Title: A Prince In The Spring Time

Genre: Romance/Adventure/Fantasy

Summary: A small pink girl saved his royal ass. Now all he wants to do to repay her is make her his princess. 'I'm so sorry your Highness; you have more chance of getting a frog to turn into your princess then for me to marry you!'

Pairings: Uchiha Sasuke/ Haruno Sakura

Rating: T for Teen

Chapter word count: 4813

A/N: This is actually a private roleplay between me and my friend and I thought it would make a good story so I've decided to post it. She is writing Sasuke and I'm writing Sakura.

Disclaimer: This plot belongs to me and Hikari. Characters belong to the Naruto guy.

Chapter One: A Prince and his Healer

Sasuke spurned his horse on with his heels as quickly as he could, urging him to get away and quickly, because there were likely to be pursuers. It was all he could do, though he deplored running away from battle, but his entire company had been ambushed and he was already injured. Blood ran down his leg from the arrow buried deep in his thigh, some of the other wounds and bruises having already staunched and disappeared.

It had been an ambush, while they were out hunting. Sasuke didn't know who had done so, but he was willing to bet that it was his brother who had hired the mercenaries. He scowled as he spurred his chestnut mare to go faster along the forest pathway, and hissed as it jarred the wound in his leg.

He could hardly see anymore, from the blinding pain. His vision was swimming, and he had surely lost too much blood to be safe. Plus, he had used up so much of his magical reserve, utilizing his fire attacks, and he was much too weak to even be riding a horse.

Surely he was far enough away by now. After all, he had been traveling quickly for a while, and they had done quite some damage to the mercenaries. They would probably take their time, knowing that he was injured - follow the trail of blood and pick him off at their leisure. He gritted his teeth - he couldn't allow that to happen. He had to return to his parents.

But he couldn't continue to ride - not in his condition. He slowed the horse to a walk, and then to a halt, so that he could slide off of the chestnut mare's back, his leg buckling underneath him. He could send the horse back - she would find the castle and his absence from her back would set the alert that something had happened. It was about a day's ride to the castle, and the horses were trained to see the castle as their home and return to it without question.

He put his hand on her whithers, before speaking to her. "Oushiro ni iku," he ordered her, the tone of the language crisp and smooth over his tongue - the horse would understand the spoken words and return.

The horse eyed him with a baleful brown eye before starting off at first a walk, then a trotting pace, before breaking into something of a slow canter. She must be tired, and he didn't blame her - he had been riding hard for a good two hours. He breathed out and his leg crumpled underneath him, and he dragged his body so he was propped up against a tree.

The horse would be to the castle within a day or so. By which time he would probably be dead, but he couldn't dwell on that. For now he had to do what he could to keep himself alive. His hand rested on his sword, Kusanagi, which was still sheathed. He could draw it at a moment's notice, but not injured like he was.

He groaned in pain, before reaching for the arrow that protruded from his leg. Gritting his teeth, he gripped the arrow by the shaft and pulled it from the wound, and he bit down harder with his teeth as he did so. The wound still bled sluggishly, and it was painful, but not nearly as much so.

With that the heir to the Uchiha dynasty leaned back against the trunk of the tree. His vision swam before him, drifting in and out of focus, and he shook his head. He couldn't fall asleep, not now - he would die, and then all would be lost. But the depths of sleep promised to take all of the pain away, and he found he was just so exhausted...

Seconds later he slipped into deep unconsciousness, slumping against the tree.

--

The winds ruffled her hair as she walked throughout the large village that surrounded the Uchiha castle. The streets were busy with various people and various smells. She chuckled lightly to herself as the smell of ramen came to her nose her thoughts immediately turning to Uzumaki Naruto, Knight of the Uchiha Kingdom. Her eyes softened sadly and she had to choke back a sob. Uzumaki had been her 'lover' per say but he had been killed recently. It had taken the news a while to get to her and she was still recovering.

Her only thoughts were that if only if she had been on the castle's healing squad she could of saved him. But...Tsuande-hime prevented her to even go near the castle. She was lucky she could even go into the village since most the people were uneducated. Bringing her slim pale fingers to her eyes she traced the red the permanently stained that area of her face. It was her mark as a Halfling, the daughter of a spring spirit. While spirits and most other fantasy creatures were adored their Halflings were not.

