Story: Islands in the Sky

Author: MizukiYukiko

Rated: T

Pairing: ItachiXSakura

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Naruto.

Summary: That short little ribbon wrapped around his upper shoulder had tied them together through years and thousands of miles, even through the sky.

Notes: 50_shinobi themed challenge #45. Ribbon. Think of it as an apology present for being off for a year. More to come soon – updates on my chaptered stories, that is. Thank you guys for your patience and prodding. I still wouldn't be writing without you.

Islands in the Sky

"'Take root in the ground, live in harmony with the wind, plant your seeds in the winter, and rejoice with the birds in the coming of spring.' No matter how many weapons you have, no matter how great your technology might be, the world cannot live without love." – From 'Castle in the Sky'

The morning light from the peaking sun hit the room at such an angle that the angel white walls glowed orange in the radiating warmth. As the two servant girls assigned to her drew back the curtains and allowed the golden light to bathe the room, Sakura stretched her sleepy muscles underneath the light covers that pooled around her waist as she sat up.

"Good morning, Princess," Moegi sang happily as she tied back the last of the floor to ceiling curtains that covered the entire wall of windows on the far side of Sakura's room. The windows could be opened to allow Sakura onto her private terrace that overlooked the eastern gardens of the palace. In the warm summer morning, there would be large butterflies spreading their wings and fluttering around the palace grounds until nightfall.

"Did you sleep well, Your Highness?" asked the other girl in a small voice – she was new and couldn't be older than eight or nine and must be shadowing the sixteen-year-old Moegi.

"I did. Thank you..." Sakura trailed off in a light voice as she pushed her feet off of the edge of the bed and into her slippers, her long nightgown falling past her ankles. Sakura looked at the girl expectantly, waiting for her to properly introduce herself.

The young girl's cheeks brightened in embarrassment, and in a small voice, responded, "Emiko, Your Highness."

Sakura smiled kindly and patted the girl on the head. "It's nice to make your acquaintance, Emi-chan," she replied in a warm voice.

The young girl turned so red that Sakura thought she may faint, so taking pity on the tiny thing, she moved to the bathroom where Moegi already had a warm bath waiting for her. The porcelain tub was filled with steamy water and covered in flower petals. Her young servant must have also dumped many vials of sweet smelling fragrances into the bath as well, if the warm scents permeating through her large bathroom were anything to go by. The nightgown slipped off of her thin shoulders easily, and Sakura walked to the bathtub stark naked before sinking into its steamy depths.

Moegi, having served the princess for many years, was used to such blunt actions from her. Emiko was not so immune, however, and squeaked while covering her eyes with her arm when the princess let her gown drop to the floor. Moegi let out a sharp laugh at the girl's embarrassment and moved to the tub to help Sakura bathe.

"The leaders from the various nations began to arrive for the leadership summit, Princess," Moegi mentioned quietly, but the comment was not without her normal charm and gossiping lilt. As Emiko brought over various clay containers with soaps and shampoos, Sakura closed her eyes while Moegi chattered and massaged her scalp with the beauty products that Sakura never cared to use unless someone was doing it for her.

A smile curled the princess' lips. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Moegi continued. "His highness Minato and his son, Prince Naruto arrived from Forest Kingdom. Gaara, the reigning king of Wind Kingdom arrived early this morning with his siblings. Lord Sasori, King Gaara's cousin, is in charge of the Desert Mountains of Wind Kingdom and has also arrived. Kisame of Water Kingdom is scheduled to arrive at the palace soon as well. Prince Shikamaru of Deer Kingdom and his wife, the Lady Ino, should arrive at the same time, along with King Shikaku. The entire Hyuuga family of Snow Kingdom are scheduled to arrive this afternoon. And Princess Karin and Lord Suigetsu will arrive tomorrow from Sound Kingdom. But that's nothing compared to the men that arrived just before you woke..."

Sakura's lips lifted at the ends at the awed, reverent tone to her servant and friend's voice. She asked, "Who may that be?"

Cracking her eye open to observe the young girl, Sakura saw a blush bloom across her cheeks.

"When we were coming to wake you, we saw the King and Queen greeting the Princes of the Land of Fire," Moegi finally admitted. "Their father, King Fugaku, was also with them."

"Ah so General Itachi and Prince Sasuke have arrived," Sakura finally said. Moegi began draining the tub while Emiko poured clean water over the princess to wash out the bubbles of the shampoos. Sakura's smile became wider as the water poured over her. "Well then, let's greet our guests and welcome them to Sky Kingdom."

