Hello everyone, firstly I wanted to thank you for all the reviews I never imagined one of my stories would be so popular and I also want thank you for complimenting my writing style (though I'm still getting used to it myself). I do hope you enjoy this chapter!

Sakura stepped back and twisted her waist to move her upper body out of the swords way, before she stepped forward, holding her own sword out, she attacked with fierceness, no longer hesitating because of the experience she lacked. Mahir stumbled back when Sakura went in to strike, taking the chance she swung and watched as the wooden sword was sent flying out of her teacher's hand for the first time, watching as it landed on the ground with a 'thud'.

Mahir laughed, clapping his hands "Well done Haruno."

Sakura smiled, pride filling her "So I'm getting better?"

"I'll say, you seem much more spirited since you've returned from your break."

By break, Sakura knew he was referring to the time she took off to tend to Kouen, which wasn't much of a break in her opinion but that didn't matter anymore. Sakura still told Kouen he shouldn't over exert himself which meant no training until his injuries were all healed, she knew he wanted to protest to that but he didn't.

"By the way, how is prince Kouen?" Mahir asked fetching his sword. "Is he better?"

Rolling her shoulders, Sakura shrugged in a careless manner "Well, he's alive,"

She did not want to explain in detail to Mahir just how serious his injuries were, it didn't make her feel any better about it. The sensation was an odd one, Sakura thought that her anger for Kouen would run so deep, like the ocean it would never but it didn't, instead after the battle it was as if that anger had run out, that unlimited amount was actually very limited. Every time she thought about what she had nearly done, she thought back to Sasuke and what he must be doing and that made her heart ache.

'Revenge is nothing but a plant from the seed of hate, it bears fruit once and then it withers and dies.'

While Kouen was out of commission Sakura thought to take the opportunity to finally learn how to use Gaap's djinn equip, not full body yet but at least the weapon. She managed to find a secluded in the far end of the palace, far away from the construction being done on the buildings and walls Sakura and Kouen damaged during their fight.

"Another long weapon…." Sakura trailed starring at the new form of spear in her hand, it was beautiful, a combination of sea blue and purple, the blade came in an unusual pattering, beginning as a diamond and following with two razor sharp ends on either side that reminded her a bit of the pattern of a fishes fin only shaper with ribbons at the end of the last points and further down was another sharp end.

'Not one of my djinns could've come with shuriken as a weapon?' Sakura thought

"It is not how well you wield the weapon my king, but its power." Beleth told her

'You can say that but when push comes to shove I will need to know how to actually use these weapons, so far Gaap, Sitri and Stolas all have close combat weapons which isn't my specialty, I was kind of hoping for a sword. Least I have some training behind me for that.'

"We cannot change our weapons form my king," Stolas said

'Suppose I can manage, I have so far.'

Her eyes trailed to the pond in the garden, she held up her spear with both hands "Oh spirit of inclination and consonance, I call on you, Gaap."

The water from the pond began to slowly gather, coming into the air in streams before gathering it slowly, Sakura felt her concentration dwindling, it was always difficult the first time with a new djinn, just as there were ways to interact with different people based on different factors, there were different dynamics when it came to mastering different djinn's powers.

"Almost got it," Sakura said

She was attempting to gather the water and then disperse it into an attack, for that she needed to be able to manipulate the water into bending into what she wanted it to and then send it towards its target, with the right speed and precision-right now she was struggling just to form anything with the water.

After managing to gather a decent amount of water Sakura made the command to make the water move through the air, she slowly began moving her spear but there was still a lot of resistance in her movements. It definitely wasn't easy learning to master new djinn. She jerked a few times and nearly dropped the water.

"Calm down my king, you're acting like you're trying to bend fire-no offense Beleth."

"I'll let it slide."

"Well what am I supposed to do?"

"For one relax, water is not an element that requires force. It won't hurt you if you feel it."

In an attempt to heed her djinn's advice Sakura took a deep breath, her shoulders slackened slightly, keeping her eyes closed she began raising her spear and somehow she knew the water was following, she began to pull the water, directing it with her djinns weapon.

