.-.-.-.

INTO THE FIRE -- AND DAMN IS IT HOT

.-.-.-.

"Tenten, d'you know what that is?"

"It's a brougham."

"No, the thing behind the brougham."

Tenten blinked. "That's the luggage cart, stupid."

Sakura pivoted slowly on the spot.

"It's bigger than the brougham, Ten."

The First Princess stared at Sakura blankly.

"And…?"

Sakura gave a loud, exasperated sigh, threw her arms in the air and stomped off.

"I give up."

.-.-.-.

The preparations for Sakura's departure from Mizu were, to be completely inadequate, gargantuan. She was kicked out of her suite by Ayame, Kikumo, and the insane horde of maids and ladies-in-waiting stampeding in the door with them. When she was re-released into the room a day later, she was greeted with five large chests, three suitcases, two crates and ten small cases. The entire room was empty but for the furniture. Even more amazing was the fact the clothes from the previous day were already laundered and packed.

Around six hours before she was set to leave, Sakura was accosted, dragged to her bathroom (where she was unceremoniously dunked into the pool she had the 'pleasure' of calling her tub) and thoroughly scrubbed from hair to toenail with shampoos and soaps scented of brown sugar and figs. The scent was sweet, warm and alluring, but in massive abundance. Kikumo assured her that half the smell would fade before she got dressed, and it was 'safe' to apply extra. Sakura assured Kikumo that if they sprayed her with any more of the stuff she would suffocate, die and rot in seconds from the chemicals used to create the concoction.

When her ladies were finished dousing her with water, Sakura was dried with around a dozen heavenly soft towels (one for every limb, apparently). When dry, she was guided into her bedchamber. Ayame, Kikumo and the others there barely contained giggles of excitement, and Sakura quickly discovered why.

On her stripped four-poster lay an amazing Western gown. Sakura felt faint at the sight.

It was a deep, striking crimson color, edged with white lace. The neckline was bold: it came off the shoulders, showed a good deal of cleavage and was lined with two inches of lace. The sleeves puffed a little, gathering at the elbows, tied with a white ribbon before giving out to a strip of the red velvet and three layers of lace. The bodice was red, with white silk ribbon crisscrossing the front like a corset. Under the ribbons was a complicated ivory curlicue design.

The waist was lined with a white ribbon, tied; and again it gave to white lace. The skirt of the gown was plain--the flaming fabric fell smoothly in a shining cascade. The confection was finished with a six-inch lace ruffle trim.

The dress fit Sakura perfectly, though the corset pushed up her breasts up to dangerous heights. A sort of collar made of white lace and a strip of red silk circled her neck.

After a few minutes of admiring squeals from her ladies-in-waiting, Sakura guided to her dresser. Kikumo began to work with her hair.

The pink locks were separated into around ten sections. Each was extended several feet with fake, dyed hair. Each section was scooped in a curve and pinned on the top of her head with around a million hairpins, then framed with a white rose, complete with a leaf. What cascaded from the rose-pin combos was curled, and then brushed to create artistically messy, curving locks.

Ayame applied black liner to Sakura's eyes, making them seem bigger. Her eyelashes were blackened and curled, her cheeks pinked, her lips painted cherry. She placed a mahogany fan in Sakura's hand, and placed a pearl drop on a silver chain around her temple.

When at last Sakura was permitted to stand and look at herself in the full-length mirror, she ungracefully choked on her own saliva, coughed, hacked, and spluttered in amazement. Sure, the lips were a bit overdone, and her hands looked tiny and short protruding from the large sleeves, and her hair felt weirdly light even though there were feet and feet of it, but the overall effect was amazing. Several of the ladies were sobbing openly.

"Alright," Sakura took a deep breath, slipping on dainty red slippers. "Let's go."

.-.-.-.

Tenten, Kiba and Hana were unexpectedly not so amazed.

"She looks faded," Kiba nudged Tenten. "Doesn't look right. And something's different about the dress."

"Too much red," Tenten agreed, "It's doing something damn terrible to her hair."

"It's clashing," quipped Hana. "It looked a lot better on you."

