Title: In The Halls of Power
Characters: Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto, Kakashi, Shikamaru, Gaara
Pairing: … holy shit I don't even know.
Rating: M
Summary: The last resort of kings and common men, and all that happens in between. Never forget it is a crime, no matter how just. AU.
Notes: 1. the military is Roman. 2. the mythology is celtic-japanese-arabic. 3. the society is medieval feudal, mixed west-east. 4. I've no idea where in the fuck this is going.
Shikamaru Nara was late. But this time, it wasn't actually his fault. The man that was leading him turned up an hour later then he arranged. Most of his face was covered so Shikamaru couldn't tell anything about the man beyond his feigned nonchalance. Tch, troublesome. But sure enough Shikamaru fell in step behind the man and followed him through the labyrinth that was the Palace.
The palace itself was half between a manor house, and a huge stone fortress. There were traditional rooms though, floor boards and rice paper doors that would back onto huge stone walls. It was supposedly connected by a long series of catacombs to the other palaces, but Shikamaru doubted that, it would be impossible, the engineering it would involve... Well maybe, now that he was here... It wasn't so far out of line, because now that he was at the palace in all its might it could never be forgotten what this place was, what purpose it served.
To protect.
At the centre of this huge sprawling mess of old, new, practical and decorative sat the two most important figures of the Shinobi lands.
The faces changed every generation, so they were known by their more universal title of The Lord and The Lady. They never left their rotation of palaces, except in times of war. Which hadn't happened in the longest time.
Figures.
He scowled and shoved his hands in his pocket.
The man that was leading him, with his only one eye showing, stopped and turned to Shikamaru.
"They're still busy. But it won't take too much longer."
So he waited, and went to the chairs that were either side of the room. Oddly, but not unsurprisingly, the floors sung under his feet.
He was sitting for ten minutes, eyes closed, thinking when the screen door on the other side of the room opened. A woman stepped out, her tied up purple hair bouncing and her hands shoved into her own pockets. The jacket... only just covered her mesh shirt. She nodded to his escort. "Kakashi." Oh right, that's where he knew the man.
Kakashi raised a hand in reply. "Anko."
Even though it was free, they still weren't called in. But from the talking on the other side, just whispers, he figured they were discussing something.
After another few minutes they were finally called in. Or rather Shikamaru was, Kakashi just took up station outside the door. How odd, the man seemed to almost... blend. Even though he knew that wasn't possible.
"Shikamaru, still like to put things off 'til the last minute I see." the woman's voice was soft, and somewhat amused, but it still put him on edge.
With that, there really was no where left to hide any more. His shoulders hunched up for a second, then he pulled his hands out of his pocket and stood up straight. His mother would throttle him if he went in all hunched up and resentful. Well, at least, with bad posture.
"Are you going to hide out there all day?"
Shikamaru sighed and stepped over the thresh hold.
Admittedly this room was no different to any of the other rooms he'd seen so far. It's ceilings were higher though, a painted dome somewhere above them depicted the first Lord and Lady, as chosen by the Sage of the Six Paths. He followed it down, the natural way the painting led, to the current Lord and Lady, who seemed almost framed by their heritage.
There they sat, as different as night and day on their thrones. He analysed them, what he remembered, what he heard stories of, what he had seen briefly. They were the same, they matched all expectations. There was decadence and a certain practicality (that Shikamaru approved of, was more intrigued by then he was splendour) that blended. Her hair was pink, piled traditionally, she looked demure as she fanned herself. But he wouldn't have been fooled for a second, the thin rods holding her hair up were blade edged, as was the fan, and her blood red sash hid kunai. His hair was a black blue and his blue tunic edged with a fine white pattern was worn loosely, hard muscles shown underneath, his weapon of choice – a sword – displayed openly at his side, and long knife tucked into his boot, he looked completely bored as he rested his head on his hand.
