Hello there! You lovely reviewers are just simply lovely. Here's your reward for your encouragements! Thanks for sticking by.

Disclaimer: If Sasuke was mine, I wouldn't be making fanfiction about him.

..7..

You came here ready to take
I came here trying to live
You came here to mess around
I wanted to be safe and sound

You think of me as a mess
I think it depends on the view
You believe I would kneel down
But I won't even to the crown

You want to own, to possess
I want to live freely without stress
You lay out your charms and bills,
I swear I won't fall,
even if it kills.

...

Sasuke looked at the woman in front of him with slight disdain. Tayuya held the book teasingly in front of the Prince unaware of its true author. Her long, carefully manicured nails caressed the cover almost sensually. Sasuke wondered if this blatant sexual attention on inanimate objects worked with her other conquests. He watched her playfully flip through the pages without actually reading anything. If she was actually paying attention, he was sure that she would realize that the 'burnt tomato head' mentioned inside would catch her eye. She would probably then realize that the sloth was the real culprit, and maybe she would stop rubbing the book in such an awkward fashion.

"I don't write poetry." Sasuke answered straightforwardly. He had no intentions of revealing anything to the woman in front of him. Females were trivial things that changed moods like the weather. There was already a rumbling storm in the stables. Sasuke didn't want screeching lightening to start.

Tayuya paid no attention to the Prince's slight look of annoyance and continued to wave the poetry book slowly in front of him. Inwardly, she realized that the book was rather dirty and worn out, but she put the details in the back of her mind as she zoned in on her prey. He was absolutely delicious, and she would not let him get away.

"You don't, Prince Sasuke? Then who's the author of this book that has you so captivated that you carry it around with you on your journeys?" She drawled out. Her voice oozed out like honey. A leftover and slightly too sticky honey, in Sasuke's opinion.

"She's.. unique." The Uchiha bit out, having found no other word to describe the sloth he had left behind. "She has a lot to say."

Obviously not knowing anything about poetry or literature in general, Tayuya placed the book back into Sasuke's hands and slid her body closer to his.

"I have a lot to say as well. Won't you talk to me more, Prince Sasuke?" Sasuke supposed it was a nice line to use towards other unknowing men, but he wasn't fazed.

"What are you interested in? Poetry? Politics?" He didn't really care what her answer was. The important matter was that he had gotten back the book and had placed it safely into his breast pocket. "Is there something you enjoy talking about?"

Tayuya froze a bit before shooting the Uchiha her most dazzling smile. She knew nothing about anything, but sucking up has never failed her before.

"I enjoy everything about you, Prince Sasuke." Her answer sounded lackluster to Sasuke's ears for a reason unknown to him, but he allowed her to plaster herself to his side as they walked and listened to her talk about him.

Sakura wasn't sure if it was proper etiquette to just leave Naruto laying there. There was never training for when a royal fell asleep at your feet, and Sakura believed that it was her pure dumb luck that allowed this to happen to her.

She looked at the man sprawled on the ground and considered her options.

If she left him there then when he'd awake, he might remember seeing her and that would lead him to realize that she did nothing to help him.

If she dragged him away then… where would she put him?

Sakura looked at Naruto's body and realized that although he wasn't very tall, he was still built. It would be hard to drag him anywhere farther than a couple of steps. The only place close enough would be the stable.

Biting her lip in contemplation, the pink haired girl settled on her second option. She couldn't waste much time just standing over him. If anyone saw the scene, they might think that she had hurt him, and she might get locked up for attacking a royal. Then who would feed Joker?

With the thought in mind, Sakura rolled up the tattered sleeves of her dirty dress and took hold of Naruto's arms. Her first pull did nothing. Neither did her second or third try. The man was much heavier than he looked.

Huffing in frustration, Sakura tried a different tactic. She shifted positions and instead of standing near the man's head, she stood by his side. With both hands on the side of Naruto's torso, she pushed him forward. The man flopped over and rolled onto the ground facedown. Score! He moved!

Sakura kept repeating this pattern until she rolled the man into the hay she had just been in minutes before. She briefly wondered if Naruto was human. Her treatment of his body was anything but gentle, but he remained in a deep sleep. What a strange man to be placed at the Prince's side.

Shooting the stable a last glance, the girl quickly walked away from the area. Hopefully the hay would provide some warmth for Naruto.

It was hours after Naruto's disappearance when Kiba began to slightly worry. His roommate had stumbled out of the room early in the morning. Kiba originally thought it was a trip to the bathroom, but he swore he heard the blonde mutter something about a Ramen King.

The bathroom break took an hour, but he hadn't worried much. Naruto's stomach held a lot so it wouldn't surprise him that it took an equal amount of time to empty it. It was when two hours turned to three that he realized that the blonde wasn't coming back and that he may have actually went to Ramen Land.

Kiba looked down at Akamaru who was lazily lounging in his lap. The man's hands softly stroked the fur of the white dog, and the latter craned his neck back to allow his owner further access.

"Do you think I should go and find him, Akamaru?" The dog flipped over onto his back in reply, urging Kiba to give him a full body massage. The man smiled slightly before petting the top of the pup's head.

"You're right. He's probably just stuffing his face somewhere. That man is probably living the high life right now in a five star restaurant."

After three walks around the back of the dojo, the Prince had enough. The red-head was still off spouting about his accomplishments and how much she admired him. He knew he was great, but even he wasn't aware that he was that great.

It was also by the third circle that Sasuke realized that he didn't do what he had planned to earlier in the day. The sloth's poetry book was still nestled snuggly in his breast pocket, and he had not taken advantage of the situation back at the stable. He had great teasing material right on his body, and he had not utilized it. A pity.