'I think I've got it.'

"Well a basic grasp," Gaap said "There is still a long way to go."

'Oh really?'

Bringing her spear to point to the sky Sakura directed the water to move above, movements still a bit slow but then she swung it down towards a rock in the garden and watched as the water moved at high speed through the air and against the rock slicing it halfway.

Sakura sighed "I meant for it to cut all the way through."

"Like I said, you still have a long way to go but you seem to pick things up quick enough."

"That's because our king has excellent magoi control."

Sakura smiled though there was a bitterness in her thoughts 'It is my only natural talent.'

She was about to continue practising when she heard the fluttering of the rukh and followed the sound to one of the buildings near where she was training and caught sight of a tiny head peering from a window in one of the buildings before ducking away and saw swore she just saw….pink?

Walking across the garden Sakura came towards the building, it was so quiet she had assumed it was unoccupied but seems she was wrong. As Sakura reached the door she knocked twice but there was no answer.

"Is anyone in there?"

She heard shuffling and then a loud crash like furniture falling and then sniffling so she opened the door and walked in. The building was dark, most of the windows were shut aside from the one Sakura had seen the girls head appear, on the floor she could see a bunch of dolls and fabric lying around but there wasn't really anything else aside from some furniture-compared to all the other rooms she had seen in the palace it was very under decorated.

Following the sniffling Sakura saw a tiny figure-a girl sprawled flat faced on the wooden floors crying. After returning Gaap's weapon to its initial form Sakura slowly approached.

"Um, are you okay?"

The girl froze making Sakura stop "Hey did you fall?"

Instead of answering all the little girl did was jump up and sprint under a table, tucking her knees to her chest and hiding her face. The way she reacted reminded Sakura of the way a feral cat. Crouching down Sakura crawled towards her and gently reached out, placing her hands on the girls shoulder Sakura felt her stiffen and knew she was getting ready to react.

"Are you alright? It sounded like you fell really hard are you hurt?"

The girl was silent for little while, before Sakura heard her mutter "My knee,"

She was a long, slightly crinkled dress.

"Well will you come out so I can take a look at it?"

The girl shook her head and curled into a tighter ball but Sakura didn't give up.

"Come on, I can make you feel better, you don't like being hurt right?"

She shook her head.

"Well I can make the pain go away, if you let me see it."

After about five minutes the girl started moving again, untucking hers arms and stretching her legs she began to come out of her dark corner under the table, while she moved towards Sakura the pinkette moved a little to the back to give her some space.

'It's like you're dealing with an injured animal my king," Stolas said

'Well actually this is usually how injured children behave, I had a lot of experience dealing with them.' Sakura told him

With a soft smile Sakura spoke in an equally soft tone "What's your name?"

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"K-Kougyoku Ren…."

Looking at her features, Sakura saw that the girl had long-slightly dishevelled pink hair, many shades darker than her own and pink eyes. What caught Sakura's attention though was her last name; that meant she must've been one of the seven sister's that Kouen had mentioned. What she was doing all the way in this part of the palace was another question.

'Is this her estate?' Sakura wondered, glancing around the eerie room before looking back at Kougyoku. 'She can't be older than six.'

"So…..princess Kougyoku will you let me roll up your robe to see your where you've been hurt?"

Hesitantly Kougyoku nodded while Sakura continued to smile, she slowly reached forward and rolled up her dress to see her knee; one of them was slightly red and without a doubt would bruise.

"Alright now hold still, this might tickle a little." Sakura said before holding her free hand that wasn't holding onto the girl's leg in case she tried to kick free over her knee, chakra flowed through and began healing her injury.

When Sakura pulled away she saw Kougyoku's eyes shining with wonder, probably trying to figure out what kind of 'magic' Sakura had used.

"You were very brave, princess" Sakura praised resting her hand on the girls head, giving her a gentle pet. "You should be very proud."

Kougyoku was staring at her previously injured knee in awe and wonder "Wow…."

