Cherry Cinderella

A SasuSaku Fanfic

By KiiroIka

MY COMEBACK FIC! I missed this :')

So this fic's I Sakura's POV, but the small inserts will be Sasuke's. It' won't be that long, swear. It's gonna be part of a chapter, m'kay?

I do not own Naruto or Cinderella.

-x-

Chapter One: Dream On

-x-

"Oh look here," Stepmother said, her deep blue eyes looking at today's newspaper, "King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto finally decided that it was time to prepare their son for the passing-down of the crown." I listened intently as I continued soaping the last pan.

"You mean the lost prince Itachi has returned?" My stepsister squealed. She has a thing for the Uchiha princes. "He's gorgeous!"

"No," went stepmother's reply. "The second one, Prince Sasuke, was already pronounced as the next king, since Prince Itachi is still in hiding."

"Aaaahh, Sasuke-kun! He's even more stunning than his brother!" Karin exclaimed. "And he's my age!" I put away the dishes in the rack and towel-dried my hands. "And I bet a King-to-be would need a queen to help him along the way." Her face turned as red as her hair as her green eyes stared at the ceiling dreamily. "I bet I'm the perfect girl for that. Sasuke-kun would love me!"

Ew. Just… Ew. Blech. Barf. Done.

That was my inner.

"Of course!" Stepmother said. "You are my princess, after all." I walked towards them and sat on the chair next to my stepmother. I wiped the sweat off my forehead using my sleeves. "You would make a wonderful queen, sister dear."

Wonderful queen my butt. A voice echoed through my mind.

'Tch. What are you doing here?' I grunted.

Would you prefer me not being here? Oh wait, I can't leave! I'M YOU!

'The manic side of me, I guess.'

Now wouldn't the world be a happier place if you were the princess of Sasuke-kun?

My elbow rested on the table as my chin rested on my palm. "A princess, eh?" I blurted out. "I wonder how that would feel like…"

Karin choked on a drink I didn't notice her drinking. "You? A princess? Why would Sasuke-kun want a lame peasant girl to be his princess?" My shoulders slumped down as my sister dear put me down… again. "Such a funny thought. A weird and disturbing thought, actually." Karin said as-a-matter-of-factly. I narrowed my eyes and glared daggers at the table.

Beyotch!

I continued to kill the table mentally.

Poor table.

Inner drew Karin's face on the table I was mentally killing.

Much better, right?

And that's when mother dearest decided to pipe in…

"Now, now, Karin. Don't be too harsh." She said. "You have to explain things a little less cruel to Sakura. After all, she is your sister." I heard Karin mutter and almost-inaudible "Step sister." Stepmother turned to me. "Sakura, do you really think that Prince Sasuke would actually like you?" She asked, but before I could answer, she spoke again. "Please, daughter dear, do stop deluding yourself. I mean look at you—tattered clothes, grimy skin and that pink rat's nest on your head—do you think a prince would fall for you?" She said, not fully successful at hiding disgust in her voice. My other hand, which was hidden from her view, whitened. I was probably clutching my fist too hard. She chuckled. "Dear, do look at your mother when she is talking to you." She hissed. Stepmother, I thought. My emerald eyes [which was brighter than Karin's] gazed into blue ones. "Listen, I am only doing this for your own good! If you keep hoping, you'd only get your heart broken. You are out of his league."

Kill her. Kill her now.

'Tch.'

And you thought she would save me from Karin. She spoke calmly yet her words are like knives that pierce your heart. If that were true, I'd be long dead.

I held back the tears. I didn't want to show them that I was badly affected, even thought I think that they already know that. I sighed as stepmom and Karin walked towards the coats rack. "We'll be back after supper. Eat the leftovers, okay? Don't over eat." Stepmother said, putting on her coat. Then, she turned to me once more. "Oh, and, please clean this place. It's filthy."

"B-but I just cleaned it!"

"Oh you did?" She said. She looked at Karin and smiled. Karin walked to the cupboard and placed her finger on top of it. She then pointed it to me, and wiped it on on forehead. I cringed with irritation. "Now, clean this place, and I want every spot to be dustless!" Karin said, putting her coat on. "Oh, and, one more thing," She started, "Clean my room, will you?" And the door was shut.

