Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Cinderella.

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The Pink Haired Cinderella

Chapter 2: Her Prince Charming

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Midst her silent sobs, a lady in shimmering dress and beautiful pixie wings appeared.

The weeping maiden was surprised at the lady's sudden appearance. The winged lady flew closer to the maiden and gently wiped her tears away. She then informed the maiden that she was her fairy godmother and she was there to help her attend the ball.

The maiden looked down at her dress. She told her fairy godmother that she could not go to the ball with such unkempt dress. The fairy godmother told the maiden not to worry and leave it all to her.

With a swish of the fairy godmother's magic wand, the tattered dress turned into a very elegant gown and her disheveled hair was gathered back into a neat bun. Another swish turned a squash into a majestic carriage and mice into charioteers. Lastly, the fairy godmother gave the fair maiden a pair of glass slippers to complement her dress.

Before letting the maiden go, the fairy godmother informed her of one important thing. 'Go before the clock strikes twelve, for everything would vanish at midnight...' The maiden nodded and thanked her fairy godmother wholeheartedly before they took off.

And as the carriage made its way towards the castle, the maiden held a satiated and radiant smile on her lips...

...for her dreams were finally coming true...

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Bright rays of morning light slipped pass through the edges of the heavily tinted curtains of our pink haired heroine's room. It was quite dim inside her room despite the brightness of the lovely early morning sun outside. The walls of her room were painted inky black with glow in the dark graffito, looking much like a moonless starry spring sky.

Surprisingly, our princess here is an anime otaku.

Posters of various gothic anime like Jigoku Shoujo and Death Note were sticking on the walls. Even her covers and blankets have the chibi form of Nakahara Sunako of the anime Yamato Nadeshiko: Shichi Henge on it.

Definitely an anime addict…

KNOCK! KNOCK!

Our Cinderella began stirring as soon as loud knocks were heard from her door.

"Sakura-chan! Are you awake?"

"Mmm…" she muffled grudgingly before cracking a single eye open. What the hell…its holiday for crying out loud! She clicked her tongue and sluggishly sat up. She scratched her head exasperatedly as successive knocks banged her door. She heaved a sigh and went to the door nonetheless.

"Sa—" her stepmother cut off her own statement and her mid-air knock when the door suddenly opened revealing a very pissed Sakura in her black pajamas.

"What is it oba-san?"

Mizuno pulled out a devious smile. "Sakura-chan, dear…"

Sakura fought hard to prevent her eyes from rolling. Dear your face she spat inwardly.

"…Kakashi-sama is waiting for you downstairs."

Sakura nodded bluntly. "Okay, I'll be there in ten minutes." she deadpanned before slamming the door in her aunt's face.

As soon as the door closed, Mizuno's lips curved into a what-they-call-smile twitched. "How rude of that girl…" she hissed and indignantly stomped her way downstairs.

.o.O.o.

"What the hell is this? Let go of me!"

Bellows of protest and frustration of a certain Uchiha Sasuke filled the spacious velvet room. Confinements of various kinds were around him, completely binding him on his seat in the middle of the unfurnished velvet room.

"The hell…" he cursed as he tried to struggle free from his incarceration. He vehemently threw his head to the direction of an armed man on the door.

"Oi!" he growled at the man.

The masked man looked at him.

"Take off these confinements. Now!"

The man shook his head politely. "I'm sorry Sasuke-sama, but the Master strictly told us to keep you under these confinements to prevent you from escaping again."

"Che. That stupid old man." He spat and hung his head low in futility. I really abhor him he thought and gritted his teeth.

"Master is here!"

"Open the door!"

Sasuke yanked his face to the direction of the door being opened. He threw a wrathful glare at the man who just entered the room.

"Uchiha Fugaku." He spat vehemently.

The man who just entered took a couple of steps towards the younger boy. His emotionless charcoal eyes met Sasuke's incensed onyx ones.

"Long time no see, my son."

