Hooded Lies
The Misfit
After a long night of staring up at the creaky rotting ceiling with sleepless green eyes, Sakura Haruno woke up that morning feeling like…well, like a hose's rear end. Or something unpleasant that came out of it at least.
She had no sooner opened her eyes did all her worries and frustrations of the night before come flooding back to her once again. The first thought that hit her like a bucket of cold water was of the prisoner, Jiro Kiyoshi. The second was the unsavory fact that…
He's dead.
And it hit her like a hundred ton anvil. None too gently too.
She couldn't believe it was the end of her fool-proof plan even before it barely started; just like that! She groaned throwing a hand over her eyes in despair, letting herself drown in her own misery. How could this happen now when Inari was barely a fortnight away from returning to make her life hell again?
And to think, she thought she'd almost won. Now it was back to the drawing board again. And with even lesser time to prepare.
Talk about under pressure.
She doubted she could do the whole thing all over again, finding another prominent name from Root's prison complex. That damned Kuma would only swindle out more of her money. And she hardly had enough to last them a whole week. Let alone buy another prisoner's day of freedom and then pay for his burial services of course. God knew she'd spent enough money on Mister Kiyoshi, as useless as he was in the end.
And speaking of which…she actually had a burial to attend to.
And unfortunately, she thought with a sardonic curve of her lips as she sat up from her hard bed. It isn't mine.
Reaching for the thin blanket covering her from her waist to her tippy-toes, she draped it over her small shoulders letting her eyes sweep through her bedroom. From her small bed that hugged the gray, bare walls in one side of her room to the wooden table where her literary works across from her bed lay, just in front of the window where it would be an easy access of her to gaze outside and look for inspiration to the little dresser on the other side of the room, along with her elongated mirror that used to belong to her mother.
As for the things she herself owed, well, aside from her barren and fruitless lands and the rundown manor—both of which she inherited from her parents when they departed—where she and her family were residing now, she didn't have many. It was ironic when you think about it though; where her position in life stood.
An impoverished lady and marchioness driven to more impoverishment.
And what was even more ironic was that even rats were far richer than she was. And she had a title.
Oh how the mighty has fallen indeed.
Sakura rubbed her sleep-deprived face with both her hands and started pushing herself up from bed remembering to wear her worn slippers considering the cold weather they had of late and the really cold state of her bedroom, her threadbare coverlet snug around her shoulders offering her as much warmth as it could give—which was very little, by the way—despite the bone-splitting cold. She paused when she passed by her window and graced her green glance at her snow-covered lands outside, a small pang of pride and despair washing over her.
Sterile and nearly useless as it was, it was still hers. Hers alone. And she reveled with pride in that knowledge. For some, it was a curse. To be so young and filled with promise, burdened with such a huge responsibility of caring for her lands and tenants. And she was a female to boot.
But to Sakura, it was a blessing.
Not every girl as young as she was bestowed such a gift. To be able to hold lands of her own. To be able to decide for herself and be independent. To feel in control. To have a place of respite and comfort of her own.
Most girls barely had such freedom. They marry, they breed, they give birth. Or they don't. That was what was mostly in store for women in a world ruled by men, unfair as it was.
But here…within her lands…it was her own little world. And she ruled it. No one else. And she'd rather be damned to hell before she relinquished her hold to Count Gin Inari. She could take whatever crap he'd throw at her.
After all, she was poor, not vulnerable.
Of course, it hadn't always been like that for her, being poor. There was actually a time in her life where she enjoyed the luxury life despite the fact that it had been a rather short one. Ah, well, she guessed there were certain elements in this world that could bring one's downfall.
Her mother's death and gambling was her father's in particular.
She was only five then, when her mother died. Of some unknown sickness, some said. But then, only few people could see truth. And she saw it. Knew it. A truth that may never come out. At least, not until she could secure for her and her family's well being. The last thing she needed right now was an enemy to handle. Inari was a handful enough as it is. But whatever caused the former marchioness' death, it was a fact that it was what started the Haruno family's downfall.
