Sakura and the Prince
of Flowers
By Miss Angel Maxwell
Free Talk: Not surprisingly, this chapter is the longest yet. I tried to restrict it to just the details of that day, because I'm saving the boys' reactions for next time around. I hope it came out all right. Please, comment and tell me what you think. And thanks, as always, for the support, especially to those who have commented, or added this story to their favorites or alert lists or C2s. It means so much to me. Oh yes! And a very Happy Birthday to Rock Lee! November 27th… (I am writing this on the 26th) I am very sorry I had to sacrifice you to the fanfic gods, Lee… but at least you got to spend one magical night with Sakura first.
Chapter 15: "Is Sakura Going To Die?"
As Rock Shin's cluttered little cabin spun away and out from underneath the two intoxicated young shinobi, it was replaced by a dirty, back alley street, overgrown by patchy clumps of yellow-green grass. The crackle and pop of the multicolored flames became the hums and peeps of insects and toads that always filled Konoha's summer days, and the warmth of the fire became the warmth of the morning sun. Neither Sasuke nor Naruto could see the other, or speak to him, yet they somehow knew that they were both sharing the exact same experience.
The road meandered past a few rundown-looking businesses, probably no longer in commission, and came to an end in front of a particularly dilapidated building. It was a two-story construction of whitewashed concrete with a corrugated tin roof. The windows were almost all cracked or patched with duct tape, and the red paint on the door was beginning to peel. On the side of the building was a faded sign that read: Konoha Orphanage.
At first glance, the establishment seemed abandoned, but the faint drone of children's voices proved otherwise. Inside, the orphanage still teemed with life. But the witnesses did not go inside. Instead, they were taken around to the back of the building, where a faint smell of black licorice hung in the air like invisible fog. There, squatting next to a huge green dumpster, was a little boy with messy black hair dressed in shorts and a blue shirt that were far too big for his wiry little body. He was looking at something, his reflection in a piece of broken mirror that lay in the dirt.
"It worked!" he said in a hushed squeal. "That stupid junk I stole from the storeroom actually got my hair to turn black! And it smells good, too! Now I'll leave this rotten dump for good, and nobody'll ever find me 'cause they'll be looking for a kid with yellow hair! Uzumaki Naruto, you are a genius!"
Little Naruto jumped to his feet excitedly and dusted himself off a bit, and then took off running as far away from the orphanage as he could get, as fast as he could. Without warning, the view then shifted, panning across Konoha in a dizzying blur and finally settling on a nicely kept house, with a neatly groomed front yard and a small garden full of pale pink flowers.
The front door opened up and a young boy, about ten years old, with a ponytail of shiny black hair stepped out and walked off into the heart of town. He was followed a few minutes later by a much younger little boy with messy black hair, who appeared to be wearing one of his older brother's t-shirts and seemed very downhearted. As he paced gloomily away from his home, his mother called after him: "Stay inside the areas where I said it's okay to play, dear."
Suddenly, there were two things happening at once. The pintsized version of Sasuke was wandering sadly through the streets of Konoha while, at another end of town little Naruto was running away from the orphanage. Both boys were about to end up in the same location, however, a vast field of white and yellow flowers.
"Yippee!" Naruto roared gleefully, yanking two fistfuls of flowers from the ground and flinging them into the air. "I'm free! I'm free! No stupid grownups will tell me not to stomp the flowers! I'll crush 'em and yank 'em and destroy 'em all I want!" He leapt up and down viciously, laughing the whole time.
"Hey you! Don't stomp the flowers!" Sasuke snapped, causing Naruto to jolt and spin around. For a moment, both boys just stared at each other, stunned by how alike they looked. They were even dressed in nearly identical outfits, though Naruto's was considerably more worn out. Then, finally remembering that this little intruder had scolded him, Naruto snarled back.
"Who're you? You can't tell me what I can't do! So just go back to your family! They're probably looking for you!" He spat the last two lines very angrily.
"Don't you dare talk about my family, you filthy little urchin!" Sasuke barked back. "You don't know anything about them!"
The two boys stood there fuming, four little hands clenched into tight little fists. There was an air of immediate dislike between them, and for a moment, it looked like they would start to physically fight. Instead, Naruto took off running through the meadow, continuing to tear up the foliage as he went, with Sasuke chasing after him and getting thoroughly pelted by handfuls of flowers that the mischievous orphan threw. In a flurry of grass and petals, the young ones dashed deeper into the field, which seemed endless, their angry growls changing gradually over to squeals of laughter. Then, in the middle of their fun and games, Sasuke's foot caught on something and he fell face forward.
