Disobedience
This is a submit to BoruSara Fanfiction Week for Day 4's prompt : disobedience.
Disclaimer : I don't own Naruto or Boruto or anything related to it.
Rating : K+/G
Indian mythology AU
Destiny has a strange habit of disobeying your wishes.
If Sarada could have torn her hair off - or better, thrown the wedding garland on his face rather than around his neck - she would have. At least it would wipe off the smug smirk on his face.
She could have avoided this situation entirely. Really. But no, she had to tempt fate.
She should have really listened to her naga grandparents when they told her to do tapasya to their lord - Lord Vishnu - to whom her ancestor Adishesha - the kings of the nagas - is one of his two vahanas. But she had to remember the entire Skanda episode and the fiasco with his two wives (and the latter's reincarnations) and deny their suggestion. Her uncle Itachi pointed out that she can devote the tapasya to Lord Shiva. The man was easier to please and more lackadaisical with his boons. Then she pointed out why and how Draupadi landed up in a polyandrous marriage which in turn led to the war at Kurukshetra.
Yeah.
Once tapasya was out of the way, how would King Fugaku - the current ruler of Nagaloka - marry off his immensely precious and beloved only grandchild? How would he find a man of merit, virtue and valour? His Sarada had demanded that the final choice of her husband should remain with her. It wasn't an extravagant demand. His granddaughter was highly educated in philosophy and scriptures, trained in warfare, delightful to sight and priceless to behold. Surely there must be someone out there, one who can be at her side unconditionally.
The only solution landed up being, with Sarada's approval, a swayamavara. Dozens of invitations to eligible bachelors were sent out. Princes, kings, warriors, sages and scholars of each and every realm and race were invited.
“Why did grandfather have to invite him?” Sarada muttered sullenly.
“Well, he is the prince of the garudas. It would have looked incredibly rude if your grandfather didn't.” Chocho answered back, her voluptuous figure, so typical of a yakshi, moved gracefully through the heap of fabric and ornaments which were to be a part of Sarada's bridal trousseau.
Sarada closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, willing herself to forget the man in question. She and Boruto grew up together since infancy. Their fathers were the ones who managed to bury the long standing rivalry between their races - the nagas and the garudas. Their mothers, his an apsara and hers a human who was a rishika, were also close. Somewhere, when and how she didn't remember, she and him became fierce rivals.
She rarely wanted to acknowledge back in their gurukula days under Guru Shino that she was mesmerised by his brilliantly blue eyes, found his golden plumage in his bird form and hair in his human form beautiful and his wit and charm disarming. She balmed her throbbing heart with denial. Of course, his grin was so annoying. But by the time their education ended a few months ago and she finally buckled up courage to confess what was in her heart, she heard that Sumire was already doing tapasya to gain the husband she desired. It had been no secret that the beautiful mermaid had been smitten with the young garuda since long. So with a heavy heart, she turned her back on her intentions and requested to be married off as soon as possible.
It wasn't easy. The conditions she had laid down for her swayamavara were not acceptable to many. She had demanded unquestionable fidelity on part of her husband along with their willingness to become her consort as well instead of just the other way around. A mighty proposition for many who expect polygyny to be the norm and had expected the throne of Nagaloka to be passed onto a distant male cousin of hers.
So, many long-winded, polite and bush-beating refusals arrived at her grandfather's court. The pain was dulled somewhat when she realised among the few acceptances of her conditions was one from Queen Kushina, the queen of garudas.
“Chillax. You should be happy that he didn't accept the invitation like Inojin or Shikadai or Metal or Mitsuki.”
Sarada smiled. She had sent an addition of a choice of rakhi to those men whom she held close to her heart. It heartened her to learn that they all had accepted the rakhi along with the invitation and swore to be at her side as her “brothers” through everything.
She can't help but overthink about how Boruto’s letter didn't mention anything about accepting her rakhi and instead sent her a set of the most beautiful anklets she had ever laid her eyes on. Rubies - the same stone as her nagamani - shone brightly alongside sapphires, emeralds and diamonds on solid gold. The design was exquisite and the craftsmanship impeccable and intricate.
She couldn't explain why but she had worn them to her swayamavara. She shouldn't have, ethically speaking. She wasn't going to interfere with Sumire's desire to marry Boruto, especially when Boruto had never given her any indication that he saw her as anything more than the oldest friend he had.
But here she was, decked in gorgeous bridal red and heavy temple gold, waiting for the tournament to end, in her chambers in the royal palace in netherworld. She glanced back at the large full-bodied mirror, standing proudly in a corner. It was crafted by Lord Vishwakarma, allowing passageway to the ones who will be able to complete each and everyone of the tasks set by her grandfather. They were not easy and she really doubted whether anyone could actually be declared a victor.
