AN: Hello people, CinnaBunnBunn here.
So here's the new chapter, have fun with this. Someone messaged me saying this fic reminds them of some other fic they read, and would you see it, it was indeed inspired by another pic. Kind of, really just a vague vibe. But if any of you know which fic that is, do tell me cuz I have the memory of a goldfish, I remember neither the fic name, or the fandom it was from. So fun quest for y'all I guess.
and if you find anything different about this chapter, or on re-reading the previous ones, it's becuase I've changed the name of the Uchiha's kingdom.
Anyway, onto the chap-
Sakura stretched her back and legs, the satisfying crack of her spine making her sigh. She needs to stop doing this, hunched over a table, nights after nights, sleep escaping her every day.
This is what Tsunade meant when she said when Sakura finds something that interests her, it never ends well for anyone. Her curiosity knew no bounds, and often resulted in a decline of health for her. More often than not, she would notice cramps in muscles and tenseness in joints, her eyes bloodshot and aching from the lack of sleep and her brain fried to a crisp.
But how could she not, when she was making such interesting progress.
She had just finished testing the water sample from Lake Karasu, something she has been working on for… over half a day now. She started her tests the night before, and the sun was currently well up in the sky. But thankfully, her efforts were not in vain.
The water seemed to be the main cause of the problem, especially with all the pathogens swimming in it. It seemed like a new strain of some kind of virus, but not one she was familiar, and not one that was found around or in Konoha. She still had a long way to go before she could take a stab at the region it might have originated from, but at least now she knows that it's not from Konoha; Kuroshima or Hiraisumi.
Which brings up another question, how did it get here?
And the answer to that, she does not know. It could be carried by an animal, or by a traveler, but that explanation could only make sense if it was an airborne virus. But it's in water, which meant it would need to be contaminated very specifically, especially overseas.
Sakura sighed, rubbing the heel of her palm over her eyes, feeling the satisfying relief after hours of staring at a lamp lit parchment, before falling back against the tatami mat. The change in posture felt delicious on her aching muscles and joints, and she was tempted to just stay in her room the whole day.
But she had the final observation today of her first patient, and it was crucial that his recovery is wrapped up by today because one ruler had been breathing down her neck since the day she got here. He had been making amazing progress day by day since the last week she came under the Uchihas, but she still needed to declare him completely healed and then submit the report to the king.
And with that in mind, she lamented her day before getting up from her position and walking into the adjacent bath, stripping herself out of her cotton robe, before getting into the lukewarm bath. The mornings were slightly chilly, hence the warm water, but not cool enough to need hot water.
She breathed deep into the scent of basil and mint, loosening her tensed muscles and sighing, already going over the schedule for the day. She would need to check on prince Tobi, go out into the town to collect samples from other water bodies, submit the health declaration report to the king, and then continue her research on the samples.
There was so much to do, and she lamented not being able to stay into the bath longer as she got out of the tub, patting the towel over her body. When her head was empty of buzzing thoughts, it unwittingly returned to the conversation she stumbled the night before.
She still doesn't now what to feel about that. Hurt, angry, bitter? She doesn't know what she felt, perhaps other than juat a little disappointed.
Shaking her head out of those thoughts, she dropped her towel down before slipping into a cream yukata shirt and white pants. Deciding on the all light color palette, she dug in for the light pink haori. She reached for her still wet hair to tie them up, but paused, before deciding to let them cascade down her back in wavy ringlets.
A knock resounded on her door before Ayame's face peeked out of the crack. She smiled at Sakura, fully opening the door to stand in the doorway, "The majesty calls your presence for lunch." She was at least given a sympathetic smile from the brunette.
Sakura sighed, unabashed to show her exhaustion with the royal clan in the safety of her chamber, with no one but Ayame as her witness. She seemed trustworthy enough to let moments like this slip by once in a while. She has been avoiding having to sit down and chat with the king and queen since the first lunch of disaster, instead always finding one excuse or the other to either have her meal away from them, or just skip it altogether.
Interacting with them seemed to end in nothing but disaster, something she wanted to avoid for as long as she was taking refuge in the kingdom.
But seemed like it was unavoidable.
"I'll be there, in a while." Sakura replied, brushing the bamboo comb through her damp locks, making the large ringlets fall into a light wave. "After I've checked up on prince Obito."
Ayame bowed before hurrying out of the room, to what she assumed inform the majesty of her decision. She looked down at her attire, contemplating whether she should change out into something more appropriate, like an actual yukata, before shaking her head.
They want to meet the doctor Sakura, so they will see doctor Sakura.
She tucked her black gloves in the waist belt of her shirt for when she might need them later, and reached to pick her cloak but paused. Sakura frowned, her finger rubbing on the soft felt material, when hesitantly deciding to not put it on. A whole week in Kuroshima, and she's still holding onto her comfort.
