Over the next week, Sasuke had become a professional at doing two things.
One: ignoring his elder brother
Two: pissing Naruto off
How you may ask? Easy.
Early in the morning, six days after Itachi had brought up marriage and Naruto had sent the letters to each selected family- a woman was quite literally thrown into the middle of the corridor, only half dressed. Those in the corridor froze, and some had to skip over her before they toppled along.
Looking into the bedchamber, you could see Naruto picking up a pair of dingy slippers and throwing them out after the woman before the audible slamming of the heavy door.
Inside, she continued to face the door. Counting down from five. She then spun on her heel and walked to the edge of the bathtub Sasuke had lowered himself into.
He looked as horrid as he did every morning, the hangovers becoming more severe with the amount of alcohol he's been trying to drown his liver with.
When he looked up, his unfocused eyes met the glare of Narutos.
"What is the matter with you?" She nearly shouted.
Sasuke groaned, sinking further into the water as Narutos' tone of voice brought another meaning to the word 'aching'.
"Another woman! A prostitute no less!" Naruto exploded. "It was bad enough when you were bringing them around once every few days! It's every time now, Sasuke! Every time!"
"Please stop yelling." He muttered, wincing at his own voice.
Naruto scowled. "This is ridiculous. You may not be happy with his majesty's decisions, but that does not mean you act like this. You are an adult. You are a fucking prince!" She all but seethed, "And this attitude is not how a prince should be acting."
Sasuke only groaned louder. His hands staying on his face to try and cover the suns venomous rays.
"Honestly," Naruto sighed. Covering her forehead from her own growing headache. "Your highness you can not continue such behavior when the high ladies arrive. It'll look unbecoming, and many of these families are already weary of your actions. Making the decision to marry off their daughters to you is already hard enough, much less knowing you have not grown from your ways."
Sasuke rubbed at his face, clearly ignoring Naruto. A vein throbbed in her jaw.
"YOUR HIGHNESS!"
"Fuck! I get it!" Sasuke screamed, covering his ears as Narutos shrill tone made him irk with the feeling of needing to vomit.
She grabbed a bucket, placing it near his reach. "I don't believe you do!" Naruto snapped, growing as tired as Sasuke looked. "We've got word the first of the lot will be arriving in two days time. I expect all of this to stop by than, be it having you at my side day and night or bolting your damn windows to the sill."
A moment passed, and then Naruto left. Practically throwing her hands in the air when Sasuke only continued to hide his face from the sun.
When the door slammed, Sasuke moved his hands from his face, instead taking the towel Yuki held out to him and put it over his eyes.
Silence passed through the time as Yuki washed Sasuke clean, then dried and dressed him.
She went to open the door, but his highness called out to her.
Yuki turned, "Your highness?"
He sighed, pulling a hand through his hair before looking at the maid. "Do you think she'll actually make me stay by her side day and night... or bolt my windows?"
Yuki smiled, the wrinkles at her eyes creasing. "I believe the General will do whatever she sees fit."
Saying that, she left, passing Naruto on her way out. Naruto held the door open, looking at Sasuke expectantly.
He hesitated, before walking out of the room. She began to follow him to the dining hall, where Itachi and Izumi would surely still be.
Time passed in silence. Naruto too focused on maintaining her wrath, with Sasuke too scared to even speak with her.
They arrived shortly at the dining hall doors. Naruto wrenched one of the heavy wooden doors opened and held her arm out for Sasuke to enter first. He did, hurrying along before Naruto had an excuse to manhandle him.
Inside the dining hall, Izumi was going over plans for the masquerade ball Naruto had suggested to welcome their guests while Itachi was conversing with Shisui about preparations for their guests two month long visit.
Each looked up when Sasuke and Naruto entered. Izumi was quick to return to the plans, while Itachi sat straighter. Sending each of them a smile- neither returned it. He frowned a bit at seeing each of their sour moods.
"Good morning Sasuke, Naruto."
"Morning, your majesty."
Sasuke grunted. Naruto kicked his calf. "Morning." He glared down at the woman. Naruto ignored him.
