Chapter 3: Sakura

An encampment had been made during a rest to King's Landing. And young Sakura Haruno was not going to spend her day with the self centered queen and her entourage of sycophants. She wanted to meet with Arya and see if she really was determined to get lessons from her. Already eager, she likes that. Arya Stark is in no way going to be like the girl Sakura used to be. Easily swoon over the most handsome boy and be constant hindrance during her travels.

That was until she was needed the most. A group of criminals had cornered her in a fight, and one of them, a girl ironically, had pulled on her long pink hair and lectured her on priorities. At that moment, Sakura cut off her own hair, and proceeded to beat the living shit out of the three. After that, she was no longer a victim. She was now the student of the great Tsunade, a warrior, a healer, and a leader.

Although, she'll admit she enjoys being a lady from time to time. She's got butterflies in her belly at the thought of marrying Sasuke Uchiha. The man may be foolish and stubborn, but even his pride has to be swayed somehow.

As she wandered around the camp, she found Sansa Stark with her betrothed, Joffrey Baratheon. Sansa's a decent girl, if only she'd get out of the naivety that once entrapped her. Joffrey seems to be her Sasuke, only she can't see why. He becomes a charmer around her, but when she spoke to his brother and sister, they were petrified. That said one thing: He wasn't well loved. Sasuke was well loved, and even if he wasn't, others respected him.

And none respected him more than Naruto, even when moving continents just to beat him in a fight. She can't blame Sansa for not seeing his flaws, for she was once the same girl, oblivious to the flaws in her betrothed. Sakura can name one: He is an ugly smiler. But she digresses, she doesn't want to be a hypocrite, even in thought. Although she was one in the past. But not anymore.

Regardless, Sakura decides to go by the river, and watch the sun set. Watching the sun set with the waters is a beautiful sight to her. Along the way, she hears sounds of a clash, with an occasional "Hya!" She goes to investigate, and finds Arya swinging wooden swords with a boy. Once they're both out of breath from swinging, Sakura speaks up, "It's never a good idea to put all of your might into a single fight. You'd run out of breath like you did just now, and you're opponent might not have. You're lucky this isn't a fight."

Arya questions, "What would you suggest, Lady Samurai? You just have to stick them with the pointy end."

Sakura explains, "Don't try to do fanciful strikes and wide swings. That will just tire you out. Be swift and precise. Make every move count. Let's see you two try again."

And so Sakura becomes the trainer of Arya and the boy, Micah, throughout the day. And as the sun sets… "Arya!" Arya and Sakura turn to see Lady Sansa and Prince Joffrey having taken a walk along the river. Micah unfortunately didn't register what happened and his wooden sword hit Arya on the wrist. Sakura blurts out, "Micah!" The boy looks down, "Sorry, m'lady. I didn't think."

Arya looks to her sister, "What are you doing here? Go away." Prince Joffrey questions, "Your sister? The lady samurai? And who are you, boy?" The boy bows, "Mycah, my lord." Sakura bites her lip. She could tell he was derisive with the thought of a woman warrior, he won't be pleased being called Lord instead of Prince. Lady Sansa explains, "He's the butcher's boy." Arya adds, "He's my friend."

Joffrey smiles, "A butcher's boy who wants to be a Knight, eh? Pick up your sword, butcher's boy. Let's see how good you are." Mycah stammers, "She asked me to, my Lord. She asked me to." Joffrey snaps, "I'm your prince, not your lord, and I said pick up your sword." It's at this moment Sakura realizes he has his blade out. Mycah whines, "It's not a sword, my prince. It's only a stick."

Joffrey snaps, "And you're not a Knight. Only a butcher's boy. That was my lady's sister you were hitting, do you know that?" Arya snaps, "Stop it!" Sansa cuts her off, "Arya, stay out of this." Sakura tries to get between Joffrey and Mycah, "Prince Joffrey. It was an honest mistake, even the best can make such a mistake. It's not worth hurting him." Joffrey points his blade at her, "I won't hurt him, Lady Sakura...Much." He jabs the sword into Mycah's cheek, and runs it along, leaving a massive gash under his eye.

