Prince Ryuuumaru Shimazu Speaks With Sakura Haruno

Prince Ryuumaru Shimazu, known to the villagers of Konoha as the Human Glacier, walked through Konoha. He was wearing a royal silken kimono and had a strange white fluff over his right shoulder. His black bo-staff was strapped to his back. He had a cold, hateful, bitter expression on his face, his golden eyes with a slitted pupil glaring daggers straight through everyone in his sight. This was pretty normal for Ryuumaru ever since that day six years ago.

Sakura wandered through the town with a list in her hand. Her mother had sent her shopping again. Her mouth was set in a disgruntled frown. It was her ONE day off and her mother was making her do CHORES? This wasn't fair. She sighed and shook her head. Not much she could do now. She saw Ryuumaru walking by and was about to stop and address him, but thought better of it. She saw the way he looked at her now, like she was an enemy. So, with a heavy heart, she tried to ignore him and looked down at the ground as she walked past.

Ryuumaru blinked when he noticed a girl with pink hair pass by him. He snarled at her in anger, as if her very presence filled him with great rage. "Get out my way pinkie. Commoners such as yourself shouldn't be allowed to cross the path of a blue blood such as me" he snarled at Sakura in great anger, acting very much like the Human Glacier everyone said he was. It was obvious that he still hasn't forgotten the words Sakura said to him.

She looked to the side through her bangs and regarded him with care. "Not today, Ryuumaru," She said simply in defeat as she let out a sigh. He brought back more than a few memories.

~FLASHBACK~

"Hey! Sakura-Chan, who was that boy you were talking to!?" Naruto yelled as he ran up to his team-mate who had shown up late. Sakura winced. "Keep your voice down, idiot. His names Ryuumaru. A...Friend of mine," She replied, not telling him the full story of them falling out. Sasuke snorted. "Looks like nothing special," Sakura turned on him. "Dont be like that Sasuke-kun! Ryuumaru is actually a nice guy, you might like him," She said, trying to convince him. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her. "Your voice irritates me, and so does he." he said simply with an arrogant shrug. Seeing the sheer irritation in his eyes made a lump rise in her throat. She put her head down and stood to the side, feeling rather dejected.

~END OF FLASHBACK~

She cleared her throat and kept walking, folding her arms across her body in an almost protective manner. She had matured since Ryuumaru had last seen her, and she hoped that he had noticed.

"Oh, so now you acknowledge me now that your precious little Uchiha slime left the village huh? I'm so glad you remember me, your so called friend now that the person who made you go gooey-eyed and gooey-brained is gone from our lives" he sneered at her coldly.

"....." She said nothing, she kept walking. 'I would snap if that was anyone else...But i've no right to say anything to him...He's right. I'm a disgrace. No better than those people who picked on me all those years ago...' She thought to herself. She bit her lip and sped up her pace. "If you want me to keep ignoring you, then just tell me!" She called back as she set off at a jog, turning the corner so she didn't have to cope with his snide remarks anymore. Ironice, the very person who'd helped get rid of the bullies, had now become one because of her negligence.

"I thought you were intelligent wench. Surely that collossally sized noggin of yours contains a brain. If it did, then surely you would realize I desire more then you to ignore me. I desire your death just as much as I desire that vile snake Orochimaru's death. You both have committed a sin against me that I consider unforgivable" he said coldly, making fun of her forehead, which was ironic since he himself said that he loved her forehead and actually kissed her on it the day they met.

That comment hit her hard, probably harder than it should've. She should've seen it coming but she couldnt help it. She shook her head and felt some tears slide down her cheeks and was now insanely grateful that he wasnt able to see her in this state. Boy, would that give him some satisfaction. She sniffed and tried wiping her eyes but more tears came. A passer-by looked at her strangely. "Do you need help, Miss?" They asked. She shook her head but couldnt find the words to say anything to them. They just shrugged and walked on.

"Nothing to say to the person you broke the heart of Haruno?" he asked her in a cold manner. What he said flashed through Sakura's mind. He said that she broke his heart, which would logically mean that he cared more for her then just as a friend. Saying that would imply that he loved her.

