Chapter 10

Waking up had never been a problem for Sakura Haruno, as a genin she had been a rather pathetic girl who had focused too much time onto her looks, thus she always had to get up extra early to make sure her makeup and hair were perfect before meeting her team for a mission or training session. However, today Sakura felt like she could sleep for an eternity, feeling very much like someone who had been knocked down and trampled over repeatedly by Naruto's Kage bunshin, trying to get her eyes to open was, in itself, a very gruelling task. Grunting she pulled herself slowly up into a sitting position, her eyes still closed, her body ached and her shoulder felt like it was on fire, memories from last night filling her head, reminding her exactly why she was in so much pain.

"Fucking assassins", she muttered willing her eyelids to stop being glued shut, "just couldn't leave me alone could they?! Dicks". She cursed under her breath a few more times, picking out her most colourful phrases and sighed finally succeeding in opening her eyes. In an instant her sight was assaulted by amused azure eyes. "Uzumaki?" she questioned in a gruff tone.

Naruto was sat on her bed hovering over her while grinning like an idiot, it made Sakura feel slightly better. "Wow Princess, who knew royalty, could swear so well, I'm impressed". His grin reached his eyes as he sat back at the bottom of the bed, "How are you feeling?"

Sakura scoffed, lacking her usual etiquette when speaking, "I feel like shit", she flinched as she moved to get out of the bed, Naruto moved to her side holding his hand out in case she needed it. "Not a surprise since I was poisoned and stabbed", she grumbled taking his hand to steady herself.

Naruto paled at her mention of the attack, clearly feeling like he had failed her in some way. Sakura looked at him, carefully taking in his appearance, his wrinkled clothes from the previous day, the dark circles under his eyes, his unkempt blonde hair. It was at that moment that Sakura realised she was staring at his face and not his fox Anbu mask. Her insides halted and her mind stopped all thought processes, it was almost exactly the same when she had saw Kakashi remove his Anbu mask. Naruto's face contorted in worry, reminding her how he always had the worst poker face.

A memory of three teens with a bottle of sake playing strip poker together played through her mind, Naruto had been reduced to his boxes so quickly it had almost been too easy, where as the Uchiha had only taken his tee shirt off. As the only female in the group she had giggled so much as items of clothing had came off, Sakura ended up in her bra and shorts, blushing from not only the drink, but by the situation itself. Another hand was played and once again Naruto lost, he had gone so red when he realised exactly what he had to do next. Sakura chipped in how it was a shame Sai wasn't with them; Naruto would've finally proved to him that he wasn't dickless. Sasuke had burst into laughter and Naruto stuttered at her and it was exactly then that Kakashi had found them. Tsunade had sent him on a mission to find her missing sake. The three teens burst into laughter at their team leader's face of shock.

"Hime?" Naruto's concerned voice filled her thoughts, destroying her memories and she was thankful for it, her heart ached.

"I'm fine", she muttered, looking away from him, "I need to shower and ready myself for my meetings".

She staggered slightly as she moved, her knees feeling weak and Naruto was by her side, arms out for support if she needed them. "I think you should put a hold on those meetings Princess, you were hurt really bad last night". His worry made Sakura light headed and she wobbled a little, making his arms wrap around her waist to steady her. "You shouldn't push yourself too much".

"Nonsense", she cleared her voice, trying to get rid of the tremble in her tone, "I can't let the ones who ordered the attack to think they got me". Feeling steadier she pushed herself out of Naruto's arms, "If they think they got me, they'll try again to finish me off. I will show no weakness". Her determination filled her voice and it sent waves through her. In her time as a ninja Sakura had suffered worse injuries, her team mates got injured protecting her and then she learned how to use healing chakra and it had been so long since she had been wounded this badly. The thought of her own weaknesses made her feel angry, her attackers flashed beneath her eyelids, she growled, soon she wouldn't be this weak person anymore.

"Did you stay with me in this room all night?" she questioned him, eyeing his clothes once more.

"Yeah, we felt that it's in your best interest that you have one of us by your side at all times now. I'm sorry if this bothers you", his serious tone shocked her, "but, after last night we can't take any chances with your safety".

