Chapter 1 - Arc 1, Chapter 1: Captured

Note: This story is going to be more mature and violent than my average works. In this case, I want to depict semi-realistic dangers of wars between shinobi. I've rated this story appropriately. Please read only if you are comfortable with those ratings.
Enjoy the story! I am taking requests for couples fic's (Please view at least one completed sample of my work before making a request. I can provide a link upon request.)

-NG

When I was twelve years old, I began to understand the world. Or so I thought. Girls were icky. I didn’t like guys, either- they were idiots. There was only myself, and martial arts. That was all there was to it. No others interests. None.

I would train with the most powerful man in our village, starting with my thirteenth birthday. But as I began my training, a prediction was made.

I was seated in samurai attire. My parents were behind me, my Mother’s hands on my shoulders. I did my best to stay calm, but I was actually terrified.

Lord Hokage looked into his crystal ball, nodding and making ‘mmm’ sounds of concentration or consent.

“Your child, this boy Kimihiro, will one day become a pillar of this village. He will help lead the next group of legends to their destiny.”

My parents looked at me proudly. I didn’t fully understand, but I knew enough to remain seated while Lord Hokage spoke. I wanted to go practice more. I liked Lord Hokage, but I wanted to learn from him; not hear predictions that meant nothing to me.

“…However, his own future is unclear,” the Third finally said. “It would be best for him to start serving the next legends, once they become apparent.”

With those words, my future had become fore-ordained. I was to be a servant to the next legends.

“I will do all I can, Lord Hokage!” I announced proudly. I hadn’t yet hit puberty, so my voice was still high as I bowed. I felt strangely happy, though a life of servitude didn’t really appeal to me. I guessed it was the feeling of belonging that really made me happy.
--

Eight years passed. I grew into a twenty-year-old, and a strong one. My parents were proud of me. I was a newly-promoted jonin of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I had gotten strong, and I was good at my job.

But it wasn’t a normal life. I was hampered by illness. This illness slowed my mental growth when it came to emotions. I was about fifteen or sixteen, so I was just getting seriously interested in girls. I didn’t really consider girls to be a priority until twenty because of this illness (though, in other areas, such as reading, my mind was above that of my peers). My eyes fell on one girl- a girl I worked with a lot.

Sakura Haruno. She was seventeen now, so it would be at least a year until I could make a serious advance. But I didn’t have the guts to do it. But I could totally worship her from afar.

I never understood ‘carefree youth’, as I spent all my free time studying. I wasn’t yet strong enough to earn a female of my own, nor to protect this village. I had been called a ‘hero’, but that didn’t mean enough to me. I wanted friends to acknowledge it, too.

I didn’t make friends easily, though.

By now, my destiny was forgotten. One of the legends, Tsunade, had returned to run the village after my Master’s death. She knew of his prophecy, but was quiet about it. She certainly didn’t encourage me. It seemed she even went to lengths to push me away.

But I ignored it. I wasn’t going anywhere. Someday, she would be gone, and I would remain.

It was odd to think we’d become close within a year. And then, once we did, she would give me the orders I had been told to prepare for since I was twelve.

I had no idea how cruel fate would be to me.
--

“Ryouko?”

It was the Hokage’s assistant, Shizune. She wasn’t dressed in her combat gear, so I guessed that this was something on behalf of Tsunade herself. I would have thought this was a social thing, but she also called me by my ANBU training name.

“Yes, Shizune-sempai?”

“Come with me, please. The next legends have been decided.”

Against my better judgment, I followed without complaint. Being a guy, I of course wondered if my new boss would be a girl. If she was, would she be beautiful? Would she be interested in me? As in ‘interested’?

“Is one female?” I asked.

“Yes. There are two of them. You already know who they are, so I doubt you’ll be horribly shocked.”
--

I knelt by the door, listening to Lady Tsunade speak to them. ‘Them’ was Naruto and Sakura. They were teammates, and apparently were also part of some plan of Tsunade’s. But this plan wasn’t a good one. Not for me, or anyone involved. This one involved making Naruto and Sakura a…royal couple, for want of a better word. Sakura was angry, Naruto didn’t want to be tied down, and I was in love with Sakura- something she herself was unaware or.

