The Samurai's Blossom

Part 2


Warm raindrops fell and watered the trees and grass. The flowers perked up at the heavens' offering and the streams gurgled happily. Sakura sat on the engawa, her knees folded underneath her. It had been two weeks since the treaty was finalized. Two weeks since she had last seen her soulmate. She could not deny that a small part of her wanted to run to him-feel his arms around her, his lips against hers. Then she remembered the clan crest boldly painted on his back. His dark eyes turned into the lifeless green of her brother's.

The day that they went to retrieve the bodies was horrific. It had been nine days before they were able to get near the former battlefield, if one could call it that. In truth, it was a massacre. The Haruno were ill-prepared for the well-equipped and trained Uchiha. They were cut down like wheat against the scythe. The bloated bodies baked in the summer sun. Their pale skin had turned into mottled greens and blacks.

Sakura had demanded to go with the Senju party, against her cousin's better judgment. When she looked at the sunken and discolored faces, she remembered them only three weeks before, laughing with one another, singing silly songs to children, sharing food during feasts. They were all so full of life. An entire clan now gone.

During the battle, the peasants had fled to the surrounding villages. It had only been her and Lee when they heard the silence. The silence that arrives before any great calamity. It was the only warning given before Lee insisted that they leave for her own safety. Initially, she had refused. Even through his insistence, she ran to the clanhead's room and strapped on her grandfather's katana.

Lee rendered her unconscious with a quick blow to the back of her head. Upon reflection, he was right. He had pledged his life to her when they were young teenagers, but that did not mean he wanted to lose it due to her arrogance. She woke up in the forest, high above their home. She could see the smoke rising from the former compound. Small black figures in the valley below were laughing and celebrating. The barrels of sake her father kept for important occasions lay empty on their sides. Her mother's colorful collection of silk kimono was strewn about the garden in piles. Occasionally, one figure would fight with another over them, pulling at the delicate fabric until it ripped. Lee had to tear her away from the scene. He dragged her higher into the mountain pass before she started walking on her own again.

Turning her thoughts to the present, she realized that Lee was walking towards her on the garden path. Sakura smiled when she saw Ino following him, her mouth moved a mile a minute. Lee continued to smile at the blonde and make positive interjections. Ino waved when she saw Sakura. Sakura stood and returned it with a small one of her own. She greeted them at the genkan before slipping on her own shoes. Lee had made his excuses to meet with a mysterious sensei. He assured the pair that he would return later.

Ino grabbed her arm and pulled her in conspiratorially. She whispered, "So I heard you got to meet with the Uchiha. How was that?"

"That didn't take you long to hone in on the gossip, Ino-chan," Sakura chided.

"Yes, well. In gossip there is truth."

"It… was difficult…"

"I heard that you want to forgo the right of soulmarks. Sakura, what has gotten into you?" Ino asked, putting her hands on Sakura's arms and coming to a stop. "You've dreamed about finding him since you were a girl. Have you just given up? You're only twenty."

"Ino… I… found him."

"What?! Then why aren't you with him?"

"He's an Uchiha. I will not be bound to an Uchiha in this lifetime."

Ino went quiet at that. She released her friend's arms and took her hand.

The pair walked silently through the expansive garden. Hashirama's love of plants was evident in every corner. When he took over as clan head, he made sure that his clan focused on peace and trade rather than the art of warfare. This enabled him to amass a collection of rare plants. Sakura's favorite plants were held in a discreet section, far from the prying eyes of the rest of the Senju clan.

Sakura traced the petals of a passionflower. Kept in a large glass box to protect it from the occasional cold, it too did not belong in Senju lands. She closed the case with a click before turning to Ino again.

"He has short curly hair, cocky grin, broad shoulders. He seemed very close to the one with a long ponytail."

"Oh, I know exactly who you're talking about. That would be Shisui Uchiha, the teleporter."

"Teleporter, seriously?"

Ino gave her a wicked grin, "Yes, I hear he's fast in almost everything he does. Except in the bedroom. Apparently he takes his time and is very… thorough."

"Ino!" Sakura looked scandalized while Ino giggled. She sobered upon looking at the last Haruno's face. Tears began to leak from her eyes and a broken sob escaped. "Oh, Ino…"

"It's okay. Everything's going to be okay." She put her arms around her and patted her back.

"I did something very wrong in a past life. Why else would the gods be punishing me so? Not only is he an Uchiha, he's a general, and a philanderer. My soulmate is a mass-murdering, philandering, womanizing Uchiha! I cannot love one of my family's murderers. I will not. I would end my own life before ever loving one of them." Sakura felt the soft caress of masculine fingers against the soulmark on her wrist. Her rage immediately bubbled over.


