This is a little something I put together for the 5th anniversary for Heaven & Earth. I thought I'd post it here for all to enjoy.

Loosely based on the Japanese fairytale of Kaguya Hime. The story can be found on Wikipedia.

I do not own Naruto because he and his friends belong to Mashashi Kishimoto.

Five First Dates: A Naruto Bedtime Story

"Daddy, tell me a story," the wide-eyed 5 year old asked her father, a blonde with spiky hair who stood over the petite rosette as he tucked the little girl into her bed.

"What kind of story?" the tall blonde asked his small daughter, blue eyes meeting a pair of green eyes that had just a rim of blue around the edge of the iris.

"Something with a prince meeting a princess, like Kaguya Hime, but I want it to be about you and Mommy this time!" the little girl replied. The story of the Moon Princess was her favorite story and she often had her mother read it to her at bedtime.

"Are you sure you want me to tell it? Your Mommy is much better at telling stories than I am," the blonde asked, looking for an escape from this unexpected request. He scratched the back of his head with his left hand, as was his custom when he became nervous.

"But Mommy has no imagination. She just says the same things as the stories in my storybooks. Please?" the little girl said with wide, green expectant eyes.

Her father took a big breath and let out a long sigh. "All right. Let me think, 'There once was a handsome you Prince…'" he began.

"Daddy! You forgot 'Once upon a time'!" she corrected. She snuggled further under her covers, preparing for him to continue, as her father sat down on the edge of the bed, facing her as he began his tale again, giving her a tender smile before he spoke.

"'Once upon a time, there was a lonely Prince. He was very tall and had spiky blonde hair that shined like gold and whisker marks on both cheeks and he was very good looking.'" he began.

His little girl began to giggle, her eyes looking like upturned crescent moons when she laughed. "Daddy, you're silly. If you're from the moon you're supposed to have a feather robe, not whiskers," she said as she hugged her favorite chibi Onbu plushi.

"Shhhhh, I'm telling the story. Now where was I, 'He was very good looking, but he lived all alone in the biggest palace in the Fire Country. He would wonder the halls of his palace looking for someone to make friends with, but he only had servants in the palace and all of them were too afraid of him to become his friend. One day he called to his advisor, a tall slender man with brown hair tied up in a ponytail on the top of his head. He asked the advisor what he could do to find a friend, someone he could share his lonely palace with. The advisor, who was known to be a genius, suggested that he send out a message to the single women of his village and treat each one of the most eligible ladies to a romantic evening. The Prince agreed and wrote out a proclamation for the servant asking that the most eligible ladies in the village to come to the palace the next day.

'On the following day, five eligible young women stood at the main gate of the palace waiting for an audience with the young and handsome Prince. There was the daughter of the wealthy merchant, the daughter of the flower shop owner, the village priestess, a young woman who was the village's sword smith, and a young pink haired medic who had just moved to the village only the day before. The young Prince looked out one of his highest windows in the palace at the girls below as his advisor met them at the gate. Each young woman would spend a single evening with the young prince, each in turn until the last. Whoever was the most suitable young woman would live out the rest of their days with the prince as his friend and closest companion.

'The first young lady that met the Prince was the daughter of the wealthiest merchant in town. She had long, flowing black hair and large violet eyes. Even though she was the daughter of the wealthiest man in the village, she was unsure of herself as her servants did everything for her. It was her habit to speak very softly and even though she thought the Prince to be very handsome, she did not know how to carry on a conversation with him without fainting from embarrassment. Though the Prince tried to be friends with her, no matter how much he encouraged her, the conversation ended up rather one sided as she was content to listen to him talk. The Prince was sure she would make someone a very good wife, but he was looking for someone he could talk with for hours on end.

'The second young lady that met the Prince was the daughter of the man who owned the villages flower shop. She was very lovely to look at with her slender figure and long blonde hair, and she was not afraid to speak her mind. In fact, she spent so much time speaking her mind that she would go on and on about any topic without ceasing. She never let the Prince speak his own opinion even if she asked him a direct question for she had a bad tendency to answer the question for him. In the end, the Prince decided that he wanted to have a friend that would listen when he shared his deepest hopes and dreams as well as share their own opinions.

'The third young lady was the village priestess. You see, in those days the priestess was able to choose one man to help her continue the line of priestess' to the next generation. Although the young woman was beautiful and someone the Prince could talk to and share his hopes and dreams, she had a much different dream and they ended up parting ways. The Prince continued on his search for a friend he could not only talk about his hopes and dreams, but someone who would share the experience with him.

