Chapter Two

This chapter is dedicated to the readers who can understand what "kalatas ng langit at lupa" means. You know who you are!

"I've had enough of this!" yelled the Lord Sasuke, throwing his hunting equipment down.

"That heavy, huh?" asked Sir Hatake Kakashi, eyeing him sympathetically.

"You know that I do not mean that." The prince collapsed on the grassy ground, wearing an exasperated expression on his face. "This life is pathetic."

"You can't run away from obligations sealed by the bloodline," shrugged Sir Kakashi. "If you want to be free, then the representatives of the other courts must defeat your first—and I know that you're not the kind of person that would accept an easy defeat"

"Do not remind me," he muttered. "As if the problems with the women are not already one hell of a headache…"

The Hidden Leaf Starlet understood at once. The Hokage may be legendary, but the current harem fighting over Uchiha Sasuke was slowly beginning to etch its own tale too. "It's not the women, Sasuke." He was the only one who had the privilege to call His Majesty by the name. "It's you. You won't choose, so you give all the women false reasons to hope."

"They can hope all they want. I do not intend to marry anyone. I love my peace of mind, thank you very much," he muttered under his breath.

"And the Lady Haruno?"

"What about her?" he snapped. It was common knowledge to the whole kingdom how spoiled rotten she was by her doting father. Unfortunately, he was included in her wishlist.

Kakashi smiled vexingly. "I have to admire her fighting spirit. I remember when you two were children—"

And she stood in the middle of the floor, and announced that she would be my wife someday. Sasuke remembered that only too well. "That idiot. She wouldn't recognize shame even if it runs her over."

"I guess she's that crazy for you."

"And why are we talking about her so particularly?" he demanded, the authority of the Hidden Leaf kingdom ruler back in his personality.

"Nothing. Just feeling nostalgic," Sir Kakashi drawled in a manner that he knew was at once innocent and irritating to the prince.

"Nostalgia is only for those who have regrets in life." For Sasuke, past brought nothing but pain. The only way to escape it was to face forward.

The prince picked up his equipment once more and slung it on his back. "Are you coming with me or what?" he asked the Starlet.

"What," replied Kakashi, plopping down on the grassy ground and whipping out the latest issue of Come, Come Paradise.

Sasuke groaned, and then went on with his expedition. Really now, he should have known better than to try to converse with this man.

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Sakura looked out at the window, eyes pensive. Every tree her carriage passed by seemed to smile at her in mockery.

It had only been years since she last tried to live here so she could be close to nature as possible, yet now, here she was, practically a stranger to the forest herself.

Normally, any frog wouldn't frighten her as easily—when she and Sasuke were kids, they would always catch a couple of them in the nearby river to let loose in the palace. Yet now…

She hugged herself. She loved the forest; she loved the freedom only that place could give.

But she gave it up.

Everything.

It was when the Uchiha Court announced the plans for the crown prince to find himself a suitable wife to help him rule the kingdom with prosperity and peace.

Suitable, meaning she should be able to embody the ideal queen—refined, elegant, and feminine.

Even her own father pointed out that she was none of those. So from being a tomboyish young girl who loved the outdoors more than tea parties, she willed herself to change into a more sophisticated lady of the court. From the right posture to the right conversations, she had slowly transformed into a woman of the world—a woman any man (and crown prince for that matter) would be proud of.

But…

She bit her lip.

Everything she did still meant nothing to the detached Lord Uchiha Sasuke. He was still as glacial as ever.

She shook her head. She shouldn't let her confidence fail her now. She had gone too far to back down now. She wanted the heart of the Ice Prince, and come hell or high water or even apocalypse, she would get his heart!

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"Shikamaru!" Yamanaka Ino's screech rebounded on the hallways of the palace leading to the south wing, where her father's territory was erected. It also served as their sleeping quarters, including the indolent Shika. "I demand that you show up this instant or I'll—"

The door of the second bedroom opened, revealing a sleepy, black-haired boy. He was rubbing his head, his face a marriage of grogginess and annoyance. "What?" he spat out.

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"What is it, Lady Ino?" The boy rolled his eyes, knowing that the girl standing in front of him was anything BUT a lady. The daughter of his boss had still to cover more grounds on her way to true maturity. In his opinion, she could have taken the first good step towards it by not chasing after the crown prince anymore.

But how could he tell her that when it was even her own parents that encourage her in her blatant pursuit of the Lord Sasuke?

She smiled, satisfied by what he said. "Sasuke-sama went to the forest today to hunt."

"Good for him." He stifled a yawn.

"Put some more enthusiasm to it, Shika. He's the crown prince and my future husband, for Pete's sake!"

"How exciting. I wish I was personally there to witness his manliness by glaring at forest creatures to death."

