Hey, what's up?I forgot to post my inspiration for the last chapter, so here goes:
Inspiration: Lady and the Tramp
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Hinata does. And I don't own Lady or Tramp. Darling and Jim Dear own those dogs.
Enjoy!
Reminisce/ Investigation
"Hmmm… Sakura, do you have a jack?"
"Goldfish! I win!"
"AAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!" Temari threw her cards into the air. Flashes of color floated towards the thatched floor of the tree house. "I hate this game," she stated while regaining her composure.
"Aw, don't be a sore loser, Temari-chan," Tenten cheered.
A knock sounded from the outside world. It was soft, but loud enough for the girls to hear. Who had found their secret haven? Sakura crept towards the door, and parted the curtains.
"Oh hello, Hinata. What are you doing here?" Sakura greeted with a friendly smile.
Shyly, Hinata answered, "W-well, I was just wondering where you all were. M-may I join you?" She twiddled her fingers as if she were a child.
Sakura's smile grew wider. "Of course, Hinata! You're a good friend to us. Come in, come in." She sat back in her spot and made room for her friend.
"Hinata! I'm so glad you're here!" Ino welcomed.
"T-thanks," she stuttered.
"Oh my gosh!" Ino shouted.
"What?" Everyone asked.
"You girls haven't admitted who you all like," Ino snickered. "Well?"
Tenten gave in. "Okay, well… I was thinking about… Neji. He looks like a strong shinobi." She blushed deeply.
Hinata perked up, inquiring, "My cousin?" Tenten nodded.
"Why Neji?" Temari asked, shifting her position before continuing. "He's so… serious. I don't think he ever smiled or laughed in his lifetime."
Sakura laughed. "At least he's one of the strongest. How about you Temari? Apparently, the serious type is not in your favor."
Temari smirked, "Got that right, Princess. I like a guy that lets me hold the spear in a relationship."
Turning red, Ino started giggling madly. "Shut up, Ino. Don't be so perverted." Ino kept bowled over in a laughing fit. Sakura threw a pillow at the blonde, hard. As quickly as she started, Ino stopped. "Anyway," Temari resumed, "my guy has to be smart. I'm putting my bets on Shikamaru Nara."
"That lazy guy?" Tenten cried out.
"Deer boy?" Sakura exclaimed. Her mouth hung wide open. A cocky smile from Temari answered the rosette.
Hinata's posture started to stiffen when Ino cackled, "Hinata, you haven't confessed… yet."
The blue haired girl gazed at the pattern on the rug. She gave a small smile and explained her situation. "I'm sorry to disappoint you all, but Shizune-sama hasn't given me any days to myself for the past month. She's been keeping me busy by telling me to go pick herbs for the winter. Today, I got done as fast as I could and left the shrine before she could tell me to do anything else."
"Hmm…so, you haven't been able to meet anyone at all?" Sakura assumed. Poor Hinata. Learning to become a medical ninja is much harder on the body and the spirit than training to become a regular warrior. "That's all right Hinata-chan. I remember when Lady Tsunade kept me shut inside my room to study. In fact, she still quizzes me whenever I'm off guard." The rosette smiled warmly to provide extra support and comfort.
"Remember the time when we hated boys? We thought they were stupid-"
"Icky."
"And boring!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!"
"So much has changed in these few years." Hinata commented.
Ino raised her fingers, muttering, "Me, Tenten, Temari, and Hinata. That leaves you, Princess. Who do you want to win the tournament? After all, the winner has the privilege to be the first to ask your hand in marriage."
Sakura looked down at the rug, studying the intricate patterns. She had had a crush before, but she was never in love with him. The boy she had a crush on turned out to be a fake at everything he once was. A flashback played the scene in her head, she allowed it to run.
"You've been lying to us all!" Sakura screamed at the boy. "You didn't defend the village when that swarm of viper spiders attacked us. All you did was bribe that Aburame kid to control them like a puppeteer and make you look like a hero." Her face was hot from the fire raging inside of her.
The boy glared back at her. "Sorry if I disappointed you, Princess, but I can't help it if I don't want to be a shinobi! All I want to do is paint! No one can respect me for that! No one! What else was I supposed to do when everyone thinks I'm useless? You don't understand my life."
Smack! Sakura had slapped the dark haired boy across the face. "Yes, I do know what it's like to be useless. But, you know what? I trained harder to be better than everyone else in the village. You don't have an excuse to be like this."
