Summary: In the imperial capital of Konoha, it was the norm for men to reign supreme while wives and concubines lived in seclusion like elegant flowers inside a locked garden. However, everything changed when one pink-haired medic entered the capital. SakuraxMulti
Chapter 3: The Imperial City
A cluster of 3 carriages silently rolled along the dirt road. The carriages were simple but well made, giving an impression that the owner of the carriages was well off, but not rich. As travelers passed by the carriages, they made way around the guards that rode along the carriages on top of horses. When looking at the group of carriages, one's first impression would be that it was a merchant caravan. However, there were too few carriages to make one curious on the contents, and a couple of too many guards for bandits to deem the carriages worth assaulting. It was a common, and uninteresting sight, one which Shikamaru had meticulously planned so that the travel back to Konoha would be as safe as possible.
Within the middle carriage, if one were to peek inside, they would be flabbergasted at the interior of the carriage that did not match its exterior at all. The seats along the walls of the carriage were cushioned with soft silk pillows. The windows were covered with a sheer cloth that softened the sun shining into the carriage, giving the inside of the carriage a soft glow. And finally, the walls of the carriage were not the wood that was showing on the outside, but meticulously lined with expensive cotton cloth. The interior of the carriage was impeccably decorated that it could easily be a luxurious sedan for a high class noblewoman. And if one were to sit within the carriage, the ride felt too extraordinarily smooth for it to be traveling on rocky dirt roads, signifying that the carriage had a hidden spring system to make the bumpy roads unfelt.
Leaning against the wall of the carriage, Shikamaru studied the young man in front of him. Or, it would be easier to say that Shikamaru was studying the young woman in front of him who was disguised as a young man. Gone was the silk dress with flower embroideries, replaced with a light green men's robe that was simply lined with navy edges. The pink hair was now tied up in a high, tight bun with two locks of hair framing her face. The hair was no longer a silky pink, but looked faded and leaned more towards a red color. The black eye makeup that had originally graced her long lashes was gone, making her eyes appear smaller, and she had furthered that impression by keeping her eyes half open to hide away the large emeralds within. He noted the subtle use of makeup that made her nose look more masculine and the originally rose red lips were now an unimpressive nude. She had even given herself a few blemishes and freckles along her face. Finally, with a pair of black boots that were obviously too big for the petite young girl, she now looked like a simple young man. If one were to glance at her, they would see a young scholar that was a tad effeminate. She even fanned herself leisurely with a large white fan with calligraphy written on it, furthering the impression.
He had originally looked at her with unbridled awe at her beauty. Now that she no longer looked like a goddess from the heavens, he was able to clear his head. His earlier infatuation was dangerous, and now he mentally made sure to be on guard.
"I'm impressed with your ability to disguise yourself so well," Shikamaru drawled out, earning a small chuckle from the young lady. "Three women traveling around the world, the fact that nothing has ever happened to us after all these years should prove to you that we are not as simple as you think," Sakura replied. Even the way she spoke was like that of a young man.
Shikamaru then gestured at her head, "Will your hair be fine? I had always assumed that women care a lot about their hair. Dye is harmful to hair, after all."
"This?" Sakura played with one of the locks framing her face, "It's just a simple herbal powder. The powder reduces shine and gives allows my hair to get a tinge of red, this will give me a more common appearance. Also, during this journey to Konoha, I would appreciate it if you just called me Haruno."
Shikamaru nodded his head in agreement, understanding her disguise. When Tsunade had announced that Sakura alone will be going with him to Konoha, he had mentally formulated ways to avoid curious eyes from taking note of the beautiful young woman in their party. However, when Sakura had walked back towards him with all her luggage and medical supplies, her appearance as a young man both relieved him and exasperated him. His thinking and worry had all been for naught. He should have just napped while waiting for her.
Back when the Haruno clan was eliminated from power, it had only been the main branch within the imperial city that was destroyed. The clan was originally a large and flourishing clan, with numerous branches spread throughout the country. Madara had not bothered with the residual members of the clan for the branch members were simple merchants or minor town nobles without the deadly ambitions and greed that the main branch members were full of. The clan was typically known for having red hair as a common feature and with her disguise, Sakura easily looked like one of the many members of the Haruno clan. Like a younger son with no power.
"How did you learn the art of disguise?" Shikamaru was genuinely curious, "Tsunade and Shizune do not seem the sort to be able to disguise themselves as well as you are doing at the moment."
"You're assumptions are correct. This one's teacher was the best, after all." And Sakura gave him a confident grin, looking every inch the young man she was pretending to be.
"Who taught you? If you don't wish to tell me, that is fine as well."
"As the imperial tactician, I'm sure you have heard of him. My teacher's name is Orochimaru."
'It seems that the Sannin still keep in touch with each other,' he noted in his head. Indeed, Shikamaru knew about the man. During Madara's ascension to the throne, Konoha was nearly at the brink of war. Many countries drooled at the thought of owning the Land of Fire, which they deemed as ripe pickings. The previous king was an incompetent, and they all assumed the new boy king was just a puppet ruler. How wrong they were.