"Stupid!" She elbowed him, looking crossed. "Anyway, I want him to come home welcomed by the best food in the kingdom. Make arrangements on this now," she ordered.

He slapped his forehead. My peaceful rest was disturbed for this?! Somehow, he couldn't help but wish that he could move to a less stressful job—one that didn't require him to wait hand and foot on a noisy, ridiculously bossy lady.

"And Father asks if you have finished his speech for the court—"

"I'm working on it," he replied, but her exasperated gaze told him that she knew he hadn't even touched his quill pen yet.

Ah hell, he hated his job, but he couldn't resign from his post.

The pay was good, the association with the Uchiha Court was exciting…

And his mistress was…pleasant to the eyes.

"Why are you looking at me?" she demanded, breaking the train of his thoughts.

For a moment, he was alarmed—could she read what was on his mind now?

But seeing her expression, he realized that she was nowhere close to knowing how much of a fool he had allowed himself to be. He relaxed. "I'm waiting for your other orders, Your Majesty," he said with a mocking bow.

"Hmp! Go ahead and make fun of me now, but the last laugh will be mine! I will be the queen of the Hidden Leaf kingdom!" she snapped, hands on her hips.

"Right, right." He gestured to his bedroom. "Now perhaps I can resume my interrupted siesta?"

"I never interrupted anything. Your life is nothing but a long chain of siestas anyway," she shrugged.

He winced inwardly. He knew her opinion of him was not an exemplary high, but to actually hear her say it aloud…

"Well, that's all I want to say. See you later!" She turned her back on him and walked away, but turned to him again all of a sudden. "Oh, Shika?"

He groaned. She would only use that childhood pet name she had for him whenever she was going to ask him huge favors, often huge enough to swallow what remained from his self-respect after years of service to her.

Like the time when she asked him to pen a nauseatingly mushy love note to the Prince for his birthday just because she wasn't as good in poetry as her rival, Sakura, was.

Come to think of it, that guy never read the letter. It went straight to the trash bin, and he was silently grateful for that. Knowing the prince, he could have found out that the penmanship belonged to him, and that would cause problems.

"Make sure that all my plans will materialize without a hitch. My dreams are at stake here," she said quietly.

Her dreams. He had known that ever since they were children. How her whole world revolved around Uchiha Sasuke. How she sacrificed so many things just to train and become the proper queen and wife for him.

"Don't worry about it." How many times had he mouthed of that exact same line to her whenever she asks him to do something? He had lost track of it, but he knew those words had been his vow.

Don't worry about it; I can put your doll's broken limbs back together.

Don't worry about it; I won't tell your mother that you accidentally stepped on her favorite flowerpot.

Don't worry about it; I'll tell Choji that I was the one who ate the last slice of chocolate cake in the fridge.

And his compensation?

She smiled gratefully. "I knew I could count on you, Shika!"

As always, this made him happy enough.

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"I hate you, Sir Iruka, Sir Ebisu!" complained Naruto as he watched the two men eat dinner heartily.

Both pairs of eyes went to the gloomy frog sitting on the table forlornly, observing how they munched on the steak with much gusto.

"Oh, don't be shy, Naruto. Come, join us! We don't think we can finish this delicious, finger-licking good steak all by ourselves…" drawled Iruka, smiling.

He shot the chuckling Starlet a lethal glare. How in the world could he eat when he didn't have the fingers to begin with? And could his body systems stand the make-up of the steak just in case he did eat it? His teeth wouldn't be enough to grind the thick beef, that was for sure.

Ebisu must have read his mind. He waved his finger knowingly. "Be grateful, Naruto, that you turned into a frog, not a toad! At least frogs have teeth—toads don't."

"Wow, imagine that!" Naruto rolled his eyes. "Why didn't you two become girls anyway? Then at least half of my problem could have been solved." The amphibian jumped in the air repeatedly, smoke practically steaming from itself. "I hate my form already! It's been two weeks that I've been hopping around. I need a break!"

The two looked at each other, and then burst out laughing.

"Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh. It's always funny when you're not the frog here," he muttered.

"Sorry, Naruto!" the two chorused. Insincerely. And then burst into maniacal laughter again.

"Why don't you just let us help you as males?" asked Ebisu, smirking.

"Look, if there is a form I hate more than this frog form, it's THAT form," said the amphibian through gritted teeth. "No way will I let myself transform to that—"

Just then, the door opened. In came Kakashi, whistling tunelessly. Behind him was the dark-faced Prince of the Hidden Leaf kingdom.

"Y-Your Highness!" Iruka and Ebisu immediately reverted to their solemn Starlet demeanor as the two joined them in the dining table.

