Chapter 1
Uchiha Sasuke has now become the crown prince to the Uchiha throne after the mysterious death of his elder brother, Uchiha Itachi. His body was never found, it was known that he is now deceased for his line of connection amongst the Uchiha family members has been severed. However grief stricken he is after the death of his beloved brother, he must stay sane and find out the truth about it. His brother's last word, aside from I love you and forgive me that is, entails that "Unless a cherry blossom who heals all pain expands her shadow to their land, his kingdom will face its doom". Sasuke racked his brain at this, for his land is situated in the colder climates in the upper North of the continent, therefore their vegetation is rather lackluster. Hardly is anything pink and vibrant like a cherry blossom here, and how is a tree gonna be big enough to cover all of their land? Must be a metaphor then, but then what would it means? Itachi couldn't you just tell me what to do instead why are you giving me riddles.
The kingdom that the Uchiha rule is a nation of warrior. What it means is that although it has the greatest military prospect in the continent and the strongest rules, it also means everyone is constantly aiming for the throne. The King should always be ready for a challenge, and his power should be sufficient to protect his Queen and by extension, his family. The Uchiha possess strong ocular power that is simply overpowered in this land. They in truth, are foreigners, coming from a distant land that is now destroyed, and they came here a good hundred years ago when Uchiha Madara and his younger brother Izuna set foot to this land. With their bloodline limit ready in use, they quickly and easily dominated every challenger and usurped the throne. There are foes that have faced them in the battlefield has stayed aware of their limitations, and swore an oath to the family upon their ascension to the throne, and quickly became nobles in their own land, but the rule of the strong wins still apply to them even in their own region.
The title of the Queen is quite a particular one. The Uchiha often married a strong female warrior, often found in a competition, or just a stumble in the woods. Uchiha Fugaku, Sasuke's father, found his Queen, Mikoto, when she took down a mighty beast that came in his way in a royal hunt, and they quickly found love for another. Itachi too found his love Izumi during a gathering, and she was a formidable warrior as well since she herself is a distant descendant of the family. It is said that no one loves harder than the Uchiha, and both Fugaku and Itachi showed immense increase in strength upon finding the love of their life. Sasuke has never experienced this sort of emotions before, and while his nation never ran short of beautiful and strong women, he just never showed interest.
Being born a second child to the royal family is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that he is much freer than his brother will ever be, but the curse is that he will always the shadow of his brother, the fodder. It did not help that Itachi is an actual genius as well, excelling at everything and was the perfect golden child of the family. Fugaku always paid more attention to his elder son, and although Mikoto tried her best to make sure her second son is just as well loved, duty always weight in and Sasuke always felt redundant in his existence. Despite this, the world has rarely seen anyone loving their brother as intensely as these two, and altogether they were a genuinely happy family, for nobody loves harder than the Uchiha.
But that is a story in the past now. In the present, it is crucial that they find themselves a crown princess, a capable person. Arranged marriage is rather rare for the family as they hardly had any need for it, but since the situation demands for it now, it is best that there will be a competition to find the strongest warrior and hopefully her children with him will further strengthen the family's power. Sasuke is not very pleased at doing what is told, but he cannot reject its importance. A little bit tired, he called upon Shisui and Obito, his cousins and best friends to do some sparring to take his mind off.
Expressing his boredom and tiredness with the whole crown princess hunting, Obito joked around to lighten the mood.
"If only there's someone like Queen Sakura of the Uzumaki Kingdom haha, then our boy here wouldn't be in this spot."
"Queen Sakura? Shouldn't it be Dowager Queen now? I mean King Naruto is dead." Shisui commented.
"Yeah, but things are a somewhat complicated now with the line of succession. King Naruto failed to have any kid with her, and his children are from the Mistress Hinata, so not like they received any royal titles anyway. But there is also his sister Karin, so it's either between her or her nephew. In the meantime, Sakura has done extremely well as their Queen, and the royal court decided that she should continue in her duty while waiting for a successor."
"You know fairly good amount of deal huh? Where did you get it from? That diplomat?"
"Obviously. Kakashi excels at his job. Even without the connection to me, I have no doubt he would have made it big within our own court."
