AN: Hello everyone! Cinnabunnbunn here, how are y'all?
I know since the last chapter you all might have been waiting for the chapter with the banquet, and wait no more because it's here!
Okay so another thing, I need your opinion on something. I want to make Ino into a part of Sakura's love interests too. I just think it'll be cute okay! So I want to know whether I should dive full on into giving them the same treatment as the other love interests, or make small cute moments and leave it at that. Honestly, I want to dive fully into making Ino officially a part of the harem.
Other than that, I haven't thought of a new development.
So enjoy 3
Another week passed by faster than she could grasp, and soon, it was the day she was dreading.
Sakura stared at the package she just received from the messenger that dropped it off with a quick murmur of 'from her majesty' and then ran off, and sighed. Thank god, she was beginning to think that she might have to go to the banquet in her sleeping robes.
She walked with the package in her arms back to her bed, setting it down softly. It was luxurious to touch, certainly. A wooden box with back polish, and when she touched it, she could feel the grains of cherry oak from Hiraisumi, the lid and body held together by thick pink ribbon.
She has mentioned the banquet to the queen in the last letter she sent back home, writing about her woes of not having a proper attire to wear to the celebration. She was thinking about just wearing her official commander uniform with her lesser worn down cloak, until the curious package arrived.
Sakura held the ribbon, pulling it off in a swift motion and letting it fall down before flipping open the lid.
It was a robe, like she has suspected. A lush golden at first glance which she realized was the obi to tie around her waist, a rich violet color on the second glance which is realized was her dress.
She held the cloth up to her face, her eyes trailing over all the fine details of the robe. Tiny flowers in white and gold leaves scattered throughout the cloth, choking the skirt and ends of the sleeves of the robe like a daisy bush. The fabric was so smooth to touch and she almost felt bad putting it on her calloused and scarred skin.
She wasn't used to soft and silky materials, often only looking for tactile and durable clothes that would last during her long travels.
There was also another small black box on the bottom of the box and she opened it to look inside and promptly sucked in a breath. Inside the small box was the most beautiful assortment of jewelry. A pair of pearl earrings, a diamond locket in the shape of a teardrop held by thin gold chain, and a gold ring with a ruby engraved in the center.
She has quite an assortment of jewelry back home, but that treasure chest has just been collecting dust for over a decade. She has heard from the queen that most of those jewels belonged to her mother so she guarded it selfishly but hardly ever got a chance to wear them.
She laid it down flat against her mattress, admiring how well the pendant went with the robe, when something shiny caught her attention. There was something stuck to the inside of the lid of the dress box that she hadn't noticed. A hairpin, solid gold and pure pearls dangling from the end. And tied to the hairpin was a small piece of parchment.
I would not have a member of my court embarrass my kingdom by showing up in military uniform to a banquet of all places.
Sakura felt her lips tugging in kind of a smirk when she recognized the fine handwriting of the blonde Senju. 'Well, that solves it.' She thought to herself as she put down the note, looking at the spread of pearls and silks that have been gifted to her, before she turned her attention to the more important matters. The mess on her table.
Loads and loads of vials and stacks of notes took up the entire chabudai and Sakura had been losing her mind over the vial she picked up a couple days ago from the lakeside. And she was absolutely losing her marbles over the fact that she was right. It was the same virus.
The little sample she found in the bottom of the vial, was saturated with the pathogens they just cleaned the lake of. And the child was coming around to mix the pathogen back in the lake water.
It was no accidental spread; someone was deliberately contaminating the water to kill the people of Kuroshima. If not kill, then at the very least put the majority of the manpower out of commission for a long while. She would need to arrange a meeting with the king as soon as possible.
She picked up the last test note she made, skimming over the observations for the millionth time. She was completely sure that this was the same thing she had encountered while in Suna, but this time, it was intentionally spread. Which made her think, was Suna also affected intentionally or accidentally?
A long sigh went past her lips as she pushed away the stack of paper and laid down on the tatami mat, groaning slightly at the dull throb in her lower back from sitting up for so long, and looked toward the open engawa. The sun was bright and high in the sky, warming the breeze that would occasionally blow into her room, and she kind of missed the scent of salt that would tease her nose back in Hiraisumi.
She walked outside on the engawa, sitting down on the edge and letting the short grass of the yard tickle her feet. She was just enjoying the breeze and quiet when a loud yell from the floor above her made her open her eyes.
"You jerk! Give that back-"
Sakura gave another sigh at the suspiciously familiar yell that was following the corridor, down the stairs, and soon two figures came running out of the opposite end of the building into the yard.
Sasuke was chasing after another young Uchiha who she did not remember ever seeing while the boy waved a something over his head. But he didn't seem to be fast enough because not a second later he was caught by the young prince, who ripped what looked like a wrapped kunai set out of his hands.
The boy took off running again but Sasuke didn't chase after him, dusting away the set before tucking it back in his pants while muttering intelligible profanities under his breath.
And then he looked up and his gaze got locked with her. They stared at each other for a second too long to be polite or comfortable, not saying a word. And when Sakura was debating nodding at him or giving a polite greeting, he quickly ducked his head and sped away.
