A Marriage Inconvenienced (ch.6)
The night before the caravan departed from the Ehime estate, Kakashi sent a small message via pug to Naruto. The group was crossing into Grass Country on the third day of travel when Kakashi was awoken by a familiar prickle of chakra. Recognizing Naruto’s signature, he continued to doze.
Minutes later there was a shift of a weight on the caravan tarp. Kakashi waited for Naruto’s traditional joyous greeting, but was met with silence.
“Stop it,” he said, knowing that Naruto’s hand was reaching for his mask.
“Aww…”
Kakashi’s mouth twitched in amusement. Honestly, he didn’t really care if Naruto saw his face or not. Of his three students, Naruto was the only one who had not had the privilege. This was a lesson in manners Kakashi was determined to hammer in Naruto’s head.
Kakashi rolled off of the wagon and landed gracefully on the ground. Naruto chose to remain on top of the wagon, his legs dangling from the edge.
“So…” Naruto began with a wide smile on his face, the mischievous one that had exasperated many an Academy teacher. God help the world if Naruto became an interrogator, for the world would surely break apart.
“So?” Kakashi responded back automatically.
“Sakura?” Naruto continued.
Kakashi picked up the train of conversation immediately. “Sakura,” he affirmed.
Naruto crossed his arms. “I have seen you in action. I know how you got your nickname, so you don’t have to copy everything I say.”
“Mmm… I’m surprised she told you. She seemed quite embarrassed by the entire thing.”
“A lot of people are embarrassed by you. I had to explain to a villager a few months ago that you were my sensei and that I wasn’t friends with a hobo. The villager whacked me on the back of my head with her broom when I said that. She said I should have treated you with respect.” His face crumpled strangely, as if he found that idea hilarious and unbearable.
Either that or he was constipated.
“Maybe if you had worn more than three pairs of clothes when you were gone on your mission people wouldn’t have had that problem thinking you were a lazy mooch.”
Kakashi ignored the sly insult. “Is there a point Naruto?”
Naruto flipped onto the ground and landed next to Kakashi. “Did you change your mind about Sakura?”
“No.” Kakashi slowed his pace to allow the last wagon of the caravan to gain some ground.
“That’s kinda ballsy, trying to swipe her away from underneath what’s-his-face.”
Kakshi said nothing as he listed to the clip-clops of the horses slowly growing quieter.
“What happened when you met Sasuke?”
A frown appeared on Naruto’s lips. “Hmph. I don’t know if I should say anything. Although I guess it’s only a matter of time before you find out.”
“Who am I going to tell?”
Naruto kicked a rock on the ground. “Okay, okay. The first thing you have to know was that I wasn’t originally part of the mission. Sakura was assigned to work with a few people that I don’t know very well, one of them was her boyfriend at the time. Everything was fine and they completed it, but when they were coming back from the mission they found Sasuke. Sakura’s boyfriend was attacked and captured so Sakura went back to rescue him while the third member of the team was sent back to Konoha to report. On his way to the village, he ran into me. I decided to find the others and the third team member continued on his way to Konoha.
“It was easy to find to find them, they hadn’t traveled far. And when I got there, I thought it would be like old times, a small fight and some words and then we would go different ways without really hurting each other.” Naruto’s voice turned bitter.
“But not this time, Sasuke was angry. Sakura was sitting on a blanket with her chin on her knees and her boyfriend was unconscious on the ground next to her. He was yelling at Sakura when I got there, he said stuff about her boyfriend, stupid stuff, you know? Sasuke was acting jealous.
“And I kept waiting for Sakura to say something but she didn’t. She didn’t say a single word.
“So I started to defend her, and Sasuke looked at me with surprise, like he hadn’t even noticed I was there before. We fought and this time Sasuke didn’t hold back at all. I ended up having an army of shadow clones hold him down so we could escape. When I turned around to see if he was following us, I could see him standing at the top of the hill with a smile on his face. Sasuke could have followed us if he wanted to, but I guess that wasn’t the point.
