Check the summary. Yep, that's right. This story is officially discontinued, now and forever. It's just become... too much. If anyone wants to adopt it, they're welcome to. :) After PMing me, of course.
I've uploaded all the three chapters which I'd written earlier. Enjoy. :S
Chapter 4
The hospital bustled with a nervous, unsettled energy. It was a warm and sunny day, too warm to be truly comfortable, and the white tiles threw up so much heat that she felt as though she may pass out. Nevertheless, she pressed on, gritted teeth and determined frown betraying how truly angry she was.
Her pink hair flashed among the crowd as she darted to the front desk. "Tsuzuki," her voice was clipped. "Which floor is Shizune-san assigned to today?"
The woman – no, not yet a woman, she was barely a girl – at the front desk raised her face, bright brown eyes blinking rapidly. She seemed rather like a bird, with her fine, delicate bones, rapidly fluttering eyelashes, and that mouth of hers, perpetually opening and closing itself, like a goldfish would. She felt a stab of anger. Tsuzuki always reminded herself of Ino, of her best friend's worst traits, and on a day like this, she really could not bear the thought of having to sit through another trying conversation with this girl.
The girl readjusted her spectacles. "Why, Sakura-chan, I didn't know it was your shift already!" Her grin was too wide, too blinding. Why didn't she just divulge the information already? "I'm afraid Shizune-sama isn't working right now," the girl said, glancing down at her register. "She has some private business to do. But if you wait right here, she should be around in an hour or two!" she chirped.
An hour? This damn hospital wouldn't be standing in an hour, with the state that she was in. Calmly, she tried to explain herself, even managing to insert a little bit of her trademark sweetness into the words. "Tsuzuki-chan," she said, with a coy, slightly embarrassed smile, "I'm afraid I committed a bit of a mistake with some rather important paperwork… and you know how Hokage-sama is about stuff like this. She'd kill me. I really need to find Shizune-san as soon as possible." She finished off her statement with a winning smile, bright green eyes glistening like emeralds in the shining hospital.
It worked. The girl thawed a little. "Aww, Sakura-chan, of course I'm happy to help! I'll just look through these pages and see where Shizune-san has listed her emergency contact as, hai? I'd do anything for you, because we're such good friends, aren't we? To tell the truth –" here she leaned forward "– I think you're the only person here who can appreciate a good gossip."
The vein in her forehead was throbbing, but she tried her best to subdue it and present as friendly a demeanor as she could towards Tsuzuki. The girl in front of her was notoriously prickly, and might refuse to help her with this errand if she felt offended. She giggled a little. "Hai, you're right, Tsuzuki-chan. To tell the truth, I've been so busy lately that I've completely missed out on all the best gossip. I'd really love for you to tell me all about it in a while… as soon as I see Shizune…"
The brunette clapped her hands excitedly. "Why, Sakura-chan I'd love that! Why, there's so much exciting information going around right now, like the fact that nurse Amori – you know her, right, Sakura-chan – might be having an affair with that man, what's his name, Ibiki Morino! Oh, and of course the fact that Uchiha Sasuke might be gay…"
She had been inching away with that same fake smile plastered onto her lips, the precious little slip of paper with Shizune's current location scrawled onto it clutched in her hands, when she stopped short. That nervous tick in her forehead began to beat faster than ever, quite obviously evident on her face right now, beating a steady tattoo. She spoke in a slow, quiet voice. "What did you say?"
"Oh, haven't you heard? Rumour has it that Uchiha Sasuke bought the entire contents of the Yamanaka flower shop this morning, and had it delivered to some other guy – and right in the middle of the market, too! With a love-poem to go along with it. I personally think that it's completely romantic, don't you think, Sakura-san? … Sakura-san?"
But Tsuzuki spoke only to the wind, for Sakura was already gone, her slip of paper clutched tight in her hand.
Ino was calmly relaxing inside her empty shop when she felt the windows rattle, and the next thing she knew, she was faced down by the Wrath of God.
"Ino," the furious voice thundered. "Explain yourself!"
The blonde kuniochi cheerfully stared up into the face of her confronter and smiled. "It's been a long time since I've seen you, Sakura. You don't come and see me after I return from missions anymore, che."
The face glaring furiously at her grew a little more contorted. "Don't –" SLAM " – play –" SLAM " –games –" SLAM " –with me DAMMIT!"
With the last thunk, the abused wooden counter fell onto the floor limply, broken into innumerable splinters. Ino looked into her friend's face, and realized that she was truly furious.