Arya swings her wooden sword into Joffrey's side, knocking the blade out of Mycah's cheek. Sakura screams, "Run, Mycah!" Joffrey starts swinging his blade at Arya, who keeps dodging. He screams, "Filthy little bitch!" Sansa is screaming like a little girl, "No, no, stop it, stop it, both of you. You're spoiling it. You're spoiling everything!" Sakura pulls out her katana to try and stop Joffrey's madness, but before she can do anything, Arya is already on the ground.

Joffrey screams in a shrill voice, "I'll gut you, you little cunt!" Sakura eyes widen with fear. He's going to kill her, and no matter what happens, it could lead to anything, especially war. Suddenly, her direwolf attacks Joffrey, biting into the arm holding the blade being pointed at Arya. She can see that Nymeria bit a huge chunk of Joffrey's arm out. Now the roles are reversed, Arya standing over Joffrey with his own blade.

The boy cries like a frightened child, all malice suddenly gone, "Please don't." Sansa begs, "Arya, leave him alone." Arya has a look like she's gotten an idea, and throws his sword into the river. She runs off with Nymeria. Sansa coos to the boy, "My prince, my poor prince, look what they did to you. Stay here, I'll go back to the inn and bring help." The venom returns to the snake, "Then go! Don't touch me."

Sansa leaves, with Sakura following. Sakura immediately states, "Call off the betrothal." Sansa stops and turns to her, "Excuse me?" Sakura explains, "Go to your father, go to the king, go to somebody. Just call of the betrothal." Sansa rolls her eyes, "And why should I do that?" Sakura's eyes widen, "Are you daft? You saw what he did to that boy and tried to do to your sister." Sansa defends, "He attacked her, and she attacked the prince."

Sakura states, "I know you're in love with the prince, the gods know everyone's been in love with somebody, but you can't ignore what's underneath those smiles he gives you. Not after this. Or you'll know pain beyond comprehension." Sansa questions, "Have you ever been in love?" Sakura answers, "Yes." Sansa asks, "Would you do anything for him?" Sakura answers, "Yes. But this isn't the same thing. My love didn't try to kill a girl over a wooden sword."

Sansa leaves, so Sakura decides to meet with Naruto and the others. They need to know what happened. Kakashi, Naruto, and Gaara are mingling in a circle later that day, as the sun is setting. Kakashi is reading his stories, Gaara is sleeping, and Naruto is staring at the sky. Sakura immediately states, "We have problems." Kakashi looks up from his story, "What kind of problem?" Sakura explains, "The prince attacked a boy and Arya."

Naruto asks, "The blonde shit killed two people?" Sakura nods, "No. But if Arya's direwolf hadn't of bitten a chunk of his arm off, he would've." Gaara wakes up at this, "This is bad. Wars have been started over less trivial things." Sakura nods, "That is correct. What do we do?" Naruto thinks aloud, "There must be a trial. It'll go in the shit's favor, but there will be a trial. I say our job is to keep the peace."

Kakashi whistles, "We best be prepared. It seems the Lannisters found her. No direwolf, though." They turn to see where he's looking, and do in fact see Arya, being dragged into the king's makeshift court. The samurai enter the tent to witness the trial. Everyone, save Lord Stark, is present. Suddenly, Lord Stark barges into the tent, and he is beyond angry. His first action is to comfort his daughter.

Once they exchange words, he demands, "What is the meaning of this? Why was my daughter not brought to me at once?" The queen snaps, "How dare you speak to your King in that manner?" Sakura knows she looks at this more as a slight to herself than her husband. Sakura saw how the King acted in Winterfell, there's no love between them. Robert snaps, "Quiet, woman. Sorry, Ned. I never meant to frighten the girl. But we need to get this business done quickly."

Cersei interrupts, "Your girl and that butcher's boy attacked my son. That animal of hers nearly tore his arm off." Sakura isn't surprised. The brat begs for his life like a damsel and decides to spit out lies even he believes. Arya snaps, "That's not true! She just...Bit him a little. He was hurting Mycah." Cersei rants, "Joffrey told us what happened. You and that boy beat him with clubs while you set your wolf on him."

