AN: Hey y'all, CinnaBunnBunn here.

So here I am, back with a new chapter. I just- okay, I cannot let a story stay linear in any way. I had this story in mind, it was very linear and pretty simple. But who knows what the fuck was happening in my head, but I managed to make it so much more complex that it needed to be and now I have like 14 side plots, 800 different events that did not need to be there and I don't even remember what the original plot was in the first place. So the story that was supposed to be over in like 25 chapters, who the hell knows how long it will stretch.

Okay I'm ranting, onto the chap-

"And this is from where I go to the lake!"

Sakura sighed under her breath, giving the hyperactive prince a small smile, even though she felt like dying inside.

It has been three weeks since she has arrived in Kuroshima, and two weeks since she has started treating the people of the kingdom. Days were long and hot, and the nights were way too short for her liking. She has exhausted all her energy and efforts, she could only find mere minutes to eat throughout the day and hardly ever saw the compound anymore.

She would get up in the morning after tossing and turning in her bed the whole night, unsuccessfully trying to get an appropriate amount of sleep, bath, eat breakfast in her room, and them be on her way to the kingdom. Track progress, prescribe medicines, visit town physicians and apothecaries to give them the formulas, eat lunch brought to her by a kind townsfolk, check more patients, get home at night, eat dinner in her room and then crash on her bed. Rinse and repeat the next day.

She was getting a feeling that one of these days her body might finally crash was weeks of incomplete rest and back-breaking labor.

But even so, after putting her body through rigorous exhaustion, at least her efforts were not in vain.

Even if the character among the royalty of Kuroshima left much to be desired, at least the people of the kingdom had appropriate grace. On the contrary, they had more than desired gratitude. She doesn't even need any monetary compensation, their teary-eyed smiles and grateful kisses to her hands were more than enough payment for her.

They respected her, as a person and as a healer, and that was enough for her.

She was so engrossed with the treatments and her research, that she had almost forgotten about her plans to hang out with the little prince.

But she was so exhausted, and the heat and the sun weren't exactly making her situation better. It was unexpectedly hot that day.

"It's so close from here!" Tobi exclaimed in excitement, happy to share his playtime secret with someone else. "There was also a bluebird's nest on one of those trees, but I don't know if it's still there." His voice quietened near the end, thoughts going back to the birds and the nest.

Sakura hummed along with him, pulling on the neckline of her yukata shirt. She has shrugged off her haori long ago, but even in just her shirt she was feeling hot. She was a bit thankful that in the lonely, hidden road to the lake, there weren't any eyes on her. This is why she felt the best in forests with nothing but the trees and the birds as her companions.

"How further away is it from here?" Sakura asked with a huff. By the actual road, it would take them atleast twenty minutes by horse to get there. They have been walking for around ten minutes via the shortcut Tobi was raving about so much, and she doesn't know how much longer it would take.

Tobi pointed to the thin path ahead, more rocks than mud, and she has to wonder how such a small boy has been going up and down such a dangerous road by himself, without anyone's knowledge.

"How many times do you come here, Tobi?"

"A few times a week." Tobi hopped down from a boulder, stumbling a little on the rocky ground. "I found it when I was chasing Soka."

"Soka?" Sakura asked while ducking under a low hanging branch. Tobi nodded at her with a toothy grin, this was probably the first time since she has gotten here that she is seeing him so happy and chipper. "Soka is mister Masashi's cat. I play with him a lot, but he was always running away here. I chased him."

Sakura hummed again when a slight decrease in the woodland density up ahead caught her attention. "Oh, looks like we're here." She recognized the glisten reflecting off the waters of Lake Karasu.

Tobi ran ahead of her, jumping down the last of the rocks and onto the grassy ground, excitedly waving her ahead. Sakura followed him, albeit at a slower pace, maneuvering around the thick trees and dense shrubs to walk down the same sight. It really was a pretty lake, no matter how many times she saw it.

"That was where the bluebird's nest was." Tobi pointed at a tree closest to water, but no matter how much she stared, she still couldn't see any nest on any branch. "Maybe they flew away. It has been quite a while since you last saw them." Sakura provided helpfully when she saw the crestfallen expression on the prince's face.

He still looked a little saddened by the bluebirds' departure, but still looked up in question when she put a hand on his shoulder to call his attention. "Do you like flowers?"

"Yes, I really like flowers!"

Sakura smiled a little, pointing toward the deeper part of the forest surrounding the lake, on the other side from where they were standing. "Do you think there are any pretty flowers there?"

Tobi visibly brightened up, urgently tugging on her finger to lead her around the circumference of the lake and take entry into the other side of the thick trees.

Where the roads she took the other times to reach the scene were always fully rocks and boulders with minimal vegetation, the other side of the forest was a different story. The trees only led to more trees, but the varieties differed, and the spiny shrubs were now accompanied with colorful flowers.

