Sprouting Wings

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Chapter IV

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Imprisonment

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The lights reflect off of the cool, white tiles of Sakura's small bathroom. The girl kneeled in the corner hunched over with a sharp kunai in hand.

With one swift movement of her arm, pink locks drifted down and lay scattered around her. A few more strokes of her kunai, and her waist length hair was replaced by short, jagged tresses barely reaching her shoulder.

Sakura stood up, brushing off the strands of hair that stuck to her clothing, and proceeded to stare at her reflection. She slowly lifted her hand and fingered the ends of her hair, a grim expression on her face. Tomorrow, she would no longer live here, most likely never be able to set foot here again.

Sakura gripped the edge of the basin harder, as a wave of doubt washed over her of what she just did.

No, she scolded herself. What's done is done…

People will talk when they notice the absence of her long, flowing, waist length hair, but she wanted the whole world to know that she will never truly become Sasuke's.

Her heart still ached, and every night, she still cries herself to sleep thinking of that lost life she could've had with Naruto.

Sakura's fingers clasped the crystal necklace around her neck, and she decided that although she could no longer be with him, she will keep her heart locked away forever, and her love for Naruto will never cease.

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Where are you?

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The white kosode kimono along with the heavy uchikake restricted movement, Sakura thought as she glanced down at her attire.

She felt numb as she stared at Sasuke through her floss silk headdress. He stood tall and so handsome in his formal kimono with dark hakama. Sasuke was reading his words of commitment, and Sakura could not stop the flow of tears streaming down her face.

So many times has she dreamed about this day, this very moment. But the scene before her was wrong. She was uncomfortable with the elaborateness of the décor around her, and the sheer number of people attending their wedding.

They were watching her every move, she could feel their harsh glares on her back. But most of all, it shouldn't have been Sasuke facing her.

Never had she ever imagined that the crowned prince of Konoha would be saying these words to her, and she could not stop as another round of tears slid down her painted face.

Sasuke finished, and immediately, she felt his intense gaze resting on her. A cup of sake was placed in her hand, and they linked arms before drinking the sake, finalizing their marriage.

Sakura stared upward at Sasuke, they were in his private chambers now, as is the custom for newly-weds. Without a word, he gently caressed a lock of her pink hair and inspected it.

"You cut it."

When Sakura did not respond, Sasuke slowly tilted her chin up and stared into her deep emerald eyes. She saw emotions flicker through his eyes, and when he slowly leaned down towards her she placed her hand on his chest, halting him.

Sakura felt his warm breath, so near her skin and shivered. She couldn't do this anymore, this game he plays, her worn out heart just simply can't take it any longer.

"Why Sasuke?" She pleaded.

"It's what I want, accept it."

As he spoke those words, the prince turned away and slid open the shoji screen.

"I hate you." It was merely a whisper, but Sakura was sure he heard her.

Sasuke stepped out, and shut the shoji screen behind him forcfully, and Sakura was left alone once again.

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Their sour relationship did not improve after they were married. It wasn't given a chance to, because days after the wedding took place, Sasuke left on a mission with his group of Samurais to the Konoha boarder.

But Sasuke did not trust Sakura in the palace alone, and took her with him. This caused another round of gossip throughout the servant quarters since it was unheard of for a woman to accompany the Samurais on their missions.

Sakura arrived three days after them, and stayed in the inn there. If she had a choice, she would not have allowed herself to be cooped up there. But she was to stay here under Sasuke's orders, and what choice did she have?

She was forced to do many things she did not want.

Sakura rested her arms on the windowsill and gazed outwards at the village.

It's quiet here. I haven't seen a single person all day…

The thump of a tray caused Sakura to turn around, and when she saw the redheaded servant again, she felt her mood worsen.

"Have a cup of tea, Lady Sakura?"

She turned away; she was so weary of everything.

"Hmph! Do you even speak? You never respond to anything! If you—I-I" the servant grabbed fistfuls of her red hair in exasperation. "I only took this job to be closer to Sasuke-kun, not to serve you. So you know what? If you won't drink this, I will."

Karin proceeded to pour herself a cup of the tea and kneeled down on the mat.

She made a choking sound when she sipped the tea, and spit it out grumbling, "Ugh, this is why I hate coming to wind country….feels like there's sand in everything."

Sakura lifted her head at Karin's words, and stared at the servant in shock.

"No, we've never left Konoha."

A smug look grew on Karin's face as she smiled haughtily. "Ha! Do you know how long it took to get here? And we're going to stay here for a while since the samurais are waiting to ambush the Akatsukiafter they—"

Karin clasped a hand over her mouth, before stuttering a quick excuse and left the room.

Sakura's hands shook, and she clutched her kimono, but it was no use. This is the village where the Akatsuki is...and that's where Naruto is!

A wave of joy washed over her. This is her chance, this is her opportunity to find Naruto…maybe they were meant to be together after all.

But another thought entered Sakura's mind. What about Sasuke? She did not love him, but she was still his wife…Sakura shook her head to clear away those thoughts. Sasuke forced her to marry him, she did not love him. She was never truly his and she is just a commoner after all. Sasuke will get over her eventually.

They came home late in the night, and Sakura joined them for dinner. She noticed all the Samurai elites were there. There was Neji from the Hyuuga clan, Kiba from the Inuzuka clan, and Shikamaru from the Nara clan, the head strategist.

All whom Sakura only heard about and never met in person with the exception of Neji.

"Dang Sasuke! You got a good eye; she's as pretty as a flower." Kiba teased, a large grin on his face.

