It's alive!

I'm very sorry for updating so late... And I promised myself I'd update quickly this time, too. Bleh. I've been very studying and stuff. Luckily my work pays off; my grades are really good!

I wanted to thank you guys for all your sweet and encouraging reviews. They made me tear up, really! You guys are all so sweet...

This chapter is for you!

~Lion3queen

'Scratch scratch'.

Naruto bit his lip and brought his face closer to the paper.

'Scratch scr-' 'Crack!'

He muttered a curse under his breath and turned in his seat. Kiba and Hinata looked up at him, the latter immediately flushing a bright red. ''Hey, d'you have a pencil sharpener?''

With trembling fingers, the girl reached into her pen case and held a small, rectangular object out to the blond. ''-Er, uhm... H-here.''

''Thanks.'' He turned back to the drawing he had been working on and quickly sharpened his pencil. Then, he positioned it on the paper once again and continued sketching.

It was Wednesday, and Naruto and his class were currently busy with Biology. Well, the rest was busy with that. Naruto... was busy doing something else.

He ran the eraser over a line, leaving nothing but small, grey crumbs. Naruto wiped these away with his arm. The blond ran a hand through his hair and studied his drawing.

It was a realistic portrait of the back of the girl sitting in front of him; Sakura.

Biology was the only class Naruto was good at, and so he was allowed to sit a bit further in the back of the classroom. Some time ago, this had given him the perfect opportunity to bother Sakura. Now, it gave him the opportunity to talk to her. Or draw her, like he was doing now. Their Biology teacher, Mr Yamato, didn't teach them much anyway. He only sat behind his desk, reading one of the big books the many book cases in the classroom were filled with.

The left side of Naruto's face was touched by the sunlight seeping in through the glass windows, the hotness of the weather growing almost uncomfortable. The blond brushed the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and looked out of the window.

It was sunny and muggy today. A few clouds floated aimlessly in the bright blue, looking like waves swept along a river. Here and there, a few students sat on the grass in the shadows of the trees, escaping from the sun's warmth.

The days grew warmer with every sunrise. Luckily, it wasn't long until summer break; two entire months of doing nothing and enjoying their free time. They would probably all go on a vacation, too. All but one.

Naruto tore his eyes away from the school yard and directed his gaze on the pink haired girl in front of him. She sat there, bent over the piece of paper she was working on so deep that her nose touched the paper. The seat beside her was empty like always. His eyebrows knitted together.

Sakura wouldn't go on a vacation. She would be alone.

It wasn't until Ino waved her hand in front of Naruto's face that he noticed she had been talking to him.

''-Hey Naruto, are you listening?''

''Er, yes.'' Naruto lied, ''Just repeat the last thing you said, I didn't understand it.''

''I said I can't wait for the summer vacation! My parents have this really cute summer home in Europe, and they said we, as in, me and whoever I want to invite, could go there!''

''They trust you with their house?'' Naruto asked the girl anxiously.

Ino huffed in reply, and crossed her arms. ''They happen to find me very responsible.''

There were a few seconds of silence before Naruto and everything within ear-shot burst out laughing.

''What?'' Ino exclaimed, irritated. She only earned some more giggles. ''And those people dare to call me their friends...'' The blonde muttered. ''Hey, Naru, I'm gonna talk to Takuya for a sec. I'll be right back!''

The blonde was gone for barely two seconds, when the pinkette in front of Naruto turned around in her seat.

'''Naru?''' She asked him mockingly, one eyebrow raised.

''Shut up.'' Naruto murmured.

The girl smirked, Naruto's reaction obviously the one she had targeted. ''My, aren't we quite the grumpy one today.''

''I'm allowed to. Two teachers gave me detention today. That's even more than usually!'' The blond said, banging his head onto the table. Sakura winced. ''Okay, ouch.'' Naruto grunted, rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. (A/N: This is something that once happened to my friend Danielle. XD Sorry honey; I had to use it.)

''Hey, what's that?'' Sakura asked then, finally catching sight of the paper lying on Naruto's table.

The boy, realising he had forgotten to put it away, tried to snatch it away. Sakura, however, was faster.

''Is this me?'' She questioned, her eyes trailing over the drawing.

Yes, the girl on the drawing was her, unmistakably. The hair on the back of the head of the girl on the drawing was messy -because Sakura could never reach the back of her head with her brush well enough to make it look neat- and the denim jacket she was wearing looked just like the one Sakura wore.

