Once upon a time, there was a princess who fell in love.
She met her prince in the worst of misunderstandings. He had been on the search to uncover her secrets and in a strange turn of events, hired the princess to hunt herself. But despite their rocky beginnings, the princess found affection for her prince in her battered heart.
She tried to the fight it, but she was drawn to her prince, and he to her. Even when the princess tried to run from it, she inevitably gravitated towards him, pulled back into orbit. And 'running from' became 'running to.' Like the moon, she could only chase after sun and look for the sun and shine for the sun in an endless cycle.
And also, like the moon, the princess's love was strong enough to turn the tides of the world...
Prey for the Hunted
By Airyo
Chapter 20
Interlude: Wedding Night
Itachi did not like ceremonies. Regardless of the occasion, the king had always thought them tedious and mostly extraneous. He was a man who preferred simplicity and efficiency.
He unhooked the over-decorated cape and it dropped into the servant's waiting hands like a sack of rocks.
"You may leave," he said, waving them away. He could feel another headache coming, and all he wanted was to retire to bed and into peaceful slumber. Thankfully, the servants were quick to make themselves scarce. Itachi leaned back into his chair and rubbed at his temples.
Getting married did not require six days of celebration and sixty pounds of fabric on his person. Getting married to Lady Yamanaka Ino in order to uphold the agreement between the Uchiha and the Yamanaka was only a formality, a desperate show of solidarity after the recent slew of disasters. While it was necessary to demonstrate the riches of the kingdom to its subjects, there had to be a limit to excess.
It was a concept that most nobles did not seem to understand.
Not that they understood very much at all.
Itachi huffed and stood. The gossips would talk if the king hid away in his office on the night of his own wedding, and there was no doubt a betting pool somewhere in the dark corners of his castle. All most of the court seemed to care about was filling their own pockets, as if it could fill the void of their minds.
As early as he could recall, Itachi always knew that he was different. At first, he'd thought it was an inherent quality in being crown prince, a survival mechanism to insure that the royal family would not go extinct and leave a power vacuum. But very soon after that, Itachi decided that he was being far too kind in his evaluation.
As a rule, people will be illogical and whimsical. He was the exception. Certainly, he wasn't the rock that most made him out to be, but Itachi saw far more advantage in keeping a stoic demeanor than making a fool of himself like the other children he came into contact with. These would be the subjects he would protect, and they needed to trust him as a leader, not a peer. Even beasts knew to follow the strongest. While Itachi kept his opinion to himself, it was an apt comparison - the people around him were like pets, dumb and helpless. Some were more intelligent than others, but all required the care of a capable keeper. He will guide them, and forgive them, and keep them.
It was a lonely existence. While Itachi didn't condemn his subjects, the truth was the truth. The wind blew colder when standing at the pinnacle of a mountain, and for Itachi, the view was simultaneously too big and too small. All the pressure of the world on a single pair of shoulders, and there was nothing and no one around him to lean against. And while there were the few clear-sighted people among a crowd of blinded fools, Itachi couldn't always rely on Mikoto and Shisui.
Then Sasuke was born.
At first, Itachi couldn't understand the fuss over a squalling, helpless raisin of a baby. His father had always drilled into Itachi the necessity of calculating each person's value in cold statistics, and he obeyed because it was the logical thing to do. A second son, even one of royal blood, was worth very little when the first was already good enough. A daughter would have been more useful as leverage in betrothal contracts.
But as Itachi held the fragile form of his little brother for the first time, something wondrous happened. Sasuke opened his eyes and looked right at him. The gaze of an infant was a strange thing. A newborn has known nothing, seen nothing, and perhaps even felt nothing, and Sasuke's bright, uncorrupted eyes seemed to reflect everything that Itachi was back at him.
It was a humbling moment when Itachi was sorely reminded of his own mortal being.
Everything that Itachi hated about the world and about himself and saw was wrong but never stepped up to correct...That all needed to change. The detached little boy teetering at the top of a lonely mountain was suddenly firmly tethered to the world through the mirror eyes of his baby brother.
The little prince struck down by apathy had been knighted with new purpose.
"Sasuke, I'm your big brother, Itachi," he whispered. "I promise that I will protect you."
It didn't matter who was the crown prince and who was the prodigy and who was better or who was much of anything. He was a big brother. And he would fucking stop at nothing to protect his little brother.
Even if it meant being hated. Even if it meant sending an innocent princess to her death.
Even if it meant breaking that same beloved brother.
Itachi narrowed his eyes at the thought of his absent sibling and he paused to collect himself before exiting into the hallway. He walked slowly, lost in thought.
It had been weeks since Sasuke had defected, and it still felt like a fresh wound every time he remembered the reasons leading up to the occurrence. Never had Itachi's plans spun so wildly off course over one person. He had misjudged just about every factor regarding Sasuke: the depth of his emotions, the scope of his determination, and the breadth of his power.
Sometimes, imperceptible tremors still shook his muscles, a residual effect of a full-powered Tsukiyomi. If he hadn't possessed the Mangekyou himself, Itachi might still be in a coma. To think that Sasuke was able put such power into that technique so soon.
Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan still haunted Itachi, though it wasn't the physical aspects that bothered him.
It was a sign that he'd failed in his most fundamental job: protect Sasuke from the horrors of the world. What was more horrific than the guilt of having contributed to the death of the person you cherished the most?
Especially when said person was still alive?
The secret tore at Itachi like the claws of hungry lions, threatening to rip him in too many directions. He had only intended to drive home the point that it was useless to chase after a ghost, but Sasuke - stubborn, unapologetic, proud Sasuke - actually blamed himself. He wished his foolish brother hadn't guessed the additional layer of exactly how horrific Itachi's choices had been.
His brother's pain was unnecessary, but he would rather his brother alive and experiencing pain, rather than cold and dead and never knowing the warmth of sunlight again. That would be the consequence of the inevitable discovery of their relationship. The king knew he could never reveal to Sasuke that there was a possibility that Hinata was alive. Mozou had been instructed to never tell.
And despite that it was Itachi that tied the metaphorical noose around Hinata's neck, Itachi did everything he could to insure said noose would never tighten. The king was hopeful, especially after Sai had reported to him with the expression of someone who'd realized a lifetime's worth of evil in the space of a moment. And the Guardian smelt more of burnt hair instead of burnt flesh. His gamble on placing a reactive seal on Hinata had been a good one.
He'd always suspected the Guardian had possessed the Sharingan, regardless of his situation now. While the Sharingan was certainly no indication of power, there was a correlation in some abilities. The Uchiha who were more likely to activate their Sharingan had far quicker minds and faster reflexes - it was the conditions of a body prepared to react to events before they even happened. Sai had been too fast and too clever to be born with nonfunctional eyes. The body never lied, even if the person tried to.
That was why Itachi never lied outright. There were far more effective ways to manipulate a person, to break their very being with the hard blade of truth.
And because he couldn't have lied to Hinata when she was looking him with those enormous moon eyes, tears silently trickling down her face. They both knew he was likely the last Uchiha she could look at.
He cared. But he couldn't care enough, compared to his other responsibilities. So his affection was a paltry consolation for his other actions. But the mere idea that he might never see her again stung more than it should. Especially when a part of Itachi believed that Hinata could survive. Only two women have ever managed to surprise him regularly: his mother, and Hinata. All the factors pointed to an inevitable demise, so the king prayed that she would surprise him yet again.
That was another thorn in his heart. At his weakest moments, Itachi wanted nothing more than to run away, to hide Hinata away and escape from the poisonous world that encased them. But that was a useless fantasy. Love was duty. His duty was to his kingdom, to his father's legacy, to his mother. To Sasuke.
Hinata had no part in his world ever since their betrothal was annulled. Perhaps he'd simply gotten too used to the idea that the shy, lovely princess would be the one he would marry. At first, he had simply thought of her as another duty, another addendum to his list of tasks. The ten-year-old him had simply accepted her because she wasn't as shrill or annoying as the other little girls he'd met. If she was as timid as a mouse, that was a tolerable flaw. And it was advantageous for the Sun Kingdom if he could manipulate her.
But then Itachi found himself observing her more and more. She was unremarkable, at best, but each time he visited the Moon Kingdom, Itachi did not feel at ease until he'd caught a glimpse of her, that quiet little patch of sunlight only noticeable in its absence. And the Hyuuga certainly made it horrifically difficult. He didn't miss the sideways glances they speared her with when they thought no one was watching. While it was understandable that they were embarrassed by her lessened chakra abilities, there was no need to quarantine her away like a leper.
In the few conversations he managed with Hinata, he discovered a brilliant mind behind that downtrodden demeanor. She was more than aware of the nuances of the actions of those around her. Itachi's respect for Hinata grew when he realized the full scale of their condemnation upon her thin shoulders. The weight of the world was always greater for someone who withstood it rather than shrugging it off. He was a hero of the Amaterasu war, a proven genius who exceeded all standards, and even he sometimes trembled under the pressure everyone's expectations.
How many times worse must it be for her?
Many times, Itachi battled the strangest urge to rush to her side and help her. He was a patient teacher, even if he would never volunteer himself for the job. Yet he repeatedly wanted to offer that very service for Hinata. Something, anything, to make her smile. In the beginning, Itachi's young, confused mind attributed this symptom to the chivalry ingrained in him by his mother.
But if she were simply a wilting flower, the king was sure it wouldn't have affected him. There were certainly prettier girls, more charming girls, stronger girls. But there was only Hinata.
It wasn't in his nature to rush in, so Itachi waited and watched, searching for the ideal circumstances. Every move was always carefully weighed and considered, every word, every thought. Every emotion.
In that way, he'd lost to his foolish little brother long ago.
The king's strength and weakness was in his infallible objectivity when it came to placing his logic above his heart. It was how he'd managed to claw his way to a stable throne after the power vacuum left by his father's death. He still had his suspicions regarding the nature of Fugaku's demise, but some mysteries were better pursued under the guise of a forgotten past.