Sakura giggled "So princess Kougyoku, do you live here?"

She nodded, looking down with sad eyes. "Are you here by yourself?" Sakura asked

Again the little princess nodded.

Sakura frowned wonder why her parents would just cast their child off in such a remote part of the palace. No wonder she seemed so frail and frightful, she must not have been used to interacting with anyone other than the servants.

"Always…..here" Kougyo trailed "Always by myself."

She began crying and Sakura felt a pang of pain go through her, she had to learn the hard way how painful and lonely solitude was and what it did to a person; both of her teammates had endured it and she was too ignorant to do anything then.

'But not now.' Sakura thought with a determined gleam in her eye as she vowed to take away this princesses loneliness.

"Princess Kougyoku?"

The girl visibly jumped and looked at the lighter headed pinkette.

Smiling Sakura held up a small doll "Would you like to play a game with me?"

Few words had never meant so much; Kougyoku's face lit up, going from disbelief to pure happiness. Reaching for the doll Sakura held out to her she breathed a tiny 'yes'.

Sakura hadn't played with dolls since she was a little girl, she had forgotten about the unwritten rules, how you had to change your voice and become the doll itself, move it around as if it real. It was a silliness that also gave a sense of happiness, putting up a barrier between reality and fantasy. Kougyoku had clearly mastered that skill for she kept in character with her dolls the entire time, switching roles easily. Sakura guessed the young princess had to use her imagination to fill in that lonely void. Sakura-not being able to keep in character with the dolls suggested after a while that they play something else. After a few hours Sakura realised she had spent the entire day with Kougyoku, unfortunately the one to end their fun was a Kougyoku's nurse and caretaker who tried to chase Sakura off but Kougyoku did not want her to leave.

"Please stay!" Kougyoku cried holding onto Sakura's waist

"Princess Kougyoku, this women is your brother prince Kouen's guest, her time and obligations lie with him."

Sakura actually held herself back from smacking the women, she didn't like the implications of what she had just told the princess.

Sakura bent down slightly and picked her up "Don't worry, I'll come and visit you tomorrow again."

"Promise?" Kougyoku sniffled slightly

Sakura nodded "Promise."

"You know when I said I was going to heal you, I didn't think I also signed up to be your entertainment" Sakura complained as she moved one of her chess pieces on the board, she was sitting in a chair on the side of Kouen's bed with a small table in front and a chests board on it.

"Well you were the one who insisted I stay off my feet," Kouen moved his chess piece, taking Sakura's.

Sakura frowned, trying to decide what move to make next "Because I know where and how many bones I broke and shattered in your body" she moved her piece and took one of Kouen's pawns "You're only slowing down your recovery and making more work for me."

It turned out Kouen did not take well to being confined to bed. In fact according to Koumei-who called Sakura to check up on him when she was heading back from Kougyoku, Kouen was going about his daily routine as per usual which included training when Sakura said he was supposed to be staying away from that.

"You remind me of a friend, he didn't lying in bed injured either." Sakura said smiling when she thought about Naruto.

"Then perhaps you should find a way to speed up my recovery," Kouen suggested, though Sakura knew what he was trying to pull.

"If that was possible, you'd be on your feet and I'd been at the nearest harbour." Sakura muttered before moving her knight to take his. "Don't worry, you'll be fine in a few days-if you take it easy."

"Then don't allow me to bore."

Kouen smirked, in that one moment Sakura made a move that left her king wide open and Kouen took that chance to strike.

"Checkmate."

Once, there were countless windows connecting all the countless worlds together. Different beings would enter through these windows to come to other worlds. These being were known as the Interlopers.

Interlopers are those who enter this world from another through their own means and are not influenced by any will other than their own. It is impossible to make them abide by the way of the world and the flow of the rukh. They are the unattached, the unknown, the rare and-

"Okay that's enough for tonight," Sakura yawned rolling up the scroll, she was finally able to touch on it again but from what she could tell it was giving some kind of history lesson and Sakura already knew most of what she read, getting the information from her djinns.

