I do not own Naruto nor its characters! I don't make any money off of this!
"speaking"
'thinking'
Chapter 8:
Breakfast the next morning was more crowded than normal. Fugaku, Itachi, and Mikoto sat at the head of the table. Naruto and Avriannah sat on Mikoto's left while Raiyuki and Yori sat across from them. Sasuke was at the other end of the table. The rest of the seven potential brides sat between Sasuke and Naruko. It was like they were keeping Naruko as far away from Sasuke as possible. Haruka was on Sasuke's right side while Sakura was on his left. They were fighting for Sasuke's attention. Hara and Carrie were more conservative. Lilly was more interested in the food than Sasuke.
"So," Raiyuki said breaking the silence on her end of the table. "Did you hear about that new Disney movie?"
"Which one?" Naruto asked.
"Brave," Raiyuki said.
"I haven't seen it yet," Naruto said.
"What!?" someone yelled. All eyes were on Lilly. She didn't seem to notice nor care. "You haven't seen Brave yet?" Naruto shook his head. "Then we are gonna have to watch it. I brought it with me. I'll go get it." Without another word, Lilly bolted out of the hall.
"Wow," Raiyuki said. "I guess Lilly really likes that movie."
"It is her favorite princess movie," Carrie said. "I think she said she liked it because the princess can fight for herself." Carrie and Lilly were good friends.
"I prefer Frozen," Avriannah said.
"I like the Princess and the Frog myself," Carrie said.
"Ewe," Sakura said. "How can you like something like that? I mean a princess that kisses a frog? Like that would happen."
"I'd kiss a frog," Carrie said. "If a frog turned into the prince I was destined to be with, then I'd kiss him."
"You're crazy," Sakura said. "Frogs are dirty."
"I found it!" Lilly yelled running back into the room. She grabbed Naruto's arm and being to pull him up. "Come on! Let's go watch it."
Mikoto chuckled. "Why don't we all go watch it? We can have a Disney Princess Movie Marathon."
"Sure," Naruto said standing up. Raiyuki and Yori looked at each other and shrugged before standing up.
"Of course, your highness," Sakura said. "What a good idea." Naruto rolled his eyes. He could tell that Sakura was just trying to butter up to Mikoto. He did notice that Mikoto hadn't corrected Sakura and told her to call her Mikoto.
Everyone except Itachi and Fugaku followed Mikoto into the theater room. Mikoto put Brave in first since it looked like Lilly wouldn't sit down until it was playing. Lilly took a seat next to Naruto, ready to tell him what parts she like the most.
Naruto had to admit that Brave was quite good. Frozen was the next movie they watched. Naruto didn't really like that one. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. The Princess and the Frog was next. Carrie glared at Sakura when she after Tiana kissed frog-Naveen. Naruto liked this one too. Tiana was another powerful female character. Tangled was the next movie they watched. Hara and Raiyuki seemed to really like this movie. Naruto also thought it was cool. He laughed every time the pan-of-doom was used.
Half way into the Little Mermaid, Naruto wanted to kill Ariel. How could she be so stupid? She should have just let Prince Eric see her as she truly was. Naruto paused in thought and looked at Sasuke. Could he tell him the truth? No. That made Naruto a hypocrite. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and the Cinderella were the next three movies they watched. Mulan was the current one they were watching. Mulan and Naruto had a lot in common. Both were hiding their true genders in order to protect those they cared about.
Several more movies later, and Naruto had to say that his favorite movie was now Mulan. It had a happy ending just like all of these others, but it was the only one that seemed to fit Naruto's situation. Naruto knew however that he didn't have as much as a chance of a happy ending as Mulan.
Naruto looked over at Sasuke. He frowned. Haruka was running her fingers through Sasuke's hair. The raven seemed content. Jealousy ran through Naruto's body. He wanted to be the one running their fingers through Sasuke's hair. He wanted to be the only one allowed to touch Sasuke. Naruto realized that his jealous was clouding his soul. He had to bury his feelings.
