Title: A Prince In The Spring Time

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Fantasy

Summary: A small pink girl saved his royal ass. Now all he wants to do to repay her is make her his princess. 'I'm so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!'

Pairings: Uchiha Sasuke/ Haruno Sakura

Rating: T for Teen

A/N: Mfihnbrwg0ieh-wrefsad!- XD Oh my god. I'm so sorry I haven't posted for like every. I kinda...didn't want to post a new chapter until we finished chapter six but I was really lazy and uninspired for like a month or so, so...I just replied to my co-author. XD Anyways I felt bad so I decided to put up chapter four...er early??? Anyways yah...I kind of got into Bleach (which is so fantastically amazing...Ichigo makes me drool XD) and such. Plus I had exams...and such. XD WOOT! My birthday is on Sunday. Woot...kinda. I share a birthday with Paris Hilton! ;; Anyways poll! Who would like to see a AU Bleach story from me and probably another co author?

Disclaimer: This plot belongs to me and Hikari. Characters belong to the Naruto guy.

Chapter Four: Ribbit

Sasuke glared at her, because she was right - he had thought to protect her. But obviously that was quite useless, because she was chums with that idiot Deidara and could take care of herself against the people who had attacked him. Definitely not what he had had in mind when he left the cottage earlier.

Although what he had had in mind, he had absolutely no idea. It had only been a vague feeling, a slight hunch, an apprehension in the air of something that would happen, was going to happen, and might have happened already. He shot a glare at her as she insulted him, letting her know of his utter contempt for how annoying she was. Letting her know that she was an idiot, and why should she blame him for trying to help her?

Well, obviously she didn't need his help.

Her closeness with Deidara really annoyed him. Or, what seemed like closeness. A mutual benefit relationship, about his brother. That one was strange as well, though for the moment he didn't spend time dwelling on it, instead content to brood over what it could mean if she was close to an Akatsuki. They were after him, and while it seemed she was on his side in that confrontation... could he be sure? He wasn't entirely sure himself, and that annoyed him to no end because - quite honestly - he would rather know all of the facts than know none at all and go stumbling in blindly.

He glared at her contemptuously for a moment, before standing up stiffly from his place on the couch as she headed to get herself ready. He didn't have anything fancy - all of his formal wear was back at the castle, anyways, after all he hadn't taken banquet clothes out riding with him. So he simply pulled on his shirt and black breeches and buckled Kusanagi to his side securely, making sure that each of his weapons was in its proper position.

He looked up at the fae-girl who returned from the back room, almost completely transformed. For a second he glanced over at her, amazed at the transformation. She had looked quite normal, but the dress was well-made and brought out her features well, and the clips in her hair made her look a lot more like fae than human.

Which, in his opinion, was a good thing. He had always thought that the sharp, defined, almost wild but stately features of the creatures were better than plain human ones. Still, this was Sakura, and he was still annoyed at her, so he scowled at her resolutely before turning away sharply.

"You're ready?" he snapped his voice annoyed and unhappy and generally not in a good mood about having to travel with her back to the castle. Or having to spend time in her presence at all, for that matter, because she simply annoyed him that much. And he had absolutely no idea why, and it frustrated him beyond all belief.

He scowled. "Good, let's go," he snapped, exiting the cottage swiftly.

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He was snappy and she suppressed a chuckle by snapping out the fan she had hidden in her sleeve. She whipped it open and covered her face with it. To him it might seem like she ignoring him but that was up to him to decide. She only replied with a slight, "Hmm," as she walked towards the stalls. Tsunade followed behind her with a grin. Sakura glanced back at her sensei and frowned. Her master seemed unusually happy, especially at since this time. Her master usually dislike going to the Uchiha castle, although it was usually because Orochimaru was present.

Sakura turned her back to the stable and chuckled lightly to herself. Tsunade always complained about the creepy snake man. She opened the door to the barn. The two white horses were already geared up, Tsunade always liked to be prepared. Sakura lead the two horses outside. She passed the reins of Tsunade's horse to her and held her own horse's face in her hands. The animal neighed and she kissed it on the cheek. "Time for a ride now Ichigo," she said softly to her horse. Only then did she finally realize that there were three people and only two horses. She glanced at Sasuke and then back at her master.

