This story was originally written by HiHi-Ai. I just adopted it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the first 8 chapters of this story
"One day I'm gonna live in that castle." Deidara said, smiling big.
"One day you're going to fall off that cloud and come back to earth." Sasori said, patting his friend's shoulder casually. "Until then, I pray for your well being."
They were standing just outside the gates of the Cherry Blossom Castle, a large estate with one of the most exquisite castles in all the world. It's tall and beautiful, surrounded by the most lovely Cherry Blossom trees in all the country. The castle was pure white with graceful curves and gentle twists all around in stone, elegant statues and wild plants covered the grounds with vines that crawled up the walls. Oh yes, Deidara loved Cherry Blossom Castle. He dreamed of living there all his life.
"Just think, I could be a King or something." Deidara said, ignoring Sasori's words.
"To be a King you have to marry a Princess, and you have no chance at that." Sasori said, looking at the blond calmly. "You're just an artist. Princesses can never marry artists."
"I'm sure at least one has." Deidara said, crossing his arms. He didn't look away from the castle just beyond the tall, restricting gates. His smile didn't falter. "Besides, no one's ever met Cherry Blossom Princess. She might be a wild, jumpy teenager who loves rock music for all we know."
"I doubt it." Sasori said, rolling his eyes.
Just then a girl came rushing down the street and ran straight into Sasori who in turn knocked into Deidara, all three of them cluttered down onto the floor. Sasori took the girls shoulders and shoved her off him, shooting her a hard glare. "Watch where you're going!"
"S-Sorry." The girl said nervously, she stood and held her hand out to the two boys on the floor to help them up.
"It's ok." Deidara said, taking her hand. He looked up at her and blinked in surprise.
"What?" She asked, noticing his stare as she helped Sasori stand as well.
"You have pink hair." He said. Deidara stood up next to her and the girl stepped back awkwardly. He was astounded by her looks, the pink hair and green eyes reminded him of a beautiful flower and her porcelain skin was as creamy as milk. She was enchantingly gorgeous. "What's your name?"
The girl put on a gentle smile. "My name is-"
"There you are! We've been looking for you everywhere!" Someone far off called. The three of them looked over to see two guards and a man running at them. The girl jumped and started to run off again, rushing down the street and around the corner. Deidara and Sasori watched her run off and soon saw the guards and man go after her.
"Run after her?" Sasori asked calmly.
"…Nah, next time." Deidara said, they both nodded and turned back to the castle. "Camera?"
"Yep." Sasori pulled a camera out of his pocket, holding it up to get the castle in view.
"I wonder if Cherry Blossom Princess is pretty like her." Deidara said to himself.
"You're in big trouble little lady." Kakashi said, pulling Sakura by the arm into her room.
"Let me go!" She demanded, trying to yank away from the taller man.
When he pulled her into the bedroom the two guards following them shut the door behind them. Kakashi pushed Sakura onto the chair in front of her mirror before grabbing a towel and rubbing her face with it. He frowned at her. "Look at this mess, who taught you to put make up on like this?"
"No one, get off!" Sakura pushed his hand away and took the towel. She cleaned her face. "I can do it myself."
"Good. Now, what were you thinking?" Kakashi sat at a small table by the window, glaring at Sakura. "Do you know what could've happened if someone had found you out?"
"If you guys wouldn't have gone after me everything would've been fine!" Sakura yelled, throwing the towel down harshly. She crossed her arms and glared back at Kakashi. "Don't you understand? No one knows anything about me! No one outside these walls has ever seen me! If I went out right now no one could tell the difference between me and some normal girl on the streets, I could go around doing whatever I want and it would never affect the way people see our family. And yet no one will let me do that, it makes no sense!"
"Sakura, you're a princess. You have to act like one." Kakashi said wisely. "For the good of the family."
"I could run away, live a full life, come back when it's time for me to take the crown and no one would know about it. No one." Sakura said in depression. "Instead I'm living life in a cage. If I left right now everyone would still believe I'm in this cage anyway, so why can't I just go out and live a little?"
Kakashi was silent for a moment. He got up and walked around her room, looking at the pictures of Sakura's royal family and the elegance of her life. Then he looked out the large window, staring at the bouncy city just outside the gates and the sky that surrounded it in shining blue. The sun was big in the sky. "How old are you now Princess?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the outside world.
"Eighteen." Sakura said, staring in boredom at her reflection in the mirror. She was dressed in commoner's clothes but behind her was a beautiful gown hanging from her dresser. She sighed. "Eighteen years old."
"Well, then maybe you should live your life." Kakashi said, thinking out loud.
"Wh-What did you say?" Sakura asked, looking up at him in curious wonder.
"You must go to college, a princess must be educated." Kakashi said, going to sit back at the table by the window.
Sakura got up and went to sit across from him, she could hardly believe what he was saying. "I thought I was going to be schooled at the castle, like always."
