Chapter 4 - chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto!

“Ok, lady Hinata, please, show him in.” Sakura said, as if she’d been doing this kind of stuff all of her life.

“Yes, your highness.” Hinata said as she curtsied, exited the room, and came back with a redhead, who looked extremely like Gaara.

Sakura stood up and curtsied, “Your Highness.”

Gaara bowed, “Princess.”

“So, what brings you here today?” Sakura asked.

“Your father asked me to come visit with you while my father has a meeting with him.” Gaara replied.

“Oh, that would explain it.” Sakura said. She noticed Gaara looking behind her, and turned around, realizing that her teammates were still there. “Gaara, I’d like for you to meet Sasuke, Naruto and master Kakashi.” They all bowed to Gaara mumbling the proper respects.

“Nice to meet you.” Gaara said rather coldly. Sakura assumed he had thought it would just be the two of them today.

“Shall we go out to the gardens?” Sakura suggested.

“That would be a grand idea.” Gaara replied. They exited the room, and as Sakura left, she signaled for her teammates to stay.

“Ok, so this is weird. Gaara’s a prince.” Naruto said.

“Maybe this will help us a little bit.” Kakashi said as he held up the diary of princess Sakura. He opened it up to a random page and started reading. “mmhmm…yes…”

“What is it sensei? Tell me! Tell me!” Naruto exclaimed.

“Well, Naruto, it appears that Gaara isn’t just here for a visit as he says, he means to court the Princess.” Kakashi replied simply.

“What does court mean?” Naruto asked, confused.

“It means to date, dobe.” Sasuke answered his question, sounding a bit angry.

“Pretty, much, yes, Sasuke’s right.” Kakashi said. He then went back to reading the diary.

“So you’re saying Gaara wants to date Sakura?” Naruto asked.

“No, dobe. Remember, Sakura’s a Princess here, and Gaara’s a Prince. Back in the Middle Ages, royalty didn’t have a lot of say in who they married. That meeting that Sakura’s father is in right now is probably about an engagement.” Sasuke said in a chilling voice.

“Are you jealous, teme?” Naruto asked.

“Why would I be jealous?” Sasuke asked back.

“Because Gaara gets to date Sakura-chan.” Naruto replied.

“Hn.” was Sasuke’s reply to that.

“Well, Sasuke, you’ll be pleased to here this little quote.” Kakashi said as he pointed to a line in the book before he read it to them. “ ‘Sasuke is one of the bravest knights in the kingdom, so I wonder, why won’t father allow him to court me? I know how badly he wants the alliance with Suna, but shouldn’t love come first?’ It appears that your ancestor tried courting our young Sakura, but things didn’t work out quite so well.”

“What do you mean?” Sasuke asked.

“Well, the king, Sakura’s father, wouldn’t permit it. He wants an alliance with Suna, and that alliance comes through his daughter. If Sakura marries Gaara, then the alliance will be made. If he allowed Sakura to marry your ancestor, however, there would be no alliance and possibly a war on hand for the king.” Kakashi explained.

“Hn.” Sasuke replied as he thought things over.

“So teme’s ancestor liked Sakura?” Naruto asked.

“Yes, Naruto, from what is written in the Princess’ diary, he does.” Kakashi replied.

“So does that mean teme actually likes Sakura?” Naruto asked, turning to look at Sasuke.

“No, Naruto, it only means that his ancestor did. We for some strange reason have the same names and behavior as our ancestors, but not necessarily the same feelings. At least from what I’ve seen so far, anyways.” Kakashi said in reply to his student’s question.

“Oh.” Naruto said. Just then they heard a voice from behind them.

“Um, e-excuse me, I’m sorry to i-interrupt, but I was looking for the Prince and Princess?” Hinata said, as she yet again looked at Naruto while she spoke.

“Oh, they went down to the gardens. They should be back shortly.” Kakashi said.

“Th-thank you. When they return, could you please send the Prince to the main hall? His father is preparing to leave.” Hinata asked. Kakashi nodded and Hinata quickly exited the room.

“You know, she does act a lot like the Hinata back home, I mean, what’s with all the stuttering and blushing?” Naruto asked.

“Dobe, she likes you.” Sasuke said as if it were plain as day. To Naruto, though, it was dark as night.

“Hinata-chan likes me?” He asked.

“You mean you haven’t noticed? Man, dobe, you’re stupider than I thought,” Sasuke said.

“Hm, and it appears from this diary that Hinata is Sakura’s main lady in waiting. Which means that she also would have been forbidden to be seen with your ancestor, Naruto, a mere stable hand.” Kakashi said. “Actually, the only one who’s love would be approved, according to the princess’ diary here, would be that of TenTen and Neji. TenTen is the lady in waiting under Hinata’s rank, and Neji is one of the best knights, in the princess’ opinion, second only to Sasuke.”

“Hn.” was all Sasuke had to say on the matter.

“That’s unfair.” Naruto said.

“Life was unfair back then, Naruto.” Kakashi said.

‘We’re back, Master Kakashi.” Sakura said as they entered her chambers.

“Ah, good. Prince Gaara, according to Lady Hinata, your father is waiting for you in the main hall.” Kakashi said.

“Thank you, sir.” Gaara said. “Princess, I will see you again shortly.” Sakura curtsied and Gaara bowed, then Gaara exited the room.

As soon as the door was shut, Kakashi turned to Sakura. “We read the diary while you were gone, and it had some information in it.”

“Like what? How to get us out of here?” Sakura asked.

“No, like what Gaara was doing here.” Kakashi said.

“As if I hadn’t figured that out, sensei. He was here to court me.” Sakura said.

“Ok, well then maybe you’ll be interested in why he wasn’t so friendly to us.” Kakashi said.

“Why?” Sakura asked.

“Because, Sasuke here, or at least his ancestor, attempted to court you. Your father, the king, disapproved highly of it because he wishes an alliance with Suna. It appears that this alliance would have come through the princess, or his daughter.” Kakashi said.

“Oh.” Sakura said as she sat down in a chair that was near by.

A/N: Ok, so, those of you who guessed that the prince was Gaara and I told you to wait and see, you were right. I don’t really have a lot to say about this chapter. Reviews are much appreciated.

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