X

Itachi watched as the propellers from the transports spun endlessly on the side of the behemoth of the machine. Hanging out of the open window, he quietly observed as the grounds below him got smaller and smaller – the palace where he was raised, grand in nature, was soon a speck no larger than his pinky fingernail. His father, having made this trip dozens of times before, had already fallen asleep on one of the benches of the machined transport up to the Sky Kingdom.

The end of his right lip lifted just the smallest amount – the only indication of his excitement – as he fiddled with the end of the ribbon wrapped and tied around his upper shoulder over his military uniform. The rich red silk was fraying at the ends from the years of use. He wore the ribbon in some fashion every day. Even when not appropriate attire for whatever reason, Itachi would tuck the long strand of red silk into his pocket.

He would get to see Captain Haruno again. He had not seen or heard from her since she was sixteen and in charge of her own squad during the last war against the southern tribes of Tea Country and Demon Country. They had begun attacking Wind Kingdom randomly, and as allies, the other kingdoms quickly raised up to squash the neanderthals before they could become a large problem. Itachi had been a twenty-one-year old commander at the time, and one of the people under his command was Captain Sakura, a spit-fire of a princess who was good enough with a bow and arrow to keep her on the front lines of battle, despite the fact that she was the crown princess of the floating palaces.

"I've never seen the islands," Sasuke said, startling Itachi out of his thoughts. Sasuke was hanging out of a window too, the one next to Itachi, and watching his older brother carefully.

Itachi looked up and stared. "Look, brother," he said, lifting his finger into the air to point upwards. "You can now. There they are – the islands in the sky."

The clouds opened at that moment, giving way to hundreds of floating pieces of land in various shapes and sizes. Itachi wasn't sure what magic made them float, but hundreds of people lived on each. Homes and streets and towns littered each of the amazing floating lands, but the one that they were heading to was the largest of them – the Crystal Floating Palace.

Windows made up the entire exterior of the building that stood five or six stories tall. Gardens – large, vast, and colorful – made up the majority of the grounds. Itachi knew that there were pools for swimming and large fountains as well. Sakura had told him that spring was the best time to visit the palace because the cherry blossoms turned the entire castle white and pink.

Itachi remembered those long nights on guard duties with their squads and each would recount their childhoods and the places where they grew up. Sakura would rattle on about her friends and family and the other royal families that she had visited. Her favorite tales, however, were those of her home and the palaces that would float steadily over the earth above them.

With heavy laughter, she had said that the entire world changed color when the cherry blossoms bloomed. Itachi, now looking around at the colorful flowers and impressive statues in person, couldn't believe that it could get lovelier than it was right then.

The transport docked next to the island as they approached, jolting his father awake. Sasuke, eyes wide with awe of the sheer size of the palace, walked off of the transport after men reeled the flying transport in with chains so that the planks connecting the flying boat to the island could be secured.

"King Jiraiya and Queen Tsunade will greet you in the palace, your lordships," one of the servants said with a deep bow. Itachi moved with his father and brother down the cobble stone walk way that wound through gardens and up to the palace.

"King Fugaku, Princes Itachi and Sasuke," the voice of Jiraiya boomed through the grand entrance to the palace with a heavy laugh. "What a pleasure it is to see you again."

The queen was following close behind him with a small smile on her face, but Itachi wasn't fooled. Sakura had confided that her mother had quite the temper and her father was a closet pervert. It was hard to take the reigning leaders of a kingdom seriously when Sakura had told him about the many pranks and jokes shared in the family.

Bending at the waist, Itachi swept into a deep bow. Sasuke did the same, while Fugaku grasped hands with his longtime friend.

"King Jiraiya, how are you?" Fugaku asked with seriousness. It was only after years of trying to decipher his father's body language that Itachi could tell that the man he knew as a serious king was actually quite pleased to be away from serious duties and at the home of an old friend.

After a round of introductions, the king of Sky Kingdom sent Itachi and Sasuke away, herding them towards one of the day rooms where they would be served lunch with the rest of the princes and princesses who had been dragged to islands with their parents. Although Fugaku wanted his sons to be intimately involved in all of the peace talks with the kings and queens, he understood why they were going to spend the time with Princess Sakura and the rest of the younger generation. Those were the people that his sons would one day be leading with.