Pure blood creatures were fine but if something had dirty blood in it, it was a cast out. That's why her 'mother' lived out in the woods away from people but still close enough to go to the castle if summoned. She remembered the pained looked on Tsunade's face as Jiyrara had come to her 'families' house to tell them about Naruto. The pain on both their faces and Shizune-nee-chan's. She clutched her cloak closer and she willed herself not to cry. If Jiyrara didn't cry that whole time then neither would she. Jiyrara was Naruto's make shift father, the head of the Knight's, after Naruto's true father Minato Namikaze died. He had all the right to cry but he didn't so nor would she.

The sixteen year old girl who wandered the streets was named Haruno Sakura. She was an experienced Healer and fighter trained under the famed Tsuande-hime. She was told countless times by the people who knew Tsuande and herself that she would easily pass her sensei in a few years. She sighed and walked into a small shop, a small going off alerting that a customer had come into the shop. It was small and dark but she didn't mind. A couple of candles lit the store up and she easily found what she needed being to that particular store countless times. She placed the herbs and ingredients onto the counter and the man there looked up.

"Ah Haruno-chan, nice to see you again. That will be 3000 ryo's." The man behind the counter stated. "The pleasure is all mine Izumo-kun." She said placing the required the coin down onto the counter. She swooped the purchases she bought into the basket she was carrying. She started to head out the door when Izumo spoke up. "Be careful Haruno-chan. I heard there were some enemy forces traveling around the force. Apparently they're on the hunt for somebody." She twisted her head to grin at him. "Thanks for the heads up. But you know I can handle myslef. Ja ne," she said walking out the door.

As she stepped outside she pulled up the hood of her cloak to cover her unusual hair colour. She quickly headed out of the village, following the main dirt road out. She hummed lightly to herself ready to cut into the forest but something on the horizon made her change her mind. She could she figures on horsed galloping towards a lone man, injured by the looks of it if she squinted her eyes, with their swords drawn. "Let's just kill him now," she her one of them speak as their voices carried over. "No, master told use to bring him to be tortured." She heard them argue and she became crossed. She would allow some one to be killed or tortured if she could help it.

She placed her basket on the ground and took off her cloak revealing her clothes underneath. A sleeveless red shirt with a white circle on the back (the sign of a healer), black shorts with bandages and a kunai pouch strapped to her left thigh, black gloves on her hands, and heeled 'warrior' sandals. She dashed over the group of men and put herself in front of the unconscious man. "I will not let you hurt this man anymore," she spat. The men turned their attention to her and started to laugh at her words. "You think that you, a little girl, can stop us?" They sneered at her. She only grinned and raised her fists. "Why don't you come down from there and show me that I can't stop you, you teme's." She jaunted right back.

They narrowed their eyes and slid off their horses swords drawn and already jabbing at her. The first blow came down upon her and she easily stopped the sword, clutching in her hand. The man's eyes widened as she tightened her grip and the metal crumpled. She jerked her arms back taking the sword right out of his grip and threw it away. She ducked under him and punched him in the gut, sending him flying. She swirled out of the way of the second man and hit their steed's on the asses.

Immediately the horses reared up and galloped away in panic. She turned her gaze upon the last two men. "Maybe I'll be a little more humane on you then I was on that other poor bloke who probably has some ruptured organs," she jeered. Before the men could even make a move her hands were glowing and she had already moved around them, jutting their muscles, making them immobile. She rolled her eyes and dragged them to the other side of the road underneath a tree. She retrieved the other man and leaned him up against the same tree. She pulled out a kunai from the pouch and carved a symbol into the tree above them. It was a crude cherry blossom with a circle around it.

She pocketed the kunai back into her pouch and turned her attention back to the man who was bleeding out. Not even paying attention who he was she went into medic mode. She tisked at the fact that he drew out the arrow, which was stupid. He only made himself bleed out more and made himself prone to infection. Her hands began to glow and she healed his wounds. It took a good fifteen minutes and sweat rolled off her forehead. He had taken a lot of damage so it wasn't a surprised that he passed out from the pain. She pondered if she should just leave him here to be found but she guessed that someone else might try to kill him.