"Shut it Inuzuka." He was met with a glare from the prince.

"This is troublesome." Shikamaru said quietly, stifling a yawn.

Sakura couldn't help but smile at their playful banter. So this is what Sasuke's like when he's not in the palace.

They spoke of their battle with the members in the ruthless organization, the Akatsuki, and Sakura kept to herself until she heard the mention of Jiraiya.

"Jiraiya? As in, the Sannin?"

Sasuke stared at her, contemplating over whether to answer her question before saying, "Yes, he was found dead in their hideout after we killed three of then and the rest fled."

"D-did you find anyone else?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and took a sip of his drink before answering, "Not living."

Sakura became motionless when she heard his words, and quickly excused herself. Sasuke followed her and when they reached Sakura's room, Sasuke grabbed her arm, stopping her in her tracks.

"Sakura, I want you to know I'll always protect you. You will always be safe with me."

She struggled against his hold, tears already streaming down her face.

"I-I know."

His grip loosened slightly, and Sakura quickly escaped into her room and closed the shojiscreen behind her.

She sat on the foot of her bed, feeling the coolness of the crystal necklace. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

Sakura went around the room and gathered her essentials, including a pouch full of money. She would need it for the days ahead.

Sakura wasn't really thinking, and she knew this. But at this point, she wasn't sure if she was capable of logical thinking anymore.

Naruto was still alive, she refused to believe he was dead, and she needed to find him. He was in danger, the Akatsuki most likely discovered he had the nine-tails, and although she knew she couldn't do much, she felt she needed to do something. Naruto did mention Jiraiya had a spy in the organization, and maybe she could convince him to help her save Naruto.

Besides, she couldn't take another day of staying in this prison...she couldn't take another day of seeing Sasuke reminding her of her betrayal.

-xxx-

Sasuke looked at the map stretched out on the table beneath him, analyzing the locations marked by Shikamaru.

The one time he finally had a lead on the Akatsuki, and he let them slip away. He hated himself, he hated the fact that he was weak. If he was stronger, he could have found out who mercilessly slaughtered his clan, avenged them. If he was stronger, he could have found Itachi.

But he couldn't do any of this, and the one time he can finally destroy the Akatsuki, and do something good for his country, he let them slip away. He was powerless.

The screen door opened to reveal Karin, fidgeting with a strand of her hair.

"Y-Your Highness, it seems there is a problem of great urgency, and—"

"Spit it out!"

"Lady Sakura's gone."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Gone? What do you mean by gone? This is an inn, where could she have went?"

"Y-Your Highness, we searched for her everywhere but—"

Sasuke slammed his palm on the table, startling both the servant and Shikamaru.

"Search harder! Tell everyone in this building to, and no one's to rest until she is found."

"Y-Yes, right away!" She stuttered, scurrying out of the room.

The prince sat and closed his eyes, massaging his temples. He had lost Akatsuki's trail, and now Sakura disappeared. He was powerless, utterly powerless.

-xxx-

Author Note-

Sorry for the delay, my family and I were out of town, and once we got back, I was way behind on piano, and I have a recital at the end of the month!

But I decided to be productive today, and finished this chapter :)

Before I start to answer questions, please note that in the beginning of this chap, Sakura was cutting her hair. This was not only my way of incorporating the actual anime, but to be symbolic that, in ancient Japan, women wore their hair long, and it was a disgrace when they cut their hair. When the wife of a samurai lost her husband, they would cut their hair, and some would also do the same when they are suffering from a broken heart.

I guess since I'm explaining this now that I didn't do a very good job describing the scene, but I just want you guys to know the symbolic meaning of it.

Now, question time!

Asdf- Yeah, Sasuke did seem selfish, but the whole theme of this is the irony in life, and going against fate. I can tell you now that this is going to end in SasuSaku, but there will be more NaruSaku moments! There will be more twists and surprises, so continue reading!

Hello- although Ino did make sure no one knew what happened to Sakura, let's just say….news spread fast through out the palace, and the reason Tsunade couldn't come to Sakura earlier is because that would be in direct violation of Ino's orders, who at the time still held higher authority than Tsunade.

- Technically, this story is set in third person point of view, with the usage of Sakura's name, but I get what you mean. So far, it is mainly centered around Sakura. I can not tell you how many times I had written a segment that was centered around Sasuke and gave an insight on his thoughts, and then deleted it. But I hope the last part kinda let you glance into Sasuke's mind, there will hopefully be more written explaining his past, and centered around him.

Shana- Thanks! And well, Sakura believes Naruto is not dead, all will be revealed in the next chap!

Mica- Okay, so this story was really my little playoff on the cliché of guy likes girl, but his feelings were not returned, set in Naruto verse. I'm not really a fan of Prince of Tennis, and I'm sorry that you thought this was so similar that it's considered a poor written imitation.

I shared my idea with a friend of mine, and she helped me work out the plot and gave me a ton of ideas, but she's not on fanfiction so I couldn't really give her any credit. Ikiohri is most likely a much better writer than I am, due to experience and just better writer overall, I guess. (I'm only in middle school, so I definitely have a long way to go!)

Unendingness- thank you:) Yep, Itachi will appear again, and he actually has quite an important role! Now, for Sasuke's vengeance plot, I set this up as right now, Sasuke doesn't know what exactly happened to his clan and Itachi's disappearance, so he won't be seeking power, I won't be following cannon for that part. I believe if all goes according to my notes, Itachi will make an appearance in the next chap!

As usual, please put any comments, questions, and suggestions you have in a review,

Till next time,

-Aurora