"Sakura," she spoke, alarmed, the natural concern of a friend leaking into her voice. "Sakura, what's wrong?"
Sakura raised her face, and Ino was alarmed to see the tears pouring down her face in troves.
"Oh, Ino!" She wailed, "Everything's wrong! I have too much work, my parents are pressurizing me to settle down with a non-shinobi, civilian boy already, Tsunade-sama works me to the bone, and now I'm hearing some bullshit about how Sasuke's engaged, and then about how he's gay and gave some other guy flowers… Oh, Ino, I just don't know what to think!"
Ino couldn't believe her ears. "Sasuke's gay?" she croaked out disbelievingly, voice rising a pitch after hearing that her childhood friend was attracted to the opposite sex. "Wait a minute, Sasuke's engaged?!"
Sakura just sobbed harder. "I don't know, I don't know anything anymore! All I hear is that today Sasuke sent a whole cartload of flowers to some guy from your shop, and then I didn't know who to confront, so I came here, because, dammit, it was your shop! You're the only one who might have some answers."
Ino blinked, her eyes a little puzzled, and then remembering the events of that morning, she smiled guiltily. "Eh, Sakura, the incident about the flowers… well, just put that out of your mind, will you? It isn't anything serious. If that's what got you thinking that Sasuke is gay… well, he's not, I think." She smiled doubtfully, mentally trying to correlate the stoic boy she knew with the stereotypical image of a homosexual male.
Sakura glanced at her sharply. "What do you mean, Ino?" Her voice sounded thin, brittle – she sounded as though she was on the edge.
Ino's guilty smile grew wider, even as the mental image of a simpering Sasuke cooing after a reluctant Naruto threatened to choke her. "It was a joke, Sakura. A prank, if you must. Now can we please move on? What's this about Sasuke being engaged?" Her friend's unblinking stare was beginning to unnerve her.
Sakura dropped the intimidating glare, suddenly becoming aware of the original problem at hand. "Minami – you remember her, don't you – she told me that Sasuke's father had betrothed one of the Uchiha boys – and by that he means either Sasuke or Itachi-san – to the Hyuuga heiress, that is Hinata-san. But that can't possibly be true, can it? There's no way an Uchiha would betroth their child to a Hyuuga of all people. For heaven's sake, to say that they loathe each other would be the understatement of the millennium. They couldn't possibly have done it, right, Ino? Why… are you looking like that?"
Ino's relieved smile had frozen on her face as she remembered a certain conversation that had taken place earlier during the day.
"Was there ever a Hyuuga in our class?"
A Hyuuga in their class. The only Hyuuga child who had been of the same age as them had been Hinata. Hinata, the shy girl who had stared at oblivious Naruto with such admiration. Hinata, who hid her face behind her sleeve whenever she smiled. Hinata, who still had traces of that persistent stutter. Hinata, whom she had seen just the other day. Hinata, who was the Hyuuga heiress…
"Sakura-chan," she found herself saying – her mind numb, her mouth mindlessly forming the words. "Sit down. I have something to tell you."
"Always remember, when you're going for a formal occasion, stick to sober colours, Hinata-chan, while informal ones may allow more variety. And of course, variety's always welcome in the bedroom, too, eh?!" the older man winked slyly at her.
She blushed with all the propriety of a maiden, even if she wasn't technically one any longer. It wasn't as though she wasn't aware of what went on in a bedroom… just the fact that the idea of wearing that stuff in front of a complete stranger made her feel queasy, to say the least. She tried her best to avoid thinking of it entirely.
It had been just about a week now, just about a week since her life had turned upside-down. She had spent most of her days wallowing around, thinking about how completely fucked she was, how there was absolutely no chance of her every making it out of this mess. Hanabi had the best tutors, the best chances of winning against her elder sister even now, when she was just barely a genin. No doubt she would be trained intensively in preparation for the upcoming family drama. Moreover, her father kept her so busy that she never had a chance to go out to the training fields and really practice. She had no opportunity to improve herself, and the days were ticking away.
Not that it would do much good if she just practiced by herself, either. What she really needed was a teacher, a real tutor who would point out all the mistakes she was making and teach her new techniques. Working with Kiba and Shino was all fine, but the two of them weren't nearly hard enough with her. And they had been so persistent, lately, so determined to find out what was wrong with her – it had really become quite annoying. She didn't want them to know just yet. She wasn't a fool, she knew that the information would leak out eventually – all secrets did – but she didn't want to be the one to tell them, to face their incredulous stares and the endless repetition of curses against her family, her father, the elders.