Stopping Sakura sighed, she had expected them to do something like this, especially when their unknown assailants had no chakra signatures and made it impossible to detect. Her eyes scanned the room to where the bodies had lay dead last night, now there was no trace they had ever been there. The room had been tidied and the bodies removed, the blood stains cleaned, it made sense to clean the room and keep her there, too many questions would be asked if she moved rooms. Her eyes moved around the room again, sighing looking down, it was then that she noticed her own appearance and raised an eyebrow, "who changed my clothes?" her question was one of surprise as she looked at Naruto who turned red.

"Um, well, the top you were wearing last night was reeeeeeeeally damaged", he was scratching the back of his head, "we asked the head medic Akari, who healed you last night to change your clothes". His face was getting redder by the minute, reminding Sakura of a very shy Hinata, "We wanted to save your modesty". His mouth snapped shut at the end, obviously finding the conversation very awkward.

Sakura sniggered slightly, "well I'll need to give her thanks for not letting me parade in front of men half naked as well as her fine medical work". Shaking her head she moved once again towards the bathroom, "Could you get someone to fetch me clean clothes for the day? You might also want to get a shower, you look like shit", she grunted towards him.

Naruto was once again scratching the back of his head and laughed, "You know you're pretty fun like this Princess, like when you aren't being all 'Princessy'. You remind me of some people I know".

Sakura eyed him wearily, "What people?"

"Well, our Hokage for starters!" he was so cheerful, standing before her, smiling brightly despite his exhaustion from being her guard through the night. "Our Hokage is pretty cool believe it or not, but she has this insane temper and can swear like a sailor".

A smile played on Sakura's lips, "Being compared to the Godaime herself, that's not such a bad thing". Her thoughts were with her Shishou, she had definitely gained some of her mentor's traits over the years they had worked together.

"Believe it! It's seriously a compliment!" Naruto moved towards the door leading to the hallway, "You're also kinda like Sakura-Chan".

The smile that was on Sakura's lips disappeared and she inwardly cursed herself, she had forgotten the mask she was wearing was broken and revealed the emotions she showed on her lips. "Sakura-Chan?" her voice was soft.

Naruto was oblivious of her change in attitude, "She's also part of Team 7, but she isn't with us right now. She's a fire cracker with a mean temper and an even meaner right hook", he laughed, "She's awesome. When you're swearing and growling you remind me of her, that's how she acted when she was pissed. But..." he paused, looking for the right words, "your determination reminds me of her too. I'm sure you two would get on great if you ever meet!" The mask that was attached to his belt was moved back on to his face, the hood covering his blonde hair, "It's Kakashi's watch next, he'll be in this room when you finish in the bathroom, so don't let his scary mug frighten you!" Then he was out the door, replaced by Kakashi.

Sakura turned, barely registering the change in guard, she moved in auto-pilot mode towards the bathroom, locking the door behind her, turning on the shower, stripping her clothes and sitting beneath the warm spray. Her knees were pressed against her chest and she rested her chin on top of them. Her mouth felt dry and her eyes stung with held back tears, she took slow deep breaths, trying to subdue the wave of emotions powering through her. How could he not see her, she was Sakura-Chan wasn't she? She didn't want him to find out who she was just yet, but him realising similarities and yet not being able to put them together broke her heart more than it should. A broken sob sounded from her, she felt so alone, surrounded by the people she held close, they didn't know her anymore, she was a stranger to them. Another sob escaped her lips, followed by another and then she was crying, her tears disappearing with the flow of the water.

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Kakashi was stretched out on the window ledge in a relaxed manner, looking down into the gardens of the Kazekage's residence, although they could hardly be considered a traditional garden, considering there was not one speck of green to be seen. Even with sand being the only thing to see on the outside it was much more interesting than what was going on in the room he sat in. Women were entering the room with clothes, food and other miscellaneous things, taking the clothes into the bathroom and eyeing him wearily. The attendants obviously thought it strange to have a Konoha Anbu sitting calmly looking out the window, even the head medic who had arrived before the attendants had eyed him with suspicion. Kakashi knew the women didn't like them much for allowing the princess to get hurt, but, she had seen the princess quickly this morning and had helped them out last night, so he held no grudge against her. He was disappointed in himself for allowing their charge to get hurt so Akari's glare didn't faze him much.

The attendants scurried quickly out of the room, bowing quickly, closing the door behind them. Kakashi drew his eyes from the dusty gardens below to the princess who emerged from the bathroom. She was as composed as ever, walking gracefully into the room towards him , looking every inch the royal in her emerald green kimono, a new mask in place with a fur hood, she sat at the small table in the corner closest to him and began eating the food brought in by the attendants. "Good morning Hatake-san", She spoke up, her hand tilting her mask to feed herself, "How are things?".