At this, Sakura stifled her indignant protests and almost fell over.

"This was your dress, Tenten?"

"Yup," there was a smug grin on Tenten's face. "Wore it to my debutante ball. Daddy ordered this color because I was so tan at the time--red makes anything look pale. My hair was curled, though. Hmm." Tenten walked a circle around Sakura, the grin widening. "You'll do. It's lucky for you, though, that I decided not to deck out today. Otherwise, you'd be completely outshone."

And indeed, she didn't…in her opinion. Tenten wore an emerald kimono edged with gold and emblazoned with golden, flower-laden sakura branches. Over the silk garment she wore a thin, gold satin robe edged with green, and draped around her elbows was a jade-colored wrap embroidered with emerald and gold dragons.

Tenten's hair was straight--and mostly down. A section behind each ear lay on her chest; a section in front of each ear was pulled back in a dropping curve and pinned into a stiff, straight loop, at the base of which lay two gold hair sticks. Intricately leaves carved from jade and emeralds hung from their golden chains, clinking when she moved. Sakura wondered what 'decking out' meant for Tenten, then assumed she would eventually find out.

"Well," Sakura managed to choke out, "Aren't you wrapped up all pretty."

Tenten smiled at her. "Come on," she held her hand out to the pink-haired girl, "Get in."

.-.-.-.

The carriage they were helped into was massive. It was oak, with a mahogany varnish, and the wheels were black iron. The driver's seat was black leather, and had a retractable overhang to provide said driver with shade. The horses that pulled it were large brown Morgans, powerful but gentle.

Inside, it had large, plush velvet seats--white--and feather pillows in cotton cases. The curtains over the glass windows were grey silk, and the fluffy carpet was wool of the same color. The ceiling was draped with blue fabrics, the same color as the walls.

Tenten arranged her kimono so it wouldn't wrinkle as she sat down on one of the seats. Sakura smoothed down her skirt, grabbed a pillow and sat opposite Tenten. To her surprise, Kiba and Hana entered behind them, Kiba seating himself beside Tenten near the door and Hana across from him. They settled themselves comfortably, thoroughly looking like they belonged there,

"Your ladies-in-waiting are in the brougham behind us," Tenten told Sakura. "Behind themare the luggage carts, and then a brougham of hairdressers and tailors. ANBU Teams 13 and 15 are behind them, Teams 4, 22 and 9 are in front of our carriage. Teams 11, 5, and 23 are around us. Hana and Kiba are here for our protection."

"Wha--Ayame and Kikumo are coming?" Sakura blinked in confusion.

"Well, of course," Hana looked at Sakura strangely. "Your ladies-in-waiting stay with you. They have every right to."

"Ladies-in-waiting are from noble families," Kiba explained when Sakura's face adopted a befuddled expression, "Serving royalty is like school for them. This way they can earn their seat in Court, make connections, and learn how to manage a household. Wherever you go, they go with you. Abroad, they wear your colors."

"Eh…colors?"

Tenten gestured at Kiba and Hana.

Kiba wore a bronze-colored haori, embroidered with wolves, and a white hakama. Hana, her hair in a twisted chignon, was wearing a kimono made of the same fabric as her brother's haori.

"Whatever they wear should compliment what you wear," Tenten told her offhandedly, leaning her head on a pillow. "Your ladies-in-waiting own matching garments to compliment every piece of clothing you have when you're on the road. My best guess is that Lady Kazuno Ayame and Lady Kaori Kikumo are wearing orange, or yellow."

"Why does it matter?"

"How your servants dress says things about you," Tenten clarified, "They won't wear poor fabrics, or things that clash with you; they have to pick not only by personal preference, compromise and your wardrobe, but they have to have clothing made that won't be the same color as your companions' clothing, or that of your companions' servants. Why do you think Court is always so colorful? If your servants wear colors that don't make you look good, or are the same color as some other noble's garments, you will be humiliated, and the noble will be offended. But basically, if they look good, you look good."

Sakura gulped. "I'd hate to be one of them, then," she laughed weakly, trying to pass it off. Tenten smiled at her.

