The summer weather was steadily approaching, his room was getting stuffy and he should switch his thick robes out for the thinner ones soon. Those were the idle thoughts that lingered in his mind as he flipped through another one of his books, when a knock on his door drew his attention.
"Enter."
His guest was a rather unexpected and surprising one, to which he arched a brow in response. "What are you doing here?"
"Yes, nice to see you too, Your Highness." The guest's visible eye crinkled in what he presumed was a smile beneath the constant mask the other man wore.
The Prince sighed wearily. "Did you come all the way here to be sarcastic this early in the morning, Chancellor Kakashi?"
Kakashi let out a chuckle and took a seat in the empty chair opposite the young Prince. "You're right, we have more urgent matters to discuss," he said. He quickly held a hand up when the Prince was about to interrupt. "I understand your schedule, Your Highness. I won't take much of your time and I'm sure you'll be interested to know."
"Fine," the Prince set his book down, a pressed blossom flower from the spring season marking the pages. He offered out of courtesy, "Tea, Lord Kakashi?"
"No, thank you, Your Highness," Kakashi replied in amusement. One would think the Prince would have to go boil the tea himself with the sour expression he was displaying. "Back to the matter at hand. Your Highness, I think you'll find it interesting that one of the assassins finally broke. Well, after the rest attempted to end themselves before providing any information but…"
The younger man couldn't be bothered and quickly cut to the chase. "What did he say?"
"Impatient as ever," the grey-haired man tutted and slid a scroll across the table, placing it in front of the Prince. "He wasn't very… coherent… when he provided the information, but from the pieces we gathered…"
The young Prince wasted no time unfurling the parchment and scanning the detailed report, his brows furrowing together.
"Whatever regime they use must be a very effective and very dangerous one," Kakashi commented quietly. "They were very willing to die for their leader. And what we fear isn't the brave…"
"But the foolhardy and the zealous." The Prince whispered, grip tightening on the piece of parchment.
The chancellor took that moment to rise from his seat and excused himself, bidding the Prince a quiet farewell, leaving the raven-haired young man to his own thoughts once more.
.
A blond man slipped into one of the alleys leading to the slums of Konoha, a rundown area where most people tend to avoid. It started out as a makeshift shelter for the poor and homeless, but it developed into a dangerous territory for notorious illegal activities over the years. It was a neighbourhood where the law was disregarded, and people chose to avoid and overlook the place.
The man walked through the narrow streets as inconspicuously as he could, not wanting to attract unnecessary attention. Even in the day, he wrinkled his nose in thought, the slums were dark and dingy.
Upon reaching a closed tavern sitting in between a warehouse and an active pub, he wrenched open the rusted handle of the door and stepped in the seemingly abandoned lot, closing it behind him. While it appeared unappealing and neglected on the outside, much work had been put into the place. They had been searching for a way to pave a new tunnel to the Market and had settled on this inconspicuous entrance from the slums. They had refurbished the interior, making it inhabitable and rather cosy.
After reaching the Market through the secret passage hidden behind a cabinet from the deserted tavern, he scanned the crowded room with vigilant blue eyes before spotting the bright mop of rose-coloured hair by the bar.
"Lady Sakura," he sung as he walked over to her side. "That blossom wine smells divine, but isn't it too early?"
Sakura turned to him with a weary smile, a bottle of wine on the counter in front of her. "Deidara."
"Been working hard to save lives, haven't you?"
"It's been hard but I think we have it under control for now. As long as they don't make changes to it or anything, we'll be fine. It's a tweaked version of the substance from back then, when the Wind Emperor came to visit. This is more troublesome than I presumed, I can't believe that Sound would stoop so low to target the citizens in attempt to crumble the Fire from within." She paused and took a gulp of the wine. "How do you know anyway?"
Deidara chuckled, ordering a bottle for himself. The Dragon House's blossom wine was the finest, after all. "Akatsuki's got people everywhere, 'un," he said. "And this. You've been pissing people off, doing whatever you did."
Sakura watched him wave a poster in front of her and reached out to take it from his grasp. It was a painted portrait of her with a bounty set at a high price, the reason stated was that she was suspected to be a part of Akatsuki, and there was no assent from the Emperor on it.
"This isn't from the palace," she said slowly. "Someone very wealthy wants me dead."
"Got it in one go, 'un," Deidara took a swig from the bottle. "It's everywhere now. I bet you can guess who issued this too."
The rosette crumpled the poster and tossed it with a casual flick of her wrist. "Who else?" she scoffed.
Tenten, who was nearby, had caught sight of them and made her way over. She arrived next to them just in time to see the poster before it was being thrown away, landing in some crowded corner.