Pulling out the chair at Itachis left, Sasuke sat down and pulled it forward before Naruto could somehow hurt his still throbbing head.
"How was your night?"
Both Naruto and Sasuke grimaced at his question. Itachi worried his lower lip. He cleared his throat, or tried to, a second later.
"Uh, I would like to discuss the arrival of our guests."
"The ones you'll force upon me?" Sasuke queried. Naruto twitched her palm just in Sasukes range of vision, he moved as far as the chair would allow him from Naruto.
"I hope that's not how you care to address them when they get here Sasuke."
"He won't." Naruto answered for him. Sasuke nearly paled at her short tone. It was barely better than the one she'd used when lecturing him.
Itachi glanced between the two. "Did something happen?"
"No." Both answered immediately.
Shisui raised a brow. He looked down to Itachi. "I'll guess he brought someone home."
Naruto immediately grimaced, her nose wrinkling horribly as she thought of the woman.
All knew Sasuke brought women of all sorts to the palace, but Naruto only ever reacted like this when Sasuke brought home a paid woman.
Itachi sighed, Izumi merely shaking her head. Having no shits to give for Sasukes antics at the moment.
"Brother-" Itachi began.
"Don't." Sasuke stopped him. "I already got it from Naruto."
"A second time wouldn't hurt."
He glared up at the blonde woman. Narutos lip curled into a hard sneer, her sharp canines peering through.
"Having you yell at me is bad enough," Sasuke argued.
"I doubt it," Naruto scoffed. "Seeing you keep on doing it."
"I wouldn't do it-"
"Really? When? If you weren't being 'forced' to marry?" Naruto rolled her eyes. "That's a laugh."
"Shut up. You have no idea what I'm thinking. What this means for me."
Naruto scoffed again. "I don't need to know what you're thinking or what this means for you when all I am doing nowadays is tossing women out of your room. Oh, but no, it's all about the poor prince who's too self-absorbed to notice how irritating it is for everyone else."
"Right because it's about everyone else!" Sasuke snapped.
"It is when it's usually all about you!" Naruto snapped right back. "You understand what it's like to have to invite twenty women to the palace so you can have a choice?! It would be a whole lot easier to just choose a fucking woman, go "here's your wife" and get it over with!
But am I going to do that to you?! No. Is Itachi?! It didn't even enter his fucking mind! But you still have to bitch and complain and bring gods damn women into the palace where your issues become everyone else's! Your a selfish brat when most people don't even get the choices or freedom you do!
And as someone who has to deal with your bull crap on a daily basis, can you grow up a year or two and be more mature for your damn age for fucking once?!"
Naruto took a deep breath, shrugging through the post-anger as Sasuke held his head. Practically cursing for the throbbing in his head.
Itachi and Izumi stared at the two.
"Naruto-"
"No."
"Okay." Itachi shut his mouth, turning to his wife for help instead. She blinked, somehow not laughing at the humorless row between the two and thinking through the twos outbursts.
Naruto placed her hands behind her back, turning back to Itachi.
"What about the arrival would you like to discuss?"
Itachi looked between his brother, who rubbed at each of his temples, then at the composed Naruto. "Uh-" Itachi looked between the two once more before his eyes landed once more on Naruto. "I was only going to inform you of the arrangements. Shisui has volunteered to bring each family to greet us in the throne room, and the maids are already preparing rooms for each family on the sixth floor. Is there anything else we should prepare for?"
Naruto hummed, seeming to think over everything. "The Wind will be a few days late in their arrival. With the coming month they will be taking a few days to mourn their eldest."
"It's that time? I thought it was later."
"No, they come each year about this time to visit the last place they had seen their eldest. I would have the ball on the evening after they arrive."
Izumi nodded, taking a quill to write that down in her planner.
Sasuke sighed, peeking through his hands at Itachi. "What happened to their eldest?"
Itachi opened his mouth, then closed it. Naruto was the one to answer,
"She disappeared. It's been twelve years since, and each year the royals of the Wind come to visit the cottage they'd been vacationing at."
"Is she dead?"