"To truly know something, we should first learn origins my king." Stolas said

"At the pace I'm going I'm not even going to get through the origins."

"No one said acquiring knowledge was easy."

"Yeah, no one said it was going to be boring either." Gaap said

"As boring as your dry jokes." Stolas commented

"Why you-

"Don't the two of you start!" Beleth warned

Sakura gave a small chuckle, throwing herself on her bed "Ah with you guys around it's never quiet, but I do have a full day tomorrow so silence would be appreciated."

"Ah yes, another full day of taking care of the royal children of Kou." Gaap said

Sakura frowned "What does that mean?"

"Gaap," Beleth warned

"It means my king, you are becoming a full time caretaker without pay. First it was the prince, then his brother, then his cousins and now his sister as well. It's like everyone you meet become attached to you."

Thinking about it, Sakura could see why her djinn might think that, she spent a lot of time with them, it took up most of her day, when Kouen was unconscious she got quite a few visits from Koumei and the two would often talk, Hakuryuu and Hakuei she hasn't seen for a while though and she only met Kougyoku today but even so she promised to see her again.

"I must say, people do seem to take an unusual shine to you my king," Stolas said

Shifting on her back Sakura placed her hands over her stomach and sighed "That's not true."

"Actually my king looking back, you do seem to have a certain impact on everyone you meet." Beleth concurred

"Or maybe they can just tell that I'm not like them," Sakura yawned again closing her eyes "That I'm an outsider…something unusual."

A few minutes passed and she was just about to sift off to sleep when the sound of shuffling, a small shadow and the glint of silver shining in the moonlight had her had shooting upright and jumping off the bed right before the ripping of fabric was heard.

"What the heck?" Sakura rubbed her eyes a few times and looked again,

"Kill…."

At first Sakura thought her mind was playing tricks on her or she was having a dream, a dream about a tiny pink haired boy with a knife that just tried to kill her in her sleep.

"I must be dreaming." She started hitting both sides of her face trying to wake up but knew she already was when she felt the pain of her cheeks turning red.

"Oh this isn't a dream."

The little silhouette looked at her and Sakura saw a very malicious grin on the child's face, holding the knife out in front of him pointing at Sakura, he launched himself off the bed aiming directly for the pinkette's head.

"KILL"

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Kouen was far from amused when he heard the constant knocking on his bedroom door that woke him up. The last time something like this had happened was when one of the new maids wanted to engage in 'intimate relations' with him, which he did not approve, then another time was when Koumei came in because he was afraid he was becoming insomniac, meanwhile this was due to him sleeping so much in the day he distorted his usual rest pattern, so Kouen took to locking his door at night and no one had bothered him since-until now.

At first he chose to ignore it, but after a full two minutes of nonstop knocking-never resorting to banging which indicates whoever was there was mindful not to wake up the rest of the palace even though his chambers was more isolated, he went and opened the door. Kouen did not know what to expect, but seeing Sakura clad in a sports bra, her shorts and holding a small struggling boy he recognised as his younger brother was far from what he expected.

Kouen was sure to lock the door once they were both inside.

"I'm assuming you had trouble sleeping," was Kouen's first remark.

Sakura did not seem amused either, still holding the child who hadn't stopped trying to wriggle out of her grasp since she grabbed him. "Well let's see, a small child attempted to assassinate me while I was asleep in bed, with a butcher knife-yes I had trouble sleeping!"

There was a slight curving of Kouen's lips that irked Sakura, he clearly didn't mind that she woke him up anymore.

"Do you think this is funny?"

Kouen looked at his brother "A multiple djinn wielder was nearly defeated by a six year old, I find the thought somewhat amusing."

"Well I don't!" Sakura snapped looking down at the small boy "He's vicious for a child."

Sighing Kouen gestured for Sakura to remove the boy's gag around his mouth that she had tied there because when she put her hand over his mouth he bit her open. When the cloth fell the boy started speaking in a hushed tone.

"Gonna kill…"

Sakura shivered, she could feel the bloodlust coming from this child and it was disturbing. "Okay, please explain why a child tried to butcher me in my sleep."

