Chapter 6
Sasuke and Sakura has reached the designated spot. Izumi, with her quickest speed of the bunch, has been patrolling and scanning the area. Yurino and Sai should be chasing their target as of now, and the moment they hear a loud boom in the sky, their target would be nearby. Considering that the kingdom's strongest people are here right now, there is, quite frankly, nothing to be afraid about. Everything is already planned out, and all it's left to do is to execute it and be done with this matter. But still, it is only normal to feel uptight and nervous for what's about to come.
"Are you okay?" Sasuke notices that Sakura is quieter than usual.
"I'm fine. Don't worry." Sakura smiles back, the smile has became a muscle memory for her now, it's just reflex at this point.
"Are you cold?"
"It's okay, but if anything, things will get pretty heated soon, quite literally." An Uchiha's flame is always hot enough, after all.
Sasuke can only chuckles at her hinting that he will lit this place with fire soon, but nevertheless, he still comes up to her and pulls her hood up.
"Don't let the cold get to your head." He muses.
"T-thank you, Sasuke-kun." Sakura is taken back at the gesture, and her husband turns his vision away.
Sometimes, Sasuke is just like this. He is not a talkative one, he wouldn't broadcast everything he's doing to people, but whatever he does, it is known, and it speaks large volume as well. Everything he has been doing up to this point has been anything but kind and respectful to her, she can't help it but to feel relieved at his sight. Thinking about her life, her master has always taught her, before handling what it takes to be a leader, it must be her own two feet that she's standing on. Independence assures her standing, but it also means, often not, she can be lonely times to times. As much as her family has always been a reliability for her, departing from them, even for everyone's good, means that she is truly by herself now. But whenever Sakura thinks about how lonely life here will be, the Uchiha have been more than supportive to her. Izumi is not Karin by all means, they are so different putting them together would only make everything awkward, but yet she can already feel a sisterly bond. Same with Obito and Shisui, although in truth they are her cousin-in-laws, they behave just like brothers to each other. And then, there is Sasuke. Oh sweet Sasuke. How, despite the fact that they have only met for barely 2 months, can she already felt so attached to him. Is it because he's her only liability here in this strange land? Probably, but the fact is that, he IS someone she can rely on for now, and the fact brings her a deep gratefulness, and also, a new affection.
Turns out, it would not be so bad after all, this marriage. A new family to love, a new land to love, and a seemingly great husband to come home too. Sakura feels assured and she can see that, her life is flipping on a new page.
.
Sasuke looks up to the sky, eyes glimmering red. Izumi has also rendezvoused with the two, and she also puts on her special Sharingan to follow his eyesight.
"That bird seems to be abnormally white, don't you think, Sasuke?" Izumi enquires.
"That must be Sai's work, they're near." Sasuke replies.
On his word, the object blows up, almost like a firework, and only till now does Sakura sees what they are talking about. Their plan is into action now.
Sakura may not have the Uchiha's ocular prowess, but at least she is on equal ground with their hearing. And she can well hear a huge rumbling sound, similar to the one they encountered near the eatery. The louder the sound gets, the ground beneath them gets shakier as well. The 3 look at each other and quickly jumps to their position.
Their fighting ground has the structure similar to that of a rabbit's tunnel, and the plan for now is to capture the target, not finish him. Had that been the job, Sasuke would have gladly gone alone after figuring out enough. But here they are, in their post, waiting for an enemy. There's 3 available route for the target, and each of them has been guarded by one person. Whichever route their target decides to take, he is done for.
But perhaps, as fate has it, the target decided to roll off to the route with the most dangerous man: Uchiha Sasuke. Sasuke has already concealed his presence, so the target was mindlessly converting to his normal form as he passes nearby. A tall man, broad physique, significantly larger than most men Sasuke encounters. Sasuke is a tall man on his own, but his target right now manages to be a head taller than him. Size aside, the man moves... extremely quiet? He takes in his surrounding, and lets out a sigh. Sasuke then decides he has watched enough, and get into action he goes. He started emitting his chakra signature, alerting his presence.
Right on cue, his target quickly converts to a more defensive stance. His hands are now turned into an axe-like state, and his eyes take in Sasuke's figure.
"What is your name?" Sasuke asks.
"What do you want?!" the man replies, almost screaming.
"Your name, and your goal."
"You don't have any right to know!"
"Oh, but I do.", and Sasuke smirks.
