Swaying Branches

Chapter One

Long, long ago, in a place far, far away (talking light-years), in a kingdom of crimson setting suns, there was a prince. The prince's name was Sasuke. Prince Sasuke was a very beautiful child with his glossy raven locks, glowing moonlight skin, and mysterious coal-black eyes.

Unfortunately the prince was rather… detached from the world. Most of his days were spent brooding. Which is quite understandable considering he was the sole witness to the inhuman murder of his parents by his older brother. The faithful people of the kingdom had then exiled the man, leaving Sasuke the heir to the Uchiha Kingdom.

He had sealed himself off to the world after that incident, that is until he met a certain blonde. (But more on that later).

Anyway, now in the vast Uchiha Kingdom (more like empire) there were many territories, controlled in the name of the king (technically prince now…) by rich lords and merchants.

One such region is the Haruno Territory. Lord Haruno's lands were one of the most rich with a great amount of fruit orchards. Cherry blossom forests bloom all year long in this land. That in mind, you could understand that the Lord had named his one and only daughter Sakura.

She was quite a beauty really, with her soft, pink tresses that flow splendidly along her slender shoulders. Her eyes were a rare shade of green that captivated all.

Now Sakura was spoiled. But despite that fact she was always polite to others and treated everyone around her with equal kindness and respect.

She was a typical girl with her dream of someday falling in love with and marrying a charming, handsome prince. So naturally she was instantly drawn to Prince Sasuke.

On her fifteenth birthday her father sent her to the Uchiha Palace to visit the soon-to-be seventeen-year-old prince and try to win over his heart.

The Harunos weren't the only ones with that same idea.

Lord Yamanaka, from the territory next to theirs where flowers grew exceptionally and was famous for it's magnificent gardens, also sent his young daughter, Ino, age sixteen. Same as Lord Hyuga who sent his eldest daughter, Hinata. Being a shy girl, Hinata did not object, seeking some way to finally make her father proud.

All three girls arrived at the Palace the same day. They all stood before the prince, who watched them apathetically on his throne. His official guard and friend, Uzumaki Naruto, stood to his left, watched the girls with a friendly smile that made his azure eyes twinkle merrily.

Which made timid Hinata blush. She thought he looked quite brave in his white knight garb. While Hinata studied Naruto, Ino and sakura silently admired Sasuke's good looks.

Before being dismissed and shown to their rooms, Sasuke told them that each would get some time with him that they'd be notified of beforehand.

That night Sakura explored the Palace and decided she rather liked it there. She met with Naruto during her exploration and he gave her a proper tour. They soon became good friends, and Sakura was starting to really get comfortable. It was just so easy to be at ease with such a sweet, friendly soul.

He entertained her with bits of information of Sasuke and stories of their youth. She quickly concluded that the two were close friends.

When at first Sakura spent time with Sasuke she was overjoyed just to be in his presence.

But after about a month she started to slow down and observe more. They talked, but only of light things, like the weather or he'd ask something about her father's territory.

'So the Haruno Territory is famous for its delicious fruits, correct?' "Hai! Ours is the freshest and nutritious.' 'What kind of fruits do you produce?' 'All kinds! There's apples, strawberries, cherries, oranges, peaches…'

He never seemed to be with her in those conversations. He listened, but some part of him was elsewhere.

Then she started observing him when in other situations, like at meals. She noticed how his eyes lit up whenever the fair-haired knight entered the room, or how a smile would tug at his lips at dinner as Naruto told accounts of the past. All that and more made it painfully obvious that he could never be hers.

It saddened her, but decided it was for the best. Kind, naïve Naruto had no clue. She admired him for that trait of honest innocence.

One day she was roaming the Palace corridor, seeking some company.

She found her friend Ino sitting quietly in the library, gazing dreamily out the window.

Ino had been her rival for the time spent at the Palace for Sasuke's heart. Hinata wasn't much of a challenge to begin with, seeing as she would look away whenever Sasuke even glimpsed at her.

But despite the rivalry, Ino had made great company.

"Ino…" Sakura called out cautiously.

With one graceful movement Ino turned to gaze at her with her clear blue eyes. A peaceful smile was playing on her lips.

Sakura smiled back and took a seat near her. Hesitantly sakura spoke slowly and softly. She wasn't sure of how Ino would react to what she said. "Ne, Ino, you know that Sasuke will never love either of us?"

Ino sighed softly, and Sakura watched her facial expressions closely. "Hai. I've known that for weeks. But-" Ino's expression changed from serious to pleased. "It's alright, I've found an other." Ino smiled at Sakura's surprise.

