Chapter 4: Crisis Attack
Sakura woke up the next day with a massive headache and tired eyes. She walked home with Sasuke after the festival, her hatred phasing to fear. The look on Naruto's face the night before gave away a dangerous aura to Sasuke. "What did Naruto mean when he said Sasuke might kill me? I know that guy's messed up, but will he really kill someone he's supposed to be with for the rest of his life?" Sakura couldn't forget Naruto's warning, but she didn't mind his voice roaming her thoughts. She asked Hinata to bring Kiba to the palace, so she could figure this puzzle out.
An hour later, Kiba finally came. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief as he entered her bedroom. "Kiba! I'm so glad you came," Sakura jumped up to hug him since they were somewhat close. Kiba hugged her back, but he felt uneasy. To his advantage, Sakura didn't notice.
"Hey, Sakura, long time no see~!" Kiba greeted as enthusiastically as he managed.
"So…. Naruto told me you knew something that about Sasuke…." Sakura began, feeling anxious of Kiba's response.
"Um… yeah…" Kiba stammered.
"So tell! Naruto told me Sasuke's dangerous. I need to know why," Sakura desperately pouted.
Kiba took a deep breath, "The one who shouldn't trust is Naruto. Why would you trust the nine tailed fox? Naruto was faking the whole time. He just wanted to entertain himself and he got lucky with Princess Sakura. He wanted to ruin your marriage and your life, just so he and the monster in him can have a good laugh. He threatened me to lie to you, but my loyalty to the royal family is stronger."
"W…what…?" Sakura gasped in shock. Her eyes widened and some tears were about to crawl out. How could Naruto, someone she almost loved, betray this way? Did her feelings mean nothing to him?
"I'm sorry this news came from me. I just didn't want to see him screw your future up. I think it's best if you marry Sasuke, it's better than staying alone and vulnerable to other demons like Naruto," Kiba stated.
"Oh, thanks for being a good friend. Sorry to end our meeting so suddenly, but I think I need some time alone," Sakura whispered, loud enough for Kiba to hear. Kiba understood and he left. Sakura collapsed on her bed and set her pain loose.
"I'm sorry, Naruto," Kiba apologized in his mind as he left the palace. He was burdened with guilt from lying to Sakura, but he had no other choice. Suddenly, the painful memory of the night before the festival struck his mind.
Flashback
Kiba was walking back from Naruto's house after telling him Sasuke's and Orochimaru's plans. He felt proud of himself for helping others, especially those who were close to him. He entered his family's vet center to see all the lights off and utter silence. Kiba suddenly caught the trace of blood and ran into the examination room. There he saw his mother's body, drained of its color, with a huge dark reddish stain on her chest. Kiba immediately held his mom's head in his arms and screamed. Then he saw a shadow move.
"Did you do this?" Kiba yelled, his anger flaring.
"Does it displease you?" A hissing voice said amusingly. Orochimaru revealed himself with a bloody sword in his hand.
"You bastard!" Kiba was about to attack until Akumaru appeared behind the villain, whimpering.
"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't do that if I were you. I have a favor to ask of you. If you refuse to do it, then you're little pet will pay the price. Your mother's death was to show you that I'm not kidding. You seem smart enough to know that I can find out all your weak points and use them against you," Orochimaru darkly smiled, twirling the sword between his fingers.
"What do you want?" Kiba barked.
"I hear you know the plan Sasuke and I made. I want you to help us keep it a secret. Sasuke knows all about Sakura and Naruto, so we need you to also tear them apart. Make Sakura hate Naruto and destroy whatever love they might have. It isn't too difficult, is it?" Orochimaru explained.
"And what if I don't want to?" Kiba tested.
"Rumor has it that you like Hinata, am I right? I'm all about the gossip, and they turn out to be true. Not only will your dog die, but your precious love will be hung by rope on the tree outside your house. Won't that be pleasant?" Orochimaru grinned.
"Don't you dare touch either of them!" Kiba shouted.
"Then be the smart guy and do as I say," Orochimaru ordered. Kiba gulped and did something he never would have done before.
"Fine. I'll do it," Kiba gave in. Too much was on the line for him. Besides, a miracle could happen and everything could be just fine. Orochimaru smiled and released Akumaru. Then the snake disappeared.
Back To the Present
Sakura's heart tried everything to stay in check. Her parents had something urgent to tell her, so she needed her poker face. She entered the throne room and stood before the presence of King Ryouga and Queen Amai, a.k.a. her parents.
"Sakura, dear, thank for you joining us," Amai smiled.
"Mom, I'm your daughter, not your guest. What's with the nice act anyway?" Sakura snapped back, not realizing her broken heart was picking up flames of hate.
"Fine, if you want us to be cruel, we will. Your wedding is tomorrow," Ryouga stated, annoyed of Sakura's disrespect.
"What? I still have, like, a month left!" Sakura shouted.
"We've changed our minds! You seem to be entering your rebellious stage so we must marry you off before you do anything rash!" Ryouga said angrily.
"But tomorrow? I'm not ready! Why did you change your minds so suddenly?" Sakura asked, tear threatening to fall.
"Our kingdom is slowly falling apart. We're almost broke and the people are starting to riot. We want you to get married so you can move away with Sasuke and live a stable life. He's going to take far away so you'll be safe from any protest that may get too rash. We only want what's best for you," Amai explained gently.
"Leave? How could leave my home when the people I love are here? How did the kingdom reach such a point of disaster? Why didn't anyone tell me!" Sakura cried.
"It seems as though someone stole all the gold from our mines, all the crops from our farms, and anything we use to help our economy. We can't trade anymore to make money and many of peasants can't pay for their stores and such. They're not happy about it, and they us, so they want to overthrow the royal family. We thought we could handle it, but it became too out of control. We're sorry," Ryouga, surprisingly, apologized.
"Who's the jackass who did all this?" Sakura thought. (Hint hint~ Orochimaru. I hate that little snake butt :P)
"So now do you understand why we have to do all this?" Amai asked tiredly.
"Yes, mother…" Sakura surrendered. "It's not like there's a certain ninja charming to take me on the back of his nine tailed fox and ride me into the sunset."
"Thank you for being such a good daughter. We truly are sorry for the things we did in the past," Amai said in her sincere voice.
"It's okay. You guys always know what's best for me," Sakura smiled sadly. If she never snuck out of the palace, she would've never met Naruto. Then she would've never fallen for him, or get her heart broken…
A/N: End of chapter four~. It took me quite a while to put it up, hasn't it? Who knows when I'll write chapter 5. But when I do, I really hope you guys you read it. Thanks for all your reviews and positive comments, it really gave me confidence. You readers really are the best!