Uchiha Sasuke is not one to use his mouth often, much even less than smiling, after the death of his older brother, that became a story of the past. The recent appearance of a certain pink-haired girl with her unhinged humour may have change that lately, but this smile is not for joy. It is for pleasure, yes, but in a sadistic manner. It has been a while since his body was given any actual challenge, so he was looking up to it. Whatever this man is, Sasuke sure he can handle a bit of his power.
.
And that just was what he did. The man is now lying on the ground. Sasuke channeled electricity to his sword, and it was highly effective against this person. The eldest daughter of House Yamanaka may be one of the most skillful swordswoman with her ice release, but against the prince of Uchiha and his electricity, and the man is now helpless at his mercy.
"Now, again. What is your name?", the victor sheathes his sword back in.
"J-juugo." the man coughs out his name.
"Right, Juugo. Now, tell me, why do you attack my people?"
"Because they were hurting the forest."
"And how exactly, did that happened?" Sasuke's brows are now furrowed.
"Sasuke-kun!" a feminine voice rings, and her husband immediately knows who that is, without turning his eyes away from the enemy.
"Sakura, is it? Is everyone here?"
"Yes. We all heard the commotion." It's a cleared out structure, a sound of a lot of bird chirping is not natural at all.
"Right, I was interrogating him. Apparently he said the people are hurting the forest."
"Is this about the new expanded land? That's absurd! We all planted a tree sapling for every tree that's fallen." Yurino contorts.
"Yes, but the animals... lost their territory... their food source gone, they are cornered back..." the man weakly says.
"Is that why... the wolves have been attacking livestock more lately?" Yurino's voice darkens.
"That... could be it... The deer herds are dying with lack of food, so perhaps the wolves are left to attack the farms."
"Oh dear." Yurino raises her hand to her forehead, her face trying to main calm, but she is clearly disturbed at this, but then she quickly regains her temper. "But then why, why did you have to hurt my sister!?"
"I didn't mean to! I had no other choice. If I let her control me, the animals would have no guardian, and the population will be unbalanced. She was in my way when I ran out as well, that and it seemed people stop tailing me afterwards.."
"You will have to apologise to her for that." Yurino forcefully brings the tip of her sword down to the ground, the impacted spot quickly glowed with bright blue ice.
"Lady Yamanaka, it seems that we may have to work with the Lord for this." Sasuke finally spoke, "that, and I will take this man with me."
"Your Highness?" the blonde lady can't hide her shock.
"This man, is incapable of controlling his temper, that and his strength. He is only rational now because he is defeated to waste. I can't afford to let him run wild unsupervised like this. Additionally, I will have to do a little digging about his background." the prince speaks up, and the man on the ground immediately showed his reaction, a face of shock. "Y-you..."
"Understood, your Highness. We will surely rework our cultivation plan as well." Yurino slightly tilts her head down. "Let's go, Sai.", the lady and the man in question turns back, but before they leave the place "Are you coming along, Izumi?"
"Sure, I'm getting hungry now, what's for dinner?" Izumi cheerfully follows, and the 3 walk away.
"Now, Juugo, is it? Who gave you this power?" having no subordinates beside him and only Sakura, Sasuke squads down to talk with him, and Juugo finally sits up.
"My power of transferring and absorbing chakra and.. likewise comes from my family's bloodline limit." at the notion, the prince nods, this power is not unheard of, "and your shapeshifting ability?"
"That... I can't remember. Just around two years ago, I was kidnapped by a group of man. They experimented all sort of things on me, complimenting me how highly adaptive my body is thanks to my genetics. But just last year, something happened. A man came and destroyed the base, which then I broke free. Then I wandered around the Northern land until I settled in this place, the least populated place."
"A man? Do you know what does he look like?"
"I couldn't take a good look, as I was in a hurry. But he.. had long hair, dark long hair, tied into a low tail."
Both Sasuke and Sakura was shocked at this description. It sounds a bit too similar to someone they know. The person who was once the crown prince of Uchiha.
"And the battleground, how was it?" Sakura adds.
"It was.. a lot of fire. And one of the guard I passed by, it looks like he was in an illusion of some sort." Juugo replies.
The nail in the coffin. Sasuke's eyes are wide opened. Then the pieces matches. Itachi only lost his life just a year ago, then it would mean, Itachi has something to do with this. Either that was the cause of his death, or this group that can withhold this beast of a man, was something his brother was chasing about. That would makes sense.
"Sasuke-kun? Are you okay?" seeing her husband being suddenly mute and shocked, Sakura places a hand on him and asked.
