KakaSaku Week: Fairy Tales / Legends

( same age au / inspired Rapunzel / Tangled movie au )

A lone silver haired boy skipped a rock across the lake in boredom, wondering what else to do with his day. Feeling the newly stolen loaf of bread inside his worn leather bag, it was enough to last him for the next few days. He hated being a thief, but he didn't know where else to turn after his father had passed away nearly over a year ago. He had lost everything without any family left to support him. Unable to get a job because of his age, he was kick out of their rented home with nothing but the clothes on his back and what he managed to stuff in a bag when he was thrown out by his heartless landlord.

The next few days he wandered the streets almost in a daze. Part of him was still coming to grips with his father's passing while he searched for any place to sleep for the night. His pride finally broken down the first time he begged for food or money alongside the road. On a good day people took pity on him, but on other days he would go without eating. Before long when the streets were nearly deserted for nearly a week of constant rain, he was finally forced to steal food unable to take how hungry he was. There was a lot of shame and guilt at first, especially after nearly being caught. He always told himself that someday he would pay it back. He just didn't know when.

Because of how often he had to steal and how clumsy he was at first, he risked getting caught the more he took shelter in the city. The last time he was nearly captured, he had fallen asleep near the back alley of the market place where a couple of policemen had stirred him awake. They asked him to come with them for questions because of several complaints of a boy who fit his description. He bolted and after a long chase, lost them once he went into the woods.

Since then the forest had become his shelter. Sometimes the darkness and unfamiliar noises scared him at night, especially being alone, but with each new passing day he grew a little braver. After several months living between the outer skirts of the city and the forest, he had gotten used to his new life.

After throwing another rock across the still water, he let out a sigh. His dark eyes turned back towards the forest before deciding to the fill the rest of his day with exploring. The forest that surrounded the city expanded as far as the eye could see, and he wasn't sure if he would ever find the end of it.

His torn boots crunched along his self made path, picking at fresh berries along the way. After an hour, he decided to find a place to rest from the hot noon sun before stumbling upon a large clearing with a tall stone tower.

"Well… that's weird," he murmured.

What was something like this doing out in the middle of no where? Curious, he carefully walked closer for a better look. It appeared empty, but it was hard to tell with only one window stationed at the very top of the tower.

Seeing a large wooden door, he cautiously went and pulled at the metal handle only to find it bolted shut. With a thoughtful hum, he walked around the tower hoping to find a backdoor or some other entry. Finding nothing, he turned his attention back towards a tall pine tree he had passed. Wondering if he could see inside the single open window of the tower, he dropped his bag on the ground before hoisting himself up the tree.

His boots slipped and scraped as he fought his way up the tree's thick trunk. When he finally made it to the top branch, he took in a deep breath as he scooted out towards the window. Staring down the whole time gripping the branch tightly in fear of falling, he didn't look up until he reached the very end. Once he did, he was startled to find a young pinked haired girl staring back at him.

Losing his grip as he jerked back in surprise, he nearly fell off the branch as the girl yelled at him to be careful. Pulling himself back up on top of the tree's limb, he found himself across from the girl once more.

Leaning over the window's railing as far as she could so she could see him below, the girl studied him with her green eyes for a moment. "Who are you?" she finally asked.

"K-Kakashi," he stuttered back.

"Where did you come from?"

He largely shrugged in response, glancing back towards the direction of the city. "Around, I guess… Do you live here?"

A small frown formed on her face. "Yes, this is my home. I've been here for as long as I can remember."

"Oh… what's your name?"

"Rapunzel, but I don't really like the name," she admitted.

"Why not?"

"I don't know, but… I wish I could change it."

"Well… I can call you something else. Your hair is pink like sakura trees, and you know I once heard there was a princess with hair like yours named Sakura. How about I call you that?"

"Sakura… sure, I like that," she beamed back with a smile. "You knew a princess named that?"

"I think she passed away when she was born about ten years ago? I'm not sure how the story goes."

"Oh... I see. So, do you live in the city? What's the forest like?"

"You've never been to the forest?" he asked in surprise.

"My mother doesn't allow me to leave. She says it's too dangerous, but when I'm older she'll let me go outside."

"You must get bored."

"Sometimes. I really wish I could go see the city."

"It's nothing too special, but maybe I can show you sometime," he suggested.

Her green eyes lit up in excitement. "Really? Would you?"

"Sure, but is there any way for you to leave the tower? Do you have a key to the front door?"