Shisui looked at his soulmark in shock. A bruise was beginning to form against his skin in the shape of a hand. The only logical conclusion his mind could come up with was that someone was hurting her . He looked behind him towards Itachi and nodded before urging his horse to ride at a gallop.

"Oi! Where are you going?" Sasuke called out as he rode ahead.

"Don't worry about him, otouto. He is experiencing women troubles."

"He's always experiencing 'women troubles'. It would be a mercy for the lot of them if his cock fell off," Sasuke said sarcastically.


"Gods! Sakura! Stop!" Ino cried out. Sakura turned away and began to squeeze her wrist in earnest until she felt the bones almost give way. She walked towards the poisonous plants and looked for her cousin's burning nettle. Hashirama had worked for months, crossbreeding plants over and over until he finally came upon the most potent skin irritant in the world. The second the plant's oil touched one's skin, large blisters began to form.

Tobirama had been walking through the expansive gardens when he heard the Yamanaka woman's distressed shouting. He swiftly began to run in that direction, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

"Stop! You've gone damn crazy!" The blonde was pulling her friend away from the poisonous herbs.

"What is going on here?" Tobirama thundered. Sakura froze. Withdrawing her hand from Ino's firm grasp, she turned to face her cousin. Ino turned her eyes towards the ground and held herself in a slight bow. The Senju's second-in-command returned the gesture. "You may leave, Yamanaka-san."

"Thank you, Senju-sama," she said quietly, subtly shoving her elbow into Sakura's ribs on her way out of the garden.

"I repeat. What is going on here?" Tobirama leveled Sakura with a cold stare. It was clear, the man she was currently looking at was not the cousin who taught her shogi. This was the Senju clan's true leader, one who had learned the art of intimidation at a young age. "You have been acting oddly for weeks now. Running off to the orchard, staring at your soulmark for no reason, demanding to waive the right of soulmarks. The right of soulmarks is reserved to protect you from being arranged to marry someone other than your soulmate. It was designed by the gods themselves. Tell me now."

"The Uchiha. The one they called Shisui. We share the same soulmark. Tobi, I-I can't be with an Uchiha. I will take anybody but him." Sakura rushed over and took Tobirama's hands in her own. "Please, I will do almost anything else. I do not want to marry him."

"Sakura, our lives are not our own. We are always bound to a higher cause. There must be some divine plan at stake for this to have happened."

"Tobi, please…"

"I will keep this a secret, for now. However, I must urge you to reconsider your position. He is an honorable man, even for an Uchiha. If there has been any death dealt by his hand it was clean and quick. He would most certainly be able to protect you and those in your household. Shisui the Teleporter is well-renowned. His reputation alone would be enough to secure your home. It would be difficult for Hashirama and I to find a suitable alternative for your hand."

"He's a womanizer. He's slept with half the continent, so Ino-chan says," Sakura added bitterly.

"Be that as it may, you would be hard-pressed to find a virginal male. A samurai's life is fleeting as it is and one must take… pleasure… where one can find it. You must always go into battle with a clear head, Sakura. Even if that battle is against fate. Keep every option open, you never know when you might need it..." Sakura nodded as Tobirama turned and left.


It was almost sunset by the time Shisui arrived in Senju lands. He slowed his horse to a soft trot so as not to alarm the sentries. Everything seemed calm. In truth, he didn't know what he was expecting. The pain on his wrist increased the closer he got to the clan compound. Earlier in the day, he had removed the vambrace that covered his soulmark. Now that it was bare, he lifted his sleeve and noticed that it was entirely covered in blisters and welts. Against his better judgment, he urged his horse to speed up.

At the compound gate, the sentries pointed their spears towards him when he arrived. He slowed down and dismounted before urgently asking if there had been an attack. The confused samurai shook their heads before checking Shisui's paperwork and allowing him entry. It was quick work from there, deducing that Haruno was still safe within the compound walls. He was given permission to wander the clan compound with a guard. As he walked around the corner of the garden, he came upon a cherry tree grove. Curious, he walked forward until his heart began to quicken and butterflies flitted about in his stomach. When he came to the edge of the grove, he swore that the most beautiful creature in existence was standing before him. The guard that was with him nodded to someone nearby before walking away.

"Tell me you feel it too?" he asked desperately.

"Uchiha-san," Sakura replied coldly. "As we've yet to be introduced, I see no point in furthering this conversation with you. Good day."

