Chapter 7: A Prince and a Proposal
Only the few individuals that understood the emotional chaos that raged beneath the pale, stoic mask of an Uchiha would see Sasuke for what he was truly doing as he sat alone in his room. The young prince was pouting. His usual cool glare shimmered in anger and his posture rigid but perfect. How could Kit offer him a bride when it was obvious as to how he felt? Had he not made it obvious enough? Though he sat motionless, internally, the prince was pacing around the room. Sasuke knew he needed to calm down and think about what was truly important. Even if it cost him the chance at becoming King of the Fire Nation, he could not allow Kit to suffer any longer. "I can't run away from this."
Sasuke found the King of the Hidden Leaf Nation sulking at a short tea table with a bowl of ramen before him. The white fox must have wanted to stew in his emotions because Tsunade and Jiraiya could be seen at a table on the other side of the garden drinking from bottles of sake. The ramen and tea sat cold, no longer steaming, while Kit thoughtlessly nibbled on a noodle. To put it simply, the sovereign was sulking in his gardens and playing with cheap noodles.
The jade chopsticks that were lightly gripped in white paws shattered across the floor when the surreal sound of laughter caressed pointed ears. It even surprised the Uchiha to hear his own chuckle. The half-eaten noodle slipped beneath the golden broth after escaping the clutches of the crystalline muzzle. The royal fox's gaze turned from awe at the mystical sound to angry dissatisfaction. "My chopsticks!"
The prince stood there patiently as the royal fox caught up to the present. His white snout hung open, whiskers twitching at the raven prince before him. Sasuke knew the delicate smile that halted Kit's breathing softly pulled at his cheeks. Then, the spell broke and Kit grew embarrassed. White ears dropped; eyes and head swerved to look away.
"Don't look at me like I'm… not a fox." The flamboyant sovereign seemed so small and fragile as Sasuke took a seat at the small table. Though they both tried to force relaxed poses on either side of the black table, neither knew of Jiraiya taking note of the scene for a painting later. Black hair was framed by silver metals and flowing blue fabrics, while white fur contrasted with gold and orange fabrics.
The prince casually pulled a cup from his sleeve causing a twitch from the royal fox in a miniature anxiety attack. "There is no going back." Neither spoke a word as Sasuke poured himself some of the cold tea. Before fully bringing it to his lips, the prince softly blew across the surface. His fire magic caused the tea to steam once more and he slowly took his first sip. "I know what I have to do." Sasuke didn't even raise his eyes as he spoke, "You don't have to be."
"What?" Kit sat rigid with blues eyes staring at him in surprise.
"Marry me." This time the prince made sure to lock his obsidian eyes with the bright blue ones across from him. The fierce intensity of the look was only proof of the sincerity, where the rest of the prince seemed quiet and serene.
"Are you bribing me to marry you if you break the curse?! You egotistical bastard!" The warm fabrics swam slowly in the air as the royal fox rose in spontaneous fury. "I'm not some damsel to marry the first guy to save me!"
"Idiot." The orange fabrics settled as Kit glared suspiciously at Sasuke, but the prince knew he had the fox's full attention. "I was going to change you back regardless."
"Now" Everyone watched in terror as the glint of a blade flashed in the light. The prince couldn't hear the yells and crashing furniture of the two old foxes panic. "Please forgive me." A small white head rolled to the floor as Sasuke stood behind a mound of fabric and fur. His attack had been flawless and swift. "Please, don't die. Come on Kit. Live!" A strangled bark screeched across the garden as Tsunade made eye contact with the head of the boy she had raised. Her attack was only halted by the strange movement of the still standing body.
The warm fabrics came to life in engulfing the small corpse. Orange and red wrapped around itself until it was a cocoon six feet tall. The hissing of fabric sliding against itself slowed to a whisper as a sun kissed hand slid out of the top of a now visible sleeve. The royal robe took its rightful form with sleeved arms gracefully curtaining a human form. Bright blue eyes framed in golden lashes glistened in joy. Lightly tanned cheeks, a round face, apple blossom lips, and golden locks, yes, this was his Kit. His cheeks held three whiskers marks that had Sasuke wondering if they were related to the curse. "Thank goodness." The prince forced back tears. "Thank goodness."