"Tsunade I-," she was suddenly cut off by Tsunade. The women merrily interrupted her student. "Ah Sakura-chan, looks like you and Sasuke-sama will have to ride with each other." Her master took her own words and used it against her. Sakura stood there with a gold fish like face and then scowled. Damn, Tsunade had gotten the best of her. "Hmph," she said mounting her horse first. She would be the one to lead Ichigo, not Sasuke. She waited patiently for Sasuke to get on the horse, Tsunade had already mounted her's. "Are you coming?" She snapped at the fair raven hair boy.

She disregarded his scowl and complaints as he mounted Ichigo behind her. As soon as he was on she lashed the reins and the horse began to gallop, Tsunade not far behind. The horse ran at a fast pace and Sakura leaned close to the horse body. She felt herself heating up as Sasuke pressed his body against her, hanging on for his life. The pair of horses and three people made quick work of getting out of the forest and onto the main road. Sakura didn't slow down, noting the position of the time in the sky. Tsunade and she were going to be late if they slowed down. The wind made her bangs fly across her face and she was very grateful she pinned the rest of her hair up.

Otherwise she would be completely blind. Sakura's dress road up her legs as she didn't ride like a lady. She road with both bare legs on either side of the horse. Soon enough the three of them made it to the castle. The guards obviously recognized Tsunade's horse though they were unsure of the other horse and the two people on it. Sakura, although never being in the castle herself, knew exactly where to go. Tsunade had described it to her so many times it was as if Sakura had been in the castle grounds may times over. Slowing down, she finally came to a stop.

The stable tendent noticed them, but most of all Sasuke. The man's mouth dropped and he started to shout, "LORD SASUKE IS ALIVE!" Sakura blinked and dismounted the horse and Sasuke did them same. The man kept shouting that Sasuke was alive and the guards started to gather, all babbling about how they were glad he was okay. Sakura rolled her eyes and took out her fan again whipping it open. She began to fan herself with an annoyed look on her face. "You sure are popular Sasuke-sama," she said quite sourly noting that know she was on his land, she had to be polite.

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Sasuke mounted the horse without a word, not speaking to either of them. Of course he was annoyed at Tsunade for sticking him with the pink-haired annoyance, but that was quite normal. Tsunade probably thought that it would be good for him - or her. Either way, it was not his idea of fun.

The horse rode easily and without complaint, though he wished he was astride his mare as he rode with her. Infernal woman, this was extraordinarily annoying. Even if Sakura did smell rather nice, almost like something tropical, almost exotic. He was wondering if this was her fae blood when he caught himself.

He rode rigidly - not the smartest, but he didn't care. He was an experienced rider, of course, and he knew the perils of not melding with the horse. But he really did wish he was astride his faithful mare, a sweet-tempered creature built for stamina and speed. It almost made him wonder if she had made it back to the castle alright, and that in turn made him wonder if they had been worried. He had been gone for more than a day, he knew, and unless his mare had been killed the absence of her rider would have tipped them off that he was missing.

They rode in on the horses as quickly as possible,, stabling them without being noticed, before a stable attendant noticed his return. He stared at the kid for a second, before realizing that they had been worried about his safe return, and had probably sent out search parties and the like. Great. He would probably be reprimanded, and that would not be fun.

He gave Sakura a wry look, as people started to gather, talking about how he was alive and what happened, and his horse came back and they feared the worst. It seemed she had been injured, though he hadn't noticed - after all, he'd been pretty bad off himself. Taking an arrow in the initial ambush had not been the smartest thing that he had done, but fortunately he was still alive.

The people began to throng around, staring and gawking at their prince who was alive. Sasuke sighed, annoyed, at all of the attention. Sometimes it was nice being royalty, but this was not one of those times, when he simply wanted to get to Kakashi and discuss the attack, Akatsuki, and what Deidara had let slip about his brother.

He tried to push through the crowd, grabbing Sakura's arm as he did so, quite annoyed with everyone. "Move, please," he said, and despite the polite phrasing his tone was not polite at all. He gave the people a stern look, attempting to get through the crowd, dragging an unwitting Sakura along with him.

One of the girls noticed this, and she stepped in front of him with wide eyes. "Is she your fiancée?" she asked, almost timidly. But she was standing in his way and extremely annoying, and Sasuke was impatient anyways and so he ignored the question for the most part, pushing past her.

"Yes, she is, now will you move?" he demanded, his voice sharp and not to be trifled with. He didn't realize a thing of what he had said, absolutely nothing, too caught up in Akatsuki to realize that he had made a big, big, big mistake.

