Disclaimer: Don't own for the millionth time.
Angel Wings and Platforms
By: Apherion
Recap:
A heavy hand settled on her waist, while the other hand still held hers. She didn't know this dance, but oh, ignorance was bliss, letting him twirl her and pull her close. She blushed innocently while they were barely an inch apart, bodies occasionally brushing against the others. She even laid her head against his chest.
"Princess!"
The voice rang out over the serene, heartbreaking music and everything came to an abrupt halt. People started whispering in hushed voices that no doubt carried out the now open doors, which were illuminating the tavern with the harsh rays of the sun.
"Where is she," the voices said. "Where is our hime?" It scared her and she held onto Kakashi a bit tighter. It was like the voices were closing in on her. It almost felt like the voices were trying to rip her apart. She screamed, but Kakashi clutching her to his chest muffled her scream.
"Hidenka, thank goodness I've found you." Sakura lifted her head from Kakashi, glanced at the woman, and gasped. It was Shizune.
"What are you talking about? I'm not a princess," she said, holding fast to Kakashi, but her let her go, discreetly pushing her away.
"You are; I can't believe I didn't notice. Himemiko didn't have wings when she was born."
"You should've known for what her father is. He had hoped that she wouldn't have to deal with them, but at four, they started to grow. The parents didn't allow anyone else to see her except me, her sitter. I still don't have a clue how she got out of my sight, and here she is, probably doing unimaginable things." Shizune reached out and grabbed Sakura by the arm while Sakura looked at Kakashi, silently pleading for help.
"Hidenka, you are coming with me." Sakura struggled against the medic-nin's grip, trying to regain her arm back.
"No, I won't go! I'm Haruno Sakura, not the princess!" She shouted, but no one seemed to hear her words except for 'princess.' Tears poured down her front and she was beginning to be dragged away. Fear engulfed her entire being.
"Kakashi, don't let them take me! I'm not who they think I am!" Shizune sniffed at the remark, and made one of her own.
"You'd be hard put to find twins here, Princess. And trust me; if you were an impersonator, you're the first one to beat Hatake Kakashi." Shizune continued to drag Sakura away. Sakura fought against the hold.
"Let me go, please, I'm begging you!" She cried out, frightened. This was worse than the missions that she, Naruto, and Sasuke had been sent on. If I'm separated from Kakashi, I won't make it back to my universe. She had thought it desperately, even though it would seem oh so stupid if she figured out that she had thought it, which she did figure out soon enough.
The thought was unexpected, even for her. What had made her think that being with Kakashi would get her back to her own time and place? Maybe it was because she didn't want to separate from the one person she truly knew here. Yes, that's it. There's no other possible reason. Yet in that moment of relapse on her part, she was departed from the bar.
"Might as well quit struggling, we wouldn't want to hurt that pretty face of yours." Sakura stared over her shoulder at Shizune.
"You realize you're scuffing my platforms," Sakura said coolly, noticing that the white boots were becoming speckled with dirt. Shizune stopped, still holding onto Sakura's arm.
"Then we better comply and walk normally, right Hime?" Sakura glared at her, but softened her gaze, closing her eyes and nodding. "Right," Shizune stooped down and began to wipe whatever dirt had accumulated there on the white platforms.
After Shizune stood back up, she let go of Sakura. Sakura, with her head down, began to walk. She heard Shizune begin after her once Sakura had taken fives steps. What the hell? Sakura asked, glaring at the woman behind her without turning her head or opening her eyes.
"Hime watch—" WHAM! Sakura had collided with something solid, but she didn't hit the ground. Apparently, as Sakura had yet to open her eyes, someone had caught her before the second impact. She opened one eye then blinked, looking at the man holding her from her fate (the ground). He helped her stand and she was completely thrown.
"Domo arigato, Koushi," Shizune said from behind her. Sakura looked at Shizune and saw her bowing to him. Wait a second! Did she just call Itachi…prince? She let her gaze roam back to the figure of the murderous Itachi she had known, obviously this wasn't that Itachi or else she'd be running the other direction, screaming 'Kill her, we can afford to lose her!'
"Idiot, bow down!" Sakura heard Shizune hiss as she slightly retreated from the still-kind-of-creepy Itachi. Let's just say she was a tad bit reluctant to show her neck to him. She did so any way after being forced down by Shizune.
"It's all right Shizune-chan; Shikonnobotan hasn't been outside in a while. I doubt she remembers me from our childhood. Good day, Lady Sakura, Shizune-chan," with those words of departure he left in a cloud of white smoke.
"I take it you forgot who he was, Hime?" Sakura looked at her, a stricken look on her face.
"I know him, but exactly who is he," she commanded of her escort, who complied easily with her.
"He is a jounin, that man, and a fine one at that. He has the Sharigan eyes of his clan and has mastered all but one technique, the—"
"Kaleidoscope wheel Sharigan," whispered Sakura. Shizune gave her a worried look.
"How did you know?"
"A lucky guess, anyways, what else is there about him?" Shizune started back where she left off praising the betrayer of the KonohaSakura knew.
"He has unimaginable speed, and is the caption of the elites, as well as the heir to the Uchiha clan. A wonderful man you are to be wed with," Shizune sighed. Had Sakura been eating or drinking anything, she would have choked.
