Hey everyone! I decided to update this fic because I feel thatI havesome writer's block forEncyclopedia Ninja and thus decided to work on this fic. Anyway, reviews!
Pyr00tie: This may be a shocker for you, but Naruto is neither!And I have good reasoning. However, this story will be fairly long and Naruto may not be introduced until later.
Frostbite Wings: Thank you for the suggestion, but I feel that it's a bit too unbelievable. I'm sorry if this sort of hurts you.
Freakenout: There was a mistake in the first posting of the chapter, butit talks about a man enfusing his sword with lightning. The lightning made it seem like the Chidori killed the everyone. Also, when Itachi flung the blood at Sasuke, he flung the sword fast enough to get all of the blood off. Thus, Sasuke was accused.
Amaterasu777: Happy late birthday! And yes, you should play Fire Emblem! It's a great game!
jasx316: Sorry, but I already planned out how Naruto will join them. However, like stated above, he won't be introduced till later.
A/N: I have a feeling that each of these chapters will be pretty long, so updates probably won't be very frequent, although I'll try. Also, having finally played Guilty Gear (a wonderful fighting game on which I am now hooked on), there will be influences from it. I remember recieving an email from someone about how Naruto should have some of Sol Badguy's techniques for my Encyclopedia Ninja fic. But I couldn't put it into that fic, so I'm putting it into this one!
I do not own Naruto or Guilty Gear.
Onward!
Chapter 2: Planning and Kissing
It was dark.
It was cold.
It was the perfect time to brood.
Uchiha Sasuke was brooding. He was brooding on how he would kill his brother. He was brooding on how he would slowly torture his brother, tearing him apart one limb at a time. Sasuke fingered his cut on his cheek, swearing that he would return the favor a thousand times over and a thousand times more deadly. He was also brooding on how he would prove his innocence to his countrymen, but that came at a distant second. Slowly, Sasuke was pacing around on the forest grounds.
But he wasn't just brooding. He was wallowing in sadness. Sasuke had just lost everything that was dear to him. His family, his kingdom, everything was now snatched away. All those years of anticipating how it would feel to be king have gone to waste.
"Uchiha-sama, if I may ask, what are you thinking about?" Sakura asked him. She had been standing patiently, watching him go from one side of the glade to the other, always keeping her sights on either Sasuke or the surrounding area to make sure that no one was following them.
"I am planning about my brother's destruction, and how to achieve it."
More pacing.
"What have you planned out so far, Uchiha-sama?"
A scoff before silence
"Well?"
"Nothing so far."
"Did you have a particular method, perhaps, Uchiha-sama?"
"Not yet."
Sakura let out a gentle, yet crestfallen sigh. "Uchiha-sama, it's getting late. I suggest that we rest and think of a plan tomorrow," Sakura looked up at the parts of the sky that were not blocked out by trees. Stars stood out against the darkness of the night. She looked back at Sasuke to see that he was looking at her. She quickly let her eyes fall dismally to the ground.
Sasuke found her action to be a bit confusing before gruffly replying, "Yes, you're right, Haruno-dono, we should get some rest. But what about you?"
"Do not worry, Uchiha-sama. I will stay on watch for tonight. I hope you rest easily," She said all this while avoiding eye contact with him.
Sasuke ignored that fact for now. He was angry, and more often than not, being angry made him tired. Looking around, he saw a small flat stone sticking out of the ground. Walking over, he gently lay down and closed his eyes. It was fairly cold that night, but his coronation armor kept him warm. Breathing deeply, he made sure that his sword was beside him before letting the sweet boon of sleep come and take him.
He quickly turned onto his right side.
Then he turned onto his back once again.
Suddenly, he twisted himself so that he was on his left side.
"Something wrong, Uchiha-sama?" Sakura asked.
"No, nothing's wrong."
More shifting.
"Are you sure that nothing's wrong, Uchiha-sama?" Sakura asked again, worry in her voice. Sasuke looked at her, and was frustrated when she dropped her eyes away from his. Since when did she start to not look him in the eye? What had happened? Deciding to play low, he gave his response.
"It's nothing too important. It's just that…"
"Yes, Uchiha-sama?"
"It's too uncomfortable for me to fall asleep."
