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Haruno Sakura grunted as she hauled herself up the hulking brick wall, cursing any and everything she could think of, but most especially her friend. For if it wasn’t for this particular friend, she wouldn’t even have been in this mess.
Once I get her out of this stupid, fucking tower, she is going to owe me so many favors! she grumbled inwardly, pointedly ignoring the burning in her palms from the rope, focusing on taking one step at a time. If she looked down, she knew she’d probably die from shock alone at the drop, so she forced her brain to stick to the goal. As soon as she reached the ledge, she’d be able to ask Ino to let her extensive braid down to climb the rest of the way.
She had met Ino in the woods outside of their village when they were both seven-years-old. She didn’t recognize the otherworldly, blonde girl, but was pleased for the playmate nonetheless. They met each other every day for almost an entire week before the little house they constructed out of sticks and leaves was surrounded by palace guards. She had been terrified, fearing the worst, but her friend had simply sighed in dejection, sharply ordering the guards to ‘leave me and my friend alone!’ Convinced that Ino was asking for trouble, she stutteringly asked the guards to disregard her rude speech, but was interrupted by the appearance of a royal advisor.
Princess Ino, you know you are not permitted to leave the walls of the palace without an escort.
She had been flabbergasted, her young mind unable to comprehend that her new friend, the girl she had told unending secrets to and played in the dirt with, was the real-live princess! Embarrassment and shame flooded her tiny body, and she turned to Ino in tears, ready to grovel at her feet. However, the other girl grasped her hands in hers, begging with tears in her eyes to remain friends. She was shocked, unable to respond as the advisor gathered not only the princess, but her as well up to return to the palace and face the King.
As a mere commoner, the resplendence of the palace was unlike anything she had ever witnessed. The guards followed closely behind the trio of the advisor, Ino, and herself to the throne room. The grand double doors flew open, and the girls were ushered before His Majesty.
Ino greatly favored King Inoichi, from their flowing blonde ponytails, sharp gazes, and piercing blue eyes. She felt caught in the middle of a warzone as King and Princess stared one another down.
The argument between them had been cutting, with Ino demanding her father allow her freedom to be a child, and the King advising her that she was not an ordinary child. By the end, it was clear the man was a push-over when it came to his daughter’s whims, and he pleaded with her to become the ‘royal playmate.’ She was given free access to the palace, as well as provided any accommodations she desired as long as she stayed vigilant in keeping Ino safe.
As they grew, and the King grew more accepting of Ino’s desires for freedom, they were permitted to journey beyond the palace, into the town and even sleepovers at her house. Her parents nearly fainted when she casually brought the Princess of their village into their home, but they were able to adjust to her presence quickly.
When the two were eighteen, King Inoichi took a second wife. The previous queen, Ino’s mother, had passed away after contracting a serious disease when Ino was three-years-old. Unfortunately, the new queen was every bit as ‘wicked stepmother’ as the ones in fairytales. She and Ino squabbled constantly, and over everything the new queen could find to pick at. The months-long feud finally culminated in the most heinous of acts: Ino would be sequestered away in a tower to wait for her future, princely husband to come to her aid.
Ino was rightfully outraged.
She presented her case over and over to her father to change their mind, but the queen had him seemingly brainwashed into believing this cockamamie scheme was a good one.
With time not on their side, the girls met in secret, painstakingly reviewing the anatomy of the forest the tower was located in, as well as pouring over the traps and obstacles that would be placed for the would-be suitors to conquer. They devised a code phrase so Ino would know for sure it was her there. When the day came that Ino was dragged away, she waited for the agreed-upon three days before setting out for her quest.
The trek involved crossing a river full of dangerous creatures and swift waters, finding one’s way through the winding forest trails, and advancing through thorny underbrush with pitfalls scattered about, but at last the tower came into view. The last task involved scaling the wall.
Finally advancing onto the ledge, she heaved a sigh of relief. All she needed to do was get into the inner chamber with Ino, and they would scale the wall back down to escape. Guards brought her meals every eight hours, and according to the position of the sun, they had enough time to get far away before they were even noticed.
She stretched her arms above her head to relieve the knots in her muscles, then cupped her mouth with her hands. “My fair princess!” she called loudly. “Please let fall your hair!” They had decided on ‘fall’ in lieu of ‘down’ as they were sure no one would use such a turn of phrase.
The wait was almost concerning with the delay, but eventually the long, flower-woven braid came cascading out of the small window. She scoffed, rolling her eyes. Ino is always so dramatic. She grasped the clumped strands securely, placing one foot above the other the sparse distance up.
Once inside the room, she bent down to dust her clothes and boots off. “Okay, Ino. I’m here to rescue you or whatever,” she commented, not sparing her friend a glance. “So let’s hurry up and-”
“Congratulations on making it to my quarters, brave adventurer!” The princess praised, clapping happily. However, her voice was completely off; she sounded like someone trying to impersonate her friend and failing horribly.
Her eyes shot up, finding the princess in her favorite purple gown, face obscured by an opaque, pink veil. She gaped, bewildered. “Who the hell are you?” she demanded.
The princess curtsied. “I am Princess Ino.”
“No you’re not,” she protested, shaking her head, eyes slitting into a glare. “Ino doesn’t sound anything like that!” She gave the other person a once-over. “And she’d never pair her dress with anything pink.”