The only choice was to bring him to the house. She groaned as she managed to sling him onto her back. He wasn't to heavy and the weight would be nothing if she hadn't expanded her spirit energy on healing him. While spirit energy was different from her magical energy it took a toll on her physical being. She grunted and headed back to the cut off to head to her house. She bent down carefully and grabbed the basket and cloak. Immediately she hopped off into the dark force. She traveled for a good half an hour before she came upon a more serene area. A river ran by her house and tree's surrounded it. Cherry blossom tree's in fact that had a spell on them. The cherry blossoms would never wilt and would stay alive all year long. They didn't need the spell at this time of the year though, since it was the spring season.

She pushed the door open to the healer's house and called in, "Tsuande! We have a guest!" She trotted inside and into a room with a bed that patients usually resided in. She dropped the man onto the hard bed with a thump. Finally she got a good look at his face. He was pretty handsome, with pale skin and raven coloured hair. Although she had no idea who he was. "Tsuande you drunk," she screamed. "Get in here!"

A woman that only looked in her twenties though really in her fifties, with large breasts, blonde hair in pigtails and chestnut eyes along with a purple diamond on her forehead came into the room. "Geez Sakura gimme some time." Her eyes looked at her student/daughter and then to their 'guest'. Her eyes widened slightly knowing exactly who it was. A small smile came to her face and she waved her hand at Sakura. "Leave him here. I'll look after him for a bit. I guess you just had to save everything in sight," Tsuande teased though she was secretly grateful that her student was the way she was. If not the prince of the Uchiha kingdom would of been dying on the side of the road.

"I found him unconscious with multiple serious wounds about the be killed," Sakura drawled. Tsuande glanced at her and let out a soft, "Oh." Sakura raised an eyebrow and headed out the room "I saved him and healed him at the very least. I'm going to go to hot springs 'kay?" Sakura questioned. Tsuande nodded allowing her student to go. She glanced back down at Uchiha Sasuke, heir and prince to the Uchiha Kingdom.

Oh Sakura...if only you knew who you saved, Tsuande thought.

--

Sasuke was deeply unconscious, from blood loss and pain and delirium, and he drifted in and out of dream-like thoughts and a kind of black abyss of absolutely nothing. He was completely unaware as to what was going on outside of his own mind, but that was a different matter altogether.

While he slept, he almost dreamed. He dreamed of his mother and father - King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto, of the Uchiha Dynasty. His father a strong man who had been born and raised to the throne just like Sasuke was now being, and his mother a beautiful woman from the outlying countries. They had been proud people, somewhat stern, before their deaths. That was before Kakashi had been appointed Regent and had raised the boy-prince since childhood.

Then was his former best friend, Uzumaki Naruto. He had been a loyal night, exuberant and strong. He had grown up with Sasuke, from the time that they were just young boys - they had learned swordfighting together, though Naruto was always better with kunai than kenjutsu. And Sasuke had usually been better than him at everything. He had disappeared when he had gone off to fight, and had been missing for months on end. It had been a tragedy, knowing that he had fallen to the Kyuubi no Youko just as his father had.

He also dreamed of his brother, his home, his family - and then visions of a bright light, something warm and inviting, showered him and warmed his face. He breathed in deeply, wondering if he was dying.

Perhaps he was. He wondered what death would be like, if it would be nice. He would see his parents, perhaps, see their spirits. He wasn't bitter, even though he knew that now his brother would ascend to the throne as law declared.

The last of the Uchiha Dynasty, a traitorous, murderous bastard.

It was almost ironic.

But for now he was warm, and his wounds didn't hurt so much, although if he was dying why would his wounds hurt? But the fact remained that they did, and he drew in breath experimentally and found that he could do that as well which was odd because he was supposed to be dying.

So then perhaps...

His dark, obsidian-colored eyes fluttered open, seeing rose-colored light and warm cherry wood, and he frowned wondering where he was. He was in an unfamiliar location, somewhere he hadn't been before, and then in seconds he was on his feet with Kusanagi drawn.

His faithful sword, said to be a sword of legend, that he had used ever since he was fifteen. It had been a gift from his Kenjutsu instructor and one of the three court counselors, Orochimaru-sama. He helped Kakashi with his task as regent, along with Tsunade and Jiraiya.

He hissed in breath as his leg buckled underneath him, although his hand gripped Kusanagi even tighter. He would have to be on his guard because it was obvious that he had been taken somewhere and he didn't know where.