Two servants opened up two glass double doors onto a brightly decorated terrace. Plush cushions of pastel blues, pinks, and purples circled around a low seated round table. The far end of the terrace was a waist-high fence that was decorated with fragrant flowers, and in the distance, Itachi could see a garden and the water spray of a large fountain. There were almost fifteen people in the room, but Itachi zeroed in on the head of delicately pinned pink hair in the corner of the room.

She was facing half away from them, but he could see her bright green eyes and even white teeth. Her mouth was moving rapidly as she talked with one of the princesses, Princess Ino of Deer Kingdom. She and Sakura were good childhood friends, if Itachi recalled, and Itachi could see that the two were still good friends.

Sakura was wearing a pale green sundress that fell just above her knees and was synched at her waist with a gold belt. Strappy gold sandals with thick gold thread wound up her legs to her knee. Her tiara was also gold and took the shape of leaves and cherry blossoms with delicately placed pink jewels in the center of each of the cherry blossoms on the tiara. Deep in his thoughts, Itachi suddenly lost the ability to think and breathe. This was the moment he had been waiting for. It had been three years since he had seen her, and besides her hair being longer and her being even prettier, nothing had seemed to change about her.

"They're cousins, right?" Sasuke snapped Itachi out of his thoughts once again, and he looked around the room. Sakura was now talking to Lord Sasori and Prince Naruto.

"Aa," Itachi confirmed. "Queen Tsunade's direct ancestors are from Wind Kingdom's royal family, and King Jiraiya shares ancestors from the Land of Waves, the same ancestors who founded Forest Kingdom. Therefore, Prince Naruto and King Gaara, Lord Sasori, and their family, are all related to Princess Sakura by blood and each other by marriage. Do you understand why it is so important that we have them as our allies, Sasuke?"

Sasuke nodded mutely before moving further into the room with Itachi keeping step with him. That's when the first person turned.

"Sasuke-teme!" The boisterous sound of Naruto's exuberant voice reverberated through the room and halted the quiet hum of conversation. Itachi saw Sasuke clench his fist, but he wasn't fooled. Sasuke and Naruto had attended academy together and were actually very good friends, and Sasuke had been looking forward to seeing his longtime friend. Just like he and Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto had been stationed together in the north during the war and hadn't seen each other in many years.

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered when Naruto ran to greet them, the rest of the royal children following.

Sakura was the first behind Naruto, her eyes alight with happiness. She swept into a formal curtsy.

"Prince Sasuke, Prince Itachi," she greeted. "Welcome to Sky Kingdom."

Sasuke and Itachi simultaneously bowed as well and went through formal greetings as well. Meeting eyes with Sakura, Itachi wanted to open his mouth to speak. She looked at him expectantly for a moment, but she was quickly swept away by Lady Karin and Lord Suigetsu, who had just arrived, earlier than planned.

Soon, the group was seated on cushions around the table and was being served a delicious feast of freshly cooked chicken and greens. Conversation was kept light an amicable until wine was served. After his second glass of wine, Lord Sasori, who had worked with Itachi extensively over the years, slammed his glass on the table abruptly.

Pointing an accusatory finger at a bewildered Itachi, he asked firmly, "Why did you announce that you were not going to be king and pass the crown onto Sasuke?"

There was a long, awkward silence while the entire room waited for an answer. Sakura coughed lightly. Itachi looked at her for a moment, and he realized that she wanted to know the answer as well. Her gaze lingered on the red ribbon tied on his upper arm for a moment, and eyes widening, she realized that it was the ribbon that she had given him all those years ago. Next to him, Sasuke stiffened. When Itachi had announced that he would no longer take his birthright of the throne, it had been a surprise to Sasuke as well and had taken a long talk to explain his decision.

Clearing his throat, Itachi wiped his mouth and set down his fork.

"I never had any desire to be king," he announced solemnly, but firmly. "Sasuke, on the other hand, has always wanted the throne. And while I may be more talented as a general and more adept at strategies, Sasuke is still an incredibly skilled individual who has something I lack. He is good with the people, and he knows hard work. As the first in line, I had been given much without asking for. Sasuke has had to work for every ounce of praise he has been sung. My country deserves him as a leader."

There was a long silence as the other princes and princesses processed what he had said. It was Naruto who broke the silence.

"So what will you do now, then? Be a general permanently?" he asked, genuine curiosity shining in her eyes. It was then that Itachi found Sakura's shining green eyes and captured them, holding them to him.