Even the death of his father could be neatly compartmentalized and cleanly tucked away for a more appropriate time. Many considered him Machiavellian, a monster, for his capability, but Itachi prided himself on that. He was pragmatic, a man of logic and reason. But he was still only a man, with a beating heart of human flesh. And when Itachi realized what choice he had to make, that heart had ripped and shredded like the paper the death sentence was written upon.
Sasuke or Hinata?
Saving one was mutually exclusive to the other when all the pieces were laid out. It was already difficult enough when Sasuke was connected with a Hyuuga. But the Hyuuga in question was also a figure hated throughout the Moon Kingdom. In that aspect, any dilemma always had a third constraint - the peace of the kingdom. It was inevitable that Danzo, the ubiquitous meddler, would discover Hinata's true identity. And that old warhawk would stop at nothing with such leverage. The Hokage had too much power for Itachi to simply wipe away such an annoyance.
Danzo wanted war. It looked like the Moon Kingdom wanted it as well. Turn after turn, it was clear they were trying to force his hand. If he were the one to declare war, then all the aftermath will fall on his shoulders. If that came to be, it would be too easy for Danzo to convince the council that Itachi would need to abdicate his throne.
The king could not let that occur, for it would destroy the peace he'd sacrificed so much for. That Shisui had given his life for.
The Amaterasu War had been a senseless slaughter, the remnants of excessive greed and arrogance. Hinata's capture had only been the excuse, the final catalyst. Itachi could never agree to his father's decision to step into a needless war. He'd only been ten, and as a genius of a militaristic kingdom, forced to massacre his enemies.
The Uchiha were famed for their tendency to succumb to insanity. Many blamed the inevitable consequence of storing an inhuman number of stolen techniques and memories. Simply too much information for one person to handle.
Itachi thought differently. Ultimately, it was the Sharingan's perfect preservation of all the faces frozen in horror - the sight, the sound, the smells, the sensations...it was a living nightmare that would one day consume him, just as much as it did for the generations of Uchiha before him.
Itachi passed by a decorative mirror in the hallway. It fractured his reflection into several warped shards. He paused, staring back into his own dark eyes. He was haunted by the people he'd had to kill the ones he'd been forced to measure and find less worthy to live than another life. His perfect memory would not let him forget any of them - a fitting fate.
Itachi closed his eyes and turned back in the direction of his bedroom. Violence was such a hateful methodology. Effective, but hateful. It was a choice he'd long resigned himself to, because some people would not comprehend anything short of a knife to the throat.
The king dismissed such thoughts. He could feel his chakra roiling slightly at the dark pattern of his mind and he was already in front of his door. It wasn't gentlemanly to meet his bride with killer intent in his chakra.
Once his aura was in line, Itachi entered his room without hesitation. The door opened on smooth, silent hinges.
Ino was sitting on the edge of his bed, her spine so stiff it made him wonder if she'd replaced it with a sword. Her knuckles were bone white even against the pale silk of her wedding gown. She'd removed her make-up and headdress, leaving only a sleek wash of blonde hair framing her face. It made her seem uncharacteristically small and fragile, like a little child tangled in her mother's dress. It didn't help that the young woman was currently boring a hole into his wall with wide, blue eyes. All in all, Ino was doing an admirable job of hiding her fear, but Itachi was better at reading emotions than most.
Despite his less than ideal circumstances, Itachi found himself amused. He thought he'd married a noblewoman, not a terrified rodent.
Not Hinata.
Though it would be unwise to inform her of that likeness. The Yamanaka were nearly as notorious for their tempers as for their mind techniques. Either way, it wasn't a very good combination for any target of their ire.
The king closed the door behind him with a soft click. Her head turned minutely towards him, signifying that she was sharply aware of his presence, even if she still refused to look at him. Itachi wondered if she would squeak like Hinata if he tapped her on the shoulder.
He'd remembered a bold blond girl who unabashedly chased after Sasuke. It was a relief that she also had a demure side, as he hardly wanted to end up a hen-pecked husband like Lord Nara. In a rare flash of possessiveness, Itachi decided that he would be the only one that his wife would show this facet of herself to.
"I would hope that in court tomorrow, you would be better at hiding your fear," he said gently. Ino's gaze whipped to his. Jerkily, she lifted her chin and her expression melded into a perfect mask of regal apathy. He'd almost be convinced of her act if she wasn't shaking ever so slightly. He realized that simply speaking to her would do little to ease her terror, especially when he was unconsciously using the cold mien he presented to court. Certain expressions had become habit for him after so many years.
He really should be a little kinder. It was clear that he could be unintentionally forbidding, given the appalling disconnect with Hinata. This was the new queen of the Sun Kingdom. It wouldn't do if she died of a heart attack on their wedding night. Though that would certainly engender a few more amusing rumors regarding his prowess in bed.
Itachi forced himself to smile slightly. He avoided her and climbed into the other side of the bed, a clear indication that he expected nothing more of her. And really, all he wanted was to go to sleep. "Good night, Lady Ino." He'd almost settled into slumber when she blurted something.