Heartbroken and far beyond upset, the Marquess of Meadow had taken his mourning into a whole new level that fateful year his beloved wife died. He did the only this he thought he was capable of without breaking down. He did the one thing a man did to chase away his troubles. The only thing, Sakura guessed, that made her father's heart feel numb, because she was sure it ached. Ached and wrenched and convulsed.
More than she knew.
More than she could imagine.
He gambled and drank the world away. And within a span of one year, that very same year her mother died, he had managed to gamble off more than half of his possessions.
Thus their poverty.
But he kept on going. Drinking and gambling and numbing his heart until he couldn't even pay all his debts anymore. Until he's forgotten about her, his daughter.
Sakura didn't blame him though. She understood him. His grief. His suffering. His anguish.
Perhaps when she was five, she didn't. And she didn't understand why then. She didn't understand how bad it felt to be left alone by someone she loved so much.
Only wondered. She didn't weep but wondered. Wondered where that woman with soft pink hair and sparkling green eyes went. Wondered and asked why she wasn't singing her to sleep anymore. Wondered why that woman never came back and danced and played with her and tucked her to sleep. But she didn't feel the heartache her father endured.
And now, at twenty-one, she understood him perfectly. The loneliness, the torment…all of it.
She didn't blame him.
But then just as abruptly as his wife had died, the marquess disappeared one night.
Without a trace.
Rumors had circulated around the village for a time at how exactly the marquess disappeared. But regardless of how outrageous one story was to the next until it bordered on stupidity, the different rumors all ended the same.
He died.
At five, Sakura had been led to believe he died as well, leaving her the sole heiress to…well, everything they owned since no one knew where her father went or what happened to him.
That is, until a few years later…
"Kura! Kuraaaa!" The shrill call from the main hall downstairs echoed throughout the creaking manor, snapping the pinkette from her musings and plunging her back down to earth abruptly just as she heard hollow footsteps thudding across the creaking floorboards, echoing louder and louder with each step.
What the…? She furrowed her brows at the ruckus going on so early in the morning. Her gaze snapped toward her wooden door and, in the next instant, it burst open with a loud slam.
That can't be good…She cringed at the possible damage it could've inflicted to both the wall and the door. The house was already in a sorry state as it is…
"Kuraaaa!"
Sakura glanced down at her younger brother running toward her excitedly, a large grin plastered on his lips flashing a set of white teeth and a missing tooth. She clucked her tongue down at him shaking her head in disapproval, hands finding their way to her hips. "Hey, you're going to tear this house down. You've been hanging around Kiba again, haven't you?"
The ten-year-old grinned up at her, unrepentant. "You bet! But Kura! You have to check this out!"
"Check what out?"
"This!" Konohamaru exclaimed breathlessly thrusting the morning paper into her hands.
"The paper?" An elegant pink eyebrow rose. She looked at it suspiciously, half wondering why a ten-year-old would hand her the morning paper of all things. The boy has been hanging around Kiba. And with Dog Boy, you just never knew.
You just never knew…
"Uh-huh!" He nodded vigorously sending locks of rich brown hair flying across his face. He jumped up and down, getting adrenaline from his enthusiasm alone, sending the long blue scarf she had made him for Christmas sway with every energetically animated movement he made. "Read it! Read it! Read it! Read it!"
"Have you been eating something sweet this morning? I told Grandpa—"
"Sakura!" He cried out throwing his hands in the air, exasperated. "Just read it!"
"Fine, fine! What is this about anyway?" Sakura relented with a short chuckle bringing the paper closer to her for inspection. This better be good. Or Dog Boy's going to have another tour around Hell again via my fist!
"Only the most amazing person alive!" The little brunet jumped up and down in boyish excitement. You could practically see the stars sparkling in his eyes.
Sakura ignored the hyperactive boy hop and skip and fly around her room with such abandon and energy, it could bring the whole second floor down, and instead, focused on the paper given to her. The first thing she read was the headlines.
It read:
Rakehell is back in town!
"Rakehell?" The pinkette paused. Where have I heard that before…?
"He's the best!" Konohamaru exclaimed in the background just as emerald green orbs zoned in on the picture underneath the boldly printed text. She grew still, eyes going as wide as the wheels from their trusty beat-up wagon.