Shikamaru thought they looked caught, between their own mortality and the divinity they were said to have been graced with as holders of such a position. But mostly, he thought, they looked hard. Like they had seen everything, done everything, hoped for the best, but always planned for the worst. Much different then when he had last seen them, when they were twelve with Naruto, laughing too hard and fighting too hard.
"Shikamaru, it has been too long." Sakura – The Lady, she wasn't Sakura any more. She smiled, a perfect white teeth smile. "Seven years... I believe."
He bowed, stiffly, one hand over his heart, then as he raised back up again, brought his hand out palm down, it was the universal salute for the Shinobi Lands. "Your majesties honour me."
Sakura laughed, a sweet sound. "Please, don't be so formal, I know I can hardly be taken seriously when I know you saw me half covered in mud beating up Naruto."
Sasuke – The Lord, damnit, what was with him today? Every other day he could distance himself from them, but now, with them in front of him, he really did feel like he was twelve again, only they weren't, they were old in that way you see aged paintings. The Lord looked like he was going to interrupt her, probably tell her off for being so personal and undignified as bringing up childhood memories. Sasuke always was a stick in the mud.
Well okay, as long as he only called them Sakura and Sasuke in his mind, he figured he could get away with it. Baah, this was such a drag. He wasn't cut out for this, he just wanted to quietly look after the Nara estates, have some bratty children and go on his way.
So instead he just gave a quiet chuckle. "M'Lady was only twelve, so I was. Things have changed." You've changed... I pretty much stayed the same, mostly.
She gave him a wry twist of her lips, a smile that held an edge. "Well I guess that's true. Tell me, how is the estates?"
"Sakura..." Sasuke finally spoke, getting impatient.
"Sasuke, lighten up, would you? We hardly ever get a friendly visit. Shikamaru's here to give us reports and not to beg favours. We could enjoy not be pawed at for once." There was the old Sakura, or rather the Sakura that used to be sharp with Naruto, though it seemed her precious Sasuke-kun got it too these days.
But... he looked at her raise an eyebrow as she turned away from Sasuke. Ahh, that's what she was playing at. Or rather, not playing. Damnit, the territory was too uncertain. At the very least, she was addressing him as a friend, not subject.
"So, again Shikamaru, if you don't overly mind, tell me how your lands are going? Your mother and father?"
He nodded. "They are... good." Hell, how was he supposed to answer this? Formally? Casually? How much did she really want to know? "My father has started a new breeding technique with the deer..." He rambled a bit, discussing the lands growth and such. Sakura looked interested, leaning forward as she fanned herself. Sasuke... still looked bored, but he'd leant back in his chair, letting them talk.
"That's excellent news, we've been hearing so many good things about the agriculture of that area lately, what do you think can be done about..." and just like that he was coaxed into conversation. She seemed skilled at it, knew what to ask and where, when the subject turned off the land itself and into their memories, Sasuke interjected, adding here and there to topics. Shikamaru felt the tension lift from him as it continued. He only realised what had happened when a woman stepped into the room and announced that tea was ready to be served, and... Woah... Damn, so that's why Sakura had been chosen.
They both rose gracefully like the warriors they were and stepped away from their thrones. He took a step back, thinking it was time to go. Sakura tsked, and before he could get away, wrapped her hands around his arm, like old friends.
"You are having tea with us, don't force me to make it my royal demand, if I had a coin for every time I had to force one of our men to eat..."
"You'd probably be rich enough to build that summer house you always wanted. Now stop scaring Lord Nara." Sasuke sighed with what was probably his shade of amusement, which was him sounding more sarcastic then usual.
She pouted, but didn't let go of Shikamaru's arm, who just didn't comment. He was too busy pretending that this wasn't all... not what he'd expected. She was smaller then he'd thought, but he'd remembered that she was never actually going to be all that tall, admittedly, her hair made up for some of it. He shrugged and adjusted his arm so she could get a better grip.
