A/N: First chapter of the new year! How's 2020 treating you? I hope it'll be better than last year... we'll see!
I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 24: Dolled to Destroy
The next morning came, and as expected, all was miserably wet. The atmosphere in the camp was more solemn, and the new recruits watched in silent anticipation as Tsunade and Sakura prepared to go into the capital. A couple of them gave the women encouraging smiles, and others muttered a 'good luck'.
Sakura dressed in Tsunade's tent, putting on the pale green dress she'd bought the day before. She brushed out her hair with the help of a nearby pool, staring grimly at her reflection. With some help from Hinata, she put it up into a high bun and decorated it with a pretty lilac hairpiece that Noh had, unbeknownst to her, found yesterday. She activated a minor transformation technique that, if she was to be recognized, made the person mistake her for someone else.
The final touches were to lighten her face with a bit of makeup and add a touch of green eyeshadow and pale lipstick.
When Noh saw the final look, she smiled sadly. "You remind me so much of my wedding day," she whispered, giving the girl a hug. She handed her a silver necklace with a flower charm at the end, her alias, the violet, with a "Good luck."
Tsunade had put on a ragged gray cloak and a spare brown dress that halted mid-calf (one that she kept for the event that she had to go into town). She let her hair out of her signature twin-tails, instead opting for a low bun secured by a silver-plated kanzashi pin. She went without the makeup she usually went with, instead going for a 'hag' look. (Indeed, when she turned around to ask Noh how she looked, the medic could honestly say that, had she not known Tsunade, she wouldn't have recognized her at all.)
As the sun rose higher in the sky, Tsunade finally took the girl's hand. "It's time for us to leave," she said, turning her gaze to the village gates. "Got everything? Extra set of clothes? Emergency weapons?"
"Check and check," Sakura confirmed, heaving a sigh. "I'm nervous."
"I don't blame you one bit," Shikamaru snorted, lazily looking her up and down before giving an approving nod. "If I was going into the lions' den with nothing but a few kunai, I'd probably be soiling myself by now."
"Eww, don't be so gross this early in the morning," Ino groaned, lightly shoulder-checking him. She gave her friend a bright smile. "I think you look gorgeous. You'll get the job for sure."
"Thanks, Pig," The pinkette replied, hugging her tight. "It won't be the same without your haggy face in the morning."
"Oh please, like my beauty compares to your sluggishness," the blonde gave a playful scoff.
"If you don't mind, ladies," Tsunade interjected, a hint of amusement in her voice, "We'd better get going if we want an audience with the king before noon."
Sakura nodded, turning to see Hinata watching her with a solemn gaze.
She stepped towards her, gently grabbing her hands and holding them up. Her lips quirked up into a half-smile, and she gently pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "I'm afraid we must part, my lady." She murmured, relishing in the shy, rosy redness her cheeks had turned. "I'll be sure to watch over Naruto... and Sasuke."
The trip through the village was fairly silent between the duo. Mentor and mentee exchanged glances from time to time, but otherwise, neither looked at the other.
Tsunade, honestly, was scared. Sakura wasn't much older than she herself had been when she was fighting a bloody war, and here she was, prepared to spy on the royal family with no guarantee of success. She was still so young, and yet life on the run had toughened her up immensely. It had weathered her hands and set a firmness to her eyes that not very many could empathize with. She had to admit that if anyone could do it, Sakura could.
It was far too risky to send in Noh, especially with her history with the family. Honestly, she was surprised the woman wasn't more offended she'd ever asked her to do such a thing; after her husband's death, she vowed she'd never look the king in the eye again. The underlying threat, plus the slight glint of her kunai knife in the sunshine, had helped her understand.
Sakura had been traumatized too, yet not to the same degree - sure, she hadn't ever gotten over the death of her cousin, but she was lucky to be spared the agony of watching your lover die.
As had Karin; losing her only family and being forced to betray her only living relative had wrecked havoc on her mental state. Luckily, like Sakura and Noh, she had been relatively quick to bounce back - even if it entailed unhealthy coping habits, like throwing herself wholly into her work with hardly a break.
She spared the pinkette a glance, only to see her bright eyebrows low in a frown, her forest eyes determinedly watching the road. Nineteen. Nineteen and already on the track to mastering everything the Slug Princess knew. Hell, she would've found it impressive had the girl gotten the seal when she was sixteen. It had taken Tsunade until around her eighteenth birthday to finally gain it, and it was no easy task. She was definitely on the right path to getting the seal, but all she needed was one final push; one that they had yet to find.
She couldn't be more proud of her pupil. Her daughter. She'd been vehemently against motherhood for as long as she could remember (partially because it unearthed painful memories, and partially because the war had destroyed her, inside and out), but the girl had been stubborn enough to stay and grow on her. Imagine that. A scrawny little teenager with pale pink hair had wormed her way into a hardened war veteran's heart and endeared herself enough that Tsunade was comfortable calling her 'daughter'. And between her, Karin, Noh (and, admittedly, Jiraiya), Tsunade could confidently say she had found her family again.
Life could be pretty weird sometimes.
As they walked through the town, Sakura noticed a familiar head of blonde hair and peridot eyes, and she made sure to avert her own when the woman looked around.
It had been years since she'd last seen her mother, and it was apparent that the years hadn't been kind. The stress had streaked her once-sunny tresses with silver, and she had permanent frown lines around her eyes and mouth. The one thing that didn't seem to have changed was the kindness in her eyes, especially when she regarded the excitable boy tugging at her ratty green dress.
And her father. When she saw her father, she almost had to do a double-take. His mauve hair, always so ridiculously cherry-blossom shaped, had gone totally gray, and the 'petals' of his head were trimmed down so that it closely followed his skin, dipping low down his neck and ending at the base with, funnily enough, the shape of cherry blossom petals. Gone were his massive sideburns, replaced instead with a thin mustache above his lips. His face was gaunt and his eyes seemed to sink into his skin, and although he still had a gentle look about him, he was just as wrinkled and weary-looking as her mother. Still, his leaf-green eyes still sparkled with some kind of happiness, and as she observed, he shared a chuckle with Arata as he showed the boy how to peel open an orange.
Forty-two. Only forty-two, yet they'd lost two children and gained another. She couldn't remember a time when she'd seen them look so happy.
She cracked the tiniest smile, and, ignoring the burning in her eyes and the painful clenching of her heart, turned away and focused her attention on the looming bridge to the castle.
Once she crossed that bridge, her life as an on-the-run rebel would pause, and a new life as a castle maid would take its place.
Her stomach was filled with butterflies, and she felt the anxiety of seeing the Uchiha monarchs again - of seeing her friends again - overtake her. She squeezed Tsunade's hand tight.
A/N: Just a few more feels for Sakura. Tell me what you thought! I'll see y'all next week!