“Sakura had been silent was because she had been crying the whole time.” Naruto made a face of frustration. “I thought Sakura was over that phase, you know? I’m not happy that Sasuke feels that he can’t trust us or Konoha or whatever. But it’s not anything that can be helped. He felt like the village betrayed him, and it will never be his home. But Sakura didn’t stop crying and she wouldn’t eat. When I got back to the village I learned that Sasuke used Tsukuyomi on her. Sakura hasn’t been the same since. She dropped out of active duty, she dumped her boyfriend, and she didn’t volunteer at the Academy anymore. Instead, she spent her entire day working at the hospital.
“After that I moved to the border to help rebuild. But I’m waiting for any rumors of Sasuke. I’ll never forgive him for what he did to Sakura.”
Kakashi frowned. “And you just let Sakura take care of this situation on her own?”
“I didn’t have a choice!” Naruto’s voice grew louder as he grew more frustrated. “I’m not a healer! I don’t know where to start. She wouldn’t tell me a single thing when I was there in the village. She went around town acting like everything was fine, but everyone could see it in her eyes. Ino promised that she would watch out for her and send me a message if I was needed.” He sighed. “Compared to last year, she is not that bad, so I guess she’s healing.”
Kakashi’s brow furrowed. “And you don’t know anymore than that?”
Naruto shrugged. “I wish I could tell you more, Kakashi-sensei.”
The walked in silence as Kakashi contemplated Naruto’s explanation. There was a large piece missing in the story: the reasoning to Sasuke’s actions. It rankled Kakashi and he knew the answer would elude him for some time.
Naruto shook his head, his eyes squinting at the large caravan that rattled down the mountain ahead of them. “Sakura’s marrying this guy because she’s running away. I’m not saying that she won’t be happy or he’s a jerk. But how does a girl who has actually put her hands in a guy’s chest become a trophy wife?” Naruto stopped walking, patiently waiting for an answer.
“When she forgets who she is,” replied Kakashi. He nodded at Naruto and ran forward to catch up with the caravan, leaving Fire Country behind.
Kakashi could testify that Tsukuyomi was a terrifying attack and it was difficult to recover from it. But he also knew that Tsunade was excellent at alleviating a great deal of the pain, which meant that the issue was mostly psychological.
Kakashi passed Sakura on his way to the front of the caravan. She was sitting on top of a wagon, clumsily attempting to monogram her name on a handkerchief. Kakashi shook at his head and her fruitless endeavor; the wagon was bumping along so it would be impossible to stitch properly. It appeared she had lost a part of her common sense as well.
It was a long journey to Snow Country and Kakashi hoped he could remind her who she was by then.
And if he failed, there was always the trip back.
~O~
Every night, the wagon formed a spiral and all of the people gathered in the center by a giant bonfire. The people would gather share stories as they waited for the cooks to prepare the food. The daimyo did not isolate himself from his servants, encouraging his company with tales of his own. Sometimes they would be one large group, at other times they would separate into groups of similar interests. It was a comfortable atmosphere, and this was one of the reasons that Kakashi had no issue with being Lord Ehime’s favorite shinobi. The trips were largely comfortable journeys with little action, big pay and great entertainment. But this normally pleasant journey was marred with Sakura’s presence. For Kakashi had observed with increasing irritation as the days progressed, that Sakura had sat obediently at her betrothed’s side. She stayed away from the bodyguards and other ninja, and she stayed away from him.
Kakashi would be the first to admit that stealing Sakura away from under the client’s nose was an audacious move. And he would have been less impressed with her had she made it easy for him. But his irritation was not borne of the circumstances- rather it was the attitude she exhibited. When Sakura sat next to Norio she held his hand, she would give a demure smile, and she… tittered. A high pitched fangirl-esque noise that was completely foreign to his ears. The Sakura that he knew would have punched that girl in the face. Sakura’s real laugh was more of a guffaw, shamelessly unrefined but genuine.
This new version of Sakura fit into that circle of nobility and Kakashi did not like that one bit. He was beginning to grow apprehensive, to doubt his own vow and determination. Not that he would stop his pursuit of her hand; what sort of man would he be to give up on Sakura so easily?
“Hee heee hee.”
