AN/: I AM SO SORRY FOR MY PROLONGED ABSENCE. I had terrible writer's block and I'm still thinking. My poor brain, BUT I hope you will enjoy this little tidbit, it's a continuation of the prince. I'm intending to write more of these, depending on your feedback. Please enjoy and much apologies again! End AN/

The world quivered under her fury.

.

.

Some say a thunderbolt accompanied her solo of banshee screeches induced by rage.

.

.

He would have laughed if doing so didn't hurt his bruised intestines.

.

.

prince: the utter taboo

10.

"Get him out of my sight before I rip him a new asshole," Sakura hissed, slipping off her gloves.

They were currently out of the castle walls, after Naruto had bade farewell to the King and sent forth many apologies on Sakura's behalf. There were many a wide-eyed guards who stared after the enraged pink-haired girl.

Sasuke had been forced to leave with them with an encouraging, albeit creepy, smile from the king.

Naruto chuckled. "Now, come on, Sakura-chan. We got a mission to complete."

She turned her furious glare on him. "Fuck the mission. I hate that pea-brained jerk."

"The pea-brained jerk can hear you and wants compensation for his wounds," Sasuke hissed, shocked by their treatment of him. He wasn't used to this kind of resistance.

Sakura ignored him, twitching. Naruto came up to her and put his hands on her shoulders comfortingly.

"Sakura-chan. Let's do it for Konoha. Do it for me?" His twinkling cerulean eyes pleaded and she sighed. Naruto grinned amiably before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Alright, let's go!"

Sakura stormed off first before she was snatched back. She turned on Naruto, swelling in size.

"WHAT?"

Naruto flashed her a grin again. "Maybe you want to heal the prince here? He looks kind of in pain."

"Good," she said with vehemence.

Sasuke seethed. "Is this how you treat a client? I'm a prince."

Sakura stormed up to him and Sasuke couldn't help but shift back a little, remembering her surprisingly painful fists.

"Well, in my world, you're a normal person just like the rest of us, except more conceited and stuck up. You'll listen to me and Naruto and you won't complain because we have the power to kick your ass."

Suddenly, the prince was behind her, a kunai to her throat. It dug in uncomfortably as her skin broke and Sakura felt the warm feeling of blood.

"You seem to forget I am a trained shinobi of Sound."

Instantly, Naruto had thrown Sasuke off her, his teeth barred. The sunny haired shinobi glared at the Uchiha angrily.

"Don't touch her," he said dangerously.

Sakura pushed Naruto gently aside and snorted. "That's funny because you couldn't do anything while I pounded the living daylights out of you," she directed at Sasuke.

He sneered. "I didn't think you were shinobi with that ridiculously bright hair color."

"I see that was a terrible misjudgment on your part," she said unsympathetically and lifted a glowing hand up to her wound. Sasuke watched with concealed surprised as the cut healed instantly.

"Don't underestimate me," she warned him.

He looked away.

"Hn."

His eyes creased a bit in discomfort at his bruised stomach but he gritted his teeth and refused to let her see and gloat. Sakura brushed past him and tugged at Naruto's arm.

"Let's go."

.

.

11.

Sakura spun around and shook her head with frustration.

"ARRRGHHHH I'VE SEEN THAT TREE BEFORE~!"

A snort.

"Do you even know where you're going?"

Naruto backed away, seeing her tiny fists shake.

"WHY YOU!"

"Hn."

"YES I KNOW WHERE I'M GOING."

Naruto stepped even further back.

Sasuke took a cursory glance around, mocking her. "I've seen that tree before," he said, repeating her.

"YOU'RE GONNA SEE STARS IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP!"

Naruto nudged him in the side. "Don't make her make you," he whispered urgently.

Sasuke ignored him and opened his arrogant mouth. "Make me…" he trailed off.

Sakura quivered.

Naruto clasped his hands together and prayed, hoping against hope that Sasuke would not open his big mouth and commit the utter taboo.