“Princess!” A servant called out to her, pointing towards the mirror. Her heart skipped a beat. She could see a faint glow from the mirror. There must be a victor. And now, she could set up a final test. If this person could see through her illusionary powers, she might consider marrying him. Whether to actually marry him or not depended on her. If he didn't, well, she could have a hearty laugh about it later on.
The mirror shone blindingly brightly, as though the sun itself had descended in the chamber. She shut her eyes tightly. There's no way she could see anything. A pause followed followed by an outburst of giggles from her handmaidens.
“Oh my! Sarada, you are going to get some sexy times tonight!” Her face burnt up red. She could hear the giggles of her entourage as they left the chambers. She could smell a familiar scent of Himalayan pinewood and fresh earth she could recognise anywhere in the world.
Her heartbeat sped up. No way. There's no way this is real.
She wanted to open her eyes but she couldn't immediately after being caught by such a strong flash of light. Nagas had excellent sight and smell but sensitive eyes. Casting illusion required immense amount of magical power and that also affected her speed of recovery. She could hear the man approach the balcony where she was waiting with the wedding garland in her hands.
He should not be able to see her. Her illusions were immensely powerful and his weakness had always been seeing through it.
“You know, I should have just jumped in through the balcony. The journey through the mirror was terrible. I feel a bit squeamish. I think you should move out of the way in case I end up puking.”
Sarada's eyes flew open. A blurry mop of golden hair slowly refocused itself back into the face of her oldest friend.
“You can see me?!” She sputtered. Until and unless the moron was just taking a lucky guess, she would rather die of humiliation at her illusion being seen through by the idiot.
“Duh.”
“How’s that possible?” Boruto nodded towards her feet, ignoring her incredulity.
The anklets.
Boruto smirked, rapidly closing in the distance between the two of them. “Our Lord was the one who gave me the gold which was used to make those. He said that they were “pure” and had anti-illusionary powers. Came in handy since I knew you would be setting up illusions.”
Sarada stared at him. This guy. This brat. This imbecile. Not only did he have an upper hand even before the swayamavara began, he was now giving her that absolutely annoying grin. How could she forget that his ancestor - Garudadeva - was the other of Lord Vishnu's two vahanas? And that he had always been teasing the two of them together.
“So?” Boruto raised a brow.
“So what?” Sarada glared at him viciously.
“Aren't you going to put that garland on me?”
“Whatever made you think that I am going to marry you?!”
Boruto waggled his eyebrows towards her ankles. Sarada flushed even more.
“I have a right to refuse you.”
“Hey!”
“Hey yourself. What about Sumire?”
“What about her?” Boruto blinked in confusion.
“She is doing tapasya to have you as her husband.”
“Ah that, I don't want her. I never saw her as more than a friend. And...she is not doing that tapasya anymore. It's a, um, well, it's a long story.”
“....”
“Listen, I know that-”
The chamber doors banged open. At least half of their families flooded in. Chattering, giggles and congratulations flooded the air while Boruto and Sarada looked on in bemusement. Sakura hugged Sarada tightly while Hinata nearly choked Boruto out of joy. Their parents, grandparents, his sister, everyone was there.
“Big Brother, why don't you have the garland around your neck?” Himawari was the first to notice that Boruto and Sarada are yet to choose each other as their significant other.
Sarada stiffened visibly. Boruto recovered from his previous bemusement immediately.
"You see, Sarada was just curious about how I actually saw through her illusion. And she was so curious that she forgot that we are having a swayamavara out here. Even about the garland. But that's a good thing too. Now that everyone is here, why not do it in front of everyone. Nice idea, right Sarada?” Smugness oozed out of his grin. Sarada gritted her teeth and viciously pushed the other garland she was carrying into his hands.
“Hey!”
Sarada looked up to find gentleness in those brilliantly blue eyes. Sigh. She's hopeless.
Utterly. Absolutely. Completely. Hopeless.
The weight of a garland pressed around her neck. Boruto had chosen her as bride. Smirk melted off into a smile before blooming into a grin. Blush spread across her cheeks and she practically threw the garland around his neck, accepting him as her groom.
It is the beginning of a really long journey together.
“I think I still need to puke. I am still squeamish.”
“Argh! Don't you dare do it on me.”
Tagging @uzumakiani @koppiehart @smartchocobear who I believe are from Indonesia (I may be wrong) and might get a lot of the references in this fic.