AN: Hey, Cinnabunnbunn here.
Here's another chapter of YRH. Hope you like it.
Onto the chap.
"Is the medic here?"
Itachi looked at his cousin currently lounging on the windowsill of the library they were sitting in, "You have asked this question six times since this morning." He sighed, returning his eyes to the page of his book.
"And I still haven't gotten an answer."
"You have gotten an answer. The answer is no."
Shisui sighed in dejection, slouching down further on the windowsill until he was fully lying down. He watched the clouds rolling by leisurely in the sky, making him feel even lazier. "Aren't you supposed to be training?" Itachi asked him, turning the page and continuing to read. "Sasuke is getting sick of having to put up with Sai's taunts. Maybe you should take over the spar for today."
"No, I'm good." Shisui watched the clouds for a moment more before once again looking toward the compound gates, and then promptly falling over in surprise. "Wait, is that the medic?!"
Itachi looked up in surprise, joining his cousin at the window. Yes, it was the lady medic, but the only reason he could even tell it was a girl was because his mother informed them beforehand.
She had her hair tucked under the hood of her cloak, and from their position on the upper floor, it was hard to see her eyes. Her face covered with a cloth nose down, and most of her body was also covered from her cloak. Only part visible to them were her legs knee down, which were strangely covered in men's pants, instead of the robes for young women.
"Huh, she doesn't seem that special." Shisui sounded disappointed with the way he said it, moving away to lay down on the couch. He didn't even get to close his eyes before he was being hauled away by his collar. "H-Hey! Let me go!"
"Doesn't matter whether you find her interesting or not, she is our guest and you will not be inappropriate to her. Mother will not be pleased to know that you were this unhospitable." Itachi argued all the while dragging his cousin away, pointedly ignoring the hacking sounds he was making. "We are training."
"Ugh, fine. Just stop choking me." He ripped away his collar from Itachi's death grip and huffed, stomping away down the stairs where he could hear the soft clacking of horse hooves.
Itachi sighed in exasperation. It sometimes felt like he was hanging around with a toddler.
After being guided into the compounds by the guards, she was swiftly being taken to meet with the king, they certainly didn't waste even a minute before getting straight to business. She handed the reins of Kouro to one guard to take to the stable, while the other accompanied her to the court hall. They stopped a little ways away from the doors, while her guide talked to someone at the entrance of the court, Sakura took the time to take in the royal compound of Kuroshima.
She has been through the town of Kuroshima before too, but never to the imperial compound. And the place was absolutely breathtaking, to say the least.
Drawing comparisons with Hiraisumi, while back home, cherry and Maplewood was the most preferred for making the more expensive houses floorings and furnishings. Here, just from the design and texture, she could tell the floor was made of either pine or walnut, found in abundance in the hills that surrounded Kuroshima from all sides. Even the roofs were a different designs to save from the heavy snow that covered the land during harsh winters.
But what she loved the most about the kingdom, were the new varieties of plants she saw lining the walkway to the court hall. Such bright colors and so different from the ones found near the sea.
"Lady Haruno, his majesty is ready to see you."
Sakura stopped in her observations to nod at her guide, straightening her posture and fixing her hood on her head as the large doors to the king's court opened to let her in.
The moment she stepped in, she could feel so many eyes on her at once; curious, surprised, disdainful. The court members measured her up and down, like a lamb being inspected before she is sold away to the slaughterhouse. But Sakura did not quiver, she didn't even falter in her steps. She walked to the front of the throne with her back rod straight and only then did she bow to the king.
"Lady Haruno." Fugaku looked at the girl in front of him, and only his ever present poker face masked the insult he felt to his name. Was this a joke? Is the queen of Hiraisumi mocking him? Is this girl supposed to help his kingdom?
She could be no older than his youngest son, and the queen regent sent this slip of a girl to find the cure for this disease. The medics of his clans had decades of knowledge and experience on her, and they had failed, and she is supposed to succeed? He almost laughed at the mocking assumption.
"Your majesty." Sakura bowed waist low, and then straightened up, looking straight into the older Uchiha's dark eyes. She could see and feel that he had no trust in her capabilities. It's not the first time she has encountered pompous old people looking down at her from the tip of their noses, because she was young and a girl at that.
If only they knew.
"Lady Haruno-" "Doctor Haruno." Sakura interrupted the king and she could audibly hear the court members gasping at her bold actions. She also saw the Uchiha blink at her and then narrow his eyes in derision. "What?" He hissed at her, and the council members were more perturbed by the dropping of temperature in the room than she was.
"I'm Doctor Haruno, my king."
