Vixen
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Naruko talking to Kyuubi in bold.
Kyuubi talking to Naruko in bold italics.
Chapter 3
What a drag, Sasuke thought to himself slyly as he waits for his friends to arrive at the ramen shop. Nothing got his friends' attention faster than free food. So he had offered to treat them, if they didn't keep him waiting for too long. That offer had worked like a charm.
Idly, he muses that Shikamaru must be rubbing off on him. He was starting to think like the other ninja. Oh well. Sasuke shoves that thought to the side for now. He had more important things to focus on.
"So friend Sasuke, what's the big secret? You said that you had a youthful surprise that you wanted to unveil?" Lee asks excitedly.
Lee was a nice guy. He really was. The spandex lover was a bit too hyper for Sasuke's tastes, but there a more loyal friend would be hard to find. That was why the Uchiha didn't really mind the bushy browed ninja being part of their group.
"Yes. Before I start, I want you to all promise something. Promise me that you aren't going to make a scene. We are in a public place. A little restraint is necessary." Sasuke says.
"Sasuke, I think that we are all more than capable of conducting ourselves in a dignified fashion when it's absolutely necessary." Neji assures him.
"Okay. Good. I'm engaged." Sasuke says simply.
"WHAT?! YOU'RE ENGAGED?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?! WHO ARE YOU MARRYING?!" Kiba demands.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. So much for that whole conducting ourselves with dignity thing. He sighs and smacks his forehead in frustration.
Great. Just great. Now all of the patrons were staring at the group funny. That is exactly the type of thing that he was hoping to avoid. Damn it. He supposed it couldn't be helped though.
"Yes, I'm engaged. It happened very recently. Naruko Uzumaki is going to become Naruko Uchiha. It's an arranged marriage." He explains.
Sasuke generally preferred the company of his own Clan, but he did have a few friends outside it. The male members of the Rookie Nine were his closest friends and Shino happened to be one of his teammates. The other one was Sakura.
"And you're okay with that?" Shikamaru asks in surprise.
"Arranged marriages are more common in Clans like mine than they are in the general population. I always assumed that I would marry another Ucihha, like Itachi did. My parents were going to let me choose, but the Hokage Family made an offer." Sasuke says and he shrugs.
Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru all frowned at that. They were able to read between the lines. Things were dire enough that Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha had thought it was necessary to accept an arranged marriage for their youngest son. That meant that things were far worse than any of them had feared.
"Well Naruko seems nice! I'm sure you'll be happy with her!" Choji says encouragingly.
"Thanks, Choji." Sasuke says with a forced smile.
He just hoped that his friends bought it. Sasuke barely knew Naruko. Yes, she was attractive and she was certainly a powerful ninja, but they were little more than strangers. He had no idea how to make her happy.
The only thing that he really knew about her was how to provoke her into a schoolyard fight. That was hardly a good beginning for a marriage. Damn it. How did this happen?
"The power of youth and love will blossom. You'll see!" Lee chimes in.
Sasuke rubs the back of his head sheepishly. Well it was the thought that counted. Honestly, that youth stuff was starting to get a bit annoying. Lee meant well though. Sasuke knew that and that was why he was willing to overlook the other man's eccentricities.
"It would seem to be a very advantageous match." Neji murmurs.
Sasuke nods in agreement. He knew exactly what Neji was thinking. He came from another Noble Clan. The Hyugas were also a Clan that had a bloodline related to their eyes. In a way, Neji might understand the complex situation the best out of any of them.
"What a drag. That had to be awkward to discuss with Naruko. You did talk to her about this, right?" Shikamaru asks.
"Of course, I talked to her about it. She's just as stunned as I am, but I think she's willing to at least try to make it work." The raven haired man replies.
Kiba nods. Well that was good news. He still wasn't really sure how it was going to work. Sasuke and Naruko fought like cats and dogs.
"Well I guess she must understand that it's for the good of the village. Good luck, man. Hey, that reminds me. Who are you going to pick to be your Best Man at your wedding?" The canine lover asks.