After those movies, everyone was hungry. Lunched had been served after three movies, but now it was time for dinner. Everyone took the same seats they had at breakfast. Mikoto happily told Fugaku and Itachi about the movie-thon. The others talked about their favorite movie. Naruto however, was silent. He was trying to fight the darkness in his heart. He looked at everyone at the table. Some he would miss when he was gone. Others, he wouldn't mind never seeing again. He took a sip of his drink as he came to a conclusion. He had to talk to Iruka about faking his death. They would have to do it sooner than they agreed. Living as Naruko wasn't easy. Naruto didn't know how much more of this he could take.
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Another week past and Naruto was on edge. The plan for his death was set. He was to take a potion just before dinner. A few minutes in dinner, he'd collapse and the Uchihas would call on a doctor. Tsunade would pronounce Naruto dead hours later. The cause would be heart failure. Naruto's body would be sent back to Konoha. Minato and Kushina would bury an empty coffin. Iruka would awaken Naruto and bring him back to the orphanage. Then Iruka would go back to the Uchiha Kingdom and live happily with Kakashi. There were a few kinks in the plan, but as long as things went well, Naruto would be able to move with his life.
Naruto spent the day watching Sasuke with Haruka. He hoped Sasuke would be happy with Haruka or whoever he picked. He could picture Sasuke and Haruka living happily together taking care of their children. This dream motivated Naruto to agree to Iruka's plan.
"You seem sad," Yori said sitting next to Naruto. "Is it because of Haruka?"
"Not really," Naruto said.
"You know that she was Sasuke's first love right?" Yori asked. Naruto nodded. "Well, they grew up together. Sasuke was two when she was born. She's the daughter of the best friend of the late Queen, Raiyuki's mother. Because they grew up together, they knew things about each other no one else knew. It was Sasuke that made the first move. They started going out when they were twelve. Four years, that's how long they date. But she did something that Sasuke couldn't forgive her for."
"What did she do?" Naruto asked.
"She caused a rift in Hinata and Kiba's relationship," Yori said.
"Hinata and Kiba were together?" Naruto asked.
"They were engaged," Yori answered. "But Haruka didn't like Hinata. She was too close to Sasuke. Haruka didn't care that Hinata was already taken. She still saw her as a threat. During a storm, she locked Hinata out. No one knew that Hinata was still outside except Haruka. When they finally found her, Hinata was dying. Haruka made it seem that Kiba was at fault. Apparently she had forge a letter to Hinata from Kiba telling her that he wanted to talk to her about something. Sasuke and Kiba got in a huge fight. It was Itachi that discovered that Kiba hadn't written the letter. But Kiba and Sasuke's friendship had already ended. Hinata and Kiba were also not talking. Neji blamed Kiba for Hinata getting sick. Although Itachi showed them that the letter didn't match Kiba's handwriting, they didn't care. It took another year before Kiba met Shino. Shino was the one to make Neji and Sasuke see the truth. Shino had found something that Haruka had written and matched it to the letter. Sasuke gathered all of us and announced the truth. Haruka fought back trying to convince that what she did was ok. But Sasuke no longer trusted her. The broke up and she returned home. Sasuke and Kiba started talking again. It was Sasuke that got Shino and Kiba together. Sai, Mikoto's cousin's son is engaged to Hinata. Sometimes, Hinata and Kiba are thankful that Haruka did that." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "It made them find the ones they truly love."
"I see," Naruto said. He looked at Haruka and saw her in a different light. The story of the past made Naruto's decision waiver. Then he remembered that there was still Harra and Carrie. Sasuke could fall in love with one of them. Naruto and Yori walked back to the castle, leaving Sasuke and Haruka behind.
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Naruto took one last look at himself before he held out his hand. Iruka put a pill in it. "Are you ready?" he asked.
"I don't think I'll ever be ready," Naruto said. "But I have to do this." He tossed the pill into his mouth and swallowed. Iruka led Naruto downstairs and he took his normal spot at the table. Half way through dinner, Naruto felt the pill working. He suddenly felt like he had to throw up.
Iruka noticed this and ran to Naruto's side. "Princess Naruko? Are you ok?"
"It hurts," Naruto lied. He wasn't in pain, but he was getting dizzy.
"What hurts?" Iruka asked.
"My chest," Naruto said.
"Naruko?" Sasuke was at his side.
"Call the doctor," Itachi said.
"Naruko!" Sasuke yelled as Naruto lost consciousness.
