Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto


Pre-Chapter Notes / Rant:

I wish a belated happy New Year to you all.


Review Responses:

warriorx559 – Thank you for sharing your thoughts, though I am curious as to why Kakashi became your initial suspect. I actually have a reason for that interaction with Sasuke and Shino, though you might have to look at it from a different point of view in order to appreciate is as I would like you to. I also already have plans for Mizukage but you will just have to wait for it. I hope you enjoy this update.

Rise Against713 – I like your choice of words: 'A teetering state…' As for your prediction regarding Shoujouhi's role… Perhaps we can clarify things for you in this update.

HikariNoTenshi-San – That's another interesting choice of words… Let's see if things do end up working out for that mystery person from the last chapter, eh?

Winnow

-Everything that occurs in the world, large and small, are all connected in some way, shape, or form. You have my full support on that argument.

And thank you for sharing your opinion on my characterization of Anko.


Chapter word count: 6,785 words


Arc Two, Chapter Five:

Chapter Twenty-nine:

What Lies Beneath

"When far feign nearness;

"When near, feign farness;

"When weak, feign strength;

"When strong, feign weakness;

"When calm, feign panic;

"And when panicked, feign calm;

"These are the basics of deception and deceit, the chaos that victory can be found within.

"Master these two and then your foe's three rules become yours to control.

"Such is the Art of War as you will come to learn with each lesson I give you."

-Lectures of Prince Rikudo

~TtT~

Roughly three days following the arrival of the rescue team sent by Konoha to assist Suna in the recovery of their fifth Kazekage, Hyuuga Hiashi paced the halls of his immediate family's residence with an expression that undoubtedly told of deeply-entrenched contemplation plastered across his face. The way he moved about, the slightly brisk walk – with his heels hitting the polished wood first that he made sufficient noise with each step that the other people in his immediate area knew to get out of his way as he paced around the mansion – the way he had his right hand rubbing at an nonexistent goatee that reminded his advisors of the day the clan head lost his wife, and finally the strange narrowing of his eyes on occasion that told of a scrutiny for something that wasn't there.

Hyuuga Hinata remained calm though, trying her best to hide the discomfort she felt whenever she heard her father's footsteps come closer to her door, or whenever she laid eyes on him as she went out; one or two cases of having to deal with the man's strange behavior all day, and the subsequent look he gave her was enough to tell her that whatever it was that weighed on her father's mind had to do with her, and that it was either something very complex or something that perplexed him a great deal.

But if it wasn't enough to warrant words from him, then – as she had come to learn in the last three years – it was best she let him deal with it before making any attempt at prying the information from him.

So she left to meet her teammates a scarce hour before lunch started, specifically seeking the only other clan heir in her team so that she may request his counsel.

"Your father's actions are making you anxious, then?" It did not take him any form of explanation to figure out the reason behind her impromptu visit to his private wing in the Aburame Clan Head's residence. There had been very little that he could not guess right about her visits since the formal announcement of Naruto's disappearance and possible death.

He had served as her greatest confidant and adviser in terms of her relationship with her family.

Shino nodded then opened the door wider, gesturing that she come inside: "I would recommend that we continue this in the garden;" He closed the door and followed her, taking her jacket and hanging it on the rack they passed. "I know the atmosphere there always helps you think."

The private garden that was surrounded by the four wings of the Aburame manor was like a world isolated from the rest of the Land of Fire; while the country was locked in an unending summer, all forms of plant life thriving all throughout the year with only little discrepancies such as additional blooming at points in the seasons that spring might have been taken place and a slightly cooler than normal climate in times that would have been winter, the walled garden Hinata entered as she walked through another set of sliding doors was red and brown with the colors of the fallen leaves and barren branches of Autumn.

At the end of the wooden platform of the house she waited for Shino to catch up, simply sitting on her haunches and enjoying the sight that she could so rarely see.

Here in the garden, flowers would bloom and fall during the springtime while the rest of the nation only did so mildly; in summer the trees that could bear fruit would do so generously; autumn would blaze through with falling leaves and fiery hues. Only in winter would nothing else happen besides cooling climate and stronger winds.