But he pushed through the crowd, still dragging Sakura with him, and headed for the interior of the castle, where Kakashi would hopefully be.

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She was pretty offended when he grabbed her wrist and began to drag her along with him through the crowd of his loyal subjects. Tsunade followed behind them with an amused grin on her face. A few people bowed to her master knowing who Tsunade was and Tsunade just waved it off. She watched her student and the prince in amusement. Her eyebrows shot up when she heard what Sasuke said to the timid girl.

"Is she your fiancée?"

"Yes, she is, now will you move?"

She let out her own laugh and watched to see how this would play out. Shizune would of loved this. Sakura's pupils narrowed as Sasuke announced she was his fiancée. Fiancée, what in the world? Upset and seriously confused she yanked her hand away from Sasuke. "I-I beg your pardon?" She stuttered standing there staring at him in disbelief. She could easily feel the murderous glares, all from fan girls she assumed, against her back. A drop of sweat fell down Sakura's face and she continued to stare at Sasuke. "I'm so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!" She said biting her lip and turning on her heal. A rippled of voices went through the crowd. "Why is she running away?" They all said.

How could he say that? She ran away from him, right through the crowd. Maybe he didn't mean it but she certainly wasn't going to stand around there and let people think she was. She tore out of the castle grounds and headed for the lake near by. Seriously, did he really think she would go along with that statement. After running for a while she collapsed under a tree by the water. She took a deep breathe in and took the clip out of her hair.

The rest of her hair tumbled down to her shoulders in light waves and she closed her eyes with a small sigh. God, did he not know not to spring something like that on a girl? Getting married was a serious business and she certainly wasn't going to marry some guy. She barely knew him and she certainly didn't love him. Even if he was the prince.

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Sasuke felt her hand slip from his, just as all of the crowd gasped, and he looked back toward the girl who was leaving incredulously. She was running out? On him? Why would she do that, why would she want to? He had been bringing her with him in order to talk to Kakashi about her connections with Akatsuki, and now she had slipped off on him!

He scowled slightly, looking after her with a slightly bewildered expression on his face. Marry him? He hadn't said anything about that! Although, come to think of it, what had he just responded to? A question about...

About his fiancée.

Oh, shit.

Well, that was certainly an annoyance. He had been impatient and made a mistake, despite the urgency of speaking to Kakashi about Akatsuki. He scowled, wondering where she had run off to before turning around on his heel. Speaking to Kakashi was more important, and she wouldn't leave without Tsunade, who would be staying for a while. She usually stayed for at least a week, although Sakura could be going home earlier. But not that early - her horse was sweat-streaked and tired from their ride to the castle.

She would have to stay the night, at least, so he had all of that time to question her about Akatsuki. Right now it was important to confirm that he was alive and speak of what he had learned to his regent. He would have gone to Kakashi, but Tsunade called out for him.

"Uchiha-sama," she spoke, her voice sharp - and despite him being the prince, the tone was an order to stop and pay attention to her. He scowled at being stopped in his quest to find his mentor, but turned around to face her anyways.

"Find her and explain yourself," Tsunade ordered, and he gave her an incredulous look. His eyes widened, before snapping into a glare, as she continued on. "I will let Kakashi-sama know that you are alive."

Sasuke glared at her. "And why would I do that?" he demanded, his voice sharp, annoyed at being delayed in bringing his news that doubtlessly Tsunade hadn't heard. Did she know that her pupil caroused with criminals? Probably not, he thought contemptuously - Kakashi needed to know this right away.

Tsunade frowned at him. "Just do it," she snapped, obviously just as annoyed at his callousness, and the two glared at each other for a moment before she continued. "If you come back without her, I won't be happy, Uchiha-sama. Get moving."

A clear order. And she was one of the few people who could give them to him - the sannin and Kakashi were the only four, and he still hated it. Especially the reprimand. He glared at her for a moment, before he turned on his heel and headed after where Sakura had gone, wandering slightly aimlessly, wondering where she might be. Probably not within the castle grounds, that was for sure.

He stayed away from populated areas - thinking that Sakura would want to be alone, and also that he wanted to avoid the throngs of people joyous at his return. Instead he stuck to the paths that skirted the gardens, where people seldom went. That was where he saw her.

He sat down beside her, wondering if she would run away from him again, and hoping not. That would make this task from Tsunade a whole lot more annoying, and it wasn't like he wanted to do this anyways. He scowled at the water, not looking at her for a moment, before speaking.