It wasn't that the picture was bad. Or that the picture was badly taken. It was actually the one in the picture, so to speak. And no, he didn't look bad. Just the opposite. The very opposite. It was perfect.
He was…perfect.
The picture she was staring at was the picture of an Adonis come to life. The picture of the very man who had young ladies, widows and women, married or otherwise, fall at his feet or even—dare she even go as far as—kiss the very ground he walks on. And yes, she meant that literally.
All of it.
And, hm, yes…let's not forget! This was the very man who was going to lead their country.
The future of Fire.
The infamous rake.
The debaucher.
The epitome of scandal.
Prince Sasuke Uchiha.
"I want to be just like him!" Konohamaru all but praised.
And hearing that…Sakura all but exploded.
And then all Hell went loose…
"KIIIIIBAAAAAAA!"
I'm going to kill him! Sakura's glowing green orbs flashed with fury, screaming bloodshed and murder for her brunet friend. What has he been teaching her brother?! What ideas have he been planting in the poor kid's mind for the boy to think that…that…that Sasuke Uchiha was someone to idolize!
The man was a well known womanizer, for God's sake! Preying on every virgin within a twenty meter radius from him without any remorse! A scandalous man bringing scandal after scandal into his revered royal family! A spoiled mama's boy with a big playground playing with the big boys! God, the man looked like he hadn't worked a day in his life! Every pore on him exuded sin, and, dear God in Heaven, how could a ten-year-old boy, and her brother no less, see this man as a hero? She doubted Konohamaru knew what this royal rogue even does in his spare time! Much less where!
If Kiba has been teaching him things a little boy shouldn't even have the privilege of knowing, God help her she was going to send him straight to Hell!
Permanently.
"The two of you! Shut it! For Heaven's sake! You're going to cause an avalanche around here!" an elderly chide cut through the hazy red rage Sakura's thoughts had swirled in, suddenly cutting through her contemplation of different types of torture she had read people from the East did for punishment.
She turned her gaze to the old woman standing by the door with a stern frown taking hold of her wrinkle-edged lips, a pitcher on a tray in hand. The Haruno siblings stopped screeching at the top of their lungs all at once and gave the elderly a sheepish grin.
"Er, good morning, Grandmother Chiyo…" Sakura offered her a feeble meek grin. She wasn't succeeding in lifting the old woman's frown.
"Yeah! Good morning!" And neither was Konohamaru.
Walking over to Sakura's old mahogany dresser and setting the tray on it, Grandmother Chiyo turned to the guilty duo, her stern frown still in place. "Now, what were the two of you yelling about? You two know grandfather needs his rest."
"We're sorry…" Sakura said automatically, quietly.
Konohamaru, on the other hand, grinned wider, practically splitting his face in half. A mischievous glint sparked in his eyes. "My hero!"
Grandmother Chiyo turned to the little boy questioningly at the same time Sakura did. The pinkette knelt down him, a grave look on her face.
No seriously. To idolize someone like Prince Sasuke was just…wrong. At least he wasn't for a little boy like her brother to idolize. And Sakura, for one, was determined to correct that mistake. And then beat up Kiba for even letting the boy think that. She knew how much her Dog Boy friend envied the prince for having a harem of his own.
HA!
It wasn't that she had anything against the man. She didn't. Hell how could she? He was a prince! And she? A broke marchioness trying to survive for herself and her family. She wasn't spewing treason against the Crown. God knew she was as loyal as Dog Boy was to his own dog to King Fugaku. It was just that their future king just had his morals…er…or the lack thereof…misplaced.
Yeah…that's it…Sakura sweat dropped. Now how am I going to explain this to a ten-year-old?
"Um, Konohamaru, listen." She started slowly, choosing her words carefully. The boy looked at her as she rested a hand on his shoulder. Looking into his happy deep brown eyes, a rush of love and warmth washed over her, wrapping around her heart, pushing away all those worries and frustrations she had of Jiro Kiyoshi and Inari making the corners of her lips lift up in a small tender smile.