Sasuke blinks. He hadn't thought about that. His gut instinct was Itachi. He was his brother and the person who was closest to him. Unfortunately, he was also another Uchiha. That might send the wrong message.
He was intelligent enough to realize that choosing someone from outside the Clan was the smarter move. After all, the Uchihas were trying to prove that they could be trusted. They wanted to become more integrated within the village. So it would only make sense to choose someone who wasn't an Uchiha as his Best Man.
"I haven't really thought about it yet. Please tell me that you aren't all going to act like women and fight over the position." Sasuke says with a sigh.
"Who? Us? We would never do such a thing." Shino assures him and the other male ninjas nod their heads in agreement.
Unbeknownst to Sasuke, all of them were crossing their hands behind their back. If he had seen that, the Uchiha would have realized just how perilous his situation was. Male ninjas could be an extremely competitive group of people, especially when it came to things like weddings.
"Good. I'm glad to hear it. Well I just wanted to tell you guys what was going on. I figured it was best to tell you all at once. So order whatever you like. I did promise that it would be my treat." Sasuke says.
His friends didn't waste any time. Sasuke blinks as he saw how much food they were order. Wow. It was a good thing that he had been saving up from his missions for awhile. That was a lot of food.
Meanwhile Minato was in his office with Fugaku. The two fathers were discussing their children's engagement. Needless to say, it was a rather uncomfortable topic.
"I think that it would be best, if we gave them some time to become more accustomed to each other." The Uchiha Patriarch begins.
"I think that's a good idea as well. So are you leaning towards encouraging them to have a long engagement?" Minato inquires.
"Oh I wasn't talking about that, but that might not be a bad idea. I just meant that it would be best, if they could get to know each other with some degree of privacy. Right now, my entire Clan will be watching them like hawks and I'm sure that you and Kushina are planning to do the same. Perhaps they should go on a mission together." Fugaku suggests.
Minato tilts his head as he considers it. Well the two of them weren't on the same team. It would be a little unusual and raise some eyebrows, but he figured that didn't really matter.
It was very likely that the entire village would know of the engagement before the next sunrise anyway. The Leaf Village was infamous for gossip spreading like wildfire within its borders for good reason. Really, it was almost impossible to keep a secret in this village.
"That might not be a bad idea. Did you have a specific kind of mission in mind though?" The Hokage asks.
"Well I think that it should be something out of the village. Something that will be time consuming. I don't want it to be too difficult. If that's the case, they'll be too focused on the mission and not enough on each other. Conversely, it would be a bad idea to make it too easy. That would make them suspicious." He reasons.
Minato nods. That was a good point. Hmm. It needed to be challenging enough so that they wouldn't be suspicious, but easy enough that they would have plenty of time to get to know each other. Maybe a lower B ranked mission.
"I think I may have just the case. There is a wealthy Nobleman that needs an escort to another village. He's high profile enough that I can't assign just anyone to it, but I wouldn't say that it necessarily requires their level of firepower to carry out this mission successfully." The blue eyed ninja muses.
"That sounds perfect." Fugaku agrees.
Minato nods. He hated that it had come to this. Both of them had wanted their children to marry for love, not out of necessity. Unfortunately, he couldn't see another way to heal the rift between the Uchihas and the rest of the village.
This plan might succeed where every other Hokage's plans had failed. Hashirama's heart had been in the right place, but he wasn't cynical enough to realize what was really happening. Tobirama had been too cynical. By the time that his former Sensei was Hokage, things had already spiraled out of control. Maybe this marriage would fix that.
"Tell Sasuke to come to my office. I have a mission for him. I'll have Naruko come as well." He says.
"Of course, Lord Hokage." Fugaku says as he flits off to find Sasuke.
A few minutes later, he found Sasuke at the Ramen Shop. Sasuke was eating with his friends. His friends were eating enough to feed an entire village. That could mean only one thing. Sasuke had been foolish enough to treat them.