He watched her carefully, his features hidden by his porcelain mask, she was acting very normal for someone who nearly died, far too composed for his liking. "This room has a protective seal active, so we can talk without fear that our enemies will hear us Princess". She continued to eat, not letting on that she was even listening to him. "Akari says that you have made an excellent recovery, however, you will be left with a scar, though she says it's not the first scar you've received". Her movements paused at his words, it was the reaction he was looking for, with all her secrets Kakashi felt lost, there was too much uncertainty with this mission. Akari had mention in passing about the Princesses physical scars, it struck Kakashi as odd she would have any worth mentioning, unless this wasn't the first assassination attempt on her life, then did that mean she had been lying about being brought up in secret? There was still far too much he wasn't sure about.

"I suppose", the Princess spoke up, pulling Kakashi from his thoughts, "she would have given me a proper examination. My life before being made known to the Land of the Frost was...colourful, to say the least". She had stopped eating at this point, "I'm unable to say more than that Hatake-San", she stood and walked towards Kakashi, stopping beside him to gaze outside the window, "Some memories are like the scars we bare, some long, some deep and some painful to remember".

Her words struck a nerve, Kakashi knew about painful memories, the scar that ran along his left eye was proof of that, a reminder of his failures from the past. It had been a long time since he had thought about those memories in a negative way, he had managed to see past his own self loathing, understand his mistakes and move forward from there. Yet, here he was, sitting in the Kazekage's residence, trying to protect a Princess with too many secrets, being haunted by his past. He mentally shook himself, it was no time to drown himself in the past.

"Naruto mentioned that you wanted to carry on as if nothing happened", his voice was strong and casual, betraying his previous thought process, "not letting our enemies known that they've broke through our defences, it's a wise strategy Hime".

Silence surrounded them, they're breathing the only thing to be heard until the Princess sighed, "I have too much to accomplish, too little time, too many enemies...the odds are against us in this mission and my father..." her hands clenched at her side, "I can only hope that the Konoha medic team will make it in time, I have to inherit the throne".

A slow tension built around them, spreading across the room, a heavy atmosphere surrounding them, she was determined and yet her aura was that of someone who had already lost. "You speak with determination and yet it seems that this isn't exactly what you want", Kakashi spoke softly, his eyes watching her carefully, it wouldn't be hard to insult her when she was this tense.

Another sigh escaped her lips and she visibly slumped, "leading a country was never in my plan Hatake-San, I wasn't brought up royalty, sure I had lessons in etiquette, history and such, I eventually learned my fate, but even then it didn't seem real". She lifted a hand, sliding it under her mask to rub her eyes, "Yet here I am". A bitter laugh sounded as she dropped her hand, it was clenched into a fist, "we can't choose the hand we're dealt, we just have to play the game as best we can until we get better cards". Her hand moved swiftly and before Kakashi could blink she had punch the wall beside the window. "I'll be damned if I loose this round, not when Konoha have supplied me with the cards I need to win"

Her voice was harsh, filled with determination and rage, Kakashi imagined how her face looked under the mask, her lips drawn into a thin line, eyes blazing with anger, brow pulled down into a frown. The thought made him sigh, he really didn't know if he was coming or going any more, but he was in too deep, the Hokage wouldn't let anyone else take on this mission, he would just need to bear with it until everything became clear. "We'll need to meet with the Nagai family for dinner, it has been pushed forward so its more of a lunch now, if all goes well we should be able to head to Shimogakure tonight".

The tension in her bent arm disappeared, returning to a relaxed state beside her, "Very good. We can't afford to stay in Suna much longer, last nights attack was supposed to end me", she turned around and walked towards the door, "it was a bold move by our enemies, but, I'm not so easy to kill and they've shown their trump card far too quickly, enemies that can't sensed? We'll need to look further into this". Her movements still as she reached for the door, "Please join me Urufu, I must meet with the Kazekage before my lunch with the Nagai clan".

Kakashi nodded, pushing himself up and falling into place behind her. Her mood swings were all over the place and it worried him, she was so young and had so much responsibility. You could see she had the weight of a country on her shoulders; they were set and held high, the slight note of tension there. Hopefully they would be able to help her before things got worse.

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"So...", Naruto begun, hoping from roof to roof, "What do we know so far?"

