Kakashi strolled aimlessly around the palace hallways, not really sure where to go. His room was beginning to feel stuffy and boring, so he decided to go for a walk, in order to lift his mood. The only problem was that he didn't know where he should start. Well, he knew at least a handful of places, where he didn't want to go. The gardens and the dining room were out of the question. The palace staff constantly sent dirty glares at him, when they thought that he couldn't see them. Oh well, he couldn't blame them, but he felt uncomfortable nonetheless. Kakashi stopped in his tracks, when he saw an enormous door at the end of the hallway, with a silver plaque mounted on the wall next to it saying 'library'. Smiling, he entered the room, looking around.

The library had huge windows, the afternoon sun lighting the rows and rows of bookshelves. He let out a low whistle when he saw the impressive collection of books ranging from romance novels to those of the more complex physics theses. There were portraits hanging on the walls opposite to the windows, depicting the former rulers of the Land of Whirlpools, Kakashi's gaze got caught on one particular portrait, had it not been for the pink hair and green eyes, he would have completely mistaken the woman on the painting for somebody else.

Haruno Sakura was standing sideways in front of a bookshelf, her gaze set on the viewer. She was holding an opened book in her hand, sending the impression that she was disturbed by the painter while reading. Her hair was in a braided bun, with bangs framing her face. The olive green dress she was wearing looked simple, nothing like the fancy piece of clothing from yesterday. But what caught him completely off guard was the gentle look she had. The Sakura he met yesterday was nothing like the woman on the painting. She was fierce and seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve…He found these particular traits strange, even unexpected. The noble women he met up onto this point were polite and soft spoken, having a faint blush on their cheeks every time a man glanced at them. To be honest, he liked these kinds of girls; at least they were simple enough not to cause him headaches. But if he had to go by the events of yesterday, the princess was going to give him many of those.

...

Sakura was walking towards the palace library with a spring in her steps. Finally, after weeks of waiting, the new shipment of medical texts has arrived. The delay was partially thanks to the war, but mostly because the books they ordered were quite hard to obtain, especially the foreign one. The nations tried to keep their medical techniques a secret, afraid that their knowledge would help the enemy. This kind of mentality always angered Sakura, because medicine shouldn't be monopolized by nations, just because they were afraid to lose power and prosperity. Medicine should be accessible to everyone in need, no matter which side of the country border they belonged to.

She barged into the room, not even caring about the noise she made during her entrance. The only people in this palace who visited the library were her, Tsunade and Shizune, but Sakura was sure that those two were currently enjoying the company of Danzo and Hatake. Her gaze immediately fell on the huge piles of books on one of the tables. Sakura started to look through the books, her enthusiasm reaching new heights with each title. She almost let out a squeal when she saw one particular book. It was about the different kinds of poisons that were used in Wind Country. The author was none other than Sasori of the Red Sand, a man who was renowned of his knowledge in the field and had it not been for the stormy relationship between their countries, Sakura would've definitely asked him to tutor her.

Somebody cleared his throat on her left, making her look that way. The sudden rush of happiness and contentment deflated when she saw the last person she wanted to that day. Hatake Kakashi was standing between to bookshelves, holding a paperback in one of his hands.

"Yo." He waved with his right hand, his eyes crinkled.

"Hello." Sakura tried to restrain the acid in her voice as much as possible, seemingly surprising Hatake as well.

After an hour long lecture from Tsunade about how her outburst at the meeting was unacceptable, Sakura decided to change tactics. It wasn't like her opinion changed about the silver haired man, but she'd rather try to be a bit more agreeable with him, than to go through another lecture.

"How are you?" By the glare she gave him, Kakashi instantly regretted asking this.

"Oh, I'm absolutely fantastic. I'm being engaged to some random man and then I have to leave the place where I grew up, but who could complain?" The bile in her voice made Kakashi smile nervously. She really hated him, huh?

"I-"

"Shouldn't you be at some kind of meeting with Tsunade?" Sakura cut him off, desperately trying to find another subject. She was already afraid that she'll say something really nasty to him.

Kakashi looked at his wristwatch, noting that he was already half an hour late from the meeting with Tsunade. Frankly, he'd rather not go, this political stuff was not his cup of tea…but then again, if he had to choose between boring political stuff or spending some more time with a woman who was radiating a murderous aura, he'd choose the first one…this alone spoke volumes about their relationship.

'We are such a happy couple.' he thought dryly.

"Oh…I should go then." Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck, putting the book he was holding on the table in front of Sakura. That's when he noticed the book she had in her hand: 'The secret poisons of Wind Country' the front cover read.

"Should I feel concerned?" He nodded at the volume.

A gentle smile graced Sakura's lips. "Oh, don't worry-" Kakashi's eyes crinkled. Well, maybe she wasn't that bad after all. "the poison I'd use would be untraceable." Her smile turned into a malicious one in the split of a second, sending cold shivers down the man's spine.

"Riiight." He cleared his throat. "Um…see you soon." Kakashi left the library, not even waiting for the pink haired woman's answer.

...

Tsunade sat at a long, well-polished table with Shizune by her side. In the two seats opposite of her sat Hatake Kakashi (who by the way arrived more than half an hour later) and Danzo Shimura. The woman was starting to feel irritated by the minute but tried to act calm for the sake of her country and people. One badly chosen word and all what she had worked for might go out the window.

"The official announcement of the engagement and the ball afterwards will be held in Uzushiogakure." Tsunade said in a tone that forbade any kind of opposition.

"I believe that the capital is in no state to hold a formal event like such. The ball should be held in Konoha just like the wedding ceremony." Danzo spoke up, further aggravating the blonde.

"And I believe that we should give the chance for Sakura to say goodbye to the people she cares for. After all, not everyone will have the funds or the permission to attend the wedding." The blonde fisted the hand that rested on the surface of the table, an action that got noticed by both men.

"Do you honestly think that you are in the position of demanding anything from us? Be happy that you can get away with only minor sacrifices." Danzo raised his voice.

"Minor sacrifices-?!"

"Then let's hold the ball here." Kakashi's soft voice felt out of place in the hostile atmosphere. All three people looked at him surprised.

"But your majesty-" Kakashi held his hand up, making Danzo swallow his words.

"I think that we shouldn't add to the already existing tension just because we can. We should hold the ball here." He just didn't want things getting any uglier with Sakura. Who knows, maybe she'll really poison him if he upsets her even more.

"Thank you." Tsunade whispered.

"I believe that we have other urgent things to attend to, Danzo-san. I have yet to speak with Asuma about the condition of our soldiers. We should leave now." Kakashi stood up and stormed out from the room. Danzo followed him, but not before sending an ugly glare at the queen.

"Well, this went smoothly…" Shizune breathed out, after the door closed.

I hope you liked the chapter :)

Thank you really much for reading, reviewing and favoriting!