Sakura of the Uzumaki royal family. She has been adopted by the late crown princess Kushina, mentored by Tsunade, the former Queen and a legendary figure in the medic field, and betrothed to Kushina's son, Naruto. Her origin is extremely mysterious, and for all the public knows, one day Kushina just found her in the woods and decided to take her in and raised her as her own within the family. With such a grand background, no wonder she grew up to be a valuable individual to their royal family. Aside from being a formidable combatant in her own right, she's also extremely beautiful and has the power to compels affection from everyone, and tales of her beauty, kindness and healing prowess spread far and wide across the continent. Upon her ascension to the throne as the Queen Consort, she has significantly improved the wellbeing of her people, making good use of its fertile land and improved the Uzumaki's kingdom standing within the continents. Truly, a respectable individual.
Sasuke has never seen her, as the distance between the two kingdoms are far, given one is in the Northern whereas the other is well within the Southern lands. Diplomatic journeys are often left to Itachi, the crown prince at that time. Even during his very few travels down to their land, it was often very brief and Sakura often times excused herself away from the foreign sovereigns' sight, staying at another property of the family instead of the main palace. Itachi and his diplomat's appearance alone is well enough representation of their kingdom.
Curiously, he asked.
"How did she manage to win even the throne for herself? She's not even their blood."
"That's just it about her. She is extremely efficient as a Queen, and not only is the court satisfied with her work, she is beloved by the common folks as well. Queen Tsunade has made a fine mentee for herself, and even during Naruto's reign, her inputs into their work is highly appreciated, even more so than the King himself. Naruto was not the brightest of them, remember? It was his strength and fine qualities of his personalities that made him relevant, and his birthright that is. Kakashi often tells me it's almost if Sakura was the real ruler and Naruto was her best defender, like the game of chess."
"That, and she's a great beauty. Just as beautiful as Tsunade and Kushina was, but with pink hair like cherry blossom."
Sasuke immediately reacted to Shisui's word.
"She has pink hair? Like cherry blossom?"
"Yeah, and her eyes are green, as bright as an emerald can be. Honestly no wonder she is so adored, you really just are unable to help it yourself, falling into her charm. I checked it myself, she does not have the power to actually compels the affection of others, she just naturally gain it to herself with her people skills."
.
Sasuke kept thinking that night. She seems to tick all of his boxes in his vision. A person, whose appearance is the personification of the cherry blossom trees, with extremely proficient healing power. What if, Itachi's word was metaphorically speaking about her? What if their kingdom is in dire need of her, and if she becomes their Queen, she will save their kingdom from their demise? It just has to be it, there is no other way, and Sasuke made up his mind.
Sasuke quickly had a family meeting the next day, consisting of his father and mother, the King and Queen, Fugaku and Mikoto as well as his cousins, Shisui and Obito, and the former crown princess Izumi. Izumi is now tied to the family as Itachi's dear wife, and she will always stayed as their daughter even when her husband, their son, is now long gone. Sasuke revealed his plan. The plan to marry the foreign nation's Dowager Queen and make her their next Queen. As insane as it sounds, and people will undoubtedly object to it, it is up to them to make the final decision. Given that their objective is to ensure the wellbeing of their nation, as well as honouring their dear son Itachi's final wish, it is not surprising that they gave all their support to him. Obito quickly suggested Kakashi, his best friend and their nation's royal diplomat, to Sasuke as his companion for the trip down to the land of the Uzumaki.
Sakura was adopted to the royal family Uzumaki ever since she was a little girl, barely 4 or 5 years of age. The late princess Kushina found her wandering alone in the woods, and quickly took pity to the child. After a little discovery, Kushina adopted her and raised her alongside her son Naruto. Queen Tsunade quickly became fond of her as well, and upon discovering her talent for healing, she quickly took in the child and started mentoring her in all matters.