"We have this flower in our garden." Tobi pointed at one of the cluster of plants with sword like leaves and tufted white flowers, blooming in clusters like sifted cotton. "We call it Beargrass. I tried to shake it once, Oka-chan was not very happy when it covered my clothes."

He tugged her past the cluster and pointed at another cluster of flowers, growing around the base of a tall pine tree with grass like leaves and purple bell-shaped flowers on thin stems. "We call them Mountain bellflowers. Oka-chan tried to grow it in our garden but they only grow in the forest."

Campanula lasiocarpa, she remembers coming across this flower when she was travelling around the hilly borders of Kuroshima to cross into Kumogakure.

There were also some isolated flowers spread throughout the places that the trees did not occupy. Tobi pointed at a yellow bell-shaped flower hanging with its head down on its thin stem, "Those are Yellow bell. And those are Spring beauty." He moved from the bell flowers to the small pink and white streaked flowers littering some of the bushes. "We have spring beauty in our garden. There are a lot of them."

He showed her a few more flowers, one was called Bitterroot, the pink waterlily like flower preferred to grow beside rocks, and another was the Buttercup, which positively looked like a splash of sunshine on lush green bushes. Out of all the flowers, that has got to be her favorite.

Tobi was trying to drag her deeper into the forest, when the hooves of an incoming horse reached Sakura's ear. She stilled the hyperactive prince with a firm hand on his shoulder, putting a finger on her lips to hush him. Slowly creeping out of the edge of the forest, she kept a firm hand on the prince behind her to shield him out of view shall there be any potential threat.

More bushes rustled and hooves thudded over boulders and rocks, before she was a brown horse on the edge of her usual route. But it was figure sitting on the horse that surprised her.

"Prince Izuna?" She asked in surprise as Tobi jumped in front of her, waving his arm excitedly. Izuna whipped his head toward them with raised eyebrows, lips spreading into a warm smile.

"Doctor Sakura, Tobi-chan. Fancy seeing you here." He slowly descended his horse, tying the reins to a tree and walking toward them. Sakura noticed he looked a bit winded. He shouldn't have been, considering he trotted up via a horse. Tobi is quick to latch onto his leg, laughing loudly when Izuna ruffled his hair.

Sakura gave him a short bow, carefully masking her face in a façade into one of indifference. Tobi grinned up at him, "What are you doing here Izu-niki?"

Izuna ruffled the hair of a jumping Tobi, unclipping the light cloak draped over his shoulders, "Nothing really. Just getting some fresh air. What are you two doing here?"

"Good morning, my prince." Sakura gives a half bow, standing tall as the prince approached her closer. "On your morning ride?"

Izuna shrugged slightly, "Not particularly. I was just feeling a little cooped up in my room, didn't expect to see you two here." Tobi jumped up first, waving his hands up excitedly, "Oh oh! I was showing her the short way-"

"Prince Tobi was showing me the flowers." Sakura quickly interrupted the prince, stopping him midway before he could reveal the secret shortcut. "There are some very fascinating species of florals in Kuroshima. It is stunning."

Izuna nodded sagely, taking off his cloak to keep it draped on his arm. "It is. You should join me on my garden stroll someday, you still haven't seen all of our gardens." Tobi exclaimed his approval from beside his brother. "Yes Sakura-chan, you should join us!"

Sakura pursed her lips a little awkwardly, not sure what to make of the overt, open-armed friendliness of the two princes in front of her. She wasn't used to such hospitality from royalties, or even nobles. But she didn't refuse them.

"I would love to join you. Thank you."

Tobi clapped in joy before running off toward the trees again on his own expedition, not bothering to wait for the pair to catch up to him. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him, "Should we go after him?" she asked the older prince as he shook his head, bending down to unclip his sandals, dangling his legs over the edge off the lake bank.

"It's okay, he's well familiar with the area around here." He looked at her over his shoulder, patting the ground next to him. "Care to join me?"

Sakura wordlessly took off her sandals, seating herself next to him, feet submerged in the cool water. She kept his hands folded on her lap, eyes on the still water of the lake. The silence hung between them, the background noise only filled by chirrups of the early birds. She lightly swung her legs, sending ripples along the water surface, sparing a glance to the prince sitting beside her. His eyes were closed and a state of calm dawned on his face.

"Do you come here often?"

Izuna fluttered his eyes open, turning his head to see the pinkette gazing at the water. "I do sometimes come here." He dropped his cloak next to him on the ground, "I'm mostly at the library or the gardens. But I sometimes come here since it's close enough to the compound."

Sakura raised her eyebrows in curiosity. "You don't stray very far away from the compound. Do you like staying at the palace?"