They walked out of the central room through another screen door to a simpler room. The floor boards still sang underneath them. Sakura chatted away, discussing various things. He turned to find Kakashi following them... Kakashi who wasn't making a noise on the floor. Damn, the man was like a wraith.
They came to table in the next room, it was round and would of fitted about six people but it was only laid out for three. Sakura let go of his arm, much to Shikamaru's relief, and sat down, then Sasuke, then himself. Again the banter started up, this time about the price of grain coming out of the lands further to the East.
'Tea' it turned out was actually half a meal, of both savoury and sweet foods. Oh, and lots of actual tea. Much more, and he was really going to have to ask for a bathroom soon.
But, Sasuke had other plans. "Sakura, enough." He said as the last round of food was sent away.
Sakura paused mid sentence, her shoulders dropped slightly. "Yes, alright." She sighed, stiffened her shoulders, and Shikamaru saw her mentor in her then, the previous Lady, her eyes were steely flat. "You know then, why you sent for you?"
He nodded. "The increased raids from the North..."
"You've been catching the brunt of them all summer, we asked you only now that winter is coming..." Sasuke began.
And winter is not supposed to be the war season."Yes. The raids from the West are getting worse. Much worse. They no longer seem like the usual raids for food and wealth."
"How so?"
"Far too organised, far, far too organised. Their squads are now in groups of ten, every time. Their movements are... very much like ours. Fast, effective: attack, shield, attack, shield." he scowled into his empty tea cup, "trust it to be me." he muttered.
They both ignored that. "Groups of... ten you say?" Sakura inquired.
"Yes."
"But that's just like..."
"Us. I know. But I haven't seen anything on a larger scale yet, to be sure." he thought, drumming his fingers as he did so, remembering every raid. "They split into two rows, a zig-zag pattern, alternating who goes back and forward. It's imperfect, they're not as well trained, they still break formation easily. Too easily, you just need to throw a smoke bomb. Don't know how to reform, but I imagine that just takes some practise. But never more then ten, and never more then two groups... either they're just trying out their strength... or..."
"It's leading up to and diverting from something bigger." Sasuke finished for him. "What else, their abilities?"
"Nothing I haven't seen yet, their elemental usage is... so-so" he raised and wiggle his hand like a scale tipping back and forth. "But these could just be the pawns. I got the sense that they are just testing boarder strength at the moment, if your reports about the other borders are correct... Thus we kept ourselves to basic and repetitive attacks, so they could not learn our strength."
The Nara estates were on the West of the country, two days run from the capital, they stretched along to the North boarder, neighbours with the Akimichi lands and the Yamanaka lands. They'd been getting attacks all summer, that came from the North-West, and it seemed they weren't the only ones.
"How long do you think we have?"
"If they honour the war laws, we have the rest of winter to prepare... if we don't... three to four weeks." Shikamaru shrugged.
Sasuke rested his elbows on the table and laced his fingers, resting his head against him, thinking. Next to him Sakura smoothed the table cloth, straightened the cutlery, a old habit from when she was a girl, displaying how far she had retreated into her own head. Shikamaru looked away, at the carefully painted wall next to them, at the floor boards, then back to his cup.
"This... matches the information that we have been getting. We suspect that they are in fact preparing for war." Sasuke said after awhile. "That... these raids... are just them testing out their strength, our strength. We don't know for sure, but the the previous Lord, gods all keep, wrote that he had a disciple, other then Naruto. That if all went well, we'd have peace... if not, we should be on our guard. He didn't write anything else. We'd been hoping it would be peace... but now..."
"You think this is it?" Shikamaru said blandly.
Sakura nodded. "Everything matches what Jiraiya said."
Shikamaru sighed and twisted his shoulders, feeling his spine crack and pop. Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a look, then stood and before he could get up as was respectful, Sakura began to speak "Shikamaru, if this is what we think it is, we can take no chances. We must be prepared. Go home... and spread the word to your neighbours. Every legion that can be mustered, will be." There was a cold finality in her voice as she looked down on him.