"A-ah, it's nothing." Sasuke's thought are disrupted upon her touch, bringing him back to the present. "Right. Juugo, you will now be with me. I will take you under my wing, and train you until you have control over your own powers." the dark haired rise up on his feet, looking down to him.
"B-but the animals-" Juugo immediately retorts.
"Do not worry about them. We will have proper plans for that. Besides, my sister also found some dead animals, the gruesome scene obviously hinted they were not killed by ordinary predators, but a beast. You lost your temper around them didn't you?"
"I- I got mad around them... It wasn't them, but group of people were hunting them, one of them was just having a baby.", the man bitterly recalls.
"Right. That won't do. I will be your chains, understood?"
"T-thank you, your Grace!" Juugo bows down to him.
.
Dinner was amazing afterwards. While the Uchiha's meals are delicious, they always have a homecooked feeling to them (which literally is what they are) the Yamanaka surely had the pleasure of hiring some actual cook who is master at their craft. Sakura enjoyed it greatly, and the conversation with Lord Yamanaka, who was anything but welcoming to her was a delight. Afterwards, everyone gathered around his office to discuss new cultivation plans, those that take in the need of natural wildlife into consideration. A new natural order should be established, one that will be much balanced and friendly to the environment.
"Ahem... My prince, the room arrangement...", the Lord awkwardly says.
Well, that's one thing.
"What about our belongings? What has become of them?"
"Well, it seems that our servants placed them in the same room..."
"Right..." Sasuke awkwardly replies, unable to look at Sakura who is standing to his right.
"U-uhm, my Lord, if you may, a different room would be much appreciated. It's my first time coming to a new area, so I will need to have some time adjusting, and during that I would rather not disturb my promised's sleep." Sakura speaks up, also unable to look at her fiancé.
"Oh right, of course, my lady. I will have my people settle you in a room with good heating system." the Lord awkwardly smiles and claps his hand before eyeing the servants, signaling their work.
"Thank you, my Lord. I will make my way to visit younger the younger lady Yamanaka as well if you will." Sakura smiles back.
.
"My lady, princess Sakura wishes to enter the room." a maid reports.
"Very well, send her in please." Ino replies. She has woken up for her dinner, having taken the new prescribed medicine. Sai is by her side, helping her. She can feel her body having a slight improvement already, and she would like to thank this new physician. What Ino did not expect was that a beauty with a head full of pink hair and bright green eyes coming towards her. Her cheeks are slightly warmer at the sight of the newcomer. Yurino and Izumi did mention the new princess's beauty, but to this degree, oh what a blessing to the eye.
"My lady, I am Sakura. I am..."
"Our new crown princess, is it? My congratulations, my lady. My sister was just here earlier with her friend, and the two filled me in with your stories. I must say, I am a big admirer. Our kingdom will be in good hands soon enough." Ino cheerfully smiles and claps her hands together.
"Thank you, my lady." Sakura is a bit astounded, but graciously took the compliment.
"Please, my princess, take a seat.", the blonde gestures to a seat nearby her bed.
"May I check your physique, my lady?" Sakura sits down as she enquires, and Ino gently extends her hand to her.
"Your pulses are getting better, and your headache?"
"It is better now, these new medicines sure take its effect fast.", the lady speaks cheerily.
"I'm glad to hear that, my lady." Sakura retracts her hand after the examination.
"My princess, you can call me by my name if you would like, you know. It would save the trouble of having to identify with my sister as well, hehe." Ino gently smiles.
"Then, please call me Sakura too! I am a newcomer here, but I feel very comfortable around you too." Sakura smiles back. She misses having friend, she misses Hinata and her ladies in waiting. Having come to a foreign land, she accepts that she will be far away from them. However... how can she tell her heart not to seek new joy, and freedom at that. And Izumi's friend is from this house too, perhaps she can trust them too?
"How long do you plan to stay here, if I may ask?"
"Well, we still have new cultivation plans to prepare, which would probably take a while. So perhaps a good month or so. Until we see that things are doing well, we won't return to the capital just yet."
"That's amazing, it's been a while since we have much guests around here. I look forward to spend time with you soon! When I recover, that is, hehe."
"You don't have to wait for long, but please let your physique take its time." Sakura reassures her. "In that regard, I definitely will be around here, so you have no need to worry."
"Thank you, my princess." Ino smiles at her.
"It's Sakura, or have you forgotten?", a chuckle, and a reminder.