"Who, Ino, who? Please tell me?" Sakura begged.

Ino turned her gaze out the window again and blushed.

Sakura looked out curiously to see two boys talking outside near the door to the kitchens.

One was Naruto and the other was a brunette young man who was leaning lazily against his black stallion with a lethargic expression on his face.

"Who is that, Ino?" Sakura said, scolding herself mentally for sounding like such a child.

Ino smiled again before answering. " That is Sir Shikamaru. He is the son of the Lord of the Nara Territory, which is next to my father's. His father and mine are old friends, very close really, but I hadn't been able to him that much before coming here. He told me that Naruto and him had trained to be knight here together when they were younger."

Ino sighed happily and blushed again. "He's really interesting and handsome. Not to mention very intelligent. Oh, and you wouldn't believe what he's told me!"

Sakura grinned, 'Typical chatter-box Ino…' Ino grinned smugly.

"Did you know that Naruto and Sasuke had accidentally kissed when they were young?" She nodded knowingly when Sakura gasped in shock.

"Shika saw the whole thing! He told it so vividly; I could see it perfectly in my mind. And boy did it make me laugh!

"You see, Naruto fell asleep during training while their teacher was giving a lecture, Shika said he was about to fall asleep too! Anyway, so Sasuke was trying to wake him. And their teacher thought it would be funny if Sasuke woke him by falling on him.

You can just imagine what happened! Shika said that Naruto was practically crying that he had been woken from such a 'good' dream to have the prince lying on him with their lips connected."

Ino giggled as Sakura laughed softly behind her two gloved hands.

Ino wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in her indigo dress. "If you'll excuse me, I would like to talk to Sir Shikamaru before he retires to his quarters." With that said Ino left, but not before giving her friend a small wink.

Sakura smiled contentedly. At least Ino isn't going after someone who plainly has no interest in her.

She sighed and stood, leaving the dusty, old library. She quickly decided she had to talk to Hinata next. And just her luck, she could see the blue-headed girl coming down the hallway.

Sakura waved enthusiastically. "Hinata! I was just looking for you." Hinata looked up at her bashfully and nodded, giving a soft, "Alright."

The pink-headed girl smiled at the petite shy one. "I wanted to tell you… that I think its best if you… 'get over' your crush on Naruto." She tried desperately to keep the words from sounding harsh, but it didn't seem she could.

"Wh-why?" Hinata asked quietly, taken by surprise. Sakura looked at her sadly. "I think it would be the best for you both…"

"You mean…" Hinata started. "because Naruto wouldn't return my feelings? A-and because of Prince Sasuke, right?" Hinata said with a tad more confidence than her normal self.

Sakura blinked in surprise, but recovered quickly with a smile. "You noticed, too?"

"Hai. And I'm all right. I…" blush "Found an other…" Sakura gasped silently and wondered why she hadn't noticed all her girl companions' withdrawal from their crushes.

Suddenly they both heard something outside and rushed to the window to see.

A strapping young man with brown hair sat under the window on his russet steed. He had red markings on his cheeks and a small dog rested on his shoulder. He beamed when he saw them looking down at him.

"Hinata! Come, I'll catch you." He shouted up with his arms outstretched and ready.

Up in the Palace Hinata was blushing under Sakura's knowing grin.

"Kiba, you could get hurt. I don't want to risk your health." Sakura smiled as the two 'love-birds' conversed.

Kiba, the son of the wealthiest merchant in the land, was sure to follow in his father's footsteps. He seemed kind and strong; which would definitely make a good husband for Hinata.

She was brought back to reality when she felt Hinata shift next to her nervously. "A-Alright, Kiba…" Hinata said defeatedly before she hiked up her skirts to step onto the windowsill. With one shaky, deep breath Hinata pushed off the sill and fell out of the window.

Sakura watched in amazement as Kiba caught Hinata's small form easily. They smiled at each other and road into the sunset. Sakura watched them with a smile, absentmindedly waving goodbye. When they were finally out of sight she sighed. She looked around the long empty hallway, now colored by the setting sun's multihued rays.

She started toward the dining chamber. Along the way she saw a brunette maid flirting with a longhaired knight with strange lavender eyes.

With her head tilted slightly down in depression she finally reached the dining chamber where most of the Palace's occupants were now seated.