She was avoiding them. She would have preferred to state it in a more dignified manner, but the fact of the matter was that she was avoiding them. Which was foolish, because they were her brothers in all but blood, and if there was anyone who could lift her spirits, it was Kiba. She just didn't feel up to it, that was all. The constant etiquette training didn't help with her stamina, either.
Jiraiya was still fussing over her clothes when Shizune came close by and began lecturing her about the proper way to greet the heads of states. She had done this all before, of course, but always with a different role in mind, that of a leader. She was the one who would stand in the spotlight, who would confront the shrewd leaders head on – now her role had been delegated to the back, reduced to wearing an elegant kimono and arranging everything so that her guests could be as comfortable as possible. Since altruism came more naturally to her than inborn leadership skills, she was surprised to find herself enjoying her new role, and could not help but feel a little happy at this relaxation of duties – nevertheless, her snide memory reminded her quickly enough of exactly behind whom she would be standing, and her gloom returned as fast as it had lifted.
She had spent a great deal of the past few days thinking about her intended betrothed, Uchiha Itachi. She knew very little about him, just the bare basics. She remembered his brother slightly – Uchiha Sasuke, if she wasn't mistaken, a genius in the Academy. He had ended up being in the same team as Naruto-kun. She closed her eyes and tried to pull out his features in an attempt to better assemble his brother's – she vaguely had a hint of pale, ivory-white skin and deep, dark eyes and hair, finely tuned features and a rather condescending smirk – when the vision disappeared. She sighed and opened her eyes.
Yesterday, Shizune-san had once again brought up a topic that her father had briefly touched upon, then disregarded. Speaking frankly and clearly to the poor, frightened, blushing girl, she had kindly explained that their courtship wasn't quite on a normal level, quite besides the whole 'arranged' factor. Unlike other couples, theirs had a motive – to produce a child as soon as possible. Well aware of Hinata's excessive shyness and Itachi's stony demeanor, the Hokage had pressed for meetings between the two in order to develop an acquaintance, if not a friendship or a relationship between the two. They would be able to get to the real business sooner, she reasoned, if they had spoken a few words to each other before, instead of only having glanced at each other through a few official ceremonies. With this intent in mind, she had drafted the present situation, which, though not ideal, might just do. They would both be supervised, of course – it was not proper, otherwise – but they had to meet, they had to talk. Sooner or later, Hinata would meet her fiancé head-on for the first time, converse with him one-on-one, try to hold his attention and find something in common. She could feel her bones turn into jelly already.
She had never been very comfortable around the opposite sex. The only people she was really comfortable with were her teammates, her cousin, and a few choice childhood friends. The vague memory she had of Uchiha Sasuke – cold, unapproachable – did nothing to assuage her fears of his reportedly even more detached brother. How was she supposed to meet with this man, to try to carry on a conversation with him, while she knew that the whole time he would be blaming her for ruining her life?
The Hyuuga were serious about their safety. Ever since a certain incident years ago, when the ex-Heiress had been kidnapped from within the safety of their own walls and carried off by Cloud ninja, Hiashi had ordered that border patrols be carried out 24/7. The shinobi belonging to the noble house would take turns patrolling the walls and the gate, and would keep a sharp eye over all intruders into the compound.
This afternoon, it was Neji's turn. The Hyuuga genius readjusted his headband so that it would cover the green tattoo across his forehead, and stood near the gate determinedly, bored out of his mind. He was fully confident of his abilities, and even surer about the fact that there was no chance that the compound would be broken into. There was never any trouble at the gates – but it was a precaution that Hiashi-sama insisted that they take. Neji was honour- and duty-bound to obey his uncle, and that was the decree that saw him sitting out in the hot sun in the middle of the blazing afternoon.
He was thinking about his cousin, the less evil one. It was obvious that there was something wrong with Hinata, but his younger sister persistently refused to tell him what was going on. If she had snapped enough to break Hyuuga Kaede's wrist, then it was obvious that some truly disastrous event had taken place. He had heard rumours about displacing Hinata with Hanabi in the past few days, but had always dismissed them as false – such words popped up over time, and they had already made the rounds several times over the course of the last few years. The Hyuuga, proud as they were, were dissatisfied with their Heiress' perceived deficiencies, and as Hanabi had grown and proved to be quite a capable ninja, the number of people voicing their opinion about uprooting their current Heiress and replacing her with her younger sister grew. Such words were always communicated in whispers, however, for the people who discussed them were almost invariably Branch house members, and besides, it was up to the Elders to do as they wished. If they wished to keep Hinata, then Hinata would remain the Heiress – if Hanabi was chosen, then Hanabi would be crowned. It was as simple as that.