"Sasuke, come. I'm regret that your time with your friends must be cut short, but the Hokage wants to see you. He has a mission for you." The elder Uchiha says.
"He does? That's weird. I wouldn't have thought that he would be assigning me any missions, considering everything. Sorry, guys. It looks like I have to go. This should cover it." Sasuke says as he leaves a pouch filled with money on the table and heads off with his father.
Fugaku smiles as he leads Sasuke back to the Hokage Office. Once he was sure that his youngest was safely there, he heads back to the Uchiha District. In his opinion, only one father was necessary to give them the mission.
"You wanted to see me, Lord Hokage?" Sasuke asks.
"You don't need to be so formal, especially not in private. We are going to be family soon, but you're right. I did want to see you. I have an important mission for you and Naruko. She should be along shortly." Minato assures him.
Sasuke blinks. Whatever he had been expecting, that hadn't been it. He was going on a mission with Naruko? Well he supposed that might be a good thing. They probably should spend some time together before the actual ceremony.
A few minutes later, Naruko bounds into Minato's office. Sasuke notes with amusement that she didn't even bother to knock. Then again, why should she? The Hokage was her father.
"Hey, dad! What's up? I heard you had a mission for me?" She asks brightly.
"Yes, I have a mission for you and Sasuke. It's a B Ranked Mission. It's likely that you will encounter some bandits and there's a fair chance that some ninjas might attack. A Nobleman needs an escort from here to the Lightning Country, specifically to the Cloud Village." Her father explains.
Naruko blinks. That was an awfully long way. That'd probably take at least a week, maybe more. That was assuming that the pampered Noble could even keep up.
"Alright. I guess that's cool. It seems really out of the way though." She muses.
"You are going to be Hokage, someday. I think that it's high time that you started to see more of the world. One day, you will have to interact with other Ninja Villages at great length. This is a good chance for you to get some experience. This also does show that we have trust in the Uchiha Clan. After all, I am sending Sasuke on an important mission with my daughter. It's a show of good faith, really." The blue eyed ninja reasons.
Naruko nods. She couldn't really argue with that. Besides, it would be nice to actually get to spend time with Sasuke outside of a classroom setting. They were going to be married soon.
"Cool. So when are we leaving?" The busty blonde asks brightly.
"You are leaving tomorrow morning. So I suggest you both head home and start packing. Here is a list of everything that you will need from a supplies perspective." Minato says as he hands Naruko and Sasuke each a sheet of paper.
"On it." Sasuke says simply and his daughter nods determinedly in agreement.
Minato smiles. Perhaps this would work out. They had both accepted the mission without any major protests. That was surely a good sign.
"Wonderful. Good night. You both have a lot of packing to do and I don't want to keep you from it." He says.
"Of course. Thank you, Lord Hokage" Sasuke says as he heads off, with Naruko following after him in short order.
Sasuke pauses outside the Hokage Tower. He knew that Naruko would be coming out. He felt like he should say something to her. If nothing else, it'd be rude not to at least acknowledge his future wife in some way.
""Hey! You waited for me." Naruko says with a smile.
"Yeah. Are you alright with this? Going on a mission together, I mean?" Sasuke asks.
"Yeah. I don't see why not. I mean if we are going to be married, we might as well get used to each other. Besides, you heard what my dad said. It'll be helpful experience to have when I'm Hokage. That and it makes your family look a bit more social and trustworthy. Nothing wrong with that." She says happily.
Sasuke smiles. While he was sure that Minato was telling the truth when he said all that, he suspected that the man had other reasons to send them off on a mission together. More personal ones.
"Good. Glad to hear it. I'll see you tomorrow then." Sasuke says.
"Yeah. Tomorrow. Wait. Did you tell anyone about our engagement?" The blonde asks before he could leave.
Sasuke raises an eyebrow. She didn't seriously expect him to keep it a secret, did she? If that was what she wanted, then she was out of luck.