"Doctor Haruno then." He spoke sternly, glaring down at her from his throne. "First, reveal yourself."
Sakura paused for a moment, looking around to see all the people in the room staring at her, waiting to see her identity. As she slowly dropped the hood of her cloak to reveal her hair, she could see the murmur of confusion spread through the council at her unusual coloring, and even more curiosity arose as she untied her scarf and let in fall around her neck.
Fugaku took in the girl before her, taking in the unusual coloring that clearly indicated her origin to the land near the ocean, nowhere else did they have such bright colors even in people. Hair in a braid, rosy like petals of cherry blossom, eyes green and hardened like emeralds that washed ashore near Hiraisumi and creamy face pulled in a façade betraying none of anything she might be feeling.
"Kuroma." He called a manservant of the manor, "Take doctor Haruno to the residency." He turned to the young woman standing still before his throne, "You will see the highest patient first at the manor. You may take whatever you need with you. Our clan physician will also meet you there to provide assistance with all the knowledge he has of the illness."
Sakura nodded before bowing one last time, "Yes, my lord."
The highest patient ended up being the young prince of Kuroshima; Obito Uchiha. Or as he likes to be called, Tobi.
Tobi was such a sweetheart when she met him, attempting to smile through even when he was burning hot and hazing in and out of consciousness.
"What is your name, pretty lady?" Tobi asked her in such an innocent voice that she couldn't help but smile at him. She likes children, but doesn't like to be around them, finding them a little to bothersome and grating on her patience. But Tobi was too sweet to not want to be around him.
"My name is Sakura Haruno, and I'm the doctor sent for you." She spoke softly to him, setting down her aiding satchel beside on the bed Tobi was lying on, pulling the bamboo stool closer to the side to sit comfortably on it.
"Why is your face covered?" He asked curiously, attempting to tug on the scarf but his arms too weak to get that high.
Sakura grasped his wrist gently, taking the chance to check his pulse rate, "I'm playing a game." At the six year old's wide eyed expression, she chuckled, "It's called 'find the pirate'." She whispered with a hand cupping the side of her mouth, like spilling some scandalous secret and smiled warmly at Tobi's childlike, open laugh.
Tobi delved straight into retelling a tale of a bird he saw the other, then jumping to another story halfway through the first one, all while Sakura checked his heartbeat, breathing, temperature and his regular checkup stats.
She didn't find any strange symptoms that might lead the clue to a lethal illness, but the gradual weakening of body enough concerning in itself. The thing is the disease didn't seem to be air borne, because if it was, then Tobi wouldn't have been the only one so severely affected in the royal family, seeing how little protection anyone is taking.
"Prince Tobi." She calls softly, tapping his round cheeks to stop him in his story and draw his attention to her, "How long have you been feeling like this? Do you know?"
The little prince thought for a moment, humming childishly "I don't know, I was sleeping for really long time." He spread his arms to indicate the length of time, dragging the word 'really' "Okaa-san said I was sleeping for three weeks."
Three weeks is a long time for someone to be sick, especially for such a young child. "And do you know what you were doing before?"
He hummed again, before his eyes lit up. "Oh Oh! I know! I was out in the pine forest behind our house. I heard from Shisui that there were blue birds. I was going there everyday, and I found the blue bird's nest!"
"And you were going there all alone?" at this excited nodding, she dramatically gasped, "Wow! You are so brave!"
Tobi huffed proudly, puffing his chest out. "I was there all alone, but it was fine. I found some berries Shisui told me were safe to eat, and there is also a lake."
That rang some bells in Sakura's head as she fetched out a piece of parchment from her satchel and noted down the point. "Berries you say. What did the berries look like?"
"They were round and pink. They looked really pretty."
"And the lake, did you get in the lake?"
"No, I still don't know how to swim and Okaa-chan told me to not get in lakes. But the water was very tasty."
"You drank it?" Sakura asked in surprise, pausing in her note taking. Tobi nodded, shuffling to settle down more comfortably in his bed. "I was thirsty."
Sakura nodded and folded the parchment, ruffling Tobi's hair making him giggle. "Rest for today, Prince Tobi. I will check on you later."
"Sakura-chan." Tobi tugged on her scarf, bringing her attention back to him, "Are you going to visit me everyday? No one plays with me anymore, Sasuke doesn't even see me." He whined in complaint, the sadness in his glassy eyes tugging at her heartstrings. He continued to complain, grabbing on her fingers resting on the mattress. "Okaa-san doesn't let me go outside and the Oji-san giving me medicines never talks to me. Will you talk to me everyday? Please?"