Naruto hopped down from the table before the guests could think of getting an exotic dinner tonight. Unfortunately, his jump fell short; instead, he landed on the Uchiha Sasuke's quiver which the latter had placed on the floor beside his other bags.

"We came here to ask details about the sudden re-appearance of the legendary devil serpent," began Sasuke, not noticing either the frog or the movement among the arrows. "He is a notorious menace, and I had already consulted the Starlets about this. We need all the information we can gather to find him and eradicate him quickly before he wreaks havoc in the kingdom."

"But of course, Your Majesty," said Iruka quickly. "We can ask Naruto here…" He blinked, then looked around the table. "Naruto?"

"Naruto?" asked Sasuke, forehead creased. He was not familiar with the names of the whole Starlets, but he was sure there was no one there named such.

"He was the first one to encounter the serpent, and for that, he was cursed," explained Ebisu, also scanning the surroundings for their student. "That's strange. He was just here minutes ago."

"Never mind," said the prince curtly. "You can bring that Naruto to me tomorrow. I will entertain you in the palace, with the presence of the other courts and the whole Starlets as well."

"Very well, Your Highness." The two nodded reverently.

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"What, no punchlines for this evening?" asked Sasuke dryly when he noticed the unusual quietness of Kakashi. He seemed to be in deep thought ever since they came from the house of Iruka.

"I do not understand what it is that the devil serpent came back for is," the man replied quietly. "It had already been centuries since he was last exorcised by your ancestors, as well as by the ancient Hyuuga clan. How did he manage to return to this world?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Well at least it would give me something to do other than to sit idly in my throne."

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As soon as Sasuke stepped into the grand entrance hall, a band of musicians began to play a cheerful welcome music. Waiters in red ties went to him, offering a tray of finger foods. In the middle of the staircase stood Ino, cheeks flushed, as she held a bouquet of immaculate white roses that she handpicked from her mother's garden herself.

"Welcome back, Lord Sasuke!" she greeted as the young man walked straight towards the stairs that would lead to his chambers, not bothering to throw the orchestra, the splendid banquet, or even her bouquet even a glance.

Kakashi grinned. "Wow. It sure felt like we came home from a perilous journey, what with this hero's welcome. I wonder if I can have something like this playing every time I return from the bath."

Ino, on the other hand, clenched her fists. "Stoooop!" she ordered the musicians.

The grand hall suddenly turned deathly silent—not one dared to move as they waited for what the mistress would say.

"The party is over! Now everyone, go home!" With that, she pivoted and headed towards the south wing, her only haven in this palace.

Silence, and then a bustle of activity as everyone proceeded to clear up the hall. Kakashi sighed.

"Hey, can't I at least have one of those small sandwiches, huh?"

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Ino arrived in her mother's large open-roofed garden, face still burning from the humiliation she suffered earlier. She collapsed on the ground, inhaling and exhaling in rapid succession, as if trying her hardest not to cry.

"It didn't work, did it?"

Her eyes flashed in anger. "I'm not in the mood, Shikamaru."

Her attendant slightly lifted his head from the ground to glance at her. "Will you give up now?"

"It's far from over," she said firmly.

He lied back down, shaking his head in resignation. "You're one tough lady."

She paused. For some reason, what he said slowly made her smile.

"So you do admit that I am a lady," she said, smirking. "Hah!"

"Easy there. It's just a compliment—don't tell me that it was your first time to receive one?"

"Shut up!" But her rotten mood was slowly dissipating. It must be the relaxing fresh night breeze of the outdoors.

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"Troublesome women," muttered Sasuke as he reached for his bottle of intoxicating tea inside his backpack. He was pretty sure that he wasn't able to finish the container.

He shut his eyes, trying not to think of the fallen face of the blonde when he rejected her. Usually, this sort of things didn't disconcert him; perhaps, his fatigue from the whole day of forest trekking must have made his emotions somewhat vulnerable.

He was too busy with his thoughts to even take a look at the mouth of the jar he was drinking, where Naruto, in blissful ignorance, was still drinking happily from.

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"Aaaaaargh!"

The scream of utter horror from the Prince's chambers immediately grabbed everyone's attention. Kakashi acted immediately; he dashed upstairs, followed by the Lady Haruno Sakura who emerged from her room, still wearing her nightgown. Even Ino and Shika, with their extraordinary senses, picked up the commotion and ran towards the Royal Chambers to check on the prince.

"Sasuke, what happened—" Kakashi stopped, blinking. Behind him, Sakura halted too.

"Aaaaaaargh!" It was now Haruno Sakura's turn to scream, not only in horror, but also in rampaging rage.

A naked young woman with long blonde hair tied in pigtails was lying on top of the prince, kissing him!

To be continued