Neji did not usually bother to listen to such rumours because of their frequency and also because of the utter lack of prophetic conviction which they carried. Hinata-sama had spent the last seventeen years in this world as Heiress – there was almost no doubt that she would spend many a year as the Heiress in the future. Besides, she was improving of late – he had noticed a visible improvement in her practice of the Jyuuken, and he felt proud that his younger sister was trying her utmost to prove herself.
This time, however, was different. The rumours had abruptly started, instead of their usual slow build-up, and all on the day when Kaede-sama had had that unfortunate accident. Now, he knew that the accident was in fact deliberate, and that the offender had been Hinata. He was quite worried at her out-of-character behavior – Hinata was polite to the extent of self-deprecation. She would never raise her hand towards an elder, no matter how undesirable and frustrating that elder may prove to be. What had caused her to snap? Not to mention the fact that Shizune-sama and the Hokage's favourite sidekick were spending an awful lot of time at the Hyuuga compound these days. Jiraiya-sama and Shizune popped up randomly, always carrying huge black bags, and made their way straight to Hinata's room, where the three of them would spent the next few hours closeted up. Hinata had missed many a day of training due to this reason alone. He would have thought that his uncle, a stickler for the age-old adage of 'practice makes perfect' would have frowned at this wayward behavior, but even Hiashi Hyuuga was ignoring the discrepancies in his daughter's conduct. It really was too strange to contemplate.
This was usually how Neji utilized all the free time available to him while guarding the front gate – by daydreaming about a particular brunette kuniochi and also by trying to solve the Mysteries of Life. So disturbed was he by this unusual twist in his cousin's behavior that he quite entirely forgot to remember his sweet teammate, that girl with her hair up in two buns, the one he often thought of.
His reverie was interrupted when he spotted what he thought was a dust cloud at the horizon. The cloud seemed to be approaching at a fantastic rate, and was hovering only a few centimeters above the ground. As it approached, he saw that the cloud was actually Haruno Sakura, walking at a furious rate, her face twisted into an ugly scowl, face and arms and dress coated over with dust. The expression on her face said that she would ram down the walls of the compound itself if they did not let her in. Any ordinary man would have caved and let her pass without asking her for id or intention.
Neji was not an ordinary man. He quickly juxtaposed himself between the beautiful building and the apparition that was swiftly approaching them. As she drew closer, he inclined his head a little, and said in a rather dry voice. "Sakura-san. Welcome to the Hyuuga compound. How may I help you today?"
Sakura's voice was jumpy, angry. "You can start," she snarled. "By getting the fuck out of the way!"
"Tsunade-sama."
His appearance was silent, untraceable, but he knew that she had sensed him coming. The woman sitting in front of him was extraordinary, possessing amazing strength. He could not hope to best her.
She acknowledged them with a slight inclination of the neck. "Kakashi. You're late."
It wasn't even an admonition anymore. Everyone knew that Copy-Cat Kakashi would always be late, and that he would always come up with a fantastic (and completely untrue) excuse to set off any possible queries. She sometimes wondered if he had escaped from many a fight by just being too late to it.
"Well, you see, there was this emergency with this old woman…" he drawled, but today she had no patience for it.
"Leave it, Kakashi! I can't be bothered with your excuses anymore. I've got more important things to do."
"Oh, you'll love this one," the masked nin assured her, his one visible eye glinting dangerously. "Because, see, today I ran into this old woman, who told me, nay, assured me, that my precious student was getting married off, all without telling me. What do you say to that, I wonder?"
He had to remind himself once again that she was Tsunade, the Godaime, the descendant of the Senju clan, and one of the Sannin. He had to remember all this, because otherwise he might just have found himself analyzing ways to take her down, and he just couldn't do that, could he?
Because he might just find himself traitorously executing his plan, and what would happen then? The women of Konoha would be deprived of some lovely company, and Jiraiya of a loyal and faithful fan. So he'd better just stay put here, and fantasize about it.
The consequences were too dire to imagine.
Tsunade looked confused. "What on earth are you talking about?"
His rage spiked, and he could feel his spine tense. Even his trademark cool wasn't enough to stifle his fury towards her at that moment. He was beyond anger, beyond all reasonable deductions. The idea that a boy who he loved as he would a son was to be married off, at this young age, and all because this one woman wished that would happen, was impossible and reprehensible.