His plea was so adorably glassy and hopeful that it would've been a crime to deny him. Sakura smiled, though it would be hard to tell by her covered mouth, and reached out to ruffle his hair again. "Of course, prince Tobi."
After getting out of Tobi's room, Sakura was assisted by the clan medic in providing the little boy's health stats. Amidst all the boasting and arrogant sneers, she managed to find out the duration and intensity of the symptoms.
The little boy seems pretty normal during the day, quiet physically weak and prickly but not feverish. However, his body temperature spikes up the moment the sun goes down. Terrible, throaty coughs, weakness in limbs, very little appetite. Rashes, nausea, vomiting and extreme fatigue.
The physicians gave him syrups for cough, balms for muscle massage and relieving the rashes and total bland food for easy digestion. The herbal medicines did well enough in stalling his condition from worsening, but didn't cure anything.
The symptoms struck something in her mind. It has been long, but she vaguely remembers seeing similar symptoms somewhere.
After being updated by the physician, she was ushered by a manor maid to her designated chamber. They routed to a different part of the resident; she could tell. This one was quieter, the hallways shorter, the rooms smaller than the larger, more open part in front of it.
The maid led her to a door in the first hallway, sharing the huge courtyard with the main household. "This is your room, m'lady." The maid bowed before taking her leave.
The room was spacious, with a cushiony futon and a small table beside it, a vase of flesh lilies on it. There was a dressing table, a large bamboo almirah beside it. She particularly like the large chabudai on one side of the room, plush cushion in front of it for comfortable sitting, and the large book shelf for scrolls and tomes.
But what she did not like were the unnecessary ornaments littering every corner and crevice of the room. Glass bead drapes, ceramic vases, gold plated sculptures, and other knick-knacks that only felt like a waste of space. She should be grateful to her hosts, caring enough to make her stay pleasing and comfortable, and she was. But all the too-bright, shiny baubles only distracted her.
There was a bamboo door to one side of the room, and another shoji in the front that she was sure led to the yard. The door to the side opened to the personal bathing area, spacious and luxurious. Sakura sighed in relief. Long, warm baths were a pleasure she took no guilt in enjoying.
Finally, she opened the last door that led to the large yard, or garden. She padded on the engawa, basking in the light sunlight warming the floor. The ground in the middle of the house was green and massive, she can see the residents moving around with their chores, but most of them seemed to be the maids and servants, judging by their robes.
She felt warm, even after taking off her cloak. From the sun, the humidity, the warm air.
She needs a bath.
She had just gotten out of her bath and put on her clothes, when she heard a knock on the door before a maid opened it. "Doctor Haruno, her majesty has requested your presence at the lunch." Sakura nodded, waving for the maid to take her leave. If she was being honest, she was pretty hungry. Not have been given a chance to put anything in her stomach before being whisked away to look at her patient has been making her stomach twist into knots.
She will need to put on a bit more decent clothes if she were to meet them now. 'But which one?' she could wear one of her prettier yukatas for the formal meeting, but something doesn't sit right with that. Maybe it was the fact that she has worn yukatas for a total of three times in the last ten years.
'Why should I need to?' that was another question she does not know the answer to. She was going to meet them as the doctor that has been offered as a help, not as a prospective marriageable young lady.
"I should get dressed." She mumbled to herself before dragging one of her luggage from the corner of her room to her bed, and opened the bag of clothes. And once again, there was only one yukata she could wear, and even that looked well worn.
"Guess there is no other option." She fished out a nicer pair of dark trousers, the one that was crispier and more uncomfortable, and brought out a short yukata shirt, still deciding whether she should go with the mustard one or the sage green one. Deciding with the more muted yukata, she threw on the clothes and shrugged on a cream haori.
Looking at the mirror for the need to make any changes to her clothes, she noticed her hair was still slightly wet. Cursing under her breath, she vigorously rubbed her hair with the cotton towel even though it was completely soaked to begin with.
Just as she was thinking about going out in the sun to dry her hair, a knock on the shoji door interrupted her thoughts. "Lady Haruno, are you dressed?"
"Yes, I am." She could only quickly wrap her hair in a bun and stick a hairpin in it before the door opened.
The door slid open and the same maid from before opened the door. Sakura could just feel her critical eyes roaming over her unusual choice of clothing, but she said nothing. Only bowed and asked to accompany her to the main house.
They took the same path to main household as they did from the king's court, only making one detour to turn a different hallway and across the garden path to get to the main entrance. The guest house was large, sure, but the main house was large.