'The fourth young lady was the village sword smith. She was very talented in the art of weaponry and this was something the Prince was very interested in. The Prince had studied in the art of ninjutsu from a very early age and this young lady was someone he could train with. Although they had a shared interest, the Prince was not able to talk to the young woman about anything outside of weaponry or martial arts. This made it very hard for them to talk about hopes and dreams when her focus was on her work. The Prince needed someone that would understand his hobbies as well as his heart.

'The fifth young lady was a young, pink haired medic who had just moved to the village. She was also alone and looking for a friend. The young and very handsome Prince knew there was something different about this young lady the moment he met her. Not only was she very beautiful with her rosette colored hair and porcelain skin, but she was someone that he could talk to. They spent hours upon hours talking about every subject under the sun and although they didn't always agree, she was someone he felt very comfortable sharing his deepest hopes and dreams. They both had a shared dream of spending the rest of their life with someone special. She was very talented as a medic and not only could she treat wounds and ailments, but her desire to help those in need warmed his heart. To his amazement, the young lady also had a love of the martial arts and they were able to practice their skills against each other. They found that they were a good match and that they made a great team, as they were able to read each other well on and off the training field. Soon, the Prince found that he had fallen in love with the beautiful young Medic.

'The Prince decided that this was the one he had been searching for. He asked the Medic to spend the rest of her days with him in the palace and to become his wife. She agreed that she would live with him in the palace, but she said that she was unable to become his wife, although she would not tell him why. This made the prince very sad but he was so in love with the young woman that he agreed to be her friend and he promised that one day he would do anything for her even if it meant giving up his own life.

'The Prince and the Medic lived this way for many years, each year drawing them even closer in their friendship. The Prince noticed that as time went on, that he would find the Medic looking up at the full moon, tears in her eyes. He asked her what was the matter, but she would only shake her head and tell him that she had memories of a night under the full moon that made her very sad, for she missed those that she had left behind in her home country and that one day she would have to return to her home country. This also made the Prince very sad and he promised her that he would never leave her side. His loyalty made the Medic happy, but she warned him that she would have to leave him when the time came.

'When the time finally came, the Medic told him that she was really the Moon Princess and that it was now time for her to return to her country. As the full moon was at its highest point in the sky, servant maidens came down from the sky on a great big cloud and they placed the Moon Princes at the center of the cloud. They presented her with a feathered robe and as they put it on her, her eyes were filled full of tears as she watched the young Prince fade from her sight, as the cloud floated up toward the full moon. The young Prince was overcome with grief, called up to her, and reminded her of his promise to be always by her side. He watched as she was taken back to her home on the moon. Tears like diamonds fell from the sky and a few landed on his already moist cheeks.

'The Prince ran to the top of the highest mountain and called for the Moon Princess to return, but no one heard his cries. It was soon his custom to travel to that same mountain each time there was a full moon, hoping that he would one day call his Moon Princess back to him. The Prince continued to call for his Princess for many years. Through his pure determination, the Moon Princess eventually heard his cries. Her heart ached for his friendship more that the loneliness that she had felt earlier when she had left her family on the Moon behind. She convinced her father to hear the cries of the Prince, whose hair no longer shown as gold and his whiskers almost appeared to drupe due to the sadness in his heart. Upon hearing the pleas of the Prince, the Moon King decided that it was the right decision to let his daughter return to the Earth and marry the Prince.

'When the Moon Princess returned to Earth, the Prince was overjoyed and they embraced as they both cried tears of joy. They were married at once and although they had been apart for many years, their love was as strong as it was that very first day, if not stronger, and they lived happily ever after,'" her father concluded; his little girl was now fast asleep.

He gently adjusted the covers around her and kissed her gently on her forehead before turning out the light on the nightstand. He stroked some of the pink hair from her face and quietly left the room, turning to find his wife standing in the doorway of the bedroom, leaning up against the doorframe with just the hint of tears in her jade green eyes. He took his wife's hand and led her down the hall into the living room.

"I didn't know you were such a good story teller. I hope she won't start thinking that I'm really a moon princess," his wife teased. "But I must say, it sounded much more romantic than our own love story."

"Sakura-chan, you may not be the Moon Princess and I may not be a prince, but you are still just as precious to me as the Moon Princess was for the Prince, and I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that I will always be by your side," Naruto said as he pulled his wife into a passionate kiss.

"Is that a promise?" Sakura teased her husband, once their kiss had ended. She knew full well that he had a weakness when it came to making her promises.

"You know I always keep my promises," He replied, smiling his biggest smile.