"If you were really royalty, you'd have to do it for at least two years. Luckily, you're not."

Before Sakura could respond, the carriage lurched, and began moving.

Tenten reached inside her obi, tugged, and emerged with a small notebook and a pen. Immediately, Hana got up, all but shoved Kiba aside, and plopped down next to Tenten.

"Which one?"

"What time?"

"The ball. I'm thinking the sheer."

"No. The blue. Definitely the blue."

"You mean Ino's…?"

"Yeah. It's different, it'll accent her hair and her eyes."

"Again, Ino will always look better in it," Hana shook her head. "Is there nothing in there for just her?"

"Nothing really extravagant," Tenten muttered under her breath. "A week's not enough to have anything made properly."

The two buried their heads in the notebook. Sakura elbowed Kiba.

"What're they talking about?"

"Dresses, probably," the brunet yawned and stretched, resting his hands behind his neck. "There's a ball the night you arrive."

"We're dressed," she pointed out blankly. "Nicely."

"Yeah, well, you're not supposed to stay in the same thing on the first day. You're supposed to show off your best, so you'll change every few hours."

"Is that what they're doing?" she nodded at the brunettes across from them.

"Probably."

"Don't I get a say in this?"

"Nope."

Sakura frowned.

"Why?"

"Well," Kiba drawled in a bored manner as the carriage bumped along, "First of all, they're professionals. Second, there's somethin' 'bout wearing clothing that won't offend no one. Tenten's got a copy of the guest list; she knows these people." He scratched his hair and gave her a grin. "And she knows how far she can push Lady Tsuchi Kin."

Sakura sighed.

"This is getting really old, but who?"

Before Kiba could answer, Tenten barked, "Kiba! Get me Temari!!"

Kiba reached inside his haori and pulled out a portfolio. Several other papers fell to the floor; Kiba ignored them. Opening it, he riffed around a little before pulling out a large glossy photograph. On it, a woman in her twenties with dirty blonde hair was turning from speaking to a weird man with a painted face at some formal affair. Her hair was tied rather messily; not even the fashionably messy she'd seen ladies request. She wore a white yukata edged with bluish purple lace and fishnet stockings. A violet sash around her waist was tied loosely, the ends pooling on the floor. Before Sakura could get a closer look, the photo was chucked at Hana.

There was a brief silence between Kiba and Sakura before the latter prompted, "So…Lady Tsuchi?"

Kiba started. "Eh? Oh, right, Kin. Well. When you see her, you'll know her, but here."

He took another dive into the Portfolio of Doom (it actually said that on the front) and emerged with another photo.

This woman was older than the blonde. She had long, inky black hair neatly pinned in a chignon at the nape of her neck, decorated with a web of shiny jewels. Her eyes were sharp and brown, lined, the lids shaded grey. Her face was aristocratic: her lips full, her nose curving, her eyebrows waxed into elegant arches. Lady Tsuchi Kin was a beauty, no arguing with that, and by the smug curve of her lips, she knew it.

Her dress was black silk -- it had a high collar, lined with lace, and no sleeves. A large hole in the chest stretched from arm to arm, exposing most of her bosom. The skirt of the dress clung to her legs; a slit ran all the way up to her thigh. The bottom edge of the dress was also lined with white silk lace.

"Wow," Sakura breathed.

Kiba grinned. "Yeah." He pointed at the dress. "Most of her gowns are more revealing than that. The Uchiha promote modesty, but they make exceptions for powerful women. Kin is a very powerful woman, a kunoichi, so they make extra exceptions for her. For example, her affair's being completely ignored. Kin's married to Lord Dosu, but everyone knows she's sleeping with his brother, Zaku. I wouldn't blame her, really; Dosu's all wrapped up in bandages from burn wounds. But he's rich and has standing, and she likes the benefit of that. Anyways, Dosu doesn't really care, he just likes to parade her around cause's she's a pretty thing."

"So, um," Sakura prompted him, "what's 'pushing' Lady Tsuchi?"