"It has less to do with what I want, and more with what I need." Izuna shrugged nonchalantly and Sakura wanted to ask why, but refrained. She noticed the slight sharpness in his shoulders when he told her his situation; he wasn't very excited about telling her his reasons, and she wasn't about to ask.

Instead, she chose to divert the conversation. "What is your life in Kuroshima like?"

A smile played on his lips, the darkness from the last question leaving his eyes. He smoothed over the edges of his life, recounting the time from his childhood of helping his mother tend to the gardens, since that is where his love for gardening came from. The time when he was a teen and on his first knight patrol. When he was barely on the cusp of adulthood and got bored of knighthood and decided that he would rather spend his days reading books on a bed of flower.

"Your life here seems peaceful." Sakura smiled absentmindedly, lightly swinging her legs in the water. Izuna nodded, leaning back on his arms. "I like it here. Though I would've loved it more if I didn't have to deal with the nobles as often as I do."

"You don't sound very fond of them."

"I'm not, trust me." He grimaced a little at the thought of the aristocrats hounding him down for every single thing. "Some of them are pleasant enough, but most of them get on my nerves. They're more interested in marrying off their daughter to one of the princes and be set for life than actually do any work on making positive changes around the kingdom."

Sakura sighed under her breath, "I totally understand what you mean. The nobles are something else, I don't get along with a single one from my kingdom. I sat down with one duke two years ago and got so mad that I avoid interacting with any noble at all."

Izuna laughed breezily, as graceful as you would expect from a prince. "Your life sounds really exciting." He sighed wistfully, carding his finger through his shoulder length hair. "You travel a lot, get to see so many places, learn so many new things. You sound so well-versed in everything you say."

Sakura laughed slightly, her chest squeezing slightly in discomfort but she kept her words to herself. "You think so." She spoke quietly, turning away from the prince. "You know, prince Izuna-"

"Oh enough with that."

Sakura paused abruptly, blinking in confusion. "I'm sorry." She replied dumbly, looking at the frown creasing Izuna's forehead. "Did I offend you in any way? Forgive me."

"Oh stop it." Izuna waved her sputters away, folding his arms over his chest. "Just call me Izuna. Always having to hear 'prince this' 'prince that' gets very tiring."

Sakura felt a flush rising up her face at the thought of regarding the prince with such familiarity. Sure she sometimes called Tobi "Tobi-chan", but he was a six-year old child. "But my prince, that would be a little rude-"

"I get to decide what is rude and what isn't." Izuna cut her off with a stern look that was so unlike his usual chirrupy and calm self. "And I'm telling you to call me by name."

Sakura thinned her lips for a bit before clearing her throat when he still continued to stare. "A-ah. Okay, pri- Izuna."

A joyous smile spread over his lips, and Sakura once again wondered about the oldest prince's ability to draw joy from the most mundane things. "Yes, that's acceptable." He chuckled at her flushed cheeks.

Sakura cleared her throat again, looking away from him when she found his radiant smile too much to look at nonchalantly. "You know… Izuna, you are surprisingly friendly for a prince."

"I don't think that's a bad thing."

"It's not." She shook her head, "I'm just not very used to it. I've always taken royalty as people I would stay the furthest away from, but you are very… hospitable."

Izuna nodded through her praise, a warm smile lingering on his mouth. "I can definitely see my cousins lending to your belief about the royal family, but please don't think badly of them." His smile turned a little apologetic, "They mean well, their methods of welcoming are just a bit… unwelcoming, ironically."

Sakura smiled in acceptance, "They're not all bad. Like Tobi, he's such a great sport."

Izuna laughed looking over his shoulders to the little boy jumping around to catch the dragonflies shooting around the beds of flowers. "I don't think I've ever thanked your properly for everything you've done." He folded his legs underneath him, bowing his head to an incline. "Thank you, for everything you've done. For my family and my kingdom."

Sakura was sure her cheeks were on fire from the embarrassment of having the oldest prince bowing to her in gratitude. "Izuna, please don't embarrass me like that. I'm a medic, it's my job."

"Still, thank you. Your help is invaluable to us." He straightened up again, lips curved up in joy, "I heard you'd be staying here indefinitely. I was hoping my friendship would help in abating your loneliness."

"Friendship?" Sakura felt her eyes widening slightly. She shook her head when he started looking at her funny. "I'm sorry, pr- Izuna. I just, did not expect such kindness." She looked down at her lap when her ears started heating up. She didn't expect it, not after being treated by such animosity, she really didn't expect friendship from a prince out of everything. But she was grateful regardless.

"Thank you."

A moment of silence passed between them before Izuna spoke up again. "So, you're accepting my friendship." The look in his eyes was tentative and hopeful, despite the fact that he was a prince and severely outranked her by miles. "We're friends now?"

A genuine smile spread her lips, her lips tilting a little bashfully despite her generally aloof exterior. "Yes. Yes we are."