"Well, I can speak to the King and Queen and request that you be sent to a college in the city." Kakashi said, thinking on his feet. "You'd get four years to live how you want before coming back to take the thrown, how does that sound?"
"Too good to be true!" Sakura gasped, her eyes shinning. "Do you mean it?"
"Like you said, you could be gone for years and no one would tell the difference form you being in the castle." Kakashi nodded to himself. "I could arrange for you to live peacefully on your own at any college in the city. You'd have to live like a commoner, mind you, and you'd need a background story to tell anyone you meet but everything else should be very, very easy."
"Kakashi, please tell me you're serious. Don't play with me, my hopes are too high." Sakura said, reaching out and taking his hands. She looked into his eyes. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"Yes I am." Kakashi nodded, giving her hands a squeeze. Then he stood and started to the door. "I'll go speak with the King and Queen now, then I'll send the maids to prepare some well off commoner clothes for you. We must prepare right away, college term starts next week if I remember right."
"Kakashi!" Sakura called to him. He stopped at the door and looked back at her. She smiled in bliss. "Thank you so, so much. You don't know what this means to me."
"Anything for my favorite Princess." His eyes smiled at her. "Now, you better decide on which college you want to attend. I'll have you out of here sooner than you can count to ten." Then he left.
Sakura turned back to the window, so happy she could pass out. "This is going to be perfect."
"If no one outside the royal family has ever met the Cherry Blossom Princess then how does everyone in the world know she exists?" Sasori asked.
"They have pictures of her when she was born but ever since then she hasn't been out of the castle. Only her immediate family knows her." Deidara explained, all knowing. "Since then pretty much everyone in the newspaper and celebrity world has tried getting her story."
"How do you know so much about her?" Sasori asked, frowning. "It's like you're obsessed."
They were in their dorm room, sitting at the kitchen table, each taking up half the table with their art projects. Sasori was working with three stacks of wood, shaping and sanding them to perfect little shapes. Deidara was molding a thick slab of clay, shaping it into a bird-like shape. Both were college students majoring in art, living together through the years of college-hood.
"I'm not obsessed." Deidara frowned, his cheeks turning red. "Pretty much everyone knows what I know."
"Lies." Sasori shook his head. "You're just obsessed."
"I'm not obsessed with the Princess." Deidara said, glaring. "Just- Just work on your art!"
"Classes start tomorrow, will you have time to work on your clay during school?" Sasori asked, looking at Deidara's bird. "My wood can be worked on any time but clay dries up. You have to finish it soon."
"I know, I know. Get off my back." Deidara looked at the bird, pressing into it carefully. "This'll turn out awesomer than your weird wood work!"
"No way. Anyone can make those crap clay birds, it takes talent to make what I do." Sasori said dismissively, waving a smooth wooden stick around.
Deridara grabbed the stick and threw it across the room where it landed onto the couch. Sasori glared at Deidara who smirked. "Go fetch the stick, boy."
"Prepare yourself, I'm about to shove this into your neck." Sasori said seriously, holding up a carving knife.
"…I should run now right?" Deidara blinked.
"Are you suicidal?" Sasori asked. Deidara shook his head. "Then yes, run now."
"It's a pleasure to have you join our school." Itachi said, looking at Sakura over the counter. "Here at Ai Academy all students are welcome to enjoy different fields of learning to achieve a brighter future. Now, I shall call a student down to come show you around."
"Thank you very much." Sakura said, hardly able to contain herself. When Itachi went to make a call, she looked around the lobby; it was big and wide and filled with lots of people mostly around her age. They were lounging around the room, sitting at tables with books and friends, chatting happily. Sakura felt all tingly watching them, like a jumping bean on steroids was hopping all up in her stomach. Oh yes, this was the place for her.
"Your highness, don't get too distracted. You're also here to learn." On of her guards said. He was dressed casually but Sakura still saw him as one of her guards.
"I know." Sakura smiled at him. "Try not to be so formal, when I'm here you have to watch me from afar, pretending to be just like everyone else."
"Yes, my lady." He nodded, turning back to her bags that were stacked behind him.
"Alright, I'll take you to meet with your guide and have someone come take your bags to your room." Itachi said, walking around the counter.
"Oh, you can take my stuff up to my room right?" Sakura asked the guard, giving him a look.
"Right, my lady." He nodded.
She smiled at him then turned to follow Itachi to the nearby elevators. Once in, Itachi gave her a look. "My lady?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yeah, um, just an inside joke." Sakura covered up. Itachi nodded in understanding, the elevator stopped on the third floor and they got out. He lead her to one of the dorm rooms, knocking on the door. After a moment the door opened and a red headed boy was standing there with clay smeared all over his face, arms and shirt. Sakura stared. "Hello?"
"Hey." He said, then he frowned. "I know you."
