1 Chapter 1

Ice spread throughout my body from the tips of my toes to the tops of my ears. I stared down at the letter in my hands with wide eyes, stunned to the core. It was an official request for my presence in Amegakure. The time had come to fulfill the promise I'd made in exchange for information.

Four months have passed since the fight between Orochimaru and the Uchihas. My life slowly fell into a routine that became the new normal.

Sasuke and I are doing well. So well, in fact, that Ino suspects he plans to propose soon. She hasn't overheard him thinking about it, but said his feelings for me no longer confused or scared him. On top of that, she said his entire aura seemed less hesitant. Personally, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that someone so perfect could possibly love me.

Since the immediate danger of Kabuto and Orochimaru had been dealt with, Ino decided that if Sasuke hasn't turned me by my nineteenth birthday, she was going to do it herself. March was only 10 months away, so the clock was ticking.

Madara stayed true to his word and has given me plenty of space. More than I thought he would, in fact. The Uchiha elder was rarely at home in the castle, instead traveling from town to town as a liaison for his brother, the king. Things had been awkward for the first month after the attack and I think that scared him into leaving. If he hadn't done such terrible things to both me and the rest of his family, I might honestly feel guilty.

Temari and Itachi's wedding came and passed. The couple spends a few months at a time residing in either Suna and Konoha. The Uchiha prince said they haven't decided where they want to permanently settle down yet and that they would let us know as soon as they made a decision. His mother has been, naturally, trying to persuade both him and his new bride to stay close.

"Oh come on, Saku, don't tell me you forgot about it!"

My eyes finally blinked as Ino snapped me out of my daze. She gave me an empathetic smile before returning her gaze to the paper she was reading over my shoulder. I re-read it, just to be sure I hadn't misunderstood anything.

"The king and queen of Amegakure request that Sakura Haruno, of the Tanaka bloodline, make plans for immediate departure. In the coming days, she will be retrieved by one or more members of the royal family's official advisory council. They will ensure her safety whilst traveling."

"No members of the royal Uchiha family are to accompany her. The only exception to this request is if Mrs. Ino Uchiha wishes to join her sister. The favor we ask is only to be discussed once one or both of them have successfully joined us in Amegakure. As promised, neither will be fatally injured. We eagerly await your arrival."

Konan and Yahiko had both signed the letter in pretty, scrawled ink and their cloud-shaped family seal was stamped at the bottom. I ran a hand through my hair stressfully. It'd grown longer since I'd cut it in Oto and fell an inch or so past my shoulders now.

"Sasuke's gonna be so pissed," my sister spoke again, her voice a bit quieter in case the man in question was nearby and we just weren't aware of it.

The letter folded back up easily and I slid it back into the envelope it'd arrived within, "I'll tell him tonight, so don't say anything."

She nodded, "I'll talk to Sai, too."

"Why would you need to do that?"

Ino gave me an incredulous look as though I was being an idiot, "Because I'm coming with you. I told you I would, remember? There's no way I'm letting you go all the way to Ame alone and who knows what they're gonna ask you to do."

We continued walking outside so we could head down to her shop. She had a few things to work on and I was tagging along to visit Naruto. A member of the Militia had stopped us near the entrance to deliver the letter. Anxiety was brewing in the pit of my stomach because I knew exactly what they were going to have me do.

"I'm still human, Ino. There's only one thing I can think of that they're gonna ask for."

She pulled my arm up into hers and sighed, "All the more reason for me to come along." It would be a waste of my breath trying to change her mind, so I simply let the conversation end there.

When we arrived at the shop, we walked in to see Minato and Kushina hard at work. The redheaded woman was verifying labels on one of the large racks of complete orders, checking each of the garment bags to make sure the name on her clipboard matched the dress it was placed on. Her husband appeared to be taking inventory of the fabrics stored behind the counter so he could submit an order for what was running low.

Both turned to greet us and we returned their smiles casually. "Naruto and Hinata should be back any minute now, Sakura. Would you like me to prepare some tea while you wait?"

I waved off my best friend's mother, not wanting to distract her from her work, "That's alright. I'll do it myself. Would you all like a cup once it's ready?"

Minato shook his head, making a few last minute markings on the order he was filling out, "No thank you. I'm about to head into town. If you're not here when I return, it was nice to see you, girls." He gave his wife a quick kiss before heading toward the door.