Hinata stood as soon as she sensed his approach, turning around and taking the tray of tea from him so that he may guide them to the little kiosk in the garden's center where she knew she would be spending the rest of the afternoon – and perhaps even early evening – at.

"So," –he began, gesturing to the cushion on the polished wood and taking his own seat as soon as she saw her settle down. "You have shared how you feel regarding Hyuuga Hiashi-san's recent behavior, but what purpose would you have me serve, Hinata?"

The Hyuuga looked to her friend, her lavender eyes boring into his sunglasses before she began to describe to him her father's behavior over the last three days while Shino listened and had lunch served.

After she had finished talking, they had already managed to consume half of the food that was placed before them.

"I am thinking that 'What brought about this attitude?' is the predominant thought that is in that head of yours at the moment?" The Aburame asked her before taking his cup of tea to take a sip of the latter's contents. After Hinata answered him with a nod, he added: "I believe that I may have answers for you, although you have to understand that what I am presenting to you are merely theories." Bringing his right hand to his face, Shino did something that immediately made the Hyuuga tense up.

He removed his sunglasses.

"Your father's behavior began on the evening of our arrival, shortly after a meeting of the High Council to discuss the finalized terms between Amegakure and our village;" Both ninja had already moved on to dessert then, and Shino took the kettle to refill their cups as soon as he saw either become dangerously close to emptying. "Seeing as I had been at the meeting because my father was indisposed at the time." Hinata watched her friend lean back into the backrest of his cushion-seat, his relaxed sipping of tea reassuring her somewhat.

Her curiosity got the better of her, though; brows purplish-black furrowing in a mix of discontent and uncertainty, she voiced her concern: "May I ask what terms were discussed by the Council, then?"

At that point, Hinata was glad that Shino always changed out of his large jackets and into kimono that no longer hid his features from the world whenever he stayed any decent amount of time at his home as it allowed her to read the facial expressions that accompanied his words better.

An excellent example would be the tiny upward tug of his lips which told her that she would most likely not find any answers for that specific question from he.

With another sip of tea and a bite of cake, he gave her a reply: "I will have to apologize," Hinata found herself smirking at her friend's slightly sarcastic tone and the fact that her earlier guess had been correct. "But as you have yet to be present at any of the meetings, you are not considered a valid substitute for Hiashi-san as representative and cannot be given information that is only for those said representatives and their substitutes."

At that point, Hinata wasn't sure what reaction to her friend's words she gave, but she became certain that it was something along the lines of disappointment once she felt him reach across the table and place one of his hands on her shoulder.

When she raised her eyes to meet his, she nodded him to continue.

He obliged without delay: "The second addendum covered by the meeting was something that was a bit of a surprise to me." Shino took another drink of tea then, Hinata seeing the small smirk that played across his lips when he put down the cup. "And if the reaction of every other person present was any indication, they were surprised as well."

His hand reached into his sky-blue robes, feeling around for something while she tried to not to appear too curious as she looked at him and ate her own cake at the same time.

And when the envelope was brought out and passed to her, her purplish-black brows gave all the hidden curiosity away.

"That-" Shino began, gesturing to the pale, golden-brown that was written on with glossy black ink. "Is an invitation – your invitation– to the sixteenth birthday celebration of Prince Rikudo of Ame."

When she heard this, Hinata first found herself wondering of the relevance of such information, and perhaps even why it had surprised the members of the high council. For what could have been so important about a birthday celebration of someone from another country that would cause any uproar with the primary governing body of the village?

But when the realization made itself known to her seconds later, her furrowed brows shot up in surprise as she voiced her thoughts to her long-time friend who had become her confidant in the last two years: "That doesn't make any sense…" she turned her gaze from the plainness envelope to Shino's dark-colored eyes and added: "Why would Ame's prince be inviting anyone from another country to his party? Doing so would be like my inviting those Suna ninja that went to the chuunin exams three years ago to have tea with my family."

Hinata could feel a few more words well up from inside her but was stopped from voicing any more of them when she heard her companion's heels hit the wooden elevation with an audible thud.

It was an obvious enough sign – to her at the very least – to stop talking and listen to what the Aburame had to say.