With only her satchel slung around her shoulder, she felt exposed as she walked in the hallway. She could feel the residents eyes on her, in the hallway, from their windows, from the balcony. The light colored clothes like a beacon among the dark colors of the Uchiha residents, made her feel more attention now than in the whole week.
She was careful to keep her eyes forward, her head high and steps sure. Her shoulders were locked in a proud walk and it made her look like she couldn't care less about the eyes that followed her form. She hadn't seen any noble lady or maidservant wear anything other than robes and yukatas, so she knew wearing shirts and pants will draw attention to her.
She just didn't think it would feel this strange.
The walk to Tobi's room was especially fast paced this time, covering the distance in a little over half the time. Sakura huffed out a breath, adjusting her satchel before knocking on the door, not bothering to wait for an answer before she slid it open.
The sight was met with was one she had grown familiar with over the week, a little boy sitting under a light blanket, patiently waiting for her with a big smile on his face.
"Sakura-chan!" He brightened up when he saw her face, getting up from his cocoon of blanket to run to her and wrap his small arms around her waist, burying his face in her stomach. Sakura smiled at him, her heart near melting at his adorable actions, "Hello Tobi-chan." She ruffled his short dark hair, her smile warming when he giggled, "How have you been?"
"I'm great!" Tobi cheered, throwing his arms up in a victorious pose. "I don't even feel tired. I can play now!"
Sakura chuckled, guiding him to sit on his bed as she took her usual place beside his bed, "Yes you can, but first, let me just do my final checkup." She took out her usual notepad, putting down the date to record the day's observation, "Just be a good boy for me, okay?"
She patted her palm on his head and neck, thankfully noticing no increase in temperature, before pressing her fingers on his wrist points. "No fever, no abnormal heart beat rate." She mumbled while jotting down bullet points. "Tobi-chan, open your mouth for me." She gently guided his face a little under the sunlight streaming through the engawa door, tilting his head up and side to side to look at his throat. "No swollen tonsils or inflammation." Thankfully.
"Does it hurt anywhere, Tobi-chan?" Sakura asked, writing down the points when Tobi shook his head, moving his arms and legs up and down. "No tiredness, no feeling like vomiting, no coughs?" She nodded when Tobi shook his head.
Sakura smiled at him, closing her notepad, "Then congratulations, Tobi-chan, you're totally okay!" She chuckled when Tobi cheered in triumph, "Does that mean I can go to play outside? Can I eat candies again?" He asked in urgency, his small body near trembling with excitement. "Can I? Can I?"
"Yes you can." Sakura laughed at his excited squeal, before she clasped a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his way to running out of the room into the yard. "But first, we need to let your parents know. They're worried about you, you know."
Tobi made a sound of 'ohh' before nodding sagely, "Must let Okaa-chan know first."
"And what better time than now. You still haven't eaten lunch right." Sakura gently ushered the prince out of the room, holding one of his hands into her own, before sliding the door closed behind them and starting their way down the hallway.
Maybe the king will stop breathing down her neck now.
"Surely atleast one of the princes is ready to get married, right?"
Fugaku closed his eyes, his lips sealed shut to the question. This was one of the reasons he detested holding these migraine-inducing meetings, no matter how politically important they might be. Some higher nobles just did not know how to mind their own business.
The Duke that asked the question crossed his arm, eyebrows creasing over his closed eyes, "You need an heir to take over soon, and one of them needs to select a wife soon too, so that they have an heir. None of them seem interested in taking the reign."
Fugaku was still silent, nursing his cup of sake as agitation steadily bubbled within him. The Marquess chipped in, taking the pipe away from his mouth, "Duke Tanazaku will be right in that regard. The council and court is worried of the Uchiha lineage being stagnant for so long."
"They don't need to be worried." Fugake clipped out, taking a sip of his sake, "The princes still have time on their hand, they can find someone. As for my heir, I've already written up Itachi as the most competent candidate."
"But that doesn't rectify the problem of the absence of a consort."
Fugaku looked at the Count, his eyes narrowing at the man, "I feel like you're less worried about the princes being unmarried, and more about your daughters still not catching the eyes of one of them. If that's the case, rest assured, you should get your daughters wedded off to some other noble, my boys have higher taste."
The Count sucked in a breath of indignation, his eyes narrowing daringly, "Your majesty that is-"
"Since you all have nothing important to discuss other than town women gossips, I'll say the meeting is adjourned." Fugaku set down his empty sake cup on the table with a thud, signaling the absolute end, "You all may take your leave."
The nobles got up from their seats, bowing to the king before pouring out of the large room, leaving it empty save for one occupant.
Fugaku sighed as the door finally slid close. He might've been very defensive against the nobles regarding the uninvolved state of the princes, but he sometimes got worried as well. A concern he shared with his wife.
"Fugaku?"
Speaking of his wife, Fugaku opened his eyes to see Mikoto standing in the doorway, before nodding to let her enter the room. "Is everything okay?" Mikoto asked, rubbing a hand on his tense shoulders.