“Enter!” Tsunade snapped. This was directed at me. Though I was a jonin, and outranked Naruto and Sakura, I was now their…well, servant and protector.

I hastened to obey, overdoing things by kneeling at the door and bowing so low my head touched the floor.

“Your orders, My Lady?”
Was this awful, formal voice really mine? It didn’t seem right. But it was all I could do now.

Tsunade gave me a stern look, as if warning me against play-acting. But I wasn’t. I was told beforehand that I was a servant, so that’s how I acted. However embarrassing and humiliating, I had my reasons for wanting this assignment.

Tsunade finally had decided I was serious. “You will address these two now as ‘Naruto-dono’ and ‘Sakura-Ojousama’. Your duties are their cooking, cleaning, and most of all…teaching.”

I looked up, my face mild and stoic. As always.
“Teaching, My Lady?”

Tsunade smirked, motioning for Naruto and Sakura to leave. I made sure to bow, my head lowered, as they walked by. Both gave me odd looks, but were too preoccupied by their own predicament to seriously worry for me.

Once they had left, I stood up to speak to Tsunade as a jonin.

“There IS a reason I’m putting you through this torture, you know…”

I stayed silent, assuming she would tell me eventually. She did, though not before wringing the anticipation out for quite some time.

“…It’s because you can. I understand what I’m asking of you is a lot, especially where Sakura is concerned, but there is simply no one else. Those two need to learn how to use their powers effectively.”

“And Kakashi-sempai? He’s spent far more time with them than I. I’m not questioning you, you understand. I’m just…curious. And I want to make sure this assignment is completed properly.”

Tsunade regarded me with soft eyes. “A boy closer to their age will be easier for them. They need to get closer. I don’t care if they’re lovers or not. But they may be legendary, and they’ll need to work together. Especially if Sasuke’s really gone rogue, all they’ll have to keep going is each other. You can understand that, can’t you?”

My eyes must have dropped as I said ‘Yes, I can’, because Tsunade was again abnormally nice to me.

“Oh… You’re not making this easy with those puppy eyes. You must really care for her…”

I snapped my eyes into something close to a glare. “I care enough to let her go. Naruto is best for her. I know I’m not ‘one of you’!” I bit off at the end, wishing I had kept quiet. But it couldn’t be helped. No matter what, I was never one of them. No matter how strong, I was the outsider. And I h-a-t-e-d it. Now, more than ever, I felt the sting.

Tsunade let me rant, apparently understanding how I felt. She just apologized again. I paused, wonder if she would rescind her orders.

“…Go on, now. You have those two to attend to. They’ll be living below the Hokage Rock. I’ll leave it to you to see to their nutritional and physical needs.”

I lowered my gaze. “Of course. By…by your leave!”

I left before she could say anymore. I could feel her pitying me, and it made me feel worse. I didn’t need anyone’s sympathy. If this was my job, I would do it, and I would do it well.
--

First, my warrior clothes were packed away. I was no longer a shinobi, strictly speaking. I was a strange mix of elder and servant. Instead, I donned a long, black robe, tied with rope around the middle, and with a hood. These would be my training clothes. My formal wear was packed away.

I was to live with Naruto and Sakura, in a small cottage on the edge of their property. It had two rooms, and it pissed me off. For no good reason, I was angry with the cabin itself. But I just packed my stuff up, chopped the bed up for firewood (out of pure rage. Really, I had no need for wood), then laid two tatami mats and a couple blankets and pillows in a corner. If I was pissed, every facet of my life would feel that anger. Even now, after a month had passed, I was still furious.

knock knock

I trudged to the door, wonder what horror awaited me on the other side. There was no good news these days.

On the other side was Naruto. He stepped in without waiting for me to say anything. I didn’t even bother- I just hit the floor and bowed as low as I could.

“How’s it going?” Naruto asked me, in his usual friendly manner.

“Very well, Naruto-dono. Thank you for honoring me with your attention.”

Naruto just kind of scrunched his face up. “Uh, yeah. You can drop that formal crap, the old lady’s not around.”