"Ino!" He blinked and turned to her. "Sorry," she muttered and averted her gaze. "Please just refer to me as Ino. We are husband and wife, after all."
This time, Itachi's slight smile was more genuine. "My apologies. Then you must alsot refer to me by my first name as well. Good night, Ino."
"Good night...Itachi." Her voice didn't waver.
He hadn't married a timid mouse - more of a boar that will regain its brave, bold nature tomorrow. Itachi was surprisingly at peace with that.
An old, trying chapter had come to an end and he will leave it be. Tomorrow was another day, a new page.
Ino's pulse still beat against her eardrums far too quickly. While she'd always known the king was a fair and upstanding man, it was quite a bit more difficult to remind herself of this when she was about to share his bed.
Though a part of Ino was insulted that Itachi could so easily ignore her, the rest of her could only breathe a sigh of relief when the king made it clear he wanted nothing more of her tonight. She waited until his breathing had evened into the pattern of slumber. Then, carefully, she turned around and propped herself on her elbows. The moon lit his face, making his long hair seem like black silk around him.
He really did look like Sasuke.
Or more correctly, Sasuke looked like Itachi.
Ino's heart clenched. She was still reeling from Itachi's cold announcement to the council - Uchiha Sasuke was no longer a citizen of the Sun Kingdom. He had left to join Orochimaru. She still couldn't believe that the former prince had simply left, so easily blinded by Orochimaru's offer of power.
But she couldn't blame him. She herself had fallen under the same seductive spell of power. Ino had convinced herself that it was best for everyone if she married into the highest position. Then, she would have the sway to keep her friends from being sent to their deaths. Then, she would have the ability to stop wars before they began. But this purpose had caused her to lose herself in her pretty jewels and fine lip pigments.
Ino's vanity had a darker purpose beyond shallow aesthetics. While her counterparts had grown up ignorant, safely cushioned by their pretty ruffles, the Yamanaka had always been a kunoichi first, a noblewoman second. She could never be strong enough to rashly break down her obstacles like Naruto or Sakura. She could never outwit the councilmen in their convoluted political games, like Shikamaru or King Itachi.
But she could be prettier than anyone else. The same attribute that made everyone else discount her was Ino's greatest weapon. If she had to seduce a foreign dignitary for the sake of her kingdom, so be it. Her body stopped being hers the moment she had to hold Asuma's cooling hand in hers. Before, she'd thought herself the sexy, untouchable kunoichi, a strong female who didn't have to resort to using her wiles.
And her idiot teammates had let her play out that delusion.
Looking back, it was so obvious. Team Ten was designed for infiltration, for subterfuge. There was her, the pretty kunoichi with mind-control to seduce and pluck away the target's secrets. There was Shikamaru, the genius with body manipulation to help guide her to or from her target. There was Chouji, the brawn with pure, brutal force to break them away when things got really bad. And there was Asuma, clan head of the noble Sarutobi clan. All four of them had grown up too over-seeped in politics and manipulation to master anything else.
For kami's sake, they all were from high nobility - there was no way they could be expendable on simple field missions.
Yet the topic of her seduction training never surfaced, even after her curves grew in and she flaunted them so naively to anyone who would admire them. Asuma continued only accepting field missions that were far more suited for the raw power of Team Seven. If they had done the missions they were designed for, all of them would have immediately realized how wrong it was to be sent to the distant northern border. But the unnatural pattern of Team Ten missions had been their downfall.
The Akatsuki mercenaries were ruthless. Even though Shikamaru had finally avenged them and killed Hidan, Ino could still hear the mercenary's grating laughter when he'd stood over Asuma's body every time she closed her eyes. As she'd told Hinata, the Yamanaka could remember every little detail of that day. She could still feel the grains of sand digging into her knees, the sharp pain of her wounds, the feeling of chakra exhaustion and despair mixed together into lightheadedness , the sound of Asuma's gurgling breathes slowing to nothingness - it was all like a phantom sensation that will never quite fade, always prickling the back of her mind.
If this was anything like what Sharingan-users had to remember each time they fought, Ino pitied them.
But this instance was a reminder she welcomed, for she will not deviate from her duty this time. Shikamaru and Chouji will not protect her from something she was meant to do, even if it means she could never talk to them like old friends again. No one will stand in her way. She was going to marry Sasuke. She would wear a cold crown and isolate herself in the folds of a heavy cape, and use the power to protect her friends from being sent out to needless missions. That was the promise she made to herself, to Asuma, and it was one she would give her life, her being, herself to keep.
So Ino thought she'd long made peace casting away Hinata - she was an obstacle. But she'd never expected Hinata's death to affect her so deeply. She knew that Itachi was forcing Hinata to leave. She knew that Hinata loved Sasuke, and he her - she'd been the one to give Hinata the drug so she could say her goodbyes without drama, after all. She knew that Hinata would be hunted, like nothing better than a wretched missing-nin. But Ino hadn't been able to comprehend until Sasuke had entered the kitchen that morning, a wildly misplaced smile on his face.