"It's a game some of the Court ladies play. They dress in less and less, and Kin matches them in skin every time. They only stop when she doesn't deign to go any further. She knows how far she can push Queen Mikoto. It's very useful to the women; they find out how close to flashing Uchiha Itachi they can get." He paused for a second. "Tenten doesn't like Kin, and Kin doesn't like Tenten. Kin knows that the Uchiha make exceptions for her, too, and they like Ten better, because she's not having an affair with her husband's little brother, so Kin's jealous. Ten thinks Kin's a complete bitch. To tell you the truth, they're not so different, but they're bent on hating each other, so that's that."

Sakura nodded slowly, processing the information, photograph of the beautiful Kin resting in her hand.

"Hey," she said suddenly, gesturing at the portfolio, "Can I see that?"

Kiba gave it to her without a word, before closing his eyes, leaning back and starting a nap.

As the two women opposite her quibbled and argued over pointless details, Sakura studied the portfolio thoroughly, again and again, memorizing names and faces until they were second nature in her mind.

.-.-.-.

Honoo was gorgeous.

More trees than Kusa. More rivers than Mizu. More sunlight than Kari.

The driver led them through a yellow stone lane, lined with five-foot bushes interwoven with several plantings of young aspen trees. The lane ended in a large flower plot with blooms creating a likeness of the Crest of the Honoo Royal Family. Where the white half of the round fan was, a large ivory fountain with silver statues of phoenixes stood instead, spurting gallons of sparkling blue water.

The palace was made of marble. Every single bay window was adorned with a thick velvet curtain. The massive main doors were made of ivory, displaying carvings of phoenixes and dragons. There were six stories, each with six marble columns. It was the most amazing structure Sakura had ever seen.

The door of the carriage opened mere seconds after their carriage stopped in front of the gates. Two of the ANBU helped Tenten and Hana out. Kiba leapt out of the door after his sister, and a third ANBU came to escort Sakura.

As she took the stranger's hand and began descending the first step to the carriage, something caught her eye. She excused herself from the guard and bent down under her seat to see what it was.

A small rectangular photograph lay on the ground. Kiba must've dropped it earlier, she thought. Strange, though, it's smaller than the others.

This one had no name on the back. Flipping it over, she stopped.

In the photograph was a young girl wearing the same gown she wore at that moment. The girl's eyes were a soft doe brown, and her hair chestnut. She had uneven bangs that strayed into her eyes. Several locks of straight hair fell to frame her face, while the rest of the short, cropped tresses were scooped up on top of her head and pinned with red roses and baby's breath just like Sakura's. A nervous smile graced the girl's lips.

It was Tenten at her debutante ball. Sixteen year old Tenten, with short hair and a smile so sweet it could give you cavities. She looked breathtaking in the dress, admittedly a lot more than Sakura did. The cut of the neck accented her large breasts, and the red made her tan look like ivory. At the time, the gown had no sleeves. Tiny lace gloves graced her delicate little hands. Sakura could see the slight bulge of muscle under the layers of silk and velvet.

She slipped the photo into her massive sleeves and headed for the castle.

.-.-.-.

The main hall, with a floor of brown swirled marble and columns along the sides, was filled with people. Two rows of the world's nobility lined the beams by the walls. Sakura's breath caught in her throat, and she swallowed nervously.

Tenten glided forward, eyes lidded as if this palace was nothing but the dirt on the back of her lacquered sandals. Five steps in, and two figures emerged from the crowd.

Uchiha Itachi, in garb of black silk embroidered with red clouds, bowed to Tenten, his eyes locked on her. The Princess lifted a hand (pale and thin, Sakura noticed…with no little amount of shock) The elder Uchiha gently took it, pressed it to his lips, and offered her his arm. Tenten laid her hand daintily on his, and he led her down the hall.

It was Sakura's turn, and Uchiha Sasuke was so beautiful she almost stopped breathing.

Sasuke was dressed in black like Itachi, his garb embroidered with golden flames, but unlike with his brother, Sasuke seemed to barely notice her there. He bowed, and kissed her hand, but not once did he look her in the eye, or, for the matter, look at her at all. Sasuke led her slowly behind Itachi, his eyes fixed on his brother's back in a blank stare. Behind them were Hana and Kiba, both making no eye contact like mere servants. Ayame and Kikumo, escorted by ANBU, took up the rear.

