Disclaimer: Naruto n'appartient pas à moi. Naruto does not belong to me. Must remember some French over the holidays or I'll forget it all. Sigh… I still mourn over the death of – I will not say lest HP fans kill me. Wait – why am I rambling so? Kakashi save me. Sauvez-moi, Kakashi-sama! Tasukete Kakashi-sama! (Is that how you say save me in Japanese?)

The Princess and the Rogue – His and her fairytale

I love Kakashi – normal

I love Asuma – Kurenai thinking (italics)

I love Kurenai – Asuma thinking (bold)

Note #1: Kurenai and Asuma are 16 in this story and Naruto is 12.

Note #2: Naruto is drawn and written by a Japanese writer. In Japanese the names are written last name then first name. Ex: Hatake Kakashi. Hatake is the last name and Kakashi is the first name. (And no, watashi no namae wa Megumi ja nai. No my name is not Megumi… don't ask.)

Note #3: The Hokage Asuma speaks of is MADE UP and DOES NOT EXIST in the Naruto series.

Note #4: I refuse to update until I get a review of some sort... it's kinda sad not getting any feedback so I might be writing absolute crud and not knowing it.

Chapter 5 – A Couple of Nasty Injuries

In the previous chapter…

Leaping from the tree, she jumped and landed right in front of him. Taking a kunai from her sleeve, she held it up.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in?" she demanded.

Asuma groaned. His shoulder, cut from the briars was bleeding profusely and some random person was threatening to attack him. Wonderful! I'm having a great day… not. Clutching his shoulder, he finally looked clearly at his attacker. He blinked and looked again. In front of him was not some thug as he expected but a young lady. A pretty one nonetheless. Her long hair framed her pretty face that was accented by her crimson eyes and lips. Asuma didn't feel the pain in his shoulder anymore. Instead, he was distracted, gaping at the beauty before him.

Kurenai waited for an answer from the stranger. The only answer she got was the idiotic expression on his face that indicated that he was checking her out. What an idiot.

"I'll give you one more minute to tell me what you're here for and how you got in!" she yelled.

"I – I … I was um…" Asuma was stuttering… a slight blush came to his cheeks. I feel so stupid at the moment; I don't think my brain is working properly.

Kurenai sighed.

"You all right?" she asked, her tone a little softer. "You seem to have injured yourself when you came in here. We'll clean that bit for now and then you could tell me. I'll go get the medical supplies."

She ran into the house and came back with a box. She sat down beside him and in a few minutes, the deep cut was cleaned and bandaged. Putting everything back into the box, she finally said:

"Are you going to answer my questions or do I have to beat them out of you?"

Asuma was surprised at the comment. A good fighter himself, he didn't doubt her fighting abilities. He also didn't want to mess with this young lady… especially not with his injured shoulder. Besides I don't beat up women for no reason. The lady did not attack and that gave him no reason to defend himself.

"Uhh… I guess, I should start with my name… I'm Sarutobi Asuma… I'm sort of a um… outlaw, well the leader of a group of exiles. I'm here 'cause, well, during my travels if I encounter any sort of interesting challenge… I decide to do them and well… this wall seemed interesting and all and as I challenge I um… decided to try and get to the other side and see what's there. And here I am… talking to the prettiest creature living on the other side of the wall…"

He unconsciously flushed at that statement. I must sound like a complete moron. And maybe a bit like a naïve schoolboy… or a dirty old man trying to get a date. He wanted to hit himself over the head for acting like an idiot all of a sudden but he refrained himself from doing so to prevent himself from looking even more like an idiot.

"So how did you get over the wall?"

"Huh? Oh! Some soothsayer who was I guess you can say distantly um… related to a witch. She lent me her broomstick in exchange for introducing her granddaughter to one of my men… okay he's only twelve… but he's still part of the crew and that's all that matters." Why do I keep rambling on like a cretin?

Kurenai giggled, and the giggle grew into a laugh. That's a nice sound…

"I'm sorry," she said while still laughing. "When you said that, I pictured this big guy like you on this tiny broom and… well… I don't know anymore."

A smile finally appeared on her once expressionless face.