Maybe her stay in Kuroshima wouldn't be so terrible afterall.

Pain pounded behind Tsunade's eyes as the messenger in front of her looked anywhere but her. "So," She started after taking a deep breath, "you're saying that Danzo, has sent messengers to the borders of Kuroshima and Satsuyama."

The messenger nodded hesitantly. "Yes, your majesty."

"And," She took another breath, "He has sent his spies specifically after Sakura."

"Yes."

Tsunade closed her eyes, leaning back against the backrest of her low chair. "Why is he so annoying…" She murmured under her breath, pinching the bridge of her nose between in fingers as if that would help with her migraine. She waved away the waiting messenger absentmindedly and he was gone in a swish of the wind.

Irritating was what it was, all of it.

Another fresh wave of pain bloomed inside her head, making her groan low in her throat. Damn Shizune for taking away her sake when she needs it more than ever.

She knew dealing with the old advisor would be aggravating but she still hoped he would lay low like a hibernating snake, like he had always done. But he was acting up again like a persistent headache that just would not go away. Since he can't have the throne for himself, he has taken it upon himself to pull the reins through one of his nephews.

She opened her eyes half mast, looking contemplatively at the blank scroll sitting on her table. Should she shift Sakura to somewhere else now that the illness is pretty much healed? Sakura has been sending her weekly updates on the treatment, and recently she informed her about her starting researching on the cause of the disease.

She didn't have a problem with that, better to keep Sakura away from Hiraisumi as long as possible. But it was getting concerning. Tsunade didn't have the power over borders of Kuroshima, she wouldn't be able to monitor what goes on beyond the walls of Hiraisumi. If something were to happen to Sakura in that time, she wouldn't be able to do much.

She trusts Sakura to protect herself, but it still troubles her.

"You seem very troubled my queen."

Shizune appeared in the doorway, a tray with a tea cup and a kettle in her hands. A sympathetic smile spread on her lips, "Frowning so much will give you wrinkles m'lady."

Tsunade frowned again before smoothening out her expression when she caught herself. "Don't be ridiculous Shizune, I don't have wrinkles. I'm not old." Shizune chuckled airily, softly putting down the tray on the table. "Of course not. But still, may I know what's concerning you so greatly?"

Tsunade was silent for a moment, her hazel eyes trained on the steam rising from the tea cup as her mind seemed to run in circles around every report she has received in the last week. "There's so many things to worry about." She sighed before taking a sip of the warm beverage, the hint of peach in the tea coating her tongue, "And all of them point back to Danzo. He just would not leave me alone."

Shizune hummed in understanding, "Is it about Sakura-chan again?"

Tsunade pursed her lips, gazing out of the open balcony of her study. Most of her concern nowadays seemed to lead back to either Danzo, or Sakura, or Sakura through Danzo. "Some of them are." She took another sip, "Danzo is provoking both the princes to fight out their rights, and that's only pushing the possibility of a civil war closer and closer to becoming more likely."

Shizune considered the reply for a moment before asking "And Sakura?"

"Danzo has sent spies after her." She saw no better way to break the ice, "I was hoping he would hold off until she turned twenty-one, but apparently, that's too much to ask for. My ANBUs informed me about his spies staking around Kuroshima's border."

"Oh." Shizune whispered, unable to think of any other reply. "I mean, it would make sense. Both the princes are one and two years older than Sakura-chan, so they should want their throne now."

Tsunade huffed in frustration. "I know that. I need to warn Sakura and somehow hold off the war for at least half a year. Sakura's birthday is in seven months, I need to keep them off the lines until then."

But she wasn't confident that she will be able to do that. They were getting persistent day by day, hungry to get their hands on the Haruno crown and it was getting harder to fight them off as the weeks rolled by. She wasn't sure how the next seven months will pass.

"Maybe you could send the princes off to do something on their own."

"I could force them away for some time but it won't hold off Danzo. He's relentless." Tsunade took the last gulps of her tea, puffing a breath and setting down the empty cup. "I really hoped it wouldn't come to this, but I'll need to initiate it."

"Initiate it…?" Shizune frowned in confusion before her expression cleared up, "You don't mean…"

Tsunade's face was a grimace as she stood up from her seat, walking toward the balcony and looking out into the vast compound of the Haruno estate. Such a shame it was, for her sister to have taken her leave before she could even witness the greatness her kingdom has risen up to. The moon was a sinister smile in the sky, as if aware of her predicament and only too pleased to mock her for her misery.

"I hoped Danzo would stay in his rat hole after everything I did, but seems like he's way more deranged than I first assumed." Tsunade mused low under her breath, her finger grabbing a hold of the wooden balcony railing as cool night breeze blew through her blond locks. "He is so blinded by his own greed and insanity that he refuses to see the greater picture. He only wants the power, he doesn't care on whose expense. He's willing to throw the whole kingdom in the hurricane if it means he could get a hold of the crown."