Fugaku breathed in deep, pouring himself another cup of sake, "The council was asking about the boys' marriages. They were a bit more impatient this time."
"Oh." Mikoto nodded, before she sighed and moved toward the window overlooking the hallways and courtyard, "The Dutchess was asking the other day too, at Viscountess Inuzuka's afternoon tea."
"I think it's because of their daughters."
Mikoto hummed in agreement, staring out into the courtyard in thought. She has thought about her boys' aversion to marriage many a times, every day that went without receiving any news of them finding any young lady. It was such a shame, the wish of playing with her grandchildren was getting further and further away from her.
Itachi was more interested in playing knight and never seemed to have found any woman to hold his interest, and Shisui was more interested in chasing the young noblewomen's petticoats than recite the wedding vows. Sasuke seemed to be following in the steps of his idolized older brother and stayed far away from the female population, and she never had any hope with Sai to begin with.
And Tobi was only six.
Even her unmarried brother in laws didn't seem to have any inclination toward committed relationships. Izuna was always either reading or tending to the gardens, and she hardly ever got any news of him interacting with women in any sense other than friendly. And she sometimes wondered whether Shisui took after Kakashi regarding his Casanova tendencies, except Kakashi's endeavors ran outside the walls of the kingdom unlike Shisui, who was only ever seen within Kuroshima borders.
Mikoto was just contemplating interfering in the process, tired of waiting, when a flash of color from the guest block caught her eye. The light colored clothing, under the sunlight filtering into the open corridor leading to the main residence was like a beacon leading her attention to the pinkette.
She seemed to always be wearing strange clothes, but Mikoto could only account that on the only other time she has seen the doctor. That thought brought a frown on her face. Was she avoiding them for some reason?
Her eyes followed the pinkette briskly walking down the hallway, from her training pants, to the yukata shirt that men wore in her kingdom, to the pink haori draped over her shoulders. She seemed to wear those a lot, men's clothes, but they were always fitted to her size.
Such a pleasant young lady she was, even from the first meeting. She was always respectful, but stern. Like a commander to an army, she seemed to command attention and respect, even from those of much higher authority than her.
Suddenly, an idea formed in her mind, making her straighten up. It was ingenious, if not slightly diabolical, the idea she had. The boys might find someone, but it would just need a little meddling on her behalf. They were Uchihas by blood, and Uchihas loved a challenge.
They needed someone to astound them, they needed someone to challenge them.
A knock on the door interrupted her inner musings, and on Fugaku's permission, it slid open to a brown haired maid. She bowed waist low before speaking clearly, "Doctor Haruno says she will be joining his and her majesty for lunch. She will be with you shortly."
Fugaku hmphed, signaling the maid to take her leave, before getting up, "Mikoto, let's go."
Mikoto almost started telling her husband about her plan, but then sealed her lips shut. It wouldn't be wise to tell other people of her mischief. Instead, she followed her husband out of the room, her mind going in circles about the upcoming days.
"Fugaku." She paused her husband just a little shy of the dining room. Fugaku looked at her questioningly, "What is it?"
"I was thinking about doing something to welcome our new guest. The doctor, I mean." Mikoto replied, expounding on her thought at Fugaku's raised eyebrow, "I was thinking about doing a welcoming banquet for our guest. She's doing so much to help us, and she's in a whole foreign kingdom. A banquet would do well to show our appreciation."
Fugaku looked thoughtful for a moment, before he hummed noncommittally, "She's supposed to be giving her progress report on Obito today. Let me see how that goes, then I'll think about the banquet."
Mikoto frowned slightly, a little disappointed that he hadn't agreed completely, but just nodded and followed after him into the room. Maybe her reasons for the celebration weren't entirely noble. Of course she wanted the doctor to feel welcomed and comfortable, but that wasn't the only reason she wanted to organize a festivity, so perhaps she shouldn't feel too disappointed.
They slid into the room, finding all the princes arranged around the large table, the loud bickering from two particular princes silencing instantly when the door opened. "Good morning my boys." Mikoto smiled brightly at all the young men arranged around the table, her eyes lingering wistfully at one empty spot beside her seat.
She sat down softly, listening to the low murmur among the occupants as the servants poured in with platters in their arms. Mikoto sighed as the lunch was placed in front of her, looking expectantly at the door, as if waiting for someone.
"Mikoto?" Fugaku shook her out of her stare, making her wave her hand in dismissal. Before dejectedly picking up her chopsticks. Just as she was in her way to putting a piece of salmon in her mouth, when the door to the room slid open again.
"Sakura!" Mikoto brightened up seeing the shade of pink, her hands waving excitedly, "Come in dear, why are you standing there."
Sakura bowed stiffly once; her shoulders slightly rigid as her eyes darted around the room in observation. "Your majesty." She greeted, but still didn't move from the doorway.
