#I also suffer from a disease called “giving characters longer hair/ponytails”

[wheredidalltheusersgo]

Total Drama Future AU design number 4!

He is 38 in this AU.

He was in prison for several years after All Stars, but he sent plenty of letters to his castmates.

Once he was released, he had a plan to make amends with all of them, but there was one very special person he needed to pay a visit to.

He had to go find Scott, he needed to see if Scott was alright.

After asking around, he finally tracked Scott down.

It was a pretty long drive to get there, but it was all worth it.

When he showed up at Scott's renovated farmhouse, (Thanks to Cameron splitting his prize cash from Revenge Of The Island up amongst the cast members) Scott cried tears of joy and relief when he opened the door and saw Duncan standing there.

Even though they hadn't seen each other in years, their love from All Stars remained.

Scott slept better than he had in years with Duncan by his side.

While they never ended up having kids together, Duncan was happy to live on the farm with Scott and Butterscotch.

[darth-salem-emperor-of-earth]

Here is my next entry for Day 4 of @naruto-fantasy-week​! I went with the prompt “Japanese Folklore” because I wanted to do something with the conflict between the Sun Goddess and Moon God and how their bloodlines influenced imperial monarchies from opposite kingdoms and what would it take to bring two opposing nations together (albeit begrudgingly). I had to prevent this idea from running away with me and focused on a small section in Itachi and Sakura’s courtship. That way, I could actually finish the little fic in time. XD 

Fanfic title comes from the song “Sun and Moon” from the Broadway musical “Miss Saigon”. And yes, I was not trying to be creative with kingdom names. I just went with good ole “Solar” and “Lunar” because the names worked. XD

Summary: With the bloodline of the Sun goddess running through their veins, the Uchiha dynasty had reigned over the land for endless decades. But their power has waned, the populace no longer adores them like they used to, and opposing kingdoms watch and wait for their decline. Now, the imperial family is desperate and the only way to cement their power is to marry one of the imperial sons off to someone who has the bloodline of the Moon God, the brother and foe of the Sun Goddess. Naruto Fantasy Week, Day 4. Prompt: Japanese Folklore. [Itachi x Sakura] 

Text:

Flashback

Thoughts

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“Love, that is all the earth to lovers—love, that mocks time and space,

Love, that is day and night—love, that is sun and moon and stars,

Love, that is crimson, sumptuous, sick with perfume,

No other words but words of love, no other thought but love.”

 — Walt Whitman, The Mystic Trumpeter

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The midday heat continued to beat down on the guards and servants who attended to their duties in the open foyer, where a cooling, welcoming breeze managed to infiltrate the open windows and doors and alleviated some of the humidity plaguing its working inhabitants. Sakura could already feel her inner layers soaked with sweat, cleaving to her body like a sticky second skin. Small tendrils of her hair plastered to the back of her neck and along the outline of her forehead, also damp from perspiration. Her chief lady-in-waiting, Ino, already had to reapply her blush and lipstick, knowing how much Emperor Fugaku, ruler of the Solar Kingdom, would judge the Crown Princess of the Lunar Kingdom, for simply sweating on a hot summer day after he kept her waiting for over a half hour. 

The princess sensed the reason for the delay and inwardly, Sakura was fuming at the blatant disrespect the Emperor, even now, was showing her. It was well known the Uchihas boasted having the blood of the Sun Goddess flowing in their veins, granting them divine rule over their subjects and they always looked down scornfully at those who were heralded to be descendants of the Moon God, the brother and rival of their precious Sun Goddess. But the last few decades, mayhap century, was not kind to the Uchiha rulers, as many of the Uchiha men (and sometimes, women) who succumbed to the unspoken but well known disease called ‘Mangekyō Madness’, reducing the afflicted into a bitter, paranoid mess cursed with blindness and rife with contempt for other clans, especially the so-called inferior ones. Everyone around them became an enemy to vanquish or subdue and usually, there was no cure or chance to regain sanity if the healers hadn’t taken steps previously to mitigate the effects of the illness. There were rumors this madness struck the Uchihas because of a crime one of their ancestors committed, Uchiha Madara, when he almost successfully wiped out the Senju clan to expand his kingdom’s territory. The Senju clan never forgot nor forgave the Uchihas for that massacre, especially since emperors after Madara vehemently denied the Uchihas were a part of such carnage and that Madara acted alone and was considered a ‘blight on Uchiha sun’. 