Sakura frowned. But Sasuke couldn't see that because she wasn't looking at him. Slowly, she walked over to him. She knelt down and grasped his hand and gently pulled him up before leading him to the base of a tree. Sasuke was surprised that she had held his hand (and in such a gentle manner) that he was sporting a very small blush and a very bewildered look, though the darkness hid it. She gently placed Sasuke's head on the ground before sitting at the base of the tree and placed his head on her lap.
Now Sasuke was really confused and his blushed increased. He blushed not only because his head was on her lap but also because his head was right under her breasts. Sakura had never acted like this before. "Haruno-dono? What are you doing?" he said, not angry but simply befuddled.
Sakura wore a gentle smile and looked at Sasuke's hair. "As of right now, your survival is, as I said before, top priority. That means that you must be healthy and to be healthy you must sleep well."
Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. The fact that she was completely avoiding his eyes was aggravating. "Haruno-dono, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Uchiha-sama." Now she was the one against the ropes.
Sasuke decided that something was definitely wrong and he played his trump card. "Sakura, what's wrong?" The pink-haired girl instantly snapped to attention.
He never called her by her first name unless he wanted something out of her or the suffix "sensei" was at the end of it. She remained silent. "There's something you're not telling me. I'm not mad, just… concerned for your well-being. If you're supposed to protect me, and yet can't look me in the eye, then how can you do your job?"
Sakura gave off a small sigh before beginning, conceding to his point. She closed her eyes. "The year after your brother's coronation ceremony, your brother began to act strangely. I don't know if you saw it, since you rarely spent time with your brother, but he wasn't himself. At that time, the Harunos suspected that your brother might have been planning something. As you know at that time, I was your sensei. Since it would be easiest for me to keep an eye on you, I was given the mission of keeping you and your family safe. Tonight, however, I failed."
Sasuke couldn't help but feel let down by Sakura. "This was the first mission I have ever failed. I'm sorry for my incompetence, Uchiha-sama."
So that was why she couldn't stare him in the eye. She failed him and felt that she had no right to look Sasuke to do so. "You haven't completely failed your mission. I am still alive."
Sakura seemed to lighten up a little. "You're right. You're still around. I can't let you die then. I, Haruno Sakura, vow that I will not fail my mission, that you will live no matter the cost." She said this while looking him in the eye. She cracked a warm smile. "Please, Uchiha-sama, get some rest. We can do some more planning in the morning."
Giving a small smile, Sasuke closed his eyes and let sleep engulf him.
The Next DayUchiha Sasuke woke up with dried tear streaks down his face. He had dreamt of his family members dying over and over again in his head. To say the least, it was horrible. Sitting up, he quickly wiped away the crusted remains. He had to make himself seem unbreakable. He had to be invincible, both inside and out. He had to be able to hide every single thing that might make him look weak. To him it was of utmost impor-
"I see that you're awake, Uchiha-sama." Sasuke quickly whirled around. There sat Sakura, a gentle look on her face. She drew her legs into a cross-legged position. "You were crying in your sleep, Uchiha-sama. Is something bothering you?"
And there goes the ego. "I'm… I'm fine," Sasuke said being sure to wipe away any more debris on his face.
Sakura, however, saw through his defense. "There is no one else around. You can confide your pains with me, Uchiha-sama. I will never tell another person." She reached out and patted him on the back. "You can tell me anything you want, and no one else will know."
"…Maybe next time. Besides, we still have to come up with a plan, Haruno-dono," Sasuke coolly responded.
"Ah, yes, your plan. Well, last night when you were sleeping, I did some thinking. Right now, we do not have any money and we lack strength, so an attack on Konoha Keep in our current situation is useless."
"I figured that out a while ago, Haruno-dono. Get to the point."
"Also, we can't just march into Konoha with a bunch of mercenaries. We'd stick out like a sore thumb. I'm thinking that we can travel around and get some help from other countries and maybe some nobles and then sneak in as travelers."
"How are we going to convince them that I didn't kill my family?"
"That's my job. I can tell them about my role as the family bodyguard and we can hopefully persuade them to lend us some forces and perhaps some funds as well. When I started this mission, I was given a document that I was to keep with me at all times," she pulled out a white sheet of paper that was signed by the head of the Haruno Clan, stating that Sakura was given this mission.