Arya screams, "That's not what happened!" While Joffrey insists, "Yes it is! They all attacked me and she threw my sword in the river." Arya yells, "Liar!" Joffrey snaps like a spoiled brat, "Shut up!" The king shouts, "Enough! He tells me one thing, she tells me another. Seven hells! What am I to make of this? Samurai woman, step up! Where's your other daughter, Ned?" Lord Stark answers, "In bed asleep."

Cersei smirks with her twisted glee, "She's not. Sansa, come here, darling." Sakura doesn't like that, how she's toying with the girl like she's her own daughter, playing her like a puppet. The king speaks in a calming way, "Now, child...Tell me what happened. Tell it all and tell it true. It's a great crime to lie to a King." Sansa mutters, "I don't know. I don't remember. Everything happened so fast. I didn't see."

Arya grabs her by the hair, "Liar! Liar liar liar!" Sansa cries out, "Arya!" Lord Stark tries to break up the fight, "Stop it! That's enough of that." Arya continues to scream, "Liar liar liar!" Lord Stark finally breaks up the fight, "Stop! Arya!" The queen makes a snide comment, "She's as wild as that animal of hers. I want her punished." Robert snarks, "What would you have me do, whip her through the streets? Damn it, children fight. It's over."

The queen tells him, "Joffrey will bear these scars for the rest of his life." The king looks to his son with disdain, "You let that little girl disarm you? See to it that your daughter is disciplined. I'll do the same with my son." Lord Stark nods, "Gladly, your Grace." The queen questions, "And what of the direwolf? What of the beast that savaged your son?" The king exhales, "I'd forgot the damned wolf."

A soldier speaks up, "We found no trace of the direwolf, your Grace." The king nods, "So be it." The queen glares, "We have another wolf." The king looks away, "As you will." Lord Stark realises what he means, "You can't mean it." The king snorts, "A direwolf's no pet. Get her a dog. She'll be happier for it." Sansa asks, "He doesn't mean Lady, does he? No no, not Lady! Lady didn't bite anyone! She's good!"

Arya screams, "Lady wasn't there! You leave her alone!" Naruto asks, "If a Direwolf's no pet, then why don't you send Lady to Winterfell and put a bounty on Nymeria?" Everyone stares at him, who explains, "I mean, the queen will get what she wants, a dead direwolf. And the wolf will be as big as a bear soon, so it won't be something somebody can bring a fake to trick you, your grace."

The queen flares, "You dare suggest that no punishment be made, foreigner?" Naruto waves his hand, "Oh no. The justice to your son will take time in regards to the wolf. Besides, you heard Lord Stark promising to correct his daughter's behavior." Joffrey snorts, "Like anyone could teach a cunt like her how to act." Naruto smirks, "Well, I find that when somebody's called a cunt, they'll prove you otherwise, your grace."

The king snorts, "Very well, let the beast be hunted. Send the other wolf back to Winterfell." Cersei screams, "You'd dishonor me like this?" The king booms, "To hell with a woman's honor. You wanted a dead wolf, you're getting one." The queen glares at the foreigners, as everyone starts to leave. As Naruto leaves, he's bombarding with the wails of Sansa and Arya. The queen starts to march towards Naruto, but Sakura stands in her way.

She hisses, "Out of my way, outsider." Sakura smirks, "I won't listen to you. Because I am what you just called me, an outsider. And I don't think you want to harm the Late Emperor's son." Cersei glares at her audacity, "If he were an emperor's son, then why weren't we notified?" Sakura smiles, "Not everyone wants to be the center of attention. And he won't be a leader for years until he comes of age according to the regent." Cersei snorts, "Then tell that upstart to know when to stay out of my way."

Sakura asks, "Is everyone in your way?" Cersei glares, "Anyone who stands against my joy is an enemy of the seven kingdoms." Sakura inhales, "What is your joy?" The queen glares at her and leaves. Sakura says aloud to nobody in particularly, "Aye. That's what I thought."