A maid from the main household opened the door and Sakura politely removed her slippers at the genkan before she heard padding of footsteps coming towards her.
"Oh! Doctor Haruno, how generous of you to join us." The soft voice belonged to the queen of Kuroshima and the matriarch of Uchiha household.
"Your majesty." Sakura bowed waist deep, before she felt a pair of warm hands grabbing her shoulders. Mikoto straightened her up and quickly enveloped her in a hug, making her stiffen at the contact. "Oh, no need for that my dear."
The queen was an unusual woman, Sakura deduced. The way she was so quick to warm up to her upon first meeting, talking to her like they were old acquittances, was strange for anyone, but especially for someone of the highest status, such behavior was downright befuddling.
Sakura was being led down the hallway by the matriarch, who was just about gushing about how grateful she was for Sakura to have arrived so quickly. She was led to the dining area, where she could low chatters coming from inside, mostly two voiced loudly talking, or yelling.
Mikoto slid open the fusuma, and the voices abruptly shut up. Sakura saw there were five people in the room, one of which was the king, sitting at the head of the table, looking directly at her.
"Welcome our guest please, Doctor Sakura Haruno."
Sakura bowed to the occupants before she was ushered to an empty spot at the table, second next to the head and right beside Mikoto. There was also another dark haired man to her other side.
"Hello, doctor Haruno." The man next to her greeted, inclining his head. She nodded back, "Greeting, prince...?" "Izuna." He introduced himself.
They went around the table for introduction. The second oldest to Izuna was Itachi, the king's oldest son, from what she has heard from her aunt. The next one was Sasuke, Fugaku's youngest son. And the youngest of the bunch present was Sai, the king's brother's bastard.
And the younger ones, did not seem to like her.
Sasuke only grunted out his name after a look from Mikoto and then punctuated his statement by a sneer directed at her, very openly stating his dislike for her. Reasons unknown. But Sai was worse. He stated his name in the fakest, most saccharine smile possible, but his empty eyes were roaming up and down her form as if evaluating the worth of piece of furniture.
He got on her nerves.
But she was cordial, only nodding at his introduction before pointedly ignoring him for the rest of the dinner.
"Lady Haruno, have you been resting well?" It was Itachi who asked that. Sakura looked up from the plate of food being served and nodded and before she could even respond, a jeer came from the head of the table.
"She prefers being called doctor Haruno." Fugaku taunted, taking a sip of tea from his cup. Sakura nodded in agreement, not at all fazed by his sneers.
"Thank you, your majesty."
Itachi blinked at the interruption and then coughed at the sudden awkwardness, "Ah, pardon me. Doctor Haruno."
"Yes, I have been resting well. Thank you for asking, prince Itachi." Sakura paused in thought before turning to the patriarch, "My king, if you don't mind me asking, why is Prince Obito not here for lunch?"
Mikoto answered for her husband, a concerned frown creasing her forehead. "Our clan doctor has ordered to isolate Tobi-chan from everyone, for the risk of it spreading to other residents of the household. He is being delivered his food to his room."
Sakura raised her brows in shock. They have been leaving a six year old kid all alone in his room without any contact. When Tobi was complaining about everyone leaving him alone, she didn't think it would be total cutoff contact. A little boy, just barely old enough to carry himself, has been left all alone, for so long.
Sakura took a deep breath, quietly putting down her chopsticks beside her rice bowl. "My queen," she looked at Mikoto, who was staring back hopefully at her, "He needs to be among everyone else, eating meals, talking, mingling among you. He needs to be with you."
"But the clan medic-"
"What the clan medic said would've been right, had the disease been contagious through air." Sakura explained calmly, motioning with her hands to get her point across better. "But it's not. No one will get sick from mingling with him. But he will get sicker if he keeps being isolated like this. Isolation of such extreme level takes a heavy toll on one's psych, especially of such young age."
"How do you know it's not contagious?" The king asked, his eyes now glinting with muted interest.
"If it was then there would've been almost a fatally large number of infected patients. I've seen the lack of protection from air pathogens among the people of kingdom, whether they actually knew or not, they were vaguely aware of the disease not being out in the air."
The room was silent as Sakura was explaining her theory, eyes fixated on no one but her. She took a sip of her cooling tea to wet her throat before turning to Mikoto. "Prince Obito needs everyone's support now more than ever, it is a long time for anyone to be sick, but especially a child. And he needs nutritional food. Not bland, boiled vegetables devoid of any nutrition that is weakening his body more than anything else. He needs normal things."