"I told my friends. Neji, Choji, Kiba, Shikamaru, Lee, and Shino. That's not a problem, is it?" He asks.
"No. It's not a problem. I mean I told my friends too. It's not like I wanted to keep it a secret or anything. I was just curious. How did they react?" She inquires.
"They were in shock, but supportive." Sasuke replies automatically.
Naruko nods. Well that was good. At least his friends weren't against the idea of her marrying him. That type of thing was really important when it came to a successful marriage.
"Wait. Aren't you going to ask how my friends reacted?" The blonde demands.
Sasuke shakes his head. He pushes her against the side of the building and leans in close. He might as well get this out of the way.
"No, I'm not going to ask how they reacted. I don't care. I'll be nice to your friends, but they aren't my priority. Your reaction is the one that I care most about. You're going to be my wife. Not them." He says simply
"You're really confusing sometimes. I don't know whether I should slap you for being an antisocial bastard or find that sweet." She grumbles.
"Good. I'm marrying the most unpredictable ninja in our village. It's probably a good thing that I can keep you on your toes. Goodnight, Vixen." Sasuke says as he kisses her forehead and heads off.
Naruko blinks as she watches Sasuke's retreating form. He had KISSED her. He had kissed her on PURPOSE! Well he had kissed her on the forehead, but she figured it still counted!
"He's such a confusing bastard!" She says as she heads home to pack.
It didn't take her long to reach her home. Upon her arrival, she takes out her list and glances it over. It was one Hell of an extensive list. Her father really had thought of everything.
"Well I guess I better get started." She mutters.
The blonde ninja proceeds to start packing. Clothes, weapons, medicine, water, a map, and various other essential items. As she was doing this, she gradually checks each item off the list, one by one.
Naruko was feeling rather pleased with herself when she checked off the final item on the list. There. She had everything. She was all set for her mission.
In hindsight, she should have known that Kurama was going to mess with her. The furball had a habit of doing so whenever she was feeling pleased with herself. Kurama was her friend, but man he loved to tease her.
"I believe you are forgetting something rather important." Kurama says.
"No. I'm not forgetting everything. I checked everything off that was on the list. I'm totally ready for this mission! Believe it!" She exclaims excitedly.
Kurama shakes his head in amusement. Sometimes the human could be rather amusing. What he was about to do might be considered somewhat cruel, but he just couldn't resist the chance to ruffle her fur.
"You are going on this mission with Sasuke, correct?" Kurama asks her.
"Well yeah. I'm going on the mission with Sasuke. So what?" The blonde answers in a baffled voice.
"He's going to be your Mate. I do believe that many human females wear small articles of clothing underneath their uniform to entice their Mates into coupling. You should probably do that as well. The ones that you packed are rather basic. I suppose it doesn't really matter in the long run, since he's going to take them off anyway." The Nine Tails answers her and Naruko's face goes beat red.
She couldn't believe that Kurama was telling her to pack sexy lingerie. He wanted her to pack sexy lingerie for Sasuke! Unbelievable!
"You've been spending way too much time with Pervy Sage." She grumbles.
Meanwhile Sasuke returns to the Uchiha District and quickly heads to his room. He needed to pack. He needed to pack for his mission with Naruko tomorrow.
"I can't believe that I'm actually engaged to a woman that I barely know and I'm going on a mission with her." He mutters as he slowly starts going through the list.
In a way, he was grateful to Minato. Packing for a mission required just enough of his attention, that it kept him from panicking. It kept him from panicking over his impending marriage.
Naruko was beautiful and she was strong. It was fun to rile her up, but he didn't really know anything else about her. Well that wasn't entirely true. He knew that she liked the color orange and ramen. That was about it though.
"That's not exactly a lot to go on." Sasuke murmurs to himself as he sharpens some of his kunais.
He had kissed her forehead. Sasuke wanted to show that he was at least trying, without seeming too pushy. It wasn't that he was expecting intimacy right away. He just wanted Naruko to know that he was trying and for the rest of the village to think that they were a love match.