Sasuke bit his lip before agreeing. "But how are we going to keep ourselves from being found? And what about my training?"
"You know…" Sakura mused on for a while before cracking a dangerous smile. To Sasuke, at least. "I hadn't thought of that yet. But once you put those two together…" All of a sudden, there was that sudden personality switch, "Yes, that will work."
Sasuke doubted that he would like where this is going.
"You can call me Sakura-sensei and I'll call you Sasuke-kun! It's the perfect way to travel undetected without being suspicious! Also, to help make sure we don't get caught, we'll both maintain a Henge! It's perfect! Whenever we're in a town, we'll maintain the Henge and when we're out of town, we'll travel and train and whatnot!"
Sasuke cracked a frown. "You are not going to call me Sasuke-kun, Haruno-dono."
"You will call me Sakura-sensei and I will call you Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke slowly began to back away from the sitting woman. "From now on, consider whatever we do as training." Sakura took out her wallet and examined the contents, "Oh, and we're going to have to get some new clothes. We can't go parading around with this kind of clothing. We'll stand out too much. And we can't always travel around with a Henge." Standing up, she took of her Haruno crest and handed it to Sasuke.
"Haru-, I mean Sakura-sensei, why are you giving me this?" Sasuke asked.
"Just hold onto it, Sasuke-kun," Sakura quickly put her hands into a seal. "Henge!" a small poof was heard and Sakura was engulfed in white smoke. As it cleared, Sakura revealed herself as what looked like a twenty year-old woman who was just a traveling swordswoman (or in her case, kunoichi). She was dressed in tight blue jeans with a belt and a black spaghetti strap top that happened to be show just enough of her curves while revealing her arms. Her hair was now a hazel brown and her sword was carefully tied to her belt on her left side. Her face was still the same though. Reaching out with her hands, she grabbed back her crest and stored it in her pocket. "You're turn, Sasuke-kun!"
"… You do know that I hate that name, right?"
"Of course I know, Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke sighed before handing over his crest and performing a Henge himself. As the smoke cleared, he was wearing loose black pants that still allowed maximum movement with a white T-shirt that showed off his toned chest. His sword was tied to the belt loop on his left side. His face was no different than before. Sakura handed back his crest and Sasuke put it into his pocket.
"Now let's go, Sasuke-kun! If I'm right, the nearest village is about a mile," Sakura pointed south, "that way. A noble family also lives there, so hopefully we can talk to them."
Sasuke conceded and followed his teacher, "Hai, Sakura-sensei."
And so, the pair traveled to the nearest town. As they approached it, they encountered a sign, which read "Hyuuga City."
"Ha! I was right! This is where the Hyuuga nobles live. I've heard that they're the most influential of the nobles. If we can persuade them, then we'll have a higher chance of survival. But first," Sakura quickly took out her wallet, "we need to go shopping. Come on, Sasuke-kun!" she quickly grabbed his arm and headed for the closest clothing shop.
As they hurriedly walked down the streets, many of the townsfolk looked at them. This was a rare site in the city especially since they were a pair of swordsmen, or in their case, shinobis (and both of them were the opposite gender) and the townspeople couldn't help but smile at Sakura's antics. Sasuke couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Finally, they arrived at a store. Sasuke read out the store's name.
"'Shinobi, Kunoichi, and Beyond'? Are you sure that this is the right place to look for clothing, Sakura-sensei?" Sasuke asked.
"Of course, Sasuke-kun! We'll find everything we'll need here!" she quickly dragged him in. After an hour, the pair stepped out of the store with a backpack on each of their shoulders. They had bought several sets of clothes, all which looked very much like what they wore right now, a tool pouch filled with kunais and shuriken, some rations for their trip, and some food pills.
In Sasuke's backpack, however, he had managed to put his coronation armor in there. That backpack was able to hold a lot of stuff. Perhaps it was jutsu-enhanced. Either way, when Sasuke hid his coronation armor, he put on the clothes that he just bought inside the store, thus no longer needing the Henge to change his clothing.
Sasuke looked around and happened to see some new posters on the electrical poles. He walked over to one and swore. They were wanted posters with pictures depicting both Sasuke and Sakura. He tore it off and walked back to his 'teacher.'
"Sakura-sensei," he whispered, "look!" he handed her the poster. She examined it and put on a frown.