And thus, the imperial prestige slowly declined and now, Emperor Fugaku faced a dilemma: an unhappy, discontent populace, and watchful neighboring nations who were sharpening their weapons and honing their political strategy to see how much longer the Uchiha dynasty would last. Fugaku needed a strong alliance, once cemented by the bonds of marriage. So he begrudgingly entered negotiations with the Emperor of the Lunar Kingdom, Sakura’s uncle. Both parties agreed Sakura, the uncontested heir of her uncle’s great country, would marry one of the Emperor’s sons when she came of age. Such a celestial marriage would not only bring two mighty, prospering nations together but also join two royal bloodlines blessed by divinity. 

Sakura was thirteen when she caught wind of these negotiations and decided it would be her that decides which Solar prince she’d marry, not her uncle or her future father-in-law. And when the imperial family from the Solar Kingdom arrived a few months after her fourteenth nameday, Sakura began to enact her plan. 

Many of her entourage believed she would pursue the younger son, who was her age, but even though he was cannily pretty (most Uchiha were), Sakura cared not for his cold stares and the way he ignored everyone else if conversing with them was beneath him. He treated her best friend Ino brusquely when she tried to engage in several casual conversations to learn more about his character for Princess Sakura’s sake. Her final report on the second prince was less than glowing. There was that and the fact Ino swore to the Moon God that she witnessed him whispering in Karin’s ear, a medical apprentice who served the Uchiha family, and the girl kept blushing and smirking, taking the chance to suggestively stroke the young prince’s arm before he brushed her off to resume training. Even if there was nothing going on between them, Sakura sensed any relationship with him was doomed to fail. So she focused her attention on the older brother, Itachi.

Sakura smiled to herself as she recalled the first time she and Itachi encountered one another. It was a formal setting, a simple tea ceremony and later, a meeting for her uncle, Itachi’s father, and the ambassadors to discuss treaties and politics. Sakura found herself seated next to Itachi, the Crown Prince. Their discussion was, at first, cordial, ranging from her inquiring about how his stay in the Lunar Kingdom was faring and him saying he was enjoying the various landscapes he saw during his sojourn. Eventually, she learned he suffered from an unknown but not fatal physical ailment, which left him exhausted and tired often. In light of this information,  Sakura then recommended several teas with medicinal properties that would help boost his strength and energy if he drank them regularly. Three days later, Itachi returned to her to thank her personally for her sage advice, saying the teas she suggested were already showing some promise, and asked if she wanted to take a walk around the royal gardens and give him a tour. With a pleased grin on her face, Sakura whole-heartedly accepted, relieved to see Itachi was nothing like his younger brother, for simply being around the Solar heir put her nerves at rest and she soon found how easy and relaxing it was to talk to Itachi.

By the time Itachi had to return home, they already agreed to exchange letters to one another to continue their budding friendship. For four years they secretly exchanged letters back and forth, the friendship slowly melting into a clandestine romance, to the point they both vowed the moment Sakura entered the Solar Kingdom and stepped on soil from the imperial castle, the two of them would wed in secret. They couldn’t take a chance to leave the decision of Sakura’s groom up to Emperor Fugaku, for he was more partial in giving his second son, the spare, to the Lunar Princess because he believed his heir deserved a far more rewarding match. And to quell the rumors that Sasuke no longer had eyes for the noble girls his father tried to parade in front of him and was far more interested in a wandering, compassionate hedgeknight who often rescued or offered his services to the commonfolk amidst the Uchiha lands. He possessed eyes like the ocean blue and hair the color of the golden sun itself and Emperor Fugaku refused to let him on Uchiha grounds.

Within her first week in the Solar Kingdom, Sakura and Itachi were wed, their only other witnesses besides the presences of the Sun Goddess and the Moon God, the imperial family’s kannushi (who was entrusted to bless and formally bind the lovers together in a legal marriage), were Sakura’s chief lady-in-waiting and best friend, Ino, and Itachi’s cousin and confidante, Shisui. Her wedding night with Itachi was pure bliss and now that they were officially husband and wife, they had planned to break the news to the emperor tomorrow morning. 