He had been acting this way since the tussle they had in the training ground. Whenever they would accidentally run into each other, he would stare at her for an uncomfortable amount of time before scurrying away like a raccoon who caught got stealing vegetable scraps.
Sakura let out a sigh for the umpteenth time. Men, she'll never understand.
It was cold, Sakura thought before she felt a slight tingling burn behind her nose, and she felt like sneezing.
She was currently standing rock still in her room in front of her vanity table as Ayame and another maid she didn't know poked and prodded her like a mannequin.
"Hold on tight Lady Sakura!"
Sakura sucked in another sharp breath as Ayame tugged on the obi, wrapping it around her waist to define the shape and Sakura was almost regretting not just going with her uniform. The other maid, Sasaki she was told, adjusted the flaps of the robe while Ayame tied the obi behind her in a large bow.
Before she could regain her breath from the push and pull she just went through, Sakura was pushed onto the stool in front of her vanity table. "We need to work fast okay." The maids mumbled among themselves, opening the box with the makeup products they came with, "The sun will set soon and we need to get you ready before that."
"Did you have these on yourself?" Sakura asked in curiosity as she looked at the high quality kohl and the large range of rich stains.
"Huh?" Ayame looked at the box before exclaiming, "Oh! No no, her majesty gave us the products to use on you. She specifically ordered us to make you look like a 'princess'." The pair of maid giggle slightly at the end, gushing about how kind of was of her majesty to offer the makeup. Sakura would have to agree with them.
Ayame brushed a swan puff of powder on Sakura's face and she resisted the urge to cough as Sasaki started brushing through her hair until it was smooth and soft to touch. "Your hair is so pretty Lady Sakura!" Sasaki gushed from behind Sakura, parting her hair to make a complex braid, "The color is so… unique."
Sakura gave a nervous laugh as she resisted the urge to sneeze again against the loose powder. "I've never heard anyone referring to my hair as unique. It's either weird or exotic."
"Isn't being called exotic a good thing." Ayame asked, dipping a fine brush in the kohl while motioning for Sakura to close her eyes.
Sakura shrugged slightly, trying to not shake too much while Ayame drew wings on her eyelids. "I guess that's one way to look at it. But it just makes me feel like some rare animal being looked at for too long."
Her strange hair has always been a point of contention for her. Where she loved her unique hair color on one hand, on the other hand it always made blending in almost impossible. She used to use herbal powder to try and give her petal colored hair a more dull red appearance but it was still hard to maintain anonymity.
Her hair color also made her an easy target for bullying during her younger years in the compound. In addition to being known as king Sakumo's bastard born, she checked off all the boxes for a punching bag.
Ayame told her to keep her eyes closed to let the kohl dry off while she felt Sasaki tugging on her hair gently. A wet brush swiped on her lips and she felt the pair of earrings weigh heavily on her earlobes and the cold metal of the pendant settle down softly against her collarbone.
"Open your eyes Lady Sakura!"
Sakura fluttered her eyes open and blinked once, twice, thrice, before reaching up to touch her hair. 'Is this really me?' She almost asked out loud and felt stupid for it. But seriously, it was hard to believe that the woman she was seeing in the mirror was really her.
Black rimmed eyes stared back at her amazement, lined by kohl so dark that it made her green eyes appear almost feline. Pale skin done to a perfect finish with a healthy rogue on cheeks and lips painted the prettiest shade of pink. Her hair was tied in almost an elvish braid; parted down the middle with two braids starting from her hairline, trailing a path over her skull to intertwine in a single thick braid to swing down her back.
"Wait, I just need to add this." Sasaki held up the gold pin, sticking in at the base of the thick braid and Sakura especially liked the way the large hanging pearls caught the light to shine a brilliant white.
"It's really pretty." Sakura murmured quietly, a slight smile tugging her lips as she flipped her braid to let it rest on one shoulder and looked toward the last item she was given, the ruby ring. She slid it onto her finger, a familiar weight on her hand.
"You look gorgeous Lady Sakura." Ayame cooed behind her, clasping both her hands on her mouth. "The princes are going to love looking at you!"
'What do the princes have anything to do with this?' Sakura wanted to ask when rapt knocks on her door caught their attention. Sasaki opened the door and immediately bowed with an embarrassed squeak.
"Prince Izuna!"
Izuna stood straight just outside her door, giving a nod to the maids in greeting. "Good evening, I hope your work here is completed because Lady Sakura has an escort to the banquet."
Ayame and Sasaki nodded in hurry before they packed up the box of makeup and scurried out of the room. Sakura chuckled slightly under her breath, drawing Izuna's attention back to her. "I think you scared them away."
Izuna looked back at her with his lips curved and eyes soft, like the way he always seemed to look at everything around him. That was when Sakura noticed his attire, fit for a prince and just as royal. A royal navy in color and a flock of pastel blue birds fled through the cloth of his robe.
"You look beautiful." He muttered to her, albeit a bit shyly, as Sakura moved to join him outside her door. She smiled too, her already reddened cheeks darkening a bit more.