"What happened dear? Come, have a seat." Mikoto gestured the seat beside Izuna, one seat away from her. Sakura nodded at her, before clearing her throat, her green eyes staying trained on the king and queen, not daring to stray to the other faces glaring up at her.
"I have someone for you." She waved at the person standing behind the door and a head of short dark curls peeked out.
Mikoto gasped, her lunch forgotten by her hands, "Tobi-chan!" She opened her arms, beckoning the small boy to run into her lap. "Oka-chan!" Tobi giggled excitedly, nuzzling his head under her chin, "Oka-chan, I missed you so much."
"Oh it feels like it's been so long since I last saw you." Mikoto sighed, cupping both his cheeks in her palms and turning his face side to side, "Do you feel okay dear? Are you tired? Does it hurt? You must be hungry. Sit down, sit down."
Sakura shuffled a little, still standing awkwardly at the doorway and looked anywhere but the heartfelt reunion. "Prince Obito's symptoms are gone. His body stats are normal, no fever for a couple days, normal appetite, breathing, heart rate."
Mikoto listened closely to the observations, her eyes going over every inch of skin revealed to her eyes. He looked much healthier than he had done in months. His skin no longer had the sick pallor, and it actually flushed healthily with the rush of blood in his cheeks. His clothes no longer hung limp and fit like they always did, and his eyes gleamed merrily and his voice no longer cracked, hoarse with coughs.
He looked okay.
Mikoto smiled wide, a wave of immense relief washing over her and hugged the boy again. She looked back at Fugaku, to see him observing both Tobi and Sakura, a new kind of light flashing in his dark eyes. "Oh doctor Haruno, thank you so much." Mikoto whispered, before she realized the pinkette was still standing in the doorway and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, "Oh why are you standing there! Please sit down, you haven't had meals with us since the first day."
Sakura cautiously padded over to the empty seat beside Izuna, careful not to let her eyes stary to the prince glaring daggers at her, nor the one grinning flirtatiously her way, neither the one's eyes fixed on her face. "Thank you, my queen. You are too kind." Sakura softly sat down on the cushion, giving Izuna a nod and small smile in greeting before permanently fixing her eyes on the plate of food being placed in front of her.
Fugaku observed her for a moment, taking in her boyish clothes and stiff posture before clearing his throat, "Doctor Haruno."
Sakura looked up in surprise, straightening up when she saw him looking at her. "My king." She made sure to keep her words polite when addressing anyone in the room, even when she would like to do nothing more than backtrack her way out of the room.
"Do you have your reports ready?" Fugaku asked, taking a sip from his cup of tea. Sakura put down her chopsticks, deducing that it would be some time before she got to take a bite of her food, "I have my notes with me, should you wish to look at it. However the reports will take a couple hours to finish."
"Then it should be completed by tonight."
"Yes. It will be." Sakura nodded, glancing at Tobi who was currently digging in his plate of food, probably having the spiced meal for the first time in months.
Fugaku halted the conversation there, but still kept a sideways glance at the pinkette, seeing her in a new light for the first time.
Fugaku Uchiha has always been trained to be highly critical and accurate in his judgement, and to never leave a single spot for mistake. But when he did make one, he would be quick to learn from it and never make the same mistake twice. A quality which qualified him to rule for so many years with an iron fist.
So when he first saw the pinkette, he was highly doubtful, whether a slip of a girl would be able to do what his imperial medics haven't been able to achieve. But seems like he is being proven wrong.
Never judge a book by it's cover, they say. And the words have never been truer.
Sakura chewed on her food fast, wanting to finish her meal as quickly as possible, but then paused when she realized it would be considered very rude to finish or leave the table before the king. Internally sighing, she slowed down her pace, taking a sip from her teacup.
"Do we have any reason for the illness?"
Sakura almost thought that question was directed at someone else, but when the clearing of a throat resounded again when she didn't answer at once, she realized the king was talking to her.
"Excuse me," Sakura coughed slightly, taking a sip of her water to wash down the rice she was chewing on. "I have a theory, though I'm not fully at the conclusion."
At Fugaku's questioning expression, Sakura continued, "I had a suspicion for the origin of the illness, and it was the water of Lake Karasu."
"Well, what did you find?"
"I was right." Sakura clipped out, her eyes moving away from the king's face to fix themselves on the wall, her mind recalling back to her experiments, "I took some samples from the lake Karasu, and two other lakes, to test their water quality, and found traces of an unknown virus."
"Virus?" It was Itachi who asked that, his voice minutely laden with surprise.
Sakura nodded, pushing around her veggies on the plate with her chopsticks absentmindedly. "I still have more samples and tests to do to figure out the exact identity of the virus and what other water bodies have been contaminated, however for now, I would advise to make people aware to stay away from Lake Karasu." She opened her mouth to further another suspicion she had, but then closed it, deeming it not appropriate or safe in that setting.
