Damn. It's been a while.

..8..

I thought you would leave

My hopes that you shred

But can you repeat

What you just said?

…

Sakura contemplated returning the jewelry back to him. It was a hefty award for something that she did not deserve. She enjoyed messing with the Prince, but she still had a conscious. Even if the money meant nothing to the royal family, these jewels could save a starving village.

She fingered the ruby and felt the smooth grooves on its surface. Then again, if the Prince really wanted to get rid of all of this, she supposed it was better that he gave it to her and not to one of the other girls. With this, she could donate some to the villagers that lived not too far from the dojo. She knew very well how measly their pay was, and she would be more than happy to provide some assistance.

She might also give some to Tsunade. Maybe then the older woman would be less likely to punish her. With these happy thoughts in mind, Sakura snuggled up into the hay and held the box to her body tightly. She was vaguely aware that Naruto was somewhere buried in the hay around her, but hey, out of sight, out of mind.

"Kiba, go to the village today and see if you can purchase a horse." Sasuke looked at the man who was tending to his dog. It was bright and early in the morning, and he called the man over to his room. Kiba had been talking to his dog since walking in. Sometimes Sasuke wondered if Kiba ignored him and paid more attention to Akamaru.

"Yeah, that's fine. Are we leaving here soon?" Seriously, if the man could just turn around and make eye contact with the Prince when he spoke. Sasuke mentally sighed and gave an affirmative grunt. Naruto and Kiba were his closest allies, and he can spare them some slack. Although these two are getting more and more comfortable around him, he dully noted.

"Cool. Oh by the way, have you seen Naruto? I swear I haven't seen him all day yesterday, and he didn't come back to the room last night. You reckon' he's out having a good time?" Kiba sniggered and finally looked at the Prince. Sasuke, on the other hand, didn't find this quite as amusing. He already knew the dobe's sleeping spot, and he was disgruntled at the possibility that perhaps his right-hand man and the sloth cohabitated the previous evening.

"Go find him and bring him with you to get the horse." Came the gruff order. Kiba noticed the slight foul tone and immediately became more attentative. Something just made Sasuke uneasy, and he wondered if he misspoke.

"On it." With that, Kiba made a hasty escape with Akamaru. He's seen Sasuke mad, but it was weirder seeing him perplexed. In either case, getting out was the best option for survival.

Sasuke watched the man's quick retreat and calculated his next moves. He had thought about what he was going to do the night before, and he was now wondering if that was a good plan of action. His stay here was never supposed to surpass a day, but no one thought that his noble steed would actually gallantly gallop away. Of course, the horse needed a sloth's help, but that was also a miscalculation.

The Prince slowly sat up from the small bed he had inhabited for the last two nights and stretched his muscles. After hearing the satisfying pop from stretching, he moved to get his coat that was slung across the back of the chair. He took a quick survey of the quaint surroundings and stepped out of the room but not before making sure that the notebook was still snug in his breast pocket. It was strangely reassuring that he had not had the opportunity to meet Joker.

Right as Sasuke stepped out, he bumped into a familiar red-head. Maybe she had a tracker on him or maybe she was just that good at finding him. The Prince momentarily contemplated about having someone like her on the royal guards squad.

Tayuya didn't see the flash of contempt shown on Sasuke's face and instead smiled widely at what she hoped to be her possible suitor.

"Oh Prince Sasuke! Fancy seeing you in the morning. I hope that it wasn't too much trouble for you these last couple of nights sleeping in that room." She threw Sakura's ajar door a pointed look before plastering on her smile again. "Would you like me to accompany you to get some breakfast?"

Sasuke stared at her because honestly her efforts showed. He was by no means weak, but he recognized a predator when he saw one. This girl had claws, but he supposed that was the only reason he bothered with her presence. He respected that she knew what she wanted even if he wasn't pleased with the prey being him.

"Hn." Tayuya took that as a positive answer, and she snuggled up as close as she could to Sasuke's side.

The two of them entered the main room of the dojo where Tsunade and a few of the other girls were patiently standing and waiting. A long table was set in the middle of the room, and on top was an abundant amount of breakfast goodies. It was only after they all bowed to greet Sasuke did the girls actually sit down.

"Good morning, my lord. I hope that your stay here has been well?" Tsunade's voice carried over across the long table. As proper as she appeared to be, Sasuke also sensed a protective mother lion aura underneath her peaceful countenance.

"It has been adequate." A sore overstatement considering the state of his room during his first night's stay.

"I am pleased to hear. Are there any requests you have, my lord?" Sasuke got straight to the point.

"I am leaving today, and I have already sent my men to find me a suitable steed for my trip back to the castle." He could hear the whines of the girls at the table, and he brushed the noises off. The red-head sitting next to him visibly stiffened, and he took a note of that. As his eyes perused the rest of the table, he was amusedly aware that a pinkette was missing. Well, she'll hear the news soon.

Sasuke looked at Tsunade's expectant face. She knew that he had more he wanted to say, and so he cut to the chase.

"I do have a request, and I trust that it would be easy for you to help me see it through."

Sakura vaguely felt a slimy object on her face, and she wondered if the horse actually was dumb enough to come back. That thought was quickly thrown away when she heard a man's yawn, and the ground underneath her began to move.

In her half awake state, Sakura rolled away onto flat ground. She looked at the intruding wet object that was still plastered on her face and saw the tongue of a dog. She also noticed that her bed last night was apparently Naruto.

The blonde-haired man slowly sat up and yawned loudly. He shrugged off the hay that had covered his body, and looked at the man snickering in front of him.

"So you slept in the stable with a girl?" Kiba wagged his eyebrows suggestively and shot Sakura a wink. Offended, Sakura shook her head.

"Nothing happened!" Naruto looked from Kiba to Sakura and then back again.

