It's been a while, hasn't it? I know, I know, I haven't been updating as much as I said I was going to. No worries though! I'm still continuing this fic. It's good to be back.

Disclaimer: Do not own. Sadly.

..6..

I've shown you proper etiquette

I've treated your noble steed with care

I've not flirted but fled and yet,

My room you made me share

But don't think that all is good

I'll make you leave here like you should.

…

It was one thing for Sakura to wake up in the prickling hay and with the usual odor from an animal-faciliating structure, but it was quite different when there was a looming shadow that was so generously blocking the sunny warmth from her. The rosette haired girl yawned and took her time in doing so. Her mornings were usually slow and just because she had spent a night in a stable made no difference. She didn't bother about the uninvited guest. Her eyes needed adjusting as sleep unfortunately evaded her. The hay was spiky, but oddly, it was rather comfortable. She wouldn't breathe a word of this to the Prince or anyone else for that matter. They'd just compare her to another animal again. She'd had enough humiliation the day before to last her quite a while.

"Hn." Why in the world did that sound so horribly familiar? Sakura unconsciously smoothed out the tangles in her hair. There were stray strands of hay on her body, and it occurred to her that she may have burrowed in the material for the evening. Embarrassment flooded her body for a split second before she languidly flicked off the offending strands. She was already sleeping in a stable for god's sake. Now was not the time for contemplating on suitable blankets.

Sakura vaguely registered that the opposing male was still standing before her, no doubt cocking that one annoying eyebrow up in that amused expression she's seen him wear so many times before. It had only been a day of their encounter, but nonetheless, she felt as if his few expressions were already memorized in her mind.

A small early-morning breeze whipped through her, and Sakura involuntarily shuddered slightly. Her eyes were slowly adjusting to her surroundings, which weren't really that great anyways. Her gaze fell upon a pair of very nice boots. They were rather shiny and probably made from leather. Of course, not only did he rob people of their homes, but he also was a certified animal killer. Instinctively, Sakura began flicking the hay towards those intruding boots. There was a small grunt from above, but she ignored the remark and kept at her work. Soon, there was a decent amount of her blanket covering his animal killing footwear. Satisfied with the result, Sakura smiled a bit before finally lifting her head to see the countenance of a rather disgruntled young prince.

"Good morning, sir." She smiled radiantly at the Uchiha. "Did you enjoy your stay in my room last night?"

Sasuke had woken up early that day in hopes of taunting the feisty pink-haired girl with what he had found the night before. The Prince had slipped out of the building with no detection and had made his way quietly towards the stables. His intent was clear. He wanted to tease and taunt her with everything that he had. It was only fair after all of those little shenanigans she pulled on him. He really didn't expect to just stand over her though. Sasuke most certainly did not count on actually observing her sleep.

He knew that she was a whirlwind of a girl. That was clear to anyone that's been in her presence. However, her expression when she slept left him utterly confounded by her entire being. She looked peaceful, a bit more attractive, he grudgingly admitted, but most of all, she looked like a lady.

Sasuke couldn't quite say that burrowing in hay was womanly, but her position, her hair, the way her hands were neither outstretched nor clenched resembled a tender, loving… oh god, what was he thinking? The young Uchiha was rather confused at why he was looking at the girl in this new light. She was a nuisance, utter chaos, and provided him amusement. Then why did she possess such innocence when sleeping?

His eyes lingered upon her small form when a small wind blew. He noticed her shudder slightly and realized that she was probably waking up. Drowsy, definitely, but at least she was awaking. Her movements immediately erased his lingering thoughts on her ladylike qualities. Sasuke was probably just tired from waking up so early and having had a hard night's sleep from the day before. She hadn't really made it easy for him with a drenched bed and rock-hard pillow. He made a grunt to notice her of his presence, but the girl seemingly ignored him. Her behavior wasn't surprising. Heck, she woke up as comfortably as if she slept in the stables every night. The thought disturbed Sasuke for a reason he couldn't even fathom.