"Yeah?" Konohamaru tilted his head to the side, gazing at his beloved sister, the only parent he's ever known since their father and his mother died when he was barely two, nine years ago, in curious bewilderment.
"See, Rakehell is…not really the kind of person you should be looking up to…"
"Who?"
Sakura sighed dismally. "Prince Sasuke,"
"Oh." The boy blinked up at his sister looking fairly…confused. What the hell was Kura talking about?
A moment of grim silence followed, with Sakura expecting Konohamaru to agree, and the little boy trying to process what his sister was talking about in his mind.
Maybe Sakura likes him. Konohamaru finally shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly and, not wanting to offend his sister in someway, relented. "I guess Prince Sasuke's kinda cool too. But the Night Phantom is much cooler! I'm going to be just like him when I grow up!"
"…" She blinked.
The brunet smiled up at his sister.
"…" And blinked.
"…Kura?"
"Excuse me? Who?"
Konohamaru beamed up at her with a dashing smile, eyes sparkling. "The Night Phantom! Y'know, the King's road thief! The one that steals from the rich and gives to the poor!"
"You were talking about the Night Phantom?"
"Uh-huh! He's there on the third page of the paper!" He took the morning paper from Sakura's other hand opening it briskly to the indicated page, his grin still so wide, it made Sakura unconsciously wonder if it was good for a little boy to grin so much…
"And…you weren't talking about Prince Sasuke?"
"Nope! Who said anything about Prince Sasuke?" Konohamaru answered gazing down exultingly at the morning newspaper.
"Thank God." Sakura's shoulders drooped with relief at the knowledge. As much as she respected the royal family, Prince Sasuke Uchiha was just not a very good example for little boys. Although I'm not sure a highway man stealing loot is any better, but at least we're getting somewhere…
"Why?" Konohamaru asked her curiously, tearing his gaze away from the newspaper to his pink-haired sister.
"Because…he's a rake."
"The prince is a garden tool?"
"Erm…no…?"
"Alright, alright you two! Enough of garden tool talks already! Breakfast is ready downstairs." Grandmother Chiyo interrupted abruptly seeing where the conversation was headed, much to Sakura's relief, and tried hustled both of them like the mother hen she truly was to the dining table downstairs.
"Are the boys here yet?" The pinkette suddenly asked the old woman as she began fixing the scarf along her brother's neck remembering that they were going to bury the Kiyoshi captive today.
"Kiba and Chouji and Shino are coming?" Konohamaru brightened up instantly at the mention of "the boys", his favorite trio, breaking free from Sakura's grasp and ran for the open door. "I'll go wait for them downstairs! I can't wait to tell Kiba who made to the paper today! Yeah!"
"Ah, Konohamaru—" The pinkette started just as her little brother slipped out of the door and bounded down the stairs with thudding steps.
She sighed.
Yep.
This house wasn't going to last long…She just knew it. She stood up and sauntered over to where Grandmother Chiyo, now smiling tenderly at the child's antics, stood. "Honestly, if he keeps running up and down like that, we're going to go homeless before you know it."
Grandmother Chiyo heft out a hearty chuckled of fondness, turning to the girl she and her brother had taken care of since the unfortunate death of her mother, looking deep into those twinkling jaded pools she knew took well. "Even with different mothers, the two of you still have a lot in common."
"Really? I was that…er…energetic?" Somehow she doubted it.
"Of course! Trouble follows you everywhere, Sakura! Even now. Just like young Konohamaru," Grandmother answered in an affectionate tone before walking out the door to care for the ten-year-old delinquent.
Sakura shook her head at the old woman before proceeding on pouring some water from the pitcher to the washing bowl, slowly bending down to wash the remains of sleep from her face smiling contentedly.
Even though Konohamaru was only her half-brother, she loved him with all her heart, like her own full blooded brother. He was the only true family she had left. A reminder of her father…that at least…at least before he died, his heart hadn't been remained numb. Because he managed to love Konohamaru's mother.
Grandmother Chiyo and Grandfather weren't her real relatives. They weren't her real grandparents…and come to think of it, she didn't really know her real ones either. But the two of them took her in when she was five. Right after her mother died and her father started drinking and gambling.