Her fingers tightened their hold on the railing as anger bubbled beneath her skin, her eyes glaring daggers at the expanse of her kingdom from her vantage point. Nothing was ever enough for him. Emptying the vault wasn't enough, seizing the military wasn't enough, sending the king to his death wasn't enough; he wants what he can never have.

Tsunade heard her apprentice shuffled behind her. "What do you plan on doing?"

"Danzo has become something of a poisoned limb to me, a tumor." Tsunade whispered to her, picking up her crown from the study table and setting it on the top of her head, letting its weight remind her of its importance.

"It's time to cut the cancer."

A loud gasp ripped from her throat as water splashed on the floor beneath her. Her lungs burned from the lack of air and her eyes stung from being dunked in the basin of water for so long. Thudding of sandals reached her when she coughed loudly. The fingers in her hair tightened and it yanked her head up.

"Looks like the princess is awake."

Her eyes were bleary and stinging when rough fingers harshly clasped her cheeks, the voice was a mocking sneer. "Did our hospitality suffice? Are you ready to talk now?"

Sakura coughed again and her voice was strained and her throat hurt like hell. "God I wish I was blind whenever I have to look at your face. Does your wife even put up with you or does she find someone else to please her eyes with?"

She didn't get to throw anything else before she found her face dunked in the water once more, her lungs burning up again when the air in them wasn't enough. When she was on the edge of passing out, air rushed in her chest again.

"Do you want to talk now?"

"Would you let me go if I say no?"

"Do you really think you could take it all before you break? Human bodies have very approachable limits."

Sakura panted harsh breaths as his threats went in through one ear and out of the other and opened her eyes to slits through her wet bangs. The man sitting in front of her was large and burly, face scarred from decades of bloodshed and violence. His age and experience made her look like a toddler in front of him. She wouldn't show it, but he shook her to her core.

"You think I care."

His slit lip spread up in chillingly sinister smirk, dark eyes hungry for bloodshed gleamed with sadistic glee in the low moonlight. "You would care, when your mind is breaking, your body can't take it anymore." He leaned down toward her face, his dark voice whispering her doomed fate straight in her ears. "When your soul is no more your own. You will care when you are wishing for the sweet relief of death but you can't get it, no matter how much you pray for it."

When Sakura glared at him with every dagger in the world pointed to him. Her heart hammered within her chest in terror, ice wracking tremors of fright through every bone in her body. He was older than her, and way more insane than she will ever be. And she isn't even sure if she will make it out alive.

"You think you can get it out of me? What do you think you can do to make me answer?"

His eyes were wild and his grin was that of a mad emperor, and for a moment, she regretted ever opening her mouth.

"I will make you beg for death."

That was all she heard before water rushed by her ears again.

...

Sakura shook her head out of her reverie when a loud yell from the ground below her position reached her ears. A sigh went past her lips when she heard the loud curses being ungracefully spewed out by the younger prince and closed her eyes again, attempting to refocus her mind away from the distractions around her.

She has been unsuccessfully trying to do meditation for the past hour and every time she felt like she might achieve the blissful emptiness of sound mind, a loud noise of profanity would interrupt her concentration and it was getting on her last nerves.

"You cheated you bastard! No way did I-"

Sakura took a deep measured breath when irritation spiked inside her. She peered over the edge of the sloped roof she was sitting on, looking into the vast open yard where the men were lined up on one side. There were around eight young men, probably knights in training, looking at each other uncomfortably as the three princes in the center argued loudly over something. Actually, only one of them was ever screaming profanities while the other two just stood there.

They've been sparring, at least trying to, for the past hour and their sparring session has only been resulting in louder brawls than any actual training.

Sasuke held a fist up in the air and glared at his cousin in humiliation. "I saw that alright! You cheated! No way did I just trip on thin air."

Shisui smirked smugly at the younger prince as Itachi just sighed in exhaustion. "Aww Sasu-chan, you know I would never do that. And knowing you, you definitely would trip on thin air." He batted his eyelashes in mock innocence, "Are you mad that you got defeated in front of your knight friends?"

"Shisui stop baiting him."

Sasuke released another string of insults at his cousin while Sakura started planning her escape, seeing no point in sitting there anymore. "Just kill me already." She murmured under her breath as she slowly crawled back over the roof, picking up her discarded sandals in the process.

But seems like she was sneaky enough when a yell of her name resounded through the area.

"Oh Lady Haruno!"

Sakura held her breath as she slowly turned around. "Good morning, Prince Shisui." Her face was a perfect mask of indifference when she faced the trio of princes on the compound ground from the rooftop. "Good morning prince Itachi, prince Sasuke."