She looked down in disappointment. "No, it's always locked for my protection when my mother's gone. I was hoping someday the tree would grow big enough for me to jump on, but it's still really far away and besides, I'm really scared of heights."

They continued to talk about all kinds of things for the next few hours until the sun began to dip down towards the horizon. Reluctantly Kakashi said he needed to go before night fell, but would be back tomorrow to see her again.

He couldn't stop grinning after he left, happy to finally make a friend after being on his own for so long. He didn't realize how much he needed this until he was inside his quiet makeshift tent later that night. The only sounds he heard were the usual crackle of fire and woodland creatures that wandered in the forest at night. His throat actually felt a little sore from talking so much just a matter of hours. Over the course of the year, he had barely uttered more than a few words to anyone else.

For the next few days as he promised, he returned to the same spot in the tree where she was always waiting for him at the window. Sometimes he'd tell her about the many different kinds of shops in the city and how it was always crowded with hundreds of people. They would make plans how he would show her the markets and how the harbor constantly had boats coming in from different lands. In their daily chats, he realized just how lucky he was that he could mostly go anywhere he wanted within reason. He could swim in the sea and go fishing, he could stroll the open gardens of the palace that was open to anyone to visit. Sakura only knew the outside world from her limited view in the window.

Everyday he promised to find someway to help her escape the tower so they could finally go to the city together. He hated only describing what it was like. He wanted to show her. But with each attempt he tried to scale the tower, it always ended in failure. His strength was limited and his small arms could only reach so high. The tree was too far away to jump to her window or vice versa. He had no idea how to open the door as much as he tried to improve his lock picking skills. It seemed hopeless, but he vowed not to give up.

For nearly a month soon after meeting her, Kakashi always tried to visit her everyday when he could. One morning he set out to see her like he usually did, thinking about what they could talk about today or a game they could play. He later discovered how much she enjoyed novels and talked about some of her favorite stories. A couple days ago she had tossed him a book for him to read and at first he didn't think he would like it, but found it to be quite the opposite. He couldn't put the book down and brought it with him everywhere he went so far. He still had a long way to go before he finished it, but the story was about a young shinobi who struggled to fit in growing up as an orphan, but had an incredible power locked inside unbeknownst to him. It was a story about an unsung hero who strived to bring people together. He secretly wished he could be the same.

Kakashi hummed a song as he walked along his marked trail which led to Sakura's tower. Once he approached the familiar clearing, he stopped dead in his tracks once he saw the tree he had always used to climb had been torn down.

Panic shot through his veins as he rushed to the large fallen tree. It looked like the tree had been completely uprooted and throw aside. How could this have happened? When he had left yesterday it was perfectly fine. There hadn't been any storms last night and the tree seemed healthy. What could have caused something like this?

Looking up towards the window, he desperately yelled out, "Sakura! Can you hear me? Are you there?"

It was unusual for her not to be waiting for him. Feeling his heart drop with no response, he walked back just enough from the tower to find that the window had be closed shut with wooden shutters. She would always leave the window open. Why would she change now?

Determined to find out, he rushed to the front door of the tower in hopes by some miracle he could get it open unlike his other attempts. Gripping the large handle, he pulled it with all his might and was shocked at how easily swung open with little effort. Falling backwards along the steps, he stared in disbelief that the door actually opened.

Picking himself up, he dusted off his pants and slowly moved inside the darkened tower. The inside was pitch black except for a torch that illuminated the winding stone steps that led towards the top.

"Sakura?" he worriedly called out.

Soon as he placed a foot against the first step, a cold hand from the shadows grabbed his throat while another muffled his scream. Thrown back towards the wall with such inhuman force, he blacked out.

When his eyes finally opened, the smell of salt air filled his senses. Hearing the slap of water around him, he realized he was inside a small boat.

"What the hell?" he hoarsely murmured, attempting to sit up only to find that he was tied down to the bottom of the boat. Terrified to find that he couldn't move, he tried everything in his power to escape his restraints. Staring up into the clear night's sky, he fought back tears in trying to figure out why he was here and who would have done this. But the thought that haunted him the most was not knowing what had happened to Sakura. Was she okay? Was she still inside the tower? What had grabbed him before he fell unconscious?

As much as he struggled, he couldn't escape. Hours soon ticked away until the sun began to rise. Shutting his eyes tightly when the sun had reached high above him, the heat was overwhelming. Before long, one day had led into two, then three. He was slowly wasting away lost at sea and his skin was badly burned against the sun's repeated high noon rays. Nearly giving up hope when he could barely move or speak, between his fading consciousness he felt himself be lifted up but couldn't make out how as his eyes couldn't stay open. Days later when he came to he found out he had been rescued by a passing fisherman boat. The crew on the ship spoke a language he didn't quite understand, but would slowly learn in time.