Naruto mumbled something inaudible. ''Wow, Naruto,'' Sakura said eventually, ''This is really, really good. Unbelievable.'' Naruto looked up to see her staring back at him, green eyes big with amazement and excitement. She looked down at the sheet of paper once more. ''I mean, really... It's so realistic! And look at the colouring!''

''It's just a sketch.'' Naruto said, flustered. He hadn't expected Sakura to like it that much.

The girl was silent for a few seconds, before looking up at him once more, ''Can I keep it?''

''Yeah, sure,'' Naruto replied almost instantly, ''go ahead.''

Sakura beamed, ''Thanks.'' She folded it and put it in her notebook, so it wouldn't wrinkle or tear. ''Hey, are we still going to go through with the dancing lessons?''

Naruto accidentally bit his tongue. He let out a hiss and snapped his head around to see if anybody had heard what the girl had said. Nobody seemed to be listening to their conversation.

Relieved, Naruto faced the pinkette again, who looked at him questioningly. ''I don't want anyone to know about our deal, okay?'' He explained.

Sakura shrugged, ''Sure. But are we going through with it?''

Naruto nodded. ''I'll meet you by the bicycle stands after school tomorrow.''

''Okay. I was thinking that it'd be easier if we went to my house. I've got more free space than you.'' The girl said, twisting a lock of pink hair around her finger. Naruto nodded.

At that moment, Ino approached Naruto's seat again and plopped down on her own. Sakura immediately turned around and went back to work.

Ino, who didn't seem to have noticed anything, exclaimed, ''Nice! Takuya wants to go to the summer home. I still have to ask a few more people. And you of course.'' She turned around so her knees pointed at him. The blond clasped her hands together in a begging manner and for some reason, managed to make her eyes even bigger. Her lips were pulled into a pout. ''Are you coming, too?''

''Dunno.'' Naruto said, eyes flicking over towards the ceiling.

''Aw, come on! It'll be twice as much fun with you there!'' The girl purred with a wink. Naruto only rolled his eyes. He knew her long enough to know all of her tricks by now.

The girl now crossed her arms. ''Come on,'' she said, irritated, ''There's a beach nearby! And I know how much you like surfing...''

''There's a beach there?'' Naruto exclaimed now, unable to keep his enthusiasm in check. He had always had a weak spot for the sea.

Ino brushed the strands of platinum blond hair that always hung in front of her right eye away, so she could look at him. ''Yes!'' She confirmed, ''The hugest waves!'' She gestured with her arms, emphasising her words.

''Fine, I'll come.'' Naruto smirked. He wouldn't want to miss this.

''Yay!'' Ino chirped, clapping her hands together. Then, she turned around in her seat and started trying to convince Kiba and Hinata to come with her as well.

In front of them, Sakura sat on her chair, shoulders hunched up. It was strange how much Ino scared her.

Yes, she was terrified of the blonde. Absolutely terrified. She could barely imagine they had been friends once. The best of friends.

They would discuss everything together, and hold sleepovers almost every night. They squealed over boys, gossiped about girls... They did everything young girls were expected to do.

Sakura still didn't fully get how it could have gotten this far. The two had been best friends back when they started high school. They had been inseparable.

Then, a few months on, Ino had distanced herself from Sakura. It had started with small things; Ino not picking up her phone when Sakura called her, not being able to go shopping with her, and not wanting to work together with Sakura on a school project.

Things had only gone downhill from there. Ino didn't want Sakura to come to her house anymore. Sakura also more and more often walked in on Ino badmouthing her in front of other girls.

From that moment on, people stopped talking to her altogether. Sadly, they didn't stop talking about her. They pretended she was deaf or stupid, talking about her when they stood less than two feet away from her. Nobody cared. Nobody cared how much it hurt.

What happened after that was even worse. It didn't stay with badmouthing or gossiping. The students threw away Sakura's stuff when she wasn't looking, and later laughed at her when she searched through the trash to get them back. They waited for her after school and pushed, punched or slapped her. They pulled her hair. They told her she was ugly. Told her all kinds of horrible things, and never, anybody looked twice. Nobody noticed. Nobody wanted to notice.

Nobody cared Sakura died a bit inside with every venomous word. Every arrogant glance. Every laugh.

And then, all of a sudden, there had been that talk with Naruto. And she knew that every time she spent with him, every friendly talk, mended a bit of her broken heart. It was funny how eventually, a part of the problem had been the resolve.

Sakura smiled slightly down at the sheet of paper she was working on.

She had never felt more alive in her life than now that Naruto was in it. It was funny to imagine that if anybody had told her she would ever feel this happy because of Naruto a few years ago, she would have laughed at them in the face. And now look at her.