"It would be a good idea, you know," he told her, his voice moody and slightly annoyed. He wasn't going to take back his words, or apologize, although he probably should but that didn't matter very much to him anyways. He frowned even deeper. "You know Akatsuki, and I'm also searching for Itachi. We could help each other. I do need a fiancée, and you would be a good choice. That's all."

Perhaps not the best explanation, and it hadn't been why he had said it, but he'd had a lot of time to think about it and wonder about what he had said, almost like a subconscious slip. His eyes drifted over to her face, hidden by pink hair, and his frown eased just slightly.

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She bristled as he sat down beside him and she fought the urge to run away. Her hands grasped the grass on either side of her and she took a deep breathe in. He easily explained that there would be benefits and they shared the same goals. That maybe true, she thought. But she could easily achieve her goal without him, at least, that was her opinion. She let out a sigh and let herself look at him. He was staring at her so intently that she blushed.

The pink swept across her cheeks and she turned and looked at the water instead. The light reflected off the cool liquid and she smiled. "I understand that we share the same goals Uchiha-sama," she said softly, trying to calm herself. She would not let her emotions get in the way. "But I refuse to marry a man who I do not know, and I know is not asking me to marry him because of love. I am very honored that you would ask me Uchiha-sama but there a plenty of other 'fish' in the sea." She said. She turned her bright green eyes on him and gave him a pained smile.

"Besides, why would you want a Halfling as your wife?" She consciously traced the red marks that surrounded her eyes. She gave him one more bitter smile before standing up. She gave him a curt bow. "I must return to Tsunade Uchiha-sama," she paused wondering what else she should say. "I guess...I will see you at tonight's dinner." She quickly excused herself and hurried away from the handsome prince.

She clutched the fabric of her dress and headed back to the castle. She searched for Tsunade, seriously wondering where she could of gone. She had searched the outer parts of the castle, so she guessed Tsunade had already gone inside. Sakura sighed and was currently in the castle garden. She felt at ease around the beautiful flowers of the area and she laid down against the cool smooth surface of a bench that rested by a pond. As she laid there, with her hair sprawled out, she turned her hair to look at the pond. There immediately she saw a frog staring at her. Sakura laughed slightly to herself remembering her words to Sasuke. "Ah Uchiha-sama you sure are something," she said out loud to herself.

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Sasuke watched her get up and leave, as she spoke to him, refusing to marry him. And he was almost relieved, because he didn't exactly want to marry her anyways - he had already established that she was annoying. He scowled at her slightly, before leaning back against the log that was his perch.

Not exactly what he had expected. Then again, he hadn't really been expecting anything, so he wasn't quite sure what to think. Just that it was odd, and that her words intrigued him somehow. Plenty of other fish in the sea? Oh, yes, he knew that - most certainly. The ladies tended to throw themselves at him with abandon, and it was quite annoying. All of them, in all seriousness, were extraordinarily annoying.

And she had admitted that she was a Halfling. Of course, he knew - from the markings on her skin and her cherry-pink hair - her parentage, or he had guessed. Still, it was the first time that she had admitted so verbally, told him that she was one of the fae-people, and he was actually rather startled.

Startled enough to think about what it would mean, to have a half-fae bride. There was the old prejudice, of course - one that most intellectuals knew was a load of idiocy - but would that even be an issue? And then on the flipside, his bloodline would be tied not only to the land but to the fae-people; it would unite two kingdoms, and might actually be a smart thing to do for the sake of the kingdom. Marrying her would be intelligent. As annoying as she might be.

He frowned.

Now that the idea was in his head, it wouldn't get out. That he could work with her, that they could perhaps attain their mutual goal, that they would see it fulfilled. And even not as a wife, he found it would be beneficial to perhaps work alongside her for a time.

He frowned as he got up. He would speak to Tsunade about it.

After all, she couldn't yell at him if Sakura found her first, although the girl might speak to Tsunade before he did. He shook his head, annoyed and slightly frustrated, before he headed back to the castle, to go give the worried people physical proof that he was alive.

How completely annoying.

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Slowly, laying on that bench the pink hair Halfling started to drift off to sleep. Maybe she blamed staying up so late last night, maybe she blamed the intoxicating spell of the flowers around her. So laying there in the bright garden, full of life and spell did Haruno Sakura drift off into unwanted dreamland. As her eye fluttered shut, she did not notice the dark looming figure hiding behind a tall white pillar.