Sasuke smirked.

"Midget."

BAM

"HOLY FUCK SAKURAWE'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE HIM TO KONOHA, NOT SMACK HIM BACK TO SOUND!"

She turned her furious glare on him and he shrunk.

"Carry on," he said meekly.

And so she did.

.

.

12.

"You."

Naruto watched in quiet fascination as the proud Uchiha quivered like a leaf in the wind. If he was the leaf, then Sakura was the one shaking him. Literally.

Sasuke was beaten to within an inch of his life for more times than he cared to share by the fiery pink haired midget who, he now had no doubt, absolutely despised.

The feeling was mutual.

Sakura snapped her head back towards the Uchiha and smirked. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Very Uchiha-like, he noted curiously.

"What's the matter? Got a little paper cut?" she asked sweetly.

Uchiha glared, his hands shaking ever so slightly as he contemplated murder. By now, he was limping on his left side due to the multiple injuries he had sustained. How dare a peasant treat him like trash. He was a noble prince, highly trained in the art of battle, unrivaled in his diplomatic accomplishments, and unchallenged by the weaker sex…until now.

Uchiha Sasuke had met his match.

"Sakura-chan could heal ya y'know, if you just say the word-"

"Like hell I'm letting her anywhere near me."

He shivered, eyeing her tiny hands that could deal so. much. damage. But really it was his pride. There was no way he'd ask her to heal him. He'd endure the pain like the man he was.

Really, he was appalled. The two Leaf shinobi had absolutely no tact, no respect whatsoever, and no qualms in attacking him. Attacking him. It was ridiculous! He was a prized asset, a person to be treated with care and respect lest he decide that Konoha is no longer worthy of his country's alliance. Which he was one midget-sized beating away from doing.

Thankfully, their journey was coming to a close. If he had to spend one more minute with that pink haired spit ball, he'd commit suicide.

The great walls of Konoha loomed before the weary shinobi.

All three sagged in open relief.

.

.

13.

"HARUNO SAKURA!"

Said kunoichi winced. Why exactly did she find herself consistently being yelled at? In italics?

Lady Tsunade banged her head against her desk-er, paperwork. Sheets and sheets of paperwork demanding her perusal and signature littered her desk. A rather large vein in her forehead popped out and throbbed as she thought of all the additional paperwork she would have to fill out regarding the abuse and harassment of the Uchiha who looked like he had been stampeded by a herd of fire rhinos and then rubbed over by sandpaper.

"What in the holy hell were you thinking?" Tsunade hollered at the young woman rapidly shrinking in size.

"Eeerm, technically, Hokage-sama, hell is in no way holy-" Sakura attempted lamely before being cut off by a glare that would have killed lesser.

Naruto snickered.

"HOLY SHIT BAA-CHAN, WATCH WHERE YOU THROW YOUR TRASH!" the blonde screamed as he dodged the multiple sake bottles being thrown at him.

"And you, Naruto! How could you let Sakura run rampant like this?" Tsunade demanded, slamming her hands down on her desk, paperwork flying everywhere.

Naruto threw her an exasperated look that said: It was him or me.

"He was being…difficult," Sakura offered weakly, flitting an annoyed glance towards the Uchiha who glowered at her with narrowed eyes.

"I'll give you difficult," he growled murderously, clenching his fists.

Tsunade immediately turned to him, sensing his murderous aura.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, please forgive these two. They're still young and therefore stupid, rash, immature–(insert two glowering glares from the aforementioned)–and inexperienced, and had no qualms in injuring you although I'm impressed that you withstood so much abuse…" the Hokage trailed off, seeing the Uchiha's face bloom a lovely tomato red in anger and humiliation.

"Sakura," she barked.

The pink haired kunoichi whipped her head towards the Hokage. "Hokage-sama."

"Heal him."

Sakura gaped open-mouthed, finding the act deplorable. "Hokage-sama!"

