Previously, I have done Itachi and femNaruto (Naru, being the name), but never once have I done Sasuke and femNaruto - or even Naruto and FEMSASUKE. So here I bring the first. :D Told as a fairytale with some historical context.

I have also done preset ideas in forms of existent media and stories...this time bringing in "The Swan Princess". And set in the Heian period of Japan. :3 The period combined with fantasy elements. Just read and enjoy, and I'll reveal notes on the way.

Disclaimer: Naruto, The Swan Princess, and their characters all belong to their rightful owners. And story title combines two different pieces composed on YouTube by TaiGekTou, "Two Three (Eternal Love)" and "Falling Blossoms"; each chapter also is. This one is composed of "As the Brush Wills" and "Heartfelt Sounds", respectively.

Chapter One

As the Brush Wills Heartfelt Sounds

A nation was said to have been born when the sun rose red in the sky. A land of maple leaves, cherry blossoms, wisteria, and many more.

Bamboo of lush green rose to the heavens.

The seasons to come and go were washed magic, unpredictable and expected all at once.

A great emperor ruled with a great clan as an ally and figurehead in one. The Uchiha clan was behind the crown, justly and fairly. It was expected that stability in the golden time would come in the form of their children born one year and arranged to one day wed and carry on joining the alliance.

One sweltering summer, a child was born - a girl. With hair and eyes dark as midnight. She was the second child and only daughter of the prominent Uchiha clan. Her father was overjoyed and not only doting but ecstatic that there was a joining to be made when the emperor's newborn would come in a matter of months. Her name was Sadako Uchiha, also called the "lady of the fan", per the family crest.

Unlike most regions, here in Konoha, an immediate marriage of the imperial Uzumaki clan and the prestigious Uchiha was not always counted for, thus distant relations were available. This was the case when Fugaku Uchiha's firstborn, Itachi, came into the world and wed Izumi, a distant cousin on his father's side.

The year prior, Sadako was born, but their mother, the beautiful Lady Mikoto, perished after childbirth.

That same year, during a bountiful autumn, another child was born - a boy. With hair glowing as the sun and eyes broad as the skies. And he was the firstborn of the emperor...the same age as Princess Sadako if younger by four months at most. Prince Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, son of Emperor Minato and Princess Kushina.

Tragically, his mother would, too, pass on from complications.

In spite of the deaths of their wives, Emperor Minato and Lord Fugaku would gather together for the future of their children.

~o~

"Fugaku, how long have we known each other exactly?" Emperor Minato asked the man beside him as they observed the scene regarding the small group of children before them - well, four boys and a lone girl. All four of the young boys were dressed in warm, natural colors, except one who was in a garment of blue to match his eyes, and the background was embellished majestically with a bridge over water against what looked like Konoha against the great Mt. Fuji. My boy really has grown up. He looks like me...but he's also more like his mother. Kushina, if only you could be here now.

And his son happened to be the brunt of the girl's wrath over what was petty but serious in her case.

"YOU JERK! YOU LET MY SPARROW GET AWAY!"

The girl, with her long black hair tied on each side by a delicate light blue ribbon, was clad in a matching midnight robe sewn with majestic gold and a peacock in shades of blue and green, which opened to show a white tunic and rouge trousers. She angrily glared murder and burst out crying at his son, before she was joined by none other than her big brother. Itachi had grown into such a fine young man at thirteen years old, though he could be mistaken to be a woman with his long hair which reached his waistline.

"Sadako, little sister, what is the matter? What has the prince done?" Itachi asked kindly, taking her into his arms.

"He let my sparrow get away, elder brother!" she shouted through the tears that she refused to wipe away. "I'd just caught it! I tied blue ribbons to its legs. It really liked me!"

And of course, Naruto would holler back without much dignity, but they were all just children. "I told you, I didn't do it! I was there, but it wasn't me, idiot!" His insult earned laughs from his fellow boys, which made the princess' face heat and darken to deep red.

Sadako stuck her tongue out at the one she considered a mean boy, then burst out crying again into her brother's arms. She didn't care that she was being frowned upon, just wanted to cry because something she'd grown a connection with had been lost because of one other child's mistake.

Minato lowered his eyes to the ground.

Fugaku cleared his throat behind his hand. "Ahem, long enough, Your Majesty. Long enough to expect that this wouldn't be easy. Somehow, I saw this coming even before today. I have no idea where she got this temperament from, but her mother died, so...maybe me. Guilty as charged." For a moment, he smiled and laughed before sobering. "But I worry if she keeps this up."

She's a little like Kushina, even if they are not directly related. My late wife had a temperament like this, raising it always in public if not physically attacking. Perhaps Sadako will be all right.

Although, he wished he had something to peer into her future, and see if she and Naruto could grow to respect each other as they came of age.

~o~

If she could, she could hit that idiot in the face with the ball, but she chose to pick up her robe and trousers, then run off and around the complex. Here she and other noble children - including herself and Prince Naruto who just thought to be so high and mighty because she was a GIRL - got their education, but now she just wanted to get away from it all.

The wind ran through her hair as Sadako flew over the bridge to the small forest where benevolent spirits were said to reside. The ribbons the chief maid of the household wove in that morning were on the verge of coming undone with her actions, but if she had her way, she would cut it all off, even throw away these heavy clothes, so she could be one of the strange creatures that lived in the wild. Free from customs as well as those stupid feminine activities.