The classroom door opened and Shizune, Tsunade's assistant, entered the classroom. She looked around, her short, black hair slapping her in the face, and then strode over to Yamato's desk. They had a quick conversation and then Shizune left the classroom again, the heels of her shoes clicking against the linoleum.

Yamato put his book away and his eyes trailed towards someone behind Sakura. ''Uzumaki. Tsunade's office.'' He announced.

''It's mister Uzumaki for you,'' Naruto corrected under his breath, receiving a few snickers from other students. But then he stood up anyway and slantered over to the door.

Barely two minutes after the blond had closed the door behind him, a squeaky voice made Sakura look up from her homework.

''Sakura?''

The girl's jaw tightened, and her heart started increasing it's tempo of beating. The girl squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the person to call out her name again, hoping to be mistaken. Maybe the voice didn't say 'Sakura'. Maybe it said 'papaya'. Yeah. Who knows.

''Hellooooo, Sakura?''

Shoot.

Slowly, the girl turned her shaking head around in the direction where the voice came from. Soon, she came eye to eye with it's owner. Ino Yamanaka.

Sakura gulped. ''A-are you talking to me?''

''Er, yeah. Do you see another Sakura here?'' Ino asked her, hitching up an eyebrow. She gestured towards the noisy classroom.

Dumbly, Sakura looked around. Duh.

''Anyhow,'' Ino said then, scratching her table with the pen she held in her fingers, ''I was wondering whether you like Naruto.''

It was a good thing Sakura wasn't drinking anything, because she would have spat it out right into Ino's face. ''What?'' She wheezed. Then, she quickly regained her posture and answered, ''Well I mean, of course! We're friends right?'' She even forced a small smile at the blonde.

''I dunnooooo,'' Ino said, stretching the word out unnecessarily, ''I mean, he talks about you all the time... I'm suspecting he might like you.'' The girl added then. ''And I mean like-like.'' It was a lie, really. She rarely talked to Naruto at all lately. She just wanted to see how Sakura would react. Because of course, if Naruto wouldn't tell her about the progress of her plan, she'd find out herself.

Her question was answered quickly, as Sakura's face changed colour. Soon, her normally pale cheeks were stained with pink.

Ino's glossy lips turned upwards in a smirk. Ready to hand! This was too easy.

''-D-don't be silly.'' Sakura whispered in a quivery tone.

Ino shook her head. ''I'm not kidding! I swear!'' The girl heaved her hands up. ''Really!''

The girl looked back down at the paper, a part of her strangely excited, and another part of her tried to slap the fore mentioned part so it wouldn't get the upper hand in the mental battle. For an unknown reason though, Sakura smiled. The warmth in her face spread through her body and caused a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. A weird, fluttery feeling.

Sakura opened her hands and held them in front of her face. They were shaking.

''Hellooo, Sakura! It's, like, so impolite to turn around when we're in the middle of a conversation!'' The blonde exclaimed obnoxiously from behind her. Then the opening classroom door gained their attention. ''Er, never mind.'' Ino added as Naruto closed the door behind him and approached her table. He plopped down on his chair.

''What're you grinning at?'' He asked the blonde, hitching up an eyebrow. The girl beside him shrugged and looked out of the window, the smirk evident on her features.

''So what'd you do this time?'' Sakura asked Naruto. They were walking the crowded hallways together.

Lunch break had just started, and Sakura had taken this chance to ask the blond about his visit to Tsunade's office.

Sakura craned her neck forward slightly, so she could look at Naruto's face from underneath the bangs that always covered his forehead.

''Nothing, I swear!''

Sakura made a weird, ''Uh-huh...'' sound and entwined her fingers behind her back.

''Really, nothing!'' He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in annoyance. Sakura chuckled at the picture. ''Well, somebody scratched granny Tsunade's car with their keys, and now I'm getting punished for it.'' He explained then, grabbing his hair with his hands. ''I didn't do shit!'' He was quiet then, and added, with the smirk he usually wore when he was proud of himself, ''-this time.''

''Well, so that's two times detention, and - what do you have to do for principal Tsunade?''

''I have to hand out pamphlets for some kind of good cause in the mall.''

''- and handing out pamphlets. This must be a record.''

''Shut up.''

''Alright, alright!'' Sakura smiled, heaving her hands up in defense. ''But don't go all innocent on me. I'm sure there's been many times when you were the blame for things happening to teachers and you didn't get caught.''

''Nothing you can prove!'' Naruto replied in a singsong-tone of voice. Sakura laughed again. Then, a red haired girl standing in front of an open locker gained her attention.

