A/N: This story might be confusing and deep. Just a warning.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If you think I'm Kishimoto, then you're wrong. I am a girl, and I am Italian.
Dear Cinderella, I Love You
TheGirlOfMyHeart
—xx-xx-xx—
In the midst of a midnight dream, a ball was held inside a great, big mansion. The guests were all wearing lavish gowns, fancy suits, and were eating elegant, catered foods. The night sky was full of twinkling stars and the moon was shining brightly across the foyer. Lively chatter could be heard from outside the mansion, flowing towards the ears of one lost lamb.
"It sounds so lively tonight," a girl with long, shiny pink hair said, holding a rose in her flawlessly beautiful hand. Her exquisite green eyes peered at the windows of the mansion which were near her and she saw hundreds of guests seemingly having fun gossiping and dancing all through the night. Seeing this, she sighed and turned back to the garden.
"I hate balls," she muttered, gently stroking the petals of the roses with her free hand. "They make me sick."
She heard footsteps coming towards her, but she ignored it and continued to admire the beauty of the flowers.
"Why is it that such a beautiful girl is outside the mansion?" a cheerful voice said. "You're missing out on all the fun."
"I wasn't invited," she replied simply.
"Well, you could come with me!"
She turned her head to face him. She saw a boy with spiky blond hair, sparkling blue eyes, and a warm smile plastered on his handsome face. "I'm sorry, I don't like balls," she said politely.
"That's okay!" He took her arm and guided her towards the front door. "I promise I'll make it fun for you!"
She didn't bother to pull free from his grasp for she thought that resisting him would be plain troublesome. She watched as he rang the doorbell with a cheerful expression on his face.
"How can you always smile like that?" she asked. "There is nothing to be happy about."
"You're wrong." He gazed deep into her uncaring green eyes. "In life, there are millions of things to be happy about."
—xx-xx-xx—
As she walked inside the mansion, the people stopped their lively chatter to stare at her. She felt no uncomfortable feeling and continued to study the antique artifacts placed on the shiny wooden end tables.
"You sure do stand out," the cheerful boy exclaimed. "By the way, why are you wearing a white gown? Isn't that worn for balls like this?"
"I just feel comfortable wearing them," she said.
"You're an unusual girl." He guided her towards a table full of boys and introduced her to them. "Hey, guys! This is… Uh…"
"…Sakura," she said quietly.
"Huh?" the blond guy said, a little confused. "Cherry blossoms?*"
*sakura in Japanese means cherry blossoms
"Sakura…" she said again, a little louder this time. "My name is Sakura."
The boy seemingly blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't get it when you first said it… Well, this is Sakura!"
A handsome guy with raven hair and onyx eyes sighed. "So you finally found a girlfriend, dobe?"
The blond boy blushed different shades of red. "N-No… It's not what you think! I just met her outside!" He then turned to Sakura. "My name is Naruto! It's very nice to meet you, Sakura."
"Me too," she said absently, twirling a strand of her long pink hair.
Naruto turned to his friends. "That guy is Sasuke." He gestured to the handsome boy who called him dobe earlier. "That one's Sai." The boy with the fake smile. "That's Kiba." The one with the dog-like face. "That guy's Shikamaru." The boy who always seemed to look tired. "And that one is Gaara." The red-haired boy.
"Nice to meet you all," she said in her usual quiet and polite voice.
Sai smiled. "A pleasure to meet you in person, Princess."
"Princess?" Naruto said, confused.
The expression on her face was unreadable. "I see you've figured out who I am."
Sai turned to Naruto. "This girl is the only daughter of King John and Queen Elizabeth."
"You mean…" Kiba said. "She's Princess Sakura? No wonder her name sounded familiar. Why Sakura anyway?" He fixed his stare on her. "Your parents aren't Japanese, right?"
"No…" she said slowly. "They just love the cherry blossoms in Japan."
"So that explains it…" Kiba said, looking thoughtful. "By the way, you engaged?"
She looked at him with a stony expression on her face. "No." It's a good thing they don't treat me like a royal princess…
"Why not?"
"…Because I don't like boys."
"Seriously?"
"Yes."
A beautiful, tall woman with blonde hair and teal eyes went up the stage and held the microphone in her hands.
"You're in my arms
And all the world is calm
Shikamaru glanced at the woman for a quick moment, then his gaze went back into deep space.
"Hey, it's Temari!" Naruto exclaimed. "Shikamaru! Temari's singing!"
The music playing on for only two
So close together
"I know that, Naruto," Shikamaru said, sighing. "And why are you only telling me? It's not like I care."
"No," Sakura said quietly.
Shikamaru looked at her.