It took several weeks before he felt well enough to be back on his feet again. Soon he was put to work on the ship to repay his debt for them saving his life and being provided with food and shelter. After several months passed he learned too late that no matter what he did, it would never be enough to be released from his debt. At first opportunity when the ship docked, he had fled. Finding himself lost inside a foreign country with no money or direction of how to find his way back home, he continued to survive best he could as a young thief.

Nearly ten years had passed before Kakashi finally stepped foot back on his homeland. Staring down at his feet, his tall broad shadow stretched across several wooden planks unlike when he was a kid. He had changed in so many ways since he was last here before he was torn away from it all. The last few years had not only made him stronger, but wiser. He was an expert thief who never could hold down one job for very long. He never could settle in one spot. Sakura had always been in the back of his mind, and ultimately saved up for a trip to return to his former kingdom.

Part of him was afraid to come back. He was afraid to discover after all these wasted years of uncertainty that she had died years ago like he would have. He could have come back sooner after saving up enough money to make the one way trip, but he was scared of what he would find. Even as he stood here now so close to finding the truth, he was still scared.

Despite his fear, he trudged forward through the busy crowds. The kingdom was just as vibrate as he last remembered it, recognizing most of the places he walked past, but finding plenty more he had never seen before. Several signs were posted along the street that tonight was the lantern festival in honor of the missing princess's birthday. He remembered seeing the lights as kid with his father, but had never been sure about the story behind it. A thought lingered in the back of his mind if the princess was still alive out there, could she have been the same girl who he had met at the tower? It would be too crazy to be true.

His footsteps soon veered off towards the forest. It didn't take him long to find his self marked trail that he had created over a decade ago along several tree trunks. Brushing his fingertips across one of the cuts he had made, he took in deep breath as he tried to settle down his inward nerves.

When he finally reached the tower's open clearing, everything about it since he had last saw was still the same. The fallen tree had rotted away into the ground and the tower itself still seemed nearly the same except several green leafy vines had latched along the stone walls. Looking towards the single window, his heart leapt at seeing it was open.

Finding the front door was sealed shut, he went towards the window before pulling out an item from his bag. Carefully unwinding the long rope with a steel hook attached to it, he began to swing it with practiced ease before throwing it with all his might into the window.

Wrapping his hand once into the rope with a tested secure tug, his feet soon began walk along the side of the tower as he pulled himself up. His heart was racing wondering if she would be there on the other side. He didn't dare wish for things anymore finding them never to come true, but this… this he would wish for.

Pulling himself over the side of the window, he stood still at first before making a quiet step forward. His eyes darted across the brightly colored space with large painted murals that stretched across the walls. Stepping around the neatly kept furniture, he reached out to one painting in particular that depicted a large tree. At the very top, a small boy with silver hair sat on a branch.

His heart clenched.

Feeling a presence behind him, he slowly turned over his shoulder. A girl with incredibly long trailing pink hair held a pan in the air, ready to strike him at a moment's notice.

"W-Who are you?" she stammered. Color drained from her cheeks when he fully turned around to face her.

Holding his hands up in the air to show he meant no harm, his throat began to tighten realizing that it really was Sakura after all these years. She was still here… trapped inside this cursed tower.

"Kakashi?" she whispered in disbelief, slowly lowering the pan she had tightly gripped in defense.

At a loss of words, he simply nodded in stunned silence.

She began to cry. "I thought you had died. My mother had found out about you and… a-and…"

Dropping the pan, she rushed over to him and pulled him into the longest hug he had ever felt. He never wanted to let her go. All he could manage to say was how sorry he was over and over again that it had taken so long for him to come find her.

Afraid to lose her again, he asked if she still wanted to come with him. Without a second thought she agreed and immediately gathered what few precious things she could carry. After helping her escape the tower, she marveled at the grass beneath her feet for the first time. Taking his hand in hers, she never looked back towards the tower as they went into the forest.

The End

[ Author Note: I feel like I could easily take this into a huge story and expand with an adventure outside the tower, but want to cut it here. Not exactly lighthearted like the movie and I'm changing a lot, but it's a little hopeful if you squint at it? Reallllyyy squint.

I see Tangled mentioned every once in awhile for KakaSaku AU ideas, and it's hard to pass up for this KakaSaku Week theme. Just yassss.

Anyway, thanks for reading. ]