One of the reasons for why war had never escalated was largely due to Orochimaru, one of the three legendary Sannin that Tsunade was also a part of. The man was a master at disguise and had easily broken into enemy camps and killed the commanders in the middle of the night. He was skilled with hidden blades and was also extremely good at taijutsu if a fight was ever necessary. It was also rumored among the high officials that he was also a snake charmer who used his snakes to assist with any assassinations. While to the general public, the neighboring countries had never even gotten the chance to declare war, it was an open secret among the high rank officials that certain war-eager kings had woken up in the morning with notes on their chests saying, "Those who are greedy may lose much more." The fear they experienced at how easily their palace security had been bypassed immediately turned hostile countries to those that were quite eager for good relations with the new emperor Uchiha Madara.
While Orochimaru was well known in the shadows, not many have ever met the man. For Sakura to easily admit that she had learned the art of disguise from that man, Shikamaru now understood that the woman in front of him was far from simple. It was interesting, and he was now getting eager to see what other hidden facets she had to her personality.
Their travel proceeded on smoothly and after a week, they arrived at the gates of Konoha.
The carriage arrived at a luxurious inn near the imperial palace, one that was generally dedicated to foreign emissaries. As Shikamaru escorted his travel companion, now one he genuinely considered as friend and fellow shogi player, he took her towards the room that had been reserved for her. "Tomorrow I will pick you up after breakfast to meet his imperial majesty. There will be no need for a disguise." He grinned at her. She smiled back, her beauty shining through even with the covering makeup, "Very well, I will see you tomorrow my friend." And with a flourish, saluted and bowed to him the way a fellow man would with another.
As Shikamaru walked into his clan compounds, he was greeted by his father, Shikaku who was lounging on the front steps of the main house like a cat. The man was lying on his side with one hand propping up his head while his free hand held a small cup of liquor. A bottle containing the rest of the liquor was standing next to him. His father was wearing a plain, light-grey colored casual robe with the Nara Clan symbol stitched in the back. His hair was pulled up in a spiky ponytail, which was a preferred style of the Nara males. His face had two scars on the right side of and he sported a goatee.
The head of the Nara Clan quickly analyzed his son's blank face and a mischievous grin appeared on his face, "I've never seen you this happy in a while. Did something good happen during this little retrieval mission?"
Shikamaru sighed, 'I can never hide anything from this old man' before responding, "I've brought Tsunade's apprentice. Her name is Haruno Sakura."
If possible, Shikaku's grin widened even more, "You've memorized her name? I'm impressed."
Giving his father a single "too troublesome" as a reply, Shikamaru walked into the house, intent on ignoring the scandalous look on his father's face.
Shikaku chucked at the retreating figure of his son as he took another sip of the liquor, "Maybe I should attend court tomorrow. No doubt this will be interesting."
First of all, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed my chapters. They are great motivators and the advice you guys give me helps a lot when I write.
Thanks Giest, I forgot to mention last chapter that she totally had on makeup. But Sakura's appearance was based on Shikamaru's impression so I was kinda like, "Guys don't know what makeup is, so he probably has no clue she's wearing mascara" I corrected it this chapter.
JUCHKO: I'm a huge fan of your "Continuous Circle" series so when I saw your review, hearts came out of my eyes.
Believe me, I read every single review. And some I even read multiple times. If it wasn't for the support you guys give me, I probably wouldn't have written nearly as fast as I do now.
Also, when I was writing this, I forgot that Konoha was technically located in the Land of Fire and I was pretty vague in describing it. But now that I remembered, the country of this story is the Land of Fire, and the imperial capital is Konoha. Sorry if there is any confusion.
For those who are curious about how this story will go, I will tell you now that I'm not a fan of drama. The romance will be relatively slow (or as slow as a harem fic can be) and there truly will be no "bad guys" or "evil villains". The overall impression that I wish to make with this story would "beautiful" and "romantic". I hope you guys will enjoy this fanfic.
Best,
WhiteMint
PS: For those who are curious on the suitors that I plan for Sakura, this is what I plan to do.
Suitors: Itachi, Sasori, Deidara, Neji, Madara (so the answer is yes, sakurafan700), Shisui, Yahiko (Pein?), Gaara
Friendzoned: Kakuzu, Zetsu, Lee, Orochimaru, Jiraiya, Obito, Nagato, Kankuro, Yamato, Minato (Even though SakuraxMinato is a like guilty crack for me. Those damn time travel fanfics *cough) & all parents
Maybe?: Shikamaru, Hidan, Kisame, Naruto, Sasuke, Genma, Kakashi, Sai
If I forgot a character or if you guys want changes (ex: making Shikmaru a suitor) then feel free to tell me in a review or PM. I'm very open to what you guys want cause I love harem. I'll change my list based on what you guys want, or I'll tell you why I don't want to change it lol.