.o.O.o.

"Kakashi-san! Sorry to keep you waiting." Sakura greeted as she ran down the stairs. She was clad in one of her favorite loose black dresses with a white long sleeved top underneath. She had put on her striped black & white knee-length socks and a pair of white doll shoes. Her pink bangs were held back by a white hairband.

The silver haired man put down the cup of tea he was offered with and stood up, bowing low at the sight of Sakura. "Your Highness, the carriage is waiting for you. You would be living in the Central Palace today onwards. Tenjo will take care of your things. We will pack them la—"

"What?" Mizuno exclaimed and stood up from the sofa. "You're taking my precious daughter?"

Sakura's left eye twitched at the use of words. Oba-san sounds weird with those words. She scoffed inwardly and leaned on the wooden railings of the staircase, all the while crossing her arms on her chest. Ooh…one of oba-san's drama scenes again. Haha. Wish I had popcorn. She smirked and watched Mizuno pull of her act.

Kakashi faced the brunette who was trying her hardest to make her face look convincingly worried.

Oh my, I'm overstretching my freshly-Botoxed face! I should drop by my dermatologist later. Mizuno made a mental note and flew her hands on her face. "Please…don't take away Sakura! Only she and my daughter Karin are left for me. I've lost my husband; please don't take my step-daughter away! She's already like my real daughter! Onegai, Kakashi-sama…" she cried.

Sakura suppressed a laugh. Her hands were already itching to applaud such an entertaining scene. Her aunt was such a good actress. She needs to look more natural though she told herself. Her face looked more of constipated when she tried to look anxious…I guess that's the effect of too much Botox. Haha. She bit her lower lip in a desperate attempt to suppress a guffaw.

"Mizuno-san, we are very much grateful for your taking care of Sakura-hime. But His Majesty wants the princess to live in the palace. You should know very well that she is the only heiress to the throne." Kakashi explained as she tried to calm down the crying Mizuno.

"But…" the brunette lady was cut off when Kakashi gestured an armored guardsman to pass him a thick brown envelope.

Mizuno's black eyes immediately lightened up.

"Please take these." Kakashi said and handed Mizuno the envelope. He took a step backwards. "That is just a simple way of His Majesty of showing utmost gratitude for your taking care of Sakura-hime. We, from the palace, in the name of His Majesty thank you for everything you have done for the princess."

Mizuno hugged the thick envelope possessively and quickly changed her mood. "Oh, that's nothing Kakashi-sama." She chirped and grabbed Sakura's arm. "You're here to fetch my step-daughter right? Here, please take good care of her." She babbled out and pushed Sakura towards Kakashi.

Now, that was quick. Sakura mused and scratched her head. How boring oba-san…she pursed her lips in dismay at her stepmother's lack of consistency.

"Thank you very much Mizuno-san. Rest assured we will take delicate care of Her Highness." Kakashi stated politely and bowed.

Mizuno seemed too dazzled to react with the money on her hands.

They then head out leaving a very blithesome Mizuno on the Haruno mansion.

"Thank you Kakashi-sama! Please visit again! Take good care of Sakura-chan!" the brunette waved in a toothy grin. And I'll take good care of this money, baby! Haha.

On the carriage…

Sakura was contented that she finally needs not to see Mizuno's hypocritical smiles every morning ever again. Though I'll miss arguing with her. Lol. Oba-san's face whenever she gets defeated on an argument is priceless! She giggled and turned to look at the silver haired man before her.

"Hime-sama." Kakashi acknowledged with a smile as he caught her gaze. "His Majesty prepared a banquet for you. Today, you will officially be crowned as His Majesty's heiress."

"Eh?" was the only word Sakura can utter. "As in today?" she asked in disbelief.

"Yes." Kakashi replied with a friendly smile beneath his mask.

But…am I ready to be officially…Princess Sakura? She asked herself and looked at her reflection on the glass window of the carriage. She gulped, hard. Well, I'll try my best.