She paused for a moment then took a breath, trying to speak through her tears. "Y-Youre not the only one who's had their heart broken," She replied shakily, her voice trembling. "Fair enough, i did it to you first, you have every right to be mad at me..but.." Her voice rose in volume. "If youre so damned upset about it, why do you continue to aknowledge me!? If you hate me so much, leave me be! Then we can both get on with our lives!" She called to him, hoping she didnt sound too pathetic. "If you ever did care for me that much...You would want me to be happy, not miserable..." She added, but so quietly that it would be hard for him to hear.

"Simple. I want you to be as miserable as I am. I want you to feel every ounce of pain and despair I have felt. You wanna know something Haruno? That very day you said those words to me was the very same day my mother died from Tuberculosis. That was the very same day I needed you most and now because of you, I am as miserable as can be" he hissed at her coldly, his eyes now showing betrayal, hurt, sadness and even loneliness.

"Well how was i supposed to know?!" She yelled, swinging herself around and marching back into his line of sight. Her eyes were slightly puffy, and her bottom lip would occassionaly quiver. "You knew from the start the way i felt about Sasuke, and yes i was selfish back then. Selfish, spoilt, ignorant. Ok?! Is it not possible that people can change?! Don't you DARE think you can walk all over me because i hurt you when we were children. I was different then, that wasn't the same Sakura,"

"You think I care that your different? You spat in my face, you shoved our friendship in my face and you didn't even care. That little crush you had on that traitor turned from a crush to an unnatural obsession. I showed you more attention then he showed you, I loved you more then he ever could and it still wasn't enough good enough. I will still second best in your mind. I will take the words you spoke to me to my grave. I remember the words you said to me when I snapped at you and asked why the Uchiha traitor was so great. You told me 'Why's he so great? He's cool, he's awesome and good looking and he's much better at everything then you could possibly be. Your nothing compared to Sasuke Uchiha'. Did I recite it perfectly?" he asked her with a sneer on his face.

"You know what!?....Forget it..." She said as she shook her head, taking a step back. "I cant believe that ive been spending all these months toying with the idea of going to see you. I cant believe i actually THOUGHT that you'd bother giving me a second chance!" She snarled, her fists tightly clenched. "You remember those groceries that were placed at your door? Every day since about two weeks ago. That was ME. I was TRYING to at least patch up a LITTLE bit of the burden you have to carry. If i knew this was how it was going to end, i wouldnt have bothered," She said as she promptly turned her back to him, trying to slip away through the crowds.

He blinked at her in surprise before his eyes narrowed once again. He quickly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back to him. "Why did you think I would give you a second chance after what you said? Did you honestly expect me to treat you any differently then I do now when you said those vile words to me? Tell me why I should give you a second chance, give me one good reason why I should try and be your friend when you so carelessly threw away our friendship last time? Tell me why I should give you another chance after I admitted to you I loved you and you had the gall to say you didn't want it" he demanded of her.

"Ryuumaru youre hurting me!" She cried as she desperately tried to pry his hand off of her arm. After a minute of struggling, she was still. Her head dipped to the ground and her free hand dropped back to her side. "Fine...You wanna know? There is NO reason for you to give me a second chance. No reason at all, none that i can justify. I wanted to ASK for a second chance because i wanted to prove to you that i'd changed, to prove that back then i was deluded and selfish. To prove to you that i actually DID care for you, no matter how badly you'd deny it," She muttered, trying to yank her arm away. "But like you said, i threw everything back in your face, so who cares about how i feel, right?"

He frowned at her and put his head down, refusing to let her go. He looked back up at her and gave her a curious look. "How much did you care for me then?" he asked her as his grip on her arm loosened.

"Why do you care?" She muttered, looking at the red mark on her arm where he'd grabbed her. "Even if i told you, you wouldnt believe me," She said as she tried once more to pull her arm away. "Besides, a blue blood like you shouldnt be touching a filthy commoner like me, isnt that right?" She asked him, knowing that the statement she'd just said was true. She was a commoner. No matter how much she tried to dress it up, she knew it as well as he did. "I shouldnt even breath the same air as you, right?" She added at the end with a defeated shrug.