"You are too kind."
Izuna's smile widened and Sakura saw his arm twitch slightly, as if lifting to offer his elbow for her to hold before thinking better of it. He didn't offer her his hand to hold and Sakura didn't mention it. An unmarried woman hanging onto a man that wasn't her betrothed was frowned upon.
He led her through the halls that now lacked the regular bustle of maids running around, steering them outside toward a path that she was told led to the largest festive ground in Kuroshima.
The sun was already tucked beneath the horizon, letting only the faintest of the remaining sunlight to color the sky, enough to let the glowing lanterns lining the path to the ground shine on their own. Trees in full bloom of lush leaves were decorated by red flags and Sakura could hear faint music of drums and flute floating through the air.
The banquet ground was massive in its size, and already packed with guests. A stage was set up toward one side, thrones for the king and the queen were the only one on set up on it and the table for the rest of the guests were set below.
They seemed to be two of the last ones to arrive as most of the tables were already flocked by nobles, high and lows alike. Sakura looked around herself until she saw the faces she was familiar with, the same dark hair and equally dark eyes with slight variations. Out of all the princes that stood around, Shisui was the loudest and Sasuke just looked annoyed at everyone in general. Tobi hung onto Itachi, looking a bit drowsy in his sleep.
Izuna didn't leave her side to join his family and when Sakura looked at him questioningly, he only gave her a grin. "I am your escort for tonight, it would be quite rude for me to leave you to join someplace else. Don't you think?"
Sakura chuckled slightly under her breath, "I would be quite offended."
Sakura stayed behind near the outskirts of the congregation of the nobles, only ever engaging in light conversations with Izuna and not bothering to introduce herself to the nobles throwing curious glances toward her. Before long, the gatemen announced the arrival of the king and the queen and all the aristocrats stood on attention as Fugaku and Mikoto walked down the cleared path lined by torches toward their stage, their gold and red robes glittering in the warm light.
Sakura bowed to her waist along with the guests. "May his and her majesty live long and great."
"Rise."
Izuna helped Sakura to her seat, curiously close to the royal family but still managing to stay away from the place the princes were sitting at. Rows of maids and servants came out with trays over trays of food and even just the scent of it wafting through the air made Sakura's mouth water.
"Before we begin the feast," The king's voice boomed throughout the area. He raised his hand holding the sake cup, "Let us raise a toast of appreciation to our guest of honor, Doctor Haruno Sakura, Court medic of Hiraisumi."
At the flare of his hand toward Sakura, every eye in the area turned toward her. Sakura felt the weight of their stares, especially the dark irises ones. She carefully kept her gaze on the king, bowing her head respectfully as she held up her own cup of sake.
The chatters were kept to a minimal as the dancers and various other entertainers came out into the open middle space to perform their pieces. Izuna's company was sweet as Sakura took the opportunity to have him share his tales.
"So Izuna," She called her friend from the rim of her cup, "Tell me something about your family."
"Hmm, what do you want to know?"
Sakura shrugged, thoughtfully chewing on a piece of braised meat. "Who are all the princes of this land? I've heard there are eight but I haven't seen or met them all."
Izuna hummed, racking his brain to articulate the story better. "You would be right, there are eight princes. I'm actually the second prince of Kuroshima."
"The king is not too much older than you. So are you two brothers…" Sakura let the question hang, not sure whether it was appropriate to ask that.
"We are actually cousins." Izuna replied, unbothered by the prospect of having to explain his family tree to the pinkette. "Fugaku is my older cousin but he is younger than my brother." He then lowered his voice so that only two of them could hear what he was saying. "My brother was originally supposed to take the throne, but ultimately it was decided for Fugaku to take it instead."
"And your brother?"
"He rules his own land in one of the many small islands that fall under Kuroshima's jurisdiction." He then nodded toward the other princes, sitting a little further away from them. "Even though I fall under the same title as them, by blood I'm their uncle. Quite funny isn't it."
"Amusing for sure." Sakura smirked, still looking over Izuna's shoulder when one of the princes must've felt her stare. Sasuke looked up from his plate to lock his eyes with her, before averting them again like he has done so many times.
'Weird kid.'
Izuna started talking again, "We have another prince after me but I don't see him here right now. I don't think he's been present in the compound since you've been here. But he's my half brother and works as the king's advisor." Sakura wondered if his absence at the compound had something to do with her presence.
"So out of the eight princes, three of you are of a completely different generation." Sakura took a sip of the wine as a fire trick from one of the dancers caught her attention before she looked at Izuna again. "Do you like doing your… princely duties?"
"Some days are better than others." Izuna answered shortly before he motioned toward the princes again, "Shisui is the oldest out of the bunch over there. Itachi, Sasuke and Tobi are the only biological offspring to the king. Shisui is the king's deceased brother's son who he adopted."
"… and Sai?" Sakura asked under her breath as she stared at the boy with flat black hair and pasty skin who only seemed to take pleasure from others' anger and annoyance. The look Izuna gave her told her what she needed to know.