Like the Uchiha, the Uzumaki too are foreigners from another land, coming to this continent. The Uchiha, the Senju and their distant cousin Uzumaki are made up of the same stock, and they stood as equals to another. If the Uchiha brothers Madara and Izuna ventured up to the North and conquered the land, the Senju brothers Hashirama and Tobirama took the Southern road. The King at the time, Ashina, quickly became fond of Hashirama and promised him his daughter, the princess Mito. The two quickly found love and married each other, and he was her consort when she became the Queen. They sired children and soon had grandchildren, Tsunade and Nawaki. Tsunade soon became Queen, but her royal consort Dan was ill-fated, leaving her with no children of their own. The throne then came down to Nawaki's daughter, princess Kushina. Kushina was then married to Minato, the golden champion of their land, and had two children, Naruto and Karin. While the Uchiha had to earn the throne to themselves and constantly live in the harsh condition of winter, as well as always be ready for anyone who might dare to challenge them, the Senju and Uzumaki lineage has been fairly peaceful, aligned together by marriage and live in a prosperous southern land with its generally warm weather and fertile land. But ultimately, nothing lasts forever.
A few years ago, disaster struck their kingdom. Wars broke in with invaders from the East, and it has wrecked havoc on their land. Wars lasted long, and although ultimately the Uzumaki are able to defend their land, it costed them their golden champion Minato and crown princess Kushina who died sacrificing themselves to protect their people. As heartbroken as anyone could be, but everyone gathered their composure together and rebuilt the land nonetheless, recovering from the immense loss that the war has costed them.
Sakura has always been and always will be grateful to the Uzumaki royal family, who has given her a family, a home, and a purpose of her own. She became a sweeting amongst the family, a dear daughter to Kushina and Minato, a close sister to Karin, and had a special bond with Naruto. She wishes to dedicate her life to the wellbeing of everyone around her, and she too fallen in love with this rich and vibrant land that she calls home. Aside from just medical study, Tsunade has well trained her in other matters, such as politics, human psychology, philosophy and of course, combat. With all the love and support, she quickly blossomed to be a formidable combatant on field, and a beloved figure in the eyes of everyone. People quickly falls in love with her, and rumours has it that she actually has the power to compels affections from others. Rumours remained rumours, as this "power" is just part of her skillset. Despite all this, she too has her own doubts. She has never loved Naruto despite her best effort. She loved him as anyone could love their best friend of the opposite gender, which is why ultimately she never had any children with him. She also felt pitiful in learning that he loved her very dearly too. Sakura quickly noticed one of her ladies - in - waiting, Hinata of the noble Hyuuga family, had a crush on her husband the King. A quick little work from her side and the King also fell head over heels for Hinata too, and made her his mistress. The two then had two lovely children, Boruto and Himawari. Sakura loved the kids as if they are her own, and she was content with the ways things were. Until one day, accident struck again, because nothing lasts forever.
Naruto heard problems from afar, and he naturally take it upon himself to investigate it. He and Sakura is well aware that they cannot afford to let another war happened, and she agreed to stay back in the kingdom to watch over their subjects while he does some expenditure from afar. Not long after that, Sakura received news of his death and her world turned upside down. Tsunade and Karin quickly came to her side, and together the three women quickly came together, drawing strength from their love to another, and stabilised the court. Sakura was appointed as the Queen and has all the power of a monarch, but she was not pleased with this arrangement by the very least. Even though at this point, she has long abandoned her insecurities of lacking the royal bloodline, she is still well aware that she is not the rightful Queen. It should belong to Karin or Boruto, which is another problem of its own, the successor. Karin is the princess, but she has proven to be barren, and not like she is well suited for motherhood either. Boruto is the King's son, but his mother was not the Queen, so he is, to say the least, a royal bastard. That and he is still just a little child at the age of 6, and she fails to find the idea of Queen Regent attractive. Tsunade is well passed the age for ruling now, so she refused it anyway, and even if she's the Queen again, it will only delay the succession problem.
Sakura has already thought about it. She has already chosen Karin as the next ruler, and Boruto will come after her. But that it needs to be that Karin becomes Queen, and adopt Boruto as her own. Karin too received her trainings as any royal children would, in cases like this, so Sakura has no doubt she will be a fine monarch in her own right. Her problem is now, how does she remove herself from the throne? Even if she remarries, she will only make that person a royal consort and any children from that marriage will immediately come before both Karin and Boruto, that is unless, that person will be sovereign of his own kingdom, then she can peacefully removes herself from the throne. There should always be an Uzumaki on the throne, she is just aware of it somehow.