"Just answer my question Haruno. I am very curious to find out if you actually did care for me or if it was just pretend" he said with narrowed eyes.

"Why should i bother telling you how i feel about you when you wont believe a word i tell you?!" She said, her voice rising again as she dared to look him in the eyes. Her eyes burned with a sudden fire. "You REALLY wanna know? Fine, dammit. I cared for you a hell of a lot. TOO much! I thought that if i were to continue growing so attached to you, that i would grow more fond of you than i was of Sasuke. If that were to happen, he was sure to notice. I dont know what i was thinking, i wasnt used to feeling this way for anyone OTHER than Sasuke. So i got scared, and thats why i said what i did," She admitted with a sigh.

He looked at her in shock, completely surprised by what she told him. He thought over this for a moment before he finally replied to her hesitantly. "If that is true, then why didn't you tell me that instead of telling me I'm nothing compared to that traitorous Uchiha slug Sakura?" he asked her with a frown, using her first name for the first time in 6 years.

"Because, like i said, i was scared. I didnt know how to react. When youre that age its hard enough to like one person, let alone two. So I said that because i simply couldnt find another way to deal with it. If i'd just been a little bit wiser then perhaps this couldve all been avoided, yes, but we cant change the past," She said quietly, giving his arm a gentle push to try and get him to let go. "Please, let me go now...I've said enough,"

Suddenly, he did something surprising and pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Cherry Blossom" he whispered to her in a sad tone and it sounded like he meant it as he placed his face against her neck, her neck starting to become wet from what was obviously Ryuumaru's tears.

When he pulled her towards him, she half thought that he was going to strike her. She flinched but was surprised to find him hugging her. Her eyes widened as he apologised, calling her by the childhood nickname he had for her. She felt him place his head against her neck and soon felt her neck become damp. He was crying? She couldn't keep up being unresponsive, so she hugged him back carefully, saying nothing. She tilted her head to rest it upon the fine material on the shoulder of his kimono, grabbing it lightly with her hands. "...."

"Every time I have spoken to you, I truly intended to ask if we could be friends again but every time I attempted to talk to you, those words you spoke just kept popping up in my mind" he said softly as he hugged her tight, his voice radiating loneliness and regret.

She tried to speak, but she couldnt. A pathetic whimped escaped her lips as she shook her head, burying her head in the kimono's fabric. She had to wait a minute before she could speak. "I cant apologise enough...But you need to understand that the Sakura who said those things is different from the Sakura that you see now...I promise, i changed for the better," She tried to convince him, her words quiet but reassuring.

"Oh Cherry Blossom, I've been lonely without you. If you wish to know I have never stopped loving you. I still love you as much as I did back then, more so in fact" he said to her softly.

"Ryuumaru...You don't have to explain anything, you know. I was the one at fault," She said as she listened to his confession. "Lonely..? Ryuumaru, what difference would i make to your life? Surely you've made friends with other people, and girls must be throwing themselves at you," She asked, moving her head back slightly to look at him properly.

"I didn't want any other friends and I didn't want some nameless whore off the street. I wanted my Cherry Blossom" he said as he looked into her emerald colored eyes with his golden, snake like eyes.

His words reverberated in her mind: 'My Cherry Blossom'. She felt the first smile since this whole thing started spread across her lips. The smile was small, but it was a smile nonetheless. She found herself staring into a familiar pair of golden eyes with snake-like slits. She couldnt bring herself to look away again, it had been so long that those eyes hadn't been seething with rage.

He stared into her emerald eyes, the eyes that he felt were perfect and he gave her a small smile. He then hesitantly leaned in and kissed Sakura.

Her eyes widened yet again as he leaned in and kissed her, feeling her cheeks burning up at record speeds. Of all the things he couldve done, that was the one she was expecting the least. However, she honestly couldnt help herself. She returned his kiss gently, not wanting him to think that she wasnt going to respond to him. She sensed how hesitant he was and didnt blame him. She was a little aprehensive about the whole thing too.

When Sakura responded to the kiss, he wrapped his arms around and pulled her in tightly as he deepened the kiss.

