The Sakurazaki Chronicles—Tsubasa
By Emi
MC: Setsuna, Sasuke, mainly Konohagakure ninja
MS: Feudal Japan; the pre-Shippuuden period of Naruto
MT: Romance, Adventure, Angst, Friendship, Fantasy, Death
Rating: 13-18 year olds (Teen-Mature)
Disclaimer: The author does not own Naruto in any way, shape or form. However, she does own her OCs, including a small amount of their jutsus. The author also does not own the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld, Mahou Sensei Negima! by Akamatsu Ken, Chobits by CLAMP, Tsubasa by CLAMP, xxxHolic by CLAMP, Love Hina by Akamatsu Ken, the manga edition of Romeo and Juliet by Yali Lin (her wonderful art instructor and the woman who autographed it for me.), the .hack// series by various authors, and other manga or literature references used in the making of this fanfiction. All rights belong to their respectful author(s) or company.
A/N: Please review! Thanks for the support!
Book One: Sora
Chapter 1
.::x::.x::x::.
I woke up to birds chirping and sunlight coming out of the... curtain?! I looked around me, noticing me to be nowhere I had imagined; even my basic fighting attire had been replaced with traditional kimonos. Wait... kimonos? I looked down at the fabric that was hanging over my hands. I frowned. The color combination was of royal attire... this material was for a princess. I glanced at the carriage I was in. Paper lanterns hand from the corners, and the door was made of a thin sheet of paper. Yellow silk curtains shielded my view from the outside.
Suddenly, the carriage stopped. Just then, the paper door slid open to reveal a man of about 26 with silver hair that defied gravity... "Hatake Kakashi-sempai!" I gasped, realizing who he was. I made out a smile coming from his mask.
"So the princess recognizes me? I'm honored." he stretched out his hand for me to take. I stared at it, apprehensive. Where was I? Why was there a Naruto character there in front of me, and why did he call me 'princess?' Shaking my thoughts away from my head, I hesitantly reached out to grab his hand. Picking up the hem of the long kimono, I stepped out into the sun.
As I looked at my surroundings, I realized that I was in Feudal Era of Japan. There were ninja with headbands of the Leaf Village all around the place-- in restaurants, in the park, even loitering around the streets. But that still didn't explain why Kakashi-san had called me princess, or why I was here in the first place!
As Kakashi-san began walking towards a big building marked 'ho,' or fire, I decided to follow him, careful not to trip over my kimono. I walked over to Kakashi-sempai, looking up at him. "Where are we going?" I asked him. He looked down at me.
"Shouldn't you know?" He asked questioningly. "We're going to Hokage-sama's office, since you pleaded so HARD to your father that you wanted to become a ninja. I blinked at this a few times, and then looked away. Is that what I did? Okaaaay, if you say so. I tromped up the building to the third floor, which had a door with a plaque saying 'Hokage' on it. Presumably, this was the Hokage-sama's office.
Knocking three times, I let my hands drop, turning to Kakashi-sempai. "Kakashi-san, how will I pass the Academy test?" I decided to play the part. Kakashi-sempai chuckled.
"I knew you would ask me that, Setsuna-hime," He smiled invisibly. "So I'm going to do some last minute teaching." He clasped his hands together to from the hand sign of 'tora,' the tiger. "You do the hand sign, and then concentrate your chakra into your hands evenly. Think about your exact features, then say 'Kage Bushin no Jutsu.' It helps if you shout it. Got that?" I nodded.
A 'come in' sounded from inside the room. Kakashi-san opened the door for me, and I stepped in. Seeing Sandaime Hokage-sama, I bowed. "Konnichiwa, Hokage-sama." He chuckled at my formality.
"No need, Setsuna-hime," He motioned for me to sit down. I followed his orders, and sat in one of the chairs in front of his desk. "So, I hear you came to Konohagakure no sato to become a kunoichi?" When I nodded, he continued, "Okay. Since today was graduation day, you will have to make three clones of yourself here. I suppose Kakashi-kun already taught you what to do outside my door?" I nodded again.