Sakura tucked a piece of long pink hair behind her ears and she continued to pluck petals from a healing flower. Her green eyes glittered with delight as she hummed while she did her work. The fourteen year old was giddy with delight as today her dear knight, Uzumaki Naruto, was coming to visit. In was only a little while until the blonde haired, cerulean blue eyed boy would arrive at Tsunade, Shizune's, and Sakura's house. Finished filling the small black velvet bag with the petals she had requested, Sakura stood up and stretched her legs. She let out a small yawn and looked around.

This was a familiar groove she came to, most of Tsunade's herbs had been planted there. She smiled and turned on her heel heading back to the small cottage. The smell of cherry blossoms entered her senses and she looked up at the grand trees, still in bloom, as they had always been since Sakura had been there. Sakura smiled and quickly headed into the cottage. She tiptoed into Tsunade's office and suppressed a laugh when she saw Tsunade and Shizune arguing about Tsunade drinking and not doing her work.

The Halfling couldn't hold it in much longer and began to laugh. Tsunade and Shizune looked away from each other and at Sakura. "Sakura-chan it's almost noon. Shouldn't you be getting ready for Nauto-kun?" The short black haired women, Shizune asked. Sakura blinked and yelped remembering what time it was. She chucked the small black velvet bag at Tsunade and rushed up the stairs to her room. She basically crashed into her bed, going way to fast to stop naturally. Sakura groaned and rose from her bed. She placed a hand on her forehead for she felt dizzy and then blinked! She had to get ready for Naruto-kun.

Stripping out of the 'rags' she had been collecting in, she threw on a simple green dress and threw up her hair. She placed the necklace Naruto had given her, it was really special he said, the one with a large ruby that sat in the middle with two emeralds on either side, strung with pearls. She smiled and dashed to her window when she heard a voice calling. "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan," came Naruto's loud, but sweet, voice to her ears. As she peered down at him she could see him on his black horse, waving eagerly.

"Ohyaha Naruto-kun!" She yelled down. Naruto beamed back up at her and dismounted his horse. Sakura turned from her window and raced down stairs and out the door. She launched herself at the grinning blond and he caught her in his arms, swinging around. The both laughed and he set her down on the ground. With a smile on her face, she tiptoed and kissed him on the lips tenderly. Naruto, who loved his Sakura-chan very much but was still not use to affection, blushed and kissed her back. Sakura grinned as she pulled away and gave him a large hug. "I miss you Naruto!" She exclaimed burying her face into his chest.

Naruto wrapped his arms around her and looked down at her sadly. "Ah, I missed you too Sakura-chan," he said softly resting his chin on her head. They stood there like that for a few minutes before Naruto remembered what he was doing. He pulled back from Sakura and fished something from his pocket. Sakura blinked wondering what he was doing. Naruto rubbed his hair sheepishly and got down on one knee. Sakura blinked and finally realized what he was doing. She let out a small gasp as he took her hand in his.

"Haruno Sakura," Naruto had her full name of course. By now she figured out what telling him her name had done when they had first meet, but he probably still didn't know. Naruto took in a deep breathe, and she thought he looked absolutely adorable with a pink blush across his cheeks. "Will you do me the honor of marrying me?" He finished. He looked up with her with his eyes full of hope. Tears welled in Sakura's eyes and she launched herself into her arms. "Of course Naruto, of course!" Naruto hugged her once more sadly.

"Ah Sakura-chan, it's a promise of a life time."

Sakura awoke when the she heard a frog croak. She sat up immediately and her fingers brushed against her tears streaked cheeks. Why had she cried at that memory? Was it because after that promise, he never came back to her? Sakura held back a sob remembering her late lover. That had been the last time, the most happiest time, she had ever seen him. Before he had gone out on that mission...and died. Angrily she whipped the tears away from her eyes.

She should of been over that. Two years had passed and was she still wallowing in grief? Angrily she stood up and was about to leave the gardens when a voice interrupted her. "Ah, Ssssakura-chan," a cool, creepy voice said. She vaguely heard the slurp of a tongue. "How niccccee, to see you again." Sakura looked up and her eyes widened slightly.

"Orochimaru."

A/N: Alright! Chapter four finished! Errrmmm...reviews are nessicary to continue. Errm...there are less page views for these later chapters. Is it getting boring??? XD