Sakura and the Prince of Flowers
By Miss Angel Maxwell

Chapter 2: "Those Two Must Have Balls of Steel"

"Be careful, Sakura sweetheart," Mrs. Haruno chided her four-year old daughter. "And you know the rules, don't speak to any strangers and don't wander past the edge of the meadow."

"I know, I know," the little girl replied, fidgeting impatiently. "Can I go play now?"

"Alright," her mother chuckled, scooting Sakura out the door. "Have fun."

Almost as soon as little Sakura left her front steps she began tugging off her sandals. She couldn't stand shoes that kept her from feeling the cool wet grass under her feet. Barefoot and free, she dashed headlong through the seemingly endless meadow of fragrant spring grass dotted liberally with white and yellow flowers. The toddler was so rapt in running around and spinning in circles in her own little make-believe world that it took her quite by surprise when she heard another child's voice.

"Hi," the voice said shyly. "Can I play too?"

Sakura knew that she wasn't supposed to talk to strangers, but this was just a kid. He was a little boy, barely bigger than her, with a mop of black hair and sad dark eyes and a blue t-shirt that was comically oversized and hung off of his shoulder. In all honesty he looked rather pathetic and lonely. But Sakura was kind of lonely, too, and she wanted to talk to him even if the rules said she shouldn't.

"Okay," she replied with a bright cheerful smile. "Do you know how to make flower chains?"

"No," said the little boy, though a smile was slowly emerging on his lips. "Will you show me how?"

It wasn't long before the two tots had picked armfuls of tiny blossoms and were sitting in the grass meticulously weaving the stems together with nimble little fingers.

"Finished!" Sakura exclaimed proudly as she tucked one last yellow bloom into the wreath she was working on. Then she placed it delicately on her new friend's head. "You can be the Prince of Flowers!"

"The- the Prince?" the little boy stuttered, his face turning brightest scarlet as he looked down at his own, much less impressive, floral creation. "Mine's not very good… but you can have it. That way you can be the Princess."

"Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed, accepting the sloppy crown of flowers without any trace of disappointment. "I love it!"

The Prince and Princess of Flowers chased each other through the meadow, giggling and squealing with delight as they rolled in the grass and played. Finally they flopped down on their backs to catch their breath, and as they did they stared up at the lazily moving clouds crawling across the vast expanse of blue sky. Without looking at each other, the two children's hands met and their fingers instinctively intertwined. It was during this moment of peace that Sakura realized she didn't even know her friend's name.

"I forgot to tell you, I'm Sakura," she said. "What's your…"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence. The previously blue sky turned sickest acid green as a hideous animalistic howl tore through the atmosphere and the little girl's nostrils were suddenly flooded with the overpowering stench of blood and rotting flesh. She was glued to the grass with terror and she could no longer feel the little boy's hand in hers. Before she could even scream for help, a massive and grotesque shape darkened Sakura's view and immediately lunged at her. A huge snout-like jaw rimmed with pointed, yellowish teeth snapped just centimeters from her face and hot putrid breath stuck thickly to her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes closed as one final plunge forward from the beast struck her with a flash of black and red.

Sakura's eyes burst open and she jolted upright, back in the familiar setting of her young adult bed. Her heart was pounding against her ribs.

"It was a dream," she sighed, rubbing her eyes that were aching from the morning sunlight. "That scared the shit outta me." Regaining some composure, Sakura picked up the clock on her bedside table and her sense of panic immediately returned. "Nine o'clock! Shit! I overslept! The boys are going to be so pissed off!"

With unprecedented haste, she rolled out of bed, scrambled to put on her favorite red shirt and blue shorts, and pulled a brush through her pink chin-length hair. Then she grabbed her leaf headband and a couple of slices of toast and dashed out the front door. All the while, she couldn't help thinking about the frighteningly realistic dream she had been having right before she woke up. It wasn't the first time she had a dream about a monster attacking her. The thought made her stomach lurch. In the past, it seemed that every time she dreamt about a monster, it always preceded something terrible that was about to happen. Well, no matter what happened, she felt better knowing she had two great partners to stand by her side.

Seconds later, she arrived pink-cheeked and winded at Naruto's favorite ramen restaurant having made record time, and expected to see her teammates waiting impatiently for her. Amongst the throng of diners, Sakura spotted a shock of wild silvery hair, which was unmistakably that of Master Kakashi, but as she moved closer to him it was clear that Naruto and Sasuke weren't with him.

"Where are the guys?" she asked, sounding a bit annoyed. "They didn't ditch did they? 'Cause I'm only a little bit late."

"Actually, they told me to meet you here today in their place," the seasoned ninja said calmly between slurps of noodle. "They've left town on a mission."

"A mission!" Sakura stammered incredulously. She didn't even care that people around her were staring. "Those two must have balls of steel if they think they can leave me behind! Where did they go, Master Kakashi? I'm gonna track 'em down and give 'em a piece of my mind!" She could feel the blood rising hotly into her cheeks. She was so mad at her partners, but she was eager to set them strait and put this behind her.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that," Kakashi informed somewhat hesitantly. "Naruto and Sasuke made it very clear that they don't want you following them or getting in the way."