Itachi politely nodded at her while Sasuke's glare only intensified in magnitude when they landed on her. He seemed like he was mad at everything and everyone in the world regardless of their actions. Shisui grinned lecherously at her, giving a smooth wave. "Fancy seeing you here on a fine morning such as this one. Busy?"

Sakura hesitantly reeled back to stand at the edge of the roof, deeming it rude to just get up and walk away from them now that they're aware of her presence. "Not particularly."

Shisui waved her down toward him. "Please come down."

"No, I'm good."

"Why are you even wasting your time talking to her?" Sasuke rudely interjected their exchange, casting a look toward Sakura that seemed more disgusted than anything, but there was something else in his eyes that she could not pinpoint. Something was strange in the way he looked at her, weirdly.

"Otouto, don't." Itachi chastised his brother, giving her an apologetic glance. Sasuke looked flabbergasted at being scolded, "What? I'm right. Why is she still even here anyway, her work is done."

Sakura felt the same spike again, making her narrow her eyes at the younger boy. "Trust me, I would've been long gone if my job was actually done. Staying in this place for a vacation wasn't exactly on my wish list."

Sasuke whipped his head toward her with eyes narrowed in indignation. "What was that?"

"Hard of hearing?" Sakura cooed softly, ignoring the sound of shock from the men lined up on the side. A whistle of delight blew from Shisui when Sasuke's face flushed darker with anger.

"Y-You!" Sasuke yelled loudly, his voice cracking slightly with the overwhelming humiliation concentrated in it. "Get down here and talk to my face instead of standing there you coward! You're not half as worth as the dust on my shoes to be talking to me like that."

"Is that right, prince Sasuke." Sakura tilted her head to the side, her bangs catching her eyelashes "And you don't know me half as well to be talking to me like that. Did the luxury of your life make you forget basic manners?"

Sakura doesn't know what it was, maybe it was ball of anxiety in her chest that made her so agitated 24/7, or maybe it was her menstrual week being right around the corner, but she wasn't as willing to bury her anger under six gulps of willful silence. Every time her blood pressure spiked within her body, her fuse got shorter to put up with the rude prince anymore.

Sasuke's glare shot spears through her with his teeth bared, his form practically shaking with rage. "Get down here this instant." He growled, angrily taking off his shirt leaving him in just his undershirt and training pants. "It seems like you seemed to have forgotten your manners and just who you are talking to. This is what happens when you show peasants your grace, they forget their position."

Sakura dropped her sandals on the ground below her before vaulting herself over the edge of the roof, landing softly on the grassy field. She silently shrugged off her haori, leaving her in just a thin shitagi shirt with her sleeves rolled to her elbows and her dark training pants.

Itachi stepped forward to stop Sasuke from engaging in a fight but Sasuke only shrugged him off, his glare fixed on his opponent. "Hope you have enough powder to cover the bruises I will mess you face up with."

"Otouto." Itachi snapped at his brother from the sidelines, "That's no way to talk to a lady."

Shisui gasped dramatically from the sidelines. "No Sasu-chan, don't mess up her face." He gazed flirtatiously toward Sakura, draping himself over a large boulder where he was standing. "Such a pretty face."

Sakura ignored him pointedly, hiking up her pant legs around her calves to make it easier to throw kicks. "I may be in a lower position than you, but as your elder, it is my job to teach my inferiors the manners their upbringing has failed to educate."

"You won't be talking so big when you are eating dust." Sasuke took one of the wooden practice swords in his grip, throwing the other one toward her. It flew in the air before landing a few feet away from her. "Take your position, you peasant, I'll make you remember your place. And I'll make you remember it so well and you won't forget it in your lifetime."

Sakura picked up the sword, measuring its weight in her palm before gripping its handle with both her hands and taking her position with her knees bent and feet apart. For a moment no one moved, but then Sasuke launched himself in the air.

He attacked her like a hawk, sword thudding against hers when she parried his every move with a counter attack. Every strike was like a wave cutting through air and for a long while, Sakura only defended herself, waiting for the right moment.

He was fast, but she was faster.

She saw the opening before he even made the move, locking her ankle behind his and when he swung his sword, it caught him. It wasn't enough to make him fall, but he stumbled and that was enough for her to lock her sword around the handle of his, and with one flick, it was sent flying in the air, arching in the sky and sticking itself in the mud near the boulder Shisui was leaning at.

Whoops from Shisui punctuated who won the round.

Sakura stepped back a few steps, breathing shortly and looking Sasuke once over. He was panting, but he wasn't defeated. She straightened up, throwing her sword to the side before taking a different stance, feet apart and one knee bent. One hand behind her back and the other straight toward him, palm flat and beckoning him to the dance of fists.

"An opponent without a sword is not a real victory, and I promised to teach you humility."