As he watched her stretch this way and that, the young Uchiha's infamous impatience was mounting. She was a sloth, he swore. How many times did a girl need to stretch before their limbs fell off? Right as when he was about to nudge her head with his feet (Very expensive feet, he might add. He was almost hesitant in touching such a wild sloth with his leather boots.), she began what would no doubt be thought of as a wild animal ritual. First, there was the plucking of hay around her face and on top of her body. Then, there was the languid movement of stretching the arm above her head. Lastly, she completed her little body cleansing routine by dumping the single strands of hay onto his expensive feet.

Sasuke wasn't quite sure if she was half asleep or not nor was he sure of his reaction. Was it borderline annoyance, or was he still confused and amused at this servant girl? Either way, he just stood there watching until his feet became hidden by the deposited hay.

Right as he was looking down, the sloth's bright green eyes finally stared back. She had a sparkling smile, and that was when the Prince realized that no, she was not half-asleep. As a matter of fact, she was very much awake and still as confusing as ever. Sloths were ugly when they smiled. (If they actually smiled, that is.) Pink haired sloths were supposed to be no different. Sasuke really detested those that were as they say, "outside of the box."

He looked down at the gleaming girl.

"Good morning sir. Did you enjoy your stay at my room last night?" She spoke, and finally, Sasuke remembered what he had wanted to ask her about, but first… he should just mess with her mind a little. He gave his most charming smile back at her. She, unlike the rest, apparently wasn't fazed. Ouch, male pride, ouch.

"It was lovely. Small, but it was a nice night." Sakura stared at him incredulously before regaining her composure.

"Were you hungry?"

"The milk was fine. Couldn't find a cup so I just drank from the jug. Finished it, hope you don't mind."

"…You finished my milk? Every last drop?" Sasuke smirked. Did she even know how her precious milk expired a couple of weeks before? But, if that was what was going to rile her up, then so be it.

"Yes. You left it there for me, did you not?"

"Are you kidding? That was for Joker!"

"Excuse me? Joker?"

Sakura stared, frustration evident in her emerald eyes. Sasuke wondered if she was expecting other guests last night. The thought was displeasing.

"Joker, my pet mouse!" And that was when Sasuke had an uncharacteristic widening of the eyes. Okay, so it was only 1/8 of an inch, but still!

"There's a rat in your room, and you have a friendship with it?"

Sakura nodded her head vigorously and sat in an upright position while crossing her arms in front of her chest. She huffed a breath of annoyance before glaring up at the Prince. Sasuke wished that her sloth smile was back.

"As a matter of fact, I do. His company is much better than the other girls I live with. He doesn't flirt, nor flaunt, nor wear ridiculous amounts of make-up to cover up his imperfections. He gives me company, and I give him milk. Oh, and he's a mouse. Not a rat."

Sasuke allowed the information to sink in before he closed his eyes and blinked three times. It was going to be hard for him to accept but…

"…So I drank a rat's drink?" Flashing green eyes pierced through him once again. For the life of him, Sasuke had no clue why she was so infuriated.

"He is a mouse! A mouse! Rats are sneaky, evil, and ugly! Joker's none of them so please treat him with respect." This girl was crazy. She was insane. Sasuke feared for his common sense as he took a step back from the obviously distressed sloth.

"I, a prince, must treat a rat with respect?" This was met with a growl, and he was positive that she was a wild beast right then.

Sakura slowly got up from her comfortable hay bed, and instead of blowing her top, she sighed and slumped her soldiers. Confused, Sasuke arched his eyebrow a bit.

"Oho! The crazy one has awakened. My lord, do you not want to go somewhere that you do not have to fear for your life?" Tayuya's high-pitched voice alerted to Sasuke why Sakura had lost her spark all of a sudden. When there was no reply from either the Prince or her arch nemesis, Tayuya tried a different approach.