Sasuke watched him from his peripheral as they made a sharp left across more roofs. They had been chasing down leads all night, trying to figure out what their enemy was up to, apart from the obvious assassination of the Princess. "After several dead ends and one solid lead we know that it was someone from the Sand who was hired, someone with knowledge of poisons. However, "Sasuke growled, "we still don't know what technique they're using, it needs to be some seriously advance puppet technique, those bodies last night were already dead and yet they moved like the living". It was all very frustrating. Gaara and Kankuro had been investigating all night, it had shocked them all to realise that the bodies that had nearly killed the Princess last night hadn't even been alive.

The rage built up inside Sasuke's chest, working its way to his throat before he swallowed it back down. It had been a long time since he had felt this way, felt like he had failed someone he was supposed to protect. He was Sasuke Uchiha, failure wasn't in his vocabulary, he completed all missions with high standards, no casualties, no incidents that weren't handled effectively. He was a high level Anbu, part of the Hokage's special forces and last night he had nearly let the Princess get killed, he had failed to protect her, just like how he had continued to fail Sakura.

Every day that passed was another day he still hadn't found her, another day that he was reminded how useless he was, another day as a failure. After she left he had been detained for months by Anbu, the three of them had, when they were finally released he had almost driven himself insane trying to work his way into the Godaime's good books so he could try to find her. Months of missions, months of searching and nothing, not one clue to her whereabouts, not one whisper of a pink haired woman, nothing. His hands clenched into fists and tension straightened his spine as he put more force and speed into his feet.

"Sasuke", Naurto's voice sounded in a warning tone.

Sasuke looked up, his red eyes narrowing beneath his hawk mask, they looked at each other, neither slowing down, "What?", his voice snapping through gritted teeth.

"I know what you're thinking", his voice was soft, "I miss her two". Naruto sighed, "I know this mission keeps bringing back our failures, but this is different, this isn't about Sakura-chan and you know it". Naruto faced forward once again, moving to overtake Sasuke, "Besides", he beamed, " You know we'll find her, I know it doesn't seem like it now and our past attempts have failed, but this is Team 7 we're talking about here! Nothing can stop us and we'll always find each other again, we found you and brought you back remember!".

Sasuke grunted in response, he hated it when Naruto made sense; it was always his preference when he was the idiot he had grown up with. It was a sign that they were older, they were men now, not the children they had been, those days were well and truly behind them, distant memories that seemed to follow him, seeping into his thoughts when he wasn't being careful.

It was her fault. Sakura scowled at his own thoughts, it always came back to Sakura. When he found her he was going to beat some sense into her, make her realise what she had done, regardless of why she had disappeared. Laughter bubbled up his throat, but he bit it back, he was suddenly remembering when Naruto had brought him back to Konoha, Naruto had sent word that we were travelling back and Sakura had been there waiting for them, which didn't surprise him. Sakura had always cared for him, he could never figure out why, and there she was, as always, waiting for them. However, as they got closer and her features came into sight, her posture was off, standing in the middle of the path, arms crossed, her aura was darker than he had ever seen it. But, even with all of that, it was her face that threw him, her face was drawn into a scowl and a fire blazed behind her emerald eyes, he had seen a multitude of expressions on her face, but, the one she wore to greet them was new.

Naruto grinned and started to say her name we she moved, moving faster than he thought she was capable of, in front of them, her arm pulled back before she punched Naruto across the jaw, sending him flying, crashing through trees. Sasuke was shocked when she turned to him, not saying a single word and proceeded to beat him, punching him into the ground without her enhanced strength.

When she eventually stopped, she was panting heavily, exhaustion etched across her face and she hugged him. It was such a surreal experience, Sakura, who had been weak and emotional had beat him down without restraint because he had left her behind and she didn't need to say a single word for him to understand.

When he found her, which he would, he was going to return the favour, he was going to make her realise how he felt, how the team felt and he was going to do it in Team 7 fashion with his fists.

"I know we'll find her, its frustrating because of how long its taking us, but I know we'll catch up to her at some point", Sasuke reassured Naruto, not bothering to look at him, choosing to pick up the pace. "We've got another lead to chase down, some underdog that does the dirty work for even dirtier political members, we probably should have chased him down first considering what we know of the mission".

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, but with the type of attack it was we went with the more obvious suspects first, poison experts, puppet weirdos, even though its obviously a play on her life for political reasons, the guy we're hunting wasn't specific enough to prioritise first".