Fugaku raised an eyebrow minutely, slightly amused that the inflection of command in her voice. She seemed to have a natural instinct to do that, tone her requests like commands and done deals, even to the king it appeared.
"I will tell the imperial physician and court herbalist to assist you in your… quest." Fugaku gruffed out, closing his eyes and taking a bite of his food, "Ask them for help may you need it. I will also inform the apothecaries in the kingdom and the scout troop to work on decontaminating lake Karasu."
Sakura inclined her head in acceptance of his command, "Thank you, my king." And then the table lapsed into another silence.
It was another long while before the king put down his cup on the table and moved to stand up. Sakura breathed out in relief, feeling the stiffness in her shoulders slowly release as she bowed to him and hurried out of the room before anyone else could even get a word out.
Sakura was down atleast another hallway before she halted in her tracks to release a sigh. She has never felt this uncomfortable before, doing nothing but having lunch. Not even when she was having dinner with the five generals of Konoha.
Perhaps because there weren't any princes glaring holes into her from across the table.
And just on cue, Sakura barely avoided slamming into the incoming figure. 'Maybe this is what happens when you run off of three hours of sleep from four days ago.' Sakura shook her head and looked up at the grinning face of the last person she wanted to see.
"Hello again, Lady Haruno." Shisui purred, leaning forward slightly toward her. "You didn't even greet me in the dining room."
Sakura inwardly grimaced, subtly taking a step back from the prince. "Prince Shisui." Sakura greeted in a flat voice, her eyes going over him warily. "How many I help you?"
Shisui pouted, leaning against the wall with his arms folded, "Why are you so uptight, lady Haruno? I'm just trying to be friends."
'You're trying to be anything but friends.' Sakura thought sarcastically while careful to keep her face as blank as possible, "I have somewhere to be, my prince. So if you would just-" Sakura tried to sidestep the man blocking her way, only to find him blocking her again.
"Oh don't be like that, lady Sakura." Shisui said again and Sakura had to raise her eyebrows at the quick change in addressal. Shisui held her hand again, the way he did the first time they met, "You seem to be very cold, and I want to show you the warmest Kuroshima hospitality, if you would let me."
Even when his words were seemingly innocent, the intentions behind them were laid thick. The way his thumb ghosted over her knuckles and how his dark eyes stared into hers, Sakura was very aware of his motives.
Normally, she would've been a bit more inclined to entertain the ideas, especially with the offeror being as beautiful as this one. But normally would mean when the threats of her life were not hanging over her head, and normally would mean when a man would know how to take her decision.
"I'm good, but thank you." That should've given him the incentive to leave her alone, but the prince was either very presumptuous, or just plain stupid.
"I get a feeling that you're a little scared, granted you're in a new kingdom, new setting. I simply want to make you comfortable here." Shisui replied in the same flirtatious purr, holding their joined hands further up, slightly toward his mouth, "I simply want to show you the indulgent wonders of Kuroshima."
Sakura was working on reining in the scathing response that would've been let out, when she saw another presence turning the hallway to where they were. Sakura looked slightly behind the prince to see the other ever present Uchiha, currently turning the corner and then halting to a stop when he saw them.
She saw Itachi flickering his eyes between both of them and she thought he might actually stop his cousin for once, before he swiftly turned his head the other way and pretended to not see anything.
'Seriously?' Sakura thought in exasperation as agitation gradually boiled beneath her skin. She could feel her eye begin to twitch before she closed them and took a deep breath. "Prince Shisui." The address was short, the smaller hand softly falling out of his grasp, "I am a bit busy right now, so I would advise you to not be so inappropriate. Have a good day."
She didn't wait for his answer before briskly walking past him and past the other prince too, "Good day to you too, prince Itachi."
That was all she said before she turned the hallway and didn't look anywhere other than her straight path, feet brisk and unstopping and only stopped when she was behind the safety of her chamber doors.
A yell of frustration burst from her throat as soon as the door slid close, banging her fist against it.
'Annoyance, just annoyance, all of them!' Sakura growled to herself, raking her hand through her hair in irritation before throwing off her haori off her shoulder. 'Who the hell do they think they are! These men don't know how to respect someone, don't know how to respect their decision, their work. How the hell am I supposed to survive here for so long?!'
Sakura felt like banging her head on the wall, before she sighed angrily and dropped down on her bed.
'I'm going to kill myself any day now.'
"You really blew that off, didn't you?"
Shisui glared at his cousin who was looking at him like he was caught cheating on a test by his tutor. "No I didn't." he sniffed in indignation, folding his arms behind his head, "It was going perfectly fine until you showed up."
"Didn't seem like it."
Shisui pouted again, slightly dejected by the blatant rejection to his proposal. He does not understand why she's so uninterested. Is he not attractive to her? Is she not interested in sleeping with him? Is she the type to want a relationship before sex? Or is she interested in women.
Who knows, honestly.
