Finally finding time to update. This chapter actually sets a couple of important things in motion. I wonder if anyone will spot them. XD One is sort of obvious but others are more obscure. Happy reading~

How complicated and unpredictable the machinery of life really is.— Kurt Vonnegut

Sakura worried her lip as she tapped her pen distractedly. She was making a first draft of her report on a hospital case. Although, it felt like she'd been staring at it far too long, making little to no progress. It was stupid, so utterly stupid, but of all things distracting her, the words of the ninken flew through her head on repeat. 'Stupid mutts…what did they even mean?' Team 7 had perfectly healthy relationships. So what, they were close. After all they'd experienced together, they should be!

And it didn't mean much if people spotted her with her teammates in the streets and occasionally remarked with envy what a cute couple she made with…well, who hadn't people mistaken for her boyfriend? She was perfectly aware quite a few people thought she was dating Naruto. 'Which is crazy.' Then she was in the park with Sai, reluctantly agreeing to pose for a sketch, and she saw two nosey women eyeing them and giggling behind their hands. 'Not that he even noticed.'

Sasuke. Of course plenty of people expected she'd announce an engagement to him any day. Those were people who were aware of the flame she'd held for him in their genin days, and who saw them together when she was occasionally escorting him to or from the hospital for routine check-ups. Something he loathed.

The rumor mill surrounding a pending engagement, she was almost positive had been started by one of her fellow med nins. 'Totally unprofessional.' she scoffed quietly. Sakura chose not to get into the things others likely thought when they saw her with Kakashi or Yamato. Honestly, what was wrong with males and females being friends? Why did that mean they were automatically bound to become more? It was irksome.

She paused to skim what she had written so far, and noticed she'd made more than her fair share of mistakes due to her distractedness. Scowling, she crumpled the report and tossed it backwards, into the trash. She would simply have to start over. Sakura had just put pen to paper again when someone knocked on her office door. "Who is it?" she grumbled, already beginning to rewrite the report.

"Haruno-san," one of her colleagues called through the door, "You have some visitors here." Sakura leaned back in her chair with a sigh. She didn't need three guesses to know who they were.

"Send them in." No sooner had those words left her mouth than the door opened, and her teammates came barging into her office, Naruto in the lead followed closely by Sai and, surprisingly Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto was on her before she could even swivel her chair all the way around. His arms came around her in a hug that almost lifted her out of her seat, and a small part of her reveled in his body heat and the comforting, familiar scent. "We came to take you to lunch!"

Sakura stood and turned in his arms, pushing lightly against his chest. "That's not really necessary. I'm just gonna run down to the hospital cafeteria and pick up a bento bo—"

"Sakura," Sasuke said. "Humor us."

Sakura craned her neck to look at Sai, who was waiting patiently. "And what do you have to say about this?"

"That I'd be happy if you obliged us and that I'm willing to eat anywhere except for Ichiraku," The benevolent smile did a good job at concealing what was likely meant to be a desperate plea.

Sakura smiled fondly. Naruto glared at Sai, "What do you have against Ichiraku now?! I'm gonna remind you that ramen's been good to you since you joined this team."

"We're all tired of ramen with the exception of you." Sasuke muttered.

Naruto released her then, stepping into Sasuke's face. "Oi, I sprung you outta Kaka-sensei's apartment and you're gonna have that kind attitude? Ungrateful bastard…"

Quickly intervening, Sakura grabbed Naruto and dragged him back by the collar. "We'll take a vote, alright?"

"Fine," Naruto conceded, but only because it was Sakura.

"All in favor of ramen?" Sakura asked. Instantly Naruto's hand went up.

"All against it?" Naruto gaped as his teammates all raised their hands.

"S-Sakura-chan," he whined, "You too?"

"Sorry Naruto, but it's just…there's only so much noodles and broth a person can eat in a lifetime."

His blue eyes fluttered, as if he hadn't heard her correctly. "You take that back Sakura-chan," he whispered indignantly.

Sakura rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "I only want to take an hour for lunch, so let's get going. We can decide where we'll eat on the way."

"Fine with me." Sasuke agreed.