"It would seem that you feel the same way as every other member of the High Council regarding the invitations that were sent." –said he as he continued his initial movement and brought himself to a sitting position. Turning his back and walking towards the edge of the little structure in the center of the garden, he added: "But what motives could Ame have for inviting us to a social event, especially one as personal as one for their heads of government?"

This pattern had been a habit of Shino's for as long a time as Hinata could recall. Asking questions that he did not expect answered for he answered them himself just as soon as he posed them was his own way of making things easier for others to understand. It was something that she had come to respect when she began to interact with him on a more non-professional level.

But when he looked over his shoulder and cast his glance to her, the Hyuuga then knew that it wasn't going to be the usual line of self-questioning and answering.

He is asking for my opinion.

She felt herself relax at the thought; involuntarily looking back to the some of the instances Shino had done the same years prior in an attempt to make her share her thoughts more often. It was the start of her slight changes in behavior when it was just the two of them.

Tilting her head to one side on instinct, she answered: "Forgetting my earlier comparison, maybe it's a show of trust from Ame to us, or perhaps even a ruse on their part to gather information about us?" Both cases were possibilities she had seen in play in some events past, having been brought by Shino to some social gatherings that held such intentions in mind.

Among most other clan heirs she knew, Shino had begun his training for the position far younger than anyone else. All things considered, neither she nor her sister, Hanabi, had yet to begin any form of training from Hiashi outside of combat, and thus her interactions with her Aburame teammate that doubled as lectures and previews on general politics and legal procedure within Konohagakure's High Council served to prepare her for whatever things she might have to do in the near future.

When the gust blew in and more dried leaves began to fall, Shino looked away from her and back to the view from the building.

Hinata had finished another cup of tea and the rest of her cake when she heard him give her his answer:

"Considering the information you have, and our past experiences in the field, I would say that you made rather plausible theories." Finally turning around to face her and walking back to his previous seat to settle down, he added: "Though I will admit that I have other ideas, but that is because of other factors that I shall not share with you yet"

As though intercepting the question that Hinata had been about to vocalize, he asked himself verbally: "Why?

"I hope you understand that – as I told you earlier – there are certain things I am not at liberty to share with you because of our difference in information clearance with the High Council." Once again reaching for something hidden in the folds of his kimono, Shino brought out a nondescript scroll that the female Hyuuga assumed was a Mission Parameters Scroll, something that should have not roused any of the foreboding curiosity that came clawing at her heels for attention.

But once the bureaucratic representation of their work was opened to reveal the signatures and personal seals – all color-coded a blood red – of Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen and First High Councilman Shimura Danzo were shown to her, she gasped audibly.

Hyuuga Hinata had been openly acknowledged as the heir as the head of the Hyuuga clan in her younger years and was still so on paper now, and so she was expected to be well-acquainted with the ninja standard operating procedures.

And she was well aware of the fact that two such signatures that were colored red signified the designation of a mission's priority as S-class.

Her friend, however, chose to verbalize what she had been thinking.

"Due to the urgency with which this mission must be completed, it has been classified by both the Hokage and the High Council as S-ranked, the projected difficulty though, has been decided as C-ranked and doable by genin of our experience." It was at this point in time that Shino looked from the mission scroll to meet her eyes, Hinata feeling a familiar chill run down her spine when she felt his gaze bore into her.

The same kind of chill she recalled feeling when he did the same thing several years ago.

"Will you go with me?"

And just as that night years ago, she gave him the same reply:

"Yes."

~TtT~

Politics, as Haruno Sakura had come to know, was not something she was well-versed in or wanted to bother with for as long as she could help it. It always was more up Sasuke's alleyway especially since his joining the village's High Council as the very first representative of the Uchiha Clan to take a seat since the founding of the village.

No, She thought as she finished consuming her lunch and went about her way to her family's home just south of the Konoha's market square. It's certainly not among the first lines of work I would have in mind in the very near future.

But despite this thought, she could not help but be bothered by the rather political nature of what she was starting to involve herself in.

The mere fact that she was mentally accusing a noble from another country of being her former teammate – and subsequently a missing-nin of Konohagakure – was already something that would produce rather complex a fallout, the finer details of which was something that she had to study more deeply in order to comprehend.