"Ouch," a sweet little voice said. As the wee Uchiha sat himself up, he realized that he had tripped over a little girl, a downright adorable little girl with big green eyes and two ponytails of pink hair.
"Are… are you okay?" a shy Sasuke asked. "I didn't mean to trip on you, I'm real sorry…"
By now, Naruto had realized that his playmate was lagging and he came over to investigate. He wrinkled his nose up in annoyance when he saw what the holdup was. "A girl?" he whined. "Come on flower boy, let's play tag or somethin'."
The girl looked back and forth between the two boys. "Are you two twin brothers? You both look alike."
"Eww no!" they both said in unison.
"We're not brothers," said Sasuke calmly. "We just met. I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I dunno this kid's name… but he hates flowers…"
"I don't either!" Naruto retorted. "And my name is Uzumaki Naruto. And I'm a genius."
"I see…" the girl responded, giggling slightly. "I'm Sakura, Haruno Sakura… Um… If you guys are gonna play tag, can I play, too?"
"Uh… sure…" Sasuke answered with a grin. But Naruto seemed skeptical.
"Do girls even like tag?" he asked.
"Of course we do," said Sakura. Then she grabbed Sasuke's hand with her right hand, and Naruto's with her left, and the three newly made friends went off to play together in the field full of flowers.
The trio played every imaginable childhood game together, tag, hide-and-seek, leapfrog, until they fell exhausted to the ground, still laughing between heavy breaths of air.
"So what should we do now?" asked Sasuke.
"Well," Sakura answered, picking up a limp flower that was left from Naruto's reign of terror. "All these flowers that are torn up… We could make daisy chains out of 'em."
Naruto made a rather disgusted face. "Aw, that's girl stuff! Me an' wotsisname here don't wanna do that."
"Actually, it sounds kind of fun," Sasuke responded. "Could… could you show me how to do it?"
"Of course!" Sakura chirped. Suddenly Naruto seemed jealous.
"Show me, too!" he interjected. "I was jus' kidding when I said it was girl stuff! I swear!"
Sakura seemed to be a master at flower weaving, as her deft hands tied together blossom after blossom as part of her demonstration. "Then you tuck that stem under the other one and…" She held up her creation proudly. "It's a crown! For a princess!" Gingerly, she placed the crown on her pink head, grinning joyfully as she did.
"Mine's not so good," Sasuke mumbled, clutching his soggy wilted mess.
"Mine either," Naruto whined, holding an even more pathetic ring of blooms.
Without saying a single word, the little girl skillfully whipped up another crown, identical to her own, and held it out with both hands. "Here, I had enough to make another, and one of you can have it. Who wants to be the Prince of Flowers?"
"I-I wanna be the Prince of Flowers," Sasuke said timidly, accepting the crown with a pale blush in his cheeks. Naruto glared enviously.
"No, I want it!" he bellowed, snatching at the gift. "Give it here!"
"But I wanted it first, so leggo!"
"Grrrr…!"
In a fit of rivalry, the two little boys yanked as hard as they could at the fragile object, rending it instantly into flowery pieces.
"You… you wrecked it," Sakura whimpered pathetically. "Now nobody gets to be the Prince."
The two little hooligans looked down guiltily, both deeply affected by the girl's sad face. "We're… we're sorry…" they said together.
"It's okay," she sniffed optimistically. "Here." Then she took the two halves of the crown and wove each one into a little loop and slid one onto each boy's little wrist. "I can be the Princess of Flowers, and you can both be the Prince."
"Can we meet here to play together every day?" Naruto asked eagerly. "You two are the nicest friends I ever had!"
"Yeah!" Sasuke agreed. "And you're not all busy like Itachi is."
"We'll meet here every day then," Sakura concluded. "We'll be the Society of Flowers, and this will be our special place and…" she paused. "Did you guys just hear something?"
Naruto and Sasuke shook their heads vigorously, but Sakura was still very convinced of the noise. She crept cautiously over a small hill and peered across the meadow, as her two companions watched her curiously. "There's something big over there," she whispered back to them. "Big an' hairy… like a bear."