"This doesn't look anything like me at all…"
"Sakura-sensei!" Sasuke almost burst out. "We need to keep a low profile!"
"I know." She grasped his hand and began to drag him through the streets once more.
"Sakura-sensei, how is this keeping a low profile?"
"Just trust me, Sasuke-kun!" she whispered quietly. There was a definite cheer in her voice though. Sasuke then felt what seemed to be a chakra source, two to be exact.
"Sakura-sensei, someone's following us…"
"I know, Sasuke-kun." She then dragged him into a bushy area.
"Sakura-sensei, what are we doing here?" he stared as Sakura removed her backpack and hastily dropped it on the ground. She untied her sword and hid it next to her backpack.
"Take off your backpack and sword, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered.
"I don't see how this is going to help us."
"Just do it!" he quickly shrugged off his backpack and sword and placed it next to hers.
"Now what, Sakura-sensei?"
"Forgive me for this," before Sasuke was able to react, Sakura had kicked out his feet from beneath him, causing him to land on his back. She quickly straddled him. As he opened his mouth to complain, Sakura swooped down, closed her eyes, kissed him and slipped her tongue in. She then began to vigorously run her fingers through his hair.
Sasuke was bewildered. Here he was in a lip lock with his sensei that also had her tongue swirling around inside his mouth. And he could taste her mouth. It faintly reminded him of cherries.
Of course, being twenty-one that meant that he was at his peak of youth. He couldn't help but get an erection.
Sakura's brown hair was long enough to cover his face from seeing anything else besides her closed eyes. However, his ears were able to pick up the surrounding noises. He heard a rustle from the bush they were hiding behind in.
"Never mind, it's not them," one man said. "Sasuke is traveling with a Haruno. Obviously, she isn't one." Judging from the noise, he had left. Then, another voice came up from another man.
"Damn, look at that slut go!" the second man commented on Sakura's passionate kissing. "It's too bad that we can't get a girl like that, right? Lucky bastard…" the voice was fading, meaning that he was going away.
"Yeah. I guess we're just not chick magnet material," man number one said.
"What are you talking about? We've got the muscle, the looks, the brains, the money, and we're shinobis! They should be all over us like flies! I bet it's because we're just wanderers. We don't have a place to stay, and we just keep traveling."
"Well maybe they'd actually date us if you stop calling them sluts and bitches."
"Hey! I do not call them-" and that was all he could make from the conversation, because now Sakura's actions were beginning to take a toll on him causing new sensations to travel up to his brain. He couldn't help but moan into her mouth. That was until she suddenly stopped and stood up.
Sasuke was in a daze. Never had he been kissed like that.
Then again, he had never been kissed. Slowly getting up, he was in a bit of a shocked state.
"Sorry about that, Sasuke-kun, but we had to do that to get them off of our trail," Sakura said. When she looked at his face, he looked like he was pouting.
Sasuke, after hearing that dreaded name, snapped back to his senses. "And what am I supposed to consider what we did, Sakura-sensei?"
She smiled a cheery smile before picking up her backpack and sword, "Simple. Consider what we did as training."
'Some training that was,' Sasuke thought.
"Come on, Sasuke-kun! We need to get to the Hyuuga Manor."
"Where is it, though?" Sasuke asked in a peeved manner.
"Right over there, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura pointed at a tall building towards the center of town. Sasuke sighed.
This day was really starting to take its toll on him. And it wasn't even (from the information on a clock) past eleven thirty yet! Whenever Sakura was in her 'sensei' mode, Sasuke felt that she was annoying as hell. But now, she would be annoying as hell for who knows how long. He picked up his sword and backpack in a lackluster manner. As he did so, his eye caught onto a pebble. It was round, small, and hard, but it had no worries, no cares, nothing to bother it. It was so carefree, as if it could just lounge around all day and only have to worry about the end of the world, which might come in around ten thousand years.
It was mocking him. The fact that it was so carefree gave Sasuke reason to be angry at it. But he could do one thing. He could kick the pebble. Yes, then it wouldn't be laughing anymore. Then again, when did pebbles ever laugh? Sasuke raised his right foot and-
"Come on, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura quickly grabbed his wrist and began to drag him to the Hyuuga Manor and away from the undisturbed pebble.