"What? Flat chested?" Sasuke lightly joked as the blonde blinked to reality.
"BASTARD!" The young king slapped his hands to his mouth in surprise. It was hard for Sasuke not to chuckle at Kit for scaring himself with the volume of a human body. "I forgot how I sounded with human lips." The once white fox hummed out loud while a steady roar of cheering seeped in from outside. When a blonde woman with a large bust came into view with a smug white haired man following behind her, Sasuke knew they were Tsunade and Jiraiya. She sternly spoke, "You're lucky, brat. If he had died, I'd have torn you to shreds." Jiraiya merely chuckled as the three followed the excited blonde to the main entrance.
Both doors were pushed open to reveal streets filled with celebrating humans. Faces, human faces that Sasuke could not recognize were looking back at them. They were ecstatic, but still turned and bowed at their monarch.
"My kingdoms and I were cursed many years ago. I was too young to remember the ceremony that caused all this. I only know that my father made this treaty and then vanished. As part of the curse, nobody could speak about my identity or the curse directly." The prince could hear the masculine voice crack in emotion as tears of diamonds threatened to fall from crystal eyes. "That note said you had to love me in order for the curse to be broken." Red sleeves came together as the king turned in a formal apology, "I'm sorry I couldn't be your princess."
Sasuke sighed in frustration before a thought dawned on him. "Kiba!" He called out to a crowd of strangers, only for a rough looking brunette with red facial markings to emerge. "Get a carriage ready." Then, the prince turned to Tsunade. "We may need a medic, food, and a change of clothes." She stared at him for a moment before leaving to collect things. The young king just watched in muted confusion.
"There is someone to be saved yet, fox." The raven prince offered his hand to clueless Kit. Tsunade had already taken the reigns from the driver when the blonde king placed his hand in Sasuke's. It was all that was needed for the prince to pull the monarch into the carriage and signal to Tsunade to begin. They spoke very little, besides the basic directions told to the busty blonde. When they arrived at a large waterfall, the fox king was so impressed by the scenery that he had to be dragged into the entrance behind it. With small sparks lighting the path for them, it took very little time for the prince to find the ominous cage. It was only now that he could see the snakes which decorated the lock, however, this time the dark shadows that lingered behind it were empty.
"There!" Tsunade shouted, pointing to a naked form lying near the middle of the empty cavern. Before Sasuke could blink, she kicked through the door with more ferocity than any of his brother's company. He and Kit quickly walked over to the mysterious form since she was already checking for vital signs. When they stood around the middle aged man Tsunade withdrew her hands and lowered her head.
It was apparent to Sasuke that this blonde man was malnourished. His ribs apparent and stomach bloated. His skin shined with oil and mud. Both boys vaguely wondered if they were too late to save this poor man, his face still cloaked in shadow. "Wait. What?"
"Is he snoring?" The fox king squawked in disbelief. The prince met his blue eyes as the worry for this stranger slipped away. "Well, then." Sasuke inwardly mused.
Tsunade did what any worried doctor would do and drop kicked her former king in the stomach. When the older blonde awoke with a grumpy "the hell was that" Sasuke spared a glance to Kit. His face was caught in disbelief as the young king stared at his long lost father. The prince wondered if he truly could not believe his father's survival or if he was just being slow to process the information.
Within the moments that the previous king dressed, Sasuke and Tsunade explained some basic information. Minato explained that it was Orochimaru who cursed him and his son. Once he was a demon, the Serpent King used the heroic story of vanquishing Kyuubi to win support for the Sound army. As soon as he was fully clothed, Minato clung to his speechless son. There was simply no escape.
Tsunade practically kicked them into the carriage to return home. The previous king pulled at different parts of Kit's robes to see how many pieces of the curse marked his body. He frowned at each one he saw, but Sasuke secretly drank in the sight of each inch of exposed skin. The fox king sat patiently as his top was pulled open after an intense scrutiny of his cheek marks. When Minato found a giant swirling tattoo on the boy's stomach he fell back, almost fainting. With Minato's eyes closed in swooning, Sasuke sent the younger blonde a mischievous crooked smile. Kit instantly turned tomato red and struggled to cover his well-toned chest. This time, with no fur, the young Uchiha could see the white fox's blush and he liked it.