"Alright," Sai nodded.

Sakura left her office with an undeniable lightness to her steps, her boys at her back. Realizing only two sets of footsteps were following, she turned to look over her shoulder. Naruto was lagging behind, clearly sulking.

"Pick it up Naruto!" she called cheerfully.

The blonde gave her a dramatic sigh and a forlorn look of bright, blue eyes. He followed behind his teammates, complaining under his breath all the while.

Tsunade eyed the two members of the High Council warily. They were becoming a far too frequent and unwelcome sight in her office. "What is it now?" she huffed, pushing aside some paperwork she'd been half-heartedly contemplating doing. "Don't tell me you're reneging on having Kakashi as my successor. Or did you come to belittle me for something? Either way," Tsunade waved them off. "I'm not in the mood. Shizune took the sake and the simplest inconvenience is enough to make me give up on this paperwork right now."

Koharu's long-suffering sigh irritated her; it was if the council member were speaking to a petulant child. "Oh Tsunade-hime, why must you insist on being so recalcitrant? Your grandfather and the Second were respectable men who held this office with pride and a willingness to do whatever necessary to see the village prosper."

Tsunade gave her a bored stare, leaning into her palm. "What does bringing dead relatives into this have to do with the two of you bothering me, here and now?"

"Only to remind you that you'd do well to follow their examples, rest their souls." Homura cleared his throat. "We seek to provide guidance. That is our duty to the Hokage as council members."

Tsunade sat up, her fine brows lifting in amusement as her full lips pulled into a smirk. 'I'd like to see you buzzards hold onto those roles forever. A new wind is blowing through the leaves.'

"Then please, by all means, enlighten."

Their lips thinned at her mocking cadence, but Homura pressed on. "I will speak plainly then. As you well know, we suffered heavy casualties in this last war. Losing leaders to three of our most elite clans as a result. The shinobi force of the Five Elemental Nations has been cut well in half."

"I think I'm aware of that," Tsunade spoke shortly, drumming her fingernails on her desk impatiently. "I was there. Unlike some," she stared pointedly. Speaking of nails…it was almost time to repolish them. But was she in the mood to stick with her classic red or should she try a brand new color? Sakura had been sporting pretty green nails and toes lately, it really suited he—

"And being that you've taken part in two out of Four Great Wars, perhaps you will see the reason in what we are about to tell you."

Tsunade tensed. She didn't like what they told her on a good day. In her gut, she sensed something grave and unpleasant about to occur, and she silently damned Shizune to hell for taking her only source of coping away.

"As Homura said, the population has plummeted. The bloodshed of this war was unprecedented, and so we find ourselves with a dilemma, forced to make hard choices to ensure the future of the village for generations to come," Koharu explained.

"We have…reached out to the daimyo with a proposal on how to procede, and he seems to be thinking it over."

"Wait a minute," Tsunade could feel her nails digging into the wood of her desk. "You did what? Who told you to go behind my back?"

"Time is of the essence with these things," Koharu scoffed, eyeing her critically. "We didn't have time to coax you into agreeing. You see, what we've thought about is simply this—immediately following the war is the best time to introduce certain actions to encourage shinobi to…how should I say, make merry and settle down."

Tsunade continued to stare at the Council members bitterly, nails biting into the desk so hard she was vaguely aware it would leave gouges. "You're talking about coercive repopulation." She said lowly.

"Precisely." Homura nodded curtly. "Throughout history there have been large booms in births following war. But this is simply a way to coax it along. So, we drew up the draft to what would in effect be a marriage law bill, and sent it to the daimyo for him to look over. If he indeed agrees or is even amenable to it in the slightest, then the next step would be informing the current clan heads and drawing them into the loop."

Tsunade felt her shoulders shaking violently. "How dare you…" she intoned. "How dare you go behind my back and start making plans to strong-arm arranged marriages without consulting me. What gave you the right!" she was screaming now, her amber eyes burning venomously.