And perhaps I can ask Sasuke for advice on this, Sakura grinned at the idea when it came to her, already thinking up how to word her questions to her long-time friend as she took out her key and opened the wooden door. -Considering he already is a politician by profession.

During the three days that followed her team's return from the successful mission in the Land of Wind and the resulting positive effect the said success had on the relations between Konoha and Suna had been spent on debriefings, filling up of personal reports regarding the aforementioned mission, and eating and resting when the first two were not being done.

Sakura almost felt the exhaustion setting in again after she recalled the recounting of her fight with Akasuna no Sasori in fairly vivid detail on paper.

-Which was a task that had been done with ink and brush and fifteen pieces of paper.

The genin audibly sighed at the recollection upon making that last left turn away from the main southern road that would ultimately lead to her house.

The Haruno family was one that was not composed of shinobi, not in the present should Sakura have been discounted nor in the distant past when military lines of work had run rampant across the lands.

In a way, that was perhaps the main reason she had begun to be left behind by her other batch mates from the academy; unlike the other seven genin, only she and Naruto had come from families that had no ninja background and no family training. Her former teammate could have been excused of this, considering the fact that he had been an orphan and – if there had been any relation between himself and a woman she had read about named Uzumaki Mito – perhaps there was more to his pedigree than she might have first assumed.

But with a family like Sakura's: a merchant father that did trade of dry goods between Konoha and the other cities within the country and a mother that functioned in a similar but on a smaller scale, the kunoichi was on her own.

As she stopped before her house though, a two-story residence that had been fashioned in the continent's traditional style, she felt the need to acknowledge that such might have no longer been the case.

Dropping those thoughts and knowing that she should have been the only person in the building as her father should have still been at one of the family storehouses in some, minor, random Land of Fire city a few hours away from the village doing an inspection and her mother was supervising the cloth delivery to their shop within Konoha's walls, Sakura locked the door behind her and made her way up the stairs to revel in the silence of her room while she tried to steer her thoughts to avenues that she would need to be crossing soon.

To be most specific, avenues that would help her find the answers to all the questions that have been popping up in front of her.

Upon entering her room, undressing, and lying down on her bed, the fifteen-year-old kunoichi began to account what suspicions she already had and what information she could use to support it:

First and foremost, an inkling that had been troubling her since she first heard of it from the Suna ninja was the existence of the jinchuuriki.

Rather, the fact that her now-missing teammate may have been the holder of the Nine-tailed Fox.

Mom's warnings from whenever I looked at him in the earlier days at the academy. Based on what Matsuri had mentioned to her about the treatment Gaara received as a child for being the container of the Shukaku, her memories of Naruto from when she had just been a fresh academy cadet could serve as evidence, but there was little that she could recall from the time period, considering her focus in the first few years was doing well in class and on Sasuke in the latter part of her schooling.

What else?

It was a rather frustrating question, actually, trying to find anything more about Naruto was like finding a needle in a haystack; information about him was simply too difficult to acquire. On the first day of their return, Konoha standard operating procedure dictated that they report to the hospital for medical inspection immediately following their debriefing session with the Hokage, so she tried to use her status as Tsunade's student to inspect the medical files of Uzumaki Naruto on her way out and she found herself perplexed with what she was met with.

The nurse she asked to present the file to her was replaced with an ANBU agent that told her that she did not possess the required clearance gain access to the file.

Sakura wouldn't even be allowed to see his medical history.

If Naruto wasn't a jinchuuriki, then there is certainly something else about him that I might have to look deeper into; because whatever it is, there's something about him that people don't want the public to know.

But the mere contemplation of this first subject already had that little sliver of curiosity building up inside her and that little bit of doubt to start biting at her from the darker recesses of her mind where she could imagine a pair of scarlet, slitted eyes looking at her from the blackness, daring her to delve deeper.

But that might end up taking too much of my time, She found it odd that she was mentally voicing her argument to another part of her subconscious. There are still the others I need to deal with; the information about Ame, what Sasori-san mentioned and that box he left…

What if they're all connected?