"A bear!" Naruto exclaimed. "Cool! I wanna see!"
"No!" Sasuke hissed. "Bears are dangerous, dummy! We need to get out of here!"
But Naruto didn't listen, and scampered up over the hill to join Sakura, so Sasuke had no choice but to follow him reluctantly. From their new vantage point, the boys could see the dark hairy form over at the edge of the meadow, where it began to transition into forest, but it definitely was not a bear. It was far too large, and it appeared to be standing on its hind legs. The children were silent in awe.
"I think Sasuke is right," Sakura said softly. "Let's leave and go tell a grownup about this."
"We can't do that!" Naruto stammered. "They'll send me back! I don't want to go back! Just leave it to me! I'll go and kill whatever that thing is and then I'll be a hero! They wouldn't keep a hero in an orphanage… Everyone will see that I'm a great ninja, I am! I'm going to be Hokage one day, you know!"
"Orphanage?" Sasuke puzzled, scratching his head. But Naruto was no longer there to answer, he had charged out across the field towards the mystery beast and Sakura had run off after him.
"Wait, Naruto!" she yelled desperately, as her little bare feet thumped against the ground. "It… it might be dangerous! I don't want you to get hurt, Naruto! I like you!"
The little boy with dyed black hair stopped dead in his tracks and turned shyly towards her. "You… like me? Nobody ever said that before… Is something wrong? Hey… what's that smell?"
Judging by Sakura's face, something was definitely wrong. Her mouth was contorted into a terrified grimace and her eyes were so widened that white was visible all around the green. She seemed frozen with fear. A tiny croak escaped her throat, but she was too scared to make any coherent sound. Luckily, Sasuke had arrived within earshot and was able to yell the warning that Sakura could not get out.
"It's right behind you! Naruto! Sakura! Run!"
Three small pairs of legs pumped ferociously, as the children ran, their hands linked. And mere meters behind them, the monster was right on their tails, its great hairy body carried on hind legs at first, then switching over to all fours giving it a boost of speed. The children did not look back as they ran, but they could hear the weighty creature's claws tearing up the ground, and could smell the hot putrid breath that steamed from its hyena-like snout. Yet it wasn't quite as fast as the three youngsters. They were going to make it. Then something horrible happened. Sakura, who was lagging just a little bit behind the two boys, tripped and fell on her face.
"Oh no! Sakura!" Sasuke yelled, stopping in a panic as soon as he felt the girl's hand slip from his own. He turned to run back and help her, but it was too late. The ferocious mammal was already upon her, swatting her with a hideously clawed paw flinging her tiny body into the air like a rag doll. She didn't even have time to shriek before she was attacked. Now the creature had her pinned down under its front paw, and was bearing the fangs of its grotesquely salivating mouth as if about to devour its prey.
Without any thought of the danger, Sasuke frantically untied his left shoe and removed it, then sprinted madly towards the beast and hurtled the little shoe at its ugly head. It hit squarely between the monster's eyes, and the thing became enraged, abandoning the unconscious girl to chase after this new pest. Sasuke was trembling visibly, but he didn't cry or scream. He moved between the monster and Sakura's limp body, spreading out his arms to try to block the predator's access to her. Naruto, meanwhile, was standing close by, staring slack-jawed, too frightened to move.
The monster had already attacked Sakura and was now about to attack Sasuke. It let out a hideous roar, almost like a human scream of pain, flicking its disgusting spittle onto Sasuke's face, and then lunged. But it never so much as touched the youngest Uchiha. Something had come between him and the monster and saved his life. Two full grown shinobi, a man with a long brown ponytail and a beautiful woman with wavy black hair, had come to his rescue, and with them was a little boy just a bit bigger than the flower trio, with a short jet-black braid and humongous eyebrows over his round innocent eyes.
"Lee, take the girl to your grandfather as fast as you can!" the woman commanded, as her partner kept the monster at bay. "Take her friends, too. And hurry! There isn't much time!"
Lee nodded seriously, then scooped up Sakura's bloody little body, even though he was not very much bigger than her. "Follow me," he told Sasuke, and then he turned and nodded at Naruto, indicating for him to do the same. Before he fled the scene with Sakura in tow, however, the black haired woman turned to Lee with a sad and knowing smile.