"I think when you calm down you'll find we had every right!" Homura argued, raising his voice as well. "In some regards, you're exactly like your master before you. He too would hesitate in matters such as this. That is why the High Council has come to exist, why we—"

Tsunade stood, and in one fluid motion, flipped her desk. Doddering though they may have been, the High Council managed to evade it as it crashed into the other side of the room. "Get out!" her chest burned, and red bloomed high on her cheeks. A pity that this time she couldn't put it down to inebriation. She would give nearly anything, up to and including her right tit, for even a sip of alcohol in that moment.

"Tsunade-hime, stop this at once!" Koharu commanded, though Tsunade took pride in the quiver in her voice.

"Final warning," she sneered.

Homura glared defiantly, before taking Koharu by the shoulder and guiding her toward the door. "This is very much necessary," he threw over his shoulder. "In time, when the village prospers from this, you will see that. When you find yourself calm enough, I'll show you a copy of the draft and all the clauses it entails."

The door closed behind them, and a frame wobbled and fell off the wall, the glass shattering. Her eyes still wide and wild, Tsunade continued to glare into the door, her fists clenched. Suddenly, she felt overwhelming exhaustion pour over her, and her legs turned numb. She collapsed into her chair, sinking down into it and cradling her head in one hand, eyes squeezed shut. She hated to do it but she needed to pull Shizune from the hospital. The fleeting thought of summoning Shikaku occurred before she remembered why she couldn't…

The words of her dear sensei's former teammates circled through her head. To think they would use the deaths of honorable shinobi such as Shikaku and Inoichi and the countless others, to justify their own twisted aspirations. It was despicable. And yet what could she do? The daimyo had likely received their draft by now… Saying it was all a mistake would reflect poorly on her leadership, really.

Sasuke did a silent perusal as he followed the others into the restaurant they had—mostly, not counting Naruto—decided on. Kare-raisu was far and away preferable to stomaching ramen for lunch. It was nothing against the cook or his daughter.

They ran a clean establishment with decent food. But, as Sakura had noted, there was only so much of it a person wanted to eat in a lifetime, unless you had the gullet of one Uzumaki Naruto. Since returning just around a month ago, Naruto had smuggled him from Kakashi's apartment on several memorable outtings, going as far as making him dawn ridiculous disguises—they were ninja; they could simply henge—all for the sake of taking the Uchiha out for ramen to quote unquote "catch up".

Every time an ANBU came around presumably to take him back for house arrest, Naruto waved them off, saying he had it all under control. Somehow, it worked, which made Sasuke mentally roll his eyes. How the blonde managed to charm his way out such situations, he still couldn't really figure out. If, and he would never admit it even under the highest levels of torture, he thought of it, he supposed that Naruto's idiocy and simplistic outlook on life was endearing.

As they were seated, their hostess doing more than a passing glance at all male members of the team, Sasuke thought idly that this level of domesticity was out of place after years on the road with Taka. Returning to Konoha had been in part because he was fully prepared for Sakura and Naruto to keep hounding him to come back until the end of his days and because, he still had a bone to pick, and he couldn't do that if he was far away.

Now, he bided his time, acted compliant, allowed their ridiculous stipulations, up to and including stripping him of his doujutsu and the humiliatingly easy assignments more so suited for a new academy graduate, than a seasoned shinobi with his skillset.

"…suke…!"

He glanced to up from skimming the menu, looking up into Sakura's pale, heart-shaped face. He could admit that the years had been kind to her. Her green eyes were luminous, the way they had always been, but there was an air of maturity she wore these days. Pink hair brushed her shoulders now and whenever she walked in front of him or bent over, he noticed the swell of her hips and the tightness of her tops around the chest area. When had that happened?

She was looking at him oddly, and he effected a face of casual disinterest to hide the fact that his mind had begun to wonder to decidedly…inappropriate places. "Hn?"

"I was asking you if you know what you want? It's my treat today." she repeated, a patient smile on her lips.

"Sakura-chan! We're not gonna let you pay for all of us!" Naruto protested, flailing his arms.