Naruto shrugged a shoulder, "It's widely known she is, though the King refuses to admit his heiress is gone."
Sasuke looked up. "Why are they coming than?"
"Because the second princess has yet to be crowned." Naruto easily explained. "With no land in her possession she is eligible to marry you."
"And if she is crowned?"
"I doubt it." Naruto hummed, seeming to think it unlikely.
"But if she is?" Sasuke raised a brow.
Naruto sighed, and met Sasukes eye. "Than you would be King of a dwindling kingdom." She said, "But as I said I find that doubtful."
"And why is that doubtful?"
"Because she is not in possession of the single thing to make her the rightful heiress."
"Which is?"
"The rightful heritage."
Sasukes eye twitched. "Can't you tell me what that is?"
"No."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to."
"Naruto-"
"So the Wind will be a few days late?" Itachi interrupted before they could begin to yell at each other again. "We'll take note of that, right Shisui?"
"Already on it." With that the man left, leaving Izumi and Itachi to deal with Narutos and Sasukes sour moods.
Izumi scowled quietly at her husband. Itachi merely sighed.
"As for the other nineteen who will arrive on schedule." He said, "I would like you to spend time with each of them Sasuke. To get to know each individual lady. This will help you decide which to choose as your wife."
Sasuke grimaced. "And if I don't choose any?"
"I will choose," Itachi glanced at Naruto. "As I said Sasuke, this isn't for discussion, you must marry."
"And birth a crown prince, yeah yeah I got the run down."
"Technically you won't be birthing anything," Sasuke glared at Naruto. She merely shrugged. "All you'd do is put that thing between your legs to work- which I'm sure won't be a problem for you."
"I don't appreciate your input."
"It's good I didn't ask if you'd care for it than."
Sasuke scowled. "Why does she have to be here? This has nothing to do with her."
Itachi frowned, "Don't be like that Sasuke. As your personal knight, Naruto is very important. Also, being the General, she will be in charge of much of these ladies stays. Being mean to one another will not make this easier."
"Well if he'd stop his antics-"
"Or she stopped being a prick-"
Both glared at one another.
"I am hardly the one being a prick." Naruto crossed her arms, nearly snarling at the word.
"Yeah 'cause your such an angel." Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"Well at least I'm not-" "Don't even finish that." "Bringing women into my bed like a whore."
Sasuke stood, meeting her nose to nose. "I don't remember when it was your opinion that matter."
"Maybe you should open your def ears and begin to listen once in a while. My opinion has always mattered."
"As the general or as a woman?"
Naruto folded her arms, her fingernails digging into the metal. "Both." She spat. "Though I can't say the same for you."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "My opinion only goes unnoticed because of you."
"Don't wallow in your own self-pity, your highness. It's unbefitting of a prince, even a second."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"What do you think it means?"
Sasuke scowled. "Even as a second prince, I am more important than someone like you."
"Doubtful." Naruto muttered, the word barely audible past her lips.
Sasuke turned to Itachi. "I want a new knight."
"I want a new second prince."
"I'm irreplaceable."
Naruto dropped her hands to her hips. "Not as irreplaceable as me, your highness."
Sasukes lips pursed, both holding eye contact as Naruto challenged him to say something with the sharp look of her eye.
"You both are irreplace." Itachi pushed himself between the two of them. "And while I agree with Naruto that her opinion matters whether female or as a general, Sasukes opinions also matter."
Both went to say something. Itachi cut each of them off.
"And just because of what happened this morning, Naruto, does not mean you two should continue this behavior. It's unbefitting as both a prince and a general.
As adults, I would expect both of you two to solve these matters more maturely. Especially as a leader." He gave Naruto a pointed look. Her jaw worked at the reprimand. Sasuke huffed.
"Now, I believe Sasuke has archery practice. And Naruto, you have duties to disperse throughout the knights."
When neither moved, Itachi looked at the two of them.
"Go!"
Both bit their tongues, scowling and muttering below their breathes as they left the dining hall. Izumi took Itachis' hand.
"Good job, your majesty."
"Izumi." Itachi sighed.
She lowly chuckled.