--Chapter 3--
"All done!" announced Mitsuha, guiding the princess to a mirror.
"W-Wow." Sakura gasped in awe as she looked at herself. Her make-up was done in such a way which made her skin glimmer with youthfulness- though she was still a teen. Her pink hair was braided into a modern french braid, with her bangs elegantly framing her face. It appears that Mitsuha-san's style was entirely different from Shizune-san's. Even though she was wearing the same kimono from this morning, there was a totally different vibe to it.Shizune-san would stick to the traditions and give her the usual "mature" makeover; which made Sakura appear to be overflowing with maturity and elegance. On the other hand, Mitsuha-san's style was modern and trendy. It made Sakura feel less tense.
"How did you do it?" asked Sakura, still amazed by her skills.
"My older sister taught me." she answered with a small smile.
"Ahh, so you have an older sister?She must be amazing too"mused Sakura
"Y-Yes,Your highness." Stammered the servant girl. "It's time for the banquet to start, Your highness." She continued as she led the princess to the doorway to meet her husband.
"Hey." Sakura greeted once she came face to face with the prince. Sasuke acknowledged with a nod and held his hand out for her to hold. She was taken aback by this gesture and hesitated for a moment. She was definitely not used to this kind of stuff. The Uchiha, being amused by her shyness, smirked and rolled his eyes teasingly. "Come on already, my arm is getting tired" Sakura sighed and held his hand as they made their way towards the ballroom, leaving Mitsuha by the hallway.
Once Sasuke no longer felt the handmaid's presence, he turned his head towards his partner. "Hey...about that servant girl-"He trailed off, unsure of how to say it.
"She's an assassin who's after my life. Am i right?" Sakura continued casually.
His obsidian eyes widened with surprise. "How did you find out?"
"Ahh...i noticed her gaze when she first introduced herself. Those eyes were probably harbouring resentment towards me and my kingdom." She answered with a sigh.
Sakura had expected plenty of assassination attempts when she got married. Although this marriage was supposed to stop a political war, there'll no doubt be a handful of citizens who opposed this. She was just unsettled as a girl as young as Mitsuha-san would attempt to kill her. She noticed that whenever Mitsuha followed her from behind, she would sense strong bloodlust looming at her back. And whenever Mitsuha smiled at her, she could see her teeth grining against each other. To put it in simple terms, Sakura could feel pure hatred seething out from this girl. What made her that way? And who was the mastermind?
"Erm Sasuke."She paused as she realised that she's spoken his name for the first time.
"She'll probably try something during the banquet. But she'll have to lead me to a secluded area for that." Sakura concluded.
"Hn. So all you have to do is to not follow her." he said with a raised brow.
"No. I'll let her lead me away. Because the person who sent her would probably be there, since it's unlikely that she'd be able to kill me."
"Then, we'll be able to find out who's behind this?" Sasuke gazed into her emerald eyes as she nodded confidently. Who knew she was this intelligent? It's his first time meeting someone who wasn't fazed with assassinations and would instead predict the enemy's next moves. She wasn't just strong, she was smart too.
"So I'll come in after the mastermind makes his appearance?"
"No, they're only after me. So I'll have to deal with them alone. Anyways, i bet i can beat them in less than a minute." Sakura smirked confidently. There was no way she was going to involve anyone else in her mess...she would blame herself if anyone got hurt because of her.
"Hn...I see.Let's go greet the guests." He shrugged the subject off and led her into the ballroom.
"TEME!" Shouted a blonde hair man from across the room. This made most of the people focus their attention on Sasuke. He facepalmed with his free hand and sighed a deep breath. Now everyone's heard his nickname the blonde had given him.Sakura giggled at his embarrassment.As the young man approached them, she could feel the energy radiating off him.
"This is Uzumaki Naruto, the general of the Leaf shinobi force." he spoke casually, quickly forgetting his embarrassment from earlier on. Naruto looked at the princess with his ocean blue eyes for a couple of seconds. He grinned widely and offered his hand, saying "It's a pleasure to meet you!Sakura-chan!" she smiled at his greeting and shook his hand firmly. The blonde wore a black tuxedo, similar to all the other men in the ballroom. Sakura felt weird being the only one wearing a kimono, along with Sasuke. So this was how everyone recognized the bride and groom.She laughed internally.
"Wow Teme, I'm impressed.Your wife is beautiful!" Naruto smirked mischievously.