It was a tedious process, figuring out who was the best person to go after first, and there they were running about with one last lead before they had nothing. Sasuke wasn't the type of person to ever go back empty handed and he loathed the idea of telling the princess they were no closer to stopping the attacks against her life. She was his teams charge and he needed to make up for his slip up last night, her life had almost been the cost of his own carelessness.

Red eyes blazing Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks, Naruto skidded to a stop a few feet in front of him. "What?", he demanded, his fox mask facing him.

"I've spotted our target, but we're going to need to proceed with caution, "Sasuke spoke quietly, "he's talking with some in an alleyway up ahead, very shifty looking".

Naruto nodded, "possibly someone related to last nights attack, we'll move forward slowly, chakra hidden".

The two moved out, moving more cautiously, if their target Giro was meeting with anyone associated with the attack on the princesses life it would make their job much easier. If it was someone related to either the Nagai clan or the princesses uncle it would be much easier to take them down. Sasuke smirked at the thought of being able to take down a political figure, there were very few politicians and royalty who played by the rules, doing underhanded things to stay in power and get what they wanted. The Nagai clan fell into that category, working against the princess to get what they wanted. They had the theory that Nagai clan wanted their son to marry the princess to give them more political power, but, if that was true would they really want the princess dead? There had to be something more that they were seeing, Sasuke knew the mystery would unravel itself in time, but time was never their friend.

They stopped above the alley that their target Giro was standing in, crouching low on the roofs, giving themselves a good vantage point and easy means to run if it was necessary. Giro stood below, hands rubbing together, head darting left and right, seeing far too suspicious for his own good. Sasuke narrowed his eyes on Giro's companion, he was a man that Sasuke had seen in the Kazekage's residence , he was plain to look at, he fit well in the background, if he hadn't had his sharingan activated he wouldn't have remembered the mans face. Sasuke couldn't put his finger on who the man was, he had only passed him by once, he had no noticeable alliance on his person and was by himself.

"The companion was at the Kazekage's residence yesterday, I'm not sure who he's with though, no clan or village mark", Sasuke spoke quietly, his eyes remaining on the two, "I recommend following him, then interrogation".

His blonde friend nodded, "It's not like he'll tell us what we want if we ask nicely".

Wanted to scoff, Sasuke shook his head, even in situations like this Naruto could be humorous. "I don't think I've ever heard you ask for something nicely".

Their targets started to separate, silencing both ninja as them moved to follow the stranger, Naruto made some swift hand signs and sent a small toad to tail Giro, just in case they needed to ask him questions later. They kept low to the roofs, as they followed their new target closely, using the shadows to their advantage, their ninja training being used to its fullest. They separated, Naruto moving to the roofs across from Sasuke, following their target on both sides, they weren't giving him any chance to escape, he would be caught, Sasuke assured himself of that.

Red eyes glared, alight beneath his mask with barely concealed rage, Sasuke had felt on edge since the princess had nearly been killed under his watch and being this close to someone that was most likely connected to the attempt on her life set his blood boiling. The mission was complicated, filled with lies, secrets and conspiracies, it made him feel uneasy, with too many opportunities for something to go wrong and too many variables, it was the furthest thing from easy.

Sasuke growled, he felt like his thought process was doing nothing but going round in circles. The princess was hiding things, people were trying to kill her, the mission was hard and so on, all these thoughts kept circling his mind, making his head reel slightly. He had to snap out of his reoccurring thoughts, stop letting them distract him.

The two Konoha ninja ran silently, weaving their way across the roofs, their target seemed to have no real destination, moving quickly through alleyways, backtracking here and there, going round in circles, it was wearing on Sasuke's patience. The man was obviously trying to avoid being followed, and failing unbeknownst to him, moving in such a manor, avoiding going directly to his destination. Sasuke had noted that, regardless of the roundabout way they were moving, they were slowly moving back towards the Kazekage's residence and he knew that soon that's where they would return to.

"Should we act now?", Naruto made a gesture towards their target. "It may be best if we eliminate this threat, get him out of the way for some interrogation, try and figure out what's really going on here".

"Its probably for the best", nodding Sasuke moved a little quicker, preparing to end their chase, "But I get to do the interrogating".

"You always get the fun jobs", Naruto muttered falling behind his companion.