"Tsk, Uchiha-sama," he heard a voice, and the prince whirled around immediately, ready to attack at a moment's notice. His dark eyes widened as he realized who it was - Tsunade, known as the greatest healer in the kingdom of Konoha. "Is that the way to treat the people who saved your life?"

Sasuke looked at her in surprise, before he swallowed hard. He sheathed his sword, knowing that if he was in Lady Tsunade's care, he was safe - she was not only a great healer, but a great fighter as well. He gave her a formal bow, despite his injuries. "My apologies, Tsunade-sama. I thank you for saving my life."

Tsunade laughed, and shook her head. "It's not me who you should be thanking, Uchiha-sama. My apprentice was the one who found you and dragged you back. But lie down now, or you'll reopen your wounds."

Sasuke frowned. Apprentice? He hadn't known the woman had an apprentice. He did as she said, however - fighting healers usually didn't end up well, for the person who was injured. He had enough experience with that, he thought wryly.

Well, he supposed he would just have to do as they said, for the moment.

How annoying.

--

The said apprentice was soaking in the scorching hot water of the hot springs a little way from her home. Her skin took on a reddish tint but she couldn't feel the pain because of her heritage. Being half spirit had its advantages. The trees of the cherry blossom swayed around her and their beautiful blossoms swirled and twirled in the air. She took a relaxed sigh and wondered when Tsuande was going to teach her ultimate technique, the Rebirth jutsu.

Tsuande had been hesitant of teaching it to Sakura because the consequences would not be the same. Tsuande's age when the technique would be severely shorted but for Sakura it would not. Maybe a few minutes or hours off her already extended life. Sakura wouldn't be mortal like humans but she wouldn't be immortal either. She dipped her head into the water one more time and then heaved herself out of the water.

The steam gave her enough cover to not worry about being seen naked. Besides, how many people were out this deep in the forest? Sakura ringed the water out of her hair, leaving short hair damp and slightly darker then when it was dry. She patted herself down with her towel and threw on her red shirt but this time with only a pair of black sweat pants. No weapons, gloves or shoes. Holding her towel in her arms she walked slowly back to her house. She pondered on who the mysterious man could be? A lord, noble, knight, peasant? He was handsome enough to be one of the first three since he could easily marry some lady etc. She chuckled to herself at the thought.

Well that's what most people did in these times. Try to marry into royalty for money and safety. She rolled her eyes. Stupid people only married for those reasons and not for love. Then again it was time of war and people wanted safety. The exotic Halfling neared the house and twirled around, the blossoms in the air following her movements swirling around her. After all she was a spirit, even with human blood, of spring. She had the ability to control certain things, like cherry blossoms. She extended her arms and a bundle of the petals piled into them. She buried her face into them, loving their sweet smell.

She kept the bundle in her arms as she walked into the house. She would but them in some vases. "Tsuande I'm home!" She called letting the older women know she was safe. She passed the room the patient was being held in, the cherry blossoms blocking her view of him, and headed straight for the kitchen. She placed the blossoms on the table and grabbed a vase filling it with water. She placed the blossoms inside and picked the vase up. The patient's room could use some colour.

Holding the vase in front of her she shuffled into the room and placed it on a counter not even noticing that the man she had saved was awake. Tsuande coughed and Sakura was brought back to reality. "Sakura-chan, your patient is awake," the women said with a smirk. "Oh?" Sakura said turning around to fully look at him. Now awake she could see the colour of his eyes. The onyx eyes only made him more handsome. She blinked a few times and looked at Tsuande. "Sakura," Tsuande said with a smug tone. "I would like you to meet the one, the only Uchiha Sasuke." Sakura tilted her head in confusion. Was that name supposed to be familiar? "Eh?" Sakura questioned.

Tsuande almost hit herself, but only blamed herself for the girl's isolation. It was her fault after all that Sakura was cut off from a lot of information. Tsuande sighed and brought a hand to her head. "Sakura, he's the prince." Sakura blinked and then let out a long, "Ooohh!" The realization finally came to who she had saved. Well she was right about him being royalty. Only he was at the top of the food chain. She stifly bowed and then stood back up. "Sorry for my ignorance Uchiha-sama. Please forgive me for my ignorance." She kept her head bowed slightly in respect for the future king, who only needed a bride to ascend to the throne. Otherwise Kakashi-baka, a man she knew personally, continue to be in charge of the kingdom.