"They're making moves already?" she asked worriedly. "Sakura, are you ready to face all of them together?"
"They've come knocking on our door now," Sakura sighed, taking another gulp of her wine. "We have to."
Tenten noted that she looked exhausted and very ready to let the alcohol consume her to allow a proper sleep, even if it was just evening. The brunette knew about the nightmares that sometimes kept her friend awake, their rooms were not far apart after all, and that Sakura lost sleep quite often.
Perhaps it was the routine in the palace that had her mind wired to be alert, or perhaps it was her ever-present concern for the person far apart from her.
"If we slip up, even just a bit…"
"I know," the petal-haired woman muttered, rubbing her temple. "Every time there is a brewing war, it's always the citizens that suffer."
"Wars are the horrors of mothers," Deidara said quietly. He finished his wine and placed some money on the counter. With a cheery tone, he waved to both young women and hopped off the stool. "I'll see you soon, 'un. Stay alive 'til next time we meet, yeah? I'll be off now!"
The brunette watched as Deidara left from the entrance he came from before turning back to her friend, whose head was now lying sideways on the bar counter. "Haku was looking for you earlier. I'm surprised you didn't disclose this place to him, I thought you trusted him implicitly."
Sakura mumbled something incoherently.
"Be careful of who you put your faith in, Sakura," Tenten continued. "It's not that we don't trust your judgment, but people's minds can be fickle and prevention is better than cure."
While she believed that Sakura's actions had more depth than she let on – seeing as how she entrusted most confidential missions to Haku but had yet to inform him of the Market right beneath the establishment – she was still anxious. Sakura kept many things to herself, making her moves based on reasons she had never divulged and as such, Tenten never really knew what to anticipate or do to help her. Even though Anko had assured her, saying that Sakura was picky about her circle, Tenten felt that the rosette could be more cautious about the people she kept near her.
Regardless, she had strong confidence in her companion. She would stand by her until the end, and knew that it would be the same for those who have already witnessed her making moves to break the twisted cycle of their society.
That was precisely why she was worried; it would utterly crush all of them if Sakura were to fall from grace.
"What did he want?" Came the slightly slurred reply.
"He wanted you to meet someone."
Sakura angled her head towards the brunette without lifting it and arched a brow gracefully. "Today? Now?"
Tenten sighed resignedly. "Alright, maybe tomorrow. You should go sleep, you look half dead. I'll arrange for his guest to have a room for the night."
.
"Sasuke!"
The panic-laced shout from an unexpected guest that slammed his door open first thing in the morning had Sasuke startled from his reading, dark eyes narrowing to meet the dishevelled blond that stood at the doorway. His new personal maid came hurrying after the Prince, panting.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness!" she squeaked timidly. "I know Your Highness specifically said no visitors but-"
Ah, this woman was truly new if she even attempted to Naruto at all.
"I understand," Sasuke dismissed her before turning back to the Sixth Prince at the entrance of his study. With an annoyed side-glance, he sighed, "What do you want?"
Things had been slightly chilly between the two, after Sasuke learned that Naruto hadn't known of Sakura's departure until it was too late to do anything about it. He had only ever asked Naruto of one single favour, and the dunce was too busy spending time with a noble heiress to even help him keep an eye out for the rosette. He had wanted to yell at the blond, but decided against it. At last, he proceeded to seclude himself in his study, catching up with the work that had piled in his absence. Things wouldn't change just because he lashed out.
"Quiet," Naruto said, uncharacteristically anxious, blue eyes darting towards the windows. He made sure the door of the study was closed properly behind him before he reached for a folded paper tucked safely in his robes. He smoothed it out as best as he could and handed it to the raven-haired man. "This isn't good."
"Sakura?" he whispered with brows furrowed, recognising the painting of her at once. There were few things he secretly nit-picked; her eyes were larger and more almond-shaped than portrayed, her nose thinner and the shade of pink of her hair was off.
Shoving those thoughts aside, he took note of the amount of bounty offered for her head, dead or alive, and with the mere reason stating she was suspected to be a part of Akatsuki. It wasn't an official bounty issued from the palace, no.
All that was missing was a signature. Anyone could see Nagato Uzumaki's fingerprints splayed all over it.
"What's this about, Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "Sakura's not evil! It's impossible for her to be a part of Akatsuki!"
As expected, the blond was nothing but filled with good intentions and dirty underhanded tactics was not something he was familiar with. Naruto was the sort to declare a fair duel with his opponents, unlike his uncle who would remove all obstacles without lifting his own finger.
"Of course she's not evil," Sasuke muttered. Nagato had ignored the woman for some time now, choosing to focus on the throne itself. What had brought this sudden change in his plans? Before he could press for more questions, there was a knock on his door and his maid peeked her head in.
