Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto lacks my twisted mind; be thankful. I was just craving some KakaSaku goodness.
Important Note: Arranged marriages aren't uncommon in the orient; girls in Japan are eligible for marriage at 16. At least it's not like Korea where girls are married off at 13. Much better, ne? But still, this plot popped into my head, and since I like Izumo and he's such a little-used character (despite his being a total bishie!) I decided to make him Kakashi's romantic competition. (smiles) Don't you love me? (fends off pitchforks)
Crash World
Kyuubi Tenshi
Chapter 1- Declaration of Intent
Konohagakure had, surprisingly, encountered a lazy, quiet morning. It was early spring, and a mist hung through the streets, just beginning to evaporate courtesy of the chill morning sun that was slowly ascending the sky. All was peaceful, so utterly beguiling that morning, that a certain pink-haired medic had no idea what lay before her. She thought the day would be ideal.
It was beautiful outside.
The temperature was perfect.
It was Sunday.
Sasuke was getting out of the hospital from Tsunade's treatments today.
They had a picnic planned.
Things couldn't get any better than that. Excited, she passed over her usual garb, and grabbed a pair of simple white jean shorts, matching it with a green kimono-style top that held the Haruno symbol on the back. For an even nicer look, she pulled on a pair of black sandals, rather than her typical blue pair, and tied her still-short hair back in a cute ponytail, wrapping a white silk bow around the rubber-band. Picking up some basic weapons and stuffing a few extras in her messenger bag, Sakura shot out her bedroom door, skipping the narrow steps and simply gliding down the handrail, giggling girlishly at the ride. She dashed by the kitchen door, but stopped before leaving when her mother called out.
"Sakura, your father and I need to speak with you," she said, her tone serious. But Sakura was in too good a mood to notice. She smiled brightly, her reply flippant.
"Okay! I'll see you when I come home then! Team 7 has a picnic planned to celebrate Sasuke-kun's return, and if I don't get going, I'll be late, but I'll definitely talk to you when I get back! Later!" And even though her mother protested, nothing could be done, for the beryl-eyed kunoichi had already shot through the door and down the street, a teasing tune drifting happily from her lips as she made her way over buildings and through lesser-used streets towards their old training grounds.
"Sakura-chan!" She returned the wave given her by the energetic blonde that greeted her, eyes lighting up even more as she spotted Sasuke standing behind him. The raven-haired boy looked at her, and a bit of a smile appeared on his face, though no more than usual. Kakashi also greeted her in casual familiarity.
Though he seemed to look at her a bit strangely, for some reason…
She shrugged it off, deeming to consider it her fantastic imagination. Besides, she was too bouncy and hyper at the moment to think over such things.
"Are you guys ready to eat, or shall we do something else first?" she asked, setting her bag down next to a large oak. Naruto was blatantly in favor of eating right then, but Sasuke said that, if possible, he wanted to see how much Sakura had improved, since he'd already seen Naruto's skills. She blushed a little, that he wanted to see her improvement as well, but obliged him, removing the silken kimono-top and revealing a tight mesh shirt beneath, walking over to the center of the clearing and making sure all her weapons were in place, even if she didn't use them often. Sasuke positioned himself opposite her, and the moment Kakashi said "Go," he disappeared, as if into thin air. Sakura wasn't fooled; as close to the Jounin exams as it was, of course she was on top of her game, and had no intention of allowing the Uchiha, crush though he be, to win against her.
"Not up, on either side, or behind, thus-!" she cut off, heaving back her fist and forcing chakra into it, striking the ground with all her might. It was so classic; why did the boys so love to hide underground? But I refrain; the moment her fist touched the ground, the earth beneath it shattered, revealing the hiding prodigy amongst the new rubble. Even though the boy was thoroughly shocked, if not pleasantly surprised, he shot from his hiding place, kunai in hand and Sharingan at the ready; she had definitely become more of a taijutsu type, but she still relied on a few techniques other than that.
He struck, kunai deflecting off one she'd drawn as a counter. He wasn't going to go at her with harm intended just yet; he had other wishes. Truth be told, in a friendly match, his bloodline was an unfair advantage, but for now, he contented himself to only use it for dodging her, surprisingly unpredictable, attacks. But a devious smirk graced her pale pink lips, and he wondered what on earth she was up to. Their weapons ground at each other in their hands, and her eyes crinkled with restrained laughter.
