A/N: Gosh, it's safe to say I've got my inspiration back! I can't stop typing! After reading through the chapters, I'm quite happy with the way the story's developing. However, if you guys have any questions, criticism put in a polite, kind way or comments on the story that's great!
Also, I completely forgot about this, I still have my poll up and running! It's a three way tie at the moment, keep voting guys! It's on which stories I should continue! If there isn't any more votes than I'll leave the decision to my friends, who have…varying thoughts…
Tainted
Chapter 3 Never Trust a Granny…
The first thing that hit their senses was the smell of Spring Country. It smelt so fresh, no pun intended. The sweet, colourful aroma of blossoming flowers that went on for as wide as the horizon stretched, stood out the most. The colours contrasted with the bright, clear, aquatic sky dotted with white tumbling cotton ball clouds. Down the hill rested the town, which was buzzing with sounds of laughter, conversations and noises of animals. Among the village was a massive market, varying what it sold from: spices, clothes, jewellery, fruit and fish to so much more. A soft breeze gently blew up the winding hill to them spreading the aroma of freshly baked sweets and savouries, causing their moves to water.
The sight was truly breath taking and to finish off the look, up on the right was the mighty, magnificent palace itself. It stood tall and proud at the tail end of the village, the area of Spring Country was shaped very much like a dish.
The group knew they were to report to the castle and meet with the King and Queen upon arrival, however it wouldn't hurt to explore the village first and they'd have to go through the village anyway to reach the palace.
As they approached the village, they could already hear the bustling villagers talking. The atmosphere was calming, peaceful and joyful; the girls were immediately torn between visiting the bakery or the market. Ino and Sakura saw some dresses and scampered off to the market. Kiba, along with Akamaru, Hinata, Shikamaru and Chouji, had gone to visit the bakery, having the excuse of 'You can't fight on an empty stomach!' Tenten spotted a black smith further up in the village and dragged Neji and Lee with her, saying something along the lines of her weapons needed sharpening. Shino had wondered through the village and had settled himself somewhere in the field of flowers, leaving Sasuke all on his own.
"Of course I'm left on my own…" Sasuke muttered, shoving his hands into his pockets and wondering through the village. He could already feel people staring at him, whispering and giggles coming from the woman.
Glancing around, beginning to feel slight uncomfortable with the stares, he wondered over to the market. Reminding himself to steer clear of the clothes, as Ino and Sakura would drag him into their shopping spree; he walked over to the fruit and vegetables. It was interesting to see that the village wasn't overcrowded or there were only a couple of stragglers around. It had a decent population. All the villagers were acting friendly enough, children running around chasing one another, elders sat on benches giggling and talking, woman walked with youngsters or shopping and the sellers in the market were calling out greetings to the pedestrians.
Examining all the ripe, juicy fruits and vegetables, he wasn't completely sure as to what he should do. He could join Kiba and the others but he didn't like sweets and he didn't need to buy any weapons or sharpen his. He sorted that all out with Neko-baa, which reminded him that he needed to go speak with her sometime this month. Sighing, he looked up towards the sky. What was he going to do? He couldn't go to the palace as the Queen and King would ask where the rest of his team were. He was left stranded in a village not knowing what to do.
Feeling heat rise to his cheeks, Sasuke glanced down at his stomach which let out a loud grumble again. It was around lunch time, anyway, so it wouldn't hurt to buy something at the market. Nodding to himself, he kept his eyes downcast as he walked over to the fruit and vegetables.
A man chuckled from behind the stall as he asked "Back again, I see. I was watching you going back and forth. Don't worry; I don't think anyone else noticed, although you're quite the looker."
Meeting the stall owners eyes Sasuke replied "Hn,"
The man chuckled once more, although Sasuke didn't understand what was so funny, as he replied "So, you got a woman of your own?"
Shrugging, Sasuke replied "No,"
"Really?" the old man's eyes nearly popped open, his large belly hanging over the stall as he leant forward. "Are you sure about that, son?"
Feeling annoyed, Sasuke replied "Yes, not that it's any of your business."
After picking out two tomatoes he handed them to the man, who rummaged around trying finding a brown paper bag. Smiling, the man, who was rather potbellied and reminded him of the owner of Ichiraku, handed him the bag and in return Sasuke handed over the money. As the man fumbled for change, Sasuke drifted into his own thoughts, so deeply that he didn't even realise someone had knocked into him.
The person gasped, dropping their bags, as Sasuke woke from his daydream. On reflex, Sasuke caught the person before they fell. Blinking, Sasuke asked "Are…you okay?"
Looking up, the woman smiled warmly as she replied "Yes, I-
Sasuke's eyes widened, staring straight into bright, round cornflower blue eyes.
From what he could see, as the person had a brown cloak on with the hood up, that in fact this person was a teenaged girl. She had a light tan, dark sparkling cornflower blue eyes, blonde hair tied into a low bun, a few strands of her golden hair came down to frame her face going behind her ears, she had earrings in, which had a light emerald hex crystal on each earring, her eye lashes were long, thick and dark, it also added to the fact that it drew people into her deep dark depths of cornflower blue eyes, she had plump pink lips and a light blush on her cheeks.