She took a sat between Naruto and her best friend. As the others happily chatted, she could hardly fight a sigh down. She suddenly felt a warm hand settle gently on her shoulder. Turning to her left she saw her best friend's round, honest eyes gazing at her in concern. She gave him a weak smile and looked at her lap.

He withdrew his hand carefully and whispered to her. "Tell me what is wrong when you feel ready to do so." She blushed lightly and thanked him mentally. Thankful that someone cared and that he didn't press the issue.

That night she stayed up thinking about everything. Everyone seemed to have an other. But she felt all alone. She had come to this palace to marry the prince. But seeing as that was impossible now, she had nothing. And she didn't want to leave. With all her new friends and the place feeling more comfortable then home in the Haruno Territory ever did, she felt like a stupid pawn for fate. It was playing with her.

It wanted her to be alone. Ino had Shikamaru. Hinata had Kiba. Naruto had Sasuke, though he has no idea. Heck, even that maid from before had that knight with the strange eyes.

Her mind went back to dinner. Her best friend had come along with her as her guard for the long journey, since Haruno Territory was the farthest one away and who knows what kind of fiends you could encounter.

He had always been there for her. He even promised to always protect her when they were both young. And he never did break that promise.

She recalled his words from a week after arriving. She had told him she thought she was in love with Prince Sasuke. How foolish she must have sounded! He had smiled at her tenderly and spoke softly. "As long as you are happy, so will I."

Sakura's eyes teared up. His gentle, warm hand and sincere concern from dinner came back to her. Lee, her faithful friend. She blushed. She remembered all the times they spent together at Haruno castle. He always found a way to cheer her up, and was always the one she went to talk to.

Of all the people in her life, he was her most precious.

The next day at breakfast Sakura beamed as she entered the already full dining chamber. Naruto quirked a brow at her cheerfulness, but remained silent.

Lee smiled warmly at her as she approached. "I saved you a seat, Sakura. Why are you so late?"

Sakura sat down and gently took his hand. "Lee," she blushed. "I want to talk to you after breakfast in the gardens, alright?" Lee nodded in confusion and curiosity.

The rest of breakfast went on normally with a blushing Sakura. She kept dropping spoons and picking at her food. Lee occasionally gave her concerned looks, but figured he'd ask in the gardens.

As for everyone else at the table, well they were just content at watching the two with smug grins. It was a sort of sport to see. And Naruto was most likely the one with the biggest and smuggest grin.

On their walk to the gardens, Lee couldn't help but notice Sakura's strange behavior. Avoiding his eyes, playing with her hair, blushing from tickle-me pink to ruby red.

"Ne, Sakura, I think you've been spending too much time with Lady Hinata." Lee teased playfully. Her only reaction was pulling her hand away from her hair and into her lap.

This made Lee frown. "Ne, Sakura, are you sick? Your strange behavior is beginning to alarm me."

They stopped subconsciously having reached the gardens.

Sakura looked at Lee and started to feel a new level of nervousness.

The sun was shining cheerfully, and the spring air was filled with the sweet aroma of blooming flowers. It all made her feel dizzy with the combination of her heated face and rapidly beating heart. She couldn't talk, much less breathe.

"N-ne, Lee, I-I wanted to-" Lee waited patiently, his facial expression telling her she had his absolute attention. And she blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "ask which dress do you think I should wear for Prince Sasuke's seventeenth birthday ball."

Lee blinked a few times before smiling his usual 'pearly-white- and-don't-forget-shiny' smile. "You could of asked me at breakfast. Oh well. Hmm. I think your red silk dress will do nicely."

Sakura blinked a few times at her own stupidity, but thanked him nothing the less. He merely nodded and smiled lovingly. "if that's all, then I shall be off to check on my stallion, alright?"

Sakura nodded weakly and said good-bye quietly, while inwardly groaning. This was so hard.

She watched sadly at Lee's retreating, tall form, thinking about how well his forest green uniform suited him.

TBC…
A/N: -sweatdrops- That was a hassle to type. I guess I'm getting too lazy. Lol. Oh, well. Man is this stuff so cliché…

Anyone want to count them for me? lol.

Once again a Saku/Lee, with added SxN, SxI, & KxH. I'm gonna try to at least mention all the character. TRY.

–grins- In case you couldn't tell, the teacher of theirs that pushed Sasuke was Kakashi. Lol. I could picture him doing that while reading his lil hentai book.

This is planned to be three parts, I already started writing part two, but it might take a bit to finish then type it up. So be patient, k?

Ja Mata, everyone. Next chappie will come soon hopefully.

Review. No Flames, onegai.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Simple as that.