Luckily, another voice hastily interrupted, before he could do anything that he might regret.
"I do believe that he's talking about the younger Uchiha boy, Tsunade-sama," a female voice said briskly. "Sasuke, if I remember correctly. He was in the same class as Naruto."
He turned to see the Hokage's assistant standing beside the door, looking her utmost to appear innocuous. He had sensed her presence earlier, but hadn't given it much thought. He was irately grateful for her interruption, aware that she had sensed his anxiety, and had attempted to offset it.
Tsunade appeared annoyed. "Why would I be bothered with the younger boy? For God's sake, Kakashi, stop annoying me. First you come late, and then all his hullabulloo…"
He blinked, surprised. "Wait, do you mean to say that…?"
Shizune hastily interposed herself between the two of them. "The one who is betrothed is Uchiha Itachi, not Sasuke. Your student is safe, Kakashi." Her black eyes warned him not to pursue the topic.
He could feel the waves of tension roll off his shoulder. It wasn't as though he didn't feel bad for the elder Uchiha – knowing Itachi personally, he could feel a small twinge of guilt and sympathy towards the exceptional shinobi. But the fact that his own student was off the hook left him with a dizzying sense of relief.
He had felt almost… parental.
"So Itachi is to be married," concluded Shizune. "In fact, that's why the Hokage summoned you here today, is it not, Tsunade-hime?"
Tsunade's hazel eyes sharpened. "Shizune," her voice was clipped. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be over at the Hyuuga compound –"
"And indeed, that was the case, Tsunade-sama. However, as Jiraiya-sama is currently teaching Hinata-chan about the different types of ceremony and the usage of cutlery at them, I felt that my presence was unneeded there and made my way back to the Hokage tower. A wise decision, I see."
"Yes," Tsunade said simply, staring out of the window at the village below, with an almost affectionate expression on her face. Her eyes were hooded, and very far away – it was clear that she was remembering something from a long time ago. Kakashi felt as though he was intruding.
Then, abruptly, her vision cleared, and she turned back with the determination and haughtiness which was her trademark. "Kakashi. You have already heard about the betrothal, I suppose. That's good – I won't have to explain extensively anymore. I'm tired of talking about this topic already."
She sighed and steepled her hands in front of her face. Kakashi grabbed the opportunity.
"Why are you arranging a match for Itachi? He is one of Konoha's finest soldiers, a dutiful shinobi. Saddling him with an unwanted wife will only leave him irritable, not to mention, distract him from his duties. Moreover, is it not a clan matter? I know that Itachi is exceptional, and that he is the Heir, but I still believe that the matter as to whom he is to be married is within clan jurisdiction…"
"Not so." Tsunade's voice was clipped. "Sit down, Kakashi. I am going to tell you a story.
"You know as well as I do that Konoha depends on its clans for its survival. Our strength lies in the Senjus, the Inuzukas, the Yamanakas… and most of all on our four noble clans, the Uchiha, the Hyuuga, the Akimichi, and the Aburame. While their members have intermarried throughout the years, due to an overblown rivalry, the members of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga have never produced any progeny.
"That is not to say that they never tried. It's just that the mothers were killed out of shame while the child was still in the womb.
"Now this produces an interesting medical junction. Both the clans are known for their extraordinarily strong kekkei genkai. Will a child of this union possess the Sharingan or the Byakugan. Or both? Or will it instead develop a whole new kind of kekkei genkai? It's interesting to speculate, don't you think? Well, I, for one, decided to test instead of merely hypothesize."
"You don't mean to say that…"
"That's exactly what I mean to say. I'm interested in knowing how a child born of an Uchiha and a Hyuuga would turn out. I came with this proposal to the Third years ago, when the younger daughter of the Hyuuga was born, and he agreed. We carried out negotiations between the two clans, and while they were initially quite reluctant, well, what's all this fame for if not to scare. Hiashi and Fugaku are both greedy men – it's just a matter of how to push their buttons. They came around eventually."
"So you're telling me that you're marrying Itachi off to a Hyuuga? With his father's consent." It was too fantastic, too improbable to be true. Though the Hokage did have clout in the village, being the leader, it was also true that the Hyuuga and the Uchiha played important roles and were powerful in their own right. The idea that she could have somehow convinced them to overcome their deep-rooted dislike for each other and intermarry, seemed incredible, to say the least.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. Except for the fact that it won't just be any Hyuuga. For the experiment to work perfectly, only those who are purest of blood must be chosen. That's why I settled on either Itachi or his younger brother – they are both descended directly from the first Uchiha, with no intermixing of blood along the way. Fugaku was quick in offering me his firstborn – that man always did have high expectations of him…"
"But wait, then who is the Hyuuga?"