As she glided demurely behind Tenten, she followed her fiancé's example and fixed her unsteady gaze on the back of Tenten's robe. She was glad her dress didn't stick to her legs, for they were shaking roughly. She wondered how Tenten could walk in the stiff tube of the kimono, then noticed how gently and slowly Itachi guided her. They seemed to be making conversation, but their lips moved so fast she couldn't hear a thing.

Sakura swallowed, and slowly slid her eyes right towards Sasuke's face. Immediately, his black orbs snapped towards her. Her eyes quickly changed course and found the floor, a little frightened and a little more disappointed, before realizing that this was impolite. Instead, she looked around her.

They were nearly at the end of the hall now, where the purely ceremonial thrones sat. There, beside the alcove of their golden pedestals, were faces she recognized.

First, there was Hyuuga Neji, dressed in white robes embroidered with silver dragons. His strange opal eyes were fixed on Tenten, and Sakura caught the glimmer of his brain working hard (for what reason? she wondered,) at whatever he was thinking of.

Next, there was the Crown Prince of Kusa. He stood right beside one of the thrones, his shock of blond hair a beacon for attention, dressed in pale gold robes lined in yellow and white sheer. His blue eyes caught hers, and he must have spotted something akin to fear there, for he grinned at her and made a little thumbs-up sign where no one else could see it. Hyuuga Neji, however, did notice, and his eyes traveled slowly to Sakura before immediately losing interest and reattaching themselves to Tenten. Between him and Naruto stood a slim girl with blue-black hair and white eyes, in a blue and silver kimono: Hyuuga Hinata, the former's cousin and the latter's fiancee.

Behind the Kusa boy, a few feet off, a blonde woman stood in the shadows in a silver cheongsam dress. Lady Tsunade, Naruto's caretaker, and apparently Sakura's future master.

A redhead with a vicious glare stood between Neji and Naruto. His green eyes, so much like hers, blankly glared in no direction. His robes were red and black, strangely shaped, and a massive gourd lay strapped to his back. He looked a lot calmer than he was in a picture of a younger version Sakura had seen. This was Sabaku no Gaara, the King and Kage of Sand. Flanking him on either side was the strange man with the painted face in a black cat suit, and Temari, dressed in a daring purple sheer number, showing a good three inches of cleavage and a lot more thigh. She was grinning at Tenten, and there was no doubt in Sakura's mind that they were good friends.

Seething on the other side of the thrones was Lady Tsuchi Kin. She wore a dress mildly like hers. It was sleeveless, its heart-like cut lined with ruffles. The sleeves were puffed for half a foot, then clung to her arms and gathered at her wrists. The cuffs came out like Sakura's. A cross corset adorned the front of her gown, just like with the red one. A gathering of ruffles set off her waist. The skirt of the gown had an overlay that pulled back to either side and was tied with two large bows that spewed lace. Under the overlay was a pleated fabric. There was another long bow that graced her tiny waist, and triple string of pearls around her neck. The whole arrangement was in shades of white and grey, and her inky black locks spilled down her back unchecked, a spot of "color" in the dismal hues of her gown.

Beside her stood a tall man in full body bandages, a grey robe hanging on his tall frame, a prosthetic arm where his left appendage should have been. This must be Lord Dosu, Sakura thought, as the man deigned to look anywhere but at his wife. He was well built, and several locks of onyx hair showed in the gaps between the bandages. Sakura assumed he must have been handsome before the accident. On Kin's other side stood a spiky-black-haired man in a similar robe, a grin on his face, two of his fingers on Kin's waist, though she was on the arm of Dosu. Dosu blatantly ignored this obvious threat on territory by the man who could only be his brother Zaku.

As they stopped before King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto, Sakura's eyes caught on a strange person standing to the right of Hyuuga Neji. He had a bowl-shaped hair cut, black; his eyebrows were unreasonably thick, as well as his lashes; his eyes were round and staring admiringly at her. His robes were of a vibrant neon green color. He was hard not to notice.

