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.:The Lady Kickboxer:.
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.:Chapter 3:.
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She couldn't take her eyes off of him. Her gaze travelled from his captivating, dark eyes to the simple, yet well-worn hilt of the long sword hanging from his belt. She wondered how proficient he was with the weapon. Her attention was quickly diverted, however, when Danzo rose from his throne.
He was dressed lavishly, she noted with scorn. His cape was blood red, trimmed with ermine fur and fastened with a golden brooch shaped in the likeness of a leaf. Bitterly, Sakura mused how this usurper dared to bear the crest of the Haruno Kingdom. His right eye was said to have been damaged in the civil war he had unleashed upon the kingdom, and was bandaged tightly by clean white linen stitched with gold embroideries. He donned a tall, heavily studded crown upon his head, and the golden sceptre he clutched in his hand resembled a walking cane.
'Such finery,' she thought disdainfully, 'while the kingdom starves outside your doorstep.' Sakura quickly quelled the familiar feelings of anger and hatred, knowing that such sentiments would cause her to tense up and maybe give herself away.
"Welcome, O King of the Fire," Danzo finally spoke, his rasping, hoarse voice a grating attrocity compared to the Fire King's rich tone. His one visible eye gleamed at the sight of the young monarch before him, and he continued, "We accept your greetings and return them in kind."
Turning to face the crowd in the ballroom, he raised his voice, proclaiming:
"Let the festivities begin!"
Polite applause rose from the masses, and Sakura kept her keen gaze trained on the Fire King as he accepted the seat beside Danzo. Somewhere in the back, a quartet of musicians struck up a soft, classy piece that lent a note of serenity to the atmosphere. The two rulers leaned together, speaking in hushed tones. She strained her ears, but could hear nothing, standing on the other side of the room. Narrowing her gaze at them, she couldn't help but admire the sight of the young king's broad shoulders and narrow waist, accented by a wide belt.
"You're staring, Sakura." Her head whipped around to see Kiba grinning sourly.
"Well, that's our job, isn't it?" she snapped back, flustered at being caught. Kiba chuckled in amusement while she silently fumed. Before too long, Shikamaru showed up as well, straightening his decorative breastplate and mumbling, "What a drag…"
And indeed, it was a drag. As the evening wore on – and really, it wore on – the guards grew more and more tense. The two kings continued their secretetive, hushed conversation, ignoring the merriment around them.
"They must be working out some pact," Kiba muttered.
"Aye," Shikamaru agreed, dark eyes sharp, "The Fire King wouldn't have travelled all this way for just a party."
"But why do this now?" Sakura inquired, "Why during a ball?"
"Witnesses?" Kiba suggested. Shikamaru opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by a lazy drawl behind him.
"My, my, you guys are a suspicious bunch, aren't you?"
Sakura whirled around, hand tightening around her lance. Before she could fully lower the weapon into a deflective stance, however, she recognized the newcomer behind them.
"Kaka-sensei!" she cried out in delight.
The slouching, golden-clad figure standing a little distance away waved cheerfully. He had removed his helmet, but the black silk mask underneath still concealed most of his face. And what the mask didn't conceal, his mass of silver hair did.
"Yo," he smiled, his visible eye crinkling up.
"What are you doing here?" she asked excitedly, grinning back, "I thought you were holed up in Sound?"
"Ah, well, about that…" the silver-haired man scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "The King decided he trusted me and wanted specificially me to accompany him on this journey."
"But why?" Kiba decided to cut in, sounding confused, "You're just a Palace Guard, like us."
"Well now, that's not true anymore – I've been promoted to Captain of the Guard."
"Sensei!" Sakura couldn't help but beam at her old teacher. He seemed to be bashful, still rubbing his head. Trying to dispell the sudden awe they had of him, Kakashi mused aloud:
"But enough of this, aren't you three supposed to be on watch and not chatting with an old man?"
"Well, these two are," Sakura jerked a thumb at the two guys behind her, smirking, "I'm just here because I was curious."
"So you're off duty?"
"Yup."
"Well, then how about showing your old sensei where he can drink glass of wine in peace?"
She thought her head would split if she grinned any wider.
"You bet, sensei. Follow me!"
"So that's how it is…" Sakura murmured, swirling the wine in her glass thoughtfully. Nodding, Kakashi leaned back in his chair, adding:
"Kabuto was very careful to cover his tracks, but Pakkun managed to sniff him out anyways. The only question that remains for me is why Orochimaru went after Anko in the first place."
Sakura's gaze dropped to her hands, guilt eating away on her insides.
"It was me," she whispered, shamefaced, "If I hadn't asked her to slip that package through to Tsunade, maybe Kabuto wouldn't have caught on to her that night…"
The silver-haired man leaned forward to place a comforting hand on the young woman's shoulder.