For a moment, the fire that had been burning in Sakura's chest went out, as if she had just been drenched with a bucket of ice water. Even the feisty voice inside of her, her inner Sakura, was shocked into silence. "Did they… did they tell you why?" she finally stuttered.

"They just said you're not ready," her teacher answered.

"Not ready? Not ready?" she fumed, seizing Kakashi by his green jacket and shaking him violently. "Why those foul, mean-hearted…" She choked; there was nothing she could say. She wanted to feel nothing but rage, but her inner Sakura had regained its voice and was crying in despair. They left me! I've worked so hard for so long and they still find me unworthy! I love them and they still decided I'm not good enough to fight by their side! The dueling emotions churned inside of her like two volatile liquids, and when she felt her eyelids start to sting she knew she had to get out. She shoved her way roughly through the crowd and out of the restaurant without saying goodbye to Kakashi.

Sakura hurtled through the streets of Konoha, through her front door, and into her bedroom so fast that nobody who saw her dart past could have noticed that her face was streaked with tears. With reckless abandon, she flung herself onto her bed, buried her wet face into a pillow and let loose a primordial, albeit muffled scream. Then she threw the pillow against the wall so hard the seams burst and several feathers leaked out. She had been abandoned, her perfect world was shattered. This was it. This was what her nightmare was predicting.

"I'll train even harder!" she exclaimed to herself, feeling a sudden jerk of devious pleasure. "I worked my ass off to be on the same level as those two! But I can do even better! I'll become stronger than Naruto and Sasuke, and then they'll beg me to go on their missions with them! Or maybe I'll go out on missions without them! See how they like it!" Fueled by red-hot anger rather than genuine ambition, Sakura grabbed her kunai and her shuriken and headed out into the woods to push her body to its limits once again.

When she returned home in the evening, sweating and achy, Sakura felt strong and empowered, she had worked off a lot of her initial rage, but she still didn't feel happy. Before, whenever she had accomplished even a minor success in ninja training Sakura could always count on Naruto performing a ridiculously enthusiastic victory dance in her honor. Even Sasuke's subtle smile and approving nod had always made her feel like her efforts had been worthwhile. But today, after all her hard work, she was alone, and it felt miserable.

Nonetheless, Sakura spent every day, from dawn until dusk, training. Each evening when she came back home she would feel lonely and worthless and unable to sleep, and so she would sit at her desk and carefully write out what she planned to say to Naruto and Sasuke when they eventually returned. She poured every seething emotion she felt onto the lovely kitty-cat stationery, going into great detail about how she had been betrayed and deserted. Invariably, she would find what she wrote unsatisfactory and crumple it up into a ball, and her floor was soon littered with her various attempts.

By Friday evening Sakura was exhausted, more so emotionally than physically, though she hardly seemed to sleep the past several nights. She closed her bedroom door and didn't slam it like usual, then collapsed on her bed not feeling like writing. How had it only been one week since they left? Time had never moved this slowly during the two years when she was being mentored by Tsunade, even though her boys weren't around then either. As she lay there, she found herself wondering once again what the two of them were doing and when they would ever come back home. Was it really such a difficult task as to warrant her exclusion? As she was reveling in her own misery, someone knocked on her door and her heart jolted. Could it be Naruto or Sasuke, home at last and here to beg forgiveness?

"Sakura, are you there?" a female voice asked through the door. "It's me, Ino. Can I come in?"

"Uh, yeah," Sakura answered, still quite shocked that she had a visitor. She vigorously combed her fingers through her hair and straightened out her shirt in an attempt to appear presentable. "Come in."

Sakura's best friend and frequent rival, Ino, stepped through the doorway cautiously. She was dressed in casual clothes, denim shorts and a lavender blouse, and was clutching a matching silk purse. Her ice blue eyes scanned Sakura's disheveled bedroom, from her unmade bed to her paper-strewn floor, and then glanced over Sakura herself, who was equally disheveled.

"Are you going somewhere?" the pink-haired young lady asked her guest, trying desperately to sound relaxed. "I see you've got your favorite purse."

"Actually, I am going somewhere," the blonde replied. "Tenten is having a party. I suspect it's just an excuse of hers to have Neji over at her house, but I'm gonna go anyways." She paused. "And I think you should come, too. In fact, that's why I'm here."

"Sorry," Sakura said rather bluntly. "I'm not interested."

But Ino persisted. "Sakura, you've spent the whole week by yourself," she said. "I know about what Naruto and Sasuke did. I know they went on a huge mission without you. And I don't blame you for being pissed. I know I'd be pissed if Shikamaru and Chouji tried to pull that on me. But shutting yourself off will only make you feel worse. Come on, Sakura. Come out and have some fun with your friends. We miss you."

"You… you do?" Sakura asked. Her chest felt light just from hearing that she was missed. "Well, I suppose it couldn't hurt to stop in… I'll have to take a shower first, though."

"Oh, that's great!" Ino exclaimed, sounding genuinely happy. "I'll see you there!" Then she cheerfully waltzed out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Sakura sank back onto her bed with a sigh. She hadn't been quite sure that she wanted to go to Tenten's party, but there was no backing out now. Who knows? Her inner Sakura asked as she stepped into the shower. Maybe this party really is what I need to get my mind off of those stupid boys. And her outer Sakura hoped with all her heart that it was true.

To be continued…