Sakura found herself wandering the hallways of the Uchiha compound late at night, allowing her feet to lead her on their own. Her mind was much too occupied with thoughts of her and her family's situation to pay much attention to where she was going. If she reached her Lady's quarters anytime soon it would be purely thanks to luck.
By the time she collided against someone turning a corridor she was no less surprised than she would normally be, but she immediately recognized that was her fault, and as such she stepped back and bowed her head in an apology.
"Forgive me, I wasn't aware of where I was going." She was honestly repentant, but she suspected the tone of her voice made her sound disinterested.
The person she bumped into 'hn'd, and she'd recognize that sound anywhere.
Lord Sasuke gave her a curt nod, looking perfectly unaffected, and Sakura had to bow again to hide her reddening cheeks.
She straightened up and only stared at his chin as she sought to come up with something to say, but he'd already done that for her.
"You look ill." He commented bluntly and Sakura smiled. If anyone else had said it she'd consider it an offense, but Lord Sasuke wasn't the type to insult people for his enjoyment. It was most likely just an observation, but she decided it was harmless to imagine she heard a degree of worry in his voice.
"I'm merely tired." She replied "Thank you for your concern."
He didn't seem to believe her, but at last he nodded, as if agreeing to drop the subject.
She was about to inquire if his trip back to the compound had gone well, but he spoke before she could.
"Are you-" And then he stopped himself, while he looked at something over her shoulder.
She turned around to see what it was, but there was nothing unusual behind her.
"Are you lost?" He asked, and then she looked back to him.
Sakura was about to reply in a negative, because she hadn't really been trying to get anywhere, until she realized she had never been to that part of the building before.
"Yes." She spoke lowly "Yes, I am."
Lord Sasuke pointed to the direction she'd come from.
Sakura took the hint, and, before he could say anything else, thanked him, turned around and went back to where she'd come from.
Normally she'd cherish the opportunity to spend any time around him, but at the moment she didn't feel capable of making small talk. She was already sufficiently miserable; she didn't need to make a fool of herself in front of him as well.
This time around Sakura paid attention to her surroundings and soon found herself in an area she was familiar with, and from there it was simple to get back to the room she shared with her mistress and the other ladies-in-waiting.
She entered the quarters silently, aware that at this hour the other women would already be asleep.
She removed the outer layer of her clothing and laid down on her futon, as someone in a nearby cot stood up and quickly walked towards her. In the darkness she couldn't see the other woman's features, but she knew it was Ino.
"Forehead." She whispered, kneeling by her side "What took you so long?"
"It's just…" Sakura fought the urge to sigh "There was a lot to talk about. The Uchiha Lord-"
"What? You talked to him?" She sounded shocked "What happened? Is Tōtomi really under siege? Did he say he was going to do something about it?"
"Yes, Ino, he did." Sakura noticed how brusque she sounded much too late, and then she added apologetically "I'm too tired to talk about it right now."
"Sakura, are you okay?"
The question made her pause. No she wasn't, but she didn't think it would be wise to tell her best friend too much of what had just happened. As much as she trusted Ino she didn't want to risk the chance of getting either of them in trouble.
"I'm fine." She said at last "Don't worry about it. I'm just tired."
There was a pause, and then Sakura felt a hand patting the top of her head.
"Goodnight, forehead." Ino said
"Goodnight, piggy."
After that there were four days of silence.
On the first day she'd stayed in her cot, excusing herself because of a sudden and not entirely invented sickness.
On the second day she'd attended her mistress with the other ladies-in-waiting, even though she had been in a dazed state. When asked about it, she replied that she still felt a little under the weather, but healthy enough to accompany the group. Her bath that day was longer than the ones she'd ordinarily take.
On the third day she was more attentive to the people around her, but more easily scared as well. She turned to look at every noise and people couldn't touch her without producing on her an almost violent reaction. Ino had demanded she tell her what had happened, and she replied that it was just the after effects of a particularly nasty nightmare.
On the fourth day she was unnaturally peppy, almost as if the three previous days hadn't happened at all. She was extremely attentive to her lady, eagerly volunteered for the games the ladies in waiting played, and happily participated in every conversation. She still flinched when touched.
On the fifth day, Sakura woke up feeling better than on the four days prior. Ino mentioned she looked melancholic, but that was because she wanted to contemplate the transient nature around the compound, and how else was one to behave in such cases?
After taking care of their morning rituals the procession of ladies took off to the gardens, all huddled together and giggling in an unthreatening manner. This particular day they weren't talking about anything special, but their mistress had advised them that this was the best way to walk when discussing important matters.
They settled on one of the gardens, underneath a tree and a good distance away from one of the training grounds.
"I'm in the mood for playing kaiawase" Lady Yui declared, placing a lacquered box on the blanket that had been set out for them. "Mariko, could you play something for us?"
One of the women nodded eagerly, sitting against the trunk of the tree to examine her instrument.
Yui spent a few seconds removing the painted shells from the boxes and arranging them in a random pattern.