She'd only seen the prince smile like that around the king - that unguarded, beautiful smile that made the younger her dream of a fairy tale.
The enormity of what she'd done hit her then, and Ino broke, shattered just like brittle glass. She'd helped Hinata throw away a rare love and walk way to her death. In Ino's mind, the Hyuuga princess had always been like a mythical warrior, strong and untouchable. This was the person who'd so easily saved Team Ten. This was the person who'd managed to survive the harshest of environments at the border, and evade soldiers from both the Sun and Moon Kingdom. In the back of her mind, Ino had always thought that Hinata didn't need her help, because she was a survivor.
It was hard to believe that she could actually die.
It was harder to justify how nasty she'd been to Hinata that past few weeks.
Ino curled in on herself. She'd achieved her goal, and so it was only fitting that she make use of her new status. Hinata will be the last of her friends to ever be so wronged. That was a new promise, because Asuma's ghost can lay in rest now. She had made this cold, lonely bed, and this was where she shall sleep.
Tomorrow was a new day, a new promise. Ino could only hope it was a better one as well.
Sakura heard him slip through the window of her workroom.
"Yamato?" she called. A mass of brown hair popped up in the corner of her eye. The face of her boyfriend followed. He forgot to brush his hair again. The idiot probably thought that stupid faceplate hid everything.
"Still working?" She nodded, carefully grinding the dried herbs into a fine dust. He settled into the workbench next to her. "You should rest." Sakura hummed in agreement, though both of them knew that she wasn't going to listen.
"How was your day?" she asked after a long silence.
"Oh you know, the usual guard duty at the royal wedding, largest event of the century. Nothing too big." His nonchalance sounded eerily like Kakashi's and she nudged Yamato with a slight scowl.
"Don't speak to me with that tone," she scolded. Sakura pressed the pestle harder into the already pulverized herbs. The Guardian caught her hand and she let him pry her numb fingers from the tool.
"You're upset," he said gently.
Sakura bit her lip. When did her vision get blurry? She blinked to refocus, and wet warmth trailed down her face.
"No shit," she muttered hoarsely. The medic reached up to wipe her eyes and Yamato caught her wrists.
"Sakura? You were grinding cayenne peppers..." His worried tone brought her back to clarity.
"Oh," she said absently. She thought those were rose hips. Sakura gave in and collapsed onto the bench next to Yamato. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way," she murmured. "Sasuke wasn't supposed to leave us."
"He's hurting." Yamato reached up and began to gently stroke her hair. He didn't say what they thought. He lost Hinata.
"Fuck him," she said weakly. "The selfish bastard. When I get my hands on him, I'm punching him so hard it'll take him months to find all the pieces of his spleen. And then I'll heal him and do it again to make sure he got the message."
"Do I have to help with clean up?" he sighed.
Sakura choked back a watery laugh. "You'll get to torture him with your scary face."
"I'm honored," he said blandly.
They lapsed into a rare silence. Sakura was comforted by the sensation of his fingers in her rosy hair. Then she sniffled and all the words came pouring out.
"I'm really mad at him, Yama," she whispered, voice raspy with tears.
"I know."
"Did he really think we would betray him?" Her voice cracked and it took her a few breaths to calm herself. "He was supposed to trust us. He was supposed to come to us and we were supposed to fix this together. He was supposed to come up with one of his reckless but brilliant tactics with Naruto, and drag us all into some big mess. And then miraculously, it'll be okay. Of course, then I'll punch them for being idiots, but they're my idiots. We were a team." She clenched her fists and continued in a softer tone. "He was supposed to marry Hinata and make gorgeous, scary-genius babies with both the Sharingan and Byakugan and they would take over the world and make it a beautiful, peaceful place. It was supposed to be a happy ending. I actually believed in that."
"I know."
"She wasn't supposed to..." Sakura couldn't say it. Hinata wasn't supposed to be hunted down like a helpless animal. Regardless of the political considerations, a princess deserved better than a no-holds manhunt. That was a treatment reserved for ruthless criminals, not a sweet-tempered girl who risked her life again and again for her love.
At first, Sakura had been wary of this strange bounty hunter. Hinata was a Mooner. In the distant past, the Sun and Moon Kingdoms had been friendly, but now the socially acceptable reaction was one of recoil. But even more so than her lineage, Hinata was Hinata - kind, sweet, shy Hinata. It was difficult not to like her, to root for her. Especially when even Sasuke, the biggest asshole on this side of the planet, softened like butter before her.
But now Sakura secretly wished that they'd never met Hinata. Everyone, including Hinata, would have been better off. Especially Sasuke. The past few weeks it was excruciating to watch Sasuke fade away like smoke on a windy day. And then the vague, unsettling fear in the back of Sakura's mind came to reality; Sasuke became lost to them.
The memory of Sasuke's blank gaze as he stood over Naruto's body in the dojo still haunted her. The person who wore Sasuke's face the last few weeks before the prince defected was not Sasuke. Sasuke was a jerk, an asshole, spoiled and petulant and so arrogant and overly opinionated and presumptuous and endlessly frustrating.