She moved herself closer as he pulled her in tighter and shut her eyes slowly as she began to lose all negative thoughts. Hesitance? Who needs it? She felt him kissing her deeper and continued to kiss him back just as deep, slipping her arms around his neck in one swift motion. Not bad for a first kiss, she thought.

He pulled out of the kiss and gave her the smile that he used to give her all the time back when they were children, showing her that the old Ryuumaru was back.

She returned the smile with one of her own, a bright and happy smile. "Theres that smile that i missed so much," She said with an approving nod. "It's so good to have you back, Ryuumaru-Kun. You really have no idea how much. I'm just glad i finally got the chance to explain everything to you in full detail," She told him.

"I missed you too Cherry Blossom, so much. So Cherry Blossom, how has your mother been doing?" he asked her curiously in a stiff, forcefully polite manner. It was no secret that Ryuumaru didn't like Sakura's mother considering she always said how Sasuke was a much better choice then he was.

She sighed and shrugged, obviously not too bothered about her mother. "She's alright i suppose. She hasnt been speaking to me lately. She says i go away on missions too much and i spend more time with Tsunade than i do with her. Its like the woman thinks im gonna run away or something. Which, admittedly, wouldnt be the worst idea in the world," She snorted.

"Indeed. That woman is insufferable. I find it annoying that she has the gall to call me selfish since I want revenge on Orochimaru yet she supports that traitorous Uchiha brat getting revenge on his brother Itachi and what's worse is that she had the nerve to say my mother didn't know the first thing about raising a child, considering I was so obsessed with revenge" he said with a hateful scowl on his face.

She rolled her eyes. "She doesn't know what she's talking about, ignore her. To be honest, i thought of moving out and getting my own place, but i still need to raise more money. I'm getting there though," She said with a smile. "Hopefully i'll be outta there by the end of the month at the latest. My own place in time for Christmas, ideally,"

"If my mother was still alive, she probably would have helped you with that" he said with a smile before his face settled into a painful grimace.

She smiled slightly in sympathy as she touched his arm gently. "I know she would've, but lets face it. She's better with the angels than she is down here suffering and bed ridden," She said quietly, trying to put it across in a way that would make him feel a bit better about it. She hated him feeling this way.

"I know. I just hate the fact that I'm still not strong enough to kill that vile snake Orochimaru for the unholy sin he committed against my mother" he said as he clenched his fists angrily.

"One day you will be though," She assured him quickly. "But...You gotta promise me something," She added as she flinched a little. "If you're going to exact revenge..Then promise me that you wont get like Sasuke. Driven by only your revenge until you know nothing else. I couldnt take it if you turned out like that,"

"When you and I were no longer friends, revenge was the only thing I had but now that your back in my life, I will not be like that foul traitor. I intend to be better then both he and my bastard father and I will stick my beliefs and loyalty" he said honestly.

She let out a sigh of relief, nodding slightly at what he said. "Good...Because, i dont want you suffering the same fate. Knowing that you'd taken that path and i couldnt do anything..." She cut herself off, shaking her head again as she didnt want to continue with that sentence. She knew that he already understood.

"You can rest assured that I will not become like that traitorous Uchiha slug. I swore on my mother's grave that I will be better then my slimeball of a father and I refuse to go back on that promise" he said as he crossed his arms.

She nodded, feeling more relieved than she seemed. "Good, because there's no need for you to stoop to their level," She told them, showing that she regarded Sasuke with as much contempt as she did Orochimaru. She really had changed since he'd last spoken to her. In a non-threatening way, that is.

"Indeed. You can rest assured that I will be putting an end to both of their lives, Sasuke for breaking your heart and betraying the village Orochimaru for abandoning my mother despite knowing she had Tuberculosis and knowing that she was pregnant" he said with narrowed eyes, his golden snake like eyes flashing with unholy rage.

She sighed and the thought of those two. Orochimaru and Sasuke. Tsunade had told her that Orochimaru wasn't always as bad as he was now, but his mind had always been somewhat corrupt. Sakura realised now that Sasuke was like that too. His mind had been tainted with the idea of vengance and she now knew that no ammount of pleading or crying wouldve stopped him on the day that he left. She shook her head. "I can't believe i let myself get attached to a boy as impossible as him," She said quietly.