"Now I get to show you something that neither Naruto nor Tsunade-shishou knows about; a special little something just for you that I developed with Kakashi-sensei!" she murmured, and he was so distracted by her words that he didn't realize the senbon she thrust at him as she shot away, chakra speeding her into a tree out of sight. He cursed a little, realizing that, through that simple little attack, she'd temporarily (or so he hoped) blinded his left eye. But what he heard was what was important; she was hiding so his Sharingan couldn't copy her technique.
"Ninpou, Sakura shuhou- Chi Ueki no Butoukai!"
His Sharingan saw a genjutsu overtake the place, but it was strong beyond recognition, and a dazzling delusion.
A whirlwind of sakura petals, both as whole flowers and the petals themselves, of blizzard proportions blinded him. Through the screen of bright colors and the overwhelming perfume, a vision of powerful green eyes flashed before him. To his right, he caught a shimmering glimpse of her moving body. But from his left, a replication attacked, and he threw it away with a little more difficulty than usual. He hadn't realized it before, but the petals that hit him sapped his chakra. Another replication charged him, and this one was even more difficult to throw off.
His only chance was to find the weakness in her genjutsu. With his Sharingan on full-force, he still could find no way to penetrate her attack. Illusions danced this way and that, confusing him more in the blinding storm of blooms, but to his surprise, the illusion changed.
The sakura blossoms turned black. The Sun turned dark, and the now-visible Moon took on the appearance of rotting flesh. He looked down, and before his feet was Sakura's body, bloody, unseeing green eyes staring away from him, her neck twisted and broken. His hands… were covered in her blood. It's an illusion… just an illusion…! Sakura, why this?!
Within that brief moment of disorientation, he found an arm draped around his neck, a kunai to his throat, and the genjutsu dispersed. Sasuke had been thoroughly caught in her trap. She giggled a bit.
"You rely on your Sharingan too much. But I don't blame you; as far as my research goes, not even Neji's Byakugan or Jyuuken fighting style can get him out of that genjutsu," she told him off-handedly, rubbing the cold, sharp edge of her kunai against his throat just for emphasis. Behind them, Kakashi clapped proudly, congratulating her for the win, and Naruto failed in an attempt to stand up, and so complimented her from his seated position on the ground. Sasuke noticed this, though, and asked her about it. She smiled sheepishly, healing a few scratches she'd given him.
"Eheh… unfortunately, I have yet to control the actual range of this genjutsu; I put in so much chakra this time to make sure it was unbreakable by you that it probably covered quite a radius. If I forced out more, as I might under serious stress, I probably could've covered all of Konoha in that illusion!" She laughed at her imperfection, thinking it comical, before sobering up and whispering to him. "But that last piece was a separate jutsu, and the others didn't see. My technique didn't have you off-guard well enough to my liking, so I had to do something else, and that was the first thing that came to mind. Please forgive me, but I wanted you to see me fight seriously against you."
With that, she lit up another of her brilliant smiles and bounced away, pouncing on their old teacher and nearly squeezing the life out of him.
What none of them noticed was that, this time, his hands hesitated to return the gesture.
At exactly five o' clock, Sakura walked through the door, her sensei escorting her politely today, rather than having Naruto or Sasuke do so. Why he had insisted on taking her home himself that day, none of the team could guess.
"Tadaima! Mom? Dad?" Sakura called out, wandering into the kitchen. Her parents' familiar faces were there, as well as that of a fellow Chuunin she had first met at her first Chuunin exam. Kamizuki Izumo was definitely handsome, but his presence in her house made her uneasy; he was a familiar face at the Academy, and they had been on missions together several times, but they were never close in particular. Had she done something wrong? Had something gone wrong on a mission, or was there a new one that Tsunade desperately needed her to take? She hesitated in the doorway, but behind her, Kakashi bowed respectfully, addressing her parents. Confused, the words spilled from her mouth. "Mom… Dad… what's going on? Were you expecting Kakashi-sensei? What's Izumo-san doing here?"
Her parents' glances met for an instant, and it was her father who answered, and brought the news that shattered her world before them.
"Sakura, we've decided. It's time for you to marry."
AN: This is my THIRD TIME posting this. Anywho, a lot of people liked this, so I decided to repost AGAIN. Meh, enjoy, review. I love it when folks rant, so please do. If you're gonna flame, you'd BETTER leave a decent e-mail address or a link to some of your own work; otherwise, I might blow up at you. Prove you've got a right to be critical. XP