Beauty and the Beast
Ch. 01: She's Nothing like the Rest of Us
Ino stood by the front door of her flower shop, tapping her foot impatiently. She'd stop every few seconds, look to her right, let out a disgruntled sigh, and resume tapping. Where the hell had the pinkette wandered off to?
Suddenly, pale arms wrapped around her middle, pulling her into a tight embrace. She barely had a chance to react before her friend was shoving the book into her face, proudly displaying her latest find from the local bookstore.
"You wouldn't believe it, Ino!" She was smiling so hard, Ino worried it would split her face in two. "Kakashi-sensi gave it to me to keep!"
Ino rolled her eyes. "Only because you're the only one in the village who would be caught dead with that fairytale mumbo-jumbo. Why don't you try reading a book on ninjutsu? Tsunade-sama thinks it would suit you."
Sakura ignored her. "I think you could stand to fantasize a little."
"About what? Some prince that's gonna come and sweep me off my feet?" Ino sassed. "Not likely."
"Wouldn't it be nice, though?" She asked dreamily.
"If you got your head out of the clouds and came back down to planet earth for a minute? Yeah, that would be real nice." Ino took a key out of her pocket and locked up the store.
"No, silly." Sakura said, shaking her head. "To be swept off your feet by a prince."
It was just a fantasy, of course. The closest their people had to royalty was the myth that was the Uchiha clan – the true-born prince, Itachi, had massacred his entire family, sparing only his little brother, Sasuke. After Itachi's death, the throne went to Sasuke. But Sasuke had mysteriously disappeared the night before his coronation, and hadn't been seen since.
Some said that he'd been cursed, and was in hiding, ashamed of his grotesque new body. Others said that avenging his clan had been like a double-edged sword, eventually costing him his own life as well.
"So…" Ino had started to move toward the training grounds, Sakura falling slightly behind. She already had her nose in that good-for-nothing book. "Have you thought anymore about Naruto's proposal?"
Sakura frowned. "What is there to think about? I told him no last time, and I'll tell him no this time."
Ino paused, fixing her best friend with a serious look. "Sakura, you're already eighteen. You don't have a job. You don't have a boyfriend." She sighed, "You can't live off your parents forever."
"Well, not all of us were lucky enough to get engaged to an artist." Sakura snapped back.
Really, who was Ino to talk about her life? She had inherited her place in life, from her supermodel looks to her flower shop. She could have anyone that she wanted, and she was certainly marrying well. Sai was a renowned ninja, as well as an incredibly talented artist. His social skills needed some work, but really, that was almost an afterthought when he looked at you with those coal black eyes…
And then there was Sakura. The boys didn't flock to her like they did to Ino. She was running out of reasons to turn down Naruto, and worried that if she didn't accept his proposal, her father would. She'd lost her last job for the exact same reason that Ino was berating her now – her head was up in the clouds, and she just couldn't seem to come back down to earth. She didn't want to.
Ino sighed. "I'm just trying to look out for you. You're my friend."
"I just… I don't think that I'm cut out for marriage, is all. Not like you are, at least." Sakura said softly. "And I could never marry Naruto. We're not compatible at all."
Sakura had known Naruto almost her entire life. She'd known about his 'little' crush on her for almost ten years now – and he wasn't any closer to winning her heart now as he had been then. They were better as friends. If they ever got married, she'd probably kill him.
Ino put her hands on her hips, "He's not your conventional prince charming, but -,"
But Sakura cut her off, "He's not a prince charming at all! It's nothing like it is in the books!" She huffed.
In the books, the valiant prince was always there to save the day – he woke the sleeping princess with true love's kiss, he brought the dead princess back to life with true love's kiss… there was a theme there. The only time she'd kissed Naruto had promptly ended when the boy had passed out. She wasn't really looking for an encore.
But it wasn't always the prince doing the saving. Sometimes, the princess could break the spell too. It was true love's kiss that had turned the frog back into a prince, and the beautiful young woman's love that had transformed the beast into a handsome prince. Sakura's kiss had merely turned Naruto into a bumbling buffoon.
"I don't want to talk about Naruto anymore." Sakura said suddenly. "How are the wedding preparations going?"
Ino took a seat on the edge of a nearby fountain, Sakura sitting down beside her. "Oh, they're going." She looked up at the sky, sucking in a deep breath, "The wedding is two weeks away, and I still don't have a dress."
Sakura opened her book, pointing at a picture of a blonde-haired girl in a fancy blue dress. "How about something like this? Blue has always looked really pretty on you."
Ino just laughed. "Your little book has pictures in it, too?"
"Not pictures," she snapped the book closed, holding it to her almost-flat chest defensively. "Illustrations."
"There's a difference?" She teased.
Sakura opened her mouth to answer that yes, there was an incredibly big difference, when she noticed a blonde orange-and-black blob fast approaching from the distance. Oh no. She turned to Ino, who smiled mischievously. She'd known exactly what she was doing in leading Sakura here. A sweaty Naruto was approaching from the training grounds, smiling broadly and waving at the girls as he approached.