"W-w-what," Sakura stuttered wide-eyed. "How dare they marry me off? I have a will of my own!" Shizune laughed coldly.
"Do you really think that, Princess? If you did, then you wouldn't still be here with clipped wings. You'd have flown away a long time ago if you weren't resigned to your parents' wishes…or is it that you've found someone more trustworthy, hm?" Shizune prompted her. Sakura looked away, not really wanting to discuss the matter.
"You're following me from here to the mansion, understood?" Sakura nodded to the now angry usher huffed as she began striding away from the sunset. Occasionally Sakura would hear angry comments flowing like curse words from Shizune, but in hushed undertones of course.
"Ungrateful brat…I can't believe…who would want someone besides Lord Itachi…?" Each time she spoke she grew towards her anger and Sakura was seeing a different side to Shizune. Finally, after walking what felt like hours in the dry summer heat of July, they had reached the mansion. Sakura would have loved to ask if the creator's could have come up with anything more elaborate. It was simply too much for her tastes, which were simple, one color and only two different shades of that color per wall. The first comment that came to Sakura's mind when she saw the mansion was actually spoken out loud.
"Remind me again how I am related to my parents…?" Shizune shot her a sharp look that said plainly, 'Stop trying to be cute, it's not going to work.' So, Sakura left off the last bit, which rang in her head thanks to her second personality; because we're definitely not related by taste in any consort.
She heard Shizune pick up the large doorknocker and let the heavy piece of metal fall on the wooden door. It didn't have the 'Haruno' clan symbol on it either. Sakura's brows knitted in concentration. Yet her thoughts were interrupted as she was manhandled through the doorway.
"Thank heavens you found her, Shizune! Her parents were in much grieving due to her absence." The man who said this looked so familiar, and then Sakura realized that it was her father, not here of course, but definitely back home it was. She gasped audibly and the man and Shizune began guiding her through the house to where her parents would be found.
The wooden door to what looked like the living room slid open as they came upon it. She stumbled inside thanks to the shove in her back she received from Shizune. She glared over her shoulder and the woman, but soon focused her daggered stare at her 'parents'.
"She looks feverish, where did you find her?" The male angel spoke to Shizune, who flinched as though she had a whip cracked at her. Sakura looked at the woman, to her surprise, wasn't her mother, but Tsunade. Her mouth was agape, stunned by her discovery.
"Uh, your majesty, I don't think I'm one to tell you where she was," Shizune looked worriedly from Sakura to Tsunade and to the man that was supposedly Sakura's father. He was…gorgeous, but if Sakura had to choose, that wouldn't have been her first pick for a celestial husband.
"Speak, unless you don't value your life." His tone was far from angelic with his devilish threat.
"That is why I wish not to speak. I value life, but I know my answer to your question will have me beheaded." Shizune dropped to her knees and bowed with her head down to both Sakura's alternate universe parents.
"Speak child, I will spare you your guilt." Tsunade's voice was calm, almost sweet. Deceiving snake…slug, Sakura thought viciously knowing that they would kill Shizune when she said it. Shizune paled and stared vacantly at her hands as she lifted herself from the bow.
"I…I found her in the tavern, your majesties." Tsunade gasped audibly and the angel raised himself a little higher in his seat. Shizune whimpered, fearful of what might happen to her.
"Gabriel, please," Sakura heard Tsunade shout, and she looked up to her parents. Tsunade had her hands on his right arm, holding it down.
"I ask for followers to help keep my daughter pure and she allows my daughter to escape into a common bar for fools and drunks; commoners!" He thundered, about to strike down, but Sakura intervened, playing the innocent role of a child who did no wrong in her parents' eyes.
"Please, Father, don't hurt Shizune-chan. She is my only friend inside these walls. I love you both, but I need at least one friend." Suddenly his eyes softened and Gabriel sat back in a more relaxed position on his cushion.
"She is in your charge then, Daughter, and don't fret, you shall have the finest for your husband. A certain heir to the Uchiha clan has been in contact and I must say he is well endowed in all things that matter in life: mind, money, and muscles. He will create a strong, sturdy home." Sakura inwardly gagged while she smiled lightly on the outside. Something told her just what to say to finish the conversation off nicely.
"I will look for what you wish me to, but I will not like until I know what truly matters to him." The words were spoken coldly and she beckoned Shizune towards the door. "Come," she said imperiously. "We've dallied too long, Shizune. I have many things I'd wish to discuss with you, my friend." Following her lead, Shizune bowed and exited after Sakura.
Translations:
Hidenka: Her Royal Highness
Hime: Princess
Himemiko: Imperial Princess
Shikonnobaton: Princess-Flower (fits, no? Sakura meaning cherry blossom and all)
Koushi: Imperial Heir (or Prince)
Oh wow! Sakura's an angel? When did this happen? AND SHE'S A PRINCESS! OMFG! Not to mention Tsuande's her mom ANDthe scary part...Having to marry Itachi. Whatever will our heroine do in these dire times? XD I'm sure she'll find some why out of this thing-just look at how much pull she has with her family! And what the hell is with the language? I guess it's an angel thing. Tune in next time for:
Where'd This Feeling Come From?
See you next time!