"Good." He motioned for me to stand at a clear spot in the corner of the room. I did so. "Anytime you're ready, Setsuna-hime." Standing there, I clasped my hands together in the 'tora' formation, like the Naruto characters did when performing a jutsu. Like I did with my swordplay, I channeled my inner strength-- called chakra her in Feudal Japan-- to my fingertips. I proceeded with the next step-- to concentrate on myself. I thought of my face, and my hair, which was USUALLY tied up into a sideways ponytail. I thought of my new traditional clothes, and shoes, then shouted the last step out loud-- "KAGE BUSHIN NO JUSTSU!!" Wind whipped around me, and then smoke formed.
Slowly, it cleared, and I looked around me. What I saw shocked me. Three perfect copies of myself stood next to me, looking at me. I laughed, overjoyed. Who knew that I could multiply myself? If I had known earlier, I would have been at home sleeping while my clones when to class for me. "Hokage-sama!" I exclaimed, running over to them. My clones followed suit. "I did it!" My voice rang clearly throughout all three voices.
Hokage-sama and Kakashi-sempai were looking at me, bewildered. Apparently, they didn't believe that I had done it on my first go. Frankly, I didn't either, but they didn't need to know that, did they? "Great job, Sakurazaki-hime! You're now an official genin of the Leaf Village!" He held out a piece of black fabric. I took it, the metal forehead protector showing the sign of the Leaf village. Grinning, Kakashi-sempai helped tie it around my forehead.
"Arigatou, Kakashi-sempai," I thanked him.
"Setsuna-hime, go downstairs to the Closet. There are a bunch of new shinobi attire in the there. You cannot go outside looking like that, or you'll attract attention. Besides, most of Konohagakure knows that a princess is joining us today." Nodding, I thanked the Hokage-sama once more before heading to the closet he had mentioned.
Thankfully, I found more tomboyish demeanor in there. Personally, the kimono didn't suit my personality, no matter how nice it looked. I grabbed a traditional boy's samurai outfit (hey, maybe I can be called -dono instead.) and changed into it. Then, I took off the royal circular hat I was wearing, and placed it in the corner somewhere. Slowly, I took off the beads that were strung through my hair, and tied my hair with a simple side-ponytail. Looking at the mirror that was placed on a wall conveniently, I thought, 'Perfect!' Then I frowned. I wouldn't be physically strong with only one jutsu and no swords. I looked around, thankfully being able to see another door, which led to a room full of shinobi weapons.
I gaped at all of the kunai and huge shuriken that were carefully organized onto shelves along the walls. I saw something that immediately caught my eye. A set of twin katanas! I ran over to them, careful not to trip over any small weapon-summoning scrolls that were littering the floor. Picking them up, I examined them. Weighing them in my hands, I found that they were even better than the ones I had purchased previously in Tokyo. Taking the first one out of its sheath, I turned it over to its side, the silver color glinting in the light that was covering the room. I tested it out on one of the practice leather dummies that were on one wall. I slashed it, and, well, the head of it fell off. Perfect, it cut like butter. Satisfied, I carefully sheathed them, putting them in the sash.
I went back out, back to Hokage-sama's office. Kakashi-sempai and Hokage-sama were still there, and their eyebrows rose when they saw my new demeanor. "Setsuna-hime, you look like a... boy!" Kakashi-sempai began. Feeling a little back to myself, the self I was back in modern-day Japan, I felt offended by the statement. Drawing my katana, I was at Kakashi-sempai's neck in a split second. I heard Hokage-sama gasp slightly behind us.
"Don't underestimate a girl's skills, Kakashi-sempai," I tested him. I decided to unleash a little of my knowledge of the Naruto-verse. "After all, don't you remember how strong Rin-sempai was? And how strong Tsunade-sama still is?"
"You're fast," He commented. I grinned, and then frowned. If I was a princess in this world, then how was I supposed to explain my swordplay? As if Kakashi-sempai had read my thoughts, he continued on, "But how did you learn that swordplay?"
Nervously, I quickly racked my thoughts for more lies. "Um... ano, I... took one of my guard's katanas and practiced when... Father wasn't looking?" I posed this as a question. Hokage-sama looked disbelieving at me, but waving it off, he spoke.