"Personally, I would have preferred that it be Neji. The boy is a genius like no other – the very fact that he managed to learn the Kaiten simply by observation speaks volumes about his abilities. However, it's quite obvious why I couldn't choose him… even though he is technically a descendant of the Main Branch, being Hizashi's son. And Fugaku doesn't have any daughters. Therefore, I had to settle on one of the Hyuuga girls. Originally, the clan offered up their youngest, Hana-something, but now I believe they've changed their position to reflect that the eldest will instead take part in the experiment."
"The eldest. But that's… Hinata Hyuuga, isn't it? Kurenai's pupil?" His tone was incredulous as he tried to recall that shy, practically invisible girl who often seemed to revolve around Naruto.
"Yes. I wondered why they would select their heir, seeing as it would leave them heirless, but now it appears that they have replaced her with her younger sister. Besides, Hinata is perfect. She will turn of marriageable age next year, which makes the timing impeccable. I've been laying this experiment out for too long – now I want results."
Kakashi stared at her, perplexed. For once, he was at a loss for what to say. He had never heard of something like this before, had not even thought that this could happen. As far as he had known, the hatred between the Uchiha and the Hyuuga stretched far into the depths of history. The two clans were notoriously antagonistic. The very fact that Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuuga had agreed to be subject to the same treaty was incredible… and the fact that they had allowed their own children to marry was nothing short of miraculous. He was still reeling.
"I… don't really know what to say, Tsunade. It seems too outlandish for words. If this seat wasn't so uncomfortable, I might have thought that I was dreaming about all of this." Here he allowed himself a chuckle. "But what does this have to do with me? If the betrothal concerns Itachi and Hinata… well, shouldn't you approach Kurenai instead of me?"
Tsunade leaned forward, hazel eyes burning with unparalleled intensity. "Kakashi, remember, this isn't just some marriage. This is a marriage with a motive. There's a time limit to this thing, and the sooner they complete the race, the better. They need to know each other, to be comfortable with each other. Neither of them are the type to jump into bed with someone they don't know."
He raised an eyebrow. "Well, I do know a lot about this topic, but don't you think Jiraiya-sama might prove to be the better tutor? I am but his follower."
She waved her hand dismissively. "That isn't what I was talking about at all. Itachi and the Hyuuga girl need to meet, and both the clans have agreed to this. But they insist on some sort of chaperone being there with them. Now, I know that if the clans are allowed to send someone of their own, some boring, stuffy old elder spoil this whole plan. For Katsuyu's sake, this isn't the reign of the First Hokage anymore! The two of them will probably spend the entire time sipping tea like idiots, as though they were practicing for a tea ceremony. No, I need someone more accomplished, someone who would do a better job at blending into the background and letting the two of them jabber away like the lovebirds they will be!"
He closed his eyes and sighed. He had to ask, even if he had a sneaking suspicion that he already knew the answer. "Are you going to make me the chaperone, Tsunade-sama?"
She smiled coyly, once again drawing attention to her beautiful features. "Such a genius, Kakashi. I'm banking on you to make those two comfortable with each other. You're considered fairly respectable, you know. That's the only reason why the clans agreed. I don't think they're aware of your… fascination… for Jiraiya's books."
He could feel the hidden warning in her carefree tone, the one that assured him that if he didn't succeed in this mission, the consequences would be dire. The Hokage looked determined to see this plan go through. Personally, he couldn't think of something that he'd rather get away from. He knew that Itachi was intensely private and stoic, and the chances of enticing some sort of affection from him for his intended bride were negligible, to say the least. And, although he didn't really know the Hyuuga girl, he was positive that she was excessively shy. Basically, it would be the assignment from hell.
"Are you sure that I'm the right man for the job? There are others who are more suited for such a… romantic operation. I mean, I don't really know, Tsunade-sama. The very idea of mixing the Uchiha and the Hyuuga… those two kids probably grew up hating each other. What on earth are you doing?"
There was a deafening crash, and then a cloud of dust parted to show a leg upraised for a kick, and a full head of very pink hair a top a shinobi's furious face.
"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you, Tsunade-sensei," Sakura's voice choked, and she seemed to be trying to hold back tears. "What on earth are you doing?"