When the dinner was over, the plates were quickly cleared up as well as the tables to make room for the guests to mingle among themselves. Sakura stayed close to Izuna as some of the nobles introduced themselves to her, talking to Izuna about some politics she did not know any part of.
As Sakura listened to Izuna talking, she felt something, like a heavy stare creeping up her back. She discreetly looked around without seeming distracted but couldn't exactly pinpoint the source. Until the source was right in front of her.
"Ah Prince Izuna, here you are!"
The pair turned toward the voice and almost got swarmed by the group of three young women that were hounding out Izuna. "Uhh…" Sakura said unsurely, sparing the suddenly pale Izuna a glance as the group stopped in front of them. Remembering herself, she bowed shallowly in greeting.
The noblewoman in the front looked like she was the one that wanted to speak. She spared Sakura a glance and a nod, mostly out of forced courtesy than anything else, and then threw a stunning smile toward the older prince. "Prince Izuna, I was looking for you all over the place! My father is asking for you."
Izuna nodded in greeting before forcing his face to at least look a little apologetic. He knows why her father is asking for him, again, and he's not very excited to resume their discussions of trades that always somehow seemed to end up roping in his daughter as a bonus in the deal.
"Lady Akane. I'm sorry but I have a guest that I promised to escort today." He motioned toward the pinkette standing beside him, "Meet doctor Sakura Haruno, today's guest of honor and a friend of mine."
Sakura wasn't sure what to make of the quick glare she was thrown by 'Akane', but she wasn't entirely comfortable with the way she felt their weighty judging eyes rove over her. "It's okay, Prince Izuna." she made sure to add the title when in public. The last thing she wanted was for someone to get the wrong idea. "I would hate to hold you behind from important business."
Izuna whipped his head toward her, looking at her with pleading eyes but the damage was already done.
Akane grabbed onto Izuna's arm and it surprised both of them, before proceeding to drag him away. But what surprised was the girl that stayed behind, looking Sakura up and down before giving a hushed sneer. "You're a foreigner on this land." She hissed under her voice, keeping her face deceptively clear of any negative expressions, "Do your work, gather your praises and move back your home. Don't think trying to seduce the prince will ever cement your place here." She gave a last once over before turning around to walk away. "If you can even do that."
'What…' Sakura was too taken aback to reply before the girl sauntered away, leaving Sakura by herself. Did the people of Kuroshima not like foreigners or something? This wasn't the first time someone showed disapproval about her foreign origins.
Before she could stew in her thoughts for too long, a call of her name drew away her attention.
"Lady Sakura!"
Sakura froze at the voice that called out her name, hesitating in turning around to face him. He drew closer, calling her name again and it was impossible to ignore him anymore. With a tight smile stretching her pink lips, Sakura turned around to the man that she would've liked to stay the furthest away from.
"Prince Shisui, good evening."
Shisui smiled at her with creased eyes and his grin had all the boyish charm it would need to make a girl swoon. But Sakura felt wary at best, even if she did agree that he was handsome.
"Lady Sakura," he breathed out her name, "What a fine night to catch you, but must I say, even this moon pales in comparison to your radiance."
'How charming.' Sakura muttered dryly in her mind even as she only chuckled slightly outwards, however as much as she would deny, his flattery did make her a bit bashful, if also a bit unsettled. "You flatter me, prince Shisui."
Shisui chuckled under his breath, "This flattery is nothing compared to the real you."
Sakura laughed nervously, looking around as discreetly as possible, seeing no one that could possibly get her out of the situation. But her attention was drawn back to Shisui as he came a step closer to her, grabbing a hold of her hand like he had done before too.
"Let us move toward somewhere private for a conversation." His voice was low and intentionally intimate and Sakura could not help the goosebumps that rose underneath her robes.
"We can have a conversation here." Sakura replied with a stiff smile on her face that tried to hide her exasperation.
"There is a lot of noise here, don't you think." He put a hand to the small of her back, barely even touching and started to steer her away from the crowded area. "A conversation in peace, under the moon, would just be perfect. Wouldn't it."
Sakura tried to dig her heels in the ground to stop him from trying to take her away, "Someone might need you when we're gone. It's better to stay here."
Shisui suddenly stood in front of her, face dipped to stare directly in her eyes. Sakura felt a skip in her chest the prince hovered over her, one hand grasped in his palm and eyes as dark as the night. To anyone looking on, it would look like a man trying to whisk away the woman he fancies and Sakura felt some panic rise up at the thought of someone seeing them.
"Exactly, someone might come by and take me away from you." He said with the same graveness someone would do while going to a war but the artificial warmth was laid thick over his words, "Does this prince not deserve a night of peace?" and before Sakura could agree or deny, he grabbed ahold of her wrist and whisked her away from the guests.
Sakura was too concerned of someone seeing her being dragged away by the prince to fully notice where they were headed, but soon she found herself hidden away from the eyes of the guests in a corner of the banquet ground where the light from the torches and lantern did not reach quite enough to chase away the darkness.