"Well… it wasn't hard riding the broom, in fact it's right there."

He walked over the spot near the wall where the broom lay and picked it up.

"Good thing it didn't break when I pretty much crashed. Seriously, I want to hit myself over the head for forgetting to ask the old crone how to land the thing. I swear, I must've looked so damn stupid. I bet you thought, "Who the heck is this fool?" when I came in."

"No, I thought that when you were giving me some deer-in-the-headlights look when I first talked to you. Not to mention when you were just introducing yourself."

Asuma laughed… and laughed… and laughed… until he cried.

"I knew it! I really must've looked like an idiot!" he said and continued laughing as he fell onto the grass.

Kurenai smiled and joined in laughing. For once, she felt a sort of happiness she had never experienced or remembered. I don't remember laughing this much… ever. After sixteen years of isolation… Kurenai finally found a friend. As Asuma's laugh subsided, he looked up into the sky… And then he snapped up.

"Hey! I still haven't asked you your name and you already know a lot about me!"

"So knowing that your name is Sarutobi Asuma, outlaw and challenge lover is a lot huh?"

He laughed. "Well, that's not the point. The point is, I still don't know anything about you."

"Well… my name is Kurenai. I don't know my last name since I don't know who my parents are. I've been trapped in here since… since forever with my nursemaid Tsunade, who's also a ninja and her assistant Shizune, who's a ninja too… Other than them, you're the first person who I've talked to. I don't know why I've been put here but my dream is to get out of these walls once and for all and see the world outside. I've been trying to do this for so long and yet… I've never been able to get out. Maybe… maybe you'll be my knight in um… a jounin vest that might get me out of here." She laughed bitterly; Asuma did not reply.

"Hey Asuma," she started, "Do you wear a jounin outfit to disguise yourself or were you a shinobi once, maybe like before you were outlawed."

The sun was setting and Kurenai and Asuma were lying on the grass, immersed in twilight. Asuma sighed.

"Yep… I was a shinobi once. So were all of the guys in my crew. We were shinobi of the hidden leaf village. At the time, the reign of the current Hokage was corrupt. My comrades and I found out that he was actually a shinobi who wanted revenge against the village for some sort of ancient wrongdoing. The Hokage, knowing that we knew his true purpose of becoming Hokage and how he became Hokage through bribing and blackmail, made up an excuse and banished us. And that's how my friends and I became exiles. Fun huh?"

"It… it must be tough… your way of life now, I mean." she said sympathetically.

"Yeah, the boys and I were trained as ninja, so I guess all we do now is offer our services as bodyguards but we don't get much business… Sometimes we resort to stealing but not from the poor people… we know how terrible it is to not have anything but the clothes on your backs. Then again, I guess we have it better than most people. We never get caught stealing since we're all excellent shinobi… and everyone in the crew are like brothers."

"Well, that's good."

"Yup."

A long silence befell them, but it wasn't an awkward one. Both of them just lay there on the grass, contemplating their interesting day.

Well, I got over the wall… It wasn't an extremely hard challenge seeing that I got help from that old woman but I guess in the end, it was worth it. I met Kurenai; she's… well a lot of things… I can't help but think that… she feels sad… maybe I should help her… escape from here. I'm sure she'd like the world outside. She could be part of the crew; the boys would love her. A pang went through Asuma. I wonder if… He shook his head. I wonder if she'd like it with us… I mean, we could be rough sometimes, but then again, I wouldn't wanna mess with her. By the way she held her kunai at me this morning, I'm sure she's had training as a ninja, probably from her nursemaid or whatever. Anyways, I'm sure she would do anything to get outside… she just seems depressed whenever she talks about the walls. They would probably look depressing if I had to look at them for my entire life… And I have to admit, it's kinda depressing to see her so depressed. Her lovely face should always smiling…

I've been trapped here for… well sixteen years, and I've yet to get out. I had always dreamed that one day I'd meet someone from the outside world. Oddly enough, I guess one of my many wishes came true and I'm thankful that Kami-sama or whoever it is granted that wish. It's nice to have a friend…now, I guess, I just don't feel so alone anymore. Maybe… just maybe he'll take me away from this place. I'd love to see what it's like outside. And once I've gotten a good enough look, I'll go and find my parents. I'll find them and at the same time, I'll find out why I've been locked in this stupid prison. Maybe Asuma will come with me. It's nice not to be alone. Maybe I'll try and make it into a challenge so he can't resist. She laughed quietly as she gazed at the purple sky overhead. If I get out, I guess I'll meet the rest of the exiled ninjas…they sound interesting. I wonder what they're like. Hopefully, they'll all be nice… like Asuma.