Kushina grinned widely at me, "I'll take some!" Ino gave me a silent smile as well, looking up from some paperwork on her desk just long enough to do so.

So, I opened the door that separated the Uzumaki's living area from the shop, not bothering to close it since no customers were present. My gaze drifted to the doorway that led to the rest of the Uzumaki house with a frown. Our mother moved in with them, but every time we tried to see her, she'd lock herself in her bedroom and shout that we weren't her daughters anymore. Neither of us had the heart to kick her out.

Seeing Naruto's parents almost as often as we have our whole lives helped keep me grounded with the changes that moving into the castle has brought along. They were so grateful to Ino for homing them and giving them work. You could see it easily in how hard they tried to make her business run well.

My sister and I could agree, though, that it wasn't anything compared to how they'd single-handedly kept our family from starving to death dozens of times over the years.

Once the kettle was on the stove and the water began heating, I leaned against the doorframe and watched my sister as she worked diligently, the pen in her hand moving quickly without pause. A small grin tugged at my lips. I was so proud of her.

She wasn't content letting her husband take care of her and simply relaxing within his riches. Ino was on the road to achieving her life-long dream of becoming a famous designer. Mikoto reassured her over and over again that it wasn't necessary, but my sister still swore to repay every bit of money she used from the royal family to start her business and planned to live only off the income from her dresses afterward.

I felt extremely guilty because I didn't have talent like her, so I helped Tenten with keeping the castle clean nearly every day. If I somehow find another way to earn my keep, I won't hesitate to do so, but until that day comes, I'll just have to keep doing my best.

Sai and Ino were still so absolutely smitten with one another, despite having been married for almost a year now. Their honeymoon phase might not ever end and I thought it was almost as annoying as it was adorable.

The Uchiha twins weren't home as often as before because their parents wanted them to start getting more involved with politics so when Fugaku decides he wants to step down as King, either of them would be properly equipped to take over.

Most of the time, they're both back by the end of the day, but they also had to take trips sometimes that called for them to be gone anywhere from two to eight days. Sasuke took me along to a couple of them, but I felt like a huge burden the whole time so after that I decided it best if I stayed back so as not to distract him from his work.

The door to the shop opened and I snapped out of my deep thoughts to see Naruto enter, his hand holding Hinata's as she came in slightly behind him. "Sakura! Ino! What's up?"

Hinata and I exchanged a small embrace before I did the same with Naruto. My sister wordlessly greeted them from her desk before refocusing on her work. We were all familiar with how quiet she becomes when she's working, so no one was offended by her lack of excitement.

"I'm making some tea if you'd like to join me!"

Hinata followed me into the kitchen as Naruto turned to give a few delivery receipts to Ino before joining us. The timid girl fetched the glass cups and arranged them nicely on a tray with a small smile on her lips.

I glanced over at the silver ring on her thin finger. Naruto proposed to her a little over a month ago, vowing to get her as big a diamond in the future as she wanted so long as she said yes. Of course she accepted, telling him she wanted the ring he was offering her then without changing a single thing about it.

The smaller gem honestly suited her very well and anyone could tell how much she cherished her ring. She took it off every time she washed her hands and would frantically check it every few minutes or so to make sure it hadn't somehow fallen off or gotten scratched. Her new fiance obviously noticed, as well, and a look of undeniable love would come across his face every time.

Her father, to this day, doesn't acknowledge him or their engagement, but Hinata vowed she'd rather give up her position as heiress than ever break things off with the Uzumaki boy. In fact, her threatening to do so was likely the only reason Hiashi Hyuga hasn't done anything to try and come between them. As soft-spoken as the girl was, she'd really started to develop quite the backbone since our time in Oto.

The tea was soon prepared and we brought some to the two women working out in the shop before the three of us sat at the dining table.

"So, have you picked a wedding gown yet?"

Hinata's face developed the slightest hint of a blush and she shyly glanced at Naruto before looking me in the eye with a soft smile, "Ino is working on some designs for me to look over. She said she'll make it in the castle so no one will accidentally see it." The way she said it insinuated that she knew one of the Uzumaki's, namely Kushina, would definitely go out of their way to try and sneak a peek.