Aside from it, the nation has yet fully recovered from the loss of war. The military lost both Minato and his son Naruto, who was a formidable tactician with great military prowess, and a good number is also lost from the war. She has actively recruited and raised new soldiers, but such great of a loss cannot be recovered quickly in just a span of few years. Her calculations entailed a few decades at least, and even when she has found a good general to her army, Sarutobi Konohamaru, the number problem bothers her greatly. She has tried to maintain good alliance with the surrounding nations, for if another war happen, they will fail.
Although the pain has mostly went away on the surface, Sakura is still grieving Naruto hard. Grief after all, is the price we pay for love. She surrounded herself in the company of her family. Tsunade, Karin and Hinata is all grieving their loss, but his children, Boruto and Himawari became their hope and store of love. The children are obviously affected by the lack of their father's presence, or should we say existence, but they have shown great maturity for children their age as well. This family is so dear to her, it becomes more saddened to her that in order for things to be right, she need to remove herself from them. The best way to do it would be to marry a foreign sovereign, and thus their alliance can always be maintained, and so does their relationship. Sakura thinks the Western land is not too bad of a place, and their people is also welcoming towards widows too. There has been a good number of Queens who are widowed remarried, so she would not face alienation there. Not that it bothers her, the skillset Tsunade bestowed to her is enough to make her survived anywhere, alone or not.
Dinner is served and the family is gathered. Hinata has raised the children to be very well behaved and smart, and Karin proved to be a great and loving aunt. Tsunade too find joy, and together they had a great time. Shizune, the royal secretary, entered the room with an announcement, that the crown prince from the kingdom of the Uchiha will find his way to their nation, expecting a royal diplomatic event.
"That would be the hot and single one.", Karin raised her voice.
"Oh right, you were head over heels over him before finding Suigetsu weren't you?", Sakura teases her sister.
"I mean, I love my husband, but he was nowhere near him in the visual department."
"You be lucky he isn't here, he would have melted at that"
"Precisely because he isn't here that I would have said so.", Karin rolls her eyes.
Tsunade finds the conversation amusing. They are both royal princess, but their language includes details belongs to that of the common folk. Sakura often busied herself with medical study, and she interacted often with peers who usually comes from a diverse social background, so naturally she learnt to speak in a similar manner to them. Karin who is her dear sister also picked up this manner of speech, and only within closed doors do they exhibit this carefree mannerism, so Tsunade does not see why it needs to be stop. Keeping up with trends from other background also make sure the royal family stay in touch with their subject.
"Now, my dears, it seems that we are expecting a royal visit from the northern ally. I suppose proper preparations are needed.", Tsunade voices her thoughts.
"Very well, I shall detail this to our subjects.", Sakura, being the good Queen that she is, will ensure a smooth royal diplomatic event.
"It occurs to me that the prince has recently lost his close brother Itachi as well. We should also express our condolences to him and be wary of any harsh topics."
"Oh dear, that is rather an unpleasant news."
"Yes, but we also need to remember, he is now their crown prince. Do treat him just as if we would have done to his late brother."
"I will see to that, thank you, Grand Mother."
.
Sasuke's memory of his last visit is only so vaguely, but he knows it definitely does not look like this. The land has significantly changed for the better since his last visit a few years ago. Roads were rebuilt to ensure a smooth transportation for the people, rivers and streams has had proper bridging and safety rails installed. Houses received better architecture, and the streets are much more vibrant with people coming from all side, but all in a well directed and not at all in any chaos. Sasuke recalls his last stay, he was warned not to stray too far down the southern of the capital to avoid the slums. It seems that it has been dissolved, and a children's mental hospital has been built instead in that place. Impressive, he must admit. It is known that Tsunade's reign opened a prosperous age for the nation, but this change in the monarch seems to do an even better job than she did. This new Queen is undoubtedly an efficient and good ruler, befitting of her reputation.