"Hn. You shouldn't be saying those words when you're already engaged, dobe."
"Hehehe, you've got me there" the blonde laughed nervously. "OH you've not met my fiance!" Naruto sped off, only to return with a young women holding his hand.
"This is Hinata Hyuga, the heir to the Hyuga clan and the girl whom I'm going to marry!" He announced with pride,making Hinata blush in a deep shade of red.
"C-Congratulations on your marriage, Your highness." she stammered shyly. Sakura smiled at this girl's gentleness.
"Please, you may call me Sakura" she spoke with a friendly grin. Hinata mirrored her expression and called her "Sakura-san" instead. Ehhh, she's such a kind person-thought Sakura to herself. The Hyuga heiress had long, dark purple hair, with the signature Hyuga dojutsu-the byakugan. Her skin complexion was as fair as snow and she wore an elegant lavender dress. She was indeed beautiful. Sakura hoped she would be good friends with her, otherwise she would feel lonely without any girl friends around.
This thought led her to recall her bestfriend from her homeland, Ino yamanaka. How she was going to miss spending time with her. Ino was the person whom she's known for all her life. She was the one who made her childhood so colourful. Although they fought several times because of a petty rivalry, they've never failed to reconciled with each other. Their friendship was stronger than anything, and Sakura was sure going to miss her. A lot.
Later that evening, Sakura met Tenten; a gifted weapons specialist, Shikamaru Nara; a genius battle strategist, Rock Lee; a hot-blooded commander, Neji Hyuga; Hinata's cousin , and Temari; ambassador of the kingdom of Sand.
It was a lot to take in, considering the number of names and positions that she needs to remember. They all seemed warm and friendly to her. Maybe she'll get along just fine with them-she thought with a smile.
"Sakura-san! Is it true your teacher was Tsunade-sama!?" Tenten asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Ahh, yes she was. She's the one who taught me all about medical ninjutsu and everything else." The princess said with a huge grin.
"I've heard you surpassed her at the age of 15." The lazy young man commented.
"What!?So not only is she beautiful, she's also strong as a kunoichi? Sakura-san is indeed perfect! I love maidens who are youthful and-"
"Watch your mouth Lee, she's already married" Neji sighed at his antics, as he watched the youthful man come back to reality and perform a 90-degrees bow towards the married couple.
"Oh.My apologies, Your highnesses. I've stepped out of line." His face still directed towards the marbled floor.
"It's alright, Lee...raise your head." Sasuke spoke up. He sighed, although he's known Lee for years, he's still so serious when it comes to trivial matters like this. Well, that's how he is...because he's so earnest and hardworking, he's been able to command his troops with so much effectiveness.
"It's okay, Lee-san. Thanks for the compliment!" spoke Sakura with a polite smile as the man held his breath and blushed slightly.
"Heh, i assume you're very popular with men?" Temari smirked playfully. The princess shook off the question with a nervous laugh.
Sakura was enjoying her time with them. She seemed to be accommodating well with everyone, seeing how casual their conversations are. Maybe this place isn't so bad after all - she noted as she held a cup of tea to drink. But as soon as she took a sip of the tea, her eyes widened as realisation hit her. She had completely forgotten that she was in danger. This cup of tea had been drugged. It wasn't deadly or anything, it was just a sleeping drug. Since Sakura studied all the different types of herbs and poison, she could easily tell by their taste and smell. And since the latter was covered up by the aroma of the tea, she could only tell by its taste. Ha, it's about time they started their assault - she mused with a smirk.
Her hands grazed Sasuke's sleeve as he turned to face her. Somehow, without her uttering a single word, he had understood what she meant just by staring into her large green eyes. Her intensive look meant that trouble had already started and she was going to face it. His eyes widened at her resolve but nodded in acknowledgement to her decision. He watched as the princess excused herself from the banquet and disappeared among the crowd. Was she going to be alright by herself? Tch, it's just too risky facing it alone. He was definitely going to get involved in this. After all, this banquet was getting boring with the dobe's ranting.
"Mitsuha-san, I don't feel so well" the kunoichi started as soon as she found the servant girl standing at the entrance of the ballroom. She noticed a subtle change in her expression. If she had blinked in that moment, she would've missed it. In that split second, she saw her lips formed into a slight smirk. It was as if she was expecting her to say that.