A soft sigh left my lips as the two gazed lovingly at one another across the table and I took a sip of the hot tea in my cup. It's hard not to get a bit jealous of the couples around me who don't shy from publicly advertising their love for one another. Sai and Ino, Naruto and Hinata, even Mikoto and Fugaku often hold hands or kiss in front of others.

Sasuke's a very private person and I'm sure he wouldn't like it if I doted on him too much out in the open, so we're nothing like that. The closest we've come to engaging in PDA is dancing at the past two royal weddings.

A smile came to my lips as I took back my thoughts about being jealous. No one else could see it because they don't know him as well as I do, but the way he sometimes looks at me when I meet his eye was more than enough. He also never shies away from spoiling me with physical affection when it's just the two of us, more so even when he senses that I needed some reassurance.

"What's up, Saku? Anything new with you?" Naruto cut my daydreaming short and I sat my cup down with wide eyes and a red face when both he and Hinata gave me knowing looks.

"O-Oh! I'm going to be traveling out of town for at least a week and wanted to see you guys before I left."

"Are you going on another trip with Sasuke? Where to this time? Get me a souvenir!"

I shook my head, not sure how I should respond. The fact that I'd vowed my assistance to a family of vampires in a city days of travel away was something I hadn't shared with them because I didn't want them to worry it'd be another awful thing like what happened in Oto.

Ino suddenly spoke, coming through the doorway to join us at the table, "We're going on a sister road trip, just the two of us!" In my mind, I thanked her for the save, knowing she could hear my thoughts.

"Can you look over the store for me while I'm away, Naruto? I'll give you a bonus!"

The blonde man scrunched his nose up and waved a hand of dismissal, "You don't have to do that. I'll handle things around here."

Ever since he began working for her, Ino has been teaching Kushina a bit on how to do alterations or repairs and the woman then rolled that training down to her son. He was a bit shy about it, saying it wasn't very manly to know how to sew, but the rest of us agreed it was both impressive and cute. It sure garnered him a lot of female attention from customers, but he only had eyes for one girl and remained oblivious.

We talked for a bit longer before Ino and I returned to the castle. She went off to visit the garden and I headed to the kitchen to help Tenten finish preparing dinner.

The woman had started wearing her hair down more often, for whatever reason, and it fell long and wavy down her back as she stirred the boiling pasta on the stove in front of her. Mikoto didn't make her wear a uniform, so she often wore casual clothing that was still elegant and flattering.

"It's almost done now, if you want to just set the table."

Without responding, I calmly retrieved one of the beautiful dish sets from the cabinet and began taking the glassware out to the dining room before organizing the table according to who would be eating. Itachi and Temari were in Suna and Madara hasn't been home in over two weeks, so that left seven people. Upon the queen's request, after serving everyone's plate, Tenten now joins us for meals.

Once I was finished, I headed upstairs to freshen up. By the time I was done, it was time to eat and I returned downstairs. My eyes widened when they landed on Madara's form in his usual spot and I quickly had to avert them so no one would notice my unease, especially the vampire in question. Wordlessly, I went into the kitchen and retrieved another set of dishes to make up for the new arrival.

By the time I came back out, everyone else had arrived and I sat down after placing the dishes in front of Sai, who gave me a grateful grin. Mikoto brushed my hair behind my ear, giving me a motherly smile when I looked over at her, "Your hair's getting longer again, my dear. It looks lovely." My face warmed slightly at her doting compliment and I returned her smile shyly.

Tenten served the food before taking her seat on Sasuke's other side and then everyone began eating. I couldn't stop myself from glancing over at the gorgeous prince to my left every so often, as per usual. He either ignored me or pretended not to notice, also as per usual.

"How have your travels been, Uncle?" Sai spoke in his usual blunt but somehow still polite voice.

Madara looked over at his nephew and I averted my gaze down to my plate so as not to chance accidentally meeting his eye, "Boring, as usual, Nephew. Business is business: not entertaining in the slightest." His tone was slightly joking, but I thought he sounded kind of tired.

"I see. And how are the Subakus doing?"

My ears perked up at the mention of the Suna royal family. I didn't know that that's where he'd been this time around. Kankuro and Gaara haven't visited since right after Orochimaru was killed so it's been months since I've heard anything from them.