He felt a muscle in his jaw twitch as he heard Sakura’s mutated laugh sound nearby. Darting a glance at her, the soft light of the fire made her hair glow unnaturally. There was a simple smile on her face and Kakashi found himself marveling that Sakura had managed to retain a fresh quality despite several days’ journey. It was easy to imagine her dressed in the finest silks, her hair twirled up and welcoming visitors into the magnificent Ehime estate with a gracious smile.
“Hmph, if you ask me that chick must have been a worthless kunoichi.”
Kakashi’s visions were interrupted as one of the guards spoke, a gruff man whose blond hair was turning gray. He was a familiar face; Kakashi supposed he was one of the people regularly employed by the daimyo. What was his name? Kenta? Kenji?
“Is that what you think?” asked a teenage servant, whose posture still exhibited that particular slouch from an unexpected growth spurt. “They say she’s one of the best there is out there. I think that Norio-sama is lucky, Yori.”
Ah, thought Kakashi, the guard was Yori. Well, he was close.
The lone woman of the group gave a derisive laugh. “She’s pretty enough, I’ll give her that. But you have to be kidding me if you think that uptight little wallflower is any good at fighting.”
Kakashi scrutinized the woman, noticing the band around her upper arm that identified her as a kunoichi from Grass Country. She was pretty, albeit plain, and there was an attitude to her posture that indicated confidence. Peeking underneath the armband was a long jagged scar. She was definitely not a medic nin.
The kunoichi spit a wad of tobacco out of her mouth and spoke once more. “I’ve never heard of her, and if she’s a good as they say she is, I think she would be in the Bingo Book by now. And with that color of hair, I know I would have recognized her description at least. I think that the whole thing is some sort of set-up to impress the other countries, like we’re the stupid ones that can’t recognize an imitation kunoichi over the real deal.”
“Yeah that’s what I was saying,” said Yori. “I don’t really mind who Norio-sama marries, it’s not my business. But if they are going to be advertising her background as a ninja, some people are going to test her to see if it is true. And if she is not up to the challenge, it is going to make my job harder.”
Kakashi then recognized the man as the head of the security for the Ehime estate, responsible for the hiring of guards and the one who hired security during travel. His interaction with Yori had been minimal after an incident a dozen year ago that led to Kakashi reporting directly to Lord Ehime. He couldn’t recall seeing the man around since then. Perhaps the man still held a grudge against him or it was simply chance that they had not crossed paths.
“I think you should know that Sakura is more than capable in handling herself in a fight,” Kakashi said. He felt the audience’s attention shift towards him. “She’s one of the most enthusiastic ninja that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”
The woman leaned over a smug smile on her face. “I noticed you used the word enthusiastic, not talented.”
He cursed internally at his poor choice of words, a mistake that the Grass nin had seized like Naruto on a ramen fit. It wasn’t that Sakura lacked talent, it was all too easy for him to imagine the unfiltered satisfaction on her face right before she delivered an earth-shaking punch.
Matters were not helped when Sakura chose at this time to give another high-pitched giggle.
“Sakura’s talent is often overlooked because of the circumstances in which her abilities lie,” he said, stubbornly refusing to acknowledge the distaste on Yori’s face. “She is a medic-nin, and when she isn’t busy in the hospital researching she’s often playing second fiddle to other jonin such as myself.”
The grass nin rolled her eyes. “Oh, she’s a medic-nin. Everyone knows that those ninja have meager talent anyway. They can’t fight properly so they have to hang around the back and hope no one sees them. I bet it would take ten seconds for me to beat her to a pulp. ”
Kakashi tilted his head, making it very apparent to the rest of the people in the circle that he was judging the Grass kunoichi. The woman’s scar on her arm showed she wasn’t afraid of close combat. She had numerous pockets, probably for the dozens of weapon’s that she had hidden away. Ninjas from Grass relied heavily on poisons for their success. All of these were skills that Sakura would have an easy time overcoming.
“You could try, but you wouldn’t get very far,” he replied.
The woman scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Kakashi shrugged, feeling as if had done enough talking for the night. “It is something you will have to discover on your own. Talk to her, she’ll surprise you.”
With his vague statement delivered, Kakashi headed to a nearby wagon. He would have to wake up later to watch the wagons while everyone else slept. Best to get some rest now.
Part Two