"No," he said again. "Of course, if my country needs me, I will go to war for it again and again in whatever capacity it requires. However, I was hoping to do more with diplomacy and travel. I would enjoy being an ambassador."

"Where?" Sasori asked immediately, his eyes narrowing. Sasori had been with them during war and was directly responsible for the safety of Princess Sakura. Itachi knew that he was very protective over his younger cousin, and he also knew that Sasori was more than suspicious of his intentions towards her. It had strained their relationship from the moment that Sasori realized Itachi had developed feelings for the future crown of Sky Kingdom.

Itachi was never one to back down from any sort of challenge, so in the most haughty, aristocratic voice he could, without being rude, replied, "I've actually found Sky Kingdom quite lovely, even in just my few hours here."

In a gaze of wills, Itachi met Sasori's eyes unwaveringly while Sasori stared back with a dead glare. The electricity between the two was almost tangible, and it was Sakura who cleared her throat as daintily as she could.

"I'm glad you're enjoying your stay here so much already, General," Sakura commented. The situation diffused slightly, and Itachi turned to lock eyes with an amused (and was she blushing?) Sakura momentarily before nodding lightly and taking another bite of soft buttered bread.

X

His footsteps were silent through the grand hallways on the outer rim of the palace. Now dressed in a simple tunic and loose pants, Itachi fiddled with the red ribbon in his hands, intertwining it through his fingers and rubbing the frayed edges between his thumb and index. He walked along the floor-to-ceiling windows, absorbing the sight of the gardens at night, alit with fireflies and torches along winding pathways through the illuminate the soft colors of the flowers.

The stars seemed to surround them. The twinkling lights of burning fire were not just above in the sky, but they were on the horizon line of the floating island, creating a thick blanket hugging the palace and all the alike islands of floating civilization.

He heard her before he saw her, familiarity with the way she walked like a light-footed fairy sparking memories of quiet guard duty, whispers of stories from their childhood, and strolls around their war camp, scouting the perimeter. Soft footsteps floated towards him, and Itachi stopped his midnight walk. Waiting until she was close, he turned to look at her.

The moonlight piercing through the windows illuminated her eyes so they were nearly glowing. The grey lighting whitewashed her soft skin and pale pink hair, only serving to make the bright color of her eyes pop even more in the night. She was wearing a long night gown and a silky robe closed tightly over it. Pink hair fell in waves around her, and Itachi took a moment to note that it was much longer now, much longer than he had realized earlier; she had kept her hair shoulder length for the war.

"I thought I'd find you skulking around the palace. You were always a night owl," she said with a smile, revealing her even, white teeth, amusement evident in her eyes and the wrinkle above her forehead.

Itachi managed a half smile, despite the fact that his heart was pounding in his chest and he found it hard to breathe. Nobody would believe that the strong, silent army general would lose his cool over a young girl. But this girl was different. More unbidden memories were sparked at her smile – soft touches, hands lingering too long to be platonic, an almost-kiss before she took the last transport back home after the war had ended…and the disappointment that followed from not seizing that opportunity.

"That was a bold proclamation today," she continued, inching closer to him. Now, less than an arm's length apart, Itachi could smell the sweet soaps and shampoos that mingled with her natural feminine scent that he remembered from the war. "What reason could you possibly have for desiring to move here?"

Itachi stared down to her in an intense, unwavering gaze, as he remembered the night that she left the war. For the first time in three years, the girl he had come to love was within arms distance. His hand slowly, came up to touch her cheek. Eyes never leaving hers, he leaned down slowly.

He heard the slightly ragged breath she emitted before she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down the rest of the way, crushing his lips to hers in a much more forceful way than he had intended. Smiling widely into the kiss, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him. She was always the more forceful of them. For his stoicism and quiet aura, she was fierce and ran solely on her emotions.

After a long moment, Itachi pulled her off of him gently. Besides her effervescent green eyes, the only colors he could see on her was the red dusting over her cheeks. She looked taken aback, like she hadn't consciously thought to kiss him. An apology was playing in her eyes and on her lips, so Itachi leaned his head down to kiss her, more gently this time. He pulled back quickly and a large smile was already stretching her lips.

Smiling back, Itachi finally felt whole for the first time in three years.

"What reason, indeed."

Author's Note: I'm still alive. I'm still writing. This year was difficult (I'm double majoring). Keep faith, and thank you for the not-so-gentle prodding to keep writing... it's why I continue. I love you all. Please review, and expect updates on both stories as well as Dance of the Geisha very soon.