"Y-Your Highness, there's someone looking for you…" she bowed and said hesitantly, clearly remembering her master's orders of no visitors. "Lord Uzumaki insists to meet with you, Your Highness. Shall I send him in?"
Sasuke and Naruto exchanged glances. "No, it's alright," the Fourth Prince answered. He placed the poster in between one of his books before storing it inside his desk drawer. He rose from his seat and the blond man followed behind him. "I'll go and meet him myself."
Outside, it was much to both Sasuke and Naruto's surprise to see the small crowd that had coincidentally gathered in front of the Fourth Prince's quarters. Sasuke's footsteps halted as he surveyed the four guests. It was a strange and rare sight, he hardly ever had visitors as nobody other Naruto bothered with the winding path that led to his quarters.
"Prince Kiba. Lord Uzumaki. Lady Hinata and Lady Hanabi," he greeted curtly. "Shall I offer a cup of tea in my quarters?"
"There will be no need for that, Sasuke," Nagato spoke up first, glancing at the others icily. "I wish to speak to you. Privately."
The Hyuuga sisters picked up on his implication immediately and gave the Fourth Prince similar polite smiles. Hanabi excused herself and walked over to Prince Kiba's side while her sister approached the blond.
"Prince Naruto," Hinata called gently. "Come, let us take a stroll."
Both sisters walked a distance away, each pulling a Prince along with them. Neither of them missed the glare Kiba directed at the Uzumaki leader, expression murderous. When Nagato was sure that their conversation wouldn't be overheard, he turned towards Sasuke sternly.
"I have something to request of you, Sasuke," he said. "And I do not wish to be disappointed."
The Fourth Prince's dark eyes narrowed. If he were any other person, he would surely be intimidated by the steel that coated Nagato's voice and swore to serve the best they could. But as he wasn't any other person; he was uneasy but he wouldn't devote his life for the old snake's so-called requests.
"What sort of request, Lord Uzumaki?" he asked curtly.
The redheaded man's lips curved upwards in a smile. "I'm most certain you saw the poster my nephew so hurriedly retrieved from my desk. That boy is anything but subtle."
Sasuke inwardly groaned at Naruto's inability to be discreet, but maintained a neutral expression. "Yes. What of it?"
"Then I'm sure you have heard of Akatsuki's uprising. It is causing quite the discord and chaos among the people," he stated. "In case you don't know yet, your dear friend is now in charge of a very dangerous and very illegal black market trade, one that is cooperating with Akatsuki."
"And?"
Nagato's smile widened predatorily, clearly testing the Prince's patience. He placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, grip firm. "I want you to destroy that market of hers. It poses a threat to all of us inside and outside the palace. It is our job to keep our country safe from the hands of those who wish to harm us." He shook his head and sighed mockingly. "That girl is clearly unhappy how none of her plans have worked during her time in the palace and seeking revenge. What an unrepentant woman, after we gave her the mercy of freedom too."
He observed Sasuke's carefully blank expression, scanning it for any trace of emotion and smirked in satisfaction when there was no change at all. "For the people, right?"
"Hn," the raven-haired man grunted. "Something like that isn't going to take a short time."
"Just do it," he almost snarled before composing himself.
He remembered when Kabuto entered his chambers few days ago, giving his report regarding the petal-haired woman now involved with the Market somewhere within the Fire Country. He didn't think such a thing would still exist after the close eye and tight security the ministers have been paying to it, but it was apparently somewhere in the capital.
Karin had been angry upon hearing the news, assuming the rosette was out to tear them all down for revenge. "We can't let her do as she pleases, father," his daughter had pleaded. "She'll ruin Sasuke's chances of being Emperor."
Nagato himself had been livid. A mere lowly exiled courtesan-turned-maid dared to threaten his plans in such a way. He had initially planned to leave her along for the time being and focus on the battle with Danzo for the throne, but it became apparent that she was too much of a threat to be left alone anymore.
"I don't care how long you take, Sasuke. I want that illegal trade of hers gone. To allow something as outrageous as that to exist, it would only harm our country and all of us. We can't let something like that ruin our empire." Clasping his hands together, Nagato straightened his back and turned to leave, but not before sparing the four in a distance a condescending glance.
"I'll leave that to you."
As the Uzumaki leader walked away, he didn't notice the slight tick in Sasuke's jaw, but the Prince certainly didn't miss the possessive tone when he mentioned 'our empire'. He was sure that Nagato already had something in mind concerning the throne Sai was currently occupying. His other four guests approached him slowly upon noticing the Uzumaki leader leaving, each eager to know the content of the conversation that took place.