The room was still silent as Sakura ended her explanation, at a loss on what to ask her after that. Fugaku suddenly cleared his throat, leveling Sakura with a stare devoid of any indication of what might be going through his head. "And how are we supposed to believe that you know more than our clan medic? He has years, decades even, of knowledge and experience over you."
'Again with the age.' Sakura had to bite back a snarky remark from the tip of her tongue. The emperor's constant underestimation of her of skill and competency all because of her age and supposedly inherent lack of experience was seriously grating on her last nerve.
If only she cared enough to scream at him about everything she had to endure all throughout her life to get to where she stands, all the blood and bodies she had to see and fail to save, littered on the ground. If only she cared enough to bare her nightmares to the man in front of her, constantly questioning her, if only to shut him up, how great that would be.
But if only she cared enough. But she is so past that point.
"He may have the years on me, my lord." Sakura answered with a low chuckle and a dead stare of her own, "But he has not traveled the world like I have. You could learn in theory by the vast libraries and expensive books, but you learn so much more when you step across the lands outside your reach."
Fugaku was rendered silent as he considered the young lady in front of her. Who was this girl? She looked no older than Sasuke, yet her hardened eyes spoke like they have seen God and laughed in his face. She was young enough to be passed off a young maiden but she spoke like she has seen everything this world could show her.
"Hakane." He barked out for a manor maid, who quickly emerged from behind the shoji door. "Bring Obito." Then he turned back to Sakura, "So, what do you plan on doing now?"
"I have something I want to test, about the origin of this disease. I would like to explore the kingdom. In the meanwhile, I have some medicine I think would work well for Prince Obito's condition." She took a bite of the lobster, chewing leisurely. "For now, I will keep the prince under my observation and see what results we get."
A moment later, the door slid open again to reveal the little prince, shivering slightly under from the lack of blanket wrapped around his form. His eyes lit up when they fell on Sakura and he ran over to where she was sitting. "Sakura-chan!"
"Hello again, prince Obito." She greeted as the boy was pulled into Mikoto's lap, providing warmth to subside his shivering. "Hakane, bring in his portion of meal." The queen ordered the same maid, ruffling Tobi's hair as he nuzzled further into her warmth.
"It's been so long!" he whined, looking around the room at the faces that he has been deprived from seeing. Itachi and Sasuke looked happy to see him back, as much as he could tell from the very limited facial expressions, but Sai was completely blank. "Why did no one see me?"
Mikoto looked at a loss on how to answer that question in a way that wouldn't his feelings. It was hard to tell a child that they weren't visiting him for the fear of catching the disease.
Thankfully, however, the moment was saved when Hakane brought in a smaller portion of food for the boy, normal food. With a small bowl of rice, a side of salmon and miso soup. They opted out the lobster for him.
The rest of the dinner went pretty smooth, filled with the excited chatters from Tobi who looked much livelier than he did for the whole month. Sasuke filled him in with all the adventures he and his brothers went on, resulting in whines of complaints from Tobi about missing out on the fun.
Sakura kept silent the whole dinner, letting the family catch up with the young boy as she chewed on her food. The food was delicious.
But she did not miss the dead, blank stare that was fixated on her throughout the whole dinner, waiting for any kind of reaction for his entertainment.
But she did not give him the satisfaction, simply ate her meal and ignored his presence as if he was nothing but an annoying fly on the wall. She could feel his stare becoming more and more annoyed with every second passing without any signs of agitation from her, but she was alright.
She took her amusement in feeling him becoming annoyed.
Because if that's what he's playing, then two can play this game.
When Itachi was still reeling from their formal introduction with the new guest, Shisui decided the perfect time to pop up and chew his ear off.
"What do you mean you had lunch with the new doctor?! Why was I not informed?" Shisui frantically questioned, pacing around the study room.
Itachi sighed, closing the scroll he was previously reading. "Because you were on your patrol report. That was much more important that the lunch, she is still here, you can introduce yourself whenever you meet."
"Yes, but it was the first lunch. Everyone was there but me!" Itachi's reasoning fell on deaf ears as his cousin continued his rant. "What was she like? Was she soft-spoken? A fine young lady?"
"Quite the contrary actually." Itachi murmured, deciding to let Shisui cool off on his own and resuming his reading of the scroll. Shisui was still ranting in the background, "For someone who you claimed to not be particularly interesting to you, you are oddly riled up at not having met them."
"Okay, and?" Shisui looked baffled at the accusation, "She is still going to be staying here, and I did not meet her at the official introduction. It's my right as a prince of Kuroshima to-"
"Oh shut up now." Itachi sighed again, giving up on his attempts to read the scroll and just grabbed his cousin by his shoulder to drag him out. "Like you said, she is staying here for a while, you can meet her later. Let's just train for now."