"Why not?" Sakura asked. "I mean I'm offering, and I don't see why I can't—" If Sasuke were in the dobe's shoes, he would drop it. Let it be. Anyone who knew Sakura could see the stubborn glint she was getting in her eyes. But Naruto was always looking for a way to impress, and sometimes, even now, it prevented him from reading Sakura's moods. To his credit, overall he'd gotten better at it. Going from the loud little idiot who was oblivious to reading a room as a genin, he supposed that Naruto should count that an improvement.

"Hm…" Sai, the dark-haired boy who had acted as a substitute in his absence, pulled out and thumbed through a pocket manual. Sasuke discreetly read the title and his nose scrunched when he saw "How to Impress: Etiquette to Make You Likable". It was nearly as bad as Kakashi's choice in reading material, just for an entirely different reason.

The Uchiha knew he was hardly one to talk (literally), but the fact that someone relied on a book to get them through every day conversation was pitiable. Then, Naruto and Sakura had clued him in on Sai's past with ROOT, and he supposed he understood at least slightly. Both being victims of Danzo in some shape or form was what gave them a certain level of distant camaraderie.

"When dining out with friends, always offer to split the bill." Sai mouthed to himself as he read. "No one likes a friend who is always leeching off others." Sai glanced up, opening his mouth presumably to declare his intent to foot his own bill. But then he noticed the fierce glare Sakura had leveled on Naruto and thought better of it, mouth slowly closing again.

Sasuke chuckled under his breath. 'Smart one.'

Their waiter chose that time to come, a certain sparkle in his eyes as he anxiously fidgeted, his eyes roving the table until they landed on Sakura, who was now leaning over Sai, pointing out something on his menu.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he saw the boy's face darken with a blush. He was nothing remarkable. Mussed dark hair, an angular jaw and blue eyes. "U-Um excuse me," he began, eyes still locked on Sakura. The kunoichi lifted her head curiously, smiling politely when she noticed he was staring. "I…my name is Yuri. I'm your server today, and I know this is forward but," Yuri pulled out a pad and pen, bowing his head as he thrust them across the table toward Sakura. Sasuke had to lean back to avoid his arms, and Naruto, sitting directly across from him on one side of Sakura, looked dumbfounded. "Would you please sign this? I really admire you. You see my father was one of the people you saved during the War, and—"

Sakura gently took the pen, gave him a warm, closed-eye smile that was reminiscent of a certain silver-haired jonin, and then signed the boy's pad. "Here you go," she returned it to him, and Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes at the large, dopey grin still on his face.

"So, are you going to actually take our orders, or what?" He wasn't the only one unimpressed, something Naruto decided to voice.

That seemed to make the waiter come back to himself, and he straightened. "I'm sorry! Sakura-san is just so beautiful in person,"

Sasuke's hand clenched the table tightly. Sakura was blushing prettily, shyly averting her eyes. "Thank you," she giggled.

He'd seen enough. He didn't need their waiter ogling his teammate throughout lunch. Innocent though it may have seemed, what Sakura didn't realize was that all most men needed was an opening. They played themselves off chivalrous, and then pounced when their target's guard came down. He wasn't going to give it a chance to happen right in front of him. While he was fairly sure Sakura would decline any advances, it was beside the point. The boy had no right.

"We'll all be having kare-raisu, if you even care to take our orders." The waiter glanced down as if seeing him for the first time. Given that his eyes had only been for Sakura since he came to the table, Sasuke didn't doubt he'd blocked out the rest of them. Once they met eyes however, it was a different story. One stern look was enough to send him backing away from their table, until he was at a respectable distance.

"A-And what would you all like to drink?" he mumbled, making sure to avoid looking in Sasuke's general direction again. He also didn't dare look at Sakura either. It appeared the silent message had been conveyed. Back the fuck off. You're out of your league.

Sakura, looking his way questioningly, told the waiter what she wanted to drink. Sai and Naruto gave him their orders, and when it was his turn, he grunted out his request for herbal tea, watching as the brat scampered away from their table.

As soon as he was out of earshot, Sakura gave him a hard stare. "Why did you do that?" she demanded.

"I sat here the whole time. I didn't lift a finger towards him."

