A/N: The beginning of the end... arc, that is!
Three days before the invasion, and Shien was feeling the pressure.
The days seemed to fly by, from wedding dress fittings to rehearsals in the throne room. She could tell that Sasuke was beginning to crack too, but at least he was better at hiding it.
"A lifetime of practice," she mused bitterly, glancing outside at the bright blue sky. "Oh, to be free. To be outside again."
She paced about after going through the final fittings for the wedding gown, going out to find Naruto standing indecisively over a table of multiple colorful streamers.
"Naruto, help," she pleaded.
"What is it? What's wrong?" He asked, concerned, as he turned his whole body to face her.
"I'm panicking," she meekly replied, wringing her hands together. "I need advice before I explode."
"I'll try," he shrugged uncertainly and folded his arms across his chest. "What are you feeling?"
"I'm panicking," she said flatly. "I'm so worried about the wedding, I can't sleep at night. What if something goes horribly wrong? What if Mimei attacks on the wedding day? What if- what if we actually get married? What if I actually become the queen of a country? I don't feel ready for this! I'm only nineteen! I have so many more things I want to do before I settle down into a doomed marriage!"
"Hold on, are you... are you nervous that Sasuke's gonna fall out of love with you the second you two get hitched?" Naruto asked incredulously, his eyebrows almost up to his hairline.
She gave him a half-hearted glare. "... maybe..."
At his chuckling, she defensively sputtered, "-Hey, don't laugh at me!"
"And what's this about you worrying that the day is gonna go wrong?" He teased, elbowing her gently in the side. "I didn't think you were the type of girl to worry about stuff like this!"
"Every girl worries even a little bit about her wedding day!" She defended, crossing her arms. "It's one of the most important things you can do, besides adopting a kid or going rogue or something!"
He chuckled, patting her shoulder. "Don't worry so much, Shien! From what he's told me, I can confidently tell you that he's a hundred-and-thirty-percent in love with you. Trust me, he's gonna be happier once you're hitched, 'cause then he won't have to hide his feelings anymore."
She blushed at the insinuation, looking down. "... oh, I see."
"Sorry, was that too forward?" Naruto shook his head. "Anyways, don't worry. I remember that Hinata felt the same way, even though she didn't actually love him. She was so nervous that once they got married and had a kid, that he'd cast her aside. But we both know Sasuke's not the type to do that."
"Yeah, he's not," she agreed quietly. She honestly couldn't picture Sasuke divorcing his queen once he has his heir(s). "The queen would beat his ass for that."
"And we all know she's perfectly capable, even when sick," Naruto laughed. "She is one stone-cold badass when she wants to be. She is the White Lily, after all."
"... Yeah," she replied uneasily.
"What's wrong?" The blond questioned, furrowing his brow for a moment. "Don't sweat it, Hayashi-san! It's not like she's actually back in business now, or anything. I doubt anyone's pissed her off enough to bring her out of retirement."
Shien thought back to the letter she'd received two days ago, of the news of Morino's torching. Ninety-eight percent of their troops, both in Morino and out, had died, and Karin was inconsolable in the wake of Hideki's unstable status. She had longed to go comfort her and to help the younger boy recover, but she was trapped in the palace until the wedding. Thinking about it now, it still felt like a bucket of ice water down her back to realize that Mikoto had singlehandedly killed most of the village and had burned it to the ground. Nothing about the normally-gentle lady would tip you off to her deadly past now.
"Oh, to have the bliss of ignorance," she thought with a dismal sigh.
"Summons to the throne room, you two," A silver-haired soldier came up to them, pointing behind himself.
"Thanks, Hatake-san!" Naruto grinned up at him.
Shien looked up into his concerned eyes and gave him an uneasy smile, as well as a hidden note to meet her in her quarters later. "Thank you."
"Ah, welcome." Fugaku greeted the two as they walked in and knelt before the throne. "Rise."
They obeyed and watched him as he gave orders.
"As you know, I need to increase security for the wedding and coronation." He began. "That, of course, includes a bodyguard for you, Shien."
"Yes, my king." She nodded.
"Naruto, I'm appointing you to be her personal bodyguard for the day before, during, and after the wedding." He instructed. "Once the coronation is over, you can go back to your position as the prince's bodyguard. It's imperative that you keep her unharmed... we can only guess as to what Riot is planning, and when."
"Of course, my king." Naruto bowed. "It would be my honor to serve the lady Hayashi."
"You are both dismissed." Fugaku's face held a hint of a smile as he shooed them away, though he hid it by looking to the side.
Later that day, Kakashi made his way to Tsunade's camp, in possession of a letter from Sakura.
Tsunade was awaiting him in her tent. "Ah, Hatake-san. You have a report from the palace?"
"Yes, Ayame-sama," he nodded, handing her the letter. "From Sakura."
"Ooh, perfect," she exclaimed as she unfolded it. She read through it quickly, her happy face dropping more and more.
Finally, when she was done reading, she sighed heavily. "Increased security, Naruto as a bodyguard... he really wants this to go off without a hitch, huh?"
She rubbed her temples, scanning through it again. "I'm almost tempted to invade tomorrow, but we must go on as scheduled. They're anticipating us to make a move now. Luckily for us, we know the wedding day."
"What should we do?" Rin piped up from her place at the entrance to the tent, next to Kakashi.
"Gather the faction from Morino as a standby," she instructed. "They'll have to be our B-team in case things go south. I'm sure Akiyama would jump at the chance."
"Ah, yes," she winced. "Regrettable, but unfortunately, there wasn't much we could have done."
When Kakashi sent her a confused glance, she merely shook her head.
"For now, I suppose we'd better get busy," the blonde grunted as she got up. "I have to leave for the inner city in the morning. Seems the royal family would like Hayashi Chiasa to give away her adopted daughter at the engagement ceremony tomorrow night."
"Will you be alright?" Kakashi questioned.
She smiled at him, a glint in her eye. "Oh, I'll be fine. I've got a high-ranking escort."
