?!"
Naruto narrowed his blue eyes with his lips set into a thin line and tried to control his temper that slowly bubbled. One..two..three…he breathed.
"Yes, I know who he is. But I'm just a farm boy, a nobody, you don't have to bother with the likes of me." The blue eyed boy replied with an even tone, his hands gripped the basket strap on his shoulders. With that said, he snuck through the crowd and disappeared. Suigetsu almost went after him until Sasuke raised a hand.
"Stop. We have someplace to be."
What have I done? Naruto's mind racing, he wasn't sure. That black haired man was clearly the Uchiha that the Harunos were expecting, hard to miss due to the armor and Uchiha clan's symbol of a fan. He had initially thought the man was some middle aged samurai and not a young handsome one. When Naruto first laid eyes on him, he was surprised that the Uchiha looked about the same age as him yet looked so cold and stoic as if he had to in order to hide years of pain and anguish. He was drawn to the raven's endless black orbs, he thought he had saw something swirled in there. Naruto shook his head, crap! I almost forgot the pig I bought! He panicked and doubled back to the pig stand.
Sasuke was amused at the farm boy's reactions and not a single person below his status had ever refused or talked back to Sasuke He had never seen anyone with the clearest blue eyes quite like his. His lips upturned into a small smirk, it had been a while since he found somebody remotely interesting.
The company continued through the market to the Haruno's household which was beyond the main square of the village.
The Haruno's household was a modest one, they lived as nobles but carried a simpler life. They've contributed as much as they could to the welfare of the small village and its people. Without the Haruno clan and the neighboring Sarutobi clan, the village would not hope to live in comfort.
As Sasuke approached the small compound, he spied 4 figures waiting for him. A sable master, one male and female servant and lastly a female with bright pink hair greeted the company as they've stopped. The female girl was wearing a light pink kimono dusted with petals of cherry blossoms. Her hair pulled up into a bun with small fan accessory pinned to her hair, wisps of pink strands framed her face. She must be the heiress, Sasuke thought his eyes swept across her small frame.
"Sasuke-sama welcome to our humble village, I'm Sakura Haruno. My father is away, I will be your guide until he gets back in a little while." Sakura said shyly, she stole a glance at the handsome armor clad man on the stallion. Her cheeks turned slight pink when she realized he was watching her.
"You all must be tired from the long travel." The stable master said, "Let us take the horses." then he instructed the male servant along with himself to take the horses as the men dismounted.
"Please follow me. I shall take you to your resting quarters." Sakura said sweetly and led them through the gate with her female servant following behind her.
Sakura led them through the small courtyard with variety of trees, bushes and a small fish pond. To the left of the house were the living areas with the front rooms for the Haruno, middle rooms for the guest and then the rooms behind the house was for the few servant that lived here. While walking here, he saw a flash of yellow briefly from the corner of his eye. He turned to look but it was instantly gone. He must have been seeing things. Sasuke and Neiji were given a single room while Suigetsu and Jugo shared the 3rd, Shikamaru and Kiba shared the 4th room. Kiba mumbled underneath his breath why Neiji also had gotten a single room, before he complained too much Shikamaru elbowed him hard in the ribs.
"Thank you my Lady." Sasuke bowed slightly and gave the heiress a smile, his face soft.
"Y..you're welcome. I shall have the servants come fetch you once the dinner is ready." She stuttered a bit, she felt a rush of giddiness as she walked away with strained composure. All she wanted to do was run to Naruto and gush about how handsome the young Uchiha looked and how noble he appeared to be.
Sasuke watched as the heiress disappeared around the corner of the house. He let out a sigh, convincing her to relocate to the capital wouldn't be a hard task at all. In fact, it will be too easy and she will do the convincing of her father for him. He opened the door and walked into the room. The room was modestly furnished with a wood framed bed at the end, a small tall table with 2 chairs, a dresser and few paintings on the wall. The room did not have a separate area for a study like his back in Konoha. Sasuke's eyes stopped on top of the dresser, there was something shiny resting there. He walked over and reached for what it appeared to be a single blue crystal cylinder strung through by a thin piece of leather. His thumb rubbed over the surface, he wondered who left it here.
A few minutes later, the same servant that took his horse came and brought the luggage that he had attached to the horse. The servant announced that he will be assisting Sasuke for the duration of the visit. The servant stripped the armor from Sasuke's body and he felt instantly lighter. He then took off the under clothing which revealed smooth pale skin and a taut body, his arms and legs were lean with muscle. All these years of training not only fortified his mental capabilities but his strength and body as well. He slipped on a silk royal blue with red kimono, his clan symbol pronounced at the back. The servant smoothed the collar of the kimono and tied the elaborate sash around Sasuke's waist and then lastly he made sure the sleeves were smoothed out from the shoulders to the hand. Sasuke looked like a true nobleman.
After Naruto came back from the market, he was running around the household like a chicken with its head cut off. First, he got yelled by the cook for bringing dirtied vegetables which he had to clean thoroughly. Second, the cook punished him by making him in charge of stocking the kitchen with wood. And lastly, Sakura was going crazy asking him if she looked good, whatever his answer was did not satisfy her.
"What? Just pretty?! Naruto!" She pouted with her hand on her hip.
"Sakura-chan, isn't what your maid is there for? I'm a guy. I don't know anything about cloths!" Naruto sighed, he gave up. He apologized and ran across the courtyard to the kitchen again.
He was so busy between the cook and Sakura, he had no time to formulate a plan on how to deal with the altercation with the Uchiha earlier. Whatever happens happens, he thought and pushed the slight dilemma to the back of his brain.
"Oi Naruto! You'll be serving the Lords as well! Get cleaned up!" The cook shouted from the stove as Naruto walked in.
"What, why?! I thought I was only preparing and cleaning!" He gasped. He had initially thought he could just avoid the Uchiha during his stay.
"Izumi-san caught a cold, you have to step in for her."
Naruto sighed, not only he had to clean out his room so that a guest could occupy it for the next week and a half he then had to deal with all these demands. He owed it to the Harunos ever since he was a small orphaned child but today was just too much! Just perfect. Could this day get any worse? He groaned.
Oh if only Naruto knew, it was about to get much worse.
Coming of age ceremony: it's a tradition of children's transition into adulthood. Only males get this ceremony back in feudal era. So you can say Sasuke is about 17 years of age in this story!
Naginata: Spear/Halbred type weapon
Ryo: currency canon to Narutoverse, though I honestly don't know the value in Naruto, so I just made up a value for the pig.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Boy, this was a long chapter eh? I think after this chapter, things might just heat up! Sasuke and Naruto finally met! Yay! So please review and let me know how its going. Thanks!