The game started, and the group spent a few peaceful moments matching the figures painted in the nacre, until, seemingly tired, Lady Yui sighed loudly.
"It seems the soldiers will be leaving shortly."
There was a general commotion among the ladies-in-waiting, and even the girl playing seemed to lose her composure.
"But most of them just arrived!" Another girl commented. "And one platoon already left!"
"I know." She answered, raising her hand to her face artfully, the very picture of melancholy. Sakura could only wish she was as graceful "It just isn't right for them to be sent off so soon. And I know how hard it must be for some of you…"
Sakura felt about to panic, thinking her lady had somehow learned of her infatuation, until she caught her eyeing her best friend with a devious expression.
"Is it that obvious?" Ino laughed nervously.
"Well, I find it hard not to notice!"
No, wait. Sakura had no idea what they were talking about. Was Ino interested in someone? She had never told her this.
"I'm ashamed it's so easy to notice." Ino continued "But I am worried. He's not even an Uchiha, so I know he'll have less protection."
What? She liked one of the peasants that had been hired by the clan essentially as cannon fodder?
"I'm sure the generals will think better than to waste his talents on the frontlines. And I think you two would look great together." Lady Yui replied, and Ino looked absolutely radiant.
Sakura really had to take her friend aside and ask her who this strange person was and how come she had never told her about him.
"I am hopeful, though." Yui declared "I have trust in this clan. I wouldn't be here if I didn't."
The conversation devolved into lighter topics (to which Sakura was grateful for) while they matched the colorful shells, until a pair of guards approached their group. Initially the women assumed they were headed for the training ground, but as they stopped in front of them and stared straight at Sakura, it was obvious they had different plans.
"May I help you?" Lady Yui offered, clearly uncomfortable with the interruption.
"Are you Haruno Sakura?" One of them asked, without once acknowledging Yui.
"Yes." She answered in a small voice.
"Please come with us." The other said, and his smile looked friendly, but Sakura didn't trust them at all.
"Sakura?" Lady Yui called as the young woman stood up, not hiding her disappointment at the situation.
"I-I'll be right back!" She replied with her best smile, before turning around to follow the men.
How embarrassing! She didn't want any of her friends to know she had things to talk about with any of the clan officers . Besides, Lady Yui had told them time and again how much she hated having any of the ladies-in-waiting away from her when she made the time for them to just enjoy each other's company.
As the three of them entered the building through a darkened corridor, the second guard turned to her with a grin and pointed at himself.
"Hello! My name's Shisui!"
"Hikaku". The other guard said with a subtler smile.
"Uh- I'm Sakura." She replied, watching as the two men shared an amused look.
Because of course they would. They already knew her name.
But then why did they even introduce themselves? It wasn't as if she was going to be talking to them again.
"Hey, are you a light-sleeper?" Shisui suddenly asked.
"No? Not particularly." She answered, confused.
"Right, good to know."
They remained silent for the rest of the walk, and Sakura only noticed they were taking her to the Uchiha Lord's room much too late.
To her surprise they moved towards a door before his, but as Shisui opened it for them to enter and motioned for her to follow Hikaku continued walking down the hallway, as if he'd merely tagged along an hadn't been there to escort her.
She followed the remaining guard inside and watched as he sat down cross-legged in the middle of the room, looking content with himself.
Sakura took the time to examine the room, since nothing else was required of her. It was a decently sized space, although smaller than the room she shared with Lady Yui and her other ladies-in-waiting. The floor was covered in a straw mat, and the window in the wall opposite to the door was a little small for her tastes, but it still had a beautiful view of the world outside of the compound – a benefit of being on the second floor, she supposed –, but what really caught her attention was the design on the closet on the wall to her left: Two black and red cranes stood in the center of a light blue lake surrounded by colorful reeds. The sky was painted a vivid gold, and the clouds were an almost sparkling white. Neither her mistress' room nor hers back in Tōtomi had closets like this.
"You can sit down, you know." Shisui suddenly spoke up, and she supposed it'd be rude to refuse.
Sakura settled in a place on the mat a little ways from him – she didn't want to be too close – and waited patiently.
"You're kind of quiet, aren't you?" He observed, and she shook her head.
"Not really. I just don't have anything to say."
"Funny, I thought you had a lot to say."
Sakura eyed him suspiciously, wondering if this was some sort of insult she wasn't getting.
"Nothing right now." She insisted, and the man merely shrugged in response.
They sat in silence for a while – Shisui at least seemed to respect her lack of desire for a conversation – until the door opened to reveal Hikaku followed by the Uchiha Lord.
Because of course.
She bowed mechanically and looked at anywhere but him.
"Have Shisui and Hikaku already introduced themselves?" The man asked her, and furrowed her brows. Would she need to remember the two guard's names?
"Yes. But I wasn't aware this information was necessary."
He smiled at her sardonically.
"It's best that you know the name of your protectors."
"Protectors?" She frowned.
"Since you've become such an important piece of the plan I thought it best to have people to watch over you."
"They are going to follow me around? All the time?!"