But he was never unfeeling.
Even through the fog of agony of being abandoned by her teammate, she knew he must be hurting a thousand times worse. At least she knew there was a chance, however small, that she would find him again. There wasn't that chance for Sasuke anymore. Just the thought of Yamato's death made her heart wrench. Sakura could almost understand defecting, just leaving everything behind.
Sasuke's world was black and white, even when others tried to impose the hues of reality on him. He would only love one woman, because that was the kind of person he was: all or nothing. And his all, his everything, was gone, ripped away.
The medic realized just how easy she had it. The biggest obstacle for her and Yamato had been his sudden inability to speak to her when he realized his feelings. After years on the same team as Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura found it impossibly adorable when the calm, capable Guardian was rendered speechless by her mere presence.
That didn't happen very often when she kept company like Naruto and Sasuke.
Sakura had always felt like the awkward duckling amongst a flock of pedigree family lines. Ino was the heiress of the illustrious Yamanaka. Shikamaru, the young lord of the Nara. Chouji, the gentle son of the Akimichi. Even Naruto had some oomph to his background, being the son of the Fourth Hokage and all. And of course, there was Uchiha Sasuke himself, crown prince to an entire fucking kingdom.
Until King Itachi assigned her to Tsunade, the greatest accomplishment Sakura could boast of was that she managed to land herself on the same team as Prince Sasuke. The medic would always be in the king's debt for seeing the potential in her and giving her a means to make something of herself. Now, when others are introduced, they are recognized by their family names. Sakura was recognized by her own.
And Sakura certainly understood why the king had done such a thing. He did the same with Naruto, in assigning him to Jiraiya for personal training. It wasn't for their benefit - she and Naruto were groomed to protect their prince. They were bodyguards first, friends second. Itachi had pulled them aside and all but told them that.
While the stark truth was unbecoming, it instilled a sense of proud purpose in Sakura. She was a soldier worthy of protecting the crown prince. Worthy of protecting a precious friend. That was an honor, even when Sasuke was throwing one of his hissy fits and the person she was protecting him from was Inner-Sakura.
It was a good thing she and Yamato had figured out their own drama before Hinata came to join their group. Otherwise, Sasuke might have exploded from the stress of being simultaneously over-possessive with both her and Hinata.
Not that her silly boys had even a problem for her and Yamato. Her team was simple enough to convince with some gentle persuasion and some baked goods when she was healing them back up. Piece of cake. "I'm really lucky," she whispered into his shoulder. She squeezed his hand, soaking in the solidness of him. "You're a good man, Yama. "
"Sakura, you're not breaking up with me, are you?" She half-heartedly punched his arm.
"Get some originality if you're going to be ridiculous."
He opened his hand, a small branch of sakura blossoms growing from his palm.
"That's what you said when I first tried to confess to you." Sakura gave him a flat look, but still happily received the little present.
"That's because you never actually confessed. Someone left nothing but carvings of cherry blossoms for me for weeks. I was beginning to think you were mocking me." She jabbed his cheek with the end of the branch he'd just made for her to illustrate her point. The branch made a faint clinking sound against his face-plate.
"I got better, didn't I?" She scoffed, though she couldn't keep the small smile from tugging at her lips. The waltzing wooden frogs had been especially endearing.
"Because I had to corner you and scream at you in frustration. Do you realize how hard it is to track down a Guardian when he doesn't want to be found? I thought I'd scared you off." Yamato chuckled, a soothing rumble against her ear.
"If I wasn't scared off by our first meeting, then nothing could scare me off." Sakura scowled and pushed him with a hand to the face.
"I'm going to take that as a compliment," she sniffed.
" I never realized I was supposed to protect Team 7's members from each other. And you thought my name was Tamato."
"You try hearing properly with those idiots screaming in the background."
"At least it's not 'Tomato', you might have had a problem then." She chuckled at Yamato's quizzical look. "Silly, it's Sasuke's favorite-" The words became stuck in her throat as she remembered reality. Yamato squeezed her hand and Sakura's heart mimicked the motion with a twinge.
"We'll find him."
Yamato didn't have to say anymore. The finality in his words was a lifeline, and Sakura let herself cling to -
Her boyfriend stiffened suddenly. Deliberately, he turned towards her and gripped both her hands. Then he looked calmly met her gaze despite the tears welling in his eyes.
"Sakura, I think you forgot to wash your hands."
The medic let herself laugh even as she rushed to grab a wet cloth.
Even in the worst of times, she can have laughter. If there was laughter, then there was hope. Tomorrow, they will continue their search for Sasuke. They will continue to laugh and they will continue to cry. But they will find him.
Naruto stared into his ramen. For some reason, every flavor he ordered taste like ash. It was only his fourth bowl and he wasn't even hungry anymore. That was how he knew he was really in trouble. With a grumble, he set down his chopsticks with a clink against the porcelain bowl.
"Is the pork miso no good?"