"Oh don't you give me that," she hissed, arms folded under her chest. His eyes slyly trailed to her bosom. It really had gro—Sasuke instantly walled off the damning thoughts before they had time to fully form. His time away from the village had done a lot for him, including helping him get in touch with his more…carnal side, who occasionally indulged in pleasures of the flesh. Strictly out of necessity. He and Sakura shared a history far longer and more sophisticated than any girl he had taken to bed. He wasn't going to start viewing her that way.

Sakura was still ranting at him. "You did that…that macho thing. You know," she sighed in frustration. "You know that thing you guys all do when you wanna get into a pissing contest with other guys? That!" she punctuated her sentence with a well-aimed jab into his chest from across the table with her pointer finger.

Naruto giggled. "You got told off!"

Sakura stared at the blonde, heat still in her eyes. "You don't really have a leg to stand on since you did it the other day with Kiba,"

Naruto slouched in his seat. "That…that was different."

Sakura massaged her forehead, pushing her bangs back. Sasuke caught a glimpse at the small purple seal before her hair fell to conceal it once again. "I don't know what's gotten into any of you lately, but in case you haven't noticed, I'm allowed to talk to whoever I want. Even if that person is male. He was just being nice. I thought it was cute."

"It's not cute," Naruto grumbled. "I told you before, Sakura-chan, you just don't get how guys work. But we do."

Sakura rolled her eyes dismissively. "Well I bet none of you get how girls work."

Sai canted his head to the side, shrugging. "She isn't wrong." He was rewarded with a triumphant smile from the pinkette sitting next to him.

Sasuke fixed Sai with a disgusted look. "Sell out…" he muttered.

"Maa, Sakura-chan, you know it's not because we don't think you can take care of yourself. But you're special. You're way too good to waste time on plain guys like that. I mean, you're the smartest person I know." Sasuke watched with hidden incredulity as Sakura stared at Naruto skeptically, before a pleased smile that reached her eyes lit up her face.

'How does he do that?' In a matter of seconds he had talked Sakura right out of her sour mood.

"Thanks, Naruto." She smiled sweetly. "You're laying it on thick though."

"I think he makes a good point, Sakura," Sai added.

That got another blush from the girl.

"Plus! That guy was way too young for you."

And there it was, Sasuke thought, Naruto's foot, meet mouth. To his mild surprise, Sakura only smiled playfully. "Well I'm older than you but that's never stopped you." Naruto's face fell. Sakura put a finger to her full bottom lip. "I'm older than Sasuke too, come to think of it. Not counting the sensei, I may be the oldest member of the team, give or take some months."

Naruto pouted. "A few months is different than a few years. And Sai could be older than you!"

Sakura looked thoughtfully at their socially inept teammate. "Come to think of it, when is your birthday Sai?"

Sai's brow furrowed. "I was told it was November twenty-fifth."

"Hah! You're younger than any of us!" Naruto crowed. Sasuke watched as Sai's words registered, and blue eyes widened. "Wait, you were told?"

Sai looked sheepishly at his etiquette book. "Y-Yes. As you know, with ROOT we were stripped of our identities. Including birthdays and names. I'm not sure but that was the birthday my brother gave me. I believe I turn eighteen this year."

Sakura and Naruto exchanged worried glances. Awkwardness descended over the entire table, and it didn't improve when their drinks and plates were delivered. Naruto lifted a mouthful of the curry to his lips, and then dropped his spoon abruptly. "Naruto!" Sakura complained, smacking him as food splattered on the table.

Naruto valiantly ignored the blow. "Eighteen?! He's older than all of us!"

Sakura wiped the food from the table and then looked at Sai as if she were seeing him for the first time. "Hey, he's right! You're a year older?"

Sai rubbed his neck sheepishly, eating a spoonful of curry. "I guess so…"

Sasuke wasn't happy about the news himself. He had never put much stock in age equaling superiority, but it rankled him for a reason he couldn't explain.

Naruto shoveled in several mouthfuls of curry, grumbling to himself.

"This is insignificant." He found himself saying. "A year or a month. What matters most is skill."

"Easier for you to say." Naruto told him. "This is a big deal, you jerk!"