.o.O.o.

"I'll give you your freedom. I'll give you everything you need, everything you want." Uchiha Fugaku spoke calmly as he bent down to his son.

Sasuke's incensed glare at the older Uchiha did not falter though his previously gritted teeth somewhat relaxed. He kept looking daggers at his father before finally retorting. "What do you want?"

Fugaku smirked. That was the answer he had been waiting for. He shoved his right hand inside his tux and it resurfaced with a device of various buttons. He then pushed several buttons.

Instantly, the incarcerations on Sasuke loosened. The raven haired lad stood up from the chair and shrugged off the loose confinements around him.

Fugaku stood up from his bent position and turned his heel. "Follow me." He ordered and walked out of the velvet room.

Sasuke scowled at his father's retreating back before trailing behind him.

.o.O.o.

"Sakura-hime, we will leave you in Hitomi-san's care for the meantime. People from all the villages in Fire Nation will be gathered in front of the palace this evening for your official debut as a princess. I will be back to collect you later." Kakashi said and bowed before walking off.

Sakura took the moment to digest her surroundings. It was her first time to enter the Central Palace. Sure the Konoha Palace which was located in Leafville was marvelous but this one is spectacular! Everything looked like they have been standing magnanimously elegant even during the time of the first Emperor. She made a complete 180 degrees turn to check the whole place out. She spotted several paintings, old crystal chandeliers, and ivory statues all over the place. Classic. She thought.

"Hime-sama." said a gentle-looking old woman who Sakura surmised was a chamberlain called out and curtsied at the princess. "My name is Hitomi. I will be your handmaid for the time being until Your Highness get to choose among the maids in the palace." Hitomi smiled and requested Sakura to follow her.

Sakura nodded and followed.

.o.O.o.

Woah! Was all Sakura could think. Her bright verdant eyes studied the room with utmost enthusiasm. She was like a little girl who had just entered the amusement park for the first time. Sugoi…she mused and scrutinized the whole room. It was indeed stunning. The royal red walls were embedded with gold plated fleur-de-lis and ornaments made up of silver, emeralds, sapphires and rubies. The floor was adorned with shiny velvet carpet embroidered with painstaking classic designs. Looking up, pristine white high ceiling which holds several crystal chandeliers greets the eyes. The spacious room was occupied with a majestic royal red bed, a splendid wardrobe, a classy dresser, a nightstand, and a glass table.

"Hime-sama, this will be your room."

Sakura tore her gaze away from the stupendous sight before her to Hitomi. Her jaws dropped. "For real?" she asked in disbelief.

Hitomi smiled and nodded. "Of course Hime-sama."

KNOCK! KNOCK!

The old lady excused herself from the still flabbergasted princess to attend to the one who knocked on the door.

"Hitomi-san, Ichiyama-san is here." A random servant announced as Hitomi nodded.

"Alright then, thank you very much." She said and closed the door. "Hime-sama…"

Sakura broke free from her trance to look at Hitomi.

"The dressmaker has arrived, Your Highness. We will have to prepare you a dress." The old lady pulled out a makeshift scroll from her uniform's pocket and read the list. "Then after that, Shizumi-san will teach you the basic table etiquettes, and then Haru-san will teach you the proper way to dance, then Shi…"

"Ano…Hitomi-san…"

Hitomi gradually stopped her rants to look at the princess who seemed to be a bit paled by the things she had said.

"Are you sure we're going to finish all those today? I mean…well…aren't those too many to do for just one day?" she asked, hoping that Hitomi would rather stop and consider her brilliant point and agree and…

"Of course Your Highness, you're the princess after all!"

And Sakura wished she never asked.

.o.O.o.

The most awaited night came. People of Fire Nation gathered in front of the Central Palace. All anticipated to see the Pink Haired Cinderella.

"I'm dying to see the princess in a gown…oh, so cool!"

"Yeah, I can't wait to see her!"

