Rating – M ( I can't believe I'm trying M-rated stories now O.o)
Warning – is somewhat AU...Sakura is mostly AU :)
Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto, if I would, SasuSaku would have happened ages ago...and they'd be making babies like bunnies by now .!
Masks
1.Chapter
"Sakura-hime!"
The pink haired girl sighed and snuggled deeper into the soft and warm pillow, inviting her back into the much simpler world of dreams. No maids spying on her every move, no family members to criticize her every action, no parties and celebrations where she's displayed like a piece of meat, and definitely no leering husband. Life was just great in the dream world.
"Sakura-hime!"
Just ignore the voice. Just ignore it.
"SAKURA-HIME!"
Sakura sighed and slowly sat up, they would have probably dragged her out of bed if she had not done so on her own. So much for having respect...
The older maid gave her a stern look, "We must get you dressed Sakura-hime, you are to attend a meeting with Nigiri-sama!"
The words may have been polite but the tone of her voice suggested otherwise. Sakura was used to being treated like this. After all, she was a girl of almost 19 years, with no noble background, no noble upbringing and yet here she was, married to the daimyo, 52 years old and filthy rich. And as soon as the maids found out how shy and nervous she was, they started using it against her. Of course, they never showed their disrespect openly, they usually resorted to whispering about her among themselves when they thought she couldn't hear. Or better said, when she pretended not to hear anything. Sometimes they'd call her a whore, who seduced their precious Nigiri-sama into marriage. Sometimes, when she'd take longer to get out of bed in the morning or when she'd accidentally break a tea cup, while trying to play the role of the obedient little wife, they'd call her ill-mannered and clumsy and then talk about it in the kitchen for days. And Nigiri-sama's family? They reminded Sakura of a pack of wild animals, attacking every chance they're given. It wasn't a big surprise they hated her, really. She was below them, an intruder in their little world of luxury and grace.
And her husband...given the chance, she'd never become his wife in the first place.
"I don't know what Nigiri-sama sees in her, " the young maid, named Shizuka, whispered to her friend as they passed her chambers.
"He was probably blinded by the pink hair of hers, " the other girl whispered back and they shared a good laugh at the expense of Sakura, who once again cursed her good hearing.
And they wondered she was reluctant to get up in the mornings.
"Nigiri-sama," Sakura greeted her husband and bowed, lowering her gaze to look at the floor. She never could see her husband in the eyes. Sometimes, he creeped her out. But she quickly dismissed such thoughts, he was her husband and she was out of line thinking such things.
"Sakura," he greeted her back, his piercing gray eyes studying her form in front of him. His eyes traveled along her body, taking in every detail, from how she was dressed to how much make-up she wore. She was a perfect little doll, for him to play with and show around.
"I told you to use less make-up," he growled and roughly grabbed her chin, rubbing her painted lips with his other hand, "I don't want you to look like a tart ."
She stood still while he roughly removed all the lipstick she carefully put on that morning to look more elegant and woman-like. It was tiring to feel out of place all the time, especially among the wives of other feudal lords, who all looked like they stepped out of a beauty magazine.
Satisfied when all the lipstick was gone, Nigiri let go of her chin, and gave a satisfied nod, approving of her appearance. Before she even had the chance to react, he grabbed her by the elbow and guided her towards door, separating them from their guests.
She sighed and tucked a wayward strand of pink hair behind her ear, it was time to face the music, once again.
Sakura didn't remember much about Konoha, her hometown, she was only 7 years old when her parents divorced and she left the village with her father to live in a little town near the borders. The leader of Konohagakure was the Hokage, that much she knew. The best and most respected ninja far and wide. She remembered the third hokage being a gentle and mild-mannered man with the patience of a saint and great wisdom. The memory of him was a bit hazy...but he definitely wasn't anything like the fifth, Sakura decided, while looking at the blond woman sitting opposite her. She was young, beautiful and very well-endowed, almost too much for someone as highly-regarded as her. The woman in front of her definitely didn't look like a hokage to the pink haired girl.
" Would you like some tea, Tsunade-hime?" Nigiri asked politely, glancing at his new and expensive tea set, hoping to impress the blond haired woman with his wealth.
Tsunade looked him straight in the eyes and then glanced at her with something akin to pity in her brown orbs.