"Ano... you still need somewhere to live, don't you?" He asked me. I nodded again. "Hmmm..." Hokage-sama pondered this.
"Then she can stay with..." He broke off. "Well, she'll be on your team, of course. So she can stay with either you or Sasuke-kun." I was surprised at this statement. Why couldn't I stay with Naruto? Or be with myself? Then I remembered that I was supposedly a 'princess.' Oh god...
"She can't stay with me," Kakashi-sempai started. "I tend to be extremely--"
"Tardy and perverted?" I finished for him. He twitched and faced me.
"How did you--"
"I uh... Father told me! He knows everyone, you know..." I smiled in a fake way. Kami, help me. I was running out of believable lies! He stared unbelieving at me. Apparently, he waved it off, because he continued to talk.
.::x::.x::x::.
"So, you'll go with Uchiha Sasuke-kun," He stated. I bubbled inside. I wasn't particularly a big fan of Uchiha Sasuke-san. What if he thought I was too loud? Too quiet? Boring? Fan-girlish? I winced at the thought of the last one.
"But Hokage-sama," I protested. "if I really have to live with someone, why can't I be with Sakura-chan or Naruto-kun? Why Sasuke-san?" They raised their eyebrows.
"Sakurazaki-hime, we never told you their names!" They exclaimed, surprised. 'Oops,' I thought. 'I'm a dipshit to forget all of these things.' Kakashi-sempai continued to talk. "Naruto-kun, although his father was bountiful in money, Naruto-kun has not yet inherited it. And Sakura-chan simply has a whole family to deal with. Sasuke-kun just has more space."
"Besides," Hokage-sama added. "Sasuke-san already knows about this. In fact, he's eavesdropping on the door! Come in, Sasuke-kun!"
The door opened slowly, and Sasuke-san, the all-mighty, emo-king of the world, walked in smirking like he usually did. Standing in front of the Hokage-sama and taking no notice of me, he bowed. "Hokage-sama," He greeted, sounding more amiable than ever. Note the sarcasm.
"Good morning, Sasuke-kun," Hokage-sama acknowledged. He motioned for me to come over to him. I put my katana back into its sheath and casually walked over to him, 'accidentally' bumping shoulders with Sasuke-san on the way there. He glared at me. I smiled in a fake way and 'sweetly' at him. "This is Sakurazaki Setsuna-hime, princess of the Fire Country. As we discussed earlier, she is to be living with you. Also, a little advice," Hokage-sama joked with a twinkle in his old eyes. "She has a sharper tongue than of a hebi and better reflexes than that of a tora and ryuu put together." I nudged Hokage-sama in the arm playfully. He smiled at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners slightly.
"Hn." was all Sasuke-san said. If I remembered carefully, that was Sasuke-san's catch phrase. I groaned inwardly. I would be hearing that a lot.
"Good, now, everyone out," The Hokage-sama ordered. "I have a meeting with the medical corps about smallpox vaccinations in half an hour." We obeyed, bowing once more before leaving. As Sasuke-san and I stood outside, I waved goodbye to Kakashi-sensei before going our separate ways.
I turned to Sasuke-san, and stuck my hand out. Maybe we could be friends... yeah right. "Ohayou, gozaimasu! My name is Sakurazaki, but I'd prefer if you'd call me by my first name, Setsuna." Ignoring me, and my hand, Sasuke-san passed me, forcing me to chase him through the town's marketplace, where Naruto-kun was probably eating ramen with Iruka-sensei to celebrate.
"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?" I had finally caught up to him. "It's rude to ignore people after they've introduced themselves." Sasuke caved in. I grinned.
"Uchiha. Uchiha Sasuke. Call me whatever you like, just as long as it's not 'kun.'" I smiled at my accomplishment. Who knew that a girl of a different dimension would be able to make Uchiha Sasuke-san talk?
Finally, we reached an apartment door, which read 'Uchiha' on a plaque. I blinked at that and stared at the hallways as Sasuke-san unlocked the door. I heard an abrupt click as the door swung open. I turned around and went in, Sasuke-san entering after and closing the door behind him. "Thank you, Arigatou Gozaimasu." I told him, but he either didn't hear me, or had ignored my comment.