--

Sasuke only lay there, waiting on the bed, as Tsunade did her work around the cottage. His wounds stung beyond what was imaginable, but at least they didn't overcome him with pain. He wasn't anywhere near to passing out again, although he had hardly any of his strength left. Nearly dying and then being healed sapped him of his strength.

He no longer wore his armor, but instead a white cotton shirt and black breeches, which were comfortable and were clean. Which was a good thing. His armor was probably caked with blood, anyways, from all of the bleeding that he had done. It had been nondescript, nothing fancy - they were attempting to stay inconspicuous, although that hadn't worked out so well.

His entire company was dead. He frowned at that fact - he had to square with it, that they had all been killed in a single day, in a single ambush. Ten good men who had been under his command attacked and killed while fighting in his defense. And he would have died had it not been for their sacrifices.

He owed his life to many people, it seemed. He would thank the families of the men who had died in his service, and give them the proper consolation - it was only right, it seemed. And then he would thank this Healer's Apprentice for finding him and healing him.

When she walked into the room, he marveled at her appearance. She wasn't particularly beautiful, although her skin was fair, but she had strikingly green eyes. Her nose was soft and rounded and her forehead broad, her lips thin and pink and her expression innocent. She didn't even look his way as she walked toward some vases in the room.

Certainly the most striking thing about her appearance was her hair. It was a soft shade of pink, matching the cherry blossoms outside, and reminded him of spring. His obsidian eyes widened at her appearance - a spirit, it seemed, although she looked human enough. Usually spirits had at least one inhuman quality about them, to show their heritage.

A Halfling, then. He had heard about the existence of Halflings, but had never met one. Those with superstitions feared them, thinking their blood impure, and feared the powers that they were imbued with.

He sat up as she turned to see him, his ribs protesting at the movement, but he figured he should greet her properly. It was the right thing to do - she had saved his life and he knew that he should thank her for what she had done.

He gave an amused look at Tsunade as she informed the girl of his heritage, that he was indeed the prince and heir to the throne of the Leaf Kingdom. Soon-to-be-king, if he could find a bride, because unfortunately the laws of the land stated that the king had to be married. It was an outdated law, but one that had ensured the succession of the Uchiha bloodline from generation to generation. He gave a bit of a sharp laugh at her ignorance, before catching himself.

He nodded to her stiffly, unable to bow from a sitting position and anyways, he was much too hurt to do so. Not to mention he was technically the prince - he didn't have to bow to anyone unless he felt like it.

"You are the apprentice? I thank you, then, for saving my life," he said, his voice stiff and almost formal as he spoke to her, because he wasn't used to thanking people for anything. But saving his life was enough, he supposed. He looked at her, meeting her spring-green eyes with his own dark ones. "It only seems fair that if you know my name, I know yours," he told her, his voice somewhat amused.

--

She almost cursed when he gave a sharp laugh at her ignorance but it wasn't her fault. She crossed her arms and her eyes hardened but his thanks were enough to soften them. He had an amused look on his face and narrowed her eyes. Was he examining her? Could he see that she wasn't human. Sakura gulped as he asked for her name. She didn't tell alot of people about herself, especially her full name.

Having a full name of a spirit, fairy or any magical creature bonded them to do the will to control said creature. Sakura was only a Halfling so it wouldn't be as bad but he certainly could expect her to give him her full name. Even if he was her prince she had rights. "Ah Uchiha-sama. I am Sakura," she told him. He never asked for her full name so she would not give it. She bit her lip and she watched him flinch from his wounds and sighed.

She daintily glided over to his beside and sat down. She saw that he was going to resist but she shook her head. Geez, Tsuande should have finished healing him, especially since he was the prince. Not caring if she was being inappropriate she pulled his shirt up and held it with one hand. He would be bewildered but he was still injured. Her right hand that was free began to glow and she pressed it softly against his warm toned abdomen. His body greedily ate her chakra and soon enough any pain and wounds he would of still had there were gone. She moved to his leg were the arrow had pierced flesh and pouted. He was wearing pants so access to the wound would be hard.

Even if she had roughly healed it and bandaged it she wanted to heal it completely. It was embarrassing to ask but she would as her duty as a medic.

"Could...you remove your pants please?"