Shisui came to a halt near one of the trees surrounding the clearing and Sakura felt much like a deer under the eyes of a wolf. Every bone in her body tensed when Shisui drew up close and even through the thick robes, she could feel the heat of his body washing over her, especially as he slid his face near the side of her head.
"You've been avoiding me, Lady Sakura." He breathed out, his voice so dark and so velvety. Sakura held her breath as her heart beat a nervous rhythm in her chest. She did not like the situation she had just roped herself into.
"No I haven't." Sakura answered shortly, trying to distance herself only to find herself backed into a tree. 'Oh no this is bad…'
"Oh really?" His laugh was low in his throat and it shuttered through her skin. She was acutely aware of his hand tracing feather light patterns on her obi and she tried to restrain her shiver. "If that is the case then why do you try to run from me?"
If Sakura cared enough to take a break right now, she probably would not run away from him. She doesn't run away from blatant advances, but she also learns from her mistake. And she also knows that giving in to womanizers is just disaster waiting to happen.
Normally, she probably would have even enjoyed his attention, probably even taken up his offer for some minute sense of satisfaction but right now, she's not in a headspace to expect or accept any form of pleasure from anyone.
"I don't run from you, prince Shisui." She replied back quietly but the sharpness in her voice was clear. It probably caught Shisui off guard as it was easier for Sakura to push him away and put some distance between them. Sakura looked up to fix her eyes on his face, and even in the darkness with only the moonlight to grace them, Sakura could admit in the secrecy of her thought that he really was too attractive.
"I don't run from you," She repeated her answer, pulling her shoulders back and straightening her spine in a way only a commander would do, "I just have no reason to seek you out."
Silence rolled by the seconds before Shisui cracked. It started with muffled chuckles before escalating into louder laughs, only the hand clasped on his mouth stopped it from becoming full blown cackle. "Oh Lady Sakura… You are too fascinating."
Sakura almost opened her mouth to correct him over her right title but then closed it. What's even the point. Instead she asked the better question, "I fail to see what you find so hilarious."
"Not hilarious, per se, but like I said…" He titled his head to the side as he stared down at her, his curled bangs catching his eyelashes, lips tilted in a grin that looked too rakish in the moonlight, "fascinating."
'We're getting nowhere.' Sakura thought as she looked over his shoulder to see the guests walking around when her eye caught one particular guest, cornflower blue robe and golden hair, looking around side to side as if looking for someone and Sakura had an inkling that that someone might be her.
"Well, great that you find me interesting, I suppose." Sakura replied flatly, moving around Shisui to walk back into the light of the torches, "I would be going back, it was good to see you again, my prince."
As she turned her back to the prince, she was stopped taking another step forward with a grip on her wrist. She looked over her shoulder to see Shisui's back to her, head facing away. She tugged on her wrist slightly and he should've let her go then, but his fingers did not relent in their grip.
"My prince," Sakura addressed him impatiently, ire rising beneath her skin, "let me go." Silence stretched on when she still wasn't freed but Shisui turned his head to the side, as if looking at her sideways but his hair casted a shadow over his eyes. "Let me go."
"I think she told you to let her go!"
Sakura and Shisui both whipped their head toward the voice and Sakura was startled to see the last Uchiha she would've ever expected to come to her rescue.
Sasuke stalked out from the dark as if he was a wolf on patrol, face pulled in a scowl as he glared pointedly at where Shisui was gripping her. "She said let her go."
Shisui blinked at him once before the same grin spread over his face again, "Oh great, little Sasu-chan is here!" Shisui finally let go of her hand to walk toward Sasuke, throwing his arm around his shoulder to ruffle his hair as if he was no older than ten. "I see what you're playing nowadays. Doing your play pretend of a knight in shining armor I see."
Sasuke growled in annoyance, managing to wrench himself away from his older cousin's grip. "Stop treating me like a child you jerk!" he nearly yelled in indignation, eyebrows slanted over his eyes and teeth bared as if ready to bite at the older Uchiha, "And get away from here, Aniki has been looking for you all over."
Shisui rolled his eyes, "I know you're lying to me so I would leave you alone." He walked back to where Sakura was standing and looked at Sasuke with a glinting smirk, putting a hand on the small of her back, "So why don't you leave us adults alone on our business and play your-"
Before he could even finish his sentence, he was ripped from the pinkette by his collar. Sakura jerked to a side in defense before she looked at the culprit and saw the aforementioned other cousin, holding a hacking Shisui by his collar as if he were holding a stray cat.
"Shisui, you ran off again." Itachi deadpanned, ignoring the choking noises he was making in order to give Sakura a polite greeting and proceeding to drag him away from her. "I've already been dealing with your sector for long enough, it's your turn now."
Sakura watched the pair stumble off into the distance and closed her eyes, finally being able to release a breath a relief, shoulders dropping down as the tension disappeared from them before she looked at the Uchiha that came to her rescue. He was looking down, grumbling to himself about 'that patronizing jerk, just wait till I meet him again' while attempting to fix his hair that his cousin messed up.
"Thank you."
Sasuke snapped his head up at her, watching her as she straightened her robe. "What?"