"Let's get straight to business, shall we?" Tsunade coldly replied, clearly not interested in exchanging any kinds of pleasantries with the daimyo.
The rest of the conversation revolved around politics and things of no interest to Sakura, who had trouble stifling her yawns, not to look rude or impolite. Her thought drifted back to Tsunade, who was currently holding her own in an argument with Nigiri and was passionately gesturing with her hand to illustrate her point.
Sakura couldn't help but wonder, would she be a little bit more like Tsunade-sama if she would've stayed in Konoha and became a ninja like she always wanted to? Would she be brave and strong...and perhaps even self-confident? Tsunade-sama surely wouldn't tolerate being treated like a lifeless puppet.
Sakura sighed and looked around the room, hoping to find something to occupy her mind while the Hokage and her husband worked out their differences. Her eyes traveled from the pair of ninja guarding the room to the form of her husband, sitting next to her, before settling on the open window. It was a beautiful day outside and she would give almost everything to be able to go out and enjoy running around barefoot in the damp grass like she used to when she was younger. If she tried really hard, she could even feel the the moist softness under her feet, hear the happy chirping of birds and smell the sweet scent of flowers being carried by the slight breeze caressing her face.
"Under no circumstances will Konohagakure attack Kirigakure. And that is that." the angry voice of the Hokage brought Sakura back to reality.
"Tsunade-hime, please reconsider! The threat I received cannot be ignored like that. I, the daimy-"
"There are still other means to resolve this conflict, force MUST be our last resort." Tsunade cut him off and slammed her fist against the wooden table.
"But they've already used strength, Tsunade-hime, attacking civilians traveling through their territory. You must understand, they're endangering civilians now. Tell me this isn't a serious matter, deserving serious action to be taken. It is for the good of the people." Nigiri patiently explained, taking Tsunade's hand in his in a comforting gesture, "I understand your reluctance to fight, dear Tsu-"
She jerked her hand out of his and growled at him, "Touch me again and I'll break all the bones in your hand. Titles be damned."
His eyes widen at the prospect of having to suffer such pain and he immediately hid the threatened body part under the table. After a second or two, he realized just how childish that gesture seemed, and grabbed Sakura's hand in instead. Sakura gave him a questioning look but let him touch her, after all, he WAS her husband.
"I am very sorry if I angered you, Tsunade-sama, I didn't mean any harm," he pointedly looked at Sakura and she instantly knew he required her assistance. After all, two years of marriage drill is enough time to get to know even the most insignificant of his looks.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama, please forgive my husband. I assure you, he had only the best intentions on his mind," she automatically replied and smiled her best fake smile. Fake. Just like everything in her life. Fake smiles, fake laughter, fake politeness, she was so used to faking that she almost forgot how reality felt like.
Tsunade looked her in the eyes and the gaze sent shiver up and down her spine. It wasn't a menacing sort of look, but one that looked past all the fake smiles, one that shattered all her defenses and left her feeling naked, for all the world to see. It almost seemed that she saw through her false pretense of happiness...and it scared Sakura. Was she really so easily to read?
"I'll let it slide this time. Just pour me some sake or something," the blond haired woman grumbled and Nigiri sighed, it seemed that the Hokage successfully ended their discussion. He nodded and that was Sakura's cue. She stood up as gracefully as she could and went to fetch the sake bottle from the little table in the corner of the room. Before she could get to her destination a weird rustle caught her attention. It seemed to be coming from outside, but looking out of the window, she saw nobody there. She rolled her eyes at her paranoia and was about to turn around when Tsunade screamed at her to get down. She was so surprised that she just stood there, not really knowing what was going on. Suddenly a pain like no other before in her life shot through her body and she felt dizzy, her vision became blurry and the last thing she saw before blackness took over, was a pair of concerned brown eyes, Tsunade's eyes.
Author's note – Umm...I'll try to update regularly, but I don't know how often yet. I'm quite the perfectionist, so writing something usually means a lot of thinking over and correcting...and yes, it takes time. Plus, this is my first year at university, so I'm not sure how much free time I can spare...but I'll try :) Gotta spread the SasuSaku love, ne?
Please read and review, cause it makes me infinitely happy :) I'll be stalking my mailbox lol
And please, excuse me any kinds of grammar or spelling mistakes I may have made, I'm not a native English-speaker. I'm from Slovakia, if you can guess where it is, I'll give you a virtual cookie :)