"Now that I think of it…" Sakura nearly choked on her melon soda. "Sai, your birthday is next week!"

"Is it?" the boy in question asked. "I hadn't even realized…"

"That means a party, right?" Naruto asked hopefully. "Presents and cake!" he rubbed his hands together.

"They wouldn't be for you," Sasuke felt the need to point out.

Naruto give him an annoyed huff. "I know that asshole. I can be happy for Sai though."

Sasuke smirked around a sip of tea. "Of course you can." No way in hell Naruto wouldn't try to make himself the center of attention if Sai was thrown a party.

"It's short notice, but I think we can make it work!" Sakura smiled determinedly. "A party always cheers people up, and that's what we all need right now!"

"Sounds like it's already a party," Everyone glanced up to see Kakashi and Yamato standing there. Kakashi waved in the carefree way he always did. "Room for two more?"

And just like that Sasuke found himself sitting with the two jonin. "Kaka-sensei, how'd you find us?" Sakura queried.

"Ah, well, someone was kind enough to leave me this." He held up a note written in Naruto's untidy scrawl that said in essence, that he would be taking Sasuke from the apartment and meeting Sakura for lunch. It even had a cartoon illustration of Naruto dragging Sasuke off by the back of the shirt.

Sasuke looked at the childish note dubiously. "You must be joking."

"Nope!" Naruto chirped. "But how'd you know we'd be here?" he leaned into Kakashi, stroking his chin with an exaggerated expression of skepticism that made the blonde look like a snooping old man.

"That required a little more legwork." Yamato explained. "And really, some luck. Kind of expected to find you at the ramen shop."

"I know right?!" Naruto nodded vigorously, almost putting his elbow in Sakura's curry.

"Watch it Naruto!"

"Sorry!"

"Naruto was outvoted this time around." Sai's usual smile resembled more of a smirk.

"With good reason, I'd say," Yamato sighed. "And what's this I hear about it being your birthday next week, Sai?"

"We were talking about who's oldest and Sai just dropped a major bombshell on us!" Naruto whined, gulping down his soda. "He's the oldest! Can you believe that?! Anyway, we're gonna have a party. You wanna come sensei?"

Sasuke couldn't believe how quickly the blond could jump from one topic to the next. He calmly took a few bites of curry, wiping at his mouth before clearing his throat, "I think you're getting a little too ahead of yourself."

"Yeah Naruto," Sakura agreed. "Kakashi isn't going to have a whole lot of time for that sort of thing soon. He'll be getting ready for his coronation."

This had Sasuke's full attention. He gave the jonin a look from his peripherals. A coronation to what exactly? Well, there were only a few things that came to mind. One of them being—

"They're making you Hokage?" Yamato gasped. "You senpai?" Yamato looked incredibly concerned, and Sasuke could understand why. Formidable as he was, Kakashi tended to shirk responsibility habitually whenever possible. The Hokage title was nothing if not a heavy responsibility.

"Maa, when you all look at me like that, it's a little insulting…" Kakashi lifted his nose from Icha Icha. "I suppose the news would get out sooner or later." He sighed, pausing for dramatic effect. "Yes, Lady Hokage and the High Council have offered me the position."

Naruto took the news about as well as anyone could expect. "WHAT?!"

Aaaand, here we have it, folks. Marriage Law. Boom. I never see enough Marriage Law fics that have the pairings I like within the Naruto fandom, and thus this was born. Now the summary makes sense, eh?

Originally, I just wanted to write fluffy, domestic polyandry with Team 7. Now though, I'm feeling sort of inspired to turn this into a semi-fix it fic. Eventually exploring themes like changing the Hyuga clan and Sasuke getting some sort of reparations or solace for his clan. Whichever one. Might tackle or touch on some quasi-political stuff too, which is almost inevitable due to the nature of where this is going with the polyandry thing. It's not gonna be deeply politically focused though, because likely I'd get bored writing that.

I'm trying to update as many fics as I can, so I decided to save one or two more romantic scenes for next chapter instead of putting them in this chapter. Hoping to get some YamaSaku in there really soon!

Please review. I'm really enjoying writing this fic but I'd like some feedback.