The palace too had seen a slight change. Vegetations and plants are much more vibrant here, and it seems that there has been slight renovations. And there she is, standing so elegantly amongst her folks. Sassuke is taken back, the words about her beauty failed to do her justice. She is all so much more beautiful, so much more graceful, almost like the spring has taken a form of a human. A purplish diamond graces her forehead, a symbol of her royal status as the monarch. And her eyes, a clear shade of emerald, looks at you as if she is piercing through your mind and soul, reading you like a book. Is this the effect of the rumoured power of her to compel affection from others? Or is it her bright and spring-like palette of her appearance that effortlessly catch his attention? Either way, he is amazed. Upon the extension of her hand, he places his lip on her, and it was just a tiny bit longer than the expected tine.
Kakashi is definitely amused. The stoic and cold prince is losing his usual composure and is taken back at the sight of the Queen. As much as he wants to tease him about it, that will definitely has to leave for later, they must maintain their professionalism. Kakashi quickly introduces himself to the experienced Tsunade, and Sasuke quickly remembers his cue and followed accordingly.
"Your arrival brings us immense joy, my prince. Shall I entertain you with details of our palace? I believe it has made plentiful changes since your last visit." Sakura too was not expecting that the crown prince of the Uchiha could possess such a fine and handsome look to himself. It was no wonder Karin was swooning over him in her younger days, expecting herself to be married off to him. Her kingdom definitely had fine man, such as Hinata's cousin, Hyuuga Neji, but this is definitely more than a nation's beauty, she thought to herself, this is definitely the continent's finest man as far as she is concerned. However shocked as she is, she too had to find composure to herself, befitting of her status.
"Your welcome are deeply meaningful to me, as well as exciting your invitations, I look forward to see for myself the changes. However, if I may, I would like to make a request. If that is fine to you."
"And may you detail me on your request, my prince ?"
"I would like to make it a light tour, would it interest you to take it with just a two of us and few numbers at best ?"
"That is fine for me, I will take my advisor, and I take it that you will bring along your diplomat ?"
"Your graciousness moves me deeply. And true to your words, I will bring him along."
They took a stroll around the garden. During her time, late princess Kushina has implanted a number of sakura trees to honour her new daughter's arrival to the family. The royal garden has gained a new number of plant species and vegetations, many of which are new to him, for his home nation fail to provide this much diverse species of plants and flowers likewise. The only thing that is remotely beautiful in the already limited number is the northern rose. Beautiful flower, but even so, it possesses sharp thorns and a clumsy hand would receive injury from it. He wonders if she will be sad that she is to leave this much warmer and beautiful climate to his dark and depressed climate.
"My Queen, if you excuse me, I will go straight into the problem. My arrival here is not any mere coincidences of joyful visitations."
"I expected so, I have heard a number of changes in your own country. My condolences to your family for I, too, understand the pain of departing with your loved ones."
Your body language isn't quite opening anyway. You seem to have taken interest in our garden, but I can see your mind isn't here in our conversation. Sakura thought to herself.
"Your benevolence is true to their words as well, it seems."
"You may also feel free to drop the polite and required etiquette of yours. If that makes you more comfortable that is."
"So does your intelligence. Is this one of your ability?" Sasuke smirked slightly, admitting his defeat. He was never a social one despite his status, and all his wordings have always been carefully articulated according to etiquette and royal speech manner. So for her to see through him immediately, he wonders if her eyes actually sees through him and not just in appearance.
Sakura chuckles a bit, and Sasuke thinks he wants to see her chuckles more.
"No, my prince. Your words have flattered me very well, however I must attribute my skills to my fine mentorship with our Queen Tsunade."
"She has a made a fine mentee for herself then. I would be very proud if I was her."
A slight blush on her cheek to his amusement, and she quickly changes the subject.
"And my prince, would you fill me in the details of the real reason of your visit?"
Sasuke stopped walking.
"I have a proposal to make, my Queen. I would like to have your hand in marriage."
Sakura stopped functioning.
"Pardon me?"
"I understand that this is a very sudden proposal to make, and not to mention poor timing as your husband has passed away only so recently. However, my proposal does not demand that you will have romantic feelings for me. I only need you to be my wife and the Queen of my kingdom and I have a reason for it. In exchange, the Uchiha family will provide a part of our army for you."
Sakura is still recovering from her shock.
"So you want me to marry you, and you will extend a portion of the Uchiha military power to us?", furrowing her brows, Sakura brings a hand to her forehead, still ingesting the new information.