"You do?" Itachi blinked.
"You do?" Sakura repeated, equally surprised.
"Yeah, you're the girl who knocked me over two days ago." Sasori said, glaring at Sakura. "That wasn't nice."
"Oh um sorry. I didn't recognize you." Sakura apologized.
"What's with the clay?" Itachi asked, looking Sasori over.
Sasori moved to rub off the clay on his face off, making little speckles of dry mud peel off his skin and sprinkle to the floor. He frowned in annoyance. "Deidara and I got into an argument. He's pricking the splinters out of his neck and putting countless Band-Aids on as we speak."
"Sounds like you served him a good one." Itachi nodded in approval, Sakura had no idea what they were saying. Itachi put a hand on Sakura shoulder. "Anyway, here's the young lady I need you to show around campus."
"Right." Sasori nodded, stepping into the hall and shutting the door. "What's your name again?"
"Sakura." She didn't dare give a last name, then he would know which family she belonged to. Thankfully he didn't ask.
"Sasori." He introduced. The three of them started to the elevator. "So, let's start with the dorm rooms. There are four dorm buildings; two are co-ed, one boys and one girls. There're all on the south side of campus with one parking lot behind them, you'll have to be lucky to find a parking spot though. Each dorm has three house parents but they leave you alone most of the time. Just don't get caught with drugs, they won't throw you out for drinking but they will kick you out for drugs."
"I don't do drugs." Sakura said awkwardly, no one had ever spoken to her like this. "And I don't drink."
"That makes one of us." Itachi said casually, staring ahead.
Sakura stared with big eyes.
"Nah, I'm on break from that stuff at least until summer." Sasori said, waving it off.
Sakura's eyes got bigger. She'd never known anyone who did drugs or drank alcohol her whole life. Was this how college students actually were?
The elevator opened and they got out, Itachi went back to the lobby but Sakura followed Sasori out onto campus. It was a big campus, very nice. The buildings were big and really it looked like any other college, it was the people that were interesting. They were all so different and crazy looking to her. Sakura had only ever been around proper people of royalty. This campus was filled with thousands of people her age and what they wore was beyond what Sakura was used to; they wore ripped jeans and big jackets with skate brands, shirts with different symbols and designs, they had piercing and tattoos, huge book bags with messy books, it was so…free.
"Careful there." Sasori said, pulling Sakura out of the way from two skateboarders that zoomed past them. Sakura turned and watched them swish through the campus in wonderment.
"Is it always like this?" She asked when they passed a few students who were playing instruments on the stairway up to the school library. She listened to their song carefully.
"Well, it's usually calmer but school starts tomorrow so everyone is getting all jumpy now. Ya know, get the fun out now before classes kick in." Sasori shrugged.
"I love it." Sakura whispered dreamily, looking around at everyone they passed.
"Great, another weird one." Sasori said to himself, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, this is the courtyard. Everyone usually comes to chill out here, it's pretty good."
Sakura fell for the courtyard the second she saw it.
The courtyard was a big open space in the middle of the whole campus, like a big circle with small patches of green and little bits scattered around. It reminded Sakura of a park, but it was filled with casualties that she'd never seen. There were some people sitting in the trees, couples kissing on the grass, random art students painting and drawing under the shaded areas. There were some photography students taking photos of random things, Sakura even saw someone walking with no shoes on! No shoes! What a free place!
"It's amazing!" She brightened.
"It's ok." Sasori shrugged. "I don't usually come down here but me and some friends usually eat lunch here."
"Your friends?" Sakura inquired, she'd never made friends before.
"Yeah. They're weirdoes but we get along." Sasori said casually.
Just then Deidara came running at them, a frown firm on his face. He was holding a slender stick of wood. Sakura recognized him right away, unlike with Sasori she actually remembered running into Deidara two days ago. She remembered he was very handsome but when she first saw him she'd been very stunned by his long hair and big blue eyes, she'd never seen anyone like him. But now, he had little cuts on his cheeks and neck, band-aids covered his hands and fingers.
"There you are jerk face!" Deidara snapped as he marched up to them.
"Like I said, weirdoes." Sasori whispered to Sakura.
"This was stuck in my arm!" Deidara snapped, holding up the smooth piece of wood. Sakura was shocked, it was at least two inches long and a few centimeters wide. "You could've killed me!"
"Oh please, like you weren't trying to suffocate me with that clay of yours." Sasori scoffed. "Get over it you baby."
"You know what, I'm gonna shove this stick up your-" Deidara stopped and looked at Sakura for the first time, he recognized her immediately.
She was as beautiful as he remembered.
Blushing a bit, he threw the stick behind him and straightened up. Deidara looked at Sakura calmly. "You're that girl who ran into us right?" Sakura hesitantly nodded. "I'm Deidara, what's your name?"
"Sakura." She said, smiling up at him.
(End)