I let my head fall on the table. Tears streamed down my cheeks. I hate it. I hate them. Before I knew it my sobs filled the empty house. I stood up and wiped the tears with the sleeves of my ruined clothes. You see, I only have five, and they're old torn up, rag dresses of Karin. I proceeded to get the cleaning materials from the broom closet, until a certain picture on the newspaper caught my eye. I picked it up and read the article beside the picture of a handsome young man I long had a crush on.

King plans on handing down the crown:

2nd prince now needs a damsel in distress.

The palace just announced today that their second son is the official heir to the throne. The first prince, Itachi, never returned, and, after two months of searching, was never found. King Fugaku and Queen Mikoto decided that the second prince, Sasuke, would already start preparing for his kingly duties. The predicted time that he would be bestowed as king was said to be two years from now, during his eighteenth birthday.

Alongside that announcement, it was declared that Prince Sasuke would have to marry a girl his age. Rumors spread that he didn't agree with the idea, but the Queen was able to convince him that it was the best idea. Fangirls and followers of Prince Sasuke screamed and caused a riot outside the Uchiha castle. They all wanted to go inside and meet Prince Sasuke himself. Signboards such as 'I want Prince Sasuke,' 'Pick me Prince Sasuke,' and 'Marry me, Prince Sasuke' were messily displayed outside the castle. However, there was no announcement of how they are to pick the future queen. They did say that Prince Sasuke will be the one to pick. Now, one question keeps all of Konoha Kingdom's girls on their feet:

Who's the lucky girl?

My heart beat fast. It wasn't impossible for me to marry Prince Sasuke, right? I mean, we may be totally different, and I may be not allowed to leave the house, but fate may bring us together. I had to believe.

Hell yeah, you do! She threw up her fist.

I stared at the picture of Prince Sasuke and blushed as I imagined him giving me an engagement ring. A small squeal left my mouth. I put the paper down and proceeded to do my stepmother's bidding, dancing as I went towards the cupboards.

-x-

"Sasuke-chan, please understand." My mother's voice rang from outside the room. "This is for the whole Konoha Kingdom! You need to do this."

I lay there in my bed, still infuriated by the fact that they announced to the whole kingdom that I was going to be king and I needed to get a wife! For-the-whole-kingdom my ass. I love my mother, yes, but I really couldn't help but get mad at the fact that they made that stupid decision without telling me. I'm the one concerned here.

"Sasuke-chan, I'm getting worried. If you won't get out of your room, at least reply." Mom pleaded. I was glad that she was outside, or else I would fall for her 'sad-look-of-a-mother-when-she-made-her-son-do-something-he-didn't-want' look and let her continue to choose for me.

"You want a reply?" I said, gritting my teeth and balling my fists. "Fine then. I hate that you and Father once again ruined my life. I hate Itachi for giving this stupid burden to me, but now I think I know why he ran off."

She fell silent.

…

I heard her sob.

…

And I fell for it.

I got up and opened the door. I saw my mother—I was taller than her now—and hugged her. I also hate it when she cries. I brought her to the bed. I felt my chest getting wet with her tears.

"I'm s-sorry, Sasuke-chan. W-we do this because your father and I l-love you." She said in between sobs. "A-and the kingdom."

I rubbed her back. I didn't know what to say. I stared at today's newspaper, which was already inside my trash can. I love her too much to hurt her, yet I loathe the fact that they choose my path. They said that they would let me choose the girl, but I think—scratch that, know it's a lie.

I hate Itachi for leaving me like this. He should be the one going through thins like this, not me. Instead the sissy chickened out and ran away. What the hell?

Screw the life of being a prince. The heck with that—screw being royalty.

Screw Itachi for loosing his balls and giving his responsibility to someone who obviously isn't ready.

Screw my father who brutally forced me into this kind of living [and no, I do not want to get to that.]

Screw my screwy screwed life.

-x-

I finished cleaning Karin's room [which was a dumpster, by the way] and left all the surfaces spotless and shiny. I let out an exasperated sigh as I plopped myself onto the single-sized mattress on the floor.

I slept in the attic you know? The ceiling was just 12 inches from my head, and it could only fit 4 single mattresses. It was very empty, too. I had one drawer, that's it. It had all my things in there. 5 dresses, a few sets of underwear, cutouts of Prince Sasuke [shhhh] and my diary. I wrote there everyday, about my fantasies, my dreams and ways they can come true. Oh, and my room had one window and a dim yellow light hanging in the middle. At least, I thought, it doesn't look like a dumpster.