However, Shisui seemed to have luck on his side as they heard clicks of sandals tapping against the wooden floors. They turned a hallway to the stairs and saw a black cloak billowing a little ways away.
"That's the doctor." Itachi nodded his head toward the figure walking away with another young man that he recognized as the court herbalist. Itachi also noticed that she liked to walk around in her cloak and hood on as if she was a shinobi sneaking around in espionage.
Shisui was seeing her too, and once again, even just from her back profile covered by her cloak, he could tell that she had on rather odd clothes. The pair they were observing finally stopped beside a room and Shisui recognized it as the herbal room. The herbalist took his leave, leaving the doctor to explore the room on her own accord. And Shisui decided that it was the perfect time to make his presence known. "Itachi, introduce us." He whispered to his cousin and the pair were approaching the waiting figure.
Itachi rolled his eyes before calling out to the pinkette, "Doctor Haruno."
The figure turned around, cloak swishing behind her. And when she saw who was approaching her, she looked surprised, from what little features could be seen from under her cloak. Shisui watched as she reached up and let the hood fall down.
And if Shisui said that she was uninteresting to him, he could very well rule out her appearances out of the remark.
Her features were anything but uninteresting. Rosy hair pulled in a loose braid, loose bangs framing her ivory face. Sharp, feline like jade eyes fix themselves on his form, raising a pink brow and rosy lips pulled in questioning.
"Prince Itachi" She greeted his cousin, inclining her head making the tendrils of pink hair bob with her. He noticed her height, though still shorter than him, would be taller than the average women of Kuroshima. She turned to fully face them, her body still covered by her cloak, and finally looked at him curiously.
Taking the incentive, Itachi cleared his throat and nodded at Shisui, "Doctor Haruno, this is my cousin and the second prince, Shisui."
Sakura's eyes widened a fraction before she bowed at him, "Prince Shisui, an honor to meet you." She stood up straight, her eyes looking Shisui up and down. She noticed the classic Uchiha features; dark hair, dark eyes, tall stature, devilish beauty. But nothing seemed too out of place for her.
But Shisui seemed to have taken her knack for observation to be the wrong kind of interest.
An immediate rakish grin spread on his face, making Sakura pause at the sudden change of demeanor. He bowed slightly, but took her hand from beneath her cloak and raised it to his face. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the action and looked at Itachi for an explanation, only to find a mask of exasperation on his face.
"Lady Haruno." The flirty purr in his voice almost startled Sakura as she looked wide-eyes and mortified at the prince in front of her. Shisui's smile widened if anything, mistaking her mortification for pleasant surprise, "To make your acquaintance is my pleasure. I hope our time together in my kingdom will be eventful." And with all the confidence he had in their interaction, Shisui lifted her hand further and pressed a whisper of a kiss on her gloved knuckles.
'The nerve of this man.' Sakura's mind whispered in shock, her tongue at a loss of words. She looked at the other Uchiha, finding him standing like a rock with a palm to his face. She looked at the still grinning man in front of her, who still hasn't let go of her hand.
Deciding to just ignore it this time, she slowly took her hand away from the prince, putting a respectable distance between them. Shisui seemed a little surprised at her retraction, but she only stared at him blankly. "Prince Shisui." Her voice was just as blank and devoid of reaction as her face, and that seemed to give Shisui a start more than anything else, "Please refrain from touching me so casually."
Shisui had the gall to look confused by her reaction. "Ah, Lady Haruno. That was not my intention." The same grin returned, as if completely unfazed by her demand, "I was simply greeting you in the warmest way I know."
"Is this how people of Kuroshima greet guests?" Sakura meant it sarcastically, but perhaps the derision was lost on the prince. She assumed that the royalty of the east would be presumptuous, entitled to their pomp and arrogance.
But this is just ridiculous.
"We greet our guests even more warmly. I would be ecstatic to welcome you properly." The intentions were clear in his words as Shisui took a step toward her, attempting to close the distance between them. Sakura only watched in fascination at the absolute audacity of laying his intentions so thick minutes after meeting for the first time.
She looked at his companion for interruption. Itachi Uchiha looked like a gentleman, she would hope. But she only found him looking at the wall like it was the most interesting thing in the world.
So he has decided to be of no help. Perfect.