"Please follow me,your highness. You're probably just tired and in need of rest." said Mitsuha. The princess nodded her head slightly, feinting weakness. The drug had no effect on her at all. Maybe it was because she only took a small portion of it or she was immune to it. But she just couldn't care less about it.
She was led into a guestroom in the next building. Sakura stood in the middle of the room and watched as the handmaid closed the door behind her. She was watching the girl intently, anticipating her next move. She totally had this game in the bag-the drug hadn't affect her and she was in tip-top shape to fight.
It was then when something unexpected happened. Sakura's body was paralysed; she couldn't move a muscle at all. Sweat beaded down her porcelain face as she watched the servant girl lock the doors with a "click". Damn...I've underestimated this situation. She thought as the girl's lips stretched into a sinister smirk.
"Heh, did you seriously believe that it was going to be that easy?" Mitsuha spoke, her tone much more lower and sinister now. Sakura couldn't mouth a single word since all her muscles were paralysed. She realized that the sleeping drug was just a cover up for the real thing. This girl was clever, throwing her off like that.
"My sister was murdered by your people...she was beaten to death by officials just because she was a foreigner who committed a minor theft...And to think that you, an outsider,could step into this kingdom, let alone rule over it... That's unacceptable ."she continued to speak through gritted teeth. Sakura knew that the girl held a grudge against her. She also knew that tensions were high between the two kingdoms. However, she didn't know that such a thing as petty as that had occurred in her kingdom. Did people like Mitsuha's sister suffer that much when the tensions were still high? Were they still going to suffer even after the poltical marriage which was meant to dissolve the tensions?She started to feel sorry towards the young woman infront of her.
"Oh. I forgot you can't speak. It's alright though...I'll just have to end your life right now." The servant girl spoke as she walked slowly towards Sakura, pulling out a kunai from her sleeve.
The princess wasn't fazed by her though, for she was already purging the poison out of her system by pumping chakra in. It was a feat which only the best medics such as herself could manage. Her body could heal itself without her having to use her hands. She was definitely not going to be killed like this, she wasn't called the "Pink kunoichi" for nothing after all. Mitsuha was about a metre away from her as she began charging her fists with chakra, preparing to strike when the moment is right.
However, just as the girl took a step closer, a senbon pierced her neck and she dropped dead on the floor. Sakura instinctively ran to the girl to check her vitals, only to find out that the senbon had pierced a vital organ,killing her. She immediately stood up in a battle stance while searching the room for the culprit.
It was then she felt a sinister presence fill the room. A chill went down her spine as she saw the figure emerge from the white wall infront of her. His form was slimy, with long black hair and snake-like eyes directed at her. His long tongue licked his lips in delight, as if he was excited to devour his prey. Sakura knew exactly who he was...Tsunade-shishou's old teammate, Orochimaru.
"It's been a while, Sakura-chan" the man greeted slyly. She cringed at the sound of her name and glared at him in disgust. He became a rogue nin years ago, after the kingdom found out about his secret, that he had been conducting human experimentation. He had tried to kidnap her several times when she was a child, only to be stopped by Tsunade each time. It seems that Orochimaru had exploited Mitsuha's hatred to get to her. The servant girl was just acting upon his orders, only to be discarded away when she had served her purpose, which was to lure the princess to him. The poor girl was just his puppet...
"What do you want?" Sakura narrowed her eyes on the snake.Since he's been trying to kidnap her several times, there must be a reason behind it.
"Oh?They haven't told you yet?"He raised a brow at her question.
"What the hell do you mean?" she clenched her fists.
"Heh, you possess something that no one else has, which is what i desire."
"And that is?"she pressed on, desperately wanting to know the answer.
"You have the-"
Screech.
Sakura gasp in disbelief as blue streaks of lightning penetrated the man's body, high-pitched sounds echoed throughout the room. She spun around, emerald eyes landing on the young uchiha. His irises were no longer black and were blood red instead, with tomoes rotating. His lips formed a thin line as he zeroed in on Orochimaru.
"Chidori." His lightning-laced hand pierced right through his heart, ending his life once and for all. Once he made sure that the man was dead, he turned around to look at Sakura, who was still in shock.
"Hey. Are you alright?"Sasuke began,inspecting her body for any signs of injury.
"What...What the hell did you just do?" She glared at him with frustration, emerald eyes burning with fury. Sasuke frowned at her. She looks pissed. Very pissed.
A/N: So that concludes chapter 3. How did you find the interaction with the other characters? And what might Sakura possess that is so special? Please review!!