Sakura patiently fixed her robes first before turning toward the younger male with her head high, "Thank you, for helping me back there."
"Oh." Sasuke looked down again, ruffing through his again but it seemed more like a nervous habit than to fix it or anything. "It's fine, it's nothing." Sakura nodded when he didn't say anything else, turning around to take her leave deeming it to be the end of their conversation, until she heard him muttering something again slightly too low for her to hear.
"I'm sorry, what?" Sakura blinked at the younger prince who suddenly looked bright red from what she could see in the little light.
"I said I'm sorry." He coughed out, face turned downward and refusing to look up. He glanced up through his bangs but immediately turned away when he saw her staring at him, "I wasn't nice to you all this time. I'm sorry."
Sakura blinked in surprised, not at all expecting an apology, of all things, from the prince. And from what she could see of his face, he seemed somewhat genuine too. Silence rolled by between them as Sakura stared at the red faced prince, trying to decipher whether he had any hidden motives behind his motives, or did he actually believe in what he was saying.
"Ah." She replied blankly at first, "And what is your motive for apologizing, my prince?"
"Motive?" Sasuke looked a little confused at her question, "I don't know. Because I felt bad?" His answer sounded like a question but Sakura could work with that. He did sound genuine.
Sakura nodded in tune, folding her arms over her chest in a way that might've seemed haughty especially to a prince. "Why were you so mean to me?" At his confused expression, she repeated herself. "You seemed to detest me even before you got to know me. I didn't do or say anything to you and you were always up to insult me whenever you could. What did I ever do to you?"
Sasuke looked down once again but the expression on his face this time seemed almost shameful. "I, I-" he stammered a little as he searched for the right words. He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck in discomfort. "It doesn't have anything to do with you. It was just a misunderstanding."
Sakura simply gave him a blank look, lips thinned and eyes half lidded. "That must be one hell of a misunderstanding for you to treat me that way. And what was the misunderstanding again, and what did that had to do with me?"
Sasuke groaned under his breath, "It was just a misunderstanding, okay? That's it." He turned around to leave but Sakura was quick to block his path, forcing him to look at her. Even just from his behavior and boyish face, she could tell he was a couple years younger than her, but she was a little miffed that she still had to tilt her face slightly up to look him in the eye.
"What did it have to do with me?" She pressed again, her tone more definitive this time. "You either tell me or I take it to your brother."
She probably should not be talking to a prince like that, of all people, but after all that, she felt like she was atleast entitled to some kind of explanation. Sasuke looked frustrated by now, especially after she mentioned his brother, but she stood rooted in her spot refusing to move.
Finally, after a long stare-down, he seemed to give in with a sigh. "It's nothing with you alright, it's just-" he took a pause before continuing in a quieter tone, "A few days before you came here, I overheard father talking about some attacks happening around the borders. I was just on edge, it caused me to lash out on you."
Sakura creased her eyebrow, "Attacks? When did those happen?"
"A couple days before you arrived." Sasuke replied in the same quiet tone, "Father was suspecting there was an outside snake in our court, and then you arrived. I thought you were here with ulterior motives. I didn't know you were the chief commander." His voice got quieter and quieter by the end and he was just shamefully grumbling at a point.
"But I was still a court physician." Sakura asked again, even more confused. His frustration with her didn't make much sense to her no matter what justification he gave. "I was still lawfully contracted to Kuroshima by my kingdom, so I don't know why you thought I would be some backstabber."
Sasuke groaned under his breath, rubbing his eyes with his palms, "It's nothing okay. I already said I'm sorry, isn't that enough!"
"But it still doesn't make sense-"
"It doesn't matter!"
"But it does though-"
"I thought you were like the noblewomen here, okay!" Sasuke squawked in annoyance, his cheeks suddenly reddening. Understanding fell on Sakura's face as she considered the prince in front of her. He turned his red face away from her but couldn't hide the tinted ears, "And then I saw you talking with Shisui… and I thought…"
'There it is.' The real reason. He thought she was trying to get into his cousin's pants. Sakura felt a chilling smile spread on her lips as she closed her eyes to crescents, "Ah, so that's what you thought. Well, you can clearly see that I was, in fact, not trying to butter up your cousin."
Sasuke seemed to flush further at her words, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "A-Ah. Hmm. I saw that." He glanced her way quickly before averting his gaze again, "I'm sorry."
"I accept your apology." Sakura replied breezily, feeling slightly bit vindictive. It felt great seeing the arrogant boy who would always look down his nose at her blustering and fumbling in front of her. "And just a word of advice, maybe don't make your judgement about someone before your even meet them."
Sasuke hmphed, folding his arms over his chest. Maybe tried to make himself seem taller and prouder, trying to pick up some of the dignity he had lost, but to her, he looked much like a kitten that tries to act all ferocious. "Yes, yes. Whatever."
And Sakura was about to take her leave before she decided to throw in her last judgement. "And that was quite the generalization you made there about the noblewomen. Quite presumptuous of you, don't you think."