Silence passed between the children. He turned, and walked away. "Forget it, Sai!" Sakura yelled. "As long as you don't have the will to defend your home, then you will never become a ninja or a man!" She turned, whipping her long, pink hair in the winter wind.
The fire inside of her was blazing stronger now that the argument had drawn to a close. From behind, she could hear another boy talking to Sai. "Did you confess to her?"
And then she heard Sai angrily replying, "No. She won't fall for me. To her, I'm a fake. Now leave me alone…"
Snow squished beneath her leather winter boots as she headed off to her chambers. Some time alone would allow her to extinguish the fire. It burned her heart, but she knew it would heal. After all, she did not see any worth inside of Sai anymore. He was a fake with less motivation than Shikamaru, the laziest kid in the world. At least Sakura now saw Sai's true identity before she had made the mistake of confessing her crush to him.
That was three and a half years ago, and she had moved on to more important things to think about such as her friends, hunting, and practicing to become the best medical kunoichi. She looked up at her friends. "Actually, I don't know who I prefer. There just doesn't seem to be anyone that has captured me… yet. I would love to meet the champion of the tournament, but… I don't know if I would love him or not. I have no connections with any man."
Ino reassured her, "We will see about that. Besides, the Dragon Tournament starts in the spring, so you have all winter to find that prince charming."
The moon was battling the sun for the sky again when the kunoichis made their way back to the village. "Would I ever meet a man worth my time? I wonder what it feels to truly love." Sakura wondered curiously. Quietly, she slipped into her chambers and began to get ready for dinner.
Early rays of sunshine filled the royal chambers of the crown prince. Sasuke sat up in bed and turned to see the scroll Kakashi had given him the other day lying on his nightstand. These days have been so busy that I have not been able to read my brother's message, he thought to himself. Quietly so as not to disturb anyone, Sasuke unrolled the parchment and read:
Dear Sasuke,
I apologize for leaving without telling you, but an urgent mission has come abroad. So, I hurried home and found some grave news. Father has been found guilty of treason against the Third Hokage. At first, I didn't think this was true, but I couldn't deny it when I saw the evidence and heard Father's confession. Mother is now sick and bedridden. Doctors hover over her constantly, and won't allow me to see her.
The whole palace is a mess. I must take father's place just to keep the public calm, for they constantly panic in the streets. Once peace has been restored, I plan to leave the throne and move the capital to the new palace. As you know, Kakashi is with you now, and he shall fill my place as your advisor until I return.
Oh, and I have heard about this banquet you are to attend. For god's sake please try to look for a suitable woman and talk to people! A good king must socialize with as many potential allies as he can. Have a dance or two with the women. How bad can it be? Do not shrivel up in your room just because you hate parties! And try to keep Naruto out of trouble. The Third Hokage is getting older and plans to retire sometime. Heed my words and follow Kakashi-sensei's advice.
Your Brother,
Itachi Uchiha
P.S. If this message has somehow been intercepted then prepare to die from a raging ball of black fire.
P.S.S If this is you, Sasuke, reading this, then would you be so kind as to activate the sharingan to prevent yourself from being blown to bits? This message will still burn to ashes. Let me know when you have received this so I don't have to write another letter and seal a jutsu within the paper. You should now have 5-4-3-
Before he read any further, Sasuke wadded the scroll into a ball and threw it as far from himself as possible while activating his sharingan. His eyes changed from an onyx black to a blood red. The letter floated in the air for a split second before disintegrating into the air. Only scraps of ashes were left of it on the perfectly polished wooden floor. That would have been bad if he hadn't warned me, Sasuke thought to himself. Soon, there was a knock at the door. "Come in," Sasuke answered.
A butler shuffled inside his room and announced, "Your majesty, breakfast shall be served in a half hour."
Sasuke nodded politely and changed into a fresh pair of trousers and a faded blue jacket with a white shirt. He walked calmly down the stairs and into the dining hall where he saw his blonde friend slurping down his third bowl of morning ramen. Naruto peered up from his breakfast and waved to the prince. Sasuke sat down across from Naruto, and a servant brought him a bowl of rice, miso soup, a plate of grilled fish, and a rolled omelet.
Between his noisy slurps, Naruto managed to ask, "So- slurp- Where are we going- slurp- today?"