Random rants filled the crowd. In the middle of the frenzied mob, a certain blonde boy has his own world. His cerulean eyes were fixed on something at hand.

"Oi Naruto, what are you doing?" A brunette with her locks collected in two buns asked curiously and snooped down on the blonde's side.

"At last!" Naruto exclaimed and held the thing on his right hand high.

"A camera?" the bunned girl inquired at the boy who seemed to be too enthusiastic about the gadget.

Naruto grinned at her. "I'm gonna capture every moment of Sakura-chan's debut as a princess with this! Haha! I can't miss even a second of it!" he exclaimed and laughed triumphantly.

The brunette sweatdropped. "Oh right, you're Saku-chan's No. 1 fan after all." She commented dryly.

"Of course Tenten!" the blonde retorted and smiled. "She's my bestest friend and the first person to appreciate me for who I am." He whispered and smiled bittersweetly.

Tenten noticed the sentimental atmosphere and hit Naruto square on the back.

"Oww!" Naruto complained and clapped a single hand at his back, nursing the aching part. He whipped his face at Tenten's direction and pouted. "That was uncalled for!"

Tenten fanned her right hand at her face and grinned slyly. "You're just being way too dramatic. It grosses me out." She said bluntly and stuck her tongue out.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever…"

Screams.

"OMG! It's Sakura-hime!"

"For real! She's SOOO cool!"

"Woot! I love you Hime-sama!"

The two turned their heads to the cause of the commotion.

"Sakura-chan…"

.o.O.o.

Haruno Sakura stood in front of approximately a hundred thousand inhabitants of Fire Nation. Woah…never thought that the people of Fire Nation are this many. She mused and approached the seat beside her grandfather.

She was clad in an off-shoulder royal blue ball gown. The dress fit her slender body perfectly. It was adorned by a simple silver ribbon tied at her back and some silver beads embroidered on the upper part of the gown in a complex flower pattern. She wore white arm length gloves, a silver cherry blossom pendant necklace and a pair of silver earrings that matched her necklace. Her short pink hair was collected in a single bun clamped by a silver barrette with some of her bangs loosely framing her fair, heart-shaped face.

She definitely looked like a princess.

"Good evening Sakura-chan. You look wonderful tonight." The Emperor commented as Sakura took her seat.

Sakura smiled. "You also look wonderful, Grandfather." She retorted before averting her gaze to the crowd. Her ears caught the rants of the people, especially those of the Lifeville's townspeople. She heaved a sigh. Oh, they never change. Her emerald eyes lit up when she saw a familiar figure of a blonde cheeky boy and a brunette girl in buns. She waved at them and offered a warm smile. Her gesture made the crowd wild.

The people gradually ceased their hullabaloos and calmed down as soon as Kakashi stood at the center of the palace's patio. He cleared his throat and adjusted the microphone.

"Good evening minna-san!" He greeted and started. "Thank you for coming to Sakura-hime's coronation! Now, may we call on our gallant Emperor to give his speech and official baptismal."

Sarutobi stood up from his seat and went to Kakashi. The silver haired man bowed to the Emperor before stepping aside and leaving the floor to His Majesty.

"Minna-san, this evening, I would like you to witness the official debut of my heiress…" he turned his head to Sakura's direction and ushered the latter to stand up. Kakashi carried the pillow cushioning the tiara for the princess and stood next to the Emperor.

Sakura obliged and went to his grandfather. She held a low and graceful bow before the Emperor.

"Haruno Sakura, the only daughter of the late Prince Sarutobi Masayuki, do you promise to uphold the laws and the principles your forefathers had established; promote peace and justice; and dedicate your life to Fire Nation?"

Sakura smiled and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Then, by the power vested in me, I now declare you Princess of Fire Nation and the heiress to the throne." The Emperor, Sarutobi Hiruzen, took the tiara from Kakashi and placed it atop Sakura's head.