"Hey Ayame," he said dejectedly. "Your ramen is fine. My taste buds are being jerks."
"Weddings can do that to you; sap all the joy out of the world," she quipped lightly. She placed her empty tray on the table and sat down across from him. "Especially for the caterers...do you realize how much food a wedding party consumes?"
"Ha. Ha. Ha," the blond said hollowly. Normally, he'd relish the fact that Ayame didn't treat him like a normal customer with perfect smiles and cheery greetings. The waitress's professional appearance belied her warmth and spark. But today, Naruto found it hard to even look up.
He absently poked at a spiral fishcake, watching it slowly spin in the ramen broth like a Sharingan. Fuck, he wanted to punch Sasuke. Stupid girly wuss of a jerkface of an assholelish fishlipped stupidhead. With a stupid duck-ass haircut. Where's the dumb punching bag when he needed him around? He was so mad that his eyes were burning. With liquid rage. Yeah, that's right. That's how pissed he was. No way in hell he'd actually...
"Naruto." Ayame pressed a gentle hand to his cheek, dispersing the tears with the warmth of her palm. "Stop."
Shocked that she was touching him so intimately, Naruto's mind whited out for a moment.
"A-Ayame," he muttered. The waitress smiled sadly.
"Naruto, this isn't like you at all." He blinked in confusion, but wisely waited for her to continue. Sakura had beaten at least that much into him. "Do you remember when you first ate at my father's ramen stand?"
He nodded. "Of course! It was the first time I met you," he said sincerely with a slight grin.
"More like first time you tried to get me in trouble," she said teasingly. "I tripped over you because you were hunched on the street like a little gargoyle."
Naruto's smile faded. "Well, it was my birthday."
It was his sixth birthday, and as the hated Kyuubi vessel, everyone in Ganpon had taken it upon themselves to celebrate by being particularly mean. Even then, he had known that October 10th was a taboo day. But Naruto had been so lonely that he'd slipped out at dark in hopes that someone might mistake him for someone else and smile at him before they drove him away.
It's happened before.
Ayame was five years older than him, making her the worldly age of eleven at the time. She recognized him from the very beginning, given the apprehensive expression on her face when she picked herself of the ground. Naruto stared at her, already half-ready to run before she would scream about the monster.
"Are you going to pay for that?" Ayame asked after a long silence.
"Huh?" The girl gave him an exasperated look and pointed to the ground beside him. Naruto followed the direction of her finger - a dropped delivery case. Broth was seeping out of the large container. Naruto took a surreptitious sniff and immediately regretted it. The warmth, rich flavor of the ramen filled his nostrils with what must be the scent of all that is good in the world.
"Are you going to pay for this? It's five coppers, plus the tip for the time to make another trip back to the stand," Ayame explained, sounding far more concerned with her money than the "monster". "All in all, I'd say at least six coppers."
Naruto remained quiet. He had the money, but all the money inside his little frog coin purse was worth this almost normal conversation.
His stomach answered for him instead, with a long, piteous growl.
Ayame chuckled, eyes glazed in remembrance.
"I'm surprised you remember me at all - you managed to eat nine bowls in one sitting," she said teasingly. Naruto stuck out his tongue half-heartedly. He'd eaten so many to prolong the time spent with Teuchi and Ayame, but that was a secret he'd never tell.
"I paid for them," he grumbled. "And you offered."
"There are two things a ramen stand owner's daughter can never do," she said, raising two fingers. "One: suffer a loss of profits. Two: let a potential customer go hungry."
Naruto let himself be distracted from his cloud of misery. Being around Ayame always helped whenever he was feeling down. She was a lighthouse in the storm, always breaking the clouds with her beacon of tough love. He reached out to pinch the two extended fingers together into one block with a knowing grin.
"That's just the same motto twice," he said, unimpressed. The brunette laughed, chocolate eyes twinkling mischievously as she used those same two fingers to jab him in the cheek playfully.
"Yet it still took you how many years to realize this, little Naruto?"
Naruto made a face.
"Not fair," he protested. "Most of the time, I was busy eating! All the thinking juice was in my stomach." Ayame glared at him mildly.
"And here I thought you were there to visit me all those times," she said sarcastically. She rested her chin on her hand and pouted slightly. "I'm not talking to you anymore."
"Ayame," he whined. "Don't be like that. I'm your favorite customer."
Idiotic as he was, Naruto was still one of the most capable ninja in the kingdom. He caught the little upward quirk of her lips and grinned triumphantly.
"Dinner and a show," he added with a roguish wriggle of his eyebrows. "Who wouldn't be head over heels for you?"
She slowly turned to look at him, an unreadable expression on her face. Naruto scratched the back of his head. Despite his reputation as a loudmouth who ran his mouth, he'd been careful about forcing his feelings on Ayame. Naruto didn't want to ruin the childhood friendship he cherished so much, so any change would require a cautious approach. He regarded her with a solemn expression.
"Marry me, Ayame."
The waitress's eyes bulged attractively. She was so cute when she made that expression - like a little angry frog.