''Hello, Karin!'' She greeted the senior. The aforementioned girl straightened her back, placed a hand on her hip and turned around with an annoyed expression on her face. When she recognised the pink haired girl, though, her irritated pout disappeared and was replaced by a genuine smile.

''Hey there, Sakura!'' She walked over to the duo and gave the smaller of the two a soft pat on the head. Then her intimidating crimson eyes flicked over to the blond standing beside her. Naruto gulped audibly, and then pretended to cough. Karin pushed her black glasses up her nose and grinned back down at Sakura again. ''So this is Naruto, eh?''

Sakura reddened slightly, embarrassed at how it now seemed as if she did nothing but talking about him.

''Yeah, that'd be me.'' Naruto said. He didn't seem to have thought anything of Karin's comment.

''I'm Karin.'' The girl said. ''Say, would you mind if I borrow Sakura from you?''

''Er, no, go ahead.''

Karin turned to Sakura then and said, ''Come on!'' The girl turned around and walked back to her locker. Sakura followed her. When she looked behind her, Naruto had walked over to a group of popular looking guys and started talking to them. They immediately laughed and gave him a pat on the back. They appeared to be good friends. Sakura turned her head back to Karin and flinched at the devious smirk the redhead had her mouth twitched into.

''W-what is it?'' the girl stuttered.

''He really is quite a catch!'' She remarked. Then she turned back to her locker as if nothing had happened.

''Shut up!'' Sakura managed to stammer.

''Try and deny it.'' Karin tittered. She tossed the blond a look over her shoulder, motioning for Sakura to do so as well. The pinkette gave him a quick glance. Karin shook her head. ''Look better.''

Sakura's emerald eyes trailed back to the tall figure of Naruto. His sunshine blond spikes stood messily upon his tanned face. His cerulean blue eyes were visible even from the distance where Sakura was standing. The sleeves of the black shirt he was wearing had been rolled up until above his elbows and the top of the shirt was left unbuttoned, giving him a wild look. All in all, the teenage boy was, indeed, very attractive. Sakura couldn't even remember why she hadn't thought so back in middle school. Had she been blind?

She looked back at Karin, who grabbed a crimson strand of hair that lingered in her face and tucked it behind her ear.

''No idea what you're talking about.'' Sakura lied.

Karin clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes. ''You know, I wouldn't mind having a boyfriend looking like him.'' Before Sakura could express her shock, a voice interrupted from somewhere behind her.

''D'you want a boyfriend?'' The two girls looked over at the owner of the voice. It was a nerdy looking freshman boy. His eyes were fixed on Karin, and his mouth was stretched into a hopeful grin, revealing his braces.

The senior only dryly responded with a, ''Walk away.''

The freshman gulped audibly and quickly obeyed.

''Well, that wasn't very nice.'' Sakura said. She felt slightly sorry for the boy.

''Oh come on, Sakura,'' Karin pursed her lips, ''He can handle it. And it'll only make him stronger in the end.'' the redhead finished dramatically. Sakura chuckled.

Silence fell between them. But it wasn't an awkward kind of silence; it was calm. Easy.

''You've changed, you know.'' Karin commented, fishing a rubber band out of her shoulder-bag. She grabbed two strands of hair and tied them on the back of her head.

Sakura looked up. ''What?''

''You've changed.'' The redhead repeated, now locking eyes with her friend.

''How do you mean?'' Sakura cocked her head to the side.

''You no longer have that miserable look in your eyes. You no longer look down all the time when you're walking or hunch up your shoulders. That stuff.'' Karin explained. She popped a bubble of bubblegum between her teeth and smiled a toothy grin down at the sophomore. Sakura smiled as well. Karin then jabbed her thumb in the direction of where Naruto was standing, talking to his friends. ''Is it because of him?''

''He really helped me.'' The girl brushed her bangs aside and cast the blond a glance. Despite her efforts of trying to be inconspicuous, though, the boy immediately looked around and caught sight of her. Karin had already turned back to her locker, innocently continuing what she had been doing. Sakura gulped and smiled at Naruto. He flashed her a toothy grin and waved before turning back to the guys he had been talking to. ''But I like him as a friend. Nothing more.''

''You keep telling yourself that, girl.'' Karin patted Sakura on the head before picking up her bag and swinging it over her shoulder. ''I'm going outside and smoke for a bit. You coming with me?''

''Sure.'' the pinkette shrugged.

Both of the girls headed outside and approached the group of smoking teenagers standing beside the school building. It was remarkable how they were all wearing their black clothing -more suited for fall- and still didn't appear to be sweating.