"This is my younger brother Kouha,"

Sakura's expression was deadpan when Kouen didn't continue with his explanation "Yeah; that helps now why was he trying to kill me?"

"Let's ask him." Kouen said looking down at Kouha "Kouha?"

The small child growled softly "I heard En-nii was nearly killed by this stupid pink haired bitch."

Sakura's jaw slackened "WHO TEACHES A CHILD TO SPEAK LIKE THAT?"

Kouen frowned "Unless you want the palace to know you are in here in the middle of the night lower you voice." He then looked down at Kouha "Kouha, this is Sakura Haruno, I brought her to the palace. You will not try to kill her again."

Through pink glossy eyes Kouha stared at his brother "She hurt En-nii and I wasn't really going to kill her, I just wanted to teach her a lesson and cut her up."

"Oh I see,"

Sakura slapped her forehead with her freehand "Really, that's it? This child is sadistic. In my experience they require professional help."

Kouen's shoulders raised slightly, he walked over to Sakura and took Kouha from her, holding him out despite his injuries (which Sakura made a mental note to scold him on later). When she looked at Kouha she saw he was pouting.

"You were the one who hurt my brother you stupid hag, you should be the one who gets help."

At this point Sakura had to bite her tongue from scolding the child.

"Kouha, listen to me."

Kouen didn't say another word until the boy looked directly at him, when he did he continued "Remember when I told you I've captured a dungeon?"

"Yes, I remember En-nii, you've got this amazing power you're going to use to strengthen the Kou empire."

Kouen nodded "Exactly, but until now I haven't had anyone to test my power against since Sakura."

Kouha looked back at the other pinkette, the hostility in his eyes still burned but his expression was softened and Sakura couldn't help thinking he looked very feminine for a boy, she didn't think he'd be handsome when he grew up but beautiful instead.

"So she wasn't going to kill you?" Kouha asked, it was clear by his tone of voice that the answer was going to determine Kouha's final impression of Sakura, which made her a little nervous because the answer to that question was unclear to her as well. Kouen provoked her to such anger she threw caution to the wind and fought with no restraint but what Kouen thought of the entire situation was another mystery.

"No." Kouen confirmed "She was making me stronger."

Sakura didn't know why but when Kouen looked at her she instantly averted her eyes, those words made Sakura feel this odd sensation, she became aware of her heart beat thumping loudly.

Kouha then smiled "Oh okay, so En-nii wanted to get hurt."

Sakura's sweat dropped, all other feelings replaced with disbelief. She had met a lot of different and colourful characters in this world but non like him, at first he might have reminded her a bit of Ja'far concerning his bloodlust but there was a vast river of difference distinguishing each boy that couldn't be bridged by that single similarity.

Kouha began rubbing his eyes and Kouen asked him "How long have you been waiting to attack her?"

"Since this afternoon," Kouha replied "When I final found her room I waited under the bed until she went to sleep, by the way En-nii she talks to herself."

Heat spread across Sakura's cheeks as she wondered why she didn't notice the small boy in there before, usually she could sense the presence if she focused or when it was quiet-then again with her djinns it with her it was almost never quiet.

She was grateful Kouen didn't comment on her talking to herself, it was as if his brother was doing what little kids always did, embarrass those older than them by talking about them with no filter-of course it was usual younger siblings who targeted their older siblings to their friends and not the other way around.

'Not that Kouen and I are friends,' Sakura reassured herself looking at Kouen and Kouha, when she thought about it, Kouha and Kouen didn't really have any similar features, not in the same way Kouen and Koumei did, then there was Kougyoku….it would make sense if they came from different mothers but left an uncomfortable churning when she thought about what kind of man their father must be to have had so many children with different women and then still isolating their children in the palace.

"He's asleep," Kouen observed looking at Kouha

Sighing Sakura continued to look down at Kouha "He must've been really tired after that failed assassination attempt. What are you going to do with him?"

"I'll take him back to his estate, he usually doesn't leave because of his mother."