She was, however, saved by the hurried footsteps running toward her. She turned to see a maid rounding the corner, who quickly slowed down from her sprint at the sight of the group. "Lady Haruno." It was a maid she hasn't seen before, and she looked significantly younger than the one that fetched her before. The maid bowed at the princes before straightening up but still kept her head low. "I am the appointed helper for you while your stay. I was commanded to take you to your chamber."
Sakura nodded at her, turning to leave but then thought of something. "Prince Itachi, Prince Shisui." She called the two Uchihas, fixing them with a stare, no demure gaze or coy peer. Nothing but a flat, cool stare. "It was a pleasure to meet you. However, I will need to take my leave." When she bowed this time to indicate her departure, it was not waist deep. But barely a half dip, deeming it good enough for the two.
She didn't wait for their response before turning around to face her back to them and thudding her sandals on the floor, but then paused a couple of steps later. "And Prince Shisui," she threw a backward glance at the shocked prince, staring at her back with jaw slightly open, "It's doctor Haruno."
The pair of princes were still silent for a long minute even after Sakura has completely disappeared from the sight. The hallway was only filled with chirrups from crickets from outside and soft padding of footsteps from corridors down.
"You messed it up so bad." Itachi sighed out in exhaustion, his shoulder slouching slightly. "This is the first time you met her, and you messed up. Phenomenal." The doctor was their guest, and this was not the type of welcome they were supposed to give her. But his sarcasm went right over Shisui head it seemed.
"Oh come on, it worked I'll tell you." Shisui whistled, still leering at the corner Sakura had disappeared to. He leaned against the pillar nearby, folding his arms over his chest and smirking mischievously, "She's just shy."
"She's not shy, she's annoyed." The exasperation in Itachi's voice was palpable. Shisui tsked at him, throwing an arm over his shoulder and leading him toward the opposite side of the hallway, the same way they came from. "You said the same thing about every other interaction I've had, but look they got me now. And it's not like you were stopping me."
"It's because you don't listen."
Shisui completely ignored his cousin, leading a familiar path he has visited many times. "Anyhow, I know a hard-to-get player when I see one. Give me a week and she'll love it here." He smirked as a familiar door came into his view, beckoning him to his nightly rendezvous. He patted his cousin on the back and nodded at the door, signaling Itachi to take his leave.
Itachi sighed, continuing on his way alone, "I'll warn you once lastly, you'd do well to not be inappropriate to the doctor. She's our guest and mother will not be happy."
"Alright." Shisui hummed noncommittally, standing in front of the shoji door and looking around the hallway. His smirk returned when he thought of the pink-haired doctor.
She was fiery, and that attracted him all the more. She was playing with him, teasing him and then running away. And while he loved women willing and easy, he loved a challenge the most. She was a challenge, and he loved it.
Shisui rapped his knuckles on the door and heard footsteps on the other side. He smirked rakishly as the door opened to the surprised face of a woman. "Hello, Kao-chan." He purred at the dark blush-stained face of the Uchiha woman. "Missed me?" He stumbled his way inside the dimly-lit room, loving the way the feminine arms wrapped around him needily.
He has won with others before; he will win with Sakura too.
He has full faith in himself.
Sakura's face still refused to drop its blank façade long after she had left that hallway with the maid. She knew it the moment her eyes fell on the curly-haired Uchiha, he was bad news. She just doesn't know how to feel about being proven right.
"Did I interrupt something, Doctor Haruno?" The maid walking beside her asked and Sakura looked at her properly this time. She was shorter than her, brown hair pulled back in a bun underneath a while cloth. She also looked much younger than her, barely at the end of her teenage years.
Remembering that she was asked a question, the pinkette shook her head. "No, not at all. You are…?" The maid flushed in what she assumed embarrassment and bowed in apology, "Forgive me, I didn't introduce myself before. My name is Ayame, I was assigned to be your personal helper." She smiled kindly at Sakura, "Please do not hesitate to call for me anytime you need help."
Sakura deemed it fit to give her introduction as well, "I'm Doctor Sakura Haruno, imperial medic of the central Konoha, Hiraisumi." Ayame giggled at her actions, "I already know who you are, Doctor Haruno."
They pair walked in companiable silence until the hallway turn toward the guest residency, but Sakura paused mid-step, rerouting her feet. Ayame gave her a surprised look, hurrying behind her "Doctor Haruno, your room is the other way."
"I know. But I just wanted to pay a visit to someone." She turned a different corner, up the stairs to the imperial quarters of the princes. She counted the third door to the right and knocked on the shoji door. She knocked again and when she heard no sign of someone opening it, she slid it open herself.
And what she found nearly melted her.