And they taught her everything she knew. From reading and writing to identifying herbs to mixing healing potions for the sick—courtesy of Grandmother Chiyo—to handling pistols to swinging swords and mixing gun powders for bombs and ammunition—courtesy of Grandfather, a former colonel for the royal army.
She owed everything to them. They were a family. No matter how messy and confusing their relationship might be. The four of them. Konohamaru, Grandmother Chiyo, Grandfather and she.
And for the four of them, her lands were a refuge to run to. Their home. Sakura's world. Konohamaru's future. Grandmother and Grandfather's resting place. And the other souls that depend on her lands' sanctuary.
That was why she couldn't—wouldn't lose to Inari.
The game's far from over Inari! She thought in a new resolve, radiating with determination as she reached for a towel, patting her face with it. She looked at herself on the mirror, saw her eyes flash. And you're going down!
-XxxxX-
"Whoa, what happened to you?" Kiba Inuzuka, the resident knucklehead, gaped at his pink-haired best friend the second she entered the dining some moments later. Dark circles were visible under her eyes, contrasting heavily against her alabaster skin.
"Not enough sleep, Sakura?" Chouji, resident pig, asked, never pausing from inhaling the food in front of him.
"Ugh, no." The pinkette groaned out. She walked over to the table her half-brother, Kiba and Chouji were situated in, eating—or in Chouji's case, inhaling—their breakfast.
"Yeah. She's been busy thinking about Prince Sasuke all night." Konohamaru chimed in, teasingly as he dug into his omelet remembering her sudden interest on the young prince earlier that morning.
"No, I wasn't!" Sakura protested, turning a light shade of red. And it was the truth too. She hadn't been thinking about the prince.
At least not last night…
But then again, she'd sooner swallow one of her bombshells than admit that on any other night…she just possibly…perhaps…maybe…might've…?
…
What?
Can you blame her?
Oh, what girl wouldn't fantasize about the man?
He was a walking, breathing, smirking Greek god, for heaven's sake! All his morals—or the lack of it—aside though, the prince was every girl's wet dream. And it didn't help that she's seen him in person before too, when she and Grandmother Chiyo went grocery shopping at Leaf last fall.
He had been across the street from them with his current mistress, a pretty little redhead named Karin (Sakura knew her name since they've been all over the papers since they got together), dangling on his arm. They were coming out from a jewelry store, and Sakura had been struck into a stupor for a moment staring at the lovely looking couple. Not just because they were a pair made in heaven, but because a human part of her felt a sharp pang of longing looking at them.
To be as rich as the prince…
If she only had that much money to waste…
All the prince ever did was waste it. His money. Showering his mistresses with gifts and useless baubles and expensive satins and silks that cost as much as acres of lands.
If she had that much money…well, let's just say, she and her people wouldn't be in this current predicament, starving.
Well, I guess some people are just made for fortune and glory. While some just has to work for it. She sighed at the thought.
Kiba and Chouji looked at each other from across the table, blinked and then burst out laughing so loud and hysterically chucks of food went flying in the air and onto Sakura's face from their mouths. Hell even Kiba's huge white dog, Akamaru, who was sitting on the floor by his owner, started howling in doggy amusement.
"Right…" The lone female in the room commented dryly, wiping spit and crumbs off her face gingerly with her fingers. Ick. Men.
Kiba fell off his chair to the floor and stayed there withering, gripping his sides in the hilarity of it all. Wiping a stray tear from his eyes, he tried to gasp for breath. "Oh, that was rich!"
"Yeah, and so are your manners." The pinkette grumbled, glaring green daggers at the two young men. Jeez. "Oh, will you two shut up already!"
Kiba just burst out howling even louder from the wooden floor.
Sakura a vein popped on her forehead. Why am I friends with them again? And for eleven years too!
"Sorry…sorry…we're sorry, Sak…" Chouji offered in between laughter, his food long forgotten, tipping over his chair…which was threatening to break under his weight by the way…
Uh-oh…
"Yeah! We know you're as attracted to the prince as you are to Inari's as—ow! What was that for?" Dog Boy started but was cut short from his hyena laughing when a certain pinkette's fist suddenly collided with his skull rendering it numb.