“I can’t do that, Naruto-dono. Orders are orders,” I responded. “Can I get you anything?”

Naruto shook his head. “Nah…I’m good, thanks. I’m just, uh, gonna go now. See you tomorrow morning for some training or something, right?”

“Of course, Naruto-dono. I thank you again for your attention and kindness.”
--

I curled up on my tatami mats that night, wondering just how far I had fallen. To be the servant of the girl I loved while she was with another man…
That hurt.
A lot.

But what could be done? It would do no good to be rude to them. This wasn’t their idea, and they weren’t happy about it either. Instead, we were all following orders. I had my suspicions that Tsunade didn’t want to order this. She was never this kind to anyone, and she never seriously apologized for an order. This must mean that there are others aspects involved.

I turned over, listening to the floor creek beneath me. The higurashi were out in full force tonight, and really starting to irritate me. But eventually, their cries helped drift me to sleep.

I was to have a night of fitful dreams. Come morning, I would be soaked with cold sweat from a mix of nightmares and dreams of love that had long been unnoticed.
--

By the morning, I had decided to take a vow of silence during training. These two were destined for greater things than my tutelage, and they didn’t need to hear me dog and moan about being forced to be a servant.

But by the time it was time to train, I had rescinded that. These were my friends, and I wouldn’t alienate them. In fact, I would encourage them both. That was the duty of a friend and teacher, wasn’t it?

So, casually, I walked over to Naruto. He was diligently practicing his Rasengan. He got better each time, and I wondered again why he needed my help. But nonetheless…

“Naruto-dono, hold up a second. I’ve got a question for you…”

Naruto had forgotten about my attitude last night, apparently. He was friendly as he stopped training to speak with me.
“Yeah?”

“You like Sakura- …er, Ojousama, right?”

“Duh! I HAVE to, she’s on my team!” Naruto replied. It was all I could do not to roll my eyes in exasperation. How could he be that thick?

“No, I mean…strongly like. As in…love?”

Naruto didn’t answer me right away. Instead, he turned away from me and muttered. It was barely audible, but I heard it:
“Is it that obvious?”

I smiled. “Well then, how about you make it easy? You’d love to see Ojousama in a yukata, yes?”

“Hell yeah!”

“Well then…why not ask her to the festival? You should tell her how you feel there.”

Naruto had been one of the people (shockingly) who had picked up on me feeling something special toward Sakura. That prompted him to ask:
“What about you?”

But I shook my head. “This old man’s time has passed. I leave things to you, the next generation!”

Naruto just glared at me, knowing I was joking and dodging the question.
“We’re in the same generation, you idiot!”

“Don’t talk to your teacher that way! Now, go ask her to the festival! Shoo, Naruto-dono! Go talk to Ojousama, and don’t come back to me until you’ve got an answer!”
--

I watched from a distance as Sakura and Naruto talked. I couldn’t hear what they were saying. It was really none of my business anyway, right?
-

“Hey, Sakura, wanna go to the festival?”

Sakura had been mixing up some concoction from assorted roots and berries. She wiped the sweat off her brow, taking a moment to get used to Naruto being nice.
“Why? So I can buy you stuff?”

“Nah, no way! It’s all on me! Whaddaya say? I haven’t been to a festival since I left with Pervy Sage. And I didn’t see you all that time, either. We should…ya know…catch up.”

Sakura still seemed surprised, but gave her consent. Naruto began to dance around, in a state beyond happiness.

Yes! Sakura-chan in a yukata! Oh man, I’m so lucky!
--

From Naruto’s reaction, I guessed Sakura had answered in the affirmative. I was genuinely happy for Naruto, but miserable myself. I became more miserable as I realized I, too, would have to attend this festival. I would be teased by the site of Sakura in a yukata, hanging on Naruto’s arm. But my job as a teacher came before my pride. And my work as a servant had been in the cards for eight years. I shouldn’t have been surprised like this.

I guess I’d better my old hakama out for this. Maybe a new haori (jacket)…
This is hard…harder than I’d thought if would be. But I’ve got to stay strong! It’s best for both of them like this. I’ll do what I can to help them. It’ll hurt less later…I hope.

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