“Oh, I’m afraid I have a bit of a cold.” They coughed for good measure, overtly fake. “I was trying to keep my illness from infecting others.”
Her eyes narrowed further, and she leaned forward slightly. “Oh yeah?” she challenged. “What’s my name, then, Ino?”
Their pause was measured. “I do not know the names of all who seek to free me from this tower,” she replied hesitantly.
She hummed, smirking smugly as she crossed her arms over her chest. Caught you, phony. “That’s funny, considering Ino and I have been best friends since literal childhood.”
The fake princess sputtered, glancing around the room under the hood. She took the opportunity of their panic to race over, ripping the covering from their head.
“Hey!” they cried, voice lowered to what she assumed was their natural octave.
There stood, not her best friend, but a man. His hair was also blonde, situated into the lengthy, intricate style Ino favored. His eyes were a piercing blue, almost similar to her friend’s own sky-colored gaze. His face was angular and straight, lips curled in a displeased snarl, but damn was he attractive.
Gawk at the hot stranger later, Sakura, she chided herself. Instead, she glared, pointing accusingly at him. “I’ll ask again: Who the hell are you?”
He reciprocated her glare with one of his own, though what he was mad about was anyone’s guess. “Name’s Deidara, yeah.” he snipped.
She wouldn’t be deterred by his attitude. “Where’s Ino?”
He shrugged. “Not here.” The audacity!
“Yeah, I can see that, asshole,” she bit out, rolling her eyes. “Where is she? She was supposed to wait for me to come get her!”
Like a light had gone off in his brain, he suddenly relaxed, studying her. “Oh, are you Sakura, yeah?”
She blinked. “Yes?”
“She mentioned you might still come, yeah. Said she sent you a message, but wasn’t sure you’d get it in time.”
“A message?” she parroted, ire building as realization settled in. Did that oinker ditch me?! “Where did Ino go?”
“Before the guards whisked her away to get sealed in here, she hired us to come bail her out so she could run off with that guy, yeah,” he explained offhandedly, like he was talking about the weather and not essentially saying she wasted an ample amount of her fucking time.
“What guy?” Her jaw was clenched so tight, she was surprised she was even able to get that out in a coherent fashion.
“I don’t know, yeah!” the man countered, throwing his hands up. She could spot strange markings on his palms when he did. “Some pale, dark-haired dude. He was weird as fuck.”
She was so mad, she was sure steam would come out of her ears if it were possible. “So you’re telling me that Ino and I planned this whole rescue mission,” she started, face flushing in indignation. This Deidara guy looked at her like she were a bomb ready to explode. As he should. “Where I fought through all the stupid traps, climbed up this dumbass tower, just to be told that she already disappeared with fucking Sai of all people!” she threw her hands up as well, exasperated. “And left some guy in drag in her place?”
“Excuse you, Pinkie,” he demanded, gesturing to his outfit. “I look fantastic in this dress, thank you very much, yeah.”
Admittedly, yes he did, but she was not ready to explore that train of thought. “Un-fucking-believable!” she screeched, grabbing the nearest item and chucking it at the wall across the room. The vase shattered satisfyingly, the shards spreading haphazardly along the stone floor.
Deidara stared at it in wonder before turning that wonder onto her. “That was impressive, yeah.”
“Thanks,” she grumbled, plopping down on the floor and scrubbing her face with her dirty, chaffed hands.
The room was wrapped in a tense, awkward silence, but she was too busy lamenting her fate to care much about what Deidara was thinking or feeling. As she pondered on her next move, she heard him clear his throat. She glanced up, finding him watching her.
“There’s a secret passage out of this place,” he offered, indicating a large painting of a green chameleon. He must’ve been painted by some guy named Pascal, if the little placard at the bottom of the frame were any indication. “I guess the queen lady didn’t investigate too thoroughly beforehand, or else it wouldn’t be usable, yeah. Up for another adventure?”
“What kind of adventure?” she queried tiredly. “Because I’m a little adventured-out at the moment.”
His smile was friendly, inviting. “Well, looks to me like you could use a pick-me-up,” he stated, stepping forward and reaching a palm toward her to help her up. “Let’s go to the tavern, yeah.”
She took the hand, marveling at the dichotomy between soft skin and calloused fingers. What type of work would he have to do to have hands in such a state? She cast that thought aside, eying him warily. “Does the dress stay on?”
He grinned, all confidence. “Why? You into that sort of thing, yeah?”
She couldn’t stop her lips from curling. “Not usually, but I can make an exception.” She teased, making a show of dragging her verdant gaze up and down his form.
He laughed, full-bellied, and the sound of it was very enticing. “Buy me a drink first and we can negotiate, yeah.” He offered, returning the rake with his own cerulean stare before winking. “I wouldn’t mind getting rescued by you again.”
She giggled, releasing him to allow him space to remove the ruffled gown. He flung it onto a nearby table, clad in simple bluish-black pants, black boots, and a mesh top. She couldn’t stop herself from ogling the hints of muscles she could see beneath the material, an action he definitely noticed, as evidenced by his cocksure smirk. He strode to the wardrobe, extracting a black cloak with red clouds, and draping it over his shoulders. He made his way to the painting, maneuvering it to the side to reveal the open space behind it. He held his hand out again, which she gladly took, leading her to freedom.
So maybe she wasn’t the knight in shining armor she hoped she’d be for her friend, but, admittedly, maybe this failed rescue mission wasn’t such a failure after all.