A shuffling of footsteps snapped them out of their thoughts.

"Asuma, hide out in the woods for the night. Tsunade is coming to tell me to get inside and she probably hasn't seen anyone from the outside for a while. I don't know how she would react so until I do, go and hide where she won't see you. She usually stays in the house during daylight hours doing I have no clue what but she fetches me around this time.If you feel cold, my room is the one on the topmost floor on the left and it has a balcony." She pointed it out to him. "Just knock quietly and I'll get you a sheet or something, 'kay?"

Asuma nodded and with a quick wave goodbye, he disappeared into the trees.

Tsunade came out of the house and walked up to Kurenai, who was staring at the woods with an odd smile on her face.

"Kurenai, you should come in now, it's getting late. Your extremely late dinner is on the table, so go eat it." she said, calmly.

"Thank you."

"I heard you laughing out there this afternoon. What was that all about? It's been a long time since I've heard you laugh."

"Nothing. Just strange thoughts."

"Strange thoughts can be good." Tsunade said as she smiled. "They make you laugh, which is rare." she thought. "She probably doesn't have much to laugh about being stuck here. At least Shizune and I can get out from time to time." They both walked into the house for the night.

Darkness befell them and the last-quarter moon was shining bright in the sky. Asuma gazed at it with a look of reverence… but in truth, he was just too cold to change his facial expression. Asuma had slept in mountain caves and other woodlands in other places but for some reason, this one forest was just cold. Either that or he just wanted an excuse to go see Kurenai.
Asuma: I am not! Stop writing dumb things about me!

Moi a.k.a theauthor: Alright, alright, just joking… whispers not. Muahahahaha. Okay… back to the story.

He just couldn't bear it anymore. As instructed, he went over to Kurenai's balcony and knocked on her door. For a moment, no sound came from her room. Maybe she's fast asleep; I probably shouldn't wake her up. Finally, the door opened to reveal a slightly groggy Kurenai in her silky crimson spaghetti-strapped nightdress. Asuma couldn't help but stare.

"Are you going to do that every time you see me in a new outfit?" she teasingly whispered.

"Umm… no? I mean yes… or maybe… I don't know?"

"What a witty response. Anyways, I sort of thought you'd probably need a sheet or something. It gets kind of cold during this time."

She crossed the room and took a blanket that was neatly folded on a chair.

"Here you are." she said, as she handed it to him.

"Thanks."

Kurenai looked up at the moon.

"The moon's nice tonight." she remarked as she stepped out into the balcony. Asuma was silent as he looked up towards it and even if he didn't say anything, she knew that Asuma agreed. A breeze drifted by and Kurenai shivered. In that moment she had forgotten that she was outside in her skimpy nightdress.

"You might need this more than I do for now." said Asuma as he draped the blanket over her shoulders. Trying to start a conversation, Kurenai restated:

"The moon's beautiful tonight."

"You're prettier though." replied Asuma. Kurenai blushed. For a moment, they looked at each other, not saying a word. Slowly, Asuma put his arm around Kurenai's waist and started to bend down…

BAM! Suddenly, Asuma flew back many metres and at the same time, breaking the balcony rail. Surprisingly the blow did not come from Kurenai but instead from a surprised Tsunade who had come in to check on the strange noises coming from Kurenai's room. "This is bad," thought Tsunade.

"TSUNADE, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING TO ASUMA? YOU DIDN'T KILL HIM DID YOU?" yelled Kurenai.

Tsunade looked at Kurenai wistfully. Kurenai, shot her an angry look and not waiting for a reply jumped down to check on the once again injured Asuma.

"This is bad…" thought Tsunade. "His and her majesty probably won't be pleased."

TBC…