"Remember, Lee, your father and I will always love you… My dear, dear son…"
The thick-browed kid sniffed, looking like he might start crying, then nodded once more and took off running, Sasuke and Naruto following tensely behind him. They left the meadow, zigging and zagging through the woods until they came to a small cabin with smoke curling up from the chimney.
"Grandpa, help!" little Lee boomed as he kicked open the unlocked door. A little man with graying hair and sleepy round eyes was sitting behind a desk inside, but immediately hurried over when he saw the bundle in Lee's arms. "The girl… she was attacked by one of the Children! Her two friends here were with her when it happened… Mama and Papa are still out there… You gotta save her, Grandpa!"
"Here, let me see the girl," the old man said rather calmly, taking Sakura from his grandson's tired arms. He glanced at Naruto and Sasuke, who were still white-faced with terror. "Why don't you get some tea for these brave young men to help them relax, Lee."
"Yes, Grandpa," he said in a shaking voice. He went about preparing the tea, but his wide eyes were focused on the little girl the entire time and he wound up spilling tea all over the front of his shirt. He finally stopped staring long enough to hand two steaming cups to his young guests. Sasuke's shook violently as he lifted it to his mouth, and Naruto seemed unable to move at all.
"What's going to happen to her?" the Uchiha breathed. "Is Sakura going to die?"
"I don't know," Lee answered. "But she's in good hands now. Nobody knows more about the monster that attacked your friend than my grandfather. Our family is dedicating to fighting them. I'm Rock Lee, by the way."
"I'm Sasuke and he's Naruto."
Naruto was muttering lowly to himself. "I did nothing… she was in danger and I did nothing… Sasuke risked his life to save her… and I just stood there, scared… I… I'm a failure…"
"Don't blame yourself," Sasuke comforted. "You shouldn't feel bad that you got scared, Naruto. Sakura isn't dead, so let's not be too sad…" He touched his buddy on the shoulder as he glanced over to the bed where Lee's grandfather was inspecting the wounds on Sakura's back. Seeing that the two boys were now much more relaxed, Lee tottered over to the old one's side.
"How bad is it?" he asked.
The grandpa patted Lee on the head affectionately. "I think you got her here just in time. I should be able to perform the seal that will save her life. But I will need the help of another person to perform it. Lee, would you like to do the honor?"
Lee's eyes darted from the pretty little girl named Sakura, to her two friends, Naruto and Sasuke. The flowers they all wore indicated a connection that Lee could not penetrate. "I'm not worthy to help you with this one, Grandpa. I think one of her friends should do it."
"What do you say?" the old man asked the two. "Would one of you like to assist me?"
"I think Sasuke should do it," Naruto said softly. "He's the one who saved her."
The boy in question was quiet for a moment before replying. "Can we both do it? We're both her friends."
"Indeed," the strange man answered. "But if you help make this seal, you both will be bound to this girl. Is that something you can handle?" Two small heads nodded. "Very well. Would you both please come over to the girl's side? Alright, now each of you take one of her hands, and I will do the rest."
Sakura was lying on the bed on her stomach, her head turned to the side. The back of her red jumper was shredded and deep, oozing gashes marred her lower back. There was blood all over her skin and clothes, as well as on the bed sheets, the old man's hands, and little Lee's shirt. Both little boys were quivering, but they gripped onto her limp hands without hesitation. Then the man took out a tiny clay jar and a brush and began to paint the intricate seal around Sakura's wound. He then took out another jar, and sprinkled some of its powdery contents into the open slashes. To finish things up, he touched two fingertips to Sakura's back and the ragged edges of the cuts began to fuse back together. The kids holding her hands gasped. Neither had ever seen this kind of jutsu before.
"There, you may let go now," the old man told them. "And I feel terribly rude that I forgot to introduce myself earlier to you. I am Rock Shin and I am a healer. Because of you, your little friend here should be okay." Gently, he rolled Sakura over onto her back and tucked a thick quilt around her. He looked like he was about to say something else, when somebody knocked on his door. "You two stay by her side while I get the door."
When the door opened, it revealed the Hokage, the third Hokage, waiting with a pensive expression. "May I come in, Shin?" he asked.
"Of course, of course," Shin answered, ushering him in.
"The monster is dead," the Third informed right away. "But so are your son and daughter-in-law." From somewhere in the room came a small gasp of horror from Lee before the Hokage continued. "Is it true that a civilian was attacked?"