Her invitation to a combat only seemed to anger Sasuke further as he crouched down like a tiger ready to hunt. "The only thing you will get is humiliation and a taste of the dirt. Be ready." And as soon as the word left his tongue, he pounced.

Sakura didn't defend herself this time, she attacked.

Sasuke threw a punch toward her stomach, only to be blocked by an open palm. A punch was headed for his face, but he managed to avoid it by grabbing the arm by his head, holding her from under her arms and flipping her over his shoulder. Sakura manoeuvred around so that instead of slamming down on the ground, she twisted her arm to plant her feet down firmly in the grass and threw a sharp kick to his gut.

Sasuke staggered back a little but she didn't give him any time to recover, throwing kicks after kicks toward his head which were being blocked by his forearm. Her braid whipped around her like a cobra when she twisted and snapped her legs at him. Sasuke grabbed a hold of her leg mid-kick, pulling her close and swiping his leg around her other ankle.

Sakura slammed on her back, grunting in surprise and putting her palm up to catch the punch heading for her head. Sasuke straddled her waist, attempting to pin her down and they struggled to overpower each other.

Cheers of anticipation echoed throughout the training ground, both from the knights and from the loud prince. Sakura grunted again when Sasuke pushed down on her, her shoulder aching from the stress when she saw a window to reverse the situation.

Sparing a quick glance to where he was straddling her, she managed to free her legs and lock her knees around his waist. The momentary surprise on his part was enough for her to grab a hold of his wrist and flip her body to the side, throwing Sasuke off her in the process.

The moment Sasuke was off her, she flipped herself around, delivering a sharp jab to his gut. He doubled over, stumbling back slightly but didn't get a chance to recover as Sakura put him in a headlock, delivering a kick behind his knee and pushing him down on the ground.

Their positions were greatly reversed when Sasuke was laying on the ground face down, one arm trapped under one of Sakura's heels straight to his side and the other bent behind his back, Sakura's other knee digging in both his arm and his back. One of her palms was pushing between his shoulder blades and the other pushed his face down in the mud with an unrelenting fist in his dark hair.

For a long moment, it was dead silent, only filled with the pair's pants, before the crowd of bystanders broke into a deafening echo of cheer. Shisui was particularly giddy in his praises for the pinkette, but Sakura's eyes never strayed from the Uchiha under her.

Sasuke head was thrown to the side, dark eyes aflame with a harsh glare from his profile view. "So who's eating dirt now." Sakura cooed in between her pants. If anything, Sasuke glare only sharpened, face flushed from both his exertion as well as embarrassment of his defeat.

"How dare you mock me." He growled at her. He might've been a little intimidating to others, but to her, he looked all but a petulant child. "I'm your superior you wench! I'm the prince of Kuroshima!"

"And I'm the chief commander of Hiraisumi, you're welcome." She spoke loud enough for everyone in the training ground to hear when the cheers quieted down to hear the exchange between them. She released her hold on him, pushing away from the prince and he was quick to get up to preserve whatever little pride he had left.

She didn't pause to look back once she spared a glance around, seeing the large crowd of spectators of servants and house residents their ruckus drew in. Her feet were steady and unstopping when she bent down to pick up her haori and sandals, walking straight into the hallway and toward her room.

Her eyes were only on her path, attempting to ignore the hushed whispers from the maidservants around her and the loud booming laughter of Shisui from the yard she just escaped from.

She didn't stop to greet anyone, but glanced up once toward the balcony on the second floor, seeing the face of the oldest prince from the balcony of his room. His lips spread into a wide smile when he caught her eyes, obviously very pleased from the performance he just witnessed.

The door to her room shut behind her before she released a shaky breath, the adrenaline fading from her limbs.

She was going to get in so much trouble later, but no matter how much her mind told her that she made the worst possible choice, she couldn't bring herself to care for that situation. It felt good to make that arrogant mouth shut up.

She doesn't even care that the residents of the compound might call her every name in the book behind her back or that Sasuke might hate her even more after that, she revelled in her victory.

And she took that piece of satisfaction throughout the rest of her day as she went around the town, store to store, house to house to help heal the sick. She would deal with the consequences later, her anxieties abated a little bit.

Izuna chuckled giddily under his breath, his eyes following the pink hair out of the field and into the guest house hallway. He looked down at the crowd of knights huddled together, Shisui looked mad with his head thrown back in insane laughter. Sasuke's face was red like a tomato, sputtering out loud insults in his own defence when Shisui wouldn't stop laughing.

"Otouto, just stop." Itachi sighed in exasperation but Izuna could still see him stifling his smile. Sasuke glared at his cousin before picking up his shirt and stalking back toward his room, pushing a servant out of his way. Izuna chuckled again, reeling his eyes back toward of beacon of pink and white when he caught the pools of green glancing his way.