The Emperor took Sakura's right hand and faced the crowd.

Kakashi put aside the pillow and went for the microphone. "May I present to you, the heiress to the throne: Princess Sakura!"

The crowd broke into a loud cheer.

Sakura bowed and looked at his grandfather.

Sarutobi smiled at her. "Omedetou…" he greeted.

"Arigatou-gozaimasu, Grandfather." She thanked and smiled before facing the crowd and expressing her utmost gratitude.

.o.O.o.

"Tenjo-san, are all the bachelors present?" Kakashi inquired a black haired man.

Tenjo looked at the guest list on hand and shook his head. "I'm afraid not Kakashi-sama. Uchiha Sasuke-sama has not yet appeared."

Kakashi clicked his tongue. "Crap, the introduction of the bachelors would be next." He hissed.

"Kakashi-sama, the next part of the public declaration would start in a minute!" a random guy informed the masked man before returning to his work.

"Hai, hai. I'll be there in a second!" He said and went to the patio. Never thought that the Uchiha brat would be such a problem... He clicked his tongue and faced the crowd.

.o.O.o.

"Ba…bachelors?" Sakura asked in disbelief and whipped her face to her Grandfather's direction. "Grandfather, what's the meaning of this?"

Sarutobi let a wholehearted laugh. "Gomen my dear. I forgot to inform you about it but you'll have to choose among the bachelors endorsed by the royal families of Fire Nation."

Sakura's head dropped animatedly. I should have known that being a princess spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E! she thought grimly but managed to regain her composure. No, I must not be a failure to Grandfather... she then remembered her parents and smiled adamantly. For Father and Mother I'll do this without regrets! She nodded to herself and turned her head to the Master of Ceremony.

"Before we introduce the Bachelors, let us request our Hime-sama to come here to the center."

Me? She asked dumbly at Kakashi who nodded in response.

Who else is the Hime-sama…duh…Inner Sakura murmured.

Shut up. Outer Sakura retorted and managed to pull out one of her best smiles as she approached the edge of the patio.

The crowd went wild at the princess's smile.

Sakura's right eye twitched. People these days are…she paused to think of an adjective that would best describe them. She spotted a familiar bowl-cut haired guy with a red bandana wrapped on his head with the capital letters of her name and a heart on it waving a huge flag with the words: 'You are the spring of my life' Lee-san…she shuddered inwardly at her stalker since like forever slash classmate. Her gaze shifted to some other people she knew by face and spotted several of the guys who confessed to her shouting things like 'Sakura-hime! Marry me!' ...creepy she finished her statement and immediately returned her attention to the main event before she spots anything creepier than what she already saw.

"Okay then, let us begin." Kakashi said and started. "The first Bachelor comes from a prestigious, royal clan of archaic Byakugan Dojutsu lineage in the West of Fire Nation."

The spotlight opened and revealed a guy with long brown hair and pupil-less eyes wearing a beige and brown hakama. He stood professionally and looked very serious.

"Let us give a round of applause to Hyuuga Neji-sama!"

Claps.

He looks nice…Inner Sakura commented.

Decent, dude. Outer Sakura interjected.

Inner Sakura rolled her eyes. That's the same thing…

"Our second Bachelor is the prized prodigy with an IQ of over 200 of the royal clan in the East of Fire Nation."

All heads turned to look at a guy, who was yawning inelegantly, clad in a gray tux and had a pineapple like hairstyle.

"Presenting, Nara Shikamaru-sama!"

Claps.

Looks very lazy…Inner Sakura commented dryly.

"The third Bachelor is from the royal clan in the Northwest of Fire Nation who are famous as being the best dog breeders in the world."

The spotlight showed an eccentric guy with brown hair and palpably large fangs in a white tux being followed by an enormous white dog.

"All hands to Inuzuka Kiba-sama!"

Inner Sakura sweatdropped. What's up with the dog?