"I am no longer deemed suitable to rule the Hidden Leaf Nation, but as the former king I have one last question. Sasuke Uchiha of the Fire Nation, you have rescued me, my family, and my people. What could I offer you as a reward for your great deeds?" Minato's strong voice demanded the attention of both boys, but the answer to Sasuke was simple.
"I desire your son's hand in marriage."
"Naruto? Do you wish to marry this boy, Sasuke Uchiha? Is there not a girl that may have sparked your fancy?" The prince took in the new name and found it as silly as the person. He could see how Minato's eyes were dancing in amusement as Naruto turned three shades redder.
"I wish it." The blonde mumbled behind a curtain of orange sleeve.
"What was that, Naruto? I don't think we heard you." Sasuke openly teased, smiling wider as the blonde reacted to his name. The young king glanced at his father's smug stare before bursting in frustration, "I WANT TO MARRY YOU, SO FUCK OFF! YOU BASTARD!"
With the exception of Minato's cackling, the trip home was relatively silent. Sasuke watched Naruto with a victorious smirk. The blonde pouted at the window with his cheeks puffed up and unrelentingly bright red.
A couple days later found the engaged couple arriving at the Main Gate of the Fire Nation Castle. The large structure was already in celebration at the proposal between Itachi and Sakura. Wedding preparations were already well underway; servants hustled here and there with colorful bouquets and large rolls of cloth. Some were still arguing over straightening the banners.
To the surprise of Sasuke and Naruto, the one barking out orders to make today "perfect" was in fact Lady Ino. Naruto had his face to the glass window as they pulled to a stop. She was reverently explaining why two flowers should not be placed together due to their contradicting meanings. At the same time, Ino was going over a checklist, supervising the decorations being put up, telling them to move a banner down by an inch, and flaunting her womanly beauty. Sasuke figured her personality to be this strong because she was Sakura's best friend after all.
As the royal party from the Hidden Leaf Nation began to exit their parade of carriages, Ino paused to bow in greeting. The prince offered his hand to his fiancé, but the prideful king didn't want to seem incompetent. In a move to boldly step down from the carriage, the blonde tripped over the front hem of his robe, falling into Sasuke's arms. The prince only offered a soft snort in amusement.
This was the moment that Itachi and Sakura appeared on the scene to greet Sasuke and the mysterious woman. The prince knew that they could only see tuffs of blonde peaking over his shoulder due to their long sleeves working well as curtains. Though Sakura was the only one to show interest, he could tell that Itachi was also quite curious. Sasuke subtly revealed Naruto to his brother and Sakura.
The pink lady was speechless; her mouth opened and closed mimicking a fish. The prince hid a small smirk at her reaction to seeing that the mysterious woman was actually a man. Although Naruto was tall and well-toned, he still fell an inch or so shorter and the firm body was lost beneath too many layers. The poor girl slowly put together that this was why Sasuke never allowed for her frivolous doting and it was visually obvious she was caught off guard.
Itachi bowed at the waist in a formal greeting half dragging Sakura into a diluted, distracted greeting of her own. The younger prince mildly mused at the odd distinction between the two couples. Itachi wore a tailcoat with gold accents to match Sakura's ball gown, while Sasuke and Naruto glittered in silver with their ever flowing robes. Neither had thought the blonde a king until two handmaidens stepped out to drape the royal robes accordingly behind him. Sasuke watched the mild surprise flicker in Itachi's eyes at the royal headdress with a large enough rim to shield Naruto's face from the public eye.
"Are you ready, Princess?" The younger prince joked. Even while bowing, Naruto grumbled about a death penalty for teasing royalty. "My fiancé, Naruto Uzumaki. My brother, Itachi." Sasuke figured Itachi already knew everything there was to know about the Uzumaki's and Naruto didn't need to know anything about Itachi.