In a voice that carried to her a sense of bother foreboding and excitement, she heard the reply from her the back of her mind:

You shall never know until you try, Haruno Sakura; seek the connections yourself and you might find the answers.

And just as the voice faded and the odd image of a red moon flashed before her eyes, she heard a knock coming from the front door. It was faint due to her distance but it was there.

~TtT~

The return trip went a much more relaxed pace than the first trip did, that much Anko could be certain of.

After three additional days in the Land of Wind that had been spent watching prince Rikudo observing the newly-promoted genin go about their first few D-ranked missions, attending meetings of Suna's High Council – which was the only event that she was not allowed to attend – and going around the desert village looking for good things to take home while the noble spent time with his wife, he had finally decided to pack up and head back for the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Although that last day that had been spent paying a visit to the country's leader at the nation's feudal capital was one thing that she did not expect, considering the fact that there was usually very little reason in a ninja from any given nation actively trying to meet with the feudal lord of another country.

At least if there was no mission involved, of course.

Though much to Anko's surprise which had mainly been based on what she could recall of the tiny modicum of information she had learned regarding the daimyos she had studied about during her younger years, the leader of Wind was actually a young woman as opposed to the usual stereotype she expected for the role that set her up for the opposite: old men.

Yet as Rikudo and daimyo Konno Mitsune talked over tea with Anko at the table, the lone kunoichi couldn't help but be a bit uneasy at the strangely conspirational grin that the female noble sent her way whenever the latter turned from the prince to ask Anko a few questions regarding shinobi life.

It was after she and Rikudo left the palace did the special jounin decided to ask him about the older woman's actions.

They were already crossing the desert when she asked him the question, and he raised the wide brim of his hat to look her in the eye before giving her his reply:

"Konno Mitsune is possibly the single most mischievous feudal lord in the entire continent;" He told her as they walked through the oddly windless dunes. "She had come to power by appointment of shogun Urashima Keitaro shortly after the last chuunin exams after which the previous leader of Wind passed on."

To this answer, Anko immediately felt one of her brows shoot up and a smirk come to her lips: "That's some rather interesting information there, Prince-sama." She bent her back so that she could look at the nobles face; he having hidden his countenance behind his hat again after answering her question. "But I'm going to have to call at your attempt to dodge my question."

If Rikudo was bothered at all by her follow-up despite his attempted evasion, he made it a point not to display it, simply continuing at the same steady pace as he gave his immediate counter:

"I would not particularly mind telling you what message she had been conveying to me, provided I can be ascertained that you will still be capable of working along side me until we finish this trek back to your home country." Rikudo said this with a smirk that seemed to match the one the Lady of the Land of Wind sent her previous if not for the strange graveness that the faint crease between his brows presented to display faint warning of where she was treading. "But I will have to be of the conviction that it may indeed become a problem."

When his purple eyes met her brown ones as he said the second part of his answer though, it became apparent to her that he had been kidding.

"Still," he eventually said a few minutes later. "I would rather not answer you regardless of the reason."

And with his attempted evasion replaced with a full-out block, she could say nothing else for fear of offending him any more than she already might have.

The following three days of travel had then gone uneventfully, being recalled only with silent walks, nature's sights and sounds, and mild discussion regarding – what Anko would come to think of with irritation – the weather and the appearance of the terrain they passed.

She sighed as she awoke on that third day, being met with the tall trees of the Land of Fire and the blades of sunlight that shone through the canopy above. Looking around, Anko observed one crucial fact:

Prince Rikudo was not at camp.

What?

This realization took all drowsiness from her immediately, the kunoichi quickly getting up now fully alert before she cast a sweeping glance around camp to seek any trail that she could follow. Deciding to use a technique that most ninja of her rank knew to apply, the special jounin closed her eyes and tried to open her senses.

Trying to get the general position of another person using chakra sense was not a particularly easy task for the standard shinobi that had no specialization on chakra sensing, a type of shinobi that Mitarashi Anko was most certain she was not.

There! She felt that little puddle of force that seemed to radiate from a little northeast of where she had been lying earlier, a force that pushed back against her own yet seemed to feel cold and restrained; the type of feel that she recognized the prince gave her whenever they spoke together even during their more amiable talks.