"Normally, people start with dinner," she said faintly.
"We've had dinner together for years. And isn't dating just a way to know if the other person is the one?" Naruto asked quietly. "But I already know you're the girl I want to marry. I've known since the first time you smiled at me." Ayame remained silent, but her eyes began to fill with tears.
Feeling oddly shy, Naruto looked away. His hand was only inches from hers, but somehow, that distance was impossible to cross. "I mean I can woo you the way all the court ladies are wooed, but I never learned those things, so you'll have to help me with the steps. And I'll mess up a lot, so you can't hold that against me. But still, I'll do everything. But after..." Naruto took a breath and looked determinedly back at her. "After what happened to that Bastard, I realized it's just too easy to lose the one you love and I can't let-"
Ayame reached over and laid a finger on his lips.
"Shhh," she hushed him. Brown eyes met blue, and she gave him a watery smile. "You need to stop that babble so I can actually accept."
It took Naruto a moment to understand what she said. Then his face split into a grin so wide it hurt his cheeks.
"Is that a 'yes'?!" he yelled, voice several decibels louder with excitement. She winced at his volume but nodded anyway. He picked her up and swung her around with a whoop. "Yes yes yes! I'm the luckiest man in the world!" Even the clumsily sincere kiss he gave her ended with a loud smack.
Ayame laughed as he set her down only to start dancing with her down the aisles between the dining tables. Naruto was a terrible dancer and only his experience as a ninja gave the couple an odd sort of grace as he somehow managed to keep them from crashing in everything in their path as they lurched about.
But despite his exuberance, Ayame peered up at him with a worried smile when they sat back down. The melancholy hadn't quite been seared from his eyes. Joy may balance the hurt, but it could never completely erase its presence.
"I'm going to be alright," he assured her. And it was true. Ayame was his reminder, his beacon. Naruto knew that he just had to try harder, fight harder, and punch Sasuke's face in harder when he found him. "I'll make it alright. That's my ninja way. Bastard's never going to know what hit him!"
If today was any indication, tomorrow was going to be a better day. He'll find that shitty Bastard and drag him back so he can be best man. Even if he had to tie him in place. Believe it!
AN:
-Some vignettes and fluff at the end to balance the tsunami of angst. :(
-This is the end of the first arc, so to say. I will continue it under Prey for the Hunted (mainly because I can't think of a worthy name for the second part. Mind Game or Stone-Hearted Quarry had been tossed around, but I'm trying too hard there...and I'm a control freak and want to make sure people don't accidentally read part II first. Spoilers, y'know.)
-There will be five year gap (in the story, not my updates, lolz), because five is a nice even number. And I don't like three. Always thought it looked like a sideways butt.
- Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Now some extra stuff that is not important to the story:
FUN FACTS/BEHIND THE SCENES (aka how I wanted it in my head and how everything wildly deviated away from said imagination )
-This used to be an ItaHina story. Lol, let that sink in a little. I had about five chapters plotted out and the first chapter written...and then promptly realized that 99.989 percent of the scenes were SasuHina. Our favorite arrogant prince was barging his way into everything. I was a little angry at Sasuke since I had to scrap everything, but my characters tend to take over the story and do their own thing. Sigh. That's exactly how SasuHina would probably occur anyways.
-That was the point where I gave up drafting stuff and just wrote how the characters wanted me to. Why does it seem so plotted? Because there's an untold amount of rethinking and unthinking and just plain thinking of what has been published so the next chapter will fit in.
-I was originally going to spin a Sai/Ino side story. That just never happened. I tried. But no. But definitely something to be considered in a separate story. They would form a very interesting dynamic. If anyone wants to write one, let me know!
-Ayame and Naruto happened simply because a reviewer (forgot who, if it's you, shoot me a pm and I'll give credit) pointed out that Naruto's date at the winter ball fit Ayame's description. Too cute. And I don't believe Ayame's character in the series. That many years as a waitress and she's still that nice? Hmmmm...
-The flashback intros that everyone seemed to like also due to the reviewers. Originally, I just didn't want to put flashbacks in the story because I can never quite get the timing right. Those of you who've read Come Full Circle may notice that it was difficult to figure out exactly where you are in the timeline - got a lot of complaints about that...sadface. Only recently, I've starting playing a little more with flashbacks in the story mainly because I can't figure out how to put them in any other way.
-The most difficult character to write would be Yamato. He's a great person to play off with Kakashi/Naruto for laughs, but otherwise, I have very little gauge on his character. He's an observer, not a doer...if that makes any sense.
-I have the most fun writing Ino when she's being shallow and crazy.
TIMELINE THUS FAR (ish)
(based on Hinata's age)
0 - birth
4 - kidnapped
5 - betrothed to Itachi
11 - Team Eight ambushed :(
12 - joins Gai's team for training
14 - becomes commander
16 - betrothal nulled, exiled, met Gaara
19/20 - met Sasuke, goes to Sun Kingdom, shit happens, Danzo evils, SasuHina ensures
20 - driven away from Sun Kingdom
25 - story will resume here
