Disclaimer – If I owned Naruto Itachi would've never ever died!
- - - - - - - - - - - -Chapter 11 – Fumihiko Aiko
Tenten sighed as she finally saw the Konoha gates appear on their sight. She was tired and it was a long mission, especially since Lee would not stop talking about everything and anything that caught his interest that varied from sand to his cells. Also they were on full guard because of the Daimyo's daughter and her safety meant everything to them.
She was curious to see what the princess looked like since they had not actually met her face to face. Also she wanted know how exactly 'Naruto' of all people managed to get engaged to the princess of the Fire country.
Tenten looked to her left where Neji was, the byakugan user was as silent as ever. He had not said anything to them or to the guards of the manor, leaving everything to her and Lee. He seemed to be overwhelmed by his thought throughout the mission.
She sighed for the umpteenth time but was glad that the mission was coming to an end. It was taking a toll on her to do long term missions and she didn't know why.
When they finally arrived at the gates she was only a little surprised to see the number of villagers gathered there, but she was surprised to see the team 7 and Hokage all standing near the gate to greet the daimyo's daughter, Fumihiko Aiko.
I thought that we were supposed to escort the princess to the Hokage's tower? She thought as she looked to her left again, trying to gouge Neji's reaction but he gave nothing away. Tenten cursed her fate again.
She joined the other ninja when the carriage stopped at the gate and waited for the most expected appearance of the daimyo's daughter.
Naruto sighed inwardly at the people around him waiting with baited breath to see the daimyo's princes.
I wonder what they will say when they learn about my heritage or who Aiko is engaged to, not that they ever will, he thought ruefully, ah, life was easier when all I had to do was act.
Naruto turned his eyes to the carriage again when he heard it open. Just as his fiancée stepped down from the carriage gasps and whispers broke out around them.
He smiled at the daimyo's daughter when she addressed him and took her hand.
"Hizashiburi desu, Aiko (Long time no see Aiko). I waited for you." She smiled back at him.
The daimyo's daughter was one who could be called a natural beauty, with her glistening auburn hair and bright silver purple eyes. Her hair was put in a complicated bun, which was fixed with a gem stone butterfly hairpin. Hey shapely figure was hidden with an elaborate kimono of finest silk, the pale pink and light gold of the kimono enhancing the slight pinkness of her well-cared for skin.
For Riku she resembled a goddess who had come down to bless lowly humans like him, her beauty and grace could never be matched by another woman on this earth.
Her smile that lit up her full lips into a sensual curve only ignited the fire within him. It lit up everything his eyes landed on, making them shine even more.
Then she started walking towards him and Riku could only bless his whim to become a shinobi thousand times over, even though he hated being one. Her smile was still present as ever and her eyes shined as brightest gems.
He only started to see something was wrong with his dream when she didn't seem to slow down her walking when nearing him, and he started to curse his life when she passed him by and he turned to see her run to embrace the tall figure of the man he had only started to hate, Namikaze Naruto.
And he cursed the man to hell yet again.
Fumihiko Aiko was underestimated and misunderstood all the time; it was nothing she was new to. She was the daimyo's daughter. She had expectations and roles to fulfill. The role of a daughter, the role of daimyo's daughter, the role of a caring and wonderful public figure and the latest, the role of a woman in love.
For Aiko since she was little she had thought little of expectations and needs of people but she fulfilled them with all she could all the same. But she never had a second thought about them.
Her life was ordinary, it was the same routine again and again, and she was never surprised or happy by anything. She did anything that was told to her, she was the daimyo's daughter and it was her duty. Her life was supposed to be like this.
But it surely took a strange turn when I met Naruto, she thought fondly as she embraced her fiancé, and he will be mine, soon, and I will be happy forever, like Aiko was supposed to be, she snuggled more into the strong warm arms as they tightened around her.
"I missed you, koi(love). Now we won't be separated, we will be together." Just like we're supposed to be.
Aiko remembered the day she first met Naruto like yesterday. She treasured every memory she had of her love. She had lost her mother when she was really small and her father told her the importance of treasuring memories of people you love since she was little.
It was raining ironically and Naruto had been saved from the raging storm and flood outside when he had knocked on the gates of the daimyo's mansion. Everyone was suspicious of him at first, and father got a strange gleam in his eyes at first when he saw Naruto.
He was so pale and thin, she looked up into the blue eyes of her fiancé, and I will do everything in my power to make sure he would never go into a stage like that. And his eyes, she shivered unconsciously, they were dead.
She was drawn out of her reminiscing when she felt the warmth surrounding her disappear. She looked confusedly at Naruto but was sated when he smiled at her.
"Come Aiko, you must be tired, let's go home," Naruto's deep voice always made her tingle, and she tried to keep her cheeks from becoming rosy. But she nodded her yes to him and took his arm; he looked at her but didn't say anything.
"But I want to introduce some people to you before that." He gestured to the blonde busty woman next now in front of him, she remembered seeing them talking when she peeked from the carriage window.
"This is Hokage of Konoha, Senju Tsunade," Tsunade flinched when she heard her family name but looked at her steadily. Aiko looked straight into the warm amber eyes but found nothing but the comforting warmth in them.
She unconsciously smiled and was surprised when she found facing a genuine warm smile directed at her. Usually the smiles were so faked they made her repulsed. She looked Naruto again when he started talking again.
"This is Haruno Sakura and Hyuuga Hinata," he gestured to a pretty pinkett girl and a beautiful ebony haired girl. She was intrigued by the pink hair but didn't show anything but smiled politely at them.
She got a polite smiles from both of them but when she looked into the strangely white eyes of the 'Hinata' she felt nothing but uneasiness, the same unease she felt when Naruto was approached by other girls.
"Sakura is my teammate, these are my other teammates Shiba Riku and Uchiha Sasuke," he nodded towards a brown haired man and a raven haired man. She got a charming smile from 'Riku' but got nothing but a glare from the Uchiha.
And I thought they were supposed to be considered almost nobles in this village, she snorted inwardly and smiled politely at the glaring man, and she got a sneer for her efforts.
"Sakura and Hinata will be your guards while I'm not with you. I have to take missions Aiko I'm sure you understand," Naruto smiled at her again and she could say anything against that smile.
"Mochiron (Of course) Naruto. I'll be fine, you don't have to worry about everything koi(love). But I'll like to rest before I collapse," she smiled a bit sheepishly at him.
Naruto nodded and before anyone could say anything, which everyone wanted to do, he swung an arm around her lithe waist and vanished in a swirl of wind, leaving everyone to gape and stumble with questions.
"Tsunade-sama, we should.." Sakura started to say but was cut off when Tsunade raised her arm.
"Leave the two of them alone until they come to you, we have to respect Fumihiko-sama's request. And don't come to me with questions. I don't know anything," and with that she started to walk towards the Hokage's office.
Ino sighed. "We should atleast follow Hokage's orders. Come on Chouji we need to go back to the academy, you too Sakura." Sakura nodded, and after one last look towards the silent and motionless Uchiha followed the retreating backs of her fellow 'sensei'.
Sasuke looked at the spot where he had last seen Naruto. His ebony eyes narrowed. What are hiding Naruto.
This chapter is boring, which I admit to. I wrote it fast but I hope future chappies won't end up like this. I seem to suffer from some kind of writer's block, but I haven't heard of anyone suffering this long. I need to find my muse soon.. hmm..
I'm redoing my last chappies because I find a lot of mistakes in them each time I read them so I'm adjusting the mistakes and redoing them.
Until next time! Finals week this week so hopefully next week I will have another chapter done.