''Hey Karin, Sakura.'' Itachi greeted them. He brought his cigarette to his lips once more.

The red haired girl fished a cigarette of her own out of a carton package she found in her back pocket and waved it from right to left. ''Has anyone got a lighter?''

Somebody answered and passed her a red lighter. Sakura crinkled her nose at all of the fumes coming from the group of teenagers. The smell made her sick. Aunt Rose, from her mother's side, had been a chain smoker. Oh how Sakura had hated the weekends they spent at her house. Everything smelled of cigarettes. Even her dog.

Sakura snapped out of her memories when two girls walked past her. ''Oh my god, isn't that forehead?'' She could hear the brown-haired one of the two mutter at her friend. Sakura couldn't remember ever seeing them before. They appeared to be seniors.

''It is her!'' the other girl, a raven haired, somewhat chubbier girl giggled at her friend, loud enough for Sakura to hear. ''Now I see what everybody is talking about. Look at those skinny legs! Seriously!''

Sakura hung her head. Apparently, not everybody had stopped disliking her.

She looked up when she felt a feminine hand on her shoulder. It was Karin's. ''Okay, bitches,'' the girl pushed her glasses up her nose and placed a hand on her hip, her stance defensive. ''Two options. One; you walk on. Two; I'm coming after you and beating those pretty faces up 'till your own mommy won't recognise you anymore.''

The two girls jumped back at the threat, shot each other a quick glance and then walked on to join their friends on a bench a little farther up the path alongside the school building. All of the girls leaned in towards the girls and then all looked at Sakura and Karin over their shoulders.

When Sakura looked back at Karin's friends, she noticed they were still talking to each other. They either hadn't noticed anything of the commotion, or ignored it.

''Don't let those superficial bitches bring you down.'' Karin said, causing the junior to turn her head back to her. She flicked her hair and blew out a cloud of grey smoke.

''I always try.'' Sakura sighed. ''But it's hard. It's weird how they always say that words can't hurt people.''

''Meh, that must've been said by someone that's never been a teenager. Or at least has never gone through anything you did.''

''But you've gone through much worse stuff than me-.''

Karin shook her head. ''-Don't compare your pain to another person's. Pain is different for everyone. Gossip can hurt you as much as another person would be hurt by a nudge in the ribs.''

Sakura was quiet after hearing this, over thinking the senior's words. She took a bite from the sandwich she'd forgotten she was holding -it had her fingerprints pressed into it. Imagine how tightly she must have been holding it- and swallowed it down. ''Yes, you're right.'' she concluded then, ''Oh, and thank you... For standing up for me again, I mean.''

''That's okay.'' Karin said.

''Hey, Karin, what are your friends doing?'' Sakura said after a while. She pointed to the group of black clothed people a glance once more, slightly annoyed at how they were all huddled together in the shadows of the trees, seemingly trying to get away from the two -rather loud- girls.

Karin frowned in annoyance. ''Dunno.'' She walked towards one of the vending machines standing next to each other, against the school building, wiggled a coin out of a pocket from her hotpants and threw it into the slot. Then, after something crashed down with a loud 'thud', she walked back to Sakura. She had bought a bottle of water. ''They aren't really my friends, anyway. We just hang out together.''

''And smoke.'' Sakura added.

''Jup.''

''Who are you friends, then?''

''You.'' The redhead replied almost instantly, bringing the cigarette to her mouth casually.

Sakura couldn't stop the smile creeping it's way onto her face. She still got that warm feeling in her stomach every time somebody called her a friend of theirs.

''You've grown prettier, by the way.'' Karin complimented then all of a sudden, almost causing Sakura to choke on her sandwich.

''What?'' she coughed, giving herself some punches on the chest with her fist.

''I told you you've gotten prettier!'' the redhead repeated, smiling at the stupid picture. ''Is it because of you-know-who?'' Karin winked teasingly.

Sakura gulped. ''If you're talking about Naruto,'' she said his name in a hushed whisper, ''then NO.''

''Oh really?''

''Yeah really!''

''Hm.'' Karin clicked her tongue. ''Cause I don't remember you worrying about how your hair looked before you befriended him.''

When the words finally clicked inside her head, the girl stopped fixing her hair, her arms lingering in mid-air. ''Shut up!''

The senior laughed in response.

''No, wait, Sam, get that out of your mouth-''

''-Whooyaaaa! Look at me, Sakura! I'm a cowboy!''

''Please get off my back first! No, Max, I told you I would get you some milk later.''

''But I want it now!''

''In a second! Ryan, get off my back and stop tugging my hair!''

''Horses don't talk!''