She found blankets heaped into a pile on the bed, almost swallowing the small figure curled up underneath, only the tuft of his spiky hair peeking out. She softly padded on the tatami floor, sitting down on her knees beside the bed and untucking the blanket and revealing his slumbering face.
"Prince Tobi." She softly called out, tapping his cheek. He stirred minutely before snuggling back under the covers making her giggle. She tried again, gently shaking his shoulder and this time he actually cracked open an eye. His eyes opened a bit more and lips spread in a wide smile when he saw who it was.
"Sakura-chan." His voice was a little hoarse from being woken up from sleep and all the coughing. He struggled to sit up from under the weight of heavy blankets and Sakura giggled at his small body wiggling under the mass. She helped him by removing the blankets, but then frowned when she felt the difference in temperature.
It was too warm inside the blankets.
"Prince Tobi, are you not hot inside?". The small prince creased his brows at her questioning, his lips turning into a pout, "It is. But Doctor said that I should keep myself warm."
Sakura frowned even more at the method of healing. It was true that keeping yourself warm might help calm the symptoms, especially in the mountainous regions like Kuroshima, but it was nearing summer. He could very well get a heat stroke.
"You should not use so many blankets if you don't want to. Here, let me take some away." She took off couple of the blanket piled up and turned to order Ayame to heat up some milk.
"Why are you still awake, Sakura-chan? Okaa-san says that it's not good to stay up late." Tobi yawned, falling back on his bed again. Sakura couldn't resist ruffling his hair, smiling at his adorable giggle, "Yes, your mother is right. I'll sleep later."
A minute later, Ayame slid through the door with a tray with a kettle of steaming milk and a cup. Sakura brought out a small pouch from under her cloak, loosening the drawstrings and popping out two dark green pills. She placed the pills inside a small piece of cotton cloth, tied it up and used the ceramic cup to smash the pills in a powder. She hung the bundle on the side of the cup and poured the warm milk in, covering the top with a plate to steep the pills for a moment.
"What was that, Sakura-chan?" Tobi asked, peering curiously at the cup. The smell of something minty and sweet wafted from the escaping steam and Tobi sneezed at the smell. Sakura smiled at him, tucking the blanket pooled around his waist "It's to make you feel better." She lifted the covering and added a spoonful of honey in the cup before thrusting it in Tobi's hands.
Tobi took sips from the cup of warm milk, testing the taste before deeming it delicious enough to start chugging it. "Prince Tobi, slow down." But before Sakura finished her warning, the cup was already empty.
"That was so tasty." Tobi licked his lips, stretching his arms and falling back on the mattress. Ayame took away the tray of milk as Sakura brought out another pill from the same silk pouch. "Prince Tobi, tilt your head." She gently grabbed the boy's chin to tip his head back and open his mouth wide and popped the white pill on his tongue and urging him to take a sip of water.
Tobi gagged a little at the chalky aftertaste, gulping down half a glass of water. "That was not tasty." He stuck his tongue out, pointing at it as if to point out at the horrendous taste.
Sakura smiled, ruffling his hair to set them back from their mussed up state and fixed the blanket around his shoulders. "Sleep, Prince Tobi, you have a long day tomorrow."
"Why do you call me Prince, Sakura-chan?"
Sakura paused, looking into the wide, dark eyes of the small prince. "Because you are a prince." Tobi shook his head, reaching out and wrapping his fingers around Sakura's hand. Sakura felt the warmth of the child's fingers around her ungloved hand, feeling a warm wave infuse in her chest.
Tobi shook his head again "Why don't you call me Tobi. Call me Tobi!" Sakura raised her eyebrow at him, stroking his hair to lull him back to sleep, "Just Tobi?" he nodded his head, "Why?"
"You know, Sakura-chan, I've always wanted a big sister." Sakura's eyebrows raised further in surprise, but Tobi continued on, "I always tell okaa-san that I wanted a big sister, but I only have big brothers!" the whine in his voice was almost comical. "Can I call you onee-chan?"
Sakura wanted to refuse at first, tell him that a prince should not be referring to her as a sister. But when he looked at her with his wide, starry eyes and too adorable hopefulness on his face, she just couldn't find it in herself to refuse him.
Sakura smiled softly, stroking Tobi's head and lulling him back to sleep, "Whatever you wish, Tobi-chan. But for now, sleep."
She needs to sleep too. She has an impossible day tomorrow.
AN: So, here goes another chapter. This marks the start of Sakura's journey in Kuroshima, and a lot more of the mysteries will start surfacing in the later chapters. So hang on tight for that.
Anyway, hope y'all liked this chapter. Make sure to review it then.
Bye bye