He felt his lips automatically pulling into a joyous smile when he caught her eyes. Such pretty eyes she had, greener than the lush forests that surrounded his home. She gave him a small smile before hurrying out of his sight.

The smile stayed on his lips as he sat down by the table on his large balcony, picking up the cup of his lukewarm tea to take a sip. It has been three days since his impromptu hangout with the pinkette by lake Karasu and each day has only increased his intrigue with the young doctor.

She was strong, wilful, a bit guarded if anything, and nothing short of a genius. He has witnessed her medical genius before, when she did what his decorated physician couldn't, and she did it in one week. And now he has also witnessed her physical prowess.

But what he didn't know was that she was the chief commander of central, he always assumed her to be just the court physician.

There was still so much he didn't know about her, and so much he wants to know. He should probably arrange some more outings with the pinkette.

He put down the empty ceramic cup on the table, pushing himself off the cushion. His robe trailed behind him on the ground, dark haori limply hanging off his shoulder. The schedule for his day went through his mind. Marquess Inuzuka has been requesting meeting with him regarding the new breed of hounds, but really, he feels like it's to set him up for a date with their daughter Hana.

He rounded the edge of the hallway but paused when he saw the person standing by the railing, looking over the guest residency. Sai looked up to his side when he heard the soft thuds of sandals against the floor.

"Ah," Sai greeted, "Izuna-san."

Izuna walked closer to the younger boy, a chirrupy smile playing on his mouth. "Good morning little cousin. How are you doing?"

Sai cast a quick glance to his side, where he was looking previously before answering. "Nothing much. I was just going out to the forest to paint a little bit." He lightly patted the satchel hanging to his side, full and heavy with his art supplies.

Izuna's smile stayed on his face when he stood in front of Sai. "What're you looking at?" He asked curiously while turning to look at the compound ground and halted in his position when he saw the same pink hair from minutes ago. His chuckle this time was chillingly cold, his gaze dark and stone when they landed back on the younger boy.

"My my, did you find her to your fancy?"

Sai let out a scoff even when his face didn't express much, lips stretched into a nauseatingly fake smile. "I don't know what you're talking about. Or even who you are talking about."

"You don't?" He cooed softly, stepping close to his face. "For someone who says he couldn't care less about her, she sure as hell takes up a lot of your interest." His voice was soft as a feather as if he was whispering lullabies to a baby, but the threat in it was clear as a day.

Sai was silent for a moment before he stepped around Izuna without even so much as a goodbye, only to be stopped by a harsh grip on his shoulder.

Izuna's eyes were so uncharacteristically cold and sharp that it would've shook anyone, even someone as aloof as Sai. "I will give you the warning that I failed to give Sasuke." His voice was blank and flat, soft but supposed to be heard once and respected for a lifetime, "You will keep your distance if you don't have anything well to do for her."

Sai was still silent for a while. "You mean behave the way I've been doing since the time she got here?" He replied flatly, shrugging off the hand on his shoulder, "And don't bother, she doesn't like it here well enough for me to have to attempt anything. She hates all of us."

"She doesn't. And even if she does, we'll just have to make it better for her. She will like it living here." Izuna looked over the railing again, gazing at the figure garbed in a pale green yukata shirt and olive riding pants, her long ponytail swishing behind her with every step. She was so pleasing to the eyes. "And don't even bother pretending that you are indifferent to her, when you are anything but. Just because you don't interact with her doesn't mean I haven't seen you staring at her every time you get the chance."

Sai let out a sigh, moving past his cousin and away from the hallway. "You told me to keep my distance from her, didn't you. You won't have to worry about that." And with that, he was gone from his sight with soft thuds of sandals heading down the stairs.

Izuna listened to the sounds, standing by the hallway balcony as morning breeze blew past him. Sakura was out of his sight, around the corner of the guest block to head toward the stable. His cousins were a slight obstruction on the best days, but some of the most worrying of the bunch would be Sai and Sasuke.

Itachi was as polite as ever and he didn't have to worry about Sakura falling for Shisui's type. Sasuke was crass and unwelcoming to Sakura, but Sai was a different type of trouble. He laid low and observed from afar, waiting for the right moment.

Izuna sighed again, a smile pulling at his mouth when he thought back to the pinkette. He would just have to be a constant companion to her, and she would surely open up to him over time. He wasn't lying when he said he wants to offer her his friendship. All he wants is a friend in his lonely world, and who knows, it might lead to something more later on.

He surely isn't entirely opposed to the idea.

Maybe she would find a walk around the kingdom pleasant. She seems to like interacting with people, and he likes interacting with her.

AN: Damn, there's that.

Izuna is kind of a little bi-polar. But you gotta admit, it was so satisfying to see Sasuke get absolutely wrecked by Sakura. She wiped the floor with his face like a boss.

Anyway, see y'all in the next chapter.

Bye bye!