"I'll just leave the two of you alone, then." Ino stood, brushing invisible dirt from her purple skirt. "I'll see you later, Sakura." Making a quick hand signal, she teleported away just as Naruto arrived.
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"Hi, Sakura-chan!" He smiled brightly at her. He plopped down ungracefully beside her, taking the place that Ino just vacated. "Whatcha reading?"
She opened to a random page and pretended to be immersed in the story. "A book."
Naruto frowned. "I can see that." He tapped the front cover, where the title would be. But the book was so old that the title had faded with the years. "What's it about?"
She sighed, "It's a book of fairytales."
"You really believe all that "magic" and "happily ever after" crap?" He laughed.
Naruto didn't believe in destiny or fate. He believed in writing the ending to his own story, not just blindly following along some path already set for him, just to reach some predetermined end. And wasn't that exactly what fairytales promoted? Only one girl had the power to break the prince's spell – there was no way to change who that girl was. You either were or you weren't. Sakura held her book a little tighter.
"Have you given anymore thought to my proposal?" Naruto changed the subject. Sakura wasn't surprised; she had known that the book wouldn't interest him for long.
"I've thought about it, yes." Sakura said nonchalantly. "And my answer is still 'no'."
"Sakura-chan!" He whined pathetically.
She bit the inside of her lip, her patience wearing thin. This was exactly what she'd been referring to when she'd admitted she'd probably kill him if they ever were to marry. He had a heart of gold and she loved him like a friend, but he was still so immature. Deep down, she wondered if he'd ever grow up.
And then she realized that he wouldn't be the same loveable dobe if he did, and she really wouldn't have him any other way. But that still didn't make her want to marry him.
"Why do you want to marry me, Naruto?" Now it was Sakura's turn to turn the tables. Naruto looked like he'd been caught off guard by the question, but he didn't let it throw him for long.
Rising to his feet, he said emphatically, "You're beautiful, Sakura-chan!"
Sakura frowned. "Is that the only reason you want to marry me?"
Once again, Naruto looked to be caught off guard. "Is that a bad thing?"
Sakura was conflicted. Nobody had ever called her beautiful before – that was a title normally reserved for Ino. But that shouldn't be the only reason why Naruto wanted to marry her. Their culture didn't regard physical beauty highly, instead focusing on strength and battle prowess. She'd worked hard and come a long way, and even if she was at a sort of stalemate in her life right now, that should certainly could for something.
"Do you love me, Naruto?" She asked.
"Of course I do!" He answered a little too quickly.
Again, not an actual answer. At least, not the one she'd been looking for. In the book, when it came to love confessions, they practically bled romance. The prince would read romantic poetry, or they'd take a boat out on the lake under a starlit sky…
Okay, so the love confession hadn't actually happened in that scene – but it got the point across.
At the very least, was it too much to expect him to actually say the words? Proclaiming "of course I do" proved absolutely nothing, as far as Sakura was concerned – except, perhaps, that Naruto felt absolutely nothing for her at all. Sakura closed her book, her mind made up.
"Much as I am flattered by your proposal, the answer is still 'no'." Naruto opened his mouth to argue, but she cut him off, "And until you understand why, the answer will remain 'no'."
"Sakura…" Naruto trailed off, not quite sure what to say to that.
But Sakura had already risen to her feet and had started to walk away, "Now, if you will excuse me, I'm late. I should start heading home or dad will worry."
"Tomorrow, then." Naruto attempted to recover.
Sakura shrugged. "Probably not."
Oh, but that wasn't true, and they both knew it. Somehow, Naruto would track her down tomorrow, and he'd bring up the proposal yet again. They'd go through the same process until she eventually caved and said 'yes' – and that wasn't about to happen anytime soon. She just hoped that Naruto realized he was settling in for the long haul.
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Upon arriving home, Sakura set her book down on the coffee table and toed off her sandals. "Dad? I'm home!"
Her father was nowhere to be found, however. She wasn't too worried. Her father kept all sorts of hours, and was known to be found in the strangest of places at the strangest of times.
Sometimes, she thought that her father was the only one who understood her. And really, his 'understanding' was simply looking at the entire world with sarcasm. He didn't take himself, or anyone else, too seriously. Sakura wished that she could look at the world the same way.
That's when she noticed the note that had been taped in the archway to the foyer. She smiled, relieved. At least her father had left her something to let her know where he was…
But upon closer inspection, the note wasn't written by her father. Her heart froze in her chest when she realized that she didn't recognize the handwriting at all.
Haruno Sakura –
If you ever want to see your father again, you have twelve hours to arrive at the coordinates given below. Tell no-one about this, or your father will be killed.
If you understand, I'd start moving. If you make good time, you might make it here in eleven and a half hours… provided the wolves don't finish you first.
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A/N: Well, the fairytale has begun! Please review and let me know what you think!