"Sasuke, I can hear you pacing from my room. Are you alright?" Itachi asks as he peeks his head into his brother's room.
"I don't know. I'm in an arranged marriage and going on a mission tomorrow with my future wife. A really long mission." Sasuke says.
Itachi blinks. Hmm. That was odd. He wouldn't have though that Minato would assign him anything. At least not until Sasuke was able to wrap his mind around the fact that he was engaged.
"What's the mission?" The elder Uchiha inquires curiously.
"Naruko and I have to escort a Nobleman all the way to the Lightning Country. The Hokage says that it's likely there will be bandits along the way and that we might be attacked by other ninjas. It's a B Ranked Mission." Sasuke explains.
The smoky eyed ninja raises an eyebrow. It was obvious what Minato was doing. Well it was obvious to Itachi anyway. He couldn't help but wonder, if Sasuke knew what the Hokage was up to.
"And do you know why he would assign such a mission to you and Naruko? You aren't on the same team and you've never worked with each other before. That seems like a gamble to take for a mission like this." Itachi asks.
Sasuke glances at Itachi. Sometimes, he wondered if Itachi seriously thought he was still seven or something. Of course, he knew why Minato was assigning them this mission.
"I know that he's using this as an excuse to force us to spend time with each other, before the wedding. I don't mind. He's right. I don't want to be just an acquaintance to the woman that I'm about to marry." Sasuke says.
"Ah good. I was worried. I wasn't sure if you knew what he was up to. Well that's a very mature approach to take to all this. I'm proud of you." Itachi says.
"Thanks, brother." Sasuke says with a smile and then he winces because Itachi had just poked him in the forehead AGAIN.
Damn him! He always did that! One of these days, that was not going to work. It was really annoying how he would always sneak attack him with these pokes!
"You just had to go and ruin the moment with the stupid forehead thing, didn't you?" Sasuke grumbles.
"As I've said before, I am your older brother. It is my job to love, protect, and annoy you. I would be remiss in my duties, if I didn't perform all three of these duties adequately." Itachi says as he smiles serenely.
"Well I would be remised, if I didn't kick your ass for doing that!" The raven haired Uchiha growls as he whacks Itachi with a pillow.
Itachi blinks. Did Sasuke seriously just attack him with a pillow? Well he supposed some things would never change. It seemed that Sasuke would always be his foolish little brother.
"I can't believe that you actually challenged me to a pillow fight." He states.
"I know. I guess it was pretty childish." Sasuke admits.
"Because there is no possible way that you are going to win." Itachi informs him as he smacks his brother with another pillow.
It didn't take long for the Uchiha brothers to become embroiled in their battle. They were so engrossed in their pursuit of victory, that they didn't even notice when the door to the bedroom opened slightly. Neither did they notice when Mikoto and Fugaku Uchiha watched them with bemused expressions on their faces.
"Unbelievable. Grown men engaging in pillow fights." Fugaku observes with a sigh as he smacks his forehead.
"Oh don't be too hard on them. Besides, this is a good sign. Clearly, Sasuke is taking the news of his engagement better than we expected. If he was truly depressed, I doubt he'd be challenging his brother to pillow fight." She reasons.
"That's true. I am a rather fortunate man. My wife has beauty and brains. Well I suppose they are suitably distracted. Shall we have our own pillow fight?" He asks as he places his hand on her waist.
"I thought you'd never ask." Mikoto giggles as the two of them race towards their room.
Fugaku smiles as he follows his wife into her room. She was right. Sasuke was in good spirits. Maybe this arranged marriage would somehow work out. At least he hoped that it was.
He shuddered to think of the complete chaos that would erupt in the Leaf Village, if it didn't. Neither of them were exactly known for their restraint and they were both powerful ninjas. This was either going to end very well or very badly. Only time would tell which way things would go. For now though, he had a pillow fight to win.