''I'm not a horse!''

Tired of all of the commotion, Sakura got on her feet, causing the little boy that had been sitting on her back to drop down on the floor. Her eyes trailed from left to right. From the mess in the living room to the mess in the hallway. From the mess in the kitchen to the mess in the dining room. Sakura had attempted to clean the house up for a bit, which was hard with three little boys buzzing around. one of them had actually jumped on her back when she got to her knees to gather the pieces of yet another shattered vase.

The Jones' kids were the most obstinate and bothersome kids Sakura had ever met. And she had to babysit three of them. At the same time. Not that the kids weren't sweet or anything. No, they were angels.

-Asleep then, of course.

''Okay, that's it!'' Sakura screamed on top of her lungs, causing the kids to stop whatever they were doing. ''Be good and help me clean the house. Then, when everything is tidied up, I will tell you a bedtime story.''

This was enough of a price for the little boys, for all three of them hurried off to get cleaning supplies. Sakura sighed in relief and placed a hand on her forehead. Luckily the three kids' parents were rich. They paid Sakura much more than the other families she babysat.

The moment of piece was disturbed as the three boys once more dashed into the room. The oldest of the three, Ryan and Max, appeared to be fighting over the vacuum cleaner.

Sakura rolled her sleeves up. 'Duty calls.'

After a lot of stressing, Sakura, along with the three kids, succeeded in cleaning the house before bedtime. The kids were now brushing their teeth in the bathroom, already clad in their pyjamas. Sakura sat on the rim of the bath, waiting for them to finish. When they did, she guided them to their beds and sat plopped down in a lime-green fatboy.

''Which story will you tell us tonight?'' said Sam, the youngest, almost strangling his teddy-bear in excitement. ''Does it have dragons?''

''-And magicians?'' Max added.

''Sure. I'll put in whatever you like.'' Sakura couldn't help but smile. These kids could be sweet. They really could.

The girl thought for a while. Then, she told them the story.

''Once upon a time, there lived a young miller in a tiny village built in a valley.'' she started. ''It was the friendliest village you can image, with wild flowers growing everywhere. And the grass was the most beautiful green colour you ever did see. A crystal clear creek streamed down from the mountains, so the people inhabiting the village had enough fish to fill their bellies with and enough water to swim around in all day. All the way on top of the mountain stood a huge castle-''

''-What was the name of the miller?'' Max interrupted al of a sudden.

Sakura, being caught up in the story she was telling, replied with a,''What? Oh, er-''

''-Can his name be Ryan?'' Ryan insisted. And with a sigh, Sakura agreed.

''Okay, so the miller Ryan hadn't always been a miller. The old miller and his wife had found him on their doorstep once, many years ago. He was a foundling. But since the miller and his wife had always wanted a child to inherit the mill, and they were getting very old already, they decided to raise the boy as their own son. There was only one thing very remarkable about Ryan.''

''What was it?'' The three boys called out simultaneously, leaning in towards Sakura slightly.

''He was very ugly.'' Sakura answered. ''But he was the kindest person to ever set foot on earth. And so, nobody of the village really minded his looks. It was a small town, and everybody knew each other. The villagers were as good as family.'' She leaned back so the back of her head rested against the wall. ''And then, one day, the old miller and his wife died both the same night, in their sleep. They had died a peaceful death, but still Ryan was filled with grief and loneliness from that moment on.''

''He missed his mommy and daddy?'' Sam asked, his small mouth pulled upwards in a sad pout.

''Yes, he did. But he didn't want to be lonely anymore. So when he was twenty years old, he thought it was about time for him to find a wife. He searched for a maiden to love all over the valley, but he couldn't find her. Every girl was either too old, too young or already married. And then, when he was exhausted from all of his searching and lay down flat on his back on the fresh grass. He found himself shivering. He wondered why. The sun had been beating down on him the entire day. Then, he noticed he was lying in the shadow. Not just any shadow, but the shadow of the huge castle in which the king lived. Ryan jumped up with a gasp. The princess! He had forgotten all about her!''

''No, not a story with a princess again. Those're for girls!'' Max groaned.

''This isn't just any story.'' Sakura said quickly, before the boys could start ravaging around the place for the second time that night. ''The princess is the bad guy here!'' That seemed to please the boys. They were focused on the story again. ''Ryan climbed all the way up to the castle, and knocked on the doors. Soon, the door was opened. ''What is the reason of your visit?'' the maid asked Ryan, studying his appearance from tip to toes. She crinkled her nose. Ryan didn't mind this. He figured the girl had never seen him before. He couldn't blame her.''