Besides this brief encounter with his brother, both couples kept relatively hidden until the next morning. Sasuke imagined Itachi and Sakura doing some normal couple thing before marriage while he sat in this darkened room with only a couple candles to light part of a table. On the other side of said table, Naruto was blabbering about a "cool" entrance. "I have a plan that will blow your dad's royal pantyhose off!" He said, completely convinced of his own ingenious ideas. Sasuke was hardly looking forward to the "by the way, I give up the Fire throne because I'm gay and I want to go live with my husband" reveal to the entire court the next morning, but his blonde was quite excited about the whole thing. With a confident wink and bright smile, Naruto set the prince at ease.
As the sky was painted with the soft pinks and baby blues of the dawn the two couples stared their slow walk down the aisle. It was tradition for the bride and groom to walk together because it symbolized their journey in life, side by side.
Itachi and Sakura stepped forward first due to him being the eldest son. Unlike her girly ball gowns, today she wore a form fitting empire waist wedding dress. Her long belle sleeves draped flowery lace before her as she floated to the altar. Four bridesmaids guided the train and veil so that everything fell perfectly. Her bouquet of white roses, baby's breath, and orchids poured around three budding red roses. It had been too many years since either Uchiha had seen her as confident and beautiful as she looked now.
King Fugaku and Mikoto stood to acknowledge their eldest son and future daughter-in-law. They received the blessing of the court and took to the left side of the altar. Both Itachi and Sakura watched with amusement as Sasuke stepped forward.
There were four manservants holding up an elaborately decorated box. Inside the man-powered vehicle was a fox of crystal. Queen Mikoto hid her chuckling while Fugaku nearly slapped his own forehead in disappointment. It was indeed a very beautiful sculpture, but the room quickly hissed in confused and joyous whispers. The young prince had chosen to walk down the aisle with a crystal statue instead of a bride.
"Your eldest brother brings me a Princess, who is both beautiful and rich. Do you bring me a glass fox?" The King's voice was terse and he struggled to keep it steady. Sparing another glance around Sasuke's troupe in hopes she was hiding behind somebody.
Prince Sasuke stood tall as he motioned in a grand gesture to the crystal carving, "I bring you a fox with eyes more beautiful than any jewel; a fox so rich that it is never in need of magic, treasures, land, or love." On cue, the crystal cracked and shattered into dissolving snowflakes. From it, the once white fox floated to the floor in an ethereal slowness. Naruto stood before Mikoto and Fugaku with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and ever mischievous smile. The magic that naturally surrounded him never faltered in the flowing of his accessories and robes. All of the court needed a moment to realize this bejeweled splendor was the person Sasuke had chosen.
"I, Naruto Uzumaki, come before you as King of eleven kingdoms to ask for the hand of Sasuke Uchiha. If you would allow him to be my life partner, I should give you and your eldest son each one of my kingdoms." The entire world slowed, breaths were held in anticipation of King Fugaku's response. Nobody would have expected a single tear to slip over the grumpy King's chiseled wrinkles. His soft whisper echoed throughout the throne room in a breathless scream.
"Minato"
The ethereal moment subtly shattered around them as Naruto responded to his father's name. A cough in the audience further broke the silence when the real man in question stood. "Fugaku" With the brightest Uzumaki smile, he continued, "It's been a while."
The King regained his composure and spoke out to his guests. "Surprising events have taken place, just now. I must have counsel with the Uzumaki Clan leaders and my younger son. Please stay seated until we continue the wedding ceremonies." With a look to Minato and a nod to Itachi, Fugaku led Mikoto to the main politics room. Itachi took the cue from his father and led Sakura to a private room for the wait. The two boys shared a worried look as the audience moaned in aggravation. Sasuke hadn't expected his father to stop the wedding ceremony.
Sasuke, Naruto, and Minato entered the grand office to find King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto already sitting patiently for them. "Sasuke, stand outside until I call for you." Fugaku didn't even glance at his son. The raven felt a chill of fear scrape down his spine and an ember of fury spark in his chest as last thing he heard before closing the door was, "I will not allow the marriage."