"You wouldn't call me presumptuous if you saw what I have to deal with." Sasuke grumbled again, eyes rolling as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Maybe there were noblewomen who chased after the prince relentlessly, she could bet there are a number of them, but Sakura would not fault them on their persuasiveness.
Sakura was warrior, a leader, a powerhouse. But she was a woman first, and before she knew whether she would even become those things, she had to understand what it meant being a woman with no power.
Since Sakura was a mere child, she had seen the older girls of the clan being traded away between noble families like bargaining chips. One night, she had witnessed one of those girls giving her last tearful goodbyes to her lover of years because her time had come, the time to take on the role of a dutiful daughter who will give away her dreams for the sake of the betterment of her family, by any means necessary.
Where the princes might see relentless, annoying, can't leave them alone noblewomen, Sakura saw the desperation for the approval of their family. If they manage to snag the attention of even one of the members of the royal family, it would save them from so much destitution.
So where Sakura saw their perspective, she wouldn't share their sentiment.
Sakura smiled at him, turning away from the prince to head toward where the torches spread their light. "Sure, sure. If you say so my prince." She threw one last backward glance toward him, picking up her hand in a wave, "See you at supper, my prince."
Sakura walked toward the banquet area, looking for the same pale golden hair she saw a while ago. The sky was dark when she looked up, the blanket of stars looking especially pretty that night. As she was searching for her friend, her eyes were caught by a different set of dark pools.
'What…' She looked to her side her where she thought she saw him, and sure enough, Sai was looking directly at her. Face blank, lips thinned, and eyes staring at her unblinkingly. Sakura returned his stare back, thinking he will surely look away if he saw that she caught him, but no, he gazed at her in a way that both flustered and unnerved her.
Sai was a strange one, a really strange one even though she hasn't spoken to him much. But the last interaction they had still unnerved her to some end.
She broke off their eye contact when she realized he would not be losing their stare down, just in time for the call of her name to reach her.
Ino ran to her with a slightly annoyed expression on her face, blonde braid swishing behind her like a pendulum, "Where have you been all this time? I was looking for you." The shorter woman crossed her arms, cocking her hip to the side.
Sakura shrugged slightly walking alongside the blonde toward somewhere quiet. "I was busy planning on how to make someone's life a hell." Pleasant curiosity sparkled in Ino's eyes, pink lips spreading in a mischievous smile.
"Who is it?"
Sakura smirked at her, shaking her head as if her lips protected a secret and she knew it would annoy Ino to no end. Something she had learned about the blonde over the course of their time together is that the blonde hated nothing more than being held from an information she wanted to know.
Ino huffed, looking around the banquet ground where the crowd refused to lessen. As the drinks started passing around and the lips loosened up, the air seemed thickened with loud laughter. "It's too loud here." She muttered under her breath, looking over to the pinkette pointedly, "Let's go somewhere quieter."
Noone seemed to pay them much mind thankfully, maybe due to the alcohol, and they moved swiftly through around the guests, managing to avoid any unnecessary pleasantries with people they didn't care enough to chat with and soon, they were away from the circle lined by torches and Ino was leading Sakura toward somewhere a little away from the banquet ground.
It was another lake, Sakura could see, though one of the smaller ones. But the moonlight glistening on the water surface was just as beautiful as any other. There was kind of a small wooden dock built on one side to get into boats and sit on.
"So," Ino asked the pinkette, sitting on the edge of the dock and letting her feet touch the water surface, "Did any of the princes pass you any advances till now? I could bet at least one did."
"Ino…" Sakura sighed, taking her seat beside the blonde. "Cut that out." Well, she wouldn't be wrong in assuming that but that doesn't mean Sakura has to confirm anything to her.
"So I am right." Ino sniffed slightly, "Well, I could also bet it was the curly-haired one. Wasn't it."
"You seem very personally aware of them, hmm." Sakura lulled her head slightly to glance her way, "Were you also one of the undoubtedly many notches on his bedpost."
Ino whipped her head toward Sakura as a reddened and offended look dawned on her face. "I have standards, okay!" she squawked indigently, "I know all this because his endeavors don't exactly stay in the quiet. His partners aren't just limited to his clan, and noblewomen love gossiping. So you pick up things."
'How nice.' Sakura chuckled under her breath, swishing her feet in the water as ripples spread around the surface. There was a peaceful kind of silence between them and only the distant hoots of owls flying overhead. "Who are your other friends around here?" Sakura asked suddenly, breaking the silence.
"Hmm." Ino asked before she registered the question, "Oh, my friends. I have a couple. There is Shikamaru, Tenten, and Choji. We are childhood friends. I'll introduce you to them sometime." She answered before pausing in her sentence, looking over to Sakura meaningfully, "What about your home? Do you have friends and stuff?"
Sakura was silent for a few moments, considering her options. Should she be truthful to her or just lie to keep the comfort. "I… had some friends back home."
"Had?" Ino prodded, tilting her head to the side in question. When Sakura still didn't answer, she turned the route. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I understand-"
Sakura shook her head, releasing a small breath. "No, no. It's not that." She replied a bit quieter but her voice felt a little choked in her throat, "I'm just not sure how you'll handle it."