The Uchiha Lord clearly hadn't expected her to react the way she did, staring at her as if he wondered what her problem was. She had no idea how he expected her to accept the idea of being supervised so readily.
"Lady Yui will never accept this, she'd consider it espionage."
"As if it were possible to get any intelligence out of her." The man said derisively and Sakura gritted her teeth behind her closed lips "Then so be it. You don't have to follow that woman around anymore."
"Of course I do."
"No you don't." He replied with a sigh.
"I do! I can't simply abandon my duties just because you don't trust me to-"
"You have new duties." He waited for her response, but once he figured she only planned to stare at him, he continued "You are my concubine now."
Sakura's mouth fell open.
"What?!"
"For the plan." He replied, and Sakura's eyes traveled from the Uchiha Lord's exasperated face, to Hikaku's confused one, and lastly to Shisui's grin.
"What?!" She repeated, still staring dumbfounded as the Uchiha Lord signaled for the guards to leave.
"That's what you'll tell the Kigawa if they ask you where the information you relay to them is from. Say I'm infatuated with you and tell you everything on my mind."
"But… I wrote saying I was being mistreated. That wouldn't happen if I were your concubine."
"By then you weren't."
"But why would I want to betray you if-"
"Pay attention." He interrupted, kneeling to her level and she leaned away instinctively "You learned that your clan was under siege and that the Uchiha would destroy it. So you came to me begging for them to be spared and I said I would do so on the condition that you gave yourself to me, but you decided to betray me because you loathe me" Damn right she did "and because you know the Uchiha can't win because I've gone mad."
"I'm supposed to tell them that?" She asked, incredulous.
"Yes." His tone brooked no room for discussion, but still, Sakura felt the need to point out some details she believed he forgot.
"Didn-"
"I don't have the time to explain every facet of my plan to you. Just do as you're told."
"I just think-"
"It's not your job to think."
The woman froze at his words. He didn't sound malicious, just tired of explaining things to her, almost as if he believed thinking was not only out of her duties, it was also out of her capabilities.
Sakura admitted there were many, many, many ways to get under her skin, but the most efficient one was doubting her intelligence. Her looks, elegance, charisma and artistic pursuits were all topics she was sensitive about, but her smarts were the one area she was confident in. An insult to her mind was an insult to everything she was, and there was no way one of her usual explosions of anger was enough punishment.
As such, she decided to remain silent.
"Good." The Uchiha Lord continued once he concluded she wouldn't speak again, pulling a parchment from his sash and extended in her direction "We received this letter today. Verify if this is really your father's hand-writing."
She wanted to say that this would require too much thought on her part, but she was too smart to do that.
"And" He continued as she unfurled the letter "I assume the Kigawa have agreed to the proposition, but my reading habits might not be sophisticated enough to make this assumption."
Sakura's curious face paled once she saw the contents of the letter. Her father had written it alright, and she didn't even need to check the hand-writing to know this.
The flower that wilts
Among the ashes
Fears nor the rain
Nor the biting wind
Foes of darkness
Prayers fill the sky
Clouds answer the call
And drops falls for one
Who hopes for light
And awaits the spring
The rivers shall flood
And drown the fire
She was at a loss for words. While on one hand she was angry at him for choosing to communicate in poetry - a language she wasn't fluent on -, she was impressed with his decision to make their conversation cryptic, and, she admitted, she was also touched by his words. She only hoped the Uchiha Lord didn't notice or didn't care about the jabs Kizashi made at the expense of his clan.
"Yes, this is his hand-writing." She confirmed "And he says that the Kigawa mean to attack Kariya."
The man nodded, but said no more.
"Should I write him another letter?" She suggested, anxious to break the silence.
"No. I will instruct you what to write when the time comes. For now avoid being a burden" He smirked at that and Sakura impressed herself for holding back a snarl "and enjoy your new quarters."
"New quarters?"
"I can't very well have my concubine sharing a room with another woman's ladies-in-waiting, can I?" He answered with a grin, as he opened the door to exit "Feel free to ask Hikaku or Shisui to bring you your belongings."
And with that he was gone.
Sakura remained quiet for a few moments until the meaning of his words completely dawned on her, and she pulled at her hair and grinded her teeth to keep from screaming.
He either wanted the rest of the clan to think they were involved or he was interested in taking even more advantage of her, and neither situation pleased her.
She feared people's reactions to this arrangement – Lady Yui, Ino, Sasuke; she feared being nothing more than a pawn in the power-hungry conflict between warlords; she feared for her family and her village, and she was filled with rage at being powerless to do anything about it.
Sakura cried in frustration for a period she didn't bother to estimate, as silently as she could. When she felt mistress enough of herself not to break down in front of the guards, she wiped the tears from her eyes and opened the door to the corridor.
"I need paper and writing utensils" She spoke at none of the guards in particular.
"How much paper?" Hikaku asked, causing her to pause to pause to think.
Well, to hell with it.
"As much as you can carry." She smiled, before vanishing back into her room.
Holy shit.
Just holy shit.