But as soon as she was about to withdraw her senses from the area, the kunoichi felt another force present, pushing against her own in an adamant defiance. She did not particularly like the three things she realized just then:

First and foremost: there was someone else there besides the prince and she, second: that person was with the Rikudo at that very moment who – three: was the very person Anko had been assigned to protect until the pair were once more behind Konoha walls.

Worst yet, the special jounin could not recognize the entity that was now in the company of the Ame royal.

After a short debate on whether to approach openly or to creep closer, the kunoichi opted for the latter in anticipation of the possibility that Rikudo had in fact been captured and needed to be assisted in escape. She made it a point to suppress the chakra that was spreading out, closing off her energy sensing abilities but also preventing any opponents from noticing her approach through non-physical means. Choosing to jump from tree to tree – not quite on the branches but rather just above the ground – to avoid making noise that the breaking of dried leaves would have caused, Mitarashi entered the area where she felt the Rikudo's presence minutes earlier.

At this point she slowed her advance, choosing to focus her attentions on her surroundings rather than moving at a fast pace.

It was then, when Anko was certain she could already smell the scent that she had come to recognize as prince Rikudo of Ame and was looking to find sight of him, did she hear the voice of the other person she sensed previously:

"You know," The voice was female, that much the kunoichi could ascertain. "When I got off the ship at Kiri, I had expected you to already have been at home, imagine my surprise to find you traveling from Suna back to Konoha of all places."

The speaker was standing behind a tree, possibly leaning against it and preventing Anko from getting any type look at the former.

The prince, meanwhile, could be seen despite being in the same position; in fact leaning against the exact same tree his companion.

"All things considered, my dear," –Said the Rikudo without looking to his companion, his choice of title for the hidden woman telling Anko that he was either close to the latter or he was teasing her. "You should have already been aware that I might be taking care of work outside home, as is expected considering what shogun Urashima has planned at the start of next year." He leaned toward who he was speaking to, thus hiding his face from Anko's line of sight as he spoke his next words: "Although, I will have to ask: For what purpose have you hunted me down instead of waiting for my return like you usually would have done?"

If the Konoha-nin's eyebrows had not been up, they were now.

Awaiting his return? It took very little time for her to make the necessary assumption: Is she one of his wives then, even a mistress perhaps?

But there was very little reason to assume the latter, considering the fact that he could already marry multiple times thus rendering the need to keep the woman at arm's length useless.

Right?

"I was growing impatient." The stranger's matter-of-fact reply pulled Anko away from any further contemplation and back to the occurrence at hand. "I simply refuse to wait for your return." Then she laughed before adding: "Simply staying at home waiting for you to come back from whatever missions Honored Father-in-law gave you would make my coming over a week early completely useless."

Rikudo returned his companions laugh with his own then saying: "That's what you get for dropping by unannounced." The kunoichi who was hanging upside down from a tree branch imagined a smirk play across the royal's lips as he said this. "But unlike our little foray one week ago, this time you were not received with open arms?"

If the prince had been intending to say anything else, the sudden jerk that told Anko he was given a slight shove stopped him from saying anything else.

"Since when have the family rejected me?" Mitarashi heard from behind the tree. "No, I'm not here because I couldn't stay at the palace while you were away; in fact, all my things are already in our room." What little doubt there was about her role in the royal's life were removed at this point, as Anko could not think of a reason for the stranger to be staying with the prince – especially with interactions with his family – without being the teenage male's wife or betrothed. "I am here on request from Honored Father."

After Rikudo was standing straight once more, Anko saw him bend his right arm as though receiving something from the consort. His head bent down to read what the kunoichi saw as a piece of paper.