"She'll come around." Shisui said in a matter of fact, turning around to head down the stairs toward the stable. "She's new here, she doesn't know anyone that much. She'll warm up eventually, and then it'll all be merry." He giggled at the last part, eyes twinkling at the prospect of further challenge.
"I think you should just take her words and let her be." Itachi tried weakly, knowing his words would not deter his cousin when he sets his mind to something. He normally does not care what he does and who he does it with, but she was a special guest, and the words of the prince of Kuroshima being a shameless petticoat-chaser, reaching outside the walls of Kuroshima, will not be a good look for their family.
"Oh she's playing hard to get, I know she is." Shisui replied in a sing song voice, vaulting over the fence to the stable, "She hasn't even clearly rejected me, she's just saying 'oh I'm busy, I have work'. She's just shy."
"Or," Itachi replied again, his voice dry, "she just wants you to take the hint and let it be."
"If she does, she'll have to tell me," Shisui motioned for the boy handling the horses to bring him one before looking over his shoulder to his cousin, "clearly."
Itachi sighed, finding it hopeless to continue to reason with his cousin anymore. He'll leave her alone once he gets bored of the chase, until then, he'll just have to wish the doctor good luck. He took the reins from the page, mounting the saddle before giving his cousin a nod to start on their way.
Shisui whistled low under his breath as his horse trotted over the rocky terrain toward the kingdom border. He looked up the trees lining the road, dotted by flowers as rosy as the dawn, and someone else.
She confused him, no doubt. From her strange colors to her strange clothes, to her very strange behavior.
He was familiar with the fairer sex of his kingdom, specifically the noblewomen. He was familiar with their general likes, dislikes, behavior patterns, and none of those ever matched with the pinkette taking lodging at their compound. She was arrogant, proud and crass, none of the gentleness and grace that he could associate with the noblewomen of his kingdom seen within a mile radius of her.
But she was also brilliant.
He would be lying if he said her reports on the illness and it's cure weren't impressive. Something about the way she commanded with such authority, even when facing the king, just screams 'power'.
It was kind of really attractive.
Shisui was brough out of his musings with a rougher jerk from his horse on the rocky road. He ducked slightly under an incoming lower branch, avoiding it from slapping him in the face. He looked ahead to the very visible border of the forests of Kuroshima, guarded by fences as tall as the trees surrounding it and the military.
"Prince Shisui, prince Itachi." On of the regular patrol guards bowed at him, but Shisui's attention wasn't on him.
He looked behind the guard, toward the camp tent, overflowing with unknown people that looked nothing like the military men. "What's happening there?" he asked, hopping down from his horse and walking toward the tent. He stopped just shy of the flap, peering inside to see what looked like civilians, bandages wrapped around their limbs.
"What happened here?" Itachi demanded, glaring down at the nervous guard. He looked back at the tent, overwhelmingly filled with wounded civilians, "Was there some kind of attack?"
The guard swallowed before standing straighter, "Actually, yes." He nodded his head toward the other corner of the fence, where a gate was hinged in to let in merchants and travelers, "These people are a pack of vendors who were bringing in their seasonal produce, but they were ambushed before they even got near the fence."
Shisui listened to everything the guard said but his eyes still remained focused on the tent. He wasn't sure what to put this attack as, an accidental attack, or a planned ambush. That was until the guard said something that made his ears perk up.
"The thing is, this isn't the first attack on civilian in the past month."
"What do you mean by that?" Shisui snapped his gaze back to the man, none of his usual chipper visible anywhere in his mannerism.
The guard pointed to the tent with his hand, "There have been suspiciously common attacks on civilians passing through the borders for the past month or so."
Itachi glared at the guard, face set in stone and arms crossed over his chest. His eyes bore so deep in him as if it could set the man on fire. "And why are we getting to know of this just now?"
"A-Actually," the guard cleared his throat, his eyes looking around a bit nervously, "We just got to know of this two days ago. The attacks have been taking place on the border toward Iwagakure."
"On Land Zero?" Shisui asked as blankly as possible, but alarms rang loudly in his head.
Land Zero was the large strip of land between Iwagakure and Kuroshima of Konohagakure, settled in the dispute for partition and labeled as the 'no man's land', where anything could happen and no one could be held accountable.
'That rock bastard.' Shisui growled in his head. He looked at his cousin, raising an eyebrow in question, "If my memory serves me right, we have not been informed of a single attack up until now."
"We haven't."
"Who does the patrol around those borders?" Shisui asked flippantly, giving the guard a nod and mounting his horse again. Itachi copied his actions, pulling the reins to race back to the kingdom walls.
"Kagami."
Sakura huffed, wiping down a hand on her sweaty forehead before falling back onto the soft grass. Warm breaths escaped her in soft pants as she stared up at the dark sky dotted with stars.
It was getting late, she should probably get to the king's study before he goes to sleep.