"Precisely so. And you are not required to have feelings for me, so there is no need for you to worry about the romantic aspect of this proposal."
Another loveless marriage? How familiar. Sakura thinks to herself. However, this is precisely what she is looking for. A foreign sovereign to take her away from the throne, all while providing protection to her land within the developing status. The Uchiha nation is well redundant with their military prowess, but lacks fertile lands and it has hurt their development greatly, the direct opposite of her nation's situation. A marriage between the two would solve her dilemma. But there is one problem.
"My prince, have you taken in the consideration that my position will be challenged via the means of combat?"
"I have thought of this too. But worry not, as your husband, my duty is to protect you, my wife. And I believe you are a fine combatant in your own right too."
"Have you consult this with your family?"
"They have already gave their blessing."
Sakura is shocked at all of this. She was not expecting this today.
"I understand that you are taken back at my proposal. However, I assure you this is no joke. I will let you take your time to decide. I would like to hear back from you after a week. For today, I am already satisfied with this tour of the palace. I am sure that our Queen here have other royal duties to attend to other than entertaining foreign guests. I believe your secretary is well capable of leading me and my diplomat back to the palace and show my residence."
Sakura is still deep in thought. She has taken seat at the nearby fountain, waving her sign at Shizune, who is equally shocked as she is, to take his order in.
"Very well, I will see you at supper. I hope our serving find harmony to your taste.", Sakura trembles, and she says without looking at him, but she still maintained her composure and bid him farewell.
"Shizune, I hope that you are already aware of your work."
"Yes, your Highness." Shizune will not bring this conversation anywhere else.
Later that day, a royal banquet was thrown in celebration of the arrival of the foreign prince. It is expected to share a dance with him, and that was what they did. Although her mind is occupied with thoughts, she did not fail to see a certain chemistry among them. A chemistry that she tirelessly seek during her time with Naruto. She wondered, will this time be different?
.
A meeting was called. Tsunade, Karin and Hinata was summoned.
"My grand mother and Master, my sister and my friend. I have made a decision. I will marry prince Sasuke of the Uchiha."
The three women obviously took their time to progress that.
"What?" does it matter who said that.
"I have thought immensely about this. I will marry prince Sasuke of the Uchiha, and this marriage will bring great benefits to our land. In exchange for my hand in marriage, Sasuke has promised military aid, and should there be any help, the Uchiha kingdom will gladly provide theirs. This is a benefiting pact for us."
"And the throne?" Tsunade quickly regained her composure, not so surprising given that she was the Queen before her during hardship.
"Karin, you will take it. And you will need to adopt Boruto as your own and make him your heir."
"Me? You are obviously out of your right mind here."
"Trust me, dear sister, I am the sanest I have ever been. Tonight of all night, let us be real to each other, this is not my throne, it is yours, truly. I have thought deeply about this anyway. I have long planned to marry myself off to a foreign monarch, and gain support and alliances for us. Uchiha Sasuke just happen to appear to my picture in the right time. You are the rightful heir to the throne, Karin. You will make a fine monarch of yourself."
"Sakura, are you aware of what you are doing? The land of the Uchiha is unlike us, they will find every possible opportunity to take your position, even if it means fatality.", Tsunade firmly voice her opinion.
"Yes, Grand Mother, I am very well aware. But he has made it clear that he will protect me, and so will his family. And if any case, I am your apprentice after all, Master.", Sakura looks at Tsunade with firm determination.
"But why? Why you. You are a Dowager Queen, a widow. Their land is different than the Western land, they will not be so tolerant of your existence."
"Yes, I too have questioned him this. He has detailed me about this. It goes something like this." And Sakura briefed them in the reason, recalling her interaction with Sasuke a few days ago.
.
A few days ago, Sakura stumbled upon Sasuke at the garden.
"My Queen."
"My prince."
"It is late now, I would have supposed that you are in your slumber now."
"A late night walk to take my mind of things would do me better than staying in my chamber, given that the purpose is to take my mind off things."
"And no guard around?"
"Guards are to protect people from me, not me from people."
Sasuke chuckles. This woman is sure confident in her ability. Well, she is Queen Sakura, she has all the right and entitlement to feel so.