"I thought I was sleeping on the bed in our room…" his sleep-ridden voice croaked out. Sakura swore she just met the most clueless man on the planet. Kiba also lost his teasing demeanor and sighed.

"Of course you did." He looked at Akamaru who was still very keen on getting to know Sakura and grabbed the dog by the collar. "C'mon boy. Give her some space."

Sakura wiped off the slime that was on her face and frowned. She really needed a shower. It was then that she realized her other hand was still holding onto the jewelry box. She quickly put it behind her back so the other two men wouldn't see. Having all those jewels would make it hard to convince others that she wasn't a thief.

"So uh, what brings you here?" Sakura made a lame attempt at changing topics and mentally cringed. Kiba didn't think much of it.

"Prince Sasuke wants Naruto and I to find a new horse for him since…" he gave her a pointed stare, "someone stole the last one."

"It escaped by itself." Came her stubborn reply. She was not a thief. Sakura subconsciously moved the jewels even further into the hay behind her. She didn't need any more accusations.

"Of course it did." Kiba dryly responded. "Look I don't care if you set it free or if it actually did run loose by itself, but we need to find another one." A thought came to Sakura.

"Wait, does this mean you're leaving soon?" She couldn't really hide the excitement from her voice. If the Prince left then she'd have her room back again. She heard the blonde chuckle next to her.

"Well you didn't have to be so happy about it." He ruffled his unruly bedhair and flashed her an eye-crinkling smile. She was once again reminded why she was more at ease with this one.

"I don't have it easy with you guys here if you catch my drift." She responded softly and wondered if she should talk more formally with these two. They are royal guards after all. Turns out she didn't have to worry.

Naruto peered at her curiously and threw up a thumbs-up sign.

"I like you."

"Uh.." Sakura searched for something to say. She was flabbergasted by his confession if it was even that. All she did was treat him as a bed, and if that counted as flirting or courting then no wonder she never attracted guys' attention before.

Kiba stepped in before the confused girl could prolong the awkward silence.

"Well this is nice and all, but we're supposed to be doing a job right now, Naruto." Kiba's voice was more and more disgruntled. Why did he always get paired up with the blonde? Naruto's attention span was infamously known to be nonexistent.

"I mean it though! Could I call you Sakura-chan?" The smiley boy kept smiling expectantly at her, and Sakura supposed she could reward his question with a nod. This prompted a bigger smile from him as he jumped up. "Great! Now let's get going, Kiba. Can't have the ass waiting for too long."

With that Naruto and Kiba started walking away from the stables. Akamaru followed closely behind. Sakura stared at their backs in puzzlement. What just happened?

"I assume that it can all be taken care of then?" Sasuke's smooth voice glided across the table. Tsunade painted a peaceful complexion on herself even though she knew he was asking for a complicated task to be done. She could already hear the oncoming refusals that would later plague her mind. The headache was looming closer.

"It is my word, my lord." The growing annoyance on the inside was perfectly disguised by her years of expertise in refinery and manners. She noticed that the red-head was practically glowing at the opposite side of the table. At least she could get rid of Tayuya this time. Even Tsunade got tired of that one every once in a while.

"Tayuya, you know what to do." The girl nodded eagerly and excused herself before making her way out of the room.

Tsunade looked back up at the Prince. Did he know what he was getting himself into?

Sasuke looked back at her silently questioning eyes. Did he know that he may be asking for trouble? Yes, he had a good inkling of what he was asking for. It may be odd, but Sasuke craved more than just bland company these days. He knew perfectly well that he may be walking himself into a dead-end, but at the moment, he couldn't care less of the consequences. Sasuke wanted to go home and was inwardly awaiting the change in pace once he goes back. Things were going to be different, and he was counting on it.

Tsunade took a sip of her tea and spoke.

"If I may, my lord, I have some concerns about your request." Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.

"Are you denying my request or refuting my order?" He was a prince after all.

"Not at all, sire. I just want to make sure you know of the troubles that may be on the road."

"I'm well aware of any such circumstances and will handle them accordingly." Tsunade pursed her lips. It was not wise to talk back to the Prince, and she knew she couldn't push the topic.

"If that is so, I will go prepare the other one." A smirk adorned the handsome man's features.

"I think she'll be pleased."

Sakura did not know what was going on. After leaving the stables and hiding the jewelry box in her jacket, she passed a few other girls whilst heading to breakfast. She understood that not everyone liked her, but she got more evil looks aiming her way this time. Did she do something wrong again?

Her feet softly padded against the wooden flooring as she rounded the corner. She could smell the freshly baked bread and was eager to devour any food that would fill her aching stomach. If she knew one good thing about the Prince's arrival, it was that there would definitely be good food to welcome him. Hello fresh produce, goodbye leftovers!

After ignoring another girl's deadly looks, Sakura bumped into Tsunade. She bowed instinctively and was about to go around the older woman before an arm blocked her way.

The pink-haired girl looked up at her teacher and inwardly gulped. Was she really in trouble? She just woke up!

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?" She heard the woman groan.

"I know that you would be surprisingly against this, but know that I have no say in such matters." What a way to start. Sakura opened her mouth to question her, but Tsunade waved her hands in front to stop her.

"You know that people like us have no power against royalty." Another sigh. "I want you to hear this from me so don't frea-.." The shoji door opened to reveal the Prince in all his glory. Sasuke looked up at Sakura's confused face and smirked.

"Pack your bags." He ordered. Sakura was taken aback.

"W..what?"

"You heard me. Pack your bags. We're leaving tonight." Sakura looked at her teacher for confirmation of what she was hearing. Tsunade forced a small smile and patted the pinkette on the back as if in consolation.

"That is correct. Lord Sasuke has been kind enough to invite you to go stay with him in the Palace."

r&r :)