She puffed out a last breath before hefting herself up, groaning at the slight strain on her left leg. She flipped her long braid over her shoulder, grimacing at the grass sticking to the nape of her neck. She trudged slowly across the courtyard and peered around the corner of the building, quickly slinking out of her hiding and into the shadowed hallway before anyone could see her.
She checked the corner of the hallway, quickly hiding behind the pillar when the chatters from a pair of maids was reaching toward her. Sighing in relief when the pair passed by her without noticing.
But when she turned the hallway, she was ready to backtrack the way she came from.
'Oh no.' She grimaced inwardly, seeing the figure in dark walking toward her, short dark hair flat on his head and pale face set in stone. And he was looking straight at her.
Sakura would've loved to turn around and walk away like he wasn't there. She already had one Uchiha on her tail about how incompetent she was, she didn't need to hear from another. But walking back when she has clearly seen him, would be rude regardless. And cowardly.
Sakura was not a coward.
Taking a deep breath, she walked forward, intent on giving nothing but a courtesy and moving on her way. His eyes seemed fixated on her, his feet slowly getting off his straight path.
"Good night, prince Sai." Sakura nodded at him, fully intending to not stop her feet in the way.
That was until he stopped right in front of her.
"Ah, the doctor lady." He drawled, a saccharine smile on his lips, so obviously fake it annoyed her. "Prince Sai." She greeted back, taking a step back, "Great seeing you well."
Sai hummed, looking down at her with half lidded eyes, as if observing a new strange specimen, but did not make a move to get out of her way. Sakura stared back at him, seconds ticking by as she impatiently waited for him to get away. "Did you need something?" She asked with impatience.
Sai stared at her for a moment more before shaking his head ever so slightly, and moving away to give her way even more slightly. Sakura breathed out in annoyance before inclining her head to him and walking away.
"Why are you even here?"
Sakura halted in her tracks, looking over her shoulder to the prince that was staring deep in her soul. "Excuse me?"
Sai faced her fully, cocking his head to the side making his flat hair drape across his forehead and catch his eyelashes, "Why are you even here? Moreover, why are you staying longer when Tobi is healed?"
"I'm a medic, prince Sai." Sakura clipped out, chill seeping into her tone and eyes lightning up a glare, "I'm here to help your people. Tobi is healed, but other people are not."
"But that's not all, is it. All the help, no monetary compensation, no future favours, just provide a place for you to stay as long as you need." Sai breathed out, his eyes calculating and voice like an interrogator, "Sasuke says you're here to curry favour the king, but I think that's stupid. You don't actually like it here."
"What are you getting at?" Sakura wanted to yell at him but kept her voice hushed in the dead silence. She was flushed and warm from her training, but the moonlight washing over them in the corridor made him look more sinister than anything, and it was making shivers run down her body.
"You're not here just to provide assistance, you have ulterior motives." Sai lowered his face, looking at her from beneath his dark bangs, "When will you stop hiding?"
Sakura wanted to bare her teeth and rip his neck and her clenched fists itched to strike something. He wasn't just annoying, he was truly aggravating. "If you're done drawing your obnoxious theories, my prince, I will be taking my leave." She was proud of how even her voice came out despite how anger bubbled inside her.
"Good night, prince Sai."
Fugaku looked up from the reports when a knock on the door interrupted his reading. He put down the scroll face down before calling for the person.
"Enter."
A pink head appeared in the doorway, before it slid the whole way to reveal the person standing there. "My king." Sakura bowed waist low before sliding the door close behind her at the king's beckoning.
"What do you have?" Fugaku eyed the scroll she took out of her waist pocket in her yukata shirt, holding it out to him to take.
"The daily reports on Prince Obito." Sakura replied, handing the sealed scroll over to him and stepping back from his table. "The observations during the whole week are written down in it, as well as the treatment procedure."
Fugaku gave the contents a once over, his eyebrow raising at the efficiency and clarity of the notes, all the way from the symptoms at the exact time of the day, to the making and intake of the medicines. "Huh." A slight impressed note inflected his voice as he put down the scrolls to the side. "I will review the report extensively later. Thank you for the report."
Sakura nodded once before looking at the king again, "If I may request, my king, I would like to start the treatment on the people of the kingdom. Myself."
Fugaku raised his eyebrow, leaning back in his chair and lacing his fingers under his chin. "We are starting the treatment among the people, but we have the procedure from you. And the medicine." He replied, looking calculatingly at the pinkette, "You don't need you to personally treat them."
"Yes, however, I would like to do that." Sakura breathed a sigh, her mind returning back to the notes from her little experimentations. "I want to interact with the public and look more into the disease to gain more insight on this… virus. Observing the situational symptoms might help me locate the type of virus."
Sakura didn't tell him the requirement for samples from overseas, but it would be better to not overwhelm him all her demands at once. She would probably have to reach out herself to bring in the test results from Suna, but she'll think about that later.