The last resort of Kings and Common Men. Shikamaru felt as old as his father.
"If this is what they want," Sasuke said his voice was just as cold, but there was a amount of anger laced to the edge, "then they will regret asking."
Sasu – no, The Lord, raised his arm gently, and The Lady laced her fingers laying across his knuckles. There was no humanity here, Shikamaru shuddered and tried not to look away.
"The Gods speed, Shikamaru, you've three weeks."
They turned, and left. Shikamaru finished his tea.
The war preparations started almost instantly. Despite the fifty long years since the previous war, it flowed with the efficiency that ran the Shinobi lands. It was like a many layered skirt being pulled together by a woman's hand before she ran. It sat like any skirt and you never really realised how much material was really there until they fisted it and you saw it all bunch together, the layers exposed underneath.
Or so Kakashi mused. Not that many women Kakashi knew wore such decorative things if they knew they were going to be doing any running. Except Sakura, but that was different.
He was currently walking to see her, on that note. Or them, these days, Sasuke was never far from Sakura, out of necessity as much as need. He thought Shikamaru, who'd left a week ago, was the one of the few others that saw them for what they were. He didn't leave the room with a look of elation and power, or feared wonderment. No, he left in the same state of confusion he'd arrived in, but very little doubt. No doubt that these two would face this with dignity, as they were chosen to do so.
Briefly, Kakashi wondered what Naruto was doing these days, he hadn't been the blonde headed (destructive) whirlwind in quiet some time. With things being as they were, someone ought to bring him back...
Arriving on the front of the throne room, he waited patiently, they would know when he was there, both their chakra perception was keen.
What he didn't expect to hear was a glass shattering, and the cry that came after it.
"Why us? Is it not enough?" there was a choked sob, and a whisper that followed. But whatever was said didn't seem to help, but now the anger had switched from self pity.
"They will risk their lives! A great many of them will die! What for? For the Shinobi lands? For us? That is not good enough, never good enough for this." Something else shattered.
Kakashi decided it was time for him to step in, because great leader of men, Sasuke was. Great sensor of Sakura's turmoil? He was not. It was ironic, Kakashi supposed as he stepped forward, they really were perfect for this, but not for each other.
As he slid open the door, he was stunned a little. The great urns that had rested either side of the throne were smashed. Dirt and plants and ceramics were scattered everywhere. Yes, Sakura had done this, who else?
But maybe Sasuke wasn't so bad at the comfort thing, because he held Sakura's shaking hands close as she sobbed into his shoulder. At his intrusion, Sasuke looked up, eyes hard for a second, then relaxed slightly, bringing a hand to Sakura's shoulder, embracing her lightly. Sakura turned her head, saw Kakashi and turned back, she might of said something but Kakashi didn't catch it.
"She wants to know if the boy's alright?"
Oh, so that was it.
"Yes, he's recovered. All ready to start training tomorrow."
There was another murmur from Sakura, Sasuke frowned. "Sakura, that isn't going to..." murmur. "Fine. She wants you to bring him here."
"You'll hardly get him to speak, he's already half in love with you."
"Its my fault... if we hadn't of been there, training would have been normal." she brought her head up, eyes flat and accusing.
Sasuke looked like he wanted to hit her for being stupid. Kakashi shook his head. "Maybe, but you were."
She got angry again, and wretched her hands out of Sasuke's, stepping away from him completely. They were still shaking. "What are you saying?"
"What's done is done, Sakura. All of it. There is nothing you can do then face the facts, and hope you are making the right choices."
She stared at him, her mouth opening and closing. Then, as she comprehended, her face screwed up in rage, and for a second he thought she was going to hit him. Instead she turned and walked away.
Sasuke watched her go, disappearing behind a screen door.
"You still treat us like we are twelve."
Someone has to. "When I need to."
Sasuke didn't answer, but he might of smiled. "You know what you have to do."