Sasuke rubbed the bridge of his nose to prevent himself from going mad at Naruto's obnoxious noise. "I don't know. What are you planning to do?" Honestly, Sasuke didn't want to anything but get away from the castle. Arranging and decorating the castle for a banquet wasn't a pleasant pastime to him, and he wouldn't disobey his brother by doing this. After all, Itachi hadn't covered planning for the wretched banquet.
Some actual thought seemed to take place in the blonde's empty skull before he replied, "I like exploring the village. Maybe we can find out more information on those forest spirits. And after that, we could spar together."
"Hn."
"Was that a yes or a no?"
Once he finished his breakfast, a maid handed Sasuke a cloak, and he walked briskly out of the dining hall. The autumn air was cool with leaves blowing in the occasional wind. He heard Naruto scampering after him with a cloak of his own flapping violently in the wind. Sasuke pulled over his hood and set off into the village.
"Oi, Sasuke, where are we going?" Naruto asked.
"No idea."
"So we are walking around aimlessly! What if we get lost?" Naruto panicked.
"Then we jump on the roofs and look for the castle to lead us back home. Have you forgotten your training already, Dobe?" Sasuke replied acidly.
"O-oh. My bad, Sasuke. Heh, Heh," the idiotic blonde smiled embarrassingly and rubbing the back of his head: a habit he had formed since he was a child.
It was midday when Sasuke finally allowed them to sit at a bar. Naruto sighed gratefully for the rest and ordered a bowl of duck ramen. Being tired of ramen, Sasuke ate a bowl of rice with fish and assorted vegetables. "Eww… Veggies," Naruto shuddered.
"Shut up. Just by watching you eat makes me sick of ramen." Sasuke retorted.
So far, he hadn't found any other information than what he had known from the other villagers. The women wouldn't answer him because they were too busy gawking at him, the men didn't know anything more than Kakashi, and the children were absolutely clueless. Naruto tried asking a dog, but that didn't turn out well.
Trying to make a conversation, Naruto said, "I wonder if those forest spirits are real. We should check that out sometime, but definitely not today. It would be dusk by the time we would step out of the forest and I would hate to encounter an angry spirit at night."
"Well, well, well. Looks like someone can't stay out of the palace," said a calm, lazy voice. Sasuke turned around to see Kakashi standing behind him. "I don't see why you are always out. If I were you, I'd stick to my duties." With such immaturity, Naruto snickered at that last word.
"Did you follow us?" Sasuke asked, clearly annoyed.
"Heh, not really. I saw you kids coming into this restaurant." The nobleman's face soon grew serious. "But I did hear that you kids want to know more about the forest spirits." He sat down next to Naruto and waved to a waiter. "I'll have a cup of jasmine tea and an order of sweet dumplings, please," Kakashi ordered. The maid immediately left to fill his order.
"So," Sasuke started. "You knew more than what you were telling us the other day. What else do we need to know before we venture into the forest?"
Quickly, the waitress scurried over to their table and handed Kakashi his meal. After a sip of his tea, Kakashi answered, "Legend says that they can easily be angered, especially around men matching their age. If you must talk to them, then don't ever challenge the forest spirits. They are skilled warriors and tend to not let a man leave."
"Wow, they must love us," Naruto joked sarcastically.
"As I was saying," Kakashi continued. "The spirits seem to resent men and the survivors report that ones who were captured were sent to death." Naruto and Sasuke waited for more information, but Kakashi said, "My speech is done now, but you may want to leave the restaurant before she sees you, Sasuke."
The two boys twisted around and saw a terrible sight to see. A redheaded girl with black glasses was yelling at another customer. "Where is Sasuke-kun? I know the prince is somewhere in this village. Don't lie to me!" That demanding tone of obsession could only belong to Karin.
"I-I think the prince is at the palace. I-isn't that where he is supposed to be?" the customer replied.
"NO! I can sense his chakra in this building." She screeched.
Naruto yelped, "Run, Sasuke! Run for your ice cube life!" At that, the prince was just a flash of blue in the wind. Karin glanced in Naruto's direction, giving him an evil grin. "On second thought, wait for me!" The blonde became another flash, running as fast as he could behind his friend. In a matter of seconds, he managed to leave the redhead in his dust.
My cousin's my editor now and she came up with that last bit of dialogue. If you have any suggestions, please review.