"Gaara has turned his new fiance and says we should expect a wedding invitation in the near future." My shock overpowered my discomfort and I looked up at the Uchiha elder with wide eyes, stunned further when they immediately locked onto his.

According to Kankuro, Gaara and Matsuri only began seriously dating less than six months ago. Now, they're already engaged and he's already turned her!? I suppose I shouldn't be all that surprised. As I learned firsthand, things in Suna were drastically different than in Konoha.

"His fiance asked me to say hello to you for her, Sakura. She says she wants you to visit soon." I blinked, shaken from my stupor as he spoke directly to me in an obviously tense voice.

Awkwardly, I forced a polite smile onto my face before averting my gaze back down to my plate, "Is that so? Thank you for passing the message along."

The table became awkwardly silent. So much so that I could sense Ino getting more and more uncomfortable. I looked up, shooting a blaring warning look at her, but it was too late. With a red face, she blurted out, "Sakura has been summoned by Ame!"

A defeated sigh passed my lips and I closed my eyes, irritated.

"Oh, dear…It can't be helped, I suppose. We'll have to clear the boys' schedules so they can escort you."

I could feel an unhappy aura starting to surround Sasuke and knew it was about to get worse when Ino spoke again, "Actually, they said they're sending some advisors to travel with her and that they don't want anyone else to come along. They said I can come if I want, though, so I plan to."

There it was. He didn't say anything, but I could tell the tall vampire was seething.

Sai spoke, able to put his emotions into words much easier than his twin brother, "I don't like the idea of either of you traveling without us. Should we follow and simply stay out of sight?"

Fugaku made a gruff noise before speaking in a serious voice, "Amegakure is where Madara's traveling next, so he can keep an eye on them while he's there. Obito will also be there. We cannot risk directly disobeying a request and angering our new allies."

Sai looked over at his uncle once more, "Will you please watch over my wife, Uncle? She's strong, yet I can't help but worry. I'll be indebted to you." Ino gave her husband a loving look.

"Of course, Nephew."

It was unspoken that he agreed to look over me, too, but the table might get awkward again if he spoke about it so he didn't.

Later that night, Sasuke's deep voice rumbled through the air as we soaked in the bath after washing up, "When do you leave?"

I sank lower in the water as I sat next him, "The letter said sometime in the next couple days. I'm packing in the morning, just to be safe."

The water moved swiftly and then I was pulled over to straddle his lap. My face warmed when our eyes met and concern was pretty much bleeding from his expression. I ran my hands up his chest and over his shoulders, pressing my chest against his slightly in an effort to comfort him, "I think everything will be fine. They swore I wouldn't be killed, remember?"

He leaned his head forward slightly so his forehead was resting against mine as he closed his eyes, "There are ways of hurting someone without killing them."

A flash of Kabuto's face as he held me down beneath his body crossed my mind and I closed my eyes, too. After taking a moment to get control of my emotions, I replied, "They seemed really eager to have a good relationship with Konoha, so I don't think they'll risk doing something like that."

His lips pressed against mine for a few moments and I hugged his neck a bit tighter, enjoying the sensation. When he pulled back a bit, my eyes fluttered open. The look on his face was hesitant and I gave him a confused expression. His voice was softer and incredibly unhappy, "Accept my uncle's help if he offers it. I hate relying on him at all, but I know he'll protect you."

Tears rose in my eyes, "Sasuke…"

The fact that he was saying those words proved just how concerned he was about being separated from me. Ever since Madara admitted to him that he had feelings for me, Sasuke hasn't let him come anywhere near me other than when he needed someone to protect me while he was dealing with Kabuto. I bet he'd even directly face him if the situation ever called for it.

"Are you sure you can do this? You have to know what they're going to do to you," he was back to being concerned rather than angry.

I loosened my grip around his neck so I could lean to the side and rest my head against his shoulder, "I don't have much of a choice. Besides, being bitten isn't as scary as it used to be…I can do this."

His hands came up around my body and he held me closer, "If something happens-"

I came back up to look in his eyes with a reassuring smile as I gently brushed my nose against his, "I'll do whatever it takes to stay alive. Don't worry, Sasuke."

He seemed satisfied with my continuous attempts at reassuring him and gave a curt nod before kissing me again.