"Now."

Sakura grumbled.

.

.

14.

When she stopped in front of him, Sasuke quirked an amused eyebrow as if to dare her to touch him. He laughed inwardly to himself as he realized that she was even shorter than he'd thought, now that she was standing right in front of him.

Midget only came up to his neck.

The glare Sakura sent him was full of venom, as if she could read his thoughts in the quirk of his lips.

Jerk was smirking at her.

Mumbling profanities under her breath, she reached up suddenly and clasped both of her hands around his neck, taking pleasure in his small jerk of discomfort. He squirmed under her hold but she held him still with her inhumane strength, looking firmly down at the floor.

"Hey midg-" Sasuke began angrily, revolted that she was invading his personal space yet again, and then stiffened as warm chakra flooded his body.

It was the softest sensation he had ever known, like a mother's caress. Wide obsidian eyes glanced down into emerald ones and his heart, against his will, skipped a beat.

She was staring into his eyes as well but he doubted that she saw him. Her emerald eyes were glassy, glazed over. He watched in quiet fascination as they drooped close in concentration.

Sasuke blinked as he realized the soreness and pain was leaving his body. He carefully raised one of his arms and watched silently as the bruises turned from black to blue to green to yellow and then faded. He clenched his fist and realized with silent approval that there was more feeling and power in his limbs. Quietly, he marveled at the kunoichi's power.

Abruptly, she drew her hands away and Sasuke found himself mourning the loss of her warmth before he mentally kicked himself in the head.

"There," she grumbled. "He's chipper," she said sarcastically, turning around to skulk sulkily over to Naruto's side.

Sasuke frowned. Perhaps his father was not as foolish as he thought, forging alliances with the shinobi of Leaf. His gaze fell on the sulking kunoichi. Her power was… quite impressive.

Tsunade sighed in relief, seeing the Uchiha mull over her apprentice's astonishing healing powers. Perhaps he would not withdraw their contract despite the difficulties he had to endure on his journey.

"Now, Sakura, Naruto, if you could leave us, His Highness and I have some paperwork to go over," she ordered.

Sasuke gave her a minute nod of acknowledgement which made the Hokage twitch.

Naruto let out a long, relieved sigh. "Finally! Let's go get some ramen, Sakura-chan!"

"BAKA! WE'LL DIE BEFORE 20!" Sakura screamed before smacking the blonde rather painfully on the head, causing both the blonde and the Uchiha to wince.

Tsunade twitched.

"OUT!"

"Hai, hai," Sakura quipped.

"Hai, baa-chan! See ya around, Sasuke-teme!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

Tsunade giggled nervously before performing a roundhouse kick on the blonde that sent him flying out her window and into the adjacent mountain.

.

.

15.

"Sakura, go heal his sorry ass," Tsunade barked before slumping ungracefully into her chair.

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

The pink haired kunoichi jumped on top of the broken window, poised to leap out into the air when the Hokage cleared her throat. Turning reluctantly towards the Uchiha, who had quirked an eyebrow at the whole display, she grumbled a disgruntled goodbye.

"Goodbye, Your Highness," she said, barely reeling in the biting scorn in her words as she deflected Tsunade's smoldering glare.

His Highness smirked, detecting her sarcasm.

"Goodbye…" he paused, as if debating whether he should just go ahead and do it.

Emerald eyes narrowed. Oh how she despised his despicable, I'm so mighty, pauses.

Go on, I dare you, she challenged vehemently.

His smirk widened.

Oh, I dare, he accepted.

Tsunade watched the two shinobi glare at each other and groaned. She mentally clasped her hands together and prayed, hoping against hope that the Uchiha would not open his big mouth and commit the utter taboo.

"…Midget."

There was a great stillness before the storm.

Sasuke sweat dropped. Déjà vu?

Tsunade lunged.

"GET A LOAD OF MY IRON FISTS!"