Fugaku was quiet for a moment, just staring at her in contemplation before fishing out a scroll from the case behind him, dipping his brush in ink and swiping it on the paper in smooth curves. As he was finished with writing his piece, he signed it at the bottom and finished with stamping a wax stamp below his signature, the insignia of a curved raven carved on the red wax.
"This will grant you official permission to access the apothecary records." He fished into his drawer again, bringing out a small wooden box and digging in it to bring out a shiny golden locket. It was a medallion. "And this, will grant you the permission to distribute your treatment. Medicine or otherwise."
Sakura took both the scroll and the medallion, running her thumb over the large piece of emerald fixed on the center of the circular locket. She gratefully held the objects to herself before bowing waist deep.
"Thank you, my king."
She was feeling strangely excited as she put the scroll inside her satchel and laid the medallion on the clothes she prepared for the next day. She checked, then double checked her notes before straightening out her bed. She was tempted to work the night again, but the exhaustion from the previous multiple nights of her slaving away on her studies made her eyes heavier than they've ever felt.
She was tired. She was too tired to think about the days to come, too tired to think about the days that went by. Too tired for the one Uchiha's complaints of her incompetency to keep her awake, and too tired for the encounter with the other Uchiha to run her thoughts.
And she was too tired to fight the ghosts of her past from haunting her dreams.
A loud thud resounded through a darkened room, lit up only minutely by the single oil lamp flickering on a table. A figure sat slumped behind that table, his gaunt face grim and sharp eyes staring at the other two figures pacing in the middle of the room. His lone eye bore into the small flame of the oil lamp, fingers interlaced under his nose.
"Are we even sure that the heir is alive? What if it's just a hoax." One of the other people spoke up, threading his hands through his hair. He looked at the figure sitting on behind the table, glaring at him in accusations, "Danzo, you have messengers for that right? What happened to that?"
Danzo breathed out through his nose, closing his eyes "I do have messengers, but they're not Gods. They will take some time." He picked up his pipe, taking a long drag to whiff out the smoke through his nose, "Queen Mebuki died in childbirth, we know that. And King Sakumo died a few months later, and we held proper burial for both of them. But the body of the queen stillborn child was never received, nor was it given a burial."
"Because the midwives believed that looking at a dead child brings misfortune." The last presence in the room spoke up, his eyes partially shadowed by his hair hanging in front of his face, "They did bury the child, away from the eyes."
"Except they didn't." Danzo spoke in finality, dusting off some of the ash from his pipe into a nearby tray. His lone eye gleamed a sinister glow, lips pulling into a scorned smile, "The midwives did not bury anyone, because if they did, then queen regent would not have been safekeeping the Haruno crown."
"But she could be doing that just out of her sister's memory." The first person spoke up, "Tsunade might be a Senju but the jewels are still of her sister's."
"Except, she doesn't have a reason to." Danzo replied, his teeth peeking out from behind his lips in a mad grin, "And the midwives are very open when they are drunk."
"What?"
Danzo leaned back from the chabudai, against the wall and took another drag from his pipe, "Akaya Haruto, the second midwife from Mebuki's delivery was talking about something regarding the child birthing time a week ago, in the kitchen. I was passing by to get some tea, when I heard her say something about the late queen being proud of who 'she' has become."
His eyes clouded over as he remembered back to the hushed whispers from the kitchen, drunk slurs letting the lips run free.
"Queen Mebuki was so kind, she would have been so proud to see just who she has become."
"So you mean to say," The second person spoke again, his eyes wider and lips slightly parted, "That you know for sure that the heir is alive?"
"That I can't say." Danzo replied again, shutting his eyes and letting his old frame slump back, "Not for sure, the lady could've just been rambling nonsense. But the odds line up too well to not raise suspicion."
The midwife slurring out memories, the queen regent putting off choosing the heir, her keeping hold of the Haruno crown. They line up too well.
He glared at the flickering flame of the oil lamp, eyes glazing over in bitterness and hatred for the lady Senju. After everything that he did to secure the crown for himself, the blond woman comes sweeping in from nowhere and takes what should've been rightfully his. She takes the throne, the reigns and leaves him in dust to the position of a half hearted advisor, who she wouldn't even listen to half of the time.
His fingers clutched onto the pipe handle, knuckles turning white from the sheer force he was holding on with. 'I will burn her' his mind sneered, 'I will burn her and her pride, her throne. I will take back everything she has taken from me, and more.'
"Who do you think it could be though?"
He thought back to the day Tsunade brought in a little girl as her student and estranged half niece, her small face so familiar and so mistrustful. He remembered how he had to fight with the regent queen when the war struck Sokayo, their biggest ally kingdom. He knew she didn't want to send the girl as the medic team chief, but he wanted her gone.
Unfortunately, she wasn't gone forever.
"That illegitimate little monster of Sakumo."
AN: So here's the chapter. How was it? Make sure to tell me.
The plot is thickening up surely, in all aspects. Exciting, isn't it.
Anyway, gotta go, see y'all in the next chap.
Bye bye!