Kakashi tilted his head. "Find Naruto?" Sasuke nodded. "Who for? You? Sakura? Or the people?"
"Just this once, Kakashi, I'd like to think it was for all of us." He turned and followed Sakura. Kakashi sighed and began preparing for the long trip this was going to be.
Sakura was still feeling guilty when she woke up in the morning. Her head was pounding with it, but unable for anything to release the stress, she asked for her simplistic robes, one plain black dress, with a white apron over the front, and went to the hospital.
She didn't want to think, about the boy that had nearly died yesterday that she'd pushed to save, the others that would die in the coming weeks if their suspicion proved true. No, she wanted to work with her hands and not be a head of state, do what she was best at, came as natural to her as breathing.
Her first patient was an elderly man that had broken his leg. Quietly she worked, pushing chakra through his limbs, healing the brittle bones that came with old age. He remarked on her skill, saying that she was as good as The Lady. Sakura nodded and washed her hands. Her second patient, a shinobi with white skin, a curiously bland smile, black hair and a gaping wound to his forearm, dutifully she stitched it and jump started the healing process. He guessed but said nothing, beyond that he was honoured. Sakura gave him a small smile and sent him on his way with a newly bandaged forearm. Her third patient...
It was near supper when Sasuke came for her, he was angry with her for just taking off like that, and made no attempt to disguise himself. She cursed when he burst into her patients room, told her to finish her work and to come back immediately. Her fourteenth patient just stared at her, making the connection and let out a little gasp. Sakura didn't say anything, just finished healing and met Sasuke outside.
He didn't say anything till they were back into their communal area some hours later, after Sakura had dealt with the work she had put off all day and he had brought himself back to an equilibrium. Sakura was finishing her tea, signing the last of scrolls about the dispersing of medics per legion and had stood to go back to her own rooms when he finally had enough of her acting like nothing had happened today.
"Sakura, this is no time to be playing civilian medic." he hissed.
Sakura glared back for all she was worth. "It is exactly time to be playing civilian medic, because soon, soon I'll be playing shinobi general, just like you. I got to save some lives when I've no doubt I'll be taking them in a few short weeks."
"You are such a -"
"A what? Sasuke? A doctor? My mistake, it was what I trained for!"
"You seem to think that this will some how end, Sakura, that you can go back to just being a field medic like when we were kids. Just accept it."
"That's rich, coming from you! I tell everyone you are sick, when in reality you go to your brothers lands and play boarder-nin, fighting off the raiding parties." she sneered. "You know exactly why I went to do what I did today, so don't get all high and mighty with me Sasuke."
He was getting angry – well then, so was she. He grabbed her shoulder, feeling her skin through the thin black material, it was almost hard enough to bruise. Her hand closed over his. "Sakura..."
"You've see me punch through a man's ribcage. Seen me splattered in blood and laugh as I do it again. Don't act like my nurturing streak is weak, when its the part of what makes me a good leader, that sometimes, I have to express it, or else loose it entirely. When I have to mourn for everything."
He let go of her arm, moving it around her waist instead, pulling her close as he buried his face into her hair. She took her hand off his to brace it against his neck.
"Look at us" she whispered. "Two days without Kakashi and grasping for our sanity."
Sasuke chuckled, a deep vibration that she felt from his chest. He pulled away, his free hand running up her throat to her chin, pushing her head up with a gentle nudge.
"Tonight... could I..." he was never very good at asking.
She smiled, a little quiet smile, one that only he and Naruto and Kakashi were privy to. Her fingers ran up from his neck into his hair, bringing him down so there lips could meet briefly. "Yes, you may."
When she went to step away, he only tugged her back. "No, I want to undress you."
She gave a little breathy laugh. "Only if I can do the same."
"I'd like that." his hands ran up her back and then down again, over her hips, anchoring her there against him. She pulled him closer, for a longer kiss.
Then some how, without either of them really understanding it, they both ended up on the floor.
Shikamaru woke up to the sound of bombs.