Itachi went in first, knowing best how to pacify his father’s rage once he realized his original schemes were thwarted. He was also prepared to carefully explain to Emperor Fugaku why this matrimonial choice would suit all parties–Fugaku in particular. From her previous encounters with that rigid, unyielding ruler, Sakura suspected her father-in-law was the type of man who didn’t appreciate when events didn’t go his way or would balk at the idea of admitting that he made a mistake either in his reign or on his judgment. 

The doors leading inside the palace burst open and Itachi smoothly strolled out, the force of his gait causing his dark ponytail to swing around and collide with his left shoulder before resting there. Itachi’s expression remained stolid but the concern and disappointment marked in his obsidian eyes carried enough emotion and information for Sakura to surmise that Itachi’s conversation with his father did not go well at all. 

“Sakura, I am so sorry to have kept you waiting,” he apologized, grasping both of her hands to kiss them, his gaze never leaving hers. Sakura’s ire at her father-in-law steadily ebbed away, savoring Itachi’s touch and sweetness in their private, intimate moment together. “My father refused to come and greet you as my wife, and declared we are to be banished for a few months for marrying without his permission. He also rebuked me for falling prey to your wily charms.” He spoke the last part wryly and Sakura tossed her head back to laugh at the absurd accusation. Of course Fugaku would lay the blame squarely at her feet, for not falling in line and waiting to wed his second son simply so the Solar Emperor could feel far more superior over her and the Lunar Emperor. He may be hailed as a fierce warrior and shrewd monarch, but he also was such a petty man. 

“Banishment away from your father and all those prying, sneering nobles at court, where we can be left alone to our own devices?” Sakura mused drolly out loud, leaning in to plant a loving kiss on her husband’s cheek. “Are you sure the Emperor is punishing us?”

A half-smile spread itself across Itachi’s pale features, his eyes alight at her good humor. “He thinks you will be aghast to be away from such a pinnacle of power and influence and hopes when we return, you’ll be more of a demure, modest wife who will listen to his orders next time.” Both he and Sakura chuckled, imagining Fugaku’s future disappointment that his daughter-in-law was not so easily cowed.. “But we know that will never betide.”

“Of course not,” Sakura agreed, wrapping her hand around his as they sauntered out of the outside foyer and to the guest wings to pack all of Sakura’s effects before they started their journey to Itachi’s estates for their temporary exile. “If I was, then the Sun Goddess would never agree to our match during our covert marriage ceremony nor would have the Moon God made his presence known as well.” 

“I, the Moon God, father of the great lineage belonging to the Lunar Kingdom, come before you all today to bless this joining between a man of the Sun and a woman of the Moon. Do not forget the courage and willpower you had to make this moment possible, you shall need when the crowns sit on both of your heads.”

“I, Amatersau, the famed Sun Goddess, mother of the grand lineage from the Solar Kingdom, am here before you all today to also bless this joining betwixt two mortals, one of the Sun and one of the Moon. Bring back the prestige to my royal line and let the next generation of Uchiha men and women be stronger than ever!”

The words of both sibling deities still echoed in Sakura’s mind, a wish they claimed that only a couple of their caliber would bring to fruition. The Moon God and his sister, the Sun Goddess, a pair that was always at odds with each other since the dawn of time, somehow had their goals aligned when it came to influencing and blessing the union of two mortals who carried their divine blood. Albeit Itachi and Sakura truly didn’t need the blessing of two deities to know the true power and love of their union, despite how awe-inspiring it was to hear the loud, imposing voices of both the Sun Goddess and the Moon God all around them. Even if no one outside their small matrimonial ceremony believed their account, the future for the two of them seemed fortuitous indeed.

“Are you ready to go to your new home, my beloved wife?” Itachi’s face softened as he spoke. Those kind, mesmerizing eyes of his often took on a subtle but nonetheless elated luster whenever he continued to refer to her as his wife, and right now was no exception. Sakura’s heart swelled up with a mixture of pride, joy, and love towards him. They were indeed fortunate and blessed to have found each other even under the shadow of an arranged marriage.

“Yes, darling husband, I am,” she replied, giving his hand an affectionate squeeze. After all, a several month banishment with simply Itachi and her together, managing their estates, while devoid of haughty in-laws and other Solar nobles, sounded like the perfect honeymoon.