And how could her father and His Majesty do this, arrange her to one day be the wife of that mean idiot?!

A sound above her head made her look up but not halt in her journey. Sadako Uchiha gasped when she looked up; her sparrow was above her head! Her bird which had not yet been named. If I could ask Father, he just HAS to let me keep it!

Except she knew the answer: her father who used to dote on her as a child was being colder than usual when he would hear of her antics, and no doubt what happened today would get back to him. She had run away, and for that, she was going to get a beating and confinement to her rooms until he said so.

Her sparrow landed then, but not in any of the trees; it had come to rest on the finger of a stranger she halted right before, holding her breath and keeping the hackles up as Father always warned her to. The man was in black, but that was not all: his facial features somewhat reminded her of her brother. Could he be...?

"What a beautiful bird, this one." His voice was deep but somewhat warm. His friendly smile made her return it. "I assume this is yours, no?"

"Yes," Sadako answered. "But an idiot let him get away from me. Thank you for finding it."

He chuckled. "Yes, it's a pity. I remember it very well; once, my younger brother did the same to me when we were your age, little one." He then knelt to give her the bird. Happily, she accepted it as it hopped onto her extended finger. "Have you got it a name?"

Sadako frowned. She never thought of a name, since she had no idea whether it was male or female. "No. I don't know if it's a boy or girl, sir."

His dark eyes drifted to one side. "Hmmm...I believe it is a male. I know just the perfect name: Izuna. That was the name of my brother."

Izuna...I really like that name. "What's YOUR name?" she asked him. This man was really nice, even if she hadn't met him before. He reminded her of her father before he became cold towards her in recent months. She found herself thinking that perhaps he could become her new friend, maybe be there for her as she was growing up...

"Ah, my name," the man answered with a smile. "You may call me Tobi. And your name...I believe I know. Sadako Uchiha - I have heard of your beauty, and no doubt you will one day be a fine young lady and a bride to the prince."

At the mention of that Naruto, she huffed and folded her arms across her chest. As a consequence, her bird flew above her head but came to land atop it as though her hair was a nest. "Hmph, I don't want to be with that stupid fool! He's rude and has no respect for anyone. I don't care that my father and his father want me to; I would rather be free, doing what I want, however I want, and that means riding free out here like my sparrow. I want to be a horse rider and an archer in one; I hate poetry and music, all that stupid stuff for girls."

Her impertinence seemed to amuse Tobi, for he laughed and began to walk with her, back in the direction where she'd come in. "Oh, I believe you, child, but music and poetry are also viable for me, too. It can be quite useful." Then his eyes sparkled.

"But you can also have your desires granted. Allow me to be your teacher, Princess Sadako."

~o~

"She's just - she is so sensitive, Father! It's just a bird, and I didn't even know what was under there, I swear!"

"Just curiosity," Minato answered with a chuckle as he brought the paintbrush over the latest work which he intended to take to the next competition in a couple of weeks. "I know you meant well, Naruto, but girls think differently than we do, and they are far more sensitive, just as you said. Your mother was the same. Behind closed doors from the court's eye - except you know how word gets out - she can be heard shrieking over the littlest things, even using her fan as a weapon." He remembered all those "fond times" with a deep, nervous swallow in his throat...and often ending with bedtime far better than usual. That was how she liked it, but it was a shame that it couldn't be discussed in open detail with anyone.

Their son pouted and folded his arms across his chest. "Will she be like this when we marry one day? I don't know if I'll be able to deal with her as you did with Mother."

Worrisome, I know, and her father is concerned, too, but I'm confident everything will work out. Kushina had great pride even when we first met, so perhaps Sadako will come around. And that's why I'm here. I know just the thing...

"If that's how you feel, then I know what you can do as a first step instead of making her mad the way you do," Minato told him, putting the brush back into the ink jar.

~o~

She could hardly believe what she was reading, and it was infuriating all the more that her brother was listening, but she supposed he was better than their father.

"The treasure of the sea can be retrieved by a will as strong as the wind. Just as a bird can fly through the wind with its wings. The bird itself is a treasure of the sky, but cannot be caged for the rest of its life."

And this was presented with none other than a FAN - bamboo with paper painted light blue, additionally with sparrows against the lush green trees as well as wisteria blossoms - where the writing itself was scripted on the other side of the majestic scenery. She confessed that her breath was taken away, and whoever made the final product was an excellent craftsman...but that wasn't all there was to it.

With the scenic fan and poem came a charm - a small medallion made up of the rainbow hues of the abalone, which could only be found at the seashores. This was something that was prized as well as mother-of-pearl within women's hair combs. And you could also find the magical interior of seashells in combs. Just like Mother's...

"He is starting to realize he was foolish to make you angry, little sister," Itachi told her with that warm smile of his.

It was just like her elder brother, the one she always looked up to and would go to when their father would be distracted, to know best. She found herself smiling at him and deciding to take his word for it - and when she saw her mysterious new friend again, she would ask for his wisdom.

So, young Sadako and the sparrow came from episode 4 of the 11-episode anime "Genji Monogatari Sennenki".

Abalone is the iridescent lining within the seashell, in case anyone didn't know. Quoting from Stauer: "But perhaps none other treasure Abalone as much as the Ama - Japanese ladies who free dive in cold water to depths up to 30 meters in search of these underwater rainbows. Ama translates to "women of sea", and these fearless women are able to hold their breath for up to two minutes." :D

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