Blushing, the woman softly replied "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going…"
Dumbstruck, Sasuke answered "No, it's fine, honestly…"
Shaking his head, Sasuke tried to clear his head from his daze. Those startling blue eyes, they reminded him of Naruto…and the blonde hair was practically the same.
Looking down at the woman, he lightly lifted her onto her feet. She blushed and smiled warmly, whilst closing her eyes, as she softly spoke "Well, thank you kind stranger. I'm awfully sorry I bumped into you; I wasn't watching where I was going."
Sasuke waved his hand, as he replied "Its fine, here, let me grab your bags."
Bending down, he hurriedly picked up the bags and gave them back to the girl. She grinned, holding tightly onto the bags. Giving a short bow in apology, she stood up right again as she asked "I haven't see you around here before, are you new or just passing through?"
Putting on a kind face, Sasuke informed her "I'm just passing through…"
"Oh, really?" she asked in interest, her eyes sparkling "That's a shame; you should stay and attend the Spring Ball that's in three days' time. Everyone attends, it'd be rude not to."
Nodding, Sasuke replied "Well, I just might have to then."
"Really? That's great!" she replied, grinning brightly.
Swallowing, he tried to look anywhere but at her face as he asked "Will you be there?"
A cheeky, sly smile crept onto her face as she looked away, before looking back in his direction as she said "Hmm, maybe."
Smirking, Sasuke responded "Maybe you are or maybe you aren't?"
Laughing, the blonde shook her head saying "Maybe."
Chuckling softly, a smile appearing on his face, he replied "I'm not getting an answer am I?"
"No, you're right about that. You'll just have to wait and see, now won't you? Oh, by the way, it's a masquerade ball. Spring Country is renowned for them, so bring a mask!"
Blinking, Sasuke clenched his fists reminding himself that Naruto was away on a mission and that he shouldn't act this way. Yet something was familiar about this girl…like he'd met her before…
Scowling, he looked to the floor as he clenched his eyes tightly.
Nearly jumping out of his skin when he felt something warm touch his face, he looked up. Blue eyes stared back in concern, a small soft hand cupping his cheek as she told him "You shouldn't do that, you'll get wrinkles."
As if the word made her cringe, she wrinkled her nose before adding "Besides, you look handsome when you smile."
Sasuke lightly blushed at the comment, the girl laughed like a harmony, saying delightfully "See! You're smiling right now and you look way better!"
Sasuke turned a few shades pinker. The man behind the stall had finally found a brown bag; he put the fruit in and boisterously laughed as he watched the two. Sasuke quickly looked towards the store owner, his pale cheeks heating up as he glanced to the floor.
Walking over he quickly took the bag of fruit, nodding in thanks before turning back around, whilst saying "Oh, I didn't get-
The girl wasn't there anymore; she'd already blended into the crowd and moved on. Panicking, thinking he'd just imagined seeing her, he asked the stall owner "You saw her too, right?"
Chuckling, the owner replied "Why yes, she comes to the market all the time!" Leaning further over the stall he beckoned Sasuke closer as he whispered "She's quite a catch in this village, she usually keeps to herself or helps out at the orphanage here. All the lad's want to date her here; she always turns them down, mind. I think, personally, she's either waiting for someone or waiting for the one."
As if he'd said something really clever, he let out a throaty laugh as he winked, suggesting towards him.
Sighing, Sasuke thanked the man before walking off to wonder round the village once more. He'd had enough of the store owner's ramblings to last him a life time. Spotting Kiba and the others, he quickly walked over to them and headed into the coffee shop.
The coffee shop was a small shop, a couple of shops down from the bakery. A small sign hung over the door, saying Brewed Awakening.
Sitting down, after looking at the menu and ordering, Kiba began to strike up a conversation on the cakes they saw and what they tasted like. Hinata had bought some with her and laid them on the table, telling everyone to help themselves. Chouji, luckily, bought cakes for himself and scoffed them down. After drinks were served, Kiba spotted Ino and Sakura with a bag of clothes each and called them in.
Leaning forward, twirling her straw, Sakura asked "Apparently, there was a really hot guy in the market who was talking to this girl who every guy wants to date. Sasuke, did you see?"
The smirk that drifted on to Sakura's face told Sasuke enough to know that she knew about his encounter. Remaining stoic, he replied "She knocked into me, as she wasn't looking where she was going. We spoke, I picked up her bags and she left, after inviting us to the masquerade ball."
"Meaning you, Sasuke," Sakura replied, nonchalant as she continued to stir her smoothie.
Ino giggled, saying "Always the player, aren't you, Sasuke?"