"This is a mission request." Hearing this, Anko's curiosity was further raised and she decided to try to get a better look at the pair; if she was lucky, she'd be able to get a look at how Ame made their mission parameters as she wasn't naïve enough to try to get a look at what the document said at that point in time. She heard Rikudo chuckle as she was making her firs few reaches toward adjacent trees. "Father asked you to bring me a mission request?" Mitarashi could already see the edges of what she believed was red silk from behind the prince, silk that she was certain was coming from the other woman. "Normally this would be delivered to me by one of the Royal Foxes, usually Ningendo. There is little need for you to bring this-" He raised the document to eye level though rather deigning to look at his wife. "…-To me." Anko heard another laugh as she shifted her weight from one branch to another, the kind that made her imagine his smirk widening. "Unless, of course, you suspect me of cheating, no?"

The amount of sarcasm dripping of that last statement was almost laughable.

Instead of being insulted by the presentation of such a possibility as Anko might have expected from most women, the prince's wife merely giggled at his jest.

"Logically speaking," She began; Anko could now see the edge of her face that was being blocked by red hair. "It is impossible for you to commit infidelity towards me, oh honored husband, most especially considering the fact that you possess the right of polygamy."

At her reply, Rikudo spread his arms wide, tilting his head to one side and asking: "Does that mean that my prime consort gives me her blessing to marry as many times as is required of me?"

Red sleeves wound themselves around the prince's neck before the woman's answer came:

"As is said by the way of House Rikudo: Duty, above all else." At this time, Anko could already ascertain the consort's height, which was just at half the prince's head, about level with the tip of his nose; red, angular eyes, thin lips, and a small nose. The kunoichi placed the consort's age at no higher than seventeen or eighteen years old.

"That is reassuring." –Said the prince, bringing his arms back down and once again looking at the contents of the mission request. "Father wants me to journey to the capitol of the Land of Fire," he returned his gaze to his wife. "And it seems that you wish to accompany me?" Rikudo waited for no response as he immediately added: "No, I will have to say that I insist that you come with me, in fact; this mission will be that much easier to complete if I have a good alibi to present once the deed is done."

The special jounin's brows furrowed at these snippets of information, several questions forming and standing out as she tried to make sense of what the male Rikudo would be up to next:

The national capitol? What business would someone from the Land of Rain have at the capitol of Fire?

She was prevented, however, from thinking any further on this as she heard her name being called out:

"I would like to speak with you, Mitarashi Anko; do please come join us." It was the male Rikudo calling her down, and faced with little option aside facing the shame of being discovered eavesdropping, Anko did as requested.

"Good morning Prince-sama, and to you as well, hime-sama." She said giving each of the two a nod, fighting down the mortified flush and hoping that neither Rikudo would notice the odd formality in her greeting.

While the prince returned her nod, his wife eyed her with one red eyebrow raised, red irises going up and down, taking in every detail of Anko they could grasp.

The male spoke first, saying: "I trust you slept well, Mitarashi-san?" the sugary tone of his voice glint in his purple eyes told her that he had noticed her forced formality, but he would grace her and not address it. Gesturing to the woman beside him, he added: "I would like to introduce you to Rikudo Shoujouhi," the red-haired woman nodded toward the kunoichi, the curls at the ends of her hair bouncing with the movement. "She is my first wife and prime consort."

"Greetings as well, Mitarashi Anko," Shoujouhi said. "My husband has said a good deal about you." Anko sensed mischief, if not a little appraisal in the way she said the rest of the sentence; Shoujouhi's tone calming the kunoichi down a great deal.

"Now," interrupted Rikudo, Anko noticing the consort's mouth – that had opened to add to what the last had been saying – close to allow the prince to speak: "I certainly hope that you heard what Shou and I had been discussing earlier, as it would appear that there is some urgent business I must attend to in the capitol of Fire." Folding the piece of paper that Mitarashi recognized as the mission request, Rikudo placed it inside his sleeve before adding: "We will be dropping you off at Konoha then we shall be heading for the capitol to do a little…" He paused then, turning to his wife before sending a smirk that Shoujouhi returned.

"…-Sightseeing." –Was what the word she chose, then turning to look at Rikudo who nodded to both females.

"If you don't mind, I'll go ahead take care what is left of camp." Turning about and heading back to where he and Anko spent the night, he added with a waving hand: "I'll let Shou finish whatever it was she wanted to talk to you about."