I let out a sigh and let myself drift to dreamland.

-x-

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as soon as I heard Karin scream in delight. They were home. I opened the door and squinted my eyes, due to the light. I blinked, looked around and realized something: I slept through dinner.

I walked downstairs and greeted my step mother and Karin, whom were both obviously not minding me. I moved closer to them and saw that they were holding a piece of paper.

"Oh my God." Karin exclaimed, breathing heavily as if she was chased by rabid dogs.

Now, that would be interesting, don't you think? My inner self grinned manically.

'I thought I put you away.'

No, you didn't.

'And now I realize I should have.'

Hey!

'Tch.'

Stop 'tch-ing me.

'Stop bugging me then.'

Tch.

'Tch.'

Tch!

'TCH!'

I shoved her away. I also got the guts to ask Karin what she was squealing about.

"You idiot, don't keep your hopes up. Just because we were invited doesn't mean you're going." She said. I raised a brow. She turned to stepmother. "Can we go buy the dress tomorrow please please please pleaaaaase?" She pleaded. Stepmother gave a nod and Karin screamed once more.

MAKE HER STOP! Inner said, covering her ears.

"What is it, sister dear? Mother dearest?" I asked once more.

"Only the hottest thing in the kingdom right now! And you're not invited!" Karin stuck her tongue out.

CHOP. IT. OFF.

"Mother?" I turned to her.

"Why, it is the biggest thing in the kingdom." She said. "The Uchihas are holding a grand ball. There Prince Sasuke will try to choose the girl he wants to marry." My eyes widened. My heart fluttered. Could it be?

"Oh, can I come?" I said, restraining myself from jumping up and down like a kid going to a county fair. Karin made a barfing sound and laughed. Mother raised her brow and smiled evilly. "You? Sakura, dear, why in the world would you say that?" She laughed. "Who will watch the house while we're gone?" I looked at her, hoping it wasn't me. She shook her head. "You, obviously."

Oh shi—

"And you don't have a dress. You can't go there wearing rag clothes." Karin smirked.

May I remind her that those are her clothes?

I grabbed the invitation and saw it addressed to the Megumis. "B-but, it said Megumi! I'm a Megumi! I'm your daughter!" I said, fighting the tears. I've always wanted to see Prince Sasuke. Stepmother was about to speak, but Karin cut her off. "You stupid piece of dirt! Don't you dare talk back to mother like that, and since when did you become a Megumi? You were never one, and you will never be!" She snarled. Tears stained my cheeks as her hand gave me a slap. I stood there, my face turned away from them. I got to admit, what she said hurt a lot. I hate them, but they're the only family I have. And they adopted me, took me as their own. And she dare say that?

F—

"Sakura, I told you: don't get your hopes up." She said calmly, but painfully. "Karin is right. You are not worthy of being called a Megumi, much less go to that grand ball."

And that's when another hand hit my other cheek.

"Stupid girl. You're like your mother. A stupid dreamer." She said disgustedly. My mother? I looked at them directly, my cheeks and eyes swollen. "My… Mother?" I asked. Karin pushed me aside and marched off to her room. "Dream on, Sakura. Nothing will happen. Your dreams are stupid, and Sasuke-kun will choose me over you anytime. He'll choose a rat over you anytime." And she closed her door. Stepmother narrowed her eyes and went to her room. I stood up and walked to my room.

Those… Bitc—

'Save it. Let them rot in hell.'

What? You idiot! Fight back! Runaway! Leave them do their effing chores without you! Let them suffer!

'Then what? Where will I run to? What happens then?"

Silence.

Dream on, Karin's voice echoed in my mind. Nothing will happen.

Dream on, I heard once again, and I fell into darkness.

-x-

END OF CHAPTER ONE! YAY! I really hoped you like it. Chapter two's coming up, but bear with me ): I am having difficulty with my schedule, so I am trying my best.

BTW, this chapter was inspired by a SasuSaku pic I saw in deviantart. When I find the link, I will post it, because the one who drew it deserves MAJOR credit :)

Please review! Suggestions help, a lot :)

ARIGATOU!

KiiroIka :3