Scowling, Sasuke retorted "I simply helped her by picking up her bags. Nothing more, besides…"
"You're with Naruto, yeah, we know." Ino interrupted, before saying "It's odd how he just suddenly took off without a word…"
"Ino, we've gone through this already," Sakura chastised.
Sighing, Ino sat back in her seat, frowning, before sitting forward again and saying with pure excitement "I heard that the eldest princess sometimes sneaks into the village without her parents' consent."
"Oooh, what a rebel," Kiba replied teasingly, taking a swig of his coffee.
Slapping him on the arm, Ino stated "I'm serious though! What if she gets kidnapped?"
"Well, this princess is obviously dumb." Kiba stated, finishing his coffee.
Stuttering, Hinata replied "A-Ano, I heard t-that the p-princesses are t-taught to fight."
Kiba raised his eyebrows in surprise as he replied cockily "Well then, we'll see if they can stand up for themselves. We'll have a friendly match with them; no one can beat me and Akamaru's team work!"
Sipping his coffee in thought, Shikamaru stated "The eldest, Akiko, won't be fighting."
"Huh?" Ino inquired "How do you know that Shikamaru?"
"Something Tsunade said in our private meeting,"
"Oh! Tell us! What did she want to talk to you about?" Ino asked, intrigued.
Frowning, Shikamaru went into deep thought. He shouldn't really think much on it, but it's the way Tsunade had said it. As if warning him to not find out or if he did something bad would happen…
"Be careful where you ponder…" he muttered, more to himself then anything.
"Huh? What's that mean?"
Shikamaru didn't respond, placing down his change for his drink before walking out, saying "I'm going to get the others."
Sighing, the girls took bites out of the chocolate Hinata had bought whilst the others ate croissants and cake. Around fifteen minutes later, they all paid and walked up out to the market. Spotting the others they all gathered before walking up to the palace.
Upon reaching the palace, they only had to take one glance at the place before their jaws slackened and their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. They were astonished for all the right reasons too. From afar the palace looked like a standard one. However, upon closer inspection, what stood in front of them was a massive garden, hedges bordering massive bushes of colourful flowers and borders holding pansies, daises, forget me knots, roses, tulips, lily's and all sorts. The palace itself was simply amazing; it was grand for its fine age, it looked ancient yet sturdy and strong.
The palace seemed grand with its fine age. It looked old yet it was still sturdy and strong. It was a pale dove grey brick palace. From the black iron gigantic gates it led down a dusty horse and carriage path to go round a crystal clear water fountain to the front clearing of a small garden that lead up steps to the palace.
They breathed in slowly and then out before finally taking that venturing step. It was like they were learning to walk all over again as they were that nervous. They daren't touch anything for the fear of breaking something. Arriving at the massive oak wood door, every glanced at one another waiting for someone to knock.
Sighing, Sakura stated "This is ridiculous, someone just knock on the door."
Neji boldly went up to the door and knocked. He stepped back a bit and the door opened revealing an old maid. She politely smiled at them as she asked "Hello, what can I do for you?"
Immediately the group relaxed as Sakura explained "Hello, we're here on a request from the King and Queen, we're to escort the princesses to Konoha."
The maid continued to smile at them, stand stock still as she listened. Shifting from the uncomfortable silence, Sakura opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when the maid opened her eyes.
Her hazel eyes narrowed, scrutinizing them as she sneered "I see…"
Taken aback, Sakura took a step back with shock and uncertainty.
The next few minutes were seen in a blur, one minute the maid stood there the next she was gone, vanished into thin air. The team hardly had time to react when she struck with a broom.
An hour later…
Neji and Sasuke were crouched behind a neatly trimmed bush, panting as they hid from the maid. This was ridiculous. The lady looked like she'd keel over at any moment, yet here she was attacking them with a broom.
"Where do you think she went?" Sasuke asked, peeping round the bush.
"No clue," Neji replied, resting his hands on his knees as he crouched.
For an old lady, who looked like she'd gone past her expiry date, she sure was fit and agile. She'd whipped out that broom from nowhere.
"That maid's nuts," Sasuke stated.
Nodding, Neji replied "I agree with you on that one, Uchiha."
Tensing, they looked at one another. Their faces ashen, Neji said "She's right behind us…isn't she?"
A soft giggle was heard, a light tapping sound as a soft, sickly sweet voice said "I hope you're not talking about me, boys…"
With one last glance at one another, a silent message telepathically sent between them, they bolted.
You should never trust a granny…
…especially one with a broom…
A/N: PLEASE READ THIS!
Hey, I know, I know I've already left an Author's Note at the top; however I have an important question.
How do you like the new title? Once I've written more you'll understand why I've chosen it. I hope you enjoy! It's so late right now but I'm writing out the idea for this story and I can't stop. Tomorrow I'll need to read through it and make sure the plot makes sense. Urgh…ahah!
Please leave a review with what you think, what you like and if the characters are correct or OOC, maybe what I can do to improve, and what you think of the title! Aha, cheers!
Thanks in advance!
Ja,
Honey-Emily98