"It's not your fault," he said firmly, "Anko made her own decision when she switched sides. She died willingly for your cause; don't give up!"
"Perhaps," she muttered, standing. Shaking herself, she turned to Kakashi and asked:
"How much time do you have until you have to return to the Fire King?"
"Oh, all evening."
"Okay, then that means we have enough time to go down to the Ruin to see—"
Sakura was interrupted by shouts and clattering in the hall. She turned just in time to see three of Iruka's kitchen hands burst through the door, panicking.
"Ah! Sakura-san!" One of them squeaked upon catching sight of her. The three made to back out of the room, but they stopped cold as a furious, feminine voice screeched:
"Get back here, you little sewer rats! Guards, after them!"
The children froze, their eyes wide. Before they could even think of running, two guards stormed into the room, each of them grabbing a child by the scruff. Thinking quickly, Sakura reached out and grasped the remaining child herself, casting a brief look of what she hoped was reassurance at the frightened youngling.
"You dirty little pests!" the female voice raved, approaching rapidly, "I'll have your heads for sneaking around in my private quarters! Just you wait, you filthy, good-for-nothing freaks—"
A woman rounded the corner, panting heavily from her dash down the hallway. Her beautiful, silk clothes were rumpled, her white gloves stained with red wine. Her furious, heavily painted face was practically glowing as her formerly perfectly arranged scarlet hair fell in tangled chucks around her glaring eyes. She caught sight of the three guards restraining the children and her wrathful eyes lit up in triumph.
"There you have it, you little bastards!" she crowed, marching up to them. Sneering down at the captive kitchen hands, she snarled:
"Now you're really going to get it, you wretched—"
"My lady." Kakashi interrupted her tirade. As her gaze snapped over to him, she scowled even harder, if such a thing was possible.
"Who dares to interrupt me?" she snapped rudely, placing her hands on her hips and giving Kakashi a critical once-over. Suddenly, she spotted the Fire insignia stitched to his decorative cape and she gasped, immediately rearranging her face into a pleasant smile.
"My lord from the Kingdom of Fire!" she gasped, her voice soft and at least an octave higher. As the three guards present gaped in shock at her rapid change from ferocious to coy, she sidled up to Kakashi and cooed:
"You must be the Captain of the Guard, Kakashi. I have heard oh so much about you, courageous warrior! Was it not you who singlehandedly defeated the armies of Sound?"
"The tales exaggerate," Kakashi forced himself to keep his voice even. Outwardly, he appeared calm and languid, as he always seemed to be. Glancing from her fiery red hair to her rich décor, he inquired gravely:
"Might I be so bold as to assume, gracious lady," behind Kakashi, Sakura almost choked while holding back a laugh, "that you are the fair Princess Karin of the Spring Kingdom that His Majesty referred too?"
Karin gasped once again, placing a hand across her heart.
"Why, so it is!" she cried, feigning surprise, "I am so very flattered to hear that his Highness has spoken of me!" She seemed to remember then the reason she had stormed down the hallways when she abruptly turned to shoot the three children a disgusted stare.
"I was on my way to meet his Majesty and my father, the King, when these street rats ran into me while rounding a corner. And look! They have ruined my gown!" she lamented, plucking at her dress. Sliding her gaze to the side, she breathed, seemingly on the verge of tears:
"I cannot go before his Lordship in this state, dearest Captain. Whatever shall I do?"
Kakashi tilted his head back, adopting a thoughtful pose while discreetly flashing a glance at Sakura. She stared back at him, incomprehension in her gaze, watching how he quickly mouthed the words 'trust me'. She nodded at him, a tiny movement.
"My lady, please retire to your quarters," he declared, "You will have enough time to salvage your gown. In the meantime, I will speak to his Majesty and see if I can delay the negotiations for a while."
"Very well," Karin accepted instantly, "and as for you…" she advanced on the cowering children. Her gaze darted up to inspect the three guards and she ordered with a superior air:
"Have these three thrown into the dungeons. Do not feed them. They can starve like their kind is supposed to. You!" she snapped her fingers impatiently at Sakura, who was doing her best to mask her appalled expression, "Leave the rat to the other two and come with me. My ladies in waiting are all down in the ballroom, and I cannot be seen like this. You are proficient with a brush and comb, I assume?"
"Yes, my lady," Sakura answered through clenched teeth.
"Good, then you will have to do." She turned on her heel to stride down the hall, not sparing a single glance at the pale-faced children she had condemned.
Behind her mask, Sakura snarled soundlessly in helpless fury. She exchanged a look with Kakashi and reluctantly departed to followed the Princess towards her quarters.
Did you know…?
… that Kakashi is an underground smuggler from the Fire Kingdom with ties to the Ruin?
Word count: 1'784 words