The Uchiha looked at the girl still draped on his arm and inwardly cringed. She was easy on the eyes and better than the other girls in the dojo, but she was laying it on a bit thick. Her flirtations were adequate at best before but now, they turned into whiny declarations of devotion.

Sasuke didn't need this extra baggage hanging around him during his stay, and he much rather go back to the stable and complete his aborted mission.

Feeling a bit better, he took ahold of Tayuya's hand, and loosened it around his arm. Saying a quick excuse, Sasuke made a hasty escape.

He approached the awaiting storm and left lightening in the background.

Sakura was just about to visit her room and check up on her pet mouse when she noticed the Prince stalking towards her. Bracing herself for the upcoming battle, she turned stiffly towards him before bowing slightly.

"It is a pleasure to be in your presence for the second time today, my lord." She said through gritted teeth, head still bowed. Did this Prince have nothing better to do but waste her precious time? Joker was waiting to be fed! But now, Sakura growled underneath her breath, she didn't even have expired milk because the Prince had to take that away from her too.

Sasuke sensed the animosity and waved it aside. He was ready to taunt her now as payback for all the hijinks the night before and for the slight sip of overdue dairy that he had the displeasure to taste, not to mention it belonged to a ra.. mouse.

"Why yes, the pleasure is all yours." The Uchiha reveled in the slight stiffness that appeared on the sloth's shoulder before continuing, "I wanted to thank you for such a warm welcome."

Sakura craned her head upwards a bit to scrutinize Sasuke's expression. He didn't appear to be mad or annoyed even after her little outburst towards him earlier.

After deeming it safe to speak, she straightened her spine and looked at the Prince in the eye. He was still plotting something, she could tell, but she would rather give her back a break than stay in the awkward position of looking at the ground.

"I do not need any gratitude. Just knowing that you had a nice stay is enough." Fake smile.

"Oh, but I insist. You must be rewarded for your efforts." Smirk.

"Well if you must, I'd like ten rubies and an array of sapphire diamonds adorning a large silver necklace." She might as well aim high.

Sasuke narrowed his eye imperceptibly. That was a ridiculously large demand for someone who tried to give him every misfortune known to man the night before.

"You have.. expensive taste."

"I didn't realize that you were low on money, sir." Sakura replied smoothly, enjoying the tenseness in the man's jaw. There was a thrilling pleasure she received when he got riled up. It was unexplainable, but she wanted to continue to push his buttons for as long as he would allow.

Sasuke stared at the headstrong woman in front of him. Why was she taunting him? Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? He should be reveling in her distress at this moment as he recited every single personal poem she ever composed in front of her. Instead, he was being baited to buy her lavish jewelry.

"My bank is doing very well, thank you for caring."

"In that case, add on matching earrings.." Sakura paused before adding, "..my lord." She would still keep her formalities even if she wasn't exactly following protocol.

Fine, if that's the way she wanted to play it, he would play it to the end. Sasuke knew that he was falling into her trap, but he didn't care. Her request was indeed a hefty sum, but it was still nothing to a Prince. All he cared about was that he would get the last laugh. The small book in his pocket would earn him that.

"Certainly. I sincerely hope that your future performances will be as dazzling as the ones I have already seen. "

"I do nothing but the best."

"I await our next meeting, but I should still remind you that you owe me a horse." Sasuke added, staring pointedly at the girl in front of him.

To his amusement, Sakura chuckled softly.

"You asked me to keep your horse's bed warm, and I have. If you go back into the stables, I believe that there will be a surprise waiting for you. My lord, I take my leave. Enjoy the rest of your stay." Hopefully, you'll be on your way soon, Sakura added mentally. She slowly bowed again before walking away briskly. Poor Joker must be devastated without his milk.

Sasuke stared at her lingering back before ambling towards the stables. Another surprise?

As he neared the stables, he saw messy blonde hair that peeked out of the hay, and Sasuke realized with a start that his right-hand man was buried in the material. Naruto did not appear to be hurt but peacefully sleeping. For some reason, the Uchiha believed that the sloth was incapable of actual physical harm, but he was utterly dumbfounded as to why or how the situation came to be.

Without bothering to wake up the blonde, the Prince casually walked towards the dojo. He had some requests to make and more interesting shows to watch.

It was later that night when Sakura went back to her stable that she realized that it was still inhabited by Naruto. Surprised and slightly mortified that someone could sleep that much, she made her way around the blonde and found a nice albeit smaller place to lie down. Her room was still occupied by Sasuke, and Sakura discovered that the hay wasn't that bad of a bedding.

After lying down and snuggling deeper into the hay, her foot bumped into something hard. Afraid that she had accidentally kicked Naruto in the head, Sakura quickly sat up and leaned over to inspect the damage of the small kick.

She realized that it was not Naruto's head that she had kicked but a small box. Curious, she picked it up and fingered the cover. The velvety texture greeted her touch welcomingly, and the pink haired girl realized that the case was very expensive.

She wondered who would've left something so valuable in the stable and briefly questioned herself as to why she hadn't discovered it the night before. However, she pushed these thoughts aside and grasped the clasp of the box before pulling.

Sakura knew the Prince was arrogant and had a playboy quality about him, but apparently he was also a man of his word. Inside the case laid exactly ten rubies and a sapphire necklace with a matching set of earrings. Not bad for a reward. Not bad at all.

I'm on a reading craze at the moment. Recommend me some stories to read?

r&r!