"Wait!" Shisui grabbed her arm as she stared at him in shock. Lee jumped from a nearby tree, ready to attack. He quickly snatched his hand back when he realized what he had done. "My apologies, ma'am. I thought you would have realized by now that we are bound. The gods have determined that we're to be together. My name is Shisui Uchiha." The smile that he gave her was blinding. If she were any other woman and not the last Haruno, she would surely be having visions of him sweeping her off her feet and taking her to his compound in some lusty romantic adventure. But she was the last Haruno, and would never forget how that came to be.

"Indeed we are not bound by any means. Don't pretend that you don't know who I am, Uchiha-san."

Shisui decided that the tight-lipped expression did not suit her face. He could not fathom why any soulmate would deny the calling of its match. It was unnatural and most likely painful as well. "You are right, I apologize for my assumption, Sakura-chan." Her eyes smoldered with ill-concealed rage at the familiar address. "I would very much like to know who you are."

"I have no interest in you, Uchiha-san. I will not love you. Ever. I don't care about the tales of what happens to permanently separated soulmates. I could never love a murdering, fiendish philanderer who's as fast with his women as he is on the battlefield."

Lee started to become uneasy with how this conversation was playing out. If Sakura continued to insult the samurai general, he would be well within his rights to kill her. He shifted on his feet and began to move between the pair.

"If Uchiha-sama would please excuse us. My mistress is tired from the long day." Lee bowed at the waist before attempting to escort Sakura out of the grove and away from the stranger. Sakura would not be moved. She ground her shoes into the dirt and stood fast.

"I'm not going anywhere, Lee. Understand this, Uchiha, I will never be bound to the likes of you. I hate the earth you walk on, the air you breathe, the very essence of your being. You and your kind are the scum at the bottom of a pond. Were you the last man on the planet, I would still not be with you." Having made her point she attempted to shove him before he gracefully dodged and placed her in a chokehold.

He gently released her and thoughtfully examined her face. Shisui still did not understand why she hated him so much. He was determined to research it later, but for now he had a very angry soulmate. One who was enraged enough to mutilate her own skin in order to hurt him. "I understand that you're angry. You know that I could force you, by law, to marry me," he said softly. The color in her face drained and Lee glared daggers at him. "The right of soulmarks exists for this reason. In fact, my cousin, Madara, would most likely demand it be enforced. It would strengthen the current agreement. We've yet to exchange hostages with the Senju clan. And the last Haruno, well, that'd be the best political move."

"I will make your life a living hell…"

Shisui interrupted her, "I won't. Nor will I tell anyone that we're bound by the gods' design. As long as your man can keep it quiet as well. In return, I do have one demand." His lips turned into a smirk that made her uneasy.

"State your demand, Uchiha-sama," Lee said cooly, his muscles still tensed.

"Give me a year. One year to earn your love. If after a year, you still don't feel anything, I'll walk away. I won't contest your release from the right of soulmarks."

Sakura cocked her head in confusion, "That's it. You want a year?" She moved her hand against the bark of one of the cherry trees. He couldn't help but wish he was that tree. As though she could read his mind, her gentle smile turned sharper. "This is my brother's tree… my grandmother planted one for each of her grandchildren. It's just us three now..."

Shisui looked around the expansive grove. There were easily forty cherry blossom trees, but to be left with just three living relatives? He, himself, had been blessed enough to still have the vast majority of his extended family, although his parents did not survive the wars. If Itachi, his sworn brother had been killed, would he too hate the family that did it? Even if it was the way of the samurai.

"I've been told that a samurai's life is like that of the cherry blossom. The world we are born into is cold and harsh. As we grow older, we are bright and bold, full of life. If one storm hits, then we are lost to the wind. Sometimes, and very occasionally, we are lucky enough to die on our branches. Tucked in our beds, surrounded by the family that loves us. But it is an honor to be lost to the winds. A beautiful offering carried to the gods themselves. Until the next season, when life renews again.

"Don't give up on love just yet, Sakura-chan. And don't spite fate just to hate me. We never know what destiny will bring to our doorstep. I'll come for you in this orchard every new moon until you can allow yourself to love again. Even if I have to wait the entire year. Even if I have to outlast any future husband, I'll be here. I will defy death itself until you allow yourself to love me. Because, even though we just met, I know that I love you and we belong together." Shisui tucked a cherry blossom into her hair before walking out of the grove.

"I never gave you an answer!" she yelled after him.

He turned around and smirked, "You'll agree." Under his breath he added, "Your soul can't deny the call of my own."


AN: Thank you so much for reading! If you can, please leave a comment. :D This is part two of five planned parts.

Cross-posted to Ao3 at katydid001; follow me on tumblr at katydid001 for more content and updates.

Beta'ed by: Moonlady9; Thank you for all of your support. You're amazing, and I'm so inspired by everything that you do for this fandom.