It was Ino's turn to hold the pause before her answer came out much softer than she expected. "I'm a big girl. I know you have blood in your past, I can handle it." At Sakura's shocked head turn, she smirked at her but there was kind of a softness to the smile. "What? You thought I couldn't see it? I'm the court interrogator's daughter, looking inside people's mind is in my nature."
Sakura considered her words at first, watching the twinkling stars reflect on the water. Ino looked at her patiently taking her silence in stride, so maybe it was okay to reveal a small sliver of her life. Her past was a nebula of wounds on her heart, but maybe she would be okay to expose a papercut to her friend.
"I had two friends in my childhood, they were the children of a senior knight in our army." Sakura began her story and even just from the start, her voice was lain with melancholy, "We were friends since I was six year old. They were probably the first friends I made since I came under the queen. We would spend so many hours playing, training, sneaking out at night to steal dango from our kitchen." A small laugh rose up her throat, bittersweet in its feel.
She still remembered their young faces as fresh as yesterday, so bright and joyful as they would dig into warm bread rolls snagged from the countertops. The feel of play fighting with practice swords and sneaking out mid practice to chase dragonflies in the fields behind their compound came to her like muscle memory.
Misaki and Masashi were their names and the red hair and dark eyes still woke something in her dreams at nights. Those were the last days of innocence she could remember.
Then her face turned somber and eyes losing the last sense of sparkle they had. "Then the war struck, and we had no choice but to don on our armors and stand on the lines. I was the chief of the medic army, they were on the frontlines. We were just fourteen."
Sakura could feel Ino's rapt attention hanging onto her every word, but her eyes were trained on the swollen moon, glassy with memories. Red, painful memories.
"When was the war on its way to ending, I sent the rest of my team with the rescue troop, and I stayed there until the battle ended. But then-" Sakura felt the ball of emotion on the verge of choking her words and she paused to take in a deep breath, "then I went out in the warzone to look for potential survivors, and I saw Misaki. There was an arrow going through her heart and no matter how much I tried to keep it beating, I lost her in my arms."
Sakura didn't even feel the teardrop sliding down her cheek and she was only aware when Ino held her hand in her warm ones, squeezing them tightly to let her know she was there. The memory came back to her even when she didn't want it to, painting her heart with the same painful grief she felt that day.
"And then I looked up to see where the arrow came from, and behind Misaki was standing her brother, Masashi."
Ino's gasp of shock only filled Sakura with the same shock she felt when she saw Masashi standing Misaki, the bow in one arm straight in front of him and the other arm by his face, as if he just released the arrow, directly her way.
Sakura gulped down another ball of tears, looking down at the water and wiping a hand under her eye. "I still don't know why he did that. He looked insane, maybe all the blood and death finally made it impossible for him to distinguish his people from the enemies. All I knew was that Misaki was dead, by his hands."
A tense silence fell between them before Ino asked again, very quietly. "And Masashi?"
The words stung her tongue like poison when Sakura said it. "I killed him." When Masashi drew another arrow to send her way, Sakura didn't give him a chance. And what was left was his blood on her hands, and no one else to call her friend.
Their ghosts would haunt her dreams often. Taunting her with the pleasant memories she had with them before harshly ripping it all away, leaving her with just the bitter truth that their death was on her head.
Sakura turned toward the blonde who looked as somber as she would assume, presenting her with a bitter smile. "Do you think I'm a monster yet?" She surely thinks of herself as such. She was supposed to be the healer, but she has killed way more than she has saved.
Ino's answer was just a soft "No." Ino smiled when Sakura looked at her questioningly. "I think you're a hero."
Sakura's laugh was a little humorous, but in a self deprecating way as if she thought it was a joke, "Oh really?"
"Yes." Ino replied, completely serious. "You saved people. You saved people that could've died by his hands. You are so strong to have done that, and you've been bearing all this on your own all these years." She leaned her cheek on Sakura's shoulder and Sakura couldn't see the arrogant and sarcastic young woman even miles away, "To me, you are a hero." She squeezed her hand again, snuggling closer to the pinkette.
It didn't occur to Sakura for long that to an onlooker, they might look like two lovers under the starry night away from the crowd.
Sakura didn't say anything after that, neither did Ino, but for the first time in a long while, she felt like she might be able the put balms and bandage on those wounds, and finally heal for herself.
AN: Phew! There it is ladies and gentlemen. I think this chapter turned out pretty cute.
I know there are many confusions regarding many aspects of this story; Sakura's past, the princes' background, what's up with the attacks, why is Shisui acting like a manwhore, why is Sai so weird. And believe me, the story is just getting started. And hey, would you look at that, Sasuke finally apologized to her, only took like five chapters of him being a little bitch.
Anyway, you can wait for the future chapters because the plot is about to get thick.
And don't forget to leave your thoughts on the chapter and how you think it should go from here. Like I always say, your reviews mean a lot because they help me develop my story accordingly. And who knows, maybe if your theory is interesting, I might take some creative liberties from it ;)
Until then, bye bye 3