"Indeed," Shin sighed. "Haruno Sakura, just four years old. But she will live, thanks to Shen and Mei's intervention… and thanks to her friends here… and Lee, of course. Her parents should be notified right away, though, as well as the Uchihas. And we should tell the orphanage that Naruto is alright."
"Hmm… From your tone, Shin, I suspect that there is more to this situation then you are telling me," the Third said thoughtfully.
Shin looked down sadly. "The Children of the Kyuubi cannot stand it when their prey gets away. They will want to kill young Sakura for the rest of her life… Indeed, their strength has been weakening since the fall of the Kyuubi." He paused and glanced over at Naruto. "This one may well have been the last of their kind. The seal I have performed will keep her protected as long as she stays within Konoha. And she will be protected if Uzumaki and the Uchiha boy are with her. But if the Children still exist and she ever leaves Konoha on her own, Sakura will be in danger."
"I won't let them get her!" a little voice roared.
"Lee, how long have you been listening to us grownups talk?" Shin asked.
Lee's face was drenched in tears and his small hands were clutching the hem of his shirt. "I… I heard everything, Grandpa. Are… are Mama and Papa really dead?"
"I'm afraid so," his grandfather sighed.
"Well, I won't let them get Sakura, too!" he cried. "I'll become a great ninja and I'll beat anyone who tries to hurt her! I hate the Children more than anything! They kill people for no reason! Mama and Papa may be dead but… I… I'll protect that girl with my life if I have to!"
Shin hugged his grandson close. "Calm down, Lee. I know you're very upset right now because of what happened to your parents. Why don't you go and sit with Sakura and her friends now?"
"Okay," Lee sniffled, and walked over to the bed.
"Now," the Third continued. "There are a few more issues I'd like to discuss. I don't want this incident to cause widespread panic amongst the residents of our dear village. And won't these children be traumatized?"
"I plan to seal their memories before they leave my home," Shin answered. "I will erase the girl's permanently as her experience was the most traumatic, but the others I will seal only lightly, so that one day they may remember. Word of the incident will be contained and I will keep a particularly close watch along the perimeter of Konoha. The Children live solitarily, though. This one was probably just lost and disoriented. So the chance of another attack is unlikely. Still, I suggest that when the time comes, these three be put on the same team."
"I will consider it," the Hokage said with a nod. "Now I have some important calls to make. Rock Shin, I cannot thank you enough for you and your family's contribution to our village. And I am terribly sorry for your loss. Those two will be missed."
"Thank you," Shin said, as the Third left, then he went over to the four young children, who were all now on the bed. Sakura was still asleep, and Sasuke was stroking her hair, which still had the crown of flowers in it. Naruto was holding her hand, and Lee was sitting at the foot of the bed, staring sadly at the other three.
"Young ones," Rock Shin said softly. "You've all had a very traumatic day today, but I will make you forget all about it. I'm afraid I have to erase all of your memories of this day. That includes you too, Lee. But don't worry, you'll all be a lot happier if you forget."
"I understand," Lee said morosely, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Can… can I just do one thing, first? Can you bring me a pen and paper please, Grandpa?"
"Indeed," he answered, hastily fetching the requested items. "Why do you need them?"
"I want to write down my nindo, just in case I forget it when you erase my memories."
"I want to do that too," Sasuke said.
"Me too," Naruto added.
Lee tore the piece of parchment into three pieces and the three boys took turns using the pen and writing down their chosen path in childish scrawls. When they had all finished, they tucked their nindo into their pockets, and Rock Shin performed the jutsu that would put them each to sleep and seal their memories of the day, of the hideous beast that attacked them, and of the friendship they had made. Even though Naruto and Sasuke fell asleep snuggled on either side of Sakura, with Rock Lee curled up by their feet, when they awoke back in their own homes, they would not remember that they had ever met.
The last thing that appeared was the children's parents, and a shinobi from the orphanage coming to carry the sleeping children away, the Princess and two Princes still wearing their crowns and bracelets. Then the scene began to swirl away, and Rock Shin's cabin in Konoha was replaced by his cabin in the mountains far to the North.
Sasuke and Naruto, back in their physical bodies in the present world, sat there in silence for a moment, their faces drenched in sweat. Then they both spoke up in unison, pointing at each other.
"The Prince of Flowers was… You?"
To be continued…