A/N: Have fun! By the way, I know that the River country is where the Akatsuki is found, but it's a fanfic I made. So, forget the Akatsuki thing. I just needed a country. Damn it! I knew I should have used my own country name but no! ...I just had to--….woops! Speaking out loudly again! Hehe…sori.

Disclaimer: Same old, same old…

Early morning, as the birds chirped, a blonde shinobi with a loud voice, yawned and groggily got up from his sleeping bag. Naruto looked around and saw that he was the only one inside. When he went outside, everyone was awake, just hanging around, lifelessly.

"Hey, guys! What's for breakfast?" Everyone didn't seem to be as happy as usual. Otaru was in deep thought as everyone else, as he sat on a dead log. Kakashi was reading his Icha-icha paradise but this time, he didn't really give a chuckle or at least smile. Well, Naruto could have sworn beneath that mask of his that he wasn't smiling at all.

Sasuke just leaned on a tree, like he did the day before and Sakura, well, she was sitting on the opposite direction of where Otaru was sitting. Not smiling at all. All she did was sit, think and breathe. Her emerald orbs looked kind of dull, enough to make people worry for her. Naruto wondered what was happening and scratched the back of his head.

"Oy! Hello people! What's wrong with you guys? I bet you feel bad for having breakfast without me." None of them even took time to glance at him.

"Shut up dope. Who cares if we had breakfast without you?"

"What did you say Sasuke-bastard!"

"Sasuke, don't be so cruel to Naruto-kun. Don't worry Naruto, I saved you some food." The pink haired kunoichi spoke up after her period of silence.

The statement left everyone in shock. First is, Sakura actually called Sasuke by Sasuke with no –kun. Next is the way she gave away the –kun to Naruto. Sasuke felt a bit heart-broken. It made him want to cry but, then again, Sasuke is a guy, and a strong person who hides his feelings inside himself. Naruto felt quite proud because it was the first time Sakura stood up for him. And to think, it was over Sasuke.

"Here you go, Naruto-kun." She handed him some left over wrapped in banana leaf.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan!"

"Well then? What are we waiting for? The sooner we leave, the earlier we arrive at the country." With that, they packed the tents and left. They finally reached the borders of the country by sundown.

They were greeted by awfully a lot of people…too much people. In fact, practically the whole town's people were in the entrance to greet them. Some even threw flowers as they passed through the gates. The team found this kinda awkward and unusual. Otaru took this very nicely. As they passed, the girls, who were a lot like Sasuke's fan girls, fainted once the sight of Otaru reached their eyes.

The four stopped as they reached a certain part of the village entrance, where a group a knights on horses, appeared in front of them.

"Good afternoon, your highness. We have been expecting your arrival." A knight said. To Sakura, he looked like their leader. The knights bowed at Otaru, which Otaru bowed back.

"Is my father here?" The knight shook his head, meaning to say a 'yes'.

"Let us go. He is waiting for you." The four travelers followed the four knights. They were lead to an outstanding view. Something all of them have never seen before. It was a castle. Made of the finest white brick, it is as tall as the rocky-figure heads of the past Hokages of Konoha. It was on a elevated part of the village, making it look taller than any other.

There was a scenic view behind, with a pond and other various things. There were too many to describe. It left team 7 in awe. Yet, they still all pondered about what was happening. All of them were so clueless about the weird behaviors of the town's people and the knights. They entered the castle, in wait of the answers for their questions.

In The Castle…

Sakura really found the inside as beautiful as the outside of it. There were chandeliers hanging here and there. The carpeting and the wallpapers were astounding and rare. As they entered a room, there sat a man, who looked much like Otaru, but had a thick mustache and he was had longer hair that reached below his shoulders. He wore a red coat made of fine silk, and a white robe inside.

'That must be his father…' Thoughts in Sakura, were all swirled up in the beauty of the place and her surrounding.

"Ah! Otaru, my boy! You have finally arrived." The elderly form of Otaru, spoke up. Otaru approached him, and was greeted with a warm, caring hug.

"I'm home father. Father, I want to introduce to you the people who have brought me here all the way from Konoha." As they let go, Otaru turned around and introduced the four to his father.

"This is Naruto." Naruto grinned at the father of Otaru.

"This is Sasuke." Sasuke just nodded in acknowledgement.

"This is Sakura." She curtsied respectfully and regained her standing figure.

"This is their sensei, Kakashi." Kakashi just smiled.

"Such nice people. Well, I thank you for bringing my son back safely. You must stay for awhile. It is our way of gratitude. You all must be really tired."

"I guess we can stay for awhile. We appreciate your kindness." The silver-haired jounin said with much gratitude.

'No, the festival. Wait a second. Sasuke doesn't even like me so, why should I care?' Her thoughts saddened herself, as she looked down on the floor in melancholy. A raven-haired boy immediately took notice of this reaction of hers.

'What's with Sakura today? She has been acting so odd lately.' Sasuke thought.

"Great! You are free to go around the castle and tour if you want. Just inform me when you leave. We will also be holding a festival soon. Enjoy your stay." After this, he signaled one of their maids to lead them to their rooms.

The five of them left. Otaru came along with them, just in case of anything. They reached their rooms but didn't really go inside just yet. Instead, they all looked at each other together, then at Otaru. A bead of sweat-drop fell at the back of Otaru's head.

"I'm guessing you want some explanations, huh?" He smiled at them, but they returned his innocence with glares.

"Okay, I get the point…" He sighed, but eventually proceeded. "I'm…a prince…"

A/N: Liked it? Pls. don't forget to review. Well, at least the cat's out of the bag! Now you know who Otaru really is, After a long time of cliffhanger. But this story hasn't ended just yet. I just realized how many mistakes I made for this story so far. For those who are currently fans of my other fic, sorry but I'm going to concentrate on this one first.