"What did my uncle want, Sasuke?" Naruto asked first, the others regarding him with curious expressions.
"The bounty. He wanted me to... settle it personally."
"You can't!" the blond Prince protested, aghast at the thought of it. Did his uncle want Sasuke to bring the rosette to his doorstep, dead or alive? "You can't just kill her! After-"
"After what?" Sasuke snapped suddenly, dark eyes clouded with resentment. "She's gone, off to risk her life and thrown her morals away for stupid reasons. She's a criminal now and there's nothing I can do for her." His tone was cold and hopeless, every word was spat in disappointment.
Naruto shook his head, still in denial. "I don't believe she'll do such a thing. She must have been framed, like she was here and-"
"Open your eyes," the raven-haired man grunted. "All the facts are there for you."
"You just said it yourself, she's not evil! It's just not her!"
"I didn't say she wasn't going down a wrong path!" the Fourth Prince snapped. "You talk like you know her so well. She's not evil by nature, but that doesn't mean she would never make the wrong choices and commit crimes. As a Prince of the Fire Country, I can't let her bring harm to the empire."
Without waiting for a response, he turned on his heel gracefully and departed, the tails of his black robes sweeping around his ankles. Naruto looked torn and conflicted as Hinata patting his arm gently as a soothing gesture. Kiba and Hanabi remained quiet, Kiba filing the information he had just learned in his mind, deciding to investigate further soon.
"I'll be going now," Kiba muttered quietly, removing his arm from Hanabi's grasp. She opened her mouth to say something, but the Prince had already walked away in large strides.
"What's wrong?" Hinata asked her sister softly.
Hanabi looked torn. She had seen the rage he had displayed upon seeing Nagato Uzumaki, and the cold tone he had used with her recently didn't escape her notice as well. She didn't know what had brought upon the sudden change in a span of weeks, but felt very uneasy at it.
"I don't know," she merely replied. She gave Hinata a smile before waving, turning to leave. Their talk could wait, she had a Prince to go speak to for now. "I'll see you later, sister."
In a distance, hidden behind a line of shrubs, Nagato stood smirking at the scene that unfolded, satisfied that their dear champion was finally opening his eyes to see what they wanted him to.
"She wouldn't do such a thing, would she?" Naruto asked Hinata quietly when they were the only ones left. "A black market."
The Hyuuga heiress pursed her lips, holding Naruto's hands in hers comfortingly. "I don't know, but the Sakura I first met back then was kind."
"She's not evil, right? She's not the villain."
This time, Hinata didn't respond.
.
Sakura yawned as she idly swung her legs from her stool behind the counter of the Dragon House, tallying the accounts while Tenten catered to the crowd.
It was almost midnight, but customers filled almost every corner of the inn. Business had been booming ever since the reopening, customers already lining up when they opened at five in the evening. It was a nocturnal business and hard work, but they were pleasantly satisfied with their progress.
She stretched, wanting nothing more but to get another bottle of wine and enjoy the silence of her own room, but she was determined to at least complete the accounts for the day.
"Welcome," she sung tiredly as she noticed a blur of black enter her peripheral vision. "How many?"
"One."
She froze at the familiar rumble of the baritone voice and slowly lifted her head, only to meet with a pair of familiar dark eyes. Her heart clenched at the sight of the handsome, aristocratic face she knew so well, leaned figure dressed in loose, casual black robes.
In that second when their eyes met, it felt like he was the only one in the crowded building; emotions overwhelmed her, all her unspoken goodbyes at the tip of her tongue but she pressed her lips tightly together.
"Dinner or board, sir?" she asked evenly, breaking the silence.
"Both," he replied. He contemplated a while before adding quietly, "It's very nice to see you again."
Sakura gave him a small smile, fingers reaching for the guest log and flipping through the pages. "Likewise. You look well."
She was about to jot down his name when he held out a hand to stop her. "You look tired. You should really take a rest, it's late."
The rosette let out a chuckle and jotted down a trivial name that no one would bother taking a second look at. She retrieved a key from the rack behind her and placed it in his outstretched palm. "This is your room, sir. Have a good stay."
He gave her a smirk, a familiar lopsided curl of his lips that made her grin. "Are you going to rest, my Lady?"
Sakura let out a peal of laughter, one unnoticed in the noise of the crowd, but melodious and clear to her new guest's ears. "Goodnight, sir."
The raven-haired man nodded, his gaze gentle as it held hers. He raised his key at her, his smirk softened to a smile, one he reserved for only her.
"Thank you, Sakura."
Author's Note:
My apologies for the very late update. Thank you for your patience, and please don't forget to leave a review for this chapter as well!