"Prince Sasuke, would you like to accompany me to a walk around the area? Someone with as much power as you should experience the beauty of nature that surrounds our small dojo." She smiled sweetly, but Sakura swore she saw two horns pop out of that freakishly burnt tomato head.

Sasuke looked from the rat loving sloth to the girl that resembled all the others, and he decided taking the safe route was best at the moment. After giving a curt nod to Tayuya, he slowly ambled away with loud and boisterous and left behind tired and annoyed.

Sakura was glad that Mr. High and Mighty was led away. She wasn't sure how unladylike she would have become if he had stayed longer. Sakura vaguely realized that she yelled at him because of a rodent and hoped that he wouldn't tell that to Tsunade. If Joker was taken away from her, she really would be alone. Mice were cute creatures if you got to know them, really they were. If the Prince would ever try to communicate with Joker then she was sure that he would… command someone to kill it on sight.

With a sigh, Sakura hobbled away from the stables. Her sleep wasn't too bad considering the fact that she was treated like an animal. As a matter of fact, if the horse wasn't coming back, (and she was pretty sure he wouldn't) then she wouldn't actually mind snuggling in the hay.

Sakura's hands ran through her long, pink tresses and searched for any remaining pieces of hay. Sure, she didn't care much for her appearance, but she didn't want to be viewed as a slob all the time. Sakura momentarily forgot to look at the path in front of her as she determinedly combed through her hair.

Her feet quite literally led her into a hard object. With the hair in front of her eyes, Sakura used her hands to feel out what was in front of her. She didn't remember a tree being there, and judging from the texture of what she was feeling, this was no tree. Her hands wandered upwards because really, why look with eyes when you can play a guessing game with yourself? Her fingers touched something hairy, and Sakura recoiled slightly before boldly grabbing onto a strand and pulling.

A startled yowl finally broke through Sakura's concentration on her little game, and she hesitantly looked up. Don't let it be Tsunade. Don't let it be Tsunade. Don't let it be..

"Naruto?" Her voice was slightly louder than that of a proper lady and much less dignified. The girl didn't seem to notice as she openly gaped at the man in front of her.

Dressed in shorts and a tight-fitting undershirt, Naruto looked like he had just gotten out of bed. Sakura warily wondered if she looked just as tired as he looked. His hair, which she guessed was what she had pulled, stuck up at odd ends, and if Sakura looked closely, she was sure a little drool was making its way down the boy's chin.

Bleary eyes stared at her as Naruto slowly blinked away the sleep. Obviously blinking wasn't doing the trick as his eyes kept drooping so he slowly lifted a hand to wipe away any remaining hint of sleep from his eyes. His vision swam as he tried to focus on what or who was in front of him. Naruto could only make out a pink mess staring at him in a slightly scared manner.

Recognition made the boy smile lopsidedly.

"Hi, Sakura. You look like a mess." With that, he very willingly, fell to the ground with a thud. Naruto wanted to go back to his dream of ramen land after all.

Sasuke wasn't sure what to make of the place. As he walked aimlessly with Tayuya practically leeching off of his arm, he tried to put an effort to listen to what the girl was saying. It was hard to think clearly, and his mind drifted back to Sakura, the horse-loving, sloth girl. He blamed it on the ra.. mouse potion. Sasuke's blanched at the thought. He only did drink a drop before dumping the rest of the expired milk down the drain. However, even a drop of spoiled milk was unhealthy not to mention unheard of for a prince.

It was when Tayuya had brushed her hand upon his breast pocket that Sasuke flinched. The red head's eyes stared at the object underneath her hand before coyly taking it out. A brown, torn up book rested in her hands as she stared at the inscripted words on its cover.

"I didn't know you wrote poetry, Prince Sasuke."

I hope you guys liked it! I wrote this while half asleep. Hopefully, it doesn't reflect that.

I love my readers/reviewers. r&r?