She looked back at him. "You do care. You just won't show it."
And when I'm with you
So close to feeling alive
Shikamaru was silent.
"…It's nice," Sakura said, listening to Temari's voice. "It's a female version of the original." She looked at the grandfather clock, which looked like it had been placed there 10 centuries ago. "It's 10:20 PM…" she muttered.
"You have a curfew, Princess?" Sai asked.
"I have to go when the clock strikes midnight," she replied.
"Just like Cinderella…" she heard Kiba mutter.
A life goes by
Romantic dreams must die
"Hey, Sakura, wanna dance?" Naruto asked.
"…Sure."
She took his outstretched hand and let him guide her towards the center. Then they started to dance.
So I bid mine goodbye and never knew
So close was waiting,
Waiting here with you
Her hands were around his neck while his hands were on her waist. She pulled closer to him slightly, feeling his warmth.
"How old are you, Naruto?" she asked.
"Eighteen. What about you?"
"Nineteen."
"Oh, you're one year older than me?" he exclaimed cheerfully. "Do I still have a chance?"
She gave a small smile. "Maybe."
And now forever I know
"Do you have someone you like, Naruto?"
"Yeah."
"Who is it?"
"You."
All that I want is to hold you
So close
She stared up at him and their foreheads bumped into each other. She could feel the intense atmosphere they were creating between the two of them.
"You like me?" she said quietly.
"Yeah, I do," he said, smiling.
So close to reaching that famous happy ending
Almost believing this one's not pretend
"I'm…" Sakura said.
At that moment, a timid voice interrupted her. Not intentionally, she knew. "Excuse me…"
Sakura's head turned towards the source. It was a beautiful girl with long blue-black hair and pale lavender eyes. She was fidgeting and her face was bright red.
"Yes?" Sakura said softly, trying to let the girl's nervousness subside.
"Well… Um… N-Naruto…" she stammered.
"Oh, you must be Hinata!" Naruto said, grinning. "What is it?"
Hinata whole body was trembling. "I… I… Could… Could you…"
And now you're beside me
And look how far we've come
Sakura seemed to figure out what she was going to say and grabbed Naruto's hand.
"Sakura?" he said, bewildered. Sakura then took Hinata's hand and led the two of them to the right side of the room where it's a little isolated from the other dancing couples.
"There," she said, letting go of their hands. "Enjoy your dance." She winked at Hinata, who blushed furiously.
So far, we are, so close
When she got away from them, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder and she turned around to see who did.
"Sai…?" she said.
Sai smiled at her. "Can I have this dance?"
How could I face the faceless days
If I should lose you now?
As they danced, it seemed to Sakura that Sai was beginning to become a puzzle to her. A puzzle that she could solve for a few minutes if she would put her mind into it.
"Say, Sai," she said, gazing deep into his eyes. "Why is your smile always fake?"
"It's not important for you to know," he said, still smiling.
"Hmm…"
He chuckled. "Don't think about it too much."
We're so close
To reaching that famous happy ending
"It's because I'm interested about you," she said.
"You'll be disappointed."
"Try me."
Sakura felt someone grab her arm and turned to see Shikamaru looking like he didn't want to do something he was about to do. Sai let go of her and watched Temari on stage, who was still singing and staring at them.
Almost believing this one's not pretend
Let's go on dreaming for we know we are
"She looks like she wants to talk to you, Shikamaru," Sai said. Then he gave a mysterious grin. "Well, you could talk to her… after you dance with the Princess."
When he left, Shikamaru felt really awkward. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to grab your arm like that…"
"That's all right."
So close
So close
And still so far"
"Her song is almost ending," Sakura said quietly.
"Yeah…"
"Maybe she wants to talk to you."
"…I doubt it."
"Why is that?"
"Because…"
"Shikamaru!" a feminine, mature voice called out.
Shikamaru froze in place. Temari went up to him and rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, congrats," she said, grinning. "You finally got the courage to ask the girl you like to dance, huh? So this is her?" She looked at Sakura, her eyes sparkling.
It's obvious that she really loves him… Sakura thought. But not romantically. She's just happy for him…
But what does she mean by asking the girl he likes to dance?
"Hi, I'm Temari," she said, stretching out her hand towards Sakura. "And you are…?"
"I'm Sakura."
"What a pretty name."
"Excuse me," Shikamaru said, shrugging off her touch. "I need to go."
"Shikamaru!" Temari whispered. "Don't you think it's rude to leave the girl you like—"
"She's not the girl I like!" he snapped. Then he turned his back on her and walked away.
"…" Temari turned to Sakura, forcing a smile on her face. "Sorry about that. He gets a little annoyed sometimes."
