Hi readers! Sorry for the little delay. Thanks so much for all of your kindness once more, you've humbled me and made me so thankful. I love you and appreciate you so much. Thanks for reading. -Tifa

I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

AU

The Blind Prince

Chapter 6: The Runaway- Part 1

The young Prince sat outside in the gardens where he had shared a kiss with the stubborn girl. He could feel the noon sun beaming down on his skin, keeping him from being too chilled by the light autumn breeze around him. He could hear the scratching and whirling of the leaves that had fallen from the trees above as they raced across the cobblestone in that autumn breeze. The hair around his face blew wildly, keeping it out of his face, which he appreciated.

He heaved a heavy sigh as he contemplated the evening before. He kissed the young girl, and she had made it quite clear afterward that he had stolen her first kiss. She was angry, but he couldn't help but laugh at her outburst. He could only imagine how cute she must've looked as she threw the small tantrum. He felt the bench beneath him before swinging his legs around, scooting down and laying down on his back. He imagined the sky was as blue as it used to be when he was a child, but it saddened him that he didn't remember what blue looked like.

Darkness had been what he knew, and saw, and felt. But when the stubborn, angry girl named Tenten had showed up into his life, the darkness didn't seem to engulf him any longer. Normal people would most likely assume that to be love, but the word sounded foreign to him, for he knew that it was much too soon to even consider it. Although his own behavior was beginning to feel foreign to him as well, which was also a symptom of what people would classify as love.

He shook his head. "I do not love her." He said aloud as he huffed out another sigh and rubbed his temples.

"I think ya do.." Came his little brother's voice from beside him. This startled Itachi, and he nearly lost his balance and fell off the bench, but he caught himself in time.

He had been so wrapped up in his thought, that he hadn't even heard his brother sneak up on him. When you lose a sense, your others become heightened, his ears were better than anyone else's around, so he frowned in defeat. "Sasuke! You Baka."

Sasuke erupted into laughter before making his brother sit up so he could join him on the bench. "I'm sorry. Must've been thinking a lot about that girl..." Sasuke paused for quite a while before continuing. "She's very pretty, Itachi."

"Hm." Itachi didn't feel much like discussing the young girl with his brother, though he was unsure why. He didn't want anyone speaking of her in that way.

"Did you kiss her?" Sasuke prodded, poking his brother's side, receiving a swat quickly.

"No." Itachi lied, not bothering to turn his face toward his brother's.

"Liar." Came his brother's short response. "You can lie to yourself all you want, I suppose. But I do have some news."

"And what's that, Baka?"

"I overheard our parents speaking. Apparently you are not the only prince that is interested in Tenten." Sasuke informed.

Now Itachi turned to face Sasuke with an inquisitive expression. "What?"

"It gets worse." Sasuke began, "apparently it is Neji Hyūga who spotted her last evening."

The Hyūga's were a rivaling kingdom on the opposite end of Konoha, and just as feared and respected as the Uchiha's. Itachi being older, had a slight advantage, but that advantage was diminished because of his lack of vision, at least in his own mind.

They did not like one-another, the Hyūgas and the Uchihas, and when Sasuke had told Itachi whom had also taken a shining to Tenten, he felt angry and threatened. "Dammit!" He boomed, standing to his feet and nearly knocking Sasuke backwards.

"Itachi, " Sasuke started after regaining his balance, "It's going to be fine. It's not as though he's going to propose to her right away. But this does mean that if you're serious about that girl, you should tell our parents, you can get to her first."

"Hm." Itachi nodded his head and began walking toward the doors of the palace slowly.

"A visitor? At this hour?" Tenten rubbed her weary chocolate eyes and sat up from her rather comfortable and plush bed they beckoned her to come back.

Her maidservant looked at her with a soft expression, smiling though something was underlying. Tenten couldn't pinpoint what it was, but she had a feeling her visitor was not Itachi. He wasn't the type to travel and come after her.

"Who is it?" Tenten swung her legs over the ledge of the bed, dangling them for a moment before hopping down.

"His name is Prince Neji, Hyūga." Kirenai replied.

Tenten had gone to her closet and began to look through her clothing, she grabbed a simple brown colored gown, that was completely straight. It looked like it could be considered a night gown. She shrugged her shoulders and threw her night clothes to he floor and exchanged them for the brown piece of clothing she had put on. She then took her hair and began to tie it up in her signature dual buns.

"Tenten," Kurenai came up behind her and stopped her. "This is not a casual meeting."

Tenten whipped around and faced the brunette woman, dropping her hair in a cascade of chocolate waves. "What do you mean?

"H-" Kurenai could hardly stomach telling Tenten what she had to say. Especially after Tenten giggled and beamed about what had happened at the Ball. Her first kiss. "He's here to propose.

Tenten's dropped and she backed away. "What?" The young girl was in shock. How could someone who hadn't even known her, show up at her doorstep to propose. In her heart of hearts she may not want to admit it, she might have wanted Itachi to propose. Of course not any time soon. But in their world, they didn't have a lot of say when it comes to marriage. A girl was lucky if she had the opportunity to spend time with a Prince beforehand, much like she had with Itachi. She was inwardly praying that her father would not accept the proposal from this new Prince.

"Get something more formal on, Tenten."

"No." She said firmly as both of her fists balled up until her knuckles turned white. After her statement she rushed out of her room and down the stairs to face this man head on, barefoot and all, to tell him exactly what she thought of this surprise proposal.

"Tenten, dear." Her father said with a smile as he saw her walk toward the door, before ushering her under his arm. He walked her toward the man she had seen last night who had been all clad in white the night before.

"You." She muttered, drawing away from her father.

The ebony haired man with piercing ivory eyes smiled at her and bowed politely. "Yes, it is I. Glad to see you recognized me." He stood from his bow and offered his hand to her, so he could take hers and kiss it, but she refused. He shrugged her coldness off.

"This is Prince Hyūga, he's come for your hand in marriage, Tenten." Her father informed. "You should treat him as such, with respect."

"I will do no such thing. I have no intentions of marrying a man I hardly know. Especially not when I lov-" She caught herself. She hadn't expected those words to form on her lips so easily. "When I have my sights on someone else."

"Need I remind you, girl, that you are not the one who decides." The so-called Prince, Reminded her.

This angered Tenten, so much that she wanted to slap he smug look off of his pale face. She gritted her teeth and tried to hold back a comment.

"We have decided, Tenten, that this is the right arrangement for you. Prince Hyūga is your fiancée now." Her father gently nudged her in the direction of the menacing man.

With wide eyes and a shaking voice, she spoke. "I have not agreed to this!"

"You don't have to, miss Tenten. In time, you will understand." The prince spoke.

Without another thought, Tenten yanked herself away from her father, pushed past the prince and leapt over the threshold of the doors, bare and delicate feet slamming into the cobblestone. She didn't stop there, her legs began to move, and quickly at that. A brisk walk, soon turned into a sprint as she rushed away from her home. Instincts kicking in, she knew running to the fields was a bad idea. It was easy to be caught in a wide open area, so she hung a left and rushed into the thicket of woods, where the trees were so tall they blocked out most of the sunlight.