Sasuke could hear the little rock laughing at him as he was dragged towards the Hyuuga Manor. As they neared the manor, Sakura finally let go of his hand and suddenly seemed to put up a dignified air around her. Her stride seemed more mature.
If Sasuke was lucky, she had gone through another one of her flawless personality changes. Again. As they neared the gates, they noticed two guards whose eyes were of pale lavender. The guards seemed to have been expecting them before they even arrived. The guards quickly stepped in front of the gates and faced them.
"You cannot pass," one of them flatly said. Sakura quickly turned to Sasuke.
"Uchiha-sama, please take out your crest."
Yes! Something was finally going right! Indeed, Sakura had had one of her drastic personality changes and was no longer annoying (to him at least). "Hai, Sakura-sensei."
"Haruno-dono, please."
"Er… right…" Sasuke quickly took his crest out from his right pants pocket and showed it to the two guards. Then Sakura bowed.
"We request to see Hyuuga Hiashi-sama. We wish to talk to him."
"How do we know that you're not going to kill us?" the second guard asked. Obviously, they had heard of what happened at Konoha Keep. Sakura quickly produced the document.
"Here, read this," Sakura said. "If that doesn't prove our point, then nothing will."
The two guards read the document and looked at each other before nodding and opening the gates. As Sakura and Sasuke stepped in, it closed ominously behind them. Now that they were finally in front of it, the Hyuuga Manor was huge. It reminded Sasuke greatly of Konoha Keep, except that it had more wood-based structure than stone-based ones. They were on a straight path that led them to the main entrance into the Manor.
Now Sasuke, since he was only given a rushed job of teaching for becoming a king, did not know very much about politics. So, now that Sakura was no longer in her annoying mode, he turned to ask her. "Haruno-dono, who exactly are the Hyuugas?"
Sakura began to talk without turning to him. "The Hyuugas are the top noble family of Konoha. They are tied with the Harunos for the second most powerful position in Konoha. The reason why they are so powerful is because of their bloodline, the Byakuugan. It has nearly 360-degree vision and can see through walls. However, it is most deadly because it can see Tenketsu points, allowing the Hyuugas to attack it directly and causing internal damage."
By the time Sakura finished, they were inside the building. "I can finally release this Henge now." A poof of smoke covered her and then revealed her as when she first left Konoha Keep: in a white kimono and with pink hair and green eyes. She turned to Sasuke. "You may want to change into your coronation armor. I doubt that it is respectable to greet a noble in your current attire."
Sasuke simply said "Hn" and walked off to the nearest bathroom that he could find. He had to ask around a bit, but he managed to find one. Of course, he felt rather uncomfortable. The Hyuugas could simply turn on their Byakuugan and, if what Sakura said was true, they might just peak on him changing. But he gritted his teeth and did it. It still had the dried blood from when Itachi flung his families blood onto him. When he stepped outside, Sakura was waiting for him, a long with a Hyuuga escort, who was dressed in a plain black kimono.
"Come on, Uchiha-sama. It's not a wise decision to keep a noble waiting."
"I will be your escort to the Master's room," the woman said. "Please follow me." And they began to walk. On their way there, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder how Sakura was able to flawlessly change from one personality to another. It was constantly driving him insane. So insane that he had to ask her.
"Haruno-dono, forgive me for asking this but…" He felt rather uncomfortable asking, but he had to know.
"Yes, Uchiha-sama?"
"Do you have Multiple Personality Disorder?"
Sakura was a bit taken back, "E-Excuse me?"
Sasuke scratched the back of his head, "Well, um, you seem to be able to change personalities seamlessly."
"For your information, Uchiha-sama, I do not have Multiple Personality Disorder," Sakura said rather sternly. Nothing more was said for the rest of the walk. When they finally arrived, the escort opened the door for them and stepped aside for the pair to enter. When Sasuke and Sakura entered, she bowed low and closed the door. The room had several cushions and a tatami floor. They turned to face the head of the Hyuuga Clan, dressed in a blue-blackish kimono.
Sakura lightly nudged Sasuke in the ribs. "Leave this to me."
Hiashi bowed to them. "The guards at the front door told me that you two had arrived. What brings the prince and his bodyguard to the Hyuuga Manor?"