''Come on, Ryan! Give her a punch in the face!'' the real Ryan exclaimed, punching his fist into the air. Sakura giggled at the way the three boys were caught up in her story.

''He told the maid he was here to see the princess, and after a long talk, he was guided towards the princess's throne. He greeted the princess with a bow, although he could barely tear his eyes away from her beautiful face. He'd never seen such a beautiful person before, although her eyes were filled with hatred and unfriendliness. He didn't mind. He knew he was in love with her. When she asked him the reason of his visit, he could only shakily reply that he had come to ask her to marry him. At this, the princess let out a sarcastic cackle.

''You?'' she sneered. ''You? The most ugly person to ever enter this palace? You? With nothing to offer? Don't make me laugh!'''' Sakura coughed once, trying to clear her throat. ''Ryan didn't know what to say at this. ''That's true.'' he said. ''I have nothing to offer. But I can give you as much love as you could ever want from any other man.'' The princess only laughed harder at this.

''Tell you what,'' she said when her laughter had died down a bit. ''I can offer you this; if you manage to change your looks so you look less revolting, I will marry you.'''' Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest. ''Happy with this outcome of their conversation, Ryan left the castle and grabbed his stuff, put them in a knapsack and pulled open the door of his mill. He told everyone who listened that he was going to marry the princess.''

''Where was he going, then?'' Max asked.

''He was going to the silver magician, all the way down in the dark woods.'' Sakura explained ''There were several dangers and obstacles he had to cross, but he was willing to die for his princess. And so he traveled for days and days, crossed rivers, walked miles of grassland, endured uncomfortable heat and biting cold, only to find that after a week of walking, all of a sudden his way was blocked by a gigantic ravine. Tired and discouraged, Ryan sat down on the stone ridge of the ravine and gazed into the depth. He groaned and rested his face in his hands. Being the kind man he was, he wasn't angry. Only sad. And so he couldn't help but let one tear escape his eyes and slide down his face, only do drip into the depth of the canyon. Hardly a minute later, an enormous dragon flew up from the canyon, it's huge wings merely a blur. Ryan was startled by the huge beast, and couldn't help but fall on his back in shock.

''Fear not.'' The dragon spoke then. He landed on the rocks beside Ryan. ''Just as I was flying the stream in the depth of the canyon and opened my mouth to drink some water, a drop fell down from here and landed on my tongue. I figured I should go and see whether I could help the person that had shed this tear. I can look into your heart, and I see that you are a good person. Can I help you?''

''Yes,'' Ryan replied, ''I would like to cross this ravine.'' And so he flew to the other side of the canyon on the back of the dragon, thanked the beast and continued on his way. Quickly, he arrived at the dark woods. The entire forest consisted of dead, leafless trees that were so old that their crooked branches entwined with each other, the entire thing forming a maze. After trying out different paths for a long time, Ryan finally reached the middle of the woods, where the biggest, ugliest tree stood proudly. There was a hole cut into it, looking somewhat like a doorway. Not forgetting his manners, Ryan knocked on the side of the tree.

''Yes?'' a shaky voice asked. At this, Ryan walked through the doorway. He now stood inside of the three. It was furnitured, with many bookcases, stuffed with books in all sizes and coloures, a small, wooden table and an old-looking bed. On a chair next to the table sat an old man. He appeared to be made out of wood, his features engraved in the timber.

''My name is Ryan. I have come to-''

The man looked up tiredly. ''Let me guess.'' the man wheezed. ''You want me to change your appearance.''

''How did you know?'' Ryan gasped in shock, at which the old, wooden man laughed.

''I know all. Now, let's fix you up then, shan't we?''

''You are going to help me?'' Ryan asked him, unable to suppress the surprised, hopeful tone in his voice.

''Of course. If that's what you desire.'' The man got up and walked over towards one of the bookcases, the places where his feet touched the ground cracking like old twigs. He pulled an old, red book out from between the others and opened it. Apparently, he had opened it on the right page because the man cleared his throat, rose his hand up to summon his scepter and then spoke a few strange words in a language Ryan didn't recognise.

''Now.'' the silver magician spoke when he appeared to be finished with whatever he was doing. Go outside, lay down on the ground and fall asleep. You shall awake in your own bed.''

Ryan was surprised at this. He didn't feel any different. He decided to just trust the man. ''Do I not need to pay you?''

''No. To see there's still people left with hearts as pure as yours is my payment. Now go.'' As Ryan went outside and lay down on the grass, he didn't notice the old man staring at him from the doorway, shaking his head. ''Poor boy. He will soon see that true beauty is only found within.''