He smiled at her with a salute when she looked at him. She twitched her lips back--he was kind of gross looking--before turning to the throne.

"Welcome, Yamanaka Tenten-san, Yamanaka Sakura-san," Fugaku intoned. Sakura noticed Mikoto's eyes lower at her name, and flinched. What was wrong? Did she know?

"Please make yourself at home in our Court and in our Castle. Your presence is celebrated here."

Tenten curtsied lightly. Itachi escorted her to the pair of thrones on Fugaku's right. Itachi sat Tenten politely beside his father, the seat that should have been for him, instead taking the seat on the farthest right.

What a gentleman, Sakura thought with a small smile. Mikoto, seeing this, developed a happier expression. It was obvious that the Uchiha now wished for a union between Sakura's "sister" and their older son.

"Yamanaka Sakura-san."

Sakura's eyes moved and fixed on Fugaku's dark ones. She felt like she was sinking in those bottomless pools.

There was a long silence. She couldn't breathe.

Finally, Fugaku smiled and stood. Sakura started and curtsied deeply. Fugaku lifted her cheek and smiled down at him warmly, the edges of his eyes crinkling in that fatherly way.

"You are most welcome, my dear."

Sasuke abruptly copied Itachi in seating manners, on his mother's left, sending glares Itachi's way that his brother peacefully ignored. Everyone applauded loudly for at least three minutes. There was more scattered clapping as Fugaku helped Mikoto up, and they began some boring speech that Sakura tuned out. Suddenly, the nervous feeling at the pit of her stomach increased.

All these people.

She squeezed her eyes shut in fear. What if they found out? What if something terrible happened? What if Sasuke felt something incredibly wrong? What if he already knew Ino? Liked her better? Hated Sakura? Wanted divorce? What if Ino came back and claimed what was hers? What if someone slipped up and revealed the truth? What if someone purposefully revealed the truth? What would she do? What could she do? She would lose all face, and her parents would be shamed. There would be war, terrible war. And all these people…what did they expect of her?

What would she do?

There was a poke on her shoulder. She turned slightly to see that Prince Naruto had squatted between her throne and Sasuke's, much to the disapproval of Tsunade a little ways off. One of Sasuke's dark eyes was watching him with mild curiosity and a little caution. Naruto ignored him.

"Oi, Sakura-chan," a wide, warm smile spread across his face. "Don't worry, we're not so bad. It's okay! I'll be your friend, don't worry about it!"

She found a smile push at her lips at this young man's earnest welcome. Did he know what it was like to feel like this? No family around, strangers everywhere? When almost no one cared if you lived or died?

"Th-thank you, Uzumaki-sama," she murmured gratefully. His face fell.

"None of that crap! Call me Naruto. And don't you freak out about Sasuke. He's just a cold ice block of a monkey's bastard. God knows how he's still alive, he's so freezing cold I swear his blood woulda froze up solid by now! And hey, if you get sick of him, you can come with me back to Kusa. I'll take care of ya, Sakura-chan, never fear!"

Sakura's fiancé turned away with a small "hn". Naruto gave her one last grin, before rising and once again pretending to listen to what the Uchiha were saying.

Sakura smiled.

I have a new beta, aznqt392. -Out-of-Inspiration- is awesome, but it was too big a workload (in my opinion). My old beta luvless191 has become my pecking muse. Anyone else interested in my job offers (beta, pecking muse, co-writer and editor), just PM me.

Sorry for the delay! R&R please!

EDIT: Thanks to Tenshi no Hana-chan for informing me that Sasuke's mother's name is in fact Mikoto and not Koharu. As she said, "by some strange coincidence, when I was wandering around after reading your fic, I found the name Koharu on the list of Naruto characters. It was named "Koharu U." I thought I may have been wrong about the name of Sasuke's mother (which is Mikoto), but when I did a bit of research, it was actually "Koharu
Utatane," the Sandaime's old teammate - the old woman who keeps opposing
Tsunade."

Well, I found the name Koharu by looking on the Naruto characters list. Turns out, I was wrong D

Thanks, Tenshi!