Sakura and Sasuke bowed back. "We have a request for you."
Hiashi signaled the mats. "Please, make yourself comfortable."
Sakura and Sasuke kneeled down after Hiashi did. "How did you know that I am Uchiha-sama's bodyguard?"
"Before you were given your mission to protect the Uchiha family and, most importantly, the prince, both the Harunos and the Hyuugas met together to have a secret meeting, with no other noble families involved. Since we were of equal power, we both saw this as dangerous. So the Harunos put the job of protecting the prince in your hands. However, in the situation that Uchiha Itachi did do something drastic, the prince was to receive additional protection from the Hyuuga Clan."
"How come I don't know this?" Sasuke asked.
"It was for your own safety. In fact, I doubt that any of the Uchihas knew," Hiashi said.
"So you already knew?" Sakura asked.
"Yes. In fact, I have a document to prove it," Hiashi withdrew the document from inside his kimono and handed it to Sakura. It said the same thing as her document, except that it had Hiashi's signature on it instead. "Take it. I have a feeling that you'll need it more than I do. If I'm right, Haruno-dono, you also have a document like this, right?" Sakura nodded. "Excellent. You will need both of them to prove Uchiha-sama's innocence."
"Thank you, Hiashi-sama," Sakura replied. "So who will you send with us?"
"Unfortunately, we cannot give you much. Uchiha Sasuke simply cannot suddenly have a troop of Hyuuga shinobis marching on to take Konoha Keep. If we do that, it would leave this city defenseless."
"I see," Sakura said. This looks like it would be harder than she thought it would.
"So, I will be giving you the heir of the Hyuuga clan and her body guard."
"Heir? Are sure that is safe, Hiashi-sama?" Sakura asked.
"In order to become the Head of the Hyuuga Clan, the heir usually has to undergo a trial of sorts. However, my daughter is not given a single drop of respect because she lacks self-confidence and rarely makes her own decisions. We cannot have a leader like that. So, I will make her journey with you the trial instead."
"But if she lacks the ability, then how will she be able to protect Uchiha-sama?" Sakura blurted out.
"She does not lack ability, but rather self-confidence in them. If she believes in herself, she can do miracles. She also lacks experience in the outside world, which is why I'm sending her with you. Also, her bodyguard, Neji, is the best in the clan. If she fails, he will undoubtedly make up for it."
"I see, Hiashi-sama."
"Just curious, but how do you intend to accomplish the goal of defeating Itachi?" Hiashi asked.
"We intend to first travel to the as many nobles and possibly other kingdoms as well to try and gather enough forces before attempting to take Konoha Keep."
"I see. Take a day to rest here. You can set out tomorrow for your journey. An escort will take you to your rooms. And Uchiha-sama, you can change out of your coronation armor and we'll wash the blood out for you. Seeing as it is still around noon, we will provide lunch for you, which we shall send to your rooms. Afterwards, you may explore the city a bit more before dinner. Of course, I feel that you may want to wash up first." Sasuke nodded.
"Thank you, Hiashi-sama." Sakura stood up and bowed; Sasuke did likewise. The turned around and opened the door, revealing two more escorts.
"Haruno-dono, please come with me. I will lead you to where you will be staying tonight." The escort turned around and began to walk away. Sakura turned to face Sasuke.
"Goodnight, Uchiha-sama," she said while bowing before briskly following her escort. She left before he could say goodnight to her.
"Well, Uchiha-sama, I guess I will lead you to your room," the escort began to walk and Sasuke followed. They went through winding hallways before ending up at a door.
"Here is a guest room for you. Inside there is a complete bathroom as well as a king-size bed. I believe this is the best out of the entire ten guest rooms. Leave your coronation armor outside and we can wash it up for you later," the escort bowed and began to walk away.
Sasuke entered the room and was almost awed by it. It was almost as large as his room. He quickly set his backpack down and removed his sword, placing it next to the backpack as well. Removing his coronation armor, he left it outside of his door and stripped away the rest of his clothing before entering the bathroom. He quickly jumped into the shower stall and turned on the hot water.
He planned on taking a long shower. Yes, he definitely deserved it, having to have dealt with Sakura in her annoying (AKA sensei) mode. In his opinion, the only good thing about her in that mode was that she was a good kisser.