Anko scarcely had the time to look back to the lady Rikudo when the latter spoke:

"You seem to be an interesting one, Mitarashi-san." The noble was grinning down at her, whatever it was shining in the former's eyes turned to outright amusement as she added: "You may call me by my first name." Shoujouhi brought her arms up and placed each inside its opposite sleeve and raised a scarlet brow. "Tell me, though: how has spending the week with my husband been for you?"

As though in response to the one eyebrow of lady Rikudo, both of Anko's shot up upon hearing the question.

For there was no telling what meaning she may have had behind asking such a strange question; the kunoichi could name a good few, ranging from the innocent inquiry on the spouse's behavior to finding a potential bother to the marriage and nipping such things in the bud.

But the conditions were very different from what Anko had observed, and she was at a loss as to what answer to give in order to have a favorable reaction.

Left with no feasible answer with the little time she had to give a response and seem honest, she opted to say what she truly thought of the teenager, trying to keep her tone a good deal more formal than she would when she talked with the prince:

"In terms of interactions, Shoujouhi-hime, the best way for me to describe the week would be a complete and total lack of boredom."

It was difficult to say what made her be so rigid with the younger girl in front of her, but Anko decided to blame it on that odd sparkle in the consort's eye that told the kunoichi that it would always be best to stay on the noble's good side.

"I see." –Was all the princess said with that same conspirational grin she recognized from the Feudal Lord of the Land of Wind several days ago and whatever it meant, Anko was beginning to fear that she might not actually want to know.

~TtT~

"And with all the pieces placed in their starting positions, let the games begin."

-Lord Legion the Numerous


Notes / References:

Rikudo – is the name used to refer to anyone bearing that family name in any given scene; in the even that the first names of any / all Rikudo in the room have been introduced or they all possess titles that can be used to identify them as characters of their own, the word Rikudo should be considered to refer to prince Rikudo of Ame

Clues – it should be noted by the reader that beginning with the second arc (and perhaps even some parts of the first arc) that the possibility of chain clues that require referencing to earlier chapters will be brought up.


Post-Chapter Questions / Discussion:

Looking at the way ninja are trained in the Naruto series, we are shown that Konoha-nin are actually given the bare-minimum needed for life as a shinobi where their genin teachers are expected to tackle the rest once the ninja aspirants get to that level.

What does the opening account tell you of the way Ame ninja are trained from their time at the academy?

The second scene covers the immediate reaction made by some of Konoha's populous to the invitations sent by House Rikudo, where I had decided to focus on this reaction through Aburame Shino and Hyuuga Hinata.

During the discussion regarding Ame's possible reasons for inviting people from Fire to celebrate the birthday of the prince, what thought came to mind upon hearing Hinata's opinions? Did her answers make sense? Did you come up with your own reasons behind Ame's actions?

One of the more important things I wanted to portray in the first scene between Hinata and Shino was the changes in their character over the last three years; mainly after having been affected by the disappearance of Uzumaki Naruto and other following events that have yet to be elaborated.

Does this change seem possible provided certain conditions are met, or do you feel that such change will never occur?

The third scene centered on Haruno Sakura and her attempts at making sense of all the information she had found during the first arc and the surfacing of new suspicions.

Do you agree with her predicting possible political fallout of any further investigations she might make? Why so?

Was her thought process throughout the scene smooth and easy to understand?

Was she in-character based on Shippuuden standards while taking into account this story's AU aspect?

She encountered a voice coming from the back of her mind, one that was both hers and wasn't…

What do you think this voice could be?

In the third scene, and even a little bit of the first scene, I have tried to present how people tend to act differently in the presence of certain other persons. (Shino and Hinata in the first scene and Anko and Shoujouhi in the third scene)

Do you agree that this is a possibility in the case of these characters? Do the portrayals still seem believable?

Anko had awoken to a conversation between Rikudo and his prime consort, Shoujouhi ('Shou' for convenience's), while the latter pair were discussing several things.

When the prince and Shou talked about the mission to the capitol of the Land of Fire, what did you suppose the mission was about?

What are your thoughts on the interactions of Rikudo and Shou, Anko and Shou and the three people?


I hope you all enjoyed this update, and do please tell me what you think.

Sincerely,

Toph the Trickster