"However, it seems that you too, is having trouble with your sleep ? Is there anything wrong with your stay ?"
"You need not to worry about it. I also find myself enjoying a late night walk."
"Very well then. I will be heading towards this way, will I have your company ?"
Sasuke quickly follows her, a few directions and a little door appeared. Sakura manifested her power to her palm to the door knob and opened it. Inside, little vibrant garden can be found, filled with a cherry blossom tree, with a carving of a swirl pool on its trunk.
"This is the entrance towards my secret garden. It was a gift from my late mother to both of her daughters. Karin and I have personally tended to this garden ever since. Aside from us, only Queen Tsunade knows of its existence now. Perhaps, Himawari will come to learn about it."
"And you take me, a foreigner, to your generational secret area?"
"Well, surely Karin has taken her husband Suigetsu here before. She has never said it, and I have never questioned it, but I just have a feeling so."
"Hm."
"But, my prince, I will need you to tell me something. What made you chose me as your wife? As far as I am concerned, your nation hardly ever ran out of beautiful and strong warriors. Why is it my hand that you seek?"
"Because my brother said so."
"Would you do me the pleasure of expanding upon it?" Sakura did not take it well.
"Before his passing, Itachi sent a letter home because he suspected something. It details that our nation will soon face a calamity."
"What?"
"Yes, and only under the leadership of cherry blossom will it be neutralised."
"Cherry blossom? Me?"
"Precisely. You are a special existence, my Queen. The world has never seen anyone like you, in fact, the only person I know with pink hair is my family's founding mother, Aratani, the wife of Indra, our founding father. Our history precisely described her appearance as the personification of spring, and she was the spring to his winter."
"I never knew this."
"It is more of a family legend. Not like it matters much now though, so we kept it private."
"I see."
"My Queen-"
"Within these walls and just the two of us, I am comfortable with using our names. Would that be fine to you?"
"Very well. I will be very honest to you. I will do what I want to do, and I will do what must be done. I believe that you are a very important factor to the neutralisation of our calamity. Do you love your kingdom, Sakura?"
Didn't take long, huh. Sakura thinks.
"With all my heart, Sasuke-kun. It is my home and the treasure of my family. Its scenery brings peace to me, and my family has given me a purpose, and my purpose is to protect and nurture it."
"So do I, Sakura. I love my family and I will do everything in my power to protect it. I will gladly extend our contract to your wish, if you are to promise your hand. I will do anything I can to have you."
Sakura blushes at his word. My my, the wordings.
"After the whole ordeal is done, you are free to do as you wish. You can leave me and go on your own, back to your kingdom or anywhere you like, I will maintain my support for you in any case."
Afterwards, huh.
After a long breath, Sakura finally voices her opinion.
"Sasuke, I agree to marry you and take you in as my husband."
Sasuke relaxes his muscle upon hearing the words, but he quickly looked away.
Is he shy? Well that's adorable. Sakura amusingly thinks.
"However, I expect that you honour your side of the contract."
"Gladly. I will make sure the troops are ready for any moment, and I will protect you for as long as you are by my side."
Will he always be like this? Sakura felt a little shy with his words and quickly looked away.
"The truth is, I have long look for a bachelor of my own to a marriage. I need to remove myself from this throne. I lack any actual birthright to it anyway. And I was hoping my marriage can bring back good deals for my country. Therefore, Sasuke-kun, your arrival is deeply meaningful to me. I must express my gratitude to you. Thank you for choosing me."
"It is nothing, I sought after you to gain you to my kingdom after all. I must thank you for accepting my proposal, as sudden and as unprecedented as it is. And not to mention your own husband has passed away not too long ago."
"Naruto was more like my brother than a romantic partner. Despite my best effort, I can only love him as such. I felt bad that he kept loving me even after all of that, and so I did some matchmaking to him and my former lady-in-waiting. Their chemistry quickly bloomed, what they had is something I sought so hard. And she did me the pleasure of giving him heirs, so now all is left to do is Karin adopting them and make them her heirs."
"Is the princess...?"
"Unfortunately, yes. But she seems rather fine with it. The prospect of childbirth and motherhood didn't excite her much, and upon learning about her infertility, I think she actually finds joy in it."