Sasuke smirked, his red eyes spinning, preparing a jutsu, there was no way he was leaving this to the dobe, he had to make up for his earlier failures and he wanted answers quickly, before they needed to journey out to the Land of Frost. "Just keep up Dobe".

Moving with the shadows and as silent as the night sky, Sasuke swiftly made his way in front of their prey as he was moving down another alleyway, Naruto moving to trap the man between the two Ninja. Sasuke paused at the mouth of the alley and counted to five, listening to the click of sandals against cobblestone, the sound bouncing of the walls and getting louder the close they got. 'Two...one' Sasuke turned the corner, seizing the man by his colour, his red eyes spinning furiously.

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Sakura moved quickly through the Kazekage's residence, Kakashi three steps behind her to her left, Sachi three steps behind her to her right. It felt like the right idea to bring Kakashi along with her to her lunch meeting while Sasuke and Naruto chased down some leads. Out of her three boys he was always the most dependable one, even with all his perverted tendencies, with that thought she mentally laughed, however, it was far from a situation where she could laugh casually. The fated lunch was right around the corner and Sakura felt no closer to figuring out the truth than she had after the attack on her life. They had figured out that the attackers were mere shells, dead bodies being used skilfully as puppets, a talent native to Suna, which explain why there had been chakra signature.

"I shall announce you and Urufu Hime-sama", Sachi declared, moving in front of Sakura.

They had arrived at their destination and behind the door before them was the Nagai family who were possibly involved with the attempt on her life. Sakura wanted to growl and punch something, preferably with her old super strength, but that wasn't going to happen, she merely nodded at Sachi, mentally preparing herself for what was to come. When they were younger Kakashi would always say to expect the unexpected, but she currently expected the Nagai family to try and kill her, so did that mean that they wouldn't? Or would they not be as subtle this time?

The door was slid open and Sachi bowed before moving in, "I present to you, the honourable Nagai family the Princess of Shimogakure", his voice rang clear through the room and Sakura moved in.

Feeling Kakashi's calming presence at her back Sakura felt better, she moved into a deep bow before moving to the table where the Nagai family, who bowed in return, were previously seated. "I thank you for allowing me some of your precious time", She spoke politely as she sat at the table, across from the youngest Nagai who was aiming for her hand.

"Nonsense Hime-sama, we thank you for traveling so far to be here with us", young Nagai spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly.

The members in the room eyed her curiously, they were obviously surprised to see her, that much was clear, Sakura frowned beneath her mask, "My dear uncle asked me to meet with you so of course I would come. Shall we get right to business?". Tehre was no time to play coy or beat around the bush, She knew she had to geth straight to the point and get out of there.

The oldest man wearing the Nagai symbol watched her with Hawk like eyes from beside the youngest clan member, if Sakura remembered correctly he was currently the head of the Nagai family, Jiro Nagai. "Yes, let us get straight to the point", his eyes never moved as he spoke, "We want to discuss a marriage".

Had Sakura not been trained in the art of the ninja and groomed to be a queen she would have flinched at the mans harsh words, it made her wonder if he really wanted this or if there was something else he could gain from her being there.

"Yes, let us discuss our marriage", Young Nagai chipped in, his face smug as he leered at her.

"There won't be a marriage", Sakura spoke with all the grace she had within her and nodded to a serving women to pour her some tea.

The room had been silenced with her easy statement and she could feel the slow build of rage coming from the men of the Nagai clan. "What exactly does that mean Princess?", the young man across from her was almost growling at her through gritted teeth while his father scowled.

The blonde serving girl poured the tea flawlessly and Sakura thanked her before moving her cup beneath her mask and taking a sip. The wrath spread across her tongue, spreading the flavour across her tastebuds and Sakura knew straight away that there was poison in the tea. The sharp sour tang to it indicated it was a type of poison that was taken from a type of cacti found deep in the dessert areas, it blended well with the bitter taste, but Sakura had spent to many months studying the poisons found in Sand not to notice.

Placing the cup down on the table she moved her hands on to her lap, "It means exactly that Nagai-Sama", her finger began tapping on her knee quietly. "I have no intention of marrying into another royal family". Sakura continued tapping, knowing Kakashi would pick up on the code she was using.

"Now Princess", Jiro spoke with venom, "do you even understand what you're saying? You're a mere girl and if you're uncle says that you're marrying into this family then you will".