Sakura cocked her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowed together and noticing this Kouen began explaining "His mother is mentally ill so Kouha dislikes leaving her side."

"Oh…" Sakura's tone softened as she wondered what the poor boy must've endured, she wanted to ask more questions but she felt that Kouen wouldn't answer them since it wasn't really any of her business, she hadn't even mentioned to him that she met one of sisters. She also knew why Kouen was going to take him back himself instead of calling for someone-it wasn't difficult to see the obvious hardships and slander this child must've endured so instead she asked Kouen "Where's the estate?"

"South of the palace, the far end." Kouen's voice was narrowed with curiosity as to why Sakura asked.

"You are still supposed to be resting, you can't walk that far." Sakura said, her voice harsh, she stood with her hands on her hips and gestured with her head to the bed "You get back to bed, I'll make sure your brother gets back safely."

"He may try attack you again,"

"At least I could stop him if he tried," Sakura gave a smug smirk as she watched Kouen's expression darken.

Kouen walked passed her and over to his desk chair, taking his dark robe that hung over it; he brought it back and threw it over Sakura's head. "Put that on."

Flaying her arms around before pulling the fabric over her head Sakura before inspecting it, holding the robe out and looking at Kouen, his expression unchanging.

"You're wearing less than an entertainer."

Sakura snickered "You would know."

Nevertheless Sakura put on the robe, she was able to take in the design with the gold piping and patterns along the sleeves and hem.

"Fancy,"

"Here," Kouen handed Kouha off to her and then gave her the direction to the state before a brisk greeting and departure since Sakura had no intention of returning later on.

After managing to take Kouha back to his estate, she had noticed how similar it was to Kougyoku's, it had a sense of emptiness, but judging by the blade marks on the wood she was pretty sure she was in the right place, Sakura left after laying Kouha down and was walking back to her room. The night time made the palace look terribly frightening, it gave an eerie aura, the kind where your imagination would be able to play tricks on you, large spaces, silence and the night were not a good combination if you were alone.

'It's creepy,' Sakura thought clutching the robe closer to her, there was a slight breeze 'Guess I should thank him for the robe after all-I'll sleep on that thought,'

Then she heard it, the unmistakable fluttering of the rukh again and groaned looking up at the sky with disapproving eyes, wishing that the world would simply give her a break already.

'One night of peace and quiet is that too much to ask?'

Nevertheless she followed the fluttering, taking her deeper in the imperial palace, to one of the larger buildings-defiantly not one of residence. She climbed up a large flight of stairs and entered into a long dimly lit hallway with pillars. Sakura failed to understand why she was being lead here, in an abandoned hall in the middle of the night-

"I am telling you we must act quickly,"

"It just isn't possible."

"But you said yourself that time is of the essence, we will miss our chance."

"That's right, we cannot miss out on this opportunity,"

"Yes, we've been searching for so long and now there's one right here we must take while the takings good!"

Sakura heard several voices coming from behind a large, magnificent door that was slightly ajar, quieting her breathing and softening her footsteps she made her way over and crouched down, peering in through the small space. She could hardly see anything, only the floor and some shadows whose owners were clearly angled away from her line of sight but she recognised one of the voices.

"Now, now, we must be patient."

That sickly sweet voice belonged to Gyokuen without a doubt, even though it has been a while since Sakura heard it, she wouldn't forget.

"What are the odds, that what we've been searching for would appear right before us yet we cannot act? Is this a trick of destiny meaning to taunt us?"

"Of course not, you know very well destiny has nothing to do with this, which is why it has happened."

Sakura wanted to push the door a little further to see who else was speaking with Gyokuen but was able to hold back the urge.

"With this new weapon, we'd be able to cross barriers we've never imagined surpassing. Our influence would spread quicker that what Solomon could undo."

Gyokuen spoke "Yes and we'd have the perfect material for the ultimate vessels."

This talk was making Sakura really nervous and she suddenly wished she hadn't followed the fluttering to this place. There were always consequences that came with discovery which were usually equivalent to the level of discovery and right now what Sakura might have discovered could have catastrophic consequences if she wasn't careful.