"And you?"
Sakura is taken back.
"I... I think motherhood is a delightful prospect. My mother and Queen Tsunade has shown immense love and strength, using their love for their children as their source of power. I doubt that there is anything stronger than the bond between and a parent and their child. But I will only my children if I know the environment that I have created for them is proper for their development. I can never be able to shield them from the cruelty of our existence, but the least I can do as their mother is to ensure they have all the tools needed for it, and a home to come to, I suppose."
Sasuke quickly got reminded of his own mother Mikoto. Mikoto is a strong warrior, but upon having her children she renounced all fights unless absolutely needed. She quickly dedicated herself to motherhood, and she has always maintained her effort in ensuring her children are well loved and developed.
"I believe you will be a fine mother yourself."
"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."
"What is this kun that you are adding to my name?"
"It's uhm.. an affectionate way of addressing your acquaintances. I suppose it has a meaning like dear or likewise. Naruto often called me Sakura-chan back in the days too."
"I see. Do you want me to call you like that too?"
Sakura smiled softly.
Cutie.
"It is fine, you should do what is natural for you. You are you and he is him. You are not his replacement. Never was, never is and never will. You need not to concern yourself about it."
"Very well then."
"Let us head back. It's time for my beauty sleep."
.
Back to the present, Sakura filled the women of the situation.
"So he wants to take you to some sort of calamity? Now that's some audacity." Karin voices her opinion.
"I agree with Karin, he is actively putting you in danger." Tsunade adds in.
"Sakura, your departure will leave us a huge gap. Have you thought about it?" Hinata finally speaks.
"I understand that you all are doubting it. But please, trust me. Trust that I will be fine, and I will always make it back in one piece. After all, Master, I am your apprentice." Sakura reaffirms her stance.
"Sakura..." Tsunade thinks about it deeply.
"And worry not, Hinata. I have made all the preparations for a long time now, all that is left to do is a rite of ascension. Karin is well capable of taking after me, and Grand Mother Tsunade is still around here. I know it will be fine. I have planned this for awhile now."
"I am so gonna murder him if I see him tomorrow." Karin is not pleased.
"Karin, please, no need to occur the wrath of the Uchiha. Their Amaterasu will roast you." Sakura quickly shut down any impulsive idea Karin may have.
"But you know, it is only right that I do this. I have no actual claim to the throne, and the succession dilemma is over with this arrangement. The Uchiha's military support will be of immense help to us as well. We will have a good insurance for a long time to come. Boruto and Himawari will be raised in a safe and protected environment."
"Grand Mother, I know my departure will cause distress to you, but you must have faith in me. I am doing what is only right, and I promise, I will always make it back to one piece. I am your apprentice after all. I will write to you often too." Sakura reaches for Tsunade's hand and hold it in hers, while her eyes fiercely locked with the ladder's.
"Do.. visit us often."
Tsunade's word is the final conclusion.
.
.
.
After preparations are done, Sakura bid her farewell to her family, friends and lastly, her land. The royal court did not take this news very well, but they will have to deal with it. Her people are saddened at her departure, and she too, are saddened with it.
"Are you sure about this?" Sasuke asks her out. Sakura is fine being in the same carriage with him, she figured it will do her good that she spends more time with him getting to know him.
"Yes, yes I am. Let us go forward to our destination."
Sasuke warms up at it.
Two fingers touched her forehead, poking it.
"I will do everything in my power to make sure your stay in my home is pleasant. Don't worry about my family, they will quickly fall in love with you too."
Too? Sakura is taken back as she takes her hand to her forehead, confused at the recent gesture.
The carriage moved upon his signal. For the first time in her life, Sakura departs her kingdom. She knows, if anything happens, she will be okay, but it did not help her feeling a bit scared of the sudden change. Sasuke catches this, and reaffirms her.
"Don't worry no matter what happens, I will protect you."
I'm having wayyy too much fun with this than I thought I would have xD but whatever, it's freestyling time. I'm well aware of my shortcomings thanks, but whatever I'm enjoying this so much. And have anyone noticed I actually referenced Aratani :> ? She's another OC from another work, please do check her out: Arantani Shinden (and the author: Gwollu's Twitter Page).