"You are incorrect", her words were flawless, betraying the inner rage that was building, "my uncle isn't in charge of the family, my father is and my father and I have already discussed our plans for when I wed".

Hands were slammed on to the table by the the young Nagai, "This is outrageous! Who do you think you are? Coming all the wait out here, throwing our generosity back in our faces?!". Spittle ran down his lips as he breathed heavy, his rage surrounding him.

"I", Sakura spoke sharply, "am the Princess of Shimogakure, the next in line to lead the Land of Frost. I have travelled a great distance to be here, to show your family respect by declining whatever plans my foolish uncle has made in person. A great honour to your family. You would do well to remember that Nagai-sama"

Sakura knew that if she wasn't wearing her mask they would've been able to see the distaste written clearly there. The tension the spread through the room was thick and suffocating, sending little chills down Sakura's spine. She had originally planned on dealing with this meeting in a more delicate manor, but her patience had been worn through and Sakura had never been a patient person. "Now gentlemen", she moved her cup to the side, eyes moving to watch her movements, "we'll cut this meeting short, I only came to explain the my uncle has no rights to make any plans for my hand, so this", she gestured round the room, "shouldn't have happens and for that I apologise, however, we must be moving on, I need to be returning home"

Before Sakura could move Jiro Nagai slammed his hands on the table, mirroring his son's earlier actions, "you will not shame us in such a way Princess, we were promised your hand and that is exactly what we will get"

"If I'm not willing, how exactly do you plan to do that?", Sakura spoke in carefully measured words, keeping her emotions out of her speech.

Jiro place a piece of paper on the table, "this is a marriage certificate that you will sign princess"

Sakura stilled, what was this man playing at, he had no leverage over her, nothing to try and force her into this marriage, so what was going on. It was obvious that Jiro and her uncle had more plotted that just marrying her off and killing her, originally she thought her uncle wanted her to marry to get her out of the Frost, then with the assassination attempt she thought that wedding meeting was just a cover. However, here she sat with the Nagai family trying to force her inti marriage.

"I won't be signing that Nagai-sama", Sakura spoke causally, turning to see Kakashi standing to her left before locking eyes with Jiro, "what exactly makes you think that I will sign something I have no interest in signing?". Her instincts were screaming at her, warning her that a trap was about to snap shut and ensnare her.

The grin that spread across the two Nagai men was more disturbing than Sakura could put into words. "Well, little nameless Princess, we all know some is after your life, so if you want to stay alive you'll sign this and come under our protection"

So they were only going to kill her as a last resort, using the attack on her life in hopes she would crumble and sign away her life in Sand. Sakura wasn't weak enough or stupid enough to fall for it.

"I'm afraid you are mistaken Nagai-sama, I have all the protection I need from Konoha", she baited, "which is more than your family could hope to give me"

Sakura watched closely as shock registered on the faces of them men across from her, Jiro's face turned a dark red colour, then fading into purple, a vein on his head pulsed furiously and it looked like he would explode "how d-dare you!", he spluttered in fury, "these foolish men have already failed to protect you once, what will happen the next time?!" He stood up sharply and glared with all his might, "this was my last resort, but the poison that you were stabbed with last night is also in your tea, even just a small sip deadly, if you do not sign this marriage certificate you will not receive the antidote from my associate and you will die"

The young son look mortified, his wide eyes scanning between his father and the princess, at an obvious loss for words. Sakura merely glanced at him before standing up. "This meeting is over. Jiro Nagai you will be taken into he Kazekage's custody until this matter is resolved"

Hearing to old man splutter some more she rounded him with one last look, "the attempt on my life was known only to five people, you weren't one of those, thus you will be investigated into the attempt on my life. Furthermore", she began moving towards the door, Kakashi stiff body moving beside her, "the poison in my tea is derived from the Kiri cacti from Sand so making an antidote from the Kazekage's supplies won't be an issue"

Walking from the room swiftly Sakura didn't stop until she was back at her room before she slumped into a chair and let her fatigue wash over her. She ignored everything around her, the Kazekage's questioning glance as she brushed past him, Kakashi's voice as he called, she ignored them all, she needed a moment to herself, a moment of silence away from all the drama and betrayal.

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i apologise for the length of time it's taken me to post this, life has been getting in the way and I found this chapter hard to write for some reason. Even with work slowly destroying my soul chapter 11 has been started, and I'm hoping we manage to reach the Land of Frost in that chapter xD

Thanks for staying with me! 0-

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