Ryan woke up the next morning, feeling slightly disorientated. That was, of course, until he recognised the familiar smell of burnt wood and grain. He was home. It all came back to him now. He got onto his feet and stumbled over to the mirror hanging from the wall. An entirely different face stared back at him. He had to pinch himself to see if he wasn't dreaming. Too excited to remember to change his clothes, he ran outside to go show his face to the princess. He ran all the way to the top of the mountain and burst through the palace doors. ''Princess!'' he called. ''Princess! It is me, I have come! I changed my face! Marry me, please!'' Immediately, the guards ran towards him and prevented him from going any farther. This didn't stop him from shouting. ''Princess! It is me!''

Awakened by all of the commotion, the princess appeared at the stairs in her nightgown. She looked down at the man, puzzled. Then everything seemed to click. She recognised the miller. Not his face, no, not that. The face he wore now was absolutely beautiful. It was the filthy clothes he wore. She didn't want to marry a miller. She didn't want to spend the rest of her live working in a mill. And so she looked down at the man surrounded by the guards in pure disgust and broke her promise. ''I have not seen this man before in my life. Kill him.''

Ryan looked up in shock. He couldn't believe a person could be this evil. He knew she recognised him. And so he fled. He climbed down the mountain, the guards in tow. Luckily he was a good climber. Fast, too. And so the guards soon had to give up pursuing him.

Heartbroken, he went back to his mill. He married a chubby, poor, but overall kindhearted woman and lived happily ever after. He never thought about the princess even once. Such an ugly and rotten person didn't deserve a second of anyone's time.'' Sakura took a deep breath. That sure was a long story.

The actual ending had been one in which the miller was killed by the guards, but seeing as how the kids were very young, she doubted they could handle it. Speaking of which-. Sakura looked around the room.

All three boys were sound asleep, their faces peaceful. Sakura giggled softly, and then stood up when she heard the distant sound of a door being opened downstairs and two chattering people entering the house. The girl tip-toed out of the room and closed the door behind her. Then she walked down the spiraling stairs to go and greet the parents.

''Hello, Sakura!'' Mr Jones slurred, appearing a bit tipsy.

''How where the kids?'' Mrs Jones asked.

''Hello! They were angels, really. Was the party fun?''

''Look at Marc. He certainly had fun- Oh, and the house is so clean as well! Did you clean it again?''

''Er...''

''You have to stop doing that, silly.'' the woman gave Sakura a playful push. ''We don't pay you for that!''

''It's okay.'' the pinkette stammered.

''Well, here, keep the change.'' slurred Mr Jones, giving her a random bill from his wallet. Sakura gulped when she noticed it was a bill of five-hundred. She tried to wiggle it into his hands, but the man objected.

''Go on, Sakura. Keep it.'' Mrs Jones said encouragingly. ''We've heard you have some financial problems lately. This can help.''

''Oh, really. It's okay-''

''-Keep it.''

Sakura sighed and then smiled up at the two adults. ''Then thank you. I'm sure this will help.''

''It's okay, sugar.'' Mrs Jones smiled, and then she held the door open for the girl. Sakura walked through and giggled as Mr Jones' voice singing Christmas songs wafted out through the door, mixing with the quiet of the night. Then, the door slammed shut. Sakura was now left alone with the star-filled sky and the dark silhouettes that filled the villa quarter.

She smiled down at the hand she knew a five-hundred dollar bill rested in, her fingers clamped tightly around it. The Jones' household might be a busy one, but each and every family member was kind and generous, always trying to help others out as much as they could.

The soft beeping of her cellphone then startled her. She got it out of her bag and checked the screen.

'New message' blinked on and off on the screen. Sakura opened the message and smiled.

'Incoming message. Sent: 11:30 pm. Message: Hey, I got your cell number from that girl Karin. How r you? What r you doing tonight? X Naruto.'

Sakura couldn't help but feel her cheeks grow warmer at the letter 'X'.

She knew it was just quick messaging language, but still. A kiss was a kiss, right?

The girl's face then scrunched up as she realised what she was thinking. She reminded herself of some lovesick nine year old.

She turned her face towards the starlit sky.

Okay, so maybe she was crushing on Naruto.

But only a little.

The story Sakura told Ryan, Max and Sam is a story my dad once told me. He used to tell me stories he made up himself all the time. And now, I'm telling you.

Please review! I'd love to hear what you think, if there's anything you want to know, an idea to make my story better, any idea of your own or, heck, even if you've done something fun in the time I spent studying. I just love hearing from you guys!

~Lion3queen