"He's right."
"Huh?" Temari looked confused.
"I'm not the one he likes," Sakura said. "We just met a few minutes ago."
"Oh… I see. I guess I made him mad, huh…"
"Maybe you should go to him."
"Eh…?"
"I've got a feeling that he wants to talk to you."
Temari thought about it for a moment. "All right. I'll see what I can do about that temper of his." She flashed Sakura a big smile. "Thanks."
"No problem."
"I was a quick-wit boy
Diving too deep for coins
Sakura turned her head towards the stage reflexively. Sai was the one singing.
Her mouth formed a small 'o'. I didn't think his voice would be this good…
"Hey."
All of your street light eyes
Wide on my plastic toys
Kiba smiled at her in an open, friendly way. "Hey, Princess. Do you want a jacket or something? You look a little cold."
He was right. She was cold, but she didn't want him to take off his jacket or else he would shiver through the night. She shook her head at him. "No, thanks. I'm not that cold, anyway."
Then when the cops closed the fair
"Care to dance with me?"
She glanced at the clock. 10:27pm. More time to spend. She turned to him and nodded. "Sure."
I cut my long baby hair
"Tch. That guy didn't tell us that he'd also be singing tonight," Kiba muttered, looking at Sai.
"Well, he must've wanted to surprise you," Sakura said reasonably.
Stole me a dog-eared map
And called for you everywhere
"He doesn't seem to be that type of guy… I mean, he doesn't even show his emotions."
"Appearances can fool anyone," she said. "But it's the heart that can sway everyone."
He smiled at me. "You're really something, you know that?"
She gave a small smile. "Maybe."
Have I found you, flightless bird?
"Do you think I'm weird?" he asked suddenly.
She stared at him. "No," she replied softly. "What makes you think that?"
He looked a little sheepish. "Well…" His eyes darted around nervously.
Jealous, weeping
Sakura found herself longing for fresh air. "Kiba," she said.
The latter replied almost immediately. "Yes?"
"I think I need to go out for a while."
His face wrinkled in concern. "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine."
Or lost you, American mouth?
"Well, okay."
She gave him a grateful smile, then walked off towards the exit.
—xx-xx-xx—
Sakura walked around the garden, feeling refreshed. Being inside the mansion for too long was suffocating. She wasn't entirely used to the crowd. She always wanted to be alone. Her parents respected that, and they let her make her own decisions.
The wind blew her pink tresses. Invigorated, she pulled out a silver pen out of her hair which made up her bun and let her hair flow smoothly across her back. She stared up at the night sky, admiring the way the stars twinkled and the way the moon shone above.
Then she felt a presence behind her and turned to see who it was.
"Sasuke, right?" she said, eyeing the dark-haired boy up and down.
His face didn't show any sign of recognition. "Who are you?"
She was surprised for a moment, then a slow smile crept up on her face. "Can you see me?"
"No," he said curtly.
"My name is Sakura."
"…So you're the dobe's friend."
"Don't call him that."
"Hn."
An awkward silence passed, and Sakura could feel the tension springing up between them. So she decided to leave.
Her exit failed.
She tripped ungracefully on a rock and fell flat on her face. Luckily, she landed on a pile of grass, so the fall didn't really hurt that much. Only, her dress was ruined and her glass slipper had flown across the walls of the mansion.
She heard Sasuke sigh and go over where her shoe had gone. Feeling a little touched by this, she smiled softly at his back, admiring the way he walked and how he carried an aura of magnetism. He was handsome, yes, but he was also kind of arrogant. He looked like a ladies' man yet deep inside he was an introvert.
Sakura prided herself for her perceptiveness and her quick understanding of people even if she had just met them. Maybe it was because of the countless times she had observed people in the palace, and maybe it was also because of her attentiveness during conversations. So the boy now standing in front of her was now the subject of her attention. She wanted to know about him. She wanted to study him. He was like an enigma to her. He had this mysterious vibe that made her curious about who he really was.
He grabbed her arm and led her towards a stone and sat her there. She watched as he knelt down and slipped her shoe into her foot. It was like Cinderella, but her situation was different. The Prince had caught her and was the one who slipped it into her. And it wasn't even midnight yet.
The moon's light shone on them as she continued to watch him more, taking note of his unreadable expression as he stood up slowly, put his hands inside his pockets, and walked off towards the mansion. She kept on watching him until he disappeared from her sight.
She smiled. How interesting.
Dear Cinderella — End
A/N: (VERY IMPORTANT)
Do you guys want me to publish another chapter? Because if you want, it can stay just end right here. Tell me in your review, okay? If at least five people want this to continue, then I will.