"We must have her,"

"Soon," Gyokuen said "I've have a plan."

Sakura frowned, who were they talking about and why during such a suspicious time of night? Before Sakura so engrossed by what was happening in front of her through a crack in the door she failed to sense the presence behind her until a firm hand grasped her shoulder making her spin around before another hand covered her mouth from crying out in alarm.

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Sakura's eyes were wide as saucers, of all people that could've found her eavesdropping on Gyokuen and the still mystery figures, it had to be the first prince Hakuyuu, his son. Fate in this world really was cruel.

She attempted to say something against his hand but it came out muffled, looking into crystal blue eyes Sakura felt the gaze pierce straight through her.

"Shh," Hakuyuu told her before glancing back at the door where the voices seemed to have stopped, the shadows behind the door began to grow larger and footsteps were heard getting closer. Standing up, Hakuyuu grabbed Sakura's wrist and began running out of the building with her, she heard a creaking noise, meaning the doors were opening now. Sakura still a bit too shocked to completely process what was happening, so her body reacted on its own with her mind having little influence. What was going to happen now that she had been discovered eavesdropping on a meeting meant only for certain ears that clearly weren't hers.

She didn't protest as Hakuyuu continued to drag her down the stairs when they exited the building and ran down the stairs showing little to no concern for accidently stumbling over a step due to their speed.

When they finally did stop it was under a veranda far from the building, in yet another part of the palace Sakura was unfamiliar with. The buildings all looked the same so Sakura took to remembering physical landmarks from the gardens, like the stone head that looked like an old man's face-a left turn from there took her to her sword lessons, shrubbery with red berries was would mean she was only three turns away from the building where her room was or a fountain with a dragon on top meant she was closer to the building Kouen's chambers were but there were no familiar marks here. In fact the whole area was very empty and instead of grass the outside was tiled with stones.

And to go with the new area was the prince she was yet to interact with; Hakuyuu Ren. The last time Sakura had seen him was after her battle with Kouen when he, Koumei and Hakuren appeared to see one of their relatives half alive with her hovering over him-so not the best of impressions. They didn't speak when they hauled Kouen back to the palace and Sakura immediately began treating his injuries. She hasn't seen him since then, not even when he trained with his brother.

"Um, prince Hakuyuu?"

The Kou prince turned his attention away from his surroundings after making sure they weren't followed and looked at the pinkette, he frowned "What are you doing there?"

Sakura was lost for words, she couldn't tell him it was the rukh that lead her there, but the conversation made her anxious. "I-I got lost on my way back to my room."

"Why are you wandering the palace grounds so late at night in the first place?"

His eyes then wandered to Sakura's form, it wasn't leering in anyway but more like a calculated stare, his eyes seemed more focused on the robe than anything else. "That's a royal robe,"

It finally dawned on Sakura the conclusion he might be drawing on, her hands clenched the fabric 'He does not seriously think I-

"I was just-

He cut her off "Come, I'll escort you back to your room."

They walked in silence but the tension was crushing, so much so that Sakura's entire form literally slackened at the sight of her room's door. She was quick to enter and turned to give a brief greeting to Hakuyuu.

"Thank you prince Hakuyuu."

He turned around so his back was facing her "In future, you should take a left from the south estate."

In other words, from the estate Kouen resided in.

"It's not what-

"Good night miss Haruno,"

He left without turning back.

Sakura sighed as she closed her door and landed on the bed with an ungraceful 'thud'.

"How was your evening my king?" asked Beleth

"Did you take care of that kid?" asked Gaap

"My king?" Stolas called

But Sakura didn't reply, rolling on her side she closed her eyes and thought back to what she had heard, there was something going on in this palace and she had this horrible feeling that it might have something to do with her.

'Come on Sakura, now you're just being paranoid,'

Well sadly that's all for now and probably all for a while since I'm going back to university and I have assignments that need my attention but don't worry, I will be working on the next chapter slowly but surely.

Don't forget to review