"R-right, Sakura. It's Ino here, then." a cheerful laugh, which was reciprocated.
"Now, you should rest. I will be attending my.. beauty sleep soon." Sakura gets up slowly.
"Of course, I hope you have a good rest here. Sweet dreams, Sakura."
"You too, good night, Ino." and Sakura exits the room, leaving the two alone.
Guards or not, it is strange that Sai is here in this late hour. And the way he looks at her... there's definitely something between them. If that is true, then it would explain her absence in the crown princess contest overall, but her sister, what about her... Sakura thinks to herself.
.
The servants have led Sakura to her room, and true to his word, lord Yamanaka gave Sakura the room with quite a generous fireplace. It is well lit, and beside it a comfortable chair to sit by. Sakura sits down by it, enjoying the heat, slowly undressing herself to change into her nightgown. She starts with removing her boots with its complicated lacing.
"Getting comfortable, I see." a male voice raises up, and Sakura is shocked at it, jumping up on the chair, and she sees a man standing by the bedside.
"Who the- Sasuke-kun !?"
The man in question finally stops concealing his chakra signature, allowing her to feel it and make sure to herself.
"You have got to stop spooking me in my own room!", palming her face as she speaks.
"Right, and you have got to be more cautious. I was standing right here."
"Ugh, only a fool would come to my chamber at non-opening hours. It's practically asking for a good beating."
At the notion, Sasuke finally comes towars her, gently settling down by her side, helping her untying the boots.
"So, what are you doing here in this hour? Is there something?" although a bit shy at his action, Sakura finds her composure to ask him.
"To finish what we left by.", Sasuke finishes one boot and moves to the other.
"Which is...?"
"Children. I have no expectation for you to bear children, so don't worry about it.", saying as he is untying the laces.
"You don't expect me to...?"
"Right.", and he removes her foot from the boot, finally looks at her in the eyes, whose eyes are shocked.
"So... you don't want to?"
Sakura thinks she should save her face and keep a smiley face, hiding her displeased. He doesn't have to know of her emotions towards this, she thinks. But Sasuke has an inkling about the change of the atmosphere, and he holds her hand, looking straight into her eyes.
"Not if you don't want to."
And how can she, despite all the practised fake smile and gesture to the point of muscle memory, can hide her true emotions at something so raw and unfiltered. Her eyes are widened at the revelation, and her lip slightly curve up.
"R-right."
Sakura takes her time to think about this. She hasn't really thought of their arrangement this far. Although she hasn't seen it in her family, she is well aware of the fact that people are arranged to marry each other to produce heirs for political gains. As much as she isn't a fan of having children who are born out of love, not of duty, she knows this is the reality of bearing noble surnames. But, so far, everything has been very pleasant to her. Everyone she has met here is more than welcoming and supportive to her, but both Sasuke and Sakura knows, this is no time for children. The foreseeable future is filled with uncertainties and instability.
"And if I... want to? After everything?" this is an inevitable question, it will have to be answered sooner or later.
"You will make a fine mother." Sasuke quickly stands up, leaving her behind.
"Sasuke-kun!" but before he can reach the door, she calls for him, and he stops walking. "My top has some laces behind them... I couldn't find Izumi anywhere... can you help me?", she shyly asks.
"Stay still." In barely a moment, Sasuke's hand are already in her nape, holding her head looking forward. Sakura is shocked at this speed, but complies nevertheless. And as he helps untying her corset, sometimes his fingers touch her back, sending signals to her. Sakura's face quickly turn red after a while. But she initiated this, because she thinks, sooner or later, they will have to do it, married people things, in order for the prophecy to work. Sasuke accepting her initiation like this, is a silent nod, that he is onboard with her.
"R-right, that's good enough, thank you." Sakura says after Sasuke finishes removing the last lace. "I wish you a good night sleep.", she shyly speaks, with a face that has reddish tint to it.
"Ah, you too. Sleep well." was his response, but she didn't meet his eyes either, so she had no way of seeing that his face, is also in a redder colour as well.
Sakura looks at the firepit after he has exited the room. The fire burns very strangely and warmer than the fire she saw in Ino's room. As if, it's not natural made, but manually casted. And there is only one person in this castle that is capable of casting such a bright and warm flame like this in her knowledge.
Note: even when I finally learnt how to use notes, I still can't send links via them 😭 so our cc of the chapter will have to sneak its way into the graph itself, I apologise for this inconvenience 🙏
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