Numbskull.
"Not in front of my brother, idiot!" She hissed venomously at the older brunet. Seriously. How stupid can Kiba get?
"That hurt!"
"I know." She smirked, satisfied. With a dismissive sigh, she let her green orbs survey they room trying to see if everyone of her gang was present. An over sized dog, a loudmouth brunet, a food-loving Yeti and a ten-year-old with a missing tooth. She sweat dropped.
Okay…talk about abnormal.
But then she furrowed her brows, noticing that someone from their mismatched party was missing. She turned to Chouji who had decided to finally stop laughing and went back on inhaling their food again. "Eh…Chouji, where's Shino?"
"He's—"
"Here," The silent bug man answered, as the door leading outside opened, sending wisps of cool winter air sweep inside the cozy dining room. He nodded to his friends and then proceeded to close the door.
"Shino! Where've you been man! Have some food!" Kiba greeted with a wide toothy grin. Akamaru barked his welcome, tailing wagging.
Shino, a bizarre boy who wore thick sunglasses, even when there wasn't any said sun, shook his head in decline. "No, thanks." He turned to Sakura. "Do you still have Jiro Kiyoshi's release papers?"
Sakura nodded slowly, looking at his curiously. "Why?"
"I went to church this morning," He started casually as if he was commenting on the weather, scratching Akamaru's ear as he neared.
His childhood friends stared at him.
"To church?" Sakura turned to Kiba in disbelief, and then to Chouji.
They burst out laughing. And This time, Chouji did break Sakura's loyal chair.
Now, that was rich!
Who would've thought that Shino, the guy who practically praised and worshipped bugs, so much so that he practically had a hive for a home, was a religious person! In all the years the trio's known him, it was actually the first time he's mention something so…well, something that actually has something to do with God.
"Shino? A-are you sick?" Sakura, red-faced, managed to ask, bracing her hands on the table to keep her knees from buckling under her from trying to swallow her own hysterical laughter.
The dark-haired young man shook his head no, not caring that his friends were laughing at him. Well, that was why he was the strange one right…? "Yes. And I also found out how you can push through with your marriage."
And that said, all laughter died down…replaced by grim silence.
What?
"You did?" Chouji finally asked, cutting through the think blanket of stillness that shrouded and suffocated them.
Shino nodded calmly at him.
"And you found that out by going to church?" Though a little skeptical, Sakura's tone told everyone she was intent on finding what the guy had in mind.
Again, Shin nodded in confirmation.
"Ooookay…I blame the bugs…" Kiba whispered under his breath, but stayed silent after that.
Sakura rolled her eyes at him and looked at Shino with serious green eyes. They knew better than to discard any of Shino's suggestions. He was the calculating one in their little party after all. And most of the time, he was right. They trusted the young man's judgment…no matter how…er…odd he came up with it.
Sakura turned to her brother. "Konohamaru. Take Grandfather's breakfast to him upstairs."
Konohamaru looked up at her with a childish frown. "What?"
"Now."
"Fine." He sighed grudgingly, and went into the kitchen to fetch the food. He wanted to hear what Shino had to say…And who was Jiro anyway? Stupid Kura!
Once the young boy was out of sight, Shino stepped forward and took a seat beside Chouji. Sakura sat beside Kiba.
The meeting has officially started.
Green orbs stared straight thought the dark lenses of her friend. "Shino…how?"
"Father Jiraya…"
"The local parish priest?" Chouji's eyebrows rose, his food completely forgotten now. And anyone who knew him would know by now that that was how grave the situation was.
"He used to be a writer, right?"
Kiba snorted leaning back comfortably on his chair. "Chyah! An erotic writer!"
"But a writer all the same." Shino said sticking to business.
"What're you talking about?" Sakura asked, not catching his drift at all.
Shino turned to look at her. "He's agreed to help us."
"You don't mean…?" Sakura trailed off, her eyes narrowing at the dark headed young man, uncertain. Was he saying that…
Shino merely nodded once at her. "Yes. He's agreed to forge Kiyoshi's signature."
No way!