"The fourth Bachelor is from the royal clan in the Northeast of Fire Nation best known for their beneficial research and development centers set to utilize the potentials of bugs."

And bugs suddenly popped out of nowhere. The crowd turned their heads to look at the black haired, sunglass-ed bachelor clad in a dark green hakama.

Okay, what's up with the weird guys? Inner Sakura deadpanned.

"Let's all welcome, Aburame Shino-sama!"

Claps.

Sakura dropped her head ungraciously to her right shoulder and facepalmed.

"What a joke…" she murmured all the while carelessly taking few steps backwards…

…only to have the heel of her right glass slipper fail to have contact with the alabaster floor of the patio.

Uh-oh…she thought as she felt her body gradually lose balance. And so, gravity took the rest of the work.

Horrified screams.

"Sakura-hime!" Kakashi exclaimed.

"Sakura-chan!" The Emperor gasped in horror and stood up from his seat.

On the other side of the dumbstruck crowd, a pair of cerulean eyes widened. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed and ran towards the falling princess.

"Naruto!" Tenten exclaimed and ran after her blonde friend.

I can make it…I'll catch you Sakura-chan! "Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed and ran as fast as he could.

But she was falling with great acceleration. And even Tenten thought that Naruto would not be able to make it on time to catch her.

No. No. No! "SAKURA-CHAAAN!" Naruto cried as hot tears welled from his eyes. He shut his eyes hard and ran as fast as he could when…

The horrified screams ceased to exist.

Silence.

Naruto immediately cracked open his eyes and fell on his knees.

.o.O.o.

All Sakura felt was the pull of gravity. Then he heard Naruto scream. She was sure he was crying. She shut her eyes tight and braced herself for the impact of her fall. She was looking forward for the violent pain to meet her back but all she felt was…

…warm strong arms.

Wait…what the hell is going on? She bravely cracked open a single eye. Her other eye instantly followed suit and went wide as saucers.

Flabbergasted green orbs met cool onyx ones.

"Konban wa, Hime-sama." The owner of the beautiful onyx eyes greeted.

…

Silence once more.

…

"Uh…-cough-…and the Last Bachelor…" Kakashi interjected to break the sudden astonishment. "…from the legendary royal clan of Sharingan Dojutsu lineage in the South of Fire Nation who were also the pioneers of the modernization of our country…"

The spotlight made its way to the gorgeous tall lad with sleek blue-black hair in a black tux, carrying the princess in his arms.

"Uchiha Sasuke-sama!"

Whistles.

Loud cheers.

Thunderous applause.

Sakura's jaw dropped as she stared back at her savior who simply smirked in return.

...Uchiha Sasuke?

.end of the chapter.

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Hello lovelies! Yes, a repost. I just found some minor typos and grammatical errors so I resorted to editing this one. Nothing much to change, just the typos so the story is still basically intact. Chapter 3 would be coming soon…if my lazy ass syndrome won't trigger. Haha.

Yes dearies, I know Sarutobi Hiruzen isn't really connected to Sakura in the anime/manga but hey, this is a fanfiction and you can do basically everything you like in a fanfic right? Lol. The reason why Sakura's surname is different from his father and grandfather would be revealed in the succeeding chapters.

Anyways, hopefully this time I'll be able to finish this fic. Please help me my dearies. Your reviews would make me write. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW. Thankies!

Lots of love,

Haruki

Some facts you might already know:

Otaku – someone who is over engrossed with an interest (esp. anime, manga or video games)

Chibi – Japanese colloquial term for small child/person; particularly used as a drawing style in the anime/manga industry

Onegai – please

Sugoi – great/awesome

Minna – everyone

Omedetou – congratulations ("-gozaimasu:" is added for formality)

Arigatou – thank you

Gomen – shorter form of Gomenasai; sorry

Dojutsu – genetic ability that utilizes the eyes

Hakama – Japanese traditional clothing worn by men

Konban wa – Good evening

05/27/12: Chapter 2 editing complete